Moomin Cafes were ahead of the curve. Long before restaurants began creatively promoting social distancing by seating guests next to giant stuffed-animal seatmates, these charming coffee shops around the world used their own fluffy friends to accompany solo visitors.

Coffee Tips and Recipes to Make at Home

For background, the Moomins are a fictional family of white trolls with signature round snouts and carefree, adventurous personalities. The Moomins live together in a family home in Moominvalley, not far from the Lonely Mountains. As the stars of a Swedish-language childrens book series by Toye Jansson, the Moomins have gained international fame thanks to their themed cafes across the globe.

There are eight Moomin Cafes around the world. Finland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and South Korea each have one cafe a piece, while Japan is home to three.

The charming cafes have repeatedly gained international attention for their signature anti-loneliness measures. At Moomin Cafes, unaccompanied guests need not fear. The cafe provides large plush Moomins to sit alongside them and other larger parties in want of company.

As the coronavirus pandemic changes the restaurant industry, several establishments have similarly taken to using plush toys, teddy bears and mannequins to keep people at a safe distance from each other.

Beyond the stuffed animals, the interior of Moomin Cafes are charmingly decorated to look like something out of a storybook. Illustrations from the picture books are painted onto the walls, and characters are created out of foods and drinks. For more one-of-a-kind coffee shop experiences, check out more of the most quirky cafes around the world.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : The Supreme Court on Monday said that it is extremely concerned about the balance of the right to dignity with that of free speech.

The observation was made by a bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud during the hearing of the Sudarshan News matter, where the top court has stayed the broadcast of five episodes titled "UPSC Jehad".

Advocate Sai Deepak, appearing for a group of three intervenors, argued before the bench also comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and K.M. Joseph that the top court must also focus on the chilling effect of such injunction orders.

Justice Chandrachud replied: "You are absolutely right. You are spot on. We are extremely concerned about balance of right of dignity with free speech." The bench cited that there is an amorphous group of people here.

Justice Chandrachud also said the court can't dwell on specifics as to what can be removed or added in a particular TV programme.

The bench also noted as to what has to the nature of the order when it decides to lift the injunction.

"We must also consider that. There are post-telecast mechanisms under the criminal law too," it observed.

Advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for intervenors, submitted before the bench that it should continue with the injunction on the TV programme.

To this, Justice Chandrachud replied: "But that is the problem." The bench observed that the Sudarshan News has an absolute injunction right now.

"His not taking the opportunity given by us doesn't absolve us of our responsibility to let him have his right under Article 19," the bench said.

The top court said it will hear Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in detail on this matter and posted it for further hearing on Wednesday.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Family members are mourning the death of a 59-year-old man shot to death early Sunday in Birmingham.

Authorities on Monday identified the victim as Melvin Earl Nelson. He was a father to seven children, a grandfather to 11. He was a brother to eight, including a twin with whom he was extremely close.

"Our family is heartbroken,'' according to a statement they released to AL.com. He was greatly loved by everyone he met, and he truly had a kind and compassionate soul.

Nelson is one of nine people slain in Birmingham so far in September. Four of the victims killed in just the past eight days were age 59 or above.

On Sept. 13, a 71-year-old woman was shot to death in her neighborhood. On Sunday, a 66-year-old woman was killed in crossfire in Birminghams Elyton Village. On Monday morning, a woman in her 80s was beaten to death in Smithfield Estates and her brother, also in his 80s, taken into custody.

Nelson was found early Sunday morning when Birmingham police East Precinct officers responded shortly after 2 a.m. to a single shot fired in the 200 block of 72nd Street North. When police arrived, they found Nelson in the roadway near a curb. He was pronounced dead on the scene at 2:56 a.m.

Family members, unaware that Nelson had been killed, were frantically searching for him, posting his picture on Facebook for help in locating him. Hours later they received the news he had been killed.

Nelsons 2005 silver Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is missing. It has an Auburn tag.

Authorities have not released any updates in the ongoing investigation.

Nelson worked for at Nabeels in Homewood for more than 20 years, though he was no longer there. His brother Alan was a chef there, and Nelson along with two other brothers, Marvin and Keith, were all line cooks.

What a shock it was to hear about the murder of Melvin Nelson,'' said retired owner John Krontiras who turned over the day-to-day business to his son. Always on time, almost never off work. He had a heart of gold and always very respectful of me my wife and my son Anthony.

"It is very sad and we all feel for his family and his twin brother Marvin,'' he said. Our condolences to the family.

"He was known by many as a Nelson Brother,'' the family said. He loved working cars and he loved barbecuing for his family. Melvin truly had a loving soul and spirit and he would do just about anything for anyone.''

Anyone with information on Nelsons death or his missing truck is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
GE, a global leader in power technology, has announced that it has connected two GT13E2 gas turbines at the Zubair Permanent Power Generation Plant to the grid.

The Zubair plant is owned by the Basra Oil Company and located at the Zubair oil field, about 20 km from the city of Basra. Together, these two units can generate more than 300 megawatts (MW) of electricity to power homes, offices, streets and hospitals.

Adding new power capacity to Iraqs national grid is critical to ease the electricity shortages citizens and businesses face every day, said a statement from GE.

The facility will be equipped with four units of GEs GT13E2 gas turbines and is expected to generate up to 700 MW once complete in 2021.

Joseph Anis, President & CEO of GE Gas Power (Mena and South Asia) said: "We are honoured to support the development of Iraqs power sector for over 50 years. Since December 2019, we have added up to 1,675 MW of new capacity in Iraq and executed upgrades, repairs and maintenance services at various facilities to sustain the reliable delivery of up to 4,325 MW from existing power plants."

"Our teams have been deployed in some of the toughest locations across the country, including conflict-affected areas such as Mosul and Diyala, delivering results every day because we are committed to powering growth and prosperity for everyone in Iraq," he added.

ENI Iraq is responsible for developing the oil field and had awarded a contract to GE for the engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of the power plant.-TradeArabia News Service
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 The US COVID-19 death toll of 200,000 leaves a terrible legacy of misery. However, President Donald Trump's tweets tell a decidedly different story. He's blamed China; he's blamed state governors. He's blamed the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention for the spread of inaccurate data, while retweeting misinformation himself. And interviews with journalist Bob Woodward reveal he knowingly misled the public all along. Of the more than 5000 tweets and retweets Trump has sent this year, about 300 have been related to his public messaging on COVID-19, which he first tweeted about on January 24. As coronavirus deaths in the US neared 200,000, a string of 18 interviews with journalist Bob Woodward from February this year were made public. They revealed the President knowingly understated the threat of the virus to the public from February 7, when he told Woodward it was "deadly stuff". On the same day, Trump sent a tweet commending Chinese President Xi Jinping on his response to the pandemic, falsely predicting that warmer weather should offer hope for an end to the virus.

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March saw a marked shift in Trump's public messaging on COVID-19, which was eventually siphoned into alarm for the nation's potential "Depression" after New York went into lockdown following a mass outbreak. Appearing on Fox News on March 24, Trump insisted the US would reopen in time for Easter. "You can't just come in and say, 'Let's close up the United States of America, the biggest, the most successful country in the world by far,' " he said. Despite Trump's comments, some governors imposed further restrictions, prompting Trump to shift his focus once more, blaming city lockdowns for slowing the US economy. In a barrage of tweets, the President encouraged residents of Minnesota and Michigan to protest against lockdowns in their respective states, while the US death toll rose from 1001 to 40,533 in the three weeks since his Fox News appearance on March 24.

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As April drew to a close, Trump pivoted again, pointing to mass testing as the key driver for increased case numbers across the US. It was done as the US death toll reached 100,000 on May 27. After the US COVID-19 death toll reached 100,000, mass testing became the core driver of Trump's public messaging on COVID-19, when he later called it a "double-edged sword" that led to more cases being discovered. And Trump, as has become expected of him, doubled down on Twitter. In tweets he sent during June and July, he repeated claims of a lower mortality rate in the US, prompting questions of how his administration was measuring success. In early August, Trump fielded such questions in a video interview with journalist Jonathan Swan, who picked apart Trump's messaging that favoured the definition of success as "death as a proportion of cases". "I'm talking about death as a proportion of population. That's where the US is really bad. Much worse than South Korea, Germany," Swan said.

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President Moon Jae-in and Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae arrive for a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday, to discuss the reform of institutions, including the prosecution, police and the National Intelligence Service. Yonhap



By Do Je-hae



President Moon Jae-in has urged swift reform of the nation's investigatory institutions  the prosecution, police and the National Intelligence Service (NIS)  for a balance in their investigation capacities and responsibilities, and to prevent any abuse of power.



The President presided over a meeting, Monday, with officials from the relevant organizations, including Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Park Jie-won and Minister of Interior and Safety Chin Young, and urged them to speedily implement reform initiatives, while calling for cooperation from the National Assembly.



"With the determination to enact transformation for the sake of the people, the government has been pushing for the reform of power institutions. Now we will have to work harder to complete the remaining tasks," Moon said during the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.



"Our government's reform of power institutions is making irreversible progress. Now, we must cooperate closely with the National Assembly on the legislative issues and try to ensure that legislation is implemented as soon as possible."



Moon mentioned the Assembly's cooperation for the swift establishment of a new investigative body, separate from the police and prosecution, to investigate the crimes of high-ranking officials. The new investigative agency has been a core piece of the President's push for reform of the prosecution.



He also mentioned the transformation of the NIS, which has been criticized in the past for meddling in domestic politics. "As an intelligence agency specializing in North Korea, the NIS should transform its organization and personnel so that it can focus its capacity on ensuring national security."



After the meeting, Choo also pledged drastic changes in the prosecution. "We'll reform the prosecution's structure and system, so prosecutors will fulfill their original role of supervising investigations and indicting suspects, rather than conducting their own investigations," she said in a press briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul later.



The meeting drew attention because of the participation of the justice minister, whose influence-peddling scandal has emerged as one of the biggest factors in the loss of public trust in the Moon administration's drive to establish "fairness and equality" in all areas of Korean society.



President Moon has sought to reform the aforementioned organizations, but his key slogan for fairness particularly in the judiciary sector has been tainted due to the personal scandal involving his pick for justice minister.



The timing of the meeting has raised questions about Cheong Wa Dae's motives. Choo's appearance and Moon's call on her and other officials to swiftly carry out reform was seen as a signal of the President's support for the embattled minister, amid rising calls for him to dismiss her over the scandal  although the presidential office said the meeting was to discuss and examine strategies to reform the institutions.



Moon did not mention anything specifically related to the scandal over Choo's alleged influence peddling to obtain favors for her son while he was serving his mandatory military service when the former five-term lawmaker was chairwoman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in 2017.



Moon and Choo's remarks are seen to suggest that the government will keep up the momentum for reforming the prosecution and other powerful agencies despite the mounting criticism against Choo from the public and the opposition. Choo has also refused to respond to the calls for her resignation.



A recent survey showed that 57 percent of the people thought Choo's son received special treatment, while 36 percent thought the case was being overly politicized.


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The Bharatiya Janata Party is planning a mega exercise to reach out to farmers to counter the Opposition's narrative on farm bills and attempts to create misgivings on the MSP issue, sources said on Monday.

IMAGE: Karnataka State Farmers Association members take part in a protest rally in Bengaluru, on Monday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has held a series of meetings with MPs and Union ministers from Punjab and Haryana and surrounding states, and virtual interactions with state agricultural ministers of all BJP-led National Democratic Alliance ruled states where he briefed them about the merits of the two bills, the sources said.

Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill was passed by both the house of parliament, amid protests by opposition parties like the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Left, as well as some farmer groups.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a leader of the BJP's oldest ally Shiromani Akali Dal, had resigned from Union Cabinet in protest against the bills.

Sources said Tomar also reached out to the office bearers of BJP's ideological parent RSS as well as the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh and Swadesi Jagaran Manch. Both the RSS affiliates have reservations about the bills and came out in the open with their objections.

Members of Parliament from Haryana, Punjab and neighbouring states have been given talking points to address their constituents, especially farmers, and clear any misgiving created by the Opposition about the MSP in the context of these bills, the sources said.

The Opposition has alleged that the government intends to do away with the safety net of the minimum support price (MSP) and the mandi system, a charge denied by the government which has accused these parties of misleading farmers.

The government on Monday hiked the minimum support price for buying six rabi crops, including wheat, by up to six per cent, as it sought to send a strong message to farmers on the continuation of the MSP-based procurement system.

The BJP has asked all state units of its Kisan Morcha, MPs and ministers in Union and state governments to categorically convey to farmers and all other state holders in the agriculture sector that the mechanism of minimum support price will be intact even after the implementation of these two bills, they said.

Tomar has also briefed the spokespersons of the party's national team and state units about the salient features of these two bills and also on the MSP mechanism.
Megan Gale spent two weeks in hotel quarantine in August, after flying into Perth from Melbourne to attend her brother Jason Gale's funeral.

In an Instagram video on Monday, the model revealed how quarantine put her life into perspective, and shared advice for those isolating after the death of a loved one.

The 45-year-old advised going into quarantine with a 'super strong mindset' and allowing yourself to grieve after the mandatory two weeks.

Honest discussion: Megan Gale, 45, said two weeks of hotel quarantine in Perth last month, helped put her life into perspective, in an Instagram video (pictured) on Monday

'It gave me a lot of time to reflect upon my life, reassess things, think about what I prioritise now, what I don't, which a very dear loved one passing away will often do that,' Megan said of quarantine.

The media personality went on to reveal how she discovered a newfound appreciation for the simple things in life.

'Appreciating things like fresh air and direct sunlight, I didn't have that for two weeks. I had a very basic, very small room with quite basic food and not much else.'

However, when watching old episodes of fiance Shaun Hampson, 32, on Australian Survivor, Megan realised that despite being in quarantine, her life is pretty good.

Grateful: Megan went on to reveal how she discovered a newfound appreciation for the simple things in life: 'Having that attitude of gratitude and putting things in perspective, really helped me get through quarantine'

'Having that attitude of gratitude and putting things in perspective, really helped me get through quarantine,' she said.

Megan, who shares son River, six, and daughter Rosie, two, with Shaun, went on to share her advice for those entering quarantine after the death of a loved one.

'Try and focus on a super strong mindset before you go in. The only way I could get through it was to not think about what had happened to my brother,' she said.

'Try and focus on a super strong mindset before you go in': Megan, who shares son River, six, and daughter Rosie, two, with fiance Shaun Hampson (pictured), went on to share her advice for those entering quarantine after the death of a loved one

Blocking out the pain: 'I couldn't allow myself to grieve and sink into that deep sadness in there, being locked in a room for two weeks,' she said

Megan revealed that she 'broke twice', but 'shifted focus' and 'snapped' herself out of it, only allowing herself to grieve once she completed quarantine.

'I couldn't allow myself to grieve and sink into that deep sadness in there, being locked in a room for two weeks,' she said.

Megan joined mourners on August 18 to farewell her brother at his funeral in Perth, four weeks after he was found dead in bushland.

Jason, 49, was last seen at a petrol station on July 14 in Western Australia, and was found dead a week later in bushland next to his 1999 Honda CR-V SUV.

Funeral: Megan joined mourners on August 18 to farewell her brother Jason Gale (pictured) at his funeral in Perth, four weeks after he was found dead in bushland

Last sighting: Jason was last seen on July 14 buying petrol and water at the Popanyinning General Store, 160km south-east from his Perth home

He was last seen on July 14 buying petrol and water at the Popanyinning General Store, 160km south-east from his Perth home.

Following a desperate week-long search by family, friends and police, Jason was found dead next to his car.

The death was not considered suspicious.

For confidential crisis support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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By PTI

NEW DELHI: Student activist Gulfisha Fatima, arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, alleged before a Delhi court on Monday that she was being subjected to communal slurs and mental harassment by jail authorities.

Fatima, an MBA graduate, is currently lodged in Tihar jail in the case related to the communal violence in northeast Delhi in February.

The submissions were made before Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat when she was produced through video conferencing in the case.

Fatima alleged that she was being discriminated against by the staff in the jail.

"I have a problem in jail. Ever since I was brought here I have been constantly facing discrimination by the jail staff. They called me educated terrorist and are hurling communal slurs at me. I am facing mental harassment here. If I hurt myself, only jail authorities will be responsible for it," she alleged.

After Fatima made her submissions directly to the court, the judge asked her lawyer to file an application regarding this.

To this, her counsel Mehmood Pracha said he will do the necessary in the case.

The court had earlier taken cognisance of the charge sheet filed in the case related to the conspiracy in the riots and summoned all the 15 accused to appear before it.

ALSO READ | Delhi riots: Court dismisses allegation of accused coerced to sign documents in police custody

The court on Monday directed that the counsels of the accused be handed over a copy of the charge sheet and put up the case for further consideration on October 3.

In its charge sheet, the police has listed 747 witnesses and of them 51 have recorded their statements before the magistrate under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The charge sheet has been filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and various sections of the Indian Penal Codes and the Arms Act.

The police said it has given the chronology of conspiracy and relevant events in its charge sheet which is likely to be taken up for consideration soon.

"The evidence include WhatsApp chats of February 24, the time when riots were happening. At that point, key conspirators were guiding their foot soldiers about violence in the area."

The key conspirators were directly in touch with their foot soldiers," the police said It said "WhatsApp groups were used by conspirators for "violence in Seelampur Jafrabad area. There were 25 protest sites. 25 WhatsApp groups were especially created for each. The impression was given that they were anti-CAA protest groups but through these sites conspirators were being guided."

Delhi Police's Special cell said Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi and Umar Khalid had allegedly planned to carry out massive violence in the capital during US President Donald Trump's visit to Delhi.

ALSO READ | Delhi riots: Court dismisses Umar Khalid's plea seeking to meet family

In the charge sheet, which discusses the conspiracy behind the Delhi riots, the police has claimed that "on January 8, Tahir had met Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi at Shaheen Bagh sit-in protest. Meetings subsequently also took place in the PFI office in Jamia nagar where Khalid Saifi instigated Tahir."

"Umar reportedly assured that through his contacts (in PFI) logistical support etc will be provided," police said.

Popular Front of India (PFI), formed in 2006 in Kerala as a successor to the National Democratic Front (NDF), provided financial support to the protests, police had earlier alleged.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
SAN DIEGO - The amphibious warship USS Bonhomme Richard sits charred in a shipyard at a pier in this city's picturesque bay. Two months after a fire turned the vessel into a towering inferno, Navy officials still say they have no clue when or whether it will sail again.

The ship, stretching 844 feet long, has not budged since the fire broke out July 12, prompting a four-day battle in which hundreds of sailors and civilian firefighters doused flames that melted metal and belched smoke for miles. Sailors have begun repainting the hull to protect it from corrosion, and hoses now stretch upward from the pier into the hull to provide ventilation. But those who have been inside describe a ship in ruin, with gaping holes in the flight deck that allow sunlight to beam through several layers.

"I'm not going to lie - I was scared," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Hayley Craig, recounting her eight trips into the ship to fight the fire. "I think everybody was. You couldn't really see nothing. It was incredibly hot. I didn't know your body could take that much heat."

The price to fully renovate the ship is not yet clear, but its replacement will probably cost several billion dollars, based on comparisons with similar-size ships.

The Bonhomme Richard's uncertain future is among the troubles the Navy has faced as the service attempts to change the way it fights, deploys and organizes.

Recent challenges include two ship collisions in the Pacific that killed 17 sailors in 2017, a corruption scandal in which several Navy officers were convicted of accepting bribes from a Malaysian defense contractor known as "Fat Leonard" Francis, and questions about the service's ability to keep ships ready while meeting demands for deployments.

The service is a key part of the Pentagon's plan to reorient itself after nearly 20 years of counterinsurgency wars, with new high-tech aircraft, unmanned vessels and weapons planned as China becomes the primary focus of the military's agenda.

But the Navy in some ways has lost control of its future.

The Navy has long touted its goal to expand to 355 warships to meet U.S. needs, and President Trump has touted a similar plan for at least 350. But Defense Secretary Mark Esper has scrutinized the Navy's target, rejecting the service's shipbuilding plan and launching a review this year by Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist to assess options.

Esper, in a three-day trip to California last week, declined several interview requests from reporters traveling with him, including about the naval force study. He has kept a low profile with the news media in recent weeks, with administration officials saying that Trump has considered firing him since their disagreement in June about the president's desire to use active-duty troops to respond to protests across the country over racial injustice and police violence.

But Esper's public remarks reveal some clues to what could lie ahead.

The defense secretary, speaking Wednesday at the Rand Corp. think tank in Santa Monica, Calif., said that Norquist's study was recently completed and that it considered a "wider, more ambitious range of future fleet options."

Officials from the Navy, Marine Corps and Joint Staff and outside advisers examined what ships are available and what vessels are needed to retain dominance given China's modernization plans, Esper said. Then they launched war games to see the strengths and weaknesses of each potential combination of ships.

"The results are a game-changer that reflect a good deal of serious work and effort based on facts and data," Esper said.

Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite said in a statement after Esper's speech that "355 ships are the minimum to which the Department of the Navy should be aiming" and that he has been working with Esper and Norquist to identify how best to achieve that objective.

But how those ships are defined could change in a significant way.

Esper, speaking to sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson off the coast of California on Thursday, said the deployment of unmanned vessels will make reaching the 355-ship goal possible. That amounts to a shift in what the Pentagon and Congress consider a warship.

"Unmanned will enable us to grow the United States Navy well beyond 355 ships," Esper said. "It will add more lethality, survivability, capability, et cetera, to the United States Navy and indeed to the joint force."

Despite the changes, aircraft carriers will remain a centerpiece of the fleet, Esper said. His visit to the Carl Vinson highlighted some of the plans: The ship recently underwent 17 months of upgrades to allow it to fly F-35Cs, and it will be the first carrier to deploy overseas with the jets next year.

The jets are seen as the centerpiece in many future formations in the China-centric approach. While they do not carry as many weapons as other strike aircraft, such as the F/A-18 Super Hornet, they are harder to see on radar and collect more intelligence with their sophisticated sensors.

The ship's commanding officer, Capt. Matthew Paradise, said in an interview that the changes to the Carl Vinson include the adoption of reinforced jet-blast deflectors capable of handling the F-35's larger engines, new computers to assist in F-35 logistics and a renovated area near the hangar bay where lithium ion batteries used on the aircraft are stored and charged.

"We're going nice and slow and making sure that everyone is learning the new jet, and getting the band back together for the first time in the work-up cycle," Paradise said.

Esper flew to the Carl Vinson in the back seat of an F/A-18 fighter and then met privately with naval officers involved in the F-35's integration.

On Friday, Esper toured the charred Bonhomme Richard in rubber boots, a mask and a hard hat. His spokesman, Jonathan Rath Hoffman, said one concept Esper is considering is the deployment of the Marine Corps' F-35s on amphibious ships such as the Bonhomme Richard, complementing the aircraft deployed aboard carriers in an unconventional configuration.

Whether that future includes the Bonhomme Richard is another story.

After touring the ship, Esper thanked sailors on the pier for their efforts to save the ships. "We're going to have a Bonhomme Richard for sure," he said.

But Hoffman said afterward that Esper was expressing to the crew his hope that the ship will survive. The ship's future, Hoffman said, is still unclear.
Opposition candidate Henri Konan Bedie called Sunday for civil disobedience to take place nationwide to protest President Alassane Ouattara's quest for a third term, which his critics consider unconstitutional.

The public declaration by Bedie ahead of the Oct. 31 vote raises the specter of unrest in a country already scarred by post-election violence in 2010-2011 that left more than 3,000 people dead.

In their declaration Sunday, Bedie and several other opposition leaders also called for the return of two prominent politicians in exile including ex-President Laurent Gbagbo who refused to concede defeat after the 2010 vote.

Ouattara ultimately prevailed and has been in power for nearly a decade. However, after his chosen heir-apparent died unexpectedly the incumbent president said he would run for a third term. Ouattara insists that his first two terms do not count toward term limits because Ivory Coast has since approved a new constitution.

At a meeting over the weekend, the opposition leaders called on Ivorians to mobilize for legitimate demonstrations throughout the country, in accordance with the Constitution, for the restoration of democracy and the rule of law, for fair, regular, transparent and inclusive elections.

Activists want Ouattara disqualified from the election although the country's Constitutional Council already has validated his candidacy. The opposition now wants that council dissolved along with the Independent Electoral Commission, though has stopped short of boycotting next month's vote.

They are also demanding an audit of the country's electoral list of voters, and the return of political exiles led by Gbagbo and former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro.

Gbagbo has been acquitted of crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court, but prosecutors are appealing and in the meantime Ivorian officials have denied him a passport to return home. Ivorian authorities, meanwhile, issued an arrest warrant earlier this year for Soro on charges his supporters say are politically motivated, effectively blocking his candidacy too as he has remained in Europe.

Members of the Ivorian Popular Front party who are still loyal to its founder, former president Gbagbo, were in attendance this weekend as were representatives of Soro, witnesses said.

___

Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal.
An incarcerated man at the Bexar County jail died Monday, officials said.

The Bexar County Sheriff's Office said it appears Robert Cantu, 43, experienced a medical episode related to a pre-existing condition.

A detention deputy conducting observation checks discovered Cantu unresponsive around 10:15 a.m. The deputy performed life-saving measures and the facility's medical staff responded, officials said.

Cantu was pronounced dead at 10:39 a.m. by emergency medical technicians.

On Sunday, Cantu was arrested by San Antonio police and booked into the jail on a criminal trespass charge with a $500 bond. He did not qualify for a personal recognizance bond under Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's order because of previous domestic violence-related charges, officials said.

The internal affairs, public integrity, and criminal investigations divisions are investigating the death.

A second inmate at the jail also died Monday after an apparent medical episode, officials said.

George Lee Holland, 89, who was facing a murder charge, was found unresponsive but breathing in his cell at about 7:08 p.m. He was pronounced dead by hospital staff at about 8:20 p.m., officials said. Investigators said the medical episode appears to have been caused by pre-existing medical conditions

Holland was accused of killing his wife, 82-year-old Janice Holland, on Sept. 10. A neighbor had gone to the house to check on the couple and discovered the woman's body.

Police said she had been shot and were unsure how long her body had been there before the neighbor found her.
Two senior NSW Nationals figures have quit the party and Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams has had her membership of the Liberals accepted a day after abandoning the Nationals in disgust.

Former Nationals leader and deputy premier Troy Grant last week resigned from the party, while former Water Minister and deputy leader Niall Blair has not renewed his membership.

Troy Grant, Leslie Williams and Niall Blair have left the Nationals Party. Credit:Christopher Pearce, James Brickwood

Mr Grant and Mr Blair did not want to comment on their decision to leave the Nationals, but a source close to Mr Grant said he did not "support the direction of the party".

Ms Williams' membership of the Liberals was rubber-stamped on Monday morning, ensuring she did not have to sit on the crossbench when NSW Parliament resumes on Tuesday.
A PROPOSAL to fly male dairy calves out of the country from Shannon has been proposed by the IFA to the Department of Agriculture.

IFA president Tim Cullinan first mooted the idea during last years presidential hustings where it was met with mixed reaction.

At the time the then-IFA livestock chairman Angus Woods said the idea wouldnt work and that IFA had investigated the idea already.

"Export of cattle is not simple, anybody who thinks it is, is delusional," said Mr Woods. One farmer at the hustings described the idea as ludicrous. However, Cork dairy farmer and IFA presidential candidate hopeful John Coughlan backed Cullinans idea.

Now its understood Cullinan has raised the idea with Department of Agriculture officials in recent days as a possible way of dealing with young male calves from the dairy herd.

However, its understood new research by IFA found that it would cost around 30/head of calf to fly from Shannon, around double the cost of shipping calves via ferry to France.

Last year capacity at two French lairages allowed up to 16,800 calves per week to travel by ferry to France in March after February sailings were impacted by storms. This impacted calf prices in marts, with calves sold for as little as 50c each.

Calls by IFA last year to allow another facility in France be used for calves was deemed reckless by the then-Minister, who said using the facility would add substantially to the journey time of calves.

Around 180,000 calves are exported every year and last year the practice of live exports of calves to France drew fierce criticism from animal welfare groups, with three groups writing to the Agriculture Minister last year calling into question the legality of live exports.

Compassion in World Farming, Ethical Farming Ireland and Eyes on Animals claimed that Ireland's export of unweaned calves to continental Europe is in breach of EU regulations on the protection of animals during transport.

They also say calves exported from Ireland may be on a truck for some five hours before the ferry departs.

"This time includes loading onto the truck, the journey to the port, and waiting at the port before the truck embarks on the ferry.

"Moreover, it may be around three hours before loading onto the truck since the calves were last fed," they claimed.

The groups also claimed in the letter that calves may go for 24 hours or more without feed (which in the case of unweaned calves is milk replacer) between the last feed before loading at the start of the journey and receiving feed at the lairage near Cherbourg.
She's never been afraid to show off her incredible figure.

And Jasmine Sanders put her sensational physique on display as she posed in a flesh-flashing tropical co-ord and bikini top on Saturday.

The model, 29, looked sensational as she shared snaps in her PrettyLittleThing ensemble after it emerged she has just signed a six-figure deal with the brand.

Stunning: Jasmine Sanders put her sensational physique on display as she posed in a flesh-flashing tropical co-ord and bikini top on Saturday

Jasmine - who also goes by the name Golden Barbie - was a vision of beauty in a skimpy crop and wide leg beach trousers, which boasted an eye-catching tropical floral pattern.

The trousers hugged Jasmine's figure, accentuating her enviable curves, whilst the tie front top offered a glimpse at her cleavage and slim figure.

Jasmine's trademark blonde locks were worn loose and curly, as the model cooly gazed out across to the side of the camera.

For makeup, the German-born beauty kept things simple and went with a dewy, natural glow.

Relaxed: Jasmine's trademark blonde locks were worn loose and curly, as the model cooly gazed out across to the side of the camera

It is unlikely to be the last time Jasmine gets to wear the latest PrettyLittleThing garb, as she recently signed a six-figure social media deal with the fast fashion brand.

The deal means the model will be able to keep living comfortably as the nights draw in, following a summer that was largely spent in Miami with her boyfriend Anthony Rhoades.

The duo posted endless snaps of themselves sunbathing poolside, evoking the jealousy of fans the world over who were stuck in lockdown.

Things are going strong for Jasmine and Anthony, who started dating earlier this year but have known one another for some time, according to People.

'Theyre happy! Anthony is so supportive of Jasmine, and she is of him,' an insider told the publication.

Making it very official, the duo got tattoos of each other's names in July.
A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army official website on Sept.10, 2020, shows an Iranian Shalamcheh missile being fired during a military exercise in the Gulf, near the strategic strait of Hormuz in southern Iran. (-/Iranian Army office/AFP via Getty Images)

US to Slap Sanctions on Over 2 Dozen Targets Tied to Iran Arms

WASHINGTONThe United States on Sept. 21 will sanction more than two dozen people and entities involved in Irans nuclear, missile, and conventional arms programs, a senior U.S. official said, putting teeth behind U.N. sanctions on Tehran that Washington argues have resumed despite the opposition of allies and adversaries.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said Iran could have enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon by the end of the year and that Tehran has resumed long-range missile cooperation with nuclear-armed North Korea. He did not provide detailed evidence regarding either assertion.

The new sanctions fit into U.S. President Donald Trumps effort to limit Irans regional influence and come a week after U.S.-brokered deals for the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to normalize ties with Israel, pacts that may coalesce a wider coalition against Iran while appealing to pro-Israel U.S. voters ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

The new sanctions also put European allies, China, and Russia on notice that while their inclination may be to ignore the U.S. drive to maintain the U.N. sanctions on Iran, companies based in their nations would feel the bite for violating them.

A major part of the new U.S. push is an executive order targeting those who buy or sell Iran conventional arms that were previously reported by Reuters and will also be unveiled by the Trump administration on Sept. 21, the official said.

The Trump administration suspects Iran of seeking nuclear weaponssomething Tehran deniesand Sep. 20 punitive steps are the latest in a series seeking to stymie Irans atomic program, which U.S. ally Israel views as an existential threat.

Iran is clearly doing everything it can to keep in existence a virtual turnkey capability to get back into the weaponization business at a moments notice should it choose to do so, the U.S. official told Reuters.

The official argued Iran wants a nuclear weapons capability and the means to deliver it despite the 2015 deal that sought to prevent this by restraining Irans atomic program in return for access to the world market.

In May 2018, the United States withdrew from the agreement and restored sanctions that have crippled Irans economy.

Iran, in turn, has gradually breached the central limits in that deal, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), including on the size of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium as well as the level of purity to which it was allowed to enrich uranium.

Because of Irans provocative nuclear escalation, it could have sufficient fissile material for a nuclear weapon by the end of this year, the official said without elaborating except to say this was based on the totality of information available to the United States, including from the IAEA.

The Vienna-based agency has said Iran only began significantly breaching the 2015 deals limits after the U.S. withdrawal and it is still enriching uranium only up to 4.5 percent, well below the 20 percent it had achieved before that agreement, let alone the roughly 90 percent purity that is considered weapons-grade, suitable for an atomic bomb.

Iran and North Korea have resumed cooperation on a long-range missile project, including the transfer of critical parts, he added, declining to say when such joint work first began, stopped, and then started again.

The White House declined to comment in advance of Sept. 20 announcements.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said at a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sept. 16 that Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

The UK shares the concerns of the United States regarding the Iranian threat both on the nuclear side of things but also the wider destabilizing activities in the region, Raab said. He also agreed that the Iran nuclear deal is not perfect and should be broadened.

The UK and the United States share the view that the diplomatic door is open to Iran to negotiate a peaceful way forward. That decision, that choice is there for the leadership in Tehran to take, Raab said.

By Steve Holland & Arshad Mohammed

Epoch Times reporter Ella Kietlinska contributed to this report.
Mike Pompeo at megachurch: Don't hide your light, America should keep faith in public square

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Speaking at the Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas on Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed Americas responsibility to model Christian behavior and to be a light unto the world amid pressure from critics who say faith must be kept out of the public square.

Jack Graham, the pastor of the Plano megachurch, introduced Secretary Pompeo, saying his resume is incredible but first and foremost, hes a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and a believer in our Savior.

Pompeo said the world is watching how America leads and they should know Americas foundation as a Judeo-Christian nation.

Faith in the public square is not only lawful but righteous. This faith is not only powerful, but required by the American tradition, he said and quoted one of the Founding Fathers, George Washington: Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable support.

Pompeo said the Founding Fathers put protection of human dignity and human freedom at the heart of our founding documents  To this day, America reflects this.

The work of the State Department, the secretary noted, must also reflect that.

Giving an example of what a godless nation would look like, he referred to the communist nation of China, where Uighur Muslims are being subjected to internment in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Estimates suggest that over 1 million to as many as 3 million Uighur Muslims and other minority groups in Western China have been placed in internment camps.

Pompeo said the United States is taking that seriously for the first time under the Trump administration.

In May, Congress passed the Uighur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 nearly unanimously to safeguard the rights of the religious minority group.

Pompeo shared with the congregation that the wife of a Chinese Christian believer once wrote to him, urging prayers for her husband who had been kept incommunicado in a prison in China.

The responsibility to pray is fundamentally American too, the secretary said. We should pray; thats the first of all things.

He continued, If you hide your light in an open society like ours, that sends a terrible message to places that are more difficult.

There will always be critics who would say speaking up about your faith is not the right thing to do, he acknowledged. But dont be discouraged; it means youve got conviction and that you showed it.

Pompeo said a previous national security adviser criticized him, arguing that it was problematic that Mike Pompeo is overtly religious. He was referring to former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice who made the comments last month.

He also cited The New York Times that said, No Secretary of State in recent decades has been as open and fervent as Mike Pompeo about discussing Christianity and foreign policy in the same breath.

Pompeo underlined, Connecting faith to Americas foreign policy is imperative. Its a good thing. He said about a week ago, he saw that at the White House, where the leaders of two Muslim nations made peace with the Jewish state of Israel.

In a joint statement last month, President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed said the parties had agreed to the full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier this month, a member of the Norwegian Parliament, Christian Tybring-Gjedde, nominated Trump for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, citing his work in helping to broker a historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Faith strengthens American diplomacy, it doesnt diminish it," Pompeo said.

It is in the places where faith is suppressed or targeted for total erasure, we see brutality and evil, and where humanity is most oppressed.

Pompeo said it was a privilege to serve as Americas 70th Secretary of State. Its only because of Gods grace in my life that Ive had this chance.

He shared that he keeps a Bible on his office table and digs into Gods Word each and every day.

He cited Galatians 6:9, Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Dont ever give up shining the light," he emphasized. "Dont ever walk away from an opportunity to put faith in the public square. Do walk with the Lord and keep at it. Stay true. Keep believing. All of us together, well make this nation a light unto the world.
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 21 : The Customs, as part of its probe into the sensational Kerala gold smuggling case, on Monday questioned the driver and owner of the vehicle which transported a baggage consignment from the Air Cargo complex to the UAE Consulate here on March 4.

Both of them denied having any knowledge of the contents of the baggage.

Apart from the Customs, the ED and the NIA are also conducting a parallel probe and it has now come to light that there was a gang involved in smuggling of gold in the baggage that ostensibly contained the Holy Quran and 17,000 kilograms of dates bound for the UAE Consulate.

In the dock in the case is Kerala Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel who has been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate and the NIA and is in all likelihood to be called in by the Customs as well.

It all began with the Customs which busted the gold smuggling case, arresting P.S. Sarith, a former employee attached to the UAE Consulate on July 5, and since then there have been numerous arrests, including of Swapna Suresh, a high-profile woman who was also a former employee of the UAE Consulate and who later moved to an organisation attached to the state Information Technology department.

Jaleel said he knew Swapna Suresh and it was after the Consulate officials asked him if he could help them to distribute the Quran and the dates, that he decided to do so.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strongly defended Jaleel and has given him a clean chit, stating that he has done no wrong and there is no question of him resigning, a demand that has been put forward by the opposition Congress and the BJP which have launched a massive protest here.

Also batting for Jaleel was state CPI secretary Kanam Rajendran who said no Kerala minister has ever resigned just because a probe agency had questioned them.

"Now it appears that with the Assembly election to be held in May next year, this case will be in the limelight till then and perhaps that is why the investigation is dragging on," said Rajendran.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

President Trump said Monday he is likely to name a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Saturday, as Senate Republicans continued to discuss whether to push for a vote before the election, despite furious Democratic opposition.

As more senators declared their positions, Republicans appeared increasingly likely to have the votes to confirm Trump's choice  assuming no surprises emerge in the confirmation process  although the timing of a vote remained uncertain.

Trump said five women were being vetted for the nomination to replace Ginsburg, who died Friday, "but I have one or two that I have in mind."

According to Republicans familiar with the selection process, two conservative federal Appeals Court judges, Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa, are the only candidates in real contention.

Administration officials for the last two years have viewed Barrett, a former Notre Dame law professor and conservative favorite, as the front-runner for the next Supreme Court vacancy. She was the runner-up for the court nomination that ultimately went to Brett M. Kavanaugh in 2018.

Over the weekend, however, Lagoa emerged as a strong possibility. The daughter of Cuban exiles, her selection might help Trump politically in Florida, a state vital to the president's reelection chances.

Trump appears intrigued by that possibility. He told reporters Monday that he "may" speak with Lagoa when he visits Miami on Friday.

"Shes highly thought of. She's got a lot of support. Im getting a lot of phone calls from a lot of people. She has a lot of support. I don't know her, but I hear shes outstanding," he said.

Lagoa, however, has a much shorter track record than Barrett, who has written extensively on high-profile legal issues as a law professor.

Some conservatives are uncertain if Lagoa would be firmly on their side on the high court. Ironically, the fact that she won 80 votes in her Senate confirmation to the 11th Circuit last year now has some conservatives suspicious that she may be too moderate.

Story continues

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who recently said he would vote only for nominees who explicitly say that the court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision establishing abortion rights was wrong, said Barrett passed his test.

"Amy Barrett, I think, clearly meets that threshold," he told reporters.

He did not explicitly comment on Lagoa.

As Trump weighs his choices, Republicans in the Senate continue to ponder the timetable.

Their interest in further entrenching a conservative majority on the Supreme Court could clash with their hope of preserving Republican control of the Senate and White House.

Delaying a vote until after the election could galvanize GOP voters and provide breathing room to some Republican Senate incumbents, for whom a court vote could be politically perilous. Republicans worry particularly about Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, an embattled incumbent whose vote for Kavanaugh has been a key factor in putting her behind her challenger, Sara Gideon, the speaker of the state House of Representatives.

Collins has publicly said she would oppose a nominee before the election.

Holding off until after the election could also provide a buffer for other Republican incumbents who are on the ballot and would face criticism for rushing through a nominee.

But conservative activists fear that if Republicans lose the White House or the Senate, Republican senators might not be willing to confirm Trump's nominee. With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the Senate, they can currently afford three defections, but after the election, that margin could tighten. No Democratic senators are expected to back Trump's nominee before the election or in a lame-duck session if Trump loses.

If the presidential race or key Senate contests do not have clear winners for days or weeks after election day, Nov. 3, holding a vote could be even more difficult.

Conservatives are pressing hard for a quick vote.

"No one should trust that faux Republicans in the Senate will keep their word after Nov. 3," warned Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.). "The Supreme Court opening should be filled before the election."

Democrats remained hopeful that at least two more Republicans would join Collins and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in opposition to voting on a new justice so close to election day.

"There is only one way for us to have some hope of coming together again, trusting each other again, lowering the temperature, moving forward  and that is for four brave Senate Republicans to commit to rejecting any nominee until the next president is installed," said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). "That was Justice Ginsburg's dying wish, and it may be the Senate's only hope."

But the list of other potential Republicans who might break ranks has been whittled down to perhaps just one: Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah.

Romney  the only Republican to vote to convict the president in his impeachment trial and one of the few willing to defy Trump  is viewed as an unknown. He declined to answer reporters' questions Monday about his plans.

Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, one of the last potential swing votes to voice an opinion, said Monday evening that he would consider a nominee. "Should a qualified nominee ... be put forward, I will vote to confirm," he said.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa)  who led the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2016 when it blocked the consideration of President Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland  has previously said he wouldn't support considering a nominee in an election year. But he said he would support the consideration this year. He said the divided government that existed in 2016  when the Senate and White House were controlled by different parties  does not exist this year, eliminating his reservations.

Senate Republicans plan to huddle behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss the pending appointment and strategy.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pushed back on Democrats' claims that he was rushing the process. "The Senate has more than sufficient time to process the nomination," he said Monday. "There are 43 days until Nov. 3 and 104 days until the end of this Congress."

In a preview of what's expected to be a fiercely partisan battle, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who leads the panel responsible for confirming nominees, struck a personal tone. He told Democrats on the committee that he would proceed expeditiously and that he was "certain if the shoe were on the other foot, you would do the same.

Republican senators  and voters  have placed an extremely high value on building a conservative court majority. For that reason, Republicans are increasingly confident that if Trump's selection survives a vetting and a predictably contentious hearing, the nominee would be confirmed.

I cannot imagine a scenario where even the most stubborn Trump critics in the Senate on the right would vote against a conservative nominee for the Supreme Court if their qualifications and hearing check out," said Rory Cooper, a Republican strategist and managing director at Purple Strategies, a political consultancy in Washington. "Whether you support Trump or dont support him, once he makes the nomination, it really has nothing to do with him.

Republicans speculated that candidates who have recently gone through a confirmation process for a lower court position  such as Barrett or Lagoa  would move more quickly because they were vetted, albeit to a lower threshold, for their current positions.

"If it's somebody who's just been confirmed with a circuit court ... I think it could be done more expeditiously but remains to be seen," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

Some Republicans argue that they are in a no-win situation, pointing to progressive Democratic warnings about packing the courts if they win the election.

"If the Democrats are in charge, they will pack the courts and the Senate," said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). "The Republic and its institutions are now at stake, and I did not run for the Senate and put my family through a grueling campaign just to shrink from a moment like this."

Times staff writer Janet Hook contributed to this report.




The government on Monday informed the Rajya Sabha there are more than 100,000 vacancies across different Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs). In a written reply to the Upper House, minister of state (home), Nityanand Rai said majority of these vacancies are in the grade of constable.

Heres all you need to know:

 The Border Security Force (BSF) has the highest number of vacancies at 28,926, followed by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which has 26,506 vacancies, Rai said. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), meanwhile, has 23,906 vacancies, he added.

 The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) have 18,643 and 5,784 vacancies respectively, Rai further informed.

 The Assam Rifles, which is controlled by both the home and defence ministries, meanwhile, has 7,328 vacancies. It is also the oldest paramilitary force of India.

 Rai attributed vacancies in the CAPFs and Assam Rifles to resignations, retirements, deaths, new raising, creation of new posts, cadre reviews etc. He further said the government has taken expeditious steps to fill up the said vacancies.

 BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB, Assam Rifles and the elite National Security Guard (NSG) together constitute the CAPF. The nomenclature CAPF, however, is generally used for the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP and SSB only.

 Of these, BSF, ITBP and SSB are border guarding organisations. While CRPF is deployed for anti-terrorist and anti-Maoist operations, CISF guards airports and other sensitive installations.

 The CAPFs are also frequently called upon to assist the police in maintenance of law and order. Also, while each of these forces is headed by a director general (DG), their overall in-charge is the Union home minister.

 Recruitment to these forces takes place through exams organised by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), or the respective service headquarters.

 Of these, the most well-known exam is the CAPF (Assistant Commandants) exam conducted by the UPSC. It takes place just once a year.

 At present, recruitment for 60,210 constables, 2,534 sub-inspectors and 330 assistant commandants is underway, Rai informed the Rajya Sabha.

(With PTI inputs)
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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 08:13 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4610f87 1 Editorial omnibus-bill,BI-Law-revision,bank-indonesia,#Editorial,finance,financial-sector Free

The fragmentary statements made by the government over the past three weeks on plans to reform the financial sector could cause confusion in an industry already mired in high uncertainty. In late August, the Finance Ministry announced that the government was planning a general reform of the financial system through a regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) covering mainly three institutions: Bank Indonesia (BI), the Financial Services Authority (0JK) and the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS).

Then, in early September, the government and the House of Representatives suddenly announced an agreement to deliberate a bill to amend the 1999 BI Law. The House-initiated bill would, among other things, move the OJKs banking supervision powers back to BI so that the central bank would once again be in charge of all banking industry supervision. It would also expand BIs mandate to drive economic growth and give the minister of finance a bigger role in monetary policy.

But early last week, the Finance Ministry announced it was preparing an omnibus bill that would revise virtually all laws governing the whole financial sector, including bank and nonbank institutions, the capital market and the three main institutions, BI, the OJK and the LPS, in charge of financial sector stability. Prominent among the laws to be revised is the 2016 Law on the Prevention and Resolution of a Financial System Crisis (PPKSK Law).

This law clarifies the responsibilities of the agencies involved in crisis management. It also establishes a committee in charge of managing the stability of the financial sector (KSSK), which comprises the finance minister (coordinator) and the heads of BI, the OJK and the LPS.

The finance ministry explained that the PPKSK Law had to be revised because it covered risks and financial distress only in banks but not in non-bank institutions, such as insurance firms and pension funds. As it happened, three major life insurance companies are now facing financial distress due in part to fraud and various other forms of bad governance.

Our question is, what is the point of putting the 1999 BI Law amendment on top of the House legislation agenda now, while the Finance Ministry is preparing an omnibus bill to govern the whole financial sector?

After all, Law No. 2/2020 (formerly Perppu 1/2020) has significantly reformed the policy framework for the stability of the financial sector. In fact, 12 of the 29 articles in the law are devoted to strengthening the role and organization of BI, the OJK and the LPS, and this, we think, is already adequate, at least until next year, to cope with the current economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hence, the government, instead of going ahead with deliberating the central bank law amendment, should focus on completing the omnibus bill on the financial sector.

Most importantly, the omnibus bill should cover all elements of the financial sector, from the resilience and stability of the financial system to the supervision of banks, nonbanks and investment firms as well as the protection of consumers/investors and healthy competition within the industry.
Searsburg Remains Identified; Authorities Investigating as Homicide

State Police are seeking information about Jessica Hildenbrandt's whereabouts last summer.

SEARSBURG, Vt.  The remains discovered last year at gravel pit on Somerset Road have been identified as Jessica Hildenbrandt, 43, of Ballston Spa, N.Y.

Authorities said on Monday that her death is being investigated as a homicide.

Hildenbrandt, who went by the nickname "Red," spent considerable time in Vermont, especially in and around Bennington, state police reported. She was last in touch with her family in July 2019.

Someone came across a jawbone in the gravel pit on Sept. 17, 2019, and reported this to state police at the Shaftsbury barracks. The bone was taken to the chief medical examiner's office in Burlington and a search found more human remains at the site.

Detectives Lt. John-Paul Schmidt and Sgt. Samuel Truex say in their report that DNA analysis and "extensive investigation" led to the positive idenfication of Hildebrandt.

While the death has been ruled a homicide, the cause is currently undetermined.

Detectives with the State Police Criminal Division continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this death. Police do not believe there is a threat to public safety.

Anyone who might have information that could be relevant to the investigation is asked to contact Truex at 802-442-5421 or at samuel.truex@vermont.gov

Police would especially like to hear from anyone who thinks they might have seen Hildenbrandt in summer 2019.
The U.S. Department of Labor says the owner of a Smoothie King franchise in Mobile is paying back wages to seven employees who were wrongly denied emergency paid sick leave over possible coronavirus exposure.

The departments Wage and Hour Division say Tricrown Inc. has paid $918 in back wages to seven employees who took leave. Some sought medical diagnosis for suspected coronavirus infection during that time, and others followed orders to self-quarantine due to coronavirus exposure at the workplace.

Investigators say Tricrown Inc. violated Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. After the division contacted Tricrown, the employer agreed to pay the back wages and comply, the department said.

The U.S. Department of Labor is protecting the American workforce during the coronavirus pandemic by ensuring employers comply with all of the requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Juan Coria said.

For more information on the provisions, click here.
We are honored to be a part of the Atlanta community. We exist to serve and recognize that our business is dependent on and an integral part of the communities in which we live.

The Pedowitz Group (TPG), an Atlanta digital revenue consulting firm, is launching an internship program to help underserved youth succeed in digital marketing careers. The six-month program for Covenants homeless and underserved youth gives them exposure to professionalism in a corporate environment as well as preparation for highly sought industry certification exams. TPG joins other job training programs from companies such as Accenture to set these youth on the path to lead the field in revenue marketing.

Jeff Pedowitz, President and CEO said We are honored to be a part of the Atlanta community. We exist to serve and recognize that our business is dependent on and an integral part of the communities in which we live. We want to provide youth who are full of promise and ambition but lacking in exposure to marketing and digital career opportunities.

The program will provide training in CRM, MarTech, marketing, search engine optimization, analytics and project management. The first intern class started this month and will work at TPGs corporate office in Milton as well as online.

About The Pedowitz Group:

Headquartered near Atlanta, Georgia, The Pedowitz Group (TPG) is a Revenue Marketing consulting firm that believes marketing drives customer engagement and fuels revenue. The professionals at TPG have expertise in MarTech (CRM, Content Platforms, Marketing Automation, and more) to enhance revenue at financial and business services, manufacturing, software, and technology companies in the mid-market and enterprise space.

With more than 1,500 satisfied clients, TPG works in partnership with each client to create optimized revenue engines with tailored services designed to Get, Keep, and Grow their customers. For more information, please visit The Pedowitz Group at https://www.pedowitzgroup.com/

About Covenant House

Covenant House Georgia is a subsidiary of Covenant House International, the largest, privately funded nonprofit service organization serving young people experiencing homelessness and escaping trafficking in the Americas. Covenant House Georgia has been providing food, shelter, counseling, education, and workforce development to homeless, runaway, and trafficked youth in the Greater Atlanta area since 2000. Last year they served over 1800 young people through their services. For more information on special events, accomplishments, services and volunteer opportunities, please visit Covenant House Georgia's website at http://www.CovenantHouseGA.org or contact us at 404.589.0163.
Jessica Mulroney has again hit back at rumours that she and Meghan Markle are no longer close by claiming the wife of Prince Harry is the 'kindest friend' who has 'checked up on me every day'.

The stylist, 40, from Toronto, made the claim in an Instagram post, three weeks after she deleted a throwback snap of one of her twin sons at Meghan Markle's wedding.

It was claimed in August that the Duchess of Sussex was reported to have cut ties with Jessica after black influencer Sasha Exeter accused her of 'threatening her livelihood' after 'taking offence' at a Black Lives Matter video posted by the online star.

But in a new post, which was published on her Instagram story at the weekend, Jessica wrote: 'I'm going to tell this once and for all. Meghan and I are family.

Jessica Mulroney has again hit back at rumours that she and Meghan Markle are no longer close by claiming the wife of Prince Harry is the 'kindest friend' who has 'checked up on me everyday'

The stylist, 40, from Toronto, made the claim in an Instagram post, just over two weeks after she deleted a throwback snap of one of her twin sons at Meghan Markle's wedding

'She is the kindest friend and has checked up on me everyday. Tabloid culture is atrocious. It creates lies and hurtful storylines. Stop feeding into it. Done.'

Although her Instagram account has been set to private, the post was re-published by people.com.

Because she has set her account to private, only Jessica's approved followers can read her posts.

The new post comes after Jessica deleted an Instagram photo earlier this month of one of her twin sons, Brian, at Meghan Markle's wedding.

Jessica Mulroney shared a snap of one of her twin sons, Brian, at Meghan Markle's, 39, wedding at the beginning of this month, but deleted the snap the following week

The post was thought to be to be a further attempt from Jessica to show she remains good friends with the former actress - who now lives with Prince Harry, 35, in Santa Barbara.

Jessica and Meghan, 39, have been close friends for years, with the stylist's daughter a bridesmaid and Brian and his twin John serving as page boys at the Duchess's wedding to Prince Harry.

But the mysterious disappearance of the photo from her Instagram page added fuel to the fire of rumours of a rift between the pair.

Jessica then took to Instagram once again a week later to reveal that she sometimes deletes Instagram posts because she's 'tired' of looking at the amount of 'bullying and hatred' she's had to put up with for three years.

The recent post read: 'People often ask why I delete certain posts. The amount of bullying and hatred I've had to put up with for three years...I'm tired of looking at it. Be kind. Be gracious.

'We are grown ups...stop acting like teenagers. Real women don't put down other women.'

Mother-of-three Jessica returned to the social media platform on August 11 following a two-month break after the public rift with Sasha Exeter.

It was claimed in August that the Duchess of Sussex was reported to have cut ties with Jessica after black influencer Sasha Exeter (left) accused her of 'threatening her livelihood' after 'taking offence' at a Black Lives Matter video posted by the online star

A source told DailyMail.com at the time that Meghan was left 'mortified' by the scandal and informed her close friends she felt she could 'no longer be associated' with Jessica.

'Meghan is absolutely mortified that she's been dragged into this complete mess. She said Jessica is in no way a racist, but the way she handled the situation [with Sasha] was tone-deaf and heartbreaking,' a close friend of Meghan's said at the time.

'Meghan said friends reflect friends and because of what's at stake she can no longer be associated with Jessica, at least not in public.

'She has to do what she has to do in order to preserve her dignity and her own reputation,' the source added, admitting that they 'wouldn't be surprised' if the controversy was the 'beginning of the end of their friendship'.

But earlier this month Jessica shut down the rumours, branding a commenter's suggestion on one of her posts that she had been 'dumped' by Meghan 'fake news'.
The Emmy Awards Sunday night addressed the major U.S. issues this year  including the protests on systemic racism and police brutality, the wildfires engulfing parts of the West Coast, the census, the pandemic, essential works and the election.

Why it matters: Award shows have always addressed wider cultural issues, but this year  amid unprecedented stress and uncertainty  that trend has accelerated.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

Details: The 72nd awards opened with host Jimmy Kimmel acknowledging that few events in the virtual world ever go as planned.

In his opening monologue, Kimmel walked up to a floor-to-ceiling screen featuring hundreds of live feeds from the homes of Emmys nominees, and remarked "What could possibly go right?"

Award presenters had scripted moments designed to acknowledged different issues.

Jennifer Aniston put out a live fire of an envelope burning on stage, paying tryibute to the difficult job of firefighters trying to contain the wildfires spreading in the Pacific NorthWest.

Black-ish actress Tracee Ellis Ross told viewers to "Stay safe, make a plan for voting, and goodnight!" while announcing an award at the top of the show.

Actor Jason Sudeikis was interrupted during his on-stage award announcement by a nurse administering a COVID test through his nose. .

The Canadian drama, Schitt's Creek, was awarded all four of the top acting Emmys, for the first time in the show's 72-year history, proving the power of comedy during a distressing year for Americans.

The show, which is available to Americans on Netflix, also swept all 7 comedy categories.

The big picture: The show also paid tribute to reckoning throughout America and Hollywood around systemic racism. Black women were frequently acknowledged throughout the night.

Awards recipients like Regina King and Uzo Aduba wore memorabilia commemorating the late death of Breonna Taylor, the young Black woman who was fatally shot by police officers in Louisville this summer, in their virtual acceptance speeches.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who stars in HBO's Watchemn, dedicated his Emmy to "all the Black women in my life."

What's next: Like most award shows, the Emmys has seen ratings decline for the past few years, as more people get rid of their satellite and cable television subscriptions. The pandemic is expected to exacerbate that trend. Preliminary ratings will be out Monday.

Go deeper: The full list of 2020 Emmy Awards winners
Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/21/2020 -- A new business intelligence report released by HTF MI with title "Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market Insights 2020 by Top Regions, Top Manufacturers, Type and Application" is designed covering micro level of analysis by manufacturers and key business segments. The Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market survey analysis offers energetic visions to conclude and study market size, market hopes, and competitive surroundings. The research is derived through primary and secondary statistics sources and it comprises both qualitative and quantitative detailing. Some of the key players profiled in the study are Aeronautics, DJI, AeroVironment, Airbus Group, Boeing, Elbit Systems, Finmeccanica, Israel Aerospace Industries, Lockheed Martin, Textron Systems, Xi'an Aisheng Technology Group, Ehang, HobbyKing, Horizon Hobby.



What's keeping Aeronautics, DJI, AeroVironment, Airbus Group, Boeing, Elbit Systems, Finmeccanica, Israel Aerospace Industries, Lockheed Martin, Textron Systems, Xi'an Aisheng Technology Group, Ehang, HobbyKing, Horizon Hobby Ahead in the Market? Benchmark yourself with the strategic moves and findings recently released by HTF MI



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Market Overview of Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

If you are involved in the Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles industry or aim to be, then this study will provide you inclusive point of view. It's vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Applications [Aerial Imaging, Aerial Games, Others], Product Types [Helicopters, Multi-Rotors, Quadcopters] and major players. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.



This study mainly helps understand which market segments or Region or Country they should focus in coming years to channelize their efforts and investments to maximize growth and profitability. The report presents the market competitive landscape and a consistent in depth analysis of the major vendor/key players in the market along with impact of economic slowdown due to COVID.



Furthermore, the years considered for the study are as follows:

Historical year  2014-2019

Base year  2019

Forecast period**  2020 to 2026 [** unless otherwise stated]



**Moreover, it will also include the opportunities available in micro markets for stakeholders to invest, detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product services of key players.



Enquire for customization in Report @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/2838662-global-small-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-market-15



The titled segments and sub-section of the market are illuminated below:

The Study Explore the Product Types of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market: Helicopters, Multi-Rotors, Quadcopters



Key Applications/end-users of Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market: Aerial Imaging, Aerial Games, Others



Top Players in the Market are: Aeronautics, DJI, AeroVironment, Airbus Group, Boeing, Elbit Systems, Finmeccanica, Israel Aerospace Industries, Lockheed Martin, Textron Systems, Xi'an Aisheng Technology Group, Ehang, HobbyKing, Horizon Hobby



Region Included are: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific etc



Important Features that are under offering & key highlights of the report:

 Detailed overview of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles market

 Changing market dynamics of the industry

 In-depth market segmentation by Type, Application etc

 Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value

 Recent industry trends and developments

 Competitive landscape of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles market

 Strategies of key players and product offerings

 Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth

 A neutral perspective towards Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles market performance

 Market players information to sustain and enhance their footprint



Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/2838662-global-small-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-market-15



Major Highlights of TOC:

Chapter One: Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market Industry Overview

1.1 Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Industry

1.1.1 Overview

1.1.2 Products of Major Companies

1.2 Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market Segment

1.2.1 Industry Chain

1.2.2 Consumer Distribution

1.3 Price & Cost Overview



Chapter Two: Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market Demand

2.1 Segment Overview

2.1.1 APPLICATION 1

2.1.2 APPLICATION 2

2.1.3 Other

2.2 Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market Size by Demand

2.3 Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market Forecast by Demand



Chapter Three: Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market by Type

3.1 By Type

3.1.1 TYPE 1

3.1.2 TYPE 2

3.2 Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market Size by Type

3.3 Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market Forecast by Type



Chapter Four: Major Region of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market

4.1 Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Sales

4.2 Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Revenue & market share



Chapter Five: Major Companies List



Chapter Six: Conclusion



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Key questions answered

- What impact does COVID-19 have made on Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market Growth & Sizing?

- Who are the Leading key players and what are their Key Business plans in the Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles market?

- What are the key concerns of the five forces analysis of the Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles market?

- What are different prospects and threats faced by the dealers in the Global Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles market?

- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?



Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.



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CLEVELAND, Ohio  Its 2020, and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman doesnt want to wait on nominating a candidate for the Supreme Court.

You can listen online here.

Portman wasnt in such a hurry in 2016 after Justice Antonin Scalia died and Barack Obama, a Democrat, was president. But with Republican Donald Trump as president, Portman says hes looking forward to the nomination of a candidate to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday. In Cleveland, it appears police underestimated how many people would show up for demonstrations over the death of George Floyd in May, leaving law-enforcement understaffed. And trade show organizers are trying to figure out how to hold events as the pandemic continues.

Hear these stories and more in todays podcast.

The podcast is a summary of cleveland.coms morning newsletter The Wake Up. You can receive The Wake Up through email at 5:30 a.m. each weekday by subscribing here.

You can get our podcasts delivered directly to your phone, and we have an Apple podcasts channel exclusively for this podcast. Subscribe here.

Do you get your podcasts on Spotify? Find us here.

If you use Stitcher, we are here.

RadioPublic is another popular podcast vehicle, and we are here.

On Google Podcasts, we are here.

On PodParadise, find us here.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission would take a decision in the next few days to visit Bihar where elections are likely to be held later this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said on Monday.

Addressing an international webinar on "issues, challenges and protocols for conducting elections during COVID-19: sharing country experiences", Arora said the Commission would take a decision within the "next two to three days" on visiting Bihar.

The Commission, which includes the CEC and two fellow commissioners, usually visit poll-bound states to interact with various stakeholders like police, civic authorities and political parties ahead of announcing poll schedule.

According to a statement issued by the poll panel, Arora explained the impact of COVID-19 on the election.

He highlighted how coronavirus exigencies and social distancing measures necessitated a revisit of the EC's existing instructions.

The maximum number of electors at a polling station was reduced from 1,500 to 1,000, and consequently, the number of polling stations jumped by 40 per cent, from 65,000 to 100,000.

These changes have huge logistics and manpower implications, he pointed out.

The CEC also observed that the poll watchdog has placed a lot of emphasis on extending facilitation to senior citizens, women, persons with disabilities and in current circumstances, ensuring franchise to COVID-19 positive voters and those in quarantine.

In this context, he told the gathering how, beginning with the elections to the legislative assembly of Jharkhand in November-December 2019, and elections to the legislative assembly of Delhi in February this year, the postal ballot facility was extended to voters who are aged more than 80 years, persons with disability and those engaged in specified essential services.

This facility of postal ballot has been extended to COVID-19 positive electors who are in quarantine or are hospitalised.

Earlier this month, the Election Commission had said it has decided to hold 65 pending by-elections and the Bihar assembly polls "around the same time".

There are 64 vacancies in the legislative assemblies of various states and one in Lok Sabha.

The term of the 243-member Bihar assembly ends on November 29 and elections are likely to be held sometime in October-November.
An Indian woman separates grain from the husk in a paddy field in Mayong village on the outskirts of Gauhati, India on June 13, 2018. (Anupam Nath/AP)

Indian Lawmakers Pass Farm Bills Amid Uproar in Parliament

NEW DELHIAmid an uproar in Parliament, Indian lawmakers on Sept. 20 approved a pair of controversial agriculture bills that the government says will boost growth in the farming sector through private investments.

The two bills were approved even though most opposition parties and some allies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi called them anti-farmer.

The legislation is aimed at reforming Indias deeply stressed farming sector and will give farmers the freedom to market their produce, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said while tabling the proposed laws in the upper house of Parliament. The bills are also aimed at removing middlemen from the farm trade and making farming market-oriented, the government has said.

The upper house passed two out of three bills amid a war of words between ruling lawmakers and those opposing the legislation. The third bill, intended to be part of the farm liberalization plan, couldnt be taken up because the upper house adjourned for the day amid chaotic scenes, with opposition lawmakers tearing documents and shouting slogans against the bills.

The lower house had approved all three bills on Sept. 17. The passed bills will have to be signed by Indias ceremonial president, a formality before becoming law.

On Sept. 17, Shiromani Akali Dal party lawmaker Harsimrat Kaur resigned as minister for food processing in protest against the bills. The party is one of the Modi governments most trusted allies.

Tomar sought to allay critics of the legislation by saying that the governments market intervention policy to procure agriculture crops from farmers will continue. The policy insures farmers against any sharp fall in prices of their agricultural produce.

However, the opposition leaders launched scathing attacks on the government, calling the legislation black law and pro-corporate.

Rahul Gandhi, a top leader of the main opposition Congress party, said in a tweet on Sept. 20 that Modi is making farmers slaves of the capitalists, which the country will never allow to succeed.

The government has projected that its massive support plans in the agriculture sector will double farmers income by 2022.

The critics say the bills create an undemocratic mechanism by which bureaucrats become arbitrators to settle any contract disputes between farmers and buyers, rather than civil courts. They also say that in the absence of better infrastructure such as climate-controlled storage facilities, proper roads, and reliable irrigation and power supply, removing middlemen will not be helpful to the farming sector.

Participating in the Parliament debate, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, now a lawmaker, asked Modi to explain the short- and long-term impacts of the bills on farmers.

The prime minister should explain why theres a hurry to pass the bills amid the pandemic, he said. Modi should explain how it will help in achieving the governments goal of doubling farmers income.

Farmers have long been seen as the heart and soul of India, where agriculture supports more than half of the countrys 1.4 billion people. But farmers have also seen their economic clout diminish over the last three decades. Once accounting for a third of Indias gross domestic product, farmers now account for only 15 percent of the countrys $2.9 trillion economies.

Indias farmers, often complaining about being ignored, hold frequent protests to demand better crop prices, more loan waivers, and even water delivery systems to guarantee irrigation during dry spells. Sometimes they stage sit-ins or dump truckloads of vegetables onto highways to disrupt traffic. Several protests by farmers were reported against the bills in northern India on Sept. 20.

More than half of Indias farmers are in debt, with 20,638 killing themselves in 2018 and 2019, according to Indias National Crime Records Bureau.

Many factors are believed to contribute to farmer suicides, including poor crop yields, financial devastation or debt, and a lack of community support.
The school board in National City voted unanimously last week to extend the contract of Superintendent Leighangela Brady, through June 2021, and authorize a pay raise for both administrators and teachers.

Brady will receive a 2.5 percent raise  retroactive to July 1  that will bump her annual salary to $205,360. She also will receive a monthly $275 allowance for mileage expenses.

It is the second raise for Brady since she was given a three-year contract in August 2016. Trustees approved a 1.7 percent pay increase in April 2017.

The most recent raise, approved Oct. 10, comes on the heels of what National School District administrators described as a successful evaluation of Brady. The district did not release details of the evaluation, which covered the 2017-18 school year.

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Bradys amended contract also includes a second 2.5 percent raise next July, subject to a positive evaluation for the current school year.

Brady said she was thrilled to have the boards support and sees room for growth.

Im so proud of our students and the advancements theyve made over the past three years, and am grateful for our exceptional, dedicated teaching staff, she said in a statement. I am looking forward to launching new initiatives throughout the district, including innovative programs and learning spaces.

During the Oct. 10 meeting, trustees also approved a 6 percent raise retroactive to July 1 and another 6 percent raise next July for assistant superintendents: Christopher Carson of the Business Services department, Leticia Hernandez of the Human Resources department and Sharmila Kraft of the Educational Services department.

The increase sets their annual salaries at $166,770, a figure that will jump to $176,780 after the second raise next July.

Trustees also approved a three-year contract between the district and the teachers union. The agreement includes raises of up to 4 percent retroactive to Oct. 1  under changes to the pay scale  and a 2 percent raise for the 2019-20 school year. The salary increases cover teachers, psychologists, speech language pathologists and counselors.

The contract with the National City Elementary Teachers Association was reached on Sept. 18 after seven rounds of negotiations in recent months.

Union President Christina Benson said members are very pleased with the negotiated contract.

We do agree that job salaries and pay should be comparable to surrounding school districts, she said, speaking in general terms about the pay raises the board approved last week.

However, she said she took issue with what she described as a lack of communication between the board and the teachers union over the raises for administrators. She said she was unaware trustees were considering the raises until the boards agenda was released.

Meanwhile, at the Oct. 10 meeting, trustees tabled a contract with the California School Employees Association for non-teaching employees. The move is intended to give the union time to vote on the tentative agreement, which includes a 4 percent raise retroactive to Sept. 18 and a 2 percent raise for the 2019-20 school year. The school board will consider the contract on Oct. 24.

The National School District serves about 5,600 students at 11 elementary schools and a preschool.

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
New Delhi, Sep 21 : HDFC Bank has denied the allegations in a class action suit in the US and said it intends to defend itself vigorously in the lawsuit.

The Bank expects its response to the lawsuit to be due in early 2021, HDFC Bank said in a regulatory filing.

HDFC Bank was clarifying media reports related to filing of class action claims by certain US law firms against the Bank.

"In this regard, we wish to inform you that the Bank is aware of a complaint that was recently filed against the Bank and its three employees in the United States. The lawsuit, which was filed by a single small security holder who seeks to represent a class of the Bank's security holders, is based on allegations that the security holder claims caused a temporary decline in the Bank's ADR stock price in July 2020," HDFC Bank said.

The Bank denies the allegations and intends to defend itself vigorously in the lawsuit. The Bank expects its response to the lawsuit to be due in early 2021.

"Since the lawsuit is at a premature stage, there is no matter at this point of time which requires disclosure as per Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015," the bank said in a statement.
Through its UK subsidiary, HDHL Holdings

GOCL Corporation, through its UK subsidiary, namely HGHL Holdings (HGHL), has beneficial interest in 4,27,395 shares of Common Stock of Quaker Chemical Corporation / Quaker Houghton, USA.

The Board of Directors of HGHL at its meeting held on 18 September 2020 has decided to divest 2,00,000 shares of Quaker Houghton, at a price of $175 per share. The total value of the divestment will be USD 35 million (approx. Rs.257 crore @ USD 1 to Rs. 73.44) when completed. There will be no tax implication on HGHL under the transaction.

The Company's investment in HGHL is GBP 1,00,000.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Papua New Guinea parliament repeals death penalty law

TikTok starts testing paid subscriptions

Israeli fighter jets, refueling planes hold massive drills aimed at Tehran

France announces gradual lifting of coronavirus restrictions

Fountains in Athens' central square illuminated with Armenian tricolor

Austria approves Europe's first mandatory COVID-19 vaccination mandate

World War II aircraft crashed in India found after 77 years

Armenian Parliament Deputy Speaker meets EU delegation

Deputy Speaker of Armenian parliament meets Russian Ambassador to Armenia

Germany won't pay compensation if Nord Stream 2 doesn't comply with German, EU laws

NEWS.am digest: EU special rep. is in Armenia, Roma's Mkhitaryan turns 33 today

Child injured in Artsakh car accident taken to Yerevan by Russian peacekeepers' helicopter

Taiwanese woman faces death penalty for setting island's deadliest fire

Turkey passes law to exempt converted lira deposits from corporate tax

Blinken says he discussed Iran nuclear deal with Lavrov

Erdogan says Turkey has peaceful relations with Russia like never before

New German government wants to attract 400,000 skilled workers from abroad every year

Israeli Attorney General orders to investigate police allegations of spyware

Blinken: Any Russian invasion of Ukraine will be met with swift response

Candidate: Ombudsmans institution is one of few established institutions in Armenia

Lavrov summarizes the results of talks with Blinken

UN agrees on definition of Holocaust denial

Lavrov and Blinken talks kick off in Geneva

Australian FM says issue of sending direct military aid to Ukraine is not considered

Armenia PM receives EU delegation, need for full operation of Karabakh peace process is stressed

Armenia National Assembly debating on new ombudspersons candidacy

Katherine Tai: The world can't go back to the 2019 trading system

Dollar gains value in Armenia

Armenia legislature told hold secret ballot to elect TV and radio commission new members

NATO intends to hold largest military exercises beyond Arctic Circle in early March

7 new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

'Zangezur corridor' will unite Turkic world, says Azerbaijan presidential office official

Armenia FM highlights need for full resumption of Karabakh peace talks

Armenia ex-defense minister: In our time it was shame to immediately turn to CSTO in case of Azerbaijan provocations

UN General Assembly head calls for peace during Beijing Olympics

Armenia Tourism Committee has new chairperson

Russian MFA: Priority today is to start Azerbaijan-Armenia border delimitation, demarcation process

Parliament passes, in first reading, bill restricting gambling advertising in Armenia

UK considering sending hundreds of additional troops to Ukraine's neighbors

Warships of Russia, Iran and China work out counteraction to maritime piracy

Armenia first deputy minister of justice dismissed

Israeli defense minister tests positive for COVID-19

Karabakh conflict resumption likelihood is moderate, its impact on US interests is low, report says

Antonio Guterres thinks Russia will not invade Ukraine

Azerbaijan ambassador to Russia hastens to sweeten the sediment of statement by US embassy in Baku

IS fighters attack army barracks in mountainous area north of Baghdad, killing 11 soldiers

Thomas de Waal: Will Armenia and Turkey be able to normalize relations after 3rd attempt?

Armenia Security Council secretary, visiting EU delegation discuss situation on border with Azerbaijan

Foreign ministers of Israel and Turkey have talk for 1st time in 13 years

Fly Arna shareholders appoint companys Board of Directors

628 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

CSTO chief: Necessary to work on Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation, demarcation

FBI search congressman's home in connection with Azerbaijan probe

Newspaper: Armenia PM again goes way of black and white

Newspaper: Scenario devised after war to be implemented in Artsakh

EU Special Representative for South Caucasus arrives in Armenia

Quake hits Armenia: 28 km northwest of Jermuk

Crete island lighthouse illuminated with colors of Armenian tricolor

Aurora Humanitarian Initiative to allocate $500,000 to projects in Artsakh

Sajid Javid: Britain must learn to live with COVID-19, it could be with us forever

Erdogan suggests Putin and Zelensky meet face to face

EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus meets Aliyev

US imposes sanctions on Ukrainians related to 'Russian harmful foreign activities'

Sabah: Ankara refuses to hold next Armenian-Turkish meeting in a third country

US general discusses regional security and bilateral cooperation in Armenia

Secret graves of alleged protesters discovered in Almaty

Armenian side members to Armenian-American Intergovernmental Commission confirmed

WHO advises countries to lift or ease international travel restrictions

US sanctions against Vladimir Putin, Ruben Vardanian and members of the Russian government

Armenian Foreign Ministry discusses Mirzoyan's participation in Turkey forum

Thailand to resume non-quarantine travel scheme from February 1

Instagram introduces paid subscription feature

NEWS.am daily digest: 20.01.22

Europe considers new strategy to combat COVID-19

Norwegian prosecutors refuse release Anders Breivik, 2011 mass murderer

Erdogan urges Turks to sell foreign currency for liras

Azerbaijan not yet returned about 300 sheep of Armenia villager

Media: Israeli President thinks about visiting Turkey

Dollar quite stable in Armenia

Trade turnover between Ukraine and Armenia increases by 24%

Armenia legislature speaker meets with of International Republican Institute president, and director for Eurasia

Kremlin does not exclude new call between Putin and Biden

EU Special Representative for South Caucasus to soon visit Armenia, Azerbaijan

State Duma discusses work of biolaboratories near Russia's borders

US lawmakers to parliament speaker: Armenian POWs must be returned to their homeland immediately

Security Council chief: Armenia expects OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to visit region

Armenia government does not approve plan to considerably raise minimum wage

Turkish FM: Armenian representatives invited to diplomatic forum in Antalya

Twitter suspends Mexican billionaire's account over offensive behavior

Armenian PM says Omicron strain is slowly spreading

Azerbaijan says it supports launching border delimitation process with Armenia with no conditions

Zakharova speaks on Aliyev's visit to Kyiv

Zakharova does not comment on Azerbaijan president's threats against France presidential candidate for her Artsakh visit

Cavusoglu: Steps to increase mutual trust will be discussed at next meeting with Armenia

US gives go-ahead to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to send missiles and other American-made weapons to Ukraine

Zakharova: Russia, as OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair, supports continuation of work in this format

Cyber attack on Red Cross: data of over 515,000 people compromised

Pashinyan: UK has been strong partner of newly independent Armenia

Israel hopes UN will unanimously condemn Holocaust denial

Armenia, Ukraine depositories sign memorandum of cooperation
Megachurch pastor John MacArthur has shrugged off threats of prison time over his refusal to comply with Covid church closure orders.

MacArthur told Fox News he had received a letter warning he faces up to six months in jail if Grace Community Church continues to hold indoor services.

A California court last week banned Grace Community Church, in Sun Valley, from holding indoor services, although outdoor services were permitted to continue so long as social distancing and other Covid regulations are observed.

Grace Community Church ignored the court order by holding an indoor worship service last Sunday.

In his interview with Fox's Laura Ingraham, MacArthur was defiant and said he would open a "jail ministry" if he ends up behind bars.

"Of course, my biblical hero apart from the Lord Jesus Christ is the Apostle Paul," he said.

"And when he went into a town he didn't ask what the hotel was like. He asked what the jail was like because he knew that's where he was going to spend his time.

"So I don't mind being a little apostolic  if they want to tuck me into jail, I'm open for a jail ministry. I've done a lot of other ministries and haven't had the opportunity to do that one. So bring it on."

Reposted with permission from Christian Today
ALTON  The YWCA of Alton and the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans will host a Zoom discussion at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, on Illinois graduated tax amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot.

To participate people should register at https://forms.gle/HBCNgrYruJNJ1D7h6. Details of how to connect will be e-mailed to you. Be sure to register early for this event.
"NBB's annual Vehicle Branding Program is a great way to increase awareness of biodiesel's benefits as these vehicles log thousands of miles throughout the country," said Kaleb Little, NBB director of communications. "This year's winners are featuring NBB's new tagline, "Better, Cleaner, Now" which tells the biodiesel story simply. Biodiesel is better and cleaner than petroleum diesel -- with proven environmental, health and economic benefits - and is ready to use now."

The eight biodiesel users who received matching funds in 2020 are showcased below.

Ag Energy Transport, is a prime example of the circular economy, delivering feedstock to biodiesel producers while powering its own fleet with biodiesel. The company decaled twelve tanker trailers with NBB's "Better, Cleaner, Now" logo as well those of fuel supplier W2 Fuels and customer HERO BX. The Michigan-based company travels approximately one million miles per year throughout states from east of the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean.

D.C. Department of Public Works (DPW) branded 22 refuse trucks highlighting their use of 100 percent biodiesel (B100) in these vehicles operating in the nation's capital. DPW installed a biodiesel engine upgrade developed by Optimus Technologies for medium- and heavy-duty truck fleets which allows the use of B100. Since installing the system, DPW has reduced emissions by over 75 percent and lowered fuel costs. The rest of the DPW diesel fleet runs on B20.

City of Fort Wayne, Ind. stickered its fleet of more than 550 diesel vehicles and equipment -- including dump trucks and construction equipment -- with biodiesel branding. The City has used B20 since 2004 to help meet its emissions reduction goals with a readily available fuel.

G&D Integrated, a specialized provider of transportation and logistics services based in Morton, Ill. and an inaugural member of the Illinois B20 Club, wrapped three van trailers. G&D operates more than 400 vehicles on blends up to B20 year-round. Their fleet travels millions of miles across the Midwest each year, including to Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, the Quad Cities, St. Louis, and more.

City of Grand Forks, N.D., switched to B20 in Cities Area Transit (CAT) buses in the summer of 2020. The City is sharing this news with a full wrap on one bus as well as additional biodiesel branding on the back of three other buses and in bus interiors. The total reach of these four buses is over 80,000 miles. The North Dakota Soybean Council is a partner in these branding efforts.

Renewable Biofuels, owns and operates a BQ9000 certified, multi-feedstock Port Neches, Texas facility - the largest biodiesel production facility in North America. RBF has been serving wholesale biodiesel customers for more than 10 years, delivering high-quality biodiesel. The company's fully wrapped Dodge RAM 2500 travels in and around the biodiesel production facility in the heart of Texas oil country.

Valley Pacific Petroleum, a California-based fuel marketer, wrapped two tanker trucks that deliver biodiesel throughout the state. Since 1947, Valley Pacific has been supplying high-quality fuels and lubricants in California. Today the family-owned company is one of the state's largest fuel marketers and powers its own fleet with B20 as well!

Evergreen Grease Services collects used cooking oil from restaurants in Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio which is used to make biodiesel. The Michigan-based company branded six biodiesel-powered vacuum trailers to share the "Better, Cleaner, Now" message and highlight their use of B20.

Made from an increasingly diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats, biodiesel and renewable diesel are better, cleaner fuels that are available now for use in existing diesel engines without modification. NBB is the U.S. trade association representing the entire biodiesel and renewable diesel value chain, including producers, feedstock suppliers, and fuel distributors. NBB is funded in part by the United Soybean Board and state soybean board checkoff programs.

For more about biodiesel, visit www.biodiesel.org

SOURCE National Biodiesel Board

Related Links

https://www.biodiesel.org


- President Uhuru Kenyatta cautioned leaders against politicising development since it is what Kenyans needed from them

- Uhuru said leaders should bring people together instead of tearing them apart along the lines of ethnicity

- The president also said the expansion of Mombasa port had increased its performance by 15 million tonnes from 20 million in 2013

President Uhuru Kenyatta has rebuked leaders going around the country preaching hate and division in the nation instead of putting their energies in service delivery.

Uhuru said leadership was about bringing people together and not tearing them apart reiterating Kenyans need development and not empty political rhetoric.

READ ALSO: Uhuru extends COVID-19 containment measures until next address

President Uhuru asked leaders to desist from divisive language. Photo: State House.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: We want William Ruto's wheelbarrows, you can keep your money, Nyanza youth tell Raila Odinga

Speaking during his second day of tour in the Coast region, the head of state warned politicians against politicising development and said leaders obsessed with politics should hold their horses until election period.

READ ALSO: Woman tearfully professes love for Diamond, says beautiful girls are playing with musician's heart

"It is good to desire leadership, but leadership must be about bringing people together. People should come together, love each other and walk the same journey because leadership belongs to the people," Uhuru said.

The head of state said the ongoing expansion of Mombasa port and the supporting infrastructure had grown its performance by approximately 15 million tonnes from 20 million in 2013.

"I am telling the people saying the president has moved the port to Naivasha. When I took over the leadership, this port of Mombasa could only handle 20 million tonnes per year," he said.

The head of state has been in Mombasa to inspect various projects in the region.

One of the highlights in his tour was when he met a young journalist who could not control himself after meeting him.

READ ALSO: Pumwani: Woman who gave birth outside hospital recalls experience: "It was painful in front of people"

The upcoming journalist who just started his own TV channel lacked words to express himself when the president honoured his request for an interview.

In a video clip that surfaced online on Sunday, September 20, evening, the MK TV reporter was overcome with excitement and repeatedly thanked the head of state for finding time for his channel and most importantly promising to support him.

He broke down while at it leaving netizens divided.

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

My neighbour ruined my daughters life | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Actor John Abraham has unveiled a new poster for his upcoming film, Satyameva Jayate 2. Like many of his recent films, he proudly wears his nationalistic colours here, too.

Sharing it, he wrote: Jis desh ki maiyya Ganga hai, wahan khoon bhi Tiranga hai! #SatyamevaJayate2 in cinemas on 12th May, EID 2021 (In the land where mother Ganga flows, even blood is coloured in the shades of the tricolour).

The poster shows John in a rustic avatar, with a plough in hand. The colours of the Indian Tricolour ooze out of the wounds on his body. The film will be released in May, 2021.

The film, which is a sequel to 2018s Satyameva Jayate, will now be set in Lucknow and not Mumbai, as earlier conceived by its makers. Talking about the decision, producer Madhu Bhojwani had told Mid-Day, We had earlier conceived it as a film that could have been shot in Mumbai. But as the story developed, we [realised] it lends itself beautifully to Lucknow. It was a creative decision.

Also read: Anurag Kashyap says Parineeti Chopra rejected Hasee Toh Phasee with Sushant Singh Rajput: She didnt want to work with a TV actor

The film was to earlier start shooting in April for an October release, but the pandemic has changed everything. Speaking about the film, John had earlier said: I genuinely enjoyed the story and telling of the original film. I could tell it was a story that the audience will find engaging. With Satyameva Jayate 2, the aim, once again, is to entertain the audience with a story thats relevant in todays times.

The film also stars Divya Khosla Kumar, Manoj Bajpayee and Amyra Dastur. In October last year, two other posters for the film, featuring John and Divya, had been unveiled by the makers. Sharing his poster, John had written: The truth prevails AGAIN!! Returning next Gandhi Jayanti, October 2nd 2020 - #SatyamevaJayate2. In the poster, the actor is tearing off his cop uniform to reveal the Indian national flag on his chest.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Andy McCarthy points to a wrinkle that seems to diminish the likelihood the Senate will confirm President Trumps selection to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in the event that Joe Biden wins the election. Right now, Republicans hold the Senate by a 53-47 margin. This means that a nominee can be confirmed even if three GOP Senators refuse to go along. Barring exceptional circumstances, there would have to be four defectors to defeat the nomination.

However, one member of the GOP majority, Martha McSally, holds her seat by virtue of being appointed to replace John McCain. Under the rules, if McSally loses her election, she could be replaced before the end of November.

McSally is likely to lose. She trails Democrat Mark Kelly by 6 to 7 points in the poll averages. Kelly, a former astronaut, is the husband of shooting victim Gabby Giffords.

If McSally loses, once she is replaced three GOP defectors would be enough to defeat the nomination. Sens. Collins and Murkowski are virtually certain to defect. I doubt that all other Republican Senators would vote to confirm if Trump is a lame duck.

Mitt Romney, for one, might well vote against the nominee. Right now, his defection wouldnt sink her. With McSally replaced by Kelly, it would.

Thus, unless Trump defeats Biden (or McSally pulls out a victory), the windows for confirming a nominee probably are only (1) before the election or (2) in the few weeks just afterwards. The calendar plus the electoral concerns of endangered incumbents like Cory Gardner conspire against confirmation pre-election. The optics of a lame duck Senate rushing to confirm the nominee of a lame duck president might well deter Republicans from acting in the few weeks following the election.

During that period, we might not know who will be declared the winner of the presidential race. Such uncertainty probably wouldnt help in a confirmation struggle.

Kelly wont be seated until the outcome of the Arizona race is known. However, Kellys margin may be such that we will know early in November that he won.

The bottom line, I think, is that Trump is probably going to have to be reelected to have his third Supreme Court nominee confirmed. For conservatives, there is little, if any, consolation in the fact that it would be quite unusual for a one term president to put three Justices on the Supreme Court.

UPDATE: A reader says Im missing the fact that any GOP Senator who isnt fully on board with confirming the nominee will have no future in Republican politics. It wouldnt be the first time I missed something.

However, after the election, some of these Senators are going to be focused on a future at a D.C. law firm or in corporate America, not a future in politics. They will be concerned with how the D.C. establishment and maybe their kids and the mainstream media regard them  not with how the Republican base does. Recall how Jeff Flake behaved once he realized his political future was over.

Before the election, a vote on the nominee will be a lose-lose proposition for some GOP incumbents facing a difficult election. Vote no, and lose conservative support. Vote yes, and lose the support of swing voters, in some states anyway. (So far, polls suggest that voters favor having the winner of the election pick the next Justice.)

Im not sure Mitch McConnell will want to force these Senators to vote. His overriding concern is always with maintaining a majority.
The aim of this presentation is to study issues relating to intelligence (with special focus on intelligence coordination) in the operations of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka. Electronic and communications intelligence aspects are not covered in this presentation.

by Col R Hariharan VSM (Retd.)

(This Paper was presented eleven years ago. But the points mentioned are still relevant for those Scholars and Military Officials interested in Strategic Issues- Director)

1.0 Introduction

1.1 When we look at Indias military intervention in Sri Lanka (1987-90) now, after two decades, we are doing with the benefit of hindsight. The two decades since then have been remarkable for a number of global developments. These include the phenomenal growth in communication and multimedia technology, introduction of liberalised world trade order, and the realignment of global power equation following the break up of the Soviet Union. As a result the concept of strategic security has expanded in scope.

1.2 In order to make a realistic assessment of the Indian Armys operations in Sri Lanka, we need to look at the strategic environment of the period. Some of the developments of special interest of that era were 

1.21 The Cold War confrontation between the Soviet Union and the U.S. was at its peak following the Soviet military presence in Afghanistan, where India also had a strategic interest.

1.22 Indias security focus was largely on Pakistan. As a corollary, Sri Lanka was not one of the focus areas of Military Intelligence. In fact, Operation Brass Tacks had just been completed in May 1987, two months before the Army had to send a task force to Sri Lanka following the signing of the India-Sri Lanka Accord (ISLA) in July 1987.

1.23 There was no integrated national security body to take informed decisions on issues affecting national security. Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) was the only forum to carry out this task. During the Sri Lanka operations a Core Group was formed to look after the day to day issues. This empowered group functioned under the Chairmanship of the Minister of State, External Affairs and in his absence the Cabinet Secretary.[1]Similarly the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) was the only palliative to meet the requirements of Joint Services operations.

1.24 Communication technology was just making its early breakthroughs. Much of its benefits had not yet enhanced our battlefield competencies.

1.25 The advantage imparted by information technology and its applications in battle field, particularly in the field of intelligence were not available

1.3 Armed forces had fought wars in 1965 and 1971 with similar decision making structures probably with its attendant deficiencies. However, Indias Sri Lanka operation qualitatively differed from all of them because it was conducted overseas. The Indian force in Sri Lanka got involved in a conflict that was neither contemplated nor planned for. More than that, for the first time the three services of Indian security forces operated jointly to carry out a counterinsurgency campaign in a foreign country.

2.0 Aim

The aim of this presentation is to study issues relating to intelligence (with special focus on intelligence coordination) in the operations of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka.[2] Electronic and communications intelligence aspects are not covered in this presentation.

3.0 Presentation

3.1 Part 1  Intelligence on Sri Lanka before and during IPKF operations.

3.2 Part 2  Intelligence coordination at various levels.

3.3 Part 3 - Third thoughts on intelligence in overseas operations.

PART 1  INTELLIGENCE BEFORE AND DURING IPKF OPERATIONS

4.0 Dedicated MI resources earmarked for Sri Lanka

4.1 Intelligence Corps is the main field and staff resource of MI. It is the only Corps of the Indian Army whose strength was reduced when the Gen Krishna Rao Committee recommendations were implemented. In 1987, before the IPKF operations started, the Intelligence Corps had a total strength not exceeding 2500 all ranks. Classified as a minor corps, traditionally employment of MI was largely confined to security and combat intelligence, with limited intelligence planning and battle field acquisition capabilities. The MI had no mandate or dedicated capability to acquire cross border intelligence till 1980 when it was given the task of acquiring limited trans-border intelligence. Intelligence acquisition units created for this purpose had a mandate to collect only military intelligence of tactical value. In the field of counter insurgency, over the years the MI had gained certain amount of expertise in interrogation and source operation for meeting the intelligence requirement of troops involved in operations. For this purpose, a divisional intelligence unit was created in each of the three divisions deployed in counter insurgency role the northeast.

4.2 During that period in the Directorate General of Military Intelligence (DGMI), Sri Lanka was grouped with the section dealing with Indian Ocean nations of peripheral interest to India like the ASEAN. On the other hand, both Bangladesh and Burma were clubbed with the section dealing with insurgency in the northeast. The terrain analysis section was totally focused on Pakistan and to a limited extent on Tibet. It was evident that Sri Lanka enjoyed a low priority in MIs areas of interest. As a result no dedicated intelligence resource was allocated to Sri Lanka for intelligence acquisition. No special effort was made to acquire intelligence of military interest on Sri Lanka from the civil intelligence agencies till 1987.

4.3 Prior to the signing of the India-Sri Lanka Agreement (ISLA), around May 1987 an intelligence team of one officer and six NCOs was moved to Chennai from the parent unit in Gorakhpur for collecting intelligence from Sri Lanka. Till the end of the IPKF operations this was the only dedicated intelligence resource available to the DGMI. (Subsequently it was built up into an intelligence unit.) Thus DGMI was entirely dependent upon the inputs from the external intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) which had rich resources dedicated for Sri Lanka. The Intelligence Bureau (IB), the counter intelligence arm of the government, had been keeping a close watch on the activities of thousands of Sri Lanka Tamil refugees present in Tamil Nadu. Of course, the DGMI had a regular flow of the periodic intelligence reports and summaries from the Advance HQ of the Overall Force Commander (OFC) after it was created.

4.4 Headquarters Southern Command had a team from Southern Command Liaison Unit in Chennai. Though the LU was a counter intelligence unit, the LU team provided the Command Headquarters an interface with the state and central intelligence agencies in Chennai during the IPKF operations.

4.5 After the induction of 54 Infantry Division in the first week of August 1987 in Sri Lanka, a few Tamil speaking Intelligence Corps officers and NCOs were attached to the OFC HQ at Chennai. Clearly it was a temporary arrangement as there was no specific tasking of the MI team except to collect information on the activities of both the Tamil militants and the Sri Lanka army. The intelligence personnel were dispatched to Palali on August 5, 2007 with no functional resources, other than the attached personnel.

4.6 They were not under command 54 Infantry Division. Though they were nominally under the HQ OFC, the DGMI had asked them to submit their reports directly to them till their status was formalised. The two MI officers of the team resurrected their personal contacts with Sri Lanka Tamils to send periodic reports to the DGMI. There was little intelligence input from either DGMI or from the civil intelligence agencies to 54 Infantry Division.

4.7 In September 1987, when the situation became murky in the Indian interaction with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), 57 Mtn Div Int & FS coy with about 60 personnel was moved to Palali. Its OC was upgraded to a Lt Cols appointment. Tamil speaking Intelligence Corps officers and NCOs culled from various intelligence units were posted to the unit. And there were never enough of them and the unit was always under strength.

4.8 This intelligence unit continued to be under the HQ OFC and this caused some avoidable confusion in HQ 54 Infantry Division. Its intelligence officers were scrupulously excluded from all deliberations of the Div HQ. They were asked to stay out of all interactions with the LTTE during the political parleys. Though they had collected information and built some useful local contacts that provided valuable assessments these inputs were never asked for. Nor did the Division project its requirement of specific intelligence of any kind. The intelligence teams officers were kept out of operational planning process prior to the Jaffna operations. (According to the RAW, the Army neither took the RAW into confidence nor sought its advice before Jaffna operations).

4.9 As the Jaffna operation commenced and the induction of troops took place rapidly, the OC 57 Div Int & FS Coy was asked to brief the troops prior to their operational induction. Similarly, the unit was tasked to interrogate all and sundry rounded up in the first flush of operations. This clearly indicated that troops in combat had no inkling of how to handle suspects or conduct combat interrogations. Similarly no advance planning was evident in the AGs Branch at the OFC HQ and the Div HQ for screening of civilian population or holding prisoners. This was in direct contrast to our experience during 1971 operations when we had meticulously planned in advance on handling and holding of prisoners. Thus in the early stages of war valuable opportunity to gain tactical information through interrogation was lost.

5.0 Intelligence resources of the Advance HQ OFC

5.1 However, by the time two more divisions were inducted into Sri Lanka and the structure of the Advance HQ of the OFC was formalised, an intelligence unit specifically structured for the IPKF operations designated as the Ad Hoc Liaison Unit was raised. The unit had both intelligence acquisition and interrogation capabilities. The unit commanded by a Lt Col had its headquarters in Chennai with a team each deployed in Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Batticaloa. It also had three rehabilitation centres (with one interrogator each) for the three divisions. In all, it had 12 officers and over 100 other ranks. An effort was made to induct as many Tamil or South Indian officers and NCOs of Intelligence Corps into the unit. One Sinhala knowing officer was also posted sometime towards end 1988. 57 Int and FS Coy provided the intelligence cover for 54 Div sector including Kilinochchi. Both the units served under the command of Col GS (Int) of the Advance HQ OFC.

5.2 Communication intelligence was provided by the EWCP. It worked closely with the troops and provided accurate real time information.

5.3 Though the RAW had complained that they were not consulted prior to the launching of Jafffna operations, after the formation of the Advance HQ OFC, the Chennai RAW unit maintained close touch and provided valuable inputs particularly on political developments in Sri Lanka. However its contribution on militant disposition and assessment of LTTE capabilities was neither timely nor exhaustive.

5.4 Despite enjoying excellent personal relations at the senior level with MI officers, the Q Branch of the Tamil Nadu State Police and the Joint Directorate of the IB, Chennai provided no information throughout the entire IPKF operation. They had enormous information on the LTTE and its tentacles in Tamil Nadu which could have helped us in our operations against the LTTE. However such information was never provided. In the case of the Q Branch this was mainly due to the absence of formal orders from the state government which had taken a politically hostile stand against the IPKF operations. The IB usually fobbed off our requests saying that they had only political information, though in counter insurgency political information also had a great relevance on military operations.

6.0 MI performance: positives and negatives

6.1 The MI personnel despite the initial glitches of command and control and resource limitations made some positive contributions. A few of these were as under:

6.11 As early as September 1987, the MI detachment in its assessment to the DGMI had said that if the IPKF went to war it would take three years to reduce it to manageable proportions. This assessment almost came true.

6.12 Despite the lack of clarity in the early stages the DGMI managed to rise to the occasion to extend maximum possible support in identifying intelligence resources and moving them within a couple of months. It also made efforts to recruit Sinhala knowing Tamils who had migrated from Sri Lanka.

6.12 Even during the period of troubled peace from August to October 1987, the MI officers had made some useful contacts both within the LTTE and among influential pro-LTTE civilians particularly in Jaffna and Trincomalee. These contacts came in handy when the operations started. They provided valuable inputs on political moves of the LTTE as well as on some key issues like LTTEs contact with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which was carrying out its own insurgency in Sinhala areas, procurement of MANPADS by the LTTE, contacts between the Sri Lanka President Premadasa and the LTTE leadership etc.

6.13 Well before the operation, we videographed the LTTE inspired civilian agitations in Jaffna and Trincomalee and identified key ring leaders. When the operation started, some of them were picked up and successfully turned into informers who gave useful tactical information on movement of LTTE pistol groups and ambushes.

6.14 In two cases we managed to get clinching evidence in the form of photographs and wiretaps of collusion between Sri Lankan army elements and the LTTE. These helped us to understand the extent of collusion between the Sri Lanka government and the LTTE.

6.15 Useful contacts were built in Sri Lankas National Intelligence Bureau. Though some of their information was misleading, it helped to insulate us against some of the counter intelligence threats MI was facing.

6.2 There were also some weaknesses in the MI functioning; these were as follows:

6.21 Lack of MI resources allocated prior to the operation by the DGMI had resulted in absence of intelligence assets in Sri Lanka. This had an adverse impact on the initial inability of the MI to provide timely and useful information to 54 Inf Div for the Jaffna operations.

6.22 Despite receiving inputs from both RAW and IB and other agencies on a regular basis, the DGMI did not provide assessments that could have helped the IPKF operations. Similarly the HQ Southern Command also failed to provide useful assessments or inputs.

6.23 There was little MI input on LTTE activity in Tamil Nadu. This was mainly due to the completely negative attitude of Tamil Nadu Government resulting in total denial of access to information on the LTTE available with the state intelligence. Action taken to rectify this by the DGMI and the Army HQ, if any, had little impact on their attitude.

6.24 The LTTE was acting with impunity in Tamil Nadu during the entire period of operations, exposing the troops to potential LTTE threat. This created a great feeling of insecurity among our Tamil sources, who felt that we were not seriously involved in tackling the LTTE. They were reluctant to work for us as they felt we did not have enough influence in this ambience. This affected MIs performance.

6.25 Most of the MI officers had little background knowledge on Sri Lanka or its environment when they were inducted. There is perhaps a requirement for building regional specialists in the course of MI officers careers so that they could improve their expertise.

6.26 Intelligence NCOs performance was far below par. They had no capability to carry out elementary interrogations. Nor were they clear about their duties in a counter insurgency environment. Both officers and NCOs tended to accept un- assessed information from sources without vetting the credibility.

6.27 Intelligence staffing was poor in formation headquarters. At one stage, in three of the four divisions the GSO1 (Int) were low medical category officers; a few of them had no intelligence exposure. As intelligence had limited dedicated staff resources, their posting in divisions was far from prudent.

6.28 Quality of frontline soldiers knowledge of handling prisoners, segregating them for detailed interrogation etc was poor. The Command HQ was in the best position to address such lacunae to provide short term training to officers and NCOs from all arms on a rotational basis. This was probably not even contemplated, though it had been done in the past in 1971.

6.29 There was practically no input from Air or Naval Intelligence sources. This was surprising because in Colombo more than one merchant ship officer reported seeing fishing boats flashing LTTE in semaphore signals in Gulf of Mannar indicating regular movement of boats supplying the LTTE from Tamil Nadu.

6.291 The Tamil media in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka was rich open source information which went untapped due to shortage of manpower. Similarly, there was not enough inter face with Indian media men who had travelled into LTTE areas either covertly or openly. This rich source also went unexploited.

6.292 At the end of the IPKF operations, there was no formal MI arrangement for taking over the network of intelligence sources built over the period of IPKF operations in Sri Lanka. Similarly the rich database on the LTTE militants went unused.

6.293 Few formation commanders only had used MI resources as part of their overall intelligence planning. Generally they expected MI to produce tactical information reactively. Thus often there was lack of convergence between their expectations and results.

PART-2 INTELLIGENCE COORDINATION AT VARIOUS LEVELS

7.0 Lack of intelligence coordination and cooperation among various intelligence agencies is a hardy perennial in the investigative studies of all most all operations in India. The most reason report of this genre is the K Subrahmanyam Committee report on Kargil operations. And probably in spite of findings of such committees, this problem is likely to persist because intelligence agencies apply the principle of Need to Know (from their point of view) to often withhold information. This is inherent i in the nature of intelligence operations which carry enormous risks for the individuals who originate such information.

8.0 Unfortunately, in the Sri Lanka operational scene despite our best efforts intelligence coordination with civil agencies produced very little useful intelligence. The Core Group was supposed to be a body to handle such issues. Some of those who had attended its meetings said the Core Group probably spent more time discussing the situation in Afghanistan than resolving difficult problems that had cropped up during IPKF operations. The problems faced by the IPKF due to political developments in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka that required Core Group directions were left unresolved. This left the IPKF with the fall out of such aberrations. Many such decisions though outside the scope of intelligence coordination, had their impact on the MI operations. MIs intelligence acquisition effort was handicapped as a direct consequence of absence of meaningful coordination in both letter and spirit at the top level.

9.0 Coordination with civil intelligence agencies

9.1 Coordination between the MI as the user and the RAW as the provider had always been one sided. The DGMI had always found that focused military intelligence requirements were usually not met because RAW had its own priorities. However, after initial hiccups on this count in Sri Lanka, the RAW attempted to rectify the situation after the Advance HQ OFC was created. However, RAW could not provide specific information on the LTTEs military capabilities or cogent assessments on LTTE strengths. This was surprising, considering the enormous depth of its knowledge about the LTTE.

9.2 Ideally, when the IPKF was inducted the RAW had the capability to produce a comprehensive handbook on Sri Lanka containing all the information the forces require. The fact that neither the Army projected such a requirement to the RAW, nor the RAW anticipated it speaks for itself. This is due to the enormous cultural gap that exists between the two organisations. I am not confident such aberration would not exist in the next overseas operation. After all how many country studies of the type produced by the CIA have been made available to the security forces from any Indian intelligence agency? With the MI acting as a bridge, this gap could easily be closed if the two premier agencies make up their mind to do so.

9.3 In the counter insurgency scene, top level agency coordination alone will not suffice. It has to come down to formation level. At present interaction between the Army and RAW counterparts is based only on personal equation established between the two in the absence of standard operating procedures for information sharing. Thus officers on both sides grow up in a culture of denial rather than sharing. Perhaps we can take a leaf out of the Japanese industrial management practice of forming Small Group Activity for the user and producer for better understanding of the user problems to evolve a solution.

9.3 As far as the IB is concerned, internal political intelligence has been occupying an increasing horizon in their activities. This is happening at a time when internal threats to national security are growing enormously. Functionally in such critical internal situations the IB representatives had been forthcoming in sharing information of military interest. However, in the case of counter insurgency operations overseas the fine line dividing political and operational intelligence gets blurred. Perhaps the failure of the IB to understand this explains its reluctance to share information with the IPKF. In an overseas theatre our forces need political information as much as military related information as they are operating in an external environment. This needs be brought home to improve IBs information sharing record in future overseas operations.

9.4 The failure of the State police machinery to share intelligence relevant to the IPKF represents the dissonance in our national security perceptions. The failure of the Tamil Nadu Home Department to act in the interest of national security for political reasons had kept up the morale of Tamil militant combating our forces in Sri Lanka. This has been well documented in the Jain Commission report. It is disturbing to see the continued downgrading of national security needs to meet the demands of political priorities. The precedent set by Tamil Nadu Government during the IPKF operations on this count appears to have taken roots now in the political culture. A similar contingency could arise in our future overseas operations also. In order to face such a situation, it would be prudent for the armed forces to get clear mandates on such issues in advance while going on overseas operations of the future. In any case as armed forces are not the sole guardians of national security; we need to draw the attention of other stakeholders to this aspect.

10.0 Internal intelligence coordination

10.1 The experience in intelligence sharing between the three services intelligence wings was minimal. In the Sri Lanka operational situation, the lack interest shown by the air force and naval intelligence counterparts was probably because the MI had not articulated its needs where they could have usefully contributed. Perhaps it was also due to the lack of smoothness in the overall command and control equation involving the three services. As far as intelligence is concerned the creation of the Defence Intelligence Agency is only a first step to resolve this impasse; it has a long way to go to overcome the existing grittiness in this process.

10.2 During the entire period of IPKF operations other than ELINT and SIGINT inputs, there was little else from top down the army chain. Political decisions taken at home impacted intelligence operations of both MI and RAW with tectonic effects in Sri Lanka. The DGMI could have helped MI planning process in the IPKF with appropriate and timely inputs.

10.3 Generally there was high expectation of tactical intelligence from MI among frontline troops. Unfortunately collecting such information in less populated and jungle terrain in areas like Mullaitivu district is not possible. So there has to be a blend of tactical intelligence devices with HUMINT inputs for the use of troops in combat. This was absent in Sri Lanka. However, this also requires a degree of intelligence awareness among the front line infantry units. Only Para Commando units showed such awareness and this gave certain amount of muscle to MI operations conducted with their help. Perhaps their well rounded training has enabled them to understand the intelligence requirements peculiar to counter insurgency operations. There is a need to inculcate this awareness among other infantry units for better intelligence coordination with frontline troops.

10.4 Communication and electronic intelligence produced valuable inputs. However, such information was not validated adequately due to paucity of intelligence staff. In future operations of force projection such inputs are likely to increase enormously. In order to assess the overall picture perhaps we will have to train intelligence staff at the formation level to combine HUMINT, ELINT and SIGINT inputs to evolve realistic assessments.

PART 3 - THIRD THOUGHTS ON INTELLIGENCE IN

OVERSEAS OPERATIONS

11.0 Perspective planning and intelligence

I am not very clear whether intelligence needs form part of perspective planning. If not it has to be rectified. This will help MI make its own long term plans to build expertise as per projected operational requirements. That should also include inputs required from civil intelligence agencies. This would require close cooperation and coordination with civil intelligence agencies. Unless we plan and act on evolving such an information matrix, as success in overseas operations are dependent upon the performance of the external intelligence agency. Such a plan if executed would fill in gaps in strategic intelligence picture over a period of time. This would have its happy fall out on MIs own intelligence acquisition plans that would also include ELINT inputs which would become the real time intelligence purveyor of the future. It would also help identification of other secondary requirements like specialised language requirements and country specialisation.

12.0 Intelligence staffing

Military intelligence is a specialised job that requires the application of military knowledge to understand the information needs of the battle field and provide useful assessments to the fighting forces. Skill sets required for MI staff in future operations of force projection have widened in scope requiring real time assessment capability. No doubt the quantum jump in communication and information technology provides useful tools for the MI to meet this requirement. However, much of its success would depend upon the training imparted to intelligence staff to be technologically savvy in keeping with the dynamics of the emerging battle field needs.

13.0 HUMINT planning

Sri Lanka experience has shown MIs HUMINT success is directly proportional to the investment made prior to the operation. It takes about 18 months to two years to develop useful HUMINT sources in a green field, overseas territory. Fortunately, in Sri Lanka among Tamils and Sinhalas we had sympathetic sections that were prepared to help us out. The local government and armed forces were also generally friendly. Future overseas operations might not enjoy such advantages. Intelligence planners will have to assess and understand the environmental dynamics in an overseas setting in advance to meaningfully develop HUMINT resources organically and coordinate with other intelligence providers to fulfil the expectations of our forces in overseas operations of the future.

Getting ready for technology driven overseas theatres of war

With the nation poised to emerge as a regional power in the near future, MI has to transform itself into a technology driven organisation to meld TECHINT, ELINT, SIGINT and HUMINT inputs on a real time basis to meet the requirements of force projection overseas. Focus on intelligence management rather than mere information management is likely to be the order of the day in the near future. That would by and large remove the aberrations of intelligence acquisition and coordination and contribute meaningfully to assist operational planning and execution.

This paper was presented at a seminar "Indian Experience in Force Projection" organised by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) at New Delhi on September 15 and 16,

[1] Apart from the MOS, MEA/Cabinet Secretary, the members of the Core Group included the three vice chiefs of staff, Joint Secretary MEA, Joint Secretary PMO, DGMO, DGMI, Director IB, Director (Secretary) RAW and Principal Information Officer.

[2] The designation of the force as Indian Peace Keeping Force was formalized only a few years after Indian troops were withdrawn from Sri Lanka in 1990. In this paper the term IPKF denotes the employment of Indian troops during the period from August 1987 to March1990
President Trump told "Fox & Friends" on Monday that he plans to announce his pick to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday.

The state of play: Axios has heard that Trump's choices to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg are down to two women, both federal appeals court judges. The frontrunners are Amy Coney Barrett of Chicago, the early favorite, and Barbara Lagoa, who is viewed as easier to confirm. The Senate confirmed Lagoa 80-15 last year, so many Democrats have already voted for her.

Lagoa is a Cuban American from Florida, and Trump is being told the choice could help him win the state. He said Saturday he's never met Lagoa.

Even people in the West Wing remind us: With Trump, you never know till it's actually done.

Trump told "Fox & Friends" that he was down to "five, probably four" choices  but discussed Lagoa most at length.

Look for Senate Republicans to barrel ahead with the confirmation process as if they were going to vote before Election Day.

Trump said Monday that he wants a vote to take place before Nov. 3.

The vote could wind up being held after the election, in the lame-duck session in November. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska say they want to wait. Two more objections, and there wouldn't be enough Republican votes to go ahead in the next 43 days.

The lame duck is the fallback. Top GOP officials at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue see huge risk in waiting.

Say Trump loses ... or Republicans lose control of the Senate ... or both.

There'd be enormous pressure on Republicans to defer to the incoming winners. Some unexpected GOP senator could suddenly defect.

Collins said in a statement this weekend: "[T]he decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the president who is elected on November 3rd."

That's why antsy Republicans  being called "fill the seat" hawks  want a pre-election vote.
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Two office/manufacturing buildings at 10801 and 1809 120th Ave. N.E. in Kirkland have sold for $28.5 million, according to King County records. The sellers were LLCs related to occupant/owner Systima Technologies. The buyer was Alco Kirkland Signature LLC, associated with the Rosen family, which runs Alaskan Copper & Brass Co. and also invests in real estate.

Brokers were not announced. The deal was worth about $263 per square foot.





. . .
COHOES  Despite the crippling impact of the coronavirus pandemic on sales tax and other government revenues, the city of Cohoes has put forth a proposed budget for next year that comes with no property tax increase, or water and sewer rate increases, for residents.

Mayor Bill Keeler has cut spending 2 percent and is drawing on more of the citys cash reserves to balance his proposed 2021 city budget of $24.5 million as the city confronts shrinking state and federal revenues.

Just like every city across New York and around the country, the city of Cohoes and our residents are facing severe fiscal stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Keeler said in unveiling his first budget as mayor.

The $24.5 million budget proposal carries no tax increases for 2021. The tax rate will remain at $18.18 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. This means that the owner of a home assessed at $150,000 will continue to pay a city property tax bill of $2,727. The tax levy has grown by 0.85 percent which is under the state cap.

The citys water rate will stay at $3.70. The sewer rate will also see no increase and remain at $3.60.

Keeler said,  we must not shift the citys budget burdens to households in the form of property tax increases or water and sewer rate hikes. We are confronting this problem by operating with a leaner budget with improved efficiencies.

The overall proposed budget spends $424,000,or 2 percent less, than the current budget. The city also is increasing to $950,000 from the five-year average of $550,000 drawn from reserves to close spending caps not covered by taxes or other income. The city will still have more than $3 million in reserves after allocating money from the $4 million it had on hand.

If ever there was an appropriate time to tap the rainy day fund, this COVID-19 pandemic is it, City Comptroller Michael Durocher said.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

The proposed budget also has rare reductions in public safety spending. The police budget is dropping 3.99 percent and the fire budget is reduced by 3.93 percent.

Keeler had already ordered spending reductions through 2020 as the city has dealt with a drop of $1.4 million in revenues related to the pandemic. This includes income reductions in state aid, sales tax, user fees, permits and other revenue.

The city will hold a public budget hearing at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 in the Cohoes Common Council Chambers at Cohoes City Hall. The meeting is open to the public. All COVID-19 related guidelines, including wearing a mask and social distancing, must be followed to attend.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 05:13:26|Editor: huaxia

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RAMALLAH, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to help the Palestinians to hold elections, realize unity, and end internal split.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Abbas spoke with Erdogan on the telephone and discussed the current dialogue among Palestinian factions.

According to the report, Abbas asked Erdogan to support the Palestinians in holding the elections, and ensure Turkish observers to monitor the elections.

The WAFA report also said that Abbas briefed Erdogan over the recent political developments in the region and the pressure that the United States is exerting on several Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel.

Abbas said it is necessary to face such pressure and urge the Arab states to abide by the Arab Peace Initiative made in 2002.

On Sept. 3, Abbas chaired a meeting held online attended by leaders of 14 Palestinian factions, who all agreed on a plan of unity to face the current political challenges.

The Palestinians held the last presidential elections in 2005, when Abbas succeeded late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. In 2006, Hamas won the parliamentary elections held in the Palestinian territories. Enditem
The Congress on Monday decided to launch a nationwide agitation from September 24 against the government for passing farm bills in Parliament.

The two agricultural reform bills  the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020  were cleared by voice vote in Parliament even as the Opposition protested and stormed the well of the House seeking that they be sent to a select committee.

The authorities called in marshals to form a double-layered barricade to protect Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh and remove an MP, muted live telecast of the proceedings, and refused to accept the Oppositions demand for a division (voting through paper ballots) on the legislation.

The agitation will continue till the government repeals the anti-farmer, anti-poor and anti-people laws, said senior Congress leader AK Antony, addressing the reporters after a meeting of general secretaries and in-charge of states at the party headquarters in Delhi.

From September 24 onwards, Congress will launch an all-India agitation asking the government to repeal the black laws, said Antony.

Senior leader Ahmed Patel told reporters that the Congress will take this issue to the people of the country. The meeting was held under the directions of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, he added.

The six-member special committee formed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to help her in organisational and operational matters chaired the meeting in her absence. Accompanied by her son and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi had last week left for the United States for a routine health check-up.

Giving details of the agitation, Congress general secretary in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal said the party will have a series of nationwide programmes in support of the farmers.

Apart from a chain of press conferences across the country, Venugopal said state unit chiefs and legislature party leaders along with former ministers, MPs and MLAs will walk to the respective Raj Bhavans and submit a memorandum to Governors to be passed on to President Ram Nath Kovind.

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Scandinavians eye long stays in Phuket under new visa

PHUKET: The move to offer stays in Thailand of up to 270 days through the Special Tourist Visa (STV) approved by Cabinet last week has prompted queries from some 10,000 Scandinavians, Piyapat Suban Na Ayudhaya, CEO of government-backed Thailand Longstay Company* has revealed.

tourismCOVID-19healthimmigrationeconomics

By The Phuket News

Monday 21 September 2020, 12:55PM

The huge interest among Scandinavians to use the new Special Tourist Visa (STV) to spend their cold winters in warm Phuket was revealed at an event on Friday (Sept 18). Photo: PR Phuket

The huge interest among Scandinavians to use the new Special Tourist Visa (STV) to spend their cold winters in warm Phuket was revealed at an event on Friday (Sept 18). Photo: PR Phuket

The huge interest among Scandinavians to use the new Special Tourist Visa (STV) to spend their cold winters in warm Phuket was revealed at an event on Friday (Sept 18). Photo: PR Phuket

The huge interest among Scandinavians to use the new Special Tourist Visa (STV) to spend their cold winters in warm Phuket was revealed at an event on Friday (Sept 18). Photo: PR Phuket

The huge interest among Scandinavians to use the new Special Tourist Visa (STV) to spend their cold winters in warm Phuket was revealed at an event on Friday (Sept 18). Photo: PR Phuket

The huge interest among Scandinavians to use the new Special Tourist Visa (STV) to spend their cold winters in warm Phuket was revealed at an event on Friday (Sept 18). Photo: PR Phuket

The huge interest among Scandinavians to use the new Special Tourist Visa (STV) to spend their cold winters in warm Phuket was revealed at an event on Friday (Sept 18). Photo: PR Phuket

Ms Piyapat revealed the news at a meeting of leading government officials at Angsana Laguna Phuket on Friday (Sept 18).

Present at the meeting were Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong, Piyapats advisor Ruamnakhorn Tubtimthongchai and TATs Tourism Industry Investment Promotion Department Chief Somphatsorn Raman.

Among others present for the meeting were Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Rungrote Thakurapunyasiri, Phuket Provincial Chief Administration Officer (Palad) Wikrom Chatree and representatives of Phuket tourism business associations.

Ms Piyapat explained that after the Cabinet approved the Special Tourist Visa (STV) Tuesday last week (Sept 15), the company had been contacted by around 10,000 Scandinavian tourists looking to stay in Thailand during their winter.

Normally, some of them will go to Italy or Spain, but at this stage the pandemic is still happening in the countries, so it will be a good opportunity for Thailand to welcome them, Ms Piyapat said.

However, the coordination of government officials, police and private companies was needed to make sure the management of long-stay tourist arrivals was conducted properly and safely, she said.

The Special Tourist Visa will be issued only to those wanting to travel to Thailand longer than one month, Ms Piyapat explained.

The tourists must be quarantined for 14 days in an ASQ or ALSQ hotel and repeated COVID tests will be required before letting them in the provinces, she added.

Tourists must agree to book and pay for the hotel for their quarantine, and must specify which hotels they will stay at after the quarantine period, and have COVID-19 health insurance coverage of at least US$100,000, she said.

Of key concern right now is to publicize information and build confidence among local people about the quality of the measures set for welcoming the tourists, Ms Piyapat added.

The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has already stipulated that any flights bringing tourists into Thailand must be charter flights carrying no more than 120 passengers per flight, Ms Piyapat explained.

As to flights arriving, the CCSA has approved only three inbound flights per month, so only 360 tourists can come each month, she said.

Everything must be done slowly, taking into account the feelings of the local people, Ms Piyapat added.

Phuket Vice Governor Pichet told those at the meeting that the Phuket government had already set the measures for welcoming such tourists.

V/Gov Pichet also said, At this stage, 78 hotels have registered to be the venue for alternative local state quarantine, but only four have passed the criteria and approved so far.

However, Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) Chief Dr Thanit Sermkaew has not recently confirmed that any new hotels in Phuket have been approved by the CCSA in Bangkok to serve as ALSQ venues.

Dr Thanit confirmed on Sept 9 that two more hotels in Phuket  the Metadee Phuket in Kata and the Phuket Graceland Resort & Spa  had been inspected and approved by Phuket local health officials to serve as ALSQ venues, but were still waiting for approval from the CCSA Bangkok.

So far Dr Thanit has confirmed that only the Anantara Mai Khao Phuket and Trisara Phuket Villas and Residences, altogether offering just 469 guest rooms, have been approved to serve as ALSQ venues  despite at least 14 hotels in Phuket applying for the privilege since late July.

Dr Thanit has yet to respond to questions from The Phuket News today to confirm whether any new hotels have been approved as ALSQ venues by the CCSA in Bangkok.

Meanwhile, V/Gov Pichet on Friday said that officers at Phuket International Airport will check certificate of entry (COE), tourists COVID-19 test certificate, the document of consent for quarantine 14 days, and their insurance coverage of at least US$100,000.

The Phuket government will work carefully and thoroughly and think of the safety of the people as priority, V/Gov Phichet said.

And there will be police standing by at the hotels in case tourists try to walk free during quarantine, he assured.

* Thailand Longstay Company was established in 2001 with the endorsement of the Thai Royal Government to support long stay tourism, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) as a major shareholder of the company.

The Thailand Longstay Company website notes that the company aims to provide the best services to retired expatriates to promote the tourism industry of the Kingdom of Thailand... Since the [companys] establishment, the company has signed many MOU with many government organisations such as the Immigration Bureau, Tourist Police, and the Airports of Thailand.
We are honored to be included for the first time on the INC 5000 list. It is especially rewarding to rank among the INC 500." - Jackie Lopez, President

Inc. magazine recently announced that Premier Enterprise Solutions, a minority and veteran owned company, ranked No. 463 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most sought after listing of the nations fastest-growing private companies. Premier, an Information Technology management company, joins the ranks of LinkedIn, Microsoft, Dell, and many other well-known giants of industry who gained national recognition as Inc. 5000 honorees.

Reflecting on the award, Premiers Co-Founder and President Jackie Lopez states, We are honored to be included for the first time on the INC 5000 list. It is especially rewarding to rank among the INC 500. When Michael Lopez, Premiers COO, and I founded Premier in 2012, our goal was to build a company that valued collaboration over competition and fostered a culture where employees are fully invested in delivering a positive customer experience with every engagement. Adhering to these principles is proof that having a values-driven business model works. We are thankful to each employee and partner who worked so tirelessly to get us to this point. We are also grateful to the clients who believed in us and provided opportunities for our success.

Premier Enterprise Solutions will be honored along-side fellow INC. 5000 companies at the annual Inc. 5000 event being held virtually October 23 to 27, 2020.

Premier Enterprise Solutions, LLC is a Maryland based company that provides a full range of innovative Information Technology Solutions and Program Management support services. Our practical and effective solutions enable our clients to realize the full potential of their information technology assets, optimize their supply chain and workforce productivity and manage critical infrastructure projects. Premiers portfolio includes demonstrated proficiency in cyber security, cloud migration, telecommunications and IT enterprise operations, program management, and supply chain improvement. For more information please visit http://www.pesolutions-it.com.

CONTACT:

Carla Poindexter

cpoindexter@pesolutions-it.com

Tel: 202-468-9270

Website: http://www.pesolutions-it.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.

For more information on the Inc. 5000 Conference, visit http://conference.inc.com/.
When the topic of pregnancy is raised, most people have a lot of thoughts concerning the topic since it is a dicey topic not just in Ghana, but Sub-Saharan Africa.

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The World Health Organisation defines Maternal death or maternal mortality as "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.

Ending maternal mortality in Ghana: Ideas and solutions Source: Joojo Cobbinah

Source: UGC

According to the WHO, about 830 women die from pregnancy- or childbirth-related complications every day with 99% of these deaths occurring in developing countries, with more than half of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

Women in less developed countries have, on average, many more pregnancies than women in developed countries, and their lifetime risk of death due to pregnancy is higher. A womans lifetime risk of maternal death is the probability that a 15 year old woman will eventually die from a maternal cause. In high income countries, this is 1 in 5400, versus 1 in 45 in low income countries.

In the 1990s maternal mortality rates in Ghana were so high that maternal mortality was declared an epidemic. This drew the attention of non-governmental organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the World Bank Group. The organizations vowed work together with the government of Ghana to find solutions to the menace.

The problem was included in the Millennium Development Goal. It was named Goal 5, which was aimed at improving maternal health.

The aim of the goal was to reduce the maternal mortality rate by two thirds by the year 2015. They also targeted provision of reproductive health to everyone by the year 2015. These goals are slowly being achieved with the strategies and programs being incorporated.

Causes

According to the WHO, as carried in an earlier report by YEN.com.gh, the causes of maternal mortality rate in Ghana can be classified into two; direct and indirect deaths.

Direct causes are those that result from the pregnancy. Obstetric factors like ectopic pregnancy, obstructed labor and unsafe abortions can also be a cause of maternal mortality in Ghana. This cause is mostly prevalent among the teeming Ghanaian youth who through their actions and inactions get pregnant. In a bid to get rid of the pregnancy, they opt for any possible means to end the pregnancy.

Improper maternal care during the 9 months of pregnancy. In most rural settings due to poverty, most women do not have funds to spare to attend antenatal checkups; a practice which could have averted any kind of danger detected during pregnancy.

On the other hand, indirect causes are those that occur during the pregnancy period and have no relation to the pregnancy

Paolo Patruno in a project titled Birth is a Dream, revealed that the main issues that are behind pregnancy were the same no matter where you are in Africa.

He reveled that circumstances like rural versus city living played a huge role in pregnancy and maternal health issues which is more of a social issue.

Also in Africa, superstition plays a huge role in maternal and neonatal mortality. In Ghana, for instance, it was a taboo for any pregnant woman to give birth in Mafi-Dove, a rural community in the Volta Region. According to them, there would be serious calamities in the community if any child is birthed on the soils of the community. This, according to most women was a worry as often times some pregnant women do not come back with their babies or do not return alive at all, since they have to travel to a neighboring community to put to bed.

The absence of health centres in some communities in rural areas have made it quite hard for most pregnant women to seek medical attention during their pregnancy. Their inability to access healthcare during pregnancy makes pregnant women in those parts of the country vulnerable to any pregnancy related complication.

Not just improper care, poverty, superstition, but distance to health centres, lack of education, lack of services, and cultural practices all play roles in the high rate of maternal mortality in Ghana and the Sub-Saharan African region.

READ ALSO: GMB 2020: wins TV3 Ghana's Most Beautiful Season 14

Solutions and Ideas to end maternal mortality

In a bid to help reduce maternal mortality in Ghana, the government can do these things to help reduce the rate at which women die during pregnancy in Ghana.

Technology

Technology has become the driving force to well developed economies. Countries cannot afford but to find very innovative, efficient and effective ways to ensure their advancement and validity.

The government needs to find new ways of rolling out human transformational projects since the old ways are obviously yielding little or no results.

The Sustainable Development Goal 3 clearly states that Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.

The second goal within the goal targets that by 2030, preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1000 live births. With that being said, the government should endeavor to strive to achieve the SDG 3

Medical attention

Pregnant women should also ensure that they get proper medical attention during pregnancy as well as after child birth too. Making easy access to health facilities and quality health care will reduce maternal and neonatal mortality drastically.

Community Based Health Planning and Service (CHIP) compounds

These CHIPs compounds should be structured in a way that can cater for maternal health, since their objective is to improve Primary Health Care (PHC) and provide accessible, equitable, quality and efficient primary healthcare and family planning services to all Ghanaians, irrespective of where they are located. Pregnant women should be able to access antenatal care at CHIPs compounds in areas where they do not have access to the bigger health facilities.

Sex Education

Sex education on the use and provision of contraceptive for women especially the youths, which will prevent abortion and teenage pregnancy causes of maternal death.

Traditional birth attendants

Traditional birth attendants who have little or no experience as well as the old ways of doing things should be educated on the advanced ways of pregnancy care as well as delivery to help save lives and avoid maternal and neonatal deaths.

In conclusion, for Ghana to make a headway in tackling maternal mortality which keeps making headlines, it is important for the government to pay attention to primary health care delivery in the country, sex education, and also ensure that most health centres and not just big facilities have the right technology to cater for pregnant women.

READ ALSO: Mafi-Dove, the village in Ghana where childbirth and burial are banned

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The role of Harris County tax assessor-collector will be simpler next year, since Commissioners Court decided to create an elections administration office to take over voter registration duties after Novembers general election.

Managing the voter roll historically has been the responsibility of the tax assessor-collector, a vestige of a bygone era when those officeholders collected a poll tax. The assessor will retain other administrative duties, including collecting property taxes and registering vehicles.

Interest in the post, however, has not waned, and this year Republican former district clerk Chris Daniel is challenging first-term incumbent Democrat Ann Harris Bennett.

Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector race Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector race Incumbent Democrat Ann Harris Bennett, 67 v Republican Chris Daniel, 38 and former two-term Harris County district clerk See More Collapse

Bennett said she has improved the customer experience, raised the pay of junior employees and implemented a 36-month payment plan for residents behind on property tax payments.

We dont want to see people lose their properties because of some hardship theyve had, she said.

Bennett said she successfully has implemented a hybrid model in which her office still provides services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many staff work from home, and some in-person functions are available by appointment only, as the county administration building remains closed to the public.

Bennetts tenure also has included several gaffes. Her office in 2018 mistakenly placed more than 1,700 voter registrations in suspension. Later that year, clerks failed to update boundary maps in Baytown that led to almost 300 voters receiving incorrect ballots.

Daniel said he would modernize the office and perform an audit of its functions to look for efficiencies. He said his experience leading the district clerks office after Hurricane Harvey, which caused a massive backlog in court cases and record filing, prepares him to manage any similar issues caused by the pandemic.

He said his skills include being able to push technology, being able to push good management tools and being able to have outside-the-box, forward-thinking ideas that are bipartisan.

We had this long track record of doing really good things for Harris County, Daniels said of his two terms as district clerk.

Both candidates oppose the switch to an elections administrator. Bennett, who said she was not consulted before the Democratic-led Commissioners Court pitched the idea, said an elected voter registrar is more accountable to voters than an appointed official.

She rejected the argument that an appointed elections administrator would face less political pressure than elected officials.

Human nature tends to make you beholden to those who put you there, Bennett said.

Daniels agreed and said he does not understand why Commissioners Court would rush to create an elections administration office during a hectic presidential election year, especially with a novice county clerk.

County elections workers in the county clerk and tax assessor-collectors offices, he reasoned, should not have the additional stress of worrying how their jobs may change or be eliminated with the new office.

Daniels said, however, that he would be eager to work closely with the new office to help Harris County implement online voter registration. A federal judge ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety last month to allow drivers the option to register to vote online.

Republicans fared poorly in the past two election cycles and have not won a countywide race since 2014. Daniels lost his reelection bid for district clerk in 2018 by 10 points.

zach.despart@chron.com
A hacker collective calling itself Anonymous ZA has released explosive details about Mirror Trading International (MTI), stating that at least R4 billion in bitcoin has flowed through the scheme.

In response, MTI told MyBroadband the information stems from private member data that was illegally obtained and that it is inaccurate at best.

Mirror Trading International is a South African registered company offering Forex trading services by using an automated system to trade with the trading pool on behalf of its members.

Johann Steynberg is the CEO and founder of MTI, which focuses on Bitcoin trading and promising members a truly passive income.

According to MTI, it has over 90,000 active members in 177 countries, and its numbers are growing daily.

MTI made headlines recently after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) said it was investigating the company.

The FSCA said the current business model of MTI requires it to be in possession of a financial service provider licence.

MTI has informed us that they accept clients funds in the form of Bitcoin, pool the funds into one trading account on a forex derivate trading platform, and conduct high-frequency trading through the utilisation of a bot, the FSCA said.

If this is being done as described, then this amounts to financial services, hence the licence requirement.

However, the FSCA has a much greater concern about MTIs activities.

The company claims to have more than R2.9 billion in clients funds in trading accounts, but the FSCA has not been able to conclusively confirm that the funds exist.

Moreover, the returns on the investments claimed by MTI seems far-fetched and unrealistic, the FSCA said.

At the time, MTI said that its bot-trading is able to generate consistent profits of an average of 10% per month. More recently it said it has seen an average return of 0.5% per day.

The FSCA recommended that MTI clients request refunds into their own accounts as soon as possible.

The Texas State Securities Board has also issued an emergency cease-and-desist order against MTI and accused it of perpetrating fraud through an illegal international multilevel marketing programme.

Canadas Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) has placed MTI on its list of illegal online platforms, issuing a warning that MTI illegally solicits investors.

Anonymous ZA publishes information about MTI

Anonymous ZA has published financial information about MTI online based on data collected through MTIs members portal  mymticlub.com.

According to Anonymous ZA, it discovered glaring security vulnerabilities in the online systems of MTI, which it exploited to extract information about the inner workings of the scheme.

Anonymous ZA said the vulnerability that exposed MTIs back office system was a lack of basic authentication.

Any registered member who is logged into the system could view the information of any other members account by simply changing a parameter in the URL.

All data was acquired using simple enumeration and scraping techniques on the mymticlub.com site, stated Anonymous ZA.

No hacks were performed because the lack of basic security did not require it. Just incrementing an id=? parameter on various URLs provided all the data that you see here.

Using this weakness, it was able to glean detailed information about MTIs system and see the full names, usernames, e-mail addresses, bitcoin balances, and earnings linked to every account.

Anonymous ZA then published an anonymised copy of the data, which was current as of 14 September 2020, on a dark web site called MTILeaks.

It said the MTI database shows the company has handled over 22,984 bitcoin in member deposits, amounting to over R4 billion.

The data shows that members have withdrawn nearly 15,653 bitcoin (close to R2.9 billion), which means the scheme should still have at least 7,331 bitcoin (over R1.3 billion) of members capital in its accounts.

However, the data also shows that the scheme has allocated almost 9,916 bitcoin (over R1.8 billion) to members in interest and bonuses.

This means that MTI must have a minimum of 17,247 bitcoin (over R3.1 billion) to cover the remaining deposits and earnings of all members who have not yet been withdrawn from the scheme.

MyBroadband asked MTI CEO Johann Steynberg if the company has that much liquidity and if he could provide MTIs bitcoin wallet addresses to prove that the company has the assets to cover its obligations.

Steynberg did not answer the question in his initial response to MyBroadband.

In a subsequent statement to MyBroadband, MTI said it declined to comment.

MTI Balance Sheet (MTILeaks) BTC ZAR Deposits / Capital 22984 R4,193,437,899 Withdrawal requests 16504 R3,011,119,169 Cancelled/reversed withdrawals 851 R155,232,205 Total withdrawals 15653 R2,855,886,964 Remaining capital 7331 R1,337,550,935 Bonuses/revenue allocated, i.e. The hole 9916 R1,809,170,779 Total money owed to members and founders 17247 R3,146,721,713 * ZAR/BTC exchange rate used in this article: R182,450

Distribution of wealth at MTI

In addition to questioning the liquidity of the scheme, Anonymous ZA also raised questions regarding the way MTI distributes revenues to members.

The data from Anonymous ZA shows that a handful of MTI members receive a Founders Pool bonus.

Of the 163,892 profiles registered in the MTI system, only 63 are designated as founders. Expressed as a percentage, the founders make up 0.038% of the total userbase.

Over 469 bitcoin, or around R85.5 million, was disbursed to profiles with founder status as a Founder Bonus. This represents 4.7% of all bonus revenue allocated to members.

Another interesting statistic is to compare the deposits and withdrawals made by founder accounts, to those made by standard non-founder accounts.

According to the data published by Anonymous ZA, founder members made 2% of the deposits in MTI yet account for 6% of withdrawals made. Profiles with founder status have also received 18% of the overall bonus revenue disbursed by the scheme.

Subtracting total deposits from withdrawals reveals that MTI accounts with founder status have taken profit of over 527 bitcoin (R96 million), while non-founder accounts were running at a loss of 7,858 bitcoin (R1.4 billion).

The following table and charts show how deposits, withdrawals, and profit is distributed among MTI members with and without founder status.

MTI was asked whether it has disclosed the existence of the founder pool bonus to its general membership, and about the apparent disproportionate allocation of revenue to members with founder status.

The company declined to answer questions about the Founders Pool, stating that the information Anonymous ZA obtained is inaccurate at best.

However MTIs head of communications Cheri Ward posted on Facebook that the founders bonus is no secret.

Founding members get profit share. This is not illegal and is hardly a state secret.

Founders Non-founders 63 (0.04%) 163829 (99.96%) BTC ZAR BTC ZAR Deposits 349 R63,644,698 22635 R4,129,793,200 Withdrawals 876 R159,857,652 14777 R2,696,029,312 Bonuses (revenue) 1744 R318,245,977 8172 R1,490,924,802 Profit Taken (Withdrawals  Deposits) 527 R96,212,954 -7858 -R1,433,763,888 Withdrawals : Deposits 2.51 0.65 * ZAR/BTC exchange rate used in this article: R182,450

Concerns over claims of constant, daily returns

MTI states on its website that it uses advanced digital software and artificial intelligence to trade on international foreign exchange markets.

It is the profits on these returns which MTI says it pays out to members in the form of bonuses.

MTI also says that it has seen an average daily profit from its automated trading software of 0.5% per day. This amounts to average growth of over 180% per year if they trade every day, or around 130% p.a. if they trade five days a week.

Many of the accounts contained in Anonymous ZAs data have seen growth far exceeding this thanks to a combination of multi-level marketing or binary tree bonuses, the founders pool, and direct referral bonuses.

Several accounts have seen growth of well over 1,000%  and some even up to 10,000%  in the year the scheme has been active.

Anonymous ZA said they do not believe there is an automated trading system that can generate these kinds of returns in the amount of time MTI has existed.

If we had such a fantastic bot, we wouldnt share it with anyone, Anonymous ZA argued.

For this reason, Anonymous ZA concluded that MTIs claims of using a bitcoin-based forex trading bot to generate these kinds of returns for members are a smokescreen.

This smokescreen approach is very similar to how other multi-level marketing schemes use a product to attract more members into the scheme, in order to provide returns to those higher up in the pyramid. When the new members dry up, the scheme will collapse, the group warned.

MTIs former forex broker, FX Choice has also raised concerns about the fact that MTI is constantly paying out profits to its members.

We would like everybody involved in MTI to understand the risks, FX Choice stated in response to questions about MTI.

Paying out such a consistent stream of profits, which is nearly a 100% return on investment in one year, to investors by trading Forex is hard to believe. Forex is not the same as owning a bond where you receive a percentage. It is about risk-reward where the larger the reward you received, the larger the risk you took. We note that there is no single proof of the efficiency of MTIs operations.

FX Choice also confirmed that it closed MTIs forex trading account after the company failed to produce the necessary documentation and following warnings from various regulators. It also disputed MTIs claim that it uses an artificial intelligence trading program.

Before the account was blocked, they [MTI] executed just a few trading operations, which were performed manually, large, and incurred substantial losses.

In response to FX Choices statement, MTI said it is no longer with a single forex broker.

The MTI trading pool is being carefully spread across a portfolio of carefully selected brokers who can consistently provide the regulated security and performance track record that MTI requires.

MTI declined to answer MyBroadbands questions regarding the scepticism around its profits, except to say that the information obtained by Anonymous ZA was inaccurate.

Response from MTI CEO Johann Steynberg

MyBroadband contacted CEO Johann Steynberg for comment, who questioned the motives of Anonymous ZA and expressed doubt regarding whether there was a security vulnerability at all.

I find it strange that a party would contact you anonymously with such a matter. What I can tell you is that there are a few online income building options (factions) available within South Africa, Steynberg told MyBroadband.

We believe that this has caused certain animosities amongst competitors who are no longer doing as well as they were and we further believe that they are doing their level best to discredit and create controversy around the MTI brand. In fact, we instituted a legal proceeding earlier this year for exactly this reason.

Steynberg said MTI needed to investigate the matter, validate the claims of Anonymous ZA, and where appropriate rectify, if indeed there is anything that we need to rectify.

He also said that they will of course communicate appropriately with members if necessary.

We cannot simply jump to respond to a range of unvalidated accusations or insinuations from some anonymous party.

Steynberg assured that, as CEO, he has personal executive oversight of all technology and programming matters at MTI.

Within hours of MyBroadband contacting Steynberg, Anonymous ZA sent another message to inform us that the script containing the security vulnerability was no longer accessible on MTIs server.

Shortly thereafter, Anonymous ZA published the link to the MTILeaks website on various public forums.

MTI comment

In response to questions by MyBroadband, MTI and its management said they will not be commenting on the matter at hand.

The questions raised by yourself stems from private member information that was illegally obtained, MTI said.

It said that furthermore, the information obtained is inaccurate at best.

You are thus formally notified that the information you have is incorrect and publishing of such information would be illegal and a gross violation of our members privacy.

MTI said its members are satisfied and serviced as per our brand promise. MTI and members bitcoin is safe and secure and the partial information breach has been rectified.



Now read: You should have seen that BTC Global was a scam from a mile away
On the Zugspitze, KIT researchers monitor CO2 concentration and other parameters of the atmosphere. (Photo: Markus Rettinger, KIT)

Based on current data measured in the energy, industry, and mobility sectors, restrictions of social life during the corona pandemic can be predicted to lead to a reduction of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions by up to eight percent in 2020. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), cumulative reductions of about this magnitude would be required every year to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement by 2030. Recent measurements by researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) revealed that concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has not yet changed due to the estimated emission reductions. The results are reported in Remote Sensing (DOI: 10.3390/rs12152387).

The corona pandemic has changed both our working and our private lives. People increasingly work from home, have video conferences instead of business trips, and spend their holidays in their home country. The lower traffic volume also reduces CO2 emissions. Reductions of up to eight percent are estimated for 2020. In spite of the reduced emissions, our measurements show that CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has not yet decreased, says Ralf Sussmann from the Atmospheric Environmental Research Division of KITs Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-IFU), KITs Campus Alpine, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. To reduce CO2 concentration in the atmosphere in the long run, restrictions imposed during the corona pandemic would have to be continued for decades. But even this would be far from being sufficient.

To prove this, researchers additionally studied a long-term scenario that can be controlled well with atmospheric measurements: The goal of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius can only be reached by an immediate significant reduction of CO2 emissions and a further decrease down to zero by 2055. The restrictions imposed during the corona crisis, however, are far from being sufficient. They have just resulted in a one-time reduction by eight percent. To reach zero emissions in the coming decades, cumulative reductions of the same magnitude would be required every year, i.e. 16 percent in 2021, 24 percent in 2022, and so on. For this, political measures have to be taken to directly initiate fundamental technological changes in the energy and transport sectors, Sussmann says.

For the study, the team used data from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). It measured the concentrations in different layers of the atmosphere above Garmisch-Partenkirchen and at other places around the globe. High-tech infrared spectrometers are applied, which use the sun as a light source. The measurement method is highly precise, uncertainties are in the range of a few thousandths, Sussmann adds.

Long Life of CO2 Prevents Early Detection

According to the researchers, the long life of CO2 and the high background concentrations that have accumulated since the start of industrialization prevent the changes in the atmosphere from being detected. But also natural impacts make early detection difficult: Anthropogenic emissions, the main cause of the long-term increase in atmospheric CO2, are superposed by annual fluctuations of the growth rate due to natural climate variabilities of ocean sinks and land vegetation, Sussmann says. Successful emission reduction, hence, is hard to detect by atmosphere measurements.

For their study, the researchers compared the TCCON measurements with the prognoses of the atmospheric growth rate for 2020  with and without corona restrictions. Precision analysis of atmosphere measurements revealed that the impacts of COVID-19 measures on the atmosphere might be measured after little more than six months, if the reference state without COVID-19 would be predicted precisely, the climate researcher explains. In any case, we would be able to find out within presumably two and half years, whether global political and social measures will help us find viable alternatives of fossil fuels and reach the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Original Publication:

Sussmann, R., and Rettinger, M.: Can We Measure a COVID-19-Related Slowdown in Atmospheric CO2 Growth? Sensitivity of Total Carbon Column Observations, Remote Sens., 12, 2387, 2020. doi:10.3390/rs12152387

More about the KIT Climate and Environment Center: http://www.klima-umwelt.kit.edu/english

Being The Research University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,600 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 23,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.
Some jobs are more than a way to earn a living. To those of us who have been on the front lines as lead members of a health care team, or as providers of comfort and care to individual patients and their loved ones, we know nursing is not only a profession, but a calling.

Never has that been truer than the past few months, as nurses and other health care professionals have worked to tame the global pandemic that has hit Texas especially hard.

Yet, the shortage of nurses in our community is alarming. There are 1,300 open positions for registered nurses in San Antonio. Whats more, Texas ranks second only to California as the state hardest hit by the nursing crisis. By 2030, the number of unfilled registered nurse positions would swell to 60,000, based on projections of the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies.

The reasons for the shortage are well-documented. There is an aging population with increased health care needs, paralleled by a surge in nurses  about 1 million in the United States  set to reach retirement age in the next 10-15 years.

What is less clear is why there is a shortfall in an industry that rewards workers with well-paying jobs and a deep sense of personal fulfillment. Students are not shunning the profession. There are near-record numbers of people interested in filling the demand for nurses in Texas and throughout the nation.

For more information Visit absn.uiw.edu. See More Collapse

2020 Voter Guide: A roadmap of the races, candidates and issues on the ballot

Part of the problem rests with nursing schools; many cannot accept more students in their programs due to lack of educational space and retiring faculty. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing estimates more than 75,000 such students were turned away from college and university nursing programs in 2018 alone.

This stunning fact has propelled the University of the Incarnate Word to take action by offering a new accelerated path to nursing careers.

On Aug. 31, the universitys Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions welcomed its first cohort of students for the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at a new site in San Antonio.

The online program is supplemented with on-campus, hands-on learning, combining online simulations and real-world clinical practice at local partner hospitals and community agencies. Students learn the art and science of administering compassionate evidenced-based care. The idea is to deliver a nursing curriculum rooted in the universitys Christian principles thats conducive to students learning preferences and diverse scheduling needs.

Texas Take: Get the latest news on Texas politics sent directly to your inbox every weekday

COVID-19 confirmed the dire need to place nurses in critical nursing positions as soon as possible, and to enable those with bachelors degrees to chart a course for a new career without starting over. The program would complement the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Boards 60x30TX program, designed to help 60 percent of the states 25-to-34-year-old residents earn a certificate or degree by 2030.

Nurses have shown themselves to be the heroes of Americas health care system during this crisis. Their professionalism underscores the urgency of increasing the pipeline of nurses for our growing health care needs.

In San Antonio, UIW endeavors to take the first steps in introducing more students to the joys of nursing, so they can work in a profession they love while addressing a shortage of professionals that our community so desperately needs.

Dr. Holly Cassells is the dean of the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of the Incarnate Word.
Delhi zoo is all set to bring in more than 10 species of animals, including rhinoceros, crocodiles, and a tigress from other states as part of an exchange programme. "There are 83 species of animals in the zoo at present. Work is underway to add more than 10 animal species to its population," Zoo director Ramesh Pandey said.

The zoological park will bring a pair of chinkara from Chandigarh's Chhatbir zoo, he said, adding that an exchange of birds would also take place. The lone remaining chinkara in the Delhi zoo died on June 14, 2019.

Besides this, the Delhi zoo is making efforts to bring ostriches from Kanpur, a tigress from Uttar Pradesh for breeding purposes and a rhino from Patna. According to officials, central authorities have written to CMs of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar regarding this matter.

Talks to acquire gharials and crocodiles from Lucknow and the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust are also on. The Delhi zoo is also planning to add wild boar and pheasants to its wildlife population. The zoo doesn't have a single giraffe or zebra.

Besides this, efforts are also being made to "rewild" herbivores like blackbuck, sambar deer, nilgai and spotted deer in an attempt to bring down animal deaths. Around 65 animals have lost their lives in the last 6 months. Pandey said animal mortality rate in the zoo had tumbled around 45 per cent in the last 6 months due to a series of measures.

Also read: COVID-19 impact: India extends $250 million in financial support to Maldives

Also read: India's nominal GDP may grow at 19% in FY22, says govt
An Oklahoma woman pulled over by police told the officer it was her 'f***ing birthday' and that she had 'to go poop' before fleeing the scene and leading them on a 70mph car chase.

Emily Jean Owings Sindt, 28, was arrested last Tuesday morning in Enid after being stopped by officer Geoffrey McBride for not wearing her seatbelt.

Police body cam footage shows as Owings Sindt, identified by her medical marijuana card, explains it is her birthday and that she needs the toilet.

After speeding from the scene she was eventually stopped again by officers and arrested, this time asking them: 'Can I poop in your car, man?'

Scroll down for video

Emily Jean Owings Sindt was arrested last Tuesday morning in the city of Enid

Footage shows as Owings Sindt says it is her birthday and she needs the toilet. 'But I have to poop so bad. Its my f***ing birthday', she tells officers

Owings Sindt, whose license is revoked, is said to have led officers on a pursuit 'for several blocks, reaching speeds of 70 mph in a 30 mph zone, past an elementary school and through an intersection with a 4-way stop' police said.

She was eventually taken in custody and booked on complaints of eluding, reckless driving, driving under suspension, no seat belt, no insurance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Footage shows as a tearful Owings Sindt tells the officer running checks: 'But I have to poop so bad. Its my birthday. Its my f***ing birthday.'

'Why wont you just let me go?', she asks, adding: 'But can I please go home and go poop?'

The officer then tells Owings Sindt she has 'warrants in Woods County and they are coming to get you'.

She replies 'no they are not, f*** you guys', before speeding from the scene.

After being arrested and asking to use the police patrol car as a toilet one officer replies: 'You couldve already been on your way to jail.'

Owings Sindt answers: 'Yeah, but not pooping.'

After speeding from the scene she was eventually stopped again and arrested

She was booked on complaints of eluding, reckless driving, driving under suspension, no seat belt, no insurance and possession of drug paraphernalia

'Everybody poops, we know, but thats no reason to commit a felony', cops said

In a statement police said: 'A check with dispatch found Owings Sindts license was revoked and she had a warrant out of Woods and Grant counties.

'While waiting for this information, McBride saw the woman bouncing up and down in her seat and heard her yell several times more that she had to poop.'

'Owings Sindt then revved her engine, cursed the officers at the scene and sped away with her tires squealing.'

Police say they also found a glass meth pipe with a burnt residue inside her car.

They added: 'Everybody poops, we know, but thats no reason to commit a felony and put in danger the lives of officers, other motorists and pedestrians in the area.'
Outstanding Drama Series - Succession

Succession, a family drama from HBO, wins the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy. The show also won best actor, best writing, and best direction -- all in the drama categories.

Outstanding Supporting Actress - Julia Garner

The Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy goes to Julia Garner, for Netflixs Ozark.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series - Billy Crudup

Billy Crudup wins the Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series Emmy for The Morning Show. Read the Hindustan Times review of the Apple TV+ series here.

Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series - Succession

Andrij Parekh picks up Successions third Emmy, winning for Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series. The HBO series has already won for lead actor and writing, in the drama categories.

Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series - Succession

Jesse Armstrong of HBOs Succession wins the Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series Emmy, for the second year in a row.

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series - Zendaya

Zendaya wins the Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series Emmy for her performance in HBOs Euphoria. The 24-year-old is the youngest actor to win the award. Read the Hindustan Times review of the show here.

ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA ZENDAYA  HBO (@HBO) September 21, 2020

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series - Jeremy Strong

Jeremy Strong wins the Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for Succession. The HBO series is a strong contender in the drama categories.

Outstanding Competition Program - RuPauls Drag Race

RuPauls Drag Race wins the Outstanding Competition Program Emmy.

Outstanding Limited Series - Watchmen

HBOs Watchmen picked up its fourth Emmy, winning for Outstanding Limited Series. Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson have already won for writing, and Regina King and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II have won acting awards. I would be remiss if we didnt recognise all the men and women who died in the Tulsa Massacre in 1921, the original sin of our show. This country neglects and forgets its own history at its own peril often and we should never forget that, Lindelof said.

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie - Uzo Aduba

Uzo Aduba wins the Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie, for her performance in FXs Mrs America.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie - Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II wins Watchmens third Emmy, for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie.

It was a story about the lasting scars of white domestic violence  white domestic terrorism, pardon me. It was a story about police corruption and brutality, the actor said in his speech. But in the midst of all that, it was also a story about a guy who came down to earth to reciprocate to a black woman all the love that she deserved.

Im so proud that I was able to walk into those shoes, so I dedicate this award to all the black women in my life, he continued.

Outstanding Directing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special - Unorthodox

Maria Schrader wins the Emmy for Outstanding Directing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special, for the four-part Netflix series Unorthodox.

Outstanding Writing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special - Watchmen

HBOs Watchmen picked up its second award, with Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson winning Outstanding Writing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special.

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie - Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo wins the Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie, for his dual role in HBOs I Know This Much is True. We are stronger together when we love each other and respect each others diversity, the actor said in his politically charged speed. Are we going to be a country of hate and division and a country only for certain people? Or are we going to be one of love and strength and fighting for all of us to have the American dream.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series - Regina King

Regina King kicked off the drama categories with a win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series, for HBOs Watchmen. This is the fourth Emmy of Regina Kings career.

Jennifer Aniston, Regina King, Zendaya share their glam looks

Even with red carpet cancelled, several Hollywood celebrities decided to go all out and get their glam on for the Emmy Awards 2020 ceremony. Actors Jennifer Aniston, Zendaya, Regina King, all shared their gorgeous outfits from the night on social media. See the best looks here.

Outstanding Variety Talk Series - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

John Oliver wins the first Emmy of the show to not go to Schitts Creek, for his Outstanding Variety Talk Series, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Outstanding Comedy Series - Schitts Creek

The sweep is complete; Schitts Creek picks up its seventh award in a row, and ninth overall, going out on a record-breaking note.

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series - Annie Murphy

Annie Murphy wins the Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series, continuing Schitts Creeks historic run.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Dan Levy

Schitts Creek picks up its fifth Emmy in a row, with creator Dan Levy winning his third, for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Directing For A Comedy Series - Schitts Creek

Andrew Cividino and Dan Levy win Schitts Creeks fourth award in a row, for Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series.

Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series - Schitts Creek

Schitts Creek scores a hat-trick of awards as it picks up the Emmy for Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series. The show concluded its run with its sixth and final season.

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series - Eugene Levy

Eugene Levy wins the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series, for Schitts Creek. This is the shows second award of the ceremony. Catherine OHara had previously won for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series.

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series - Catherine OHara

Catherine OHara wins the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series, for her performance in Schitts Creek. The show has 15 nominations at the Emmys this year.

O'Hara accepted the award virtually in the pandemic-safe ceremony.

Though these are the strangest of days, may you have as much joy being holed up in a room or two with your family as I had with my dear Roses, O'Hara said, surrounded in a decorated room by mask-wearing co-stars who play the Rose family members.

Ahead of Emmys 2020, a complete list of nominations

The annual Emmy Awards, celebrating the best in television, will be handed out on Sunday in a virtual ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel from Los Angeles. Here is a list of nominees in key categories for the 72nd Emmy Awards.

Priyanka Chopra shares stunning throwback video, wishes good luck to all nominees

Actor Priyanka Chopra may not be attending this years Emmy Awards ceremony, but she is still thinking about the good time she had at the 2016 ceremony. Priyanka took to Instagram on Sunday to share her good wishes for all the nominees competing for the trophy on Monday.

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A retired Uyghur driver who disappeared in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) more than four years ago and was believed held in an internment camp has been confirmed dead by Chinese authorities in response to an inquiry by the United Nations, according to his daughter.

Chinas government rarely acknowledges inquiries by foreign authorities or international bodies seeking clarification on the status of missing persons within its borders, particularly ethnic Uyghurs, of whom up to 1.8 million are believed to have been extrajudicially detained in a vast network of internment camps in the XUAR since April 2017.

Fatimah Abdulghafur, a Uyghur poet and activist living in Australia, recently told RFAs Uyghur Service that she only learned of the death of her father, Abdulghafur Hapiz, earlier this monthnearly two years after it occurredbecause the U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) made a formal inquiry to the Chinese government after registering his disappearance in April 2019.

A letter came directly from the U.N. and they said the contents of the letter came from the Chinese government, Abdulghafur said.

The PDF they sent showed his name, Ghopur Hapiz, his passport number, and his household registration in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi), and it said he died of pneumonia and tuberculosis on Nov. 3, 2018, she added, using an alias for her father, who is also known as Abdulghafur Siddiq, Gupur Apizi, and by his Chinese name Apizi Wufuer.

No information was provided about whether Hapiz had been detained or was interned at the time of his death.

According to the Chinese government, Abdulghafurs mother, Rushangul Abdurehim (Adudureyimu Ruxianguli), who had also gone missing and is believed to have been placed under house arrest, is living a normal life in society.

Abdulghafurs brother Abdusami Ghopur (Abudusemaiti Wufu) and her sister, Meryem Ghopur(Bumairiyanmu Wufu)both of whom had been registered as missing with the WGEIDwere not mentioned in the communication. Her brother is thought to have been detained at an internment camp, while her sister is believed to have been placed under house arrest with her mother.

Seeking information

Abdulghafur told RFA she had last spoken with her father on April 25, 2016 via the Chinese messaging platform WeChat.

With a sense of urgency in his voice, he left a message saying, Daughter, please call me back immediatelyplease call me, I have something important to say, she said.

The message came overnight, and after I got up in the morning I listened to his message and tried to call him, but hed already disappeared. I started looking for my dad after that.

Abdulghafur said that her younger sister, who lives in Turkey, told her she had learned from a source inside the XUAR that their father had been taken to a camp in March 2017.

She said someone had sent her a message saying there was a way that she could save him, but she didnt know how to do so, Abdulghafur said. Since going in [to the camp], he hadnt come outthats what she said.

They didnt take my mother and youngest sister in  They put them under house arrest at home, made it so they couldnt go outside. But they took my younger brother into a campSami Ghopur.

Abdulghafur tried multiple methods over the past several years to publicize the cases of her family members and to seek information on their whereabouts, including through interviews with media outlets and making inquiries to human rights lawyers in China and other countries, before registering them with the WGEID in April last year.

She said she learned in May 2019 through sources in the XUAR that her brother, who she believes was targeted by authorities because he had traveled to Turkey and taken the holy Islamic hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, had been released from the camp he was placed in. However, she only learned about her fathers death earlier this month after the Chinese government responded to the WGEID inquiry.

Open-minded thinker

Abdulghafur Hapiz, who was born on Jan. 5, 1955, had a long career working in both government offices and private enterprises. For a number of years, he worked at a government travel bureau in Kashgar and later opened a restaurant in the city.

Most recently, Hapiz had been conducting business between Kashgar and Korla (Kuerle)a county-level city in Bayingholin Mongol (Bayinguoleng Menggu) Autonomous Prefecture and the XUARs second-largest cityseveral prefectures away.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Hapiz worked for a branch of the China Youth Travel Service, driving often between Kashgar and Pakistan, and Abdulghafur said that his work in travel exposed him to early abuses of the Chinese state against Uyghurs who traveled abroad.

The business of forcing Uyghurs to return to the homeland had already started happening in Kashgar in the 1980s, she said.

My fathers boss went [to Pakistan] to bring back young people whod gone to Karachi to study, whod gone to study at an Islamic university there. They lied to the students and told them they were going to do this and that for them, but after they brought them back to Kashgar they locked some of them up in jail  my father told us about a lot of things like this.

Abdulghafur called her father an open-minded thinker who was straightforward in expressing his opinions and said she believes that his direct knowledge of government abuses over the past several decades was the reason for his detention.

He always had his finger on the pulse of what was going on, she said.

Whether writers, poets, governors, or mayors, he interacted with them. Thats why my dad had woken up [to what was happening], in spite of the fact that he himself didnt have the power to do much. He knew what the government was doing.

Abdulghafur said that she has assisted close to 100 Uyghurs in filling out applications to the U.N.s WGEID to search for information about their missing family members. She has also begun a formal collaboration with staff of the Uyghur Transitional Justice Database in Norway to help others attempting to locate their lost loved ones in the XUAR.

Reported by Mihray Abdilim for RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by Elise Anderson. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
NYSE American Symbol  UEC

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE American: UEC) ("UEC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, due to increased demand, its underwriters have now agreed to purchase 12,500,000 units of the Company (the "Units"), at a price of $1.20 per Unit, with each Unit consisting of one common share of the Company (each, a "Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant") for gross proceeds of approximately $15 million (the "Offering"). Each Warrant will entitle its holder to acquire one common share (each, a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $1.80 per Warrant Share exercisable immediately upon issuance and expiring 24 months from the closing of the Offering.

The Company anticipates that the net proceeds of the Offering will be used to fund exploration and development expenditures at the Company's projects and for general corporate and working capital purposes.

Amir Adnani, President and CEO, stated: "We are pleased with the substantial level of interest for this Offering and appreciate the strong endorsement from our existing and new shareholders. UEC's fully permitted, low cost, In-Situ-Recovery ("ISR") portfolio provides for a distinct advantage to supply U.S. production that is globally competitive. The improved uranium market conditions we've witnessed in 2020, with uranium prices reaching a four-year high, bodes well for the future of our ISR project pipeline. This over-subscribed financing improves our balance sheet as we advance our strategic objectives and production capabilities in Texas and Wyoming."

The closing of the Offering is expected to occur on September 23, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.

H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC and Haywood Securities Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers in connection with the Offering and TD Securities Inc., Eight Capital and Roth Capital Partners, LLC are acting as co-managers.

A "shelf" registration statement relating to the shares of common stock and warrants to be issued in the Offering was filed in both in the United States with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and declared effective by the SEC on March 3, 2020 and in Canada.

A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus describing the terms of the proposed Offering will be filed in both the United States and in Canada. Copies of the final prospectus supplements and the accompanying prospectus relating to the securities being offered may also be obtained from H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC via email at [email protected], and in Canada from Haywood Securities Inc. at [email protected]. Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplements and accompanying prospectus are also available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov or by visiting the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

This press release does not and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state or jurisdiction. The securities being offered have not been approved or disapproved by any regulatory authority, nor has any such authority passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the prospectus supplement, the prospectus or the Company's shelf registration statement.

About Uranium Energy Corp

Uranium Energy Corp is a U.S.-based uranium mining and exploration company. In South Texas, the Company's hub-and-spoke operations are anchored by the fully-licensed Hobson Processing Facility which is central to the Palangana, Burke Hollow and Goliad ISR projects. In Wyoming, UEC controls the Reno Creek project, which is the largest permitted, pre-construction ISR uranium project in the U.S. Additionally, the Company controls a pipeline of uranium projects in Arizona, New Mexico and Paraguay, a uranium/vanadium project in Colorado and a large, high-grade ferro-titanium project in Paraguay. The Company's operations are managed by professionals with a recognized profile for excellence in their industry, a profile based on many decades of hands-on experience in the key facets of uranium exploration, development and mining.

Stock Exchange Information:

NYSE American: UEC

WKN: AJDRR

ISN: US916896103

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this news release constitutes "forward-looking statements" as such term is used in applicable United States and Canadian laws. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Any other statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans, "estimates" or "intends", or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and should be viewed as "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 Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including statements regarding whether or when the Offering may be completed and the anticipated use of proceeds from the offering. Such risks and other factors include, among others, the actual results of exploration activities, variations in the underlying assumptions associated with the estimation or realization of mineral resources, the availability of capital to fund programs and the resulting dilution caused by the raising of capital through the sale of shares, accidents, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry including, without limitation, those associated with the environment, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, title disputes or claims limitations on insurance coverage. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this news release and in any document referred to in this news release.

Certain matters discussed in this news release and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Federal securities laws. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Many of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and that could impact the Company and the statements contained in this news release can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities.

SOURCE Uranium Energy Corp

Related Links

http://www.uraniumenergy.com/


Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state at the Supreme Court building and at the US Capitol this week in ceremonies that follow coronavirus guidelines.

The late Supreme Court justice's casket will be on public view Wednesday and Thursday under the portico at the top of the steps in front of the Supreme Court building.

On Friday, she will lie in state in National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state at the Supreme Court building and at the US Capitol this week

Ginsburg coffin will lie in repose on the front steps of the Supreme Court building on Wednesday and Thursday for the public to pay their respects

Admirers have left tributes to Ginsburg on the steps of the Supreme Court building

Ginsburg's coffin will arrive at the Supreme Court building just before 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for a private ceremony for her family, close friends and fellow justices, the court said in a statement.

There also will be a formal ceremony at the Capitol on Friday morning that is invitation-only due to the COVID pandemic, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced.

Her coffin, for both viewing locations, will be placed on the Lincoln Catafalque, which has been loaned to the court by Congress for the ceremony.

It's unclear if President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will pay their respects and, if so, when.

Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service, the court said in a statement.

Her husband, Martin Ginsburg, was buried at Arlington in 2010.

It's an unusually long public celebration for a Supreme Court justice - the third branch of government that flies under the radar compared to the president and members of Congress, likely because the justices do not allow cameras in their court room.

Justices Antonin Scalia, William Brennan Jr., John Paul Stevens and Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist all lay in repose for one day at the court.

But none achieved the level of national fame that Ginsburg received.

A large crowd is expected to walk past her casket at the court when she lies in repose, given the outpouring of emotion already being particularly by those who view her as a feminist icon and hero to the left.

Admirers left flowers and notes for Ginsburg on the Supreme Court's steps in the wake of her passing.

Ginsburg found fame late in life and became known affectionately as 'Notorious R.B.G.' There have been documentaries and movies on her life along with a children's book about her.

President Trump has ordered flags at all federal buildings to be at half-staff until after she is laid to rest. Flags at the White House, the Supreme Court and the US Capitol are among those being lowered in her honor.

Ginsburg, the justice beloved of the left who became famous for her fiery dissents, died on Friday at the age of 87 due to complications from her ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer.

Trump said he would nominate Ginsburg's replacement on Friday or Saturday  after funeral services have concluded for the late justice.

'I think it'll be on Friday or Saturday,' he said. 'And we want to pay respect. We, it looks like, it looks like we will have probably services on Thursday or Friday, as I understand it.'

Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be buried next week in Arlington National Cemetery; her husband Martin, seen above with her at her 1993 Supreme Court swearing in ceremony with then-President Bill Clinton and then Chief Justice William Rehnquist, was buried in Arlington in 2010

Ginsburg will also lie in state in National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol, where flags fly at half-staff

President Donald Trump told 'Fox & Friends' he would name Justice Ginsburg's replacement on Friday or Saturday

Trump, who now has a chance to nominate a third justice to a lifetime appointment on the court, named Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees.

But he told 'Fox & Friends' on Monday morning he was seriously looking at four or five possible nominees.

'I'm looking at five, probably four, but I'm looking at five very seriously,' Trump said.

He said his nominee, which he has said will be a woman, should be confirmed before Election Day.

'I think the final vote should be taken, frankly, before the election. We have plenty of time for that,' he said.

'When you have the Senate, when you have the votes, you can do what you want as long as you have it,' he told 'Fox & Friends' on Monday morning.
The temporary service will originate in Ho Chi Minh (SGN), stopping at Cathay Pacific's Cargo Terminal at Hong Kong International Airport, landing in PIT every Monday and Thursday until November 26, 2020.

Notably, flight CX8800 will be operated by a reconfigured Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft instead of Cathay Pacific's go-to ultra-long-haul freighter, the Boeing 747-8, of which there are currently 14 in its fleet.

"Cathay Pacific is excited to link Hong Kong, one of the world's key intermodal airfreight hubs, to Pittsburgh. The city is ideally placed between the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest, home to more than 50% of the population of the United States," said Fred Ruggiero, Vice President Cargo, Americas, Cathay Pacific Airways. "Cargo remains a bright spot for the airline during this challenging time. This temporary expansion underscores Cathay Pacific's commitment to our freight forwarder partners, who requested an expanded cargo service to meet heightened demand. We are pleased to join forces with Pittsburgh International Airport and Unique Logistics and look forward to assisting with future freight needs."

"Pittsburgh's history is as a center for transportation and logistics," said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. "We continue to have that industry as a core part of our economy, which is why I'm proud to welcome Cathay Pacific and Unique Logistics to our expanding air cargo portfolio in the region. We know now, more than ever, how important it is to move products around the world quickly and efficiently, and we look forward to both companies expanding their business in Pittsburgh."

"We are thrilled to partner with Cathay Pacific and Unique Logistics in expanding our air cargo network," said Pittsburgh International Airport CEO Christina Cassotis. "This is another step in building Pittsburgh International Airport into a global logistics center with world-class service. Our speed, efficiency and ideal location offer a unique benefit for carriers and freight forwarders looking to serve the North America market."

In an effort to introduce additional cargo capacity where possible and help support global supply chains, Cathay Pacific reconfigured two Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft into 'preighters,' with seats removed in the Economy and Premium Economy cabins to enable the airline to carry 12 tons of additional cargo under extra safety and security measures.

Cargo is currently the stronger performer for Cathay Pacific, operating over 436 pairs of cargo-only passenger flights and carrying over 102,122 tons of cargo and mail in August 2020. For more information on how Cathay Pacific reconfigured its passenger aircraft, please see the video here.

The state-of-the-art Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal at Hong Kong International Airport offers a broad spectrum of logistical solutions for the airfreight industry. Combining advanced technology with streamlined workflows to set new service benchmarks for the industry, customers benefit from extended cut-off times, last-minute cargo acceptance and reduced connection times for transshipments. In conjunction with Pittsburgh International Airport's uncongested and reliable Cargo Terminal to move freight to and from North America, the freight path will be able to ship as efficiently as possible, delivering 35-40 tons of cargo.

About Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific is the home airline of Hong Kong, offering scheduled passenger and cargo services to destinations in Asia, North America, Australia, Europe and Africa. The company is a member of the Swire group and is a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Cathay Pacific has made substantial investments to develop Hong Kong as one of the world's leading global transportation hubs. Cathay Pacific is a founding member of the oneworld global alliance.

About Allegheny County Airport Authority:

Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County Airport, is committed to transforming Pittsburgh's airports to reflect and serve the community, inspire the industry, and advance the region's role as a world leader. Pittsburgh International Airport serves nearly 10 million passengers annually on 17 carriers. The airport was named by Fast Company magazine as One of the Most Innovative Companies in the World as well as a finalist in its World Changing Ideas awards, both in 2020. For more information, visit www.flypittsburgh.com.

Media Enquiries

415-867-8878

[email protected]

www.cathaypacificcargo.com



SOURCE Cathay Pacific Airways
Haters congratulated those behind a murder and an acid attack.

Police in Italy have tracked down two so-called 'haters' who posted vile, hate-filled messages on social media, in two high-profile but separate cases.

The first case related to the killing of Willy Monteiro Duarte, a Cape Verdian-Italian who was beaten to death by a gang in a town south of Rome earlier this month.

A hater, hiding behind the fake profile of 'Manlio Germano', published a post in which he celebrated the murder of Duarte, congratulating his killers, with the comment: "How happy I am that you got rid of that chimpanzee."

Police tracked down the man behind the comment, a young Neapolitan student living in Treviso, who is an IT specialist using fictitious accounts connected to service providers in Bulgaria and Korea.

The student now faces charges including incitement to commit crimes aggravated by racial hatred, which carries a penalty of up to eight years in prison, according to Italian media.

Willy Monteiro Duarte

The second case involves Lucia Annibali, an Italian lawyer and politician with the liberal Italia Viva party, who is an acid attack survivor, as reported by Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

In 2013 her face was left permanently scarred after two men sent by her former boyfriend, Luca Varani, doused her in acid. Varani was sentenced to 20 years in jail for attempted murder and stalking, while the two men who threw the acid were sentenced to 12 years in prison.

In recent days police tracked down the hater behind the comment: "Luca Varani you are my hero. Honour and thanks to Luca Varani, you did your duty as a man," wrote the man, before referring to Annibali as "una misera infame" (which translates roughly as a "miserable disgrace.")

The individual, aged 53 and living in Rome, admitted responsibility for the comment, made using a fake name, and his case has been referred to judicial authorities, reports La Repubblica.

Photo of Lucia Annibali - La Repubblica
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty President Donald Trump

A woman believed to have sent Donald Trump a letter containing the poison ricin has been arrested at the United States-Canadian border.

The suspect was allegedly found crossing the border from Canada into Buffalo, New York, on Sunday, according to the BBC and the Guardian. She was reportedly carrying a gun and arrested by U.S. authorities.

The letter, which was discovered last week at a White House offsite mail-sorting facility, is believed to have been sent from Quebec. Two tests confirmed the presence of ricin in the letter, which never reached the White House.

There is believed to be no threat to the public at this time.

"The FBI and our U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service partners are investigating a suspicious letter received at a U.S. government mail facility. At this time, there is no known threat to public safety," according to an FBI statement obtained by CNN.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

As prosecutors in Washington, D.C., prepare to file charges against the suspect, her identity has not been released. She is believed to have joint Canadian and French citizenship and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

On Monday, Canadian officials searched a Montreal apartment connected to the woman.

We believe a total of six letters were sent, one to the White House and five to Texas, RCMP officer Charles Poirier told the Guardian outside the building. We cant confirm that she lived in [the apartment], but it is connected to her.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, the released ricin can cause injury. Ricin can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans."

Exposure to ricin can cause death within 36 to 72 hours and there is no known antidote.
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The NHS is setting up designated 'Covid-free' hospitals around England in preparation for a second wave of coronavirus, according to reports.

Hospital bosses are thought to be desperate to avoid the situation they faced in March, when patients without Covid-19 fell by the wayside.

A drive to 'protect the NHS' when the virus first took off in spring this year led to thousands of routine operations and appointments being cancelled and postponed en masse.

As a result, England's surgery waiting list has hit a record high and cancer charities have warned of a 'ticking time-bomb' of undiagnosed disease.

Now, as cases are on the rise going into the autumn, NHS chiefs are planning to set aside 'clean' hospitals to ensure normal procedures can keep going through a second peak in Covid-19 infections and deaths.

Smaller hospitals in cities are likely to refuse to take any coronavirus patients at all so they can safely carry on with normal healthcare, The Guardian reports.

But the same may not be possible in more rural areas where inpatient hospitals are often smaller and more spaced out. It is not yet known which hospitals could be free of coronavirus patients, but Whittington Hospital in London is expected to be one.

Hospitals are under pressure to carry on routine healthcare even if they start to see a rise in coronavirus infections (Pictured: Radiologists in an X-ray department in Blackburn, North West England)

'For perfectly understandable reasons people didn't come, so we don't want that to happen again,' one unnamed NHS executive told The Guardian.

'So this time round we need to be more visibly open and let people know that much more elective care is available so they will access it for help with things like cancer.'

BIRMINGHAM NIGHTINGALE HOSPITAL READY TO REOPEN Health bosses revealed last week that the temporary Nightingale hospital in Birmingham's NEC arena has been placed on standby so it can start treating patients within two to three days. The dramatic move came as figures showed the UK's outbreak had nearly doubled in size in a week with the R number potentially as high as 1.4. The temporary hospital, set up solely to cope with a rising number of coronavirus patients during the peak of Britain's outbreak, was officially opened by Prince William via videolink in April. Dr David Rosser, the chief executive of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, which runs the site, confirmed it was preparing to reopen last week. He told the Birmingham Mail: 'We hope we are over preparing, but are nervous we are not. 'The levels of anxiety among our staff is beyond anything I have experienced in over 30 years. 'I have never known a clinical team so anxious in my 30 years about what is ahead.' Advertisement

Another explained: 'Some hospitals will do elective work and nothing else, others will do a combination of electives and also have Covid-positive patients in their ICU [intensive care unit].'

The move is being made in a bid to keep the NHS running even if the number of coronavirus patients admitted to hospitals surges again.

Hospital admissions remain low in England  there were 205 on Friday, compared to 3,099 on April 1, at the peak of the outbreak  but they're rising.

The daily average number of people being admitted has risen from 59 to 178 in the past two weeks and there are now at least 138 people on ventilators in intensive care, up from a low of 61 on August 8.

When the crisis first hit in March, NHS hospitals were ordered to clear their wards to make way for an influx of people with the disease.

Images emerging from disaster-hit northern Italy, of patients being treated in corridors, had the Government in panic mode and caused hospitals to cease all procedures and appointments that weren't urgent.

As a result, the waiting list for routine operations  which include hip and knee replacements, cataracts, and some cancer treatments  is longer than ever.

One in 50 NHS patients have now been waiting a year or more for planned surgery due to treatment delays caused by coronavirus.

NHS England data shows 83,000 patients (2.1 per cent of the total) referred for routine operations have still not been treated 52 weeks later.

Statistics also show the number of those waiting for ops for more than 18 weeks  the NHS target time  is at a 12-year high, with more than two million Britons now overdue.

Hospitals are struggling to get through the slog of patients waiting for ops because they shut down all non-emergency treatment for months during the crisis. They are still only running at a fraction of their usual capacity.

There are currently four million people on waiting lists for elective surgery but NHS bosses expect that number to grow to a record 10million by the end of the year.

One in 50 NHS patients have now been waiting a year or more for planned surgery. The number of those waiting for elective ops for more than 18 weeks is at a 12-year high, with more than two million Britons now overdue

A&E waiting times have also started to rise again now that more people are coming forward for treatment. Performance times improved during lockdown (shown by more than 90% of people being seen within four hours) but this is falling again as people return to using normal healthcare

Whittington Hospital, near Hampstead Heath in north London, is one expected to be designated free of coronavirus patients

The plans revealed by The Guardian will mean that cities could have entire Covid-free hospitals, which will not admit any patients with the infectious disease, while smaller NHS trusts may have cordoned off areas for coronavirus patients.

Whittington Hospital, near Hampstead Heath in north London, is one expected to be designated free of coronavirus patients.

NHS SURGEONS 'ONLY WORKING AT 50% CAPACITY' BECAUSE OF COVID-19 NHS surgeons are only working at around 50 per cent capacity in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite record numbers of people on the waiting list for routine treatment. Professor Neil Mortensen, president of the the Royal College of Surgeons, revealed surgeons 'didn't have much to do' during the lockdown, as routine operations were cancelled to make room for an expected swarm of Covid-19 patients. But they are struggling to get back to pre-coronavirus activity levels, despite barely any infected patients being in hospital. Surgeons say infection control measures and a lack of testing have left them unable to attack the backlog. Professor Mortensen told The Telegraph: 'Most surgeons would say productivity is around half what it was before.' He told the newspaper that there were obstacles in restoring services to levels seen before Covid-19, which experts say is needed to clear the backlog. Health bosses fear up to 10million patients will be left waiting for treatment by this winter. A lack of routine testing for NHS staff is hindering efforts to create 'Covid-free' zones in hospitals, he said. And doctors have previously warned social distancing in hospitals will mean fewer patients can be admitted at any given time. Advertisement

Covid-19 patients near hospital would instead be cared for at University College London Hospital or the Royal Free, further south in the city.

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals and ambulance services, said: 'This time round it makes sense to put arrangements in place to ensure that as much routine care as possible can continue, including identifying Covid and non-Covid sites.

'This approach can reduce the impact of necessary but burdensome infection control measures, such as deeper and more frequent cleaning and the need to wear and change cumbersome protective equipment, which should mean that there is greater capacity to treat and care for patients.

'Much has been learnt since the first wave of the pandemic.'

Layla McCay, director at the NHS Confederation, added: 'Whilst it was necessary to put elective treatment on hold during the spring peak of Covid-19, it is now important that we also try to resume normal services as far as possible.

'The backlog stands at a record high and so finding innovative and creative ways to meet demand will be key, particularly as we head towards a turbulent winter period.'

The catastrophic impact of coronavirus patients that politicians and health chiefs feared in March never fully materialised as the NHS managed to cope with the virus.

Little was known when the disease first emerged, which left officials fearful of the toll it would take, but treatments have improved since and survival rates are higher.

Ten per cent more of Britain's sickest coronavirus patients are surviving than at the start of the pandemic.

Analysis of NHS records shows that 44 per cent of intensive care admissions were dying of the virus when the pandemic first spiralled out of control in March.

The Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC), which conducted the review, said this had fallen to 34 per cent by July.

The ICNARC report found medics are far less quick to put patients on invasive and potentially-damaging ventilators amid concerns they could make the illness worse.

It's hoped survival rates will improve further still after a number of cheap steroids, including dexamethasone and hydrocortisone, were proven to treat severe Covid.

Hospitals are also far less busy than they were in April and May, meaning doctors and nurses can spend more time with virus patients. Staff sickness rates are also lower.

Covid-19 transmission in the community has plummeted, with around 100 people being hospitalised with the disease every day compared to 4,000 in April.

And because the NHS turfed out tens of thousands of patients to make room for Covid-19 admissions, hospitals are still running at very limited capacity.
HONG KONG, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong has seen continued abating of the third wave of COVID-19 outbreak, with six new infections reported on Monday.

Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) said in a statement that two cases were locally infected and the other four had a travel history during the incubation period.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the CHP's Communicable Disease Branch, said several samples taken from the lab at the University of Hong Kong's school of public health were found to contain the virus after one of its employees tested positive.

Over 300 swabs taken from the employees who had been to the lab floor all showed negative for the virus, Chuang said.

According to Hong Kong's Hospital Authority, 185 patients are still hospitalized, including 13 in critical condition. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong has totaled 5,038.
South Africans have been invited to come up with a name for South Africas newest airline, which is expected to start flying by the end of the year.

The airline, which is a partnership between Kulula founder Gidon Novick and Global Aviation, is inspired by innovative tech-driven companies such as Uber.

Similar to the way Uber has transformed the point-to-point mobility, there is a huge opportunity for the airline industry to rethink its relationship with passengers and be more customer-obsessed, said Novick.

The pandemic has created a unique opportunity to start an airline that is not only dramatically more efficient but also inventive and creative by tapping into the unique talent that our country offers.

South Africans can visit brandnewairline.co.za to submit their suggestions and vote on their preferred name for the airline.

The winner will be announced within the next two weeks and will be rewarded with a years free travel pass on the airline.

The prize is detailed as follows:

A years worth of flights on airline X comprising 12 return flights for two (winner + partner)

Max value of R2,000 per person per flight

Travel must be used within 12 months of winning

Building a new airline during the pandemic

The new airline is being launched despite other established airlines facing significant troubles  both SAA and Comair are currently in the midst of business rescue proceedings.

However, Novick sees an opportunity brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic to re-look the traditional airline model  including a focus on technology.

Technology has the ability to facilitate a seamless, efficient, and engaging relationship with our future customers, said Novick.

Additionally, Novick noted that the pandemic has brought about the opportunity to acquire the important assets for an airline  including planes, facilities, and employees  at an affordable price.

By improving efficiency and cutting costs, Novick believes the airline can make major inroads into the airline industry.

Cost-cutting measures will include purchasing or leasing used aircraft to save money.

These aircraft will predominantly be narrow-body, single-aisle aircraft that seat about 180 people  such as the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320.

Additionally, Novick said that it is absolutely key that the airline stays away from debt, and has confirmed that it will be funded through private capital instead.

This is because his experience in the industry showed him just how much damage debt can cause.

Strategy

This new airline will start off with flights between OR Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airport, and envisions that its first flight will take place in December 2020.

While this is a strong route for business travel, Novick does not believe that business travel will continue to be as strong as it was before the lockdown.

Instead, the new airlines focus is on leisure travel, and it will leverage South Africas potential as a tourist destination.

Now read: Boeing whistleblower says 737 changes are not enough
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Former Congress Councillor Ishrat Jahan, activist Khalid Saifi, suspended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain, Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association President Shifa Ur Rehman and Jamia student Meeran Haider allegedly received Rs 1.61 crore for managing protest sites against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Delhi and executing the conspiracy hatched for the riots in north east Delhi in February, police have said in their chargesheet.

Police have filed the chargesheet against 15 accused in the case related to 'larger conspiracy' in the communal violence in north east Delhi in February.

"During investigation it has come to notice that during the period December 1, 2019 to February 26, 2020 total Rs 1,61,33,703 was received by the accused persons Ishrat Jahan, Khalid Saifi, Tahir Hussain, Shifa-Ur Rehman and Meeran's Haider through bank account or cash. Out of the total Rs 1. 61 crores, Rs 1,48,01186 was withdrawn as cash and spent in managing the protest sites as well to execute the conspiracy hatched in riots in Delhi," the chargesheet said.

The document claimed that on further investigation it has been found that on December 10, accused Ishrat Jahan received Rs 4 lakh in her bank account from a corporation bank account.

On investigation, account was found in the name of Mahadev Vijay Kaste from Maharasthra, it said, adding that during his examination Kaste disclosed that he does not know Jahan directly and he works as a driver for Sameer Abdul Sai, a resident of Maharashtra.

"He further disclosed on instruction of his employer Sai he took a gold loan of Rs 4,31,700 from ICICI bank. This amount was transferred by the ICICI bank to the above mentioned corporation bank account. He further disclosed that on asking, his employer Sai transferred Rs 4 lakh to Jahan's account from total amount," police alleged in the chargesheet.

It further alleged that Sai disclosed during examination that Imran Siddiqui from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh was his business partner.

"On December 9, 2019, Imran had given three bank account numbers belonging to Jahan, Gulzar Ali and Bilal Ahmad and asked him to transfer Rs 10 lakhs to these 3 accounts urgently. As he showed his inability to transfer Rs 10 lakhs, he insisted for Rs 5 lakhs to Jahan's account urgently," it said.

Police further alleged that Imran, brother-in-law of Jahan, disclosed that he took Rs 4 lakh from his sister-in-law for some business.

"He did not mention in his IT return that he has taken a loan of Rs 4 lakh from Jahan. He did not give any satisfactory answer regarding expenditure/use of that money," police said.

Police further alleged in their chargesheet that on scrutiny of bank accounts of Jahan, it was found that on January 10, 2020, there was a cash deposit of Rs 1, 41,000 in her account by herself.

"During interrogation she could explain the source of this amount. On scrutiny of the bank statements, it has been found that Jahan has withdrawn Rs 4,60,900 as cash from her bank account.

"During investigation, it was found that Jahan had used this money to manage the protest sites and in purchasing the weapons through accused Abdul Khalid. The weapons were used during the riots," the chargesheet alleged.

During investigation, two bank accounts of accused Tahir Hussain's company and one bank account, which belongs to his brother-in-law and partners of his company were investigated, it claimed.

"On the analysis of this account, it was found that during this period of December 1, 2019 to February 26, 2020, Rs 17,25,000 was withdrawn. It was further found that Rs 20 lakh on Jan 7, Rs 10 lakh on Jan 13 and Rs 16 lakh and Rs 14 lakh on Jan 14, were transferred through RTGS in the account from Sri Sai Traders. In this regard, the owner of Sai Traders, Jitender and the brokers namely Roushan Thakur, were examined and their statements were recorded," it said.

From the statements of the witnesses, it was found that the Hussain converted Rs 60 lakhs into cash through the channels against the commission, the chargesheet said.

"From the statement of the protected witnesses and from the disclosure statement of the accused Tahir Hussain it was found that accused Hussain had spent huge amount of cash in running the protests, mobilizing of the people for riots and procuring the materials, which was later used in the riots," the chargesheet alleged.

It further said that during investigation, it was found that Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) has played a crucial role through its president Shifa Ur Rehman in the protests and riots which happened in Delhi.

"During its investigation, it has come to the notice that AAJMI has two bank accounts. The bank account statements' analysis has found that from December 1, 2019, to February 26, 2020 Rs 87,500 were credited in an Indian Bank account, out of which, Rs 37,500 was credited to this account through an online transfer and Rs 50,000 were credited as cash deposits.

"During investigation, accused Rehman had disclosed that he had deposited Rs 50,000 in cash amount in the account of AAJMI through someone whose name he could not remember. He had withdrawn Rs 70,000 from this account for the expenses of the ongoing protests," it claimed.

Analysis of the second bank account showed that during December 1 to February 26, 2020, Rs 4,41,059 was credited online in this account and Rs 60,600 was withdrawn during this period, it stated.

"Rehman had disclosed that he withdrew Rs 60,000 from his bank account for managing the protests going on against NRC/CAB," it alleged.

Police further said the office of AAJMI was raided and documents were seized, whose analysis have shown that AAJMI had received Rs 7,60,000 as cash during this period.

"It was found that out of the total amount, Rs 5,55,000 was received from the alumni working abroad, that is Saudi, UAE, Oman and Qatar...The police have relied on the statement of a protected witness who stated that Rehman had spent this money in the ongoing protest.

"During verification of seized documents, fake bills and expenses in the name of AAJMI to the tune of Rs 1,69,554 were found on verification. This showed that the accused had tried to cover up his mistakes. Further investigation in this regard is going on," it stated.

The chargesheet further said Haider had one Indian bank account and its analysis showed that from December 1, 2019 to February 26, 2020, he received Rs 86,644 in his bank account through online transfer.

"On April 6, 2020, a register was seized from Haider's room on which it was found that he has received Rs 4,82,500. Out of the total cash amount, Rs 50,000 was handed over by one Tanveer Ali, on behalf of a Dubai based resident. Ali disclosed to the police that in mid-February 2020, Haider asked him for Rs 50,000 that he needed for protests in CAA/NRC.

"Meeran Haider had also received Rs 1,05,000 as cash from a Saudi Arabia based resident. Out of the total amount Rs 3,33,000 was received at the instance of accused Meeran. During investigation, it was found that he distributed Rs 2,86,000 to the Muslim community for the purpose of instigation of riots," it alleged.
Back in January, I think Trump decided to place his bet on the coronavirus not turning into a pandemic. His only action was to stop Chinese flights from coming into the U.S. And he never lets us forget that, but he forgets to mention that it was only Chinese nationals who were restricted. Americans, Europeans and any other nationality could still come into the U.S. without quarantining. Yep, that really stops a virus. And since he is never wrong, or makes mistakes, or is responsible for anything, he doubled down and decided it would be a bad look for him if he admitted his mistake and took action to limit the spread of COVID-19. He would rather let 200,000-plus Americans die than look bad.
NEW DELHI : The country's largest lender State Bank of India on Monday said it has raised 7,000 crore by issuing Basel III compliant bonds.

"The Committee of Directors for Capital Raising at its meeting of held today on September 21, 2020 accorded its approval to allot 70,000 Basel III compliant non-convertible, taxable, redeemable...debt instruments in the nature of debentures aggregating to 7,000 crore, to bond subscribers," SBI said in a regulatory filing.

The allotment of bonds to the subscribers took place on the same date i.e. September 21, 2020, it added.

The bonds qualify as tier II capital of the bank, and has face value of 10 lakh each, bearing coupon rate of 6.24% per annum payable annually for a tenor of 10 years, it said.

There is call option after 5 years and on anniversary thereafter, it added.

Call option means the issuer of the bonds can call back the bonds before the maturity date by paying back the principal amount to investors.

A month back, SBI had raised 8,931 crore by allotting 89,310 Basel III-compliant debt instruments to bond subscribers.

Under the globally accepted Basel-III capital regulations, banks need to improve and strengthen their capital planning processes.

Basel III norms are being implemented in phases since 2013 by Indian banks to mitigate concerns on potential stresses on asset quality and consequential impact on performance and profitability of banks. The banks have to comply with these regulations by end of September 2020.

SBI stock closed at 185.80 apiece on BSE, down 3.53% from previous close.

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YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. U.S. President Donald Trump has sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the 29th anniversary of Republic of Armenias independence, the PMs Office told Armenpress.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

It gives me great pleasure to congratulate you on September 21 - the Independence Day of your country.

Over the past 29 years of Armenias independence, the United States has been standing by the Armenian people and supported your efforts to build a modern democracy and ensure economic development. We are prepared to continue cooperating in the areas of mutual interest, including the expansion of bilateral trade and investment exchanges, the furtherance of the rule of law, regional stability, and the strengthening of your countrys sovereignty.

Todays challenges reaffirm the importance of our partnership. The Armenian and American peoples boast strong and enduring ties, be it in the face of a new global pandemic or in the side-by-side international peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan or Kosovo.

On this special day, we wish you all the best and look forward to strengthening our friendship over the coming year, the U.S. President said in his congratulatory message.
A team of scientists from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C., has developed a new tool that mimics how SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- infects a cell, information that could potentially speed the search for treatments against the disease.

The tool is a fluorescent nanoparticle probe that uses the spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 to bind to cells and trigger the process that pulls the virus into the cell. The probe could be used in tests to rapidly gauge the ability of biologics, drugs and compounds to block the actual virus from infecting human cells. The researchers' findings appeared online Aug. 26 in ACS Nano.

"Our goal is to create a screening system to find compounds that block SARS-CoV-2 from binding to cells and infecting them," explained Kirill Gorshkov, Ph.D., a translational scientist at NCATS and a co-corresponding author of the study.

However, using the actual virus in such screening studies would be difficult and require special facilities. Instead, Gorshkov and Eunkeu Oh, Ph.D., a research biophysicist at NRL and co?corresponding author of the study, and their colleagues wanted to use nanoparticles to mimic the viral function of binding to and invading the host human cell.

The NCATS and NRL researchers collaborated to design and test the probe, combining their complementary skill sets to deliver results far sooner than separate research efforts would have. The NRL team, led by Mason Wolak, Ph.D., an expert in optical nanomaterials, put the initial collaboration together.

"We at NRL are experts in nanoparticles, and the NCATS researchers are experts in drug screening using cellular systems," explained Oh. "So, it was the perfect match."

To create the probe, NRL scientists built a fluorescent nanoparticle called a quantum dot, fashioned from cadmium and selenium. At around 10 nanometers in size, these spherical nanoparticles are 3,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

The NCATS-NRL research team then studded the quantum dots' surfaces with a section of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that binds to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on human cells. The union of the spike protein with ACE2 is the first step in the pathway to viral infection.

The glow from the quantum dots allows scientists to track the dots' behavior under a microscope. "Because they're such bright fluorescent objects, the quantum dots give us a powerful system to track viral attachment and effects on the cell in real time," explained Gorshkov.

The investigators tracked how the quantum dot probes interacted with human cells that have ACE2 on their surfaces. They watched the nanoparticle probes attach to ACE2, which combined with the probes and pulled them into the cells. The quantum dot probes did the same in a lung cell line commonly used in coronavirus assays. Safety data showed that the probes were not toxic to the test cells at the concentrations and exposure times used in the study.

The quantum dots followed the SARS-CoV-2 pathway into cells, but the research team found the probes also mimicked the virus in the presence of antibodies. Antibodies are proteins made by the immune system that can neutralize viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. The antibodies proved to be potent inhibitors of the quantum dot probes as well, preventing them from binding to ACE2 and entering human cells.

That antibody response means the quantum dot probes could help researchers rapidly test the ability of potential therapeutic agents to block the virus from entering and infecting cells. Assays using the probes also could determine the concentrations at which potential treatments may safely and effectively block infection.

"Using the quantum dots, we could create tests to use in drug screening and drug repurposing, using libraries of compounds that have activity but that also are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration," Gorshkov said. "Such assays could rapidly identify promising, safe treatments for COVID-19."

ACE2 may not be the only receptor SARS-CoV-2 targets, and the quantum dot probe's flexible design will allow researchers to swap in spikes that bind to other receptors. With the probe, researchers also could test how mutations in the spike change the way the virus behaves -- and how well treatments work -- by adding the mutated spikes to the quantum dots.

Beyond SARS-CoV-2, researchers could revise the nanoparticle probe to mimic other viruses and reveal their pathways to infection. The quantum dot probes also could be useful when testing potential therapies for other diseases, Gorshkov said. The quantum dots also might deliver drugs directly to cells, narrowing treatment to specific cell types, organs or cancers.

###
SPRINGFIELD  Investigators ruled a fire that left four injured, displaced nine other residents, destroyed one home and damaged five others started on a front porch and is not considered suspicious.

The Fire Departments Arson and Bomb Squad continues to search for the cause of the fire as residents from the three homes try to recover from the blaze, Fire Capt. Drew Piemonte said.

The fire was reported at about 12:25 p.m., Saturday, at 22-24 Mansfield St. The four residents who lived in the two-family home escaped the blaze but remained in the hospital Monday recovering from smoke inhalation and other injuries they suffered in the fast-moving fire. All four residents are older and some had preexisting conditions, Piemonte said.

The fire station is nearby so firefighters arrived quickly to find flames coming from the home and the two homes on either side of it were already catching on fire. They immediately called a second alarm to summon extra help and soon after called for a third alarm, he said.

The home at 22-24 Mansfield St. was destroyed in the blaze. The fire also spread to 28-30 and 16-18 Mansfield St. and damaged the roofs, melted siding and both homes suffered smoke and water damage. Those homes were also condemned and the five residents at 16-18 and the four at 28-30 were all displaced, Piemonte said.

A dog died in the fire, but firefighters rescued three guinea pigs from one of the houses, he said.

Three houses across the street were also damaged by the radiant heat from the fire, two garages in back of 22-24 received some damage and one car parked in front of the house where the fire started was destroyed. Three other cars were also damaged by heat. A resident was able to save one of the three from worse damage by acting quickly and backing it out of the driveway as it was smoldering, Piemonte said.

"It was dry and windy and the weather was perfect to feed a fire, Piemonte said, explaining why the flames spread so quickly.

Firefighters also extinguished a number of spot fires throughout the neighborhood caused by flying embers that ignited small piles of leaves, brush and other things, he said.

Firefighters from Agawam and East Longmeadow assisted the Springfield Fire Department, Piemonte said.

Related content:
The plaque featured the three-fingered salute of the protest movement and said Thailand belonged to its people.

A plaque declaring that Thailand belongs to its people, which was laid into the ground by pro-democracy protesters near the Grand Palace in Bangkok, has been removed less than 24 hours after it was installed.

Ive received a report that the plaque is gone but I dont know how and I dont know who did it, Bangkoks deputy police chief Piya Tawichai told Reuters news agency.

The plaque, which featured a hand giving the three-fingered salute that has been adopted by the protest movement, was dug into the ground on Sunday after a weekend rally by tens of thousands of people who cheered calls for reforms to the monarchy of King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Police are checking with the BMA [Bangkok Metropolitan Administration] y of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. and checking who took it out as the plaque is part of the evidence to charge the protest group [for this wrongdoing], Piya said.

Khaosod English, a digital newspaper, reported the golden-coloured plaque, a replica of one commemorating the 1932 revolt that brought an end to the absolute monarchy, had gone missing between 10pm and 5am local time when the area was closed to the public.

The original plaque went missing in mysterious circumstances in 2017. This time, the police warned that the plaque was illegal because protesters did not have the authorities permission to install it.

The plaque was removed by Monday morning, according to police [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]

Anon Nampa, an activist and human rights lawyer who is one of the protest movements most prominent figures, said the plaque should be returned to the people.

We will go and file a complaint to police today to find that plaque, which is the peoples property and who took it, Anon told Reuters.

Protesters have grown ever-bolder during two months of demonstrations against Thailands palace and military-dominated establishment, breaking a long-standing taboo on criticising the monarchy, which is illegal under the countrys stringent laws on lese majeste.

More rallies are planned for Thursday and protest leaders have also called for a general strike on October 14.
News

Salt Lake City, Utah - A Park City man, who claimed to have access to millions of N95 masks made by 3M and made allegedly fraudulent representations in an effort to sell them, is charged with wire fraud in an indictment unsealed Tuesday in Salt Lake City.

John Anthony Taylor, 46, did not have the masks, was not an authorized representative of 3M, and attempted to sell the masks to an undercover FBI agent, charging documents allege.

Rooting out pandemic-related fraud is one the highest priorities for the Department of Justice and my office. Experienced investigators and prosecutors are dedicated to holding accountable those who would use this challenging environment to pad their own pockets, U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said today.

Taylor is the founder and owner of Positive Marketing, LLC and Wasatch Promotional Products, LLC. 3M Company is Delaware Corporation with its principal place of business in St. Paul, Minn. 3M sells a wide range of products, including N95 masks.

According to documents filed in court as a part of the case, in April 2020, the FBI in Houston, Texas, was contacted by an attorney representing a medical company concerned about an entity purporting to have access to one billion 3M N95 masks. At the time, publicly available information indicated the global production numbers of N95 masks was well below a billion a month.

The FBI opened an investigation that ultimately resulted in an introduction to Taylor in Utah. According to charging documents, an undercover agent made contact with Taylor and asked for documents proving Taylor actually had the masks. Taylor sent an email with a fake purchase order from 3M. 3M has confirmed it has no relationship with Taylor.

According to the indictment, Taylor made a variety of other alleged false representations as a part of his scheme including:

He was a representative for the 3M company and was authorized to sell its 1860 N95 masks

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he had recently started to focus on selling masks through his business, Wasatch Promotional Products

He had contracts for a million, 30 million, 60 million [masks] for a couple different state governments

He had completed several shipments of 3M 8210 masks

He could broker a deal for 3 million 1860 N95 masks for $5.49 per mask

He would receive lot numbers and show proof of life to prove that the order was legitimate

He had successfully brokered deals with 3M previously

A purchase order he attached to an email was from 3M

Taylor was initially arrested on a complaint and had an initial appearance in federal court in Salt Lake City on May 4, 2020. He was released on special conditions of supervised release. He was arraigned on the indictment Tuesday and entered a plea of not guilty to the wire fraud charge. A three-day trial is set for Nov. 23, 2020, before U.S. District Judge David Sam.

The potential maximum penalty for the charge in the indictment is 20 years in federal prison. Indictments are not findings of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.



Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Utah U.S. Attorneys Office in Salt Lake City are prosecuting the case. Special agents of the FBI in Houston, with the assistance of the FBI in Salt Lake City, are conducting the investigation.
After a White House ceremony honoring the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, US President Donald Trump said that 'seven or eight countries' want to be part of the trend toward normalization with Israel.

Trump added that Kuwait is "excited" about regional developments and "fairly quickly" will be a part of it.

Kuwait is understood to be cautious on normalization at this time, and has so far made no official statement after Trump's comments.

Trump made his remarks at a White House press briefing after meeting with a Kuwaiti delegation where he presented the Legion of Merit, Degree Chief Commander, to the emir.

In a statement announcing the award, the White House noted that it is a "rarely awarded, prestigious decoration that can only be bestowed by the president."

The emir is the first recipient since 1991.

Trump referred to the emir as his "dear friend" in the announcement. Sabah received the distinction due to strong relations he has maintained with the United States as foreign minister and then emir of Kuwait, according to the release. The White House cited Kuwaits support during the 2003 Iraq war and in the fight against the Islamic State.

A leader in the Middle East for decades, the emir has been a truly unwavering friend and partner to the United States, read the White House statement.

The White House also praised Sabahs efforts to resolve conflicts in the Middle East. Most recently, Kuwait has mediated the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain..

The emir's "tireless mediation of disputes in the Middle East has bridged divides under the most challenging circumstances, said the White House.

Kuwait conducts an independent foreign policy, maintaining strong ties with the United States but also warm relations with its neighbor and US foe, Iran. The kingdom has also stayed neutral in the Saudi Arabia-Qatar dispute involving its Gulf neighbors. In July, Sabah flew to the United States for medical treatment.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker visited Kuwait last month, where they discussed the UAE normalization agreement with Israel, the Gulf Cooperation Council rift, and the US-Kuwait strategic dialogue next month.

During his visit, Schenker denied putting any pressure on Kuwait to normalize ties with Israel.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sep. 21

Trend:

On September 20, at 23.13, the Air Defense Units of Azerbaijan have destroyed a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the units of the Armenian armed forces, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend.

The search for the remains of the destroyed UAV is currently underway.
The thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) market is expected to grow by USD 863.90 million during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect the impact to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200921005056/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Thermoplastic Polyurethane Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Request challenges and opportunities influenced by COVID-19 pandemic Request a Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impacts

The rapidly expanding population, strong economic growth, and rising purchasing power have increased the sales of automobiles in countries such as China, India, Indonesia, and Thailand. Besides, favorable government policies in these countries have been continuously supporting the growth of the automobile industry. TPU is widely used in the automobile industry for various applications such as door and acoustic panels, instrument panels, anti-vibration panels, seats, and airbags. This is because of their properties such as elasticity, strength, chemical and grease resistance, and high-temperature resistance. Therefore, the thriving automobile industry in APAC is expected to drive the growth of the global thermoplastic polyurethane market during the forecast period.

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR44834

As per Technavio, the superior properties of TPU will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024.

Thermoplastic Polyurethane Market: Superior Properties Of TPU

TPU exhibits excellent physical and chemical properties such as flexibility, resistance to alkali and chemical reactions, abrasion resistance, resistance to UV radiation, high-temperature resistance, and high tear strength. These properties have increased the use of TPU in various end-user industries such as automotive, footwear, consumer goods, electronics, and construction. This is one of the key trends fueling the growth of the global thermoplastic polyurethane market.

"Recyclability of TPUs and rising investments in the healthcare industry will further boost market growth during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio.

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Thermoplastic Polyurethane Market: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the thermoplastic polyurethane market by Product (Polyester, Polyether, and Polycaprolactone), Application (Consumer goods and electronics, Automotive, Construction, and Others), and Geography (APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, and South America).

The APAC region led the thermoplastic polyurethane market in 2019, followed by Europe, North America, MEA, and South America respectively. During the forecast period, the APAC region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to the thriving medical tourism industry in China and India.

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report

Some of the key topics covered in the report include:

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Biden laid out a broad and largely supported case that Trump has underplayed the severity of the pandemic. But the devil was in the details: No, Trump did not call the coronavirus a hoax.

Krisher reported from Detroit. Associated Press writers Nicholas Riccardi in Denver, and Kevin Freking, Lauran Neergaard, Eric Tucker and Douglass K. Daniel in Washington contributed to this report.

The Associated Press has been fact-checking politicians since 1996, when Bill Clinton was president. These are not opinion pieces but instead are straight-news items that adhere to AP's Statement of News Values. The AP encourages readers to reach out with comments, fact-checking suggestions and corrections at FactCheck@ap.org. Learn more about the team and how this content is produced at apnews.com.
One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of IDOX plc (LON:IDOX).

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

Check out our latest analysis for IDOX

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations)  Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for IDOX is:

0.8% = UK351k  UK44m (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2020).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. Another way to think of that is that for every 1 worth of equity, the company was able to earn 0.01 in profit.

Does IDOX Have A Good ROE?

Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, IDOX has a lower ROE than the average (8.5%) in the Software industry.

roe

That certainly isn't ideal. Although, we think that a lower ROE could still mean that a company has the opportunity to better its returns with the use of leverage, provided its existing debt levels are low. A high debt company having a low ROE is a different story altogether and a risky investment in our books. Our risks dashboard should have the 4 risks we have identified for IDOX.

Why You Should Consider Debt When Looking At ROE

Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same.

Story continues

IDOX's Debt And Its 0.8% ROE

IDOX clearly uses a high amount of debt to boost returns, as it has a debt to equity ratio of 1.05. Its ROE is quite low, even with the use of significant debt; that's not a good result, in our opinion. Debt does bring extra risk, so it's only really worthwhile when a company generates some decent returns from it.

Summary

Return on equity is a useful indicator of the ability of a business to generate profits and return them to shareholders. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better.

But ROE is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, since high quality businesses often trade on high multiples of earnings. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So you might want to check this FREE visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course IDOX may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have high ROE and low debt.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
There's a facet of the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that not many people know about. Justice Ginsburg, who died Friday at the age of 87, was a consummate lover of the performing arts, particularly opera.

Justice Ginsburg saw her first opera at the age of 11 in 1944, she told the AARP magazine in 2015. "My aunt took me to a high school in Brooklyn for a condensed version of La Gioconda," she said. "I loved it. In high school I started attending the New York City Opera. To save money, I'd go to dress rehearsals. Or I'd buy tickets for seats in the last row of the top balcony."

On more than one occasion, Justice Ginsburg made special appearances in various opera performances. She served as a supernumerary in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos in 1994, alongside her friend and colleague, the late Justice Antonin Scalia. "I was a super once," she told AARP, "in Die Fledermaus, and was seated within three feet of Placido Domingo. I had never heard a voice of that beauty so close up. It felt as if an electric shock were running through me." The friendship of Justices Ginsburg and Scalia was the subject of its own opera, Derrick Wang's Scalia/Ginsburg.

In 2016, Justice Ginsburg made her official acting debut in an opera, playing the role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp in Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment at the Washington National Opera for one night. She wrote her own lines, throwing in references to her previous opinions and decisions.

Justice Ginsburg also acted in Arena Stage's 2014 production Our War, performing the David Lindsay-Abaire monologue "That Boy." "Justice Ginsburg's moving reading captured beautifully the grief so many parents of the Civil War era must have felt when their children didn't return from battle," our critic said of her performance. In 2016, she played a judge presiding over Antonio's trial in a production of The Merchant of Venice in that titular city, celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Jewish ghetto there. Two decades earlier, she uttered the immortal line "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers," in Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of Henry IV, Part 2.

A frequent theatergoer, Justice Ginsburg was often seen at the theater in New York and Washington, DC. She proudly took in Heidi Schreck's What the Constitution Means to Me and requested a copy of the script thereafter. She so enjoyed John Strand's The Originalist, about Justice Scalia, that she saw it multiple times and took part in an onstage conversation following the off-Broadway run at 59E59.

That production was directed by Arena Stage artistic leader Molly Smith, whose wedding to Suzanne Blue Star Boy Justice Ginsburg officiated. She also officiated the wedding of Shakespeare Theatre Company artistic director Michael Kahn to Charles Mitchem.

But it was opera that Justice Ginsburg truly loved. "Most of the time, even when I go to sleep, I'm thinking about legal problems," she told AARP. "But when I go to the opera, I'm just lost in it. Loving it. And I don't think about any legal brief."
"What's happening tonight is not important. It's not going to stop COVID it's not going to put out the fires, but it's fun. And right now we need fun. My god do we need fun," he said. "We've been quarantined and locked down, we've been confined to our homes like prisoners and a dark and lonely tunnel, and what did we find in that dark and lonely tunnel. I'll tell you what we found. A friend who's there for us 24 hours a day. Our old pal television."
New Delhi: The government is giving all necessary support for development of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus in the country and three vaccine candidates are in different phases of clinical trial, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in Parliament on Sunday.

Replying to a discussion in Lok Sabha on the coronavirus pandemic, the Health minister said so far 6.37 crore tests have been conducted in the country which is "probably the highest in the world".

Vardhan said on the scientific front, nearly 2,000 genomes of the novel coronavirus have been sequenced so far in the country.

He listed out a series of steps taken to contain the spread of infection and combat the pandemic.

Over 15 lakh people have been screened at airports, he said.

When Nepal reported its first case, screening of 16 lakh people was done on the border, he said.

In the initial days, even doctors did not have enough knowledge on this disease, Vardhan said. However, more than 2-3 million have been trained in capacity building.

On the lockdown that was announced to contain the spread of the virus, Vardhan said from March 16-23, half-a-dozen to a dozen state governments had either announced partial or total lockdown.

He said many things are said about the merits and demerits of lockdown. Five professional independent studies have assessed about how many cases and deaths were prevented due to it and have come out with their findings.

Vardhan said before the WHO cautioned the world that coronavirus is an international health concern, the Centre started its work on January 8 and by January 17, it had issued an advisory to all states.

"We had given a detailed health advisory, had started point of entry surveillance...community surveillance was also started," Vardhan said.

On testing capacity, Vardhan said on Saturday, nearly 12 lakh tests were conducted. He said initially, there was only one lab that had the cornavirus testing facility but the country now has 1,773 labs.

"We now have the capacity to develop 10 lakh kits everyday," he said.

On development of vaccines, he said there are 30 vaccine candidates in the country at different states.

"Three vaccine candidates are in different stages of clinical trial," Vardhan informed.

Vardhan said under the PM Cares Fund, the Health Ministry got 893 crore for buying "Make in India" ventilators. Plus, the National Disaster Relief Force under the National Disaster Relief Fund made provision of 11,000 crore to all state governments wherein the State Disaster Management Funds could be used.

He said there are 17,000 COVID-19 facilities in the country which have nearly 18 lakh beds, 13,000 quarantine centres have 6 lakh beds.

He also saluted the corona warriors in the country.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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French education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer talks to child at Louis de Frontenac elementary school, Chateauroux, central France - GUILLAUME SOUVANT/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

France is to relax Covid self-isolation rules in elementary and primary schools despite seeing an exponential rise in infections across most of the country, with the education ministry insisting younger pupils are not contagious.

Under a new protocol that takes effect on Tuesday, when a child tests positive for Covid, the class it has been attending can continue as normal for the other pupils, who are no longer considered contact cases, said the ministry.

Until now, local health authorities could oblige all pupils in a class with an infected child to self-isolate for seven days and prove they are negative before returning to school or confirm they have had no symptoms in that period.

Now pupils will only be obliged to self-isolate if at least three classmates from different families test positive, the new rules stipulate. It is then up to local health inspectors to decide whether further action is required.

The relaxed measures also mean that mask-wearing elementary or primary school teachers who come into direct contact with an unmasked child who tests positive are not considered contact cases and thus will no longer be invited to self-isolate, said the ministry.

The changes come after Frances scientific council, HSCP, ruled that children run a low risk of catching a serious form of Covid and are not very active in transmitting (the disease).

French education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer - CHARLES PLATIAU/REUTERS

Currently, some 89 elementary and primary schools around France are shut due to Covid outbreaks and around 2,000 classes have been closed, according to Jean-Michel Blanquer, the education minister.

We should see the number of shut classes go down. Less children will be sent home as a precautionary measure, he said.

In the UK, by comparison, least 30 schools have closed completely, while more than 300 class groups have been sent home after outbreaks. Pupils with coronavirus symptoms must return home, take a test and self-isolate for 10 days. The local health protection team then decides whether to close the entire class or school.

Story continues

With infections rising in France, the government reportedly wants to limit the number of absent teachers and pupils, already likely to go up due to seasonal illnesses like colds and flu.

Theres no point sending pupils home or even shutting entire schools at the first alert, said health minister Olivier Veran. We cant throw children out if they have a cold.

Parents associations have expressed concern about a stop-start school year with entire classes being sent home at the drop of a hat. Remote learning is patchy at best. They are also worried about childcare as many employers are asking staff to return to the office rather than home-work.

Well no doubt avoid a certain number of conflicts with families, said Gilles Langlois, headmaster of a Parisian school with the SE-Unsa union.

But the new rules have triggered controversy among teachers, with the top primary union warning that the decision to maintain education whatever it takes runs the risk of exposing pupils, teaching staff and users to contamination.

We get the impression the virus stops at the school gates, said Guislaine David of Snuipp-FSU union. Children (under 11) dont wear masks. They mix in class; even if they are less contagious, they are all the same.

The risk were taking is not to inform parents anymore of the existence of cases in school and that the virus spreads inside families because there can be asymptomatic cases.

Lab assistants receive samples for PCR tests to screen for Covid-19 at the Eylau Unilabs analysis laboratory in Neuilly-sur-Seine, outside Paris - ALAIN JOCARD/ AFP

French health authorities reported 10,569 new confirmed cases on Sunday, down from the previous day's record increase of 13,498. The number of deaths from the disease rose by 12 over the preceding 24 hours to 31,585. While rolling seven-day hospital admissions rose slightly, intensive care admissions remained stable at 593.

Some experts warn France is in a second wave. On Monday, Germany expressed concern about the situation and Italy said it would make testing compulsory for people travelling from Paris and some other areas. But epidemiologists say higher French case numbers are also the result of a six-fold surge in testing since the process became available without charge or prescription.

The French rules are more relaxed than in Spain, where a single positive among a class bubble, typically for young children under 10, means the entire class must observe a two-week isolation period. For older pupils, who are meant to maintain a safety distance with their classmates, only those considered close contacts must self-isolate as a precaution.

The closures have created a tough dilemma for working parents, as only those whose child has tested positive have the right to paid leave.
OTTAWA - The federal government has reluctantly given green lights to both Ontario and New Brunswick to use their own carbon-pricing systems for big industrial emitters, rather than have a federal program imposed on them.

The decisions come on the eve of a Supreme Court of Canada hearing that will decide if Ottawa has the jurisdiction to set a national standard for carbon pricing and apply federal programs in any provinces that dont comply.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson wrote to his counterparts in both New Brunswick and Ontario Sunday to acknowledge their proposals to tax greenhouse gas emissions from heavy industry meet the federal rules in theory. However, he made clear to them he was not happy with how theyre going about it.

Today we have recognized that technically Ontario and New Brunswicks systems have met the benchmark but they produce significantly less in the way of emissions reductions than the federal backstop that is currently in place, Wilkinson said in an interview with The Canadian Press. That is an issue.

The carbon price system for big emitters sets two specific requirements: the price, and the source of emissions the price must impact. It does not, however, lay out that any equivalent system must show equivalent emissions reductions to the federal backstop. In fact, it doesnt require it to reduce emissions at all.

The federal government set thresholds for emissions by industry, so one limit for steel, one for cement, one for automakers, and so on. Each company pays the carbon price only on emissions over that threshold for its specific industry, and that threshold gets more strict over time.

Ontario and New Brunswick have designed systems that set that threshold by facility, not by industry, which means in many cases that threshold is higher than it would have been under the federal system. As well, the portion of emissions on which the price is applied is smaller.

Ontario Environment Minister Jeff Yurek said in a written statement that Ontarios plan is better for the province, and will curb emissions without hurting the economy.

Ontarios regulation covers the very same polluters as the federal system  there are no free passes, and no one is off the hook, said Yurek.

Wilkinson admits the federal government left room for provinces to do this by not being more specific with its requirements in the legislation that created the carbon price. He said these loopholes will be closed when the legislation is reviewed in 2022.

Canadas carbon tax has two components: a carbon levy on fuel purchases and a carbon price on emissions from big industry. The first is paid by individuals and businesses on fuels they purchase to drive cars, heat buildings or run their barbecues. All but four provinces have their own systems Ottawa has approved, so the federal carbon levy affects only Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

The big emitters program applies to industrial facilities that produce more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas a year, so they pay the price on some of what they emit, rather than on the fuels they purchase to operate. It is this system affected by this weeks decisions.

In Ontario, there are 322 facilities that hit that benchmark, and there are 18 in New Brunswick. They include things like steel plants, cement producers, oil refineries and natural gas-fired power plants.

The federal system for big emitters will now apply in full only in Manitoba and Prince Edward Island. It will apply to natural gas pipelines and electricity generators in Saskatchewan, which were exempted from that provinces program for big industry.

In December, Ottawa approved Albertas system for big emitters. Wilkinson said Monday that unlike Ontario and New Brunswick, Albertas system does get comparable reductions in emissions.

The carbon price is currently $30 a tonne and goes up $10 in each of the next two years until it hits $50 in 2022.

The Supreme Court begins two days of hearings Tuesday to decide whether Ottawa had the jurisdiction under the Constitution, to impose a national carbon price the way it did.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2020.

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Polands justice minister has called for talks between the ruling coalition's parties to overcome a crisis after his junior party voted against government-backed legislation in parliament.

The dissent by the United Poland party of Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro prompted the main coalition member, the right-wing, nationalist Law and Justice party, to warn that the ruling coalition was crumbling and that a minority government could be formed without Ziobro's party.

Law and Justice leaders were meeting Monday to decide the government's future and whether to shed both Ziobro's party and him as minister.

Just minutes before that meeting, Ziobro called a news conference and said the coalition was worth preserving and he was ready for talks and compromise.

Last week Ziobro's party voted against a new animal protections law proposed by the Law and Justice party and strongly advocated by its leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski. It also said it would not back a law giving immunity to state officials who disregarded the law while taking steps to counter the coronavirus pandemic.

Without the 19 votes of Ziobro's party, the coalition will lose its fragile majority in parliament.

The crisis is part of a power struggle in the coalition that is now controlled by the 71-year-old Kaczynski.
CASS CITY  There were no injuries in a house fire in the village of Cass City Sunday, as no one was home when the fire broke out.

The Elmwood Fire Department was called to the structure fire at 4705 Seeger St., at about 6 p.m. Sunday. Shortly after firefighters arrived the windows blew out of the home, which caused the fire to spread quickly to the upper floors.
2019 marked the 40th year of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, yet as the worlds two largest economies wrangle for global influence, the contours of a new Cold War have sharpened. Not only has Mr Trump said the US will hold China accountable for the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, but in recent months his administration has taken aim at Beijing over issues ranging from national security with the banning of Huawei the Chinese telecoms giant and pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong to alleged abuses against Uighurs in Xinjiang.

Especially with recent closure, the US consulate in Chengdu in retaliation for the closure of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston following a US order alleging spying, tit for tat relations have indeed become common with both sides escalating the rhetoric concerning policy options.

Having made China a central focus of his 2016 campaign, President Trump vows to end reliance on Beijing as he escalates anti-China rhetoric in his 2020 re-election campaign. Although Americas trade deficit with China has remained stubbornly high, with data showing that it increased by $1.6 bn to $28.3 bn in July, Trump previewed a tougher line on trade with Beijing in a press conference on the Labour Day holiday: We will make America into the manufacturing superpower of the world and will end our reliance on China once and for all, whether its decoupling, or putting in massive tariffs like Ive been doing already. Chinas President Xi Jinping has shown similar resistance in this major trade standoff, recently stating we are now embarking on a new Long March, and we must start all over again.

Although Americas trade deficit with China has remained stubbornly high  with data showing that it increased by $1.6 bn to $28.3 bn in July  Trump previewed a tougher line on trade with Beijing.

Although conventional wisdom has it that there will be no winners in the standoff between the worlds largest economies, with some scholars concluding that the zero-sum nature of great power competition remains unchanged, a window of opportunity may have in fact opened up for India.

According to a report from Singapores DBS Bank in August, India could increase its trade footprint in the midst of the US-China trade conflict, particularly under categories on which the US has imposed tariffs on China and stands to benefit by $11 bn as a result. Indias transport minister Nitin Gadkari even went as far as to claim in a recent interview that Chinas diluted global standing is a blessing in disguise for Indian investment. With the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh already beginning to establish an economic task force in order to draw in corporations moving out of China, President of the US-India Business Council (USIBC) stated: We are seeing India prioritise efforts to attract supply chains, both at central and state government level.

For example, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has stated that the US may raise duties on Hong Kong goods from 7.5% from 3.3% as a direct result of Chinas National Security Law for Hong Kong. GJEPC Chairman, Colin Shah, stated that this will possibly create opportunities for India in gems and jewellery trade as the manufacturing business has the potential to witness a shift to India from China. Especially as India possesses the natural benefit of readily available raw material, manpower and skill sets, the end of Hong Kongs preferential trade status is indeed an opportunity for India to become a global leader in the gems and jewellery industry.

With Xinjiang accounting for around 80-85% of Chinas cotton output, India stands to gain significantly from international buyers looking to diversify their sourcing base away from China.

US limitations on textile imports from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China may also prove advantageous for Indian textile exporters. These restrictions were imposed on 14 September due to concerns surrounding brutal and illicit forced labour in the region. With Xinjiang accounting for around 80-85% of Chinas cotton output, India stands to gain significantly from international buyers looking to diversify their sourcing base away from China.

A 2018 study by Nomura Global Research highlighted the potential benefits for companies, industries and even some small economies from import substitution, production relocation and diversion of FDI and production. More detailed analysis in the study showed that India gains marginally from the import substitution on account of Chinese tariffs on US imports: this would be a direct result of the diversion of production and FDI from China as the trade war develops over time given 43% of Chinas total merchandise exports depend on foreign investment, therefore pointing to their potential for relocation. However, although Indias market size and potential make it a likely destination for countries wanting to relocate, the Nomura Production Relocation Index puts India in fourth position after Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.

In order to compete against other countries that wish to attract significant investments away from China, India must prioritise the improvement of operational conditions and stabilise policy regimes.

Therefore, to substantively benefit from a Sino-US trade conflict, India needs to adopt a strategic approach in order to develop this potential opportunity into a significant advantage. For example, although Indias benefits from a sizeable domestic market, most multinational firms focus their efforts towards exports and maintaining their global value chains (GVCs). Therefore, with its current status as the seventh largest global economy but only the twentieth largest goods exporter, the extent to which India will benefit from the Sino-US trade war depends significantly on its ability to successfully link up with GVCs. Moreover, in order to compete against other countries that wish to attract significant investments away from China, India must prioritise the improvement of operational conditions and stabilise policy regimes. Societe Generale economist Kunal Kundu highlighted Indian land laws as the biggest hurdle for manufacturing and infrastructure development due to their extremely complex nature as well as the fact that land ownership is fragmented across several states. A lack of proper infrastructure further contributes to these issues and although the speed of construction in India has been vastly improved, its still far behind rival nations in Southeast Asia.

Increasing Sino-Indian tensions can also be seen to weaken Indias position as a likely destination for Chinese relocation. Not only did India decide to walk away from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a critical multilateral trade agreement with twelve other Asian countries, in November last year but New Delhi also tightened its foreign investment laws in April, a move widely interpreted as aimed at Beijing. Indias harsh turn in sentiment against China can, therefore, be seen to have exposed the unpredictable nature of investing in Indias emerging market. By adopting various tactics to assert local control over successful international businesses, the risk of being hit with new regulations remains a powerful deterrent for any foreign investor. India may, therefore, be the less obvious choice for relocating multinationals as its integration with major global supply chains is weaker as a result.

Indias harsh turn in sentiment against China can, therefore, be seen to have exposed the unpredictable nature of investing in Indias emerging market.

Especially with the recent clashes in Ladakhs Galwan Valley, resulting in the deaths of twenty Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese casualties, fears that India is building protectionist walls around itself continue to escalate. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis recent address to the nation adds significant weight to this view as he made be vocal for local his rallying cry. Gopalaswami Parthasarathy, a veteran diplomat, also wrote earlier in June in the Hindu BusinessLine that India has to review and reduce its current economic dependence on China. Therefore, with economic nationalism on the rise in India, neighbouring countries such as Vietnam and Taiwan stand to gain potentially more than India in this retaliation against Chinese aggression. For example, US goods imported from Vietnam can be seen to have increased by more than 50% since June 2018, as well as a 30% increase in goods imported from Taiwan.

In the final analysis, India may initially be surpassed by neighbouring countries in terms of investment moving out of China due to complex land and labour laws as well as a restricted number of free-trade agreements. Yet as global anti-China sentiment increases, India does indeed stand to benefit from these broader geopolitical shifts by undertaking sweeping structural reforms in order to transform its global trading relations.

This article first appeared in ORF.
EDWARDSVILLE  One of the citys original independent specialty retailers is still thriving, celebrating its 20th anniversary Oct. 1.

In the middle to late 90s, Bob Moggio started seeing real growth happening in the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area.

Large companies like Walmart, Lowes, and Target were choosing to invest in this area. I thought, We need a music store. We have a great college here, we have a great high school, recalled Moggio, of Mojos Music.

It took a few years, but finally the time was right in fall 2000.

Moggios involvement in music just happened to go hand in hand with his desire to establish a successful independent music store in Edwardsville. While developing a business plan and scouting locations for a store of his own, B and G Music from Belleville also saw an opportunity and opened a satellite location at 142 N. Main St. in Downtown Edwardsville. The owner soon realized that running two locations was a much greater task than originally thought. It never really took off with the same vibe in Edwardsville as it had in Belleville.

After some significant negotiation and brainstorming with the B and G owner, we both agreed that the best plan was for me to buy the business. Moggio, of Glen Carbon, recently recalled to The Edge.

I approached the store in a different way, sunk my teeth into it, and wasnt going to let it go, recalled Moggio about the business. Early on I embraced some high-end products and added items more suited to the needs of musicians in Edwardsville.

Moggio, a musician since the 1970s, had already worked at a couple of music stores before he assumed the lease of the music stores original owner. All the years of retail experience perfectly prepared Moggio to take the young store to a new level. He made the business his own, and Edwardsville helped make it their own store, too. Moggio grew the music store and it became known as a local must-shop destination for guitars and amps not typically seen in small-town America.

From day one, Moggio knew that in order to be successful he needed an online presence and recruited longtime customer and friend Tom Pullen to help. Pullen, a former information technology engineer, built Mojos Musics first website, putting it on the world-wide webs map. Pullen also helped design Mojos Musics logo, which still stands today.

In 2012, Moggio purchased the former Imbers Menswear store, at 144 N. Main St., and began the arduous task of completely gutting it, exposing the brick walls and an industrial ceiling. He built an office and replaced all the infrastructure  plumbing, electric, heating  with high-efficiency, eco-friendly options.

After 18 years and three grandsons, Moggio started to consider retirement.

When Bob started making noises about not being here every day, we started fantasizing about the possibility of buying the store from him, recalled Pullen of him and his wife, Jamie.

When we were first married, we thought itd be cool to open a music store  at the time, in Colorado, that didnt happen  but in 2017, the company I was with at the time completely gutted my department.

So after 25 years in corporate America, Pullen realized that he was ready for something different.

Bob called me and said, Whenever youre ready, lets talk. I worked here one year before purchasing the business while we were planning the transition, Pullen said.

This gave him the opportunity of experiencing the day-to-day operations and customer interactions, as well as learning to run a brick-and-mortar business from the back end.

At this point in our life, we wanted to do something rewarding, not be part of the machine, Pullen said. We wanted to plant ourselves somewhere, and Bob had really built great relationships and a strong brand. Mojos was very similar to what we had envisioned, and weve put our fingerprint on it.

Since the Pullens bought the business  Jan. 1, 2019  Moggio has worked three days a week to ensure a smooth transition. He wont be riding off into the sunset entirely anytime soon.

The Pullens are a family of longtime musicians, too. Tom Pullen, a former bassist in the famed 80s band The Undecided, has played a wide variety of musical styles over the years ranging from bluegrass to jazz, country to punk. Jamie, a keyboardist and vocalist, has performed in high-school and college ensembles and currently plays with her husband in their churchs worship band.

The Pullens son and daughter major in music at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville: 21-year-old Sarah Pullen, who plays keyboard and sings, and 19-year-old Jacob Pullen, who plays bass. The siblings are in a band together, Accidentally on Purpose, and the latter also plays in the band known as The Intrusion.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a completely new set of challenges. Pullen reached back to his experience in big business to help the store quickly adapt and continue serving the needs of musicians. During that time, Mojos Music provided curbside delivery, as well as hand delivery, with the Pullens delivering orders in their own vehicles, including after business hours, locally and beyond.

With the intensity of the virus shutdown, we had to rethink how we did everything, Tom Pullen said. Weve had to keep people safe and have employees providing for their families. Thankfully, we were able to keep everyone employed during the shutdown.

The demand for guitars and musical gear did not decrease during the business shut-downs.

We significantly strengthened our online presence and shipped a lot of product out of here, Jamie Pullen said. Another thing  during this pandemic, with everyone stuck in their houses, a lot of people started playing instruments to have something to do.

Mojos was able to ship product quickly, often the same day as ordered, when some larger chain stores were not able to ship at all, showing once again that brick-and-mortar, local mom-and-pops are a better choice.

Ironically, Bobs second year was when September 11 (2001) happened, so he dealt with some of the same kinds of things, was able to navigate those waters, and came out stronger, Tom Pullen recalled.

Mojos has remained resilient as a result of all the recent challenges. They even picked up a few new lines and brands during the shutdown, providing an outlet when other outlets closed or reduced lines.

With the transition of ownership, there have been no big, sweeping changes, but the new owners continue to support a great customer base, some who come into the store on a daily basis.

This is their Cheers, Pullen said.

New Mojos customers have also come by way of musicians who have performed at The Wildey Theatre, right down the street.

If they were in need of something in a pinch, and came down the street for a bite to eat, they saw an independent music store, Pullen said.

We sold a guitar to Rusty Young from Poco who played it that night on stage at the Wildey, Jamie Pullen noted.

They also sold equipment to Jimmie Vaughan of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and former Jethro Tull lead guitarist Martin Barre, both of whom came across Mojos Music because they were playing at the Wildey.

Bonnie Bramlett, who played in a band with The Beatles George Harrison, came in one day and spent over an hour just talking music with us. Its a great place to be, Pullen said.

Our kids love it, too, Jamie noted. They got to talk to Martin Barre, and he even put his autograph on Thick as a Brick, which our son had purchased on vinyl.

Mojos mostly sells and trades guitars, but also carries other instruments as well as amplifiers, effects pedals, accessories, sound and recording gear, and percussion equipment.

Mojos also offers instrument and equipment repair, band and orchestra rentals, and music lessons.

During the month of October  Mojos anniversary month  the specialty retailer will have various promotions and specials, which can be viewed at its Facebook page.

Were having some great giveaways and deep discounts, and a day when we will restring guitars for patrons who bring in a donation to a local charity, Tom Pullen said. We call it Good Mojo, the charity arm of the business.

In recent years Mojos Music dedicated donations for services to Toys For Tots and the Glen Ed Food Pantry. The Pullens also gave away a Taylor guitar at Christmastime to help increase donations.

We want to give back to the community that has really helped us grow, Jamie Pullen said.

Its been great, Tom Pullen reiterated. Its close to our original plan, but it turned out better. With both of us and our kids involved, it really is a mom-and-pop music store.

For more information and Mojos Music hours visit mojosmusic.com or call 618-655-1600.
Lindsay Linton Buks Women in Wyoming Exhibition to Open at UW Art Museum Sept. 29

Lindsay Linton Buks Neltje is among works included in her multimedia exhibition, Women in Wyoming: Portraits and Interviews of Women Who Shape the West. The exhibition will open at the UW Art Museum Tuesday, Sept. 29. (Lindsay Linton Buk Photo)

Women in Wyoming: Portraits and Interviews of Women Who Shape the West, a multimedia exhibition by Wyoming artist Lindsay Linton Buk, will open at the University of Wyoming Art Museum Tuesday, Sept. 29.

The exhibition features large-scale portraits, an audio soundscape and interactive storytelling components that engage museum visitors to tell stories about inspiring women in their own lives.

Over the course of the production, Linton Buk traveled more than 15,000 miles; developed 600 rolls of medium-format film; and recorded 3,000 minutes of audio interview footage to illuminate the strength and spirit of Wyoming women and girls. The resulting exhibition is a powerful collective of contemporary female role models -- from artists to politicians, ranchers, authors, businesswomen and community stewards. Their 22 stories celebrate the achievements, power and learned wisdom of Wyoming women today.

A photographer and fifth-generation Wyoming native originally from Powell, Linton Buk started Women in Wyoming in 2016 to capture the stories of contemporary, influential Wyoming women. She founded her portrait, commercial and fine art photography business, Linton Productions, in 2014. She is based in Jackson Hole.

The UW Art Museum is thrilled to bring Women in Wyoming to Laramie. This exhibition connects us to our place in the West and celebrates the women who have shaped Wyoming, says Nicole Crawford, director and chief curator. We are proud to work with Lindsay who has an amazing vision to tell this story through her photographs. She cares deeply about her subjects, which is evident in the exhibition.

Women in Wyoming will be on view through July 17, 2021.

For additional details about the exhibition, visit www.womeninwyoming.com or www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum/exhibitions.

For more information about the UW Art Museum, call (307) 766-6622; visit the website at www.uwyo.edu/artmuseum; or follow the museum on Facebook and Instagram.

The UW Art Museum collects, exhibits and interprets art to inspire creativity and nurture lifelong learning for the people of Wyoming and beyond. The museum is located in the Centennial Complex at 2111 E. Willett Drive in Laramie. It will reopen Tuesday, Sept. 29. Normal hours are Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free.
Nariman Memedeminov, political prisoner and media coordinator of the Crimean Solidarity initiative, has been released.

Nariman Memedeminov, citizen journalist and media coordinator of the Crimean Solidarity, sentenced to 2.5 years, served his sentence and has been released, the Crimean Solidarity posted on Facebook.

A Crimean Solidarity correspondent left for Rostov region together with lawyers Emil Kurbedinov and Edem Semedliayev. Consul General of Ukraine in Rostov-on-Don Taras Malyshevsky and Consul Yuri Dovhulia also arrived to welcome already former political prisoner.

Nariman Memedeminov, who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of public calls for terrorism, stayed in the penal colony settlement No. 8 in the village of Sadkovsky, Rostov region, Russia.

On March 22, 2018, security officers searched Memedeminovs house in the village of Kholmovka, Bakhchisarai district. Memedeminov was formally detained for public calls for terrorist activities, public justification of terrorism or propaganda of terrorism and videos posted on his YouTube channel, recorded before 2014.

The Memorial Human Rights Center recognized Nariman Memedeminov as a political prisoner and considered that persecution of blogger was linked with his active non-violent human rights and journalistic activities, criticism of Russian law enforcement agencies.

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Despite the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on university life, the student union-run Clubs and Societies Committee (C&SC) at the University of Melbourne has imposed anti-democratic affiliation requirements on campus clubs.

This is an attempt to stifle political and cultural life at one of Australias oldest and most prestigious universities amid the pandemic crisis, and it is part of a broader attack on student rights.

C&S coordinator Fiona Sanders and Jordan Di Natale, a C&S office bearer and member of the student election organisation Stand Up! outlined the onerous obligations in a letter to clubs and societies on July 28one week before the start of Semester 2. They wrote that clubs will be required to hold an AGM [Annual General Meeting] in 2020, and those that do not complete reaffiliation (by holding an AGM) may be disaffiliated.

The highly-bureaucratic process of holding AGMs is, even under normal circumstances, a thinly-veiled attempt by the union to arbitrarily disaffiliate clubs that are not tied to the official student political milieu.

The letter said the C&SC had made several provisions regarding AGMs in 2020 due to COVID-19, including that clubs should hold AGMs online. More than 15 University of Melbourne student members of the clubs must be present at an AGM.

The letter was sent amid an escalating second wave of COVID-19 infections, centred in Melbourne. A week after it was addressed, the state of Victoria recorded a record 725 coronavirus cases, the vast majority in Melbourne. This surge triggered the state Labor Party governments imposition of a stage four lockdown of Melbourne, involving the closure of most retail, sharp restrictions on individual travel, and the shuttering of educational institutions.

Clubs and students have opposed the demands of the C&SC. In a letter sent to the C&SC on August 7, president of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) club at the university, Evrim Yazgin, said the IYSSE opposes your decision to require that clubs hold Annual General Meetings this semester under conditions of the worst global pandemic since 1918.

Yazgin added: Necessary social-distancing measures amid COVID-19 have meant, for the safety of club members and the general student population, clubs have been unable to hold physical campaigns and other critical contact work all year to build their membership base.

Yazgin said the C&SCs decision constitutes clear procedural unfairness as well as an intrusion on basic democratic rights. It would serve to disaffiliate clubs which have in previous years demonstrated continued support and interest among students, thus further compounding the destructive impact that the COVID-19 crisis has had on cultural and political life on campus.

After receiving no response from the C&SC, on August 27 the IYSSE forwarded its letter to students and other clubs, appealing for them to join the IYSSE in opposing the AGM requirements. This has been met with a warm response. The president of one club responded: Great initiative, couldnt agree more. We back you and will be sending our own email!

The C&SC then replied to the IYSSE on August 28, saying it would not alter its position. Blithely it stated that it believed that these requirements were very suitable for these conditions.

In an email to all clubs on September 4, the C&SC admitted it had received a couple of requests to defer AGMs into 2021, but had consistently iterated that clubs must hold an AGM in 2020. No further concessions were offered to clubs struggling during the pandemic.

The C&SCs anti-democratic actions are not without precedent. The IYSSE was only able to affiliate a club in 2016 after a political struggle of over two-and-a-half years.

The IYSSEs application to form a club at the university was rejected in 2014 and again in 2015 on the false basis that the IYSSEs aims significantly overlap with those of the pseudo-left Socialist Alternative club. The IYSSE responded by writing an open letter to the C&SC demanding that it overturn the decision, expounding the clear and fundamental political differences between the IYSSE and Socialist Alternative.

The letter explained that the notion that the C&S Committee, or any other organisation, should be able to determine which clubs can or cannot be formed undermines the fundamental rights of students to organise and exercise freedom of expression. All students should be permitted to establish whatever clubs they choose, whether their interests are cultural, spiritual, political, sporting or academic.

Despite growing support for the IYSSEs affiliation, the C&SC rejected applications twice more. In September 2015, the C&SC declared that the IYSSE, by writing the open letter, had undermined any possible good faith working relationship with the committee, and would therefore have its application rejected. The next year, the IYSSEs application was again turned down on the basis that the IYSSEs open letter defended the principle that students should be able to establish clubs of their choice, without hindrance from any university or student body.

The attempts by C&SC to censor a genuine socialist revolutionary, internationalist and anti-war club at the university was ultimately overcome by a political campaign of supporters and students who wanted to build the IYSSE club and ensure its affiliation.

The AGM requirements being forced on clubs by the C&SC today constitute a violation of basic democratic rights and an attack on freedom of expression on campus. Ignoring the immense issues facing clubs and societies amid a global pandemic which has infected tens of millions, killed almost one million and rendered millions more jobless worldwide, the C&SC is utilising the crisis as an opportunity to cull clubs.

This takes place in the context of the turn to authoritarian forms of rule in Australia and internationally. With the deepest economic crisis since the 1930s Great Depression and growing dangers of war, the COVID-19 crisis is exposing the failure and criminality of capitalism before the eyes of millions of workers and youth around the world. Social tensions are boiling over and the ruling elites in every country are seeking to suppress political discussion.

We appeal to all students to oppose the attack on democratic rights contained in the C&SCs AGM requirements. We call on all students and representatives of other clubs on campus to join the IYSSE in its opposition to these provisions. Only on this basis can the basic principles of freedom of expression on campus be defended.

The IYSSE will continue to demand the repeal of the anti-democratic requirements, until the health crisis is overcome. We nevertheless plan to hold a successful AGM this year as part of the fight to build a revolutionary socialist movement at the University of Melbourne, throughout Australia and internationally.

We urge students to attend our upcoming AGM and help build the IYSSE club at the University of Melbourne to ensure that students on campus continue to have a Trotskyist voice on campus. The AGM will be held via GoToMeeting. The details are:

IYSSE University of Melbourne Annual General Meeting

2 p.m. Friday, 16 October 2020

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/371803773

You can also dial in using your phone.

Australia: +61 2 8355 1050

Access Code: 371-803-773
Donald Trump supporters were seen during a car parade in which neo-Confederate members shouted white power and other obscienties at bystanders.

About 200 cars took part in the convoy that passed through Elon, North Carolina, on Saturday, the Elon News Network reported.

Members of a neo-Confederate organisation called Alamance County Taking Back Alamance County (ACTBAC) were said to have set-up the pro-Trump parade.

Founded by Gary Williamson, ACTBAC has been designated as a neo-Confederate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Elon News reported.

Megan Squire, an academic and researcher on right-wing extremism, videoed the procession as it passed through the campus at Elon University.

Some members of the parade shouted the phrase "white power, as another commented on Ms Squires Black Lives Matter sign, saying: no they f****** dont, b***h! Go back home c***.

Another driver, whose vehicle was adorned with at least two American flags, was said to have yelled f*** black lives!.

Ms Squire, recording the procession as it passed in downtown Elon, was told that maybe youll be hit by a train next, as a second ACTBAC member shouted choo, choo, Trump train.

The same vehicle accused the academic of being a member of Antifa  a far-left organisation president Trump has baselessly blamed wildfires and property damage on in recent months  as they shouted four more years b****.

The constant references to Antifa as a slur are pretty common here, Ms Squire wrote on Twitter. Local racists use it as an all-purpose insult.

In an email to Elon students and staff on Sunday, Jon Dooley, vice president for student life, condemned the parade and called on no-trespass orders to be issued against those caught on campus security campus.

"No trespass orders also allow us to keep a record should we encounter issues in the future," he wrote. "This is our standard procedure when individuals exhibit this kind of behavior."

In a statement to The Hill, the Trump campaign also condemned the parade, with spokesman Tim Murtaugh saying: "The President has repeatedly condemned racism and white supremacy. This has no place in our campaign".
Le Van Vung, the owner of four hair salons in Can Tho City, regularly organises trips offering free haircuts to needy people in remote areas of the Mekong River Delta.

Le Van Vung shows off his skills to his trainees. VNA/VNS Photos Anh Tuyet

Thousands of disadvantaged people have benefited from these charitable trips, held monthly, over the past three years.

"I just want people to have beautiful hair," Vung said.

Due to his familys financial difficulties, he dropped out of school in the 6th grade and started earning a living from several jobs, including working as a porter and a labourer. At the age of 20, he volunteered to join the military.

The idea of becoming a barber came to him when he saw one of his roommates cutting his friend's hair.

This sparked a passion and a way for help him find a stable job.

I asked my friend to show me how to cut hair for more than a year, he recalled.

After leaving the army, Vung learnt how to cut hair. In 2017 he got married to a girl who also shared his passion. The same year, the couple opened their first barbershop with the money he made during his military service and wedding presents.

Since I opened the shop, I have been thinking about offering free hair cuts, Vung said.

My motivation is to bring joy to everyone by applying my own profession to serve people. Fortunately, the trainees and staff at my shops have the same desire to do charitable work, so we have found a common voice, as well as excitement on every trip ", Vung said.

He said his group provided free hair cuts at least once a month for all those in need.

After obtaining permission from local authorities, the group has worked with schools or local commune Peoples Committee headquarters.

All the mobile barber shop needs is plastic chairs to serve customers.

Although I dont have much money, I can still help people by employing my profession, he said.

The group travelled from one place to the other in the Mekong River Delta, Vung said, adding that he planned to go to An Giang next week.

He said for a short trip, the group would travel by motorbike, but for longer journeys they would take a car, sometimes waking up at 3am to prepare.

We cut hair for 50-70 people on average each trip. It doesnt matter what type of hair.

The charity work has helped group members improve their skills, he said.

Vung's charity group offer free haircuts for people at Ngoc Lien Monastery in Can Tho Citys Co Do District.

Vo Ngoc Yen, from An Giang Provinces Chau Thanh District, said he was happy to be part of the project.

These trips have meaning because we can make people look and feel great, while our teacher hands down the motivation to nurture our passion, he said.

Whilst having his hair at Ngoc Lien Monastery in Can Tho Citys Co Do District, Le Tien Hung, a tenth grader, said: At first, I am embarrassed asking them to cut my hair for me. However, it is the care and warmness of the barbers that make me feel very happy.

Experiences from the charity trips motivated Vung to make a bold decision  organising free training for people who have a passion for becoming barbers.

"As I've become better off, I have started organising free training courses. Ten people have been attending these courses since the beginning of this year.

I want to help them earn a living by themselves, he said.

The trainees learn basic skills including curling, dyeing and cutting. After completing their course, they land jobs in his shops.

Vung also provides support for those who want to open their own shops.

Previously, the trainees had to pay VND12 million (US$516) for the course, which lasted six months, Vung said.

Le Thi Kieu Nguyet, one of the trainees, said she had really enjoyed her first three weeks

All the staff treat me like family, especially Vung who has taught me lots of new things, she said.

Nguyet said she intended to work at Vungs shop before opening her own salon to pay back the dedication her teacher had shown to her.

25-year-old Vung has bigger plans in mind to co-ordinate with colleagues to buy more motorbikes as well as essentials so they can visit the elderly and people with disabilities to give them a trim, free of charge, obviously. VNS

By Anh Tuyet-Mai Hien

Barber truck offers free haircuts to people in need There is nothing unusual about barbershops, but in HCM City there is a barbershop that moves.

Barbershops in pickup trucks give free haircuts to poor residents in HCMC Lately, barbershops in pickup trucks have traveled in roads in Ho Chi Minh City to offer free haircuts to poor residents.
Romeal Taylor, a member of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters, at a meet-and-greet event in Minneapolis. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Before he drove to the grocery store parking lot, Romeal Taylor did the same thing he's done every day this summer  he holstered his 9-millimeter handgun to the waistband of his gym shorts until he could feel it hug his right hip.

When he arrived at the store in north Minneapolis he spotted six other Black men, some in tactical gear, armed with Glock 23s and Smith & Wesson M&Ps. One of them beamed when he spotted Taylor and hugged him.

Bro, good to see you, Taylor said, muffled through a face mask.

They had come together for a meet-and-greet to introduce themselves to the community, marking one of the first public gatherings of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters.

The ad hoc group of about two dozen men  including a retired firefighter, a healthcare worker and a veteran  formed in the days after George Floyds killing in response to the local NAACP chapter putting out a call for residents in predominantly Black north Minneapolis to protect small businesses from destruction as fires and unrest engulfed the city.

Members of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters pose for a photo with a boy at a community meet-and-greet. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Heeding the call, the men  who would meet at a local cafe  stood watch outside small businesses for several nights in late May and early June. More recently, they have patrolled neighborhoods, offering security to protesters, and have been in regular communication with city officials about protests they plan to attend.

"It's important to have men from the community step up for the community," said Sasha Cotton, director of the city's Office of Violence Prevention. "It's their right to be out on the streets and it's commendable. There are Black residents who in the early days of the unrest felt vulnerable ... and still do."

Cotton said the Freedom Fighters have also met with Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, who is Black, and they're in touch with precinct commanders.

A spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department declined repeated requests for comment. At a summer Freedom Fighters event, a patrol officer stopped and posed for selfies with members of the group during a 30-minute visit.

Story continues

Leslie Redmond, president of the Minneapolis National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, said she is happy the men are armed and wants them to grow as community leaders.

"These brothers were there in the beginning, when threats were being made by white supremacists," she said. "There is no doubt they stepped up for the community."

Taylor and other members view the group as a way to provide safety for peaceful protesters. But they also understand that Black men armed with legally registered guns are viewed differently by many in law enforcement and other parts of society than, say, white militia members who stormed state capitols waving their firearms without repercussions in recent months.

Nonetheless, he said, We are like any other American.... We have the right to bear arms.

Romeal Taylor, a member of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters, carries a legally registered handgun. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Months after Floyd was killed in Minneapolis police custody, as national unrest over police brutality toward Black people has mixed with partisan politics, deadly incidents have occurred in Kenosha, Wis., and Portland, Ore., involving armed, self-styled civilian security operatives.

In Kenosha, Kyle Rittenhouse, a white Illinois teenager who traveled across state lines with a military-style rifle, is accused of killing two white men who were protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was struck multiple times in the back during an arrest. Rittenhouse was not apprehended by police at the scene but was arrested later on homicide charges; his attorneys argue the 17-year-old was acting in self-defense.

Near Portland, meanwhile, Michael Reinoehl, 48, a white man who had provided armed security to protesters, was killed by federal agents in a hail of gunfire as they sought to arrest him in the shooting death of a member of a far-right group. Before his death, which government agents claim occurred when he pulled out a weapon as they confronted him, Reinoehl had told a reporter that he had acted to protect the life of a companion when the man he shot attempted to attack them.

Members of the Freedom Fighters say their objective is to avoid confrontations by working hand in hand with authorities and making clear that they are prepared to defend their community. They also say they aim to de-escalate situations so that police do not get involved, because calling the police has sometimes led to encounters in which unarmed Black men have been killed.

Because of its cooperation with city officials, the group is not fearful the police will attack them. In their view, they are an added layer of security in the community.

The Freedom Fighters' mission statement reads: Our objective is not to be the police, but the bridge to link the police and the community together.

"We are like any other American," Romeal Taylor of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters said. "We have the right to bear arms." (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

In addition to marching in the streets of their hometown, some have traveled to Louisville, Ky., in support of protesters demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old Black woman who was shot to death inside her apartment in March by police carrying out a no-knock warrant.

Amid calls for justice and an end to systemic racism, dozens of armed Black groups have sprung up across the nation. Such groups have marched through city streets in Atlanta and Detroit and have gathered at Stone Mountain in Georgia.

After Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, was shot to death after being confronted by white men while out for a jog in a Georgia neighborhood in February, members of a Black militia group called NFAC  the full name of the coalition uses an expletive to explain that theyre not messing around  showed up with long guns and tactical vests in Brunswick, Ga. Weeks later, some 1,500 members went to Stone Mountain, calling for the removal of Confederate monuments there and elsewhere. The group, along with other protesters, engaged in a peaceful march.

Members of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters gather for a community event. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Recently, similar groups have patrolled gatherings in Kenosha, where protesters demand justice for Blake.

While armed Black groups hark back to the 1960s Black Panther movement and its armed citizen patrols, the modern iterations by and large do not share the same policing-the-police viewpoint.

The fate of the Black Panthers serves as a case study for the long-standing risks felt by Black men who legally carry firearms. Local and federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, ceaselessly surveilled the group and wound up shooting to death some of its leaders, including Fred Hampton in Chicago.

Outrage by white society to the Panthers carrying weapons, which they had lawfully purchased to conduct armed patrols of predominantly Black Oakland neighborhoods, was such that then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan signed a gun control measure known as the Mulford Act that prohibited Californians from carrying loaded firearms to protests.

At this point, 36% of white people nationwide own a gun, according to the Pew Research Center, compared with 24% of Black people.

Fears concerning Black gun ownership are nonetheless a raw reality for many people in Minneapolis.

In a nearby suburb in 2016, Philando Castile, who had a licensed firearm, was killed by police during a traffic stop after he let an officer know that he had a legal weapon.

:::

For Romeal Taylor, 28, who works as an overnight security guard at a local hotel, owning a gun has always been about personal protection. For the last six years, hes carried a firearm with him anytime he goes out in public. He understands he can be viewed as a threat, but he's also a trained and proud gun owner.

"There is a lot going on out here in the world, he said. I would rather have a gun and not need it than need it and not have it.

The Rev. Tim Christopher is one of the armed members of the security team at his Minneapolis church. He supports the mission of the Freedom Fighters. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Days after Floyd was killed, Taylor said, he heard from neighbors in north Minneapolis about a call to action for licensed gun owners to protect local businesses from vandalism and destruction. The call resonated with him, he said, because he had been frustrated to see people he didnt recognize from his neighborhood destroying buildings.

These werent Black folks, he said. These were outsiders truly intent on destroying this city.

The groups headquarters was Sammys Avenue Eatery along a bustling thoroughfare.

Its where Taylor met Randy Chrisman and other local Black gun owners like himself. Chrisman, who lives in the suburbs, read the NAACP call to action on Facebook and showed up at the cafe.

Romeal Taylor holds a photo of fellow Minnesota Freedom Fighters outside Cup Foods, where George Floyd was pinned to the ground by a Minneapolis police officer and died. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Its been a brotherhood ever since, said Chrisman, who has had his concealed carry permit for nearly a decade and typically carries his handgun with him.

You just never know when something is going to happen, he said. As a Black man, I have the same rights as others to also carry a firearm and I do it.

In the evenings after Floyds death, Chrisman would leave his job at a restaurant in the suburbs and drive into the city. He can still hear the sound of the National Guard Humvees barreling past him and the hum of helicopters overhead as he holstered his Glock. He had to work to steel his nerves during their long nights of patrolling.

The Rev. Tim Christopher holds his pistol, which he always carries, at an event held by the Minnesota Freedom Fighters. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

You have to be prepared to take action if needed, Chrisman said. Its something Im ready to do. I dont want to, of course, but Im ready if needed.

During the patrols and at backyard barbecues and other events theyve held together, the men have formed a kinship, giving one another nicknames, such as Sarge and Roach. They feel lucky to have found one another  a group of like-minded thinkers who value their right to bear arms and support racial equity, but who dont view the police as the enemy.

This is about filling the gap we see between police and community.... Its really about harm reduction, said Robert Sayers, a fire inspector for the city of Minneapolis and member of the Freedom Fighters.

Sayers got involved after witnessing outside groups  white supremacists, he says  burning properties around the area where Floyd was killed. He wanted to help protect Black-owned businesses.

We could not and still cannot allow destruction in the city, the 52-year-old said.

Others in the community see the Freedom Fighters as allies.

The Rev. Tim Christopher, whose church is in north Minneapolis, has a concealed carry permit and packs during church service on Sundays. Christopher, who has testified at the state Capitol in St. Paul in recent years in support of the 2nd Amendment, says he felt comforted the first time he saw members of the Freedom Fighters in his neighborhood.

Members of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters connect with kids who came to their meet-and-greet. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Its been a breath of fresh air, he said. Seeing an armed Black man  knowing he is here to take care of the community, nurture the community  is a blessing.

But Christopher also knows the risks of carrying as a Black man.

When he drives while carrying his handgun, he thinks about Castile and others like him. If he gets stopped by police, he said, he doesnt tell them he has a firearm until they ask.

At that point, my hands are on the steering wheel and I say, Yes, officer, I have a firearm and its legal,' he said. They always back up and place a hand on their gun. There is a stigma, and they're scared of Black men with guns.

On a recent afternoon, Christopher stood with the Freedom Fighters in a grocery store parking lot. Some of the guys grilled hot dogs and burgers as R&B played in the background. Kids screamed as they played tag near an inflatable playhouse that was flapping in the afternoon breeze.

We want to show all the good we can do for and in the community, Taylor said.

Later, one of the Freedom Fighters handed printouts of group photos the men took in the days after Floyds death. They showed the group armed  AR-15s, Glocks, tactical vests, bandannas  near the intersection where Floyd was killed.

A little boy gripped one of the printouts and looked up at Taylor with a pen.

Oh, he wants your autograph, said the boys mother.

As Taylor leaned over and swiftly signed the back of the photo, he turned to the young childs mother.

Be sure to let us know if you all ever needed anything, for real, he told her.

She nodded and clinched her fist in a salute.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Sydney, Sept. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just released, this edition of Paul Budde Communications focus report on France outlines the major developments and key aspects in the telecoms markets.

Read the full report : https://www.budde.com.au/Research/France-Data-Center-Market-Investment-Analysis-and-Growth-Opportunities-2020-2025

The penetration of end-to-end remote monitoring solutions in data centers will increase the data center market growth in France. Paris constituted about 50% of the data center investments in France in 2019. Marseille, which is developing into a major data center hub in France, witnessed an investment of about 30% during the same period.

The introduction of 5G in France is likely to increase investments for data centers. Orange, one of the data center investors and a prominent telecom provider in the country is responsible for the introduction of the 5G network. The growing connectivity of France with other countries is expected to drive more investments from cloud and colocation service providers. The leading internet exchanges France IX, provides connectivity to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the US.

What is the Impact of the Current COVID-19 Pandemic in the France Market?

The rapid spread of COVID-19 has significantly increased data traffic from March 2020. To provide high availability services, operators are taking precautionary measures for their on-site employees. Data center operators have also taken measures to manage the available workforce and monitor their existing faculties without any service disruption. The impact of operations will be low in France.

What are the Key Factors Attracting Investment in France?

The increase in cloud adoption will boost the investments in the data center market in France. The French government intends to empower regional software companies to support local cloud solutions. Furthermore, the data center providers in France are investing in technologies that help in energy optimization. For instance, Bretagne Telecom intends to reduce energy consumption of its ChateauBourg data center with the help of artificial intelligence.

What Business Intelligence does this Report Provide?

The report provides France data center investments in terms of area (square feet) and power capacity (MW) in major cities in the country. An in-depth analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 on the data center market in France is included in the report.

Furthermore, the report also includes a detailed analysis of the colocation industry, and retail & wholesale colocation pricing in France.

A detailed study of the existing market landscape, an in-depth industry analysis, and insightful predictions about the France data center market size during 2020-2025, is included in this report.

The report further categorizes the data center market in France into multiple segments and sub-segments with sizing and forecast. The report also profiles prominent investors, construction contractors, and infrastructure vendors in the data center market in France.

Key Developments

The renewable electricity generation is likely to grow and accounts for more than 35% of the total electricity generated during the forecast period.

With the growth in 5G services, the need for edge computing is likely to witness an increase in its adoption. Currently, there are around 17% of edge computing applications used for only highly critical processes in France.

The IoT data processing is expected to develop new opportunities for data center providers. IoT will bring applications and workloads that demand near real-time responsiveness, which will promote deployment of edge data centers.

The government has implemented tax breaks to increase data center investment, for example, the reduction of TICFE (Internal tax on final electricity consumption) from $24/MWh to $12/MWh.

In 2019, renewable resources had more than 21% share in the total consumption of the electricity. Also, the government is utilizing solar to increase more power. In 2019, France added a cumulative power of more than 9,000 MW.

The government approved more than 250 projects related to wind and solar power generation with capacity of nearly 2 GW.

Key Companies Mentioned in this Report Include

IT Infrastructure Providers  Atos, Arista, Broadcom, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Huawei, NetApp, Dell Technologies, IBM, Lenovo

Construction Contractors  Bouygues Energies & Services, Eiffage, TPF Ingenierie, Cap Ingelec, Artelia Group, APL Data Center, Etix Everywhere (Vantage Data Center), Arup, ICTroom

Support Infrastructure Providers  ABB, Caterpillar, Climaveneta, Cummins, Eaton, Legrand, STULZ, Schneider Electric, Vertiv, MTU Onsite Energy, Euro-Diesel (KINOLT), Rittal, KOHLER(SDMO), Socomec, Riello UPS

Data Center Investors - Equinix, Interxion, Digital Realty, Colt Data Centre Services, Orange, Mipih, Atos

Read the full report : https://www.budde.com.au/Research/France-Data-Center-Market-Investment-Analysis-and-Growth-Opportunities-2020-2025
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Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine 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
Weather disruptions continue to interfere this week with school reopening plans, with both Beaumont and Port Arthur ISDs delaying the return to class due to anticipated flooding from Tropical Storm Beta.

But unlike past years, students will continue to learn using the virtual learning infrastructure put in place to educate through the pandemic, diminishing the need for districts to apply for waivers due to missed days.

Related: Tech keys school response to pandemic, hurricane season

Out of an abundance of caution for all students and staff, Beaumont ISD will close all campuses and district buildings on Monday and Tuesday, September 21-22, 2020, district officials said Sunday night in a statement.BISD is postponing its face-to-face phase-in of students scheduled to begin this week as well. All district events, including meal distributions, will also be suspended for Monday and Tuesday.

BISD staff and teachers will continue to conduct virtual classes from home.

Both Beaumont and neighboring Port Arthur ISD delayed on-campus learning at the beginning of the year by 8 weeks in order to better prepare for coronavirus precautions, and phase-in students to acclimate to the new environment.

PAISD also announced Sunday that it would delay in-person classes.

In-person instruction for students has been canceled for the week of September 21-25. All students will attend classes online, PAISD Superintendent Mark Porterie said in a letter to parents. Therefore, students who were originally scheduled to start their first week of in-person instruction on Sept. 21 will start on Monday, Sept. 28.

In-person learning still is only available to those who chose that option during the registration period that ended in July.

More Information Inclement Weather Changes: Port Arthur ISD will have virtual classes only for the week of Sept. 21-25. Beaumont ISD delayed their in-person start for Monday and Tuesday, and will announce further plans later in the week. Sabine Pass ISD will have classes virtually only for the week of Sept. 21-25 See More Collapse

Dual courses with Lamar State College Port Arthur will hold classes as scheduled, along with classes at the other areas colleges such as Lamar University.

Teachers, counselors and other staff will work from home to ensure the continuity of instruction and student support services, Porterie said in the letter, while principals, assistant principals, office staff , nurses, and custodians will report to their campus.

Information technology staff with child nutrition, transportation, shipping and receiving, and maintenance departments also will report to work this week.

Other area districts, including Port Neches-Groves ISD and Nederland ISD, have not announced closures but released statements that they are monitoring the situation, with possible changes as the storm continues on its path.

With the storm continuing to weaken Monday morning, Vidor ISD Superintendent Jay Killgo said the district has no plans to close, and is feeling cautiously optimistic about the rain forecast.

Bob Hope School, which has campuses in both Port Arthur and Beaumont, also has not announced closures.

Little Cypress-Mauricevile CISD has no plans to delay unless there is excess flooding.

If we do have more high water than expected, (Superintendent) Brister may delay start, just so buses and cars can see any hazards on the road, but there are no plans to now, district spokesperson Sherry Combs said Monday.

Hamshire-Fannett ISD is not canceling any classes as of Monday. The district just returned this week to full in-person classes after shutting down their high school when a student and two staffers tested positive for coronavirus.

Sabine Pass ISD will continue online learning this week but has canceled all in-person instruction, citing a voluntary evacuation order for the area.

In an abundance of caution, Sabine Pass ISD students will work remotely from home Monday, September 21 due to a called voluntary evacuation for Sabine Pass, the district said in a message to parents. Work will continue to be posted on Google Classroom; and if you have any questions, please contact the school. Please continue to monitor the website and (district) social media platforms for further details over the next few days.

While work will continue, the district said teachers and staff are aware of possible interruptions including power outages, and will work with you all over the next few days if the assignments are unable to be completed.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes
Australian flag flutters in front of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on April 14, 2016. (Jason Lee/Reuters)

China to Lose Access to Space Tracking Station in Australia

Swedish space company says it will no longer do business with China

SYDNEYChina will lose access to a strategic space tracking station in Western Australia when its contract expires, the facilitys owners said, a decision that cuts into Beijings expanding space exploration and navigational capabilities in the Pacific region.

The Swedish Space Corp. (SSC) has had a contract allowing Beijing access to the satellite antenna at the ground station since at least 2011. Its located next to an SSC satellite station primarily used by the United States and its agencies, including NASA.

The Swedish state-owned company told Reuters it wouldnt enter into any new contracts at the Australian site to support Chinese customers after its current contract expires. However, it didnt disclose when the lease runs out.

The Swedish company later said it would no longer renew contracts with China or accept new Chinese business.

Given the complexity of the Chinese market, brought about by the overall geopolitical situation, SSC has decided to focus mainly on other markets for the coming years, the SSC said in an emailed response to questions.

The site is owned by an SSC subsidiary: SSC Space Australia,

The Australian, Swedish, and Chinese governments didnt immediately respond to questions on Sept. 21.

The expansion of Chinas space capabilities, which includes the growing sophistication of its Beidou navigation network, is one of the new frontiers of tension between the United States and China, who are clashing on everything from technology and trade to Chinese activities in the disputed South China Sea.

Australia has a strong alliance with the United States, which includes working together on space research and programs, while Canberras diplomatic and trade ties with Beijing have also been fracturing.

China last used the Yatharagga Satellite Station, located about 250 miles north of the Australian city of Perth, in June 2013 to support the three-person Shenzhou 10 mission, which completed a series of space docking tests, SSC said.

The SSC said the current contract supports Chinese scientific space missions within its program for manned-space flights for telemetry, tracking, and command services.

Overseas Expansion

Ground stations are a vital part of space programs given they create a telecommunications link with spacecraft. While stations have different capabilities, they can be equipped to coordinate satellites for civil-military Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as Beidou, Russias GLONASS, the European Unions Galileo system, and U.S.-owned GPS.

Chinas space program has been increasing its access to overseas ground stations in recent years in line with the expansion of its space exploration and navigational programs.

Generally speaking, anywhere you put a GNSS monitoring ground station will improve the accuracy of positioning for that region, said Joon Wayn Cheong, a senior research associate at the University of New South Wales School of Electrical Engineering.

China wants to remove its dependence on GPS as part of broader plans to expand its global influence, says Christopher Newman, professor of Space Law and Policy at Northumbria University in Newcastle, England.

GPS could be made unavailable to them in a military conflict. An independent secure system is crucial for the capabilities of the Peoples Liberation Army [Chinas military] with respect to targeting, weapons, navigation, he told Reuters.

Beijing last year reestablished diplomatic ties with the small Pacific island nation of Kiribati, where it has a mothballed ground station.

By Jonathan Barrett
EU commissioner Thierry Breton. Reuters

The EU is looking to give itself sweeping new powers to crack down on US tech giants, EU commissioner Thierry Breton told the FT in an interview Sunday.

The regulatory blueprint includes massive penalties to force tech companies to sell off their European operations and even shutting them out of the European single market.

Breton compared the power tech giants wield now to that of the banks before the financial crisis.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The EU is looking to give itself sweeping new powers to crack down on US tech giants, EU commissioner Thierry Breton revealed to The Financial Times in an interview Sunday.

Breton told the FT the new powers the EU is seeking include punitive measures such as forcing tech companies to break off and sell their European operations should their market dominance grow too large.

Another massive penalty being considered is that the EU could boot tech firms out of the European single market altogether. Breton said these measures would only be used in extreme circumstances, but did not elaborate on what would qualify as extreme.

"There is a feeling from end-users of these platforms that they are too big to care," Breton told the FT, comparing tech giants' market power to the big banks before the financial crisis. "We need better supervision for these big platforms, as we had again in the banking system," he said.

Alongside these powers is a proposed rating system which would give companies scores on categories including tax compliance and how quickly they take down illegal content.

The proposals have not yet been finalized, and once they're submitted, they will have to be approved by the European Parliament and the European Council. Breton said the first draft of the new laws would be ready by the end of this year.

Europe isn't the only place where Silicon Valley is facing increased regulation.

President Donald Trump is trying to push through an executive order he signed in May, which would weaken legal protections currently afforded to internet companies under a US law called Section 230. Part of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, Section 230 protects companies from being liable for illegal content posted by users, and gives them broad powers to moderate their platforms.

Breton told the FT the EU isn't seeking to make internet companies liable for their users' content.

Read the original article on Business Insider
EY Vietnam will support Loc Troi Group in implementing IFRS accounting standards

Under the agreement, EY Vietnam will support Loc Troi Group to analyse and determine the gap between Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VAS) and IFRS to apply at the latters operations. EY Vietnam will also suggest solutions, accounting systems, as well as financial and business reporting formats in line with IFRS. EY Vietnam will collaborate with relevant stakeholders to implement the IFRS accounting software, provide in-depth training about IFRS standards, and support the personnel of Loc Troi Group in the application of these standards.

The IFRS Roadmap in Vietnam was officially approved in Decision No.345/QD-BTC on March 16 by the Ministry of Finance. Under the project, the roadmap for IFRS adoption would be divided into there phases: the preperatory phase from 2020 to 2021, the first phase from 2022 to 2025, and the second phase after 2025. Entities falling under the roadmap will have different options or tracks  some belong to compulsory or voluntary IFRS application groups, whereas others are mandated to apply Vietnamese financial reporting standards (VFRS). The early transition from VAS to IFRS is expected to help businesses make better preparation for their business and capital development strategy.

Nguyen Duy Thuan, general director of Loc Troi Group said that since the end of 2018, Loc Troi has restructured the entire organisation towards digital transformation with a view to becoming the leading agricultural service corporation in the region.

The adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning and IFRS is an important step in our digital transformation journey, he said. Applying IFRS earlier than the IFRS roadmap of regulatory bodies means we have more time to implement and synchronise our technical infrastructure. This is also an opportunity for Loc Troi Group to consolidate our staff, improve financial reporting and corporate governance, thereby tightening partnership with our partners and seeking capital for future development.

Le Vu Truong, EY Vietnam assurance partner, Financial Accounting Advisory Services leader said that according to international practice, it is important that the leaders and departments show determination and consensus to implement IFRS, in addition to investing in the necessary system and allocating resources reasonably.

"We can share experience with customers and support them to effectively implement IFRS depending on their conditions," he added.
Jimmy Kimmel referenced the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest that has marked much of 2020 as he opened an Emmys ceremony like no other (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Jimmy Kimmel referenced the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest that has marked much of 2020 as he opened an Emmys ceremony like no other.

The live broadcast took place from a largely empty Staples Centre in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, with the vast majority of nominees off-site.

Winners were scheduled to appear via video feed. After the TV broadcast initially showed a typical star-studded crowd, Kimmel revealed there was in fact no audience, because this isnt a Maga rally, its the Emmys.

In his opening monologue, Kimmel made references to the trauma inflicted by the pandemic, welcoming viewers to the pandemmys.

We're taking cleanliness VERY seriously this year, in case you were wondering. #Emmys pic.twitter.com/fE56Mv7NBN  Television Academy (@TelevisionAcad) September 21, 2020

He said holding the Emmys may seem frivolous and unnecessary, adding whats happening tonight is not important, its not going to stop Covid or put out the fires.

The year had been marred by division, injustice, disease, Kimmel said, before saying TV had been a source of comfort for many during uncertain times.

He said: The world may be terrible but TV has never been better.

Jennifer Aniston made a surprise appearance on stage to present the first award, outstanding lead actress in a comedy.

Kimmel, wearing yellow gloves, sprayed the envelope with disinfectant and set it on fire to burn the germs off, before reading the winner.

Video of the Day

Catherine OHara picked up the award for upbeat comedy Schitts Creek and it was revealed she and her cast mates were holding an Emmys viewing party.

Two words: Moira. Rose.  Congratulations to Catherine OHara (@SchittsCreek), winner of the #Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series! #Emmys pic.twitter.com/yZS9vaoEas  Television Academy (@TelevisionAcad) September 21, 2020

Outstanding lead actor in a comedy was won by OHaras Schitts Creek co-star Eugene Levy, who hugged his son and cast mate Daniel Levy.

Kimmel warned before the show the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards could end up a beautiful disaster.

While other post-Covid-19 ceremonies, including the BET Awards and MTV Video Music Awards, have relied heavily on pre-taped segments, Emmys producers insisted on broadcasting live.

Winners were asked to appear from their homes, with the US TV academy sending some 130 at-home video kits to stars around the world.

There was no red carpet, just one of the main differences between this years Emmys and previous ones. And they take place amid a tumultuous period.

The US has reached the grim milestone of more than 200,000 coronavirus deaths while social justice protests continue across the country.

Much of the West Coast has been ravaged by devastating wildfires and the most contentious presidential election in generations looms in November.

Plenty of British talent were in with a chance of winning during Sundays ceremony.

Olivia Colman was nominated in the best drama actress category for her portrayal of the Queen in Netflixs The Crown, but faced A-list competition in the form of fellow Briton Jodie Comer, who won last year and was back again for Killing Eve.

Aniston was nominated for her role in Apple TV+s The Morning Show, Laura Linney was up for Ozark, and Comers Killing Eve co-star Sandra Oh also grabbed a nod.

Normal Peoples Irish star Paul Mescal, 24, scored his nomination for lead actor in a limited series or movie in recognition of his portrayal of Connell.
Commuters who travel by yellow-band maxi-taxis between Port of Spain and areas in West Trinidad will have to dig deeper into their pockets from Monday.

Chairman of the Yellow Band Route One Association Eon Hewitt told the Express yesterday the fares will go up by $1 across the board, and $2 for the Chaguaramas route.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump said Monday he will announce his Supreme Court pick at the end of this week because he wants to wait until after memorial services for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

"We'll make a decision probably Saturday  but Friday or Saturday," Trump told reporters at the White House, and he would like to see the Republican-run Senate vote on his nominee by Election Day on Nov. 3.

"We have plenty of time to do it," Trump said as he left the White House for a campaign trip to Ohio.

Trump also said he may meet with one of the finalists  appeals court Judge Barbara Lagoa  when he stays overnight in Miami on Thursday on a two-day trip; Lagoa is from Florida, a key battleground state.

The decision will probably trigger a political firestorm in the heat of Trump's election battle with Democrat Joe Biden, and both parties pledged to make the future of the high court a major campaign issue.

Trump said five women are being vetted for the high court slot. Aides and advisers have identified two finalists at the top of the list as Lagoa and appeals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

Politics updates, once a day: Get the news distilled, explained and delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up here

Asked if he is leaning toward one candidate or another, Trump said: "I have one or two that I have in mind."

During a morning interview on "Fox & Friends," Trump said of Lagoa: "She's excellent. She's Hispanic ... I don't know her. Florida, we love Florida. So she's got a lot of things. Very smart."

Trump said Barrett's home state of Indiana is "represented very well" in the selection process. Vice President Mike Pence hails from Indiana.

President Donald Trump says he wants to have Ruth Bader Ginsburg's replacement confirmed by the election Nov. 3.

Trump told reporters he has spoken with some of the candidates, but not others; he was not specific.

Senate Democrats said they will try to block the nominee, arguing that the winner of the election should have the right to make the lifetime appointment  an argument Republicans used when a high court vacancy happened before the 2016 presidential election.

Story continues

It's uncertain whether Senate Republican leaders have enough votes to move forward with any nomination.

In his Fox interview, Trump said, "I'm looking at five  probably four, but I'm looking at five very seriously."

In addition to Barrett and Lagoa, other possibilities include Allison Rushing, a North Carolina-based judge on the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Kate Todd, who works in the White House counsel's office.

Trump told Fox he is considering "a great one from Michigan," where appeals court Judge Joan Larsen served on the state Supreme Court.

The president said the Supreme Court issue would be good for Republican senators facing tough reelection battles. He specifically cited Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., though Gardner has not said whether the Senate should vote on a Supreme Court nomination in the midst of an election.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said there should not be a nomination vote before the election.

There will be memorials and services for Ginsburg early in the week, delaying Trump's announcement of a nominee.

Trump and some Republicans see the opening as a historic opportunity for conservatives to consolidate control of the Supreme Court. There are five conservatives on the nine-member court.

If Republicans follow through, Democrats have vowed retaliation should they win control of the Senate in November. Some lawmakers have talked about increasing the size of the Supreme Court and ending the right of the minority to filibuster legislation. If there were more seats on the court, a Democratic president could have a chance to tilt the court in a more liberal direction.

Biden weighed in on the Supreme Court dispute Sunday, delivering a speech in Philadelphia accusing Republicans of hypocrisy in trying to fill the seat this election year even though they blocked Obama's nominee in 2016.

Trying to "jam" through a nominee under these circumstances, Biden said, would represent only "raw political power."

The issue of the court pick has energized Trump's supporters. At a rally Saturday in North Carolina, his supporters chanted, "Fill that seat!" That phrase adorns a T-shirt the Trump campaign sells on its website.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court: Trump says he'll probably announce pick by Saturday
P eople on low-incomes who need to self-isolate due to coronavirus will be eligible for a 500 payment, the Health Secretary has revealed.

Matt Hancock said he did not want "anyone having to worry about their finances" while they adhere to measures aimed at curbing Covid-19.

The new 500 isolation support payment comes into effect from next Monday, he confirmed.

It comes as the House of Commons was warned that there can be no doubt that this virus is accelerating across all age groups.

In a statement, Mr Hancock said: Self-isolation can be tough for many people especially if youre not in a position to work from home.

I dont want anyone having to worry about their finances while theyre doing the right thing.

Matt Hancock also warned rule-breakers will suffer tougher sanctions / Parliament TV

So we will introduce a new 500 isolation support payment for people on low incomes who cant work because they have tested positive or are asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace.

He also told the Commons the virus is "doubling around every seven days".

He said: As the chief medical officer and the chief scientific adviser said earlier today, were seeing a rise in cases across all age groups.

This pattern is emerging across the entirety of our United Kingdom and earlier this afternoon the Prime Minister held discussions with the first ministers of the devolved administrations and the deputy first minister of Northern Ireland to make sure that, wherever possible, we are united in our efforts to drive this virus down.

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We know that the epidemic is currently doubling around every seven days and that if we continue on this trajectory we could see 50,000 cases a day by mid-October, so there can be no doubt that this virus is accelerating.

As well as providing help for people who are self-isolating Mr Hancock said those who break the rules will face tougher punishments.

He added: Just as were strengthening our support for those who self-isolate, we propose to strengthen the sanctions for those who do not.
THE mother of a boy who is fighting cancer for a third time has written a book about their experience.

Toni Ilsley will release Never Give Up, which tells of story of her son Charlies fight against the disease and her search for treatment, before Christmas.

She started writing the book last year while in Turkey where the the 13-year-old was having treatment.

Mrs Ilsley, of Buckingham Drive, Emmer Green, said: I remember thinking, Ive got to write this down because I dont want to forget it. I want to tell Charlie when hes older what he went through.

I wanted it out of my head and on paper and that started it. I think its a form of therapy.

When we were told again he was going to die I thought, Maybe it might help someone else. I gave up on it when we were told again earlier this year it was back and then started again during isolation.

Its just the story of us and what weve been through. Its a true story about cancer and Charlie and I hope it does help someone else as it helped me.

Mrs Ilsley used an online programme to help with the layout, such as the introduction and chapters. She said it would be about 60 pages and include pictures.

Charlie was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2015. He underwent a 10-hour operation and had 31 sessions of radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy before being given the all-clear.

Then in spring 2018 two tumours were discovered on his spine. Charlie was given the all-clear for the second time in August last year after undergoing specialist radiation treatment in Ankara which his family had to raise the money to pay for.

But in November they were told the disease had returned after a lumbar puncture showed cancer cells in his spinal fluid.

Earlier this year, the Ilsleys were told that the chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatment that Charlie underwent had failed.

A scan in March showed the disease in his spine and elsewhere. Charlie had been receiving the drugs etoposide and topotecan but these were stopped as they werent working.

Mrs Ilsley searched for new treatments and her son underwent three weeks of a new form of immunotherapy, known as CAR-T cell treatment, in Mexico in the hope of saving his life.

Last month. his family were told the disease is stable and has not grown since March.

Mrs Ilsley returned to Mexico with her son on Monday and was due to have another follow-up scan today (Friday).

Charlie had returned to Highdown School in Emmer Green for the new term. He had lost some of his mobility during self-isolation and is unsteady on his feet so uses a walker paid for by the Danny Green Fund, a charity set up in memory of a boy who died in 2012 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Never Give Up will be sold at Artisans Handmade UK and the Caversham Emporium in Church Street as well as on Amazon.
Israel: 11 arrested in anti-Netanyahu protest Demonstration in Jerusalem against anti-corona measures

(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, 21 SET - Israeli police said it has arrested 11 people during demonstrations Sunday in Jerusalem to protest against Premier Benyamin Netanyahu and his policy to control coronavirus. The demonstration was attended by thousands of people and was the largest during the second lockdown that kicked off last Friday.



The police officers arrested a person driving his car who, according to media reports, tried to run down a few demonstrators in Jerusalem. An investigation has been opened into the incident. Nobody was injured.



Another protest was organized near Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea, north of Tel Aviv. (ANSAmed).




Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, the countless stresses are taking a toll on the mental health of many in the Bay Area.

Those who were already struggling are likely dealing with even more distress. According to a CDC survey this summer, more than 40% of Americans are experiencing issues related to depression, anxiety and substance abuse because of the pandemic. In the 18-24 age bracket, 1 in 4 report serious suicidal thoughts, the CDC reported.

Twenty-five percent of young adults rated their mental health as fair or poor, according to the latest COVID Response Tracking Study by NORC at the University of Chicago. Psychologists say disordered eating has gone up too, especially among teenagers.

And in the past month, the hazards of Californias wildfires and horrible air quality have only compounded the physical and emotional challenges.

It can all seem overwhelming, but help and support are within reach. Theres no one way to deal with our mental health, but a compendium of resources, tips and advice from professionals can offer paths toward hope.

Its all about having a tool kit and developing a plan.

2 1 of 2 Constanza Hevia H. / Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Show More Show Less



(If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, tell someone right away. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255). You can text Connect to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 for free, 24/7, confidential support. Additional Bay Area crisis resources are listed at the end of this article.)

First step: Recognizing your distress

If you are experiencing negative mental health symptoms, experts say you are far from alone.

I dont know anyone who is not feeling the onslaught of health and environmental and political and social distress that has descended upon us, said David Spiegel, psychiatrist and medical director of the Stanford Center on Stress and Health. So feeling bad is not abnormal.

But the pandemic and wildfires have limited many of our usual coping mechanisms, such as going out with friends or getting exercise outside. That can make distress much harder to manage. Sometimes, it can be taxing to even know where to start.

In those cases, Holly Anton, an integrative psychotherapist with Sutter Healths Institute for Health & Healing, likes to use a metaphor: If I hand you a map of San Francisco, and say, how do I get to the opera house, whats the first thing youd need in order to tell them?

The answer is: where youre starting from.

Taking stock of where you are emotionally, physically and socially can often be the best first step. Think of it like a self-assessment, Anton said.

Begin by paying attention to the way distress makes its way into your body. Recognizing both physical and behavioral signs of distress can help you figure out what you might need.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

For physical signals, maybe youve noticed a disturbance in sleep, or a change in appetite, or a pounding heartbeat or increased sweating. Behavioral changes, like increased irritability or feeling more withdrawn, or calling in sick when you just dont want to go to work, or an increase in substance abuse, might feel commonplace these days.

I call them warning signs or a barometer check, Anton said. Rather than comparing it to some other time, you can give it a quantifiable rating scale. Maybe its a number, from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. Or maybe its even easier  low, medium, high. Sometimes noticing the circumstances in which the ratings fluctuate, and the levels they can reach, can provide helpful information for your road map to coping.

If thats too difficult, or you need help more urgently, starting with a primary care provider might be the best place to start. They can direct you to mental health services, Anton said.

Support networks

No matter where you are in your process, taking an inventory of your support networks  both for coping and for professional assistance  can help. During a time where its much harder to meet casually, its important to make sure your support pantry is fully stocked.

Family and friends. Asking for support can be hard, but often just remembering that you have a network of people and reaching out to them can be rejuvenating. Being heard and acknowledged, or having someone to commiserate with, can have lasting effects for not feeling less confused and alone. If its hard to know how to start, you might ask a close friend if theyve noticed anything different about you, or for a perspective on how it seems like youre doing, Spiegel said. Or, you can try by asking someone else how they are  you might find that the people you assumed were doing fine are struggling just as much as you.

Support groups. Depending on what youre struggling with, it can be very helpful to find a support group online of people who may share in your feelings. Maybe its a wildfire relief group, or a group aligned around the physiological symptoms of anxiety who can offer some tips, or a local parents group. Maybe its a group around grief and loss, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or Alcoholics Anonymous-related networks. These can be especially helpful if you often feel alone within your community around certain challenges.

Therapy

Its not always easy to find a therapist, and during the pandemic when in-person contact is limited, it can be even harder to find a good fit. But understanding what youre looking for can help make the process feel more comfortable.

Many therapists specialize in certain areas. The most reputable search engines are the American Psychological Association and Psychology Today, the latter of which is usually referred to by people in the field as the go-to stop for finding a therapist. You can sort by neighborhood, insurance, gender, age, areas of specialty, and more. If youre looking for someone who can focus on anxiety, or LGBTQ issues, or grief, or bipolar disorder, you can filter for those while you browse.

Its important to recognize the difference between psychologists, who offer psychotherapy, and psychiatrists, who have medical training and prescribe medication. While scrolling, you might see some terms like LMFT, LPCC, RDT, PsyD, PhD, LCSW and more. These refer to the different types of therapy degrees.

LMFT: Licensed marriage and family therapist

LPCC: Licensed professional clinical counselor

RDT: Registered drama therapist

PsyD: Doctor of psychology, usually prepares graduates for a career in clinical practice

PhD: Doctor of psychology, usually prepares graduates for a career in academia or research

LCSW: Licensed clinical social worker

ATR-BC: Board certified art therapist

AMFT: Associate marriage and family therapist

The degrees also offer different types of training, and depending on the length and level of their education, some therapists may charge more than others. If you have insurance, you should check with your provider to figure out what options and coverage are available to you. Medicare and Medicaid also offer low-income options.

If youre planning to pay out of pocket, you might consider a few institutes and centers that offer sliding scale sessions, like clinicians at the California Pacific Medical Center Internship, the California Institute of Integral Studies, Well San Francisco, Haight Ashbury Psychology Services, and others. Here is a good list of additional options.

Many therapists work from one or a variety of psychological orientations. Getting acquainted with what they mean can help greatly in narrowing  or broadening  your search. These are just some of the many:

Psychoanalytic: Therapy focused on the unconscious, the psyche

Psychodynamic: Therapy focused around childhood experiences, the way unconscious processes become beliefs, finding patterns in emotions and thoughts

Somatic: Therapy focused on the relationship between the mind and the body, often used in coping with trauma

Mindfulness-based therapy: May incorporate mindfulness practices like meditation, breathing, and observing the body

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing): A method of therapy proven to greatly help with post-traumatic stress disorder. Involves an 8-phase treatment using eye movements that help attend to memories of trauma.

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy): Often seen as a more hands-on, practical form of therapy that involves different exercises to change patterns of thinking around anxiety, OCD, fears, etc.

There are many more, including art therapy, attachment-based, play therapy, hypnotherapy, dance/movement therapy and family/marital therapy. One effective strategy is to filter for what you know you want, and then reach out to a few therapists for a phone consultation. Talking over the phone may reveal some treatment options you didnt know youd want.

If you progress to the stage of a full-length appointment, Anton recommends giving it three sessions to figure out how you feel. Unless theres something so egregious in the first session that you want to leave  thats a good indicator  I would give it three sessions and I would be direct. Anton recommends telling the therapist what your concerns and doubts are, even if theyre about them.

Its very difficult, but it does two things, Anton said. First, it gives the therapist a chance to meet you and validate, modify or clarify anything that was misunderstood. Secondly, if a therapist cant handle it or reacts poorly, it might be a sign that you should try someone else, she said.

Anyone in crisis should seek immediate help

Experts emphasize that if you are having thoughts of harming yourself, tell someone right away. The following options are available to you 24/7: You can call the suicide prevention hotline or psychiatric emergency services (numbers listed below), or go to your nearest emergency room. If you are in immediate physical danger, call 911.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 800-273-8255 to reach a counselor at a locally operated crisis center 24 hours a day for free.

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.

Crisis Text Line: Text Connect to 741741 to reach a crisis counselor any time for free.

Psychiatric emergency services in Bay Area counties:

Alameda County Crisis Support Services: 1-800-309-2131

Contra Costa Crisis Center: 1-800-833-2900

San Francisco Emergency Psychiatric Services: 415-206-8125

Marin County Crisis Stabilization Unit: 415-473-6666

Napa County Mental Health Crisis Hotline: 707-253-4711

San Mateo County Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Center: 650-579-0350

Santa Clara County Suicide and Crisis Hotline: 855-278-4204

Solano County Mental Health Crisis Services: 707-428-1131

Sonoma County Crisis Stabilization Unit: 707-576-8181

San Franciscos 24 Hour Hotlines:

Crisis Line: (415) 781-0500

HIV Nightline: (415) 434-2437 or 1-800-273-2437

HIV Textline: (415) 200-2920

Drug Information Line: (415) 362-3400

Relapse Line: (415) 834-1144

PWSS Support Line: (415) 288-7160

TTY: (415) 227-0245

More hotline resources:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: Call 800-799-7233 or chat with an advocate on their website at www.thehotline.org.

Veterans Crisis Line: Vetereans, service members, National Guard and Reserve and their family members and friends can call 800-273-8255 and press 1 for confidential, 24/7 support. Text: 838255. Support for deaf and hard of hearing: 800-799-4889.

The Institute on Agings Friendship Line: A crisis hotline for people aged 60 years and older, and adults living in disabilities. Call 800-971-0016 Note: The Institute on Aging offers a gamut of therapy options, and sessions begin at $50. Call 415-750-4111 for more information.

Additional ways to wellness

 Remember to engage in enjoyable and pleasurable things. These are usually the first things that fall away, but theyre the things that tend to keep our boat afloat, Anton said. Reconnecting with the things that you used to enjoy can remind us of larger life truths, thats its not all crisis.

 The Chronicle reached out to mental health experts to put together seven day-to-day strategies that can help you manage uncertain times. Check it out here.

 Give back. Sometimes the most helpful thing for our own mental health is helping others. Whether thats helping contribute to a community food fridge, or reaching out to someone you know who may also be struggling, checking in on your neighbors, finding ways to give back to areas of your community that may need it the most  getting out of our own minds for a moment can be salves.

Annie Vainshtein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annievain
What's on September 21-27 (Daily updated)

MUSIC & PERFORMANCES

Hanoi-Contemporary Dance: Split





Sep 21, 8 pm

Goethe Institut, 56-58-60 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street



From Goethe Institut:



Split is the breaking in piece, angled deeply inwardly . When outer space is limited, people discover emotions hidden deep within themselves, observe themselves under different beings, both separate and mixed, sometimes very confusing. splitting without separation, divide to open, for stopping but clarifying, for reflection and for connecting.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

EXHIBITION



Hanoi-Hanoi - Saigon Sculpture Exhibition





Until Oct 18,

The Vincom Centre for Contemporary Art

Featuring more than 60 outstanding contemporary artworks produced by 32 young artists from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.



The majority of the artworks on display have been created this year, with a diverse range of materials used in their making, such as metal, wood, stone, ceramic, composite, and fiberglass.

Hanoi-Where is There  There is Here

Opening: Sep 18, 6:30 pm,

Exhibition: 19 Sep  18 Oct, 10am-8pm

Vincom Center for Contemporary Art (VCCA)

B1  R3, Vincom Mega Mall Royal City, 72A Nguyen Trai Street



A rumination of these questions, O LA O AUO LA O AY (abbv DLODDLOD; roughly translated as WHERE IS THERETHERE IS HERE) presents the works of an o and Nguyen uc Phuong, an interdisciplinary collective working with elements of indigenous cultures.



HCMC-Virtual painting exhibition raises funds to build houses for the poor



Until Sep 30,



An exhibition showcasing paintings by 101 leading Vietnamese artists is being held to raise funds to build houses for the poor in the central province of Quang Nam.



The exhibition Xuoi Dong Song Thu (Downstream of the Thu Bon River) is curated by arts researchers Ngo Kim Khoi and Ly Doi, and artist Ngo Tran Vu.



Introducing 164 paintings in different materials such as oil, acrylic, pencil and wax crayon, and in surrealist, abstract, semi-abstract and impressionistic styles.



The paintings feature a wide range of topics, including the beauty of the country, lifestyles, portraits and still life.



The exhibition can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/ngotranvublog.



Hanoi-Exhibition: Extended Realities










Sorry!

This content is not available in your region
Matt Hancock today conceded that a completely normal Christmas is impossible this year.

The Health Secretary admitted it was unlikely a Covid vaccine would be rolled out before early next year as he said that 'as close to normal as possible' was the best that could be hoped for during the festive period.

And he used a grilling by Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on This Morning to warn even that would be dependent on rules being followed now to crush an up-spike in coronavirus cases.

Asked by Ms Willoughby whether people would be able to 'hug grandma this Christmas', he said: 'I want Christmas to be as normal as possible. The more that we can control the virus now to stop the spread now, the easier it is going to be to have a Christmas that is as close to normal as possible.

'I know that is what so many people are looking forward to. It is what I hope for, for my family, and I just hope that we can get there. It means taking decisions now.'

The Health Secretary admitted it was unlikely a Covid vaccine would be rolled out before early next year as he said that 'as close to normal as possible' was the best that could be hoped for during the festive period.

And he added: 'If this runs out of control now we will have to take heavier measures in the future.'

On the possibility of a vaccine, Mr Hancock said: 'For the mass rollout we're talking about the first bit of next year, if all goes well.

'Hopefully in the first few months - there's still a chance of it coming on stream before Christmas, but we've then got to roll it out and the first people who will get it are the people who are most vulnerable - people in care homes, older people.

'There's a series of different vaccines, but we are talking about - essentially, for it to have an impact on how we live our lives - we're talking about the start of next year.'

It came as Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance prepared to warn the UK is at a 'critical point' in the fight against coronavirus after a surge in cases as Boris Johnson faces a Cabinet war over reimposing lockdown measures.

The Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Adviser will deliver a stark televised address to the nation this morning, with Prof Whitty expected to say that the UK is facing a 'very challenging winter'.

He will say Britain is currently heading in 'the wrong direction' with Government sources warning the UK is now in the 'last chance saloon'.

Mr Johnson held talks with Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick yesterday as he draws up a virus battle plan that could see the country face more draconian restrictions for as long as six months.

The fact Mr Johnson's two top scientists are addressing the nation today will likely be seen as an attempt by the Government to 'roll the pitch' for the PM to announce new restrictions.

It is thought Mr Johnson will set out new measures in a press conference as early as tomorrow and Health Secretary Matt Hancock today refused to guarantee that pubs will still be allowed to open at the weekend as he said it is socialising which is driving the spike in cases.

Mr Hancock said any new lockdown measures 'will be different to last time'
Washington:

US President Donald Trump will speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night over phone, the White House said.



The President speaks with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the White House said as it released Trumps schedule for Tuesday.



Trump is scheduled to speak with Modi over phone at 1 PM Washington DC time, which is 11:30 PM IST.



With this Modi, would be the fifth foreign leader Trump would have spoken with over phone after being sworn-in as the US President on January 20.



On January 21, Trump spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican Premier Pena Nieto.



On Sunday, Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and on Monday he had a telephonic conversation with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.



After Trump surprised the world with his historic victory in the November 8 general elections, Modi was among the first five world leaders to have congratulated Trump.



During his gruelling election campaign, India is among the few countries in addition to Israel with whom Trump spoke of strengthening ties if elected to power.



At a charity event organised by the Republican Hindu Coalition for the Kashmiri Pandit terror victims and the Bangladeshi Hindu victims in Edison on October 15, Trump, as the then Republican presidential nominee, had praised Indias fast growth rate and Modis bureaucratic and economic reforms.



Under a Trump Administration, we are going to become even better friends, in fact I would take the term better out and we would be best friend, Trump had told a cheering crowd of Indian-Americans in Edison, New Jersey.



We are going to have a phenomenal future together, Trump had said and praised Modi for taking India on fast track growth with series of economic reforms and reforming the bureaucracy, which he said is required in the US too.



I look forward to working with Prime Minister Modi, he had said, adding that the Indian leader is very energetic.



India is key and a key strategic ally, he had said.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
21.09.2020 LISTEN

Although this article refers to LinkedIn, it also applies to any other professional network. That said, I am not aware of any Ghanaian or African network - at least not one of the size and popularity of LinkedIn. In some countries, there are alternatives - eg Xing in Germany, etc...

.

LinkedIn is more than an online CV: it is an #interactive social platform

.

So, how should you #interact with others?

.

1. Do you 'spread the love' #endorsing your connections' skills?

Start with a gesture of kindness and endorse someone's skills. Even endorsing someone for let's say 'Nuclear Physics', will not get him/her a job just because s/he has 1000 recommendations for that, but LinkedIn's algorithm will make his/her profile appear possibly on the top of all search results for 'Nuclear Physics' in that country... Ok, it's a silly example, but I trust that you got the point. No one takes these recommendations seriously - we all know that you can get several of your colleagues to endorse you.

And these endorsements are free - it costs nothing to show some kindness!

.

2. #Thanking everyone #congratulating you on your birthday/promotion?

If people took the time to wish you Happy Birthday or Congratulations for a promotion or graduation, how difficult is it for you to thank them?

.

2a. #Wish others Happy Birthday or Congratulation for a promotion or graduation.

Your LinkedIn feed contains all that info and gets constantly updated, please.

Also, people like to be wished well or congratulated in public - for sure, I do please.

.

3. Do you #write #honest and #meaningful #recommendations?

Sorry but we recruiters, we can instantly spot #fake recommendations.

And a fake or irrelevant recommendation destroys instantly your image and hurts your credibility in general.

.

4. Are you adding #comments / your #opinions on your connections' posts?

Ideally, comments that #promote #conversations?

It is a pleasant surprise for the author - everyone wants their posts to be successful.

Also, it feels caring to see someone commenting constructively on your posts and slowly it does create a natural connection and sense of comradery!

.

5. Do you write #LinkedIn #Articles and use them to start conversations?

Besides creating a positive image and slowly the perception of credibility, it makes you appear more approachable and open to conversation.

.

6. Do you #share #relevant #content and #how_often?

Again, it's about creating credibility and a notion of you been approachable.

.

7. Are you using normal or textbook #English'?

Sometimes I read sentences like: 'I like to work for a reputable company' and I am wondering is there someone who wants otherwise?

Use simple daily English and try not to impress others- communication is about been understood, please!!

Also just typing a 'Hi' and nothing else at all, especially to someone that you don't even know, it is not normal communication- it can be seen as borderline weird!

.

8. Do you use that #3rd-person form in your summary and other sentences?

I am very aware that a lot of books and websites and outdated experts suggest it, but please do not do it- it's creepy!!

.

9. Are you an #advocate of your employers?

How frequently do you connect or hire people endlessly complaining about their employer?

Think about it, please.

.

10. Are you really #warm and #welcoming to all your current + future connections?

Sometimes our tone can be very polite and friendly but not welcoming. Make it a habit to always reread any text before sending it out and think whether it can be misperceived and how?

.

.

In Conclusion

Try working through these suggestions -one at a time

You only need a few minutes over a coffee or lunch break or in the evenings

.

You might be amazed the difference it can make to both you and your business.

.

#Good Luck

Irene

About the Author: Irene Gloria Addison is the owner of HIREghana [Human Intelligence Recruitment], a niche HRM Consultancy and a Leader Ghanaian Recruitment Agency and Executive Search firm, based in Accra.

Irene welcomes your feedback/ comments/ remarks/ suggestions via your email message to Press [at ] HIREgh.com. HIREghana can be reached at +233 50 228 5155

Our website is https://www.hiregh.com

 2020 Irene Gloria Addison and  2020 Human Intelligence Recruitment
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah says the ruling NPP attempts to wate-down Ghanas first President, Kwame Nkrumah's distinguished lead role in the struggle for Ghana's independence will fall flat.

The Ellembelle MP told Citi News the next National Democratic Congress (NDC) government will restore the original Founder's day if voted into power.

Let us be blunt, what can this government boast of? All they have done is to cancel the Republic Day and water- down the Founders Day by basically replicating some other holidays but the NDCs intention is to ensure that Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the founder of this republic, whether anyone likes it or not is recognized as befits him.

When the NDC comes to power, the Founders Day will be elevated once more and celebrated at the national level. And it will have a great impact here at the birthplace of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. One of my biggest agenda is to basically push for tourism, but the agenda needs a concerted effort. If we are successful at this, the Western Region tours alone will give us millions and transform our place, he added.

Parliament had approved the Public Holiday Act which made changes to the country's holiday calendar.

The changes included the introduction of January 7 to be celebrated as Constitution Day and August 4 as Founders' Day.

---citinewsroom
The federal government has indicated that its willing to put up to half a billion dollars into financing electric vehicle production in Oakville, with some money coming from the provincial government  an offer that could allow the Ford plant to stay open for years to come, the Star has learned.

Ford Motor Co. and its main union are in the midst of labour negotiations ahead of a deadline midnight Monday night, and a push for a retooling of the plant for mass production of EVs and their high-tech batteries is central to the talks.

After months of discussion and pressure from environmentalists and labour, Ottawa has told the company it is willing to do what it takes to bring electric vehicle production to Ontario and expects its funding to be part of an eventual $2-billion investment for a new mandate at the Oakville Assembly Complex.

The exact amount from the Ontario government is still being negotiated, a federal source, said, and all of it is wrapped up in the broader labour talks between Ford Canada and its biggest union, Unifor.

The money would be a major lifeline for the plant. Retooling is expected to start as soon as next year, giving the Oakville Assembly Complex and its thousands of workers a new lease on life.

The plant has had a question mark over its head for months now amid analysts projections that it would stop producing the Edge SUV. The mandate for the Edge ends in 2023, and there is no firm commitment from Ford that production would continue in Oakville after that time, throwing more than 4,000 jobs into a state of uncertainty.

Unifors national president, Jerry Dias, has been pushing for an electric vehicle mandate and substantial federal funding for Oakville. But reached on Sunday night, Dias said he was not aware of the federal offer.

Unifor targeted Ford for the first of its Big Three automaker negotiations, which come every four years. The hope was to set a high bar for negotiations with the other automakers.

Ottawa is set to use its Strategic Innovation Fund to finance the contribution.

For the federal government, the deal checks off quite a few boxes.

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains has been increasingly concerned that auto manufacturing in Ontario has dwindled and that the province needs to get into the EV market in order to flourish into the future.

He has argued that Canada should be able to marry its traditional expertise in the auto sector with its abundance of many of the natural resources that are needed to make electric-vehicle batteries.

At the same time, pushing Canada towards electric and autonomous vehicles is central to Canada meeting its environmental goal of having net-zero emissions by 2050.

The choice to dedicate the Oakville Assembly Plant to the production of battery electric vehicles shows alignment between Fords commercial priorities and Canadas commitment to sustainable growth, Bains says to Dean Stoneley, president and CEO of Ford Canada, in a draft letter obtained by the Star.

It also reflects our productive dialogue in recent months, built on top of an enduring partnership.

In parallel with the talks between the company and Ottawa, Unifor has been pushing Bains for months to use federal funding to ensure electric vehicle production in Ontario. Unifor represents 6,300 workers at Ford Motor Co.

In the draft letter, Bains says he sees the arrangement with Ford as a jumping-off point to modernize the entire auto sector in Canada, and turn it into a global powerhouse for electric vehicle production.

The size and the scope of the proposed investment reflect this significance.

A spokesman for Bains would not comment directly on the labour negotiations on Sunday, but issued a statement about the value of attracting mandates for electric vehicles in Canada.

Minister Bains believes that Canada is well positioned to become a leader in electric vehicle and battery production. Developing domestic manufacturing in this sector will secure more good paying jobs for Canadian workers, and more opportunities for Canadian businesses. It will position Canadas auto industry as a global leader in a growing market, and help us meet our climate ambitions, spokesman John Power said in an e-mail to the Star.

An April report put together by the Pembina Institute and the International Council on Clean Transportation found that Canada has steadily lost global market share in auto manufacturing over the past 20 years and is dramatically under-invested in the rapidly growing EV market of the future.

The report says Canada manufactures about two million light-duty passenger cars and trucks a year and is the 12th largest auto producer in the world, down from fifth largest in 2000.

Heather Scoffield is the Stars Ottawa bureau chief and an economics columnist. Follow her on Twitter: @hscoffield

Read more about:
PHILADELPHIA/WASHINGTON: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden urged Senate Republicans not to vote on any candidate nominated to the Supreme Court as the November election approaches, calling his rival Donald Trump`s plan an "exercise of raw political power."

Biden was speaking on Sunday, the day that a second Senate Republican voiced objections to Trump`s plan for a quick vote on a replacement to liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday. Such an appointment by the president, if approved by the Senate, would cement a 6-3 conservative majority that could influence American law and life for decades.

"Voters of this country should be heard ... they`re the ones who this Constitution envisions should decide who has the power to make this appointment," Biden said in Philadelphia. "To jam this nomination through the Senate is just an exercise of raw political power."

Biden said that if he wins the November 3 election, he should have the chance to nominate the next Supreme Court justice.

The former vice president rejected the idea of releasing the names of potential nominees, saying that doing so, as Trump did, could improperly influence those candidates` decisions in their current court roles as well as subject them to "unrelenting political attacks."

He reiterated his pledge to nominate an African-American woman to the court, which would be a historic first, if he has the opportunity.

Earlier on Sunday, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she did not support Trump`s plan to move fast on filling the seat, becoming the second of the 53 Republicans in the 100-seat chamber to object publicly following Ginsburg`s death.

Senator Lamar Alexander, another moderate Republican, issued a statement saying he did not object to a vote.

Trump`s plan drew immediate criticism from Democrats, who noted that in 2016 Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a vote on a Democratic appointee on the grounds that the vacancy should be filled by the next president.

"I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia," Murkowski said in a statement. "We are now even closer to the 2020 election  less than two months out  and I believe the same standard must apply."

Senator Susan Collins of Maine voiced similar concerns on Saturday. Collins is locked in a tight re-election battle, while Murkowski`s current term extends two more years.

A majority of Americans, some 62% including many Republicans, told a Reuters/Ipsos poll that they thought the winner of the November election should get to nominate a justice to fill the vacancy.

Justice Antonin Scalia, a close friend of Ginsburg`s, died in February 2016, but McConnell blocked a vote on Democratic President Barack Obama`s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.

Trump said on Saturday he would make his nomination this week and named Amy Coney Barrett of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Barbara Lagoa of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible candidates to fill the vacancy created by Ginsburg, a revered figure among liberals.

The passing of Ginsburg upended the November election campaigns, energizing both Trump`s conservative base - eager to see the court overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide - and presenting new complications in the battle for control of the U.S. Senate.

"I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman," Trump said at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where supporters chanted: "Fill that seat." "I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men."

Trump and McConnell have time to make the nomination and schedule a vote. While elections are on Nov. 3, a new Congress will not be sworn in until Jan. 3, with the winner of the presidential contest inaugurated on Jan. 20.

`LUST FOR POWER`

Republican Senator John Barrasso on NBC`s "Meet the Press" on Sunday brushed off Democratic complaints about the nomination process.

"Let`s be very clear - if the shoe were on the other foot and the Democrats had the White House and the Senate, they would right now be trying to confirm another member of the Supreme Court," Barrasso said.

Democrat Hillary Clinton, whom Trump defeated in the 2016 election, on the same program called that view "indefensible."

"What`s happening in our country is incredibly dangerous," said Clinton, a former secretary of state whose husband, Bill Clinton, nominated Ginsburg to the court in 1993. "Our institutions are being basically undermined by the lust for power."

Trump has already appointed two justices: Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. Kavanaugh was narrowly confirmed after a heated confirmation process in which he angrily denied accusations by a California university professor, Christine Blasey Ford, that he had sexually assaulted her in 1982 when the two were high school students in Maryland.

"No one should be surprised that a Republican Senate majority would vote on a Republican presidents Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year," Alexander said in his statement. "The Constitution gives senators the power to do it."
First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has taken her tour of the Greater Accra Region to the Weija-Gbawe Constituency, calling on citizens to retain the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in power.

Addressing various gatherings in the Constituency, Mrs. Akufo-Addo said President Akufo-Addo deserves a second term in office to do more for the people of Ghana.

You are all witnesses to the good works of my husband President Akufo-Addo so come December 7 let us all go to the polling stations and vote for the NPP government, she said.

She added that the NPP government is determined to continue with its life changing programmes like the Free SHS, and the Planting for Food and Jobs.

Wherever we go, we should tell everyone that there is the need for four more years for Nana, she said.

Mrs Akufo-Addo further noted that the NPP government had also undertaken some projects in the Weija-Gbawe Constituency.

The projects, she said, included a constrution of a model Senior High School, and a modern Community-based Health Planning and Service (CHPS) compound with staff accommodation, all of which were ongoing.

She also mentioned the building of a new Kindergarten block in Weija, a new sanitary facility at the Weija Presbyterian School, adding that a motorable steel bridge that would connect Old and New Weija communities would soon commence.

She also pledged Rebecca Foundations continuous support for women and children while the health care sector was greatly being supported with medical supplies and other essential services.

She, however, called for unity and peaceful coexistence between the peoples of Weija and Gbawe communities.

At the Gbawe palace, Nii Laryea Faamlinte, Chief of Gbawe, commended the NPP government for doing so much for his people , stating that indeed the NPP government has done well for us in this Constituency, and Im very happy about the level of development in my area.

He, however, expressed worry over the activities of landgaurds who were allegedly coming from Weija to cause fear and panic in Gbawe and appealed to the state to intervene.

The First Lady and her entourage also visited the Chief of Weija, the Wiaboman community, and the Zongo community in Mallam.

She was accompanied on the tour by the Member of Parliament for the Weija-Gbawe Constituency Tina Gifty Naa Ayele Mensah, and Municipal Chief Executive Officer for the area, Patrick Kwesi Brako Kumor.

---Daily Guide
President Donald Trump (L) boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Md., on July 15, 2020. On right, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks in Dunmore, Pa., on July 9, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images; Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Trump Assumes Bidens Going to Do Great During First Presidential Debate

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he assumes Democratic nominee Joe Biden will be able to perform well during their first televised debates later this month.

Look, I think hes a professional, Trump told Fox News of the former senator and vice president, referring to the debate. I dont know if hes all there but I think hes a professional  and that he can debate.

I have to assume hes going to do greatbecause hes been there 47 years hes been in the public service. A long time, he said.

Trump and Biden are slated to square off on Sept. 29 in Cleveland, Ohio. Fox News anchor Chris Wallace was selected to moderate the first debate.

I dont understand whats going on. He doesnt seem to be answering questions and he cant answer questions and much worse a little while ago when he was on the stage with the Democrats, he couldnt do well, Trump said of Bidens prior debate performances during the Democratic primaries.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks about climate change and wildfires affecting western states, in Wilmington, Del. on Sept. 14, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

The president said Biden did OK against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). It was sort of a tie and was nothing great, Trump said.

But before that, Biden was destroyed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who Biden ultimately selected as his vice-presidential choice.

What she said to him was terrible, Trump said of Harriss sparring with Biden in the debates. I tell you what, I watched that, and Im shocked that he picked her [as his running mate] because he was  treated so badly by Kamala and then he picks her.

In the most memorable Harris moment during the debates, she challenged Bidens opposition as a senator to federally mandated bussing. She said that she benefitted from the program, which was designed to integrate schools.

Nobody treated him worse than his vice presidential pick, Trump said.

Biden in recent weeks has spoken while using a teleprompter on the campaign trail. The Trump campaign has criticized its rival for not doing interviews with the press over the past several months, saying that Biden will not be able to withstand aggressive questions.

Democratic presidential candidate 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., on Aug. 12, 2020. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

More Funding

In the Monday morning interview, Trump also noted that the Democrats have pulled in more funding in recent days.

Theyve always had more money than the Republicans, Trump said. Its sort of a funny thing. We have a lot, but  look, when I ran against [Hillary Clinton], I had 25 percent of the money that she had and nobody ever talked about that.

Clinton spent all that money and nobody ever gave me credit, the president said.

Bidens campaign reported Sunday that it and the Democratic National Committee began September with $466 million in the bank, which is about $141 million more than Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC).

Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh wrote on Twitter Friday that the RNC and Trumps team has about $325 million on hand.
Class sizes at the University of NSW have ballooned during the pandemic, with one maths tutorial jumping from an average of 28 students to more than 165 during the move to online learning.

An analysis of class enrolment data by the UNSW Casuals Network revealed tutorial sizes across the university had grown by an average 13.8 per cent since last year. The greatest spikes have been in first-year mathematics, chemistry, arts and design courses, and have occurred as the university commits to shedding almost 500 full-time jobs.

Some class sizes have skyrocketed at the University of NSW since the move to online learning. Credit:Wolter Peeters

Casual teachers and students say the jump in numbers has decreased the quality of learning at the university. The student representative council's education officer Shovan Bhattarai said larger class sizes were "the latest blow" to students who were already dissatisfied with the university's trimester system and online learning in general.

"While students are online, they're already one step removed from the education they want to receive," she said. "Ive heard many examples of students in huge tutorials at the moment, where their teachers have barely any time to allow real discussion in their classes."
A brand new South African airline, which will be launching domestic flights later this year, has invited all South Africans to suggest a name for the new carrier. The successful creator will win a year's free travel pass on the airline.

The airline which has drawn inspiration from Ubers high tech, customer-obsessed approach to mobility, is a partnership between Kulula founder Gidon Novick and Global Aviation, a leading operator of Airbus A320 aircraft.The pandemic has created a unique opportunity to start an airline that is not only dramatically more efficient but also inventive and creative by tapping into the unique talent that our country offers commented Novick.Master KGs Jerusalema is a reminder of just how creative, energetic and inspiring South Africans can be, he added. "The airlines first flight between Johannesburg and Cape Town, the 12th busiest route in the world, is planned for December 2020.The founding team combines industry experience with fresh thinkers from the technology and hospitality sectors. Similar to the way Uber has transformed the point-to-point mobility, there is a huge opportunity for the airline industry to rethink its relationship with passengers and be more customer obsessed. This can be achieved by bringing together industry experts, technology and a fresh perspective and strategic approaches from other sectors. says Jonathan Ayache, ex-Uber Africa exec who is also involved in the project.Black&White, part of the award-winning M&C Saatchi Group, will be doing the positioning, design and branding for the new airline. Without being too prescriptive the new team are looking for a name that is unique, aspirational, and cool. Ideally, it should be easy to say and memorable.Entries can be posted on the website brandnewairline.co.za and the winner will be announced within the next two weeks.
The Rev. Robert Graetz, whose support of the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott made him a target of segregationists and sparked a career dedicated to social justice, died Sunday, his daughter Meta Ellis said. He was 92.

Graetz had been in hospice care.

Graetz, who ministered to the majority-Black Trinity Lutheran Evangelical Church in Montgomery, Alabama, helped organize the early stages of the boycott and helped drive people to and from work.

Graetz was the only white clergyman to support the boycott, and like other participants in the boycott, the reverend and his family persisted in the face of harassment, terrorism, and death threats that extended to their preschool children. Vandals poured sugar in their gas tank; slashed their tires and sprayed acid over their cars. White students on segregated school buses shouted "n---r lover" at Graetz and his wife, Jeannie, as they walked the street.

The family home was bombed twice, and while arrests were made, no one was ever convicted. Graetz often became emotional remembering the bombings in later years.

People often said we had courage, he said in 2001. There were times when I was scared to death.

Robert Graetz: A son of West Virginia

Robert Graetz was born on May 16, 1928, in Charleston, West Virginia. His father worked as an engineer for the Libbey-Owens-Ford Co., a glass manufacturer. In the mid-1940s, Graetz entered Capital University in Bexley, Ohio, where he helped organize a campus race relations club. Walter White, the longtime leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), once spoke to the club and said race relations were improving because of the growing presence of whites in civil rights battles.

Naturally I just beamed, Graetz told the Advertiser in 1956, because that depiction really fit me.

The Lutheran Church faced a shortage of Black clergy in the 1950s, and Graetz was asked to minister at majority-Black churches. He started as a student pastor at Community Lutheran Church in Los Angeles in 1952. After earning a divinity degree from what is now Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, Graetz went to the 210-member Trinity Lutheran Church in Montgomery in June 1955.

Story continues

Rev. Robert Graetz in Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday April 1, 2015.

The church also sponsored meetings of the NAACP Youth Council, through which Graetz met Rosa Parks.

When we met Rosa, we just fell in love with her, Graetz said in 2015. She was such a great lady, and so brave. She could really lead those kids and they responded to her.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Graetz had spent barely six months as the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Evangelical Church in 1955 when Black leaders in the city organized the boycott following Parks' arrest on Dec. 1. The Sunday after the arrest and first organizational meetings, Graetz encouraged his congregation to unite behind the protest.

Lets try to make this boycott as effective as possible because it wont be any boycott if half of us ride the buses and half dont ride, Graetz told the congregation. So if were going to do it, lets make a good job of it.

From 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. each day, he drove a Chevrolet in support of the boycott, shuttling as many as 50 people a day between home and work.

The Rev. Robert Graetz with the Rev. Martin Luther King in Montgomery in the 1950's. Graetz served as a Lutheran minister and led MontgomeryOs all black Trinity Lutheran Church, and was an early and outspoken advocate of racial equality--he and King became good friends.

As a member of the Montgomery Improvement Association, Graetz organized car pools and raised money to pay for gas and automotive expenses.

While the Graetzes were not the only white people involved in the boycott  Clifford and Virginia Durr provided legal and financial support  the young couple were the only white members of the clergy to publicly support it. Graetz wrote letters to fellow clergymen on stationery with a quote from Acts 8:26 (And the Angel of the Lord spake unto Phillip saying: Arise, go toward the South), asking them to consider this matter prayerfully and carefully, with Christian love. Our Lord said, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

He was not successful. The association representing white ministers in Montgomery refused Graetzs invitation to a talk from the Rev. Martin Luther King about the boycott.

Montgomery's larger white community also shunned the Graetzes. As they endured vandalism and verbal harassment, Robert and Jeannie received notes suggesting that their young children could be shot while playing outside. Family members suggested sending the children out of state; they refused.

Law enforcement also targeted the minister. On Dec. 19, 1955, while picking up five passengers, Graetz was stopped by Montgomery County Sheriff Mac Sim Butler and accused of picking up passengers in a taxi zone. The sheriff ordered him to follow him to the county jail, where Graetz was placed in a deputy sheriffs office.

Advertiser file The Rev. Robert Graetz. a Lutheran minister who was the only white Montgomery Improvement Association board member, speaks at a mass meeting during the bus boycott.

A person who Graetz assumed was a deputy sheriff told him, "We like things the way they are here. We dont want anybody trying to change them.

Arriving here, I realized I had no idea what it would be like to be Black and live life in daily repression, Graetz said in 1999. I had no idea what it would be like to be told day after day and year after year that you are a nobody, that you have no value.

The terror escalated in August 1956, a few days after the white ministers rejected Graetz's invitation to meet with King. Graetz was on a trip with his family and Rosa Parks at the Highlander Folk School, a training ground for civil rights activists in northeastern Tennessee, when he got a call from a reporter asking for a comment about his home being bombed.

It was the first news Graetz had about the attack, which tore the door off and shattered a window.

Far from providing support, city leaders went on the offensive. Mayor W.A. Gayle accused the Montgomery Improvement Association of setting off the bomb to boost interest in the boycott.

We are inclined to wonder if out-of-state contributions to the boycott have been dropping off, he said. Perhaps this is just a publicity stunt to build up interest of the Negroes in the campaign.

Graetz called the mayors comments foolishness, and King rejected all of Gayles premises.

The Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, center, speaks with attorney Fred D. Gray and the Rev. Robert S. Graetz about the bus boycott settlement in Montgomery on Feb. 21, 1956. Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, center, speaks with attorney Fred D. Gray, left, and the Rev. Robert S. Graetz, right of Abernathy, about the bus boycott settlement in Montgomery, Ala., on Feb. 21, 1956. (AP Photo)

The boycott ended in December after Montgomerys bus system was ordered desegregated. The attacks did not. On Jan. 10, the Graetzes; their children, including their 9-day-old son and the Rev. Graetzs mother were at home when a bomb exploded on their front lawn. Shortly afterward, a much larger bomb, consisting of 11 sticks of dynamite, was found, which could have killed the entire family had it gone off.

The Graetzes were one of several individuals targeted that evening. The Rev. Ralph Abernathy was also bombed, and several African-American churches were also targeted. Arrests took place, but no one was ever convicted.

After the boycott

In 1958, the family moved to minister at a Black church in Columbus, Ohio. Graetz worked in Ohio, Kentucky, California and Washington, D.C., where Graetz worked as a lobbyist for marginalized individuals for 13 years.

Robert and Jeannie Graetz returned to Montgomery in 2005 for the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, then moved to the city permanently in 2007. They worked for Alabama State University and held regular symposiums on civil rights issues. Graetz also wrote semi-regular columns for The Advertiser, part of the USA TODAY Network.

What shall be done about the pockets of abject poverty scattered throughout our nation, disproportionately African-American? he wrote in 2008. Until progress has been made in ensuring more satisfying and productive lives to those who are the most vulnerable in our society, we cannot fully resolve the problems that divide our various groups.

The couple remained politically active and outspoken, even as the Rev. Graetz entered hospice care. In 2011, they opposed Alabamas House Bill 56, which criminalized undocumented immigrants lives in the state. Graetz also condemned white nationalist violence at Charlottesville in 2017 and sharply condemned President Donald Trumps reaction to it.

Graetz is survived by his wife, seven children, 27 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

Some time ago I read that the first requisite of a successful missionary was that he become color blind, Graetz told the Advertiser in 1956, near the start of the Bus Boycott. I figured that the same was true of my work here. I know that I shall be criticized for my stand. I may even suffer violence. But I cannot minister to souls alone. My people also have bodies.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Rev. Robert Graetz, who helped organize Montgomery Bus Boycott, dies
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Monday that additional restrictions aimed at tackling the growing spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak would almost certainly be imposed within days.

Sturgeon said urgent action was needed but she hoped to avoid a full-scale lockdown along the lines of the one imposed in March.

"I need to be absolutely straight with people, across Scotland additional restrictions will almost certainly be put in place ... over the next couple of days," Sturgeon said.

Sturgeon said she had asked the British government for an emergency COBR meeting to discussion the situation.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio The Northeast Ohio SPCA is opening its doors to 30 rescue cats, left homeless after Hurricane Sally in Alabama.

We are honored for the opportunity to help a fellow shelter get back on its feet after Hurricane Sallys devastation, Executive Director Jeffrey L. Kocian said in a news release. These cats and kittens have been through so much in life already, and we are eager to help them find a safe and caring forever family.

The no-kill shelter will house around 30 acts rescued from Foley, Alabama, starting Tuesday. The cats have been spayed/neutered, vet-checked, and available for adoption on or around Sept. 25.

Foley, located just north of Orange Beach, Alabama, and northwest of Pensacola, Florida, was struck by Sally, which made landfall in nearby Gulf Shores, Alabama, on Wednesday.

After the storm destroyed its new spay and neuter clinic, including all of its new equipment, the Safe Harbor Animal Coalition, a cat-only rescue organization, contacted the Northeast Ohio SPCA, a nonprofit organization.

The Northeast Ohio SPCA Pet Shelter strives to provide a haven for abandoned, homeless, and adoptable loving pets until they can find a home. Since 2004, the shelter has adopted more than 35,000 pets into loving homes. The shelter will also be accepting donations to offset transportation and medical costs associated with the rescue mission.
New Delhi: Malaysias state-run oil and gas company, Petroliam Nasional Bhd or Petronas is looking to acquire around 10% stake in Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL), said four people aware of the development.

This marquee minority stake sale in TPREL is in addition to Petronas interest in investing in Tata Power renewable energy infrastructure investment trust (InvIT).

InvITs manage income-generating infrastructure assets, typically offering regular yield to investors and a liquid way to invest in infrastructure projects.

TPREL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Tata Power Company Ltd and its primary investment vehicle in clean energy space. Citibank has been given the mandate to find an investor for the Tata Power renewable energy InvIT, which will house 3 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy projects.

While a Citibank spokesperson declined comment, queries emailed to spokespersons for Tata Power and Petronas on Sunday evening remained unanswered.

This potential deal comes in the backdrop of oil majors looking to diversify and invest in Indias emerging green economy as the conventional hydrocarbon space undergoes technological and pandemic related disruptions. Petronas had acquired Amplus Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd, one of Indias largest rooftop solar power producers in April 2019, marking its foray into the global clean energy space.

In addition to offering a 51% stake in its InvIT, Tata Power is also open to selling a minority stake in Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd, that will provide access to development projects," said a person cited above requesting anonymity.

The proposed minority stake sale in TPREL and the InvIT deal comes at a time when deal activity in the Indian green energy space continues unabated despite the coronavirus pandemic. In what may rank among the largest green energy deals in India, Acme Solar Holdings Ltd. is looking to sell 4.84 gigawatt (GW) of solar projects, Mint reported on Sunday. Also, Japans ORIX Corp. made the single-largest foreign clean energy investment announcement of $980 million in India for buying a 17% stake in Greenko Energy Holdings.

We have very ambitious targets in renewables. For that, we require money and we are looking at bringing in strategic investors," Praveer Sinha, managing director and CEO, Tata Power, had said in an earlier interview.

Mint reported on 10 lune about Dutch pension fund manager APG Asset Management NV, private equity firm Actis Llp, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), Canada Pension Plan investment Board (CPPIB), and Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) evincing interest in acquiring stake in Tata Power renewable energy InvIT.

Tata Power has been in discussions for the InvIT with around half a dozen firms," said a second person aware of the development cited above who didnt want to be named.

The Economic Times newspaper on 5 June reported about Petronas eyeing stake in Tata Power's InvIT.

Apart from investing in the InvIT, Petronas is looking to acquire around 10% equity stake in Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd," said a third person cited above requesting anonymity.

This comes in the backdrop of Indias solar power tariffs hitting a record low of 2.36 per unit during a bid conducted by state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI). The foreign investors interest can be gauged by the fact that the lowest bid was placed by Spain Solarpack Corporacin Tecnolgica, S.A., with Italy's Enel Group Avikaran Surya India Private Ltd, Canadian firm AMP Solar Groups India unitAMP Energy Green Private Ltd, France EDEN Renewables and Ib Vogt Singapore Pte ltd placing the second lowest tariff bid of 2.37 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). UKs CDC Group-backed Ayana Renewable Power and Goldman Sachs backed ReNew Power placed the third lowest bid of 2.37 per unit each.

Consolidation in the industry is bound to happen. There are discussions which are happening with some investors regarding TPREL. Nothing has been finalised," said a fourth person cited above requesting anonymity.

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SOUTHFIELD, MI  Two Michigan high school students are dead and four are injured after a vehicle crash in Southfield.

According to the Southfield Police Department, the rollover crash occurred in the 24300 block of Telegraph Road around 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18.

We are saddened to share that six Oak Park High School students were involved in a serious car accident resulting in two fatalities, Oak Park Schools said in a statement.

We remain in close contact with parents of individuals involved and the police department. We are honoring the parents request to keep specific details confidential, therefore we are waiting to release the names of the students involved and the severity of their injuries.

Fox 2 in Detroit reports that medics arrived at the location and took a 17-year-old male to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Two more male teens were also taken to the hospital, where one of them was listed in critical condition and the other was pronounced dead.

Three other 17-year-old males were taken to the hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the TV station.

Oak Park made district counselors, social workers, and school psychologists available over the weekend to provide emotional support and grief counseling to students, staff and families.

Please continue to keep all students, staff and families in your thoughts and prayers, the districts statement concludes.
TORONTO, Sept. 21, 2020 /CNW/ - As Canadians have done their part to contain the spread of COVID-19, home has become a sanctuary - a place of safety and refuge. That is why the Government of Canada is working to ensure that every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home.

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), announced a new Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) to help address urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians by rapidly creating new affordable housing. The initiative will also help support Canada's economic recovery by creating employment in the housing and construction sectors.

Delivered by CMHC, this $1 billion initiative will cover the construction of modular housing, as well as the acquisition of land, and the conversion of existing buildings to affordable housing. The RHI is the newest initiative of the National Housing Strategy (NHS). It is expected to enable the rapid creation of up to 3,000 new affordable housing units across the country and will help stimulate the economy.

In addition to this substantial investment in housing, the Government of Canada will provide $236.7 million through Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy to help extend and expand the emergency response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This funding is in addition to the $157.5 million announced in April 2020 to help communities address the immediate impacts of the pandemic. This new investment will enable communities to extend the emergency measures that have been successful in reducing the risk of potential outbreaks among people experiencing homelessness, as well as provide them the flexibility to deliver affordable housing solutions.

Quotes:

"Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. With the Rapid Housing Initiative, our Government is moving quickly to provide more affordable housing to keep our vulnerable populations safe, to fight the virus over the long-term, and to support Canada's economic recovery."

- The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

"We know that Canadians experiencing homelessness are at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19. That's why it is so important that we continue to ensure that communities have the resources they need to support those who are experiencing homelessness. I believe this renewed investment in Reaching Home and new funds for supportive housing will go a long way to effectively support those who need it most."

- Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Quick facts:

Today's announcement was held at the intersection of Markham Street and Lennox Street in Toronto , the traditional territories of the Ojibway, the Anishnabe and the Mississauga's of the New Credit. The territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties.

in , the traditional territories of the Ojibway, the Anishnabe and the of the New Credit. The territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties. The Government of Canada has acted on the priorities expressed by key partners, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), provinces, territories, the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH), Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA), and other key housing organizations, associations and advocates, to help address the need for the rapid acquisition of land, and the construction of modular housing as well as the acquisition of buildings to convert to affordable housing.

has acted on the priorities expressed by key partners, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), provinces, territories, the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH), Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA), and other key housing organizations, associations and advocates, to help address the need for the rapid acquisition of land, and the construction of modular housing as well as the acquisition of buildings to convert to affordable housing. RHI funding will be available to municipalities, provinces, territories, Indigenous governing bodies and organizations, and non-profit organizations.

The RHI complements Canada's homelessness program by providing targeted funding to create new housing for people and populations who are vulnerable and who may also receive supports and services under Reaching Home.

homelessness program by providing targeted funding to create new housing for people and populations who are vulnerable and who may also receive supports and services under Reaching Home. The RHI takes a human rights-based approach to housing, serving people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and others who are among the most vulnerable, including: women and children fleeing violence, seniors, young adults, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, people dealing with mental health and addiction issues, veterans, LGBTQ2, racialized groups including Black Canadians, and recent immigrants and refugees. The RHI will complement other NHS initiatives and contribute to the overall NHS targets and outcomes. It will help reduce housing need, and support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, by introducing a range of housing solutions and make an immediate difference in the lives of vulnerable people in our community.

Announced in 2017, the NHS is an ambitious 10-year, $55+ billion plan that will give more Canadians across the country a place to call home, creating 125,000 new housing units and reducing housing need for 530,000 households, as well as repair and renew more than 300,000 housing units and reduce chronic homelessness by 50 per cent.

While the funding profile for the NHS spans a 10-year timeframe, the RHI is a rapid response to emerging pressures from COVID-19. It is expected that all funds will be committed by March 31, 2021 .

. Additional details about this initiative and the application process will be announced shortly.

CMHC continues to play a key role in the Government's efforts to support the well-being of Canadians facing housing affordability and homelessness challenges in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government of Canada's additional $236.7 million investment through Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy, is in response to the gaps and pressures identified by key stakeholders.

additional investment through Reaching Home: Homelessness Strategy, is in response to the gaps and pressures identified by key stakeholders. This additional investment through the Reaching Home will continue to support communities in responding to the impacts of COVID-19 based on local needs and priorities, as well as help support affordable housing solutions for those experiencing homelessness and prevent further inflows into homelessness.

Associated links:

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. For more information, please visit cmhc.ca or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

For further information: Media contacts: Jessica Eritou, Office of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, [email protected]; Brie Martin, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, (613) 748-4874, [email protected]

Related Links

www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca


Doing so would be hypocritical, given the way Republican senators held up Merrick Garlands Supreme Court nomination, cynical and corrosive to the very idea of democracy. But so what? Were talking about Trump, who desperately wants voters to focus on something other than the nearly 200,000 people who have died of covid-19 on his watch. Were talking about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who could not care less what mere citizens might think. And were talking about the Senate Republicans, who reliably roll over and give Trump and McConnell whatever they want.
Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal has adapted his book "The Ocean of Churn" for young readers, in which he describes the history and geography of the majestic Indian Ocean and its significance and relevance through the ages.



"The Incredible History of The Indian Ocean" also traces the significance of the Indian Ocean on Africa, the Middle East, Europe, South East Asia and Oceania.



The Indian Ocean is an incredible big blue body of water that has connected people from the east coast of Africa to Australia for thousands of years.



"It is not possible to understand India's history and its relationship with the world without reference to the sea. Indeed, India is the only country that has an ocean named after it. My goal here is to tell India's story from the maritime perspective as it is the only way one can understand our cities, our culture, and, more broadly, who we are as a people," says Sanyal.



The long history of the Indian Ocean is one where the unfolding of events is the result of complex interactions between myriad factors - the monsoon winds, geography, human migrations, technology, religion, culture, the deeds of individuals and, perhaps, occasionally the whims of the gods, he writes.



"It followed no predetermined path or grand plan, but is the story of long cycles, dead ends and unintended consequences, of human triumphs and extraordinary bravery but also of treachery and inexplicable human cruelty. There are many shades of grey along the way," the book, published by Puffin, says.



There are many tidbits, interesting facts, extraordinary stories and maps in the book with illustrations by Nikhil Gulati.



Sanyal says he has written the book at a time when the Indian Ocean rim is enjoying a period of peace and prosperity after many centuries of colonisation, war and famine.



"However, the failed state of Somalia and renewed hostilities in Yemen remind us how fragile this peace can be," he says.



The author seeks to answer various questions like when the Indian Ocean came into being, who were the first group of people to look out upon the Indian Ocean, how different groups came to live in the lands bordering the Indian Ocean at various times, and when the first humans arrived in India and how they got here.



The book also talks about the fearless travellers and sailors, pirates and conquerors who set out to cross the ocean in search of gold and glory, and discover how geography can shape the course of history.

Image credit: Facebook/@sanjeev.sanyal.94
On an evening evening in May, people in Lanzhou flock to the banks of the Yellow River to enjoy the cool weather. Photo: Guo Xianzhong/Caixin

The day after this magazine published our cover story about the infection of thousands of people with brucellosis in Lanzhou, Northwest Chinas Gansu province, the citys health commission issued a notice about the incident and outlined the next stage of work. The notice also promised to urge the Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical Plant, the company responsible for the incident, to pay compensation.

This gesture of responding to the public in a timely manner deserves recognition. The notice also mentioned that the plant has seriously dealt with the eight people responsible for the incident. However, there has been no announcement about whether they and the factory will be punished by the law and whether the judicial department has stepped in.

To deal with this incident, legal accountability is essential  only then can those responsible pay the price for their actions. Legal action will also be a warning to other companies and promote the rule of law in Chinas public health sector.

One year has passed since this incident occurred. In July and August 2019, the plant, a subsidiary of China Animal Husbandry Industry Co. Ltd., used expired disinfectant in the production of brucellosis vaccines for veterinary use, resulting in inadequate sterilization of waste gas emissions from fermentation tanks.

Read more

Cover Story: A Year On, a Quieter Outbreak Still Sickens Thousands in Northwest China

Lanzhou officials have confirmed 3,245 positive infections, and there must be others living in fear of the unknown. Most of the infected people do not know how to treat the disease, and many will spend the rest of their lives living with pain and fatigue. Brucellosis can incapacitate and even disable those it afflicts. For the families, it is a devastating situation. The perpetrators of the incident must take responsibility. Otherwise, how can justice be done?

Although the Lanzhou brucellosis outbreak is essentially a public health incident, Chinas current laws and regulations lack clear, uniform guidelines on who should be accountable. Instead, we have to consult our laws on environmental protection, drugs and the handling of dangerous goods.

Thats because rules like our regulations for responding to public health emergencies mainly deal with the role of local governments and their health institutions. Meanwhile, our laws on preventing and controlling infectious diseases focus more on how to respond to incidents instead of who is to blame. This incident is therefore an opportunity to address these problems.

Of course, we can still apply legal accountability for the Lanzhou outbreak in accordance with current laws and regulations. An amendment to Chinas criminal law has lowered the threshold of conviction for those who pollute the environment. In recent years, a top-down approach to environmental protection has exposed many polluting companies, especially pharmaceutical firms. They have been repeatedly banned, but some continue to flout the law.

Thats because the cost of breaking the law is far lower than the profits to be made from doing so, and local governments sometimes even shelter such firms. Despite this, some staff at unscrupulous pharmaceutical companies have received criminal penalties for their actions.

Legal evidence must determine the actions of Lanzhou Biopharmaceutical and the responsibilities the enterprise and its staff should take. This matter is of national concern, and local governments should strictly enforce the law.

This incident gives us a lot to think about. Chinese law has strict requirements for vaccine production. Regulations for ensuring the quality of veterinary drugs contain detailed restrictions on production equipment, protective measures and the use of disinfectants.

Even so, large-scale pollution events can still occur, with serious consequences. When dealing with the aftermath, the relevant government departments must reflect deeply, uncover regulatory loopholes and supervisory weaknesses, and then strengthen supervision in a targeted manner.

It is worth noting that when the plant used the expired disinfectants, the central environmental protection inspection team was stationed in Gansu. The difficulties of monitoring environmental protection are therefore evident.

Our most pressing task is to arrange compensation as soon as possible, something that is also an integral part of legal accountability. According to the official notice, compensation will be administered gradually from October, and all sectors hope that it can be rolled out as soon as possible.

We mustnt artificially set the threshold for compensation too high or screen applicants for their payments too tightly. It is the right of the victims to expect compensation standards to strictly follow the law. Compensation should also not be limited to the cost of treatment; we must comprehensively assess people based on their future difficulties in life.

In short, we must be pragmatic. It would be best to hand over the process to an independent medical appraisal agency to avoid excessive local government interference. Additionally, securities regulators must examine China Animal Husbandry, a listed company that did not perform well when disclosing this incident.

We can also learn from the experiences of others. The United States, Europe, Japan and other countries have given us examples of the importance of extensive public participation and strict legal punishments for environmental and public health violations.

The prerequisite for public participation is to establish a specific mechanism for lots of people to join in. Accordingly, businesses should also improve information transparency. In areas with relatively comprehensive governance like the U.S., Europe and Japan, companies that violate safety regulations and cause serious environmental pollution not only face huge fines, but those responsible may also face severe penalties under criminal law, the enforcement of which is unified and strict.

Illegal activities thereby carry huge costs that discourage tricksters and force companies to improve their internal management and control standards. Even if we have detailed guidelines and operating norms at the systemic level, they will be toothless without real deterrents.

Chinas achievements fighting its coronavirus epidemic came from valuing the supremacy of the people and human life. Lanzhous brucellosis outbreak was unfortunate and catastrophic. We expect that the handling of this incident will also show similar respect for life.

For Gansu and Lanzhou, whose economic development is relatively lagging, there is no need to worry that legal accountability will scare away investors. On the contrary, handling this incident strictly in accordance with the law will improve the business environment.

For China, which is determined to improve its national governance capabilities, the aftermath of the outbreak provides a different opportunity: a chance to reach a new milestone in implementing the rule of law.

Contact reporter Matthew Walsh (matthewwalsh@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)

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WASHINGTON  The Justice Department identified New York City, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle as three cities that could have federal funding slashed under a memorandum by President Donald Trump that sought to identify localities that permit anarchy, violence and destruction in American cities.

The designation, which could open the door for the federal government to cut off some funding to the cities, drew immediate criticism from local elected officials. It comes as Trump throughout the summer has cast American cities run by Democratic mayors as under siege by violence and lawlessness, despite the fact that most of the demonstrations against racial injustice have been largely peaceful.

An attempt to cut off federal funding to the cities would likely be met with immediate legal challenges and several federal judges ruled in favor of municipalities over similar attempts to withhold funding tied to immigration policies.

The Justice Department said the three cities were designated because they meet four main criteria, including whether a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction and whether the city disempowers or defunds police departments.

In Seattle, officials pointed to the occupied protest zone, also known as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone, or CHOP, which emerged during nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, though Seattle police officers wearing helmets and wielding batons and rifles, cleared the area by force on July 1. In Portland, they pointed to 100 consecutive nights of protests marred by vandalism, chaos, and even killing and in New York City, the Justice Department pointed to a skyrocketing number of shootings throughout the five boroughs.

It is not the first time the Justice Department has attempted to take action against city officials for the violent demonstrations.

The department also explored whether it could pursue either criminal or civil rights charges against city officials in Portland after clashes erupted there night after night between law enforcement and demonstrators. For weeks, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the federal courthouse in Portland, some throwing bricks, rocks and other projectiles at officers, leading officers to fire volleys of tear gas and pepper balls at the crowd.

When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest, Attorney General William Barr said in a statement. We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance.

Barr said he hoped the designation would convince the cities to reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.

The attorney generals statement drew immediate condemnation from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo, both Democrats, who accused the Trump administration of politicization of law enforcement.

This is just another one of President Trumps games, de Blasio said.

Trump has heaped blame for the unrest on Democrats, who are leading the cities where violence has occurred, and tried to focus squarely on pockets of protest-related violence instead of the larger point of the racial injustice movement.

In a joint statement, de Blasio, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan decried the designation as thoroughly political and unconstitutional.

The President is playing cheap political games with Congressionally directed funds. Our cities are bringing communities together; our cities are pushing forward after fighting back a pandemic and facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, all despite recklessness and partisanship from the White House, the statement said.

In a separate statement, Durkan said the threats to defund the cities were are a gross misuse of federal power and blatantly unlawful.

Trump, the Department of Justice, and Barrs obsession with Seattle and me is irrational and most importantly, a huge distraction, she said.

A number of cities, including New York, sued the U.S. government after the Justice Department announced in 2017 that it would withhold grant money from cities and states until they gave federal immigration authorities access to jails and provide advance notice when someone in the country illegally is about to be released. Federal appeals courts in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco have ruled against the federal government by upholding lower-court injunctions placed on the enforcement of some or all of the challenged conditions, though in February the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned a lower courts decision ordering the administration to release funding to New York City and seven states

Just like with sanctuary cities when he did that a couple of years ago and lost, if he actually does this, we will sue and he will lose once again, Cuomo said.

___

Associated Press writers Karen Matthews in New York and Eugene Johnson in Seattle contributed to this report.
Top judge says legislators failed to meet constitutional provision allowing for women to hold one-third of seats.

Kenyas top judge has advised the president to dissolve the countrys male-dominated Parliament, saying legislators failed to meet a constitutional provision which would allow for one-third of seats to be occupied by women.

Despite Kenyas 2010 constitution stating no more than two-thirds of any elected or appointed body can be of the same gender, women hold 22 percent of seats in the countrys lower house of Parliament, and 31 percent in the upper house.

Court rulings since 2012 have directed Parliament to pass legislation to enforce the gender rule or risk being dissolved  but previous attempts have failed with female members of Parliament accusing male legislators of deliberately blocking efforts.

In an advisory sent to President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday, Chief Justice David Maraga said the failure to enact the legislation was clear testimony of legislators lackadaisical attitude and conduct in relation to the two-thirds gender rule.

There is no doubt that the dissolution of parliament will cause inconvenience and even economic hardship. The fact that Kenya is in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic only exacerbates the potential impact of the decision, wrote Maraga.

Yet that is the clear result Kenyans desired for parliaments failure to enact legislation they deemed necessary. We must forget that more often than not, there is no gain without pain.

Some political analysts said the advisory does not compel the president to act, but womens rights groups, who have long campaigned for legislation, said the move was a significant step in the fight for fairer gender representation in politics.

We imagined it, we worked for it we made it possible, tweeted Marilyn Kamaru from the #Weare52pc movement, a collective of activists and womens groups which had petitioned to have Parliament dissolved three years ago. Whether the president dissolves parliament or illegally retains it in violation of the Constitution. It is important to remember this moment was made possible by the work of women activists, feminists & the queer community.

Women make up a third of the 2.5 million people employed in the formal sector, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. While women provide 80 percent of Kenyas farm labour, they own only 1 percent of agricultural land.

The percentage of women in Kenyas Parliament is lower than east African neighbours such as Ethiopia, South Sudan, Burundi and Rwanda, according to Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Gender experts say women in politics face a barrage of challenges, ranging from physical and sexual violence to a lack of money to fund their campaigns.
LAKE GEORGE  The village on Monday named Warren County Administrator Ryan Moore its Citizen of the Year for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The annual award typically goes to a resident of either the town or village of Lake George, but Mayor Robert Blais said Moores handling of the pandemic was worthy of an exception.

Ryan Moore doesnt have to be a resident of the town or village of Lake George. Ryan Moore did it all, he said.

Moore was given the award at a small ceremony held at the Gaslight restaurant on Canada Street, where the village also passed out its annual beautification awards. Several businesses were also recognized for their efforts to comply with the states COVID-19 mandates.

I didnt anticipate an award of this magnitude, Moore said.

He added that he was almost unable to attend the ceremony because of county committee meetings. Blais interjected, saying he made a few calls to free Moore up for the day so he could be given the award.

I called Frank Thomas, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and I said, Frank, you got to let Ryan go, Blais said.

He didnt really let me go, he said go, Moore added to laughter from the more than a dozen people in attendance.

Moore has been widely praised for his handling of the pandemic. He has been known to respond to emails and phone calls within minutes, regardless of the time of day, Blais said.

But Moore praised village and town officials for their leadership and thanked the villages nearly 200 businesses for quickly adapting to all the state-mandated changes.

The efforts, he said, led to one of the busiest summers Lake George has ever had.

Theres only so much that leaders can do that is impactful, that makes a difference, without the people who actually live here doing what they need to do and setting a good example for the other people, Moore said.

Lake George has enjoyed a busier than expected summer this year.

The pandemic made travel to other popular summer destinations difficult, if not impossible, which led to an increase in visitors in the region from neighboring states and the New York City area.

For hotel operators like Dave Long, who owns Americas Best Value Inn & Suites with his wife, Katie, the boom in tourism coupled with the states coronavirus mandates made for a summer unlike any other.

The Longs were presented with a Keeping it Clean award from the village for their efforts in following COVID-19 guidelines. DJs Niteclub, Lake George Beach Club and the Fort William Henry Hotel & Conference Center also received awards.

Weve always been known for being a clean property, but this year we went above and beyond, Long said.

The efforts paid off, he said. The hotel had its best August ever, which helped make up for losses sustained earlier in the season when the state was shut down.

The recognition from the village, he added, is a nice bonus.

It really means a lot to be recognized for our efforts on behalf of our staff, he said. Were very happy with the results.

Chad Arnold is a reporter for The Post-Star covering the city of Glens Falls and the town and village of Lake George. Follow him on Twitter @ChadGArnold.

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Though butyl adhesives are particularly new technology, the demand for the market has demonstrated a significant pace of traction over the years. Market focused reports linked to the chemicals & materials industry among others of late have been made accessible by Market Research Future which issues reports on this industry. The market is anticipated to grow with an unmatched CAGR percent in the duration of the forecast period.

Growing butyl rubber in adhesive uses is one of the key causes of the copolymers progress. Furthermore, the emergent transportation sector and investments in construction are anticipated to grow its demand over the period of the next seven years and open up new prospects. Rising demand from packaging and paper industry for products such as cartons, tapes, bags, etc. have given way to the unparalleled growth of the industry while opening up new avenues for expansion. The superior properties of butyl adhesives such as exceptional resistance to high durability, weather and sunlight, resistance to aging and heat have made it suitable for end use in a number of industries.

Access Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/butyl-adhesive-market-4164

Industry Segments

The butyl adhesive market is segmented on the basis of end use industry and region. The end use industry has segmented the market into paper & packaging, woodworking, building & construction, automotive, and others. As butyl adhesives are resistant to air and water and highly resistant to alkali and UV rays, thus extensively used in the end use industries. By region, the market segmentation includes Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa.

Detailed Regional Analysis

The regions such as Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America, and the Middle East & Africa are a part of the Butyl Adhesive Market globally. The Asia Pacific region is projected to develop at an incremental CAGR in the forecast period owing to mounting demand from end use industries such as woodworking, building & construction and automotive. The demand for Butyl Adhesive is expected to surge in emerging countries such as China, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Japan owing to increasing construction activities and development of woodworking industry. China is anticipated to be a major market in terms of consumption. Moreover, cheap labor charge, ease of accessibility to raw material, and growing development strategies to achieve the demand for butyl adhesives due to the developing applications which are the vital factors for regional market growth. The Middle East & Africa region is projected to observe considerable growth in the forthcoming years. This factor is credited to the rising development activities in the commercial and residential sector together with the growing demand for VOC free adhesives, especially in countries such as United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

The North American market is likely to observe stable development in the use of butyl adhesive over the forecast period. The U.S. is foreseen to be the biggest butyl adhesive market in the region followed by Mexico and Canada. The Latin American countries like Argentina and Brazil, are also expected to observe stable growth owing to modest demand from packaging and woodworking industries. The European region is foreseen to be the second biggest market after the Asia Pacific region in the consumption of Butyl Adhesive. The European nations such as UK, France, Germany, and Italy are contributing to the regional market development owing to the occurrence of a large number of manufacturing companies in the region.

Global Competitive Analysis

The market has ushered in a new period of growth as the market is constantly in a state of mutability. The ripple effects of this growth have altered the competitive landscape of the market. Localization is among of the more favored trends for expanding the market share of the competitors in the market. The potential strategy of each player in the market involves a certain degree of innovation in the product offerings to increase the possibilities for development, particularly in the forecast period. The chances for increasing revenue inflow in the business are expected to multiply through the forecast period. The intensifying interest in diversification within the business has indirectly allowed the businesses to utilize several situations obtainable in the market.

The noteworthy competitors in the butyl adhesive market comprise of ADCO Global, Bostik SA, Vinati Organics Ltd., Royal General Sealants, Adhesives & Sealants, Anabond, and others.

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NOTE: Our team of researchers are studying Covid19 and its impact on various industry verticals and wherever required we will be considering covid19 footprints for a better analysis of markets and industries. Cordially get in touch for more details.

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In yet another case of atrocity on Sikhs in Pakistan, a 17-year-old girl named Bulbul Kaur, who is the daughter of Granthi of Gurdwara Panja Sahib Preetam Singh, was abducted 15 days ago by two Muslim men in Panja Saheb of Pakistan.

There is no news of Bulbul since then and her family is worried thinking that she may also be forced like Jagjit Kaur to convert into Islam and get married to a Muslim man.

"We are meeting J. P. Singh, Joint Secretary, Foreign Affairs, Incharge Pakistan Desk to urge them to raise this issue and seek justice," said Bulbul's family. In a video sent to Bulbul's father, she has expressed fear of being killed if she came back to her parents.

His father Pritam Singh has also filed complaint to the deputy commissioner of Attock in Pakistan in connection with this matter. As per Bulbul's father, she had gone to dump garbage in the street at 10 PM on August 31 and had not returned to home since then. He added when the family couldnt find her, they lodged a police complaint and the police zeroed in on one Imran Masih, who was allowed to go after initial investigations.

According to Bulbul's father, she called him on September 15 and said she was in a madrassa.
Among the advantages of applying online are that you can provide your email address and you will receive notifications once the online application is received and when the ballot is mailed out. After you send it back in, you will be notified when it is received, said Nally. You also will be notified by email if your ballot is at risk of rejection due to mistakes or signature problems, so you can address such issues.
fluorescence image of bacteria attacked by bacterial toxin. Credit: Ethel Bayer-Santos

Researchers at the University of Sao Paulo (USP) in Brazil have characterized a novel family of anti-bacterial toxins present in bacteria, including Salmonella enterica. This species uses toxic proteins to kill other bacteria in gut microbiota and facilitate colonization of the infected host's gut.

The study is published in Cell Reports and featured on the cover of the journal.

The novel family's founding member is the protein Tlde1 (type VI L,D-transpeptidase effector 1), which attacks bacterial cell wall precursors. It is secreted via the type VI secretion system or T6SS. Targeted bacteria continue growing but because their cell walls are weakened they eventually die as cell contents leak owing to osmotic pressure and lysis.

"This family of toxins has a hitherto undescribed mechanism. While other anti-bacterial toxins secreted by the same system destroy the already formed cell walls of target bacteria, this one acts on precursors so that they're weak or cannot form at all," said Ethel Bayer-Santos, a researcher in the University of Sao Paulo's Biomedical Sciences Institute (ICB-USP) and principal investigator for the project, which is supported by FAPESP.

In a previous study, a research group that included Bayer-Santos described another secretion system (T4SS) in opportunistic bacteria of the species Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. They also described a toxin that inhibits bacterial growth.

"Bacteria selected these toxins during evolution and have been using them for thousands of years, so these discoveries point to therapeutic targets. Bacterial toxins may always have biotechnological potential and become anti-bacterial compounds in the future," Bayer-Santos said.

Search

In their search for the protein Tlde1, the scientists analyzed the genome of Salmonella in the region neighboring the genes that encode the structural proteins in the secretion system (T6SS). They found a pair of genes with traits that signaled a toxic protein and another that conferred immunity. Anti-bacterial toxins are usually located in bacterial genomes near proteins that contain antidotes to the toxins. These antidotes are required to protect the microorganisms from their own weapons.

To test the function of this gene pair, the researchers first expressed a gene they thought was probably responsible for the toxic protein in a susceptible bacterium, Escherichia coli. It survived when the probable toxic gene was expressed in cytoplasm but died when expression occurred in periplasm, suggesting the toxin targets some structure in this part of the cell wall.

Next, they expressed in E. coli's periplasm both the toxic protein and the probable immunity protein. This co-expression neutralized the toxic effect and the bacteria survived, confirming that the proteins in question are indeed a toxin and an immune protein respectively.

In evolutionary terms, T6SS is related to the apparatus of bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. It comprises 13 structural proteins that are assembled into a weapon resembling a spear or harpoon with a sharp tip inside a retractable cytoplasmic sheath. The attacking cell ejects the harpoon full of toxic proteins from the sheath into the target cell.

Bioinformatics analysis showed that members of the Tlde1 family are present in several species of bacterium and that the family probably evolved from bacterial enzymes with a key role in cell wall synthesis. The next step in the project is an effort to understand by structural biology how an enzyme that had this role has ended up doing the opposite.

Explore further Researchers show how opportunistic bacterium defeats competitors

More information: Stephanie Sibinelli-Sousa et al, A Family of T6SS Antibacterial Effectors Related to l,d-Transpeptidases Targets the Peptidoglycan, Cell Reports (2020). Journal information: Cell Reports Stephanie Sibinelli-Sousa et al, A Family of T6SS Antibacterial Effectors Related to l,d-Transpeptidases Targets the Peptidoglycan,(2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107813
SPRINGFIELD  Surveillance footage shows three men smashing a glass door at Guns Inc. in West Springfield, then shattering three display cases before making off with 17 guns in late August, according to court records.

Christian Castro, 29, and Fernando Rivera, 24, were both charged in a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court. They are accused of stealing firearms from a licensed dealer and could be tied to an interstate crime spree in a stolen car, investigators say.

A complaint filed by an FBI agent in connection with the case says two cars parked in the lot of the adjacent White Hut restaurant just before 5:30 a.m. Aug. 29. Three men wearing hoods and masks emerged from the cars and broke into Guns Inc. while another waited in one of the cars as an apparent lookout, according to the filing.

The three individuals ... smashed two glass display cases inside the store and grabbed handguns from the cases, ran out of the business and put the guns in the car, then ran back into the business, smashed a third gun case and took more handguns, and then ran out of the business for a final time, the complaint reads.

One of the cars was reported stolen from a garage in Middletown, Connecticut, on Aug. 26.  but it was fitted with a GPS tracking device, according to investigators.

The device showed the car traveled from Bristol, Connecticut, just before midnight on Aug. 28, through Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire and back into Vermont and Massachusetts over about six hours before it was dumped in Connecticut just after 6 a.m.

During that period, the occupants broke into  or attempted to break into  ATMs in Hadley, Greenfield and Whately, as well as in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, Brattleboro, Vermont, according to the complaint filed by Special Agent Marc Maurino. The gun shop was the stolen cars second-to-last stop before it was abandoned in a cul-de-sac in Connecticut, according to court records.

Federal agents identified Castro and Rivera through surveillance footage and with the help of New Britain police, the complaint says. Rivera was on probation for a conviction that was not detailed in the complaint, but investigators tracked his cellphone activity, which generally matches up with the geographic path outlined by the cars GPS system.

Castro and Rivera were arrested on Sept. 17 and this morning ordered detained pending trial by a federal magistrate judge in Springfield.

They face up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted on the gun charges. The investigation remains ongoing.
With the big announcement of the direct-to-OTT release of Nishabdham on October 2, 2020 on Amazon Prime Video, the makers have finally dropped the trailer of the film today. In the trailer, one can see a deaf and mute girl Sakshi (essayed by Anushka Shetty) exploring a haunted villa with the character essayed by R Madhavan, who is a popular musician.

The duo witness paranormal activities in the house and Sakshi ends up entangled in an investigation when she unexpectedly goes through an evidently heart-wrenching incident in the villa. The police officers are also puzzled as they do not have any clue of the incident other than a mute witness. Will Sakshi be able to help the officers in further investigation? Well, this question will be answered only when the film releases on October 2 on the special occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

With the trailer of the edge-of-the-seat thriller being a promising one, we can expect the movie to be a successful venture.

On a related note, if rumours are to be believed Nishabdham digital rights have been acquired by Amazon Prime Video for a whopping Rs 20 crore. Earlier, producer-writer of the film, Kona Venkat had put up a poll on his Twitter handle asking netizens for their opinions on where to release the film. Interestingly, both the times, the highest votes were given for OTT release. Nishabdham was earlier scheduled for a theatrical release on April 2, 2020.

Notably, the thriller will also feature an ensemble cast including Shalini Pandey, Anjali, Subbaraju and Srinivas Avasarala in key roles. Directed by Hemant Madhukar, Nishabdham is bankrolled by Kona Venkat and TG Vishwa Prasad.

Nishabdham: Director Hemanth Madhukar Confirms OTT Release Of The Anushka Shetty Starrer!

Confirmed! Nishabdham Starring Anushka Shetty Is Releasing On Amazon Prime On October 2!
Iranian officials have called the unilateral effort by the United States to implement snapback sanctions on Iran another failed attempt to enforce their will.

President Hassan Rouhani said Sept. 20 the United States has been trying to once again place sanctions on Iran and has even increased its pressure in the last few months on other countries party to the Iran nuclear deal, yet it has now reached the final point of failure. Rouhani said the United States has met failure every step of the way  even amongst traditional allies  and was not even able to stop the sanctions on arms from being lifted.

As part of the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Irans ability to buy and sell weapons will be lifted. The United States exited the deal in 2018 but has tried to use the snapback mechanism within the deal to implement sanctions on Iran. The other members of the UN Security Council and members of the nuclear deal have rejected the US position, arguing that it is no longer a member of the deal after its exit and cannot use the mechanisms within the deal. After the US exit, sanctions were applied against Iran, blocking or drastically reducing its trade and sale of oil to secondary countries.

As far as the arms embargo, the few companies that would sell arms to Iran have been sanctioned by the United States regardless. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace force, said the United States not being able to renew the arms embargo had two qualities. First, it was a political victory for Iran. Second, Iran can now export arms to other countries.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, US Ambassador the United Nations Kelly Craft and national security adviser Robert OBrien will hold a press conference on Monday, imposing new sanctions on Iran and making a bid for snapback sanctions.

Irans foreign minister has become increasingly active on Twitter, responding to US actions and announcements  particularly aiming his tweets at Pompeo, who has been spearheading US policy toward Iran. In one tweet, he called Pompeo a mythomaniac and accused the secretary of state of not being able to stop his pathological lying.

While Iran is attempting to put on a brave face and calls US sanctions a failure, the reality is that the United States has already sanctioned Iran quite dramatically and European pushback against the United States may not last forever. In an interview with Tasnim News Agency, Iranian analyst Mohammad Jamshidi argued that Europe has helped put pressure on Iran even during Trumps years, especially on the countrys nuclear program. He warned that Iran should not count on the EU to save itself from US actions. Jamshidi argued that Iran should suspend Additional Protocols in response to US sanctions until they reenter the deal.
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Wilbur Ross, U.S. commerce secretary, testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, March 10, 2020.

The Trump administration will challenge an order that blocked the Commerce Department's ban on downloads of the Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler on Sunday halted a move that would have forced Apple and Google to remove Tencent's WeChat for downloads by Sunday evening. Users who had already downloaded the app would have found it largely unusable.

"Prohibiting the identified transactions is necessary to protect the national security of the United States, and the department expects to soon seek relief from this order," the Commerce Department said, according to Reuters.

"The Government's view remains that Executive Order 13943 is fully consistent with law and promotes legitimate national security interests," a Department of Justice spokesperson told CNBC, referring to the Commerce Department's ban. "While the Government will comply with the injunction, we are considering appropriate next steps and intend to vigorously defend the Executive Order and the Secretary's implementation efforts from legal challenges."

The department previously said it anticipated a long legal battle over the ban.

The Trump administration on Friday sought to ban downloads of WeChat and ByteDance-owned TikTok from operating in the United States, starting Sunday, over alleged national security concerns. But a deal on Saturday between TikTok owner ByteDance and Oracle/Walmart allows the TikTok app operate as normal for now.

In the deal, Oracle will be TikTok's secure cloud provider and will be a minority investor with a 12.5% stake. Walmart tentatively agreed to purchase a 7.5% stake in the short-form video social media app. TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance will own the remaining 80% of TikTok Global.

There was new confusion over the terms of the deal on Monday morning, however, when President Donald Trump suggested ByteDance won't have any control over TikTok Global. "They will have nothing to do with it, and if they do we just won't make a deal," Trump said Monday on "Fox & Friends."

The White House has repeatedly warned against Beijing's alleged intellectual property threat, which China has denied.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.
Pro-democracy protesters flashes a three-fingers salute over the pro-democracy plaque on Sunday. The plaque had been removed by Monday morning (Wason Wanichakorn/AP)

A plaque symbolising Thailands transition to democracy has been removed less than 24 hours after it was installed by anti-government demonstrators in a historic royal field.

Weekend demonstrations were the largest this year by protesters who vowed to press on with calls for new elections and reform of the monarchy.

The plaque had been installed at Sanam Luang on Sunday to replace one mysteriously ripped out and stolen three years ago.

Expand Close A pro-democracy student leader negotiates with police officials as they march during a protest in Bangkok on Sunday (Wason Wanichakorn) / Facebook

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Whatsapp A pro-democracy student leader negotiates with police officials as they march during a protest in Bangkok on Sunday (Wason Wanichakorn)

On Monday morning, journalists who went to Sanam Luang saw hardened cement in place of the plaque. Police officers arrived moments later. It was unclear who ordered the removal of the plaque, and when it was removed.

Sanam Luang is a designated royal site, which until the last few years was open to all. It is located near the Grand Palace.

Taiwuth Kankaew, the director of the Department of Public Works of Bangkok Metropolitan Authority, responsible for surveying and repairing damages in Sanam Luang, said he had no knowledge who removed the plaque.

Expand Close Police officers wearing face masks stand in line, protecting the area surrounding the Grand Palace during during Sundays protest (Wason Wanichakorn/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Police officers wearing face masks stand in line, protecting the area surrounding the Grand Palace during during Sundays protest (Wason Wanichakorn/AP)

On Sunday, a group of activists had drilled a hole in front of a makeshift stage and, after Buddhist rituals, laid a round brass plaque in cement to commemorate the 1932 revolution that changed Thailand from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy.

At the dawn of Sept. 20, here is where the people proclaim that this country belongs to the people, read part of the inscription.
Plan your perfect hide away in the Maldives at Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa at Dhonakulhi Island as they reopen from 15

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The resort has implemented health and safety protocols with enhanced training for all team members to ensure the highest level of protecHon is provided to both guests and team members. These new safety protocols aim to reduce the risk for COVID-19 exposure at the resort. These include screenings and temperature checks for employees, who will be required to wear masks. Social distancing also will be implemented throughout the property. Daily protecHve measures regarding food handling, saniHsaHon, disinfecHon, and cleaning procedures. AddiHonally, staff have been given enhanced training sessions on personal hygiene.

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Set on a crescent-shaped private island, this incredible resort offers a choice of private villas or private villas with pools for its guests to unwind and enjoy a home away from home. Beachside or over the water villas and the associated privacy levels offered are the hallmark of this award-winning desHnaHon, which boasts some of the largest beachfront villas in Maldives.

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The perfect Maldives retreat, Hideaway offers the utmost in romance and is one of the preferred desHnaHons for those celebraHng their honeymoon. Families are very welcome at Hideaway, with an extensive Kids Club available to help keep young travellers entertained during their stay.
Two years ago, American Airlines announced new service from the U.S. to the cities of Prague and Budapest in Eastern Europe, part of an expansion of its worldwide network.

The fine print on the Fort Worth-based airlines announcement included a twist: American also would add two daily flights out of the small city of Del Rio.

This South Texas border community of 36,000 residents, 153 miles from San Antonio, was to become one of the smallest cities in the global network of American, the worlds largest air carrier.

On ExpressNews.com: Wary Traveler: Airlines end nasty change fees, but is the change permanent?

How did Del Rio attract American? Cash  a pledge of about $2.9 million to be paid over two years starting when service began in November 2018. American would get part of the money anytime it couldnt fill more than 80 percent of the 44 seats on the two daily commuter jets to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The money now is gone, and the air service appears doomed.

Billy Calzada /Billy Calzada

The financially struggling airline plans to suspend service to Del Rio for one month, beginning Oct. 7. In the meantime, American says, it will announce in late September whether to end flights to and from Del Rio and 13 other cities for good.

If the service cuts are permanent  and that appears likely  Del Rio would join other smaller communities such as Williamsport, Pa.; Roswell, N.M.; and Florence, S.C.; in losing its only air service.

American spokeswoman Andrea Koos said the routes to be suspended werent performing well financially.

The domestic markets we chose to suspend in Octobers schedule were among the lowest-performing routes that we dont foresee turning around in this low-demand environment, Koos said.

Billy Calzada, Staff / Billy Calzada

American is receiving more than $4 billion in federal stimulus grants. Until Sept. 30, when the stimulus program ends, the airline is required to maintain service to all cities it served at the end of 2019.

Legislation to continue the airline industry bailout is bottlenecked in a politically divided Congress.

Without continued government support and in the absence of continued service requirements, we cannot sustain the current level of service that we provided prior to the pandemic, Koos said.

American is planning to furlough 19,000 employees starting Oct. 1 if no more government grants are forthcoming.

On ExpressNews.com: The Wary Traveler: Joy in the seat pocket

Del Rio International Airport Manager Juan Onofre is not optimistic that the city will keep its air service, given the political climate in Washington and the multibillion-dollar losses American has sustained since passengers began shunning air travel out of fear of contracting COVID-19.

Its going to take two to three years for air travel to recover, he said.

No commercial flights in Del Rio means a drive of at least two and a half hours for travelers to San Antonio International Airport or San Angelo Regional Airport, which has only three flights a day.

Billy Calzada, Staff / Billy Calzada

Del Rio officials are worried about damage to their citys economy as a result of the suspended flights.

Before the pandemic, Del Rio had been economically healthier than many other small communities in Texas, helped by the approximately 4,000 military and civilian workers at Laughlin AFB and the several hundred pilots who learn to fly there annually.

Across the border, a growing cluster of manufacturing plants in the Mexican city of Acuna has generated more than 50,000 jobs over the last several decades. Some of the companies also have opened locations in Del Rio, creating around 1,500 support, logistics and factory jobs.

Billy Calzada, Staff / Billy Calzada

With over 200,000 residents, Acuna is more than five times larger than Del Rio.

Air service at Del Rio International has been part of the pitch to factories to locate in the region.

The availability of commercial air service meant a manager at an auto parts maker could be in Del Rio/Acuna in the morning and back in Detroit the same evening, said Claudio Ramon, president of Amistad Global Development. Amistad builds factories for many of the companies that operate in Acuna and Del Rio.

No one wants to drive the two and a half hours to the San Antonio airport, Ramon said.

In the last two years, manufacturers have created 2,000 new jobs in Acuna and several hundred in Del Rio, a trend that could stop if companies pass up the region in favor of other border communities with better air service, he said.

Del Rio Mayor Bruno Ralphy Lozano said, I think any time an airline leaves the community, its devastating to that economy. In his other job, hes a Delta Air Lines flight attendant.

In Del Rios case, the mayor said, the citys $2.9 million in payments to American havent yet yielded enough jobs.

If American cuts service in Del Rio beyond the one-month suspension, Lozano said, it will take a lot of the return on the investment away from us.

Oriana Fernandez, the citys economic development director, said shes also worried about future job growth and retaining current positions. Del Rios unemployment rate had hovered around 4 percent before the pandemic but has since doubled.

I think over the long term, air service continuity is very important in the recruitment and retention of businesses, Fernandez said.

The American service started after Del Rio devised a way to pay the $2.9 million guarantee to the airline. City officials raised the toll on the International Toll Bridge by a quarter, to $4.00. They earmarked the additional revenue for the American guarantee.

American isnt Del Rios first major carrier. Continental Airlines served the airport from 2005 to 2012 via the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. When United acquired Continental in 2012, the carrier kept the route, only to abandon it in 2013.

Del Rio was without air service between 2013 and 2018, except for a six-month stint in 2017. In that brief period, a small carrier, Texas Sky Airlines, operated a daily flight  on a turboprop plane with 19 seats  to D-FW.

The service ended after a $600,000 federal grant and an additional $100,000 contribution from a local bank ran out.

Public reception of Texas Sky was not that great, said Onofre, the airport manager. The idea of the service in a small turboprop airplane did not sit well with some passengers, and the turnout was not there.

The reality is that Del Rio and dozens of smaller communities across the U.S. have struggled for years to maintain commercial air service. Its often a losing battle. The coronavirus pandemic only has accelerated that trend because carriers are hemorrhaging millions of dollars a day.

Airline analysts say American needs to maintain a nearly 80 percent occupancy load to make a profit without subsidies, which never occurred on a regular basis in Del Rio.

Del Rio International data shows that outbound American flights in their first year of operation, starting in late 2018, filled on average 66.7 percent of the seats. For inbound flights, it was 64.6 percent.

The second year of operation started in November 2019, a few months before COVID-19 struck. Between November and August, the number of seats filled on outbound flights dropped to 52.4 percent, while inbound flights had an average occupancy of 50.7 percent.

Onofre said flights from Del Rio this year regularly would have exceeded the 80 percent passenger load  at which the flights would have been profitable  if not for COVID-19.

Travel bans for Laughlin AFB personnel, because of the pandemic, cut deeply into demand.

Airport consultant Michael Boyd is a skeptic about the viability of Del Rios American service.

Even without the pandemic, American might have canceled the service because it was not profitable, said Boyd, president of aviation consulting firm Boyd Group International.

Before COVID-19, Del Rio International couldnt fill 70 percent of seats on average on departing planes, a result Boyd described as OK, but not great.

Boyd said his firm did consulting work for the airport at one point but told officials, We cant help you.

They spent millions of dollars, but they didnt get an airline long term, he said. Its the economics of air transportation today.

Other cities longing for long-term air service, such as Topeka, Kan., and Youngstown, Ohio, have been in similar positions.

But in the case of Topeka and Youngstown, they are only an hour or so drive to bigger airports in Kansas City and Pittsburgh, respectively. Boyd said that for Del Rio and other small cities, its more of a problem because there is no nearby airport.

Its these very, very isolated places that theres just no answer for, Boyd said.

Compounding the problem is airlines difficulty making money on smaller jets  such as the 44-seat Embraer 140 that American relies on in Del Rio  even when most seats are filled. The airport consultant said Del Rio cant support larger regional jets when it cant fill the smaller planes.

Air passengers interviewed at Del Rio International said the suspension of service will create hassles.

Val Verde County Sheriffs Deputy Bryan Veliz said he flies twice a month from the airport to conduct firearms training across the U.S.

It would be a big headache for us to lose the airport, Veliz said.

Itll make his trips considerably more expensive. Veliz said he will have to pay for gas to drive to San Antonio and to get a hotel room and park at the airport. Parking is free at Del Rio International.

Its a lot easier here, he said.

Karla Westbrook, who was picking up her luggage at Del Rio International after visiting her adult son in Joplin, Mo., may face a double whammy. Not only will she be affected by the end of air service at Del Rio International, but American plans to suspend service to Joplin as well.

This is going to be a big detriment, said Westbrook, who drove 45 minutes to the airport from her home in Fort Clark Springs.

The convenience of coming here is better than a long drive to San Antonio, the retired grants administrator said.

Westbrook got a taste of the future on her return to Del Rio. No flights were available from Joplin, so her son had to drive her an hour and a half to the airport in Tulsa, Okla.

Lozano, the Del Rio mayor, also will be directly affected by the flight cuts. As a flight attendant based in Boston, he wont be able to fly from Del Rio to connect through D-FW for a second plane to Boston.

Hell have to make the drive to San Antonio to begin his journey to work in Boston.

The mayor said hes not as worried about his own drive as he is the overall effect on the citys economy.

He sees no easy solutions. The added bridge toll to pay American has expired, and the city doesnt have the funds to subsidize the service because of financial strains caused by the coronavirus.

In March, just before the pandemic arrived, Lozano said, American officials indicated they were pleased with the service.

We were on top of the world, he said.

Randy Diamond covers tourism and the travel industry. To read more from Randy, become a subscriber. randy.diamond@express-news.net
TikTok's new headquarters will likely be based in Texas after President Trump finalized a deal for Oracle Corps. and Walmart to purchase the popular social media app.

On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that he had spoken to Trump about bringing the headquarters to the Lone Star State.

Coming in just under Trump's Sept. 20 deadline to broker a deal, he announced the two companies will acquire stakes in the new company, TikTok Global. The video app was set to be banned on Saturday if a deal wasn't agreed on in time for the app to be purchased by a U.S.-based company and approved by the United States Commerce Department.

It is unknown where in Texas the potential headquarters will be located or when it may actually open, but Trump promised the new company will hire 25,000 Americans, Bloomberg reported. The board will be American-run, though ByteDance Ltd. who originally owned the company, will remain a major shareholder.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

TikTok currently has an office in Austin that opened earlier this year with about 2,500 employees.

As part of the deal, TikTok Global would donate $5 billion to an educational fund based in Texas.

As part of the new deal, Oracle will get access to TikTok's source code and updates to make sure the company isn't using the app to gather data from its users. Earlier this year, Trump raised security alarms about the Chinese-owned app, saying it posed a national security risk.

Security experts however said this source of concern isn't resolved with the new deal because "there are plenty of instances where U.S. companies bundle data and put national security at risk. Picking the odd foreign company that does this and targeting them wont help," former chief information security officer at Twitter Michael Cotes told Bloomberg.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway
The following is a statement by African Union Commission for Political Affairs to mark the International Day of Democracy, Sept. 15.  ED.



This year we celebrate the International Day of Democracy under the theme "COVID-19: A Spotlight on Democracy." This theme is pertinent given that COVID-19 is an unprecedented public health emergency in contemporary times.



In the context of the theme for this day, Minata Samate Cessouma, commissioner for political affairs, reaffirms the unwavering commitment of the African Union (AU) and its 55 member states to the noble goals of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. Aspiration 3 of Agenda 2063 envisions "an Africa of good governance, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law". Aspiration 4 envisages "A Peaceful and Secure Africa". Both aspirations 3 and 4 resonate with the 2030 global agenda on sustainable development. In particular, they dovetail neatly into the SDG No. 16 which aims to "promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels".



In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many African countries have adopted emergency measures that have resulted in the curtailment of human rights, rule of law, justice and constitutionalism.



While justified, these measures should be legal, non-discriminatory and proportionate to the magnitude of the threat. They should also be temporary and not permanent. They should not threaten democracy. Without democracy, there cannot be durable peace.



The African leaders declared 2020 as the year of Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa's Development.



The African Union has invested immensely in preventing, managing and resolving a plethora of conflicts including terrorism and violent extremism.



It was within the context of the 2020 AU theme that the United Nations Secretary General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission called for a global ceasefire in all conflict hot-spots around the globe in order to allow more effort and resources to be earmarked toward fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.



In the past decades, the African continent has been making significant stride in building sustainable democracies and striving for a conflict-free Africa. Indeed, democracies built in peaceful societies are the bedrock of a meaningful socio-economic development.



That is why more efforts have to be invested to end the on-going war in Libya with devastating ramifications for the Sahel region. Over and above wars and conflicts, COVID-19 is an invisible enemy that threatens democracy, peace and development in Africa. AU member states, regional economic communities and the international community have to join hands to combat COVID-19, advance democracy and inculcate the culture of peace.




Election 2020: Biden leads but is he losing support?

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In November, Republican President Donald Trump will try to fend off a challenge from Democratic presidential hopeful and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Both nominees have promised a better future for a United States dealing with a pandemic, economic uncertainty, and widespread inner city protests.

A question over the future of the United States Supreme Court has received more attention with the recent passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the debate over whether her replacement should be nominated before election day.

The Christian Post looked at multiple election polling websites on Monday, finding that while Biden was ahead in most reports, his support might be slightly weakening.

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The logos of the Chinese video portal TikTok and the US software and hardware manufacturer Oracle Corporation can be seen on a smartphone and screen on September 14, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.

GUANGZHOU, China  ByteDance will not transfer algorithms and technologies to Oracle as part of a deal announced over the weekend to keep social media app TikTok operating in the U.S.

President Donald Trump said he approved a deal on Saturday that will see the creation of a U.S.-headquartered firm called TikTok Global with Oracle and Walmart taking minority stakes. Oracle will become TikTok's secure cloud provider and host U.S. user data.

But the deal does not entail any transfer of algorithms and technologies, according to a statement from ByteDance on Monday. The company said Oracle can instead check the source code.

"The current plan does not involve the transfer of any algorithms and technologies. Oracle has the authority to check the source code of TikTok USA," ByteDance's statement said, according to a CNBC translation.

Source code forms the basis for applications and software. Allowing inspections of source code is common practice to address local data security concerns.

TikTok's recommendation algorithm has been a key driver behind its growth, helping to suggest other videos to users and keep them hooked within the app.
A property investor has demonstrated confidence in London student housing, committing 60 million to fund the development of new accommodation in Bermondsey.

Curlew Capital, on behalf of one of the funds it manages, said it has agreed the purchase of a site where there is planning permission for a 185-bedroom scheme.

It is being acquired from CKC Properties which will develop the project, and construction is expected to complete in time for the 2022/23 academic year.

Occupiers at the scheme on Spa Road will get access to a cinema room and rooftop terrace.

Charlie Oliver, head of acquisitions at Curlew Capital, said the purchase adds a second London asset for the CST2 fund, in a geography which we believe will continue to outperform underpinned by the dense concentration of world-class higher education institutions.

Student housing landlords saw business disrupted this year due to Covid-19, with some firms seeing would-be tenants delaying booking accommodation.

Landlord Empiric last month said it was anticipating more bookings from people that were waiting for clarity on A-Level results.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed what he called a watershed moment" after the government managed to get two controversial farm bills voted through in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday, overriding strident opposition demands for scrutiny by a house committee.

The bills, which have triggered widespread farmers protest and prompted a walkout by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), are set to become law once they receive the Presidents assent.

Modi said the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, would transform agriculture and empower millions of farmers after the bills were approved by a voice vote amid disruptions.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, with 86 MPs, won the day with support from YSR Congress Party, Biju Janata Dal and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Congress, SAD, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Left opposed it.

The opposition and some NDA partners demanded that the two bills should be sent to a parliamentary committee for greater scrutiny but were unable to muster the required numbers.

For decades, the Indian farmer was bound by various constraints and bullied by middlemen. The bills passed by Parliament liberate the farmers from such adversities. These bills will add impetus to the efforts to double the income of farmers and ensure greater prosperity for them. Our agriculture sector is in desperate need of the latest technology that assists the industrious farmers. Now, with the passage of the bills, our farmers will have easier access to futuristic technology that will boost production and yield better results. This is a welcome step," Modi tweeted after the passage of bills.

He said the system of minimum support price or MSP and government procurement will remain.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that there will be no change in MSP and this bill will benefit the farmers. The Union government has taken several steps to ensure that income of farmers increases," said agriculture minister N.S. Tomar in his reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The oppositions key concerns are that the bills will hurt MSP, promote corporatization of the farm sector, attack Indias federal structure (agriculture and markets are state subjects) and that they were drafted without consulting farm bodies.

These bills are ill-conceived and ill-timed and Congress party completely rejects it. We are not ready to sign death warrants of farmers on this. Punjab and Haryanas economy will get completely finished," Pratap Singh Bajwa, a senior Congress leader, said in the House.

The Congress demand for sending the bills for further parliamentary scrutiny was also supported by the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Telangana Rashtra Samiti.

What is the compulsion to bring the bills now?... Why is the government not ready to debate and discuss the bills? Why is the government not ready for greater scrutiny?" Ram Gopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party told the House.

Several opposition MPs stormed the well of the House and protests continued even after Rajya Sabha was adjourned. Taking a strong stand against deputy chairman Harivansh, who was chairing the House while the bills were being passed, 12 opposition parties have now moved a no-confidence motion against him.

The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, seeks to give freedom to farmers to sell produce outside the notified APMC market yards (mandis) and is aimed at facilitating remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, seeks to give farmers the right to enter into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price.

A third BillThe Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020seeks to remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onion, and potatoes from the list of essential commodities and do away with the imposition of stock holding limits. It is scheduled to be moved separately in the Rajya Sabha. All the three bills have already been passed by the Lok Sabha.

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A Delhi court Monday sent 61-year-old journalist Rajeev Sharma, a Chinese woman and a Nepalese man, all arrested on charges of spying last week, to seven more days of custodial interrogation by the Delhi Polices special cell.

Police have also written to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking its help in exploring how Sharma was allegedly paid through shell companies operated by a couple in China.

Chief metropolitan magistrate Pawan Singh Rajawat extended the custody of Sharma, Chinese woman Qing Shi, and Nepalese man Sher Singh after they were produced before the court at the end of their police remand.

Sharma was arrested under the Official Secrets Act on September 14. The other two were booked under the same Act on September 19 for allegedly helping Sharma receive money from Chinese intelligence agents in lieu of information he allegedly provided them.

On Monday, police sought eight days remand of Sharma while stating that they have written to the defence ministry about the incriminating documents recovered from Sharma. They said Sharma has to be confronted with huge and voluminous data. The police also said a lot of data was recovered from the cellphone and laptop of the three arrested persons.

Appearing for Sharma, senior advocate Adish C Aggarwala, opposed the remand plea and said the investigation was not being conducted in the correct manner.

He said all charges against his client were baseless and there was no evidence against Sharma with the police. Aggarwala had earlier told HT that police did not recover any classified document from Sharmas Pitampura house (when he was arrested).

We also informed the court that the police have not provided us with a copy of the FIR. The bail application that we filed on September 17 was to be heard today ( Monday). The court directed the police to provide us with the FIR copy and reply on the bail plea by September 24, Aggarwala said.

Following this, the court sent Sharma to seven-day police remand and posted the matter to September 28. The bail hearing will also be on September 28, the senior advocate said.

Special cell officers probing the case said Sharma was allegedly passing on sensitive and classified information to Chinese intelligence agencies since 2016, and was allegedly paid nearly 40 lakh through various channels, including Hawala transactions and shell companies.

A senior officer associated with the probe said two sets of classified documents, running into nearly 15 pages and related to Indias defence strategies at India-China border (Galwan valley), were recovered from Sharmas Pitampura home, along with other incriminating documents that were found in his three email IDs and laptop.
Black Sea Trade and Development Bank raises funding for projects in Ukraine by EUR 34.2 mln

The volume of financing projects of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank in Ukraine in the first half of 2020 increased by EUR 34.17 million, or 20.8%, to EUR 198.72 million, according to the bank's report on the stock exchange.

According to the report, amount of unfulfilled obligations on projects in Ukraine during this period almost halved, to EUR 35.28 million.

As reported, in 2019, the amount of Ukrainian projects in the bank's loan portfolio increased from EUR60.3 million to EUR 164.6 million, and their share from 4.4% to 8.9%, with the country's share in the equity capital of 13.5%. In the first half of the year, the share of Ukrainian projects was 10.1%.

In general, the bank indicates that in January-June this year it managed to increase net interest income by 43.8%, to EUR 20.93 million, net operating income by 31.7%, to EUR 20.44 million, and net profit by 36.8%, to EUR 4.36 million.

The total assets of the bank for the specified period rose by 5.6%, to EUR 2.47 billion.

The bank recalled that in July 2010 it issued bonds worth EUR 150 million to increase its liquidity and assistance for post-pandemic recovery in the Black Sea region.

The bank aims to promote economic cooperation, trade and cooperation of the countries of the Black Sea region.
Advertisement

For sale: four bedroom home, 1970s decor, MUST like pink!

A home on New York's Staten Island has just hit the market having had just one previous set of homeowners who lived in the house from the moment it was built.

Nicknamed 'The Bubblegum house', the dwelling is unique due to the fact that virtually every single room and furnishing is decorated in shades of pink.

From the carpet to the staircase and from the draws to the doors, there's almost no surface that he been left free from a pinkish hue.

A four bedroom, three bathroom home in Staten Island, New York is drenched in shades of pink

Pink carpet runs throughout much of the home's communal areas including a staircase

Its likely the home will be snatched up quickly given its $829,000 price tag and bold color palette

The four-bed, three-bath home in Staten Islands Grasmere neighborhood is drenched in pastel hues - and is mainly pink!

The house, which was built in 1970, appear to belong to another era but it has been so well preserved it's in perfect condition

Barbara, now 83, ran a local deli while Richard, who has since passed away, was an engineer for Verizon

The four bedroom, three bathroom house was built for Barbara DeLeo and her husband, Richard, who both moved into the property in 1969.

Barbara, now 83, ran a local deli while Richard, who has since passed away, was an engineer for Verizon.

After suffering a stroke two years ago, Barbara decided that after making a lifetime of memories at the home, it was time to downsize and the home is now on the market for $829,000.

'Everyone calls it the bubblegum house,' DeLeo said to the New York Post.

The soft pink carpet runs throughout the home including the bedrooms where mahogany furnishings have been installed

One of the homes four bedrooms is decorated in all-white giving the occupier a break from the pink tones

The vast expanse of pink carpet gives this room an illusion of space and a give off a comforting atmosphere

Pink beddinng compliments the pink carpet and naturally pink skirting boards and pink mirror in this bedroom

There's no escaping the pink in this particular; bedroom with the fixtures trimmed in pink including the bedding

A rocking horse in blue distinctly stands out among its pink environment in this bedroom

Another bedroom escaped the pink with a brown-tiled floor and wooden doors

The pink stair case stands in the center of the woof paneled pink hallway

A break from the pink can be had in this kitchen which is made up from blue, grey and black tiles

The master bathroom is decorated with marble-style walls, extravagant chandeliers, and bold touches of orange

A large upstairs bathroom has mirrored walls and a sunken bathtub which was specially designed for the home

However, she reveals, originally the home wasn't quite as pink. 'When I first built the house, the central staircase was brown  and then I said, "That's gotta go", 'I love pink.'

And so it began. The pink shades began appearing all of over the home from a bath and tiles along with wall coverings and window trim.

An upstairs living room that once had blue carpeting was covered in a soft baby pink color.

The sunken living room area leads to a pink-carpeted dining room with a kitchen nearby, while a pink hallway leads to three of the four bedrooms with the same soft pink carpet running throughout.

Downstairs, pink steps lead up from a pink walled basement where a pink bar sits among pink carpeting.

A black-and-white kitchen gives the eye a break before leading back into a pink-tiled bathroom with a ruby red floor.

In the basement a bar area and another seating area make for a comfortable room to while away the hours

The pink bar area comes complete with a giant palm tree replica standing overhead

Forget the pink sands of Bermuda, just being in this pink hued basement complete with palm tree could be enough...

A pink tree can be seen in the corner of this basement living room together with pink ribbons on the wall

A kitchen space sees black flowered wallpaper in another departure from the pink theme seen elsewhere

The home is at 820 W. Fingerboard Road in Staten Island, a few minutes west of the ramp to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

The home has been owned by Barbara and Richard DeLeo since it was built for them in 1969

Set on a 4,312-square-foot lot, the home also has a spacious backyard area and a large patio

From the outside, the home is completely unassuming and built from brown bricks but once inside, the decor which is distinctly 1970s, will make any new owners feel as though they are walking into a living time capsule.

Despite its age, the home has been lovingly cared for. At one point several generations of the DeLeo family lived there, together with the couple's children, Barbara Lynn and Anthony who are now in their 60s. Their grandparents and an aunt lived downstairs. It also explains where a kitchen was built on each floor.

DeLeo said the decision to finally sell has not been an easy one. 'I was heartbroken, really,' she said to the Post.

'My brother and I both cried when we told the real-estate agent to take it,' her daughter Barbara said as she recalled the home having 'a lot of happy memories. A lot of parties went on in that house.'

'It was bright and cheery. I don't think all the men loved it too much, but my father never complained,' she said.

The family are hoping that whoever snaps up the place will care for it in the same loving manner it has been up to now.

'God was good to me, and I took care of it, because I loved it,' DeLeo said.

The main kitchen is pink-free thanks to its blue-grey fixtures and floor tiles

The kitchen area is a haven away from the other pink areas of the home and see refreshingly cool floor tiles and cabinets

The kitchen is open plan and runs into the nearby formal dining room area of the home

The home was built from scratch with arches carved out between the upper-level living and dining rooms

A basement kitchen is similarly free of any pink furnishings although a pink blanket can be seen in the left of this picture

The downstairs kitchen also leads directly into a lounge basement area, again without any door making for an open plan
BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ADT Inc. (NYSE: ADT) announced today that, via its commercial channel (ADT Commercial), it is investing in Percepta Labs, an artificial-intelligence technology startup out of Philadelphia. ADT Commercial is a premier provider of commercial security, fire, life safety, and risk consulting services in the U.S., and through its investment will fund the commercialization and application of the startups cutting-edge AI technology to help detect and deter shoplifting. ADT Commercial will work directly with Percepta to further test and develop the application of Perceptas proprietary, socially responsible AI technology in commercial environments and facilitate the launch when the solution is market-ready.



Founded by Philippe Sawaya, Neil Gramopadhye, and Jonathan Mak while pursuing their undergraduate degrees at the University of Pennsylvania, Perceptas proprietary "ethical AI" technology responds to emerging concerns surrounding the use of facial recognition technologies and is designed to anonymize individuals demographic featuresincluding race, gender, and ageby analyzing existing security camera feeds to detect shoplifting incidents in real-time. Using advanced action recognition techniques, Perceptas AI technology tracks individuals movements, scanning for probable shoplifting or precursory shoplifting behavior and assesses theft probability.

Were so proud to place our support in forward-thinking organizations like Percepta, who are aiming to truly revolutionize the industry, said Dan Bresingham, Executive Vice President for ADT. We pride ourselves on being at the forefront of change in our industry. We believe Percepta could signal a tidal shift in how we approach AI, facial recognition, and data collection, and we look forward to seeing how their technology continues to develop.

In addition to taking a socially responsible approach to AI, Perceptas technology shows tremendous promise when it comes to loss prevention accuracy. Early tests by Percepta indicate the technology could be more than two times more accurate than human loss prevention personnel in detecting shoplifting behaviors, translating into improved margins, decreased shrink, and a better experience for customers, while eliminating biases based on race, gender, and age.

AIs presence in our lives has skyrocketed, yet it poses ethical concerns that have not been sufficiently addressed. Weve made these concerns a key priority and are proud to have developed an ethical AI technology that counteracts these biases in the world of retail and beyond, said Sawaya, CEO of Percepta. We look forward to seeing how ADT Commercials vast experience and commercial network will accelerate Perceptas growth. Were excited to partner with them in our shared mission to support socially responsible AI security solutions.

For more information on ADT Commercial security services and Percepta, please visit www.adtcommercial.com and www.percepta.ai .

About ADT Commercial

ADT Commercial is the commercial channel of ADT and a premier provider of commercial security, fire, life safety and risk consulting services in the United States. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., ADT Commercial supports more than 300,000 customer locations with its strong network of over 5,000 employees across 150 offices. ADT Commercial is built on a foundation of customer service excellence and strengthened by decades of industry expertise. For more information, please visit www.adtcommercial.com and follow us on Facebook , LinkedIn and YouTube.

About Percepta Labs

Percepta develops cloud-based, computer vision video analysis software with an emphasis on social responsibility. Its first offering analyzes retailers existing security feeds using ethical AI and delivers real-time alerts to combat shoplifting. Founded at the University of Pennsylvania, Percepta operates out of Philadelphia, PA. For more information, please visit www.percepta. ai or follow on Twitter , LinkedIn , Facebook , and Instagram .

About ADT

ADT is a leading provider of security, automation, and smart home solutions serving consumer and business customers through more than 300 locations, 9 owned and operated monitoring centers, and the largest network of security professionals in the United States. The company offers many ways to help protect customers by delivering lifestyle-driven solutions via professionally installed, do-it-yourself, mobile, and digital-based offerings for residential, small business, and larger commercial customers. For more information, please visit www.adt.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Media Contact

Mallory Pernai, Marketing Manager

ADT Commercial

mallorypernai@adt.com
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Members of the Libyan House of Representatives (Parliament) at a meeting here Monday rejected any individual and collective attempts to transfer the Libyan issue outside the UN framework without the consent and participationontained in of all regional parties in accordance with the constitutional declaration and the political deal"
Harnessing the power of the sun through new solar panel facade for LEED credit and net zero buildings

LONDON, ON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Solstex, by Elemex, is a new revolutionary solar facade system that enables architects to incorporate lightweight solar panels into a building's facade to generate renewable energy.

Responding to the need for environmental solutions in the building industry, Solstex turns sunlight into energy by leveraging high-efficiency, weather resistant solar panels that not only reduce a building's carbon footprint, but also earn LEED credits.

Solstex is a sustainable option from both an energy and a financial point of view. "Solstex is the only facade that actively benefits the environment while providing a return on investment," explains Hugh Lowry, Special Projects Engineer at Elemex. The financial savings could cover the cost of installation in as little as 5 years, depending on the project.

Solstex solar panels are made from thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology encapsulated between two sheets of heat-strengthened glass and adhered to the exterior wall using Elemex's proprietary Unity attachment technology. The Unity system allows architects and builders to create surface veneers on the same plane while integrating the solar panels with stone, ceramic and aluminum.

"Solstex is ideal for tall buildings in urban environments where the footprint is minimized and the roofs are small," says Lowry. "Solstex solar panels on the facade makes net zero high-rise buildings possible."

At just 3.5 lbs per square foot, Solstex panels are easy to install and deliver significantly more energy than other photovoltaic (PV) panels. The 16.9 W/sq. ft. results in over 420 W per large panel. Solstex presents a look of floating glass and is UV resistant to maintain appearance over time.

"The need to source reliable, renewable energy is at an all-time high," explains Lowry. "Between the price of solar coming down and the need for environmental solutions in the energy market, the time is right to introduce a building product like Solstex."

About Elemex:

Elemex Architectural Facade Systems, based in London Ontario, offers the architectural industry new design possibilities with code compliant facade systems that are tested on our proprietary Unity integrated attachment technology. The Unity system supports sintered ceramic (Ceramitex), natural stone (Stonitex), aluminum (Alumitex) and now solar panels (Solstex) in building facades. https://elemex.com/

SOURCE Elemex
Serious charges of sexual abuse have been levelled against a Mumbai-based drug rehabilitation specialist and psychiatrist Dr Yusuf Merchant, who is reportedly endorsed by Bollywood celebrities and his treatment sought by foreign nationals.

The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has received seven testimonies of sexual abuse, including rape of a minor, by Dr Yusuf Merchant. The complaint has been filed by People Against Rehab Abuse (PARA), which is a collective of lawyers, writers, journalists and doctors, who have questioned his qualifications as a psychiatrist and his financial dealings.

The complaints are of sexual assaults, ranging from inappropriate touch to rape, and physical violence. Dr Merchant has, however, denied all charges and has stated that it is a conspiracy to defame his image.

He told Mumbai Mirror, "These are all baseless allegations. I will respond in a court of law and I would be happy to throw open my records for anybody to introspect." Regarding the accusation of him raping a minor, he said, "Anybody can say anything. I hope the government has a thorough inquiry into this and I want to see who is trying to defame me."

The PARA complaint reads, "On therapeutic vacations abroad, Dr Merchant routinely sleeps in the same hotel room (and, in some cases, in the same bed) with his female patients. If anyone objects, they face complete ostracism within their support group, and in some cases, withdrawal of treatment by Dr Merchant."

It adds that "male and female patients, even minors are regularly brought to Dr Merchant's residence in south Mumbai for overnight stays. These overnight visits are unsupervised and take place exclusively when Dr Merchant's wife and daughter are travelling or are otherwise not present."

The complaint also asserted that the complaints have been verified to the extent possible and that they do not make such claims lightly, as they are aware of the damage to reputation of a respected professional it can cause.

(Photo credits: Facebook)

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The man was taken to St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart where he was later pronounced dead, a release said The man was identified at Twon Jones, 28, with no hometown listed, by the Lake County Coroners office. Police said Jones was the only person in the car.
Geneva (United Nations), 14 September 2020 (SPS) - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Monday, in Geneva, that she "look forward to discussing" the parameters of a new technical mission to Western Sahara in order to "identify critical human rights issues" in the territory.



"Such missions are vital to identify critical human rights issues," and contribute to "preventing the escalation of grievances," in occupied Western Sahara, said the UN Human Rights Chief at the opening of the 45th session of the HRC in Geneva.



"I look forward to discussing the parameters of a new visit with all parties in the near future," she said, referring to the critical human rights situation in the occupied territories.



"We also continue remote monitoring the situation in Western Sahara, where we last conducted technical missions five years ago," said Michelle Bachelet.



The technical missions of the UN Human Rights Council are "vital" to occupied Western Sahara, she added.



Algeria, like the support group in Geneva, has recently stepped up calls to the human rights agency for a technical mission to Western Sahara.



In July, the Algerian delegation to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva requested the resumption of these visits, recalling that no technical mission had been undertaken there since 2015. (SPS)



062/SPS/APS
A public-affairs specialist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will retire after revelations that he used a pseudonym online to savage the government response to the covid-19 pandemic - including the work of Anthony Fauci, who heads that agency, an NIAID spokeswoman said Monday.

William Crews told NIAID officials he will retire after the Daily Beast revealed he is also the managing editor of the conservative web site RedState.com, where, under the pseudonym "streiff," he has ridiculed the government's activity against the coronavirus outbreak, according to the NIAID spokeswoman, who asked not to be identified because the matter involves personnel.

The spokeswoman, who confirmed the Daily Beast's reporting that Crews is the pseudonymous writer, said the agency had learned of the matter Monday morning.

The Daily Beast reported that Crews, as "streiff." has called Fauci a "mask nazi," and implied that "government officials responsible for the pandemic response should be executed." It's unclear whether Crews had direct dealings on the job with Fauci , the nation's top infectious disease official and one of the leaders of the government's response to the pandemic.

Other articles by "streiff" include one calling the Democratic governor of Nevada a "mask-fetishist" after President Donald Trump announced he would hold an indoor rally in defiance of state covid-19 restrictions; another asking of Fauci "Is he a partisan hack or is he actually an idiot?"; and another accusing Fauci and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield of "trying to shut down the US economy for partisan political gain and institutional aggrandizement of power and resources."

"Time and time again, Fauci has been proven wrong, such as his opposition to stopping travel from China . . . not to mention his institute funding research related to the coronavirus at the bio lab that is still at ground zero of the Wuhan virus's origins and continuing that funding until early May," wrote "streiff."

"Streiff" has also been critical of masks, writing "there has never been a need" for them, contradicting the guidance given by Fauci and his agency.

Crews did not deal directly with journalists or the public in his job in the NIAID's office of communications and government relations for the NIAID, where his work was limited to internal communications. The NIAID spokeswoman would not say when Crews will retire, calling it a personnel issue that she could not discuss.

Crews did not reply to phone calls and emails sent to his government accounts, and efforts to reach him by phone at home were unsuccessful. "Streiff" did not respond to email. RedState.com is part of Townhall Media, which did not return the Post's inquires. Neither did parent company, conservative media conglomerate Salem Media Group.

According to his biography on RedState's website, the user "streiff" has been a member of the publication's community since its founding in 2004. In 2018, the website laid off a number of writers, including its editors Caleb Howe and Jay Caruso. At the time, the company insisted the move was financial, although the former writers and their allies pointed out that several of those laid off were the most vocal Trump critics writing for RedState.com.

Townhall Media includes conservative websites Twitchy, PJ Media, Bearing Arms and Hot Air. Together, the company says the brands reach 24 million unique visitors per month.

This isn't the first time a government health agency employee has been embroiled in a covid-19 related controversy. Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced its top spokesman, Michael Caputo, would be going on medical leave just days after he accused agency scientists of "sedition" and promoted other conspiracy theories on social media.

NIAID is one of the 27 institutes and centers that comprise the National Institutes of Health. Fauci, NIH Director Francis Collins and others have been at the forefront of the government response to the pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people in the United States and almost 1 million across the globe.

Fauci serves on the White House coronavirus task force, though he has been largely sidelined in recent months as his critical assessment of efforts against covid-19 has conflicted with President Trump's rosier description of progress against the disease.

The NIAID spokeswoman said the agency would likely investigate whether the posts were written during hours that Crews was on duty at NIH and whether he used NIH computers or other equipment in the process, which is prohibited.

The agency has a lengthy policy related to "outside activities" which adhere to federal ethics policies for executive branch agencies that forbid "engaging in outside activities that conflict with employees' official duties." It was not immediately clear whether that would cover criticizing NIAID efforts on RedState.com.

NIH guidance on the use of private social media accounts by employees reminds them that "as a member of the NIH Community, you have a special responsibility to uphold the public trust. We earn public trust from our expertise and our conscious fair treatment for all. We have responsibilities that are different from those who work in other places."

Fauci was participating in an event and not available for comment, according to a person who answered his phone on Monday.
Boris Johnsons top team is grappling with a spike in coronavirus infections thats seen the UK outbreak spreading exponentially again.

Ministers are trying to decide how to balance tackling the virus with helping the economy recover from its worst recession in more than a century, sparking divisions within the Cabinet over the best way forward.

Heres what could happen next:

More local lockdowns

The existing whack a mole strategy has already seen vast swathes of the country under local lockdown, restricting social contact between households and imposing early closing times on pubs, bars and restaurants.

The measures cover some 10 million people, and theres only so far they can go before they start resembling a national lockdown again. London Mayor Sadiq Khan is pushing urgently for measures in the capital, which has so far avoided fresh restrictions. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said people in London could be told to work from home again this week.

Social Restrictions

The governments strategy so far has been to try to keep schools and businesses open while stamping down on social interaction. This month, ministers replaced complicated rules on social mixing with a blanket rule than no more than six people could meet socially, unless they were all from the same household. The next step would be to ban people from different households from mixing altogether.

Were at a really critical moment and I think that if we dont make sure that were adhering to all the various different requirements  the rule of six, self isolation, quarantine when required, then we are going to end up needing to apply stronger brakes on this, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Monday.

Work From Home

The advice at the beginning of the pandemic was that everyone who could, should work from home. But as the outbreak died down over the summer, the government started encouraging people to return to their offices, particularly in city centers where bars, cafes and shops that relied on commuters were struggling.

But with the virus on the rise again, the authorities may tell people to stay in their homes again.

Circuit Breaker

Johnson has compared the idea of a second national lockdown to a nuclear deterrent -- the option of last resort, and ministers consistently say they want to avoid such a radical step at all costs. But gaining traction is the idea of a so-called circuit breaker -- a two week shutdown, perhaps coinciding with the half-term holiday in schools next month.

Asked about the notion on Sunday, Hancock said that was another proposal that came from the scientists, and stressed officials were looking at all options. Enforcing the rules is seen as key.

Well be increasingly stringent on the people who are not following the rules  if everybody follows the rules then we can avoid further national lockdowns, Hancock said. But we, of course, have to be prepared to take action if thats whats necessary.

Close Schools

Just about the last thing the government will countenance, having rested a lot of political capital in getting them open again in September. Ministers are concerned that having children at home hits the ability of their parents to work effectively, whether from home or in their workplaces.

Test and trace

The government says it will increase testing to 500,000 a day by the end of October, but the system is ridden with well-publicized failings. If the government can make the system more effective, speeding up the time it takes to give people results and then reaching more of their close contacts to tell them to self-isolate, the U.K. could begin to bear down more effectively on its infection rate.

Vaccinate

The government has ensured it has orders for six different vaccines should they succeed in clinical trials. Hancock said on Sunday that there is still hope that we will get one of the vaccines over the line this year.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

By Fidan Babayeva  Trend:

Kazakhstans Trade House was registered in Baku, Director General of the Trade House, Azerbaijani businessman Rufat Rzayev said, Trend reports referring to Kazakh Kazinform international news agency.

Among the goals of Kazakhstans Trade House is to increase the volumes of bilateral trade and to expand investment, trade and economic ties.

"During the meeting with Ambassador of Kazakhstan Serzhan Abdykarimov, the idea of creating Kazakhstans Trade House was proposed to me as I know the Kazakh and Azerbaijani markets because there was no such thing in Azerbaijan before, Rzayev said. Having considered all the pros and cons, I decided to cooperate.

The huge potential of economic relations between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan has not been fully realized, Rzayev said. Azerbaijans Trade House is already operating in Nur-Sultan."

While answering the question what the creation of Kazakhstans Trade House must bring, Rzayev said that the Kazakh products are not widely available in Azerbaijan, despite the qualitative goods are produced in Kazakhstan.

At the initial stage, the Kazakh food, agricultural products and consumer goods will be showcased on the Azerbaijani market and afterwards, the products of the light industry and textile, the director said.

Moreover, the director stressed that Azerbaijan is ready to render assistance and give consultations to the Kazakh enterprises on the business climate and investment projects in Azerbaijan.

The Trade House can also work on the formation of proposals and recommendations to remove trade barriers and improve the conditions for doing business in the two countries, Rzayev said.

"Kazakhstans Trade House will act as a dialogue platform for business circles of the two countries, organize the presentations of goods and services, exhibitions, business meetings, the director said. We are also ready to help the Kazakh partners in studying the supply and demand for their goods in the Azerbaijani market, in checking the ratings of legal entities, companies, in concluding the contracts."

"The idea itself was voiced even before the pandemic, but it took time to make a decision, the director added. The introduction of quarantine restrictions postponed the plans to open Kazakhstans Trading House. But, despite the restrictions, we continued to work as part of video meetings with the Kazakh manufacturers, exporters and registered a legal entity.

After the opening of direct flights, we will organize the visit of the Kazakh suppliers of products to Baku and an exhibition of goods for Azerbaijani partners and distributors, the director said. We plan to create a website and pages on social media."

---

Follow the author on Twitter: Fidan_Babaeva
C.P. Vietnam is the largest husbandry group in the country

Last week, top Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (C.P. Group) just decided to pour billions into the pork business in China, spanning from breeding to food processing, in an attempt to combat a swine shortage caused by flooding and disease.

According to Nikkei Asian Review, Chia Tai Investment, an indirect subsidiary of C.P. Groups food processing arm C.P. Foods, will buy 43 businesses encompassing breeding, farming, slaughtering, and food processing in a deal valued around 28 billion yuan ($4.1 billion).

Pork dishes are a regular fixture on Chinese dining tables. The country was the worlds largest swine market in 2019, valued at roughly $200 billion, but an epidemic of African swine fever and heavy flooding in Asias largest economy have caused a supply shortage.

C.P. Foods intends for the re-organisation to bolster Chia Tai Investments operations through access to the Chinese pork market. The 43 transferred businesses have facilities in 22 Chinese provinces with a combined annual farming capacity of 7.2 million hogs.

Chia Tai Investment already owns feed milling operations. Integrating it with these businesses would let the group better address market changes, leverage the know-how across the value chain, and further expand its footprint in the future, C.P. Foods said in a statement.

Chia Tai Investment faces the same vulnerability as its peers to the difficult pork market, but the group is banking on management know-how through its experience of livestock farming.

One year ago, C.P. Foods announced doubling (equal to $1 billion) of its investment in Vietnamese and Chinese plants, accelerating its pursuit of growth outside Thailand. The Thai company aims to lift annual sales to 800 billion ($26.13 billion) within five years from 555.5 billion ($18.15 billion) in 2018.

The company, which generated 72 per cent of sales in overseas markets last year, seeks to lift this to 75 per cent by 2024.

With their home market ageing, Thai companies are shifting investments in neighbouring emerging countries into higher gear. Of these, Vietnam is the third-biggest market for C.P. Foods after Thailand and China.

C.P. Vietnam  also a subsidiary  is the largest husbandry company in Vietnam. In 2019, due to the impact of African swine fever and the drop of pork price, its revenues for the first half of the year dropped by 23 per cent on-year.

However, across the whole of 2019, C.P. Vietnam gained VND65 trillion ($2.8 billion) in revenues, and VND6.3 trillion ($274 million) in after-tax profits.

China has always been a major market for C.P. Food, contributing 65.6 per cent in total revenues, while the remainder comes from Thailand and Vietnam.
You likely would not eat a mountain gorilla pie or a wombat steak, but University of Queensland researchers say we could be doing the equivalent of that every time we get fish and chips.

The researchers found, by analysing global fishing records, 92 endangered and 11 critically endangered species of seafood were caught in oceans around the world.

We're being urged to rethink our eating habits, with new research findings dozens of endangered species are still being fished.

UQ Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation researcher Carissa Klein said some of those were caught by accident, but many were actively targeted by fishing operations despite being endangered.

"At least 34 of the species, and thats quite conservative, have commercially exploited populations listed," Dr Klein said.
New Delhi: Actress-politician Nusrat Jahan on Monday approached the Kolkata Police after a video dating app allegedly used her photo without her consent for its promotion. The app used her photo with a caption that read - "Make new friends sitting at home during lockdown".

She tweeted to Kolkata Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma and shared a screenshot of the advertisement. Nusrat also added that she could take legal action against the app.

Nusrat wrote, "This is totally unacceptable - using pictures without consent. Would request the Cyber Cell of Kolkata Police to kindly look into the same. I am ready to take this up legally," read Nusrat's tweet.

The Kolkata Police immediately took cognizance of the matter and a senior officer said that that the issue is being looked into.

"We have taken a note of the matter and the same is being looked into by our concerned section for necessary action," a tweet by the department read.

Nusrat Jahan, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP from Basirhat, is a prominent actress of the Bengali film industry. She was last seen in 'Asur' while her upcoming movie is 'SOS Kolkata'.
Mumbai: Days after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished actor Kangana Ranaut's Mumbai office, the actor on Monday said that "if they (Maharashtra government) stop being obsessed with me, they will know how the entire state is collapsing".

A Twitter user shared an article reporting the collapse of a three-storey building in Bhiwandi, while also tagging Ranaut's team, and said, "Painful scenes! Happens when Maharashtra govt has only the time to dismantle @KanganaTeam's office! #Maharashtra #Bhiwandi."

To which, the 'Queen' actor responded on the micro-blogging site, saying: "Meanwhile Maharashtra government k-k-k-k-kNgnaa ..... if they stop being obsessed with me they will know how the entire state is collapsing."

Meanwhile Maharashtra government ---- ..... if they stop being obsessed with me they will know how the entire state is collapsing. https://t.co/qSUBGApLLA  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) September 21, 2020

On Monday morning, at least ten people were killed after a three-storey building collapsed in Patel Compound in Bhiwandi, Thane. The incident happened at around 3:40 am. Five people were also injured.

On September 10, Kangana's office in Pali Hill, Bandra was partially demolished by the BMC. Post which the 'Tanu Weds Manu' star, through her lawyer Rizwan Siddiqui, had moved the High Court against the demolition of what the BMC termed as "illegal alterations" at her office.

The corporation had earlier filed an affidavit in the High Court stating that Ranaut has unlawfully made substantial alterations and additions to the property, contrary to the sanctioned building plan, and termed her allegations against it as "baseless".

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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As the spread of the coronavirus disease continues unabated across the country, many states have imposed restrictions by putting in place prohibitory orders is various districts.

The prohibitory orders are issued under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code or CrPC. It is invoked to stop people from gathering at a place; during Covid-19 it can help in checking the spread of the disease.

Here is the list of states which have imposed Section 144 as a preventive measure against Covid-19:

Rajasthan: The state government has imposed prohibitory orders in 11 districts - Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Udaipur, Sikar, Pali and Nagaur. Chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the decision has been taken in public interest.

Gehlot also said that while the already announced Unlock guidelines and restrictions will continue, the same has been extended till October 31.

Uttar Pradesh: The Yogi Adityanath government has put in place Section 144 in Noida (Gautam Buddha Nagar district), which bars the assembly of over four people at a place. Officials said this has been done keeping in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Maharashtra: The state is already worst-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Its capital Mumbai has already been under prohibitory orders to check the spread of the disease. The authorities have extended the curbs in the city till September 30. Meawhile, the police in Pune said that Section 144 was not in force in the city, but few crowd-control provisions of Maharashtra Police Act were in place in the district.

Odisha: The authorities in Berhampur city in Ganjam district have imposed Section 144 to prevent harm to public health during the Maa Kalua Yatra festival being held amid Covid-19 pandemic. The 46-day festival of the Goddess Kalua started on September 16 and will conclude on October 31. The authorities said that Section 144 will remain in place till further orders.
JERUSALEM  A former principal of a Jewish girls school in Australia accused of sexually assaulting her pupils can be extradited to face trial there, a court in Israel ruled on Monday, bringing a yearslong legal saga that has strained relations between the two countries to a potential close.

Australia has been seeking the extradition of the former principal, Malka Leifer, for more than six years on 74 charges of sexual assault on former students in the school. At the heart of the case are allegations of three sisters who say they were abused while attending the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School in Melbourne in the early 2000s.

This is a victory for justice! Dassi Erlich, one of the sisters, said in a post on Facebook. A victory not just for us, but for all survivors. Exhaling years of holding our breath!

Ms. Leifers lawyers in Israel had argued, among other things, that she was mentally unfit to stand trial, but after years of private and police investigations and examinations by several psychiatric panels, the Israeli courts eventually ruled that she had faked mental illness.
Pegatron to invest additional $1 billion in Vietnam

The complex of Pegatron would combine four components, including the $19 million Pegatron VN1 project, which was licensed in March. The investor is completing the procedures for the $148 million Pegatron VN2. The third period  the $500 million Pegatron VN3  is expected to be implemented in 2026-2027.

In addition, Pegatron plans to relocate its research and development (R&D) centre from China to Vietnam.

At present, Pegatron submitted dossiers to Haiphong Economic Zones Management Authority for the projects second phase, which will manufacture household electronic equipment, computers, communications equipment, electronic components, and circuit boards for the likes of Microsoft, Sony, Lenovo, and Apple.

Thus, Pegatron would join two iPhone assemblers  Wistron Corporation and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd.  in developing manufacturing facilities or building extra capacity in Vietnam.

None of the three are making iPhones in Vietnam and have no imminent plans to do so. GoerTek is now making AirPods in the country while two other Apple assembly partners  Compal Electronics and Luxshare ICT  are also present in Vietnam.

Along this project, according to Tuoi tre online, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is co-operating with Haiphong authorities to negotiate with and attract Universal Global Technology Group, which is a member of global technology group ASE Holding, to develop a $400 million electronic board manufacturing and assembly plant in the northern port city.
The last and fifth Corps Commanders meeting was held on August 2 at Moldo

An army convoy carrying military material on its way to Ladakh amid border tension with China, at Manali-Leh highway.  PTI photo

The sixth round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China will take place on Monday morning at Moldo on the Chinese side along the Line of Actual control (LAC) in the Eastern Ladakh.

For the first time joint secretary (East Asia) from ministry of external affairs Naveen Srivastava will be present during the Corps Commanders meeting. A senior official from Army Headquarters will attend the meeting.

Also major generals operating in Ladakh will also be present during the Corps Commanders meeting.

The foreign affairs ministers from two sides during their meeting in Moscow had agreed for another round of Corps Commanders level meeting to bring down tension between the two armies.

Last week during a high level meeting attended by defence minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and CDS Gen Bipin Rawat among others had cleared India's stand for the Corps Commanders meeting.

During the meeting India will press for disengagement and return of status-quo of April 2020 at the Eastern Ladakh. China could push India to vacate the strategic heights it occupied on the Kailash range which overlook entry points of the Spanggur gap in the Chushul sector during the pre-emptive action on August 29-31.

The last and fifth Corps Commanders meeting was held on August 2 at Moldo.

A Major General level meeting was also held on August 8 at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) to discuss disengagement at the strategic Depsang plains.

However, things have changed since the last Corps Commanders meeting with at least three instances of firing reported at the LAC for the first time in 45 years.

Out of these firing incidents, two happened at the Southern banks of Pangong Tso and one in the finger area on its northern banks. Indian army has officially acknowledged only one firing incident which took place on 07 September at Mukhpari in the Chushul sector.

The situation in Ladakh is still tense and the army is on a high alert.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The small village, like most in France, has a cafe-restaurant, a hairdresser, a superette and a library.

Neighbours have a cup of coffee and a chat on the terrace, or meet up in the park or at the gym before heading their separate ways home.

But these are no ordinary villagers. Their average age is 79 and they all share a debilitating disease: Alzheimer's.

Opened in June in the southwestern spa city of Dax, the Village Landais Alzheimernamed after the Landes department in which it is locatedhosts 120 people afflicted with the cruel, memory-robbing ailment for which there is no cure.

For each resident, medical care-givers and volunteers240 people in total are on hand to provide assistance with the daily tasks that for some have become impossible to manage on their own.

But this is no care home. Staff do not wear white coats and residents are given the freedom to pursue their individual lifestyles, in as far as that is possible.

"Each resident has their own room and live at their own rhythm. The one that rises at 6:00 am does not disturb the tranquility of the one that enjoys sleeping in," Aurelie Bouscary, an assistant at the community, told AFP.

The village is just over an hour by train from Bordeaux and three and a half hours from Paris, and has a long waiting list of potential clients.

Challenging perceptions

Inspired by a similar project in the Netherlands, the trial at Dax is being closely watched by public health experts in Japan and Italycountries with similarly ageing populations seeking new, more humane, frail care models.

A key aim of the village is to allow residents to maintain a close relationship with their loved ones and not become cut off from the world.

It seeks to allow for "daily interaction between the village and the outside world," states the facility's website.

"Indeed, the Landes project also wants to change society's perceptions of Alzheimer's disease. Raising awareness... of the behaviour caused by this type of dementia will help change the way it is perceived."

Ten places of the 120 are reserved for dementia sufferers under 60, and the youngest resident is 40.

Alzheimer's affects mainly older peopleabout one in four over-85s is a sufferer.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 10 million people per year are diagnosed with dementia, with Alzheimer's disease accounting for about two-thirds of cases.

Numbers have soared as lifespans have lengthened thanks to medical advances in other fields.

Symptoms typically progress from forgetfulness and absent-mindedness to major memory loss and near-total dependence as sufferers become unaware of time and place, and depression is a common feature.

Towards the end, those afflicted can forget even how to eat.

Getting motivation back

The Landes village consists of four "neighbourhoods", each with four homes housing about eight people apiece.

Residents are not allowed to leave the five-hectare (12.3-acre) property, but can receive unrestricted visits and have access to tranquil walking paths, a pond, and a park complete with swingsa popular attraction.

Adding a countryside touch, the donkeys Junon and Janine wander freely about the calm, greened community.

House residents can share meals in a common dining area, and are roped in to help with tasks such as table settinga staff member always on hand to keep an unobtrusive eye.

"The job is still one of caregiving," said Bouscary. "But it is completely different" than existing models. "I feel like I'm doing my work better."

The village opened just weeks after France emerged from two months of coronavirus home confinement, a time of forced separation from loved ones which hit people in care homes particularly hard.

"Since arriving in June, they have been able to make themselves comfortable and regain a peaceful freedom," said Nathalie Bonnet, a psychologist at the community.

"They have recovered their motivation and are resuming everyday activities. As there is always someone on hand to address episodes of anxiety or depression, they calm down faster. And as a result, prescriptions for antidepressant treatments can be reduced," she added.

The coronavirus epidemic has limited outside contact for the time being, but eventually residents of nearby cities and towns will be welcomed to attend concerts, join in the village festivals, or even have their hair cut at the salon.

The centre cost some 28 million euros ($33 million) in state funds to build, with annual running costs of 6.7 million.

Government agencies cover the occupancy cost of 65 euros per resident per day.

In the village restaurant, Melany Fournier shared a meal with her resident aunt.

"I was a bit apprehensive," she said, having come from Switzerland for the visit. "But seeing her so calm, and free to make her own choices... She is at home, she calls this 'The village'."

Explore further Dutch village evacuated as precaution due to wildfire smoke

 2020 AFP
Senior executives at Trafigura see the world rather differently. I remain concerned about the oil market for the next three to six months, CEO and Chairman Jeremy Weir said last week. He was echoing comments by the companys co-head of oil trading, Ben Luckock, who told the APPEC gathering that he was in no hurry to be involved in a recovery trade.Were in a supply-heavy market, he said, adding that he expects crude stockpiles to build for the rest of this year and Brent prices to drift into the high $30s.
A farmers' campaign group is planning on returning to Westminster's Parliament Square to protest against lower-standard food imports.

Save British Farming (SBF) is hosting a second demonstration to coincide with the return of the Agriculture Bill in the House of Commons.

The government's landmark post-Brexit Bill is nearing the final stage of the legislative process, before it gains Royal Assent.

The SBF is planning on a 'socially-distanced tractor demonstration', to take place on Monday 28 September.

Activists want to protest against 'the opening of floodgates to lower-regulated food' as the government looks to free trade deals with the likes of the US.

The first demonstration took place on 8 July. Videos of it were posted on social media, showing dozens of drive-slow, socially-distanced tractors around Parliament Square.

Celebrity Masterchef winner Emma Kennedy endorsed the protest, and she urged the public to write to their MP to save British farms from 'going under' post-Brexit.

The SBF is now calling for more pressure to be put on MPs to vote to protect the UK's farming and food standards as the Agriculture Bill returns to parliament.

"The government is selling British farmers down the river," the group said, adding that the Bill would also ditch the UK's high animal welfare and environmental standards.

"As the UK-EU negotiations are faltering, a no-deal Brexit is the most likely outcome and that puts Britain at the mercy of the US farm lobby.

This is last chance for MPs to stop a free-for-all from which ???? agriculture would emerge the loser.

Which is why we want to fill Parliament Square with our tractors/farm vehicles.

Are you going to sit with your head in the sand or join us? https://t.co/XXckC6RPNf  Save British Farming ???? (@BritishSave) September 20, 2020

"We need to put pressure on MPs to vote to protect our farming and food standards."

Farming groups have frequently raised concerns that Number 10 is prepared to sacrifice the UK's high food standards in order to cement post-Brexit trade agreements.

Stringent EU rules currently limit numerous pesticides, veterinary drugs like growth hormones, and pathogen reduction treatments such as chlorine washing, that are allowed under US agriculture rules.

It comes as MPs in the House of Commons voted to reject an Agriculture Bill amendment which wanted to safeguard British food standards post-Brexit.

This is despite an NFU petition, signed by over one million people, calling for the government to uphold the UK's high food and farming standards.
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Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey declared September 15 through October 15, 2020 Hispanic Heritage Month in Arizona to celebrate Hispanic culture throughout Arizona and recognize the many ways Arizonans of Hispanic descent enrich our state.

This Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate the countless ways the Hispanic community has enriched the culture of our state, said Governor Ducey. Today, Arizona is home to more than 2.2 million people of Hispanic descent and growing. They serve in elected office, teach in our classrooms, start businesses, pioneer scientific breakthroughs, answer the call of duty, lead faith congregations and so much more. Arizona would not be the vibrant and dynamic state, full of opportunity, that it is today without our Hispanic community, and we are proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

WHEREAS, for more than a century, Arizona has celebrated a diverse culture, and today, Hispanics make up nearly one-third of the states population; and



WHEREAS, the Hispanic community is a dynamic, valued part of our society and a vital contributor to our economy, with an entrepreneurial spirit, a strong work ethic, and an unwavering belief in the American dream; and



WHEREAS, the prosperity of our State and Nation is closely tied to the success of our citizens of Hispanic heritage, who are a significant and growing segment of our population and who contribute in every aspect of Arizona life, while preserving the unique customs and traditions of their ancestors; and



WHEREAS, Hispanic culture shapes the Arizona experience and influences our art, literature, music, food, and faith, thereby enriching our State; and



WHEREAS, Hispanics have earned our Nations highest military decorations and played a significant role in our academic, scientific, legal, political, and artistic communities.



NOW, THEREFORE, I, Douglas A. Ducey, Governor of the State of Arizona do hereby proclaim September 15 - October 15, 2020, as HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH and call upon the citizens of Arizona to celebrate the talents, culture, and spirit of Hispanic heritage.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Arizona



GOVERNOR



DONE at the Capitol in Phoenix on this fourth day of September in the year Two Thousand and Twenty and of the Independence of the United States of America the Two Hundred and Forty-Fifth.



ATTEST:



SECRETARY OF STATE
India: Aquaculture industry to aid in creating AatmaNirbhar Bharat

September 21,2020 | Source: UNI India

Aquaculture in India is an important economic activity and a flourishing sector with varied resources and potentials. India ranks third in fisheries production, and second in aquaculture. There is a huge value chain involved globally, and the pandemic has affected the trade not just in exports but also internal consumption. A solution can be reached by increasing aquaculture efficiency, introduction of new methods to increase yield. It is important for those involved with the sector to remain constantly abreast of the newest global advancements.



Keeping this thought in mind, several industry experts from India and across the world gathered at a one-of-its kind virtual conclave to discuss various topics pertaining to the industry. The Conclave witnessed a host of distinguished speakers from the industry  Amit Saraogi, Managing Director, Anmol Feeds, Tim OKeefe, President, Aqua-Food Technologies Inc., Dr. Andy Shinn,Senior Scientist, Benchmark R&D (Thailand), Umakanth R, Aquaculture Consultant, Asia Subcontinent, USSEC, Dr. P.E. Vijay Anand, Senior Lead, Emerging Market Development, USSEC, Dr. Y. Basavaraju, Former Dean, College of Fisheries, Mangalore, Ramachandra Raju, President, Society for Indian Fisheries and Aquaculture (SIFA), Anton Immik, CEO, ThinkAqua, Dr. Mohd. Golam Quader Khan, Professor,Dept. of Fisheries Biology and Genetics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Raynalfie Rahardjo, Business Development Manager, JALA, Indonesia and Mr. Tarun Shridhar, Former Secretary, Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.



Addressing the audience of the conclave, Amit Saraogi said, Fisheries alone has employed 145 million people and contributed to 1.07% of the GDP and generated export earnings of Rs 334.41 billion as per a recent estimate of National Fisheries Development Board. Aquaculture over recent years has not only led to substantial socio-economic benefits such as increased nutritional levels, income, employment and foreign exchange, but has also brought vast un-utilized and under-utilized land and water resources under culture."



"The measures announced under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojna for Fisheries and Shrimp sector to boost export and rural employment are encouraging. These measures will boost rural entrepreneurship, enable wealth creation to boost the economy to make India self-reliant as envisioned by our Honble Prime Minister. Aquaculture can become a huge source of generating employment and livelihood as investment in this sector is less compared to the benefits it can give. It can increase protein availability, create generation of rural employment and help achieve the food security goals. Especially with all the reverse migration happening across the country, aquaculture, fisheries and shrimp culture can help in rehabilitation of these migrants and help create a livelihood for them, Mr Saraogi said.



He further added, We have a considerable amount of business in our neighbouring countries of Nepal and Bhutan. However, we are unable to reap the benefits of the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme as the earning is in Indian currency. I would like to take this platform to request the authorities to kindly look into this unconscious anomaly and help us to boost the economy of the country. The virtual conclave focused on three main verticals- Health and Biosecurity to Ensure Safe Production, Culture System Improvisation and Advanced Nutrition for Optimum Growth and Better Production.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Monday marks the first day of school for New York Citys public school students, as some return to campus while others learn remotely due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that the city would start the process of returning students to school buildings in phases, beginning Monday, with the academic year kicking off for both in-person and remote learners.

The plan is the right plan, but we have to make sure its implemented properly, is exactly right. And thats what parents would want of us, the mayor said during the press conference Thursday, when he made the announcement.

The phases for students enrolled in the citys blended learning model are as follows: 3-K, pre-K and District 75 students will report in-person beginning Monday, Sept. 21; students in grades K to eight and K to five schools will begin reporting on Tuesday, Sept. 29; and middle and high school students will begin returning on Thursday, Oct. 1.

Under the blended learning plan, put into place to cut down on the number of students at school at one time, students will return to their classroom one to three days per week, learning virtually the rest of the time. Students also have the choice of learning remotely full-time.

Students attended three days of a remote instructional orientation period last week -- from Wednesday to Friday -- to allow them to reconnect to their school community, learn the health and safety procedures, check technical connectivity, and have wellness checks with their teachers and guidance staff.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

New York Citys schools closed last March in an effort to stem the outbreak of the coronavirus, and kids finished the school year via a distance learning model.

This school year, if new coronavirus cases surpass the 3% threshold using a seven-day rolling average, all school buildings in New York City will need to close once again.

The city Department of Education recently released the 2020-2021 school calendar for New York City public school families.

The calendar for 2020-2021 includes some two dozen days off between the first day of school, on Monday, Sept. 21, and the last day of classes on Friday, June 25, 2021.

The nations largest school district is reopening school buildings amid the current health crisis as various concerns among parents and educators linger, including the possibility of a teacher shortage and the ability to advance the curriculum.

Related stories:

NYC school year delayed; in-person learning to start Sept. 21

Reopening of NYC schools delayed: What you need to know

Heres how coronavirus testing will work in NYC schools

2020-2021 school year in NYC: What you need to know

A push from Staten Island for more time to reopen schools safely

What will reopening look like in largest U.S. school districts?

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

FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

3:15 p.m.  Delivers remarks at campaign event at Wisconsin Aluminium Foundry in Manitowoc, Wis.

7 p.m.  Hosts a Chronic Illness and Health Equity Roundtable to discuss his disability plan, with an emphasis on the impact of the pandemic on people with pre-existing conditions. The television star Jonathan Van Ness will moderate, joined by panelists Matthew Cortland, Maya Harris, Dr. Otis Kirksey and Professor Ruqaiijah Yearby.

President Trump

5 p.m.  Delivers remarks to supporters at the Dayton International Airport in Dayton, Ohio.

7 p.m.  Delivers remarks to supporters at the Toledo Express Airport in Toledo, Ohio.

Senator Kamala Harris
In a span of just 30 days, President Trump negotiated the following: 1) a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 2) a separate peace agreement between Israel and Bahrain, 3) a deal between Serbia and Kosovo to normalize economic relations, 4) a deal between Kosovo and Israel to establish diplomatic relations, and 5) an agreement between Serbia and Israel to move the Serbian embassy to Jerusalem.

The agreements between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain were the first Middle-East peace agreements in over 25 years. The last was signed in 1994. President Trump received a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for the agreement between Israel and the UAE, and he received a second Nobel Peace nomination for the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. This brings President Trumps total Nobel Peace nominations to three. His first Nobel nomination was in 2018 for his successful efforts to ease tensions with North Korea.

President Trump destroyed ISIS and has kept Iran, Russia, and China in check, but hes the first president in four decades that has not started a new military conflict. His goal is to finish our seemingly endless military conflicts and to ensure peace and prosperity through strength, not appeasement. Its working! Thank you, President Trump!

Robert Minninger, Chester County, Pa.
Rachel Riley welcomed her beloved baby girl in December 2019.

And it seems little Maven won't be an only child for long, as the Countdown star, 34, has revealed she is planning to have more children with Pasha Kovalev, 40.

Speaking to OK! Magazine, she revealed that many of her friends have more than one children and claimed she was 'quite late to the party'.

Happy days: Rachel Riley welcomed her beloved baby girl in December 2019 and is now planning more kids with her husband Pasha Kovalev, 40

Following the arrival of their tot, Rachel has now said: 'Yeah, I think we would like more at some stage. I'm one of two and so is Pasha...

'We were both quite late to the party so a lot of my friends have more kids, but we've only got a nine-month-old at the moment so I think we need to get her a bit bigger'.

Rachel, Pasha and Maven have spent lockdown with her Russian mother-in-law Galina, whose month-long visit to the UK was extended amid the pandemic.

The couple, who became first-time parents to Maven in December, have been enjoyed extended time off at home amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Blooming: Speaking to OK! Magazine, she revealed that many of her friends have more than one children and claimed she was 'quite late to the party'

Speaking on Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Lucy Horobin, the blonde recently admitted the countrywide lockdown has been something of a blessing for the family as they have been given 'enforced maternity and paternity leave'.

The Oxford University alum said: 'Well we're quite fortunate in a way, I was supposed to be back at work, Pasha was supposed to be on tour, and it's kind of enforced maternity and paternity leave we didn't have before so we're loving it.

'She's just over five months, I've left her in bed in kind of the same sleeping position as Pash, if you hear crying it could be either one of them I have no idea.'

Rachel's appearance came after she revealed she came to the aid of one of her friends suffering domestic abuse, after learning of her plight during lockdown.

A blessing: Speaking on Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Lucy Horobin, the blonde recently admitted the countrywide lockdown has been something of a blessing for the family as they have been given 'enforced maternity and paternity leave'

The media personality spoke out as she got candid about the abuse so many more women are experiencing behind closed doors.

She told The Mirror: 'I've been supporting a friend who I didn't know was in a situation of domestic violence for some years. While I can't go into specifics, I know COVID has made things more difficult.

'It's been so hard for women in her situation, without direct access to support services. I saw a poster that said 'Domestic abusers have always worked from home' and that's so true.

'There's no outlet currently. People are trapped at home, the kids aren't at school and police and social services are running a limited service.'
A video showing the daily routine of three sanitation workers has gone viral after a neighbor shared footage of them dancing to the 'Cupid Shuffle' while collecting trash.

Kenneth Cook caught William Watson, Rodrick Samuels and Chad Howard doing the popular choreographed routine to the track by Cupid as they made their way down his street in Keansburg, New Jersey last Wednesday.

He captioned footage from his security camera: 'These guys are the hype!! Thanks so much for sending positive vibes this morning! #workhard #morningvibes #positivity.'

Three sanitation workers were caught dancing to the 'Cupid Shuffle' while driving down a street in Keansburg, New Jersey last Wednesday

They caught the attention of neighbors by blasting tracks from this speaker costing $120

The men are seen dancing the popular choreographed routine for the 'Cupid Shuffle' song

The clip received hundreds of reactions on Facebook and has since been widely distributed via TMX.

The trio's moves came about spontaneously after one of them started dancing to cheer himself up and it became infectious.

'What happened with the dancing thing is, I was kind of going through something,' sanitation worker William Watson told News 12. 'And I'm looking around, everybody's moping and they're sadI started dancing.

'Then he started dancing, then he started dancing. We didn't even know we were being recorded.'

His Roselle Disposal co-worker Rodrick Samuels came up with the idea to buy a speaker and attach it to their truck a month ago.

Alongside driver Chad Howard, the trio has been working throughout the coronavirus lockdown where there had been a 30 percent increase in demand for them.

Pictured left to right; Roselle Disposal's William Watson, Rodrick Samuels and Chad Howard

Samuels came up with the idea to buy a speaker and attach it to the outside of their truck

They wanted to inject a little fun into their routine.

'$120 for it. It's worth it. Music is the motivation for work. It gets you through your day. Especially rain. Cold weather ... Anything and all,' Samuels said in an interview.

'I told them we gotta get a nice speaker. Let's motivate ourselves some more.'

They have done more than motivate themselves. The neighbors can't get enough either.

'They are the best garbage men ever. Ever. Hands down. The best. And they boost up your spirits all day. Every day,' one woman told News 12.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : The Supreme Court on Monday said Right to Protest of one section has to be in balance with others' Right to Mobility on a public road, as everyone has the right to move from one place to another and this right cannot be prejudiced by blocking a public road to hold protests.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Krishna Murari and Aniruddha Bose after nearly a gap of seven months took up the pleas against the anti-CAA protesters blocking the public road at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi.

At the beginning of the hearing the bench queried the petitioners if they were willing to withdraw the plea. One of the petitioners replied that they were not.

Advocate Amit Sahni, another petitioner in the matter, argued that these kind of incidents should not repeat in future and in the larger public interest a decision must be taken in the matter.

Advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing for intervenors, argued before the bench that right to peacefully protest is absolute, and it is the right of the people to protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens as a concept.

Justice Kaul said we are not disputing your right to peacefully protest. Sahni urged the bench to keep this matter pending and an elaborate order may be passed.

Pracha submitted that "some people went to the protest place and then riots happened, and I don't want to name them". He added that the number of protesters cannot be shown in bad light by misusing the state machinery.

"It is not that state machinery is absolutely right. Why a person connected with a political party went their and riots happened," argued Pracha, citing need for a universal policy on right to protest peacefully.

Justice Bose replied that the right to protest needs to be balanced out with the mobility on public road. Justice Kaul said there cannot be a universal policy as situation vary and cited process of debate in the Parliament.

"The place where it becomes problematic, we have to see where it can be balanced out," noted the bench. Justice Kaul also appreciated the interlocutors, who helped the court in finding a solution to the matter.

The bench noted that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created another dimension.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, objected to Pracha's argument. 'Right to assemble is subjected to reasonable restrictions....We have places like Jantar Mantar, where protest can be held, but blocking of roads cannot be allowed," said Mehta.

The bench agreed with Centre's contention that people can't claim absolute right to hold protest but said that people have right to hold peaceful protests, and this shouldn't cause inconvenience to general public.

The bench, reserving the order in the matter in the petitions seeking removal of protestors from Shaheen Bagh, said that the matter has become infructuous due to supervening circumstance of Covid with protestors vacating the road, but added that it will pass a short order to deal with such situations.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 15:02 487 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c462986d 1 Entertainment SeaShorts-Film-Festival,Bura,Evening-Stroll,film-festival,short-film Free

Two Indonesian short films were among the winners at the 2020 SeaShorts Film Festival that was held virtually from Sept. 12 to 20.

One of the films, BURA (2019), was recognized in three categories, namely Jury Awards, Best Sound and Best Cinematography. Helmed and penned by Eden Junjung, the 12-minute film set in the Tapal Kuda region of East Java amid the countrys political transition in 1998 follows pesantren (Islamic boarding school) students who are determined to protect their teachers from mysterious murderers by taking guard duties at night. However, their plan is interrupted after one student leaves his post to meet his lover.

The festival's jury panel praised the film as courageous and important in highlighting a critical chapter in Indonesias history. They also considered the films sound design and mixing quality to be crisp and balanced, and described the cinematography as intricately mounted to help the story evolve and display the characters emotions.

The camerawork is riveting, invoking the audience to quietly contemplate on their inner guilt as they have their expectations subverted, said the jury panel in a statement.

Candra Adityas Evening Stroll (2019) (Jalan-Jalan Sore), meanwhile, received an award for Best Screenplay. Set in Jakarta, the 16-minute film is about a couple who rediscover the beauty of their love after losing their wallets during a picnic.

The judges applauded the film for having an elaborate dialogue and writing, resulting in naturally developed scenes.

A total of seven Indonesian short films were selected to participate in the annual competition.

The event, which featured various virtual activities from masterclasses and online forums to interactive sessions and film screenings, attracted around 600 online viewers during the weeklong period.

In a time when physical barriers are mandatory, there was an opportunity to widen the reach and get more eyes on the inventive storytelling found around our shores. We thank the filmmakers and our partners for helping us to continue to showcase Southeast Asian stories and inspire further industry growth," SeaShorts Film Festival co-director Nicholas Chee said in the statement.

Since its first installment in 2017, the SeaShorts Film Festival has aimed to celebrate Southeast Asian short films and has showcased 375 of such works. Among the filmmakers who have been members of the jury panel are Indonesian producer Mira Lesmana, Thai filmmaker Pimpaka Towira and Cambodian documentary director Rithy Panh. (wir/kes)

Below is the complete list of winners at the 2020 SeaShorts Film Festival:

SeaShorts Award for Best Film: Peon by June Wong, Shaiful Yahya and Syaz Zainal (Malaysia)

Next New Wave Award for Best Malaysian Film: Peon by June Wong, Shaiful Yahya, and Syaz Zainal (Malaysia)

Best Direction Award: Stay Awake, Be Ready by Pham Thien An (Vietnam)

Best Screenplay Award: Evening Stroll by Candra Aditya (Indonesia)

Best Cinematography Award: BURA by Eden Junjung (Indonesia)

Best Sound Award: BURA by Eden Junjung (Indonesia)

Best Editing Award: Peon by June Wong, Shaiful Yahya, and Syaz Zainal (Malaysia)

Best Performance Award: The Cloud Is Still There by Mickey Lai Loke Yee (Malaysia)

Jury Award: BURA by Eden Junjung (Indonesia)

Special Mention: Elsa by Lim Jen Nee (Singapore)

Audience Award: Stay Awake, Be Ready by Pham Thien An (Vietnam)
Joseph R. Biden Jr. urged Republicans on Sunday not to rush a Supreme Court nominee through the Senate in the final six weeks before the presidential election, suggesting that such a move would amount to an abuse of power at an already perilous moment in American political history.

In his first extensive remarks on the looming Supreme Court battle since he acknowledged the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday, Mr. Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, appealed directly to the few pivotal Senate Republicans who really will decide what happens, urging them to oppose an effort to push through a new nominee before the election.

Please, follow your conscience, he pleaded in a speech at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Dont vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and Senator McConnell have created. Dont go there. Uphold your constitutional duty. Your conscience. Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have been engulfing our country.

Mr. Trump has promised to nominate a replacement for the position in the next week, seizing on an issue that has the potential to electrify the bases of both political parties and to inject a new measure of uncertainty into an already unpredictable presidential race. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, has vowed to hold a floor vote.
Thane : , Sep 21 (IANS) At least 13 persons, including seven minors, were killed in sleep as a three-storeyed residential building they lived in collapsed in the early hours of Monday in Narpoli area of Bhiwandi town.

Ten persons were injured and at least 30 others rescued. Another dozen-odd persons are still feared trapped under the rubble, officials said here.

A portion of Jilani building, situated in the Patel Compound in a congested locality, collapsed around 3.45 am, in the Muslim-dominated powerloom town that is some 60 km north of Mumbai in Thane district.

Eyewitnesses said that tonnes of concrete and metal collapsed in a heap of rubble amid a loud sound, shaking other buildings in the vicinity and jolting people to wake up and rush to help the victims.

Soon thereafter, teams of police as well as fire brigade from Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation and neighbouring towns of Thane, Kalyan, Dombivali, and the National Disaster Response Force rushed to the spot for the rescue operation.

By afternoon, over 25 persons were extricated from the rubble, including several children and senior citizens, as the operation continued to look for another dozen or so persons still believed trapped.

A dog squad, high-tech sensors and cameras have been deployed to look for the survivors, and gas cutters to cut iron bars of the collapsed pillars etc.

Shiv Sena leader and Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde rushed in to supervise the rescue operation and announced an ex gratia of Rs 500,000 to the kin of each deceased and free treatment to those injured.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and others monitored the situation regularly from Mumbai, as the state capital, Thane, Palghar, and Raigad continued to be battered by rain during the day.

Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dr Pankaj Ashiya said that the building was on the list of dilapidated and dangerous structures and a notice for vacation was issued to its residents a few months ago.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths.

"The loss of lives in the building collapse at Bhiwandi in Maharashtra is quite distressing. In this hour of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with the accident victims. I wish speedy recovery to the injured. Local authorities are coordinating rescue and relief efforts," Kovind said.

"Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected," said Modi.

Maharashtra Congress President and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat expressed grief over the incident and urged party activists to help authorities in rescue work.

An official of Narpoli police station said that it was in the process of registering a case against the builder, contractor and other persons for the tragedy.

This is the second major building collapse in less than a month in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. A five-storeyed building collapsed on August 24 in Mahad town of Raigad, claiming 16 lives.
We believe our commitment to diversity in thoughts, innovations and peopleis a value reflected in the state of Colorado and one that continues to contribute to our success.  Paige Goss, Point Solutions Group founder and CEO

Technology and engineering consulting firm, Point Solutions Group (PSG) announced today that it has been named a top Colorado Company to Watch (CCTW), acknowledging the drive, excellence and influence of PSG as a growing company in the state. Out of nearly a thousand second stage nominated companies, PSG was selected as one of 50 winners for its ability to develop valuable products and services, create quality jobs, enrich communities, and create new industries throughout Colorado.

Founded in 2017, PSG is a certified Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB)/Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) dedicated to providing a comprehensive and diverse information technology, engineering and professional services workforce strategy in government and commercial organizations.

At PSG, our aim is to approach projects from a different lens. Weve built our reputation on being the go-to when everyone else has failed and its gratifying to see that hard work honored by being named a Colorado Company to Watch, says Paige Goss, PSG founder and CEO. We believe our commitment to diversity in thoughts, innovations and peopleis a value reflected in the state of Colorado and one that continues to contribute to our success.

We are pleased to recognize Point Solutions Group as one of Colorados 50 most innovative 2nd stage companies, says Jill Terry, Colorado Companies to Watch Board Chairman. These companies contribute significantly to the growth and economic independence of the state by developing new services and products, creating jobs, enriching communities and generating new industries.

CCTW, sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, works to recognize the driving economic forces in the state by focusing not merely on growth, but on the true impact and influence of an organization. By focusing on second stage companies across the state, the program offers distinct insight into the states economic landscape and recognizes organizations often overlooked for the critical impact they have in their industries, communities and regions, as well as our state as a whole. By being named one of 50 winners chosen by CCTWs volunteer judging panel, PSG is honored for their dedication, care and influence as a growing business.

About Point Solutions Group

Point Solutions Group is an information technology managed resource partner that deploys diverse technology and engineering resources for both commercial and government clients. Based in Denver, CO with offices in Washington, D.C., the WOSB/WBE specializes in solving clients technology and engineering challenges including cybersecurity and infrastructure security, systems integration, cloud migration, penetration testing and network system readiness.

For more information on Point Solutions group, visit https://pointsolutionsus.com/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/point-solutions-group-llc and Twitter @PointSolutionsG

About Colorado Companies to Watch

Colorado Companies to Watch is an awards program honoring 2nd-stage companies headquartered in the state of Colorado. The 600 companies that have been honored since the programs inception demonstrate high performance in the marketplace or exhibit innovative products or processes. The program is designed to seek businesses from a wide range of industries throughout the state, not just the major metropolitan areas. The 50 companies selected each year make an astounding impact on Colorado's economy by collectively providing thousands of jobs and contributing millions of dollars in revenue. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) launched the program in 2009 in conjunction with the Edward Lowe Foundation and valuable community partners from across Colorado.

For more information on Colorado Companies to Watch, visit ColoradoCompaniestoWatch.org, facebook.com/ColoradoCompaniestoWatch and Twitter @ColoradoCTW.
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As pastor of Atlantas historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, Raphael Warnock said he never felt the pressure to fill the shoes of his famous predecessor, Martin Luther King Jr. But he does stand on his shoulders.

Warnock is the fifth and youngest inhabitant of the pulpit of the 134-year-old church, both a National Historic Site and an active Progressive Baptist congregation. Ebenezer Baptist famously was co-pastored by King and his father, Martin Luther King Sr., or Daddy King, from 1960 until the civil rights leaders assassination in 1968.

Though times are different than they were then, there are many of the same challenges, Warnock told Christianity Today in the midst of another wave of activism around policing, voting rights, housing, and health care for black Americans. But we have to rise to [the next] one while finding inspiration in what theyve done.

After 15 years at Ebenezer Baptist, Warnocks present challenge is running for US Senate in Georgia. The issues he hopes to address in office are many of the same ones that troubled an Ebenezer college student named Lonnie King Jr. in 1960. With fellow black student activists, Lonnie King decried racial discrimination in An Appeal for Human Rights, which ran in local papers as well as The New York Times and was a catalyst toward desegregation in Atlanta.

The contemporary civil rights movement is more diffuse and its leadership less religious than in the days of the marches led by ministers and Christian students in the 1960s. But todays black church leaders are still building on the political legacies of their forerunners, and Atlanta showcases many of the historic parallels. ...

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Toddler Found Dead Near Softball Field Unidentified One Year Later: Police

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Delaware authorities are still trying to identify the remains of a toddler who was found dead near a softball field in Smyrna.

Police were first called to the field near the Smyrna Middle School about one year ago on Sept. 13 after a person noticed the remains, according to Delaware Online.

They believe the girl is Caucasian or Hispanic, between the ages of 2 and 5 years old.

The unnamed child had slightly wavy brown hair, and an anthropological exam of her remains suggests that she suffered from chronic illness(es), police have said.

There is some evidence of a fire at or near the crime scene which is why we have involved the State Fire Marshals office in our investigation, Cpl. Brian M. Donner, with the Smryna Police Department, said, reported CrimeOnline.

(National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says the images displayed are facial reconstructions created by NCMEC Forensic Artists that depict what the child may have looked like in life.

Donner, meanwhile, said that the girl isnt missing.

We dont have any internal missing children that would match what we found out there, he said, according to CrimeOnline. Weve reached out to all our partner agencies in state, and also out of state. We kind of have an all-points bulletin out there for the limited amount of information we do have to see if anyone can match that to any active cases they have.

Police are asking the public to look at the photo and report tips. They can Smyrna Police Detective Bill Davis at 302-653-3490, reach out to the department on Facebook or Twitter, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333, or call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.
WASHINGTON - House Democrats unveiled a short-term spending bill on Monday that Senate Republicans immediately said they would oppose, raising the prospect of a government shutdown weeks before the November elections.

The House and Senate must pass identical versions of the bill in order for President Donald Trump to sign it.

Government funding runs out in nine days, at midnight on Sept. 30. Unless the House and Senate pass new spending legislation before then key government agencies including the Pentagon and Health and Human Services department will begin to shut down.

The House Democrats' legislation would keep the government funded through Dec. 11. But it omits $30 billion sought by Trump and Senate Republicans to replenish a bailout program for farmers that Democrats oppose. The Trump administration has already directed tens of billions of dollars in emergency aid to farmers, first because of the impact of the White House's various trade wars and most recently because of coronavirus-related fallout.

There has long been government assistance for agriculture companies, but not on the scale Trump has launched in the past few years.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced his opposition to the House plan in a statement on Twitter.

"House Democrats' rough draft of a government funding bill shamefully leaves out key relief and support that American farmers need. This is no time to add insult to injury and defund help for farmers and rural America," McConnell said.

The House plans to pass the legislation later this week and send it to the Senate. Senate Republicans could block the bill, or seek to amend it and send it back to the House. Either way, the path forward is unclear -- and what both sides expected to be a straightforward extension of government funding could turn into a high-stakes showdown just ahead of the election, and in the midst of a fight over a Supreme Court vacancy.

Democrats called on Republicans Monday to accept the bill.

"The Continuing Resolution introduced today will avert a catastrophic shutdown in the middle of the ongoing pandemic, wildfires and hurricanes, and keep government open until December 11, when we plan to have bipartisan legislation to fund the government for this fiscal year," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement.

Talks between Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin aimed at reaching a compromise over the farm money unexpectedly broke down late Friday.

At one point Friday, Pelosi and Mnuchin had appeared to reach a tentative deal to trade the farm bailout money for food assistance for schoolkids affected by the pandemic. But that agreement never materialized. Republicans accused Pelosi of backing out of a deal with Mnuchin, while Democrats insisted there wasn't really a deal to begin with.

Nonetheless, before McConnell put out his statement Monday, White House officials had suggested they might be able to live with the so-called "continuing resolution," or CR, even without the farm money.

"We do prefer additional farm aid in the CR.... Most of all we want a clean CR to keep the government open," White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters at the White House.

Much of Washington's attention is focused on the coming Supreme Court nomination battle following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and neither party has shown interest in sparring over government funding. Pelosi and Mnuchin agreed some time ago on the need for a stopgap spending bill.

Democrats oppose the farm bailout money because they view it as a political payoff to farmers hurt by Trump's trade policies. The president announced a new round of aid to farmers in a visit last week to battleground Wisconsin, coming from the same fund that would be replenished by the new funding stream the administration was seeking as part of the stopgap spending bill.

The short-term spending bill, as introduced in the House, also does not include any new provisions related to economic aid for the coronavirus. Talks around a new coronavirus relief bill are essentially dead, despite pressure on Pelosi from moderate House Democrats to revive them.

Congress in recent years has frequently failed to pass the 12 annual must-pass spending bills to fund government agencies on time, and has had to resort to short-term spending bills. There have also been a number of government shutdowns, with a lengthy one running from December 2018 until January 2019.

Although a large portion of the federal budget -- including programs like Medicare and Social Security -- runs on autopilot, funding for multiple government agencies and programs must be renewed annually by Congress.
Oman's Ministry of Health has laid the foundation stone for the new Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah which is being set up at an investment of RO129 million ($334 million).

To be built over an area of 94,400 sq m, the main building consists of a ground floor and six floors. The 700-bed project will have speciality wings for both men and women besides 25 labour rooms, two operation theatres and an integrated accident and emergency unit, reported the Oman Observer.

Designed to meet future demands, the hospital contains a pharmacy, medical laboratories, a daycare unit, a room for minor operations, physiotherapy and chemotherapy units, it stated.

The project includes offices for an administration, services building, medical warehouses, auxiliary electric generators, and potable desalination devices, the report added.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Former state legislator Christina Hagan, a conservative Republican from Alliance who is challenging Democratic U.S. Rep Tim Ryan, shares a last name with current state legislator Michele Lepore-Hagan, a Youngstown Democrat, although they dont share many political views.

Their similar last names have become a bone of contention in Christina Hagans congressional race, with Lepore-Hagan, who represents Ohio House District 58, cutting an ad for Ryan that contends the Republican is running a deceptive campaign by not using her husbands Nemeth surname because she wants voters to think shes me, a Hagan from the Valley, even though she doesnt live in our district.

Christina is the wrong Hagan," Lepore-Hagan continues in the ad. "And that makes voting for Tim Ryan the right thing to do.

Hagan, who represented Ohio House District 50 from 2011 through 2018, says she doesnt think voters are confused. She accuses Ryan of pulling political stunts to distract from his failed record" during almost two decades in Congress.

I am running against Tim Ryan, not Michele Lepore-Hagan, says Hagan. Im running my own campaign and people are overwhelmingly supporting me, not because of my name, but because theyve met me, theyve met my team, and they believe in what I stand for.

A Ryan campaign spokesman said the ad is currently being shared organically through social media, and the campaign is "looking into online, cable and network television ad buys for the spot. According to the Medium Buying tracking service, Ryans campaign made $51,000 in media buys between Sept. 14 and 24, while Hagan hasnt yet placed any media buys. A political action committee that supports Hagan, Ohio Freedom Fund, has spent $74,000 on media buys between Sept. 14 and 24, the tracking service said.

Hagan and Lepore-Hagan are both scions of established political Hagan families that dont believe theyre related to one another. One clan is conservative, the other is liberal.

Christina Hagans Republican father, John, held same Ohio House seat as his daughter between 2000 and 2008. He also served as a Marlboro Township trustee and member of the State Board of Education. Her brother, Joshua, is a Marlington Local School Board member.

Lepore-Hagan holds a state legislative seat previously held by her husband, Democrat Bob Hagan, whom the ad shows installing a Tim Ryan for Congress yard sign. Bob Hagan also served in the Ohio Senate and unsuccessfully ran for the congressional seat Christina Hagan is seeking. In those days, the area was represented by Democrat Jim Traficant, who was under criminal investigation. He was subsequently imprisoned for bribery, racketeering and obstructing justice.

Bob Hagan also held the same state school board seat that John Hagan currently holds. Bob Hagan retired from that job to become Director of Political and Legislative Affairs for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union.

He recalls walking out of Mahoning Countys Board of Elections with his wife and encountering a woman who told them she voted for them both, which puzzled them because Bob Hagan wasnt on the ballot. He later realized the woman voted for John Hagan in the school board race, thinking he was Bob.

John Hagan and I served together in the Ohio legislature, Bob Hagan recalls. When I was running for the Senate, I caught John in some burgh in Summit County taking my Hagan pins. I said to him, John if youre that cheap, I can lend you some money. He said, They say Hagan."

Bob Hagan is the son of a former state legislator from Lake County, Robert E. Hagan, who served in the Ohio House of Representatives with his son between 1986 and 1990. Bob has 13 siblings, several of whom are politically active.

His brother, Tim Hagan, is a former Cuyahoga County Commissioner who was the Democratic Partys candidate for Ohio governor in 2002. Tim Hagan also chaired the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, served as an Olmsted Township trustee, and ran for Cleveland mayor and U.S. Congress.

His sister, Susan Hagan, is currently running for Ashtabula County commissioner. Another brother, Chris, ran for Cuyahoga County recorder. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Emily Hagan is the daughter of Tim Hagans twin brother, Jim.

Lepore-Hagan says the entire family prides itself on honesty and integrity and being solid Democrats that work to help people and support working men and women.

As soon as Christina Hagan announced she was running for Congress, Lepore-Hagan says she was flooded with phone calls from people who were confusing the two politicians. When a local newspaper mistakenly ran her photo with a July story on President Donald Trump endorsing Christina Hagan, Lepore-Hagan said she ran to get my dads newspaper out of his driveway before he had a heart attack. She said the paper caught the mistake halfway through its press run, and ran a correction in its next edition.

Lepore-Hagan says shes different in everything politically from Christina Hagan. When they served together on the Ohio House of Representatives Health Committee, Lepore-Hagan says they clashed on a heartbeat bill to restrict abortion, and an anti-vaccination bill, among other issues. Christina Hagan supported Senate Bill 5, a measure to limit collective bargaining for Ohios public employees that voters overwhelmingly rejected in 2011. The liberal Hagans opposed it.

She is pro-life, anti-vaccination, pro-gun, pro-Trump, Lepore-Hagan says of Christina Hagan. I dont think we have ever agreed on any issues apart from a highway naming, or something. I want to make sure we clear up the situation because I think she is running in a district where she is trying to fool people. Her party affiliation isnt on her sign. It just says 'Hagan. She is not using her full name, and she uses her full name on other social media platforms. She is banking on the fact that she will confuse people."

Christina Hagan calls it sad and ironic" that someone like Michele Lepore-Hagan would "try and tear people of the same family down when they want to serve their communities  exactly like she did when she was elected to the seat her husband once held.

I am proud of the name I have had since birth and will not apologize to the radical left that I am working hard and earning the support of those who wish to place my signs in their yards all across the community, said a statement from Hagan.

U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Rocky River, who won his congressional seat after defeating Christina Hagan in a 2018 Republican primary, said he doesnt think anyone could confuse her with the liberal Hagan family. He said she and her father both served in Ohios Statehouse, and shes a well known Republican. Gonzalez has endorsed her run against Ryan.

If you hear Christina speak, theres no mistaking what side of the aisle she is on, said Gonzalez. She is a strong conservative voice. Nobody can dispute that.

Most political observers believe Hagan faces an uphill battle to defeat Ryan in a district that was drawn to favor Democrats. Ryans campaign raised slightly more than $870,000 through the end of June, while Hagan had collected almost $228,000.

Whether the ad could make a difference would depend on whether its a close election, says Youngstown State University political scientist Paul A. Sracic.

In the past, even in 2016 when Trump did well in his district, Ryan was able to win by large margins. Hagan is a name that voters are used to seeing, and supporting, in the Mahoning Valley, said Sracic. Voter confusion is always possible, but Ryan has also been on the ballot for 20 years, so this should mitigate the problem for him.

University of Akron political scientist David B. Cohen said he thinks the ad is effective.

The fact is that the Democratic Hagans are popular in the area and Christina Hagan could benefit from people being confused and not realizing that she is indeed not one of them, said Cohen. Anything the Ryan campaign can do to remind people that Christina Hagan does not live in the 13th Congressional District is smart strategy. Generally, candidates perceived as carpet baggers have a harder time getting elected."

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HARRISBURG, Pa. - Philadelphias top elections official is warning of electoral chaos in the presidential battleground state if lawmakers there do not remove a provision in Pennsylvania law that, under a days-old court decision, requires counties to throw out mail-in ballots returned without secrecy envelopes.

Lisa Deeley, chairwoman of the three-member board overseeing Philadelphias elections, wrote Monday to the state Legislatures presiding Republicans amid a partisan stalemate over fixing glitches in Pennsylvanias fledging mail-in voting law.

In the letter, Deeley urged them to back legislation to remove a provision she calls unnecessary and a threat to invalidate more ballots than the margin that decided the states 2016 presidential election.

When you consider that the 2016 Presidential Election in Pennsylvania was decided by just over 44,000 votes, you can see why I am concerned, Deeley wrote.

Some 30,000 to 40,000 mail-in ballots could arrive without secrecy envelopes in Philadelphia alone in Novembers presidential election, Deeley estimated, and the state Supreme Courts interpretation of current law forces election officials to throw out the so-called naked ballots.

Most of the attention revolved around the courts extension of the deadline for counties to receive mail-in ballots, but it is the naked ballot ruling that is going to cause electoral chaos, she wrote.

Statewide, that could mean throwing out more than 100,000 mail-in ballots in the Nov. 3 presidential election, according to some estimates.

Deeleys letter comes four days after the state Supreme Court rejected the request by the Democratic Party to clarify the law to allow elections officials to count mail-in ballots that arrive without a secrecy envelope.

The ruling was part of a wider decision on contested elements of the states election law, and Republicans on Monday said they will appeal one element of the courts decision  extending the deadline to receive ballots by three days  to the U.S. Supreme Court.

They also signalled that they are comfortable with the current law on secrecy envelopes.

We believe this issue is settled for this election, a spokesman for House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, said in a statement.

The administration of Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, supported the Democratic Partys effort in court. But Republicans, including President Donald Trumps campaign, the state Republican Party and Republican legislative leaders, have argued in court that the law requires mail-in ballots without secrecy envelopes to be invalidated.

One Republican argument was that the secrecy envelope ensures compliance with constitutional guarantees of secrecy in voting.

But Deeley said mail-in ballots are no longer counted at polling places where onlookers might see a voters choices on ballot that lacks a secrecy envelope. Rather, mail-in ballots are now processed centrally, by machines, where secrecy envelopes only slow down counting.

The secrecy envelope exists now only as a means to disenfranchise well intentioned Pennsylvania voters, Deeley wrote.

Fueled by concerns over the pandemic, more than 3 million voters in Pennsylvania are expected to cast ballots by mail in the Nov. 3 election. Thats more than 10 times as many as voted by mail in the 2016 presidential election, when Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton by slightly more than 44,000 votes, or less than 1 percentage point.

Polls show another close race between Democrat Joe Biden and Trump in Pennsylvania.

Ensuring that mail-in votes are counted is of particular concern to Democrats, since their voters are requesting mail-in ballots by a approximately a three-to-one margin over Republicans, according to state figures. Philadelphia, the states largest city, is home to one in five registered Democratic voters.

Pennsylvania is one of 16 states that require secrecy envelopes be provided to voters, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Before the court ruled, Wolfs top elections officials had messaged counties in May to tell them that there is nothing in the law that requires them or authorizes them to discard a ballot that is returned without a secrecy envelope.

That guidance was rescinded following the election.

A secrecy envelope is essentially an unmarked envelope that holds the ballot inside the return envelope and theoretically shields election officials and people authorized to watch vote counting from knowing a voters choices.

___

Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/timelywriter.

___

APs Advance Voting guide brings you the facts about voting early, by mail or absentee from each state: https://interactives.ap.org/advance-voting-2020
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Local Bed Bath and Beyond shoppers can breathe a sigh of relief. No Northeast Ohio stores are among the list of locations slated to close by the end of the year.

Back in July, the company announced a restructuring plan that calls for the shuttering of approximately 200 of the chains 955 stores over the next two years. The first wave of closings, initially reported by USA Today, includes 63 locations by the end of 2020. The list includes four stores in Ohio: Beavercreek, Columbus, Holland and Pickerington.

This is an important step in our multi-year program to create a sustainable, durable business and invest where it matters most to our digital-first customers and our people, a company spokesperson told USA Today.

 Shop Bed Bath Beyond for deals including 20% off

The 63 closings are in addition to the 40 that occurred in the first half of the year, which included stores in Mayfield Heights and North Olmsted. Bed Bath & Beyond expects the moves will save the company between $250 million to $350 million annually after related one-time costs.

The home goods chain has stores in Cleveland at Ridge Park Square, Fairlawn, Mayfield Heights, Medina, Mentor, Solon, Stow, Strongsville, Warrensville Heights and Westlake.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolent Health (NYSE: EVH), a health care company that delivers proven clinical and administrative solutions to payers and providers, today announced it will host its annual Investor and Analyst Day on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, from 10:00 a.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. ET. This year's event will be held virtually.

To register for the event and access the live webcast, visit the investor relations section of the company's website at http://ir.evolenthealth.com/event-calendar. A replay of the event will be archived on the investor relations section of the company's website following the event.

About Evolent Health

Evolent Health (NYSE: EVH) delivers proven clinical and administrative solutions that improve whole-person health while making health care simpler and more affordable. Our solutions encompass total cost of care management, specialty care management, and administrative simplification. Evolent serves a national base of leading payers and providers, is the first company to receive the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Population Health Program Accreditation, and is consistently recognized as a top place to work in health care nationally. Learn more about how Evolent is changing the way health care is delivered by visiting evolenthealth.com.

Contacts:

Bob East or Asher Dewhurst



Investor Relations, Westwicke

443.213.0500

[email protected]

Kim Conquest

Corporate Communications, Evolent Health

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Two young Irish tradesmen have been acquitted of murdering a homeless pensioner after arguing they were attacked by the 66-year-old at the end of a drunken night out in Sydney.

Flatmates Nathan Kelly, 23, and Christopher McLaughlin, 25, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Paul Tavelardis, who died nine days after an altercation with the Irishmen in Grosvenor Crescent, Summer Hill on December 29, 2018.

Both men had argued they never formed intent to kill or cause really serious harm and had responded to an attack by Mr Tavelardis, who lived in his car on the street.

Tradesmen Christopher McLaughlin (left), 25, and Nathan Kelly (right), 23, have been cleared of murdering homeless pensioner Paul Tavelardis

Paul Tavelardis (pictured) died nine days after an altercation with the Irishmen in Grosvenor Crescent, Summer Hill on December 29, 2018

The Crown had argued the younger men had repeatedly hit the pensioner after he fell to the ground - a claim denied by both men.

After deliberating for almost a week, the NSW Supreme Court jury returned not guilty verdicts to both murder and manslaughter on Monday morning.

Justice Geoffrey Bellew thanked jurors for their service, saying 'sitting in judgment of another person is not an easy task as I'm sure each of you appreciate'.

Both accused men, from Donegal in Ireland, had spent more than 20 months on remand and have since had their working holiday visas revoked.

That prompted debate after the verdicts as Justice Bellew questioned whether a Corrective Services officer could continue to hold Mr Kelly and Mr McLaughlin before immigration authorities arrived at court.

'Mr Kelly is prepared to go with him to immigration authorities. He doesn't want to be wandering around the community,' the Irishman's lawyer said.

Nathan Kelly (pictured) and Christopher McLaughlin have been acquitted of murder after a drunken night out

CCTV images of Nathan Kelly, 23, and Christopher McLaughlin, 25, laying on the floor of Summer Hill train station

'He wants to go home, I imagine,' Justice Bellew replied.

Mr McLaughlin also indicated he was prepared to wait in the court for immigration authorities to arrive.

Over the three-week trial, the jury had heard the two men had been drinking heavily throughout the afternoon and evening before the 12.30am incident.

After lying down in Summer Hill railway station as they stumbled around the suburb, they got in a car and loudly drove laps of the suburb.

On their return to Grosvenor Cres where they also lived, the two men said they found Mr Tavelardis trying to break into Mr McLaughlin's ute.

CCTV images of Christopher McLaughlin (blue shirt) leaving the Summer Hill Hotel on December 28, 2018, in the company of neighbour Lucy Lovett and her partner

CCTV images of Nathan Kelly, 23, in Summer Hill train station in the hour before getting into an altercation with Paul Tavelardis

Both men's barristers said, after a short conversation, the older man struck out at Mr Kelly with a metal pipe.

A neighbour recalled hearing a loud scream of 'fear' and peering out his window to see Mr Tavelardis run around his car with a large item in his hand towards the tradesmen.

But the other men began viciously beating him, the neighbour told the jury.

Police arriving on scene a minute later found Mr McLaughlin standing in the middle of the street, with bloodied knuckles, fingers and ankles.

In a later police interview, Mr Kelly lifted his top to show a welt on his back where he said Mr Tavelardis had struck him on the back.

Mr Kelly had been kicked out of the pub before the attack while McLaughlin was described by a witness as 'blind drunk' about 11pm.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: HCL Technologies on Monday said it will acquire Australian IT solutions firm DWS Ltd, a move that will help the Indian company strengthen its position in the Australia and New Zealand market.

In a regulatory filing, HCL Technologies said the total equity value pay-out will be 158.2 million Australian dollars (about Rs 850.33 crore) after considering a total number of shares at 131.83 million on a fully diluted basis.

The shareholders of DWS will also get a dividend of 0.03 Australian dollars per share which was declared by the company in its recent announcement of Annual Corporate Earnings for FY20 (June-end), it added.

"The acquisition of DWS will strongly enhance HCL's contribution to digital initiatives in Australia and New Zealand while strengthening HCL's client portfolio across key industries," HCL said in a statement.

The filing said acquisition will be done by a process of Scheme of Arrangement to be approved by the court(s) in Australia, and the deal will also be subject to the approvals of Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board, Australian Competition Commission and New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office.

Besides, the transaction - being done by HCL Australia Services Pty Ltd (wholly owned step-down subsidiary of HCL Technologies) - will also require an approval of DWS shareholders, it added.

The acquisition is expected to close in December 2020 after regulatory approvals.

DWS has over 700 employees and offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Canberra.

With FY20 revenue at 167.9 million Australian dollars, the company provides a wide range of IT services including digital transformation, application development and support, program and project management and consulting.

"This acquisition represents an outstanding outcome for all DWS stakeholders: shareholders, employees, clients and other business partners," Danny Wallis, CEO and Managing Director of DWS, said.

HCL Technologies currently employs 1,600 people in major cities, including Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.

"We are excited for this expansion of HCL Technologies in Australia and New Zealand and are confident that our combined strengths will further accelerate the digital transformation journeys of our clients and innovations for their end customers," HCL Technologies Executive Vice President and Country Manager, Australia and New Zealand Michael Horton said.

He added that HCL has invested in the region for over 20 years and is committed to enabling digitalisation and growing the local ecosystem.

Shares of HCL Technologies were trading at Rs 843.65, up 4.01 per cent on the BSE.
The newly formed US Space Force has sent troops to the Arabian Peninsula in a first foreign deployment.

A squadron of 20 Space Force troops have been stationed at the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, in what has become the forces first foreign operational base.

Soon several more squadrons will join the unit of "core space operators" who will run satellites, track enemy manoeuvres and try to avert conflicts in space.

An Al-udeid Space Force director, Colonel Todd Benson, said the operation was necessary to prepare for future space conflict.

"We're starting to see other nations that are extremely aggressive in preparing to extend conflict into space," he told the Associated Press. "We have to be able to compete and defend and protect all of our national interests."

"The missions are not new and the people are not necessarily new," added Col. Benson, who declined to name which nations were aggressive in space.

The deployment comes amid concerns that the United States needed to defend its hegemony in space.

"The US military would like to see a peaceful space," Col Benson said. "Other folks' behaviour is kind of driving us to this point."

Iranian efforts to jam, hack and blind satellites have also concerned US military leaders and the Trump administration, who imposed sanctions on Iran for the launch of its first satellite into space this spring.

American military experts have described the launch as a secret military space programme, which Iran denies.

Brian Weeden, who works at the Secure World Foundation promoting peace in outer space, said "There's a concern Iran could interfere with military broadband communications."

"It's not that hard to do, but we've seen Iran and other countries become pretty darn efficient at doing it on a big scale," he said.

The Space Force is expected to eventually include 16,000 troops, thanks to a 2021 budget of $15.4 billion (12 billion), that some lawmakers have labelled as a presidential vanity project.
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Linkedin Nina A. Loasana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 14:35 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4627832 1 National Fachrul-Razi,COVID-19,COVID-19-Jakarta,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,Religious-Affairs-Minister,menteri-agama,coronavirus Free

Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi has tested positive for COVID-19, an expert staff member to the minister announced Monday, adding to the list of public officials that have contracted the coronavirus.

On Sept. 17, the religious affairs minister had taken a PCR test and the result came back positive, Kevin Haikal said in a press statement on Monday.

"Thankfully, he is in good condition and has shown no worrying symptoms."



The ministry's spokesperson, Oman Fathurahman, said Fachrul had delegated his tasks to deputy minister Zainut Tauhid and other officials while he was recovering in isolation.



"The minister ordered [officials] to continue the ministrys programs and services and to focus on COVID-19 prevention in educational and religious institutions," Oman said.



"He also asked officials to disburse [social] aid. All coordination for the ministry's programs will be carried out online," he added.

Read also: Indonesia's latest official COVID-19 figures

Oman further said access to the Religious Affairs Ministry building in Central Jakarta had also been restricted for several weeks. The ministry had also imposed a WFH policy that applied to most of its employees.



"We will optimize our online service system," he said.



There is no plan to shut down the office as of now, he added, however, the ministry planned to implement stricter access and health protocols.



Fachrul also advised the public to remain disciplined in following the health protocols, Oman said.



"Anybody could contract COVID-19, no exception. Let's be empathetic, support one another, and do our best to follow the health protocols," he said.



Meanwhile, Presidential Secretariat head Heru Budi Hartono rectified on Monday his claim that Fachrul had not met with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo for one to two months.



"The religious affairs minister attended a Cabinet Meeting at the Presidential Palace on Sept. 7. I've checked, thanks for the correction," Heru said as quoted from kompas.com.



However, he said, prior to the meeting, all ministers had undergone PCR tests.



"At that time [Fachrul's] test result came back negative," he said.

Read also: Jakarta secretary Saefullah latest high-ranking official to die of COVID-19

Fachrul is the third minister to test positive for COVID-19.



In March, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi was treated at Gatot Subroto Central Regional Hospital in Jakarta for COVID-19.



Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo was also admitted to the ICU at the same hospital after contracting the virus earlier this month, Gerindra Party politician Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said.

Both ministers have made full recoveries.
The police detained nearly 836 Congress activists on Monday for picketing in different parts of Tripura during a dawn-to-dusk strike called by the party.

No violence and injuries were reported during the strike barring one woman police officer who received minor injuries, officials said.

The strike partially paralysed normal life with shops and markets being half closed. But government offices had almost full attendance. Educational institutions are closed since end of March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As many as 836 Congress picketers were detained from different parts of the state under Section 151. So far, there has been no report of violence and no injury has been reported. Only officer in-charge of West Agartala Womens Police Station received minor injuries during detention of the picketers, said an on-duty police officer at Police Headquarters in Agartala.

The party called the strike in support of the twelve point charter of demands that included proper health services at the Govind Ballabh Panth (GBP) hospital, the states lone dedicated Covid-19 hospital in Agartala and other Covid Care Centres, giving Rs 10 lakh to the kin of Covid-19 victims and withdrawal of chief minister Biplab Kumar Debs anti-media remark.

They also protested against alleged attacks on Congress workers by the ruling party cadres. Employment opportunities for youth, security of women, compensation to people who were defrauded by Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), strengthening of indigenous people in the Autonomous District Council areas, stopping harassment of people living along Indo-Bangla border areas etc. were also on their list of demands.

Congress sources said that their activists were attacked in different parts of the state mainly in Kailasahar in Unakoti district, Udaipur in Gomati district and Agartala.

Congress president Pijush Kanti Biswas said, Our party activists were attacked in different parts of the state and mainly in Agartala. But people responded to our strike to make it a success. We will lodge a complaint against these attacks with the police.

Reacting to the comments, BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said, The Congress has no base in the state. And the people didnt support the strike. None of our party activists attacked the Congress workers. Rather, they ransacked one of our party offices in Kailasahar and also vehicles of our activists. They attacked our youth activists in Agartala, where they were distributing fruit juice to people to boost their immunity to combat Covid-19. We are collecting information on the incidents from different parts of the state and will lodge a case with the police.
The size of the previously undisclosed settlement casts doubt on the strength of the companys case had it gone to trial. Mr. Levines contract, which had been amended over the years but was essentially based on agreements struck decades ago, lacked a morals clause.  The New York Times
Central ministries/depts earmark 4.3% to 17.5% funds for tribal development

The government has mandated central ministries/departments to pool resources under Tribal Sub-Plan for implementing development programmes for tribal population.

Accordingly, 40 ministries/departments have been earmarking Tribal Sub-Plan funds in the range of 4.3 per cent to 17.5 per cent of their total scheme allocation every year for tribal development.

Ministry of tribal affairs provides additional funds required for these initiatives by way of plugging gaps. The efforts made through TSP / STC strategy has brought out improvements for tribals in terms of various indices relating to literacy, health, livelihood, etc.

Tribal Sub Plan, now called Scheduled Tribe Component (STC), strategy was adopted in 5th Five Year Plan (1974-75) for accelerated development of tribal people. It envisages channelling the flow of outlays and benefits from all sectors of development to ST population. TSP funds are dedicated source of fund for tribal development.

The schemes/ programmes of the ministry of tribal affairs include:

Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Tribal Sub Scheme (TSS)

Grants-in-aid under Article 275(1) of the Constitution

Pre-Matric Scholarship for needy Scheduled Tribe Students studying in Classes IX & X

Post - Matric Scholarship Scheme (PMS)

National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST Students, which include I) National Fellowship for ST Students and II) Scholarship Scheme (Top Class Education) for ST Students

National Overseas Scholarship Scheme for Higher Studies Abroad

Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produce (MSP for MFP)

Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS)

Grants-in-aid to voluntary organisations working for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes.

Support to Tribal Research Institutes

Scheme for Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)

Tribal Festival, Research, information and Mass Education

Equity Support to National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation(NSTFDC)/ State Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporations(STFDCs)

Institutional Support for Marketing and Development of Tribal Products (TRIFED etc.)

Studies conducted by the Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) have highlighted the challenges faced by tribal people.

?Union minister for tribal affairs Arjun Munda gave this information in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
In recent years, a record number of cases have been filed under blasphemy law introduced during British colonial rule.

Islamabad, Pakistan  Bishop John Joseph, 65, one of Pakistans most prominent human rights activists, had been campaigning for decades to reform the countrys strict blasphemy laws.

On the morning of May 6, 1998, he led a procession to the steps of the court in the central Pakistani town of Sahiwal, where a young man, Ayub Masih, had been convicted and sentenced to death for blasphemy days earlier.

Masih, an illiterate man, had been accused of quoting from Salman Rushdies controversial book The Satanic Verses in an argument with a Muslim man. In a controversial trial, a judge found him guilty of having insulted Islams prophet and sentenced him to the mandatory death penalty.

Joseph led prayers for Masih and walked protesters to the doors of the court. He then pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the head.

The bishops suicide was a striking protest against Pakistans harsh blasphemy laws, initially a holdover from British colonial rule that were strengthened in independent Pakistan due to pressure from the religious right wing.

In recent years, record numbers of cases are being filed under the law, which can carry a death sentence, inside or outside the courtroom. Last month, several cases were filed against members of the countrys Shia Muslim minority, who form roughly 20 percent of the countrys 207 million population.

Currently, there are about 80 convicts on death row or serving life imprisonment terms in Pakistan for committing blasphemy, according to (PDF) the US Commission for International Religious Freedom.





In the last decade, the offences committed by those accused of blasphemy have been as absurd as throwing a business card into the rubbish (the mans name was Muhammad), a rural water dispute, spelling errors, the naming of a child, the design of a place of worship, burning a (non-religious) talisman or sharing a picture on Facebook.

Increasingly, cases are being settled with violence outside the courtroom, with mob and targeted attacks against those accused. In many cases, families and lawyers of the accused, and even judges who have acquitted defendants, have been targeted.

Since 1990, at least 77 people have been killed in connection with such accusations, the latest murder occurring in a courtroom last month.

What makes this issue so emotive in Pakistan?

Religious identity tied to the authority of the state

Theres no simple answer to this question, says Arsalan Khan, an anthropologist who studies Islamic revivalist movements.

In a sense, all religious traditions have deep connections to specific sacred objects and would be hurt by perceived defilement of their religious traditions, but this has certainly taken heightened political significance in Pakistan.

Khan argues that the heightened significance of blasphemy in Pakistan, as opposed to other Muslim countries (including theocracies such as Saudi Arabia and Iran), is linked to the formation of the country in 1947 as a homeland for South Asias Muslims.

Religious identity has been centred as one of the core bases for national belonging in Pakistan, he says. When] the state has defined Islam as the ultimate source of sovereignty, such battles have taken on deeper political significance.

When religious identity and authenticity is tied to the authority of the state, blasphemy becomes a site for political contestation.

What is important in Pakistan is the jostling for position as the true, authentic and passionate representatives of Islam, that has given blasphemy accusations its real force in political life, explains Khan.

Increasingly, this has seen far-right religious parties rise to prominence campaigning explicitly on the basis of protecting the honour and sanctity of Islam and its Prophet Muhammad.

That rise can be traced to the murder of Salman Taseer, then-governor of Pakistans most populous Punjab province, in January 2011. Taseer had been campaigning for months to reform the countrys blasphemy laws as he sought justice for a young Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death for the crime.

Asia Bibi (right), a Pakistani Christian woman, who was acquitted of blasphemy in Pakistan, meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France February 28, 2020 [File: Rafael Yaghobzadeh/Pool/Reuters]

He was killed by his bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri, for his campaign against the controversial law. Qadri was executed five years later for the shocking murder, but he was hailed as a hero, even a saint, by many in Pakistan for his act of killing a perceived blasphemer.

Two months after Taseers murder, a federal minister was shot dead by the Pakistan Taliban for the same reason.

The murders, and subsequent public mobilisation in support of violence in the name of the blasphemy law, gave religious parties that represented the countrys majority Sunni Muslim Barelvi sect, long sidelined from political prominence, an opportunity to regain lost political ground, say analysts.

After Taseers assassination and the lionisation of Mumtaz Qadri, it is clear that Barelvis begin to position themselves as the group that are the true ashiq-e-Rasool [lovers of the Prophet] and assume the position as true representatives of Islam in the public arena through blasphemy, says Khan.

Barelvis form roughly half of Pakistans population, and their beliefs are a synthesis of conservative Islam and South Asian Sufi practices, including the veneration of saints and a particular devotion to the Prophet Muhammad.

The Sunni Tehreek (ST) political party, then the largest Barelvi political party, saw its ranks swell. With hardline Barelvi clerics across the country taking up the issue of blasphemy to whip up public outrage, a new political party, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), was formed in the run-up to the 2018 general election.

The TLP led large anti-government protests over perceived blasphemy in 2017. Though it could not win a seat in the national parliament in the 2018 polls, it did gain the fourth-highest share of the popular vote in that general election.

Electoral success is ultimately a secondary goal for these religious movements, says Khan. The aim of blasphemy politics is ultimately about defining yourself as the authentic representative of Islam in the public sphere [] which in turn forces the Pakistani state, which defines its own sovereignty in relationship to Islam, to yield to this power.

The laws, lawyers and analysts say, are treated by followers of the TLP and others who support them as sacred, having been laid down by God.

But are they?

All religious traditions have deep connections to specific sacred objects and would be hurt by perceived defilement of their religious traditions, but this has certainly taken heightened political significance in Pakistan

A law inherited from British colonial rulers

Pakistan inherited its blasphemy laws from its former British colonial rulers, who in 1860 introduced a set of laws related to religion in order to quell Hindu-Muslim violence in the Indian subcontinent.

The laws were strengthened in 1927 with the addition of a vague clause to criminalise deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious believers, in response to a high-profile case that ultimately ended in the murder of a Hindu man who published a pamphlet deemed blasphemous by some Muslims.

Between 1860 and 1947, when Pakistan gained independence from the British and broke away from India, there were just seven recorded cases of blasphemy, according to a report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).

Use of the law remained rare in the following decades, with just 10 judgments relating to offences against religion reported until 1977, according to a report by the International Commission of Jurists.

In 1974, however, then-Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhuttos government oversaw the introduction of a constitutional amendment that declared members of the Ahmadiyya sect non-Muslim.

Between 1980 and 1986, the military government of General Zia-ul-Haq further strengthened the laws, adding five new clauses, all specific to Islam and criminalising offences such as defiling the Holy Quran, insulting Islams Prophet or using derogatory language against certain religious figures.

During Haqs rule, from 1977-1988, the number of cases skyrocketed, with more than 80 blasphemy cases filed in that period, according to the CRSS.

That trend continued through the 1990s, in particular after a controversial higher Islamic court decision in 1991 that made the imposition of the death penalty mandatory for the crime of insulting Islams prophet.

Between 2011 and 2015, the latest period for which consolidated data is available, there were more than 1,296 blasphemy cases filed in Pakistan.

The laws are now treated as sacred, but experts say there is no clear definition of blasphemy in Islamic jurisprudence, nor is there agreement on the punishment for it.

Pakistans blasphemy laws are some of the strictest in the world, harsher and more specific than comparable laws in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Afghanistan and other countries [File: Arif Ali/AFP]

There are as many definitions and positions on blasphemy as there are Muslim countries and scholars, says Arafat Mazhar, a filmmaker and director of the Engage Pakistan research collective. Many Muslim countries have laws that deal with religious or sacred figures, or religion as a whole, as opposed to the very specific laws enacted in Pakistan.

Pakistans laws are some of the strictest in the world, harsher and more specific than comparable laws in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Afghanistan and other countries.

Mazhar says other countries laws appear to be informed by the variance in Islamic scholars views on the issue.

Scholars consider a range of factors  such as whether the offender is Muslim or non-Muslim, the severity of the insult, whether or not the person is a habitual offender, the mental state of the offender, whether what they said is a part of their faith, intent to insult, whether or not they repent []  to reach an incredibly wide range of conclusions, he told Al Jazeera.

Pakistans strict interpretation of the issue, he says, is based on manufactured interpretations.

The legislative process for [a key clause] which made the death penalty mandatory, are full of misleading and edited references to books of Islamic jurisprudence, he says, citing several examples.

Since 2011, with the rise of a new wave of Barelvi politicians and clerics campaigning on blasphemy, experts say there has also been a change in the motive for blasphemy accusations.

Previously, lawyers told Al Jazeera, most accusations could be traced to pre-existing disputes between the two parties. These were often personal disputes, arguments or ongoing battles over land ownership.

In recent times, however, that has changed.

With the rise of TLP and, in particular, the weaponisation and politicisation of ishq-e-Rasool, there is a greater ideological interest in blasphemy cases regardless of personal altercations, says Mazhar.

The shift in vested interest, argues Mazhar, has now moved from being personal, between the plaintiff and the accused, to being in the interest of political and religious groups.

The personal vested interest in blasphemy cases has shifted to another form of vested interest: one that is much more organised and has to do with political and social power.

In that situation, when such groups repeatedly bring thousands onto the streets over any perceived sign that the laws may be reformed, will it ever be possible for the laws to change?

The assassination of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer in 2011 turned a debate on the blasphemy law into a death sentence, says Cyril Almeida, a senior journalist.





Since then, even the semblance of momentum towards legislative debate has stalled and, more recently, been entirely reversed  far-right religious groups now campaign explicitly on protecting the blasphemy laws from any tampering.

Given a vast structure designed to create public pressure on the issue of blasphemy, lower-court conviction rates for blasphemy cases remain high, even in cases where the evidence is flimsy. For Ayub Masih, over whose case Bishop John Joseph took his own life, the pendulum swung towards justice.

He was acquitted by the countrys Supreme Court in 2002, after six years in prison.

Joseph, who never lived to see that day, wrote a letter to the media on the day of his suicide, the words of which may still echo for those who continue to fight against injustice in the name of blasphemy.

Now we must act strongly and in unity, Christians and Muslims, in order, not only, to get [Masihs] death sentence suspended, but to get [the blasphemy laws] repealed without worrying about the sacrifice we will have to offer.

Dedicated persons do not count the cost.

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim
15:34 | Chanchamayo (Junin region), Sep. 20.





Speaking from Chanchamayo Province, where he paid a working visit , the top official urged authorities to continue running development projects within their jurisdictions and working together at different levels of government and citizenry.





"The support of civil society and the entire community, as well as individual and anonymous contributions, with a clear leadership of the Church, are symbolized here. Together we can do great things, and this is what Chanchamayo has taught all Peruvians. This is a lesson to politicians. We can achieve great things in the country if we work together," he said.





The oxygen plant was made possible through the contribution of civil society, the Apostolic Vicariate, taxpayers, as well as public and private institutions, with an investment cost of S/851,000 (about US$241,281).





Its implementation will allow production of up to 48 oxygen cylinders of 10 cubic meters each per day, thus improving the care of COVID-19 patients who need to get oxygen on a timely basis.





It must be noted that 50 oxygen cylinders and 1,000 COVID-19 treatment kits have been delivered to Junin as part of the actions to counter the pandemic in said region.





The Head of State warned Peruvians not to lower the guard despite the decline in numbers of infected, hospitalized, and dead people in recent weeks.





Remarks were made in Chanchamayo Province as he inaugurated an oxygen plant at Julio Cesar Damarini Caro Hospital in Chanchamayo to strengthen the health response capacity against COVID-19 in Junin region.









(END) FHG/RMB

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra on Sunday said that there is no time to lose in sterile political discussions, so he advocated for the continuation of works in every region of the country in a bid to meet the needs of the population.Published: 9/20/2020
This story was first published by Texas Tribune.

Midlands conservative megadonor Tim Dunn is backing Shelley Luther in her Texas Senate bid with a $1 million loan, a large amount for such a race.

Luther, the Dallas salon owner who was jailed earlier this year over her refusal to close her business due to coronavirus restrictions, is in a six-way special election Sept. 29 to succeed Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper, as he prepares to join Congress. The seat is solidly red.

Luther's campaign confirmed the $1 million loan Friday evening, three days before a campaign finance deadline in the race. The loan was first reported by the news website The Texan.

In a statement explaining his support for Luther, Dunn praised her for standing up to what he described as bipartisan government overreach in the fight against the pandemic. He said he loaned her $1 million because the "Austin Swamp has tilted the playing field to negate Shelleys grassroots advantage," referring to the sped-up timeline that Gov. Greg Abbott ordered to fill Fallon's seat.

Luther's closest Republican competition is state Rep. Drew Springer of Muenster. He responded to the news of the loan by citing several groups that have endorsed him, including the Texas Farm Bureau and National Rifle Association, and saying they "know how bad an [Empower Texans] bought & paid for Senator would be for Texas." Empower Texans is the hard-right group that Dunn has bankrolled over the years.

Early voting for the special election goes through Sept. 25. The upcoming campaign finance deadline covers fundraising through Saturday.

Texas Farm Bureau has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism.
An 81-year-old man, who Palmer Township police charge killed his 66-year-old wife early on July 4, 2019 before fleeing in her car to Colorado, has died, Northampton County Director of Corrections James C. Kostura confirmed Monday morning.

Edgar T. Himel died about 3:30 p.m. Sunday in St. Lukes Hospital in Bethlehem Township after a few days of medical treatment, a county spokeswoman added.

The cause and manner of Himels death were not immediately available, but District Attorney Terry Houck said it is not a criminal matter.

Himel was charged with shooting Penny VanTassel-Himel, who was a longtime board member of Northampton County Meals on Wheels, a member of the advisory board for the Northampton County Division of Children and Youth and such a consistent presence at Greater Shiloh Church that when on July 7, 2019, she didnt pick up those she normally drove to to the church on Eastons South Side, a pastor began a search for her.

She was just a wonderful woman, neighbor Doris Grau said that day, speaking of VanTassel-Himels many good deeds.  She was a saint.

VanTassel-Himel was found dead in the master bedroom of the home she owned in the 100 block of Old Orchard Drive.

A Palmer Township detective testified during Himels preliminary hearing in September 2019 that Himel shot his wife of 10 years during an argument early July 4 in the bedroom, then went into the dining room to get a drink.

When he heard her moaning, he shot her again, the detective said, before stealing her car and driving two-thirds of the way across the country. Himel headed west on Interstate 80 and was arrested on July 13 of that year in a hotel in Sterling, Colorado, authorities said.

When asked by a reporter after his arraignment in July 26, 2019, in Central Booking at Northampton County Prison if he killed his wife, Himel tersely said, I aint talking to you. Addressing another reporter, he said he had nothing to say to the public because they had already made up their minds about the case. But when asked by a third reporter if he apologizes to his wifes family, he softened for a moment, said, Yes, and added, Only them.

Himel was being held in the county prison as his court case winded its way through the system.

Himels case has had a number of pretrial conferences since he was formally arraigned Dec. 5 in Northampton County Court on charges of homicide and theft, records show.

The homicide trial process often can be slow and intricate, but a trial date was set for January during such a conference early in September, county Assistant District Attorney Rebecca J. Kulik confirmed.

Jury trials were shut down during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, but Kulik said this case may have been slowed by another related issue. With the courthouse in Easton closed in the early months of the pandemic, it wasnt possible for witnesses to be brought in for a suppression hearing, she said. That court action didnt happen until July and the prosecution was still awaiting results when Himel died.

Kulik said the prosecutions case was solid because Himel confessed to police in Colorado and in Palmer Township. This was not a death penalty case, she said.

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

Tony Rhodin can be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
Elliott Battzedek blows the shofar at a Tashlich, a casting out of what needs to be left behind for the Rosh Hashanah holiday, in front of the Philadelphia School District Headquarters on September 20, 2020. While Tashlich is normally done by a body of water, Rabbi Linda Holtzman (right) chose to lead this ceremony in front of the school district headquarters to make a statement about racism-based inequities in funding for public schools. (RACHEL WISNIEWSKI / For the Inquirer) Read more

There is no lake, sea, or stream outside the headquarters of the School District of Philadelphia.

That wasnt going to stop the performance of a Jewish purification ritual that usually calls for handfuls of breadcrumbs, representing sins or failings, to be cast into a body of water that carries them away.

A trio of rabbis led a Tashlich ceremony Sunday in front of the School District offices, marking the Jewish new year by calling out a litany of ways state and local government have failed city schoolchildren.

Traditionally, Tashlich is a personal ritual, said Rabbi Linda Holtzman of the Tikkun Olam Chavurah community as late afternoon shadows began to fall over North Broad Street. "You go to a body of water and symbolically cast out the ways you missed the mark during the past year.

Anything you want to get rid of, you feel bad about, you toss into the water. In that way, its a symbolic way of starting the year without sins weighing you down.

Holtzmans group considers the under-funding of the Philadelphia schools a sin. The way we fund our schools is racism at work, she said before leading the gathering of about a dozen adults and children in prayer, punctuated by blasts sounded from a shofar.

There were no breadcrumbs; fistfuls of birdseed would serve. Without water, Holtzman had hoped pigeons might sweep in to eat the seed, to metaphorically remove the stain of racism and social injustice.

Al chet shechatanu lifatecha, she intoned in Hebrew into a bullhorn. For the wrong we have done before you...,

Holtzman then asked forgiveness for the ways society has failed Philadelphia children; for letting school funding depend on property taxes, so that those with more get more and those with less will always get less, for one.

Then Holtzman and the group scattered the seed on the steps.

Al chet shechatanu lifatecha, she repeated. For allowing the whitest school districts to receive $2,200 more per student than the states own funding formula says they deserve  which means the districts serving the highest proportion of Black and brown students receive $2,200 less per student than the formula says they deserve.

Rabbi Elliott batTzedek, her hair streaked blue and purple, removed the mask from her face. Then batTzedek raised the shofar and sounded a rhythmic blast of mournful tones from the horn.

For all these, source of forgiveness, forgive us, pardon us, receive our atonement, Holtzman said.

Then she directed her attention to the shortcomings of the School District during the COVID-19 pandemic: a lack of enough computers and internet access for students; a back-to-school plan that distributed only one mask to each teacher; city policies that exempt wealthy institutions from property taxes robbing our schools of desperately needed funds. After each point, Holtzman scattered more sunflower seeds and millet.

BatTzedek blew the rams horn again, the blasts cutting through the roar of passing dirt bikes and motorcycles.

There were two more speakers. Barbara Dowdall, a retired Philadelphia schoolteacher, called for safe buildings, adequate numbers of nurses and counselors, funded arts programs, and fair funding. Rabbi Alissa Wise, a parent of children in the schools, asked those with control of the purse strings to invest where its needed most.

The schools mirror our society and we should hold them, and ourselves, to a higher standard, Wise said. She lambasted private fundraisers for public schools in wealthy neighborhoods as unethical.

After a little less than an hour, the small gathering dispersed.

The pigeons never arrived.
"The Blue Defensive Line," the first documentary film about Chinese armed forces on an overseas peacekeeping mission, has been released to mark the 30th anniversary of China's participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

Directed by Shang Changyi, Zhou Dexin and Liu Xin, it is the first film of its kind to record the soldiers' lives, struggles and sacrifices.

The film has hit the big screen across China since Sept. 18, the day when China's State Council Information Office released a white paper on participation in U.N. peacekeeping operations. The white paper is titled "China's Armed Forces: 30 Years of U.N. Peacekeeping Operations."

The documentary film features a Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion protecting local refugee camps in war-torn South Sudan.

It was shot over five years across China and Africa and presents a true, vivid account of the efforts made by Chinese "blue helmets" to safeguard world peace and development, depicting how they complete their missions and protect and interact with African locals.

When director Liu Xin received 350 hours of unreleased raw film materials shot and recorded by China's frontline military cameramen and soldiers, she recognized that they were extraordinary and significant. The unique and rare angle of these visual materials had never been seen before and touched her heart.

The filmmakers edited the footage and combined them with materials from news media. They then conducted interviews with several peacekeeping soldiers to narrate the true stories of the peacekeepers.

The work became emotionally painful when they found recordings of an armed conflict between government and opposition forces with heavy weapons, including tanks, large-caliber artillery and armed helicopters, in Juba in July 2016. The Chinese infantrymen risked their lives to build a defense line, preventing the militants from approaching the POC camp and ensuring the safety of over 9,000 civilians.

Corporal Li Lei and Sergeant Yang Shupeng sacrificed their lives in the action when a mortar shell hit their armored vehicle. They were posthumously conferred First Class Merit by the Chinese military and the Dag Hammarskjold Medal by the U.N. The scenes of their deaths and how U.N. representatives, the Chinese government and people, and their fellow soldiers saluted and bid farewell to the two heroes have moved many audiences to tears.

"The peacekeeping missions show China is a responsible country in the world," said Lu Chengjun, a former officer of China's second batch of peacekeeping infantry battalion to South Sudan, at the premiere of the film held in Beijing.

He added that choosing to go to such a dangerous country in peacetime to accept the "test of life and death" in a "baptism of blood and fire" shows the spirit of Chinese soldiers. "It demonstrates that the young officers and soldiers born in the 1980s and 1990s are reliable. When the country needs them, they are not afraid of sacrifice," he said.

2020 marks the 30th anniversary of China's participation in U.N. peacekeeping operations. Over the three decades, the country's armed forces have sent over 40,000 service members to 25 U.N. peacekeeping missions. Sixteen Chinese military peacekeepers have sacrificed their lives for the noble cause of peace. On Oct. 1, 2019, Chinese military peacekeepers were reviewed for the first time by the country and the people in the parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

China is the second-largest contributor to both peacekeeping assessment and U.N. membership fees and the largest troop-contributing country among the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
New Delhi: Budget carrier SpiceJet has announced the launch of daily flight services connecting Darbhanga with Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Darbhanga, was bagged by SpiceJet under UDAN II and marks the airlines 13th destination under the Aviation Ministry's Regional Connectivity Scheme and 55th destination on the airlines domestic network.

SpiceJet will operate daily direct flights on the Delhi-Darbhanga, Bengaluru-Darbhanga and Mumbai-Darbhanga sectors starting November 8, 2020. SpiceJet will be the first and only airline to operate flight services on these sectors and the airline will deploy its Boeing 737-800 on all these routes. The airline is offering all-inclusive introductory one-way promotional fare starting at Rs 3,799 on all the routes.

Live TV

Darbhanga is the fifth largest city of Bihar and is also known as Heart of the Mithilanchal. The airport serves various districts of Mithila Region including Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Samastipur, Sitamarhi, Champaran, Saharsa, Purnea and Mithila region of Nepal including Janakpur, Biratnagar, Saptari, Mahottari etc.

It may be recalled that the Ministry of Civil Aviation had launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) in October 10 2016 to stimulate regional air connectivity and making air travel affordable to the masses.

Since then three round of biddings have been completed. The first RCS-UDAN flight was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 27 2017 in Shimla.
CALGARY, AB, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge or the Company) (TSX: ENB) announced that Al Monaco, President and Chief Executive Officer of Enbridge, will participate in a fireside chat later this morning hosted by J.P. Morgan's Jeremy Tonet focused on the Company's industry leading environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices and continued focus on growing its renewable power business through European offshore wind development.

An updated ESG investor presentation outlining the Company's approach and performance on the key areas of environmental, social and governance has been posted to Enbridge's website at 'Events and Presentations'.

For members of the public and media unable to attend the event, a video replay of the fireside chat will be posted to the Company's website at the following link ('Events and Presentations') within 48 hours.

About Enbridge Inc.

Enbridge Inc. is a leading North American energy infrastructure company. We safely and reliably deliver the energy people need and want to fuel quality of life. Our core businesses include Liquids Pipelines, which transports approximately 25 percent of the crude oil produced in North America; Gas Transmission and Midstream, which transports approximately 20 percent of the natural gas consumed in the U.S.; Gas Distribution and Storage, which serves approximately 3.8 million retail customers in Ontario and Quebec; and Renewable Power Generation, which generates approximately 1,750 MW of net renewable power in North America and Europe. The Company's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ENB. For more information, visit www.enbridge.com.

SOURCE Enbridge Inc.

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Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The following is a statement from the Los Angeles Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, which has been established to mobilize opposition to the unsafe conditions in the district, which has 734,000 students and nearly 60,000 teachers and support staff.

California confronts a social, economic and political catastrophe. The Golden State leads the country with the highest number of COVID-19 cases at more than 785,000, with more than 15,000 deaths. In Los Angeles alone, more than 260,000 cases have been reported, with more than 6,300 deaths. All of this has been compounded by unprecedented and increasingly devastating wildfires throughout the West Coast, which have already killed at least 37 people and destroyed thousands of homes across the region.

With an estimated GDP of $3.1 trillion, California has the fifth largest economy in the world and is home to more than 150 billionaires. At the same time, California has the highest poverty rate in the country.

Before the pandemic, one in three students in the state faced food and housing insecurity, according to the California Students Aid Commission, a figure which is undoubtedly far higher today due to the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic.

Striking LA teachers in January 2019

Despite this catastrophic situation, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom is allowing local health officials to reopen school districts in counties with case rates below 200 per 100,000. This policy is fully in line with the murderous drive to reopen schools and universities spearheaded by the Trump administration, which has already produced tens of thousands of new coronavirus cases in states across the US.

The threshold used by Newsom20 times what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as a low incidencehas been chosen not out of consideration for the safety of students and educators, but in order to provide a justification for reopening. Some 500 schools across the state have already received waivers to reopen. The central concern of Newsom and the entire political establishment is to force children back into schools in order to force their parents back to work to produce profits for the financial oligarchy.

This week, Los Angeles County schools began reopening for small groups of students who require special education and English Learners (EL) assessments and instruction. Under the orders of Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti, county public health officials are allowing schools to bring back 10 percent of the total campus enrollment at a time. Over 50 schools have already requested an exemption, including 38 campuses in the Alhambra USD, Centinela Valley Union High, El Monte City, Lennox, Paramount USD, and San Gabriel USD.

The drive to reopen schools in Los Angeleswith 734,000 students and nearly 60,000 teachers and support staffposes serious issues of life and death. In light of this, teachers and education workers have formed the Los Angeles Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, which advances the following demands to unite the enormous opposition to the profit-driven school reopening:

1. No to in-person and hybrid learning across all K-12 schools, colleges and universities! Any and all decisions on the viability of in-person instruction must be determined democratically by rank-and-file educators, parents and workers, based on the scientifically grounded guidance of trusted health authorities. The hybrid model seeks to establish an acceptable level of risk. In reality, it exposes students and teachers to the virus on a part-time basis and is therefore not acceptable.

2. All teachers and students must be provided with the means and technology necessary to carry out fully remote instruction, including high-quality computer hardware and software, webcams, microphones and utilities as well as rent and mortgage protection! An estimated 20 percent of California students, numbering about 1.2 million, do not have internet access in their homes. This is a basic necessity in the 21st century. High-speed internet access must be provided to all families free of charge.

3. Educators who choose to teach from home must be guaranteed full income, unlimited sick leave, full medical coverage, and must be allowed to return to their jobs once safe conditions have been reestablished. Teachers should not have to choose between their health and their jobs. Those who have been forced to resign or retire, such as those with high seniority or who may be immuno-compromised, must be given the option of returning to their positions if they desire.

4. We demand full income protection, an indefinite rent and mortgage moratorium, and medical care for all parents who need to remain at home to facilitate their childrens education and for all those who have been cast into the ranks of the unemployed. The vast wealth of the financial oligarchy must be heavily taxed to pay for the health and safety of all workers and the education of the younger generation.

5. Wherever schools have been reopened, we demand the provision of rapid-response, on-site daily testing for all students, staff, and faculty. Every site must be fully staffed with registered nurses working with administrators to ensure safety protocols are followed and enforced. Contact tracers must be stationed at every school in every district to provide the public with up-to-date information about the locality and severity of the virus.

6. Schools cannot be reopened until they ha ve undergone air purification and ventilation retrofitting and are sanitized daily with the most advanced cleaning technology. Decades of defunding public education have resulted in the layoff of thousands of custodial staff and decaying infrastructure. Before the pandemic, Los Angeles schools were already severely understaffed with custodians and maintenance workers, restrooms ran out of soap and paper towels, and classrooms were habitually unsanitary. In Long Beach Unified, a rat and insect infestation caused teachers and students to contract scabies.

7. We demand daily reporting to the community on COVID-19 testing results and the full disclosure of where positive cases happen. We uphold the right to free speech and the protection of whistleblowers, including teachers, students and staff. California, like the majority of states, is not releasing data on school outbreaks. No one can return to a school building without a negative test.

8. Halt all nonessential production! Until the pandemic is contained, only key industries such as food production, medical care and logistics should remain open. Workers in those industries must be provided with the most advanced safety measures to prevent infection and their own safety committees to enforce safe conditions. All nonessential workers and laid-off workers must be provided with full salary and access to free health care, including regular COVID-19 testing.

9. We demand the immediate freezing of college tuition and abolition of student loan debt, as well as the provision of free housing and meals to all students, including international students and others in need who wish to remain as residents of their post-secondary institutions during the period of remote instruction. Universities are opening up across the nation with massive spikes, forcing thousands of students to isolate in dormitories in prison-like conditions. This must be stopped.

10. We demand full protection for undocumented immigrant students, workers and their children, including full income support while they are unable to work in unsafe workplaces. We demand a halt to all imprisonment and deportation by the federal authorities and the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its brutal and criminal operations.

11. We demand that all decisions regarding the viability of reopening schools for in-person learning be determined democratically by rank-and-file committees of educators, school workers, parents and students, based on an independent assessment of trusted scientists and health experts. We will not accept these deadly working conditions. Our demands are based on science, and they are not negotiable.

Each of these demands must be fully paid for by the corporate and financial oligarchy that controls the entire political system in California, among the most unequal states in the US. During the first three months of the pandemic, the states 154 billionaires collectively, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, amassed $174.4 billion, almost as much as the entire $202.1 billion state budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year. At the other pole of society, there were at least 150,000 homeless people, and 4.7 million adults and 2.0 million children in the state lived in low-income households affected by food insecurity in 2019.

The interests of teachers are the same as those of students and parents. Education, from preschool to university levels, involves teachers, substitute teachers, specialists, nurses, office staff, counselors, administrators, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, electricians, construction workers, psychologists, special education teachers, music and art teachers and volunteers working together with parents and students.

The Democratic Partys best allies, the unions, have done everything in their power to facilitate the process of school reopening, as part of a strategy to return parents to work. While the authorities decided to delay full in-person instructionfearing this would provoke a revolt by educatorsthe California Teachers Association (CTA) and United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) are now working with state and local authorities to find a mechanism to open LA schools as early as possible.

In reopening schools for small groups of students, district officials are setting a precedent and using special education and ELL instructors and students as a wedge to fully reopen the schools. The UTLA has only expressed concerns about these reopening policies while doing everything it can to prevent a strike by its 35,000 members.

In the LA metropolitan area, Los Alamitos Unified is the first public school district in Orange County to reopen for in-person instruction due to a state waiver. A growing number of districts across the region will soon announce similar plans.

Our committee bases itself on science, and we warn that the current reopening plans are extremely dangerous and will lead to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus through the population. We call on all students, educators, and workers to join the Los Angeles Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee and the fight to prepare for a general strike of the entire working class to halt the reopening of schools, stop the spread of the pandemic and save lives.
On July 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited US companies to invest in Indian agriculture (and healthcare) under the Indian flagship programme 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India), while addressing the USIBC India Ideas Summit. He listed the areas of opportunities-agriculture inputs and machinery, agriculture supply chain, food processing sector, fisheries and organic produce.

He also talked about India's recent reforms, apparently referring to three ordinances the Centre had issued on June 5, 2020, amidst the lockdown, without consulting the state governments or farmers and without a plan in place - the trademark style of governance the Centre has adopted in past six years.

The three agriculture-related legislations are The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.

The first two were passed by Rajya Sabha via voice vote on Sunday while Lok Sabha had passed all three earlier.

Also Read: Farm bills undermine 3 pillars of food security system -- MSP, public procurement, PDS: Chidambaram

Ironies of agriculture reforms

The ironies in the Centre's moves are too many and too obvious to miss.

The first is the Prime Minister's appeal to American companies to make India "Atma Nirbhar" or self-reliant in agriculture.

The second is the Centre's promise of "empowerment", "protection" and "promotion" of farmers (these words have been used in the ordinances), but farmers of at least three states, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, have hit the streets to protest, saying these bills are designed to harm their interest and promote that of private businesses.

This is not the end of ironies.

'Freedom of choice' and 'empowerment' of private businesses, not farmers

The most contentious move is The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, introduced on September 14 to replace the corresponding ordinance. Its stated objective is to provide "freedom of choice" to farmers to sale "outside the physical premises of markets or deemed markets" so as to facilitate "remunerative prices" through "competitive alternative trading channels".

For this, Clause 6 of the bill says: "No market fee or cess or levy, by whatever name called, under any state APMC Act or any other State law, shall be levied on any farmers or trader or electronic trading and transaction platform for trade and commerce in scheduled farmers' produce in a trade area."

The implications of this clause are clear: (i) create aparallel private marketto about 2,500 state government-run APMC mandis operating in India since "scheduled farmers' produce" refers to farm produce traded in APMC mandis (one nation two markets, instead of "one nation one market" credo of the Centre) and (ii) usurp states' power (agriculture is a state subject) to deliver another blow to "cooperative federalism" soon after the GST fiasco (unresolved yet).

Here is yet another irony.

The Shanta Kumar committee set up by the current dispensation said "only 6 per cent of total farmers in the country have gained from selling wheat and paddydirectly to any procurement agency". That is, through state government-run APMC mandis, only 6% of Indian farmers sold their produce to government procurement agencies.

This report came in January 2015, but this is the latest official update on the subject and its source is the NSSO's 70thround of survey capturing 2012-13 data.

What it means is that 94% of farmers are already enjoying "freedom of choice" and trading with private companies and traders through APMC mandis or outside. If the rest 6% farmers so desire they can join the majority. Nothing stops them.

Also Read: Rebooting Economy XXVIII: Is India poised for agriculture-led economic turnaround?

Why is the move then?

The answer is in Clause 6 quoted above: no market fee, cess or levy would be charged in the parallel private market, operating outside the regulated state-government-run APMC mandis.

This fee is charged to private companies and traders who buy agriculture produce at APMC mandis, not farmers. Removing it will directly benefit them. On the other hand, funds collected through this fee are used for maintaining and improving APMC facilities and helping farmers when needed. Thus, removing the fee will harm farmers.

There is another critical issue.

Who will set up the parallel private market? The bill is silent on this.

State governments wouldn't do (they run APMC mandis) and the Centre can't as it is a gigantic task and may take another 70 plus years. Apparently, it will be left to private companies and traders. Will farmers get a fair price for their produce in unregulated private mandis? Who and what will empower them?

The APMC system has many flaws, like commission agents or arhatiyas in Punjab and Haryana mandis who take a cut from farmers' earnings and exploit them in various ways (they also help with loans, seeds and other supports and guarantee buying their crops), which need to be eliminated but the bill does not do so.

Here is one more irony.

Instead of removing these commission agents, the bill defines 'trader' in such a way (a person who buys farmers' produce for self or on behalf of others for further trade and use) that it legitimises them and paves their entry into rest of the country's agriculture markets.

Another major shortcoming of the APMC system has been its failure to ensure fair and remunerative prices to farmers outside the procurement operations. Procurement is limited mainly to wheat and paddy (small amounts of soya bean, cotton etc. are also procured by some agencies at times) while the minimum support price (MSP) is announced for 23 crops every year.

Other farmers who sell their produce in APMC mandis outside the procurement operations don't get MSP prices because mandi prices are often lower. These are not addressed in the new reform measures either.

Also Read: Rebooting Economy XXVII: Fiscal mismanagement threatens India's economic recovery

Farmers' income won't double through unregulated mandis

The very purpose of government-mandated MSP and procurement operations is to ensure farmers get a fair and remunerative price for their produce. Had open markets been fair to farmers, there would have been no need for this. Farmers wouldn't be hitting the streets almost every year to demand higher MSP to cover rising cost of production (input costs have risen sharply in recent decades).

The parallel private markets will have nothing to do with MSP operations. The MSP is not even mentioned in the bill or any other ordinance.

The other ordinance relates to contract farming - The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 - and says farmers will negotiate "mutually agreed remunerative price" or the "guaranteed price".

For "any additional amount over and above the guaranteed price", it says, a reference can be made to "prevailing prices in specified APMC yard or electronic trading and transaction platform". This "prevailing price" is, more often than not, below the MSP prices.

Former agriculture secretary Siraj Hussain writes that even in contract farming farmers get substantially lower than market prices. Giving the example of poultry in India, where contract farming is a success (66% of production in contract farming) he writes that a study found non-contract farmers' net return was Rs 17.05 per bird (broiler) against a mere Rs 11.06 for contract farmers.

Though contract farmers are shielded from risks of diseases (care is provided by aggregators) and market fluctuations (prices are pre-fixed), he warns that "even in the US, contract farming of poultry has benefited producers more than the poultry farmers".

For crops for which MSP is announced, Hussain points out that organised players are "generally reluctant to sign agreements as they are not sure if the states will hold them accountable if the agreed price is below MSP".

So, the chances of farmers getting MSP or fair price in the parallel private market are very slim.

Here is a 2018 example of the extraordinary power of private companies and traders operating within state government-run APMC mandis.

Also Read: Rebooting Economy XXVI: Derailment of economy is not 'Act of God', it is 'Art of Misdirection'

After the Centre raised minimum support price (MSP) that year following two years of farmers' agitations all over the country, the market prices for both rabi and kharif crops crashed. In October that year, prices of all kharif crops crashed across more than 1,700 APMC mandis simultaneously.

It would be naive to expect non-regulated parallel private market to give a fair price to farmers or help in doubling their income, as the Centre has been promising for years.

Usurping states' power and disabling states' oversight harmful for farmers

The new reforms usurp state governments' power to regulate agriculture produce markets.

In addition to Clause 6, Clause 3 of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 removes states' role in inter-state and intra-state trade; Clause 12 empowers the Centre to issue any instruction to state government and its authorities regarding parallel private markets and Clause 14 overrides all state laws related to agriculture marketing.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 allows farmers to have written agreements with private players for which the Centre will issue guidelines.

Clause 7(1) of this ordinance takes away state government's power saying that such a contract will be "exempt from the application of any State Act, by whatever name called". Clause 7(2) says restrictions on stock piling/hoarding under the Essential Commodities Act of 1955 will not apply to such contracts, thereby, disempowering states in case of hoarding and profiteering by private players.

Since the third ordinance, Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, mandates that stock limits (hoarding) will be regulated "only under extraordinary circumstances which may include war, famine, extraordinary price rise and natural calamity of grave nature", insertion of Clause 7(2) is redundant, but its presence shows there could be more to what meets the eye.

Further, the role of state and judiciary in dispute resolution has been diluted.

The contract farming ordinance bars jurisdiction of civil courts (Clause 19) to disputes. It provides for private resolution mechanism which can be scaled up to a sub-divisional magistrate and collector but the latters' resolution can't be challenged in civil courts.

Absence of penalty for violations of contract further weakens the farmers' interest in case a private player refuses to honour its commitment.

All this leaves farmers even more vulnerable to exploitation.

Such unthinking and unilateral measures by the Centre have created a panic among farmers that it may eventually dismantle MSP and procurement operations. Consumers also stare at the potential hoarding and profiteering as restrictions on stock piling have been eased.

Also Read: Rebooting Economy XXV: How a series of economic misadventures derailed India's growth story

Even US doesn't leave farmers at the mercy of market forces

Here is some food for thought.

Dr. Sachin Kumar Sharma, Associate Professor of the Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), says: "The US, although a firm believer of free market, does not leave its farmers at the mercy of market forces. Rather, it provides huge support to farmers in the form of price support, direct payments and insurance subsidy programmes, among others. For instance, the level of per farmer support in the US is more than 200 times of what the Indian farmers receive."

Dr. Sharma is the principal author of a study, "Revisiting Domestic Support to Agriculture at the WTO: Ensuring a Level Playing Field", published by the IIFT in June 2020.

This study gives a comparative picture of subsidies given to farmers by the US, India and other countries (subsidy "per farmer"). The US spends $61,286 (or Rs 45 lakh at exchange rate of Rs 73) on each farmer a year, while India spends a paltry $282 (Rs 20,727) a year.

There is another table in this study, which shows the average landholdings of farmers in the US, India and other countries.

The average farm holding of the US farmers is 180 ha and that of Indian farmer 1.08 ha.

Even with such high government spending and high average landholding, the US farmers are distressed: their income is falling, indebtedness and bankruptcy rising and they are seeking more fiscal support due to the pandemic-induced economic disruptions.

Here is how their income level has moved, taken from a February 2020 (pre-pandemic) paper, "A Tale of Two Farm Incomes", published by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) using the US government data.

Does it make any sense for the Indian government then to take away state governments' control over marketing of farm produce, expose farmers to unregulated private markets, create panic over the future of MSP and procurement operations and also expose consumers to the risk of black marketing and profiteering by private businesses?

Also Read: Rebooting Economy XXIII: What stops India from taking care of its crisis-hit workers?
The continuation of protectionism by America, the largest economy body in the world, will only result in further contraction of the world economy and aggravation of unemployment, poverty and deprivation, said Luxman Siriwardena, president of the Sri Lanka-based Pathfinder Foundation.

In a recent interview with Peoples Daily Online, Siriwardena said that the unilateralism and protectionism currently being championed by the American administration goes against the values the West has promoted since the end of World War II.

When I was undertaking graduate studies at an American university in the 1980s, it would have been totally unacceptable for any of the economic professors to believe that the protectionism in trade and investment would enhance the welfare of the international community, he recalled, sharing that since the establishment of formal China-Sri Lankan diplomatic relations, China has been the most reliable, all-weather friend of Sri Lanka.

In recent years, Sri Lanka has taken an active role in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which, he stressed, is the most logical development strategy for Sri Lanka.

The successful completion of the three major development projects in Sri Lanka under the BRI, namely Colombo Port City Project, Hambantota International Port and proposed Hambantota Industrial Zone, will have a transformative impact on the Sri Lankan economy.

In the post-pandemic era, the BRI is a functional machinery which can substantially contribute to the recovery of the global economy, he noted, voicing hope that the initiative will have more inclusive and comprehensive programs encompassing a larger amount of countries.

While this is a decisive year for China to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and to end extreme poverty, according to Siriwardena, Chinas development has been unprecedented in the history of the entire world.

The process has been inclusive in the sense that China has uplifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty while achieving advancement in science, technology and culture, he said, adding that China has addressed the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the recent past, citing the pollution management in the city of Beijing as an example.

Looking ahead, Siriwardena said the two countries will enhance their cooperation in various fields, such as COVID-19 pandemic control and prevention, investment in manufacturing, logistics and services, infrastructure as well as economic digitalization, and people-to-people exchanges.

Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, Siriwardena pointed out that both China and Sri Lanka have managed to control the virus with relatively minimal loss of life, and praised Chinas commitment to distribute the vaccine to the rest of the world, which will contribute to the vision of building a community of health for all in the near future.
Jonathon Margetts, Ger OMaille and Eddie Cats back in Freeney's on High Street, Gaway after the pubs reopen after six months closure due to Covid-19 restrictions. (Photo:Andrew Downes, Xposure)

High Street in Galway city was the scene of joyous reunions and high spirits today.

Old friends separated by lockdown finally came together, as two of Galways best-loved traditional pubs reopened.

Eddie Cats, Jonathan Margetts and Ger OMaille were supposed to be in the south of France this week. But after months of separation from each other - and their favourite pub - each says not even the Cote dAzur could compete with a pint of plain in Freeneys.

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The three men are part of a group of friends who have been drinking together in Freeneys since the 1970s. They have built an enduring friendship that has bound them together through the decades.

They recalled old Mrs Freeney who wouldnt stand any messing.

It was all very well behaved when Mrs Freeney was serving you, said Jonathan Margetts, owner of nearby Dillons Jewellers.

Youd be careful, or youd be put out, added Eddie Cats.

And whats more you wouldnt be let back in again, said Jonathan.

The men are part of a self-titled group called The School of Cosmic Physics.

Ger OMaille, owner of neighbouring shop OMailles, said the group get together to solve the burning questions of the day.

Its a real pub in that it doesnt serve food and its family-run and so friendly, he said.

He admits he is glad Freeneys didnt decide to serve food to reopen.

Ive nothing against food pubs, but its nice just to have a normal pub. I wouldnt change a single thing about this place.

We usually only meet here in the evenings after work, but we decided to come in early today for the day thats in it - and a great day it is.

Eddie Cats has been coming to Freeneys since 1976 and feels like he is part of the furniture.

It was important for me to come and support them today. Its the best pub in Galway, and we have a great history here.

Its great to be back in business again and its great to see our customers again, and they are all healthy, well, and happy to be here again.

It was a long time to be closed and not have the sound of a till ringing in your head.

Michael Hannon is an exceptionally loyal customer of Freeneys. In fact, he has been enjoying a pint in the High Street pub for 54 years and was one of the first customers through the doors today as they reopened after lockdown.

Michael (80) who plays Labhras Mac Raghnaill, on the soap opera Ros na Run, said he was eager to get back in and see his friends.

It was important to me to come here today and support them on their first day reopened. Also, I am working tomorrow on Ros na Run so I wouldnt have gotten a chance until later in the week.

Even though I live in Taylors Hill, quite a distance away, this was always my local and its a lovely place to come into.

I voluntarily locked down in February, so it was a long time. Its great to be back.

Michael first moved to Galway from Mount Merrion in Dublin in 1966 and Freeneys was the first pub he visited.

So, when I do the maths, that is 54 years I am coming here, which is amazing when you think about it.

What happened was, I was working in the theatre across the road-An Taibhearc.

The pub then was ticking over and the old lady who owned it, a wonderful lady Julia Feeney, invited us to bring the actors into her here and said she would look after us.

It took off so well she decided not to sell, and it really blossomed into the vibrant local pub you see today. It is definitely one of my favourite pubs.

We have what we call here in Freeneys The School of Cosmic Physics because all the older gents who come here sit in the corner of this bar and solve the cosmos.

Across the road in Murphys, Diarmuid Holihan, says he was nervous opening the doors.

Six months closed was a long time, so I was nervous, but it was great when I saw nearly all our regulars coming through the doors.

Its great to get a bit of routine, and we are getting used to the screens and the social distancing. Its working well so far, he said.

Joe Shoer, from the Claddagh, has been a customer of Murphys for more years than I can remember.

Oh, I missed it terribly. I missed this place like something else, and its great to have it open again and see all the faces.

Looking around the bar, Joe says with a smile, these people are best friends.

No matter what is going on in our lives, we all stick together.

We are together for a long time, and we have been in a lot of countries together. Nobody has a birthday, a wedding, a funeral without each other.

This is a real old pub, and the saddest part of the whole Covid is the landlord here passed away a few months ago. He was up on 93 years of age, Paddy Murphy, a great man and we miss him today.

People from all over Ireland come here, and they always come back here. You meet some great characters.

Its like a big family, everyone is happy with each other.
(Alliance News) - Massive sums of allegedly dirty money have flowed for years through some of the world's largest banking institutions, said an international journalism investigation published Sunday, which denounced shortcomings in sector regulations.

"Profits from deadly drug wars, fortunes embezzled from developing countries, and hard-earned savings stolen in a Ponzi scheme were all allowed to flow into and out of these financial institutions, despite warnings from the banks' own employees," according to the probe from Buzzfeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

The investigation, which was led by 108 international media outlets from 88 different countries, is based on thousands of suspicious activity reports submitted to the US Treasury Department's financial law enforcement agency, FinCEN, by banks from around the world.

"These documents, compiled by banks, shared with the government, but kept from public view, expose the hollowness of banking safeguards, and the ease with which criminals have exploited them," wrote US outlet Buzzfeed News, in the introduction of its report.

The documents relate to USD2 trillion in transactions that circulated between 1999 and 2017.

The investigation points in particular to five major banks a JPMorgan Chase & Co, HSBC Holdings PLC, Standard Chartered PLC, Deutsche Bank AG and Bank of New York Mellon a accused of continuing to move assets of alleged criminals, even after being prosecuted or convicted for financial misconduct.

"The networks through which dirty money traverse the world have become vital arteries of the global economy," Buzzfeed News reported.

In a statement, Deutsche Bank said that the ICIJ's revelations were "well known" to its regulators. The bank also said it had "devoted significant resources to strengthening our controls," as well as focused on "meeting our responsibilities and obligations."

The investigation also highlighted the American authorities' lack of power in regulating dirty financial transactions.

In a statement released prior to the investigation's publication, FinCEN said that the "unauthorized disclosure of SARs is a crime that can impact the national security of the US."

source: AFP

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
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.
Islamabad, Sep 21 : Pakistans major opposition parties announced that they have formed an alliance to demand the ousting of the incumbent Imran Khan-led government, it was reported on Monday.

After naming their alliance as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the leaders on Sunday also announced launching of a three-phased anti-government movement under an "action plan" starting from next month with countrywide public meetings, protest demonstrations and rallies in December and a "decisive long march" towards Islamabad in January 2021, reports Dawn news.

Briefing reporters at the conclusion of more than eight-hour-long PPP-hosted multi-party conference (MPC) which was also addressed by deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former President Asif Ali Zardari through video link, the opposition leaders announced that they would use all political and democratic options, including no-confidence motions and en mass resignations from Parliament, to seek "the selected Prime Minister's resignation and an end to the role of the establishment in politics".

The details of the "action plan" were presented before the media by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in the presence of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and vice president Maryam Nawaz, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and other prominent opposition leaders at a press briefing.

Before announcing the "action plan" aimed at ousting the present government, the JUI-F chief also read out a 26-point declaration in the form of a resolution containing various demands, including "end of establishment's interference in politics, new free and fair elections after formulation of election reforms with no role of armed forces and intelligence agencies, release of political prisoners, withdrawal of cases against journalists, implementation of the National Action Plan against terrorism, speeding up of the projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and across the board accountability under a new accountability law".

Through the resolution, the opposition parties also demanded sacking of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information retired Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa and a transparent investigation into the media report about his offshore businesses and properties.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Premier Daniel Andrews has been urged not to bow to pressure when easing coronavirus restrictions as the falling daily infection rate leads to growing calls for the government to bring forward its road map.

Victoria can avoid repeating the mistakes it made at the end of the first wave of the pandemic by solely focusing on the infection rate  not dates  when guiding the state out of the lockdown, according to leading public health experts.

Industry groups, the Victorian opposition and the Prime Minister have argued for some of the most stringent restrictions in Melbourne to be lifted sooner than planned as a result of falling daily coronavirus case numbers.

Victoria recorded 11 new cases on Monday, its lowest daily rise since June 16 when there were nine cases. However, the daily total was revised to nine after two cases were classified.

State Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien on Monday said the Premier needed to "change course" and reopen the economy, while Mr Andrews has continued to raise hopes restrictions could be eased sooner than expected with Melbourne's 14-day average continuing to plunge.

But University of Melbourne researcher Dr Jason Thompson, who co-authored modelling on which the government based its road map, said easing restrictions too soon risked an explosion of coronavirus cases before Christmas.

Dr Thompson urged the Victorian people and government to stay the course, and not fall victim to lockdown fatigue by opening up sooner than is safe.

"I would ask people to think about time as an investment  time invested now will pay off later," Dr Thompson said.

"It's the last-ditch effort  we're in the last quarter of a game. We're all tired, we just want to have a drink or sit on the bench, but we know if we do that, the other team will come on top of us."

Read the full story here.
B oris Johnson will chair a Cobra meeting Tuesday morning in another sign that new lockdown-style measures are on the way.

He will also phone the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and brief Cabinet on his latest thinking on Monday, ahead of the meeting and a press conference.

The significance of a Cobra (standing for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A) meeting is that it is usually called ahead of significant restrictions being decided.

Ministers have signalled that a social lockdown, with curbs on meeting people from other households and closures or shorter hours for pubs and restaurants.

The Prime Ministers spokesman said: We do face significant challenges as we enter the winter months.

However, the PMs spokesman was unable to say whether Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, would be invited to the Cobra meeting despite the critical importance and size of the capital city  and signs of Covid-19 causing steeply rising admissions to intensive care units in London.

The spokesman added: You can see whats been happening over the course of the previous 72 or 96 hours.

UK could have 50,000 Covid cases per day by October, says Vallance

The PM spoke on Friday about his concerns about a second wave. There was an update to the Cabinet on Saturday, the PM held more meetings with scientific advisers and with colleagues yesterday.

Today he will be engaging with the devolved administrations, lets see where we get to.

Tomorrow morning is an opportunity for Cobra to discuss what next steps may be required in the coronavirus response.

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

It comes after the Governments Chief Scientific Adviser warned Britain could be facing 50,000 new Covid-19 cases a day within weeks if the current rate of infection is not halted, .

Sir Patrick Vallance told a televised briefing that the UK could see 200 deaths every day if fast action is not taken to curb the spread of the disease.

Speaking alongside Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, Sir Patrick said the vast majority of the population remain susceptible to catching coronavirus, and that "speed" and "action" were now needed to tackle the crisis.

Professor Whitty told Monday's press conference that, over the next six months, Britons would have to take the pandemic "collectively, very seriously.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock earlier signalled tough measures could be announced as soon as Tuesday and did not rule out pubs having to close early in more parts of the country.

He told of the worry of the Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, that Britain is in danger of following Spain and France, where hospitalisations and deaths are rising.
SDLP councillors will this week vote against a proposal to honour John Hume in Derry.

Sinn Fein will propose a motion at a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council on Thursday calling for the former SDLP leader and Martin McGuinness to be honoured in some way in their home city.

Mr Hume died last month, while the former Deputy First Minister died in 2017.

This week's motion is to be put forward by Councillor Sandra Duffy, the Sinn Fein leader on the local council.

However, Derry SDLP councillor Martin Reilly today described the motion as 'premature'.

Cllr Reilly said that the SDLP group will vote against the Sinn Fein proposal.

John Hume was the architect of peace on this island. His genius ended the Anglo-Irish conflict and gave a new generation the opportunity to live and pursue their ambitions free from the threat of violence. His legacy is immense and deserves a proper memorial to give the people of Derry and Ireland the chance to remember him," he said.

Six weeks after Johns death, however, is premature for a prescriptive approach to a memorial.

"And its fair to ask if any consultation has taken place with the Hume family before this motion was tabled.

The SDLP is committed to remembering Irelands greatest peacemaker in an appropriate way that matches the scale of his legacy.

"But we will be voting against a motion which has not demonstrated the sensitivity that these discussions require.
Christian Drosten, Director of the Institute of Virology in Berlin, Germany. Photo: Christophe Gateau/Picture Alliance via Getty

Another Germany-wide coronavirus lockdown is unlikely to happen, according to countrys most prominent virologist.

Christian Drosten, the professor who spearheaded coronavirus-test development at Berlins Charite Hospital, told the German Press Agency even if the coronavirus situation in Germany worsens, another lockdown like the strict one in spring this year is not inevitable.

"You don't always need a Germany-wide or regional lockdown because we already know some things better," said Drosten.

However, he believes that some areas of work and personal life could face new restrictions, adding that Germany should not think it will escape a rise in infections like other EU countries.

READ MORE: Early testing and swift lockdowns prevented 'up to 100,000 deaths' in Germany

Germany has seen a surge in COVID-19 infections in August and September. However, both the number of confirmed cases as well as the death toll from COVID-19 are significantly lower than in Spain, Italy, France, and the UK.

According to the latest statistics from Johns Hopkins University, Germany has had a little over 270,000 confirmed cases of infection, and 9,390 deaths so far. The Robert Koch Institute said today Germany had recorded 2,297 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours through Monday morning the highest number of daily infections since the end of April.

Drosten said in May this year that early and extensive testing had helped the country avoid tens of thousands of deaths.

However, with the colder months just beginning, infections are expected to keep rising. Chancellor Angela Merkel warned in August that Germans need to expect that a lot will become even more difficult in the coming months than during summer, when we were able to be outside.

READ MORE: Angela Merkel warns COVID-19 pandemic likely to get worse in coming months

Federal health minister Jens Spahn said that the German healthcare system is well prepared for winter, thanks in part to a digital register to monitor intensive care bed occupancy.

Story continues

As of today, we still have more ICU beds available than Italy and France together have in total, Spahn told German Public Radio. He added that if coronavirus numbers kept rising over a number of days, clinics had the ability to postpone certain operations to free up ICU beds.

READ MORE: Germany backs three domestic firms with 750m to develop COVID-19 vaccine

Spahn said it is essential to stop infections in areas where at-risk people are, for example by setting up special fever walk-in clinics for those with flu symptoms, so they can avoid going to a regular doctors surgery and potentially infecting other people.

However, Spahn said what worries him most are the rising case numbers in neighbouring European countries, which will have a direct impact on Germany, due to cross-border mobility.
Actor Ritvik Arora, who played the original Kunal Rajvansh in Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke, expressed shock over the show going off-air. The show is wrapping up to make way for Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2.

In an interview with Times Of India, the actor said, After hearing the news of the show going off air and fans demanding an extension on social media, I called Kavveri Priiyam (who was paired opposite him on the show). She was heartbroken. I could identify with her emotions. I tried to pacify and motivate her. Of course, I am very sad for the cast and crew of YRHPK. We were passionate about the show and gave it our all. I wish them all the best for their future endeavours.

Ritvik was replaced by Avinash Mishra in the show. I dont want to get into kya ho sakta tha aur kya nahi (what could have happened or what couldnt), because what happened, has happened. I followed the show for a while and I must say that Avinash did an incredible job as Kunal.

Meanwhile, Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke stars Shaheer Sheikh, Rhea Sharma in the lead roles.

Rupal Patel, who is also a part of the show will next be seen in Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2. Besides her, Devoleena Bhattacharjee will also reprise her role from the previous season in the show.
Zendaya made history not just by taking home her first Emmy Awards win for HBO's Euphoria, but also for becoming the youngest artist to ever do so in the category.

At the age of 24, Zendaya became the youngest Emmy Awards winner for lead drama actress. It was stiff competition as Zendaya competed last year's winner Jodie Comer, who held the title for the youngest to receive this award until today, as well as Olivia Colman, Jennifer Aniston, Laura Linney, and Sandra Oh. It was an honor to be among such talent, the actress said.

Deadline reported that Zendaya becomes the second Black woman in the category following Viola Davis. The 24-year-old actress won the award for her role as Rue, a troubled teenager who struggles with drug addiction, tensed home life and love, among other things.

Zendaya thanked the TV Academy, her show creator, cast members, and EP Sam Levinson. Lastly, she made sure to acknowledge the youth in her speech. "This is a bizarre time to be celebrating, but I want to say that there is hope in the young people out there, Zendaya said while accepting the award remotely joined by her team and family.

The young actress added that she knows that 'Euphoria' doesn't always feel like a good example, but it shows hope in young people. "To my peers out there doing work in the streets, I admire you, I see you, I thank you."

Currently, season 2 of 'Euphoria' is in the works. However, the production was placed on hold amid the pandemic hit. The actress recently teased on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to guest host Ben Platt which the producers are working on an episode that can be done with a limited staff to have something to live on until they can go into season two.

After getting choked up during her speech, Zendaya admitted that she doesn't usually cry. She got through it without completely taking over, but it was evident that it was a very emotional moment.

According to Fox News, during the virtual pressroom following her win, Zendaya said that she immensely admired every woman in the category, so it meant so much. The former Disney actress gushed that just to be mentioned in the category was something. "And then to have their support and having them smile and wave at me and stuff like that meant a lot to me. That support fills my heart."

The star went on by saying that she finds joy in small moments, such as her win. The young actress was grateful for winning the Emmy award in front of a room full of loved ones.

The "Greatest Showman" star added that she finds 'Euphoria' as "extremely important" as it tells a story of a young woman facing addiction. Zendaya also highlighted her character Rue, which was so special for the actress. According to her, Rue is a whole human being that has a layered and complicated life. "I think as the show goes on, we're also able to empathize with addiction and what it looks like and what it does to a family, and understand and still root for Rue," Zendaya reflected.

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As dinnertime approached, food aficionados began to form a long line at the entrance of a popular crayfish restaurant in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan province.

After the resumption of dine-in service on March 16, Wenhoyo Superb, also began accepting online reservations. However, many diners still line up at the gate.

"Our business began to gradually recover after the resumption of work. The online booking service helps a lot to prevent long queues and attract more customers," said Li Mingyue, a staffer with the brand.

The COVID-19 epidemic hit the Chinese catering industry hard as the epidemic forced the temporary closure of many restaurants and saw cautious customers stay home rather than dine out.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's catering revenue was 1.46 trillion yuan (about 216 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of this year, down 32.8 percent year on year.

As the epidemic has been generally contained, China's catering industry is seeing clear signs of recovery. The catering revenue decline narrowed to 11 percent year on year in July, and to 7 percent in August, new data showed.

"The catering consumption is expected to return to the pre-epidemic level by the end of the year," said Liu Yan, an expert with the China Hospitality Association.

Food and catering expo

With the theme of "innovative integration, quality consumption," the 2020 China International Food & Catering Expo was held in Changsha from Friday to Sunday.

More than 2,000 companies from home and abroad participated in the expo, aiming to seek potential cooperation partners, promote products and services, and revive their business.

Given the epidemic's impact, the expo this year served as a crucial platform to stabilize the market and boost the orders of domestic food and catering enterprises.

It is an excellent platform to promote Sino-British trade and exchange of the food and catering industry, and also brings opportunities for British companies to explore the Chinese mainland market, said Tom Simpson, managing director of the China operations of the China-Britain Business Council, at the event's opening ceremony.

Innovation and recovery

The epidemic has forced the catering sector to innovate, said Zhao Jingqiao, a researcher of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, at the expo.

Zhao said development trends including market integration, industry digitalization and capitalization, as well as internationalization and specialization of the division of labor will bring more opportunities to the catering sector.

Wenhoyo Superb has set up booths for other popular local food and beverage brands. While energizing other brands, the move helps attract more consumers and enrich the dining experience, said Li.

Meituan Dianping, a major e-commerce platform for services, launched a program in September to facilitate the digital transformation of the catering industry after the epidemic, which is expected to benefit about 1 million merchants within one year.

"Online catering platforms will help consumers make inquiries and reservations, and more accurately match supply and demand between consumers and catering enterprises," said Jiao Weiming, director of Meituan's consumption promotion center.

New trend

As the nationwide "Clear your plate" campaign is gaining steam in China, many restaurants on Meituan have joined the movement and introduced "small-plate meals" to reduce food waste and lower prices.

Four associations in related sectors, including the China Cuisine Association, have recently issued a joint proposal with Meituan, calling on catering firms to promote thrift and combat food waste throughout the catering sector.

At the same time, a Meituan system is helping restaurants forecast their daily turnover, monitor their inventory in real time, and estimate their purchase quantity, all in a bid to reduce food waste.

Meituan will provide more guidance for restaurant owners so that they can continue to share the dividends brought by the digital process and be properly equipped to face the challenges of online operations, said Wang Xing, CEO of Meituan.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the coronavirus restrictions in its biggest city Auckland will be eased, while all restrictions will be lifted in the rest of the country.

Auckland will move to alert level 2 from Thursday, Ardern said at a news conference on Monday, which will limit gatherings to 100 people.

The rest of the country will move to level 1 from midnight on Monday, she said.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Supporting the farm bills brought by the Centre, the YSRC on Sunday made critical remarks against the Congress for supporting the dalal (middlemen) system by opposing the bill, which aims at easing restrictions on inter-state trade of agricultural products, which the Congress included in its manifesto ahead of the elections.

Is it not hypocrisy? Their objective is only one. The Congress is a party of middlemen dalals. Those who are supporting the bill are pro-farmer and those not supporting it are pro-dalal, YSRC MP V Vijayasai Reddy said, sparking protests from Congress members, who wanted the comment to be withdrawn.

The YSRC also mentioned the steps it took in AP to bail farmers out of the agrarian crisis, and wanted other states to implement them.Vijayasai Reddy targeted the Congress right from the moment he got a chance to take part in the discussion. Gesturing towards the Congress side, he said, The previous framework (by the Congress government) left farmers at the mercy of middlemen who want to increase their margins.

Pointing out the positive aspects of the bill, Vijayasai Reddy said a farmer who toils day and night faces two problems  getting the right price for his produce, and having the ability to sell it at a reasonable price. By allowing contract farming, a farmer is assured of the sale price for his produce at a pre-determined price and the risk is transferred from the farmer to the buyer. The bill will also free farmers from coercion of licensed middlemen as farmers are forced to sell their produce to those (in the previous framework) who found it easy to form a cartel and offer low prices to farmers.

Explained: What are the new Agri Bills and why farmers are unhappy

The MP said that through the new bill, the Agricultural Product Market Committee (APMC) monopoly will end. A farmer in a market area is compelled to sell his produce in a designated APMC and is prohibited from going to the APMC in the next district, Vijayasai said, and added that the bill would end this. However, he also wanted the Centre to cover tobacco in the bill.

Stating that the R in YSRC stands for rythu (farmers), the MP said the AP government took historical decisions to save the interests of farmers. Under the Rythu Bharosa PM Kisan Scheme, 49 lakh, or about 10 per cent of the population of the state, is getting financial assistance of `13,500, which is higher than in any other State, the MP said.

Targetting the hypocrisy of the Congress, Vijayasai Reddy, showing the partys manifesto, referred to items numbered 11 and 12 related to agriculture farmers and farm labourers. What did they say and why are they changing their stand now? Item 11 speaks about repealing the APMC Act and making trade in agriculture produce, including export and inter-state trade, free from all restrictions. Secondly, they promised to establish farmer markets with adequate infrastructure and support in large villages. This is exactly what the government is doing now, he explained. The Congress demanded that the Chair expunge the remarks and sought an apology from the MP.
A missouri biker festival that drew about 125,000 people has sparked fears that the event may become a 'super spreader' for the coronavirus after photos showed many maskless participants.

The 14th Annual BikeFest Lake of the Ozarks was scheduled from September 16-20.

According to the event's website, there were more than 300 bars and restaurants involved in the festivities.

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A Missouri biker festival that drew about 125,000 people has sparked fears that the event may become a 'super spreader' for the coronavirus after photos showed many maskless participants

The 14th Annual BikeFest Lake of the Ozarks was scheduled from September 16-20

According to the event's website, there were more than 300 bars and restaurants involved in the festivities

And while some bikers were wearing masks, many opted out of the facial covering.

'Actually, I got it out as a joke to put it on and give it to you, normally I'm not wearing it,' Ed Allsman told KY3.

Bubby Fischer said: 'It's what we get dealt with in life. You know, you go out to enjoy, if you get dealt with it, it's what happens.'

Another biker, Dustin Fletcher, told the station that 'were out to have a good time, catch some free wind, and get some road miles and actually some therapy on the way'.

Fletcher said the coronavirus 'doesn't stop us'.

'You can ask any biker, or whatever, anything going on in the world, it ain't gonna stop us riding,' Fletcher said.

Motorcycles were seen lined up along a strip in Camden County during the rally

And while some bikers were wearing masks, many opted out of the facial covering

Images showed several attendees not wearing masks while participating in the event

Dustin Fletcher (pictured), said that 'were out to have a good time, catch some free wind, and get some road miles and actually some therapy on the way'

In Camden County, there have been 809 confirmed cases, with 29 new cases in the last 24 hours. The county has reported 10 deaths. Bikes are parked on a strip in the Lake of the Ozarks

This aerial view shows motorcycles lined up along a strip at the Lake of the Ozarks

According to local news stations, the Lake of the Ozarks area does not have a mask mandate in effect.

In Camden County, there have been 809 confirmed cases, with 29 new cases in the last 24 hours. The county has reported 10 deaths.

There are more than 112,844 confirmed cases in Missouri, which started lifting restrictions in June, and at least 1,795 deaths.

On Friday, Missouri health officials reported 1,795 new cases of the virus.

Last week's biker festival comes just a month after the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally that was held in South Dakota.

The 80th annual rally, which saw 460,000 motorcycle enthusiasts flock to the small rural town of Sturgis from all over the US.

Following the rally, a controversial report deemed it a 'super-spreading event' that was responsible more than 260,000 cases of COVID-19.

But city and state officials said that it had not been peer-reviewed before its release.

The 10-day event took place between August 7 and August 14 in the town of Sturgis, which has a native population of just 7,000 people.

Four people who attended the event later tested positive for the coronavirus.
New Delhi: The Maharashtra government on Monday (September 21) filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking vacation of its stay on the reservation to the people of the Maratha community in education and jobs in the state. An official statement said that the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government's move comes amidst protests by various pro-quota Maratha bodies in the state.

Maharashtra Minister and Congress leader Ashok Chavan met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Monday over the Maratha reservation. Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, he said "A petition has to be filed in Supreme Court for vacating its interim order (on Maratha reservation). The Chief Minister has discussed the matter with senior leaders."

PWD Minister Ashok Chavan said that the application was filed on Monday morning and added the counsels representing the government will try to see that the hearing on the application takes place soon.

Asked about the protest by Marathas, Chavan said, "..It is a judicial process. We will have to find a solution through the judicial process only. Hence, the government has filed the application before the Supreme Court following the process".

Live TV

Ashok Chavan, who heads the state cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota, said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray might make a detailed statement on issues such as admissions, jobs etc. Concerning the Maratha community in a day or two, adding "Our senior counsels will try to see that the hearing (on the vacation application) takes place soon."

Earlier in the day, Chavan met NCP president Sharad Pawar and held a discussion about the steps the MVA dispensation is planning to take in view of the stay order.

Earlier this month, the apex court had directed that no quota will be granted to people of the Maratha community in education and jobs in the state this year and referred the hearing on a batch of plea challenging the constitutional validity of a Maharashtra law granting Maratha reservation in education and jobs to a larger bench.

The bench held that no Maratha quota will be granted for jobs and admissions for the session 2020-21 and said that admissions to postgraduate courses in the state will not be altered.

The SC had said the status of those who have already taken benefits of the 2018 law shall not be disturbed.

The Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018 was enacted to grant reservation to people of the Maratha community in Maharashtra in jobs and admissions.

The Bombay High Court, while upholding the law in June last year, held that 16 percent reservation was not justifiable, and said quota should not exceed 12 percent in employment and 13 percent in admissions.

The bench was hearing two appeals, including one filed by J Laxman Rao Patil challenging the Bombay High Court order that upheld the constitutional validity of the quota for the Maratha community in education and government jobs in the state.

The Bombay High Court had on June 27, 2019, observed that the 50 percent cap on total reservations imposed by the Supreme Court could be exceeded in exceptional circumstances.

(With Agency Inputs)
It took weeks of eating frozen food for dinner for me, a professionally trained chef, to truly grasp how integral reading directions was to the task of getting food on the table in time, especially since I dont have a microwave. Id purchased a 10 pot pie from Pot Pie Paradise and tossed the plastic wrap, along with the directions, thinking that Id be able to wing it. I know how to bake things, I scoffed.

Thanks to my hubris, what was supposed to be a half hour of heating time dragged on. I kept opening the oven door to check, and in so doing sabotaged the temperature in the oven just so I could stick an exploratory chopstick into the pies frozen interior yet again. I gave up and scavenged the directions from the garbage bin.

What I came to understand while cooking the frozen dumplings, samosas, lumpia and pizzas that Id sourced from various restaurants is that each item was testy in its own way: Mister Jius frozen potstickers dont cook like potstickers Id make from scratch, and dumplings from different restaurants may have totally different wrapper thicknesses and moisture levels, and thus different cook times.

Frozen food is more complicated than I thought.

While making my first batch of khinkali, the juicy dumplings from Georgian restaurant Tamari, I forgot to stir them, causing all of the delicate dough parcels to stick to the pot and tear. Their guts spewed out spectacularly, giving the boiling water a lovely mushroom scent. Instead, cooking them the Chinese way  keeping the water at a slight simmer and adding a cup of cool water whenever the pot threatened to boil  ensured intact dumplings. In that moment, my heart went out the cook at Tamari hunched over the pot, trying to baby the khinkali while also grilling sausages and baking cheese breads during dinner service.

In a way, experiencing restaurants through their frozen dishes is no less intimate than ordering their food hot and ready to eat. You get to plug into the process, and the choices that the cooks make (why lumpia are wrapped so tightly, or why pizza crusts are par-baked before topping) become much clearer. It does a lot to collapse the invisible barriers between restaurants and the diners who love them, hopefully increasing the amount of appreciation the public has for the folks behind the stoves.

Also, a quick note: Keep your eyes out for this years Top Restaurants list, coming out in just a few days!

On the podcast

Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

This week on Extra Spicy, Justin Phillips and I speak with Brenda Buenviaje, the owner of eponymous restaurants Brendas French Soul Food, Brendas Meat and Three and Brendas in Oakland. She tells us how shes been staying sane during the pandemic, a strategy that includes making cooking videos with her zoomer son. And Justin and I realize that our respective tastes in cooking videos are diametrically opposed! Does this spell the end to our friendship forever?

What Im eating

Like I said up top, mostly frozen food! But not everything I tried made it onto the list, if only because of space. I liked the cheese pizza at Arthur Macs Tap and Snack in Oakland because it was less DiGiorno, more Red Baron, hitting that nostalgic spot with a cracker-like crust and gooey mozzarella cheese. It was like I was nine years old again, splitting a box with my cousins while watching The Lion King.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

And the frozen food selection at Boulettes Larder in the Ferry Terminal building is so elegant. Turkish-style cabbage rolls stuffed with minced lamb were a pleasure to eat; the leaves turned silky from braising. Cabbage rolls are especially nice to get frozen, since wrapping them yourself is so time-consuming.

Finally, as a weird little treat, I bought Lao Gan Ma-flavored ice cream from Cookiebar Scoop Shop in Alameda. Mixed with a generous amount of the umami-forward chile oil from Guizhou, China, the ice cream was uncommonly savory and retained much of the toasty flavor of the chiles. Its hard to imagine eating this novelty for dessert, though many people enjoy adding a dollop of chile oil to their ice cream to add a silky texture to it, much like soft serve with extra virgin olive oil.

Recommended reading

 The Afghan comfort food dish known as chainaki is traditionally served out of a teapot full of lamb and aromatics; the resulting soup is poured over bowls of torn, tandoori-cooked bread. Id never heard of this, but, as Anna Rahmanan describes it in Whetstone, it sounds fantastic.

 Travel sounds like a torture these days, but Conde Nast Travelers wonderful collection of 50 cuisines worth trekking around the United States for perked me right up. Each vignette is written by a different expert, and each surprised me with their depth. Far from the typical get lobster rolls in Maine stories, youll learn about Connecticuts Caribbean diaspora and Chicagos rich Nigerian restaurant scene.

 This story on the pandemics financial pressure on the food industry is tough to read, but its essential for knowing what the future might portend for restaurants in the Bay Area. If businesses were lucky enough to get in on loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, theyre now facing the question of what to do once the money runs out. Those funds, allocated with the assumption that the pandemic would end and the economy would rebound in just few months, were required to be spent in entirety over the summer. Restaurateurs are pushing for more federal relief, but if it doesnt happen... its bad news.

Bite Curious is a weekly newsletter from The Chronicles restaurant critic, Soleil Ho, delivered to inboxes on Monday mornings. Follow along on Twitter: @Hooleil
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 18

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 38 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

Armenian armed forces were using large-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Gardai are on high alert after a chief suspect in the Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe murder investigation was released from prison.

The Irish Independent has learned that the dangerous criminal, aged in his early 30s, was released from a Dublin jail last Thursday after being held for several months.

The cross-border criminal is suspected of being a key member of the gang behind the credit union robbery during which Det Gda Donohoe (41) was shot dead seven years ago.

Last month the gunman, Aaron Brady (29), was found guilty of capital murder and will face the mandatory 40-year prison term when he is sentenced next month.

Gang

Gardai are continuing their inquiries into the detective's murder and are hopeful of bringing further charges against other gang members.

More than 20 people remain persons of interest, with five men formally classified as suspects. One of these is Suspect B, who was named during the murder trial as being centrally involved in the robbery.

He was on bail at the time of the murder and only months beforehand had directly threatened Det Gda Donohoe after being arrested by him.

The criminal has also been linked to a spate of high-profile, highly organised ATM raids in recent years.

He was jailed in the capital for several months over an incident unrelated to the detective's murder and was released last week.

A source told the Irish Independent: "He is considered to be a particularly dangerous individual and there is a real concern that he will become actively engaged in criminality following his release.

"Investigations into him are ongoing in relation to the murder of Adrian Donohoe, and also in relation to ATM raids on both sides of the Border.

"Both gardai and the PSNI will be keeping a close eye on him to prevent him linking up with his criminal associates and causing more havoc."

The Northern Irish man is suspected of being one of the masked raiders at Lordship Credit Union when Det Gda Donohoe was shot dead on January 25, 2013.

Brady, whom a 12-person jury found guilty by majority verdict of capital murder, will be sentenced on October 14.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.21

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Kazakhstan has exported 650,275 tons of crude oil worth $263.8 million to Croatia in 1H2020, a source in Kazakhstans oil and gas market told Trend.

This is 2.8 times more in volume (227,253 tons) and 2.4 times more in value ($108.8 million) than in 1H2019.

Furthermore, Kazakhstan has also exported 547,010 tons of crude oil to Lithuania during the reporting period, which was worth $255.8 million. This is two times more than in 1Q2019 (272,623 tons worth 127.4 million).

Kazakhstans crude oil export to Poland also amounted to 414,512 tons worth $160.1 million during 1H2020, which is 33.3 percent more in value and 12.4 percent more in volume than in 1H2019.

Kazakhstans overall export of crude oil stood at 33.3 million tons worth $15.08 billion in 1H2020 which is compared to 34.6 million tons worth $16.4 billion in 1H2019.

Kazakhstans overall export of petroleum products stood at 364,459 tons of products worth $1.04 million in 1H2020 which is compared to 574,297 tons worth $1.6 million in 1H2019.

The total volume of Kazakhstans trade turnover amounted to $48.7 billion over the period from Jan. through July 2020 which indicates a decrease from $54.5 billion during the same period of 2019.

Kazakhstans export amounted to $28.6 billion during the reporting period of 2020 ($33.03 billion in the same period of 2019), whereas imports amounted to $20.1 billion ($21.5 billion in 2019).

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Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Countries attending the 64th session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference on Monday elected Libya as Vice President for the Africa
The coronavirus pandemic is expected to cause Australia's steepest population plunge since World War I - amid fears of a 40 per cent house price plummet.

The federal government's National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation is forecasting a 0.8 per cent population decline over two years.

In the absence of immigration, Australia's population was expected to fall by 214,000 between a peak in 2019 and a trough in 2021, as a recession devastated the housing market.

Half of that was attributed to the drop-off in international students, following the closure of Australia's national border in March.

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The coronavirus pandemic is expected to cause the steepest plunge in Australia's population since World War I - amid fears of a 40 per cent house price plummet. Pictured is a deserted Bourke Street in Melbourne

The federal government's National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation is forecasting a 0.8 per cent population decline over two years. In the absence of immigration , Australia's population was expected to fall by 214,000 between a peak in 2019 and a trough in 2021. Pictured is an empty Wynyard station in Sydney

'Immigration cuts have flow-on effects on population growth  temporary (international students) immigrants are the main driver of population growth,' the NHFIC report said.

Australia's population growth over the years Australia's population growth 1881: 2.3 million 1918: 5 million 1959: 10 million 1981: 15 million 1991: 17.4 million 2004: 20 million 2013: 23 million 2016: 24 million 2018: 25 million Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics; Australian Parliament House Advertisement

In July, the number of international students plunged by 100 per cent, or 143,810, compared with the same month in 2019, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.

This caused rental vacancy rates to surge in inner-city areas of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane where landlords had been particularly reliant on international students.

'Large falls in underlying dwelling demand, particularly due to substantial falls in international students, are already putting upward pressure on vacancy rates and downward pressure on rents in inner-city suburbs,' the NHFIC said.

'If sustained, this could cause a contraction in construction activity that will add to the recessionary forces that are impacting the economy.'

Australia's immigration pause would spark the steepest population decrease since World War I, shortly before the Spanish flu pandemic in January 1919 reached Australian shores.

Only the unwinding of the long, post-war baby boom in 1971 saw a comparably steep population decline.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, Australia had a net annual immigration rate of 294,310, when the number of people leaving was subtracted from the tally of new arrivals.

This net overseas migration made up 60 per cent of Australia's population growth with the rest coming from births.

Australia's population increase of 1.4 per cent was among the highest in the developed world and well above the OECD average of 0.8 per cent, with federal governments from both sides of politics previously using high immigration to stave off a recession.

In 2019, Australia had a net annual immigration rate of 294,310 when the number of people leaving was subtracted from the tally of new arrivals. The population increase of 1.4 per cent was among the highest in the developed world and well above the OECD average of 0.8 per cent, with governments from both sides of politics previously using high immigration to stave off a recession

Now, a declining population also has implications for property prices, with the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation predicting a possible 232,000 shorfall in demand for new private dwellings by 2023.

Mortgage danger zone Australia's household-debt-to-income ratio of 186.5 per cent is the second highest in the world after Switzerland Sydney and Melbourne are the world's third and fourth most expensive housing markets based on a U.S. Demographia think tank analysis of affordability and median incomes The Reserve Bank of Australia in August said a 40 per cent house price drop was an 'extreme but plausible scenario' Advertisement

The forecast population decline, as a result of coronavirus measures, has also worried the Reserve Bank of Australia which last month released a paper which said a 40 per cent plunge in house prices was an 'extreme but plausible scenario'.

The RBA report on debt levels said Australia could experience a house price bubble similar to what occurred in United States, Spain and Ireland after the Global Financial Crisis.

Australia's household-debt-to-income ratio of 186.5 per cent is also the second highest in the world after Switzerland, making borrowers particularly vulnerable.

The NHFIC is in charge of the government's $500million First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, where first home buyers can secure a mortgage with a five per cent deposit with taxpayers underwriting the rest of the 20 per cent deposit.

Should new home buyers struggle to pay off their loan and be forced to sell en masse, the federal government would be left holding equity in assets worth a lot less, as a result of an election policy promise.

A population decrease would most likely cause house prices to fall, as capital growth worries sparked a sell-off among investors and struggling borrowers.

Those forced to sell, as a result of a job loss, could be facing a situation known as negative equity where a borrower owes more than their home is worth.

After the GFC, between 2012 and 2017, house prices in Australia's two biggest cities surged with Sydney values rising by 68 per cent as Melbourne's median price climbed by 54 per cent, official data showed.

The forecast population decline, as a result of coronavirus measures, has also worried the Reserve Bank of Australia which last month released a paper which said a 40 per cent plunge in house prices was an 'extreme but plausible scenario'. Pictured are houses at Kellyville in Sydney's north-west

After the GFC, between 2012 and 2017, house prices in Australia's two biggest cities surged with Sydney values rising by 68 per cent as Melbourne's median price climbed by 54 per cent, official data showed. Pictured is a Carlton North terrace in Melbourne on the market

That occurred after Australia's net annual immigration rate in 2012 climbed above 200,000 for the first time, putting it well above the 20th century average of 70,000 per annum.

Australia's population surpassed the 25million milestone in August 2018 - 24 years earlier than predicted in the federal government's first inter-generational report of 2002.

After World War II, high immigration levels from eastern Europe had helped Australia pay off elevated levels of gross government debt.

Immigration fell during the 1991 recession but it was ramped up a decade later and stayed consistently in the six-figures during the 21st century until the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 lockdowns were expected to curtail population growth, with the Reserve Bank expecting unemployment to hit ten per cent by the end of 2020. Pictured are Victorian police are the Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne's south-east

Until that happens, COVID-19 lockdowns were expected to curtail population growth, with the Reserve Bank expecting unemployment to hit ten per cent by the end of 2020.

'The economic consequence of the lockdowns also impacts population growth,' the NHFIC said.

'The pandemic has also raised uncertainty. Uncertainty about the path back to normalisation is battering confidence and affecting business investments and hiring intentions.

'It has also reduced the willingness of households to spend, with flow-on effects to the housing market.'
A sourdough bread bakery and air freshener were among the findings on a medieval monk settlement in Meath during a recent archaeological dig.

It seems the Cistercian monks made sourdough a trend long before lockdown and, remarkably, the bread could hold the key in revealing how large the unique settlement was.

The new findings were discovered by a team of archaeologists, led by experts Matthew and Geraldine Stout at Beamore in East Month during a four week Covid-19 dig.

Armed with two meter Covid Sticks to ensure social distancing and colour co-ordinated equipment to avoid cross-contamination, the team tried to decipher the size of the monastery by the number of sourdough loaves made each day.

"One loaf equals one monk so the size of the oven might suggest how many came from France to live and work at the monastery," said Geraldine.

"We had to think long and hard if we were even going to do a dig this year in the times that were in it."

"Everyone was divided into pods for cuttings (sections of excavation) and they stayed with that group for the month. Each cutting had colour coded equipment which was not to be passed around to other groups to minimise the risk of cross-contamination.

"I gave everyone what I called the 'covid stick' which was a two meter yellow painted stick so they had an idea of the distance they had to stay away from another person.

"We also got a special wash portacabin which I never saw before which enabled us with hot water to wash our hands and there were sanitising stations everywhere.

"But as much as we had reservations at the start, the measures worked and the excavations have given us more questions to come back and answer next year."

And if the Cistercians ever had to practice social distancing, it wasn't obvious in their findings which included evidence to suggest a communal toilet and bakery at the self-sufficient site.

Last year, the excavation team discovered 'significant' finds of a rare French building and medieval pottery which supported a long-held belief that the site was once home to a unique Cistercian monk community from Normandy.

13th century French jugs, ceramic roof tiles and even a corn drying kiln and dried peas which proved crop rotation was ongoing in the 13th century was found on the lands outside Drogheda, owned by local historian and author John McCullen.

Unusual features of an existing gate house in a field, suggesting a diagonal French buttress were described as 'very rare, if not unique in Ireland' according to two of Ireland's foremost medieval building archaeologists David Sweetman and Con Manning.

It is believed that the site was the home of a 13th Century medieval monastic farm associated with the French Cistercian foundation of De Bello Becco (Beaubec)

The excavations which ended in early August were the second of a 50,000 three-year project, funded by FBD Trust and administered through the Kilsharvan Community Council.

Author and archaeologist Geraldine Stout has a particular interest in the Cistercians, having worked on a similar site in Bective in Meath and says they were great innovators and farmers.

"We know that Walter de Lacey gave lands to this Abbey in Beaubec before Normandy in 1201, so there would have been about 100 monks living here up until the 16th century," she said

"De Bello Becco was flourishing in Ireland in 1302 when it had to pay a tithe of 29s 4d to the Diocese of Meath, which placed it in a group of the highest valued churches in Meath

This year, the jackpot continued and finds included a medieval key, animal bones of cows, sheep, cats and dog as well as mixed farming produce of peas, beans, oats, wheat and rye.

Fruits including grapes and figs which, the Stouts say, had to have been imported from France and were further evidence of mixed farming

"We also pushed back the dating of human settlement at Beamore with the discovery of a prehistoric ceremonial pit circle and stone tools beneath the medieval monastic farm"

Remnants of a medieval timber dash urn with paddle which was used to church butter was also found to prove a long-held belief that the Monks were a self-sufficient community.

"In the main residential block, an impressive, communal latrine was found with thirteenth century detailing and outside the main residential block we found evidence of a water system that supplied the needs of this community for toilets, washing and food preparation..

"We found a cellar in the ruins which suggest it could possibly have been used for toilet facilities as well as a pot that worked like a medieval air freshener," says Matthew.

Geraldine believes: "There were between 30 and 50 monks living here. The smallest Cistercian settlement had 12 monks minimum and this is a more sizable community, looking at the scale of the building here.

"We know that each monk was given a loaf of bread for his day's work so if we work out mathematically the size of the oven and how many loaves it could hold, it would suggest how many monks lived here.

"We were lucky to find waterlogged deposits which preserved a lot of timber and seeds for us so we can tell by the flat oats and cereal that the Monks made and ate sourdough bread - so I guess history and trends can repeat themselves," she laughed.
LAKE TOWNSHIP, Ohio - Two Virginia residents were arrested Monday after authorities said they were found walking on railroad tracks behind an Ohio airport with shovels, a pitchfork and a backpack containing a gun and ammunition.

John Davison, 38, and Vicki Davison, 33, both of Virginia Beach, were each charged with making terrorist threats; carrying a concealed weapon; inducing panic and criminal trespassing after their arrests that involved the Secret Service because the president was nearby for a rally, The Sentinel-Tribune in Bowling Green reported. It wasnt immediately known if either one had retained an attorney or if they were related.

The two were captured behind the Toledo Executive Airport in Lake Township, which is a designated reliever airport for the Toledo Express Airport. President Donald Trump was holding a rally Monday night at the main Toledo airport in Swanton, but there was no immediate indication the two events were linked.

FBI and Secret Service agents were involved in the ongoing investigation, authorities said, but further details were not disclosed.

Police responded to the area after a witness reported that two people had gotten out of a vehicle and were walking on the tracks. The caller said the two had shovels and a backpack, which authorities said contained a Glock pistol with extended magazine, 200 rounds of ammunition and four tourniquets.

The rented vehicle the pair had been in had several items suspicious in nature, Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer told the newspaper. He described them as odd items, but nothing illegal.

Hummer said John Davison had been cited Sunday night by police in nearby Walbridge for criminal trespass at their street department. Hummer noted rail yard runs right along their street department.
by Mathias Hariyadi

The motive and the authors of the attack remain a mystery. Jeremiah Zanambani was ambushed on his way to a pig farm. Protestant leader writes to the Indonesian president asking for investigation and justice. The military command accuses the local independence groups. Guerrilla activities hinder the development of the region.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - A group of unidentified assailants, attacked and shot dead a Protestant pastor in Indonesia, identified with the name of Jeremiah Zanambani. The case is shrouded in mystery and the circumstances and motive behind the attack remain unclear.

This has prompted the general secretariat of the Synod of Indonesian Protestant Churches (Persekutuan Gereja-gereja, Pgi) today to send a letter to President Joko Widodo, asking for a team of experts to be formed and an in-depth investigation.

In the letter, also sent for information to the head of the armed forces Gen. Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto and the chief of police Gen. Idham Aziz, PGI secretary general Jaclevyn F Manuputty "strongly condemns the incident" and calls for "the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry".

Rev Jeremiah Zanambani was in charge of the Gereja Kemah Injil Indonesia (GKII) community of Hitadipa, Intan Jaya district, Papua province. He was killed last September 19 with numerous shots, while on his way to a pig farm.

A note released by the military command in Papua lays the blame on a local separatist armed group, better known by the acronym KKSB (separatist criminal armed movement). Colonel IGN Suriastawa of the Third Central Command reports that the armed movements exploit these facts as "marketing gimmicks" to discredit Indonesian authority and institutions at home and before the international community.

"As always happens - underlines the senior official - this type of events that discredit" the country occur "on the eve of the general assembly of the United Nations". In Indonesia, he continues, the question of the independence movement in Papua and its "guerrilla" activities is becoming a serious obstacle for the central government in the construction and development of the region.

Rich in precious minerals and other natural resources, the province of Papua has been the subject of a massive exploitation campaign by Jakarta in recent decades, especially during the authoritarian regime of former President Suharto (1967-1998). Under Widodo's leadership, the central government has allocated billions of dollars in infrastructure and development projects, especially roads.

The government projects are offset by the violence of separatist groups and armed movements affiliated with the KKSB, which launch assaults and targeted attacks. On December 5, 2018, at least 31 civil engineers from Jakarta-based PT Istaka Karya were subjected to a brutal attack by the KSSB while engaged in the development of the projects. The guerrillas responded by stating that the people affected were not "real" construction workers, but elements of the "undercover" army.
Saddened says PM Modi on loss of lives in Bhiwandi building collapse

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Mumbai, Sep 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he is saddened by the loss of lives in the Bhiwandi building collapse.

Maharashtra disaster: Many killed in Bhiwandi building collapse | Oneindia News

"Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected," PM Modi said in a tweet.

10 died in a building collapse at Bhiwandi in Maharastra on Monday. Five persons were rescued from the rubble ANI said while citing the spokesperson of the Thane Municipal Corporation.

10 dead in building collapse at Bhiwandi, Maharashtra

A child was pulled out alive by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The NDRF has been carrying out rescue operations and has managed to rescue many.

Initial information suggested that 20 persons have been rescued by the locals after the building collapsed early this morning in the Patel compound area of the city.
Revenue of 115.7m over the first semester, impacted by the Covid-19 context

EBITDA of 17.7m, with an EBITDA margin maintained over 15%

Covid-19 impact: delivery production schedule (delays for Originals and Animation ) and lower advertising revenue of the channels ( Thematics

Important production line-up in terms of drama, cinema, documentary as well as animation

Regulatory News:

Mediawan (Paris:MDW), one of the main independent European studios of premium content, announces its financial results for the first half of 2020. These financial statements were approved by the Management Board at their meeting on September 19th, 2020, and were subjected to a limited examination by the Statutory Auditors. The revenue for the first half is 115.7m, down 39% compared to H1 2019. As previously announced, the Covid-19 pandemics led in Q2 2020 to significant delays in delivery for Originals and, to a lower extent, Animation (which will reinforce the already strong line-up in production for late 2020 and 2021) and a decrease of advertising revenue of the channels.

Key reported financial indicators

H1 2020 H1 2019 Revenues (m) 115.7 188.7 EBITDA (m) 17.7 25.9 EBITDA margin (%) 15.3 13.7 EBIT (m) (4.7) 4.2 Net Income Group share (m) (5.0) 2.0 Adjusted Net Income Group share (m)1 3.8 15.0 Adjusted EPS ( share) 0.12 0.48

06/30/2020 12/31/2019 Net Financial Debt 2 (m) 136.3 142.2 Shareholders' equity attributable to owners of the Company (m) 209.6 226.8

"In spite of the pandemics context we are facing in our various businesses, we are quite confident in our growth perspectives. Mediawan is one of the main actors of European consolidation in the content sector, and already one of the preferred contacts for the TV channels and global platforms. Our European network which is building up and the reinforcement of our French standing, with Mediawan Studio in particular, will allow us to meet these objectives." Pierre-Antoine Capton, Chairman of the Board of Mediawan

Main developments by business unit

Mediawan Originals , one of Europe's leading independent producers of original content in drama, cinema and documentary with 25 labels in France, Italy and Spain, reported a H1 2020 revenue of 35.9m, down 47% compared to H1 2019. This revenue mainly consists in deliveries already announced in Q1 2020, as well as in Q2 2 episodes of " Research Unit " to TF1 and several documentaries like " The Voyages of Matisse, Chasing Light " to Arte or " Michiko, La Force du Roseau " to France Televisions, but also two theater releases of feature films throughout the summer (" L'Aventure des Marguerite " and " T'As Pecho? "), representing 33 hours of programmes over the semester. The slowdown in deliveries in Q2 is mainly linked to the pauses in productions at the end of Q1, which resumed as soon as health regulations allowed. However, the Originals business plans on delivering many high-end programmes in Q3 including " Anelka: Misunderstood " and " Gims " to Netflix (released on August 5 th and September 17 th respectively), " Brutus Vs Cesar " (on Amazon Prime Video on September 18 th ), " Boutchou " (theatrical release on September 23 rd ), season 2 of " Unfaithful " (on TF1 starting on October 1 st ), but also season 4 of " Call My Agen t" and " Apocalypse: Hitler Attacks to the West " to France Televisions or " La Flamme " to Canal+.

, one of Europe's leading independent producers of original content in drama, cinema and documentary with 25 labels in France, Italy and Spain, reported a H1 2020 revenue of 35.9m, down 47% compared to H1 2019. This revenue mainly consists in deliveries already announced in Q1 2020, as well as in Q2 2 episodes of " " to TF1 and several documentaries like " " to Arte or " " to France Televisions, but also two theater releases of feature films throughout the summer (" " and " "), representing 33 hours of programmes over the semester. The slowdown in deliveries in Q2 is mainly linked to the pauses in productions at the end of Q1, which resumed as soon as health regulations allowed. However, the business plans on delivering many high-end programmes in Q3 including " " and " " to Netflix (released on August 5 and September 17 respectively), " " (on Amazon Prime Video on September 18 ), " " (theatrical release on September 23 ), season 2 of " " (on TF1 starting on October 1 ), but also season 4 of " t" and " " to France Televisions or " " to Canal+. Mediawan Animation reported an H1 2020 revenue of 14.7m, consisting mainly in the delivery of 18 episodes of " Power Players " (including 3 in Q2), compared to a revenue of 49,5m in H1 2019 (as a reminder the " Playmobil " movie, delivered in 2019, represented alone a revenue of 32m). The Animation business also plans on delivering several of its signature programmes in the second half of the year, such as the two TV movies " Miraculous World New York: United HeroeZ " which will be released in late September in many territories, and " Miraculous World: Shanghai Lady Dragon " which will be released in early 2021, but also the feature film " Little Vampire " by Joann Sfar, which will be released in theaters on October 21 st , 2020. Besides, the Animation teams continue their production effort in particular with seasons 4 and 5 of the " Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug Cat Noir " phenomenon, season 3 of " Robin Hood " which will be delivered starting at the end of 2020, but also the series " Pinocchio and The Enchanted Village ", scheduled for 2021, and the feature film " Miraculous Awakening ", scheduled for the end of 2021.

reported an H1 2020 revenue of 14.7m, consisting mainly in the delivery of 18 episodes of " " (including 3 in Q2), compared to a revenue of 49,5m in H1 2019 (as a reminder the " " movie, delivered in 2019, represented alone a revenue of 32m). The business also plans on delivering several of its signature programmes in the second half of the year, such as the two TV movies " " which will be released in late September in many territories, and " " which will be released in early 2021, but also the feature film " " by Joann Sfar, which will be released in theaters on October 21 , 2020. Besides, the teams continue their production effort in particular with seasons 4 and 5 of the " " phenomenon, season 3 of " " which will be delivered starting at the end of 2020, but also the series " ", scheduled for 2021, and the feature film " ", scheduled for the end of 2021. Mediawan Rights , which comprises all of Mediawan's distribution activities, recorded an H1 2020 revenue of 15.8m, down 9% compared to H1 2019. This mainly corresponds for Q2 to the sale of " Babylon Berlin " to Canal+, "Megastadium" to National Geographic and Red Bull Media in certain territories, as well as the Group's top franchises like " Miraculous " and " Alice Nevers " to Discovery. Mediawan Rights also sold the series " H " to Netflix during Q3. As of today, the current context hasn't resulted in an increase in demand from channels and platforms for the contents of the Mediawan Rights catalogue.

, which comprises all of Mediawan's distribution activities, recorded an H1 2020 revenue of 15.8m, down 9% compared to H1 2019. This mainly corresponds for Q2 to the sale of " " to Canal+, "Megastadium" to National Geographic and Red Bull Media in certain territories, as well as the Group's top franchises like " " and " " to Discovery. Mediawan Rights also sold the series " " to Netflix during Q3. As of today, the current context hasn't resulted in an increase in demand from channels and platforms for the contents of the Mediawan Rights catalogue. Mediawan Thematics , which specialises in the publication of channels and non-linear platforms, reported an H1 2020 revenue of 49.2m, down 9% compared to H1 2019, mainly due to lower advertising revenue, down 30% over the semester compared to H1 2019 a trend observed in all broadcasters. In this context, the Group has taken programming cost cuts measures in the last few months. The good performances of the Group's thematic channels in terms of audience share throughout 2020, have also contributed to the pick-up of advertising in Q3 2020, which are up compared to Q3 2019. Besides, the two main expiring operator contracts have been renewed in the 1st semester, and the Thematics teams are currently developing non-linear offers for various platforms.

Reported EBITDA of 17.7m, adjusted net income group share3 of 3.8m

EBITDA reaches 17.7m, i.e. an operating margin of 15.3%. This stabilized margin level is mainly the result of a mix effect and cost saving initiatives, compensated by lower absorption of structure costs.

Reported operating profit is (4.7)m, after recognition of (i) amortisation other than that related to audiovisual rights (including amortisation of IFRS 16 rights of use), (ii) amortisation of the share of goodwill allocated to intangible assets and property, plant and equipment, (iii) non-recurring expenses related to acquisitions and reorganisation costs and (iv) the accounting impact, with no impact on the Group's cash position, of items equivalent to remuneration items under IFRS standards.

The Group share of net income is a loss of (5.0)m, net of financial expense of (4.2)m, income tax of 1,4m and minority interests of (0.2)m.

Adjusted net income, which strips out the impact of non-recurring items on net income, amounted to 3.8m, versus 15.0m in H1 2019.

Financial structure: net debt4 of 136.3m and shareholders' equity of 210.7m at the end of June 2020

Shareholders' equity decreases from 229.3m at year end 2019 to 210.7m at the end of June 2020, mainly impacted by the result of the period and by the non-monetary impact related to the recognition of minority interest buyout commitments.

At 30 June 2020, the Group had net financial debt of 136.3m versus 142.2m at 31 December 2019. The decrease in net debt over the period is due to a positive operational cash flow, which are not offset by the capital operations of the period.

2020 perspectives in line with previously communicated trends

Due to the pandemics context, the Group anticipates as of today that its 2020 revenue should be down c. -20% compared to its 2019 revenue. The EBITDA, on the other hand, should be down approximately 30% over a year. The Group therefore confirms the indications previously communicated and is petting everything in place to ensure a return to normal in its activities in 2021.

The financial report for the first half of 2020 is available on: http:// https://www.mediawan.com/en/our-investors, in the "Financial reports" section

Next financial press release: Q3 revenue, by November 30th, 2020

About Mediawan mediawan.com

Created in late 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, Mediawan soon became one of the main independent European studios producing premium content. Mediawan brings together best-in-class talents in audiovisual creation by operating on the entire value chain: production of drama, documentary and animated original content (Mediawan Originals and Mediawan Animation), distribution of audiovisual content (Mediawan Rights), and publishing of channels and digital services (Mediawan Thematics). Mediawan currently gathers 30 production labels.

Eligible to PEA-PME ISIN code: FR0013247137/Ticker: MDW

Appendix

1. Consolidated income statement period from January 1 to June 30, 2020 and January 1 to June 30, 2019

In millions S1 2020 S1 2019* Revenues 115.7 188.7 Other products 43.9 71.0 Purchases and external expenses (40.7) (61.7) Personnel expenses (48.3) (50.4) Other expenses (12.3) (12.6) Reversals of depreciation and provisions 4.2 3.4 Depreciation accruals of provisions (44.8) (112.6) Other depreciation (excl. audiovisual rights) (8.1) (4.0) Other operating income and expenses (2.7) (5.5) Amortization of assets recognized through bus. combinations (11.6) (12.2) EBIT (4.7) 4.2 Cost of net financial debt (4.2) (3.6) Other financial income 0.5 0.8 Other financial income and expenses (0.5) (0.9) Net financial income (expense) (4.2) (3.7) Pre-tax income (loss) (8.8) 0.6 Current and deferred tax (expense) benefit 1.4 0.4 Profit (loss) after tax (7.4) 1.0 Income from equity affiliates (0.2) (0.3) Net income (loss) (7.5) 0.7 Net income (loss), Group share (5.0) 2.0 Minority interests (2.6) (1.2) Basic earnings (loss) per share attributable to owners (in ) (0.16) 0.06 Diluted earnings (loss) per share (in ) (0.15) 0.06

*Note: H1 2019 data have been restated as presented in note 8.12 to the interim consolidated financial statements

2. Consolidated balance sheet at June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019

In millions 30-june-2020 31-dec-2019 Goodwill 194.6 190.0 Intangible assets 392.6 379.5 Property, plant and equipment 66.0 69.2 Other non-current financial assets 5.2 6.6 Deferred tax assets 7.4 11.5 Non-current assets 665.9 656.8 Inventories and work-in-progress 8.2 5.2 Trade receivables 119.8 136.2 Other receivables 88.2 77.6 Current tax receivables 4.1 6.6 Cash and cash equivalents 70.4 43.0 Current assets 290.6 268.6 Total assets 956.5 925.4 Share capital 0.3 0.3 Share premium 257.4 257.4 Other reserves (41.2) (29.0) Retained earnings (deficit) (6.8) (1.9) Equity attributable to owners of the Company 209.6 226.8 Equity attributable to non-controlling interests 1.1 2.5 Equity 210.7 229.3 Long-term borrowings and other non-current fin. liab. 229.0 166.9 Other financial non-current liabilities 56.0 45.1 Obligations under leases non current 41.9 45.2 Employee benefit obligations 4.4 4.0 Long-term provisions 5.5 5.5 Deferred tax liabilities 26.2 32.4 Non-current liabilities 362.9 299.2 Short-term borrowings and other current fin. liab. 47.0 98.0 Other financial current liabilities 3.3 0.9 Obligations under leases current 7.1 7.3 Short-term provisions 1.2 2.1 Trade and other operating payables 153.6 150.3 Other payables and accrued expenses 167.8 134.9 Current tax liabilities 2.8 3.4 Current liabilities 382.9 396.9 Total Equity and liabilities 956.5 925.4

1 Net income adjusted for other operating income and expense, amortisation of assets related to business combinations and other non-recurring financial or tax income and expense (net of tax).

2 Financial debt excluding production loans and IFRS16 leases.

3 Net income adjusted for other operating income and expense, amortisation of assets related to business combinations and other non-recurring financial or tax income and expense (net of tax).

4 Financial debt excluding production loans and IFRS16 leases

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200921005707/en/

Contacts:

Victoire GRUX +33 6 04 52 16 55 vgrux@mediawan.eu
Two guest workers have been killed in a blast at a quarry in Malayattoor in Ernakulam district of Kerala. The blast occurred in the wee hours of Monday killing Periyannan, a native of Salem, Tamil Nadu and Dhanapalan from Karnataka.

According to reports, the explosives were stored in a building near the quarry which completely went off in the blast. The two labourers were staying in the building. Their dead bodies have been recovered and shifted to a private hospital in Angamaly. Reason for the blast is yet to be identified and the police have launched an investigation into the incident.

A detailed probe has to be conducted to find out how the quarry operator was allowed to store big quantity of explosives near the quarry site. According to the RTI query submitted to the chief forest conservator, Illickathodu, the area where the explosion occurred is a forest land and the granite quarry was operating illegally. It has been functioning by flouting all norms with the support of some local influential lobbies, alleged environmental activist C.R Neelakandhan.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. participates in a meeting with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Australia in Bangkok, Aug. 1, 2019.

The Philippines top diplomat assured lawmakers in Manila on Monday that a code of conduct being negotiated between Southeast Asian nations and Beijing would not keep Western powers out of the South China Sea.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. delivered the message during congressional budget deliberations, days after China indirectly called on the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to resist U.S. interference in the contested waterway.

I can swear to you: Western powers will be in the South China Sea, Locsin told Congress. We believe in the balance of power, that the freedom of Filipino people depends on the balance of power in the South China Sea.

Chinas demand to exclude Western powers from the South China Sea  that I will never allow, Locsin said. The Western powers must be present in the South China Sea as a balancer.

Locsins statement was a rebuke of the Chinese embassys call last week when it urged Southeast Asian nations to resist U.S. influence as they try to establish a Code of Conduct in the maritime region. The code would lay out guidelines for how territorial claimants to the sea must behave.

A certain country outside the region is bent on interfering in the disputes in the South China Sea and the COC [Code of Conduct] consultations to serve is own geopolitical agenda. How to resist the interference is crucial for pushing the future consultation of COC, Chinas embassy in Manila said in a statement without identifying the rival superpower by name.

Locsin, in a separate statement on Twitter, responded by saying that the COC being developed was something everyone could agree on, friends and enemies alike.

ASEAN and China have been negotiating a COC for nearly two decades. In 2002, the regional bloc and Beijing signed a Declaration of Conduct in which they expressed their willingness to settle disputes in the sea peacefully.

Since then, Beijing has claimed ownership over nearly the entire South China Sea, including areas that encroach on the exclusive economic zones of other countries, citing historical rights and its so-called Nine-Dash Line boundary that appears on Chinese maritime maps.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague struck down Chinas claims after the Philippines sought international intervention because Beijing effectively seized control of Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in 2012.

Apart from China and the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims in the maritime region.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, however, has chosen to build up relations with China and ignored the ruling.

US rejects China claims

Tensions between China and the United States have been on the rise as Washington has rejected Beijings claims in the region.

Last week, U.S. Assistant State Secretary David Stilwell accused China of bullying Southeast Asian nations into choosing between Beijing and Washington.

We are, though, insisting that countries be allowed to choose their own sovereignty, things that allow them to continue in ways that they see fit. And if you look at the record, if you look at the bullying behavior weve seen in the South China Sea and elsewhere  the Chinese are forcing a choice, Stilwell told reporters on Sept. 15.

[Y]ou will note that the United States has maintained its presence in the region and demonstrated our resolve to prevent unwelcome and certainly unhelpful military adventurism.

Meanwhile, a defense analyst at an NGO think tank in the U.S. told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that the Philippines was significant because of Manilas standing as Washingtons only treaty ally with direct involvement in the South China Sea disputes.

Derek Grossman, a defense analyst with the Rand Corp., pointed to the importance of the U.S. having access to military bases in the Philippines.

The relationship with Manila gives the U.S. a power projection point that is in the immediate vicinity of the South China Sea that would be extremely valuable in a future conflict, Grossman told SCMP in an article published Monday. The U.S. could manage without access to Philippine bases, but its power projection into the South China Sea would become more difficult and perhaps less rapid.

Kang Lin, a research fellow at Chinas Hainan University, told SCMP that Chinese leaders nurtured their relationship with Rodrigo Duterte because of Manilas long-standing relationship with Washington. Since Duterte took office in June 2016, China and the Philippines have agreed to investments valued at billions of dollars and have taken steps to ease South China Sea tensions, according to Kang.

When disputes over fishing or oil exploration rights have broken out between rival claimants in the disputed waterway, the Philippines has played a key role in helping to reduce the pressure on China, Kang said. It is very important to Beijings South China Sea strategy.

Froilan Gallardo in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, contributed to this report.
Senator Adeyemi Smarts daughter, Deola has disclosed she and her long time sweetheart, Nigerias luxury designer, Malivelihood are officially husband and wife.

She let the cat out of the bag today as Malivelihood turns a year older.

While praying for him and asking God to continue His good works in his life, she dropped the revelation, saying its his first birthday as her husband.

She also hinted she bought him a car. She wrote;

My dear Husband,

Olusola oko mi, olowo ori mi  May the good Lord continue his good works in your life. May evil be far away from you. May the grace of God follow you forever. May the favor of God be with you always and May Gods blessings on you continue to multiply

As you add another year, may the spirit of God continue to lead you. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be with you now and forever. Amen.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBBY !!!!!! Enjoy your new toy   

PS: this is your first birthday as my husband  @malivelihood

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
One person was injured after a three-storey under-construction building collapsed in a residential neighbourhood in central Delhis Sitaram Bazar near Chawri Bazar early Monday morning.

Two fire tenders and a rescue team from the Delhi Fire Services were rushed to the site for rescue operation. The injured person was rushed to a nearby hospital by the locals before the rescuers could reach the site, said fire services department chief Atul Garg.

Also Read: 10 killed, dozens feared trapped as building collapses in Maharashtras Bhiwandi

The person has received minor injuries. We have stopped the rescue operation. The building contractor has given us in writing that nobody is trapped under the debris. Three labourers were working there and throwing building construction materials inside when the building collapsed, said assistant divisional officer (fire services) Rajesh Shukla, who supervised the rescue operation.

Shukla added local residents told them that there was an old building at a plot that was demolished some months ago and a new building was being constructed. The ground and first floors were constructed on the 45-square-yard plot. The process of constructing the roof the second floor was going on and construction materials for the same was being arranged when the entire building collapsed, said Shukla.

Municipal officials have been informed about the incident and they have been asked to find out if the building was being constructed illegally or the contractor had been flouting rules after obtaining permission for it.
Airport transfers dont have to be complicated or hectic, yet most of the time, you find that they are so due to many reasons that can be avoided. Some reasons for this include an awful flight that makes everything jaded, a rental car company that doesnt live to its promise, or the rush and traffic common at airports. If you have a trip coming up that involves air transport, you need to start early and prepare adequately. Also, partnering with a reliable and safe shuttle company like Black Car Service Houston can lessen your hassle and ensure a memorable journey. In this article, we reveal the most important things to consider when choosing an airport shuttle provider that exceeds your needs.

Do your homework

Consider all options: Take time to understand the area you will be traveling to and all the transportation means available. Weigh the risks that each option has and choose the best one that fits your needs. While researching, do not rely solely on one information source.

You can usually find general information at http://www.state.gov/travel/ , and if you want information specific to particular countries, visit http://www.state.gov/misc/list/index.htm . Pay keen attention to criminal activities that target Americans and troubled areas. Another place to visit for more detailed info is http://www.usembassy.gov/ .

, and if you want information specific to particular countries, visit . Pay keen attention to criminal activities that target Americans and troubled areas. Another place to visit for more detailed info is . Do internet research: Go to the official websites for the city, airport, province, etc, that you intend to travel to. Forums travel blogs, and websites are fantastic places to get information.

Talk to your friends or co-workers that have traveled to the same destination that you plan to visit. They are the best sources of firsthand experience and knowledge. You may also want to talk to the host or hotel where you have been booked.

Plan and prepare in advance

You must always have a backup plan because you just never know what might happen.

Public Transportation: if you will be using public transportation, it helps to know the pick-up times, hours of operation, and locations and just about anything you learn during your search. Also, its important to know the estimated cost and which payment methods are acceptable.

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If your plans are to use a pre-arranged service for instance a limo, make sure you call the luxury car rental company in advance and inform them about the specific time to wait for you. Make sure you give them your flight information. You should also be armed with a phone number or any other way of contacting them should the link-up not work out as planned. Get familiarized with the Route to your destination from the airport: Emergencies do happen and you need to have a clear plan of who to call. If you are prohibited from traveling with an international cell phone, you need to ensure you have a couple of prepaid phone cards to use for your destination.

Executive services are the best

Premium car service might look expensive but if you want hassle-free travel that never disappoints, it is your best option. A luxury car is especially important for business meetings. When trying to win business or crack deals, it doesnt help to come in an ordinary car that looks cheap. Communicate the air of class with a well-maintained limo hire.

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Other tips

Communicate with your driver: Would you like anything during your travel to and from the airport? The best person to contact is your driver. You could have forgotten to purchase anything so tell your driver to drop you at a shop. Even if you need to stretch your legs a little, you just need to talk to your drive.

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If anyone wants to dissuade you from your chosen mode of transport, its best to stay away from them. You need to be especially careful about good deal offers that seem to be too good. Scammers are everywhere and the best way is to always stick to your plan. If you have any doubts, do not hesitate to ask an airport employee. Ask for an ID: Even when boarding a pre-arranged service like a hotel limo, you should still ask for ID. Drivers of reputable companies like Black Car Service Houston will always provide this information even if you dont ask for it. If they are hesitant, you know you are about to be scammed.

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Whether you need airport transfers for executive meetings, leisure travel, corporate event, or roadshows, you can trust Black Car Service Houston. For more details on how you can book a car, visit lavishride.com.
Union Home Minister on Monday hailed the decision to increase the minimum price for buying six Rabi crops and said those opposing the government's agricultural reform initiatives are actually opposed to the happiness of and the true value of their produce.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, Shah said by increasing the (MSP) of wheat by Rs 50 per quintal, of gram by Rs 225 per quintal, of barley by Rs 75 per quintal, of lentils by Rs 300 per quintal, of mustard and rapeseed by Rs 225 per quintal and of 'Kusumbh' by Rs 112 per quintal, Prime Minister has made a meaningful effort towards doubling the income of the

"Every day and every moment of the Modi government has been devoted to the welfare of and poor.

"Today, by increasing the MSP of six Rabi crops, the central government, under the leadership of the prime minister has reiterated its same resolve. I express my heartfelt gratitude to Shri and Shri Narendra Singh Tomar for this," he said.

Shah said those who are looking to reclaim their lost political ground by "provoking" farmers, had purchased only 1.25 lakh metric tonnes of pulses while in power between 2009-14, while the Modi government has purchased 76.85 lakh metric tonnes of pulses in 2014-19.

"This difference of 4,962 per cent clearly shows the dedication of Modi ji," he said.

The home minister also said that those opposing the Modi government's agricultural reform bills are actually opposed to the happiness of farmers and the true value of their produce.

"These people do not want that the food provider who feeds the country will ever be as rich and empowered as them. But the Modi government will continue to give farmers their rights," 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.)
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Everglades restoration projects will require about $7.4 billion over the next 10 years, compared with $6 billion spent through 2019, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said while presenting a draft of its work schedule.

The estimated cost for 2020-30 is what has been authorized for construction, and doesn't include other projects that are currently waiting for authorization, said Eva Velez, a Corps project manager who oversees the integrated delivery schedule of Everglades restoration projects. Under the schedule presented this week, the federal and state governments will need to spend about a billion dollars every year through 2026.

She said the Corps is also counting on Congress speeding up delayed projects by passing water resources and infrastructure bills every two years, as it has done since 2014.

When Everglades restoration was authorized in 2000, its goal of 68 original projects was based on the idea that Congress would approve such bills every two years, but no bills passed between 2007 and 2014, stalling some of the work.

"We are ready to go, we have big work to do with lots of investments, but in order to keep it going we also need the bills to pass so that we can keep the hopper full and keep making progress," Velez said during a presentation of the draft schedule as it stands in 2020 to federal and state agencies.

The projects include a massive reservoir approved by Congress in 2018 that's being built just south of Lake Okeechobee to clean polluted water before it reaches the Everglades.

The marshlike water treatment area is also designed to reduce dirty water discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries. In 2018, polluted water from the lake fueled slimy green algae blooms on both rivers and contributed to a red tide that littered the Gulf Coast with dead fish.

A new project still in working draft format that probably won't start until 2023 is a southern Everglades restoration plan. The main goals are to improve seepage issues from conservation areas in the area and to open up those areas, which have been compartmentalized by decades of flood control. Works to move more water to the southern Everglades will also be part of the project, Velez said.

2020 Miami Herald

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Supreme Court on Monday quashed the decision of National Law School of India University, Bengaluru (NLSIU) to hold a separate entrance exam, National Law Aptitude Test (NLAT) for admission to its the 5 years integrated LLB programme and the postgraduate LLM programme in place of Common Law Admissions Test (CLAT).

A 3-judge bench headed by justice Ashok Bhushan set aside the September 3 notification issued by NLSIU which had announced NLAT in place of CLAT.

The bench which also comprised justices R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah ordered NLSIU to carry out admissions as per CLAT and ordered that admissions should be completed by the mid of October.

Admission to LLB courses offered by 22 National Law Universities (NLUs) in different states is based on the CLAT score which is held every year by a consortium of NLUs. CLAT is scheduled to be held on September 28.

However, NLSIU decided that it would hold a separate entrance test this year, the NLAT, in view of the delay in conducting CLAT due to Covid-19. A notification was also issued on September 3 announcing its decision to hold NLAT.

Candidates will be selected on the basis of the aggregate marks secured in an online home-based Entrance Examination known as NLAT. The NLAT 2020 will test applicants for admission to the undergraduate B.A., LL.B. (Hons), and postgraduate LL.M programmes commencing in 2020, the notification said.

It also made it clear that NLSIU will not accept CLAT 2020 scores for admission for the academic Year 2020-21. According to the notification, NLSIU preferred to opt-out of CLAT this year because it has to complete admissions before the end of September 2020 failing which it will inevitably result in a Zero Year with no admission. This is because the NLSIU follows a trimester system with 3 terms of 90 days duration.

Each term must accommodate 60 hours of classroom instruction in each course and adequately provide for examination and evaluation processes. Further, the academic offering for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th year of the B.A., LL.B programme as well as the LL.M programme is fully integrated and requires a common academic calendar, the notification explained.

Later another notification was issued stipulating technical requirements for writing the exam. As per the notification, candidates should have a computer system with a minimum internet bandwidth of 1 Mbps and exams can be given using laptops or desktops alone with integrated webcam and microphone. Further, only Windows operating system would be allowed.

Dr. Venkat Rao, who was a former Vice-Chancellor at NLSIU, approached the Supreme Court challenging NLAT stating that the decision taken by the Executive Council of NLSIU to conduct NLAT was illegal and without any legal authority.

Further, the notification mandating technical requirements to give the exam are onerous and cast an unreasonable burden on students, the plea said. A parent of one of the law school aspirants was also a petitioner along with Rao.

The Supreme Court had on September 11 allowed NLSIU to hold NLAT as an interim measure but asked the university not to declare results or admit students till the court arrives at a final decision. The university had conducted NLAT pursuant to that order.
By Akbar Mammadov

Armenias real intention is to continue aggression, not peace, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement on September 21.

The ministry noted that on September 21 night, the Armenian armed forces launched another provocation in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz region on the border, killing Azerbaijani Junior Sergeant Elshan Mammadov.

Following the recent statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry on ensuring peace and regional security in the region and the statement of the Armenian Foreign Minister calling for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, this bloody provocation is a clear demonstration of the Armenian government's real intention to continue aggression, not peace.

The ministry stressed that the military-political leadership of Armenia bears all the responsibility for this bloody crime committed by the adversary forces on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Earlier, on the night of September 20, Azerbaijan's Air Defense Units destroyed a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the units of the Armenian armed forces. This was the ninth UAV belonging to Armenian army units that have been downed in the Azerbaijani territories after attempting to carry out a reconnaissance flight over the positions of the Azerbaijani Army's units since July 16.

Earlier, on September 14, an Azerbaijani military serviceman was wounded as a result of Armenian cease-fire violation in the direction of Hajalli village in Azerbaijans Tovuz region on the state border. Azerbaijani Armys Warrant Officer Aliyev Renat has received medical treatment and his condition is stable.

It should be noted that Armenia has stepped up its military provocation recently, staging sabotage both on the border and on the line of contact.

On July 12, Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijan's positions in Tovuz, Azerbaijan's strategically-important district. The attack killed 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, as well as a 76-year-old civilian. Armenian forces retreated after suffering losses in Azerbaijan's retaliation.

Since 16 July, eight UAVs of the Armenian armed forces, attempting to carry out a reconnaissance flight over the positions of the Azerbaijani Army's units, have been destroyed by the Azerbaijani Air Defense units.

Another provocation was staged on August 23 at around 6:00 am when Azerbaijan thwarted a provocation attempt by the sabotage-reconnaissance group of the Armenian armed forces in the direction of Goranboy region of Azerbaijan. As a result of measures taken by the Azerbaijani army, the commander of the sabotage-reconnaissance group of the Armenian Armed Forces, senior lieutenant Gurgen Alaverdyan was taken as prisoner.

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.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:23:16|Editor: huaxia

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A tricycle passes through downtown Malacca, Malaysia, Sept. 19, 2020. Despite not being an entrepot anymore, Malacca still attracts tourists from around the world, as tourism is becoming a pillar of the local economy. The industry took a hard hit amid the pandemic, but as Malaysians can now travel within the country, the place is slowly coming back to life. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

MALACCA, Malaysia, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- From a stall selling grilled seafood at the weekend night market of Jonker Street, a well-known tourist trap in Malaysia's historic city of Malacca state, Loh Kee Seong watches the passers-by intently as they browse through the various food options available.

Loh, who helps his nephew with the business, was upbeat about the return of tourists since the Malaysian government relaxed the restrictive measures against COVID-19 in June to allow most businesses, including tourism, to resume.

"We are getting many local visitors for now," he told Xinhua. "Things will get better."

Jonker Street is at the heart of Malacca's historic towns and has traditional Chinese-style arcades with overhanging stands on both sides of the street. They are mixed with multi-cultural heritage originating from Europe, the Middle East and Asia which were brought into the town when Malacca served as a major trading hub in the region several hundred years ago.

Despite not being an entrepot anymore, Malacca still attracts tourists from around the world, as tourism is becoming a pillar of the local economy. The industry took a hard hit amid the pandemic, but as Malaysians can now travel within the country, the place is slowly coming back to life.

The Jonker Street night market reopened in late June. Hawkers and visitors still have to observe the standard operating procedures (SOP) against the outbreak including usual rules on face masks and temperature checks. Those aged below 13 are not allowed into the area. No tables or chairs are set up for eating but for takeaways only.

Undeterred, domestic tourists like Esther Ang Woon Ai from Kuala Lumpur and Iman Cullen Cornelius from the northern Terengganu state visited the area during a recent weekend, looking to break the monotony of a normal life.

Ang, 19, said she had decided to come down to enjoy the food and to visit local friends, noting that while the crowd was small, the attractions remained just as good and were more accessible.

"The crowd here is actually much lesser compared to the normal times, but I still feel it is a very nice place to visit for tourists," she said.

Tourism, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman of Malacca state Muhammad Jailani Khamis was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama recently that the state's tourism had recovered with an influx of 8,000 tourists per week by August, particularly on weekends and public holidays.

Tourism is a major contributor to Malaysia's economy, making up 15.9 percent of Malaysia's GDP in 2019, up from 15.2 percent in 2018, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

The contribution of domestic tourism spending towards overall tourism consumption increased to 50.9 percent in 2019, outpacing the inbound tourism expenditure by foreign tourist for the first time since 2005. The trend is good news for Malaysia's tourism industry, as foreign tourists are still not allowed to enter the country to prevent imported COVID-19 cases.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri said earlier this month that plans to revive tourism and cultural sectors through domestic tourism campaigns are beginning to show positive developments.

"In facing these challenges, my dedicated team in ministry and I will always look for the best initiatives and methods towards 'The Great Re-Set' to re-invigorate the tourism, arts and culture sectors, especially domestic tourism," she told media recently.

While the country's borders remained closed, it is important to find ways to survive the current difficulties while maintaining the interest of foreign tourists in Malaysia, said Mint Leong, deputy president of the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA).

"While we prepare for borders to reopen, the industry is adopting a 'survival first, business later' approach through exploring new tourism products and packages for international tourists in the new normal," she said.

For Loh at the Jonker Street night market in Malacca, he was conscious that the recovery would take time. "I hope that the COVID-19 will go off and hope they (the government) will open foreign market, so people will come in," he said. Enditem
With his tall, fragile stature and thick-framed glasses, Doan Ba Khanh Nguyen seems older than his peers. Learning English since the age of six, Khanh Nguyen can now communicate in English with the confidence and natural ease of a native speaker. During his preparation for the IELTS test at the Vietnam-USA Society English Centre (VUS), he was also equipped with useful skills and secrets to help achieve his success today.

Practice is essential

Nguyen shared that seizing every opportunity to practice is the most important thing to do when learning English. He spared no effort to practice English every time and everywhere the chance arose, especially by communicating with his English teachers or chatting with his friends  making headway almost effortlessly while having fun.

With a track record of more than 20 years in English teaching, VUS system includes more than 39 cutting-edge campuses across Vietnam.

In addition, a highly interactive environment with friendly and professional teachers whom he came to love as his friends has given him motivation and filled him with joy each time he came to school.

The IELTS exam is not as hard as most people think. Stay relaxed throughout the exam and dont pressure yourself. At first, I was only shooting for a 7.5, it was my confidence and loose mindset throughout the exam that helped me do even better, Nguyen said.

Frequent practice is the recipe for Khanh Nguyens success

Khanh Nguyens journey to IELTS success has been helped by a heavy influence from his mother, Ai Van. She said that as soon as Nguyen started Grade 1, she was encouraging him to learn English as she believed mastering this world language would set her son up for a better future. Following the recommendation of a friend, Van brought Khanh Nguyen to VUS where he took his first steps towards English mastery.

Ai Van, the mother of Khanh Nguyen, is proud of her sons achievement

A high IELTS score is not beyond reach if one begins learning English at a young age.

Finding a trusty companion

When embarking on the long journey of learning English or taking on the training for the IELTS exam, most are daunted and discouraged by what seems to be an impossible task. Therefore, finding a trustworthy companion is of paramount importance! Choosing a reputable language centre with not only a world-class learning environment but a genuine wish to be your friendly guide would be an excellent start.

Presenting international certificates to VUS learners

With a track record of more than 20 years in English teaching, the Vietnam-USA Society English Centre (VUS) system includes more than 39 cutting-edge campuses across Vietnam.

VUS has set a new record in Vietnam in the number of trainees acquiring international English certificates with 138,330 students, attesting to the centre's reputation as a top choice for more than 2.67 million Vietnamese families.

Currently, VUS has on offer a wide assortment of international-standard English courses (English for kids, for adults, and IELTS courses) along with attractive promotions to welcome the new academic year. For more details, visit the schools website ( vus.edu.vn ) or contact the hotline at (028) 7308 3333.
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 10:42:40|Editor: huaxia

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KAMPALA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Sunday reopened its international airport and land borders for tourists and citizens who had been stranded abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The international airport and land borders will now be opened for tourists, coming in and going out, provided they tested negative 72 hours before arrival in Uganda," said President Yoweri Museveni in a televised address.

Measures will be taken to ensure that tourists and returning Ugandans will not be mixed, he added.

"Tourists will be driven straight from the airport to their destinations or to designated transit hotels," said Museveni.

While returning Ugandan citizens from abroad who have tested negative for COVID-19 will be allowed to go home directly, instead of being quarantined for 14 days as previously, he said, adding that "the health ministry will only get their addresses for follow up."

"Restrictions on movements on border districts are hereby lifted," Museveni noted.

According to Uganda Civil Aviation Authority last week, international flights will resume on Oct. 1, about six months after the government closed airports in the wake of the pandemic. Enditem
Indias economic policy has always had an urban bias. Whether it was to support early industrialization by keeping food prices low, or to mop up rural savings for funding industrial growth, the rural and hence agricultural sector has been at the receiving end of a bad bargain. Even the switch to an inflation-targeting mandate given to the central bank in 2016 has been deflationary for agriculture, as food items constitute more than half its reference index for retail inflation (by weightage). That the terms of trade were stacked against agriculture was known. It was also formally documented in the calculation of Indias aggregate measure of support (AMS) that was a prerequisite to joining the World Trade Organization in 1995. For most countries, especially in the West, AMS was positive, whereas for India it was and is still negative. Over the years, this imbalance was sought to be corrected by input subsidies for fertilizers, electricity, water and farm credit. Output price support was provided through government procurement and its mechanism of minimum support prices (MSPs). This is the paternalistic yet heavy hand of the state trying to help farmers. Not to forget other intrusive measures, like frequent bans on the import and export of various agricultural products, stock limits masquerading as anti-hoarding" laws, and carving up geographic areas for exclusive input sourcing, as in the case of cane for sugar mills. Basically, the farmers life is defined by state intrusion. That is why the rallying cry of Shetkari Sanghatana, one of the first prominent nationwide farmer organizations, was give us freedom". Its founder, Sharad Joshi (1935-2015) coined the slogan, Bheek nako, ghamache daam hawe" (we dont want alms, we want the fair price of our sweat and toil). For more, see  Remembering Sharad Joshi, the jeans-clad farmer , Mint, 14 June 2017.

Joshi also realized that it was not enough to demand higher output prices through the MSP regime. Any state intervention in the market invariably leads to another counter-intervention to undo its unintended side-effects, and the cycle continues. The whole statist system had to be dismantled. This meant removing the shackles of the Essential Commodities Act, doing away with compulsory procurement, allowing tenancy farming and land leasing, improving credit flow, legitimizing moneylenders with proper regulation, enabling direct contact among buyers and sellers (including for contract farming), removing export controls and allowing forward markets, derivatives and speculation. He was one of the first to advocate liberalization of the agriculture sector.

One wonders how Joshi, who was once a Rajya Sabha member, would have reacted to the farm bills India has just passed. He would have been disappointed with the process, and the fact that important reforms were pushed through first as ordinances and then just by a voice vote in Parliament. There was no debate, no reference to a select committee, nor consultation with states, even though agriculture is a state subject. But he would also have welcomed the spirit of reforms; i.e., of diluting the middlemans power exercised through agriculture produce marketing committees (APMCs), of axeing arbitrary stock limits on private traders, and of enabling business deals between firms and farmers.

It is instructive to recall an agitation led by Joshi for the tobacco growers of Nipani in 1981. Many had small land holdings and suffered at the hands of an oligopolistic cartel of traders who not only squeezed prices, but also indulged in illegal practices like arbitrary deductions in weight or amounts paid. Payments were usually late. Joshi described it as almost feudal exploitation, a version of what prevails even today in many APMCs for a variety of crops. So the Joshi-led Shetkari Sanghatana demanded a fair price, about 30% higher, since input costs had escalated. They organized road blocks as part of a civil disobedience protest, though after issuing adequate notice and exhausting all other avenues to get farmers some relief. Unfortunately, despite the peaceful nature of that agitation, which lasted for about two weeks and drew over 40,000 farmers, they faced brutalities that left ten people dead. It was clear that the struggle of farmers to get economic freedom and a fair deal was inextricably linked to the political economy. Vested interests wanted the status quo. A diehard reformer, Joshi also saw the relevance of the states role in ensuring fair prices for farmers.

This is the crux of the angst over MSPs. The current agitation is not so much against APMCs turning irrelevant, but against MSPs vanishing. These provide price insurance, which is otherwise available only through efficient and liquid forward markets linked with global markets. But that is a bridge too far for India. Until then, the country needs a fiscally supported MSP regime operating under government-run APMCs (as MSPs cant be forced on private buyers). While the bills passed are pro-market reform, the government has pre-emptively banned the export of onions in a knee-jerk fashion. This denies farmers lucrative prices, and is yet another example of urban bias. In the last three months, Indias import duty on masur dal has been cut from 30% to 10%, raised back to 30%, and then decreased again to 10%. With such volatile and intrusive policies, is it any surprise that farmers are anxious about whether the APMC dilutions endgame is the complete elimination of MSPs? Nothing short of a written legal promise will assuage this anxiety. Joshi would concur.

Ajit Ranade is an economist and a senior fellow at The Takshashila Institution, an independent centre for research and education in public policy.

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Protesters gathered outside the home of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) on Sunday and of Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) on Monday morning in an attempt to pressure the two Republicans to delay the confirmation of a new Supreme Court justice.

Members of anti-Trump activist group Shutdown D.C. and anti-global-warming group the Sunrise Movement gathered at Grahams house in Washington, D.C., at about 6 a.m. on Monday. Demonstrators banged on drums and cymbals and turned on strobe lights, while several made speeches calling for the winner of the November presidential election to nominate a justice.

Video Thread: This morning, activists with @ShutDown_DC and @sunrisemvmt used strobe lights, instruments and chants to "wake up @LindseyGrahamSC" outside his house in Washington DC to demand he not confirm a replacement for #RBG on the Supreme Court until after the inauguration. pic.twitter.com/31It0cQTJj  Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) September 21, 2020

I want to unpack for a second just how messed-up it is that an old rich white man like Lindsey Graham has so much power in this country, one activist said through a megaphone. The Senate is Americas most structurally-racist institutionthat stands as a rebuke to democracy and is a bulwark of white power.

DC residents will be fighting for their children and grandchildren early Monday morning, by insisting that Trump should not be allowed to fill his third lifelong Supreme Court appointment, tipping the court for generations, the groups said in a statement.

Story continues

Additionally, roughly 100 protesters stood outside McConnells home in Louisville, Ky., on Sunday chanting Hey hey, ho ho, Mitch McConnell has got to go and calling to vote him out!

Both McConnell and Graham have both said a vote on Trumps nomination should move forward, although it is not clear if the Senate will hold the vote before the elections or during the pre-inauguration lame duck session. President Trump on Monday said he would reveal his nomination this coming weekend, and that a confirmation vote should occur as soon as possible.

The protests outside McConnells and Grahams homes are the latest example of a tactic that demonstrators have used across the U.S. over the summer. Demonstrators have gathered to advocate defunding the police at the homes of Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan as well as Portland mayor Ted Wheeler, and rioters even started a fire in the street outside Wheelers residence in late August.

Chad Wolf, the acting director of the Department of Homeland Security, was subjected to the same treatment at his Arlington, Va. home in July.

More from National Review
DAKAR, Senegal  A military officer who helped depose the president of Mali in a coup last month has announced that a retired colonel will lead the West African country as interim president until elections are held in 2022.

Malian soldiers abducted the former president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, and made him resign on state television in August in a coordinated coup that capitalized on a ballooning popular uprising against the government.

Regional leaders from the Economic Community of West African States had tried but failed to mediate talks with the protest movement before the coup. After Mr. Keita was overthrown on Aug. 18, Ecowas leaders met with the coup plotters in an attempt to limit the period of time before the next elections were held and to insist that a military officer not lead the interim government.

Though the new president, Bah NDaou, is technically a civilian, he is both a retired military officer and a former defense minister who served under Mr. Keita. He also served as an aide to Malis former military dictator, Moussa Traore.
My current strategy in encouraging non-mask compliant strangers to put on a mask is as follows: give them a dirty look and then briskly walk past them in a big curve as if they have a magnetic force field that repels everything. Not surprisingly, it doesnt work. Either they dont notice, dont care, or think Im smizing.

Fortunately, the majority of people I see when outside have been following public health guidelines, but what should I do (if anything at all) when I see that one person not wearing a mask or physically distancing? I want to look out for the safety of those around me. After all, were supposed to be in this COVID-19 pandemic together, right?

I asked my Twitter followers what they do when coming across someone not physically distancing or wearing a mask. Most replied they keep their distance and move on, adding its not worth it to risk having an angry individual get close to their face. Others said they have tried to tell people to mask up but were ignored. When it comes to a business, some just dont shop there anymore if they dont feel safe.

University of Toronto psychology professor Steve Joordens says even with the best intentions, its easy to come off as accusatory when asking someone to wear a mask. When confronted, people tend to have a flight or fight response, and as weve seen through countless viral videos, a few have opted for the latter.

Joordens says there is a temptation to automatically think of a non-mask wearer as a conspiracy theorist who doesnt believe in COVID-19, and while there are people that fit that description, there are also individuals who might still be in a state of denial that a pandemic is happening after going through personal trauma such as losing a job or a family member.

To some extent we lost our previous way of life and wearing a mask is associated with accepting that life isnt going to be the same, he said. For some people, that is hard to accept.

If its a person you feel like you could reason with, Joordens suggests giving them a chance to express why theyre not wearing a mask or where their frustrations are coming from in order to cool down what could be a hostile situation. It might make it hard for them to rationalize their current actions and be a turning point for them.

But if its in a public setting like a grocery store, Joordens says its better to ask staff to intervene because they have the authority to enforce rules.

They have some status and they can cite store policy, he said. They can say, I know its a pain, but wearing a mask is literally store policy and were going to face a fine if someone is without a mask. For them to make it less personal can be more effective.

Associate professor Suzanne Sicchia in the teaching stream of the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health says shaming people, arguing with them and calling them COVIDIOTS isnt going to get any positive outcomes.

She agrees with Joordens  if its someone youre comfortable talking to, try to get at the root of their actions, and maybe keep a spare mask and bottle of sanitizer for a friend or family member.

If its a stranger, Sicchia says its easier to make it about you.

She recalls going grocery shopping in the spring and being approached by a woman in her 80s who wasnt wearing a mask, as well as another man who said he just came back from a trip. Sicchia kept stepping back as the two tried to strike up a conversation with her. She told them that she wanted to keep her distance because she didnt want to get either of them sick. I just say I dont want to affect you, she said.

Dr. Vinita Dubey, associate medical officer of Toronto Public Health, said in an email there are legitimate medical reasons a mask may be difficult for someone to wear, such as those cognitive conditions, disabilities or mobility issues.

Those individuals should be extra mindful to stay home if sick, wash their hands frequently and keep a physical distance from others, Dubey says. If you are in the presence of someone unable to wear a mask, she adds, the best protection is to maintain the minimum two-metre buffer zone.

Above all, protect yourself first, Sichhia adds. Both Joordens and Sicchia say sometimes its just easier to take yourself out of a situation where you dont feel safe or feel that policies arent being enforced. Follow mask protocols, maintain your distance and set an example for everyone to follow.

Personally, Im having a blast trying to think of a Halloween costume that would go with a mask.

Correction  Sept. 21, 2020: This story was edited to correct the spelling of Steve Joordens surname.
Top Senate Republicans Reaffirm Support for Trump Moving to Replace Ginsburg

Top GOP senators on Monday reiterated their support for moving to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Clinton nominee who died on Friday.

President Trumps nominee for this vacancy will receive a vote on the floor of the senate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed on the Senate floor in Washington.

Supreme Court nominees are initially vetted by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Like all Senate committees, it is controlled by Republicans because they hold a majority in the upper congressional chamber.

In a Sept. 21 letter to Democrat members of the committee, Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said voters elected to extend that majority in the 2018 midterms because Republicans committed to confirming President Trumps excellent judicial nomineesand particularly because we committed to supporting his Supreme Court nominees.

I am certain if the shoe were on the other foot, you would do the same, he added later.

Opposition to Trumps intention to quickly nominate a replacement for Ginsburgthe president said earlier Monday hes targeting Friday or Saturday to announce his nomineeby either Graham or McConnell would imperil the process.

They and most Republican senators, though, have announced their support for the move.

Demonstrators gather outside the home of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in Washington on Sept. 21, 2020. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, giving more wiggle room than they had during the bruising confirmation battle for Justice Brett Kavanaugh two years ago. But two Republican senators are already on the record speaking out against considering a nominee prior to the Nov. 3 election, and some havent stated their position.

Three potential swing votes who havent committed to supporting Trump are Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

A 50-50 tie could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence, but opposition from four or more Republicans would likely spell disaster.

Most Democrats have said the Senate shouldnt consider a nominee until after voters decide to re-elect Trump or choose Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Several moderate Democrats could side with the GOP, but none have said yet they plan on doing so.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the only Democrat to vote for Kavanaugh, said Monday he opposes voting on Ginsburgs replacement before Nov. 3.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) speaks in Washington on June 16, 2020. (Toni L. Sandys/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

McConnell appealed to colleagues on the floor Monday, pointing to threats Democrat lawmakers and activists have issued, from packing the court if Biden gets elected to burning down government buildings, and calling into question claims there isnt enough time to undertake the confirmation process before the election.

Ginsburg and other justices have been confirmed in much less time than the 43 days remaining, the lawmaker said.

He also spurned those who try comparing what unfolded in 2016, when Republicans refused to consider President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominee, noting that the divided government existing then doesnt exist now with the GOP holding both the Senate and the presidency.

Eight times in our nations history new vacancies have arisen and presidents have made nominations all during the election year. Seven of the eight were confirmed, and the sole exception, Justice Abe Fortas, was a situation including personal corruption that extended into financial dealings, he said.

Apart from that one strange exception, no senate has failed to confirm a nominee in the circumstances that face us right now.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) stood next, telling senators that McConnell on March 1, 2016, said blocking Obamas nominee would give the voters a voice in filling the vacancy.

If that was how Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans justify their mindless obstruction of President Obamas nominee, surely they must abide by their own standard. Whats fair is fair. Whats fair is fair. A senators word must count for something, he said.

There is only one way for us to have some hope of coming together again, trusting each other again, lowering the temperature, moving forward, and that is for four brave Senate Republicans to commit to rejecting any nominee until the next president is installed, he added. That was Justice Ginsburgs dying wish, and it may be the Senates only last hope.
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Linkedin Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 19:42 487 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c463931e 1 National house-of-representatives,legislation,baleg,PKS,PAN,family-resilience-bill,private-lives,law,DPR,political-parties,Indonesian-politics,controversy,family Free

The House of Representatives has started to deliberate the controversial family resilience bill as lawmakers behind the bill, which is deemed by critics to interfere in the private lives of residents, submitted the substance to the House Legislation Body (Baleg) on Monday.

Lawmaker Netty Prasetiyani of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) highlighted in the meeting with Baleg that the government must protect families, the basis for making public policies, from vulnerability.

If each family is able to build immunity and antibodies against [life challenges], then family resilience will become a pillar of national resilience, Netty said, as livestreamed on YouTube on Monday.

Another proponent of the bill, lawmaker Ali Taher of the National Mandate Party (PAN), argued that the bill was important to address the social gap between rural and urban areas, which according to him, would cause various social issues that disrupted family resilience.

Gaps between rural and urban areas would cause six basic problems, namely unemployment, poverty, family disorganization, crime, free sex and drugs, which affect family resilience, Ali said.

So the presence of this law is important to strengthen our national resilience.

Ali further said the family resilience bill was also necessary to protect families from the negative impact of globalization, which he said could shake the socioeconomic order and cause a shift in Indonesian cultural values.

Read also: Bedroom bill: Silly in the streets, unenforceable in the sheets

The bill was widely debated earlier this year after it was included in the Houses 2020 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) priority list, along with several other problematic bills.

Members of the public and activists have heavily criticized the 98-page draft bill as it included provisions interfering in personal matters and attempts to bring back the traditional and patriarchal way of managing households.

Critics pointed out some questionable provisions in the bill, such as Article 24, which stipulates that married couples must love each other, and Article 25, which states that husbands and wives must perform their individual roles in accordance with religious norms and social ethics.

The bill also sought to prohibit sperm and egg donors and that parents and children, as well as brothers and sisters, should have separate bedrooms. The bill also specified that LGBT people and bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism (BDSM) practitioners must undergo rehabilitation, with their families obliged to report them to the authorities.

Besides Netty and Ali, the other initiators of the family resilience bill were Ledia Hanifa of the PKS, Endang Maria Astuti of the Golkar Party and Sodik Mudjahid of the Gerindra Party.

However, Golkar, Gerindra and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have denied they are officially supporting the bill, saying any expression of support came from individual members acting on their own and not from the parties.

In July, the House and the government revised the 2020 Prolegnas list, approving to drop 16 of 50 bills and adding three more. However, the family resilience bill and other controversial bills, namely the omnibus bill on job creation, as well as bills on the criminal code, correctional center and Pancasila ideology guidelines (HIP), remained on the list.
Jacy Lewis/Reporter-Telegram

Odessa Arts will award $295,000 in cultural tourism grants to 15 arts agencies for events and initiatives in 2021, according to a press release.

Cultural Tourism grants are funded through Hotel Occupancy Tax. Applicants must demonstrate cultural significance as well as direct impact on the hotel industry in Odessa, according to the release.
Donald Trump's move to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the presidential election is an "abuse of power", his Democratic rival Joe Biden says.

Mr Trump has said he will nominate a woman to replace the longstanding liberal justice.

Mr Biden has urged Senate Republicans to delay a confirmation vote.

Ginsburg, a liberal icon and feminist standard-bearer, died on Friday, aged 87.

The appointment of judges to the Supreme Court is a political decision in which the president chooses who is put forward. The Senate then votes to confirm - or reject - that choice.

Democrats fear Republicans will vote to lock in a decades-long conservative majority on the country's highest court.

The ideological balance of the nine-member court is crucial to its rulings on the most important issues in US law.

What has Biden said about Trump's decision?

Mr Biden on Sunday said the president had "made clear this is about power, pure and simple".

"The United States constitution allows Americans the chance to be heard - and their voice should be heard... they should make it clear, they will not stand for this abuse of power," he said.

Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice-President Joe Biden delivers remarks regarding the Supreme Court at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, 20 September 2020 - Copyright: REUTERS

Image captionJoe Biden: "Our country faces a choice - about whether we come back from the brink"

"I appeal to those Senate Republicans - please follow your conscience, let the people speak, cool the flames that have been engulfing our country."

Mr Biden said that if he won the presidential election, Mr Trump's nominee should be withdrawn. He said he would then consult senators from both parties before putting forward his choice.

He has not named any potential nominees, but said his first choice "will make history as the first African American woman on the court".

How have senators reacted?

Two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have backed a delay in the vote.

Maine Senator Ms Collins said she had "no objection" to the process of reviewing a candidate beginning now, but that she did not believe the Senate should vote on the candidate prior to November's election.

Alaska Senator Ms Murkowski said she "did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election" and believed the "same standard must apply" now.

Both women have broken away from party lines in the past, including on issues like abortion rights. Ms Collins faces a tough re-election bid this year and is trying to defend her reputation as a moderate.

If they are joined by two more Republican senators, they could block or at least delay a confirmation vote, as the Republicans have a majority of only six in the 100-seat Senate.

In the event that the vote is a tie, the US constitution allows Vice-President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote.

To avoid that outcome, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is seeking to secure the support of Republican senators. He has already won the backing of Republican Senator Lamar Alexander, who was viewed as a potential swing vote.

On Sunday, Mr Alexander said the US Constitution "gives senators the power" to vote on a Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year.

Democrats have vigorously opposed any nomination before November's election, arguing that Senate Republicans blocked Democratic President Barack Obama's choice for the US top court in 2016.

What has Trump said about Ginsburg's successor?

Mr Trump has vowed to swear in Ginsburg's successor "without delay".

"I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men," he said at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday.

President Donald Trump gestures during a campaign event in Fayetteville, Arkansas - Copyright: REUTERS

Image captionPresident Trump said Ginsburg's successor will be a "very talented, very brilliant woman"

Earlier, Mr Trump praised two female judges who serve on federal courts of appeals as possible choices. Both judges - Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa - are conservatives who would tip the balance of the Supreme Court further in favour of the Republicans.

Mr McConnell said he intended to act on any nomination Mr Trump made and bring it to a vote in the Senate before election day.

How quickly can a Supreme Court justice be appointed?

Since 1975, it has taken about 70 days on average for the Senate to confirm a nominee.

After the president announces his nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee vets the nominee and holds confirmation hearings. Nominees usually meet senators in person in Washington DC, and if the committee approves the nomination, it goes to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote, where a simple majority is needed.

Doing all of this before the 3 November election - less than 50 days away - would require uncharacteristic speed.

The last time the process was completed within this period was in 1993, with Ginsburg, when it took 42 days for her to be confirmed by the Senate, according to Congressional Research Service data.

In a statement to her granddaughter, days before her death, Ginsburg - one of only four liberals on the nine-seat bench - expressed her "fervent wish" not to be replaced until a new president had taken office.

How have Americans been paying tribute to Ginsburg?

Ginsburg, only the second-ever woman to sit on the Supreme Court, died of metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Displays of grief, appreciation and anxiety have been seen across the US, as the country reflects on her ground-breaking legal career and the future direction of the Supreme Court.

Supporters of the woman some affectionately called "The Notorious RBG" - a play on the name of the late rapper, The Notorious B.I.G - have been gathering outside the Supreme Court in Washington DC since Friday night. Visitors to the court have left flowers and signs in tribute.

[POTO]https://cdn.modernghana.com/images/content/921202021823-rvmyqdc553-_114505464_75c1da78-0e14-4f9a-9be6-ecc0055ed0ab.jpg|People gather outside the US Supreme Court for a vigil following the death of Ginsburg - Copyright: REUTERS[/PHOTO]

Image captionMourners have been gathering outside the Supreme Court since Friday night

The Supreme Court said flags on its front plaza will be flown at half-mast for 30 days in honour of Ginsburg.

What does the Supreme Court do?

The highest court in the US is often the final word on highly contentious laws, disputes between states and the federal government, and final appeals to stay executions.

In recent years, the court has expanded gay marriage to all 50 states, allowed for President Trump's travel ban to be put in place, and delayed a US plan to cut carbon emissions while appeals went forward.

It also deals with issues like reproductive rights - one of the main reasons some anti-abortion conservatives want to tip the balance away from liberals.

Who are seen as top contenders?
Arun M By

Express News Service

KOCHI: Murshid Hasan, alias Sofia, the alleged Al-Qaeda activist who was arrested from Pathalam in Kalamassery, was the head of the group of jihadi terrorists inspired by globally proscribed terrorist organisation, according to investigators.

The group, consisting of more than 10 members, mostly of Bengali origin and operating in different parts of the country, was planning terrorist activities in several locations in the country, the NIA stated in a document submitted at the court.

Murshid Hasan, Mosaraf Hossen and Yakub Biswas, all hailing from Murshidabad in West Bengal, who were associated with the busted Al-Qaeda module, were arrested from Pathalam and Perumbavoor on Saturday. The NIA took Murshid Hasan and Mosaraf Hossen to New Delhi on an Air India flight from Nedumbassery on Sunday for further interrogation.

READ| UN report on presence of ISIS terrorists in Kerala, Karnataka incorrect: Government in Lok Sabha

The interrogation of sixth accused, Yakub Biswas, who was arrested from Perumbavoor, is under way. He will also be taken to New Delhi, according to NIA sources. The NIA, New Delhi, has registered the case under Sections 17, 18, 18B, 20 and 38 of UAPA. Bengali-speaking Hasan had travelled to several places in south and east India. He is inspired by violent ideology of Al-Qaeda, said NIA document.

A reliable input was received that some suspects are involved in the larger criminal conspiracy for raising and collecting funds for committing terrorist acts and furthering their jihadi ideology by recruiting and radicalising youths. The accused are activists of Al-Qaeda, said a document submitted by NIA before the court. The group was suspected to be in possession of weapons and was raising funds for the purpose of procurement of arms and ammunition.

They appear to be highly radicalised and motivated to commit terrorist activities to further their jihadi ideology, said sources. Several incriminating chats, photos and videos that were retrieved show that they had hatched a conspiracy for anti-national activities, said the NIA document.

What the NIA says...

Murshid Hasan  arrested from Pathalam in Kalamassery was the head of the group

Bengali-speaking Hasan had travelled to several places in south and east India.

The group members were involved in larger criminal conspiracy for raising funds for committing terrorist acts and furthering jihadi ideology

Hasan and Mosaraf Hossen taken to New Delhi for further interrogation
The Citizens Renaming Committee selected Midland Legacy of Equality and Excellence High School as its recommended name for the high school on Neely Avenue. It would seem that the school name -- if approved by the school board -- could be shortened to Midland L.E.E., which was the goal all along, right? It also would seem that those complaining about periods or the process that took place should be focused on the next step, which is the committees discussion and vote at this weeks meeting on school mascots and colors. Note: Midland ISD reports that the committee voted to recommend that student groups, such as the Dixie Dolls, be allowed to select their own name pending board approval.

Those demanding Lee culture remain intact can say what they want, but it is hard to take seriously the idea that they didnt win big this week.

--There are some people upset about renaming the high school, and they are calling for others to make sure to send a message to the board on Election Day. This raises the question, which board members are you going to send a message to?

James Fuller and Robert Marquez face tough competition, but it is hard to imagine either will feel pressure in their districts over the renaming issues. John Kennedy isnt running for re-election in central Midland, and Bryan Murry in northwest Midland voted no on the name change. There might be reasons for turnover on the school board, but the Lee renaming decision doesnt appear to be one. Those wanting to send a message will have to wait until 2022.

--Programming note: The Reporter-Telegram will hold Facebook Live forums for Midland ISD school candidates on Oct. 13 and Oct. 15. There will be an hour-long forum for each of the four races. Thank you to Midland College for hosting the events.

--Lets keep up the intensity, Midland. We have seen many Midlanders re-engage in education during this renaming process. That is a great thing. There are many of us who look forward to seeing this call for action continue with other issues that plague the district. Lets make sure we prove wrong those people who believe fighting the hardest on both sides will disappear when the renaming process is completed.

--I also am having a hard time figuring out how the Lee renaming process has kept the school board from overseeing education in Midland -- which has been a criticism on social media.

Remember, the board decided in late June that Robert E. Lee High School and the freshman school would be renamed. And just in the last month, the board has initiated the termination process on a sitting superintendent, placed that superintendent on administrative leave, oversaw bringing students back to campus earlier than anticipated (satisfying a criticism by many) and hired an interim superintendent. It is easy to understand that the board might not the favorite of some in the community, but it is hard to back up claims that the Lee renaming process is keeping the board from taking care of important district matters.

--Did anyone else notice that Ector County ISDs superintendent has gotten a raise? The school board voted last week to increase Scott Muris salary to $300,900. To put that amount in perspective, Odessans are now paying their superintendent nearly $26,000 more than Midlanders pay their top district executive. That was surprising to me.

--This community will be hiring a superintendent and city manager at about the same time. That is an unbelievable opportunity for a community to set a path for where it wants to go in the future. Lets also not kid ourselves: The community could use a shot (or shots) in the arm, and two successful hires would do that.

--Sad to hear about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. While I tended to side with Antonin Scalias view of interpreting the Constitution, it was hard to deny that she served the American people honorably and capably. As far as the opportunity for the president to fill the seat, he should attempt to do so. In fact, this is a win-win for President Trump. If he cant get a nominee through an accelerated nomination process and across the finish line, putting another conservative on the court, then evangelicals should be plenty motivated to vote in November.
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Labour's shadow chancellor today attacked Rishi Sunak for letting businesses to 'go to the wall' after allowing the 'clock to run down' on millions of furloughed workers.

Anneliese Dodds accused the Government of mismanaging 'enormous amounts of public money' on failed schemes to tackle coronavirus, such as a 130million contract with a Conservative donor for allegedly unsafe testing kits.

Setting out Labour's proposals for a business rebuilding programme to stave off mass company failures when furlough comes to an end, she accused Mr Sunak of handing over 2.6billion in job retention bonuses to firms which will retain staff.

The shadow chancellor used her keynote speech at the party's online conference to call on the under-fire Government to take urgent action to rebuild UK business devastated by local and national coronavirus lockdowns.

It comes amid growing fears of a looming jobs bloodbath when the massive furlough programme subsidising four million workers ends in late October.

Ms Dodds declared: 'Just as the Chancellor has allowed the clock to run down on the four million people on furlough, he's doing exactly the same for the millions of businesses that have needed a helping hand to survive these last few months.

Anneliese Dodds accused the under-fire Government of mismanaging billions of pounds spent to prop up what remains of UK plc during the coronavirus crisis

Labour's shadow chancellor has attacked Rishi Sunak for letting businesses to 'go to the wall' after allowing the 'clock to run down' on millions of furloughed workers

New coronavirus curbs 'would cost 250m A DAY': Economy could shrink by 5% if partial lockdowns hurt restaurants and halt return of workers to their offices, experts warn Partial lockdowns which discourage eating out and a return by workers to the office could shrink the economy by up to 5 per cent, a think-tank warned yesterday. The Centre for Economics and Business Research calculated the bill for major restrictions covering sectors such as hospitality at up to 250million a day. This would mean that national output would shrink by between 3 per cent and 5 per cent over the last three months of 2020 compared to between July and September. The 250million bill would be a tenth of the impact of full lockdown at its peak in April. But the CEBR has cautioned that the UK could suffer even more if partial lockdowns cause the public to lose faith in the Government's handling of the pandemic. Douglas McWilliams, of the CEBR, said: 'The bigger cost is the unmeasurable cost  many people feel that progress [so far] going into reverse would knock the stuffing out of consumer and business confidence. 'Whereas the first lockdown was bearable on the assumption that it was temporary, a second lockdown will make many people lose confidence in a recovery in the foreseeable future.' Advertisement

'From March next year repayments will start for the loan schemes set up to help businesses through the crisis.

'But, on the current trend, our economy won't be anything like back to normal by then. Without effective Government action, many companies will go to the wall with more job losses and more costs for the public finances.

'That is why I am calling today for the Chancellor to act urgently and put in place a business rebuilding programme.

'To do for businesses struggling with debt what we have repeatedly asked him to do for workers whose jobs are at risk. That programme must be set up now.

'So we don't end up once again with last-minute panicked schemes that waste public money. It must be targeted so that support goes to purposeful, responsible businesses that will invest for the future.

'Already, with the economy still struggling, the language of 'restraint' has returned. We all know what that means from the mouth of a Conservative chancellor. More jobs lost in places that can least afford them - with local councils being hung out to dry and forced to cut thousands of staff.

'Attacking the very communities the Conservatives said they would protect. And taking place at a time when our government should be focused relentlessly on jobs, jobs, jobs. Threatening to hike taxes now, just so they can cut them before the next election. To make even deeper spending cuts, in the hope people will have forgotten by the time they go to the polls. Playing politics with people's jobs and livelihoods.'

Ms Dodds held out the prospect of a new partnership between business and a Labour government, insisting the party can be trusted with the nation's finances.

The shadow chancellor said that a Labour government would seek to restore trust with business, emphasising the 'critical role' it played in creating jobs and supporting livelihoods.

'Government working hand in hand with business and trade unions, in the best interests of our country,' she said.

'This is an ambitious Labour vision - where security and fairness aren't just aspirations, but where they are a reality for families and communities across our country. I would restore that trust with business because I understand what a critical role business plays in creating jobs and supporting livelihoods across the country.'

Ms Dodds said that a three-step economic plan would be built around the principles of 'recover jobs, retrain workers and rebuild business'.

She said Labour would help subsidise the wages of workers in key sectors in a way which would enable firms to bring back more staff on reduced hours.

There would also be a national retraining strategy for those workers who had lost their jobs and a business rebuilding programme to support struggling firms.

Ms Dodds also attacked Mr Sunak for his 'cavalier' approach to public money, handing over large sums to support businesses with 'no strings attached'.

Speaking at a keynote speech at Labour's online conference, the shadow chancellor called on the Government to take urgent action to rebuild UK business devastated by lockdowns

Responding, Treasury secretary Steve Barclay told MailOnline: 'All Sir Keir Starmer and his team have to offer are the recycled economic plans of Jeremy Corbyn, which would hold our country back and hinder our recovery from coronavirus.'

Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Mike Cherry was supportive of Ms Dodds' proposals, saying: 'We very much welcome the shadow chancellor's discussion of proposals for a business rebuilding programme.

'Firms will undoubtedly struggle with debt over the coming months and we need meaningful Government action to help viable firms with that burden.'

Ms Dodds' speech comes as the UK's top public health officials today drummed up panic fear of coronavirus, warning of an impending six-month crackdown on civil liberties by the Government to prevent 50,000 daily cases within a month.

Boris Johnson is now facing a significant Tory backbench rebellion to plans to order hospitality venues such as pubs and restaurants to close by 10pm as Conservatives warn the Prime Minister the country cannot afford a second national lockdown.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove are said to want the PM to take decisive action now while Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel are reportedly advocating a more cautious approach, according to The Times.

Any move to reimpose more stringent restrictions is likely to spark a Tory rebellion after Sir Graham Brady this morning accused Mr Johnson of 'ruling by decree' as he demanded MPs get a vote in the House of Commons on any new measures.

As Mr Hancock gave a statement this afternoon, Tory MP Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) said: 'Could I remind the Secretary of State, I think he'll be going to a Cobra meeting tomorrow, could he explain to the Prime Minister that we actually live in a democracy not a dictatorship and we would like a debate in this House?'
With only a few days left to start procurement of paddy, Ludhiana deputy commissioner (DC) Varinder Kumar Sharma on Monday, held a meeting with officials to review the preparations to ensure hassle-free, smooth and timely procurement of paddy crop.

The meeting was attended by office-bearers of district commission agents association, rice shelling mills and commission agents besides DMs of procurement agencies and farmers.

The DC, while, soliciting the support, urged rice shelling mills to provide their spaces for mandi yards so that the maximum number of purchase centres can be set up in the district to ensure smooth and timely procurement of the crop.

He said that to maintain social distancing and avoid the spread of coronavirus, a similar concept for procurement of wheat will be adopted in which the procurement will be made in a staggered manner as farmers will enter the mandis with passes issued to them.

While ensuring procurement of every single grain of paddy, he appealed to farmers and commission agents to cooperate with the district administration in this exceptional and difficult times. He also appealed farmers to bring paddy crops with prescribed moisture content to the grain markets for timely procurement.

District Food Supplies Controller (DFSC West) Sukhwinder Singh Gill and DFSC East Harveen Kaur informed the deputy Commissioner that apart from 107 grain markets (mandis) in the district, 76 rice shelling mills and 27 temporary yards have been designated as procurement stations while they are trying to establish more purchase centres in the district.

Meanwhile, deputy commissioner also directed district mandi officer (DMO) Devinder Singh to ensure all the necessary arrangements at grain markets for hassle-free procurement besides maintaining hygiene and social distancing.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the east conference room at the Supreme Court building. Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court on Wednesday and Thursday, giving mourners an opportunity to pay their last respects to her.

Ginsburg will lie under the portico at the top of the Supreme Court building's front steps.

Members of the public can attend the outdoor viewing, which will occur from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday.

On Friday, Ginsburg will lie in state at the US Capitol, becoming the first woman in history to be honored with this distinction.

Next week, Ginsburg will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery in a private ceremony.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on Wednesday and Thursday, giving mourners an opportunity to pay their last respects to the longtime legal giant.

Ginsburg's casket will arrive in front of the Supreme Court building before 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, with a private ceremony set to commence in the Great Hall, according to a release issued by the court. The ceremony will include family members, friends, and members of the Supreme Court.

Ginsburg will then lie in repose on the Lincoln catafalque under the portico at the top of the building's front steps for an outdoor viewing. Members of the public are invited to the viewing, which will occur from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday and between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Thursday.

She will also lie in state at the US Capitol on Friday, becoming the first woman in history to hold that honor. Rosa Parks, one of the most notable figures of the civil-rights movement, was lain in honor at the Capitol building after she died in 2005. While private citizens are able to lie in honor, only government officials and military officers may lie in state.

Next week, Ginsburg will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service, alongside her late husband, Martin Ginsburg, who died in 2010.

Story continues

In following a longtime Supreme Court tradition, a black wool crepe has been placed on Ginsburg's bench chair and the bench immediately in front of it. This tradition dates to the death of then-Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase in 1873. A black drape has also been placed over the doors to the main courtroom.

Ginsburg, who died on Friday on the eve of Rosh Hashana at the age of 87, served for 13 years on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton. During her 27 years on the Supreme Court, she led the court's liberal bloc and became a feminist icon.

President Donald Trump is pushing to name a successor to Ginsburg later this week, most likely on Friday or Saturday.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Bengaluru: Hundreds of farmers from across the state began a 10 day protest here on Monday against the recent amendments to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act and the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act. The farmers, who have come together under the banner Aikya Horata, held aloft banners, placards, posters and flags at a key junction here, leading to traffic jams.

Vinay Sreenivsa, one of the members of the organising committee, said they would continue their stir till September 30, demanding that the Acts be withdrawn and take a decision after that, depending on the governments response. A farmers leader Manjula Pujar lashed out at the government for the anti-farmer amendments and alleged that these amounted to corporatisation of the agriculture sector.

It is the farmer who is feeding the country. If his interests are hurt, then it will affect every citizen of India," she said. The amendment to the KLRA enables anyone to purchase land from farmers, removing the earlier condition that they alone are allowed to buy agricultural land.

The APMC Act amendment enables farmers to sell their produce to private players as well, not limiting them to sell only to the APMCs.

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
MetLife is pursuing a sale of its property/casualty auto and home insurance business, according to a report by analysts following the company

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) analysts, Ryan Krueger and Meyer Shields, said the insurer is looking at a sale price of between $3 billion and $4 billion, which they say is reasonable for a personal lines business with a solid track record.

P&C has never seemed like a complete strategic fit despite METs worksite distribution efforts, and a $3-4b price would significantly exceed METs 6.5x multiple, wrote the analysts.

MetLife declined to comment. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on market rumors or speculation, the insurer said in an email to Insurance Journal.

MetLife Auto & Home writes about $3.7 billion in annual premiums through both independent agencies and worksite sales.

From 2015-2019 the property/casualty business generated an average operating ROE of 13% and a combined ratio of 97%, according to KBW.

Operating earnings were $344 million in 2018 and $249 million in 2019.

Krueger and Shields think strategic buyers would be attracted to both the enhanced scale  which improves general economies of scale and also enhances the statistical credibility of pricing and underwriting analyses  and METs well-established worksite distribution channel, both of which point to already leading personal lines insurers as the most likely buyers.

Among the carriers they think might be interested are Travelers, Hartford and Berkshire Hathaway as well as Liberty Mutual, Farmers, Nationwide, and American Family. Allstate and State Farm might have interest in the expansion opportunity but both are currently engaged in other acquisitions, they wrote.

On Sept. 17, MetLife, which is known for its life and health insurance and other benefits offerings, announced it had agreed to acquire vision care company Versant Health for approximately $1.675 billion in an all-cash transaction. Versant Health owns the brands Davis Vision and Superior Vision.

This transaction furthers our goal of deploying capital to the highest-value opportunities, said MetLife President and CEO Michel Khalaf.

In January, the insurer closed on the acquisition of PetFirst to give it access to the fast-growing pet insurance market.

At the KBW Virtual insurance Conference on Sept. 10, CEO Khalaf said the company was continuing to look at its portfolio through the lens of strategic fit and to deploy capital to businesses that achieve or exceed a minimum risk adjusted hurdle rate.

Without specifying any particular units that might be under review, Khalaf added:

So, you know, if there are businesses that are not you know achieving that, then  and where we dont see sort of a path within a reasonable time frame to then  to them achieving that, then I would say all options are on the table and divestiture is one option. Its not the only option but its certainly one option. So, you know, were going to continue our  to look at our portfolio from you know from that perspective. And you know undertake action that we feel is appropriate in this regard.

Topics Auto Property Casualty Homeowners
Protest leaders declared victory after handing police a letter detailing their demands. Phakphong Phongphetra, head of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said the letter would be handed to police headquarters to decide how to proceed. "Our greatest victory in the two days is showing that ordinary people like us can send a letter to royals," Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak, told the crowd before it dispersed.

The Royal Palace was not immediately available for comment. The king, who spends much of his time in Europe, is not in Thailand now.

Protesters have grown ever bolder during two months of demonstrations against Thailand's palace and military-dominated establishment, breaking a longstanding taboo on criticizing the monarchy -- which is illegal under lese-majeste laws.

Openly challenging the monarchy of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, thousands of protesters marched in Bangkok on Sunday to present demands that include a call for reforms to curb his powers.

At the biggest demonstration in years, tens of thousands of protesters on Saturday cheered calls for reform of the monarchy as well as for the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, and a new constitution and elections.

Shortly after sunrise on Sunday, protesters cemented a plaque near the Grand Palace in Bangkok in the area known as Sanam Luang, or Royal Field. It reads, "At this place the people have expressed their will -- that this country belongs to the people and is not the property of the monarch as they have deceived us."

Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said police would not use violence against protesters and it was up to the police to determine and prosecute any illegal speech. Bangkok authorities would need to determine whether the plaque was illegal, and if it was it would be removed, Bangkok's deputy police chief Piya Tawichai told reporters.

After the protest, people queued up to take pictures next to the plaque, which also features a hand giving the three-finger salute adopted by pro-democracy protesters.

 Division

But far from all Thais support the new plaque, which resembles one that had commemorated the end of absolute monarchy in 1932 and which was removed from outside a royal palace in 2017, after Vajiralongkorn took the throne.

Prominent right-wing politician Warong Dechgitvigrom said the actions of the protesters were inappropriate and that the king was above politics. "It didn't achieve anything," he told Reuters. "These actions are symbolically against the king, but the king is not an opponent." Thai authorities have said criticizing the monarchy is unacceptable in a country where the king is constitutionally "enthroned in a position of revered worship."

Protests that began on university campuses have drawn increasing numbers of older people. That includes "red shirt" followers of ousted populist Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who had clashed for years with pro-establishment "yellow shirts" before Prayuth seized power in 2014.

"The new generation is achieving what their parents and grandparents didn't dare. I'm very proud of that," said Somporn Outsa, 50, a red shirt veteran. "We still respect the monarchy, but it should be under the constitution."

Protesters say the constitution gives the king too much power and that it was engineered to allow Prayuth to keep power after elections last year. He says that vote was fair.

The next protest is scheduled for Thursday. Protest leaders called on Thais to take Oct. 14 off from work to show their support for change. Other measures they sought for were for people to withdraw deposits from Siam Commercial Bank, in which the king's Crown Property Bureau owns more than 23 percent of the shares, and to stop standing for the royal anthem in cinemas.
Deji Adeyanju, popular activist, on Monday, warned Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, against contesting ...

Deji Adeyanju, popular activist, on Monday, warned Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, against contesting for the presidency in 2023.

Adeyanju warned that Tinubus political career would be over, if he contests the 2023 presidency.

Mocking the former Lagos State governor, the convener of Concerned Nigerian group, however, said Tinubu should run for the presidency.

In a tweet, the activist wrote: I want Tinubu to contest the 2023 presidential election under APC. That will be the end of his political career.

This is coming at a time when Nigerians are saying the defeat APC suffered in the just concluded governorship election in Edo State.

The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had defeated Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC after polling the highest votes.
WASHINGTON - The Latest on the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (all times local):

8:45 p.m.

President Donald Trump is boasting on the campaign trail about his reshaping of the federal judiciary days after the death of liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Trump was holding rallies in Vandalia and Swanton, Ohio, on Monday. He said the nation was mourning the death of the 87-year-old Ginsburg and he pointed out that more than 200 judges have been appointed to the federal bench during his term.

Some presidents never get any  they last a long time, Trump said of Supreme Court appointments. Weve had three. Its blowing their minds.

Trump says hes considering five women for the lifetime appointment to the nations highest court. He said he plans to announce his decision Friday or Saturday.

Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Trump got to appoint Gorsuch in 2017 after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused in 2016 to hold a hearing on President Barack Obamas nominee to replace Antonin Scalia, saying it was an election year.

Scalia died 237 days before the 2016 election. Ginsburg died 46 days before the 2020 election.

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HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT VACANCY

 President Donald Trump says he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday.

 Potential nominees include federal appellate judges Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa.

 Kamala Harris is poised to become a leading figure in the Democratic opposition to Trumps Supreme Court pick.

 The body of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court this week.

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Follow APs Supreme Court coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/ruth-bader-ginsburg

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7:40 p.m.

A Republican senator in a tough reelection race will consider President Donald Trumps nominee to the Supreme Court.

Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner joined other Republicans on Monday in pledging to consider Trumps nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Gardner says he will vote to confirm Trumps pick if the person will protect our Constitution, not legislate from the bench, and uphold the law.

Gardner was silent on whether the vote should take place before or after the November election.

In 2016, Gardner opposed considering President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, in part because the Senate and White House were controlled by different parties. Our next election is too soon and the stakes are too high, he said then.

Antoni Scalia, the justice whom Garland was set to replace, died 237 days before the 2016 election. Ginsburg died 46 days before the 2020 election.

Gardner is facing former Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper in November.

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7 p.m.

Sen. Chuck Grassley will support the Republican push to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this year despite his stand in 2016 that a new justice shouldnt be confirmed in a presidential election year.

Grassley says in a statement that the Constitution gives the Senate that authority, and the American peoples voices in the most recent election couldnt be clearer.

As the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2016, Grassley and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to hold a hearing for President Barack Obamas nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, after the February death of Justice Antonin Scalia. They said the new president should decide on Scalias replacement.

Since then, Grassley has said that if he were the chairman in 2020, he would not take up a new nomination. But he said if there were a new chairman, that person would have to make that call. Current Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and McConnell have said the situation is different this year because Republicans hold both the Senate and the presidency.

Grassley is backing them up, saying, While there was ambiguity about the American peoples will for the direction of the Supreme Court in 2016 under a divided government, there is no such ambiguity in 2020.

___

6:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump has met with Amy Coney Barrett at the White House as he evaluates prospective nominees to succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.

A person familiar with the vetting process but not authorized to discuss it confirmed the Monday meeting to The Associated Press.

Later, Trump told reporters at the White House that he has been speaking with potential nominees over the last two days and held out the possibility of also meeting with Barbara Lagoa when he travels to Florida this week.

Some aides have touted the political advantages of Lagoa being Hispanic and hailing from Florida.

Barrett, a devout Roman Catholic, is hailed by religious conservatives and others on the right as an ideological heir to conservative Antonin Scalia, the late Supreme Court justice for whom she clerked.

Trump says five women are under consideration.

Barrett is emerging as an early favourite. Interest in Lagoa inside the White House seemed to be waning Monday amid some conservatives concerns that she did not have a proven record as a conservative jurist, according to the person familiar with the vetting process.

 Associated Press writer Zeke Miller

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5 p.m.

President Donald Trump says five women are being carefully vetted to become his nominee for the Supreme Court to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Trump spoke to reporters on the South Lawn on Monday before travelling to Ohio. Trump says hell make a selection decision probably on Friday or Saturday.

Trump says he believes that senators have plenty of time to evaluate the nominee and hold a vote before the Nov. 3 election. He says that it would send a message of solidarity and that I have an obligation to do this.

Democrats have said that GOP lawmakers should follow the precedent they set in 2016 when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to act on President Barack Obamas nomination of Merrick Garland to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia, saying it was an election year.

The 2020 election is 43 days away.

But Trump says voters put the Republican senators in their position because of a certain ideology and it would be bad for them politically to wait in taking the vote.

___

4:20 p.m.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, the only Democrat who voted to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, says hes siding with lawmakers in his own party who say the Senate shouldnt vote on a Supreme Court nominee before the Nov. 3 election.

Manchin says the process shouldnt be rushed, and it is simply irresponsible to rush the adequate and proper vetting required of any new candidate for the bench.

He is not saying whether he thinks the next president should make the pick, as most of his Democratic colleagues have said. In 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to hold a hearing or a vote on Merrick Garland, then-President Barack Obamas pick for the court, saying the Senate shouldnt vote so close to a presidential election.

For Mitch McConnell and my Republican colleagues to rush through this process after refusing to even meet with Judge Merrick Garland in 2016 is hypocrisy in its highest form, Manchin said.

___

4 p.m.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says the GOP effort to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by the end of the year is a craven move that flips the Republicans own logic on its head.

Schumer spoke Monday just after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised that the Senate would vote this year on Ginsburgs replacement to the high court.

The New York Democrat noted that in 2016, Senate Republicans blocked President Barack Obamas nominee to the high court on the grounds that it was too close to Election Day.

But now, President Donald Trump and McConnell are thundering toward confirming Ginsburgs replacement. McConnell says its because in 2016, there was a divided government. Now, Republicans control the presidency and the Senate.

Ginsburg died Friday at age 87.

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3:40 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Senate will vote this year to confirm President Donald Trumps nominee to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but he is not saying whether there will be a vote before or after Election Day.

McConnell says there is overwhelming precedent for the Senate to act quickly on a nomination. The average time to confirm a nominee in recent years is more than two months, but some nominees, including Ginsburg, were confirmed much faster than that.

The Senate has more than sufficient time to process a nomination, McConnell says. History and precedent make that perfectly clear.

Democrats have called on the GOP-led Senate to let the next president decide, as McConnell delayed a vote on an open Supreme Court seat until after the election in 2016.

Ginsburg, 87, died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer.

__

2:40 p.m.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says he believes his role in the confirmation process for a new Supreme Court justice will likely bolster his reelection bid.

At an event for a congressional candidate Monday, Graham said in North Charleston, South Carolina, that he feels his defence of Brett Kavanaugh during a contentious 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearing has given him conservative bona fides that will help boost him to reelection in a tight race with Democrat Jaime Harrison.

I dont know what it is about me and moments and lightning, but lightning has struck again, Graham said of the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the pivotal role that he will play in the process to replace her.

As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Graham will shepherd the confirmation process.

In 2016, when Antonin Scalia died, Graham supported a move by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to refuse a confirmation hearing for President Barack Obamas nominee. They said then that it wouldnt be right to confirm a justice during an election year. Scalia died 237 days before the 2016 election.

Ginsburg died 46 days before the 2020 election.

___

12:20 p.m.

House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff says President Donald Trump has reached a new low for suggesting Democrats were behind a report that the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she did not want to be replaced until a new president is inaugurated.

NPR reported Friday that Ginsburg dictated a statement in her final days that said: My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.

Ginsburg dictated the statement to Clara Spera, her granddaughter, according to NPRs Nina Totenberg, who has covered the Supreme Court for decades but is also a longtime personal friend of the late justice.

On Fox & Friends on Monday, Trump claimed without evidence: I dont know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi, referring also to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Schiff later tweeted: No, I didnt write Ruth Bader Ginsburgs dying wish to a nation she served so well, and spent her whole life making a more perfect union. But I am going to fight like hell to make it come true. No confirmation before inauguration.

Ginsburg, 87, died Friday from metastatic pancreatic cancer.

___

11:45 a.m.

The body of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court this week, with arrangements to allow for public viewing despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Ginsburgs casket will be on public view Wednesday and Thursday under the portico at the top of the iconic steps in front of the building. A private ceremony will take place at the court on Wednesday morning.

House Speaker Nancy Pelsosi announced that Ginsburg will lie in state in the Capitols Statuary Hall on Friday. That ceremony will be open only to invited guests, Pelosi said.

Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service, the court said.

The justice died Friday at age 87.

Congress made similar arrangements for a public viewing outside the Capitol after Rep. John Lewis death in July.

___

8:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump says hes narrowed his list of candidates to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to four or five candidates.

In a Monday interview with Fox & Friends, the president confirmed that among the top contenders are Indianas Amy Coney Barrett and Floridas Barbara Lagoa, both appellate court judges he appointed. Trump also indicated that Allison Jones Rushing, a 38-year-old appellate judge from North Carolina, is also on the short-list.

Trump has promised to nominate a woman for the high court, adding that his preference is for someone younger who could hold sway on the nations jurisprudence for potentially four or five decades. Trump says hell aim to announce his pick on Friday or Saturday, after funeral services for Ginsburg conclude.

Trump adds: I think that would be good for the Republican Party and I think it would be good for everybody to get it over with.

Ginsburg, 87, died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer.

___

8:35 a.m.

President Donald Trump says he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday, after funeral services for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

He told Fox & Friends on Monday that he had a list of five finalists, probably four, and that he is pushing for a confirmation vote before Election Day.

Trump disparaged reports that Ginsburg had told her granddaughter it was her wish that a replacement justice not be confirmed until the inauguration of a new president. Trump said he thought his Democratic political foes were behind the report, including Rep. Adam Schiff, who led the House impeachment probe, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

I dont know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi, Trump said. I would be more inclined to the second ... But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or Shifty Schiff. his nickname for the California congressman. Trump frequently disparages Schiff, without evidence as being behind a conspiracy against him.

Ginsburg, 87, died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Morgan Gruell has paid tribute to her late sister Jaimi Kenny after laying her to rest on Saturday.

A devastated Morgan said that Jaimi, who died at the age of 33 last Monday after battling alcoholism and an eating disorder, saw the beauty in everyone and everything, and called her the 'most sentimental person' she has ever known.

'I will always remember her taking the time to stop and take a photo of a pretty flower, an interesting door, or her feet standing next to crunchy leaves that had fallen from the trees,' she wrote in a heartbreaking Instagram post, alongside a recent photo of the pair together.

'We will continue to miss and love you always': Morgan Gruell (right) paid tribute to her late sister Jaimi Kenny (left) on Sunday following her funeral. In a heartbreaking Instagram post, she called Jaimi the 'most sentimental person' she has ever known

'I promise to always appreciate these things as she did,' Morgan continued.

'You were surrounded by so much love and beauty. Fairy lights everywhere, flowers everywhere, love everywhere. It was a service fitted for the queen of all things pretty, you would have loved it. We will continue to miss and love you always.'

Morgan went on to thank the public for 'all the messages of love and support that have been pouring in over the past week'.

'It means the world to us to know how very loved and adored she was by all who met her,' she concluded.

Jaimi died at Sunshine Coast University Hospital last Monday surrounded by her family, following a long battle with an eating disorder and alcoholism.

Support: Morgan (left) and her mother Lisa Curry (right) were seen embracing each other at the conclusion of the heartbreaking funeral service

She was buried at a 100-person funeral on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday, which was attended by Jaimi's Olympian mother Lisa Curry, athlete father Grant Kenny, and brother Jett Kenny.

Lisa's new husband Mark Tabone was also seen comforting his distraught wife as Jaimi's white coffin, covered in pink and orange dahlias and baby's breath, was carried out of the chapel and placed in the back of a hearse.

Morgan, who is pregnant, attended the church ceremony with her husband Ryan and their two-year-old son Flynn.

Prior to her death, Jaimi had expressed her desire to one day have a family of her own, and absolutely doted on the children in her family.

Beautiful: 'It was a service fitted for the queen of all things pretty, you would have loved it,' Morgan (right) wrote of her sister's (left) funeral

Heartbreaking: Jett, Morgan and their devastated parents embraced as Jaimi's white coffin, covered in pink and orange dahlias and baby's breath, was placed in the back of the hearse and carried away

After her parents' marriage deteriorated, Ironman Grant went on to have a daughter named Trixie Belle with radio presenter Fifi Box.

Trixie was the centre of Jaimi's universe, and the nanny even moved down to Melbourne to live closer to the child and her mother.

'Jaimi absolutely adored children and was especially close to Trixie,' a family friend told Sunshine Coast Daily, adding that her younger half-sister gave her 'a whole new lease on life'.

Pure love: Prior to her death, Jaimi had expressed her desire to one day have a family of her own, and absolutely doted on the children in her family. Jaimi (left) is pictured with Fifi Box and Grant Kenny's daughter Trixie (right)

But her struggles with mental health brought her back to the Sunshine Coast and her parents shortly after making the move south.

She worked closely with the End ED clinic, which specialises in eating disorder treatment and recovery.

Meanwhile, Jaimi met and fell in love with local business owner Lachy Crossley on the Sunshine Coast.

His mother Gail said 'they had plans to be together forever... They were certainly in love'.

'You could just see the love in their eyes that they had for each other. People described them as a modern-day Romeo and Juliet,' she added.

'Jaimi absolutely adored children': Trixie was the centre of Jaimi's universe, and the nanny even moved down to Melbourne to live closer to the child and her mother

But in 2017, Lachy died in circumstances 'too heartbreaking' for the family to discuss.

At the time, the couple had recently moved in together and were discussing their future. They both loved each other and loved children even more.

The tragedy plunged Jaimi further into a depression and she spent the subsequent years in and out of hospital and the eating disorder clinic.

Her medical team tried everything, including blood transfusions, to extend her life.

Family ties: Lisa is pictured with her son Jett (left), surviving daughter Morgan (right) and her grandson Flynn

The Curry-Kenny clan have repeatedly thanked her medical team for their hard work in maintaining Jaimi's quality of life.

On Sunday, Lisa also shared a heartbreaking tribute to Instagram after farewelling her eldest child.

'Yesterday, as the sun was setting, we said goodbye to you, our Jaimi,' she wrote of the funeral.

'Yesterday, as the sun was setting, we said goodbye to you': On Sunday, Jaimi's mother Lisa (right) shared a heartbreaking tribute to Instagram after farewelling her eldest child

'As the last sun rays filtered through the trees onto you, fairy lights flickering everywhere around, with the most divine flowers surrounding you, and a room full of unconditional love, we farewelled you... always our bubba.

'It was just perfect... beautiful, quiet, pretty and sparkly... just the way you would have wanted it.'

Lisa alluded to her daughter's battle with the demons that led to her death, saying that at least now they would haunt her no more.

Tribute: Lisa posted this photo to Instagram of Jaimi and her dog cropped into the shape of a heart and surrounded by flowers

'Our little angel, you can now rest peacefully. Free of pain, free to flourish and free to grow, free to just be,' she wrote.

'Jaimi, as dad and I lovingly held you when you took your first breath, we lovingly held you as you took your last. Goodnight sweet girl... we hope you have a nice long sleep.'

Jaimi's younger brother Jett penned his own sombre tribute on Sunday, reflecting on the good times the close family had with his 'biggest sister'.

Private battle: Jaimi had long battled an eating disorder, with her family supporting her through years of treatment at a private clinic Jaimi (left) is pictured with her family at her sister Morgan's 2016 wedding

'You were there whenever I needed you, you taught me how to cook gourmet food like roast potatoes, chicken and salad, and tacos - the essentials in our household,' he wrote.

'You gave me a slight insight into fashion by dressing me in up in dresses and putting makeup on me when I was young. You'd sit behind me while I ate dinner and would pick at anything pimple looking on my back - even if it was just a mole.

'You were my second mother, you were my biggest sister, you were my friend, and you were a fighter until the very end.

'You were there whenever I needed you': Jaimi's younger brother Jett (left) penned his own sombre tribute on Sunday following the funeral, reflecting on the good times the close family had with his 'biggest sister'

'Jaimi, I will love you forever and you will always have a place in my heart. I will miss you dearly, but cherish the moments we had together greatly. I love you so much, and I will see you again at some point.'

Jett also reflected on the funeral, thanking the people who were able to attend and also those who couldn't because of Queensland's gathering limit due to coronavirus.

On Friday night, Morgan's husband Ryan thanked the local community for their support and outpouring of love in the days since Jaimi's death.

'The condolences are so welcome and helpful': On Friday night, Morgan's (right) husband Ryan (left) thanked the local community for their support and outpouring of love in the days since Jaimi's death. Pictured with their son Flynn

'Thank you to everyone who has reached out and offered kind words, gifts, support and love to Jaimi's family and I. The condolences are so welcome and helpful,' he wrote alongside a photo of bouquets of flowers.

'We have been sharing the messages with each other and although we may not have been able to offer a response, we have received the love from all of it and are very appreciative.

'Jaimi was so very loved and will be so very missed but the love we all share for her will keep her memory alive.'

For free and confidential support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, or the Butterfly Foundation for eating disorder concerns on 1800 ED HOPE
The money the Regional Transportation District has been saving to construct the long-anticipated train line to Boulder may be directed to other needs, as CPR reports that a majority of directors support the reallocation.
Election 2020 Political Party Withdraws Election Broadcast After Censorship by Myanmar Authorities

A DPNS poster in Yangon. / DPNS: Facebook

YANGON  Myanmars Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS) has canceled its election broadcasts on state-owned media after facing censorship.

From Sept. 8 to Nov. 6, political parties running in the election are allowed to deliver campaign speeches and explain their policies in 15-minute broadcasts. So far, 28 parties have taken part.

Under campaign broadcast rules, parties must submit a script for the broadcast for the approval of the Union Election Commission (UEC).

The DPNS chairman, U Aung Moe Zaw, said comments on childrens rights and controversial business projects affecting citizens, such as the Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Region, and the use of the word oppressed were ordered to be removed by the UEC from the broadcast. The DPNS broadcast was due to be aired on Tuesday.

The DPNS had highlighted child labor, mortality among the under-fives, children not going to school, the numbers not in education and poverty.

A politician shall not have his or her political view. What a sad story! Therefore, I decided not to broadcast my censored speech, U Aung Moe Zaw posted on Facebook on Sunday.

The partys vice-chairwoman, Daw Noe Noe Htet San, told The Irrawaddy that the UECs censorship harms freedom of expression.

She said even under the previous, quasi-civilian Union Solidarity and Development Party government, the DPNS did not face such limitations.

The word oppressed is not allowed. And the facts about the childrens rights are not allowed. There is legal oppression and also in other areas. We used the word as we need to fix those issues, Daw Noe Noe Htet San said.

We will make our campaign speech available through other channels, she added.

The party is contesting 16 out of 1,171 constituencies in the Nov. 8 poll.

The campaign broadcast rules prohibit any content that is deemed to disturb the rule of law, cause instability, defame the state or military, incite the civil service not to perform its duty and sparks hatred among different groups.

Human rights groups have called for the restrictions to be relaxed ahead of the election.

The Union Election Commission should revise the broadcast rules to ensure that voters are able to hear opposition parties on state-owned media speaking freely about their policies and platforms, said Linda Lakhdhir,. Human Rights Watchs Asia legal adviser.

Robust political debate lies at the heart of the electoral process, and Myanmars voters are entitled to hear all political views, including those critical of the government in power and its policies.

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(Bloomberg) -- The TikTok video-sharing app was already under U.S. scrutiny when users pranked President Donald Trumps campaign by pretending to reserve thousands of tickets to a June re-election rally in Oklahoma.

For Trump administration hardliners who wanted a tougher stance toward Beijing and viewed the Chinese-owned app as a national security threat, it was the perfect moment to pounce. The president, furious over the Covid-19 pandemic and embarrassed by empty seats at his campaign event, obliged.

Linking TikTok to Beijings handling of the raging coronavirus outbreak, Trump in July threatened to ban the app used by 100 million Americans unless China handed over control of the company, its algorithms and data to the U.S. Hearkening back to his New York real estate days, he also insisted the U.S. government get compensated in the process.

The deal Trump signed off on Saturday, hours before a Sept. 20 deadline, does almost none of that.

Trump said he wanted the U.S. part of the business owned by an American company. But Chinas ByteDance Ltd. remains the majority shareholder in a new U.S. company that will include fresh investments by Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. in a future fundraising round.

Trump said he wanted the data to stay in American hands, for national security reasons. And he succeeded: Oracle becomes TikToks cloud provider, taking over the responsibility of hosting user data on servers within the U.S. But the algorithm itself -- the thing that makes TikTok TikTok, and that critics warn can influence public opinion if its recommendations engine is abused -- will still belong to ByteDance so national security concerns remain, experts said.

TikTok, Hong Kong and More U.S.-China Flashpoints: QuickTake

And the government payout? That turned into a vaguely worded promise of new tax dollars, and a new education initiative to teach kids reading and math online.

As for the so-called $5 billion tax to the U.S. Treasury, that refers to an estimate of the corporate income tax and other taxes TikTok will have to pay in coming years as part of its business development, ByteDance said in a statement Monday. TikTok is confident in its future but the actual tax amount will have to be determined in accordance with the actual state of the business and American tax structures.

Story continues

Still, Trump said he was satisfied.

Theyre going to be setting up a very large fund, Trump said Saturday. Thats their contribution that Ive been asking for.

The president did get a partial victory. He said the new company will have a Texas headquarters and promised to hire 25,000 Americans, although no breakdown or timeline for the hiring was provided. The board will be American-run. Most importantly, the move wraps up a crisis six weeks before the U.S. election, concluding one of the more extraordinary episodes in a presidency that has been filled with them.

Its a great deal for America, Trump said Saturday. Itll be a brand new company, it will have nothing to do with any outside land, any outside country, it will have nothing to do with China, itll be totally secure, thatll be part of the deal.

All About Cfius, Trumps Watchdog on China Dealmaking: QuickTake

Statements like those are causing skeptics to say Trump singled out TikTok for political reasons -- either because of a perception its users dislike him, or to bludgeon China -- and that he took an agreement that met few of his terms for the same reason. They add that the presidents direct involvement and his acceptance of a deal brokered by a key ally -- Oracle founder Larry Ellison -- reeks of political interference.

The government should be in the business of citing national security concerns but they shouldnt be in the business of brokering a back-room deal with a U.S. company, said Ari Lightman, a professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University. You have to ask yourself -- why didnt they go through the proper steps?

For national security hawks, a key issue all along was Chinese control of American users data. Traditionally, U.S.-developed software and apps were exported abroad -- think Facebook or Twitter. TikTok was the first Chinese app to rocket to such popularity in the U.S., giving Beijing a chance to project the sort of soft power abroad that it long craved.

Trump Blesses Oracles TikTok Deal, Sets Up App Store Ban Delay

For Trump, it was more personal, according to a person familiar with the matter. The White House was furious that TikTok users may have encouraged people to request but never use tickets to the June 20 rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The rally was billed as Trumps first big event after months sheltering from the coronavirus, and the campaign expected tens of thousands of people to show up. In the end, about 6,000 people turned out and Trump was greeted by rows of empty seats.

At the same time, a security review of the app was underway. The scrutiny stemmed from ByteDances 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly, a lip-synching app based in China but whose majority of users were in the U.S. It was folded into TikTok. ByteDance didnt report the deal to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. for approval, but two years later the panel contacted ByteDance.

The issue simmered into 2020 as tensions between Washington and Beijing soared and the Covid-19 pandemic initially dismissed by Trump began killing tens of thousands of Americans. Cfius opened a formal investigation into the acquisition in June.

Oracle Boosts Cloud Ambitions With Help From TikTok and Trump

The Cfius probe was in keeping with much stricter investigations against China under Trump. He previously blocked three acquisitions by Chinese investors, the most of any president, while numerous other deals have collapsed after the committee raised national security alarms.

It was worries about personal data, for instance, that prompted Cfius last year to force the Chinese owner of the gay-dating app Grindr to sell the business.

With a Sept. 20 deadline Trump set for a deal looming, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin got to work. By last week, a resolution appeared to have been found. Treasury sent a term sheet to ByteDance that laid out the conditions which were eventually approved: four out of five people on the board would be American, including a representative from Walmart, along with a national-security committee led by an American with cyber-security credentials to oversee any issues that arise.

TikTok, Hong Kong and More U.S.-China Flashpoints: QuickTake

In addition, the sides agreed that the new company -- which Mnuchin dubbed TikTok Global -- would file for an initial public offering next year. The company will seek a valuation of $60 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

That seemed to persuade the most significant participants on the Cfius executive committee. Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross were always on board. But even Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, who had long warned about the dangers of China exploiting U.S. user data, eased his own opposition. Several Republican senators who had also expressed early opposition came around.

Questionable math is being leaned on to get around Trumps demand that U.S. investors have majority control of the company. ByteDance will retain an 80% stake in the new company. But because existing U.S. investors hold a 40% stake in ByteDance, counting the new investments by Oracle and Walmart as well as other minority American shareholders, the Trump administration claimed there is 53% ownership by the U.S.

Then there are the clear political overtones associated with the new investors. Oracle CEO Safra Catz was on Trumps transition team and was considered a possible candidate for top jobs including national security adviser and World Bank president. Company founder Ellison hosted a fundraiser for Trump and met with Pompeo along with other tech titans in January.

Credibility Questions

Its not just Oracle: Sequoia Capital, a major investor in ByteDance who helped broker the TikTok deal, will also retain its stake in the Chinese company. Sequoia managing partner Doug Leone donated $50,000 last year to Trump Victory, which splits contributions between the campaign and the Republican National Committee. He also gave the same amount that year to America First Action, a super-PAC that supports Trump, although a person familiar said Leone doesnt have a personal relationship with the president.

There are reasons to be skeptical about President Trumps own motivations to ban the app, given the perverse political incentives in play, said Elsa Kania, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Different rationales and motivations with varying degrees of credibility appear to come into play.

Officials at Sequoia declined to comment. Officials at Oracle didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on whether political factors gave them an edge in getting the deal approved. White House officials didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on that issue or the role the Tulsa rally played in motivating Trump to act.

As part of the deal, Oracle will get access to TikToks source code and updates to make sure there are no back doors used by the companys Chinese parent to gather user data, people familiar with the matter said last week. Yet ByteDance will allow Oracle only limited access to view the source code for safety purposes and retain full control of its algorithms, the company said in its statement Monday.

Security experts said the original source of concern about TikTok still hasnt been resolved, even with Oracle and the U.S. board having insight into the apps technology and data.

These sound like great political talking points, said Michael Coates, chief executive officer of Altitude Networks and former chief information security officer at Twitter. The whole notion that this is protecting national security is pretty challenging. There are plenty of instances where U.S. companies bundle data and put national security at risk. Picking the odd foreign company that does this and targeting them wont help.

(Updates with cloud arrangement detail in the sixth paragraph)

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A former California lawyer has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, after he was convicted of throwing his ex-wifes body off a cruise ship in the Mediterranean.

Lonnie Loren Kocontes, of Safety Harbor, Florida, was convicted in June of first-degree murder with a special circumstances enhancement of murder for financial gain, for the incident that occurred in 2006, according to The Associated Press.

Prosecutors said that the 62-year-old killed he ex-wife Micki Kanesaki while they were on holiday together, in order to inherit more than $1m (781,005) from the combined money from their bank accounts and the sale of their home that they shared joint ownership of.

Following the sentencing, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer wrote in a statement that Kocontes almost got away with the perfect crime.

He said: Despite all of his painstaking planning to pick the perfect ship, the perfect room and the perfect time to commit a murder, the fact that he strangled her before throwing her overboard gave us the very evidence to convict him of murder.

Mr Spitzer added: She couldnt breathe in water because she was dead long before her body ever hit the ocean and when authorities found her, her cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation  not drowning.

During the trial, Kocontes testified that despite being divorced, he and Kanesaki had reconciled and were planning to get remarried. Since the end of their first relationship, Kocontes had remarried with Amy Nguyen, but they had split shortly before the trip.

However, prosecutors said that Kocontes had no intention of actually marrying his 52-year-old ex-wife, and was planning to kill her and make it look like an accident.

While they were divorced, both Kocontes and Kanesaki had their wills updated to make each other the executors of their estates, according to Knewz.

The cruise, which was from from Spain to Italy, left on May 21, 2006, and Kanesaki was last seen alive the night of May 25, according to the authorities.

While testifying, Kocontes said he had taken a sleeping pill on the night of his ex-wifes death and had woken up to find Kanesaki missing, according to the AP.

Kocontes reported Kanesaki missing later that night and returned back to the US before his ex-wifes body was found floating off the Italian coast, on 27 May, 2006, the prosecutors said.

An FBI investigation into Kocontes began in 2008, when he attempted to move $1m between banks accounts that he shared with another new wife.

After a long investigation, which included Ms Nguyen telling the authorities that Kocontes had said he had asked a friend to kill his ex-wife, the 62-year-old was indicted for Kanesakis murder in 2013 and has been in police custody since then.

Patch reported that Kocontes is also facing charges of attempting to solicit the murder of Ms Nguyen while he was in prison, in order to stop her from testifying.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 20, 2020 / Rage rooms have been all the rave as of late. The business model sounds simple enough: get a room and put in things for people to break or smash. Yet most times, people who venture into this growing industry find that that's an oversimplification. So rage room experts at Smash Solutions are starting to educate more people who want to get into the smashing business.

The rage room industry features rooms where people can smash and break things to experience release from stress and anxieties. People pay to enter smash or anger rooms to break fragile objects such as mirrors, glasses, guitars, bottles, plates, gadgets, appliances, and the like. The whole industry is relatively young, especially in the United States, yet it's growing in popularity. Hence most people who want to start their own rage room business are left clueless.

This pain point is where Smash Solutions comes in. As proven experts in the rage room industry, Smash's team has figured out everything one needs to know to create a smash room business. The company has started to offer an expansive masterclass called How To Start a Successful Rage Room. Enrollment to the online course has accelerated as of late. Today, the course has helped many people get a better perspective on the smash room industry before they jump into it.

The idea comes from the owner of the successful anger room business Smash Therapy, Inc. Steven Shortino. The smash entrepreneur started his first anger room in Rochester, New York, when he was only 21 years old. "For nearly two years, I've been living and breathing rage rooms," shares Steven. "I have learned what mistakes not to make, the most efficient business operations, and everything you need to know before starting."

Steven has spent a massive amount of time and resources to optimize rage rooms. Through Smash Solutions, the anger room expert bares every trade secret to help aspiring business owners start their own smash room business without breaking the bank.

It only took Steven and Smash Therapy six months to become a household brand for anger rooms. In a short time, the businessman started getting inquiries from incoming and existing anger room owners on how to turn a smash room into a successful venture. "They all wanted to know one thing: how I was doing it," shares Steven. "This constant attention from others seeking advice prompted me to make an online guide on how others can start and grow a successful anger room like myself."

Smash Solutions took off in August 2020. The masterclass teaches rage room entrepreneurs how to start a smash room business, optimize operations, get clients, and practically anything under the smash room sun. Steven shows everything he did at Smash Therapy to book over 500 guests a month and earn up to 25 thousand dollars in monthly revenue from his successful smash room business.

Steven has always loved turning ideas into tangible results. His success in the rage room industry is a testament to his dedication to making things happen. Now, he hopes he can teach other people how to take better control of their lives and start highly profitable smash rooms worldwide while also providing people a way to experience release from their anxieties and stress. Steven sees his business as a future leader for the rage room industry, greatly influencing entrepreneurs.

Company: Smash Solutions (and/or Smash Therapy)

Email:Info@smash-solutions.com, info@smashtherapyinc.com

Phone Number: 585-755-5278

Website: www.smash-solutions.com, www.smashtherapyinc.com

SOURCE: Smash Solutions

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/606936/Smash-Solutions-Educating-Rage-Room-Entrepreneurs-Everywhere
India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist

India logs over 3.17 lakh new Covid cases in last 24 hours; daily positivity rate up at 16.41 per cent

India-China military commander level talks begin

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 21: The military level talks between India and China have begun. The talks are taking place at Chushul.

The armies of India and China are holding the sixth round of Corps Commander-level talks to explore ways to defuse tension in eastern Ladakh even as India further bolstered its dominance in over 20 mountain heights around the friction points near the Pangong lake, government sources said.

MEA official to be part of Indo-China military commander level talks

They also said that the IAF is set to use the newly-inducted Rafale jets to carry out sorties in Ladakh as part of the overall boosting of combat readiness in view of "provocative actions" by Chinese troops including the three incidents of shots being fired in the air in the last three weeks.

On the sixth round of Corps Commander meeting, the sources said a joint secretary-level officer from the Ministry of External Affairs is expected to be part of the Indian delegation as India is looking for some concrete outcome from the dialogue.

"It is set to take place in the next two days. There is a possibility that it may take place tomorrow (Monday) itself," said a source.

The main focus of the meeting is expected to be on the implementation of a five-point agreement reached between the two countries.

Both sides reached the agreement to resolve the border row at a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) meet in Moscow on September 10.

The agreement included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The sources said the Indian Army also strengthened its dominance in over 20 strategic mountain heights around the northern and southern banks of Pangong lake as well as in the extended general area of Chushul in the last few days even as freezing conditions are gripping the area, the sources said.

The deployment of French-made Rafale jets in Ladakh came less than 10 days after they were formally inducted into the IAF.

China using aggression to stop India from building defence infra in border areas: US Congressman

At a ceremony in Ambala on September 10 where five Rafale jets were inducted into the IAF, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the induction of the fleet was crucial considering the atmosphere being created along the frontier and that it is a "big and stern" message to those eyeing India's sovereignty.

Speaking on the occasion, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria had said induction of Rafale jets could not have happened at a more opportune time considering the security scenario. The Rafale fleet is stationed in Ambala air force station.

The multirole Rafale jets, built by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, are known for air-superiority and precision strikes.

"The Rafale jets are flying around Ladakh," said a source without elaborating.

The IAF has deployed almost all its frontline fighter jets like Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft in the key frontier air bases in eastern Ladakh and elsewhere along the LAC. The IAF is also carrying out night time combat air patrols in the eastern Ladakh region.

The IAF has also deployed Apache attack choppers as well as Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to transport troops to various forward locations in eastern Ladakh.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

The sources said the Army has made elaborate arrangements to maintain the current level of troops and weapons in all forward areas in eastern Ladakh and other sensitive high-altitude sectors in the harsh winter months when the temperature drops up to minus 25 degrees Celsius.

They said the situation remained tense in both southern and northern banks of the Pangong lake areas as well as in other friction points.

There have been at least three attempts by the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) to "intimidate" Indian troops along the northern and southern bank of Pangong lake area in the last three weeks where even shots were fired in the air for the first time at the LAC in 45 years.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the southern bank of Pangong Lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30.

On September 7, Chinese troops unsuccessfully attempted to close in on the Indian position and even fired shots in the air in the Mukhpari area of Rezang-La ridgeline on the southern bank of Pangong lake.

As Jaishankar and Wang were to hold talks in Moscow, the Chinese military resorted to firing a barrage of "warning shots" into the air on the North Bank of Pangong lake to "intimidate" the Indian troops, Army sources had said.

India occupied a number of strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions. China has been occupying the areas between Finger 4 and Finger 8. The mountain spurs in the area are called Fingers.

China has strongly objected to India's move. However, India has maintained that the heights are on its side of the LAC.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, September 21, 2020, 10:24 [IST]
On September 11, the United States, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the ASEAN Secretariat launched the Mekong-U.S. Partnership. This new Partnership reflects the importance of the Mekong region to the United States and will expand on cooperation begun in 2009 under the Lower Mekong Initiative. We will build on the good work of the Lower Mekong Initiative and the $3.5 billion in regional U.S. assistance during the last eleven years, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement.

At the inaugural meeting of the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, the United States announced more than $150 million in assistance for the Mekong region. Of that total, $52 million is supporting COVID-19 recovery, $55 million will counter transnational crime, $33 million will help develop sustainable and secure energy markets, and $2 million will help fight human trafficking.

The Mekong-U.S. Partnership is committed to the autonomy, economic independence, good governance, and sustainable growth of partner countries. We have supported economic growth with more than $1 billion to develop infrastructure in ASEAN countries through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and plan to invest billions more in the coming years, said Secretary Pompeo.

He warned, however about the need to confront the challenges at hand, including those from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which increasingly threatens the Mekongs natural environments and economic autonomy.

The CCPs unilateral decisions to withhold water upstream have exacerbated a historic drought. The United States stands with the region and the Mekong River Commission in calling for transparent data sharing. We encourage countries of the Mekong region to hold the CCP accountable to its pledge to share its water data. That data should be public. It should be released year-round, declared Secretary Pompeo. And it should be shared through the Mekong River Commission, the organization that serves the interests of Mekong-region countries, not those of Beijing.

The United States is also concerned about infrastructure-linked debt and the predatory and opaque business practices of Beijings state-owned actors, such as China Communications Construction Company. Another concern is the boom in trafficking of persons, drugs, and wildlife, much of which emanates from organizations, companies, and special economic zones linked to the CCP.

Through the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, the United States looks forward to defending the interests of its partner countries and collaborating to ensure a peaceful, secure, and prosperous Mekong region.
Cebu City (CNN Philippines, September 21)  About 4,400 workers at the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) in Lapu-Lapu City will lose their jobs next month due to the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The thousands of workers from at least five companies at the MEPZ will be retrenched by Oct. 4.

The Department of Labor and Employment in Central Visayas (DOLE-7) said retrenchment notices have been issued to the affected employees by their respective companies, which include Global Wear Manufacturing; Metro Wear, Inc.; Feeder Apparel Corporation; Vertex One Apparel Philippines, Inc.; and Mactan Apparels, Inc.

The MEPZ in Lapu-Lapu City is the biggest export-oriented economic zone in the islands of Visayas and Mindanao.

DOLE-7 Regional Director Salome Siaton said the initial number of workers to be retrenched was at 5,600, but was brought down to 4,400 following a series of consultations.

The labor official said livelihood seminars and orientations will be conducted for affected workers, in coordination with the Livelihood Center of Lapu-Lapu City.

Siaton added that DOLE-7 will hold "intervention" programs to help the displaced workers.
Conservative MP James Bezan speaks during question period in the House of Commons in a file photo. Bezan is urging the federal government to apply Canada's Sergei Magnitsky Law to sanction 14 Chinese human rights violators.(The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Prime Culpability: Petition Calls on Canada to Sanction Chinese Human Rights Violators

A petition sponsored by Conservative MP James Bezan is urging the government to apply Canadas Sergei Magnitsky Law to sanction 14 Chinese human rights violators.

The online petition names specific Chinese officials who demonstrate prime culpability in the human rights abuses committed against Falun Gong adherents in China.

For over 21 years, Chinas corrupt communist party officials have been orchestrating the torture and killing of large numbers of people who practise Falun Gong, especially for their vital organs for the profitable transplant industry in China on a massive scale, the petition says.

It calls on the federal government to deploy all legal sanctions, including the freezing of assets and the barring of entry to Canada, against, but not limited to these perpetrating corrupt officials.

The petition also notes the current detainment in China of Canadian citizen Sun Qian, who has been sentenced to eight years in prison, as well as another eight Falun Gong practitioners with Canadian ties who are currently imprisoned for their belief, serving sentences of up to 16 years.

Falun Gong adherents gather in front of the Chinese Consulate in Calgary to appeal for the release of Canadian citizen Sun Qian, who has been detained in China since Feb. 19, 2017, for her faith in Falun Gong. (The Epoch Times)

The Falun Dafa Association of Canada (FDAC) has been calling on Ottawa to use the Magnitsky Act to sanction Chinese officials since December 2018, when they submitted a list of the same 14 Chinese officials names to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland, along with nearly 300 pages of supporting documents. The documents detail evidence of the crimes and human rights violations committed by these officials in the wide-ranging persecution campaign launched against Falun Gong in 1999.

The same list of perpetrators was resubmitted to Trudeau on July 16 and was referred to Global Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, FDAC said.

The Communist Party of Chinas ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa and other peaceful groups is a detriment to the world. The world must act and hold the Chinese regime to account for its extensive human rights violations against its own people, Bezan said regarding the submission in a July 15 press release.

Canada must use this legislation to sanction the communist government officials who are committing the gross human rights violations of imprisonment, organ harvesting, and murder of Falun Dafa members.

The new e-petition, which closes on Sept. 26, has reached the minimum number of signatures to be presented in Parliament by the sponsor MP. The relevant government body, Global Affairs, must respond to it within 45 days after it is presented.

Canada passed its Magnitsky Act in 2017. The act, many versions of which have been adopted in different countries, is the only legislation that gives the government the ability to sanction foreign individuals responsible for gross human rights violations. Ottawa has applied it to Iran, Lebanon, Venezuela, Russia, and other countries, but has not used it against China to date.

Manfred Nowak, the former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, reported in 2007 that Falun Gong adherents accounted for 66 percent of victims of alleged torture while in government custody.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline consisting of meditative exercises and moral teachings. In the 1990s, an estimated 70-100 million people across China had taken up the traditional practice. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched its brutal persecution campaign in 1999, tens of thousands were rounded up and detained in prisons, labour camps, brainwashing centres, and psychiatric wards, where many were abused and tortured to force them to quit the practice. Adherents continue to be detained and persecuted in these facilities today, according to rights groups.

The 14 Chinese officials listed in the e-petition include former CCP leader Jiang Zemin, the main perpetrator and architect of the persecution, who sought to eradicate Falun Gong because of its popularity and its refusal to surrender to Party control. Jiang planned and executed the elaborate campaign against Falun Gong in concert and collusion with other members of the Party.

Two of the 14 officials listed in the petition are medical doctors who spearheaded the practice of forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong adherents, Uighur Muslims, and other persecuted groups in China.

Last year, an independent tribunal in England found that the CCP continues to kill Falun Gong adherents and sell their organs for profit. Among its conclusions, the tribunal found that Forced organ harvesting has been committed for years throughout China on a significant scale and that Falun Gong practitioners have been oneand probably the mainsource of organ supply.

Conservative senators Thanh Hai Ngo and Leo Housakos, along with former Liberal cabinet minister David Kilgour and prominent rights lawyer David Matas sent a letter to Trudeau in July urging the government to apply Magnitsky sanctions against Chinese officials for forced organ harvesting and other human rights atrocities in China.

How long are we going to sit back and do nothing while China continues to violate human rights with impunity? Its track record of criminality is extensive, Ngo said in a press release.

A zero-tolerance policy for rogue behaviour and criminality is in order. The time has come for Canada to reclaim its leadership as a defender of human rights on the world stage by imposing Magnitsky sanctions on Chinese officials.

Magnitsky legislation is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who uncovered the largest tax fraud in his countrys history and subsequently died as a result of torture in 2009 while detained in Moscow.
J. Delano Ellis II, an African American Pentecostal leader who sought to renew the church through new forms of unity and order adapted from Methodists and Catholics, died Saturday at the age of 75.

Ellis worked to reclaim the idea of bishops for black Pentecostals. He was a leading authority on proper clerical garb and rites of ordination and consecration. He co-founded the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops and wrote a handbook on creating episcopacy to train leaders for the office of overseer and promote the importance of an unbroken line of apostolic succession going back to Jesuss first disciples.

Traditionally  the Pentecostal church maintained its ardor but was never really known for its order, Ellis said. What were discovering is that order is not blasphemous. Order best represents God.

According to Elliss autobiography, his first memory was of his mother calling on the name of Jesus while he was still in the womb. Lucy Ellis was only 13 or 14 at the time, married to a violent man who was 10 years older than her. Her husband was Jesse Delano Ellis Sr., who rejected Christianity for Moorish Science and then Moorish Science for the Nation of Islam. He was abusive and unfaithful, fathering 28 children in South Philadelphia after his namesake, Jesse Delano Ellis II, was born in December 1944.

Elliss mother suffered from epilepsy and was committed to a mental institution while Ellis was still young. He went across the street to live with his grandmother and great aunt. Both women were ordained Christian ministers, one in a Disciples of Christ church and the other in a small Holiness denomination.

As a teenager, Ellis tried to establish a relationship with this father by attending a Nation of Islam mosque, but he also regularly attended a black Pentecostal church to listen to the choir. At the mosque, he learned that God cannot have a son. His father told him that Jesus was the white mans god and Christianity was a trick designed to enslave black people. At the Church of God in Christ, however, Ellis heard the gospel and it resonated in his heart.

One Sunday he heard a sermon on Romans 10:9. The preacher quoted the text from the King James Version, saying If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Ellis jumped up out of his seat and said I believe it!

He went forward and confessed his faith and came back to the second service to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and speak in tongues.

His father beat him that night until he was bloody. Who is Jesus? the elder Ellis shouted. Isnt he the white mans god? Why do you choose to be a slave?The next morning Ellis was bruised and limping. But I had a peace and joy, he later wrote, that I couldnt explain.

Ellis joined the Air Force and then went to school at Trevecca Nazarene College in Nashville, Tennessee. He worked in the Nazarene Church until the racial segregation of the Holiness denomination began to bother him. He spent about a year in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (CME) and developed a deep appreciation for its high church liturgy and ecclesiology, but ultimately felt more at home in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the largest black Pentecostal denomination in the United States. He was consecrated a bishop in the church at age 26.

Liturgical Reforms in COGIC

One of Elliss first assignments as a leader in the denomination was to reform clerical dress, taking what he had learned from the CME and adapting it for use in COGIC. He was also tasked with revising the service for consecrating bishops. Some COGIC leaders resisted his changes, but Ellis later recalled the top leaders accepted the reforms rather quickly. They grasped the beauty of the sacred, he wrote, and wanted to turn every ceremony into an experience that changed the lives of the worshippers.

Ellis rose in the leadership, becoming the national public relations director and ultimately assistant general secretary. He found many of his tasks less interesting than liturgical reform, however. He grew frustrated at having to spend large chunks of his time negotiating hotel rates for the annual conference. He also didnt seem to enjoy the perennial job of reiterating the denominations position against women in ministry.

In 1970 he made a brief statement that the Bible doesnt permit women to be ministers. In 1985, he talked about the churchs complicated history on the subject: Officially we dont have women in the clergy, but we do have women pastors, Ellis said. Theyre women who organized churches and stayed on as pastors and nobody said a thing.

In 1989, he received a call from an independent Pentecostal church in Cleveland, asking him if he would leave COGIC and come be their pastor. Ellis was surprised because the church was Oneness Pentecostal, but he came to think the churchs beliefs werent that different from Trinitarian Pentecostal beliefs. God has a triune nature, the church teaches, but modern Christians place too much emphasis on the distinctions between Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. There is no Scriptural support for the doctrine which defines the Godhead as three distinct persons, according to the statement of faith.

When Ellis prayed about it, he heard God tell him to preach the name of Jesus, raise the ecclesial standards of the church, and loose the women into ministry. He accepted the call. A few years later, the church became a new denomination, the United Pentecostal Churches of Christ. When he retired it claimed 17 bishops, 300 churches, and about 500,000 members.

Emphasis on Apostolic Succession

As the head of a new Pentecostal denomination, Ellis began to emphasize the importance of the legitimacy of apostolic succession. He traced his own episcopal inheritance through COGIC to the Methodists, the Anglicans, the Roman Catholics, the church at Antioch, and ultimately the first-century believers in Jerusalem. He was additionally consecrated by a bishop in the Syro-Chaldean Church of North America, establishing an Eastern line of succession.

Ellis joined bishops from two other small denominations to form the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops in 1993. Christianity Todayreported that the college was the vanguard of small but growing movement, where the setting is high church, but the spirit is unmistakably Pentecostal. Instagram video of a recent church services shows Ellis and his congregation dancing ecstatically, even as several men wear clerical collars, a woman wears a black cassock dress, and Ellis himself wears episcopal purple.

In addition to promoting high church ecclesiology among Pentecostals, the college served as an ecumenical meeting place for different spirit-filled African Americans to come together despite differences over the Trinity, women in ministry, or other doctrinal divisions.

Ellis stepped down from leadership in 2004 when he was diagnosed with leukemia. His wife Sabrina became pastor of the church in Cleveland and Larry Trotter, a mentee and the pastor of the Sweet Holy Spirit Church in Chicago took over the denomination.

The Next Billy Graham

Ellis said that when he looked at the recent history of the church, he thought the greatest renewal movement came through Billy Graham. The next movement, however, would come from African American Pentecostals who valued apostolic succession.

There is a new way and a new movement, he said. I believe it will be the black bishop, the black preacher, the black clergy, that is going to set the Christian church back in order.

The city of Cleveland honored the church leader by renaming two blocks of Chester Avenue J-Delano Ellis II Way on September 6. Ive just got one thing to say, said Ellis, at what would be his last public appearance. To God be the glory. The bishop died a week later.

He is survived by his wife Sabrina, five children, one foster child, and many grandchildren.
RTHK: 'Anarchic' NY, Seattle, Portland face funding threat

The US Justice Department on Monday threatened to revoke federal funding for New York City, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, saying the three liberal cities were allowing anarchy and violence on their streets.

"We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance," Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.

Spokespeople for the mayors' offices in all three cities could not be immediately reached for comment.

Many cities across the United States have experienced unrest since the May death of George Floyd. In some cases the protests have escalated into violence and looting.

The federal government has mounted a campaign to disperse the racial justice protests, including by sending federal agents into Portland and Seattle and encouraging federal prosecutors to bring charges.

Last week, the Justice Department urged federal prosecutors to consider sedition charges against protesters who have burned buildings and engaged in other violent activity.

Monday's threat to revoke federal funds was the government's latest escalation in its quest to curb the protests.

It comes after US President Donald Trump earlier this month issued a memo laying out criteria to consider when reviewing funding for states and cities that are "permitting anarchy, violence, and destruction in American cities.

The criteria to make the president's list include things such as whether a city forbids the police from intervening or if it defunds its police force.

In all three cities, the Justice Department said the leadership has rejected efforts to allow federal law enforcement officials to intervene and restore order, among other things. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Grand Rapids has added drop boxes around the city to collect absentee ballots and election documents.

The 24/7 drive-up drop boxes will allow voters to submit their absentee ballots and other documents, such as voter registration forms and absentee voter applications, ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

This is a safe and secure way for voters to cast their absentee ballot, City Clerk Joel Hondorp said in a statement. The drop boxes offer another option for voters who want to maintain physical distancing during COVID-19.

The drop boxes are outfitted with instructions in English and Spanish and include a code for an I voted sticker. The drop boxes will be monitored and Clerks Office staff will collect the dropped-off documents multiple times a day.

The drop boxes are for voters and residents eligible to vote in Grand Rapids.

The all-hours drive-up drop boxes are located at:

Grand Rapids Public Librarys Ottawa Hills branch, 1150 Giddings Ave. SE  curbside on Giddings

Grand Rapids Public Librarys Seymour branch, 2350 Eastern Ave. SE  rear of building near the book drop

Grand Rapids Public Librarys Van Belkum branch, 1563 Plainfield Ave. NE  curbside on Plainfield

Grand Rapids Public Librarys West Leonard branch, 1017 Leonard St. NW  east parking lot

Parking lot at 427 Market Ave. SW  southwest corner of Market and Wealthy

300 Ottawa Ave. NW  across from Calder Plaza

Another drop box, available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, is located at the Monroe-level lobby of City Hall at 300 Monroe Ave. NW.

Absentee ballots can also be returned by mail or in person to the City Clerks Office in City Hall at 300 Monroe Ave. NW, or to Election Central at 201 Market Ave. SW.

Election Central will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday starting Sept. 28.

This week the City Clerks Office will begin mailing out absentee ballots to Grand Rapids voters whot have applied already to vote absentee. More information on requesting an absentee ballot can be found here.

Voters can also use the Michigan Secretary of States website to check their registration status, find their polling location, view a sample ballot and check the progress or their application and absentee ballot.

Because of the expected influx in absentee ballot voting this year, Hondorp encouraged voters to submit their absentee ballots as soon as they can.

Read more:

Three candidates square off in 73rd state House District race

Republican Peter Meijer, Democrat Hillary Scholten seek to replace Justin Amash in Congress

Wyoming city councilman, planning commissioner vie for open 8th District seat on Kent County Commission
Without much fanfare, LG updated its midrange K-series with two new entries - the LG K42 and LG K71. Both will soon launch in several Latin American markets including Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica. They come with MediaTeks Helio chipsets, 4,000 mAh batteries and run Android 10 with LGs UX on top.

LG K42

The K42 features a 6.6-inch HD+ display with a centered punch-hole for its 8MP selfie cam. Around the back, we find a quad camera array with a 13MP main shooter, 5MP ultrawide lens, and two 2MP sensors for macro shots and depth data.

Youll also notice the Wave pattern which features a "UV coating" for added grip and durability. The right-hand-side houses the fingerprint scanner/power button while the volume and Google assistant buttons are on the left.

Under the hood, we have the Helio P22 chipset paired with 3GB RAM and 64GB storage which is expandable via microSD. The battery comes in at 4,000 mAh and charges over USB-C.

The phone also boasts a headphone jack, DTS:X 3D audio and a MIL-STD-810G certification for shock resistance.

The K42 comes in grey and green colors though LG hasnt provided further details on pricing and availability.

LG K71

The LG K71 sits a step above the K42 and comes with a 6.8-inch FHD+ display with a waterdrop notch and 20.5:9 aspect ratio. It also comes with something you dont see that often nowadays - a built-in stylus. Its not as advanced as the ones youll see on Samsungs Galaxy Note line though so no Bluetooth or motion tricks here.

The back features a triple cam setup with a 48MP primary shooter and 5MP ultrawide module accompanied by a 5MP depth helper. The selfie shooter has a 32MP sensor.

The K71 is powered by the Helio P35 chipset alongside 4GB RAM and 128GB storage which is firther expandable via microSD cards.

Rounding out the highlights of the K71 is a 4,000 mAh battery, headphone jack and dual speaker setup with DTS:X 3D support. The phone boots Android 10 with LGs UX interface.

The LG K71 comes in white and grey colors but its pricing and availability are also not yet detailed.
25% of staff are to be made redundant, says Roger Infalt of the Luxembourg Union of Journalists (ALJP).

Last week we reported that the current crisis in the media sector has led to 80 jobs being lost at the Saint-Paul media company, which includes Luxemburger Wort, Luxembourg Times, and Contacto.

Roger Infalt, member of the Luxembourg Press Council and Secretary General of the ALJP, says its only the tip of the iceberg, and is the result of the pandemic and severe austerity plans. Press quality will suffer as a result of such reductions, Infalt says.

The Journal, for example, which was once a daily print paper, will become an online-only paper from January onwards, and seven positions will be cut there.

The planned law on press assistance would, however, focus more on quality than quantity, i.e. look at how many professional journalists are employed rather than how many newspapers are printed. In this case, however, only full-time journalists and no freelancers would be considered, something that independent station Radio Ara had already expressed their concern with.

The Association of Luxembourg Professional Journalists, in a letter last week, called on the Belgian owner of Saint-Paul to take back the cuts and engage in a transparent and fair social dialogue, and to abide by the provisions of the collective agreement.
The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the senior Democratic Party-aligned member of the Supreme Court, has exacerbated political conflicts in the United States, with President Trump and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell threatening to fill the vacancy with an ultra-right nominee before the November 3 election.

Trump announced Saturday that he would nominate a female jurist to the open seat on the Supreme Court, citing as possible choices two ultra-right Catholics who are well-known opponents of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion: Judge Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana and Judge Barbara Lagoa of Florida, a Cuban-American.

White House officials indicated that a nomination could come with extraordinary speed, as soon as Wednesday, in order to meet a timeline for hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee and a Senate debate and confirmation vote before Election Day.

Democrats complained of the blatant political cynicism of McConnell, who blocked even a hearing in 2016 on President Barack Obamas nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy created by the sudden death of the leader of the right-wing bloc on the high court, Antonin Scalia.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky walks to the Senate floor, September 14, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Four years ago, McConnell bloviated about the American people having the right to decide on filling the court vacancy through their votes in the presidential election, which was nine months away. Now, with only six weeks before Election Day, and after early and mail-in voting has already begun, he is pushing for immediate Senate confirmation of a Trump nominee, the people be damned.

There are several considerations involved in the drive to fill the Ginsburg vacancy as quickly as possible. Trump and McConnell calculate that the prospect of assuring a 6-3 ultra-right majority on the court, likely sufficient to reverse the Roe v. Wade decision, could mobilize Christian fundamentalist voters behind a Republican election campaign that has been flagging.

Trump trails Democrat Joe Biden in most polls, nationally and in the key battleground states that will decide the contest in the Electoral College. Wall Street and much of corporate America have thrown their support to Biden, who has raised far more campaign cash than Trump and is dominating the airways just as early voting begins in many states.

Senate Republicans are also in danger of losing their narrow three-vote majority in the upper house, with Republican incumbents trailing in the polls in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina and Maine, and only narrowly ahead in a half-dozen other states, while only one Democrat, in Alabama, is in serious danger.

The makeup of the high court could play a major role in deciding disputes arising from the election itself. A 6-3 right-wing majority would be a far more favorable arena for Trump if he challenges mail-in ballots or makes some other legal effort, modeled on the 2000 Bush v. Gore decision, to shut down vote-counting and have himself declared the winner.

There have already been more than 200 federal lawsuits filed over various aspects of the election in 45 states, and it is widely expected that some of these issues will reach the Supreme Court for decision before November 3. We cannot let Election Day come and go and with a 4-4 court, said Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. We risk a constitutional crisis.

In addition, just two weeks after the election, the Supreme Court is to hear a challenge to the Affordable Care Act brought by a group of Republican state attorneys general. If Ginsburg is replaced by a conservative justice, the 5-4 decision that upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare in 2012 could well be overturned.

The reactionary and anti-democratic character of the Trump-McConnell effort to establish unchallenged right-wing domination of the Supreme Court has produced widespread popular outrage. Thousands of people flocked to Capitol Hill in Washington to pay their respects to Ginsburg, and opinion polls show overwhelming public opposition to Trump nominating someone for a lifetime position on the court on the eve of an election where he could well be voted out of office.

The response of the Democratic Party leadership in Washington, however, is a combination of cowardice and impotence. They shake their fists at Trump, but they are far more afraid of the consequences of any direct appeal to popular hostility to this hated right-wing government.

This attitude found expression in an unusual Sunday night press conference by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The senator from Wall Street, as Schumer is known, and the professed democratic-socialist Ocasio-Cortez had never before made common cause.

They came together to denounce McConnells plan to hold a confirmation vote on Trumps nominee to fill the Ginsburg vacancy, warning of a massive threat to the basic rights of the American people. Trump would appoint a justice committed to overturning reproductive rights, labor rights, civil rights, voting rights, the rights of LGBTQ people, including gay marriage, and turn the clock back, they declared.

All this is perfectly true, but what the two Democrats actually proposed to do about it was  nothing. They urged those watching to call, write and email their senators, particularly Republican senators in contested states.

McConnell commands a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and two Republicans have already announced their opposition to a confirmation vote before the election. We only need two more senators, Schumer said. We need to tell Mitch McConnell he is playing with fire, Ocasio-Cortez added.

If Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans move forward with this, then nothing is off the table for next year, Schumer said. Nothing is off the table. This bluster is revealing. Schumer threatens consequences in 2021, effectively conceding that nothing can be done before the election and the installation of a new Congress and president, except to appeal to a handful of persuadable Republican senators.

If the Democrats issued a call for a mass demonstration in Washington to oppose the Trump-McConnell effort to fill the Supreme Court vacancy on the eve of the election, they know very well that masses of people would turn out. That is, of course, exactly why they dont do it. They are far more afraid of the social forces that would be unleashed by such an appeal than of any attacks Trump and the Republicans make on the democratic rights of working people.

Particularly significant is the subservient role of Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, who has been glorified by the pseudo-left groups as proof that their policy of pushing the Democratic Party to the left can transform this right-wing capitalist party into an instrument for progressive social change.

One reporter asked Ocasio-Cortez about impeaching Trump a second time in an effort to block the Senate confirmation vote (under Senate rules, an impeachment vote by the House forces a Senate trial that takes precedence over all other business). She replied meekly that impeachment is up to the Democratic leadership, i.e., Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, both die-hard defenders of big business and the US political establishment.

The performance of the Democrats has been so pathetic that even one of their usual media acolytes, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, was aghast. He commented Sunday night that even if the Democrats win control of the Senate and take the White House, the question is, will they still be McConnells patsies? That has been their role since Trump took office, he conceded.

The enumeration by Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez of the rights that would be endangered if Trump is allowed to proceed with his third nomination of a Supreme Court justice only underscores the extremely attenuated character of American democracy. How is it possible that the rights of tens of millions of peopleworkers, blacks, gays, women, immigrantscan be threatened by one judge, or two senators, or even a president?

These rights were won in struggles carried out over many decades and involving millions upon millions of working people. Yet now, the Democrats admit, they hang by a thread.

The blatant effort by Trump and McConnell to rig the Supreme Court underscores the fraudulent character of American democracy. Trump himself occupies the White House only because of the anti-democratic Electoral College system, having lost the popular vote by more than three million.

The Senate is itself thoroughly anti-democratic, with California (population nearly 40 million) and Wyoming (population under 600,000) having two senators apiece. McConnells Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, but Republican senators represent barely 40 percent of the US population.

And then there is the Supreme Court itself: nine unelected justices, holding seats for life, all from upper-class Ivy League colleges, all chosen through a process that insures that every single one is a die-hard defender of the capitalist system and American imperialism.

The intensity of the conflict raging within the US ruling elite, and the open attacks on democratic principles and constitutional legality by Trump in particular, have led even bourgeois media commentators to express concern. Thus Dan Balz of the Washington Post wrote Sunday: Depending on the outcome of the election and of the resolution of who fills the Ginsburg seat, the battle could easily expand to an even more charged debate over whether the high court speaks for and represents the views of a majority of Americans or even whether the democratic system of government more broadly has become undemocratic.

Underlying the disintegration of American democracy is the deepening social crisis. Tens of millions are out of work as a result of the pandemic, which has infected seven million and killed 200,000 Americans. One million people face foreclosure imminently. Millions have been cut off from federal extended unemployment benefits and face a complete cutoff of all income support.

Neither capitalist party speaks for the working people who are the vast majority of the population. The Democrats hail the unions, the corrupt industrial police of the corporations, as though they represented working people. Trump dispenses with that pretense, offering himself as an American Fuhrer who supposedly will uphold the interests of working people by waging economic warfare against China, Mexico and Europe.

The alternative for the working class is to fight against the real source of all the attacks on jobs, living standards and democratic rightsthe capitalist profit system. This means a break with the capitalist two-party system and the building of a mass independent political movement of workers to fight for a socialist program. This is the policy advanced by the Socialist Equality Party and our 2020 presidential and vice-presidential candidates, Joseph Kishore and Norissa Santa Cruz.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A second Republican senator came out in opposition to filling a vacant Supreme Court seat before the Nov. 3 election while Speaker Nancy Pelosi asserted without details that the Democratic-led House has options for stalling or preventing President Donald Trump from quickly installing a successor to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski ofAlaska said in a statement that for weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up" a potential nomination as the presidential election neared. Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed.

Murkowski joins Maine. Sen. Susan Collins, who said replacing Ginsburg should be the decision of the election winner  Trump or Democrat Joe Biden. Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate. If there were a 50-50 tie, it could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has pledged to move forward but hasnt set a timetable.

Focus is growing on Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who has broken with Trump before. There is another potential wrinkle: Because the Arizona Senate race is a special election, that seat could be filled as early as Nov. 30, which would narrow the window for McConnell if Democrat Mark Kelly wins.

The House has no formal say in presidential nominations, a role the Constitution assigns to the Senate, and Pelosi, D-Calif., refused in a television interview to detail the arrows in our quiver, even when asked about trying to impeach Trump for a second time.

Ginsburg's death Friday at age 87 has injected new ferocity into the election-year battle for the presidency and control of Congress, in a nation already struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, economic collapse and racial tension. The talk on the Sunday news shows gave a glimpse of the power tug over the timing of any vote to fill Ginsberg's seat 44 days from the election.

Trump says he is obligated to act as soon as possible and had at least two women in mind for the seat. Most Republicans concurred on the need for speed and one named a practical reason: The nine-seat member, argued Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, must be full if called upon to decide the outcome of a disputed presidential election.

Democrats urged the GOP Senate majority to heed its own advice against filling the court's lifetime slots so close to elections.

The people pick the president. The president picks the justice, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Pelosi was asked whether she would be open to the House undertaking impeachment proceedings against Trump or Attorney General William Barr, as a way of trying to stall the confirmation process. She did not rule out doing so.

"We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that Im not about to discuss right now, she said. Pelosi had stopped by the Court in the quiet of early Sunday morning to pay tribute to Ginsburg at the site that has filled since Friday with people, many leaving bouquets of flowers.

The next justice, Pelosi said, would help determine the survival of the Affordable Care Act. The court is scheduled to hear a lawsuit involving Obamacare on Nov. 10, which could affect the law's protection of people with preexisting conditions.

Those are the people the president wants to crush when he says he wants to replace the justice in this short period of time, Pelosi said.

Nonetheless, the process was moving ahead. On a call with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., late Saturday, Trump mentioned two federal appeals court judges: Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa, according to a person familiar with the private conversation who was not authorized to public discuss the call and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Some Democrats have suggested Barr should be impeached for what they say is the politicization of the Justice Department under his watch. After the election, new impeachment proceedings could by less risky to the Democrats than was their impeachment of Trump last year. The Senate acquitted him.

But the House's options are few to bog down Trump. Impeachment is time-consuming, expensive and reserved for the most egregious wrongdoing.

To the chants of Fill that seat, Trump told supporters at an event Saturday night in North Carolina that he would nominate a woman as soon as this week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., quickly committed to holding a vote on a nominee, but has not said when.

We win an election and those are the consequences, said Trump, who then seemed to signal that he'd be willing to accept a vote on his nominee during the lame-duck period after the election. We have a lot of time. We have plenty of time. We're talking about January 20th"  when the next president is inaugurated.

Cruz said all nine seats need to be filled by the election.

An equally divided court, four-four, cant decide anything," Cruz said. We need a full court on Election Day, given the very high likelihood that were going to see litigation that goes to the court. We need a Supreme Court that can find a definitive answer for the country.

Democrats have denounced McConnells move to push ahead as hypocritical, pointing out that he refused to call hearings for President Barack Obama's nominee of Merrick Garland 237 days before the 2016 election.

The next pick could shape important decisions beyond abortion rights, including the fate of Obama's healthcare law any legal challenges that may stem from the 2020 election. In the interim, if the court were to take cases with eight justices, 4-4 ties would revert the decision to a lower court; for instance, the Affordable Care Act could then be struck down by a lower Texas court.

Pelosi and Cruz spoke on ABC's This Week and Klobuchar was on CNN's State of the Union.
As the Emmys have risen to the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, so too have the events surrounding the annual awards show. Gifting suites  where talent interact with and receive products in exchange for potential photo placements and mentions  have been a staple of awards season for decades, a chance for brands to get valuable exposure via A-list talent. With no in-person awards show this year, the organizers behind the official Emmys gifting suite for the last seven years told TheWrap they did not want to hold one this year out of an abundance of caution for the talent, vendors and workers associated with such an event. They hope to return next year, circumstances permitting. Also Read: Will the Emmy Awards Have a Red Carpet This Year? While not an official event, events producer Debbie Durkin has held her end-of-summer EcoLuxe lounge for the last 14 years during Emmys week. In the last few years, the event has been held at the Beverly Hilton, which on other years would be a hub for awards activity. (The Golden Globes are held at the Hilton annually.) I called the Hilton and I said what if we did a drive-through...

Read original story How Emmys Gifting Suite Organizers Innovated Amid the Ongoing Pandemic At TheWrap
"Highmark is committed to ensuring our members have access to the most clinically effective, cost-efficient medications possible." - Sarah Marche, SVP, pharmacy services, Highmark

Highmark announced that it has entered an outcomes-based agreement with AstraZeneca for Fasenra, an add-on prescription maintenance treatment for patients age 12 or older with severe asthma. Approximately 500 Highmark members utilize the healthcare professional administered formulation of Fasenra. This agreement monitors commercial and Medicare members.

Through outcomes-based agreements, drug companies are accountable for the clinical effectiveness of medications. As part of the agreement, Highmark is measuring members that stay on treatment signaling the treatment is working and the members health is improving.

Highmark is committed to ensuring that our members have access to the most clinically effective, cost-efficient medications possible, says Sarah Marche, senior VP of pharmacy services for Highmark. Outcomes-based agreements are an important component of realizing that goal, and AstraZeneca is a proven partner in this space.

Previously, Highmark and AstraZeneca reached an outcomes-based agreement for the asthma and COPD medication SYMBICORTone of the first outcomes-based agreements in the U.S. for the treatment of those chronic respiratory conditions. In 2019, Highmark announced that its contract with AstraZeneca for SYMBICORT demonstrated positive results in improving health outcomes, including through the majority of patients on the medication experiencing a stabilization or improvement of their symptoms.

More than 25 million Americans have been diagnosed with asthma, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). Each year, this chronic respiratory disease accounts for more than $50 billion in direct medical costs, and more than $3 billion in costs related to missed work and school days, per the AAFA.

This value-based contract with AstraZeneca for Fasenra continues Highmark's streak of designing and implementing outcomes-based agreements for pharmaceutical and biological products that focus on improved health outcomes for members and ensuring the medications that they are using are working for them. Highmark previously entered into value-based contracts for the treatment of several other chronic, high-cost health conditions, including diabetes, autoimmune diseases, asthma and COPD.

About Highmark Inc.

One of America's leading health insurance organizations and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Highmark Inc. (the Health Plan) and its affiliated health plans (collectively, the Health Plans) work passionately to deliver high-quality, accessible, understandable, and affordable experiences, outcomes, and solutions to customers. As the fourth-largest overall Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated organization, Highmark Inc. and its Blue-branded affiliates proudly cover the insurance needs of more than 5.6 million members in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia. Its diversified businesses serve group customer and individual needs across the United States through dental insurance and other related businesses. For more information, visit http://www.highmark.com.
If Trump is able to install his nominee, both sides agree theres a better chance than ever that Roe v. Wade  the 1973 decision established a nationwide right to abortion  could be overturned or gutted

Its been a throwaway line in presidential campaigns for years: Roe v. Wade is on the ballot.

This time it is very real.

The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg so close to a presidential election and the vacancy it creates on the Supreme Court, coupled with President Donald Trumps political imperative to energize social conservatives in key states, urgently provided a new frame for Trumps case for a second term. And it has animated supporters of abortion rights at least as much.

Read More: Ruth Bader Ginsburgs dying wish: I will not be replaced until a new president is installed

If Trump is able to install his nominee in that seat, both sides agree theres a better chance than ever that Roe v. Wade  the 1973 decision established a nationwide right to abortion  could be overturned or gutted.

We have been apprehensive for years, but this is more worrisome  this is a seismic shift, said Jennifer Dalven, director of the American Civil Liberties Unions Reproductive Freedom Project.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivers remarks at the Georgetown Law Center on September 12, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

During his 2016 campaign, Trump, who had previously expressed unqualified support for abortion rights, won over skeptical anti-abortion leaders with multiple pledges to combat abortion, including choosing Supreme Court justices open to dismantling Roe v. Wade. Now, with Trump hoping to fill a vacancy for the third time and give the nine-member court six conservative justices, that pledge has new import.

It is at least conceivable for the first time that we have a majority that would overturn Roe, and the battle would return to the states, said Andrew Bath, executive vice president of the Thomas More Society, a conservative public interest law firm.

It remains uncertain if the Senate will hold a confirmation vote before the Nov. 3 election, and how it would respond if Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden before the vacancy is filled. But Trump has urged the Senate to move quickly, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said there will be a vote on Trumps nominee.

Story continues

If a Trump nominee is confirmed and a reconfigured high court did eventually overturn Roe, the likely outcome would be a patchwork of laws in various states. Some states would protect abortion access, others would enact near-total bans, and many would struggle over what new limits they might impose.

Planned Parenthood, the nations largest abortion provider, says that if Roe were dismantled, sweeping bans could be imposed in 20 states that are home to an estimated 25 million women of reproductive age.

The high court has plenty of options if it wants to reexamine Roe. Planned Parenthoods president, Alexis McGill Johnson, says there are 17 cases involving state-level abortion restrictions that are pending in federal courts only one step away from the Supreme Court.

State Rep. Erica Thomas confronted the man who verbally assaulted her in a Publix grocery store line on Saturday. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

Julie Burkhart, who operates abortion clinics in Oklahoma City and in Wichita, Kansas, already has a sense of the consequences of a Roe v. Wade reversal, based on events this year in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.

The governors of Texas and some other Republican-led states issued executive orders banning most abortions on grounds they were non-essential medical procedures. Before those bans were quashed, many Texas women journeyed to out-of-state abortion clinics, including Burkharts Wichita clinic where the patient load quadrupled at one stage.

It gave a peek into what a post-Roe world would look like, which was not a pretty sight, Burkhart said. It was devastating and heartbreaking.

There are numerous organizations assisting women who need to travel out of state to access abortion, and such efforts are likely to expand if state abortion bans are permitted.

Theres also likely to be an increase in do-it-yourself abortions, according to attorney Jill E. Adams of If/When/How, which seeks to provide accurate information about this option and discourage authorities from criminalizing it.

Already, many abortions are induced at home with a two-drug combination, under the guidance of a health professional. Advocacy groups say home abortions using one of the drugs  misoprostol  can be done safely without professional oversight.

If Roe is overturned or gutted, more people will need this option, Adams said.

Rep. Merika Coleman speaks during a rally against a ban on nearly all abortions outside of the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. (Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)

Last year, at least eight states passed sweeping abortion bans  most of them so-called heartbeat bills that could ban abortion as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Tennessee lawmakers approved such a measure this year.

All the new bans have been at least temporarily blocked by judges.

In June, a divided Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law regulating abortion clinics, reasserting a commitment to abortion rights over opposition from dissenting conservative justices in the first big abortion case of Trumps presidency.

Chief Justice John Roberts and his four more liberal colleagues, including Ginsburg, ruled 5-4 that a law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals violates the rights established by Roe v. Wade.

Were Roberts to side with the three remaining liberals in future abortion cases, that bloc could be potentially outvoted by five conservatives  including the new Trump nominee.

Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, noted that most recent abortion cases reaching the Supreme Court were decided by one-vote margins.

The fact that the court was so close  with Ruth Bader Ginsburg on it  sends shivers down my spine in terms of how critical this next appointment is, she said.

Michael New, an abortion opponent who teaches social research at Catholic University of America, said a successful Trump nomination could further embolden anti-abortion state legislators.

Richard Mahoney of the Pro-Life Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and American Holocaust Museum holds a crucifix during a protest vigil sponsored by The Christian Defense Coalition and Priests for Life outside of the Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Carol Whitehill Moses Center on January 17, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

Some state-level pro-life laws have been specifically drafted in such a way to obtain the vote of John Roberts, New said via email. If a Trump nominee is confirmed, it is possible that some states may pursue stronger laws that offer greater protection to the unborn. 

Among the favorites of many in the anti-abortion movement is Amy Coney Barrett, a devout Roman Catholic who taught law at the University of Notre Dame before taking a seat three years ago on a federal appeals court. Trump has said he will nominate a woman and has spoken highly of Barrett.

New said Trump could benefit from making a nomination even if the Senate doesnt act on it until after the election.

Aggressive criticism of an otherwise qualified Supreme Court nominee may well work to the political advantage of the president and other Republican candidates, New said.

There are two abortion-related state ballot measures up for a vote on Nov. 3  a measure in Louisiana stipulating there is no right to abortion or abortion funding in the state Constitution, and a measure in Colorado that would ban abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Read More: Trump to Senate: Vote without delay on his pick to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The proposed Colorado ban would allow abortions after that time only if a womans life is endangered. It makes no exceptions for rape, incest or a severe fetal abnormality.

There is some limited consensus among the rival sides in the abortion debate: It wont be ended by a reversal of Roe.

The issue of abortion has divided this nation like no issue since slavery, said Andrew Bath of the Thomas More Society. These battles are going to rage no matter what the Supreme Court decides to do.

Have you subscribed to theGrios new podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!

The post Ginsburgs death puts Roe v. Wade on the ballot in November appeared first on TheGrio.
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New Delhi:

Jet Airways passengers in Dhaka had a narrow escape after the tail of the aircraft hit the runway on landing at the Dhaka International airport last week, prompting the airline to take the pilots concerned off duty.

The B737-800 aircraft has been grounded and a team from Boeing Company is expected to visit Dhaka to assess the extent of damage to the plane while engineers from Jet Airways has already started the assessment, sources said.

The incident, which happened on January 22, has been reported to aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation).

DGCA sources said Bangladeshs aviation authorities are expected to investigate the incident since it happened in Dhaka.

According to them, if the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Bangladesh, which is the countrys aviation regulatory body, decides not to probe the incident, then AAIB may take up the investigation.

When contacted, Jet Airways confirmed the tail strike incident.

The flight 9W-276 from Mumbai to Dhaka had 160 guests and eight crew members when it had a tail strike on landing at Dhaka airport on January 22. There were no injuries to guests or crew, all of whom deplaned safely, the airline said.

In a detailed statement, Jet Airways also said the crew of the flight has been placed off roster in order to assist with the investigation as a standard practice.

The aircraft, B737-800, is currently being inspected by the Jet Airways engineering team at Dhaka before it is brought back for routine operations.

Aircraft Accident investigation Bureau (AAIB), which comes under the Civil Aviation Ministry, is the apex body for probing accidents, serious incidents involving Indian aircraft.

Further, Jet Airways said it continues to offer all cooperation to support the investigation in its aircraft Incident.

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Boris Johnson will unveil a major crackdown on normal life today in a bid to halt a second wave of coronavirus.

He will drop his back to work drive, announce restrictions on socialising and impose a 10pm curfew on bars and restaurants from Thursday.

Pubs and other venues will be allowed to serve seated customers only and drinkers will be banned from gathering in crowds. Chief medical officer Chris Whitty said yesterday it was crucial to break unnecessary links between households.

Here, Ben Spencer analyses Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance's dire warning...

Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance arrive at Downing Street this morning ahead of the coronavirus briefing

WHAT THEY SAID: Deaths could reach 200 a day by mid-November

WHAT IT MEANS: This suggestion is an illustration, rather than a prediction. But even if such rates do come to pass, how would that death toll compare? It would be far lower than deaths back in April, which frequently soared past 1,100 a day. Flu and pneumonia combined accounted for an average of 430 deaths a day in mid-winter over the last five years. Cancer kills 450 a day, dementia 214, heart disease 174. That is not to say 200 lives lost to Covid-19 are not each a tragedy, but given the measures required to prevent them  which themselves will cost lives  it is worth putting them in perspective.

WHAT THEY SAID: Failure to act could lead to 50,000 cases a day by mid-October

WHAT IT MEANS: This terrifying figure  ten times the figures recorded at the peak of the first wave in April  dominated the broadcast headlines last night. Sir Patrick Vallance presented a chart showing cases doubling every seven days. Use of the chart, however, was criticised last night. Although it was merely presented as a theoretical example, rather than a definitive model of what will happen, it was the only scenario offered. Critics pointed out if we are to follow the trajectory of France and Spain, daily cases in three weeks are likely to be closer to 10,000.

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty (pictured) said yesterday it was crucial to break unnecessary links between households

WHAT THEY SAID: It is a six-month problem

WHAT IT MEANS: Professor Chris Whitty said the seasons are against us  and we need to deal with this collectively until the spring. He added: We have to break unnecessary links between households because that is the way in which this virus is transmitted. He also called for restraint, stressing that if people break the rules, they are taking a risk on behalf of everybody else. In other words, get ready for a long, tough winter, follow the rules  and forget about Christmas with family.

WHAT THEY SAID: A balance must be struck between protecting the NHS and protecting the economy

WHAT IT MEANS: Professor Whitty admitted new restrictions will come at a terrible cost. There is a very difficult balance to be struck, he said, between preventing the NHS from being overwhelmed and a lockdown that would cause unemployment, poverty and deprivation. Such economic devastation would bring its own long-term health effects.

WHAT THEY SAID: Science will eventually ride to the rescue

WHAT IT MEANS: Sir Patrick said a few doses of an effective Covid vaccine may be available for use before the end of the year, and mass vaccination is likely to start next spring. He said whichever approach to a vaccine succeeds  and there are four main strategies being used around the world  the Government will be able to access one that works.

Sir Patrick Vallance (pictured) presented a chart showing cases doubling every seven days. Use of the chart, however, was criticised last night. Although it was merely presented as a theoretical example, rather than a definitive model of what will happen, it was the only scenario offered

WHAT THEY SAID: Doctors have learned to treat this more effectively

WHAT IT MEANS: A bright light amidst the gloom. Official figures show death rates among Covid patients in intensive care wards dropped by a fifth between March and June  primarily because doctors got better at treating the virus. Add to this the discovery that cheap steroids such as dexamethasone improve survival rates, and suddenly the outcomes for patients look much better. However, it is still the case that one in three patients who enter intensive care with coronavirus will die  meaning this is still a very serious disease.

Five Crucial points they didnt make

Another lockdown could devastate NHS waiting lists

The shutdown ordered in March had a huge impact on patients.

In many hospitals, non-Covid activity ground to a halt. Cancer patients were told they could not access chemotherapy or scans, hip operations were cancelled and cataract procedures postponed. There is a huge backlog of procedures which will take months to clear. Fear also had an impact. Vaccination rates fell as parents kept children at home and A&E visits dropped. Even heart attack admissions plummeted as patients heeded the stay at home message.

Why not just shield the vulnerable?

The risk of someone dying with the virus in their 80s is 70 times that of younger groups. The average age at which patients succumb is 82. The normal life expectancy of a British man is 79. For a woman it is 83. Most children and young people shrug off the virus. There is a strong argument that, instead of ordering another lockdown, the PM should introduce a shielding policy for the elderly and vulnerable, allowing the rest of the country to carry on.

Official figures show death rates among Covid patients in intensive care wards dropped by a fifth between March and June  primarily because doctors got better at treating the virus

Shutting schools again would have a major impact

Many scientists now believe closing schools was unnecessary. Most children are not in danger from the virus  yet untold harm was done to their education and mental health by keeping them at home. Parents also had to stay in to look after them, making it difficult to work.

We may have more immunity

Sir Patrick Vallance said fewer than 8 per cent of the population has developed antibodies to the virus, so the majority remain susceptible. But emerging evidence suggests that the antibody surveys used are not a complete picture. Many more may be protected by T-cells which have learned how to ward off Covid due to exposure to other coronaviruses.

We have to learn to live with the virus even if theres no vaccine

The scientists laid out scenarios lasting through the winter, in the hope that a vaccine will come to the rescue in the spring. But if no vaccine is developed whats the plan? It would be unsustainable to push the country into lockdown every time cases rise. Will we be having similar discussions this time next year? We have to learn to live with the virus because it is not going away.
The Yamuna Expressway authority has sent a proposal to the Uttar Pradesh government for setting up a film city in Gautam Buddh Nagar, officials said on September 21. Land has been identified for the proposed film city, which would be spread over an area of 1,000 acres, officials of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on September 18 announced setting up the country's "biggest" and "most beautiful" film city in the district bordering Delhi and instructed officials to search for land in or around Noida and Greater Noida. "The Yamuna Expressway authority on Sunday sent the proposal to the state government for a film city in an area of 1,000 acre land in Sector 21," YEIDA's Officer on Special Duty Shailendra Bhatia told PTI.

He said the identified land stands out for the project as it would be close to the upcoming international airport in Jewar and has good road connectivity as well. The proposed site in Sector 21, which falls along the Yamuna Expressway (Delhi-Agra), is just six kilometres from the upcoming airport in Jewar and 12 kilometres from the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, according to the officials.

The site is around 70 km from Delhi and 150 km from Agra, the officials added.
Black Lives Matter Removes Goal of Disrupting Family Structure From Website

The Black Lives Matter Global Network quietly removed one of its stated goals from its website with no explanation.

The network, the official group that started the Black Lives Matter movement, is fighting for freedom, liberation, and justice for black people, according to its website.

But the group has other goals.

We make our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to fully participate with their children. We dismantle the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work double shifts so that they can mother in private even as they participate in public justice work, the networks website used to state on a What We Believe page that was removed recently.

We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and villages that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.

The group also said on the now-deleted page that it was fostering a queer-affirming network, cultivating a movement free from ageism, and combating state-sanctioned violence.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment about why the page was deleted.

Patrisse Cullors attends an event in West Hollywood, Calif., on Feb. 13, 2020. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for The West Hollywood Edition)

Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013, in response to the death of Trayvon Martin in Florida, by activists Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. Cullors has described herself and Garza as trained Marxists, or communists.

Supporters say the movement draws attention to deaths at the hands of police that shouldnt have happened, while critics say activists push a racial injustice narrative that doesnt have strong evidence behind it.

Many Black Lives Matter protests are peaceful, but researchers have found that hundreds have devolved into violence in the United States alone since late May.

In a rare public statement earlier this month, Cullors pushed back on criticism from televangelist Pat Robertson, who said on his show that Black lives matter, but that legitimate thing has been hijacked by these radicals.

This is a stalking horse for a very, very radical anti-family, anti-God agenda, Robertson said. We dont want to go along with a lesbian, anti-family, anti-capitalist, Marxist revolution.

Cullors said in response: We believe those of all religious views and backgrounds, or disbelief; all genders as equal; Black lives not being eradicated using guns and knees in our necks; the elimination of the constant betrayal of our poor and oppressed communities; and, certainly, continuing to foster a united country that works for everyone despite their actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, disability, immigration status, or intergenerational way of life.
A delegation of (SAD) led by party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal will meet President Ram Nath Kovind at 4

This comes a day after Rajya Sabha passed two agriculture Bills by voice votes.

On Sunday, Badal had urged the President to intervene and return the Bills to parliament for reconsideration.

"Urging President of India not to sign the Bills on farm issues and return them to #Parliament for reconsideration. Please intervene on behalf of farmers, labourers, arhtiyas, mandi labour and Dalits, or they will never forgive us. 1/2," he wrote on Twitter.

"Democracy means consensus, not oppression. A sad day for democracy indeed if it leads to 'annadata' starving or sleep on roads 2/2," he added.

On September 17, SAD leader and Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the Union Cabinet, displaying her opposition to the three Bills.

Two Bills -- The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 -- have been passed from both Houses of the Parliament.

(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.)
To facilitate orders, Karma created a new pre-reservation order site which is now live at http://www.karmaautomotive.com/reserve . For a fully-refundable $100 deposit, interested individuals can reserve a place in line. The GS lineup will retain the same exotic design of the Revero  to continue with the brand's legacy but will include technological advancements and a price point that will help bring new customers into the brand.

"We are pleased to announce that Karma will now offer our first all-electric vehicle next year as part of the GS series," said Dr. Lance Zhou, Karma's CEO. "Cost reductions in the BOM, streamlining our supply chain and standardized production methods also allowed for a new, more attainable pricing structure for the GS lineup allowing for higher market penetration, opening up the market to a larger group of entry level luxury buyers."

ABOUT KARMA AUTOMOTIVE

Karma Automotive, founded in 2014, is a southern California based producer of luxury electric vehicles. Headquartered in Irvine, California with an assembly plant located in Moreno Valley, Karma sells vehicles via its dealer network comprised of 36 locations in North America, Europe, South America and the Middle East. Karma's Innovation and Customization Center, which opened in 2019 offers world-class engineering, design, customization, and manufacturing services along with electrification platforms. Karma's flagship vehicle, the Revero GT, Green Car Journal's 2020 Luxury Green Car of the Year, is an electric vehicle powered by dual electric motors that embodies Karma's goal of offering leading technology with a luxury experience. Every Karma vehicle is created with unparalleled individual care and craftsmanship.

For more information, visit www.karmaautomotive.com, or www.karmanewsroom.com.

SOURCE Karma Automotive

Related Links

www.karmaautomotive.com


The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Dr. K.K. Sarpong has lauded the government for showing a commitment to developing the technical universities in the country.



He said since the current government took office, it had made significant investments in infrastructure, human resources, and other critical areas of the technical universities to enable them to effectively discharge their mandate.



Dr. Sarpong said this when he delivered the keynote address at the 16th Congregation of the Koforidua Technical University which coincided with the induction into office of Professor David Kofi Essumang as the first Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of the institution.



National development



He said the technical universities had a crucial role to play in nation-building, and that it was, therefore, important that they undertook research that could be applied to yield practical benefits even as they prepared their students for the world of work.



Dr. Sarpong was himself honoured at the event as "Ambassador of Technical Universities and Technical Vocational Education in Ghana".



He urged the technical universities to be mindful of the industrys search for graduates with skills, and, therefore, tasked them to spare no effort in ensuring that the students were prepared to meet the demands of the times.



He said the outbreak of COVID-19 had brought out innovation in young men and young women with technical and vocational education enterprises and diverse safety gadgets, including the production of mechanized hand-washing machines in Ghana, adding that the technical universities should build on such skills.



Industry



While congratulating Professor Essumang on his appointment, Dr. Sarpong urged him to be innovative and technologically-minded to lead the university into a prosperous future.



He encouraged him to collaborate with the industry for mutual benefits and to take bold steps to recommend to industry to see the worth of technical university education.



Dr. Sarpong said it was common knowledge that the worlds economy was in crisis because of the COVID-19 pandemic which had compelled many corporate organizations and businesses to fold up.



What this means is that support and sponsorship from corporate social responsibility models will dwindle, but this should not deter the universities from courting and collaborating with industry, he said.



Changing the education landscape



A Deputy Minister of Education in charge of Tertiary Education, Professor Kwesi Yankah, urged the V-C to put in place measures that reflected the times and to be also responsive to the critical needs of society.



He warned that if leadership and stakeholders of technical universities did not navigate carefully and appoint responsible executives to steer affairs in line with their laid down mandate, the transition from polytechnic to technical university might lose direction.



He added that the transition of polytechnics into technical universities would compel students to move seamlessly into higher levels of technical and vocational training rather than shift to grammar-based programmes at the tertiary level.



Lifting KTU



In his inaugural address, Prof. Essumang said his special focus was to build a solid body of well-trained graduates in science and technology in various fields in readiness for the skills needed in the job market or to become owners of personal businesses.









Source: Graphiconline.com









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

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Perugia Airport has retracted its claim Boris Johnson flew into Italy earlier this month - and said staff had him muddled with Tony Blair.

The president of the airport set the record straight this afternoon and explained that an airport worker mistook a 'private citizen' arriving from Farnborough in Hampshire as the Prime Minister.

However after checking their registry and liaising with police, the airport found that the one passenger who had landed at the airport on September 12 was 'a private citizen and not Boris Johnson.'

An article published last night by La Repubblica carried a statement from the airport which said Mr Johnson had passed through 'in the last few days'.

It was accompanied by a quote from an airport source, saying he landed on Friday, September 11 at 2pm.

Number 10 rubbished the version of events as 'completely untrue' and insisted the Prime Minister had not travelled to Italy in recent months.

Perugia Airport's president has now told the Daily Telegraph Mr Johnson was 'definitely' not at the airport and staff mistook him for ex-Labour PM Mr Blair.

Perugia Airport has retracted its claim Boris Johnson flew into Italy earlier this month - and said staff had him muddled with Tony Blair

The president of the airport (pictured) set the record straight this afternoon hours after Downing Street first issued a robust denial of the story.

The withdrawal draws a line under a mystery that had Westminster puzzled.

On the Friday he was claimed to be in Italy, Mr Johnson was faced with MPs preparing to rebel on his international law-breaking Brexit legislation and rising numbers of coronavirus infections across the UK.

The PM and fiancee Carrie Symonds also reportedly baptised son Wilfred that weekend, it was claimed last week.

Mr Johnson has reportedly travelled to the airport before to visit his friend Evgeny Lebedev, owner of the Evening Standard, at his medieval castle.

Russian-born Mr Lebedev, whose father is a former KGB operative, is known for hosting lavish parties for celebrity guests at the Castello di Santa Eurasia.

According to one report Mr Johnson worked from Downing Street on the day in question and took part in a Zoom call with 256 Tory MPs on Brexit.

Mr Johnson had tried to give a patriotic rallying cry to encourage his colleagues to back his controversial plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

One source said that Mr Johnson's connection had cut out during the call and when he came back on he joked that he should probably invest in super-fast internet, Politics Home reported.

Lebedev, 41, who owns the Evening Standard newspaper and is frequently seen mixing in the upper echelons of the celebrity social scene, owns the breathtaking Castello di Santa Eurasia

Russian-born Mr Lebedev, whose father is a former KGB operative, is known for hosting lavish parties for his celebrity friends at the Castello di Santa Eurasia

Last year it was reported that Mr Johnson, during his time as Foreign Secretary, had been spotted at Perugia's airport looking dishevelled 'in last night's clothes.'

A fellow passenger told The Guardian that Mr Johnson appeared to be stumbling around and at one point looked as if he might vomit.

There was silence from Mr Johnson's communications staff when those reports emerged last year.

Last month, Mr Johnson nominated Mr Lebedev for a life peerage for his services to the media industry and his philanthropic work.

A Downing Street spokesperson had said: 'This story is completely untrue. The Prime Minister has not travelled to Italy in recent months. Anyone who publishes these claims is repeating a falsehood.'

MailOnline has contacted Tony Blair's office.
A woman who was unaware she was pregnant suffered a miscarriage after she was thrown from the bonnet of her own car by a friend in a 'practical joke gone wrong'.

Keeley Harrison, 20, jumped into Megan Meredith's parked Ford Ka and decided to drive away as her friend clung to the windscreen wipers and tried to stop the car from escaping in Bargoed, South Wales, last year.

Ms Meredith, 22, was then flung from the bonnet and onto the road as the car accelerated to 19mph, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Nigel Fryer said Ms Meredith found out she was pregnant when she was taken to hospital but lost the baby after a five-hour surgery for her injures - which included a broken right ankle and right tibia.

On the day of the incident, which took place on March 22 last year, Ms Meredith had picked up Harrison and two other friends and parked her car in the high street.

Keeley Harrison (pictured outside Cardiff Crown Court), 20, jumped into Megan Meredith's parked Ford Ka and started to drive as her friend clung to the bonnet

The group purchased some cakes when Ms Meredith took rubbish from the car to put in a bin nearby, leaving her keys in the ignition.

When she looked back she saw Harrison in the driver's seat and when she tried to open the door she found they were locked.

Harrison, who was egged on by friends in the back seat, then attempted to drive away but Ms Meredith tried to stop the car from leaving by holding onto the bonnet as it drove along the street.

She was then flung onto the road as Harrison hit the brakes abruptly on the high street.

Prosecutor Nigel Fryer said: 'The car started to roll backwards and Ms Meredith lent on the bonnet, shouting at her not to drive the car, and there was laughing and joking in the vehicle. She also believed they were filming her on a phone.

'She felt the car move forward and was gripping onto the car to try and stop herself from falling. The defendant pulled out of the parking space while she was still on the bonnet and she accelerated up Upper High Street with Ms Meredith's legs dangling down.

'She felt the car was being driven fast and she tried to grab hold of the windscreen wipers but she fell off the front of the car onto her right-hand side.

'She felt confused initially and didn't know if she had passed out but when she tried to get up she described feeing horrific pain in her right leg.'

Cardiff Crown Court heard CCTV footage showed Harrison crouching down to check on her friend.

But Ms Meredith said her friends did not believe she had broken her ankle and told her to get up.

An elderly man rushed to the scene and began arguing with the friends for the way they had acted.

Following the incident, Ms Meredith suffered a broken right ankle and broken right tibia which required lengthy surgery - and was later told her leg may never recover.

She spent two weeks at the Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil and had to take six months off work.

In a victim personal statement, she said: 'This incident has ruined my life and I am worried about the future, my leg function, and employment.

Harrison accelerated to 19mph when her friend was flung from the bonnet of the car and onto the road, Cardiff Crown Court heard

The defendant later pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving

At Cardiff Crown Court, Harrison was banned from driving for two years and ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work

'I'm not the person I was before and I don't think I'll ever be the same person again. I now have to live with these injuries for the rest of my life.'

Support worker Harrison, of Brithdir, Caerphilly, told police she was driving the vehicle but claimed both parties were responsible.

She said her intention was to play a 'practical joke' on Miss Meredith - by driving around the coroner to make her think they were leaving.

Harrison pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Defence barrister Jenny Yeo said the pair were no longer friends.

She added: 'This is a tragic case for all concerned. It was a prank between two friends that went horribly wrong and my client takes full responsibility for her stupidity and her actions.'

Sentencing Judge Jeremy Jenkins handed Harrison an 18 month suspended sentence.

He said: 'Causing injury to your friend was the last thing on your mind, I have no doubt, but you have acknowledged how dangerous and foolish your actions were.'

Harrison was also banned from driving for two years and ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is locking down key votes from Republican senators in his bid to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs death.

On Sunday, McConnell (R-Ky.) won the support of Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who is retiring and was viewed as a potential swing vote as McConnell seeks to confirm Ginsburgs replacement as soon as possible.

No one should be surprised that a Republican Senate majority would vote on a Republican presidents Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year, Alexander said in a statement. The Constitution gives senators the power to do it. The voters who elected them expect it.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of McConnells leadership team, also backed the majority leader over the weekend, as did Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a moderate.

Just two GOP senators have said they oppose moving forward with a confirmation vote before Election Day. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was the first to announce her opposition, and on Sunday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) followed suit.

For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election, Murkowski said in a statement. Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed.

McConnell can afford to lose only three Republicans, and all Democrats are expected to back Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in arguing that Ginsburgs seat should not be filled until 2021. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) are believed to be possible swing votes, but neither has announced a position yet.

Murkowski, who has frequently bucked her partys leadership, noted that she did not support President Barack Obamas effort to fill Justice Antonin Scalias seat in 2016, and that the same standard must apply this election year.

Collins on Saturday said the winner of the Nov. 3 presidential election should nominate Ginsburgs replacement, though she is not opposed to the Senate Judiciary Committees beginning to process President Donald Trumps nominee before Election Day. McConnell has not specified an exact time frame for processing a nomination, which on average takes around two months from start to finish.

Story continues

When the Senate returns to Washington on Monday, McConnells leadership team is expected to meet to discuss the GOP strategy. And on Tuesday, all Senate Republicans will gather for the first time since Ginsburgs death on Friday evening.





People hold signs of tribute during a public remembrance to honor the life and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg outside Brooklyns, Municipal Building on Sept. 20, 2020.

Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pences chief of staff, said on Sunday that Trump had already narrowed his list and was prepared to make a nomination very soon. Trump is expected to announce a nominee later this week, and has said he will choose a woman.

Its certainly possible a nominee could be confirmed before Election Day, Short told CNNs Jake Tapper on State of the Union. But I think that the presidents obligation is to make the nomination. Well leave the timetable to Leader McConnell.

Democrats have mounted an intense pressure campaign amid McConnells stated intention to fill the vacancy immediately, noting that Senate Republicans blocked Obamas nominee to replace Scalia in 2016, Merrick Garland, from being considered. At the time, Republicans said it was too close to an election for a Senate and White House controlled by different parties to process a Supreme Court nomination.

At a press conference, Schumer reiterated that if the Republicans fill the seat and Democrats take back the majority in November "everything is on the table." The New York Democrat also described the potential selection of Amy Coney Barrett, a frontrunner for the vacancy, as someone who "stands for all the things Ruth Bader Ginsburg was against," adding "someone of that philosophy does not belong on the court."

On Sunday afternoon, Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, appealed to the handful of Republican senators who control the fate of the next nomination.

Please follow your conscience, Biden said in a speech in Philadelphia. Don't vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and Senator McConnell have created. Don't go there. Uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience, let the people speak. Cool the flames that have been engulfing our country. We cant ignore the cherished system of checks and balances.

Democratic lawmakers earlier in the day noted that Election Day is only six weeks away and early voting has already begun in several states. Ginsburgs absence leaves the court with a 5-3 split in favor of conservatives, and the high court is set to take up a case that could determine the fate of Obamacare just one week after the election.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told POLITICO that Republicans essentially created a new rule in 2016 that the Senate should wait to advance a Supreme Court nominee in the final year of a presidential term, and that Democrats are united in holding them to that.

It doesnt really matter who it is, he said of the future nominee. We are unified in the proposition that we want to hold the Republicans to their word, and we will not entertain a nominee until after Inauguration Day.

Senate Democrats have limited tools at their disposal as the minority party. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, chairman of the Senate GOP conference, was adamant that the process would move forward this year.

The president is going to make a nomination, he told NBCs Chuck Todd on Meet the Press. We will hold hearings, and there will be a vote on the floor of the United States Senate this year.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas went even further, insisting that confirming a nominee before the Nov. 3 election was the right thing to do. Cruz cited in 2016 a long tradition of not considering Supreme Court nominees in an election year.

At least three Republicans recalled on the Sunday shows that there have been 29 vacancies in a presidential election year, and that presidents named a nominee all 29 times. The big difference, Cruz told George Stephanopoulos on ABCs This Week, is that the Senate traditionally confirms that nominee when the Senate majority and president are members of the same party.

Its not just simply your party, my party, he said. The reason is, its a question of checks and balances. In order for a Supreme Court nomination to go forward, you have to have the president and the Senate.

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said its too soon to say right now whether Republicans would confirm a nominee before the election, but he insisted the Senate would move forward without delay, echoing the presidents language.

In 2014, the American people elected a Republican majority to the Senate to put the brakes on President Obamas judicial nominations. In 2018, we had a referendum on this question, Cotton told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, citing the contentious confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

There could not have been a clearer mandate, because the American people didnt just reelect Republicans. They expanded our majority, Cotton said. They defeated four Democratic senators who voted against Justice Kavanaugh. They reelected the one Democratic senator who did vote for Justice Kavanaugh.

Democrats who appeared on the Sunday shows were uniformly opposed to the Senates advancing Trumps future nominee, especially given that polling shows Biden currently favored to win the election and Democrats could regain control of the Senate.

But the party appeared to try several different tacks rather than one unified strategy. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said he would personally appeal to his Republican colleagues, who he suggested should respect the 2016 precedent they set. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and former President Bill Clinton both recalled that President Abraham Lincoln allowed the election to occur before making a Supreme Court nomination when a vacancy opened this close to Election Day.

And Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said the presidents rush to nominate a replacement was evidence that he is more focused on crushing the Affordable Care Act than the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 200,000 Americans.

Pelosi shut down the possibility of Democrats leveraging government funding to slow down the Senates confirmation process but did maintain that Democrats have arrows in our quiver to stop the Senate from advancing a nominee. She declined, however, to discuss their options.

People have something at stake in this decision and how quickly the president wants to go, Pelosi said on This Week. I dont think they care about who said what when and all the rest of that, but they do care about their own health and well-being and the financial health and well-being of their families.

NPR reported on Friday that Ginsburg had dictated to her granddaughter, My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed. Republicans have largely dismissed that desire.

Shes certainly a giant upon whose shoulders many will stand, and she blazed a trail for many women in the legal profession, said Short, the vice presidents chief of staff. But the decision to nominate does not lie with her.

Clinton, who nominated Ginsburg to the high court and appeared on three programs Sunday, said it would be worth waiting to see whether people care that several senators, including some up for reelection this fall, are going to go against their positions from 2016.

It would be very interesting to see whether their position could only be justified as: If my party can do it, now Im for it. If their party can do it, then Im against it, Clinton said on This Week. And if thats the rule of life in America, then who knows what the consequences will be.

Marianne LeVine and Christopher Cadelago contributed to this report.
Counting backwards from 1,000 in steps of 7 is the best way to distract from pain, according to a new study that found it can relieve up to half of any painful sensation.

Researchers from the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, exposed 20 volunteers to a pain and asked them to distract themselves using different techniques.

People use a range of different strategies to distract from pain, according to lead neuroscientists Enrico Schulz, who linked this to specific neural circuits in the brain.

Using an MRI machine, the researchers found that counting backwards from 1,000 was better than 'thinking of something beautiful' and 'willing the pain away'.

One of the volunteers later used the counting backwards from 1,000 in increments of seven technique during child birth and found it made a notable difference.

Researchers from the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, exposed 20 volunteers to a pain and asked them to distract themselves using different techniques. Stock image

Before the brain can properly react to pain it has to evaluate the sensory, cognitive and emotional factors that drive our perception of the sensation, the team said.

To do that information has to be exchanged between different regions of the brain, according to Schulz, who said that is why distraction techniques help relieve pain. '

RESEARCHERS STUDY PAIN DISTRACTION TECHNIQUES Pain management specialists from Ludwig-Maximilians University have been examining distraction. They had already shown that three specific methods can work to reduce the perception of pain. Attentional shift: Count backwards from 1000 by sevens

Imaginal strategy: Imagine you're in a safe and happy place you know well with colours and music you like

Cognitive reappraisal: Concentrate on the pain sensations and reinterpret as 'not painful' Attentional shift worked best at reducing pain as it distracted the brain from processing pain signals. No single region of the brain was triggered by all three methods but they each lit-up different networks. For example, the imaginal strategy triggered the frontal lobes (control centres) as it required the brain to hunt for memory fragments. Advertisement

New studies have confirmed that there is a link between the subjective experience of pain and the relative levels of neural activity in various sectors of the brain.

Schulz and colleagues wanted to discover how different distraction strategies could affect the subjective perception of pain while studying the neural activities.

In the study, 20 subjects were exposed to a painful cold stimulus and asked to adopt one of three approaches to distract from the pain and potentially reduce the pain.

They involved counting down from 1,000 in steps of 7, thinking of something pleasant, and trying to persuade themselves that the pain isn't really that bad.

During the experimental sessions, the subjects were hooked up to an MRI scanner to visualise the neural activity in the brain, which were later analysed in detail.

In order to assess how effective the different coping strategies were, participants evaluated the subjective intensity of the pain on a scale of 0 to 100.

The results revealed that the countdown strategy was the most effective of the three methods as it 'required a high level of concentration'.

Schulz says the level of intense concentration distracts the subject's attention significantly from the sensation of pain.

'In fact some of our subjects managed to reduce the perceived intensity of pain by 50 per cent,' the lead author explained.

'One participant later reported that she had successfully adopted the strategy during the most painful phase of childbirth.'

The team picked those strategies as they'd already shown that they can all help in the perception of pain - with each evoking a different pattern of neural activity.

In the new study, Schulz and his collaborators carried out a more detailed analysis of the MRI scans, for which they divided the brain into 360 regions.

'Our aim was to determine which areas in the brain must work together in order to successfully reduce the perceived intensity of the pain,' Schulz explains.

They didn't find one single region or network in the brain that was activated by all three strategies. Different neural circuits in different brain regions acted in concert.

Schulz says this shows that the attenuation of pain is a highly complicated process requiring cooperation between many regions of the brain.

Analysis of the response to the countdown technique revealed close coordination between different parts of the insular cortex, among other patterns.

One of the volunteers later used the counting backwards from 1,000 in increments of seven technique during child birth and found it made a notable difference. Stock image

Distracting from the pain by picturing something beautiful or peaceful worked only when it evoked intensive flows of information between the frontal lobes.

The frontal lobes are important control centres and so this technique may require more control as the brain needs to search from more 'compartments' to find the right memory traces required to conjure up the 'beautiful image' being imagined.

Comparatively speaking, counting backwards stepwise  even in such awkward steps  is likely to be a more highly constrained task.

'To cope with pain, the brain makes use of a recipe that also works well in other contexts,' says Anne Stankewitz, a co-author of the new paper.

That is the idea that 'success depends on effective teamwork', and in this case the different parts of the brain working together to reduce perceived pain levels.

Her team now plans to test whether their latest results can be usefully applied to patients with chronic pain.

The findings have been published in the journal eLife.
The city and county has seen an incidence rate of 55 cases per 100,000, and more than 100 new cases in the last 14 days.

It is one of several counties potentially facing increased restrictions in the coming weeks as the virus surges in different parts of the country.

As the Irish Examiner reports, Mayor of Waterford City and County, Councillor Damien Geoghegan said it was worth noting the county did not have a problem with all the domestic tourists that visited during the summer.

He said that while restaurants have been open across the county for a while now, there also did not appear to be a problem with them.

Window of opportunity

He issued a joint statement with Chief Executive of Waterford Council, Mr Michael Walsh, Chief Superintendent of An Garda Siochana, Padraig Dunne and Chief Officer of South East Community Healthcare, Ms Kate Killeen White on the issue.

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They urged people to remember to adhere to the basics of social distancing and hygiene.

We are now at a critical juncture for this disease. We have a window of opportunity to bring this disease under control and to keep Waterford at Level two restrictions.

To do so, we all need to act now.

Waterford City and County Council councillor Lola OSullivan said there is a real concern about the cases locally.

Meanwhile, fellow councillor Seanie Power said Weve had a pretty good spring and summer in terms of numbers not being as high as so many other places.

So the latest scare has only really kicked off in the past week or so. There are huge concerns everywhere and it is very frightening.

And Id say the big fear now is that things could well get worse with pubs opening up.
Ten additional University of Connecticut students have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the schools coronavirus dahsboard.

In its update on Sunday afternoon, UConn said seven of the students who tested positive are living on campus, noting five of whom were already in medical quarantine. It said three of the on-campus students were living in the Eddy residence hall, which was placed under medical quarantine Friday.

UConn said the three other students who tested positive were living off-campus near the Storrs campus, meaning a total of 60 students in that demographic have tested positive since Sept. 13.

In total, the university reports 56 positive cases among students living on campus, with a positive transmission rate of 1.12 percent. So far, out of a cumulative total of 154 coronavirus positive students, UConn said 148 on-campus students had recovered and left isolation.

UConn continues to test hundreds of students on a regular day as part of ongoing surveillance efforts, UConn said in an email. This surveillance includes testing for randomly selected students, as well as asymptomatic on- or off-campus Storrs students who request a test as a precaution.

UConn said it was also testing wastewater from several on-campus spots to assess the presence of COVID-19 as a way to predict and limit the potential scope of the outbreak.

Yale University reported two new student cases last week, for a total of 12 infected, with another four staff having also tested positive.

As of Sept. 18, Sacred Hearts dashboard is reporting 48 cases in the past week  six on campus and 43 off-campus. It said 69 students have tested positive for the virus.

Also in Fairfield, Fairfield University reported 17 on-site positive tests among students and 18 off-site positive tests during the week of Sept. 16. On-site tests are those performed by the university, while off-site tests are done by a third party. The university is reporting a total of 42 student cases of coronavirus.
Strategic location, ample space, attractive design with access to essential amenities  the checklist of what makes an ideal home can go on. The idea of purchasing a property, especially if it is your first home is an exciting experience. But it could also prove to be daunting when it comes to finally selecting the one and of course, the financial ability to purchase it.

These are some of the considerations that a homebuyer needs to factor in when doing their research before purchasing a property. However, in light of the recent Covid-19 pandemic situation, the Malaysian economic downturn has also become one of the challenges faced by Malaysians who are looking to purchase properties.

Besides experiencing the immediate effects of economic downturn such as getting retrenched from their jobs, being put on unpaid leaves, and steep salary cuts, many found themselves utilising their savings to manage their financial wellbeing during these unprecedented times. Suddenly, the idea of owning a dream home seems hard to achieve, even with the decline of property prices due to Covid-19 situation.

However, on a brighter note, Malaysian economy is predicted to rise again, this time stronger come 2021. As the economy is expected to recover, so does Malaysias property value post Covid-19. For those who are financially flexible, this could be time to consider purchasing your dream properties at affordable prices with many added benefits  but not before doing a proper research and planning, just as you would before Covid-19.

Matrix HomeMade Plan Lets You Own A Landed Property In An Easier Way

In an effort to stimulate the Malaysian economy during these challenging times, the government has once again introduced its House Ownership Campaign (HOC) under the Penjana Economic Package initiative which offers attractive financial incentives such as stamp duty exemption and discounts up to 10%, with certain terms and conditions.

In support of this initiative  together with its aim to help Malaysians realise their dreams of purchasing their ideal homes  Matrix Concepts comes into the picture with its Matrix HomeMade Plan, a home ownership plan specially curated with a package of added benefits which offers you an easier path to own amazing landed properties in Negeri Sembilan, with less hassle.

The Easier Way To Fulfil Your Dream With More Savings

Matrix Concepts understands your dream for the perfect abode, that is why theyve got just the right plan to make it come true. You will be eligible for stamp duty exemption (under the HOC) and instalment subsidy for up to 18 months* with RM1,000 booking fees* only. This means that you will get to save the extra money for other purposes such as home renovation, honeymoon for the newlyweds or even setting it aside for emergency savings.

*for selected projects only

Experience A Wholesome Living For Your Family In Negeri Sembilan

Having recently gained its status as a city in January 2020, Negeri Sembilan is showing a growing potential in its development, especially since its also touted to become the countrys sixth economic corridor through Malaysian Vision Valley (MVV) 2.0 that aims to develop Negeri Sembilan in the industrial, education, tourism and special services sectors. This makes it more enticing for those who have been eyeing a potential project in Negeri Sembilan to call home, and even for those who are still exploring their options for long-term planning.

Besides living in a city-status location with complete facilities and amenities nearby, Matrix HomeMade Plan will also help ease you and your familys transition into the new surroundings, not just your new home.

You will get to enjoy complimentary 1-year broadband internet service and dTempat Country Club Membership for selected projects, so you can get right into your new life as soon as you move in. For families with kids, you will be delighted to know that your kids too will get to enjoy a special benefit of 5% enrolment discount for Matrix Global Schools comprising preschool, international school, private national school, and Cambridge A Levels.

On top of these exciting benefits, enjoy 1% Referral Rewards when you refer Matrixs properties to your family and friends, besides reaping the benefits of Matrix HomeMade Plans Loyalty Programme.

Find Your Exclusive Freehold, Landed Home In Seremban & Start Living The Dream

Depending on which home you choose among Matrixs exclusive line of projects, each and every one stands out in its own elegance. Modern and contemporary, all Matrixs projects embody its philosophy to nurture the environment and enrich lives. It is no wonder you will find these projects being surrounded by an amazing view of nature while still being easily accessible to essential facilities and amenities.

As Matrixs projects are located in developed township areas, you will be connected to seamless access to several major roads and highways such as North-South Expressway (PLUS), Seremban-Port Dickson Highway and KLIA Linkage. Matrix also has some of its selected projects conveniently located within the promising Malaysian Vision Valley 2.0.

Moreover, with a variety of property types from terrace link to semi-D homes, there is bound to be one that checks you and your familys needs and lifestyle.

So, make your dream of owning an exclusive landed home a reality with Matrix HomeMade Plan. If youd like to know more about these specially curated offers and its line-up of amazing projects, visit the Matrix HomeMade Plan website or contact 1800 88 2688 today to register your interest before the offers end.

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Linkedin Farida Susanty and Mardika Parama (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020

Indonesia has a huge appetite for private capital to fund its infrastructure projects, especially in President Joko Jokowi Widodos administration, which puts infrastructure as his economic policy centerpiece to boost the archipelago nations connectivity and economic output.

The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) has estimated that the country will need infrastructure investment worth US$429.7 billion between 2020 and 2024 to achieve the governments National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) targets.

Infrastructure Asia (IA), a Singapore-based infrastructure financing advisory group, understands the opportunities and plights of Indonesias infrastructure ambition, as the institution has been working alongside the government to attract private investors.

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Lin Xiaolian (C), a rural teacher from the Beili Primary School in Xuwen County, Zhanjiang City, South China's Guangdong Province [For Women of China]

As an important part of China's battle against poverty, poverty relief via education improvement requires unremitting work. A group of young Chinese women, born in the 1990s, have dedicated their heart and soul to rural education. They had no fear of hardship or loneliness after quitting their bustling urban lives.

Lin Xiaolian: Contributing to Hometown Education

Lin Xiaolian has stuck to her post of a volunteer teacher for years to contribute to improving education on Beili, an island in Xuwen, her hometown in Zhanjiang City, South China's Guangdong Province.

Lin majored in English in Lingnan Normal University. During her junior year internship, she participated in a rural education program, and became aware of the rural children's thirst for knowledge and the scarce education resources they had, in contrast with their urban peers.

After graduating from the university, she returned without hesitation to her hometown and became a volunteer teacher at Beili Primary School.

Lin was tasked with teaching English to several grades, and sometimes she also took over Chinese language classes. Due to a lack of access to transportation, she only went home once a week, not leaving the island until Friday.

She not only brought vigor and warmth to her students, but also helped them achieve good grades. In 2018, 10 out of the 45 final-year students got admitted to the Meixi Secondary School, a reputed middle school in the county. This was the largest number over the past few decades.

Because of Lin's outstanding performance, the secondary school gave her a job offer, but Lin refused. "I'd like to stay at the primary school where children can only change their fates by receiving education, so they need me more. I want to help them become better," said Lin.

Liu Yuan: Cultivating Children with Love

Liu Yuan, 29, a volunteer teacher at the Dimo teaching school in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest China's Sichuan Province [For Women of China]

Liu Yuan, 29, graduated from the Leshan Normal University in Leshan City, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Watching a TV program one day, she learned about some poverty-stricken and remote regions, and decided to apply to a public-service organization for becoming a volunteer teacher in mountainous areas.

She was appointed to the Dimo teaching school in the province's Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture where people of the Yi ethnic group inhabit. Local Yi people speak their own language.

When the children were in preschool, Liu taught them to speak Mandarin and, little-by-little, to sing simple nursery rhymes. Through the constant efforts of the volunteer teachers, students can now speak fluent Mandarin, which in turn contributes to the improvement of teaching procedures and performances.

Liu tends to let students study in a happy mood rather than putting too much pressure on them. She is more like a friend and elder sister who is willing to help them deal with trivial affairs in their lives. Given her five years' efforts, she was fully recognized by the parents and chidren.

Yin Shaman: Bringing Love to Children in Mountains

Yin Shaman guides students to draw pictures at a primary school in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Central China's Hunan Province. [For Women of China]

To pursue her dream of being engaged in public welfare undertakings, Yin Shaman chose to study Chinese language and literature at Jishou University in Jishou City, Central China's Hunan Province.

Having seen the impoverished and undeveloped conditions in the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in the province, Yin has an idea of using her expertise to teach the children there and help the locals get rid of poverty.

During her college years, Yin proposed initiatives and joined public-welfare activities to support impoverished students at more than 10 elementary schools in eight counties and cities of the prefecture, raising materials valued at 50,000 yuan (US $7,298) which included cotton-padded coats, scarves, school supplies and vacuum cups.

Over the past seven years, Yin has supported education at over 20 elementary schools in the mountainous areas as a teacher or by offering aid, and visited more than 260 impoverished families from nearly 40 poverty-stricken villages, helping more than 370 students attend school free from worries.

"I will adhere to the path of public-welfare undertakings, because there are always children needing me," Yin said.

Tian Yinwei: Improving Herself as a Volunteer Teacher

Tian Yinwei, a volunteer teacher at a primary school in Tianyang County, Baise City, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region [For Women of China]

Tian Yinwei worked at a pharmaceutical company after graduating from the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine. Two years later, a subway ad on recruitment for volunteer teachers drew her attention and changed her life.

In 2017, Tian became a volunteer teacher at a primary school in Tianyang County, Baise City, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. She found that most children had weak learning foundation, and she encountered difficulties in classroom teaching. She believed that the improvement of family education was the key to solve the problem.

Through her repeated home visits, local children have a better relationship with their parents, and they became interested in studying.

Meanwhile, Tian has set up courses of picture books, drama, photography and nature to broaden children's horizons.

"I learned more from the children. They made me a better person," Tian said.

(Women of China)
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Press Club will hold a news conference this Thursday, September 24 at 1:00PM ET to launch an innovative program called Help The Heroes which is designed to help front line medical workers at Howard University Hospital receive timely and convenient food assistance at the end of their shift.

The news conference will be held in the Holeman Lounge of the National Press Club, located on the 13th floor of the National Press Building at 529 14th Street NW. To attend the press conference in person please contact Lindsay Underwood at [email protected]

This press conference will be streamed live on the Club's website and YouTube Channel.

Speakers will include:

Anita L.A. Jenkins , CEO for Howard University Hospital

, CEO for Hospital Michael Freedman , President of the National Press Club

, President of the National Press Club Ed Lewis , Director of Public Policy Communications at Toyota

"This program is designed to help support the most valuable and vulnerable resource in the Hospital  its staff," said National Press Club President Michael Freedman. "The National Press Club sought to establish a program that could provide real and tangible support to the heroes who are fighting COVID-19 in an historic hospital in our community," Freedman said. "We are honored to help support Howard University Hospital."

"The National Press Club continues to play a pivotal role in the fight against COVID-19 by supporting frontline healthcare workers through great initiatives like their Help the Heroes program," said Anita L.A. Jenkins, CEO of Howard University Hospital. "The fight to defeat COVID is a community-wide effort and your ongoing donations in the form of nutritious meals have positively impacted our staff members who have to contend with this virus on a daily basis. On behalf of the Howard University Hospital community, I want to thank the National Press Club and its many sponsors for your gratitude and continued support of this program."

According to a recent article in The Washington Post, hospitals are preparing for a nightmare scenario this fall when flu patients and COVID-19 patients may swamp hospital wards. There is appropriate concern that this will exhaust the staff. "I worry the most about the ability of the workforce to step into the ring again. Adrenaline can only take you so far," said Dr. Brandan Carr of Mount Sinai Hospital.

Help The Heroes is funded by donations from corporations, foundations and non-profits. Even prior to the formal launch, the Club has raised money from members and clients  some of whom will speak at the news conference. Donations for Help The Heroes go to the National Press Club Journalism Institute, the Club's affiliated 501c-3. Donations can be made online via credit card at http://www.press.org/hth

CONTACT: LINDSAY UNDERWOOD FOR THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB; [email protected]

SOURCE National Press Club

Related Links

http://press.org


There are 32 shelters for victims of domestic violence in Ukraine, but this number is not enough.

"According to our information, 32 shelters have already opened in 17 regions and the city of Kyiv for victims of domestic violence. However, seven regions still lack shelters. That is, there are not enough places in shelters," Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova said at a meeting with representatives of non-governmental and international organizations dedicated to the implementation of the state policy on combating and preventing domestic violence with the participation of President Volodymyr Zelensky, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Denisova added that coronavirus prevented some victims from coming to such shelters as they cannot afford performing COVID-19 test which is necessary for settlement.

In the first half of this year, the Commissioners Office received more than 31 thousand complaints about human rights violations. In 2019, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights received more than 47 thousand such complaints.

As a reminder, national domestic violence hotline 1547 was launched in Ukraine.

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Mumbai: The press exists for a reason and it has a purpose which is serves, the Bombay High Court recently said while hearing a bunch of petitions on financial irregularities committed by an agent on the National Stock Exchange. The observation, made by a single bench of Bombay HC presided over by Justice Gautam Patel last week, came after one of the parties submitted material in a sealed cover due to an apprehension" that it may reach the press.

Refusing to take on record any material that was presented in a sealed cover, Justice Patel said," At least in my court, there will never be a question of anything being done in sealed cover. Anything that I can see, all parties before meare entitled to see. That is all there is to it." This is the only method that I know of to ensure open and transparent decision-making," he said while directing the concerned party to make all submissions on an affidavit. Advocate Rohan Cama, the counsel for the above party, however, expressed apprehension and said the sealed cover contained some sensitive information that might find a way to the press".

Justice Patel, however, dismissed advocate Camas apprehension. The press exists for a reason. It has a purpose, one that it serves. I cannot and will not curtail the rights of the free press at the instance of this or that party," he said.

I refuse to proceed on the basis that the press is always irresponsible. There will be no gag orders here," Justice Patel said. He directed advocate Cama to ensure his client produced the sealed cover material on an affidavit in a clean and legible manner, or face the consequences".

The bunch of matters pertained to alleged illegal trading by a brokerage firm and some sub brokers that had resulted in loss of investor money. The HC will continue the hearing on October 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
The $3.5 million fine that the Federal Court meted out to the spectacles retailer Oscar Wylee Eyewear will have made Australian of the Year Dr James Muecke uncomfortable.

The ACCC watchdog pursued the company for making false representations about its charitable donations and affiliations.

And Muecke? He chairs the charity Sight for All, which teaches doctors throughout Asia how to restore sight.

Sight for All has partnered with Oscar Wylee over the years. In its 2019 annual report the charity thanks Oscar Wylee for being a Vision 100 member, it also gave it a certificate for donating to it more than 3000 frames. And in February 2018 Oscar Wylee funded a study into blindness in Myanmar.

Oscar Wylee Eyewear is controlled by the four sons of shy TPG broadband billionaire David Teoh who controls broadband business TPG. Bob serves as executive director, while his brothers  John, Jack and Shane  have served as Oscar Wylee directors. Oscar Wylee told shoppers it would donate a pair of spectacles to charity for every pair it sold. But that turned out to be a big lie.
Actress Drew Barrymore, touched by an Oregon fire chiefs community commitment amid the loss of her own two homes in the Holiday Farm fire, presented a $10,000 check to the chief Monday on her TV talk show.

Barrymore asked Christiana Rainbow Plews, chief of Upper McKenzie Fire and Rescue, how she focuses on her work as her own family is struggling with such a significant loss.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's coronavirus hot spot of Victoria on Monday reported two deaths from COVID-19 and 11 cases, continuing a steady downward trend in daily cases and putting the state on course to ease more restrictions. Victoria, Australia's second most populous state, on Sunday reported five deaths from the virus and 14 new cases, its lowest rise in daily infections in three months

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's coronavirus hot spot of Victoria on Monday reported two deaths from COVID-19 and 11 cases, continuing a steady downward trend in daily cases and putting the state on course to ease more restrictions.

Victoria, Australia's second most populous state, on Sunday reported five deaths from the virus and 14 new cases, its lowest rise in daily infections in three months.

A hard lockdown in the city of Melbourne has brought daily coronavirus cases down to double digits after it touched highs of 700 in early August.

(Reporting by Renju Jose; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Seven people have been indicted in connection with a New Haven-area narcotics trafficking and related offenses, according to federal authorities.

According to a release from the office of Connecticut U.S. Attorney John H. Durham, a federal grand jury seated in New Haven returned an indictment charging these individuals with conspiring to distribute heroin and crack cocaine:

Michael Smith, also known as Head, 34; Keilah Boria, 39; Jonathan Duarte, 35; Chawn Battle, 47; Alex Reyes, 33; and Alexis Viera, 32, all of New Haven; and Ernest Holcomb, also known as Ern, 32, of North Branford.

The DEA New Haven Task Force began an investigation into a New Haven-based drug trafficking network headed by Michael Smith in 2019, according to federal authorities, who attributed the information to court documents and statements made in court.

The investigation revealed that Smith, Duarte, Reyes and Holcomb were distributing heroin and crack cocaine throughout the New Haven area. During the investigation, Viera was identified as a supplier of crack to Smiths organization, and Battle was identified as customer who bought heroin from the organization and sold the drug to his own customers, federal authorities said in a release.

The investigation also revealed that Boria maintained bank accounts that Smith used to launder the cash proceeds of his drug trafficking activity, and that Smith spent some of the drug proceeds to pay for rental cars that he used to transport narcotics, and to travel to meet his drug customers, the release said.

If convicted of conspiring to distribute heroin and crack, based on the type and quantity of drug attributable to each defendant, Smith, Boria and Duarte face a mandatory minimum term of 5 years and a maximum of 40 year in prison; and Holcomb, Battle, Reyes and Viera face a maximum of 20 year in prison, federal authorities said in the release.

The indictment also charges Smith with one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of heroin, an offense that carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison, and one count of use of a firearm during and in relation to, and in furtherance of, a drug trafficking crime, an offense that carries a mandatory term of at least 10 years in prison, federal authorities said in the release.

The indictment also charges Smith and Boria with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, an offense that carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Smith has been detained since his arrest on state charges on Dec. 23, 2019. The other six defendants were arrested on Sept.16, 2020, after the indictment was returned.

Smith, Duarte, Battle and Viera are detained, and Boria, Holcomb and Reyes are released pending trial.

The investigation is being conducted by the DEA New Haven Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division, and the New Haven, West Haven, Hamden, East Haven, North Haven, Ansonia, Meriden and Derby Police Departments, the release noted.

Read the indictment:

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys H. Gordon Hall and John T. Pierpont, Jr.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic National Committee, and affiliated joint fundraising committees entered the month of September with $466 million cash on hand, a massive stockpile that will aid the Democratic nominee's effort to unseat President Donald Trump in November, a Biden campaign official confirmed to ABC News on Sunday evening.

That sum is over $140 million more than President Trump, the Republican National Committee and affiliated joint fundraising committees have on hand, which at the beginning of September was $325 million, according to Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh.

"45 days out, @TeamTrump is in strong position. Combined w/ @GOP we'll show $325M cash on hand, @realDonaldTrump energetically campaigning, huge volunteer army has made 102M voter contacts & we'll have 2X or 3X the cash as in 2016. Enthusiasm is with Trump. Biden excites no one," Murtaugh tweeted on Friday.

MORE: Joe Biden, DNC raise more money than Donald Trump, RNC for 2nd straight month

The rapid closing of the money gap between the two campaigns has been remarkable in recent months, considering the substantial war chest that Trump started this cycle with.

PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks regarding the Supreme Court at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 20, 2020. (Mark Makela/Reuters)

Biden's massive coffers going into September were due in part to a record-shattering August that saw the joint Democratic effort raise over $365 million. Trump and the GOP brought in $210 million in August.

President Trumps reelection campaign, the RNC, and their two joint fundraising vehicles have touted a prolific fundraising prowess throughout the 2020 election cycle, together amassing a whopping $1.3 billion just from January 2019 through the end of August this year. They have already surpassed the $1 billion goal they had set for the election cycle.

PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S., September 19, 2020. (Tom Brenner/Reuters)

And back in April, the Biden campaign and the DNC were more than $180 million behind the president's reelection campaign and the RNC in cash on hand.

Much of that fundraising advantage has disappeared in recent months, however, as Team Trump burned through more than $800 million of that through the end of July and Biden repeatedly outraised the president over the summer, including by more than $150 million during the month of August.

Story continues

MORE: Biden dramatically outspends Trump on TV ads during Republican convention week

Going into the month of August, the Biden campaign and the DNC were only $6 million behind the Trump campaign and the RNC in cash on hand, according to campaign announcements and disclosure filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Biden, Democrats have $466 million cash on hand, over $100 million more than Trump, GOP originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles speaks to the media during a press conference in Brisbane, Australia, on June 30, 2020. (AAP Image/Glenn Hunt)

Queensland to Recruit Cairns Hotels for Very Strong Quarantine Program

Queensland has declared its CCP virus hotel quarantine program a success as it sets out to convince hotels in Cairns and other regions to participate in the program, ahead of the state increasing its intake of returning overseas travellers to 500 per week.

Its because of our very strong hotel quarantine program that weve been able to keep Queenslanders safe, Steven Miles, the states health minister, told reporters on Monday.

He thanked the participating hotels for working with the police and government.

Its been incredibly effective and important as we seek to increase the number of overseas travellers able to come back to Queensland, he said.

Queensland Health is seeking expressions of interest from hotels to join the quarantine program and urged Cairns hotels to join.

We know that Cairns has both an international airport as well as is suffering significantly from the closed international borders. So if thats a way for us to inject economic activity; create jobs in Cairns then wed certainly like to do that, he said.

Danny Betros, a Cairns Chamber of Commerce board member, supports Cairns hotels joining the quarantine program.

It creates a whole heap of employment, from food to fuel to transport, catering and security, Betros said, as reported by The Cairns Post.

He also said Cairns hotels offered ideal quarantine conditions over Brisbane.

Our hotels have windows and balconies. That is a massive difference, and we need the business, Betros explained.

The reality is Cairns has a quarantine hotel already, and has been taking FIFO workers under the control of the Defence Force and police, he continued.

The move to recruit Cairns hotels comes after national cabinet discussions last week when states and territories agreed with the federal government to increase their hotel quarantine limits to bring home more of the estimated 25,000 Australians stuck abroad.

Recently, Tourism Tropical North Queensland reported that North Queensland had been losing $7 million per day in what is usually its peak domestic visitor season.

Read More North Queensland Losing $7 Million Each Day Due to Border Closure

Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski speaks at a press conference at Police headquarters in Brisbane, Australia on March 25, 2020. (Jono Searle/Getty Images)

Queensland saw only one new case of COVID-19 confirmed over the weekend.

Steve Gollschewski, the Queensland police Deputy Commissioner, told reporters this was a testament to the work of the community and agencies to contain the virus across the state.

There are currently over 3900 people in hotel quarantine in Queensland, and the deputy commissioner also thanked hotels for working with authorities.

It is incredibly challenging for us. Our planning is very detailed, and we are continuing to work with those hotels to make sure that we have sufficient quarantine here in Queensland, Gollschewski said.

Queensland currently has 17 active cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus. Most of the cases are clustered around Brisbanes south and Ipswich with 11 cases in West Moreton and 3 cases in Metro South.
China on Monday urged Canada to immediately release Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou and let her return to China safely to bring bilateral relations back to the right track, according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

According to media reports, about 100 former Canadian diplomats recently sent a joint letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in which they called for the swap of Meng for two detained Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. They claimed that the dispute had not only harmed bilateral ties but also hurt Canada's ability to handle international affairs.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily news briefing that China's position on the Meng Wanzhou case is clear and firm. "Under the pretext of 'at the request of the United States,' Canada arbitrarily took compulsory measures on a Chinese citizen, which severely violated her legitimate rights and interests."

The nature of the Meng Wanzhou case is entirely different from that of the cases of the two Canadians, Wang said, noting that the Meng case is a serious political incident, while Kovrig and Spavor were suspected of conducting activities endangering China's national security.

"The Chinese judicial organs handle cases independently and the lawful rights of the two Canadians are guaranteed," he said.

Wang pointed out that it was precisely what Canada has done on the Meng case that caused the current difficulties in China-Canada relations. "We urge Canada to earnestly respect China's solemn position and concerns, release Meng at once and ensure her safe return to China, so as to create conditions for the bilateral relationship to get back on the right track."
The founder of Nikola Motor Company is resigning from his position as executive chairman amid a federal investigation into the start-up's claims about its technology.

Trevor Milton  who served as the charismatic public face of the Phoenix-based company, trumpeting its electric vehicle and hydrogen fuel cell technology and promoting a recent partnership with General Motors  is leaving the company effective immediately.

Nikola is truly in my blood and always will be, and the focus should be on the Company and its world-changing mission, not me, Milton said in a statement. So I made the difficult decision to approach the Board and volunteer to step aside as Executive Chairman."

His exit comes as Nikola is grappling with accusations first levied by an investment fund that the company misled the public about the nature of its progress, including the capability of its hydrogen semi-trucks and its battery systems.

Trevor Milton, Nikola Motor executive chairman, is now Arizona's newest billionaire after the IPO.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the matter after a recent report by Hindenburg Research accused Nikola of "intricate fraud" and singled out Milton for allegedly making false statements.

Nikola responded by saying the claims were "designed to provide a false impression to investors and to negatively manipulate the market in order to financially benefit short sellers, including Hindenburg itself."

Nikola Badger revealed: Truck startup and Tesla rival Nikola announces plans for electric pickup

GM-Nikola partnership: If Nikola goes up in flames, GM might only get singed

The company's stock was down 21.7% to $26.99 at 11:27 a.m. Monday.

Milton will relinquish 4.859 million shares of performance-based stock issued to him on Aug. 21 and will not receive a two-year, $10 million consulting fee he may have been eligible for upon his departure, according to an SEC filing.

He continues to retain 91.6 million shares of the company and will be allowed to distribute 1.1 million shares of restricted stock to more than 300 employees he designates.

Story continues

Nikola board member and former GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky will succeed Milton as executive chairman. Girsky, who guided GM through its post-bankruptcy years, helped arrange Nikola's recent move to go public.

Nikola recently announced a deal with GM that involves GM receiving an 11% stake in Nikola in exchange for providing manufacturing and engineering services for Nikola's hydrogen and battery-powered vehicles.

In an interview with USA TODAY in late May, days before the company went public through a deal with a special purpose acquisition company, Milton acknowledged that some investors had been concerned about Nikola following public scrutiny over the rapid growth of real-estate brand WeWork.

"Everyone freaked out," he said, that other startups "might be filed with fraud," too.

But he said at Nikola, "we knew we had nothing to hide." The company, he said, would be "the light in the darkness, its the hope in the despair, and it really is a company thats going to clean the world up, clean the emissions up, rally investors."

Milton's resignation is "a shocking move," Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said in a research note Monday.

"Trevor stepping down voluntarily at Nikola will be perceived by the Street as a major near-term gut punch for the company's lofty EV ambitions as he plays a key role strategically in driving the company's vision," Ives wrote. "While there will be a lot of worries on the Street around Trevor's departure especially in light of the bear noise recently with the company, going forward Nikola has a strong bench and now it's all about execution going forward with the GM partnership a linchpin to its success."

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trevor Milton resigns as Nikola executive chairman amid SEC probe
Midland County residents will be able to vote on a variety of proposals, both local and statewide, on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The following is a rundown of countywide, statewide and township-specific proposals, according to documents provided by Midland County and the online resource Ballotpedia.

Michigan Proposal 1, use of state and local park funds amendment

A "yes" vote supports making changes to how revenue in the state's park-related funds can be spent, including making projects to renovate recreational facilities eligible for grants, allowing the parks' endowment fund to be spent on park operations and maintenance and removing the cap on the size of the natural resources trust fund.

Michigan Proposal 2, search warrant for electronic data amendment

A "yes" vote supports this constitutional amendment to require a search warrant to access a person's electronic data and electronic communications.

Mid Michigan College annexation proposition

The proposal asks permission for Mid Michigan College to annex the territory of the Gratiot-Isabella Regional Education Service District, that is not already included in a community college district.

Adoption of Mid Michigan College maximum tax rate annexed territory

To provide funds for Mid Michigan College, the proposal asks permission to increase in perpetuity the limitation on the amount of taxes which may be assessed against all property in the proposed annexed territory of Gratiot-Isabella Regional Education Service District, by 1.2232 mills, representing the community college district charter millage. The estimate of the revenue the community college district will collect within the annexed territory of the intermediate school district if the millage is approved and levied is about $3.1 million.

Delta College millage renewal and restoration

The proposal requests permission for Delta College to levy 0.50 mill for operating purposes for eight years. If approved, 0.50 mill would generate an estimated $5.7 million for the college when first levied in 2024.

Mills Township road millage renewal proposal

The proposal requests permission for Mills Township to renew its previously-authorized levy of one mill on taxable property in the township for four years for the purpose of maintenance and improvement of roads in the township.

Lincoln Township improvement and maintenance of roads and ditches millage proposal

This millage proposal would allow Lincoln Township to levy one mill on taxable property for the purpose of improvement and maintenance of roads and road ditches. The levy would provide an estimated revenue to the township of $87,870.87 in its first calendar year if approved and levied.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 22) - There will be no Mardi-Gras-themed street party in the City of Smiles this year as the Bacolod Cty government cancelled the 2020 MassKara Festival because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The local government issued on Sunday its Executive Order No. 62 to formalize the cancellation of all activities related to the 2020 MassKara Festival.

It also ordered its Business Permits and Licensing Office to set aside issuance of business permits or licenses related to the holding of the 2020 MassKara Festival. Likewise, prior permits issued are deemed revoked.

Bacolod City is under a stricter modified enhanced community quarantine due to its high number of COVID-19 infections.

As of Monday, the city recorded 64 new cases, bringing total tally at 3,079 confirmed cases. Some 159 recoveries were added, hiking the count to 1,763. While 51 died in the city due to COVID-19.

The MassKara Festival is held annually during the fourth Sunday of October, backed by a month-long celebration in the city.

Inspired by the Rio Carnival in Brazil, the MassKara Festival was conceptualized in the 1980s to uplift the spirits of the locals when a tragic ferry incident killed its passengers who were mostly Bacolod residents. The tragedy also caused the price of sugar, Negros Occidental's main source of livelihood, to reach an all-time low.

Colorful masks are worn by residents parading in the MassKara Festival while doing the traditional street dances. The word MassKara literally means "many faces."
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Most American voters have confidence in the future of the United States, even though a large majority believes the country is heading down the wrong track, according to a new survey from the George Washington University Society of Presidential Pollsters.

The new poll found 69 percent of respondents were confident in the future of the country. Just 26 percent said they had "very little" confidence in America's future, and only 5 percent were not confident at all.

"Although we find ourselves in an era of deep political polarization, Americans of all ages, backgrounds and party affiliations remain confident that the country will persevere," Mark Penn, president and managing partner of the Stagwell Group and founder of the GW Society of Presidential Pollsters, said.

"On this Constitution Day, American voters still appear to believe that the Constitution is mostly working to achieve those values identified in the preamble: providing for the common defense, securing the blessings of liberty, promoting the general welfare and establishing justice," Christopher Arterton, a professor emeritus of political management and the founding dean of the GW Graduate School of Political Management, said. "Still, there remains work to do. Americans are less certain that constitutional government has insured domestic tranquility or formed a more perfect union."

Although most voters expressed confidence in the future of the United States, a striking percentage (64 percent) believed the country was not going down the right path. Only 28 percent believed the nation was headed in the right direction. Voters were nearly as downcast about the future of the U.S. economy, with 58 percent holding a negative outlook and 34 percent saying it was headed down the right track.

Majorities of those surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with Congress as well as the presidency. Seven out of 10 believed Congress is not working as an institution, while 54 percent felt the institution of the presidency is currently ineffective. Surveyed voters were far more pleased with the Supreme Court and the U.S. military; 65 percent of respondents were satisfied with how the court was operating and 81 percent believed the armed forces are a properly functioning institution.

The online survey of 1,907 registered voters was conducted by HarrisX on behalf of the GW Society of Presidential Pollsters from Sept. 4-7, 2020. Results were weighted for age within gender, region, race, ethnicity, marital status, household size, income, employment, education, political party and political ideology where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

More information: The complete results from the survey are available online.
Researchers from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Sanger Institute have revealed psoriatic arthritis may be activated by the same trigger in different patients

A new study has revealed psoriatic arthritis may be activated by the same trigger in different patients. Researchers from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Sanger Institute identified high levels of a specific receptor in immune cells from psoriatic arthritis patients, giving the strongest evidence yet of a single cause for the disease.

Published today (21st September) in Nature Communications, this could lead to finding the exact molecular 'trigger' and gives hope for developing a targeted treatment in the future.

A third of patients with the skin condition psoriasis, will develop psoriatic arthritis, which typically causes affected joints to become swollen, stiff and painful. Psoriatic arthritis is a long-term condition that can get progressively worse over time. While some treatments are available there is currently no cure, and in severe disease the joints can become permanently damaged, needing surgery.

It was already known that the disease had a number of genetic predispositions, one of which controls how immune cells called T cells see antigen molecules from disease-causing microorganisms. However, it is not understood exactly what triggers the onset of psoriatic arthritis in patients.

Using cutting edge single cell technology, the researchers analysed thousands of individual immune cells from fluid drained from the knees of patients with psoriatic arthritis. They could see which genes were switched on in each cell and showed these T cells had an activated inflammatory profile. The researchers also amplified and sequenced the RNA from receptor genes, to identify active T cell receptors in each cell. The study showed that many T cells in the joint fluid shared an identical T cell receptor and were therefore clones of each other. These were very likely to have been triggered to reproduce themselves by a particular antigen.

Using machine learning to compare these receptors from different patients, they discovered that the expanded clones of T cells were potentially recognising something in common. These cells also shared other markers, including a receptor called CXCR3, that directed them to the inflammation site.

Dr Hussein Al-Mossawi, Honorary Research Associate at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) at the University of Oxford, said: "Our data suggest that psoriatic arthritis doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Each receptor is like a unique lock that recognises a molecular key and we discovered, that across the patients, they are recognising a common molecule. This gives the first evidence that the T cells are seeing and reacting to the same molecule, which acts as a trigger for the disease. We don't know the exact culprit yet, but this a great step forward in understanding the disease."

The large-scale single cell data from the joints and blood of psoriatic arthritis patients were then used to investigate how the T cells could transfer from the blood to the joint to cause the damage.

Dr Sam Behjati, Group Leader and Wellcome Trust Intermediate Clinical Fellow at the Wellcome Sanger Institute commented: "Our study produced the largest single cell dataset from psoriatic arthritis patients to date. It is helping us to understand the intricate mechanisms behind psoriatic arthritis, including starting to unravel the signals that tell the T cells to cross over into the joint fluid. Imagine the cells as train passengers with a ticket that tells them at which station to get off - the single cell data is allowing us to read that destination for each cell, and understand the signals."

Professor Paul Bowness, Professor of Experimental Rheumatology at NDORMS said: "Our findings indicate that specific T cells are likely to be targeted to enter the joint, where they are triggered to expand, creating inflammation and causing psoriatic arthritis. The next stage of research will be to find the key that is unlocking the disease in patients - from the signals that direct cells to the joint, to what then triggers them to expand. If we can understand these, we could move towards creating therapies that would prevent this, potentially providing a cure."

###

Contact details:

Josie Eade, Acting Communications Manager

Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford

Tel: +44 (0)7711 387215

Email: josie.eade@ndorms.ox.ac.uk, communications@ndorms.ox.ac.uk

Dr Samantha Wynne, Media Officer

Wellcome Sanger Institute

Wellcome Genome Campus,

Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK

Phone:+44 (0)1223 492368

Email: press.office@sanger.ac.uk

Notes to editors:

More information about psoriatic arthritis at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/psoriatic-arthritis/

Publication:

Frank Penkava et al. (2020) Single-cell sequencing reveals a clonal expansion of pro-inflammatory synovial CD8 T cells expressing tissue homing receptors in psoriatic arthritis. Nature Communications DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18513-6

Funders:

The research was supported by The Kennedy Trust Studentship, The Academy of Medical Sciences, Wellcome, St Baldrick's Foundation, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and other funders. Please see the paper for further details.

Selected websites:

Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) at the University of Oxford.

The Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) is a multi-disciplinary department focusing on discovering the causes of musculoskeletal and inflammatory conditions to deliver excellent and innovative care that improves people's quality of life. The largest European academic department in its field, NDORMS is part of the Medical Sciences Division of the University of Oxford, and is a rapidly growing community of more than 500 orthopaedic surgeons, rheumatologists and scientists all working in the field of musculoskeletal disorders.

The research work of the department takes place in several locations across the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, namely the Botnar Research Centre, the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, and the Kadoorie Centre. The co-location with NHS services puts the department in an excellent position with basic researchers working alongside clinicians. This substantially improves research capacity, improving access for researchers to patients, and facilitating the interaction between clinicians and scientists that is essential for successful medical research. http://www.ndorms.ox.ac.uk

The Wellcome Sanger Institute

The Wellcome Sanger Institute is a world leading genomics research centre. We undertake large-scale research that forms the foundations of knowledge in biology and medicine. We are open and collaborative; our data, results, tools and technologies are shared across the globe to advance science. Our ambition is vast - we take on projects that are not possible anywhere else. We use the power of genome sequencing to understand and harness the information in DNA. Funded by Wellcome, we have the freedom and support to push the boundaries of genomics. Our findings are used to improve health and to understand life on Earth. Find out more at http://www.sanger.ac.uk or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on our Blog.

About Wellcome

Wellcome exists to improve health by helping great ideas to thrive. We support researchers, we take on big health challenges, we campaign for better science, and we help everyone get involved with science and health research. We are a politically and financially independent foundation. https://wellcome.org
Watchmen was bound to win at the Emmys this year. The critically acclaimed series garnered 26 nominations, the most of any series.

And Damon Lindelof, the New Jersey-bred creator of the HBO show, took home more than one Emmy at Sunday nights virtual ceremony, including the award for outstanding limited series.

The drama has collected 10 Emmys over the course of the Creative Arts Emmys and main televised Emmys ceremony. Regina King, who plays Angela Abar, won for outstanding lead actress in a limited series. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who plays Cal Abar, won for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series.

Lindelof, 47, and co-writer Cord Jefferson accepted the award for outstanding writing for a limited series for the Watchmen episode The Extraordinary Being." Lindelof then appeared remotely alongside part of the Watchmen team to accept the Emmy for outstanding limited series.

We all tested, I swear," Lindelof said, answering anyones questions about his COVID-19 status.

The series creator, who grew up in Teaneck, was wearing a T-shirt that said Remember Tulsa 21, a reference to the Tulsa Massacre of 1921 in Oklahoma, when a racist white mob killed hundreds of Black residents.

Watchmen, which is based on a 1986 comic from DC Comics, depicted the massacre, which plays an important role in the show. Lindelof dedicated the Emmy to the victims and survivors of the massacre.

Damon Lindelof and the team from "Watchmen" accept the award for outstanding limited series.AP

I knew this was never my story to tell and the only reason Im standing here now is because of the people who are standing alongside me (and) the ones who are Zooming and zapping in from around the world," Lindelof said, accepting the Emmy. They told their stories. And it is one of the great honors of my life to accept on their behalf and Id like to share what Ive learned from them along the way."

History is mystery, Lindelof continued. "It is broken into a million puzzle pieces and many are missing. We know where those pieces are but we dont seek them out because we know finding them will hurt. Sometimes we cause that hurt. Maybe we even benefitted from it but we have to name it before we can repair it. Be careful, be clumsy. Run hot, stay cool. Be the bull in the china shop. Pick up what you broke and glue it back together. Dont stop until its great. Affirm. Its never great enough. Dissent. Be consistent, embrace paradox. Never contradict yourself. Finally, stop worrying about getting canceled and ask yourself what youre doing to get renewed.

We dedicate this award to the victims and survivors of the Tulsa Massacre of 1921," he said. The fires that destroyed Black Wall Street still burn today. The only way to put them out is if we all fight them together."

"Watchmen also won Emmys for outstanding fantasy/sci-fi costumes, cinematography in a limited series, casting in a limited series, single-camera picture editing in a limited series, music composition in a limited series and sound mixing in a limited series.

While the series was largely set in Oklahoma, a flashback in one episode was set in Hoboken.

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

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com.
It was a vintage scene of Trumpist agitprop. Last week, President Donald Trump stood before original copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and declared a new national campaign to promote "patriotic education." He tapped into a long-standing grievance within America's right wing over supposed "left-wing indoctrination" in the country's schools and universities, linking the unrest of this past summer to an education system that overly stresses the legacy of slavery, racism and sins of America's past.

"Patriotic moms and dads are going to demand that their children are no longer fed hateful lies about this country," Trump said. "American parents are not going to accept indoctrination in our schools, cancel culture at work or the repression of traditional faith, culture and values in the public square. Not anymore."

There's nothing particularly new about this latest shot across the bow in the United States' divisive culture war, apart from the president using his bully pulpit to make it. Trump can't exactly rewrite textbooks and curriculums, which are the province of the states and local districts. But it's yet another dynamite charge to stoke a nativist base. Weeks away from an election, Trump said his administration would launch a national panel to create a "pro-American curriculum," which he dubbed the "1776 Commission."

That appears to be a White House response to the "1619 Project," a Pulitzer Prize-winning set of essays published by the New York Times last year that sought to reframe the story of American democracy as centered on the legacy and experience of slavery. Many educators and historians see this sort of revision as a welcome complement to the standard teachings of history most Americans receive in their school systems and are bewildered by Trump's tirades against liberal teachers. A recent study also poured cold water on the right-wing shibboleth that universities are zones of "indoctrination," finding little variation in the political views of students before and after they enter college.

"I am not teaching my students to hate America," said Chris Dier, a high school teacher in Louisiana who was the state's 2020 Teacher of the Year, to my colleagues. "We are teaching our students to embrace our country, even the things that are negative. We're choosing not to ignore the ghosts of our country's past."

But for Trump and his allies, it seems skeletons need to remain in their closets. Critics argue that his conspicuous reference to "patriotic" parents is simply another form of dog whistle to a predominantly White pool of voters uncomfortable with the ways the country's demographics and wider cultural discourse are evolving. Trump's messaging "wasn't so much about American history as it was about America's future," Arwa Mahdawi wrote in the Guardian. "It was a promise to his base that he will Make America White Again."

A great irony in Trump's invocation of "patriotic" education is that it apes the language and decades-long policies of the Communist regime in Beijing, a frequent rhetorical punching bag for the Trump administration. But it also fits into a global battlefield where democratically elected right-wing nationalists have put universities and schools in their crosshairs. In many cases, educators find themselves on the front lines of political struggles they are doomed to lose.

Thousands of Turkish academics, including prominent liberal intellectuals, were removed from faculty positions and teaching jobs in recent years amid a broader purge carried out by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. In India, professors and student activists on university campuses have been demonized by the country's jingoistic media networks and its ruling Hindu nationalist party, which has also sought to revamp the nation's history textbooks.

Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, came to power breathing fury over "Marxist" infiltration in the country's schools, which he and his allies even claimed promoted "homosexuality and promiscuity." In office, Bolsonaro's government cut funding to the humanities and social sciences and ended an affirmative action policy that helped disadvantaged Black and Indigenous students enter certain postgraduate programs. For Bolsonaro, tackling the country's education system is part of a far deeper ideological clash with the Brazilian left.

"Making vigorous use of digital tools, and jumping headfirst into a political vacuum created by a huge corruption scandal, members of the Bolsonaro family deployed the fear of communist conspiracy to great effect," Vincent Bevins wrote in the Atlantic. "The ghosts of the Cold War haunt politics in the world's fifth-most-populous country, and as another political crisis looms, the leadership is doubling down on conspiratorial thinking."

The same is true in Hungary, where long-ruling illiberal Prime Minister Viktor Orban has waged a relentless culture war. His government has taken broad aim at independent nongovernmental organizations and other liberal entities, including forcing out the Central European University, one of the more celebrated institutions of higher education in the region. Orban has imposed revisions to school curriculums in an avowed bid to restore "national self-esteem" and hail the country's Christian identity.

"There's no such thing as a neutral education," Zoltan Kovacs, a government spokesman, bluntly told the BBC earlier this year. "Educational systems are about values . . . about teaching what we think are the values of Hungarian society."

Those values, though, remain fiercely contested. In recent weeks, students at one of the leading arts universities in Budapest blockaded and occupied their school in protest of the new Orban-aligned administrators who had taken over management of the institution.

"Until recently, universities were independent, state-funded entities from which it was difficult to withhold financial support," wrote George Szirtes, a Hungarian poet and translator. The ruling party's "strategic aim became to privatize the universities and, as had proved so successful with other enterprises, impose a board of government-appointed trustees to determine policy, not just in spending, but appointments, the curriculum and all other matters, on an ideological basis."

That kind of power remains a pipe dream for Trump and his Republican allies. But recent events seem to make clear their eagerness to go down the same troubling path of demagogues and autocrats elsewhere.
Luxor, Egypt, bills itself as the worlds greatest open-air museum, and everything my husband and I saw during our visit supported this claim. The temples and tombs date back to the heyday of early architecture, about 2755 B.C., and more monuments remain here than anywhere else in the world.

Originally called Thebes, the city was once Egypts capital.

We first visited the Luxor Museum to get an idea about what we would be seeing. It was a stop worth making because we saw relics and statuary from this historic place, as well as mummies of some pharaohs and items from the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

Not far away was Luxor Temple, and here our guide, Sameh Samir, gave us a valuable lesson about how a temple is laid out. It turns out that once you understand one, you can navigate them all.

They all face the Nile, and the approach is often by way of a path past rows of sphinxes that protect the door. The large facade is called the pylon. Two huge towers represent hills with a lower horizon between them. A statue of the ruler at the time of its buildings is often outside, and flags fly overhead. Next, comes the inner courtyard, whose walls are adorned by images of the pharaoh in battle. This is the only place where ordinary people were allowed and then just on festival days.

Otherwise, the pharaoh, the highest priest on earth, was the sole person who could go inside to commune with the gods.

The pillars in the hypostyle at Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt, are so large that it takes 12 people with outstretched arms to go around one. (Courtesy of Phil Allen)

Following that is the hypostyle hall. Meaning under pillars, this was an architectural device to cover a large space without using arches. Last is the holy of holies, the habitat of the deities, and outside is the sacred lake, a body of water used for rituals and homes for sacred animals.

Once inside this oldest temple in Egypt, we tried out our newfound knowledge and found that it was all just as Samir had said it would be. Built in about 1400 B.C. by Amenhotep III, it was enlarged upon by subsequent rulers who included Tutankhamun, Ramses II, and Alexander the Great.

We were eager to move on to nearby Karnak Temple, the largest remaining religious site from the ancient world, and we werent disappointed. Its name means fortress, and the temple ruins stretch for a mile. The hypostyle was the most magnificent we had seen. It contains 134 columns, many made to resemble a bundle of papyrus reeds since that grows prolifically in the nearby marshes. The columns are so massive that it takes 12 people stretching out their arms to surround one of them, and 100 people could stand on the capitals at their tops. Each is richly carved with pictures and hieroglyphic writing. We commented to one another that it seemed as if we were in an enchanted petrified forest.

Outside several archaeological digs were underway, and we saw some of the recently uncovered cache of 18,000 buried statues that had been hidden for 900 years.

Karnak hasnt given up all of its secrets yet, Samir said.

Throughout Egypt, temples are on the east side of the Nile to remain safe during flooding and tombs are on the west, thought to be the land of the dead because the sun sets there. That being the case, directly across the river and farther back into the desert is Hatshepsuts mortuary temple. She was the secondand probably most successfulfemale pharaoh, but her life didnt lack for drama. Her stepson, Thutmose III, would have been the next pharaoh when his father died, but since he was too young to rule she took over. When he became pharaoh after her death he did everything in his power to erase her legacy. Most of her images in the temple have been destroyed. At the very least, her nose is gone, signifying that she could no longer breathe.

One of the highlights of the trip was the Valley of the Kings. Most of the tombs have been emptied by grave-robbers, but the artworknever exposed to sunlight and for many years packed beneath sandremains intact. For its continued preservation, glass now covers some parts, and only 10 of the 63 kings tombs are open at any given time.

We were able to visit King Tutankhamuns tomb, discovered by Howard Carter in 1922, and the experience was overwhelming. His mummified body is on display, and the paintings and colors in the tomb are spectacular. These burial sites are actually like small underground apartments, with tunnels going off in various directions to house secondary wives and children.

In the Valley of the Queens, it was the tomb of Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramses II, that took our breath away. It consists of many rooms constructed on two levels with walls completely covered in vibrantly colored paintings and sparkling golden stars across the night-sky ceiling. The tombs in the Valley of the Nobles are also brilliantly decorated, and in the Valley of the Workers, the artisans saved some of their best work for their own resting places.

The tombs in Egypts Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens have many rooms, all of them covered in intricate original paintings. (Courtesy of Phil Allen)

Back in town, we made a stop at the Nefertari Papyrus Institute to see and purchase some of the work Egyptian artists have done on the substrate that is unique to their country. The best part was watching the demonstration of how the stems are stripped, soaked in water, and pressed together to create a writing surface.

Suddenly, the symbolism of all of the papyrus-shaped stone pillars we had seen became completely clear.

When You Go

In order to see and learn about everything that Egypt has to offer, a guide is an absolute must. Google tours of Egypt and youll find many at several different price points. We decided on Smithsonian Journeys and recommend them highly: SmithsonianJourneys.org

Glenda Winders is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at Creators.com. Copyright 2020 Creators.com
Lizzie Borden had an ax, and now her former mansion has a new owner. Within a few days of its listing, the home of the famed (alleged) ax murderer was recently sold at an undisclosed price. The original market value was set at the amount of $890,000.

Called the Maplecroft Mansion, the Fall River, Mass., property was built in the 1880s spanning almost 4,000 square feet and coming complete with eight bedrooms, four bathrooms and a grand total of six fireplaces. Borden and her sister, Emma, came into ownership of the mansion in 1893, where Lizzie remained until her death in 1927.

The original Fall River house where Bordens father and stepmother were brutally murdered is currently a bed and breakfast in which daring visitors can spend a night or two. Maplecroft Mansions intended route was to be similar; however, financial complications as well as issues arising from COVID-19 forced the property back on to the market.

This is a sketch of Lizzie Borden, made during her trial in New Bedford, Mass., in 1892 on a charge that she murdered her father and stepmother with an ax. The sketch was made by Louis F. Grant, an artist for a Boston newspaper. (AP Photo/Carl Nesensohn)AP

The tale of Lizzie Borden has lived in infamy for over a century. Although Borden was eventually acquitted of the charges brought against her in 1893, both the sensationalism surrounding the court proceedings and the mystery surrounding the unsolved deaths helped to solidify the case as a trial of the century. The events leading up to and during the trial helped to spurn a variety of movies and television series, including a recent film starring indie darling Chloe Sevigny.

Hopefully the new owners are aware that frequent paranormal activity comes with the rest of the mansions trappings. The house where the murders took place is supposedly riddled with ghosts, with the spirits of the unfortunate victims rumored to make appearances from time to time. One can only imagine what Lizzie herself is getting up to in her old home during the afterlife.
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I recently finished my geriatric psychiatry rotation. As a medical student and aspiring psychiatrist, I had the opportunity to participate in the care of those suffering from acute psychosis, depression, bipolar disorder, depression, and more  many of whom were dealing with suicidal ideation. While an engaging experience, I am worried. The climate crisis puts these patients at great risk.

Im a novice to climate advocacy. Ive long considered myself to be someone who cares about the climate and environment and knows that we need to do something to reverse the damages humanity has inflicted on our only earth. However, I never dug into the specific facts and statistics to examine just how bad things are and never quite knew exactly what solutions are required. On top of that, our changing climate is a problem so big and so complicated and so abstract that we often dont know where to start advocating  at least thats how I feel. I didnt know my place in the climate movement.

I started my podcast in June. I knew there were many topics, such as racism and religion, that impact our health both directly and indirectly, and I wanted to create a show that would highlight them. I also knew I wanted to produce an episode on the intersection of health and climate change because I knew there was something there. I believed that there is a role for the medical field in the climate movement, but I didnt know how to fill it.

I finally recorded that episode this past week with Dr. Gaurab Basu, a primary care physician and Instructor at Harvard Medical School. Hes also the Co-Director of the Center for Health Equity Education & Advocacy at Cambridge Health Alliance.

I asked him about the connection between health and climate change, and he replied, How I define the problem is natural disasters, food insecurity, water scarcity, infectious diseases, heat-related disease, which is a huge bucket of issues, respiratory disease, mental health, and then also forced migration and political conflicts.

The moment he said the words mental health, my eyes opened to the idea that as a medical student and aspiring psychiatrist, I do have a place in the movement to advocate for a greener earth.

Shortly after our interview concluded, I started researching the ways climate change affects mental health. This was when I got worried. I read the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and here what is true: Mental illness, such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, increases after disasters occur. All you have to do is read about what happened after Hurricane Katrina, where rates of serious mental illness doubled, and PTSD remained high years after the hurricane hit. Further, rates of suicide increase with rising temperatures. Of course, climate change will cause more disasters and higher temperatures, leading to increased mental illness and more suicide.

Climate change is an issue that requires all hands on deck, and medicine and those in the medical field have a responsibility to join the climate movement in one way or another. Its simply a matter of finding the corner of the universe where you can make your impact.

I asked Dr. Basu about what are ways to get involved. He said, Were all passionate about different things, and we have different skill sets, and so identify what youre good at  the bigness can be overwhelming, but it also gives us opportunities to find our place in this work, and you dont have to take on the whole thing.

If youre a cardiovascular doctor, talk about the cardiovascular risks of air pollution, Dr. Basu continued. If youre a pediatrician, talk about children. If youre an OB/GYN, talk about the fact that air pollution (and) heat exposure increases the risk of premature labor. The list goes on.

For my part, I plan to reach out to climate organizations and see what I can do to get involved. Whether that means writing more op-eds like this one or writing to legislators, I now recognize that as part of the medical field, especially in regard to mental health, I have a role to play. I invite all of you in the medical field to join me in this effort.

You can hear the rumblings in certain pockets that, just like with gun control, medicine should stay in its lane and not be involved in issues like climate advocacy. Thats simply not a tenable stance. With a warming planet and without action, the human population will simply get sicker. That stands in direct conflict with our oath to Do no harm.

So again, get involved with the climate movement in the best way you know how. Our patients and future patients lives are on the line.

Derek Wolfe is a medical student.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Chennai, Sep 21 : Despite the Covid-19 pandemic raging across the world, India's payments technology and transaction processing major Financial Software and Systems (FSS) gained a firm foothold in the Canadian market bagging the mandate from Everlink Payment Services Inc to modernise its card issuance infrastructure, said top company officials.

"The multi-year deal was concluded during the Covid-19 pandemic. With our solutions in place, Everlink can launch prepaid cards. Everlink has over 230 credit unions with a cumulative number of accounts of about five million," K.Srinivasan, Chief Revenue Officer-Global at FSS told IANS over the phone from Dubai.

The over Rs 1,100 crore turnover FSS would implement its Unified Card Management System to manage debit and prepaid cards issuance from a single platform and also support transaction processing and programmes for prepaid cards.

As part of the deal, FSS would replace the existing card issuance system with an application programming interfaces (API) based card management framework to simplify operations, reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) and mitigate obsolescence risk.

"In Canada, debit cards are more in use than credit cards. Prepaid cards are yet to become active. We will be delivering out services out of our centre in Chennai. We expect to go on live in Everlink in January 2021. The contract is for five years," Srinivasan added.

According to Mark Pipplinger, President and CEO of Everlink, Canadian consumers are rapidly adopting newer payment products like co-badged prepaid and contactless cards.

He said Everlink needed a flexible solution, capable of modernising our card management to extend its portfolio of products and service in an increasingly competitive and changing market.

"The Canadian market relies heavily on card spending and is digitising rapidly. It is a market where FSS is deeply committed to work with partners such as Everlink," FSS Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Nagaraj V. Mylandla said.

Elaborating further on FSS' Canada plans Srinivasan said the company will focus on leveraging its global expertise to deliver new propositions in the areas of prepaid card management, omni-channel acquiring, artificial intelligence based payments, strong customer authentication, and reconciliation solutions.

As regards other overseas markets, Srinivasan said FSS sees good potential in the Asia Pacific as more countries are looking at switching systems and benefit administration through prepaid cards.

For FSS, the major overseas markets are South Africa, the Middle East and some African countries. The company is also there in some European nations and in the US.

As regards the Covid-19 impact, Srinivasan said as of end of June, the business has revived back to 70-80 per cent of the business prior to the pandemic outbreak.

With four rounds of funding raised -- the last one in 2015 from Azim Premjin -- FSS is planning to go for the next round of funding by 2021.

The other major revenue stream for FSS with a headcount of over 2,400 is managing and running over 27,000 automatic teller machines (ATM) for over 30 banks in India.
The International Space Station will offer just one good chance for spotting it with the naked eye as it orbits Earth this week, and that best chance comes tonight.

To catch the space station at it moves through the sky over central Pennsylvania look to the west-northwest sky at 7:31 p.m. Monday, September 21. The space station will appear at 45 degrees about the horizon and over the next 4 minutes will rise to a maximum height of 53 degrees before disappearing at 11 degrees above northeast.

NASA explains, The horizon is at zero degrees, and directly overhead is 90 degrees. If you hold your fist at arms length and place your fist resting on the horizon, the top will be about 10 degrees. Each additional fist-width above the horizon is roughly another 10 degrees of elevation.

NASA doesnt issue one of its Spot the Station alerts for anything less than 40 degrees, and the space station is not expected to meet or top that point again this week.

According to NASA, the space station looks like an airplane or a very bright star moving across the sky, except it doesnt have flashing lights or change direction. It will also be moving considerably faster than a typical airplane (airplanes generally fly at about 600 miles per hour; the space station flies at 17,500 miles per hour).

Contact Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.
President Armen Sarkissian on Monday issued a congratulatory message to Armenians on the occasion of Armenias Independence Day anniversary.

On September 21, 1991 we unanimously and confidently said yes to independence.

The aspirations, which we had in our quest for independence and after attaining it, became a reality through the creation of our independent state.

But the journey continues. For us, as a nation and state, much still lies ahead  new projects, new objectives, new victories.

To achieve that we need a precise vision, a feasible plan, as well as unwavering will. Future is born from decisions and efforts emanating from this, from our mentality and conscience, from the total sum of our work, based on our national and moral values, our history, our heritage.

Only an individual, a society, a nation, which remembers and cherishes its past and traditions, its culture and language, looks forward and feels the pulse of time, can enrich its spiritual and material, the virtual and real world.

No matter how much the world changes, it will always be based on the want for kindness, compassion, justice, and truth  everything that our national system of values is based on.

Our brothers and sisters, soldiers and freedom fighters, doctors and intellectuals, farmers and writers from Armenia, Artsakh, and Spyurk [Diaspora], all those who struggled, dedicated themselves to the Fatherland  Armenia and Artsakh, who gave their lives for independence impart us all to spare nothing for the present and future.

I bow to them all.

Dear Compatriots:

Today too, we have devotees right next to us, who defend the borders of our culture and science, our health and education, who are carriers and defenders of our national identity and values, who put their efforts in making the Fatherland stronger, in making homeland more secure, from military to medical workers, from scholars to IT specialists, from teachers in remote villages to nurses in kindergartens, from farmers to bakers, from musicians to athletes, from innovators to archeologists

The destiny of the Fatherland depends on us all, on each and every one, on our ability to be responsible and be able to assume responsibility, on our solidarity, unity, kindness, and tolerance toward each other.

We must be united.

We must work together no matter how different our approaches, visions, and perceptions are.

Independence Day must be the symbol of our all-national unity.

Lets defend and empower our Fatherland  Armenia and Artsakh as the pivot and axis of our national aspirations, President Sarkissians message reads, in particular.
South Africa: Consumer protection a top priority for government

Government remains committed to attending to as well as resolving issues of consumer protection.

Deputy Director-General of Consumer and Corporate Regulation at the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (the dtic), Dr Evelyn Masotja, said work is being done to close different gaps in the areas of consumer protection and consumer redress to ensure that there is continuation of service delivery to the public.

She said issues of consumer protection are strategically important for government and the public.

The Deputy Director-General said this while facilitating a Consumer Protection webinar hosted by the dtic in conjunction with its agencies, the Competition Commission (CompCom), National Consumer Commission (NCC) and National Credit Regulator (NCR).

The session was also hosted by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS).

Masotja said sessions such as Fridays webinar are imperative to inform consumers about their rights in terms of what the legislation provides, particularly the Consumer Protection Act, the National Credit Act and the Competition Act.

These legislation have been amended from time to time to ensure that we provide protection, secure rights of the public and that everyone can participate meaningfully in the economy.

Meanwhile, Acting Commissioner at the National Consumer Commission, Thezi Mabuza, noted four areas of the Consumer Protection Act that prohibit people from participating or promoting schemes that include pyramid schemes.

She said the telling signs of a pyramid scheme include a promise of high returns of above 10% of the repo rate in a short space of time. These require consumers to recruit more members in order to earn a profit, and payouts are made from new recruits and not from profits, where one advances in the hierarchy levels through the recruitment of others.

She also noted that these schemes are often not registered with Financial Service Conduct Authority as a financial service.

Price gauging complaints

The Deputy Commissioner of the Competition Commission, Hardin Ratshisusu, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented various challenges, with some companies taking advantage of consumers.

Because of the pandemic, in about four months we received cases that we would normally receive in six years.

About 1700 cases of alleged price gouging were received just during the pandemic. To address such, Minister [Ebrahim] Patel acted swiftly and published consumer and customer regulations which allows the Commission to zoom into the essential products that we needed to look at during the pandemic, said Ratshisusu.

While encouraging consumers to lodge complaints with the Commission, Ratshisusu addressed the process and steps that consumers can take if they want to lodge an unfair price or colluding complaint with the Commission.

He stressed the importance of studying the Competition Act which will make the process easier for consumers.

If you suspect a firm is engaged in price gouging please contact the Competition Commission with the following information: the name and location of the store/vendor where you purchased the item and their address, details of the product, including, but not limited to, the product type, brand, size, and price, receipts, invoices, quotations or pictures showing the price. Send a brief WhatsApp or a text to 084 743 0000 or email us on ccsa@compcom.co.za, he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Credit Regulator, Nomsa Motshegare, said there were a number of options for consumers if they were unable to fulfil their financial obligations, especially in paying their loans during this pandemic.

Consumers who are struggling to repay their debts can approach a debt counsellor who is registered and regulated by the NCR.

Debt counselling is one option that consumers can take advantage of and it does work. On average per month about a billion gets to be distributed by payment distribution agents to credit providers, said Motshegare.

All regulators on the panel agreed that education and awareness campaigns remain key to ensure consumers are aware of their rights and obligations.

The National Consumer Commission can be reached on 0800 014 880.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Lawn sign hostilities escalated

Boos to Queensbury homeowner Kim Ouderkerk for escalating hostilities with town Supervisor John Strough over a political banner she placed on her property that included a swear word. Strough objected to the public display of the swear word, which is abbreviated as b.s., and is threatening to prosecute her under the town code to have the banner removed. In response, Ouderkerk unveiled another sign, reading Strough full of (b.s.). The original banner makes a political statement, promoting Donald Trump as the 2020 presidential candidate and celebrating his approach to the job: No more (b.s.) But this new sign is an insulting rejoinder to Strough. We defended Ouderkerks right to make a public political statement that includes a swear word, but we dont support this escalation from the political to the personal. Unfortunately, Ms. Ouderkerk is following the lead of her preferred presidential candidate, who is infamous for personal and offensive attacks on people with whom he disagrees.

Great to see interest in voting

Bravos to the boards of elections of local counties, which are preparing to deal with a high volume of absentee votes and early voting, which starts Oct. 24 and involves in-person voting at local polling places. More voters will choose to mail in absentee ballots this year because of the pandemic, and state rules are allowing anyone worried about contracting the virus to request an absentee ballot. This is an important election, and local voters are already showing a large amount of interest in it, as evidenced by the number of requests for absentee ballots. In Warren and Washington counties, with five weeks to go before Election Day, more voters have already asked for absentee ballots than the total number of absentees requested in 2016. Were guessing this election will attract a record turnout, and amid the panoply of disasters unfolding in this country, that is one good thing. If the last four years have shown us anything, they have demonstrated that elections matter. Voting matters, and we urge everyone in the region to cast their votes without delay.

Caregivers keep saving lives

Bravos to the caregivers who continue to risk their own health to care for people suffering from COVID-19. This week and late last week, Warren County Health Services reported four more local caregivers tested positive for the virus. Throughout the months of the pandemic, we have seen heroic efforts from health care workers, public health employees and many others who have continued to show up for work and put themselves at risk. They are the heroes of this devastating pandemic, which soon will have claimed 200,000 lives, making it one of the worst  if not the worst  health disaster of the past century. And the coronavirus is not through with us, unfortunately. We will continue to depend on the skills and the big hearts of our caregivers. They have our gratitude.

Just tell the truth, please

Boos to our congresswoman, Elise Stefanik, for parroting the specious excuse Mitch McConnell has offered for reversing himself on the confirmation of a Supreme Court justice in an election year. We believed Barack Obama deserved to have a hearing before the Senate and a vote on his nominee, Merrick Garland, nominated 10 months before the 2016 election. At that time, McConnell said the people (meaning the voters) should decide, and he blocked a hearing, which meant that the next president  Donald Trump  got to fill the seat. Now, with only six weeks before Election Day, he says the people shouldnt decide, the Senate should, because the Senate majority is in the same party as the president. Stefanik echoed that, saying, Whats changed is that the American people did have a voice because they had a lame duck Democratic president with a Republican Senate. This is very different when you have a Republican Senate and a Republican president. If that makes no sense to you, youre in good company. This same party argument was not mentioned in 2016. McConnell, Lindsey Graham and others were arguing in 2016 that any time a Supreme Court seat came open in a presidential election year, it should not be filled. If you want proof, look online, because videos abound of their statements. Graham even said then that, if the situation came up in 2020, Democrats could use his words against him. What McConnell and his crew are doing is exercising raw political power while ignoring the rank hypocrisy of it. That is the truth, and Stefanik should admit it.

Local editorials are written by the Post-Star editorial board, which includes Ben Rogers, president and director of local sales and marketing; Brian Corcoran, regional finance director and former publisher; Will Doolittle, projects editor; and Bob Condon, local news editor.

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OREGON CITY, ORE.The coppery clouds loomed above Pam and Clyde Burtons home in a biblical display  warning of flames that could engulf their home and all they had acquired in more than 20 years of marriage.

They did what they had to do: get out, fast.

Days later, the Burtons, who live in Oregon City, about 45 minutes outside Portland, would come to see the loss of almost everything they owned in the worst wildfire season the state has ever seen as something of a blessing, or at least a reminder of whats most important to them.

What they couldnt abide was the way politicians across the political spectrum seemed hell-bent on spinning their suffering, and that of thousands of others evacuated along the U.S. west coast, to their favour in the 2020 election.

In the community, were great friends with Democrats, Republicans, everyone in between; it doesnt matter. They all came out of the woodwork and helped us, Pam Burton said in an interview at the office of the heating and cooling company she and her husband own  their temporary home since their house burned to the ground last week. We feel loved by them and ignored by our politicians.

The more than 100 fires still ablaze along the west coast of the United States have become a political flashpoint in an already tumultuous election year.

While days of rain have cleared smoke from the air and helped firefighters working to contain the fires, the disaster is far from over. With conservatives focusing on real and perceived security threats associated with the fires, and liberals placing blame squarely at the feet of climate-change deniers like President Donald Trump, the fires have become a proxy war for the deep left-right divide in the U.S. ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Layer in months of heated Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, which have resulted in occasionally violent clashes with far-right, counter-protesters, and the state of Oregon becomes the very picture of a country divided.

And families like the Burtons are on the dividing line.

Id like to sit them down and say look: This is what happened to us. Does it really matter if President Trump wanted that or the governor wanted that? Pam Burton said. Lets get the politics out of it and focus on human life.

Although a Democratic-leaning state because of the strong liberal attitudes in its cities, Oregons rural areas are typically conservative and their residents voted strongly for Trump in 2016.

Its not a long drive south from Portland along the interstate highway before signs reading Resist and BLM in house windows are swapped for red, white and blue bunting, and the American flags featuring a single blue stripe that have come to symbolize support for the police in the face of criticism from the Black Lives Matter movement.

Its in these more rural areas where the fires approached properties and forced evacuations. Its also where unsubstantiated rumours about the fires being started by left-wing political activists spread, prompting the most fervent right-wing supporters to stay behind in their communities against orders to evacuate, armed and ready to protect their property.

The sentiment in small towns like Molalla, which was placed under a complete evacuation order at the height of the fire risk, is that Democratic Gov. Kate Brown didnt act quickly enough to secure emergency responders to fight the fires. Out of a feeling of necessity, locals fended for themselves, digging trenches and keeping close watch on their properties.

The governor invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act on Sept. 8. She called the devastation from the fires a wake-up call for leaders that more needs to be done to tackle climate change. On Sept. 14, 125 National Guard members were also called in to help.

The response wasnt felt by locals in Molalla, who volunteered to dig a fire line and later drove around the town, armed, in their trucks, in an effort to discourage potential looters. Molalla was one of the places where now-discredited online rumours flourished that anti-fascists had set the most destructive fires and intended to loot the evacuated properties.

Theres no evidence any fires were set by politically motivated groups, but sheriffs have made scattered arrests for looting and arson in Oregon.

It was all the townspeople, the people who live here. They were calling themselves the redneck crew, said Tanya Carson, a Molalla resident who stayed with a friend during the evacuation. Basically the town was saved because of the people of Molalla. The governor, she waited too long to put her order in.

The sentiment is common in the hard-hit counties outside Portland. A sign at a popular highway ice cream stop reads Gov Brown you have failed us.

Brian Boes, who lives near the sign, said he could relate. Even though he estimated that fire came as close as three kilometres from his front door, Boes and his wife refused to evacuate. They stayed awake in two-hour shifts to watch for the fires progress.

We had ash falling constantly, pink, red-coloured skies. We stayed to protect from embers and looters and stuff like that, he said. I would stay always to protect my stuff. Im a prepper. Im a second amendment advocate. Ill always be an American and stand up for what I believe.

About 20 minutes down the road, some 500 residents of the town of Gates Oregon whose homes remained returned to large-scale damage, part of the Beachie Creek Fire.

Diane Turnbull, a resident of Gates who lives on old schoolgrounds where she used to host a camp for people with disabilities, was amazed her house was spared. The nearby school gymnasium and camp residences were obliterated by flames, smells of burnt-out school equipment and melted metal wafting from the grounds, and smoke still rising from smouldering remains of trees across the road.

It was a site of near-complete destruction, and a little hope.

The fire burned right up to the foundations of my house, she said. What I can say is that we will rebuild this camp.

Like the Burtons, Turnbull has been disappointed by Oregonians arguing about the fires on social media  looking for someone to blame.

Whats interesting is the response to those kind of posts, she said. Somebody always thinks of the good side.

To her, thats been the way the town residents have been coming by almost hourly to see the damage and offer whatever help they can to Turnbull to help her rebuild. Shes even had to turn down financial help until the insurance company can come to survey the damage to the camp.

Pam and Clyde Burton have been similarly touched by seemingly endless offers of help.

On Saturday morning, Clyde Burton spoke with tears in his eyes after a friend dropped by their office with a toaster and a soft robe for Pams mother, who has found a place in a care home.

All humans want in this world is to be loved, he said. We feel so loved by our neighbours.

The couple remarked on how their lives were turned upside down so quickly.

The evacuation order hadnt even been called yet by the time the Burtons hastily packed up their RV with little more than themselves, Pams 98-year-old mother, and their two dogs. They were being extra cautious, or so they thought. The wildfire that has burned more than 55,000 hectares of land in Clackamas County outside Portland had been on the other side of the wide Clackamas River when they left.

Days later, everything  their custom-built home, their cars, two of their four cats, every tree on the property  was gone. The belongings of their youngest son, who had recently joined the airforce and was storing everything with them, were also destroyed.

Soon their office in Oregon City was filled with bags of donated clothes for the pair to sort through. Clyde, who grew up in Molalla, said it has been instructive to watch small communities come together amid the crisis, while politicians squabble over its meaning.

My high school buddies, all the good theyre doing out there is amazing, he said, referring to a friend who volunteered to help fight fires even as his wife suffers from cancer. Meanwhile, we believe the governor (didnt want) the National Guards help with the fires and the protests in Portland because it was offered by President Trump and its a Democratic-Republican race for the election.

The couple, devout Christians, decided to take it as a sign that they need to appreciate whats most important: their family, and its safety. They even suggested that the fire could have been the sign that pushes them to retire early and travel the U.S. in their RV.

You can lay down and die, or you can rise above the ashes. You have a choice, Clyde Burton said. Pam looked down at the ground and said, Thats good, honey.

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Four thousand maintenance, food service and other workers are continuing their strike at the University of Illinois at Chicago to demand adequate staffing levels, equipment to protect them against COVID-19 and wage increases for many workers who make below the citys minimum wage of $14 an hour.

The UIC workers are engaged in a direct fight against the Democratic Party political machine in Chicago and the powerful corporate and financial interests it defends. In the face of this, the city unions have deliberately isolated the struggle and are seeking to starve workers into accepting a deal, which is in line with the savage austerity measures being prepared by state and local officials.

Last Friday, the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) ended the strike by 800 nurses at the University of Illinois Hospital, claiming it was near an agreement for small wage increases and the hiring of 200 nurses. Even if this comes to pass, it will do little to address the nurses chief demands for safe staffing levels at one of the largest urban medical centers in the country. At least four nurses have died from COVID-19 at the facility.

As for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) whose members are still on strike at the hospital and other UIC facilities, the union has not even provided them with strike pay, although SEIU Local 73 took in $16.7 million in dues last year and handed over $1 million to Democratic Toni Preckwinkles failed bid for mayor in 2018.

The isolation of the strike must be broken, and the fight expanded. This means setting up a rank-and-file strike committee to demand adequate strike pay to sustain a real fight and to mobilize the working class throughout the city and stateteachers, workers at Ford, Amazon, UPS and other manufacturing and logistic companiesto defend the UIC workers.

The UIC Board

In the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, workers are fighting a cabal of corporate titans, finance capital and Democratic Party politicians. The following is a selection of political profiles of the members of the UI board.

Governor J.B. Pritzker

Illinois Democratic Governor J. B. Pritzker has a net worth of $3.4 billion dollars. Pritzker is an heir to the Hyatt hotel family fortune, which extracted vast wealth by squeezing hotel workers into poverty and forcing many of them to go on strike in 2018. Pritzker is an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees but is a leading figure in shaping its policies, including the recent increase of university tuition by 1.8 percent.

The Democratic Party, which controls Illinois politics, is at the forefront of the attacks on the living standards of the working class over multiple administrations. Last week, Pritzker ordered Illinois state agencies to prepare for a nightmare scenario with budget cuts of 5 to 10 percent if the state does not receive adequate federal aid.

Pritzker also reopened the state prematurely and now universities across the state are seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases. Pritzkers policies are not fundamentally different from Trump, who recently proclaimed that the virus must rip through the population.

Donald J. Edwards, chairman of the board

Donald J. Edwards, chairman of the Board of Trustees, was appointed in 2017 by former Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and then reappointed by Pritzker in 2019. Edwards is a Democrat and the CEO of Flexpoint Ford LLC, a $4 billion-plus private equity firm with a portfolio of investments in financial services and health care.

Edwards worked with former Governor Rauner at GTCR, a private-equity company, before founding his own firm. GTCR managed millions of pension funds of state employees in Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and other states.

Edwards was also a top donor to former Chicago Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former investment banker and chief of staff in the Obama administration. Emanuel left office widely hated by workers for his attacks on teachers and social services and coverup of the police murder of Laquan McDonald.

Kareem Dale

Kareem Dale, a Democrat, currently serves as the director and senior counsel of Discover Financial Services. Under President Obama, Dale, who is blind, served as special assistant to the president for disability policy, which was the highest-ranking position on disability ever created.

Dale coordinated the outreach and support for the appointments of Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, who were part of the unanimous 2017 Supreme Court ruling to allow portions of Trumps anti-immigrant travel ban. Before his appointment by President Obama, Dale worked over seven years as an attorney focusing on commercial litigation.

Ramon Cepeda

Ramon Cepeda is The Northern Trust Companys senior vice president and managing director since 2007. Cepeda leads both the commercial real estate and professional services teams, which are responsible for providing capital and services to high net worth families and individuals investing in commercial real estate.

Cepeda is a member of the UI boards executive committee. According to the University of Illinois bylaws, the executive meets on call of the chair or of any two members for the transaction of business that is urgent and cannot be postponed until the next regular meeting of the full board. The Executive Committee has all the powers of the Board of Trustees.

Patricia Brown Holmes

Patricia Brown Holmes, a Democrat, is also a member of the Boards executive committee. Holmes began her career as a prosecutor. In 1997, Holmes became an associate judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Currently, Holmes is managing director of the law firm Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP.

Holmes focuses her practice within high-stakes commercial litigating, white-collar crime, and other legal counseling. In 2009, Holmes argued in front of the Supreme Court in the case Black v United States where she successfully defended an executive at the company Hollinger International Inc. against charges of mail fraud, tax evasion, and tax fraud.

In her role, Holmes has successfully defended countless multibillion-dollar companies against liability, fraud, and negligence cases. She was one of the leading lawyers who defended actor Jussie Smollett and has been a trusted partner to corporations and executives, defending top companies such as American Airlines, Amazon, etc.

Dr. Stuart C. King

Dr. Stuart C. King, a Republican, is a trained medical professional with a specialty in pain management. Dr. King was appointed in 2015 by Governor Bruce Rauner. He is the head of the Department of Spine and Pain Management at Christie Clinic, located in Champaign, Illinois. He is the chair of the University Healthcare System committee, which oversees the hospital and health sciences colleges administration and financial management. King, no doubt, plays a role in enforcing the low pay of health care workers at the UI hospital system.

Ricardo Estrada

Ricardo Estrada, a Democrat, was reappointed in 2019 by Pritzker. He previously served on the Board between 2011 and 2017. He was then appointed to the Cook County Hospital and Health Systems board. Estrada is currently the CEO of the nonprofit Metropolitan Family Services.

Jill B. Smart

Jill B. Smart is the Chief Human Resource Officer at Accenture, a multinational Fortune Global 500 company. Currently, she is the president of The National Academy of Human Resources and a board member of EPAM Systems, AlixPartners and HireRight. Smart was head of human resources during the time Accenture underwent numerous layoffs.

Smart is a member of the University Healthcare System board that oversees the hospital administration. Smart has an estimated net worth of $30.6 million, largely from her EPAM systems stock ownership.

Avijit Ghosh

Dr. Avijit Ghosh was appointed as permanent vice president, chief financial officer, and comptroller of the University of Illinois system. Ghosh served as the CEO of the University of Illinois Hospitals and Clinics at UIC.

During his time as CEO, the hospital saw its overall funding reduced. As chief financial officer, Ghosh briefed the board of trustees about the financial losses from COVID-19 and the expected loss the university would incur. At the same meeting, the board moved to limit refunds for UI students taking remote-only courses.

Edward L. McMillan

Edward L. McMillan, a Republican, was appointed in 2009. He is the CEO of McMillan LLC, a construction services firm, and is also the chairman of Illinois Ventures LLC, a venture capitalist firm that specializes in healthcare and technology. McMillan has a net worth of over $1.6 million.

These are the corporate and political figures who are conducting the attack on nurses, university staff and students. They are similar to the University of Michigan Board of Regents, who sought an injunction to break the strike by 1,200 grad student instructors, and then relied on the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to isolate and shut down the strike. Throughout the country, the rush to reopen the college campuses is being driven entirely by financial considerations, no matter how many students and college workers get sick and die.

To fight for their interests, nurses and university workers must take matters into their own hands and form rank-and-file strike committees, independent of the unions, to link up with the growing opposition of the working class across the country and internationally against the subordination of human life to corporate profit.
As the marks its 75th anniversary amidst the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary General on Monday called for improved world governance, underlining that there is a surplus of multilateral challenges today but a deficit of solutions.

Addressing the UN General Assembly ceremony, marking the world body's 75th anniversary, Guterres said the coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the world's fragilities.

"We can only address them together. Today we have a surplus of multilateral challenges and a deficit of multilateral solutions, he said.

The special commemoration of the landmark 75 years of the world organisation will be largely virtual as world leaders did not travel to New York due to the COVID-19 pandemic raging across the world and that has in over six months infected more than 30 million people and will soon reach a grim milestone of over a million deaths.

The special UNGA event to mark the 75th anniversary of the UN kick-starts the high-level General Assembly session.

For the week-long General Debate, Heads of State and Government and Ministers will deliver their speeches through pre-recorded video statements, a first in the 75-year history of the world organisation.

On this occasion, the 193 UN Member States adopted by consensus a political Declaration commemorating the 75th anniversary of the

Looking back, Guterres said the world has seen historic accomplishments including peace treaties and peacekeeping, decolonisation, human rights standards and mechanisms to uphold them, triumph over apartheid, eradication of diseases, steady reduction of hunger and landmark agreements to protect the environment and the planet - most recently, unanimous agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change provide an inspiring vision for the 21st Century.

However, the UN chief said there is still much to be done, particularly in the area of gender equality.

Guterres said 25 years since the Beijing Platform for Action, gender inequality remains the greatest single challenge to human rights around the world.

He listed a looming climate calamity, collapsing biodiversity, rising poverty, spreading hatred, escalating geopolitical tensions, nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert and transformative technologies that have exposed new threats as new global challenges nations must confront.

To combat these challenges, Guterres said there is a need for more and more effective multilateralism "with vision, ambition and impact".

National sovereignty a pillar of the Charter goes hand-in-hand with enhanced cooperation based on common values and shared responsibilities in pursuit of progress for all. No one wants a world government but we must work together to improve world governance, he said.

Guterres added that in an interconnected world, we need a networked multilateralism, in which the UN family, financial institutions, regional organisations, trading blocs and work together more closely and effectively.

He also stressed on the need for an inclusive multilateralism, drawing on civil society, cities, businesses, local authorities and young people. Guterres told the General Assembly that the UN Secretariat marked the 75th anniversary with a global conversation that reached more than a million people around the world, with a special focus on the voices of youth.

Sharing their fears and hopes for the future, the respondents said cooperation is vital to deal with today's challenges, with the pandemic making such solidarity more urgent and underlining the need for improved health systems and basic services for all.

Guterres said people are also fearful about the climate crisis, poverty, inequality, corruption and systemic racial and gender discrimination.

They see the UN as a vehicle to make the world a better place. And they count on us to meet today's tests. That responsibility lies above all with Member States, the UN chief said, adding that Member States established the world body and have a duty to "embrace it, nourish it and provide it with the tools to make a difference".

"We owe this to we the peoples'. We owe it to the peacekeepers, diplomats, humanitarian personnel, and who sacrificed their lives advancing common values, Guterres 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.)
GARISSA, Kenya  Kenyan police on Saturday arrested 12 people from neighboring Somalia without valid identification documents along the common border.

Garissa divisional police commander Joseph Muriuki said the suspects were being ferried in a Garissa county government vehicle but had the government of Kenya number plates. Muriuki said the suspects were arrested at the Garissa-Tana Bridge by police officers who demanded to see valid work permits.

The aliens on board aged between 15 and 35 were all men and we were also seeking to know who else could have aided their movement to Garissa and beyond, Muriuki told journalists in Garissa.

He said preliminary investigations by the police have since established that the aliens who were coming from Mogadishu in Somalia were on their way to Nairobi but their mission was not immediately established.

The police commander said the driver and the aliens will be arraigned in court on Monday. Muriuki said investigations have been launched to establish information on who was behind the immigration racket. The Kenyan authorities have intensified the ongoing crackdown on undocumented migrant workers that had seen homes raided and hundreds of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers arrested around the country.

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This Sept. 19 photo shows the Bench draped for the death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court in Washington

This Sept. 19 photo shows the Bench draped for the death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court in Washington Credit - Fred SchillingCollection of the Supreme Court of the United States/AP

The Republican argument for immediately nominating and confirming a replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg is now stripped of all pretext. Its about raw power. In fact, it can be boiled down to three words  Elections have consequences. The Republicans won the presidency in 2016, they held the Senate in 2018, and there is nothing unconstitutional or illegal about wielding that power now, even when Americans are already voting in a presidential election that will end in less than seven weeks.

The argument has a certain Machiavellian simplicity about it. But theres a problem  if youd listened to Republicans speak before this moment, including just four short years ago, this raw power politics appears new. When they blocked Merrick Garlands nomination to the Supreme Court, they claimed a neutral principle was at stake. Their argument? When an election looms, let the people decide.

Here was Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham: If an opening comes in the last year of President Trumps term, and the primary process has started, well wait to the next election.

And here was Texass staunch constitutional conservative, Ted Cruz: It has been 80 years since a Supreme Court vacancy was nominated and confirmed in an election year. There is a long tradition that you dont do this in an election year.

We can keep going. Floridas Marco Rubio weighed in: I dont think we should be moving on a nominee in the last year of this presidents term  I would say that if it was a Republican president.

This game of gotcha is all too easy, and it can also be flipped back at Democrats who loudly declared that Garland deserved a hearing and a vote. For example, Democratic Senator Christopher Murphy released a statement that said in part, The president fulfilled his constitutional obligation today, now the Senate must fulfill ours . . . If Senate Republicans refuse to consider the presidents nominee, they will be willingly violating the spirit of that sworn oath.

Story continues

Chuck Schumer called on then-Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to do their job and hold hearings so America can make its own judgement as to whether Merrick Garland belongs on the court.

We know that President Trump will put forward a nominee. Hes promised to do it quickly. And now a critical mass of the Senate faces a choice, one that is likely to echo in American history. At the end of the day, do principles matter at all, or is power the only coin of the realm?

After all, while much can happen between now and November 3rd, the Democrats may well hold the House, narrowly take control of the Senate, and win the White House. At that point, theyd have the legal and constitutional power to not just reverse conservative control of the Court by amending the law to increase the number of Supreme Court seats (a process popularly known as court-packing), they could also permanently alter the balance of power in the Senate by admitting new states  namely Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.

Republicans would object. Conservative Americans would protest. Theyd appeal to norms and worry about a tyranny of the majority. But if power is all that matters now, Democrats could respond with the same three words from the start of this piece  elections have consequences.

But there is a deep and profound danger to stripping politics of principle and instead appealing to power alone. Americans are deeply and profoundly divided. As I write in my new book, Divided We Fall, a toxic combination of geographic clustering, negative polarization, and mutual enmity is placing great strains on our union.

When politicians words mean nothing  when only partisan interests prevail  it damages our social and cultural fabric. It deepens public anger and mistrust and unacceptably raises the stakes (and thus the tension) around each and every American election.

What can be done? An increasing number of center-right legal scholars, including the American Enterprise Institutes Adam White and George Mason Law School professor Ilya Somin are proposing a variant of an approach best summed up as make them keep their word. It goes something like this:

First, Trump makes his pick.

Second, the Senate applies the Schumer principle and gives the nominee a hearing. This will have the benefit of giving the American people a more-complete picture of the qualifications and philosophy of the nominee and thus the stakes of the presidential election.

Third, the Senate then applies the Graham/Rubio/Cruz rule and does not vote before the election. If Trump wins, they then vote on the nominee.

But what if Trump loses? What principle comes into play? Joe Bidens own words provide the guide.

In the October 2019 Democratic debate, Joe Biden clearly expressed his opposition to court-packing. Im not prepared to go on and try to pack the court, he said, because well live to rue that day. He continued, We add three justices. Next time around, we lose control, they add three justices. We begin to lose any credibility the court has at all.

Hes right. Court-packing is dangerous. Yet if the GOP violates its principles to jam through a nominee in Trumps last days in office, the pressure from congressional Democrats to pack the court may well be overwhelming. So Biden should make a deal with the lame-duck Senate. Keep the seat open, and hell pledge not to sign any legislation packing the Supreme Court while hes in office.

This isnt the unilateral disarmament so despised by partisans. Its a compromise. Both sides would shed Machiavellianism (for a moment, at least) and do something concrete to actually de-escalate Americas toxic political conflicts. Americas polarization is growing dangerous. Political violence stalks our streets. Now is the time for true statesmen to step forward, to put prudence before power, and reach a compromise that doesnt just preserve the legitimacy of the court, it helps preserve the integrity of our republic.
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By LINDSAY WHITEHURST

Associated Press

BEAVERCREEK, Ore.  They work 50 hours at a stretch and sleep on gymnasium floors. Exploding trees shower them with embers. They lose track of time when the sun is blotted out by smoke, and they sometimes have to run for their lives from advancing flames.

Firefighters trying to contain the massive wildfires in Oregon, California and Washington state are constantly on the verge of exhaustion as they try to save suburban houses, including some in their own neighborhoods. Each home or barn lost is a mental blow for teams trained to protect lives and property.





. . .
SPRINGFIELD  Retired Judge Roderick Ireland, who is assisting the citys efforts to reform its police department, will be among the participants in a public forum scheduled Saturday.

The forum was announced Thursday by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood. The mayor and commissioner said the purpose is to listen to members of the community as to what reforms they want implemented with the CHPB (the mayor-appointed Community Police Hearing Board) and Judge Ireland."

Members of the hearing board also plan to participate, as well as Clapprood and other city officials.

The forum begins at 10:30 a.m. and will be held remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Anyone wishing to participate can register by emailing meshea@springfieldcityhall.com or dmoss@springfieldcityhall.com or calling 413-787-6100. The session will also be broadcast on Channel 17 and livestreamed at focusspringfield.com and the citys Facebook page.

I acknowledge again, that past police misconduct was wrong and hurtful, Sarno said in a statement Monday evening. I know that our community has been adversely effected by this past police wrongdoing, which has created a cloud of negativity on the values and reputation of our City. My goal, our goal, going forward is to make sure that this type of behavior does not happen again in the future and that all our police officers follow the laws and the constitution.

In August, Sarno announced that he was retaining Ireland as special counsel on police reform at a fee of $75,000. Ireland is a city native and former chief justice of the states Supreme Judicial Court.

Irelands appointment and Saturdays forum follow a recent U.S. Department of Justice report that sharply criticized the narcotics units use of force after a two-year investigation. The report accused narcotics detectives of routinely using excessive force and retrofitting police reports to justify their actions, among other issues.

The forum also follows public protests around the nation including, including in Springfield and other area communities, regarding systemic racism and police brutality.

Council President Justin Hurst said Monday the council was not included in the forum plans. He learned of the forum from a press conference held last Thursday, when Sarno, Clapprood and other officials discussed changes taking place in the wake of the report, including the continued rollout of a body camera program and an online system for filing complaints against officers.

The council and Sarno have clashed over the mayors decision not to reinstate a five-member citizen police commission with disciplinary powers. That plan was passed by the council. Sarno, instead, is seeking to strengthen the existing Community Police Hearing Board to include subpoena powers.

In June, the council threatened to take legal action to fight for the police commission system.

The Community Police Hearing Board is a volunteer citizen board appointed by the mayor that hears police misconduct cases, and provides its findings and recommendations to the police commissioner. The police commissioner has authority over police discipline.

Clapprood said that since her appointment as commissioner last year, she has always agreed to or exceeded the discipline recommended by the hearing board.

The city has conducted public and private listening forums of issues of police misconduct and police reform, officials said.

Commissioner Clapprood and I are strongly committed to reforms, many of which she has already implemented, but there is much more to be done in working with the Department of Justice and our community for systematic change, Sarno said.

Hurst said he has that if the intent of Saturdays forum is to do with police reform and strengthening community relations, then it is important to hear from those impacted most by police misconduct as opposed to hearing from a pre-selected group of people who are not representative of those citizens who encounter law enforcement regularly, which was unfortunately the case of the first meeting held."

Hurst said his goal for the forum should be the same as Sarnos.

We ought to be speaking in unison around these difficult issues and sensitive conversations, Hurst said.
Since the early days of this pandemic, we have known, and been told hundreds of times, that a strong and consistent testing and contact tracing regime is critical in monitoring COVID-19s spread and flattening that curve.

Yet here we are, seven months later, staring into the maw of a second wave, and were still not there. How can this be?

Way back in July, when it looked like the pandemic was being managed, or even in retreat, the federal government announced it would spend nearly $4.3 billion to ensure all provinces and territories have adequate testing capacity. The ambitious objective was to test at least 200,000 people every day.

It was envisioned that capacity would be needed in the event of a second wave, which many of us hoped would not happen. But most experts now agree our hopes have been dashed and were about to experience a fall and winter, and flu season, with COVID-19 thrown in.

And where are we with our testing target? On Wednesday of this week, federal government reporting said the total number of tests administered was just under 62,500.

In response to the federal announcement, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his government would use the new money to significantly expand testing capacity... He pledged the province would be testing 50,000 people a day by this fall.

But to date in September the average is 27,500, a little more than half of Fords promise with fall at our doorstep, along with a pandemic spike.

Those are the numbers, and they are scary enough in and of themselves. But they dont tell the whole story. Anecdotally, the testing story in Ontario is even worse. Conservative Leader Erin OToole, now in isolation after being exposed to COVID-19, took his family to a testing centre in Ottawa. They waited hours, only to eventually be turned away.

There are numerous reports of kids being sent home from school with some sort of symptoms, which could be a cold or the virus. Their parents are told to keep kids at home pending testing, and are understandably panicked, but they have to wait in lineups for hours to get their kids tested.

Provincial and federal governments were not taken by surprise by the spike, or second wave. It has been predicted, as has the increase in cases that is bound to go along with reopening the economy and schools. How could governments not be prepared?

In an interview with CBC News, McGill University professor of respiratory epidemiology and tuberculosis expert Dr. Dick Menzies said these testing delays were predictable.

Its kind of regrettable because we could have foreseen that this was going to happen in the fall. The second wave was predicted by many when schools re-opened.

A part of the problem is that we still rely on nasal swabbing for testing. Menzies argues we need other options that would take some of the pressure off existing testing centres and could be available in other settings, like schools and pharmacies.

Saliva sampling turns out to be as good  maybe even better  but certainly as good as nasal pharyngeal swabs for COVID, he said.

In the U.S., health authorities have approved the use of other testing technologies, but Health Canada is still doing its research, and federal Health Minister Patti Hajdu said they are not yet satisfied with alternative testing technologies and wont approve any until they are. Thats appropriate. But lets hope it doesnt take too much longer because Canada is coming up short on testing and the stakes are enormously high.
12:20 | Lima, Sep. 21.

According to the government official, most laboratories and countries developing the vaccine claim that the first doses are expected to be available in the first quarter of next year, as had been reported to the population.

"The ones (agreements) signed by the Ministry of Health (Minsa) are binding agreements that ensure the doses that I mentioned before. On the one hand, Pfizer will supply 9.9 million doses , while COVAX Facility will ensure 13 million doses, which means around 11 million people will get the vaccine, considering that two doses will have to be administered to each person," he told RPP radio and TV station.

Lopez explained that the negotiations held with laboratories and companies around the world are complicated as they are marked by uncertainty, which is caused by the limited data about this disease.

"We are moving in the right direction. We are ensuring Peru's access to COVID-19 vaccines , which will allow us to quickly cover a significant percentage of the population. Our first goal is 70% coverage," he stated.
By Aisha Jabbarova

Azerbaijan's Air Defense Units have destroyed a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the units of the Armenian armed forces, the Defence Ministry reported in its official website on September 21.

The incident occurred at 23.13 on September 20. The search for the remains of the destroyed UAV is currently underway.

This is the nineth UAV belonging to Armenian army units that have been downed in the Azerbaijani territories after attempting to carry out a reconnaissance flight over the positions of the Azerbaijani Army's units since July 16.

Armenia has recently stepped up its military provocation in the line of contact and on the border.

On July 12, Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijan's positions in Tovuz, the country's strategically-important district. The Armenian attack killed 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, as well as a 76-year-old civilian. Armenian forces retreated after suffering losses in Azerbaijan's retaliation.

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.

____

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Three-dimensional images of a kidney with unprecedented quality have been obtained with the simple, cost-effective addition of sandpaper as an optical element to an X-ray imaging beamline. The results demonstrate the potential of X-ray speckle-based tomography for quantitative 3D virtual histology.

Biological soft tissue and other low-density materials can be visualised quantitatively and in 3D with a higher image quality than ever before by using a recently developed X-ray imaging technique that makes use of a piece of sandpaper as an optical element.

The need for 3D visualisation and characterisation of biological soft tissue has driven an increasing interest in X-ray-based virtual histology. Conventional histology, the current gold standard for tissue visualisation, struggles to deliver 3D data with isotropic resolution, as it is based on physical slicing of the sample and scanning of the slices with a light microscope. Expanding histology to the third dimension is a critical step for a more accurate analysis of the sizes, shapes and interrelationship of sample features. This will contribute to an improved assessment of tissue pathologies and a better understanding of organ function.

An X-ray imaging technique known as speckle-based imaging (SBI) has been further developed to enable quantitative three-dimensional virtual histology (3DVH) of unstained, hydrated biological tissue at unprecedented image quality. Using beamline ID19, X-ray images of a mouse kidney were obtained with extremely high contrast that have been validated with conventional histology results, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Comparison of virtual phase volume slices of a mouse kidney obtained with SBI and histological sections. (a) Short-axis cut through the phase volume, and (b) corresponding histological slice of the same specimen (H&E staining, 10 magnification). The kidney regions, cortex (COR), outer stripe of the outer medulla (OSOM), inner stripe of the outer medulla (ISOM) and inner medulla (IM), can be identified. (c and d) Enlarged regions of interest visualising fine details of the kidney tissue.

SBI [1] is based on the X-ray phase-contrast signal, which exploits the refraction of X-rays in the sample as a contrast mechanism, leading to a significantly higher sensitivity to small density variations than conventional absorption X-ray imaging. SBI was first demonstrated at the ESRF [2] and simultaneously at Monash University [3] and has since seen great interest from the X-ray imaging community thanks to its extremely robust, simple and cost-effective implementation. The only required addition to a conventional X-ray imaging setup is a piece of sandpaper. Scattering and interference of X-rays from the sandpaper grains lead to the formation of a speckled intensity pattern, known as near-field speckles, in the detector plane. X-ray refraction in a sample results in a local displacement of these speckles, which can be computationally retrieved and converted to a phase-contrast signal. SBI combined with tomography, i.e. taking projections of the sample at different viewing angles, allows for the reconstruction of the 3D density distribution within the sample. Among the different data acquisition and analysis methods developed for SBI, the unified modulated pattern analysis (UMPA) used for the data presented here has shown particularly high performance and flexibility [4].

The high sensitivity of SBI makes it possible to visualise even minute density differences in soft tissue at high contrast without the use of staining agents. This enables the straightforward and accurate segmentation of features in a sample, such as the complex blood vessel network of the kidney in this study (Figure 2). Furthermore, one single renal nephron, the functional unit of the kidney, could be extracted from the SBI data, which is a critical step towards gaining a better understanding of organ function and dysfunction. The 3D information on the sample is complemented with the quantitative mass density values that SBI delivers in addition to the structural information.

Figure 2. 3D visualisation and segmentation of the phase volume. (a) Renal capsule with ureter (yellow) and surrounding fatty tissue (semi-transparent grey). (b) Combined visualisation of vascular network (arteries and veins) and tissue microstructure of the kidney extracted from the same data set. A slice through the phase volume is shown in semi-transparent colours (blue: IM and ISOM, green: OSOM and COR). (c) Location of one renal nephron in the 3D phase volume and (d) segmented nephron consisting of blood vessel supply, glomerulus, and tubule.

With its high sensitivity, quantitative character and simple setup, X-ray speckle-based imaging has great potential as an imaging method in fundamental biomedical research and clinical histopathology to extend and complement conventional histology. Moreover, the method is also promising for applications in other fields that rely on visualising small density differences such as materials science and palaeontology.

The results of this research are illustrated by the following movie: Summary of the 3D virtual histology of the mouse kidney.



Principal publication and authors

X-ray phase tomography with near-field speckles for three-dimensional virtual histology, Zdora M.-C. (a,b,c), Thibault P. (a,b), Kuo W. (d,e), Fernandez V. (f), Deyhle H. (b), Vila-Comamala J. (g), Olbinado M.P. (h,i), Rack A. (i), Lackie P.M. (j), Katsamenis O.L. (k), Lawson M.J. (j), Kurtcuoglu V. (d,e,l), Rau C. (b), Pfeiffer F. (m,n), Zanette I. (a), Optica 7, 1221-1227 (2020); doi: 10.1364/OPTICA.399421.

(a) School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Southampton (United Kingdom)

(b) Diamond Light Source, Didcot (United Kingdom)

(c) Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London (United Kingdom)

(d) The Interface Group, Institute of Physiology, University of Zurich (Switzerland)

(e) National Centre of Competence in Research, Kidney.CH, Zurich (Switzerland)

(f) Imaging and Analysis Centre, Natural History Museum, London (United Kingdom)

(g) Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH Zurich (Switzerland)

(h) Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen PSI (Switzerland)

(i) ESRF

(j) Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton (United Kingdom)

(k) -VIS X-Ray Imaging Centre, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton (United Kingdom)

(l) Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zurich (Switzerland)

(m) Chair of Biomedical Physics, Department of Physics and Munich School of BioEngineering, Technical University of Munich, Garching (Germany)

(n) Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich (Germany)

References

[1] Zdora M.-C., J. Imaging 4, 60 (2018).

[2] Berujon S. et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 158102 (2012).

[3] Morgan K.S. et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 124102 (2012).

[4] Zdora M.-C. et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 203903 (2017).
CAIRO  The Administrative Court of the Egyptian State Council ruled Sept. 1 that it does not have jurisdiction to look into the case demanding the minister of justice to amend the personal status law in such a way to annul verbal divorce and have it authenticated officially by virtue of written documents.

The legal case, filed by lawyer Haitham Saad, was also directed against the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, to renounce verbal divorce, as many Egyptians, under daily pressure and stress, express orally their intention of divorce without any real will to do so.

The calls to annul verbal divorce have raised the ire of religious institutions in Egypt.

Back in 2017, during a Jan. 24 ceremony marking National Police Day, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had called for new legislation to annul verbal divorce. The ceremony was attended by Tayeb and several clerics and statesmen.

Tayeb and Al-Azhars Council of Senior Scholars categorically rejected Sisis call for the need for divorce authentication, on the basis that divorce verbally pronounced is the rule in Sharia.

At the time, Sisi said that according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, 40% of marriage unions end up in divorce within five years, which threatens the stability of Egyptian families and children. He added that the new legislation would give couples a chance to reconsider a decision they might have made out of anger.

In response to Sisis proposal, Al-Azhars Council of Senior Scholars issued a statement on Feb. 5, 2017, stressing that divorce had occurred when pronounced verbally since the time of the Prophet [Muhammad], without the need of any witnesses or the need to authenticate the divorce.

On Feb. 17, 2017, Tayeb said on his TV program The Hadith of Sheikh Al-Azhar broadcast on Al-Masriya satellite channel that any bid against Al-Azhar to annul the verbal divorce is crossing the line and undermining what is right.

Everyone ought to talk about their own prerogatives. Al-Azhar ought to be left to deal with the matters of its specialization, he added.

On May 20, 2017, amid a state of extreme secrecy in parliament, members of the parliamentary Religious Affairs Committee had finished preparing a bill requesting the husband to authenticate the divorce within a certain period, or else face a penalty or imprisonment. This was a clear defiance to the official religious institutions' stance.

The bill and its amendments have yet to be approved in light of the ongoing dispute with religious authorities.

A judicial source, who refused to be named, told Al-Monitor via phone, The new rule of the Administrative Court stating that it does have any prerogative to look into the divorce issue suggests that the court did not take sides in the debate. But I believe that on the ground the courts decision is biased toward the religious institutions against Sisis proposal to authenticate the verbal divorce, as it did not bind the minister of justice to do so.

The source explained that the proposed amendments to the personal status law provide for the need to authenticate the divorce within a maximum period of 24 hours from its occurrence, or else the husband would face penalties up to imprisonment and a financial fine, which will be determined by parliaments Religious Affairs Committee and the Legislative and Constitutional Committee before the law is issued.

The source noted that the Religious Affairs Committee has been working in the past period to draft the legislation in response to Sisis proposal, despite its contradiction with the Islamic law and being opposed by religious institutions, namely Al-Azhar and Al-Azhars Council of Senior Scholars.

According to the source, this suggests a conflict between legal and religious texts, and a clash in visions between the presidency and Al-Azhar.

Mahmoud Mhanna, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, believes that the authentication of divorce does not necessarily mean a clash between the law and religion. A middle ground formula can be reached in a bid to preserve family unity and stability in light of the alarming increase in the number of divorce cases, without undermining Sharia rules, Mhanna told Al-Monitor in a phone interview.

Al-Azhar is exclusively concerned with all affairs of Islam and religion, and is the main reference in religious sciences and Islamic affairs, he said.

Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution stipulates that the principles of Islamic Sharia are the principle source of legislation. This means that parliament has to take into consideration the opinion of Al-Azhar and the Council of Senior Scholars before carrying out any legislation pertinent to religious issues or topics entailing Sharia provisions.

Mhanna stressed that parliament has the right to issue a law to authenticate verbal divorce, but after considering the stance of Al-Azhar to agree on a formula that is satisfactory to all parties. He noted that a formula has been reached between the two parties, whereby a divorce occurs when orally pronounced, with the new bill requesting the husband to document the divorce within 24 hours, otherwise he faces penalties.

I believe this is the middle ground between the legal and the religious text, Mhanna concluded.
Last week, I got up, and looked up at a smoked early morning  the sun muted to a consonant orange ball in an even gray sky.

Some 3,000 miles away, the West Coast was blazing and in ruins. More than 4.6 million acres have burned there in the recent fires  as if all of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined had been torched.

There was enough smoke from the fires for the winds to blow it across the continent and give the New England sky those glowing Japanese print colors. It was beautiful and very odd, and off-putting.

Im shocked, said Patrick Comins, president of the Connecticut Audubon Society, who posted photos of the sunset on Facebook.

It was a sunny day, with blue skies, said Bill Jacquemin, senior meteorologist with the Connecticut Weather Center in Danbury who photographed it as well. But because of the smoke, it wasnt.

As the fires burn, hundreds of thousands of migrating songbirds have died while crossing New Mexico. Comins said researchers will study the birds to learn their cause of death.

But it may be that the wildfires forced them to migrate too early and take a different flight pattern that exhausted them. They may have died of smoke inhalation or pesticide poisoning.

All of this is a way of reinforcing this basic ecological tenet: Everything is connected. Whats happening there shows up here, and here, there. The pollution we put into the atmosphere contributes to the global warming thats now creating drought and wildfires.

Welcome to climate change made manifest.

Its a global problem, said Mitch Wagener, professor of biology at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. We may want to think of it as a local problem, but were all complicit in it.

Its also a reminder of the problem Connecticut faces given its place in the U.S.  were downwind of everything, including coal-fired power plants in the Midwest. Smoke gets blown our way.

Connecticut is the exit of the tailpipe, said the states Attorney General William Tong.

The state has been fighting for years to get those Midwestern states to reckon with the pollution we have to live with.

Tong and Connecticut have now moved to a new front, suing ExxonMobil.

The state claims that the giant multinational oil producer had research beginning in the 1950s that showed that burning fossil fuels was causing climate change. Instead of acting on that research, the suit says, the company hid it and denied what its own research showed.

The suit asks for financial remediation for past, present and future harm climate change has caused the state. It also asks that ExxonMobil fully disclose its research and create a climate change education fund.

People are beginning to become aware that interconnectedness of climate change, Tong said.

But I dont think theyre making the connections fast enough, he said. Thats part of the problem.

Here is one good thing about the smoke thats now filling our skies. Jacquemin of the Connecticut Weather Center said changes in weather patterns may move the smoke away from the state, at least temporarily.

Its also not altering our air quality.

Paul Farrell, director of air planning for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said the soot from the smoke is floating about 20,000 feet above us.

Thats really too far away to affect us, Farrell said.

And if this is any consolation, its happened before.

Farrell said that massive fires in Ontario in 2002 and the Fort McMurray fire in Alberta Canada in 2016 both filled our skies with ashy residue.

But sometimes, big events have consequences.

In 1910, there was the The Big Blowup, the Big Burn, the Great Fire  a conflagration in Idaho and Montana that burned more than 3 million aces in two days and killed 78 firefighters. It sent smoke across New England, with its ash eventually falling on the Greenland glaciers.

The drama of the event caught the attention of Congress, which doubled funding for the nascent U.S. Forest Service.

And in 1934 and 1935 dust from the Great Plains dust storms  the Dust Bowl  darkened the skies over Washington, D.C. Presented with irrefutable evidence of that calamity, the Congress found money to fund the U.S. Soil Conservation Service.

Could these new gray, smoky skies have an impact on public opinion as well?

Tong said if it does, its coming late.

Its well past midnight, he said.

Contact Robert Miller at earthmattersrgm@gmail.com
OPINION: "There's a saying in politics that you can't just vote against someone but also must vote FOR someone. In this case, I will not just be voting as a statement against Trump," writes Jim Kolbe.
Om Birla says it pained him that Lok Sabha did not run smoothly during Monsoon session

Govt hikes MSP for wheat, five other rabi crops to placate angry farmers

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Sep 21: The government on Monday hiked the minimum price for buying six rabi crops, including wheat, by up to six per cent, as it sought to send a strong message to farmers on continuation of MSP-based procurement system.

The MSP (Minimum Support Price) of wheat, the biggest crop of rabi season, has been hiked by Rs 50 to Rs 1,975 per quintal, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in Lok Sabha. Besides, MSPs of lentil (masoor), gram, barley, safflower and mustard/rapeseed have been increased.

Opposition parties seek meeting with President, urge him not to sign farm bills

The move came a day after Parliament approved two agriculture sector-reform bills which have been bitterly opposed by the opposition parties like Congress and TMC as well as from within ruling NDA alliance over apprehension that the new legislations might virtually end MSP-based procurement by the government.

Farmer groups in Punjab, Haryana and some other states are also protesting the two bills -- The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 -- have been passed by Parliament.

Tomar said the MSPs of six rabi crops were approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, a move aimed at encouraging farmers ahead of the sowing operations of winter crops.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

Announcing the increased MSPs for the six rabi crops for 2020-21 crop year (July-June) and 2021-22 marketing season, Tomar said MSP of gram has been increased by Rs 225 to Rs 5,100 per quintal.

The MSP of barley has been hiked by Rs 75 to Rs 1,600 per quintal. Lentil MSP has been hiked by Rs 300 to Rs 5,100 per quintal. The MSP of mustard/ rapeseed have been raised by Rs 225 to Rs 4,650 per quintal, while that of safflower has been hiked by Rs 112 to Rs 5,327 per quintal.

Tomar said the government has been maintaining that the MSP mechanism will continue and the approval of new support price ahead of rabi season attests to this fact as against a false propaganda spread by Opposition parties. Some Congress MPs walked out of the House after Tomar made the announcement about the MSPs.

Citing various data, Tomar said the procurement has been significantly higher under this government in the last six years compared to the UPA regime.

Tomar said Rs 7 lakh crore has been paid to farmers as MSP in the last six years, which is nearly double than the UPA government.

The minister said the MSP and APMC mechanisms as well as the government's purchase of crops at MSP rates would continue.

He added that farmers would also be free to sell outside APMC mandis. Later in a series of tweets, Tomar said the MSP of wheat is 106 per cent more than the production cost. In case of gram and lentil, the MSP is 78 per cent higher than production cost.

The support price of barley is 65 per cent above the production cost. Mustard MSP's is 93 per cent higher than production cost, while safflower's support price is 50 per cent higher than the cost of production.

Meanwhile, the government on Monday set foodgrain production target at a record 301 million tonnes for the 2020-21 crop year, up nearly 1.5 per cent from the previous year's output, on the back of good monsoon rains and higher acreage in the kharif season. The target of wheat output has been set at 108 million tonnes for 2020-21 as compared to 107.59 million tonnes in the previous year.

After the minister made the announcement, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was present in the House, said Congress had put in place the structure of agriculture mandis but the government is dismantling it.
If Jeffrey Andrews and his partners have their way, people crossing into Canada via the Peace Bridge  once the border reopens  will be greeted by a new signature development.

Andrews, head of Compass Land Developments Ltd. (formerly ATW Development Niagara), said plans for the new Compass Heights development project at the corner of Central Avenue and Garrison Road are full speed ahead despite the ongoing pandemic.

With an estimated construction price of more than $100 million, plans include condominiums, a rooftop restaurant, bowling alleys for building tenants and a Timber Hall reception/lobby with a large custom aquarium and exotic fish.

As well there will be main floor commercial space, a Brewhouse restaurant and possibly a nanobrewery on the ground floor. The two-tier project would have eight storeys on one part and 12 on a tower section complete with an observation deck.

It needs to be spectacular, it needs to have a vista impact, said Andrews. Its the face of Canada and Fort Erie and Niagara.

Despite the size of the project, Andrews said, he doesnt expect any not-in-my-backyard sentiments from residents.

We dont anticipate well have much pushback on the project, he said. Its not in a residential area (and) it certainly suits the location.

Andrews said he and architect Jason Pizzicarola have worked to ensure the development makes the area pedestrian friendly.

We want it to be kind of a destination location, he said.

New signs were hoisted Friday showing artists concepts. Present were Joe Demma and Larry Gwynne of Toronto-based Vintage Park Homes, with whom Andrews firm has partnered.

The site is magnificent, said Demma, pointing to the panoramic views of Lake Erie, the Niagara River and the Peace Bridge.

The plans were unveiled in July 2019, but Andrews said the scope has increased substantially since then after developers entered into an agreement with the Peace Bridge Authority to purchase a parking lot adjacent to and north of the developments site at 7 Central Ave.

The scope has changed dramatically, he said. Its at least tripled the size of our land mass.

The site has been vacant for nearly 15 years and was previously home to the old Keystone Kellys restaurant.

Andrews and his team have been working with the Town of Fort Erie, the Region and Niagara Parks on the project. Staff from those entities made it clear through a pre-consultation process  which precedes the project going to town council for approval  that they want a spectacular project at the important site, Andrews said, adding many people considered the empty site an eyesore.

New artist renderings show a sleek development. The rooftop restaurant will overlook the lake, the river, the Peace Bridge, said Andrews.

The project will require official plan and zoning amendments because its currently classed as a core mixed use, which only allows a four-storey development. Applications were submitted to the town Aug. 25, and a virtual public meeting is planned for Thursday, Sept. 24 via Zoom.

Me and my team will be on deck to answer any questions, said Andrews.

Typically, town staff would then take comments from that meeting and build them into a report to council with recommendations.

Andrews said his team hopes to get approval from the town by years end, and construction could begin in 2021. It will take about two years to complete, he said.

Were confident this project is going to continue to move forward as quickly as it has, he said.

Andrews said he hopes the unveiling of the new signs at a welcome centre already in place at the site will spark excitement among residents.

This is a development that the Fort Erie community should be informed about and feel a sense of pride and ownership in as far as being the face of Fort Erie, he said.
ANN ARBOR, MI  From one judicial candidate holding more than 40 years of legal experience inside and outside the courtroom, to another having vast experience as an attorney and social worker, voters have a lot to consider when deciding who will be Washtenaw Countys next trial court judge tasked with ruling over family court cases.

Washtenaw County judicial candidates Tracy E. Van den Bergh and Nick Roumel will face off in the Nov. 3 election, after they advanced in the August primary.

Related: Van den Bergh and Roumel advance in Washtenaw County trial judge race

The judicial seat is being vacated by Washtenaw County Trial Judge David Swartz plans to retire when his term expires in January 2021. The new judge will be assigned the family court docket during the six-year term in office.

Both Roumel or Van den Bergh earned more than 25,000 votes during the primary. Van den Bergh won 28,515 votes and Roumel got 27,524, indicating it could be a tight race in November.

Roumel, a civil rights attorney with more that 40 years of legal experience, said his experience and record of seeking justice and arguing the law in court make him the prime candidate for the judicial seat.

Ive earned respect from fellow attorneys over the years by not beating up on them or prosecutors, but by just arguing the law like a judge should, Roumel said. I have the expertise a judge needs to help all parties reach an agreement and leave court satisfied.

Roumel, highlighting whoever wins in November will be ruling over family court cases, said he believes in accelerating the court process and finding resolutions to issues before they are brought before the court for litigation.

Most cases never go to trial as they are either pleaded, mediated or worse, stuck in litigation, Roumel said. Id like to help people avoid never-ending litigation, especially in family court where children are involved.

Van den Bergh, who started her career as a clinical social worker until earning her law degree and later transitioning to a position in the Michigan Attorney Generals Office, stated her unique experience makes her the top candidate to oversee family court cases in Washtenaw County.

52 percent of all court filings are for the family court, yet we dont focus on it as much as we should, she said. Many new judges see family court as more of a steppingstone before moving on to something else. Im in this for the long run because family cases can go on throughout an entire childhood and I feel that families need consistency if we truly want to ensure they are being treated fairly in the court.

Van den Bergh said she intends to work toward the creation of a mental health court, which currently does not exist at the Washtenaw County Trial court, and conflict resolution outside of the typical court process where normally judges do not have much interaction with residents until they are in crisis and appear before a judge.

Following my two disciplines, I want to bring the court into the 21st century. I Want to break the cycle and focus on more of a problem solving court approach in Washtenaw, she said. The old ways of the court dont work like they did 15 years ago, so it needs to adapt with the changing times.

For more information about Van den Bergh, visit her campaign webpage by clicking here.

For more information about Roumel, visit his campaign webpage by clicking here.

MLive Media Group has partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information and other voting resources to readers ahead of 2020 elections.
CNN president Jeff Zucker initially dismissed Donald Trump as a 'sideshow' when he first announced his presidential bid in 2015 but is now reportedly trying to kill off the 'runaway monster' that he helped create.

Zucker gave Trump his reality TV start by airing The Apprentice back in 2004 when he was at NBC.

In a New York Times column on Sunday, media columnist Ben Smith wrote that Zucker didn't realize what a ratings success Trump would be when he first announced his bid for president.

He initially dismissed Trump as a 'sideshow' but then changed his tune and spent the lead up to the election saturating CNN with Trump coverage.

Despite his efforts, Trump seemingly fell out with Zucker after opting for Fox News instead of CNN as his preferred network when he won the election.

Trump has repeatedly slammed CNN as 'fake news' and accused the network of biased coverage over the last four years.

CNN president Jeff Zucker initially dismissed Donald Trump as a 'sideshow' when he first announced his presidential bid in 2015 but is now reportedly trying to kill off the 'runaway monster' that he helped create.

Some of Zucker's acquaintances have said in recent weeks that the TV executive didn't realize he would lose control of his creation.

Smith says those sources believe CNN's coverage of Trump is Zucker's attempt to kill his 'runaway monster'.

Others, however, have argued that the Trump coverage is Zucker's latest reflexive adaptation in search of ratings'.

Back in 2015, Zucker told Smith: 'I have no regrets about the part that I played in (Trump's) career.'

Following Trump's subsequent fall out with CNN, Zucker would not comment when asked recently if he had any regrets.

The claims that Zucker is now seemingly trying to sway coverage to get back at Trump comes just weeks after the TV executive became the latest to be embroiled in the saga involving Trump's disgraced attorney Michael Cohen.

Zucker was caught on tape telling Cohen in March 2016 that he could offer Trump a weekly show on CNN.

The comments align with the suggestions that Zucker was saturating CNN with Trump coverage in the lead up to the last election.

Zucker gave Trump his reality TV start by airing The Apprentice back in 2004 when he was at NBC. He is pictured with Trump and wife Melania back when Zucker was working at NBC

Zucker gave Trump his reality TV start by airing The Apprentice back in 2004 when he was at NBC

The exchange between Zucker and Cohen took place just hours before the GOP primary debate on March 10 that CNN was hosting.

In the leaked audio, which was obtained by Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight, Zucker told Cohen that 'you cannot be elected president of the United States without CNN'.

'You guys have had great instincts, great guts and great understanding of everything,' Zucker told Cohen. 'But you're missing the boat on how it works going forward.'

Zucker would later express worry about corresponding with Cohen by email, adding that he couldn't risk the possible chance that Trump would mention the nature of the conversation at a rally.

'I'm very conscious of not putting too much in email, as you're a lawyer, as you understand,' Zucker said.

'And, you know, as fond as I am of the boss, he also has a tendency, like, you know, if I call him or I email him, he then is capable of going out at his next rally and saying that we just talked and I can't have that, if you know what I'm saying.'

'It's not that I don't want to talk to (Trump) every day. I've just got to be careful, because, I've just got to be careful ... I just don't want him talking about it on the campaign trail ... But you know what? I'm going to give him a call right now and I'm going wish him luck in the debate tonight.'

The claims that Zucker is now seemingly trying to sway coverage to get back at Trump comes just weeks after the TV executive became the latest to be embroiled in the saga involving Trump's disgraced attorney Michael Cohen. Zucker was caught on tape telling Cohen in March 2016 that he could offer Trump a weekly show on CNN

The conversation then changed to post-election plans with Zucker offering a 'weekly' show with Trump.

'I have all these proposals for him,' Zucker told Cohen. 'I want to do a weekly show with him and all this stuff.'

Turning his attention to the debate, Zucker took the opportunity to praise Trump's handling of Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz and others.

'I think the other guys are going to gang up on him tremendously ... and I think he's going to hold his own, as he does every time,' Zucker said. 'He's never lost a debate. And you know what? He's good at this ... He's going to do great.'

Zucker then offered his own advice to Cohen and Trump's team, telling them to have him ready for the attacks others were gearing to use during the debate.

'You know what you should do? Whoever's around him today should just be calling him a conman all day so he's used to it, so that when he hears it from [Marco] Rubio, it doesn't matter,' Zucker said. '"Hey conman, hey conman, hey conman." He thinks that's his name, you know?'
Former ABC bureau chief Matthew Carney has told his story of fleeing China for first time

Chinese authorities threatened to detain an Australian journalist and his 14-year-old daughter two years ago, in apparent retaliation for his coverage of China.

Matthew Carney, then the Australian Broadcasting Corps Beijing bureau chief, was already bracing for trouble after being reprimanded by Chinese foreign ministry representatives upset over his coverage, which they had deemed unfavourable to the country.

The last meeting he had with representatives ended with him being told he had personally broken Chinese laws and was now under investigation.

The problems continued when Carney sought to renew his journalist visa. During the process, he was instructed to report to a facility and to bring his daughter, where a lead interrogator later alleged she had broken visa rules.

He was told because his daughter is an adult under Chinese law, that "as the Peoples Republic of China is a law-abiding country, she will be charged with the visa crime.

Matthew Carney left China two years ago

I do have to inform you, Mr Carney, that we have a right to keep your daughter in an undisclosed location, she said.

Carney says the interrogator also told him: You cant leave the Peoples Republic of China! You are under investigation and we have put an exit ban on your passport.

Carney and his daughter's exit bans were lifted after he and his family were forced to "confess" to their visa crimes.

Carney shared his experience for the first time on Monday in a story for ABC, saying he had chosen not to do so earlier over concerns of negative consequences for his Australian journalist colleagues remaining in China.

That changed after ABC correspondent Bill Birtles and Australian Financial Reviews Michael Smith  the last two journalists based in China for Australian media outlets  fled the country earlier this month during a diplomatic standoff.

Chinese state security visited the homes of Birtles in Beijing and Smith to inform them that exit bans had been placed on them as they were part of an investigation, and that as such both needed to submit to interrogation.

Story continues

The Australian government sheltered the pair, and eventually were able to secure a guarantee from the Chinese government for the journalists to leave the country after an hour-long interrogation.

Foreign journalists based in China are facing increasing harassment and pressure from Chinese authorities over coverage the government dislikes.

In the first half of this year alone as diplomatic tensions rose with the West, the Chinese government expelled 17 foreign journalists, according to the Foreign Correspondents Club of China.

The effort to keep foreign journalists in China against their will marks a significant escalation of an ongoing, sustained Chinese government assault on media freedoms, the FCCC said in a statement about Birtles and Smith.

The FCCC said it denounces Chinese government actions that have led foreign journalists to fear that they could be targets of Chinas hostage diplomacy.
Never Trumper (n)  a vocal, once-semi-influential, self-described movement conservative, usually a wealthy white man, who, in 2016, refused to vote for either presidential candidate, wasted a vote on a write-in or voted for Hillary Clinton.

Liberals opposition to a Republican president is understandable, but residual conservative opposition to President Trump only makes sense if its based on snobbery, personal animosities and/or self-interest.

How, you ask  and, believe me, Ive been asked  can anyone support President Trump? After all, Hes (fill in the blanks)!

Its simple, really.

Granted, Donald Trump doesnt often score high on style points, but most conservatives have been won over by the presidents genuinely-conservative policy initiatives.

The Wall Street Journals James Taranto observed that Never Trump is more about taste than about policy. Even David French, once one of National Reviews most intransigent Never Trumpers, eventually confessed that Trumps policies arent nationalist populist but rather conventional and conservative.

Longtime readers know I was skeptical of, even hostile to Trumps 2016 nomination, but now view the presidents personal idiosyncrasies as secondary to his first-term results, second-term goals, positive message and his clear affection for America and Americans.

Donald Trumps policies have been the most conservative since President Ronald Reagans. Indeed, some of his successes surpass Reagans.

For example, the president has been restoring balance to the federal judiciary by appointing originalist judges who are faithful to constitutional norms. This week, President Trump will carry out his constitutional duty to appoint a new Supreme Court justice.

Under this presidents leadership, America has become the worlds largest energy producer, an energy exporter, and is now largely energy-independent.

President Trumps other successes include reviving a moribund Obama/Biden economy, massive job growth, especially among minorities and women, increased household incomes, reduced poverty, across-the-board tax cuts, a rebuilt military and improved border control. In a historic foreign policy triumph, Mr. Trump brokered an impossible Middle East peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates soon to be joined by other Arab states.

Moreover, theres a broad sense of outrage this year among people, even once-unlikely Trump supporters, who are fed-up with annoying left-wing ankle-biting, with the medias childish anti-Trump hysteria, and with four years of Democrats nonstop efforts to overthrow an elected president.

Because Trump backers and Republican-registered Never Trumpers generally agree that Democrats cannot be trusted to run America, its unimaginable that an ancient grudge could make any true or leaning conservative consider voting for a Democrat. Nevertheless, even though the Democrats socialist wing has hijacked their platform and forced their nominee to adopt radical positions, some Never Trump Republicans inexplicably support Joe Biden.

Bidens Democratic Party stands in active opposition to every conservative core value, including, but not limited to fiscal and personal responsibility, First and Second Amendment rights, free markets, private health insurance/medical care, conventional energy, law and order, secure borders and the sanctity of life.

An Issues and Insights editorial sagely observed, Any self-described conservative who thinks that the wreckage caused by Bidens far-left agenda can simply be undone by a (socially acceptable) conservative somewhere down the road is fooling themselves.

Once in place, government programs, even supposedly temporary ones, are impossible to eradicate. As [economist] Milton Friedmanput it: Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.'

Furthermore, Democrats embrace a cancel culture that dictates how people may think, act, speak, and where and with whom they may congregate; they engage in divisive identity politics stoked by press allies and social media; and the partys violent, militarized wing has used contrived grievances as excuses to loot and torch corruptly-misgoverned Democrat-run cities. Militants future ambitions include Americas suburbs.

After Democrats finally caught on that months of denying and tacitly, sometimes openly supporting left-liberal rioting were hurting them, Biden and others began shamelessly  psychotically  blaming President Trump for their sides lawless urban violence.

Its fair for conservatives to apply the same standards to a Republican president as they do to Democrats; its acceptable to criticize the president when hes wrong; but, its essential to support him when hes right, and focus on the larger, more important conservative objectives in President Trumps policy portfolio.

Genuinely-conservative Never Trumpers will reunite with Trump voters  Republicans, Independents and traditional Democrats  to embrace commonly-held goals, preserve already-won policy gains and continue Americas progress.

Intractable Never Trumpers have no political future. Conservative Republicans dont like turncoats, and Democrats will just use, then discard them.

Contact columnist Jerry Shenk at jshenk2010@gmail.com
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Linkedin Editorial board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21 2020

The fragmentary statements made by the government over the past three weeks on plans to reform the financial sector could cause confusion in an industry already mired in high uncertainty.

In late August, the Finance Ministry announced that the government was planning a general reform of the financial system through a regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) covering mainly three institutions: Bank Indonesia, the Financial Services Authority (0JK) and the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS).

Then, in early September, the government and the House of Representatives suddenly announced an agreement to deliberate a bill to amend the 1999 Bank Indonesia Law. The House-initiated bill would, among other things, move the OJKs banking supervision powers back to BI so that the central bank would once again be in charge of all banking industry supervision. It would also expand BIs mandate to drive economic growth and give the minister of finance a bigger role in monetary policy.

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The City of Davenport, Iowa is seeking input from agencies that can assist the eastern Hawkeye State city with strategic social and media relations projects on an as-needed basis.
World leaders came together, virtually, on Monday to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, as the deadly coronavirus pandemic challenges the effectiveness and solidarity of the 193-member world body.

As Covid-19, which emerged in China late last year, began to spread around the world, forcing millions of people to shelter at home and dealing a devastating economic blow, countries turned inward and diplomats say the United Nations struggled to assert itself.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres told Reuters that the pandemic has exposed the worlds fragilities. He told world leaders on Monday that they need to work together at a time when there is a surplus of multilateral challenges and deficit of solutions.

The 15-member Security Council took months to back a call by Guterres for a global ceasefire - to allow countries to focus on fighting Covid-19 - due to bickering between the worlds biggest powers: China and the United States.

The 193-member UN General Assembly only adopted an omnibus resolution on a comprehensive and coordinated response to the pandemic earlier this month, and it was not by consensus. The US and Israel voted no.

A $10.3 billion UN appeal to fund fighting the pandemic in vulnerable and low-income countries is only a quarter funded. Guterres now has taken a lead in pushing to make sure any vaccine for the coronavirus is made available to everyone globally.

A senior European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the General Assembly should have acted months ago, but we were all hampered by, and hit, by the Covid-19.

After New York was hit hard by the coronavirus, UN member states had to decide how to work virtually, which they did for several months before resuming some in-person meetings.

We all suffered from the fact that we couldnt meet... A lot of attention was paid to process more than substance unfortunately, said the European diplomat. I wouldnt put the blame on the UN, its the member states that have to be more positive.

Mondays event comes ahead of the annual meeting of world leaders at the UN, which starts on Tuesday with no presidents or PMs physically present in New York. All statements have been pre-recorded and will be broadcast in the General Assembly hall.
Ivana Trump cut a stylish figure in a bright bubblegum pink trench coat as she stepped out with a friend in New York City on Saturday, less than a week after she was branded a 'bigot' for her rant against immigrants on a British talk show.

President Donald Trump's 71-year-old ex-wife and her companion were seen strolling by the luxury stores on Madison Avenue without masks before dining alfresco at the Italian eatery Bar Italia.

Ivana stood out in a pink satin trench coat with black buttons and a matching scarf, which she wore over a pink turtleneck. She paired the eye-catching look with white skinny jeans and black flats with crystal buckles.

Last days of summer: Ivana Trump, 71, was seen out with a friend on Madison Avenue in New York City on Saturday

Catching up: The two stopped by the Italian eatery Bar Italia to eat

Always one to love a bauble, she had on red drop earrings and a long ball necklace that was mostly hidden underneath her coat.

Her platinum blonde hair was pulled back in her signature beehive with her bangs framing her perfectly made-up face. She sported thick black liner around her eyes and rosy-pink lipstick, her preferred beauty look in recent years.

Ivana topped off the look with her beloved Lady Dior mini bag, which she carried in her hand along with a small shopping bag while walking with her friend.

The former model's pal was also dressed to impress in a black leather top, matching pencil skirt, and a fur stole. She had a small handbag slung over her shoulder, but she opted to carry her cellphone in her hand.

Ivana walked arm-in-arm with her companion as they passed by the high-end stores in the famous shopping district, including Giorgio Armani.

Neither of the women wore masks, despite Ivana being at a higher risk for developing severe illness from COVID-19 because of her age.

Support: Ivana held onto her friend's arm as they walked past the high-end stores in the famous shopping district. Neither of them wore protective face masks

The two were seated outside when they arrived at Bar Italia, and Ivana used an empty chair to rest her scarf. They appeared to be deep in conversation as they nibbled on bread at the table.

Ivana recently came under fire after her appearance on the British daytime talk show Loose Women, but she hasn't let the backlash stop her from enjoying the last official days of summer.

She was also spotted alfresco dining in New York City last Monday, tucking into a plate of spaghetti for lunch.

The former model was wearing all black when she stopped by Upper East Side Italian restaurant Altesi with her teacup Yorkshire terrier, Tiger, which is also a certified comfort dog.

Ivana, who was by herself, appeared to be falling asleep as she ate her $30 pasta dish. Apart from looking up to speak to a server as she ordered the meal, she kept her head and eyes down for the majority of the meal.

She wore a fabric face mask before and after she ate, and was later seen leaving the restaurant with Tiger on a leash.

The mother of three had stepped out with her dog right as the fallout from her appearance on daytime talk show Loose Women played out on social media.

Outfit of the day: Ivana stood out in a pink satin trench coat and a matching scarf, which paired with white skinny jeans and black flats with crystal buckles

Long day? Last Monday, Ivana had lunch by herself at the Upper East Side Italian restaurant Altesi. She appeared to be falling asleep at the table

During the show, which began airing 7:30 a.m. EST, Ivana said immigrants must enter the U.S. legally and was adamant that they pay taxes.

Czech-born Ivana, who is a legal immigrant to the U.S., also generalized to the hosts that undocumented immigrants may rape women or not dress 'Americanly.'

She said she is 'very proud' of her former husband, with whom she shares three children: Donald Jr., 42, Ivanka, 38, and Eric, 36.

'I see he can do a great job, he is pro everything which I believe in. He is Republican and so am I. He has achieved so much  especially with immigration,' she said in the interview.

'I am an immigrant, and I have no problem with the immigrants, but they must come into the country legally and get a job and pay taxes like the rest of the Americans and just live and be part of society.

'There are some people who don't even dress Americanly, they dress whatever they dress in and they don't get a job and they steal and they rape the women and that is not the idea.'

Her comments left viewers outraged, with one calling the outburst 'disturbing,' while another called her an 'embarrassing bigot.'

Backlash: Ivana was branded a 'bigot' after her rant against immigrants on the British talk show Loose Women last week

Ivana grew up in Czechoslovakia and moved to Canada in September 1973. She met Trump at a modeling event in New York City in 1976, and they married in April 1977.

The couple's first son, Donald Jr., was born later that year in December. They welcomed their daughter Ivanka in 1981 and then their son Eric in 1984.

All three of the children were born in New York, making them US citizens. Ivana was legally living in the country at the time, but she didn't become a US citizen until 1988, although she was eligible for naturalization and citizenship three years after tying the knot with Donald Trump. They divorced in 1990.

When asked whether she felt her view on immigration could be perceived as inhumane, she went on: 'It is inhumane, but everybody has to pick themselves up.

'They have to properly, apply for the visa so they can come to America and cross the border properly and get a job, have a house, start a family.'

Host Jane Moore interjected: 'But those opportunities are very few and far between nowadays aren't they?'

'They are, but the people who will prevail, the people who want to work will prevail, the people who want to get food stamps and sleep on the benches, this is what we don't want,' Ivana insisted.

Ivana's rant received 78 complaints to the UK's Office of Communications, the regulatory authority on broadcasting that is commonly known as Ofcom.

Opinion: Ivana, pictured with her former husband Donald Trump in New York in 1989, said she was 'very proud' of how her ex is handling immigration in the U.S.

Prompting outrage: Czech-born Ivana, who is a legal immigrant to the U.S., also generalized to the hosts that undocumented immigrants may rape women or not dress 'Americanly

An Ofcom spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We are assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, before deciding whether or not to investigate'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Ivana and ITV for comment.

During the interview, Ivana was also asked how often she is able to speak with the president, and she replied: 'I can speak to him any time.'

However, she admitted that she never speaks to his current wife Melania, 50, who she referred to as his 'ex-wife,' because she doesn't like to be 'involved with his private life.'

'I speak directly to Mr. President,' Ivana said, 'I don't get involved with his private life, we speak about our children but I don't give him advice. I tell him what I think is right and wrong but we don't speak about ex-wives.'

When asked whether she felt Melania is a good first lady, she said: 'I am not sure, she's very quiet and she doesn't go to too many places. She goes when she has to go but she's quiet.'

Ivana was also asked if her daughter Ivanka could follow in her father's footsteps and become president one day, and she insisted it is certainly a possibility as far as she is concerned.

'Definitely,' she said, adding: 'I think she's in the White House every day, she's next to her father every day, she knows all that is going around... I think she could be one day the first woman president, definitely. She's smart as hell, she's beautiful.'
Alta Zinc Ltd (AZI.AX) New High-grade Results Demonstrate Growth Potential at Gorno

Perth, Australia, Sep 21, 2020 - (ABN Newswire) - Alta Zinc Limited (ASX:AZI) is pleased to announce the results of sampling from new mineralised areas that significantly expand the exploration footprint at the greater Gorno project (Gorno or the Project). This includes recent sampling that was undertaken at Arera and extensions at Fontanone and the Zorzone resource areas. These results confirm the presence of high-grade sulphide mineralisation throughout the greater Gorno project area and expand the range of new targets for the Company.



The analysis of historical drilling data from Fontanone and Zorzone confirms the same stratabound mineralisation style to that identified at Pian Bracca. These zones were previously considered to be discrete pods however, our recent structural analysis indicates they occur in a common stratabound horizon which has had only limited historical drilling and therefore retains the potential for more extensive high-grade areas. These extensional zones will form part of the exploration focus in the drill program for 2020/2021.



At Arera, geological reconnaissance has confirmed that whilst widespread historical mining focused on the extraction of oxide mineralisation the surrounding sulphide mineralisation remains in-situ. This work has demonstrated historical oxide-mining areas can host untapped sulphide mineralisation and provides a further useful targeting technique to guide ongoing exploration for additional areas of potential mineral resources.



Geraint Harris, MD of Alta Zinc commented:



"In addition to current drilling at Pian Bracca our geology team has been working to enhance the understanding of the wider-scale potential for additional mineralisation within the greater Gorno Project.



These results clearly demonstrate that high-grade mineralisation can be found in many areas of the Project and on several horizons of mineralisation that gives rise to multiple new targets. As we move forward, we are gaining geological insights that will guide our exploration campaign, with the goal of significantly growing the mineral resource base at Gorno".



Fontanone and Gorno Structural Analysis



Fontanone was identified by SAMIM, the previous operators of the Gorno mine, as a potential horizon for mining sulphide mineralisation and additional exploration was planned from new underground development. But this new development was started and then prematurely stopped just prior to mine closure, as such Fontanone was subjected to very limited exploration and remains open in all directions. However, the Company's recent 3-D structural modelling, and also advances in exploration technology, have now highlighted positions where Fontanone can be drilled from existing underground development.



The underground plan view shown in Figure 1 highlights significant historical drill intersections outside of the target areas of the current drilling programme. These intersections demonstrates the presence of high-grade sulphide mineralisation over a distance of more than 2.5km in potential strike length and with demonstrated down-dip extension of 750m from Pian Bracca, and which remains open both down dip and on strike.



Table 1* shows the highlighted historical drill intersections into the stratabound horizon at both the southern end of Zorzone and the Fontanone areas. These results will be followed up on with new drilling and indicate that at both locations the stratabound mineralisation can yield similarly high-grade results to those holes recently drilled in the same stratabound mineralis



Alta staff and consultants have been preparing a detailed 3-D structural geological model of the greater Gorno project area, based on historical and recent data, in order to better understand the distribution of the mineralisation and specifically the higher-grade areas. This process has clearly illustrated the structural relationship and continuity between what was previously seen as discrete geological bodies.



This recent analysis of the Pian Bracca, Fontanone and Zorzone areas confirms that the limestone rocks of the Metallifero Bergamasco Formation (Metallifero) host the stratabound mineralisation. The Metallifero is part of a conformable stratigraphic sequence which is present throughout the greater Gorno project area. As such it presents a widespread and well-defined target horizon which is now being structurally analysed to identify the most prospective areas for occurrences of high-grade and thick mineralisation.



Figure 2* is an approximate NW-SE cross section through the interpreted extension of the Pian Bracca Thrust and the stratabound mineralisation. It illustrates how the same stratabound mineralisation style drilled at Pian Bracca, is also present in historical drill holes with similarly high-grades 750m down dip in the Fontanone area. This view also shows the sulphide samples taken adjacent to the historical Arera stopes.



Figure 3* is a NE-SW long section showing the 2.5km lateral extension of the stratabound mineralisation from Zorzone in the west to Fontanone in the east and the position of the highlighted historical drill holes which demonstrate that the stratabound mineralisation can host distinct zones of high grade mineralisation, similar to the stratabound mineralisation at Pian Bracca. As discussed above, detailed structural interpretation and analysis is currently being carried out by Alta's geology team and external consultants to try to better understand and predict potential locations and extensions of these and other high-grade mineralised zones.



At Arera, Alta geologists conducted grab and chip sampling on the available outcrops, sidewalls of the underground openings and from the surface sulphide 'waste' dumps, the results are shown in Table 2 and demonstrate the generally high-grade nature of the sulphide mineralisation sampled.



Arera is an historical mining area and a part of the Gorno mining operations that started exploitation prior to WWII and with production lasting into the 1950s. Based on the Company's field investigations it is clear that the Arera mining operations ceased with the primary sulphide mineralisation remaining in-situ. Importantly, Arera is only one of several historical oxide mining areas within the Gorno exploration licence, all of which now provide opportunities for the Company to explore for their primary sulphide mineralisation.



Originally oxide material was extracted and processed at small oxide roasting plants near the towns of Oltre il Colle and Zorzone and then from 1952 at the Pontenossa hydrometallurgical plant located near the town of Gorno; which continues to operate in its present form treating residual dust collected from steel works in the north of Italy. A specific focus on the commercial mining of sulphide mineralisation only came about with the construction of the Italian zinc and lead sulphide smelters by SAMIM in the 1970s, one of which is now Glencore's Portovesme Smelter, on the island of Sardinia, prior to that there was no efficient method of extraction of zinc and lead from primary sulphide minerals available to the Gorno Mine.



Arera was chosen for sampling as the upper levels of the workings are close to surface and easily accessible from numerous underground openings. It is the intention to study the potential of the primary sulphide mineralisation at depth thereby ensuring that the Company's investigations leave no surface footprint. Figure 4* illustrates a plan view showing the sampling locations adjacent to the historical mining at Arera.



Drilling has so far focussed on testing the potential mineral extensions of Pian Bracca to the west, with the next drilling now planned to test for extensions to the north-east and south-east. To maximise efficient logistics drill pad locations have so far been focussed solely on the 990m RL underground level, which has limited the extent of drill access to the west. Further western extension drilling will next take place from the 940m RL level after moving the drill-rig down to that level. Also, small tunnel dimensions relative to the drill rig size, have meant that a second (low profile drill rig) has been sourced by our contractor and will be mobilised to drill Pian Bracca south-east and thereafter the Ponente area.



Sample intersections from recent drilling have been dispatched to the laboratory and the Company will provide updates as the assay results become available.



In addition to drilling our geological field reconnaissance continues to search for new potential areas of mineralisation and to gain a better understanding of the geology to feed into the detailed structural modelling and analysis taking place.



During Q4, pole-dipole Induced-Polarity (IP) geophysics will be trialled from surface over the shallow lying Metallifero geology of the Pian Bracca north area. In 2018 this technique was used underground at Pian Bracca and clearly delineated the chargeable anomalies associated with massive sulphide mineralisation that have been successfully drilled. If also successful from surface, IP will have widespread application on the Gorno Exploration licence to explore for new massive sulphide mineralisation where mapping of outcrops has confirmed widespread occurrences of the Metallifero limestone which hosts that mineralisation.



To view tables and figures, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/5X6PA601







Story continues

About Alta Zinc Ltd:



Alta Zinc Ltd (ASX:AZI)(FRA:8EE) is an emerging ASX-listed exploration and development company focused on unlocking dormant value at the Gorno Project. Gorno is an historic high-grade zinc mine in industrialised Northern Italy, proximal to smelters and key infrastructure and with a track record of producing high quality clean concentrates to European Smelters.



Drilling of known brownfields high-grade targets is underway and aims to strengthen the current Resource inventory. Subsequent project development will leverage off the existing underground infrastructure, simple metallurgy and advanced technical studies to de-risk a future feasibility study. The Company also has a portfolio of other mineral exploration projects in northern Italy and Australia.



Contact:



Geraint Harris

Managing Director

Alta Zinc Limited

+61 8 9321 5000

info@altazinc.com



Adam Miethke

Discovery Capital Partners

info@discoverycapital.com.au



Source:

Alta Zinc Ltd



Copyright (C) 2020 ABN Newswire. All rights reserved.
A new TV programme about life on and around Lough Foyle begins later this evening.

Lough Foyle features local presenter Joe Mahon looking at the history and ongoing importance of the lough.

Joe has spent several months exploring the unique watery environment of Lough Foyle, and this ten part series will take the viewer on a fabulous journey on one of Ireland's great river systems.

The Foyle takes in East Donegal, most of West Tyrone and the north west of Derry and includes 16 major tributary rivers.

It straddles the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The lough also encompasses a large number of towns, villages and, of course, a major city, all of which derive much of their character, and some indeed which owe their very existence, to their proximity to the Foyle and its tributaries.

Joe said: It would be almost impossible to deliver a comprehensive travelogue on everywhere connected to the Foyle, but the team and I rose to the challenge and while we had to be selective, I can promise the viewer an enlightening, engaging and visually arresting experience, with help from the wide range of native dwellers, story-tellers, scholars and experts that we have met along the way.

Joe will also spend time with government bodies, agencies and charity groups whose main aim is to ensure the lough and surrounding areas, and its many natural inhabitants are all looked after.

One of the great attractions of this series will be the stunning aerial photography which shows off the dramatic land and seascapes of the North West region as they have never been seen before.

The series kicks off with Joe spending time with Loughs Agency workers as they conduct an electro-fishing survey of returning sea-trout on the Altinaghree Burn in the hills above the County Tyrone village of Dunnamanagh.

Later, in the ancient graveyard at Ardstraw on the banks of the River Derg, historian William Roulston uses the headstones to trace the influence of Scottish settlers in the Foyle catchment over the centuries.

The series has been part-funded by Northern Ireland Screens Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund.

Northern Ireland Screens CEO, Richard Williams said: We were very excited when Joe brought his Lough Foyle idea to us.

Not only is Joes warm conversational style of presenting already incredibly popular with viewers, but throughout his career he has been a great champion of linguistic variation.

Joe has always sought to reflect and preserve the natural voice of the people who feature in his programmes, promoting the particular characteristics of local populations that make each place unique.

This fits perfectly with the aims of our Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund and we are sure Lough Foyle will be a big hit with audiences while also making a strong contribution to the status and promotion of Ulster-Scots heritage and culture.

UTVs Programmes Editor Tony Curry said: We are very excited about this new series. Joes programmes remain a firm favourite amongst UTV viewers who look forward to his easy, relaxed style, as he explores Northern Irelands rich heritage and the people and places along the way.

The first episode of the new series is on UTV at 8pm this evening.
Fire breaks out at Sadguru COVID-19 hospital in Odisha, 127 patients evacuated

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

Bhubaneswar, Sep 21: A fire broke out at a dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Jagatpur town in Odisha's Cuttack district on Monday, fire officials said.

No loss of human life has been reported so far, DG (Fire Service) Satyajit Mohanty said. A total of 127 coronavirus patients being treated at the hospital were evacuated and shifted to other medical establishments, he said.

Huge fire breaks out at Beirut port a month after explosion

The fire broke out in the afternoon at the ICU on the ground floor, Dr Samita Mohanty said.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

Senior officials, including Cuttack deputy commissioner of police, Cuttack Municipal Corporation commissioner and chief district medical officer have reached the spot and are coordinating the rescue and evacuation operation.
RICHLAND, Wash. - The nation's ability to test for COVID-19 has expanded, thanks to work at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in collaboration with the University of Washington.

At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency COVID-19 Supply Chain Task Force, a DOE team led by PNNL scientist Kristin Omberg analyzed kits that could be used as a critical part of a laboratory test used to detect the virus in a sample from an infected person.

In a collaborative research effort between PNNL and UW laboratories, the PNNL team established performance for kits from additional manufacturers for use with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2019-nCoV Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel to detect and inactivate the virus.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has listed two additional kits as options that labs can consider using in the fight against COVID-19, boosting the supply of chemicals and supplies linked to a critical step in the testing process.

DOE's Office of Science supported this research through the National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory, a consortium of all 17 DOE national laboratories focused on response to COVID-19, with funding provided by the Coronavirus CARES Act. This team takes advantage of DOE core capabilities and user facilities to address key challenges in responding to the COVID-19 threat in areas including pandemic modeling and response, advanced manufacturing to address supply chain disruptions, computational design of medical therapeutics, and diagnostic testing research and development.

"We are pleased the DOE labs, their user facilities and their scientific talent are partnering in the whole of government response to COVID-19," said Chris Fall, director of DOE's Office of Science and DOE's head of the agency's response to COVID-19. "The rapid response by the NVBL consortium, and by PNNL in particular, to this FEMA request will make a material difference in the nation's COVID-19 testing capacity."

Focus on extraction reagents

The team's work addresses severe shortages of extraction reagents, which are having an impact on the work of many testing labs across the nation. The scientists studied the ability of the kits to extract the RNA from the virus, a process that makes the virus easier to measure, and confirmed that the kits inactivate the virus - making it safe for widespread testing and analysis. Proper extraction of the virus from a sample is a critical step in the testing process, and labs cannot test patients without these kits. By showing that additional kits can be used for COVID-19 testing, the scientists have helped improve access and availability of diagnostic testing.

The PNNL team found that the two products perform similarly to kits already available for use.

A team of eight scientists from PNNL did the work in laboratories at PNNL in Richland and at UW in Seattle. The work at PNNL took place in a research laboratory specially licensed by the state of Washington to analyze COVID-19 specimens. The testing done at PNNL did not involve live coronavirus. Instead, scientists tested simulated viral specimens, a mix of RNA and human cells - a method used by CDC for evaluating performance.

"In our testing laboratory, we had to develop and follow procedures for maintaining social distancing," said Omberg. "We've actually used three separate laboratories, with tape on the floors to indicate each person's work space."

"It was a huge team effort to deliver these results in a timely manner. But we've talked to a lot of labs in Washington and elsewhere that are struggling to keep up with the demand for testing because they can't get supplies, and we really wanted to help them. It's incredibly gratifying for our team to see this work having a national-level impact," Omberg added.

Testing expertise extends to other biothreats

The work builds on PNNL's long history countering biothreats, which includes research analyzing the effectiveness of testing for the Ebola and Zika viruses.

In its COVID-19 response, PNNL scientists are working with counterparts at DOE, CDC, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and others.

PNNL and UW have a long history of collaboration, resulting in joint work on numerous research projects and the appointment of scientists with special designations within the ranks of each institution. PNNL and the UW School of Medicine also have entered into a separate collaborative arrangement for the use of UW facilities and the exploration of new opportunities brought about by sharing space.

###
A woman fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force will soon join the newly-inducted Rafale fighter fleet as one of its crew flying the multi-role aircraft, official sources said on Monday.

The woman pilot has been flying MiG-21 fighters and was selected to join the Ambala-based Golden Arrows squadron operating the Rafale jets, they said.

"She was chosen to fly Rafale jets following a stringent selection process. She is undergoing training now, said a source.

In 2018, flying officer Avani Chaturvedi scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo. She flew a MiG-21 bison in her first solo flight.

Chaturvedi was part of a three-member women team commissioned as flying officers in July 2016, less than a year after the government decided to open the fighter stream for women on an experimental basis.

The other two women pilots were Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh.

At present, the IAF has 10 women fighter pilots and 18 women navigators.

The total strength of women officers serving in the IAF is 1,875.

Last week, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik told Parliament that women fighter pilots are inducted and deployed in IAF as per strategic needs and operational requirements.

Five French-made multirole Rafale fighter jets were inducted into the Golden Arrows squadron of the IAF on September 10 at the Ambala air force base.

The Golden Arrows squadron of the IAF was resurrected on September 10 last year.

The squadron was originally raised at Air Force Station, Ambala on October 1, 1951.

The squadron has many firsts to its credit; in 1955 it was equipped with the first jet fighter, the legendary De Havilland Vampire.

Ten Rafale jets have been delivered to India so far and five of them stayed back in France for imparting training to IAF pilots.

The delivery of all 36 aircraft is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.

The second batch of four to five Rafale jets is likely to arrive in India by November.

The Rafale jets, known for air-superiority and precision strikes, are Indias first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.

The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.
Emily Ratajkowski recently hit out against photographer Jonathan Leder with allegations of sexual misconduct in a soul-baring essay for The Cut.

But on Sunday the model, 29, looked light and in good spirits as she and her husband Sebastian Bear-McClard, 39, stepped out with their dog Colombo to get a bite to eat.

Dining al fresco, the pair seemed to radiate happiness as they laughed and chatted while enjoying each others company.

All smiles: Emily Ratajkowski, 29, and her husband Sebastian, 39, were spotted out in NYC as they grabbed a bite to eat with their dog Colombo. Dining al fresco the pair chatted and laughed as they enjoyed each others company

With cooler temperatures hitting, the bombshell model made sure to layer up as the pair enjoyed their weekend outing.

Emily wore an ankle-length black dress and a pair of new balance sneakers as she topped her look off with a beige trenchcoat.

Carrying a red crocodile purse with a light gold chain, the brunette stunner put her locks up in a loose updo, accessorizing the look with a pair of gold hoop earrings.

Al fresco: The couple were seen sharing water and sipping on coffee as their pet pooch looked on. After spending time in LA and upstate the pair looked happy to be back on their city turf

Bundled: As New York gets into fall weather, the pair made sure to layer up as they strolled around the city

Suited up: They sipped on some coffee and strolled around, clad in sunglasses and masks as they enjoyed the pleasant day

Bombshell: Though the Inamorata designer seemed to be carefree, the outing comes pretty fresh off the release of her bombshell essay titled Buying Myself Back

Sebo kept it casual in a grey hoodie with orange detailing on the sleeves and chest, throwing on a pair of darker grey sweatpants and and black sneakers with a pair of clear framed sunglasses.

The pair who split time in quarantine between their home in Los Angeles and a Hamptons property with their pooch, seemed excited to be back to the fast pace bustle of the city.

They sipped on some coffee and strolled around, clad in sunglasses and masks as they enjoyed the pleasant day.

Though the Inamorata designer seemed to be carefree, the outing comes pretty fresh off the release of her bombshell essay titled Buying Myself Back.

The Cut: Emily wrote an essay called Buying Myself Back where she detailed her journey starting out as a model and alleges sexual misconduct against photographer Jonathan Leder

Image: In her own words Emily talks about starting out in the modeling world and what it means to feel powerless over your own image

In the essay, Emily talks about not having control over her own image as a model as well as power struggles between artist and subject.

In detailing some of her personal experiences on the path to stardom, Emily notably reveals disturbing details surrounding a photoshoot in the Catskills with photographer Jonathan Leder in 2012.

At the time the young model was an unknown and was told by her agent that the shoot would be good for her image.

The model bought a train ticket and prepared for an overnight photoshoot at Leder's private home upstate before ending up in a situation she had not asked for.

Upon arrival, the model alleges that she was plied with copious amounts of red wine before a nude photoshoot, eventually losing consciousness to wake up with 'his fingers suddenly inside of [her]'.

Under fire: Jonathan Leder is now under fire after the release of Emily's essay. His publishing company has issued statements on his behalf calling the model 'vindictive' and claiming her allegations are false

Gone Girl: Leder chose to publish her polaroids in a book costing $80, some of which were 'the most revealing and vulgar' photos after Emily started to gain success after the movie Gone Girl

Years later after Emily had reached fame, Leder chose to publish her Polaroids in a book costing $80, some of which were 'the most revealing and vulgar' photos from their 2012 shoot.

The situation left Emily fearing for her career and feeling violated, as she watched her book of nudes sell out three times over.

The incident sparked legal dealings as Emily said she never once gave her consent for any images to be published, as the opposing sides battled it out in 2016.

Lawyers for Leder and Imperial publishing maintained their innocence, saying:

'We do not feel that we should be bullied by a celebrity though, and cease publication because she has decided that the photographs are no longer in her best interest.'

They added that they had 'every legal right to publish [their] books'.

Vindictive: Leder's team alleges that all claims were falsified in a desperate ploy; Emily pictured in March 2020

Emily revealed that even four years later she still contemplates selling a portrait of herself from Richard Prince - an image she also felt no ownership of - to use the money to sue Jonathan.

After her revealing essay, Leder and his publishing company have retorted back, calling the A-list celebrity 'vindictive'.

In their defending statement's Jonathan's team went on the record to say, 'Mr. Leder totally denies her outrageous allegations of being 'assaulted.' It is grotesque and sad that she is so vindictive to lie in such a way to the press routinely.'

Since then he has gone completely rogue, deactivating his social media amidst the unfolding scandal.
Wildfires in the West. Five storms in the Atlantic at the same time, including one that became a hurricane and pounded the eastern Gulf Coast.

These natural disasters, rather than unusual events, are just the continuation of recent trends. The burning of the West followed an active fire season last year and one the year before. Hurricane Sally, which dumped catastrophic amounts of rain on Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, came only a few weeks after Hurricane Laura smashed the Louisiana coast with catastrophic winds.

The Atlantic hurricane season has been so busy that the National Hurricane Center is close to running out of of letters in the alphabet to the name the storms.

Scientists are pretty much in agreement that the climate disasters theyve been forecasting for decades have arrived. Climate change is advancing swiftly, much faster than government, society and the energy industry are responding to it.

Its hard to believe that people  aka voters  will allow the leisurely pace to continue as they see photos and videos of fast moving fires, skies darkened in the middle of the day by smoke and urban life shrouded in otherworldly orange glows. Pressure will build on government, the courts and, more broadly, society, to do something. In other words, oil and gas industry, theyre coming for you.

OUTLOOK: Oil demand could fall 80 percent by 2050: forecast

Its even harder to think that oil and gas companies can continue to tell themselves, Sure, the energy transition is coming, but weve got lots of time  decades  before we really have to worry about it. The world is going to depend on petroleum of a long time to come.

Maybe not so long. Bank of America recently forecast that oil demand will peak around 2030, similar to projections made by European oil major Royal Dutch Shell. The British major BP just forecast that oil demand could fall by as much as 80 percent by 2050 if national governments follow through on pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The corporate world, however, may not wait for governments to act. Google recently pledged that by 2030, it won't use any energy source that emits carbon dioxide  that means you, fossil fuels. Amazon is pledging to get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Microsoft just signed an agreement to buy wind and solar power from BP.

The thing about transitions, energy or otherwise, is they provide the time and opportunity for companies to adapt, adjust and reinvent themselves. They also tend to move more quickly than expected.

I would point to my own industry, newspapers. Most knew the internet was changing how people consumed news and advertisers reached them, but they continued to feast on print advertising, taking modest steps and making modest investments to adjust to changing preferences of readers and advertisers.

As is quite plain now, the information transition happened more quickly than publishers anticipated and certainly more quickly than they reacted. We know the results: Newspapers represent one of the few industries doing worse than energy

HOT AND WET: Houstons climate forecast predict longer, hotter summer and more powerful storms

The bottom line for energy companies is change is coming, and probably faster than they think. Their survival may well depend on how they adapt and how quickly they do it. Here in fossil-fuel central, we will get regular reminders of what both our vital energy sector and local economy face in the years ahead.

A new climate assessment, the first focused on the Houston area, forecasts longer and hotter summers, more days with temperatures over 100 degrees, and more powerful and destructive storms.

In other words, were going to get hit where we live.

rob.gavin@chron.com
Is the $5,000 unsecured bail imposed on former Harrisburg City Councilman Brad Koplinski for his 15 felony child pornography charges fair, or even justifiable?

Community activist Kevin Maxson and about a dozen like-minded supporters dont think so. They showed their displeasure Monday afternoon by demonstrating outside the South 29th Street office of District Judge Hanif Johnson, the official who set that bail.

Its horrible. Its deplorable, Maxson said as motorists drove by, occasionally honking at the demonstrators and the signs they displayed. Why does he get a pass when he held public office?

By contrast, he said, others charged with drug possession and nonviolent offenses often see their bail set in the tens of thousands of dollars or higher. The Koplinski bail situation sets a bad, hypocritical example for the community, Maxson said.

It is especially galling that Johnson made Koplinskis bail unsecured, Maxson said. That means Koplinski was freed from custody without having to pay a cent. His bail would only come due if he violates a court directive, such as missing a hearing.

Our children are worth more than $5,000 unsecured bail, one demonstrator said. Others carried signs bearing slogans including, The blood of our children is on your hands and Why is bail higher for drug possession than it is for child porn?

Johnsons office was locked during the protest. The lights were off and no one seemed to be moving around inside.

Former Harrisburg Councilman Brad Koplinski arrives for his preliminary hearing in Philadelphia, Monday, August 8, 2016. Koplinski is charged with stealing Democratic National Convention parking passes, media passes, and food vouchers, according to the District Attorney's office.Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com, 2016

Koplinski, 51, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2014, was charged Thursday. He served on city council for eight years before losing a re-election bid in 2015.

Authorities said Koplinski came under investigation in March when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children detected uploads of child porn images at an online address registered to Koplinskis wife. Investigators said Koplinski admitted he uploaded the material.

Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo declined comment on the issue of Koplinskis bail.

State bail guidelines require bond setters to consider multiple factors in choosing an amount. Those factors include the nature of the offense and the potential punishment for a conviction. The defendants financial status and ability to pay are on the list as well. So is the defendants age, character, reputation and mental health and whether the person is addicted to alcohol or drugs.

Defendants are to be evaluated regarding whether they are flight risks. Judges also are supposed to consider whether the defendants have followed court directives and appeared for hearings in other prior criminal cases.

Koplinski has prior cases.

He was placed in Philadelphia Countys Accelerated Rehabilitation Program, which allows nonviolent offenders to avoid criminal records, after being charged with burglary for stealing a press pass and illegally entering a building at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Police said he tried to take some parking passes and food vouchers.

Koplinski also was charged with driving under a suspended license in 2016 and pleaded guilty to failing to report earned income taxes in 2009

Bail can be modified during subsequent court proceedings. Koplinskis next scheduled court appearance is a preliminary hearing on the child porn charges before District Judge Barbara Pianka on Oct. 7.
Charlevoix man denies wrongdoing despite signing illegitimate election document

Charlevoix resident John Haggard is among a group of Republicans who signed an Electoral College certificate attempting to award the states 16 votes to Donald Trump following the 2020 election  a document now under federal investigation.
At last, the race is on. Hydrogen technology has long been considered a key part of the global energy system of the future, but that future suddenly isnt that far away. If anything, the announcement of innovations like the Hyperion XP-1, a new hydrogen-powered supercar with a top speed of 221 eye-watering miles per hour, suggests that hydrogens moment may well be at hand.

As Hyperion CEO Angelo Kafantaris told Car and Driver in August, Were an energy company thats building this car to tell a story.

That story goes far beyond the realm of turbo-powered supercars. Californias recent decision to ban the sale of all diesel trucks and vans by 2045 laid down the latest marker about the diminished role that fossil fuels are going to play in the future. And while hydrogen will be competing with electric vehicles for that market share, its clear that hydrogen is ready to take on a much bigger role than it has in the past as it expands into energy storage, heavy industry and transportation.

I think were just in the first few months of a fundamental retooling of energy systems that could very well dominate for generations to come, says Dan Wicklum, CEO of The Transition Accelerator, a pan-Canadian non-profit dedicated to maximizing Canadian opportunities in the ongoing energy transition.

By most accounts, Germany has taken an early lead in the race to dominate this new market. Its recently announced National Hydrogen Council will oversee a plan that includes $14 billion of investment in both research and companies that can help it meet its goal of five gigawatts (GW) of hydrogen capacity  the equivalent of five nuclear power stations  by 2030 and 10 GW by 2040.

The time has come for hydrogen and the technologies enabling its use, said Peter Altmaier, Germanys minister for economic affairs and energy, in July. We must therefore harness the potential for economic output, employment and the climate, and do this now.

Germany isnt alone in its belief that hydrogen needs to play a much bigger role in the economy of the near future. Last week, France rolled out $11 billion for the development of a hydrogen industry and other green technologies as part of its $150-billion green recovery package, aiming for 6.5 GW of installed capacity by 2030.

Europes broader hydrogen strategy calls specifically for 40 GW of green hydrogen-production capacity  that is, hydrogen produced from renewable energy like wind and solar  to be installed by 2030, with an additional 40 GW in Europes neighbourhood with export to the EU. That isnt going to be easy. Next year, Spains Iberdrola is expected to finish building Europes largest dedicated green hydrogen-production facility, one whose hydrogen fuel will be used to help make fertilizers. But as Sebastian Kennedy noted in the Energy Flux newsletter, To achieve only the within-EU 2030 target (for hydrogen development), Europe would need to build around 200 such facilities every year for the next decade.

Thats where Canada can play an important role. Europe will try to get some of that hydrogen from North Africa, but the mismatch between the desired supply and the available capacity of hydrogen  and Europes obvious need to avoid depending too heavily on Russian imports  creates a perfect opening to build a new export-driven energy economy here. Wicklum says that opening is a function of the cost advantage Canada has in creating both blue hydrogen  that is, hydrogen derived from natural gas that, unlike so-called grey natural-gas derived hydrogen, uses carbon-capture technology to sequester emissions  and green hydrogen, which is the product of combining renewable energy with inputs like water and biomass.

And while Europe has indicated that it wants to rely entirely on the latter, it may need both blue and green hydrogen to meet its targets. The natural gas sector is hopeful. As James Watson, the secretary general of Eurogas, told Greentech Media, They know that they wont get to carbon-neutrality without it. Its just I think that its difficult for them to openly say that. That would be good news for Canada, which can provide both at very competitive costs. Independent analysis has shown that Canada is about the cheapest producer of both green and blue hydrogen on the planet, Wicklum says.

Maggie Hanna, the president of Common Ground Energy and a fellow with Albertas Energy Futures Lab, says that while hydrogen is currently being sold for as much as $30 per kilogram, it will soon settle at so-called diesel parity, or around $4 to $5 per kilogram. That bodes well for Alberta, which can produce blue hydrogen at much lower prices. In Alberta, we can make hydrogen for $1.35 a kilogram, with sequestration, which will go to less than a buck when we have the proper carbon pricing regime in place, Hanna says. That would require a $50-per-tonne carbon price, which isnt much of a stretch from its current level of $30. And while green hydrogen would cost more in Alberta, the province has plenty of wind and solar potential that could be tapped to make it.

Quebecs enormous stores of hydroelectric capacity, combined with its proximity to global export markets, makes it a perfect place to produce green hydrogen  and thats exactly whats happening. In January, Quebecs H2V Energies announced that it was opening its order book on a new plant that can turn residual residential biomass materials (such as waste wood and paper) into green hydrogen, one with an annual capacity of approximately 49,000 tonnes. And at an expected cost of $3.50 per kilogram, the company says that its hydrogen will be less expensive than diesel fuel and defying all competition.

Unlike proposed oil pipelines to the east and west coasts that have divided Canadians and sparked conflict and protest, a hydrogen pipeline could be a unifying force. If youre repurposing infrastructure to move a fuel that is not just compatible with, but required and necessary to have a net-zero future, then I think theres the potential for common ground between these groups and regions, Wicklum says.

So what will it take for Canada to seize this opportunity to reduce emissions, diversify its energy exports and unify an increasingly fractured country? The fact that Natural Resources Canada is in the process of designing a national hydrogen strategy is an important and necessary first step. But advocates like Hanna say we also need to align our regulations and standards with Europe  pronto. In the same way that oil is traded around the world using the U.S. dollar as its currency, hydrogens going to be traded on the euro because they were the first movers.

The recently signed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Europe and Canada will help with that integration process. But Canada still has important work to do if it wants to meet Europes growing appetite for zero-carbon energy. Getting there will require the kind of government support that is increasingly common in other emerging hydrogen economies such as Germany and France. For example, of the $14 billion Germany is allocating to green hydrogen development, $3 billion will be dedicated to creating partnerships with countries where green hydrogen can be efficiently produced.

Canadas federal government seems inclined to make some aggressive bets right now. With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promising that Septembers throne speech will lay out an ambitious green agenda, its safe to assume that some of those bets will be made in the area of clean technology and energy. Natural Resources Minister Seamus ORegan told the CBC, Things are happening quickly  trends we saw before the pandemic have accelerated. We want to be ahead of it.

The Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association has said it hopes to see the feds earmark $3 billion for hydrogen. The Corporate Knights Building Back Better report recommended that the feds create a multi-year $40.5-billion natural resources fund, with $9 billion set aside to close research gaps, and crowd in an additional $25 billion in private sector investment.

But if that money doesnt materialize, Canada may miss out on far more of it being generated down the road. This is a competitiveness play over decades, where we need to be able to position ourselves to win economically and environmentally, Wicklum says. If we dont, we just wont be relevant.

Produced with the financial support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Canada. This story first appeared in Corporate Knights

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New Delhi:

Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi over Congress-SP alliance for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the BJP on Monday said the Congress vice-president needed such a tie-up to save his political career.

..this shows that Rahul Gandhi needs Akhileshs cycle carrier to save his political career, while junior Yadav (UP CM Akhilesh Yadav) knows that his misrule of five years will haunt him in these elections, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters here.

His remarks came a day after SP and Congress decided to contest the UP Assembly elections together.

The alliance, which at one stage looked doomed with both sides driving a hard bargain, was announced by the chiefs of the state units of the two parties who declared while SP will have the lions share of 298 of 403 seats, Congress will contest the remaining 105.

Patra also attacked the SP president and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav over alleged manhandling of two women in Tappal, Aligarh, a kilometre away from Yamuna Expressway.

..the Chief Minister was busy in politicking and stitching an alliance at the time when this gory incident was taking place. This shows lawlessness in the state and the way Akhilesh is ruining Uttar Pradesh, he said.

The BJP leader mocked that the Uttar Pradesh government had set a record of laying foundation stone and inaugurating the project on the same day.

BJP, which had won 71 out of 80 seats in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, has been pulling out all stops to capture power in UP, which in terms of political implications is more important than all other poll-bound states of Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur.

The saffron party has already announced 304 candidates for 403 member UP assembly.

The seven-phase polls in the state will take place on February 11, 15, 19, 23, 27, March 4 and 8.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 22:59:57|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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DOHA -- The Qatari health ministry on Monday announced 228 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 123,604, official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.

Meanwhile, 237 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 120,540, while the death toll increased by one to 211, according to a ministry statement quoted by QNA.

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JERUSALEM -- Israel's coronavirus cabinet will convene on Tuesday to discuss tightening the nationwide lockdown in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 infections and mortality, the government said on Monday.

The ministers will discuss the "current morbidity situation and possible further restrictions," a government spokesperson said in a statement.

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JAKARTA -- Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs Fachrul Razi had tested positive for COVID-19, a special staff member to the minister said in a statement on Monday.

Razi's special staff member Kevin Haikal said the minister was aware that he had contracted COVID-19 after undergoing a swab test for the virus on Thursday last week.

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TRIPOLI -- The National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Monday reported 847 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total confirmed number in the country to 28,796.

The 847 new infections were confirmed after 3,598 suspected samples were tested, the Center said in a statement.

- - - -

COLOMBO -- The number of recoveries from the COVID-19 virus rose to 3,100 in Sri Lanka on Monday after 12 more patients were discharged from hospital, the Health Ministry said.

The total number of COVID-19 patients in the island country stood at 3,287, but with the latest number of recoveries, the active patient count has dropped to 187.

- - - -

TEHRAN -- Iran reported 3,341 new COVID-19 patients overnight, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 425,481 on Monday, according to Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education.

The pandemic has so far claimed 24,478 lives in Iran, up by 177 in the past 24 hours, Lari said during her daily briefing. Enditem
Two people were evaluated at the hospital this morning after a bus crash in Broome County, state police said.

The bus, from the Whitney Point Central School District, traveled off the road into a ditch this morning on Pendell Hill Road in the town of Nanticoke, police said.

Two people were taken to local hospitals, troopers said. The bus driver, a 56-year-old woman, complained of pain and was taken to Wilson Hospital in Johnson City, troopers said. The bus monitor, a 37-year-old woman, suffered a cut to her head, troopers said. She was transported to Binghamton General, police said.

Medics evaluated an 8-year-old child who was on the bus at the scene, but did not transport the child to the hospital, police said.

Troopers said in a press release that no other vehicles were involved in the crash.

Two people went to the hospital after the crash, but it did appear that any children were injured, troopers said. (Photo courtesy New York State Police)
Elon Musk-helmed Tesla could finally be making its foray into the Indian market. Tesla held exploratory discussions with the Karnataka government officials earlier this month. The Karnataka government is seeking possible investments from Tesla for a research facility in Bengaluru.

Another meeting is expected to be held later this month in which the government officials are likely to present a proposal to Tesla. A person in the know said that Tesla has shown initial interest to invest in a research and innovation centre in Karnataka and that talks are at a preliminary stage, as mentioned in a report in The Economic Times.

If this follows through, then India would be the second country outside the US to have a Tesla research centre. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had also indicated in July that luxury electric vehicles could soon reach India. He had also indicated in July that the company is looking to set up a Gigafactory -- a car and battery factory -- in Asia, outside of China. Musk had, however, said that they need to finish Giga Berlin and a second US Gigafactory. In January the company had opened a Gigafactory in China and sold 50,000 vehicles in the first half of the year.

Bengaluru is a hotspot for global as well as local EV companies including Mahindra Electric, Daimler and Bosch. Ola Electric, Sun Mobility and Ather are also based out of Karnataka. The state was the first one to come out with an electric vehicle policy in the country, following which 11 other states came out with their own policies.

India is also aiming to expand its EV market. According to financial services firm Avendus, India's EV market is expected to touch Rs 50,000 crore by 2025.

Tesla surpassed Toyota as the most valuable automobile company in the world in July. Tesla sells its cars in several markets including Europe, Japan, US, Singapore, Australia and China.

Also read: Tesla CEO Elon Musk loses record $16.3 billion in 1 day; 5th richest in the world now

Also read: Elon Musk is now world's 4th richest after gaining $8 billion in a day
A female suspect, who allegedly sent a letter with the deadly poison ricin in a package addressed to the White House for President Donald Trump, has been taken into custody.

On Sunday, a law enforcement official told CNN that the Customs and Border Protection agents arrested the unidentified woman in a New York state border crossing. The suspect tried to enter the U.S. from Canada.

The woman was allegedly armed with a gun when officers detained her. The official added that prosecutors in Washington D.C. are expected to bring charges against the suspect over the poisoned letter.

There has been no further information released about the female suspect. Last week, the law enforcement had intercepted a ricin package sent to Trump addressed to the White House.

As per two law enforcement officials, investigators looked at the possibility that the package came from Canada.

All mails sent to the White House are sorted and screened at an offsite facility before reaching the White House. The poisoned letter sent by the suspect has undergone two tests to confirm the presence of ricin.

In a statement provided to CNN on Saturday, the FBI's Washington field office said that the U.S. Secret Service, FBI, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service partners are investigating a suspicious letter sent at a U.S. government mail facility. But agency confirmed that there is no known threat to public safety at this time.

Similar packages mailed to addresses in Texas are also under investigation. According to a U.S. law enforcement official, authorities believed that the packages might be connected to the same sender in Canada.

Mary-Liz Power, chief spokeswoman for Canada's Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair, told CNN on Saturday: "We are aware of the concerning reports of packages that have ricin directed toward U.S. federal government sites. Canadian law enforcement is closely working with their U.S. counterparts. As this is an active investigation and we cannot comment further."

Daily Mail reported that the envelope was caught at the final offsite processing facility where mails are screened before being sent to the White House mailroom. Ricin is deadly if inhaled.

Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed that it is coordinating with the FBI on the investigation.

According to sources, the law enforcement believes that the package has been sent from Canada and sought a female Canadian suspect. One package was aimed at a political figure while the suspect allegedly sent other poison packages to the sheriff's office and detention facility in Texas.

In 2014, a similar incident happened where actress Shannon Richardson was convicted of sending envelopes with ricin addressed to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Barack Obama. Richardson was sentenced to eighteen years in prison.

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At virtually every stop on the campaign trail, President Donald Trump has sought to strike an emotional chord in audiences with a familiar warning.

"Sleepy Joe is gonna take your guns away," Trump declared at a rally in Minnesota on Friday night, disparaging his political rival and Democratic efforts to tighten firearm controls.

The death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has injected fresh urgency into Trumps rhetoric and one of Americas most divisive struggles.

Sunday, two days after the passing of the 87-year-old jurist, the president turned up the heat, appealing to gun owners in the final stretch of the campaign: "SAVE YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT, VOTE TRUMP," he tweeted.

Nowhere does the tension resonate more than at the counter of gun dealers and trade shows.

Virginia enacted restrictions on guns.

The discordant political climate, a roiling racial justice movement and fear driven by the relentless COVID-19 pandemic pushed gun sales to record levels. The FBI, responsible for conducting background checks on prospective buyers, acknowledges that surging sales pushed its system to the limit.

Trump has pitched at least part of his reelection bid as a promise to assemble a Supreme Court that would serve as a backstop for a constellation of conservative stands, including gun rights.

Gun control advocates have also amplified their messages in the wake of Ginsburg's death. "Make no mistake," said Kris Brown, president of the Brady Campaign, "gun safety is on the ballot in November."

Noting Ginsburg's long career as a legal "trailblazer," Brown said the "loss is overshadowed by the reality that her seat, and potentially the fate of sensible gun laws in America, now rests in the hands of (Republican) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Trump. ... Those laws and the hard-earned progress that activists and concerned Americans have won for generations are now in peril."

Story continues

Sharp divides on guns

Guns were on the Supreme Court's docket last term, the first major Second Amendment case in nearly a decade, when the court weighed a challenge to New York City's ban on transporting legally owned guns outside city limits.

More: Supreme Court sidesteps major Second Amendment case, a setback for NRA

Gun rights groups argued that the prohibition was too restrictive, as it effectively barred gun owners from taking firearms to shooting ranges or to vacation homes beyond city limits.

In April, the court voided the case by ruling that New York's repeal of the restriction rendered the case closed.

The challenge underscored the sharp political differences that are on display as Republicans and Democrats clash over when and how Ginsburg's seat should be filled.

More: Senate GOP writes letter to the Supreme Court, pledging not to allow Dems to 'pack the Court'

Culture wars: The gun debate isn't about what you think

The prospect of the court expanding gun rights in the New York case set off a partisan dispute in the Senate when five Democrats filed a brief urging the court to dismiss the case or voters might demand that it be "restructured."

That was interpreted by many as a threat to pack the court with additional justices if Democrats win the White House and Senate.

Fifty-three Republicans followed with a letter to the court complaining that Democrats "openly threatened this court with political retribution."

The implication is as plain as day: Dismiss this case, or well pack the court, they wrote.

In a statement after Ginsburg's death, Everytown for Gun Safety noted the New York case, saying the justice "dismantled the gun lobbys argument and championed common sense, as she did so many times before."

Paula St. James of Randolph, Mass., takes part in a rally demanding an end to gun violence in front of Stetson Hall on June 7.

The National Rifle Association, which supported the case, declined comment Monday.

Trump once said GOP was 'petrified' of NRA

Two weeks after the mass shooting in 2018 that left 17 dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Trump sounded little like the candidate embraced by the gun lobby.

The president, in a meeting to discuss school safety measures, startled lawmakers  particularly pro-gun Republicans  when he expressed support for taking firearms away from people who might commit violence before going through legal due process in the courts.

"I like taking guns away early," Trump said. "Take the guns first, go through due process second." Trump chided fellow Republicans, saying they were "petrified" of the NRA.

After a meeting with the NRA, Trump backed away from taking aggressive action. He again retreated from brief consideration of expanded background checks after mass shootings in Texas and Ohio in 2019, referring to the "slippery slope" that might result in an erosion of gun rights.

There is no disputing where Trump stands in full campaign mode.

"I protected your Second Amendment," Trump told an audience last month in Arlington, Virginia. "Did you think that was easy for the last four years. ... But we held totally strong, and its always going to be with us. But if they (Democrats) get in, they will absolutely  either obliterate it to a point of no return or actually terminate it. And I have no doubt about it."

The Biden campaign has offered no such proposal, but the former vice president does advocate for restrictions, such as an expansion of background checks  an idea that Trump briefly weighed last year. Biden proposes a ban on the manufacture and sale of weapons with high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden attends the Presidential Gun Sense Forum on Aug. 10, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa.

When Biden was a Delaware senator, he pushed to establish a 10-year ban on certain weapons that expired in 2004. He said that if he is elected president, he would create a buyback program for weapons in circulation.

Charlie Kelly, senior political adviser for Everytown, called the pairing of Biden and California Sen. Kamala Harris, a former state attorney general, the "strongest gun safety ticket" that offers a stark difference for voters.

"Even in the age of COVID, the issue has only increased," Kelly said, referring to surges in gun violence in some cities.

The sharp differences, analysts said, are likely to be amplified in the campaign's homestretch, as Trump moves to fill Ginsburg's seat.

During weekend vigils after Ginsburg's death, a group of gun rights advocates was in the midst of its annual policy conference.

Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, warned delegates that Biden would use the courts and other arms of the federal government to shrink access to guns, suggesting that the Democratic nominee would even move to close gun ranges.

"Between now and the November election, there are no rest stops along the way," Gottlieb told the group.

Contributing: Richard Wolf and David Jackson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death injects urgency into 2nd Amendment debate
The stars may have stayed at home for Sunday evenings Emmy Awards, which nominees attended remotely via videoconference. But social-distancing protocol didnt stop a number of them from making a statement with their outfit choices, especially when it came to those supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

Regina King was the first example, wearing a bright-pink suit jacket over with a shirt printed with Breonna Taylors name and image. King spoke to reporters about the importance of representing and remembering Taylor, who was killed by police in March.

The cops still havent been held accountable. She represents decades, hundreds of years of just, violence against black bodies, Breonna Taylor does, King said to reporters in the virtual press room after accepting her Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Limited Series for HBOs Watchmen. Wearing Breonnas likeness, representing her and her family and what, the things that, the stories that we were exploring, that we were presenting, that we were holding a mirror up to in Watchmen, it felt appropriate to represent with Breonna Taylor.

Regina King wears a shirt showing Breonna Taylor's name and face while remotely attending the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. (Getty Images)

King continued, I love being a Black woman, I loved being a Black girl, I love being American, and its important that people see all of those things together and when you have the platform to celebrate that and remind those that tend to look past Black girls, Black women ... you take it, you seize it  and when I saw my sister Uzo had on [a similar] shirt, it was a confirmation that this was right.

King was referring to fellow Emmy-winning actress Uzo Aduba, who took home Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her turn as Shirley Chisholm in Hulus Mrs. America.

Uzo Aduba winning in a Breonna Taylor shirt  #Emmys pic.twitter.com/zo1DJ9E3M4  Ana Breton (@missbreton) September 21, 2020

Aduba paid tribute to the 26-year-old EMT by wearing a shirt that solely featured Taylors name. Taylors death was one that contributed to the spike in protests over police brutality and the unjust killings of Black men and women in the U.S. Still, other actors shed light on the larger movement with their looks.

Story continues

Sterling K. Brown wears a t-shirt reading BLM while presenting an award. (Photo: Getty Images)

Appearing onstage to present the evenings final award, Sterling K. Brown also wore a T-shirt under a black suit jacket. His shirt featured a raised fist and the letters BLM. The powerful graphic alone also appeared on Emmy-nominee Yvonne Orji, who had the symbol shaved into her hair.

Killing Eve actress Sandra Oh sported a custom bomber jacket to express how she was feeling. After George Floyds death and the protests that followed, I felt that as an Asian-American, a Korean-American person, I wanted to express my support for the Black community in a way that felt personal to my community, Oh, nominated for best actress in a drama, explained to British Vogue. Then, a playwright friend of mine sent me this local L.A. brand, KORELIMITED, by the designer Matthew Kim, who had done a line of T-shirts and hoodies to support Black Lives Matter. Oh contacted Kim and the garment that resulted featured several personal touches. Its in a royal purple color  which is a super Korean color and brings a certain mindset for me  and it says Black Lives Are Precious in Korean writing, because the literal translation of Black Lives Matter is impossible in Korean."

Sandra Oh's jacket had a deeply personal meaning. (Photo: Instagram)

Watchmen creator Damon Lindelof used a portion of his acceptance speech for Outstanding Limited Series to combat social injustice when he wore a shirt reading Remember Tulsa 21. The shirt refers to the Tulsa Race Massacre, which is heavily featured in the award-winning show.

We dedicate this award to the victims and survivors of the Tulsa massacre of 1921, Lindelof said. The fires that destroyed Black Wall Street still burn today. The only way to put the fires out is if we all fight them together.

With Sunday nights Emmys, the Television Academy gave a record number of awards to Black performers. The seven wins by Black actors  including King and Aduba  tops the previous record high of six, set in 2018.

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Routine cleaning reduces potential spread of pathogens and chips look newer longer," says George Shepherd, president of Bar Maid Corporation. "Reduced labor costs versus hand cleaning, and eliminating the need to hire expensive chip cleaning services, translates to a fast ROI.

Florida-based Bar Maid Corporation released the CHIP CHAMPION Casino Chip Cleaning System, addressing one of the casino industry's biggest challenges how to clean germy casino chips.

Casino chips are one of the most touched surfaces in a casino, changing hands frequently and accumulating oils, feces and pathogens on the surface each time. Casinos rarely clean them, if ever. They can harbor more pathogens than a toilet or door handle.

A study published in the Journal of Environmental Health tested for bacteria and fungi on both new, uncirculated casino chips and circulated casino chips collected from four casinos.1 Bacteria and fungi were found in statistically significant amounts on the circulated casino chips, including E. coli, a bacteria commonly found in feces and often responsible for foodborne illnesses. Researchers also found both gram-positive and gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria and gram-negative cocci, spherical-like bacteria that can cause meningitis, sinusitis, and bronchopneumonia. Surprisingly, even the uncirculated casino chips were contaminated with bacteria. This study did not test for viral pathogens, but viruses may also survive on the surface of casino chips.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Centers for Disease Control advised casinos and gaming operations to limit customers sharing of objects and when possible, to clean and disinfect these objects between uses. However, cleaning casino chips has long been problematic due to the composition of chips and security concerns. The process traditionally required casino staff to wipe each chip by hand or an outside service vendor bringing an enormous casino chip cleaning machine onsite, both time consuming and expensive.

The CHIP CHAMPION Casino Chip Cleaning System allows casinos to quickly clean chips and dice in-house to reduce potential spread of pathogens among staff and players. The system pairs a multi-purpose quaternary tablet sanitizer bath with a durable, stainless steel machine that utilizes high heat and UVC light to process thousands of chips and dice per hour. The system is already in use at multiple casino properties.

A single staff member operates the system by immersing chips and dice in sanitizer according to label directions and draining well. Depending upon CHIP CHAMPION model, sanitized chips and dice are placed into an automatic feeder or fed into the machine chute. They pass through a hot 120-140 organic granulate that scrubs them dry, then exposed to UVC light before exiting the machine, immediately ready for use.

"The CHIP CHAMPION Casino Chip Cleaning System solves the germy casino chip problem that has plagued casinos for years. Routine cleaning reduces potential spread of pathogens and increases chip life, as chips look newer longer," says George Shepherd, president of Bar Maid Corporation. "The reduced labor costs versus hand cleaning, and eliminating the need to hire expensive chip cleaning services, translates to a fast ROI."

There are three models available. Casinos can choose based on volume and available space. The compact model processes 3,000-4,000 chips and dice per hour. The somewhat larger high output model processes 7,000-9,000, and if purchased with the optional Automatic Feeder, will process more than 10,000 chips and dice per hour. All models have a relatively small footprint that fits most work tables or can use the optional wheeled cart for easy portability and storage.

About Bar Maid Corporation

Bar Maid Corporation, the worlds leading manufacturer of portable 5-brush electric glass washers, offers a catalog of more than 200 products designed to improve safety, while maximizing efficiency and profit for food and beverage services in the hospitality industry. For over 50 years, Bar Maid has been making innovative, high quality (mostly made in USA) commercial grade products used by bars, restaurants, hotels, casinos, convention facilities and event catering in the USA, Canada, Central/South America and many other countries throughout the world. Bar Maid remains a privately held company based in Pompano Beach, Fla.

1 Mc Keown, Edward. (2019, May). Gambling With Your Health: Bacterial Contamination on Casino Gaming Chips. Journal of Environmental Health, Volume 81 (No. 9). https://www.neha.org/node/60687

Digital Assets:

Web and High Resolution product and logo images are available on our Google Drive https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B95SJ78IFZS4WF92ZUpqYlU1WTg

Videos available on the Bar Maid YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/barmaidwashers

YouTube Video for CHIP CHAMPION: https://youtu.be/zrPmPP2IohI
Last week, the White House made the decision to ban Chinese-owned apps Tik Tok and WeChat from U.S. app stores. As of yesterday, the apps are no longer available for download.

APPS WE'VE LOST: TikTok is leaving app stores on Sunday. Remember Flappy Bird?

The apps were being removed due to security concerns related to user data and propaganda. According to Zak Doffman at Forbes, in recent weeks reports have emerged suggesting that TikTok is Chinese spyware, alleging that the app steals data from users devices and sends it to China.

While those claims haven't been proven to be true, TikTok does occasionally release software with security vulnerabilities that need to be fixed.

President Trump told reporters Saturday said a new deal currently being brokered would result in a new company called TikTok Global that will likely be based in Texas.

The proposed deal is between U.S.-based tech company Oracle and Walmart for the U.S. operations of TikTok.

"If they get it done, that's great," Trump told reporters. "If they don't, that's OK, too."

We are pleased that the proposal by TikTok, Oracle, and Walmart will resolve the security concerns of the U.S. Administration and settle questions around TikToks future in the U.S., TikTok said in a statement.

The news of the new Tik Tok headquarters moving down south comes after Governor Greg Abbott tweeted Saturday that he pitched Trump on moving the TikTok headquarters to the Lone Star state.

In the tweet he says, "Today I talked to @realDonaldTrump about the @tiktok_us deal, Abbott tweeted. I let him know that if he approves the deal Texas would be the perfect place for the HQ. Well see."

According to Trump, the Texas location would potentially hire 25,000 employees.

Where in Texas the headquarters would be located is yet to be announced, but it would be pretty cool to see a Tik Tok building here in Houston. Where should it go? Now that's the question.
Press Release

Nokia expands 4G footprint of Azerbaijans Azercell

Nokia to deploy its AirScale 4G base stations at over 1,400 sites in Azerbaijan; first large-scale deployment outside of capital city, Baku

Deal will see expanded 4G footprint preparing the country for next-generation connectivity in the future

Nokia Software products are also being deployed, including NetAct Cloud network management system

17 September 2020

Espoo, Finland  Nokia today announced that it has expanded the 4G footprint of the Azerbaijan-based mobile operator, Azercell Telecom, with the installation of its AirScale 4G base stations at more than 1,400 sites across the country. Nokias AirScale Radio Access solutions will provide Azercell with high-speed mobile connectivity to cater for increased demand as well as providing a clear migration path in the future. Nokia is the sole supplier in this deal and will replace the former 4G provider and develop the network further.

The deal will be the first large-scale regional deployment of 4G services outside of the capital city of Baku. Azercell will utilize Nokias Single RAN solution, which is an industry-first commercial end-to-end solution that offers huge capacity scaling and market-leading latency. It will reduce complexity, increase cost efficiencies, and enable a smooth upgrade path in the future via a software update.

Azercell will also utilize Nokia Softwares NetAct Cloud network management system, which is cloud-agnostic and meets customer demands for software-only delivery. It is deployed on the same data center platforms as other IT and telco systems for increased agility and lower operational costs. NetAct manages both radio and core networks and provides applications for fault management, configuration management, network and administration management, performance management, and security management. The deal includes Nokias services for network design, deployment, and optimization. Installation began at the end of 2018 and was completed in July 2020.

Story continues

Azercell is the largest operator in Azerbaijan and has prioritized increasing the geographic coverage of 4G with plans to roll out across the whole country including semi-urban and rural regions. Azercell is also planning to deploy low-power, wide-area NB-IoT services.

Marat Hamidov, Director of Network Technology Department at Azercell, said: With more than 5 million customers, Azercell has improved and expanded its 4G network across the country with Nokia to provide its population with equal technological opportunities and the latest innovations through its high-speed Internet. It is worth mentioning that a European benchmarking test, conducted by Systemics in Azerbaijan, confirmed that Azercell provided the highest quality of 4G services in all the regions of the country. We look forward to a long partnership with Nokia.

Mikko Lavanti, Market Unit Head, Central East and Central Asia at Nokia, said: We are delighted to support Azercell in their efforts to deploy nationwide 4G connectivity. A high-performing 4G network is absolutely fundamental, and with our AirScale solution, we also offer a simple upgrade to the next technological era when Azercell is ready. I look forward to developing a long-standing and close-working partnership with Azercell and helping in its continued efforts to deliver best-in-class connectivity to subscribers across the country.

Resources:

About Nokia

We create the technology to connect the world. Only Nokia offers a comprehensive portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing opportunities across the globe. With our commitment to innovation, driven by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, we are a leader in the development and deployment of 5G networks.

Our communications service provider customers support more than 6.4 billion subscriptions with our radio networks, and our enterprise customers have deployed over 1,300 industrial networks worldwide. Adhering to the highest ethical standards, we transform how people live, work and communicate. For our latest updates, please visit us online www.nokia.com and follow us on Twitter @nokia.

Media Inquiries:

Nokia

Communications

Phone: +358 10 448 4900

Email: press.services@nokia.com




GUANGZHOU, China  Beijing-based ByteDance said it would own a majority stake in the new TikTok Global in the U.S., appearing to contradict President Donald Trump's claims the deal has "nothing to do with China."

On Saturday, Trump gave his blessing to a deal that would see Oracle and Walmart take a minority stake in a U.S.-headquartered company called TikTok Global. Oracle would become the secure cloud provider and host American users' data in the country.

"It'll be a brand new company. It will have nothing to do with any outside land, any outside country, it will have nothing to do with China," Trump said.

But in a Chinese-language statement on Monday, ByteDance, the Beijing-based parent company of TikTok, insisted it was not losing control of the social media app.

The company said it plans to carry out a small round of pre-IPO (initial public offering) financing that will give ByteDance an 80% stake in TikTok Global. As part of the deal, Oracle, Walmart and ByteDance agreed to list TikTok Global on an American stock exchange within 12 months.

TikTok faced being shut down on Sunday but that decision has now been delayed for a week, according to the Department of Commerce.

In early August, Trump said that TikTok would be shut down in the U.S. unless an American firm bought it.

"So it'll close down on Sept. 15 unless Microsoft or somebody else is able to buy it and work out a deal, an appropriate deal, so that the Treasury of the United States gets a lot of money," Trump said at that time.

However, TikTok is not being acquired and will have the majority stake. But because 40% of ByteDance is owned by U.S. venture capital firms, the Trump administration can technically claim TikTok Global is now majority owned by U.S. money.
(Newser)  The white Nebraska bar owner charged with the fatal shooting of a Black protester killed himself Sunday, his attorneys announced. Jake Gardner, 38, was in Oregon at the time; he had been scheduled to return to Omaha on Sunday night and surrender to authorities over James Scurlock's death, the Omaha World-Herald reports. A grand jury had, last week, indicted Gardner on felony charges of manslaughter, attempted assault, making terroristic threats, and using a gun to commit a felony.

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One of his attorneys says Gardner left Nebraska due to death threats that followed the May 30 incident, USA Today reports. "I had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Gardner before his return, and he was really shook up," the other says. "The grand jury indictment was a shock to him, it was a shock to us, it was a shock to many people." Gardner and his attorneys claimed he acted in self-defense after Scurlock attacked him. (More on the incident here.)
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Spouse of the Armenian prime minister Anna Hakobyan addressed a congratulatory message on Armenias Independence Day.

Independence Day is a special message to better know ourselves, our country, identity, history, opportunities and our potential.

Countrys independence and freedom start from the individuals independence and freedom. Country is independent, free and strong only in case when each of its citizen, regardless of gender, age, social and health condition, feels himself free, independent, strong and protected in that country.

Today women make up the majority of our society, and unfortunately, many of them break stereotypes every day for working with their preferred profession, living a dignified life, protecting their rights and the rights of their children in different situations, demonstrating a civil consciousness or assuming responsibility towards the states future, the PMs wife said, congratulating all Armenians on the 29th anniversary of Armenias Independence.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
More people, such as employees of co-operative and private banks, will be permitted to use Mumbai's suburban train service starting from September 21. The announcement was made by Indian Railways on September 19.

Use of suburban trains, often referred to local trains, is currently restricted for the general public in view of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Mumbais local train network has not operated their regular schedule since late March when the first nationwide lockdown was imposed to help curb spread of COVID-19.

Since mid-June, the railways have been operating special train services for people engaged in essential and emergency services. Railway authorities had recently allowed aircraft maintenance and repair staff to travel on local trains.

As per fresh guidelines, selected 10 percent staff of co-operative and private banks is required to obtain QR ID codes from the state government.

However, until they get it, they can use valid identity cards to buy tickets and travel.

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

Employees of nationalised banks are already allowed to travel by local trains.

The Railways also said that additional booking counters will be opened at important stations, and appealed passengers to follow social distancing.

On September 20, Mumbais COVID-19 tally reached 1.84 lakh. This included 1.47 lakh recoveries, over 27,000 active cases and 8,469 fatalities.

Once considered a major hotspot, Mumbai had managed to significantly reduce the COVID-19 growth rate. In fact, at some point, the doubling rate of cases was well over 90 days.

However, infections being reported on a daily basis have spiked again in the last three-four weeks.

(With inputs from PTI)
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

As people age, they tend to report more acute or chronic paina common sign of getting older. Yet, in the United States, middle-aged adults are now reporting more pain than the elderly, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

This paradoxical finding is confined to the two-thirds of the U.S. population without a four-year college degree, and happens because each generation of less-educated Americans is experiencing higher pain throughout their lives, the researchers said.

The study adds to the body of work of Anne Case and Sir Angus Deaton of Princeton University and Arthur Stone of the University of Southern California (USC), who have long studied morbidity and mortality around the world. Using survey responses from more than 2.5 million adults, the trio compared the relationship between age and reported physical pain in the United States.

The findings have profound policy implications. Today's less-educated elderly have experienced less pain throughout their lives than the less-educated middle-aged people of today, who will be tomorrow's elderly. This could put further strain on the health care system, and the treatment of pain is difficult and controversialoften linked to the opioid crisis, the researchers said.

"The connection between less-educated Americans and pain is shaped by a number of factors from income to social isolation to rising deaths of despair. It's of great concern to us, as researchers, that it seems to be worsening," said Case, the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Emeritus at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.

Case conducted the study with Deaton, who is the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of International Affairs, Emeritus, and Stone, a professor of psychology at USC.

The researchers used data from surveys conducted by Gallup, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the European Union. Reports of pain were recorded between 2006 and 2018 among adults aged 25-79 in the U.S. and 20 other wealthy countries. The American data were confined to Black and White non-Hispanics.

A snapshot of ages at a single moment in time cannot distinguish the effects on pain of age from intergenerational trends over time, so Case, Deaton, and Stone looked at different birth cohorts born between 1930-90. To do this, they used data from four U.S. surveys: the Gallup Health and Wellbeing Index, the Census Bureau's National Health Interview Survey, the Department of Health and Human Services' Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study.

In their first analysis, they found that men and women of all races worldwide report more pain as they age, a finding they expected. In their second analysisafter controlling for education levelthey found this to also be true for Americans with a bachelor's degree. Only the two-thirds of the U.S. population without a college degree reported more pain in midlife.

"This seems to be an exclusively American phenomenon, as people in other rich countries do not report higher pain in midlife," Case said.

Less-educated Americans also experience more pain as they age. However, because each birth cohort reports higher levels of pain throughout their adult life than the cohort before them, those in middle-age report more pain at any given age than their elders, who have had lower pain levels throughout their lives.

The rise in pain from cohort to cohort also signals increasing chronic intergenerational distress, which could be caused by a myriad of factors. Less-educated people are experiencing more social isolation, more fragile home lives, less marriage, and more divorce, as well as stagnant wages and job loss. They've also seen rising deaths of despair, from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholic liver disease, according to past work by Case and Deaton.

Of course, there are possible caveats, the researchers point out. People could be reporting more minor pain than in the past, or due to their pain, they could also have lost their jobs or taken on jobs with less physical strain (and lower wages). Obesity is also a chronic problem in America; with more weight comes more strain on the body. The uptick in people going to college could also explain some of the cohort-by-cohort differences.

Still, the findings should signal to policymakers that less-educated Americans are experiencing more and more distress, that tomorrow's elderly will see more pain than today's elderly, and that the issue of painand its treatmentisn't going away anytime soon.

"Pain undermines quality of life, and pain is getting worse for less-educated Americans," Deaton said. "This not only makes their lives worse, but will pose long-term problems for a dysfunctional healthcare system that is not good at treating pain."

The paper, "Decoding the mystery of American pain reveals a warning for the future," first appeared online Sept. 21 in PNAS.

Explore further Is there a link between pain and depression?

More information: Anne Case el al., "Decoding the mystery of American pain reveals a warning for the future," PNAS (2020). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Anne Case el al., "Decoding the mystery of American pain reveals a warning for the future,"(2020). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2012350117
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 23:50:24|Editor: huaxia

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Brunei's Deputy Minister of Education Hjh Romaizah (1st R, front) takes a tour for the teaching environment of the "Seeds for the Future 2020" program in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Sept. 21, 2020. Huawei Technologies in Brunei officially commenced its "Seeds for the Future 2020" program on Monday, aimed at developing local information and communications technology (ICT) talents. (Photo by Jeffrey Wong/Xinhua)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Huawei Technologies in Brunei officially commenced its "Seeds for the Future 2020" program on Monday, aimed at developing local information and communications technology (ICT) talents.

As Huawei's flagship global Corporate Social Responsibility program, the "Seeds for the Future" was first launched in 2008 and designed to develop skilled, local ICT talent and bridge communication between countries and cultures.

By sharing ICT expertise and experiences in the global business environment, young people from different countries and regions can learn about advanced technologies in the ICT industry. Participants can accumulate ICT expertise and skills through the program and therefore contribute to the progress of the global ICT industry.

Brunei's Deputy Minister of Education Hjh Romaizah said at the launching ceremony that her ministry is taking a holistic approach to build a comprehensive ecosystem for digital learning.

"Vital to the success of our efforts is the continuous partnership with different stakeholders in technology, especially Huawei Technologies who are at the forefront of the ICT industry, to add value to the ministry's initiatives."

"As such, programs like the 'Seeds for the Future' are crucial not only to triggering interest in students, but also to ensuring a sustainable ICT talent pool for our nation," she said.

"With the travel restrictions still in place in many countries and in line with the 'new normal', I'm pleased to learn that Huawei Technologies is bringing the 'Seeds for the Future' program fully online," Romaizah added.

According to Zhang Jianwei, CEO of Huawei Technologies in Brunei, the Seeds for the Future 2020 is being held virtually this year with the support from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 35 Bruneian students from UBD, Universiti Teknologi Brunei and other education institutions are participating in the program.

Zhang said participants of the program are exposed to Huawei's 5G, cloud computing, internet of things, artificial intelligence as well as many other cutting-edge solutions. A total of 32 Bruneian students, sponsored by Huawei, have participated in the program in Shenzhen and Beijing between 2015 and 2019.

"I am very grateful for this opportunity given as it provides us with an unprecedented range of industry knowledge and skills to complement our university study. I also look forward to learning a set of skills to be Industrial Revolution 4.0-ready," said Nur A'ishah, a second-year UBD student majoring in General Engineering.

"We are pleased to see that initial success was achieved in the China-Brunei digital economic cooperation," Chinese ambassador to Brunei Yu Hong told Xinhua.

"Both China and Brunei are motivated to advance digital economy and promote high-quality growth. I hope China and Brunei will deepen practical cooperation and further promote the economic and social development," she said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 01:50:08|Editor: huaxia

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JERUSALEM, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Sunday urged European powers to recognize U.S. unilateral announcement over the resumption of the United Nations Security Council's sanctions against Iran.

In a statement issued by his office, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi called on Israel's allies, known as E-3 countries, namely France, Britain, and Germany, "to retreat from their opposition and work towards rigorously implementing the sanctions."

He urged them to reimpose the sanctions on the national level, as well as on the EU level and through the UN mechanisms.

His call came after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that all pre-2015 sanctions against Iran had been reimposed.

However, most of the member states of the UN Security Council said that Pompeo's move is based on a mechanism that is part of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers, meaning that his announcement was not valid.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government considers Iran its arch-foe and has long called the international community to impose sanctions on the Islamic republic. Enditem
(@FahadShabbir)

Northwestern University (NU) researchers have developed a new low-cost, relatively simple strategy for designing materials used in live cell imaging, photodynamic therapy for cancer and night-vision technologies

CHICAGO, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Sep, 2020 ) :Northwestern University (NU) researchers have developed a new low-cost, relatively simple strategy for designing materials used in live cell imaging, photodynamic therapy for cancer and night-vision technologies.

For these applications, the researchers use specialized materials that absorb and emit near-infrared light. Compared to visible light, near-infrared light can penetrate materials deeper with lesser scattering and cause lower levels of photodamage.

To develop these materials, researchers use a chemical synthesis process that modifies the molecular structure, which only needs to co-crystallize two different molecules, a convenient and efficient method based on supramolecular chemistry.

The method works by taking advantage of the charge transfers between two molecules, in which one molecule, a donor, donates electrons to another molecule, an acceptor.

The two molecules can form two co-crystals with different donor-acceptor ratios.

"The two co-crystals assume distinct solid-state superstructures, crystal morphologies and optical properties, wherein one of them constitutes a unique material that exhibits two-photon absorption and near-infrared emission simultaneously," said Yu Wang, a postdoctoral fellow at NU and the paper's first author. "This work provides an ideal platform to uncover a superstructure-property relationship and gain a deeper understanding on the supramolecular material design.""Our work simplifies the production process and lays a foundation for practical application," said Fraser Stoddart, senior author of the study and a Nobel Prize-winning chemist at NU's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. "This strategy will appeal to scientists working in a wide range of disciplines, from chemistry to crystal engineering to materials science."
A Hoshiarpur-based distillery, Lloyd Bottling and Blending, faces a criminal case after it was found producing liquor on the basis of a fake export permit for Bhutan and was to sell the alcoholic beverage illegally in the local market.

The state excise department has written to the Hoshiarpur police to register an FIR against firm owner Jagmeet Singh Bhatia, a resident of Chauni Kalan in the district.

In a note to the state excise commissioner, the assistant excise commissioner (Hoshiarpur) said the department conducted a surprise checking on September 12 at Lloyd Bottling and Blending at Chauni Kalan.

During the raid, the team found 700 boxes of Lion 13 whisky allegedly prepared for export to Bhutan.

It recovered 197 boxes of liquor with bottles without any brand logo besides 59,400 cap seals without brand logo. The firm representatives showed the excise officials three import permits purportedly issued by the Bhutanese authorities on July 31. Smelling a rat, the district excise officials wrote to the Bhutanese embassy in New Delhi to check whether the permits were genuine.

In reply, the Bhutanese authorities refused to have issued any import permits.

The excise department has recommended a case against Bhatia under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 465 (punishment for forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (whoever fraudulently uses as genuine any document which he knows reason to believe to be a forged) of the Indian Penal Code.

It also sought an in-depth probe into the matter to find if more people were involved in this.

Acting Sadar station house officer (SHO) Baljit Singh said he was not aware of the matter and will look into it.
Data centers : certification of Coolidge-based NVMe-oF 1 solution for storage servers expected in october and integration in progress with Wistron, a major Taiwanese player, for production by the end of 2020;

: certification of Coolidge-based NVMe-oF solution for storage servers expected in october and integration in progress with Wistron, a major Taiwanese player, for production by the end of 2020; Automotive : integration of Kalray's "Compute Acceleration" offering into NXP Semiconductors' BlueBox for the automotive market is underway, following NXP's investment in Kalray in the first half of 2020;

: integration of Kalray's "Compute Acceleration" offering into NXP Semiconductors' BlueBox for the automotive market is underway, following NXP's investment in Kalray in the first half of 2020; Other opportunities : on-going discussions with leading players seeing Kalray's "Compute Acceleration" solution as an alternative for some "Edge Computing" markets such as the 5G market (Open Radio Access Network) and Industry 4.0 (Machine Vision);

: on-going discussions with leading players seeing Kalray's "Compute Acceleration" solution as an alternative for some "Edge Computing" markets such as the 5G market (Open Radio Access Network) and Industry 4.0 (Machine Vision); Half-yearly accounts : budget under control, in line with the financial projections announced in the context of the health crisis;

: budget under control, in line with the financial projections announced in the context of the health crisis; Available cash :  19.0 million at the end of June 2020, reinforced by the equity investment of NXP and the State Guaranteed Loan (PGE);

:  19.0 million at the end of June 2020, reinforced by the equity investment of NXP and the State Guaranteed Loan (PGE); Outlook: confirmation of financial objectives.

Grenoble, September 21, 2020 - Kalray (Euronext Growth Paris: ALKAL), a pioneer in processors dedicated to new intelligent systems, has published its first half 2020 earnings (from January 1 to June 30, 2020) and on this occasion, the company confirms its objectives.

Eric Baissus, President of Kalray's Executive Board, commented as follows:

"Thanks to the progress made in the first half of the year, whether from a product standpoint, with the completion of the development of our solutions based on Coolidge, and on the partnerships front, with NXP Semiconductors in particular, we are aiming to close the second half of the year having met key ambitions. The prospect of integrating our intelligent processor into the next generation of storage servers for data centers will be a major new step in a market which has clearly been accelerated by the current health crisis. The solutions that we have developed, in the context of intelligent automobile, are also relevant for some "Edge Computing" markets and discussions are underway, with leading players, which aimed at using such current solutions, in markets such as 5G or Industry 4.0. These opportunities are extremely interesting to us, in particular for considerations of much shorter sales cycles than the automobile.

Finally, while consolidation in the sector is pushing many players to move to the American flag, Kalray also has the unique opportunity to position itself as a sovereign European alternative on the strategic market of processors for intelligent systems."

SCHEDULED LAUNCH OF NVMe-oF SOLUTION FOR THE STORAGE MARKET

After the first deliveries of the Kalray development environment to its customers last quarter, enabling them to build their next generation of products integrating Coolidge, Kalray has initiated the certification process of its NVMe-oF solution for the data center market. NVMe-oF certification, provided by an independent laboratory, is expected in October.

At the same time, Kalray was able to deliver its NVMe-oF solution to its partner Wistron in order to start the integration of its solution into the storage servers of the Taiwanese group. Wistron is one of the world's largest manufacturers of data center servers. Kalray is therefore actively preparing its commercial deployment in the data center acceleration card market by positioning itself as a leader in NVMe-oF technology.

Kalray is receiving clear evidence that market is taking off now. As stated by Dennis Hahn, Senior Analyst, Cloud & Data Center at OMDIA in his report, Data Center Storage Equipment Market Tracker: "JBOF is just starting to experience an uptake in on-premises enterprise DC segments for its ultra-high performance and is ramping aggressively for use by hyper converged infrastructure and in data intensive applications ".

STRUCTURING AGREEMENT WITH NXP SEMICONDUCTORS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE MARKET

At the same time, in the automotive market, Kalray continues to develop its cooperation with NXP Semiconductors, the world leader in semiconductors for Automotive market. The agreement with NXP spearheads Kalray's strategy in this field. Thanks to this structuring agreement, Kalray has strengthened its legitimacy in this sector while acquiring new technological means (by pooling skills), commercial (by leveraging NXP position on the field) and financial (thanks to the investment of  8 million from NXP in Kalray).

The partners are continuing their joint work with a view to launching the next generation of NXP's BlueBox, a hardware and software platform that will integrate the Kalray solution and target a broad spectrum of intelligent and autonomous vehicles, ranging from level L2 (partial autonomy), already in service, to L4 level (complete autonomy in certain areas) or even ultimately L5 (car without steering wheel).

NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN EDGE COMPUTING SUCH AS 5G AND INDUSTRY 4.0

Kalray's solutions for the data center and automotive markets are also suitable to a broader industry need: the processing of a massive flow of data, close to where the data is generated, to extract relevant information which is a key need of "Edge Computing" markets.

In this context, Kalray has initiated discussions with major players and potential customers in the fields of machine vision (analysis and identification of faults, for example) for Industry 4.0 and 5G networks in particular.

EFFECTIVE COST CONTROL AND CASH IN LINE WITH FORECASTS

In the first half of 2020, Kalray generated 489 K in revenue (compared to 456 K in the first half of 2019), mainly consisting of sales of development stations and Coolidge licenses despite a decline in activity in the car market due to the health crisis.

Half-year EBITDA2 was stable compared to the first half of 2019, at -2,612 K, reflecting the perfect control of costs during the health crisis, in line with the announcements made by the company. During this period, the company did not have recourse to partial unemployment and continued to invest in both human and technological terms: 11 staff were added in the first half of 2020, mainly for engineering and customers support positions in order to better prepare the commercial launch of Coolidge . The 18% increase in staff costs was offset by a 17% decrease in other external costs, notably linked to the internalization of certain skills (impact on subcontracting) and the limitation of travel.

Given the increase in depreciation, amortization and provisions (+ 42% to 3,984 K), linked in particular to the start of the amortization of Coolidge development costs and masks, and after taking into account the research tax credit ( + 16% to 1,336 K), the adjusted operating income3 comes to -5,260K  compared to -4,305K  a year earlier. The half-year net result is -5,301 K  in 2020 against -4,357 K  in 2019.

STRENGTHENED AVAILABLE CASH FLOW AS OF JUNE 30, 2020

As of June 30, 2020, Kalray's available cash amounted to 18,990 K compared to 15,725 K as of December 31, 2019. Financial debt was 9,568 K (including 6,476 K of conditional advances) and equity was 29,347 K .

The financial structure was strengthened by the investment of NXP Semiconductors for  8,000,000 and by the receipt of the first half of a State Guaranteed Loan of  5,000,000 granted by banking partners (Bpifrance, BNP Paribas and CIC). The second half of the loan was cashed at the very beginning of July 2020. This additional financing covers the anticipated increase in cash consumption over the first half of the year. Free cash flow4 thus came to -8,247 K  compared to -6,613 K  in the first half of 2019, due in particular to an increase in investments.

CONFIRMATION OF FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES

As announced, Kalray expects 2020 sales to be comparable to that of 2019. A significant increase in sales is expected from 2021 with the volume of products based on Coolidge by Kalray customers. Operating expenses should increase by around 20% for the year 2020 compared to 2019, due to recruitment (8 new hires planned for the 2nd semester in addition to the 11 for the 1st semester) and the amount allocated to the deployment of projects in the framework of the partnership with NXP Semiconductors. Free cash flow should therefore, in line with forecasts, be lower in 2020 than in 2019 (-14,187 K ).

On the basis of a commercial calendar providing for the presentation of offers in the second half of 2020 and a production ramp up in 2021, Kalray confirms its ambition to reach a break-even monthly EBITDA in mid-2021 and annual revenue of  100 million between mid-2022 and mid-2023.

PUBLICATION OF FIRST HALF FINANCIAL REPORT 2020

The consolidated financial statements were approved by the Executive Board and reviewed by the Supervisory Board on September 17, 2020. The first half financial report, including the first half financial statements and notes, can be viewed under "Financial documents" on the company's website: www.kalray-bourse.com

ABOUT KALRAY

Kalray (Euronext Growth Paris - FR0010722819 - ALKAL) is the pioneer in processors for new intelligent systems. A genuine technological breakthrough, "intelligent" processors are able to intelligently analyze a vast quantity of data on the fly and to make decisions and interact in real time with the outside world. These intelligent processors will be largely deployed in fast-growing sectors such as new-generation networks (intelligent data centers) and autonomous vehicles, as well as in healthcare equipment, drones and robots. Kalray's offering spans both processors and global solutions (electronic boards and software). Created in 2008 as a spin-off of CEA ("Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique", the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), Kalray addresses a broad spectrum of customers including server manufacturers, intelligent system integrators and consumer product manufacturers such as car makers. Read more at: www.kalrayinc.com

INVESTOR CONTACTS

Eric BAISSUS

contactinvestisseurs@kalray.eu

Tel. +33 (0)4 76 18 90 71



ACTUS finance & communication

Jerome FABREGUETTES-LEIB

kalray@actus.fr

+ 33 1 53 67 36 78 MEDIA CONTACTS

Loic HAMON

communication@kalray.eu

Tel. +33 (0)4 76 18 90 71



ACTUS finance & communication

Serena BONI

sboni@actus.fr

Tel. +33 (0)4 72 18 04 92

Annexes :



PROFIT & LOSS

K - audited data 30 June 2020 30 June 2019 Net Sales 489 456 Subsidies 980 1 056 R&D capitalization 3 548 3 279 Other revenue 38 55 TOTAL REVENUE 5 055 4 846 Cost of sales (144) (66) Operating expenses (7 523) (7 432) including Salaries & contributions (4 570) (3 872) including other expenses (2 954) (3 560) EBITDA (2 612) (2 652) Amortization & Depreciation (3 984) (2 800) OPERATING RESULT (6 595) (5 452) Research Tax Credit 1 335 1 147 NET OPERATING RESULT (5 260) (4 305) FINANCIAL RESULT (41) (23) EXCEPTIONNAL RESULT (29) NET RESULT (5 301) (4 357)





BALANCE SHEET

K ASSETS - audited data 30 June 2020 31 December 2019 Intangible assets 18 460 16 935 Tangible assets 4 510 4 673 Financial assets 546 609 NON CURRENT ASSETS 23 516 22 217 Inventories 220 240 Accounts Receivable 454 764 Other receivable (CIR, CICE, Subsidies) 2 147 1 779 CASH 18 990 15 725 CURRENT ASSETS 21 811 18 508 Accrued expenses 561 414 TOTAL ASSETS 45 889 41 140

K EQUITY & LIABILITIES - audited data 30 juin 2020 31 decembre 2019 EQUITY 29 347 26 665 Provisions 107 89 R&D refundable advances 6 476 5 904 Bank loans 3 092 775 Accounts Payable 2 180 3 128 Taxes & contributions payable 1 441 1 549 Other debts 536 354 DEBTS & LIABILITIES 13 832 11 799 Deferred revenue (Subsidies) 2 709 2 676 TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY 45 889 41 140





CASH FLOW STATEMENT

K - audited data 30 juin 2020 31 decembre 2019 Operating CF before Capex & WC variation (2 333) (5 204) Change in working capital (incl. R&D tax credit) (1 505) 1 138 OPERATING CASH FLOW (3 838) (4 066) Capex (1 734) (5 335) R&D capitalization (3 548) (6 217) Investment subsidies 873 1 431 INVESTMENT CASH FLOW (4 409) (10 121) FREE CASH-FLOW (8 247) (14 187) Net Cash from investors 7 998 96 Bank Debt (net) 2 317 318 R&D conditionnal advances and prepaid subsidies (net) 1 197 716 FINANCING CASH FLOW 11 512 1 130 Annual Cash in (Cash out) 3 265 (13 057) Cash beginning of period 15 725 28 782 CASH END OF PERIOD 18 990 15 725





1NVMe-oF is a global standard defining the use of NVMe over Ethernet, allowing remote access to very high-performance storage appliances.

2Ebitda: operating result without Depreciation and Amortization

3Adjusted operating income: operating result + Research tax credit

4Free cash-flow: operating cash flows + investment cash flows

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Daniel Andrews is being urged to relax lockdown restrictions ahead of schedule after Victoria recorded only 11 new cases of coronavirus on Monday.

It's the lowest number of new daily cases since mid-June - but the premier's road map plans to keep Melbourne shut down until at least 26 October.

Asked if the timeline would be brought forward, Mr Andrews said he would be 'guided by common sense' but insisted that 'it is too early for us to open up.'

Premier Andrews is reluctant to relax restrictions before October 26. Pictured: Melbourne residents in masks enjoy their hour of exercise on the beach

Poll Should Melbourne end lockdown sooner than October 26? Yes No Undecided Should Melbourne end lockdown sooner than October 26? Yes 650 votes

No 118 votes

Undecided 24 votes Now share your opinion





Opposition MPs want restrictions relaxed faster as the lockdown threatens to put up to 400,000 Victorians out of work by Christmas, according to federal treasury estimates.

Melbourne residents have been confined to their homes since 8 July in a lockdown due to last four weeks longer than then shutdown of Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus was identified.

Liberal MP James Newbury said Mr Andrews should make plans to relax restrictions sooner to boost jobs and save businesses.

'Daniel Andrews refuses to offer Victorians hope,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Instead of rewarding Melburnians for low case numbers, he is keeping the community locked up and under curfew.

'His restrictions are smashing up businesses, jobs, and livelihoods.'

Mr Newbury said Victoria should follow the example New South Wales which has kept the economy open with up to 20 cases per day in recent weeks.

'Victorians are furious. Every day, we look over the border into New South Wales, like a convict looking over the jail yard wall, to see a state with similar figures that manages to stay open,' he said.

Opposition MPs want restrictions relaxed faster as the lockdown threatens to put up to 400,000 Victorians out of work by Christmas. Pictured: A Melbourne park on Saturday

Mr Andrews encouraged anyone with a scratchy throat, runny nose or headache to get tested for the virus. Pictured: Melbourne residents on Saturday

Mr Andrews on Monday said Victoria's scientists have not advised him to relax restrictions faster than planned.

'I appreciate why everybody wakes up today, sees a low number, and everyone is hopeful and positive and that is a good thing but we have to stay the course on this,' he said.

'While we would all like to bring forward things a month, that is not the advice, not what the data and science says.

'Even with these low numbers and the great work we're doing, it is too early for us to open up.

'We need to take these steps, safe and steady and if they are not steady, it will not be safe.

'If we rush this, it will not be safe and everything that has been given and done and sacrificed will not be worth much.'

Asked if opening up could be brought forward at all, Mr Andrews added: 'If circumstances change, if we find ourselves ahead of schedule, not for one day, but in a manifest sense, common sense always guides us.

'We will look at what sits behind the numbers and then we will have to make a judgment. It won't be an easy judgment.

'Has enough time passed for us to be confident that the numbers we are seeing are a true reflection of how much virus is out there? They are very difficult judgments to make.'

Daniel Andrews (pictured) is being urged to relax lockdown restrictions ahead of schedule after Victoria recorded only 11 new cases of coronavirus on Monday

Melbourne's lockdown has put thousands of Victorians out of work. Pictured: Empty Bourke Street

Victoria recorded just 11 new cases on Monday, along with two deaths.

'This is not just a good day, this is a great day,' Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.

'We are seeing these numbers come down, the strategy is working.'

Victoria's 11 new cases were detected from 7,164 tests. In July test numbers peaked at about 30,000.

Mr Andrews encouraged anyone with a scratchy throat, runny nose or headache to get tested for the virus.

'It is a simple but profoundly important thing you can do for your family and every single Victorian family,' he said.

NSW has recorded four new cases of coronavirus including three returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine and one person linked to a known cluster.

The results were drawn from 7,765 tests, which was almost half the number conducted the day before.

NSW Health said while it was not unusual for testing numbers to drop over the weekend, it would like to see levels above 20,000, particularly in southwest Sydney.
LOS ANGELESAdvedro was founded in 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden, focused on native ads and push notifications for the first few years of its journey. Now in 2020 the company has launched Adopto, its own proprietary automated campaign optimizer enhanced by AI driven tools and on the cusp of making a massive move in the rapidly growing arena of intelligence-based marketing.

At the helm of this important initiative will be long-time industry luminary, and new Managing Director of Advedro, Joey Gabra. AVN sat down with Gabra via video call to discuss the new landscape for digital ads and the unique role Advedro plans to play in it.

AVN: Hello, Joey, can you tell us what exactly your role will be as Managing Director in the day-to-day operations of Advedro?

JG: Sure. For starters, Ill be overseeing all daily operations, providing strategic guidance, ensuring that the company achieves it's financial vision, developing our mission trajectory to reach longer term goals... and I will also be handling a lot of the Biz Dev duties as well.

That sounds like a very tall order with things changing as often as they do in the field of digital advertising.

That's true, and its exactly the sort of challenge I enjoy most. Advedro is a nimble company that can make moves quickly, but is also a stable platform with years of operational experience already. That's a rare combination of qualities and Im confident I can harness all of it to serve our clients even more effectively.

You do have past experience with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning systems from your time with Proxy Pony and the other brands you have helped to build, does that translate over to what youll be doing with Advedro?

Advedro uses a combination of super advanced Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning tools to ensure advertisers achieve maximum performance potential. All of our traffic solutions are AI-driven with an outstanding proven track record. I've been with the company for about two weeks and I am blown away every day when I see what our platforms can do for our customers traffic... it's amazing and super trippy.

Adopto is a pretty well known machine-learning platform at this point; can you tell us about some of the other technologies Advedro leverages for clients?

Yes, Adopto is a machine-learning tool, but our platform incorporates the data intelligence from it in so many ways beyond just optimizing ad placements for maximum ROI. We also use the data to fortify our Fraud Shield apparatus, which blocks traffic fraud with live intelligence derived from the global programmatic network to ensure real humans see your ads the way they are meant to be seen.

Does it go beyond fraud prevention?

Definitely! We provide Dynamic Creatives to save time and resources for our Advertisers, a world-class Tracker so no expensive third-party trackers are needed and you can keep all your campaigns in one place, and my personal favorite feature are the upcoming Live With Joey Webinars that will be unlike anything else out there as of yet.

What do you intend to cover with the "Live With Joey Webinars?"

At this point in my career, with the experience I have from many years in this sector, sharing what Ive learned, introducing contacts I have amassed and providing insights based on aggregated data will give our clients a clear competitive advantage. I will be hosting a twice-monthly webinar with the goal of educating the digital media, traffic, and affiliate communities on a number of relevant and important topics.

Each episode will have a special guest industry leader, influencer, or expert relevant to your ROI. The objective here is not really to promote Advedro directly; it's more about making us a reliable and credible resource for useful information. Of course it will indirectly promote our brand, but it wont be so in your face and will lead to you earning more as a result of participating in it. After all thats what all good marketing is about. Getting the right information to the right person at the right time and thats what Advedro does best.

Making a career change is always exciting, but with so many ad platforms on the market these days, what makes you so sure Advedro was the right move to make?

I wanted to be a part of a company that is essentially "future-proofing" themselves...they are working on things and creating strategies with the next five years in mind, not just focusing on the next five days or five months from now. Everyone who knows me understands that I have a personal interest in helping to shape the way things evolve, rather than passively riding the wave the way some companies prefer to do and Advedro shares my sense of adventure. I guess that's the best way to put it. Im not just planning to make our clients more money now, Im planning to provide new ways of making money that will propel their profits higher and higher far into the future. Its the right fit at the right time, and Im very optimistic about what we can do for the industry together.

***

Advertisers and Publishers can learn more about Advedro easily by checking out their website, advedro.com, today. The site gives a lot of detail about the products and platform offered as well as some performance indicators and plenty of other useful information. Of course, now you can also simply reach out to Joey ([email protected]) and contact him directly since he has his finger on the pulse of one of the most robust AI platforms aimed at improving Advertiser and Publisher ROI and hes clearly willing to share what he knows in ways that are destined to enhance your own ad spend on an ongoing basis.
After spending many years as coworkers at Henry Ford College, Mary Saad Assel and L. Glenn OKray recently collaborated on a new book.

Building America: Immigrant Stories of Hope and Hardship is a continuation of their efforts to get Americans to embrace those from other cultures. After discussing the plight of immigrants, they agreed to work together on the book.

Assel retired as the director of the English Language Institute at HFC. She has authored several articles and the prize-winning A Sprinkle of Dust: A Mothers Struggle with Loss and Healing.

OKray retired as both an administrator and adjunct instructor and has authored several articles on Dearborn, as well as five books on Dearborn stories and homes.

Both have contributed articles to the Dearborn Press & Guide over the past several years.

OKray said hes concerned about the rhetoric of the current election cycle.

The immigrant appears to be a pawn in this current race for the presidency, he said. Thats not how it is supposed to be.

The two said they want Americans to realize that immigrants love this country and may even appreciate it more due to their personal trials in gaining citizenship and a new beginning for their families.

Assel recounts how determination to become a successful American is what drives most immigrants to excel in what they do. She highlights a few of the contributing stories:

Diane Luxton tells of her grandfather Franjo Palaichs multiple immigration attempts to Detroit and his determination to become a successful entrepreneur.

Connie Hines discovers that her eighth great-grandfather was a Congregational minister in the American colonies and that her great-grandfather helped establish Yale University only to become its first president until his death 1707.

Dr. Nancy Owen Nelson tells of John Chandler, her earliest traceable kin and of her ninth great-grandfather born in Wiltshire, England, who arrived at the New World sometime around 1620.

Olga Klekner, an award-winning bilingual poet, writes about her influential Hungarian father-in-laws determination to take his family to America during the early 1940s to flee the socialist regime.

Dr. Mahnaz Mafee tells of the many immigrants she encountered and who she believed had a higher degree of education than the average American, and how they worked harder and spent longer hours at their jobs to earn a living.

Steve Gierhart states: Let us never forget that we are all immigrants. Only Native Americans can claim a lack of an immigrant past, and maybe some are glad of it since hate, prejudice, and betrayal drove their isolation and destruction, traits we should be very afraid of today, not making them cornerstones of political aspirations and goals driven by fear of change.

OKray met Cheyenne Adler when she was serving him and his wife, Jane, lunch at Macaroni Grill in Livonia. When asked about her life story, she said there wasnt much to tell. Upon prodding, she mentioned the fact that her adoptive father is a Holocaust survivor.

On meeting OKray, Cheyennes father  Miklos Adler  told of having been a prisoner in Auschwitz where he worked with components to be used in V-1 and V-2 guided missiles. Those who tried to sabotage the efforts of the Nazis were hanged. Typically, two or three persons were hanged each day.

Dearbornite Susan Bercea tells of growing up in Romania under the rule of the Communists. Her father led an underground church and was frequently arrested and beaten because of his beliefs.

She ultimately came to the United States, but her husband died shortly afterward. She completed a nursing degree while raising three children. In her story, she said, I believe if you are blessed to be in America, it is up to you to work hard and bless others.

Samir Leon recounted how he came from Syria to study engineering, but ended up owning a restaurant chain, Leons Family Dining, which gives out free Thanksgiving dinners.

Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun wrote a story about his coming to the United States from Lebanon. He is quoting as writing: I have always felt that there is no greater calling than public service. In 2018, I decided to give back to the community that shaped me into the man I am today by running for public office.

The book is available from Amazon and on Kindle.
There is a famous saying that every Egyptian knows  Egypt is the gift of the Nile. However, the point of my book is that it goes both ways because I want to argue that the Nile is also the gift of Egypt, says Nezar AlSayyad, author of The Nile: Urban Histories on the Banks of a River, which will be published in Arabic soon.



It was the culture of the ancient Egyptians that made the Nile the way it is and that led to the incredible association between the Nile and Egypt even though more than 80 per cent of the Nile is not in Egypt.



An architect, city planner, urban historian, and professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, AlSayyad is the author of several volumes examining aspects of the countrys urban history. He spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly during a recent visit to Cairo when he met with his Egyptian publishers Al-Shorouk in anticipation of the upcoming publication of his book in Arabic.



In the book, AlSayyad adds that the Nile has many gifts beyond Egypt. Perhaps one of its greatest gifts is the urban life that has sprung up along it and its tributaries, from its sources in Burundi, Rwanda, and Ethiopia all the way to the harsh deserts of Sudan and Egypt.



In his preface to the book, originally published by Edinburgh University Press in the UK in 2019, AlSayyad wrote that this book is not really about the Nile as a water body, nor is it about the environmental history of the Nile. It is instead a series of vignettes that attempt to narrate the urban life that has sprung up along the Niles banks over five millennia. The book attempts to tell the urban histories of the river, treating the Nile, its tributaries, and lakes as actors on the stage of the Nile Basin.



Rather than viewing historic events as unrelated occurrences, the book will present them as interconnected elements linked and influenced by the river, which has in turn been transformed by them. Speaking to the Weekly, AlSayyad added that what Egyptian and other Arabic-speaking audiences would get their hands on when they read the book was a compilation of the histories of the Nile.



There is simply no single history for the long journey of the River Nile that has been there for two million years and has been an inhabited river for 8,000 years, he said.



As he writes in the book, this river, which may be considered the longest in the world (if one includes all of its tributaries), travels through a host of different countries, and its journey through Egypt occupies less than one-fifth of its total course. Today, 11 countries are at least partly included in the Nile Basin, starting with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Sudan in Central Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Eritrea in East Africa, and finally Sudan and Egypt to the north.



Because of the diversity of lands in its basin, the Nile passes through very different climatic zones and natural areas, allowing it to support many types or species of plant life, birds, fish, animals, and peoples.



There are actually three geographical areas from which the Nile springs. First are the highlands of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, where are located the Mountains of the Moon, or the Ruwenzori, and the Kikizi range. A second important region is the Lake Plateau, a large catchment area containing Lake Edward, Lake Albert, Lake Victoria, and Lake Kyoga, which ultimately feeds many tributaries, including Bahr Al-Jabal, Bahr Al-Arab, Bahr Al-Ghazal, and Bahr Al-Zaraf, which converge to produce the White Nile. Third are the mountains of Ethiopia, which produce many rivers and streams that flow into Lake Tana and give us the Blue Nile.

AlSayyads book is based in part on an eight-month research trip through the cities on the banks of the Nile. Every one of the multiple histories it offers is a close encounter with a particular historical period as projected through one location and one individual.For example, in Burundi, hundreds of miles from the countrys largest city Bujumbura in a remote location in the hills of Mount Kikizi in the Lake Plateau region, AlSayyad starts his chapter Finding the Source of the Nile: Centuries of Discovery by examining a small pyramid. Four metres in height, the four-sided structure bears a copper plaque that reads in Latin caput Nili or the source of the Nile.Throughout recorded history, the Nile has witnessed the rise and fall of many great cities. Geographically, going from south to north, the Nile has sustained cities like Kampala in Uganda, Juba in South Sudan, Gondar and Bahr Dar in Ethiopia, Khartoum, Omdurman, Meroe and Napata in Sudan; and Aswan, Thebes (now Luxor), Akhetaten (now Amarna), Fayoum, Memphis, Al-Qahira (now Cairo), Avaris, Mansoura, Damietta, Rosetta, and Alexandria, all in Egypt, he writes.As such, the book is also a cultural and historical guide for all those interested in the Nile Valley. In a sense, the book is the story of the cities created, nourished, and destroyed under the auspices of the Nile, AlSayyad explained.RESEARCH: Through research that started in August 2014 and took him to many hard-to-reach places, AlSayyad saw the diverse flow of the river and the forms of life on its banks.He came to see for himself that there was no single culture or population that lived along the banks of the Nile on its long journey through East Africa. I became more and more convinced that the cultures of the peoples of the Nile are extremely diverse, as diverse as the rivers histories in fact, he said.One thing he noted was that more often than not these peoples chose to build their cities near but not next to the Nile in order to avoid the destruction that sometimes came with the floods when the waters rose. He was speaking just days before Khartoum, one of the cities his book examines, suffered the devastating consequences of a flood higher than anything recorded since the early 20th century.Egypts very close association with the Nile features prominently in the book. The Nile has been celebrated by its surrounding inhabitants since the time of the ancient Egyptians, a tradition that continues today. And contemporary Egyptians celebrate many occasions related to the Nile, some of which may have started as the religious practices of one group or another but evolved over time into general cultural practices or national festivals. One major celebration in Egypt related to the Nile used to be Wafaa Al-Nil, meaning Gratitude to the Nile. It occurred every summer in August, around the time the annual flood reached its peak, he writes.According to AlSayyad, because Egypt now controls the flow of the Nile through the Aswan High Dam, this celebration has now ceased, as Egyptians, now feeling secure from floods and with a reliable source of water, have started to take the Nile for granted.He adds that Hapi, the ancient Egyptian god of the Nile, was represented as a strong-bodied man with a prominent chest and a huge belly, symbolising fertility. Because the level of the Nile fluctuated and the floods were not always guaranteed, Hapi was considered a temperamental deity, and a myth later emerged that Hapi was not satisfied, and that Egyptians should present him with sacrificial gifts.In particular, the legend mentioned that Egyptians should sacrifice a living bride to the Nile once a year. There is absolutely no evidence that the ancient Egyptians ever made such offerings of living persons. Although the practice continued in Egypt all the way through the Middle Ages, the sacrificial bride was typically replaced by a wooden life-size doll.Throughout history, the Nile has defined the shape and content of Egyptian culture, and the remains of great cities in the Nile Valley and Delta illuminate the primacy of the river in the life of the ancient Egyptians.AlSayyad notes that for specific purposes, some of these settlements were built away from the Nile, for example, to accommodate the craftsmen and labourers who built Egypts temples, tombs, and pyramids. But, he said, all the other ancient cities, towns, and villages were located close to the rivers banks. For these settlements, the Nile offered plentiful water, fertile silt for agriculture, and a connection to each other and the outside world.Beyond serving as an artery of trade and communication, the river also provided a stage for ritual and ceremonial activities. It would not be an exaggeration to describe the Nile as a life-giving river.



With cities, towns, and villages alike situated on the Niles narrow flood plain, the river provided plentiful points for shipping and trading. Ancient Egyptian settlements thus did not need to be concentrated, but were relatively dispersed, giving ancient Egypt the unique identity of a state defined by scattered settlements of various sizes.



NILE CITIES: In chapter three of his book entitled The Nile of Lower Egypt: Memphis, the First Capital City, AlSayyad looks at some of the cities that have been built along the Nile in Egypt.



Although most cities along the Nile were constructed on terraces, for some reason Memphis was built on the valley floor, a decision which ultimately led to its impermanence compared with other Egyptian monuments. It is known it was built initially as a fortress in an area where the Nile was diverted, creating an arc-like form to its east. And under the Sixth Dynasty it became the formal capital of Egypt. It was probably also then that it was given the name Mennefer, meaning lasting and beautiful in ancient Egyptian, he writes.



In chapter four on the Thebes of the Pharaohs: The Nile of Upper Egypt, AlSayyad notes that unlike Memphis, located away from the Nile to avoid its floodwater, the settlement at Thebes bordered directly on the river.



This helped make the Theban region an ideal site for a religious centre. The Nile Valley here is surrounded by mountains which create a bounded plane. In physical terms, the river running through may be seen as dividing Thebes into an east and a west bank. But, spiritually, it may alternately be seen as a path, not an edge, connecting the two worlds of Thebes: the living and the dead, the profane and the sacred, the present and the past, and, even today, the modern and the eternal, he writes.

He also reveals that the route of the river has changed repeatedly over the years. What we see today is not what used to be there over a million years ago, and it is not necessarily what is going to be there in a few thousand or few hundred years, he says.The exact route of the Nile through the ages is poorly known, which is why many Egyptologists plot its present-day course differently than on maps of archaeological times, AlSayyad writes. This changing course may have led to misinterpretations of ancient monuments and settlements bordering the river, he adds.To serve the reader better, AlSayyads book comes with maps that depict the movement of the route of the Nile throughout its history. I had to have the maps in colour, even in the Arabic edition where all the other pictures will be in black and white to make the price of the book as low as possible, he commented. It was very important to capture the changes that have occurred in the route of the Nile, given their major impact on the northeast region of Africa, he said.In addition to the histories of the cities on the banks of the River Nile and the history of the river in the east and northeast of Africa, the book helps readers understand all sorts of things related to the Nile.

Where does the Nile start? Where did it use to end? What routes has it taken and how many branches has it had? What is the difference between the banks of the Nile in Ethiopia and in Egypt? What is the rationale behind choosing Blue and White to name the two branches of the Nile that start in Ethiopia and in Congo and Burundi to meet south of Khartoum as the Blue and White Nile? Why do some of the Nile Basin countries have bridges when others dont, for example.We are so proud of the Nile, but I dont think we know it well enough. We love it, but we also need to know it, AlSayyad said. For example, I dont think that many Egyptians today know that until the 1950s the colour of the Nile in Egypt used to be green and that the kind of greyish colour that we see today only came about after the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s, he added.We need to know the Nile, and we also need to think about how we can better use its water and how we can better protect its quality.AlSayyads book does not approach the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that is being built on the Nile in Ethiopia despite the fact that the research for the book started when the three countries along the Blue Nile were looking for an agreement on how to help Ethiopia construct its dam to generate electricity without causing harm to downstream countries like Sudan and Egypt.But a better understanding of the Nile would help its people across its journey to come up with answers to the big questions, he said. These would include questions such as those that hang over the GERD, the Jonglei Canal project in South Sudan, and others, he added.

The dispute over the GERD

Gonernment sources in Cairo this week said that there might be a delay in the next round of negotiations on a comprehensive and conclusive agreement on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile.



We were considering the possible dates and thinking that there might be a meeting late next week or the week after that. But now there is a question mark hanging over this because of the current situation of the flooding in Sudan, a government source said.



Late last month, the legal and technical delegations of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia ended yet another round of the talks that were initiated in June under the auspices of South Africa, the current chair of the African Union (AU), without even coming close to reaching even a basic agreement on the GERD.



According to informed Egyptian and Sudanese sources, the chances for a deal on the Dam in the coming weeks seem unlikely. The most controversial issue, according to sources in Cairo and Khartoum, is not only about the GERD itself, but also about quotas of Nile water, especially from the Blue Nile on which the GERD is being constructed.



According to the Egyptian sources, Egypt is not at all opposed to the right of Ethiopia to benefit from the Niles water. We accepted the GERD as a hydrological project that Ethiopia said was designed to generate electricity, but a few years down the road it turned out that this was not only the plan. Instead, Ethiopia wants to contest Egypts water rights to the Nile, the Egyptian source said.



Throughout five years of talks that started in 2015 upon the signing of the Declaration of Principles for the GERD in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, Egypt has aimed to defend its legal and just right to 55 billion cubic metres of Nile water a year, not only on the basis of legal agreements but also on the fact that the UN acknowledges that Egypt is water-poor.



For its part, Ethiopia has declined this legal right and instead has dubbed it colonial.



In an attempt to overcome such hurdles, Sudan proposed to both countries that they put aside the debate on water rights and focus instead on the filling and operation of the GERD. However, according to Egyptian sources, throughout the negotiations on the GERD Ethiopia has nevertheless been effectively challenging Egypts water rights.



This is what it boils down to when we are discussing the filling and operation of the GERD during drought and non-drought years: we want to make sure that what we receive annually from the Blue Nile does not go below 40 billion cubic metres of water, while Ethiopia has been talking about reducing this to 30 to 32 billion cubic meters a year, the source said.



If Ethiopia was just thinking of the GERD as a project to generate electricity, then it would not be thinking of cutting close to half of our annual share of Nile water. But is seems increasingly likely that what Ethiopia has in mind goes way beyond the generation of electricity, he added.



Other Egyptian sources have suggested that what Ethiopia has in mind is to turn the reservoir of the GERD into a water bank for its own use. They add that while Ethiopia may not be planning to deny Egypt its annual share of water from the Nile, it may want Egypt to pay in return for its full share.



This, the same sources say, goes back to the debates of 2009 and 2010 when several of the Nile Basin countries were discussing a possible agreement that would have cut not just Egypts share of the Niles water, but Sudans share as well. The discussion on this started before the splitting of Sudan into two countries in 2011.



Last week, Ethiopia was again telling its international interlocutors that what the Nile Basin countries, both on the Blue and the White Niles, need now is a new agreement on shares of Nile water.



Egypt has always opposed the confusion of the issues. It has, however, agreed to a US proposal to work for now on an agreement for the filling and operation of the GERD and to discuss future development issues in a later agreement.



However, official Egyptian sources say that even in the filling and operation agreement on the GERD there must be a reference to a future agreement on the use of Nile water. Ethiopia is as opposed to this as it is to finding an agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD.



There are also concerns raised by Sudan on the ecological impacts of the GERD and its impact on Sudanese dams.



With South Africas presidency of the AU set to expire in February, the next few months will be vital. If an agreement is not reached by the beginning of next year, then it will be time for a new round of talks, perhaps under the auspices of a new facilitator.



Meanwhile, Ethiopia has said that it will go ahead with the next filling of the GERD as it did with the last, with or without an agreement.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 10 September, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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California Investors Look to Startups Beyond Silicon Valley

Commentary

Derek Footer and Andrea White-Kjoss help the many startups that struggle to get noticed by big investors through their investment firm, ExtraVallis, based in Rancho Santa Fe, California.

They also help investors delve into untapped potentialbeyond Silicon Valley or New York or the few other places that have strong networks connecting startups with investors.

Companies that dont have access to the Silicon Valley networks are generally very, very unlikely to get funded, White-Kjoss told The Epoch Times. You have all of these very smart entrepreneurs  that have great products  who just cant get funding.

These great ideas die a slow death, she said.

Footer said ExtraVallis looks beyond the overworked pool in Silicon Valley, and at the same time, gives startups in other regions a chance to make it.

Footer and White-Kjoss outlined the process startups go through before really making it big, and they explained how to succeed in venture capital investing.

From Startup to IPO

At the startup stage, Footer said, an entrepreneur goes to friends and family usually, getting together some $100,000 to test the product, to see if theres interest. Next is the seed stage, he said. This is what ExtraVallis is interested in. Its a hard stage to enter and an even harder stage to progress beyond.

Its when angel investors pump another few hundred thousand, or maybe up to a few million, into the startup. Angel investors are people with a high net worth who might also be from within the entrepreneurs networking circle.

Next, the venture capitalists get involved, and the entrepreneur starts seeing investments in the tens of millions.

Then the company expands, and might either be acquired (by the Googles or Fords of the world), or go to an initial public offering. And the investors cash out.

But its hard to connect with venture capitalists if youre not in the major networks in Silicon Valley or similar regions, Footer said. For most companies, trying to get to that stage, youre in the valley of death, he said.

Even the best companies die.

And if youre an investor outside of those networks, its also hard to connect with the investment opportunities.

How to Succeed in Investing

Investors looking for a diversified portfolio should have 5 to 10 percent in risk capital, Footer and White-Kjoss said. But, White-Kjoss said, many are only investing in a few companies per year, which is a statistical way to lose money.

Success comes, she said, with 10 to 12 per year, up to some 35 over the course of three years.

Footer explained that, of those 35, 15 will outright die. Another several will be zombies, he said, providing an income for the company managers but not providing returns to investors. Out of the several remaining, two or three will provide big returns10 to 100 times the investment. And the others will provide decent returns of up to 10 times the investment.

For that critical mass of companies to invest in, Footer and White-Kjoss say they are happy to look in undersubscribed areas. Footer explained that 76 of all venture capital goes to New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, New England, China, and India.

He said theyre hunting for the unicornsthose companies that will give 10 to 100 times the investmentall over the world.

California Insider is an Epoch Times show available on YouTube.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
(Natural News) As we reported two weeks ago, President Trump has a secret weapon against the left-wing insurrectionists and treasonous actors who are trying to destroy this country. That weapon is the Fourteenth Amendment, which unambiguously states that the President of the United States must remove those from power who are engaged in granting aid or comfort to insurrectionists who are waging war against this nation.

Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment openly states:

No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

It couldnt be more clear. All those who aid in rebellion against the United States, whether civilian or military, must be removed from office. This includes Ocasio Cortez, Mayor Wheeler, Mayor Durkan, Mayor de Blasio, and even state governors like Inslee, Brown and Cuomo.

Arrests of left-wing mayors could begin shortly after the election

As we have reported over the last few days, the DOJ is gearing up to arrest left-wing collaborators shortly after the election, as Trump invokes the Insurrection Act and activates US military troops which are being positioned across the top 50 cites in America.

For full details on how this is likely to play out, see my important timeline of events to take place from Sep. 20th to Jan. 20th.

Now, the DOJ has issued an announcement that declares three US cities to be jurisdictions permitting violence and destruction of property. These three cities are:

Seattle

Portland

New York City

As the DOJ explains:

The U.S. Department of Justice today identified the following three jurisdictions that have permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities: New York City; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington.

Criteria for evaluating each city is below:

Whether a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction.

Whether a jurisdiction has withdrawn law enforcement protection from a geographical area or structure that law enforcement officers are lawfully entitled to access but have been officially prevented from accessing or permitted to access only in exceptional circumstances, except when law enforcement officers are briefly withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing unlawful incident posing an imminent threat to the safety of individuals or law enforcement officers.

Whether a jurisdiction disempowers or defunds police departments.

Whether a jurisdiction unreasonably refuses to accept offers of law enforcement assistance from the Federal Government.

Any other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate.

Its clear from the announcement that other cities will soon be added to the list; most likely Chicago and Minneapolis, among others.

Analysis: The DOJ is preparing to arrest Democrat mayors and charge them with sedition after the election

What this DOJ announcement sets into motion is a plan  which weve covered in detail at Natural News  to invoke Fourteenth Amendment powers to arrest left-wing mayors, governors, judges and legislators who have taken part in the illegal insurrection against the United States. This includes Rep. Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi, Jerry Nadler, Adam Schiff and literally thousands of state-level legislators and corrupt court officials who have taken part in a coordinated conspiracy to overthrow the United States of America.

As weve explained, no aggressive action will be taken against the insurrectionists until after the election. But immediately following the election, as the radical Left explodes into Operation Chaos and carries out organized, well-funded militant attacks on US infrastructure, lawmakers and the White House, President Trump will officially likely declare an insurrection to be under way, and he will activate US military resources across 50 cities, immediately taking down left-wing insurrectionist groups.

We also know this is the plan because AG William Barr has all but said so. In a widely circulated news item from last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that AG William Barr told prosecutors to explore charging Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan with sedition, for allowing residents to set up a police-free zone in that city this summer.

In other words, the DOJ is actively encouraging federal prosecutors to build cases against treasonous public officials who are allowing this left-wing violence to take place, and todays DOJ announcement naming Seattle, Portland and New York City is further establishing the fact that the political leaders of those cities are actively engaged in insurrection against the United States while violating their oaths of office.

Remember: The Fourteenth Amendment now requires President Trump and the DOJ to arrest those individuals and remove them from power. Such arrests will likely need to be carried out by military police after the election, once the military is fully deployed against left-wing cities to put down the violence and remove criminal insurrectionists like Durkan from public office.

America cannot function if its cities and states are run by treasonous actors engaged in violent rebellion against the nation

To parse all this information, remember that America is already in a civil war, with radical anti-American forces waging kinetic warfare against law enforcement, government buildings and Trump supporters. The recent death of child murder advocate Ruth Bader Ginsburg will only escalate the bloodthirsty Left even more, turning them into radicalized, raging lunatics who are committed to mass destruction, arson and chaos.

The only sure way to defend America from this violent uprising is to invoke the Insurrection Act and cite the Fourteenth Amendment, temporarily putting troops on the streets of US cities to take down insurrectionist forces and remove all treasonous / seditious actors from power. This would involve mass arrests of potentially thousands of treasonous actors  many named above  who have actively conspired to overthrow the United States of America. Some of these treasonous actors are sitting US Senators (Feinstein) or members of the House (Nadler, AOC, etc.). Others are members of the fake news media (Stephanopoulos) or run large tech platforms (Dorsey, Zuckerberg, Pichai, etc.). All of them are guilty of treason against America and must be arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned for their coordinated crimes against this nation. And that doesnt even get into the corruption at the FBI and Obamas DOJ, where people like James Comey, Eric Holder, John Brennan, Loretta Lynch and even Obama himself should also face charges of treason.

Violent left-wing rioters will soon be designated enemy combatants or domestic terrorists

At the same time, the tens of thousands of deranged, hate-filled left-wing rioters who are openly celebrating mass destruction, chaos and violent attacks against innocent people must be engaged with force by federal and military forces. In declaring the existence of an insurrection against the United States, President Trump is simultaneously declaring that all who engage in acts of insurrection are enemy combatants / domestic enemies who can legally be shot on sight by defensive forces such as activated military units.

Most likely, this is exactly what its going to take to end the destructive Left. The insane, deranged, lawless, raging mobs of the Left are now beyond human and have no rationality remaining in their twisted brains. They are no longer functioning as human beings. Instead, they are programmed biological robots who have been indoctrinated with media-inspired hatred and Big Tech social engineering to function as agents of destruction against America. They cannot be reasoned with or reformed. They will need to be permanently removed from society if any American is to ever live in peace again, under a system of civility and law.

Technically, once Trump declares an active insurrection under way, any American citizen can legally engage any enemy combatant who threatens this nation, although we have repeatedly advised American civilians to allow US military forces, National Guard forces and patriotic law enforcement to carry out this task.

Increasingly, the coming battles on the streets of America look to be left-wing domestic terrorists vs. activated US military and National Guard forces, although there is a possibility that some Guard units in Democrat-run states like Washington and California may join the treason, resulting in escalated military action that engages treasonous Guard units with extreme force. Under this scenario, we could literally see tanks, artillery, gunships and other air support operations carried out in or near US cities.

When you start hearing 155mm artillery shells going off near your home, youll know the civil war is on.

Support our domestic troops, and prepare for extreme disruptions in everything

During all this, the American people will experience severe disruptions in food, electricity, fuel, medical supplies, water supplies and other basic necessities.

My advice to all Americans is offered thusly:

SUPPORT local troops and pro-America militia units. The militia units, in particular, have a great need for food, ammunition, tactical gear, firearms and other supplies. Donate what you can, but maintain enough for your own survival and protection.

COMMEND our President for having the courage to call out the enemies of America while invoking the power necessary to eliminate them. Its time to take our nation back from the lunatic, lawless Leftists who only seek to destroy it. Their tyranny and sedition must be ended.

CALL FOR arrests of seditious mayors, governors, corporate CEOs and members of Congress. Raise your voice to demand that all who are carrying out acts of treason against this nation be arrested, charged and prosecuted.

STOCK UP on everything you can in advance of Election Day. Stockpile food, water supplies, water filters, ammunition, medical supplies, communications gear, batteries and anything else you might need.

DOWNLOAD my free nine-hour audio book, The Global Reset Survival Guide at GlobalReset.news

WATCH my tactical preparedness videos on firearms and more at PrepWithMike.com

JOIN Brighteon.social to stay plugged in and benefit from live tweets of the days events, from a pro-America, pro-Christian, pro-liberty point of view. My channel there is @HealthRanger , and there are thousands of other channels offering excellent coverage.

, and there are thousands of other channels offering excellent coverage. VOTE for Trump in the upcoming elections, and vote for GOP members of Congress in every race. We must maintain control of the US Senate and White House in order for Trump to take this decisive action against the treasonous Left and save America from destruction.

PREPARE to defend your president and your nation if necessary in the weeks following the election. The lawless Left is pursuing a detailed conspiracy to cheat and try to steal the election, and this plan involves flooding the streets with left-wing violent actors who will no doubt attempt to assassinate GOP Senators and the President himself.

Stay safe, in other words, and get prepared. You are about to witness the most tumultuous chapter of American history since the Civil War. And before this is all over, we will see military operations in multiple US cities  a necessary step to defeating the anti-American domestic enemies that hope to destroy this nation.

Remember when I said, earlier this year, that we would soon be in a situation where you would beg for martial law? Now it suddenly makes sense, doesnt it? You will be eternally thankful when US troops arrive in your city and shoot the insurrectionists dead, restoring the rule of law and halting the mass arson and chaos. For a while, were all going to be living under temporary military rule, but it now remains the only way to defeat the enemies of America and restore pro-Constitution, civilian rule in the months ahead.
Photo: Seaspan

Mark Lamarre is making his latest pitch for why Ottawa should choose Seaspan ULC to build the Canadian Coast Guards next flagship, the CCGS John G. Diefenbaker.

The pitch involves an arrangement in which, if the Vancouver shipbuilder gets the contract to build the polar icebreaker, it will hire Newfoundland-based Genoa Design International to do part of the work.

The aim of Lamarres presentation is to highlight both Genoas potential and how giving the contract to Seaspan, which announced a similar deal with Ontario-based Heddle Marine in June, will benefit different parts of the country.

Yet there is something else to his spiel, an underlying frustration over the fact he is having to sell his yard as the best place to build the desperately needed polar icebreaker. The source of that frustration: Seaspan already won the work once before.

I just want to underscore again that this is work that we felt that we won, Lamarre tells The Canadian Press before repeating the point less than a minute later. This is work that we believe we've won.

The Diefenbaker was first announced by Stephen Harpers Conservative government in 2008 and awarded to Seaspan in October 2011, one of seven ships to be built by the Vancouver shipyard through Ottawas multibillion-dollar shipbuilding strategy.

The plan at the time was for the entire deal, valued at $8 billion for all seven ships, to usher in a new era of stability and prosperity for shipbuilding on Canadas West Coast while delivering much-needed vessels for the Coast Guard and Navy.

The Diefenbaker was arguably the crown jewel of the package. Originally budgeted at $721 million, the polar icebreaker was supposed to be delivered by 2017 and replace the Coast Guards flagship, the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent.

But scheduling conflicts, technical problems and other issues scuttled the timeline and budget  which was increased to $1.3 billion in 2013 and is now under review again  before the government lifted the ship from Seaspans order book in August 2019.

Ottawa asked shipyards in March to explain how and why they should get the contract. Seaspan and Quebec rival Chantier Davie, which lost out of the competition that saw Seaspan get the Diefenbaker in 2011, were among the respondents.

Still, its clear Lamarre doesnt think there should be any question about which yard should be tasked with building the vessel.

As I said, we competed for the work in 2011 and won the right to the non-combat vessels, he said. Since then, we've invested into the one of the most modern shipyards in North America.

The company says those investments have totalled $185 million over the past nine years and were specifically made for the purpose of building the icebreaker  and Lamarre says not winning the contract changes our economic outlook.

We are a profitable business now, he says. And we have a program of work in front of us, but I just want to underscore again that this is work that we felt that we won.... And it's what we based our decision-making on for investing in this program."

Asked whether Seaspan would sue the government if it didnt get the contract, Lamarre says: Its too early for that.

The government has not provided much of an explanation for why it took the Diefenbaker away from Seaspan, substituting in 16 smaller vessels that the Vancouver shipyard argues were already promised to it by the previous Conservative government.

Ottawa has said it wants to make sure the icebreaker is built in the most efficient manner, noting the increasing age of the Coast Guards entire icebreaker fleet. It has not said when a decision might be made.

Davie is considered Seaspans chief competitor for the Diefenbaker. After losing out of the competition for work in 2011, the rival yard has since charged back and is now in line to build six medium icebreakers for the Coast Guard.

Yet even as Seaspan has faced continuing difficulty delivering on its schedule, Davie still hasnt delivered two of three second-hand icebreakers it pushed the Liberal government to buy two years ago.

The Quebec company nonetheless insists it  not Seaspan  is best placed to build the Diefenbaker, particularly given it is already in line to build the other six icebreakers.

"As the national icebreaker centre, we will consolidate experience, expertise and skills at Canadas largest and highest capacity shipyard to create world-class icebreakers in a competitive and sustainable manner," Davie spokesman Frederick Boisvert said in a statement.

"As has always been the case, Davie is the only shipbuilder capable of delivering the polar icebreaker."

Lamarre argues that with the investments made in its Vancouver shipyard and its new partnership with Genoa, Seaspan is ready to start work on the Diefenbaker now  and that Ottawa should stop wasting time and just move ahead with its original plan.

"I don't know why you would give it to anyone else other than Seaspan, he said.
Higher education in Poland By Mark Wegierski

Mark Wegierski looks at post-secondary education in Poland, based partially on some personal experiences from eighteen years ago. The number of students attending public and private universities and colleges in Poland has been reaching ever-higher levels with every year. There has been an incredible boom in private colleges since the 1990s. Also, there have been numerous State Higher Schools of Vocational Learning established. However, the ever-higher tuition costs for some studies (as well as the high costs of living in the major university towns), and high levels of poverty in Poland, may mean that above-average but not stellar students, from less affluent families, may not get the chance to attend university. There is also a major trend to political correctness and probably too much emphasis on E.U. guidelines in some institutions of higher learning, resulting in less and less Polish patriotic spirit. A parallel trend is the excessive stress on career-related business and technical studies, rather than on what could be seen as a better-rounded education in liberal arts such as philosophy, history, and literature (at least for part of ones pre-professional studies). I recall that on Friday, September 27, 2002, I had travelled with my female relative from Ciechocinek, the spa and resort town at which I was staying during the late summer and early autumn of 2002, southwestward to Lodz, the second-largest city in Poland. She drove a compact yet elegant Peugeot 206. Ciechocinek lies about two hundred kilometers northwest of Warsaw. She was going to pick up the formal graduation papers associated with the Masters degree she had just completed, at the Wojskowa Akademia Medyczna (Military Medical Academy) in Lodz. There was some urgency to the matter, as the WAM was merging with another institution to become the Uniwersytet Medyczny (Medical University) in Lodz. The WAM had been open to civilian students for a number of years, and my relative had completed a Masters in Public Health on a part-time basis. As we sat in the car in front of the guard-house entrance to the university, I recalled her complaints, in earlier telephone conversations, about the long trips to classes she had to take from the environs of Ciechocinek, where she lives, to Lodz, often in inclement weather. The WAM campus consisted of several large buildings constructed in what I thought to be a 1920s, Neoclassical style. I still remember the pleasant sunshine and warm weather at the time of our trip there, on that day in September. Among her other studies, my relative has completed a Licentiate (the Polish equivalent of a B.A.) in Cosmetology, at the Rydygier Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz, Poland. There was some controversy when that Medical Academy proposed to merge with the Nicolaus Copernicus Univeristy (Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika  UMK) in Torun  since the city administration of Bydgoszcz had hoped that the Rydygier Medical Academy could have become part of a major new university in Bydgoszcz itself. Indeed, the Rydygier Medical Academy became the Medical College of Nicolaus Copernicus University. Nevertheless, a few years later, there was a major university established in Bydgoszcz  Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego (UKW) (University of King Casimir the Great). Having reached Lodz, we then continued southward to Czestochowa, where most of my relatives immediate family  including her mother, sister, and brother  live, in a fairly big house with a large yard, on the citys outskirts. Driving around Czestochowa, we noticed the large, elegant building of the Akademia Polonijna (Polonia University), a major new private college, which is very well-regarded  as seen, for example, in its high place in the annual college rankings put out jointly by the large-circulation newspaper, Rzeczpospolita (The Republic) and Perspektywy (Perspectives), a major magazine for students. The Akademia Polonijna has set, as one of its missions, extensive cultural and scholarly interaction with persons of Polish descent living abroad, as well as documentation of the various cultural and patriotic achievements of the various Polonia communities. (Polonia is the term often used in the Polish language to describe Polish communities outside of Poland.) The combination of the activities of the Akademia Polonijna may, indeed, be seen as felicitous. Since we had arrived unannounced at her familys house, we decided to go for supper to Zornica, an elegant restaurant (and inn) on the southern outskirts of Czestochowa, built in the style of the Goral (Polish Mountaineer) architecture. Although, at six P.M., the place was rather empty, my dish was nevertheless tasty, consisting of pork medallions baked with mountaineer cheese and mushrooms, along with spicy roast potatoes, on a bed of sauerkraut. We went back to the house for tea and cake, and then started the long trip back to Ciechocinek at about 8 P.M. In a feat of driving I thought incredible, we got back to Ciechocinek somewhere after midnight. Many young people (as well as some persons in middle age) in Poland today, face the problem that, although they may in fact have very good training in a technical or business field, jobs for them simply dont exist. The unemployed graduate of Management and Marketing studies in Poland is a virtual cliche. The nationwide average of unemployment was for many years around twenty percent, and was actually somewhat higher for young people, and in certain regions, such as the southeast. And, in fact, two to three million Poles (especially younger people), have actually left since 2004, emigrating mostly to Great Britain, Ireland, and other E.U. countries. Those Polish politicians who can somehow improve the employment situation in Poland, in a way that will be sustainable over the long run, can expect to receive major support from the people of Poland. Mark Wegierski is a Toronto-based writer and historical researcher. He was born in Toronto of Polish immigrant parents.

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All that really matters By Dr. Robert Owens

Back when I was an atheist and I believed this is all there is I was passionately interested in politics, economics, and current events. I was committed to working for my side and to defeating the other guy. Now that Im a born-again child of God, a citizen of Heaven, and merely a pilgrim here I follow the ever-changing kaleidoscope of civic events more like a soap opera. Yes, I understand that within this bubble we know as the space-time continuum the ins and outs of whos up and whos down actually make a difference. For example, it will have a profound impact on the United States whether we hand the government over to socialist revolutionaries or if we deliver it to capitalists. However, in the grand scheme of things this makes about as much difference as which queen bee is laying eggs in which hive. I came to this level of a wokeness after years of Bible study, prayer, and fellowship with God. Just as a caterpillar goes through a metamorphosis and become a butterfly, I believe humans go through much the same process. Only instead of a two-stage process like a butterfly we go through three stages. First, were a fetus (in Latin fetus means little one) for approximately nine months. Second, were born into this world and live here for as long as we do. And finally, we pass from this world into eternity. Lets see: nine months, maybe 120 years, eternity. Which stage do you think is the real deal? The nine months prepare us for the 120 years and the 120 years prepare us for eternity. Two of these stages are merely steppingstones for the main event. Therefore, I contend that humans are in fact eternal beings who pass through two stages of development to become what we were created to be. All that really matters in this stage of our development is the direction were facing when we leave it. Are we looking to God and putting our faith in Him? Or are we looking to the world still grasping for all it has to offer? Think of it this way: if when were a fetus inside our mother the umbilical cord is wrapped wrong or if there is a chromosomal problem we could enter life with some sort of handicap that we will spend the next 120 years dealing with. In the same way if we enter eternity facing in the wrong direction, we will spend eternity dealing with the ramifications of that choice. From my personal Christian perspective heres the 411 on how we turn from the world and face in the right direction. Everyone can see that this world is broken. Evil runs rampant. The bad are rewarded. The good are crushed. Sickness, poverty, and oppression are on display in every direction. If God is good, why would He create such a horror show? The easy answer is He didnt. When He was done with creation He paused and looked around. Surveying all that He had done and it was Good. Then man turned away from God, embraced Satan, and God cursed the world while at the same time promising that a Savior would come who would step on Satans head and deliver humanity from the grip of the evil we chose. The price was a sinless sacrifice, the good for the bad. No human could do it because none of us has ever or could ever live a sinless life. Therefore, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to be incarnated as a human, live a sinless life, and then offer himself up as a sacrifice for us all. After His sacrifice Jesus descended into hell and as an eternal being suffered the punishment for every sin that had ever or would ever be committed. Then He was born-again in the very heart of darkness, triumphed over Satan, and God raised Him from the dead. Jesus led all those who had died waiting for this deliverance out of Satans grasp and emerged on the third day with the keys to death and hell. After spending forty days instructing His disciples on how to carry the message of the best news ever to the world He ascended into heaven. Ten days later the Holy Spirit arrived and filled the new believers so that from then on they were no longer earth bound humans. They were instead wall-to-wall God birthed children of the Most High on a pilgrimage here with a mission to share their experience to be witnesses. There it is in a nutshell. The word Gospel means Good News in old English. So, when you get filled to overflowing with all the bad news the world vomits up every day why not turn to the good news. Dont worry about what you cant do anything about. Do you think if you missed one news broadcast or if you stopped watching them for ever it would make any difference to what is happening on the stage of the world or would the actors just keep reading their lines and playing their parts? The bad news impacts us more than we can ever impact it. Its like a joke making the rounds: An English asks an Amish fellow, Why isnt the COVID rampaging through your communities? The Amish fellow says without hesitation, Because we dont have any TVs. The TVs, radios, magazines, and papers may carry the news, but only the Bible has the Good News. It all comes down to choices: choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. In other words no matter what, were all going to serve somebody. It will either be any one of the countless gods of this world or the one true God. How do you make that choice? Is it by joining the right church? Is it by attending the correct services, worshipping in a certain way, or following any of the endless rules the world invents to complicate and build a barrier between us and the God who wants us to join His family? No! Not only has He made it simple He has made it easy. All we need to do is confess Jesus as the Lord of our life and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead and we will be saved. Thats it. Do that and we have joined Gods family. Then we can pour ourselves into His Word so that its life-giving Spirit will fill us and recreate us. Forget about the bad news and study the Good News instead. Lets Eliminate the negative, accentuate the positive, latch on to the affirmative, and dont with mess mister in between. Or to put it another way, Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace. Dr. Robert Owens teaches History, Political Science, Global Studies, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com  2020 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens Home
Johnson is speaker at Northern State event Monday

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson will speak at the grand opening of Northern State University's Center for Public History and Civic Engagement.
09/21/2020

Photo (c) hapabapa - Getty Images The deadline for concluding the 2020 U.S. Census is coming up, which means the U.S. Census Bureau is intensifying efforts to collect the necessary data. However, consumer advocates worry that scammers are seeking to exploit that situation.

Steve McFarland, President of the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau, says his office is receiving reports that scammers are posing as census workers and are going door-to-door and looking for an opportunity to steal personal information, and even money.

"They want your personal information and they want money. That's what they want," McFarland recently told KNBC-TV in Los Angeles.

Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the deadline for wrapping up the census has been extended to September 30. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody says that just gives scammers more time to operate their schemes.

With more census workers heading door-to-door it could mean more opportunity for imposters and scams, Moody said.

Ideal cover

The census offers ideal cover for scammers who want to obtain sensitive information about people to either steal money or identities. Earlier this year, AARP warned consumers to be on the lookout for criminals posing as census-takers.

"We've learned that scammers are very shrewd and adept at capitalizing on current events," said Kathy Stokes, director, fraud prevention programs, at AARP. "The Census has been in the news, so most people are expecting to hear soon from the Census Bureau. Scammers will use that to their advantage as they aim to deceive people into sharing sensitive information or handing over money."

Unless the deadline is extended again, there will be a flurry of census activity in the next couple of weeks. Moody says that means people should be very careful when they interact with census personnel, to make sure they are who they say they are.

What to do

To avoid falling victim to census scams, consumer should do the following:

Check the ID badge of a census worker doing home visits by looking for the workers photograph, U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and expiration date;

Call 1 (800) 923-8282 if questions remain about a census workers identity and ask to speak with a local Census Bureau representative. If it is determined that the visitor does not work for the Census Bureau, contact local law enforcement;

Know that the Census Bureau will not send unsolicited emails or ask for Social Security numbers, bank account or credit card information, or money; and

Confirm that the return address on the mail from the Census Bureau is Jeffersonville, Indiana.

The Census Bureau usually contacts people by mail or sends a representative to the home, but the best way to tell a real census-taker from an imposter is by the questions that are asked.

A real census questionnaire is simple, asking mostly about who was living in the home on April 1, 2020, what type of dwelling it is, and a telephone number. You can check out the actual census survey here.

There has been a move in Congress over the last week to extend the census deadline until October 31. An extension appears to have backing from both Republicans and Democrats and may be approved before the deadline.
Tomorrow is the first day of fall, Halloween candy has been on the shelves since early August, but seasons arent real anymore and time doesnt matter, so lets talk about spring break in September, because why the hell not?

Bad news: its canceled. Hardly a month into the fall semester, colleges are already eliminating spring break for students in a preemptive attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Paper magazine reports that multiple universities including Carnegie Mellon, Purdue University, Ohio State University, University of Iowa, and the University of Michigan are already calling off spring break in an attempt to limit the amount of reckless partying typically associated with the mid-semester vacation.

Last year, spring break trips and parties were a big cause of concern among the COVID-conscious, and a recent study of 7 million U.S. college students by Ball State University found that some spring breakers actually did bring the virus back to campus. Several months later, since were still living in a pandemic from which we seem increasingly unlikely to ever truly emerge, colleges are trying to plan ahead for next year. According to Paper, schools are rearranging their calendars to cut out spring break in the hopes of keeping would-be spring breakers from spreading the virus through travel and partying.

Meanwhile, the fall semester isnt off to a great start on many campuses around the country. Since welcoming students back, however cautiously, in recent weeks and months, many colleges and universities have struggled to enforce social distancing practices, with multiple, extremely predictable reports of COVID-negligent parties surfacing from schools throughout the country. But dont worry, Im sure canceling spring break is all we need to keep this virus under control.

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The post Spring Break Is Already Canceled appeared first on InsideHook.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 01:32:05|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Volkan Bozkir, president of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on Monday stressed the importance of multilateralism, calling for collective efforts for a better future.

"Multilateralism is not an option but a necessity as we build back better and greener for a more equal, more resilient and more sustainable world," Bozkir said in his opening remarks at a high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.

He called for collective efforts and continued commitment from the member states to work together to strengthen coordination and global governance for the common future of present and coming generations.

"The United Nations must be at the center of our efforts," Bozkir said, noting "the world has changed in unimaginable ways" since the UN was established.

The UNGA president said an upgraded UN must respond to challenges and changes to stay relevant and effective.

"We must support the United Nations to evolve into more agile, effective, and accountable organization, so it is fit for purpose and can deliver the future we want," he said.

Bozkir said "no other global organization gives hope to many people for a better world," as "there is no other global organization with the legitimacy, convening power and normative impact as the United Nations."

The organization's work is more crucial than ever, especially in the context of the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and support from the member states is an indispensable part, according to the UNGA president.

Noting "the United Nations is only as strong as its members' commitment to its ideas and each other," Bozkir emphasized that "it is now time to mobilize our resources, strengthen your efforts, and show unprecedented political will and leadership to ensure the future we want, and the United Nations we need."

"It is now time to act. I am taking the call for renewed global actions seriously," he said. Enditem
GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ  Another Gloucester Township tradition has taken a hit in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The townships annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration has been postponed due to the pandemic, according to township officials.

Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, and Mayor David Mayer and Gloucester Township Council would typically honor outstanding Latino members of the community during a meeting in October.



The township usually takes nominations on its website, and those who are selected are honored with a special celebration and the presentation of awards. However, due to the current health pandemic, the township has postponed this years ceremony until next year, officials said.

New Jersey Coronavirus Updates: Don't miss local and statewide announcements about novel coronavirus precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.



Township Council held virtual meetings for a few months, but are meeting in person again. However, state restrictions on the number of people who can attend an indoor gathering  25 people or 25 percent capacity  would have an impact on the annual celebration.



The announcement came after the township already announced a slew of fall event cancellations, including its Pumpkin Festival, Trunk-or-Treat, Food and Craft Beer Festival and Drive-in Movie Night events. Read more here: Gloucester Twp. Cancels Fall Events Amid Coronavirus Pandemic



In the spring, Gloucester Township Day, National Night Out and the township's 325th Anniversary Celebration were all canceled.



As of Tuesday, there were 1,055 cases of the coronavirus in Gloucester Township with 58 confirmed deaths. Three new cases reported on Tuesday included a girl older than 10, a woman in her 30s and a man in his 40s.

Although only 17 cases were reported countywide on Tuesday, county officials urged caution as the fall begins. Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said officials have repeatedly warned about how critical the fall will be as the nation faces both the coronavirus pandemic and the return of flu season.

Story continues

"Still, we do not know how the change of season will affect the pandemic, as we are forced to move much of our activities and small gatherings inside when the weather cools," Cappelli said. "As we move into the next stage of this crisis, please follow the guidelines laid out by our public health officials, wear masks, and continue to social distance.

See related: NJ Coronavirus, Reopen Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

This article originally appeared on the Gloucester Township Patch
Baghdad, Sep 21 : Iraqi authorities have banned the entry of foreign travellers into the country amid the appearance of new coronavirus strains in neighbouring countries.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi said that "the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety decided not to allow any foreigner to enter Iraq in the coming days, except for the diplomatic missions", reports Xinhua news agency.

He said that the decision came "as a result of the increasing number of coronavirus infections in neighbouring countries".

As for the preparations for the major Shia ritual of Arbaeen, al-Tamimi said that "the Ministry has prepared an integrated plan, in coordination with health institutions in all Iraqi provinces".

"We hope that there will be no increase in the number of coronavirus infections after Arbaeen," he added.

The minister's comments came as the Iraqi Health Ministry reported 3,438 new Covid-19 cases, raising the overall tally to 319,035.

The Ministry also confirmed 64 new fatalities from the infectious disease, taking the death toll to 8,555, while 4,052 more patients recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 253,591.

Iraq has taken a series of measures to contain the pandemic since February when the first coronavirus case appeared in the country.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The portal has been introduced by State Bank of India for hassle-free implementation of retail loans, including home, auto, education and personal loans

In a bid to provide relief to its retail borrowers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday launched an online portal for those seeking further relief from their loan equated monthly installment (EMI) repayments.

The portal has been introduced for hassle-free implementation of retail loans, including home, auto, education, personal loans. SBI has also released a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to provide clarity to the borrowers regarding their eligibility for the restructuring of loans and how it can be availed.

The retail customers of the bank will be asked to enter their loan account number as they log in on to the website.

After the OTP is verified and the customer has provided all the necessary information, they will be informed about their eligibility. They will get a reference number which will be valid for 30 days.

During this period, the customer can visit any of the nearest SBI branches and complete all the mandatory formalities. The restructuring process will be over once the documents are verified.

The facility has been introduced after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed banks to provide loan restructuring options to individual borrowers, Economic Times reported.

Only those borrowers are eligible whose loan accounts were classified as standard and not default for equal to or more than 30 days as on 1 March 2020 and the incomes have taken a hit due to the pandemic.

The approval of loan restructuring applications for borrowers will be conveyed to them by their respective branch/ CPC.

Earlier this month, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked banks and NBFCs to roll out the loan restructuring scheme by 15 September. She also asked them to provide adequate support to the borrowers for the lifting of the moratorium on repayment of debts.

The further moratorium will be for a maximum of two years and customers will have to apply for the loan restructuring scheme by 24 December, 2020.

It should be noted that loans taken after 1 March 2020 will not be eligible for the revamp scheme even though the finances of the borrower have been impacted due to COVID-19.

SBI will also compare the February 2020 salary slip of the borrower with August 2020 to know the eligibility of loan restructuring resolution.

Steps to check eligibility

Step 1: Customers will have to visit the site bank.sbi or sbi.co.in and will have to enter their loan account number

Step 2: An OTP will be sent on their registered mobile number for authentication

Step 3: Need to provide some necessary information to know your eligibility

Step 4: With the reference number generated, visit the SBI branch within 30 days and complete all the formalities

Step 5: Restructuring will be done after the complete verification and execution of documents at the branch/ CPC

Who are eligible?

Those borrowers who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will be eligible if they meet the conditions including:

If the salary/income in the month of August 2020 has reduced as compared to February 2020. Reduction or suspension in salary during the period of COVID-19 lockdown. If the borrower has lost his/her job or closed the business. Closure during lockdown/ reduced activity of units/shops/business establishments in case of self-employed/professionals/businessmen.

Loans covered under the category:

Housing and other related loans, education loans, auto loans (other than loans for commercial use), and personal loans are covered.
SPRINGFIELD  City officials said Monday there has been a slight uptick in new coronavirus cases recently, but hospitalizations remain at low numbers.

The details were shared during the weekly COVID-19 update at City Hall, conducted by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, city department heads, and representatives of Baystate Health and Mercy Medical Center.

There were 51 new cases of COVID-19 reported for Springfield residents during the past week (Sept. 14-20), as compared to 39 cases the prior week (Sept. 7-13) and 29 cases the week before that (Aug. 31 to Sept. 6), said Helen Caulton-Harris, the citys commissioner of health and human services.

What you are seeing in our city is a slow creep of cases, Caulton-Harris said.

There were seven reported new cases of Springfield residents having COVID-19 on Friday, nine new cases on Saturday and 13 new cases on Sunday, city officials said.

The uptick in cases could be tied to the Labor Day holiday, as there seems to be a pattern of upticks in COVID-19 cases two weeks after holiday weekends, when people gather in larger numbers, Caulton-Harris said.

We saw this with Memorial Day, we saw it with the Fourth of July, Caulton-Harris said. I believe we are seeing it with Labor Day.

The city remains in the green category for COVID-19, meaning it is among the low-risk communities of Massachusetts, officials said. The green designation is for communities with fewer than four new cases per day per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period, officials said.

The city reported no new deaths last week of Springfield residents with COVID-19, marking approximately a month since the last death, Sarno said.

There have been a total of 3,125 residents of Springfield infected with the coronavirus since the pandemic began in mid-March, including 131 deaths.

Dr. Mark Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health, said the number of hospitalized patients remained low last week, with 13 patients hospitalized at Baystate Medical Center as of Monday, including four in intensive care.

Dr. Robert Roose, chief medical officer at Mercy Medical Center, said there was one COVID-19 patient at Mercy as of Monday, as compared to no patients a week ago.

Keroack said there have been outbreaks of COVID-19 around the country, including some related to the reopening of colleges or weddings or other large events.

In a sense we have kind of entered the brush fire phase of this, Keroack said. And as you know, brush fires can turn into forest fires. I think we need to really rethink how we are going to keep these little outbreaks under control so we dont slip backwards. And part of that in my opinion is to combat another epidemic  an epidemic of COVID fatigue or COVID denial.

City officials and hospital officials stressed that the public needs to remain vigilant about coronavirus protections, including avoiding large gatherings, wearing face coverings in public places, social distancing, and washing hands frequently.
Wellington, Sep 21 : New Zealand's largest city Auckland will ease restrictions on gatherings at midnight Wednesday, moving down from Covid-19 Alert Level 2.5 to 2, with the rest of the country moving down from Alert Level 2 to Level 1 from Monday midnight.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement at a press conference on Monday while no new cases were reported in the country, reports Xinhua news agency.

Auckland saw a second wave of Covid-19 community outbreak in August, with transmissions contained locally.

Therefore, Auckland has maintained a higher alert level than the rest of New Zealand.

Auckland's level 2 means that gathering restrictions will increase from 10 to 100 people.

At Alert Level 1, people need to be ready in case Covid-19 reappears.

Cabinet will review the alert levels again on October 5 on whether moving alert levels at 11.59 p.m. on October 7.

Since the Auckland cluster was revealed on August 12, contact tracers have identified 3,989 close contacts of cases, of which 3,978 have been contacted and are self-isolating, and officials were in the process of contacting the rest.

On Sunday, laboratories also processed 3,568 tests - bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 914,421.

New Zealand has so far reported a total of 1,815 coronavirus cases, with 25 deaths.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The Worcester Housing Authority will be getting a $10 million grant to build a new economic opportunity center for residents of Great Brook Valley and Curtis Apartments.

As part of the Inspire to Grow project, the award comes from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Developments Gateway Cities Neighborhood Revitalization Program, the WHA said in a statement. The funds will be used to demolish the authoritys Great Brook Valley central building, located at 69 Tacoma Street, to build a new, 38,000 square-foot economic center for residents.

Officials said the project will address neighborhood revitalization needs at the Curtis Apartments, focusing on resident engagement, connectivity, economic mobility and housing.

The site will house property management offices for Great Brook Valley and Curtis Apartments; a number of housing programs; a resident services office overseeing youth, adult and elderly programs; the Great Brook Valley branch of the Worcester Public Library and a state-of-the-art computer lab, among other things.

The money will also be used to build 18 new public housing apartments at the Curtis Apartments, officials said, as well as to transform 30,000 square feet of barren concrete quadrangle at the rear of Great Brook Valley Avenue into green space.

This is tremendous investment to the Curtis and Great Brook Valley neighborhood," WHA CEO Alex Corrales said in a statement. "It provides an opportunity for residents to easily access services and resources in the new center, but also allows the creation of much needed public housing apartments.

Officials aim to complete the project by 2023, they said.

Related Content:
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito have ruled in several recent cases that courts should try to preserve existing laws as much as possible when eliminating problematic provisions. And Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a majority opinion this term  while the Texas case was pending  agreeing with such reasoning.

The court presumes that an unconstitutional provision in a law is severable from the remainder of the law or statute, Justice Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion upholding a congressional ban on robocalls. (He was joined by Justice Alito and Chief Justice Roberts.)

His opinion says the courts duty should be to salvage rather than destroy the rest of the law passed by Congress and signed by the president.

Mr. Adler is one of many legal scholars who supported earlier legal efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act but who have sided with the laws defenders on this case. In considering possible outcomes, he said he would not rule out a unanimous decision upholding the law.

Theres a deadlock, postponing a judgment

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in California v. Texas on Nov. 10. If a new justice is not confirmed and seated by then, the case will be decided by the remaining eight members. A ninth justice who joined the court after oral arguments but before a decision would still not cast a vote.

An eight-member court raises the possibility that California v. Texas could end in a tie at the Supreme Court. When that happens, the appellate courts decision typically stands. But in this instance, the appellate court did not rule on the key issues in the case; it ruled instead to send the case back to the original trial judge in Texas for more analysis.

The group of Democratic states defending the health law rushed it to the Supreme Court anyway, arguing that the court could end the uncertainty already caused by this litigation. That means that a tie could lead to years of litigation as the case is re-argued, potentially resulting in another Supreme Court hearing years from now. The health care law would be left standing in the meantime, with the justices skirting a political controversy in the short term.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 19:45:21|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Nick Coatsworth on Monday welcomed the decline in coronavirus cases but warned against complacency.

He said he was concerned that testing rates would decline as the second wave of COVID-19 infections subsides in Victoria, the hardest-hit state by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

"We need to keep in mind that there's still a way to go. When Victorians come out of restrictions, particularly in Melbourne, the complacency has to be avoided," he said.

"We know how to stop this virus, if we limit household gatherings, wash hands frequently and have the COVIDSafe app downloaded and maintain physical distance and of course mask-wearing being mandatory, these things will allow us to lift restrictions safely."

As of Monday afternoon, there have been 26,912 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia, and the number of new cases in the last 24 hours is 16.

The national death toll has increased to 851 after two new deaths from COVID-19 were reported in Victoria on Monday.

Of the new cases, Victoria reported 11, which is the lowest number of new cases since June 16, when nine cases were reported.

"Within Victoria, five of the new cases are linked to outbreaks or complex cases and six are under investigation," said a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria on Monday.

"One of today's two deaths is linked to a known outbreak in an aged care facility. To date, 763 people have died from coronavirus in Victoria," it added. Enditem
In the continued search for life on Venus and other places in the solar system, a British research team discovered that the rancid and toxic phosphine gas that comes from microbes might exist in Venus's acidic and burning atmosphere.

Jane Greaves, an astronomer from Cardiff University and research team leader, said it should not be present on Venus due to the photochemical and geological impossibility of producing it there. This led them to conclude that microorganisms could be present on Venus.

READ: Rainfall and Snowmelt From Storms May Have Filled Lakes, Rivers on Ancient Mars



Conditions on Mars and Venus

Most astronomers are confident that someday, life on other planets will be discovered. One of the first candidates, Mars, was found by scientists to be frozen and dead. It had a fragile atmosphere irradiated with UV.

Meanwhile, Venus has an atmosphere that is super-heated and dense, with sulfuric acid clouds hanging above carbon dioxide. Its surface was hot enough to melt lead.



Extremophilic Microbes

Recently, carbon-based microorganisms known as extremophiles were discovered on hostile Earth environments, such as highly acidic water, nuclear waste, and vents under the sea with colossal pressures and temperatures. They were found in space, on the bolted panels outside the ISS, living in a space vacuum for years.

It seems that life is not fragile after all, and if Earth microbes can live in such extreme environments, maybe there are similar microorganisms on other planets.



Planetary and satellite Candidates

Interplanetary probes showed that Jupiter has satellites that contain underground oceans.

Its satellite Titan also has organic chemicals in its atmosphere and possess lakes with methane and ethane hydrocarbons. Organic compounds are life's building blocks.

Meanwhile, on Mars, ancient rivers and creeks were found, where water once freely flowed. Underground, it might still contain life.

Currently, we only know one place where life exists: on Earth. Whether life is rare in the universe or widespread and common, we still have to find out.

READ ALSO: Asteroid Bennu is Ejecting Particles Off to Space, Leaving Scientists Puzzled



Promising Candidates

Despite the discovery of phosphine on Venus, Edinburgh University professor Charles Cockell doubts that there is life there due to its hostile environment. He says, though, that there are a lot of other places that show more promise.



Mars

The Red Planet was similar to Earth billions of years in the past, and life could have occurred during that time. Today, they may still linger under the ground.

The Perseverance robot rover is set to collect rocks in the coming years to be examined for fossils and life signs.



Jupiter's Europa

Jupiter's moon Europa is ice coated. Beneath it, a saltwater ocean has been discovered. Since life thrives in water, and Europa has a lot of it, it is a promising candidate, according to the University of Westminster astrobiologist Lewis Dartnell.

The US will send the Europa Clipper to probe Europa in 2030. A separate mission may look for biological signs of activity in the moon's underground ocean.



Saturn's Enceladus

Enceladus is a small satellite of Saturn with geysers venting organic matter and salt from its underground ocean. This will make it easy to collect samples because Enceladus gushes the water out to space.

Unfortunately, according to Cockell, decades will be needed to send a mission and bring back samples for study.



Titan

Titan, Jupiter's satellite, has lakes of methane & ethane liquid hydrocarbons. It is freezing, but there is still a possibility that the hydrocarbons can evolve lifeforms, according to Dartnell.



Thus, if not on Venus, the search for life is quite promising for the other planets and moons in our solar system, and scientists continue to search.

READ NEXT: NASA Successfully Launched the Perseverance Rover on Its Mars Mission

Check out more news and information on Venus on Nature World News.
ZION OIL & GAS DRILLING RIG

Zion's drilling rig crew is mobilizing in preparation for an estimated nine (9) days of overland transport in Romania to its departure port. Once at the port, Zion has a confirmed vessel date for sea transport to be October 21, 2020, from Romania and arriving at Haifa port in Israel by October 27, 2020.

Zion's local logistics group in Israel is currently finalizing the rig importation customs paperwork. The first group of rig personnel visas are approved. Once in Israel, the rig-up crew and spudding crew will be required to quarantine in Israel for fourteen (14) days. Both crews are estimated to arrive in Israel by mid-October, 2020.

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

In preparation for the rig arrival, setup, acceptance testing, and spudding the Megiddo-Jezreel #2 well, the conductor pipe has been set to a depth of 110 feet, the cellar has been completed (dug and cemented), and other finalizations of the pad are ongoing.

Zion has finalized arrangements for such essential services as directional drilling services, mudlogging services, wireline/logging services, and cementing services. Much of the necessary additional equipment needed such as drill pipe, casing, mud, chemicals, wellhead, a blowout preventer (BOP) and drill bits, has also been contractually secured by Zion.

Zion's drilling crew will complete a water well monitoring program in compliance with the Megiddo-Jezreel lease agreement and Water Authority mandate before spudding the Megiddo-Jezreel #2 well. The estimated completion time for the water monitoring program is fourteen (14) days. Upon completing the well monitoring program, the Megiddo-Jezreel #2 drilling campaign will begin, and Zion will spud the well.

WARRANT EXPIRATION DATES EXTENDED

On September 15, 2020, Zion executed an Amendment to certain Warrant Agent Agreements between Zion and AST Financial to extend the expiration date of all outstanding warrants by two (2) years.

"We will do all that we can to support the Zion shareholders who have invested with faith," expressed John Brown, Zion's founder and board chairman.

Details on Zion's warrant extension can be found within the 8-K filing with the SEC filed on September 21, 2020, and Zion's website (www.zionoil.com/dspp/exercise-warrants).

Zion Oil & Gas, a public company, traded on OTCQX Best Market, explores for oil and gas onshore in Israel on their 99,000-acre Megiddo-Jezreel license area.

"The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Deuteronomy 31:8

"Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

Isaiah 12:5-6

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this communication that are not historical fact, including, but not limited to, statements regarding Zion's operations; Zion's ability to continue as a going concern; operational risks in ongoing exploration efforts; importing the rig it purchased into Israel in a timely manner; the timing and completion of the processing, interpretation of the results and plans contingent thereon off the 3-D seismic survey; regulatory approvals needed for the rig's erection and startup; the effect, if any, of the coronavirus pandemic on the timing of the delivery and start-up of the well, and liquidity for shareholders on OTCQX are forward-looking statements as defined in the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other unpredictable factors, many of which are described in Zion's periodic reports filed with the SEC and are beyond Zion's control. These risks could cause Zion's actual performance to differ materially from the results predicted by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in Item 1A in Zion's Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference, and other factors as may periodically be described in Zion's filings with the SEC. Zion can give no assurance that the expectations reflected in these statements will prove to be correct and assumes no responsibility to update these statements.

Contact Info:

Andrew Summey

VP, Marketing and Investor Relations

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (OTCQX: ZNOG)

12655 North Central Expressway, Suite 1000, Dallas, TX 75243

Telephone: 888-891-9466

Email: [email protected]

www.zionoil.com

SOURCE Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.zionoil.com


A Delhi court Monday sent 61-year-old journalist Rajeev Sharma, a Chinese woman and a Nepalese man, all arrested on charges of spying last week, to seven more days of custodial interrogation by the Delhi Polices special cell.

Police have also written to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking its help in exploring how Sharma was allegedly paid through shell companies operated by a couple in China.

Chief metropolitan magistrate Pawan Singh Rajawat extended the custody of Sharma, Chinese woman Qing Shi, and Nepalese man Sher Singh after they were produced before the court at the end of their police remand.

Sharma was arrested under the Official Secrets Act on September 14. The other two were booked under the same Act on September 19 for allegedly helping Sharma receive money from Chinese intelligence agents in lieu of information he allegedly provided them.

On Monday, police sought eight days remand of Sharma while stating that they have written to the defence ministry about the incriminating documents recovered from Sharma. They said Sharma has to be confronted with huge and voluminous data. The police also said a lot of data was recovered from the cellphone and laptop of the three arrested persons.

Appearing for Sharma, senior advocate Adish C Aggarwala, opposed the remand plea and said the investigation was not being conducted in the correct manner.

He said all charges against his client were baseless and there was no evidence against Sharma with the police. Aggarwala had earlier told HT that police did not recover any classified document from Sharmas Pitampura house (when he was arrested).

We also informed the court that the police have not provided us with a copy of the FIR. The bail application that we filed on September 17 was to be heard today ( Monday). The court directed the police to provide us with the FIR copy and reply on the bail plea by September 24, Aggarwala said.

Following this, the court sent Sharma to seven-day police remand and posted the matter to September 28. The bail hearing will also be on September 28, the senior advocate said.

Special cell officers said Sharma was allegedly passing on sensitive and classified information to Chinese intelligence agencies since 2016, and was allegedly paid nearly Rs 40 lakh through various channels, including Hawala transactions and shell companies.
Companies such as Walmart, Citigroup, Microsoft and IKEA call for policies to reverse nature loss in this decade.

Some of the worlds biggest companies have backed growing calls for governments to do more to reverse the accelerating destruction of the natural world and support broader efforts to fight climate change.

More than 560 companies with combined revenues of $4 trillion, including Walmart, Citigroup and Microsoft, signed on to a statement calling for action over the next decade.

The call comes as the United Nations prepares to host a biodiversity summit later this month, aiming to build momentum towards forging a new global pact to ward off threats to nature exemplified by recent fires in the Amazon and California.

While many of the companies said they were already taking steps to make their operations greener, governments needed to provide the policies that would allow them to do more.

Healthy societies, resilient economies and thriving businesses rely on nature. Governments must adopt policies now to reverse nature loss in this decade, the companies said in a statement on Monday.

Together lets protect, restore and sustainably use our natural resources, they added. Others signatories included IKEA, Unilever and AXA.

Business for Nature, the coalition that organised the statement, said it was the first time so many companies had issued a joint call emphasising the crucial role healthy ecosystems play in human wellbeing.

Many businesses are making commitments and taking action. But for us all to live well within the planets finite limits, we need to scale and speed up efforts now, not tomorrow, said Eva Zabey, executive director of Business for Nature.

Last year, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an international panel of scientists, said about one million species were at risk of extinction.

About two-thirds of the worlds mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have vanished over the last 50 years, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Project Reshape

Meanwhile, energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is looking to slash up to 40 percent off the cost of producing oil and gas in a major drive to save cash so it can overhaul its business and focus more on renewable energy and power markets, sources told the Reuters news agency.

Shells new cost-cutting review, known internally as Project Reshape and expected to be completed this year, will affect its three main divisions, and any savings will come on top of a $4bn target set in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

Reducing costs is vital for Shells plans to move into the power sector and renewables where margins are relatively low. Competition is also likely to intensify with utilities and rival oil firms including BP and Total all battling for market share as economies around the world go green.

We had a great model but is it right for the future? There will be differences, this is not just about structure but culture and about the type of company we want to be, said a senior Shell source, who declined to be named.

An enabler of catastrophic climate change

Research published on Monday by the charity Oxfam, and carried out with the Stockholm Environment Institute, found that over the 25 years between 1990 and 2015, the richest 1 percent of people drove 15 percent of climate-changing emissions  more than twice the 7 percent emitted by the poorest half of the worlds population.

The richest 10 percent accounted for 52 percent of emissions over that period, the study said.

The growing popularity of fuel-guzzling SUVs was a particular problem, the vehicles emerging as the second biggest driver of global growth in carbon emissions between 2010 and 2018, it said.

As countries now look to recover from economic downturns linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, which have hit the poor hardest, revamping economic incentives to discourage excessive consumption could play a role, officials said.

Our current economic model has been an enabler of catastrophic climate change and equally catastrophic inequality, said former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The pandemic offers a chance to rethink systems  and addressing the disproportionate carbon emissions from the wealthiest in society must be a key priority as part of this collective commitment, he added in a statement.
WASHINGTON - With COVID-19 the newest preexisting condition, the Obama-era health law that protects Americans from insurance discrimination is more fragile following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

A week after the presidential election, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on an effort backed by President Donald Trump to strike down the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, in its entirety. Former President Barack Obamas landmark law bars insurers from turning away people with health problems, or charging them more.

With Ginsburg on the court, there seemed to be little chance the lawsuit championed by conservative-led states could succeed, given that she and four other justices had twice previously voted to uphold important parts of the health law. But that 5-4 majority is gone following Ginsburgs death last Friday from complications of metastatic cancer of the pancreas.

Yet it is not at all clear what the court will do. A narrow ruling might leave most of the law intact, sparing protections for people with preexisting conditions, Medicaid expansion, health insurance subsidies and other core elements. In that case Ginsburgs death might not turn out to be a crucial difference in the courts consideration.

Nonetheless, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has accused Trump of wanting to rush a conservative replacement for Ginsburg through Senate confirmation partly so he can accomplish his unfilled vow to repeal Obamacare. A new justice could be seated in time for the Nov. 10 arguments.

Theres many, many people in our country  and millions more now because of coronavirus  who have preexisting medical conditions, she said Sunday on ABC. The president has not been truthful in what he has said about that. He is in court to crush the preexisting condition as he crushes the Affordable Care Act, instead of crushing the virus.

Said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., If you dont trust Republicans with your health care, you shouldnt trust them with the Supreme Court seat. Preserving safeguards for people with preexisting conditions is a top argument for Democrats trying to mobilize public opinion in states where incumbent Republican senators face tight reelection challenges. Its one the few avenues Democrats have to try to block a Supreme Court nominee in the GOP-controlled chamber.

The White House says Democrats are trying to scare voters. Despite the refusal by the biased media to acknowledge it, President Trump has repeatedly said he will protect those with preexisting conditions, spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.

Back in 2017, failed Republican bills that sought to replace the Obama law would have weakened the health laws protections for people with medical problems, said analyst Larry Levitt of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. That GOP legislation had White House backing.

Its become like motherhood and apple pie to protect people with preexisting conditions, but there is a big gap in the campaign slogans and what (Republicans) are willing to support, said Levitt. President Trump has promised to protect people with preexisting conditions, but has yet to put out a plan to do so.

The ACA provides coverage to more than 20 million people through a combination of expanded Medicaid and subsidized private insurance. Coverage has grown as people have lost job-based coverage in the coronavirus pandemic.

Although Obamacare is more than 10 years old, it remains politically divisive. In recent Kaiser polling, 49% of Americans viewed the health law favourably, while 42% did not. Yet by 53% to 38%, Americans did not want the Supreme Court to overturn the ACA.

The latest case to threaten the health law rests on arcane arguments.

The lawsuit followed congressional approval of a major tax cut in 2017, which included the reduction of an Obamacare tax on the uninsured to zero. Brought by Texas and other states, the suit argued that without the tax, the health laws requirement that most Americans carry health insurance was unconstitutional. Therefore, the entire statute must fall.

A federal district court judge in Texas agreed with the Obamacare foes. But an appeals court in New Orleans hesitated to go that far. It struck down the ACA requirement to carry insurance, but sidestepped a decision on the constitutionality of the overall law. The appeals court sent the case back to the district judge to sift through what parts of the law should go or stay. ACA supporters appealed to the Supreme Court.

In written arguments this summer, the Trump administration said that if the health insurance requirement is invalidated, then it necessarily follows that the rest of the ACA must also fall. The administrations brief to the Supreme Court did not mention the coronavirus.

If the high court first hears the case with eight justices and they deadlock 4-4, the court can schedule a new round of arguments when a new justice joins.

But whether Trump is reelected or former Vice-President Joe Biden wins in November, the road to lasting health care changes that would improve options for Americans ultimately leads back to Congress.

If Democrat Biden wins the presidency, hed expand the basic framework of Obamas law and add a new public health plan. If Trump wins, hed have another chance to make good on his pre-inauguration promise of insurance for everybody that would be much less expensive and much better.

___

Associated Press writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.
HDFC Bank on Monday said that it is aware of a complaint that was recently filed against the lender in the United States. The lender, however, denied allegations of improper lending practices at its vehicle loans unit which caused damages to several investors, saying that it will "defend itself vigorously in the lawsuit". The bank expects its response to the lawsuit to be due in early 2021.

"The bank is aware of a complaint that was recently filed against the bank and its three employees in the United States. The lawsuit, which was filed by a single small security holder who seeks to represent a class of the Bank's security holders, is based on allegations that the security holder claims caused a temporary decline in the Bank's American Depositary Receipt (ADR) stock price in July 2020. The bank denies the allegations and intends to defend itself vigorously in the lawsuit," HDFC Bank said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The lender further stated that as the lawsuit is at a premature stage, there is no matter at this point of time which requires regulatory disclosure.

Also Read: Lawsuits against HDFC Bank in US over misleading statements, improper lending practices

US-based Rosen Law Firm and Schall Law Firm had filed class action lawsuits against HDFC Bank, accusing the private lender of failing to reveal to investors about improper lending practices at its vehicle loans unit and making misleading statements. The civil action lawsuits, which has been filed in the US District Court Eastern District of New York, named HDFC Bank's outgoing managing director Aditya Puri, CEO-designate Sashidhar Jagdishan, and company secretary Santosh Haldankar.

Also read: HDFC Bank fires 6 employees over 'improper lending' related to car loans

The law firm alleged that senior employees of the bank made false and misleading statements to the market and failed to maintain appropriate disclosure and internal controls on financial reporting. The class action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of purchasers of the securities of HDFC Bank between July 31, 2019 and July 10, 2020 and seeks to recover damages for HDFC investors under the federal securities laws.

Earlier Rosen Law had filed similar class action complaint against Infosys which was later quashed by the US court in July this year.

By Chitranjan Kumar
SIU students, families invited to enter 2020 Saluki Family of the Year contest

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Southern Illinois University Carbondale will be honoring not one, but two Saluki families this year. This year, Saluki Family Weekend is becoming Saluki Family Appreciation Week, with a host of virtual activities Oct. 5-10.

New Student Programs will be honoring one legacy Saluki Family of the Year  thats a family in which at least one parent or legal guardian is an SIU Carbondale graduate  and one non-legacy Family of the Year.

The families will each receive a prize package that includes Saluki swag, a two-night stay at the Hampton Inn in Carbondale redeemable at any time through April 30, 2021, a special visit with a campus administrator and more.

Its easy to submit the online entry. Just complete the online form no later than Sept. 28. For additional information, visit the website salukifamily.siu.edu/fam-of-year.

The Joel and Sheila Harris family, with children Brent, Amy and Brooke, of Radom, Illinois, won the 2019 Family of the Weekend honors.

More information on Saluki Family Appreciation Week is coming soon.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Members of Jacob Blakes family attended a rally in Charlotte on Sunday, calling for an end to a vicious cycle of hate nearly a month after Blake, a Black man, was shot seven times by a white police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Those comments came from Blakes sister, Letetra Widman, as she spoke in front of a crowd of more than 150 people at a park in the city, The News & Observer reported.

Im tired of this vicious cycle of hate, Widman said. Ive been Black for 31 years and I still cant figure out why that makes people mad.

Her brother has been paralyzed from the waist down due to the shooting, which was captured on video and posted online, sparking several nights of protests and unrest in Kenosha since Aug. 23.

If some of us do not count, none of us counts, Jacob Blake Sr., a Charlotte resident, told the crowd on Sunday. I refuse to accept the fact that in 2020 I have to prove my son is a human being.

Two other Black men who died in Charlotte four years ago, Keith Lamont Scott and Justin Carr, were also remembered during the rally. Scott was fatally shot by a police officer and Carr was killed during a protest following Scotts death.

The crowd then marched to a Black Lives Matter mural in the city.

Mike DeVaul, a YMCA executive in Charlotte who grew up with Blake Sr., says Jacob Blake Jr.s life is still a cause for celebration. We should celebrate the fact that he is living, the newspaper quotes DeVaul as saying. not dead as so many others are.
Lenovo Data Center Group on Thursday introduced four new hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) products aimed at a variety of workloads, including virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), SAP HANA, Microsoft Azure, and Kubernetes.

HCI products have grown in popularity because they are easily deployed and can get a variety of workloads up and running quickly. HCI is available either in hardware/appliance form or as software. HCI hardware vendors are the usual suspects  HP Enterprise, Dell, Lenovo  while the software vendors include Nutanix and VMware.

Lenovo is focused on ready-to-deploy HCI solutions from both software firms. It boasts that its hardware is easy to deploy and manage with simple updates, automatic scalability and a consumption-based use model.

"This new normal is forcing many companies of different sizes and scale to think different. They are looking to figure out, 'how do I drive more resiliency to be able to be more efficient? How do I drive more agility to pivot based on my end customer needs and the way they are going to consume my services or my resources?'" said Kamran Amini, vice president and general manager of server, storage and software defined infrastructure, Lenovo Data Center Group, on a conference call briefing with reporters.

Here are the four products Lenovo announced.

ThinkAgile HX

ThinkAgile HX is a new device powered by AMD EPYC processors and Nutanix software targeted at VDI and virtualization consolidation. With two CPUs and two GPUs in a 1U chassis, Lenovo customers can run their virtual desktop workloads with consistent performance with up to 50% fewer servers.

ThinkAgile HX is preloaded, factory-integrated and configured with Nutanix Enterprise Cloud software. Lenovo's ThinkAgile Network Orchestrator software is integrated with Nutanix Prism to reduce human error and downtime by automating virtualization configuration changes.

Availability is planned in late November as an appliance or a certified node.

ThinkAgile MX And Microsoft Azure Stack

Lenovo and Microsoft have partnered to create the Lenovo ThinkAgile MX Azure Stack HCI Edge and Data Center line. Azure Stack is Microsoft's on-premises cloud software that allows an enterprise to replicate an Azure environment in their own data center and move workloads back and forth between on-prem and Azure.

The new ThinkAgile MX series of appliances provides a one-stop-shop for the Azure Stack HCI to give businesses an easy way to deploy, manage and scale Azure services from edge to core to cloud. The ThinkAgile MX is designed to enable customers to rapidly deploy a hybrid cloud infrastructure.

ThinkAgile MX will offer consumption-based, pay-as-you-go pricing of Azue Stack HCI and Azure Stack Hub. Lenovo did not say when it would be available.

ThinkAgile VX and VMware

VMware and Lenovo have partnered to create a new series, the ThinkAgile VX HCI, which runs VMware's vSAN and ESXi and is designed specifically for SAP HANA databases. Lenovo said its new ThinkAgile VX 4S solution offers double the SAP HANA database memory and has direct connect NVMe to accelerate response times, speed business insights and improve total cost of ownership.

Lenovo ThinkAgile VX HCI are S/4HANA certified nodes that enable customers to modernize their infrastructure and improve performance of vSAN environments via the integration of Lenovo XClarity Management software and the new vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) tools.

The ThinkAgile VX will be generally available later in September.

Diamanti SR360

Lenovo has also partnered with Diamanti, maker of Kubernetes management software, to create the Diamanti SR630 solution based on a ThinkSystem server. Diamanti specializes in enabling fast Kubernetes deployments and allowing organizations to run containerized applications across hybrid cloud environments.

The SR630 is a purpose-built application platform that combines Diamanti's Spektra Kubernetes platform with acceleration cards and Lenovo servers. The Diamanti SR630 enables customers to rapidly deploy a complete container and Kubernetes solution through plug-and-play networking and persistent storage.

The Diamanti SR630 is available now.
President Trump and his adversaries mobilized on Sunday for an epic campaign-season showdown over the future of the Supreme Court even as the nation prepared to honor the life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in an outdoor viewing to be held according to pandemic-era guidelines.

The presidents determination to confirm a replacement for Justice Ginsburg before the Nov. 3 election set lawmakers on a collision course with one another at a time when Congress already has major issues on its agenda, including spending bills to keep the government open past next week and a stalled coronavirus relief package to help millions of Americans left unemployed by the pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people in the United States.

Undaunted by the prospect of such a volatile fall, Mr. Trump prepared to announce a nominee as early as Tuesday in hopes of pressuring the Senate to ratify his choice before voters decide whether to give him a second term and spoke multiple times with Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader. Even as a moderate Republican senator reaffirmed her opposition to such an accelerated timetable on Sunday, others like Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee fell in line and it appeared increasingly likely that Mr. Trump may get the votes to proceed, although there were a few holdouts still to be heard from. (New York Times)

Featured stories

Democrats face limited options to stop Trump from replacing Ginsburg (NBC News)

Florida race tightens and Trump has edge over Biden in Texas  Battleground Tracker poll (CBS News)

Woman suspected of sending poisoned letter to Trump arrested (CNN)

Leak reveals $2tn of possibly corrupt U.S. financial activity (The Guardian)

National news

New body camera policy in New York aims for more transparency after death of Daniel Prude (NBC News)

Nebraska bar owner found dead in Oregon days after his indictment in killing of protester (oregonlive.com)

Trump mocks MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi for getting shot with rubber bullet (CNN)

U.S. judge halts Trump administrations order to remove WeChat from app stores (Reuters)

Crazy 2020 hurricane season matches 2005 in activity, but not storm intensity (USA Today)

NTSB investigates weekend aircraft crashes in Texas, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois that killed 10 people (USA Today)

World news

Iran vows crushing response to US bullying after sanctions announcement (BBC)

Mass rallies and police data leaks in Belarus keep pressure on Lukashenko (Reuters)

Relief as much of New Zealand eases out of coronavirus restrictions (The Guardian)

Turkey may resume talks with Greece, warns against EU sanctions (Reuters)

Protests in Madrid over coronavirus lockdown measures (The Guardian)

Solomon Islands: Men working for WW2 bomb clearing agency die in explosion (BBC)
SMEs only have an average of 9,106 ($11,800) remaining of their Bounce Back loans. Photo: Getty

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK are left worried as cash from the governments Bounce Back Loans Scheme (BBLS) is running low and the deadline for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is at the end of September.

According to research by Market Finance, over 1.2 million (39%) SMEs took on a BBLS to pay their suppliers, with 29% of firms bolstering their business by setting up e-commerce and online shopping channels.

Worryingly, SMEs only have an average of 9,106 ($11,800) remaining of their Bounce Back loans, with the majority expecting to run out of funds by the end of this month  6% have said they paid back their loan.

As 2020 draw to a close, two-thirds of small firms believe that a no-deal exit presents huge risks for their business. With most of them concerned about available workforce, not having the information to guide them on how to do business and the impact on supply chains at borders.

Many companies are also concerned about the rise in COVID-19 cases, with more than two thirds, or 65% reporting a second UK lockdown could lead to supply chains being impacted causing delays in sales and payments.

READ MORE: UK firms warn on 'triple threat': Local lockdowns, furlough wind-up and Brexit disruption

The CBILS is due to end at midnight on 30 September with applications submitted before this deadline being valid for processing until the end of November.

While 77% of SMEs are aware of the CBILS, 68% said they know they can refinance their Bounce Back loan using the incentive.

Of those surveyed, 76% would be open to have a CBILS facility on ice in case they need it later in anticipation of larger bills and taxes due towards the end of the year. But, almost two thirds (63%) arent aware of the 30 September deadline.

Meanwhile, 77% believe they will only hit 50% of their 2019 revenues, while two thirds are still waiting to be paid for work they did pre-lockdown amounting to 33,906, on average. This is an improvement from June 2020 when they were waiting for 148,917.

Story continues

Over half (56%) believe seasonal demand will be lower than last year due to the ongoing impact of the coronavirus crisis.

READ MORE: Predictions for UK economy stop getting worse  but remain dire

Anil Stocker, CEO at MarketFinance, said: The Bounce Back Loan Scheme was a good short term fix for SMEs. It provided the necessary support during the lockdown but looking ahead, the CBILS cash will provide the impetus to do more.

It's essential that businesses start looking beyond simply survival and begin evaluating how they can adapt their business to these Covid-conditions.

There might be new ways to change the business model and get growth going again... Securing government-backed funding now, before the deadline, is an opportunity for businesses to access the working capital they need to build for the longer term.

The idea of these being unprecedented times has been thrown around a lot this year. Initiatives like the CBILS offer similarly unprecedented access to fee and interest-free funding  but only for a limited time.

The survey was based on 2,000 UK companies with a minimum turnover of 250,000.

Last week, Ruby McGregor Smith, president of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) wrote to prime minister Boris Johnson warning of a difficult winter ahead even without a resurgence of the coronavirus.
Bangalore/New Delhi: The altercation between technology giant Google and fintech major Paytm has brought the global debate around app store monopolies to India. Startup founders and venture capitalists (VCs) from the countrys startup ecosystem are speaking up against the power the maker of Android wields over apps on its platform.

According to one founder who has apps listed on both Google Play Store and Apples App Store, it is almost impossible for an Indian company to challenge app store policies in India legally since Google follows the American standards for legal disputes.

"Taking on a giant like Google in the Indian courts involves the hefty court and legal fees, and the battle will be incredibly long drawn...because these big Internet firms do not fully follow the rules and regulations in India and a developer might have to fight a concurrent case in the US court as well," the founder said.

Paytm might be able to comply with Googles policies instantly after being delisted without notice, and bring it back-up online, because it has a large engineering and development team to immediately re-edit the app and comply within hours. But when it comes to smaller app developers or a founder who has less than 50k users, it is bound to lose users by the minute. It will surely hurt the business," he added.

According to Ramesh Kailasam, chief executive officer of tech lobby group IndiaTech.org, abruptly delisting an app from the Play Store is equal to enforcing a ban of sorts, and both the app and its publisher takes a hit. There is disruption and mistrust raised in the consumer's minds due to the abrupt delisting because his or her actual money is sitting in the wallet. Also, shutting down an app on a marketplace, whose mobile OS is used by more than 80% of the market, also means you are shutting down the distribution of the app publisher," he said.

It is also strange that Google bans online fantasy gaming apps on its app store, while its closest competitor Apple in fact allows it," he added.

Some developers have also chosen to remove their apps from Google Play in order to continue their business.

According to Dibyojyoti Mainak, VP, Policy & Legal, Mobile Premier League (MPL), delisting from the Play Store has been great for its business".

Google charges a hefty margin (for transactions and in-app payments). What we saved there was channeled to our developer partners and players. We grew from around 15 million, when we delisted, to 60 million users with almost a billion dollars in GMV," he said.

According to lawyers, even if Paytm were to take legal recourse in this matter, it may still have a tough time.

Its very easy to show that Google is dominant. But under the Competition Act, PayTM will have to show that what Google is doing is unfair trade practice or its an abuse of dominance," said Alok P. Kumar, co-founder, Vidhi Center for Legal Policy.

You will have to show how Google is affecting competition in the market, and how it is affecting consumer welfare in the market," he added.

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Concerned parties in the education sector will meet with the ministry of education to determine the reopening of schools in Kwara State on Wednesday.

School proprietors, as well as teachers unions, had before now protested the continued closure of schools since the government shut down schools to contain the spread of COVID-19 in March.

Over 50,000 infections have so far been reported across the country while the respiratory disease has claimed over 1,000 lives since it broke out in February.

PREMIUM TIMES in its weekly review of official data, published on Sunday, reported how Nigeria is gradually overcoming the virus, going by the dwindling rate of new infections.

Many state authorities have now announced resumption dates for all schools.

The Kwara State Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Fatimah Ahmed, has now confirmed that the ministry will meet all stakeholders in the education sector on Wednesday for ratification on the proposed 2020/2021 academic calendar.

As contained in a statement, she said the ministry has prepared the proposed 2020/2021 academic calendar which may start very soon based on the ratification by education stakeholders.

Hajia Ahmed also revealed that the Ministry, in conjunction with UBEC, has started sensitization of Head Teachers and Principals on the need to adhere strictly to the NCDC guidelines in order to flatten the curve of Covid-19.

In addition, she said the ministry has directed all education secretaries to inspect the level of preparedness of schools in their locality and advise the government on other areas requiring urgent attention in order to avoid students contracting COVID-19.

She, however, reiterated the commitment of the present administration to providing all necessary precautionary measures that will guarantee the safety of students and pupils.
A man reacts as he looks at a screen displaying the Sensex results outside the Bombay Stock Exchange building, Mumbai, March 12. REUTERS

Tracking weak global cues, as well as rising fears of a second wave of COVID-19 related cases that could lead to further shutdown across the globe hurt investor sentiment on Monday and led to profit-taking at higher levels.

The S&P BSE Sensex plunged more than 800 points while the Nifty50 failed to hold on to 11,300 levels but took support near 11,250.

Indian benchmark indices succumbed to profit booking in the second half of the trading day and ended more than 2% down. It was in sync with global cues which turned negative following a surge in infections in various countries including in Europe, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services told Moneycontrol.

Additional restrictions were being considered in Europe following an increase in infections. With high valuations and worries that earnings may not justify such valuations anytime soon, markets may trade uncertain for the time being. Stay cautious, he said.

Lets look at the final tally on D-Street  the S&P BSE Sensex was down 811 points to 38034 while the Nifty50 fell 254 points to close at 11250 levels.

Sectorally, the profit-taking was visible in the telecom, realty, metals, auto, and healthcare space.

Top Nifty gainers include names like TCS, Infosys, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Top Nifty losers include names like JSW Steel, Hindalco, Tata Motors, and IndusInd Bank.

Stocks & Sectors:

Sectorally, the selling pressure was seen in the S&P BSE Telecom index which was down 5.7 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Realty index that fell 5.7 percent, and the S&P BSE Metal index fell 4.7 percent.

Volume spike of more than 100% was seen in stocks like Adani Enterprises, BHEL, Escorts, and Indiabulls Housing Finance.

Short Buildup was seen in stocks like Indiabulls Housing Finance, RBL Bank, and Bharti Infratel.

More than 140 stocks on the BSE hit a fresh 52-week high that includes names like Bayer Cropsciences, Dr. Reddys Laboratories, Apollo Hospitals and VST Tillers.

Technical View:

Nifty formed a bearish candle on the daily charts

The index closed below 5-Days EMA as well as 50-Days EMA

Experts are of the view that as long as Nifty trades below the crucial support of 11300 the selling pressure could extend towards 10950-11000.

"The markets have broken the support of 11300 on a closing basis and this is definitely an alarming situation. We could drop to 10950-11000 levels as the fall today has been fierce and on the back of good volumes. The resistance on the upside is at 11550-11600. Until then the markets look weak," Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments told Moneycontrol.

: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21)  Meralco said it has paid the 19 million fine imposed by the Energy Regulatory Commission for violating the government's protocols during the Luzon lockdown, which led to thousands of customers complaining about "bill shock."

The country's biggest power distributor said in a Monday disclosure that it has settled the amount a month after ERC announced the penalties. However, Meralco wanted the regulator to reconsider the second component of the fine.

"Meralco also filed a motion for partial reconsideration with respect to the directive to provide a retail rate discount to lifeline customers," the company led by businessman Manny Pangilinan told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

READ: Customer complaints over electric bill shock surge to 50,000  ERC

This refers to the ERC's directive to set the charges to zero for a month for some 2 million "lifeline" or low-income customers who use less than 100 kilowatt hours of energy, to provide them relief amid the health and economic crisis.

The ERC said Meralco failed to clearly inform consumers that their electricity bills were "estimated" during the enhanced community quarantine period, or when strict restrictions prevented Meralco representatives from reading meters in households. This then led to a sudden surge in customer bills.

Meralco also violated the installment payment scheme mandated by the ERC, the commission said, adding that the utility firm's neglect "created chaos and confusion" among the public.

It took Meralco until July 9 to correct these mistakes, Devanadera said. ERC said Meralco committed a total of 190 days of violation of the rules set for March to July, which led to the value of the fine. The funds will form part of public coffers, ERC chair Agnes Devanadera earlier said.

RELATED: Meralco urged to convert 19 million fine to subsidize, refund consumers

Meanwhile, Meralco said it will already implement the power rate discount for its low-income customers during their October 2020 bills pending the result of its appeal. This is said to cost around 200 million.

Power bills which fell due during the ECQ period may be settled in four to six-month installments. Meralco added that it will refund any overpayments in future bills.

Other power distributors are also being probed by the ERC for bill collections during the lockdown period, Devanadera added.

CNN Philippines' Eimor Santos contributed to this report.
Bachelorette couple Angie Kent and Carlin Sterritt confirmed their split in July after being plagued by breakup rumours for weeks.

And on Monday, Carlin appeared to be keeping the faith as he showed off two new biblical tattoos on his Instagram Stories.

The 31-year-old had a quill with a psalm verse etched onto one forearm, as well as a religious take on Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man on one bicep.

Keeping the faith! Bachelorette winner Carlin Sterritt (pictured), 31, got two biblical tattoos on Monday, after his split from Angie Kent in July

'If I rise on the wings on the dawn,' the verse surrounding the quill read.

Angie, 30, revealed on radio in September that she and Carlin, who met on the 2019 season of The Bachelorette, called it quits because their 'values didn't align'.

'Chemistry doesn't always equal compatibly,' she said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

Religious: On Instagram Stories, the fitness strainer showed off a quill with a psalm verse on one forearm. The verse read: 'If I rise on the wings of the dawn'

'Our values were different. I'm a little more spiritual, a little bit more carefree and wild. He's a Christian boy... we're just different.'

The blonde beauty also told House Of Wellness that she has been seeking professional help with the heartbreaking split, dealing with feelings as they arise.

'I am navigating it all and dealing with the feelings and thoughts as they arise... and have an amazing therapist who is helping,' she told the publication.

Intricate: Carlin also had a religious take on Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man etched on one bicep. It represents what is thought to be the divine connection between the human form and the universe

Not compatible: Angie revealed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show in September that she and Carlin called it quits because their 'values didn't align'

Meanwhile, Carlin told Instagram fans in July that their breakup had 'taken a toll' on him, while discussing his battle with anxiety.

Thanking them for their support, the fitness trainer said: 'Everybody has actually been really kind. I had so much fear and anxiety about coming out about our breakup publicly.

'It was actually quite debilitating each day when I was holding on to that truth. Yes we have come up with the decision [to split] recently, but I've just been so scared.'
To the Editor:

Re Adversaries Gird as Battle Brews Over Court Seat (front page, Sept. 21):

President Trump may think his move to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs seat signals his strength and reinforces his appeal to evangelicals. Actually, though, it reveals his fear that he wont be re-elected. If youre confident of winning, why rush the process?

And Mr. Trump the transactionalist should realize that once the evangelicals get their Supreme Court justice, they may abandon their thrice-married, pay-off-the-porn-star president. Watch out!

William Hoelzel

Weatogue, Conn.

To the Editor:

Democrats are howling that it would be immoral to name a new Supreme Court justice before the election. Is there anyone who doesnt believe that if the roles were reversed, the Democrats would be doing the same thing?

Michael Quane

South Hempstead, N.Y.

To the Editor:

In the unseemly political fight already underway over the vacant seat, there is an important consideration regarding the composition of the Supreme Court that should not be overlooked.
Updates on deer harvest estimates from the August season, waterfowl crops on wildlife management areas (WMAs), and a boating report are among the agenda items for the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission at its September meeting.



The meeting will be held Sept. 24-25 in Clarksville at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott. The first day meeting starts at 1 p.m. Thursday, while the second day meeting begins at 9 a.m.

Friday.



The August deer hunt season was held for three days for archery on private lands only for antlered deer, except in Unit CWD where guns and muzzleloaders were also allowed and select public lands were available.



Flooding has occurred on some WMAs in TWRA Region I, hampering the crops for waterfowl. An update will be given on the re-planting of crops and how management staff has dealt with the situation.



The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has seen a record number of boaters and anglers using the states waterways this year. The presentation will include statistics so far in 2020 and what TWRA officers have faced during the busy boating season.



The TWRA will recognize the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) Lone Mountain Longbeard Chapter and the Campbell Outdoor Recreation Association in support of the Tennessee Elk Program. Their donation of a reward led to the arrest and prosecution of persons for an illegally taken elk in the area.



Dr. Bradley Cohen, from Tennessee Tech, will provide a review of the first year of research on the mallard habitat study in West Tennessee. Preliminary analysis of on-the-ground and aerial habitat surveys, mallard habitat uses and movements, and response to disturbance will be provided. Dr. Cohen will also provide information on the survival of the telemetry-monitored mallards, discuss migration routes, and show their breeding destinations.



The Fisheries Division will announce its annual statewide awards for its Technician of the Year and Biologist of the Year.

The meeting will be available for the public to view each day on YouTube and later in the archives. Full details will be available on the TWRA website and social media.
The world's largest money manager has introduced a new policy forcing its 16,000 employees to disclose 'personal relationships' with all the company's clients, in what is being described as the toughest policy yet on office romances.

BlackRock, the New York-based firm which manages $7.4 trillion in assets, introduced the new rules last week.

They are in addition to existing policies which forced the disclosure of relationships with other staff members.

Given that BlackRock, on behalf of the funds it runs, is one of the five largest shareholders in nearly every corporation in the S&P 500, the impact of the new policy is expected to be significant.

BlackRock, based in midtown Manhattan, is the world's largest money manager

Chairman and CEO Larry Fink is among the most influential Wall Street figures in the U.S.

The new policy, obtained by the New York Post, states: 'Employees are required to disclose all Personal Relationships with other BlackRock employees or contingent workers; as well as Personal Relationships with employees of a service provider, vendor, or other third party (including a client), if the non-BlackRock employee is within a group that interacts with BlackRock.'

A senior BlackRock executive told the paper it may be the broadest dating disclosure requirement in the financial business, if not Corporate America.

He said that it was designed to help employees.

'It takes the assessment of what is or is not a conflict out of the employees' hands and puts it into the hands of HR and lawyers  which makes it eminently enforceable,' the executive said.

BlackRock is among the most progressive of companies when it comes to office romances.

Last year two executives were fired for their office romances, with an email being sent to all staff informing them of the reason for their departure.

Jeff Smith, BlackRock's global human resources head, was fired in July 2019 for breaches of the company policy on disclosing relationships, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Mark Wiseman, an executive who headed BlackRock's active equities business and has been married to one of BlackRock's country heads, was publicly forced out in December 2019 for failing to disclose a relationship with another woman.

He had been involved for a few months with the woman, who worked directly for him, according to people familiar with the matter.

Office romances must be disclosed under BlackRock's new policy

Wiseman was considered a contender to eventually replace Larry Fink, the 67-year-old chairman and CEO, who is currently tipped for a role in a possible Joe Biden administration.

Fink has told senior leaders that the public firings make clear to staff that they are free to point out problems in the workplace.

'More and more people who are entering the workforce think differently from I did when I was young,' said Fink in January, when BlackRock released its quarterly financial results.

'I think everybody is looking to be a part of an organization they want to believe in.'
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (September 21) said the proposed agriculture reform bills will empower the farmers to freely trade their produce anywhere, adding that these Bills are not against the agriculture Mandis.

The Prime Minister termed the bills as "historic" and said that they would usher in much-needed reforms in India's agricultural sector, while flaying the Opposition that some people were worried that control would slip out of their hands and trying to mislead the farmers on the issue of Minimum Support Price (MSP).

He said, "Yesterday, two farm bills were passed in Parliament. I congratulate my farmers. This change in the farming sector is the need of the present hour and our government has brought this reform for the farmers."

The Prime Minister said this after inaugurating nine infrastructure development projects for Bihar, apart from the launch of "Ghar Tak Fibre" project which aims to provide internet connectivity to villages across the country through optical fibres, through video conferencing.

PM Modi said, "The biggest proof of it is the figures for purchases made by the government during the past five years and the purchases made prior to five years before 2014. If I only talk about the oilseeds and pulses then the purchases by the government have increased by 24 per cent."

He said, "For this year`s Rabi produce, including wheat, rice, oilseeds and pulses, the farmers were paid Rs 1 lakh 13 thousand crores in MSP. This figure is thirty per cent more than last year`s."

He also spoke about how over the years a nexus had formed in the country which was reaping benefits from the hard work of farmers and was now trying to instigate them against the new reforms introduced by the Centre.

The Prime Minister, however, assured that these policies were not anti-Mandis and stated that his government was committed to their modernisation, adding "The new agriculture reforms has given the freedom to every farmer in the country to sell their produce anywhere. If he gets more profits in the mandi, he will sell it there. If apart from this he gets more profit anywhere else then he is not obstructed from selling them there too."

"The earlier system of selling the produce, the laws which existed, had kept the farmers` hands tied. Acting under the garb of these laws such powerful groups had formed in the country which have benefitted from farmers` misery. How long should have this allowed to go on?"

The Prime Minister today inaugurated nine infrastructure development projects, worth Rs 14,000 crores for Bihar, along with the Ghar Tak Fibre Project under which all 45,945 villages of Bihar will be connected through optical fibre internet service.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, and Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Raj Kumar Singh, along with other officials also participated in the meeting through video conferencing.
The West Bengal Police Department, under THE Govt. of West Bengal, through the West Bengal Police Recruitment Board (WBPRB), has called for online applications from eligible and interested individuals for filling One Thirty (139) vacancies to the post of Sub-Inspectors (Crew Comprising Master), Assistant Sub-Inspectors (Crew Engine Driver) and Constables (Crew) through direct recruitment to be posted across West Bengal in India. The application-cum-registration process towards the same started on September 19, 2020 onwards and closes on October 18, 2020 by 5:00 pm with October 20, 2020 as the last date for pay the application fee as mentioned in the WBPRB Recruitment notification.

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Sub-Inspectors (Crew Comprising Master), Assistant Sub-Inspectors (Crew Engine Driver) and Constables (Crew) Organisation West Bengal Police Department Educational Qualification Served as have served as a Chief Petty Officer/Petty Officer in Navy, Seaman Branch only (SI); served as Petty Officer in Navy, Seaman Branch only (PSI); served as a Leading Seaman/Seaman-I/Seaman-II in Navy equivalent all branches (Constable) Experience Two to three years in a relevant domain Job Responsibilities null Skills Required Physical and Medical Fitness Job Location West Bengal Salary Scale In the range of Rs. 22,700 to Rs. 82,900 per month as per the post Industry Police Application Start Date September 19, 2020 Application End Date October 18, 2020

WBPRB Recruitment 2020: Age Criteria And Fees

Candidates interested in applying for SI, PSI and Constable posts through WBPRB Recruitment 2020 must not have exceeded 45 years of age as on January 1, 2020 with relaxation (upper age limit) up to 5 years (SC/ST) and 3 years (OBC-A & B) respectively as mentioned in WBPRB Recruitment notification.

Candidates (Gen/UR/OBC) must pay a specified amount of Rs. 325 (SI), Rs. 275 (PSI) and 225 (Constable) respectively as application processing fee either through online (net-banking/credit/debit) mode or Challan mode at the Branches of UBI. SC/ST candidates of West Bengal alone are required to pay Rs. 25 only as application fee as detailed in WBPRB Recruitment notification.

AIATSL Recruitment 2020 For Para Medical And Customer Agent Posts. E-mail Applications Before Oct 2

WBPRB Recruitment 2020: WBPRB Vacancy Details

WBPRB Recruitment 2020: Education And Eligibility

Desirous candidates applying for SI, PSI and Constable posts through WBPRB Recruitment 2020 must have served as have served as a Chief Petty Officer/Petty Officer in Navy, Seaman Branch only (SI); served as Petty Officer in Navy, Seaman Branch only (PSI); served as a Leading Seaman/Seaman-I/Seaman-II in Navy equivalent all branches (Constable) with two to three years of work experience in a relevant domain as detailed in the WBPRB Recruitment notification.

WBPRB Recruitment 2020: Selection And Pay Scale

The selection of candidates for SI, PSI and Constable posts through WBPRB Recruitment 2020 will be done through Shortlisting, Written Test/Interview and Document Verification as notified in the WBPRB Recruitment notification.

Candidates selected for SI, PSI and Constable posts through WBPRB Recruitment 2020 will be paid emolument in the range of Rs. 22,700 to Rs. 82,900 per month as per the post.

WCD Chikkaballapur Recruitment For 75 Anganwadi Workers And Helpers, Apply Online Before April 13

WBPRB Recruitment 2020: How To Apply

Candidates applying for SI, PSI and Constable posts through WBPRB Recruitment 2020 must register online on the official WBPRB website and submit their applications on or before October 18, 2020 by 5:00 pm.

Download WBPRB Recruitment 2020 PDF Notification for SI, PSI and Constable post
The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. But if you buy individual stocks, you can do both better or worse than that. Investors in James Fisher and Sons plc (LON:FSJ) have tasted that bitter downside in the last year, as the share price dropped 44%. That contrasts poorly with the market decline of 10%. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 24% in three years. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 15% in the last three months. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

View our latest analysis for James Fisher and Sons

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).

Unfortunately James Fisher and Sons reported an EPS drop of 45% for the last year. Remarkably, he share price decline of 44% per year is particularly close to the EPS drop. Given the lower EPS we might have expected investors to lose confidence in the stock, but that doesn't seemed to have happened. Rather, the share price is remains a similar multiple of the EPS, suggesting the outlook remains the same.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered James Fisher and Sons' share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Its history of dividend payouts mean that James Fisher and Sons' TSR, which was a 43% drop over the last year, was not as bad as the share price return.

Story continues

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that James Fisher and Sons shareholders are down 43% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 10%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 6.0% 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. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with James Fisher and Sons , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB 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.
A couple of years ago, I watched briefly a video on NPR of a room full of feminists bemoaning the fact that Hillary Clinton  who was there  lost an election "she would have won were it not for a flaw in our Constitution, the Electoral College," or words to that effect. Clinton won the popular vote, they claimed, and that's what counts, right? Applause all around. Clinton smiled obligingly and nodded in agreement.

Needless to say, liberals would have had no problem at all with a converse scenario, one under which Clinton won the electoral college vote, and the election, but lost the popular vote to Trump. That's too bad, they would have said; "that's our system." It's our system when it suits liberals; if not, it must be changed. Anyone who expects liberal consistency, on just about anything, may be interested in a bridge in Brooklyn on sale.

There's a different kind of consistency, however, having nothing to do with logic that liberals practice, and it comes from advertising  namely, brand consistency, exemplified by soda pop, cereal, and shelf products generally. Brand X customers expect the contents of every bottle, can or package to stay the same and will desert the brand, temporarily, at least, if the company decides to experiment with a new formula, as did Coke.

So it was brand consistency that prompted the selection of Kamala Harris as Joe Biden's running mate. Thus, it is fiction to claim, as I have seen in some reporting, that Joe was "stuck" with Kamala because his handlers couldn't figure out how to let him off the hook once he committed to "a woman of color." That was the plan all along. To mollify the Clintonistas, young and old, male and female, only a Hillary approximation would do.

But maybe Harris got the job because the seemingly preferable alternative, Michelle Obama, made it clear she would pass. It would have meant giving up an $11-million estate on Martha's Vineyard and millions from books and speaking engagements. It would also have meant playing second fiddle to a former second fiddle. Michelle's ego couldn't have handled it, even temporarily until Joe's dementia forced him out.

Michelle Obama is not a Hillary clone because key attributes are missing. Yes, Michelle is also ambitious, which is not surprising, but her public persona, at least what's been carefully groomed by expert handlers, does not exemplify being arrogant and heartless, and certainly not nasty. Her husband, whether you agree with his politics or not, came across as an amiable, laid-back fellow  as does Trump. Being likable is important in politics.

Speaking of nasty, this is an attribute I left out of my characterization of Kamala Harris as "an ambitious, heartless, corrupt, arrogant harpy." I could justifiably have included "nasty" based on her behavior toward Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings. President Trump remembers all too well:

She was extraordinarily nasty to Kavanaugh, Judge Kavanaugh, now Justice Kavanaugh. She was nasty to a level that was just a horrible thing the way she was, the way she treated now-Justice Kavanaugh. And I won't forget that soon.

"I won't forget that soon" was most likely a prompt to Vice President Mike Pence, who will be debating Harris if the debates come off  also to his campaign staff to make sure Americans are reminded time and again who would be sitting in the Oval Office after Biden succumbs to dementia: a nasty, ill tempered harpy with her finger on the nuclear button? God forbid.

Image: California National Guard
Dubais gold and diamond air cargo trade amounted to AED67.1 billion ($18.27 billion) between March and the end of June 2020, Dubai Customs has revealed.

Statistics released by Air Customs Center Management at Dubai Customs show that the diamond and gold trade from March 1 to end of June comprised AED35.6 billion of imports (428.8 tons), AED38.5 million (877 kg) transferred into the free zone, AED471.7 million (2.1 tons) of re-exports transit, AED29.4 billion (161.2 tons) of exports, and AED1.4 billion (8.3 tons), which entered the free zone.

The Air Customs Center Management also completed 31,590 transactions including 17,169 import, 12,293 export and 89 re-export transactions.

In terms of value, gold and jewelry accounted for AED5.6 billion, raw diamonds AED5.7 billion, polished diamonds AED3.6 billion, diamonds powder AED503,300, gold powder AED31.3 million, gold bullions AED51.7 billion, gold coins AED16 million and gold medallions AED240.2 million.

Dubai Customs contributes to a vision in which Dubai aspires to maintain its position as the City of Gold and Diamonds and a strategic hub for the trade of these precious goods, said Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs.

Dubai Customs provides facilitated and streamlined services to the gold and diamonds sector and business groups. We have changed the stereotypical image about a customs organization from just a law enforcement body to a friendly supportive organization.

Our regular meetings at the Dubai Customs Consultative Council discuss the latest trends and issues within our community of business groups including health and food security, gold trade and passenger traffic. We have implemented a number of initiatives during the spread of the coronavirus to ensure a Dubai streamlined external trade and a sustainable business sector, thanks to a generous stimulus package which Dubai Government rolled out in support of businesses in the emirate.

Salih Al Shamsi, Director of Air Customs Center Management, said they provide best and most advanced services to the gold and diamonds sector in the emirate in fulfilment of Dubai Customs vision of becoming the worlds leading customs administration supporting legitimate trade.  TradeArabia News Service
Keep a towel length apart at the beach and don't go at midday is some of the advice in the government's COVID-19 summer safe plan, which was launched on Monday.

NSW has recorded four new cases of coronavirus as temperatures hit 30 degrees in the city.

Bondi Beach on August 30. People should stay a towel-length apart at the beach, the government says. Credit:Edwina Pickles

Three of the new cases were in returned travellers. The one locally acquired case was linked to the Concord Hospital cluster.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she remained concerned about complacency as the state heads into a "high risk period" with warmer weather and school holidays starting on the weekend.
(Reuters) - A senior aide to the Connecticut federal prosecutor in charge of investigating the origins of the FBI's probe into contacts between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia has resigned from the Justice Department, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said.

Nora Dannehy, who had been working with Connecticut U.S. attorney John Durham on the investigation, has left the department, according to spokesman Tom Carson, who did not elaborate on the reason for her departure.

Earlier on Friday the Hartford Courant reported that Dannehy, an associate of Durham for decades, resigned in part over concerns the investigative team was being pressured to produce a report before its work was done for political reasons.

Durham recruited Dannehy to join his team after he was tapped by U.S. Attorney General William Barr last year to oversee the investigation, the Hartford Courant reported.

Barr has said he may seek to release some of Durham's findings before the Nov. 3 election, raising concerns among Democrats the move may be aimed at influencing voters in Trump's favor.

Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, said releasing findings before Nov. 3 would violate a Justice Department policy against making any moves that could impact an election.

"The Durham investigation was political from the start," Schiff wrote on Twitter after Dannehy's resignation was reported. "No wonder career prosecutors are resigning."

Last month former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith became the first person criminally charged as part of Durham's investigation, pleading guilty to falsifying an email used by the FBI in 2017 to renew its application for a secret wiretap to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz uncovered the doctored email and in December released a scathing report documenting 17 "basic and fundamental" errors and omissions in FBI surveillance warrant applications.

(reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington and Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut; editing by Grant McCool)
The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) had apprehended 49 fishermen and seized eight boats off the Gujarat coast on September 15, the state government told the Legislative Assembly on Monday.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani told the House that the fishermen were apprehended by the PMSA near the International Maritime Boundary Line.

He said six of the eight boats were from Porbandar while the remaining two were from Gir Somnath district.

Such incidents have been happening at regular intervals as the maritime boundary is notional - not visible- in the sea, he said.

Rupani, who handles Home portfolio, was responding to a query raised by senior Congress MLA Punja Vansh regarding the incident.

Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja said the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) regularly issues warnings to fishermen if they go near the IMBL in search of a better catch.

Based on reports of the ICG, the state Fisheries department suspends boat operating licences of erring fishermen found guilty of venturing into No Fishing Zone in the Arabian Sea after crossing IMBL, he said.

The state government provides a subsidy of Rs 20,000 to fishermen for installing GPS system in their boats, Jadeja said.

He said GPS system has been fitted in 5,000 of about 30,000 fishing boats registered in Gujarat.
Ferociously anti-Trump publications like The Atlantic have been sounding the alarm on the president's growing support among Latinos during an election where both sides have declared a war to the knife. The unabated demographic rise to electoral prominence of Latinos has turned them into kingmakers. Having been unwilling or unable to stop this rise, Republicans now find themselves having to court Latinos in an attempt to stave off permanent minority party status.

Only a political animal like President Trump could continue to hold sway over a third of Latinos as a Republican while being denounced 24/7 by the legacy media as an unrepentant racist with a special animus toward that same community. Since his unorthodox success in this area (like many others) is based primarily on his unique instinctual grasp of political realities, a more systematic program must be laid out for present and future Republicans seeking to imitate his success. First and foremost, Latinos have a peculiar set of characteristics that could lead an amateur to reach seemingly sound but ultimately ridiculous conclusions regarding the tripartite issues of race, culture and immigration that so define the Latin experience in the United States.

Racially speaking, even though most Latinos would be classified as POC ("Persons of Color"), they exist outside the dominant black-white paradigm that has historically framed race relations in America. Racial questions rage within the Latino community (given the cultural imprint left by the colonial caste system) but remain essentially disconnected from the grander race question of American society. Racial demagoguery, therefore, has remained a mostly incipient activity among Latinos. A large part of this overall racial disconnect is the result of the fact that a substantial minority of Latinos consider themselves "honorary whites" (as a result of their real and imagined Spanish ancestry) and along with their unorthodox views on blacks remain immune to BLM-style racial agitation.

Simply put, Latinos (of all shades) conceive of themselves as a "Third Race"  different in their collective aspirations and fears from the dominant white gringos and an utterly alien black minority. These racial realities have continually frustrated Democrats' hopes of creating a blood bond between Latinos and the Democratic Party (similar to the one that the latter currently enjoys with blacks). As a result of this, as the Democratic Party has continued its lunge toward socially degenerate pauperizing corporatism Latinos have sought to renegotiate their electoral support.

Latinos wish to continue their socio-economic rise while simultaneously keeping their highly traditional culture intact by beating back the forces of social corrosion (abortion, homosexuality, feminism, transgenderism, atheism, banditry, etc.). Currently, a newly emergent socially combative economic populism on the right is causing ever larger numbers of Latinos to seek this renegotiation outside the Democratic Party. If, post-Trump, the GOP fails to embrace this populism, then Latinos will simply attempt this electoral renegotiation within the Democratic Party.

This is because, contrary to popular myth, the religiosity of Latinos does not make them "natural Republicans" or, more to the point, "unnatural Democrats." Latinos' religiosity is not a sign of puritanical piety or moral rectitude (the almost comical levels of moral depravity south of the border should have put that myth to rest a long time ago), but instead an integral part of the cultural marking used to differentiate them from other ethnic groups. This identitarianism masquerading as religiosity means that a community that strikes such a prominent religious pose can continue to co-exist within a Democratic Party that despises "Bible-thumpers" but is more than willing to accommodate identitarianism among minorities.

GOP equivocation on the issue of illegal immigration from the south is the result of yet another one of these popular myths. Among propertied Latinos of longstanding legal status American citizenship serves as a status symbol that is used to differentiate them from the countless wretched illegals among them and the contemptible masses south of the border. The attempt at leveling these differences by granting "a pathway to citizenship" to illegals threatens the socio-economic positions of these deeply rooted and patriotic Latinos who are as "anti-immigrant" as any white working-class "Trumplican."

At the most primal level, attempts to entice demographic groups such as Latinos away from their longstanding patrons require winning over not only their minds, but also their hearts and souls. The enticer must hate what they hate and love what they love and fear what they fear or at least be convincing enough at appearing to do so (cf. President Trump's romancing of white working-class Rust Belt Democrats in 2016).

Trump's affect as "America's caudillo" during his presidency, especially during these times of rampant lawlessness on America's streets ("law and order!"), is cementing these deep bonds of affection with Latinos, who are already attracted to his populism. His "caudillo energy" is appealing to their subconscious ancestral memories (more on that later). His machismo along with his sins of the flesh and of the tweet have earned him a grudging admiration even from those Latinos who oppose him politically. Milquetoasts are instinctually repulsive to Latinos, regardless of how Latin-friendly they are on paper (e.g., Jeb "Please Clap" Bush). A mere gram of "caudillo energy" is worth an entire pound of "Hispandering." A brief digression is required at this point.

Latinos, since their ill fated conception as a distinct people, have attempted to set their native societies upon highfalutin European theories of self-government. These attempts have either ended up in sanguinary disasters or pseudo-states riddled from top to bottom with gross corruption and widespread banditry. Only the "caudillo" or strongman has been able to form an effective barrier against such societal degeneration. Latinos therefore instinctually place the protection of their property and women over any sort of abstraction that gives free rein to rioters to beat individuals senseless and pillage businesses.

The Latinos who, given the riots, are instinctually running to see what the supposed party of "law and order!" has to say are instead being met with the party of "criminal justice reform." This new stratagem is equal parts schizophrenic and idiotic, given that Trump and the GOP are attempting to outflank the Democrats on completely alien terrain while struggling against their most basic impulses. Cuddling up to criminals while rioters burn entire neighborhoods on air could not be more off-putting and manages to do the typical GOPe thing of salvaging defeat from the jaws of victory.

A post-Trump defection of about a third to half of the Latino community over to the GOP would be the result of a sage application of these insights and others like it. Failure in this area will help to cement the Democratic Party's hegemony over Latinos and, with that, the Democratic Party's permanent future hold on the Oval Office.

Ernesto J. Antunez is a political columnist residing in Miami. He can be reached at ernestoantunez@live.com, at facebook.com/ejantunez, or via Twitter at @ejantunez.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Washington: When Anthony Fauci predicted in late March that up to 200,000 people could die from COVID-19 in the US, the figure seemed beyond comprehension. At that stage fewer than 3000 Americans had died from coronavirus and President Donald Trump was speaking optimistically about having the country's economy "opened up and raring to go" by Easter.

Just a week later, Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, said a US death toll of 60,000 was more realistic. The data showed that physical distancing guidelines were limiting the spread of the virus, offering hope the US would be able to get its outbreak under control.

In April the White House began to muzzle Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Credit:AP

In fact, Fauci's dire forecast turned out to be an underestimate. On Monday, the US was poised to burst through the figure of 200,000 deaths, on Johns Hopkins University's numbers, while other measures, such as the Bing-COVID-19 tracker, show the US has already surpassed the figure.

The grim milestone cements the US's bleak status as the country with the highest recorded death rate in the world. It's still common for the country to record more than 1000 COVID-19 deaths a day; so common that such numbers are now just background noise in the national conversation rather than major news.
A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump Administrations attempts to ban downloads of the Chinese-owned social media app WeChat on Apple and Google, citing First Amendment concerns.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler said that WeChat serves as a virtual public square for the Chinese-speaking and Chinese-American community in the United States and is (as a practical matter) their only means of communication. She added in her written ruling dated Saturday and released early Sunday that government attempts to ban the service on app stores and severely limit functions for existing users forecloses meaningful access to communication in their community and thereby operates as a prior restraint on their right to free speech.

Also Read: Can You Still Use TikTok After the Trump Administration Bans App Downloads?

The Trump Administration has argued that WeChat, which is owned by Chinese company Tencent, is a national security risk because the Chinese government can use the app to disseminate propaganda and steal private data from users.

Judge Beeler acknowledged that there are legitimate national security concerns, but also said that the U.S. Department of Commerce has put in scant little evidence that its effective ban of WeChat for all U.S. users addresses those concerns. And, as the plaintiffs point out, there are obvious alternatives to a complete ban, such as barring WeChat from government devices, as Australia has done, or taking other steps to address data security.

Also Read: Trump Gives TikTok-Oracle Deal His 'Blessing' to Continue Operating in US

Beelers ruling comes after the Trump administration announced a delay on their plans to ban the popular social media app TikTok after Trump agreed in concept to a proposed bid by Oracle to buy U.S. operations of the app from current owner ByteDance, creating a new entity called TikTokGlobal that will be based in the United States.

But this ruling will impact the decision to allow TikTok to continue operating, according to an individual with knowledge of the discussion. A great deal of confusion continues to surround the deal to allow Oracle and Walmart to buy a minority stake in TikTok, and within the White House debate continues over whether this resolves the core security issue over Chinas control of the app.

Story continues

A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Sharon Waxman contributed to this report.

Read original story Judge Blocks Trumps WeChat Download Ban, Cites First Amendment Concerns At TheWrap
Highlighting the strength of Eutelsat's 7 East position for DTH

Confirming the dynamism of the sub-Saharan African broadcast market

Regulatory News:

Eutelsat Communications (Paris:ETL) (Euronext Paris: ETL): Azam TV has completed the migration of its video platform from the EUTELSAT 7B to EUTELSAT 7C satellite, with a multi-year extension of the existing contract and an incremental capacity commitment.

One of Africa's leading pay-TV operators, Azam will leverage the enhanced performance of Eutelsat 7 C to distribute some 120 channels in a mix of standard and high definition across its footprint covering Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Kenya and Rwanda.

Commenting on the deal, Patrice Paquot, Deputy Regional Vice President, Sub Saharan Africa of Eutelsat said: "We are honored to continue to partner with Azam, one of our anchor customers at the 7 East position as it successfully expands it broadcast offer. 7 East has become a new DTH hotspot for Sub-Saharan Africa and a key pay-TV neighbourhood for Eastern Africa with some of the fastest growth rates in the region."

Jacob Joseph, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Azam added: "Every Azam TV household will have the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of local and international programmes with excellent signal quality. We are delighted to rely on Eutelsat to leverage the unparalleled reach of its 7 East position."

About Eutelsat Communications

Founded in 1977, Eutelsat Communications is one of the world's leading satellite operators. With a global fleet of satellites and associated ground infrastructure, Eutelsat enables clients across Video, Data, Government, Fixed and Mobile Broadband markets to communicate effectively to their customers, irrespective of their location. Around 7,000 television channels operated by leading media groups are broadcast by Eutelsat to one billion viewers equipped for DTH reception or connected to terrestrial networks. Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat assembles 1,000 men and women from 46 countries who are dedicated to delivering the highest quality of service.

For more about Eutelsat go to www.eutelsat.com

www.eutelsat.com Follow us on Twitter @Eutelsat_SA

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200921005547/en/

Contacts:

Media

Joanna Darlington

Tel.: +33 1 53 98 35 30

jdarlington@eutelsat.com

Investors

Joanna Darlington

Tel.: +33 1 53 98 35 30

jdarlington@eutelsat.com

Cedric Pugni

Tel.: +33 1 53 98 35 30

cpugni@eutelsat.com
London, UK-based Kindred Capital closed its second Equitable Venture seed fund, at 81m.

Notable LPs include University of Chicago, Industry Ventures, Generation Ventures, Sands Capital, British Patient Capital, Isomer, and Legal & General. As well as institutions, Fund II has attracted great founders like Taavet Hinrikus (TransferWise), Carsten Thoma (Hybris), and Rishi Khosla (Oak North), amongst others.

Through its Equitable Venture program, Kindred Capital shares its carry with the founders in which the fund invests. The idea is that this encourages a collective model, in which founders actively help each other achieve their goals.

The model will be continued for Kindreds second fund. In Fund I, Kindred projects that around 5m will be returned to founders, which would otherwise have gone to General Partners of Kindred.

Since its launch in 2015, the firm has now invested in 39 technology companies across Europe and Israel, with ten of those investments coming from the second fund in companies such as BotsAndUs, Gravity Sketch and Beit.

Fund I made 29 investments across Europe, including Five, Paddle, Pollen, Farewill, Disperse, LabGenius, Flagstone, and Animal Dynamics.

Kindred has been investing from the second fund over the last 12 months.

Partners include:

 Yale and Harvard-educated Leila Zegna spent 15 years as an operator and angel investor. She was part of the founding team of Silicon Valley based GenapSys, raising $50m for the genomics firm and building out a team of 70 staff.

 Mark Evans has a 20 year history of early stage investing, including companies such as Natural Motion, MySQL, Headspace, The Hut Group, Yoox and Gousto.

 Serial chairman and angel investor Russell Buckley was part of the founding team of AdMob, which sold to Google for $750m in 2010.

 Chrys Chrysanthou was previously a very early employee with Amazon Web Services in EMEA, and was the COO of a B2B IoT startup. He was also a VC at Accel and Notion.

Kindred also operated a a support team with deep expertise across operations, talent, technology, product, and marketing, focusing on what founders say they need from investors.

FinSMEs

21/09/2020
Roshini Rajkumar invited former prosecutor George Parry to discuss Parrys take on the case of the four former Minneapolis police officers charged with the murder of George Floyd on WCCO News Talks Facebook page yesterday (video below). Roshinis interview follows up on Parrys American Spectator columns Who killed George Floyd? (August 7) and The George Floyd fall guys (August 13). The links go to Parrys columns posted at Knowledge is Good, which also has several other interviews. Our several posts on the Floyd case and on Parrys work can be accessed here.

The sanctification of George Floyd proceeds apace in the Twin Cities. A stretch of Chicago Avenue that includes the place where George Floyd cried out for his life, as the Star Tribune puts it, will soon be named in his honor  George Perry Floyd Jr. Place.

The charges against the officers proceed in a suffocating atmosphere of mob justice. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has repeatedly declared them guilty of murder. We are one short step removed from The Ox-Bow Incident. Parrys contrarian take on the case should help fair-minded citizens keep an open mind about the causes of the civic and political maelstrom in which we find ourselves.

JOHN adds: See also my radio interview with George Parry here.
Since the resumption of flights in July, foreign tourists in tour groups have been allowed entry into three coastal Egyptian governorates: Red Sea, Marsa Matrouh and South Sinai

Egypts Hurghada has received the first flight operated by Swiss Chair Airlines from Zurich after a flight suspension that had been in place since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, a statement by the civil aviation ministry said on Sunday.

Egypts popular tourist resort towns Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh have been receiving more international flights in the past weeks, after the country reopened its airspace to regular flights in July.

Since the resumption of flights, foreign tourists in tour groups have been allowed entry into three coastal Egyptian governorates: Red Sea, Marsa Matrouh and South Sinai.

Egypt requires travellers arriving in the country to present a negative PCR test result certificate for the coronavirus. The test must be taken no more than 96 hours prior to arrival.

However, travellers entering Egypt at any of four airports in the Red Sea governorate and South Sinai can take a coronavirus test upon arrival.

Egypt hopes that the resumption of regular flights will boost its coronavirus-hit tourism sector, an essential source of foreign currency.

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Silvia: Latin America has always been in a weird position because its pigeonholed into the magical realism bucket, which means we dont see much of the other work that might be sprouting there. And there is the added problems that Latin America has had much less buying power than Spain, and there are few dedicated sci-fi and fantasy imprints of any major size  one of them is DarkSide in Brazil, though it obviously publishes in Portuguese, not Spanish. Unlike in Spain, which has long-standing imprints such as Minotauro, Latin American sci-fi and fantasy have emerged generally through literary imprints.
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Thousands of mourners have gathered at vigils across America to pay their respects to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday after a battle with pancreatic cancer sparking a bitter war between Republicans and Democrats over her Supreme Court replacement.

Americans paid their respects to the legal pioneer and champion of women's rights at candlelight vigils and memorials stretching across the country on Sunday evening, from the steps of the Supreme Court where she made history as only the second woman to serve as Supreme Court Justice to the school in Brooklyn, New York she attended as a girl.

Donations to the Democrats have topped $100 million in the days after her death, as the party demands the Republican party sticks to the standard it set back in 2016 that a vacant Supreme Court seat must not be filled until after the election.

Tensions continue to mount along partisan lines with Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell vowing to rush through a justice appointment while Democrats - and some dissenting Republicans - have blasted the move hypocritical and vowed to take unprecedented steps to derail their plans.

MAINE: The late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is mourned during a vigil in Monument Square in Portland

IOWA: A family light candles at a vigil in Poppajohn Sculpture Park in Des Moines where about 200 people gathered in honor of Ginsburg Sunday night

WASHINGTON: Flowers, candles, cards and American flags are seen adorning a memorial at the Supreme Court

MINNEAPOLIS: Hundreds gathered on the grass to honor Ginsberg at a memorial event Sunday night

OHIO: Cuyahoga County judges are seen listening to speakers during a candlelight vigil outside the old Cuyahga County Courthouse

DELAWARE: Around 120 gathered outside the Wilmington Courthouse to pay tribute to Ginsburg Sunday night

Vigils sprung up across states including Maine, Washington, Minneapolis, Iowa, New York and Ohio Sunday night as thousands of Americans gathered to mourn the loss of Ginsburg, who served 27 years on the highest court of the land.

Many donned COVID-19 face masks sporting Ginsburg's picture or with the word 'vote' emblazoned across them.

Hundreds flocked to a vigil in Monument Square in Portland, Maine, where people lit candles and laid them next to a large sketch of the judge.

Ginsburg's image was projected onto the side of a building as night fell, alongside her nickname the 'Notorious RBG' while young children held up banners reading 'We won't let you down' and 'Rest in power RBG'.

In Washington DC, flowers, candles, cards and American flags adorned a memorial at the Supreme Court and in Wilmington, Delaware, around 120 gathered outside the courthouse.

Meanwhile, around 200 people gathered in honor of Ginsburg at a vigil in Poppajohn Sculpture Park in Des Moines where families lit candles in commemoration of the judge.

Over in Minneapolis, hundreds were seen sitting in a grassy area where they had gathered to honor Ginsberg at a memorial event.

The event began with a man blowing a shofar - the ram's horn that is traditionally part of the Jewish High Holiday services - to honor Ginsberg while her initials were lit up in lights.

MAINE: Mourners lit candles while Ginsburg's image was projected onto the side of a building alongside her nickname the 'Notorious RBG'

MAINE: Hundreds gathered in Monument Square in Portland to pay tribute to the legal pioneer Sunday night

MAINE: One mourner wears a face mask with the word 'vote' across it as thousands come out across America to pay their respects to the late judge

MAINE: Mourners including children held up banners with slogans including 'We won't let you down' and 'Rest in power RBG'

MAINE: Thousands of mourners have gathered at vigils across America to pay their respects to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

A candlelight vigil was also held outside the old Cuyahga County Courthouse in Ohio where the state's judges gathered and listened to speakers talking about a pioneer of their profession.

Judge Yvette McGee Brown, the first female African American Ohio Supreme Court Justice to be elected after taking office in 2011, spoke at the memorial event.

At a memorial in downtown Atlanta, people held up banners honoring Ginsburg with one reading 'Until your last breath you fought for us. Now we will carry forward your legacy. Thank you RBG'.

Hundreds also attended a vigil in front of the US Courthouse in New York to remember one of their own.

The hour-long event was put together by Indivisible Westchester, a local grass roots organization, and clergy from the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths spoke at the event for the Brooklyn native.

Ginsburg's dying wish was that 'I will not be replaced until a new president is installed' - a wish many feel must be honored

Democratic fundraising site ActBlue said donations had been flooding in since news broke of Ginsburg's death Friday

Democratic fundraising site ActBlue said donations had been flooding in since news broke of Ginsburg's death Friday.

The non-profit tweeted that, in a little over 24 hours, more than $100 million in small-dollar donations poured in.

'Small-dollar donors have now given $100 million on ActBlue since 8 p.m. ET Friday, investing in candidates up and down the ballot and orgs on the front lines of the impending judicial confirmation fight,' ActBlue tweeted Sunday morning.

'The grassroots is ready to fight to honor Justice Ginsburg's legacy.'

Ginsburg's dying wish was that 'I will not be replaced until a new president is installed' - a wish many feel must be honored.

WASHINGTON: People lay tributes to honor the judge, who died Friday after a battle with pancreatic cancer

IOWA: A woman wearing her COVID-19 face mask at a vigil for Ginsburg in Poppajohn Sculpture Park

IOWA: A woman holds up a candle in honor of RBG, whose death has sparked a bitter war between Republicans and Democrats over her Supreme Court replacement

IOWA: Americans paid their respects to the legal pioneer and champion of women's rights at candlelight vigils and memorials stretching all corners of the country on Sunday evening

IOWA: Des Moines residents gathered Sunday to honor Ginsburg who was the second woman nominated to the highest court in the land

Trump vowed to plow ahead with his Supreme Court nomination Saturday and urged the GOP-run Senate to consider it 'without delay'.

The move comes just six weeks before the election and has sparked fierce debate, with many Democrats - as well as some Republicans - insisting the seat must not be filled until after the election.

The crux of the debate centers around the move made by Republicans back in 2016 - and led by McConnell - to block then-President Barack Obama from appointing a new justice to the court nine months before the election.

Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016 and Obama planned to appoint Merrick Garland to fill the position on the court.

Republicans refused to hold hearings or vote on a replacement until after a new president took office with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying: 'the American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.

OHIO: Mourners hold up candles, flowers and a picture of RBG as they await speakers at a vigil in Cleveland

OHIO: Tensions continue to mount along partisan lines with Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell vowing to rush through a justice appointment following RBG's death

OHIO: Yvette McGee Brown speaks during a candlelight vigil for Ginsburg outside the old Cuyahga County Courthouse. Brown was the first female African American Ohio Supreme Court Justice to be elected, taking office in 2011

OHIO: Justice Ginsburg died Friday night, which was the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year

'Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.'

The seat was not filled and two weeks after taking office Trump nominated his own choice Neil Gorsuch to the court instead.

Democrats argue Republicans set a standard in 2016 by preventing an appointment during an election year and so now the shoe is on the other foot the same standard must now be honored.

However, McConnell issued a statement Friday after news of Ginsburg's death broke backtracking on his stance in 2016, saying Trump's nominee would be voted for by the Senate.

'President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the Unites States Senate,' he said.

Democrats have also pointed to there being more fraught timing with today's nomination than in 2016.

In 2016, the position was empty nine months before the election, while Ginsburg's death comes just six weeks before the nation's votes are counted and a president revealed.

MINNEAPOLIS: People pick up electric votive candles from a table before a memorial service

MINNEAPOLIS: People pick up electric candles at a vigil while Democrats - and some dissenting Republicans - blast Trump and McConnell as hypocritical and vow to take action to derail their plans to rush through a justice appointment

MINNEAPOLIS: A man blows a shofar to hono Ginsberg at the beginning of a memorial service where her initials are lit up in lights

GEORGIA: A woman holds up a banner reading 'Until your last breath you fought for us. Now we will carry forward your legacy. Thank you RBG' at a vigil in downtown Atlanta

GEORGIA: Democrats are demanding Ginsburg not be replaced until after the election and a new president sworn in

NEW YORK: Hundreds of local residents attended a vigil to remember Ginsburg in her native New York

NEW YORK: The vigil in Ginsburg's birth state took place in front of the US Courthouse and was put together by Indivisible Westchester, a local grass roots organization

NEW YORK: Clergy from the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths spoke during an hour long vigil in New York state

NEW YORK: Mourners of all ages gathered at the vigil that included music and the blowing of a shofar, the rams horn that is traditionally part of the Jewish High Holiday services

WHO'S WHO ON TRUMP'S SUPREME COURT SHORTLIST REPUBLICAN SENATORS Ted Cruz, Texas. 49 Josh Hawley, Missouri. 40 Tom Cotton, Arkansas. 43 JUDGES Bridget Bade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 54 Stuart Kyle Duncan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 48 James Ho, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 47 Gregory Katsas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 56 Barbara Lagoa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. 52 Carlos Muniz, Supreme Court of Florida. 51 Martha Pacold, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 41 Peter Phipps, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 47 Sarah Pitlyk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. 43 Allison Jones Rushing, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 38 Lawrence VanDyke, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 47 CURRENT AND FORMER REPUBLICAN OFFICIALS Daniel Cameron, Kentucky Attorney General. 34 Paul Clement, partner with Kirkland & Ellis, former solicitor general. 54 Steven Engel, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. 46 Noel Francisco, former U.S. solicitor general. 51 Christopher Landau, U.S. ambassador to Mexico. 56 Kate Todd, deputy White House counsel. 45 Advertisement

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday said the nation was 'in an election' rather than close to an election this time as early voting is already under way in Virginia.

'People are already voting - it's just a few days away. We are not close to an election. We are in an election,' he said.

'To try and decide this at this late moment is despicable and wrong and against democracy.'

Democrats have put several options forward to stall or counteract Trump rushing through the appointment for Ginsburg's replacement.

If four GOP senators join the Democrats this could stop a Supreme Court nomination going forward.

Two GOP senators - Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins - have already dissented, vowing to derail Trump's nomination plans until after the November 3 election.

Other possible plans from Democrats include packing the Supreme Court or pursuing impeachment charges.

Several including Rep. Joe Kennedy III have threatened to pack the Supreme Court if they capture the Senate in November and Republicans have already pushed through a conservative successor to Ginsburg.

Kennedy III, who represents Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District and is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, tweeted Sunday: 'If he holds a vote in 2020, we pack the court in 2021. It's that simple.'

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler wrote on Twitter: 'If Sen. McConnell and @SenateGOP were to force through a nominee during the lame-duck session -- before a new Senate and President can take office - then the incoming Senate should immediately move to expand the Supreme Court.'

Court packing is a controversial move, however Democrats argue it will be necessary to rebalance the court if Trump does not wait until after the presidential inauguration to appoint Ginsburg's replacement.

Other options on the table are the pursuit of impeachment charges, something House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would not rule out in an interview Saturday.

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' she told ABC's 'This Week' when asked about the prospect.

'This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election,' Pelosi continued.

'Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus.'

AOC echoed the possibility of pursuing impeachment charges at a joint press conference with Schumer Sunday saying there has been 'an enormous amount of lawbreaking' under Trump's watch and branding Barr 'unfit for office'.

'I believe that certainly there has been an enormous amount of lawbreaking in the Trump administration,' she said, when asked about impeachment.

'I believe Attorney General Bill Barr is unfit for office and that he has pursued potentially law-breaking behaviors.'

She said America must 'use every tool at our disposal' and turn to 'unprecedented ways' to stall the appointment and that means putting all options 'on the table'.

'I believe that also we must consider again all the tools available to our disposal and all these options should be entertained and on the table,' she said.

Trump announced Saturday night that his Supreme Court nominee will be a woman, spotlighting two conservative women as his potential pick.

During a campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump declared 'I will be putting forth a nominee this week, it will be a woman', later adding his pick would be a 'very talented, very brilliant woman' because 'I like women more than I like men'.

As he left the White House for the rally, the president identified two women as front runners: Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees.
(Newser)  The woman suspected of sending a ricin-laced package to President Trump was arrested by US authorities at a New York border crossing, law enforcement sources tell the AP and CNN. The woman was allegedly trying to enter the US from Canada, and was carrying a gun. Prosecutors in Washington, DC, are expected to file federal charges against her. Authorities are also investigating similar packages sent to Texas; it's not yet clear whether the cases are related. (The package never made it to the White House.)
Elf is coming back to cinemas. (Park Circus/Warner Bros)

It's that time of year  well, perhaps a bit early, but nonetheless  when our thoughts turn to Elf.

One of the finest festive comedies of all, it left us wanting much more of Will Ferrell's Buddy, the Christmas obsessed elf who is actually a human.

But a sequel never came to be, despite at one time it having a potential title - Elf 2: Buddy Saves Christmas.

And now we know why.

Watch the trailer for Elf below....

Read more: The best Christmas films of the 21st century

James Caan, who played Buddy's biological father Walter Hobbs, has now spilled the beans on why it won't be going ahead, and it's because Ferrell and director Jon Favreau didn't get on.

Speaking in an interview with Cleveland's 92.3FM with Bull & Fox on Friday last week, he said: We were gonna do it and I thought, Oh my god, I finally got a franchise movie, I could make some money, let my kids do what the hell they want to do, he said.

And the director and Will didnt get along very well. So, Will wanted to do it, he didnt want the director, and he had it in his contract, it was one of those things.

Caan and Ferrell in Elf (Credit: New Line)

Talk of a sequel has long been a bone of contention between Ferrell, who has always said no, and Favreau, who seems rather more amenable.

Ferrell said in 2013 that it categorically would not happen, telling USA Today: I just think it would look slightly pathetic if I tried to squeeze back in the elf tights. Buddy the middle-aged elf.

Will Ferrell, James Caan and Jon Favreau attend the premiere party for Elf in New York, 2003 (Credit: AP Photo/Mike Appleton)

He later expanded, telling IGN: If you can figure that out and come up with a story that justifies having an extension of the first one, then great. Ive been asked and begged and prodded to do a sequel to that movie.

Read more: Favreau updates on Mandalorian season two

I think its hard  its a classic fish out of water story and its its own thing.

In another discussion with US talk show host Andy Cohen, he added he would 'absolutely not' make a sequel.

Favreau, however, told Yahoo Movies UK back in 2016 that there were 'all sorts of ways' it could happen, adding: It might be the film Im most proud off, if you pressed me.

The movie is often listed among the greatest Christmas movies ever, and also spawned a Broadway musical, as well as a stop-motion animated special for NBC  though only Ed Asner returned from the original cast to play Santa.
The United Jewish Community of Ukraine expressed gratitude to all structures and organizations that were involved in organizing and conducting the safe celebration of Rosh Hashanah in Uman.

This is evidenced by the statement of the UJCU following the celebration, which is published by UNIAN.

In a statement, representatives of the UJCU noted that the holiday was calm, no violations were recorded, and the pilgrimage zone was controlled for security purposes.

In this regard, UJCU expresses sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and all personnel involved in ensuring security: the Patrol Police, the Special Purpose Police, the Dialogue Police, the National Guard, as well as the Security Service of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine , to the doctors and public services of Uman, who worked in an intensive regime, ensuring safety and public order in the pilgrimage zone during the Rosh Hashanah period. "

In addition, the UJCU expressed gratitude to the Israeli Embassy in Ukraine and personally to xtraordinary and lenipotentiary ambassador of Israel Joel Lion for assistance in organizing the holiday, as well as to the Rabbi Nachman Foundation:

UJCU expresses gratitude to the Embassy of Israel in Ukraine and personally to the xtraordinary and lenipotentiary ambassador of Israel Joel Lion for assistance in organizing the holiday, as well as to the Israeli police and doctors who came to the aid of their Ukrainian colleagues.

UJCU also notes the role of the Rabbi Nachman Foundation, its president Nathan Ben Nun, who organized the pilgrimage, as well as the organization of the celebration itself, which this year was attended by a limited number of pilgrims - about 2000 visiting Breslov Hasidim. "

As noted in the UJCU, the celebration of Rosh Hashana by the Breslov Hasidim in Uman was successful within the framework that was possible taking into account the epidemiological situation, thanks to the well-coordinated work of the listed services, organizations and structures.

By the way, the special representative of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine was present in Uman during the celebration of Rosh Hashana 5781. On the basis of his materials, a special report was released on how the Breslov Hasidim celebrated the New Year in Uman.
The Greater Bridgeton Area Family Success Center, in collaboration with the Southeast Gateway Neighborhood Association, Manpower, Census 2020 and Gateway Community Action Partnership, will host a hiring event on Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Greater Bridgeton Family Success Center, 155 Spruce St., Bridgeton.

The event is free and food will be provided, but registration is required.

On-the-spot job interviews will be held for temp-to-hire opportunities with benefits, including industrial manufacturing positions, packers, machine operators and production workers, as well as short-term or part-time project work that offer $12-$16 per hour.

Participants should bring resume and related certifications and be dressed for success.

Space is limited so job seekers must register in advance by calling 856-497-6724.

CDC guidelines will be followed. Face masks must be worn and temperatures will be taken at the door.

A Census 2020 mobile outreach van also will be at the event to assist anyone who has not already completed their census form.

Send South Jersey community news announcements to south@njadvancemedia.com.
Svitlana Panaiotidi, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine

Back in May this year, the President approved the Annual National Program for 2020 under the aegis of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. This document is aimed at the systematic implementation of the strategic course of Ukraine: the course of Euro-Atlantic integration under the Constitution. The big driver for the acceleration of this course is the Ministry of Economy: from the first review of the military-industrial complex for the first time since independence, to the usage of all possible tools for cooperation with NATO in order to find effective solutions in the field of economic security.

However, the main task as of today is to reform the security and defense sector, including the military-industrial complex. The review of the military-industrial complex has shown that state-owned defense companies need a radical transformation and support from the state, the transition to a corporate governance model, and the development of mechanisms to attract investment in the industry. Successful implementation of the Annual National Program under the aegis of the NATO-Ukraine Commission will help Ukraine meet the criteria for membership in the Alliance. So let's talk about the progress in this direction.

Technical reequipment and production capacities reconstruction of military-industrial complex's enterprises

The scientific potential of the country allows us to develop and maintain the production of modern pieces of armament and military equipment, for example, projects "Neptune" or "Vilkha". However, appropriate funding is needed to ensure production capacity. At present, technical reequipment is carried out in accord with the tasks and measures of two programs -- "State dedicated program of reform and development of the military-industrial complex for the period up to 2021" and "State dedicated program for creation and manufacturing of ammunition and special chemicals for the period up to 2021".

We at the Ministry of Economy are working on updating these programs for the period up to 2024, taking into account other tasks in this area, set by the President of Ukraine. In addition, we are preparing the proposals for the Strategy of military-technical cooperation project to begin mass production of the latest models of high-tech ammunition and military hardware. Moreover, we have prepared a project Strategy for the development of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine for 2021-2025, as after the approval of the National Security Strategy of Ukraine, all strategic documents must be updated.

Development of the corresponding bills

We are working to eliminate ineffective and burdensome norms of state regulation from the legislation in power. To implement the top-priority tasks of the ANP-2020, the Ministry has developed three important bills. They are aimed at abandoning the system of total burdensome control over all economic entities, improving the principles of state supervision, and unification of the procedure for state control. Also, they are meant to remove restrictions for members of Ukroboronprom to establish joint ventures with foreign participants in order to implement international projects (the latter has already been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine).

Consultations with NATO

In the interests of the state, the Ministry of Economy is actively attracting advisory assistance from NATO. Towards this, a number of important events are to be held before the end of 2020. Initially, we planned to hold them offline, but the coronavirus situation has made its adjustments. Thus, in October 2020, an online seminar will be held to support the supply and registration of the military-industrial complex in the Catalog of Defense Products. In December the fifth annual seminar on the development of Ukraines defense industry with the participation of NATO experts is to take place in Kyiv.

The main tasks of such consultations are the discussion of the mechanisms for implementing the recommendations, based on the results of the Review of the Defense Industry of Ukraine, and taking into account current military-political threats and challenges; issues of life cycle management of ammunition, and military hardware; application of an integrated approach to the quality of military products at all stages of the life cycle; discussion of promising areas of cooperation of defense industry enterprises with various NATO structures; development of policy, that promotes mutually beneficial cooperation between the defense industry and the armed forces.

The annual national program is, first and foremost, our internal work on improvement and transformations.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21 2020

Publicly listed clinical laboratory firm PT Kimia Farma Diagnostika is set to pursue legal action against an employee who has been accused of fraud, extortion and sexual harassment during his time working as a COVID-19 rapid test officer at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

After contacting the alleged victim, Kimia Farma Diagnostika president director Adil Fadillah Bulqini said the company had agreed to bring the case to court.

PT Kimia Farma Diagnostika will bring seek legal action against the [employee] who had purportedly faked rapid test results, committed extortion and intimidation, Adil said on Saturday as quoted by kompas.com.

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Five people including schoolchildren have been injured during a knife attack near a kindergarten in southern China.

The attack occurred in the Panyu district of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, around 7am local time Monday.

The five wounded have been rushed to a local hospital while the attacker has been detained by police, according to the authorities. An investigation is ongoing.

The officials did not reveal details about the five injured people, but Chinese media said at least four of them were children attending the kindergarten and school nearby.

Footage circulated online shows medics tending the injured on the scene after police officers cordoned off the neighbourhood.

Panyu police said in a notice that the suspect was detained by officers and the incident was under ongoing investigation.

Five people including schoolchildren have been injured during a knife attack near a kindergarten in southern China. The attack occurred in the Panyu district of Guangzhou

Footage circulated online shows medics tending the injured on the scene after police officers cordoned off the neighbourhood following the knife attack in Panyu, Guangzhou, on Monday

The officials did not specify the current condition or level of injuries of the attacked residents.

A witness told The Beijing News that the man threatened to harm himself after being chased by two security guards during the attack.

He is also being treated at the local hospital, according to the newspaper.

MailOnline has contacted the local authorities for further updates.

The news comes as a knife attack that injured 39 schoolchildren and staff has shocked China earlier this year.

The attack occurred at Central Primary School in the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi autonomous region about 8.30am local time on June 4.

The attacker was identified as 50-year-old Li Xiaomin who worked at the school as a security guard.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 22) - The Philippine Red Cross asserted that all its transactions with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), particularly on COVID-19 response, are all legal contrary to the allegations of Senator Leila De Lima.

All transactions between the PRC and PhilHealth are legal and needed by the country, said Red Cross Board of Governors in a statement on Monday.

She should have studied first the law. She would have then discovered that the transactions in the Memorandum of Agreement dated 5 May 2020 between PRC and PhilHealth is exempted from Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Ac, the organization added.

De Lima said last week that there should be a full-blown investigation after Gordon entered into a deal with the state health insurer.

Under the law, TEST KITS...are included. The law further qualified that the Department of Health shall prioritize the allocation and distribution of such goods, supplies, etc. to public and private laboratories that have existing capacities to test suspected COVID-19 patients, said Red Cross citing the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act.

It added that Bayanihan 1 does not include advance/mobilization fees or revolving funds.

The advance payment happened only once and after that, it was already the PRC which has been advancing the test in spite of PhilHealths unsettled obligations to PRC, which is now more than P500 million, said Red Cross.

The organization also defended that there is no conflict of interest on the part of Gordon when he entered the deal despite spearheading the Senate probe on alleged anomalies in PhilHealth.

He has grown the PRC to unimaginable heights but he is not paid and has never received any benefits or dividends from this because the latter is a non-stock, non-profit organization. How could there be a conflict, said Red Cross.

Last August, whistleblower Atty. Thorson Montes Keith said that Gordon could be indicted in the anomalies in PhilHealth due to the deal between the two organizations.
Good morning Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah- Ghana's first and finest President. In your eternal memory, Ghanaians are resting at home today although many do not know who you are.

It is a fact, practically experienced, that many Ghanaians including the older generation do not have the slightest idea of the sum total of your personality as a former President and a gallant Pan-Africanist.

History has recorded that your academic excellence and intellectual capacity wooed the leaders of the UGCC and they invited you on to join in the struggle against the liberation of this country from colonial rule whilst pursuing your studies and dreams in Europe, but whereas you did believe in an immediate self-government, the leadership of the UGCC believed in a self-government within the shortest possible time.

It is also recorded in the annals of this country and the world beyond that immediately after joining forces with the other 'Big Five' to acquire Ghana's independence status in 1957, 6th of March, ideological differences led to your separation from the UGCC to form a new party called the CPP in June 1949 which ruled this country from February 1951 to 24th February, 1966.

I was saddened to have read that since the day you declared before 60,000 Ghanaians that the C. P. P needed a "Self Government Now!" you became an enemy to the leadership of the UGCC until the dark day in 1966. It is excessively refreshing to note that your leadership which was aimed at aiding the total liberation of the entire African continent by using Ghana as an appropriate platform and template, birthed the socialist and one party state ideology which became a ghost that haunted the leadership of the UGCC.

Relative to the One Party state ideology that was widely misunderstood by the 'ignorant' at the time, you explained thus far, *"a one-party system of government is an effective and safe instrument only when it operates in a socialist society. In other words, it must be a political expression of the will of the masses working for the ultimate good and welfare of the people as a whole. On the other hand, a one party system of government in a neo-colonialist client state, subject to external pressures and control, can quickly develop into the most dangerous form of tyranny, despotism and oppression."*

For this reason, you established the Ideological Institute in Winneba with the intention of educating those who might not have understood the ideas inherent in your government but unfortunately, your enemies facilitated by the rebellious reactionary Western forces that operated within the African continent had made up their minds.

As a growing Ghanaian youth, I was adequately enthused about the remarkable achievements of your government since your government took over in 1951. Agriculture, the Educational system, the health sector, the railway network system, road constructions, the setting up of companies and the entire social structure of Ghana saw a massive development to the appreciation of the least Ghanaian. It is also uncontestable that unemployment was almost unknown prior to 1966.

The whole truth is that, you are Ghana's primus inter pares, you have no equal at all. Your commitment to the unionisation of Africa and the crushing of imperialism was legendary. African leaders at the time saw you as a mystery that had been gifted to this country and the entire continent.

... But unfortunately, here comes that dark day in 24th February, 1966 when Ghana and Africa's future was perpetually truncated. You had traveled out of Ghana to Hanoi on official duties when the imperialist machinations motivated the local traitors to overthrow your government. I still hold the view that, those Western infested and perverted enemies within the Police, Military, and Civil Service who overthrew your government would not have accented to the propelling western forces if they had known that Ghana's future in the 21st century would have been this impoverished, visionless and purposeless. They would not have even thought of the ceaseless assassination attempts on you.

We heard your voices from Conakry where you finally settled until your demise. They were full of bitterness and sorrow. You felt Africa would indeed lose its heritage forever. Your compassion for the future of Ghana was visible in your voices. You truly wished that the unfaithful sons of Ghana should not have overthrown the citadel of policies you had chalked for the development of Ghana without any dependence on the colonialists. This is where I also breakdown in tears and in desperation.

Uncle Kwame, the treasure of Africa and the only star to have risen from Ghana. On this day of your memorial, although your heart is still heavy in your grave, I say ayeekoo to you. Your name has not only been etched in gold but in the very ' heart of Ghana and Africa' and the very fabric of our foundation as a race.

Rest well Osagyefo!
Dynamicweb, a leading Ecommerce, PIM and Digital Experience management software provider in the mid-size and enterprise industry, announced today that it closed its fiscal year ending June 2020 at a new high thanks to its growth of new customers and partners. Driven by global demand to be able to react fast on changing markets, Dynamicweb grew significantly by over 25%, making this the 2nd consecutive year of double-digit growth.

Strong demand was seen across the enterprise and midmarket in manufacturing, retail and distribution industries. New subscription customers include Winnebago, Dummen Orange, Lego Wear, Dantherm, Koninklijke Van Wijhe Verf, ProNails, TWGTea and Carrier.

The significant growth we continue to see across previous fiscal years is a result of our vision for the ecommerce and digital experience space and our ability to deliver on our promises to our customers and partners said Christian Beer, CEO of Dynamicweb. And although markets are very fluid right now, we are carefully optimistic that this year will be no different. We will continue to deliver our customers and partners with a market-leading platform that will allow them to be successful in delivering great digital experiences!

After another year of healthy accelerated growth, Dynamicweb expects to invest in its employee community, go-to-market approach and on expanding its global partner network to support the rapidly-growing customer base.

About Dynamicweb

Dynamicweb offers customers an industry recognized, award winning, all-in-one cloud business platform. We enable customers to deliver stellar customer experiences and to scale ecommerce success through the best-in-class Content Management, Digital Marketing, Ecommerce and Product Information Management solutions.

Dynamicwebs 300+ partners, 200+ employees in offices all around the globe are proud to support well over 4.000 brands, which includes leading brands like Lego, Vredestein, Unilever, Winnebago, LOreal, Flying Tiger, Toyota and Europcar. Built on Dynamicweb, these customers are empowered to gain lifelong customer relations, increase revenue and grow their brands.

Learn more at http://www.dynamicweb.com
The US has re-imposed sanctions on Iran  what will happen to companies still doing business with the Islamic republic? What will be the American response to the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and will this attack on him stop Nord Stream 2?

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (56),spoke about these issues with BILD Editor-in-chief Julian Reichelt.

Pompeo on...

...re-imposed sanctions and consequences for German companies who are doing business with Iran:

"There are probably a lot of companies in the US that would like to do business with the Islamic Republic of Iran as well. They are a great people, but unfortunately the regime there, the theocratic, kleptocratic regime led by the Ayatollah presents an enormous risk to the world. The United States is going to use every bit of its capacity to ensure that those UN sanctions are enforced. They will be enforced equally, fairly against business from across the world. We want to make sure that there is no more money created for this regime that for 40 years on now has created terror and has put Europe at risk. We want to make sure that no one is surprised, that they know what's lawful and what's unlawful. Nearly all of those UNSC resolutions are back in place since midnight this Saturday."

Lesen Sie auch USA emport uber Deutschland Riesen-Zoff um Waffen-Lieferungen fur die Mullahs Welche modernen Waffensysteme darf das islamistische Mullahregime im Iran in Zukunft kaufen? Daruber streiten die Vereinten Nationen!

Frist abgelaufen! Alle Iran-Sanktionen aus US-Sicht wieder gultig Die aus dem Atomabkommen mit dem Iran ausgestiegene US-Regierung halt alle UN-Sanktionen gegen die Islamische Republik wieder fur gultig.

... the execution of Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari and Germany's moral responsibility:

Auch Interessant



"German business will understand the risk and they will comply with the UNSC resolutions. It is the German government that is so disappointing. This country (Iran) has created assassination campaigns across Europe. The German government tells us they agree with that they don't want Iran to buy and sell weapons, yet they have come up with no plan, no alternative to prevent it. The US is going to lead, the US will make the right decision, the moral decision. Not only did they execute this wrestler, remember this is the most antisemitic nation on the planet, that does not only threaten to destroy America, but also the nation of Israel. I think the German people understand the risk, the threat to themselves and to the world. This is not a country that should escape the sanctions that UNSC resolution 2231 lays out, that is not a nation that on October 19 this year be able to buy and sell weapons."

Lesen Sie auch

Iran-Mullahs verurteilen Ringer-Champion zum Tode Navids Familie fleht: Helft uns! Navid Afkari (27) soll mit 74 Peitschenhiebe gequalt werden und dann hingerichtet werden. Jetzt appelliert seine Familie an die Welt.

...Iranian threats against Israel and Berlin's reactions:

"I think it's unmistakable, you don't have to guess, they tell us repeatedly what their intentions are. And we see their actions are consistent with that. I think the whole world knows the nature and the threat of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

... differences with the Europeans on the nuclear deal:

"There's been disagreement for years now about the value of this nuclear deal. The United States views it not only as unfortunate but dangerous. The Europeans have suggested that somehow staying inside of this is important, the United States have taken a different approach. We are not going to allow them to have the money and wealth to allow them to continue to ferment terror. We are not going to send pallets of cash over to the Iranian regime. We are going to develop a system that makes sure Iran never has a nuclear weapon. The United States has the capacity to lead the world to push back against this terror threat."

Lesen Sie auch Kreml-Kritiker Nawalny Noch vor Kurzem wusste ich nicht, wie man spricht Vier Wochen nach seiner Vergiftung hat sich Alexej Nawalny abermals aus der Charite gemeldet. Er beschreibt seinen Genesungsprozess.

Endlosung fur Israel Widerliche Hassbotschaft aus dem Iran Irans oberster Mullah-Fuhrer Ali Khamenei hat mit der Verwendung des Wortes Endlosung in Jerusalem scharfe Kritik auf sich gezogen.

...the poisoning of Alexei Navalny:

"The United States has made it clear the the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable. When a chemical weapons was used against the Skripal, we took a very strong response. There is no reason to anticipate the United States won't react in a way that does justice to what may have taken place once all the facts are available."

...Nord Stream 2:

"The United States believes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline creates a risk for Europe by becoming dependent on gas that's coming out of Russia and also threatens Ukraine, something I know many German people care deeply about. We hope the Nord Stream 2 pipeline won't be completed, we are working to make sure we build a coalition to prevent that from happening. We hope the German government will come to see it this way, whether it's because of what took place to Mr Navalny or because of the real security implications that come from being dependent on Russian gas."
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of the 90th Saudi National Day, a short film created by one of the largest business groups in the Middle East, Dallah Albaraka, is receiving positive reactions on all social media platforms.

The video masterpiece marks a strong contribution from Dallah and features country's qualitative renaissance and prosperity under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.

The video masterpiece marks a strong contribution from Dallah and features country's qualitative renaissance and prosperity under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.

Moreover, the celebratory short film includes a series of quotes and sayings of King Salman and Prince Mohammed bin Salman that signify their vision and continued commitment to progress of the nation and its people. It covers mega projects in urban development, technology, industry, military, culture and arts.

The film concludes with a quote of the Crown Prince praising Saudi people determination and celebrating their social and cultural diversity. The snippets then morph together to form an artistic portrait of the King and Crown Prince with one side of the portrait then exhibiting the word Al Mostaqbal (The Future), thus concluding with the most important message: a pledge to the future.

This innovative major piece to celebrate the symbolic 90th Saudi National Day took Dallah's creative and marketing team an entire year of research and hard work while facing the challenges of COVID-19 to make the film a reality with truly global standards.

You can watch the film through this link.

For more information

Ahmed alfal

[email protected]

00966556690354

SOURCE Dallah Albaraka
eye-on-india Ideas For Profit | Chemcon a strong import substitute play, but does its IPO merit investors attention? In this edition of Ideas For Profit, Moneycontrol's Sakshi Batra shares more details on Chemcon Speciality Chemicals IPO and whether it merits investor attention.
New Delhi: The pandemic has helped online learning firm Byjus become a decacorn and it is now looking to expand in overseas markets. In India, it plans to introduce more subjects in multiple vernacular languages, along with a new mentoring programme to accelerate growth. The company has raised around $1 billion since January, reflecting the surge in investor interest in Indian edtech startups as remote learning replaced classrooms amid the lockdown, sending the valuation of the company to around $10.8 billion. In an interview, Divya Gokulnath, co-founder and director, Byjus, spoke about the companys future plans and the spurt in edtech. Edited excerpts:

Byju's is now a decacorn and the most valuable edtech startup. What's next?

Like every business during a crisis, we have adjusted our short-term goals but our long-term vision of making students fall in love with learning remains intact. Our three pillars of growth will be introducing more subjects, introducing learning programmes for more grades and in more Indian languages so children are able to learn effectively even in their mother tongue. This will enable us to strengthen our offerings and penetrate further into India. Given the current demand, we plan on accelerating several launches this year to revolutionize the after-school learning segment.

How do you plan to deploy the funds raised?

Well be focusing on product development and expansion, both internationally as well as deeper into India. Our recent fundraising is also to finance inorganic growth like acquisitions.

For expansion in international markets, we have plans to launch our learning programmes aimed at school children in several English-speaking markets. Through WhiteHat Jr., we will introduce math subjects as part of the offering to serve customers in several markets, including Australia, New Zealand, UK, Singapore and Germany. Our vision is to be one of the largest education-provider brands in the world.

Byju's has seen big growth during the lockdown and raised multiple rounds of funds in 2020. Whats the reason behind this growth?

We started with the simple goal of making learning fun and helping students fall in love with learning. With the help of technology, we moved from being a 100% service to a 100% product company with the launch of our learning app. Since the launch of the app in 2015, we have helped over 64 million students embrace a whole new way of learning and become active learners and self-learners. We believe having a "sense of purpose" is key. We have spent close to a decade teaching, learning and growing. We have moved from classrooms, stadiums to virtual classes and now, personalized, blended, experiential learning, and much more.

What is Byju's' mentoring programme about? How will this work virtually?

Byjus has launched a first-of-its-kind mentoring programme for students where every student who subscribes to our programme will get access to a dedicated mentor. These mentors will play the role of counselors, guiding the students through their learning journey by suggesting personalized lessons based on their individual strengths and weaknesses.

On our platform, mentors monitor the progress of their students through data-driven dashboards. These dashboards help the mentors stay updated with the performance of the students in monthly tests, attendance, participation and attentiveness in class and consistency in completing homework. With the help of such actionable data, our mentors provide effective feedback and help create an action plan for each student to improve their learning and performance trajectory. This one-on-one online guidance from dedicated mentors also allows parents to be updated on their childrens progress from the comfort and safety of their homes. Currently, Byjus has a large team of trained mentors to help students and we are planning to grow the team by 100% in the coming year.

Both Raveendran and you were teachers. How has the journey been from teaching to entrepreneurship?

Were both highly passionate about teaching and believe we are first teachers and then entrepreneurs. We started out with a simple goal of making learning fun and helping students fall in love with learning. To keep solving the learning problem for our students, we disrupted our own model of classroom learning by integrating v-sat into our classes. We brought technology into education when no one else was doing it. Our journey is a clear indication of the fact that we have never shied away from change. In fact, we have embraced it, as long as it would help us continue solving the problem.

Will classrooms become passe now as children adapt to online learning?

The importance of schools and classrooms is uncontested, and it is a crucial component of every students holistic development as it teaches them several social and life-skills. Byjus classes are not focused on replacing schools but on becoming a students after-school learning companion. We see a post-lockdown world where students and parents will adopt a more blended approach to learning, with online learning complimenting learning at school. The blended format of education would include the best of online and offline learning. This is an opportunity for us to find the middle ground between offline and online learning and create an education system that is synchronous and efficient.

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The Supreme Court on Monday quashed the September 3 decision of National Law School of India University, Bengaluru (NLSIU) to hold a separate entrance exam, National Law Aptitude Test (NLAT) for admission to its the 5 year integrated LLB programme and the postgraduate LLM programme in place of Common Law Admissions Test (CLAT).

A 3-judge bench headed by justice Ashok Bhushan ordered NLSIU to admit students based on CLAT 2020 and also directed the consortium of national law universities (NLUs) to conduct CLAT on September 28.

The notice for admission to the five year integrated B.A.LL.B(Hons.) programme 2020-21 dated September 3, 2020 is quashed. The respondent No.1 (NLSIU) shall complete the admission of BA LL.B (Hons.) programme 2020-21 on the basis of the result of CLAT-2020, the bench which also comprised justices R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah ordered.

CLAT should be conducted after taking all precautions and care for health of the students after following the standard operating procedures of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Human Resource Development, the court added.

The court also directed that declaration of results should be completed as early as possible so as to enable NLUs to start their courses by mid-October.

Admission to LLB courses offered by 22 National Law Universities (NLUs) in different states is based on the CLAT score which is held every year by a consortium of NLUs. CLAT is scheduled to be held on September 28.

However, NLSIU decided that it would hold a separate entrance test this year, the NLAT, in view of the delay in conducting CLAT due to Covid-19. A notification was also issued on September 3 announcing its decision to hold NLAT.

Candidates will be selected on the basis of the aggregate marks secured in an online home-based Entrance Examination known as NLAT. The NLAT 2020 will test applicants for admission to the undergraduate B.A., LL.B. (Hons) and postgraduate LL.M programmes commencing in 2020, the notification said.

It also made it clear that NLSIU will not accept CLAT 2020 scores for admission for the academic Year 2020-21. According to the notification, NLSIU preferred to opt out of CLAT this year because it has to complete admissions before the end of September 2020 failing which it will inevitably result in a Zero Year with no admission. This is because the NLSIU follows a trimester system with 3 terms of 90 days duration.

Each term must accommodate 60 hours of classroom instruction in each course and adequately provide for examination and evaluation processes. Further, the academic offering for the 3rd, 4th and 5th year of the B.A., LL.B programme as well as the LL.M programme is fully integrated and requires a common academic calendar, the notification explained.

Later another notification was issued stipulating technical requirements for writing the exam. As per the notification, candidates were to have a computer system with minimum internet bandwidth of 1 Mbps and exams can be given using laptops or desktops alone with integrated webcam and microphone. Further, only Windows operating system would be allowed.

Dr. Venkat Rao, who was a former Vice Chancellor at NLSIU, approached the Supreme Court challenging NLAT stating that the decision taken by the Executive Council of NLSIU to conduct NLAT was illegal and without any legal authority.

Further, the notification mandating technical requirements to give the exam are onerous and cast unreasonable burden on students, the plea said. A parent of one of the law school aspirants was also a petitioner along with Rao.

The Supreme Court had on September 11 allowed NLSIU to hold NLAT as an interim measure but asked the university not to declare results or admit students till the court arrives at a final decision. The university had conducted NLAT pursuant to that order.
Those who have kept their jobs were heralded as heroes and rewarded with bonuses and temporary raises during the early months of the pandemic. However, many of these same retail workers find themselves struggling to fulfill endless parenting obligations while hanging on to jobs that seem increasingly precarious in a weak economy.

To date, federal and state governments have offered little or no child-care relief to working parents. The current debate in Washington has focused on restoring additional unemployment assistance, which lapsed in July, and granting more tax deductions to businesses, ostensibly to help them stay afloat and keep people employed.

But employees, union leaders and labor experts say none of that government support has motivated companies to find ways to accommodate workers who also need to supervise their children during online school.

Amazon is offering 10 days of subsidized child care, asking employees to cover no more than $35 a day for day-care centers and $5 an hour for in-house babysitters. The benefit ends next month.

Rachel Belz, who was an Amazon warehouse worker in West Deptford, N.J., said she needed more coverage.

Before she left her job this month, she was ending her shift at 5 a.m. and then getting only a few hours of sleep before having to get up to watch her son, who is in kindergarten.

I am not asking you to take care of my kid, said Ms. Belz, 32, who is a member of United for Respect, a worker advocacy group. I am asking you to make it easier for me to take care of my kid.
The Concerned Voters Movement (CVM), a Civil Society Organisation has called on Ghanaians to be wary of the sweet promises the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was churning out to win back power.



It said Ghanaians were appreciative of the achievements of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia in the last three years and were ready to retain the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in power.



A statement signed by the Founder and President of the CVM, Mr Razak Kojo Opoku said budgetary allocations were always made and captured for projects each time President Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia cut sod for the commencement of any project.



It said the NDC was fixated at attacking its opponents, leaving out the element of an issue-based campaign and the CVM was convinced that the NDC manifesto did not seek to enhance and improve the wellbeing of the generality of the Ghanaian people.



It said the NDC was discrediting the NPP on every development project taken and inciting people including; Chiefs and Queen mothers against the NPP and President Akufo-Addo by describing sod-cutting projects as Sakawa and 419.



It said the NDC ethnocentric comments against the people of Akyem seemed to have deliberately put dust in the eyes of well-meaning Ghanaians, and questioned why the 10 billion dollar Hope City Project which the NDC cut sod did not comes on or see the light of day.



The statement said the 2020 elections was about a comparison of records and a show of who was tall in terms of managing the affairs and resources of the country.

Source: GNA









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Featured Video
Tamarack Project On Track to Become the United States' Next Source of Domestic Green Nickel,(TM) a Critical Component of EV Batteries

Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - September 21, 2020) - Talon Metals Corp. (TSX: TLO) ("Talon" or the "Company") today provided comment and confirmed media availability in advance of Tesla, Inc.'s anticipated "Battery Day" announcement following its 2020 annual meeting of shareholders on Tuesday, September 22, 2020. Talon's Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project ("Tamarack Project"), located in Minnesota, USA (in partnership with Rio Tinto), is positioned to become the only U.S. source of Green NickelTM in North America and a key supplier to battery and electric vehicle manufacturers.

Sean Werger, President of Talon, said, "The Tamarack Project is extremely well positioned for the advancement of battery technology, particularly for those advancing EV technology seeking sustainable sources of nickel. The production of Green NickelTM for batteries all starts and ends with the rocks it is mined from: They need to be high in nickel and low in deleterious elements. The Tamarack Project is one of the only undeveloped deposits that meets these criteria, and we expect it will play a critical role in the supply chain for battery and vehicle manufacturers looking for the lowest cost product produced in the most responsible way."

New Green NickelTM projects need to be advanced today to meet the nickel deficit expected to commence in 2026, as nickel projects cannot just go into production overnight. Based upon current projections, the Tamarack Project is expected to begin producing battery grade nickel at a crucial time for the battery and electric vehicle industry.

More information on the project is available at www.talonmetals.com.

Mr. Werger is available to provide comment on the role of the nickel production industry in battery and electric vehicle advancement prior to or following Tesla's Battery Day announcement.

Story continues

About Talon

Talon is a TSX-listed base metals company in a joint venture with Rio Tinto on the high-grade Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project located in Minnesota, USA, comprised of the Tamarack North Project and the Tamarack South Project. Talon has an earn-in to acquire up to 60% of the Tamarack Project. The Tamarack Project comprises a large land position (18km of strike length) with numerous high-grade intercepts outside the current resource area. Talon is focused on expanding its current high-grade nickel mineralization resource prepared in accordance with NI 43-101; identifying additional high-grade nickel mineralization; and developing a process to potentially produce nickel sulphates responsibly for batteries for the electric vehicles industry. Talon has a well-qualified exploration and mine management team with extensive experience in project management.

For additional information on Talon, please visit the Company's website at www.talonmetals.com or contact:

Daisy Xiong

Edelman

Tel: (604) 209-0891

Email: Daisy.Xiong@edelman.com

Sean Werger

President

Talon Metals Corp.

Tel: (416) 361-9636 x102

Email: werger@talonmetals.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events, or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to the Company becoming the United States' only source of domestic Green Nickel,TM the expectation the Tamarack Project will play a critical role in the supply chain for battery and vehicle manufacturers looking for the lowest cost product produced in the most responsible way and the expectation the Tamarack Project will begin producing battery grade nickel at a crucial time for the battery and electric vehicle industry. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/64242
The wait goes on for the United States Congress to agree another coronavirus aid package and, with it, potentially a second stimulus check - an impasse that this week led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to try to jump-start talks over the bill.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress agree that qualifying Americans should receive another direct payment, which would follow on from the stimulus checks sent out as part of the CARES Act, a $2.2tn relief bill passed in March. Furthermore, President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his support for the measure.

Republican 'skinny' proposal defeated

Every Senate Democrat just voted against hundreds of billions of dollars of Covid-19 relief, Mitch McConnell tweeted after the recent Republican proposal - which did not, however, include a second stimulus check. They blocked money for schools, testing, vaccines, unemployment insurance, and the Paycheck Protection Program. Their goal is clear: No help for American families before the election.

Full screen Sin titulo(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 17, 2020 Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks during a news conference to announce that the Senate is considering police reform legislation, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. OLIVIER DOULIERY (AFP)

Delay October recess



US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this week said Democrats were open to delaying an October recess to get a deal with Republicans on a new coronavirus aid bill, as a $1.5 trillion proposal unveiled by moderates was attacked by conservatives and liberals.

"We are committed to staying here until we have an agreement," Pelosi, a Democrat, said in a CNBC interview, adding that there were disagreements with Republicans on how to "crush the virus" that has now killed more than 194,000 people in the United States.

Full screen us-politics-pelosi-BRIEFINGUS Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, holds her weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 18, 2020. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP) NICHOLAS KAMM (AFP)

The House was scheduled to recess no later than 2 October so members can campaign at home for re-election on 3 November. But, echoing Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said lawmakers will be on indefinite standby, with 24 hours notice of any vote on a coronavirus aid bill if a deal is reached.
The future Duke of Marlborough and his wife have revealed the godfathers for their newborn daughter Olympia.

George Spencer-Churchill, the Marquess of Blandford, 28, and interior designer Camilla Thorp, 32, welcomed daughter Olympia Arabella Kitty Spencer-Churchill earlier this month in Portland Hospital, London

The couple have now revealed the three men chosen to act as godparents to their first child, with bloodstock consultant Sam Haggas and restaurant owner Hugh Stanley making the cut.

Meanwhile Camilla also revealed she had introduced her daughter to 'grandpa' the Duke of Marlborough, sharing a snap of the moment with her Instagram followers.

The future Duke of Marlborough, 38, and his wife Camilla Thorp, 32, have revealed the godfathers for their newborn daughter Olympia (pictured left to right, Mylo Sangster, Hugh Stanley and Sam Haggas)

Camilla shared a group snap of the three godparents alongside George and Olympia, captioning it with a champagne glass and writing: 'The godparents.'

Among the men chosen for the role is Hugh Stanley who is the nephew of the Earl of Derby and owns plush restaurant Stanleys in Chelsea.

He opened the eatery, which is just off the King's Road, in July of this year, with Tatler dubbing it the 'smart new restaurant where the Chelsea set will be this summer'.

The 27-year-old spent his teenage years setting up parties at Sloane Square stalwart, Tonteria, before he did a stint at nightclub Tramp and three years at The Sydney Arms.

She went on to share another pictured of the Duke of Marlborough with his tiny granddaughter, and captioned the picture: 'Loved meeting my grandpa'

Meanwhile the couple also selected bloodstock consultant Sam Haggas, who set up his own business, Hurworth Bloodstock, in February 2019.

His father, William Haggas, is one of the most respected trainers in the headquarters of British racing in Newmarket.

And his mother Maureen is a former jockey and trainer and the daughter of Lester Piggott, widely regarded as one of the greatest flat racing jockeys of all time.

Finally, they chose another close friend Mylo Sangster, who is grandson of famed horse trainer and breeder Robert Sangster.

Among the men chosen to be godfather are restaurateur Hugh Stanley (left) and bloodstock consultant Sam Haggas (right)

Finally, they chose another close friend Mylo Sangster, who is grandson of famed horse trainer and breeder Robert Sangster

The couple announced the news they'd welcomed a daughter to their 10,000 followers on their Instagram page last week.

, George wrote: 'Welcome to the world baby girl Olympia Arabella Kitty Spencer-Churchill,' while Camilla added: 'So in love with our little angel.'

The pair posted a collection of sweet photographs with the posts yesterday, showing the couple embracing their daughter while still in hospital.

Newborn Olympia won't inherit the family estate and fortune because of male primogeniture, which dictates it must go to the oldest son or closest male heir.

The future Duke of Marlborough and Camilla announced the birth of their first child with a selection of adorable images of their 'little angel' last week (pictured with their daughter shortly after her birth)

George (pictured with the newborn), became a father after his wife interior designer after she gave birth earlier this month in Portland Hospital, London

Followers quickly flooded the comments with their best wishes for the parents, with one writing: 'Shes so gorgeous! Congratulations!'

George became Marquess of Blandford in 2014, following his grandfather's death and was named by Tatler as one of the '10 most eligible people in the land' in 2017, before his wedding.

His ties to the biggest names in British society are extensive and date back generations.

Revealing the news to their combined 10,000 followers on their Instagram pages, Camilla said the couple were 'so in love with our little angel.'

Time for some bubbly! George treated his wife to a present following the birth of their daughter - which involved a cuddly toy and a bottle of champagne

George's great-great-grandfather, the 9th Duke of Marlborough, was a first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill and was married to Consuelo Vanderbilt, of the prominent American Vanderbilt dynasty. The late Princess Diana was also George's fourth cousin, once removed.

The aristocrat and polo player lives in leafy south-west London but will one day preside over the jaw-dropping 187-room Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire.

Camilla met aviation broker and Old Harrovian George 12 years ago while holidaying in the Isle of Wight, with the two marrying in a lavish ceremony at his family seat of Blenheim Palace in September 2018.

Camilla revealed she was pregnant with the couples first child in a sweet Instagram post showing the pair bottle-feeding lambs in April this year, writing: 'Getting some practise in.'

The pair posted a collection of sweet photographs with the post (pictured) yesterday, showing the couple welcoming their daughter to the world

Recalling how their relationship started, Camilla told Tatler: 'One day he just started holding my hand.

BLENHEIM PALACE A gift from Queen Anne to John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, in 1704, Blenheim Palace was a reward for his victory over the army of Louis XIV of France in the Spanish War of Succession. Since then the palace has been held in trust for Duke after Duke and is currently the home of the 12th, Jamie Spencer-Churchill. Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim, which became a world heritage site in 1987. The 200,000sq ft estate has 187 rooms, dwarfing Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle,and attracts about 500,000 visitors every year. Advertisement

'Our parents have been friends for years, which made life much easier. We didnt have to do the whole "meet the parents" thing.'

George, son of James Spencer-Churchill and his first wife Rebecca Mary Few Brown, popped the question at Soho House, Istanbul, and the couple set about planning the wedding.

Camilla, who did not hire a wedding planner, explained she had always thought she would marry at her mother's Hampshire home but that her husband-to-be 'thought it important for us to celebrate Blenheim'.

The couple tied the knot at nearby St Mary Magdalene Church before heading back for a party beneath a marquee on the palace's South Lawn.

Interior designer Camilla was given away by her father James, an architect.

After the ceremony, the couple celebrated with friends and family at the palace, which is set in 2,000 acres.

Camilla wore a Dolce & Gabanna white dress, which was the first bespoke bridal gown by the designer ever to have been worn in Britain.

As part of her bridal outfit Camilla also wore an heirloom which has been in the Marlborough family since 1895.

The diamond and pearl-encrusted Boucheron tiara, which was sewn into the bride's hair, was originally a wedding gift to Consuelo Vanderbilt, one of the 'Dollar Princesses', from her father at the time of her marriage to the 9th Duke of Marlborough.
Podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan has been receiving a lot of flak lately  possibly because with his new Spotify partnership, his more harmful and hateful guests have been omitted from the streaming platform. This means Rogans more questionable takes and guests are being spotlighted, and folks are realizing theres plenty to feel dubious about. Rogans own sharing of misinformation regarding Oregon wildfires, as well as his irresponsible attitude regarding coronavirus, only served to push this point home. Now, fans of Rogan are lashing out over what they feel is unwarranted censorship, while other netizens are sitting back and enjoying the show.

Spotify cuts controversial Joe Rogan episodes

Joe Rogan | Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images

RELATED: The View: Sunny Hostin Calls Joe Rogan Comments Misogynistic, Racist, Homophobic

Joe Rogan has a noted history of hosting guests with harmful and hateful ideological viewpoints without challenging them in a meaningful way. Because Rogan has granted these harmful ideologies a legitimizing soapbox, Spotify has decided to pull relevant episodes.

Specifically, Spotify has chosen to remove episodes featuring alt-right or controversial guests. These include guests like Milo Yiannopoulos, Gavin McInnes, Chris DElia, Alex Jones, and others.

As of now, the aforementioned guests are still missing on Spotify. However, Alex Jones has made claims that during a chat with Joe Rogan, the podcaster informed him the missing episodes will be uploaded.

However, recent difficulties within the company as a result of the Joe Rogan deal are casting some doubts on Alex Jones assertion.

A group of Spotify employees wants editorial control

Joe Rogan | Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images

A group of Spotify employees have taken umbrage with some of Joe Rogans episodes that have been uploaded to the platform, including an episode starring noted transphobe Abigail Shrier.

While employees have requested that Spotify leadership take down the offending video, CEO Daniel Ek has chosen not to do so.

In the case of Joe Rogan, a total of 10 meetings have been held with various groups and individuals to hear their respective concerns, said Daniel Ek. And some of them want Rogan removed because of things hes said in the past.

Others have concerns specifically over a recent episode. And Joe Rogan and the episode in question have been reviewed extensively. The fact that we arent changing our position doesnt mean we arent listening. It just means we made a different judgment call, Ek told employees.

Joe Rogan fans are angry

Joe Rogan | Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images

Now, Joe Rogan fans are getting upset both with Spotify and Rogan himself. The reason for their anger at Spotify is apparent  they feel as if their icon is being censored. As for their anger with Rogan, this stems from the fact that the podcaster claimed Spotify would have no creative control over his show prior to the changeover.

The shift in Rogans audience from centrists and libertarians to right-wingers is most apparent in the comments on the Joe Rogan Experience sub-Reddit. Here, complaints about SJW Spotify staffers run rampant.

Why theyre not being called former staffers yet is beyond me. You just signed the largest [p]odcaster in the world and your low-level staffers want to sabotage it with their social justice larping. Get it under control Spotify or youre going to blow this business deal, opined one user on the sub.

Fact checking today means nothing, its 100% subjective. Fact-checking by Politifact, Snopes, CNN, etc. is widely mocked by everyone with an IQ over 70, and for good reason, erroneously claimed one fan of Rogan.

Going to Texas doesnt mean you can outrun cancel culture, wrote another irritated fan.

Another user replied with a dig, The only thing he outran was the taxes that he said he was willing to pay to help society.

Other netizens enjoy the show

Joe Rogan | Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images

Other netizens are sitting back and enjoying watching the show as the Joe Rogan community implodes.

Its painfully obvious Joe saw all this coming, but didnt give a sh*t because $100m. He sold out and Im over here with stomach cramps from all the laughter because these dorks dont see it, wrote one Redditor on the Subreddit Drama sub.

He totally did. His fanbase is so close to being out of control, a little like Pewdiepie when the New Zealand shooter quoted him. Rogan cashed out when he could, and now he gets to blame the downfall of his podcast on Spotify, the bagholder, if ever it comes to that, opined another commenter.

In reality Spotify doesnt want to be on the hook for the sh*t he spews and liberal cultural decorum dictates certain stances he holds to be taboo (aside from the fact that theyre stupid). He was aware this would be the case beforehand, of course, but money talks and 100 million is really loud, wrote another user.
OTTAWA  The land was theirs, the Indigenous protesters said, and so they tried to prevent the housing project near Niagara Falls from going forward  burning tires to block a highway, spray-painting slogans on the construction companys equipment and setting an excavator on fire.

The demonstrations didnt get much national attention, but Karl Dockstader, a local Indigenous reporter, thought it was a big story.

As the protests grew larger over the summer, he returned repeatedly to the site, finally deciding to pitch a tent nearby to do more in-depth reporting.

Then he received an email from the Ontario Provincial Police. They wanted to meet with him.

When he showed up, the police arrested him, and charged him with criminal mischief, and with violating an injunction against the blockade. Now, as he awaits resolution of the case, Mr. Dockstader, who is co-host of a weekly talk radio program that focuses on Indigenous issues, is himself blocked from reporting on a major Indigenous event in his own backyard.
The top Justice Department official in Houston announced the arrest in Colombia of three people affiliated with the Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional, a paramilitary group considered a foreign terrorist organization, on allegations theyre involved in an international drug conspiracy linked to terrorism.

Last week Colombian officials arrested Yamit Choncha Picon-Rodriguez, 36, Jose Gabriel Alex Alvarez-Ortiz, 26, and Henry Moncho Picada Trigos-Celon, 43, upon the request of U.S. federal agents, according to a news release. A U.S. Attorneys Office spokesperson declined to comment about extradition.

The federal case in Houston centers on Wilver El Puerco Villegas-Palomino, 38, an alleged ELN leader who is an international fugitive as of Feb. 13. He operated in the the Northeast War Front in the Catatumbo region of Colombia and Venezuela.

The FBI is offering up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest. Also wanted in the case are Jaime Miguel Chencho Picon-Rodriguez, 38, and Diomedes El Burro Barbosa-Montano, 38.

The defendants are charged with drug trafficking, conspiracy and narco-terrorism. The sealed indictment in the case outlines a 20-year conspiracy by the defendants to move cocaine from Colombia to the United States and used the proceeds to fund the ELN.

In 2019, Villegas-Palomino, Picon-Rodriguez, Trigos-Celon, Barbosa-Montano and Alvarez-Ortiz were charged with distributing about 30 kilograms of cocaine in Colombia that prosecutors believe was intended for sale to the United States.

The arrests are part of a campaign called Operation Catatumbo Lightning, which is a collaboration between the FBI and law enforcement and military partners in the United States and in Colombia, said FBI Director Christopher Wray, according to the release.

These arrests should serve as a warning that the FBI will relentlessly target and disrupt any narco-terrorist activity that threatens the health and safety of the American people and our international community, he said.

As alleged, for decades, ELN produced and exported tons of cocaine to the U.S., using communities in America to fund their terrorist activities, said Timothy J. Shea, acting administrator for the DEA. These enforcement actions have dealt a major blow to the ELN and are a true testament to the power of partnerships. DEA remains dedicated to our partners around the globe in the shared mission of bringing narco-terrorists to justice.

Attorney General William Barr said the arrests reaffirm the Justice Departments commitment tp dismantling and disrupting this narco-terrorist group. The United States and Colombia have a shared mission of combating narco-trafficking and narco-terrorism and the long-standing cooperation and teamwork between U.S. and Colombian law enforcement is stronger in addressing transnational crime and weakening foreign terrorist organizations.

The ELN, a left wing group linked to liberation theology, dates to the mid-1960s. Guerrilla units have existed in the Catatumbo area since the 1970s. According to Human Rights Watch, the Northeast War Front now has about 400 militants. The nonprofit group says that in January 2019, the ELN claimed responsibility for a car-bomb attack at a police academy in Bogota. President Ivan Duque then ended the peace talks with the ELN.

gabrielle.banks@chron.com
Beaches and parks throughout Sydney will implement COVID-safe protocols this summer.

One of the NSW government's proposed rules will be for beachgoers to maintain a 'towel length' of distance among themselves.

Under the plan, markings will also be placed throughout parks and public spaces to remind people of social distancing policies.

Lifeguards would set up several sets of flags across long stretches of beach - subject to weather conditions - to encourage beachgoers to distance.

Beaches and parks throughout Sydney will implement COVID-safe protocols to ensure the safety of guests this summer. Pictured: Hundreds of people enjoying the sun on Bondi beach on August 29

'We know how much our community loves fresh air, beaches and parklands, but we will all need to do that a bit differently this summer,' Premier Gladys Berejiklian said

Venues will also be encouraged to embrace alfresco dining to promote social distancing and avoid placing too many people in confined spaces.

The proposals are part of a five-point plan to ensure the safety of Sydneysiders this summer.

'We know how much our community loves fresh air, beaches and parklands, but we will all need to do that a bit differently this summer,' Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

In addition to the five-point plan, Ms Berejiklian is hoping to launch arts and cultural events outdoors to aid in contact tracing.

'Whatever you're into there'll be something for you to do this summer,' Planning Minister Rob Stokes said.

Mr Stokes said he hoped people would stray from the standard Aussie tradition of crowding at the beach this summer and begin exploring lesser known parts of Sydney.

Under the plan, markings will also be placed throughout parks and public spaces to remind people of social distancing policies

Venues will also be encouraged to embrace alfresco dining, again to promote social distancing and avoid placing too many people in confined spaces

Bondi Beach appeared crowded again on September 3 as the weather warmed up

'We have huge amounts of open space, but often we don't even know exactly where it is in a local community,' Mr Stokes said.

'So we're going to shine a spotlight on all the forgotten bits of parkland right across this beautiful city.'

QR sign in codes would still be required when dining out, and could even be extended to taxi trips in the coming weeks, Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant revealed on Sunday.

Sitting in the front seat of a ride-share service is already discouraged to avoid any close contact.

It comes as the state recorded just one new locally acquired COVID-19 case.

The case is a household contact of a previously known case linked to Concord Hospital, and was already in quarantine prior to testing positive.

Back in April, crowds were criticised for gathering and doing the coastal walk in Manly despite social distancing rules
US President Donald Trump might be in the news for getting nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Back home, however, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been grabbing headlines for a rather unusual and dubious honour - the Ig Nobel Prize.

In 2020, PM Modi became the second Indian Prime Minister to get the Ig Noble award for using the COVID-19 pandemic to teach the world that politicians can have a more immediate effect on life and death than scientists can".

But what is the Ig Noble awards?

Ig Noble awards are satirical honours given to celebrate minor scientific achievements. It is given out every year by the humour-science magazine Annals of Improbable Research which specifically focuses on humorous coverage of news and current scientific events. It is presented by Nobel laureates at a ceremony in Harvard Universitys Sanders Theatre in front of a live audience of about a thousand or so people. The awards are meant to be in good humour and not meant to be taken seriously as a commemoration of scientific achievement.

How many Indians have won the Ig Noble prizes?

PM Modi is the second Indian PM to win an Ig Noble. The first was Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998 who was given the honour for his aggressively peaceful" detonation of a nuclear weapon. Not just PMs, several other Indians have won Ig Noble in several categories including Public Health, Peace, and math. In 2003, Lal Bihari won it for creating the Association of Dead People. K.P. Sreekumar and G. Nirmalan won it in 2002 for calculating the surface area of an elephant. Chittaranjan Andrade and BS Srihari won the honour for establishing that children do indeed pick their noses.

Why has PM Modi been awarded the Ig Noble?

PM Modi has been awarded the Ig Noble 2020 for his contribution to medical education. In the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, PM Modi has been lauded for his efforts to contain the crisis. Critics, however, have raised questions on the governments handling of unemployment as well as its lax attitude when it came to compiling data on job loss and deaths of migrant and health workers. The government has, however, made several efforts to spread awareness about coronavirus and educate the masses about essential guidelines such as wearing face masks.

Who is PM Modi sharing the Ig Noble 2020 with?

PM Modi is not the only recipient of the Ig Noble 2020 for medical education. He shares the prize with Brazils Jair Bolsonaro, UKs Boris Johnson, Recep Tayyip Erdogan from Turkey, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkmenistans Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Belaruss Alexander Lukashenko, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico and the United States President Donald Trump.

Are the Ig Noble aware the same as the Nobel Prize?

No, they are not. Ig Noble is a play on the word ignoble and is not really a real award but a parody award given for odd and rather quirky accomplishments". They are not to be confused with the Nobel prizes which are given for actual achievements that impact the world in positive ways. The Ig Psychology award this year, for instance, has been given to the Canadian Miranda Giacomin and American Nicholas Rule for devising a method to identify narcissists by examining their eyebrows." That being said, Nobel laureates themselves are known to have won an Ig Noble. Before jointly winning a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010, physicist Andre Geim shared an Ig Noble award for Physics in the year 2000. Why? He levitated a frog using magnets.

Not just medical education, India also jointly shared the Ig Peace Prize with Pakistan for their doorbell campaign".
Augustoberfest to return in 2022, but in a new location

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Augustoberfest, usually held in downtown Hagerstown. But this year's festival is moving out of Hagerstown.
Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has, in a message to celebrate Dr Kwame Nkrumahs birthday, reiterated his call to Ghanaians to vote for him on December 7, 2020.



Read his full statement released to mark the birthday of Dr Nkrumah below.



BE CAUTIOUS, BE BOLD AND HAVE HOPE! A MESSAGE FROM JOHN MAHAMA



Tomorrow, Monday 21st September marks the birthday of Ghanas Founder and first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. He was an iconic figure in the independence struggle and the liberation of many African countries.



Dr Kwame Nkrumah was an inspiration to many countries around the world. On this day, I want to salute him for his tireless and monumental contribution to our nations history.



Finally, I come before you this morning with a triple invitation: be cautious, be bold and have hope!



Be cautious when you read articles on social media, because, unfortunately, today we are living in the age of fake news. It is now too easy to take something false as the truth. There is sometimes a big difference between what someone really did, and what people are made to believe he or she did.



They say, for instance, that during my first term as President I was a poor manager of our economy. Some of you may have been made to believe this false story. However, when you look at the data, things look different.



In 2012, the size of Ghanas economy was 41.6 billion dollars. In 2016, on my watch as president it was 54.5 billion dollars  a nominal change of 13 billion dollars in 4 years.



This year, 2020, on the watch of Akufo-Addo as president, Ghanas economy is projected to be somewhere 66 billion dollars, which means the NPP government in four years changed the size of the economy by 11 billion dollars  note in 4 years; 13 billion dollars under my watch and 11 billion dollars under NPP. This is what the data says, and it is verifiable. You can examine the data for yourselves.



This government has meanwhile borrowed GH140 billion as against GH56 billion during my presidency.



The Akufo-Addo government has not got a track record; not in healthcare, we built hospitals, they have none; not in tertiary education, we built universities, they have none; not in the roads sector, we built roads, they have declared a year of roads without roads; not in fighting corruption, we fought corruption head on; President Akufo-Addo fights those who fight corruption in his government. The case of Auditor General Daniel Domelevo is proof that corruption is fighting the president.



This is why I invite you to be cautious.



But I also invite you to be bold. Imagine, for instance, that, today Ghana had the digital infrastructure allowing people to work easily from home, like they do in countries like South Korea or Denmark. The Covid-19 pandemic would have certainly had a lesser impact on our economy.



Imagine a Ghana where all this is possible, where new types of services and new types of jobs allow people to live decent lives. Imagine a 21st Century Ghana! If you would, you wont settle for good enough anymore. Instead, you would be asking for change in the way our country is led.



So, Im telling you: have hope!



Our Manifesto, The Peoples Manifesto, pledges that the new NDC government will help one million young Ghanaians to become coders and programmers  to become the backbone of the new economy we will build together for the benefit of all.



With one million young coders and a solid digital infrastructure, we will bridge the gap between our Ghana and the more advanced countries far sooner than you think now. Have hope!



And believe this hope is real! Because together with NDC we have already delivered. And if we delivered once, we are able to deliver again.



So, my brothers and sisters, be cautious, be bold and have hope! I guarantee you that the next NDC government will provide you with a clear and honest chance to live a decent life!



Be cautious, be bold, and have hope!



Jobs and Prosperity for all.



Thank you!

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

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The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy governments plan of creating three capitals for the state continues to hang in balance with the Andhra Pradesh high court on Monday extending the status quo on continuing Amaravati as the state capital.

A division bench of the high court comprising chief justice JK Maheshwari and judges M Satyanarayana Murthy and AV Sesha Sai was acting on a batch of nearly 93 petitions including that of Amaravati Rythu Parirakshana Vedika (Amaravat farmers protection forum) and former Telugu Desam Party MLA Sravan Kumar.

The bench said it would take up hearing of the petitions from October 5.

Till such time, the status quo on Amaravati capital issue will continue, the high court bench said.

Advocates for petitioners requested that the petitions be heard in person, rather than through video conferencing mode. The high court said it would take a call on October 5.

The petitioners were opposing the formation of three capitals  executive capital at Visakhapatnam, judicial capital at Kurnool and legislative capital at Amaravati.

They moved the high court challenging the acts passed by the state legislature to this effect in June, besides the legal sanctity of the GN Rao committee and high power committee based on which the state government decided on three capitals.

The petitioners questioned the violation of agreement made by AP Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) with the farmers, deviation of master plan in the state capital region and lack of creation of infrastructure facilities in the region.

The Union home ministry, which was made a respondent in the case, had already submitted an affidavit in the court that there was no provision in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, that prevents the Jagan government to go ahead with the three capitals plan.

The MHA refused to intervene in the matter, as location or relocation of the state capital is the sole prerogative of the state government.

The high court also took objection to the construction of a state guest house in 30 acres of land at Kapuluppada in Visakhapatnam despite the status quo order on the capital shift. The petitioners argued that it amounted to contempt of court.

The state government, however, claimed that the construction of the guest house had nothing to do with the capital shift. The high court ordered that the government submit its counter within a week.

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Anyone remaining unconvinced that real-life serial killers are box-office need look no further than the TV schedules. Last week it was David Tennant as Dennis Nilsen in Des, next week BBC2 begins a three-part series about Harold Shipman, and sandwiched between them is the documentary Rose West and Myra Hindley: Their Untold Story (ITV). Two for the price of one, it must be an absolute banker for the channel.

Dedicated real-crime ghouls will have spotted an exaggeration in that untold claim, however, since Wests former defence lawyer, Leo Goatley, caused headlines last year when he claimed West had a lesbian affair with Hindley in 1995 when the two were incarcerated together in Durham Prison. Goatley appeared on camera, but the more colourful witnesses were former fellow inmates, Linda Calvey, who was doing an 18-year stretch for murder at the time, and mafia bosss daughter Marisa Merico, banged up for money laundering.

You can imagine her being in Hitlers gas chambers, throwing people in, offers Calvey luridly when asked by Trevor McDonald for her impressions of Hindley. Calvey says she slapped the Moors Murderer after overhearing her sing, adding: How dare you sing when youve killed those children.

While both West and Hindley are known to have had lesbian affairs while inside, there is no hard evidence offered here that they actually became lovers, although an immediate close relationship did develop. Asked what drew the two women together, Calvey muses that: Well, they both murdered children and tortured people, they had that in common. Its a horrible twist to the expression as thick as thieves.

We are given a mercifully brisk recap of the pair's despicable crimes, but the film's salacious central interest is the nature of this brief liaison between Britain's two most notorious female mass murderers. Within their relationship who wielded the power? asks McDonald, whose presence could lend sobriety and gravitas to a drunken orgy.

West soon became wary of Hindley and it was the tales of life on H wing that stood out; the time, for example, when a pair of convicted arsonists (as is their won't) set light to Wests cell with her caged budgerigar still inside, only for West to cry: How could anyone be so evil as to light a fire with a budgie in the room.

Wests capacity for self-deception remains understandably prodigious, while Hindley's manipulative ways are evidenced by the nearly 50-year-old story of her planned escape aided by a besotted prison warder, a former nun.

Indeed, Hindley, who died in 2002, seems to have singled out devout Christians as a soft mark, famously the late Lord Longford, while her eventual confessor, Methodist minister Rev Peter Timms, obligingly appears to expound his continued belief in Hindleys sincerity. But it says a lot about a documentary about these two notorious women that what impresses are the little details; that West's cell boasts an en-suite toilet and that she's a fan of Strictly Come Dancing. The banality of evil, indeed.
What doesnt make sense is how we approach unsecured debt. Recently, I left the bank Ive been with for almost my entire life and moved to a new one. I booked a meeting with an account manager to get new chequing and savings accounts, credit cards, and lines of credit to replace my old ones. We went through the application process and, to my surprise, the system automatically generated an approval for almost $100,000 in unsecured debt. (I only asked for a $15,000 credit card and a $15,000 line of credit.) I asked my new account manager what he needed from me. He spun the paper around, looked at the conditions and said, Hmm. Just your photo ID.

That absolutely blew my mind. The only thing I had given him up until this point was verbal confirmation of my information. I gave him my address, SIN and told him how much I made. I also told him how much I had in assets. This bank did not require any documentation to prove how much I made or how much I was worth, but they were willing to issue me $100,000 in unsecured debt.

If this were a mortgage application, I would have needed to show confirmation of my down payment assets via a 90-day transaction history, two years worth of T1 Generals with Statement of Business activities (as I am self-employed), two years of Notice of Assessments confirming I do not owe any income tax, a mortgage statement and property tax statement confirming my payments on the home I already owned, and I would have also needed to explain a small credit card that was sent to collections five years prior (aka my young and stupid moment).

But to issue me $100,000 in unsecured debt, all the bank needed was a current photo ID. I had the exact same vetting experience when I leased a new Mercedes from the dealership: photo ID and nothing else.

Why is this even allowed? Consumer debt is not an investment. The fact that it is rarely secured to anything only adds to the risk. Mortgage rules have been getting tighter and tighter every year, but it has never been easier to get a credit card or car loan.
The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday has occasioned an around-the-clock artillery bombardment of tributes from sections of the American media aligned with the Democratic Party. These tributes present the late Supreme Court justice as a progressive icon, praising her to the skies and crediting her with significant responsibility for the social gains of women towards equality over the past half-century.

This is not the American populations first experience with such nationwide canonization campaigns, which have coincided with the deaths of John Lewis, Antonin Scalia, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, John McCain, and numerous others.

It is not a question of speaking ill of the dead but of maintaining a standpoint of independence and objectivity, and of not getting swept away by the deluge of official propaganda.

These campaigns of official mourning are a ritualized spectacle of American political life. The deceased is inevitably held up as an icon, a towering figure and a legend. Every bourgeois politician and media personality is expected to line up to render the proper obeisance, with each individual politician paying respects becoming a news item in itself.

The accomplishments of the decedent, sometimes real and sometimes invented, are spun out of all proportion to reality. The propaganda campaign functions as a sort of loyalty test, with anyone who is not willing to recite the official slogans flagged as a possible traitor.

The New York Times proclaimed Sunday that the nation mourns the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a trailblazing feminist. Ginsburg has been eulogized as a progressive icon (NPR, Washington Post), feminist leader (Vox), feminist icon (New York Times, NBC News), and a jurist of historic stature (Los Angeles Times). President Trump himself issued a statement calling Ginsburg a titan of the law.

The New York Times went so far as to claim that Ginsburg transformed the roles of men and women in society. The increasingly implausible and even absurd claims that are now being made about Ginsburg were anticipated by the release of two propaganda films within a one-year period, which have been part of a major effort by the Democratic Party and its media affiliates to paint a holy aura around the most senior justice on the Supreme Courts ostensibly liberal wing.

The real Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a more complex figure than the national saint being presented in the media.

At the time of her appointment to the Supreme Court in 1993, Ginsburg was not considered a progressive icon but a moderate-to-conservative judge, occupying center positions acceptable to both Democratic and Republican parties of the time. On her nomination, President Bill Clinton stated, Ruth Bader Ginsburg cannot be called a liberal or conservative. She has proved herself too thoughtful for such labels. She was confirmed by a Senate vote of 96-3.

The New York Times, which is now hailing Ginsburg as a hero of radical and trailblazing reformism, was far more restrained in its own coverage of her nomination. In an article published in the Times on June 15, 1993, journalist Richard L. Berke presented Ginsburg as occupying a center position between Republicans and Democrats: In her 13 years on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the 60-year-old Brooklyn-born judge has occupied an unpredictable center on a panel that has grown into rigidly hostile ideological camps. She has ruled in favor of abortion rights, but has also criticized the 1973 Supreme Court decision that made abortion a Constitutional right [i.e., Roe v. Wade], saying it went too far, too fast.

As a Supreme Court justice since 1993, Ginsburg proved herself a reliable steward of the longterm interests of American imperialism, with her jurisprudence conforming to that same moderate-to-conservative inclination for which she was known on the D.C. Circuit.

In 2014, for example, Ginsburg joined a 9-0 unanimous Supreme Court decision granting qualified immunity to the police officers who killed Donald Rickard and Kelly Allen.

Police had attempted to pull over Donald Rickard in July 2004 because he had only one working tail light. Rickard unsuccessfully attempted to flee, his car eventually spinning out into a parking lot where police tried to box him in with their cruisers. When Rickard maneuvered his car in an effort to drive away, police opened fire with a hail of 15 bullets, causing the car to crash. Rickard was struck by gunfire and killed, and so was Kelly Allen, who was seated in the passenger seat.

Rickards daughter sued the police for wrongful death, alleging that the use of lethal force was excessive and unreasonable. The police claimed qualified immunity, but both the federal district court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Rickards family in allowing the case to proceed.

When the police appealed to the United States Supreme Court, the Obama administration sided with the police, with Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. filing a brief arguing for immunity.

In May 2014, the Supreme Court unanimously granted qualified immunity to the police, and Rickards daughters case was thrown out of court without a trial. In the context of already endemic police brutality, the decision was a green light for more police killings. Together with supposed progressive icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the unanimous decision was also joined by Obama appointees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

In addition to the Rickard case, Ginsburg joined a decision in 2014 expanding the doctrine of qualified immunity from police to paid agents of the state who are not full-time employees, and in 2017, signed off on a decision permitting Donald Trumps anti-Muslim travel ban to go into effect.

In February 2012, Ginsburg traveled to Egypt on behalf of the State Department. At that time, Egypt was ruled by a US-backed military junta, which had been installed in the wake of mass protests that deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Ginsburgs role, which she discussed with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and which was announced by State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, was to lend credibility to the juntas promise to develop a new constitution and make a transition to democracy.

In reality, what followed was not a transition to democracy but mass executions of dissidents and political opponents. In just one day in 2014, 700 death sentences were handed down.

In recent years, Ginsburg occasionally wrote opinions dissenting from the more extreme reactionary decisions of the far-right majority, such as the 2013 Supreme Court decision gutting the landmark Voting Rights Act. For emphasis, in accordance with the Supreme Court custom, she would sometimes read these dissenting opinions from the bench.

Juxtaposed with the fascistic grunting of Supreme Court justices like Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, if Ginsburgs dissents appear as more reasonable, that is only an indication of how far the American political establishment has traveled to the right over the span of her tenure on the court.

During her first decade on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg occupied a position to the right of John Paul Stevens, who had been appointed by Republican President Gerald Ford. Asked how a Republican appointee had wound up on the far left liberal wing of the Supreme Court, Stevens would say that he had not moved, but that the Supreme Court had shifted to the right while he had remained in place.

Similarly, to the extent that Ginsburg ended up writing occasional dissents criticizing the far-right majority that emerged in the first two decades of the 21st century, it is only because the court had shifted so far to the right that a moderate-to-conservative judge of the early 1990s wound up constituting the far left wing.

Many of the media tributes to Ginsburg refer to her work in the 1970s as an advocate for womens rights. She cofounded the Womens Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1972, and before becoming a judge in 1980, she litigated a number of significant cases challenging legalized discrimination based on gender.

It is not to diminish the democratic significance of overturning legalized discrimination to point out that by the time of Ginsburgs feminist legal advocacy, the outcome of these cases was already a foregone conclusion. At the time, the United States was lagging behind many other countries in terms of abolishing openly discriminatory laws, a point that Ginsburg herself made repeatedly in her arguments from this period.

In the context of the ideological campaign against communism and the Soviet Union, it was increasingly considered an international embarrassment to the United States that openly racist and sexist laws were still on the books in many parts of the country. If anything, the scandal is that it took so long to abolish them. The Supreme Court did not strike down Louisianas so-called Head and Master law, which gave sole control of marital property to the husband, until 1981.

Ginsburgs rise through the ranks of the legal profession coincided with the ebbing of the wave of social struggles that had culminated in the protests against the war in Vietnam and in the civil rights struggles to end segregation and Jim Crow apartheid in the South. Just as an effort was made to bring the more conservative sections of the civil rights movement under the wing of the Establishment, exemplified by the trajectory of John Lewis, Ginsburgs elevation represented an effort to bring womens liberation into the service of American imperialism.

This trajectory is best exemplified by Ginsburgs decision in the case that is most often held up as her great accomplishment, a famous 1996 Supreme Court opinion permitting women to attend the traditionally all-male Virginia Military Institute.

Known as the West Point of the South, VMI is a historic bastion of bigotry and reaction, where students would traditionally sing Dixie, salute the Confederate flag, and pay their respects to the tomb of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

As Ginsburg wrote in her opinion, VMI cadets live in spartan barracks where surveillance is constant and privacy nonexistent; they wear uniforms, eat together in the mess hall, and regularly participate in drills. ... Entering students are incessantly exposed to the rat line, an extreme form of the adversative model, comparable in intensity to Marine Corps boot camp. ... Tormenting and punishing, the rat line bonds new cadets to their fellow sufferers and, when they have completed the 7 month experience, to their former tormentors.

Noting that [w]omen cadets have graduated at the top of their class at every federal military academy, Ginsburg reasoned that there were no constitutional grounds to deny women admission into the institute.

This was the logical end point of the trailblazing feminism of Ginsburg: women in command of invading and occupying armies, women with the codes to launch nuclear missiles, female torturers, female assassins, female war criminals, and women and men brutalized together in the barracks.

Ginsburg is often quoted as saying, women belong in all places where decisions are being made, and this quotation sums up her particular brand of feminism. Her objection is not to the capitalist system, or to the rotten and criminal social order, but to the fact that the positions of power, prestige, and influence within that system are not as accessible to women as they should be. In this regard, it is necessary to take note of her uncritical endorsement of the #MeToo campaign, a media-instigated witch hunt that ran roughshod over the presumption of innocence.

It is also necessary, in the context of any review of her tenure on the Supreme Court, to mention her close personal friendship with Antonin Scalia, an arch-reactionary and bigot whose antics disgraced the Supreme Court from 1986 to 2016. This friendship, which the media celebrated as a demonstration of bipartisanship and civility, extended to regular trips to the opera, where they made their appearances in Washington society, as well as travel abroad. In one particularly notorious photo, they were shown riding an elephant together in India.

Ginsburg was by no means the most villainous character on the American political scene, which is teeming with unsavory characters. She was among the last Supreme Court justices who was able to write in language that still echoed, however faintly, the democratic legal traditions that could be traced to the American Revolution and Civil War. (In the VMI case, she wrote, quoting historian Richard Morris: the history of our Constitution ... is the story of the extension of constitutional rights and protections to people once ignored or excluded.)

And in her writings and public appearances, Ginsburg conducted herself with relatively more prudence, thoughtfulness, and decency than is otherwise common in American politics, which as a general rule is abysmally degraded and filthy.

One senses that the media has manufactured and then exaggerated a great deal of Ginsburgs supposed popularity, but to the extent that any such popularity genuinely exists, it was these qualities that contributed to her appeal.

Ginsburg displayed open contempt for Donald Trump when he began his campaign for president, and was later compelled to confess that her conduct was ill advised. She had not thought it possible that a semiliterate real estate swindler would actually win the nomination and the election. The unfolding political crisis in America seems to have crashed over this aging liberal in the twilight of her life, as she witnessed her doctrine of patient and incremental change being overtaken and shattered by events she had not foreseen.

As her death approached, Ginsburg reportedly dictated a statement to her granddaughter: My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

There is a note of dismay and panic in this highly unusual and even tragic last testament. Indeed, the abrupt news of her death was greeted with the sound of thousands of daggers being unsheathed in Washington, D.C. Her body was likely still warm when Christian fundamentalists and leading figures in the Republican Party began celebrating shamelessly and publicly, proclaiming their intention to ram through a replacement before the November elections.
COLLINSVILLE  Ameren Illinois is partnering with Madison County communities to upgrade neighborhood streetlights with more energy-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) streetlights.

Ameren is replacing nearly 1,900 existing sodium vapor, mercury vapor and metal halide streetlights with LEDs to help communities save energy. According to Ameren, the new lights produce a cool white light similar to moonlight.

Streetlight replacement work starts in Wood River on Tuesday, Sept. 22 and should be completed throughout the county by mid-October, weather permitting. Ameren Illinois has contracted with Pro Electric to perform the replacement with the help of IBEW trained electrical workers.

Following is the number of LEDs to be installed in each community:

 Alton  100

 Edwardsville  300

 Glen Carbon  300

 Wood River  300

 Granite City  300

 Collinsville  300

 Venice  67

 Madison  100

 Fairmont City  100

Energy efficiency benefits everyone by reducing the amount of energy that is produced and expended, said Kim Voypick, director of Electric Operations, Ameren Illinois. The new LED streetlights will provide these communities in Madison County with public safety, environmental and financial benefits for many years.

The LED streetlights save money with enhanced reliability and three times longer life expectancy, according to Ameren. They use 55-65% less energy than the older technology and reduces maintenance and operational costs.

The new lights decreasing energy generation and cutting carbon emissions while improving nighttime visibility.

Ameren Illinois is replacing streetlights throughout its service territory. By the end of this year, it plans to have replaced 50,000 streetlights throughout central and southern Illinois.
REUTERS

Viktor Orban, the hardline nationalist, anti-LGBT, anti-Muslim prime minister of Hungary, has taken the highly unusual step of endorsing the sitting U.S. president for a second term.

The strongman said he appreciated President Donald Trumps refusal to be swayed by morality.

We root for Donald Trumps victory because we know well American Democratic government's diplomacy, built on moral imperialism, he said in a statement published Monday. We have been forced to sample it before, we did not like it, we do not want seconds.

Orban will face his own re-election battle in 2022 and would undoubtedly welcome an endorsement from Trump. They prepare for a decisive battle in 2022, backed by the international media, Brussels bureaucrats, and NGOs disguised as civil organizations, Orban wrote. It is time for us to line up too.

Trumps illiberal instincts and outbursts like shouting 12 more years at the Republican National Convention in August, have played well with the dictatorial set.

During interviews for Bob Woodwards new book Rage, Trump admitted he has a soft spot for dictators. The tougher and mean they are, the better I get along with them, he said.

Orbans endorsement follows other hard-line leaders, including Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan, who condemned Joe Biden as interventionist over the weekend.

Nobody can attack our nations will and democracy or question the legitimacy of our President, who was elected by popular vote, Erdogans press secretary wrote on Twitter. We believe that these unbecoming statements, which have no place in diplomacy by a presidential candidate from our NATO ally, the United States, are unacceptable to the current administration too.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that President Vladimir Putin is once again instructing his state apparatus to help Trump win the election.

Last month, the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center announced that the Russians were actively trying to undermine Biden.

Story continues

We assess that Russia is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia 'establishment.' This is consistent with Moscows public criticism of him when he was Vice President for his role in the Obama Administrations policies on Ukraine and its support for the anti-Putin opposition inside Russia, William Evanina said.

Russian state television also makes it clear that Putin is backing Trump. The Kremlin has not publicly endorsed him, but it continues to orchestrate pro-Trump propaganda. Lawmakers, state media experts, and pro-Putin pundits on the closely-monitored TV stations happily make it clear that the Kremlin is still backing Trump.

Russian Media Is Rooting for Civil War in America: The Worse, the Better

Other conservative politicians, including Italys Matteo Salvini, who is poised to make gains in regional elections on Monday, have endorsed a second term for Trump.

Nigel Farage, the Brexit leader, has continued to campaign for Trump and predicts that he will defeat Biden in November.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
SHIRDI: A doctor was arrested on Monday for allegedly molesting a 12-year-old girl at a hospital in Shirdi in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, police said.

Dr Vasant Tambe committed the offence in the early hours of September 19 when the girl was brought to the hospital with respiratory problems, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Somnath Wakchoure.

"He sent the child's father to get medicines and then molested the child. We arrested him today and have charged him under provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 354 of IPC. He has been remanded in police custody for two days," Wakchoure added.
Conducted by the University of Leicester and the University of South Australia, the study assessed the bedtime preferences (sleep chronotypes) of people with type 2 diabetes, identifying a connection between bedtimes and healthy, active lifestyles.

It found that night owls (people who went to late and got up late, or 'evening chronotypes') have an excessively sedentary lifestyle characterised by low levels and low intensities of physical activity - and that this is putting their health at greater risk.

Type 2 diabetes is largely the result of excess body weight and physical inactivity. Globally 463 million people - or one in 11 adults have diabetes - a statistic that is expected to rise to 700 million by 2040.

Concerningly, 1.9 billion adults are overweight, with 650 million of these are obese. As the global prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity continue to rise, finding ways to negate these health issues is critical.

Lead researcher, Dr Joseph Henson from the University of Leicester says understanding how people's sleep time preferences can impact their level of physical activity, could help people with type 2 diabetes better manage their health.

"There is a massive need for large-scale interventions to help people with diabetes initiate, maintain and achieve the benefits of an active lifestyle," Dr Henson says.

"For people who prefer to go to bed later and get up later, this is even more important, with our research showing that night owls exercise 56 per cent less than their early bird counterparts.

"Exercise plays an important role for people with diabetes, helping maintain a healthy weight and blood pressure, as well as reducing the risk of heart disease - all significant factors for improving diabetes management.

"This makes understanding the factors that can mitigate a person's propensity to exercise, extremely important."

Published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care, the study examined 635 patients with type 2 diabetes, each wearing an accelerometer for seven days to record the intensity and time of different physical behaviours: sleep, rest, overall physical activity.

The study found 25 per cent of participants had morning chronotypes (a preference to go to be early and get up early, with an average bedtime of 22:52); 23 per cent had evening chronotypes (a preference to go to bed late and get up late, with an average bedtime of 00:36); and 52 per cent said they had neither.

UniSA's Dr Alex Rowlands says the study provides a unique insight into behaviours of people with type 2 diabetes.

"The links between later sleep times and physical activity is clear: go to bed late and you're less likely to be active," Dr Rowlands says.

"As sleep chronotypes are potentially modifiable, these findings provide an opportunity to change your lifestyle for the better, simply by adjusting your bedtime."

"For someone with diabetes, this is valuable information that could help get them back on a path to good health."

###

University of South Australia media contact:

Annabel Mansfield - P: +61 8 8302 0351 M: +61 417 717 504

E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au

Researchers:

Dr Joseph Henson - E: jjh18@le.ac.uk

Dr Alex Rowlands - E: Alex.Rowlands@unisa.edu.au
She previously won a prime-time Emmy in 1982 for writing on SCTV, the influential Canadian sketch comedy show. (She impersonated everyone from Lucille Ball to Maggie Smith.) She has received six nominations in her 45-year television career, three for writing and three for acting.

Schitts Creek, which wrapped up its six-season run in April, began in 2015 on CBC in Canada and Pop TV  it got a boost in popularity when Netflix started carrying it in 2017. The show was nominated for 15 Emmy Awards for final season, including for best comedy.

OHaras Schitts Creek castmates also won a trio of acting awards: Eugene Levy for best lead actor, Annie Murphy for best supporting actress and Daniel Levy for best supporting actor.

The quirky Canadian comedy follows a once-wealthy family who, after being bankrupted by a shady business manager, must move to a small town the father bought for his son as a gag gift. After being shut out of the Emmys for its first four seasons, the show broke through last year with its first nominations  four in all, including one for best comedy  though it didnt win any.
BANGALORE, India, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Latest Market Research Report "Digital Substation Market by Type (Up to 110 kV, 110 to 330 kV, Above 330 kV) by Application (Power Utility, Industrial) and Region  Global Forecast to 2026", published on Valuates Reports .The Global Digital Substation Market size is expected to grow from USD 1682.2 Million in 2019 to USD 2490.4 Million by 2026 at a CAGR of 5.7% during the forecast period 2021-2026.

Major factors driving the Digital Substation Market size's growth are growing infrastructure creation in smart cities, rising power demand with limited space supply, increasing demand to replace conventional substation infrastructure, and rising interoperability and protection.

The report offers an in-depth assessment of the growth and other aspects of the Digital Substation market in important regions, including the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Brazil.

Get Detailed Analysis of COVID-19 Impact on Digital Substation Market: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-15K609/Global_Digital_Substation_Market

COVID -19 IMPACT ON DIGITAL SUBSTATION MARKET

The demand for power from industrial & commercial companies has fallen due to COVID-19. Production units were shut down due to a lack of labor and raw materials available. This has contributed to a massive difference between demand and supply. Also, due to this outbreak, digital substation projects were put on hold. It is therefore predicted that the demand for the Digital Substation Market will decrease in 2020. However, it is estimated that the overall situation will normalize by the end of 2020.

TRENDS INFLUENCING THE DIGITAL SUBSTATION MARKET SIZE

The increasing demand for renewable energy projects is expected to dive into the Digital Substation Market size. The renewable energy market is poised to enter a new growth phase, powered largely by increased consumer demand, cost competitiveness, innovation, and collaboration. The decreasing generation costs of renewable energy sources and the increased competitiveness of battery storage are among the key factors driving renewable energy projects' growth.

The growing demand for renewable energy projects and electricity-generating battery technologies is expected to fuel the Digital Substation Market size during the forecast period.

Investments in smart cities and smart grid infrastructure development is expected to propel the Digital Substation Market size. A smart city is established with multiple hardware and software systems that communicate with each other to deliver data in real-time. A digital substation is a key part of the smart city delivery system as a whole. As each substation system is upgraded to communicate using digital signals, substations are linked to fiber-optic communication networks.

Growing energy demand due to increasing investment in building long-route high-voltage electrical networks as well as refurbishing and upgrading existing infrastructure is expected to increase the Digital Substation Market size.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-15K609/global-digital-substation

DIGITAL SUBSTATION MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS

In terms of electricity consumption and rural electrification, Asia Pacific (APAC) is projected to be the fastest-growing digital substation market. The modernization of industrial infrastructure in APAC has been rising at a rapid pace, and the same trend is expected to continue in the future.

Based on industry, the utility segment held the largest Digital Substation Market share in 2019. The utility sector is responsible for electricity generation, transmission, and distribution.

Inquire for Regional Data : https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Auto-15K609/Global_Digital_Substation_Market

DIGITAL SUBSTATION MARKET SEGMENTATION

Segment by Type

Up to 110 kV

110 to 330 kV

Above 330 kV

Segment by Application

Power Utility

Industrial

Key Players

ABB, General Electric,

Siemens,

Schneider Electric, etc.

Buy Now for Single User: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Auto-15K609&lic=single-user

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SIMILAR REPORTS :

 Emergency Mobile Substation Market

North America Production value accounted for less than 54.47% of the total value of the global Emergency Mobile Substation. ABB is the world-leading manufacturer in the global Emergency Mobile Substation market with a market share of 11.27% in 2015.

This report presents the worldwide Emergency Mobile Substation market size (value, production, and consumption), splits the breakdown (data status 2014-2019 and forecast to 2025), by manufacturers, region, type, and application.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-16X267/global-emergency-mobile-substation4

 Packaged Substation Market

In 2019, the global Packaged Substation market size was USD 5835.4 Million, and it is expected to reach USD 7968.6 Million by the end of 2026, with a CAGR of 4.5% during 2021-2026.

The packaged substation's major sales regions are Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America, which accounted for about 92% of sales market share in 2018. Asia-Pacific is the largest consumption region with a market share of 52% in 2018.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-3Q3459/global-packaged-substation

 Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Market

The global Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition market size is projected to reach USD 44.75 Billion by 2026, from USD 32.94 Billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 5.24% during 2020-2026.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-8E3010/covid-19-impact-on-global-supervisory-control-and-data-acquisition-scada

 Substation Monitoring System Market

The global Substation Monitoring System market size is projected to reach USD 3303.6 Million by 2026, from USD 3152.8 Million in 2020.

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/a/substation-monitoring-system

 Emergency Mobile Substation Market

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-16X267/global-emergency-mobile-substation

 Substation Automation Market

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-1G3420/global-substation-automation

 Modular Substation Market

View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-29C2330/global-modular-substation

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New Delhi, Sep 21 : A delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), an NDA ally, on Monday evening met President Ram Nath Kovind and urged him to withhold assent to the contentious farm Bills passed by both Houses of Parliament.

Coming out of the meeting, SAD leader Sukhbir Badal, told the media: "We have requested the President against signing the anti-farmer Bills passed in Parliament by force. We requested him to send back those Bills to Parliament." Apart from Badal who led the delegation, Akali MP Naresh Gujral and former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra were also present at the meeting. The delegation also submitted a memorandum to Kovind.

The SAD has been a longstanding ally of the ruling BJP. SAD's Lok Sabha MP and Sukhbir's wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal had resigned from the Union Cabinet on September 17, citing her party's opposition to the three Bills.

The two Bills Badal was referring to were The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, which were passed by the Rajya Sabha on Sunday. The Lok Sabha passed these Bills last week.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Emmy Awards 2020 held on Sunday in Los Angeles was unlike anything seen before in its 72-year-old history. As the ensuing pandemic pushed the glittery night indoors, turning the award function into an office Zoom call of sorts, the show hosted by Jimmy Kimmel saw a push in the right direction.

A year that has seen chants for Black Lives Matter grow louder than ever after the death of George Floyd to a cop, 72nd Emmy Awards rolled out its metaphorical red carpet to welcome diversity and inclusivity. As a matter of fact, this years Emmy set the record for most wins by Black actors.

Also Read: Emmy Winners Highlight Push For Social Justice

Actor Zendaya scripted history by becoming the youngest winner of the best lead actress in a drama trophy for her unsettling performance in HBO series Euphoria. The 24-year-old star became the second actress in Emmys history to win in such a category.

Zendaya talks about the strong competitors in her category and making #Emmys history: Just to be mentioned within the category at all was something and to have their support and having them smile and wave at me meant a lot https://t.co/yrqAI2FYW5 pic.twitter.com/f8HDE9aUAE Variety (@Variety) September 21, 2020

The awards night also saw Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox, Friends cast, reunited on-screen- much to the surprise of the fans.

The cast of Friends reunite at the 2020 #EMMYs pic.twitter.com/mCDeeWhefT CTRLNOW (@ctrInow) September 21, 2020

Kimmel, at one point, sanitised" envelope by setting it on fire. Aniston did the rest.

Jennifer Aniston putting out a fire that wont knock down on live TV is the best thing Ive seen this year. #Emmys pic.twitter.com/JhuYZ9dFMj Dan Linden (@DanLinden) September 21, 2020

Also Read: Emmys 2020: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow Surprise Fans with Friends Reunion

The show that was attended by celebrities from the comfort of their homes didnt miss out on fashion nor did the light-hearted funny video call moments go unnoticed on social media.

A cool thing about the #Emmys being virtual or whatever is that it enables celebrities to serve LEWKS without worrying about practicality. Absolutely delighted to see Regina King in this Schiaparelli gown! pic.twitter.com/BVgr8lbYJo Saeed Jones (@theferocity) September 20, 2020

Zendaya looks amazing presenting at the 2020 #Emmys. pic.twitter.com/bSkgFKfSMD Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 21, 2020

Best moment of the #Emmys: the expression on my sons face after he jumps. And even though @TomSchnauz didnt win the hardware tonight, he wins our hearts every day. pic.twitter.com/3hmeEwiB14 Kris Carey (@KristynCarey) September 21, 2020

Lets give credit where credit is due: @ABCNetworks @JimmyKimmel and the @TelevisionAcad folks did as great a job with a virtual Emmys as anyone could have done. Congratulations! Scott Feinberg (@ScottFeinberg) September 21, 2020

when you lose the emmy pic.twitter.com/ECkbGcoHBA ramy youssef (@ramy) September 21, 2020

Everyones favourite Schitts Creek won big- in all the acting categories including awards for writing and direction.

With Catherine OHara, Eugene Levy, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy winning their #Emmys tonight, that means our little Canadian show is the first comedy OR drama to ~ever~ sweep all four acting categories, and that is absolutely wild pic.twitter.com/fEUnaLoDBr Schitts Creek (@SchittsCreek) September 21, 2020

COMEDY SERIES LEAD ACTRESS LEAD ACTOR SUPPORTING ACTRESS SUPPORTING ACTOR COMEDY WRITING COMEDY DIRECTING Could not be more proud of our show, and THANK YOU to the @TelevisionAcad + all of you! #Emmys  Schitts Creek (Pop) (@SchittsCreekPop) September 21, 2020

Making a statement

This Is Us actor Sterling K. Brown presented the shows final award for best drama series. He took the stage at Staples Center wearing a black T-shirt with white letters BLM for Black Lives Matter and a white raised fist.

Regina King and Uzo Aduba used the come-as-you-are fashion edict for Sundays virtual Emmy Awards to highlight the national struggle for social justice.

Both Black actresses wore T-shirts featuring Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old EMT from Louisville, Kentucky, who was shot and killed by police in March. Kings T-shirt featured Taylors face.

After winning the prestigious award for the best leading actor, Mark Ruffalo gave a speech that not only won the hearts of netizens but also made them ponder on the current cultural and political movement in the United States of America.

Emmy award-winning actor started his speech by elaborating upon his role in the series I Know This Much Is True. He then went on to describe the basic plot of the series.

He said that his shows story is about a family, which is very similar to the situation in the United States and in the world today. And it asks a big question: How are we going to deal and honour and take care of each other and our most vulnerable people? he asked, replying that it will be done through love, compassion, and fighting for the underprivileged.
Two trotting divisions in the Great Lakes Amateur Drivers Association Series were contested at the home of the Little Brown Jug in Delaware, Ohio on Sunday (Sept. 20).

When both race were declared official, Alesha Binkley and Daniel Jones each emerged victorious from their respective splits. Binkley won with odds-on favourite Hititputofthepark in 1:57.1, while Jones was victorious with Dont Forget Muscle in 1:58.4.

Both trotters were victorious after starting from the coveted pole position.

A seasoned veteran even at her young age, Binkley knows that if one has the best horse in the race the place to be is on the front end. And that's exactly where she put her trotter and once on top they controlled the race.

Hititoutofthepark sped by the first stanza in :28.4 and by the half in :57.4. From there Binley played catch-me-if-you can and nobody could as the seven-year-old Yankee Glide ridgling cruised to an oh-so-easy, five and three-quarter-length victory in 1:57.1 over Favorite Uncle and driver Bob Troyer. Fleet Cessna garnered the show dough for Billy Muggleston.

Hititoutofthepark is owned by the Trent Stohler Stable along with Ben and Tim Graber and trained by Stohler. He paid $3.00 for win.

A second division followed and saw driver Daniel Jones notch his second consecutive GLADA triumph this time winning with Dont Forget Muscle in 1:58.4. But unlike Binkley's triumph Jones came from off the pace.

When the gate sprung Jones allowed Eddie Miller and Star Chip to gain command and with two trotters hung on the limb from the get-go Dont Forget Muscle ended up with a two-hole journey. However when Star Chip's stride shortened as he trotted around the final turn it allowed Jones' charge to get first call, a position Dont Forget Muscle held all the way to the wire. The veteran trotter held off a late rally by A Royal Line, with Steve Oldford at the controls. Third place in the tight three-horse photo went to Stormont Wizard, who was driven by Ron Cusimano.

The winner, owned by Robert Beachy, is trained by Jones. He returned a $21.60 win mutuel.

(Great Lakes Amateur Drivers Association)
Amid the simmering tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, Indian Army has succeeded in seizing control of six strategically important peaks in the region.

With the occupation of these six peaks in the eastern region of Ladakh, the Indian Army is now in a good position to monitor the movement Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

It is learnt that Indian Air Force is also flying Rafale fighter jets near the LAC to monitor the activities of the fighter planes of China. According to media reports, five Rafale fighter aircraft, which were formally deployed at Ambala Air Base on September 10, were recently spotted conducting 'familiarisation sorties' in Ladakh.

Keeping in mind the aggressive nature of PLA, the IAF is looking to enhance its combat skills. The IAF has been on high alert following the recent incidents of firing by Chinese troops near the LAC.

Meanwhile the India, China Corps Commander meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday (September 21, 2020) at Moldo, Chinese side of the LAC to hold discussions over defusing the border tensions.

Live TV

This time a diplomat from the Indian side will be present at the meeting. Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary East Asia of Ministry of External Affairs will attend the Crops Commander meet tomorrow.

Atleast five such corps commander meetings between the Indian and Chinese armies has taken place on June 6, 22 and 30, July 14 and August 2.

In the first meet, on June 6, both sides had arrived on a consensus for disengagement but the Chinese violated it which lead to a bloody stand off at Galwan on June 15. India had lost 20 soldiers while China also suffered casualties.
Microsoft is moving to acquire Bethesda Softworks parent company ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in cash.

It's a huge statement of intent from Microsoft, which will now be able to count The Elder Scrolls and Fallout developer Bethesda among its first-party studios.

The company has been working on bolstering its first-party ranks for some time, and has bought a number of big names over the past few years including Double Fine, Obsidian, Ninja Theory and more in a bid to create more exclusive franchises to challenge Sony and Nintendo moving into the next-generation and beyond.

Its latest acquisition will include all of ZeniMax's publishing offices and development studios, including Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.

Bethesda franchises including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, DOOM, Quake, Wolfenstein, Dishonored and more will also be included in the deal. The company's current structure and leadership team will remain intact.

Microsoft has revealed that all of Bethesda's franchises will also be added to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC, making the subscription service a more tantalizing proposition as we head into the next console generation.

"With the addition of Bethesda, Microsoft will grow from 15 to 23 creative studio teams and will be adding Bethesdas iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass," reads a press release. "This includes Microsofts intent to bring Bethesdas future games into Xbox Game Pass the same day they launch on Xbox or PC, like Starfield, the highly anticipated, new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios."

ZeniMax chairman and CEO Robert Altman said the deal is a "natural progression" of its long running partnership with Microsoft. "This is a thrilling day for this company, our employees, and our fans. We have enjoyed a close partnership with Microsoft for decades, and this deal is a natural progression of those years working together," he commented.

"The big winners today are our fans. We are continuing to develop our slate of AAA games, but now with Microsoft's scale and entire Game Stack, our games can only get better."

Bethesda Game Studios director and executive producer, Todd Howard, shared those sentiments. Howard, who'll be staying at the studio in his current role, explained how the company's partnership with Microsoft has blossomed over time, and said the two firms share a "deep belief in the fundamental power of games."

"With each new console cycle, we evolved together. From bringing mods to consoles with Fallout 4, now over a billion downloads, to the latest technologies fueling Xbox Series X/S. These new systems are optimized for the vast worlds we love to create, with generational leaps not just in graphics, but CPU and data streaming as well," he commented, in a statement posted on the Bethesda website.

"Its led to our largest engine overhaul since Oblivion, with all new technologies powering our first new IP in 25 years, Starfield, as well as The Elder Scrolls VI. Like our original partnership, this one is about more than one system or one screen.

"We share a deep belief in the fundamental power of games, in their ability to connect, empower, and bring joy. And a belief we should bring that to everyone -- regardless of who you are, where you live, or what you play on. Regardless of the screen size, the controller, or your ability to even use one."

It's currently unclear how the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of the 2021 fiscal year, will affect the multi-platform future of Microsoft's new franchises, with the Xbox maker yet to comment on potential platform exclusivity.
Details added: first version posted on 14:35

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.14

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

Azerbaijani Parliaments Speaker Sahiba Gafarova, during her official visit to Turkey, met with the countrys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trend reports on September 14.

Having expressed her gratitude to the Turkish President for the opportunity to meet, Gafarova conveyed to him greetings and best wishes from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The speaker said that Azerbaijan and Turkey support and rely on each other in all crucial issues.

"The statements made personally by you, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar, in connection with the provocation committed by Armenia on July 12 in the direction of the Tovuz district, were greatly welcomed by the Azerbaijani people, she noted. We have always felt the support of fraternal Turkey and we thank you and the members of the Turkish government for the unequivocal expression of this support.

Gafarova stated that the threats that events in the region pose for Turkey are serious, and Azerbaijan sees it.

However, the decisive position of the Turkish state, in particular the position of Your Excellency regarding these threats, is greatly welcomed by the Azerbaijani public, too. The struggle that you have conducted in Syria, Iraq, Libya, the Black, Mediterranean and Aegean Seas is a national struggle for defense of the Turkish peoples fair interests. We understand this, she also said.

As President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said a few days ago, when receiving the newly appointed Ambassador of Greece to Azerbaijan, Turkey is not only our friend and partner, but also a brotherly country for us. We support and will support Turkey without any hesitations in all cases. Turks are our brothers, so in all matters well be with them," she stressed.

Sincere friendship and brotherhood between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey - President Ilham Aliyev and you - give an additional impetus to relations and support between our countries, Gafarova pointed out.

The Speaker of Azerbaijans Parliament congratulated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the discovery of a natural gas field in the Black Sea and stressed the important role of this in meeting the energy needs of Turkey.

In turn, the Turkish president wished success to the newly elected Azerbaijani parliament. He asked to convey his greetings and best wishes to President Ilham Aliyev.

Turkey and Azerbaijan are two brotherly countries. The joy of Azerbaijan is our joy, its sorrow is our sorrow, he said.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that the countries always occupy the same position at international platforms and support each other in crucial issues.

The recent words voiced by President Ilham Aliyev when accepting the credentials of the newly appointed Ambassador of Greece to Azerbaijan are a clear proof of this, he said. "Therefore, we once again express our gratitude to the entire fraternal people of Azerbaijan headed by President Ilham Aliyev.

He also stressed that Turkey has always been next to Azerbaijan and in the future this will always be so.

Touching upon the joint economic projects implemented by the two countries in the region, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars projects are part of strategic cooperation between them.

The president also expressed satisfaction with the relations between the parliaments of the two fraternal countries.

He noted that Azerbaijani and Turkish parliamentarians have ample opportunities to work together, shoulder to shoulder in international organizations.
A 17-year-old has been cleared of murdering a teenager who was fatally stabbed in front of shocked bus passengers in south London.

The defendant was accused of knifing 17-year-old Damani Mauge in the chest and neck as they grappled on the single-decker bus in Croydon on March 8.

Damani, who had only seconds earlier boarded the 130 bus, collapsed on the pavement after the fight spilled onto the street, the Old Bailey heard.

The defendant was then alleged to have tried to snatch Damanis gold-coloured chain as the boy lay dying.

The incident took place in Whitehorse Lane on March 8 (Google Maps ) / Google Maps

Giving evidence in his defence, the youth had denied intending to kill Damani, claiming it was an accident.

He told jurors that he carried the large hunting knife for his own protection and only got it out to warn off Damani, who he had been aware of.

A jury deliberated for 27 hours to clear the youth of murder and the lesser alternative charge of manslaughter.

The defendant, who cannot be named because of his age, was found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon.
Pakistan has been targeting Indian professionals working in Afghanistan in a variety of ways, and several Indians working on development projects have been attacked and kidnapped over the past 12 years, the government informed Parliament on Monday.

Since September last year, Pakistan has also attempted to designate four Indian nationals, who had previously worked in Afghanistan, as terrorists under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267, minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

However, the 1267 Sanctions Committee, based on its internal procedures, has not approved the request, the minister said.

In his response to the same question, Muraleedharan said: Pakistan has been targeting Indian professionals working in Afghanistan through a variety of ways. Several Indians working in Afghanistan on various development projects have been attacked and kidnapped over the past 12 years.

With the assistance of [the] government of Afghanistan, India has been able to secure [the] release of many Indians from captivity. In addition, [the] Indian embassy and its consulates have also been attacked.

The last of seven Indian engineers who were kidnapped in Afghanistan in May 2018 were recently released before the Afghan government and the Taliban launched intra-Afghan negotiations in Qatar this month.

Muraleedharan said as a result of the Indian governments efforts, there is enhanced concern in the international community at terrorism emanating from Pakistan, including the continuing activities of internationally designated terrorist entities and individuals such as Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad [and] Hizbul Mujahideen.

The world community strongly condemned the cross-border terror attack in Pulwama in February 2019 and several countries have called on Pakistan to not allow its territory to be used for terrorism in any manner, he said.

Many terrorist entities and individuals who find shelter in Pakistan and are also engaged in terrorism against India have been proscribed by the United Nations (UN), the European Union and other countries, he said, adding that JeM founder Masood Azhar was sanctioned by the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee in May last year. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), at its plenary in June 2018, notified Pakistan in the grey list due to continuing terror financing-related concerns, including with respect to the UN proscribed terrorist entities like LeT, JuD and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation, he further said.
Ravi Raja of the Indian National Congress (INC) will continue to be the leader of the opposition in the Shiv Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The Bombay high court (HC) on Monday dismissed a petition filed by Prabhakar Shinde, the group leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the BMC, seeking an order to mayor Kishori Pednekar to recognise him as the opposition leader in the civic body.

A two-member HC bench, comprising Justices SJ Kathawalla and Madhav Jamdar, dismissed Shindes petition observing that such important posts as the leader of the opposition cannot be allowed to be occupied on the whims and fancies of individuals or political parties.

Also Read: Some IPS officers worked to stop Thackeray govts march to power: Shiv Sena

In our opinion, the law does not contemplate an important post such as that of the leader of the opposition to be occupied temporarily on the whims of any person or party, the bench observed.

The observation came in view of the fact that after the 2017 civic elections, the then mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar had offered the post of opposition leader to Manoj Kotak, the then group leader of the party in the BMC.

The BJP is the second-largest party in the civic body and has 82 seats after the Senas 84. However, Kotak had refused the post and after deliberations on April 11, 2017, Raja was recognised as the BMCs opposition leader. The INC has 31 seats -- the third-highest numerical strength in the BMC.

Also Read: Mumbai civic body increases RT-PCR tests as doubts raised over accuracy of antigen tests

Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the president of the BJPs Mumbai unit , wrote a letter to mayor Pednekar on February 28, seeking an order to recognise Shinde as the new group leader of the party in the BMC and also as the opposition leader.

Shinde moved HC on June 10 after Pednekar refused to recognise him as such.

He said that the BJP had earlier decided not to be active in opposition in the BMC. But because of the changed political equations  it is no longer in alliance with the Sena  the BJP decided to discharge the role of an effective and active opposition party. Shinde sought a directive from HC to be recognised as the opposition leader in the civic body.

However, the bench was not impressed with the contention. HC dismissed the petition observing that the party, which expressly refused to accept the post three years ago, cannot seek to be appointed as the leader of the opposition, merely on the ground that it has changed its mind and its earlier decision.

HC also rejected the argument put forth on Shindes behalf that Section 371A of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, which requires the post of the opposition leader to be given to the second-largest party, is a dynamic provision and allows such changes.

The bench agreed that Section 371A is a dynamic provision, but stated that the reliance placed by the petitioner on the words for the time being in the section was unfounded.

The court said the words did not support the petitioners case to the extent that he sought to stretch their meaning.

HC said the words referred to the possibility of a legal change or a change in the party in opposition or in its numerical strength. Those words cannot and do not cover a change of mind/volition / decision of the party in opposition, which had earlier expressly refused to accept the post, said the bench.

The bench said a change of mind or volition cannot be covered by the words in Section 371A(1). If we allow such change of mind or volition, it will lead to absurd results in as much as the leader of the opposition will have to be changed every time a party changes its mind.

The bench clarified that while the section called for attention to the state of affairs prevailing at a given time, a change in mindset or volition would not be sufficient to overturn a previous appointment.
See it as an early skirmish in what will be a 30-year war. Donald Trumps row with TikTok has been resolved, but the big point here is that US policy towards China has been reset.

That reset will endure whoever wins the election in November or indeed subsequent elections. The toothpaste will not go back into the tube. This is about power. For much of the past 30 years, the US broadly supported the rise of China, forming a relationship where China would sell its cheap imports to the US and in return allow American companies to gain a foothold in the country. The expression Chimerica was coined by academics Niall Ferguson and Moritz Schularick to describe this symbiotic relationship. China supported it because its exports enabled it to quadruple its GDP. The US was on side partly because cheap goods from China enabled it to increase living standards but also because of a more general feeling that China would gradually move towards a western democratic model.
Dr. Deborah Ann Lozito

NJ Top Doc, Dr. Deborah Ann Lozito of Lozito Medical Associates has over 28 years of experience. She is committed to providing continuous, comprehensive, compassionate and personal care to each of her patients through every stage of life.

Dr. Lozito is board certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine. She received her education at The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her internship and residency at Union Hospital in New Jersey.

In 2008, she co-founded The Institute for Medical Weight Loss and Nutrition located in Hawthorne, New Jersey, to address the obesity epidemic. She works hard to successfully help her patients reach their goals.

Outside of Lozito Medical Associates, Dr. Lozito treats patients at and is affiliated with Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

She is also a member of the American Osteopathic Association, American College of Osteopathic Physicians and the New Jersey Osteopathic Physician Association.

This NJ Top Doc is currently accepting new patients.

To learn more about Dr. Deborah Ann Lozito, please visit: https://njtopdocs.com/nj-doctors/drdeborahannlozito/

About Us

NJ Top Docs is a comprehensive, trusted and exclusive healthcare resource featuring reviewed and approved Top Doctors and Dentists in New Jersey online in an easy to use format. NJ Top Docs only reviews and approves providers based on merit after they have been extensively vetted.

NJ Top Docs is a division of USA Top Docs which allows patients to meet providers online before making their appointment.

For more information, please click here to contact us or visit http://www.NJTopDocs.com.

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SHANGHAI, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As an innovative blockchain project combining software and hardware for ultimate speed and security, the HPB blockchain proposes a distributed and verifiable hardware random number solution with a well-designed incentive mechanism.

Demand and application for randomness can be seen everywhere in our daily lives such as games, lotteries, sampling, fair distribution and so on.

"Every electronic device needs randomness and needs a lot of it," Marcin Pawowski at the University of Gdansk stated that, "Randomness is necessary whenever you need security. Whenever you want secure communication, a cryptographic key must be generated. It has to be generated randomly so that no adversary can easily guess it... If someone can predict these numbers (it doesn't have to be perfect--if he or she can guess some of them it's enough), they can listen to your conversation."

In our daily life, random numbers serve as an important medium for any fair and secure system.

The Risks in Random Numbers

In fact, the concept of a random number is not difficult to understand. It is a randomly generated number based on probability. Statistically, random numbers exhibit no predictable pattern or regularity, that's why they are unpredictable and confidential.

In order to generate random numbers, a variety of methods were invented: the use of dice, roulette wheels, coin-flipping and other statistical methods; the use of the computer languages; the use of quantum mechanic principles and so on.

Currently, there are two main ways to obtain random numbers. One way is by only using software. For example, random numbers are obtained by creating a smart contract on Ethereum or by means of multi-stakeholder participation. The other way is to use hardware, where physical properties are directly obtained from the hardware to generate random numbers. However, both ways have their limitations. For instance, the software-based method is inefficient and easily manipulated, while the hardware-based approach makes random numbers unverifiable.

Technically, only the second method produces truly random numbers. The computer-generated numbers are considered "pseudorandom" because knowing how the program develops its computations makes it possible to predict these numbers, which only appear random.

Currently, many existing random number generators actually only produce pseudorandom numbers, whose values have already been predicted by computer programs. This is called a centralized random number generation system. The sequence of random numbers is very risky and will be manipulated by attackers, who can easily change the algorithms in the generation of random numbers. As mentioned above, not all the pseudorandom numbers are cryptographically secure.

The alternative to pseudorandom numbers are true random numbers, which can be derived from physical systems, such as the optical noise in lasers, radioactive decay in atoms, and hardware. A true random number taken from a physical system is not verifiably fair by nature. There is an example provided by Beacon from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), even if the NIST got the entropy that was sampled from the radiation of the universe, they still knew the latest random numbers ahead of others and had the ability to select and interfere with the existing random numbers.

HPB's Decentralized Hardware Random Number Generator

Although the existing random number generators perfectly avoid some potential problems of randomness, uncontrollability and unpredictability, they still suffer from lack of security and verifiable fairness.

Consequently, people want to find a random number generator and release mechanism with provable fairness. A blockchain provides an decentralized network for verifiably fair random number generation. In addition to meeting the basic statistical requirements for random numbers, a useful random number generator on a public blockchain can be unpredictable, uncontrollable, unalterable and verifiably fair.

As an innovative blockchain project combining software and hardware for ultimate speed and security, the HPB blockchain proposes a distributed and verifiable hardware random number solution with a well-designed incentive mechanism.

For the first time, HPB achieves the perfect combination of software and hardware to generate random numbers, and applies it directly on the blockchain. HPB's hardware random number generator (HRNG) generates random numbers from a physical process within HPB's BOE (Blockchain Offload Engine). HRNG senses tiny variances in voltage (as little as 0.00001 volts) within an Analog-to-Digital Converter in the BOE. This ever-changing figure is used to help generate the random string of 256 digits and letters added to each new block.

This is in contrast to the paradigm of pseudo-random number generation commonly implemented in computer programs. Generated based on the consensus of HPB's hardware BOE nodes on HPB MainNet, HPB's hardware random number is a 100% hardware random number, which is very close to a true random number.

Meanwhile, HPB's Hardware Random Number Generator has a built-in incentive mechanism to prevent collusion and attacks. More specifically, in HPB's random number generation, all the nodes are the producers of random numbers, while the smart contract and external API calls are the consumers of random numbers. Guaranteeing the fairness of random numbers, this multi-stakeholder involvement ensures on-chain verification to prevent random numbers from being manipulated or tampered with. Also, the built-in incentive mechanism allows both random generators and consumers to obtain rewards by helping to maintain the random service.

Security Cornerstone for DApps

HPB hardware random numbers not only have the uncontrollable and unpredictable advantages of the traditional hardware random numbers, but also has the characteristics of decentralized incentives, cross-chain, distributed service, transparency, and verifiability.

HPB Partner, Jason Hu, noted that,"HPB's HRNG can be applied to various decentralized businesses, including DeFi, on-chain games, on-chain lotteries, and HPB's HRNG will act as security cornerstone for DApps. Now there are already some DApps that use HPB's HRNG for more secure random number sources. For example, the star DeFi project, Nest Protocol, is already deployed on HPB MainNet. Besides, we are also exploring our HRNG's integration with internet products."

Also as disclosed recently, a blockchain project named Randomhub announced a partnership with HPB to provide RaaS (Random as a service) services. Randomhub will use the random numbers sources generated by HPB's hardware random numbers generator to power various decentralized applications.

Dedicated to blockchain innovation, HPB Blockchain celebrates its third anniversary!

On July 23, AntChain (formerly Ant Blockchain) under the Ant Group, the parent company of China's largest mobile payments business Alipay, officially launched AntChain Station, which claimed to be "the first blockchain solution combining built-in software and a dedicated hardware accelerator globally".

However, as early as 2017, Xiaoming Wang, the Founder of HPB, had already brought up and designed "the world's first software and hardware blockchain solution". In 2018, HPB released the Blockchain Offload Engine (BOE)--the world's first independently-developed hardware accelerator to effectively integrate software and hardware for empowering a blockchain, as well as the HPB's Hardware Random Number Generator.

At the time of High Performance Blockchain's third anniversary, Xiaoming Wang, Founder and CEO of HPB said, "HPB is a fast-growing blockchain project that always leads blockchain innovation globally. Our strength lies in our ability to combine built-in software and a dedicated hardware accelerator for ultimate speed and security, allowing blockchain to come up with more useful applications. HPB will keep promoting HPB hardware random numbers' application, as well as building a robust DeFi ecosystem. We look forward to working with more partners in the industry to promote blockchain innovations!"

About HPB (High Performance Blockchain)

HPB is a revolutionary permissionless blockchain architecture aiming to solve today's Blockchain shortcomings through a unique combination of dedicated hardware and software. Committed to becoming the world's highest performance blockchain platform, HPB will pave the way for the blockchain technology revolution for businesses and consumers alike.

SOURCE HPB-High Performance Blockchain
REGINAA mother who alleges the federal government and RCMP took a negligent and lackadaisical approach to investigating missing and murdered Indigenous women will attend a hearing this week that will determine if her lawsuit moves forward, her lawyer says.

Anthony Merchant says Diane BigEagle, whose daughter Danita Faith has been missing since 2007, will be there for the Federal Court certification hearing in Regina for the proposed class-action lawsuit by families of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Merchant says families of other murdered or missing Indigenous women will be there, too.

We know the wrongs, we had the murdered and missing inquiry had a whole series of recommendations. The government said they were going to follow the recommendations but nothing has happened, Merchant said on Sunday.

The suit, which was launched in 2018, alleges systemic negligence on the part of the RCMP in investigating cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and says family members have been forced to endure mental anguish because of the RCMPs failure to properly investigate and prosecute the disappearances.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said in an emailed statement that the government opposes certification of the lawsuit for legal reasons that are specific to this case, as it is unprecedented in its breadth, is inconsistent with previous rulings surrounding private duty of care, and contains cases where the RCMP is not the police of jurisdiction.

This decision in no way lessens the findings of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, nor our commitment to ending this national tragedy, Blair said.

The national inquiry delivered its final report in June 2019, concluding that decades of systemic racism and human rights violations played a role in the deaths and disappearances of hundreds of Indigenous women and girls.

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki apologized to the affected families when she appeared before the inquiry in 2018.

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said last week the national action plan is coming soon. But he said the plan also requires input from provinces, territories, civil society groups and Indigenous organizations in order to form a thorough, cohesive report.

BigEagle met with the RCMP more than 50 times about her daughters disappearance, but investigators did not pay attention or take notes during the meetings, the documents in the lawsuit allege. When she first disappeared, police allegedly dismissed BigEagles complaint, saying her daughter would probably come home.

Its still concerning that so much time has gone by and nothing has happened, Merchant said.

Blair, while acknowledging more needs to be done to strengthen trust with Indigenous people, noted the government has taken steps such as eliminating gender discrimination in the Indian Act, enacting legislation to protect Indigenous languages, and investing in housing, shelters, and programs to end gender-based violence.

He added the RCMP is working to attract Indigenous applicants and is implementing new initiatives for missing persons investigations.

We remain committed to honouring those who have been lost, helping their families find peace and ensuring that Indigenous Women, Girls and LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit people are safe where they live.
California is one of Americas marvels. By moving vast quantities of water and suppressing wildfires for decades, the state has transformed its arid and mountainous landscape into the richest, most populous and bounteous place in the nation.

But now those same feats have given California a new and unwelcome category of superlatives.

This year is the states worst wildfire season on record. That follows its hottest August on record; a punishing drought that lasted from 2011 to last year; and one of its worst flood emergencies on record three years ago, when heavy rains caused the states highest dam to nearly fail, forcing more than 180,000 people to flee.

The same manufactured landscapes that have enabled Californias tremendous growth, building the state into a $3 trillion economy that is home to 1 in 10 Americans, have also left it more exposed to climate shocks, experts say.

And those shocks will only get worse.

Theres sort of this sense that we can bend the world to our will, said Kristina Dahl, a senior climate scientist in San Francisco for the Union of Concerned Scientists. Climate change is exposing the vulnerabilities in the systems that weve engineered.

Those systems include some of the greatest accomplishments in U.S. public infrastructure: transporting huge amounts of water from the mountains to the coast and from north to south; creating almost 1,500 reservoirs to store that water until its needed; subduing the fires that are part of forest ecosystems, making more land livable for millions, but stocking those forests with fuel in the process; building dense cities along a shoreline susceptible to erosion and flooding.

Brandon Thibodeaux/NYT

Those accomplishments reflect the optimism that defines California, according to R. Jisung Park, an assistant professor of public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, who focuses on climate adaptation. But like so much that underpins modern American life, they werent designed to accommodate the increasingly harsh extremes of climate change.

The shocks are outside the range, in many cases, of historical experience, Park said.

And in a heavily manufactured system, he added, the consequences of those shocks can become more dire.

Park, like other experts interviewed, noted that Californias engineered landscapes are not the only factor behind its high-impact disasters. The states size and geographic diversity expose it to an unusually wide range of extreme climate events. And its large population means that when disasters do strike, they are very likely to affect large numbers of people.

The manufactured systems that support the states population and economy have left the state especially vulnerable. The wildfires are only the latest example of how climate change can cause engineered landscapes to go awry. Those blazes are partly the result of hotter temperatures and drier conditions, scientists say, which have made it easier for vegetation to ignite, causing fires to become bigger, more intense and more frightening.

Sometimes you feel really small and helpless, said Mandy Beatty, who manages and maintains trails through the forests of the Sierra Nevada for the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, a nonprofit group. On a chalkboard in her house in Plumas County, on the edge of the forests, she counts how long she and her husband have endured the smoke. Friday was Day 33. The fire, still raging, is on the other side of the mountain.

The intensity of the fires also reflects decades of policy decisions that altered those forests, according to Robert Bonnie, who oversaw the U.S. Forest Service under President Barack Obama. And the cost of those decisions is now coming due.

In an effort to protect homes and encourage new building, governments for decades focused on suppressing fires that occurred naturally, allowing the buildup of vegetation that would provide fuel for future blazes. Even after the drawbacks of that approach became clear, officials remained reluctant to reduce that vegetation through prescribed burns, wary of upsetting residents with smoke or starting a fire that might burn out of control.

That approach made Californias forests more comfortable for the estimated 11 million people who now live in and around them. But it has also made them more susceptible to catastrophic fires.

Brian L. Frank/NYT

Weve sort of built up this fire debt, Bonnie said. People are going to have to tolerate smoke and risk.

President Donald Trump, apparently referring to the increase in vegetation, has responded to Californias fires by telling the state to clean your floors. But most of the forests in California are federally owned, Bonnie noted, and Trump has sought to cut spending on forest management. And Bonnie said the fuels that matter most arent on the forest floor but rather the trees themselves  and the best solution is letting more of them burn safely.

Another example of Californias engineered landscape is the sprawling system of transporting and storing water. Three-quarters of the states precipitation falls north of Sacramento, according to Jeffrey Mount, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. But three-quarters of the states water use is south of Sacramento.

The vast majority of our people are concentrated in the areas where the water is not, Mount said. Californias response was to build what he called by far the Wests most complicated storage and conveyance system.

That system moves water that falls as snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains to the south and west, providing drinking water for the states coastal cities and irrigation for farms in the arid Central Valley, turning California into an agricultural powerhouse that produces one-quarter of the nations food.

Climate change is now shaking that system.

Precipitation patterns are becoming more extreme: The dry years are becoming drier, forcing cities and farmers to deplete their underground aquifers  something that Frances Moore, an assistant professor of environmental economics and climate science at the University of California, Davis, called a race to the bottom.

That is not something thats a sustainable response, Moore said.

At the same time, wet periods are becoming wetter, which brings challenges of its own. Heavy rains threaten to overwhelm the vast network of aqueducts, reservoirs and dams that hold that water.

That increases the likelihood of the sort of catastrophe that almost struck three years ago, Mount said. A combination of intense rain and structural damage nearly caused the failure of the Oroville Dam, the nations highest, which would have unleashed disastrous flooding north of Sacramento.

Oroville is unlikely to be a one-off event. California has more dams rated high hazard than almost any other state, according to figures from the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. Californias state auditor reported in January that while the state has upgraded the Oroville Dam, others around California continue to pose a risk.

Youre got 40 million people who are dependent on this system, which was designed in the last century, Mount said. Its not a surprise that youre seeing many crises.

Climate change is also threatening Californias coastline, the longest in the nation after Alaska and Florida. That coastline is less physically exposed to rising seas than parts of the Atlantic, where water levels are rising more quickly, according to Dahl at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

But Californias more densely populated coast combined with its use of landfill to expand waterfront communities and its famous cliffside homes mean the state has more people at jeopardy from rising seas.

Weve built right to the edge of the water, Dahl said. Weve altered the coastline to suit our needs, and were increasingly seeing the limitations of that.

To some, Californias vulnerability to climate change is just one more challenge for the state to engineer its way out of, even as it keeps growing.

Annie Notthoff, a California water expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the state has already made progress on water efficiency, encouraging cities and counties to cut their water use and recycle wastewater.

I think that if were smart and we use new technology, theres room for everyone, Notthoff said. I believe in California. Im fifth-generation.

That optimism is shared, perhaps unsurprisingly, by state officials. Kate Gordon, a senior climate adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, described a series of steps the state is taking to cope with climate risks, including shifting more development into cities and away from the edge of the wilderness and designing coastal roads and bridges with rising seas in mind.

Weve allowed for a development pattern thats completely sprawled, which I dont think we can keep doing, Gordon said. We have a lot of ability to be more compact, to be more efficient.

Others were more wary. Solomon Hsiang, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-director of the universitys Climate Impact Lab, described being stuck inside as smoke filled the sky and walking around his home with a hand-held air-quality indicator to find out which rooms had the worst air.

Everyone who could leave town has left town, he said.

Climate change in California is more than just an escalating series of short- and long-term disasters, Hsiang said. Its also eroding the idea that the state can mold itself into whatever it wants to be, insulated from the physical threats around it.

California was the land of opportunities, Hsiang said. Theres this story that we can have it all, and thats just not true.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Britain could still get its hand on a coronavirus vaccine before Christmas, the government's chief scientific adviser today claimed.

Sir Patrick Vallance said it is 'possible' one of the dozens of experimental jabs being trialed on humans could be ready before 2021, insisting 'good progress' was being made.

In televised address to the nation this morning, he said: 'It is possible that some vaccine could be available before the end of the year in small amounts for certain groups.'

Matt Hancock has already promised the most vulnerable members of society will be the first to be vaccinated against Covid-19, with the elderly first in line.

But Sir Patrick admitted it is 'more likely' that a vaccine  which is likely to require two doses to work  will be ready for the nation 'over the first half of next year'.

And the Health Secretary today revealed ministers were looking at 'the first bit of next year' for the mass roll-out of any jab proven to work.

Sir Patrick Vallance said it is 'possible' one of the dozens of experimental jabs being trialed on humans could be ready before 2021, insisting 'good progress' was being made

AstraZeneca, the drug giant which owns the rights to the experimental jab, stopped global trials on September 8 because a British volunteer was hospitalised. Pictured: A volunteer gets a jab in South Africa

Number 10 has already bought 340million doses of seven different experimental jabs, including the one created by Oxford University researchers.

The jab, being mass-manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, has yet to be proven to work but early studies have shown it is promising.

Trials of the jab were briefly halted a fortnight ago over safety fears. But they have since been started again in the UK but not the US, where regulators are said to be concerned about an adverse side effect.

HUMAN TRIALS OF OXFORD'S VACCINE ARE STILL ON HOLD IN THE US Human trials of Oxford's vaccine are still on hold in the US over safety concerns, two weeks after they were first paused. AstraZeneca, the drug giant which owns the rights to the experimental jab, stopped global trials on September 8 because a British volunteer was hospitalised. Leaked documents claimed the patient, a 37-year-old woman, developed 'transverse myelitis'  inflammation around the spinal cord, typically triggered by viruses but a potential side effect of other vaccines. Doctors restarted trials in the UK five days later on September 12 after it was deemed safe to do so by an independent safety review committee and the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. They have also continued in Brazil, India and South Africa. But regulators in the US have yet to resume the experiments over the incident, and are understood to be 'highly concerned' the jab may cause adverse reactions. The FDA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are seeking to determine what caused the reaction, such as whether it was the vaccine, an underlying medical condition or another unknown factor. It comes after President Donald Trump accused the FDA  with no evidence  of trying to delay a coronavirus vaccine until after the election for political purposes. Trump reportedly wants to bypass normal US regulatory standards to fast-track Oxford's vaccine for use in America by October  ahead of the presidential election in November. Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH, last week claimed that it is 'just a matter of time' before the trial resumes in the US, offering hope the vaccine will be back on track to become one of the first approved. Uncertainty remains about what happened to the unnamed woman, who received the first dose of the experimental vaccine in June and the second in August. AstraZeneca has repeatedly refused to confirm the diagnosis of transverse myelitis. It also insists there is no proof that the vaccine was to blame for the woman's symptoms, which are believed to have now subsided. Advertisement

Brentford-based AstraZeneca's chief executive claimed earlier on in the summer that it would 'no doubt' start to deliver the doses of the jab to No 10 by September.

It is not clear if ministers already have a stockpile of the jab and are waiting for further evidence to prove it is safe, before embarking on a mass-vaccination programme.

Downing Street has also signed deals to buy vaccines made by BioNTech/Pfizer, Janssen, Novavax, GSK/Sanofi, and Valneva, if they are eventually proven to work.

In the press conference alongside Professor Chris Whitty, Sir Patrick claimed good progress was being made on developing a vaccine that can fight Covid-19.

He said a number of candidates have shown they can generate an immune response that ought to be protective. Nine are currently in final stage trials, known as phase three.

Sir Patrick  who alongside Professor Whitty warned today warned the UK faces 50,000 new cases of coronavirus by the middle of October  added: 'We don't yet know they will work.

'But there is increasing evidence that is pointing in the right direction and it is possible that some vaccine could be available before the end of the year in small amounts for certain groups.

'Much more likely that we'll see vaccines becoming available over the first half of next year, again not certain but pointed in the right direction, which then of course gives the possibility of a different approach to this virus.'

Mr Hancock today told ITV's This Morning a 'mass roll-out' of a vaccine could be seen in the early part of next year if all goes well.

He added: 'Hopefully in the first few months - there's still a chance of it coming on stream before Christmas, but we've then got to roll it out and the first people who will get it are the people who are most vulnerable - people in care homes, older people.

'There's a series of different vaccines, but we are talking about - essentially, for it to have an impact on how we live our lives - we're talking about the start of next year.'

Human trials of Oxford's vaccine are still on hold in the US over safety concerns, two weeks after they were first paused.

AstraZeneca, the drug giant which owns the rights to the experimental jab, stopped global trials on September 8 because a British volunteer was hospitalised.

Leaked documents claimed the patient, a 37-year-old woman, developed 'transverse myelitis'  inflammation around the spinal cord, typically triggered by viruses but a potential side effect of other vaccines.

Doctors restarted trials in the UK five days later on September 12 after it was deemed safe to do so by independent experts. They have also continued in Brazil , India and South Africa.

But regulators in the US have yet to resume the experiments over the incident, and are understood to be 'highly concerned' the jab may cause adverse reactions.

The FDA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are seeking to determine what caused the reaction, such as whether it was the vaccine, an underlying medical condition or another unknown factor.

It comes after President Donald Trump accused the FDA  with no evidence  of trying to delay a coronavirus vaccine until after the election for political purposes.

Trump reportedly wants to bypass normal US regulatory standards to fast-track Oxford's vaccine for use in America by October  ahead of the presidential election in November.

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH, last week claimed that it is 'just a matter of time' before the trial resumes in the US, offering hope the vaccine will be back on track to become one of the first approved.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Bhupender Yadav has blamed the Opposition for the disruption in Rajya Sabha during the discussion and passage of the two of the contentious farm Bills on Sunday. In an interview with Smriti Kak Ramachandran, Yadav said the government is open to addressing all concerns about the Bills, which he insisted are aimed at protecting the rights of the farmers. Edited excerpts:

The Opposition is alleging the government bulldozes its way through in Parliament. It prefers to take the ordinance route. In the case of the farm Bills, they felt more scrutiny was needed, which was denied. How will you counter that?

To bring an ordinance is the right of the government and to get it passed within six months from the date from which it was issued is the governments mandate. The government is seriously taking care to ensure that all procedures are followed. These Bills have been discussed at the government as well as non-government level.

As far as issues like contract farming are concerned, they are already being implemented in states like Punjab, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, and Odisha. There are not issues that have never been implemented before or are completely new.

Also Read: Will fight in Parliament and on streets: Mamata Banerjee on suspension of 8 Rajya Sabha MPs

As far as concerns about the sale of crops go, this [legislation]...does not put an end to the system of selling grains in Mandis. We are only creating an alternative for the farmers.

These Bills are just creating procedural clearances. There has been a long debate on these issues in the country. What these bills will do is streamline what is already being implemented.

The Bills talk about procedures, about giving the farmers a new and additional way [to sell their produce]. Today, we have proposals to open 10,000 new FPOs [farmer producer organisations] and 1,000 new Agro start-ups. A digital revolution is happening. So, in such a situation to deprive the farmers of the benefits of digital transactions is not right. How can we stop farmers and their children from accessing the benefits of the digital revolution? The Opposition is looking to stall the Bills using excuses.

Why did the government turn down the demand for sending the Bills to the select committee?

These Bills only created procedural ways to benefit farmers. These are not Bills that needed to be sent to the committee. These have been discussed in Parliament and the due process that has to be followed for the passage of a bill was adhered to. ...we stuck to the democratic system. It was the Opposition that disrupted the process and insulted the process.

Also Read: Endless arrogance of BJP govt has brought economic disaster: Rahul Gandhi

The responsibility of running the House rests with the government. There is a sense that if the Opposition was seeking more discussion or division of votes, then the demand should be met, but it was not done on Sunday and on many occasions in the past...

When these Bills were taken up for discussion at the business advisory committee [meeting] to decide how much time should be allocated for discussion, both the Opposition as well as the government agreed that there will be four hours allocated for these two Bills. It was the Opposition that said that both Bills should be taken up together for discussion and passage. The BJP cut short the time of its own MPs [members of Parliament] to allow the Opposition members to speak... The government was ready to seek a division of votes, but that can happen only when the members are on their seats. The Opposition came into the Well of the House. They climbed on the tables of the secretariat staff, tore papers. They broke the chairpersons mike so that his voice could not be heard. All this shows that they did not want a division. And as for the...[complaints] that these bills were tabled on a Sunday, it was already decided that both Houses will function for four hours each day including on Saturday and Sunday...

The Opposition has also alleged that on Sunday when the Bills were passed by a voice vote, voices of the opposition MPs sitting in the Lok Sabha were not taken into account...

This is again baseless. All voices were being recorded and carried forth between the Houses. When the speeches they made while sitting in the Lok Sabha could be heard and recorded, how is it that the secretariat could not hear their voices while the voice vote was being counted. Again, before seeking a division of votes, the Opposition started the ruckus and the blame for what happened in Parliament rests on them. The government was ready for a division of votes.

Also Read: Farm bills: PM Modi says farmers to get better prices because of reforms

Your ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is against the Bills. The affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have concerns too. How is it that the government has failed to convince its own allies and friends?

The government is ready to address the concerns of everybody including the SAD. ...when the Manmohan Singh government was in power, there was a committee that was formed under the chairmanship of the then Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, which also had Prakash Singh Badal [of SAD] as a member. In chapter 5 of the report that was prepared by them, there is a mention of these laws and about the need to repeal the Essential Commodities Act. If they [SAD] are objecting to the Bills now, it can only be [for] political [reasons].

The government has never said no to an open debate on these Bills, which are entirely based on the protection of the farmers interests. As far as the merits of the Bills are concerned, the government has never shied away from discussing the concerns that people have.

The Opposition is complaining about the suspension of MPs and planning an all-night protest...

If a decision... has been taken in the House, then it is the responsibility of the Opposition to adhere to it. Parliament is run in accordance with rules and regulations. There is a certain decorum that has to be maintained. Rajya Sabha is the House of the elders. You cannot have hooliganism on the floor of the House; pushing and jostling. You cannot refuse to abide by the ruling. It is an unfortunate situation. And if nothing else, the Opposition should listen to their inner voice.

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This former lighthouse could be yours for just shy of 1million. (Purple Bricks)

We just cant resist a scroll through all the amazing homes we could live in if money were no object and this former lighthouse is right up there on our wish-list.

The ultimate party pad, this eight-bedroom home comes complete with its own indoor swimming pool, sauna and dreamy sea view. Plus, the only nosey neighbours youd need to worry about are the seagulls.

The thought of living in our very own lighthouse (yes, we were big fans of Petes Dragon) gets us really excited.

The almost 1million price tag? Not so much.

But actually, when you think about it, you get a whole lot of lighthouse for your 995,000.

The amazing features in the lighthouse part of the property. (Purple Bricks)

Read more: Ordinary-looking three-bedroom house comes with a hidden skate park inside

The Old Lighthouse at St Annes Head, Dale, was decommissioned decades ago and was swiftly converted into an impressive home that makes the most of the stunning sea views.

With four en-suite bathrooms, five reception rooms, plus a jacuzzi spa and pool room overlooking the ocean, the unusual home is one-of-a-kind.

Watch: Why are house prices rising during a recession?

Some of the rooms are in the regular-shaped extension but others, including the main kitchen, are within the former lighthouse itself, which gives the walls a quirky curve.

The centre of the property contains an open-plan kitchen, dining and lounging area all zoned around a central brick fireplace with electric log burner, which is the ideal spot to curl up in cosier climes.

Read more: 'Narrowest house in London' could be yours for just under 1m

The indoor swimming pool with a sea view! (Purple Bricks)

Whether its the designer flooring, shiplap wall paneling or totally custom details, every inch of this space has been custom designed to suit your comfort and the seaside theme, the property particulars, from Purple Bricks, read.

Bright and cozy bedrooms are sprinkled throughout the home allowing for a comfortable escape for you and your guests.

Detail has been considered even in the bathrooms where you will continue to find high-end finishes and comfortable fixtures, including a bubbling Jacuzzi spa and a standalone soaker tub.

Story continues

But the real wow factor comes via the top-floor observatory, which offers an amazing 360-degree view of the local area.

Watch: What do stamp duty cuts mean for buyers and house prices?

Check out that view! (Purple Bricks)

For a time it was the Coastguard HQ and so I am guessing it may have been them who added the observation room, Rhys Jordan, of estate agents Purple Bricks, told Metro.

According to Jordan the property has been used as a phenomenally successful holiday let, but the family who own it have decided to take a break from that and this is why theyve put it up for sale.

This means the new owners will have several options in terms of how the house is used.

It could easily continue as a holiday let, or as a home and holiday let, depending on what people wanted, Jordan explains.

The owners daughter used to live here where when she was a child so we know it would make a great family home, too.

Read more: Amazing house with its own beach goes on sale in UK for 5.5million

The bedroom has a nautical theme. (Purple Bricks)

The open plan ground floor centres around a brick fireplace. (Purple Bricks)

The location of the lighthouse offers a great base to explore the local area via scenic coastal path walks and the pretty harbour village of Dale and the beautiful blue flag beaches of St Brides Bay are just a short hop away.

St David's, Tenby, Pembroke and Haverfordwest are also easily accessible for a days pottering and offer a whole host of restaurants, pubs and shops.

Just two miles from iconic Dale, there are limitless activities available including crabbing off the harbour wall, dining at nearby restaurants or enjoying sailing and surfing on what many call the sunniest beach in Wales, the property particulars continue.

The lighthouse is for sale for a guide price of 995,000 with Purple Bricks, call 0800 810 8008 to find out more.
Recent disasters  parts of the country are being swallowed by flames or flooded by hurricanes  only intensify the need for help.

You may be wondering how best to give to families in need. Here are some ideas.

Feed the hungry.

Youre not seeing the stories about the lines of cars at the food bank as much as you did months before, but theyre still there, said Zuani Villarreal, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit Feeding America. Many of them include families who are turning to a food bank for the first time.

Over the summer there was a 60 percent average increase in demand for food assistance at Feeding Americas network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries across the country compared to the same time period last year, Villarreal said.

The best way to help right now is to either volunteer (if your local bank allows for this and you feel safe doing so) or to donate money, she added.

While food donations are appreciated, they are labor-intensive because every offering must be sorted and inspected. Right now there are volunteer shortages because many of the people who would ordinarily donate their time  especially the older adults  are staying home to avoid the coronavirus. Check with your local food bank to see how best to help. You can use Feeding Americas website to search for a food bank near you.
Elaine Thompson

I read Bill Howards piece Preserve Democracy, Sept. 6, with great interest and appreciated his commentary on the prospects of American democracy using historical parallels.

My interest in the article was especially piqued, as through the pandemic I found myself drawn to Anthony Everetts The Rise of Athens chronicling Athenian democracy and its NATO-like Delian League. The story carries through to a horrific plague that ruined its fortunes and poor leadership afterward that guaranteed its decline.
Oxford, born and raised on Swamp Road in Waycross, Ga., tells the story of why America's rural vote in 2016 was a rebuke and payback for economic decimation that is plaguing thousands of rural communities across the country.

"This book is not pro- or anti-Trump," explains Oxford. "Heading into our election, the votes are in fact up for grabs in 2020  and certainly beyond. It's all about who can communicate, connect and help rural residents across America solve their crisis."

Oxford first began writing about Trump's electability soon after he announced his initial candidacy. Even while most of the country hadn't begun to take Trump seriously, Oxford published a column for Forbes arguing that he'd win the Republican nomination. In a second post, Oxford used stats on the positive and negative tones of stories about Trump and Hillary Clinton to suggest Trump would be elected president.

"This book is a thoughtful reflection on Cliff's life among both country folk and the elite. Its stories of growing up on the swamp, leaving for entrepreneurial success, and then witnessing the devastating impact of policies and power on his homeland, demonstrate a unique insight into the cultures and forces that compelled voters to support Trump," says Sara Stratton, President & CEO of Redwood Publishing. "Reverie is a cautionary note to anyone looking to win the 2020 election."

Now a longtime Atlantan, Oxford founded STI Knowledge, a first-in-class CRM technology company, which sold to Mellon Ventures in 2004. Subsequently, he endowed the W. Cliff Oxford Executive MBA Center at Emory, where he launched Oxford Center for Entrepreneurs. He sold the company to Advantage Media, a division of Forbes Books, in 2018. Additionally, Oxford is the founder and owner of CliffCo.  a think tank focused on high social impact and innovation in future businesses. Prior to A Redneck Reverie, Oxford authored LAMBS to Leaders (Liberal Arts Majors in Business Society) and Know, Grow, Exit - How Entrepreneurs Start and Finish Fast.

Oxford was named Atlanta's Entrepreneur of the Year by the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and was awarded the 2018 Men Impact Change Award by Dr. George E. Holmes of the Black Caucus Foundation ALC. For more, visit cliffco.com and follow along at @ARedneckReverie on Instagram and Twitter.

SOURCE Cliff Oxford

Related Links

https://www.cliffco.com


President Donald Trump and his business could be facing a criminal tax probe by the Manhattan District Attorney's office, prosecutors suggested Monday in a court filing.

Prosecutors from Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr.'s office raised that possibility as they said that a grand jury subpoena seeking eight years of Trump's tax returns and other records from the president's accountants should be allowed by a federal appeals court, which is set to hear arguments in this case this week.

While prosecutors last month suggested that they might be eyeing the Trump Organization for possible bank and insurance fraud, Monday's filing was the first time they had publicly said that their probe might encompass potential tax crimes.

Before last month, reports had suggested that Trump's company was under investigation for how it accounted for hush money payments made to two women who said they had affairs with Trump, who has denied their claims.

Trump's lawyers have argued that the subpoeana is "overbroad" and was issued "in bad faith."

But Vance's team said in Monday's court filing that the subpoena is more than justified by news reports that have raised the prospect that Trump and his company misstated the values of their business properties at different times.

The filings said that if misstatements about business properties were conveyed from the Trump Organization's headquarters in New York to business partners, insurers, potential lenders or tax authorities, that could mean the breaking of state laws such as scheme to defraud, falsification of business records, insurance fraud and criminal tax fraud, the filing said.

Vance's office also said in the filing that the scope "of the subpoena is moderate when compared to the temporal scope of misconduct alleged in public reports."

"The New York Times reported that Appellant engaged in 'dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud' and that he 'helped his parents dodge taxes' by 'set[ting] up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts' and undervaluing assets," the filing said.

Trump's lawyer, Jay Sekulow, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Vance declined to comment.
The officers were responding to an emergency 911 call concerning a potential domestic violence crime in progress and at the time, Ingram Lopez, 27, already had a warrant out for his arrest on a previous domestic violence charge, the report said.

In that situation, it is mandatory under state law for police to take the suspect into custody, the report said.

The amount of force the officers used was justified, it said.

They did not strike, punch, kick or choke Mr. Ingram Lopez. There is also no evidence of any intent by the officers to cause injury, the letter states.

The officers used only such force as was necessary to restrain Mr. Ingram Lopez in handcuffs in order to arrest him, the report said. The review was conducted by Deputy County Attorney Rick Unklesbay and Chief Trial Counsel Nicol Green and in consultation with retiring County Attorney Barbara LaWall and other top officials in the office.

Since Ingram Lopez was a chronic cocaine abuser with an enlarged heart, and was high on the drug when he died, the county attorneys office consulted an expert in pharmacology from the University of Arizona.
LANGFORD, B.C.Premier John Horgan called an early election Monday, saying British Columbia needs stability during the COVID-19 pandemic as opposition leaders accused him of putting politics ahead of the provinces response to the virus.

Horgan said he struggled over whether it is the right time to call an election during the pandemic but there are significant health and economic challenges facing the province with an unstable minority government.

B.C. has a fixed election date set for October 2021, but Horgan said to wait another year would be time wasted.

I believe the challenges we face are not for the next 12 months, but indeed for the next four years and beyond, the NDP leader said at a news conference in his Victoria-area riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca.

Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson and the Green partys Sonia Furstenau questioned the need for the Oct. 24 election during the pandemic. Both said Horgan was dragging their parties and the people of B.C. into a political battle when the fight should be against COVID-19.

Furstenau, who became the partys leader a week ago, said Horgan decided to put his political future and that of his government ahead of the people of B.C.

This is not a time when we put the interests of a political party ahead of the British Columbians who need to know that we are here to serve them, she said at a news conference. Im disappointed that this is what John Horgan has chosen to do and I fully intend to hold him accountable for this decision.

Wilkinson said the election isnt wanted by anyone in the province, except for the New Democrats.

To make this completely clear: think about why were having this election. Its not necessary, Wilkinson told reporters. The goal for the NDP is to secure their own employment. The picture here is weve got a government cynical enough to put us through a general election in the middle of a pandemic.

Wilkinson is an experienced politician, holding a variety of cabinet jobs in the previous B.C. Liberal government. But this is his first campaign since becoming party leader in 2018.

The provinces minority NDP government took power in 2017 after signing an agreement with the Greens, but Horgan said political stability is needed and that is what he is seeking now.

Furstenau rejected Horgans comments that Green opposition to NDP legislation during the spring session of the legislature contributed to his decision to seek a majority mandate, adding that the agreement the party signed didnt stipulate utter and total obedience to the NDP.

Horgan said the issues of 2017 also arent the same as 2020, citing the global pandemic and the economic upheaval it has caused as examples of what has changed.

I have never been more confident that this is the time to ask British Columbians where they want to go. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented actions.

Horgan said the campaign will be different than past elections where handshakes, door knocking and public rallies were normal political activities, but the parties will find ways to interact with voters.

Its not going to be like any other campaign, without any doubt, he said.

The NDP and B.C. Liberals were tied with 41 seats each when the legislature was dissolved by Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin. The Greens held two seats, there were two Independents and one seat was vacant.

Horgan said hes been speaking with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry about the pandemic, but didnt consult with her about calling an election.

The final decision rests with me and I take full responsibility for it.

The number of cases of COVID-19 have been rising in the province, with 366 new cases since Friday.

But Horgan said the biggest problem over increasing COVID-19 numbers is people not following Henrys directives over the last seven months.

That is the challenge with respect to COVID-19, not whether or not we ask people to go to a polling place over the course of a number of days or if theyre uncomfortable with that, to vote from home.

New Brunswick just concluded an election with 66 per cent turnout and Saskatchewans campaign will be underway in a few days, so other jurisdictions are having elections, he said.

Horgan said Finance Minister Carole James will be administering the province until election day. She is one of seven NDP cabinet ministers not seeking re-election.

Horgan noted that seven Liberal members of the legislature are also not running again and former Green leader Andrew Weaver is leaving politics as well.

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Engineering a qubit system close to the point of a quantum phase transition could make single photons easier to detect, just as a giant release of steam could be used to detect a tiny disturbance to superheated water, Purdue University researchers say. (Purdue University illustration/Xueji Wang)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  To become more pervasive in daily life, quantum technology needs to better detect single particles of light, called photons, carrying quantum information.

The problem is that each photon is a very weak signal, making it difficult for measurement devices to efficiently detect them. Purdue University engineers have proposed a new quantum resource that could help design the next generation of single-photon detectors.

The type of quantum resource that the researchers discovered is called a giant susceptibility, which is a violent response of a system to a tiny perturbation. This response is necessary for converting a weak signal in the quantum domain to an amplified strong signal like those used by cell phones and other classical technology.

In a paper published in NPJ Quantum Information, the researchers showed through a simulation that a system running on 100 computation units, called qubits, could exhibit a giant response when interacting with just one photon.

The research is part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencys DETECT program to design new single-photon detectors. The researchers will be working with their collaborators to test this approach experimentally.

Our search for better single photon detectors led us to an unorthodox concept of exploiting quantum phase transitions, said Zubin Jacob, a Purdue associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

A quantum phase transition occurs at the point where the spin orientation of the qubit system undergoes a dramatic change while interacting with a single photon. According to the researchers model, the giant response would only be unlocked when the multi-qubit system is engineered close to this quantum phase transition.

The detector itself is analogous to water in a microwave, said Li-Ping Yang, a Purdue postdoctoral scholar who worked with Jacob on developing this model.

A tiny disturbance to superheated water triggers an explosion releasing steam. Just as that giant release of steam could be used to detect the tiny disturbance, this multi-qubit system engineered near a quantum phase transition could help better detect a single photon.

Patents related to this research have been filed through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization. DARPA DETECT funding for this work is associated with award number W911NF-18-1-0074.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 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 https://purdue.edu/.

Media contact: Kayla Wiles, 765-494-2432, wiles5@purdue.edu

Source: Zubin Jacob, zjacob@purdue.edu

Journalists visiting campus : Journalists should follow Protect Purdue protocols and the following guidelines:

Campus is open, but the number of people in spaces may be limited. We will be as accommodating as possible, but you may be asked to step out or report from another location.

To enable access, particularly to campus buildings, we recommend you contact the Purdue News Service media contact listed on the release to let them know the nature of the visit and where you will be visiting. A News Service representative can facilitate safe access and may escort you on campus.

Correctly wear face masks inside any campus building, and correctly wear face masks outdoors when social distancing of at least six feet is not possible.

ABSTRACT

Single-Photon Pulse Induced Giant Response in N>100 Qubit System

Li-Ping Yang, Zubin Jacob

Purdue University

DOI: 10.1038/s41534-020-00306-w

The temporal dynamics of large quantum systems perturbed weakly by a single excitation can give rise to unique phenomena at the quantum phase boundaries. Here, we develop a time-dependent model to study the temporal dynamics of a single photon interacting with a defect within a large system of interacting spin qubits (N>100). Our model predicts a quantum resource, giant susceptibility, when the system of qubits is engineered to simulate a first-order quantum phase transition (QPT). We show that the absorption of a single photon pulse by an engineered defect in the large qubit system can nucleate a single shot quantum measurement through spin noise read-out. This concept of a single-shot detection event (click) is different from parameter estimation which requires repeated measurements. The crucial step of amplifying the weak quantum signal occurs by coupling the defect to a system of interacting qubits biased close to a QPT point. The macroscopic change in long-range order during the QPT generates amplified magnetic noise, which can be read out by a classical device. Our work paves the way for studying the temporal dynamics of large quantum systems interacting with a single-photon pulse.
Jaideep Johars life has taken him from the high seas to Winnipegs public libraries.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Jaideep Johars life has taken him from the high seas to Winnipegs public libraries.

Johar, who works as a manager for Transport Canada, volunteers his time with the Winnipeg Public Library board.

The 16-member board is an advisory body that advises and supports library management on all relevant issues.

"The governance, the dedication of the people, the ideas they bring to the table and how we are advocating for the library  its amazing," Johar says. "Im really learning from it and trying to contribute."

The 49-year-old brings some unique experience to the board.

Born and raised in Bhopal, India, Johar began working at sea when he was 18 and obtained his captains licence at the age of 26.

He sailed tankers, passenger vessels, cargo ships and ferries all over the world for 20 years.

Johar fell in love with Canada after his travels took him to B.C. a few times.

He and his family immigrated in 2005, first landing in Vancouver and then moving to Winnipeg in 2008.

His experiences as a newcomer are at the root of his strong support for libraries and the services they offer.

When he arrived in Canada, Johars local library provided him with reading material, community contacts and various services that assisted him in settling well.

"I was in North Vancouver and the library there was the only source I could go to and get decent information about health (and) about how to apply for immigration status," he says. "It also gave me an opportunity to use the computer, the internet and to print materials."

Johar started volunteering with Winnipegs library board in 2017.

Some of his most meaningful volunteer experiences in the past few years have been representing the board to the public.

He has participated in the Pride parade as a member of the board for the last four years, and he represented the board this past March at city hall when he delivered a speech advocating for the library.

"Those opportunities have excited me very much," Johar says.

The library board isnt Johars only volunteer commitment. He volunteers on the citys safety committee and on the advisory board for Winnipeg South Sikh Centre.

He has also volunteered for the Red Cross and the Punjab pavilion at Folklorama.

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.

Johar fits it all in between his work with Transport Canadas marine safety and security branch, and the online studies he is doing as he works toward a bachelor of marine studies from Memorial University in St. Johns.

When he isnt working or volunteering, Johar spends time with his wife, Narinder, and their two children, Harshraj, 19, and Sage, 12.

"I really love this country," he says. "This country has provided me with a lot, so I want to give back."

The city is currently accepting applications for the Winnipeg Public Library board, as well as its other boards and commissions.

Applications are open until Oct. 16. Find a link to the application near the top of the citys website at winnipeg.ca.

If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@gmail.com.
A woman on a family holiday on the Sunshine Coast has drowned during an early morning swim with her daughter.

A Queensland Police spokeswoman told Yahoo News Australia the woman, 34, from Toowoomba, died near the Jubilee Esplanade at Coolum Beach on Monday about 7.15am.

Her death is not being treated as suspicious.

Coolum Police Sergeant Peter Blake told Yahoo News Australia the woman and her daughter were swimming at First Bay not long after dawn.

Its an unpatrolled beach, Sgt Blake said.

The whole family were there  mum, dad, sister and daughter.

The beach where the woman drowned. Source: Peter Crawley via Google Maps (file pic)

Sgt Blake said the womans daughter is 11 years old.

Coolum Police Sergeant Ben Cox told the ABC paramedics worked on her for half an hour but the woman couldnt be saved.

"Her sister was standing on rocks nearby but hadn't realised that she'd been dragged out to sea, Sgt Cox told the ABC.

Surf Life Saving Queensland told Yahoo News Australia an off-duty lifesaver tried to save the woman and was assisted by lifeguards patrolling a nearby beach.

SLSQ extends their thoughts and sympathies to the victims loved ones, it said in a statement.

SLSQ will work with relevant authorities including the Queensland Police Service, Queensland ambulance Service, and the Queensland Coroner.

SLSQ reminds all swimmers to only swim between the red and yellow flags at patrolled locations.

The tragedy comes on the first day of Queenslands school holidays.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

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.
Last month, the ABC's Beijing correspondent Bill Birtles and The Australian Financial Review's Shanghai correspondent Mike Smith returned to Sydney after a diplomatic stand-off in which the pair were questioned separately by China's Ministry of State Security.

The journalist, who has won three Walkley Awards and a Peabody Award, will provide stories and analysis for various ABC television and radio programs including 7.30, Four Corners and The World, as well as ABC Online.

"The whole world is focused on China now; it's actually the defining story of our age," Grant said. "It's probably the thing that is most going to set the course of the 21st century: the emergence of an authoritarian superpower like China, which is on track to become the most powerful economy in the world and by some measures already is, set against what is seen as a weakening of democracy in the world and certainly a more damaged United States."

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In a career spanning more than 30 years, Grant has reported from almost 70 countries  including four years in Hong Kong and almost seven years in Beijing  while working for Channel Seven, ABC, NITV, CNN and Al Jazeera. He also wrote and appeared in the award-winning 2019 documentary The Australian Dream, which examines Aboriginal identity and racism in modern Australia.

"What I like being able to do is connect the dots," Grant said. "We often look at international issues in isolation but they're very much connected. If you look at the shifting plates of geopolitics, coronavirus has accelerated and revealed a lot of the fragility and as that starts to settle, we're going to see a very different terrain.

"If you look at the two biggest powers of the world, China and the United States, one is our biggest trading partner and one is our greatest ally and strategic security partner  and Australia is right at the hingepoint of that."
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has admonished Ghanaians not to underestimate the coronavirus pandemic but to stay consistent with set safety and hygience protocols to win the fight against the disease.



"The experience in other parts of the world show us that the virus can return with a vengeance, once you let your guard down," he said.



Addressing the nation in a televised broadcast on Sunday on measures to curb the spread of the virus, the President noted that Ghana had made significant progress in combating the disease and "we are on our way to winning the battle against the pandemic."



However, he stressed that though Ghana's current statistics on the disease was encouraging, "we cannot afford, at this critical moment, to throw caution to the wind, and destroy the incredible amount of work undertaken by Government, health officials, heroic frontline health workers, and members of the security agencies, in bringing us this far."



"As we work to rid the virus from our shores, let us continue to remember, at all times, that this virus is no respecter of persons, and has wreaked its havoc on every country on the planet.



"I appeal to each and every one of you to continue to tread on the path constructed by government and follow religiously all the social distancing mask-wearing and enhanced hygiene protocols.They are, and will remain our weapons in the struggle against the virus," he emphasised.



"Yes, our death rate continues to be low, and our hospitals have, mercifully, not been overwhelmed, as there are, presently, only 20 severe and critical cases. Indeed, there are a lot of empty beds in our treatment centres, and the isolation centres have virtually no patients under care.



"Now more than ever, we must be even more disciplined in our adherence to the personal hygiene, mask wearing and social distancing measures that have become part of our daily routines. That is the way to eliminate the virus altogether.



"There are countries that are imposing lockdowns all over again, others are imposing curfews, all in a bid to curb the onset of fresh infections and a second wave.



"Let us continue to look out for one another and remain each others keeper. United, and with one goal in mind, we will emerge victorious in the fight against COVID-19. Zero active cases must be the ultimate aim.



Ghana's coronavirus count as at Friday, September 2020, has reduced considerably to 507 active cases, with some regions without active cases. Greater Accra, Eastern, Ashanti and Central Regions account for 80 per cent of the active cases.



So far, 45,258 have recovered from the disease and 297 have died from it in the country.



Ghana's land and sea border remained closed till further notice. Beaches, pubs, cinemas and nightclubs also remains closed, and all other institutions cleared to function are to continue to do so in strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols.



And the mandatory wearing of face mask remain in force till December 14, 2020.

Source: GNA









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

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Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller testifies before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill on Wednesday July 24, 2019 in Washington, DC.

"There are a lot of things we did well, and a lot of things we could have done better, to be diplomatic about it," Weissmann said in the interview.

"'Absolutely, yep," Weissmann said, according to Packer, before quickly adding: "I wouldn't phrase it as just Mueller. I would say 'the office.'"

George Packer of The Atlantic, during an interview with Weissmann , asked "if Mueller had let the American people down."

Former special counsel Robert Mueller and his office let the American people down with their probe into President Donald Trump 's campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election , a prosecutor who served in the special counsel's office said in a new interview.

When asked if the probe was a historic missed opportunity, Weissmann tersely replied, "That's fair," according to Packer.

"There's no question I was frustrated at the time," Weissmann told The Atlantic. "There was more that could be done that we didn't do."

One of the key things that Mueller did not do was seek to compel Trump, with a subpoena, to answer questions from the special counsel's team in person, while under oath.

"In Where Law Ends, Weissmann reveals that the real reason for not compelling the president to be interviewed was Mueller's aversion to having an explosive confrontation with the White House," Packer wrote.

Mueller's investigation led to the successful prosecutions of multiple people in Trump's orbit, including his onetime campaign chief Paul Manafort, top campaign aide Rick Gates and the president's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, as well as to indictments against Russians for interfering in the 2016 election.

But Weissmann, echoing others before him, criticizes the probe that he worked on for not being aggressive enough at times to obtain evidence and for failing to state conclusively whether Trump obstructed justice by interfering in the investigation.

Mueller's report, issued in April 2019, said that the investigation "does not conclude that the president committed a crime," referring to obstruction of justice, but also "does not exonerate him."

Packer notes that "Where Law Ends describes numerous instances, large and small, when Mueller declined to pursue an aggressive course for fear of the reaction at the White House."

"For example, the special counsel shied away from subpoenaing Don Trump Jr. to testify about his notorious June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Hillary Clinton. Ivanka Trump, who didn't attend the meeting but talked with participants afterward in the lobby, and later discussed with her father how to conceal details from the press, was never even asked to speak with Mueller's investigators," Packer wrote.

In his book, Weissmann wrote that Mueller's investigators "feared that hauling her in for an interview would play badly to the already antagonistic right-wing pressLook how they're roughing up the president's daughterand risk enraging Trump, provoking him to shut down the Special Counsel's Office once and for all."

Elsewhere in the book, Weissmann wrote, "Part of the reason the president and his enablers were able to spin the report was that we had left the playing field open for them to do so."
Netflix on Monday announced that three new Nigerian branded films and one original series, have been licenced to show on the platform.

The young adult drama series, A far From Home is produced by Inkblot Productions.

It follows the story of Ishaya, a charismatic teenager and talented artist from a poor family, whose dreams suddenly appear within reach when a prestigious scholarship to the most exclusive school in the country catapults him into the luxurious world of Nigerias one percent.

However, a huge secret threatens his newfound status and, ultimately, his familys safety.

Created by Chinaza Onuzo and Dami Elebe, who serve as Executive Producer and head writer respectively, the 6-episode series will be directed by Chinaza, Tope Oshin and Niyi Akinmolayan.

Funke Akindele is will join as one of the lead characters with more details on casting to follow. Zulumoke Oyibo and Damola Ademola will also serve as executive producers.

We look forward to partnering with the Inkblot team to bring this exciting young adult series to life, Ms Onuzo added, Were thrilled to be partnering with the Netflix team to tell the story of Nigerian youth on a global scale. We cannot wait to share with the world what it feels like to grow up in one of the most dynamic countries on the planet.

Movies

The three movies include Oloture which is the story of a young female journalist who goes undercover as a prostitute to expose a human trafficking syndicate. What she finds is a world of exploited women and ruthless violence.

Set in Lagos, Nigeria, Oloture is a film that is part of Netflixs partnership with Mo Abudu and her production company, Ebonylife.

The title will launch globally on October 2, 2020; the trailer was released on Monday.

Oloture is directed by Kenneth Gyang and the cast of this crime drama includes Sharon Ooja, Omowunmi Dada, Omoni Oboli, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Wofai Fada and more.

The second movie is Kunle Afolayans Citation which will also launch globally on November 6.

Citation is a coming-of-age story of Moremi, a bright young university student who forms a bond with her charismatic and well-connected professor who subsequently sexually harasses her.

The film follows Moremis quest for justice. Casting includes Jimmy Jean Louis, Gabriel Afolayan, Ini Edo, Joke Silva, Adjetey Anang and introduces newcomer Temi Otedola.

The third film, King of Boys II, is the sequel to director Kemi Adetibas 2018 crime thriller in which a businesswoman and crime boss is drawn into a power struggle that threatens all she holds dear.

The film, which launches globally in the first half of 2021, begins with Eniola Salamis triumphant return (after a five-year exile) to her beloved Lagos City.

Not content with the prospect of a fresh start, she immediately resumes her quest to launder her underworld might into legitimate political power  this time aiming even higher than before.

The film features returning stars Sola Sobowale, Remilekun Reminisce Safaru, Tobechukwu iLLBliss Ejiofor, and Toni Tones, and adds Richard Mofe-Damijo, Nse Ikpe-Etim, and Efa Iwara to the cast.

The new series and films, which are at different stages of production while others are ready to premiere, will join the growing slate of Nigerian content on the service.

These productions will debut to 193 million members in 190 countries around the world.

Ranging from a young adult series to crime drama and comedy films, the slate brings on the best of Nigerian storytelling.
Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, speaking at a news conference in Brussels on September 21, said that President Alyaksandr Lukashenka "lost his legitimacy in the eyes of the Belarusian people" after the August 9 presidential election. Tsikhanouskaya spoke following a meeting with European Union foreign ministers as they weigh whether to impose sanctions on dozens of Belarusian officials.
The death of a United States Supreme Court justice has set off a new political battle just six weeks before the nations presidential election.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday night at her home in Washington, D.C. She was 87 years old.

Over the weekend, crowds gathered near the Supreme Court building to remember the life of Ginsburg, who served over 27 years on the high court.

Some people brought flowers and pictures of the justice. One group performed the Christian hymn Amazing Grace. Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman on the court. One sign read, Today we mourn, tomorrow we fight.

Weekend memorials also took place in other U.S. cities. In New York Citys Brooklyn neighborhood, where Ginsburg was born, people gathered to remember her judicial work and lifelong public service.

Ginsburg was best known for her defense of the rights of women and minorities. She spent her final years on the Supreme Court as the unquestioned leader of its liberal wing.

After her death was reported, praise of Ginsburg appeared to come from all political sides, including the White House.

In a statement, President Donald Trump said, Her opinions, including well-known decisions regarding the legal equality of women and the disabled, have inspired all Americans, and generations of great legal minds.

His statement noted that Ginsburg had demonstrated that one can disagree without being disagreeable.

Supreme Court justices are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Some U.S. politicians were quick to express their opinion about moving forward with filling her seat on the high court.

Top Republican Party lawmakers are pressing for action on Ginsburgs replacement before the November 3 election. Democratic Party supporters want to delay the action until after the election, hoping their presidential candidate, Joe Biden, will win.

Trump, the Republican nominee, said on Monday he is considering a short list of candidates to replace Ginsburg. The president reportedly plans to announce his choice on Friday or Saturday.

It will be Trump's third nominee to the Supreme Court since taking office in 2017. Ginsburgs death gives him the chance to shape a conservative majority that will likely influence the courts decisions for years to come.

Trump rejected calls that the Republican-controlled Senate should wait to vote on a nominee until after the election. "The final vote should be taken before the election. We have plenty of time for that," he said.

Former Vice President Biden called Trumps plan for a quick vote to replace Ginsburg an exercise of raw political power.

Trump has suggested he will nominate a woman and confirmed the names of two possibilities: Judge Amy Coney Barrett and Judge Barbara Lagoa. Barrett serves on the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, while Lagoa is a federal district judge from Florida. Both are said to have taken right-leaning positions in court rulings.

Trump noted that Lagoa is a Hispanic-American from the politically important state of Florida. Lagoa, a Cuban-American, is "excellent, she's Hispanic, she's a terrific woman," Trump said. "We love Florida."

As the battle over the replacement process began, Reuters news agency noted a sharp rise in political donations from Democratic Party supporters. More than $90 million flowed from the donors in just over 24 hours, Reuters reported.

On the Republican side, Iowa Senator Joni Ernsts re-election campaign sent out an email shortly after Ginsburgs death was announced. BREAKING: The future of the Supreme Court is on the line, the email read.

At a Trump campaign event in North Carolina, supporters shouted fill that seat when the president raised the issue of the open court seat. Speaking at the event Saturday, Paulette Fittshur told The Associated Press she believes Ginsburgs death was Gods perfect timing in this election. She called it a golden opportunity for conservatives.

But another Trump supporter, Chris Holmes, said a nomination fight is not what the country needs or what Republicans should take on before the presidential election.

Holmes, a 58-year old engineer, also attended the North Carolina campaign event. Holmes said he was worried about what might happen after November 3 if the result is disputed or unclear: Violence is coming, he warned.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse and the White House. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

hymn  n. a song sung by Christians to praise God

wing  n. a group of people in an organization or political party who have the same beliefs

inspire  v. make someone feel that they want to do something and can do it

raw  adj. in the natural state

lean  v. a tendency to prefer or agree with a particular set of beliefs

golden opportunity  n. a very exciting and good opportunity
Supreme Court asks Centre to file reply on RTI related plea 22 Jan 2022 | 1:15 AM New Delhi, Jan 21 (UNI) Supreme Court on Friday asked Centre to file its reply on a PIL seeking effective implementation of Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. see more..

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SPRINGFIELD  Evelyn Alexander has voted before, but not lately. She chose to do something about that Monday.

My parents voted, but Ive neglected it in some ways. I didnt vote in the last few years, Alexander said as she sat outside the Friends of the Homeless Shelter on Worthington Street in Springfield.

Alexander is back in the process of democracy. So are Elaine Gelinas and Laura Jackson, who sat with Alexander on a day the shelter hoped to register between 75 and 100 voters.

Gelinas and Jackson have voted before, too.

I dont vote (specifically) for Democrats, Republicans or independents. I vote for the right person, said Jackson, a former Boston resident who now lives in Springfield. A change of residence or addresses requires an updating to retain eligibility to vote.

Friends of the Homeless shelters around 250 people on a nightly basis, with higher numbers in the winter, though COVID-19 and social distancing may require alternative plans this year.

Voter registration was not negatively affected by the protocols. With sanitizing and social distancing in place, new and former voters stopped by the registration desk frequently, often to sign up.

We know the names of most of them. The busiest times are at breakfast and dinner, and we are encouraged by the turnout and interest, clinical director Christy OBrien said.

This has been a longstanding passion of mine. We had attended a political social worker conference that was invigorating, clinical care worker Kelly Noga said.

This was Kellys brainchild OBrien said.

This was the shelters second voter registration drive in at least the past 11 years.

Citizens who have never voted might assume the process is intimidating  or that their vote doesnt matter.

The key word is empowerment. Homeless people feel they dont have a voice. They should, OBrien said.

Watching the process is an experience in removing stereotypes often attached to homeless citizens. They knew the candidates and spoke with articulation on the issues that mattered to them.

OBrien said the shelter will advertise dates of the presidential debates, but staff pointedly avoided any suggestions or advice that would favor one party, candidate or ideology over the other  and voters who registered indicated a variety of opinions and leanings.

Registration forms were available in English or Spanish. A staff worker was available to help signees fill out the registration form, without influencing their choice of party, which is among the questions.

The Springfield Election Office supplied the forms and put its full support behind the program, OBrien said. Registration, of course, is only one step.

On Election Day, we hope to have vans available to transport voters to their proper polling locations, OBrien said.

Voting eligibility requires a legal address. For many, the Friends of the Homeless shelter qualifies. Others use their current address.

One voter asked for a form, and also for a little food. He was accommodated on both requests.

I think this is a good thing for all of us, said Gelinas, who lived in Jacksonville, Florida, before moving to Springfield.

Noga said registration itself was worth the effort, but that a greater good was involved as well.

These people dont always feel connected (to society at large), she said. This connects them, and makes them feel a part of the process  and the larger community as well.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 02:37:04|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said Sunday she opposed voting on a nominee to replace late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, making her the second GOP senator to announce that position.

"For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election. Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed," Murkowski said in a statement.

The senator from Alaska said she did not support a Senate vote on then-President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, to replace late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a Republican appointee, months before the 2016 election.

"We are now even closer to the 2020 election - less than two months out - and I believe the same standard must apply."

Prior to Murkowski, Susan Collins, Republican senator of Maine, said Saturday that given the proximity of the presidential election and due to concerns over "fairness for the American people," she believed the Senate should not vote on a nominee before the election, adding "the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd."

Senate Republicans, who hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber, can only afford a total of three defections within their party for a Trump nominee to be approved.

Following the passing of Ginsburg on Friday, Democrats maintained that a nominee be tapped by the next president, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said a justice nominated by President Donald Trump will get a vote in the Senate.

Trump on Saturday urged Republicans in a tweet to confirm his nomination "without delay," later telling reporters that he will "most likely" announce a female nominee "next week."

Ginsburg, 87, died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer on Friday. Enditem
Married women in Botswana can for the first time be allocated state land even if their husbands already have an allocation of their own, President Mokgweetsi Masisi has said.



People in the country are able to go on a waiting list to receive land from the government, but, until Thursday's amendment to the law, an individual would be removed from the list if they got married to someone who already had a land allocation.



This mostly affected women and led to problems following divorce or death of the husband.



Botswana's president tweeted the amended law which reads: "Each Motswana will be eligible for allocation of one residential plot at an area of their choice within the country, on both state land and tribal land."



He said the new policy will also protect widows and orphans who head households and are in need of land for residential purposes.



Rights groups have welcomed the change saying it was long overdue.

Source: BBC









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

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Year after year I have found that insurance agencies spend 60% of their recruiting activity on account management hires. This far overshadows the combined time spent hiring producers, managers and executives. With such a consistent need for experienced client managers, most firms have built a transactional model to handle a large volume of hires. While it creates some efficiencies, the downside is it can throw your recruiting into a rut.

Do you feel like your account manager recruiting process is rote? Has it been several years since youve pumped new creative juices into attracting service talent? The fall is the perfect time of year to try new strategies. Now is when you make a big push to recruit experienced account managers. I urge you not to use the same old process. Try new things. Push different agendas. Tout benefits and perks that are important to your audience.

Talk About Compensation Immediately. There are two reasons for this. First, as an agency you are comfortable discussing salary and variable commission because you do it all the time with producers. Second, account managers by and large have the complete opposite comfort level when it comes to discussing money. By initiating a conversation touting strong earning potential (now and as your career advances), you remove an obstacle the candidate has with their current employer. Work-At-Home Is a Major Priority. If COVID-19 showed agencies of all shapes and sizes one thing its that work-from-home is possible on a grand scale. You might be old school and hate the idea, but I can promise you will hate poor employee retention even more. Since June 2020, as agencies formulated return-to-work strategies, Capstone has had over 90% of all account manager applicants cite flexible work schedules, split 3:2 office/home working arrangements or 100% remote as their number one search motivation. These candidates come from other agencies  and it might be yours. When you dont offer work-at-home schedules account managers find the benefit elsewhere. If you embrace a plan like this, then scream it from the rooftops to stand out among competitors during the recruiting process. Virtual Office, Virtual Training. By extension of working from home comes the ease of making the job transition. Account managers dont always get the luxury of an 8 am-5 pm job. They work early mornings, nights and weekends. They resent agency leaders who are unwilling to acknowledge their hard work and sacrifice. You can foster a culture of work/life balance while also still supporting client managers during times that arent conventional. In every job offer, I want you to provide a company issued laptop, cell phone (or reimbursement plan) and online, new hire training programs. This way, from day one of their employment to day 365, the account manager has the flexibility to learn, grow and be successful both in the office and outside of it. Unlimited PTO. According to MetLifes 2019 U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study, which interviewed over 2,600 full-time employees, 72% expressed interest in receiving unlimited paid time off. If your reaction is, No way. Itll never work, then youre out of touch with how account managers feel and what benefits they value. Several Top 100 independent insurance brokers have unlimited or discretionary PTO policies. They use this as a major selling point in attracting and retaining client service talent. How do you put a price on time? Your answer could lie in unlimited PTO. Titles = Career Progression. Have you ever wondered why global brokers are so successful hiring and retaining young talent? Its because they have multiple layers of basic agency titles. For example, CSRIII, Sr. Account Manager, Benefits Consultant, AE/Team Leader. Titles signify to account managers that there is potential for growth. Its the same idea as the corporate ladder for underwriters and claims at insurance companies. You differentiate your position, culture and commitment to career progression when you emphasize titles during the recruiting process.

Topics Agencies Talent Training Development
Does the September share price for Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

View our latest analysis for Martin Marietta Materials

Crunching the numbers

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$653.1m US$696.7m US$931.0m US$1.03b US$1.11b US$1.18b US$1.24b US$1.29b US$1.33b US$1.38b Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x6 Analyst x4 Analyst x1 Est @ 10.31% Est @ 7.89% Est @ 6.19% Est @ 5% Est @ 4.16% Est @ 3.58% Est @ 3.17% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 7.9% US$605 US$598 US$741 US$758 US$758 US$746 US$726 US$701 US$673 US$643

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$6.9b

Story continues

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.9%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2030  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$1.4b (1 + 2.2%)  (7.9% 2.2%) = US$25b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$25b ( 1 + 7.9%)10= US$12b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$19b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$225, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 24% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Martin Marietta Materials as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.944. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. Can we work out why the company is trading at a discount to intrinsic value? For Martin Marietta Materials, we've compiled three further aspects you should consider:

Risks: For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Martin Marietta Materials that you should be aware of. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for MLM's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every American stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
In this article WMT

Walmart has added more private label apparel brand. It debuted Free Assembly, an exclusive line of everyday pieces for men and women designed by the former chief creative officer at Bonobos. Source: Walmart

Walmart is doubling down on its expansion into fashion with a new casual clothing line for men and women called Free Assembly. The brand will debut this week online and in 250 stores, hoping to appeal to shoppers who want style and value. This is not Walmart's first attempt to build up its fashion credentials. It acquired popular brands like menswear retailer Bonobos. It tapped celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres and Sofia Vergara to inspire clothing collections. And it struck a deal with ThredUp, a seller of secondhand apparel, shoes and accessories, to offer higher-end brands on a budget. With the coronavirus crisis, Walmart has a new opportunity to grab market share in apparel. Customers have shopped at its website and stores for everything from pantry staples and puzzles to workout clothes. Many major apparel retailers, on the other hand, were forced to close during shelter-in-place orders and furlough thousands of employees. Some like J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus filed for protection from creditors in bankruptcy court, while and others, like Macy's and Kohl's, saw profits drop. The pandemic has led to a dramatic shakeout between the haves and have-nots in retail industry and apparel business. Apparel revenue is expected to drop by 20% to 30% industrywide this year and by 10% to 25% in 2021 compared with last year, according to McKinsey & Co.

Women's Tiered Maxi Dress Blue Floral Source: Walmart

Mass retailers like Walmart and Target, in contrast, are expected to see apparel revenue grow by 10% to 20% in 2020 compared with last year, said Althea Peng, who leads McKinsey's apparel fashion and luxury work in the Americas. She said they're taking that share from department stores, off-price retailers and mall stores, which will likely see sharp declines between 30% to 40% this year. "Consumers are really valuing the convenience of a one-stop-shop," Peng said. "They are making some of their apparel purchases at the same time that they're going to pick up the essential items." She said those buying clothes have different criteria, too: They prefer comfortable and casual, instead of suits or dresses, as they work from home and have few social gatherings. They want items that won't go out of style. And they're hungry for good deals as they watch their wallets during the recession. Walmart's brands could appeal to those kinds of consumers. It has several other exclusive apparel brands for women, including Scoop, a New York City fast-fashion brand it revived, and Eloquii Elements, a plus-sized women's brand based on one that it acquired and reimagined. Free Assembly is its first elevated brand that it's launched for men. Yet Walmart must still prove its ability to navigate the world of fashion, where trends come and go and consumers can be fickle about sizing, fit and quality. The mounting bankruptcy filings during the pandemic included one of Walmart's former business partners: Lord & Taylor's parent company, Le Tote. Walmart had struck a deal to carry the department store's clothing on its website, an effort that quietly faded away. It has also bought some clothing brands, only to quickly sell them  including women's apparel brand ModCloth. Free Assembly was designed by Dwight Fenton, former chief creative officer at Bonobos and a veteran of brands that have a following, including J. Crew, Vineyard Vines and Old Navy.

Men's Vintage 2 Pocket Flannel Red Plaid Source: Walmart
GEORGETOWN, Mass., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Momentum Manufacturing Group, one of the top ten largest specialty manufacturers in North America, was awarded a 2020 Vermont Business Growth Award by the Vermont Business Magazine (VBM). The award, based upon data accumulated by VBM, recognizes company growth based upon sales over the previous 5 years.

"We are proud to be recognized with the Vermont Business Growth Award; without a doubt, this award is the result of the ongoing hard work of all our associates," said Jim Moroney, CEO of Momentum Manufacturing Group. "Coupling their efforts with our investment in state of the art technology and equipment to give our team the best tools to excel at what they do, we are truly honored by this award."

2020 has been an unprecedented time in the US economy; the Vermont Business Growth Awards bring a positive perspective to the business climate as many companies are re-evaluating their operations and beginning to accelerate into reopening. 2020 was the 18th year Vermont Business Magazine hosted the award ceremony. This year's event was held virtually due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

While the COVID 19 pandemic presents unique challenges, for Momentum, it is also leading to continued growth. Momentum Manufacturing Group was formed in February of 2020, bringing together NSA Industries, Vitex Extrusions, Metal Tronics, and KC Precision Machining. The realignment streamlines Momentum's ability to offer a full range of end to end metal and contract manufacturing solutions. Momentum is also continuing to invest in the latest technology, thus improving its agility and positioning it for continued growth in the future.

"We are fortunate to have customers who are stepping up and providing essential services, and we will ensure we are ready to respond to their needs." Moroney continued. "We are also proud of our heritage in the Northeast and honored to be recognized as one of the strongest manufacturers in the region."

About Momentum Manufacturing Group

Momentum Manufacturing Group, with over 550 employees, is the largest specialty contract manufacturing company of its kind in New England and one of the top 10 largest in North America. NSA works collaboratively with customers to develop manufacturing solutions, including engineering, prototype development, metal fabrication, precision machining, aluminum extrusion, powder coating, screenprint, and assembly. The company operates out of eight state-of-the-art facilities with 24/7 lights-out operations in St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville, VT, Groveton, Franklin NH, and Ipswich & Georgetown, MA and totaling nearly 550,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space. For more information, visit www.mmg1982.com.

Contact: Bill Grindle

Tel: +1 614-554-3985

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Momentum Manufacturing Group
Liz Cheney bites off less than she can chew By Michael R. Shannon

There exists a type of country club conservative that desperately wants to fit in after being elected. The cultural issues most important to the base are cringe inducing for these squishy Republicans. Abortion, immigration, term limits, fighting consonant crusaders and America First might be briefly discussed during the campaign, but are avoided after taking the oath of office. Slippery, shapeshifting GOP elected officials in state capitals and Washington could be eliminated if state Republican parties insisted candidates sign a pledge to support a legislative agenda after election. State delegates could decide on the top five priorities. Candidates who wont agree to support those priorities after election arent allowed to run as Republicans. Officeholders who renege on their promise cant run for reelection as a Republican. Thats a penalty with teeth. If only we had state GOP leaders with equally sharp teeth. Its easy to spot the cocktail conservative. Fitting in for them means signaling lobbyists and the Swamp that they have no intention of rocking the bateau. House Republican Conference Chairwoman Rep. Liz Cheney (RWY) is the latest example. Shes making it abundantly clear that in House leadership Cheney is former Speaker Paul Rino in a skirt. Cheney is a political dynasty candidate who would have preferred to hold office as a member of the aristocracy, but was forced to become a Republican if she expected to win. She mouths conservative talking points with the same sincerity as Joe Biden taking Communion. Cheney never misses an opportunity to signal to elite America that shes not one of THOSE Republicans. As the WoePost delicately puts it, [Cheney] is carving out a lane for herself in a postTrump world and plotting an ambitious ascent in the leadership ranks. A postTrump world is a world where Trump voters are once again on the outside looking in as our housebroken conservatives dine with lobbyists and determine our fate. Liz has defended the increasingly erratic Dr. Ubiquitous Fauci and his Flu Manchu lockdown regime. Shes criticized President Trumps Kung Flu strategy, giving aid and comfort to the left. And she embraced the phrase Nancy Pelosi used to attack the president when Cheney tweeted, Dick Cheney says WEAR A MASK. #realmenwearmasks. Her collaboration with the left led to a minirevolt in the House GOP Caucus. Rep. Matt Gaetz (RFL) tweeted, Liz Cheney has worked behind the scenes (and now in public) against @realDonaldTrump and his agenda. House Republicans deserve better as our Conference Chair. Liz Cheney should step down or be removed. A source described as a GOP senior staffer told Breitbart News, The rank-and-file House Republicans are attempting to get leadership that actually reflects their voters on issues. What cemented Cheneys reputation for me as a craven Swamp toady was her latest internal attack on her own party. Quisling conservatives signal their distaste for the base by attacking a powerless fringe segment of the party. Cheney chose QAnon. Immune to perspective, Liz thundered QAnon is dangerous lunacy that should have no place in American politics. She may have been shooting for a Profile in Courage. What Cheney achieved was a Profile in Irrelevancy. QAnon is the bizarre theory that a cabal of Satanworshiping pedophiles is running a shadow government trying to overthrow Trump. One successful GOP candidate has expressed mild interest. If that candidate wins in November, the percentage of QAnoninfluenced GOP incumbents tops out at 0.003 percent. Had Cheney wanted to demonstrate genuine leadership, there is a dangerous lunacy in American politics that has a great deal of support and presents a tangible threat. It goes by two names: Systemic racism or institutional racism. Its a philosophy thats even nuttier than the claim pedophiles run pizzerias. The last time the USA suffered from institutional racism was in the South under Democratimposed Jim Crow laws. That systemic racism ended in the last century. The election and reelection of Barack Obama proves institutional racism is dead. No other 1stworld nation has elected a black man as its leader. The dangerous lunacy that labels the USA as a racist state is a destructive lie that fuels violence and hate. An online search of Cheney public statements produces zero mention of either institutional racism or systemic racism. Thats the lunacy Cheney should have attacked. Liz didnt because that would mean taking Big Tech, Big Education, Big NGOs and all the rest of the left head on. It would have rocked the bateau for sure. It would have been a fight worthy of a member of the House leadership. The fact Cheney ignored burning cities produced by race hustlers and instead attacked a handful of anonymous Internet fruitloops tells you everything you need to know. Liz Cheney is just another collaborationist conservative easing into the Swamp. Michael R. Shannon is a public relations and advertising consultant with corporate, government and political experience around the globe. He is a dynamic and entertaining keynote speaker. He can be reached at mandate.mmpr (at) gmail.com. He is also the author of Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!). Home
An attempted traffic stop early Sunday morning in Montgomery County led to vehicular assaults, a chase into upper Bucks County and gunfire as the stolen pickup truck drove for a fourth time at Pennsylvania state troopers, court records say.

Robert Chester Kieffer, 38, of Schwenksville in Montgomery County, was behind the wheel of a Ford F-350 at 12:18 a.m. on Route 663 in Pennsburg when troopers nearby on patrol noticed the pickups Delaware temporary tag that came back to a 2013 Buick sedan, police said. The truck itself was reported stolen Friday in Philadelphia, police later learned.

The troopers sought a safe place to pull over the Ford and were in Upper Hanover Township when that opportunity arose, police said. When they put on their emergency lights and siren, Kieffer sped up to 70 mph in a 35 mph zone and blew through stop signs, police said. On Buck Road, Kieffer stopped in the right lane and the troopers positioned their vehicle at a safe distance and exited to conduct a high-risk felony stop, police said.

Kieffer put the truck in reverse and rammed the patrol vehicle, and one of the troopers was struck by the patrol vehicles door, causing an injury, police said.

Kieffer sped away into Milford Township in Bucks County before going into a ditch off the side of Sleepy Hollow Road, police said. As the troopers tried to reposition their vehicle, Kieffer drove right at them, forcing the patrol vehicle to swerve before the pursuit continued onto Steinsberg Road, police said. When the truck abruptly stopped in the right lane at Steinsberg and Tirjan Avenue, Kieffer put it into reverse and backed toward the oncoming troopers, police said. They drove off the side of the road and onto a nearby property in the 4200 block of Steinberg Road, police said.

Kieffer, who had an active parole warrant out of Bucks County, did a K-turn with the truck and headed straight toward the troopers, who sought safety behind their vehicle and nearby trees, police said. The troopers then fired their service weapons multiple times, hitting the truck by not Kieffer, police said.

The truck finally broke down in the 1800 block of Baumans Road and Kieffer ran into some woods before he was taken into custody by troopers, police said.

The truck had gunshot damage to the front, rear and the drivers side, police said. In the back of the truck they found several clear plastic containers" in plain view containing what they suspect was marijuana, police said.

Kieffers eyes were bloodshot and glassy, his speech was slurred and he kept nodding off as troopers tried to talk to him after he gave up the right to an attorney, court papers say. He agreed to a blood draw to see if he was intoxicated, police said.

He was arraigned at 12:15 p.m. Sunday on two counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct and single counts of receiving stolen property, DUI (controlled substance), fraud (involving the temp tag), possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while suspended, driving an unregistered vehicle and five traffic violations, records said. Bail was set at 10 percent of $1 million and he was housed in Bucks Countys prison.

His preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled 2 p.m. Sept. 29 in District Judge Regina Armitages court in New Britain in Bucks County, records show.

Court papers did not list an attorney for Kieffer.

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

Tony Rhodin can be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
Rio Rancho Public Schools Superintendent Sue Cleveland said the districts 11 elementary buildings and Shining Stars Preschool had a pretty smooth opening last Monday, as students returned to the classrooms for the first time since last March.

In her defense, Cleveland may not have heard about a young boy that was lost for a short time; the youngster had boarded the wrong bus, leading to a brief search by Rio Rancho Police and district officials, until he was located, returned to the school  and all had a good night.

Happens on the first day of school, explained Beth Pendergrass, chief communications, strategy and engagement officer, who made her presence known at the virtual board meeting when she lauded one of the citys newest businesses, Dutch Bros Coffee, for its $5,000 donation, which she said will be for schools food pantries, supporting those students with meals who do not have enough food at home.

Were a community that really enjoys coffee, quipped board member Noreen Scott.

There was more traffic than usual around the school sites, Cleveland noted, as more parents prefer driving their students to school instead of having them on a school bus.

Cleveland led the meeting off with information about the New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority, noting school districts are already facing three-year increases for health insurance premiums. Although the legislature has been encouraged to work to get that increase put off for the pandemic-delayed 2020-21 school year, Cleveland warned the increases for the next two years would have to make up for it.

In an interesting account of COVID-19 patients, Cleveland said, 15 to 20 percent with COVID go to the hospital, with an average charge for a hospital stay ringing in at $73,300  compared to the average cost for a patient with insurance, $38,221.

As for the districts liability, Cleveland said not to worry about lawsuits, warning staffers throughout the district, (You) could be on your own for liability.

Its really important that we follow the rules, she said, and thats what our plan is, to follow the rules,

When a COVID-19 positive shows up in the district during a week when students are present on campus, RRPS has four hours to notify the PED and state Department of Health; if its a staff member, the state Environment Dept. must be notified.

We have not had a positive case in quite a number of weeks, noted Human Resources Executive Director Mike Chavez.

To date, RRPS has had just two confirmed positive COVID-19 cases so far, and those were in staff members before we had any students on campus, said Communications Manager Melissa Perez.

Cleveland told the board, with all five members present online, that the states Public Education Department was expected to send some of its staff to check out RRPS buildings now open.

And in other 2020-21 school year news  often termed fluid  she said the roster size for classrooms has been reduced again, this time from 15 to 7 students, again requiring some schedule juggling.

She said the districts first trimester ends Nov. 7, when any necessary adjustments can be made before the next trimester starts.

Classes are pretty full, both in-person and virtual, Cleveland said.

Were still looking for teachers and teacher interns, she added.

Although nothing has been confirmed, and its only termed a guess, middle school students might return to the classrooms in 4-6 weeks, and high schoolers 4-6 weeks after that.

More on COVID-19

There was more COVID-19 related news at the meeting, including teachers must be tested, on a random basis, for COVID-19  with 5 percent, or about 133, treated each week.

Chief Operations Officer Mike Baker said the shortage was worse last year, and Chavez said vacancies were reduced from 160 to 130 in the previous two weeks.

There are 130 openings right now, Chavez said, which included 66 teacher openings, but No schools are in particularly dire straits.

Also, with the PEDs urging that all schools use HVAC filters rated MERV 13 or better, Baker explained.

(MERV is the acronym for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value; MERV rating is an indication of how efficient the filtration media is: the higher the MERV rating the smaller the particles the filter captures.)

Baker explained that most of the districts HVAC systems cannot handle those filters, and MERV 8 filters are in place in most of the buildings. The ventilation systems are being turned on three hours before school days and for three hours after students exit the buildings. Those introductions of fresh air, Baker said, will cost the district an additional $250,000.

We will go as high (in MERV) as we can possibly go, Cleveland said. We dont want to burn out the systems.

The district will also be getting a new, improved website, Pendergrass told the board, after requests for proposals garnered 10 interested firms and that Apptegy, Inc., had been selected after weighing the merits of all 10.

Implementation of the new website, which Pendergrass estimated will be online next summer, will cost $14,000 up front and $58,300 annually. She noted that the current website, which requires a lot of work by her and her staff that will be eliminated by Apptegy, costs more than $55,000 a year.

The board approved the Apptegy RFP 5-0.

Lastly, the board approved, also 5-0, Policy 750, which deals with specifics and protocols during the pandemic.

Cleveland said she hopes that policy goes away for the 2021-22 school year, which, hopefully, will be without current COVID-19 restrictions and mandates.

Also during the meeting, it was noted that 18 public comments had been received, and of those received in time for the Sept. 14 meeting, seven were in favor of opening the schools, two were opposed and there were nine regarded as miscellaneous.

The boards next virtual meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 28.
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UAE-based weapons manufacturer Caracal, chosen in 2018 to supply nearly 95,000 assault rifles to the Indian Army under a deal that has since stalled, on Monday offered to make the weapons in the country under the Make in India initiative.

Caracal was chosen by the Indian government to supply 93,895 CAR 816 assault rifles to the army but the deal, described at the time as a fast track contract, has stalled after authorities decided to opt for indigenous production of the weapons, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity.

A statement issued by Caracal on Monday stressed the small arms manufacturers commitment to the Make in India initiative and offered transfer of technology to India.

Caracal has already identified the required land, facility and local partners to be able to commence production immediately. Over 20% of the components fitted on the CAR 816 are already made in India, with Caracal now making commitment to fully manufacture the rifles in-country, in alignment with the Make in India initiative, the statement said.

The initiative will also see Caracal oversee technology transfer, it said, adding that the firm is committed to shift to fully manufacturing in India from the start of the contract, as opposed to the initial phased approach.

There was no official response from Indian officials to the statement.

The people cited above said the matter had been raised by Caracal in a letter sent to Indias defence ministry last month, while the embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had also taken up the issue with Indian authorities.

Under its Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative aimed at greater self-reliance, the government had also insisted on the local production of a wide range of weapon and defence equipment.

Caranal noted in its statement that it had surpassed global competitors in terms of performance and technicalities to win the bid two years ago, and was prepared to service the fast track order from India within 12 months.

The firms CEO, Hamad Al Ameri, said, Having agreed to fast track the supply, and with the formalities still under discussion, we would like to reiterate our commitment to our bid and to the Make in India initiative.

With strong bilateral ties between our two nations, and with India being a key market for Caracal, we remain on standby to supply the product to the customer upon instruction.

The CAR 816 carbines were intended to replace the Indian Armys ageing 9mm Sterling carbines.
The U.S. Senate and Congress will convene on Monday afternoon either to vote for the new stimulus bill or the new Supreme Court Justice. What is their top priority?

Reaching a deal for new stimulus payment has become more intense following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday. For the past weekends, different news outlets across the country uproar that it might affect the stimulus negotiation.

The U.S. Senate and Congress are due to convene on Monday. The House mentioned earlier last week or before Justice Ginsburg died that they will unveil the details of the new stimulus this Monday afternoon and hopefully it will be supported by both chambers.

However, the priority of both the Senate and Congress will be divided. They are either to vote for the replacement of the late Justice Ginsburg or to vote for the new stimulus that Congress has said they will unveil. Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer already said on Friday that they will not fill the seat until the election is done.

This means that heated arguments are expected this Monday afternoon as the Senate and Congress convene. This also means that the talks for a new stimulus package might be delayed as both Chambers have different priorities. Senate wat to vote for the new Supreme Court Justice while Congress wants to vote for new stimulus.

It can be recounted that there are still many provisions under the new stimulus where the top negotiators have disagreements. A couple of these are the amount for weekly unemployment benefits, direct stimulus payment, funding for schools, and more.

Meanwhile, Pres Donald Trump is interested to give more relief aids to millions of Americans. Last month, he urged Congress to release the unspent $300 billion under the CARES Act 1 and send it to over 160 million Americans as stimulus checks.

Earlier this month, he also urged the Republicans to embrace a higher number or bigger amount of stimulus package to deliver what millions of Americans need. He said this after a bipartisan group who is disappointed to Pelosi drafted their own stimulus bill that worth roughly $1.5 trillion.

After the death of late Justice Ginsburg, part of the administration's priority is to have a new Supreme Court Justice and at the same time have a new stimulus bill approved before the election. However, Democrats want to focus alone on new stimulus.

Despite the opposing views of the Republicans and Democrats, they have one common ground and that is to give a fresh round of $1,200 stimulus payment, $500 for dependent stimulus, and $2,400 for couples. This time they also want to make sure that the stimulus payment will reach wider recipients.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has already said that once Congress gives green light for a fresh round of stimulus checks, the IRS will immediately start sending the money within the week that it is signed into law by the President.

Meanwhile, due to the tension within the rank of the Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week that she is open for the idea to postpone the October recess until a stimulus deal is reached.

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There is one story in the Bible that I try to never forget. Its the one where the Lord Jesus healed 10 lepers but only one came back with thanks. Man, forget those other nine  I strive to be the one who comes back. After all God has done in my life  I may fail again and again. I may be a back-slider, and a disappointment to the Kingdom, but, brother, not thanking God every night for my blessings will never become a problem  no, sir-ee, skippy!

Yet it is true. In the book of Luke, chapter 17, verses 14-19, we read: And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

And Jesus answering said, Were there not 10 cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And He said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. (KJV)

In Sundays Nashville Tennessean, a featured story was a letter from a retired federal judge who is now the one who came back. It seems a query from his son caused Federal Judge George C. Paine II of Nashville to comb back through his aged records and track down the crew chief on a war-torn helicopter who one afternoon in Viet Nam saved the judges life.

It's a heckuva story. The OD Green Machine  with no weapons aboard  landed in a hailstorm of gunfire 50 years ago to evacuate Paine and five more of his badly-wounded men who had triggered a booby-trap bomb and rush them to a field hospital.

The judge quickly marveled that almost all of the brave men aboard were from the South but the one he wanted to thank was the crew chief, a dandy guy who I called Zinc when we were mates at Chattanoogas City High School. (You are right! Zinc (Zn) has the atomic weight of 30 on the Periodic Table of Common Elements.)

Bill Zinkeler was actually a year ahead of me and in my brothers class. There were a bunch of guys who went to Viet Nam that year. My brother left for the Marines the day after he graduated, and guys from my class were swept up in the draft, too. The Viet Nam conflict was wrong by all measures, but Bill Zinkeler was a genuine hero using the exact same standards.

When Bill came back home, he went through UTC on the GI Bill, then pinning on a Chattanooga Police Department shield that he wore with the same merit for 30 years before retiring as the captain over homicides. He was immediately hired by Sheriff Jim Hammond on his command staff before he retired again several years ago.

Totaled up, Bill Zinkelers O.D. Green Machine flew over 900 trips into the battle zones. No one can possibly conceive how many fellow soldiers died in his arms or  far more importantly -- how many more were kept alive by Zinc and his crew.

Imagine, 900 trips and now, 50 years later, one has come back to say thank you. I only hope he can envision that as thousands read the Judges letter, there were thank yous galore from us who will never forget. Never. And while its fresh, thank you, Judge Paine, for your service as well.

* * *



A 50-YEAR BELATED THANKS TO THE MAN WHO SAVED MY LIFE

- - -



The Dust-Off crew chief and I were finally able to meet five decades after he rescued me in Vietnam. COVID-19 made the reunion unconventional.

- - -



Written by The Honorable George C. Paine, II, who was the Chief Federal Judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Tennessee. He retired from the court in 2011.

(Note: This story appeared as an Op-ed in the Sunday editions of The Nashville Tennessean on Sept. 20, 2020.)

Several months ago, my son asked me to send him a 1970 article that referred to my medical evacuation in Vietnam. The article was focused on the 247th Medical Detachment, Helicopter Ambulance, called a Dust Off, operating along the South China Sea.

It took some searching, but I found and sent it. I realized, rereading it, that the five personnel mentioned  pilots and crew  were all from the South. The crew chief who mentioned my extraction was from Chattanooga, two hours down the road.

My son, who was in San Francisco, thought I should contact him and two days later he had located the crew chief, Bill Zinkeler, and had emailed him. Bill said in 50 years he had never met anyone he had combat airlifted out of the field.

Over almost 900 missions, that amounted to thousands of people: Americans, Vietnamese, Koreans, Australians, and others. I was stunned by this and sent Bill a message saying I wanted to thank him for pulling me out of the boonies so long ago and was remiss for waiting 50 years to do so.

On Aug. 13, 1970, as an infantry platoon leader, I had led a small group of 10 to 12 soldiers to check out a thatched hut that had recently been used by enemy soldiers in the scrub jungle between Phan Thiet and Phan Rang. As we entered the dwelling area, a booby trap was triggered and six of us were wounded.

What follows an explosion like this is a period of chaos and uncertainty as one tries to deal with the situation from a tactical and medical standpoint. Once I regained consciousness, I had to set up a defensive perimeter, direct the medic, contact my company to come assist us, ask them to send a reaction force, and call for a Dust Off.

We loved the helicopter pilots and crews who we relied on for transportation, supplies of food and ammunition, gunship protection and removing us from the field if wounded. They were truly heroic, and the most courageous and inspiring were the unarmed Dust-Off guys  their helicopters and they had no weaponry.

They would fly in to help those of us on the ground under the most dangerous situations with seemingly no thought of their own safety. We always knew we could call on them night or day, even in the monsoon rains, and theyd be there for us.

Aug. 13 was no exception. Within 20 minutes a bird was on station and preparing to land. Six of us were quickly loaded in the chopper and it took off. For me it was an odd and helpless feeling. I was in extreme pain and was leaving my platoon in possible immediate danger without an officer. Further I was trying to comfort and console the soldiers who had been airlifted with me.

In spite of this, I had another thought while on my stretcher. We had a heavy load with six wounded men, and it was taking us forever to get into the air. It seemed like we spent an enormous time flying low over the terrain trying to gain altitude.

So, Im thinking, This is great, I might possibly survive the booby trap only to be shot down in a helicopter flying way too low for my comfort. It was actually comic relief to think of the absurdity of my thoughts.

In a previous war, we might not have survived

During the flight to the base camp, called LZ Betty, for triage that would be done by the only doctor there, I remember talking with this then-unknown crew chief to get information from him. I have never forgotten how impressed I was with his concern, kindness, and care for all of us, while in his own chaos he was handling his duties of looking after us.

He was coordinating with the pilots who couldnt see behind them, and was in contact with the base camp, getting it prepared for a bird load of wounded. The doctor and the soldiers at the base camp would prepare for us based on his assessment.

At LZ Betty we were quickly removed from the helicopter and examined, and two of us were soon on our way to an evacuation surgical unit at Cam Ranh Bay. Remarkably, we had been picked up in the field within 20 minutes, examined within 30 minutes, delivered to a surgical unit within an hour and put on the operating table soon after.

In the Korean War and wars previous to it, we would have stood a real likelihood of not surviving.

COVID-19 meant we couldn't meet in person, but here's how we connected 

I never forgot the crew chief and, when reconnected, I was delighted to hear of his successful life after the Army. Bill had returned to college and gotten his degree, spent 30 years with the Chattanooga Police Department, retired as a captain of the Investigative Services Division, and spent another 15 years as manager of the Civil Warrants Division for the Sheriffs Office.

We have spoken by telephone and he answered questions that I had pondered over the decades. How did they get to me so quickly? Who flew me to Cam Ranh Bay? What was the difference in a Medevac and Dust off? (The latter didnt have machine guns and operated under the Geneva Convention.) I didnt even know I had gone to an Air Force hospital rather than an Army one. We had a great telephonic reunion, swapped tales and have since exchanged photographs.

However, what I was really looking forward to was getting together with Bill and his wife for lunch Aug. 13 at their house in Chattanooga on the 50th anniversary of his kindness towards me. Further, my wife and two sons who have lived with my Vietnam experience for four decades were eagerly anticipating the visit.

Unfortunately, Bill who has pulmonary issues was told by his primary physician that our reunion was too risky in this time of COVID-19 and it would have to be put off. We did, finally, see each other, but on a screen. We had a Zoom meeting Aug. 13  exactly 50 years to the day after he cared for me and five others in a rescue the likes of which he carried out multiple times daily for soldiers and civilians, too.

It wasnt the reunion I had envisioned, but this was a wonderful substitute. We intend to get together in the flesh once the plague is over.

* * *

Above all, remember this: One came back. Glory.

* * *



THE POEM FROM CHIEF TECUMSEH



So, live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.



Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.



When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.



When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.  Tecumseh, Chief of the Shawnee (March 1768-Oct. 5, 1813)



royexum@aol.com




Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 04:05:39|Editor: huaxia

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KHARTOUM, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Sunday left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a two-day visit over Sudan-related regional issues.

Al-Burhan will hold talks with the UAE leadership, while his high-level ministerial delegation is scheduled to discuss with a team from the U.S. government already in the UAE over removing Sudan from the U.S. list of states sponsors of terrorism, supporting Sudan's transitional period and relieving Sudan of its debts owed to Washington, the Council said in a statement.

Since the ouster of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, rapprochement between Khartoum and Washington has gathered speed despite the outstanding issues.

The United States started imposing economic sanctions on Sudan in 1997 and has been listing it as one of the countries sponsoring terrorism since 1993.

In 2017, Washington decided to lift its economic sanctions on Sudan, but kept it on its terror sponsors list. Enditem
You dont want to change an identity of the institution that is decades in the making, Iwama said. What you want to do is to do your best to get to the core of that  what is the theme that connects the generation, what is the theme that connects us all together?
A Lufthansa airbus A340 in a hangar at the airport in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on July 30, 2020. Photo: Daniel Roland/AFP via Getty Images

German airline Lufthansa (LHA.DE) announced on Monday that it had decided to implement further cuts to its fleet size and personnel, after air travel in the summer season was significantly lower than expected.

Frankfurt-based Lufthansa said in a statement today that it will reduce its fleet size by 150 aircraft, out of a total of 760. It will also retire its remaining eight Airbus 380s, after it took six of them out of service in spring.

Ten A340-600 airplanes will also be put into storage, with Lufthansa noting that these aircraft will only be reactivated in the event of an unexpectedly rapid market recovery. In addition, it said the remaining seven Airbus A340-600s will be permanently decommissioned.

Shrinking its aircraft fleet will result in write-downs of 1.1bn (1bn, $1.3bn) in the current quarter, the airline said. It said it will reduce its cash burn by 100m per month from its current outflows of 500m per month during the 2020-2021 winter period.

Watch: Air travel in the doldrums until 2024, says Lufthansa

The German flag carrier said it will likely fly at between about 20% and 30% of its pre-coronavirus levels this year.

Lufthansa also announced that more full-time positions will be lost, in addition to the 22,000 that it announced earlier this year, and that it is in discussions with employee representatives regarding staff reductions and compensation.

A streamlined management structure with a 20 percent reduction of management positions is to be implemented in the first quarter of 2021, Lufthansa said.

Lufthansa shareholders in June agreed to a 9bn German government bailout, with the government taking a 20% stake in the airline and getting two seats on the supervisory board.

European Union regulators also signed off on the airlines 6bn recapitalisation plan in June, on the condition that there will be a ban on dividends, share buybacks and acquisitions until it has paid back its state aid.

Watch: What is a recession?

Story continues

Lufthansa also complied with the EU Commissions demands to relinquish some landing slots at its hub airports of Frankfurt and Munich to competitor airlines.

READ MORE: German and Dutch governments put up billions to save airlines

The Dutch government allocated 3.4bn to the bailout of the Air France-KLM (AF.PA) airline alliance in June, after France got EU approval in May to offer a 7bn bailout to Air France. In total, the partner airlines are set to get 10.4bn in state support.
California trafficker sentenced to prison for providing meth sent in pinata, peanut butter jar to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation

Great Falls, California - A California man who admitted to trafficking meth for supplying almost two pounds of the drug, which was hidden in a peanut butter jar and a pinata and mailed to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison and five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Don Fred Baldwin, 47, of Merced, CA, pleaded guilty in May to distribution of meth.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris presided.

The prosecution said in court documents that Baldwin, through another person, mailed a package on Nov. 7, 2019 from California to Brockton, located on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Law enforcement officers intercepted the package, obtained a search warrant and found meth hidden inside a jar of peanut butter and a pinata. The amount of meth totaled about 776 grams, which is 1.7 pounds and the equivalent of approximately 6,208 doses. Baldwin provided the meth to the other individual, who mailed the drug.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassady Adams prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI, Fort Peck Tribal Criminal Investigators and the Merced, CA, Police Department.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. According to the FBIs Uniform Crime Reports, violent crime in Montana increased by 36% from 2013 to 2018. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.
BORD na Mona's second major wind farm in Offaly is set to go ahead after the Cloncreen project was included in the Government's new scheme for supporting renewable electricity generation.

The Cloncreen wind farm in the east of the county will be a 21-turbine, 75MW project, which is somewhat smaller than the 28 turbines at Mountlucas which have a maximum output of 84MW.

Bord na Mona also hopes to develop an 85MW wind farm at Derrinlough in west Offaly and the planning application for it is being progressed.

Preparations are already being made for the construction of the Cloncreen wind farm which will be located 2km from Rhode, 5.4km from Edenderry and 7km from Clonbullogue.

Construction traffic will pass through Clonbullogue, Cllr Liam Quinn reminded his colleagues at a meeting of the Edenderry Municipal District.

The council will install a footpath and a pedestrian crossing at the national school and GAA pitch in Clonbullogue village at a cost of 45,000.

Cllr Quinn said the crossing will be very important because the road is one of the haul routes for the Cloncreen wind farm.

So there will be a lot of traffic passing the school, remarked the Fine Gael councillor.

An Bord Pleanala granted planning permission for the wind farm in 2017 and the maximum ground to tip height of the turbines is 170 metres.

The 960-hectare site takes in land in the townlands of Cloncreen, Clongarret, Esker More, Rathvilla/Rathclonbrackan, Ballinrath, Ballynakill and Ballykilleen, Ballina and Ballinagar.

Cloncreen is one of two Bord na Mona wind farms which were successful in the first competitive auction under the Governments new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS-1).

The other is the second phase of the Oweninny 83MW wind farm in Co Mayo which is a joint venture with the ESB.

There were 82 successful bids in the auction but taken together, the two Bord na Mona projects represent 25% of the total capacity awarded.

Bord na Mona say the two wind farms will supply enough renewable energy to power over 100,000 homes across Ireland per annum.

They represent investment worth 170m.

Commenting on the results Bord na Mona Chief Executive, Tom Donnellan said: The economic recovery and the climate emergency both highlight the critical need for Ireland to have a strong, stable supply of renewable energy. This auction demonstrates Bord na Monas leadership role in the delivery of the nations green energy supply using our proven capability in this area and our 80,000 hectares (200,000 acres) estate.

We are now on track to achieve a 300% increase in our renewable energy output in this decade. By 2030 we will be generating 3.5 terawatt hours (TWH) of renewable energy that will significantly help Ireland deliver on its carbon reduction and green energy targets.

The proposed Derrinlough wind farm will be located on two bogs in Bord na Mona's Boora bog group, Clongawny and Drinagh bogs.

The two bog areas are close to the communities of Cloghan and Five Alley and comprise the townlands of: Balliver, Ballindown, Broughal, Carrick (Garrycastle by), Clongawny More, Cloonacullina, Clooneen, Coolreagh or Cloghanhill, Cortullagh or Grove, Crancreagh, Dernafanny, Derrinlough, Derryad (Eglish By), Derrymullin and Loughderry, Drinagh, Galros East, Galros West, Guernal, Kilcamin, Lumcloon, Mullaghakaraun Bog, Stonestown and Timolin.

Another company, Gaeltech, already has planning permission for a nine-turbine wind farm nearby in the townlands of Stonestown, Kilcamin, Crancreagh and Derrinlough.

The turbines will have a maximum tip height of 150m.
Chennai, Sep 21 : With the Indian government deciding to allow the private sector to manufacture and launch rockets and satellites, the next issue facing the industry is the availability of insurance cover for third party liability against damages to property and lives a" on the ground and in space.

In India, space insurance is almost zero.

"The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would take insurance cover only for satellites it launches from outside India through other space agencies. It does not insure its rockets or satellites launched from India by its own rockets," G. Srinivasan, Director, National Insurance Academy (NIA) and former Chairman-cum-Managing Director, New India Assurance Company Ltd.

Srinivasan said, a consortium of four public sector insurers would provide insurance cover for ISRO satellites launched from a rocket port outside India.

Presently there are two startups in India -- Agnikul Cosmos and Skyroot Aerospace -- which are in the process of manufacturing small rockets -- with a carrying capacity of 100-300kg satellites -- to low earth orbit (LEO).

Similarly, satellite manufacturing start-ups are also there in the country.

Speaking at a recent space sector conference Niti Aayog member V.K. Saraswat said the launch of small satellites will be a dominant factor in the global space sector, as around 7,000 satellites are expected to be up in the skies by 2027.

He said that market researchers predict remarkable growth in the launch of small satellites. Over the last five years, 190 such satellites have been launched globally.

The Indian rocket and satellite makers are hoping to get some part of that business.

For the insurers, to arrive at a proper risk cover and the premium rate, there is no India specific data as ISRO is the only player operating and did not take any insurance covers for its launches from India.

The rocket and satellite insurance can be divided into various phases -- production, pre-launch, launch and in-orbit. During these phases the rocket and the satellite are exposed to varied risks.

Apart from the risks at their factories, the rockets and satellites are also exposed to several perils while they are in transit from their factories to the rocket port and finally to the launch pad.

Once the rocket lifts off from the launch pad with the satellite, there is the risk of damage to the launch vehicle and its payload, lives and properties of third parties as well as to the rocket port. There is also the risk of damage to third party satellites orbiting in the skies.

"The damage to third party properties - orbiting in the space or on the ground -- by a rocket built and owned by a start-up can break the companies in the nascent sector if they have to bear the liability in full," Pawan Kumar Chandana, Co-Founder, CEO and CTO of Skyroot Aerospace had told IANS.

He wants part of the liability to be shared by the government at least in a graded manner - based on the turnover or number of launches or other manner.

"Though there is no clarity on the space liability insurance, the premium should also not be high. On the other hand, the insurance for property damage on the ground could be like that of the aviation insurance," Chandana added.

"In order to derisk new start-ups the government should set up something like the Nuclear Pool. Collect minimal premiums from the entrepreneurs and pay liability claims as per international norms and for the amount exceeded, be the insurer of the last resort. This is what the governments of the UK and US did after 9/11. Set up pools of last resort," R. Raghavan, former GM, General Insurance Corporation of India, and the founder-CEO of the Insurance Information Bureau, told IANS.

According to NIA's Srinivasan, the aviation insurance sector itself is a small segment in India and the space sector is miniscule in terms of number of launches.

"The space sector insurance is largely reinsurance driven. Globally the experience is not very adverse. There is sufficient reinsurance capacity available now and there is no need for a Space Liability Pool," Srinivasan said.

Responding to that Raghavan said, the proposed pool could be a Capacity Pool (each insurer declaring the capacity up to which he can provide cover).

"The government can provide the top ups. The Pool can act as a buffer between the private sector and the insurers. Further the Pool ensures safety and self reliance. The compliance cost of insurance will be high for small space start-ups," Raghavan, also the former Chief Operating Officer of ITI Reinsurance Ltd added.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The RSPCA has urged the government to safeguard the UK's high farm animal welfare standards as tomorrow marks 100 days until the transition period ends.

The charity is calling for a law to stop food imports produced to lower welfare standards coming into the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

It comes as Tuesday (22 September) marks 100 days until the Brexit transition period ends, and this week the Lords are due to vote on an amendment in the Agriculture Bill, marking a pivotal moment for the future of the UK's food and animal welfare standards.

The amendment calls on government to make good on their manifesto promise to ban food produced to lower animal welfare standards and enshrine it in law.

The RSPCA said that failure for politicians to act now could result in a 'catastrophic weakening of the hard-won protections for millions of animals in the UK'.

The charity added that farmers' livelihoods were also threatened as they would be at risk from being undercut by imports produced to lower welfare methods than are legal in the UK.

RSPCA Chief Executive Chris Sherwood said: This week marks 100 days to Brexit, which means we only have 100 days to protect farm animal welfare in this country for a generation.

"Failure to put in place a clear, cast-iron guarantee in the Agriculture Bill to ban imports produced to lower welfare standards than ours could risk setting back animal welfare for many years ahead.

We import nearly 40% of our food, the vast majority coming from the EU. But with only three months to go until Brexit, and with the increasing risk of there being no deal with our European neighbours, the government still has to feed the nation.

"And that could mean imports from countries with lower animal welfare standards than us, such as the USA, Australia and Canada."

Mr Sherwood said that failing to maintain the UK's own standards on imports from abroad would cause more animals to suffer as well as threatening the livelihoods of British farmers.

He added: We call on parliament to do the right thing and agree legislation that will safeguard our hard-won farm animal welfare standards for decades to come.
I am minded to correct one of the biggest falsehoods that has lingered for so long regarding the British colonial government leaving huge sums of money to Kwame Nkrumahs government to usher Ghana to independence - which they accuse him of wasting before February 24, 1966 coup. Most often than not, you will hear cynics of Nkrumah making reference to this spurious claim without any exact proof but just to show cause of their unrepentant loathe for him.

History is written for heroes not villains. But in todays Ghana, the issues of the elitist few who were long ago rejected are struggling to re-write Ghanas history in a way that suits their interests. Do we still allow these people to change our history to make villains appear as heroes, and reactionaries appear as democrats under the guise of multi-party democracy? Absolutely not. In this article, the aim is to clarify Nkrumahs internal self-government generated revenue for the Gold Coast, as part of funding of the Five-Year Development Plan from 1951-1956 from the Cocoa Duty and Development Funds (Amendment) Act of 1954, and also explain a bit of the formation of the National Liberation Movement (NLM) in November 1954 and the collapse of the British economy after the Second World War.

Cocoa Duty and Development Funds ( Amendment) Act

First, the Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) was established in 1947. The purpose for the establishment of the Board was to look into a series of disputes between cocoa famers and their European buying partners. Initially, cocoa farmers used to sell their produce directly to a cooperative of European buyers but their dissatisfaction with the prices they were offered a new arrangement that was designed to give them more leverage against the European buyers and to insulate them against fluctuations in the world market price for cocoa.

Ghanas main source of income then came from the export of cocoa. And the world price of cocoa was steadily on the rise. In 1949-50 the country had received  178 for each ton of cocoa sold abroad. In 1950-51 the figure rose to  269. In the two following year it was slightly lower. But in 1953-54 it was 358 a ton. And in 1954, it reached 467 per ton, the highest ever paid till then. All appeared necessary to spend money on modernization of the Gold Coast economy. (Basil Davidson, Black Star)

But the real dispute on cocoa and the Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) begun when it became politicized after the then Minister for Finance K.A. Gbedemah introduced the Cocoa Duty and Development Funds (Amendment) Bill in 1954 which fixed the farm-gate price of cocoa at 72shillings (3 12s) per 60lb load for four years.

Here is what Gbedemah said in the concluding debate in parliament:

[F]irstly, that it is not in the general interest of the Gold Coast to be subjected to considerable or frequent fluctuations in the prices paid for its cocoa; secondly, that having regard to all other circumstances which obtain in the Gold Coast today, the present price paid locally of cocoa is fair, reasonable and provides an incentive to increased production; thirdly, that it follows that it is in the general interest that the cocoa farmer should receive a good and steady income for a period of years.and lastly, that the funds which may accrue to Government through the fiscal policy it is now establishing should be concentrated as far as possible on expanding the economy of the country as a whole with special emphasis on its agricultural sector. (Ekow Nelson, Nkrumahs Cocoa Policy and Economic Development)

In essence, cocoa reserves were kept in London as investment from the revenues generated from the cocoa duty with the hope of making the country a better place to live in the near future. Sadly, this development led to agitations from the cocoa area of Ashanti, especially the Asantehene, who girded the separatist movement while calling for a Federal State in order to ensure that all revenue from cocoa export are vested in the Asante Kingdom not to the central government.

According to Richard Mahoney, political independence, in short, did not mean economic independence to Nkrumah. He noted that, the vagaries of the world prices of cocoa (which provided Ghana with about 70 percent of its foreign-exchange earnings) put development plans on a precarious base and seemed to necessitate substantial investment in the area of cash-crop diversification. Following the British advice, however, Nkrumah had left Ghanas $500 million of reserves, accumulated during the colonial period, in long-term, low-interest British securities; thus this great source of productive investment was unavailable (to Nkrumahs post-independence government) in 1959 (Mahoney, J.F.K. Ordeal in African). Thus, to a larger extent, this money was not made outright to Nkrumah. For example, in 1953, the Cocoa Marketing Board sold cocoa to a total of  74 million. But the amount paid to Ghana was only  28 million. (Basil Davidson, Black Star)

Collapse of the British economy after Second World War

It became obvious to Nkrumah that Ghana was in fact helping to finance Britain banking system. After the Second World War, the British economy collapsed for many reasons. It includes, first of all, the conversion of its industrial to entirely war production. And also due to the severe destruction caused by Germany and Hitlers forces, the economy was not able to sustain production for its citizens.

More so, the destruction created the need to borrow massively and they lost much of its productive capacity, which resulted in accumulation of massive external debtsparticularly to the USA. It was because of these and other devastations of the war in other European countries that led to the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944  which Marshall Plan was an economic recovery program for Western European economies after the World War II. (Michael J. Hogan, The Marshal Plan: America, Britain and the reconstruction of Western Europe 1947-1952).

Therefore, in concluding, the British colonial government in the Gold Coast (now the Republic of Ghana) was not a charitable organization to have invested in the raw materials (cocoa, gold, diamonds, manganese, timber and others) and largesse enough to have returned the profits to the Gold Coast, let alone leaving huge surpluses for Kwame Nkrumah to waste at a time when Britain could not find feet to fend for the Queen and her people.

By Michael Sumaila Nlasia

The author is a graduate of law at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.

Email address: [email protected]
Chennai: Tamil Nadu's economy may revert to pre-COVID-19 levels in about two months, an expert committee has said based on the revenue from GST collections, petrol and power consumption. They also pegged the states economic growth at 1.71% for the year 2021, while expressing caution about a possible further dip.

The committee submitted its report to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami at the Secretariat on Monday.

Led by Former RBI Governor C Rangarajan, the committee was appointed by the Tamil Nadu government in May to suggest measures for economic recovery after the pandemic-induced slump and the period of inactivity during the lockdown.

The 24-member committee sought views from industry bodies, trade associations, stakeholders, and experts in economics from India and abroad.

The major recommendations of the committee include the rolling out of an Urban employment guarantee scheme (similar to rural employment guarantee scheme), hiking the capital expenditure by Rs 10,000 crore and also expeditiously spending the Rs 3,200 crore in the construction workers welfare fund to generate employment opportunities.

Speaking to reporters, Rangarajan pointed out that the states debt would only increase this year, owing to the higher expenditure on the healthcare front and lower-income to the states coffers. However, he suggested that the government must ramp up its spending amid times of low demand.

Also mentioned was the recommendation to increase healthcare spending by Rs 5000 crore.

The committee recommended the extension of free distribution of rice to cardholders via the Public distribution system (PDS or ration shops) beyond November.

In terms of the industrial sector, the committee has recommended increasing the capital of Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation to Rs 1,000 crore so that the organization can lend long term.

Setting up of industrial parks and industrial townships and bringing in the credit guarantee scheme for small scale industries are other recommendations, Rangarajan said.

Tamil Nadu, known as the automobile hub of India is among the states that are worst hit by the coronavirus. The state has recorded a total of 5.36 lakh positive cases, of which 4.81 lakh have recovered.

Over 46,453 cases are active in the state and about 8700 individuals have lost their battle to the deadly virus.
BRONX, N.Y., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The first study comparing the immune responses of adults and children with COVID-19 has detected key differences that may contribute to understanding why children usually have milder disease than adults. The findings also have important implications for vaccines and drugs being developed to curb COVID-19. The study was published today in Science Translational Medicine and was conducted by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM), and Yale University.

The study involved 60 adult COVID-19 patients and 65 pediatric COVID-19 patients (less than 24 years old) hospitalized at CHAM and Montefiore Health System between March 13 and May 17, 2020; 20 of the pediatric patients had the novel multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). The patients' blood was tested for the presence of several types of immune cells, antibody responses, and the inflammatory proteins, known as cytokines, that immune cells produce.

Children with COVID-19 fared significantly better than adults. Twenty-two adults (37%) required mechanical ventilation compared with only five (8%) of the pediatric patients. In addition, 17 adults (28%) died in the hospital compared with two (3%) of the pediatric patients. No deaths occurred among pediatric patients with MIS-C.

"Our findings suggest that children with COVID-19 do better than adults because their stronger innate immunity protects them against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the disease," said co-senior author Betsy Herold, M.D., chief of infectious diseases and vice chair for research in the department of pediatrics at Einstein and CHAM. Kevan C. Herold, M.D., C.N.H. Long Professor of Immunology and of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, was the other co-senior author on the study.

People have two types of immunityinnate and adaptive. Innate immunity, in which immune cells respond rapidly to invading pathogens of all kinds, is more robust during childhood. Adaptive immunity, the second type of immune response, is more specific and features antibodies and immune cells that target specific viruses or other microbes.

Compared with adult patients, pediatric COVID-19 patients in the study possessed significantly higher levels of certain cytokines associated with the innate immune response. This suggests that young people's more robust innate response protects them from developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)the hallmark of severe and often fatal COVID-19 cases. One cytokine in particular, known as IL-17A, was found at much higher levels in pediatric patients than in adults. "The high levels of IL-17A that we found in pediatric patients may be important in protecting them against progression of their COVID-19," said Dr. K. Herold.

Both pediatric and adult COVID-19 patients were found to make antibodies against the coronavirus' spike protein, which the virus uses to latch onto and infect cells. Those spike-protein antibodies include neutralizing antibodies, which block the coronavirus from infecting cells. Counterintuitively, the researchers found that neutralizing antibody levels in adult COVID-19 patients who died or required mechanical ventilation were higher than in those who recoveredand significantly higher than levels detected in pediatric patients.

"These results suggest that the more severe COVID-19 disease seen in adults is not caused by a failure of their adaptive immunity to mount T-cell or antibody responses," said Dr. K. Herold. "Rather, adult patients respond to coronavirus infection with an over-vigorous adaptive immune response that may promote the inflammation associated with ARDS."

The findings have important implications for COVID-19 therapies and vaccines. "Our adult COVID-19 patients who fared poorly had high levels of neutralizing antibodies, suggesting that convalescent plasmawhich is rich in neutralizing antibodiesmay not help adults who have already developed signs of ARDS," said Dr. B. Herold. "By contrast, therapies that boost innate immune responses early in the course of the disease may be especially beneficial."

As for vaccines, Dr. B. Herold notes that most vaccine candidates for protecting against SARS-CoV-2 infection are aimed at boosting neutralizing-antibody levels. "We may want to consider assessing vaccines that promote immunity in other ways, such as by bolstering the innate immune response," she said.

The paper is titled "Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Hospitalized Pediatric and Adult Patients." Additional Einstein-Montefiore authors are: Carl A. Pierce, B.S., Clare Burn Aschner, Ph.D., Natalia Cheshenko, Ph.D., Benjamin Galen, M.D., Scott J. Garforth, Ph.D., Rohit K. Jangra, Ph.D., Erika Orner, Ph.D., Sharlene Sy, M.D, Kartik Chandran, Ph.D., and Steven C. Almo, Ph.D.; and Einstein Ph.D. students Natalia G. Herrera, B.S. and Nicholas C. Morano, B.S. Additional Yale authors are Aaron Ring, M.D., Ph.D., Paula Preston-Hurlburt, M.S. Yile Dai, Ph.D., and James Dziura, Ph.D.

About Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2019-20 academic year, Einstein is home to 724 M.D. students, 158 Ph.D. students, 106 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and 265 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 1,800 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2019, Einstein received more than $178 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Einstein runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States through Montefiore and an affiliation network involving hospitals and medical centers in the Bronx, Brooklyn and on Long Island. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu, read our blog, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook , and view us on YouTube.

About Montefiore Health System

Montefiore Health System is one of New York's premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 11 hospitals, including the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and close to 200 outpatient care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information please visit www.montefiore.org. Follow us on Twitter and view us on Facebook and YouTube.

SOURCE Albert Einstein College of Medicine

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www.einstein.yu.edu


Chron.com is following the latest headlines on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Houston area.

Texas surpassed 700,000 cases last week, and case numbers continued to grow over the weekend, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis.

Cases increased by 5,141 statewide, bringing the total number of people who were infected to 714,591. Deaths increased by 53 to 15,101 total.

In the Houston region, cases increased by 633 to 176,975. The region accounts for nearly a quarter of cases in Texas. In Harris County alone, cases increased by 553 to 123,817.

Deaths in Harris County increased by eight, bringing the total to 3,325 deaths.

Houston ISD released an updated list of schools and facilities which contain presumptively positive cases:

Burnet Elementary School

Hilliard Elementary School

Osborne Elementary School

Patterson Elementary School

Petersen Elementary School

Rucker Elementary School

Stevens Elementary School

Navarro Middle School

Chavez High School

Heights High School

Sterling Aviation Early College High School

Westbury High School

Construction Services Support Facility

NOTE: The numbers included in this report represent a one-day change in data from Saturday, Sept. 19 through Sunday, Sept. 20. 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.
Mumbai, Sep 21 : In a bizarre move, the Maharashtra government has abruptly decided to 'ration' medical oxygen for patients in Covid-19 public and private hospital wards/ICUs, kicking up a row between the state and the medical fraternity.

Doctors in the state have condemned the move as "unprecedented in the world", "terrible, horrible, abominable", something that could lead to "a sharp spike in Covid fatalities", with a veiled warning that they may be forced to abdicate the responsibility of treating Corona patients and "it will be better if the government runs all the private hospitals on its own".

As per a September 18 circular issued by Principal Secretary (Health) Pradeep Vyas, the order was triggered by a very high consumption of Oxygen -- more than thrice the national average -- in comparison to the number of patients in Covid oxygen wards or intensive care units.

Vyas said that the present consumption of medical Oxygen is above 600 tonne per day and at the rapid rate of growth, there are fears that this may outstrip the manufacturing capacity in the state after a few days.

"The Government of India has expressed serious concern about the quantum of Oxygen being used in Maharashtra per day considering the number of patients who are on Oxygen," Vyas said grimly.

Adding to the woes is the fact that a figure of around 1,08,000 patients -- who have been discharged -- has not been updated on the government records owing to a discrepancy in manual tabulation.

This implies that a lesser number of discharges and lower recovery rate is shown for Maharashtra, but if this figure was accounted for, then it would point to nearly 15 per cent of all patients getting Oxygen treatment in the state - much higher than the national average of 5-6 per cent, he pointed out.

"So, it is clear that there is no judicious use of Oxygen," said Vyas' unexpected rap, adding there was a tendency in private hospitals to put patients on Oxygen for duration more than necessary for 'commercial reasons' and such activities need to be scrupulously monitored.

Clamping down on hospitals, the government has now ordered that Oxygen consumption in wards must be limited to 7 litres per minutes and 12 litres per minute in ICUs.

All hospitals have been directed to comply with these restrictions by conducting a consumption to prevent wastage of medical Oxygen due to leaks, etc.

Maharashtra Indian Medical Association (IMA) President Avinash Bhondwe minced no words by terming the order as "the biggest and most cruel assault" by the administration at the expense of a patient's life.

"This is another direct battering on the professional autonomy of clinicians, an unwarranted questioning on the clinical acumen of doctors. It's an attempt to cover up bad governance of supply of Oxygen by such an unprofessional and unethical notification," Bhondve told IANS.

He said that there are some patients who would need 20 litres/minute and some even upto 80 litres/minute, known as high flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) and keeping such limits of 7-12 litres was "absolutely absurd", and the move was taken without even consulting the Covid Special Task Force set up by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

IMA State Secretary Pankaj Bandarkar said: "There can't be anything more ridiculous, insulting and derogatory to the entire medical profession which is fighting the deadly Covid pandemic and have dedicated their service to humanity." An ex-office bearer and IMA Member Parthiv Sanghvi said all medicos are up in arms against this order since it could have a bearing on whether a patient survives or dies.

Bhondve said that merely setting up jumbo Covid hospitals is not enough as it's the other medical infrastructure and doctors which ultimately help cure the patient, but "if anything happens to the patients, doctors get beaten up".

Despite repeated attempts by IANS, Health Minister Rajesh Tope and Vyas were not available for their comments on the matter.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
co-founder N R on Monday suggested that market regulator must blacklist board members and officials found guilty of governance deficit, and the compensation paid to them be recovered.

Murthy also asserted that shareholders must also be provided access to full details of the investigation carried out after any whistleblower complaint, unless it contains information that could provide advantage to competitors.

Speaking at an All India Management Association (AIMA) event on corporate governance, Murthy said if investigation into a whistleblower complaint concludes that the board and the officers of the company did not perform their fiduciary duties and contributed to a governance deficit by omission or commission, they are just asked to resign.

"Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) must blacklist these board members and officers. The shareholders must vote them out.

In addition, the shareholders must claw back 100 per cent of the compensation or the fee received by the board and the officers during the tenure of the incident i.e. the date when the incident occurred to the time the investigation is complete - reported by the whistleblower," he said.

He noted that whistleblowing should not be an act of revenge by a disgruntled employee, and the whistleblower must substantiate his or her complaint with data and facts.

Stating that a corporation must provide total protection to whistleblowers against vendetta by the bosses, Murthy said an important duty of a board is protecting and enhancing the reputation of the company and discharging its fiduciary responsibilities.

"Therefore, addressing a whistleblower complaint in a transparent and trust-enhancing manner is a must. If the complaint is against a middle or a low level employee, an internal committee consisting of senior employees not connected with the accused and committed to total fairness and transparency, should be sufficient," he said.

Murthy added that if the complaint is against any member of the board including the chairman or the CEO, the tendency of most Indian boards is to investigate such complaints themselves assisted by an outside law firm, pay them and obfuscate the issue.

"This is not a good idea because you cannot be the judge, the jury and the defendant," he said.

He said the boards of some globally-reputed companies totally recuse themselves from the investigation of the complaint in such situations and top ten shareholders and highly-respected individuals from the society are brought in to investigate the whistleblower's complaint.

Stating that transparency is an important tenet of good governance, Murthy said a shareholder has an unalienable right of access to every piece of information concerning an investigation.

"The full details of the investigation should be provided on the website of the company so that every shareholder has access to it. The investigating committee or its experts should provide every document of the investigation and answer every question," he said.

Murthy added that the only two exceptions to this rule are that there should not be any selective disclosure provided to any one set of shareholders, and that any business information that provides a competitive advantage to the company vis--vis its competitors in the marketplace cannot be disclosed to any shareholder.

Interestingly, - in October last year - had informed stock exchanges of having received anonymous whistleblower complaints alleging certain unethical practices by the top management.

It then started a probe into the matter and roped in external investigators. Later, the company had said the audit committee had found no evidence of financial impropriety or executive misconduct, giving a clean chit to the top management.

In 2017, had witnessed a protracted stand-off between its high profile founders and the previous management over allegations of governance lapses and issues relating to severance package doled out to former executives, including ex-CFO Rajiv Bansal.

After the tussle, the then CEO Vishal Sikka quit followed by some board members. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani was then brought in as Chairman to steer the company, and Salil Parekh was appointed as the CEO in January 2018.

Murthy, delivering the keynote, said corporate governance levels in India have improved considerably in the last three decades but there have been a few instances of serious governance deficits during the last five years.

He noted that the primary functions of a corporate board include ensuring a robust quality growth of both the top line and the bottom line of the company, protecting and enhancing the reputation of the company as well as reviewing, critiquing and improving the strategy presented by the management.

He added that the Board needs to recommend a fair and performance-based compensation to the CXOs and other officers of the company after consulting key, knowledgeable shareholders and create a succession plan for the CXOs and key officers of the company.

The board also needs to identify risks and take timely action to mitigate them, put in place systems of information, control, checks and balances, and make sure that they are working and ensuring full compliance of regulations required by every statutory authority of the land.

Murthy pointed out that managerial remuneration has to be a fair multiple of the compensation of the lowest level employee in the company and said if the lowest paid employee's remuneration was Rs 2-3 lakh a year, the CEO remuneration should be Rs 70-80 lakh.

(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.)
Scott Morrison will try to get the economy back on track with the October 6 budget

Scott Morrison has hit back at an advert slamming potential tax cuts for millions of Australians.

The October 6 budget is expected to bring forward tax cuts that were due in 2022, meaning middle and low income earners will be able to keep more of their money.

A TV advert produced by left-wing think tank The Australia Institute says the cuts risk damaging public services and won't provide the stimulus the economy needs to recover from the coronavirus-caused recession.

A government spokesman criticised the campaign, telling Daily Mail Australia: 'At a time of recession the Australia Institute want to take money out of people's pockets.

'We're always focused on how we can give it back to them and lower taxes.

'The Australia Institute and the Labor Party have never met a tax increase they didn't like.'

The campaign is backed by 40 prominent Australians - including two former Reserve Bank officials, a former Liberal Party leader and the head of the welfare lobby group ACOSS.

'Cutting taxes for already wealthy Australians will undermine the long-term strength of our public services, like healthcare and education, while doing very little to stimulate economic growth,' said Ben Oquist, Executive Director of The Australia Institute.

'Tax is an investment in our society. Those calling for tax cuts today will be calling for service cuts in the future.'

Institute research released in recent weeks suggests the cuts will benefit high income earners, who are more likely to save rather than spend the extra cash.

'We'll need substantial stimulus for an extended period,' former Reserve Bank deputy governor Stephen Grenville said.

'Cutting top-rate income tax would be a weak stimulus which undermines the equitable and progressive tax structure we'll need when the COVID crisis is over.'

Former federal Liberal leader John Hewson said tax cuts will not be good for the Coalition's electoral hopes in the long run.

HOW MUCH LESS TAX WOULD YOU PAY IF CHANGES ARE BROUGHT FORWARD? Income Reduction compared to 2017/18 $30,000 $255 $40,000 $580 $50,000 $1,080 $60,000 $1,080 $70,000 $1,080 $80,000 $1,080 $90,000 $1,215 $100,000 $1,665 $110,000 $2,115 $120,000+ $2,565 Source: aph.gov.au

'They increase inequality and fail to ensure job security and increasing wages with our economy still struggling to exit recession,' Dr Hewson said.

The cuts would increase the upper threshold for the 32.5 per cent marginal tax rate from $90,000 to $120,000 and increase the upper threshold for the 19 per cent rate from $41,000 to $45,000.

In July Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he was 'looking at the timing of tax cuts' because they 'boost aggregate demand, boost consumption, put more money into people's pockets.'

Some tax experts believe Mr Frydenberg would get more bang from taxpayers' bucks by targeting business initiatives.

BDO tax partner Mark Molesworth said personal tax cuts alone will not be enough to drive a worthwhile stimulus response in the face of the first recession since the early 1990s.

'More Australians are being frugal with their money so a tax cut will not inspire a spending spree even with Christmas approaching,' Mr Molesworth said on Monday.

'To encourage consumer spending it would be better to look at business investment incentives.'

These could take the form of an investment allowance, which would provide an incentive to buy assets and expand business operations.

He also suggested an employee headcount rebate, which would be paid as a tax benefit in cash per new full-time employee created by a business.

The federal budget on 6 October will contain a series of measures to get the economy back on track after coronavirus restrictions hammered the economy.

One option being considered is to encourage small and medium businesses to hire new workers by paying a chunk of their wages, government sources told The Australian.

This would be different to the JobKeeper scheme which pays companies to keep existing employees if they suffer a large hit to their revenue.

The government is also tipped to allocate up to $10billion to the states for infrastructure spending.

The AFR reported the cash could be dished out on a 'use it or lose it' basis, meaning states would need to prove they are spending it quickly to qualify for more.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister told Daily Mail Australia: 'We're not engaging in budget speculation.'

The $1,500-a-fortnight JobKeeper payments are being reduced to $1,200 from 27 September and to $1,000 from January for full-time workers.

Mr Morrison on Sunday told the ABC that other measures will be introduced to complement the scheme as it is wound back.

The government is reportedly considering wage subsidies to drive hiring. Pictured: An electrician at work

'What Treasury says is that we need to boost aggregate demand in our economy and the full suite of measures you have as a government need to do that job and that's what the budget will do,' he said.

'And so you don't have to hold on to every measure forever. There are other measures that come in and pick up from where others left off. We are transitioning JobKeeper, it's important to do that. We always said it was not something that would be around forever.

'But there are other programs and the Treasurer will go into greater detail about that obviously in the budget, which are dealing with the here and now, but rebuilding our economy and then building it for the future so we can go into a decade of prosperity.'

The jobless rate unexpectedly fell from 7.5 per cent in July to 6.8 per cent in August, bucking widespread predictions of a slight rise.

Roughly 111,000 people gained employment in August, the third month of exceptionally strong results.

Over half the massive jobs losses in April and May have been recovered.

However such strength masked a 42,400 drop in employment numbers in Victoria, where lockdowns remain.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, a Victorian MP, said businesses in the state were still hard hit by lockdowns.

'I'm hoping and the prime minister is hoping those restrictions can be eased as quickly as it is COVID-safe to do so,' he said.
BRUSSELS (AP)  The European Union on Monday slapped sanctions on three transport companies for violating the U.N. arms embargo on Libya, including the Turkish shipping firm that operates a vessel at the center of a naval standoff in the Mediterranean Sea between Turkey and France three months ago.

At talks in Brussels, EU foreign ministers also imposed asset freezes and travel bans on two Libyan men accused of human rights abuses such as executions, and of the trafficking, kidnapping, rape and killing of migrants.

A statement said the decision means that a total of 17 people are now banned from entering Europe, while 21 people and 19 entities  usually companies, banks or other organizations  have their assets frozen. EU people and companies are banned from providing them with funds.

The Avrasya Shipping company, which is headquartered in Turkey, was found to have violated the arms embargo in Libya. The EU noted that the company operates a cargo ship called Cirkin, which has been linked to transports of military material to Libya in May and June 2020.

On June 10, a French frigate acting on NATO intelligence tried to inspect the Cirkin off the coast of Libya to check whether it was smuggling weapons in. But France says that Turkish naval vessels escorting the Cirkin locked onto the frigate with targeting radar. The frigate withdrew to avoid a conflict.

The government in Ankara has denied that any action by the Turkish warships was hostile. A NATO probe into the incident was inconclusive, according to Turkish officials, and its findings were never made public.

France, which was working with NATOs Operation Sea Guardian at the time and is an ally in the military organization along with Turkey, pulled the frigate out of the fleet and is now working with the EU's Operation Irini policing the arms embargo on behalf of the United Nations.

Speaking in Cairo earlier this month, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said it is a reality that the arms embargo is not being fully respected. We can say that it is not respected by anyone.

Kazakhstan-based commercial cargo carrier Sigma Airlines was also hit by EU sanctions for the transfer of military material to Libya, while Med Wave Shipping, headquartered in Jordan, was also targeted, in particular a vessel it runs called the Bana.
In the last 50 years, the average temperature of Vietnam has increased by about 0.62 degrees Celsius while the sea level also rises by 3.34mm per year. That leads to a series of severe disasters.

It is estimated that in 2100, when the sea level goes up by 1m, 40 percent and 11 percent of the surface area of the Mekong Delta and the Red River Delta respectively will disappear, directly affecting the life of approximately 12 percent of the Vietnamese population.

Particularly, 20 percent of HCMCs surface area will be flooded, negatively affected its traffic infrastructure, agricultural activities, industrial parks, and waste treatment areas.

Forecast from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reveals that 90 percent of Da Phuoc Landfill faces the flooding risk, which might result in the dangerous release of pollutants to the neighborhood.

Adding to that is the more serious urban flooding status in the near future, affecting solid waste processing activities (including collecting, transporting, and treating) while reducing the durability of related facilities and devices. This calls for an urgent solution for waste handling to better adapt to climate change.

This environmental problem also disturbs any sustainable development plans and poverty erasing campaigns of Vietnam, urging for an action to lessen damage and improve the productivity of state management tasks.

To address these issues, the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment has gradually introduced several plans and policies to integrate the fighting tasks against climate change into various fields such as increasing the performance of energy and natural resources use in socio-economic activities, reducing greenhouse gas release.

What is more, in the major project to transform HCMC into a smart city, the goal of monitoring environmental ratings via advanced devices has been carried out throughout the city. The municipal authorities are now cooperating with international and domestic organizations like the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group or the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to actively protect the environment.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung shared that the national adaptation plan to climate change was prepared carefully based on instruction documents of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Accordingly, the priority of the plan should be to reduce the vulnerability and risk rates against climate change. This means an increase in adaptation ability of the public and economic sectors, achieved via investment in scientific research in the field and awareness raising to be ready for possible changes caused by climate change.

To fulfill these goals, the Government asks that related state units and industries perfect their own mechanisms and policies to better adapt to climate change. Sufficient legal foundation and technological conditions should also be focused so that adaptation tasks can be smoothly integrated into strategies and plans for disaster prevention.

A close cooperation across industries, fields, ecologies and even the whole community is necessary to develop the resistance ability against unexpected changes of the climate.

Finally, the authorities should pay attention to infrastructure upgrade to minimize any risk resulted from climate change to the society.

Vietnam determinedly works closely with the international community to protect the Earths climate and environment at all cost.

By Minh Hai  Translated by Vien Hong
It was a parents worst nightmare.

Gary Readman hadnt heard from his 28-year-old daughter Victoria Selby-Readman since June 8, 2018  a Friday. Four days later, he went to her small downtown Toronto apartment to look for her.

At first, he didnt realize she was in the apartment. Then he saw her body wrapped in blankets and propped up against the wall. She had been dead for some time.

This is what Readman is expected to say at the trial for the man accused of murdering his daughter, according to the opening address to the jury by Crown prosecutor Tania Monteiro on Monday.

Monteiro told the jury the anticipated evidence will show Selby-Readmans roommate, Richard Isaac, murdered her on June 8, 2018  less than a month after he moved in. At the time, according to an agreed statement of facts, Isaac was wanted by police for harassing and threatening his domestic partner as well as failing to comply with court orders.

On Monday, Isaac, now 43, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder before a jury spread out across a Toronto courtroom to allow for physical distancing. It is the citys first jury trial since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic led to the postponement of jury trials across the province.

Instead of the 12 jurors normally packed into the jury box, there were only three. Seven other jurors sat at a newly installed long table on the opposite side of the courtroom, with Plexiglas dividers between them. The remaining two sat in a corner of the courtroom. A total of 30 people were allowed in the courtroom due to COVID-19 restrictions, leaving only four spots open in the public gallery filled by Selby-Readmans family and friends, as well as a reporter.

According to the Crowns opening address, Selby-Readman texted her father on June 8, 2018, saying there was an issue with her roommate and she wanted him out immediately.

Selby-Readman was last seen alive on security cameras leaving the elevator for her fifth-floor apartment in the 798 Richmond St. W. apartment building at 5:55 p.m., according to the agreed statement of facts.

Her father Gary Readman was the Crowns first witness, testifying by video-link from the U.S.

Our relationship was wonderful, he said. We were very close. I spent a lot of time with her, we talked a lot. We were like friends.

In 2018, Readman was also living in Toronto. Hed moved into the small bachelor unit at 798 Richmond St. W. in 2017. Around Christmas time that year, his daughter moved in with him. Though he remained on the lease, he moved out at the end of January 2018, and Selby-Readmans boyfriend moved in, he testified. He paid the $1,125 rent directly to the rental building and the couple paid him. But his daughter broke up with her boyfriend in early May and he moved out, Readman said.

That month, she had trouble paying the rent, Readman remembered, so he covered part of it. Selby-Readman was working as a courier for Foodora and Uber Eats, he said, mostly covering the lunch rush and sometimes the dinner rush too.

She later got a roommate who moved in around mid-May, Readman said, although he never met the roommate. In early June, Selby-Readman told him shed lost the one key fob needed to access the building and asked him to get another, which he did and gave her on June 6, 2018. That was the last time he saw her alive, Readman said.

He testified he and his daughter texted daily and saw each other in person frequently  although less so in the two weeks before her death, because Readman had been very busy with work. His daughter would respond to texts almost immediately and it would be unusual for her not to respond to his texts for a few days, he said.

Readmans testimony is expected to continue Tuesday.

The trial will also hear from a forensic pathologist who is expected to testify that Selby-Readman died from blunt impact to her head and neck and that she had a mans DNA under her fingernails, Crown prosecutor Monteiro said. Isaac cannot be excluded as the source of that DNA, she said.

In the three days after Selby-Readman was last seen alive, Isaac can be seen on security cameras coming and going from the fifth floor of the apartment building until he left for the last time on the morning of June 11, 2018, Monteiro said. She said Isaacs father Robert Isaac will testify that his son called in the early hours of June 11 and said he could not stay where he was living any longer. Robert Isaac picked up his son later that day and took him to his home, where police arrested Richard Isaac on June 16, 2018, Monteiro said.

That June, Isaac was wanted by Durham Regional Police for allegedly harassing and threatening his domestic partner, according to an agreed statement of facts. His charges included three counts of harassing phone calls, criminal harassment, uttering threats of death or bodily harm, unlawfully being in a home, mischief under $5,000, three counts of failing to comply with a probation order and three counts of failing to comply with a peace bond.

He later pleaded guilty to criminal harassment, mischief under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.
File image

Pakistan's major Opposition parties demanded "immediate" resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan as they launched an alliance to hold a countrywide protest movement to oust his government.

A 26-point joint resolution was adopted by the All Parties Conference (APC) which was hosted by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and attended by Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) and several other parties.

At a joint press conference after the end of the multi-party meeting, JUI-F chief Mualana Fazl ur Rehman read out the resolution and said that the Opposition parties have agreed to launch an alliance named 'Pakistan Democratic Movement' to organise countrywide protest against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

The resolution alleged that the Imran Khan government has been granted "fake stability by the same establishment" that interfered with the elections to bring the incumbent rulers to power.

It expressed "extreme concern" over the increasing interference of the establishment in internal affairs of the country and regarded it as a "danger to the nation's stability and institutions".

The forum also demanded that elections be held again in a transparent manner and that electoral reforms should be passed in order to ensure free and fair polls.

It said the Opposition would not cooperate with the government in the legislative process.

It said that protest would go ahead in phases. In the first phase, the Opposition parties will hold joint rallies in all four provinces in October. The second phase will begin in December during which the Opposition will hold big rallies across the country.

Finally, a "decisive" long march towards Islamabad would start in January next year to oust the government, it said.

Earlier, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif addressed the multi-party conference through a video link and said that the struggle of the Opposition parties was not against Khan but against those who brought an "inefficient" man to power.

Sharif, 70, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, has been living in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treatment.

On Friday, PPP chairman Zardari talked to him over phone and invited him to virtually attend the conference.

He staged a political comeback by criticising the country's powerful establishment for allegedly supporting Khan.

"Our struggle is not against Imran Khan. Today, our struggle is against those who installed Imran Khan and who manipulated elections (of 2018) to bring an inefficient man like him into power and thus destroyed the country, he said.

He asked the powerful Army to stay away from politics and follow the Constitution and vision of the country's father Quaid-e-Azam' Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

The powerful Army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 70 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.

Before Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari also addressed the conference through a video-link and criticised the government which he said was using the tactics to suppress the Opposition.
If the Verkhovna Rada does not change the resolution on local elections, it will block not only the exchange of prisoners, but also all the work of the Trilateral Contact Group on the Peaceful Settlement of the Situation in Donbas.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG, Ukraine's first president Leonid Kravchuk, said this in a comment to Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

"Today it is clear that during all meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group all issues under discussion rest on one thing: Russia and representatives of ORDLO [certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions] officially state that until the Verkhovna Rada resolution is changed, all issues will be blocked," Kravchuk said.

He added that "if there is no desire of one party to reach an agreement, and there is a desire of only Ukraine, the field of maneuver is narrowing and it does not exist on specific issues, but we must find the answers to all questions."

Kravchuk clarified that he did not know whether the Verkhovna Rada would change the resolution.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said on September 18 that the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group would accept the parliament's refusal to amend or clarify the resolution on local elections in the occupied part of Donbas, but "some other decision" would expand the room for maneuver in the peace negotiations.

He added that the decision, emphasizing Ukraine's perception of the Minsk process as a non-alternative platform for negotiations, would confirm the authority of the Ukrainian delegation and give an important signal to Ukraine's Western partners and international mediators with the OSCE.

Earlier, during a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group, Russia demanded that Ukraine reconsider the decision of the Verkhovna Rada on the holding of local elections in the occupied part of Donbas. In case of the refusal to consider the issue, it threatened to block the settlement process in eastern Ukraine, including the exchange of prisoners and a meeting of the leaders of the Normandy Four countries.

After that, Kravchuk sent a letter to the Verkhovna Rada with the request to change the resolution on local elections. According to him, the Russian side is not satisfied with the fact that, according to the resolution, elections cannot be held in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

Verkhovna Rada Chairman Dmytro Razumkov said that Kravchuk's appeal had been passed to the concerned parliamentary committee.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine would never make concessions on the issue of holding elections in the temporarily occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which would undermine its territorial integrity or European and Euro-Atlantic development.

op
The Daily Beast

Reuters/Arnd WiegmannTheatrical rock superstar Meat Loaf, whose Bat Out of Hell is one of the bestselling albums of all time, has died at the age of 74. Reports say the singer and actor had recently fallen sick with COVID-19.In an emotional statement posted to Facebook early Friday, the performers family said he was with his wife when he died and had said his final goodbyes to his two daughters in the past 24 hours. The star sold 100 million albums in his five-decade career and starred in movie
FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimbell Royalty Partners, LP (NYSE: KRP) ("Kimbell"), a leading owner of oil and natural gas mineral and royalty interests in more than 96,000 gross wells across 28 states, today announced that it will release its third quarter 2020 financial results on Thursday, November 5, 2020, before the market opens. In conjunction with the release, Kimbell has scheduled a conference call, which will be broadcast live over the Internet the same day at 10:00 a.m. Central (11:00 a.m. Eastern).

By Phone: Dial 201-389-0869 at least 10 minutes before the call. A replay will be available through November 12th by dialing 201-612-7415 and using the conference ID: 13710674#.



By Webcast: Connect to the webcast via the Events and Presentations page of Kimbell's Investor Relations website at http://kimbellrp.investorroom.com/. Please log in at least 10 minutes in advance to register and download any necessary software. A replay will be available shortly after the call.

About Kimbell Royalty Partners

Kimbell (NYSE: KRP) is a leading oil and natural gas mineral and royalty company based in Fort Worth, Texas. Kimbell owns mineral and royalty interests in approximately 13 million gross acres in 28 states and in every major onshore basin in the continental United States, including ownership in more than 96,000 gross wells with over 40,000 wells in the Permian Basin. To learn more, visit http://www.kimbellrp.com.

Contact:

Rick Black

Dennard Lascar Investor Relations

[email protected]

(713) 529-6600

SOURCE Kimbell Royalty Partners, LP

Related Links

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It would seem to require significant audacity  or else, leverage  for another nation to even put such a request before a presidential candidate, Mr. Weissmann wrote of Mr. Kilimniks request. This made what we didnt know, and still dont know to this day, monumentally disconcerting: Namely, why would Trump ever agree to this? Why would Trump ever agree to this Russian proposal if the candidate were not getting something from Russia in return?

Mr. Weissmann explained the significance of Mr. Manaforts interactions with Mr. Kilimnik  also a major focus of a recent bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report, which explicitly labeled Mr. Kilimnik a Russian intelligence agent  more clearly than the Mueller report did.

Mr. Mueller had strictly forbidden leaks, and the special counsel team took extraordinary care to protect the high-profile, high-stakes investigation, Mr. Weissmann wrote. They kept window blind slats tilted at an angle to keep out prying eyes, shutting out natural light. They concocted an almost comically elaborate and surreal plan to sneak in through the many hidden arteries of the courthouse to obtain a grand jury indictment without tipping off reporters.

And worried about the possibility that Mr. Trump would fire them and the Justice Department would then seal off or destroy their evidence, the Mueller team members packed their numerous applications to judges for search warrants with extensive, up-to-date details about their investigation  ensuring they backed up their work beyond the reach of the executive branch.

Ty Cobb, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, also privately promised to be a canary in the coal mine and provide a heads up if Mr. Trump was going to fire the special counsel team, according to Mr. Weissmann. In an email, Mr. Cobb wrote that he never made the commitment described by Mr. Weissmann.

The investigation played out against the backdrop of regular vilification of the Mueller team by Mr. Trump and his allies like Fox Newss Sean Hannity  who turned out to be in regular contact with Mr. Manafort cooking up a smear campaign over text messages. Mr. Weissmann, a major target, wrote that such ad hominem insinuations of bias appealed to emotion rather than reason.

I am a registered Democrat, he wrote. Does this make Paul Manafort or any of the other 32 people our office charged any less guilty? Did Russia not attack our democracy and disrupt our election with its self-described online information warfare operation? Which facts that we alleged in our various indictments  and to which many of those we indicted, including Manafort, would plead guilty  did our attackers believe were invented as a result of our alleged bias as angry Democrats?
(Natural News) A Chinese virologist who claims that the novel coronavirus was created in a Wuhan laboratory says she is now targeted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for exposing the truth about the global pandemic. Dr. Li-Meng Yan published her findings in a 26-page report co-written with three other scientists, citing evidence left in the genome as a ground for SARS-CoV-2s man-made origins.

During a Tucker Carlson Tonight interview on Fox News, Yan told Carlson that the virus was a Frankenstein strain genetically engineered designed to target humans, and it was intentionally released. She also added that the template used to create the virus came from the Chinese military.

She added that the CCP did not want people to find out this fact, as evidenced by the suspension of her Twitter account. Furthermore, she mentioned that the CCP targeted her for disappearance because of what she knew about the virus responsible for COVID-19. Because of her knowledge, she believes that her life is in danger and she can never go back home.

Yan fled Hong Kong on April 28 via a Cathay Pacific flight to America as she delivered the message of the truth of COVID, according to an earlier Fox News interview. The doctor, affiliated with the University of Hong Kongs School of Public Health, managed to elude surveillance and board a plane out of China  at the cost of no longer seeing her friends and loved ones again.

China and the WHO are definitely covering up truth

During her interview with Carlson, Yan said that she performed her own investigation while working in the World Health Organization (WHO) reference laboratory at the University of Hong Kong. The information she received from her network in mainland China, alongside with her experience in virology, confirmed her suspicions that the novel coronavirus was made in a laboratory.

Dr. Leo Poon, Yans supervisor at that time, asked her in Dec. 2019 to examine the odd cases in mainland China similar to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). She turned to her friends at various medical facilities in the mainland for information, and she reported her early findings to her supervisor. Poon just nodded and told her to continue working, she recalled.

Soon enough, medical professionals openly discussing the virus before became silent. Those from Wuhan likewise fell silent and were warned not to probe for further details. We cant talk about it, but we need to wear masks, doctors in Wuhan said that time.

Yan presented her findings to Poon in January, but he warned her to keep silent, and be careful. She recalled his warning: Dont touch the red line. We will get in trouble and well [disappear]. The red line Poon warned about referred to the Chinese government.

She felt frustrated at the turn of events but was not surprised as she knew there was definitely corruption going on.

The WHO has denied covering up any information about the coronavirus.

Yan knows how the CCP treats whistleblowers

The virologist said that a sense of right and wrong emboldened her to speak up despite the consequences of doing so, adding that she did not want misleading information to spread to the world.

As the CCP cannot target Yan directly, they went for her loved ones in China instead. Other whistleblowers before her who spoke out against Chinas corruption had their lives jeopardized.

She shared her findings with U.S.-based Hong Kong blogger Lu Deh, who suggested that she relocate somewhere else for her safety. Her husband of six years, an equally reputable scientist, initially supported her research  but had a change of heart after discovering her telephone call with Lu.

Yans husband was totally pissed off, blaming her and attempting to ruin her confidence before warning that they will kill all of us. She left without him.

The CCP also questioned Yans parents and raided her apartment. When she talked to her parents, they pleaded with her to come home and begged her to give up the fight  adding that she did not know what she was talking about.

Yan was lucky to have reached the U.S. and presented her findings on the origins of the coronavirus. However, some whistleblowers who exposed the truth about Chinas response to the pandemic have not been so lucky. Citizen journalist and lawyer Chen Qiushi and businessman Fang Bin have both been reported missing for more than seven months now, with the most recent updates on them dating from Feb. 2020.

Chen captured videos of overflowing hospitals, funeral homes and isolation wards a day after arriving at Wuhan  the center of the pandemic. Chen was put in quarantine by Feb. 6, with no subsequent news about him.

Meanwhile, Bin posted a series of videos showing piles of dead bodies in a city hospital. The last video he posted showed men in protective suits knocking on his door to measure his body temperature  despite his insistence that it was normal.

Based on the experiences of Yan, Chen and Bin, the CCP will go to great lengths to cover up its corruption and involvement in the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com 1

ZeroHedge.com 2

FoxNews.com 1

FoxNews.com 2
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier sent a congratulatory letter to President Armen Sarkissian on Armenias Independence Day, the Armenian Presidents Office told Armenpress.

This year the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic put a shadow on this joyful day. It becomes clear once again that all states need one another for solving common problems in the mutually connected world. The 2018 peaceful changes in Armenia and the developments afterward show that the Armenian people are full of optimism and determination in terms of building their future. Therefore, I am confident that Armenia will effectively overcome the current challenges. Germany will stand by Armenia as a reliable partner.

I wish that you and your compatriots continue developing your country in a peaceful and friendly atmosphere, and I hope to again meet with you soon, reads the German Presidents letter.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Theres nothing better than a good whiskey. Bushmills Irish Whiskey has partnered with Australias largest whisk(e)y subscription service, The Whisky Club (TWC), to reward Australian discerning drinkers with the exclusive release of the first spirit to fall under The Causeway Collection.

A curated collection of limited-edition single malts from The Old Bushmills Distillery  the oldest licensed distillery in the world  The Causeway Collection, named after the famous Giants Causeway UNESCO World Heritage Site situated near the old distillery, brings to life a series of rare and innovative cask finishes never seen or sipped before. Bushmills 2006 Marsala Cask is the first release from this collection, one made exclusively for members of TWC, and the only way to get a taste of the fine drop here in Australia.

A triple wood maturated, non-chill filtered fusion of fruits and spices weighing in at 47.2% ABV with no colour added, the Bushmills 2006 Marsala Cask is crafted for the most indulgent of drinking occasions. Notes of vanilla, spice, and dried fruit shine through, derived from the artful aging practices  over 12 years in a combination of oloroso sherry and bourbon casks before finishing in marsala casks for an additional 18 months.

How does TWC work? Glad you asked. Its free to sign up and once you do, youll get fine and exclusive bottles delivered right to your door. Theres no minimum purchase, no lock-in, and you only pay for what you drink. Sign up for The Whisky Club and choose your membership level ahead of October 4th to ensure your access to the Bushmills 2006 Marsala Cask from The Causeway Collection. Youll be kicking yourself if you dont.

Bushmills encourages you to drink responsibly. The Causeway Collection is only available to whisk(e)y lovers aged 18 years and over.

Join The Whisky Club

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Older Australians' fear of catching COVID-19 in a nursing home has caused many residents to move out, and scared away others, putting pressure on an already struggling profit model, an inquiry heard.

The hearings into the financing of aged care also heard that residential aged care was a "unique" industry sector because half of the providers were either making a loss or barely scraping by.

And experts last week warned that the spread of COVID-19 in Victoria could cause many nursing homes to fail as residents moved out and potential residents looked for other options.

Chris Williams Executive General Manager, Major Client Group, Business Banking, Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Counsel assisting the commission Paul Bolster said it was "starting to see a trend of occupancy going down, people being reluctant to go into residential aged care for fairly obvious reasons."
Jet fuel consumption remains the hardest hit section of the global oil market as passengers avoid air travel as a result of the pandemic and government travel restrictions.

The specific problems of the jet market explain why refinery margins for closely related distillates such as diesel are being hit much harder than benchmark oil prices.

Jets travails have helped push distillate margins to their lowest levels for more than a decade and are undercutting refinery demand for crude.

Sustained recovery in distillate margins and crude oil prices will therefore depend on a wider resumption of cross-border aviation.
A security guard who raped a vulnerable woman in a car park after she mistook his patrol vehicle for an Uber is facing jail .

Sola Warikwah, 39, attacked the victim, who was in her 20s, in the early hours of Easter Monday as she made her way home from a Bethnal Green nightclub.

Warikwah was working as a patrol manager for security firm Securitas visiting sites in central London between 7pm and 7am when he spotted the lone woman.

The victim had made her way to Embankment from the East End and then mistaken his company car for a taxi and got in.

Warikwah was working as a patrol manager for security firm Securitas / CPS

Just after 3am he drove her to a deserted car park in Belgravia, which he had patrolled earlier in the evening, and assaulted her.

She texted a friend after the ordeal saying: Ive been raped. I feel sick. He wont take me home.

Warikwah, who claimed the victim consented, was found guilty one count of rape at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

Warikwah drove the victim to a deserted car park in Belgravia / CPS

Nahid Mannan, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This was an opportunistic sexual attack on a vulnerable victim who was trying to make her way home after a night out.

Warikwah had patrolled the car park where he raped the victim just hours before - no doubt taking note that it was virtually deserted.

During the trial Warikwah claimed that the sexual activity had been consensual. Using witness testimony and CCTV the prosecution was able to prove that he was lying. Rape cases are some of the most complex and challenging to prosecute.

"I would like to pay tribute to the victim in this case who courageously supported the prosecution and gave evidence against her attacker.

He will now spend a significant time in prison where he will no longer be a threat to women."

Warikwah, of Deptford, is due to be sentenced on November 6.
A white bar owner charged in the fatal shooting of a Black man during a protest in Nebraska in May  less than a week after the killing of George Floyd  has died by suicide, the mans lawyer said on Sunday.

The bar owner, Jacob Gardner, was indicted by a grand jury on Sept. 15 in connection with the deadly confrontation with James Scurlock on May 30 in Omaha, one that initially appeared would not lead to criminal charges.

The case touched off large protests and prompted the appointment of a special prosecutor, who gathered additional evidence and presented it to a grand jury.

Mr. Gardner, 38, who was in Oregon when he took his own life, had been expected to fly home to turn himself in to the authorities on Sunday in Nebraska, his lawyer, Stuart J. Dornan, said at a news conference.
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards may have looked a little different on Sunday, but they still served as a platform for artists to call for social justice. Several of the winners also used their brief time on screen to remind viewers to vote in the upcoming election.

Following several high profile instances of police brutality and a public outcry for the victims of racism and injustice, some winners wanted to make their opinions heard. Winners Regina King and Uzo Aduba both wore shirts honoring Breonna Taylor, who was shot in her home by police. They also called for people to register and vote.

Host Jimmy Kimmel and Anthony Anderson chanted, Black Lives Matter. And Mark Ruffalo, who won for his performance in I Know This Much Is True, used his acceptance speech to make an impassioned plea for social justice reform.

We have a big, important moment ahead of us, said Ruffalo. Are we going to be a country of division and hatred, a country for only a certain kind of people? Or are we going to be one of love, strength, and fighting for all of us, who have the American dream and the pursuit of life, liberty, love, and happiness, in this great country of ours?

Schitts Creek star Dan Levy was thrilled with Emmy voters, as his show won the first seven awards. But he made it clear hed really be thrilled with voters who show up in November.

Our show, at its core, is about the transformational effects of love and acceptance, said Levy. We need it now more than ever before. If you have not registered to vote, please do so, and then go out and vote. That's the only way and we need love and acceptance out there!

And while there were several impactful speeches delivered by winners, Succession creator Jesse Armstrong may have been the first recipient to ever un-thank people.

Un-thank you to the virus for keeping us apart, said Armstrong. Un-thank you to President Trump for his crummy and uncoordinated response. Un-thank you to Boris Johnson for the same thing in our country. Un-thank you to the nationalists and quasi-nationalists.

Story continues

The Emmys aired on ABC, Sunday night. For more information, please visit the Emmys.com.

Watch as Regina King explains why she wore a Breonna Taylor T-shirt to the Emmys:

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
The retracted guidelines encouraged people to use air purifiers to limit exposure to germs.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has taken down its guidance warning on possible airborne transmission of COVID-19, saying the draft recommendation was posted in error.

The now-withdrawn guidance, posted on the agencys website on Friday, recommended people use air purifiers to reduce airborne germs indoors to limit the spread of the disease.

CDC is currently updating its recommendations regarding airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Once this process has been completed, the update language will be posted, the agency said on Monday.

The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Reuters news agency on when the guidance will be updated.

The health agency had said COVID-19 could spread through airborne particles that can remain suspended in the air and travel beyond six feet.

Currently, the agencys guidance says the virus mainly spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets, which can land in the mouth or nose of people nearby.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump took exception to comments from the CDC director, who said masks might be even more effective than a vaccine for the novel coronavirus that could be broadly rolled out in mid-2021.

US President Donald Trump gives the podium to CDC Director Robert Redfield to address the daily coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak task force briefing at the White House in April 2020 [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]

That followed a New York Times report that guidance about novel coronavirus testing posted last month on the CDCs website was not written by the agencys scientists and was posted over their objections.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has not changed its policy on aerosol transmission of the coronavirus, it said on Monday.

The UN health agency still believes the disease is primarily spread through droplets, but in enclosed crowded spaces with inadequate ventilation, aerosol transmission can occur, said Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHOs emergencies programme.

Increasing toll

The withdrawn guidance comes as the death toll from the spread of the coronavirus in the US approached 200,000, by the far the highest number of any nation.

The US, on a weekly average, is now losing about 800 lives each day to the virus, according to a Reuters tally. That is down from a peak of 2,806 daily deaths recorded on April 15.

During the early months of the pandemic, 200,000 deaths was regarded by some experts as the maximum number of lives likely to be lost in the United States to the virus.





On Monday, Trump said the worst was over, as the death toll reached 199,660 with more than 6.8 million confirmed cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.

We are rounding the corner on the pandemic, with or without a vaccine  and weve done a phenomenal job  not just a good job  a phenomenal job. Other than public relations, but thats because I have fake news, he said.

Trump previously admitted to playing down the danger of the coronavirus early on because he did not want to create a panic, for which he has received continuing criticism.
A protester sits outside the house of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) in Louisville, Ky., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. McConnell vowed on Friday night, hours after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to call a vote for whomever President Donald Trump nominated as her replacement. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley) Read more

When Mitch McConnell blocked President Barack Obamas choice to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in March 2016, he claimed he wanted to let the American people decide in November elections eight months later.

McConnells tender concern for the will of the people has evaporated in 2020.

Even before the late, great Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday night, is laid to rest, the Senate majority leader is urging a vote on her successor be held within the next few weeks. President Donald Trump wants the process completed within weeks, before his term ends on Jan. 20, or even before the Nov. 3 election.

 READ MORE: Trump's promotion of armed militias could risk stoking civil war | Trudy Rubin

In other words, for Trumps GOP, the peoples will is no longer paramount  because the people might vote for the opposition. Polls show that 62% of Americans believe the court choice should be made by the next president. But in Trumpworld, the Democratic Party and its leaders are the enemy, as the president daily proclaims in tweets and at rallies.

This is not the normal stuff of partisan politics, but something far more dangerous. Delegitimizing the opposition is the trademark of demagogues in countries led by dictators or lapsed democrats  as Ive witnessed in Russia, China, Turkey, Hungary, and elsewhere.

It is Trumps trademark, too.

The presidents rush to replace Ginsburg is the culmination of his efforts to effectively establish one-party rule.

From his inauguration speech on, he has painted his political opposition as instigators of American carnage, making ugly personal attacks against Democratic Party leaders.

Since COVID-19 struck, Trump has blamed blue state governors and mayors for his own failures to curb the virus, implying that cities and states that elect Democratic officials arent part of this country. Protests for racial justice, some turned violent, have been used to tar all Democrats as anarchists and looters. Fact-based journalists who challenge Trumps fake claims are denounced as enemies of the people, even as Fox News regurgitates his poison.

But despite all of the above, polls still show Joe Biden leading.

So Trump has morphed from discrediting the Democratic Party to discrediting the election itself, spinning endless lies about massive voter fraud while claiming the only way [Democrats] are going to win is by rigging the election. Expectations are mounting that the GOP may refuse to recognize a Biden victory or mount endless court challenges.

Which brings us to the White House rush to lock in a historic 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court for decades  if possible, before the Nov. 3 results are in.

Just imagine the havoc if Biden wins and/or the Democrats take back a majority in the Senate. After Nov. 3, you could have a lame-duck Senate, including defeated GOP senators, that confirms a crucial sixth conservative Supreme Court justice. This could happen even if Trump is defeated.

So much for the will of the people. Or for the diminished reputation of an uber-partisan Supreme Court that would likely try to undo any major legislation a Democratic Congress passed.

And since Trump will claim the election was stolen if he loses, that very Supreme Court could wind up ruling on endless challenges to a Biden victory.

But it could get worse.

Just imagine what Trump will do if he wins the presidency, and/or retains control of the Senate. A politicized Supreme Court would be no doubt be asked to further suppress voting by minorities, punish Trumps opponents, and curb a free press. In other words, to try to ensure that the Democratic Party could not win in the future.

The president has plenty of autocrat friends who can give advice.

Hungarys Viktor Orban, whom Trump praised and invited to the White House, brags openly about his illiberal democracy. Hungary holds elections, but Orbans nationalistic Fidesz Party has taken control of executive and legislative powers along with the court system, with the ability to maneuver election laws so that the opposition cant gain a majority.

Polands President Andrzej Duda, also praised by Trump, has signed legislation that effectively put Polish courts under the control of the right-wing governing party.

And there are the more extreme cases such as Turkey, where Trumps pal Recep Tayyip Erdogan has purged thousands of judges, and those who remain are fearful. Or Russias telephone justice under Trumps buddy Vladimir Putin, where party officials often instruct judges on rulings, including the persecution of political activists.

 READ MORE: Kremlin's murder of opponents can't be accepted as new global norm | Trudy Rubin

Bottom line, in autocracies and backsliding democracies, leaders know they need to control the courts in order to cripple their opposition. Trump knows this, too.

So anyone who cares about democratic norms must protest Trumps effort to rush through RBGs successor. The GOPs hypocrisy is so flagrantly anti-democratic that it hands Biden a ripe campaign issue. (And hes correct to steer clear of proposals to expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court, which would further degrade that body.)

Let the people decide, McConnell proclaimed in 2016. Right. If need be, millions of Americans should march on Congress to shame him and GOP senators like Pennsylvanias Pat Toomey into taking those words seriously. Most important, in RBGs memory, every democrat who is breathing must vote in this election.

Otherwise, we are headed toward Trumps one-party state.
(Natural News) Some 500 drinking water wells across California, which serve about nine million residents, are contaminated with toxic substances, dubbed forever chemicals, according to a recent report from The Big Wobble.

While that figure might appear small, research shows that contaminants in the water can accumulate inside bodies, interrupting important biological processes and triggering the onset of several chronic diseases.

Residents from Pleasanton, in particular, a suburb just 30 miles north of Californias tech hub, San Jose, were shocked to learn that their town made it to the states top 10 list of towns with dangerous drinking water.

Pleasanton has relied on groundwater for tap water but stopped using one of its wells just last fall after state-mandated testing showed that it could contain unsafe levels of chemicals considered harmful to humans.

The chemicals, identified as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are a group of man-made chemicals manufactured to produce things like non-stick pans, grease-resistant paper and water-resistant clothing.

These chemicals are also notorious for their strong resistance to degradation, so much so that scientists estimate it could take millennia for these chemicals to break down, hence the moniker forever chemicals.

But although these chemicals cannot  or should not  be found in nature, improper disposal has resulted in the contaminants turning up in soil, seeping into groundwater supplies or being carried through the air.

Exposure to toxic chemicals could lead to a host of health problems

Because PFAS are notorious for accumulating in tissues, its possible that their health impacts are great, said Jill Buck, a Pleasanton resident and the chief executive officer of the Go Green Initiative. But more than being possible, extensive studies found that exposure to the said chemicals can have devastating consequences.

The most consistent findings, in particular, are reproductive and developmental defects. Meanwhile, some limited findings indicate that chemical exposure can also lead to low infant birth weights, a weaker immune system and impaired hormone production, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

To make matters worse, the chemicals are also mobile in water, Amy Kyle, an environmental health scientist with the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health, told CBS SF Bay Area. If left unchecked, widespread contamination of drinking water supplies could trigger a public health crisis in no time at all.

Contaminants might contribute to cancer risk

The chemicals are also linked to a heightened risk of certain cancers. In 2019, Linda Birnbaum, a toxicologist and the former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), made headlines when she said that PFAS cause multiple health problems in people, including cancer.

Birnbaum said she was banned from using the word cause when referring to the health outcomes of chemical exposure during her time with the NIEHS. Birnbaum has studied the notorious chemicals for decades and is convinced that existing studies are more than enough to confirm that the chemicals cause harm in people.

In particular, Birnbaum cited the results of rat studies linking the exposure of low doses of forever chemicals to pancreatic cancer. This is consistent with the EPAs own findings that the chemicals triggered tumor growth in animals. Other cancers linked to PFAS exposure include testicular cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer.

Regulating toxic chemicals  or not

Certain PFAS chemicals are no longer maunfactured in the US following phase-outs and state-mandated testing of water supplies, where the chemicals can often be found. That being said, PFAS are still present in consumer goods imported into the US. (Related: Fast food wrappers loaded with toxic, polluting chemicals.)

Moreover, the chemicals are still not regulated despite state-mandated testing of water supplies and federal health advisories. Its not regulated in food packaging, its not regulated when it goes up into the air, its not regulated when it gets dumped into the wastewater, its not regulated as a hazardous waste, said Kyle.

But even with little federal guidance, states are taking measures to curb possible contamination and protect residents. California, for instance, started state-mandated testing of drinking water wells in 2019. Should the PFAS levels in the water be dangerous for public health, both residents and local governments are alerted.

Local water officials in California are also looking into new filtering technologies to keep dangerous chemicals from contaminating water supplies.

Learn more about the dangers of drinking toxic water at CleanWater.news.

Sources include:

TheBigWobble.org

EPA.org

SanFrancisco.CBSLocal.com

TheIntercept.com
Call for care homes to be given top priority amid totally unacceptable testing issues

This article is old - Published: Monday, Sep 21st, 2020

The chairman of Care Forum Wales has hit out over the totally unacceptable issues around Covid-19 tests and called for care homes to be given top priority.

Mario Kreft MBE believes the lack of capacity and the delays in providing results were causing major problems for the sector, potentially putting lives at risk.

In too many cases, he said, the results were not coming back and contacts being traced within the golden 48-hour window when the tests proved positive.

Welsh Government testing data states there have been 160,000+ care home key worker or resident tests, out of the 722,000+ tests so far in Wales. The most recent data snapshot give the below chart for turnaround times  although as we have explained before, test turnaround data is measured from the date a sample is recorded as being collected to the time the result is authorised. It does not indicate how long it takes for an individual to receive their result from point of testing. The full dataset comes with an explainer of different scenarios where the nature of testing can slow the overall turnaround process, for example care homes may complete batches of tests across different staff shifts before returning the tests by a courier.

Mr Kreft also raised concerns that lessons have not been learned from the first wave of coronavirus when Care Forum Wales had been ahead of the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales in urging care homes to close their doors to visitors.

In February the organisation, which represents nearly 500 social care providers in Wales, launched a campaign to shield social care to save lives.

As part of the campaign, Care Forum Wales also called for a comprehensive and effective testing regime, plentiful supplies of PPE and extra funding to help providers to survive the economic cataclysm.

There are a number of new quick test technologies undergoing validation, he said.

We are calling for a Welsh Government commitment to ensure they are made available to care homes as a matter of urgency as soon as they come online.

Care homes must get them before airports, schools, and factories. We would also like an assurance that the machines already pre-ordered are prioritised for care homes.

Care Forum Wales started this discussion in February when we were talking about the importance of testing for social care because the sector underpins the NHS here in Wales and enabled it to function.

The current situation weve got it just totally unacceptable. Its not the case that everyone isnt trying hard but were not actually achieving what we need to do.

They did adjust the access to the testing but in far too many cases were not getting the results quickly enough and that is causing huge problems in the sector.

Weve got this 48 hour golden window to ensure that we stop transmission. Weve got tens of thousands of people working in our care homes in Wales. Theyre coming in and out from the community.

We know weve already got local lockdowns in the communities so have to make sure that people if they are asymptomatic in particular have got regular tests and that the results come through quickly so we know whether or not they have the virus.

This disease which for many people might be quite mild is an absolutely horrendous disease for older people, people with underlying health conditions, and of course the 20,000 people in our care homes in Wales are by definition vulnerable and many of them have serious underlying health conditions.

He added: Weve got to make sure that our care homes are protected and thats why we launched our campaign, Shield Social Care, Save Lives.

Its been running for months, and it will have to run for the whole winter, because our care homes and the NHS are facing the biggest challenge weve ever seen. It really is a hideous situation.

Prioritising certain sectors like social care is an absolute must. This is a safeguarding issue, for the vulnerable people living in the care homes and the magnificent staff who look after them.

Care homes are vital to ensure that the NHS can function. Most of our hospitals have a population of older people which is probably about 60 or 70 per cent of the total patients.

Those people have to be discharged. Our care homes need to be ready and available and they cant do that without a regime of testing that is delivering what we need in Wales.
Texas State Troopers have safely recovered their 500th missing child during a traffic stop on Sept. 16a milestone in their war waged on human trafficking.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) director, Steven McCraw, has praised the Troopers for their outstanding contribution.

The nationwide Interdiction for the Protection of Children (IPC) program has something to do with making the milestone happen.

Developed in 2009 by Texas DPS officer Derek Prestridge, IPC trains troopers how to spot red flags in suspected cases of child abduction. The programs motto implores law enforcement personnel and child safety advocates to [s]top waiting for children to ask for your help.

This is an outstanding contribution to public safety by our Troopers, who identified and rescued children during standard traffic stops, even though the child could not necessarily vocalize they needed help, McGraw said in a press release.

At the same time, it helped us take reprehensible criminals, who prey on one of our most vulnerable populations, off the streets.

The 16-hour intensive program was created to fill the void in the skill of identifying missing or at-risk kids. Its child-centered approach teaches Troopers to discern whether or not a child is safe based on specific behavior markers and contextual clues.

The training also equips officers to remove children from dangerous scenarios and assists the DPS in investigating related criminal activity.

By 2018, trained Texas State Troopers had recovered 341 missing children, stating in follow-up interviews that their training was instrumental in identifying the victims.

If this training becomes routine, Prestridge said, we could be saving thousands of children.

Before the inception of the IPC program, Texas did not even keep a record of recovered missing or exploited children; there was, quite literally no box to check, as Prestridge noted.

This isnt to say that police dont want to rescue children, he added. Of course we do. The problem is that we havent really known how.

But thats changing.

IPC training may also assist in uncovering sexual assault cases and even possession of child pornography.

In 2016, Prestridge was recognized with an award from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Pete Banks, the Centers former director of training and outreach, said the IPC program provides exactly whats needed, an intensive training that focuses on the population in law enforcement that can make the greatest difference, according to The Washington Post.

And the program marked its 11th consecutive year in 2020. So far, it has trained over 10,000 people nationwide.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
President Mnangagwa will today join other Heads of State and Government in the virtual opening meeting of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The opening proceedings, which run from today to Saturday, are being held virtually for the first time in line with Covid-19 mitigatory protocols that have been put in place across the world.

In his address, President Mnangagwa is expected to take the opportunity to reiterate calls for the unconditional removal of illegal economic sanctions imposed on the country, resulting in untold suffering to citizens in the last two decades.

The sanctions were imposed after Zimbabwe embarked upon the irreversible land reform at the turn of the millennium. The United States imposed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera) of 2001 on Harare, along with an Executive Order 13288 of March 2003, which has been renewed yearly, while the European Union introduced its own measures in February 2002, but lifted most of its embargoes in 2014.

Zidera effectively blocks Zimbabwes access to international finance and credit. Under international law, international sanctions need to be authorised or imposed by the UN Security Council, which was never done in Zimbabwes case, making the sanctions illegal.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Dr Sibusiso Moyo, yesterday said: As you are aware, its the same time every year that the whole world gathers in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Every member of the United Nations including Zimbabwe, attends.

However, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, this has not been possible and as a result of that, the United Nations General Assembly for the first is going to be held virtually and it is in this context that this week is a major week of activities about the United Nations debates, statements and all the other issues.

Dr Moyo said besides the UN celebrating its 75th anniversary, it also aims to close the inequalities gap to achieve social justice, in line with this years theme.

This resonates very well with the context and direction which President Mnangagwa and his Government are following, he said.

The Second Republic has prioritised provision of safety nets including payment of schools fees, providing subsidised roller meal and disbursements of cash transfers to the poor, especially now that many citizens have been hard hit by Covid-19.

Dr Moyo said apart from the commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the UN, speakers including the Secretary General, presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council, youth representatives and Heads of States, among others, are expected to deliver speeches.

The 75th session of the UN General Assembly opened on September 15, but the first day of the high-level general debate is today.

The special event to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the UN took place yesterday, under the theme: The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism. Herald
Image: AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth

Peggy Lehner, a Republican state senator in Ohio, doesn't sugarcoat what she has seen happen to support for President Donald Trump in her suburban Dayton district.

It hasnt ebbed. Its crashed," said Lehner, who is not seeking reelection in the district of working-class and white-collar communities the president won comfortably four years ago. He is really doing poorly among independents."

Trump's chances for a second term rest heavily on being able to maintain the margins he won by in 2016, particularly in suburban areas. He plans to campaign outside Toledo on Monday, as liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death stokes questions of whether the sudden court vacancy would energize more suburban voters who support abortion rights or social conservatives in small-town and rural areas who oppose them.

Republican lawmakers and strategists in Ohio say they are seeing research that shows a near-uniform drop in support from his 2016 totals across every suburban region of the state.

Follow Moneycontrols full coverage of the 2020 US presidential elections here

They say that Trump, who won Ohio by 8 percentage points in 2016, maintains a yawning advantage in more rural areas and small towns. Still, Republicans are concerned that if he is losing badly in suburban areas in Ohio, it is a signal that Trumps hold on other states in the industrial heartland that delivered him the presidency may be in peril.

The million-dollar question becomes, how does that translate in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania? said Corry Bliss, a Republican strategist who managed Ohio Sen. Rob Portmans 2016 reelection campaign. It translates into probably not a very good night."

Ohio has long been a bellwether. No Republican has won the White House without carrying the state since the advent of the modern two-party system, and no Democrat has since 1960.

Trump is faring worse than four years ago in communities in essentially all suburban areas around Ohio, from its major cities to its several mid-size metro areas, more than a half-dozen Republican operatives tracking races across Ohio say.

Trump has slipped in suburbs to the east and west of Cleveland, where he narrowly edged Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016, they say. In the blue-collar suburbs of Youngstown, where Trump won by double digits, the same appears to be true.

In affluent suburbs, such as Dublin northwest of Columbus, 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney won by almost 20 percentage points. Four years later, Trump narrowly lost to Clinton. Less than two months before the 2020 election, Republicans were concerned about signs the trend in Dublin has continued, according to several GOP operatives following legislative and congressional races.

There is debate among state Republican strategists about how many new voters there are left to lift Trump in rural and small town Ohio.

Former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine, a second-cousin to Gov. Mike DeWine, said, I just dont see him getting more votes.

But veteran Ohio GOP strategist Doug Preisse countered, saying, I perceive a commensurate intensification in the support for Trump in small towns."

There is less debate in other states. Pennsylvania Republicans say across the longtime GOP stronghold of Chester County west of Philadelphia, for instance, Trump has slipped as far as he has in Ohio's suburbs, though in more populous towns and in a state he carried by fewer than 45,000 votes.

Former Pennsylvania Rep. Ryan Costello, a Republican, said that the suburban electorate is rapidly diversifying in ways that hurt Trump, especially among young families and among those concerned about the coronavirus.

"I think Trump has proved to be the accelerant," said Costello.

Hillary Clinton carried Chester County by almost 10 percentage points, the first Democrat to win there since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Chester is also steadily growing, with a population of about 525,000, the fourth largest in the state.

I think that there is a higher likelihood at this moment in time that Trump performs worse in the suburbs, Costello said. Its his tone. Its the chaos. Perhaps a combination. But certainly the pandemic, the mismanagement of the pandemic.

But there are other more nuanced suburban concerns for Trump in Pennsylvania.

Just west of the state capital, Harrisburg, Cumberland County's rapid development is diversifying the Capital City's longtime Republican-leaning suburbs. The combination of growth and declining support for Trump generally across suburbs has hurt the president in south-central Pennsylvania's competitive 10th Congressional District, where Trump won by 9 percentage points in 2016, said Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

A central question is whether Trump can, as his campaign predicts, spur even more support than in 2016 from rural voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trump is leading in these areas but no where near by the percentage he won them by in 2016," said Madonna, who has conducted polls in the state for more than three decades.

Republicans have similar concerns about suburbs in Michigan, notably in Oakland County, Detroit's more upscale northwestern neighbor and Michigan's second-most populous county. Democrats have consistently carried it, though Republican George W. Bush came very close in 2000 and 2004, while Mitt Romney was competitive in 2012.

Trump did worse there than any Republican in the past 20 years, with the exception of John McCain in 2008.

But Trump appears less concerned about shoring up those losses, and is instead mining rural, small-town and working-class regions in all three states for more of the white conservative base that propelled him to office.

Trump campaigned in Bay City, Michigan, last week, a struggling former automotive manufacturing city on Lake Huron where he won in 2016, after Obama had carried Bay County twice.

Likewise, Trump has lost support in the populous suburbs of southeast Wisconsin since 2016, according to the Marquette University Law School poll. And instead, he has been campaigning in blue-collar Oshkosh and the Wausau area, far north of the Republican epicenter encircling Milwaukee.

Wisconsin Republicans promoting legislative candidates in typically GOP-leaning suburbs of Ozaukee County north of Milwaukee and Waukesha County to the city's west warned this month that Republicans should be worried because President Donald Trump is currently under-performing in the districts," according to GOP website rightwisconsin.com.

It's a combination of blunting the departures in the suburbs and juicing the rural areas," said John Selleck, who ran Romneys 2012 Michigan campaign. But can he make up the lost suburban votes elsewhere?"

That was his formula for winning Ohio four years ago. He received the highest or second-highest percent of Republican votes of any candidate since 1980 in 60 of Ohio's 88 counties, according to state voting data compiled by Mike Dawson, a public policy consultant and creator of ohioelectionresults.com.

While GOP strategists say Trump can make up the suburban losses with new voters, Marquette University's polling director Charles Franklin sees no evidence in research tracking Trump's support this year to suggest new voters are choosing him.

He definitely needs to ramp it up and deliver on what the campaign is talking about, big increases of turnout of Trump voters in regions other than the suburbs," Franklin said. "Its not in the polling now.
THE tenth annual Limerick Lifelong Learning Festival is going virtual this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The weeklong festival, between September 28 and October 4, is organised by the Learning Limerick Steering Group, which represents the main stakeholders involved in promoting learning across the City and County.

The theme for 2020 is Celebrating and Building Learning Communities.

An exciting programme of over 80 events is being provided through a combination of online interactive sessions, live broadcasts, webinars including panel discussions, and pre-recorded video events.

Activities range from dance art, health and science, to business and developing career options.

With all the uncertainty caused surrounding Covid-19, Im delighted to officially launch the 10th annual Limerick Lifelong Learning Festival. Learning and the love of learning is not confined to the young or a classroom. We can do it anywhere, as the lockdown over the past number of months has highlighted to us so clearly, said Cllr Michael Collins, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick at the physical launch of the event.

The festival provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the many contexts in which we are learning, as well as exploring new ways and opportunities for learning. Thus the festival theme this year Celebrating and Building Learning Communities. We are celebrating the resilience of our local communities, he added.

This years festival, also celebrates Limerick as a UNESCO Learning City-Region. The Irish Network of UNESCO Learning Cities (Limerick, Cork, Dublin, Belfast and Derry Strabane) is hosting a collaborative Irish Learning Cities Day on Wednesday 30 September during the Limerick Festival week.

We are delighted to be again showcasing Limerick as a superb UNESCO Learning Region for both educational and business development. This year, we are connecting through various digital formats with learners, right across our region and from our partner UNESCO Learning Cities globally, said Eimear Brophy Chairperson of the Learning Limerick Steering Group.

We are really enthusiastic about the new opportunities for sharing learning that this new format offers. We look forward to welcoming our existing learners and many of our new partners and communities of learners to our varied programme of events. There truly is something to appeal to everyone, she added.

For more, click here
[September 21, 2020] TrueCommerce Netalogue wins two UK eCommerce Awards for its work with Matthew Clark COVENTRY, United Kingdom, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TrueCommerce Netalogue announced today that it received two awards at the eCommerce Awards 2020 alongside its client, Matthew Clark, the leading drinks wholesaler.

After being shortlisted for four awards at the ceremony, TrueCommerce Netalogue beat off competition to win B2B eCommerce Website of the Year and Food and Drink eCommerce Website of the Year alongside Matthew Clark. Judged by experts from across the eCommerce and technology industry, the UK eCommerce Awards celebrate the very best in eCommerce and online retailing from across the UK, recognising businesses that lead the way in creating outstanding online experiences for customers. The judges noted that the Matthew Clark Live UI is super strong, sleek, considered, and easy to use and that the teams had gone to great lengths to improve the experience for customers. Lisa Hawkins, Head of eCommerce at Matthew Clark said, We are delighted to receive the awards for Best B2B and Best Food & Drink eCommerce Website alongside TrueCommerce Netalogue. Its a great acknowledgement of the collaborative efforts across our businesses, to deliver a great online experience for our customers. We are thrilled to be recognised for ourwork in delivering a first class ecommerce platform for Matthew Clark, said Andrew Robathan, Managing Director of Ecommerce at TrueCommerce Europe. The awards validate our ability to deliver enterprise class eCommerce solutions that enable our clients to extend their ecommerce platform far beyond just selling online and we look forward to deepening our strategic relationship with Matthew Clark as we continue to help them deliver their fast moving and constantly evolving digital strategy. TrueCommerce Netalogue is a division of TrueCommerce, a global provider of trading partner connectivity, integration and unified commerce solutions. The TrueCommerce Netalogue platform is a part of a broad set of unified commerce services and apps that connect customers, suppliers, channels, and systems. This platform revolutionises supply chain visibility and collaboration by helping organisations make the most of their omni-channel initiatives through business partner to partner connectivity, order management, collaborative replenishment, intelligent fulfillment, cross-functional analytics, and product information management. For more information on our leading Unified Commerce solution, visit, https://www.truecommerce.com/uk-en/solutions/unified-commerce About TrueCommerce: TrueCommerce is the most complete way to connect your business across the supply chain, integrating everything from EDI, to inventory management, to fulfilment, to digital storefronts and marketplaces, to your business system, and to whatever comes next. To stay ahead in todays dynamic global market, companies need to be able to do business in a lot of different directions at once. But too often, doing so means too many solutions and too much assembly required. For decades TrueCommerce has helped businesses be more connected, more supported, and more prepared for whats next. Thats why thousands of companies  ranging from startups to the global FTSE 100, across various industries  rely on us. TrueCommerce: Do business in every direction For more information about TrueCommerce Netalogue, visit www.netalogue.com. Media Contact

Yegor Kuznetsov

Director, Marketing Communications

001-703-209-0167

[email protected]



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Grant and Chezzi Denyer's rock-solid marriage has withstood many obstacles over the past decade, including health problems and prescription drug addiction.

But what's less well known about the couple is that their romance started as a workplace affair when they were colleagues at Channel Seven's Sunrise.

Chezzi, 41, revealed on their It's All True podcast last week that she and Grant, 43, began dating when they were both in relationships with other people.

'It was a rough journey': Grant and Chezzi Denyer have revealed their romance started as an affair when they were both colleagues working on Channel Seven's Sunrise in 2005

'It was a rough journey - it wasn't like what you see in the movies,' said Chezzi, who was Grant's producer on Sunrise when he joined the program as a weatherman.

When they first got together, Chezzi was married to another man, and Grant was dating another woman.

'It was problematic; it took a long time to navigate,' Grant said.

Complex situation: When they first got together, Chezzi was married to another man, and Grant was dating another woman

Working together complicated matters, as Seven executives were convinced Chezzi was leaking stories about the pair to the press.

She feared the network would send her off to Cairns or Townsville as a punishment, but instead she decided to leave television altogether.

'In the end I left TV. I couldn't deal with it. My parents were petrified. I basically ran away and moved back to Bathurst,' she said.

Leaks: Working together complicated matters, as Seven executives were convinced Chezzi was leaking stories about the pair to the press. Pictured with their daughters, Scout and Sailor

The Denyers did not confirm their relationship for a while, and even Grant's family didn't know how serious things were between them.

But everything changed when Grant broke his back in a monster truck accident in 2008.

'At the time we hadn't confirmed our relationship,' Chezzi said. 'Grant's family didn't know about me, but we had been living together for three months.'

Complicated: Chezzi feared the network would send her off to Cairns or Townsville as a punishment, but instead she decided to leave television altogether

Grant's mother apparently didn't want the couple living together, fearing Chezzi was a 'gold digger', but they persevered nonetheless.

Chezzi remained by her husband's side every step of the way during his recovery, and they ended up marrying in 2010.

They share two daughters, Sailor, eight, and Scout, four, and Chezzi recently confirmed she was pregnant with their third child.

Hard times: The Denyers did not confirm their relationship for a while, and even Grant's family didn't know how serious things were between them. But everything changed when Grant broke his back in a monster truck accident in 2008 and Chezzi nursed him back to health

Grant said their unfiltered podcast was a way for the couple to set the record straight on tabloid stories concerning their marriage.

'This could be a platform for us to level with you and tell you what the hell is true and what isn't true,' he explained.

Listen to It's All True? here, or subscribe via Spotify or Apple Podcasts
The Congress party will launch a protest against the contentious farm bills that was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday. The two bills - Farmer's produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill 2020 - will now be sent to the President for his assent.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has advised the Pradesh Congress Committees (PCSs) to take up the matter among the masses in Punjab, Haryana, and its immediate vicinity. Besides, several farm organisations have called for 'bandh' on September 25.

A total of 12 opposition parties yesterday gave a notice for a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh over the manner in which two farm Bills were passed after he overruled their pleas for an adjournment of the proceedings.

The Opposition parties that have submitted the notice include the Congress, All India Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, CPI, CPM, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, DMK, Aam Aadmi Party, IUML and Kerala Congress (Mani).

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said democracy has been shamed by the manner in which the government issued "death warrants" against farmers by passing two bills related to the agriculture sector.

"The farmers grow gold from land, but the arrogance of the Modi government is making farmers shed tears of blood," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

"Democracy has been shamed by the manner in which the government passed death warrants against farmers in the form of two farm bills in Rajya Sabha," he tweeted.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks to give freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside the notified APMC market yards (mandis). This, the government says, is aimed at facilitating remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels.

Farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their production under this Act, according to the government.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 seeks to give farmers the right to enter into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price. It seeks to transfer the risk of market unpredictability from farmers to sponsors.

Also read: No ICU beds for COVID-19 patients without connections, finds survey

Also read: CAMS IPO opens today; should you subscribe to share sale?
It was great to have Paddy Gower in the studio to talk about the upcoming weed referendum.

Take a look at the timestamps below:

0.00 - Jayden can't get his mic working

0:31 - Is medical marijuana apart of the referendum?

1:35 - How will the government police stoned driving?

2:59 - NZ is already riddled with weed

3:31 - If it's legalized, how would you be able to buy it?

3:53 - Will there be a limit as to how much you can buy?

4:04 - What will the rules around growing weed be?
New Delhi: Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan ringed in her 40th birthday with a family-only party hosted at her in Mumbai on Sunday night. Apart from Kareena and her actor husband Saif Ali Khan, her parents Babita and Randhir Kapoor and sister Karisma were a part of the party. Pictures from Bebo's midnight bash have been shared by Karisma and it looks like they had a blast.

Kareena, the mommy-to-be, glowed in a pista-coloured outfit. Needless to say, she is fabulous at 40!

Take a look at photos from Kareena's birthday bash here:

Ahead of her birthday, Kareena wrote a note to self saying, "As I enter my 40th year... I want to sit back, reflect, love, laugh, forgive, forget and most importantly pray and thank the strongest force up there for giving me the strength and thank my experiences and decisions for making me the woman I am... Some right, some wrong, some great, some not so... but still, hey BIG 40 make it BIG."

Kareena and Saif are expecting their second child together. The couple, who married in 2012, are parents to a son named Taimur.

Happy Birthday, Kareena Kapoor Khan!
You are here: Arts

China's National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) will stage a gala performance on Saturday to honor the country's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

Titled "The People Shall Prevail," the event will comprise four parts, one of which is dedicated to the heroic medical workers nationwide who had braved dangers to save lives on the frontline.

The program will include songs, dance and poetry recitation.
By Associated Press

WELLINGTON: All remaining COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted across much of New Zealand from late Monday with the exception of the largest city, Auckland, which will continue to have some restrictions for at least another 16 days.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement Monday after meeting with top lawmakers. The nation of 5 million people reimposed some restrictions last month after the Auckland outbreak, which now appears to be under control.

Under the plan, maximum gathering sizes in Auckland will be increased from 10 to 100 on Wednesday and then caps removed two weeks after that. "Auckland needs more time. Whilst we have reasonable confidence we are on the right track, there is still a need in Auckland for that cautious approach," Ardern told reporters in the city.

Health authorities reported no new cases on Monday. The number of active COVID-19 cases is 62, with 33 of those from community spread and 29 among quarantined returning travelers.
Commissioner Frederick A. Davie of the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has adopted imprisoned Nigerians Mubarak Bala and Yahaya Sharif-Aminu as part of the Commissions Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.

USCIRFs Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project highlights individuals who have been imprisoned, detained, disappeared or placed under house arrest on account of their religion or belief. As part of the project, USCIRF Commissioners commit to consistent advocacy on behalf of those adopted under the scheme.

Mr Bala, 35, a chemical engineer and President of the Nigerian Humanist Association, was arrested at his home in Kaduna state on 28 March for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed in Facebook posts. His arrest followed a petition to the Kano State Police Commissioner on 27 March by a Kano law firm, which alleged his posts were provocative and annoying to Muslims. Since his arrest Mr Bala has been held incommunicado and without charge or access to his lawyer or his wife, with whom he has a young son.

Mr Sharif-Aminu, 22, was sentenced to death by hanging by presiding Khadi (Judge) Aliyu Muhammad Kani on 10 August. He was found guilty of committing blasphemy in a song he shared on WhatsApp in March, which his accusers claimed elevated Sheikh Ibrahim Nyass, a renowned scholar from the Tijjaniyya Sufi order, above the Prophet Mohammed. On the same day, 13-year-old Umar Farouk was found guilty of committing blasphemy during an argument with a friend and sentenced to ten years imprisonment with menial labour. In a recent statement UNICEF condemned the sentence as negating all core underlying principles of child rights and child justice that Nigeria  and by implication, Kano State, has signed on to.

In a press release announcing the adoptions, USCIRF Commissioner Davie said: There is absolutely no reason why Mubarak Bala should continue to be held in detention without charge, seemingly for nothing more than exercising his right to freedom of belief and expression the Nigerian government must take all steps necessary to confirm his whereabouts and safety, and ensure that he is afforded a fair trial in a secular court. If his only alleged crime is blasphemy, he must immediately be released and allowed to return home to his family. Commissioner Davie added: Sharif-Aminus blasphemy conviction and death sentence are a violation of international human rights law and Article 38 of the Nigerian Constitution. Authorities must overturn this sentence and ensure that Sharif-Aminus right to religious freedom is protected.

While Nigerias constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion or belief, blasphemy is prohibited under Section 204 of the countrys Criminal Code. In addition, 12 of Nigerias 36 states have enacted the Sharia penal code since 1999, transforming Islam into a state religion in defiance of the federal constitution, and empowering Sharia courts to hand out such sentences as amputation for theft and execution for crimes such as blasphemy and adultery.

CSWs Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: CSW welcomes the decision by USCIRF Commissioner Frederick A Davie to adopt Mubarak Bala and Yahaya Sharif-Aminu as part of the Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. Neither of these men should be imprisoned. Blasphemy laws feed and sustain religious extremism and are therefore wholly incompatible with Nigerias obligations under international law. These laws must be repealed, and we call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained on highly subjective blasphemy charges.
With just about a month to go for Durga puja - the biggest annual extravaganza in West Bengal - preparations have begun across the city, albeit at a lower scale this time, as organisers chalk out safety plans to avoid further spread of Covid-19.

Samajsebi Sangha in south Kolkata, known for its thought-provoking marquee themes every year, has decided to change its open-air pandals direction towards Southern Avenue to enable people catch a glimpse of the deity from a distance without having to alight from their vehicles.

There will be a canopy on top to guard the 10-foot- high deity, but all three sides of the pandal will remain open. Medical personnel would be stationed next to the marquee with emergency kit and equipment. Volunteers wont allow people to crowd at the pandal entrance.

This year, things ought to be different... We have curtailed our budget from Rs 60 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. The amount saved will be distributed among 75 underprivileged families from Sunderbans, Arijit Moitra, the secretary of the puja association, said.

At Md Ali Park, another big-ticket puja, organisers are planning to give pomp and show a miss this year, while sticking to the basics.

Lights will be fewer, and the pandal smaller. The height of the deity would not exceed eight feet, Ashok Ojha, the joint secretary of the puja committee, said.

Preparations are also underway at Bhawanipore 75 Pally, another crowd-puller in South Kolkata, with labourers there made to undergo the Covid-19 test before starting work.

We will have a sanitiser tunnel and proper measures in place to ensure revellers maintain physical distance. The road leading to the pandal wont have barricades on its two sides, Subir Das, an office-bearer of Bhawanipore 75 Pally committee, said.

Tridhara Sammilani, patronised by Kolkata Municipal Corporation official Debashis Kumar, however, is yet to devise its puja plan. Organisers said they were in two minds about going ahead with this years festivities.

We have booked the idol, but work to set up the pandal has not started yet. We dont appreciate the idea that only revellers who travel by cars would get to see the idol from a distance. What about others who walk several kilometres to visit pandals? A final call will be taken in the matter after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees meeting with puja organisers on September 25, Kumar said.

Artisans at Kumartuli, a traditional potters quarter in north Kolkata, said business was not usual for them, as most puja committees have slashed their budgets this time.

Kanchi Paul, one of the artisans, said that he received 30 per cent less bookings compared to last year.

Almost all top puja organisers have placed orders for eight- or 10-foot-tall idols, at least 5 feet less than what has usually been the norm for them. This is the new normal. We have to adapt to the changing circumstances, he added.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.)

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Middle market business owners really do rely on their agents for advice and education, said Linda Stueber (pictured), vice president of Nationwides middle market commercial team. Now more than ever, its vital for agents to help business owners fully understand the coverage they have in place, adapt to new or changing risks, and be proactive in addressing those risks or gaps.

Read next: Zurich makes a host of changes as part of global digital roll-out

According to Nationwides research, 95% of agents and 84% of middle market business owners agreed that insurance agents are always there when needed. Furthermore, 93% of agents and 89% of middle market business owners agreed that insurance agents have a vast knowledge of different types of industries and protection solutions.

But theres still room for improvement. The majority of middle market business owners (71%) said they find it hard to understand what is and what is not covered in their policy. Many also reported finding it hard to differentiate between types of coverages and finding the best price for their needs. To address these challenges, Nationwide advises agents to look for new opportunities to initiate touch points with clients. Agents can also point clients towards Nationwides My Loss Control Services, which offers digital safety resources, virtual consultations and more for business owners looking for quick technical advice.

One of the most interesting aspects of this research is the fact that it was carried out during COVID-19. We have some tough challenges from an economic standpoint right now, Stueber told Insurance Business. Whats interesting is that insurers want agents to talk with them about the challenges their business clients may be facing as a result of COVID-19. For example, if an agent has a restaurant client, that restaurants business model might have evolved during COVID-19, and the insurers really want to know that. The other point made clear through the research is that the actual insureds are looking for their agents to give them advice. Theyre seeking additional information on how to manage their businesses through the pandemic.

Read more: Small businesses are underprepared for intensified cyber risk landscape

Middle market business owners expressed deep concern about the plight of their businesses during todays economic turbulence. This concern, according to the Nationwide research, has taken their attention away from their insurance needs. In fact, nearly seven in 10 respondents said theyre too concerned about the future of their business to be thinking about insurance right now.

Stueber commented: Middle market business owners wear many hats. Right now, based on the interactions weve had with our middle market customers, I would say theyre very focused on their businesses, whether its keeping current customers, trying to get new customers, supporting employees and staff, implementing new health and safety measures, and so on. If an insurance issue came up  for example, theyre a restaurant who took on new delivery exposure during the pandemic  then they may have reached out to their agent to ensure they have coverage, but if theyve continued to operate their businesses as normal, then they might not have spoken to their agent because theyre more focused on keeping their business up and running.

While middle market business owners are perhaps less focused on insurance right now, that doesnt mean their agents can fall off the pace, Stueber stressed. Now is the time to consider new and different risks that clients may be facing, she added, like cyberattacks as employees work remotely, or innovative technologies like telematics to help them operate more efficiently and safely.

Another significant point to come out of the Nationwide research is that middle market business owners want a highly digital experience, as well as personalized guidance from their insurance agent. While 81% of respondents said they feel its important to work with an insurance agent with a local office close by, 51% said they prefer to handle their insurance needs digitally, highlighting a need to offer both digital and personal interactions.

Personally, I think middle market business owners want digital interaction as part of the service process or the handling of their account, but Im not as confident they want it in the up-front transaction, said Stueber. By that I mean, when a client comes to an agent with a middle market account - on the low end of middle market, they might be paying $100,000 and on the higher end of middle market, theyre paying well over $1 million - thats not going to be a customer who decides to go on to their laptop and input information and get a quick quote on their coverage. So, I dont see a lot of digital interaction up front.

They may share information electronically with an agent in order to get a quote or to share information about their business, but I think where a customer wants more digital interaction is with additional things like telematics support - either with the agent giving some advice on telematics, or working with their insurance carrier on telematics solutions. As we get into various claim situations, the insured may enjoy a digital interaction because we can respond more quickly to them, they can track their claim easier and that type of thing. But for a middle market customer, I see the digital interaction with the agent and the company more through the process or the servicing of the account.
20.09.2020 LISTEN

The General Secretary of Kumasi Youth Association (KuYA) has made a passionate appeal to the Electoral Commission of Ghana headed by Mrs Jean Adukwei Mensah to as matter of urgency reduce the filing fees for Presidential And Parliamentary aspirants in the upcoming December 7 Polls. This is to prevent our young democracy turning into "moneycracy" where the rich and affluent would always have the upper hand in contesting for the highest office of the land.

Contributing as panel member on Boss FM's flagship program 'Good Morning Boss" hosted by the legendary Wofa Kofi Appiah, Mr Kwabena Frimpong was of the view that the amount is outrageous and unthinkable to be accepted."How can the filing fees for presidential election be increased from 50,000 cedis in 2016 to 100,000 cedis in 2020, representing a 100% increase?" Such an astronomical increase he said could muscle out the smaller political parties, making the nation duo party and no longer multi-party democracy.

Walking listeners through the memory lane, Mr Frimpong revealed that in 2008 and 2012 the filing fees the presidential aspirants was 5,000 cedis, was increased to 50,000 cedis in 2016, representing 1000% increase. Various political parties, as well as Civil Society Organisations, criticised the then EC led by Charlotte Osei, but just within four years, the figure has been pegged at 100,000 cedis.

Mr Frimpong further posited that this trend of arbitrary increase in the filing fees could possibly breed corruption and also weaken the already weak smaller political parties. Should the politician pay such an amount before the real campaign cost, what should we expect from them, when they have political power in their hands?

More to that, Mr Frimpong argued that the smaller parties would struggle to host a competitive campaign. Ghana is practising multiparty democracy though but as we all know, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress(NDC) have dominated our political atmosphere since the inception of the fourth republic. "If only filing fees alone would cost these minor political parties such an amount, how then can they fund their national campaign?" He retorted. He revealed that the situation currently on the ground is that the two major political parties, NPP and NDC have been paying for the smaller once and as such the latter are not of their own rather do the bidding of the two major parties.

Mr Frimpong added that even the major political parties find it sometimes difficult paying such filing fees More often than not they are compelled to seek donor support from foreign agencies and philanthropists, which mostly come with conditionalities, as there is no free lunch anywhere.

"The EC should not use the filing fees as a means of funding the electoral process, we all know the EC's budget is funded by the Government of Ghana as well as our foreign partners who support our fledgeling democracy"

He concluded that it would be better for the EC to maintain the filing fees for 2016 elections rather than increase it, bearing in mind that the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown our economy overboard.
He turned and said, my wife and I love music; what are you listening to now?

When he learned that I was researching different renditions of Bachs Goldberg Variations, he asked for my favorite. Without hesitation, I replied, Glenn Gould, 1955. Addressing his wife on the other side of the table, he said, Ruth, you have to meet Eric.

We continued to discuss music and many other interests for the next 17 years. She sent me CDs and articles and sometimes over dinner would explain complicated legal cases. When I began writing a memoir of growing up in a poor community in Alabama founded by former slaves, including my great-grandfather, she asked to read the manuscript, and her keen insight resulted in several suggestions.

She also shared her own recollections that helped me understand the roots of her lifelong passion for equal opportunity for every person. Once we talked about people who had made lasting impressions on us when we were young. She recalled being mesmerized by the conductor of a childrens concert she attended in Brooklyn in 1944, when she was 11 years old. She was both sad and incredulous to learn I had not heard of the African-American conductor, Dean Dixon, and his inability to land a conductors job at a major symphony orchestra simply because of his race.

Sit down, she said, as I recall. We cannot end the evening until you know his story. Can you imagine someone with so much skill and genius, conducting all over the world, and yet unable to find a job in his own country just because of the color of his skin?

While many of the topics we discussed touched on the political, we never spoke of politics in a partisan fashion; rather, we spoke of ideas that underlie political theories and ways of thinking. We never reduced the complexity of ideas to partisan labels. We always discussed issues, even potentially divisive ones, from a cultural and historical perspective, more nuanced than the Democratic versus Republican dichotomy allows. As it so often turned out, our views on those ideas were not as far apart as our nominal party affiliations might have suggested.
Abe's shrine visit opens wounds of war victims



Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the specter of Japan's past militarism by visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, Saturday. His visit came four days after he stepped down due to health problems. It was a sheer reminder of his nationalist ambitions to beautify his country's shameful history.



We have to express shock and anger at Abe's move. No one knows better than him that a visit to the controversial shrine will open the wounds inflicted by Japan's war crimes. He once infuriated South Korea and China in 2013 when he made a pilgrimage to the shrine while serving as prime minister. At that time, he also elicited an expression of "disappointment" from the U.S. Abe should have refrained from repeating such a provocative act.



The Yasukuni Shrine has come to symbolize Japan's wartime aggression. The shrine contains the remains of 14 Class A war criminals. It is a lot different from the Seoul National Cemetery of South Korea and Arlington National Cemetery in the U.S. Abe's presence at the shrine was improper by all means and cannot be justified under any circumstance. He should not dare to go there again if he really wants to reflect on Japan's wartime atrocities and wrongdoings.



It is appropriate for the Moon Jae-in administration to express "deep concern and regret" over Abe's shrine visit. Foreign ministry spokesman Kim In-chul issued a statement saying: "We express deep concern and regret that former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Yasukuni Shrine, a symbolic establishment that beautifies Japan's colonial plunder and war of aggression, right after his resignation."



As the statement pointed out, neighboring countries and the international community cannot trust Japan unless Japanese leaders face up to history squarely and take sincere action to atone for its disgraceful history. As long as it continues to deny its responsibility for past colonialism and imperialism, Japan can never make a genuine reconciliation with its neighbors and help heal the wounds of Koreans, Chinese and others who were subject to untold suffering from its aggression and occupation.



Abe has long been criticized for his attempts to make Japan a "normal country" that can wage war against others. He went all-out to erase the word "pacifist" from Japan's postwar Constitution which renounces the use of force to settle international disputes. He failed to revise the Constitution during his rule. But he apparently wants his successor, Yoshihide Suga who took office last week, to keep promoting his nationalist agenda. In early September, he even proposed that Japan develop the capability to stage preemptive strikes on enemy bases.



Abe's shrine visit can be seen as his move to rally Japan's right-wing supporters around his ultra-nationalist causes. He has not hesitated to reveal his intention of exercising his influence over the Suga government by helping him with diplomatic affairs. Abe should stop trying to pull the strings from behind the scenes to move Japan further toward the right and revive its militarism.




21.09.2020 LISTEN

One of the most revered institutions of any country is the military and police service. In Ghana, recent statistics prove that majority of Ghanaians consider police service as the most corrupt ever

Joseph Agbovor the caretaker - influenced by Torgbui Agobodzo - categorically stated that Ghana police is useless institution. He added that, the service is prone to bribery and that he could bribe them to tow his line

Such disparaging comment of a mere caretaker toward the service was personally relayed to the police by my good self

Well, whether corrupt or useless, it is the only police service we have. Personally, I cherish the service, hence earning my props and plaudits

Mr. Agbovor admitted before the area commander, Suprt Agyei, that Torgbui Agobodzo acknowledged that indeed, the property belongs to me. He told him to stay there since he had no place to live. I was informed of his presence by himself and Frank Mensah, a step brother. I live in Europe, so anything of such, I only give the nod

Agbovor, summarily replaced former caretaker known as Obolo due to his stocky stature. Despite living in the propert (since 2006 - 2018) without paying a dime, he left after he set fire to the building

It was Moses Justice Aheto Ph.D, a lecturer at University of Ghana who helped secure the property for me three months before I came down and reported the case to police

My first encounter with the police appeared strange. Viewed from from standard work of dexterity, Afienya Mataheko Divisional Police service appeared a bit unrepentantly naive and somewhat unprofessional

It is out of absolute sobriety that I dissect and make these pleas. Two police officers accompanied me to "arrest those criminals masquerading as family members. The officers simply said, verbally to Rev. Daniel and his wife, accomplices in the scheme, "you are invited to the police station." I was shocked to the marrow when they turned their back and left

Yes, criminals, they are, sometimes, when I visited Ghana on several occasions, unwilling to foot hefty cum lofty hotel bills, I simply stay at my property. Those were days myself and girlfriend, Emefa, sometimes with Agbovor, would walk the wooded area to bamboo structured kiosks, to drink a little bit of holy water and socially smoke cigar and ended up to sweeten the fete with what could only be described as "doctors and nurses"

I was enjoying the accolade of 'bogga" Since 2002 - 2015 September before this case cropped up. Nobody had ever challenged the ownership of the property till September. 2015. The latest accolade now that they are meddling with my property is "bogga ye loose"

So, it is not only the financial cost being heaped on me but emotional one too. Is pretty sad happening when the institutions can't guarantee that every Ghanaian earn this keep and, of course, keep his earn, is epitome of banana republic with banality in Ghana

"You are invited to the police station" sounds to me like my girlfriend, Emefa inviting me to a cocktail party. But the police, as far as we know in Ghana aren't romantic by approach. Never!

What of, these people now aware of the consequences of illegal destruction of property so chosen not to honor the invitation? Or they know them before? I raised this discrepancy to the police. The police responded that regular police officers can't identify anybody except CIDs and that the CID assigned the case to was off duty

The police further explained to me that in Europe, when the police moves, the CID also moves, that is why we witness instant identification of suspects

You see, when officers deem somebody suspicious, rather in my case, is to identify the person first. It is in the interest of police and safety that identification is compulsory. He or she is mandated by the constitution to do that as an obligation

If during identification he or she realizes that the person he is dealing with is non-violent, then fine but when the suspect is violent and dangerous, then she or he is obliged to call for support because police are considered soft targets because of the nature of their work

Sceptics and detractors will dismiss this as too futuristic. Well, national identification data-wheel is here and until is full-fledged, police must be trained to use psychology to identify citizens. Must be made punishable by law to lie about one's identity to the police

If there is no need to arrest the suspect on spot, police will go back to the station and weigh the possibility of the suspect coming to give his version of the story. If there is, the suspect is called by phone (another form of evidence gathering)

Infact, it has to be on record, so-so-and-so person was called on so-so-and-so date of which he or she did attend or did not. If there isn't need for the suspect to be invited, the case is filed straight to court. The court will now notify the parties when to appear. Of all cases reported to the police go through this process

By then, when we met the police, Joseph Agbovor admitted the property is for me, that it was Torgbui Agobodzo who introduced him to that option. The Kotoka, Torgbui's in-law for that my in-law, admitted before the police knowing Torgbui that was why he demanded Ghcs 40,000.00 as refund of the amount Emmanuel Kornyoh Ansah Dogbe Hegan allegedly took from him for my property

A million police rhetoric or antics: article 9/10 of the constitution clearly outlines who the owner of the property in question is. I have spent from day one possessing the property

Also the original owners registered the property before selling it to me, which can be traced back to lands commission and surveyors department. My documents were merely stolen. The truth of the matter is, I didn't know how to go about it from the beginning because of antics. It was through interaction with lawyers and friends that has made me aware. Several factors delayed the case so far

Despite all of this, police now say the person who registered the property simply directed another person to sell the property to me and that the original owner/s wants substantial amount of money before they will sign for me

That is completely ridiculous if not institutional faux pas : nobody can sell another person's property officially except there is specification to exact so

If you lack stature in morality and principles, you say, "I didn't see any destruction" even though you are the same person, I mean the CID, who directed myself and Doctor Aheto how to take photos of the destruction under her supervision

The destruction and the fact that those claimants tendered fake documents is the criminal aspect of this non-existing issue. That is police aspect of the case. And if the police is reluctant to prosecute them indicates police is accessory to it

I expect the CID to investigate, at least, who made the fake documents for Kotoka and his gang and Emmanuel Kornyoh's 'embezzlement'. Atsu Kornyoh, Emmanuel Kornyoh's younger brother, testified in a written statement before Mataheko police service, he saw my documents with Kotoka and his cohorts

Yet the police are pandering, hobnobbing, whining and dining with the criminals despite having all these evidence on their laps. That is why they have gut to destroy more property

When these claimants are seen destroying my property again and again - even after the case has been reported to the police - by the community members or neighbours, it creates a dangerous trend or precedent that can cause community members to lose faith in the police service. Just imagine!

It was Ben Yakanu who taught me bitter lesson during our childhood days, that police, lawyers, surveyors, etc. all flock together and for that can't completely repose 100% faith in them. So it has been with me since

So far, the counterfeit documents which bear the name Nii Tetteh as the original proprietor tendered to police by family sakawa boys is what I know officially from the police nothing more, nothing less. That is why "hire a lawyer" is prominently displaced

To suggest that my lawyer has taken over the case and that she can't do anything prevent demolishers is palpable lie. Of the kind pathological

It is not only pathological, also betrayal of constitutional mandated oath of office she promised to adhere to. The earlier they stand up and adhere to oath, the better it will be for all of us

This is petition for:

His excellencies:

JJ Rawlings

John Agyekom Kofour

John Dramani Mahama

Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo

Police Bosses:

James Oppong-Boanuh

Ken Yeboah

BNI Boss, Mr. Dumfeh

Asantehene:

Otomfo Osei Tutu II

Richard Agobodzo

You can contact Richard Agobodzo

[email protected] or via Facebook.com/Richard Agobodzo
A second judge has ruled that a policyholders COVID-19 business-interruption claim should proceed, marking an uncommon procedural win for business owners who have seen similar lawsuits dismissed by at least six other state and federal judges.

Bergen County Superior Court Judge Michael N. Beukas ruled against a motion by Franklin Mutual Insurance Co. to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Optical Services USA for business income lost because of the states coronavirus lockdown.

The judge said in oral comments that the term physical can mean more than material alteration or damage, so the burden is on the insurer to show why the lost covered by Opticals business owners policy.

Judge Beukas ruled verbally during a telephonic conference on Aug. 13, but the decision escaped widespread public notice until two law firms blogged about the ruling on Wednesday. The McCarter & English law firm said the decision rebuts the non-coverage narrative the insurance industry has tried to perpetuate to dissuade policyholders from seeking coverage for their pandemic-related losses.

That non-coverage narrative has served insurers well in most of the cases that have had dispositive rulings so far. A state judge in Michigan and federal judges in Texas, California, New York and the District of Columbia have dismissed COVID-19 lawsuits, finding that coverage isnt owed unless there is some tangible physical damage to properties.

Up until the ruling in Opticals case, U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough in Kansas City, Mo. has been the only jurist to rule against a motion to dismiss lawsuits filed against a COVID-19 business- interruption claimant. In Studio 417 v. Cincinnati Insurance, Bough ruled that because the plaintiff alleged that coronavirus was physically present on the property, the case should proceed for further hearings.

Optical did not claim that it was forced to shut down because of the presence of coronavirus; it argued that the civil authority order forcing the business to close amounted to a covered physical loss of the property.

Opticals policy excluded damages caused by virus contamination, but the insurer and the plaintiff both agreed that the virus exclusion does not apply.

Attorney Michael S. Levine, who blogged about the ruling, said Friday the insurers attorney whiffed when he told the judge that the virus exclusion did not apply. In other cases, judges had ruled that virus exclusions barred lawsuits seeking coverage for lost income because of virus closure orders.

I have no idea what the insurance company lawyer was thinking, Levine said. I would never imagine in a million years that a client would let me make that argument.

Nevertheless, the decision marks a much needed win for policyholders, Levine said. He represents plaintiffs in insurance disputes for the Hunton Andrews Kurth law firm in Washington D.C.

Beukas said Opitical makes an interesting argument and a novel theory of insurance coverage that warrants further discussion. He noted cases where New Jersey courts have found in favor of plaintiffs seeking coverage for lost income caused by an ammonia leak and a power outage.

Levine said a large body of New Jersey case law supports Beaukas finding that even an intangible loss is covered by commercial property policies.

I would not characterize New Jersey law as unique, however there is clear authority from other courts in the state that do not require tangible alteration to property as a condition to finding physical loss or damage to property, he said. Similar decisions have been handed down in courts across the country.

Beukas ruling allows discovery to proceed in Opticals lawsuit, allowing one small dispute a wide-ranging battle about COVID-19 business interruption coverage to continue. A COVID-19 litigation tracker posted by the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School shows that 891 lawsuits have been filed that, like Optical, seek coverage for income lost because of civil authority orders. An additional 1,033 lawsuits have been filed seeking reimbursement for lost business income because of COVID-19 closure orders, while 913 lawsuits seek coverage for extra expenses caused by the virus.

We are in the opening stages of what will undoubtedly be a protracted war over coverage for Covid-19 business interruption losses, stated attorneys Robert D. Chesler and Nicholas M. Insua with the Anderson Kill law firm. Companies should review their property policies now, if they have not already done so, and consult with insurance professionals concerning the possibility of coverage and next steps.
She managed to keep her exciting pregnancy news under wraps for five months.

But The Bachelor star Laura Byrne proudly flaunted her baby bump on Monday as she met up with a girlfriend in Sydney.

The mother-of-one, 31, showed her growing tummy to her gal pal as they bumped into each other on the street.

There is no hiding it now! She managed to keep her exciting pregnancy news under wraps for five months, but The Bachelor star Laura Byrne proudly flaunted her baby bump on Monday as she met up with a girlfriend in Sydney

Laura kept her pregnancy a secret all through her first trimester and halfway through her second by wearing baggy clothing.

But this time she was dressed in a fitted ribbed trousers teamed with a T-shirt and denim jacket.

The brunette beauty also revealed her pregnancy glow by going makeup free and sweeping her long locks up in a casual bun.

Casual and comfortable: The mother-of-one, 31, was dressed in a fitted ribbed trousers teamed with a T-shirt and denim jacket

Exciting news! Laura's friend looked incredibly excited for the reality star as they discussed the news on the street

During the outing, charitable Laura was seen dropping off several bags of clothes to a local St Vinnies.

On Saturday, the jewellery designer revealed just how she managed to keep her pregnancy under wraps for so long.

On Nova's Matt, Sarah and Matty J show, host Sarah McGilvray asked Laura: 'You are one of the most papped people in Sydney! How did you keep it under wraps?'

Glowing; The brunette beauty also revealed her pregnancy glow by going makeup free and sweeping her long locks up in a casual bun

'It was winter, it was lockdown, it was pretty easy really, I mean baggy T-shirts and stuff,' Laura replied.

'A soon as it was getting warmer, I was like we might have to announce this as I don't want to be going for walks wearing jumpers in the middle of summer.'

'You've effectively been shackled to the bedroom for the last 20 weeks,' Laura's fiance Matty said.

Keeping mum: Laura kept her pregnancy a secret all through her first trimester and halfway through her second by wearing baggy clothing

Charitable: During the outing, Laura was seen dropping off several bags of clothes to a local St Vinnies

Exciting news! On Thursday, Laura and Matty announced that they're expecting their second child together

'Alrighty! You don't need to tell them everything that's going on!' Laura joked.

On Thursday, Laura and Matty announced that they're expecting their second child together.

'I reckon we've kept this little beach ball under wraps for long enough..... Half way to number two,' Laura wrote in an Instagram post at the time.

'A big shout out to @matthewdavidjohnson for his contribution,' she joked.

Thank you lockdown! Laura said the COVID-19 pandemic and wearing 'baggy' clothes helped her conceal her baby bump for months. She is pictured with fellow Bachelor contestant and podcast co-host Brittany Hockley during her recent holiday in Byron Bay

Earlier this month, the pair celebrated their three-year anniversary after meeting and falling in love on The Bachelor exactly three years ago.

Matty and Laura became engaged in April 2019.

They welcomed their daughter Marlie-May in June last year.
LAS VEGAS  A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump's reelection campaign that challenges a new state law sending ballots to all active voters amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The lawsuit lacks standing, according to U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan in a Sept. 18 order dismissing the lawsuit.

Nevada's Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in August signed the law passed by the Democratically controlled Legislature that made the state among several that plan to automatically mail ballots to active voters this November. Trump's campaign filed the lawsuit within days of Sisolak's signing.

Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit in August. Though Cegavske  a Republican  opposed the new law and said her department did not have the budget for the changes, she serves as the state's top elections official and was named in the lawsuit by the Trump campaign and Republicans and is now defending the new law in court.

More: Where you can vote by mail, absentee ballot in the 2020 election

President Donald Trump addresses the Latinos for Trump roundtable at Treasure Island hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

Trump's campaign and national and state Republicans filed the lawsuit in Nevada to try to stop the new law, contending it would undermine the election's integrity.

Cegavske's attorneys asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit and contended that the lawsuit addresses a policy debate that should occur outside of a courtroom. The filing also said the Trump campaign and Republicans who filed the suit don't have legal standing to make their argument and don't explain how they'd be harmed by changes in the law.

More: When early voting and mail voting for president begins in every state

The filing also said the Trump campaign and Republicans who filed the suit don't have legal standing to make their argument and don't explain how they'd be harmed by changes in the law.

Trump's lawsuit alleged the law's "three-day, post-election receipt deadline for non- postmarked ballotscoupled with its deeming rule, the faster average mailing time in urban districts such as Clark County, and the postal services practice of not postmarking prepaid mail"  would result in more untimely ballots being counted from urban areas.

Story continues

"These injuries are too speculative to establish standing," Mahan wrote. "Plaintiffs offer a patchwork theory of harm that does not rely on [the law], but on the speed of the United States Postal Service, an entity out of defendants control."

"Active" voters are generally voters with a current address on file with local elections officials.

Contributing: Associated Press.

Trump Lawsuit Dismissal by Reno Gazette Journal on Scribd

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This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Vote by mail: Nevada lawsuit brought by Trump, Republicans dismissed
Nitish Kumar condemns heckling of RS dy chairman

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Sep 21: The heckling of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh in the House during the passage of farm bills has "hurt" the prestige of Bihar, and people of the state will give a befitting reply to this, the leaders of the state's ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance said on Monday.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said whatever happened in Rajya Sabha on Sunday was very wrong and the more it is condemned, the less it would be. He was speaking at a virtual programme attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who laid the foundation stone of nine highway projects and inaugurated optical fibre internet service.

CCB summons actors Akul Balaji, Santhosh Kumar and ex-MLA's son in drug case

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

State's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said people of Bihar, which is going to the assembly polls soon, will give a befitting reply. Harivansh is a respected person in Bihar and across the country, and this incident has hurt the state's pride, he said.

Two key farm bills, dubbed as the biggest reform in agriculture by the government, were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha with voice vote amid unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members who were demanding that the proposed legislation be referred to a House panel for greater scrutiny.

After a heated debate, Rajya Sabha passed the two bills amid a bedlam as some opposition members, ignoring the COVID-19 protocol, charged towards the podium of Deputy Chairman Harivansh, flung the rule book at him and tore official papers. They yanked his microphone and heckled him over their demand for a division of vote on their motion to refer the legislation to a select committee.
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Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank sacked a senior official last week after a directive from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) citing failure to adhere to good corporate governance practices and the officials alleged role in this issue, three persons familiar with the development told Moneycontrol. All of them declined to be named.

The officer, P Manikandan, was serving as a chief general manager in the Thrissur-based bank. Manikandan, one of the senior-most executives in the management, retired more than a year ago but continued on the post on contract.

The RBI sent a letter to the bank last Friday demanding Manikandan be sacked, citing corporate governance issues allegedly involving the officer, according to the persons quoted above, who asked not to be named. The RBI letter asked the bank to sack the officer with immediate effect, said one of the persons quoted above.

According to the persons quoted above, the letter refers to the regulators concerns on failure to adhere to good corporate governance practices in the bank. The RBI was alarmed about the banks corporate governance standards after three back to back senior-level exists in the bank in June.

Following the receipt of the RBI letter, the banks board members and top management officials met through a videoconference on Friday and sought the resignation of the CGM, said the people quoted above.

An email sent to the RBI seeking a response on the matter remained unanswered until the time of filing this story. Dhanlaxmi Banks Managing Director and CEO, Sunil Gurbaxani didnt offer any immediate comments. Manikandan was not immediately available for comment.

The Dhanlaxmi Bank board has been in a state of flux with a series of top-level exits, including that of the chairman. The first one was on June 29 when Sajeev Krishnan, part-time chairman and independent director, quit. Krishnan had joined the Kerala-headquartered bank in February 2018 for three years.

He had around eight months left. The other two were KN Murali, independent director, and G Venkatanarayanan, an additional director. Both resigned with effect from June 29, 2020, before their terms came to an end. Murali joined the bank nearly a year and a half ago while Venkatanarayanan joined only a few months ago.

Following these exits, the bank had appointed new board members. These include PK Vijayakumar, G Rajagopalan Nair, G Subramonia Iyer and Suseela Menon R, also as additional directors (Independent Category) to the board.

Manikandan joined Dhanlaxmi bank in 2005-2006. Before that, he was with Canara Bank and, for a brief stint, with the banks home finance subsidiary.

A divided house

According to the persons quoted above, there have been differences among the top management and the board for a while on various policy and operational issues, which led to these exits. Manikandans role in the bank even after his retirement too had come under question.

As the RBI letter indicates, this particular officer was part of the faction that led to differences in the running of the bank, said one of the persons quoted above.

One of the reasons for differences among different factions in the bank was divided opinion with respect to the issue of considering investments from a North Indian lobby, said one of the persons.

The bank has been approached by certain investors for a significant stake. We do not want to sell the bank and lose the identity of this bank which has strong roots in Kerala, the person said.

The problems in Dhanlaxmi Banks top date back to several years. A letter written by K Jayakumar, a former director to the chairman after his resignation in April 2016, provides some clues. Former and present senior executives Moneycontrol spoke to said many of the points raised by Jayakumar, mainly the dominance of management over the Board, still hold true. These differences could have played a role in exits of board members ahead of their term, they said. Moneycontrol has a copy of the letter.

The letter started on professional competency: I have lost faith in the capacity of this management and its ethos I wonder why the initiatives approved by the Board and the several suggestions and admonitions of the RBI have repeatedly failed to yield the desired results. I am shocked by the abysmal lack of grace in dealing with difficult situations

The letter then throws light on the ego clashes, HR policies and governance issues gnawing at the bank.

They (management) seem to presume that the Directors have to be necessarily yes men. Any note different from his masters voice is unacceptable. Dissent with dignity seems to be unknown in their lexicon. Once a Director (who is paradoxically called Independent Director!) is suspected to have different views, then he has to be sidelined, if not humiliated Jayakumar had said.

I am pained at the short-sightedness that fails to regard the commitment and contentment of the employees as paramount for the survival and success of the Bank in its darkest hour, he said.

The managements clash with trade unions, too, had played a key role in the exits of senior executives. For instance, one of the issues highlighted by Jayakumar was the sacking of a senior executive who was involved in trade union activities. The sacking of PV Mohanan, former general secretary of the Employees Association, had led to a month-long agitation. Mohanan didnt want to comment on this story.

Dhanlaxmi Bank on Monday posted a 69 percent decline in its net profit at Rs 6.09 crore for the first quarter ended June 2020 due to higher provisioning. The bank had registered a net profit of Rs 19.84 crore during the same quarter of the previous fiscal. On Monday, the banks shares were trading at Rs 13.45 apiece nearly the same as yesterdays closing price.
The deal to sell TikTok to Oracle and Walmart, and avert a ban, could still be pulled if Chinese owner Bytedance retains any control of the app, Donald Trump has said.

The president has given his support to a deal that would sell a part of TikTok to the US companies and allow the app to continue to operate in the US, amid threats that it could be banned. That was despite the fact that the TikTok deal did not seem to satisfy previous orders that Chinas Bytedance should not have any ownership of the app.

But now Mr Trump has said that his administration would not approve the deal if buyers Oracle and Walmart did not get "total control" over the app.

"If we find that they don't have total control, then we're not going to approve the deal... We will be watching it very closely," he told Fox News in an interview.

Mr Trumps indication on Saturday that he supported the deal, in principle, helped delay the threat of a complete ban of TikTok in the US. An executive order had imposed a deadline of Sunday and allowed for the app to be blocked if control of the company had not been handed over.

Under the terms of the deal, TikTok will be owned by a new company called TikTok Global and headquartered in the United States, possibly in Texas, Mr Trump said. Oracle will own 12.5 per cent of the new company and Walmart will take 8.5 per cent of it.

Bytedance, the current Chinese owner of TikTok, will keep 80 per cent of TikTok Global. Reports over the weekend said that because Bytedance is 40 per cent owned by US investors, the White House would consider that deals structure to satisfy the requirement that control of TikTok is handed over, reports over the weekend indicated.

Numerous commentators noted that appeared to be a compromise in the part of the White House, which had initially pushed for an outright sale, and it was unclear why the Trump administration had changed its view.

Part of that appeared to be a series of pledges that included the creation of 25,000 new US jobs at TikTok, and the creation of a $5 billion education fund in the country.

While ByteDance will get to keep TikTok's source code under the deal, Oracle will get to inspect it. Oracle Chief Executive Safra Catz said her company was "100% confident in our ability to deliver a highly secure environment to TikTok and ensure data privacy to TikTok's American users, and users throughout the world."

Catz served on Trump's transition team in 2016, while Oracle's co-founder and chairman, Larry Ellison, is one of the few top technology executives to openly support the U.S. president.

ByteDance also had to give up some of its control of TikTok. Reuters reported on Thursday that TikTok Global would have a majority of American directors, a U.S. chief executive and a security expert on the board. Walmart said on Saturday its CEO, Doug McMillon, would serve as one of the five board members of TikTok Global.

It is possible that ByteDance's ownership of TikTok will be reduced further next year. Reuters was first to report on Thursday that ByteDance is planning an initial public offering of TikTok Global. The filing of the IPO would be on a U.S. stock exchange and could come in about a year.

Additional reporting by agencies
Oil companies cut diesel prices for the fifth consecutive day across all metros on Monday. In Delhi and Mumbai, diesel prices were cut by 15 paise each today. At present diesel stands Rs 71.43 per litre in Delhi and Rs 77.87/litre in Mumbai.

In the last five days, diesel rates are reduced by Rs 1.13 in the national capital. Whereas, in Mumbai, diesel has been slashed by Rs 1.18 per litre.

In other metros, like Chennai, diesel declined by 14 paise on Monday. The diesel rates in Chennai are at Rs 76.85 per litre.

Oil companies also slashed diesel price by 15 paise in Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru each on Monday. Now, diesel stands at Rs 79.94/litre in Kolkata, Rs 77.88 in Hyderabad, and Rs 75.64 in Bengaluru.

However, petrol has remained unchanged for the last three days. Petrol in Delhi stands at Rs 81.14 per litre and Rs 87.82 per litre in Mumbai.

The price per litre of the two fuels varies from state to state because of different rates of local taxes and VAT imposed.

Check latest and revised petrol prices today

Price of petrol in Delhi today, September 21- Rs 81.14 /litre

Price of petrol in Mumbai today, September 21-Rs 87.82/litre

Price of petrol in Chennai today, September 21-Rs 84.21/litre

Price of petrol in Kolkata today, September 21-Rs 82.67/litre

Price of petrol in Hyderabad today, September 21-Rs 84.33 /litre

Price of petrol in Bengaluru today, September 21-Rs 83.7/litre

Price of petrol in Gurgaon today, September 21- Rs 79.32/litre

Price of petrol in Noida today, September 21-Rs 81.64/litre

Check latest and revised diesel prices today

Price of diesel in Delhi today, September 21- Rs 71.43/litre

Price of diesel in Mumbai today, September 21- Rs 77.87/litre

Price of diesel in Chennai today, September 21-Rs 76.85/litre

Price of diesel in Kolkata today, September 21- Rs 74.94/litre

Price of diesel in Hyderabad today, September 21- Rs 77.88/litre

Price of diesel in Bengaluru today, September 21-Rs 75.64/litre

Price of diesel in Gurgaon today, September 21- Rs 71.91/litre

Price of diesel in Noida today, September 21- Rs 71.81/litre

Meanwhile, oil prices edged higher as a tropical storm took aim for the US Gulf of Mexico region halting some production, though price gains were capped by the potential return of oil output in Libya and a continued rise in coronavirus cases.

Brent crude was up 9 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $43.24 a barrel by 0230 GMT.

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Low interest loans and grants distributed by the Middle Michigan Development Corp. likely helped many area small businesses stay afloat during non-essential closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jim McBryde, president of MMDC, told Mt. Pleasant city commissioners during a meeting earlier this week that many business owners said the money awarded was a lifesaver and that none of the businesses receiving funds has gone under.

Updating commissioners on what MMDC has been doing to support small businesses during the pandemic, McBryde said the agency was one of 15 selected by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to distribute funds for several state programs and the federal CARES Act.

While MMDC assists businesses in Isabella and Clare counties, Gratiot and Gladwin counties were also awarded money through the Michigan Small Business Relief Program impacted by the pandemic, McBryde said.

An average of $1,850 was given to 30 businesses in Clare County, which was awarded $37,000 in MSBRP grants.

In Isabella County, 50 businesses were funded with an average grant of $1,680 for a total of $84,000, McBryde said.

In Gratiot County, $49,000 was awarded to 79 businesses with an average grant of $620.

Gladwin County received $30,000, which was given to 20 businesses with the average grant being $1,500. McBryde said.

In addition to the grants, the MSBRP selected MMSDC to distribute an additional $200,000 from the MEDC for low-interest loans that were ineligible for grants because of a larger number of employees; three businesses in Mt. Pleasant and one in Clare received $50,000 loans at .25 percent interest with a 10-year payback.

As part of an expanded Match on Main program, MMDC refocused resources on recovery efforts for small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

McBryde said MMDC was one of 22 economic development organizations throughout Michigan to receive $48,000 through the Match on Main COVID-19 Response Program; 22 downtown Mt. Pleasant businesses received grants of $2,000 or $2,500.

An additional $45,000 in grants was distributed to small businesses and non-profits in Isabella and Clare counties by MMDC based on grants from Dow Chemical, Chemical Bank and the Clare County Community Foundation, McBryde said.

Michigan legislators passed in June approving $100 million from the CARES Act to fund the Michigan Small Business Restart Program, McBryde told commissioners, adding that MMDC was chosen to distribute $3.5 million in grants to eligible small businesses in Isabella, Clare, Gratiot, Gladwin, Arenac and Midland counties.

Out of 840 of 870 applicants were approved for grants ranging from $1,000 to $15,000 based on their scores.

While the deadline is Dec. 30, MMDC is in the process of reviewing the grant contracts with a goal of distributing the funds sooner, McBryde said.

Like many businesses, McBryde said, MMDC has had to learn how to work differently during the pandemic, focusing on helping businesses get through the hardships associated with COVID-19.
WASHINGTON - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reversed heavily criticized guidelines on who should be tested for the novel coronavirus after experts inside and outside the agency raised alarms about public confusion over testing and concerns about the country's ability to control the epidemic.

The agency updated its recommendations to call for testing anyone who has been in close contact with anyone found to have the novel coronavirus. The guidance includes testing of those who do not have symptoms of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Friday's reversal, which was posted on the CDC's website, took place after the agency was directed in August by the White House coronavirus task force to shift its testing guidance. The task force-directed recommendation said those without symptoms of covid-19 "do not necessarily need a test."

Last month's change caused an uproar among public health and medical professionals, who said the move would spark public confusion and impede the contact tracing needed to identify infected individuals and control transmission. They called for the guidance to be reversed.

Within the agency, scientists raised concerns that "what had happened was wrong, and it was not good public health practice," according to one federal health official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.

Trump administration officials said the push to limit testing was driven by the task force and other federal health officials overseeing testing.

Testing of people without symptoms is especially critical because the CDC estimates that up to 40% of people infected with the novel coronavirus show no symptoms of covid-19 but still may be highly infectious and spread the virus.

The guidance posted Friday essentially reverts to the CDC's original recommendation calling for testing of all people who have had close contact with a person having a documented coronavirus infection.

Public health experts praised Friday's decision but warned that the political interference that led to last month's changes and the conflicting messaging surrounding testing undermine the government's ability to fight the pandemic, which has killed more than 197,000 people in the United States, according to a Washington Post analysis. They also called for a return of daily CDC briefings to provide updates on the coronavirus response.

"This is an encouraging step in the right direction and confirms the importance of testing close contacts of people with COVID," Tom Frieden, CDC director during the Obama administration, said in an email. "Now, the administration needs to show that political interference with CDC science will never happen again."

"The constant politicization of this crisis has eroded trust in our nation's leading public health institutions," said Richard Besser, the president and chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting director of the CDC. "When guidance changes without explanation, trust is lost. CDC guidance should only change to reflect new science, not shifting political winds."

Caitlin Rivers, an infectious-diseases expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the U.S. response to the pandemic has been characterized by inconsistent and unclear messaging.

"It would be helpful if CDC could hold press conferences when important new guidance is released, to explain the updates. I worry that it's confusing for clinicians and the public to interpret the guidance without context. That has been the practice during previous outbreaks," Rivers said. "If the White House task force develops the guidance, then they should issue the document and hold a press conference."

Brett Giroir, an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the CDC, said last month that the idea for altering the testing guidance originated with him and CDC Director Robert Redfield and that the change was based on concerns that people can have misleading negative results if the test is given too soon after someone becomes infected. A senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share behind-the-scenes discussions, said last month that Redfield was initially skeptical but then went along with the idea.

Giroir also said the guidance went through repeated drafts and was discussed with physicians on the task force, including Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Scott Atlas, a Stanford Hoover Institution neuroradiologist who joined the coronavirus task force this summer.

Fauci, who was having surgery and under anesthesia when the task force approved the guidance, has said in a statement that he quickly reviewed a version of the guidelines before his surgery and was "not struck by the potential implication of this particular change" until he saw the final guidance.

A senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions said Friday that Atlas had pushed strongly for the guidance to limit testing of asymptomatic people. Atlas, who has no background in infectious diseases or epidemiology and has become President Trump's favored in-house adviser on the virus, has said fewer people need tests.

Trump has said repeatedly that he does not like that more testing had revealed more cases.

In a statement Friday, HHS said: "As always, guidelines receive appropriate attention, consultation and input from the medical and scientific experts on the Task Force. This was the case then, and will continue to be the case in the future."

Rivers, of Johns Hopkins, said that testing people who have had contact with someone who has a confirmed coronavirus infection is imperative.

"Testing enables contact tracing, which identifies chains of transmission to get ahead of the virus," she said. "If we don't test people who have had a known exposure, we may be missing opportunities to find more links in the chain."

The Infectious Diseases Society of America, one of many professional medical groups that demanded the reversal of last month's guidance, praised Friday's return by the CDC to a science-based approach to testing guidance. "We urge officials to support the work of controlling this pandemic by following medical guidance of experts in the field," the organization said.

In an interview, Thomas File, the president of the infectious-diseases group, said CDC scientists had shared their concerns with him about the way "that the guidance had come about."

Giroir said during an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" that the guidelines were generated by the CDC and insisted that they did not recommend against testing people who are asymptomatic.

"It absolutely came from the CDC," Giroir said. "I know for a fact that the version that went to the task force was reviewed and approved by Doctor Redfield."

He said the testing of asymptomatic people remains critical.

"I want people to know that if you are asymptomatic, you can still spread the virus," Giroir said. "That's why masks are so important, and we want to encourage asymptomatic people to be tested."

A federal health official said the guidance originated at the CDC after the agency heard from health-care providers who were worried about shortages of laboratory chemicals needed to conduct the tests. The providers were seeking federal guidelines to prioritize who should be tested.

The initial draft was developed by the CDC and sent to officials at HHS and the White House task force for additional input and approval. "After that, it went off the rails," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share internal policy deliberations. When the final guidance was approved, "the document was dropped" on the CDC for posting to its website, said another federal official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share behind-the-scenes discussions.

Reporters seeking comment about the changes made in August were referred to HHS.

Following the public outcry, CDC staffers were given talking points developed with input from the task force and the CDC to emphasize that the testing changes were aimed at identifying people with symptoms, according to a version of the talking points shared with The Washington Post.

The updated recommendation posted Friday says: "Due to the significance of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission, this guidance further reinforces the need to test asymptomatic persons, including close contacts of a person with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection."
Actor Payal Ghosh, who has accused filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment, said that she will file an FIR against him at Oshiwara Police Station by today evening.

The 'Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi' actor said that her advocate Nitin Satpute will also be writing to Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh to provide security, as there is a threat to her life.

Ghosh also talked about her meeting with the 'Gangs of Wasseypur filmmaker' and said, "I don't know whether Anurag Kashyap consumes drugs or not but when the incident took place, he was smoking something but it was definitely not a cigarette."

Talking about the filmmaker getting support from actors, she said, "There are many people who have supported Anurag Kashyap because of their bread and butter and their family run because of him so they will definitely talk in support of him."

Earlier in the day Kashyap's lawyer rejected "the false allegations of sexual misconduct" levied against his client, terming it "completely false, malicious and dishonest".

The statement from Kashyap's lawyer, Priyanka Khimani, came after Ghosh's lawyer of, who had accused the Bollywood director of sexual harassment, said that an FIR would filed an against him at the Oshiwara police station today.

On Saturday, Ghosh accused Kashyap of sexual harassment. Speaking to ANI, she said, "Five years ago I met Anurag Kashyap regarding work. He called me to his house. When I went there, he took me to a separate room and tried to sexually assault me. He forced himself on me."

"I request the authorities to kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. I am seeking action against him," said Ghosh.

Post the allegations, Kashyap responded on Twitter in which he denied the allegations, claiming that they were 'baseless'. "I neither behave like this nor do I ever tolerate this at any price," he said.

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An opera performance in Madrid has been cancelled after it had already started, when the reduced crowd protested that they had been seated in close proximity to one another and social distancing was not being respected.

Giuseppe Verdi's 'Un ballo in maschera' was being performed at the Teatro Real in the Spanish capital Madrid when spectators seated in the upper tiers complained that they had been placed without social distancing being respected.

Video footage shows the crowd 'slow handclapping' and calling for 'suspension' and 'security' until the performance was eventually cancelled.

Performers started the opera's first act twice before it was finally halted.

An opera performance in Madrid has been cancelled after it had already started, when the reduced crowd protested that they had been seated in close proximity to one another and social distancing was not being respected

Video footage shows the crowd 'slow handclapping' and calling for 'suspension' and 'security' until the performance was eventually cancelled

Audience members on the upper tiers claimed that there were up to 15 people with no separated seats between them

It comes as Madrid today called in the army as parts of the city went into lockdown, and Spain faces a second wave of coronavirus.

Audience members on the upper tiers claimed that there were up to 15 people with no separated seats between them.

The famous theatre has hit back at claims that they did not put sufficient measures in place.

A spokesperson for Teatro Teal defended the venue's seating arrangement, explaining that they were only 51.5 percent full when the maximum allowed capacity is 75 percent.

According to a report in local paper 20 Minutos, a spokesperson said that '905 seats were occupied representing a 51.5 percent room capacity'.

The theatre added: 'A group of spectators hand clapped and shouted their disapproval at the seating arrangement.'

Teatro Real also said that the spectators were offered the opportunity to switch seats or accept a refund before the opera got underway.

The famous theatre has hit back at claims that they did not put sufficient measures in place

According to a report in local paper 20 Minutos, a spokesperson said that '905 seats were occupied representing a 51.5 percent room capacity'

Teatro Real also said that the spectators were offered the opportunity to switch seats or accept a refund before the opera got underway

After moving some audience members and two failed attempts to start the opera, the theatre concluded that the protesters appeared to want 'the show boycotted' and it was promptly cancelled.

The theatre has opened an internal investigation into the incident.

Giuseppe Verdi's three-act classic kicked off the theatre's opera season in front of King Felipe and Queen Letizia on Friday.

Spanish hospitals have admitted 10,800 people in four weeks - more than in the previous three months combined.

Older people remain the most vulnerable, with over-60s accounting for a majority of recent admissions.

In Spain, at least 10,800 people have been admitted to hospital since August 20, compared to 7,000 in the previous three months combined.

Spain's death toll has edged up in recent weeks with more than 100 new fatalities on some days, but the levels are still well below those in March and April

SPAIN CASES: A rebound in infections and an increased testing programme have led to a huge rise in confirmed cases in Spain, reaching higher levels than in the spring

However, at the height of the crisis in the spring there were up to 23,000 people being admitted every week, with hundreds dying every day.

In early April, Covid patients were filling up 100 per cent of Madrid's hospital beds, with temporary facilities set up in corridors, libraries and gyms outside the main wards.

Now, only 22 per cent of the capital's hospital beds are occupied by coronavirus patients - although the number has nearly doubled from 10 per cent a month ago.

In Spain as a whole, the situation is somewhat better with 8.7 per cent of beds now taken by Covid patients, compared to 4.4 per cent in mid-August.

The story is similar in intensive care units, with 875 people admitted across Spain in the last month compared to 477 between May and August.

But the numbers are still significantly lower than the 1,520 people who were in intensive care on the worst day of the crisis on April 5.

Hospitals in Madrid are treating nearly 400 people in intensive care units, filling more than 40 per cent of Madrid's ICU beds.

'In a way, it's like the situation in March but in slow motion,' said Dr Carlos Velayos, an ICU doctor at a hospital in a Madrid suburb.

Velayos said that prediction models were telling hospital administrators in Madrid that some ICU wards could reach peak capacity before the end of September.

'In March, it was like a nuclear bomb that brought the health system as a whole to a collapse in a matter of weeks,' Velayos said.

'We might not be there yet, but that's not a reason not to be worried. We have allowed the outbreaks to reach a level of being uncontrollable.'

The regional chief of Madrid today requested help from the Spanish military to fight the surge in the capital.

'We need help from the army for disinfection... and to strengthen local police and law enforcement,' Isabel Diaz Ayuso told a news conference.

Madrid's R rate is thought to be about 1.08, compared to 0.97 for Spain as a whole, and the region is piling up thousands of cases per day by itself.

A partial lockdown is beginning in some of Madrid's poorer districts this week, affecting around 850,000 people.

Access to parks and public areas will be restricted, gatherings will be limited to six people and commercial establishments will have to close by 10pm.

Spain's death rate is currently the worst in Western Europe, prompting fears that the UK's could also increase if there is a similar rise in cases

Britain's own rebound in cases has sparked fears that the UK is heading in a similar direction to Spain, with ministers being warned that Britain may be around six weeks behind

The new measures sparked an outbreak of protests on Sunday, with people holding signs saying 'no to a class-based lockdown'.

'We think that they are laughing at us a little bit,' said nurse Bethania Perez, as hundreds protested against the measure.

Spain imposed one of the world's toughest lockdowns in the spring and the economy is expected to contract by around 10 to 12 per cent this year.

Velayos's hospital is expanding its ICU capacity from 12 to 24 beds by the end of September, because all of them are currently filling up with coronavirus patients.

Operating rooms have been turned into ICUs and surgeries have been postponed, while hospitals compete to hire medics exhausted by the first wave of the crisis.

Regional authorities say that the health system still has room to manage the incoming flow of patients and that medical workers are better prepared.

The Madrid government is spending 50million to build a massive new 'epidemics hospital' with more than 1,000 beds by the end of October.

Meanwhile, health officials in Zaragoza have started putting up field hospitals in a grim echo of the worst days of the pandemic.

Spain has also seen its death rate rise somewhat, although again the figures are still far lower than in the spring.

SPAIN AGE GROUPS: More than a quarter of recent hospital admissions in Spain are people over 80, with over-60s accounting for more than half the total

The death toll rose by 748 last week, compared to 329 in the previous week and 407 in the seven days before that.

The country saw its worst week of deaths in late March and early April when 6,077 people died in the space of seven days.

Older people are continuing to prove the most vulnerable in Spain: patients aged 80 or above account for more than a quarter of the recent hospital admissions.

More than 6,000 over-60s have been admitted to hospital with coronavirus since August 20, compared to only 1,500 people aged under 40.

A majority of people admitted to ICU in the last month are in their 50s or 60s, with another 23 per cent in their 70s.

The proportion of ICU patients under 40 has fallen from 17 per cent between May and August to eight per cent in the last month.
New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to apprise it within two weeks about the steps which can be taken to scrutinise the existing and future mobile users in the country.

A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said mobile numbers are now being used for banking purposes also and You should tell us as to what mechanism you are going to have to scrutinise the identity of mobile users.

The bench was hearing a PIL filed by NGO Lok Niti Foundation which has sought a direction to the Centre to put in place a proper mechanism to check the authenticity of the information provided by mobile users.

The verification has become more important in view of the fact that mobile phones are now being used for banking purposes also.

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The "Market Report: Heated Tobacco and Social Media Networks in Italy" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The report explores how brands use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other social networks and how they have interacted (or not) with their clients over the last year, comparing the accounts belonging to IQOS and Glo.

In addition to being one of the most important heated tobacco markets, as well as one of the oldest, Italy is also one of the countries where heated tobacco brands have the most social media accounts.

Social networks are highly developed in Italy and play a major role in society. If you are interested in the role that social media plays in the heated tobacco world, and the different strategies and social media platforms that brands are currently utilising, then this is the report for you. It offers analysis and insights into some of the biggest and most popular platforms and how some of the larger brands in the Italian market use them.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Executive Summary

2 Introduction

3 Social Media Usage

4 Instagram

5 Facebook

6 Twitter

7 Other

Companies Mentioned

Facebook

Glo

Instagram

IQOS

Twitter

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/eqk6nn

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200921005460/en/

Contacts:

ResearchAndMarkets.com

Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470

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The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down by over 3.2% provisionally, with banks plunging 5.7% and travel stocks tumbling 5.2% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory.

As well as the latest coronavirus developments, investors in Europe kept a close eye on bank shares Monday following allegations this weekend. In Asia, Hong Kong-listed shares of Standard Chartered and HSBC tumbled on Monday following reports that they allegedly moved large sums of suspicious funds. By Monday afternoon, London-listed shares of Standard Chartered tumbled 5.2% and HSBC fell 4.9%. Earlier in the trading day, shares of HSBC had fallen to a more than 25-year low, according to FactSet.

Several global lenders were identified in media reports as having allegedly moved suspicious funds over a period of nearly two decades. The reports cited confidential documents submitted by banks to the U.S. government. HSBC said in a statement to CNBC, "We do not comment on suspicious activity reporting."
The Eagles dropped their home opener to the Los Angeles Rams yesterday, 37-19. The franchise is now 0-2 for the first time since the 2015 season, the season before the team drafted quarterback Carson Wentz.

In other news, presidential candidate Joe Biden made remarks in Philadelphia yesterday about the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the city is set to approve a plan to open 17 locations where voters can request, receive, fill out, and submit a mail ballot in one step.

 Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Congrats, all. A half-year of COVID-19 is now behind us. My colleagues Tom Avril, Marie McCullough, Aubrey Whelan, and Jason Laughlin are now looking ahead, speaking to Philly experts about what the next six months of pandemic life might look like.

From treatments and vaccines to racial disparities and protective gear, the experts offer some trends to look for. One thread that connects many of them: masks.

To jam this nomination through the Senate is just an exercise in raw political power. And I dont believe the people of this nation will stand for it," Biden said during an address yesterday from the National Constitution Center, two days after the death of Justice Ginsburg.

For many folks in Philadelphia, Ginsburgs death was met with tributes that lauded her as a legal and feminist icon.

The Philadelphia Mint is the nations largest producer of coin currency. It has 14 presses that each produce 750 coins a minute while now running seven days a week in order to help with a pandemic-caused coin shortage. Right now, quarters, nickels, and dimes are rare commodities.

A Temple professor told my colleague Jason Laughlin that the shortage is disproportionately impacting those who are elderly and poor because they typically use the most coins. The professor, an expert in supply-chain management, also compared the shortage to some of the issues associated with a move toward a cashless economy.

What you need to know today

Through your eyes | #OurPhilly

These courts look good in color. Thanks for sharing, @kees2life.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and well pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout-out!

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But what made Justice Ginsburg a leader and jurist for the ages is not these individual accomplishments, remarkable as they are. Rather, it was her fight to make the paths she forged accessible to all Americans.  writes Serena Mayeri, author and law and history professor at Penns Carey Law School, about how Ruth Bader Ginsburg made the impossible look easy.

The selection of a Delaware waterfront proposal with no expectations of big public subsidies over the Sixers' arena-centered proposal shows that Phillys master planning process thats driven by the public is working and has lessons we can learn, the Inquirer Editorial Board writes.

Should the size of the Supreme Court expand to change the ideological balance? In a Pro/Con, authors Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin debate with Michael H. McGinley, a partner at Dechert LLP who was a law clerk to Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and then-Judge Neil Gorsuch.

What were reading

Your Daily Dose of | Butter

Artists Jim Victor and Marie Pelton have worked with chocolate, cheese, and ice. But its butter that has brought them worldwide fame. The Conshohocken couple have created large butter sculptures for agriculture shows and fairs all over the country.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told CNN on Monday that "of course" Senate Republicans would confirm President Trump's Supreme Court nominee in a lame-duck session even if Joe Biden wins the November election.

Why it matters: Democrats need only two more Republican senators to oppose voting on a Supreme Court nominee before the election to force Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to hold a vote in the lame-duck session of Congress.

If Trump loses the election and Democrats take control of the Senate, there will be be enormous pressure on Republicans to defer to the incoming winners.

What they're saying: Asked whether the Senate would confirm a Trump nominee in a lame-duck session if Biden wins the presidency, Cornyn responded: "You mean while we're still in our term office, and President Trump is? Of course."

Go deeper: Where key GOP senators stand on replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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A My Faith Votes Q&A with Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty

We recently had the opportunity to catch up with our friend and My Faith Votes influencer Phil Robertson. He is the founder of The Duck Commander, star of the television series Duck Dynasty, host of the Unashamed podcast and a New York Times best-selling author.

We discussed his latest book, Jesus Politics: How to Win Back the Soul of America, the importance of having a kingdom perspective and why Christians should participate in elections.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Talk a little bit about why the book is called Jesus Politics.

Satan himself is the instigator of all evil behavior. It's what you're witnessing on the streets. The burning, the looting, the shooting and all of the immorality. Get rid of Trump as president. Arm the people, get rid of law enforcement. Get rid of all historical monuments. Get rid of love, replace it with hate. Get rid of joy, replace it with anger. Get rid of peace, replace it with anarchy  I'm giving you the fruit of the spirit and the opposite of that  Get rid of patience, replace it with belligerence. Get rid of kindness, replace it with vulgarity. Get rid of goodness, replace it with depravity. Get rid of faithfulness, replace it with filth. Get rid of gentleness, replace it with recklessness. Get rid of self-control, replace it with wicked lawlessness. Come join us. We were trained by Karl Marx.

That's what the books about. I'm trying to warn America that the coming cloud is not going to be a pretty sight. This election is really important. I've had three sessions with [President] Donald Trump. All three times, this was at the center of it. I told him about Jesus. I told him about the resurrection, God removing his sin. I said, Trump, you do have sins, don't you? He said, Oh, yeah. I said, So does everybody else, dude. We're all going into a six-foot hole, or cremated or whatever. What then? Jesus will give you life and immortality, guaranteed.

He listened intently. And the little notes I was reading from, he said as I left, Hey, can I have that? The next time I talked to him, it was a phone call. He said, Phil, I want you to know, I still have that paper that you wrote down about Jesus. I said, Put it in your heart. Mr. President.

Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. I wanted him to have a relationship with Jesus like everybody else.

Many Christians say, I don't want to be involved in politics, but thats exactly where this battle is happening. Talk to that a little bit.

The nice thing about a democratic republic, a constitutional republic, is that you can vote the evildoers out, and you can elect godly people. Look at their background, check them carefully. I try to find the godliest ones. Encourage godly men and women to run and put them in [office]. It would be amazing, our policies will begin to shift, if the Lord Jesus, through his Spirit, dwelt in the human hearts of the United States of America.

You talk about the Kingdom Manifesto throughout your book. What do you mean when you use that term?

John the Baptist said, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near (Matthew 3:2). Jesus set up the disciples and said, Proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 10:7).

Jesus said the kingdom does not come visibly. We are the kingdom of God. Jesus is the king. It's an eternal kingdom working within, in our case, the confines of a constitutional republic. So we are here to teach people to be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind and help them with self-control.

A government can't remove our sin. I'm going to vote for the godliest among us. But theyre not the answer to our problems. Only King Jesus is. So I bow down to him and him alone. So it's a pretty cool thing to be in the arms of Jesus Christ. It gives you what is the rarest of commodities: peace of mind.

This is the election of our lifetime. Speak to that a little bit.

When you start to see your fellow Americans burning Bibles, youre close to the tipping point and Satan winning the war. Those people you mentioned that claim Christianity [also] claim Jesus [but] don't vote. They don't realize how critical a time we live in; you can lose your freedom. So we better buckle up, and we better go to the polls.

Watch the full interview with Phil Robertson on My Faith Votes Youtube channel.

Phil Robertsons new book, Jesus Politics: How to Win Back the Soul of America, is available wherever books are sold.
It's been almost a year since Prince Andrew was dragged into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, and it has already tainted his and the Royal Family's reputation big time. Right now, the Duke of York is facing yet another pressure as a new witness came to light to help with the investigation of Epstein's alleged sexual offense and sex trafficking scheme.

Just recently, chef Adam Perry Lang agreed to work with the FBI and divulge what he knows about Epstein's trafficking circle and how Prince Andrew took part in sexual misconduct among underaged girls.

According to reports, the 52-year-old chef encountered the Duke of York when they flew together using Epstein's private jet. The encounter happened while the chef would often cater to the convicted pedophile's mansions.

Court documents show that Lang was on two flights with the 60-year-old royal between 1999 and 2003.

"The gloves are firmly off. Perry Lang holds information on what took place," a source told Mirror.

"They will get as much detail as possible that will help shape any interview they may one day have with the Duke," the source added.

Andrew Perry Lang reportedly volunteered to collaborate with the authorities after one of Epstein victims, Virginia Roberts (now Guiffre), pleaded to reveal the information he has connecting Prince Andrew to the sexual offense.

According to reports, Miss Roberts wrote a letter to Lang, begging him to speak the truth.

"Please don't be an enabler. Be a hero to me," Roberts wrote.

While Mr. Lang repeatedly told the press in the past that he is not aware of what Epstein is doing with the underaged girls, his lawyer now claims that the chef is cooperating now as he also wants justice to be served.

"Mr. Lang has begun a course of fully cooperating with the federal authorities investigating this case," Lang's lawyer Lawrence Lustberg said

"He, like them and like the victims, wants only that justice be done," the lawyer added.

Meanwhile, the legal team representing tons of Epstein's victims hopes that this recent development would encourage other witnesses to come forward and spill the tea on Epstein's "dark scheme."

Virginia Roberts accused Queen Elizabeth II's favorite son of forcing her to have sex three times between 1999 to 2001. She claims that Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, trafficked her to the British Prince when she was still 17-years-old.

Roberts also released a photo of her together with Prince Andrew and Maxwell when she was first "sold" as a sex slave to the Duke of York.

Despite the evidence revealing Prince Andrew's involvement in the trafficking scheme, he repeatedly denied meeting and having sex with Roberts.

Epstein's case's new development came after Queen Elizabeth II allegedly summoned her son at Balmoral for an emergency talk about the massive scandal that he was involved in.

Speaking to "The Sun," an insider said that Prince Andrew's quick Balmoral trip was meant to give the Queen an update on his case's status.

READ MORE: Sussex Dream Ruined: Queen Elizabeth II Could Take Away Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Freedom Soon
Usually when one thinks of characters from a horror or supernatural film, a very stereotypical, spine-chilling ghost comes to your mind. While horror films are generally acquired taste and might not be liked by everyone, there are some characters that have become fan favourites.

Take a look at some of the films featuring similar such characters:

The Addams Family (1991)

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, this 1991 comedy/thriller is based on a cartoon created by Charles Addams and the 1964 TV Series of the same name. This film stars Anjelica Huston, Christina Ricci, Raul Julia and Christopher Lloyd.

The Addams Family tells the story of a bunch of con artists who try to take advantage of the eccentric Addams Family with the help of an accomplice, Uncle Fester, who claims to be a long lost missing brother of Gomez Addams. The dry and morbid humour of the characters, the romance between Charles and Morticia Addams and the badass Wednesday Addams, immortalised this film into a cult classic.

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Tim Burtons Edward Scissorhands stars Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder in the lead roles. It is a romantic thriller which tells the story of a near complete invention of a humanoid whose creator dies just before he could complete his hands, leaving him with a pair of metal scissors. He continues to live in solitude until a kind woman takes him into her home where he falls in love with her daughter. Winona Ryder and Johnny Depps chemistry, coupled with the emotional quotient of the film, made the eponymous character a fan favorite.

Beetlejuice (1988)

Another classic comedy/horror movie by Tim Burton, this movie is about Adam and Barbara, a deceased couple who find themselves unable to leave their beloved, newly decorated house. So when the house is bought by a new family, the couple attempt to scare them away. When their ways do not work and were often ignored or made fun of, they seek help from a people-exorcist, Beetlejuice. This movie stars Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder in pivotal roles. The famous dinner-table sequence has been etched to public memory and re-enacted many times.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Directed by Kenny Ortega and starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy and Omri Katz, Hocus Pocus tells the story of the diabolical Sanderson sisters, Winifred, Mary and Sarah, who were executed 300 years ago for practicing witchcraft. When Max Dennison accidentally breaks the curse and brings the sisters back to life, Max, his sister, his girlfriend and an immortal black cat only have until sunrise to stop the witches from achieving immortality.

Scream (1996)

Wes Cravens 1996 horror/mystery film Scream was inspired by the real life serial killer Danny Rolling, also known as the Gainesville Ripper who terrorised the town of Gainesville, Florida and killed students of the Florida University. This movie stars Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Drew Barrymore and Matthew Lillard.

The famous mask from the film now gets sold during festivals and it has become a part of public memory.

Bride of Chucky (1998)

Bride of Chucky is a comedy/horror film revolving around Chucky the doll. The soul of a serial killer named Charles Lee Ray is inside the body of this doll. When he is resuscitated by his girlfriend Tiffany, Chucky kills her and brings her back to life as a doll bride to help him with his crimes. The two then go on a killing spree. This comedy/horror film is directed by Ronny Yu and stars Jennifer Tilly and Brad Dourif. The film was a part of the 8-part Childs Play series. The dolls keep making appearances in meme culture too.

Jennifers Body (2009)

When Jennifer Check, an attractive, popular and arrogant high school cheerleader is possessed by a demon after being sacrificed to Satan, she finds herself with an appetite for human blood. When her nerdy friend, Anita, finds out, she is determined to stop Jennifer before she kills Anitas boyfriend. Jennifers body is directed by Karyn Kusama and stars Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody and Johnny Simmons.

Not only did Megan Fox prove her acting prowess in the film, it saw Amanda Seyfried exploring her range too. The scene where Jennifer burns her tongue on a lighter has become somewhat iconic.

Warm Bodies (2013)

Jonathan Levines 2013 romantic horror film Warm Bodies stars Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer in pivotal roles. After a zombie apocalypse, the leader of the survivors, Colonel Grigio, sends his daughter, her boyfriend and a few others to find medical supplies when they encounter a pack of zombies. Among them is R, who feels a strange need to protect Julie. When he eats Perrys brain, he feels himself attracted to her causing R to slowly regain his humanity. While romantic vampires existed, this was the first of its kind Zombie. The redemption arc given to the protagonist made this a fan favorite.
Trendsetters are set to be divided over a pair of worn-looking jeans from Gucci's autumn/winter collection.

The Italian luxury brand is selling their Eco washed organic denim pants for 600, complete with the illusion of fresh grass stains around the knee area.

Gucci claims the material has been specifically treated to channel a 'grunge vibe' throughout Fall Winter 2020.

Italian luxury brand Gucci have divided fashionista with their Eco washed organic denim pants (pictured), which are currently on sale for 600

Gucci specifically treated the jeans to achieve a distressed appearance that evoke a 'grunge vibe' as part of their autumn/ winter collection

The jeans that look as if they've been seen better days before they've even been purchased, have faded brown spots in addition to bizarre green stains.

While ripped jeans are a common trend each autumn the addition of dirty marks has failed to impress some fashionistas.

The model on Gucci's website is seen pairing the unconventional look with a check print shirt and loafers.

However the brand is also selling a 700 Rib knit wool oversize jumper with holes and frayed edges that could equally complete the rough look.

Gucci describe the jeans as a new take on blurring the line between vintage and contemporary.

The product description on their website reads: 'Channelling the Fall Winter 2020 collections grunge vibe, this wide-leg denim pant is crafted from organic cotton specifically treated for a stained-like, distressed effect.

Gucci explained the jeans are a new take on blurring the line between vintage and contemporary

'Gucci explores new takes on the cult fabric, reinterpreting it with different designs and washing techniques that blur the line between vintage and contemporary.

'All organic cotton leftovers from the cutting process for this product are then upcycled into new materials under the Gucci Up program. Pieces with versatile ways to wear and style embrace each person who is part of the Houses individual spirit.'

The jeans designed specifically to look dated come a year after Gucci made headlines with $870 distressed trainers.

The footwear had been given a specific effect to create the appearance that they were old with the brand claiming they had been influenced by Seventies fashion.
Experts are warning 'hardly anyone' will be eligible for JobKeeper 2.0 when the coronavirus wage subsidy is slashed next week as part of a six-month extension.

From September 28, payments for full-time staff are being cut from $1,500 to $1,200 a fortnight, as those working less than 20 hours a week receive just $750.

More than two million workers are coming off JobKeeper from next week - despite Australia being in recession for the first time in almost three decades.

To be eligible for the first extension of JobKeeper, business owners must demonstrate their actual GST turnover had plunged by 30 per cent in the September quarter compared with the same three months in 2019.

That will see plenty of struggling businesses miss out, as JobKeeper goes from subsidising the wages of 3.5million workers to just 1.4million Australians from next week.

From January, that will be reduced to one million as part of a plan to phase it out completely by March - as JobKeeper covers just 7.9 per cent of Australia's 12.6million workers during its final three months.

Small business accountant Ben Johnston, a director of Johnston Advisory, warned 'hardly anyone will be eligible' for JobKeeper under the new rules.

From September 28, payments for full-time staff are being cut from $1,500 to $1,200 a fortnight, while people who usually worked less than 20 hours a week before the pandemic will receive just $750

Ben Johnston, an accountancy firm partner with Willett Johnston Partners, warned 'hardly anyone will be eligible' for JobKeeper under the new rules. Pictured is a woman in Melbourne

'The numbers speak for themselves  I reckon only about a third of current JobKeeper recipients will be eligible come October,' Mr Johnston told news.com.au.

'So many more businesses will be left to fend for themselves. There has been an artificial influx (of money) into the economy, and once that is taken away, it will be really telling to see if businesses can survive on their own two feet.'

Mr Johnston said the changes were a 'ticking time bomb' and claimed the government is tightening JobKeeper eligibility too soon.

'It should have remained at least through the Christmas trading period, when having more money flowing through the economy would have boosted retail sales as well,' he said.

Almost 3.6 million people have received the fortnightly payments throughout the pandemic.

The Morrison government is also preparing to slash JobSeeker booster payments from the end of this week.

People on the unemployment benefit have since March received an extra $550 per fortnight through a coronavirus supplement.

That is being reduced to $250 a fortnight from this Friday and is scheduled to be scrapped altogether at the end of December.

Social Services Minister Anne Ruston said the increased dole payment would be extended into next year if required.

The Morrison government is also preparing to slash JobSeeker booster payments from the end of this week

JobKeeper recipients on $1,200 per fortnight may be eligible for a partial dole payment, lifting their total income to $1476

'I want to assure all Australians, if elevated supports are continued to be needed, they will be made available,' she told reporters.

Anyone anxious about having their JobKeeper payment slashed is being told to apply for the dole.

Senator Ruston is encouraging people to top up their payments with unemployment benefits.

'We have temporarily put arrangements in place so that our social security safety net is not just for people who have lost their jobs,' she said on Monday.

'It is able to provide a cushion for people who have had or fear their hours or income will be reduced.'

JobKeeper recipients on $1,200 per fortnight may be eligible for a partial dole payment, lifting their total income to $1476.

People receiving JobKeeper at the part-time rate of $750 per fortnight could receive another $546 in unemployment benefits, boosting their incomes to $1295.
The government has filed an application before a larger bench of the Supreme Court seeking vacation of the apex court's stay on implementation of in jobs and education, an official statement said on Monday.

The Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government's move comes amidst protests by various pro-quota Maratha bodies in the state.

PWD Minister Ashok Chavan later told reporters that the application was filed on Monday morning and added the counsels representing the government will try to see that the hearing on the application takes place soon.

Asked about the protest by Marathas, Chavan said, "..It is a judicial process. We will have to find a solution through judicial process only. Hence, the government has filed the application before the Supreme Court following the process".

The senior Congress leader, who heads the state cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota, said Chief Minister might make a detailed statement on issues such as admissions, jobs etc. concerning the Maratha community in a day or two.

"Our senior counsels will try to see that the hearing (on the vacation application) takes place soon," he added.

Earlier in the day, Chavan met NCP president Sharad Pawar and held discussion about the steps the MVA dispensation is planning to take in view of the stay order.

The Supreme Court earlier this month stayed the implementation of the 2018 law granting reservation to Marathas in education and jobs, but made it clear that the status of those who have availed of the benefits will not be disturbed.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice L N Rao had referred to a larger constitution bench, to be set up by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, the batch of pleas challenging the validity of the law granting reservation to Marathas in education and jobs.

The apex court had said the status of those who have already taken benefits of the 2018 law shall not be disturbed.

The Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018 was enacted to grant reservation to people of Maratha community in in jobs and admissions.

The Bombay High Court, while upholding the law in June last year, held that 16 per cent reservation was not justifiable, and said quota should not exceed 12 per cent in employment and 13 per cent in admissions.

(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.)
President Muhammadu Buhari Monday urged Kaduna State indigenes to cooperate with government and security agencies to secure peace and harmony, stressing that development will only take place when energies are collectively channelled to building, instead of destruction of lives and property.

We must live together as brothers and sisters because without peace, development cannot take place, the President noted at virtual opening of the Fifth Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit, with the theme KADInvest 5.0, Infrastructure, Industrialisation and Innovation.

I wish to commend the efforts of the Kaduna State Government to establish its credentials as one of the new investment destinations of choice in Nigeria. These efforts have received just recognition in the response of the business community which has put in new investments in the state.

This is a further affirmation of the ranking of the state as Number One for Ease of Doing Business by the World Banks Doing Business Report 2018. I call on the Kaduna State Government to keep up these laudable efforts and surpass the impressive results already attained, President Buhari said.

He noted that the success of state governments in attracting investments, creating jobs and increasing their internally generated revenues would be critical to the development of the entire country.

Therefore, I am impressed that the Kaduna State Government has from inception used KADInvest as a serious platform for showcasing its investment potentials. The states commitment to consistent implementation of the Ease of Doing Business Charter is exemplary, including its ability to increase its Internally Generated Revenue to N44bn in 2019 from N13bn in 2015 without hiking tax rates. This is very laudable.

The President congratulated the Kaduna State Government for making KADInvest a regular fixture on the investment calendar, held annually since 2016.

It is a fitting statement of the resilience of the Kaduna State Government that it is able to host the 2020 edition amidst the severe disruptions to the normal order caused by Covid-19. This is the sort of determined focus that can help the country to navigate the challenging consequences of the pandemic.

It was my pleasure to commission the Olam Hatchery and Feed Mill project in 2017, about 18 months after the ground-breaking was done at the first edition of KADInvest in 2016. It is commendable that investors like Tomato Jos are creating jobs in the agribusiness sector, taking advantage of Kaduna States prioritisation of agriculture.

I also note with delight the success of new investments in renewable energy like Blue Camel and tractor assembly and the revitalisation of poultry farms across the state. The ongoing development of iron mining and steel processing capacity in the state through investments by African Natural Resources and Mines Limited is especially commendable.

President Buhari said the Federal Government will continue to support efforts to attract job-creating investments.

We believe that much can be done at the sub-national level to drive human capital development and expand economic opportunity. I note with delight the massive investments in infrastructure upgrade Kaduna State is executing through the urban renewal programmes in Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria.

Given the track record since 2015, I have no doubt that the Kaduna State Government and its private sector partners will take full advantage of the economic windows that are being opened by Federal Government investments such as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline.

The state government should afford full cooperation and support to cross-border federal projects such as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline and the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Highway.

Femi Adesina

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

September 21, 2020
Statement by Minister Simon Coveney on human rights violations in Belarus

Press release

Following a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers today in Brussels, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney T.D. made a statement on the human rights violations in Belarus.

Ireland is appalled by the human rights violations in Belarus, where peaceful protesters continue to face indiscriminate detention, harassment, intimidation and ill-treatment. In recent weeks, I have made Irelands condemnation of the ongoing violations clear during meetings of the UN Security Council members and the Human Rights Council. I again made these points at todays meeting of EU Foreign Ministers where we had a substantive exchange on the situation in Belarus. The situation is unacceptable and requires a firm EU response.

This morning, with several other EU foreign Ministers, I met with Belarusian opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and assured her that Ireland strongly supports the rights of the Belarussian people to determine their own future, in a democratic way. I was also clear that Ireland and the EU will respond strongly to the use of violence by the authorities in Belarus.

In that regard, the EU must act quickly and with unity to impose sanctions against individuals responsible for falsifying the election result and for the use of State violence in Belarus. This is an important first step to counter the increasingly open disregard for the rule of law in the country. Those who have committed crimes must be held to account and the EU is ready to take further restrictive measures against those responsible, at any level, as necessary.

Ireland strongly supports the review of EU-Belarus relations and we will continue to play a constructive role with our EU partners. We are also firm in wanting to see enhanced supports for the Belarusian people, civil society, independent media, students and academics.

The Belarusian people alone have the right to define the future of Belarus. Their resilience and strong defence of democratic principles must show the Belarusian authorities that no prosperous future for the country is possible without the consent of the people. Therefore, I continue to urge the authorities to accept the offer of the OSCE and to engage in a facilitated national dialogue that can lead to a peaceful and democratic solution for all.

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The White House, Washington DC - Michael Reynolds/Shutterstock

A suspect has been arrested in connection with the posting of a package containing ricin to Donald Trump, according to reports in the US.

The envelope was intercepted at an offsite processing facility which is used to screen mail before it is sent on to the White House.

According to the New York Times the package was posted from Canada. The paper said the suspect was a woman.

Letters with ricin were also sent to law enforcement agencies in Texas.

In a statement the FBI said: The FBI and our US Secret Service and US Postal Inspection Service partners are investigating a suspicious letter received at a US government mail facility.

US Defence staff screen mail - Thomas Watkins/AFP

At this time, there is no known threat to public safety.

Ricin, a lethal substance derived from castor beans, can be fatal if inhaled or injected even in minute quantities.

The substance has been used in attempted attacks on prominent figures in the past.

In 2013 a Mississippi man sent letters with ricin to Barack Obama and a Republican senator. They were intercepted at a sorting facility.

In the following year, actress Shannon Richardson was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for sending ricin-laced letters to a number of prominent people including Mr Obama and New York mayor Mike Bloomberg.
SEOUL - China's TikTok sought to tamp down domestic controversy over its deal with Oracle and Walmart, saying in a blog post Monday that there would be no technology transfer to Oracle, though the U.S. company would be able to check its software for safety.

The statement by TikTok's parent company ByteDance reflected the awkward situation confronting TikTok as it navigates the same political pressures that American companies have long faced in the China market. For years, U.S. firms have been the ones issuing the assurances that their Chinese partner couldn't access their data except for safety checks.

"The current plan does not involve the transfer of any algorithms or technology," ByteDance said in the post on its official WeChat account. "Oracle has the authority to check the source code of TikTok USA."

The TikTok deal has been a vivid example of the Trump administration's policy of reciprocity toward Chinese businesses. Supporters of the approach say it's only fair to treat Chinese companies by the same standards to which U.S. companies are held in China. Critics say the United States should not stoop to the strong-arm negotiating tactics that it criticizes other governments for using.

U.S. officials have followed Beijing's playbook in demanding the viral video app give the government a cut of the deal, and in applying eleventh-hour pressure in threatening to remove TikTok from U.S. app stores.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday he gave his "blessing" to the deal, while signaling it could still fall apart. It came a day after the Trump administration moved to effectively ban TikTok and WeChat starting Sunday, moves that have been temporarily suspended pending the TikTok negotiations and a lawsuit by WeChat users.

China's government has oppposed the Trump administration's push to force a sale of TikTok's U.S. operations, tightening its technology export restrictions in late August. These export restrictions included "personalized information recommendation service technology based on data analysis," which industry experts saw as a nod to TikTok.

China's Commerce Ministry hinted at potential retaliation on Saturday, saying companies put on its "unreliable entities list" would be banned from trade with China.

Oracle said on Saturday it had been chosen as TikTok's "secure cloud technology provider." Oracle CEO Safra Catz said in the statement that the deal would "ensure data privacy to TikTok's American users."

ByteDance's Chinese-language statement on Monday, which it called a debunking of "rumors," also confirmed the Chinese company is still trying to negotiate some terms of the deal.

ByteDance quibbled with the announcement by Oracle and Walmart that it would pay more than $5 billion in new taxes to the U.S. Treasury, saying the number was not finalized.

"The so-called tax payment of $5 billion to the U.S. Treasury Department is a forecast of the corporate income tax and other operating taxes that TikTok will need to pay for its business development in the next few years," ByteDance said. "The actual tax amount still needs to be determined according to the actual development of the business and the U.S. tax structure."

ByteDance also said earlier in a statement on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo that it had learned from the media about President Trump's statement that ByteDance would contribute $5 billion to an education fund.

ByteDance said that it will own an 80 percent stake in U.S.-based TikTok Global after the new investors come on board. Walmart's CEO will have a board seat in TikTok Global, along with ByteDance's founder and its current board members, it said.

U.S. companies have long faced similar pressures in China. In fact, ByteDance cited how in 2016, Microsoft set up a "technology transparency center" in Beijing to allow Chinese experts to examine its source code for security.

In the American Chamber of Commerce in China's annual survey of members published in March, 54 percent of U.S. technology-industry respondents said they did not believe they were treated fairly by China's government compared with Chinese companies, higher than respondents in any other sector.
The woman allegedly responsible for sending a poisonous Ricin-filled letter to United States President Donald Trump inside a White House package has been arrested.

Authorities did not identify the suspect but brought her into custody during her attempt to cross the border in New York on Sunday.

Deadly letter

According to Mirror, officials believe the woman posted a package that contained the Ricin toxin and sent it to the White House while it was addressed to President Trump.

Prosecutors from Washington, DC are set to charge the suspect who is believed to be armed when police blocked her route.

The poisonous package was not able to reach the presidential residence's mailroom because authorities screen all items addressed to the White House outside of the building. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said law enforcement successfully intercepted the suspicious package last week.

The FBI said it launched an investigation to locate the sender of the package after test results from the lab found that it contained potentially fatal ricin toxin. The agency's statement wrote that it worked with the U.S. Secret Service and Postal Inspection Service partners to look into the suspicious letter.

Officials from the FBI said that at the time of the statement, no known risk threatened the public's safety.

Authorities revealed that the woman who sent the letter tried to re-enter the United States from Canada when she was arrested. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that it had cooperated with the FBI.

The White House and Secret Service refused to comment on the details of the incident.

Also Read: Trump Cautions on Disastrous Election if Mail-In Voting Continues, Supported by Attorney General

Ricin is a toxic compound that is acquired from castor beans and has previously been used in terrorism plots. It can be used in multiple forms, including powder, pellet, mist, or acid.

If a person were to ingest Ricin, it would cause nausea, vomiting, and internal bleeding within the victim's stomach and intestines. The toxin would result in the failure of several organs, including the liver, spleen, and kidneys, and ultimately, death, as reported by CNN.

Only 500 micrograms of Ricin, as small as the head of a pin, is enough to be fatal to a human adult. There are currently no specific test to determine if a person has been exposed to the toxin, and no antidote is available to treat it.

The toxin is easily made and is relatively cheap. Still, experts say its efficacy is better suited to target individual people rather than be used as a weapon of mass destruction.

Multiple incidents

According to Politico, the recent incident is not the first time that U.S. official has been targetted with the use of Ricin.

In 2018, authorities arrested a Navy veteran who later confessed to sending multiple envelopes to President Trump and a few members of his administration. The mails contained the deadly substance that Ricin is derived. Officials successfully intercepted the letters, and no reports of harm were recorded.

Officials sentenced a man from Mississippi in 2014 to 25 years in prison after he sent several letters dusted with Ricin to former United States President Barack Obama and other officials.

Related Article: Trump Predicts Nationwide Coronavirus Vaccine by April

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President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press prior to his departure from the White House in Washington on Sept. 19, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

White House: Trumps Supreme Court Nomination Likely to Happen Before Wednesday

Update: Trump said later Monday that he would announce his Supreme Court pick on Friday or Saturday.

Original story below.

President Donald Trumps Supreme Court nomination will likely happen on Monday or Tuesday, the White House said Monday morning.

It will be a very quick turn of events, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on CBS This Morning.

I think thats very likely, but Ill leave that to the president, she added when asked whether Trump would announce his choice before Wednesday.

Most Republicans have offered support for Trumps intention to move forward with replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died at home from cancer complications on Friday, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who chairs the committee that vets and pushes nominees to the full Senate.

Many Democrats are calling on Trump to hold off on nominating a replacement, or the Senate to refuse to consider the nominee, pointing to how a Republican-controlled Senate in 2016 declined to consider President Barack Obamas nominee. Two GOP senators also want a delay until after the election.

With the Senate and the presidency controlled by the same party now, a slew of GOP lawmakers say the situation isnt comparable.

McEnany referred to how a president has 29 times in U.S. history nominated someone in the last year of their term.

The president will be following that precedent and we believe that voters will be supportive of this move as we move forward and see the quality of the nominee, she said.

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in her chambers in at the Supreme Court in Washington on July 31, 2014. (Cliff Owen/AP Photo)

Confronted with criticism from Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and other Democrats, McEnany responded that they should look to their own words from 4 years ago.

While Biden opposes a nomination now, he held a different position in 2016.

I would go forward with the confirmation process, as chairmaneven a few months before a presidential electionif the nominee were chosen with the Advice, and not merely the Consent, of the Senatejust as the Constitution requires, he said at Georgetown University Law School.

My consistent advice to presidents of both partiesincluding this presidenthas been that we should engage fully in the constitutional process of Advice and Consent. And my consistent understanding of the Constitution has been the Senate must do so as well. Period. They have an obligation to do so.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Obama are among the others who dont want Trumps nominee to be considered now, but pushed for Obamas to be considered in 2016.

Trump said over the weekend that his nominee will be a woman.

McEnany reiterated that on Monday and said the president would definitely choose from the two lists of possible candidates hes released, one years ago and one this month.

The lists contain a dozen women, including Amy Coney Barrett, a judge on the Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Barbara Lagoa, a judge on the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit.
One way CMS will help people get their dialysis at home is by increasing how much Medicare will pay providers to encourage such care. And, beginning in July 2022, the government will base some of its payments to kidney specialists and dialysis facilities on how much they increase home dialysis rates.

In addition to moving more patients from dialysis centers to home dialysis because it is more convenient, the shift is expected to save Medicare about $23.5 million over about five years, according to Seema Verma, CMS administrator. Verma said that though ESRD patients make up only 1 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, they account for 7 percent  $35.9 billion  of Medicare spending each year.

Among dialysis patients, about 12 percent now get their treatments at home, with the rest getting their care at dialysis centers. About 37 million Americans  more than 11 percent of the population  are battling chronic kidney disease, and more than 800,000 have ESRD.

Financial help for kidney donors

The new regulation also increases government support for people to donate their organs, including financial compensation for lost wages, child care and elder care. No generous American who wants to save a life by becoming a kidney donor should face barriers to doing so, Azar said.

Since 2006, the National Living Donor Assistance Center has reimbursed donors up to $6,000 for expenses associated with their organ donation, including travel, lodging, meals and other incidentals. The new rule expands what will be considered incidental expenses to include lost wages, child care and elder care. Currently, to be eligible, donors must have an income of 300 percent of the federal poverty guideline or less. The new rule expands that to 350 percent of poverty. Donors do not have to be Medicare beneficiaries to qualify for assistance.

"We believe there are many potential living organ donors who would like to donate an organ to a family member or friend or a complete stranger but cannot afford the loss of income incurred during the required weeks out of work needed for a transplant surgery and the recovery time, said Thomas Engels, administrator of HHS Health Resources and Services Administration.

Providers will also be reimbursed based on how well they do in expanding the number of kidney donors. As of last week, 92,000 Americans were waiting for a kidney transplant.
NORTON SHORES, MI  Two Mona Shores High School students have tested positive for coronavirus and are believed to have been exposed during a weekend visit to Western Michigan University, administrators say.

Mona Shores Superintendent Bill OBrien notified families in the district of the two positive cases via email Monday, Sept. 21.

Administrators were notified that one high school student had tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, the superintendent wrote in the email. The district learned of the second positive case Monday morning, he said.

Health officials believe both students were exposed to the virus after visiting Western Michigan University the weekend of Sept. 12, OBrien said.

Both students had experienced minor COVID-19 symptoms before getting tested, he said.

Western Michigan University has reported 235 confirmed coronavirus cases linked to the university since students returned to campus Aug. 10.

Mona Shores welcomed students back for the first day of school Sept. 8. The district has offered a mix of virtual and in-person options to families amid the pandemic. The high school has offered in-person classes at a rotating A/B schedule, with students split into learning groups and attending school face-to-face two days a week.

During contact tracing, school leaders identified 24 students as close contacts of the students who tested positive, meaning they were within six feet of them for more than 15 minutes with or without a mask. Those students are now in self quarantine and can return to school Oct. 1, OBrien said.

All other students in the same learning group as these two students can return to school but should monitor for symptoms, administrators said.

Mona Shores had 3,937 students for the 2019-20 school year, of that 1,267 attended the high school, according to the most recent state data.

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:

Newaygo High School closes for COVID-19 cases

Springport Public Schools moves to virtual learning after students test positive for coronavirus

Michigan K-12 schools show low coronavirus numbers so far, but thats not the whole story
With polls around the corner, the 'poster-war' in Bihar is at its peak.

A huge poster on the main gate of (RJD) office on Veer Chand Patel Marg, Patna, comprising a giant photograph of party leader Tejashwi Yadav, with the party symbol in the corner.

The walls of the party office display two more posters, one with the photo of just Tejashwi Yadav, and another with the picture of Tej Pratap Yadav, along with Tejashwi Yadav. None of the posters depict party Chief Lalu Yadav and ex-Chief Minister

These posters are now on the target of opposition. Taking a dig at the posters, BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal said that the people of Bihar have forgotten Lalu Yadav and because of their 15-years of misrule

"Now he is behind bars. Due to this shame, Tejashwi has started cornering Lalu Yadav. The public is watching everything. Tejashwi Yadav on many occasions tried to mislead the public by issuing apologies for 15 years of misrule by his party. Now the tactic of missing photos cannot deceive the public," he said.

JD(U) also attacked RJD over the new posters and said that not only the public but Tejashwi Yadav is also scared of the legacy of 'Jungle-Raj' of the RJD.

"At least Lalu Yadav was a politician who struggled to become big. He was a victim of corruption, and the people of Bihar have rejected him. What is the identity of Tejashwi Yadav? Tejashwi has made a big mistake by highlighting himself on the posters. With this move, RJD's dream of coming in power will end again," said Ranjan.

Defending Yadav and the posters RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari said that RJD is, and will remain Lalu Yadav's party.

"It is not Tejashwi Yadav's room from where the pictures of his parents have disappeared for the opposition to raise an issue about. This is time for the young brigade to step in. Lalu's RJD is evolving under Tejashwi 's leadership. We haven't removed Lalu Yadav from the posters. His pictures are present on some posters and absent from others.

(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 video of Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein grilling the frontrunner to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the US Supreme Court, has resurfaced after president Donald Trump vowed to replace the late justice.

Following Ms Ginsburgs death on Friday evening, Mr Trump said he would fill her now vacant seat on the Supreme Court without delay, despite the presidential election taking place in just a few weeks' time.

A place on the court is a lifetime position and if a justice is appointed by Mr Trump, it would likely give the court a Conservative super majority that could stand for decades.

Mr Trump said on Sunday that he has an obligation to appoint a replacement for Ms Ginsburg, and US Circuit Court judge Amy Coney Barrett is rumoured to be the frontrunner for the position.

The 48-year-old devout catholic was considered by the president to replace retired justice Anthony M Kennedy in 2018, when Brett Kavanaugh was chosen instead. At the time, Mr Trump said he was saving the former law professor for Ms Ginsburgs seat.

A 2017 clip from Ms Barretts nomination hearing for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, where Ms Feinstein raised concerns over her devout catholic beliefs, has resurfaced on social media following Ms Ginsburgs death and the rumours about her nomination.

At the hearing, Ms Feinstein told the 48-year-old: I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the Dogma lives loudly within you.

And thats of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have thought for, for years in this country.

In response to the California senators remarks, Ms Barrett claimed that she would be able to keep her professional and religious beliefs separate, according to the Indianapolis Star.

She added that she would follow all Supreme Court precedent without fail and would never impose my own personal convictions upon the law.

During her confirmation hearing, she also claimed that she would regard Roe vs Wade, which ruled the US constitution protects a womans choice to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction, as a binding precedent.

However, despite this claim, she has previously argued that US judges should not be forced to uphold the Roe vs Wade ruling, according to The Washington Post.

In her position on the Circuit Court of Appeals, Ms Barrett also called for the re-hearing of a case that denied vice president Mike Pences abortion law, which would have prevented abortions if the fetus was disabled.

Additionally, in 2012, the mother to seven children told a class at the University of Notre Dame that it is always good to remember that a legal career is but a means to an endand that end is building the Kingdom of God.

The decision on the timeline of the justice nomination is causing controversy, with many Democratic officials arguing that it should wait until after the results of 3 Novembers election are confirmed.

On Friday evening, Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, said that the nomination should wait until after the election, following his tribute to Ms Ginsburg.

He said: There is no doubt, let me be clear, that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider.
The meeting comes days after the two nations agreed in Moscow to disengage along their disputed Himalayan border.

Senior Indian and Chinese military commanders are holding talks on Monday to find ways to resolve a months-long standoff between rival forces along their disputed Himalayan border in Ladakh, a region bordering Tibet that India administers.

Details of the talks, which are happening on the Chinese side in Moldo, facing the Indian-controlled Ladakh region, were not immediately disclosed.

A senior Indian foreign ministry official was also participating in the meeting, according to an Indian official speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations.

Despite several rounds of talks at military, diplomatic and political levels, including negotiations between foreign and defence ministers of the two countries in Moscow this month, the border tensions have persisted.

On Tuesday, Indias Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused China of violating past border agreements and expanding its troop deployments along the undemarcated border.

Singh told parliament that India has informed China through diplomatic channels that its attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo were in violation of the bilateral agreements.

He said China illegally occupies about 38,000 square kilometres (about 14,670 square miles) of land in Ladakh.

India and China share a 3,500-kilometre (2,100-mile) unmarked border through the Himalayas [File: Manish Swarup/AP]

While both India and China have provided little information, the media in the two countries have given extensive coverage to the escalating tensions, which have dramatically changed bilateral relations.

The worlds two most populous nations have been locked in a border dispute since April when rival soldiers engaged in skirmishes at several points on their mountain border.

The nuclear-armed Asian neighbours share a 3,500-kilometre (2,100-mile) unmarked border through the Himalayas, where an uneasy peace has held since the two countries signed a truce following a war in 1962.

On June 15, the border peace was broken following deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley in Indias Ladakh region. At least 20 Indian soldiers died in pitched hand-to-hand combat involving clubs and rocks.

Since then, thousands of soldiers have been deployed on both sides of the de facto border, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), with experts concerned tensions might lead to an unintentional war.

Indias military has activated its entire logistics network to transport vast quantities of ammunition, equipment, fuel, winter supplies and food to thousands of troops in Ladakh ahead of a harsh winter, officials said.

Both countries claim vast swaths of each others territory along the Himalayan frontier, with the border problems rooted in the demarcation of boundaries by British colonial rulers.
Three sisters who allege they were sexually abused by their female school principal feel like they can 'breathe again' after a six-year extradition battle.

An Israeli court on Monday approved the extradition of the former teacher to Australia, potentially paving the way for her to stand trial on 74 charges of child sex abuse.

Malka Leifer, a former educator who is accused of sexually abusing several former students, has been fighting extradition from Israel since 2014.

She returned to her place of birth in 2008 after accusations of sexual misconduct surfaced.

Leifer has always maintained her innocence.

The decision to grant the extradition brings an end to strained relations between Israel and Australia, and is a relief to the alleged victims.

Child sexual abuse victims Nicole Meyer and Dassi Erlich have been campaigning for Leifer's extradition

Nicole Meyer, 35, told The Australian it felt like 'we can all breathe again' after learning the news on Monday.

'It's a huge validation for us and the many other victims of sexual abuse. Between us, there's many years of pent-up breath and to be able to exhale is a huge relief,' she said.

Earlier this month, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that Leifer was mentally fit to stand trial to 'put an end to the saga that has been drawn out for many years'.

The mother-of-eight initially tried to claim that she was too unwell to face court, and the legal battle has been a drawn out and exhausting process for all involved.

An Israeli psychiatric panel determined Leifer had lied about suffering a mental condition that made her unfit to stand trial.

Critics, including Leifer's alleged victims, have accused Israeli authorities of dragging out the case for far too long.

Malka Leifer (left) had her handcuffs removed after she was accused of dozens of cases of sexual abuse against schoolgirls

Ms Meyer, along with her younger sisters Dassi Erlich, 32, and Elly Sapper, 31, allege Leifer sexually abused them over a four-year period.

They were students at an ultra-Orthodox school in Melbourne where Leifer was the head teacher, and have since claimed there were other victims among the student body.

The trio were together when they learned of the latest update in the Israeli court.

'We can't stop smiling,' Ms Meyer told Nine Network television news, flanked by her sisters.

'There's just so many emotions flooding through us now, like, relief, excitement - we can't believe we finally got here.'

The formal extradition now requires an order by Israel's justice minister.

Sisters Elly Sapir, Dassi Erlich and Nicole Meyer allege they are victims of their former teacher

Leifer initially claimed she was mentally unfit to stand trial but her extradition has since been approved

Leifer's attorneys said they would appeal an extradition order to Israel's Supreme Court, arguing that it would be a 'political decision'.

'For those who think that this chapter is now closed, I'm sorry, the process will still last quite a few months more,' Nick Kaufman, one of Leifer's defense lawyers said.

Australian parliament member Josh Burns praised the court ruling on Monday afternoon.

'Justice has taken far too long. But finally, justice has won the day,' Burns said.

'And while we await further appeals, we call on the Israeli judicial system to deal with them as quickly as possible and for the justice minister to give the extradition the final sign off without any further delays.'

Manny Waks, the head of Kol v'Oz, a Jewish group that combats child sex abuse and that has been representing the three sisters, said Monday's ruling marked 'a great day for justice.'

'It is a day which at times seemed like it would never arrive, but we are thrilled that it is finally here,' Waks said.

'It has taken 71 court hearings to get to this point. It has been Israel's shame.'
The economy is set to contract by over 10 per cent as per some estimates during 2020-21, which is bound to have an impact on businesses as well

Business activity is unlikely to touch pre-Covid-19 levels before March 2021, and there is a need for the government to step in and give a "push" to the economy as it has not done enough till now, a multi-sector survey conducted by a rating agency has said on Monday.

The smaller businesses have reported more stress than the larger ones in the survey of over 600 companies conducted by between August 25 and September 13.

The economy is set to contract by over 10 per cent as per some estimates during 2020-21, which is bound to have an impact on businesses as well. The government has announced additional spends of under 2 per cent to help the economy, which has been called as too little by some quarters.

"Majority of participants said the government has not done enough for the revival of their sector and they expect more support from the government," the rating agency said.

In the survey, 72 per cent of the respondents said the government should do more for revival of their industry and are pinning hopes on sops like deferment of statutory dues, credit enhancements or guarantees and even tax subsidies, the survey said.



The agency said the survey has revealed a "mix picture" from an overall perspective, with two-thirds of those polled saying they expect to hit the pre-Covid-19 levels only in March 2021, while construction, real estate and service sector companies feel they will do so only in the next fiscal.

There has been a pick-up in activity lately but there is a need for standardisation in the unlock process without having the localised lockdowns, the survey participants, which included chief executives, chiefs of finance at companies and investors, said.

Companies in the construction, real estate, manufacturing and power sectors said they are facing problems because of the return of migrant labourers back to their villages, it said.

The small business segment reported more pain because of the migrant labour issue than the larger enterprises, it said with over a third of the former saying the migrant labourers have not returned back to work.

Some businesses also said lack of clarity on loan moratorium guidelines by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is among the factors that have severely affected performance of companies in their sector.

Over half of the respondents across small and large businesses said there will be rise in the non-performing assets for banks from their sector due to the impact of Covid-19, and also feel that it may trigger consolidation moves over the next six months.

(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.)
By Trend

The Armenian leaderships inflammatory remarks are exacerbating an already inflammable situation around the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, US expert in European politics Peter Tase told Trend on Sept. 21.

The discourse adopted recently by Armenian Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan is encouraging military operations and reconnaissance missions from Yerevan inside the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, Tase added. Tonoyans inflammatory remarks and misleading language is exacerbating an already inflammable situation. Armenia has called for assistance to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

The Article 4 is the key part of the CSTO Treaty, states: If one of the Member States undergoes aggression, it will be considered by the Member States as aggression to all the Member States of this Treaty," the expert said. In the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it is a fact that Armenia is the aggressor party and has violated for three decades, all international treaties and humanitarian laws by conducting a ruthless ethnic cleansing campaign against the Azerbaijani nation.

In front of these wicked acts of fascist Armenia, the world has remained silent, the US expert said.

Silence is not a formula for success, indeed it exacerbates armed conflicts to a point of no return, Tase said. Now is the time to exert all political pressure on Armenia. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe must review carefully the politico-military situation in Armenia and must take the lead towards solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by peaceful means.

The Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement signed between Armenia and the European Union (CEPA) on November 24, 2017; must be suspended until Tonoyan and other ministers adopt a language of reconciliation, fully respecting the international laws, the territorial sovereignty of neighboring countries, Tase said.

It is imperative for United Nations, European Union and NATO to deliver a strong message to Armenian leaders, calling for restraint and condemning their remarks, the expert said.

The Armenian prime minister must exercise his constitutional duties within his nation's borders, to strictly focus on the wellbeing of his countrymen and abandon attacks against Azerbaijani civilian population, Tase said. Armenia must withdraw its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and from seven occupied territories adjacent to this region.

US journalist Herbert Swope once said: "I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody", Tase added. The EU is pleasing everybody to the detriment of the Azerbaijan Republic and its peace-loving people. This attitude - which certainly is self-destructive for the European continent, must change.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 06:00:41|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed on Monday a number of regional issues.

During a phone conversation, Sisi and Al Nahyan exchanged views on the recent developments in regional and international issues of common interest, Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.

The discussions came within the framework of the mutual regular consultations between the two leaders, Rady added.

They also discussed prospects for further cooperation in a way that serves the common interests of the two countries.

Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) maintain close political, military and economic ties.

The UAE, together with other Gulf countries, supported the Egyptian leadership with billions of U.S. dollars in grants, loans and deposits at Egypt's central bank to help the country's economy overcome pressing challenges in the past few years. Enditem
The mortal remains of the late Mr Richard Chebure, Bia East District Chief Executive (DCE), have been laid to rest at the Sefwi-Anyinabrim Cemetery The late DCE passed on in March this year at age 41.



The mortal remains of the late Mr Richard Chebure, Bia East District Chief Executive (DCE), have been laid to rest at the Sefwi-Anyinabrim Cemetery



The late DCE passed on in March this year at age 41.



The funeral was attended by people from all walks of life including, Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Augustine Blay, Executive Secretary to the Vice president, Mr Kingsley Aboakye Gyedu, Western North Regional Minister.



Other are, Mr Alex Djonoboah Tetteh, Deputy Regional Minister as well as all regional and constituency executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Western North Region.



Very Reverend Dominic Ansah, Superintendent Minister of the Methodist Church, Sefwi-Essam in a sermon said the end time was near and asked Christians to seek Christ at all times.



He urged all to be humble themselves to "inherit the kingdom of God"



In a tribute, Mr Evans Amoah, Bia East constituency Communication officer on behalf of the party described the late DCE as a unifier whose efforts had attracted many people to join the NPP, which helped to increase the number of votes the party had in the 2016 elections.



He said it was the wish of the late DCE that the NPP won the Bia East constituency parliamentary seat for the first time and encouraged all to work hard to win the seat in memory of the late DCE.



The Bia East District Assembly also in a tribute described the late Mr. Chebure, as a great achiever since he was able to achieve a lot on the assumption of office on 9th March 2017.



They cited the construction of a market shed at camp 15 Junction and Adabokrom, construction of an ICT center at Adabokrom, construction of one six-unit classroom block with staff common room at Jinijikofi, and the construction of a three-unit classroom block at mansakrom.



Others are the construction of no 1 6 unit classroom block with storeroom each at Sikafremogya, Adeakyen, and Nyamebekyere among others as some of his achievement as the DCE.



Mr Samuel Adu Gyamfi, Aowin Municipal Chief Executive and Dean of the Western North Municipal and District Chief Executives said the late DCE was trustworthy, hardworking and a God-fearing man.



He encouraged the rank and file of the party especially the youth to work hard to win the Bia East parliamentary seat to honour the late District Chief Executive.



The late District Chief Executive was survived by three children, one boy and two girls.



Mr Niper Nicholas, Bia East Parliamentary Candidate of the NPP laid a wreath on behalf of the party, Madam Martha Kawyie Manu, District Chief Executive for Juabeso laid on behalf of Municipal and District Chief Executives while Madam Hannah Ahenkorah laid one on behalf of the widow and children.

Source: GNA









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The Congress on Monday reacted sharply to the suspension of eight Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs, including three of its own, with Rahul Gandhi saying the "muting of democratic India continues" by initially silencing and later suspending the parliamentarians.

IMAGE: Opposition leaders stage a protest in the Rajya Sabha over suspension of 8 MPs for causing ruckus in the upper house on Sunday. Photograph: PTI Photo

The suspension of the eight members comes a day after the Upper House witnessed unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members during the passage of two farm bills.

"Muting Of Democratic India' continues: by initially silencing and later, suspending MPs in the Parliament & turning a blind eye to farmers' concerns on the black agriculture laws," Gandhi said in a tweet.

"This omniscient govt's endless arrogance has brought economic disaster for the entire country," the former Congress chief said.

Reacting to the development, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked whether or not there is any parliamentary system in the country.

"Is it a sin to raise the voice of the farmer in Parliament? Have dictators held Parliament hostage?" Surjewala said in a tweet.

"Do you not listen to the voice of truth under the influence of power? How many voices will you suppress Modi ji...Of the farmers, of workers, of small shopkeeper, of Parliament," he tweeted with the hashtag 'Kisaan Virodhi (anti-farmer) Modi'.

The government on Monday moved a motion seeking the suspension of Derek O'Brien (TMC), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Rajeev Satav (Congress), K K Ragesh (CPI-M), Syed Nazir Hussain (Congress), Ripun Boren (Congress), Dola Sen (TMC) and Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M).

Amid opposition, the motion was adopted by voice vote and Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu asked them to leave the House but they remained present and protested the ruling.

The chairman also rejected a notice for a no confidence motion against Deputy Chairman Harivansh on the grounds that proper procedure was not followed.

Naidu condemned the unruly behaviour and "threats" to Harivansh during the passage of the farm bills.

The Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were passed by the Rajya Sabha on Sunday with a voice vote, amid unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members demanding that the proposed legislations be referred to a House panel for greater scrutiny.

The two bills have already been passed by the Lok Sabha and will now go to the president for his assent before they are notified as laws.
Even before the Legislature session commenced, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Monday hinted that the state was contemplating to reduce the legislature session from eight to three days owing to Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking to reporters here, Yediyurappa said that more than 60 legislators have been tested positive, hence, we should think of reducing the number of days to three from eight. "We will discuss this issue in the Business Advisory Committee, where we will try to convince our opposition party leaders on this matter," he added.

Meanwhile, reacting sharply to this, Pradesh Congress Committee president, D.K. Shivakumar described that curtailing legislature session was an act nothing but death of democracy. "Don't we require at least two hours discussing each bill?" he questioned angrily and asserted that the opposition party would stick to its earlier demand that the on-going session must be extended by at least another eight days.

Adding to Shivakumar's views, leader of the opposition, Siddaramaiah quipped that the Opposition will agree to reduction of days only if the ruling party, BJP withdraws all its 32 bills. "Let them withdraw all bills, then we can think about it," he retorted and asserted that if the ruling party decides to bring all bills then the opposition would demand for extension of the session by another two weeks. "I agree there is a spike in Corona cases and some of our MLAs are not able to attend. All that is fine, but that cannot be the only thing to reduce the number of days," he stressed.

While former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader, H.D. Kumarswamy too asserted that the ruling party was introducing many contentious bills and they do not want a discussion on it, hence, they want to use the pandemic as an excuse to hide its failures. "We will not allow it to happen," he said.

--IANS

nbh/rs/

(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 Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC), the Israel Film Fund (IFF) and the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film &Television School (JSFS) have reached an overarching agreement centered around goodwill and bilateral cooperation in the fields of film and television.



Under the new agreement, the film commissions will create an intercultural cooperation, creating content with the goal of promoting tolerance, education and developing a deeper cultural understanding between the Emirati and Israeli people.



The agreement follows the official signing ceremony at the White House for the agreement brokered by the US, in which Israel established formal ties with two Arab states, the UAE and Bahrain.



Mohamed Al Mubarak, Chairman of twofour54 and Image Nation Abu Dhabi, said: This agreement strengthens cultural ties between our creative industries as well as supports the development of Abu Dhabis film and TV sector through the creation of new opportunities for collaboration that will lead to the development of more quality content underpinned by the UAEs values of acceptance and respect.



Hans Fraikin, the Abu Dhabi Film Commissioner, said: We are delighted with this historic cooperation agreement with the Israel Film Fund and the Sam Spiegel Film School. This new partnership between the UAE and Israel will be extremely beneficial for our burgeoning Emirati film and television community by allowing our talented content creators to broaden their landscapes and develop skills from diverse expertise.



Lisa Shiloach-Uzrad, Executive Director of IFF, stated: The art of film is a universal language which can serve as a bridge between cultures and people. I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for collaboration through which we can learn, create and become closer to our neighbours in the Middle East. I am sure we will find many ways to work together on a creative and professional level to the great benefit of both sides.



The partners have agreed on an agenda consisting of four key initiatives, centered on bilateral workshops, training, education, the International Film Lab and a regional film festival.



Training programs will be developed for filmmakers from both countries to participate in intensive script co-development workshops over a period of several months, with the aim of developing and producing Abu Dhabi-Israel film and television co-productions.



In partnership with the globally recognized Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film &Television School (JSFS), Emirati students will be selected to study in one of three educational tracks in its acclaimed Jerusalem campus.



Dana Blankstein Cohen, Executive Director of JSFS, said: "We are excited by this historic cooperation between our countries and believe in the power of film and television education to promote creative exchange between our future generations of cultural innovators."



In addition to training and development programs, Emirati filmmakers will have representation at the International Film Lab for the first time ever, with one UAE director invited to participate as a jury at the upcoming 2021 edition of the high-profile annual Film Lab competition.



The agreement also specified plans for a regional film festival, which will rotate annually between Abu Dhabi and Israel and will showcase Emirati and Israeli productions and co-productions.



Future objectives of the partnership will be announced soon and will include a bilateral film co-production agreement to facilitate and encourage co-productions between the film industries of Abu Dhabi and Israel.  TradeArabia News Service


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A new photobook featuring dramatic satellite photographs will showcase areas of the world that have been completely transformed - by human interference.

The book, titled 'Overview Timelapse: How We Change The Earth', will take a critical look at the way humans have completely altered the aerial landscape of the planet.

Featuring photos from NASA, the European Space Agency, and Maxar Technologies, among others, the book will show the effects of urban development, climate change, and deforestation.

They show how farmland and small towns in the Daxing district of Beijing were converted over the course of seven years to build the Beijing Daxing International Airport, and how over the course of thirty years, the metropolitan area of Las Vegas experienced a more than fourfold population increase.

New York City, captured by satellite at a low angle, is the most populous and most densely populated major city in the United States, with nearly 8.4 million people on a land area of 302 square miles. To accommodate its high population density, the city is one of the most vertically built in the world.

 Slide me  Left in 2012, right in 2020. Farmland and small towns in the Daxing district of Beijing were converted over the course of seven years to build the Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX).Completed in 2019, the facility contains the largest single-structure airport terminal in the world, with an area of more than 11 million square feet. Designed with a central hub surrounded by six curved spokes, the facility has the capacity to support approximately 70 million travelers and 620,000 flights every year

 Slide me  A satellite image of Las Vegas in 1989, left, and in 2019, right. Over the course of thirty years, the metropolitan area of Las Vegas experienced a more than fourfold population increase-from 710,000 to more than 3 million people. This drastic growth has contributed to Nevada becoming one of the fastest-growing states in America over the last several decades. The city's expansion can be observed by its streets, homes, and buildings sprawling into the surrounding desert

 Slide me  The Amazon Rainforest in 1989, left, and 2019, right. The state of Rondonia in western Brazil has become one of the most deforested parts of the Amazon rainforest. Once home to 80,000 square miles of forest, the past three decades have seen rapid clearing and degradation. By 2003, an estimated 26,000 square miles of rainforest-an area larger than the state of West Virginia-hadbeen cleared. That devastation continued in the following decades and was greatly exacerbated by the Amazon fires of 2019

 Slide me  Wuhan hospital construction, before and after. Huoshenshan Field Hospital in Wuhan, China, was built over a ten-day period between January 23 and February 2, 2020. Constructed by more than 7,000 people working around the clock, the facility was a major initiative in the Chinese government's response to slow the spread of COVID-19. The hospital included 1,000 beds with 30 intensive care units, medical equipment rooms, and quarantine wards

 Slide me  Apple Park in Cupertino, California in 2016, left, and 2020, right. Apple Park, in Cupertino, California, is the corporate headquarters of Apple Inc. Opened to employees in April 2017, the facility replaced the original Apple Campus, which opened in 1993

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New York City, captured by satellite at a low angle, is the most populous and most densely populated major city in the United States, with nearly 8.4 million people on a land area of 302 square miles. To accommodate its high population density, the city is one of the most vertically built in the world, most notably seen in the skyscrapers of Manhattan. As of 2020, the city had more than 7,000 high-rise buildings that are at least 115 feet tall and 284 completed skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet in height

Brumadinho Iron Ore Dam Collapse. On January 25, 2019, the dam collapsed at an iron ore mine in Brumadinho, Brazil, and spilled more than 3 billion gallons of red mud, debris, and toxic sludge into the surrounding area and the Paraopeba River. The powerful mudflow claimed the lives of 272 people, many of whom were employees working on-site at the dam that day. This Overview was captured four days after the dam collapsed
12 suspended MPs not ready to apologise, what do we talk to opposition, Goyal in RS

More than one lakh vacancies lying vacant in CAPFs: Nityanand Rai tells Rajya Sabha

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, Sep 21: On Monday, Rajya Sabha was informed that over one lakh posts are lying vacant in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) like the BSF and the CRPF and the vacancies have occurred mostly due to retirement, resignation and deaths.

Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the BSF has the highest number of vacancies (28,926), followed by the CRPF (26,506), the CISF (23,906), the SSB (18,643), the ITBP (5,784) and the Assam Rifles (7,328).

Muting of democratic India continues: Congress on Rajya Sabha MPs suspension

"Vacancies in CAPFs and Assam Rifles arise due to retirement, resignation, death, new raising, creation of new posts, cadre reviews, etc. Majority of these vacancies are in the grade of constable," he said replying to a written question.

Nityanand Rai said there exists a well-established procedure to fill up these vacancies like through direct recruitment, promotion and by deputation, as per the extant provisions of Recruitment Rules.

Derek O'Brien, Sanjay Singh among 8 MPs suspended for a week over Rajya Sabha ruckus

He also said that the government has taken expeditious steps to fill up the vacancies in CAPFs, which is an ongoing continuous process.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

Presently, the process of recruitment for 60,210 posts of constables, 2,534 posts of sub-inspectors through the Staff Selection Commission and 330 posts of assistant commandants through the Union Public Service Commission is underway.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, September 21, 2020, 14:05 [IST]
Though government schools for senior students re-opened across Jammu and Kashmir after a gap of nearly six months on Monday, students, by and large, were conspicuous by their absence in at least two prominent schools of Jammu city. Similar reports also poured in from government schools in border areas of RS Pura sector.

Principal of the oldest school in the Union territory, Government SRML Higher Secondary School, Anjali Gupta said, as per protocol, 50 percent faculty had come but not even a single student turned up today.

She, however, added, It was the first day and it may take parents some time to motivate themselves and their children.

Probably after a day or two the students desirous of clearing their doubts may start coming to the school, she added.

Also read: Unlock 4 - Schools at several places across India reopen partially

Gupta informed that the entire school was fumigated and all other protocols of sanitisers, thermal screening, masks and social distancing were being followed.

Principal of Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Gandhi Nagar, Shafqat Chib said that no student turned up today in her school as well. Similar reports poured in from border areas of RS Pura and Arnia in Jammu district and adjoining Samba district.

Fifty percent school staff had come as per the directions but students remained elusive, said a teacher posted in a government school in Arnia belt. She also said that there were no proper arrangements in place.

Cannabis of four feet height has not been cleared. There was none at the school gate for thermal screening. Three students of class 8 had come but they were not carrying any sanitisers. Further, they were not carrying the indemnity bond which has to be given by the parents, she added. Another teacher from RS Pura sector also echoed similar views.

Sonia Gupta, a parent, said, the decision is not only idiotic but will prove extremely dangerous. The government should restore the 4G network for hassle-free online studies rather than reopening schools that could be disastrous for our children.

Prem Kumar, another parent, said, Given the rise in Covid-19 cases and spiralling death toll, there is a fear among the parents. Tell me which right-thinking parent would like to send his children to the school in such a situation.

The government is ready to put children into grave danger but it wont restore 4G network on the grounds that terrorists use it to their advantage. Terrorists had been using satellite phones in the 90s. So, this argument serves no purpose. The government should better restore 4G network rather than putting children into danger.

He also expressed dismay over a demand for an indemnity bond from the parents that they wont blame school authorities if anything untoward happens of the virus infects their children. How could be they so insensitive? he added.

Principal secretary, school education, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon said, Centre has issued certain guidelines and therefore schools are being re-opened only for senior students of classes 9 to 12, that too, for consultation with teachers. Only 50 percent of the teachers have been mobilised.

Dr Samoon informed that everything was being done in strict accordance with the guidelines issued by the Union home and health ministries, adding, It is a voluntary exercise. Students who feel they need in-person lessons from teachers can visit their schools. Online education will continue as before.

Jammu and Kashmir has already recorded more than 1,000 deaths and nearly 64,000 Covid-19 cases till date.

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A man is behind bars charged with 62 vile sexual assault offences against four children and a woman.

The breakthrough in the case comes almost three years after detectives in Sydney's south-west launched an investigation into allegations the five victims were sexually assaulted by a man known to them between 1995 and 2012.

Detectives arrested a man, 43, at a home in nearby Rosemeadow on Monday morning.

Police arrested a man at a Rosemeadow home in Sydney's south-west on Monday morning

Vision of the arrest released by NSW Police shows the man being escorted from the home in handcuffs.

He was taken to Campbelltown Police Station, where he was charged with 62 offences, including 20 counts of sexual intercourse and 17 counts of indecent assault of a child under the age of 10.

Other charges included seven counts of aggravated sex assault and five counts of aggravated indecent assault of a minor aged under-16, two counts of assault with act of indecency and one count of sexual intercourse without consent.

The man (pictured during his arrest) has since appeared in court where he was refused bail

Police will allege in court the man sexually assaulted a woman and four children then aged between three and 16  on multiple occasions between 1995 and 2012 across Sydneys south-west.

He appeared in Campbelltown Local Court on Monday afternoon where he was refused bail to reappear at the same court on November 25.

Investigations are continuing.

Anyone with concerns about suspected sexual abuse or exploitation is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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On this day in history, 21 September 1981 Belize, formerly known as British Honduras the most sparsely populated nation in Central America gained independence from the United Kingdom and elected a Prime Minister and the Parliaments Cabinet and adopted a new Constitution and emblems. Further, the nation formed its own army and issued separate passports for its citizens. Having signed the treaties as an independent nation with international organizations, Belize also appointed its international Ambassadors overseas. The country elected George Price as its first Prime Minister and Dame Elimira Gordon as the first Governor-General and organized the ceremony where it handed Instruments of the Independence Constitution in Belmopan on 21 September 1981.

Wishes to the people of #Belize  a happy Independence Day!@BelizeMissionUN https://t.co/WEe8kYWa8e  India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) September 21, 2020

Since 1950, the country had aimed for self-government and independence, while it was a British colony with large parts controlled by the government of Guatemala. However, in the year 1960, the United Nations passed a resolution for the independence of the colonial territories. Under Premier George Prices Peoples United Party, the country decided to fight the battle for independence in a campaign titled the internationalization effort.

[George Price as Belize first Prime Minister. Credit: The National Students' Union of Belize]

Read: Columbia University Band Shuts Down, Cites Troubled History

Read: World Ozone Day 2020: History, Significance And Importance Of The Day

While between the years 1975 to 1979, the US vetoed the United Nations resolutions for Belize's sovereignty, in 1980, the US policy of neutrality led to a UN resolution in November 1980 that resulted in the independence of Belize. The document "The Heads of Agreement was signed by Britain, Guatemala, and Belize in the year 1981 wherein the countries recognized the independence of Belize with its border demarcation.

#Belize Independence Fact No. 3  pic.twitter.com/SphkBN7Pnf  The National Students' Union of Belize (@belizestudents) September 17, 2020

#Belize Independence Fact No. 4



For today's fact, we're sharing a visual of the Evolution of the Flag of Belize 



Be sociable and share  pic.twitter.com/C32WTtPgKY  The National Students' Union of Belize (@belizestudents) September 18, 2020

Belize,136th Member of UN

Later, the UN Security Council and the General Assembly enrolled Belize as the 136th Member of the United Nations on 25 September1981, according to historical accounts. To this date, about 48.7 percent of the population in Belize comes from European descent (Mestizo), while Spanish is the native language with over 50 percent of the population speaking in it. Belize adopted parliamentary democracy and is also a member of the Commonwealth with a National Assembly that comprises of the House of Representatives and a Senate.

Happy Independence Day to my beloved country #Belize! 



I love you forever!!  pic.twitter.com/Yj6eLoTQIt  Kevin Chen  (@kevinjohnchen) September 21, 2020

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY Belize pic.twitter.com/lp4yVO7InF  Monir Ronim (@MonirRonim4) September 20, 2020

Now & Forever this my home



Happy Independence Day Belize  pic.twitter.com/41xeLu00C8  CAS (@Djcas_) September 21, 2020

Happy 39th Year of Independence Belize! pic.twitter.com/TSm9RcCllY  Bzeproperties@gmail.com (@bzeproperties) September 19, 2020

Read: International Democracy Day: Date, Significance & History Amid 2020 Covid Spotlight

Read: Hindi Diwas 2020- History, Significance And Importance Of This Day And The Language
A three-storey building collapsed in Maharashtras Bhiwandi city early on Monday killing at least 10 people and injuring several. Nineteen others, including a four-year-old boy, have been pulled out of the debris by rescuers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his condolence to the families of the victims of Bhiwandi building collapse and assured that all necessary help was being given to the affected.

Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected, PM Modi tweeted.

The state chief minister Uddhav Thackeray postponed the e-opening of the Mankoli flyover following the building collapse. Thackeray along with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar were to inaugurate the flyover at 1.30pm today.

Here is what we know so far about the tragedy:

* Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police and fire brigade are carrying out rescue operations in the Patel Compound area of the city.

* As per the NDRF rescue team, 29 people have been pulled out from the debris -- 10 dead and 19 alive. Seven men and three women have died, it added.

* The 43-year-old Jhilani building collapsed at around 3:40am. It had 40 flats and housed around 150 people.

* So far, there is no report on the cause of the collapse. Pankaj Ashiya, Bhiwandis commissioner, said that the building was in need of repair.

* The building was over 30 years old and needed repairs, which couldnt be carried out due to the coronavirus lockdown, he said.

* NDRF teams were using a canine squad to search trapped people. A team of 30 NDRF rescuers is still at the spot for rescue work.

* Power supply to the area has been snapped as a precautionary measure, officials said.
Bed Bath & Beyond is planning to shutter two New Jersey locations as part of 63 stores it will close by the end of this year, the company told USA Today.

The Union-based home goods retailer will close the stores in Howell (4075 Route 9) and Rockaway (202 Enterprise Dr.).

In July, Bed Bath & Beyond announced plans to permanently close about 200 stores over the next two years. This announcement appears to be the first iteration of that plan.

The company, which also operates Harmon Face Values, buybuy Baby, Cost Plus World Market and Christmas Tree Shops, said its to right-size its real estate portfolio.

The 200 store closures mostly will be Bed Bath & Beyond stores.

There are currently 36 Bed Bath & Beyond stores in New Jersey, according to its website. Stores in Sewell and Newton also have closed this year.

It has been a newsworthy year for Bed Bath & Beyond:

--The company agreed in February to sell its e-commerce flower and gifts business, PersonalizationMall.com, for $252 million.

--In March, it announced plans to cut 500 jobs as part of a restructure.

--In June, a WARN notice filed with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development showed the company had plans to lay off 148 employees, which was effective Aug. 22, with the city as Union, where Bed Bath & Beyonds headquarters are located. The company is also reportedly looking to sell its Christmas Tree Shops and Cost Plus World Market stores.

The brick-and-mortar retail industry already had been suffering, but the coronavirus has wreaked additional havoc on chains.

GameStop, New York & Company, Sur La Table, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor and Justice are among the companies that recently have announced store closures.

RELATED STORIES ABOUT RETAIL AND SHOPPING:

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Walmart reveals top toys for 2020 holiday season: See the full list

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Nicolette Accardi can be reached at naccardi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @N_Accardi. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
Before presenting the first award of the night, the duo performed an elaborate bit about sanitizing the envelope with the winners name in it, which included setting fire to it in a wastepaper basket to burn off the germs. Someone was standing by off-camera to hand Aniston a fire extinguisher, but she didnt get all of the flames right away, and it erupted anew. Neither she nor Kimmel noticed it right away, focused on their task at hand, but remaining exceptionally calm under pressure, a second later, she put it out and the show continued without any casualties.
SENNETT, N.Y.  A barbecue restaurant just outside Auburn that suffered extensive damage in a fire Friday will reopen, its staff posted on Facebook Sunday.

Route 20 Tap & Grill, at 3193 E. Genesee St. Road (Route 20) was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on the scene Friday afternoon. Flames were seen on both the first and second floors and an outdoor deck collapsed, the Auburn Citizen reported.

All those inside were evacuated and no one was injured. The cause is still under investigation.

... I assure you all this is not the end of Route 20 and it(s) Crew, said the Facebook post, signed by The Route 20 Crew & Chef Flip, a reference to chef and manager Richard Taradejna, whose nickname is Chef Flip. It will be (an) on going process and on going heart ache ... until we rebuild and reopen. What does make it Easier is the on going Love and Support of my Route 20 crew ( Family ) (and) the Love and Support of our customers & friends that make Route 20 Grill & Tap what is.

I will keep you posted on our progress, the post concluded. Its not going to be a easy fix but it will be fixed.

In an earlier post, on Thursday, the barbecue restaurant had indicated it was having trouble with an exhaust fan motor: The Exhaust Fan Motor is Shot. So Cross Your Fingers it Should Be Fixed Tomorrow. Let Hope.

There is no confirmation that the fire had anything to do with the faulty fan motor.

According to the State Liquor Authority, Route 20 Tap & Grill is owned by Timothy Gillooly, who had been a partner in the previous restaurant on that location, Bucket BBQ.

Route 20 Tap & Grill specialized in what syracuse.com reviewer Jared Paventi called fall off the bone barbecue. Its rustic decor and kitchsy decorations made it clear the restaurant doesnt take itself too seriously, Paventi wrote.

Route 20 Tap & Grill opened in 2018 on the location that had been both Bucket BBQ and Boncas in recent years. (Boncas had fought a long legal battle with Sennett officials over zoning before giving way to Bucket BBQ).

But many people will remember the location mostly as the site of the Pioneer Restaurant, which had been in business for nearly a century, starting in 1904, before closing early in the 2000s. Its specialty was Crispy Fried Turkey, which was noted on a classic neon sign visible from Route 20.

MORE ON RESTAURANTS

Despite pandemic, popular diner moving because business is too good

More CNY restaurant reopenings and starts: Las Delicias, Touch of Broadway deli

State yanks licenses of two CNY bars for egregious coronavirus violations

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
Five agricultural engineers sprayed 25 areas in Sudan with insecticides against mosquitoes to curb the potential spread of epidemics

An Egyptian medical team has so far examined 12,654 Sudanese people since it has started its temporary mission on 11 September, said Egypt's health minister Hala Zayed.

The convoy's mission comes in the wake of flash floods that devastated homes and left hundreds of thousands homeless in Sudan.

The medical convoy was sent as per President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis directives to provide full support to those affected by heavy rains and floods in Sudan.

Five agricultural engineers sprayed 25 areas in Sudan with insecticides against mosquitoes to curb the potential spread of epidemics, including Malaria, Ministry of Health Spokesman Khaled Megahed said on Monday.

The move comes two weeks after Osama Abdul-Rahim, Sudans health minister-designate anticipated the emergence of epidemics in the country, especially cholera and malaria, due to floods.

He also referred to the epidemics the country suffered from during last years fall, including malaria, chikungunya fever, dengue fever, rift valley fever which can be transmitted to people via infected mosquitoes, as well as cholera, a bacterial disease usually caused by contaminated water.

At the request of Sudan, the Egyptian medical team will stay for an additional week, until 26 September, Megahed said, adding that the team received 1,384 Sudanese people on the first day of the extended period.

Four ophthalmologists have joined the convoy, due to the scarcity of doctors in this specialty in Sudan, Megahed added.

Egypt earlier launched an air bridge with Sudan, as per El-Sisis directives, to transfer medical aid to Sudan. Five planes took off from Egypt carrying more than 22 tons of aid, including infants milk and necessary medicine, as well as 25 tons of medical and relief supplies for flood victims, the health ministry said.

Sudan floods, due to heavy rains especially in neighbouring Ethiopia, caused the Nile level to rise to an unprecedented level since 1912, according to Sudan Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok,resulting in the death of dozens of people. Water has started to recede, however.

Egypt has been on high alert due to floods in the nighbouring country as Nile water flows from Sudan to Egypt.

Egypt expects a higher-than-average annual Nile flood. The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources continues to remove building violations on Nile waterways to allow water networks to contain excessive water, but it has reassured the people that the Aswan Dam in Upper Egypt, as well as barrages on the northern branches of the River Nile, will help contain the water.

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Turkey May Resume Talks With Greece, Warns Against EU Sanctions

ISTANBULTurkey and Greece might soon resume talks over their contested Mediterranean claims, according to Turkeys presidential spokesman, who cautioned European Union leaders meeting this week that warnings of sanctions against Ankara wont help the situation.

The NATO members and their neighbors have been locked in a bitter dispute over the extent of their continental shelves in the eastern Mediterranean. Tensions flared in August when Turkey sent a vessel to survey for gas and oil in contested waters.

European Union member Greece condemned the move as illegal and pressed, along with Cyprus, for a strong response from EU leaders when they meet on Sept. 24.

Ankara withdrew the Oruc Reis vessel Sept. 13. It described the move as a routine maintenance stop but later said it opened up the chance for diplomacy to reduce tensions with Athens.

At this point, the climate has become much more suitable for negotiations to begin, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told Dogan News Agency on Sept. 20. Exploratory talks may start again.

In August, Greece and Turkey were on the verge of resuming those exploratory talks, suspended in 2016. But Turkey broke off contact and sent the Oruc Reis into disputed waters after Greece signed a maritime demarcation deal with Egypt, angering Ankara.

Sanctions Threats

Turkish President Recep Erdogan has had talks with EU Council President Charles Michel, who chairs the meetings of EU leaders, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seeking to ease the crisis.

But Cyprus, protesting the presence of two Turkish exploration vessels in waters off the divided island, insists on sanctions against Ankara and has blocked EU action against Belarus for alleged election fraud until its demands are met.

Threats of blackmail and of sanctions against Turkey does not give results, Kalin said. European politicians should know this by now.

Erdogan tweeted over the weekend that Turkey believed the dispute might be resolved through dialogue while still defending its rights in the region.

We want to give diplomacy as much space as possible, by listening to every sincere call, he tweeted. With this vision, we will continue to defend any drop of water and area of our country to the end.

By Dominic Evans & Irem Koca
Mourning: Women embrace at a makeshift memorial, at the Supreme Court in Washington, for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Photo: Alex Edelman/Getty

Donald Trump has sought to woo female suburban voters after he yesterday promised to nominate a woman to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the US Supreme Court.

His pledge came as Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat speaker of the House of Representatives, refused to rule out impeaching the president to block his nominee, saying her party would "use every arrow in its quiver".

Mr Trump faces an increasingly titanic struggle to get his choice confirmed in the Senate, which Republicans hold 53-47.

Last night Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator from Alaska, said she opposed moving forward with a nomination before the November 3 election.

Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, had already done so.

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Former astronaut Mark Kelly, a Democrat, also looked set to win a special Senate election in Arizona, which would give them another vote.

At a freewheeling rally in North Carolina, Mr Trump defied Democrat calls to delay a nomination until after the election, saying he would name his choice within days.

His supporters chanted "Fill The Seat".

He took an impromptu poll from the crowd, asking them to cheer for either a woman or a man to be his pick. The crowd cheered considerably louder for a woman.

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The president said: "That's a very accurate poll because that's the way I feel. It will be a woman. A very talented, very brilliant woman, who I haven't chosen yet. I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman."

Female voters have been identified as the key to winning the election, particularly suburban women in the battleground states.

A recent poll showed Mr Trump trailing Joe Biden by 11 percentage points among all female voters, a wider margin than Hillary Clinton achieved over him in 2016.

Among suburban women Mr Trump was 14 points behind.

In a phone call with Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, Mr Trump mentioned two Supreme Court candidates -judges Amy Coney Barrett (48), a devout Catholic, and Barbara Lagoa, a Cuban-American. Their elevation would establish a 6-3 conservative majority on the court.

It could lead to the overturning of Roe v Wade, the 1973 law legalising abortion, and affect the future of Obamacare among many other issues.

If Mr Trump loses the election he would still have until inauguration day on January 20 for the Senate to confirm his pick, which he described as "plenty of time".

Protecting

But Ms Pelosi refused to rule out impeaching him under those circumstances.

Asked whether she would unleash the tactic, Ms Pelosi said: "Well, we have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now.

"Protecting our democracy requires us to use every arrow in our quiver." That would make Mr Trump the only US president to be impeached twice.

The Supreme Court vacancy, following Justice Ginsburg's death from cancer, has already turbocharged enthusiasm among Mr Trump's supporters and Democrats, who raised $60m (50m) in less than 24 hours.

At Mr Trump's rally, Paulette Fittshur (59) said: "It was God's perfect timing in this election."

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the left-wing Democratic congresswoman, told her supporters they were in "the fight of our lives".

She added: "We need to focus on voting for Joe Biden. I don't care if you like him or not."

Protesters gathered outside Mr McConnell's home in Kentucky with a sign saying "Ruth Sent Us". Justice Ginsburg's death already leaves a more conservative court and that could affect rulings related to the election. ( Daily Telegraph, London)





Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 22)  The Department of Health has recommended that President Rodrigo Duterte issue an executive order to mandate a price ceiling for COVID-19 swab tests in private hospitals and laboratories.

Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire explained there is an existing law that imposes a price ceiling on medicines, but it doesnt cover the cost of diagnostics and professional fees.

"Nakikita nga po natin ang malaking difference between laboratories as to how much the swab testing costs," she said.

[Translation: We can see that there is a huge difference in cost of swab tests in different laboratories.]

On Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque did not rule out the possibility of the chief executive signing such an order.

"Ang Presidente po'y nag-issue ng (The President has issued an) executive order imposing price caps on medicines, so I don't think it's impossible for him to issue this executive order," he said in a virtual briefing.

Vergeire said there is no recommended price set yet, but the DOH will conduct a survey to determine the range. She added they will consult with the Department of Trade and Industry and other experts.




Haiti - Justice : The judicial system paralyzed for almost 2 months





Despite 3 three meetings between Rockefeller Vincent, the Minister of Justice and representatives of the organized trade union structures of the clerks of the 18 jurisdictions, the clerks remain dissatisfied and continue their strike which paralyzes the courts since July 28, 2020 and penalizes litigants.



However, during the last meeting at the end of August, Minister Vincent committed to include the demands of the clerks in the next 2020-2021 budget which should bring significant improvements to their working conditions https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31664-haiti-justice-towards-the-end-of-the-strike-of-judicial-staff.html and made progress on the status of court clerks, proposals that had been favorably received by the representatives of court clerks... but visibly insufficient for their members



Jean Wilner Morin, President of the National Association of Magistrates of Haiti (ANAMAH) who unconditionally supports this strike https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31523-haiti-news-zapping.html recalls that "Without the presence of a clerk [custodian of the files of his jurisdiction] the tribunal is incompetent and incomplete. The clerks' strike automatically leads to the dysfunction of the courts [...]"



Note that after two months of strike, the Superior Council of the Judicial Power (CSPJ) has still not met the union representatives of the clerks



Finally, it should be remembered that the clerks' demands relate, among other things, to better working conditions for clerks and bailiffs, the adoption of a statute for clerks, one of the main causes of their strike, an increase in wages, a health insurance card and access to continuing education...



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31664-haiti-justice-towards-the-end-of-the-strike-of-judicial-staff.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31523-haiti-news-zapping.html



S/ HaitiLibre


















Deputy Commander of the Chinese PLA Western Theater Command Lt. Gen. Liu Xiaowu, also the Chinese commanding officer of the Joint Directing Department and of Kavkaz-2020 strategic exercises, addresses the opening ceremony on September 19.

ASTRAKHAN REGION, Russia, Sept. 21 -- The opening ceremony of the multinational military strategic exercise "Kavkaz-2020" was held at the Kapustin Yar Range on September 19, local time. Troops participating in the exercise from countries including Russia and China attended the ceremony.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Snr. Gen. Nikolay Pankov, Lt. Gen. Liu Xiaowu, deputy commander of the Chinese PLA Western Theater Command and the commander of the Chinese troops for the exercise, as well as the supreme commanders of the participating forces from other countries, delivered speeches respectively.

During the military parade at the ceremony, the troop phalanxes from Russia, China, Armenia, Belarus, Myanmar, and Pakistan marched past the rostrum successively, after which 11 helicopters flew over the camping village.

According to information released by the Russian Defense Ministry, the total number of the participating troops has reached 80,000. They have assembled at the designated shooting range and are divided into the land-based tactical group, the air force and air defense tactical group, and the navy tactical group. Nearly 250 tanks, 450 infantry fighting vehicles and armored transport vehicles, 200 guns and multiple launch rocket systems will be put into the drill.

It is for the third consecutive year that China has participated in strategic exercises hosted by the Russian military after the "Vostok-2018" and "Tsentr-2019" exercises. This year, the Chinese troops will take part in campaign planning and actual-troop operations at Kapustin Yar shooting Range in Astrakhan, Russia, where the final demonstrating drill will also be held on September 25.
In Brussels, Belarus Opposition Urges EU to Move on Sanctions

BRUSSELSThe main opposition leader of Belarus urged the European Union on Monday to approve sanctions on officials accused of rigging the presidential election last month, traveling to Brussels to tell the blocs foreign ministers to show courage.

Despite a sixth straight weekend of mass protests against President Alexander Lukashenko over the disputed Aug. 9 vote, the EU has yet to follow through on a threat to impose sanctions on a list of some 40 Belarusian officials.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya attends a news conference, as she is in Brussels to meet European Union foreign ministers and EU lawmakers, in Brussels, on Sept. 21, 2020. (Francois Lenoir/Reuters)

EU leaders have reasons not to push sanctions but I asked them to be more brave, Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to Lithuania after the election, told reporters after meeting foreign ministers.

Sanctions are important in our fight because its part of pressure that could force the so-called authorities to start dialogue with us in the opposition council.

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrives at the Residence Palace ahead of an informal breakfast with EU foreign ministers and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Brussels, on Sept. 21, 2020. (Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters)

The EU said in late August it would impose asset freezes and travel bans on Belarusian officials. But sanctions require agreement among all 27 member states, and the Belarus issue has become entangled in a debate over separate sanctions against Turkey, sought by Cyprus in a dispute over energy resources.

Cyprus says it supports sanctions on Belarus but wants the bloc to act over Turkey as well.

European High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya chat ahead of an informal breakfast with EU foreign ministers in Brussels, on Sept. 21, 2020. (Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters)

Our reaction to any kind of violation of our core, basic values, and principles cannot be a la carte. It needs to be consistent, Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said.

EU leaders will discuss the Cyprus issue on Thursday at a summit. EU diplomats say Germany is concerned sanctions would undermine diplomatic progress in easing tension with Ankara.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya shows a picture next to European High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas during an informal breakfast with EU foreign ministers in Brussels, on Sept. 21, 2020. (Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters)

Lithuanias Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, one of the strongest advocates for Belarus sanctions, said he hoped other EU countries will not keep the European Union in limbo and will not take (it) hostage.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya speaks during a news conference with European Parliament President David Sassoli (not pictured), in Brussels, on Sept. 21, 2020. (Johanna Geron/Reuters)

The presidents of Lithuania, Poland, and Romania said on Monday they will ask EU leaders at this weeks summit to offer an economic support package for Belarus if it holds a democratic election. That would include a favorable trade regime with the EU, visa-free travel, and support as a candidate for the World Trade Organization.

By Gabriela Baczynska and Robin Emmott
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the biggest problem after the disease was an increase in domestic violence.

He said this at a meeting with representatives of public and international organizations on the implementation of state policy to combat and prevent domestic violence, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number two problem after the virus itself was the increase in domestic violence. As an example, in the first half of the year alone, the police received almost twice as many complaints about domestic violence as in the previous six months," Zelensky said.

He also said that he had signed a decree on urgent measures to prevent and combat domestic violence, gender-based violence, and protect the rights of victims of such violence.

"The draft decree is aimed at the systematic development of a network for responding to violence. It introduces the basic principles of protection of the rights and interests of victims," Zelensky said before signing the document.

He recalled that domestic violence is "criminalized" under Ukrainian legislation, but mechanisms for the implementation of laws and a system of affordable services are needed.

"People have to be sure that they will really get help, rather than new problems," Zelensky said.

He added that all relevant services working in the system of combating domestic violence should work effectively, and people should count on a prompt and adequate response to appeals.

op
Dr. Vu Dinh Anh, expert from the Ministry of Finances Price Market Research Institute

During the first eight months of the year, Vietnams trade surplus reached a record high of $11.9 billion, despite the heavy impact of the pandemic. With such results, the country scored three times as much as in 2019 ($3.4 billion) and 2018 ($4.9 billion).

Vietnams significant trade balance of commodities is influenced by four main factors.

Firstly, although international trade has been dampened by the ongoing health crisis, the nations export turnover reached $174.1 billion, up 1.6 per cent on-year. Meanwhile, imports of goods amounted to $162.21 billion, down 2.2 per cent over the same period last year.

In other words, the main reasons for the countrys outstanding trade surplus are the decline of imports, not the rise in exports. Compared to 2019 and 2018, the national export turnover only rose marginally as both previous years saw a rise of 8.8 and 7.3 per cent, respectively.

Secondly, like the development in previous years, in the first eight months of 2020, domestic enterprises suffered from a trade deficit of $11.2 billion while foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) maintained a surplus of $23.1 billion. However, the local enterprises deficit decreased dramatically from $18.4 billion in the same period of 2019, while the FIEs surplus only increased slightly, from $21.8 billion in the first eight months of last year.

Thus, the main contributor to Vietnams trade surplus during this timeframe is currently the domestic sector. The large reduction in the domestic trade deficit is due to export turnover reaching $60.8 billion in the first eight months of 2020, an increase of 15.3 per cent compared to last year. Meanwhile, imports stood at $72.05 billion at the end of August, representing a small increase of 2.9 per cent. This significant difference meant that the domestic sector could achieve a record export surplus for the whole economy.

Vietnam currently boasts a positive trade surplus, despite the complexities that 2020 has brought, photo Le Toan

Import reductions

This excellent performance seems even more impressive when compared to FIEs performance in the first eight months of this year, which only exported goods worth around $113.31 billion (including crude oil), representing a decrease of 4.5 per cent compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.

FIEs exports are much more sensitive to the impact of the global health crisis. Last year, their exports still increased by 4.6 per cent compared to 2018 when the increase amounted to 13.4 per cent compared to 2017. Nevertheless, as their imports also dropped 6 per cent on-year, Vietnams trade surplus from FIEs could still be maintained at over $20 billion.

Thirdly, the export and import turnover of FIEs decreased as most of its stronger commodities did so. For instance, phones and components only reached $31.5 billion, accounting for 18.1 per cent of Vietnams total export turnover, down 5.5 per cent on-year. Meanwhile, the import of phones and components hit $8.8 billion, down 2.5 per cent on-year. On the contrary, strong export commodities of domestic businesses had mixed movements (see table).

With the exception of electronics, computer, and component imports  with import turnover of $38.6 billion, up 15.2 per cent over the same period in 2019  the majority of imports were reduced during the first eight months of the year. For example, imports of plastics decreased by 12.3 per cent, cars went down 28 per cent, and chemical imports fell by 8 per cent.

Lastly, the record export surplus originates mainly from the strong increase in exports to Vietnams major trade partners. As such, exports to the US were $46.7 billion, up 19 per cent compared to the first eight months of 2019, and exports to China amounted to $27 billion, up 13 per cent.

In August, Vietnams export turnover reached $26.5 billion, an increase of 6.5 per cent compared to July, mainly due to Samsung efforts to export its newest mobile phone model, the Note 20. Export turnover of Samsung Vietnam in the first six months slightly decreased compared to the same period last year, when the company hit $28 billion. Samsung mainly focuses on mobile devices, consumer electronics, and electronic components like displays and batteries. In the early days of the pandemic, Samsung met some difficulties with raw materials for its production, but thanks to the rapid interventions of the Vietnamese government, production is currently stable. Similar to other enterprises in the electronics industry, Samsung also has been affected by the decrease in global demand but tries to remain on track with its export goals.

Domestic victories

Meanwhile, the export turnovers for the EU, ASEAN, and Japan reached $22.9, $15, and $12.5 billion, down 4, 13.6, and 6.1 per cent on-year, respectively.

Meanwhile, imports from the EU amounted to $9.5 billion (up 4.7 per cent), and import turnover with China came out at $49.3 billion (up 0.7 per cent)  making China the largest market in terms of trade deficit for Vietnam, amounting to a difference of around $22.3 billion between imports and exports.

Elsewhere, South Korea exported goods worth around $28.7 billion to Vietnam (down 8.3 per cent), ASEAN member states accounted for $19.4 billion of national imports (down 9.2 per cent), and Japan saw a slight decrease of 9.2 per cent in exports to Vietnam, amounting to $12.8 billion.

Analysing these numbers after the first eight months of 2020, one may be left with a bittersweet feeling. One can be glad to see the success of domestic businesses, which reached two impressive achievements in increasing exports despite the global crisis while reducing growth rate of imports, thereby mitigating damage caused by the decline of FIEs export and import turnover. However, FIEs still maintained a large trade surplus, not only compensating for the trade deficit of the domestic sector but also showcasing a sustainable trade balance in recent years.
The COVID-19 outbreak at Luce Road Early Childhood Learning Center increased by 283 percent in one week, going from six to 23. Outside of colleges and universities, it is currently the biggest school-related outbreak in Michigan.

Both students and staff have reported cases of the disease, according to the MDHHS website, which is updated every week at 3 p.m. Monday. Luces student body includes children in pre-school to first grade.

The school is also less than a mile from Alma College, which the state says has 12 cases. The Alma College dashboard says that actually there are 17 COVID-19 cases in its community. That is an increase of seven since last Tuesday, when the college reported 10.

Gratiot Countys cases increased by 10 from Thursday to Monday afternoon, going from 208 to 218. They have increased by 20 since last Monday, when the state announced six cases at the school.

In-school education was halted at Luce after a second case was identified earlier this month. Alma School District officials announced a two-week hiatus in in-person classes starting Sept. 8.

Classes resumed Friday based on guidance from Mid Michigan District Health Department, the districts superintendents office said.

Fifteen people in Gratiot County have died from COVID-19.

The areas biggest school-related outbreak is at Central Michigan University, which as of the last update by the Central Michigan District Health Department on Friday had grown by 22 confirmed cases over the previous week.

CMDHDs weekly CMU-related update had the number of cases at 304, 288 of which were confirmed and 16 probable. That is 48 percent of the countys overall number of confirmed cases, which on Monday increased to 598. The 16 probable cases associated with CMUs return to school is, by contrast, just 21.6 percent of the countys 74 probable cases.

Over the same time, CMU reported nine cases. The difference between the health departments reporting and the universitys is that the university uses a much narrower definition of associated cases.

CMDHD reporting includes secondary cases caused by former students and members of the broader community who have had contact with COVID-positive people associated with CMU. It is a number more reflective of the diseases actual spread related to an outbreak.

Twelve people in Isabella County have died from COVID-19, including three in September. The third September death, the second in less than a week, occurred Thursday and involved an elderly man who was hospitalized.

That death was not associated with the CMU return-to-school outbreak.

Two other mid-Michigan counties have seen a significant boost in confirmed cases from post-secondary school outbreaks.

In Mecosta County, the number of cases increased by 18, from 164 Thursday to Mondays 182, buoyed by an outbreak at Ferris State University that includes 57 students. Two people have died there from the disease.

Since Thursday, cases in Midland County have increased by 32, from 442 on Thursday to 474 on Monday, with 11 deaths. Some of those cases include an outbreak at Northwood University that includes 55 students.

Elsewhere in mid-Michigan, the number of confirmed cases in Clare County pushed past the 100 mark, increasing from 98 last Thursday to 102 on Monday. Four people have died there.

Two more cases were announced in Gladwin County since Thursday, bringing the number from 80 to 82. Two people have died. In Montcalm County, another 15 cases were confirmed between Thursday and Monday, bringing their total confirmed cases from 252 to 267, with five deaths.

Around the state, another 1,536 cases were announced for a cumulative total of 117,406. Those numbers reflect confirmed cases from both Saturday and Sunday, with a two-day average of 768. Twelve more deaths were announced for a total of 6,665.

The death rate, more technically known as the case fatality rate, fell from 5.8 percent to 5.7 percent.

READ MORE:
An Oregon man is on the mend after police say he accidentally shot himself in the groin while flaunting a concealed handgun at a Lincoln City supermarket.

The mishap occurred Sunday night when Nicholas J. Ellingford, 29, brandished his Glock 9mm in the checkout line at McKays Market on U.S. 101 and tried to show it off to a buddy, according to the Lincoln City Police Department.

Ellingford mistakenly pulled the trigger as he stuffed the piece back into his pants, police said. A bullet tore through the gunslingers groin and exited his thigh, just barely missing the mans femoral artery.

The gruesome wound required Ellingford to be airlifted to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, said police, which added that he did not have a concealed handgun license and could face criminal charges for his reckless behavior.

No one else was injured.

-- 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.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

By Zhale Qasimova - Trend:

Ukrainian Ukrtransnafta JSC has sent out offers to sell one batch of tanker with Azerbaijani oil, General Director of Ukrtransnafta, Head of the oil division of the Naftogaz group, Nikolay Gavrilenko said, Trend reports citing the Ukrainian media.

Gavrilenko said that Ukrtransnafta purchased oil during the fall in prices at $29 per barrel and plans to sell it at $44-$48 per barrel, adding that the second purchased tanker batch is also planned to be sold by the end of 2020.

He also added that oil can be processed at the facilities of the Kremenchug refinery.

In early April, Naftogaz allowed Ukrtransnafta to conclude an agreement with SOCAR Trading for the purchase of two tanker batches of Azeri Light oil (Azeri LT) of about 700,000 barrels each, which were delivered to the Pivdenny Marine Oil Terminal.

In mid-August, Naftogaz allowed the company to conclude an agreement for the sale of 90,000 tons of this oil (plus or minus 10 percent).

The oil sale price is tied to the arithmetic mean of Platts quotes for Brent oil, published during a month in which the Bill of Lading was issued, and the most profitable differential, determined based on the analysis of commercial offers from international traders.

In case of receiving a negative differential, the company must apply to the Naftogaz for additional approval.

Ukrtransnafta, 100 percent of shares of which are managed, is the operator of the country's oil transportation system.
DUBLIN, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Cancer Diagnostics Startup Identification" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The World Health Organization estimates that cancer was responsible for the death of about 9.6 million people in 2018 making of it a leading cause of death worldwide. A delay in the treatment of cancer can result in a considerable decrease of the patient's chance of survival. Therefore, the cancer diagnostics market is booming and highly competitive with numerous big and small players operating in different market segments. Moreover, a strong need for new diagnostics exists to allow earlier detection with higher sensitivity and higher specificity. New startups are founded every year with the aim of developing the next big diagnostic technology. In this highly diverse and rapidly changing ecosystem, it is crucial to identify new players and monitor their activities to determine opportunities, threats, potential partnerships and collaborations. Because of their small size and technological diversity, these young companies are hard to identify by conventional approaches (web searches, workshops etc.).



In this report, patents related to cancer diagnostics have been investigated in order to identify startups through their patent filings. 154 startups having filed their first patent application between 2018-2020 were thus identified, and for 74 of them, the report describes their main activity, products, patents, and key people among their staff. This study reveals that molecular diagnostic is the market that is the more explored by the selected startups, with an emphasis on the applications related to genetic testing. Medical imaging is also a field of interest for several startups identified. Most of which are working on software solutions to improve the interpretation of medical images using artificial intelligence.



Key Report Features

Identification & mapping of the startups that recently started to work in the field of cancer diagnostics.

Segmentation by technology (Medical imaging, Software, AI-based tool, Biochemical analysis, Molecular diagnostics, Lab-on-chip, Liquid biopsy etc.)

Description of the startups and their current stage of product development, funding rounds and subsidies.

Presentation of all their relevant published patent families.

Description of key people and their background.



Detecting hidden companies - Looking at patent documents makes it possible to identify companies that do not communicate much or even at all. It is a good way to detect companies that could not be found using more conventional methods.



Assessing the technology - Technology is one of the keys to a startup's success and being able to understand and assess it is highly valuable. The specification of a patent document includes a lot of technical information that can be used to determine the advantages brought by new inventions. The patent claims can also be used to determine the protection the applicant is asking for, and therefore where its interest resides.



Identifying the key people - The success of a startup is strongly linked to the team that composes it. It is therefore important to know the founders and inventors to assess the odds of its success. Patents enable the identification of inventors inside the companies. These inventors are technical experts who have laid the foundation of the technology the startup is developing. Describing the background of key people can help in understanding the startup project, and their history can reveal the extent of the know-how they have accumulated.

Startup Identification - Startups have been identified by screening the patent documents published in 2019/2020 claiming technologies related to cancer diagnostics. For each startup identified, the report provides a complete description of its activity and the stage of development of its product. Information about funding rounds and subsidies are also described.



Patent Description - This report includes a detailed description of all the patents filed by identified startups. The elements provided in each overview slide provide essential information to quickly understand the patented technology. For each patent family described, the publication number of Granted/Registered and Pending members are provided, as well as the abstract, the first claim, relevant information about the invention and the most relevant figure (e.g. figure explaining how the invention can be carried out, illustrating its efficacy, etc.).



Key People Description - This report includes a description of the key people and/or inventors involved in each selected startup. Knowing the key people behind a startup helps assessing its chances of success by determining their individual strength and their complementarity. This report is focused on the description of the people who have a technical background. For each key person, the report shows a summary of their educational background, employment history, as well as their other current activities and a link to their LinkedIn profiles.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cxpbo2

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

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Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

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New research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held online this year (21-25 September), shows that having type 1 diabetes (T1D) is associated with a 33% increase in the risk of falls compared with the general population, while having type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with a 19% increased risk of falls. The study is by Nicklas Rasmussen, Steno Diabetes Center and North Jutland Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark, and colleagues.

People with diabetes can be at increased risk of falls as they tend to have more complications (for example high and low blood sugar), and use of medication compared with the general population without diabetes. This study aimed to estimate the risk of falls and to identify risk factors associated with increased falls in people with diabetes compared with the general population. The second aim was to estimate fall-related injuries including fractures and where in the body these fractures are occurring compared with the general population.

From the Nationwide Danish National Patient Register the authors identified 12,975 people with T1D and 407,099 people with T2D and a sex- and age-matched control group (1:1) from the general population. All episodes of people hospitalised with a first fall from 1996 to 2017 were analysed using computer modelling. Risk factors such as age, sex, diabetic complications, a history of alcohol abuse and a history of medication were included in an adjusted analysis. The incidence rates, incidence rate differences and incidence rate ratios of falls and the location in the body of fall-related injuries and fractures were calculated.

In the adjusted analysis T1D was associated with 33% increased risk of a first fall, and T2D a 19% increased risk. The cumulative incidence, of falls requiring hospital treatment was 13% in T1D, and 12% in T2D.

For patients with T2D, other risk factors for falls were: being female (60% increased risk), being aged over 65 years (32%), use of selective serotonin receptor inhibitors (SSRIs) (used to treat depression) (32%), use of opioids (9%), SSRIs and opioids combined (60%), and a history of alcohol abuse (a near doubling of risk).

For patients with T1D, other risk factors identified for falls were: being female (20 % increased risk) aged over 65 years (30%), use of SSRIs (35%), use of opioids (15%) and a history of alcohol abuse (77%).

Increased incidence of fractures was also identified in people with T2D. Compared with the general population, there was increased risk of fractures of the hip and femur (2%), humerus (the long arm bone) (24%), radius (forearm bone) (39%) and skull/face (15%). People with T1D also had an increased risk of fractures, but only at the hip and femoral region (11%).

The authors say: "While of course we cannot do anything about getting older or our gender, diabetesespecially type 2 diabetesuse of medications and alcohol abuse could be potentially modifiable risk factors for falls. Gaining further information on risk factors for falls could guide the management of diabetes treatment such as the choice of medication, which enables us to improve treatment particularly in people with a high risk of falls and fractures associated with high mortality."

Explore further Severe hypoglycemia may up fall risk in older adults with T2DM
Former Liberal MP for Wagga Wagga Daryl Maguire allegedly misused his position when he acted as the de facto director of an Asia-Pacific business network offering access to government and an immigration service that was tantamount to a "scam".

A corruption inquiry into Mr Maguire's alleged misconduct on Monday heard allegations he improperly used his public office for his own financial benefit through the company G8wayinternational Pty Ltd, between 2012 and 2018.

Phillip Elliot arriving at ICAC for the inquiry into former MP Daryl Maguire. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Intercepted phone calls played to the hearing showed Mr Maguire allegedly spruiking his connections and his diplomatic weight in the Asia-Pacific region in 2016 and 2017.

G8wayinternational claimed to offer an immigration service, business network and chaperoned travel, with influence and experience that "reaches to high levels of government."
Amaravati, Sep 22 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday launched AP Police Seva App, a mobile application offering 87 types of citizen services.

"With AP Police Seva App, we brought all the police services under one platform," said Reddy, launching the app.

Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita said the app will bring police services near to common people.

"As many as 87 police services will be directly available from the mobile phone," said Sucharita.

Nearly 964 police stations in the southern state have been linked to this app, which will offer all the services available in a police station.

It offers services under the six divisions of law and order, enforcement, public service, road safety, public information and public outreach.

With this app, people in Andhra Pradesh need not visit a police station to file a complaint or learn about the status of their plaint, which can now be done form the comfort of their mobile phone.

However, a plaintiff has to visit a police station when police decide to register an FIR which needs to be signed by the complainant.

Some of the 87 services available on the new app include updates on investigation, arrest information, FIR, recoveries, road safety, permissions, license, passport verification and others.

Services available under the road safety division of the app are information about road crimes, harassment, FIR updates, theft, recoveries, missing cases, unidentified corpses and info on vehicles.

Using the app, an individual can also lodge a complaint through Facebook and Twitter.

The app will also help people know about the genuineness of viral videos and forward content. During emergencies, people can also make direct video calls to police control room.

As part of public outreach, the app will offer services on cyber security, women's protection, community policing, fact check and others.

Under enforcement services, people can avail home surveillance and e-challan.

Prakasam district Superintendent of Police (SP) Siddharth Kaushal hailed the app launch as an overall step towards the modernization of police department, making it more people friendly.

"It will improve the accessibility of many police services. It will help women members of SC and ST (communities), inhabitants of remote areas and all disadvantaged persons in availing police services easily," Kaushal told IANS.

According to the SP, Andhra Pradesh Police Seva App is loaded with features which will make it easy for anyone to obtain a lot of information related to police, such as contacts, location, case status, permits, license and others.

Police officials from across the state joined the launch through video conference, while some interacted with Reddy.
As trust in federal health agencies has withered over the last few months, a group of Black physicians has been working on an antidote: creating their own expert task force to independently vet regulators' decisions about Covid-19 drugs and vaccines as well as government recommendations for curbing the pandemic.

Organized by the National Medical Association  founded in 1895 as an answer to racist professional societies excluding Black doctors  the committee is meant to safeguard against any unscientific guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.

"It's necessary to provide a trusted messenger of vetted information to the African American community," said Leon McDougle, a family physician and president of the NMA. "There is a concern that some of the recent decisions by the Food and Drug Administration have been unduly influenced by politicians."

Just one of the examples he gave was the agency's go-ahead to use hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19 even though there was no reliable evidence that it worked, and some indication that it could cause heart damage. The FDA later back-tracked and revoked the authorization.

McDougle frames the new task force as a way to address the suspicion that has sprouted up around Covid-19 vaccines. Some worry that, in being developed at "warp speed," the shots might not be safe or properly tested before they're approved, and the anxiety is only heightened for those who've been alienated by the medical system. That's part of the reason that certain patients of color are especially wary of taking part in the clinical trials  and those concerns may well persist even if adequate studies are done and a vaccine hits the market.

"I think this will help to increase uptake in the African American community, if members of our task force give it the green light," McDougle said. But he emphasized that their stamp of approval would come only if data show that the vaccine is, in fact, effective and safe.

They'll also be evaluating how well the clinical trial participants represent the demographic breakdown of the American population, as well as the fairness of the federal plans to distribute a vaccine  both of which are especially important given the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on Black, Latino, and Native American communities.

"There is a need for this task force. We need a trusted organization to take the lead on this effort," said emergency physician Uche Blackstock, the founder and CEO of the consulting firm Advancing Health Equity, who is not a member of the NMA. "What we've seen in terms of political interference in the FDA and CDC has really undermined what little trust the Black community had."

While the NMA may not be a household name for the lay public, Blackstock added, "because they are an organization of Black physicians led by Black physicians, what they ultimately say and recommend will have significant influence on whether people take the vaccine or not."

(McDougle didn't know how many members the NMA currently has, and the executive director did not respond to repeated requests for comment.)

The task force's leaders are still figuring out exactly how it will work. When asked what would happen if the FDA authorizes the use of a product without releasing the full data to support it  as was the case with the antiviral drug remdesivir in May  McDougle said that because some of the members are also involved with federal committees, he hopes that they would have access to those statistics, and that there wouldn't be much of a lag between a governmental decision and the NMA's review.

To scholars who study vaccine acceptance, the task force has the potential to either increase immunization rates or deepen mistrust. Under normal circumstances, Saad Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health, would prefer that everyone simply look to the FDA and the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. "As a public health professional, the more the mainstream process is followed, the better," he said.

But he knows these aren't normal circumstances. He pointed out that there is a precedent: Other professional societies representing some medical specialties have their own committees, but their recommendations tend to harmonize with the CDC's. Of the NMA task force, he said, "I wish they didn't have to, but if they have to, I can understand why they're doing it."

The idea came from Rodney Hood, an internal medicine doctor in San Diego. Even before the Trump administration, he knew his patients didn't have much faith in government. They trusted him, their doctor, and he was their source of evidence-based advice. But as he saw agencies making decisions that seemed more motivated by politics than by data, he realized his own faith in the official vetting process was shaken.

That put him in a strange position when his patients asked about the vaccines being developed to prevent Covid-19 and when the researchers testing them asked for his help recruiting Black volunteers.

"It's kind of a Catch-22," he said. He's long been an advocate for the inclusion of communities of color in clinical trials, but he also feels that the agencies overseeing the work are "tainted."

"A lot of us are on a 'wait-and-see,' trying to get some feeling that the FDA, the CDC, and whoever else is going to approve these vaccines is going to do so based on the science, and not rush it out," he said.

The sentiment wasn't just true for physicians. Francine Maxwell, president of the San Diego branch of the NAACP, said that politicians' promises of an effective vaccine by the election has only made her community more suspicious. "They don't trust the science behind it, because they feel everyone is doing it to make 45 happy," she said, referring to President Trump.

The response she's hearing from many is to take a step back. "They're not going to partake when the vaccine comes. They're going to wait an additional year. They're going to watch and do their own study and see how the data points pan out," she said.

As a past president of the NMA, Hood knew that the organization had in its ranks the kind of expertise that could deeply analyze clinical trial data  and so, in August, he helped introduced a resolution to form this task force. "There were no objections," McDougle said.

Hood, who is on the task force alongside some epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists, is also hoping to look at the vaccine trial protocols more closely, and if he feels comfortable with one of them, will volunteer to participate himself.

Whether or not their assessment is the same as regulators', said Khadijah Lang, a family physician in Los Angeles and another member of the task force, "we will tell our patients what our scientific findings are with full disclosure and full transparency, explaining how we came to our conclusions."

That's good news to Sandra Crouse Quinn, professor and chair of the University of Maryland's family science department. "We need sunshine everywhere, we need the pharmaceutical companies to share their data, we need the NMA and any other independent body and the FDA itself to shine the light and, whatever their decision, to say what their rationale is," she said.

Still, she's worried about the acceptance of a Covid-19 vaccine generally  and what might happen if the NMA's task force's conclusion differs from federal agencies'. "How do we explain that so that it doesn't torpedo the credibility of any vaccine?" she asked.

Both McDougle and Hood answered that question with a kind of careful optimism. As Hood put it, "Hopefully, it will be the same as what the FDA and CDC are saying."
A number of cities, including New York, sued the U.S. government after the Justice Department announced in 2017 that it would withhold grant money from cities and states until they gave federal immigration authorities access to jails and provide advance notice when someone in the country illegally is about to be released. Federal appeals courts in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco have ruled against the federal government by upholding lower-court injunctions placed on the enforcement of some or all of the challenged conditions, though in February the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned a lower courts decision ordering the administration to release funding to New York City and seven states
Tim Keller rejects claims that Christians must vote a certain way, says stop demonizing opponents

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Notable author and pastor Timothy Keller has denounced the idea that a Christian must vote for Donald Trump or must vote for Joe Biden, citing a liberty of conscience.

In a series of posts to Twitter last week that has sparked debate, Keller discussed how Christians should approach conscience and political involvement.

The Bible binds my conscience to care for the poor, but it does not tell me the best practical way to do it, he tweeted. Any particular strategy (high taxes and government services vs low taxes and private charity) may be good and wise 

[It] may even be somewhat inferred from other things the Bible teaches, but they are not directly commanded and therefore we cannot insist that all Christians, as a matter of conscience, follow one or the other.

Keller went on to declare that Democrats and Republicans offer a potpourri of different positions on these and many other topics, most of which, as just noted-the Bible does not speak  to directly, he continued.

This means when it comes to taking political positions, voting, determining alliances and political involvement, the Christian has liberty of conscience. Christians cannot say to other Christians no Christian can vote for or every Christian must vote for [] unless you can find a Biblical command to that effect, continued Keller.

Keller received several critical posts in response, including one from Charles Yarbrough, a pastor and Bible teacher from Georgia.

Hey Tim...No Christian should vote for anyone who advocates the murder of babies in the womb, and in some cases like the governor of Virginia, even after they are born. This is indescribable evil...period, Yarbrough tweeted.

Marshall Albritton, a lawyer, tweeted in response that while he agreed with Keller, he nevertheless felt that 2 things are essential and nonnegotiables.

Everyone, including political leaders regardless of party, must say that abortion is evil, said Albritton. The Govt should not fund abortion. Political reality now is that 1 party refuses to do either of these.

For his part, Keller responded to some of the criticism, believing that many of the posters had misinterpreted his remarks as saying he supported legalized abortion.

The Bible tells me that abortion is a sin and great evil, but it doesnt tell me the best way to decrease or end abortion in this country, nor which policies are most effective, tweeted Keller.

Kedron Bardwell, professor and chair of the Political Science department at Simpson College, chimed in to argue that Democratic presidents were better at reducing abortion.

The idea that reducing abortion is something that happens under GOP (or even pro-life) leadership is a myth, tweeted Bardwell.

Abortion rate is lower under DEM presidents and record drop was under Clinton in 1990s. If you really want fewer abortions it hinges on culture/contraception and economy.

As the presidential election draws near, some faith leaders have argued that believers must vote one way or the other or else they are not true believers.

Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas argued that evangelicals who vote for Biden "have sold their soul to the devil and accepted the Democrats barbaric position on abortion."

Tony Perkins, the head of Family Research Council, has also made a case against voting for Biden, arguing that Biden's Catholic faith doesn't "square" with his "radical position" on abortion.

Last month, Grace Community Church Pastor John MacArthur told the Falkirk Center at Liberty University that any real Christian will vote for Trump.

In his interview with Falkirk, MacArthur recounted a recent phone call between himself and the president amid the pastors legal battle with California over holding indoor worship services.

[We] talked a little bit about why, certainly from a biblical standpoint, Christians could not vote Democratic, recalled MacArthur.

Theres no way that a Christian can affirm the slaughter of babies, homosexual activity, homosexual marriage, or any kind of gross immorality.

In more recent comments, Keller contended that it is wrong for Christians to "speak of their opponents in a demonizing and dehumanizing way," noting that everyone "fall[s] infinitely (and therefore equally) short of loving and serving God in the way that is due him."

"So Christians can never feel morally superior to any one else at all. That means (MAIN POINT) when we call out evildoing in others, as vital as that is, we can never imply by our attitude or language that they deserve Gods condemnation, but we do not," he tweeted Sunday. "Right now our very social fabric is tearing apart because of, among other things, increasing, mutual demonizations ON BOTH SIDES. Christians must not contribute to this in any way."

A Pew survey, conducted in June, showed that a majority (82%) of white evangelicals said they will vote for Trump. Among black Protestants, 88% said they will vote for Biden and 52% of Catholics said they'll choose Biden.
"Our hearts go out to all those what have suffered from the devastating fires. We hope that the oral health kits and expanded oral health services we provide will be of some comfort to Oregonians who have been displaced and are honored to be able to provide assistance." - Dr. Chaudhry

InterDent announces that most Oregon offices will remain open to maintain access to preventive services for Oregon communities. Capitol Dental Care will continue to partner with Oregon county organizations to provide support for communities affected by the recent wildfires and COVID-19 crisis.

In the past month, Dr. Chaudhry, President and Dental Director for Capitol Dental Care, mobilized within affected Oregon communities to provide free toothbrush and denture kits, oral health education and nutritional counseling, telehealth consults, teledentistry, and emergency dental treatment, regardless of insurance type.

"Our hearts go out to all those what have suffered from the devastating fires. We hope that the oral health kits and expanded oral health services we provide will be of some comfort to Oregonians who have been displaced and are honored to be able to provide assistance."  Dr. Chaudhry

Dr. Chaudhrys outreach efforts reflect Capitol Dental Cares tradition of reducing barriers to care by providing dental services in non-traditional venues, including schools, medical offices, and community settings.

Capitol Dental Care remains committed to providing support to members through its affiliated practices under the brands Gentle Dental, SmileKeepers, and Blue Oak Dental.

About InterDent Service Corporation

InterDent Service Corporation provides comprehensive management services to 175 affiliated dental practices employing more than 450 dentists in the following eight states: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Kansas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington. InterDents branded divisions include Gentle Dental, Dedicated Dental, Capitol Dental, Smile Keepers and Blue Oak. The network of practices delivers comprehensive dentistry to over one million patients annually.

InterDent is seeking new affiliation opportunities with dental groups or practices. If you have or know of a practice that is interested in affiliating with one of the nations leading dental service organizations, call (888) 416-5525 or visit http://www.interdent.com

About Capitol Dental Care

Capitol Dental Care is Oregons largest dental contractor with a network of more than 300 dentists across 18 counties. Capitol Dental Care has been operating in Southern Oregon since the inception of the Oregon Health Plan. Statewide, Capitol Dental Care currently serves approximately 200,000 members. The company is dedicated to providing high-quality dental care to all members and their families with a strong focus on meeting the needs of children. Capitol Dental Care emphasizes dental disease prevention as a key part of health. For more information, visit http://www.capitoldentalcare.com.
From paying 60 euros for a ten-minute taxi to inhaling an entire baguette before lunch, there are several embarrassing mistakes tourists make in Paris.

But none are quite so public as the following Instagram erreur: trying to take glamorous photos throughout your morning java experience, rather than sitting back and enjoying the thing.

Though not quite as bad as swigging Grand Marnier from the bottle and passing out underneath the Eiffel Tower, this sin stops you enjoying the authentic Parisian cafe experience.

What do we mean by authentic? Paris based photographer Patrick Colpron sums it up nicely in the following image.

Cafe life is when you just take the time to love a little instead of rushing from place to place. It is when you can afford to wait 15-20 minutes to have your order taken for a simple coffee and another 15-20 minutes to have it brought to you. The time it takes to fully enjoy the simple pleasure of another persons company, a fresh newspaper or a good book, Colpron captions the photo.

Gary Prebble, the owner of Sydney French restaurant Bistro St Jacques, agrees, telling DMARGE the classic cafe experience in France should be unhurried, simple; non neurotic.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Coffee Paris (@paris.coffee) on Apr 7, 2016 at 10:15am PDT

According to Gary, a big mistake tourists make when visiting Paris is obsessing over documenting the experience, taking photos, putting pressure on ourselves to enjoy it, and thus not getting the meditative moment Colpron mentions above.

I am 50 years old, so I grew up without social media and phones and I am quite shocked at how much people rely on the use of these devices to legitimise their experience today. I think this can contribute to significantly increased neuroses. I always have the feeling it takes people out of the experience of being there, and that is probably antithetical to a great hospitality experience of immersion.

Gary also gave us a friendly pointer on how to find a good cafe in France: A good one they will not chase you in! as well as an insight into why tourists expect things to taste more glamourous in Paris: This city has a history of a collective passion for food, love, lifestyle and human freedom.

Its a special place. We tap into that when we are there.

Read Next
The special edition E-Book was produced in real time, as WISE, in partnership with Salzburg Global Seminar, convened key stakeholders and education leaders from over 98 countries in a three-part series of global conferences aimed at bringing the global education community together. The result was a contemporary historical record of how schools, NGOs, governments, and international organizations responded to school closures during the crisis and how they are attempting to use this crisis as a springboard to reimagine  and even transform  education in their communities and countries.

The E-Book offers an opportunity to a global audience to make sense of what happened, but it also offers a breeding ground of ideas from some of the world's top education thinkers.

"It is our hope that this publication will provide the education community with a reference point from the crisis from which future research, policy, and innovation can grow," said Dr. Asmaa Al-Fadala, editor of the publication and Director of Research and Content Development at WISE.

Contributors include:

Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani

The Right Honorable Gordon Brown

Marc A. Brackett

Andreas Schleicher

Stefania Giannini

Manos Antoninis

Olli-Pekka Heinonen

To download the Digital Edition of the book, please click here.

Email [email protected] to receive more information or to request experts for media appearances.

WISE is also hosting a virtual session during the Global Goals Week, on September 29 at 3:30PM (GMT+3) to launch the e-book. Six of the e-book's authors will discuss the future of education in a post-COVID-19 world during this panel session.

You can register to the session here.

About WISE: WISE is an international, multi-sectoral platform for creative thinking, debate and purposeful action. WISE has established itself as a global reference in new approaches to education. Through both the biennial Summit and a range of ongoing programs WISE is promoting innovation and building the future of education through collaboration.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1278309/WISE_E_Book_Cover.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/969958/Wise_Logo.jpg

Press Contact:

Lina Lahlou

[email protected]

SOURCE WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education)

Related Links

https://www.wise-qatar.org


VNPF housing initiative to be trialled on five plots for VNPF staff
OTTAWA - The federal government has reluctantly given green lights to both Ontario and New Brunswick to use their own carbon-pricing systems for big industrial emitters, rather than have a federal program imposed on them.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jonathan Wilkinson arrives for the cabinet swearing-in ceremony in Ottawa on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - The federal government has reluctantly given green lights to both Ontario and New Brunswick to use their own carbon-pricing systems for big industrial emitters, rather than have a federal program imposed on them.

The decisions come on the eve of a Supreme Court of Canada hearing that will decide if Ottawa has the jurisdiction to set a national standard for carbon pricing and apply federal programs in any provinces that don't comply.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson wrote to his counterparts in both New Brunswick and Ontario Sunday to acknowledge their proposals to tax greenhouse gas emissions from heavy industry meet the federal rules in theory. However, he made clear to them he was not happy with how they're going about it.

"Today we have recognized that technically Ontario and New Brunswick's systems have met the benchmark but they produce significantly less in the way of emissions reductions than the federal backstop that is currently in place," Wilkinson said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "That is an issue."

The carbon price system for big emitters sets two specific requirements: the price, and the source of emissions the price must impact. It does not, however, lay out that any equivalent system must show equivalent emissions reductions to the federal backstop. In fact, it doesn't require it to reduce emissions at all.

The federal government set thresholds for emissions by industry, so one limit for steel, one for cement, one for automakers, and so on. Each company pays the carbon price only on emissions over that threshold for its specific industry, and that threshold gets more strict over time.

Ontario and New Brunswick have designed systems that set that threshold by facility, not by industry, which means in many cases that threshold is higher than it would have been under the federal system. As well, the portion of emissions on which the price is applied is smaller.

Ontario Environment Minister Jeff Yurek said in a written statement that Ontario's plan is better for the province, and will curb emissions without hurting the economy.

"Ontarios regulation covers the very same polluters as the federal system  there are no free passes, and no one is off the hook," said Yurek.

Wilkinson admits the federal government left room for provinces to do this by not being more specific with its requirements in the legislation that created the carbon price. He said these loopholes will be closed when the legislation is reviewed in 2022.

Canada's carbon tax has two components: a carbon levy on fuel purchases and a carbon price on emissions from big industry. The first is paid by individuals and businesses on fuels they purchase to drive cars, heat buildings or run their barbecues. All but four provinces have their own systems Ottawa has approved, so the federal carbon levy affects only Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

The big emitters program applies to industrial facilities that produce more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas a year, so they pay the price on some of what they emit, rather than on the fuels they purchase to operate. It is this system affected by this week's decisions.

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In Ontario, there are 322 facilities that hit that benchmark, and there are 18 in New Brunswick. They include things like steel plants, cement producers, oil refineries and natural gas-fired power plants.

The federal system for big emitters will now apply in full only in Manitoba and Prince Edward Island. It will apply to natural gas pipelines and electricity generators in Saskatchewan, which were exempted from that province's program for big industry.

In December, Ottawa approved Alberta's system for big emitters. Wilkinson said Monday that unlike Ontario and New Brunswick, Alberta's system does get comparable reductions in emissions.

The carbon price is currently $30 a tonne and goes up $10 in each of the next two years until it hits $50 in 2022.

The Supreme Court begins two days of hearings Tuesday to decide whether Ottawa had the jurisdiction under the Constitution, to impose a national carbon price the way it did.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2020.
By Azernews





By Akbar Mammadov

Armenia has staged another military provocation on the border, killing a serviceman of the Azerbaijan Army, the Defence Ministry reported on September 21.

Junior Sergeant Elshan Mammadov was killed at 09:20 on September 21 in the Tovuz direction on the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border, the ministry said.

The ministry emphasized that the situation on the line of contact between the two countries troops and in the direction of the state border with Armenia is increasingly aggravated by Armenia.

Recently, there has been an increase in cases of gross violations of the ceasefire by the units of the armed forces of Armenia, regular shelling of our public settlements, civilians, and infrastructure near the line of contact, the use of larger-calibre weapons, reconnaissance-sabotage activities against the positions of our units, as well as the widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have led to a serious aggravation of the situation on the frontline, the statement reads.

In all cases, the units of the Azerbaijani Army have suppressed the Armenian provocation and the adversary has suffered heavy losses.

The ministry declared that the military-political leadership of Armenia bears the entire responsibility for the aggravation of the situation in the front.

The ministry reminded that on September 20, at 23.13, Azerbaijan's Air Defense Units destroyed a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the units of the Armenian armed forces. This was the ninth UAV belonging to Armenian army units that have been downed in the Azerbaijani territories after attempting to carry out a reconnaissance flight over the positions of the Azerbaijani Army's units since July 16.

Earlier, on September 14, an Azerbaijani military serviceman was wounded as a result of Armenian cease-fire violation in the direction of Hajalli village in Azerbaijans Tovuz region on the state border. Azerbaijani Armys Warrant Officer Aliyev Renat has received medical treatment and his condition is stable.

It should be noted that Armenia has stepped up its military provocation recently, staging sabotage both on the border and on the line of contact.

On July 12, Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijan's positions in Tovuz, Azerbaijan's strategically-important district. The attack killed 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, as well as a 76-year-old civilian. Armenian forces retreated after suffering losses in Azerbaijan's retaliation.

Since 16 July, eight UAVs of the Armenian armed forces, attempting to carry out a reconnaissance flight over the positions of the Azerbaijani Army's units, have been destroyed by the Azerbaijani Air Defense units.

Another provocation was staged on August 23 at around 6:00 am when Azerbaijan thwarted a provocation attempt by the sabotage-reconnaissance group of the Armenian armed forces in the direction of Goranboy region of Azerbaijan. As a result of measures taken by the Azerbaijani army, the commander of the sabotage-reconnaissance group of the Armenian Armed Forces, senior lieutenant Gurgen Alaverdyan was taken as prisoner.

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.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency COBRA meeting on Tuesday to tackle the rising coronavirus cases, Downing Street said Monday.

Johnson will also discuss the coronavirus response with the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland later on Monday, according to the prime minister's spokesman.

"One thing he will do is (to) reiterate his commitment to working together with the devolved administrations as one United Kingdom in response to the rising infection rates that we're seeing across the UK," the spokesman said.

"We do face significant challenges as we enter the winter months," the spokesman added.

COBRA, named after Britain's Cabinet Office Briefing Room A on Whitehall, gathers ministers, civil servants, the police, intelligence officers and others appropriate to whatever they are looking into in an emergency response.

"Tomorrow morning is an opportunity for COBRA to discuss what next steps may be required in the coronavirus response," the spokesman said.

Earlier Monday, the British government's Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance warned that Britain could see 50,000 new cases of coronavirus per day by mid-October unless intervention is taken to slow the current infection rate.

The number of new COVID-19 cases was doubling roughly every seven days and Britain could see 200 deaths a day by mid-November, Vallance told a press briefing at 10 Downing Street.

"The challenge therefore is to make sure the doubling time does not stay at seven days," Vallance said.

"That requires speed, it requires action and it requires...enough in order to be able to bring that down," he added.

Britain recorded another 4,368 infections overnight on Monday, bringing total number of coronavirus cases to 398,625. The coronavirus-related death toll rose by 11 to 41,788, according to official figures released Monday.

Senior government officials have signalled that a social lockdown, with curbs on meeting people from other households and closures or shorter hours for pubs and restaurants.

Meanwhile, countries such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

Vallance said it is possible that some vaccine could be available in small amounts later this year, but it is more likely that a vaccine will be available early next year, although that is not guaranteed.

England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, who joined Vallance for the televised briefing, said the British government has to take decisions that will have to balance the impact on the economy with the danger of the virus.

"If we do too little, this virus will go out of control...But if we go too far the other way we can cause damage to the economy which can feed through to unemployment and poverty which have long term health effects," he said.

Coronavirus cases are spiking sharply in London, as in much of the rest of Britain.

At the same time, a spokesperson for the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said, "The situation is clearly worsening. Sadiq will meet council leaders and any London-specific measures will be recommended to ministers following that."

"The mayor wants fast action as we cannot risk a delay, as happened in March," the spokesman said. "It is better for both health and business to move too early than too late."

The British government has recently introduced "the rule of six", limiting the number of people who can gather indoors or outdoors to six. More stringent restrictions, which include a ban on the mix of different households, have been put in place in parts of Britain to tackle rising infection rates.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday said his government will take the BJP and its allies, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, to the court over the "unconstitutional, undemocratic and anti-farmer" laws of the Centre. The CM vowed to fight till his last breath to protect the interests of the state's farmers, according to a statement.

"We will move the court and fight the draconian legislations as soon as they get the presidential nod and become the law of the land," the chief minister said. Singh expressed shock at the way the BJP-led Union government "brute-forced" the agriculture Bills through the Rajya Sabha.

The CM questioned the rationale behind putting the "controversial and vicious" Bills to voice vote despite strong reservations by the Opposition and inadequate numbers in the House. He said the Bills were a "blatant encroachment" on the state's powers and control of the agriculture sector.

"Why did the House not go for division of votes on this critical issue, which has even divided the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA)," he asked. He said his government will not allow the Union government, of which the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) "shamelessly" continues to be a part, to "trample" upon the rights and interests of farmers through the "cruel" legislations designed to "destroy" the farmers.

"We stand with the farmers and will do whatever it takes to protect their interests," he said in a statement here. "They (BJP and its allies) clearly don't care for what these laws will do to the farmers," he said, flaying the BJP-led government for "selling" interests of the farmers to big corporates.

BJP's so-called "watershed moment" will be the "death" of agriculture and will "endanger" the nation's food security, warned the CM. By pushing the Bills through without consultation with key stakeholders and even without taking the government of Punjab into confidence, the Union government has shown that it has "no concern" whatsoever for farmers or the farm sector, he said.

He said the Bills nowhere make any mention of retaining the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism. This clearly exposes the "ill intent" of the Centre, which has a "poor trust record" as far as states go, Amarinder Singh said in the statement. If they cannot adhere to clearly defined provisions on the Goods and Services Tax, how can one trust them to uphold their verbal assurances on the MSP, he questioned. The CM asked if these legislations are actually revolutionary and in the interests of farmers.

"Farmers are not fools and will not be marching to Delhi, braving a pandemic, if they did not find the Bills damaging and detrimental to their interests," he said. Every single provision of these Bills is crafted to "destroy" lakhs of small and marginal farmers, who could not hope to compete in the "monopolistic system" that the Centre aimed at bringing into the sector.

"Where will these poor farmers go to sell their produce with the states no longer the pivotal players in the entire agricultural marketing system," he asked. He claimed farmers were nowhere near getting the government-mandated MSP on their foodgrains in the open market that exists even today to a limited extent.

Singh said it was "unfortunate" that instead of strengthening the state-led marketing system, the Centre has chosen to "end" it completely. Amid an uproar by the opposition, the Rajya Sabha on Sunday passed the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill; and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill.

They were passed by Lok Sabha on Thursday. A third bill is yet to be passed in the Rajya Sabha.

Also read: 'Watershed moment' in history of Indian agriculture: PM Modi on passing of farm bills

Also read: Farm bills passed in Rajya Sabha amid protests by opposition MPs
Amy Coney Barrett has emerged as President Donald Trump's top choice to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the nation's highest court, sources say.

Trump met with Barrett, a judge on the Seventh Circuit and mother of seven who adopted two children from Haiti, at the White House on Monday after he announced that he is vetting 'four or five' women to take Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat.

Bloomberg reported that the president is 'leaning toward' Barrett for the nomination but is also planning to meet with another contender, Barbara Lagoa, sometime this week.

Sources told the outlet that Lagoa, a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and former justice on the Florida Supreme Court, is the only other person being seriously considered for the job, but she is a 'distant second' to Barrett.

News of the nomination race tightening came as Republicans locked down a key swing vote in Iowa Sen Chuck Grassley, who announced that he would support moving forward with a confirmation hearing before the election.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett (left) has emerged President Donald Trump's top choice to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the nation's highest court, sources say - and Barbara Lagoa (right) is a 'distant second'

Trump reportedly met with Barrett on Monday and is planning to meet with Lagoa this week

It had been speculated that Grassley, the former chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, could try to block the nomination process as he'd previously opposed filling Supreme Court vacancies during an election year.

Trump said Monday that he will wait to announce his nomination until Friday or Saturday  after funeral services for Ginsburg have concluded.

'I think it'll be on Friday or Saturday,' Trump said of the impending announcement for his third Supreme Court nomination. 'And we want to pay respect. We, it looks like, it looks like we will have probably services on Thursday or Friday, as I understand it.'

'I think in all due respect we should wait until the services are over for Justice Ginsburg,' he told the Fox & Friends panel during a Monday morning call-in interview. 'And so we're looking probably at Friday or maybe Saturday.'

Speaking to reporters before leaving the White House on Monday, Trump urged the Senate to vote on the nomination before the election, claiming there is 'plenty of time' to get someone through the process before Election Day on November 3.

'I'd much rather have a vote before the election because there's a lot of work to be done,' the president asserted. 'We have plenty of time to do it. I mean there's really a lot of time. So let's say I make the announcement on Saturday, there's a great deal of time before the election. That'll be up to Mitch in the Senate. I think it sends a good signal. And it's solidarity I'm just doing my constitutional obligation.'

News of the nomination race tightening came as Republicans locked down a key swing vote in Iowa Sen Chuck Grassley, who announced that he would support moving forward with a confirmation hearing before the election

The Republican Senate blocked then-President Barack Obama's nomination to the Supreme Court after Justice Antonin Scalia's death in March 2016, which was eight months before the election.

At the same time signaling 'respect' for the late justice, the president also brought into question her 'dying wish' that she not be replaced by a Trump nominee.

He cast doubt on Ginsburg's dying wish to have the next president replace her on the Supreme Court, alleging it was actually written by a Democrat.

Trump said it was actually Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff who were behind the justice's last request.

There is not proof that this allegation has any validity and Trump did not offer any explanation.

'I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff, Schumer and Pelosi,' Trump said during his Fox & Friends interview.

'I would be more inclined to the second, it sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or shifty Schiff. So that that came out of the wind. Let's see. I mean, maybe she did and maybe she didn't,' he added.

Ginsburg's granddaughter Clara Spera said that in her dying days, the liberal justice dictated a dying wish to her.

'My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,' she said.

Trump told reporters before boarding Marine One from the South Lawn Monday: 'It just sounds to me that it would be someone else. I don't believe  it could be, it could be and it might not be too.

'It was just too convenient,' he added.

Trump told Fox & Friends Monday morning he will reveal his pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday or Saturday, claiming he wanted to 'respect' her by waiting until after her funeral services to make the announcement

Trump said he is 'seriously considering' five or four different people for the job, as a person familiar with the process said the White House narrowed it down to four women  Amy Coney Barrett, Barbara Lagoa, Kate Todd and Allison Jones Rushing

Democrats have used Ginsburg's words and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's actions in 2016 - when he held back Obama's nominee until the election was decided - as an argument to let the winner of November's contest nominate Ginsburg's replacement.

Trump also lashed out at House Speaker Pelosi on Monday - calling her 'crazy' after she refused to rule out impeaching him in a gambit that could be used to stall a Supreme Court confirmation process.

Trump blasted the idea  which has some political risks and practical flaws  as he defended his infamous July 25, 2019 call with the president of Ukraine that was the subject of the Democratic impeachment effort as 'perfect.'

'@SenateGOP Crazy Nancy Pelosi wants to Impeach me if I fulfill my Constitutional Obligation to put forth a Nominee for the vacated seat on the United States Supreme Court. This would be a FIRST, even crazier than being Impeached for making a PERFECT phone call to Ukrainian Pres,' Trump tweeted Monday morning.

The attack came hours after Pelosi refused on Sunday to rule out impeachment as one of the 'options' Democrats could avail themselves of in an effort to try to stall a vote on the judicial vacancy.

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' she told ABC's 'This Week ' when asked about the prospect.

'This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election,' Pelosi continued. 'Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus.'

Trump also attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday as 'crazy' after she refused to rule out impeaching him in a gambit that could be used to stall a Supreme Court confirmation process

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was asked if she might use impeachment as a tactic to slow a Supreme Court nomination

Ginsburg, who was lovingly referred to as RBG, died at the age of 87 late last week due to complications from her ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer.

She will be honored in a viewing outside the Supreme Court building later this week, according to pandemic-era guidelines.

The late Justice will lie in state this week as her casket will be on public view Wednesday and Thursday at the Supreme Court Building and Friday in National Statuary Hall in the US Capitol. Private ceremonies will also be held at both locations.

Pelosi announced Monday that the formal ceremony at the Capitol on Friday morning is invitation-only due to the COVID pandemic.

It's unclear if Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will pay their respects and, if so, when.

Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service, the court said in a statement. Her husband, Martin Ginsburg, was buried at Arlington in 2010.

Protesters gathered outside of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's Washington D.C. home on Monday morning. The crowd appeared after Graham said he would support Trump's pick for the open Supreme Court seat

The president also claimed to the Fox News morning show panel that he has narrowed his list of potential nominees to five different people.

'I'm looking at five, probably four, but I'm looking at five very seriously,' Trump said.

'I'm going to make a decision on either Friday or Saturday. I will announce it either Friday or Saturday, and then the work begins,' he continued. 'Hopefully, it won't be too much work, because these are very qualified people. No matter how you would look at it, these are the finest people in the nation. Young people. Pretty young for the most part.'

Graham is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominees

The president has signaled an impending announcement following the death of Ginsburg last week, claiming it's his 'obligation' to nominate a new justice 'without delay.'

With Ginsburg's passing, only two of the remaining eight justices are women, prompting Trump to promise over the weekend he will nominate a female.

There are four women who have made the shortlist, a source with knowledge of the process said, according to Politico  Barrett, Lagoa, Kate Todd and Allison Jones Rushing.

Barrett is 48, Lagoa is 52, Rushing is 38 and Todd is 45. If any of these women are nominated and confirmed, they would be the youngest currently seated on the current Supreme Court.

'These are the smartest people, the smartest young people, you like to go young, because they're there for a long time,' Trump told Fox & Friends.

He added that his nominee would 'abide by the Constitution,' be a 'good person' and have 'very, very high moral values.'

Trump said Saturday that his nomination for the open Supreme Court seat 'will be a very talented, very brilliant woman.'

'I like women more than I like men,' he continued during a campaign rally in North Carolina over the weekend.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was lovingly referred to as RBG, died last week at the age of 87 due to complications from an ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer. She will be honored in an outdoor viewing near the Supreme Court building later this week

The president's swift and impending nomination will be made in hopes of pressuring the Senate to ratify his decision before voters are given the chance to decide on a second term.

Senate Majority Leader McConnell has vowed to hold confirmation hearings and bring a vote to the floor on Trump's nomination.

The Kentucky senator has also been lobbying for Republicans on-the-fence about the nomination to join in with the majority of the GOP  who intend to confirm Trump's decision.

Iowa Sen Grassley fell in line with the leader Monday, saying: 'Once the hearings are underway, it's my responsibility to evaluate the nominee on the merits, just as I always have.

'The Constitution gives the Senate that authority, and the American people's voices in the most recent election couldn't be clearer,' Grassley added.

Grassley was chairman of the Judiciary Committee when Republicans blocked Obama's pick in 2016, when he joined McConnell in arguing that it was best to let voters decide who should fill the Supreme Court seat.

The senator maintained that stance as recently as this summer, telling reporters that he would still hold that position if he were chairman now.

Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee also threw his support behind McConnell in a statement on Sunday, saying 'no one should be surprised' by a new appointment in an election year and that voters 'expect it'.

The news came as a blow to the Democrats, as the retiring Senator was viewed as a potential swing vote against McConnell and Trump's plans to rush the court appointment.

The nomination will come just six weeks before the election and has sparked fierce debate, with many Democrats - as well as some Republicans - insisting the seat must not be filled until after the election.

The crux of the debate centers around the move made by Republicans back in 2016 - and led by McConnell - to block Obama from appointing a new justice to the court nine months before the election.

Their argument at the time was that the position should not be filled until a new president was elected by the American people - a standard set by the Republicans that the Democrats now argue the party must continue to honor.

Demonstrators also mobbed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells Louisville home on Saturday as the Kentucky senator said he would bring a vote to the floor of the Senate on confirming Trump's SCOTUS pick

Four GOP senators need to join the Democrats to stop a Supreme Court nomination going forward.

Protesters mobbed McConnell's Louisville home on Saturday, urging the leader to work against the president's impending nomination and not allow a vote to take place.

And early Monday morning, demonstrators also gathered outside of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's home in Washington, DC.

'We can't sleep so neither should Lindsey,' on banner, held by multiple protesters, read.

'We are wide awake,' another sign said.

Graham is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and will oversee the confirmation hearing for whoever is nominated to the open Supreme Court seat.

Alexander released a statement on his decision, claiming: 'No one should be surprised that a Republican Senate majority would vote on a Republican president's Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year.'

'The Constitution gives senators the power to do it. The voters who elected them expect it.'

Alexander, who is retiring at the end of his current term, went on to say that Democrats would also rush to fill the seat 'if the shoe were on the other foot'.

'Senator McConnell is only doing what Democrat leaders have said they would do if the shoe were on the other foot,' he said.

'I have voted to confirm Justices [John] Roberts, [Samuel] Alito, [Sonia] Sotomayor, [Neil] Gorsuch and [Brett] Kavanaugh based upon their intelligence, character and temperament.

'I will apply the same standard when I consider President Trump's nomination to replace Justice Ginsburg.'

The senator has a history of bipartisanship, having worked closely with Democrat Senate Minority Leader Schumer in the past on making it easier for the Senate to confirm presidential nominees.

He had also been eyed by Democrats as a swing vote during Trump's impeachment trial, one of a handful of GOP senators that hinted they could vote to hear from witnesses with knowledge of Trump's conduct toward Ukraine.

However Alexander disappointed Democrats in this instance too, deciding against the calling of witnesses and calling the trial a 'partisan impeachment.'

Mitch McConnell has locked down the key swing vote of GOP Representative Lamar Alexander for his Supreme Court fight. The Tennessee Senator threw his support behind McConnell in a statement Sunday, saying 'no one should be surprised' by a new appointment in an election year and that voters 'expect it'

Two GOP senators - Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins - have already dissented on the Supreme Court vote, vowing to derail Trump's nomination plans until after the November 3 election.

Murkowski became the second Republican senator Sunday to say the chamber should not take up the president's nominee before the American people vote for their next president, hours after Trump threw shade at her publicly and after her colleague and frequent collaborator Collins made her own opposition to a quick vote known.

'For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election,' the Alaska senator said.

'Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed,' she continued.

'I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia.

'We are now even closer to the 2020 election  less than two months out  and I believe the same standard must apply.'

Murkowski in her statement was referencing the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland, which never got a hearing despite Barack Obama nominating Garland nine months before the 2016 elections.

Two GOP senators - Lisa Murkowski (left) and Susan Collins (right) - have already dissented, vowing to derail Trump's nomination plans until after the November 3 election

WHO'S WHO ON TRUMP'S SUPREME COURT SHORTLIST REPUBLICAN SENATORS Ted Cruz, Texas. 49 Josh Hawley, Missouri. 40 Tom Cotton, Arkansas. 43 JUDGES Bridget Bade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 54 Stuart Kyle Duncan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 48 James Ho, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 47 Gregory Katsas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 56 Barbara Lagoa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. 52 Carlos Muniz, Supreme Court of Florida. 51 Martha Pacold, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 41 Peter Phipps, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 47 Sarah Pitlyk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. 43 Allison Jones Rushing, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 38 Lawrence VanDyke, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 47 CURRENT AND FORMER REPUBLICAN OFFICIALS Daniel Cameron, Kentucky Attorney General. 34 Paul Clement, partner with Kirkland & Ellis, former solicitor general. 54 Steven Engel, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. 46 Noel Francisco, former U.S. solicitor general. 51 Christopher Landau, U.S. ambassador to Mexico. 56 Kate Todd, deputy White House counsel. 45 Advertisement

Trump took a slap at Murkowski hours before she released the statement Sunday morning, as he kept up his pressure campaign on his own party and prepared to nominate a Supreme Court Justice in an upended election.

The president kept his comments brief, penning a simple 'No thanks!' as he retweeted a promotion by the Alaska Chamber of Commerce speech by Murkowski for Tuesday.

Murkowski voted against Trump's last Supreme Court pick  Justice Brett Kavanaugh. More critically for the current scramble underway, were statements she said shortly before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death.

'I would not vote to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. We are 50 some days away from an election,' she said, Alaska Public Radio reported.

She referenced Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision not to grant a hearing to Garland in 2016 nearly nine months before the election.

'That was too close to an election, and that the people needed to decide,' Murkowski said.

'That the closer you get to an election, that argument becomes even more important.'

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine  with whom Murkowski often votes when diverging from party orthodoxy  came out with her own statement Saturday.

'In fairness to the American people, who will either be re-electing the President or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd,' Collins, facing a tough re-election race herself, said on Twitter.

Collins is up for reelection in a close race.

The two dissenters have left Democrats still shy of the count of four needed to derail a nomination, but points to the possibility they could prevent it by winning over an additional pair of Republicans.

With Alexander no longer a possible dissenter, the focus has shifted to Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who votes with conservatives but also voted for an impeachment article against Trump and has called him out occasionally in public.

Democrats have put several other options forward to stall or counteract Trump rushing through the appointment for Ginsburg's replacement.

Several including Rep. Joe Kennedy III have threatened to pack the Supreme Court if they capture the Senate in November and Republicans have already pushed through a conservative successor to Ginsburg.

President Trump said Saturday his Supreme Court nominee is most likely to be a woman. On Sunday he tweeted about Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski

President Donald Trump tweeted a dig at GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who said before Ginsburg's death that she would not vote for a replacement close to the election

What is court packing? Court packing is the move to appoint extra justices to the Supreme Court. It is a move several Democrats have proposed if the party takes control of the Senate in order to increase the presence of liberal justices on the bench. Franklin D. Roosevelt made attempts to pack the court back in 1937 when the Republican president wanted to pass his New Deal laws and needed more conservative justices in the court to vote in favor of them. Roosevelt's attempts failed and he was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans for the move. However Democrats argue court packing will be necessary to rebalance the court if President Trump does not wait until after the presidential inauguration to appoint Justice Ginsburg's replacement. The issue in contention is that Republicans barred President Obama from appointing a justice in the election year in 2016. Many Democrats say this meant the seat - finally filled by a Trump nominee after he entered the White house - was 'stolen' by Republicans and that if Republicans now do the very same thing they banned Democrats from doing in 2016 by rushing through an appointment, Democrats will then be within their rights to rebalance the court. Advertisement

Joe Kennedy III, who represents Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District and is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, tweeted Sunday: 'If he holds a vote in 2020, we pack the court in 2021. It's that simple.'

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler wrote on Twitter: 'If Sen. McConnell and @SenateGOP were to force through a nominee during the lame-duck session -- before a new Senate and President can take office - then the incoming Senate should immediately move to expand the Supreme Court.'

Court packing is a controversial move, however Democrats argue it will be necessary to rebalance the court if Trump does not wait until after the presidential inauguration to appoint Ginsburg's replacement.

Other options on the table are the pursuit of impeachment charges, something Pelosi would not rule out in an interview Saturday.

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' she told ABC's 'This Week' when asked about the prospect.

'This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election,' Pelosi continued.

'Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus.'

AOC echoed the possibility of pursuing impeachment charges at a joint press conference with Schumer Sunday saying there has been 'an enormous amount of lawbreaking' under Trump's watch and branding Barr 'unfit for office'.

'I believe that certainly there has been an enormous amount of lawbreaking in the Trump administration,' she said, when asked about impeachment.

'I believe Attorney General Bill Barr is unfit for office and that he has pursued potentially law-breaking behaviors.'

She said America must 'use every tool at our disposal' and turn to 'unprecedented ways' to stall the appointment and that means putting all options 'on the table'.

'I believe that also we must consider again all the tools available to our disposal and all these options should be entertained and on the table,' she said.

Two other senior Republicans, Roy Blunt of Missouri and Rob Portman of Ohio, backed McConnell in public statements Sunday.

Conservative Trump loyalist Sen. Tom Cotton told 'Fox News Sunday' the president should act 'without delay.'

'The Senate will exercise our constitutional duty,' he said. 'We will move forward without delay.'

Trump's public pressure comes hours after he said at a campaign rally he will act swiftly to make a nomination.

'I will be putting forth a nominee this week,' he said at a campaign rally in North Carolina

'It will be a woman,' Trump added.

The nomination would fail if Republicans were to lose four members from their 53-vote majority.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz on Sunday pushed the Senate to vote on a nomination before the election, but would say his party has the votes.

'I don't know the answer to that. I believe we will' he said.

Before he left the White House for the rally, Trump had named two conservative women who he has elevated to federal appeals courts as contenders, a move that would tip the court further to the right.

Trump, who now has a chance to nominate a third justice to a lifetime appointment on the court, named Barret, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Lagoa, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees.

He praised Lagoa, in particular, as an 'extraordinary person'.

GOP Sen. Tom Tillis (center) holds a sign as President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, September 19 in Fayetteville, North Carolina

Lest there be any questions about the political implications, Trump is expected to make his choice in a matter of days. Those close to the president are encouraging him to announce his pick before the first presidential debate against Democratic challenger Joe Biden on September 29.

Biden said the winner of the November election should choose the next justice. Biden's team is skeptical that the Supreme Court clash will fundamentally change the contours of a race Trump was trailing so close to Election Day. Indeed, five states are already voting.

In fact, Democrats say it could motivate voters to fight harder against Trump and Republicans as the Senate breaks the norms with an unprecedented confirmation at a time when Americans are deciding crucial elections.

'Everything Americans value is at stake,' Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told fellow Democratic senators on a conference call Saturday, according to a person who was not authorized to publicly discuss the private call and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biden is not planning to release a full list of potential court nominees, according to a top aide, because it would further politicize the process. The aide was not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biden's team suggests that the court fight will heighten the focus on issues that were already at stake in the election: health care, environmental protections, gender equity and abortion.

Who is Amy Coney Barrett? On Saturday afternoon, Trump named Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees. Emerging as the favorite is Barrett, 48, a mother of seven children, including two adopted from Haiti and one with special needs. Her involvement in a cult-like Catholic group where members are assigned a 'handmaiden' has caused concern in Barret's nomination to other courts and is set to come under fierce review again if she is Trump's pick. The group was the one which helped inspire 'The Handmaids Tale', book's author Margaret Atwood has said. Barrett emerges now as a front runner after she was already shortlisted for the nomination in 2018 which eventually went to Brett Kavanaugh. Trump called the federal appellate court judge 'very highly respected' when questioned about her Saturday. Born in New Orleans in 1972, she was the first and only woman to occupy an Indiana seat on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Married to Jesse M. Barrett, a partner at SouthBank Legal in South Bend and former Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, the couple have five biological and two adopted children. Their youngest biological child has Down Syndrome. Friends say she is a devoted mother - and say with just an hour to go until she was voted into the 7th District Court of Appeals by the U.S. Senate in 2017, Barrett was outside trick-or-treating with her kids. Barrett's strong Christian ideology makes her a favorite of the right but her involvement in a religious group sometimes branded as a 'cult' is set to be harshly criticized. In 2017, her affiliation to the small, tightly knit Christian group called People of Praise caused concern while she was a nominee for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The New York Times reported that the practices of the group would surprise even other Catholics with members of the group swearing a lifelong oath of loyalty, called a covenant, to one another. They are also assigned and held accountable to a personal adviser, known until recently as a 'head' for men and a 'handmaid' for women and believe in prophecy, speaking in tongues and divine healings. Members are also encouraged to confess personal sins, financial information and other sensitive disclosures to these advisors. Advisors are allowed to report these admissions to group leadership if necessary, according to an account of one former member. The organization itself says that the term 'handmaid' was a reference to Jesus's mother Mary's description of herself as a 'handmaid of the Lord.' They said they recently stopped using the term due to cultural shifts and now use the name 'women leaders.' The group deems that husbands are the heads of their wives and should take authority over the family while 'the heads and handmaids give direction on important decisions, including whom to date or marry, where to live, whether to take a job or buy a home, and how to raise children,' the Times reported. Unmarried members are placed living with married couples members often look to buy or rent homes near other members. Founded in 1971, People of Praise was part of the era's 'great emergence of lay ministries and lay movements in the Catholic Church,' founder Bishop Peter Smith told the Catholic News Agency. Beginning with just 29 members, it now has an estimated 2,000. According to CNA, some former members of the People of Praise allege that leaders exerted undue influence over family decision-making, or pressured the children of members to commit to the group. At least 10 members of Barrett's family, not including their children, also belong to the group. Barrett's father, Mike Coney, serves on the People of Praise's powerful 11-member board of governors, described as the group's 'highest authority.' Her mother Linda served as a handmaiden. The group's ultra-conservative religious tenets helped spur author Margaret Atwood to publish The Handmaid's Tale, a story about a religious takeover of the U.S. government, according to a 1986 interview with the writer. The book has since been made into a hit TV series. According to legal experts, loyalty oaths such at the one Barrett would have taken to People of Praise could raise legitimate questions about a judicial nominee's independence and impartiality. 'These groups can become so absorbing that it's difficult for a person to retain individual judgment,' said Sarah Barringer Gordon, a professor of constitutional law and history at the University of Pennsylvania. 'I don't think it's discriminatory or hostile to religion to want to learn more' about her relationship with the group. 'We don't try to control people,' said Craig S. Lent. 'And there's never any guarantee that the leader is always right. You have to discern and act in the Lord. 'If and when members hold political offices, or judicial offices, or administrative offices, we would certainly not tell them how to discharge their responsibilities.' During her professional career, Barrett spent two decades as a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, from which she holds her bachelor's and law degrees. She was named 'Distinguished Professor of the Year' three separate years, a title decided by students. A former clerk for late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, she was nominated by Trump to serve on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017 and confirmed in a 55-43 vote by the Senate later that year. At the time, three Democratic senators supported her nomination: Joe Donnelly (Ind.), who subsequently lost his 2018 reelection bid, Tim Kaine (Va.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.), according to the Hill. She was backed by every GOP senator at the time, but she did not disclose her relationship with People of Praise which led to later criticism of her appointment. Barret is well-regarded by the religious right because of this devout faith. Yet these beliefs are certain to cause problems with her conformation and stand in opposition to the beliefs of Ginsburg, who she would be replacing. Axios reported in 2019 that Trump told aides he was 'saving' Barrett to replace Ginsburg. Her deep Catholic faith was cited by Democrats as a large disadvantage during her 2017 confirmation hearing for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. 'If you're asking whether I take my faith seriously and I'm a faithful Catholic, I am,' Barrett responded during that hearing, 'although I would stress that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge.' Republicans now believe that she performed well in her defense during this hearing, leaving her potentially capable of doing the same if facing the Senate Judiciary Committee. She is a former member of the Notre Dame's 'Faculty for Life' and in 2015 signed a letter to the Catholic Church affirming the 'teachings of the Church as truth.' Among those teachings were the 'value of human life from conception to natural death' and marriage-family values 'founded on the indissoluble commitment of a man and a woman'. She has previously written that Supreme Court precedents are not sacrosanct. Liberals have taken these comments as a threat to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide. Barrett wrote that she agrees 'with those who say that a justice's duty is to the Constitution and that it is thus more legitimate for her to enforce her best understanding of the Constitution rather than a precedent she thinks clearly in conflict with it'. Among the other statements that have cause concern for liberal are her declaration that ObamaCare's birth control mandate is 'grave violation of religious freedom.' LGBTQ organizations also voiced their concern about her when she was first named on the shortlist. She has also sided with Trump on immigration. In a case from June 2020, IndyStar reports that she was the sole voice on a three-judge panel that supported allowing federal enforcement of Trump's public charge immigration law in Illinois, The law would have prevented immigrants from getting legal residency in the United States if they rely on public benefits like food stamps or housing vouchers. Advertisement

Who is Barbara Lagoa? Barbara Lagoa , 52, was named by Trump as one of his potential nominees to the Supreme Court. A Cuban American who parents fled to the U.S., Lagoa was born in Miami in 1967. She grew up in the largely Cuban American city of Hialeah. According to the Tampa Bay Times, her parents fled Cuba over five decades ago when Fidel Castro's Communist dictatorship took over. During the 2019 news conference in Miami announcing her appointment to the Supreme Court, she told the crowd that her father had to give up his 'dream of becoming a lawyer' because of Castro. If nominated to the nation's high court by Trump and confirmed by the Senate, the mother of three daughters would be the second Latino justice to ever serve. She served on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for less than a year after being appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate on an 80-15 vote Prior to that she also spent less than a year in her previous position as the first Latina and Cuban American to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. Lagoa is considered a protege of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a close Trump ally. Her position in crucial swing state Florida could help Trump politically. Last week, she voted in the majority in a ruling that barred hundreds of thousands of Florida felons who have served their time from voting unless they pay fees and fines owed to the state. This decision could have a major impact on the presidential race as Florida is often won by a candidate by only razor-thin margins. 'Florida's felon re-enfranchisement scheme is constitutional,' Lagoa wrote in a 20-page concurrence, according to USA Today. 'It falls to the citizens of the state of Florida and their elected state legislators, not to federal judges, to make any additional changes to it.' In 2000 Lagoa was one of a dozen mostly pro bono lawyers who represented the Miami family of Elian Gonzalez, a Cuban citizen who became embroiled in a heated international custody and immigration controversy. In 2016 while in the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, she wrote an opinion reversing the conviction of Adonis Losada, a former Univision comic actor sentenced to 153 years in prison for collecting child porn. She ruled that a Miami-Dade judge erred in not allowing Losada to defend himself at trial. That same month she became unpopular with free press advocates when she was one of three judges who allowed a Miami judge to close a courtroom to the public for a key hearing in a high-profile murder case. They ruled that publicity surrounding the machete murder of a student in Homestead might unfairly sway jurors at a future trial. Lagoa is a graduate of Florida International University and Columbia University Law. She is is a member of the conservative Federalist Society, which stresses that judges should 'say what the law is, not what it should be.' She is married to lawyer Paul C. Huck Jr., and her father-in-law is United States District Judge Paul Huck. Advertisement

WHO IS ALLISON JONES RUSHING? At 38-years-old, Judge Allison Jones Rushing is the youngest woman Trump is considering to become a Supreme Court Justice. The only other potential nominee younger than Rushing is Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is 34. But President Donald Trump vowed to nominate a woman to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat, meaning Rushing is effectively the youngest potential nominee. Trump told Fox & Friends he want to nominate someone young 'because they're there for a long time.' Rushing in from North Carolina and graduated magna cum laude Duke University School if Law in 2007, where she served as executive editor of the Duke Law Journal. She formerly worked at Williams and Connolly and now serves as judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District. She clerked from 2007-2008 for then-Judge Neil Gorsuch, who went on to become a Supreme Court Justice by Trump's nomination. And also clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas during the 20102011 term. In March 2019, Rushing was confirmed as a federal judge after being nominated by Trump. During the confirmation proceedings, Rushing was asked about her ties to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)  which is a conservative Christian group she interned for in 2005 while in law school. ADF has received harsh criticism for opposing LGBT rights and had been labeled a 'hate group' by some. But Rushing said 'Hate is wrong, and it should have no place in our society. In my experience with ADF, I have not witnessed anyone expressing or advocating hate.' Advertisement
By Jerri-Lynn Scofield, who has worked as a securities lawyer and a derivatives trader. She is currently writing a book about textile artisans.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article today on the travails afflicting college frosh, The College Freshmans Life This Fall: Definitely Weird.

Roughly 1,300 colleges and universities are operating primarily or fully online this fall, while about 800 are primarily or fully in person, according to College Crisis Initiative, a tally of schools by Davidson College. Another 650 or so set out to offer hybrid instruction.

Given the state of the pandemic in the U.S., Im surprised the numbers for in-person or hybrid instruction are so high.

Well, maybe not. As theyre no doubt largely driven by the tremendous economic pressures on colleges. How can they continue to justify their high fees  and accrue revenue from overpriced ancillary services such as dorm rooms and mandatory meal plans  unless students meet in person? And as weve discussed at length before, the pandemic is straining revenues throughout he collegiate system, from the elite to the bottom-end.

For anyone who might choose to look closely, its shameful that pressure for revenues is leading college administrators to put so many young people at risk of infection  not to mention their communities  by allowing in-person classes.Ofeven when these have web cancelled, students continue to live in dorms and other central living facilities. In fact, the best way to quell the pandemic is not to allow students to meet at state u  short-term pain would be reduced relative to long-term gain and wed have the greatest chance that normal would emerge again.

The Washington Post has also run a piece on colleges reopening, The fall opening of colleges: Upheaval, pandemic weirdness and a fragile stability.

From the WaPo:

Arizona State President Michael M. Crow is cautiously optimistic about the fall term. But he knows the virus isnt going to vanish any time soon. Were operating under the assumption that covid is a permanent partner to the human ecosystem that we have to manage for the foreseeable future, Crow said. And were operating under that very, very daunting notion because it affects so many things that we do. The reopening of colleges amid a deadly pandemic has brought upheaval and uncertainty to campuses from coast to coast, with a staggering academic and emotional toll for students. But the chaos is not uniform. Variations in testing protocols, campus locations and student housing patterns from school to school can play a huge role in success or failure. So do school culture, state politics and luck. Pauses and delays of in-person teaching can shape the outcome. Geography is critical: The pandemic waxes in some regions as it wanes in others. A degree of stability, perhaps tenuous, has taken hold at many schools that brought students to campus. It is a remarkable turn after the spring crisis that forced students nationwide to evacuate and professors to pivot practically overnight from classrooms to remote instruction. Leaders of these schools say they are gaining confidence they can keep campuses on track with research, teaching and learning. Students are settling into the strangeness.

Differences in approach reflect the contrasting political approaches towards the virus that is playing out across the country:

Richard Ekman, president of the Council of Independent Colleges, sees a pattern that reflects regional differences over the need for pandemic restrictions. Schools in the South and Midwest, he said, tend to be opening more fully in person than those in the Northeast and on the West Coast. It pretty much mirrors what youre seeing in the politics of the country, he said.

Tough on Students

I realize that asking college students to do zoom study while remaining under the roof of Mom & Dad is a bit of a hard sell. What 18 years old, eager for the limited emancipation going away to college provides, wishes to surrender their newfound freedom to practice social distancing at home?: From the WSJ:

Dahlia Low, 18, had fallen in love with Barnard College during a campus visit. The minute I got on campus, I was like, This is the school I have to be at,  she said. Everything about it felt like me and felt safe and felt welcoming. When it admitted her in the spring, she screamed with joy. Then in August, five days before she was supposed to head to Connecticut from her California home to quarantine at her aunts house before moving onto campus, as perNew York state rules, Barnard notified students fall term would be online only. Ms. Low outfitted the small guesthouse in her familys Los Angeles yard with gear she had planned to use at her dorm, so she could at least move out of her bedroom. She spends her days on Zoom, with classes including psychology, American literature and European history. Nearly all her high-school friends have moved away to be at or near their colleges. Jonathan, my 4-year-old brother, is currently my best friend, Ms. Low said, laughing. Its definitely weird.

But life at college is anything but what its cracked up to be either. According to the WSJ::

Some schools that intended to bring students back have retreated to online instruction amid Covid-19 outbreaks. Others are pushing through despite case counts topping 1,000 in the first weeks of classes. To move into dorms, some students had to sign pledges they wouldnt be around anyone besides their roommates without a mask on. Orientation and activity fairs went online. Intramural sports, and some varsity programs, are sidelined. Serendipitous dining-hall meetings are out. Some who had dreamed of finding independence at school are transitioning into adulthood from their teenage bedrooms. Literally every single thing about attending a university is different this year, said Laurie Leshin, president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. Her campus greeted students with welcome kits including masks and a thermometer and is testing them for Covid-19 at least once a week. It doesnt allow visitors in residence halls, and students are taking classes in-person and online, limiting opportunities for social interactions.

And its only going to worsen, this experiment in continued communal living during the era of COVID-19. Especially if this news from Tulane is in any way representative of common practice, as per the WSJ:

Luke Halverstadt, 18, started college by flying from New York to New Orleans and spending two days alone in a hotel room awaiting Covid-19 test results. He moved into a Tulane University dorm, where he and a roommate share a bathroom with a student who has a single room. He isnt allowed to enter other residence halls; he and his roommate are each allowed one guest, for a total of four people in the room. The school said they are supposed to wear their masks when there are others present. Half of Mr. Halverstadts classes are in person, the other half online. I was really excited to meet lots of new people and go out on the weekends, he said. Thats really difficult now, and kind of irresponsible. His social circle is limited mainly to people from his dorm floor. They have hit up local restaurants and took a kayak trip. He has played volleyball, masked. He said he has seen beer-pong games at a nearby park, students crowding together unmasked. Tulane said it has disciplined some students for breaking school rules, including gathering in groups of more than a half-dozen in dorm rooms. Anything other than sitting in my dorm room carries varying levels of health risks for myself and my community, Mr. Halverstadt said, and the weight of that always being on my mind makes it hard to feel as free or independent as I would like.

Alas, unlike places such as Hong Kong, which have to some extent quelled the pandemic, many places in the U.S. continues to maintain a cavalier attitude to the virus. And that, as my friend Sarah Borwein, a Canadian doctor practicing in Hong Kong says, you cannot do. This is disease that will exploit any opening you provide.

Contrast the prevailing practice at Duke University, which remains open, to that of two nearby schools in the Research Triangle, the flagship University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, both of which have had to send students home. As reported by the Washington Post:

One lesson from Duke: Density matters. While Duke tested students more aggressively than UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State, it also brought fewer to campus. Only freshmen, sophomores and a few others moved into dorms  3,000 in all. Everyone has a single room, and traffic is much reduced in bathrooms and hallways. Those who live nearby in Durham are only allowed on campus when they have a class. They cant go to the dining halls, dorms or other places students would normally gather.

Duke officials are acutely aware that conditions could change at any moment. Our mantra has been like a tournament: Survive and advance, said Duke spokesman Michael Schoenfeld, who knows exactly how many days are left in the semester. We want to get there. But we also want to get to Thursday.

Now, I can remember those initial heady days of living away from home, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But given how many people have been sick in the U.S., I cant help but think that if colleges had stayed locked down longer, the chances of stopping the pandemic,ic would be greater.

That of course has not proved true in many cases. And regular readers wont be surprised that theres a lot of money is at stake.

The difficulties at large public universities have tended to be greater than those at smaller private institutions. Consider the situation at the University of Tennessess. According to the Washington Post:
The 14-day incidence rate of cases per 100,000 in European countries slumped in June and July due to strict lockdown restrictions across the continent but began to rise once again in August as these restrictions were lifted.

In Ireland, the 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 on September 20th was 61.3 according to data from the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), while it was just 2.7 on July 3rd.

The most startling indication that a second wave may be on the way, if it has not already arrived, can be seen in the figures recorded in Spain and France.

Both countries are currently reporting figures higher than those recorded during the first wave of the virus back in April and May.

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Spain and France are extreme, but not alone in this trend, with the Czech Republic, Malta, Romania, Croatia, Hungary and the Netherlands all recording higher incidence rates of the virus now than in April and May.

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The UK, Belgium, Austria and Portugals figures are also trending upwards, nearing their respective peak levels recorded at the end of spring.

Although Irelands incidence rate peak of 213.0 on April 23rd was among the highest in Europe, the arrival of a second wave here seems to have been delayed compared to other countries.

However, our figures are now trending upwards once again.

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Similarities have been drawn between the waves of the 1918 Spanish flu and the current Covid-19 pandemic.

In Ireland, the second and third waves of the Spanish flu proved to be almost twice as deadly as the first wave of the disease.

In Belfast, the second wave of deaths peaked almost two weeks after celebrations on November 11th 1918, in which large crowds had gathered all across Europe to celebrate the end of the First World War.

The first wave of Spanish flu peaked around June and July of 1918 in Dublin and Belfast, the second wave coming in October/November, before the third wave in March 1919, which was equally as devastating in Dublin as the second wave, but markedly reduced in Belfast.

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Although the mortality rate of Covid-19 has remained relatively low in Ireland despite the dramatic increase in infections, public health officials have warned that if the virus continues to spread at such a rapid pace, the death toll will spike again.

Nine people died last week on account of the virus, whereas no deaths were recorded during the week beginning July 27th, or the week beginning August 31st.

Speaking to RTE, Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris said that Ireland still has time to tackle the rate of infection before it causes the death rate to increase dramatically.

There is a very, very narrow window here now, where we the Irish people have a choice.

Were at a crossroads. This could go one of two ways. We have to act now to make sure we do not go back to where we were in March or April.
China has launched the Haiyang-2C ocean observation satellite. The launch took place from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 05:40 UTC Monday, September 21st (01:30 EST). The launch used a Long March-4B (Chang Zheng-4B) rocket. Haiyang-2 is approved by the China National Space Administration. The approval was done in February 2007. This is the second generation of ocean observation satellites. Haiyang-2C will be used in the analysis of weather aspects. This is part of a program funded by the Chinese State Oceanic Administration. The program started in April 2007.





Haiyang-2 satellite series

Haiyang-2 C is part of a system of dynamic satellites. These satellites use infrared remote sensing and other technologies. Haiyang-2 satellites use microwave remote sensing technology. This monitors ocean surface temperatures and ocean wind fields. Haiyang-3 will have features from previous Haiyang's. The satellite has several instruments. The radar altimeter measures wind speed and waves height on the sea. DORIS instrument measures the Doppler shift of signals. Laser Retroreflector Array is used for space geodesy. The Microwave Radiometer measures total-column water vapor. The Haiyang-2 satellites have series 2-A, 2-B, and 2-C. Haiyang-2A launched on the 15th of August 2011. The Haiyang-2B will operate in two orbital phases.

READ MORE: Starship SN8 Prototype: Craziest Piece of Rocket Gymnastics by SpaceX's





The Haiyang-2C has a microwave radiometer imager. The satellite was placed on a 66-degree inclination LEO instead of SSO. CZ-4 Chang Zheng-4 was initiated in 1982 on the FB-1 Feng Bao-1. In 1983, engineering development started. However, CZ-4 Chang Zheng-4 was a backup plan for Chang Zheng-3.

The launch vehicle was then used to launch sun-synchronous orbit satellites. Chang Zheng-4B can launch a 2,800 kg satellite into low Earth orbit. It has a mass of 248,470 kg. It has a diameter of 3.35 meters and a length of 45.58 meters. The Chang Zheng-4B was developed in February 1989. However, the first launch took place in late 1999. The satellite was modified with a larger satellite fairing. This replaced mechanical-electrical control with electronic control.

Chang Zheng-4B also improved control, telemetry, tracking, and self-destruction systems. Its size became smaller and lighter. This allowed high-altitude performance. It also came with a propellant management system.

The modifications increased Chang Zheng-4B's payload capability. The first stage has a diameter of 3.35-meter and a diameter of 3.35-meter. The second stage has a diameter of 3.35-meter and a length of 10.40-meter. The third stage has a diameter of 2.9-meter and a length of 4.93-meter. Haiyang-2C was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in Ejin-Banner. The site is also known as the Shuang Cheng Tze launch center. It was initially used to launch scientific and recoverable satellites. There are other satellites in the Haiyang series. The Haiyang-2A was launched on the 15th of August 2011.





READ MORE: Asteroid 2020 SW Approach: Will not annihilate Humanity





The satellite was launched by a Long March-4B launch rocket. The exercise was done from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Haiyang-2B was developed by Dongfanghong Satellite Corporation Ltd. It operates in a 973 km sun-synchronous orbit. The launch of this ocean observation satellite is a great achievement. China National Space Administration designed and developed the Long March 4B (Chang Zheng-4B) rocket for this kind of mission. It was designed as a low-orbit carrier.





READ MORE: SpaceX Delays the Launch of a Big Batch of Internet Satellites: Here's How to Watch Live
The number of consultancies, banks and large technology groups saying they planned to hire MBA graduates this year fell from 92 per cent of 712 companies in a survey conducted before March, to 77 per cent by July. However, in the most recent update to the figures, which are compiled by the Graduate Management Admission Council, the administrator for business school entrance exams, 90 per cent said they would be hiring MBA ...

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U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore, recently reported helping to bring more than $1.1 billion back to her home congressional district for job protection, early education, COVID-19 response and for health care. Her Republican opponent Dasha Pruett calls the announcements timing off-base.

Last week, Scanlons office noted the representative had directly helped to bring $1,124,439,278 in federal funds back to the 5th District during her first two-year term. In addition, her office stated that $71,253,806 had been distributed to constituents and organizations through programs Scanlon had voted to fund.

Since coming to Congress, our district has been faced with challenges that have jeopardized the health and wellbeing of families, the jobs they rely on, and the critical programs that support the education and health of their children, Scanlon said. I take seriously the obligation we have as public servants to fight for the resources my constituents need and to protect the programs they depend on to grow and thrive. It is the privilege of a lifetime to represent our community in Congress  Ill never stop fighting for families and children.

Of the allocations, she said $955 million supported jobs and infrastructure projects in the region; more than $21 million supported early, secondary and post-secondary education; $133 million for the Philadelphia International Airport; and more than $2.2 million for health-related initiatives.

Related to her job support, Scanlon said $303 million of that was to fight for the Chinook program and 3,400 jobs at the Boeing plant, as well as advocating for $630 million for the Philadelphia Shipyard contract to bring 1,200 jobs here.

With the education segment, the congresswoman spoke of the $10 million secured for the Head Start Program at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit.

And, with regards to the health care, she noted $586,323 for the AIDS Care Group for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Group; $788,246 for public health services at ChesPenn Health Services; and $1 million for the Foundation of Delaware County to address disparities in perinatal care.

Pruett, her opponent in November, said the congresswoman would do better than to build a tally in a time like this.

Considering everything going on right now, I thought it was a little off base, Pruett said. Some of the things shes taking credit for have been in the works forever.

Saying such an announcement makes Scanlon look nervous, Pruett added, Frankly  I think she needs to spend more time in her communities.

We are in a state of chaos between the riots and the looting and the attack on our police officers and our flag and our country, Pruett said. Nobody knows whats going on. Theres no guidance from anybody.

She said Scanlon has not done enough to support police officers at this time, while shes been present at Black Lives Matter events.

In addition, Pruett said parents who are forced to deal with virtual learning should receive stimulus funding and efforts should be made to prevent businesses from having no recourse but to close because of the pandemic.

The amount of restaurants that are closing  its insane, Pruett said. They should be lessening some of the regulations.

What drives me crazy is shes talking about the past, the GOP candidate said. What are you going to do about the future? How are you going to help these businesses back on their feet?

Pruett said Scanlons focus should be elsewhere.

It was just kind of bizarre, she said. The funds that she was talking about is everything that came from somewhere else  Shes basically tooting her own horn.

Scanlon, in the meantime, instructed constituents to call her office should they need assistance.

Supporting organizations dedicated to public service and supporting our regional economy has been an honor, she said, and I encourage any business or constituent in my district who is applying for a federal grant or contract to contact our office at 610-626-2020 so we can help you.
A three-year-old collapsed and died at the home he shared with his twin after being found 'malnourished', an inquest heard.

Police are investigating Taiwo Abubakar's death after he was found dead by police offciers.

Taiwo had been living at an address for asylum seekers in Cathays, Cardiff, before his death.

He was last seen three weeks before he died by a family friend who reported their concerns to police.

Coroner's officer Lauren Howitt said: 'He was found deceased at his home address. He appeared malnourished.'

A South Wales Police investigation was launched into Taiwo's death and inquiries are ongoing.

Taiwo was found at the home in Cathays, Cardiff, on June 29 this year.

Pathologist Dr Stephen Leadbeater gave no provisional cause of death to the inquest in Pontypridd, South Wales.

Senior coroner Graeme Hughes said: 'Due to the fact there is an ongoing South Wales Police investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death, there is sufficient reason to suspect the death may be unnatural.'

Mr Hughes adjourned the inquest until the police investigation and post mortem findings are concluded.

Three-year-old Taiwo Abubakar collapsed and died at home he shared with his twin in Cardiff after being found 'malnourished' sparking a police investigation into the circumstances

At the time of his death, police said they were called to the property at 5.40pm.

It is understood a woman and another young child were taken to hospital following the call.

The family were believed to have been housed by Clearsprings Ready Homes on behalf of the Home Office's asylum support system.

The Home Office said it was working with its accommodation providers and other authorities to support them in the investigation.

It is understood that Taiwo suffered a disability and was under the care of a UK children's hospital.

South Wales Police said: 'We can confirm the sudden and unexplained death of a young child at a house in Cardiff.

'Officers were called to the property in Cathays at 5.40pm on Monday, June 29.

'Cause of death has not been confirmed and enquiries are ongoing.'

The Home Office said in a statement: 'We are aware of an incident in which a young child sadly died.

'Our thoughts are with their family and we are working with the local authorities and our providers to ensure they have as much support as possible.

'It would be inappropriate to comment while an investigation is ongoing and before all of the facts have been established.'

A spokesman for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said it was 'co-operating with the investigation' but could not comment further 'at this time'.
Pharma major Astrazeneca released a 111-page trial blueprint of its Phase III Covid-19 vaccine trials , which are currently ongoing in various parts of the world.

The development comes under the backdrop of scrutiny and questions raised to the vaccine producer about its Covid-19 vaccine trials since two participants in the UK reported illness earlier this month.

AstraZenecas 111-page trial blueprint, known as a protocol, states that its goal is a vaccine with 50 percent effectiveness  the same threshold that the US Food and Drug Administration has set in its guidance for coronavirus vaccines.

To determine with statistical confidence whether the company has met that target, there will have to be 150 people ill with confirmed coronavirus among participants who were vaccinated or received placebo shots.

A safety board will perform an early analysis after there have been just 75 cases.

If the vaccine is found 50% effective, it might be possible for the company to stop the trial early and apply for authorization from the government to release the vaccine for emergency use.

The British-Swedish company is not the only pharma giant to release its blueprint to public in midst of research to develop a potential Covid-19 vaccine candidate as the virus surges across the world.

US biotech firm Moderna, one of nine companies in the late stages of clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine, became the first to publish the complete blueprints of its study following calls for greater transparency.

Pfizer, the other American company currently carrying out Phase 3 trials in the US, followed suit a short time later and there is now added pressure for the remainder to do the same.

Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine controversy:

On 8 September, AstraZeneca, which has co-developed a vaccine with the University of Oxford suspended its global trials briefly after two participants reported illness, but were later restarted in the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. However, the United States has not yet permitted the resumption of Oxford vaccine trial.

According to a New York Times report, the company has released few details about the two cases of serious illness in its trial. The first participant received one dose of the vaccine before developing inflammation of the spinal cord, known as transverse myelitis, according to a participant information sheet for AstraZenecas vaccine from July. The condition can cause weakness in the arms and legs, paralysis, pain and bowel and bladder problems.

About 18,000 people worldwide have received AstraZenecas vaccine so far.

Last phase of clinical trial of Oxford Covid-19 vaccine begins in India:

The phase-III or the last stage of clinical trial of the Covid-19 vaccine 'Covishield', being developed by Oxford University, and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), began today at the state-run Sassoon General Hospital in Pune, Maharashtra on Monday, a senior official said.

"We have started the phase-III trials of the vaccine candidate. We will administer dose to 150 to 200 volunteers," said Dr Muralidhar Tambe, Dean, Sassoon General Hospital, reported PTI.

With inputs from agencies





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High stakes: Irelands Data Protection Commission has ordered Facebook to stop transferring the data of EU users to the US. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire

A senior Facebook executive has signalled it may not be able to continue providing social media services in Europe if it is forced to suspend the transfer of data to the US.

In an affidavit, Facebook Ireland's head of data protection and privacy Yvonne Cunnane said it was "not clear" how it could continue to provide Facebook and Instagram.

She said there would be "significant" and "wide-ranging" consequences, not just for the social media giant, but for businesses across Europe.

The claims were made in a legal filing as part of Facebook's challenge to a preliminary order from Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) requiring it to stop transferring the data of EU users to the US.

The high-stakes case came before the High Court last week. Facebook's European headquarters is in Dublin.

"In the event [Facebook] were subject to a complete suspension of the transfer of users' data to the US, as appear to be what the DPC proposes, it is not clear to [Facebook] how, in those circumstances, it could continue to provide the Facebook and Instagram services in the EU," Ms Cunnane said in the legal filing.

The affidavit painted a stark picture of the economic impact her company believes will flow from the DPC decision.

She said that in a recent survey commissioned by the social media giant, 7,700 businesses around Europe said Facebook apps helped them generate estimated sales of 208bn in 2019.

Facebook last week secured permission to bring a challenge to the decision. The High Court also put a stay on the DPC's inquiry, pending the outcome of the action.

The move by the DPC to issue the preliminary order was the first step in the enforcement of a hugely significant European Court decision in July.

This decision struck down the transatlantic 'Privacy Shield' treaty, restricting how companies can send personal information about people in Europe to the US.

The court found neither US national security laws nor the Privacy Shield framework provided enforceable privacy rights or effective legal remedies for Europeans whose data may become the subject of US government surveillance.

According to legal filings, Facebook received a letter from the DPC on August 28 saying it had launched its own inquiry in light of the judgment.

The matter returns to the court in November.

The DPC is expected to defend the case.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China, congratulated Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the 29th anniversary of Armenias independence, the Armenian PMs Office told Armenpress.

The message reads, in part:

Excellency,

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia.

The Chinese-Armenian friendly ties of close cooperation have maintained the positive dynamics of development. Underpinned by ever-growing political mutual trust, our bilateral cooperation is harmoniously developing in different spheres of activity.

China and Armenia have been supporting each other since the outbreak of the new type of coronavirus. We were able to meet the emerging challenges through joint efforts, which is the reflection of our countries deep-rooted friendship.

I am prepared to work with you towards the comprehensive development of bilateral relations within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative.

I wish you good health and all the best, prosperity - to the Republic of Armenia, as well as peace and happiness  to the people of Armenia.
SAD to observe Sep 17 as 'black day' to protest against enactment of central farm laws

Farm bills: BJP ally SAD reaches Rashtrapati Bhawan to meet President Kovind

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Sep 21: A delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal led by S Sukhbir Singh Badal will meet the the President of India today at 4.30pm to apprise him about the three controversial Farmers' Bills.

Earlier on Sunday, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal urged President Ram Nath Kovind not to put his seal of approval on the agriculture sector Bills that have been passed by the Parliament.

He further urged the President to return those bills to the parliament for reconsideration.

Farm Bill 2020 Pros and Cons: All you should know

"Please stand by the farmers, kisan mazdoors, aarhtiyas (agents), labourers and Dalits," Badal said in a statement.

Badal also said that the passage of these farm bills marked a sad day for the countrys millions and for democracy.

It is to be noted that Shiromani Akali Dal is one of the oldest allies of the ruling BJP, and is part of the NDA. Moreover, partys lone minister in the Narendra Modi government, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, resigned from the Union Cabinet on September 17 to protest the farm bills.

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The party also called out the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party for notopposing the passage of the Bills in the Lok Sabha, calling their alleged treachery "back-stabbing the farmers".

Making farmers shed tears of blood: Rahul Gandhi on farm bills row

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

The Upper House of the Parliament on Sunday gave its nod to The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, as opposition MPs continued to shout slogans during their passage. Some lawmakers even staged a walkout in protest.
The US Marshals Service has found 35 missing children in Northeast Ohio in one month during its Operation Safety Net program.

The Marshals said in a news release that they partnered with state and local agencies to find and recover the kids - all between the ages of 13 and 18 and considered missing and endangered - during the operation.

United States Marshal Pete Elliott told Fox 8 that in some cases, the children were abused and neglected and about a quarter of them were involved in human trafficking or prostitution.

A US Marshals task force has recovered 35 of 40 missing children in Northeast Ohio within one month of searching for them. The children had been missing anywhere from days to years

The agency said about 20 per cent of the 35 found children's cases were tied to human trafficking and those particular cases have now been referred over to Ohio's Cuyahoga County Human Trafficking Task Force.

The children were found all over the state, including cities Akron, Cleveland, Euclid, Columbus and Mansfield. At least one child was found as far away as Miami, Florida.

The children had been missing for anywhere from a few days to months or years.

he 35 children found were among the 40 cases that had been referred to Marshals Task Force.

United States Marshal Pete Elliott said that the task force's results have led to the creation of a permanent Missing Child Unit through the 40 counties of Northern Ohio

The Marshals will continue to search for the remaining five children whose cases are still open, the agency said.

Those Ohio children are: Leantwana Bates, 17, and Yalonda Bates, 15, both of Youngstown; Ja-Niva Scott-Lee, 16, of Cleveland; Alicia Jackson, 16, of Berea, and Isaac Ortiz, 16, of Lorain.

The agency said that they will also continue to search for other missing children.

Before Operation Safety Net began, there were about 200 missing children in Cuyahoga County.

The agency said that in light of the task force's results, the Marshals for the Northern District of Ohio have created a permanent Missing Child Unit throughout the 40 counties of Northern Ohio.

They task force will focus specifically on missing, abused, neglected and trafficked children.

The Marshals are still looking for five other missing children, including Leantwana Bates, 17, and Yalonda Bates, 15, both of Youngstown, Ohio

Two other missing children that the task force is seeking help with finding are Alicia Jackson, 16 (left), of Berea, Ohio, and Ja-Niva Scott-Lee, 16 (right), of Cleveland, Ohio

The task force is also searching for Issac Ortiz, 16, of Lorain. There were 200 missing children in Ohio's Cuyahoga County before Operation Safety Net began

Elliott said in a statement that 'This was new unchartered territory and the first time we conducted an operation like this.'

He went on to say that the new task force would ensure that 'our most vulnerable missing children will continue to be found and brought to safety.'

Elliott said that the Marshals were assisted with their searches by law enforcement, community and media partners, who highlighted the names and faces of the missing children.

In late August, Elliott told WOIO that, although hard to believe, missing children sometimes ran away to situations that 'may be better than the situations they left from,' Elliott said.

'Weve had some cases where the mother and or father, or both, may have been prostituting their own child.'

He added that 'A number of these children have gone to the hospital after weve recovered them to get checked out, so again this is something we take very seriously.'

Some of the children found were put in the custody of the county's children's services department.

A similar Marshals task force - Operation Not Forgotten - that took place in Georgia over two-weeks in August rescued 26 children, found the safe location of 13 children and arrested nine criminal associates.

Meanwhile, a 60-day Marshals-led task force in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, resulted in the recover of five missing children.

Operation Triple Beam began July 6 and led to the arrest of 262 people, including 141 confirmed gang members and six murder suspects.

Two of the gang members were accused of kidnapping their own children from a day care center.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the five Operation Safety Net children the US Marshals are still looking for is asked to call the agency at 866-492-6833.
A a lesbian mother's post has gone viral on social media after she urged teachers to stop saying 'moms and dads' to young children.

Associate Professor Sirry Alang, from Pennsylvania, took to Twitter to point out that families come in all different shapes and sizes and that not everyone has a mom or a dad - with some children having neither.

In the post, she said: 'Teachers, ur class convos are broadcasted in everyone's homes. The # of times the teacher has said "your mom and dad" to my kid's class is infuriating.'

She then went on to praise one 'brave' student in her child's class who corrected the teacher about their own family set-up.

A parent's post has gone viral on social media after she urged teachers to stop saying 'moms and dads' to young children (stock image)

'But a BRAVE kid just said... "But I only told my grandma at lunch time because my sister and I live with our grandma."'

Alang's own child then chimed in to speak out about the fact that she doesn't have a father at home.

'Then of course my kid jumped in right away & said: "I don't have a dad & it's ok because my mom said there are different kinds of families. Even though I would want a dad but she's gay. Gay means she only dates women."

'LOL. Now my business is out there.'

She continued: 'But teacher apologized and said she'll start saying "parent or the adult helping you at home." I have faith in this generation.'

The post quickly garnered over 83, 000 likes and hundreds of comments from people praising her post.

Taking to Twitter, Associate Professor Sirry Alang penned: 'The # of times the teacher has said "your mom and dad" to my kid's class is infuriating'

'I say 'the adults who care for you,'' commented one, while a second penned: 'Your caregiver(s)' it's so easy to say, yet powerfully meaningful.'

Another suggested saying 'your supervisory figures,' while a further proposed 'your folks' as an alternative form of address.

Meanwhile, others took to the comments section to express their gratitude of the Tweet.

'Thanks for sharing this. I so appreciate it,' praised one, while a second commented: 'SO IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER KIDS HAVE A VARIETY OF SITUATIONS!'
MIAMI - A daughter of Cuban exiles who has had a swift rise as a lawyer and judge is on President Donald Trumps short list to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The president said Monday that he does not personally know Barbara Lagoa, but praised her as terrific. Barely veiled was the fact that, as a Cuban-American from South Floridas city of Hialeah, her selection could benefit Trump in the Nov. 3 election, when Florida could be the ultimate kingmaker. Lagoa grew up in a heavily Hispanic suburb of Miami.

Shes excellent. Shes Hispanic. Shes a terrific woman from everything I know. I dont know her. Florida. We love Florida. So shes got a lot of things  very smart, Trump said in a call-in interview with Fox and Friends.

Asked whether politics would play a role in the decision, Trump responded: I try not to say so. I think probably automatically it is. Even if youre not wanting to do that it becomes a little automatic.

Speaking to reporters at the White House later Monday, Trump said he might meet Lagoa when he travels to Florida on Thursday for a campaign rally in Jacksonville. She has a lot of support, said Trump, who added he held calls on Sunday and Monday with some of the candidates hes considering. I dont know her but I hear she is outstanding.

After the death Friday of 87-year-old Ginsburg, a liberal icon, Trump said he would name a woman as a replacement  possibly by Saturday. Trump said Monday he has about five top prospects.

At 52, Lagoa would become the youngest member of the U.S. Supreme Court if nominated and confirmed.

Lagoa, an only child, once joked that after graduating from Florida International University leaving her close-knit Cuban-American family for New York to obtain her law degree from Columbia University was not a popular decision in my house.

When she was picked for the Florida Supreme Court, Lagoa said her father gave up his dream of becoming a lawyer and that both her parents worked long hours while she rode her bike and roller skated down the streets of Hialeah where she was cared for by her grandmother.

My parents sacrificed to send me to Catholic school further instilling in me an abiding faith in God that has grounded me and sustained me through the highs and lows of life, she said.

Lagoa is currently a judge on the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Trump appointed her to that post in 2019 and the Senate confirmed her on an 80-15 vote.

Before that, for less than a year she was a justice on the Florida Supreme Court after more than a decade on a Miami-based state appeals court where she wrote some 360 opinions. She was the first woman of Hispanic heritage on the state Supreme Court.

Shes been in private practice, including work for Florida family members on the 2000 saga of the custody of Cuban rafter child Elian Gonzalez, which remains a hot-button issue in Miami to this day. Lagoa was also a federal prosecutor in Miami for a time.

A Lagoa nomination may impact voters in the suburb of Hialeah, a popular site for campaigns seeking to persuade undecided voters.

Last weekend, groups for Biden and Trump rallied Cuban-Americans with drive-by events waving flags in this bastion of working-class voters where precinct-level analysis suggest Trump was not as dominant among Cubans in 2016.

It is extremely exciting to have a fellow first-generation Cuban-American from Hialeah, said Annette Collazo, also a daughter of exiles who is running as a Democrat for state representative in a district that includes Hialeah. I temper that excitement with the reality. While diversity in background and views are extremely important, we also need diversity in judicial approach.

The process remains fluid, but as of Monday afternoon, conversations in the White House and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells office were increasingly focused on two finalists: Amy Coney Barrett and Lagoa.

Coney Barrett emerged as the clear preference of a growing number of senators, largely because she is the much better-known of the two, having been through a grueling Senate confirmation process already and been embraced by the conservative base. Predictability is considered a crucial factor for the president and vulnerable senators so close to the election. Lagoa remains in the running, however, and those who know her well expect Trump to warm to her if and when they meet in person.

In her short tenure on the 11th Circuit, one controversial ruling in which she was among five Trump appointees in the majority was a 6-4 decision earlier this month that Florida felons had to not only complete their prison time but also pay any fines, fees and restitution.

There were calls from supporters of the original felon voting amendment for Lagoa and a fellow 11th Circuit Judge, Robert Luck, to recuse themselves from the case because they participated in a state Supreme Court case on the issue but neither did.

The decision upheld a state law passed by the Republican-led Legislature that critics say violates the spirit of a constitutional amendment overwhelming approved by Florida voters in 2018 that potentially would enfranchise tens of thousands of former felons without the monetary considerations.

Desmond Meade, who led the effort to pass the measure known as Amendment 4 , called the decision a blow to democracy and to the hundreds of thousands of returning citizens across Florida.

When she was appointed to the state Supreme Court by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican Trump ally, Lagoa had this to say about the role of the courts:

I am particularly mindful of the fact that under our constitutional system it is for the Legislature and not the courts to make the law. It is the role of judges to apply, not to alter, the work of the peoples representatives. And it is the role of judges to interpret our Constitution and statutes as they are written.

DeSantis said her credentials were impeccable and said Lagoas background as the daughter of exiles who fled communist Cuba gave her a unique perspective on U.S. law. Lagoa was born in Miami in 1967 after her parents left Cuba.

My parents, like many others, came to this country from Cuba to start rebuilding their lives in a land that offered them opportunity, but more importantly, freedom, she has said.

Lagoa is is also a member of the Federalist Society, a legal organization popular with conservatives. She is married to Miami lawyer Paul Huck Jr., whose father, Paul Huck Sr., is a senior judge on the Miami-based federal court. They have three daughters.

___

Anderson reported from St. Petersburg, Fla. Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Montclair, N.J. and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this story.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has accused press watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) of working to "destabilise" the country with its campaign against the jailing of its Algiers correspondent Khaled Drareni.

Rights groups have "targeted" Algeria "to sap the stability of the country", he said in a meeting with local media representatives late Sunday.

"States do not attack us head-on but put non-governmental organisations in charge of the task," said the president, who singled out the France-based RSF for criticism.

Drareni, Casbah Tribune news website editor and correspondent for French-language TV5 Monde as well as RSF, was on September 15 handed a two-year jail sentence.

The 40-year-old was convicted over his coverage of the mass protest movement that toppled Algeria's longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika last year.

He was found guilty of "inciting an unarmed gathering" and "endangering national unity", a ruling that drew condemnation at home and abroad.

Tebboune insisted that "nobody is incarcerated (in Algeria) for an article they have written".

"We forbid insults and attacks on issues related to state security," the successor to Bouteflika said, without elaborating.

Tebboune said Drareni, whose name he avoided using in the encounter, had been sentenced for his "involvement in an affair that has nothing to do with the press".

The journalist, according to Communications Minister Ammar Belhimer, had been working without a professional press card and was allegedly in the pay of "foreign embassies".

- 'Absurd, unfair and violent' -

After the verdict, RSF head Christophe Deloire said: "We are outraged by the blind stubbornness of the Algerian judges who have just condemned (Drareni).

"Khaled's detention proves the regime locks itself into a logic of absurd, unfair and violent repression," he tweeted.

On Monday, around 150 people, including lawyers, opposition politicians and journalists, held their fifth weekly protest outside the Maison de la Presse, headquarters of most of the country's newspapers, to demand Drareni's release.

Some held pictures of other political detainees, including journalist Abdelkrim Zeghileche.

"The ruling against Khaled Drareni is a condemnation of the press," said his lawyer Mustapha Bouchachi.

Algeria ranked 146 out of 180 countries in RSF's 2020 World Press Freedom Index.

Deloire, contacted by AFP on Monday, dismissed the president's charges against his organisation as "lies".

They "aim to cover up his difficulty in defending violations of press freedom that are absolutely obvious to millions of Algerians", he said.

"We operate in Algeria like we operate elsewhere, on the basis of principles that we defend everywhere, including France."

Tebboune had on Sunday welcomed a "positive" sign from Emmanuel Macron, president of Algeria's former colonial power France, despite the "complex" outstanding issues between their countries.

Macron and some of his advisers had shown "readiness and good faith" toward resolving issues dating back to the colonial period and Algeria's war of independence.

Algeria on July 5 buried the remains of 24 resistance fighters returned by Paris. The North African state has also called for the handover of colonial archives.

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Shares in HSBC and Standard Chartered fell on Monday to their lowest since 1998 after media reports that they and other banks, including Barclays and Deutsche Bank, moved large sums of allegedly illicit funds over nearly two decades despite red flags about the origins of the money.

The BuzzFeed and other media articles were based on leaked suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by banks and other financial firms with the U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen). HSBC shares in London fell as much as 3.6% to their lowest since the Asian currency crisis of 1998. The stock has now nearly halved since the start of the year.

StanChart dropped as much as 3.6%, also to a 22-year low, against the backdrop of a broader selloff in the market with the STOXX European banks index down 4%. More than 2,100 SARs, which are in themselves not necessarily proof of wrongdoing, were obtained by BuzzFeed News and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and other media organisations.

In a statement to Reuters on Sunday, HSBC said "all of the information provided by the ICIJ is historical." The bank said that as of 2012 it had embarked on a "multi-year journey to overhaul its ability to combat financial crime." StanChart said in a statement it took its "responsibility to fight financial crime extremely seriously and have invested substantially in our compliance programmes".

Barclays said it believes it has complied with "all its legal and regulatory obligations, including in relation to U.S. sanctions." The most number of SARS in the cache related to Deutsche Bank, whose shares fell 5.2% on Monday. In a statement on Sunday, Deutsche Bank said the ICIJ had "reported on a number of historic issues."

"We have devoted significant resources to strengthening our controls and we are very focused on meeting our responsibilities and obligations," a spokesperson for the bank said. London-headquartered HSBC and StanChart, among other global banks, have paid billions of dollars in fines in recent years for violating U.S. sanctions on Iran and anti-money laundering rules.

The media reports come at a tough time for HSBC and StanChart, both of which make the bulk of their profits in Asia, and are reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S.-China tensions, and political uncertainty in Hong Kong. The files contained information about more than $2 trillion worth of transactions between 1999 and 2017, which were flagged by internal compliance departments of financial institutions as suspicious.

The ICIJ reported the leaked documents were a tiny fraction of the reports filed with FinCEN. HSBC and StanChart were among the five banks that appeared most often in the documents, the ICIJ reported.

COMBATING FINANCIAL CRIMES

The SARs showed that banks often moved funds for companies that were registered in offshore havens, such as the British Virgin Islands, and did not know the ultimate owner of the account, the report said.

Staff at major banks often used Google searches to learn who was behind large transactions, it said. In some cases the banks kept moving illicit funds even after U.S. officials warned them they could face criminal prosecutions if they continued to do business with criminals or corrupt regimes, it said.

Global banks in the recent years have boosted investments on technology and staff to deal with tighter anti-money laundering and sanctions regulatory requirements across the world. Thousands of clients were booted out of bank accounts in major wealth hubs including Hong Kong and Singapore after a money laundering scandal in Malaysia, the 'Panama Papers' expose, and a global push for tax transparency.

FinCen said in a statement on its website on Sept. 1 that it was aware that various media outlets intended to publish a series of articles based on unlawfully disclosed SARs, as well as other documents.

Also read: Standard Chartered fined Rs 100 crore for FEMA violations

Also read: HSBC first foreign bank in India to launch 'green deposit'; here's what it means
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 00:38:51|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday said the United States has no right to demand UN Security Council invoke "snapback" mechanism against Iran, urging the U.S. side to refrain from unilateral actions.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press briefing when asked for comment to the U.S. announcement on Sept. 19 calling for the restoration of all pre-2015 UN sanctions against Iran.

"The United States is no longer a party to the JCPOA. Its letter to the Security Council on Aug. 20 has no legal validity, nor does the United States have any right to demand that the Security Council invoke a snapback," Wang said.

Wang said that the president of the Security Council has concluded that he would not take further action on the U.S. request and the Security Council has not taken any action on triggering the snapback.

"Therefore, the Security Council, pursuant to Resolution 2231, will continue with its ways with regards to the sanctions on Iran," Wang said.

According to Wang, over the past weekend, parties to the JCPOA, including China, Russia, France, the UK and Germany, sent letters respectively to the Security Council president to make clear their opposition to the U.S. unilateral announcement on restoring sanctions. The European Union also put out a statement. "All these reflect the shared position and consensus of the international community," he said.

Not only has the United States violated international law, but it also threatens to sanction and coerce other countries with illegitimate unilateral actions, said Wang, adding that such arbitrary actions have been widely opposed by the international community.

He said China has noted relevant countries' concern over situations in the Middle East and the Gulf region, and proposed that the relevant parties establish a new dialogue platform for regional countries under the precondition of safeguarding the JCPOA, to promote a new consensus that safeguards regional peace and stability, Wang said.

"China is willing to work with the concerned parties to continue to promote a political and diplomatic resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue," the spokesperson said. Enditem
Australia is facing a deficit of 280,000 babies by 2024 due to the recession and unrealistic pre-coronavirus forecasts of a birth surge that threatens to leave a permanent hole in the federal budget.

In a fresh challenge for Treasurer Josh Frydenberg ahead of the October 6 budget, which is expected to show a deficit in excess of $200 billion, new analysis of Australia's fertility rate suggests the nation could welcome 56,000 fewer babies a year.

Laura Mehew with her nine-month-old daughter Tessa. She's "highly" unlikely to have a baby sibling any time soon. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Australia has relied on strong population growth to help support the economy since the nation's last recession in 1990-91. That population growth was already expected to slump to its lowest level since World War I due to a collapse in net overseas migration driven by closure of the border and a sharp fall in international students.

But the fertility rate  the number of children born to each woman  is also expected to fall, exacerbating a structural problem already evident in the budget.
Smiley N. Pool/Houston Chronicle

The share of upside down mortgages -- where borrowers owe more than a home is worth -- shrunk in Houston in the second quarter as property values rose across Texas and the U.S., according to new CoreLogic report.

Homeowners balance sheets continue to be bolstered by home price appreciation, which in turn mitigated foreclosure pressures, CoreLogic CEO Frank Martell said in the report. Although the exact contours of the economic recovery remain uncertain, we expect current equity gains, fueled by strong demand for available homes, will continue to support homeowners in the near term.
NEWS FLASH

Slovenia is the latest to be placed effectively off-limits for British travellers after being added to the no-go list of countries to keep everyone safe, in the words of UKs Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps. The Department for Transport has returned Slovenia to the list of countries from which travellers are required to quarantine for fourteen days upon arrival. Currently, none of the countries from the former Yugoslavia are on the UKs corridor list. easyJet is the only carrier maintaining services between the UK and Slovenia, with its service between London Gatwick and Ljubljana continuing to operate as planned, twice per week.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A gunman chased down a 31-year-old man and fatally shot him Friday in the citys Glenville neighborhood, police said.

No arrests have been made in the case. Jerry Marble of East Cleveland died in the shooting, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner.

The shooting happened about 1:20 p.m. Friday on East 125th Street and Superior Avenue, near the border of Cleveland and East Cleveland. No arrests have been made in the case.

Marble stood at the intersection when a man walked up to him. Marble ran and the man ran after him, according to police.

The other man shot Marble, who ran to a nearby gas station and asked for help. Police found him with a gunshot wound to his head, according to police reports. An ambulance took Marble to University Hospitals, where he died, according to police.

The shooting marks the 125th homicide in Cleveland in 2020. There were 96 homicides through Sept. 21, 2019.

Read more from cleveland.com:

Man killed in drive-by shooting while riding in car in Cleveland Heights, police say

Kent police: Man with AK-47 rifle tattoo threatened to shoot two women on University Drive

State agents cite Cuyahoga County bar accused of violating coronavirus-related liquor restrictions
By Express News Service

TIRUPUR: After relatives of a man, who died following a road accident, cited Covid-19 pandemic and refused to claim his body, a Tirupur constable raised funds and performed the funeral himself.

The deceased was 60-year-old Joseph, a native of Ernakulam in Kerala. The man hailed from a poor family and was working as a cook for the past few months.

On September 6, when he was returning to Tirupur from the Erode restaurant at which he was employed, Joseph met with an accident.

His bike collided with another bike on Perumanallur Nal Road and he was thrown off the vehicle. He was rushed to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) with severe injuries to his head and chest on the same day.

A case was registered in Perumanallur police station in Tirupur, and, in two days, police constable Mayilsamy traced and informed Joseph's relatives in Kerala about the mishap. The police learnt that Joseph was unmarried.

Unfortunately, Joseph succumbed to his injuries on September 9.

When Mayilsamy informed the family of Josephs death, he was shocked to find that the relatives did not want to come and claim the body. They refused, citing the pandemic. He contacted them again, once the postmortem was completed in CMCH, but they still refused to come.

Dismayed that a man was being abandoned in his death, Mayilsamy decided to organise the funeral and burial himself. With some money raised from his friends, he conducted the last rites and burial of the man in Aathupalam near Coimbatore on Friday.
Around 5.30 p.m., Brandon Morales, 30, reaches his home in McDowell Trace, Guaico in Tamana, after a hard days work as a mason in Chaguaramas.

The sun is setting and darkness is settling over the little rural village.

He lights the one pitch oil lamp the family has and uses the light from two cellphones charged by a neighbours house to finish off his three childrens school work for the day.
A landlord has been mocked for advertising a cramped London flat with a shower in the kitchen to rent for 1,000-a-month.

The one-bedroom property, located in Stoke Newington, features a strange bathroom with a mish-mash of fittings and a cramped living space complete with a shower cubicle.

The flat, listed on Zoopla, was spotted by Vice writer Joel Golby, who shared a link on Twitter.

Followers were quick to respond and share their theories on how the flat ended up the way it did, with one saying it was a conversion gone wrong.

A landlord in London has been accused of trying to turn a bathroom into a flat, after listing a one bedroom property on Zoopla for 1,000 a month. Pictured, the 'kitchen' with shower

A snap of the bathroom shows the floor has been covered with bath mats and a washing machine has been placed underneath the boiler

Twitter users were left horrified by the design of the property and took to Twitter to share their views

One tweeted: 'Why does this look like the first house you build on Sims with 10,000?'

Another posted: 'You should never be able to see your fridge and microwave while you shower.'

A third added: 'All these years, there's me thinking there's nothing worse than those old houses that have a downstairs bathroom you have to walk through the kitchen to get to. What was I thinking!!!!'

A snap taken of the bedroom shows part of the space has been tiled and a kitchen cabinet has been provided for storage

One photo shows a range of amenities placed throughout that makes it questionable if the room is a kitchen, bathroom or lounge

The flat has had almost 2,000 views since it was listed in August and has reduced it's price twice according to Zoopla.

Originally advertised for 1,200, the landlord strategically placed amenities to reassure potential tenants that the property is able to meet all of their needs.

A photograph of the kitchen shows a shower cubicle and bathroom sink, next to a kitchen sink with two hobs and a series of shelves.

In the absence of an oven, the landlord placed a microwave on top of a chest of drawers and squeezed a fridge in the spot beside the dining table.

The tight space also features a sofa, which appears to be resting on a radiator.

Meanwhile, the bathroom houses a washing machine alongside a toilet, sink and dated bath tub.
ALBANY  The number of people held in jail pending trial has crept upward in recent months across the state, alarming criminal justice advocates who say the changes to bail reform laws that took effect in July are driving the surge.

New Yorks jails have seen a steady rise in the average daily population of those who are being held before trial since its lowest point in April, when the daily average was 7,242 inmates in counties and New York City facilities, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services' monthly jail population report. The number of those held on pretrial detention rose to 8,264 in August, the latest state figures show.

The majority of the increase is attributed to jails outside of New York City, where the population at metropolitan facilities rose 241 between April and August. Outside of New York City, the number of people being held for trial rose 783 during that same period.

Katie Schaffer, director of advocacy and organizing at the Center for Community Alternatives, contends the increase is attributable to the tweaks that were made in the state budget to bail reform laws because the rise is occurring in communities resistant or opposed to ending cash bail.

We are seeing that impact disproportionately in counties outside New York City, she said. There is far more pretrial incarceration on lower-level charges outside New York City than in New York City.

Despite this, the overall number of those detained pretrial are still well below previous years.

The 2019 bail reform law had a remarkable and transformative decarceral impact, Schaffer acknowledged. That was certainly not entirely obliterated by the rollbacks, but was certainly impacted by them.

The adjustments to the states bail reform measures were hastily made amid the states budget process in April in response to mounting criticism from law enforcement officials and district attorneys who argued the initial reforms were putting dangerous criminals back on the streets. State lawmakers also acknowledged flaws in the initial reforms, expressing concern over certain offenses  including second-degree burglary  being ineligible for bail.

Cash bail is seen by many as a way of unfairly punishing poor people who cannot afford bail and wind up languishing behind bars, unlike wealthier suspects who can post bail and be released pending trial. Outside of a higher bail being set for more serious crimes, whether someone can make bail has little to do with how dangerous they are to the public, advocates say.

Proponents of the reforms argued the calls for changes were premature and critics were fear-mongering when they suggested crimes committed by those released on bail was evidence that the changes were endangering the public.

The reforms originally eliminated the use of pretrial detention and cash bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, but the subsequent tweaks made several offenses bail eligible, including someone charged with a felony while on probation or post-release supervision; felony vehicular assault (first-degree) and felony aggravated vehicular assault. The adjustments also enabled bail to be set when someone charged with a felony is considered a persistent felony offender.

Whether the changes to bail reform are the primary driver of more people being incarcerated pretrial is unclear. Some criminal justice experts say given the background on bail practices in upstate communities and looking deeper at the statistics, a connection can be drawn, while others argue more data is needed to be conclusive and they caution that other factors could be at play.

Ram Subramanian, a managing director at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School, said without comparing arrest records to jail populations, it is difficult to know if cash bail would have been set regardless of the reforms.

I think we need to wait a lot longer to see what the real impact is, Subramanian said. Just as it was too early to tell what the impact of the original law was, in particular, on crime rates, you could very well see something totally different. Maybe very few people were assessed bail or remanded on these newly added charges, and then there is an entirely different reason for the uptick.

Several calls on Friday to county district attorneys, public defenders or assigned counsel, and sheriffs offices in several communities where that segment of the jail population has risen, were not returned. As such, it's unclear what could be influencing the statistics in certain regions. Experts emphasized that the statistics could mean different things in different communities.

In the Finger Lakes region, Tompkins County has seen its pretrial incarceration numbers increase slightly, from 13 inmates in April to 23 in August, state figures show.

While August figures this year are one inmate above the population recorded last year in the same month, those detained pretrial remains relatively low because of bail reform and other efforts to reduce the incarceration rate, said Lance Salisbury, supervising attorney for assigned counsel in Tompkins County.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Salisbury said the county has placed an emphasis on funding alternatives to incarceration, which drove the jail population down. Bail reform further decreased those numbers, he said, but changes to the reforms could be reversing that trend.

I do suspect the changes in the bail laws have pushed our numbers up a bit. I can think of a few cases where that has happened, Salisbury said. Clearly that is one factor, but I think there are a number of factors coming together at the same time.

In Albany County, where those detained pretrial has risen from 140 in April to 168 in August, Sheriff Craig Apple pointed to the uptick in violence in the region as the driver of the correctional facilitys numbers.

Our numbers have only had a little bit of an uptick, he said. Based on the violence that is going on, thats kind of expected.

Albany County Public Defender Stephen Herrick, a retired judge, said he would have to investigate what might be driving the increase in the county, but noted that his office hasnt seen the influx of people being incarcerated pretrial that was a concern with the bail reform changes.

It was a handful, and it wasnt an onslaught, which I think the defense was worried would happen upstate, Herrick said. I haven't had any increase in reports from my staff - any more than previously - regarding specific courts or judges increasingly setting bail for defendants.

Several of the counties that have seen notable upticks in their pretrial detainees are ones that often had set cash bail for misdemeanors and low-level offenses before the reforms were implemented, said Insha Rahman, vice-president of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice.

Some of the changes open up the possibility of individuals once again being held on bail for alleged crimes that could be linked to a persons socio-economic status. For example, Rahman said the changes now allow for bail to be set for someone who repeatedly steals from a store, criminalizing someone who may be stealing because they cannot afford the essentials.

Now, after the bail reform rollbacks, instead of judges being required to think creatively to address the issues that are at play, judges can just resort to setting bail, Rahman said. I think thats likely the hypothesis of whats driving this increase.

Marie Ndiaye, supervising attorney of the Decarceration Project for The Legal Aid Society, agreed that the increase seen thus far can be linked to changes in bail reform and anticipated it could rise further. She said beyond the numbers, the repeated rhetoric that more people in jail makes a community safer has further influenced judicial decisions and perpetuated opponents' arguments that are not based in logic.

We have shown over and over again that we can have a low jail population and keep New Yorkers safe, she said. The fact that we would go back to the old ways of pretrial detention and incarceration mostly because of political fear-mongering and the police trying to avoid accountability is unfortunate. Its something that we should be guarding against at all costs.






The TRS has charged the Centre of trying to convert India from an agricultural country to a corporate country. The TRS opposed and voted against Farm Bills in Rajya Sabha on Sunday.

The TRS Parliamentary Party leader Dr. K Keshava Rao speaking to the reporters after the Rajya Sabha passed the Farmers produce Trade and Commerce (promotion and facilitation) Bill and the Farmers(empowerment and protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill 2020, amid ruckus of Opposition parties, alleged that the BJP government bulldozed the Bill with voice despite it not having the required strength in the Upper House.

Stating that the Farm Bills will not help farmers get the Minimum Support Price for their products, he asked the BJP government if it would assure about the Bills getting MSP for farmers.

He also alleged that the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha was biased towards the ruling party and the TRS MPs also signed on the no confidence motion against the Deputy Chairman. He also alleged that the deputy chairman has rejected all the amendments proposed by the Opposition parties to the farm bills.

Keshava Rao said I have never witnessed in my 60 years of political life Bills being passed in such utter violation of the Rules of the House.

He pointed out that once the no confidence notice was pending, the deputy chairman should not preside over the House. Rao criticised the BJP of trying to corporatise Agriculture.

Earlier while participating in the discussion in the House on farm bills, Rao expressed concern that both bills axe the interests of farmers of the country.

He demanded that the Agriculture and related issues be within the realm of the state government and the Centre should not snatch the powers of the state governments.

Nama Nageswara Rao, TRS leader in Lok Sabha said that Today is a black day in countrys history.
An extraordinary 2,500-year-old grave of an ancient warrior couple has been found in Siberia.

The pair are believed to have died in their 30s and were buried with a baby and an 'elderly' servant woman, archaeologists say.

The elderly woman was likely in her 60s when she died and was entombed in a crumpled position under the feet of feet of the couple, who may have been spouses.

Remains of the child were scattered throughout the grave, which archaeologists say probably happened when rodents ate the flesh of the deceased.

Experts unearthing the find in southern Siberia say the four people probably succumbed simultaneously to the same infection, and the servant was buried alongside them to look after the family in the afterlife.

The warrior couple, the woman specifically, may be proof of the lost Scythian civilisation, which inhabited the region of modern-day Russia until 2,200 years ago.

The pair are believed to have died in their 30s and were buried with a baby and an 'elderly' servant woman, archaeologists say. The elderly woman was likely in her 60s when she died. The bones of the child were scattered throughout the grave, probably by rodents

The grave containing the skeletons was found at the Kazanovka 6 burial site, not far from Kazanovka village, in the Askiz district of Khakassia

The fighter woman in the grave was buried with the same weaponry as the man, the researchers say, which is unusual.

In surviving records and other graves from the same time frame and location, female warriors were buried with a bow and arrows, long range weapons,

But the woman in the newly unearthed grave was armed with a long-handled weapon, either a hatchet or an axe, and a short sword.

These weapons are best suited for hand-to-hand combat and a bloody melee and this difference is indicative of the Scythian culture, researchers say.

Dr Oleg Mitko, head of Archeology at Novosibirsk State University, said: 'We have an impressive set of weaponry.

'We found close fight weapons in a female grave, which is not so typical. The woman had a battle axe.. so she was a part of a warrior strata.'

Senior researcher Yuri Teterin said: 'The man had two axes and two bronze daggers.

'It is a brilliant burial in that there is authentic bronze weaponry.' The man also had a bronze mirror, the researchers say.

Wooden handles of the weapons have no survived millennia in soil, but the metallic elements have.

In contrast to other female warriors from ancient Siberia, the female in the grave was armed in with a long-handled weapon, either a hatchet or an axe, and a short sword. These weapons are best suited for hand-to-hand combat

The couple, the baby and servant, are from the Tagar culture, part of the Scythian civilisation, researchers believe

The couple, the baby and servant, are from the Tagar culture, part of the Scythian civilisation, researchers believe.

The older woman had two broken teeth and her possessions were only a broken comb and a small ceramic vessel, indicating she had little personal wealth.

Larger ceramic vessels - believed to have been full of food - were also discovered which were filled with mutton and beef, researchers say.

When they were buried 2,500 years ago, the grave goods and food would have been buried alongside the people because it was believed it helped people in the afterlife.

Scientists say there is no immediate evidence of battle wounds to suggest a cause of death, but further research will be undertaken.

One theory is that they succumbed to an infection at the same time, leading to them all being buried simultaneously.

Ancient Greek historian Herodotus left a detailed account of the Scythians and their young women warriors.

But physician Hippocrates added that a young woman would cease her role as a fighter after 'she takes to herself a husband'.

'They do not lay aside their virginity until they have killed three of their enemies, and they do not marry before they have performed the traditional sacred rites.'

'Yet in this case the woman warrior appears part of a family unit.

Archaeologist Anatoly Vybornov said: 'Both male and women took part in hostilities. Violence was an acceptable and legal way to solve the problems then.'
Arnhem (The Netherlands), 21 September 2020. Awareness of erectile dysfunction (ED) is alarmingly low in men and women aged 20 to 70, a new survey commissioned by the European Association of Urology (EAU) has revealed. Majority of the respondents do not know what ED exactly entails, and one in four has never heard of any of the seven most common treatments for ED.

The survey examined the knowledge of and experience with ED of 3,032 men and women of different age groups between 20 and 70 years old in Spain, France, Germany, and the UK. ED is defined as the inability to get or keep an erection. When asked what ED is, the majority of respondents either gave incorrect answers (34%) or stated they do not know what ED is (17%). Those who are single are the least likely to know the definition of ED. German respondents scored worst on this question; only 49% answered correctly, compared to Spain where a solid majority (78%) did.

"As ED is actually a common male medical condition, it is surprising that a majority does not know what ED is," comments Prof. Christopher Chapple, Secretary General of the EAU.

Indeed, the EAU Guidelines 2020 on Sexual and Reproductive Health state that "epidemiological data have shown a high prevalence and incidence of ED worldwide." The Guidelines mention, among others, a study that reports an overall ED prevalence of 52% in men aged 40-70 years. In the EAU survey, when asked what percentage of men in their country aged 50-80 suffer from ED, respondents most often selected "21-30%".

"The risk of having ED increases with age, but it affects men of all ages and ethnicities," Prof. Chapple continues. "As a result, there should not be any taboo about it. Although I am happy to see that the majority of the respondents who have experience with ED say to talk about it, there is still room for improvement."

Of the 17% of the respondents who have or have a partner who has ever experienced ED, approximately one in four (26%) admitted to not talking about it with anyone. Worrisome is that of those in a relationship (those who live with a partner, are married, have a civil partnership, or are just in a relationship), an average of only 29% talk to each other about ED. German respondents most often gave "feeling uncomfortable to talk about ED" as their reason for not seeking professional help.

Communication is the key

"Clearly ED is a common medical condition. There's absolutely no need for shame," Prof. Chapple emphasises. "Talk about it with each other. This will provide relief and will take away some of the pressure. Communication is the key to breaking the taboo."

A small majority of 53% sought medical advice from a healthcare professional (a GP, urologist, sexologist, sexual therapist or psychologist). Interestingly, those aged 20-30 years old are the least likely to see a GP, but the most likely to see a sexual therapist or psychologist. Respondents who didn't seek medical advice were most likely to have no reason for it. "This could mean that they are not aware they can seek professional help," Prof. Chapple says. "But ED is always treatable."

One in four respondents has never heard of any treatments for ED

He refers to another alarming outcome; one in four of the respondents (26%) has never heard of any of the treatments for ED listed in the survey: medication, sexual education and relationship therapy, a vacuum erection device, penile injections, penile implants, shockwave therapy, and topical therapies. Knowledge about ED treatment is most limited in the UK; 31% have never heard of any of the treatments listed (compared to 18% in Spain) and only 50% think ED is treatable (whereas 68% in Spain believe so).

Prof. Chapple: "I understand that ED might feel like a private matter to you. But this should not prevent you from improving your quality of life. Please talk about it and seek help."

About the survey

The new survey was commissioned by the European Association of Urology (EAU) for its annual Urology Week (21-25 September 2020). Over 3,000 members of the public from Spain, France, Germany and the UK were asked about their knowledge of and experience with erectile dysfunction (ED). The survey was supported by an educational grant of Boston Scientific.

Breakdown of 3,032 respondents per country:

* Spain: 766

* France: 759

* Germany: 755

* UK: 752

The information was sourced in July 2020.

###

About the European Association of Urology (EAU)

The European Association of Urology is a non-profit organisation which supports medical professionals working in the field of urology through many of its scientific, professional, educational and awareness-building initiatives. The overarching mission is to raise the level of urological care in Europe, and for many years this has been done through educational and scientific programmes aimed at urologists. Today the EAU represents more than 18,000 medical professionals working in Europe and beyond its borders.

The Annual Congress of the European Association of Urology is the largest and most important urology congress in Europe, with up to 14,000 participants. For more information see http://www.uroweb.org

About Urology Awareness Week

Urology Week is an EAU initiative which brings together national urological societies, urology practitioners, urology nurses, the patients and their families, and politicians to create awareness of urological conditions among the general public. For more information see http://www.urologyweek.org

About Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific transforms lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a global medical technology leader for 40 years, we advance science for life by providing a broad range of high performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare. For more information, please visit http://www.bostonscientific.eu and connect with us on Twitter and Facebook.

Astrid Villette

Media Relations

Boston Scientific EMEA

+33 (0)7 84 52 37 65

astrid.villette@bsci.com
President Donald Trump has made it clear that he believes virtually any measure that expands voting access is invalid and rigged. And whomever he picks to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs seat on the Supreme Court will need to share that view. Shortly after he learned of Ginsburgs death, Trump told a crowd in North Carolina that he is counting on the federal court system to limit how many votes get counted. Perhaps thats why he is reportedly considering Judge Barbara Lagoa for the seat. Lagoa is not just conservativeshes also a partisan who flouted judicial ethics to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of people in Florida, potentially throwing the state to Trump. Lagoas unprincipled conduct in that case makes her a perfect candidate for the presidents midnight appointment.

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Lagoa, 52, was born in Miami. Her parents are Cuban refugees. She served for three years as a federal prosecutor before then-Gov. Jeb Bush appointed her to the Florida Court of Appeals in 2006. She is a longtime member of the Federalist Society, the conservative network of lawyers whove provided intellectual cover to Trumps policies, crimes, and cover-ups. In 2019, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis elevated her to the Florida Supreme Court, making her the first Latina to join the bench. She promptly joined the new conservative majority in revisiting and overturning progressive precedents.

Lagoa proved to Trump that she would defy judicial ethics to come through for him.

As a justice, Lagoa also participated in oral arguments over the scope of Amendment 4, a landmark constitutional amendment (passed via ballot initiative) that restored suffrage to people convicted of most felonies once they finished their sentences. DeSantis and Republican lawmakers pushed through a bill sabotaging the amendment by requiring Floridians to pay all fines and fees associated with their sentence before regaining the right to vote. Civil rights activists argued that the law violated Amendment 4, which made no mention of fines and fees. (Its not actually clear if most formerly incarcerated people favor Democrats, but Florida Republicans plainly assume they do.)

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During arguments, Lagoa acted more like an advocate for DeSantis than a judge, literally reading editorials from the bench to demonstrate that the amendment encompassed the payment of all court debt. At one point, she read aloud a Miami Herald article that allegedly supported her position. I have reams here of op-ed pieces and editorials from different papers all over the state of Florida, Lagoa proclaimed, holding up a stack of paper, that made it clear the amendment included fines and fees.

Before the Florida Supreme Court handed down its decision affirming DeSantis contortion of Amendment 4, Trump elevated Lagoa to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 11th Circuit then heard a federal challenge to the same law. Lagoa should have recused herself from the case because she participated in a closely related proceeding, throwing her impartiality into serious doubt. But she did not recuse. Instead, she cast the decisive vote upholding the poll tax and conveyed her enthusiasm for the law in a manner that tells a great deal about her judicial philosophy.

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First, Lagoa joined the entirety of Judge William Pryors majority opinionincluding a radical section joined by just one other judge, Trump nominee Kevin Newsom. The decision claimed that Florida has the legal right to refuse to tell formerly incarcerated people how much money they must pay to regain the franchise. But the most shocking section effectively defanged the 24th Amendment, which forbids poll taxes. Pryor claimed that this amendment actually allowed states to impose a poll tax as long as the state tied the tax to some legitimate voter qualification for constitutionally legitimate reasons. If a state can justify its poll tax on some grounds other than voter suppression, it does not violate the Constitution. So, for instance, if a state ordered all voters to obtain a certificate of eligibility before registering to vote, then charged $100 for that certificate, it would not run afoul of the 24th Amendment. Establishing a voters eligibility is a legitimate government interest, so the state can impose a tax on the process. As long as the state doesnt tax the ballot itself, it has complied with the Constitution.

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This outlandish theoryreally, an attempt to repeal the 24th Amendment by judicial fiatcouldnt even command a majority of Trump nominees on the 11th Circuit. Lagoa was the only judge who signed on to it in full. She also joined Pryors separate concurrence responding to the dissenters accusation that he lacked the moral courage to uphold constitutional equality. Our duty is not to reach the outcomes we think will please whomever comes to sit on the court of human history, he lectured the dissenters. We will answer for our work to the Judge who sits outside of human history. Pryor seemed to suggest that judges display real bravery by upholding anti-democratic disenfranchisement schemes like Floridas.

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Lagoa also wrote her own concurrence, joined by no one, that would gut constitutional protections against wealth-based voter suppression. She argued that judges should generally uphold poll taxes when indigent citizens have alternative avenues to voteeven when those avenues are arbitrary, discriminatory, or downright illusory. In Florida, people with felony convictions can theoretically regain the right to vote by seeking executive clemency. The states clemency board is notoriously biased toward white people and Republicans and rejects the vast majority of applicants, usually for no stated reason. According to Lagoa, however, those biases dont matter. As long as people theoretically have another way to restore their voting rights, the state may saddle them with a poll tax that they cannot afford to pay.

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There is a word for what Lagoa did throughout the Amendment 4 litigation: auditioning. Lagoa proved to Trump that she would even defy judicial ethics to come through for him on a case that could swing the election. Nobody shouldve been surprised when she appeared on the presidents latest Supreme Court shortlist.

Some conservatives have voiced skepticism about Lagoa, fearing she may not take a hard-line stance against reproductive rights. Their fears are baseless: Lagoa has established that she will adhere to the Republican Party line when it counts. She may be the perfect pick to shore up a fifth vote for Trump if the 2020 election falls into the Supreme Courts hands.
The most modern cannons can fire at a range of 30-kilometers at most. But the U.S. Armyis investing in its Extended Range Cannon Artillery program that fires 155-millimeter rounds more than 60-kilometers away.

These ranges represent what the U.S. Army can lob at its targets. Better yet the GPS-guided Guided Multiple Rocket Launch Systems fires as far as 70-kilometers, with artillery fired Army Tactical Missile System missiles that can reach 300 miles, representing a new generation of artillery at the army's disposal.

But, the Extended Range Cannon Artillery program is looking into using cannons as launching platforms for the new ground-launched precision-strike missile that might reach 500-kilometers. If it can be fired that far, what about a 1000-kilometer range as a target for weapons development. Another factor is developing a cannon with a high rate of fire and low cost included.

According to Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, the director of the program, he had an interview with the Warrior. He said that the project is complementary to hypersonic systems and lobbing a volume of fire on vulnerable targets. Hypersonic weapons will be used to strike intended targets needing pinpoint hits, reported Fox News.

Adding the research and development is not pushed by the Army Futures Command, including the Rapid Capabilities Office. The object is a system that is an integrated cannon system, capable of firing a state of the art projectile. Its design is on the drawing board already.

Some of the problems that come in designing a 1,000-mile cannon is a balance in the muzzle velocity, with the pressure inside the firing chamber, and how fast the projectile is supposed to travel at maximum. All factors should be crucial to keep the cannon intact when it is fired. Otherwise, it will be wrecked if everything needed is not taken into account in the prototype.

Also read: US Army Developing Remote Drone Ground Robots for Next Generation Warfare

This weapon is meant to bombard a target area from the longest range, hitting and raining destruction on targets at one time. Having a high rate of fire and speedy shells that travel far. All military targets of value like troops, command centers, and enemy armor. It will be more cost-effective than sending strike craft in harm's way.

Such a weapon will have precise targeting as its key feature. Achievable by being able to fire varying shell types, that includes hypersonic weapons from its barrel. Dual-use as a high-volume barrage weapon that clusters the target areas with fire. Next is a precise weapon that works as well as other platforms which is a mix of conventional and modern weapons that the U.S. Army will dominate with.

A hypothetical situation that is feasible is the initial attack will be with a hypersonic weapon that targets the objective target. Next comes the barrage that will be with conventional shells which in principle should give the enemy a lot to worry about.

But funding is needed to fire the first 1000-mile shot scheduled for 2023. Rafferty stressed that it will hinge all parties involved in its devilment. He added that such weapon will confound America's enemies, giving American ground forces an extra punch. It gives another option to reach hard to attack targets too.

Devising a 1,000-mile range cannon with barrage and precision shells is an excellent stand-off weapon that keeps opponents on their toes.

Related article: US Army Horwitzer Knocked Out Cruise Missile

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Stassi Schroeder shared a '25 week' baby bump update with fiance Beau Clark on Instagram Monday afternoon.

The 32-year-old reality star rocked a white bodycon dress with a matching duster as she cradled her growing stomach for the sweet family snap.

Clark and Schroeder had to put their Italian wedding plans on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and announced they were expecting a baby girl in June.

Blessed: Stassi Schroeder shared a '25 week' baby bump update with fiance Beau Clark on Instagram Monday afternoon

'25 weeks. Our Clark Passenger is poppin,' she captioned the snap to her two million followers on Instagram.

Stassi appeared in great spirits just days after sitting down for her first interview since being fired from Vanderpump Rules following a racism scandal.

Schroeder branded herself a 'Karen' when speaking to Tamron Hall about a racially motivated incident that resurfaced earlier this year where she reported her black co-star Faith Stowers to the police in 2018 for a crime she did not commit.

Hall said she was 'shocked' at her 'level of ignorance as it relates to race,' specifically because she is from New Orleans and lives in Los Angeles, both of which are highly populated, diverse cities.

Yikes: Schroeder branded herself a 'Karen' when speaking to Tamron Hall about a racially motivated incident that resurfaced earlier this year where she reported her black co-star Faith Stowers to the police in 2018 for a crime she did not commit

'And when you're on a show like Vanderpump Rules, your existence on that show is kinda dependent on sticking your nose in other people's conflict or creating conflict,'she said

During the interview, Hall point blank asked her: 'You saw a grainy photo. Why did you think that that was Faith Stowers? Or did you really?'

'Yes I did. And it wasn't just the photo. Kristen [Doute] and I had received texts from multiple people about this,' Schroeder claimed.

The star added that 'there were people that Kristen knew who were texting her' about a women who stole 'from us and we think its this person in the article and she's saying she's on your television show and her name is Faith.'

Schroeder said: 'And when you're on a show like Vanderpump Rules, your existence on that show is kinda dependent on sticking your nose in other people's conflict or creating conflict.'

During the interview, Hall point blank asked her: 'You saw a grainy photo. Why did you think that that was Faith Stowers? Or did you really?'

'I look back at that podcast and I'm so embarrassed that I even had those thoughts, much less put it out there. Because I was that...' Schroeder said, looking visibly nervous

Both Stassi and Kristen  who have starred on Pump Rules since 2013  were fired from their roles on the popular Bravo program.

'I look back at that podcast and I'm so embarrassed that I even had those thoughts, much less put it out there. Because I was that...' Schroeder said, looking visibly nervous.

Tamron interjected 'And so strongly,' before Stassi admitted: 'I was that Karen. I was a Karen. I was a Karen who basically said, but what about All Lives Matter?'

In March 2017, Stassi went on an offensive rant about black people and the #OscarsSoWhite controversy on her now-cancelled podcast Straight Up With Stassi.

The #OscarsSoWhite is a hashtag that was used to call out the lack of diversity at the ceremony and the star announced on her podcast she was 'really sick of everyone making everything about race,' and that she was 'kind of over it.'

Not impressed: Hall said she was 'shocked' at her 'level of ignorance as it relates to race,' specifically because she is from New Orleans and lives in Los Angeles, both of which are highly populated, diverse cities

In the past: Both Stassi and Kristen  who have starred on Pump Rules since 2013  were fired from their roles on the popular Bravo program; seen with Jax Taylor, Katie Maloney, Tom Sandoval, Scheana Shay and Lisa Vanderpump

Friends: Stassi recently joined up with Brittany Cartwright and the Vanderpump Rules crew to celebrate Lala Kent and Randall Emmett's gender reveal for their unborn child

'But like, everyone giving their impassioned speeches about race and all that stuff, I'm like, "Why is it always just about African Americans?"'

Stassi went on to ask why Asians, Native American and Latinos weren't asking why they were not represented: 'Why is is always just "that?"'

Stassi said that she was 'not allowed to say that' as her opinion was marginalized as 'a white, privileged, blonde 28-year old.'

The star added: 'And then when they get upset, everybody has to go above and beyond to then make them happy,' clarifying that she hated saying the word '"them" because I'm not... not everybody's the same' but that she is referring to 'the ones that are out there b****ing about things.'
Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

More than a dozen school districts in and around Galveston and Brazoria counties announced they would close Monday as Tropical Storm Beta continues to push seawater and bands of rain toward the region.

Clear Creek, Alvin, Dickinson, Pearland, Friendswood, La Porte, Santa Fe, Hitchcock, Angleton, Brazosport, Danbury and High Island ISD officials said they would cancel all in-person and remote online classes on Monday. Galveston ISD told staff and families it would cancel all classes Monday and Tuesday. The other districts said they would notify parents by Monday evening about whether they would hold school Tuesday.
While flight shaming and the coronavirus pandemic have spurred airlines to hasten the retirement of their oldest, fuel-guzzling aircraft, not all those planes end up in boneyards in the desert. Many find a second life in the fleets of Amazon.com Inc. and other cargo carriers.

Amazon has been among the biggest lessors of converted Boeing Co. 767s in the last five years as demand for online shopping has soared  more so since COVID-19 struck. A limited choice of converted planes and efforts to cap costs have left the online retailer with some of the freight sectors oldest aircraft, many of them older than the company itself.

In June, Amazon said it was expanding its 70-strong fleet by leasing 12 converted Boeing 767-300 passenger jets, including a 29-year-old model it took delivery of in May. For haulers like Amazon Air, FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc., increased demand means more of these aging planes in the air and, hence, higher emissions, making it harder to shrink their carbon footprint and meet climate pledges.

Theres certainly a tradeoff between the environment and economics when it comes to freighters, said Andreas Schafer, a professor of energy and transport at the UCL Energy Institute in London and an authority on aircraft carbon dioxide emissions. While theres a sound economic case for using older aircraft for freight, it may not be a great case for the environment.

Amazon, which has pledged to make 50 per cent of its shipments net zero carbon by 2030, operated 38 per cent more flights in the U.S. in the first half of 2020, compared with the same period last year, according to Luxembourg-based Cargo Facts Consulting. Emissions from its jets rose 35 per cent in 2019 as it shipped 1.9 billion pounds of cargo on 40,163 flights, the consulting firm estimates. Amazon declined to comment on the numbers, saying that for the company as a whole, carbon emissions rose 15 per cent last year.

The commercial aviation industrys piece of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels  predominantly from passenger airlines  jumped 32 per cent in the five years to 2018 to 918 million metric tons, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation in Washington, D.C. It accounted for 2.4 per cent of such outflows. Under a business-as-usual scenario, the industry could account for as much as 27 per cent of the global carbon budget by 2050, according to a 2016 CarbonBrief report.

Emissions data on the impact of air cargo carriers on the environment is patchy. But airlines say their newer generation jets are 20 per cent more fuel efficient than the models theyre phasing out, some of which end up in the fleets of haulers.

Still, the economic case for buying older aircraft remains compelling. A 20-year-old 737-800 converted freighter costs between $21 million (U.S.) and $23 million, according to London-based consultant IBA Group. That compares with over $100 million for a new Boeing 737-800 at the 2019 list price. A 16-year-old wide-body 767 is about a third of the price of a brand new one, though that factor narrows after discounts.

It really is about the economics, said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Teal Group. The utilization of cargo planes is much lower than passenger jets, so the ratios of capital costs to fuel costs are very different for freight. I cant see anyone buying a new plane when feedstock is getting cheaper. Freighters fly significantly fewer hours a day relative to commercial airlines.

Aircraft converters like Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. say theyve seen a spike in inquiries for conversions after the pandemic grounded a large chunk of cargo that travelled in the belly of passenger jets. Yet none are for newer-generation jets.

The average age of Lufthansa AGs cargo fleet is about 11 years. UPS averages about 20 years and FedEx about 23 years. In comparison, Amazon currently operates 68 jets in the U.S. with an average age of just over 26 years, according to IBA. Thats about as long as the companys been around. Its oldest plane is 37 years old.

The pressure passenger airlines are experiencing with respect to their environmental impact will carry over to the cargo airlines at some point, says Brandon Graver, a researcher at the ICCTs aviation program.

But that may be some ways away. Newer-generation aircraft are not yet being converted for freight. Aircraft tend to be switched over after about two rotations of passenger service, or about 18-20 years, according to Rafi Matalon, EVP Marketing of IAIs Aviation Group.

Even as airlines scale back fleets to prepare for a much slower return to pre-pandemic demand levels, only the oldest jets with some life left in them will be converted since the process is irreversible, he said.

I dont see a 787 being converted for the next 10 years at least, Matalon said, referring to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which the plane maker claims uses 20 per cent-25 per cent less fuel than previous generation jets.

In a forecast released before the pandemic upended global aviation, Boeing estimated that air-cargo traffic will more than double by 2037, with the global freighter fleet growing over 70 per cent to 3,260 planes. More than 63 per cent of that demand will be met by older, converted aircraft, according to Boeing.

Haulers are seeking ways to be green. Lufthansas cargo unit plans to dump old aircraft like the three-engine MD-11 for brand new Boeing 777s. FedEx is phasing out 40-year-old MD-10 jets and replacing them with brand new Boeing 777s and also 767s that it says are 30 per cent more fuel efficient.

At UPS, even as soaring next-day delivery demand keeps older jets  some over 30 years old  flying, the companys adding 50 new Boeing 747-8 and 767 jets by 2022. It says its new 747s are 16 per cent more fuel efficient than older iterations of the plane, and offer more cargo capacity.

Amazon, whose chief executive officer Jeff Bezos this year unveiled a $10 billion climate initiative called the Bezos Earth Fund, has pledged to be carbon-neutral by 2040. Although the company has unveiled several green initiatives, it currently has no new aircraft in its fleet and none on order. Amazon points out that its recycled 767s are powered by the same engines as new 767s.

Earlier this year, Amazon said it had secured up to 6 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel that could reduce emissions by up to 20 per cent. Still, based on Amazon Airs estimated fuel consumption last year of 176 million gallons, the new fuel may shrink the haulers carbon footprint by only 0.7 per cent, Cargo Facts calculates.

So while the relentless rise in e-commerce boosted Amazon shares to a record high on Sept. 2, it also puts pressure on the company to work out how its expanding air fleet and higher volumes fit into its green goals.

Air cargo is an important part of Amazon operations, but also a highly carbon-intensive part of the global supply chain, the company said in a blog post in July. Finding ways to cap emissions at Amazon Air is one of the most important, yet challenging, elements of our work to meet climate pledges, it said.

Many freight companies have signed up for the aviation sectors plan, called Corsia, that stabilizes carbon footprints through offsetting, with emissions compensated by projects like tree planting or supporting the substitution of solar cookers for coal-fired stoves.

Cargo carriers need to make the economic decision of whether its cheaper to invest in a new fuel-efficient fleet or purchase the carbon offsets, ICCTs Graver said.

For Amazon, which has already committed to spending more on emissions-free ground delivery vehicles, the decision might be easier than most.

The obvious thing that Amazon could do is buy newer, less-emitting aircraft, Schafer said. It doesnt seem to have the sort of capital constraints the rest of the industry has, and could easily buy brand new dedicated freighters to show that its serious about the environment.

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Authorities in Gautam Buddh Nagar have sent two proposals to the UP government to set up a film city either in or along the near the upcoming Jewar international airport, officials said Monday.

The Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has earmarked 1,000 acres and the Authority has identified 500 acres.

On September 18, Chief Minister announced his government would set up the country's "biggest" and "most beautiful" film city in the district bordering Delhi and asked officials to identify land for it.

"YEIDA on Sunday sent a proposal to the state government for a film city in 1,000 acres in Sector 21," Officer on Special Duty Shailendra Bhatia told PTI.

Authority Chief Executive Officer Ritu Maheshwari said the land they have identified is spread across sectors 162, 164, 165 and 166.

"Around 200 acres of land is available and the rest is to be purchased. A proposal for the film city project was sent by us on Monday," Maheshwari said.

Noida already has a film city in Sector 16A, where several media houses and corporates have their offices.

Bhatia said the land along the would be closer to the Jewar airport and has a good road connectivity. It is only 6 km from the airport and 12 km from the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, according to YEIDA officials.

It is around 70 km from Delhi and 150 km from Agra, the officials added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BEIRUT - After months of relative calm, tension is rising again in northwestern Syria along the line of the front between government forces, backed by Russia, and armed militants supported by Turkey, sources on the ground said, confirming reports by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.



The area experienced a diminution in violence after a military truce was reached by Russia and Turkey last March.



The sources added that over the past 48 hours several air raids and artillery fire, attributed to Russian and Syrian forces, were reported in the central areas of the Idlib region and in the southeastern area of the region of Aleppo.



The areas are under the control of anti-regime militants backed by the Turkish armed forces. More Syrian government air raids were registered in the northeastern region of Latakia at the border with Turkey.
The three former US government officials shared these insights on the latest episode of Podbridge , a new podcast series presented by the UAE Embassy and hosted by UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba .

A "fundamental psychological threshold was crossed with this agreement," said Dennis Ross, Counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who served as a Middle East advisor for four US presidents. "The Accord creates a real possibility for American diplomacy to broker peace among the Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, and build a bridge to a very different kind of future."

Martin Indyk, Distinguished Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former United States Ambassador to Israel, noted that the UAE-Israel accord will have significant strategic implications for the Middle East.

"The fact that the two most capable states in the region, the UAE and Israel, are now openly able to work together will provide a much firmer pillar of stability that, with US support, can do much to stabilize the Middle East," said Indyk, who served as the US special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations from 2013-2014. "It will enhance the capabilities of those states in the region who share the same vision of a more peaceful, prosperous and stable environment."

"There was great excitement about the deal" in Israel, added Daniel Shapiro, a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University who served as the United States Ambassador to Israel from 2011-2017. The UAE-Israel Accord "opens possibilities for people-to-people relations, cultural exchange, trade, tourism, technological partnerships and investment, through which Israelis and Emiratis will be able to advance their interests and make a broader contribution to the region and the world."

First announced last month by the leaders of the US, Israel, and the UAE, the Peace Accord is the first diplomatic agreement between Israel and an Arab state in over twenty-five years. As a result of the Accord, Israel and the UAE will open their economies to one another, allowing goods, services, and investment to flow freely between the two countries.

Greater trade and investment, along with the exchange of scientists, business leaders, students, academic experts, religious leaders, and tourists, creates immediate and meaningful security, economic, and social benefits for the UAE, Israel, and the wider region.

"The UAE after September 15 is going to be very different," predicted Ambassador Al Otaiba. "It's not taboo anymore for young people in our part of the world to look at working, investing, trading and studying with Israelis. Breaking that ideological barrier is probably the most significant aspect of what we just did."

"I'm very confident that this is going to be a mutually-beneficial relationship for a very, very long time," Ambassador Al Otaiba concluded.

Podbridge is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast services. For more information about Podbridge, visit www.podbridge.com and receive updates on Twitter @UAEUSAUnited and on Facebook.

Contact:

Lamiyae Jbari

[email protected]

202 243 2464

SOURCE Embassy of the United Arab Emirates

Related Links

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Photo taken on Aug. 21, 2020 shows a logo of the video-sharing social networking company TikTok's Los Angeles Office in Culver City, Los Angeles County, the United States. (Xinhua)

- TikTok disclosed some details about the three-party agreement, saying Oracle will become its "trusted technology provider," and Walmart will play a role in "commercial partnership."

- Both American companies will take part in TikTok's global pre-IPO financing round in which they can take up to 20 percent cumulative stake in the company, a statement said.

- "We will also maintain and expand TikTok Global headquarters in the U.S., while bringing 25,000 jobs across the country," the company said.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Video-sharing social networking platform TikTok on Saturday voiced hope that an agreement reached by its Chinese parent company ByteDance with Oracle and Walmart will "resolve the security concerns of the U.S. administration and settle questions around TikTok's future in the U.S.."

The Los Angeles-based company issued a statement Saturday afternoon, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had approved a deal between the three parties.

TikTok disclosed some details about the three-party agreement handed over to the authority Monday and weighed by the White House so far, saying Oracle will become its "trusted technology provider," and Walmart will play a role in "commercial partnership."

As part of this proposal, Oracle would be in charge of hosting TikTok's all U.S. user data and securing associated computer systems to "ensure U.S. national security requirements are fully satisfied," the statement noted.

According to the company, as of June, the total number of TikTok's monthly active users in the country soared to 91,937,040, and based on quarterly usage, 100 million Americans used the app.

People take part in a TikTok filming session in Vilnius, Lithuania, Aug. 10, 2020. (Photo by Alfredas Pliadis/Xinhua)

The statement also said both American companies will take part in TikTok's global pre-IPO financing round in which they can take up to 20 percent cumulative stake in the company. A business insider familiar with the deal told Xinhua that TikTok had a plan to finish IPO in the U.S. market in one year if possible.

"We will also maintain and expand TikTok Global headquarters in the U.S., while bringing 25,000 jobs across the country," the company promised, adding "Our team works tirelessly to provide a safe and inclusive platform and we're thrilled that we will be able to continue serving our amazingly diverse and creative community."

Trump and some U.S. politicians have repeatedly speculated that TikTok poses a national security threat to the country, though no evidence has been provided to support the allegations.

On Aug. 6, Trump issued an executive order banning U.S. transactions with ByteDance, citing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The ban will take effect on Sept. 20.

On Aug. 14, he signed a second executive order that will force ByteDance to sell or spin off its U.S. TikTok business within 90 days.

TikTok has sued the U.S. administration to block the order issued on Aug. 6, arguing it is unconstitutional. Trump, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and the Department of Commerce were listed as defendants in the 39-page indictment.

The logo of TikTok is seen on a smartphone screen in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, Aug. 30, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday that according to the order on Aug. 6, as of Sunday, any moves to distribute or maintain TikTok on app stores such as Apple Store and Google Play will be prohibited, and a more extensive ban against the app would be applied from Nov. 12. TikTok replied on Friday that it felt disappointed with the decision.

After Trump's remarks earlier in the day, the department posted a statement on its official website Saturday afternoon to postpone the ban against the popular app.

"In light of recent positive developments, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, at the direction of President Trump, will delay the prohibition of identified transactions pursuant to Executive Order 13942, related to the TikTok mobile application that would have been effective on Sunday, September 20, 2020, until September 27, 2020 at 11:59 p.m."

A girl plays in a TikTok-themed room at the Smile Safari, an Instagram and TikTok museum, in Brussels, Belgium, August 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

The U.S. users rushed to download the popular app. TikTok downloads rose 12 percent to 247,000 in the U.S. on Friday compared to the previous day, according to preliminary estimates from Sensor Tower, which tracks mobile apps.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Saturday that it is resolutely opposed to the U.S. move to block downloads of WeChat and TikTok apps, urging the United States to immediately stop bullying and safeguard international rules and order.

In the absence of any evidence, the United States has repeatedly used state power to suppress the two enterprises for unwarranted reasons, which seriously disrupted their normal business activities, undermined the confidence of international investors in the U.S. investment environment ,and damaged the normal global economic and trade order, the MOC said in a statement.
As part of a special series for Mint, Devansh Kaushik, a student at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, looks at whether remote proctored tests (RPTs) are a viable alternative for evaluation as social distancing norms make physically administered tests unfeasible. In the third piece in the series, Devansh looks at why open-book exams may be a better option:

Last week, the premier NLSIU opted for an online, home-based RPT for its National Law Admission Test in order to avoid further delay in completing its admissions. The decision was challenged in the courts on the grounds that it was arbitrary and that the students didnt have enough notice. Yet, much of the actual controversy centered around the fact that the test was going to be remotely proctored.

Ever since the pandemic made the shift to e-learning inevitable, the big question in academic circles has been whether RPTs are a viable alternative for evaluation. While there are many diverse concerns that this new invigilation format raises, this article will restrict itself to privacy issues.

RPTs are essentially a combination of video and audio surveillance, coupled with facial recognition, biometric identification and remote system access. Exam authorities justify the use of such intrusive measures as necessary to maintain academic integrity", but students cite privacy concerns. While there have been protests and legal challenges across the world, in India, there are additional concerns because of the absence of a comprehensive privacy law and a data protection authority. When considering privacy, the first question that arises is of consent. The personal data of an individual should only be collected or processed with his/her consent, which should be voluntary and informed. But can the consent collected from students be voluntary under the present circumstances? Testing authorities made this switch on their own, without seeking formal consent. Even if they did seek consent, the imbalance in their relative authority renders such consent questionable.

The privacy implications of a typical RPT are significant in terms of the quantum and nature of data collected and shared with third-party service providers. This includes names, locations, contact details, personal space scans and biometric records. Such sensitive data if retained, leaked or misused could result in identity fraud and profiling.

Under the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, biometric data is classified as sensitive personal data and is subject to stringent protections such as explicit consent requirements and curbs on third-party sharing. For minors, the bill requires parental consent and prescribes higher fiduciary obligations for data processing. There are also cybersecurity concerns. Test takers have to install third-party software that needs to be given system access, supposedly to prevent cheating. Such software can be exploited by hackers.

In the case of large-scale exams, where the number of candidates far exceed the available invigilators, the use of artificial intelligence for proctoring becomes unavoidable.

But AI proctoring comes with its own concerns. For instance, AI uses facial recognition, which is known to be less effective with dark-skinned individuals.

Subjecting students with disabilities, medical conditions or imperfect technical access to such automatic decision-making can lead to unfair outcomes.

All things being said, deploying RPTs in India may be sub-optimal, considering the limited internet penetration, poor digital literacy, backward classes and the rural populace. While there is no denying that testing authorities should take all possible steps to address concerns of integrity, perhaps its time for educators to think in terms of alternatives such as open-book exams that take advantage of the intrinsic motivation of students, instead of policies based on surveillance and suspicion.

The series will continue online.

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People have been clamoring for a sequel to the Christmas comedy film "Elf." However, it may not happen anymore.

James Caan, who was part of the hit flick, confirmed that a possible "Elf 2" will not happen ever, thanks to the main actor and its director.

In an interview on Cleveland's 92.3 The Fan's Bull & Fox show on Friday, the 80-year-old veteran actor said that the film's headliners, Will Ferrell and director Jon Favreau, did not get along during its planning.

"We were gonna do it and I thought, 'Oh my god, I finally got a franchise movie, I could make some money, let my kids do what the hell they want to do.' And the director and Will didn't get along very well," he said.

Per Caan, Ferrell wanted to push through it. However, he does not want to have Favreau as the director anymore.

As of writing, neither Will nor Favreau have commented about it yet.

What "Elf" is All About

The 2003 Will Ferrell-led movie is one of those classic films watched every holiday season. It follows the life of Buddy, a human who becomes a North Pole elf.

Santa's elves adopted and raised him. But upon discovering his true identity, he ventured to New York City to meet his biological father.

Apart from Ferrell and Cann, "Elf" also starred Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Daniel Tay, Bob Newhart and Ed Asner.

With just $33 million as its budget, the film was a great hit and grossed over $220.4 million worldwide.

Fandango users even rated "Elf" the best Christmas film of the 21st century, pushing it to be considered one of the greatest Christmas movies ever.

What Favreau Thinks About the Sequel?

Previously, the award-winning director already shared his thoughts about "Elf 2."

According to Yahoo, the director said that the studio executives and the "Elf" team would love to pursue a sequel. It has been in talks since 2016, and Favreau said that the topic emerges quite often in Hollywood.

"In the beginning there was talk of sequel, and it never came to be, probably for the best as now it exists as its own thing," Favreau revealed.

However, he also opined that a "straight sequel is probably not the right move." The director then added that even if "Elf 2" does not happen, he is okay with it.

Per Favreau, having a sequel in any award-winning film is a big gamble. Even if he does not do anything to his films, he would be pleased with how it already ended.

"The minute you take it on, you try to add on to something, you always run the risk of diminishing from the original," he continued. "I do have tremendous fondness for that film and you don't want to do anything to screw up the legacy of it."

Of course, things can change in Hollywood, so a posisble "Elf 2" will always be out there. For now, however, fans should not have their hopes up.

READ MORE: 'Mulan' Epic Fail: Disney's 'Worst' Adaptation Facing Financial Disaster
Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be honored both at the Supreme Court and Capitol
"Walker & Dunlop's goal is to continue to be a leader in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the commercial real estate industry, and we are investing in that commitment by bringing on Jason to lead our efforts," commented Chairman and CEO Willy Walker . "We have set long-term objectives to nearly double female and minority representation in management positions and top company earners by 2025, and we are excited to begin tracking towards these goals under Jason's leadership."

Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Paula Pryor stated, "Fostering a workplace that is diverse, equitable and inclusive has been a defining characteristic of Walker & Dunlop's culture, and we are thrilled to continue driving this commitment forward under Jason's leadership. Jason's track record in compliance and talent development made him a great fit to build upon the DE&I efforts that we currently have underway and to develop new programs to expand the range of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences at W&D."

"Walker & Dunlop's commitment to leading the DE&I space, both within the company and across the commercial real estate industry, is what attracted me to this role," commented Mr. Golub. "The senior management team has demonstrated a real commitment to not only leading by example, but also innovating and building a transparent, industry leading diversity and inclusion program. Diverse and inclusive teams are critical to truly developing innovative solutions to complex problems, and I am confident our commitment will translate into better results for our clients. I am excited to work with our employees across the country on these efforts and to be part of a company committed to pushing the envelope on both internal diversity and inclusion, but also supporting the diverse communities and clients we serve."

Prior to joining Walker & Dunlop, Mr. Golub was a senior leader at GE legal, where he focused on high-risk investigations, workplace culture and training, and compliance, while also serving as a senior member of the company's Diversity & Inclusion Council for five years. Earlier this year, he was appointed the chair of the Police Reform and Re-imagination Task Force in Saratoga Springs, NY, a Governor Cuomo mandated task force aimed at police reform and reducing racial inequality. Mr. Golub holds a Bachelor of Arts from Connecticut College and a Juris Doctorate from Columbia University, School of Law, where he focused on human rights law.

Mr. Golub will partner with Walker & Dunlop's Council for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and will work closely with other employee resource groups, including the Women of Walker & Dunlop and the Minority Employees Resource Group for Empowerment/Engagement/Elevation. As part of Walker & Dunlop's ongoing DE&I efforts, the company has set goals to nearly double both female and minority representation in management positions and top company earners by 2025. For more information about Walker & Dunlop's commitment to DE&I, view our Environmental, Social and Governance summary.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of the largest commercial real estate finance companies in the United States. The company provides a comprehensive range of capital solutions for all commercial real estate asset classes, as well as investment sales brokerage services to owners of multifamily properties. Walker & Dunlop is included on the S&P SmallCap 600 Index and was ranked as one of FORTUNE Magazine's Fastest Growing Companies in 2014, 2017, and 2018. Walker & Dunlop's 900+ professionals in 40 offices across the nation have an unyielding commitment to client satisfaction.

SOURCE Walker & Dunlop, Inc.

Related Links

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WASHINGTON -- As negotiators for the U.S.-backed Afghan government and the militant Taliban hold historic peace talks in Qatar, few are expecting a deal to be easy or even successful.

The two sides -- who have been at war for nearly two decades and continue to kill each other even during the Doha negotiations -- are far apart on key issues like women's rights and the implementation of Shari'a law as they seek to reach a power-sharing agreement and permanent cease-fire.

But those difficulties are not preventing U.S. President Donald Trump from pushing for the removal of more U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the November 3 election as he seeks to end Americas longest war.

With just weeks to go in a tight reelection bid against Democratic candidate Joe Biden, Trump is seeking to score points by fulfilling -- though not entirely -- a campaign promise to bring U.S. troops home from the endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Some military officials, members of Congress, and analysts have expressed concern that a quick withdrawal of American soldiers could lead to the collapse of the Afghan government and hand control of the South Asian country back to the Taliban, which U.S.-led forces overthrew in 2001.

Were going down to 4,000 [troops], were negotiating right now, Trump said in an interview with Axios on July 28 that was aired on August 3.

He added that the total number of troops would be between 4,000 and 5,000 by election day.

The president had reportedly told aides last year he wanted all troops out by election day and the Pentagon even prepared such an option.

The Trump administration made concessions in order to strike an often vaguely worded political deal with the Taliban in February that paved the road for the current peace talks between the militants and the Afghan government.

That agreement included a reduction in the number of U.S. troops to 8,500 by summer and full withdrawal by May 2021 if the Taliban kept its part of the bargain.

Part of the deal for the Taliban that would trigger additional U.S. troop departures from Afghanistan includes counterterrorism guarantees such as preventing terrorist groups from using Afghan territory for attacks.

There is very little faith that this American administration is following and implementing the February deal for any reasons other than domestic political concerns, Andrew Watkins, a senior analyst for Afghanistan at the International Crisis Group, told RFE/RL.

During his 2016 presidential run, Trump repeatedly criticized previous U.S. administrations for getting the country involved in expensive, far-off wars.

That campaign message still appears to suit many U.S. voters in 2020, where thousands of votes could be decisive in determining the winner in several key states where the presidential race is expected to be particularly close.

A poll of 2,000 U.S. adults conducted by the libertarian Charles Koch Institute in late July indicated that three-quarters of Americans support bringing troops home from Afghanistan.

But Trump hasn't done that yet, making his proposed cut by November 3 necessary for him to say he kept his campaign promise to reduce troops in Afghanistan.

The United States currently has about as many troops in the country -- 8,500 -- as it did when Trump took office in January 2017.

However, some analysts have downplayed the importance that the withdrawal of U.S. troops has with voters.

There is no intensity around this issue. You dont see million-person marches on the Mall [in Washington] over this, said Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, during an online discussion about Afghanistan hosted by the Washington-based think tank in August.

OHanlon is among those who have cautioned the United States against rushing to withdraw all of its troops from the country, saying it would endanger the Afghan government.

U.S.-Taliban Agreement

Trump initially moved in the opposite direction after taking office, sending some 4,000 troops to Afghanistan to step up the fight against the Taliban in 2017.

His administration raised aerial bombings to record levels against the militants -- who currently control about half the countrys territory -- to try to bring them to the negotiating table.

Unlike his predecessor, Barack Obama, Trump agreed to hold direct negotiations with the Taliban in an effort to secure the peace talks.

Led by Zalmay Khalilzad -- the Afghan-born American envoy to the South Asian country -- a deal was reached with the militant group in February after 18 months of turbulent negotiations.

Under the deal, the United States agreed to withdraw its roughly 12,000 troops in several phases by May 2021 if the Taliban does "not allow any of its member, other individuals or groups, including [Al-Qaeda], to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten" U.S. troops and its allies. The Taliban must also hold talks with the Afghan government on a power-sharing agreement.

An exchange of captured Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces was also part of the deal and its completion was contingent upon the start of the peace talks.

With U.S. forces trimmed to 8,500 and the prisoner swap completed, the intra-Afghan talks began on September 12.

Though the Trump administration might be pushing for progress on the peace talks before the U.S. election, it will be an uphill battle due to the sharp differences between the two parties, analysts say.

This is not a particularly promising peace negotiation, Andrew Cordesman, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who was a consultant on Afghanistan to the Pentagon and the State Department, told RFE/RL. "I think it is very clear that this president simply wants out."

"Afghanistan -- unless you believe it seriously presents more of a threat [with] terrorists than many other countries that have similar movements -- is of no strategic importance to the U.S. at all, Cordesman added.

U.S. Invasion

The United States launched its war in Afghanistan after Al-Qaeda, under the protection of the Taliban, carried out terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, that killed more than 3,000 people.

The United States went into Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group known for its human rights abuses, and has since helped lead an effort to establish a secure, democratic country.

But that endeavor has been plagued by widespread corruption, political infighting, severely flawed elections, and nonstop attacks by Taliban militants and other Islamist groups, keeping U.S. troops bogged down in the country for 19 years -- the longest war in American history.

Washington has poured more than $2 trillion into the war in Afghanistan and lost more than 2,300 soldiers in nearly two decades of fighting. Trump has railed against U.S. involvement in the country long before he announced his intention to run for office.

When will we stop wasting our money on rebuilding Afghanistan? We must rebuild our country first, he said in an October 2011 tweet.

Trumps February deal with the Taliban, a step toward ending the war, has angered many in Kabul who see it as a betrayal, Watkins said.

Now some advisers near President Ashraf Ghani are hoping a Biden victory in November would delay the implementation of the deal, the analyst added.

But Bidens past comments on Afghanistan dont necessarily support the optimism for such an action.

Biden Policy

Unlike many foreign-policy issues confronting the United States -- such as Irans nuclear program, U.S.-Chinese trade, and Russian relations -- Biden and Trump largely agree on the policy to stop the "endless wars" and withdraw U.S. troops.

During the Obama administration, Biden strongly argued against an increase in U.S. troop deployment to Afghanistan that eventually led to about 100,000 soldiers being there in the early 2010s. He still has strong feelings against having too many "boots on the ground" in the country.

The first thing I would do as president of the United States is to make sure that we brought all combat troops home and entered into a negotiation with the Taliban, but I would leave behind special forces in small numbers to deal with a potential threat, he said in a Democratic primary debate in December.

He has repeated that view several times, saying in February that a special forces contingent is needed to make it impossible for terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda to reestablish a foothold there.

During a September 10 interview with the U.S. military news site Stars and Stripes, Biden put the number of special forces troops he would keep stationed in Afghanistan at about 1,500 to 2,000.

But Jarrett Blanc, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Obama administration, cautioned against overstating the policy similarities between Trump and Biden.

Blanc said the next president will have to make an assessment by May 2021 -- when the agreement calls for the last U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan -- about whether the Taliban has fulfilled its part of the deal and American security interests are protected.

You can probably expect that a President Trump or a President Biden will go about making that determination in a pretty different way, he told RFE/RL.

Blanc said the withdrawal of troops could also have consequences for continued U.S. funding of Afghanistan. Foreign funding accounts for a large portion of the Kabul governments budget.

Those are going to be politically challenging appropriations, to be blunt, Blanc said about U.S. budget discussions on Afghanistan. It is a truism that the money follows the troops.

Blanc said the view of the next administration will be an important voice in those budgetary discussions and, while he believed Biden would support them, it was harder to predict what Trump would decide.
Recently, Akanksha Puri's father underwent brain surgery after he suffered a stroke. Apparently, he is admitted in a hospital in the actress' hometown, Indore. Akanksha is currently with her father.

The Vighnaharta Ganesha actress shared a video on her Twitter account in which her father, after his surgery at the hospital, was seen thanking everyone for their wishes. He even said that he is feeling good and has recovered. She captioned the video as, "My power, my strength, my superman, my father. A thorough soldier who fought through thick and thin with a smile. Thanking everyone for their warm wishes. He is a source of inspiration and positivity for me and for million others watching this video. #Love #gratitude #Blessings."



Akanksha's fans wished her father a speedy recovery. The actress also shared another video on her Instagram story, in which her father was seen saying, "Stay positive, be strong," to everyone.

About her father's health, Akanksha told ETimes TV, "He is feeling better now!! Surgery went well!! I'm with him in the hospital right now."

The actress was recently in the news for quitting the show Vighnaharta Ganesha, in which she played the role of Mata Parvati. It was even said that she quit the show for Bigg Boss 14. But the actress clarified that she exited the show to explore more options. Akanksha had told ETimesTV that she wanted to come out of the Goddess zone and stop playing Mata Parvati on screen. She also added that they have already done around 730 episodes and there was nothing more to explore as an actor.

Akanksha further clarified that she didn't quit Vighnaharta Ganesha for Bigg Boss 14, and she has also not been approached for the popular reality show.

Also Read: Bigg Boss 14 To Premiere On October 3! Akanksha Puri To Participate In The Show?

Also Read: Akanksha Puri On Quitting Vighnaharta Ganesh: I Want To Grow & Want People To See The Real Me
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU : The Supreme Court on Monday quashed the decision of National Law School of India University, Bengaluru (NLSIU) to hold a separate entrance exam, National Law Aptitude Test (NLAT), for admission to its five-year integrated LLB programme and the postgraduate LLM programme, in place of the Common Law Admissions Test (CLAT).

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan set aside the September 3 notification issued by NLSIU, which had announced holding NLAT in place of CLAT. The bench ordered NLSIU to carry out admissions as per CLAT and to complete the admission process by mid-October. Admission to LLB courses offered by 22 National Law Universities (NLUs) in different states is based on CLAT, which is held every year by a consortium of NLUs. CLAT is scheduled to be held on September 28.

NLSIU to refund exam fee

However, NLSIU decided that it would hold a separate entrance test, NLAT, this year, because of the delay in conducting CLAT due to Covid. A notification was also issued on September 3 announcing its decision to hold NLAT.Former NLSIU Vice-Chancellor Dr Venkat Rao approached the Supreme Court, challenging NLAT saying the NLSIU Executive Councils decision to hold NLAT was illegal and without any legal authority.

Last week, the apex court allowed NLSIU to hold NLAT as an interim measure, but asked the university not to declare results or admit students till the court arrived at a final decision. NLSIU has now begun the process of refunding the entrance exam fee to aspirants who wrote NLAT on September 12. We have begun working with vendors to initiate refunds to all students.

There will be a deduction of Rs 75 towards application processing charges. The money will reach the students in the next nine to 14 working days, the institute stated in a note on Monday evening.At a meeting held earlier on Monday, the faculty resolved to adhere to the trimester-based academic calendar and maintain the highest academic rigour and standards.
I was sitting in a reflective mood thinking that there was a time when the Egyptians would celebrate the end of heat waves with the beginning of a new year, according to the ancient Egyptian calendar. I checked into my Twitter account and wrote Tout yeoul lil-har mout (Tout orders the death of heat) and was really surprised by the response, said novelist Ibrahim Abdel-Meguid in an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly.



According to the calendar of ancient Egypt, the basis of the Coptic calendar, Tout is the beginning of the new year. This is the calendar that was used in Pharaonic Egypt. It is mostly associated with the weather and the level of the Nile, and it is therefore still part of the minds of farmers whose traditional times of planting and harvest are still designed according to it.



According to the ancient Egyptian calendar, this week, or more precisely 11 September 2020, is 1 Tout 6262. Across social media this week, there were comments celebrating the beginning of 6262, sometimes called the Egyptian year and sometimes the Coptic year.



It is essentially one and the same thing because obviously Coptic literally means Egyptian rather than Christian, but it has become associated with the followers of the Egyptian Orthodox Church. It was the Coptic Church that during the Graeco-Roman rule of Egypt insisted on keeping the ancient calendar to protest against the elimination of thousands of Copts who died defending the Orthodox faith and the independence of its church, Abdel-Meguid said.



Inevitably, this helped mark the difference between the Church of Egypt and the Church of Rome. It also helped mark a difference between the Gregorian and Old Egypt calendars.



For this novelist whose literary production offers a mosaic of moments of identity, even if the purpose behind the choice was one of religious creed, it is still also an issue of identity. It certainly was an issue of identity, and it was this determination on the part of the Coptic Church that kept the ancient Egyptian calendar from being forgotten, he argued.



This, he said, was why he calls 6262 the Coptic year in a double reference to the literal meaning of the word Copt and to the role of the Coptic Orthodox Church in keeping this calendar alive to the point that its months are marked on the front page of Egypts leading daily Al-Ahram, along with the western Gregorian and Hijra (Islamic) calendars.



So, yes, we do have three calendars, and it is in a sense an indication of the many cultural dimensions that we have. But essentially as we have seen with the attention that many people are sharing in celebrating the beginning of 6262, the one thread that brings us all together is the fact that we are all Egyptians in the profound sense of the word, Abdel-Meguid said.



Unlike the Hijra calendar, which is lunar, the ancient Egyptian calendar is solar, like the Gregorian. It has 365 days that are roughly divided into three seasons, each of which has four months.



Following Tout (Thout) comes Baba (Paopi), which is associated with the harvest. Then comes Hatour (Hathor), which is associated with the planting of wheat, and after it is Kihak (Koiak), which sees the advent of winter and the shortest daylight hours. The following two months are Touba (Tobi) and Amshir (Meshir), when it gets cold before the weather starts warming up.



Then it is Barmahat (Paremhat), Barmouda (Premoude), and Bashnas (Pashons), which are associated with the harvesting and storage of wheat and letting the land rest ahead of the following season. Then comes Baaouna (Paoni) and Ebib (Epip), the hottest months of the year with the harvest of summer fruit like figs, grapes, and mangos. The last two months are Mesri (Mesori) and NeseI (Pi Kogi Enavot), which are the months of the flooding of the Nile River from both the Blue Nile and White Nile.



This calendar is shared with Ethiopia, which on 11 September was celebrating the beginning of a new Ethiopian year, just like Egypt.



Today, Abdel-Meguid argued, not all those joining the celebration of the new year were conscious even of the sequence or for that matter the names of the months of the ancient Egypt calendar. But it was an affirmation of Egyptian identity, about saying that we are first and foremost Egyptians.





The pursuit of connections to Pharaonic roots to affirm Egyptian identity is for the most part a new trend, he said.



Over the past seven decades when he lived first in Alexandria and then in Cairo, Abdel-Meguid has written much about Egyptian identity, sometimes looking north across the Mediterranean, as for example from Alexandria, and sometimes looking east in the wake of the oil boom that granted the Arab Gulf countries economic and subsequently cultural hegemony across the Arab Mashreq.



Abdel-Meguid has also seen and lamented what he calls the heavy-handed influence of the Wahabi waves that have hit Egypt, not at the hands of those coming from the Arabian Peninsula to Egypt, but mostly by Egyptians who left the Delta in pursuit of a comfortable situation in the Arab Gulf countries before coming back home with Wahabi norms and views.



Like other novelists of his generation, Abdel-Meguid has often portrayed free-spirited Egyptians who loved food, drink, poetry, and music being forced by a lack of opportunities in their native land to go to the Arab Gulf cities, later returning with their minds full of Wahabi Islam. This includes the ideas of Salafi preachers trying to spread the Wahabi version of Islam loaded with isolationism and intolerance, he said.



In subsequent decades, he said, the connection to Pharaonic roots was hardly recalled as a result. With the exception of a handful of films, the rich and inspiring production of the golden years of Egyptian cinema, there was little room in this new Egypt for Pharaonic-inspired themes. The most famous is Shady Abdel-Salams iconic Al-Mummia (The Night of Counting the Years),



With the exception of Egypts most popular and least expensive brand of cigarettes, Cleopatra, Pharaonic names did not brand Egyptian products. Egyptian manufacturers often looked to French and English brand names for their products instead. Of the many volumes he produced, the novels carrying Pharaonic titles, such as Kefah Tiba (The Struggle of Thebes) are the least popular, at least in terms of sales, of the Naguib Mahfouz literature.



During the same decades, Abdel-Meguid argued, using Pharaonic names for boys, such as Isis and Abnob, as was customary in Upper Egypt, declined significantly in favour of either very modern and often foreign names, or names of Christian saints, or prominent Muslim figures.



But for Abdel-Meguid, from the beginning of the rule of Mohamed Ali in the early 19th century until the Free Officers took power in the 1952 Revolution, the vast majority of Egyptians thought of themselves as either Egyptians, with no particular association with the ancient Egyptian heritage, or as Muslim or Christian or even Jewish Egyptians.



Of course, he added, there were also those many foreign nationalities who came to live in Egypt, particularly in Alexandria, and defined themselves as Alexandrians. And then there were the often marginalised groups like the Nubians, the Bedouin, and the Imazigh (Berbers) who live on the borders of the country, he said.

Those who count as part of a minority had perhaps a more poignant sense of what might be called a sub-identity, but there was still no direct connection to pharaonic roots, he said.Over the years since the beginning of the Graeco-Roman period, through the years of the Arab conquest, through the many Islamic rulers that took over Egypt until it was again ruled by Egyptians in 1952, the Egyptians perceived themselves as nothing but Egyptians. They would accommodate newcomers, like Assyrians and Armenians, and those newcomers would easily integrate into the fabric of Egyptian society, but the Egyptians, with very few exceptions, would not part away with their identity as Egyptian  not Pharaonic, but Egyptian, he added.With the rule of president Gamal Abdel-Nasser after 1952, Abdel-Meguid said, the emphasis was on Arab identity instead. This was a big thing for Nasser, who perceived Egypt as the heart of the Arab world and was a strong believer and advocate of pan-Arabism, he said. This, he added, was perhaps the moment of the re-definition of the identity of Egypt as the leader of the Arab world.Because Nasser was so popular and because this was a moment when Egypt was faced with colonialist aggression and had to go to war with Israel, it felt natural for many Egyptians to define themselves as Arabs, he argued. Some might not have subscribed to this trend, but it was a dominating one until the defeat of 1967 when the question of identity was again pursued.Ironically, he said, it was during the rule of Nassers successor, president Anwar Al-Sadat in the 1970s, that the association with the countrys Pharaonic roots was re-introduced when Sadat squabbled with the Arab states.In fact, however, this was just a matter of propaganda, because in fact it was during the Sadat years, as part of his new political association with Saudi Arabia and his attempt to quell the then-strong leftist movements, that the promotion of Egypts Islamic identity was heavily emphasised, he argued.

Abdel-Meguid accepts that there were many moments when the debate over Islamic identity was pursued, especially when Egypt gained self-rule under the former Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, with some rejecting this as a separation from the all-encompassing Muslim nation.



However, he argues that what was at stake in the 1970s, and it lingered on during the 1980s and 1990s, was not Islam but Wahabism. It was not brought to Egypt as Wahabism, as those who promoted it called it real Islam, when in fact it was a 19th-century product, he argued.



Towards the end of the 1990s and through the first decade of the 2000s, Abdel-Meguid argued, there was an urge on the part of many to ask the question of identity once again. This was not a high Arab moment. The impact of the Gulf declined in the wake of the Gulf War, and the call of pan-Arabism was effectively declining.



According to Abdel-Meguid, this was a time when people, especially younger people, were asking questions about pre-1952 Egypt. They were curious about the Egypt they never knew and that they never read about in the history books at school, he said.



This curiosity was in part encouraged by the books made available through the Maktabet Al-Usra (Family Library) series, a state-sponsored scheme to provide books at affordable prices for all. Under this project, there were many titles on the civilisation of ancient Egypt that brought to the attention of the younger generation a very rich layer of their history that was only presented at school as a list of warriors who built lots of monuments  a very unfortunate and unfair representation, he said.



This was coupled with a growing trend to recall simplified versions of Pharaonic-style accessories, including jewellery, that was produced and made in a range of metals, including affordable copper pieces.



This was part of a wider debate about politics, religion, and identity. There were questions about the Mohamed Ali family and the way Egyptians looked and dressed before the dress styles of the Arab Peninsula were embraced, both in the cities and the rural areas, Abdel-Meguid said.



Social media played a role, as people started sharing photographs of their parents or grandparents at schools, universities, villages and so on, he added.



Then came 25 January 2011 as part of the Arab Spring Revolutions. There again, Abdel-Meguid acknowledged, there was a brief moment of Arabism. There was a sense that the Arab countries were pursuing freedom and, this time, democracy as well, he said.



Not for long, however, he argued. Because figures from Political Islam were elected in many Arab countries, and there was unease over this trend both from the state establishment and anti-Islamist quarters, there was also a return to an all-encompassing Egyptian identity to fend off the rise of Islamism.



That was not a moment when the question of identity was answered. It was a moment when the question was becoming more complex, Abdel-Meguid argued. In fact, the definition of the Egyptian identity and deciding on its roots and the shades it can accommodate from many cultural and religious influences was and is becoming the question.



In this context, some people may recall or introduce the Pharaonic connection, and they might celebrate things like the year 6262 and take pride in the fact that we are such an old and established nation with a very rich civilisation, he said.



Abdel-Meguid is convinced that the definition of Egyptian identity today cannot be separated from its Pharaonic roots. Our agricultural system for the most part, the way we bury the dead, and the way we celebrate the birth of newborns, some very particular recipes, and much more come from these roots, he said.



But there are also many other influences that cannot be dropped, and then there is modernity that cannot be ignored either, he added.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 17 September, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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She and her husband once dreamed of a vacation in Alaska; now shes had to stop working as a housekeeper and even a trip to the grocery store is an ordeal. The toddlers were used to sharing one room with their mother and, striving not to disrupt their routine even more, Diaz now sleeps in her den with them, where they wake each morning to a big picture of their mother on the wall.
Mail-in ballots for the Pennsylvania primary election are processed at the Butler County Bureau of Elections, in Butler, Pa., on May 28. Pennsylvania officials said July 31 the state will foot the cost of postage for voters to mail in ballots in November's general election, a move that Gov. Tom Wolf has made a priority as the coronavirus pandemic unexpectedly fueled high interest in voting by mail under a new state law. Read more

I believe in the promise of America, of government by and for the people. I also believe in citizen activism, so every four years, I usually volunteer for one of the presidential campaigns, make a few calls, and then pat myself on the back.

This year, Im prepared to do more. And Im asking my neighbors in Berks County and across the state to be prepared to do more, because this election is different, and the stakes for our democracy are sky-high.

Im not talking about which candidate wins. Im not trying to change your vote. But I am asking you to join me in working for the country that most of us believe in, where everyone counts and every vote is counted. There will be challenges to our election system this election season that weve never seen before. If we join together, I know we can meet them.

 READ MORE: Philly elections chief warns of electoral chaos from Pa. Supreme Court ruling on naked ballots

The first challenge is the coronavirus pandemic. Our election officials are expecting a surge of people to vote by mail to avoid crowded polling sites that put them at risk. Concerns about spreading or contracting COVID-19 may also create problems recruiting enough poll workers, which could lead to last-minute site closures and long lines. Pennsylvania, by law, doesnt start counting mail-in votes until Election Day, so theres almost no way well know for sure which presidential candidate won our state on election night.

All of us, as voters, have to acknowledge just how different this election will be. Some folks are hoping to stoke chaos, but chaos only takes hold when people are hit with something they didnt expect. We can expect delays in the results. But we can also expect the United States to get it right because fair and secure elections are not partisan. Our country has always held elections and upheld the results, even in times of great crisis, like the Civil War, the Great Depression, and both World Wars. The media and our elected officials need to reassure voters that all is well when results arent immediately available. They must absolutely wait to name a winner until all votes are counted.

Our second challenge, sadly, is the unprecedented attack on our democracy from the president. We have the unprecedented situation of a man who took the oath of office to support the Constitution, but is directly challenging the result of the election prior to the outcome, said Republican Tom Ridge, our former governor and secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush.

 READ MORE: Pa. voter voices: The Inquirer's Election 2020 Roundtable

For months, Donald Trump and some of his supporters have made false attacks on the integrity of mail-in and absentee voting, while cutting funding for the U.S. Postal Service and interfering with its operation. Leaders of the Republican Party have supercharged a decades-old assault on the voting rights of people of color by doubling down on barriers to voting that are especially challenging during the pandemic, such as strict photo ID requirements, early voting cutbacks, and registration restrictions.

But in America, power is still in the hands of the people. We have to be ready to make our voices heard if the incumbents try to cheat by these means. Trump cant game the system without help from people like Sen. Pat Toomey or Republican state House Speaker Bryan Cutler. He cant defy millions of everyday Americans saying no.

 READ MORE: America is over: Lets just split into different countries | Opinion

Voting in this election is absolutely vital, as it always is. But its also not enough. Its never been enough, and it certainly isnt this year. Whether you cast your ballot as a Republican or a Democrat, I need all of you to be ready to join me in the streets in the days after the election if Trump and his enablers try to cheat. We must answer them with peaceful protest in every city, borough, and township in the nation. Thats what has always made a difference, and thats how we will make sure our elected leaders hear us this time.

The promise of America is a country where our leaders represent all of us, not just the privileged few, where we care for each other, and where the will of the people is the law of the land. It doesnt matter if youre from Reading or Philly, a boomer or a millennial, or, yes, even if youre a Republican or a Democrat  all of us must stand together for our democracy.

Jane Palmer is a volunteer organizer and the founder of Berks Stands Up.
WASHINGTON - The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has injected new uncertainty into the legal battle over how Americans will vote during the coronavirus pandemic, as liberals mourn a powerful champion for voting rights and partisans on both sides consider how a more conservative court might act if drawn into a contested presidential race.

The vacancy left by Ginsburg, the high court's second female justice and leader of its liberal wing, came just over six weeks before the election - a critical point in a campaign already defined by hundreds of lawsuits over voting rules and an outsize role for the courts in determining how ballots are distributed, cast and counted.

As Democrats and voting rights advocates seek to lower barriers to voting during the pandemic, the Supreme Court has largely deferred to local and state officials, showing a reluctance to upend rules close to the election.

Legal experts disagree about whether the blizzard of election-related lawsuits this year makes it more or less likely that the Supreme Court could end up playing a role in determining the winner of the presidential race, as it effectively did after Florida's election meltdown in 2000.

The fact that key issues such ballot postmarks and witness requirements are being hashed out now in lower courts makes the possibility more remote, some said.

But others noted the massive increase in the number of Americans expected to vote by mail - many for the first time - and said possible errors by those voters will open the door to more lawsuits with potential to rise to the high court.

"That will create an opportunity for post-election litigation over what the rules mean, are those ballots really invalid," among other questions, said Michael Morley, who teaches election law at Florida State University's law school.

Even if a pivotal election case ended up before the justices, concerns about preserving the court's reputation and safeguarding public trust in the election outcome - as well as the shadow of the 2000 presidential race - could outweigh pure ideological divisions, veteran litigators said.

"All members of the court are aware of the reputational fallout of Bush v. Gore," said attorney David Boies, who represented Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 case that has become symbolic of a more politicized court. "A number of the Republicans on the court are, I think, very committed to the integrity and the legacy of the Supreme Court and do not want to see it damaged again by the perception that it is involving itself in partisan politics. The chances that the Supreme Court would involve itself are limited."

Ginsburg's death leaves the court with eight justices headed into Election Day, as it had four years ago, but this time with a more conservative tilt - five justices nominated by Republican presidents and three nominated by Democrats. President Donald Trump has said he plans to nominate someone to the open seat this week. If Senate Republicans confirm that person, the court will have an even more pronounced 6-to-3 split favoring conservatives in closely divided cases. A Trump nominee, his third, could limit the central role of Chief Justice John Roberts, who has sided with the liberal wing of the bench in some rulings against the administration.

The president has indicated that he expects the courts to play a defining role in the election - by declaring a winner on election night, long before most mail ballots have been counted.

"We're going to have a victory on November 3rd the likes of which you've never seen," Trump said at a rally in Fayetteville, N.C., on Saturday night. "Now, we're counting on the federal court system to make it so that we can actually have an evening where we know who wins, not where the votes are going to be counted a week later or two weeks later."

Still, the chance that the election ends up hinging on a case that goes before the nation's highest court is a "black-swan scenario" or a "royal straight flush in Vegas - you're not banking on those odds," said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School who closely follows voting rights litigation.

"There is always a fight in the courts about whether to count certain ballots or not and under what conditions," Levitt said. "It is really rare that those fights are dispositive. It's even rarer in a presidential election, and there's a world of difference between lots of lawyers having lots of stuff to file and, 'Oh my God, 4-4 in the Supreme Court.' "

- - -

Demands for an immediate election result have become a refrain for the president, who regularly makes unsubstantiated claims that mail ballots lead to widespread voter fraud, even as his campaign encourages supporters in swing states to embrace the practice. (Trump has also voted by mail, casting a Florida ballot from Washington through an absentee process twice this year.)

In court, Trump's reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee have filed suit or intervened in cases with the goal of stopping voting rules from changing as a result of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Democrats and voting rights advocates have sought to make it easier for voters to cast mail ballots this year, pushing for paid return postage for ballots, more-voter-friendly signature-matching rules and deadlines that allow ballots postmarked by Election Day but received afterward to count, among other priorities.

Those competing efforts have helped drive an unprecedented number of suits related to elections and voting filed throughout the country this year - more than 300 in 44 states, according to one count.

Several cases have risen to the high court, including disputes about witness rules for mail ballots in two states. Several more could follow the same path before Election Day, including a dispute over voting rights for felons in Florida that was recently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and a fight over whether to relax absentee voting rules in Texas that was recently before a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit.

How Ginsburg's absence could affect any cases in the near term remains to be seen.

Marc Elias, who is leading litigation efforts for Democrats, declined to speculate. He noted that in one of her final dissents, in a 5-to-4 case where conservative justices blocked a plan for extended absentee voting in Wisconsin's April primary, Ginsburg wrote, "Ensuring an opportunity for the people of Wisconsin to exercise their votes should be our paramount concern."

"Justice Ginsburg was a towering figure in so many areas of the law, but particularly in the area of voting rights," Elias said. "She understood that the courts are there to protect the voters and that that's the thing that matters more than anything else. He added: "She understood that elections are first and foremost about ensuring voters' ability to vote and that everything else comes after that. We will miss that voice, that clarity, on the court in the future."

Mandi Merritt, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement using a Joe Biden quote from 2016: " 'The American people deserve a fully-staffed court of nine.' Those are Joe Biden's words, and we agree, particularly in a crucial election year. The RNC will continue the fight to protect voter integrity so that voters can have confidence in a free, fair and transparent election."

Even with Ginsburg on the bench, the court largely took a cautious approach this year to changing voting rules and deferred to local officials, as it showed in two cases this summer.

In July, the justices ruled 5 to 4 that Alabama did not have to abide by a lower court's decision to lift strict rules for how to cast a mail ballot in three counties, such as a requirement to submit a photocopy of identification with the ballot. The court's conservatives were in the majority, and liberal justices who dissented did not provide an explanation for their votes.

That ruling was a victory for Republicans. In August, the court handed a win to Democrats in a similar case in Rhode Island, denying the GOP's effort to preserve a requirement that voters obtain signatures from two witnesses or a notary to validate their mail ballots. The state had already agreed in a consent decree not to enforce the rule.

While a vote tally was not announced, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch indicated that they would have granted the stay requested by Republicans.

Earlier in the year, when the court intervened in the Wisconsin primary and overrode a plan by the Democratic governor to extend absentee voting for one week, its narrow decision had far-reaching reverberations.

In that case, the court split 5 to 4 along ideological lines to stop Democratic Gov. Tony Evers's plan, rejecting pleas from Democrats who said thousands of voters would be disenfranchised or forced to vote in person during an early peak in the coronavirus crisis.

The majority opinion said Evers's plan for extended voting was "extraordinary relief and would fundamentally alter the nature of the election." The justices emphasized that the relief was more than had been asked for by Democrats and liberal groups.

Ginsburg wrote the dissent for the four liberal justices, saying it "boggles the mind" that the majority was trying to apply the court's rules as usual during a pandemic.

"While I do not doubt the good faith of my colleagues, the court's order, I fear, will result in massive disenfranchisement," she wrote.

While the ruling was seen initially as a decisive win for Republicans, the court also ordered that absentee ballots count if they were postmarked by the day of the election but received within a specified time frame.

As a result, tens of thousands of mail ballots that arrived after the April 7 presidential primaries and spring elections were counted by local officials, a review by The Washington Post found. Democrats later cited the ruling in separate litigation over postmark deadlines.

- - -

Since Ginsburg's death Friday, some Republicans have used the possibility of a 4-to-4 deadlock on voting issues after the election as an argument to support confirming Trump's soon-to-be-announced nominee.

"Democrats and Joe Biden have made clear they intend to challenge this election," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said that night on Fox News. "They intend to fight the legitimacy of the election. . . . We cannot have Election Day come and go with a 4-4 court that is equally divided and cannot decide anything."

In 2016, when President Barack Obama nominated District Judge Merrick Garland to the high court after the February death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Cruz was among the Republicans who did not take issue with the idea of a 4-to-4 split on the court. In such a case, lower-court decisions stand.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blocked Garland's consideration, arguing that Obama should not be permitted to fill the seat in an election year - a position he reversed with Trump in the White House.

The potential for a decision like Bush v. Gore looms large under the circumstances. In that case, the court ruled 7 to 2 to end the recount of Florida's votes. The justices also split 5 to 4 along ideological lines in deciding that there was no alternative recount that could be completed by the deadline.

Two justices who were involved remain on the court: Thomas, who sided with conservatives in concluding that Florida's recount process violated the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection and that the only remedy was to halt the process, and Stephen Breyer, now the most senior of the court's liberals, who agreed with the majority holding that the recount was improper but issued a separate dissent, arguing that a new constitutional recount was possible.

It was Ginsburg who issued a stinging dissent, warning that the court risked damaging its reputation for operating above the partisan fray and that the majority "can only lend credence to the most cynical appraisal of the work of judges throughout the land."

"Time will one day heal the wound to that confidence that will be inflicted by today's decision," she wrote. "One thing, however, is certain. Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law."

Roberts, nominated by President George W. Bush in 2005, has since emerged as the pivotal center of the bench. The chief justice has repeatedly shown an interest in moderation by the court and strengthening the public's sense of its impartiality, crafting rulings that forgo strict conservative ideology or partisan absolutes.

Roberts may have another opportunity to exercise this prerogative after the election, when a second wave of voting litigation could bring a pivotal case or cases to the high court.

The overwhelming factor likely to determine what happens in court is just how close the results are on Election Day, Florida State University's Morley said. If the margin is tight in a small number of jurisdictions because of complications arising from the coronavirus or a large number of problematic absentee ballots, then Morley said he expects "the litigation to be aggressive and to continue right up until the votes are cast in the electoral college and quite possibly beyond."

Other experts said that even if the margins are very close, it is unlikely that the court will be forced or agree to rule in a way that decides the winner of the election.

"The mood is angry and litigious, and there will be a lot of noise and paper after the election, but probably more noise than paper," Levitt said, referring to legal action. "A lot of the issues that people would be fighting about, they're fighting about now and the courts have given their answers. The courts aren't going to be all that willing to say, 'Let's take another look at this.' "

Boies said that the election cases percolating ahead of November involve state, not federal, law and that disputes over whether mail-in ballots are valid are typically resolved by local canvassing boards or state courts.

Even so, Boies said, "there will be much more attention and controversy about it because of the importance of this election."

Myrna Perez, director of the Voting Rights and Elections Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, said she is more concerned about what voters will experience on the ground than hypothetical scenarios about what might come after that.

"I think if we're getting to the point where it's going to the courts, it means something else in our system didn't work the way it should have," she said.

Perez said Ginsburg's absence will be felt, regardless of the outcome.

"She had this gift of being able to take these legal principles and put them in a very concrete and understandable way," she said. ". . . She was a person who inspired institutional faith in the court."
KYODO NEWS - Sep 21, 2020 - 10:58 | All, Japan

A museum that archives and exhibits items related to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster opened Sunday in the northeastern Japan town that hosts the stricken power plant, helping to preserve memories and pass on lessons to future generations.

The archives center in the Fukushima Prefecture town of Futaba, in an area designated as a no-go zone due to high radiation levels until March this year, rotates just under 200 of the roughly 240,000-item collection related to the world's worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl accident.

The opening of the prefecture-run museum had been planned for this summer but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. About 1,050 people visited on opening day.

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At an opening ceremony, museum director Noboru Takamura said, "It has already been nine and a half years since the accident. We'd like visitors to see how Fukushima has recovered from the unprecedented nuclear disaster."

The three-story museum comprises six sections, starting with a theater with large screens introducing the lives of locals before the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters hit on March 11, 2011, then how residents evacuated and the ensuing efforts to decommission the stricken reactors and rebuild affected areas.

With a total floor area of 5,300 square meters, the other zones are laid out in chronological order to detail those developments with exhibits, including memorials and resident accounts. Twenty-nine locals will spend time at the museum to give first-person accounts of the period.

Also among the exhibits is a whiteboard with handwritten data on radioactive iodine levels that had been moved from a now-defunct prefectural nuclear power center that, located about 5 kilometers west of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, gathered radiation data for three days after the nuclear catastrophe.

Protective clothing and bags used to store waste generated in the prolonged decontamination efforts are also on display.

"I was taken back to the time immediately after the accident and felt emotionally distressed," said visitor Kichio Ito, 78, who now lives in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, after fleeing from Futaba.

The opening of the museum has not come without criticism, however, with some pointing out that it does not sufficiently highlight the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s failures in preventing the accident, rather, it focuses uncritically on the disaster and aftermath, they say.

To attract visitors from abroad, tablet devices are available and offer explanations in English, Chinese and Korean, according to the local government, which expects some 50,000 annual visitors. Tickets are 600 yen ($5.70) for adults and 300 yen for students.

In the Fukushima disaster, three reactors at the plant operated by TEPCO suffered meltdowns and spewed radioactive materials into the air, forcing a mass evacuation of residents as flooding from the tsunami crippled the plant's cooling systems.
WASHINGTON - Two leading Republican senators introduced legislation Monday that would give airlines and ground contractors another $28 billion in payroll support to avert tens of thousands of layoffs planned for the beginning of October.

There is broad bipartisan support in Congress for providing more government help to the airlines, which continue to struggle as fewer people travel during the pandemic. But reaching a final deal on any extra help has been stymied by lawmakers' inability to agree on a broader coronavirus relief package.

The new bill's sponsors, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Commerce Committee, which oversees aviation, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who leads the transportation funding subcommittee, said their bill would protect workers' jobs until March 31 and ensure airline service continues to communities across the country.

Last March, when Congress passed the first round of coronavirus relief, known as the Cares Act, airlines were singled out for billions in help. The money came with the condition that carriers agree not to cut their workforces until Oct. 1, when it seemed as though the threat of the virus might have passed.

"The CARES Act successfully saved thousands of jobs that support the airline industry and provided these businesses with some breathing space after the drastic drop in air travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," Wicker said in a statement. "However, the market has not turned around as much as we had hoped, and additional relief is needed."

A recovery that began in late April appears to have reached a plateau that is well below normal passenger numbers. On Sunday, 848,000 people passed through Transportation Security Administration screening checkpoints, compared with 2.5 million on the equivalent day last year.

Over the summer, when it became clear the virus wasn't going away, airlines began planning to lay off or furlough thousands of employees to save money. Some 40,000 jobs are on the line.

In response, labor unions launched a campaign to have the government step in with more money, eventually securing the support of company bosses, some of whom have visited Washington in recent days to make the case in person.

After a meeting with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows last week, American Airlines chief executive Doug Parker said it wasn't fair to his employees that they faced losing their jobs after keeping passengers and cargo moving throughout the summer.

"The only problem we have is we don't have a vehicle for getting it done," Parker said.

The new bill could be a vehicle, but time is short to pass legislation before the Oct. 1 deadline.

The legislation largely continues the payroll grant program in its current form, but would give airlines the option to receive money based on more recent labor cost numbers.

Wicker and Collins are proposing to pull leftover money from an airline loan program that was also created in the Cares Act, as well as some excess funds for cargo carriers, to partially pay for the six-month extension. But the government would still need to provide an additional $11 billion to cover the cost.
Indian Parliament

Eight Opposition members of parliament (MPs) were on September 21 suspended for one week from the Rajya Sabha for misconduct with deputy chairman Harivansh during discussions on farm bills on Sunday.

The suspended members are Rajeev Satav, Syed Naseer Hussain and Ripun Bora of the Congress, KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem of the CPI Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen of AITC, and Sanjay Singh of AAP.

Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced the suspension after the House adopted the government motion moved by Union Parliamentary Affairs minister Pralhad Joshi under the section 256 of procedure and conduct of business in the Upper House.

Earlier Naidu condemned the ruckus that took place in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.

"I was pained yesterday.Whatever happened yesterday defied logic. It was a bad day for the Rajya Sabha. Some members came to the well of the House and threw papers. They damaged the mic of the deputy chairman and also threw papers at him. You have no right to obstruct the chair and the business in the House. It tarnishes the image of the House. Is it a Parliamentary standard?, the Vice President of India said.

I suggest to the members to do some introspection. If marshals were not called on time, what would have happened? This should not be allowed. If you have any problem, the only way is to discuss. Deputy chairman was physically threatened. I was worried about his physical being," he said.

Eight MPs suspended

The House, however, rejected the no-confidence motion moved by twelve Opposition parties against Rajya Sabha deputy speaker Harivansh over the manner in which two farm bills were passed in Rajya Sabha without allegedly following the due process.

The government moved a motion on Monday for the suspension of opposition members of parliament (MPs) who created ruckus after the two farm bills were passed in the Upper House on September 20.

Rajya Sabha witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday evening after Opposition members alleged that the due process of allowing a detailed discussion on the farm bills was not followed in the House. A ruckus erupted soon after the deputy chairman, Harivansh put the bills to vote amid a demand of detailed discussion form the Opposition members who also wanted the bills to be scrutinised by a select committee of the Parliament.

The bills were eventually passed through a voice vote even as some Opposition members rushed into the well, shouting slogans against the government accusing it of being anti-farmer.

The two controversial bills --- the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 -- passed by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will now go to the President for his assent before they are notified as laws.

Meanwhile, twelve Opposition parties have also given a notice for a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha deputy speaker Harivansh over the manner in which two farm bills were passed in Rajya Sabha without allegedly following the due process.

Members from the Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) , Trinamool Congress (TMC), Janata Dal (Secular), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party (SP), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are among signatories to the no-confidence motion.
LOS ANGELESA federal judge in Los Angeles last week rejected a lawsuit that sought to have the controversial California gig worker law known as AB5 struck down as unconstitutional. The lawsuit was filed in December of last year by the ridesharing service Uber and its subsidiary, the food-delivery app-based firm Postmates.

The law forces employers to reclassify many freelance workers as employees  a costly move for most companies  or drop them. While the law has caused confusion in numerous industries, the adult industry is particularly affected because most performers work on an independent basis.

Despite more than 60 exemptions to the law, the adult industry is not mentioned anywhere in AB5, or its recently-passed companion bill AB2257. The second bill created an exemption to the reclassification requirements for performance artists, though how that would apply to adult performers remains uncertain.

But the law was originally aimed at Uber and other ride-hailing app companies, such as its main competitor, Lyft. The law requires Uber and Lyft, and similar companies to hire their drivers as employees, complete with benefits, a minimum wage, and other benefits and protections afforded to workers with employee status.

In the lawsuit, Uber claims that AB5 is unconstitutional because it deprives drivers of due process by preventing them from pursuing their chosen occupation as business owners in the sharing economy.

But the judge slapped down that argument, saying that even if they were hired as employees, drivers would be free to work part-time, as long as the company followed state labor laws.

Proposition 22, which appears on the California ballot this November, would specifically exempt those companies from AB5, accomplishing essentially the same thing as the lawsuit intended. And according to a Republican state assembly member who has led an effort to repeal AB5, exempting Uber and Lyft would essentially kill the law in the state legislature.

At that point their targets will be out if it, and they will just be meaninglessly oppressing folks in hundreds of other professions, who arent part of big companies or anything like that, Sacramento-area legislator Kevin Kiley told AVN in an interview.

But last week, Central District of California U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee  an 2010 appointee of President Barack Obama  rejected Ubers argument that AB5 unfairly singles out modern app-based companies, while allowing exemptions for dozens of other industries.

In February, about a month after the law took effect, Gee also rejected Ubers request to put a freeze on enforcement of the law against the app companies.

This time, however, Gees ruling left the door open for Uber to file another lawsuit, seeking to get rid of the law.

The courts order granted us permission to amend our complaint, Uber said in a statement following the ruling. The enactment of even newer bills granting several additional exemptions to AB5 makes it crystal clear  now more than ever  that this law is irrational and unconstitutional.

In a separate case, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has sued Uber and Lyft, claiming that they are failing to abide by the AB5 requirements.

Photo By Wikimedia Commons
The study also found that between 1992 and 2015, 32 million homes were built in the wildland-urban interface, the site of one-third of all wildfire ignitions. One million homes sat within the boundaries of wildfires in the last 24 years, five times the previous estimates.
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Linkedin Noto Suoneto and Birgitta Riani (The Jakarta Post) Birmingham, UK/Jakarta  Tue, September 22 2020

Japan has elected Yoshihide Suga the new prime minister, replacing Shinzo Abe who resigned amid a global pandemic. Sugas appointment is the ruling Liberal Democratic Partys way to ensure continuity of Abes major policies.

Suga himself has shown his keenness toward stability, vowing to maintain the ongoing Abenomics economic policy and coronavirus response during his campaign.

In his previous posts, Suga mainly demonstrated his influence over domestic policies. His rise to the premiership, albeit considered the safest choice in the current situation, has sparked concerns on the future of Japans foreign diplomacy.

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Linkedin (Reuters) London, United Kingdom  Mon, September 21, 2020 18:56 487 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c46345b1 2 Sports EPL,Tottenham-Hotspur,Dele-Alli,soccer Free

Of the Tottenham Hotspur players impacted by the loan signing of Gareth Bale from Real Madrid, Dele Alli appears the most vulnerable but manager Jose Mourinho has said he will not be sacrificed in the transfer window.

Bale will not be ready to resume his Tottenham career until October as he regains fitness, but when he does it is likely to be in an attacking trio with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

Alli burst into the spotlight at Tottenham in 2015-16 when he was named PFA Young Player of the Year and made his England debut but his form has dipped to such an extent that he has lost his place in Jose Mourinho's side.

Left out of Gareth Southgate's last England squad too, Alli, now aged 24, is at something of a crossroads.

His preferred position, playing just behind a front two, looks tailor-made for Bale and Mourinho also has an abundance of attacking options in the form of Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn, Giovani Lo Celso and Erik Lamela.

Mourinho demands a high work ethic and a recent behind-the-scenes documentary about Tottenham featured one episode in which Mourinho tells Alli he is "lazy" and later, in a one-to-one chat, warns him that he could regret not reaching his potential.

Alli was substituted at halftime in Tottenham's first Premier League game of the new season, a 1-0 loss to Everton, and did not feature at all in last week's Europa league win at Lokomotiv Plovdiv, nor the 5-2 win at Southampton on Sunday in which Son scored four goals.

With three weeks of the transfer window left, Alli's name is already being linked with a move to Paris St Germain, but his stock is not what it was when he scored twice for Tottenham in their first ever win against Real Madrid in 2017.

"I want a balanced squad, that's what I want. He doesn't need to be sacrificed, but the squad is a puzzle," Mourinho said when asked about Alli's future on Sunday.

Former Tottenham midfielder Michael Brown believes it might be in everyone's best interests if Alli were to be sold.

"It doesn't look like they're getting on very well," Brown told BBC Radio. "I'm hoping he has a reaction and takes the challenge head on, but it doesn't look good and maybe this one's broken."
This story originally appeared on The Texas Tribune.

WASHINGTON  The jolt of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death  and of the vacancy she left behind  was so fully felt across Texas this weekend that even the state's most hardened political players conceded they didnt have a handle on the implications.

What they do expect: an apocalyptic fight in the U.S. Senate over filling the Supreme Court seat, regardless of the timeline for when a new justice might be confirmed. And both Texas Republicans and Democrats anticipate surges in fundraising, further polarizing an already heated 2020 election season. Already, dominant Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue said it had raised a staggering $100 million by midday Sunday.

"It's a big deal and will impact voters in a real way. It may even move soft Trump supporters or non-Trump supporters to vote for him," GOP consultant Brendan Steinhauser told The Texas Tribune. "And I expect it to cause Dems to really turn out."

"It's going to be a battle royale," he added.

The battle to replace Justice Ginsburg will have historic effects on the national political and legislative landscape, including on the question of access to abortion.

It also is apt to shape Republican Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyns bid for a fourth term this November. And while it may not be immediately intuitive, the national political conflict is also influencing Texas House races on voters' ballots. These forces are all colliding during what already had the potential to be a generational turning point in Texas politics.

Ginsburg died Friday due to complications from pancreatic cancer. A day later, President Donald Trump said he would announce his nominee  who will be a woman  this week. Both of the state's senators, Cornyn and Ted Cruz, are expected to support the nominee. But in 2016, both Republican men supported waiting until after that year's presidential election to hold hearings for a nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died more than eight months before the election. Cornyn said at the time that his position was partially predicated on the fact that Democratic President Barack Obama was about to be term-limited and Republicans had recently taken control of the chamber.

Republicans in Texas and across the country are perhaps closer than theyve ever been to realizing what many in the party consider the holy grail of their political goals. The ideological balance of the high court, already tilted in favor of the conservative justices, is in play just six weeks before the Nov. 3 general election. At the same time, Texas Democrats find themselves facing both their most hopeful moment for significant power in state government  and the most consequential threat to issues they've championed like civil rights and abortion access.

Ginsburgs death may also have major implications for a Texas-led lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act, set for oral arguments on Nov. 10. The justice had been on the side of the majority several times when the high court upheld the law against past challenges. Supporters of Obama's landmark health care law had pinned their hopes on Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court's four liberal members to uphold it again.

And immigration policy remains an area ripe for legal review, including a significant case out of Texas that could affect the fates of 700,000 young people who face deportation. Restricting immigration, both illegal and legal, has been a major focus of the Trump administration.

Without her [Ginsburgs] legal scholarship, her analysis, her passion, her empathies, shes going to be missed if shes replaced by someone that will simply be picked to rubber stamp whatever next crazy thing the Trump administration does, said Charles Foster, chairman of Foster Global, the largest immigration law firm in the state, and former policy adviser to former Presidents George W. Bush and Obama.

The spectrum of watershed Supreme Court cases that began in Texas is expansive. Over recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has heard Texas-based cases addressing discrimination, voter identification, redistricting, college admissions and immigration policy. The landmark Supreme Court decision that banned states from criminalizing homosexuality came from litigation over a Texas law. But the most divisive, by far, was 1973's Roe V. Wade.

"If anyone wasn't paying attention before, they need to be now, said Royce Brooks, the executive director of Annie's List, an organization that works to help Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights.

That 1973 Supreme Court decision overturned a Texas law criminalizing abortions except by a doctors orders to save a womans life, finding that the 14th Amendment constitutionally guaranteed a woman's right to privacy. As a result, it legalized abortion throughout the country. Among many Republicans, installing a conservative justice  even so late in Trump's first term and so close to the election  would be seen as key to overturning the decision, which many in the GOP have long considered the loftiest of goals.

Republican legislators in Texas and elsewhere have, in the decades since Roe v. Wade, drafted and passed numerous state laws in an attempt to provide an opportunity for the high court to chip away at or undo  the rights protected by the courts decision.

Justice Ginsburgs passing gives President Trump a historic opportunity to establish a majority on the Supreme Court who do not imagine a penumbra or right to abortion in the Constitution," statewide anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life said in a Friday statement.

Ripple effects in Austin

If a Trump nominee is confirmed, Democrats see a foothold in the state government as the only way to protect abortion access and many of the other rights in Texas that the Supreme Court protected. They head into the November election just nine seats away from taking control of the Texas House.

Democrats lost control of the Texas House to the Republicans during the 2002 midterm elections. The GOP has controlled every branch of state government  and every statewide elected office  since. The Texas Senate is firmly held by Republicans and led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has long pushed hardline conservative legislation and is Trump's campaign chairman in Texas.

The thinking among many Texas Democratic leaders is that the most effective way to push back on a conservative Supreme Court is to win the state's lower chamber and block legislation they feel would spark litigation the state has seen land before the Supreme Court in recent years. As a result, many Texas Democrats spent the weekend renewing their focus on winning House races.

"The best way to ensure that Texas doesn't pass the state law that ends up allowing the Court to overturn Roe is to elect a Democratic majority and a Democratic speaker to the Texas House in November," Brooks said.

And Democrats have made gains in the state. Trump beat Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by 9 points here in 2016, the smallest margin of victory for a Republican presidential candidate in Texas since 1996. In a CBS News poll released Sunday, which was conducted before Ginsburg's death, Trump led 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by 2 points, which is within the poll's 3.5-point margin of error.

Alex Edelman/Getty Images

During the 2018 midterm elections, Cruz won reelection by just 3 points over Democratic former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke in what was a tighter race than Republicans had seen in years  a trend that played out up and down the ballot. Democrats also flipped two seats in the U.S. House, picked up 12 districts in the Texas House and won a majority on four state appeals courts.

Building on those wins, a crush of state House and U.S. House candidates are blitzing the state with sophisticated campaigns this year. Texas is now home to an unusually large number of congressional battlegrounds. Democrats are targeting 10 seats held by Republicans this year. Republicans are working to flip two. And in a sign of retrenchment, the National Republican Congressional Committee has canceled about $2 million worth of advertising it had reserved for campaigning in the Houston television market.

Moreover, Biden offers up a curious dynamic for the modern Texas Democratic Party: Given how consistently he is outperforming past Democratic contenders in Texas polls, Biden has the potential to lift Democrats running down-ballot campaigns in legislative and congressional districts throughout the state enough to beat their Republican opponents even if he doesn't win Texas.

But because Ginsburg's death means Republicans are now on the cusp of securing a third Supreme Court appointment in four years, GOP donors and voters could suddenly become more energized.

"Unlike President Trumps previous nominees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who shared some ideological similarities with their predecessors, a Trump appointee for Ginsburgs seat would significantly shift the direction of the court," Texas Right to Life said in its Friday statement.

Fundraising frenzy

Still, the most obvious example of how the fight over Ginsburg's replacement affects Texas politics is the state's U.S. Senate contest. Cornyn faces a challenge from retired Air Force pilot MJ Hegar. Both issued statements Friday night honoring Ginsburgs life and legacy, but it wasnt long before politics flared up.

After Cornyn retweeted a reporter sharing U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells quote promising that Trumps nominee will receive a vote on the Senate floor, Hegar shot back: It took [Cornyn] less than two minutes to fall in line with Mitch McConnell. The Supreme Court is on the ballot.

Cornyn's office declined to comment on how the senator thinks the next Supreme Court nomination should be handled Saturday and pointed back to his Friday night statement memorializing Ginsburg. As for Hegar's criticism, Cornyn campaign spokesperson Travis Considine said Hegar "would be a rubber-stamp" for Democratic appointees who would "legislate a liberal agenda from the bench."

There are questions over whether McConnell will have the votes to move the nomination. At most, he can lose only three Republicans, as Vice President Mike Pence could serve as a tie-breaking vote on a 50-50 split. But there are so few levers for national Democrats to fight the Republican-controlled Senate on a Trump nomination that most of the initial debate was over whether McConnell should put the vote on the floor before or after the November elections.

Most seasoned national Democratic political operatives have moved past the notion of defeating McConnell this year. He is likely to win that contest, so former Democratic administration staffers directed followers on social media to donate to 13 Democratic candidates across the country, including Hegar, in a bid to take away McConnell's majority in the Senate.

The fundraising frenzy shattered records for ActBlue, the platform that raised $100 million within 48 hours of Ginsburg's death. Much of that money was directed to specific campaigns like Hegar's, which secure a lower television advertising rate than super PACs and other outside groups.

"I was at my budget, and now I'm going to give more money," said Amber Mostyn, a prominent Houston attorney who gives to both state and federal Democratic campaigns.

It was not clear on Saturday just how much money Hegar raised this weekend. An account set up to raise money for Democratic U.S. Senate candidates and take control of the upper chamber, has raised more than $20 million as of Sunday. Of that, $17 million has come after the announcement of Ginsburg's death. Since the money is meant to be split between 13 U.S. Senate candidates, Hegar could presumably see more than $1 million.

The central question for that Senate race in Texas: Can she and her Democratic allies quickly marshal the tens of millions of dollars needed fund a television advertising campaign that can put the well-financed incumbent back on his heels?

Confident conservatives

Several Republican sources said they had not seen a fundraising surge of that scale yet, but said they assumed money would come in once candidates and incumbents felt more comfortable asking for donations after a period of national mourning over Ginsburg's death. They expressed confidence that conservative donors would soon engage in the fight.

Cruz, the state's junior senator, appears more likely to play a leading role in the Senate confirmation battle as a member of the Judiciary Committee  and vocal surrogate on court issues.

Cruz was among the first Senate Republicans  if not the first  to publicly urge Trump to name a Ginsburg successor and encourage the Senate to confirm the appointment by Election Day.

Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images

This nomination is why Donald Trump was elected," Cruz told Sean Hannity on Friday night. "This confirmation is why the voters voted for a Republican majority in the Senate.

Brooks, the Annie's List executive director, noted that years of national Democratic party weaknesses have created an untenable situation.

"Justice Ginsburg's death is heartbreaking; she's an iconic American leader whose work has inspired millions," she said. "But the fact is, the stakes of this election haven't changed. For the past four years, we've been relying on the well-being of a cancer-fighter in her 80s to keep our democracy in tact. It's always been too much to rest on any one woman's shoulders."

Vianna Davila, Emma Platoff and Patrick Svitek contributed to this story.

Disclosure: Annie's List and Amber Mostyn have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Read related Tribune coverage:
Hong Kong: 6 care fund schemes extended

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung chaired the first meeting of the fourth-term Commission on Poverty today, in which the extension of six Community Care Fund programmes was endorsed.

The commission agreed to extend four carers-related programmes to the end of September 2023.

They include the Pilot Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families, the Pilot Scheme on Living Allowance for Low-income Carers of Persons with Disabilities, the Pilot Scheme on Providing Subsidy for Higher Disability Allowance Recipients in Paid Employment to Hire Carers and the Special Care Subsidy for the Severely Disabled programme.

The commission also agreed to extend the Pilot Scheme on Home Care & Support for Elderly Persons with Mild Impairment for 25 months until December 2022.

The Pilot Scheme on Raising the Maximum Level of Disregarded Earnings for Recipients with Disabilities under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme will be extended for four months until January 2021.

At the meeting, the Labour & Welfare Bureau and the Education Bureau briefed members on the welfare, employment and learning support provided to families and students in need amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

On welfare support, measures included the provision of a time-limited unemployment support scheme through the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance system.

Meanwhile, the Government has begun payment of the one-off special allowance under the Anti-epidemic Fund to eligible Working Family Allowance households & Student Financial Assistance households since June 2020.

On employment support, the Labour Department raised the ceiling of the on-the-job training allowance payable to employers under the Employment Programme for the Elderly & Middle-aged, the Youth Employment & Training Programme and the Work Orientation & Placement Scheme in September.

The department also launched a pilot scheme in September to encourage eligible employees to undergo and complete on-the-job training under the above employment programmes through the provision of a retention allowance.

On learning support, the Community Care Fund has implemented an assistance programme since the 2018-19 school year to subsidise needy students studying in schools that implement the Bring Your Own Device policy to purchase mobile computer devices to facilitate e-learning.

The members discussed the support measures and gave suggestions on how further support could be rendered to those in need.

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The remains of Cressman's General Store and Gas Station smolder along Highway 168 in Fresno County  burned in the Creek fire. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

For proof that climate change is not the primary cause of horrific Western wildfires, look at Baja California, Mexico.

Baja has a big mountain range that resembles the Sierra Nevada, but its healthy and fire-resilient. Thats because until relatively recently, it was managed by nature, not humans  except for Indigenous people who knew what they were doing.

Yes, climate change is distressingly real. The melting arctic ice cap is evidence.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is on target when he tells President Trump  and, repeatedly, all of us  that the hots are getting hotter, the dries are getting drier. He points to a disturbing fact: The average California summer temperature has risen from 71 degrees to 74 degrees over the last 40 years.

But Newsom misses the mark when he implies that if it werent for global warming, we wouldnt be suffering these cataclysmic blazes.

If you do not believe in [climate] science, I hope you believe in observed reality, the governor told reporters recently while standing in the ashes of an incinerated Butte County forest. The science is absolute. The data is self-evident.

No, what is most evident is forestry mismanagement and overpopulation of wildlands.

Its a different picture in northern Bajas Sierra de San Pedro Martir, part of the long Peninsular Ranges that extend into Southern California.

The Sierra de San Pedro Martir is similar to the Sierra Nevada: dominated by Jeffrey pine and mixed conifer forests, winter snow, granite base and rainbow trout. The peaks arent nearly as high as in the Sierra Nevada, but theyre up there. The tallest is 10,157 feet.

The pristine Baja range can be used as a reference to what the drier portions of  forests in the Sierra Nevada may have looked like without a history of extensive logging and fire suppression, reads a research paper published in April by the California Fire Science Consortium at UC Berkeley.

But unlike the Sierra Nevada, the UC paper continues, the structure of this [Baja] forest creates an ecosystem that is resistant and resilient to drought, high-severity fire, insects and disease.

Story continues

It can help guide management decisions in  the western U.S./California that wish to return forests to historical conditions or prepare them for a changing climate and an uncertain future.

What did Mexico do differently than us? For a long time, it did nothing. Nature handled it.

An early exception: Like California Indians had for hundreds of years, Indigenous people in Baja practiced prescribed burning to clear the forest floors, thin out the smaller trees and keep the woods bountiful for food foraging and hunting. That stopped in Mexico, however, and was greatly reduced in California when civilized settlers conquered the Indians.

But fire was necessary for a healthy forest. In California and most of the West, whenever a fire ignited, we rushed to extinguish it. The public demanded it  little towns and resorts were springing up and needed to be protected. And prescribed burning was a smoky nuisance.

So, California forests became overgrown with people, pines and dense undergrowth. Like too many chickens in a coop, the dense trees became susceptible to disease  bark beetle havens in a drought  and 163 million now are dead, creating hot-burning fire fuel.

But in the Sierra de San Pedro Martir, lightning fires were allowed to burn themselves out, cleaning the forest naturally. It wasnt until the 1970s that Mexico began to douse fires there after a national observatory was built. It needed to be protected.

The result of natures management is a forest thats practically in mint condition, resistant to fire and disease.

Heres the evidence:

There was a four-year severe drought around 2000, and fewer than one tree per acre died, according to UC Berkeley fire science professor Scott Stephens, who has studied the Baja range for 20 years.

Then, in 2003, a major wildfire erupted that burned thousands of acres. And 80% of the trees survived.

It was dramatic, Stephens says. Every time I go down to that place it astounds me how well that area has been able to adapt to climate change.

Climate change certainly has hit that place too. But its doing well.

California is not doing well. To do better, Newsom and other Democratic leaders need to do more than curse climate change while trying to stabilize Earths thermometer. They need to invest heavily in adapting our forests to climate change.

When I asked Stephens how much climate change was to blame for our wildfires, he answered: Less than 50%. Maybe a third.

The state owns less than 3% of Californias forests but is responsible for helping to manage the 40% that is privately held. The federal government owns 57%.

Stephens and other fire experts say that the state should step up prescribed burning and forest cleaning. And it is, pouring substantially more money into the effort. But California needs to invest billions more.

The governor and Democratic leaders recently failed to agree on a fire prevention spending package that began at $3 billion and fell to $500 million  then collapsed. It was from lack of leadership.

There also needs to be more fire-resistant hardening of homes in vulnerable communities. The Legislature passed a bill by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) to require that. Hopefully the governor will sign it.

Perhaps Newsom should take a trip to the Sierra de San Pedro Martir and learn from Mexico.
Turkish officials to head to Tripoli in the coming days for talks after GNA head announces he plans to step down.

Turkey will continue to support Libyas internationally recognised government despite Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj announcing last week that he planned to step down by the end of next month, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogans spokesman.

Ibrahim Kalin said on Monday that Turkish support for the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and their bilateral agreements, which include a security pact and a maritime demarcation deal signed last year, would continue.

These accords will not be impacted by this political period because these are decisions made by the government, not by any individual, Kalin told Demiroren News Agency.

Late last year, Ankara reached an agreement with the GNA that it says grants Turkey drilling rights across a corridor of the Eastern Mediterranean  much of it within the maritime jurisdiction Greece also claims. Greece, Cyprus and other regional actors have denounced the Turkish-Libyan agreement as illegal, which Turkey denies.

Kalin said Turkish officials would travel to Tripoli in the coming days to discuss developments in the wake of al-Sarrajs announcement.

Erdogan had also hinted at upcoming talks as he expressed regret at his close allys stated intention to hand over power by the end of October.

Such a development, receiving this kind of news afterwards, was of course saddening for us, Erdogan said on Friday.

We also conveyed some news to him, he added. With these meetings, God willing, we can turn this issue in the direction its supposed to be, Erdogan continued, without elaborating.





Since 2014, oil-rich Libya has been split between rival powers based in the west and in the east, in a sometimes chaotic war that has drawn in outside powers and a flood of foreign arms and mercenaries.

Al-Sarraj has headed the GNA since its formation in late 2015 as a result of a United Nations-brokered political agreement aimed at uniting and stabilising Libya after the turmoil that followed the toppling of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Turkish military support for the GNA in June allowed it to repel a 14 month-long offensive by forces loyal to eastern-based renegade commander Khalifa Haftar, who is supported by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia.

The GNA declared a ceasefire last month and called for the lifting of a months-long blockade on oil output. The leader of a rival parliament in eastern Libya also appealed for a halt to hostilities, offering hope for a de-escalation of the conflict across Libya since a 2011 uprising.

Haftar dismissed the calls, but said on Friday he would lift for one month his blockade on oil outputs and that he had agreed with the GNA on fair distribution of energy revenue.
The Hangreen, a 19.1-meter building mostly made of wood, stands in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The five-story structure symbolizes the new trend of eco-friendly construction in Korea. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min



Korea embraces timber as key construction material



By Jung Min-ho





Korea Forest Service Deputy Minister Choi Byeong-am speaks during a recent interview with The Korea Times at his office in Daejeon. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

YEONGJU/DAEJEON  For more than a century, concrete and steel have replaced wood as primary building materials, especially for tall structures. But thanks to increasing demand for "greener construction" and technological advances, timber is back in style.



The Hangreen, a 19.1-meter wooden building in Yeongju, symbolizes the new trend in Korea. The five-story structure, mainly made of Korean larch, a common tree species here, marks only the beginning of a new era of architecture, according to Choi Byeong-am, deputy minister of the Korea Forest Service (KFS).



"Imagine a wooden skyscraper in the heart of Seoul," Choi said. "You may see it in the near future. Wooden buildings are more eco-friendly, sustainable and aesthetic than concrete ones. Increasingly, people are rediscovering the value of the old material."





The interior of the Hangreen / Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min



The biggest development in timber construction of the past few decades is "mass timber," which refers to composite-wood systems that combine multiple layers of planks into larger structural elements; cross-laminated timber (CLT), its most common form, makes it possible to build tall buildings by offering high strength.



So, in theory, architects and engineers today can build a modern town  or an entire city  mostly out of wood. This is one of the plans Choi has in mind.



"In collaboration with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, we are planning to select a few towns or cities (most likely three) next year and will transform them into sort of like wooden towns or cities as part of the government's urban renewal projects," he said.



"To make it possible, we should ease regulations on wooden structures, including the height limit of 18 meters (the Hangreen was an exception), which the ministry has been considering positively. Besides, we need to improve our technology, which, at the current level, enables us only to construct a 12-story building (about 36 meters)."



The world's tallest timber building is the 18-story Mjostarnet tower in Brumunddal, Norway. Completed last year, it is 85.4 meters high and includes a hotel, offices and private homes. HoHo in Seestadt Aspern, near Vienna, Austria, is the second tallest at 84 meters. But Japan, another country known for its advanced wood construction technology, is planning to build a 350-meter tower in Tokyo  a project expected to be finished in 2041  to challenge them.



According to the KFS, only 17 percent of wood used in Korea is domestic timber. But this is projected to increase to 30 percent by 2035, given that the country started a massive tree planting campaign about 50 years ago.



"Many trees will be mature enough to be used in the coming decade or so," Choi said. "This means Korea will soon enter a new era of opportunity."











The 85.4-meter Mjostarnet tower in Norway is the world's tallest timber building. Courtesy of Vjus



Mass timber is sturdy as concrete and just as fireproof



One of the most popular misconceptions about wooden buildings is that they are a lot more hazardous than ones made of concrete and steel in the event of a fire.



But mass timber is not like dry sticks. It is difficult to ignite in the first place and, if a fire occurs, it takes quite a long time to burn completely. For instance, the Hangreen has a fire-resistance rating of two hours  the duration that a material can withstand exposure to fire.



In addition, when the wood burns, it does so in a predictable way, unlike buildings made of concrete, steel, glass and other materials, which can suddenly explode or snap.





It is difficult to ignite mass timber. If a fire occurs, the wood burns slowly and predictably. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min



The bottom line is that there is no such thing as a "perfectly fireproof" building. All materials are combustible, albeit to varying degrees, and can pose a hazard to life and property.



"Concerns about wooden buildings' fire safety are overblown," Choi said. "Such worries will disappear as more people get to see and learn about modern wooden buildings."



Designed and built correctly, wooden buildings are also very durable. Across the world, there are many examples that have survived for hundreds of years with proper care.



Mass timber has proved to perform well in earthquakes. If damaged, the material can be repaired relatively easily; concrete buildings with extensive cracks are more difficult to fix.



In addition, wood is lighter and less time is required to build a structure from it.



"It would take twice as much time to build something like the Hangreen with concrete," Choi said. "Wood is more expensive  about five to 10 percent higher. But lower labor costs for reduced construction time can help offset the material cost."





A dense forest in Yeongju / Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min
An eighth death has been linked to a coronavirus outbreak stemming from a super spreader wedding and reception in northern Maine.

The man who died was in his 80s and from Somerset County, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday.

The wedding and reception in the Millinocket area on August 7 is linked to more than 270 cases of COVID-19, including in an outbreak at a nursing home in Madison, more than 100 miles away, and a jail.

The Maine CDC said on Saturday that the number of deaths related to an outbreak at the Maplecrest Rehabilitation and Living Center in Madison is now seven.

None of the eight people who died at the nursing home attended the wedding or reception itself.

Big Moose Inn Cabins and Campground in Millinocket was the site of the August 7 reception

Eight deaths linked to the wedding were at Maplecrest Rehabilitation and Living Center

The ceremony took place indoors at the Tri Town Baptist Church in East Millinocket, and the reception was held at the Big Moose Inn Cabins and Campground in Millinocket.

In total about 65 people attended the event  which violated Gov. Janet Mills' executive order limiting indoor gatherings to 50 people.

One of the wedding attendees was an employee at the York County Jail, where 72 cases have emerged and been linked to the wedding, officials say.

As of last week the nursing home also had 39 active COVID-19 cases linked to the wedding - at least 24 residents and 15 workers.

Officials say that an employee of the facility lives in the same household as a person who attended the wedding.

The only death to take place outside the nursing home was 88-year-old Theresa Dentremont who died at Millinocket Regional Hospital on August 21 after contracting the virus.

Detremont did not attend the wedding, but hospital staff believed she may have been infected by someone who did.

Theresa Detremont (pictured) did not attend the Millinocket wedding before she was infected

At York County Jail 72 cases have been linked to the August wedding

Now the state is investigating whether an outbreak at Calvary Baptist Church, whose pastor Todd Bell officiated the wedding, is linked to the wedding.

That church is tied to at least 10 cases.

The church said that some of its members attended the wedding reception.

Despite the outbreak, the church said it will continue to hold services and is taking precautions to limit the spread of the virus.

'The Calvary Baptist Church has a legal right to meet. The authority of a local Christian church, a Jewish synagogue, or a Muslim mosque to gather for their respective religious services is a time-honored part of our nations history since its inception,' a statement said.

'These religious activities are also fully protected under the First Amendment to our United States Constitution,' the statement added.

Pastor Bell is a big critic of the government's attempt to control the virus.

Videos show that he held services at the church without social distancing.

He hired a lawyer known nationally for defending the religious rights of churches.

An outbreak at Calvary Baptist Church, in Sanford, is tied to at least 10 cases

Pastor Todd Bell (pictured) has continued to hold in-person services at Calvary Baptist Church in Sanford, Maine, even after he officiated a wedding that was linked to cases and deaths

The virus cases stemming from the wedding have spanned hundreds of miles in a state that had largely controlled the spread of the coronavirus through the summer.

Maine has reported 5,106 cases of the virus in total since March, and 140 deaths.

'Maine CDC is concerned about where we are, and I'm asking everyone else to share in that concern. COVID-19, right now, is not on the other side of the fence. It is in our yards,' said Nirav Shah, head of the Maine CDC.

'The gains that Maine has made against COVID-19 are ones that could, and unfortunately can, be washed away.'

Maine CDC spokesperson Robert Long said the agency's investigations suggest 'multiple potential points of transmission related to the August 7 wedding and reception.'

The agency is working to limit the spread of the virus and support people affected by it, he said.

Shah said the state's percent positivity rate has ticked up to 0.63 percent for the previous seven days.

At one point, the rate was less than half a percentage point. The rate remains well below the national average of about 5 per cent, Shah said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky.  Louisville, Kentucky, police said Monday that they had canceled vacations and were setting up barricades in preparation for the state attorney generals announcement about whether he will charge officers in Breonna Taylors shooting death.

A statement from the department said all requests for vacation and days off were being canceled until further notice as the city awaits Attorney General Daniel Cameron's announcement. It is important to note that (Cameron) has said there is no timetable for the announcement, the statement added.

Cameron said earlier this month that an investigation, if done properly, cannot follow a certain timeline."

When the investigation concludes and a decision is made, we will provide an update about an announcement, he said.

Taylor, an emergency medical worker, was shot eight times on March 13 by officers who entered her home using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation. The warrant used was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside. The use of no-knock warrants has since been banned by Louisvilles Metro Council.

Large protests over Taylors death that at times became violent erupted in late May in the city but most demonstrations since then have been peaceful, including a massive march outside the Kentucky Derby earlier this month. Celebrities, athletes, activists and Taylors family have for months pushed Cameron to criminally charge the officers involved in the raid.

Last week, the city of Louisville settled a lawsuit from Taylors family for $12 million and pledged several police reforms as part of the agreement.

Police said in the statement that they are erecting some barricades in the downtown area. Many of the protests have been at a downtown park and city hall.

Federal officials have closed the federal courthouse and other federal buildings for the week.
BHEL sets up test rig for high temperature turbine rotor used in coal-based power plants

State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has set up a facility for the manufacture of super alloy steam turbine rotors for efficient coal based thermal power plants that are needed to assess low cycle fatigue effects in rotors required for such power plants.

Improving technologies to increase the efficiency of coal based thermal power plants requires use of nickel based super alloy materials as against chrome based steels widely used now. The nickel based Alloy 617M has been selected by the Indian Advanced Ultra Super Critical (AUSC) consortium.The alloy is industrially available and the AUSC consortium has already expressed confidence in indigenous development of the alloy. However, lack of experimental data on performance of Alloy 617M rotors hinders effective usage of this alloy in the Indian AUSC power plant.

To overcome this challenge, the Department of Science and Technology under Clean Energy Research Initiative has supported a project of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited BHEL (R&D), Hyderabad for establishment of High Temperature Spin Test Rig (HTSTR).

It will be the first facility in India for experimental validation of the design of AUSC steam turbine rotor relating to creep - fatigue damage (deterioration of metals and alloys subjected to a cyclic thermo mechanical load at elevated temperature) and will also be the only one of its kind in India in terms of establishing a real size engineering experimental set-up. It will subject the turbine rotor segments of weight up to 9,000 kg to various damage conditions similar to that in the plant operation, like high temperatures up to 800 degree Celsius, high speed up to 3600 rpm, followed by long term steady state operation and controlled heating and cooling. The facility will pave the way towards Atmanirbhar Bharat in this sector.

This facility will enable design validation of 800 Mega Watts AUSC steam turbine rotors for certifying the long term performance of super alloy monometallic and bimetallic welded rotor with a total of 2,000 start-ups (hot-warm-cold) and 100,000 hours of total steady state operation. This is achieved through accelerated testing within 200 cycles and 10,000 hours respectively. A unique test protocol for accelerated testing is formulated by the BHEL team with the guidelines of ASME standards. Two rotor segments  monometallic (Alloy 617M) and bimetallic welded portions (Alloy 617M and 10 Chrome) of actual steam turbine rotor will be subjected to equivalent operating conditions over its guaranteed time line by increasing the temperatures and achieving desired thermal gradients within the rotors, during the heating and cooling operations.

This unique test protocol and its visualisation software are registered under Indian patents and copyrights act. Some of the technical highlights in the test methodology are published in national conferences.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.21

Trend:

The aggressor country Armenia is not interested in a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and is preparing for new attacks to occupy even more territories of Azerbaijan, Tural Ganjaliyev, Member of Azerbaijani Parliament, Head of the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan said.

Ganjaliyev made the remark, commenting on the transfer of the so-called parliament of the regime created by Armenia in the occupied territories, Trend reports.

This is another step taken by the political leadership of Armenia to hinder the peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, he noted. So, the head of the puppet regime created by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, said that the parliament of the so-called regime will be moved to Shusha until 2022 and this transfer has a symbolic meaning, given the historical role of Shusha.

Amid the recent events, the deliberate use of the name of one of the main cultural centers of Azerbaijan, Shusha, as a tool for Armenia's actions is a clear example of the preparation of the occupying state for new games, the MP pointed out. This decision also shows that Armenia is interested in deliberate escalation of tension in the region. The aggressor country Armenia isnt interested in a peaceful solution of the conflict, preparing for new attacks to occupy even more territories of Azerbaijan.

"We declare that the occupation of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is temporary. All our territories occupied by Armenia will be liberated, and the return of all IDPs to their native lands will be ensured," he summed up.

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.
Terrifying footage has emerged of an enormous spider sitting above a doorway and eating a gecko whole.

The TikTok video shows the giant huntsman casually chomping on the reptile on the wall of a house in Western Australia.

A man can be seen in a reflection watching and filming the bizarre sight in disbelief as the lizard disappears into the spider's mouth with only its tail sticking out.

The shocking discovery, uploaded onto TikTok earlier this month, shows the spider chomping on a gecko at what looks to be the back veranda of a Western Australian house (pictured)

TikTok users commented on the spider's size and confidence, and told the man filming to 'burn the house down'.

'Coulda gone my entire life without seeing this,' one commented.

'I saw a spider eat a bird when I lived on the Gold Coast,' another wrote.

Others said large, hairy spiders were the reason why they 'would never visit Australia.'

'This is how the fires started in Australia,' one said.

'It's time to move,' another commented.

'Where in Australia is this? Just so I know not to move there.'

Spider expert Dr Lizzie Lowe, from Macquarie University's Department of Biological Sciences, told Daily Mail Australia the spider in the video was a grey huntsman.

She said the sight was not unusual but a surprise as lizards were harder for arachnids to digest.

Spider expert Dr Lizzie Lowe (pictured), from Macquarie University's Department of Biological Sciences, believed the spider in the video was a Grey Huntsman, Isopeda vasta

'They usually love eating cockroaches because when you think of it cockroaches are mush inside and they're easy for them to digest, whereas lizards are more complex with bones and harder to get,' Dr Lowe said.

She added the spider probably caught the lizard due to its poor eye sight.

'A fun fact about huntsmans is they have terrible vision and can only see light, dark and movement,' Dr Lowe said.

'That's why it probably caught the lizard. It would've caught it without realising.

'They don't have a web to catch prey on - they see movement and run at it, do a quick little bite and inject venom.

'The prey then slows down and it sits there and digests it.'

She said the sight was not unusual but a surprise as lizards were harder for a 'helping house guest' to digest. Pictured: The huntsman spider eating a lizard at a Western Australia home

Dr Lowe added huntsman spiders did not bite and liked to live alone.

'Huntsman do not represent a threat to humans. It would only bite if you grabbed one and squeezed - but I mean, who wouldn't,' she said.

'If you cannot deal with having one in your house and want to get rid of it, do not use pesticide because then you're introducing all sorts of chemicals into your home.

'Chase it with a broom or use an ice cream container to trap it.

'I usually suggest the cup over and paper under approach, but huntsman spiders are quite big and very, very fast.'

The long-legged spiders can get up to 15cm in size and only reside in households 'because its dry, safe and there's cockroaches to eat.'

Dr Lowe added there was only one type of huntsman which lives in groups - but only in the wilderness.

'There are ones that are quite social and live in big family groups,' she said.

'They're all female and the daughters help the mother to raise the babies - but they're not harmful and do not live in households.'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21)  President Rodrigo Duterte will address the United Nations General Assembly this week, where he is expected to give his take on hot issues like the war on drugs and the Philippines' territorial row with China.

Chief of Presidential Protocol Robert Borje said Monday that Duterte will be joining the global body's 75th general debate this week, which will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the President's first time to face the UNGA during his term, as he refused previous opportunities to fly to New York.

READ: Duterte to ask United Nations to self-reflect in General Assembly debut

"President Duterte will articulate principled positions of the Philippines on a wide range of issues. I do not want to preempt the President but these are the ones of key importance to the country," Borje added. "That would be the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, peace and security  including terrorism and geopolitical developments in the Asia Pacific, sustainable development and climate change, the rule of law, justice and human rights, including the situation of migrants workers and refugees, as well as peacekeeping and United Nations reforms."

READ: UN rights chief says Duterte drug war without regard for due process, human rights

Borja said Duterte was convinced to speak before the UN given the "intensity and the urgency" needed to address global issues. "The President realizes that the Philippines cannot handle it alone, and the United Nations is the world's biggest platform where one country can articulate a country's principled positions on many issues," he added to explain why Duterte chose to join this year's proceedings.

Duterte is expected to tackle controversial issues like alleged human rights violations in the local drug war, as well the Philippines' territorial row with China in the West Philippine Sea, a portion of the South China Sea where Manila and Beijng have overlapping claims, Borje indicated.

RELATED: PH bares ongoing talks for joint human rights program with UN

Asked if Duterte will be more assertive of the Philippine position on the West Philippine Sea  which is backed by the ruling of an arbitral tribunal in The Hague  he said he does not know how strong the President's statement would be.

When asked if the Philippines will raise concerns on the seeming battle between the United States and China for alliances in the region over what Washington sees as Beijing's bullying in the South China Sea, Borje said "the President will be able to address that."

"As I said, the President will articulate the Philippines' principled positions on peace and security which includes terrorism and geopolitical developments in Asia and the Pacific," he added.

RELATED: UN sounds alarm on PH's 'highly militarized' lockdown response

The debates will be led by Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir, the new president of the assembly.

Duterte will be the 12th speaker on the first day of the assembly, which starts tomorrow at 9 p.m. Manila time. Other world leaders, including those from the United States, China, and Russia, will be among the first set of speakers during the five-day exchange.

Duterte earlier said he will raise the issue on the territorial row and the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling that junked Beijing's sweeping claims in the South China Sea "at the right time."

Legal experts, including retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, said Manila should take up the matter before the UNGA so that the arbitral award may be enforced. However, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr. has said this could be futile and may even risk an overturn of the landmark victory.

"We will leave it to the people to judge how strong the President's statement will be," Borje added.

Duterte's irritation towards the UN grew after rapporteurs and other member-states have criticized his administration's bloody war on drugs, even threatening to pull out of the organization and releasing expletives against those who criticize the human rights situation in the Philippines. He sent representatives from the Cabinet to attend previous high-level meetings in his stead.

RELATED: Duterte admin objects, condemns UN Council's resolution on PH drug war killings

Meanwhile, Borje said the looming revocation of the Philippines' trade and tariff-free perks to the European Union is something left for the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Trade and Industry to discuss. He noted, however, that the EU Parliament and the EU Commission  the former behind the push for trade sanctions against Manila  are two different bodies in the regional economic bloc.
Anyone anxious about having their JobKeeper payment slashed is being told to apply for the dole.

The wage subsidy scheme is being extended at reduced rates for six months from September 28.

Payments for full-time staff are being cut from $1500 to $1200 per fortnight, while people who usually worked less than 20 hours a week before the coronavirus pandemic will receive just $750.

Social Services Minister Anne Ruston is encouraging people to top up their payments with unemployment benefits.

Australians who are worried about their JobKeeper payment being slashed on September 28 have been encouraged to 'top up' their benefits with the JobSeeker payment (hospitality worker pictured)

'We have temporarily put arrangements in place so that our social security safety net is not just for people who have lost their jobs,' Senator Ruston said on Monday.

'It is able to provide a cushion for people who have had or fear their hours or income will be reduced.'

JobKeeper recipients on $1200 per fortnight may be eligible for a partial dole payment, lifting their total income to $1476.

People receiving JobKeeper at the part-time rate of $750 per fortnight could receive another $546 in unemployment benefits, boosting their incomes to $1295.

More than one million workers are expected to come off JobKeeper over the next three months as businesses recover.

Almost 3.6 million people have received the fortnightly payments throughout the pandemic.

That number is expected to drop to 2.24 million in the December quarter as businesses whose turnovers have improved 'graduate' from the scheme.

Social Services Minister Anne Ruston (pictured) is encouraging people to top up their payments with the JobSeeker unemployment benefit

JobKeeper recipients on $1200 per fortnight may be eligible for a partial dole payment, lifting their total income to $1476 (Pako Bakery-cafe in Geelong pictured)

It is tipped to tumble to 1.75 million in the first three months of next year.

The Morrison government is also preparing to slash JobSeeker booster payments from the end of this week.

People on the unemployment benefit have since March received an extra $550 per fortnight through a coronavirus supplement.

That is being reduced to $250 a fortnight from this Friday and is scheduled to be scrapped altogether at the end of December.

Senator Ruston said the increased dole payment would be extended into next year if required.

'I want to assure all Australians, if elevated supports are continued to be needed, they will be made available,' she told reporters.
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to enter its different phases, fans pleaded the studio not to show Captain America's death.

It was not so long ago when Robert Downey Jr.'s character Tony Stark/Iron Man died during the thrilling final battle with Thanos in "Avengers: Endgame."

After his funeral, the film also showed Chris Evans' character, Steve Rogers/Captain America, growing old and passing his iconic shield to Falcon before retiring.

This caused long-time Marvel fans to think that Marvel Studios might also air Captain America's death soon. However, they disapproved that thought.

In a thread on Marvel's Reddit page, fans convinced themselves that Captain America is already gone from the franchise. Since Iron Man got his proper send-off though, they theorized that Marvel might do the same to Captain America.

However, Reddit user @frankwalsingham said that there is no need to bring back Captain America for a proper funeral.

Meanwhile, Reddit user @613greysloan stated all the reasons why they do not need to see another send-off -- apart from the fact that it would surely break hearts.

"As far as Cap's story is concerned, it's finally ended in Endgame. He lived the life Tony was telling him to get. He got the chance to grow old with the only woman he's ever loved after about a hundred years of fighting wars," the Redditor said.

Fans added that seeing him grow old instead and passing his legacy is as beautiful as any ending could get. Seeing him die would not do any good to the entire MCU, as well.

"Can't a man retire and have his peace after saving the world time and again?" anoter Marvel fan questioned.

With "Endgame" putingt an end on Captain America's job in the MCU, fans considered it as the most logical conclusion that ever happened.

Chris Evans Talks About Possible Return

Earlier this year, Graham Norton asked the actor whether he would return to the MCU franchise.

"It was a great run and we went out on such a high note that it would be risky to revisit it in my opinion. It was such a good experience and I think it's better left that way," Chris Evans said, debunking the talks about his comeback.

Despite that, fans still keep on proposing a new movie or a Disney Plus series to see Captain America again. The project may allow Cap to go back in time or tackle more stories about him that are worth exploring.

Upon learning his fans' desire, Evans finally said it is "hard to say no." However, he clarified that he is not also eager to say "yes."

"If you're going to revisit it, it can't be a cash grab. It can't be just because the audience wants to be excited. What are we revealing? What are we adding to the story? A lot of things would have to come together," he went on.

Should Marvel Studios find another angle to bring back Cap, that would be the only time fans could see Chris Evans tossing his shield again. For now, they have to be satisfied with his ending.

READ MORE: Robert Downey Jr. Out! Did Marvel Already Find a NEW Iron Man?
Bitdefender Total Security offers top protection with a number of extra features including a safe payment environment, VPN, and a secure file deletion utility. The latest release includes an improved vulnerability scan to help maintain your PC, and theres a new Digital Identity Protection service available for an extra fee.

Dont call it Bitdefender 2021, but the popular Windows antivirus suite has added several new features over the past year. The company is now going with a rolling release plan, where new features are released as theyre ready. This is becoming quite common as many services prefer the approach of continually updating apps instead of a single yearly release.

Note: This review is part of our best antivirus roundup . Go there for details about competing products and how we tested them.

Bitdefender Total Securitys main changes, the company told us, is that it has improved its vulnerability scanning, and in our opinion the overall look of the scan results are easier to read. At a glance you can see issues with operating system updates, the strength of Windows account passwords, the security of the browser and other applications, network issues, and more.

The company also changed its VPN to the proprietary Hydra Catapult VPN protocol from HotSpot Shield maker AnchorFree. In addition, the VPN now has an internet kill switch, U.S. Netflix support, and dedicated apps for all major platforms.

IDG The Dashboard in the latest version of Bitdefender.

The latest version of Bitdefender for Windows 10 looks very similar to previous years, with some good improvements that simplify the overall app. As usual it all starts with the left rail and menu options for Dashboard, Protection, Privacy, and Utilities.

Below that are just two additional options: Notifications and Settings. This is a much simpler look than the previous iteration, which also had options for My Account and Supportboth of these options have been moved to the upper-right corner of the window.

The design within each section is also simpler, with smaller tiles for each option making it easier to readpreviously, sections such as Protection were just a series of sliders. You can still find all the sliders, they are just one level deeper where theres space to clearly explain each feature and what it does.

The default items on the Dashboard now include three types of scans (quick, system, and vulnerability), as well as portals to the VPN and Safepay, and a free tile to use as you see fit. Actually, all tiles can be changed if youd prefer other options.

IDG Bitdefenders newly overhauled Protection section.

Dipping into Protection, you might notice that the Safe Files features is no longer there. This was Bitdefenders ransomware watchdog that protected files against malicious encryption.

Bitdefender says it still has ransomware protection, but its part of the Ransomware Remediation option now. This feature was originally about ransomware recovery but is now built to protect against the newest ransomware attacks at [the] system level, a Bitdefender representative told us.

Safe Files isnt the only old feature to be removed. Bitdefender also dumped some of its utilities including File Vault, the Startup Optimizer (Windows 10 lets you control this anyway), and Disk Cleanup (another issue Windows 10 covers on its own).

Bitdefender comes with a customizable firewall that lets you control any apps outgoing access to the network, and theres an alert mode if you want to know and approve when each app asks to connect to the internet.

In addition to basic protection, Bitdefender Total Security includes a password manager, and the aforementioned VPN. Theres also Safepaya sandboxed browser for secure online payments and transactions, a password manager, and and an anti-tracker for web browsing in Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Google Chrome. (Anyone using the new Edge browser can install Bitdefenders extension directly from the Chrome Web Store. Currently, Bitdefender doesnt enable installation for Edge from the desktop app as it does with the other browsers.)

IDG Bitdefenders Utilities section.

The Utilities section has been reworked with fewer choices this time, as much of what was previously there has been removed. Theres still a one-click optimizer for removing unnecessary files from your devices, profiles for how the antivirus behaves based on what youre doing (game mode, movie mode, etc.), and a file shredder called Data Protection.

Bitdefender also has a cloud component called Bitdefender Central, which houses its new Digital Identity Protection feature. This service monitors your personal data, and alerts you when your info hits the so-called Dark Web. This service costs an extra $60 per year, which is pricey considering other suites include similar services for free.

Parental controls are also found in Bitdefender Central, offering the ability to limit screen time, and view applications activity, device locations, recently added phone contacts, and web browsing activity.

Bitdefender Total Security is priced at $45 per year as the introductory price, which covers up to five devices. The standard asking price is $90.

Performance

IDG Bitdefender Central now includes a news section.

In our tests, Bitdefender had no significant impact on device performance across several tests including benchmarks, archiving large files, and video encoding.

As for its security chops, Bitdefender earned 100 percent in May and June 2020 for AV-Tests 0-day and widespread and prevalent malware tests. The most recent tests from AV-Comparatives are from the spring. In the Real World Protection test from February through May 2020, Bitdefender blocked 99.3 percent of threats, with two false positives, based on 754 test cases. That performance puts it a little behind the bulk of the pack including Avast, AVG, Avira, Eset, F-Secure, K7, Kaspersky, Microsoft, Norton, Panda, and Trend Micro.

In AV-Comparatives Malware protection test from March 2020, with more than 10,000 test cases, Bitdefender stopped 99.98 percent of threats. Thats an outstanding score; however, nearly every suite scored 99.95 percent or higher, with the exception of three suites.

Overall, Bitdefenders protection is very competent, but there are slightly better performers based on independent tests.

Conclusion

Bitdefender Total Security is what its always been. A competent antivirus suite with a wide array of features to meet most users needs. Wed prefer to see digital identity protection folded into the Total Security package, but thats a minor quibble. Overall, Bitdefender offers solid protection and a lot of value for the money.

Editors note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 10:02:03|Editor: huaxia

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ALGIERS, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune affirmed on Sunday that the decision to open schools depends on the COVID-19 situation in the country, official APS news agency reported.

Tebboune told local media Sunday night that he will not make the decision to open schools for the 2020-2021 school year without consultation with medical experts and the scientific committee monitoring the spread of COVID-19.

He said some European countries resumed classes and were forced to close schools after finding that children were exposed to coronavirus contamination.

He stressed that the Algerian government puts "protection of citizens" at first place.

Algeria on Sunday reported 203 new COVID-19 cases and seven new fatalities, bringing the total infections to 49,826 and the death toll to 1,672, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

Meanwhile, 124 more patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 35,047.

Algeria has been resuming economic and commercial activities since June 7 as part of its efforts to return to normal life.

On Feb. 25, Algeria recorded its first infection with COVID-19. The government announced the closure of all educational establishments from March 12. Enditem
While Donald Trump showered some rare words of praise on Democratic nominee Joe Biden Monday morning, he also took aim at the candidate's mental state, claiming he's not 'all there.'

'Look, I think he's a professional,' Trump said in a call-in interview with Fox & Friends when asked about the upcoming debate. 'I don't know if he's all there but I think he's a professional and that he can debate.'

'I have to assume he's going to do great  because he's been there 47 years he's been in the public service. A long time,' the president continued of Biden's long track record in Washington.

Part of his comments are a sharp turnaround from the president's previous insistence that his superior mental and physical abilities and stamina will lead him to destroy Biden in any head-to-head matchup.

Trump and Biden will face-off in the first of three presidential debates next Tuesday, September 29.

The debate comes as Biden has earned enough in fundraising and donations recently to give him a significant financial advantage over his billionaire competitor.

Biden's campaign and aligned Democratic Party committees entered the fall sprint to Election Day with $466 million in cash reserves.

This puts Team Biden about $141 million ahead of Donald Trump's camp.

President Donald Trump gave some rare praise to Joe Biden on Monday, claiming the candidate 'can debate' and is 'professional'

The comments come as Trump and Biden are set to face-off in the first presidential debate next Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio

Trump's campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh announced on Twitter last week that the campaign and Republican started September with $325 million in its cash stockpile.

This is a major difference from the opening months of the general election, at which point Trump enjoyed an intimidating financial lead.

Trump brushed off the new numbers by pointing to the last election where he was outspent by Hillary Clinton's campaign.

When asked whether he would spend his own money, Trump told Fox News on Monday: 'I would do thatif we needed money- but we don't need money.'

Trump made sure to still get in a few jabs at Biden's mental health.

'I don't understand what's going on,' he told the three-person Fox & Friends panel. 'He doesn't seem to be answering questions and he can't answer questions. And much worse, a little while ago when he was on stage with the Democrats  he couldn't do well.'

The president also pointed to the Biden v. Senator Bernie Sanders Democratic primary debate, which Trump admits was a good moment for the former vice president.

'He did okay with Bernie  it was sort of a tie,' Trump conceded, adding: 'It was nothing great It was ok. It was fine.'

Record-breaking fundraising began streaming in for Biden last month after he announced Senator Kamala Harris would be joining his presidential ticket.

Trump and Biden will face off in three debates  the first next week in Cleveland, Ohio moderated by Fox News host Chris Wallace.

The second will be moderated by C-SPAN's Steve Scully and will take place Thursday, October 15 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida  the original hosts at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor withdrew over health concerns stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

It will be held in town hall meeting format.

The third and final debate will take place Thursday, October 22 at the Curb Event Center at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. NBC News' Kristen Welker will moderate.
School has resumed across Massachusetts, but this year many students are learning from home. It is a dynamic has created a real problem for working parents, especially those with young children or for parents unable to work from home.

Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in March that provides possible relief for those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the act provides protection for workers who have the virus or are forced to quarantine, it also includes provisions for working parents who find themselves caring for children at home.

In short, parents who qualify could receive paid leave for staying home with their children who are at home, either in school fully remote or in a hybrid learning environment.

The law does have a window and it applies to private employers between 50 and 500 and to all public entities regardless of size, said Marc L. Terry, a labor, employment and employee benefits partner at Mirick OConnell, a law firm based in Worcester.

Heres what you need to know about the law, who it applies to and how you can take advantage of it.

Who can apply?

If your employer is a private sector business that employs fewer than 500 people or if you work in the public sector, you could qualify.

According to the act, under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for expanded family leave if the employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19.

But this also includes students who are in school districts that are doing remote learning or hybrid learning, Terry said. For hybrid learners, employees would be eligible on the days that their children are required to learn from home.

What are you eligible to receive?

Full-time employees who have been employed for at least 30 days can qualify for up to 12 weeks of leave, which includes two weeks of paid sick leave followed by up to 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at 40 hours a week. Part-time employees are eligible for leave for the number of hours that they are normally scheduled to work.

According to the act, employees taking leave to care for a child are entitled to two-thirds of their regular pay or two-thirds of the minimum wage, whichever is higher. You can receive a maximum of $200 a day or $12,000 over a 12-week period.

What if you work for a large company?

If you work for a private company with more than 500 employees, the law does not apply.

In terms of folks that work at a Walmart, the law doesnt apply to them, Terry said. They are only able to ask for leave from their employer. Theres no legal obligation for the employer to provide it.

Working from home

In some cases, employees have jobs that can not be done from home. But when they can, employers may be willing to accommodate an employee.

One of the things thats a really important point is that a lot of the dialogue that takes place is not can I take the time off, but can I work from home, Terry said. The law encourages employers to be as flexible as possible.

Many times employers will look to accommodate those who can work from home rather than paying for a leave of absence. But if an employee sees working from home while taking care of a student or students at home as unworkable, they can still push for a leave of absence.

Most employers are not in the mindset of paying people to do nothing, Terry said. Some of that was happening in the spring, for sure. But at the end of the day, as much [the law] encourages employers to be flexible, if the employee says I cant do both, I want a leave under the statue, theyre going to get it."

Do you have to find daycare?

The pandemic had a tremendous impact on the child care industry. Following the reopening of childcare centers and at-home childcare in the end of June, new regulations forced many places to reduce the number of children they could care for. Others outrightly closed or never reopened following the shutdown in March.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act covers parents whose childcare is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID. But that doesnt mean you are obligated to search for new childcare.

The law does not put a significant burden on a parent to find new care, Terry said. If care at a center or even care from a family member that the family has used in the past is unavailable due to the pandemic, it does not put a burden on people to try six other places.

How do you apply?

If youre looking to take a leave of absence from your employer under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the first step is usually to talk to your employers human resources person.

You need to make the request to your employer, Terry said. You go to HR and say I need time off because my kids school is closed and I need to take care of them. There is some documentation, but it is fairly limited. Its not a process like going on disability which is lengthier.

What if your employer doesnt want to grant your leave?

If you qualify for paid leave and your employer will not offer it, Terry said workers should contact the U.S. Department of Labor. The agency has a form to file a complaint on its website.

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Linkedin Anne-Laure Mondesert (Agence France-Presse) Brussels  Mon, September 21, 2020 20:55 487 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c463c211 2 World lesbos-island,migrants,greece,EU,asylum,Brussels Free

The failure of the European Union's migration policy could not have been laid out more starkly - an already miserable camp burned and thousands of refugees homeless.

On Wednesday, two weeks after the destruction of the Moria camp on the Greek Island of Lesbos, Brussels will launch its latest proposal for EU asylum policy.

Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson wants the 27 member states to share the burden of handling asylum claims from the migrants arrived on the bloc's shores.

And this time, the proposed system won't be voluntary - a tough concession for many member capitals to swallow.

"It's obvious to everybody that ad hoc solidarity or voluntary solidarity is not enough. That has been proven for many years now," she said.

"It has to be mandatory, all member states have to help when there is a situation when a member state is under pressure and a lot of people that need protection."

Alongside a way to distribute would-be refugees away from the coasts of Italy and Greece there will be tougher rules on sending home those whose claims are refused.

But, five years after the 2015 migration crisis and with annual "irregular arrivals" down to 140,000 a year, EU members are still deeply divided on the issue.

An emergency EU plan during that crisis to redistribute arrivals, pushed by Germany, was opposed and then ignored by Hungary and Poland, which took in zero asylum-seekers.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said last week the proposal would replace the "Dublin Regulation" with "a new European migration governance system".

"It will have common structures on asylum and return and it will have a new strong solidarity mechanism," she said, surprising some sceptical capitals.

The Dublin Regulation - which governs which member state handles a new arrival's asylum claim - was established in 1990 and was reformed most recently in 2013.

It states migrant asylum claims should be handled in the EU country where the applicant first enters the system, to prevent undocumented migrants flowing around the bloc.

Johansson did not give AFP full details of the alternative scheme the Commission will unveil on Wednesday, but stressed that the key would be solidarity.

This does not necessarily mean, however, that recalcitrant anti-immigration regimes like that in Hungary would be obliged to resettle refugees.

"It's not only relocation, it could also be other situations like, for example, helping with returns," she said.

This would imply that countries that believe they can cope with welcoming more migrants would take some of the strain off the Greeks and Italians.

Europe's plan has been a long time coming and will be hard to sell to EU leaders, who meet for a summit in Brussels on Thursday focused on foreign affairs.

But the fire in Moria, which underlined the dismal state of the system for housing refugees stuck on the Greek islands, has focused minds somewhat.

Offers to rehouse the now homeless Moria refugees have come piecemeal, with some states like Austria refusing point blank to take any.

Brussels is working with Athens on a pilot project to jointly build and run a new facility, but Johansson was clear there must be "no more Morias".
This article will be updated throughout the week with coronavirus case counts and other need-to-know information about the pandemic in San Antonio.

Backlog of cases: A backlog of 2,794 coronavirus cases reported Sunday pushed the total number in Bexar County since the start of the pandemic to 57,145, according to the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.

September 26

One new death: The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District reported one death and 100 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday. That pushes the death toll in Bexar County to 1,074 and the count of positive test results to 54,295 since the novel coronavirus pandemic started in mid-March.

September 25

The number of coronavirus cases in San Antonio rose by 224 Friday, tipping the countys total since the start of the pandemic above 54,000. Mayor Ron Nirenberg reported no new deaths. The countys death toll stands at 1,073, while the number of total cases is 54,195.

September 24

Five more COVID-19 deaths: The Metropolitan Health District reported 177 new cases of the novel coronavirus in Bexar County Thursday, 22 more than the 155 reported Wednesday. Five deaths that occurred within the last two weeks also were reported Thursday, bringing the citys death toll to 1,073.

September 23

COVID-19 numbers update: Metro Health officials reported no new coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday, as cases and deaths overall continue a steady, downward trend in San Antonio.

There were 155 new coronavirus cases, a slight uptick from the weekend  which officials said could be due to the Labor Day holiday  but still a far cry from the reports of over 1,000 new daily cases that occurred earlier in the summer.

Mass weekly testing begins: It was the first day of a new routine at Somerset Independent School District: a mass testing for the coronavirus developed by Community Labs, a San Antonio-based nonprofit that promises the ability to process thousands of tests a day, with results available within 24 hours. The Southwest Bexar County school district agreed to demonstrate the system in hopes the pilot program would speed the return to classroom learning at its seven schools.

September 22

COVID-19 numbers update: Six more people in San Antonio and Bexar County have died of the novel coronavirus, the most in nearly two weeks, officials said Tuesday.

September 21

COVID-19 numbers update: The risk level for coronavirus entered the safe zone in San Antonio on Monday, allowing for the reopening of various city services and facilities, at least on a limited basis.

September 20

COVID-19 numbers update: The city reported a backlog of 2,473 COVID-19 cases Sunday, bringing Bexar Countys total since the start of the pandemic to 53,341, according to the Metropolitan Health Districts daily coronavirus update.
Egypts foreign minister Sameh Shoukry discussed means to boost cooperation with the European Union (EU) on Monday in a phone call with the EU Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.

Shoukry and Varhelyi agreed on the necessity to boost the development and economic benefits out from the EU-Egypt Association Agreement.

The Egyptian foreign minister said Egypt was looking forward to receive more European investments by encouraging European companies to increase the size of their projects in Egypt and facilitate the process of exporting Egyptian goods to EU markets.

Shoukry added that Egypt was ready to launch tripartite cooperation with the EU in African countries to support development efforts in the continent.

Varhelyi said Egypt played an integral role in maintaining regional stability and security.

Shoukry and Varhelyi tackled the latest developments in the region and challenges Egypt and the EU are facing.

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The Health Secretary said the chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance were briefing the nation this morning so the public could see why we are taking decisions that we have to take.

Their alarming analysis showed that the number of coronavirus cases could spiral to 49,000 a day by October 13 if the number continues to double every seven days. Sir Patrick said that if cases reached 50,000 a day, then the number of coronavirus deaths could be more than 200 a day within a month.

In a sign of measures being considered, Mr Hancock did not rule out pubs having to close early in more parts of the country . He told of the worry of the Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, that Britain is in danger of following Spain and France, where hospitalisations and deaths are rising.

Professor Whitty also hinted at curbs to social lives being needed to prevent coronavirus spiralling out of control, saying: "We have to break unnecessary links between households because that is the way in which this virus is transmitted."

Before the briefing by Professor Whitty and Sir Patrick:

Appearing on ITVs Good Morning Britain, Mr Hancock was asked whether pubs would be open this weekend and responded: We will be absolutely clear about changes that we need to make in the very, very near future.

Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty / Getty Images

Pressed on whether that was a no, he added: Its not a no and its not a yes. We have been working on this all weekend. We have not taken the final decisions about what we need to do in response to the surge that we have seen.

He made clear that a statement from Mr Johnson could be expected tomorrow. I spoke to the Prime Minister this morning and he is as worried as we all are about the rise in the number of cases and we have to make a final decision about whats the best response to that, he said.

We have all seen the evidence from the scientists and the reason the scientists and the chief medical officer are going on air at 11am today is so that the whole country will see the same information that we are seeing to make the judgments that we are making.

Coronavirus outbreak has reached critical point, says Whitty

We want to do this in an open a way as possible so that everybody can see why we are taking decisions that we have to take.

Professor Whitty warned that the epidemics trend in the UK is heading in the wrong direction and we are at a critical point in the pandemic.

One alarming graph unveiled at the briefing showed daily cases surging from a current level of about 3,000 to 4,000 a day to 49,000 by October 13 if nothing is done to hold the virus back.

Another slide showed how France and Spain have suffered exactly such a rise in daily cases in recent weeks, with the result that daily fatalities have shot up after a delay.

One alarming graph showed daily cases surging to 49,000 by October 13

The scientific data demolished hopes of there being herd immunity in the UK. Fewer than eight per cent of people tested had antibodies to suggest they would be resistant to the disease. Mr Hancock has also refused to rule out a second national lockdown in England, which could see curfews with the hospitality sector having to shut between 10pm and 5am and a ban on socialising in other peoples homes.

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The latest data for hospital admissions from Public Health England and the Joint Biosecurity Centre, which have been seen by the Standard, show that in London in the past week, admissions to ICU and HDU went up from 0.05 per 100,000 of the population to almost 0.2. The highest rate was in the North West, at 0.25, followed by the Midlands, with London in third place.
The document was signed on September 21.

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Razumkov has signed a statement on Belarus, which was passed by Ukraine's parliament on September 15.

The document was signed on September 21, as reported on the parliament's website.

Verkhovna Rada's statement on Belarus: Background

On September 15, Ukraine's parliament passed a statement on Belarus.

The lawmakers consider it unacceptable to involve Russia's troops and apply the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) agreement in resolving the crisis in Belarus. "We shall consider such a step a direct threat to the European security and that of Ukraine," the statement says.

Read alsoKuleba warns Russia against steps undermining Belarus sovereignty, destabilizing regionThe Verkhovna Rada believes the presidential elections in Belarus were neither free nor fair, and held amid the lack of competition between candidates, free media, and authoritative observers from international organizations such as the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

It is also noted the elections "were held with significant violations, multiple refusals to register candidates, and non-transparent vote count."

The MPs consider it unacceptable to intimidate opponents, imprison them, and create obstacles to independent national observers at polling stations.

"All this gives grounds to believe that the officially announced results of the presidential elections in Belarus do not reflect the real expression of the will of Belarusian citizens," reads the statement.

The Ukrainian parliament condemns the use of "excessive force and brutality" by Belarusian law enforcement.

The Verkhovna Rada demands the release of all detainees and hopes the official authorities of Belarus will not allow further escalation of persecution, both of their opponents, for political reasons, and citizens of Belarus who took to the streets of cities to express their disagreement with the government's actions.

Ukraine respects the sovereignty of Belarus and "resolutely rejects accusations voiced by the Belarusian side of involvement in destabilization of Belarus."

The Ukrainian parliament also calls on the Belarusian authorities to establish an equal dialogue with Belarusian society to find a peaceful way out of the crisis.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 15:08:08|Editor: huaxia

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FUZHOU, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed while four others reported missing on Monday after a fishing boat hit underwater rocks in the southern Chinese city of Shantou, maritime authorities said.

The accident occurred at around 6 a.m. when the fishing boat with 14 people aboard from east China's Fujian Province crashed into a reef about 11 nautical miles southeast of Shantou's Nan'ao Island, Guangdong Province, according to the Fujian maritime safety administration.

As of 11 a.m., six people had been rescued and another four were still missing, according to the administration.

A search and rescue operation was launched immediately with several helicopters and vessels joining the rescue mission. Enditem
Online Learning

UMass to Share Courses Across System

The University of Massachusetts has launched the Inter-campus Course Exchange (ICX), an initiative to make courses from all UMass campuses available to students at any institution in the system.

Undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in a class that is unavailable at their own campus will now have the option to take equivalent courses at another campus, remotely. Conversely, departments that have an under-enrolled course can get more students to participate through ICX. Enrollment is subject to approval by a student's academic adviser and department chair, based on whether the courses meet graduation or major requirements.

The system is developing an ICX website that will provide details on available courses, necessary prerequisites, number of open seats available, and syllabus information.

"We demonstrated during the 'COVID Spring' that our campuses can deliver high-quality education via remote instruction," said Katherine Newman, chancellor for academic programs for the UMass System, in a statement. "This has led the provosts to embrace and advance the ICX. Opening courses to students across the system will enable students to take full advantage of the extraordinary range of teaching talent that UMass offers."
The sexual exploitation of children, as common as it seems to be these days, is something most of us have a hard time wrapping our heads around. Its why Netflix should not be surprised there has been a huge backlash against the streaming giant over its recently released French indie production Cuties, a coming of age film that focuses on the overt sexualization of children, in this case 11-year-old girls.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 17:58:30|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Sept. 14, 2020 shows the outside view of the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

- Fixing global problems requires global solutions. There is no better venue than the United Nations for the international community to search for those solutions.

- Upholding multilateralism means that the fate of the world should be in the hands of all; international rulebook written by all; global affairs negotiated by all; and dividends of development shared by all, instead of allowing individual countries to reign supreme.

- To uphold multilateralism, the world should take development as the golden key to solving many of the most pressing global problems, and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.

by Xinhua writer Jiang Li



BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Seventy-five years ago, tormented by the scourge of war that twice brought untold miseries to mankind, countries around the world joined hands and built up an international order and system with the United Nations at the core.

As the most universal, representative and authoritative international organization, the United Nations has now become the most important multilateral arena to promote peace, and address regional and global issues.

When the international community is marking the United Nations' 75th birthday, the COVID-19 pandemic is raging all over the world, and world leaders have chosen to hold commemorative events via video link instead. In addition to the way the leaders gather, the sudden strike of the pandemic has been changing the world in more aspects, thus the once-in-a-century transformations unfolding in the world are picking up speed.

It is truly an era of enormous uncertainty. Protectionism and unilateralism are rearing their ugly heads while sentiments of anti-globalization are on the rise. It is even more worrisome that the bullying behavior of certain superpower is posing a grave challenge to the world's multilateral system epitomized by the United Nations.

A demonstration is held to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement outside the White House in Washington D.C., June 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Yan Liang)

And when mankind is struggling to beat the coronavirus outbreak as its common enemy, the spirit of solidarity and cooperation is facing a danger of being cast aside, while the specter of ideological confrontation is hovering high.

Under such circumstances, the theme of this year's UN anniversary commemorations -- "The future we want, the UN we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism" -- bears utmost significance.

Around the world, the curve of the ravaging pandemic has yet to be flattened. Infections keep mounting and deaths continue to spike. The once-in-a-century global public health crisis has once again highlighted the fact that the human race belongs to a community with a shared future, and only by joining hands can all countries steer themselves out of the plight.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed that solidarity and cooperation is the most powerful weapon in the face of COVID-19. And reaffirming the commitment to multilateralism has been particularly urgent at this dark hour of human history.

To uphold multilateralism, the world should safeguard the authority of the United Nations. Over the past 75 years, the positive role of the UN has been too obvious to deny, leaving profound inspirations as well as valuable legacies to human society.

Volkan Bozkir, president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, chairs the 1st plenary meeting of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 15, 2020. (Evan Schneider/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

Over the decades, the United Nations has set up and operated a collective security mechanism, and deployed more than 70 peacekeeping operations involving nearly 130 countries. Its instrumental role in effectively settling local conflicts, preventing new world wars, and preserving overall global peace and stability has helped lay a solid foundation for social and economic development worldwide.

With the presence of the UN-centered multilateral system, countries worldwide have fostered closer ties and deeper cooperation, and the global economic and social development has made a giant leap forward.

According to the World Bank statistics, from 1960 to 2019, the total global gross domestic product (GDP) rose from 1.37 trillion to 87.7 trillion in current U.S. dollars. In that same period, the per capita GDP rose from 452 dollars to 11,428 dollars, and the global trade to GDP ratio rose from 26.72 percent to 60.4 percent.

Additionally, such UN specialized agencies as, among others, the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the International Atomic Energy Agency, have all made their respective contributions to the solution of global problems and to the progress of human society.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks at the 73rd World Health Assembly at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, May 18, 2020. (WHO/Handout via Xinhua)

The WHO, in particular, has played an irreplaceable role amid the pandemic in keeping the world updated with accurate and timely information, boosting global coordination in pandemic responses, and promoting international cooperation on vaccine research and development.

At such a critical moment, the world should guard against and reject any unilateral move that could weaken the WHO because those moves will only take a hard toll on global solidarity and cooperation, and delay mankind's victory over the virus.

Fixing global problems requires global solutions. And there is no better venue than the United Nations for the international community to search for those solutions. Whether it is to battle the pandemic or to plan for a post-epidemic recovery, all countries need to firmly safeguard the authority of the United Nations and maintain the international order and system with the United Nations at the core.

To uphold multilateralism, the world should also acknowledge and practice the global governance concept based on the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech entitled "Together for a New Chapter in BRICS Cooperation" at the 11th summit of BRICS in Brasilia, Brazil, Nov. 14, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

The essence of multilateralism, said President Xi at the 2019 BRICS summit in Brasilia, is that international affairs should be addressed through extensive consultation rather than decided by one country or a few. His remarks ring even truer today.

In recent years, the international community has been grappling with the rise of trade bullyism, abuse of unilateral sanctions and national-security maximalism, which has further eroded the multilateral foundation of global governance.

Upholding multilateralism means that the fate of the world should be in the hands of all; international rulebook written by all; global affairs negotiated by all; and dividends of development shared by all, instead of allowing individual countries to reign supreme. President Xi has also pointed out, "in the era of globalization it should not be some people fighting against other people, but should instead be all bringing benefits for all."

The COVID-19 pandemic tells that when faced with various global challenges, all countries should march forward hand in hand in the spirit of consultation, democratize international relations, and increase the voice of the developing countries in major global institutions so as to forge a more effective global governance system that can meet the needs of this fast-changing world.

Chinese medical team experts and Italian doctors pose for a photo during the COVID-19 pandemic in Padua, Italy, March 18, 2020. (Xinhua)

To uphold multilateralism, the world should take development as the golden key to solving many of the most pressing global problems, and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Across the world, countries are turning increasingly interconnected and interdependent, and their future closely intertwined. Yet the development gap dividing the North and the South is still widening, and globalization has failed to trickle down its benefits to various social groups. Even in some major developed economies, poverty, gender inequality and racial discrimination have been feeding social divisions. All these have served as a petri dish for festering anti-globalization elements.

"We must hold fast to development as our master key, for only through development can we resolve the root cause of conflicts, safeguard the basic rights of the people, and meet the ardent hopes of people for a better future," President Xi addressed the UN Sustainable Development Summit 2015 at the UN headquarters in New York.

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015 at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 26, 2015. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

The still raging pandemic now poses critical challenges to global development. This year marks the start of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. All countries should take it as an alert and incentive to promote balanced global economic and social development and reduce poverty and inequality so as to fundamentally eliminate the factors that nurture protectionism, isolationism and economic nationalism, and render economic globalization more open, inclusive and balanced.

Globalization is unstoppable, and the human race shares a common future. Upholding multilateralism and building a community with a shared future for mankind should be the shared goal of all members of the international community. That is not only a significant revelation of the 75-year history of the United Nations, but also the only right path for development in the post-pandemic era.

Chinese peacekeepers march during a medal ceremony in Hanniyah village, southern Lebanon, April 3, 2019. (Xinhua)

China was the first country to sign the UN Charter. Whether in the process of the United Nations' development or in the fight against the coronavirus, China has always been a builder, defender and practitioner of multilateralism. In the future, China will, as always, continue to be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order.

On the occasion of the 75th birthday of the United Nations, one of the appropriate gifts the world can present is to reaffirm multilateralism and cooperation, which will help countries across the globe tide over difficulties, seek common development, and build "the future we want." 
How They Work

Ben Miller

Many Purposes

Flexibility

The Future

Expect to see more chatbots on local government websites in the next year or so, if they arent there already.In the 2020 Digital Counties survey , which collected responses from public officials in dozens of counties across the country, about 25 percent of respondents said they were already using chatbots, and another 39 percent said they had plans to start using them in the next 18 months. The remaining 36 percent said they had no plans to start using the chatbots.The responses came in before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, an event that has pushed many governments to rapidly adopt technologies they either had little interest in or were eyeing for future use.That includes chatbots , which county governments have used to help handle a massive influx of questions from the public. The idea is that chatbots, which typically use some form of AI algorithm, can handle common questions and leave less common or more complicated questions for human staff to answer.Since the sample size was relatively small  and larger counties generally had a higher participation rate than smaller ones  the data shouldnt be treated as a nationally representative sample. However, it does provide a picture of the general state of chatbots in local government.The results also suggested that larger counties are using chatbots at a higher rate than smaller ones, a finding consistent with many other subjects in local government technology; larger jurisdictions often have more resources and funding to experiment.Heres how counties in the survey said they were using chatbots.Most of the counties that described chatbots for the Digital Counties program talked about bots that had a definite list of questions that they were capable of answering  in other words, we arent talking about Asimov-style intelligences that can learn to solve new problems and answer new questions on their own.Rather, the IT department might spend time configuring the chatbot before it goes live in order to work on how the bot recognizes and responds to questions.They are often structured for triage, the weeding out of people whose questions can be answered easily so that call-takers can focus on people whose questions will take more effort. Thats especially important during the pandemic because, as many vendors and governments have documented, people have been turning to the government a lot more than usual during the pandemic for things like health testing, unemployment insurance and other kinds of assistance.In King County, Wash. , for example, a chatbot helped identify which people calling for a professional nurse had coronavirus-like symptoms and which didnt. The county estimated that the chatbot saved 35 percent of the time nurses had been spending speaking to people without those symptoms.A lot of the counties surveyed used their chatbots for COVID-19-related purposes. But they often extended beyond that as well.Placer County, Calif., for example, has a bot called Ask Placer capable of answering more than 375 questions. San Joaquin County, Calif. , and Fairfax County, Va. , both worked with other departments to figure out what their needs were and what their most frequent questions were so that they could build those into their chatbots.And in Cabarrus County, N.C., the chatbot was integrated with Laserfiche technology in order to help people use digital services. The chatbot is capable of pulling in information from other systems in order to help the user. Since digital services have become a necessity for many government agencies that have found themselves transitioning to telework during the pandemic, tools to help citizens use digital services make a lot of sense.A key feature of chatbots is that theyre designed to answer a growing number of questions over time. Many counties reported using data analysis tools to follow the kinds of questions citizens were asking  as well as the ways they were asking them  so that they could add answers to those questions over time, and so bots can learn how to respond to variations.Chatbots can also take inputs in many different forms, which gives them the unique ability to serve citizens across multiple channels. Washington County, Ark., is working on a bot that works with texting, while Placer and King counties integrated with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa so residents could access the bots with their voices.San Joaquin County also built its bot to work in three languages, with more planned for the future.It seems likely, given the survey results and the trends of government technology during the pandemic, that now is a time of growth for government chatbots. Especially if they can help make digital services, emergency operations and telework more workable for local governments, their usefulness might make them hard for many jurisdictions to ignore.Since this is a new question for Center for Digital Government (CDG)* surveys,will aim to track adoption trends in the future.Government Technologys
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21)  An ally of Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte has expressed doubts that the ouster of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano will still push through despite calls to boot him out of office due to 2021 budget clash among lawmakers.

"Para sa akin, 99.99% hindi po [matutuloy]. Mamayang hapon po, tingin ko hindi naman mangyayari iyan," House appropriations panel chair Eric Yap said Monday in an interview with CNN Philippines' Balitaan.

[Translation: For me, the ouster will 99.99% not push through. I don't think that will happen at all this afternoon.]

Yap bared that Duterte had relayed to him on Sunday the frustrations of their colleagues over other congressmen, including Cayetano, who will get a larger share of the 2021 budget under the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Yap and Duterte were referring to the 8-billion projects for the two districts of Taguig, the turf of the speaker and his wife Rep. Lani Cayetano, and the 11-billion worth of project for the five legislative districts of Camarines Sur, represented by Cayetano's allies. Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves first brought up the issue during the budget hearing of the DPWH before it got suspended last Thursday.

"Yung budget, hindi po Congress ang gumawa. Ang DPWH ang nag-identify nito at sinubmit lang po sa amin ito ng DBM (Congress does not make hte budget. The DPWH identifies this then submits it to the Department of Budget and Management)," Yap said.

Yap noted that while no "loyalty check" was conducted among lawmakers, the lower chamber would nevertheless not want to derail the budget's approval.

"Kapag idineclare na vacant [ang speakership at deputy speakership] ngayon, magkakaroon ng palitan, magkakaroon ng gulo. Made-delay ang budget, ang tao ang kawawa."

[Translation: If someone declares the speakership and deputy speakership posts vacant now, someone has to take over, and there could be chaos. Budget could be delayed, and the people will suffer.]

Duterte issued a statement on Sunday, confirming an earlier text message that he had sent to one of his colleagues that stirred speculations of a brewing House shakeup to boot Cayetano out of office.

"The text message that I sent to another lawmaker  and is now making the rounds  was an expression of my personal dismay upon hearing the concerns of my fellow lawmakers," Duterte said.

Duterte was referring to his own strongly-worded message which indicated that he will declare the speakership and deputy speakership posts vacant today, September 21.

That message, which he himself said was intended for Appropriations committee chair Eric Yap last week, read: "Sinabihan ko na kayo nananahimik lang ako kasi di na ako kinakausap nina Speaker ngayon nadamay ako. I will ask the Mindanao bloc to declare the seat of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers vacant ngayong Monday. Di mamamatay ang Mindanao dahil walang budget."

[Translation: I already told you, I am just keeping silent because the Speakers camp is not talking to me anymore, and now I am suddenly dragged into this. I will ask the Mindanao Bloc to declare the seat of Speaker and Deputy Speakers vacant this Monday.]

Duterte said in his latest statement that lawmakers "have the power to change the course of which the leadership is leading them," and that he himself is willing to accept being part of the "casualties" or deputy speakers who may be removed from office. He also said that he did not want to get involved in the leadership clash.

No move made

No move was made to oust Cayetano from the chambers top seat as the plenary session only lasted for 18 minutes on Monday afternoon.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened as the House plenary session started with an opening prayer, followed by the singing of the national anthem, roll call of members, and items on order of business being read into the records.

Today's session was presided over by Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu, a member of Cayetanos political party, Nacionalista Party.

Abu called for the suspension of session until tomorrow afternoon after all items on the order of business were read.

Yap said earlier that Duterte is expected to attend the session. However, Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate, who physically attended the session, said Duterte was not physically present in the hall.

Cayetano has yet to finish his 15-month term which will end on October 18. Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco will then take over and finish the remaining 21 months of speakership under their three-year term deal.

Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing that the President is leaving it to the discretion of members of Congress to settle leadership issues.

However, the official emphasized that these disagreements must not hinder the passing of the 2021 budget.

"Let's just say because the 2021 budget is also our biggest stimulus package, non-negotiable po kay Presidente -- kinakailangan mapasa po yang budget on time (its non-negotiable for the President  the budget must be passed on time)," said Roque.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 15:44:28|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police on Monday detained 14 Iraqi nationals in Turkey's northern province of Samsun over their suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) militant group, the state-run Anadolu agency said.

Police launched operations simultaneously in different addresses across the province to capture the suspects who were believed to carry out activities on behalf of the IS, Anadolu noted.

Several digital items were also seized during the raids, and the operations are continuing to capture another suspect, it added.

At least six other Iraqi suspects had been detained in Samsun in August over their alleged connections to the group. Enditem
GREENWICH  Investment firm Oak HC/FT has contributed to a $106 million funding round for the fast-growing health care IT startup Olive.

General Catalyst and Drive Capital led the equity investment, while Ascension Ventures and SVB Capital also participated. Columbus, Ohio-based Olive has raised more than $220 million to date.

The (artificial intelligence) workforce is the biggest impact to health systems in our lifetime, Olive CEO Sean Lane said in a statement. Olive has become a piece of critical infrastructure for hospitals and a trusted, reliable product that expands human capacity at a time when resources are more precious than ever. The AI workforce has become the new normal. And while we are excited about this latest investment, were just getting started.

Olive works with clients to automate tasks in areas including revenue cycles, information technology, supply chains, clinical administration and human resources. The company said that it helps hospitals and other health care systems to work more efficiently and increase revenues.

Its AI-based workforce has been adopted by more than 600 hospitals, including 22 percent of the top 100 health systems in the country, according to company data.

The firms headcount has grown this year to more than 360 employees, including 67 additions last month.

Among other investments in the past year, Oak announced in late winter that it had co-led a $15 million funding round for Nashville-based Axial Healthcare, whose services help individuals who are at risk of substance addiction or in recovery.

Last December, Oak announced a $20 million allotment to AU10TIX, a Cyprus-based identity-verification company. At the same time, the firm disclosed it was leading a $15 million investment in Manhattan-based security-management firm Panorays.

Last October, it announced it was leading a $100 million funding round in financial-technology startup Rapyd.

Founded in 2014, Oak manages about $1.9 billion in assets. Its executive team includes co-founder and managing partner Annie Lamont, who is married to Gov. Ned Lamont.

The firm is headquartered at 3 Pickwick Plaza in downtown Greenwich, with other offices in Boston and San Francisco.

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan addressed a congratulatory message on the Independence Day.

The message reads:

Dear citizens of Armenia,

Dear compatriots,

I congratulate all of us on the 29th anniversary of Armenias Independence.

The independence referendum held in 1992 on this day gave de jure content to the natural space where we, Armenians, live, create and call it homeland. After September 21 we are not only Armenians, and this space a homeland, but also we are citizens of Armenia who live in the Republic of Armenia.

We have a historic opportunity to be one from nearly two hundred peoples who have a chance to live and create in independent state. Therefore, we should record every day the irreversibility of our sovereignty with our actions, we should re-gain the right of having independent Armenia every day and serve our best qualities for the glory of united Armenia.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Victoria's coroners will immediately attend the scenes of Indigenous deaths in custody and fast-track hearings as part of a major overhaul of the way they investigate such cases.

Investigators must also meet to discuss cultural matters in each case and ensure a Koori engagement officer meets families as part of the sweeping changes, which take effect on Tuesday.

Troy Williamson says the Coroners Court of Victoria is "learning from past heartaches, pain and grief". Credit:Justin McManus

Coroners must also hold directions hearings into any mandatory investigations within 28 days of a death, to streamline investigations and reduce delays.

Troy Williamson, the Koori Engagement Unit manager at the Coroners Court of Victoria, said it was vital the court strengthened its commitment to creating a strong, supportive foundation for Victoria's Indigenous community.
PHOENIX  To backers, Prenda microschools represent a return to the one-room schoolhouse of the past, empowering parents to educate their children in intimate settings away from the cruel public school bureaucracy.

Looked at another way, the for-profit company is reaching for something more contemporary, to be the Uber of education.

Anyone can start a Prenda microschool of five to 10 students. No certification or degree is required to be a guide  Prenda's term for the adult who leads the class  only a passion for helping kids.

Guides use their living rooms as a schoolhouse, much like Uber drivers work in their own vehicles.

Prenda  which is largely based in Arizona but is "rapidly spreading all over the world," according to its website  has seen a surge in interest during the coronavirus pandemic and doesn't shy away from the Uber comparison.

If you think about Uber and the fact that it allows a normal person to own a taxi, and you think about Airbnb and the way it allows a normal person to own a hotel, Prenda allows a normal person to run a school, Enrollment Director Rachelle Gibson says in one of the company's numerous online videos.

And like the ride-sharing company, Prenda exploits gaps in regulation and oversight in the hopes of growing so fast and large that it alters the industry it seeks to disrupt.

Prenda is not a private school, a charter school or a public school. But at different times, it operates as all three  drawing taxpayer funding or support for each type of school. It teaches public and private school students in the same classroom, which may not be legal under Arizona law.

As a result, theres little government oversight of Prenda guides and how they lead their home classrooms.

If you ask Prenda, it's not a school at all.

Were not a school. We are a provider of microschools, said Prenda Chief Executive Officer Kelly Smith. We have a model, an education model, called a microschool. We provide a curriculum and tools and training and support to enable and facilitate the microschool to happen. But our goal is to work with schools as kind of a provider and partner.

Story continues

Smith founded Prenda after his experience forming coding clubs in Mesa with his son and other children. Smith saw how focused students were when they were driving their education rather than teachers. Kids, when they make a decision that they want to learn something, are unstoppable, he said.

Prenda divides its model into three sections: conquer, which is self-directed learning; collaborate, in which students do group activities; and create, when students work on a project in pairs or small groups.

The adult guides them through those activities but is not a teacher, Smith said.

Their job is not to deliver content, its not to take responsibility for the learning of kids, Smith said. So theres this Plutarch quote  'The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.' And thats what we encourage all of our learning guides to do is to work hard to kindle that fire.

The mother of one student told The Arizona Republic she had no idea what her son learned while attending a Prenda microschool, which she said used inexpensive curriculum available online.

Pamela Lang said she was forced to hire an aide for her son at additional expense. Her sons guide said she didnt have the time to help her son, according to Lang.

Partnerships with charter schools

Prenda has been indirectly funded by public school money through contracts with charter schools and a pilot program with Mesa Unified School District.

It is impossible to know exactly how much public school funding has ended up in Prenda coffers because Prenda doesnt hold a charter with the state.

Prenda's contract with charter school operator EdKey gives an idea.

EdKey receives about $8,000 from the state for each student in its Sequoia Choice online charter school, CEO Mark Plitzuweit said.

In its partnership with Prenda, EdKey takes about $3,000 of the state funding for each Prenda student, and Prenda receives the remaining share of per-student funding, according to contracts and interviews with Smith and Plitzuweit.

The amounts vary by grade level, Plitzuweit said. Prenda receives $4,100 to $5,100 per year for students in first through eighth grades, according to contracts from this school year obtained by the Republic.

Plitzuweit said EdKey's deal with Prenda will add $1.5 million to $1.75 million to EdKey's revenue this year.

That is an obvious benefit to a company that had a $9 million long-term deficit in its last available audit.

Under the Prenda deal, EdKey enrolls the students, who are counted by the state as charter school students in EdKey's Sequoia online school, even though their education is led by Prenda and they are taught Prenda's curriculum.

Prenda's agreement with EdKey allows it to be classified as an education service provider rather than a school, which would require it to obtain a state charter.

EdKey certifies that the students hours of instruction meet state requirements and submits to the state their scores from standardized tests. Prendas test scores arent publicly available because they are combined with all Sequoia Online students.

COVID-19 and schools: As schools shift to online learning, what should they do about cyberattacks?

"They can use us ... as partners in helping to make sure that these students have more school choice, Plitzuweit said.

Plitzuweit said every public school in the state uses service providers.

But few give contractors the exclusive right to educate their students.

Dawn Penich-Thacker, a spokeswoman for Save Our Schools Arizona and a Prenda critic, said Prenda defines itself in a way that is most advantageous for it to receive public education dollars while avoiding public education regulation or scrutiny.

Its exploiting the gaps in the system in order to grow their project as much as possible before people notice its taking advantage of gray areas in the law, Penich-Thacker said.

Fees split between guides, Prenda

Founded in 2015 and incorporated in Delaware, Prenda has sold more than $7 million in equity, stock options and warrants since 2017, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. More than $6 million of that was issued in May, SEC filings show.

Were building an organization around software, a curriculum, support of the student experience and then a lot for the learning guides as well, Smith said. So we need to find these learning guides, screen them, vet them."

Prenda advertises its microschool guides are paid $23,000 to $26,000 a year.

If a microschool has a maximum of 10 students receiving the highest payout from EdKey, Prenda and its guide would split roughly $51,000 a year in public charter school funding.

Prenda lets guides set up microschools in their homes.

Prendas website lists 371 microschools in Arizona. The number has exploded from about 80 in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. If Prenda received the maximum amount from EdKey for each school, it would take in nearly $19 million annually in charter school public funds.

Smith said Prenda has received less than $19 million annually from state-funded sources but declined to say how much charter school money Prenda receives.

"Private school" students who attend Prenda microschools tap public money through the state's empowerment scholarship account (ESA) program. According to the Arizona Department of Education, 25 ESA students used Prenda in 2020, paying it $32,000 this year.

Prenda has been trying to accelerate its growth, spending nearly $40,000 on Facebook ads this summer as the pandemic raged and some parents looked for alternatives to the traditional school setting. Since 2018, it has spent more than $100,000 on Facebook ads.

Smith said Prenda hasn't turned a profit.

Asked what the strategy was to become profitable, such as expanding as fast as possible or raising prices, Smith said he didnt have good answers.

What kind of school is it?

State officials cant regulate Prenda, in part because they cant decide what type of school it is or whether it's a school at all.

The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools contends Prenda isnt a school but rather a contractor to EdKey.

Serena Campas, policy and public relations manager for the board, said charters can contract with outside organizations to provide instruction, administration and other services.

"They basically function as a learning center," a place for online students to go during the day, Campas said. So thats kind of how Prenda functions for EdKey.

Campas said that as far as the board is aware, Prenda guides are not instructors or traditional teachers.

A lot of our schools have a learning center where theres a person there to facilitate learning as far as like watching the student and being there to answer questions, Campas said.

She said the board asked EdKey for more information about its relationship with Prenda.

But they are still EdKey students, they are still using, as far as I know, that curriculum, Campas said. Their contract, between EdKey and Prenda, we dont have any access to.

The Republic obtained the contract under Arizonas public records law.

Prenda teaches its own curriculum beyond what is provided by EdKey, Smith and Plitzuweit said. Plitzuweit said EdKey's curriculum is available if Prenda needs it, but Prenda uses its own.

Jim Hall, a former principal and founder of the group Arizonans for Charter School Accountability, filed a complaint with the Charter School Board contending that EdKey illegally collected state funds for average daily membership for Prenda students because EdKey wasnt educating them.

'Not a sustainable model': A peek at how one high school handles its COVID-19 challenges

The complaint alleged EdKey transferred state funds to a private school, Prenda, that doesnt provide services.

In response to the complaint, EdKeys lawyer denied giving state funds for schools' average daily membership to Prenda or paying a per-pupil" fee to Prenda.

The Charter School Board closed the complaint based on the response of EdKeys lawyer.

The contract between Prenda and EdKey says EdKey pays Prenda $4,100 to $5,100 per student and directly refers to average daily membership, saying that if a student completed the maximum number of hours annually, that would equal the full state average-daily-membership funds for that student.

What are we getting for our buck?

Smith acknowledged some may not understand Prenda because they have an outdated understanding of what schools should look like.

Our goal is to empower kids as learners, he said.

Parents certify hours outside the microschool because learning isnt an activity that is confined to a particular place and time.

Weve built support to reinforce that, encourage kids to go home and read a book and write and practice math and work on piano and a number of other activities that would allow them to continue their education outside of quote school, Smith said.

Hall questioned whether taxpayers are get a good deal by paying two private entities more money than most public schools in the state receive.

What are we getting for our buck? he asked. We have no idea where the money is going, except that I know that theres a yahoo that had two weeks of training that were paying $23,000 or $26,000 to work with our kids.

Public schools get less money while providing a comprehensive education for anyone who walks in the door  special education, tutoring, counseling, electives and extracurricular activities, he said.

The software programs listed on Prendas site are low-cost and available online to anyone, he said, noting they are often used by home-schooling parents.

Prenda's website says it has proprietary software called PrendaWorld, which helps students manage their online tools, set goals and hold themselves accountable.

A class of 100? COVID-19 plans overwhelm some teachers with huge virtual classes

Hall said EdKey essentially pays a bounty for Prenda to find children for its Sequoia Online program that the school doesn't have to educate, which adds to its profit margin.

"It's a boon to them," Hall said, noting Sequoia Online's revenue has increased from $6 million before the Prenda agreements in 2018-19 to an estimated $14 million this school year.

Penich-Thacker of Save Our Schools questioned whether Prenda is exclusionary.

By allowing guides to choose whom they want to provide services to and leave out others, Penich-Thacker said, the microschools can legally discriminate.

Smith said Prenda does not tell guides whom they should work with and is interested in helping all students. He cited partnerships for microschools with the Black Mothers Forum in South Phoenix, programs on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation and in more rural areas of the state such as Kingman, Lake Havasu City and Yuma.

Typically, those microschools will form organically around a neighborhood, Smith said. Were definitely not trying to serve a particular group of people. My goal is to provide a microschool option to anyone who wants it.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Prenda microschools get funding meant for charter and private schools
The image of Rolls-Royce cruising the chanceries of the world looking for new cornerstone investors is not one of which Britain can be proud.

Rolls-Royce is Britain's premier engineering business, with a reputation for excellence, a world leader in engines for wide-bodied jets as well as a critical defence contractor.

It is a victim of Covid-19 and the failure of Boris Johnson's government to keep the skies open in the pandemic.

In need of support: Rolls-Royce is a victim of Covid-19 and the failure of Boris Johnson's government to keep the skies open in the pandemic

Chief executive Warren East has cleaned up the balance sheet, made painful job cuts in the company's Derby heartland, lined up credit facilities and now needs to secure equity funding.

The pressure on the shares is becoming immense  down a further 10.8 per cent in latest trading  making Rolls worth just 3bn. That is a little more than half the value of The Hut which sells protein and beauty supplements online and has weak governance.

If investment banks, which rushed to take part in The Hut float, were working effectively, they would be stretching their sinews to make sure Rolls gets the 2.5billion minimum it wants.

There are a variety of things that the Government could do to support Rolls-Royce. It could become a cornerstone investor through a rights issue, ensuring its success. That might help preclude overseas wealth funds, such as Singapore, from becoming dominant influences on the share register with potential serious industrial consequences.

It could also take policy steps. It should be working like mad to open up an air corridor to New York, also critical for BA, Virgin Atlantic and the City. It needs to put more cash behind the Tempest fighter project. And it should step up support for small, modular nuclear reactors now that Hitachi has withdrawn from the fray.

Jobs, engineering skills, R&D and Britain's future as an aerospace champion are at stake.

Double Dutch

Plans by Unilever's chief executive Alan Jope to unify the Anglo-Dutch company's headquarters and domicile in Britain have taken a big step forward, with a 99.3pc vote in favour by Dutch investors.

So far this is proving a smoother process than in 2018 when his predecessor Paul Polman tried to shift the axis of the Ben & Jerry's-to-Dove soap group to Rotterdam. On that occasion, a spirited revolt among UK long shareholders, concerned they would have to sell the stock that would have been excluded from the FTSE 100 premium index, led to the proposal being withdrawn.

The approval of UK investors, who are to vote on October 2, must be a given after the resistance to Rotterdam.

But this does not mean the re-organisation is all over bar the shouting. The more serious obstacle has been posed by the Netherlands' leftist green party which, taking a leaf out of the Brussels playbook, is demanding Unilever pay an exit tax of 10billion. As a small minority party, it obviously could not force through such a measure.

But in a post-Covid world, where governments are scouting around for new sources of income to bring budgets under control, other politicians might see the merit of some kind of levy. Unilever initially took the threat lightly and, having taken legal advice, believes it would violate international law. Not that this any longer seems to matter to Boris Johnson's government in London in the wake of his Brexit bill escapade.

Unilever is clear that 10billion is not a price worth paying. After all, it amounts to one-third of Britain's total Brexit invoice of 32billion after nearly five decades of membership. Such an outcome, which thwarted Unilever's plans, would be unlikely to encourage Jope and colleagues to prioritise the Netherlands for future investment.

Rocky road

Sony underlined the value of music catalogues in 2016 when it bought Lennon & McCartney's songbook from the Michael Jackson estate.

Here in Britain, stock market newcomer Hipgnosis is trying to recapture the country's lost place in the global music business by splashing out on songbooks.

So far, the biggest names are eluding its grasp and the prices paid look top-heavy. But in the search for content, founder Merck Mercuriadis is on a streak, raising a further 250m, with his eyes on catalogues worth up to 1billion. He is putting together an increasingly credible team, including exiles from EMI and Virgin Music.
Mumbai: New York-based private equity (PE) investor Tiger Global on Monday moved the Delhi High Court against the quasi-judicial body ruling. The ruling in June by Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) had denied the PE firm benefits of grandfathering provisions under the India-Mauritius Double Tax Avoidance Agreement when it exited Flipkart in 2018.

The matter is listed to be heard on Tuesday.

There is enough substance and decision making in the deal structure to get India-Mauritius treaty benefits. The AAR has not gone into all the aspects of the deal before it denied treaty benefits to Tiger Global," said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

The Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) had rejected a petition by Tiger Global claiming an exemption from tax on capital gains resulting from the 2018 sale of its Flipkart stake to Walmart. Tiger Global had claimed nil withholding tax on the capital gains, since its investment firms, which made the Flipkart investment, were based in Mauritius and were set up before 2017. AAR ruled that they suspect the tax treaty is being abused to avoid tax.

The matter pertains to exit by, Mauritius-based entities, which were part of Tiger Global. These entities had sold their stakes in Flipkart Singapore to a Luxembourg-based company for over 14,500 crore, and, subsequently, had sought an advance ruling for zero withholding tax. The taxman objected that the transaction purely for tax evasion, and AAR accepted its view.

AAR held that the Mauritius companies were only see-through entities" created to avail the tax treaty and the real beneficiary was the US firm.

Tiger Global and its Mauritius entities have enough protection in the tax treaty to dispute the AAR ruling," the person quoted earlier in the story said.

The new India-Mauritius tax treaty protects investments from Mauritius before 2017 and continues to grant them treaty benefits.

The ruling of the Delhi high court would be relevant for the startups which were worried about ramifications on future exits if the deal involved Mauritius.

At least four rulings by AAR, including the one against Tiger Global, have labelled investments through Mauritius as a tax avoidance route and thus not eligible for treaty benefits.

While investments through the Mauritius route and tax litigation have always been a grey area in taxation matters, these recent cases are being viewed by investors as setting a precedent, which will make them pay 21% tax on exits.

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The Irish Cancer Society has launched a new Advocacy Network today, encouraging cancer patients, survivors, their families and caregivers to join and lend their voices to vital cancer campaigns.

The Society are recruiting volunteers to campaign on issues affecting cancer patients, such as the reversal of under investment in cancer care, the huge financial burden of a cancer diagnosis, and the urgent need for additional supports for cancer patients, including mental health support.

Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Paul Gordon said: Cancer patients are not only affected by the Governments chronic underfunding of cancer services, but they also face a significant financial burden in terms of loss of income and the costs of care, as well as a huge toll on their mental health.

The new Advocacy Network seeks to empower anyone affected by cancer to lend their voice to our campaigns for change. As we continue to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on cancer services, it is more important than ever that the voices of those affected by cancer are heard at all levels of Government.

The launch coincides with National Volunteering week, a celebration of volunteers and their impact across Ireland. Joining the Advocacy Network is an easy way for anyone interested in volunteering to create lasting change for the cancer community across Ireland.

Karen Sheahan, from Co. Limerick has signed up to join the Advocacy Network as a volunteer Advocacy Champion. Diagnosed with cervical cancer ten years ago at the age of 23, Karen is a passionate advocate for raising awareness about cervical cancer in young women, the importance of the HPV vaccine and mental health supports for cancer patients. She said I wanted to get involved in this programme to help improve the lives of those affected by cancer. During my cancer journey I felt a need for improved mental health and support services; before, during and after diagnoses. I always had the passion to help improve other people's experiences because of this. When I heard about the advocacy programme, I realised this is the time for me to help others.

There are two ways to get involved in the Advocacy Network. You can sign up as an Online Advocate to take quick actions for change, such as signing petitions or sharing campaigns on social media. Or you can volunteer as an Advocacy Champion to campaign in your local constituency and work with politicians to ensure that the voices of cancer patients throughout Ireland are heard. Advocacy Champions will receive training and support from the Irish Cancer Society and work closely with our Advocacy team.

More details are available at www.cancer.ie/about-us/cancer- advocacy/advocate-for-change
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Linkedin Fikri Angga Reksa (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 11:18 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c461e3a6 3 Books book-review,global-warming,nonfiction,climate-change,environment,environmental-issues Free

The COVID-19 crisis has created several compelling conspiracy theories.

Some politicians and celebrities have exacerbated the widespread false claims and misinformation. One of the most prominent COVID-19 skeptics is Jerinx, an Indonesian musician who vigorously endorsed conspiracy theories in his social media posts.

He claimed that the global elite, which consisted of Bill Gates and the World Health Organization (WHO), were the creators of COVID-19. He also denied the government's health protocols and firmly stated that the novel coronavirus was not harmful.

But the fact is that COVID-19 is a real threat to humanity. It was created neither by Bill Gates and the global elite nor the big pharma companies.

The crisis has been driven by environmental degradation, such as biodiversity loss and the acceleration of climate change that aggravates the spread of zoonotic diseases. However, it is unsurprising that many people are not aware of this as environmental destruction and its accompanying climate crisis are slow-onset hazards.

In turn, many people, including top politicians, have exploited this lack of popular awareness by proclaiming that climate change does not exist to move ahead with their agendas.

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells is an unpleasant wake-up call for all of us, especially to climate crisis deniers. This book is a riveting and terrifying account of our bleak future, drawing from numerous climate studies.

Wallace-Wells remorselessly delineates the notorious impact of human-induced disasters in a worst-case scenario. He spells out the adverse effects of climate crisis in his books first line as worse, much worse than you think.

He depicts the rapid devastation of the universe with an utterly convincing analysis. But this book is way too pessimistic, even depressing. Instead of prompting people to take action to respond to the crisis, it could drive them to learned helplessness or fatalism.

Wallace-Wells is a journalist and climate alarmist, though he does not define himself as an environmentalist or a nature-person. He became a climate columnist in early 2016 after reading related studies, terrified of knowing how fast the climate has changed since the Industrial Revolution.

He felt compelled to write more about climate change, considering that only a few mainstream media outlets covered it. In 2017, Wallace-Wells gained recognition after publishing a long-form article, The Uninhabitable Earth, for New York Magazine. The article went viral and sparked further public discussions on the climate emergency. In 2019, he elaborated more solid arguments into this book.

One of the most intriguing chapters in the book that is relevant to the current situation is Plagues of Warming. Albeit through a brief chapter, Wallace-Wells alludes to the immediate impact of climate change with pandemics concisely.

Long-dormant diseases have been trapped in permafrost soil for 1,000 or even 1 million years. Global heating has gradually melted ice sheets and ancient diseases could be unleashed. In Alaska, scientists discovered remnants of the 1918 flu that infected more than 500 million people.

In a laboratory, a 32,000-year-old extremophile bacteria was revived in 2005 and an 8-million-year-old bug was brought back to life in 2007. If ancient diseases could wake, it means the modern human immune system does not know how to fight them.

Wallace-Wells portrays other devastating consequences of the climate crisis, such as heat death, unbreathable air, wildfires, sea-levels rising, perpetual conflicts, economic collapse and so on. The last report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicated 1.5 degrees Celsius as a warming tipping point until the end of the century.

However, the temperature could actually rise from 4 to 8 degrees by 2100 if people do not make concerted efforts to reduce carbon emissions. This year, the United States National Weather Service recorded the highest temperature ever, 54.4 degrees, in Death Valley National Park, California.

Extreme heat also occurred in Greater London when temperatures reached 37.8 degrees last July. Multiple cascading catastrophes would likely happen because of global heating. Rising sea-level could amount to constant major flooding in Miami, Dhaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and many other cities.

This book dissects the root causes of the climate crisis in a comprehensive manner. Instead of saying that the climate crisis is merely a natural phenomenon, Wallace-Wells delves deep into the political and socioeconomic dimensions of the crisis.

Pursuing economic growth requires sacrifices and trade-offs. In the last 25 years, fossil fuel burning for industrial activities has contributed to half of all greenhouse gas emissions. Research has revealed that more than 10,000 people die each day from the small particles emitted from fossil-fuel burning. An air apocalypse has occurred in some countries in Asia that could trigger climate genocide.

To prevent this harrowing future, a radical change of human behavior toward the environment is crucial. Wallace-Wells does not underestimate individual initiatives in combating the climate crisis.

But realizing the massive and rapid destruction nowadays entails significant actions through public policy. When it comes to government political commitment, it is harder to deal with. It is worth to mention that some Nordic and Western European countries have pledged to reduce carbon emissions as their long-term goal. But Norway, which commits a net-zero target by 2030, still has a national oil business that will continue drilling for oil until 2075.

On the one hand, this book is a potent reminder to reflect what Anthropocene and the climate crisis mean to our existence. On the other hand, Wallace-Wells' illustration from the first chapter to the end tends to scare and create panic rather than offering a middle ground. This approach probably will not raise the ideal self-awareness.

Wallace-Wells suggests that only a technological solution and a social-political transformation at the macro level could significantly save us from devastation, which is not always the case. On top of that, the book also focuses only on human beings, neglecting other species that are also in danger.

Despite its pessimistic tone, this book is recommended to those who want to know the bigger picture of the climate crisis. It sits on the complete opposite of The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, which has a more optimistic and inspiring tone. The crisis also gave way to climate activists, for instance.

In addition to Greta Thunberg, environmental movements at the grassroots level are fighting for climate justice. Different from Wallace-Wells, I think every action by an individual or a small group counts and is pivotal to the sustainability of our planet. We could start with a small step, such as eating local foods, planting a tree, reducing plastic consumption and using public transportation. (wng)

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming

David Wallace-Wells

320 pages

2019, Penguin Random House

***

Fikri Angga Reksa is a researcher at the Center for Area Studies  LIPI. He loves reading, traveling and watching live concerts in his leisure time. He was one of the original members of the Baca Rasa Dengar book club when it was established in 2015.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Vice President, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia is expected to pay a working visit to the Oti Region on September 22, to inaugurate the new Regional House of Chiefs.



Mr Seidu Musah, the Regional Communication Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), told the Ghana News Agency that the Chiefs and people of the Constituency would have a durbar in his honour at the Oti Regional Coordinating Council (ORCC).



Mr Musah said the Vice President after the inauguration of the Regional House would interact with traditional leaders within the Constituency.



Dasebre Atamafowiese Kwame Bonja II, Paramount Chief of Chonki Traditional Area has expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo for facilitating the constitutional process, which led to the creation of the new Oti Region.



Dasebre Bonja urged all Chiefs in the Oti Region unite and make it a memorable and colourful day.



The Paramount Chief said Dambai has a vast land, which the chiefs had released for the construction of the Regional House of Chiefs and were only waiting for Dr Bawumia to cut-the-sod for work to begin.



Wife of the Vice President, Mrs Samira Bawumia recently paid a four-day working visit to the oti region, which was climaxed with the defection of some 600 members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the fold of the ruling New Patriotic Party.

Source: GNA









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

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Linkedin Stuart Tait (The Jakarta Post) Hong Kong  Mon, September 21, 2020 09:56 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4619b24 3 Opinion multilateralism,free-trade-agreement,free-trade,ASEAN,Southeast-Asia,ASEAN-EU,ASEAN-EU-FTA Free

When a recession hits, economies tend to become more protective by putting up trade barriers. But that isnt an advisable option for trade-dependent Southeast Asia. If anything, now is the time for ASEAN members to open up further by joining multilateral trade deals such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

As Southeast Asia cautiously emerges from lockdown, the policy focus is shifting from triage to kick-starting their economies. In its June forecast, the IMF estimated that Southeast Asias five biggest economies will shrink by 2 per cent in 2020, which is better than the global average of - 5 percent, but it will still be a severe shock for a region that has experienced growth every year since the 1960s.

Rebuilding Southeast Asias growth engine will be a challenge. The regions Big Three trade sectors - commodities, electronics and textiles - all face economic uncertainty as demand stalls. And investment, which has historically been an important economic growth driver, is set to fall dramatically across Southeast Asia, stunting the regions manufacturing growth.

The temptation at times of global economic uncertainty is to pull up the drawbridge and try to isolate the economy. Even before COVID-19, there is evidence that Southeast Asia was retreating from internationalism as the global economy wobbled. In April 2019, the European UnionASEAN Business Council estimated that the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations had imposed some 6,000 separate nontariff barriers to

trade across the region.

But giving in to the temptation of more protectionism would be a mistake. Barriers built in an attempt to isolate an economy from uncertainty have a tendency to become barriers to growth.

Recovery from the pandemic is a challenge, but it is also an opportunity for a policy reset: a new chance to create a transparent, coordinated low-tariff trade environment which facilitates shortterm recovery and sets the stage for long-term prosperity.

The key lies in free trade agreements, specifically the RCEP and the CPTPP.

RCEP accounts for 30 percent of the worlds population and 29 of global gross domestic product. CPTPP is a comprehensive, highstandard regional free-trade pact which brings together 11 economies from both sides of the Pacific, representing a little under 14 percent of the global economy.

At a time of increased protectionism and economic headwinds, these agreements promise to open the door to a new era of trade and investment integration and certainty between nations, maintain a rules-based order, and create a level playing field for large and small countries.

RCEP  which includes the ten ASEAN nations, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand - is reportedly down to the last mile details after almost a decade of negotiations. Obviously, a finalized RCEP agreement will be a welcome and timely

economic boost for businesses seeking to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. HSBC encourages ASEAN members to conclude these negotiations ahead of the RCEP summit later this year. RCEP members also have explicitly stated that they will leave the door open for India to rejoin.

FTAs can also create a hedge for Southeast Asian markets who may otherwise be exposed and vulnerable to trade barriers from traditional trade partners.

Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines have been weighing up the cost and rewards of joining Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei in the CPTPP. But with global economic prospects not as bright as they were nine months ago, these markets may need to choose pragmatism over perfection when assessing the viability of CPTPP. The risks of missing out may prove costly.

Regional FTAs like RCEP and CPTPP are also driving important domestic regulatory reforms, including in areas like labor laws (links to labor productivity), investment liberalization, cybersecurity, cross-border data rules and intellectual property protection. These reforms create less visible but material commercial incentives for trade and investment from member partners. This is only going to accelerate as we see supply chain dynamics change.

For example, HSBCs July 2020 Navigator research found that companies are seeking greater control, transparency and confidence in their supply chain production. Suppliers that can offer assurances that come under an FTA framework could find themselves with a competitive edge.

This scenario could very well be applied to Southeast Asias electronics manufacturing ecosystem. Currently Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand all vie for the lower-value electronics assembly. As producers begin to revisit their supply chain locations, in this COVID-19 environment, future locations could be selected based on which countries provide the most attractive pull factors.

Of course, completing an FTA does not happen overnight largely because these agreements are complex and have knock-on implications for domestic economies.

Achieving success will require these Southeast Asian governments to deliver strong and compelling messages to their constituents about the benefits that these agreements will bring. They will also need to complement trade policy with domestic programs aimed at re-skilling or redeploying workers who may be adversely affected by increased foreign competition.

While it may seem counterintuitive, the current challenging economic outlook could actually be the perfect time for Southeast Asian countries to make strong and far-reaching economic and trade policy action such as finalizing the RCEP or joining the CPTPP. In more precarious times, such as we have now, the choice is made clearer: Either we recognize, accept and embrace change and put ourselves in a position to seize opportunities, or we face being left behind.

***

Head of Commercial Banking, Asia Pacific, HSBC. Board Member of EU-ASEAN Business Council. The views expressed are his own.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
JUSTICEINFO.NET IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS Marie Wilson

Former Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

The Canadian government has just put residential schools on the official list of national historic events. From 1881 to 1996, more than 150,000 Aboriginal youth were forcibly removed from their families to be sent to kill the Indian in the child, as the saying goes. Todays recognition was one of 94 calls for action in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which concluded in 2015 that cultural genocide occurred. Five years later, one of the three commissioners, Marie Wilson, looks back on the process and assesses its impact.

JUSTICEINFO.NET: What was different about this Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in the global landscape of transitional justice?

MARIE WILSON: First of all, for the first time in the world there was a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in a so-called developed country, so it was historic. Second, again for the first time ever, a commission was dealing with the damage experienced primarily by children, and children of a particular ethnicity. Unlike elsewhere, it was not taking place in a military or war context, over a shorter period of time. It dealt with violence that took place over more than 130 years. Furthermore, it dealt with a situation that was legally established, with laws that created the residential schools whose abuse was committed with the support of several successive governments. Finally, for the first time, a commission was created as a result of the actions and pressures of survivors, the victims of the residential schools, in the courts where the government and the churches were the accused. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was completely independent, which was crucial for our work, and compared to others around the world, its purpose was not political but was really about healing and claiming the rights of victims. It was a very extraordinary commission.

We kept repeating that this commission was about Canadian history, not Aboriginal history, and that it was Canadian laws that had imposed residential schools.

How did the work of the Commission go?

As it had been taken to court, our commission was post-judicial. Compared to South Africa, for example, we were not allowed to summon witnesses, nor to award financial damages, etc. It was completely voluntary: the residents, who had requested this commission, could come forward as they wished to share their experiences and educate the general Canadian public about the true history of Canada. And that is what happened. We had three main goals, which corresponded to the mandate: to research, document and preserve for the future the history of residential schools in Canada; to educate the general public; and, finally, to inspire reconciliation. Much effort was therefore put into informing the media. For example, the events were public, including through live webcasts and recordings. We invited everyone, not just Aboriginal people, to come, and we kept repeating that this commission was about Canadian history, not Aboriginal history, and that it was Canadian laws that had imposed residential schools. The challenge was really to get people interested. In the beginning, at major national events, about 10% of those present were non-Aboriginal. At the last of the major events, 60% were. And in our final report and calls for action, we did not strictly target the federal government.

These calls for action were broad, detailed, and addressed both the government and the public. Why?

There is no recipe for reconciliation. Expectations for reconciliation varied widely among former residents. Some wanted a political response  to have nation-to-nation relations with Canada, for example. For others, the question of language was crucial  being able to speak it so that it could be passed on. Others had broader goals: access to jobs and better education Our mandate was very directive: to establish a research centre, to organise events in the communities but without specifying how many, to educate the general public but without telling us how, to inspire ongoing reconciliation. Finally, in the mandate, it was mentioned that reconciliation should be an individual and collective process involving not only the residents and their families but also the government, the Church, those who worked there and the Canadian public at large.

Five years later, what do you see?

I see that there has been a lot of movement and attempts to act, especially at the level of individuals and non-governmental organisations. But on the systemic issues at the level of governments and large institutions, it is much, much more difficult. Changes of people within organisations are going to be necessary for the situation to really change.

So this is a mixed picture?

Absolutely. And the important point, as Ive said many times, is the Calls for Action 53 to 56, which deal with the creation of a National Reconciliation Council, which is intended to monitor whether all the Calls for Action have been put in place, but also to report annually so that the Canadian people can know what the government has done, whether progress is being made or whether the situation is getting worse. The aim is not to blame or point fingers, but to take stock, identify successes and critical situations, learn from what works and what doesnt and see if it can be applied elsewhere, dig deeper to understand what is getting worse and what urgent responses are needed. And yet, after all this time, this National Reconciliation Council still does not exist. An interim committee responsible for proposing the legislative context of this Council has indeed been set up. Its report was submitted almost two years ago, and since then nothing. That is why I am very, very disappointed. This Council is very important, it is a question of human rights and justice.

One certainty is that the statistics on Aboriginal people in prisons, in the justice system, are getting worse. The same is true for young children who are being taken from their homes and put into social services.

What are the issues that have not really made progress in the last five years?

It is difficult to say precisely because, without this Council that I have just mentioned, we cannot know. Canada is very big. However, one certainty is that the statistics on Aboriginal people in prisons, in the justice system, are getting worse. The same is true for young children who are being taken from their homes and put into social services; rates are increasing almost everywhere in Canada and are far, far above  10 to 15 times  their corresponding proportion of the population.

And lets not forget the issue of Aboriginal youth suicides. Elsewhere, it would be considered an emergency crisis, but here in Canada, it is as if it were nothing. The rate is appalling. I just found out that in one community there were 16 overdose deaths in the space of six weeks. And one wonders: if it were in a southern city with a predominantly white population, would we have the same silent response or would we have an urgent response and an immediate intervention?

Residential schools have caused long-term damage that cannot be repaired in five short years.

There is also the question of services, of access to drinking water. While it has improved, not all communities still have drinking water. We are not talking about reconciliation but about basic means of living. I note that sometimes governments would present as a gesture of reconciliation providing a service that is taken for granted by other citizens.

Residential schools have caused long-term damage that cannot be repaired in five short years. Not everything will be resolved in my lifetime, but our work has engaged and inspired many people and young people who continue in their own way, in universities, in their communities, in their private projects and in their associations, in some companies and even at some levels of government. There are very good examples of people who are making efforts to see themselves differently and to get to know each other, when they have been living together for 150 years and have not even known each other each other as neighbours.

If we look at what people are saying in the Black Lives Matter movement, it is almost identical to what Aboriginal people said publicly at the TRC.

Has this commission created a dynamic at the global level?

Other commissions of this kind have since been set up, and I think that this is partly due to the fact that our work and the Commission got to be known through certain UN forums. We wanted other countries to pay more attention. Thanks to social networks, people paid attention and the live webcasts of our public hearings were very visible. People from 65 to 70 countries were watching our sessions.

I have been invited to participate in workshops three times in Australia, New Zealand, France, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the United States. Each time, the question that came up was: how could you have a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada? What lessons have you learned, how do you go about making an impact? I always tell them that it is far too early to say that Canada has had great success with the Commission. I am proud of the way we have conducted it. Those who participated indicated that just by sharing their experiences, their stories, by freeing themselves of their burdens, they felt relieved and better equipped to continue the healing work. But the impact will only be known in the long term, it will take years before we know if there has really been any systemic change.

If we look at what people are saying in the Black Lives Matter movement, it is almost identical to what Aboriginal people said publicly at the TRC. This underscores how systemic things are for everyone who is left out. The difference for Aboriginal people in Canada is that they have special rights recognized in Canadas Constitution, which is not the case for other people of colour. In section 35 of the Constitution, the First Peoples of Canada have special rights because for them, Canada is their ancestral territory and no one else can claim this in Canada [the Constitution Act, 1982 provides protection for Aboriginal and treaty rights]. But the themes of displacement, lack of opportunity, lack of access, racism, these are themes that come back and back again, and it will take time to rectify the situation.

I often point out in other countries that it is not about asking your government to set up a commission, unless it is guaranteed that it will let the TRC go ahead and not get involved, which is not often the case. Our Commission was a court-imposed obligation  it was not Canadas good will! Canada didnt want it, but since there were 80,000 survivors in the [victims] class action, it would have taken decades to settle it individually in court. So a collective agreement was reached [in the form of a Settlement Agreement, editors note]. It was not a government commission, but a commission for which the government had to provide the funds as financial restitution to the residents who fought for the TRC as the most important aspect of the settlement. It was not for the lousy money they received, but rather an opportunity to explain what they had experienced and to educate the general public about Canadian history.

The starting point was not the same as in other countries. The advantages and limitations of this approach must be considered. For example, in our case, governments and churches were required to release thousands of documents from their archives to the Commission. Except that, at one point, they resisted because they did not want to hand over everything, they wanted to retain the worst elements of what had happened. We had to go back to the Federal Court of Canada  we had that power  and the court agreed with us: the government and the churches had to give us any relevant document and not just what they wanted to give us.

You also have to be aware that when a commission is created by the government, it may become less important to the next government if there is a political change. The process for choosing commissioners can also be much more political. Throughout the world, we have seen many variations of this reality. A government can also, while pretending to act, stretch time, offer distraction and do little, rather than correct an unacceptable reality in society.

What kind of TRC would therefore allow for real awareness?

It all depends. If the Commission goes behind closed doors, nothing changes in the short term. If it is open to the general public, it may change. For us, the most important impact was to listen to those voices never heard before, that they be at the centre of the conversation, that these people could teach us and correct our societal ignorance, and that our collective consciousness be challenged: would this be acceptable to us? We really wanted to create a space for voices to be heard. This is the most delicate work, because it has to be done in a flexible, healthy and respectful way, without creating divisions by saying these are the people who [have suffered] and these are the guilty ones. We have never talked about guilt because it prevents dialogue.

We have not been taught to remain silent and listen to the other, the person who has never spoken, who never has a space in public debate and who has a lot to teach us.

Is this a basis for moving towards reconciliation?

Yes, because we tend not to listen. Rather, we tend to compete for the best answer. We have not been taught to remain silent and listen to the other, the person who has never spoken, who never has a space in public debate and who has a lot to teach us. I was overwhelmed by the poetry, by what they told with great generosity. There was so much beauty and humility. It wasnt filled with resentment, violence, anger I expected much more of that, I must confess. There was some from time to time, but for the most part, the tone was really respectful, in introspection, with the aim of wanting to heal and also of wanting to repair relationships within ones own family as well as in communities more generally.

What form of reconciliation did the Commission enable?

Many told us that reconciliation begins with themselves. This is because people grew up believing that they were worthless, that they would not achieve anything, that they were little savages, dirty little people  especially the younger ones who took it for granted. Reconciliation means first of all forgiving each other for believing these things about them, and now reclaiming an identity of self-respect and self-care. Thats why I said that the residents did not define reconciliation narrowly. They conceived it in many ways. We have to keep trying.

The key to a commission is flexibility.

In your opinion, does Canada offer a model for a truth commission?

I dont call it a model because the circumstances are never the same. I dont presume to know what works in one context compared to another. I can tell you that we started out in good faith with a promise to adapt our approach as events unfolded and as we learned. Since there was no model for us, we created something and made adjustments as we went along. Flexibility is very important to make people feel comfortable and secure. We must not forget that at the heart of our work are the survivors, the residents, those who have filed complaints. The key to a commission is flexibility. Another extremely important element is the presence of health support, to avoid emotional or mental crises. Those handling such support are not only trained in the western system but also have traditional and cultural knowledge, such as traditional healers. The health team is an example of what is possible when you work in a spirit of reconciliation, where you take the wisdom and assets of one culture and marry them with the assets and knowledge of another culture, where you allow another way of seeing for the good of all. Each commission must invent itself.

Interviewed by Marie-Laure Josselin, correspondence from Montreal (Canada).
Pakistan Army on Monday violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, continuing its nefarious activities.

At about 2.30 pm, the Pakistani troops initiated unprovoked ceasefire firing with small arms and intense shelling with mortars. The firing started along LoC in Shahpur, Kirni and Qasba sectors in Poonch district. The Indian Army is retaliating befittingly.

Live TV

On September 18, a civilian was injured when Pakistan violated ceasefire along the LoC in Poonch district. The woman was injured during the shelling in Dharati area of Balakote sector in Mendhar subdivision.

At about 4.30 pm, Pakistan initiated unprovoked firing with small arms and intense shelling with mortars along the LoC in Balakote sector, of the district. The Indian Army retaliated befittingly.

On September 17, an Indian Army soldier was injured when Pakistan violated ceasefire along the LoC in Poonch district. The Pakistani troops continued shelling for two hours in Balakot and Mendhar sectors in the district. The Indian Army gave a befitting reply.

The Pakistani Army resorted to heavy firing of mortar shells for two hours targeting the Indian Army check posts and residential areas in Mendhar sub-division of Poonch district. The shelling created a panic scene in the rural areas bordering the Line of Control.

The soldier was injured when he was hit by a mortar splinter. After the first aid, he was referred to Rajouri military hospital. He has been identified as CB Pawar of Army's Artillery Regiment, and a resident of Mahararutra.

At the same time, 120 mm mortars fired by the Pakistani army targeting the residential areas damaged about a dozen houses in the area around the Line of Control. This nefarious act of the Pakistani army was also responded to by the Indian Army. A few moments after the Pakistani Army opened fire, the Indian Army stationed in the area started responding in a similar fashion to the Pakistani Army.

Both sides received heavy shelling for about two hours that it was heard from many kilometres away on the Jammu Poonch National Highway up to Bimber Gali.

The Centre on September 16 had stated that India has lost 95 soldiers, 75 of them during ceasefire violation by Pakistan and 20 more soldiers during border skirmishes with China since 2014.

In reply to a question in Parliament, Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Shripad Naik gave a detailed answer. In 2015, four soldiers lost their lives when Pakistan resorted to ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC); in 2016, seven soldiers lost their lives; in 2017, 23 soldiers were martyred; in 2018, 19 soldiers lost their lives and in 2020 (till September 14), nine soldiers martyred. With China, 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in 2020, Naik had added.

The fatal casualties of Army personnel in battle since 2014 stands at 738, stated Naik. In 2014, 78 personnel lost their lives; in 2015, 109 personnel were martyred; in 2016, 133 personnel lost their lives; in 2017, 137 were martyred; in 2018, 117 personnel lost their lives; in 2019, 107 were martyred, and in 2020, 57 personnel lost their lives.

Details of monetary benefits/ entitlements to the NOK of battle casualty (fatal):

1) Compensation/Pension/Terminal Dues paid by the govt.

(a) Liberalized family pension (LFP ): As applicable to Battle Casualty that is equal to emoluments last drawn by the deceased individual.

(b) Ex-gratia lump sum compensation from Central Government:-

(i) Death occurring due to accidents in the course of duties, Rs 25 lakh

(ii) Death in the course of duties attributable to acts of violence by terrorists. etc. Rs 25 lakh

(iii) Death occurring during enemy action in war or border skirmishes or in action against militants, terrorist. etc- Rs. 35 lakh

(iv) Death occurring while on duty in the specified high altitude, inaccessible border posts etc. on account of natural disasters, extreme weather conditions Rs 35 lakh

(v) Death occurring during enemy action in international war or warlike engagements which are specially notified Rs 45 lakh

(c) Death-cum-Retirement gratuity (DCRG): Based on the length of service rendered and emoluments last drawn by the deceased individual.

(d) Disable/war injury element of pension released by PCDA (P) Allahabad, as applicable.

2. Compensation/Pension/Terminal Dues (Ex-gratia) paid by the state govt. As applicable. Rates vary from State to State.

3. Other Benefits by the Govt:

(a) Compassionate Appointment to the NOK: As per eligibility and qualification of NOK of BC through respective Line Dates (as per Govt Scheme)

(b) Education Concessions: Full reimbursement of the tuition fee. Also full reimbursement of Hostel charges for those studying in boarding schools and colleges.

(c) Fare and Rail Travel Concession: 75% concession on base fare by Indian Air Lines and for travel by Second Class Sleeper by train.
A mother has drowned in rough surf while swimming with her daughter in a horror start to Queensland's school holidays.

The 34-year-old woman was pulled from the water by surfers at First Bay in Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast just after 7 on Monday morning.

Witnesses say her 11-year-old daughter managed to make it back to shore, before her mother was spotted floating in the surf.

The woman was pulled from the water and had CPR performed on the beach by her rescuers as they waited for emergency services including paramedics arrived.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 34-year-old mother has drowned after going for a swim with her daughter at Coolum Beach (pictured) on Queensland's Sunshine Coast

The mother is from Toowoomba and was holidaying in the area with her extended family.

She was pulled from the water at an unpatrolled part of the beach before the red and yellow flags were put up by lifeguards.

Queensland Police Senior Sergeant Tony Hurley said the CPR effort lasted for more than half an hour.

'I understand that nobody witnessed the woman drown, but they just noticed that she was floating in water,' he said, as reported by 7News.

'I understand that her sister and daughter were swimming in the same area.'

A Queensland police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they were not treating the death as suspicious.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.
The top 13 countries with the biggest gay populations are surprisingly very rarely in the list of countries where gay marriage is legal. Click to skip ahead and jump to the top 5 countries with the biggest gay populations.

The gay populations has come a long way from being persecuted for simply existing across the world, to being able to safely marry in over 20 countries. However, there is still a very long way to go, especially in many countries where being gay is equivalent to committing a serious crime, even though the former hurts no one, except perhaps some people's feelings.

Wile the United States is known for claiming it champions human rights, we all know that it only champions the rights of white males. Every other population has faced some form of discrimination over the past century, and many still do, despite improvements being made. In the 1950s, homosexuals were said to be officially mentally ill and were barred from working in the federal government. In 1969, the Stonewall Inn in New York City was raided by police, a sanctuary for homosexuals, triggering outrage across the country and is said to be a landmark moment in the progress of gay rights. The fight for LGBT rights continued, culminating in all 50 states legalizing gay marriage between 2004 to 2015. Even a decade ago though, a famous personality coming out was almost unheard of, and often career suicide. Now, it is a much more common sight, even though a lot more still needs to be done. You can learn more about the US gay population if you take a look at the 11 states with the biggest gay population.

10 Gayest Countries In Europe

nito/Shutterstock.com

As I mentioned earlier, in many countries, homosexuality is still illegal, and even punishable by death. Most of the countries who severely criminalize homosexuality are Muslim, as Islam has always severely been against homosexuality. Even in countries where its not a severe crime, or even not a crime at all, the stigma with homosexuality still exits, because of which many people are still reluctant in coming out. Most of these countries are present in the 15 most dangerous countries for gay travelers.

Story continues

Since homosexuality is a naturally occurring event (no matter what your religion tells you) that is not affected by race, culture or any other discriminatory factor, every country should have a similar percentage of gay people. However, because of the aforementioned social and legal pressure, many people refuse to admit it, even under anonymity, and can even deny it to themselves in order to be accepted more easily. Secondly, gay people may move to other countries which are more receptive to homosexuals, such as the 11 most gay friendly cities in the world. Because of these limitations, there are very few studies, but we found a relevant one from the US National Center for Biotechnology Information, which calculated the number of gay and bisexual men in each country from UNAIDs estimates and social media. We also calculated the per capital homosexual population of each country after obtaining the total populations of each country from World Bank. So let's take a look at the countries where homosexuals are most prevalent, starting with number 13:

13. Gambia

I bet you weren't expecting Gambia here, were you? Gambia has strict laws against homosexuality, but the homosexual population has a strong presence in social media and hence, makes our list.

12. Mauritania

Expect many more African countries in this list, where again despite a small population, there is a strong presence of homosexuals on social media.

Pixabay/Public Domain

11. Ivory Coast

While in the Ivory Coast, homosexual acts are legal in private, that is not true for public gay acts, and can land you in prison for a decent length of time.

Pixabay/Public Domain

10. Senegal

We told you that Africa surprisingly dominates the list of countries with biggest gay populations. In Senegal, homosexuality is illegal across the country and 97% of the population is, at least publicly, against it. Privately, well, it did make the list.

Pixabay/Public Domain

9. Lebanon

Lebanon is one of the very few Muslim countries where all sexual orientations are legal, and is quite progressive in this front perhaps which is why its resident find it easier to admit this fact as well.

Pixabay/Public Domain

8. Ghana

The government itself has come down on Ghanians who engage in homosexual relations, and any gay people run the risk of going to jail for any such acts.

Pixabay/Public Domain

7. Ukraine

While homosexuality is not officially illegal in Ukraine as it is in most countries we've already mentioned, the prevalent attitude is extremely negative towards homosexuals who face extreme discrimination.

Pixabay/Public Domain

6. Nigeria

Nigeria has one of the most restrictive anti homosexual laws in the world, but if anything, this list is proof that repressing something will not be able to ever eradicate it.

Pixabay/Public Domain

Click to see the top 5 countries with the biggest gay populations.

Disclosure: Top 13 Countries with Biggest Gay Populations is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 22)  President Rodrigo Duterte called out critics of the efforts to clean up Manila Bay's Baywalk area, particularly the overlaying of crushed dolomite on the beach.

In his weekly address, Duterte said, "People now are really enjoying the reclaimed area with white sand, maski na papano. Wala naman talaga tayong magawa. You do it, may masabi sila. You do not do it, may masabi si (Vice President) Leni (Robredo). What do you want us to do?"

[Translation: People now are really enjoying the reclaimed area with white sand. We can't do anything. You do it, they say something. You do not do it, Leni will say something. What do you want us to do?]

The project has drawn flak from critics, particularly the Vice President, who said earlier this month that the money used for it could have been put to better use.

She said the 389 million fund reportedly allocated for the government initiative to overlay 'white sand' on the shores of Manila Bay could have instead gone to over 80,000 poor families who were left hungry due to the pandemic.

Other critics also said the project was merely aesthetic and did little to contribute to the rehabilitation and restoration of the area.

Duterte also defended Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and recalled how he gamely said he could take on the project of cleaning up Manila Bay.

"I remember that meeting, and I think everybody was there, when I said, 'Roy, kaya mong linisin 'to [can you clean this up]?' And the answer was a very curtly...'kaya [I can],'" Said Duterte.

He said he was impressed with Cimatu's answer which he called "very positive."

"People are now enjoying the benefits of the determined action of a Cabinet member to do good," said the President of Cimatu, and extended his thanks to the rest of his team, saying he could not have done so much if not for their help.
The Kansas Supreme Court has waded into the fray over obscure medical guidelines that will determine how much money workers injured on the job can collect.

Justices on Sept. 17 heard legal arguments on Zoom over which edition of the American Medical Association guide should be used for evaluating injuries in determining compensation to injured workers in Kansas.

Critics argue that the Sixth Edition of the AMA guide adopted by the Legislature unfairly limits compensation to injured workers, reducing compensation by as much as 40 to 70 percent for work-related injuries. Supporters of it contend it better reflects technical advancements by replacing the outdated medical guidelines.

The state Supreme Court took up the case after the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled in 2018 that the Legislature went too far with its adoption of the Sixth Edition of the AMA guide, which significantly reduced permanent disability compensation. Saying the tipping point has now been reached, the lower court found that edition unconstitutional because it no longer provided due process for injured workers. It struck its use from the states Workers Compensation Act.

That decision was appealed to the states highest court. Before the court was the case of Howard Johnson III, a U.S. Food Service delivery driver, who in October 2015 injured his neck while trying to dislodge a partially frozen trailer door while on the job. His injury required surgical fusion of the cervical vertebrae, resulting in a partial permanent disability.

Workers compensation paid for the time he was off work and for his medical expenses, along with a $14,810 payment for his disability. But if he had been evaluated under older guidelines used prior to 2015, he would have been paid $61,713 for his disability.

Kansas began using the Sixth Edition of the AMA guidelines in 2015, and under those Johnson was considered 6% disabled. Prior to that, the state had used the Fourth Edition, under which he would be considered 25% disabled.

Michelle Haskins, the attorney representing U.S. Foods, told the court that the earlier editions are out of date and the new guidelines would bring Kansas more in conformity with the majority of states.

Just as technology has changed and advanced so has medicine, clearly, she said. I would ask that the court keep Kansas in the 21st Century and affirm the use of the Sixth Edition and not send us back to using a 27-year-old, out-of-date medical text  one that is used by only a handful of states.

Assistant Solicitor General Dwight Carswell argued the Legislature adopted the new guide based on medical testimony after finding the former edition was outdated and didnt represent current medical standard. He told the justices that 19 states and the federal government use it.

But Mark Kolich, who represents the injured worker, argued that when Kansas adopted it they also dropped earlier language in the law that would have allowed more leeway to consider other medical evidence.

Kolich cited a doctors testimony that there have been no substantive technical advances in the way surgical infusions, like the one done on Johnson, are performed. The new guidelines reduced workers compensation awards by as much as 40 to 70 percent, he said.

The Sixth Edition is not based on any science, Kolich said. It is a concensus of opinion of a small group or committee of doctors, most of which have an insurance company bias.

Kolich also disputed the new guidelines were going to bring Kansas into the 21st Century.

It has nothing to do with that, Kolich said. The Sixth Edition has to do with the Chamber of Commerce wanting to keep costs down in Workers Compensation. We can all make up reasons why this happened, but everybody in the know knows that is what happened.

The Kansas AFL-CIO, Working Kansas Alliance and Kansas Trial Lawyers Association have weighed in on the case in support of Johnson. The Kansas Chamber of Commerce has taken the other side as did the Kansas Attorney Generals office, which intervened in the case to defend the guidelines adopted by the Legislature.

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

Topics Workers' Compensation Kansas
A countdown to the deadly decision that saw Victoria choose private security over Australian Defence Force personnel to run hotel quarantine has been revealed.

An inquiry into the bungled decision heard Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced private security guards would guard returning travellers - without advice from his top bureaucrat.

On Monday, Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Chris Eccles told the inquiry he did not advise the premier to use private security.

Mr Andrews went public with the scheme during a 3.20 pm press conference on March 27 - just hours after Victoria Police's chief commissioner had been advised by someone from within the Department of Premier and Cabinet that police would play second fiddle to private security guards.

Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Chris Eccles has faced the hotel inquiry in Melbourne

Private security has been accused of bungling the hotel quarantine operation and causing Victoria's deadly second wave of COVID-19

Meeting notes from March 27 where Chris Eccles appear to assume a decision has been made to employ private security at hotels. He cannot remember the meeting

Discussions between the DPC and he states Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp indicate the use of ADF personnel before the hotel quarantine program began

It comes as the inquiry revealed Victoria's Police Minister Lisa Neville questioned the use of Australian Defence Force personnel at Victorian hotels.

'The use of the army in hotels? That was not agreed at CCc (crisis cabinet) yesterday but is that what we will be doing? And what will they be doing, she asked the states Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp on June 25.

In a day of drama, Mr Eccles, who was appointed secretary of the DPC in December 2014 and leads the Victorian public service in advising the premier and the entire government of Victoria, told the inquiry he had 'no recollection' of advising Mr Andrews to use private security at the hotels.

Nor did he believe anyone else from within the DPC had provided any such advice.

Quarantine breaches involving private security guards seeded 99 per cent of Victoria's deadly second wave of COVID infections, which in turn has led to more than 700 deaths of the elderly.

More than 30 security guards ended up catching coronavirus from quarantined returned travellers while working in the hotels.

After more than three weeks of sitting, the inquiry has heard not a single person can identify who made the decision to hire the private security guards, including Mr Eccles, who claimed on Monday he still doesn't know.

Mr Eccles came under fire from counsel assisting the inquiry Rachel Ellyard.

'You are probably aware in a more general sense of evidence that's been given before the board from a number of other people who were also not aware of where the decision was made and when and by whom,' she said.

'The decision to engage private security ended up employing thousands of people and costing tens of millions of dollars. Shouldn't we be able to say who made it, as a matter of proper governance?'

Mr Eccles suggested the decision was likely made by a 'collective' of government officials.

Countdown to disaster was revealed at the inquiry into Victoria's disastrous hotel quarantine program

Former Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton takes on oath on the bible to tell the truth at Thursday's inquiry into Victoria's disastrous hotel quarantine program last week

Former Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton text messages his federal colleague advising that the order to use private security came from the premier's office

At the press conference, Mr Andrews said that police, private security and the government's health team would be working together at the hotels.

'We've been working on this for quite some time,' Mr Andrews said.

He further revealed 500 police working on coronavirus enforcement would be freed up by the private security guard plan.

Mr Eccles claimed he had no knowledge of the plan and could not speculate on what the premier meant during the press conference.

'It's really interesting and important question because ... it seizes at the issue of individual and collective decision-making,' Mr Eccles said.

The inquiry heard that a meeting of the National Cabinet was held just hours before Mr Andrews announced the plan to use private security.

The meeting, which included Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the nation's premiers, was held to discuss the COVID-19 crisis.

It concluded about about 1pm where a briefing was held with various department heads within Victoria.

Victoria Police chief commissioner Graham Ashton texted Mr Eccles about 16 minutes later.

'Chris I am getting word from Canberra for a plan whereby arrivals from overseas are to be subjected to enforced isolation from tomorrow,' Mr Ashton wrote.

ADF personnel didn't step foot into a Melbourne hotel until the virus had already leaked out from bumbling private security guards employed by the Victorian state government

'The suggestion is Victorian arrivals are conveyed to a hotel Somewhere where they are guarded by police for 14 days. Are you aware of anything in this regard?? Graham.'

Mr Eccles said although it was his practice to respond to the chief directly, he could not remember doing so.

Six minutes after contacting Mr Eccles, Mr Ashton texted Australian Federal Police Reece Kershaw telling him the DPC had advised police would not be running security at Melbourne hotels.

Mr Ashton told the inquiry last week he can't recall who it was who told him.

Under cross examination by a barrister representing Victoria Police, Mr Eccles said it was possible he had delegated an underling to respond to Mr Ashton, but could not be sure.

Both Mr Ashton and Mr Eccles' phone records fail to show the pair spoke or texted after Mr Ashton's initial text message.

However, Mr Eccles confirmed he had failed to ask if he did in fact ask someone else to pass on information to Mr Ashton.

The inquiry heard at a meeting held after Mr Andrews' press conference that day, the decision to use private security firms over police and Australian Defence Force personnel appeared to be well a truly decided.

In notes of the meeting, which Mr Eccles cannot remember attending, Mr Eccles is noted as stating that he assumes private security had got the job.

At the same meeting, Mr Ashton is noted asking what role Victoria Police would have.

'ADF will be assisting in spot-checking processes from what the PM and the Premier confirmed ... we're trying to keep the ADF presence back of house  to prevent the ADF presence obvious to the community etc,' he is noted as asking.

'Police wont [sic] guard but will be doing the checks?'.

A text message sent by former police chief Graham Ashton (bottom) six minutes after texting Chris Eccles

An email from Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Phil Gaetjens offering ADF personnel to Victorian DPC secretary Chris Eccles in April

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will front the hotel inquiry on Wednesday

The inquiry has heard repeatedly that ADF personnel would be available to guard Victorian quarantine hotels if required.

On Monday, the inquiry heard that Mr Eccles was directly offered ADF support, but he cannot recall whether he acted upon the offer or forwarded it up the chain of command.

Instead, the Victorian Government appeared more interested in obtaining cash from the Commonwealth to support it's army of bungling rent-a-cops.

'In about early April 2020, I contacted (Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Phil Gaetjens) and asked him whether the Commonwealth could provide any financial assistance to Victoria for security in the Hotel Quarantine Program,' Mr Eccles told the inquiry.

'Mr Gaetjens responded by email on 8 April 2020 saying, in effect, that the Commonwealth would only provide in-kind assistance of ADF personnel.'

Last week, Mr Andrews continued to stand by his earlier claims that Victoria was not offered ADF assistance with hotel quarantine.

He is set to be grilled at the inquiry on Wednesday.
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"Saying 'thank you' to God is a beautiful prayer. God likes this way of praying. You can also add a small question, like Jesus, please help the Pope lead the Church well. If you ask with faith, the Lord will certainly listen to you.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  Pope Francis met a group of youngsters with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), their parents and teachers today (picture by Vatican News). The youth are treated at the Ambulatorium Sonnenschein (Sunshine), a specialised clinic in Sankt Polten, Austria.

In thanking the staff for their wonderful work with youth with ASD, the pontiff spoke about the beauty of creation.

I can imagine why those responsible [for the clinic] chose this name since your house looks like a magnificent flower meadow in the sunshine, and you are the flowers of this house! God created the world with a great variety of flowers of all colours. Each flower has its own beauty, which is unique.

Each one of us is also beautiful in the eyes of God, and He loves us. This makes us feel the need to say to God: thank you! Thanks for the gift of life, for all creatures! Thanks for mom and dad! Thanks for our families! And thank you also for the friends of the Sonnenschein centre!

"Saying 'thank you' to God is a beautiful prayer. God likes that way of praying. You can also add a small question; for example, Good Jesus, could you help mom and dad in their work? Could you give some comfort to grandmother who is sick? Could you provide for children all over the world who have no food? Or, Jesus, please help the Pope lead the Church well. If you ask with faith, the Lord will certainly listen to you.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 01:54:26|Editor: huaxia

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A woman wearing a face mask walks past a poster in London, Britain, on Sept. 21, 2020. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday that Britain is facing a "tipping point" regarding the coronavirus pandemic and more restrictions are possible to cope with the spread of virus. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

LONDON, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday that Britain is facing a "tipping point" regarding the coronavirus pandemic and more restrictions are possible to cope with the spread of virus.

"We face a choice. If everybody follows the rules -- and we'll be increasingly stringent on the people who are not following the rules -- then we can avoid further national lockdowns," Hancock told the BBC.

"I don't want to see more measures, more restrictive measures, but if people don't follow the rules that is how the virus spreads," he said.

"But we of course have to be prepared to take action if that is what is necessary," he said. "We will support people who do the right thing and we will come down hard on people who do the wrong thing."

The government has announced fines of up to 10,000 pounds (about 12,974 U.S. dollars) for those who fail to self-isolate as requested as part of its efforts to urge Britons to follow the rules.

Also on Sunday, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, warned that London should be placed under new lockdown restrictions as early as Monday to curb the recent surge in cases, local media reported.

Britain recorded another 3,899 infections overnight on Sunday, as the death toll rose by 18, according to official figures.

Meanwhile, opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer called on the British government to entrust coronavirus testing to local authorities who have a comprehensive understanding of their communities.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that a second wave of COVID-19 in Britain is "coming in", and his government may need to "intensify things to help bring the rate of infections down."

Countries such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

Hancock said he remained hopeful that a vaccine would be ready before the end of the year.

"We have got the cavalry coming over the next few months -- the vaccine, the mass testing and the improvements in treatments -- but we have got to all follow the rules between now and then to keep people safe," he said. Enditem
(TNS)  When Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena logs into virtual committee meetings from home, she knows she might only be able to stay on until 10 a.m.Thats because her children start their online classes then and her Internet connection cant support all the activity. Her video cuts out repeatedly, and the legislator either keeps trying to sign back in or gives up completely.I live in Mesilla, 10 minutes outside our states second-biggest city, and the only Internet I can get comes through a phone line, the Democrat said, referring to her town near Las Cruces. Theres no broadband, no fiber optics.Her struggles are just one example of the challenges legislators have faced as the abnormalities of life during the coronavirus pandemic in New Mexico have extended to lawmaking.This year, legislators have scheduled fewer interim committee meetings than normal and have held most virtually. They say both of those developments have made it more difficult to get their legislative work done ahead of next years session.There is no question that trying to prepare a legislative agenda when everyones meeting virtually and meeting less is hard, said Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth.In Lara Cadenas case, after 10 a.m. she often resorts to calling into her meetings by phone instead of watching through videoconference, but that makes it harder to engage with panelists and fellow legislators.During a recent meeting of the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee, she wanted to ask Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase a pressing question about Medicaid funding.But I couldnt see them, nor could they see me, she said later, which also meant when I did engage, I wasnt able to see any reaction or response from my colleagues.In a separate meeting of the Economic and Rural Development Committee, Lara Cadena wanted to ask panelists a question about the topic of broadband. But she wasnt able to pose her question.I wanted to talk about Internet access, but I couldnt because I was on the phone only and the chair didnt know I wanted to speak, she said.In New Mexico, summer and fall are usually chock full of interim legislative meetings in which committees hear from state officials and experts as they begin crafting bills for the next session. Usually, the gatherings are held in different parts of the state, not just in Santa Fe.This year, legislators significantly pared back the frequency of interim meetings and nearly all of them have been held virtually or at the Capitol.Most committees are close to one-third [the frequency] of last year, said Raul Burciaga, director of the Legislative Council Service. No one has gone over half.Technical problems also have surfaced since early on in the pandemic, with some legislators struggling to use videoconference platforms or dealing with weak Internet connections.During one of the first virtual committee meetings held in the spring, loud audio feedback occasionally drowned lawmakers voices. Some legislators had trouble unmuting themselves to vote, and they had to speak over the sounds of sneezing and barking dogs.Difficulties have continued off and on over the summer, as rarely a meeting goes by without at least one complaint about videoconferencing.In late August, the Cabinet secretary for the Department of Finance and Administration was only a few minutes into a presentation when a committee chairman interrupted her.Secretary, were getting complaints from the legislative members that are viewing this by video that the presentation is not showing up on the screen, Sen. John Arthur Smith told Debbie Romero, who was participating remotely. Is there anything you can do to assist them with that?Let me see, Romero responded, followed by several long pauses during the Legislative Finance Committee meeting.Hopefully that will work this time, Mr. Chair, she eventually said.No, it hasnt, Smith said, cutting her off.Perhaps legislative staff could help, Romero suggested, followed by another pause.We just need to go ahead, said Smith, a Democratic senator from Deming. It just reflects the flaws of totally relying on video.The complaints continued during other hearings the following day.Im having trouble today with these kinds of virtual meetings, Rep. Patty Lundstrom, D-Gallup, said while asking the states early childhood secretary a question. Theres been some disruption in our connectivity.The Legislative Council Service has offered one-on-one trainings with legislators to help them better navigate the various technologies.Even when there arent technical difficulties, legislators say the virtual nature of most meetings makes it tough to spark the same level of debate and exchange they usually have when meeting in person.Its just not the same interaction and personal time that you spend building legislation, working on things, said Wirth, D-Santa Fe. Thats the reality of legislating during COVID.The majority leader drew a contrast between the virtual interim meetings and Junes special session, when the Senate met in person. He said the physical proximity helped give form to the legislation that was ultimately passed.Theres lots of different moving pieces that you cant move when youre all looking at a screen, Wirth said.As far as the frequency of meetings, the change is notable.By this time last year, the Indian Affairs Committee already had met four times, touring numerous parts of the state from Mescalero to Acoma Pueblo to Shiprock. During the interim this year, theyve met only twice so far, both times at the Roundhouse with virtual access.The Investments and Pensions Oversight Committee had held three meetings by mid-September 2019; this year, its only had one.Having meetings over the Internet instead of traveling to different parts of the state takes away from meeting constituents and seeing firsthand how theyre affected by various issues, legislators said.I feel the greatest downside is not being able to travel the state to witness firsthand the topics of discussion and to hear directly from those affected, said Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque.Some legislators do see upsides to the changes, noting they believe there were too many interim meetings in the past.Im a strong believer in reducing the number of interim committees to begin with, Smith said.Wirth also said he had a long-term goal of looking at which interim committees might be extraneous.We have such a large number of interim committees, and thats an issue thats been out there for a while, he said. Thats something we do need to look at.The decreased frequency of meetings also allows legislators to be more efficient with their time, Roybal Caballero said.If anything, having fewer meetings and holding them virtually has challenged us to be more succinct, clear, brief and prepared in the panel presentations and with our questions to allow everyone to have equal time and opportunity to be heard including, most importantly, the public, she said.Lara Cadena also noted that despite her connectivity challenges, it has been helpful not to have to drive several hours to Northern New Mexico from the Las Cruces area for a meeting, as she had to during last years interim period.The virtual environment sounds fantastic and can be because it takes out some of those driving times, she said.Wirth said a number of senators have told him they like being able to log in from home, too.But, he added, you lose a huge piece of the process by not being able to go visit and hear from constituents.
A Bulgarian court has handed two men life sentences for their roles in the bombing of a bus in July 2012 that killed five Israeli citizens and a bus driver.

Meliad Farah, a dual Lebanese-Australian national, and Hassan El Hajj Hassan, a dual Lebanese-Canadian national, were both sentenced by Judge Adelina Ivanova in absentia on September 21 as their whereabouts are unknown. They are the subject of an Interpol red notice.

The verdict can be appealed within 15 days.

In the attack, a man of dual Lebanese-French citizenship blew up a bomb in a backpack he was carrying outside the airport in the Black Sea resort city of Burgas after a planeload of Israeli tourists from Tel Aviv had boarded a double-decker bus.

The attacker, identified as Mohamad Hassan El Husseini, was killed in the attack.

Dozens were injured along with the five Israelis and Bulgarian bus driver in the blast.

The bomber, who was reported to be holding what appeared to be a falsified driver's license from the U.S. state of Michigan, also died in the attack.

Bulgarian authorities blamed Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah for the attack. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah has denied involvement.
Donald Trump and his rival for the U.S. presidency, Joe Biden, will campaign in two election battlegrounds on Monday

Donald Trump and his rival for the U.S. presidency, Joe Biden, will campaign in two election battlegrounds on Monday as they spar over the president's plan to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat with only weeks before voters choose between them.

Trump, the Republican seeking re-election on Nov. 3, will hold campaign events in Ohio, a state some Democrats once saw as a lock for Trump, while the Democratic former vice president makes his second trip of the month to Wisconsin.

Each are reckoning with a presidential contest that was upended by Friday's death of the liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Trump's intention to appoint a replacement before the election, which would cement a 6-3 conservative majority, has angered Democrats and shifted the election's focus away from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 Americans and thrown millions more out of work.

Biden said the winner of the election should pick the person who fills Ginsburg's seat in a speech on Sunday. He called Trump's planned appointment an "exercise of raw political power" after Republican senators refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee in 2016, citing that year's presidential election.

In a Fox News interview on Monday, Trump said he will name his choice to replace Ginsburg by Friday or Saturday.

Biden is headed to Wisconsin for the second time this month in a sign of the state's importance to the upcoming election. In his last visit, Biden went to Kenosha and spoke with Jacob Blake, the Black man whose shooting by police prompted widespread unrest.

This time, Biden will visit largely white Manitowoc County, which supported the former vice president and President Barack Obama when they ran as the Democratic ticket in 2008. The county backed Trump in 2016, helping deliver the state to a Republican presidential candidate for the first time since 1984.

Biden's campaign has made targeting such "flip" voters a priority, and it also hopes Biden will deliver a larger share of white voters than Democrat Hillary Clinton did in 2016.

Trump's campaign has made holding the state a prime concern after his 2016 victory by less than 1% of the vote. Trump visited Wisconsin last week, announcing a new round of coronavirus pandemic assistance to farmers of about $13 billion.

State polling averages show Biden with a lead of several points in Wisconsin but trailing Trump slightly in Ohio, where the president was scheduled to campaign on Monday.

Trump is expected to speak about "fighting for the American worker," with a focus on the economic themes that dominated his re-election pitch prior to Ginsburg's death, before attending a rally.

Earlier in the race, many Democrats had privately written off a win in Ohio, seeing it as firmly in Trump's grasp. But Biden's campaign is now pursuing wins in an expanded set of states.

On Monday, Biden's campaign said it would add Georgia and Iowa to a list of 10 other states where it is running paid advertisements. Meanwhile, campaign finance filings on Sunday showed the national Republican Party transferred $1.3 million in August to the coffers of the state party in Texas, a long-time Republican stronghold that Democrats also hope to make competitive.



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Patna, Sep 21: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching nine important highway projects in Bihar, Chief Minister has emphasised on the need to extend the from Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur to Buxar.

The connects Ghazipur district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh with state capital Lucknow.

Kumar said that the extension of the road for another 17 kilometres will help connect directly with New Delhi.

The Agra Lucknow Taj Expressway and the Greater Noida-Agra Yamuna expressway are already operational.

The extension of will also boost trade and the agriculture sector, said the CM. "Transportation between Delhi and by road will become easier. We already have a good road between Buxar and Patna and the widening of four-lanes is underway," added Kumar.

Kumar also said that the announcement of nine highway projects will help enormously in the context of Bihar's development.

The proposal of four-lane road connectivity between Ara to Mohania will also help give another option for direct connectivity from Patna to Delhi.

Patna, the capital of Bihar, is one of the most congested cities in the country. Now, the Centre has proposed 39-km ring road comprising six lanes to ease pressure on roads inside the city.

Besides, the PM also laid down the foundation of a four-lane bridge parallel to the Mahatma Gandhi Setu between Patna and Hajipur, the Vikramshila Setu in Bhagalpur and the Kosi Mahasetu in Madhubani and Araria districts.

On the occasion, Union law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said 6 lakh villages across the country will be connected through optical fibre.

"The idea is to provide high-speed internet connectivity to villages for overall development of the country," Prasad said.

-- IANS

ajk/ash

(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.)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 22)  President Rodrigo Duterte praised Ombudsman Samuel Martires for aiding the investigations on corruption cases involving state health insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

"I find Martires a very reasonable man, pero 'yung naglabas 'yung PhilHealth na sunod sunod sabi ko na, (but when cases involving PhilHealth came out, I said,) 'Well I think he is also really trying his best to help us,'" said Duterte during the weekly Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases meeting on Monday.

The Office of the Ombudsman ordered the suspension of 13 PhilHealth officials stemming from an old complaint, amid then ongoing probe into corruption allegations hounding the state health insurance firm.

Duterte approved the recommendation of the Department of Justice-led investigating task force to file complaints against PhilHealth officials involved in the early disbursement of cash advances to COVID-19 patients prior to its effectivity in June and the procurement of allegedly overpriced IT equipment.

The President also highlighted the good relationship between the Office of the Ombudsman and the Executive Department.

"If you would notice the fact that at no other time, the rapport of the Ombudsman and the Executive Department, they have a good relationship. It's a matter of human relations," added Duterte in his address.

Duterte's remarks came after the Ombudsman declared new restrictions on the public's access to the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) of government officials.

The amended guidelines were released after reporters began requesting copies of Duterte's 2018 and 2019 SALNs; both documents have yet to be published.

"I do not know him. But if that is the kind of reception we get from him, it's a matter of human niceties. I'd like to thank you for that. We need that kind of relationship with the Ombudsman," stressed Duterte.
Union Health Minister on Sunday held "irresponsible behaviour" of people responsible for the surge of Covid-19 cases in the country, and appealed to Lok Sabha MPs to spread awareness regarding the pandemic.

In his reply on a special discussion on Covid-19 in the lower house of Parliament, he said the pandemic is spreading rapidly because of such behaviour.

"It seems people have misunderstood the unlock processes and have become relaxed, thinking everything is fine. They must remember that Covid appropriate conduct is important," he said.

"Hands must be kept away from the face. Masks are a must and so is physical distance."

The Minister appealed to MPs to help launch a campaign for public awareness regarding Covid-19-related appropriate behaviour and enforce it in their respective constituencies.

"If we can end laxity in our behaviour, the fight against Covid can be won quickly. We have to break the chain of Covid transmission," he said in his reply to the nearly five-hour debate.

The Minster clarified that the disease does not spread through air and maintained that its cycle is through human transmission, and thus, human behaviour needs to be controlled till the Covid vaccine comes into the market.

Citing five independent studies, said that the national lockdown was helpful in combating Covid-19 which so far has infected 54,00,620 people across the country.

"Lockdown prevented cases and deaths at a time when the situation was critical."

He also said that 145 Covid vaccine candidates worldwide were in pre-clinical evaluation and 35 in the clinical stage.

"In India, 30 vaccines have been supported and of these, three are in advanced human trial stages and more than four are in pre-clinical stages. India has planned ahead for vaccine distribution as and when it is available."

India was now conducting 12 lakh tests a day and has developed the capacity to produce 10 lakh test kits daily, he said.

"We have evaluated 870 kits, recommended 420 and 308 are in use," the Minister said.

Earlier in the day, played down fears the Covid outbreak in India has reached the community transmission stage, noting that "only 10 states are reporting maximum cases" and that the bulk of these are in "few districts".

During an hour-long social media interaction on Sunday, he also dismissed that the pandemic was peaking in India, stating that different parts of the country were "at multiple trajectories".

--IANS

rak/vd

(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 payment scheme for injured Troubles victims could open for applications by early March next year, the Justice Minister has said.

Naomi Long said every effort is being made "to shorten that timescale if at all possible", adding that she is "determined" to get the scheme delivered as soon as possible.

Last month the Department of Justice was designated by The Executive Office to administer the compensation scheme.

This followed a High Court ruling that the department was acting unlawfully in delaying its introduction.

The scheme, which will provide regular payments to people seriously injured in the Troubles, was approved by Westminster in January.

Mrs Long said that while it is "extremely welcome" to have reached this point, she understands the concerns about potential further delays.

"I share those frustrations and want to reassure those who are waiting on this scheme that we are doing everything in our power to move things forward," she said.

"We have a small pot of money to begin this work and a project team has been established to advance the development of delivery structures for the new scheme.

"We currently estimate that it could open for applications by early March 2021, but we are making every effort to shorten that timescale if at all possible."

She said a number of important operational steps - not all of them within her department's direct control - need to be advanced to implement the scheme.

These include the development of an IT system and a medical assessment process as well as the appointment of members to the Victims' Payments Board.

"It is not possible for me to say when payments to victims might commence, as that will ultimately be a matter for the Victims' Payments Board when established," she said.

"However, it will also depend on how quickly evidence can be gathered to allow applications to be assessed, which is why my officials are already in contact with the Public Records Office NI, the PSNI and others about how data can be accessed by the panel.

"I am only too mindful of the understandable expectations of victims and survivors who need this important financial support and who have campaigned in a courageous and dignified way to get it. For their sakes, it is important that we get this right. It is important that we balance expediency with ensuring due diligence," she said.

"Given how often victims and survivors have been let down over the years, I will not over-promise and under-deliver on such an important scheme: I am, however, determined to do all that is possible to get it delivered as soon as possible."

Mrs Long said although the Westminster regulations came into force on May 29, the issue of longer-term funding for the scheme remains outstanding.

"I am strongly of the view that the UK Government has an obligation to make the necessary funding available and I am committed to working with the Secretary of State, Treasury and Executive colleagues to ensure that it is put in place.

"That must now be our focus," she said.
Several global banks moved large sums of allegedly illicit funds over a period of nearly two decades, despite red flags about the origins of the money, BuzzFeed and other media reported on Sunday, citing confidential documents submitted by banks to the US government.

The media reports were based on leaked suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by banks and other financial firms with the US Department of Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen).

The SARs, which the reports said numbered more than 2,100, were obtained by BuzzFeed News and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and other media organizations.

In all, the ICIJ reported that the files contained information about more than $2 trillion worth of transactions between 1999 and 2017, which were flagged by internal compliance departments of financial institutions as suspicious. The SARs are in themselves not necessarily proof of wrongdoing, and the ICIJ reported the leaked documents were a tiny fraction of the reports filed with FinCEN.

Five global banks appeared most often in the documents  HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Deutsche Bank AG, Standard Chartered Plc and Bank of New York Mellon Corp, the ICIJ reported. The SARs provide key intelligence in global efforts to stop money laundering and other crimes. The media reports on Sunday painted a picture of a system that is both under-resourced and overwhelmed, allowing vast amounts of illicit funds to move through the banking system.

A bank has a maximum of 60 days to file SARs after the date of initial detection of a reportable transaction, according to the Treasury Departments Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The ICIJ report said in some cases the banks failed to report suspect transactions until years after they had processed them.

The SARs also showed that banks often moved funds for companies that were registered in offshore havens, such as the British Virgin Islands, and did not know the ultimate owner of the account, the report said. Staff at major banks often used Google searches to learn who was behind large transactions, it said.

Among the types of transactions highlighted by the report: funds processed by JPMorgan for potentially corrupt individuals and companies in Venezuela, Ukraine and Malaysia; money from a Ponzi scheme moving through HSBC; and money linked to a Ukrainian billionaire processed by Deutsche Bank.

I hope these findings spur urgent action from policymakers to enact needed reforms, said Tim Adams, chief executive of the trade group Institute of International Finance, in a statement. As noted in todays reports, the impacts of financial crime are felt beyond just the financial sector  it poses grave threats to society as a whole.

In a statement to Reuters, HSBC said all of the information provided by the ICIJ is historical. The bank said as of 2012, HSBC embarked on a multi-year journey to overhaul its ability to combat financial crime across more than 60 jurisdictions.

Standard Chartered said in a statement to Reuters, We take our responsibility to fight financial crime extremely seriously and have invested substantially in our compliance programmes.

BNY Mellon told Reuters it could not comment on specific SARs. We fully comply with all applicable laws and regulations, and assist authorities in the important work they do, the bank said.

JPMorgan said it has thousands of people and hundreds of millions of dollars dedicated to this important work. We have played a leadership role in anti-money laundering reform, the bank said in a statement.

In a statement on Sunday, Deutsche Bank said the ICIJ had reported on a number of historic issues. We have devoted significant resources to strengthening our controls and we are very focused on meeting our responsibilities and obligations, the bank said.

FinCen said in a statement on its website on Sept. 1 that it was aware that various media outlets intended to publish a series of articles based on unlawfully disclosed SARs, as well as other documents, and said that the unauthorized disclosure of SARs is a crime that can impact the national security of the United States.

Representatives for the US Treasury declined comment beyond the FinCen statement.
Boson Dynamics is going to start building robots for the logistics industry, according to the companys new CEO Robert Playter.

In an interview at Disrupt 2020, Mr Playter said that despite building many impressive robots and making them commercially available  such as its robot dog Spot - he did not know what industry the company would want to go into.

We werent sure exactly what the target verticals would be, he said, adding that 260 of the $75,000 robot dogs have been sold so far.

As an industrial tool this is actually quite affordable. But weve been very aggressive, spending a lot of money to try to build an affordable way to produce this, and were already working on ways to continue to reduce costs.

Mr Playter says that the consequences of the global pandemic has meant more companies are looking towards robots as an alternative or an addition to manual labour.

Boston Dynamics has apparently received requests for collaboration on remote monitoring of patients and automatic disinfection using Spot.

During the pandemic, robot cleaners have been used in various environments including the Leeds city centre and Heathrow airport. They have also had a pronounced presence internationally.

We have big plans in logistics, Mr Playter said. were going to have some exciting new logistics products coming out in the next two years. We have customers now doing proof of concept tests. Well announce something in 2021, exactly what were doing, and well have product available in 2022.

Among its current array of robots includes Pick, an item-grabbing machine, and the company says it is working on a new version of its Handle robot  a small, bird-like machine which can move items into shipping containers or trucks easier than other robots.

Well be offering software that lets robots work together, he said. Now, we dont have to create them all. But ultimately it will take teams of robots to do some of these tasks, and we anticipate being able to work with a heterogeneous fleet.

However, while Boston Dynamics will be putting many robots into the industry its humanoid machine, called Atlas, will not be one of them.

The company says that despite the machines agility, it is not yet able to be used for practical purposes; instead, the company sees it as a prestige project.

Its such a complex robot, and it can do so much it forces us to create tools we would not otherwise. And people love it  its aspirational, it attracts talent, said Mr Playter.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : The Delhi High Court on Monday observed that the state government has taken adequate steps to provide financial assistance to widows through pensions and other schemes.

"Looking at the Delhi government's affidavit, it appears that adequate steps have been taken by it to provide funds to the widows. We see no reason to further monitor this case," said a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan.

The Department of Social Welfare had filed the affidavit in response to a petition by social activist Harpal Singh Rana through advocate Akhil Rana and Utkarsh Sharma, claiming that pensions to around 12,000 widows had been discontinued during the COVID-19 lockdown by the Ministry of Women and Child Development without any valid reason.

The AAP government said in the affidavit, filed through advocate Anjum Javed, that it is remitting monthly pensions to beneficiaries so that they did not face any financial hardship during the pandemic.

"... the Department of Social Welfare has not withheld or discontinued pensions in respect of any beneficiary on imaginary grounds," the affidavit said.

"The whole process of filing applications for all pension schemes, that is, old-age and disability pensions as well as financial assistance under the Delhi Family Benefit Scheme of the Department is online only." It said the money given under the Head "Financial Assistance to Widows for Performing Marriages of their Daughters" has been increased to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 60,000.

Rana told the court in his petition that as per a Right to Information reply, pensions of around 12,000 widows had been discontinued by the Ministry.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government also told the court that the status of the online applications is sent by the portal on the mobile numbers of the applicants. In offline cases, the status (acceptance/rejection) is conveyed by district offices through anganwadi/ASHA workers and displayed on the e-district portal.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Voto Latino, the nation's premier Latinx voter registration organization, has registered 307,161 voters for the 2020 election cycle, bringing the organization's total registrations to over 800,000 voters. 77% of voters registered are between the ages of 18 and 39. 61% are women. 166,520 of the organization's registrations have come from Texas, alone. Voto Latino has also registered 21,449 voters in Georgia, 7,908 in Colorado, 18,538 in North Carolina, and 23,370 in Arizona. This cycle, the organization has raised $19 million to register 500,000 voters and mobilize 2.2 million low propensity voters in key battleground states.

"Voto Latino is now more than halfway to our goal of 500,000 voter registrations for the 2020 cycle," said Maria Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino President and CEO. "In the face of a global pandemic, and an economic recession, Voto Latino is the blueprint for voter engagement and empowerment. We've cracked the code for registering voters during simultaneous crises and we are not leaving anything to chance. The stakes could not be higher for the Latinx community."

Voto Latino is on track to meet its 500,000 registration goal by Election Day, which will bring the organization's total registrations to over one million voters. The organization also recently launched the Voto Latino Foundation Impact Council, featuring council chairs such as Selena Gomez, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, and Rosario Dawson. The Impact Council will significantly expand voter outreach, registration, and turnout efforts as Election Day approaches.

Voto Latino is a grassroots political organization focused on educating and empowering a new generation of Latinx voters, as well as creating a more robust and inclusive democracy. Through innovative digital campaigns, culturally relevant programs and authentic voices, we shepherd the Latinx community towards the full realization of its political power.

Contact:

Danny Turkel, [email protected]

SOURCE Voto Latino

Related Links

www.votolatino.org


Kofi Appenteng, AAI President and CEO Over the past six decades, AAI has provided over 23,000 scholarships and fellowships to African Students. Collectively, their voices reveal many of the positive achievements of Africans and African descendants and inspire future generations.

The Africa-America Institute (AAI) will once again celebrate the many successes of Africa, Africans and African-descendants during its 36th Annual Awards Gala, taking place virtually on Tuesday, September 22, 2020.

Since 1984, the AAI Annual Awards Gala has been the most anticipated African-centered event in New York City. In 2020, AAI is excited to take our Awards Gala digital, for the first time hosting the awards ceremony online and streaming the ceremony to over 23,000 of our alumni, students, partners, and supporters across the globe.

"AAI believes that education is an indispensable means for affirming the humanity of Africans and people of African descent. Over the past six decades, AAI has provided over 23,000 scholarships and fellowships to African Students, AAI President and CEO Kofi Appenteng said of the organizations important work. Collectively, their voices reveal many of the positive achievements of Africans and African descendants and inspire future generations.

This years gala theme is Future Voices. As we continue to educate and inspire the leaders of tomorrow, we will honor a distinguished group of leaders who are using their influence and creativity to affect real, measurable change today. The honorees are a group of achievers who are laying the foundation for the work that future voices will continue.

This year, AAI is proud to recognize the following leaders and creators, each of whom exemplifies the Institutes mission:

2020 AAI HONOREES

*The Africa Illuminated Leadership in Arts & Culture Award

Ms. Issa Rae, Emmy Nominated Actress, Writer & Producer

*The AAI African Diaspora Justice & Equity Award:

Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF)

*The National Achievement Award

The People of the Republic of Senegal, to be accepted by H.E. President Macky Sall

*The Presidential Leadership Award

AAI Alumnus, H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger.

*Distinguished Alumni Award

Claude Borna, Managing Director and Chief Innovation Officer, Seme City Development Agency

*International Institution of Excellence Award

The African Export  Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK), to be accepted by Prof. Benedict Oramah

ABOUT AAI

The Africa-America Institute (AAI) is the flagship U.S. organization connecting Africa to America. Since its founding in 1953, over 23,000 Africans have received scholarships and fellowships from the Africa-America Institute. These Africans are now an esteemed network of alumni, many of whom are leaders and influencers across public, private, and governmental sectors in Africa and globally. Included in this network are current Heads of State, H.E. Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia; H.E. Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Cote dIvoire; H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger; and H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa. Many of AAIs Alumni have left an indelible imprint, including the late 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Mathaai and the late Barack Obama, Sr.

For more information about AAIs 36th Annual Virtual Awards Gala, visit aaionline.org/gala

#AAIGala2020 #AAIVirtual Gala #AAIAfrica
New Lockdowns Could Lead Europe to Economic Depression

Commentary

The rise in COVID-19 cases in countries such as France and Spain has increased the risk of new lockdowns.

Governments should understand by now that shutting down the economy is highly inefficient and devastating for jobs and business solvency. However, as weve seen in Spain, many governments simply decide to implement new lockdowns in order to show that theyre taking aggressive measures, even knowing that the lockdowns generate more negative effects and have no real impact on preserving health.

Instead of looking at the examples of South Korea, Taiwan, Sweden, or Austria, where simple but effective measures have resulted in a better management of the health crisis, some European governments are ignoring the economic and social long-term disaster that closing down the economy has created and seem prepared to repeat past mistakes.

The mistake of ignoring the economic impact of lockdowns creates a social crisis that may last for many years.

If the European economy was ill prepared for a series of lockdowns in February, its even weaker now. What created a recession of unexpected proportions may generate a depression that will likely last for a few years.

European economies cannot survive a new series of lockdowns, even if governments call them targeted. Why?

Solvency has worsened. The financial system would see nonperforming loans soar in an economic area where Standard and Poors estimates that more than 20 percent of businesses are in serious financial trouble or close to bankruptcy. A new series of lockdowns would likely start a new financial crisis.

Unemployment has been disguised. European unemployment looks optically low due to the large proportion of furloughed jobs. The euro area 7.9 percent official unemployment rate could double when those furloughed jobs end and the businesses that kept on those workers find they need to close permanently.

Governments financial situations have weakened to extreme levels. Deficit spending has driven government debt to new record highs. Debt could increase well above 120 percent of GDP in the eurozone if the economy is closed again, even in so-called targeted shutdowns.

Investors have been buying high-risk bonds from almost insolvent governments and highly indebted corporations at all-time-low yields, taking significant risk on expectations of a rapid recovery of the economy. The nominal and real losses in pension funds and investment plans can be massive.

This time the European Central Bank will not be able to contain the financial risk. More quantitative easing and further rate cuts will likely fail to stop bond yields from soaring when the solvency and liquidity problems meet the reality of an unsustainable spending spree.

Market participants are not considering the redenomination risk on the euro when anyone can see that many populist parties proposed measures in the European Commission to break up the euro in 2016. These investors are looking at the eurozone as a haven compared to the alleged political risks in the United States without acknowledging that the financial and political risks in Europe are significant.

New lockdowns could be the black swan that many market participants fear and ignore as a nonexistent option. The optimistic estimates of eurozone recovery, earnings growth, and consumption recovery are all based on an improvement in economic data that seems almost impossible to achieve in the current scenario, let alone under new confinements.

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.
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Brett Hyman, Founder and CEO of NVE Experience Agency (NVE), today announced the debut of the brand experience and production agency's interactive studio named COGNITION. Built at the intersection of art, technology and science, COGNITION will create transformative and engaging experiences rooted in human empathy.

COGNITION will be led by NVE's team of interactive experts including SVP, Creative Services, Kyle Ruebsamen, and Director of Interactive Technology, Tony Owen, who have most recently refined their craft to deliver world-class innovative solutions for some of the agency's biggest events and integrated programs for clients including TNT, El Pollo Loco, Pandora, adidas, and more.

COGNITION's services include creative strategy, coding and design, AR/VR/XR worlds, proprietary RFID platforms, content creation, real-time graphics and animation, immersive microsites, gamification, customization mechanics, and first-to-market solutions.

"Until now, 'experiential' has been defined as physical events and gatherings," Hyman shared. "By combining our knowledge of human experience with the capacity of emerging technologies, we have unlocked a new dimension for experiential. This new medium transcends the boundaries of events, allowing consumers to feel sensation, emotion and connection through technology-driven interactions."

Ruebsamen added, "We believe interactive is more than just writing code. What sets COGNITION apart is our focus on the human beings that interact with our technology while not losing sight of the marketing objectives. This gives us the level of empathy needed to create impactful programs that are focused on results."

Owen stated, "Our craft works both behind-the scenes in the digital world and center-stage in the physical world to evoke awe and wonder. We've assembled a talented team of designers, creatives, developers and animators in-house to handle all facets of our interactive experiences and push the limits of creativity."

For more information including recent case studies, please visit experiencenve.com/cognition.

About NVE Experience Agency

NVE Experience Agency (NVE) is a privately-owned brand experience and production agency guided by the principle that 'The Right Moment Will Transform Someone Forever.' NVE creates insight-driven marketing experiences rooted in culture to convert consumer attention into commitment, sales, and brand loyalty.

With offices in Los Angeles, New York and London, NVE partners with some of the world's most iconic brands through integrated capabilities including Live and Virtual Experience Production, Brand Strategy, Creative Strategy, Communications, Design, and Custom Fabrication (Treehouse) in addition to the community-based media platform The Future Party and the agency's new Interactive Studio COGNITION. For more information, visit ExperienceNVE.com and follow NVE on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Contacts:

Brian Rubin

NVE Experience Agency

[email protected]

323.305.7696

David Henderson

StoryBound Communications

[email protected]

425.829.5971

SOURCE NVE Experience Agency

Related Links

http://www.experiencenve.com


At the realme narzo 20 series launch event realme also unveiled its realme UI 2.0, based on Android 11. This brings option to change notification bar colours, shortcut buttons, settings for interface icons, and other 23 interfaces. It also offers enhance social media experiences including subtitle stitching, Dual mode music, Deepsea Privacy Plan and Security Shield.

This also offers 45% improvement in system resource utilization, which results in a 32% increase in system speed and a 17% increase in frame rate stability than the last UI generation, said the company.

Highlights of realme UI 2.0

Pick your own colours with the Global Theme Colour function. With 5 built-in colour schemes and 10 single colours, you can choose your own for the main interface, notification bar, shortcut button and 24 other interfaces.

Always On Display now offers 5 themes, allows you to create unique AOD patterns with just a touch of your finger.

New Dark Mode update offers 3 styles to cater to everyones needs: Enhanced, Medium & Gentle. It also supports intelligent auto-adjustment which automatically adjusts the contrast according to the ambient light.

Offers Icon Customisations & a rich store of Seamless Fonts. It also gives third-party launchers access to our desktop design for more customizability and the Android11 notification bar for easier and free arrangement of information.

Share your favourite movies and lines seamlessly, with the new Subtitle Stitching feature, Share photos within the snap-of-a-finger, with realme Share, Share current favourite tracks, with the Dual Mode Music Share

Deep Sea Privacy Plan includes an Invisible Door, Private Space and a Security Shield so that you can share your creativity without worrying about the safety of your personal data and privacy.

The Floating Window function offers new possibilities. Now you can chat with your friends and watch videos simultaneously.

Offers various functions which enable Digital Well-being. It also offers the self-developed Sleep Capsule, which helps keep a track of your daily health and sleep-cycle.

At the event realme confirmed that it will roll out early beta access to realme X50 Pro users from 24th September, open beta by the end of October and the stable roll out will begin by the end of November.

Even though it didnt reveal the roadmap for other devices at the event, a slide that has surfaced online shows the list of devices that will get early beta access from September. This might not be the final list, and we should wait for the official confirmation. You can check out the realme UI 2.0 first look on the realme X50 Pro here.

Update: realme has confirmed the complete realme UI 2.0 early access schedule for range of smartphones.
Whatever your opinions on the culinary contributions of the Chilis Grill & Bar restaurant franchise, it has undoubtedly created one of the most pervasive earworms of all time. In fact, by just reading Chilis youre brain is likely singing, I want my baby back, baby back, baby back right now.

Baby back ribs and spare ribs are the cuts generally considered whenever you tell somebody youre having ribs for dinner. Yes, there are beef ribs, lamb ribs and ribs from other protein sources, but pork is king in the barbecue rib world.

But baby backs and spare ribs, while similar, have serious differences: Baby backs are taken from the top part of the pig, where the rib makes contact with the spine near the loin region, and spares are taken further down in the belly. Baby backs tend to have chunkier meat, but contain less fat, while spares are traditionally marbled with layers of fat ribbons that go through the slabs.

Both cost about the same, averaging about $3 per pound, but the baby backs require significantly less work from bag to finished barbecue and are much easier to handle, as they are about half the size of spares.

Baby backs require far less prep work, said Clarence Joseph, a champion barbecue cook based out of San Antonio. I prefer spares but would say that baby backs are easy for the home cook, because all you have to do is take them out of the bag, season them up, and you are good to go.

When selecting ribs, Joseph recommends looking for the fattiest ribs over the meatiest ribs because fat equals flavor.

The more fat means the less likelihood that any piece of meat will dry out on you, Joseph said.

The only serious prep work that really needs to be done with a rack of baby backs is addressing the thick white membrane, often called silverskin, on the bone side of the slab. The membrane is a thick layer of tissue designed to protect the internal organs.

When its not removed, though the ribs may come out perfectly tender, every bite will have a tough and chewy finish, like biting into a piece of plastic. It does not render down like fats do.

There are two ways to address it. Ideally, you want to gently run a butter knife under it and slowly peel it up enough to grab it with a paper towel and tear it all off in one big swipe, as you would painters tape. But if that isnt working, the membrane can be scored throughout with a knife, which will allow the smoke and heat to cook evenly through the ribs.

After that and a heavy application of a good dry rub, its totally up to you how you want to cook them. You can get fantastic results in the oven, grill or a smoker, which is the favorite way to cook ribs at the Food Shack. The only adjustment needed from one device to the other is the cooking time.

If youve heard of the 3-2-1 method for smoking ribs, forget it now; its one of the biggest myths in barbecue. The idea is that the ribs are smoked for three hours, wrapped in foil or butcher paper for another two hours, then sauced and allowed to finish for the final hour. That will usually lead to disaster and way overdone meat  theres no need to wrap baby backs to get them tender.

Thats a long time to cook ribs, and whoever invented that must be cooking really low and slow, Joseph said. Most people that would do 3-2-1 would quickly discover that adjustments need to be made. If you need more than four hours for a rack of ribs, you are probably doing something wrong.

On a charcoal or gas grill or in the oven, baby backs usually only take about two hours to cook  half their cooking time in a smoker.

Another common mistake is pulling the ribs off too early. If youre diligently using a meat thermometer, as you should, pork is technically finished and safe to consume at 145 degrees. But ribs wont deliver that sought-after fall-off-the-bone tenderness until they get into that 195- to 205-degree window, and some cooks are so precise, they swear that 203 degrees is the optimal temperature.

The lack of sauce is another routine blunder. I know this is Texas, and we like to say that good barbecue doesnt need sauce, but Ill agree to disagree on ribs. Ribs are great with a classic Memphis-style dry rub; they are better wet with more of a Kansas City-style sauce treatment.

Instead of saucing ribs for one hour during the cooking process, its best to apply it during the final minutes, or wait until the slabs have been pulled off the grill or smoker.

You are only looking to caramelize that sauce on the ribs, which is something that can be done in 10 to 15 minutes, Joseph said.

Slicing the finished product can also be tricky for folks who arent skilled with the knife. Baby back bones are often curved oddly, and what you thought was going to be a clean slice can quickly turn into a meaty mess. A good workaround is to leave two or three bones intact in between cuts. If the ribs have been cooked to proper tenderness, its no problem to pull them apart on the plate.

Recipe: Kansas City-Style Baby Back Ribs

Recipe: Memphis-Style Dry Baby Back Ribs

cblount@express-news.net
South Africa: Early warning systems 'crucial for effective municipalities'

Provincial executives across the country must, together with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), develop and implement early warning systems to identify problems in municipalities and intervene before the problems are exacerbated.

The Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Water and Sanitation said this after concluding its proactive oversight visit to three Mpumalanga municipalities.

The committee visited Govan Mbeki Local Municipality, Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality and Thaba Chweu Local Municipality last week.

The committee raised concerns that provincial governments have not institutionalised Section 152 of the Constitution, which obligates both national and provincial government to support local government to achieve its objectives.

The committee has on numerous occasions, since its inception, emphasised the support of municipalities as a pillar necessary to salvage the local sphere of government, committee chairperson China Dodovu said.

Dodovu said the committee will verify the implementation of Section 139(1)(b) in Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality, as set out in the Constitution.

The committee is concerned that the municipality has not approved or disapproved the intervention, as per the constitutional requirement, despite the decision taken in January 2020 to invoke the intervention.

The committee also raised serious misgivings with the inability of the municipality to complete its 2018/19 audit process, in line with Section 126 of the Municipal Finance Management Act. This is a concern, considering the disclaimer audit opinion the municipality received for the 2017/18 financial year.

Similar to the challenges in both Govan Mbeki and Thaba Chweu, the outrageous amounts of irregular, unauthorised, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure is both indefensible and morally reprehensible.

"Laws and regulations are there to safeguard the peoples purse and ensure that allocated funds are utilised accordingly, Dodovu said.

The continued breaking of the law and supply chain policies to the pre-audit amount of R717 780 456 in irregular expenditure suggests nefarious intentions, Dodovu said.

The chairperson said the committee is concerned that the municipalitys Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) has not concluded investigations starting from 2017, which negatively impact on the ability of the municipality to discharge consequence management against those in the wrong.

The committee is of the view that the MPACs inability to do its work negatively affects general governance of the municipality," Dodovu said.

The committee has also emphasised the need to build capacity in municipalities financial divisions, as this will ensure proper use of finances.

The committee will continue to engage provincial executive councils and SALGA, until the necessary early warning systems and support measures are put in place, Dodovu said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 12:50:48|Editor: huaxia

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TALUQAN, Afghanistan, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Six Afghan army soldiers and three police officers were killed and four security force members wounded in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan's northern Takhar province during Sunday night, a provincial government spokesman confirmed on Monday. Enditem
In springtime, when the rain gathers into pools in Irans Dasht-e Lut Desert, the sand comes alive.

Tiny, desiccated eggs, buried among the ginger-colored granules, drink in the water and begin to hatch. Some may have been laid in the dunes decades ago. But when rains come, the eggs unfurl into small, feathery crustaceans called fairy shrimp, the freshwater cousins of brine shrimp. For a month or two, the fairy shrimp frolic, swimming upside-down in their ephemeral lakes and laying their eggs before they die or the pool dries up, whichever comes first.

Fairy shrimps live in brief spurts in seasonal ponds throughout the world, from steppes in Mongolia to woodlands in Long Island. But the Lut Desert, often called the hottest spot in the world, may be the last place one would think to find water, even seasonally. In 2005, NASAs Aqua satellite recorded a ground temperature of 159.3 degrees Fahrenheit. So the presence of shrimp in the Lut, while striking, was not entirely out of character.

I am not surprised by the presence of Phallocryptus anywhere, said Miguel Alonso, a biologist at the University of Barcelona who was not involved with the research. Fairy shrimps can appear in any place.

The researchers described the new species, Phallocryptus fahimii, this summer in the journal Zoology in the Middle East.
In the history of Ghana, 21st September is marked as a memorial day for the late president Dr. Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah.

This holiday commemorates the birthday of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first President who led the Ghanaian populace into independence during the slave trade.

In September 2009, President John Atta Mills declared September 21st (the centenary of Kwame Nkrumah's birth in 1909) to be Founder's Day, a statutory holiday in Ghana.

Prior to the passing of the Public Holiday Amendment Bill into law in last year March 2019, the holiday on September 21st was known as Founders' Day.

Founder's Day will now be celebrated with a public holiday on August 4th as stated by the current president, his Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

History of Kwame Nkrumah Memorial

In 1874, the British Empire took control over Gold coast now Ghana. Britain was weakened by the efforts of World War II and following a rising desire for independence by Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to achieve independence, on March 6th 1957.

Dr. Nkrumah was the driving force behind the independence of Ghana from British rule and founded the Convention Peoples Party (CPP).

Nkrumah will always be remembered for the powerful speech he delivered on the day Ghana gained independence, March 6th 1957, proclaiming "Ghana will be free forever, from British rule, to millions of Ghanaian gathered at the Independence Square now Black Stars Square. The speech was significant as it relinquished the British control over the Gold coast.

In 1960, Prime Minister Osagyefo Dr. Kwame was sworn into office as the first President of the country and the republic was proclaimed on July 1st 1960.

Nkrumah designed the national flag of Ghana. Its design was inspired by Ethiopia's green-yellow-red Lion of Judah flag with the lion replaced by a black star. Red symbolizes bloodshed and struggle; green stands for beauty and agriculture; yellow represents mineral wealth; and the Black Star represents African freedom.

In February 1966, while Nkrumah on a state visit to Vietnam and China, his government was overthrown in a military coup. Nkrumah never returned to Ghana and died in April 1972.

File by: Amankwaa Victoria
Press Release

September 21, 2020 Transcript of Interview with Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon

ANC's Headstart with Karen Davila Q: On the power struggle in the HoR and its implications to the national budget? SFMD: Certainly, a power struggle in the House of Representatives will affect our timelines and I hope not because we are still in the middle of a pandemic, we have about 10% unemployment and we expect to have a contraction of our economy. A delay in the budget will be very critical. We can only express hope that this power struggle, which is a business of the House, will not derail our budget preparations. We cannot delay the budget for 2021 because of the condition we are in today. Q: This is not the first time that it happened. A change in leadership in 2018 affected the enactment of the 2019 budget. If we experience a similar delay, how will this affect the Filipino people? SFMD: Firstly, as you pointed out we are not talking in theory. We have actually experienced in the HoR caused the delay in the budget. You asked me how this affects the budget. The budget provides the spending authority for the government. If there is no spending authority because of the delay in the budget, what would happen is, there will be a re-enacted budget and a re-enacted budget would mean that new programs will not be funded. The effects will be terrible. We expect our GDP to contract by anywhere between 6-9% by the end of the year. If we again delay the budget for 2021, you do not expect a recovery or the recovery will be derailed. More than any other time in the past, it is critical that the budget be enacted on time. Q: You flagged several items in the 2021 budget. The bickering among congressmen is the P11-B budget for Taguig, P8-B for Camarines Sur... In the DPWH budget, how much would you want to realign? SFMD: We have not yet come to analyze the DPWH budget in detail. What we know is that there are P469-billion in lump-sum funds. This was flagged by Sen. Lacson. This is something that we will watch out for. This P469-B must be disaggregated. Otherwise, this will become a lump-sum fund where the participation of Congress will become again after the enactment, which is prohibited under a Supreme Court decision. It is very critical therefore that P469-B should be identified. Q: The battle in the HoR, do you see it as a battle for the pork? SFMD: I will not want to respond to that. Inter-parliamentary courtesy prevents me from doing so. But we note that a statement of a certain congressman who said that they are frustrated about lack of transparency on discretionary items. From the statement coming from the member of the HoR, it would appear that the basic cause of the disagreement would be the lack of transparency in the allocation of public works projects, especially the P469-B in public works department would have to be disaggregated. Q: Do you still see this connected in 2022? SFMD: I would like to attribute good faith. You cannot discount that this is part of the preparation for 2022. I have been in Congress long enough to know that if there is anything you should exercise extra vigilance, it is what is called the election year budget. Q: It is the same reason that you flagged the anti-insurgency funds in the budget? Why are you particularly alarmed? SFMD: It is precisely the lack of transparency. This is a lump-sum appropriation. This is for the so-called barangays cleared with insurgencies. What worries me is the description of the projects where each barangay will get P20 million. What is worrisome, first, it is a lump-sum fund. Number two, the description of the project would really raise a red flag because apart from infra-related projects, it also includes so-called "soft programs" which include livelihood training, assistance to indigents in the form of medical, educational, transportation assistance, etc. These are precisely the items which you recall in the past enabled the corruption. We recall the P728-M fertilizer scam. Isinabog yung fertilizer, hindi mo na talaga ma-account. You remember there were ghost scholars and ghost trainings at the TESDA. This is the reason why we are opposing this. Even in a COA audit, it is almost impossible for COA to perform to audit this. To the extent that we can abolish it, we will do it. If we cannot because we are in the minority, we will make sure that there is transparency and do not have soft programs. Q: If it is called an anti-insurgency fund, what should it be spent for? If it is a school building, won't that go under DepEd? What is so unique about it? SFMD: There is none. That is why part of the reforms that I introduced in the budget several years back is that these funds should go to the budget of concerned agencies. Second, the barangays have no capacity to implement P20 million projects. The task force will be playing God here. Administratively, it is extremely difficult and prone to corruption especially in an election year. Who will implement this? Do they have the capacity? Who is the disbursing officer? Q: So, you see the anti-insurgency funds just like that the DPWH fund as in a way preparing for 2022? SFMD: That's our concern. We don't want to attribute malice. Certainly it is open to corruption and abuse for the 2022 elections. Q: What should be sliced in the budget given that we are in the middle of a pandemic? Do you believe that we will be seeing a cut in the intelligence funds of the President? SFMD: We will examine it. We will compare it to what it was in the previous years. Not only in the Office of the President, in other agencies such as the AFP. For example, the recent bombings in Jolo. To me, these are all failures of intelligence. So we would like to know how the intelligence funds are being utilized. We want to examine this closely. Q: On PhilHealth SFMD: We need some structural changes in PhilHealth. PhilHealth is an insurance organization. It ensures our people against unfunded health expenses. It is basically an insurance issue. In the recent past, we amended the SSS Charter because it is an insurance activity. We made the DOF Secretary as ex-officio chair. We support the proposition of Senate President Sotto that the chairman should be the secretary of finance and if I may add, the insurance commissioner should be part of the Board. This needs a legislation. But insofar as the reorganization is concerned, I authored the GOCC Governance Act in 2011, wherein the GCG council is fully authorized to reorganize, merge or streamline any GOCC such as PhilHealth. Q: And even privatize... SFMD: It can even privatize with the authority of the President. But even without the authority of the President, if the GCG will exercise its functions, you do not even need the President to act. You can act unless the President says otherwise. There is sufficient authority under the law. We do not need legislation. They can do it today. You do not have to go back to Congress. Q: What is interesting is this is not the first time. It already happened to the SSS Charter and you have designated the secretary of finance as chair. Was there are dramatic change in the SSS? Did it become more profitable? Given that the President is very close to Sec. Duque... the bigger challenge is how do you now convince the President that it would be better managed if the chair is the secretary of finance? SFMD: In fairness to the SSS, it is not beset with problems as PhilHealth is beset with problems today. The difficulty that they had is in fixing the actuarial life and the premium, but not the difficulty as PhilHealth has today. There is no guarantee. The role of the legislative branch is to debate with policies and come out with the best policies. The matter of implementing the policies is left with the executive branch. There is a structural defect at PhilHealth that can be repaired through law and that is the chairmanship should be with the secretary of finance and the member of the Board should include the Insurance Commission so that nature of the fund as an insurance fund could be effectively pursued. Q: You need to amend the PhilHealth charter? SFMD: That's correct. But insofar as reorganizing the structure of PhilHealth, it can be done by the GCG. I repeat, the law today is sufficient and equips the executive branch with the power to reorganize PhilHealth to achieve the policy and purpose to provide our people with health insurance under the Universal Health Care Act. Q: Technically, these talks of providing the President with emergency power for PhilHealth are, frankly, unnecessary... SFMD: It is totally unnecessary, because under the law that I wrote, the President is sufficiently equipped with all the powers and the GCG is sufficiently equipped to reorganize, even privatize or abolish, PhilHealth. It is only that we want to change the chair the PhilHealth that we need to amend the law. Q: The budget of the DOH is ranked number 5 in terms which is getting the biggest allocation. Is it enough? SFMD: This is a good debate. This is an ongoing debate. We'll look at the budget as a whole, because we are in a pandemic. This is a very peculiar budget. This is the first time we are confronted by this situation. The Congress must decide which one to support more: the so-called demand side, meaning those who are needing the funds such as the social services. It's a debate as to what should be given more emphasis: social services of infrastructure. The view of the DBM and the DOF is that, as it would appear to me, that emphasis should be given more to the infrastructure projects, that is why we have issues on the insufficiency of budgets particularly for the DOH, DSWD and the other social agencies versus allocation for DPWH and other infrastructure agencies. In other words, where do we put our money at least for next year? Which should be given more support: the infra projects or social service? When the decision is made, then you carry out that policy. Alin ba ang mas nangangailangan: ang mga kababayan natin na walang trabaho at walang makain na dapat nating bigyan ng social amelioration program at 4Ps? Remember that there is no SAP in the 2021 budget. This is a debate that we will have to resolve. This is a very crucial debate. Q: On the European parliament's call. Is this something that we should worry about? SFMD: You will see 6,000 or so items or products exported to the EU subject to higher tariff. Right now we enjoy a preferential tariff rate under the GSP. Just to give you an example, the most prominent is the tuna in Mindanao. A removal of our GSP privileges will result in higher tariffs on our products, 6,000 products. We should look at this carefully because the labor union is saying that 200,000 jobs will be affected. I strongly advise the administration that instead of just setting this aside and saying this is an empty threat, they should take a closer look, because the European Commission will heed the advice of the EU parliament to end our GSP, we would have problems. No question about it. We should take this seriously rather than that bravado attitude of saying "go ahead". I dread to see that day that they will go ahead and carry out their threat. That is 200,000 jobs on the line. We have a very high unemployment. You already have 10 million who lost the jobs, you add another incident which can be prevented, that is unforgivable. Q: You served as executive secretary for President Cory Aquino. As a matter of remembrance, is there anything you'd like to say on the anniversary of martial law? SFMD: I was in the Cory administration and I saw how difficult it was to strengthen and put back our democratic institutions because of martial law. We were witness to nine coup d'etat during that time because of the instability of our political system and our democratic institutions principally caused by the 20 years of martial law rule. We should not forget that. That is what we suffered and had difficulties recovering from after martial law ended. I repeat, the extreme difficulty of then President Aquino in strengthening our democratic institutions to where we are today. We can talk this way today because of the freedoms restored after the martial law was ended and the efforts of all the past presidents to protect the freedom of expression. This is what we should not forget and we should not take for granted.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 16:32:08|Editor: huaxia

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As the raging COVID-19 pandemic is dragging an increasing number of people into poverty across the world, China's poverty alleviation efforts are offering hope. In the past seven decades, China has managed to lift 850 million people out of poverty, which accounts for more than 70 percent of global poverty alleviation, setting a record in human history. At the end of 2019, the number of impoverished people in China's rural areas fell to 5.51 million from 98.99 million in 2012. Furthermore, China is on course to eradicate extreme poverty across the country by 2020, which will make the country the first in the world to end absolute poverty. Given China's large population, such achievements contributed not only to the global cause of poverty alleviation, but also improved the human rights of the Chinese people.
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hodges Ward Elliott ("HWE"), one of the world's leading independent real estate brokerage and investment-banking firms, with offices in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London, today announced industry veteran Michael Britvan joined the company as Managing Director.

Michael Britvan, Hodges Ward Elliott

In his new role, Britvan will lead the firm's loan sale advisory initiatives as part of the Capital Markets Group, and alongside the firm's team of professionals across the U.S. and Europe. He brings a dedicated loan sale advisory focus, adding to the firm's vast network of lender and client relationships.

Britvan has more than a decade of loan sale experience, trading more than $15 billion of loans on behalf of financial institutions including banks, insurance companies, special servicers, funds, and government clients. Most recently, Britvan served as Managing Director at Mission Capital Advisors, where he oversaw the valuation and trading of performing, sub-performing and non-performing commercial, consumer residential, business, and equipment loans in both the United States and Latin America.

"Michael is highly regarded for his knowledge in the loan sale advisory business. We are excited he has joined the Hodges Ward Elliott team to add to the firm's success," comments HWE President Mark Elliott. William Hodges, Chairman and CEO of HWE notes, "Michael is well qualified to help lead our firm's expansion into the loan sale business alongside our industry leading Capital Markets Group."

"HWE's position as a leading real estate investment banking firm positions the platform for success in the loan sale advisory space, particularly during this time of dislocation in the debt capital markets," Britvan commented, adding, "I am thrilled to join this exceptional group of professionals and look forward to supporting new and existing clients of the firm."

Britvan is a graduate of Binghamton University.

About Hodges Ward Elliott:

Hodges Ward Elliott ("HWE") is a leading, full service real estate advisory and brokerage firm designed to facilitate global capital investment in gateway markets. HWE's multi-disciplined platform includes commercial, hotel and capital markets teams, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and London. As a privately held company, HWE is focused on building long term relationships and takes pride in their reputation of providing outstanding client service. HWE has closed over $70 billion of transactions, including more than $26 billion since 2015 alone.

Contact: Great Ink  212-741-2977, Tom Nolan, [email protected]

SOURCE Hodges Ward Elliott
A property mogul who came from humble beginnings has snapped up a home almost every month since COVID-19 hit - boosting his portfolio to $8million.

Eddie Dilleen, 28, from western Sydney, was working at McDonalds and living in a 'rough' neighbourhood when he bought his first property aged 18.

With property prices plunging amid the pandemic, the real estate guru seized the opportunity to expand his collection - which now stands at 25 investments.

'Ive bought seven properties in total since COVID started. Six properties in Brisbane and one in Sydney,' he told realestate.com.au.

Eddie Dilleen, 28, from western Sydney, has bought a home almost every month since COVID-19 hit- bringing his 25-strong investment portfolio to a whooping $8million

Mr Dilleen said his six new properties in Queensland were a mix of houses, duplexes and townhouses as well as one commercial listing.

'So, since COVID-19 started Ive added almost $2.5m to my property portfolio bringing the total value close to $8m in property I own,' he added.

His latest buys include a $135,000 Logan townhouse bought in March and two Ipswich duplexes for $410,000 in April.

In May, he paid $133,000 for a two bedroom Ipswich villa, before splashing out $200,000 for a commercial property in Logan in August.

This month he added a two bedroom unit in Surfers Paradise to his portfolio, on an unconditional contract of $210,000.

While COVID-19 wrecks havoc on the property market, Mr Dilleen said he was not concerned it would impact his portfolio as he invests using a strategic formula, which ensures his income is always higher than expenses.

Around $300,000 of his almost $500,000 a year rental earnings are always kept aside for emergencies, while $200,000 are spent on mortgage expenses.

The real estate guru paid $410,000 for Ipswich duplexes in April (pictured)

Mr Dilleen bought an Ipswich two-bedroom villa (pictured) for $133,000 in May

Mr Dilleen said the three features he looks for in an investment are 'good cashflow or high yields, capital growth and buying at a discount price below market value'.

The self-made millionaire became 'passionate' about buying property during his teens, to ensure he had a secure future.

'I grew up in western Sydney and came from a family where no one actually owned property at all,' he previously told Daily Mail Australia.

'From very humble beginnings, a pretty rough neighbourhood, that was my driving factor. I didn't want to have to struggle and grow up how I did.'

Living at home in Mt Druitt, he bought a two-bedroom apartment over an hour away in the Central Coast, north of Sydney.

He rented out the $130,000 apartment for about $220 a week and made roughly a seven per cent rental return.

Mr Dilleen's next investment property was in Adelaide, followed by Brisbane and then the Gold Coast.

Pictured is the Logan townhouse (pictured) Mr Dilleen purchased in March for $135,000

Mr Dilleen added a commercial space (pictured) in Logan to his portfolio in August for $200,000

The investor recommends purchasing within metro areas as properties are cheaper.

His tips for building a portfolio are to start off small, by purchasing something to get a foot in the market and to try not to be emotional about where you buy.

He said to focus on rental return of properties and buy property below market value by looking for those who want to sell fast.

His fifth tip is to read property investment books and do research to create a strategic buying plan.

'I worked out a formula and strategy, it came down to a lot of research and I read a lot of different property investment books even though I hated reading it at the time, I forced myself to learn a lot,' he said.

'I built up to it, I started off small, with the small properties and gradually the equity increased.

'It's better to be in the market than on the sidelines waiting or to say it's too hard and not try at all, that's not the best attitude to have in life.'
As many as 38,71,664 employees provident fund (EPF) withdrawal claims worth Rs 44,054.72 crore were settled since March 25, Parliament was informed on Monday.

The government had imposed the nationwide lockdown on March 25, 2020, to contain deadly coronavirus.

Total 38,71,664 EPF withdrawals claims from EPF accounts worth Rs 44,054.72 crore were settled till date since lockdown was imposed (March 25 this year), Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

These withdrawals also include COVID-19 claims, as per the reply.

The maximum amount of Rs 8,968.45 crore EPF withdrawals from March 25 to August 31 were recorded in Maharashtra against 7,23,986 claims, followed by Karnataka Rs 6,418.52 crore for 4,84,114 claims and Tamil Nadu (including Puducherry) Rs 5,589.91 crore for 6,20,662 claims.

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 total EPF withdrawals in Delhi during the period stood at Rs 3,308.57 crore for 3,16,671 claims.

A non-refundable COVID advance from the EPF by amending the EPF Scheme, 1952 was unveiled earlier.

As part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana announced by the government to address COVID-19 situation, the EPF scheme was amended to provide for a non-refundable advance from the provident fund account of a member not exceeding the basic wages and dearness allowances of that member for three months or up to 75 percent of the amount standing to his credit in the EPF account, whichever is less.

In order to ameliorate hardship faced by the labourers due to economic disruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic, various initiatives have been taken by the Ministry of Labour and Employment as part of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

These include payment of 12 percent employers share and 12 percent employees share under employees provident fund (EPF), totalling 24 percent by the government for six wage months from March to August 2020 for all the establishments having up to 100 employees with 90 percent of such employees earning less than Rs 15,000 monthly wage.

Besides, the government also reduced EPF contribution from 12 percent to 10 percent of wages for the wage months of May, June and July 2020.
The 15-nation West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS has insisted that both president and vice president of the interim government must be civilians warning that it would not lift sanctions on the country otherwise.

Mali's military junta announced the leaders of a new transition government in the Sahel state on Monday, which will retain strong army links despite international pressure to appoint civilians.

Junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita said in a televised statement that former defence minister Bah Ndaw would become transition president -- while he himself would serve as vice president.

The announcement comes after the 15-nation West Africa bloc ECOWAS last week gave Mali's ruling officers "days" to appoint civilian leaders, warning that it would not lift sanctions on the country otherwise.

West African leaders imposed sanctions on Mali -- including a trade embargo and shuttered borders -- in the wake of the August 18 military coup that ousted president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The junta said last week that it would prefer the military to run the transition, however.

Ndaw, a 70-year-old retiree, was appointed transition president by a committee chosen by the junta, Goita said on Monday.

"Each proposal has its advantages and its disadvantages," he said, referring to the choice between a civilian, or military president.

He added that the committee had taken "a global context" into account when picking Ndaw, in an apparent reference to pressure from ECOWAS.

Helicopter pilot

Ndaw is a former helicopter pilot who was once an aide-de-camp to Mali's ex-dictator Moussa Traore, who died last week aged 83.

He later served as a defence minister under president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita -- who was ousted in the military coup last month.

A veteran soldier, Ndaw also received training in the former Soviet Union as well as at Paris's renowned Ecole de Guerre.

Monday's announcement followed a three-day forum with political parties and civil-society representatives earlier this month, which met to outline a roadmap to restore civilian rule in Mali.

According to a charter which emerged from that forum, the transition president is meant to rule for 18 months before staging nationwide elections.

Delegates had hotly debated the military's role in the transition government, with some arguing to hand over power to civilians in line with ECOWAS wishes.

Mali's neighbours, who are anxious the war-torn country could spiral into chaos, have been pressuring the junta to swiftly hand over power.

Two days after the coup, ECOWAS stopped financial and commercial trade with Mali, except for basic necessities, drugs, equipment to fight coronavirus, fuel and electricity.

The sanctions could bite in the poor country already facing a severe economic downturn as well as a simmering jihadist insurgency and chronic inter-ethnic violence.

It was these state failures that provoked people into the streets earlier this year, with months of protests and unrest building up to the military arresting president Keita and seizing control.

ECOWAS has yet to react to Ndaw's nomination as transition president, nor to Goita as vice president.

A swearing-in ceremony will take place on Friday, Goita said.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 19:45:00|Editor: huaxia

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CHONGQING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- An aircraft carrying 74 Chinese students left southwest China's Chongqing Municipality early Monday for Manchester, Britain.

Hainan Airlines flight HU7953 took off at 1 a.m. from the Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, becoming the first charter flight operated by Chinese airlines for students returning abroad for school resumption after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

Free luggage deposit, packaging and accommodation have been arranged for those transferring in Chongqing, according to the airport.

Starting from Monday to Nov. 15, some 20,000 students from across the country will arrive at Chongqing, and more than 90 direct flights arranged by Hainan Airlines will fly them to Manchester and Bristol. Enditem
"As we celebrate our 30th year in business, KBJW is blessed to announce the opening of branch offices in Charleston & Hampton Roads. With highly qualified and experienced engineers heading each location, we are excited to see the great things we can achieve together, - Greg Koontz, KBJW President

Koontz Bryant Johnson Williams (KBJW) announced the opening of two new office locations. The two new offices will be in Virginia Beach, Virginia and Charleston, West Virginia. KBJW has brought on two exceptional leaders to head up these offices.

Keith Koontz, PE has joined KBJW as Director of Operations for the new Hampton Roads office. Keith has a MEng in Manufacturing Systems, MBA, and 30+ years experience in Industrial Engineering, Compliance Auditing, Facility Conditions Assessments and Management Consulting.

Bruce King, BSME, joins KBJW to develop KBJWs presence in West Virginia, southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky. He has 25+ years' experience in oil and gas, greenfield development in infrastructure and production operations and is known for innovating best in class facilities, technologies and practices.

Each office will bring new and exciting opportunities for the Virginia based firm. KBJW will also be expanding existing engineering services to include Industrial Planning, Asset Management, Compliance, and Due Diligence.

KBJW is a collective of professional engineers, surveyors, planners, scientists and project managers who share a passion for developing solutions and providing excellence in site development, design and analysis. KBJW has engineers licensed in all 50 states and 7 Provinces in Canada. For more information visit http://www.KBJWgroup.com.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had one of the most influential legal careers of anyone in American history. As the nation mourns her loss, the Constitution now charges President Donald Trump with the responsibility of nominating her successor. In doing so, he should take care to select a nominee who will adhere to the foundational charge of any justice: to rule based on the Constitution and the law, rather than a personal agenda. Such a jurist should give confidence to a divided nation that the Court will be focused on its limited-but-critical role of interpreting the law and protecting individual liberty.

Fortunately, this is also the job description outlined by the Founders and spelled out in the Constitution. In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton wrote that while the legislature prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated, the judiciary has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever.

Chief Justice John Marshall stressed the crucial role that the judiciary plays in keeping the other branches of the federal government within their constitutionally limited roles, asking, To what purpose are powers limited, and to what purpose is that limitation committed to writing, if these limits may at any time be passed by those intended to be restrained?

It is legislators job to write the law, and we elect them for that purpose. It is the Courts role to faithfully interpret and apply the law. A good judge will be restrained in exercising only the judiciarys constitutional power of the Court to say what the law is. Within the confines of that role, he or she will actively defend the fundamental liberties of the people and check the tendency of the other branches to threaten those liberties by overstepping their own constitutional boundaries.

Judges must stay committed to these principles even when doing so leads to unpopular outcomes. At the same time, they should ignore appeals and attacks from those who see the courts as a shortcut to enacting policies that cant earn the support of those elected to make our laws.

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This approach ensures that policy questions stay in the hands of our politically accountable representatives and not with unelected judges serving life terms. The courts risk a loss of credibility and popular support when it tries to act as a super legislature, making law from the bench.

In selecting and confirming judges, the president and Senate should be focused on whether a jurist will judge each case independently and fairly. Asking judges to commit to certain case outcomes as part of a litmus test is harmful to the process. We know that judges who arent guided by fealty to the Constitution will still be guided by something. Our system doesnt work when that guidance comes from polls, activist ideologues, or party leaders.

The president has already made two excellent nominations in Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Im hopeful that his next nominee will be excellent as well. America is blessed with many highly qualified judges and scholars who fit the bill. In a nation as divided as ours is today, it is unlikely we will be able to unite around any nominee. Nobody said healing our political dysfunction would be easy. But a justice who defends the freedoms of all Americans and holds the rest of our government accountable to the Constitution would be a step in the right direction. Id ask the president to select such a nominee.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 14:31:48|Editor: huaxia

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by Xinhua writer Jiang Li

BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Seventy-five years ago, tormented by the scourge of war that twice brought untold miseries to mankind, countries around the world joined hands and built up an international order and system with the United Nations at the core.

As the most universal, representative and authoritative international organization, the United Nations has now become the most important multilateral arena to promote peace, and address regional and global issues.

When the international community is marking the United Nations' 75th birthday, the COVID-19 pandemic is raging all over the world, and world leaders have chosen to hold commemorative events via video link instead. In addition to the way the leaders gather, the sudden strike of the pandemic has been changing the world in more aspects, thus the once-in-a-century transformations unfolding in the world are picking up speed.

It is truly an era of enormous uncertainty. Protectionism and unilateralism are rearing their ugly heads while sentiments of anti-globalization are on the rise. It is even more worrisome that the bullying behavior of certain superpower is posing a grave challenge to the world's multilateral system epitomized by the United Nations.

And when mankind is struggling to beat the coronavirus outbreak as its common enemy, the spirit of solidarity and cooperation is facing a danger of being cast aside, while the specter of ideological confrontation is hovering high.

Under such circumstances, the theme of this year's UN anniversary commemorations -- "The future we want, the UN we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism" -- bears utmost significance.

Around the world, the curve of the ravaging pandemic has yet to be flattened. Infections keep mounting and deaths continue to spike. The once-in-a-century global public health crisis has once again highlighted the fact that the human race belongs to a community with a shared future, and only by joining hands can all countries steer themselves out of the plight.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed that solidarity and cooperation is the most powerful weapon in the face of COVID-19. And reaffirming the commitment to multilateralism has been particularly urgent at this dark hour of human history.

To uphold multilateralism, the world should safeguard the authority of the United Nations. Over the past 75 years, the positive role of the UN has been too obvious to deny, leaving profound inspirations as well as valuable legacies to human society.

Over the decades, the United Nations has set up and operated a collective security mechanism, and deployed more than 70 peacekeeping operations involving nearly 130 countries. Its instrumental role in effectively settling local conflicts, preventing new world wars, and preserving overall global peace and stability has helped lay a solid foundation for social and economic development worldwide.

With the presence of the UN-centered multilateral system, countries worldwide have fostered closer ties and deeper cooperation, and the global economic and social development has made a giant leap forward.

According to the World Bank statistics, from 1960 to 2019, the total global gross domestic product (GDP) rose from 1.37 trillion to 87.7 trillion in current U.S. dollars. In that same period, the per capita GDP rose from 452 dollars to 11,428 dollars, and the global trade to GDP ratio rose from 26.72 percent to 60.4 percent.

Additionally, such UN specialized agencies as, among others, the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the International Atomic Energy Agency, have all made their respective contributions to the solution of global problems and to the progress of human society.

The WHO, in particular, has played an irreplaceable role amid the pandemic in keeping the world updated with accurate and timely information, boosting global coordination in pandemic responses, and promoting international cooperation on vaccine research and development.

At such a critical moment, the world should guard against and reject any unilateral move that could weaken the WHO because those moves will only take a hard toll on global solidarity and cooperation, and delay mankind's victory over the virus.

Fixing global problems requires global solutions. And there is no better venue than the United Nations for the international community to search for those solutions. Whether it is to battle the pandemic or to plan for a post-epidemic recovery, all countries need to firmly safeguard the authority of the United Nations and maintain the international order and system with the United Nations at the core.

To uphold multilateralism, the world should also acknowledge and practice the global governance concept based on the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

The essence of multilateralism, said President Xi at the 2019 BRICS summit in Brasilia, is that international affairs should be addressed through extensive consultation rather than decided by one country or a few. His remarks ring even truer today.

In recent years, the international community has been grappling with the rise of trade bullyism, abuse of unilateral sanctions and national-security maximalism, which has further eroded the multilateral foundation of global governance.

Upholding multilateralism means that the fate of the world should be in the hands of all; international rulebook written by all; global affairs negotiated by all; and dividends of development shared by all, instead of allowing individual countries to reign supreme. President Xi has also pointed out, "in the era of globalization it should not be some people fighting against other people, but should instead be all bringing benefits for all."

The COVID-19 pandemic tells that when faced with various global challenges, all countries should march forward hand in hand in the spirit of consultation, democratize international relations, and increase the voice of the developing countries in major global institutions so as to forge a more effective global governance system that can meet the needs of this fast-changing world.

To uphold multilateralism, the world should take development as the golden key to solving many of the most pressing global problems, and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Across the world, countries are turning increasingly interconnected and interdependent, and their future closely intertwined. Yet the development gap dividing the North and the South is still widening, and globalization has failed to trickle down its benefits to various social groups. Even in some major developed economies, poverty, gender inequality and racial discrimination have been feeding social divisions. All these have served as a petri dish for festering anti-globalization elements.

"We must hold fast to development as our master key, for only through development can we resolve the root cause of conflicts, safeguard the basic rights of the people, and meet the ardent hopes of people for a better future," President Xi addressed the UN Sustainable Development Summit 2015 at the UN headquarters in New York.

The still raging pandemic now poses critical challenges to global development. This year marks the start of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. All countries should take it as an alert and incentive to promote balanced global economic and social development and reduce poverty and inequality so as to fundamentally eliminate the factors that nurture protectionism, isolationism and economic nationalism, and render economic globalization more open, inclusive and balanced.

Globalization is unstoppable, and the human race shares a common future. Upholding multilateralism and building a community with a shared future for mankind should be the shared goal of all members of the international community. That is not only a significant revelation of the 75-year history of the United Nations, but also the only right path for development in the post-pandemic era.

China was the first country to sign the UN Charter. Whether in the process of the United Nations' development or in the fight against the coronavirus, China has always been a builder, defender and practitioner of multilateralism. In the future, China will, as always, continue to be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order.

On the occasion of the 75th birthday of the United Nations, one of the appropriate gifts the world can present is to reaffirm multilateralism and cooperation, which will help countries across the globe tide over difficulties, seek common development, and build "the future we want." Enditem
Multiple award-winning journalist and founder of online TV channel, TV360, Deji Bademosi, has donated three blocks of classrooms and other infrastructure to St. Ambroses Catholic Secondary School, Ondo in Ondo State.

The school, which was established by the Catholic Church in October 1977 before it was taken over by the government, had become dilapidated due to lack of maintenance and lack of infrastructure over its 42 years of existence.

Mr Bademosi, an alumnus of the institution and senior prefect of the 1994 set, said he had revisited the school last year with the aim of calling the attention of the government to the sorry state of the school.

However, after seeing the horrible condition of the classrooms, he decided to build three blocks of classrooms, pulling down the old ones.

The three new blocks comprise nine classrooms and three staffrooms in total in the junior secondary section of the school. Each staffroom is fully furnished with workstations, seats and text booksfor the staff to aid teaching.

In addition to the classrooms, Mr Bademosi put up a separate building housing 10 toilets for both staff and students and installed a borehole for water supply.

The journalist also erected a perimeter fence round the school for safety.

According to the broadcast journalist, the gesture is borne out of his deep passion for education.

This whole project is borne out a very strong belief that education remains the best chance to achieving ones dream. And Im a clear example of what education can actually do for people from very humble backgrounds.

The majority of students who attend this school come from very humble backgrounds. But they also deserve to get a good and quality education. And that is what this is all about. Im only contributing my own quota to ensure that the poor students who attend this school get the best of education, Mr Bademosi said.

The new buildings were commissioned on Friday, September 18, by the Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi.

In his remarks, Mr Fayemi pledged support to the donor and St. Ambroses Catholic Secondary School.

No matter how committed a government is or no matter how dedicated we all are in our service to the state, when it comes to education, I personally dont believe that government is the best vehicle for education. Government should provide policies, government should regulate but government should work with the community and all those who are interested in rendering service in the line of education, Mr Fayemi said.

I believe that the seed that has been sown today is not just going to be limited to this, its going to grow in leaps and bounds and we all have to find a way to join Deji (Bademosi) all those who have already contributed to this to ensure that this seed keeps growing, the Ekiti governor added.

On his part, the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu who was represented by the Commissioner For Education, Femi Agagu, lauded Mr Bademosi for his contributions to the promotion of public education in the state.

Other dignitaries in attendance at the event were Olusegun Mimiko, former fovernor of Ondo State; the Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Jude Arogundade, among others.
Local and international observers that were accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission to monitor the September 19 governorship election in Edo State on Monday gave divergent views on the coverage of the exercise.

Different observer groups have given their experiences on the exercise.

Godwin Obaseki, the incumbent governor, who ran under the Peoples Democratic Party beat his closet rival, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, of the All Progressives Congress, to secure a second term in office.

For instance, PREMIUM TIMES reported the Nigeria Bar Association Observers, Benin branch, said in their interim report on Sunday that there was a substantial improvement in the deployment of card readers as most of the device functioned in their optimal capacity in most of the polling units.

Also, one group under the aegis of Intercontinental Leadership Initiative faulted the integrity of the Saturdays exercise.

Two others, the Civil Society Domestic Election Observers and Centre for Liberty commended INEC for the conduct of the election.

Condemnation, commendations

Stafford Bisong, the Country Head of Intercontinental Leadership Initiative, raised integrity issues about the election.

Mr Bisong, who said he had his officials spread across the 18 Local Government Area of Edo during the election, claimed that most of the card readers used for the poll were not functional.

He also said the non-display of voters register at the polling units five days before the election was contrary to the provision of the Electoral Act.

The observer said another finding by the organisation was the late arrival of sensitive and non-sensitive materials in about 80 per cent of polling units, especially in Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha, and Egor LGAs.

Mr Bisong said, We discovered a lot of discrepancies on the field during the election and we concluded that there is more to desire in our electoral voting procedure. Both sensitive and none sensitive materials relatively late in 80 percent of the polling units, prominent in Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha, and Egor.

Voting commenced around 1.30pm in some parts of these polling units. Another one is the issue of the voters register. The register was pasted just less than 24 hours to the election and this made it difficult for many to exercise before the poll.

We again discovered that the voters register was not updated, as a result, this made it impossible for many not to participate in the exercise. Some of these people may have relocated, some, some died while the Covid-19 pandemic may have kept many away.

Finally, none functional card readers as noticed across the State led to the issue of multiple voting in parts of the polling units. About 80 per cent of these card readers malfunctioned as they were not authenticating fingerprints of the voters which led to manual use of authentication.

In contrast, Victor Kalu, spokesman for Civil Society Domestic Election Observers, said INEC meticulously followed its timetable and schedule of activities for the conduct of Edo State governorship election 2020 to a conclusion.

Mr Kalu said, We note with satisfaction that INEC was resolute, prepared and committed to conducting a credible, free and fair governorship election in Edo State, by providing a level playing ground for all the participated political parties in the state and for ensuring the timely and even distribution of election materials across the polling units in the in the state for the commencement of the election.

Meanwhile, Ariyo Atoye and Adebayo Raphael, co-conveners of the Centre for Liberty, gave the process a pass mark via a press release sent to PREMIUM TIMES.

The group said the election was conducted in a mostly civilised and less disruptive manner across the state. This is highly commendable.

It also commended the role played by the Oba of Benin which it noted led to a violence-free exercise.

CFL equally commends the general conduct of the various stakeholders in the election; from the permanent and ad-hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to the various security agencies that participated in the election  especially the Nigerian Police Force for their vigilance and professionalism, the local and international election observers, and also the political actors and civil society organisations, the group said.

It, however, said although the election was mostly peaceful and free of disorder, there were reports and cases of overzealous loyalists of some political parties who tried to scuttle the election and create confusion.

We believe that INEC and the Nigerian Police will do well to deal with the culprits as legally provided in the present Electoral Act, so as to continue to deter potential election disrupters from indulging in this ignoble act.

They said the nations parliament should build on the success recorded by INEC in Edo.

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It is upon this background that CFL wishes to state that the National Assembly must quickly proceed to pass the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2020, giving legislative backing to e-accreditation, e-transmission and e-collation of election results. It is crucial that this is done as quickly as possible before the major political activities on the next general election commences in the country.
Shares of Nikola opened Monday at their lowest price since the company went public June 4 after company founder and Executive Chairman Trevor Milton announced his resignation overnight. The stock was down as much as 30% in premarket trading before opening at $24.97. The shares rebounded a bit after the open, trading down by 20% in morning trading. Stephen Girsky, a former vice chairman of General Motors and a member of Nikola's board, has been appointed chairman of the board, effective immediately. Milton's departure follows the release of a report by short seller Hindenburg Research accusing him of making false statements about the company's technology to attract investors and partnerships with other automakers.

The report, titled "Nikola: How to Parlay an Ocean of Lies Into a Partnership With the Largest Auto OEM in America," was released two days after the company announced a deal with GM that sent both companies' shares soaring. It characterized Nikola as an "intricate fraud built on dozens of lies" by Milton. The Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice are reportedly looking into Hindenburg's claims. In a statement Monday, GM said it will "work with Nikola to close the transaction we announced nearly two weeks ago to seize the growth opportunities in broader markets" with its battery electric and fuel cell technologies. GM is also helping to engineer and and will build the Nikola Badger pickup. "Nikola, Honda and other companies who are looking to GM's technology as a platform for their products, represent just one part of our overall EV strategy," the company said. "Our overall goal is to put everyone in an EV and accelerate adoption."
Student activist Gulfisha Khatoon, who has been booked and arrested under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as one of the alleged conspirators of Delhi riots, on Monday told a city court that she was being harassed by jail officers inside Tihar prisons. Khatoon said she was being called names, such as educated terrorist, and subjected to communal slurs by the prison officials. Khatoon is currently lodged in the womens jail within the prison complex.

Khatoon on Monday told additional sessions judge Amitabh Rawat that she was being mentally harassed in Tihar jail and if anything happened to her, then prison authorities would be responsible. I am facing discrimination by the jail staff. They are calling me an educated terrorist and hurling racist slurs at me. I am facing mental harassment here. If I harm myself only jail authorities will be responsible for it, she alleged.

Following this, the court asked Khatoons counsel to file an application in this regard. Advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing for Khatoon, told court that he will take the necessary action.

Khatoon was produced through video conferencing after a charge sheet was filed against her and 14 others for hatching a conspiracy and orchestrating the February riots in north-east Delhi that killed 53 people and injured more than 400.

Responding to the allegations, the prisons director general, Sandeep Goel said,  These allegations are baseless.
WINSTED  After nearly five years as town manager, Robert Geiger plans to retire, but will help his successor adapt to the job.

Geiger, a longtime resident of Barkhamsted, said hes ready to turn the job over in December.

It shouldnt be as difficult to fill the job, he said. If they want me to help that new person with the transition, Ill be here to do that. Sometimes a new hire wants to do things their own way, but whatever they decide, Im here to help.

The Board of Selectmen was to consider Geigers resignation at its meeting Monday night.

Geiger said the job of town manager has been both challenging and rewarding, and credited his executive assistant, Laurie Bessette, for helping him coordinate his many responsibilities since he started in 2015. Bessette is also retiring this year.

Laurie has been here for a long time, and she knows this town and the people, he said. Shes the one who has helped me by assessing situations and assisting people, to understand what it is they need and how to help them. That way when I meet with them, I already have an idea of whats going on.

Geigers management of Town Hall and its many operations leads to interaction with residents from every area of Winsted. This year, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and Tropical Storm Isaias, Geigers workload increased significantly.

He worked closely with the state, Eversource and the Public Works Department, and put in many long days finding ways to get the power back on and removing fallen trees all around town. Highland Lakes popularity during the COVID-19 shutdown grew its own set of problems, such as visitors parking along busy roads and slowing traffic.

Geiger has also made a great effort to resolve Winsteds blight problem, by having old buildings torn down, finding tenants for others, and generally trying to improve the towns economic development. Its a work in progress, he said.

Being around for 40 years, I have to say I know this town pretty well, Geiger said. I would say the things Im most proud of are developing a town staff thats functioning very well, and positively impacting the overall culture of Winsted ... Getting rid of the blight, and the (dark) humor thats often been said about Winsted in general, and instilling a sense of pride in the community.

For example, when former Finance Director Henry Centrella was discovered to be embezzling money from Winsteds coffers, the incident caused a lack of trust among not only among residents, but also employees. The towns bond rating also was hurt. Centrella pleaded guilty in 2014 to stealing millions from the town, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Our legacy needed to be changed; the embezzlement really set us back, Geiger said. Theres so much more to a town managers job than roads and schools  thats a lot of it, but theres so much more. I think the towns done very well.

I didnt do any of this by myself, he added. Ive had a whole team working with me.

Mayor Candy Perez said Geigers contributions to the town has helped Winsted move forward in the eyes of townspeople as well as the rest of the state.

He recently turned 75, and he wants to travel, Perez said. Bob has made a significant impact on Winsted in so many ways, and well into the future, the positive outcomes hes had will sustain us.

Were in the best financial situation weve ever been, Perez said. Because of his tenure with us and the work hes done to improve things for people here, we are respected now; people see our progress. We werent always well-received, as a town, but we are now, and that has to do with Bob being our town manager, and his ability to collaborate with others, to lead and to be trusted.

Perez said Geiger has a way of getting people to solve problems together.

Hes also been able to hold people accountable, and to find solutions for things, she said. He also worked hard, and did a lot of the work himself. If someone wanted to talk about a problem, he didnt just ignore them. He went to talk to them. He returned every phone call .. He supported our staff and a lot of businesses in town, to make things move forward.

The next town manager, she said, has big shoes to fill.

But whoever it is, it will be their chance to help us continue as a sustainable healthy community, Perez said.

The Board of Selectmen plans to advertise the town manager position this week. Were looking to have applications in by Oct. 16, and after that, the Board of Selectmen will review them. Hopefully after Oct. 23, well start interviews, Perez said. We hope to choose someone by Nov. 15, because we want to have an overlap. Laurie Bessette is also retiring, and we want that overlap, so everyone can understand the job and what it requires.

The Board of Selectmen oversees the town manager, Perez said. If we do it well, well continue with our continuity and our forward direction, she said.

Geigers advice to the next town manager was simple. Learn all about the community  as much as you can, he said. Return every phone call. Listen to what people say. Be ready to negotiate and mediate. Its all very important.
Electric car maker Tesla Inc is in discussions with the industries department of Karnataka government to set up a centre in Bengaluru to leverage the large research and development (R&D) ecosystem in Indias technology capital.

The first proposal is for an R&D centre and we have already had at least two rounds of discussions," said one official from the department, requesting not to be named.

The Economic Times first reported this story on Monday.

The development would bring in one of the biggest electric car makers in the world to Karnataka and would bump up the state's image with a high-profile and news making investor marking its presence in a city that is already known as a R&D hub for sectors such as aviation, biotechnology, and information technology.

Bengaluru is home to several other large R&D centres, which include General Electrics first and largest global lab outside the US, John F. Welch Technology Centre (JFWTC), IBM, Samsung and around 400 others.

Talks to set up an R&D centre comes a year after Tesla chief Elon Musk expressed his intent to have a presence in India although he had earlier blamed restrictive policy that delayed entry into the worlds fourth largest automobile market.

The India head of Tesla and the industries commissioner of Karnataka are expected to meet again later this month, the official cited above said.

IKEA, the Swedish furniture retail giant from Ingka Group had last week said they will open a new global office in Bengaluru to operate within areas of Global Business Operations (GBO), Digital, and Centres of Expertise (CoE).

Karnataka, like its counterparts, is actively seeking out new investments to kickstart the fledgeling economy that was set back due to the covid-19 induced lockdown.

Karnataka has even set up a task force just to pursue companies looking to relocate from China after the pandemic.

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Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has said that he met neither Aamir Khan nor Sanjay Dutt while shooting the films Sarfarosh and Munna Bhai MBBS. Nawaz played small roles in both films, before breaking out.

The actor appeared in supporting roles in a number of films, before gaining wider recognition for Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2. He is now one of the most respected actors in the Hindi film industry.

In an interview to The Times of India, he said, During Munnabhai, I never met Sanjay Dutt in person as I was in the crowd and there was no interaction with him but yes, after that we had met several times. He is a wonderful person. Nawaz extended his best wishes towards Sanjay, who is undergoing treatment for cancer. He continued, Interestingly, he was aware that I had worked with him during Munnabhai MBBS. I am not in touch with him right now as we all got busy afterward. But as soon as I learned about his illness, I was so shocked. I just hope he gets well soon and has a speedy recovery.

Also read: Nawazuddin Siddiqui says Bollywood formula films dont require talented actors

About appearing in Aamirs Sarfarosh, Nawaz said, During Sarfarosh, I had no interaction with Aamir. After Sarfarosh and before Talaash, I had met Aamir Khan during Peepli Live. He used to come on the sets and once while shooting, I thought I should tell him that we had met during Sarfarosh and we had done a minute role in that film. He was very happy after knowing it, he actually stopped the film shoot and he told everyone about our scene from the movie.

Nawaz, who recently appeared in the detective drama Raat Akeli Hai, will next be seen in another Netflix film, Serious Men, directed by Sudhir Mishra.

The actor, who struggled for 12 years before getting a break, had said in an earlier PTI interview that he does not fear failure. I have already faced so much in my life. I have seen that time when I didnt even have a single penny in my pocket. And it stayed like that for two-three years. I used to have lunch at one friends place, dinner at others and a third friend would get cigarettes for me. I came to Mumbai with Rs 2,500. If I again face a situation where I am left with just Rs 2,500, I would not feel like a failure. I am not afraid of anything, hes said.

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Disbursement of public investment capital is especially crucial for infrastructure projects to boost economic growth, photo Le Toan

In its latest report, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) emphasised the importance of promoting public investment during the last months of the year to reach the countrys economic growth target of at least 2 per cent.

With a faster disbursement of public funding, Vietnam could even reach a GDP growth of 2.5 per cent for 2020. However, as Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated at the governments cabinet meeting in August, capital for many projects currently in high demand is only being disbursed slowly. Therefore, the PM urged the MPI to find solutions to reach the nations growth targets.

Vietnam is determined to disburse the entirety of its planned capital of VND630 trillion ($27.4 billion) to remedy the economic aftermath of 2020 and prepare its economy for a near-full recovery in 2021 with an expected growth rate of 6.7 per cent. Unfortunately, data from the Ministry of Finance leaves little hope of these goals being reached.

Nguyen Chi Dung - Minister of Planning and Investment In 2021, Vietnams economy may still face many challenges. Although the pandemic shows signs of easing, many potential risks remain unpredictable and might even last well until the end of next year. Similarly, the global economic outlook is equally difficult to forecast, with many major economies suffering under recessions. Though they may be able to recover in the short term, a full recovery to the levels before the health crisis could take from two to four years, depending on its impact. However, Vietnam set the growth target at 6.7 per cent for 2021, with the overall goal of focusing on restoring the economy, promoting rapid and sustainable growth, and ensuring macroeconomic stability, in line with the countrys Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Therefore, the MPI proposed 23 main targets  11 more than in the previous 5-year period  to ensure a closer cohesion between the annual and 5-year plans for the 2021-2025 period.

As of July 31, only 12 ministries and central agencies and 38 localities could showcase disbursement rates over 35 per cent. Meanwhile, 24 administrative agencies had rates below 25 per cent, and another 10 even below 10 per cent.

The problems related to these numbers are manifold and include low disbursements and high costs, sometimes starting at a projects formulation. Many agencies have failed in their management and leadership role when preparing projects to apply for capital, which leads to the state being the sole bearer of all costs.

Slow disbursements are the responsibility of those who propose and receive capital, and their fear of the related accountability and risks often leads to stagnation in the process of disbursing capital for already planned projects.

However, the governments announcement of capital transfer for slow-disbursing units shows the importance of public investment to the economy. Dinh Van Dien, Chairman of Ninh Binh Peoples Committee, pledged to continue speeding up the provinces usage of public investment and even receive additional capital from elsewhere.

According to the MPIs National Portal on Monitoring and Evaluating Investment, Ninh Binh has always been among the top 10 localities with high disbursement rates. As of July, the province made use of over VND2.1 trillion ($91 million), equal to around 71 per cent of its investment plan.

However, in regards to Ninh Binh, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh from the Academy of Finance remarked, Though capital transfer is one possible solution, it is not a very popular one. Many difficulties relating to the actual transfer process and a projects succeeding completion dampen this approach.

Nevertheless, up until now capital transfer has been the solution for projects with either slow or outstanding disbursements. Such funds can be transferred between projects under the same administrative unit or even be poured into other national ones. However, managing units will not easily agree to transfer their unused capital to other projects after they spent a lot of time and effort to receive this in the first place, Thinh added.

Until now, the government has not published decisions on what disbursement rates must be achieved for a managing unit to keep its assigned project capital, which may prolong the transfer process as there are also no sanctions, he said.

According to Thinh, it would be better for the MPI to petition the government to approve the transfer of public investment capital from slow proceeding projects to those which have the ability to deliver better results.

The phenomenon of sluggish disbursements of public investments is nothing new and even happened back in the 1980s, when Vietnam relied on financial support from other socialist countries. However, its impact was not as strong as it is now, simply because those funds were not as large as the current ones. Moreover, public investment plans were carefully crafted and saw the united efforts of all government agencies.

As a silver lining, the Ministry of Transport will complete the disbursement of its entire budget, with more than VND33 trillion ($1.4 billion) of domestic capital and another VND40 trillion ($1.7 billion) of foreign loans, as its Minister Nguyen Van The announced at the prime ministers conference on the development of the Central Highlands and Central Vietnam in July.

However, the minister said that to achieve this goal, the ministry would need full support with outstanding site clearances, especially those for key projects like Long Thanh International Airport and the North-South Expressway.

According to the Ministry of Finances (MoF) data, by July 31, there were 34 ministries and agencies as well as seven localities with disbursement rates below 20 per cent. Among these, 10 even had rates below 10 per cent  namely Bac Giang, Vinh Phuc, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Danang, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, and Tien Giang. Four central agencies  the Government Office, the Vietnamese Red Cross, the Vietnam Musicians Association, and the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises  had a public investment ratio of zero. Among these, the commission sent an official dispatch to the MoF and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to return VND1.6 billion ($70,000) of unused capital to the state budget. Among the ministries and agencies with disbursement rates below 15 per cent are the ministries of Construction, Natural Resources and Environment, Education and Training, Justice, and Industry and Trade; the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies; and the State Bank of Vietnam. In addition, nine ministries and agencies as well as 37 localities disbursed over 30 per cent of their assigned capital, such as the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (100 per cent), the Writers Association (93.6 per cent), Hung Yen province (62 per cent), Vietnam Development Bank (61 per cent), the Ministry of Home Affairs (55.5 per cent), and Ninh Binh province (66.6 per cent).

COVID-19 has had its fair share in hampering capital disbursement this year, seriously affecting socioeconomic development. Thus, the government has proposed a number of measures, such as faster capital allocation, especially for national target programmes like the reconstruction of rural areas.

Nonetheless, slow disbursement of public investment capital presents a serious threat to the expansion of national infrastructure projects which, in turn, create even more worrying issues with the countrys medium- and long-term economic growth prospects. Economist Tran Dinh Thien commented, the low speed in which capital is actually used for such projects cannot improve unless the disbursement methods are changed.

In Thiens opinion, it is necessary in the current context to come up with clear, simple, and responsible processes for every administrative agency to follow. Only then could the disbursement of public investment capital be improved to a level that supports the governments goal of reaching the economic growth target of 2.5 per cent this year.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy on Monday suggested that market regulator Sebi must blacklist board members and officials found guilty of governance deficit, and the compensation paid to them be recovered.

Murthy also asserted that shareholders must also be provided access to full details of the investigation carried out after any whistleblower complaint, unless it contains information that could provide advantage to competitors.

Speaking at an All India Management Association (AIMA) event on corporate governance, Murthy said if investigation into a whistleblower complaint concludes that the board and the officers of the company did not perform their fiduciary duties and contributed to a governance deficit by omission or commission, they are just asked to resign.

"Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) must blacklist these board members and officers. The shareholders must vote them out.

"In addition, the shareholders must claw back 100 per cent of the compensation or the fee received by the board and the officers during the tenure of the incident  i.e., the date when the incident occurred to the time the investigation is complete - reported by the whistleblower," he said.

He noted that whistleblowing should not be an act of revenge by a disgruntled employee, and the whistleblower must substantiate his or her complaint with data and facts.

Stating that a corporation must provide total protection to whistleblowers against vendetta by the bosses, Murthy said an important duty of a board is protecting and enhancing the reputation of the company and discharging its fiduciary responsibilities.

"Therefore, addressing a whistleblower complaint in a transparent and trust-enhancing manner is a must. If the complaint is against a middle or a low level employee, an internal committee consisting of senior employees not connected with the accused and committed to total fairness and transparency, should be sufficient," he said.

Murthy added that if the complaint is against any member of the board including the chairman or the CEO, the tendency of most Indian boards is to investigate such complaints themselves assisted by an outside law firm, pay them and obfuscate the issue.

"This is not a good idea because you cannot be the judge, the jury and the defendant," he said.

He said the boards of some globally-reputed companies totally recuse themselves from the investigation of the complaint in such situations and top ten shareholders and highly-respected individuals from the society are brought in to investigate the whistleblower's complaint.

Stating that transparency is an important tenet of good governance, Murthy said a shareholder has an unalienable right of access to every piece of information concerning an investigation.

"The full details of the investigation should be provided on the website of the company so that every shareholder has access to it. The investigating committee or its experts should provide every document of the investigation and answer every question," he said.

Murthy added that the only two exceptions to this rule are that there should not be any selective disclosure provided to any one set of shareholders, and that any business information that provides a competitive advantage to the company vis-a-vis its competitors in the marketplace cannot be disclosed to any shareholder.

Interestingly, Infosys - in October last year - had informed stock exchanges of having received anonymous whistleblower complaints alleging certain unethical practices by the top management.

It then started a probe into the matter and roped in external investigators.

Later, the company had said the audit committee had found no evidence of financial impropriety or executive misconduct, giving a clean chit to the top management.

In 2017, Infosys had witnessed a protracted stand-off between its high profile founders and the previous management over allegations of governance lapses and issues relating to severance package doled out to former executives, including ex-CFO Rajiv Bansal.

After the tussle, the then CEO Vishal Sikka quit followed by some board members.

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani was then brought in as Chairman to steer the company, and Salil Parekh was appointed as the CEO in January 2018.

Murthy, delivering the keynote, said corporate governance levels in India have improved considerably in the last three decades but there have been a few instances of serious governance deficits during the last five years.

He noted that the primary functions of a corporate board include ensuring a robust quality growth of both the top line and the bottom line of the company, protecting and enhancing the reputation of the company as well as reviewing, critiquing and improving the strategy presented by the management.

He added that the Board needs to recommend a fair and performance-based compensation to the CXOs and other officers of the company after consulting key, knowledgeable shareholders and create a succession plan for the CXOs and key officers of the company.

The board also needs to identify risks and take timely action to mitigate them, put in place systems of information, control, checks and balances, and make sure that they are working and ensuring full compliance of regulations required by every statutory authority of the land.

Murthy pointed out that managerial remuneration has to be a fair multiple of the compensation of the lowest level employee in the company and said if the lowest paid employee's remuneration was Rs 2-3 lakh a year, the CEO remuneration should be Rs 70-80 lakh.
The allegations of sexual harassment against filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has stirred a storm in the film industry. However, among many voices that stood in support of the filmmaker is his former wife and actor Kalki Koelchin.

Dont let this social media circus get to you,"she said in a post on Instagram. Kalki wrote about how Anurag had made her feel safe in work environment even before the two of them got into a relationship. You have always seen me as your equal, you have stood up for my integrity even after our divorce and you have supported me when I felt unsafe in a work environment even before we got together," she wrote.

Kalki and Anurag were married in 2011, three years after meeting on the sets of Dev-D. But the couple parted ways after two years of marriage in 2013 owing to growing differences.

This strange time where everyone gets to abuse one another and make false claims without any repercussions is a dangerous and repulsive one. It is destroying families friends and countries," Kalki wrote, hinting at a smear campaign against Anurag, who has been active on social media for his criticism of government.

View this post on Instagram @anuragkashyap10 A post shared by Kalki (@kalkikanmani) on Sep 20, 2020 at 11:13pm PDT

Actor Taapsee Pannu, known for women-centric films like Pink and Thappad, too rallied in support of Anurag. She defined him as the biggest feminist. For you, my friend , are the biggest feminist I know. See you on the sets soon of yet another piece of art that shows how powerful and significant women are in the world you create,"she wrote.

There has been a support for Anurag Kashyap on social media where many women have turned up to say how it has been like to work with him.

Dont need Twitter to explain what @anuragkashyap72 means to many of us.As a woman, am here to share my journey & definitely here to call out bullshit. Lets not ruin an important #Metoo movement for some agendas! pic.twitter.com/VS97NMhmKc  Guneet Monga (@guneetm) September 20, 2020

To know my friend @anuragkashyap72 is to know generosity, honesty and decency at its core .. even a cursory look at his work reveals his worldview on women .. dont know a bigger supporter of talent, men or women .. Tisca Chopra (@tiscatime) September 20, 2020

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has been accused of sexual abuse by actress Payal Ghosh. She alleged that the filmmaker had invited her to his house where he made sexual advances and even tried to force himself on her. Payal maintained that events in the recent past did not irk her to open up. She said that she had written about her experience two years ago during the #MeToo era. She said that her manager had asked her to delete her tweet. She also said that post that the filmmaker blocked her on WhatsApp.

Describing the incident, Payal said on her third meeting with the Manmarziyaan maker, he tried to force himself on her. She said that did not raise an alarm but pleaded with him that he should let her go as she would return again some other time.
GOCL Corporation soared 11.08% to Rs 207 after the company said its UK subsidiary will garner about Rs 257 crore by paring stake in Quaker Houghton.

GOCL Corporation, through its UK subsidiary, namely HGHL Holdings (HGHL), has beneficial interest in 4,27,395 shares of common stock of Quaker Chemical Corporation/Quaker Houghton, USA. GOCL Corporation investment in HGHL is GBP 1,00,000.

The board of directors of HGHL at its meeting held on 18 September 2020, decided to divest 2,00,000 shares of Quaker Houghton, at a price of $175 per share. The total value of the divestment will be $35 million (approximately Rs 257 crore) when completed. There will be no tax implication on HGHL under the transaction. The announcement was made before market hours today, 21 September 2020.

GOCL Corporation's consolidated net profit surged 209.4% to Rs 18.13 crore on a 20.8% decline in net sales to Rs 105.47 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019.

GOCL Corporation, formerly Gulf Oil Corporation, is engaged in the provision of explosive accessories (detonators) (for mining and industrial use); mining and infrastructure, and realty. The company's segments include energetics, mining and infrastructure contracts, realty, lubricating oils and others.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's biggest teachers' union said on Monday its members would not return to work for the first time since March next week unless they are paid a COVID-19 allowance and given a pay rise.

The government shut schools in March in a bid to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected 7,683 people and led to 225 deaths. Most schools are due to re-open next week, although only for students sitting their final exams.

The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), in a circular to its 42,000 members, called for monthly pay to be a minimum $520 (42,488 Zimbabwe dollars), compared to the 4,000 Zimbabwe dollars that the lowest paid teacher earns.

Pay has been eroded over the past two years from a minimum of $480 as Zimbabwe has switched from using the U.S. dollar as its main currency to using the local currency, as its financial crisis has deepened.

"The ZIMTA national executive hereby declares that all educators will not be able to report for duty on the 28th of September 2020 for opening of schools," ZIMTA said, adding it wanted to negotiate COVID-19 allowances to reflect the risk of heading back to the classroom before members returned to work.

Government spokesman Nick Mangwana did not immediately comment.

Only pupils from the most wealthy families -- those sending their children to private schools or with access to the internet -- would have received any online lessons over the past months.

Public sector workers in Zimbabwe have frequently gone on strike since 2018 as the local currency has tumbled, fuelling inflation and eroding incomes.

Before the outbreak of COVID-19, Zimbabwe's economy was already battling runaway inflation while millions face hunger due to poor harvests.

Two weeks ago, nurses ended a three-month job boycott to give negotiations a chance.

(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Emma Rumney and Alison Williams)
archived recording 1 Ruth Bader Ginsburg has passed away. And tell me what you know. We literally are just getting this out right now, the Supreme Court justice. archived recording 2 Its tough to absorb, obviously. Im just hearing it right with you.

[music]

michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro.

archived recording Now a time for mourning for a remarkable career and life well-lived, but also a loss rocking the political universe tonight.

michael barbaro

In Part 2 of our episode on the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg 

archived recording We are 45 days from a historic presidential election. We move forward to what happens next.

michael barbaro

My colleague, Julie Davis, on the fight to fill her seat.

archived recording The battle lines over the Courts future already being drawn.

michael barbaro

Its Monday, September 21. Julie, we just spoke to our former colleague, Linda Greenhouse, about the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And we want to turn to you as someone whos covered both the White House and Congress to understand this battle about filling Justice Ginsburgs now vacant seat. And it feels like, to a pretty remarkable degree, that the process of mourning the loss of Ginsburg and replacing her blended very quickly.

julie davis

Thats right. It was immediate. And that is because the stakes are so incredibly high. President Trump has already been able to install two justices on the Supreme Court, both conservatives. This would be a chance for him to nominate yet another conservative. Hed be the first president since Ronald Reagan to have been able to confirm three justices. And it would undoubtedly tip the court in a much more conservative direction. Also, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a liberal icon. She is revered on the left. And its very clear that she would be replaced by someone who might very well vote to undo a lot of the decisions that she was pivotal in making. And on top of that, were just 45 days out from a really intense presidential election and in the middle of a pandemic.

michael barbaro

Its a lot.

julie davis

It is a lot.

michael barbaro

So lets talk about the various players in this already pretty ferocious battle over replacing Justice Ginsburg. And I feel like the first player, perhaps the most important at the start of this, is President Trump, who has the job of naming her replacement. So how were you thinking about him in this moment and with this vacancy in mind?

julie davis

Right. So you have to remember what President Trumps political situation was before this happened. He has been behind in the national polls, trailing Joe Biden for months. Hes been behind in the battleground states that are going to decide this election. The trend was very concerning to the president and to his campaign. And so for the president, he and his advisers see this as a way to rally the base yet again and to make this election a referendum on something other than his leadership, something other than the bad economy and the coronavirus.

archived recording (donald trump) So Article II of our Constitution says the president shall nominate justices of the Supreme Court. [CHEERING]

julie davis

And so thats why youre hearing him at his political rallies 

archived recording (donald trump) I dont think it can be any more clear, can it? I dont think so.

julie davis

 tell voters Im going to appoint someone. Im going to appoint them quickly. Its going to be a woman. And so you know, you heard his supporters chanting 

archived recording (donald trump) [LAUGHING] archived recording Fill that seat. Fill that seat.

julie davis

 fill that seat. Fill that seat. And that becomes a really compelling thing for him, to have something concrete to tell people they are going to get.

archived recording (donald trump) Well, I hope they hear. So the chant  this is a new one. Fill that seat. This is the shit.

michael barbaro

And what do we know about who the president is thinking of putting in Justice Ginsburgs seat? He said its a woman. But beyond that, what do we know?

julie davis

So we know hes looking at at least two women who are judges who he has nominated and gotten through the Senate and confirmed and installed onto the federal bench. The first one is Amy Coney Barrett. Shes 48 years old. And she sits on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. She is a former law professor from Notre Dame. She was an academic for much of her career. But she is really a rock star to conservatives. Shes a devout Catholic. She has talked in very stark terms about her beliefs. Shes talked about how she sees the law as a means to an end of establishing the kingdom of God.

michael barbaro

Wow.

julie davis

She said during her confirmation for the appeals court that she would respect precedent. But she is very, very anti-abortion. And most Democrats think that she would be very likely to side with a conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade.

michael barbaro

Mhm.

julie davis

Theres another woman who the president is looking at named Barbara Lagoa. She is on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. And she has a lot of things going for her in the eyes of the president and his advisers. She is not only a woman, but she is Cuban-American. She is from Florida. You know, Hispanics around the country, but particularly in the battleground state of Florida, are a very important constituency for President Trump. And Judge Lagoa is probably best known for siding with the majority in a case that was decided just recently in Florida that said that felons who had been given the right to vote in the election shouldnt be able to vote unless they went back and paid fees and court fines and restitution, so essentially disqualifying a large group of former convicts from voting in the election. And so given her conservative judicial credentials and her personal background, shes another one whose name were hearing a lot as a possible pick.

michael barbaro

Mhm. So the next big player in all this, of course, is the Senate, which would receive President Trumps nominee for this vacant seat. So what are the dynamics there at this moment that we need to understand?

julie davis

Well, the first thing you need to understand is that within a very short period of time after the news of Justice Ginsburg passing came out, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader who has dedicated a large portion of his time and energy to packing the courts with President Trumps conservative judicial nominees, both Supreme Court and lower courts, put out this statement making it very clear that, regardless of what had happened in the past, President Trumps nominee was going to get a vote on the floor of the Senate.

[music]

And that kicked up an immediate raucous, because Democrats remember all too well what happened in 2016 when President Obama nominated a judge to succeed Antonin Scalia after he died.

archived recording (mitch mcconnell) It is a presidents constitutional right to nominate a Supreme Court justice.

julie davis

And Mitch McConnell made it very clear, right off the bat 

archived recording (mitch mcconnell) And it is the Senates constitutional right to act as a check on a president and withhold its consent.

julie davis

 that that person was not going to be considered by the Senate because, he said, there was a presidential election coming up.

archived recording (mitch mcconnell) The American people may well elect a president who decides to nominate Judge Garland for Senate consideration. The next president may also nominate somebody very different.

julie davis

And the choice of a new Supreme Court justice should be up to whoever was elected on Election Day.

archived recording (mitch mcconnell) Either way, our view is this. Give the people a voice in filling this vacancy.

julie davis

But no one whos watched Senator McConnell and the lengths that hes gone to confirm conservatives to the federal courts really believed that he would hear his words from 2016 and say, oh, never mind. Im not going to go through with this. It was very clear that he was going to go forward with a Supreme Court nomination, even in an election year, regardless of what hed said in the past.

michael barbaro

But Julie, I want to linger on that for just a moment. Because it did very much feel like Majority Leader McConnell created a standard in 2016. It was an incredibly polarizing standard. But it was a standard, nonetheless. That in an election year, you should not put forth a Supreme Court justice because its too close to the election. Voters are about to render a verdict. And now all of a sudden, and if my math is right on this, much closer to an election then when Merrick Garland was nominated in 2016, McConnell is reversing himself and saying, actually, its the perfect time to put forward and confirm a justice. Is he trying to account for that very significant contradiction?

julie davis

Well, he has tried to account for it. Hes basically saying that hes being consistent. Because in 2016, you had a Republican Senate and a Democratic president. So you had divided government. And in that scenario, it was only fair to wait until the voters had their say as to whether they wanted to continue divided government or have a Republican president and a Republican Senate before they acted on a Supreme Court nomination. And now we have unified rule. We have a Republican president and a Republican Senate. And so thats not necessary. We dont have to wait for that verdict. We have that verdict. They re-elected Republicans to be in control of the Senate. President Trump won election in 2016. And were good to go. So in a way, hes making a pretty raw power argument here. That weve got the majority. Weve got the say. And so its kind of a try to dare to stop us. And the big question then becomes, can he hold Republicans together around that position?

michael barbaro

And why would he not be able to hold Republicans around that position?

julie davis

Well, for a few reasons. One of them is that many Republicans had signed onto this position in 2016 and made comments reiterating it in the years since. And one of them was Senator Lindsey Graham.

archived recording (lindsey graham) I want you to use my words against me.

julie davis

Who had said repeatedly in 2016 

archived recording (lindsey graham) If there is a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say, Lindsey Graham said, lets let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination. And you could use my words against me. And youd be absolutely right.

julie davis

 and then, again, in 2018 

archived recording (lindsey graham) If an opening comes in the last year of President Trumps term and the primary process is started, well wait to the next election. And Ive got a pretty good chance of being the judicial  archived recording Youre on the record. archived recording (lindsey graham) Yeah. archived recording All right. archived recording (lindsey graham) Hold the tape.

julie davis

 you know, actually invited people to fact check him later if he changed his position. And so the question was, what was Lindsey Graham going to do? And 

archived recording Senator, do you think President Trump agrees that if there is a Supreme Court vacancy in 19 or 20 that it shouldnt be filled because people should wait for the next president to be elected?

julie davis

Chuck Grassley from Iowa, the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said something similar.

archived recording (chuck grassley) Itd be the one year of the 20, if you want to follow the pattern of the Biden rule, and Id followed that.

julie davis

Then you also have two moderate Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who have said very recently, days or weeks before Justice Ginsburg passed away, that it would not be appropriate to consider a Supreme Court nomination this close to an election. So the question for all of them becomes: Are they going to hold to these statements now that the vacancy is a reality? Are they going to turn against them, do a complete 180, and follow Senator McConnells lead? And what is that going to mean for whether McConnell has the votes to actually do what hes now promised the president hes going to do, which is confirm his nominee.

michael barbaro

Right. You just mentioned four Republican senators. And right now, Republicans control the Senate by just three votes. So if all four of those senators were to basically stay with their public pledge of support for the original McConnell standard, it would not be technically possible to confirm a replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

julie davis

Thats right. McConnell can afford to lose three Republicans with Vice President Pence breaking a tie in the Senate, because hes the president of the Senate, and still have a simple majority. But if he loses four, thats it. And he cant proceed. So this is the key question for these senators and for the rest of the Republican senators. Lindsey Graham made very clear very quickly  he is in a tough re-election race in South Carolina, much tougher than expected. And hes obviously been a very loyal ally of President Trump. And very quickly, he just said, never mind what I said before. I now believe we should go forward with this. And he completely turned away from his previous stance. Weve heard nothing from Chuck Grassley. Hes said nothing about it. And then, Senator Collins, who is also in a very tough re-election race in Maine, in a state where the president is quite unpopular, actually made it very clear that she was going to stick with her previous position and say its an election year. We are too close to an election. She says the president has the right to nominate someone. And we can start to consider that person. But the bottom line is that the person who is elected president on November 3 should be the person to nominate the successor for Justice Ginsburg.

michael barbaro

Mhm. And what about Murkowski?

julie davis

Lisa Murkowski also came out with the same position. She issued a statement that essentially said, we should not have a confirmation vote until after the election.

michael barbaro

Hm.

julie davis

But weve really only heard from a handful of senators on this. And part of the reason why is because Senator McConnell knows this dynamic is going to determine whether he has the votes or not. And he put out a letter to all Republican senators on Friday night, not long after his public statement went out, that said: Keep your powder dry. Do not lock yourself into any particular position on how to proceed with this vacancy.

michael barbaro

So what do we think that the Senate will do? Because as much as the president can control this process by putting forward a nominee, at the end of the day, as we learned from the case of Merrick Garland, the Senate either begins to hold confirmation hearings or it does not. So Julie, whats your sense of what the Senate is likely to do over the next few weeks before the election, and perhaps even after the election, when it comes to filling this vacancy?

julie davis

Well, I think its, in a way, too early to say. Mitch McConnell has to get clear in his own mind where his Republican senators are willing to go with this. And its not just a question of, do we have the votes today, but could moving very quickly and trying to force a vote and force a confirmation before the election actually damage Republicans politically? He does have a number of incumbents to worry about, some of whom would really rather not have to cast what is going to be a very polarizing vote in what we can already tell is going to be an extremely brutal process before they face the voters on November 3. So he has a really tricky calculation to make. And its not just about when he can get 51 votes. And theres another consideration here, too, which is the legitimacy question.

michael barbaro

What do you mean?

julie davis

The Republicans have to consider what happens if President Trump loses, and what happens if they lose their Senate majority. In that case, President Trump would still be president after November 3 until Joe Biden were sworn in. And Republicans would continue to hold the majority in the Senate. And Mitch McConnell would continue to be the majority leader until the new Congress is seated in January. But they would be lame ducks. And the question is, how can a party that has just been rejected by the voters, potentially a president whos just been rejected by the voters, say that even though thats just happened, on their way out the door, theyre going to install a Supreme Court justice who is very likely to reshape the court and its decisions on huge issues in the country for a generation, and theres nothing anyone can do about it? Can you really do that? Its just an eventuality that Senator McConnell has to consider. Theres no indication that he would not be willing to do it. I think theres every indication that he would be willing to do it. But then you have to also consider, would he be able to get the votes at that point? Are there Republicans who would swallow the process and go along with it if it happened under a Republican majority with a Republican president, but who would balk at it if it were a matter of confirming a nominee of a president who had been defeated? And thats just not a question that we know the answer to. But the fact is that under the rules of the Senate, under the Constitution, the way this process works, that is very possible. And it is permissible. And the way the votes break down, there might not be anything that Democrats could do to stop it.

michael barbaro

Well be right back. So Julie, weve now talked about the president and the Senate, and their plans for filling the vacancy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Where does the presidents Democratic rival Joe Biden fit into all of this? And how is he seeking to influence this process over which Democrats dont seem to have a ton of influence at the moment? And how do we expect this process might influence his candidacy?

julie davis

Well, for the moment, Joe Biden is trying to do two things.

archived recording (joe biden) Look, Im not being naive. Im not speaking to President Trump, who will do whatever he wants.

julie davis

One of them, in terms of influencing the process 

archived recording (joe biden) Im not speak to Mitch McConnell, who will do what he wants and he does.

julie davis

 is hes trying to talk to moderate Senate Republicans, or institutionalists in the Senate.

michael barbaro

His former colleagues?

julie davis

His former colleagues and say, listen 

archived recording (joe biden) Im speaking to those Republicans out there, Senate Republicans, who know deep down what is right for the country and consistent with the Constitution, not just whats best for their party.

julie davis

 This shouldnt go on. Lets halt this process right now. The next president should get to choose the nominee. And you Republicans, you should do whats right. And basically to try to get them to break with Senator McConnells position and actually try to put the brakes on this process. But at the moment, it looks pretty unlikely that he is going to win over enough converts for that to actually affect the way that this proceeds. And so 

archived recording (joe biden) Im speaking for millions of Americans out there, who are voting because they know their health care hangs in the balance in the middle of the worst global health crisis in living memory.

julie davis

Biden is making this much broader thematic argument for his own candidacy and really centering it around health care and the future of health care.

archived recording (joe biden) Donald Trump is before the Supreme Court trying to strip health care coverage away from tens of millions of families, and to strip away the peace of mind more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing conditions.

julie davis

And hes doing that because there is a big case thats coming before the Supreme Court for oral arguments the week after the election, in which the Trump administration is trying to invalidate key portions of the Affordable Care Act.

archived recording (joe biden) And perhaps most cruelly of all, if Donald Trump has his way, the complications from Covid-19, which are well beyond what they should be, like lung scarring and heart damage, could become the next deniable pre-existing condition for over 6 million Americans whove already contracted the disease.

julie davis

And what Biden is doing is hes essentially telling voters, you re-elect President Trump, you allow this conservative nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal icon on the court, you can kiss your health care goodbye. That that is a person who is going to vote to strike down the Affordable Care Act. That is a president who is going to eviscerate what has been an important way for tens of millions of Americans to get coverage. And by the way, were in a pandemic.

michael barbaro

Right.

julie davis

And that cant be allowed to happen. And so what hes really doing is hes making a broader electoral argument for this is why you need to reject President Trump and elect Joe Biden.

archived recording (nancy pelosi) Its about health care.

julie davis

And Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, and all the other leading Democrats, have really taken up this argument 

archived recording (nancy pelosi) The president is rushing to make some kind of a decision because November 10 is when the oral arguments begin on the Affordable Care Act.

julie davis

 which, of course, they used in 2018 to very successful effect, to really tell people this whole election is about your health care and whether youre going to be covered or not. And Democrats will do that for you. And Republicans will not.

archived recording (nancy pelosi) He doesnt want to crush the virus. He wants to crush the Affordable Care Act.

julie davis

So what theyre doing is, in a lot of ways, the other side of the coin to what President Trump is doing. Theyre really seizing on this court fight as the animating force of this election.

michael barbaro

So Julie, that very naturally brings us to the final player in all this, which is, of course, the voters. And in the past, weve often talked about how animating Supreme Court battles are to the right. And Im curious how motivating it is in this moment to the right, but also to the left. I know its only been 48 hours. But what are we seeing?

julie davis

Yes. So the early indications are that there is a huge amount of intensity and grief for Justice Ginsburgs passing, and also anger at how this is being handled on the left. I think in the past couple of days, ActBlue, the Democratic donor site, has raised more than $90 million.

michael barbaro

Wow.

julie davis

You have a lot of judicial groups on the left pledging millions, as much as $10 million or more, to pour into the presidential race into key states in which the Senate is in play to really drive home this message about the importance of this issue. And the other thing weve seen is 

archived recording (CROWD SINGING AMAZING GRACE) I once was lost.

julie davis

A lot of mourning.

archived recording But now am found.

julie davis

I live not far from the Supreme Court. And theres just been this constant vigil of people passing by and leaving flowers and 

archived recording Shalom 

julie davis

Saying kaddish for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And people driving from all over the country to go pay their respects.

archived recording [CROWD SINGING]

julie davis

So while yes, you do have a lot of intensity on this issue on the right and thats always been the case, its been the case for many decades, I think the new thing here is that we are also seeing this kind of grief stricken Democratic left that is much more engaged in this issue than weve ever seen them. And that is kind of an X factor that I think is going to have a major impact on this process.

michael barbaro

You know, Julie, Im mindful that at the end of the day it is a presidents prerogative to fill an open seat on the Supreme Court, I mean, dating back to the beginning of the Supreme Court. Youre not president for three years and two days, or three years and seven months. And so the idea is, if youre president, and theres a vacancy on the Supreme Court, its your role to fill it. But that what Majority Leader McConnell did fundamentally changed that basic dynamic. Because he deprived a president of the ability to even meaningfully put forward a Supreme Court justice. And that everything were now experiencing has been deeply informed by that, and it helps explain why this process is now so brutal and ferocious.

julie davis

Right. I mean, if you think back on the history of Supreme Court fights in the Senate, there is so much scar tissue there. I mean, you think back to Clarence Thomas and how nasty that got. Even more recently, the really bruising confirmation battle over Brett Kavanaugh. And those were deeply, deeply divisive phases in the history of Supreme Court confirmations. But at least they were a process. At least the Senate was considering the elected presidents nominee. And the fact that that did not happen in 2016, that Senator McConnell decided that he was not going to even so much as allow a hearing on President Obamas Supreme Court nomination, really just put this sort of poisonous point on what had already become a really highly politicized and often very nasty process. And so, now that we are in the tail end of a very intense presidential election with a very closely divided Senate, and we have this vacancy of a liberal justice that is about to be filled, if they take the president at his word by a conservative replacement, its no surprise that this is all really just coming to a head. And thats really why when you talk to senators honestly about this confirmation process, they will tell you that it is a deeply flawed and broken process, and that it has really reached a low point. And I think were about to see just how broken it is.

michael barbaro

Julie, thank you very much.

julie davis
The United States on September 21 will sanction more than two dozen people and entities involved in Iran's nuclear, missile, and conventional weapons programs, a senior U.S. official told Reuters.

The United States on September 19 unilaterally reimposed all UN sanctions against Iran, despite opposition from some of Washingtons closest European allies and uncertainty over their impact.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the so-called snapback of UN sanctions on Iran, threatening U.S. action against any violators.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, the official said Iran could have enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon by the end of the year and that Tehran has resumed long-range missile cooperation with nuclear-armed North Korea.

The official did not provide detailed evidence regarding either allegation.

Pompeo has said that in case UN member states fail to fulfill their obligations to implement these sanctions, the United States is prepared to use our domestic authorities to impose consequences for those failures and ensure that Iran does not reap the benefits of UN-prohibited activity.

The new sanctions put European allies, China, and Russia on notice that while their inclination may be to ignore the U.S. drive to maintain the UN sanctions on Iran, companies based in their nations would be punished for violating them.

An important part of the new U.S. sanctions is an executive order targeting those who buy or sell Iran conventional arms that will also be unveiled by the Trump administration on September 21, the official said.

The punitive measures to be announced on September 21 are the latest in a series seeking to curb Iran's nuclear program, which U.S. ally Israel views as an existential threat.

"Iran is clearly doing everything it can to keep in existence a virtual turnkey capability to get back into the weaponization business at a moment's notice should it choose to do so," the U.S. official told Reuters.

The official maintained that Tehran wants a nuclear weapons capability and the means to deliver it despite a landmark 2015 deal with world powers that sought restraining Iran's atomic program in return for easing international sanctions.

In May 2018, Trump withdrew from the deal and restored U.S. sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. The other parties -- Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia -- remained in the deal.

Iran, in turn, has gradually breached the conditions of the deal, including on the size of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium as well as the level of purity to which it was allowed to enrich uranium, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"Because of Iran's provocative nuclear escalation, it could have sufficient fissile material for a nuclear weapon by the end of this year," the official said without elaborating except to say this was based on "the totality" of information available to the United States, including from the IAEA.

With reporting by Reuters
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 02:10:26|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will visit Russia for talks on a host of topics with Russia's senior officials, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told official IRNA news agency on Monday.

Zarif will discuss bilateral and regional issues besides exchanging views on recent developments around Iran's nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Khatibzadeh was quoted as saying.

The foreign minister's visit to Moscow will take place "soon," he noted.

The visit comes after the United States announced on Sunday the unilateral restoration of all pre-2015 UN sanctions against Iran.

Following the Iranian nuclear deal in July 2015, all the nuke-related UN sanctions against Tehran were gradually removed. Enditem
Amid escalating border tensions with India, China has reportedly encroached into Nepal's territory and erected nine buildings in the Lapcha-Limi region in Humla.

As per a report by The Economic Times, the encroachment came to light during an inspection of the remote Humla region from August 30 to September 9 by a local district officer.

The Chinese army and border police have occupied Nepalese territory at Namkha gaupalika (rural municipality), it said.

Lapcha-Limi a strategic place from where Kailash Mansarovar can be seen clearly and the Chinese move is part of its expansionist designs, sources from Kathmandu quoted in the report said.

District administration has informed the Nepal Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, neither Nepal's Home Ministry nor Foreign Ministry has issued a statement in this regard.

Earlier in June this year, reports had emerged that China occupied a village in Nepal and 10 other strategic areas.

To legitimise its annexation, China reportedly removed boundary pillars around Rui village situated in the northern Gorkha district. The village is said to have around 72 houses.

A report, prepared by Survey Department of Agriculture Ministry of Nepal, suggests China has encroached places which make up around 33 hectares of Nepal's land, by diverting the flow of rivers which act as a natural boundary.

As per a September 4 Reuters report, China is planning a more than 1 trillion yuan ($146 billion) push to accelerate infrastructure investment in Tibet, including new and previously announced projects.

Read: China planning building spree in Tibet as India tensions rise

The construction plans include completion of the challenging middle section of a high-elevation Sichuan-Tibet railway link, a railway line between Nepal and Tibet that has remained in the planning stages, and a newly planned dry port in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

During a senior Communist Party meeting on Tibet's future governance, President Xi Jinping had recently lauded achievements and praised frontline officials but said more efforts were needed to enrich, rejuvenate and strengthen unity in the region.
One 40-year-old office worker in Seoul decided not to visit his home town during the Chuseok holiday following government recommendations to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Imagine his astonishment, then, when he found out that the government has decided to allow flights to and from Wuhan, China to resume. "The government told citizens to stay home during the nation's biggest holiday but has decided to allow flights to Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic," he said. "I just don't get it."

Emotional blackmail is the government's weapon of choice. One town in Boseong, South Jeolla Province has hung huge banners on the approach that read, "My son, my daughter in law, it's all right if you don't visit us this Chuseok!" Regional governments recommended that people hire professionals to mow the grass on their ancestral graves and maybe watch them on Zoom.

Then the announcement came last week that T'way Air will resume weekly flights between Incheon and Wuhan. Earlier this year, the government was also criticized for letting flights from China continue even as entire cities there had been barricaded in their homes because of the virulent epidemic.

The first flight from Wuhan arrived at Incheon on Sept. 17, when COVID-19 infections topped 30 million around the world, while one in four infections in Korea were untraceable. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency was warning that the battle against the virus was tantamount to "World War III." But Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Kim Gang-lip said the previous day, "The rate of coronavirus infections in China has stabilized, and not many infected people are arriving from China."

He claimed the decision to resume flights was made on "scientific grounds" and the KDCA "did not object." But two days later, Yoon Tae-ho, a senior official at the ministry said, "We made the decision because of the large amount of trade that takes place with China." This sparked complaints that the government is sacrificing the safety of Koreans for economic benefits from China. At the same time the public was getting fed up after days of a fresh lockdown that banned restaurants in the greater Seoul area from serving customers after 9 p.m. The government has warned there could be yet another lockdown on Sept. 28.

Last week, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun patted himself on the back by saying the government did the right thing by not banning visitors from China at the early stage of the pandemic. He posted a message on his Facebook page telling Koreans to use him as an excuse not to visit their families over Chuseok. The office worker said, "The government has been saying that effective quarantine efforts depend on the public, but its just passing the buck."


Image: Twitter/@ShriRamTeerth

Defying the coronavirus-induced slowdown, property prices in Ayodhya have reportedly nearly doubled since Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the Ram Temple groundbreaking ceremony in August. This is in addition to the 30-40 percent appreciation since the Supreme Court pronounced verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid suit in November 2019, a Times of India report suggested.

"Property rates in even in Ayodhya's hinterland have shot up to Rs 1,000-1,500 per sq ft. In the town area, rates are currently in the range of Rs 2,000-3,000 per sq ft," property consultant Rishi Tandon told Times of India.

Tandon said before the SC verdict, one was able to buy land in Ayodhya town for less than Rs 900 per sq ft.

Read: Ram temple: Real estate players flock to Ayodhya

The demand for land in Ayodhya spiked after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister announced several infrastructure projects, including Ayodhya airport, Navya Ayodhya - a township planned on the lines of London - and a revamped Ayodhya railway station among others.

Despite the rising demand, prospective buyers are wary of their investments being frozen if the state government later decides to acquire the land for various projects.

"This is the flip side of the boom. If new landowners are paid as per the current circle rates, which havent increased, they would suffer big losses. Hence the hesitation," Tandon told the newspaper.

The Supreme Court on November 9, 2019, delivered its historic verdict in the Ayodhya land dispute case. The nations top court ruled that disputed land will be given to the Centre and the Sunni Waqf Board will be given an "alternate and suitable" five-acre land at a prominent place in Ayodhya.

Nine months after the SC verdict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the 'bhoomi pujan' of Ram Temple in Ayodhya on August 5. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were among those who attended the event at the site where a large number of devout Hindus believe Lord Ram was born.
The First Step Act, Chuck Colson, and the Churchs work of restoration

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Im old enough to remember that time, way back in 2018, when Democrats and Republicans worked together. Really, it did happen and resulted in a major, bi-partisan criminal justice reform bill called The First Step Act, which sought to reduce the number of people in overcrowded federal prisons and improve conditions for those behind bars.

When he endorsed the bill, President Trump said, Were all better off when former inmates can receive and re-enter society as law-abiding, productive citizens. At last months Republican National Convention, Ivanka Trump called the First Step Act the most significant criminal justice reform of our generation. Thats not an overstatement.

A major feature of the bill is that it reduces mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders, especially low-level, nonviolent offenders. For those already serving time for crack cocaine-related offenses, the reductions were retroactive.

In its first year, the First Step Act has literally changed thousands of lives. According to a recent report from the United States Sentencing Commission, the sentences of more than 7,000 federal prisoners, deemed able to safely return to their communities, were reduced.

As the libertarian publication Reason rightly noted, the First Step Act is a modest, but very real, first step towards comprehensive criminal justice reform. Id add that, as part of the legacy of Chuck Colson and the very good work of Prison Fellowship, the bill is an example of the Churchs work of restoration.

God used Chuck Colson to transform the way many of our political leaders, in particular conservatives, think about criminal justice. While in prison, Chuck learned how empty and even counterproductive the lock em up and throw away the key rhetoric that he once espoused really was. The call God placed on Chucks life to bring the Gospel to prisoners and their families through Prison Fellowship quickly expanded to include prison and criminal justice reform. He quickly realized that being tough on crime was pointless unless we were first smart on crime.

Being smart on crime led Chuck to campaign against the three strikes and youre out laws that swept the U.S. during the 1990s. He knew that such laws would only lead to overcrowded prisons, unaffordable system building and maintenance, and eventually the court-ordered releases of thousands of prisoners from political pressures rather than prudential wisdom.

God used Chucks solid conservative, Christian, and law-and-order credentials to advance this message. People who may not have given other activists the time of day respectfully listened. Many hearts and minds were changed, not only by Chuck Colsons passion or ability to articulate, but because he took people back into the prison with him to see for themselves what he saw. To borrow a modern phrase, Chuck moved the Overton Window, i.e. the acceptable range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream population.

And so, decades later, years after Chuck Colsons death, at a time of deep and painful political divisions, the First Step Act garnered bipartisan support.

Chucks legacy of giving people the moral permission and intellectual justifications to do the right thing is something Christians should seek to emulate in every aspect of culture.

Of course, in order to do this, we must first know what the right thing is. And, we must learn to talk about issues in ways that can be heard. About a year ago, this vision drove us to launch What Would You Say?, a video resource designed to help Christians converse on our cultures most challenging questions.

Our stories may not be as dramatic and consequential as Chuck Colsons, but we can strive for the same humility, credibility, preparation, and willingness to be used by God, if not in prison then in whatever sphere of influence He gives us.

To learn more about the First Step Act and Prison Fellowships excellent work to bring the Gospel and restoration prisoners and their families, come to BreakPoint.org.

Originally published at Break Point
At Greenhouse Tavern, the restaurant that made Sawyer a national name in the culinary world, the chef was known for his green-focused cooking, reliance on local products and large plates that encouraged guest participation. Adorn with be somewhat similar, though Sawyer will expand his menu to include global influences from his time abroad. Youll see dishes such as gnocchi fritto with Italian ham, leche de tigre with shrimp and scallops, and lobster and spaghetti Joe Beef style (a nod to the famous Montreal restaurant).
Dr Zoe Williams has revealed how she pleaded with her alcoholic mother to stop drinking as a teenager.

The This Morning medic, 40, candidly spoke about her childhood and said that her mother Marilyn, who died in 2017, tried to take her own life several times.

Writing for The Sun's Fabulous, Dr Zoe discussed her mum Marilyn's addiction and highlighted how casual drinking has increased during lockdown.

Candid: Dr Zoe Williams has revealed how she pleaded with her alcoholic mother to stop drinking as a teenager and ended up leaving home at 18 (pictured on This Morning)

Dr Zoe said: 'I was barely 16 when I stood before my mum, pleading and crying, before going to school. I was begging her to choose me instead of alcohol.

'Mum tried to take her own life several times in the grip of her addiction. She wasnt successful but her attempts made it clear living was excruciating for her.'

Dr Zoe explained that when she was 14 her mother Marilyn, who was a 'caring' woman, started drinking heavily when she got into a relationship.

She said what started out as just a glass had turned into drinking vodka everyday by the time Dr Zoe was studying for her A-Levels.

Family: The TV doctor explained how 'at the height of her addition' her mum Marilyn 'tried to take her life several times' adding that they were unsuccessful (pictured in a snap shared to Instagram in 2017 on the third anniversary of her death)

As things got harder, Dr Zoe decided to leave home at 18 because it was easier to sofa-surf than not know what her mother's mood would be like.

And after going to medical school, Dr Zoe admitted that she didn't have the best relationship with alcohol herself and would always be worrying about her mum.

However during her time studying Marilyn did get some help from her GP, but sadly nothing worked.

She said: 'Mum hated being told what to do in rehab so would leave. I was at medical school when I finally accepted Mum would drink herself into an early grave.'

Opening up: Dr Zoe explained that when she was 14 her mother started drinking heavily when she got into a relationship (Dr Zoe is pictured in PPE)

Worrying times: Dr Zoe told her mum's story as it was revealed that the number of heavy drinkers doubled between February and August (pictured on This Morning)

Discussing how alcoholism changed her mother, Zoe revealed that she had changed from a loving person to someone who could be 'violent and upset'.

Marilyn died in 2017 from alcohol-related heart failure, with her two children Dr Zoe and son Linton by her side.

Revealing her personal story, Dr Zoe said that she's now backing the Commission on Alcohol Harms call for a government strategy to deal with alcoholism.

The doctor explained that when she was a teenager she could go to school to get a break, but millions of young people haven't had that chance during lockdown.

Throwback: She said that she decided to leave home at 18 and sofa surf as her mother's moods could be difficult to judge (pictured at 19)

She also quoted new figures that show the number of heavy drinkers in the UK doubled between February and August.

A major report said on Monday that Britain is facing a 'looming addiction crisis' with millions turning to alcohol to cope with the pandemic.

The number of people drinking at 'high risk' levels has doubled to almost 8.5million since February, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Experts fear money worries, the stresses of juggling work and childcare and the emotional fallout from the virus has left many reaching for the bottle.

Thousands more sought help for addiction to painkillers during lockdown amid fears delays to NHS treatment could cause cases to rocket.

Doctors are worried excessive drinking during the pandemic will have a major toll on the health of the nation for years to come.

In surveys of more than 10,000 people PHE found that more than 8.4million are now drinking at problem levels, up from 4.8million in February.

The problem is rife among the middle class where more than four in ten are now consuming too much alcohol, up from almost 28 per cent in February.

If you have been affected by this story, please call the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org

For help with drinking, contact Alcoholics Anonymous on 0800 9177 650 or by email: help@aamail.org
At least 92 percent of those who participated in LocalCircles' survey said it should be mandatory for all hospitals to list real-time ICU bed availability on their websites and entrances.

Amid rising coronavirus cases in the country, a survey has revealed that 78 percent of COVID-19 patients who needed an ICU bed had to use connections and clout while only four percent were able to secure a bed through the routine process.

LocalCircles, a community social media platform that enables people and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions, said it received many complaints from across the country about not being able to find an ICU bed at government or private hospitals and decided to conduct a survey to assess the situation.

It received over 17,000 responses from over 211 districts across India. Of the total respondents, 52 percent were from Tier 1 cities, 26 percent from Tier 2 and 22 percent were from Tier 3, 4 and rural districts. Sixty-five percent of the respondents were men while 35 percent were women.

At least 92 percent said it should be mandatory for all hospitals to list real-time ICU bed availability on their websites and entrances, as per the survey.

LocalCircles' first question to citizens was about the experiences of people in their social network with regards to getting a COVID-19 ICU bed.

To ensure that correct feedback is sought, respondents were requested to call up their contacts in case they were unaware about the detailed experience of their acquaintances and family members while getting an ICU bed.

Fifty-five percent of the respondents, who said that they did not have any person in their network needing a ICU bed, were taken out of the sample and the remaining responses were analysed. It was found that 38 percent respondents had to use clout/connections to secure the ICU bed while seven percent said they had to follow up extensively to secure the ICU bed; 40 percent said they had to use their clout/connections, follow up extensively and they also had to escalate the issue via social media or complain to the government to secure the ICU bed.

Seven percent of the respondents said they had to bribe (cash or kind) hospital/government officials to get the ICU bed, while only four percent said they got the ICU bed without any of the above. Another four percent said they did not get an ICU bed at all.

This shows that only four percent of those who needed a COVID-19 ICU bed were able to get it through the routine process, while 78 percent had to use connections and clout.

In Delhi, for example, patients complained that the Delhi governments app Delhi Corona shows ICU beds available in some hospitals; however, when they call that hospital, they are told that the bed is not available, LocalCircles founder Sachin Taparia told Indian Express.

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said there are around 1,000 ICU beds available in the National Capital. Around 1,500 non-ICU beds and over 500 ICU beds were added over the last few days, he said.

"The number of vacant beds is available on Delhi Corona app... nothing is being concealed," news agency PTI quoted him as saying.

The health minister also attributed the high occupancy of ICU beds in private hospitals to people coming from outside.

"People coming in from outside prefer private hospitals. They make up their mind in advance and directly go to these four-five hospitals they have heard of... such as Max, Apollo and Fortis. That's why ICU beds are full there," he said.

"Most of them have occupied ICU beds in private hospitals. There are 1,500 such patients admitted to Delhi hospitals," he further stated.

In the next question on LocalCircles' survey, people were asked, whether it should be made mandatory for hospitals to list real-time ICU bed availability on their websites and at entrances, given the shortage of ICU beds.

A whopping 92 percent responded in favour of the measure while seven percent voted against it. The remaining one percent chose the "can't say" option.

"According to a lot of citizens, those with clout and connections are able to get an ICU bed even if they have mild symptoms while many common citizens including healthcare workers with severe symptoms are being denied an ICU bed or being granted the same much later. Several examples have been shared.," LocalCircles said in a release.

India has reported over 54.87 lakh COVID-19 cases while 87,882 persons have succumbed to the disease till date.

India has as many as 15,403 COVID-19 treatment facilities with 15,54,022 isolation beds, 63,758 ICU beds and 2,32,505 o-xygen supported beds, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey told the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

With inputs from PTI
The Indian parliament building is pictured on the opening day of the parliament session in New Delhi. (Photo: Reuters)

Parliaments ongoing monsoon session entered its second week on Monday. The two houses had convened on September 14 for the session after being adjourned in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, however, the Rajya Sabha witnessed dramatic scenes as Opposition MPs created a ruckus over the passage of two of the three contentious farm bills by voice vote, claiming that the deputy chairman was violating rules to help the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in passing the bills.

However, six Union ministers, led by defence minister Rajnath Singh addressed a press conference later in the day, condemning the behaviour of the opposition MPs towards the deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh. Rajnath called the ruckus in the Upper House as unfortunate and shameful. Besides Singh, other Union ministers present at the press conference were Piyush Goyal, Prakash Javadekar, Thawarchand Gehlot, Prahlad Joshi and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Follow all the updates here:
They will know the state is collapsing: Kangana Ranaut to Maha govt on building collapse

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

Mumbai, Sep 21: Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut criticised the Maharashtra government on Monday after at least 10 people were killed in a building collapse in the western state's Bhiwandi city.

Kangana Ranaut's remarks against the state government came after a Twitter user shared an article about the collapse of a three-storey building in Bhiwandi tagging the actor's team. "Meanwhile Maharashtra government k-k-k-k-kNgnaa ..... if they stop being obsessed with me they will know how the entire state is collapsing," Ranaut said on Twitter.

Farm bills need of 21st century India, says PM Modi

"Painful scenes! Happens when Maharashtra govt has only the time to dismantle @KanganaTeam's office! #Maharashtra #Bhiwandi," the user had said in a tweet.

As many as 10 people were killed after a three-storey building collapsed in the Patel Compound area in Bhiwandi. The building collapsed at around 3:40am.

Ranaut's tweet also came days after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished her office in the city. Her office in Pali Hill, Bandra was partially demolished by the civic body on September 10. She had moved the Bombay High Court against the demolition of what BMC termed as "illegal alterations" at her office.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

10 dead in building collapse at Bhiwandi, Maharashtra

The civic body had earlier filed an affidavit in the high court, saying Ranaut had made substantial alterations and additions to the property unlawfully and that her allegations against it were "baseless".

It can be seen that Ranaut has been at loggerheads with the Maharashtra government since she criticised Mumbai Police's handling of the investigation into Sushant Singh Rajput's death.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, September 21, 2020, 14:48 [IST]
WASHINGTON  A deal intended to address the Trump administrations concerns about TikToks ties to China was complicated on Monday by a disagreement over whether a U.S. company would control the social media app and the presidents threat to block any agreement that leaves the service in the hands of a Chinese company.

On Saturday, Mr. Trump said he had given his blessing to a transaction that he said would result in non-Chinese investors, including Oracle and Walmart, owning TikTok.

But ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, threw cold water on that structure on Sunday, disputing both Oracles and Mr. Trumps characterization of the deal. ByteDance said it would hold a majority share of the new company until it went public within the next year. Oracle said on Monday that as soon as the new company, TikTok Global, was created, ByteDance would lose its ownership stake in the service.

Asked during a television appearance on Fox & Friends on Monday about the potential that ByteDance would still own 80 percent of the service, Mr. Trump said that the Chinese firm would have nothing to do with it, and if they do, we just wont make the deal.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 17:52:39|Editor: huaxia

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WINDHOEK, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The first direct flight connection between Europe and Namibia since the official reopening of borders on Sept. 1 resumed on Sunday when a Eurowings flight landed at Namibia's flagship airport.

The Eurowings flight signals the restart of the nonstop scheduled Frankfurt-Windhoek service and is an important step to enable European leisure and business travelers to travel in safety and comfort to Namibia.

Namibia's Minister of Tourism Pohamba Shifeta at the welcome event said after many months in the fight against the global pandemic, they are delighted to welcome international guests to Namibia again.

"The re-launch of the Lufthansa Group's direct flights from Europe is very important for our country and supports our international tourism revival initiative," he said.

Meanwhile, Eurowings will commence operating three direct weekly flights on the Windhoek-Frankfurt route, taking place every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday departing from Windhoek at 08:20 and arriving in Frankfurt on the same day at 18:50. Enditem
Hundreds marched in Angola's capital Luanda on Saturday to protest against police brutality after a doctor caught breaching anti-coronavirus rules died in custody.

Police claim Silvio Dala, 35, suffered a heart attack after he was arrested for driving without a face mask on September 1.

But questions were raised after Dala's body was sent to the morgue covered in blood with scarring to his head.

The doctor is believed to be the latest victim of security forces violently enforcing lockdown rules in the impoverished southwest African country.

At least seven young men were shot dead by police and army officers between May and July, according to Amnesty International.

Angola's doctors' union led protests in Luanda to denounce police violence and demand an investigation into Dala's death.

Hundreds of demonstrators chanted and waved face masks over their heads.

Many wore black t-shirts with slogans such as "we want justice" and "don't kill us, the people need us".

They marched through the city centre and hung fake blood-stained medical clothes in front of the doctor's association.

There were calls for Interior Minister Eugenio Laborinho to step down and for government to implement police reforms.

Protesting doctor Rodrigo Joao deplored the death of a fellow healthcare professional who could have "served the nation for many years".

"We need to draw attention to this mistake and correct it so that a citizen will not lose his life next time," Joao told AFP, denouncing the officers' lack of "humanity".

Police at the scene allowed protesters to demonstrate peacefully and no clashes occurred.

At the end of the march, doctors' union president Adriano Manuel reiterated calls for clarity around the circumstances of Dala's death.

"We will pursue our mission," Manuel vowed as he addressed the crowd.

"We will bring (the case) to court next week because we have concrete proof that our colleague did not die of a heart attack."

Story continues

Angola's government imposed restrictions in March to help curb the spread of coronavirus, with soldiers deployed to help police implement the new rules.

But people have continued to mass at markets and water points -- breaching curfews and gathering bans.

For many, poverty and lack of access to basic services outweighs concerns about catching coronavirus, which has infected over 3,200 people and killed at least 131 to date.

str-sch/har
"First and foremost, I would like to extend an apology on behalf of the District and the Board of School Directors to the student who was involved and to his family. They did not ask for this incident to occur, nor do they deserve the negative attention that it has brought." - school board President Tina Stoll
A new state fund is designed to bring underprivileged young New Mexicans outdoors, and hopefully cultivate a lifelong interest in outdoor recreation in the process.

The states Outdoor Recreation Division announced the 25 recipients of grants through the Outdoor Equity Fund last week. The fund provides small grants for New Mexico organizations that have committed to helping local students explore nature. Axie Navas, the divisions director, said the program is designed to fund projects that foster a love of the outdoors. Navas said this, in turn, encourages New Mexico students to pursue careers in the industry, creating a workforce for jobs ranging from land management specialists to bike shop owners.

Early exposure is one of the main ways that we become accustomed to the natural world and interested in working for it, Navas said.

The Outdoor Equity Fund, established in statute alongside the outdoor recreation office, was intended to keep growing an industry that has become an increasingly important part of New Mexicos economy. A recent study conducted by the Montana-based firm Headwaters Economics determined outdoor recreation contributes $2.3 billion annually to New Mexicos economy and supports 33,500 jobs.

The grant places a particular focus on helping New Mexicans with less access to outdoor recreation. Gabe Vasquez, a Las Cruces city councilor and one of the people who reviewed the grant applications, said there are a number of barriers preventing children in poverty from accessing the wilderness, ranging from lack of transportation to the cost of gear. In New Mexico, which routinely ranks among the worst states when it comes to child poverty, Vasquez said these barriers prevent some kids from entering an industry they might find rewarding.

By teaching these youth early on about the natural resources that exist in this state  it will help them change their mindset about whats possible for their future and whats possible for New Mexico, Vasquez said.

The fund distributed $261,863 to 25 organizations in its inaugural year for projects that are expected to bring about 2,700 kids outside over the following year. Navas said the program was funded primarily through state appropriations, but organizations like REI, The North Face and the National Parks Conservation Association also contributed grant funding.

Organizations that received funding range from the Hermits Peak Wilderness Alliance, a Las Vegas-based organization that received $14,543 to help engage youth through a revitalization project on the Gallinas River, to the city of Sunland Park, which received $5,500 to host weekend events at local parks.

When evaluating the 84 applications the organization received, Vasquez said he focused on making sure the funds were distributed equitably across the state, with urban, rural and tribal areas each benefitting. Another priority was funding unique projects that fit the needs of their specific community.

Its about youth learning about their community, where they came from, why its really important to take care of these special places, Vasquez said.

Navas added that she expects the program to keep growing in future years. She said if the organization had been able to fully fund the grant applications it received, it would have been able to get 36,000 young New Mexicans into the outdoors. I think that first cycle proves that theres a real need and desire for such a fund, Navas said.
Amid the rising novel coronavirus cases and the government's attempt to contain the spread, several state and local administrations have re-imposed certain virus-related restrictions even as the country is in the last week of its Unlock 4 plan, which got implemented on 1 September.

Here is a list of states and/or districts which have been ordered fresh curbs or guidelines to contain Covid-19 spread this month. Some restrictions have been newly imposed while some have been just extended.

Raipur: The Raipur district administration has announced to impose lockdown from 9 pm on September 21 till September 28 midnight in wake of daily new 900-1,000 Covid-19 cases.

Raipur District Collector S Bhartidasan in a notice dated September 19, 2020, declared the district as a containment zone.

"Over 26,000 COVID-19 cases have been detected in Raipur so far and 900-1000 positive cases are detected daily. Hence, Raipur district has been declared as a containment zone," the notice said.

According to the order, all offices including government, semi-government, and private will remain closed.

The border of the district will be sealed.

Jaipur: Concerned over the rising number of coronavirus cases, the Rajasthan government on Saturday decided to impose Section 144 of the CrPC in 11 districts of the state.

The state has 33 districts and the provision prohibits an assembly of more than five persons at a place. The districts include Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Udaipur, Sikar etc.

Mumbai: Prohibitory orders restricting movement and gathering of people have been extended in Mumbai till 30 September in the wake of rising coronavirus cases, a police official said on Thursday.

The restrictions under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are in place in the city since lockdown began, an official told news agency PTI.

Noida: Section 144 was extended till September 30. It does not include any new restriction.

Delhi: All schools in the national capital will continue to remain closed till October 5 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Delhi government announced on Friday.

The latest guidelines by the Centre, however, have allowed calling students of classes 9 to 12 to schools from September 21 on voluntary basis.

Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu on Sunday observed an intense lockdown with only health care services and milk supply continuing as usual while roads wore a deserted look as people stayed indoors. The complete lockdown, effective since last month on Sundays, witnessed sporadic violations as well in some places.

Fresh announcements by states on re-opening of certain services under Unlock 4 guidelines:

However, several states have also issued fresh guidelines under Unlock 4 to open services across.

Uttarakhand Government has issued guidelines regarding the inter-State movement of persons in view of 'Unlock 4'.

"District administration shall make arrangement for the thermal screening of all inbound persons at border check posts, airport, railway stations and border district bus stands," the guidelines issued by Uttarakhand government on Saturday read.

Moreover, the Sikkim government has allowed hotels, home-stays and other tourism-related services to restart operations from October 10, officials said on Saturday.

The Himalayan state has also decided to open its border with West Bengal for unrestricted movement of vehicles from October 1, they said.

A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the hotels and the tourism sector is expected soon, they added.

Bookings for hotels and home-stays will start from September 27, officials said.

Can local administration impose restrictions in Unlock 4?

The MHA (ministry of home affairs) order pertaining to Unlock 4 said state/UT governments shall not impose any local lockdown (state/district/sub-division/city level), outside containment zones, without prior consultation with the Centre.

Nationwide lockdown from 25 September?

The Centre recently dismissed the news circulating across social media that it was mulling to re-impose a nationwide lockdown from 25 September due to a surge in novel coronavirus cases in the country. The Press Information Bureau checked facts and announced that the news was fake in a post with a "Fake News" alert.

A circular quoting National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) stated that it had called for another lockdown from September 25. There was also a supposed screenshot of the order which was widely being circulated.

With agency inputs

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Diamond mining in Botswana

At present, in terms of diamond mining, this country rightfully has a world lead in the diamond production and the value of rough diamonds. Botswana is also among the major rough diamond exporters in the world, the dynamics of its diamond production and exports in 2006-2019 is given in table. 1.

Table 1

Botswanas diamond mining and exports, 2006-2019







The analysis of the data in Table 1 shows that the leading diamond mining countries mainly export mined diamonds and this is where their participation in the diamond business ends. Botswana is an exception, it buys diamonds from the neighboring poor African countries and sells fairly large rough diamond volumes earning additional income from re-exporting rough diamonds through diamond exchanges in Gaborone and the UAE. In 2018, Botswana ranked 2nd in terms of its diamond production and the value of rough diamonds extracted lagging behind Russia in these indicators.

The Botswanas diamond exports in 2013-2014 that are record figures in the history of diamond mining in this country show the potential of the countrys diamond mining industry. In 2019, rough diamond sales through De Beers Global Sightholder Sales (DBGSS) in Gaborone fell 25% year-on-year to $4.04 bn due to a sharp decline in the global demand for roughs.

Figure 1. Botswanas diamond industry.

Botswana accounts for over two-thirds of the De Beers diamond production, and rough diamonds account for over 80% of the Botswanas export revenues and 25% of the countrys gross domestic product, as well as a third of the government revenues. Under the current sale agreement, De Beers moved its diamond tenders to Botswana from London, and the government got the right to sell 15% of Debswanas diamonds on its own. The Botswana government and De Beers have equal shares in Debswana.

In Q4 2019, Debswanas rough diamond output declined 7% to 5.9 mn carats as the production at the Orapa mine decreased due to the delay in its infrastructure project coupled with the predicted lower grade ore.

In 2019, the implementation of a large-scale beneficiation programme in Botswana was complicated by a decline in the demand for rough and polished diamonds. In 2020, a new global economic crisis came caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The prospects for the Botswanas diamond business development

The current stage of the Botswanas diamond business development is characterized by the following factors:

1. From November 2013, the De Beers diamond trading operations moved to Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, and the required infrastructure was made in the country.

2. The beneficiation process in Botswana faced serious difficulties during the new global economic crisis and is currently stagnating.

3. The implementation of the anticipated scale and volume of the diamond industry development in Botswana raises certain doubts due to the deep crisis of the global economy.

Yury Danilov, Ph. D., independent expert and analyst




Bahrain is home to the 5th Fleet, which patrols the waterways of the Mideast. Officials have worried in the past that the sailors and Marines attached to the base in Manama could be targeted, as well as others who make up the 7,000 American troops there. Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the 5th Fleet, declined to comment and referred questions to the Bahraini government.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 04:24:17|Editor: huaxia

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ALGIERS, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The total COVID-19 cases in Algeria exceeded 50,000 on Monday after 197 new cases were added in the past 24 hours.

The tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 50,023, while seven new fatalities were reported, bringing the death toll to 1,679 in Algeria.

Meanwhile, 133 more patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 35,180.

Algeria, which recorded the first COVID-19 case on Feb. 25, has been resuming economic and commercial activities since June 7 as part of its efforts to return to normal life.

China and Algeria have offered mutual help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In early February, Algeria sent medical donations to help China combat the coronavirus. In return, China sent two batches of medical aid to Algeria on March 27 and April 15 respectively.

A Chinese medical team arrived in Algeria on May 14 for a 15-day mission to help fight the coronavirus by sharing China's experience in curbing the spread of the contagious disease. Enditem
MBABANE - Eswatini government must build a strong domestic revenue base in response to disruptions caused by COVID-19.

The Southern African Research Foundation for Economic Development (SARFED), stresses on the need to build a strong domestic financial base that will serve the country from suffering more financial depression in both short and long term. This follows threats that include decrease of Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts and increase in debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio.

The COVID-19 crisis is likely to alter the economic structure of Eswatini in a major way, at least in the foreseeable future. As a country that depends on both tourism and export of sugar to the European market, the country is yet to witness a large-scale contraction of the sector in the short and medium term. Because of falling commodity prices on the international market will contribute a considerably large revenue decline. On top of this, remittance flows are expected to drop, said SARFED Regional Coordinator George Choongwa.

For the year 2019/20, Eswatini received an increase in SACU receipts from about E5.8 billion to about E6.3 billion which contributed to about 36 per cent of the total revenue.

Substantially

However, due to decline of the global market and the international supply value chain; the overall Eswatinis share is expected to decline substantially.

With the COVID-19 lockdowns and stringent government regulations, these countries are expected to result in a significant under collection of revenue towards the common revenue pool, as most businesses remained closed and unproductive in general.

Despite debt relief granted by IMF and World Bank, the countrys debt-to-GDP ratio is likely to rise from already high levels because of falling output and expansionary fiscal policies. For example, the average debt-to-GDP ratio for Eswatini stood at about 30 per cent of GDP by mid-2019, raising sustainability concerns. If little intervention is done to address this negative indicator, the country would have fiscal challenges in the subsequent periods, shared Choongwa. As one of the interventions, Choongwa joined the call for mobilising a sustainable domestic revenue base, particularly by building of toll gates on the countrys strategic roads.

Domestic

Most of the countries in the SADC region have implemented the toll gate initiative as a means of mobilising domestic revenue. Some of these countries with toll gates, fully operational include: South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.

Domestic revenue would be the solution to maintain domestic consumption for non-excludable goods like road network. Therefore, through the establishment of the toll gates, the government would to some degree be in a position to remedy road construction maintenance costs, but through toll gates, public infrastructure like roads would at least remain sustainable both during and post COVID-19 crisis, said Choongwa.

In as much as the external debt ratio was still less than 50 percent, SARFED warned that it would not be safe for the country to have incurred more debt as this would frustrate the quick recovery of the economy as debt was considered as a leakage from the circular flow of national income.

Effects

Tax revenues for the country are likely to be significantly reduced for a number of years to come, due to both direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 crisis as well as due to policy action during the crisis.

However, one of the best ways to boost domestic tax revenue will be to support solid socioeconomic growth, including through sufficiently strong and sustained stimulus mechanism such that would generate sustainable domestic revenue in both short and medium term basis, some of which would include the establishment of toll gates on strategic roads for the country, stressed Choongwa.
The trailer of R Madhavan and Anushka Shettys upcoming Telugu suspense thriller Nishabdham was released on Monday, as fans eagerly await the films release. Titled Silence in Tamil and Malayalam, the gripping trailer shows the lead actors dealing with the unknown in a seemingly haunted house.

Anushka is seen playing the role of Sakshi, a talented artist who is deaf and mute, who gets entangled in a criminal investigation when she unexpectedly witnesses a tragic incident that occurs in a villa with a reputation for being haunted. A team of police detectives are determined to get to the bottom of the case as the list of suspects range from a ghost to a missing young girl.

Madhavan plays a celebrity musician called Anthony, who seems to fall for Sakshi. Shalini Pandey plays Sonali, the voice of Sakshi and her best friend, someone who seems uncomfortable about Sakshi getting engaged.

Watch the trailer here:

Directed by Hemanth Madhukar, Nishabdham is produced by TG Vishwa Prasad. The film marks the India debut of Hollywood actor Michael Madsen and also stars Anjali, Subbaraju and Srinivas Avasarala in pivotal roles. Amazon Prime Video Members in India and in over 200 countries and territories can stream the film starting October 2.
The conclusions of the new study, released Monday but provided to the Tribune in advance, are nearly identical to the findings of a 2017 investigation by the Tribune and ProPublica Illinois but are based on more recent data. The International Association of Assessing Officers, whose standards are widely accepted across the United States, looked at assessments of commercial properties throughout Cook County after Berrios completed his 2018 round of assessments, which affected the tax bills mailed in 2019.
(Natural News) Black Lives Matter demonstrators converged right outside the home of Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday demanding that they be given their $600 in pandemic benefits. This occurred right after Senate Democrats shut down a $500 billion Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) relief package proposed by McConnell and other Senate Republicans.

The demonstration occurred shortly after the Democrats voted down the package in C Street Northeast near Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. Around two dozen Black Lives Matter protesters were wearing red or white shirts bearing BLM-related slogans.

If we dont get $600  no peace! said the demonstrators. I said if we dont get $600  no peace! No healthcare  no peace!

The demonstrators shouted other slogans like No justice  no peace, I cant breathe and Black lives matter. Other videos that covered the protest showed the demonstrators chanting This isnt funny  wheres our money.

At one point during the demonstration, one of the leading organizers, an African American man with a bullhorn, said I need that money! And until I get that money, Im going to be right here on C Street every day until I get it!

The demonstrators also set up a dinner table and left plates with messages outside McConnells front door. Some of the messages include Cant afford my rent or food. I need that $600 now, Extend $600 for unemployed. We need our money, Enjoy your dinner, what about ours? and Can I come live with you.

Several patrol cars from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) were in the area overseeing the demonstration, but no forceful action was taken to stop the protest.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, and learn about how the Black Lives Matter movement is not promoting racial equality but is instead an organization that advocates for anti-White racism, bigotry and genocide and is rooted in the racial superiority of African Americans.

Democrats vote down relief package despite them agreeing with it

The Black Lives Matter demonstrators are blaming McConnell for the failure to pass the latest coronavirus relief package despite the fact that it was the Democrats who voted to block the much-needed financial aid for Americans who are feeling the negative economic effects of the pandemic.

Every Senate Democrat just voted against hundreds of billions of dollars of COVID-19 relief. They blocked money for schools, testing, vaccines, unemployment insurance, and the Paycheck Protection Program. Their goal is clear: No help for American families before the election.  Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) September 10, 2020

In an appearance on Fox News, McConnell, with anchor Dana Perino, talked about how the Democrats are failing to provide for the American people.

At the beginning of his interview, McConnell and Perino mentioned how the bill would have given $300 billion in federal aid and how it would have provided people with an extra $300 a week in unemployment insurance benefits until December 27.

He further lamented how the challenges the country is facing should be solved in a bipartisan manner, and that the Democrats are stalling in an effort to score political points. McConnell believes that the Democrats will only pass a coronavirus relief proposal after the election. (Related: Marxist Democrats setting stage for overt coup attempt after Biden gets trounced in November by Trump.)

What part of this bill are they opposed to? What we tried to do, Dana, was to craft a package that underscored things we supposedly agree on: Kids in school, replenishing the popular small business loan program, which is out of money, more money for hospitals and covering unemployment insurance for another six months. Whats not to like about that?

The Senate majority leader went on to talk about how the Democrats are unwilling to even pass legislation that they are in favor of so long as it is something proposed by their party. Instead, McConnell argues, the Democrats want to spend trillions more. This, he says, would ruin the American economy, whose national debt is already ballooning.

Were not going to squander funds here, said McConnell. We want to narrowly target the needs of the American people. Thats what this vote is about.

The Democratic Party is trying to use the coronavirus pandemic to push forward their own political agenda, most likely connected with the upcoming election. Learn about the latest news concerning the Democrats by reading the articles at VoteDemocrat.news.

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Linkedin Jan Lee (The Straits Times/Asia News Network)  Mon, September 21, 2020 09:31 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c461873e 2 Entertainment Jennifer-Aniston,Brad-Pitt Free

Former Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston reunited for a performance together on Friday, 15 years after their divorce.

They took part in a fundraising table read of the 1982 teenage dramedy Fast Times At Ridgemont High and even flirted in-character.

Pitt, 56, read for the role of Brad Hamilton while Aniston, 51, read for Linda Barrett.

In one of the scenes, Linda says in Brad's fantasy: "Hi, Brad, you know how cute I always thought you were. I think you're so sexy. Will you come to me?"

Along with Sean Penn, the star of the original film, celebrities like Julia Roberts, Morgan Freeman, Matthew McConaughey, Shia Labeouf, Henry Golding, John Legend, Jimmy Kimmel and Ray Liotta also took part.

Comedian Dane Cook hosted the hour-long session which was live-streamed on the Facebook page of Penn's non-profit organization Core (Community Organized Relief Effort).

Proceeds from the table read will go towards Core and Reform Alliance, a criminal justice reform initiative; for general COVID-19 relief efforts and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus among the incarcerated.

Pitt and Aniston were married from 2000 to 2005. They had a high-profile divorce plagued with infidelity rumors as Pitt became romantically involved with his Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) co-star Angelina Jolie.

Jolie announced that she was pregnant with Pitt's child in early 2006. The couple married in 2014 but filed for divorce in 2016.

Pitt is currently linked to German model Nicole Poturalski.

Aniston married actor Justin Theroux after she split from Pitt. They separated in 2017.

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This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
(Newser)  Researchers were baffled when elephants began dropping like flies in the African nation of Botswana earlier this year. Now, government researchers say they've figured out what happened, and it doesn't involve poachers. Instead, they say a naturally occurring bacteria in watering holes is the culprit, reports the BBC. "Our latest tests have detected cyanobacterial neurotoxins to be the cause of deaths," says a wildlife official. "These are bacteria found in water." In all, an estimated 330 elephants were found dead in the nation in May and June. Another official, the deputy director of Botswana's wildlife ministry, says "there is absolutely no reason to believe that there was human involvement in these mortalities." That had been a theory because of growing anti-elephant sentiment in the nation, particularly from farmers worried about cropland, notes the Washington Post.

story continues below

The announcement, however, doesn't answer all questions. One big one: Why weren't there mass die-offs of other animals at the watering holes? Government authorities say they're investigating several hypotheses about that. One leading theory is that elephants are particularly vulnerable because they drink so much water and spend so much time in the watering holes, reports the Guardian. "I hope that what the government has said is true because it rules out some of the more sinister things, says Niall McCann of the UK's National Park Rescue. The BBC notes that one modern villain may have played a role, however: climate change. These types of toxic blooms may become more common in warmer temperatures. (Read more elephants stories.)
Gee Gee (Grace Wanjiru) is one-third of gengetone group Rico Gang behind hits such as Lingala na Sheng, Kimonyoski, Piki Piki Maua among others. She talked to Pdonline about her style, fashion obsessions and the secret behind keeping a fresh face.

What is style to you?

Sytle, I feel, is an expression. If I do something in my own style, Im expressing myself in a way that most people dont know about me. So, Im letting the world outside of me know more about me in that sense.

Is your music a reflection of your style?

Yeah. I express myself through music and what I sing. Its a personal style being reflected in a different and unique way.

What are your current fashion obsessions, and why?

Right now Im into jewellery; I love necklaces and official suits as well. Actually my friend Sagana has a line of that called Dala Official, so check them out. Vintage wear gets me too, especially the 90s hip-hop looks. It just brings the sexy back for me because Im into the baggy clothing, which just feels comfortable on me.

Who and what influences your style?

Different artistes and models. One in particular is Ugandan model called Eva Apiyo. She inspires me a lot and knows how to dress her body type and pick cool clothes.

Whats your best and worst fashion purchase, and why?

Im a thrift junkie; I get a lot from random places. My best has to be some original Air Force One sneakers, a dress I got from Toi Market, and some denim jacket my brother got me from Kunta Customs. My worst has to be jeans, because I buy them then find out later they dont fit me and this really hurts. Sometimes you just find something good and assume its a sure bet without even fitting it then you get home and it doesnt, and you cant do anything about it. Ive had mad disappointments including from some cool leather pants I picked, but ended up ripping them. It was just so sad.

Do you shop for brands or functionality?

Both. Sometimes the brands dont have good stuff, or you dont like the design. Sometimes when you thrift you do evaluate yourself and check the quality, durability of the material and such. It has to be cost-friendly though, so both, but it really depends on the pocket. For brands though, I prefer bags, shoes, watches and perfumes. When it comes to dresses and tops, I just shop with my eyes.

Whats your secret to always having such a fresh face?

I keep hydrated; I avoid stress as much as possible, and just believing in my looks no matter the opinions. Thats important.

What is your preference in your mans style?

Stylish, unique and one who has a good shoe game. Basically, he just needs to know how to dress for the occasion.

What are some essentials you cant leave the house without?

Gloss, sunglasses, wet wipes, powder, olive oil and now, hand sanitiser.

Which Kenyan celebrity wardrobes do you appreciate?

I love Muthoni Drummer Queens style; its unique. Im a fan of Femi Ones too, Tracy Wanjiru, Joy Kendi and Miss Kihoro.

Which Kenyan designers/brands would you love to work with?

Id love to do something with Luca Kenya and Allen The Dapper. Lucas work for Urban Pitchaz is to die for, and I love her authenticity.

Sneakers or heels?

Sneakers; Im barely in heels.

Natural hair or wigs?

Wigs all the way!

Wine or champagne?

Wine Sweet red wine.

Black or white chocolate?

Black obviously.

Mulamwah or Andrew Kibe?

Mulamwah of course. Kibe will roast me. Hahaha.
A senior Tory has claimed the British people are being treated like children by the Government during the coronavirus pandemic.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, accused Boris Johnsons government of using coronavirus emergency powers too liberally.

Under recent Government-implemented rules, anyone in England refusing to obey an order to self-isolate could face a fine of up to 10,000. The Government has also mandated the "rule of six, banning social gatherings of more than six people.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that ministers had "got into the habit of ruling by decree", adding: "The British people are not used to being treated like children."

He said more scrutiny of the "rule of six" would have enabled MPs to question why the limit was put at six and not eight or 10 and why children were included in England and not in Wales or Scotland.

The senior parliamentarian also questioned whether the lockdown strategy had worked, pointing to the situation in Sweden, where such restrictions were not used.

He also denied that greater scrutiny would prevent ministers from acting swiftly to deal with the pandemic.

UK could have 50,000 Covid cases per day by October, says Vallance

Sir Graham is tabling an amendment which would require the Government to put any new measures it is planning to take to a vote of MPs. The intervention could be difficult for the Prime Minister ahead of a vote on the renewal of the Coronavirus Act on September 30.

Mr Brady said: "Governments find it entirely possible to put things to Parliament very quickly when they choose to do so.

His comments came as a retired senior judge accused Parliament of surrendering control to the Government over "draconian" measures put in place to help curb the spread of the virus.

The Prime Minister is expected to give an update on the UK's Covid-19 restrictions early this week / via REUTERS

Baroness Hale, former president of the Supreme Court, called for the return of a "properly functioning constitution as soon as we possibly can".

Lady Hale, in an essay seen by The Guardian, suggested Parliament had allowed the Government to act without proper scrutiny.

The Coronavirus Act 2020, passed in March, gave the Government "sweeping" powers alongside other "draconian" regulations, and "it is not surprising the police were as confused as the public as to what was law and what was not", she wrote.

She said that Parliament has now resumed much of its work "but it did surrender control to the government at a crucial time".

Coronavirus in numbers: UK records 3,899 new confirmed cases

"Maybe the lockdown and its severe consequences ... were inevitable or at least the best solution that could be devised in the circumstances," she said.

"My plea is that we get back to a properly functioning constitution as soon as we possibly can."

Englands chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance are due to give a televised briefing on Monday morning on the current coronavirus situation, while the Prime Minister is expected to announce more new measures in a press conference.

Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour would support any new measures / PA

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has warned the UK is at a tipping point, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock has not ruled out a second lockdown.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Shapps warned of further restrictions. He said: "It's very clear when you follow the data that we need to make sure we are applying all these measures or we are at this tipping point where we may need to go further - that's something we would like to avoid.

"A debate is quite proper, that's exactly what you would expect.

"Everyone recognises there is a tension between the virus and the measures we need to take and the economy and ensuring that people's livelihoods are protected, and we want to protect lives and livelihoods."

Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour would support any new measures but warned that a second national lockdown was becoming more likely because the Test and Trace programme was in a state of "near collapse".

In the UK, there are 59.3 cases per 100,000, with another 3,899 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK announced on Sunday. A further 18 people died within 28 days of testing positive, bringing the UK total to 41,777.
New Delhi: Anurag Kashyap's first wife Aarti Bajaj has come out in support of the filmmaker, who has been accused of sexual harassment by actress Payal Ghosh. Aarti took to Instagram and posted a note for Anurag and described the #MeToo allegations against him as the "cheapest stunt".

"First wife here... You are a rockstar, Anurag Kashyap. Keep empowering women as you do and the safest place you create for all of them. I see it first hand with our daughter. There is no integrity left and the world is full of losers and no brains baying for blood of anyone who has a voice," read an excerpt from Aarti's post.

"If everybody spends the energy which they use in hating others constructively this world will be a better place. Cheapest stunt I have seen till now. First it made me angry then I laughed so hard as it cannot come more framed than this. I am sorry that you have to go through this. That's the level of them. You stay HIGH and keep using your voice. We love you," she further stated.

Take a look at Aarti Bajaj's post here. Anurag Kashyap too shared it on his Instagram stories.

Aarti and Anurag got divorced in 2009. They have a daughter named Aaliyah Kashyap.

Meanwhile, the controversy sparked off on Saturday after Payal Ghosh tweeted against Anurag Kashyap. She also tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in her tweet, requesting him to take action against the filmmaker.

"Anurag Kashyap has forced himself on me and extremely badly. PMO India, Narendra Modi, kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. Pls help," she wrote.

Anurag Kashyap, however, denied the allegations, claiming that they were "baseless". He also released a statement denying the #MeToo accusations levied against him, terming it "completely false, malicious and dishonest".
PRISTINA -- The U.S. ambassador to Kosovo has stressed Washington's commitment to the goal of "full, normal relations" between Serbia and its former region of Kosovo while encouraging compromise on both sides to turn "pledges into the reality."



In an interview in the Kosovar capital with RFE/RL, Ambassador Philip Kosnett also said regional economic development in the Balkans was "a high policy priority of the Trump administration."



Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti signed an economic normalization deal at the White House this month that also calls for Belgrade to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and for mutual recognition by Israel and Kosovo.



The agreement includes commitments to create road and rail connections but fell far short of the internationally stated aim of recognition from Serbia of its former province at the heart of more than a decade of on-again, off-again talks mediated by the European Union.



"I think that it is difficult to set a timeline or a deadline for any of this," Kosnett said. "The goal of the U.S. is to encourage the process that will end in full, normal relations between the two countries."



The deal marked the first tangible sign of cooperation between the two neighbors since the EU-sponsored talks broke down two years ago and a tariff war began over Belgrade's ongoing policy of trying to convince governments to withdraw their recognition of Kosovo.



"What we do on the economic track is meant to complement and encourage the steps that will be undertaken on the political track. But I can't tell you how long it will take until full political normalization between Kosovo and Serbia is reality," Kosnett said.



Both Kosovo and Serbia, which aspire to join the European Union, have been facing mounting pressure from the West to reboot negotiations.



Washington stepped up its involvement in Serbia-Kosovo negotiations last year in a process that runs parallel to nearly a decade of EU-mediated normalization efforts.



The EU-brokered talks have produced multiple agreements seeking to normalize relations in the region, although many of them have not been implemented.



Dismissing the notion that U.S. diplomacy is competing with Brussels, Kosnett said Washington was "in very close contact with our EU colleagues."



"It is definitely not a rivalry, it is a partnership," Kosnett said of U.S. and EU efforts to further the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, which has refused to recognize Kosovo since Pristina declared independence in 2008.



In a sign Washington wants to capitalize on momentum, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Serbia-Kosovo peace talks, Richard Grenell, and other U.S. officials on September 21 were in Kosovo as part of a swing through the Balkans that also includes Serbia.



The delegation brought top officials from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the United States' development bank, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.



Adam Boehler, CEO of the International Development Finance Corporation, said at a press conference after signing a joint statement on investment with Hoti that there was a pipeline of over a billion dollars of projects covering roads, rail, and natural gas, and supporting small and medium-sized businesses.



Kosnett also cited the role of the U.S. Export-Import Bank in providing trade credit and said he hoped private-sector investment, including from Europe, would help spur the region's fortunes.



"When we talk about the economic development of Kosovo and Serbia, when we talk about strengthening economic cooperation in the region, of course there is a role in the EU in that, and it is something we talked to them about," Kosnett said. "What we want to do, though, is get away from focusing just on process, and rules, and protocol, and focus on achievable actions."



He said the Trump administration, which is battling for reelection in November, was "doing a lot to actually bring about change" for Kosovo.



"We want action, we want to turn these pledges into the reality, and the U.S. will be part of this process," Kosnett said.



But, he added, "it is fundamentally the responsibility of the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to fulfill the pledges that they made in Washington."



He also said "it is impossible to get to a comprehensive agreement without compromise, by all parties."
As a freshman Kentucky legislator, state Rep. Robert Goforth, R, joined his colleagues to pass a bill that would make it easier to prosecute strangulation.

Last week, that same bill - now a state law after it passed at the urging of domestic violence advocates - came back to bite him: A grand jury in Laurel County, Ky., on Friday indicted Goforth, a former candidate for governor, on one count of first-degree strangulation and one count of assault in the fourth degree, according to the Corbin Times-Tribune.

Earlier this year, a woman said Goforth, 44, strangled her with an Ethernet cable to the point where she had trouble breathing and threatened to "hog tie" her, according to a police report reviewed by the newspaper.

The charges have renewed calls from local Democrats for Goforth, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump who had previously been accused of sexual assault, to resign from his seat. Neither he nor his attorney, Conrad Cessna, immediately responded to requests for comment from The Washington Post.

Goforth, a high school dropout who was raised in poverty by a single mother in eastern Kentucky, was first elected in 2018 to represent the state's 89th House district, a deep-red swath of countryside where the sale of alcohol remains illegal in most areas.

The Army veteran and pharmacist quickly made a name for himself in the statehouse by championing socially conservative causes, including proposing a "heartbeat abortion" bill that would have banned the practice as early as the sixth week of a pregnancy. As reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal, he also voted in favor of SB-70, a bill that reclassified strangulation as a Class D felony charge and added it to the definition of domestic or dating violence.

Little more than a year after first arriving in the legislature, he announced a primary challenge against then-Gov. Matt Bevin, R, seizing on the incumbent governor's unpopularity among Kentuckians and his roots outside the state.

"Our commonwealth needs a chief executive who is a conservative molded not by New England and Wall Street, but by Kentucky and Main Street," Goforth told WLEX in May 2019.

Amid his campaign, a Kentucky woman named Alicia Whitaker accused Goforth of sexually assaulting her over a decade ago, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported, by forcing her to perform oral sex on one of his business associates. Goforth denied the allegations and went on to make a solid showing at the polls: 39 percent, enough to embarrass Bevin but not boot him out of the race.

Yet less than a year later, Goforth again faced accusations of troubling behavior. In April, a woman in Laurel County arrived at the local 911 dispatch center and told authorities that Goforth had assaulted her while three young children were inside the house.

In a fight over unlocking her phone, he had used an Ethernet cable to strangle her so aggressively that she "had difficulty breathing and thought she was going to pass out," she told police, according to the Times-Tribune.

The alleged incident had left bruises on her leg and marks on her neck and arms, police said, and she was only able to leave the residence after she promised to open her cellphone for Goforth.

The Laurel County Sheriff's Office said Goforth did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and arrested him before he posted $25,000 bond. He has since pleaded not guilty to initial charges of first-degree strangulation, fourth-degree assault, and third-degree terroristic threatening, the Courier-Journal reported.

In the wake of his June arrest, GOP Kentucky leaders declined to directly address his case.

Timothy D. Easley/AP

"While we reserve comment on this specific situation, the House Majority Caucus unequivocally denounces any form of domestic violence and has zero tolerance for it or its perpetrators," Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne, R, said in a statement at the time, according to WKMS. "A society that values human life must also condemn domestic abuse."

After the grand jury indictment Friday, Kentucky Democratic leaders doubled down on its call for Goforth to resign. If he refuses, they said, Republican leaders must force him out instead.

"State Representative Goforth should have resigned back in April and his party should have taken action against him when he refused to do so," Marisa McNee, a spokeswoman for the state Democratic Party, said in a statement, according to the Herald-Leader. "This is not the first time a victim of Mr. Goforth's violent assaults has come forward. Republican Leadership has ignored this for far too long, it is time for them to take action. Goforth needs to go."

Mike VanWinkle, a Democrat challenging Goforth for his seat in the state legislature, also issued a called for him to drop out of the race.

"This district has suffered enough embarrassment and bad press over this affair," he said in a Facebook post Friday. "Mr. Goforth needs to remain focused on his legal case, Domestic Violence issues, and marriage."
Smoke billowed from the boat after the fire broke out about 6:30 p.m. near Gravelly Point and Reagan National Airport. Although firefighters quelled the blaze, the medium-size boat was heavily damaged and partially sank at its stern, according to the fire department. Maggiolo said the fire was reported as electrical in origin.
Christina Anstead was seen heading out in Los Angeles by herself on Monday.

Wearing all dark colors, the 37-year-old blonde beauty from Anaheim, California kept her head down as she held on to a green smoothie while carrying a take-out lunch in a brown paper bag.

This is the first time the Flip Or Flop star has been seen since announcing she and husband Ant Anstead are separating.

Solo lunch: Christina Anstead was seen heading out in Los Angeles by herself on Monday

Anstead had on a black T-shirt partially tucked into her skintight dark denim jeans with a rip in one leg and a pair of heavy lace-up military boots with a thick sole.

She had on dark sunglasses and her hair nicely coiffed with several beaded bracelets on her wrists and a black manicure.

A black Louis Vuitton purse hung from her shoulder and was open. She also had on a long necklace with a large crystal pendant. Hoop earrings rounded out her street style.

A step forward in her life: Wearing all dark colors, the 37-year-old blonde beauty from Anaheim, California kept her head down as she held on to a green smoothie while carrying a take-out lunch in a brown paper bag

Shock split: Christina's separation from Ant reportedly shocked their friends as they kept any hint of troubles under wraps

Meanwhile, on Sunday Christina's ex Tarek El Moussa boasted about how happy he is with 33-year-old fiancee Heather Rae Young of Selling Sunset fame.

Tarek went as far as to say he was having a 'dream' life with Young.

The two are now decorating their new home in Newport Beach, California after getting engaged in July.

'I think we found the perfect couch for the new house today!! Okay...it may not seem exciting but to me it really is! We also found a ton of other stuff and I cant wait to show you!' he said.

Done: This is the first time the Flip Or Flop star has been seen since announcing she and husband Ant Anstead are separating; seen here in May of 2019

He is thrilled: Meanwhile, on Sunday Christina's ex Tarek El Moussa boasted about how happy he is with 33-year-old fiancee Heather Rae Young of Selling Sunset fame. Tarek went as far as to say he was having a 'dream' life with Young

He and his future wife were sitting on a sofa.

Tarek then added: 'I dont know...Im just so excited about life!! Im in love, Im engaged, Flipping 101 is on the air and Flip or Flop is on the way. Im telling you...its possible to accomplish those things you have been dreaming of. I dreamed of this life and I got it by believing I could do it and working my tail off!! If there is something you want just go for it! Im yelling at you to chase your dreams!'

A source told UsWeekly on Monday that Tarek feels bad for his ex: 'Tarek is sad that Christina is going through a hard time. But [he] did not think that Christina and Ant would last.'

His post comes two days after Christina shared her second marriage was coming to an end after being wed for less than two years.

Christina shared a contemplative shot for her 1.4 million followers, showing her and Ant silhouetted against the sunset, walking on a beach.

Farewell: Christina took to social media on Friday to reveal the 'difficult decision' she's made with husband Ant to call it quits, after less than two years of being hitched

She captioned the photo with: 'Ant and I have made the difficult decision to separate. We are grateful for each other and as always, our children will remain our priority.

'We appreciate your support and ask for privacy for us and our family as we navigate the future,' Christina concluded.

She and the For The Love Of Cars presenter, 41, wed on December 22nd, 2018, and share son Hudson London, whose first birthday they celebrated earlier this month.

Over: Christina and the For The Love Of Cars presenter wed in December 2018, and share son Hudson London, whose first birthday they celebrated earlier this month; seen in 2019

Navigating the future: It remains to be seen whether Ant will stay across the pond, or return to co-parent his young son in Orange County with Christina

Christina recently unveiled the ninth season of her HGTV real estate show Flip Or Flop with ex Tarek El Moussa, to whom she was married from 2009 until 2018.

She and Tarek share daughter Taylor, nine, and son Brayden, five.

Ant, for his part, also has children from a previous marriage, to Louise Anstead - daughter Amelie, 19, and son Archie, 14.

The news of Ant and Christina's split comes after the British born Ant was recently able to fly home to be with his older children after a months-long delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier in lockdown, Ant had explained that due to flight cancellations he was unable to be with his two older children.

The doting dad was grateful for 'modern communications' and relied on daily FaceTime calls to bridge the gap between himself and his kids.

Across the pond: Ant recently reunited with his older children from a previous marriage, in England  daughter Amelie, 19, and son Archie, 14

Better times: Ant had lamented being separated from part of his family due to the pandemic and said the separation wasn't easy; seen on Instagram with their blended family

However, the separation wasn't easy and he lamented not being able to get his blended family all together. 'I am so over 2020 now!!!! This last week has been particularly TOUGH,' he wrote in June.

Clearly, the stresses of this year also took their toll on his relationship with his second wife, in spite of a cheery post in August celebrating their dating anniversary.

It remains to be seen whether Ant will stay across the pond, or return to co-parent his young son in Orange County, California with Christina.
A 19-year-old woman has died after being gang r*ped by at least 11 men and flung from the sixth-floor of a building.

Hamdi Mohamed Farah was lured to meet a male friend before she was set upon by the attackers.

The vile killing happened in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Friday last week, and 11 arrests have been made.

Police say they are still trying to identify other suspects.

Student Hamdi had been set to enrol in college and her death has sparked huge protests around the country.

In a statement police said: We have arrested 11 people over the recent rape case in Wabari neighbourhood in Mogadishu and efforts to track and identify other suspects are ongoing.

According to local media, Hamdi left her home at midday after arranging to meet a friend.

Her family later received a heartbreaking phonecall infor

ming them that her body was in a morgue.

MP Mustaf Sheikh Ali Duhulow told reporters: The rape and killing of Hamdi sent shockwaves across Somalia, and no stone will be left unturned to ensure justice is served.

And fellow MP Hassan Moalim added: I want to tell the Somali people and my constituents that I will not rest until the late Hamdi gets the justice she deserves.

Horrified demonstrators say not enough is being done to tackle violence against women in Somalia.

Abdirahman Abdisahur, leader of the Wadajir Party, tweeted: We have to collectively confront this kind of crime and reject it with one voice.

Bilan Bile, of the Somali National Womens Organisation (SNWO) told the Nation that a new campaign will be launched in the aftermath of the killing.

She said: Our campaign will be designed like the universal Me Too movement.

We will encourage Somali women to shed the negative attitude of seeing r*pe as an unmentionable occurrence.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.21

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Export of electrical goods from Turkey to Russia increased by 9.84 percent from January through August 2020, compared to the same period of 2019, making up $109.3 million, the Turkish Trade Ministry told Trend on Sept.21.

In August 2020, Turkey exported electrical goods worth $13.4 million to Russia, which is 4.36 percent more than in August 2019.

The export of electrical goods from Turkey to the world markets declined by 8.7 percent from January through August 2020, compared to the same period of 2019, amounting to slightly over $6.5 billion.

The ministry said that Turkeys export of electrical products amounted to 6.4 percent of the country's total export over the reporting period.

In August 2020, Turkey exported the electrical goods worth $852.9 million to the world markets, which is 0.6 percent more compared to the same month of 2019, noted the ministry.

Turkeys export of electrical products in August 2020 made up 6.8 percent of the country's total export.

Over the past 12 months (from August 2019 through August 2020, Turkey exported the electrical goods in the amount of over $10.6 billion abroad.

----

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
The countrys largest lender, State Bank of India has launched an FAQ section on its website on the loan restructuring scheme under the resolution plan announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the COVID-19 pandemic-hit loans.

Also, the bank has also launched an online portal where customers can check eligibility for the restructuring plan. Customers, however, will have to approach SBI branches for to complete the process, the bank said.

SBIs retail customers upon logging in the portal will be asked to key in their account number. After completion of OTP validation and inputting a few necessary information, customers will come to know their eligibility and receive a reference number. This reference number will be valid for 30 days and within those 30 days customers can visit the branch to complete the required formalities.

The restructuring process will be complete after verification of documents and execution of simple documents at branch/CPC.

According to SBI Managing director CS Shetty, around 3,500 retail customers have accessed the website, of whom 111 were eligible for restructuring, CNBC TV 18 reported.

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

According to Shetty, borrowers who will avail the scheme will be charged 0.35 per cent more than other customers, the TV channel reported.

Setty expressed hope that with the launch of this portal, the customers will find it operationally convenient to check their eligibility before they go to a branch.

The RBI had appointed a panel under KV Kamath to finalise the financial parameters of the scheme. The panel identified 26 sectors and submitted the detailed criteria to implement the scheme.

Under the scheme, banks can offer loan moratorium for up to two years.

Under this resolution framework framed by the RBI, such borrowers are eligible whose loan accounts were classified as standard and not default for equal to or more than 30 days as on March 1, 2020, and their incomes are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The approval of borrowers loan restructuring application under this scheme - which is going to be governed by the RBI guidelines - would be conveyed to them by the SBI branch/CPC.
JACKSON, MI  Police released the name of the man who died after a shooting in Jackson.

Darold Goodloe Jr., 25, of Jackson, died Aug. 13 after he was shot multiple times June 28. He was taken to Henry Ford Allegiance Health after the shooting.

Blake Curran, 28, is accused of the shooting Goodloe in the 300 block of E. Euclid Avenue south of downtown Jackson on June 28. Curran is facing one felony count of assault with intent to commit murder. He was charged in Jackson County District Court on July 13, before the victim died, according court proceedings.

New charges possible now that man shot near downtown Jackson in June died

Curran was arrested July 10 at Jacksons Westwood Mall, 1850 W. Michigan Ave., after trying to escape officers by running through the mall and into a wooded area, police said previously.

Goodloe was known as Dooner, and died holding the hand of his sister Shatae Boyd, his obituary said. He is survived by his daughter, Sapphire Goodloe; son, DeArious Oliver-Goodloe; parents, sisters and more family.

The charge against Curran doesnt really make sense anymore, Defense Attorney Suzanna Kostovski said during a hearing Friday, Sept. 18.

The Jackson County Prosecutors Office asked for four more weeks to get the autopsy report, which they need before making any further charging decisions, Assistant Prosecutor Nathan Hull said.

A new hearing date on Oct. 16 was set. Its the last chance for the prosecutors office to decide on charges, Jackson County District Judge R. Darryl Mazur said. Mazur reduced Currans bond to $500,000 at the hearing.

Curran had escaped from parole at the time of the shooting, per the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Curran pleaded guilty to manslaughter and using a firearm to commit a felony in May 2010. Then 17, Curran told Jackson Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson he knew a revolver was loaded with a single bullet when he played with the gun on Dec. 17, 2009, but did not know the round would fire when he pointed it at his friend Michael Devon Adams Jr. and pulled the trigger, fatally shooting the 19-year-old Adams.

Jackson teen is given seven years in prison for killing his friend in Russian roulette style shooting

Curran was sentenced in June 2010 to two years for using a gun in a felony, followed by 57 months to 15 years for manslaughter. The Michigan Department of Corrections does not list when Curran was paroled because he is listed as in custody.

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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Nikola Corp. (NKLA) announced the appointment of Stephen Girsky, former Vice Chairman of General Motors Co. and a member of Nikola's Board, as Chairman of the Board, effective immediately. The Board has accepted the proposal by Trevor Milton to voluntarily step aside as Executive Chairman and from the Board. Girsky is a Managing Partner of VectoIQ, LLC, an independent advisory firm. He served in a number of capacities at General Motors from November 2009 until July 2014, including vice chairman. Girsky also served on General Motors' board following its emergence from bankruptcy in June 2009 until June 2016. He currently serves on the boards of United States Steel Corporation (X), and Brookfield Business Partners Limited, the general partner of Brookfield Business Partners, L.P. (BBU). 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.
New Zealand ends most pandemic restrictions

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that virus restrictions on travel and gatherings would be lifted across most of New Zealand this week. In most of the country, New Zealanders were freed of rules put in place to curb the spread of the virus on Monday night.

In Auckland, restrictions will be eased but not entirely lifted at midnight Wednesday. The city was the center of a mysterious outbreak in August that prompted Ms. Ardern to reimpose a lockdown. Those guidelines will be reviewed in two weeks, she said.

Details: Starting on Thursday, Auckland residents will be able to gather in groups of up to 100 but will be required to stay home if they are sick and log their contacts and movements. Masks remain compulsory on public transportation and are encouraged elsewhere in public.
By Jessica Corbett, staff writer at CommonDreams. Originally published at CommonDreams

With less than 50 days until the election and voting already underway in many states, its important that we demand all senators pledge not to move forward with any nominee until after the next inauguration.

Thats according to a new petition from MoveOn.org, now signed by over 780,000 people, urging the GOP-controlled Senate to honor the dying wish of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and allow the victor of this years presidential contest to choose her replacement.

As early voting was getting underway in some states for this years general electionin which President Donald Trump is facing off against Democratic nominee Joe Bidenthe liberal justice died Friday night at the age of 87, sparking an intense battle over what to do about her empty seat.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) swiftly made clear that Trumps third nominee to the court would get a vote in the upper chambereliciting charges of hypocrisy from Democratic lawmakers, advocacy group leaders, and others opposed to a pre-election appointment. They all pointed to McConnells infamous decision to block outgoing President Barack Obamas nomination of Merrick Garland in 2016.

It would be a truly inexcusable act of hypocrisy and injustice for Trump and Senate Republicans to move any nomination forward, declares the MoveOn.org petition, reiterating that ballots are already being cast. Biden, in a Sunday speech at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, urged GOP senators, Please follow your conscience.

Joe Biden is politely asking a group of cyborg T-1000 Terminators to follow their conscience https://t.co/DJggvsrUeX  David Sirota (@davidsirota) September 20, 2020

Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Mainewho is up for reelection this cyclehave said they oppose voting on a nominee before November 3. However, they were both silent on the possibility of a lame-duck session vote, and at least two more members of the GOP would have to join with them and all Democrats to block the confirmation of another right-wing justicean appointment that, without significant reforms, could alter the courts makeup for decades.

While joining the ranks of those calling out McConnell for breathtaking hypocrisy,  Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson wrote Saturday in an NBC News op-edthat we should at some point just be honest. McConnell is seizing on Ginsburgs death as an opportunity to solidify the conservative leaning of the Supreme Court for decades to comeas we knew he would. This is about raw partisan power. There is no legitimate explanation beyond that. Sometimes things are exactly as they appear.

Louisville protests: Demonstrators gather outside McConnells house https://t.co/jIAmx9fHbt via @courierjournal  Scott Utterback (@Utterback13) September 19, 2020

Given McConnells pledge to hold a vote on Trumps next pick for the court, set to be announced next week, University of Northern Iowa professor C. Kyle Rudick wroteSunday for Common Dreams that charges of hypocrisy are insufficient to change the course of the RBGs replacement or, in fact, in other Republican attempt to race-bait, disenfranchise voters, or increase the wealth of the affluent. Each of these things are not inconsistent with the partys actual agendapower for the sake of power.

Democrats are starting to wake up to this reality. They are considering, if elected in sufficient numbers, to remove the filibuster rules and pack the courts, Rudick noted. Only time will tell if they have the stomach, or the means, to pursue these types of goals. There is one thing that is that is for sure: Democrats will not win political power through accusations of Republican hypocrisy.

Declaring that now is the time for constitutional jiujitsu, Jeffrey C. Isaac of Indiana University, Bloomington offered Democrats some suggestions. The Senate Democratic leadership should strategize about the entire range of legislative tactics that can be employed, now, to forestall a rushed SCOTUS replacement appointment, he wrote for Common Dreams. This includes possible threats to eliminate the filibuster if the Democrats win back the Senate in November.

Although it remains possible that McConnell and Trump could force through a nominee, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Friday that he doesnt believe it is a foregone conclusion. Now, he added, congressional Democrats can either pretend they are powerless in this situation, or they can pick a fight for once.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) reportedly warned the chambers Democratic caucus on a Saturday call that healthcare, protections for preexisting conditions, womens rights, gay rights, workers rights, labor rights, voting rights, civil rights, climate change and so much else is at risk. Given that threat, Schumer said, Let me be clear: If Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans move forward with this, then nothing is off the table for next year. Nothing is off the table.

Despite the tough talk, some progressives have suggested that considering Schumers track record of allowing Trump and McConnell to remake the federal judiciary with right-wing judges confirmed to lifelong posts, a primary challenge to the minority leaderwho is up for reelection in 2022could increase the pressure on him to use all tools at his disposable to prevent a third Trump justice on the nations highest court.

Some opponents of a Trump Supreme Court nominee are drawing inspiration from none other than RBG. As Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Womens Law Center (NWLC), said on a Saturday call with leaders of civil and legal rights advocacy groups: Of the many lessons we must take from Justice Ginsburgs life, perhaps none is more prescient than the need to reject the temptation of pessimism and embrace the grit and determination it takes to see every fight to the end.

In a Saturday Medium post arguing that RBG deserves better than liberal defeatism, writer Will Oremus asserted that hypocrisy has always been rampant in Washington, but its usually easier to hide than thisand when you cant, it still doesnt sit well with a lot of voters. He continued:

To pretend that norms will constrain Trump or McConnell would be folly, yes. But for Democrats, the media, and the public to concede the ground in advance is to do their dirty work for them. To frame what should be a career-dooming level of hypocrisy as the obvious play, the shrewd political move, is to stand down and wave Senate Republicans through what should be a punishing political gauntlet. It lends credence to excuses like thats just politics, or the other side would do the same. It lets them off the hook.

The New York Times Jamelle Bouie had the right idea, Oremus added. Democrats, he suggested, should pursue a two-track strategy that insists on tying Republicans to their 2016 words while at the same time threatening devastating retaliation, in the form of court-packing, should they go back on those words. You want no norms? the Democrats should say. Well show you what that looks like when were in charge.'
WASHINGTON - When President Donald Trump sat down in the Oval Office with author Bob Woodward for the first of 18 eventual interviews, the president brought up judicial appointments four times and had a list of judicial appointment orders displayed, prop-like, on the Resolute Desk - "kind of like he was cherishing it," Woodward recounted.

Now, as Trump prepares to announce a nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday night at age 87, those interviews reveal a president animated about remaking the courts and working with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to appoint conservative judges. Some of the conversations were chronicled in Woodward's new book, "Rage," while audio recordings of others were obtained by The Washington Post.

In a mid-December interview with Woodward, Trump boasted that he and McConnell "have broken every record" on judges, saying the issue is the majority leader's top priority.

"You know what Mitch's biggest thing is in the whole world? His judges," Trump enthuses, explaining that faced with a choice between pushing 10 ambassadors or a single judge through the Senate, "he will absolutely ask me, 'Please, let's get the judge approved instead of 10 ambassadors.' "

In January, the president bragged that he had installed 187 judges to the federal bench - making 1 in 4 circuit court judges a Trump appointee - and two to the Supreme Court.

"The only one that has a better percentage is George Washington, because he appointed 100%," Trump told Woodward, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Washington Post associate editor. "But my percentage is, you know, like, ridiculous."

During a May interview, Trump also crowed about how President Barack Obama had left him more than 100 court vacancies to fill when he took office, referring to them as "golden nuggets."

The numerous judicial slots Trump was able to fill upon entering the White House were a result of McConnell's deliberate effort to block and delay Obama's nominees - reducing the confirmation of judges to the slowest rate in more than 60 years.

After Justice Antonin Scalia died in early 2016, McConnell blocked federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland - Obama's nominee to replace Scalia - from ever getting a vote. Trump ultimately filled the slot with Neil Gorsuch.

Woodward's book overall paints a damning portrait of Trump's first term, depicting a president who knew the risks of the novel coronavirus as early as January but continued to deliberately mislead the American public. The nation is approaching 200,000 dead from the virus, with millions more sickened or unemployed and struggling.

Woodward ends with a grim assessment: "When his performance as president is taken in its entirety, I can only reach one conclusion: Trump is the wrong man for the job."

Trump, for his part, has raged against Woodward and the book, trashing them both in campaign rallies and tweets. "Bob Woodward's badly written book is very boring & totally 'obsolete,' " Trump wrote in one tweet, dismissing the author as "just another tired, washed up Trump Hater."

On judges, Trump - who has made more than 20,000 false or misleading statements during his presidency - has frequently overstated the number of judges he has named to the bench. In a March interview with Woodward, he claimed that he had just signed his 220th judge and expected to be at "260, 270, maybe even 280, maybe even 300" by the end of his first term. As of this week, the Senate has confirmed 216 of Trump's judges.

Still, remaking the bench with conservatives is one of Trump's key accomplishments, so much so that Woodward responded with a joke: "Maybe they'll put a statue of you outside the Supreme Court."

The president took to the suggestion instantly. "Oh, what a good idea," Trump said. "I think I'll have it erected tomorrow. What a great idea. I'll think I'll use it."

But, Trump added, "I won't say it came from me."

Judicial appointments have engaged Trump more than many other policymaking topics, in part because he appears to understand the political ramifications for himself. In 2016, Trump released a list from which he would choose the men and women to fill any Supreme Court vacancies - a move that proved crucial in reassuring Republicans and evangelicals that they could trust him to govern as a conservative. This month, he reprised that playbook, releasing another list of 20 names.

In 2013, Democrats - who then controlled the Senate - invoked the so-called "nuclear option" for judicial nominees, changing the rules so federal judicial nominees only required confirmation by a simple majority of senators, instead of the previous 60-vote supermajority that created incentive for bipartisanship but also, under McConnell, allowed Republicans to block or slow-walk most of Obama's nominees.

At the time, a number of senators - including Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. - expressed concern, worrying that the rule change would encourage parties to appeal to their most hard-line factions and create an increasingly partisan Supreme Court.

When asked whether Trump shared Graham's worry, the president acknowledged the fear, before dismissing it as reality.

"It's very partisan right now, basically," Trump said. "It's always a party vote. I mean, look, the whole country right now is a partisan vote."

When Woodward noted that Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, never had a Supreme Court opening during his presidency, Trump said, "He deserved none."

Woodward also asked Trump about Gorsuch leading the court in a landmark decision in June, when it ruled against the administration in offering sweeping protections for LGBTQ people against workplace discrimination.

When Woodward noted that Gorsuch voted "against your administration's position," the president seemed to accept the decision, saying, "Yeah, but this is the way he felt. And, you know, I want people to go the way they feel."

Still, Trump lamented that the ruling "opens the spigots for a lot of litigation."

When Woodward said he believed that Trump might have joined the majority decision if he were on the court in favor of "more freedom," the president considered the idea, before saying, "Well, I'll never get that vote."

"Well, maybe you can appoint yourself," Woodward joked.

"I am what's good for the people," Trump responded. "All people. So, you know, that's where I am."
Three more Rafale jets to land in India from France in non-stop flight

6 Rafale fighters to be flagged off by IAF chief from France

IAF's Rafale fleet to have first woman pilot soon

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Sep 21: A woman fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force will soon join the Golden Arrows squadron operating the newly-inducted Rafale fighter jets, official sources said on Monday. The woman pilot is undergoing training to fly Rafale aircraft, they said. She has been flying MiG-21 fighters and was selected for the Rafale fleet following an internal process, the sources said.

At present, the IAF has 10 women fighter pilots and 18 women navigators. The total strength of women officers serving in the IAF is 1,875.

Last week, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik told Parliament that women fighter pilots are inducted and deployed in IAF as per strategic needs and operational requirements.

The Golden Arrows squadron of the IAF was resurrected on September 10 last year. The squadron was originally raised at Air Force station, Ambala on Oct 1 1951. The squadron has many firsts to its credit; in 1955 it was equipped with the first jet fighter, the legendary De Havilland Vampire.

Five French-made multirole Rafale fighter jets were inducted into the Indian Air Force on September 10 at the Ambala air force base.

Fake: Rafale aircraft has not crashed near Ambala Air Force Station

Ten Rafale jets have been delivered to India so far and five of them stayed back in France for imparting training to IAF pilots. The delivery of all 36 aircraft is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.

A second batch of four to five Rafale jets are likely to arrive in India by November.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

The Rafale jets are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 year after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia. The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.
Earlier this semester, a visiting professor from New York City gave a lecture to a class at Yale University.

The professor later tested positive for COVID-19  and so did two students who attended the class, according to Dr. Maritza Bond, New Havens director of health .

Officials have not identified any other exposures in the New Haven community pertaining to the event, and no other students in the class had tested positive for COVID-19, Bond said.

When asked for comment on the matter, Yale University spokeswoman Karen Peart said in an email that Yale became aware earlier this month of three COVID-19 cases among people who had been present at an in-person class of fewer than 20 students.

Peart did not specify whether one of the individuals was a professor.

The university acted quickly upon learning of these cases, isolating the infected individuals and performing contact tracing, Peart said in the email.

The other students in the classroom were asked to obtain COVID-19 testing, Peart said, adding that no additional positive cases among the group had been identified as of Monday evening.

The university will continue to take rigorous precautions in order to safeguard the health of the Yale community and beyond, she said.

The students who tested positive after the lecture represent two out of 16 total cases reported at Yale in the last couple of months. Twelve students and four faculty or staff have tested positive for COVID-19 since Aug. 1, according to data available on Yales website Monday afternoon.

No positive tests were reported in the past week, the data indicates. There were, however, two positive test results reported between Sept. 10 and Sept. 16, according to a screenshot of earlier data provided by Bond.

Between Sept. 13 and Sept. 19, 9,425 COVID-19 tests were performed on 6,222 community members through Yales testing program, which includes testing of asymptomatic individuals, the universitys website indicates.

As of Monday afternoon, Yale classified its COVID-19 alert level as low to moderate risk meaning incidence of the virus remains low, but indicators show increased or potential for increase in transmission, and may include high levels of student travel to campus, the website says.

The university lays out guidelines for students based on the alert level. When the level is low to moderate, for example, students engage in a combination of in-person and remote learning, Yale limits gatherings to 10 people and visitors are barred from campus, per the website.

Yale is not the only campus in New Haven where community members have tested positive for COVID-19.

Between Aug. 16 and Sept. 19, Southern Connecticut State University identified 15 cases of the virus, but of those, only three were among students who lived on campus, per data available on the schools website.

The remaining cases were self-reported, with 11 affecting students who commute to campus and one impacting a faculty or staff member, according to the data.

One of the three ill on-campus students tested positive last week, the data indicates.

When a student tests positive, SCSUs contact tracing team, which includes graduate students in public health and social work who have been trained by Johns Hopkins University, works to identify which community members have been in close contact with the infected person and quarantining and/or isolation will follow as a result, university spokesman Patrick Dilger said in an email.

Michael Pascucilla, director of the East Shore District Health Department, described the difference between isolation and quarantine: a person is isolated after being diagnosed with COVID-19, he said, while those who have been exposed to an infected person but have not tested positive are quarantined.

Albertus Magnus College reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case since the start of the semester last week, per a Sept. 14 release from spokeswoman Sarah Barr.

The infected person was a contracted worker who was safely isolated in their home environment, the release said, adding that the schools cleaning vendor was sanitizing affected areas on campus.

In addition, two Albertus Magnus students who were reportedly infected with COVID-19 got sick over the summer, prior to their arrival on campus, and were cleared before they returned, Barr said in an email Monday.

Bond confirmed in an email that the students were not on-campus when they tested positive for the virus.

Albertus Magnus has worked to coordinate its COVID-19 response protocols with the city, according to Barr.

Albertus is committed to the health and safety of everyone on campus, following all the guidelines and mandates in place by state and health officials, Barr said in her email, adding that the school tracks test results both from on-campus testing and third-party labs.

The school also monitors data obtained through the self-check daily screening app #CampusClear, via which community members can submit information, according to Barr.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com
ISTANBUL - The first pupils will return to school in Turkey on Monday after a shutdown due to the coronavirus emergency that lasted more than six months. So far, only children attending nursery and the first year of elementary school will return to class. The education ministry, however, has given parents the choice of continuing to keep their children home, using remote learning.



The return will be gradual, starting with one day a week this week. Preventive measures to contain the spread of the virus will include temperature screening and facemasks as well as social distancing, also during school breaks. Parents and visitors will not be allowed into schools, except under special circumstances. Older pupils are instead not expected to return to school at least until October as further evaluations of the situation are expected.



Over 302,000 cases have been reported in Turkey so far with 7,506 victims. New restrictions could be approved on Monday during a cabinet meeting to be chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.


The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported on Monday a two-day increase of 967 cases of coronavirus across the state. Additionally, the department reported 48 new deaths caused by COVID-19 over the same two-day period.

Pennsylvanias case count is now up to 150,812, and the death toll has reached 8,004.

The state, in its Monday report, noted that it is seeing a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among younger age groups, particularly 19- 24-year-olds. It in part blamed gatherings at college and university settings for the increases.

Your coronavirus update:

Coronavirus in Pa.

The state last week started reporting Sunday and Monday numbers together. Each days numbers break down as follows: There were 733 new cases and 25 new deaths reported Sunday, and 234 new cases and 23 new deaths reported Monday.

Monday counts are typically lower because fewer places provide test results on Sundays. The 234 new cases marks the lowest daily case count since March, when the pandemic first hit the state. But it remains to be seen if the significant drop was an outlier or part of a trend, a Department of Health spokesman told lehighvalleylive.com.

Allegheny and Centre counties saw the most new cases over the two-day period at 116 and 109, respectively. Centre County, home to Penn State University, has been hit hard in recent weeks. On Friday, it reported 30 new cases, marking its lowest daily increase since Sept. 8. But Sundays numbers were back up, with 72 new cases. Centre County now has 1,799 total cases.

Statewide, the new week kicks off with an average of 821 new cases per day over the last seven days, and a week-long positivity rate of 6.5.

Increases among young adults

The Department of Health says it has sent an alert to healthcare providers about the changing COVID-19 case demographics.

There are now more cases in 19- to 24-year-olds than there are in those 50-64 and 65 and over. Mondays report provided a look at what percent of each regions total cases involved people in the 19- to 24-year-old range:

North Central (Includes Centre County): Approximately 7% of cases in April to approximately 69% of cases so far in September;

Southeast: Nearly 5% of cases in April to nearly 31% of cases so far in September;

Northeast (Includes Lehigh Valley): 6% of cases in April to nearly 39% of cases so far in September;

Southwest: Approximately 5% of cases in April to nearly 29% of cases so far in September;

Northwest: Nearly 7% of cases in April to nearly 19% of cases so far in September; and

South Central: Approximately 7% of cases in April to nearly 17% of cases so far in September.

Coronavirus in the Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valley reported an additional 55 cases over the two-day period included in Mondays report. That brings the areas total case count to 9,888. There were also five deaths in the Valley, bringing the death toll to 655.

Lehigh County had 25 of the reported cases and four deaths, and Northampton County had the other 30 cases and the fifth death.

Lehigh Countys totals are now 5,494 cases and 350 deaths, while Northampton County has 4,394 cases and 305 deaths.

Sundays 26 new cases in Northampton County continued the countys recent jump in cases. The seven-day rolling average of new cases now stands at 19 per day compared to 10 per day on Sept. 11.

The states report of one Northampton County death conflicts with a county report indicating its coroner has not recorded a single COVID-19 death in 26 days. A county spokeswoman said there are sometimes discrepancies between the state and county numbers; she noted timing can be a factor.

In a statement accompanying that report, Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure acknowledged that the county is seeing an uptick in overall cases and urged residents to take precautions.

"The positive infection rate at our collaborative testing site is creeping up close to 4%, McClure said. It is our view that the most important reason we havent experienced a death in the county in approximately one month is due to our citizens doing an excellent job wearing masks, but we cant give up on masks just yet. We are heading into a very difficult cold and flu season and we need to keep covering our mouths and noses.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Nick Falsone can be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com.
Lebanon is in the throes of an economic crisis that marks the worst threat to its stability since the 1975-90 civil; French efforts to get its fractious leaders to agree a new government have yet to bear fruit

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib said on Monday all parties should cooperate to facilitate the formation of a new government and urged everyone to work so that a French initiative succeeds immediately.

Lebanon is in the throes of an economic crisis that marks the worst threat to its stability since the 1975-90 civil war. But French efforts to get its fractious leaders to agree a new government to start fixing the problems have yet to bear fruit.

The cabinet formation process has hit a logjam over the demand of Lebanon's two dominant Shi'ite parties, the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement, to name Shi'ite ministers in cabinet including the finance minister.

"Lebanon doesn't have the luxury of wasting time amid the unprecedented crises that it is going through," said Adib, a Sunni Muslim who is backed by former Lebanese prime ministers including Saad al-Hariri.

Any additional delay would exacerbate the crises, he said.

All parties should cooperate for the formation of a government of specialists "capable of halting the collapse and starting work to get the country out the crises," he said.

Adib said he would spare no effort "to achieve this goal in cooperation with the president of the republic".

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Despite the Covid-19 pandemic raging across the world, India's payments technology and transaction processing major Financial Software and Systems (FSS) gained a firm foothold in the Canadian market bagging the mandate from Everlink Payment Services Inc to modernise its card issuance infrastructure, said top company officials.

"The multi-year deal was concluded during the Covid-19 pandemic. With our solutions in place, Everlink can launch prepaid cards. Everlink has over 230 credit unions with a cumulative number of accounts of about five million," K.Srinivasan, Chief Revenue Officer-Global at FSS told IANS over the phone from Dubai.

The over Rs 1,100 crore turnover FSS would implement its Unified Card Management System to manage debit and prepaid cards issuance from a single platform and also support transaction processing and programmes for prepaid cards.

As part of the deal, FSS would replace the existing card issuance system with an application programming interfaces (API) based card management framework to simplify operations, reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) and mitigate obsolescence risk.

"In Canada, debit cards are more in use than credit cards. Prepaid cards are yet to become active. We will be delivering out services out of our centre in Chennai. We expect to go on live in Everlink in January 2021. The contract is for five years," Srinivasan added.

According to Mark Pipplinger, President and CEO of Everlink, Canadian consumers are rapidly adopting newer payment products like co-badged prepaid and contactless cards.

He said Everlink needed a flexible solution, capable of modernising our card management to extend its portfolio of products and service in an increasingly competitive and changing market.

"The Canadian market relies heavily on card spending and is digitising rapidly. It is a market where FSS is deeply committed to work with partners such as Everlink," FSS Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Nagaraj V. Mylandla said.

Elaborating further on FSS' Canada plans Srinivasan said the company will focus on leveraging its global expertise to deliver new propositions in the areas of prepaid card management, omni-channel acquiring, artificial intelligence-based payments, strong customer authentication, and reconciliation solutions.

As regards other overseas markets, Srinivasan said FSS sees good potential in the Asia Pacific as more countries are looking at switching systems and benefit administration through prepaid cards.

For FSS, the major overseas markets are South Africa, the Middle East and some African countries. The company is also there in some European nations and in the US.

As regards the Covid-19 impact, Srinivasan said as of end of June, the business has revived back to 70-80 per cent of the business prior to the pandemic outbreak.

With four rounds of funding raised -- the last one in 2015 from Azim Premji -- FSS is planning to go for the next round of funding by 2021.
The U.S. Congress will attempt to file legislation this week that will fund the federal government agencies until the middle of December.

The U.S. Senate and Congress agreed in a continuing resolution that will allow them to operate even during the fiscal year that will start on Oct.1. This is to make sure that a new stimulus deal is reached and to give more time to lawmakers to deliver what the country needs amid the pandemic.

Before the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the top negotiators already convened last week and drafted a bill that will keep most of the federal programs at current levels until Dec.11. This is very rare but this must be done.

Traditionally, candidates were already preparing for the upcoming election beginning the first day of October. However, the global pandemic has made it difficult for the candidates to return to their home states without bringing good news like stimulus checks and other aids under the new relief aids.

The country continuous to combat the swelling number of COVID-19 infections and its economic impact, social unrest, fires consuming large swaths of the West and hurricanes in the East, and any government closures due to lack f fund will just add chaos in the country.

That is why the bill they drafted is designed to give lawmakers more time to work out federal spending through September 2021, including budgets for military operations, healthcare, national parks, space programs and airport, and border security.

Republican Representative Tom Cole told reporters on Thursday "I don't think anybody wants to be responsible for shutting down the government on the eve of an election in the middle of a pandemic. So it's a rare outbreak of common sense on both sides."

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is set to debate and vote on the bill on early Tuesday morning. If the bill that allows federal funding spending will be passed, it will get into the Senate possibly at the end of this week. This is just one of the bills that both chambers will discuss this week.

It can be recalled that the House of Representatives will also unveil the new provisions in their proposed second round of stimulus package this Monday afternoon. Many are expecting that a fresh new round of stimulus checks will be included in the bill.

Moreover, it is not only the American people and qualified individuals who are calling for another stimulus package but also the Federal Reserve Officials. They firmly believed that the second stimulus package will help the economy regain its normality.

Many economists also supported the second round of coronavirus relief aid because it will give people money to spend and loans for businesses to operate. Their idea supported what Pres. Trump wanted when he said that Republicans should be open to a larger stimulus because after all, it goes back to the country.

Despite the disagreements and tensions between the Republicans and Democrats, they have one thing in common and that is to make sure that relief aids will be delivered to millions of Americans before the election.

Check these out!
A policeman was killed by armed robbers when they stole some PHP2 million (US$41,319) worth of cash and belongings from a gold trader on Saturday afternoon.

Executive Master Sergeant Roel Candido was escorting jewelry store owner Catherine King by tailing after her car while onboard his scooter when he was shot by the robbers. The heist occurred on F. Torres Street corner Soler Street in Manila at about 5:45pm. CCTV footage obtained from the crime scene showed that at least four robbers, who were on board a Mitsubishi Mirage, blocked the traders vehicle and then shot the victims.

Candido was killed instantly, while King, her employee Vibsia Canete, and driver Sulficio Pisngot were wounded. The suspects then opened the car and took King and her employees belongings. Some of the suspects fled on foot, while the others drove away from the crime scene in their getaway vehicle.

The police are still investigating the crime. Meanwhile, more cops have been deployed to the area.

Read more Coconuts Manila articles here.

This article, Cop killed, 3 others wounded in Manila jewelry heist, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company.
Thank you for tuning in to episode 91 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your host, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. This episode is brought to you by our friends at PSCU. As the nations premier payments CUSO, PSCU proudly supports the success of more than 1,500 credit unions.

Randy has Mina Worthington as his guest on the show today. She is the President and CEO of Solarity Credit Union in Yakima, Washington. We talk about digital transformation, the future of credit unions, remote work, what the workplace looks like going forward, and how to keep the credit union culture intact with all the changes.

Listen as Mina shares how she keeps her team connected during this crisis, how she has grown as a leader because of it, and the biggest changes at her credit union that she plans on carrying over once the pandemic is over. Mina also discusses how she maintains the credit union culture with everyone working remotely and what she will be most proud to have accomplished a year from now.

Additionally, Mina discusses why she took the position as President and CEO of Solarity, how the inspiration has changed, and some tips for new CEOs dealing with uncertainty. Mina also speaks about some leadership myths she wants to debunk and that she loves to spend time with her family, boating, or traveling when she has time away from the office.

In the rapid-fire questions section, we learned that Mina wanted to be a graphic designer when she grew up, she was a slacker and partier in high school, and that she loves Guns & Roses as much as I do. When she hears the word success, she thinks of her husband because of everything he has accomplished. This was a fun conversation you dont want to miss. Enjoy!

Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher

Books mentioned on The CUInsight Experience podcast: Book List

How to find Mina:

Mina Worthington, President and CEO of Solarity Credit Union

mworthington@solaritycu.org

www.solaritycu.org

LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Show notes from this episode:

A big shout-out to our friends at PSCU, an amazing sponsor of The CUInsight Experience podcast. Thank you!

Check out all the outstanding work that Mina and her team at Solarity are doing here.

Shout-out: Minas team at Solarity Credit Union

App mentioned: Yammer

Shout-out: Chuck Purvis

Shout-out: CUNA

Shout-out: Sheryl Sandberg

Shout-out: Jill Nowacki

Book mentioned: Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Shout-out: Steve Swanston

Shout-out: Karin Sand & Fred Johnson

Shout-out: Minas husband and children

Shout-out: Victor Corro

Shout-out: Tansley Stearns

Album mentioned: Appetite for Destruction by Guns & Roses

Book mentioned: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Dont by James C. Collins

Previous guests mentioned in this episode: Chuck Purvis, Steve Swanston, Victor Corro, Tansley Stearns, Jill Nowacki (episodes 4, 18, 37, 64 & 82)

This Episode:

[01:53]  Welcome to the show, Mina!

[02:05]  Mina shares how her team is holding up.

[03:04]  Mina speaks about how she keeps her team connected with emails and video recordings.

[05:03]  Listen as Mina shares how she has grown as a leader during this pandemic.

[07:24]  What are your credit unions biggest changes, and how will they change going forward?

[09:00]  Mina speaks about how to maintain the culture when everyone is working remotely.

[12:09]  Mina discusses what she believes that credit unions need to do to stay relevant in the future.

[13:19]  What will you be most proud of that your team has accomplished twelve months from now?

[15:01]  Mina speaks about what inspired her to take the job as President and CEO of Solarity.

[18:24]  Mina says that the inspiration hasnt changed over her years as CEO.

[20:12]  Do you have any tips for new CEOs going through the pandemic?

[21:27]  Mina shares what her team has heard her say over and over.

[21:46]  Mina speaks about the myth about leadership that she wants to debunk.

[22:22]  Listen as Mina discusses some mistakes she sees young leaders make today.

[23:07]  Mina shares some advice that a mentor gave her she uses to this day.

[24:07]  What do you do to recharge when you have a day off?

[25:11]  Mina shares how she was in high school, and the first time she got into memorable trouble.

[25:57]  What did you want to be when you grew up?

[26:18]  Mina speaks about her morning routine and how she needs to exercise or her entire day feels off.

[26:45]  What is the best album of all time?

[27:18]  Is there a book you think everyone should read?

[27:30]  She says that her weekends have become more important, and friends have become less important.

[28:42]  Mina says that the first person she thinks of when she hears the word success is her husband.

[29:51]  Mina shares some final asks for the listeners.

[30:51]  Thank you so much for being on the show!
President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday. Tom Brenner/Reuters

President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that congressional Democrats invented reports of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dying wish.

Ginsburg reportedly told her granddaughter that her "fervent wish" was that her Supreme Court seat remain vacant "until a new president is installed."

"I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi? I would be more inclined to the second," Trump told "Fox & Friends."

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dying wish, reportedly dictated to her granddaughter, that her Supreme Court seat not be filled until a new president is elected "came out of the wind" and was made up by Democrats in Congress.

"I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi? I would be more inclined to the second," Trump said during a phone interview with "Fox & Friends."

"That came out of the wind, it sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or Shifty Schiff," he said, adding, "Maybe she did and maybe she didn't."

Ginsburg, a Supreme Court justice for 27 years, died on Friday at age 87. NPR reported that days before her death, she dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

Trump doubled down on this baseless assertion later on Monday.

"It sounds to me like it would be somebody else ... It was just too convenient," he told reporters at the White House.

Republicans announced mere hours after Ginsburg's death that they intended to hold a vote on Trump's Supreme Court nominee.

Story continues

"The Senate and the nation mourn the sudden passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the conclusion of her extraordinary American life," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement on Friday night.

"President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate," McConnell added, indicating that he did not believe the impending presidential election should have any sway over the process.

This marked a massive flip-flop for McConnell, who in 2016 refused to hold a confirmation hearing for Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, on the basis that the nomination came too close to the election. Top Republican senators fell in line with McConnell's position at the time.

Garland was nominated on March 16, 2016, or 237 days before the 2016 election. Ginsburg died 46 days before the 2020 election, and Republicans are now moving to push through a Trump nominee as quickly as possible.

With a Republican president in the White House, the GOP appears suddenly comfortable moving forward with the Supreme Court confirmation process despite an election on the horizon. Republican senators are now facing allegations from Democratic colleagues that their word essentially means nothing.

"I want you to use my words against me: If there's a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let's let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination," GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in 2016.

Fast-forward to 2020, and Graham wrote on Twitter that he would support Trump "in any effort to move forward" with filling Ginsburg's seat.

Graham justified his stance by saying that "the two biggest changes regarding the Senate and judicial confirmations that have occurred in the last decade have come from Democrats." He cited Sen. Harry Reid's 2013 decision to invoke the "nuclear option"  eliminating filibusters on executive appointments and most judicial nominations, excluding the Supreme Court  while accusing Democrats of conspiring to "destroy the life of Brett Kavanaugh and hold that Supreme Court seat open."

McConnell also invoked the option in 2017, doing away with filibusters on Supreme Court nominees. But Graham made no mention of this.

Trump is expected to announce a nominee later this week.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The United Kingdom, where at least 41,777 people have died with coronavirus, faces an exponentially growing death rate within weeks unless the government moves urgently to halt a rapidly spreading second wave, the countrys senior medics said on Monday.

The UK already had the highest official COVID-19 death toll in Europe  and the fifth-largest in the world  while it wass borrowing record amounts in an attempt to pump emergency money through the damaged economy.

But new COVID-19 cases have been rising by at least 6,000 a day in the UK, according to week-old data, hospital admissions are doubling every eight days, and the testing system is buckling.

Chris Whitty, the governments chief medical officer, and Patrick Vallance, its chief scientific adviser, cautioned that if left unrestricted, the epidemic would reach 50,000 new cases a day by mid-October in the UK.

If this continued along the path  the number of deaths directly from COVID  will continue to rise, potentially on an exponential curve, that means doubling and doubling and doubling again and you can quickly move from really quite small numbers to really very large numbers, Whitty said.

If we dont do enough the virus will take off and at the moment, that is the path that we are clearly on and if we do not change course then were going to find ourselves in a very difficult problem.

The virus is spreading across all areas of the country and less than 8 percent of the population have antibodies to the virus, though in London approximately 17 percent of the population may have antibodies, Vallance said.

Speed and action are urgently needed, Vallance and Whitty said, adding that as winter was approaching the COVID problem would haunt the UK for another six months at least.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to speak on Tuesday.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the restrictions would be different from last time. The government wants to crack down on socialising but schools and many workplaces will stay open.

If we do have to take action, it will be different to last time and weve learnt a huge amount about how to tackle the virus, he told ITV.

Schools arent where a lot of the transmission happens, its more about people socialising, he said.

Asked about Christmas and if people would be able to hug their relatives, he said he wanted it to be as normal as possible.

If this runs out of control now, well have to take heavier measures in the future, Hancock said.

Al Jazeeras Neave Barker, reporting from London, said Johnson has spent the weekend mulling the possibility of new restrictions.

There are various reasons for why the figures are going up like this. The government has been accused of not doing enough to ramp up testing. There doesnt appear to be the type of capacity needed in the laboratories to increase testing. Also, the message doesnt seem to be getting across in some parts of the country.

It is believed that one in five people are not following instructions to isolate when they are being told to do so.

Meanwhile in France, the number of French deaths from the disease rose by 12 during the preceding 24 hours to 31,585, the health ministry said on Sunday. The cumulative number of confirmed cases now stands at 453,763.

Besides a resurgence in the spread of the coronavirus since lockdown measures ended in May, epidemiologists said higher case numbers are also the result of a six-fold surge in testing since the process became available without charge or prescription.

Doctors in some cities, including Bordeaux and Marseille, who say they are seeing so many people coming into the hospitals could come under immense pressure very soon, said Al Jazeeras Natacha Butler, reporting from Paris.

The French government, attempting to avoid further economic strain, is urging people to be extremely vigilant while some local authorities are using their powers to put in place local restrictions.

So, we have seen some towns like Lyon and Marseille put in restrictions on the amount time people can stay outside at night, said Butler, adding Nice was limiting the number of people gathering in groups to 10.

The growth of cases in the UK and France is also being witnessed in other European countries, leading to debates across the continent about whether lockdowns should be prioritised over a push to restart economies.

Efforts to stem Europes fastest coronavirus spread in some of Madrids working-class neighbourhoods brought a heated debate about the prevalence of inequality in Spain back into the spotlight on Monday.

The measures, including a requirement to justify trips out of the neighbourhoods and reduced occupancy in shops and restaurants, affect some 860,000 residents and have met protests because many of those affected, and some experts, believe that authorities are stigmatising the poor.

Spain is struggling to contain a second wave of the virus, which has killed at least 30,000 people, according to the countrys health ministry.

Madrid has become the epicentre of contagion, with a rate of infection  682.57 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in two weeks  nearly three times the national average of 267.82. Europewide, that number last week was 76.

Across Europe, there is a difficult balance that has to be met by governments where on one hand they have to try to keep economies afloat and on the other hand try to protect peoples wellbeing and their health, said Butler.

In Spain, a country so badly affected in March and April at the height of the pandemic, we are seeing cases rises again rapidly in the Madrid region. Local authorities there are putting in a partial lockdown.

People are being urged to stay at home in many districts, but they can still go out and work. Again, trying to keep the economy afloat, trying to keep people in jobs.
She's the former model who is no stranger to controversy.

And Tziporah Malkah proved she's also busy woman on the go when she attended Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Monday.

The 46-year-old exited the court in crisp white workwear, with it appearing she had just finished a night shift.

Whoops! Former model Tziporah Malkah, 46, (pictured) offered a glimpse of her black lace bra as she left Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Monday

The former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star wore her workwear with reflective stripes slightly unbuttoned, offering a glimpse of her black lace bra, as she walked down the courthouse steps.

She accessorised her blinding hi-vis look with a pair of spectacles, black work boots and added a touch of '80s glamour with fingerless lace gloves, reminiscent of Madonna's Like A Virgin years.

The statuesque brunette carried her belongings in a large black handbag, slung over her shoulder.

Busy: The brunette beauty looked stoney-faced as she exited the courthouse, with a brisk walk down the stairs

Tziporah preferred to keep things simple on the day, wearing minimal makeup.

She happily added a bit of va-va-voom with her brunette tresses tied up in a classic up do.

She clutched her rose gold iPhone in her hand as she left the courthouse.

Glam: The beauty wore her workwear slightly unbuttoned, offering a glimpse of her black lace bra

Meanwhile, in July it was revealed a bizarre love triangle involving Tziporah and two ex-partners - one a former policeman and the other a female jailbird - is set to play out before the courts.

Last year the 46-year-old was pictured holding hands with Victoria Rupp at Sydney's Bondi Beach.

But after their relationship fizzled, Tziporah began dating former cop Nicholas Patsidis, 40, also a one-time lover of Rupp's.

Ring ring: She clutched her rose gold iPhone in her hand as she left the courthouse

Case: Meanwhile, in July it was revealed a bizarre love triangle involving Tziporah and two ex-partners - one a former policeman and the other a female jailbird - is set to play out before the courts

Police took out one of the orders to protect Malkah from Patsidis after he was charged with assaulting her.

The other AVO is in place to protect Patsidis from Rupp after she was accused of bombarding the ex-cop with abusive text messages following their split.

Tziporah will appear at Downing Centre Local Court again on September 25.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 18:31:41|Editor: huaxia

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NEW DELHI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- A pilot was killed Monday after his trainer aircraft crashed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police said.

The aircraft crashed near Kushwapurawa village in Azamgarh district, about 260 km east of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.

"A four-seater training aircraft crashed here today, killing the pilot on the spot," a police official said.

The aircraft crashed into an agricultural field.

Preliminary investigations carried by police suggest the aircraft crashed due to bad weather conditions.

According to officials, only one person was on board the aircraft. The crash broke the aircraft into several pieces. Enditem
The Canadian Press

OTTAWA  Canada's chief public health officer says there are positive signs the Omicron wave is peaking in this country, but no one should start choreographing a COVID-19 victory dance. "There is no doubt that nobody wants to have all these restrictive measures anymore, and Omicron may or may not have put us one step toward that new reality," Dr. Theresa Tam said Friday during a COVID-19 briefing in Ottawa. "So I think  we need to plan for the different scenarios and just be ready for a time of
Lucknow, Sep 21 : Gorakhpur's Dr Kafeel Khan, has taken his battle against the Yogi Adityanath government to an international level.

Khan, who was recently absolved of charges under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) and is now living in Jaipur, has written a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) informing them about "widespread violations of international human right standards in India and misuse of draconian laws like NSA and UAPA to suppress voices of dissent".

In his letter, Khan thanked the UN rights body for urging the Indian government to protect human rights of activists arrested for "peacefully protesting against CAA" and said that the government "has not listened to their appeal".

"Authorities continue to invoke counter-terrorism and national security legislations using procedural police powers against these human right defenders for raising issues which would affect India's poorest and most marginalised community, violating international human right standards," Khan wrote.

It may be recalled that on June 26, the UN body had written to the Indian government, mentioning 11 cases, among those that of Kafeel Khan and Sharjeel Imam, for "serious allegations of human rights violations, several relating to due process failings during arrest and detention, as well as allegations of torture and ill-treatment".

Describing his days in jail, Khan wrote, "I was tortured mentally and physically and also denied food and water for many days and treated inhumanely during my 7 months of incarceration in a congested, overcrowded Mathura prison. Fortunately, I got the NSA and all 3 extensions of detention quashed by the high court, which called the whole process illegal." He also mentioned about the Gorakhpur tragedy on August 10, 2017 at Baba Raghav Das Medical College, in which many children lost their lives due to unavailability of liquid oxygen.

The high court categorically stated in its April 25, 2018 order that there was "no evidence of medical negligence found against him and he was not even involved in the oxygen tendering process".

Khan has since been suspended from his job, but not relieved from the state services. Eight different inquiries were conducted by the Uttar Pradesh government and they have all absolved him of any wrongdoing in the tragedy. His suspension has not been revoked.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
PSI scientists have gained a fundamental understanding of a highly promising material that could be suited to future data storage applications. Their experiments with strontium-iridium oxide, Sr2IrO4, investigated both the magnetic and electronic properties of the material as a thin film. They also analysed how these properties can be systematically controlled by manipulating the films. This study was made possible by sophisticated X-ray scattering, a technology where PSI researchers are amongst the world experts. The results are published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In their quest for the magnetic data storage of the future, researchers are looking for suitable materials with properties that can be customised as flexibly as possible. One promising candidate is strontium-iridium oxide, a metal oxide with the chemical notation Sr2IrO4. PSI scientists have investigated this material, working alongside colleagues in Poland, the US and France.

"The keyword of our research is spintronics," explains Thorsten Schmitt, Head of the PSI Research Group for Spectroscopy of Novel Materials. Spintronics utilises both the electrical charge of the electron and its internal spin to develop advanced electronic components.

Spintronics is already being used in today's hard disks, but the properties of the materials used are based on "normal" magnetism: ferromagnets such as iron or nickel where the spins are arranged in parallel. Their drawback is the relatively wide spacing required between the ferromagnetic data storage points, i.e. the bits, to prevent cross-interference. Experts believe antiferromagnetic materials could offer a promising alternative, as their spins are arranged in opposing directions. Viewed externally, antiferromagnetic materials are therefore magnetically neutral. Hence an antiferromagnetic bit would not interfere with its neighbour. "These bits can be packed more tightly together, so more data can be stored on the same space," Schmitt says. "On top of that, data read-write operations are much faster."

Strontium-iridium oxide is such an antiferromagnetic material. It is essentially a crystal within which the iridium and oxygen atoms form tinyoctahedrons. "We call this a perovskite structure," explains Milan Radovic, a physicist at PSI and co-author of the new study. "It is an ideal material for systematically manipulating its functional properties," Radovic adds.

Manipulating thin films

To perform such manipulation and discover more about the properties of this highly promising material, PSI scientists applied a thin, crystalline layer of Sr2IrO4 as the main film onto different crystalline substrates. The idea is that the substrate leads to the crystalline structure of the applied film being distorted. "It's as if we were pulling or compressing our material at the level of the atoms," Schmitt explains. This causes the perovskite octahedrons to twist and shift slightly against each other, ultimately changing the properties of the material as a whole.

This method makes it possible to systematically fine-tune the magnetic and electronic properties of the material. And since this type of material is already being used in electronic components in the form of thin films, developing applications in this area would be the next logical step.

Obtaining a global picture

For in-depth analysis of their samples, PSI scientists used a special X-ray technique that has been heavily developed by PSI known as Resonant Inelastic X-Ray-Scattering, or RIXS for short. At PSI the researchers used soft X-rays to perform their RIXS experiments. The research in Switzerland was supplemented by additional precision measurements with hard X-rays of higher energy conducted at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble and the Advanced Photon Source in Argonne, USA.

"Most methods focus separately on either the magnetism or the electronic properties," Schmitt explains. "With RIXS, on the other hand, we can investigate both properties with the same measurement and compare them directly with one another. In short: we have successfully obtained a global picture of our sample."

The researchers were able to discover how the electronic properties change when the crystalline lattice of the Sr2IrO4 film is distorted, and how this development is linked to the change in magnetism. Both go hand in hand - and provide important findings for potential applications.

Superconductors as a paradigm

Specifically, the group managed to modify the strontium-iridium oxide so that its magnetic properties mimic another class of fascinating materials: high-temperature superconductors composed of copper oxide layers, also known as cuprates. These also have a perovskite-like structure. In their experiment, PSI scientists pulled and twisted the Sr2IrO4 film so that the atomic distances in the crystal lattice expanded and additionally a rotation occurred. "This allowed us to make the material replicate the properties of a cuprate," says Schmitt. "However, we're still a long way from producing a new superconductor," he says, before anyone gets their hopes up. He also thinks it may take another 10 or 20 years before the current findings will possibly contribute to the development of new data storage applications. "Our task is to produce fundamental research. This is vitally important as a stepping-stone in the future development of new materials."

###

Text: Barbara Vonarburg

About PSI

The Paul Scherrer Institute PSI develops, builds and operates large, complex research facilities and makes them available to the national and international research community. The institute's own key research priorities are in the fields of matter and materials, energy and environment and human health. PSI is committed to the training of future generations. Therefore about one quarter of our staff are post-docs, post-graduates or apprentices. Altogether PSI employs 2100 people, thus being the largest research institute in Switzerland. The annual budget amounts to approximately CHF 400 million. PSI is part of the ETH Domain, with the other members being the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology, ETH Zurich and EPFL Lausanne, as well as Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology), Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology) and WSL (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research).

More information

Selectively conductive or insulating - Media release dated 11 October 2016

https://www.psi.ch/en/media/our-research/selectively-conductive-or-insulating

Watching electrons and switching bits on - article dated 15 February 2019: https://www.psi.ch/en/media/our-research/watching-electrons-and-switching-bits-on

Contact

Dr Thorsten Schmitt

Head of the PSI Research Group for Spectroscopy of Novel Materials,

Paul Scherrer Institute, Forschungsstrasse 111, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland

Telephone: +41 56 310 37 62, E-Mail: thorsten.schmitt@psi.ch [German, English]

Original publication

Strain-engineering of the charge and spin-orbital interactions in Sr2IrO4

E. Paris, Y. Tseng, E.M. Parschke, W. Zhang, M.H. Upton, A. Efimenko, K. Rolfs, D.E. McNally, L. Maurel, M. Naamneh, M. Caputo, V.N. Strocov, Z. Wang, D. Casa, C.W. Schneider, E. Pomjakushina, K. Wohlfeld, M. Radovic, T. Schmitt

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 21 September 2020 (online)

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2012043117
Police on Sunday identified a 43-year-old Boston man as the victim of a fatal triple shooting in Roxbury earlier this month that wounded two others.

Dennis Mejia and two other men were taken to the hospital around 7:46 p.m. on Sept. 18 after officers responded to a radio call about a person shot near Hammond and Westminster streets, according to a statement from the Boston Police Department.

The three men were found with gunshot wounds. Two of the victims suffered injuries that were not deemed life-threatening, but the third man later died from his wounds, the statement said.

The Boston Police Department is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding the shooting and has asked anyone with information relevant to their investigation to call homicide detectives at (617) 343-4470.

Community members wishing to help the investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463).

Related Content: One dead, two wounded in Roxbury shooting
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN).

A high-level event will be held on September 21 to commemorate the anniversary under the theme: "The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism.

On October 25, 1971, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, restoring the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China at the UN.

Here's a video to know more about China's role in the UN, by the numbers.

(Produced by Sun Tianren, Huang Jingjing, Zhao Dantong, Lv Fu and Cui Jie)
Senior military commanders from India and China on Monday met in the eastern Ladakh sector in their latest attempt to break the logjam in talks to reduce tensions along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC), with a joint secretary from the Indian external affairs ministry taking part in the military dialogue for the first time, officials familiar with the developments said.

The military dialogue started at 9am at Moldo on the Chinese side of the LAC in the Chushul sector and was on at the time of going to print. The outcome of the talks was not immediately known.

Two Indian lieutenant generals were among the officers who took part in the talks  Harinder Singh, who heads the Leh-based 14 Corps and his soon-to-be successor PGK Menon, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

Menon is tipped to replace Singh in Leh after the latter completes his one-year term as corps commander next month. Menon attended Mondays talks  the sixth between corps commander-ranked officers since June 6  as a representative of the army headquarters, the officials said.

A joint secretary-ranked diplomat was roped in for the dialogue in a step to ensure that the talks yield some headway, as reported by HT on Monday. The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs  the diplomatic dialogue between the two countries  involves a representative of the Indian defence ministry.

Military tensions are high in the eastern Ladakh theatre where both armies have made arrangements for holding positions through the winter.

Mondays meeting between the Indian and Chinese corps commander-ranked officers was their first after the Indian Army swiftly moved and occupied a series of key heights to prevent the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) from grabbing Indian territory on the southern bank of Pangong Tso in a stealthy midnight move on August 29.

The Indian Army now controls ridgeline positions on the southern bank of Pangong Tso that allow it to completely dominate the sector and keep an eye on Chinese military activity, with the positions scattered across Rezang La, Reqin pass, Gurung Hill and Magar heights.

The Indian Army has also taken control of key heights overlooking the PLAs deployments on the Finger 4 ridgeline on the northern bank of Pangong Tso where rival soldiers are deployed barely a few hundred metres from each other, as reported by Hindustan Times on September 10.

The recent developments on both banks of Pangong Tso have increased Indias bargaining power as there will definitely be an element of quid pro quo in the talks, the officials said.

A high-powered panel on China reviewed the latest developments in the Ladakh sector last week, focussing on charting the course of future negotiations to restore status quo ante of mid-April on the disputed border. The agenda for Mondays talks was discussed at the high-level meeting, even as the situation in Ladakh remains tense after a series of recent manoeuvres by the two armies in the Pangong Tso area.

Last week, defence minister Rajnath Singh told lawmakers in Parliament that no force in the world can stop the Indian Army from patrolling the countrys borders in the Ladakh sector, signalling a strong resolve to regain access to several areas that are now difficult to reach due to actions by the Chinese army along the LAC.

In tensions that began in early May, Indian and Chinese troops have come face-to-face at multiple points along the LAC. In some of these areas, particularly the Finger Area and Depsang, Indian forces have been cut off from reaching forward areas they could previously patrol.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 18:35:49|Editor: huaxia

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A Chinese wingsuit flyer lands precisely on an aircraft carrier in Tianjin, after jumping off a helicopter 1,500 meters above the ground.
SEATTLE -- Sept. 21, 2020 -- Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center believe they've found a better of use of mobile technology to help adult cigarette smokers quit.

In a large clinical trial published in JAMA Internal Medicine, a team led by Dr. Jonathan Bricker, a professor in Fred Hutch's Public Health Sciences Division, tested the efficacy of the new smartphone app iCanQuit against the National Cancer Institute's QuitGuide. iCanQuit is based on acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT, and QuitGuide is based on U.S. clinical practice guidelines.

While apps to quit smoking have been downloaded over 33 million times, there has been little proof they actually work. Using a rigorous double-blind, randomized clinical trial involving over 2,400 adult smokers throughout the U.S., the researchers found the iCanQuit app to be nearly 1 1/2 times more effective than QuitGuide in helping smokers quit after 12 months. Based on their findings, Bricker's team suggests that for every 100,000 smokers reached with iCanQuit, 28,000 would quit smoking.

"Our study offers a new approach to quitting smoking," said Bricker. "By deploying ACT-based methods that focus on acceptance of smoking triggers instead of avoidance of smoking triggers, we believe iCanQuit can help more smokers kick the habit and thereby reduce premature deaths."

According to the World Health Organization, "smokers are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 outcomes and death." Smoking and tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death, killing over 8 million people per year. About 80% of lung cancer deaths result from smoking, and the American Cancer Society expects over 135,000 lung cancer deaths in the U.S. this year.

"Prevention is the best strategy to reduce cancer's burden and save lives," said Brianna Sullivan, project manager of Bricker's team and a study co-author. "By combining Fred Hutch's scientific expertise with effective and user-friendly technology, we're providing smokers the tools needed to live healthier, longer and more vital lives."

Android users can download the iCanQuit app via the Google Play store and iOS device users can download it via the App store. Passcodes to open the app are available by emailing iCanQuit@fredhutch.org.

The National Cancer Institute (grant number R01CA192849) funded this study but had no role in its design or conduct. Bricker reported receiving grants from the NCI during the conduct of the study, serving on the scientific advisory board for Chrono Therapeutics and receiving personal fees from Chrono outside the submitted work. Fred Hutch applied for a U.S. patent that pertains to the content of the iCanQuit app. 2Morrow Inc., a Kirkland, Washington-based software company, licensed this technology from Fred Hutch. Bricker had no personal financial relationships with this patent application, the licensing agreement or 2Morrow Inc. Co-author Kristin Mull reported receiving grants from the National Cancer Institute during the conduct of the study. Co-author Dr. Jaimee Heffner reported receiving nonfinancial support from Pfizer Inc. outside the submitted work. None of the authors has a financial relationship with the iCanQuit app and thus will not receive any compensation when it becomes publicly available.

###

At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home to three Nobel laureates, interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists seek new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Fred Hutch's pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation led to the development of immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to treat cancer. An independent, nonprofit research institute based in Seattle, Fred Hutch houses the nation's first National Cancer Institute-funded cancer prevention research program, as well as the clinical coordinating center of the Women's Health Initiative and the international headquarters of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.

CONTACT

Tom Kim

206.667.6240

tomkim@fredhutch.org
Camper fire claims the life of two people in Marshall County
Around 10 people are still feared trapped after the 43-year-old Jhilani building caved in at 3.40 am, police said

Seven children and four others were killed and 13, including a four-year-old boy, rescued after a three-storeyed building collapsed in Maharashtra's Bhiwandi town on Monday, police said.

Around 10 persons are still feared trapped after the 43-year-old Jhilani building caved in at 3.40 am, police said, adding search operations are underway.

The dead children include a two-year-old, a civic official said.

Personnel of the Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF) were seen pulling out the boy, Ubed Quraishi, from the debris and feeding him water.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a tweet, expressed condolences to the families of those who died 

Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 21, 2020

President Ram Nath Kovind also put out a statement saying, "The loss of lives in the building collapse at Bhiwandi, Maharashtra is quite distressing. In this hour of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with the accident victims. I wish speedy recovery of the injured. Local authorities are coordinating rescue and relief efforts."

Building was not listed as dilapidated

The building which collapsed had 40 flats and around 150 persons lived in it, an official said.

A civic official told PTI that the building, located at Narpoli's Patel Compound near Dhamankar Naka, collapsed while the residents were asleep.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rushed to the spot. NDRF DG SN Pradhan said the teams were using a canine squad to search persons trapped in the debris.

A portion of the building collapsed and many occupants were trapped in the debris of the collapsed building, a Thane Municipal Corporation official said.

The building was not in the list of dilapidated structures of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation, he said.

An eyewitness said local residents rushed to the spot immediately after the collapse and helped pull out some persons from the debris.

The power supply to the locality was snapped as a precautionary measure, the official said, adding the injured have been admitted to local hospitals.

With inputs from PTI
After hearing the news of the death of James Whites father, the New England Patriots reportedly offered to fly the running back home right away.

But according to NBC Sports' Michelle Tafoya, White declined an offer from Patriots owner Robert Kraft to fly him directly to be with his family in Florida. Instead, White will reportedly fly back with the team. Tafoya added that White is not believed to be with the team at CenturyLink Field in Seattle for the teams game against the Seahawks.

White was a surprise inactive for Sunday nights game in Seattle, with news soon emerging that the running backs parents had been involved in a car crash.

Whites father, Tyrone, was killed in the crash while his mother is reportedly in critical condition.

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Operation 'Black Phoenix' Leads to Federal Charges Against 25 Who Allegedly Engaged in Illegal Narcotics and Firearms Sales

Los Angeles, California - Members of an FBI-led task force Tuesday morning arrested 18 individuals named in a series of federal indictments that allege narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses, including the illegal sale of five AR-15-style ghost guns.

Operation Black Phoenix resulted in seven indictments that were issued earlier this year by a federal grand jury. The indictments charge a total of 25 defendants, 18 of whom were arrested this morning, and four of whom were already in custody. Authorities continue their attempts to arrest the remaining three defendants.

During the course of the investigation, authorities seized approximately 28 pounds of methamphetamine, about a quarter-pound of cocaine and crack cocaine, and 16 firearms. Six of the indictments allege at least one transaction involving pound-quantities of methamphetamine. One of the indictments alleges a series of methamphetamine sales that include two one-pound deals and four two-pound transactions.

Two indictments allege illegal gun sales. Defendants Dau Quay Duong, 53, of Ontario, and Christopher Nguyen, 47, also of Ontario, are charged with illegal firearm sales for allegedly selling a total of five ghost guns, specifically five AR-15-type rifles with no make, model or serial number. In another indictment, defendant Jonathan Domingo Go, 47, of Torrance, is charged will illegally selling three firearms  two .40-caliber pistols and 5.56-caliber assault pistol that is described as a ghost gun with no manufacturing mark and no serial number.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The indictments carry a variety of charges, including conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute narcotics and substantive narcotics trafficking offenses such as distribution of methamphetamine. If they are convicted, most of the defendants will face mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years in federal prison, and some will face decades in federal prison because of their extensive criminal histories.

The cases announced today are the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Substantial assistance was provided by the Monterey Park Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn T. Andrews of the Violent and Organized Crime Section.
After restoring power to Texas customers following Hurricane Laura, Entergy Texas has committed $360,000 to charitable organizations across Southeast Texas.

The company allocated $200,000 from an American Red Cross Disaster Responder Partnership to directly aid communities impacted by Hurricane Laura. It pledged another $160,000 to provide grants to community organizations. The Foundation for Southeast Texas, a nonprofit, public charity, will distribute the funds to nonprofits in the local community.

Entergy employees are also raising contributions through employee fundraising drives, which Entergy shareholders will match.

Valero, through its Valero Energy Foundation, has donated $50,000 to the Southeast Texas Emergency Relief Fund (SETERF) to help with Hurricane Laura recovery for residences in Orange County and the city of Port Arthur.

Funds will be provided to Orange County Disaster Rebuild to support citizens of Orange County. Southeast Texas Emergency Relief fund and Jefferson County Long-Term Recovery will use the funds to help with grocery gift cards and home repairs in the Port Arthur area.

Education First Federal Credit Union has donated microfiber cleaning cloths for cleaning classrooms and technology to Little Cypress-Mauriceville CISD.

Community Relations Coordinator Faith Brammer delivered the appreciation gifts to the district on Monday.

Education First FCU has been a supporter of LCM Schools in years past, including thousands of dollars of classroom furniture, educational manipulatives and other tools and equipment following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, LCM CISD spokesperson Sherry Colms said in a statement.

The Salata Salad Kitchen franchise in Beaumont, led by owner Iris Campos, has donated at least 1,300 meals to Lake Charles, Louisiana and relief volunteers after Hurricane Laura.

Campos and staff have been delivering meals to the closed Lake Charles location to help community members, linemen trying to restore power and first responders. Another 500 meals were delivered on Friday.

Cheniere Energy, a Houston-based company that operates a liquid natural gas facility just over the border in Cameron, Louisiana, has donated $200,000 to the West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital (WCCH) Foundation to help establish a Hurricane Laura Employee Relief Fund for WCCH employees.

The funds donated by Cheniere will be used to establish an employee assistance fund to provide relief for employees who have suffered financial hardship as a result of Hurricane Laura. Employees will be able to apply for assistance.

The Kansas City Southern (KCS) has its 20th anniversary KCS Holiday Express program and partnership with The Salvation Army will benefit relief in 20 communities on its U.S. rail network, including Beaumont, Port Arthur and Houston.

The 20 communities that will receive the funds raised for The Salvation Army include Kansas City, Joplin and Mexico, Moussiri; Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston, Laredo and Port Arthur, Texas, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport and Westlake, La., Gulfport, Jackson and Vicksburg, Miss., Decatur, Ark., East St. Louis, Ill., Pittsburg, Kan. and Heavener, Okla.

Over 19 years, the KCS Holiday Express project has raised well over $2.1 million, which was donated to The Salvation Army at each scheduled stop to provide warm clothing and other necessities for children in need in the local community.The KCS Holiday Express train usually stops in 20 or more communities in five or six states between Thanksgiving and Christmas. These events will not take place in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Facebook and car maker Ford have joined the UN's campaign to reach net-zero carbon emissions by the year 2050.

'Race To Zero' is an international campaign 'for a zero-carbon world', where carbon emissions are balanced by carbon that's removed from the atmosphere.

The campaign's partners, which need to meet a set of criteria, are tasked with 'accelerating net-zero carbon emission commitments', including taking immediate action to achieve net zero emissions.

Achieving net zero by 2050 'at the very latest' is in line with the scientific consensus on limiting warming to 2.7F (1.5C), set out in the Paris Agreement in 2015.

Facebook itself has already made promises to stamp out carbon emissions from its own operations, but the new partnership commits the social network to adhering with the UN's climate goals.

Facebook is among the supporters of the Race To Zero campaign, the largest alliance of local governments, businesses and investors aiming for zero emissions in the 2040s

NEW RACE TO ZERO PARTNERS Artistic Milliners Arauco Ardagh Group Biogen Boston Consulting Group Brambles CP Group Do Nation Facebook Ford General Mills The Guardian Indra LafargeHolcim Lightsource bp Mastercard Mercedes-Benz Myers-Briggs Company PVH PayPal Sweco Advertisement

The announcement comes ahead of the 26th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, which will be held in Glasgow in November.

'Those involved in the Race to Zero have made a commitment to build that future and to achieve specific goals and will be held to those promises,' said Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

'The world cannot afford to be let down, nor can this campaign become something that allows nations to defer action until a later date.

'Its about needing more climate ambition and climate action now  in 2020.'

The UN's Race to Zero initiative is backed by 22 regions, 452 cities, 1,128 businesses and 549 universities.

Other new Race for Zero partners include PayPal, Mastercard, Mercedes-Benz, the worlds largest cement company LafargeHolcim and CP Group, a Thai conglomerate and one of the world's largest agri-food producers.

'As the global leader in our industry, LafargeHolcim has a key role to play to address todays climate crisis,' said LafargeHolcim CEO Jan Jenisch.

'Thats why we are proud to announce our net zero pledge with science-based targets to accelerate green construction and the transition to a net zero world.'

The campaign aims to bring together net zero commitments from cities, businesses and investors across the climate action community.

Its objective is to build momentum around the shift to a decarbonized economy ahead of COP26 in November, where governments 'must strengthen their contributions to the Paris Agreement', the UN says.

Between 2015 and 2021 the government expects to invest more than 2.5 billion in research and development of low carbon energy technologies  such as those involving wind and solar  transport, agriculture, and waste

Value chain includes emissions from suppliers and other factors such as employee commuting and business travel

Facebook itself has recently committed to reaching net zero emissions throughout its value chain by 2030  meaning emissions of greenhouse gases will be offset by its operations.

Also last week, it launched the Climate Science Information Centre  a dedicated webpage on the site that collects resources from climate experts, including the UN.

Now, Facebook's decision to join Race To Zero demonstrates 'clear momentum behind the shift towards a decarbonised economy', according to the UK government.

'Climate change affects every single one of us and we all have a part to play to champion climate action ahead of Cop26,' said UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Alok Sharma, who is also president of COP26.

'Through the Energy Transition Council and the UK's ambitious climate finance commitments, I hope to drive the transition to cleaner energies, and I urge all businesses, cities and regions to join the Race To Zero coalition.'

Business Secretary Alok Sharma, who will announce Ford and Facebook have joined the campaign to reach net-zero carbon emissions

Sharma is to speak at a special event on Monday, alongside political and industry leaders about the next decade of clean energy co-operation, to mark the first day of Climate Week NYC on Monday.

Sharma is also set to launch the UN Climate Change Conference's Energy Transition Council, to bring together leaders to speed up the transition from coal to renewables in developing countries.

The UK will chair the council alongside Damilola Ogunbiyi, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).

It comes after the UK Government announced a new 50 million investment in a new Clean Energy Innovation Facility (CEIF).

CEIF help developing countries get easier access to innovative clean energy technologies, focusing on key sectors such as industry, cooling, smart energy and storage.

Between 2015 and 2021 the government expects to invest more than 2.5 billion in research and development of low carbon energy technologies  such as those involving wind and solar  transport, agriculture, and waste.
US Marshals Recover 2-Year-Old Girl Taken by Father After Shooting

The U.S. Marshals recovered a 2-year-old girl taken by her father after officers shot and killed the man, officials said.

Ezmeralda Tineo was taken from Mesa, Arizona, by her biological father, who was identified as 39-year-old Esau Tineo. He does not have custodial rights over the toddler, said police.

The family of the girl said they were concerned about the girls safety as her father was acting erratically in recent days, according to police, reported ABC15.

The U.S. Marshals Task Force was searching for Esau Tineo last week on charges of kidnapping, misconduct involving weapons, aggravated assault, and stalking, the report said. Tineo had a violent criminal history, including robbery, weapons charges, and aggravated assault.

****UPDATE-the child has been located and is safe.

Thank you for your assistance! pic.twitter.com/xrNiCon17T  Mesa Police Dept. (@MesaPD) September 19, 2020

Members of the U.S. Marshals Service led Arizona Wanted Violent Offenders Task Force recovered an endangered 2 year old who had been kidnapped in Mesa, AZ. Esau Tineo, 39, was wanted for kidnapping, misconduct involving weapons, aggravated assault and stalking. pic.twitter.com/XXdJWwnUfj  U.S. Marshals (@USMarshalsHQ) September 21, 2020

U.S Marshals said that Tineo vowed to shoot it out with police if he didnt get to see his daughter, FOX10 reported. Authorities said that they tracked him down to a location on Sept. 18, but he allegedly sped away into oncoming traffic when they approached.

His family is claiming that police should not have killed him.

If he doesnt get the baby, like, hes gonna kill himself and kill the baby too, which is like, completely false cause we had a conversation about suicide like four days ago and he said he really doesnt get that, his nephew, Danny, alleged.

But according to ABC15, officials said that when they tried to make contact with Tineo, they were unsuccessful. He drove around police cars, into oncoming traffic, and on the sidewalk.
The criminal trial against Arkema, Inc., accused of recklessly emitting toxic chemicals during Hurricane Harvey, resumed Monday after a six-month hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

The trial is taking place away from the courthouse, however, on the second floor of NRG Arena to allow for proper social distancing. The jurors met briefly Monday but were dismissed until Tuesday, when testimony is scheduled to begin again.

The proceedings wont pick up exactly where they left off. During the break, prosecutors moved to dismiss two of the five charges in the case - one against the company itself and one against its then-vice president for logistics, Michael Keough. The trial will now focus on the remaining charges of reckless emission of toxic chemicals against Arkema, its CEO, Richard Rowe, and Crosby plant manager Leslie Comardelle.

Prosecutors claim that employees failed to move highly combustible chemicals off their plant as Hurricane Harveys floodwaters inundated the facility. The temperature-regulated organic peroxides on site caught fire and emitted a cloud of smoke during the flood, causing 23 people to be briefly hospitalized and more than 200 nearby residents to be evacuated.

The two dismissed charges alleged that Keough and the company misrepresented to authorities their ability to monitor the temperature of dangerous chemicals on site, which combusted and ultimately caused two sheriffs deputies to become ill.

Prosecutors said they believed they had probable cause but dismissed the charges  both for assault on a public servant  because they did not feel there was enough evidence to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

Judge Belinda Hill individually questioned each juror on Monday, asking them if they have heard or read anything about the trial during the hiatus. She also questioned whether the pandemic would interfere with their ability to render a fair verdict.

Hill has yet to issue a pending ruling related to the three remaining charges, which defense attorneys are seeking to dismiss through a motion on prosecutorial misconduct. The judge held a hearing last week on that motion, centering over whether prosecutors lied about another chemical companys response to Hurricane Harvey.

Jurors will take their seats again on Tuesday morning. They have to adhere to mask-wearing and social distancing policies, and will sit in the same seats each day

The trial could wrap up within the next two weeks, Hill said.

samantha.ketterer@chron.com
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin sent a congratulatory letter to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the occasion of the Independence Day, the Armenian PMs Office told Armenpress.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

On behalf of the Russian government and myself personally I congratulate you on the national day of Armenia  the Independence Day.

I would like to specifically highlight the friendly, partnering and allied nature of the Armenian-Russian relations. I am confident that the further strengthening of the commercial and investment cooperation, the implementation of joint projects in energy, industry and transportation infrastructures, the deepening of integration cooperation in the Eurasian Economic Union are in within the interests of Russia and Armenia.

I wish you good health, welfare and new achievements in your responsible state activity, and to all citizens of Armenia  happiness and prosperity, reads the Russian PMs letter.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Jammu, Sep 21 : Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing and intense shelling in three sectors on the Line of Control on Monday in J&K's Poonch district.

Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Devender Anand said at about 2.30 p.m. Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and intense shelling with mortars along the LoC in Shahpur, Kirni and Qasba sectors of Poonch district.

"The Indian Army is retaliating befittingly," the spokesman said.

Pakistan has been violating the bilateral ceasefire agreement with impunity since the beginning of this year.

24 civilians have been killed and over 100 injured in over 3,186 ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the LoC in J&K since January this year.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 19:55:52|Editor: huaxia

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YANGON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar earned over 3.61 billion U.S. dollars from agricultural exports in over 11 months of present fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 which started in October, according to the figures released by the Commerce Ministry on Monday.

This fiscal year's agricultural exports saw an increase of 500 million U.S. dollars, compared to the same period of last fiscal year 2018-2019 when it registered over 3.11 billion U.S. dollars, the ministry's figures said.

As of Sept. 11 of this FY, the country earned over 16.7 billion U.S. dollars from the total exports.

Rice and broken rice, pulses and beans and maize are the main items of export in the agricultural sector while fruits and vegetables, sesame, dried tea leaves, sugar and other agricultural products are also exported to other countries.

Myanmar mainly exports agricultural products to China, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Enditem
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

The aggressive rhetoric and provocations of Armenia show that it is preparing for new aggression against Azerbaijan, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said.

President Aliyev made the remark while addressing the high-level meeting in a video format to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations held on the sidelines of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.

We call on the UN and international community to urge Armenia to refrain from another military aggression, President Aliyev said. All responsibility lies on the military-political leadership of Armenia for instigating provocations and escalation of tension.

Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijans territorial integrity according to the UN Security Council Resolutions, the president emphasized.
On Monday, President Klaus Iohannis signed the decree on awarding the battle flag to the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" National Military College.

The head of state also signed the decree for awarding the battle flag to the Medical-Military Institute.

President Iohannis also signed the decree regarding the dismissal of Valentin Iordan from the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Iasi Court, as a result of his retirement.

AGERPRES .
A mourner pays their respects at a makeshift memorial outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, on Sept. 20

A mourner pays their respects at a makeshift memorial outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, on Sept. 20 Credit - Michael A. McCoyThe New York Times/Redux

A version of this article first appeared in The D.C. Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox every weekday.

In one of my former jobs, we had an unofficial list of analogies that we simply didnt use. Political copy didnt talk about the upcoming battle or any fights to the death or efforts to torpedo legislation. There were, after all, Americans dying on real battlefields and dodging live munitions. Politics, went the honorable thesis, was merely an argument. We didnt cheapen the service of men and women fighting to stay alive in combat zones by comparing what professional politicians and their lackeys did while wearing million-dollar wardrobes. It was a responsible way to keep what happens inside the Washington Beltway in perspective.

But as the nation considers a successor for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we might want to find a middle-ground between run-of-the-mill political disagreements and the late-campaign brawl that Washington has teed up. What were about to see in the nations capital  and, some worry, in the streets around this country just six weeks from Election Day  will make President Donald Trumps impeachment earlier this year look quaint. (And, yes, President Donald Trumps impeachment trial was really this year, in case that distant history has been forgotten.)

In the hours after Ginsburgs passing on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate would, in fact, take-up a nomination. In Republican circles, it was a moment that could tilt the judiciary to their causes for a generation  and goose a base that may be anemic. Not since deeply conservative Clarence Thomas followed civil rights icon Thurgood Marshall on the bench might the heir stray so far away from the predecessor. The stakes are as high as theyve ever been, as the Supreme Court could end up with a 6-3 conservative majority based on an eleventh-hour nomination made by a President who, if polls prove accurate, may lose to former Vice President Joe Biden on Nov. 3 and be relegated to one term.

Story continues

Theres still a lot we dont know. Trump has said he would nominate a woman to replace Ginsburg, an octogenarian who became a liberal celebrity in her 70s as The Notorious R.B.G. Earlier today, Trump said the announcement would come on Friday or Saturday. Typically, these things take about two months to wrap up. That means its possible for vetting and courtship and horse-trading to start now, a confirmation hearing to start around Election Day, with a final Senate vote to follow.

Gnashing, recrimination and mobilization has followed the quick turn of events among Democrats. The party leadership appears ready to oppose anyone put forward this close to an election, especially given how McConnell treated the unexpected election-year death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in February of 2016. At that time, when a Democrat was in the White House and Republicans controlled the Senate, McConnell said it was most prudent to wait for voters to decide if they wanted a unified or divided government to fill the role. It was March when President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to fill Scalias spot; the Senate refused to grant Garland a hearing.

Now? Its unified Republican control of the White House and the Senate, which has the power to confirm or reject any Presidents nominee for the court. Using heavily footnoted-but-factual logic, McConnell is using his mastery of Senate history and procedure to say the moment is different. Democrats are screaming about hypocrisy, but they arent likely to sway McConnell with that cadence. After all, McConnell used precedent to deny Obama a third Supreme Court seat in 2016 and may use the same precedent to give Trump his third.

In the hours after Ginsburgs death on Friday, McConnell circulated a note to his fellow Republicans, a regular communique that is short-handed by its first words: Dear Colleague. The note is as much a messaging reminder to his like-minded members as a masquerading press release that is usually leaked within minutes of being sent. In this latest missive, McConnell urged his pals to keep your powder dry.

Ginsburgs public memorial will be Wednesday and Thursday at the Supreme Court, and she will lie in state at the Capitol on Friday. Trump and McConnell are likely to hold off on any next steps until the body is at least in the ground over at Arlington National Cemetery.

Following Ginsburgs funeral, Trump is expected to introduce the country to his nominee, likely from the White House. Traditionally, the nominee then makes her way to one-on-one courtesy meetings with key members of the Senate who will have a say in her future. Those are often more than photo-ops; they are the private sessions where nominees give assurances to questions that dont necessarily need to be answered in a public forum. Those sessions now may end up being held via Zoom, or scrapped altogether.

Even so, none of this happens quickly. Of the eight remaining members of the court, the gap between their public nomination and the first day of their confirmation hearing in the Senate was 59 days. We currently stand at 43 days until Election Day and counting. None of the current justices were confirmed that quickly; Justice Sonia Sotomayor had the speediest and the first day of her confirmation hearings was 49 days after she was announced. The 117th Congress begins on Jan. 3, 2021  104 days from today.

Complicating McConnells calculation: at least two Republicans are against doing anything until after the election. That gives McConnell a buffer of just two other potential defections to have the majority he needs to push the nominee through. That number falls to one should Sen. Martha McSally lose her campaign in Arizona, where state rules in that special election would seat the winner in November. Its probably safe ground for McConnell. But theres no telling these days.

All of which suggests there is a calendar in which Trump announces his choice, the Senate starts to take the temperature of the nominee in public and in private, and then voters cast their ballots before the Senate takes action. Its very likely that the Senate as it stands now returns to Washington after Election Day  with some of its members likely packing their office and leaving Washington in defeat  to consider the nomination. Trumps fortunes may still be uncertain, as well. But Senators still have their votes until January. A lame-duck confirmation to a lifetime appointment would be shocking in normal times. In 2020, it may just be the latest curveball. A debate? For sure. A battle? Maybe.

Make sense of what matters in Washington. Sign up for the daily D.C. Brief newsletter.
Versailles, KY, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Rear Admiral (RADM) Sylvia Trent-Adams, PhD, RN, FAAN, will be the keynote speaker at Frontier Nursing Universitys (FNU) virtual commencement ceremony on Saturday, September 26.

RADM Trent-Adams served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health from January 2019 until August 2020. In this position she shared responsibility with the Assistant Secretary for Health for planning, coordinating, and directing substantive program matters; policy and program development; and determining and setting legislative and program priorities covering the full range of public health activities within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.

She served as the Acting Surgeon General from April 2017 through September 2017, Deputy Surgeon General from October 2015 through December 2018, and as Chief Nurse Officer of the USPHS from 2013 through 2016.

RADM Trent-Adams has held various positions in the United States Department of Health & Human Services, working to improve access to care for poor and underserved communities. As a clinician and administrator, she has had a direct impact on building systems of care to improve public health for marginalized populations domestically and internationally.

Prior to joining the USPHS, RADM Trent-Adams was a nurse officer in the U.S. Army. RADM Trent-Adams received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Hampton University, a Master of Science in Nursing and Health Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She became a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 2014. She recently was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicines Class of 2018.

It is an incredible honor to be able to announce Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams as our keynote speaker at this years virtual commencement ceremony, FNU President Dr. Susan Stone said. Her distinguished career in public health and her extensive knowledge about healthcare gaps within marginalized populations mesh with the mission of Frontier Nursing University. Her message will be powerful and impactful for our graduates.

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FNUs commencement ceremony honors the nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners who have completed the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, Master in Science of Nursing degree, or Post-Graduate Certificate. This year, for the first time, commencement will be conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The ceremony will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 26, 2020.

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About Frontier Nursing University:

The mission of FNU is to provide accessible nurse-midwifery and nurse practitioner education to prepare competent, entrepreneurial, ethical, and compassionate leaders in primary care to serve all individuals with an emphasis on women and families in diverse, rural, and underserved populations. FNU offers graduate Nurse-Midwifery and Nurse-Practitioner distance education programs that can be pursued full- or part-time with the students home community serving as the classroom. Degrees and options offered include Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) or Post-Graduate Certificates. To learn more about FNU and the programs and degrees offered, please visit Frontier.edu.

CONTACT: Brittney Kinison Frontier Nursing University 8592514576 brittney.kinison@frontier.edu




Security group G4S has revealed its revenues have been resilient in the first eight months of the year as the business is locked in a potential hostile takeover battle with a Canadian rival.

The business said its revenues were just 1.9% lower compared with the same period in 2019, and the drop has been more than offset by controlling costs.

As a result, the groups underlying earnings which were in line with 2019 at the six months stage are now ahead of the prior year for the first eight months of 2020, bosses said in a statement.

Chief executive Ashley Almanza said: G4S today is a focused global business delivering technology-enabled security solutions. The benefits of our strategy, strong execution and timely response to Covid-19 continue to be reflected in the groups results during 2020 with resilient revenue, earnings and cash flow.

Last week, bosses at G4S told suitor Gardaworld to go back to the drawing board, rejecting a 3 billion takeover offer floated by the Canadian security company.

This is a management team that has simply run out of ideas. Covid has generally been positive for businesses like this and yet they use it as a fig leaf to disguise their own failings Gardaworld

But Mondays announcement might undermine the boards argument that Gardaworld is undervaluing the business.

Its shares fell by 2.3% to 189p after the announcement, just one pence below Gardaworlds potential offer.

Gardaworld needs to make a solid bid by October 12.

G4S said: Following a strong performance in the first half of 2020, the groups revenues have remained resilient through the first eight months of the year.

Secure Solutions revenues, which account for 93% of group revenues, were broadly in line with 2019.

Group revenues were just 1.9% lower overall and this was more than offset by tight direct and indirect cost control and reduced interest costs, the latter reflecting both refinancing benefits and the groups improving net debt position.

Gardaworld said: This is a management team that has simply run out of ideas. Covid has generally been positive for businesses like this and yet they use it as a fig leaf to disguise their own failings.
Boon Tat street death. (Yahoo News Singapore file photo)

SINGAPORE  A 72-year-old man who stabbed and killed his son-in-law was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years jail on Monday (21 September) by the High Court.

Tan Nam Seng pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide after he stabbed Spencer Tuppani, 38, with a knife thrice in broad daylight during lunch hour along Telok Ayer Street on 10 July 2017 with the intention of killing him.

Tuppani had taken over the family business and fathered two children with a mistress

Passing the sentence, Justice Dedar Singh Gill said that to a right-minded person this was a vicious and brazen killing during broad daylight on an unsuspecting victim.

Justice Gill noted that psychiatric reports showed Tan was suffering from clinical depression and experiencing a major depressive episode which significantly impaired his mental responsibility over the act.

While Tans health weighed heavily on his mind, he considered that Tans risk of reoffending was likely to be low if his psychiatric condition was treated and was in remission.

However, there was also clear psychiatric evidence that Tan had an unimpaired understanding of the nature and consequences of his action. The fact that the killing took place in full public view was also an aggravating factor.

The prosecution had sought a jail term of 12 years while Tans lawyers sought a sentence of seven-and-a-half years.

Facts of the case

One of Tans lawyers, Wee Pan Lee, set out the offences that led his client into believing that Tuppani had betrayed his trust in a bid to take over the family business and gain custody of his three children with Tuppanis first daughter.

Apart from having three daughters with his first wife, Tan has a second family with a son and daughter.

With only a primary school education, Tan founded TNS Shipping in 1974. At its peak, the company employed over 1,000 staff. He later employed his daughters too.

In 2005, Tuppani married Tans eldest daughter Shyller and began working for TNS Logistics.

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Around 2008 or 2009, the TNS group of companies were consolidated into TNS Ocean Lines, of which Tan was chairman. Shyller was the firms commercial head, while Tuppani was a director who oversaw business expansion as well as sales and marketing.

However the marriage began fraying in 2013 when Shyller discovered that her husband was involved in a string of extramarital affairs, said Wee. Tuppani had used money from the company to fund his lavish lifestyle of cars and luxury watches and to support his mistresses.

Shyller and Tuppani mended their relationship. However, when Shyller conceived a fourth child in 2015, she was forced to abort it by Tuppani.

The next year, Shyller found that Tuppani had bought property without her knowledge and was maintaining another woman with whom he had two children by in-vitro fertilisation. The next year, Tuppani moved out of the home he shared with Tan and Shyller.

A feeling of betrayal

In 2016, Tuppani suggested to shareholders that the company be sold to a bigger firm, GKE Corporation. Tan was contemplating retirement, and left the sale to Tuppani.

In November 2016, leading up to the sale, Tuppani persuaded Tan and Shyller to transfer him their shares to boost his stake in TNS Ocean Lines, so that GKE Corporation would not have control of it.

The sale went through the next month and Tuppani became the chief executive of the new company. Even though he expected $1 million, Tan only received $450,000 from the sale of his shares. He did not confront his son-in-law as he wanted to keep the peace.

Meanwhile, his other daughter Sherry was suspended from her role as a human resource manager at the company on 4 July 2017 after arguing with Tuppanis personal assistant.

Tan worried that Tuppani would remove Shyller from the company as part of a plan to cheat him of his business.

The events led to Tan feeling lousy and miserable and he ruminated excessively about Tuppanis actions and was unable to sleep at night, according to Wee.

Wee said, Tan and (Tuppani) had a good relationship. Tan was not just his father-in-law but his mentor and guided him and elevated him, treated him almost as if he were his own son, giving shelter to (Tuppanis) mother in his own home.

Given the trust and faith reposed in (Tuppani), it was all the more devastating that it was all a charade and he was about to be betrayed, he added.

Tan had accepted grudgingly that Shyller and (Tuppani) were to be divorced. Having been through a divorce himself, Tan could empathise, said Wee, but Tan did not expect to be betrayed over the divorce proceedings and his own shares in the company.

The day of the killing

Tan had arranged to meet Tuppani to discuss Sherrys suspension. Tuppani agreed but later cancelled the meeting due to other business matters. As Tuppani failed to arrange for another meeting, Tan felt that his son-in-law was avoiding and disrespecting him.

On 10 July 2017, Tan was driving to the companys Cecil Court office at around lunchtime when he saw Tuppani having a meal with three friends at a coffee shop at 121 Telok Ayer Street. Tan decided to confront him.

He hid a knife from his office pantry in his bag and approached Tuppani. The two had a brief conversation before Tan stabbed the latter in his chest thrice. Tuppani ran towards Boon Tat Street, where he collapsed outside a restaurant, A Poke Theory, while two of his friends called the police.

Tan followed him and prevented anyone from helping him. He kicked Tuppanis face twice before sitting down in a nearby chair to wait for the police. He then called Shyller to tell her about the incident.

Paramedics found Tuppani lying unresponsive in a pool of blood. He was sent to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 2.15pm.

Wee told the court that his client had experienced a string of serious health issues since being incarcerated in July 2017.

He contracted tuberculosis, suffered from two heart attacks, and had coronary bypass surgery in addition to other issues. These should be considered when calibrating the right sentence, Wee pointed out.

The punishment for culpable homicide is life imprisonment, or a jail term of up to 20 years along with a fine and caning. As Tan is above 50, he cannot be caned.

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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa  The deadly encounter between the police and a young man from the projects, set off public outrage with all the familiar scenes: shrines of flowers and stuffed animals, clouds of tear gas and barrages of rocks aimed at officers in riot gear, and impassioned slogans.

Say His Name, read one poster.

Coloured Lives Matter, said another.

This police killing occurred not in Minneapolis or Ferguson or Cleveland but in South Africa, where the anger and distrust of law enforcement authorities mirror that in communities across the world, but the geography of racial tension is more complex than white vs. Black.

The young man who was shot last month, 16-year-old Nathaniel Julies, was of mixed heritage, or, as it is still known, colored, a vestige of apartheid-era South Africas racial classification. Two of the three officers arrested in the case are also colored, and one is Black.

When Nathaniels mother, Bridget Harris, saw first his body, she said, she was shocked by the gunshot wounds.
PM wishes farmers on passage of farm bills in Parliament

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday wished farmers on the passage of farm bills in Parliament, which he said, will free them from the constraints of market and the stranglehold of middlemen who take away all the profit, and called it a watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture.

In a series of tweets, the prime minister said, "A watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture! Congratulations to our hardworking farmers on the passage of key bills in Parliament, which will ensure a complete transformation of the agriculture sector as well as empower millions of farmers.

For decades, the Indian farmer was bound by various constraints and bullied by middlemen. The bills passed by Parliament liberate the farmers from such adversities. These bills will add impetus to the efforts to double income of farmers and ensure greater prosperity for them.

He said the passage of the bill will give the hardworking farmers easier access to latest farming technology  both pre-harvest and post-harvest, which is urgently needed for the agriculture sector.

But he said, the system of government procurement at minimum support price (MSP) will continue. We will do everything possible to support farmers and ensure a better life for their coming generations, he said.

Parliament passes The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.

Modi was addressing farmers after the Parliament passed two bills aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers incomes. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 which were passed by Lok Sabha on 17 September 2020, were passed by the Rajya Sabha today.

The bills, introduced in the Lok Sabha on 14 September 2020 by minister for agriculture and farmers welfare, rural development ad panchayati raj, Narendra Singh Tomar, will replace ordinances promulgated on 5 June 2020.

Speaking about the bills, Tomar said this is the latest decision taken by the government in the last six years to ensure that farmers get remunerative prices for their produce, and for raising farmers incomes and livelihood status.

He once again clarified that the procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP) will continue. This has been assured by the prime minister, he said. MSP has been increased considerably during 2014-2020 and MSP for coming Rabi season will be announced in coming week, he added.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 aims at creating an ecosystem where the farmers and traders will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce.

It will also promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets notified under State Agricultural Produce Marketing legislations.

The farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce and will not have to bear transport costs.

The bill also proposes an electronic trading in transaction platform for ensuring a seamless trade electronically.

In addition to mandis, freedom to do trading at farmgate, cold storage, warehouse, processing units etc.

Farmers will be able to engage in direct marketing thereby eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realisation of price.

Sale of farm produce outside APMC mandis will not stop functioning of the mandis nor will the government electronic trading portal like e-NAM.

MSP for Rabi season will be announced next week and farmers can sell at that price or a higher price. The government is only trying to give farmers another option of better price realisation, the minister pointed out.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 aims at empowering farmers for engaging with processors, wholesalers, aggregators, wholesalers, large retailers, exporters etc, on a level playing field.

Farmers can engage in a sort of contract farming with price assurance even before sowing of crops. In case of higher market price, farmers will be entitled to this price over and above the minimum price.

 It will transfer the risk of market unpredictability from the farmer to the sponsor. Due to prior price determination, farmers will be shielded from the rise and fall of market prices.

 It will also enable the farmer to access modern technology, better seed and other inputs.

 It will reduce cost of marketing and improve income of farmers.

 Effective dispute resolution mechanism has been provided for with clear time lines for redressal. There will be local dispute redressal mechanism, without going for court litigation.

 Impetus to research and new technology in agriculture sector.

Under contract farming, the farmer will have full power in the contract to fix a sale price of his choice for the produce. They will receive payment within maximum 3 days. Contract farming only comes as an option for farmers.

The government is supporting the setting up of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations throughout the country. These FPOs will bring together small farmers and work to ensure remunerative pricing for farm produce.

After signing contract, farmer will not have to seek out traders. The purchasing consumer will pick up the produce directly from the farm.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reiterated that the system of minimum support price (MSP) and procurement of foodgrains would continue under the latest farm sector reforms that seek to liberalise agricultural markets. NDA alliance partner and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar backed the reforms amid opposition protest.

I want to assure farmers that minimum support price, government procurement of their produce will continue, said PM Modi.

The PMs assertion followed launching of work on nine national highway (NH) projects in Bihar and the ambitious project to link up villages with optical fibre network to ensure high-speed internet facility through video conferencing from Delhi.

Accusing the opposition of misleading the farmers about new agricultural reforms, PM Modi said that some people were creating a hue and cry over it as they saw their interests getting hampered in the Centres move to empower the farmers.

Agricultural mandis will not be closed. Instead the new reform would allow farmers to reap maximum benefits by selling their products at whichever market they find the best for their produce, underlined the PM.

Dismissing the oppositions claim that the farmers interest would be compromised in the wake of reforms, PM Modi clarified that ownership of land would not be impacted due to their direct access to big players in the farm sector. Rather, those engaged in contract farming would be accountable for protection of ownership to farmers, arrange modern technological intervention and cater to other needs of the farmers, he said.

The opposition parties have been protesting over the new reforms initiated by the passage of two farm sector legislation in Rajya Sabha on Sunday. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a series of tweets, alleged that the Centre was working under a design to enslave farmers to capitalists.

The PM laid the foundation stone of three four-lane bridges, two on Ganga and one on Kosi, and widening of six stretches of the national highway (NH) being executed at the cost of 14,258 crore. As many 45,945 villages of the state will be connected through optical fibre internet service under the project that was launched today.

In a string of events earlier this month, the PM had laid foundation stone or inaugurated schemes worth more than 1,700 crore in Bihar ahead of the assembly election.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar lauded the PM for introducing the farm sector reforms, saying that he had in 2006 abolished the agriculture produce marketing committee (APMC) Act, which was in no way in favour of the farmers.

People of Bihar are unfazed by the campaign launched by the opposition. Rather, they are happy to see the developments being executed in Bihar under the leadership of PM Modi, said the CM, adding that people of the state would give a befitting reply to the undignified acts resorted to by the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

In the last years of the Soviet Union, great injustices were committed against Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview to Azerbaijan Television, Ictimai Television, and Real Television following a groundbreaking ceremony of the offshore operations of the Absheron field at the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deep Water Jackets Plant, Trend reports.

In particular, the executioner of the Azerbaijani people Gorbachev and his gang hated Azerbaijan  in fact, not only Azerbaijanis but also all the Muslims. I know for sure that they had a strong feeling of hatred. As a result, the Armenians revolted and demanded that Nagorno-Karabakh be separated from Azerbaijan and joined to Armenia. This happened just two weeks after Heydar Aliyev was removed from the Politburo. The Heydar Aliyev factor did not allow them to raise their head. However, Gorbachev's immediate entourage consisted of Armenians, and no action was taken against this baseless claim. On the contrary, at that time Gorbachev's government sided with the Armenians by 100 percent, and the first steps were taken to separate Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan. Of course, some people in Azerbaijan may not remember or know this, but this history musty be remembered. At that time, the Soviet government decided to establish a special committee in Nagorno-Karabakh, and Gorbachev's aide Volsky was appointed to that committee. Volsky was a staunch pro-Armenian, and while he was working there, he did his best to erase Azerbaijan's historical heritage from Nagorno-Karabakh. The first signs of the policy of ethnic cleansing appeared in Khankandi. The Azerbaijanis were practically driven out of Khankandi while Volsky was there. In this way, the opportunity was created for the alienation of Nagorno-Karabakh from the rest of Azerbaijan, the head of state said.

Unfortunately, President Ilham Aliyev said, the Azerbaijani leadership at that time treated these processes only as an observer, did not raise its voice, and did not speak up.

They acted very cowardly and did not want to spoil relations with the center. The people who governed Azerbaijan at the time betrayed the Azerbaijani people. This was followed by the bloody January tragedy. Executioner Gorbachev committed a massacre against peaceful citizens. The blood of the Azerbaijani people was shed. Then came the Khojaly genocide. Together with ruthless Armenian detachments, the Khojaly genocide was perpetrated by the 366th Regiment of the Soviet Union. Yes, the Armenians made up the overwhelming majority of servicemen in this regiment, but it was a regiment of the Soviet Union that played a decisive role in ethnic cleansing against the Azerbaijanis, the Khojaly genocide, and the occupation of our lands. Otherwise, the Armenians could not have occupied our lands on their own, the head of state said.

So we have witnessed all this. Azerbaijan has made an invaluable contribution to the victory of the Soviet Union in World War II  both here in the rear and at the front. A ceremony to liberate the Sambek Heights was recently held in the Rostov Region of Russia. I am very grateful to the governor of Rostov where the heroic work and selflessness of Azerbaijanis have been recognized. At the same time, Russia's state television, Rossiya-1, interviewed me on this issue. Because it was the Azerbaijanis, the 416th Taganrog Division, who cleared the Sambek Heights and the Rostov Region from the Nazis. About 12,000 people served in this division. But the absolute majority of them, more than 11,000 people, were Azerbaijanis. The division was reorganized three times because there were extremely many casualties. They cleared Rostov from the Nazis, did not allow the Nazis in Mozdok to cross into Baku. We did that, the heroic people of Azerbaijan did. Azerbaijani officer Majidov planted the Victory flag on the Brandenburg Gate. But is this in the history books? No! Whoever you ask, most people don't know. Why? Because this history was erased. The heroism of the Azerbaijanis was erased from history, the Azerbaijani president said.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that at that time, those sitting in Moscow  Mikoyans and similar anti-Azerbaijani elements  bent over backward to conceal the heroism of the Azerbaijanis.

Mehdi Huseynzade is a legendary partisan who was given the title of a Hero of the Soviet Union at the insistence of the Azerbaijani side years after the war. While in Slovenia, I visited his grave. We held a big ceremony there. There I saw Slovenians fighting with him. They were crying. I talked to them because their impressions were very interesting. They were saying that there was no such hero elsewhere in the world. In other words, this was concealed and deliberately hushed up, the head of state said.
In this Jan. 16, 2020 file photo, the logo for NBCUniversal's upcoming streaming service, Peacock, is displayed on a computer screen in New York. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File) Read more

Comcasts Peacock streaming service is now available on Roku devices after months of wrangling that spilled into public view last week.

The agreement gives the fledgling Peacock access to a market leader in streaming media players. Roku had 43 million active accounts using its internet-connected TVs and other devices as of June, according to company filings. Peacock has about 15 million sign-ups since its soft launch in April and was made available nationwide in July, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said last week.

The deal also keeps Comcasts other NBCUniversal apps on the Roku platform after the Philadelphia media giant threatened to pull them as negotiations soured. Roku users could have lost access to 46 apps from NBC, Telemundo, and other Comcast-controlled channels by last weekend if the two sides had not reach a deal, Variety reported Friday.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Roku customers are engaged streamers and we know theyll love access to a wide range of free and paid content, Maggie McLean Suniewick, Peacocks president of business development and partnerships, said in a statement Monday.

Unlike many of its streaming rivals, Comcasts Peacock offers free and cheap streaming products supported by advertisements. The free tier comes with 13,000 hours of content, largely from the NBCUniversal library. The premium version, with more than 20,000 hours of movies and shows, is available for $5 a month with commercials. Consumers can pay $10 a month for an ad-free version.

Although the Peacock app was on Apple, Android, and Microsoft devices at launch, it wasnt carried by Roku, which controlled 39% of the streaming device market as of last year, according to Parks Associates, a Texas market researcher. The big sticking point between Comcast and Roku was reportedly ad inventory. Roku typically takes 30% of available ad space from its partners.

Peacock is still missing on Amazon devices, which made up 30% of the streaming media player market as of last year, Parks Associates said. Talks between Comcast and Amazon are ongoing.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 00:16:44|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell denied on Sunday the unilateral announcement made by the United States to resume United Nations (UN) sanctions on Iran.

Borrell said, as he previously insisted, the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and therefore "cannot initiate the process of reinstating UN sanctions under the UN Security Council resolution 2231."

"Consequently, sanctions lifting commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or Iran nuclear deal) continue to apply," he said.

As coordinator of the JCPOA Joint Commission, Borrell pledged to continue to ensure the preservation and full implementation of the JCPOA by Iran and other participants.

He regarded the deal as a key pillar of the global non-proliferation architecture, and called on all parties to preserve the agreement and refrain from "action that could be perceived as an escalation in the current situation."

The U.S. claimed on Saturday that all pre-2015 UN sanctions against Iran had been restored. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the sanctions are being re-imposed according to the "snapback" mechanism under UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

The comprehensive nuclear deal was inked by Iran in July 2015 with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S., together with the EU. The U.S., under President Donald Trump, withdrew from it on May 8, 2018, and unilaterally reimposed sanctions on Tehran, despite objections from the international community. Enditem
Fast Track Business Support Programme launches in Wrexham to help combat the furlough fallout

This article is old - Published: Monday, Sep 21st, 2020

A free, online support programme aimed specifically at helping individuals facing redundancy following the COVID19 pandemic is set to launch in Wrexham tomorrow.

Startup Club: Fast Track, will give those thinking of starting their own business, or temporarily working as freelancers, all the resources they need to set up and begin trading, including expert-led workshops and support.

The UK Governments Coronavirus Job Retention scheme, which has provided financial support for companies to furlough staff, ends on October 31. By law, companies that wish to make more than 100 of their staff redundant must start a consultation 45 days prior to the schemes end  meaning those plans will have now begun. For 20 to 100, its 30 days.

Carl Turner, Community Manager of the Business Wales Wrexham Enterprise Hub, which will run the online scheme said: With a recession and the number of local lockdowns rising, the working economy is still turbulent and it is expected that there will be mass redundancies across the nation. Citizens advice are currently reporting that they are already supporting one person with a redundancy issue every two minutes.

Since lockdown, our operators Town Square have run over 100 online events that have reached an international audience and provided support & resources to help businesses through the challenges presented by COVID 19.

As the situation continues and furlough schemes begin to wind down, many companies are now faced with a whole new set of challenges, which could leave staff members or entire companies facing uncertain futures.

Many of these people will have skills and experience that will enable them to start working for themselves right away, but what they may not have is the business experience to go with it. They may know how to write content or balance a companys books, but they might not know how to form a business plan, or how to market themselves.

We wanted to provide a programme for those who already have a clear idea of what they want to do, but simply need the support to fill in the experience gaps. Whether that be how to set up as a freelancer, right through to formulating a marketing strategy.

Its not always about creating a business empire and employing 30 staff; or even aiming to be self-employed forever, as for many, working freelance will be a legitimate way to earn and continue their experience while they look for future opportunities  and thats totally fine. Its far better to be working, growing your network and taking control of your income than waiting for things to happen.

Wed encourage anyone considering looking into freelancing or setting up their own business to get in touch and see how our Fast Track scheme can help them.

The Startup Club: Fast Track programme will run online from tomorrow (22nd of September) to the 2nd of October. To sign up you can email carlturner@businesswales.org.uk or go to wales.business-events.org.uk/en/events/startup-club-fasttrack.

Top pic: Inside the hub pre-pandemic.
Press Release

21 September 2020

Covivio completes acquisition of ex-Boscolo portfolio from Varde Partners

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French REIT Covivio has completed the acquisition of eight previously Boscolo branded hotels in Rome, Florence, Venice (x2), Nice, Budapest (x2) and Prague, for 573 million (514,000 per room), including 86 million of planned capex to rebrand and renovate the hotels. The portfolio, which totals 1,115 rooms, was purchased through Covivio's subsidiary, Covivio Hotels. The seller was global alternative investment firm Varde Partners, which acquired the Boscolo group in April 2017. The hotels will be leased to NH Hotel Group through long-term triple net lease contracts, with a minimum guaranteed variable rent, generating a minimum yield of 4.7%. The agreement has an initial duration of 15 years, which is extendable for a further 15 years. The sale was originally announced in January 2020.

Henderson Park acquires Lagoas Park Hotel in Lisbon from Kildare Partners

UK-based private equity firm Henderson Park has acquired the Lagoas business park in Lisbon from London-based private equity firm Kildare Partners for 421 million. The 140,000 sqm business park is home to a number of brands including Google, Samsung, BMW and Nike, as well as the 182-room Lagoas Park Hotel, which transacted as part of the deal.

Mata Capital Sells Off-Plan Paris Hotel

French private equity platform Mata Capital has sold a 4-star hotel in Paris's 15th arrondissement off-plan to an institutional investor for an undisclosed amount. Following the land acquisition, Mata Capital signed a 12-year firm lease with Suitcase Hospitality. The 105-room hotel, located at 35 Boulevard Victor in Paris, will sit directly across from the Parc des Expositions. Mata Capital will continue to oversee the development of the hotel, which is scheduled to open in H2 2022.

NK2N Hotels acquires The Moorings Hotel in Fort William, Scotland

UK-based NK2N Hotels has acquired The Moorings Hotel at Neptune in Fort William, Scotland for an undisclosed sum. The 32-room 4-star hotel sits adjacent to Neptune's Staircase, a series of cascading locks on the Caledonian Canal. London-based New World Hospitality has been appointed to manage the hotel.
Donald Trump said he would choose a woman to fill the Supreme Court vacancy following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

As President Donald Trump deliberates over who he will nominate to replace late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, several female judges have emerged on his shortlist.

Trump said Monday that he will make an announcement about his choice this Friday or Saturday and he has already indicated he will choose a woman.

It will be a woman, a very talented woman, Trump told supporters at a campaign rally during the weekend.

The top two names believed to be in contention are federal appeals court judges Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa. Conventional wisdom is Barrett, a 48-year-old from Indiana, has the inside track because she was previously interviewed and vetted for the vacancy filled two years ago by Brett Kavanaugh and Trump wants to move quickly.

However, there is growing speculation that if Trump wants to use his choice as a potential boost to his electoral prospects in his November reelection bid, then the 52-year-old Lagoa, a Cuban American from Florida, might be a more enticing choice.

The interviewing and vetting process of potential nominees is usually extremely thorough to give presidents confidence that their choices will not only carry forth their political views in their future court decisions but also to avoid giving the opposing party ammunition to damage the nominee during the lengthy Senate confirmation process. But with the election looming, Trumps desire to move quickly on a nominee and confirmation and the coronavirus pandemic altering how normal business is conducted, it is expected the vetting process will be significantly altered.

US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett [File: Notre Dame University/Handout via Reuters]

Amy Coney Barrett

Barrett, who is a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, is widely praised by conservatives and considered by them to be in the mould of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom she clerked from 1998 to 1999.

She is a devout Catholic, which makes her respected by social conservatives but is deeply criticised by Democrats who worry she would tend towards striking down reproductive-rights laws and the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

When she was being considered in 2018, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted what many Democrats thought about Barrett: Judge Barrett has given every indication that she will be an activist judge on the Court. If chosen as the nominee, she will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and to strike down pre-existing conditions protections in the ACA.

Roe v Wade is the 1973 landmark US Supreme Court decision that ruled that the US Constitution protects a pregnant womans right to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.

During Barretts 2017 confirmation hearing for her current appeals court position, Democrats assailed her religious beliefs, including a letter she signed to Catholic bishops that affirmed the value of human life from conception to natural death; on the meaning of human sexuality, the significance of sexual difference and the complementarity of men and women; on openness to life and the gift of motherhood; and on marriage and family founded on the indissoluble commitment of a man and a woman. Democrats argued then, and will continue to argue, that her personal religious beliefs will surely influence her legal decisions.

If Trump is looking to energise conservatives and Republican voters, political observers believe Barrett is the slam-dunk choice. Her nomination would all but ensure an extreme level of political fighting between Democrats and Republicans, the kind that Trump tends to revel in.

There is a school of thought among some Republican strategists that that kind of fight could be harmful to vulnerable Republicans running for re-election, especially those in states that could determine the Senate majority next year. They are arguing that it might be better for Trump to choose someone like Lagoa, a trailblazer in her own right and someone who would be difficult for Democrats to demonise.

Lagoa is a 52-year-old Cuban American and that, combined with her Florida roots, have some thinking choosing her would give Trump an electoral boost in an extremely important battleground state with a large Latino population.

Barbara Lagoa, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit [File: Florida Supreme Court/Handout via Reuters]

Barbara Lagoa

Lagoa is a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and a former Florida Supreme Court justice, where she was that courts first Hispanic woman. If confirmed to the US Supreme Court, she would be the second Latina ever appointed and would serve with the first, Sonia Sotomayor.

Unlike Barrett, Trump has no history with Lagoa and only recently added her, along with several others, to a public list of names of people he said he would consider for the Supreme Court.

Ive heard incredible things about her. I dont know her, Trump told reporters Saturday. Shes Hispanic and highly respected. Miami. Highly respected.

Lagoa was vetted for her current job on the appeals court and the Senate confirmed her last year in a bipartisan 80-15 vote, something that Republicans would undoubtedly use as a talking point.

Lagoas views on hot-button issues are not as clear as Barretts, although, on a written questionnaire for her Senate confirmation hearing last year, she said she would faithfully apply  precedents when it came to the abortion rights decision Roe v Wade.

Democrats will surely seize on current events to criticise Lagoa, who agreed in a ruling that felons in Florida should not have their voting rights restored.

In addition to Barrett and Lagoa, Allison Jones Rushing, a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and a former clerk for US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and then-appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch, is reportedly being considered. A favourite of conservative evangelicals, at 38-years-old, she would be, by far, the youngest member of the Supreme Court where its justices serve until retirement or death.
Indian travellers could be debarred from entering South Africa as the country prepares to resume international travel when it lowers its COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on October 1.

The South African government is facing dilemma whether it should include BRICS partners India and Brazil on a list of countries that could be debarred from travelling to the country due to the high levels of infections in the two countries, which are currently sitting behind the US in having the highest number of infections in the world.

The list of countries barred from entering South Africa is still being compiled by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, in consultation with other government ministries. It is expected to be finalised by early next week.

The UK and France are also expected to be on the list, which will be revised every fortnight. But restricting travellers from India and Brazil would place South Africa at risk of diplomatic issues", a government source told the weekly Sunday Times.

The argument is, do we continue trade and tourism based on our BRICS partnership or do we close our doors and risk diplomatic issues?" the source told the weekly.

While announcing the lowering of the lockdown to level one, the lowest in the governments five-level strategy to counter the pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa invited tourists.

Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane told the weekly that South Africa would use the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation to determine which countries would be allowed to send visitors when international travel resumes.

These guidelines include reviewing transmission patterns, measures for controlling outbreaks in both the departure and arrival countries, and the readiness of the countrys health system to deal with infections.

The minister remained positive about business not being affected even if there were restrictions placed on countries invested in South Africa.

If a country has been categorised as high risk, someone who has invested in South Africa and has to come back and check their project, is able to apply to the home affairs minister (who) can approve for that person to come, provided they produce a negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of travel," Kubayi-Ngubane said.

Travel agents who were excited by Ramaphosas invitation said it would take a long time for the country to revert to the level it had before the lockdown of more than 10 million tourists annually.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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Dr. Tobias Reichmuth is a serial entrepreneur and investor. Since 2019 he takes part in Hohle der Lowen, the Swiss version of the TV investor show Shark-Tank. He has invested in various tech start-ups, where he also holds advisory or board mandates. In 2009 he has founded SUSI Partners, a EUR 1.5bn infrastructure fund manager with a focus on fighting climate change, after several years of strategy consulting experience at The Boston Consulting Group and after having sold his first company. Tobias has also co-founded The Singularity Group, a Swiss/Luxembourg based fund- manager with a focus on exponential technology used in all sectors, as well as Crypto Finance Group, the leading institutional cryptocurrency service and infrastructure provider and asset manager. He is also the initiator and president of Cryto Finance Conference (CfC) St. Moritz, the worlds most exclusive blockchain and digital money investor conference.

Marc is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded the party platform usgang.ch in his 20s (trade sale to Axel Springer Media). He is also a co-founder of amiando, a ticketing platform, which was purchased by Xing and was named Global Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum (WEF). After these two exits Marc has been active as a fintech investor (Partner of NextGFI, Venture Partner of Orange Growth Capital, Advisory Board of FinLeap, ...) and he explored Bitcoin in 2012. Today, Marc is a Board Member of Crypto Finance Group and CfC St. Moritz and part of the expert network for Blockchain and Digital Economy of the WEF. Marc holds a masters degree in law from the University of Zurich and did the Executive Program at Singularity University. Matthias Knab: Welcome to my (virtual, of course) fireside chat the two Swiss serial entrepreneurs Dr. Tobias Reichmuth and Marc P. Bernegger who are behind the Longevity Investors Conference (https://www.longevityinvestors.ch/), an online event on October 1st with some of the worlds leading experts such as David Sinclair, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Dr. Nir Barzilai and leading investors in this sector, e.g. Jim Mellon (Juvenescence), Patrick Burgermeister (Kizoo Family Office), Dr. Alexandra Bause (Co-Founder, Apollo Health Ventures) or Dr. Joon Yun, Palo Alto Investors. I wonder, how did you get interested in longevity from an investment perspective? Dr. Tobias Reichmuth: Marc and I attended the Singularity University in Palo Alto in 2016, where you learn about exponential technologies. I was stunned how far we were already with the research of how to live longer, to live healthier and maybe even on how to fight death. One train of thought we got exposed to is seeing death not as something inevitable but more of a combination of sicknesses which you can actually fight. I think there are three levels of fighting aging: One is doing sports, trying to eat healthy, take care of getting good sleep, etc. The second level is taking precautionary measures with the right medication, e.g. Metformin. The third level, which is not yet that far advanced, is genetical engineering. I was surprised how far and how fast research is developing in that field and pretty soon I realized that longevity research is going to be a gamechanger. If people get 120 years old and stay healthy until they die, everything changes. The economy, pension funds, living forms, our entire social systems will change. This also means that we will see many investment opportunities in different industries and sectors. For those reasons I took a big interest in the topic. I am convinced that this is one of the major investment topics in the 21st century. With the Longevity Investors Conference (LIC), we have created a forum with the top researchers and the most knowledgeable investors in this field. The LIC provides access to knowledge in this field, allows to identify investment opportunities and to network. Marc P. Bernegger: As you know, Tobias and I are among the founders of the Crypto Finance Conference which takes place in St. Moritz right before the World Economic Forum where we also managed to attract very high level investors from all over the world. We realized that the longevity space is one of the few emerging industries where an increasing number of people are interested in understanding it first and then also figuring out how to invest in the space. What makes our event special is that we are doing it as an investors only conference and exclusively focus on those two aspects. Matthias Knab: You mentioned that you are looking at longevity also from an investment perspective since 2016. Can you share with us some details of your own track record as investors in longevity? What have you done so far, what has worked out? Dr. Tobias Reichmuth: Right after attending Singularity University, I decided to engage in the longevity topic and invested in a company called Altoida; Marc also invested in that one. Altoida is identifying Alzheimer very early using big data technology. This allows to slow down the illness, and hopefully in the future to prevent it. The company is up and running, there have been several venture rounds already and the potential is huge. Another investment I have done in this field is Retrobrain, helping seniors to stay more active with the help of tailormade and interactive video games - another quite amazing company where I have achieved a nice multiplicator when exiting. Since there are more seniors who are fit and active, I have also invested in Seniors@Work, a platform for to match jobs/tasks with seniors willing to work and use their talent and experience. The platform takes care of insurances, etc., and really provides great value for all participants. Next to those direct investments, I am also investing through funds where you can get exposure to diversified investments. There are some interesting venture funds out there, some of which are also speaking at the Longevity Investors Conference. Marc P. Bernegger: By now, Altoida already works with more than 5,000 patients, so its really becoming a substantial business when you look at the numbers and also at the investors involved. Neither Tobias nor myself are by education scientists that are very deep in the medical or the broader longevity space, so the normal investment approach would be as an LP of a fund where you can get a diversified exposure to the whole space. I would also say that the typical investors we aim to attract to our conference isnt really looking to become an longevity expert and investor who will then go very deeply into the individual business case and looks at individual startups, but would probably rather focus on identifying the right experts to do this job. And so from that perspective, we ultimately want to present other investors and ideally the most respective ones at our conference. One person that comes to mind is Jim Mellon, a very wealthy Scottish businessmen who made this fortune in the traditional financial services who for some time now has been allocating a substantial amount of it into this new emerging longevity field. People like him can give very valuable and substantial insights to other future investors into this industry. Dr. Tobias Reichmuth:To add on that: its interesting to see how self-made billionaires focus on the topic of longevity. To be mentioned are famous Peter Thiel or also Frank Schuler, for example, who has built a family office exclusively around the topic of longevity. His family office investment manager will be speaking at the conference as well. This topic is one which moves people. Next to making a nice profit, they share the interest of staying healthy and living longer. With their investments, they support research we will all benefit of. Longevity investments therefore provide a double dividend, not only a financial return, but also support scientific progress. I think this is the motivation of many of the investors in that field. Matthias Knab: What would you say is the promise of your longevity investors conference? Marc P. Bernegger: Firstly I think its education: as you have seen on the schedule, we were able to secure some of the most relevant scientists as speakers who will help the conference participants to build and expand their understanding what longevity really means. As we mentioned, longevity is not a mainstream topic yet, it is not as visible as other industries, and thats also why its also something we want to cover, including the investment aspect of it. Dr. Tobias Reichmuth: Correct, education is number one, understanding investment opportunities and strategies is number two, however, a close third is the networking. At and after the Longevity Investors Conference we aim to facilitate a closed community interaction: you can meet and interact with those movers and shakers in the industry which really bring this topic forward. If today you ask your private banker, Hey, what should I do on the topic of longevity?, the private banker will most likely answer, What is longevity?. Its not a well-known topic and therefore the exchange with other investors and simply being able to ask your peers on How do you tackle that topic? can be tremendously helpful. Finally, lets not forget that we will also be talking about measures to actively prolong your life  what medicaments can you take already today in order to stay healthy and to live longer? Is Metformin and NAD really working? At our Crypto Finance Conference, we had a double digit number of billionaires personally present, and also for the Longevity Investors Conference we already got several subscriptions of billionaires attending themselves. Most of them are now in their 50s and above and tend to really take the topic serious. They are not wrong when they are saying, I do have the means to move something in this field. I would like to understand what is happening and meet like-minded investors. And thats what our conference is doing: as a peers only conference, we dont invite private bankers or lawyers. Its an investor conference where, whoever you talk with, you can really meet other investors on eye-level. Thats exactly what the Longevity Investors Conference stands for.




According to the 2018 NCRB report, Madhya Pradesh detained the highest number of people under the NSA in 2017 and 2018 among all states followed by UP

New Delhi: Nearly 1,200 people across the country were detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) by police in 2017 and 2018, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said on Monday. Of these, 563 are still in custody, the minister said in the Rajya Sabha.

According to the latest published report of 2018 of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Madhya Pradesh detained the highest number of people under the NSA in 2017 and 2018 among all states followed by Uttar Pradesh, the minister said in a written reply to a question in the Upper House,

A total of 501 people were detained in different parts of the country under the stringent law in 2017. Of these, 229 were released by review boards and 272 are under custody, he said.

In 2018, 697 people were detained under the NSA across the country and 406 were released by review boards while 291 are under custody, Reddy added.

In Madhya Pradesh, 795 people were detained under the NSA in 2017 and 2018; 466 were released by review boards and 329 are under custody.

In Uttar Pradesh, of the 338 people detained under the NSA in 2017 and 2018, 150 were released by review boards and 188 are under detention, the minister said.
A 21-year-old Texas pastor says his preaching license will not be renewed after he publicly endorsed Joe Biden for President on his social media account.

According to Relevant Magazine, David Bumgardner, a student at Southwestern Seminarys Scarborough College, says the pastor at the church he has interned with told him that his license will not be renewed.

Bumgardner received the license in July after serving a year-long internship at Faith Memorial Baptist Church in Archer City.

Also in July, Bumgardner posted on Facebook that he would be voting for Biden.

I am voting for Joe Biden to get the most egotistical, hypocritical, divisive, deranged, and dangerous man to ever hold presidential office out of the Oval, he wrote. I am voting for Joe Biden because he will bring back decency to the White House.

Bumgardner said he was Republican but said he believed President Donald Trump is a threat to the flourishing of my neighbors  to national security  (and) to national unity.

I am a conservative, Bible-believing, orthodox, evangelical Baptist that believes the best way to serve my neighbors and steward my vote is by helping Joe Biden get to the White House, he wrote on Twitter.

After the post gained views and comments, Avery Sprey, pastor at Faith Memorial Baptist Church, reportedly told Bumgardner that his license to preach would not be renewed.

Sprey said the license was like a learners permit and includes a clause about a potential expiration.

I couldnt care less about his political views, Sprey told the Baptist Standard. My concern is that his social media posts cause discord among brothers and do not promote gospel unity.

Bumgardner responded by saying that the post would not have been an issue had he endorsed Trump, but he also added in a blog post that he respected Sprey and the Faith Memorial Baptist Church.

I do not have any feelings of ill will toward my friend, Rev. Avery Sprey, or the Faith Memorial Baptist Church, he wrote. I humbly ask that any anger my supporters have toward the church and my dear friend, Avery, would be redirected into prophetic and holy indignation that translates into meaningful action. Please do not harass, slander, or abuse these precious people for whom Christ died.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Staff

Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
The upcoming iPhone from Apple, likely to be called the iPhone 12 is arguably the most anticipated launches of 2020. The company did not release the new iPhone during its September event, now expected in the coming weeks. While there is no lack of excitement ahead of the launch, it is now being reported that the iPhone 12 Pro will come in two new colours. According to a report citing analysts, the new iPhone 12 Pro will also come in Navy Blue and Red colour options.

We have seen red iPhones in the past. The first time we saw a red iPhone was the iPhone 8 Product Red version, launched in 2017. After that, the iPhone XR, the iPhone 11, and the most recently, the iPhone SE 2020, have gotten the red treatment. However, the report by ITHome says that this time around, Apple will offer the new Navy Blue and Red colours on its flagship, the iPhone 12 Pro. If true, the new iPhones red colour will go well with the latest red Apple Watch Series 6. The Navy Blue colour, on the other hand, will be a fresh offering from the Cupertino-based giant.

iPhone 12: What we Know

As we get closer to the launch of the new iPhone 12 series, there is no shortage of the sheer number of rumours and reports surrounding Apples new offering. From what we know so far, the iPhone 12 will be the first 5G offering from Apple. Apart from that, the new iPhone will also get a much-awaited redesign. Apple is said to give it an iPhone 4-like treatment with flatter edges. Further, this time around Apple is reported to bring the next iPhone in four options - the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Max, iPhone 12 Pro, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. These could range from 5.4-inch going all the way to 6.7-inches when it comes to the display size. It is also expected that all the models will sport OLED panels. Other display features expected on the iPhone 12 include Apples Retina display tech along with a relatively higher-touch response rate. There are also various rumours suggesting that we can expect 120Hz refresh rate displays, but at the moment there is no confirmation.

Apples new A14 Bionic processor along with iOS 14 are the two confirmed additions that will be seeing on the upcoming iPhones. While Apple never gives out the official RAM configurations, the top-of-the-line iPhone 12 Pro Max may come with up to 6GB of memory, as per rumours. Storage options are expected to range between 128GB and 512GB. In terms of cameras, the overall configuration is expected to remain similar to the iPhone 11 range. As a result, the iPhone 12 is said to get dual-camera units, while the iPhone 12 Pro is expected to get triple camera units. All variants of the iPhone 12 are also expected to feature Apples depth-sensing Lidar sensors for enhanced AR operations.

Many reports have suggested that the iPhone 12 units will not come with a charging adapter in the box, similar to the new Apple Watch Series 6. As far as pricing is concerned, there are many reports saying that the iPhone 12 will be cheaper than the iPhone 11, with a $649 starting price. The iPhone 12 Pro Max, meanwhile, is said to cost $1,099 onward, which in India will almost certainly be priced at above Rs 1,00,000.
Its no secret that teachers have their work cut out for them as they grapple with educating growing minds amidst the coronavirus pandemic. As many nationwide learn along with their students how to cope with the challenges of online learning and socially distanced classrooms, teachers may be delighted (or dismayed) to learn how well their state stacks up against others regarding their career. Luckily, Pennsylvania is one of the top-ranking states for teachers there is.

Ranked fifth out of 51 (the District of Columbia was included as its own entity), WalletHub findings list Pennsylvania as one of the states most accommodating towards those who select teaching as a vocation. The study was based on key variables pertaining to Opportunity & Competition as well as Academic & Work Environment, taking into account pandemic-related factors such as statewide re-openings. One area in which Pennsylvania did exceptionally well was annual salaries, boasting the second-highest average after Michigan.

One of the best ways to attract people to anything is to pay well, notes Kmt G. Shockley, Professor of Education Leadership & Policy at Howard University and WalletHub expert speaker. Even though teachers get time off in the summer and a brief break in the winter, they are often working during those breaks. The pay for teachers does not match the amount of qualifications they are required to have and the mandatory tests for teacher certification and re-certification. Teacher retention would increase if they were treated as knowledgeable experts who are experts in their fields.

Weisenberg Elementary School.Lehigh County Property Records photo

Another factor outside of pay that may draw teachers to specific states is how well individual school systems are run. Massachusetts is ranked as having the number one best system in the United States, whereas New Mexico comes in at a hard last.

The largest challenge faced by teachers is that the work demands placed upon them are often incommensurate with the resources and support they receive, says Christopher Redding, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Florida. Teachers working in historically underserved schools often face especially challenging work conditions without the needed school resources or administrative support, elevating burnout and turnover among teachers in these schools.

With teacher wages positioned as a hot-ticket item for state governments across the U.S., its important to honor educators no matter where one lives. So, take a minute this World Teachers' Day on Oct. 5 to show a little appreciation for the people who put in place the building blocks of our knowledge.
This year's competition invited children from all around the world to present a story with chosen creative tools that raises awareness of Covid-19

Abdel Rahman Maher, 11, won second prize in China's international competition Children's Stories Club.

This year's competition invited children from all around the world to present a story with chosen creative tools that raises awareness of Covid-19.

Children from 30 countries submitted their works. The first prize went to China, second to Egypt, third to France, followed by Malta, Nepal, New Zealand, and Russia.

Abdel Rahman Maher's story was in a form of a one-minute video that he posted on YouTube channel in which he expresses his dreams and hopes in times of pandemic.

Maher represented National Centre for Child Culture, an institution headed by Hisham Nazmy and affiliated to the Supreme Council of Culture.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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The Kapil Sharma Show has always managed to entertain the fans by bringing famous Bollywood guests. In the same vein, the show recently had Bollywood Jodi of Renuka Shahane and Ashutosh Rana. Kapil Sharma recently shared the teaser of the upcoming episode on his social media account. In the promo, the comedian is seen welcoming the couple on the stage.

Renuka Shahane then took fans through her and Ashutoshs romantic journey and proposal.

She revealed the funny incident when she met her husband for the first time and Ashutosh's Sangharsh where he played the role of a transgender person. The actress made everyone burst into laughter with the details of her love story. She also sang a song from the film on The Kapil Sharma Show for Ashutosh.

Renuka shared that she first saw Ashutosh in his film Sangharsh portraying a transgender character on screen. She then went on to add that she heard him mouth the dialogue, Main insaan nahi hu (I am not a human being). Check out the hilarious promo below:

Ashutosh too shared how he took Renuka's number and wished her on Dussehra. He then revealed how he proposed to Renuka by penning romantic poetry, and her admission of the fact that she loves him.

Renuka Shahane and Ashutosh Rana recently celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary. Renuka had wished her hubby with an adorable throwback picture on social media and captioned it as, "You and I....what a beautiful world....19 years ago today.... love eternal."

ALSO READ: Renuka Shahane, Ashutosh Rana Celebrate Wedding Anniversary With A 19-Year-Old Throwback Pic

ALSO READ: The Kapil Sharma Show: Chandan Prabhakar Is Back; Reveals The Reason Behind His Absence
Filming on Ridley Scotts film The Last Duel resumed earlier this month, when lead actor Matt Damon returned to Ireland from the United States.

The movie also stars Affleck, Adam Driver and Killing Eves Jodie Comer who was in Dublin two weeks ago.

Independent councillor Andy Moloney has announced that the Tipperary town of Cahir will be off limits for the duration of the filming of the historical drama.

A local car park has been booked by the film company since last week until October 9th, but it is totally off limits" from next Sunday until October 1st when the main filming will take place.

Cllr Moloney said: Hopefully we will get a glimpse of the high profile actors in the coming weeks and create the buzz in Cahir that we have become used to in the recent years.

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There have been many movies made in Cahir, the most popular is Excalibur, and the sword still remains in the stone in the Inch Field.

Up 1,000 film extras have been recruited from across the country for the movie with Covid-19 testing take place since work resumed on the project.

Casting recommenced on July 29th as last March the movie production team took the decision to delay the start of principal photography in Ireland due limits on indoor events to less than 100 people.

So far, filming has been taking place in Wicklow and Dublin on the film with a screenplay written by Mr Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener.

Mr Damon returned to the country late last month after spending almost three months here from early March to May 28th.

Medmark, the occupational health provider has been involved in carrying out testing. It is understood that no film extras tested positive for the virus despite hundreds being involved in the shoot.

The movie was originally scheduled to begin a limited theatrical release on December 25th this year, before a global launch on January 8th next year. However, as a result of the pandemic, the release date has been pushed back to October 15th next year.

Separately, filming for Valhalla, a spin-off to the hugely popular TV series Vikings, has been continuing in Wicklow since resuming last month. It is understood that close to 20 film extras have also tested positive for Covid-19.
The Trump administration said it is considering adding other cities, if officials withdraw officers from policing problem areas, or if a city leader disempowers or defunds police departments or unreasonably refuses to accept law enforcement assistance from the federal government. The Justice Department may also add cities to the list based on any other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate, the department said in its announcement.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) told the Parliament on Monday that Indian citizens, commercial and legal entities faced almost 7 lakh cyber attacks till August this year.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has reported 49,455, 50,362, 53,117, 208,456, 394,499 and 696,938 cyber security incidents during the year 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (till August) respectively, the MeITY said while responding to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha regarding cyber-attacks on Indian citizens and India-based commercial and legal entities.

However, countering the claim that India is among the top five countries with the greatest number of cyber-attacks, the Ministry said that such vendor reports are not validated. However, according to a NITI Aayog report by member VK Saraswat, India ranks 3rd in terms of the highest number of internet users in the world after USA and China, the number has grown 6-fold between 2012-2017 with a compounded annual growth rate of 44%.

With proliferation in internet and mobile phone usage, there is a rise in number of cyber security incidents in the country as well as globally. Proactive tracking by CERT-In including its Cyber Swachhta Kendra and National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) and improved cyber security awareness among individuals and organisations across sectors has led to increased reporting of incidents, MeITY said in its response.

The government also highlighted steps taken to counter the attacks.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) regularly issues alerts and advisories regarding latest cyber threats/vulnerabilities and countermeasures to protect computers and networks on regular basis.

Government has issued guidelines for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) regarding their key roles and responsibilities for securing applications / infrastructure and compliance. Government has empanelled 90 security-auditing organisations to support and audit implementation of Information Security Best Practices, the ministry said.

The ministry said the government has also formulated Cyber Crisis Management Plan for countering cyber-attacks and cyber terrorism for implementation by all Ministries/ Departments of Central Government, State Governments and their organizations and critical sectors.

It has also conducted 49 mock cyber drills to assess preparedness in sectors such as Finance, Defence, Power, Telecom, Transport, Energy and Space.

Government has initiated setting up of National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) to generate necessary situational awareness of existing and potential cyber security threats and enable timely information sharing for proactive, preventive and protective actions by individual entities. Phase-I of NCCC has been made operational, said the response adding that it was in the process of formulating a national cyber security policy.

According to Raman Jit Singh Chima, Global cybersecurity lead and Asia Pacific Policy Director at Access Now, the lack of clarity regarding who manages the cyber-security scenario of India has thrown up way lesser numbers than the actual cyber-attacks.

These are voluntarily reported incidents, said Chima. These include both state and non-state attacks that one govt agency - CERT-IN - is aware of. However, there is no legal requirement in India to declare a data breach. On an average, according to industry report, data breaches cost Indian firms an average of 14 crore.

Chima added that the government needed to expedite the national security policy, explain their position on attributing state cyber attacks, and make it legally binding to report data breaches and cyber incidents in India.

This is useful initial data but the government should also take note of how many incidents have been found by the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre to assess how much critical infrastructure has been targeted. They should make this information public and also disclose if any of the attacks can be attributed to other countries, which is a part of the MPs questions.

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(Natural News) Facebook has announced that it will be removing all posts linking the wildfires sweeping through Oregon to arsonists after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) brushed off the reports as nothing more than baseless theories, according to a recent report from Big League Politics.

Facebooks Democrat-aligned policy communications manager Andy Stone made the announcement on Twitter Sept. 13. The decision, Stone claimed, is based on claims from law enforcement that the rumors do nothing more than distract local fire and police agencies from fighting the fires and protecting the public.

However, this statement comes in direct contrast to the actual arson arrests that have cropped up in California, Oregon and Washington over the past week. Just last Sept. 12, for instance, Oregon State Police troopers arrested a man suspected of having started a fire earlier this week in southern Oregon

Convicted arsonist started large fire in southern Oregon

The suspect, identified as Michael Bakkela, had been seen lighting a fire behind a house in Phoenix, Oregon, around 5 p.m. local time, prompting residents to call 911. When police officers arrived on the scene, Bakkela was spotted close to a large fire that threatened to engulf several homes, the sheriffs office told ABC News. Bakkela has since been charged with two counts of arson, along with 15 counts of criminal mischief and 14 counts of reckless endangering.

Its also worth noting that the fires Bakkela started in Phoenix were confirmed to have contributed to the spread of the deadliest and most destructive fire complex still raging across Oregon, which local authorities plan to pursue as a criminal investigation in light of suspected arson cases.

But despite the arrest, the FBI announced that it had investigated several reports of arson and determined them to be untrue. State officials in Oregon and Washington have also turned to Facebook to censor the circulating rumors that far-left extremists were behind the major blazes tearing across the West Coast.

BLM rioter arrested for setting fires along a state road

Facebooks announcement comes as blazing wildfire complexes are still tearing through Oregon, closing in on Portland, the center of the BLM protests, which are not without their own cases of arson and vandalism.

For instance, just last Sept. 10, a Facebook video of longtime BLM rioter Jeffrey Acord went viral after he filmed himself being apprehended just outside of Tacoma. It had over 155,000 views on his profile at the time.

Washington State Patrol troopers and local police arrested Acord and charged him with second-degree reckless burning after a Fife police officer saw him lurking near a growing fire in the median of State Route (SR) 167.

The suspect claimed he had nothing to do with the fire, explaining that he was looking for a camera case that flew out of his backpack while he was biking through the area earlier that week, reported KING 5.

However, the officer said that the suspect drove off when he pulled over. He then apprehended the suspect, who started live-streaming the exchange. It looks like a fire literally just started, he said in the video.

The fire itself had burned about an acre and a half before responders from Central Pierce Fire & Rescue put it out. The suspect was able to post a $1,000 bail the night he was booked. But he was hauled back to jail that same night after police caught him on surveillance breaking into a gas station not far from the jail.

This isnt the first time that Acord has had a run-in with the police. In 2014, Seattle Police arrested him after finding weapons, ammunition and explosives in his car and backpack, reported Seattle Times.

Acord was attending a BLM protest in Seattle in response to the court decision that Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson will not face charges for his fatal shooting of an unarmed Black teenager.

In response to the circulating rumors online that far-left extremists are behind some of the major fires still burning in Washington, State Representative Jim Walsh said that officials have solid evidence this isnt the case, reported The Post Millennial.

In a statement, Walsh explained that although several of the major fires in Washington are human-made, none of them is the result of arson. However, he did admit that larger fires burning in Oregon appeared to be suspicious. Residents in Washington have also taken to reporting suspicious strangers in their neighborhoods.

Facebook continues to manipulate users feeds

It isnt just the arson reports that Facebook has been dead set on censoring. The tech giant has been facing backlash months earlier after it began to feed globalist propaganda about both climate change and the pandemic into users feeds. (Related: Impartial Facebook oversight board filled with socialists and Marxists.)

In a statement, Facebook said that it will start showing messages to users who have interacted with content that had misinformation about COVID-19. The messages are designed to connect people to debunked misconceptions about the pandemic. It will also start removing posts that share those misconceptions.

Facebook has also come under fire for suppressing free speech regarding climate change and running propaganda on users feeds. Critics argue that the tech giants blatant manipulation of these feeds is a clear indication that it is pinning the raging fires on climate change alone and dismissing the confirmed arson cases.

In a recent article online, Brian Maloney, co-founder of the Media Equality Project, argued that Facebook has cared little for honest discussion and debate on the subject of climate change. He added that Facebook favors alarmists instead of credentialed climate scientists, hiding factual and scientific content from users feeds.

Read more articles about Facebooks leftist bias and censorship campaigns at FacebookCollapse.com.

Sources include:

BigLeaguePolitics.com

ABCNews.go.com 1

ABCNews.go.com 2

MercuryNews.com

KING5.com

SeattleTimes.com

ThePostMillennial.com

Telecoms.com

RealClearEnergy.org
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to speak on Tuesday. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the restrictions would be different to last time. The government wants to crack down on socialising but schools and many workplaces will stay open. Semi-autonomous governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have directed much of the response to the pandemic in those areas. Wales slapped curbs on four more areas  Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Newport  from 1700 GMT on Tuesday, leaving just under a third of the Welsh population under restriction. The Welsh restrictions prevent people entering the areas without a reasonable excuse such as education or work. People will also only be able to meet people they don't live with outdoors.

PM Boris Johnson, pictured, is due to make an announcement about possible new restrictions on Tuesday. Credit:Getty Images Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that additional restrictions were almost certain to be imposed. "I need to be absolutely straight with people; across Scotland additional restrictions will almost certainly be put in place ... over the next couple of days," Sturgeon said. The official UK death toll stands at 41,777 people. US nears grim milestone of 200,000 COVID-19 deaths

The death toll from the spread of the coronavirus in the United States was approaching over 200,000 on Monday local time (Tuesday AEST), by the far the highest number of any nation. The US, on a weekly average, is now losing about 800 lives each day to the virus, according to a Reuters tally. That is down from a peak of 2806 daily deaths recorded on April 15. During the early months of the pandemic, 200,000 deaths was regarded by many as the maximum number of lives likely to be lost in the US to the virus. On Monday, US President Donald Trump said the worst was over, as the death toll reached 199,630 with 6.8 million confirmed cases. "We are rounding the corner on the pandemic, with or without a vaccine ... and we've done a phenomenal job  not just a good job  a phenomenal job. Other than public relations, but that's because I have fake news."

Trump has previously admitted to playing down the danger of the coronavirus early on because he did not want to "create a panic". With barely six weeks left before the election on November 3, Trump is behind Democratic rival Joe Biden nationally in every major opinion poll and is neck and neck in key swing states. Trump's handling of the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn has battered his standing among many voters. US CDC takes down warning on airborne spread of COVID-19 The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday it had posted guidance on possible transmission of the new coronavirus through airborne particles in error and it will be updating its recommendations.

"A draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error to the agency's official website," the CDC said. The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when the guidance will be updated. The now-withdrawn guidance, posted on the agency's website on Friday, recommended that people use air purifiers to reduce airborne germs indoors to avoid the disease from spreading. The health agency had said that COVID-19 could spread through airborne particles that can remain suspended in the air and travel beyond six feet.

Presently, the agency's guidance says the virus mainly spreads from person-to-person through respiratory droplets, which can land in the mouth or nose of people nearby. The World Health Organisation has said it is monitoring "emerging evidence" of possible airborne transmission. The WHO has not changed its policy on aerosol transmission of the coronavirus, an official said on Monday. More than 150 nations join vaccine plan but US, China absent Some 156 nations have joined a global scheme for fair distribution of future vaccines against COVID-19, an alliance led by the World Health Organisation said on Monday, but superpowers China and the United States did not sign up.

US President Donald Trump's government has already secured future supplies through bilateral deals, prompting accusations of selfish behaviour to the detriment of poor countries. China, where the coronavirus began, was also missing on the list of 64 rich nations who joined the so-called COVAX plan to deliver 2 billion vaccine doses round the world by the end of 2021, prioritising healthcare workers and the vulnerable. But alliance officials said dialogue continued with Beijing. The scheme would account for about two-thirds of the world population, according to the WHO and GAVI vaccine alliance, which published the list of signatories after a deadline for binding commitments expired on Friday.

Dozens of vaccines are in testing for the coronavirus which has infected about 31 million people globally and killed nearly 1 million. Madrid asks for Spanish army's help in battling coronavirus surge Madrid's regional government chief has requested the army's help to fight the coronavirus surge in and around the Spanish capital where local authorities have ordered a partial lockdown of some poorer areas, prompting protests during the weekend. At the height of the first wave of the epidemic in March-April, Spain deployed thousands of troops to battle the outbreak and a recent spike in infections, peaking at more than 10,000 per day, took cumulative cases above 640,000, the highest in Western Europe. Loading
BORIS Johnson faced a Tory backlash last night over authoritarian plans for a new Covid clampdown.

Amid growing signs of unease, Sir Graham Brady  the Tory backbench shop steward  said he would lead a revolt next week against the extension of coronavirus restrictions.

And in the Commons, Health Secretary Matt Hancock faced a string of hostile questions from his own side as he updated Parliament on the Governments efforts to tackle the virus pandemic.

Veteran MP Pauline Latham asked Mr Hancock to explain to the Prime Minister that we actually live in a democracy, not a dictatorship. Sir Edward Leigh urged ministers to drop the authoritarian approach and said the Government was looking increasingly incompetent.

He told Mr Hancock: The trouble with authoritarianism is it is inimicable to civil liberties. It is also increasingly incompetent. It relies on acquiescence and acquiescence for lockdowns is draining away.

You see my point? Boris Johnson chats with Angela Rippon as part of World Alzheimers Day yesterday

We should rely on encouraging people to look after themselves, protect the vulnerable and take responsibility for our own lives. That is the Conservative way. Sir Graham said he would force a vote in the Commons next week which would require ministers to get parliamentary approval for any further lockdown measures.

The chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs said ministers had got into the habit of ruling by decree, adding: The British people are not used to being treated like children.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock faced a string of hostile questions f as he updated Parliament on the Governments efforts to tackle the virus pandemic

Sir Graham said the public deserved to be told the criteria for bringing in  and eventually lifting  what he described as really quite extreme emergency powers.

He said more scrutiny of the so-called rule of six would have enabled MPs to question why the limit was put at six and not eight or ten and why children were included in England and not in Wales or Scotland.

And he questioned whether the lockdown strategy had worked, pointing to the situation in Sweden, where such restrictions were not used.

Downing Street rejected the suggestion that the Government was ruling by decree. The PMs spokesman said MPs will have the chance to debate and vote on extending the coronavirus regulations next week.

Some senior Tories questioned whether further national lockdown measures were needed at all, given the huge disparities in case numbers across the country.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: If we lock down the economy it will lead to more health problems and death than Covid causes.

It came as Mr Johnson met broadcaster Angela Rippon to mark World Alzheimers Day, and pledged to support those with dementia during the pandemic.

Miss Rippon became an ambassador for the Alzheimers Society after caring for her mother Edna who had dementia.

Charities have warned of the impact of lockdown and of the virus on sufferers.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump and his GOP allies are playing loose with the facts when it comes to a successor for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Seeking to justify a possible confirmation vote before the Nov. 3 election, Trump asserted over the weekend that many high court nominations were made in an election year and in all cases, they went forward. Thats clearly not true.

In fact, just one hour after Justice Antonin Scalias unexpected death in February 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly made clear the Senate should not confirm a successor chosen by President Barack Obama because of the coming election. That slot ultimately went unfilled until after President Donald Trump announced a nominee 11 months later.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz on Sunday also claimed a constitutional crisis if a replacement isnt confirmed right away, insisting Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden has stated he wont accept the election results if he loses. Biden has said he will.

The revisionist GOP history comes following a week of outright falsehoods, on subjects like auto manufacturing, voting fraud and more. Trump told a North Carolina rally that a conversation with the Japanese prime minister led to five new car companies opening in Michigan the next day. That didnt happen.

Biden laid out a broad and largely supported case that Trump has underplayed the severity of the pandemic. But the devil was in the details: No, Trump did not call the coronavirus a hoax.

A look:

GINSBURG

TRUMP, on advancing a Supreme Court nominee in a presidential election year: This has happened numerous times. And every time, there was a nominee, as you know. Theres been many occasions where, frankly, it turned out to be during a presidential year.  But in all cases, they went forward.  remarks Saturday to reporters.

THE FACTS: A Supreme Court nomination put forth in a presidential election year in fact wasnt advanced in all cases.

After Scalias death, Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland in March 2016 to fill his seat. But McConnell, R-Ky., declined to act on the nomination, declaring that the next elected president should fill the vacancy.

Garlands nomination lasted 293 days, extending past the November 2016 election that Trump won and expiring in January 2017. As president, Trump subsequently nominated Neil Gorsuch, who won confirmation by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Democrats typically point to Garlands example as a case of Republican hypocrisy in seeking an immediate replacement now for Ginsburg. McConnell has said Trumps pick  expected to be announced this week  will get a Senate vote but hasnt indicated when.

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TED CRUZ: I think it is particularly important that the Senate take it up and confirm this nomination before the election. Because Joe Biden has been explicit. He has said, if he doesnt win, hes going to challenge this election. Hes going to go to court.  Given that, there is a serious risk of a constitutional crisis.  interview Sunday on ABCs This Week.

THE FACTS: The Texas senator is incorrect.

Unlike Trump, Biden says he will accept the outcome of the Nov. 3 election.

Sure, the full results. Count every vote, Biden said Thursday at a CNN town hall.

Biden has been assembling a team of lawyers in anticipation of court challenges to the election process and says his legal war room will work to ensure that elections are properly administered and votes correctly counted.

Trump, who frequently asserts rigged elections and voting fraud despite the lack of evidence, has suggested he may not accept the election outcome.

The president told Fox News Sunday in July when asked whether he would accept the results: I have to see. No, Im not going to just say yes. Im not going to say no, and I didnt last time, either.

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AUTOS

TRUMP, about former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: We won Michigan  first time in decades. And you know what weve done? Many, many car plants are now opening up  I said, Shinzo, please do me a favor, we need more car companies.  We want them built here, not in Japan, please. He said, But we cannot do that, this is a free enterprise system. I said,  Please, I need some car companies.  I said, Shinzo, you have to do it. Next day, it was the story: Five car companies opened up in Michigan.'  North Carolina rally Saturday.

THE FACTS: Trump is making up the story.

No Japanese automaker assembly plants have been announced or built in Michigan, let alone in one day, and there are no plans to add any.

There is one manufacturing facility, a joint venture between General Motors and Honda, south of Detroit. Its the $85 million expansion of an existing facility to make hydrogen fuel cells with about 100 new jobs, according to the Center for Automotive Research, an industry think tank in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Subaru has a new research center with about 100 new jobs, and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi and Toyota have announced expansions of research facilities. These are not new car plants run by Japanese automakers.

In fact, the number of auto and parts manufacturing jobs in Michigan fell between Trumps inauguration and February of this year, before the coronavirus took hold. When Trump took office there were 174,200 jobs, and that dropped to 171,800 in February, according to Labor Department statistics. In July, the most recent figures available, there were 154,400 auto and parts manufacturing jobs in Michigan.

Thats far from a car company renaissance in the state courtesy of Japan, as Trump asserts.

___

PANDEMIC

TRUMP: If you look at what weve done and all of the lives that weve saved  this was our prediction, that if we do a really good job, well be at about a hundred and  100,000 to 240,000 deaths. And were below that substantially, and well see what comes out. But that would be if we did the good job. If the not-so-good job was done, youd be between 1.5 million  I remember these numbers so well  and 2.2 million.  news conference Wednesday.

THE FACTS: Hes glossing over grim numbers and wrongly describing the scientific projections.

First and most notably, the U.S. is not running substantially below projections that 100,000 to 240,000 would die from COVID-19. The death toll is about 200,000 and the pandemic is far from over. Tens of thousands of new infections are being reported each day.

The White House and federal public health authorities have often pointed to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington as a source for their pandemic projections. The institute now forecasts more than 378,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19 by Jan. 1.

In early April, U.S. officials estimated at least 100,000 would die from the pandemic even if all conceivable steps were taken against it  a thorough and enduring lockdown, full use of masks and more. A death toll up to 240,000 assumed aggressive mitigation.

Trump has often cited a potential death toll of 2.2 million or so  a number that puts the reality of several hundred thousand deaths in a better light. He uses it to claim to have saved many lives. But such an extreme projection was merely a baseline if nothing at all were done to fight the pandemic. It was never, as he claimed, an expected death toll if the not-so-good job was done.

At an April 1 briefing, when Trump and his officials discussed the projection of 100,000 to 240,000 deaths, the president held out hope of keeping deaths under 100,000. I think were doing better than that.

Now hes trying to move the goal posts and have the public consider anything under 240,000 deaths a success.

___

TRUMP: Well have manufactured at least 100 million vaccine doses before the end of the year.  news conference Friday.

TRUMP: We expect to have enough vaccine for every American by April.  news conference Friday.

THE FACTS: Dont count on this.

Even if one or more vaccines is authorized for emergency use by the end of this year, those numbers stretch credulity.

Public authorities are so certain there will be only limited doses at first that theyre developing plans to triage them for people who need it the most, such as health workers. In a distribution plan released this past week, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions best-case option was that 35 million to 45 million doses would be available by the end of December if two of the leading candidates both proved safe and effective. And those candidates require two doses, three weeks to four weeks apart.

Having enough vaccine for everyone  whenever that may be  is different from getting it into peoples arms. Plans for how to accomplish that are still being worked out.

Trump is pushing hard to have a vaccine announced before the election or at least to convince people that such an outcome is possible. But federal health officials and scientists have signaled or outright stated that that is unlikely.

___

BIDEN VIDEO: Trump in public: Hoax. Trump in private: Killer.'  video tweeted by Biden on Tuesday.

BIDEN VIDEO, showing Trump saying at a Feb. 28 campaign rally in South Carolina: The coronavirus  and this is their new hoax.

THE FACTS: The accusation is misleading. So is the selective video editing that made it appear Trump was calling the coronavirus a new hoax.

At the rally featured in the video, Trump actually said the phrases the coronavirus and this is their new hoax at separate points. Although his meaning is difficult to discern, the broader context of his words shows he was railing against Democrats for their denunciations of his administrations coronavirus response.

Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus, he said. You know that, right? Coronavirus. Theyre politicizing it. He meandered briefly to the subject of the messy Democratic primary in Iowa, then the Russia investigation before returning to the pandemic. They tried the impeachment hoax.  And this is their new hoax.

Asked at a news conference the next day to clarify his remarks, Trump made clear he was not referring to the coronavirus itself as a hoax.

No, no, no. he said. Hoax referring to the action that they take to try and pin this on somebody, because weve done such a good job. The hoax is on them, not  Im not talking about whats happening here. Im talking what theyre doing. Thats the hoax.

He continued: Certainly not referring to this. How could anybody refer to this? This is very serious stuff.

The videos reference to Trump in private calling the virus a killer comes from the presidents interview in April with author and journalist Bob Woodward, whose new book Rage contains Trumps acknowledgment that he was playing down the virus threat in public, so as to avoid panic.

But it is incorrect for Biden to suggest, as the video does, that Trump insisted the virus was a hoax before ultimately acknowledging to the author in April that it was deadly and serious.

Trump on several occasions before that did refer publicly to the virus as a plague and a killer, while also falsely dismissing it as something that would go away on its own, in hot weather or otherwise.

___

VOTING

TRUMP: A giant SCAM, and the Dems know it!  tweet Sunday.

TRUMP: The big Unsolicited Ballot States should give it up NOW, before it is too late, and ask people to go to the Polling Booths and, like always before, VOTE. Otherwise, MAYHEM!!! Solicited Ballots (absentee) are OK.  tweet Thursday.

THE FACTS: Trump is overstating the potential for mayhem and fraud in big unsolicited ballot states.

There is no such thing as an unsolicited ballot. Five states routinely send ballots to all registered voters so they can choose to vote through the mail or in person. Four other states and the District of Columbia will be adopting that system in November, as will almost every county in Montana. Election officials note that, by registering to vote, people are effectively requesting a ballot, so it makes no sense to call the materials sent to them unsolicited.

More broadly speaking, voter fraud has proved exceedingly rare. The Brennan Center for Justice in 2017 ranked the risk of ballot fraud at 0.00004% to 0.0009%, based on studies of past elections.

In the five states that regularly send ballots to all voters who have registered, there have been no major cases of fraud or difficulty counting the votes.

___

TRUMP: Because of the new and unprecedented massive amount of unsolicited ballots which will be sent to voters, or wherever, this year, the Nov 3rd Election result may NEVER BE ACCURATELY DETERMINED, which is what some want.  tweet Thursday.

THE FACTS: Its highly unlikely that any chaos in states with universal mail-in voting will cause the election result to never be accurately determined.

The five states that already have such balloting have had time to strengthen their systems, while four new states adopting it  California, New Jersey, Nevada and Vermont  have not. Of those nine states, only Nevada is a battleground, worth six electoral votes and only likely to be pivotal in a national presidential deadlock. The others, including the District of Columbia, are overwhelmingly Democratic.

The main states that are being contested  Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin  only send mail ballots to voters who request them. Trump said Thursday that such solicited ballots are absolutely OK.

Trump frequently blasts mail-in voting as flawed and fraudulent while insisting that mail ballots in certain states such as Florida, a must-win state for him, are fine. But mail-in ballots are cast in the same way as what Trump refers to as absentee mail ballots, with the same level of scrutiny such as signature verification in many states. In court filings, the Trump campaign has acknowledged that mail-in and absentee ballots are legally interchangeable terms.

States nationwide expect a surge in mail-in voting due to the coronavirus threat.

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TRUMP: Unsolicited Ballots are uncontrollable, totally open to ELECTION INTERFERENCE by foreign countries, and will lead to massive chaos and confusion!  tweet Thursday.

THE FACTS: Mail-in ballots arent the biggest risk for foreign interference.

Trying to influence a federal election through mail-in ballots would probably mean paying thousands of U.S. citizens, carefully selected in pivotal states, who are willing to conspire with a foreign government and risk detection and prosecution.

Far easier and cheaper would be a social media campaign seeking to discourage certain groups of people from voting, which is something the FBI has warned about. Or a cyberattack on voter registration data that would eliminate certain voters from the rolls. That could cause havoc at polling places or election offices as officials attempt to count ballots from people who are missing from their voter databases.

Attorney General Bill Barr has raised the possibility that a foreign country could print up tens of thousands of counterfeit ballots. He argued they would be hard to detect, but thats been disputed by election experts.

Mail-in ballots are printed on special paper and must be formatted correctly in order to be processed and counted. Ballots are specific to each precinct, often with a long list of local races, and would be identified as fraudulent if everything didnt match precisely.

___

TRUMP: The Governor of Nevada worked very hard to cancel all of our venues. Despite the fact that he controls the state, he failed, but would have rather done rally outside. Can you imagine this man is in charge  of the Ballots in Nevada!? Not fair, Rigged Election!  tweets on Sept 14.

THE FACTS: You dont have to imagine that man being in charge of the election because he isnt.

Whatever his beef with Nevadas Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, the governor isnt running the states new all-mail election in November. That responsibility falls to Nevadas secretary of state, Barbara Cegavske. She is a Republican.

___

OBAMAS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

TRUMP: You know, Obama came into office, they gave him the Nobel Prize, like almost immediately, right? In fact, he didnt even know why he got it. He didnt even know. He had no idea why he got it and he was right about that because nobody else does either. They still dont know.  rally in Minden, Nevada, Sept. 12.

TRUMP: But its true, Obama got it for no reason whatsoever.  rally in Henderson, Nevada, Sept. 13.

Neither of Trumps oft-stated assertions about Obama and his Nobel Peace Prize is true. The Nobel committee announced Obama as recipient of the prize on Oct. 9, 2009, nearly nine months after his inauguration  thats not almost immediately.

As far as the reason for awarding the prize to Obama, the committee was quite clear in its 258-word statement issued 11 years ago, which focused on his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples and noted in particular Obamas vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the worlds attention and given its people hope for a better future, the committee said in its statement.

To be sure, the prize reflected aspirations more than accomplishments. When Obama was asked later why he got the prize, he did say: To be honest, I dont know. He said they give those prizes to just about anybody these days. He was making self-deprecating jokes, which Trump turned against him at his rally.

But agree or disagree with the committees decision, it gave its reasons for honoring Obama.

___

Krisher reported from Detroit. Associated Press writers Nicholas Riccardi in Denver, and Kevin Freking, Lauran Neergaard, Eric Tucker and Douglass K. Daniel in Washington contributed to this report.

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EDITORS NOTE  A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.

___

Find AP Fact Checks at http://apnews.com/APFactCheck

Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck
Roanoke Cement honoured in PCA's Energy and Environment awards

21 September 2020

The cement industry recognised Roanoke Cement Company (RCC) (Titan America) with top honours for Outreach in the 2020 Portland Cement Association (PCA) Cement Industry Energy and Environment Awards this week.

The Outreach category honours activities that enhance community, employee, and government relations. The award was formally announced during a virtual presentation by the PCA held on 16 September 2020.

I am so pleased that our efforts have been recognised and commended by our peer companies in the cement industry, says Lance Clark, plant manager at the Troutville plant, USA. RCCs outreach activities connect us with our people  community, customers, and employees  and strengthens our relationships.

RCC was recognised for major local outreach initiatives, including visits and tours of the plant throughout the year by various audiences like Governor Ralph Northam, the US Green Building Council, the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (a programme for local school students to learn about the Chesapeake Bay Watershed at the plant campus) and the Sunshine Valley School. Plant achievements have included TRUE Zero Waste Gold (RCC currently diverts 98.4 per cent of generated waste from the landfill) and the PCA Energy & Environment, Environmental Performance Award for 2019; and events like the annual Catawba Creek Cleanup coordinated by the plant with local participation, now in its 13th year.

On the global stage, RCC earned the prestigious ISO 50001 certification, the first cement company to be recognised for elite energy performance management. RCC has employed cement production using less solid fuel and more natural gas, providing energy flexibility for the plant. The Troutville plant is now running at almost 90 per cent natural gas.

Published under
The Bombay high court (HC) on Monday refused to interfere with the restrictions imposed by the Maharashtra school education department on the duration of daily online classes for pre-primary to junior college students.

We are judges. We are not educationists with degrees in child psychology; how can we decide as to what should be the duration of online classes, said the bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice Girish Kulkarni.

The bench allowed the petitioner, Parent Teachers Association United Forum, which filed the petition challenging the government resolution (GR) issued by the school education department on July 22, to make a representation to the department. The department, in turn, is directed to decide on the representation, if so filed, as expeditiously as possible.

The July 22 GR restricts online classes for pre-primary to junior colleges for five days a week from Monday to Friday. It allows just one session of maximum 30 minutes every day, in the form of more interaction with parents, for pre-primary section. For Class 1 and 2, it allows two daily sessions of 30 minutes including interaction with parents. For Classes 3 to 8, it allows daily two sessions of 45 minutes each, and four such sessions for junior college students.

Counsel for the petitioner, senior advocate Mihir Desai, submitted that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 requires certain minimum hours of schooling every day, and the duration of the online classes is one such area which the state government cannot touch.

The state government had no power to restrict schools in such a manner, Desai submitted, adding that the parents want their children to learn more.

Judges, however, said that online classes were required to be held because of the peculiar circumstances created by the Covid-19 pandemic and also noted that the GR was issued after parents approached the department complaining about unreasonably long duration of online classes and lack of schedule for the online classes. The bench held that the petitioner should approach the government and make a representation.
Why this Seven Springs clip grabbed the attention of 1 million people

The tweet has been seen by more than 1 million people so far. Many commenters asked if the clip was planned or fake.
San Francisco, Sep 21 : After living months in isolation during the pandemic, the travel bug has hit millions of people and according to Google, 45 per cent of the top 100 questions related to travel in Search focused on the impact of Covid-19 and the desire to travel as safely and as soon as possible.

Google research, conducted with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), showed that 31 percent of people hope to plan leisure travel once they feel safe enough to do so, the company said in a blog post on Monday.

"World Tourism day is coming up on September 27, and Search trends show that people have the travel bug. In August, the top queries were related to where and when people can travel 'right now,'" said Pierric Duthoit, Senior Lead, Google Global Tourism Acceleration Centre.

Where do travellers want to go right now? Heading to the beach and visiting rural areas or small towns are top of the list, particularly for Italians and the Dutch.

"Our data and analyses, available on our 'Think with Google' site, can help tourism businesses identify new trends in consumer preferences," Duthoit said.

For example, as people increasingly search for local and outdoor tourism, businesses can react to these changing needs by doing marketing campaigns that highlight nature destinations, and they can prepare for an uptick in last-minute bookings.

"We're partnering with government ministries, businesses and experts throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa to foster digital skills in the travel sector," Google said.

"While this World Tourism Day marks a uniquely challenging period for tourism, it's also an opportunity to prepare and find new ways to engage with would-be travelers," it added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
A Christian teaching assistant who is suing a school for allegedly sacking her because she opposed plans to teach LGBT relationships to primary pupils said it is 'morally necessary' to defend the 'Bible truth against harmful doctrines'.

Kristie Higgs, 44, was dismissed for gross misconduct by Farmor's School in Fairford, Gloucestershire last year after sharing Facebook posts which raised concerns about relationship education at her son's Church of England primary school.

She is seeking 56,000 in damages at a Bristol employment tribunal after senior staff allegedly branded her a 'Nazi Right-wing extremist' after the head teacher was passed a screenshot of one of her private Facebook posts.

Students were to learn about the No Outsiders in Our School programme, which is a series of books on teaching the Equality Act in primary schools.

Ms Higgs, who has spent seven years at the school as a pastoral worker, shared two posts under her maiden name in October 2018 to around 100 of her friends.

In one Facebook post, she urged people to sign an online petition against making relationships education mandatory. In another, she shared an article about the rise of transgender ideology in children's books in US schools.

In a statement submitted to the employment tribunal today, mother-of-two Ms Higgs said she 'does not believe in the modern ideas of gender fluidity and transgenderism', and believes same-sex marriage is 'contrary to God's law'.

Kristie Higgs, 44, was dismissed for gross misconduct by Farmor's School in Fairford, Gloucestershire last year after sharing Facebook posts which raised concerns about relationship education at her son's Church of England primary school

Mrs Higgs said senior staff at Farmor's School compared her views to those of 'Nazi rightwing extremists' after they saw a screenshot of a private Facebook post

'I was concerned that a lot of parents all over the country and the world simply did not know what was going on,' she said in a statement.

'As a Christian, I believe it is morally necessary to speak out in defence of the Bible truth when false and harmful doctrines are being promoted.'

An anonymous complaint was made to the school and Ms Higgs was suspended and later dismissed for gross misconduct following a disciplinary hearing.

Ms Higgs told of her shock at being suspended from the school during a meeting with the headmaster, Matthew Evans, and business manager Sue Dorey.

'I remember saying to them: sorry to put you through this extra work, but what I posted is true - this is happening all over the world,' she said.

'I was still shaking when I came home.

'I rang my dad and then rang my husband. Both of them were in shock. My boys were also in shock to know I was not going back to work.'

Ms Higgs added: 'I believe that God created mankind as 'male and female' and what he has created is good. He does not make mistakes. I therefore do not believe in the modern ideas of gender fluidity and transgenderism.

'I did not think much about this issue until it was brought up in my younger son's primary school. I knew that there were cross-dressers and that the practice of cross-dressing had been expressly condemned in the Bible.

She is seeking 56,000 in damages at a Bristol employment tribunal after senior staff allegedly compared her views to those of 'Nazi Right-wing extremists' after the head teacher was passed a screenshot of one of her private Facebook posts

'People cannot change something that has been established by God, such as their identity as a man or a woman. I am aware that same-sex marriages are now recognised under UK law, but I believe that is contrary to God's law - which only recognises marriages between one man and one woman.'

Lawyers from the Christian Legal Centre argue she had a spotless employment record and that the sacking breached her freedom of speech and religion.

Chief executive Andrea Williams told MailOnline: 'This case is about the freedom to hold Christian views about what it means to be human. Many Christians have faced pressure for expressing these views in the workplace before, but in this case, Kristie has been dismissed for sharing her views among friends on Facebook.

'What Kristie shared on Facebook simply reflects the genuine and justified concerns of a parent about the sexual ideology currently being imposed on her own children and thousands of children across the UK.

'Kristie has not only lost her job, but her whole career is now tarnished with the accusation that for holding these views she is now a danger to vulnerable children.

'This is despite an exemplary record at the school and in her work with youth in the wider community. If Kristie does not win this case, due to one complaint, she will never be able to work with children again.'

She added: 'Kristie is a kind, loving and courageous woman, and we will stand side by side with her as she fights for justice.'

Toby Young, associate editor of The Spectator magazine and founder of the Free Speech Union, told MailOnline: 'No one should be punished for expressing their religious beliefs in private, whether they are a Christian or a Muslim. Not only has Kristie Higgs' right to privacy been violated, but so too has her right to free speech.'

In one of the two Facebook posts, she shared an article from JudyBeth, an American conservative Christian commentator

Describing the affect upon her, Ms Higgs wrote: 'For a long time after those events, I was scared to go anywhere in the town.

'Many people who worked at Farmor's School would have known that I was dismissed for 'gross misconduct'.

'Fairford is small town, and I felt like everybody knew what had happened to me.'

Ahead of today's hearing, she said: 'I was told that the reasons behind my sacking were nothing to do with my Christian beliefs - it had everything to do with my Christian beliefs. The whole experience broke my heart.

'I have been punished for sharing concerns about relationships and sex education. My number one concern has always been the effect that learning about sex and gender in school will have on children at such a young age.

I have not discriminated against anyone. Through my case I want there to be renewed freedom for others, especially Christians, to express their beliefs and opinions without fear of losing their jobs.'

A spokesman for Farmor's School said: 'As this matter is subject to ongoing tribunal proceedings it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage.'
A woman who sold her house to pay for donor sperm and two rounds of IVF has shared her delight at welcoming a daughter.

Daisy De, 27, of London, was told she had a 0.1 per cent chance of conceiving, even with IVF, after endometriosis affected her fertility.

However Daisy, who works as a nanny, was determined to do 'whatever it takes' to become a mother and decided to sell her home in Leicester in order to fund her journey.

She paid a total of 50,000 for a sperm donor and two rounds of IVF and fell pregnant last year. The NHS wouldn't fund her treatment because of her age and marital status, she said.

Daisy De, 27, of London, was told she had a 0.1 per cent chance of conceiving, even with IVF, after endometriosis affected her fertility. But she welcomed daughter Hope after spending 50,000 on donor sperm and two rounds of IVF. Pictured, mother and daughter at home

Her daughter Hope was born in June and Daisy said she 'couldn't imagine life without her'.

'I will always remember the day she was born, it was truly magical,' she said. 'My best friend Anna, 31, was my birthing partner and we both laughed and cried as we admired my little beauty.'

Daisy was first diagnosed with endometriosis, a painful disorder in which tissue from the lining of her womb wrapped itself around her organs, aged 17.

She underwent five surgeries to remove it and preserve her fertility but was delivered a devastating blow in 2016 when she was told she would not conceive on her own and that the chances were slim, even with IVF.

Daisy, who works as a nanny, was determined to do 'whatever it takes' to become a mother and decided to sell her home in Leicester in order to fund her journey. Pictured, with her positive pregnancy result

Daisy was thrilled to discover she was expecting a baby and had best friend Anna, 31, by her side as her birthing partner (right)

Daisy was struck by how much hair her daughter Hope had when she was born. Pictured, Daisy in hospital with her newborn daughter

Dr Venkataraman of the Harley Street Fertility Clinic also revealed her egg count was low.

She said: 'Whilst my friends worried about what to wear on the weekend, I worried "will I ever become a mum?" As a 23-year-old, I never expected to be told I am prematurely infertile.

'I have always been maternal and knew from a young age that I wanted to be a mum. Those words made me more determined than ever. I was willing to do and pay whatever it takes.'

Daisy was unable to immediately start IVF as her ovaries were covered in cysts. The endometriosis had spread across her Fallopian tubes, vagina wall and my bowel.

She continued: 'I knew it wasn't going to be straight-forward but I worried for my body. It had been through so much already after being diagnosed with stage four endometriosis in 2010. I had already had five laparoscopies and the worst was yet to come.'

Daisy, pictured while pregnant, was determined to have a baby despite being told the chances were slim

Daisy with her adorable baby girl Hope, who was born in June following two rounds of IVF

Despite having her first egg collection in March 2016, Daisy was unable to go ahead with the treatment until she had another surgery so the embryos were frozen. Pictured, with Hope

Daisy didn't waste time and began searching for a sperm donor from London Sperm Bank. She was able to fund the treatment by using the money from her home she sold in Leicester in 2010.

She said: 'I didn't want to rush into a relationship for the sake of it. I knew I was capable of raising a baby on my own so dating was at the very bottom of my to-do list. However, it was quite strange choosing a donor as I never imaged my life to be like this.

'My previous relationships were with black men so the main characteristics I was looking for was black heritage and over 6ft with a great educational background.'

Despite having her first egg collection in March 2016, Daisy was unable to go ahead with the treatment until she had another surgery so the embryos were frozen.

In May, she had another collection and five eggs were frozen. In August, she had her sixth laparoscopy and things sadly took a turn for the worst as her left ovary became stuck to her bowel.

Daisy said she already can't imagine life without her beautiful 14-week-old daughter Hope

Daisy struggled to conceive after being diagnosed with endometriosis as a teenager. Pictured, with her adorable daughter Hope

In February 2017, Daisy's left ovary was removed followed by another laparoscopy.

She adds: 'I was willing to do whatever it takes to have a baby, even if it meant another surgery. It was one thing after the other until October 2018 - I had my final laparoscopy and I was told the next surgery will be a hysterectomy.

'I was now running out of time and options. The odds were against me but I had to stay positive.'

In June 2019, she was set to go ahead with her first round of IVF which sadly failed.

She said: 'Weirdly, I had a feeling it wouldn't work so I wasn't too upset. I remained hopeful and used a different sperm bank in America called Xytex. I had a good feeling straight away as I was able to see pictures of the donors which was much more personable.

'I chose someone that I would be drawn to if I had seen him in person, he had a nice smile and was smart.'

Daisy underwent her first round of IVF in June 2019 but it failed. Hope was born after a second successful round

Adorable Hope, pictured, now 14 weeks old, was conceived using donor sperm from a US bank

Daisy said she had always wanted to become a mother and was ready to pay whatever was needed

The following month Daisy had another egg collection and only one was retrieved and frozen.

She said: 'I was so happy that things were finally falling into place. I couldn't wait to become someone's mummy. I had to take oestrogen tablets for a few months to thicken the lining of my uterus before the embryo was transferred in September 2019.'

Daisy was delighted when a pregnancy test revealed two lines.

Throughout the nine months, Daisy didn't feel the need for a boyfriend as she was 'lucky' enough to be surrounded by friends and family.

'I decided if I have a girl she will be called Hope when I was diagnosed with infertility at the beginning of my journey,' Daisy continued. 'As I needed hope to keep on persevering.'

Daisy had an elective C-section at 38 weeks and six days and Hope was born in June.

Daisy said: 'The first thing I noticed was her thick dark hair - it looked like she had a wig stuck on her head! I couldn't stop running my fingers through her hair and kissing her.

'Even though I had seen a photo of the donor, I couldn't envision how she will look as I don't know him or his mannerisms. Anna spotted she has the same chin and lips as me and I agreed. She is a dream and makes all of those years of pain totally worth it.

'I couldn't imagine my life without her.'

Daisy looks forward to a hysterectomy in 2021 to reduce the pain.

Dr Venkataraman said: 'Daisy's case was clinically challenging and required perseverance from all of us, especially Daisy herself. Owing to her endometriosis and low ovarian reserve, she had a just a 0.1 per cent chance of success.

'Without IVF, the chances of Daisy conceiving naturally were essentially nil. However, we tackled all of those challenges and won! Little Hope is proof that you should never give up.'
AIIMS doctor sees Covid-19 easing without any vaccine by mid-2021: report

Amidst the rush of nations and pharma majors across the world to corner a larger share of the corona vaccines still under development, a report citing a key doctor at New Delhis AIIMS says the pandemic would ease even without a vaccine by the middle of next year.

It is possible that the situation created by Covid-19 would return to normal by the middle of next year even if a vaccine is not developed by then, ANI quoted Dr Sanjay Rai, Professor in Community Medicine Department at AIIMS as saying.

Dr Rai, who is also a principal investigator at the Bharat Biotech Covaxin clinical trial at AIIMS, however, said that for that to happen Covid-19 preventive measures like wearing masks, hand hygiene should be strictly followed.

Also, at the current pace of development, vaccines would not be available until middle of next year. Vaccine for all may a take one or two years more, according to Serum Institute of India.

"By mid-next year, there's a possibility of normalcy even if vaccine comes or not. There is always the natural end of any pandemic so it (COVID-19) will end too. It can happen in three ways - if we find a vaccine, if we give effective treatment or natural infection covers it. Only these three ways can end the infection. Today we do not have a vaccine or any effective treatment. If a vaccine does not come it will naturally end. When people will develop natural immunity, the virus will naturally end and it depends on our strategy," ANI quoted Dr Rai as saying.

He cited instances of Covid cases declining in areas after a surge, as in the case of Dharavi in Mumbai. Once a hotspot, the situation there is now under control.

Similarly in Delhi, newer areas are witnessing an increase in Covid cases while the hotspots are seeing an easing of case numbers.

Dr Rai said phase 2 clinical trial for Covid-19 vaccine is underway in India with a good sample size of more than 600 motivated volunteers. "Any vaccine will come by mid-next year, anywhere in the world, if everything goes as planned," he added.

Dr Rai said that 6.4 million adults above the age of 18 years were found infected in the national serosurvey conducted during April-May. He also suggested changing strategy and keeping the focus on reducing the mortality rate.

He suggested treating co-morbid patients with mild infections at home if possible, as an increase in the bed occupancy would lead to higher mortality rate due to the possibility of hospital-acquired infection.

This, he said would help reduce mortality rate.

India's COVID-19 case count has crossed the 52-lakh mark with a spike of 96,424 new cases and 1,174 deaths.

In a landmark global achievement, India has overtaken USA and become the top country in terms of global COVID-19 recoveries.

India has reported the highest number of total recoveries with more than 42 lakh (42,08,431) COVID patients recovered and discharged. India now accounts for close to 19% of the total global recoveries. This has strongly pushed the national Recovery Rate to nearly 80% (79.28%).

Number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 52,14,677 as of 6.30 on Friday, with 96,424 cases reported over the past 24 hours.

Number of recoveries also rose to 41,12,551 with the addition of 87,472 on Friday.

The pandemic took a toll of 84,372 people, including 1,174 deaths on Friday.

This leaves 10,17,754 active cases.
Donald Trump has narrowed his list of possible Supreme Court nominees to five young candidates, saying he intends to announce a pick who he says will abide by the Constitution on Friday or Saturday after all services for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg have concluded.

The president told Fox News he wants a final vote in the Senate on his coming nominee before Election Day, saying he thinks there is time before then for the upper chamber to vet the pick and hold confirmation hearings.

Mr Trump did not mention any candidate by name, but said his list is down to five, probably four candidates. He made clear he intends to pick someone who can serve on the court as a conservative voice for decades.

Theyre pretty young for the most part, he said of those on his shortlist. You like to go young because theyre there for a long time.

Supreme Court seats are lifetime appointments, making the stakes of the coming fight massive as Republicans look to lock in a 6-3 conservative bend and target everything from abortion rights to the 2011 Affordable Care Act.

Democrats are crying foul because Senate Republicans in 2016 blocked then-President Barack Obamas final high court pick, Merrick Garland, arguing a vacancy should not be filled in an election year. GOP senators on Sunday said things are different now, because voters handed their party the White House and Senate in 2016, expanding the GOP majority in the chamber two years later.

Hopefully it wont be too much work because these are qualified people., Mr Trump told Fox & Friends on Monday morning, saying his shortlist is composed of the smartest young people and saying he is looking for someone who really understands the law and abides by the Constitution.

After teenage sexual assault allegations against his last pick, now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Mr Trump said his team is looking for someone with high moral values, appearing eager to avoid another nasty Senate fight.

On the timing of his announcement, the president said he wants to wait until all services for Ms Ginsburg have been held out of all due respect for a justice he called a legend, while reminding his Fox-watching core of conservative loyalists he rarely agreed with her decisions or liberal worldview.

Mr Trump has a campaign rally scheduled on Saturday evening, but no campaign stop on Friday.

From there, he said the work begins to get the nominee through the Senates confirmation process.

But the president sent a major signal to Senate Republicans as they weigh whether or not to support a pre-Election Day vote. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska already have announced they would not support a vote before 3 November. Several others have yet to announce their stance, including Utahs Mitt Romney, the lone Senate Republican who voted to remove Mr Trump during this years impeachment trial.

If Mr Trump and Mr McConnell lose two more Republican senators, the matter would move to a post-election session. Democrats are exploring ways to possibly delay the decision even longer, into next year when they might control the Senate. The president appears to realize the Senate is in play, and wants Republicans to put their foot on the gas pedal.

We have a lot of time before [the election], he said. I think it should go before.
Offering tickets free of cost on flights under the Vande Bharat mission would have further affected the finances of Indian airlines including Air India, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday. The finances of airlines have been hugely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Puri said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the entire global civil aviation sector. In view of stoppage/restrictions in both domestic/international flights, Air India and other Indian carriers are also in a financially distressed condition... If tickets would have been offered free of cost, it would have further affected the finances and viability of Air India and other Indian carriers."

Amid the lockdown, the Modi government had started the Vande Bharat mission on May 6 to repatriate stranded Indians from abroad through special international flights. Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23.

Between May 6 and August 31, a total of 5,817 inbound flights ferrying more than 11 lakh Indians have been operated under the Vande Bharat mission from various countries, the Minister informed. Out of these, 2,292 flights have been operated by Air India Group and 1,938 flights by private Indian carriers while the remaining have been operated by foreign carriers.

Hardeep Singh Puri also stated that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has not incurred any expenditure on the Vande Bharat Mission till date and the passengers paid for their travel themselves. On the other hand, Air India and Air India Express earned Rs 2,021 crore and Rs 415 crore respectively from Vande Bharat flights up to August 31.

READ | Revenue Of India's Airlines Falls By Rs.21,886 Cr In April-June 2020 Compared To Last Year

READ | 'Domestic Air Travel Figures Returning To Pre-COVID Levels': Hardeep Singh Puri

COVID impact on airline sector

On Thursday, Hardeep Singh Puri revealed that the revenue of Indian carriers reduced to Rs 3,651 crore in April-June 2020 in comparison to Rs 25,517 crore in the same period last year. Explaining the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation sector in response to numerous unstarred questions, he noted that Air India's revenue had reduced from Rs.7,066 crore in April-June 2019 to Rs.1,531 crore during April-June 2020.

Observing that the Airports Authority of India was likely to register a loss in the Financial Year 2020-21, Puri stated that it had taken the Fund Based Working Facility of Rs.1,500 crore from the State Bank of India.

The employment at airlines, airports, ground handling agencies and cargo operators has reduced by 5,298, 3,246, 8,466, and 1,017 respectively from March 31-July 31. Mentioning that restrictions on international airlines continue, the Civil Aviation Minister reiterated that India has entered into Air Bubble agreements with USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Maldives, UAE, Qatar, Afghanistan, and Bahrain. According to him, the Centre had taken several steps to help the aviation sector such as route rationalization and reduction in GST rate for domestic Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services.

(PTI Photo)

READ | Indian Airlines Seeking Interest-free Credit Line Of At Least USD 1.5 Billion: Puri

READ | Civil Aviation Min Touts PPP Model As 'success Story' As Oppn Raises Ante On Privatisation
Indian Oil jobs application for 626 apprentice openings begins; How to apply online

Retired Navy man shoots self in Delhi

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 21: A 55-year-old retired navy personnel was shot dead allegedly by a man during a scuffle in west Delhi's Dwarka area, police said on Monday.

The incident took place in the Sector 23 area of Dwarka Sunday night, they said.

The victim has been identified Balraj Deshwal, a retired navy personnel, police said.

TV journalist shot dead in UP: 4 arrested

The accused, Pradeep Khokar, parked his car outside a building and went to its parking area in ground-floor where Deshwal was sitting with his friend, a senior police officer said.

"Khokar began an altercation with Deshwal, which led to a scuffle and later he fired at the victim," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Santosh Kumar Meena said.

A bullet hit Deshwal's mouth and he was declared brought dead at a hospital, police said.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

Police said that the accused owed around Rs 5 lakh to Deshwal who was involved in real estate business.

Khokar is absconding and police are on the job to nab him, the DCP said.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Moldovan Prime Minister Ion Chicu said on Monday that the authorities would make every effort to ensure that all citizens can cast ballots at the upcoming presidential election, including members of the Moldovan diaspora

CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2020) Moldovan Prime Minister Ion Chicu said on Monday that the authorities would make every effort to ensure that all citizens can cast ballots at the upcoming presidential election, including members of the Moldovan diaspora.

The Moldovan presidential vote is scheduled for November 1.

"The government is making every effort for the upcoming presidential election to be held democratically and in accordance with international standards. The pandemic might bring about issues with opening the polling stations in order for all of our citizens to have a chance to exercise their constitutional right to vote, including those abroad," Chicu told a briefing.

According to the prime minister, logistical issues exist inside Moldova as well as around 40 percent of its polling stations are normally arranged in the premises of schools. This year, students will have their vacations extended so that the schooling process does not intertwine with the voting, Chicu said.

Additionally, the Moldovan government banned the voting in kindergartens and student dorms due to COVID-19, according to the prime minister.

There are currently three registered presidential candidates in Moldova, including the incumbent leader, Igor Dodon.
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Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions.

Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:22:34|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Britain could see 50,000 new cases of coronavirus per day by mid-October unless intervention is taken to slow the current infection rate, the government's Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance warned Monday.

The number of new COVID-19 cases was doubling roughly every seven days and Britain could see 200 deaths a day by mid-November, Vallance told a press briefing at 10 Downing Street.

"The challenge therefore is to make sure the doubling time does not stay at seven days," Vallance said.

"There are already things in place which are expected to slow that, and to make sure that we do not enter this exponential growth and end up with the problems that you would predict as a result of that," he said.

"That requires speed, it requires action and it requires...enough in order to be able to bring that down," he added.

Four more areas in Wales are to go into lockdown from 18:00 BST on Tuesday, affecting more than 400,000 people, local media reported Monday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that in the face of the rising coronavirus cases, his government may need to "intensify things to help bring the rate of infections down."

Meanwhile, countries such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

Vallance said it is possible that some vaccine could be available in small amounts later this year, but it is more likely that a vaccine will be available early next year, although that is not guaranteed.

Vallance was joined by Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, for the briefing.

Whitty said the British government has to take decisions that will have to balance the impact on the economy with the danger of the virus.

"If we do too little, this virus will go out of control...But if we go too far the other way we can cause damage to the economy which can feed through to unemployment and poverty which have long term health effects," he said.

The British government has recently introduced "the rule of six", limiting the number of people who can gather indoors or outdoors to six. More stringent restrictions, which include a ban on the mix of different households, have been put in place in parts of Britain to tackle rising infection rates.

Britain recorded another 3,899 infections overnight on Sunday, bringing total number of coronavirus cases to 394,257. The coronavirus-related death toll rose by 18 to 41,777, according to official figures released Sunday. Enditem
Reform of the judicial system in Ukraine is a key issue, and if Ukraine does not have a reliable judicial system, it will not show its potential, French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Ponsen said in an interview with the Kyiv Post.

"Reform of the judicial system is a key issue. This country will not show its potential if there is no reliable judicial system. Where are we now? Nowhere. We are still talking about this reform and bills ... It is difficult and tedious, and someone has to do this," de Ponsen said in an interview with the Kyiv Post.

The ambassador also pointed out that the Ukrainian government does not always defer to international partners' opinion.

"Do they defer to our opinion? Yes, from time to time, but not always. We don't carry out reforms, it depends on the Rada," he explained.

The diplomat stressed that the agreements between Ukraine and France on the construction of 20 patrol boats for the State Border Guard Service (signed on July 22, 2020) and on the purchase of 55 Airbus helicopters (reached in 2018), strengthen the security of Ukraine.

In addition, de Ponsen expressed hope that Ukraine will carefully consider another list of projects worth EUR 800 million.

"These include: French electric locomotives manufactured by Alstom; modern drinking water supply in Luhansk region; integrated national breast cancer diagnostics system," the article says.

The ambassador pointed out that the French business community reports less harassment from government officials than in the past, when illegal raider attacks and pressure to take bribes were frequent.

"The situation has improved. There are no big problems," de Ponsen said.

Speaking about cooperation with Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov, who also heads the bilateral economic commission from the Ukrainian side, the diplomat pointed out that the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is a very good professional and is committed to reforms.

"He is authoritative and influential person in politics. I think he is a very good professional. He is committed to reform. He is someone with whom we can discuss. He keeps his word. He is there and he fulfills his duties. We have good professional relations," the French ambassador emphasized.
The aviation authorities of China, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan (China) have asked Vietnam to clarify the immigration process, isolation and medical requirements for international flights.

Vietnam is ready to reopen international air routes.

The Ministry of Transport has sent a document to Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, referring to the difficulties in reopening international commercial air routes carrying regular passengers to Vietnam.

According to the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance has not issued instructions to the agencies to collect tolls from passengers entering Vietnam.

Ministries, agencies and the local People's Committees, businesses, hotels and factories have not had a process to manage and supervise people who are allowed to enter Vietnam. There are no criteria for those who are from a third country in transit at six places with regular international commercial flights to Vietnam.

The Ministry of Health has not issued guidelines for medical isolation for passengers from commercial flights. The Ministry of Health is finalizing plans and procedures for medical testing and isolation for groups of subjects permitted to enter Vietnam.

In addition, localities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, need to widely publicize accommodation facilities (hotels) to serve the isolation and total capacity of the quarantine areas.

The aviation authorities of the four countries and territories, South Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan (China), have asked Vietnam to clarify the immigration, isolation and medical requirements, and accommodation facilities. The Ministry of Transport has assigned the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to work with the aviation authorities of the countries and territories mentioned.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam will direct airlines to regularly transport international passengers to Vietnam starting from September 21.

To ensure a strict and safe process when reopening commercial flights, the Ministry of Transport proposed setting up a team to manage and supervise the people who enter Vietnam and bring them to the quarantine area.

At the same time, it is proposed that the Government assign the Minister of Health to be the leader of that team, which will have officials of the Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Transport and other relevant ministries, and the People's Committees of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho City.

The Ministry of Transport also requested that Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, and the National Steering Committee to direct the Ministry of Health to urgently develop a guide for monitoring and testing for SARS-CoV-2 for people entering Vietnam in the new situation, with the resumption of international commercial flights between Vietnam and its partners that has been approved by the Prime Minister.

The Ministry of Health also urgently needs to develop plans for organizing the reception, isolation, sampling and testing of Covid-19 at airports suitable for groups of people who enter Vietnam.

The People's Committees of provinces and cities, the Departments of Health, and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of provinces and cities will inspect quarantine areas, take samples for testing, and conduct medical monitoring of those who enter Vietnam when reopening international commercial routes.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for assigning the embassy or representative agency of Vietnam abroad to inform passengers to Vietnam about the mandatory conditions. The Ministry of Public Security will direct the Immigration Police Agency to closely coordinate with CDCs of provinces and cities at airports in order to manage people entering Vietnam.

The Ministry of Finance shall coordinate with the Ministry of Health in early issuing instructions for localities and relevant agencies on the collection of quarantine fees for people entering Vietnam. Quarantine fees from people entering Vietnam will be collected under the guidance of the Ministry of Finance.

Vu Diep

Transport ministry prepares for resumption of international flights The plan for the flights' resumption needs to be approved by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, chair of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.
iStore South Africa has launched its Online Sale, offering discounts across a range of Apple products, including the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.

The sale will be exclusive to iStore South Africas online platform and will run from 21  27 September.

Products on sale include the iPhone 11 range, iPhone SE, Apple Pencil, Apple TV, and the Apple Watch.

iStore South Africa said that no stock can be reserved for the duration of the sale as purchases will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Discount on Demo stock excludes the iStore factory store. Certain product deals are limited to a certain number of units, iStore South Africa said.

Once the pre-determined number of units has been reached, the deal will come to an end and the product will be sold at the normal price.

Sale units are limited to three per customer per offer or product, it said.

Below are a few of the best deals available in the iStore South Africa Online Sale. View all the deals here.

42mm Apple Watch Series 3 GPS + Cellular  R5,499 (R3,000 off)

40mm Apple Watch Series 5  R6,999 (R2,700 off)

Apple iPhone SE 64GB Black  R8,999 (1,000 off)

Apple iPhone 11 64GB Black  R15,999 (R1,500 off)

Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max 64GB Silver  R24,499 (R1,500 off)

Apple iPad 10.2-inch Wi-Fi + Cellular 32GB Space Grey  R8,999 (R1,000 off)

Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro  R55,999 (R5,000 off)

Now read: Delays and corruption allegations over free laptops for South African students
Host Jimmy Kimmel should sure be glad about having Jennifer Aniston by his side at Monday nights Emmy Awards ceremony. In a hilariously wild moment, Jimmy started a trash can fire on stage but it took Jennifer repeated attempts to put it out.

Jimmy, who is hosting a special, coronavirus-safe and socially distanced ceremony at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, surely underestimated the flammable properties of a sanitiser liquid. On stage, after reading out a winners name, Jimmy doused the envelop in sanitiser liquid, put it in trash can and set fire to it. However, soon the fire broke into large flames when Jennifer had to intervene.

Also read: Emmy 2020 Awards Live Updates: Schitts Creek wins five awards in a row

She brought a fire extinguisher and doused the fire once, twice and even thrice. However, every few seconds, the flames would rise up again. On the fourth attempt, as Jimmy held the roasted envelope with a set of tongs, Jennifer really went in for the kill and put out the fire.

Jimmy shared the video on Twitter and wrote, Jennifer Aniston puts out a fire and saves the #Emmys. Watch it here:

Jennifer Aniston puts out a fire and saves the #Emmys! pic.twitter.com/hUBfzVzTn8  Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) September 21, 2020

The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards were originally slated to be held at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided that the ceremony will be held virtually from the actors homes across the US. This has been a miserable year... weve been quarantined and locked down, confined to our homes like prisoners, said Jimmy ahead of the ceremony. What did we find in that dark and lonely tunnel? We found a friend who is there for us 24 hours a day -- our old pal, television.

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US government scientists reported Monday that the Arctic Ocean's floating ice cover has shrivelled to its second lowest extent since satellite records began in 1979.

Until this month, only once in the last 42 years has Earth's frozen skull cap covered less than four million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles).

The trend line is clear: sea ice extent has diminished 14 percent per decade over that period. The Arctic could see it's first ice-free summer as early as 2035, researchers reported in Nature Climate Change last month.

But all that melting ice and snow does not directly boost sea levels any more than melted ice cubes make a glass of water overflow, which gives rise to an awkward question: who cares?

Granted, it's a red flag.

"The decline in Arctic sea ice in summer is one of the clearest, most unequivocal signs of climate change," said Julien Nicolas, an Arctic expert at the European Union's Earth observation programme.

And it is certainly bad news for polar bears, which are already on a glide path towards extinction, according to a recent study.

But if our bottom-line concern is the impact on humanity, one might legitimately ask, "So what?".

As it turns out, there are several reasons to be worried about the knock-on consequences of dwindling Arctic sea ice.

Feedback loops

Perhaps the most basic point to make, scientists say, is that a shrinking ice cap is not just a symptom of global warming, but a driver as well.

"Sea ice removal exposes dark ocean, which creates a powerful feedback mechanism," Marco Tedesco, a geophysicist at Columbia University's Earth Institute, told AFP.

Freshly fallen snow reflects 80 percent of the Sun's radiative force back into space.

But when that mirror-like surface is replaced by deep blue water, about the same percentage of Earth-heating energy is absorbed instead.

And we're not talking about a postage stamp area here: the difference between the average ice cap minimum from 1979 to 1990 and the low point reported todaymore than 3 million km2is twice the size of France, Germany and Spain combined.

The oceans have already soaked up 90 percent of the excess heat generated by manmade greenhouse gases, but at a terrible cost, including altered chemistry, massive marine heatwaves and dying coral reefs.

And at some point, scientists warn, that liquid heat sponge may simply become saturated.

Altering ocean currents

Earth's complex climate system includes interlocking ocean currents driven by wind, tides and something called the thermohaline circulation, which is itself powered by changes in temperature ("thermo") and salt concentration ("haline").

"A change is sea ice could disrupt this 'great conveyor belt', as its known, in ways that would have major consequences on the climate of Europe," Nicolas told AFP.

Nearly 13,000 years ago, for example, as Earth was transitioning out of an ice age into the interglacial period that allowed our species to thrive, global temperatures abruptly plunged several degrees Celsius. They jumped back up again about 1,000 years later.

Geological evidence suggests a slowdown in the thermohaline circulation caused by a massive and rapid influx of cold, fresh water from the Artic region was partly to blame.

"The fresh water from melting sea ice and grounded ice in Greenland perturbs and weakens the Gulf Stream," part of the conveyor belt flowing in the Atlantic, said Xavier Fettweis, a research associate at the University of Liege in Belgium.

"This is what allows western Europe to have a temperate climate compared to the same latitude in North America."

The massive ice sheet atop Greenland's land mass saw a net loss of more than half-a-trillion tonnes last year, all of it flowing into the sea.

Unlike sea ice, which doesn't increase sea levels when it melts, runoff from Greenland does.

That record amount was due in part to warmer air temperatures, which have risen twice as fast in the Arctic as for the planet as a whole.

But it was also caused by a change in weather patterns, notably an increase in sunny summer days.

"Some studies suggest that this increase in anticyclonic conditions in the Arctic in summer results in part from the minimum sea ice extent," Fettweis told AFP.

Bears on thin ice

The current trajectory of climate change and the advent of ice-free summersdefined by the UN's IPCC climate science panel as under one million km2would indeed starve polar bears into extinction by century's end, according to a July study in Nature.

"Human-caused global warming means that polar bears have less and less sea ice to hunt on in the summer months," Steven Amstrup, lead author of the study and chief scientist of Polar Bears International, told AFP.

"The ultimate trajectory of polar bears with unabated greenhouse gas emissions is disappearance."

Explore further Arctic summer sea ice second lowest on record: US researchers

 2020 AFP
While the district hoped that more eligible students would participate in voluntary virtual summer learning to mitigate learning loss, we also recognize that challenges related to the ongoing pandemic likely exacerbated existing barriers to participation, Gherardi said. As the district continues through the new school year, we are encouraged by a significant increase in participation from the spring, and robust outreach and academic supports for our most vulnerable learners will continue to be a priority.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 01:16:41|Editor: huaxia

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NEW YORK, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The world's challenges are interconnected and can only be addressed through reinvigorated multilateralism, which is a necessity as we build back better for a more equal, more resilient and more sustainable world, the United Nations (UN) said Monday in a declaration to commemorate its 75th anniversary.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the largest global challenge in the history of the UN, has not only caused death and serious illness, but also global economic recession, increased poverty, anxiety and fear, leaving no one untouched, the UN said.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us in the most powerful way that we are closely interconnected and only as strong as our weakest link," the UN noted, calling for solidarity to end the pandemic and build resilience against future challenges.

Thus, multilateralism has become a "necessity" as the world has been striving to "build back better for a more equal, more resilient and more sustainable world," it said, stressing that the UN must be at the center of these efforts.

The COVID-19 caught the world off guard, which is a reminder for all nations of improving their preparedness for various challenges and crises by strengthening international cooperation, coordination and solidarity, said the UN.

"It is important to learn and share experiences and information to reduce risks and make our systems more resilient," the UN noted. "There is an urgent need to accelerate development, production, as well as equitable and affordable global access to new vaccines, medicines and medical equipment."

The UN highlighted the importance of digital cooperation, as digital technologies have profoundly transformed society and shown a potential to speed up the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Shaping a shared vision on digital cooperation and a digital future, as well as addressing digital trust and security, must continue to be a priority, as the world is now more than ever relying on digital tools for connectivity and socioeconomic prosperity, the UN stressed, adding that safe and affordable digital access for all must be ensured.

"The United Nations can provide a platform for all stakeholders to participate in such deliberations," it said.

"The next 10 years, which have been designated as the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development, will be the most critical of our generation. It is even more important as we build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic," the UN said, stressing that the world needs a strong UN development system. Enditem
Businessman turns to ward boy to serve COVID-19 patients

India

oi-Briti Roy Barman

New Delhi, Sep 21: This 35-year-old man, a businessman is a true example how suffering changes people.

Subhash Baban Gaikwa, who worked as a partner at a security agency, used to earn around Rs 60,000 per month was infected by coronavirus.

Gaikwa recovered but he wanted to serve patients after the recovery, especially those affected by coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia bans flights to and from India due to surge in COVID-19 cases

So he switched the job out of choice and workign as a hospital wardboy to earn 16,000.

Gaikwa has been drawing praise too for his work. according to TIE, he told "I have survived a scare in my life. Money means nothing if you do not exist in this world. God has given me another opportunity... the medical fraternity has given me a new life and I wish to spend it in the service of patients," says Gaikwad, whose wife Savita is a nurse at the PCMC-run Bhosari hospital.

Days back, he recovered after five days and was moved to the general ward for another five days.

"My wife was my biggest support. She also tested positive and was home quarantined."

Before testing positive, Gaikwad had fever for nearly 13 days. "I had fever on and off and also bodyache. I took over-the-counter pills for two-three days. But the fever remained. Then I went to Bhosari hospital where I was tested for malaria and dengue. The report was negative. Four days passed but the fever refused to go. Then I went to a clinic. The doctor told me I should get tested if the fever persists. Then I got tested for coronavirus. The report came after three days."

"I was admitted for two days in general ward of YCM hospital and then five days in ICU. Then I was moved out of ICU," he says.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

After his home isolation was over, he saw a PCMC advertisement in the newspaper for wardboys. "I immediately went to Bhosari hospital and submitted my application. I was asked to join the next day," he says. "It was a godsend opportunity. I did not mind the low pay... My intention is to serve humanity, patients who are going through nightmare."

Gaikwad says on the first day, he was asked to clean the floor for the patients of covid. And he is happy devoting himself for the care of the covid-19 recovered patients.

"I did it sincerely. I worked in that department for a month, now I have been shifted to another department. I do whatever is asked of me... mopping floor, cleaning tables, files, clearing trash."
Though nothing may be as scary as the current year, these local haunted attractions will do their best this year to scare you silly - even if things look a little different.

From mandatory masks and temperature checks to monsters behind plexiglass, haunted houses are adjusting their scares to meet the state's COVID-19 guidelines.

While some places have decided to opt out of this year's Halloween season, many around Connecticut are using this year to find new ways to scare their patrons.

Check out the list of haunted attractions opening this year in Connecticut as well as the safety precautions they're taking amid the pandemic.
Twelve Opposition parties Sunday gave a notice for a no-confidence motion against Deputy Chairman Harivansh over the manner in which two farm Bills were passed in the Upper House after he overruled their pleas for an adjournment of the proceedings.

The BJP is also considering moving a motion for stringent action against several opposition MPs, who are accused of unruly behaviour in the House during the passage of two farm bills.

Sources said the TV footage was also being viewed to ascertain what transpired during the passage of the bills and which MPs indulged in violence.

The passed the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, through voice vote amid the din caused by opposition protests.

The Opposition parties that have submitted the notice include the Congress, All India Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, CPI, CPM, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, DMK, Aam Aadmi Party, IUML and Kerala Congress (Mani).

Congress leader Ahmed Patel said 12 parties have given a notice of no-confidence against the deputy chairman, as the manner in which the Bills were passed is a murder of democracy.

"Our demand for adjourning the House and division of votes was disallowed, he said. "We gave a no-confidence against the attitude of Deputy Chairman and the manner in which the Bills were passed."



The government flayed the opposition for "unruly conduct" of their members in Rajya Sabha during the passage of the two farm bills, condemning their behaviour as "extremely shameful" and unprecedented in Parliament's history.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Prakash Javadekar, Pralhad Joshi, Piyush Goyal, Thawarchand Gehlot and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi held a press conference to hit out at opposition members, with Singh asserting that such conduct was not expected in a healthy democracy.

Asked about Opposition parties giving a notice for a no-confidence motion against Harivansh over the manner in which the two farm bills were passed, Singh said the Chairman will take a decision on it.

JD(U) leader Harivansh was reelected as the Deputy Chairman of the Upper House on September 14, the first day of the ongoing Monsoon Session.

Patel said the Deputy Chairman should have safeguarded democratic traditions but harmed them instead.

The protesting members sat in Rajya Sabha after the House was adjourned following the passage of the Bills.

TMC MP Derek O'Brien also accused the government of "murdering" the Parliamentary system and democracy.

"The government did not allow the Opposition a vote on the farmers' bills. It is a sad day for the parliamentary democracy," he said.

The TMC MP alleged that the government knew that it did not have the numbers and that is why they did not allow a division of votes.

"Today, the BJP tried to break the back of yet another great institution of our democracy: Parliament. The basic rights of MPs guaranteed by the Constitution are snatched. No vote allowed in RS on farmers bills. Today's day will be written in black letters," 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.)
In all, the ICIJ reported that the files contained information about more than $2 trillion worth of transactions between 1999 and 2017, which were flagged by internal compliance departments of financial institutions as suspicious. The SARs are in themselves not necessarily proof of wrongdoing, and the ICIJ reported the leaked documents were a tiny fraction of the reports filed with FinCEN.

The SARs, which the reports said numbered more than 2,100, were obtained by BuzzFeed News and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and other media organizations.

The media reports were based on leaked suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by banks and other financial firms with the U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen).

Several global banks moved large sums of allegedly illicit funds over a period of nearly two decades, despite red flags about the origins of the money, BuzzFeed and other media reported on Sunday, citing confidential documents submitted by banks to the U.S. government.

Five global banks appeared most often in the documents  HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered and Bank of New York Mellon, the ICIJ reported. The SARs provide key intelligence in global efforts to stop money laundering and other crimes. The media reports on Sunday painted a picture of a system that is both under-resourced and overwhelmed, allowing vast amounts of illicit funds to move through the banking system.

A bank has a maximum of 60 days to file SARs after the date of initial detection of a reportable transaction, according to the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The ICIJ report said in some cases the banks failed to report suspect transactions until years after they had processed them.

The SARs also showed that banks often moved funds for companies that were registered in offshore havens, such as the British Virgin Islands, and did not know the ultimate owner of the account, the report said. Staff at major banks often used Google searches to learn who was behind large transactions, it said.

Among the types of transactions highlighted by the report: funds processed by JPMorgan for potentially corrupt individuals and companies in Venezuela, Ukraine and Malaysia; money from a Ponzi scheme moving through HSBC; and money linked to a Ukrainian billionaire processed by Deutsche Bank.

"I hope these findings spur urgent action from policymakers to enact needed reforms," said Tim Adams, chief executive of the trade group Institute of International Finance, in a statement. "As noted in today's reports, the impacts of financial crime are felt beyond just the financial sector  it poses grave threats to society as a whole."

In a statement to Reuters, HSBC said "all of the information provided by the ICIJ is historical." The bank said as of 2012, "HSBC embarked on a multi-year journey to overhaul its ability to combat financial crime across more than 60 jurisdictions."

Standard Chartered said in a statement to Reuters, "We take our responsibility to fight financial crime extremely seriously and have invested substantially in our compliance programmes."

BNY Mellon told Reuters it could not comment on specific SARs. "We fully comply with all applicable laws and regulations, and assist authorities in the important work they do," the bank said.
To the Editor,

On 9/8 Wood River passed a resolution not to demolish the Roundhouse as long as its structurally sound and provides a vital use. On 9/9 a local publication reported this as a guarantee which was necessary due to a nearly year-long rumor that it would be demolished. Remember in 2017 when running for office Mayor Maguire said she wanted to keep the Aquatic Center, then voted to demolish it a year later? How vital is the Roundhouse with a new rec center? On 9/11 multiple publications ran her op-ed where she claimed the resolution was necessary due to misinformation and confusion created by a grassroots effort to save the Roundhouse. This statement is false!

On 12/10/19 the city held a Work Session with the mayor, the four councilmembers, the city manager and clerk, all department heads and the architect who prepared plans for the proposed rec center. No member of the general public attended this meeting. These plans, a grant application and use of the 1% Sales Tax were discussed. Plans to demolish the Roundhouse were presented by the architect. The parks and rec director stated this was the only plan to build the proposed rec center. Following this meeting city officials and city employees started rumors about the demolition of the Roundhouse to build the rec center, not us!

At the 12/16/19 City Council meeting I asked Mayor Maguire if rumors were true about the Roundhouse demolition. Three times she refused to give a direct answer and evaded my question. Then, with the mayor voting yes in a 3-1 vote, the council approved the plans presented on 12/10/19 and authorized a $2,500,000 grant application for the proposed rec center.

On 1/21/20 the $2,500,000 grant application was submitted. The mayor certified under civil and criminal penalty all statements were true and correct to the best of her knowledge. The application contained the minutes and plans from the 12/10/19 meeting to replace the Roundhouse with a splashpad, pictures with notations of Roundhouse removal, and a narrative regarding the Roundhouse demolition with additional grant/donation funds and that all work would be completed simultaneously with construction of the proposed rec center.

During the 9/8 council meeting vote on the resolution, Councilman Stalcup asked to table the resolution noting the referendum vote on 11/3 and numerous statements to demolish the Roundhouse in the grant application. The mayor replied information about the Roundhouse was added to the grant application because the State encouraged that the application be enhanced.

Mayor Maguire wants everyone to believe the grant application statements, which she certified, werent true and blames us for exposing her patently false and misleading public statements. This behavior is totally unacceptable!

Bill Dettmers

Wood River Stop Recless Spending/Save the Roundhouse Campaign
She has been wowing audiences with her sizzling on-stage chemistry with Dancing With The Stars partner, Jesse Metcalf.

And Sharna Burgess, 35, couldn't contain her excitement as she arrived at the show's Los Angeles dance studio with Jesse, 41, ahead of rehearsals on Sunday.

After parking in the studio lot, the Australian dancer pulled away her mask to flash a mega-watt smile at onlookers.

Beaming beauty! Sharna Burgess, 35, flashed her megawatt smile from behind her face mask as she arrived at Dancing With The Stars US rehearsals in Los Angeles on Sunday

She showcased her super toned legs in a pair of teal leggings, and covered up on top with matching crop top and baggy white jumper.

The peroxide-blonde stunner showcased her flawless complexion by going makeup-free, and completed her look with white sneakers and black crew socks.

Elsewhere, Jesse cut a more low-key figure as he walked from his parked car towards the dance studio.

Say cheese! After parking in the studio lot, the Australian dancer pulled away her mask to flash a mega-watt smile at onlookers

The Desperate Housewives actor clothed his muscle-bound physique with a simple grey T-shirt, black shorts and a pair of runners.

He carried his belongings in a large Louis Vuitton duffel bag, worth approximately $3,000 AUD.

Unlike his dance partner, Jesse chose not to make eye contact with onlookers as he traversed the car park.

The sighting comes after Sharna shared the real reason why she turned down an offer to become the Australian Bachelorette this year.

The masked dancer! Elsewhere, Jesse cut a more low-key figure as he walked from his parked car towards the dance studio

Appearing on Demi Burnett's Big Demi Energy podcast in August, the ballroom dancing prodigy revealed she turned down the coveted role 'because it didn't feel right'.

'They offered it to me a couple of times actually because I judge Dancing with the Stars in Australia,' she explained.

'I considered it long and hard and thought about it, but it didn't feel right for me.'

Legging it! She showcased her super toned legs in a pair of teal leggings, and covered up on top with matching crop top and baggy white jumper

Expensive taste: He carried his belongings in a large Louis Vuitton duffel bag, worth approximately $3,000 AUD

Flawless: The peroxide-blonde stunner showcased her flawless complexion by going makeup-free, and completed her look with white sneakers and black crew socks

The Los Angeles-based beauty admitted that while she's a huge fan of the Bachelor franchise, it would be difficult for her to settle down with an Australian guy considering that she lives in America.

'It didn't feel like it lined up right, but who's to say that that next year it won't? If I'm still 36 and single next year, I'll be calling The Bachelor like, "Okay, let's do this! I need some help."'

Sharna also admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in her decision.

'It didn't feel right for me this year, and then the pandemic hit and it's postponed and all the things, but I was really excited about it for a period of time,' she said.

'It didn't feel right': The sighting comes after Sharna shared the real reason why she turned down an offer to become the Australian Bachelorette this year
Madeleine Dean, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, describes herself as a big hugger.

But there is no hugging or handshaking with Dean this year as she seeks to keep her House seat. Her political campaign is largely online to protect against the health risks of COVID-19.

The Democratic Party is supporting Deans candidacy. She represents an area north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In the state of Iowa, Senator Joni Ernst is doing things differently. She just completed a political campaign trip to 99 counties across her state. Most of the time she wore a face covering, but not all of the time. Ernst, a Republican, spoke to medium-sized groups. At one point she and supporters gathered next to each other to take a picture.

Even in these challenging times, its my job to show up and hear directly from all Iowans, Ernst said in a video message after finishing her trip.

Different methods of campaigning

The two lawmakers show the different methods of campaigning that are appearing in a pandemic election year. Candidates are hoping to win over voters in races that will decide control of Congress.

Republicans are defending a narrow three-seat majority in the Senate. Democrats want to hold onto or expand their majority in the House.

President Donald Trump is setting an example for the Republicans. He has held large campaign events -- with few face masks.

The Democratic Party, led by presidential nominee Joe Biden, is keeping events small and mostly online. The Democrats believe that voters will support them for following public health rules.

By November, voters will decide who did things right, as the coronavirus crisis rewrites the rules of political campaigning.

I cant wait for the day when I can go back to knocking on doors and being at train stations to speak to people directly, Dean said during a Zoom call with reporters. But were making the most of it.

Changing pollution opinion

The House and Senate campaigns are appealing to voters as opinions about COVID-19 continue to change. In July, an opinion survey showed that 85 percent of Americans said they were staying away from large groups. By August, about 75 percent of Americans said they were at least a little concerned about themselves or a family member being infected, the poll found.

The study was a project of the Associated Press and the NORC Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

The number of new coronavirus cases nationwide is no longer rising like it had been. But public health experts warn that Americans behavior will decide whether there is another rise in cases this year with the arrival of colder weather and the flu season.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or DCCC, has told lawmakers that they must set an example. Campaigns are looked to as leaders in the community, said a DCCC message seen by The Associated Press.

Online gatherings with candidates, text messaging and Zoom meet-ups are replacing the traditional campaign events and door-knocking operations.

Republicans appear more likely to hold in-person events. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell held public events in about 20 Kentucky communities in August.

Usually, outside groups work hard in support of candidates. They often send volunteers or workers door to door to reach voters. This year, they, too, are doing things differently.

The Congressional Leadership Fund announced it is providing $3.5 million in an effort to send people to 12 House districts that Republicans want to win.

A Republican political advisor said the party believes that with so many Americans home because of the coronavirus crisis there is a captive audience of voters to reach.

Tim Phillips of the Americans for Prosperity Action said his group started testing door knocking on June 1. By July, the group expanded door-knocking nationwide and found people are very willing to open up, he said.

The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees is launching its big green machine. The effort brings together thousands of union workers and retirees to online field office. The aim is to help elect Biden and candidates up and down the ballot, the union said.

Volunteers can call voters, send text messages and take other actions. A union official said they find that people want to do something.

Back in Philadelphia, Madeleine Dean noted that there is nothing that can compare to face-to-face meetings. But she said she strongly believes that virtual campaign events will be enough.

Im Ashley Thompson.

The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

hugger - n. someone who likes to give hugs (the act of putting your arms around someone or something as a way of showing love or friendship)

challenging - adj. difficult, sometimes in a way that is interesting or enjoyable

knock - v. to hit something (such as a door) with the knuckles of your hand or with a hard object

flu - n. a common disease that is caused by a virus and that causes fever, weakness, body aches, and breathing problems

virtual - adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet

district - n. an area established by a government for official government business

audience - n. the people who watch, read, or listen to something
Kanpur, Sep 21 : Masks have become a precautionary measure for saving lives during the ongoing corona pandemic. So, IIT-Kanpur has designed unique fashionable designer masks keeping in view the health of the people which will prove to be very effective in combating the Covid-19 infection.

This designer mask was designed by a startup incubated company 'E-Spin' at IIT-Kanpur. Dr. Sandeep Patil, Director of E-Spin, told IANS, "This variety of masks is completely indigenous. Apart from previously launched white-black masks, we have added designer colourful multi-function N95 masks which will be launched soon." He said, "This mask is completely different from other masks sold in the market but is similar to the masks we have launched earlier. People don't like black and white masks much. That is why we have made masks in diverse hues. Its top layer is coloured but there is no compromise with safety." "The visibility, filtration and capacity of masks produced by us was much better than masks available in the market. This mask is certified by Nelson Lab and can protect people from bacteria and virus attacks. These masks are also capable of stopping 300 nanometre particles. It is priced at a low price and will start getting easily available to people in the second week of October," Dr. Patil added.

He said, "Our masks were recently used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 'Bhoomi-pujan' at Ayodhya on August 5. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and political personalities from all states have been using our masks. Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, including several other celebrities were also using our masks." Nitin Charathe, other Director of E-Spin, said the mask was completely safe from viruses, bacteria, smoke, dust etc. The masks are available on the online platform and in market with the brand name 'Swasa'. "We are manufacturing black and white regular, activated carbon masks and now fashionable masks by Swasa." "Mask manufacturing started in 2018. During that time it was used more in hospitals. The company is producing 'N95 Swasa masks'. Nearly 25,000 masks were produced by us every day. The objective of this initiative is to fight the pandemic contributing to the nation's collective effort in combating the infection," Charathe added.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to reporters following a meeting with members of the U.N. Security Council in New York City on Aug. 20, 2020. (Mike Segar/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Pompeo Responds to Criticisms Hes Overtly Religious as Secretary of State

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sept. 20 responded to recent criticisms that he is overtly religious in his role as Americas most senior diplomat.

Speaking from Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, Pompeo, who has spoken openly about his Christian faith, stressed the importance of faith in the United States, and the role it plays in his job.

We know America is at its best when faith is in the public square, he said. We defend human rights inside of our borders and outside of our borders like no other nation in the history of civilization. And were not perfect. We get it wrong sometimes. Indeed, in America, oursome of our greatest failings have been when we didnt acknowledge the place that faith must play in our lives.

Returning from a tour of four nations, Pompeo addressed the role of his faith as he serves as Americas top diplomat, responding to recent remarks by former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice.

Mike Pompeo has been an overtly religious secretary of state, which in itself is problematic because again hes supposed to represent all of America, all of our religions, Rice told MSNBCs Rachel Maddow in August.

Pompeo also responded to a New York Times (NYT) news analysis that said his discussing Christianity and foreign policy has increasingly raised questions about the extent to which evangelical beliefs are influencing American diplomacy.

It [NYT] saidit says, no secretary of state in recent decades has been as open and fervent as Mr. Pompeo about discussing Christianity and foreign policy in the same breath, he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make joint statements during a news conference after a meeting in Jerusalem on Aug. 24, 2020. (Debbie Hill/Pool via Reuters)

Look, connecting faith to Americas foreign policy is an imperative. Its important. Its a good thing. I was reminded of that just this week, just this past week, Pompeo said, noting that he was at the Sept. 15 White House ceremony as two historic Middle East peace deals were signed between two Arab states and Israel.

Many things that we did enabled that. The president made the decision to recognize this biblical land and Jerusalem as the rightful capital of that nation.

But in the end, those leaders, both in public and in private, made very clear that they were adamant that their faith was at the center of this accomplishment, what it is we were collectively able to achieve, Pompeo said.

Even though these nations had and likely will have disagreements on many things for time to come, I am confident that their faith was what drove them to be able to get to the right place to make these good decisions for both of their peoples. It is no coincidence that the historic agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Israel and Bahrain are known as the Abraham Accords.

Faith, Pompeo added, is not only powerful but required by the American tradition.

Especially in these challenging times, keeping faith in the public square is not simply acceptable, but its an imperative, he said. The fact that we are human beings; our founders recognized that. And these menthese amazing men back 240-plus years agoenshrined it in our core documents that faith would in fact be in the public square. We need to live up to that each and every day.

In America, we have a very broad understanding. If you have no faith and that is your choice, we rightly dont permit a national government to establish a state religion. But everyone in this room knows what nations look like when religious freedom is stomped out and faith in the public square is eliminated.

Pompeo pointed to nations where freedom of religion has been banished from the public square, saying that the most egregious example today is perhaps the Chinese Communist Party and its treatment of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minoritiesmore than 1 million of whom have been detained in a network of detention facilities in the Xinjiang region.

Forced sterilizations, forced abortions, today, in the world in which we inhabit, Pompeo said. They are submittedsubjected to torture, and worse.

Its part of the Chinese Communist Partys constant attack on faith. Its a war on faith thats been happening for decades. The United States for the first time in many years is taking this on under President Trump in a serious way.

Responding to Rices criticism of Pompeo, Ashley McGuire of The Catholic Association said that she believes the remark perpetuates the Democratic Partys pattern of anti-religious bigotry.

Democrats have made it clear that they think faith has no place out in the open in America, McGuire told the Washington Free Beacon. In fact it is Americas long-standing tradition of protecting the right of people of all faiths, including those who hold public office, to speak openly about their beliefs, that has made this a pluralistic country.
Warning: A Biden/Harris constitutional crisis just ahead

By Mark Alexander



The Joe Biden/Kamala Harris tag team, combined with the socialist Democrat Party's collective "enemies of the people," arguably pose the greatest threat to American Liberty since 1860.

Those words will sound too strident for some conservatives who haven't been paying attention, so it's high time to educate them.

Historically, socialist assaults on Liberty in America have never been so well-funded and organized, nor have they had the aggressive backing of a major political party and the full force of its powerful opinion-shaping propagandists.

Combined with their radical legions of "useful idiots," those who've been burning American urban centers while propagating the colossal lie that "systemic racism" has permeated every facet of American life, the Harris-Biden legions are moving the country from uncivil discourse to civil war.

For the record, yeah, as I've argued since Biden's handlers put Harris on his ticket, this is, indeed, a Harris/Biden ticket. Notably, both Harris and Biden have inadvertently (or intentionally) confirmed that this week. On Monday, in a public forum, Harris referred to "a Harris administration, together with Joe Biden as the president of the United States." On Tuesday, Biden referenced "the Harris-Biden administration." In Biden's case, this might have been a "slip of the teleprompter," but the point stands. Harris is at the helm, and she's a perilous threat to Liberty.

Should Harris and Biden succeed, they will set about to undermine the First Amendment and Tenth Amendment at a pace heretofore unknown.

Likewise, they will aggressively go after the only sufficient assurance and defense of all essential rights, the Second Amendment. Indeed, the "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms" is the First Civil Right.

For that reason, Harris and Biden will pick up where Barack Obama left off, and they'll surge toward a socialist state.

This week, it's especially fitting to ask: Who are "We the People," as mentioned in our Constitution's preamble?

Most Americans of all colors and creeds are good people trying to get through their day and make ends meet for their families. But "We the People" constitute the majority of respectful and law-abiding Americans who are charged with serving more than our own self-interests. We Americans are charged with extending the Liberty bequeathed to us to the next generation, and that starts with our commitment to "to support and defend" our Constitution.

September 17th was the 233rd observance of the adoption of our Republic's founding contract  that date in 1787 when our Constitution was signed by the Convention delegates in Philadelphia.

That occasion codified the birth of a new nation after a brutal Revolutionary War waged by the first American Patriots against the world's most powerful military force. My family ancestors were among those who waged that war on numerous fronts, until its conclusion when the British surrendered at Yorktown in October of 1781. We've fought in every major conflict since, which serves in no small measure as the inspiration for what we do every day.

It is upon that Republican foundation, and the blood of generations of Patriots who have defended it, that We the People today, the current generation of grassroots American Patriots, remain undeterred in our commitment "to support and defend" Liberty and Rule of Law in rejection of the statist rule of men, the irrevocable terminus of which is tyranny.

That Liberty is forever "endowed by our Creator," as affirmed in our Declaration of Independence and enshrined in our Constitution.

Additionally, it's no small coincidence that on September 17, 1996, our Patriot Post team launched our publication  which makes us the oldest web-based news and policy analysis digest. Indeed, the foundation of our mission is the unwavering advocacy of American Liberty: advocating for individual rights and responsibilities; supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary; and promoting free enterprise, national defense, and traditional American values as outlined in our Statement of Principles.

Frankly, with that frame of reference, I've been awestruck since Donald Trump's inauguration at what he has done to restore Liberty. Trump and his administration have accomplished more than any president since Ronald Reagan to stand in the gap between Liberty and tyranny, and against the socialist threat from radical leftists  which accounts for their abject hatred of the president.

Every day, we see evidence of the impact of how the Trump administration has empowered the defense of our Constitution.

Just this week, for example, a Trump nominee to the U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, issued a ruling that fired a loud shot over the heads of herds of leftist politicians who have stepped all over the constitutional rights of the citizens, using the CV19 pandemic as justification.

Judge William Stickman struck down Pennsylvania Democrat Governor Tom Wolf's onerous diktats closing all "non-life sustaining businesses" under the auspices of containing the pandemic.

According to Stickman, statewide lockdown orders are "such a dramatic inversion of the concept of liberty in a free society as to be nearly presumptively unconstitutional." Despite the fact that Wolf eased restrictions, Stickman's declaratory judgment made clear "(1) that the congregate gathering limits imposed by defendants' mitigation orders violate the right of assembly enshrined in the First Amendment; (2) that the stay-at-home and business closure components of defendants' orders violate the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; and (3) that the business closure components of defendants' orders violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."

If you didn't smile the first time, read that judgment again.

As our managing editor Nate Jackson noted yesterday, "This ruling does several things beyond the immediate implications: It reveals that Democrats will exceed their authority whenever the fit takes them. It shows that Trump's remaking of the judiciary is critical and must continue. And it should remind all Americans that we live not under the whim of any elected official but under the Rule of Law enshrined in the Constitution. That will have implications for other governors who insist on continuing varying levels of lockdown."

Such judgments in support of our 233-year-old Constitution are precisely what our Founders intended, and they are completely antithetical to what Harris and Biden are planning.

Here's what our Founders wrote about our Constitution and Rule of Law.

George Washington: "The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government. But the Constitution, which at any time exists, 'till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole People, is sacredly obligatory upon all. ... Let there be no change by usurpation; for ... it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed."

Thomas Jefferson: "Our peculiar security is in possession of a written Constitution. Let us not make it a blank paper by construction. ... In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution."

James Madison, the "Father of our Constitution": "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the State."

But Harris, Biden, and their socialist Democrats have no intention of upholding Rule of Law. They are only interested in concentrating their own power by way of empowering the state. If they rise to power, it may be, at long last, time to consider a "Constitutional Confederation of the States" in order to deter the complete erosion of our Constitution.

And for certain, should the socialist Democrats suffer another Electoral College loss in November, they and their riotous constituents will not go quietly.

Finally, it's worth recalling the words of President Reagan in his sixth State of the Union address: "Why is the Constitution of the United States so exceptional? Well, the difference is so small that it almost escapes you  but it's so great it tells you the whole story in just three words: We the People. In the constitutions [of other nations], the government tells the people what they are allowed to do. In our Constitution, we the people tell the government what it can do and that it can do only those things listed in that document and no others. Virtually every other revolution in history has just exchanged one set of rulers for another set of rulers. Our revolution was the first to say the people are the masters, and government is their servant."

Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post.
M ystery was surrounding Covid-19 testing in London as figures showed a sharp drop in confirmed cases in the capital despite the belief the virus is spreading.

The number of cases fell from 2,335 in the seven days from September 4 to 10, to 1,699 in the period from September 11 to 17.

With medical and scientific chiefs warning that the virus is spreading fast, the number of positive cases would be expected to rise.

The data could suggest hundreds of cases in the capital are going untraced, which risks fuelling the spread of the disease if these individuals are continuing to go to work and socialise rather than self-isolate.

Another possibility is that the fall in cases reflects the virus retreating after the rule of six restrictions on social gatherings was introduced last week.

Whitehall officials, however, are said to no longer fully trust the testing data to show how the epidemic is growing and instead are relying increasingly on other information, such as Covid-19 hospitalisations and coronavirus-related calls to the NHS.

Infection rates are continuing to rise in a small number of hotspot boroughs, including Redbridge, which has reached 42.6 cases per 100,000 over a seven-day rolling average, up from 36.4 the previous week.

UK could have 50,000 Covid cases per day by October, says Vallance

The rates are falling in other areas, including Hackney and the City of London, Hounslow, Enfield, Tower Hamlets, Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth and Croydon.

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The Department of Health insisted testing is available in London and urged people to seek a test only if they have Covid symptoms or were otherwise eligible. However, shadow health minister Justin Madders stressed the London figures showed a hugely worrying situation.

Rates in individual boroughs can be significantly affected by an outbreak, for example in a care home, as the number of confirmed cases is still low in the city, but had been rising quickly.

Anne Longfield, the childrens commissioner for England, also warned that the Government must urgently improve its testing regime.

She said: The PM and chief medical officer have said schools are a priority. But they cant now throw those achievements away by not having tests in place.
A delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) met President Ram Nath Kovid on Monday requesting him to not give his nod to the farm bills passed by the Rajya Sabha (or Upper House of Parliament) on Sunday.

These bills have already been passed by the Lok Sabha and await Presidents nod before becoming law.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Kovind, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said the partys delegation requested the President to not sign on the anti-farmer bills that were forcefully passed in the Rajya Sabha. We requested him to send back the bills to Parliament, he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Badal had on Saturday said that there can be no talks with the Centre until the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 are taken back.

On Sunday, he said that the passage of bills marked a sad day for democracy and millions in the country.

Urging President of India not to sign the Bills on farm issues and return them to #Parliament for reconsideration. Please intervene on behalf of farmers, labourers, arhtiyas, mandi labour and Dalits, or they will never forgive us, the SAD leader had said in a statement on Twitter shortly after Rajya Sabha passed two of the three bills.

Democracy means consensus, not majority oppression, he added.

Also, in line with her partys dissent over the bills, SAD leader and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had resigned from her post on Thursday following the passage of bills in the Lok Sabha.

Apart from SAD, which is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government, 12 Opposition parties have also sought time to meet Kovind over the agri bills cleared by the Rajya Sabha.

According to news agency PTI, leaders of various political parties including the Congress, the Left parties, NCP, DMK, SP, Trinamool Congress and the RJD have in a memorandum to the President sought his intervention in the matter and asked him not to sign the bills, which will become a law after the President grants his assent to them.
But the effort is in keeping with Mr. Trumps attempts to shift focus on the campaign trail from his administrations flawed response to the coronavirus pandemic to what he portrays as unmanageable levels of violent crime in American cities. He has cast himself as a friend to the police and Democrats as aiding and abetting lawlessness by not cracking down on violence at protests.

The Justice Department said that it had made its determinations by looking at whether a jurisdiction forbade police from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence and whether local authorities withdrew protective forces from any areas or structure that law enforcement officers were lawfully entitled to access.

The department also examined whether jurisdictions withdrew funding or otherwise disempowered police departments, or refused aid from federal law enforcement, acts that all three cities have undertaken.

The criteria seemed aimed directly at the three cities Mr. Trump had cited in his memo. Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle, a Democrat, allowed the police to abandon a station near the citys downtown and let some city residents establish a police-free protest zone this summer. The police-free zone operated with the tacit approval of city officials, enraging Mr. Trump, and it was not cleared until after two teenagers were fatally shot in the area.

New York and Portland have said that they do not want federal forces patrolling their streets, and they diverted financial and other resources from their police departments to other parts of their governments.

But the Justice Department said it would also consider any factors that Mr. Barr deemed appropriate in determining whether a city should lose funding, leaving the attorney general broad authority to urge the White House to crack down as he saw fit.

At a news conference on Monday, New York officials struck back. Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York said he saw anything but anarchy in the city, and Attorney General Letitia James warned that Mr. Trump would have to defend the order in court.
A male aged in his 40s was killed during a serious road traffic collision in Dublin late last night.

Gardai and emergency services attended the scene of the fatal head-on collision between two cars on the N7 outbound at Kingswood, Co. Dublin at approximately 12:20am.

One man, the driver of one of the vehicles, was pronounced deceased at the scene. His body has since been removed to Dublin City Morgue.

Another male in his 30s has been taken to Tallaght Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

A third man, aged in his late 20s, was taken to Tallaght hospital for treatment. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

A fourth male, in his 40s, was treated at the scene but did not require hospital admittance.

The road was closed temporarily closed as Forensic Collision Investigators carried out an examination, but it has now reopened.

Gardai say one of the vehicles had come to their attention prior to the incident and, as such, the matter has been referred to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC).

They say an investigation into the crash is ongoing.
PM Phuc urged the entire ASEAN to take drastic action to fight against COVID-19, photo: Tuan Anh

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the 53rd ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting and related meetings held online last week that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold in complex manner, and the regions people and businesses are still outstretched by its repercussions.

One of the priorities for ASEAN now is to control COVID-19 and promote sustained recovery. I propose that the COVID-19 Response Fund should be well utilised and the Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies should be put into operation so as to raise ASEANs response capacity, he stressed. We need to promptly help our people and firms restore production and return their life to normal so as to boost economic recovery. Efforts are also to be made to facilitate trade and investment, fix disrupted supply chains, enhance connectivity, and provide mutual support to bridge the development gaps between the sub-regions in ASEAN, including the Mekong.

Global data analysts FocusEconomics told VIR that except for Vietnam, almost all regional economies are expected to suffer from negative growth this year, including ASEAN as a whole (-3.2 per cent), Brunei (0.2 per cent), Cambodia (-0.7 per cent), Indonesia (-1.3 per cent), Malaysia (-4.2 per cent), Myanmar (1.7 per cent), the Philippines (-6.1 per cent), Singapore (-5.9 per cent), and Thailand (-7.1 per cent). Vietnam is projected to reach 2.7 per cent.

A recent McKinsey study shows that several emerging ASEAN countries could see a more drastic slowdown this year, including Thailand (-13 per cent), Malaysia (-13.5 per cent), and the Philippines (-13.6 per cent). Meanwhile, Indonesias economy could see a decline of -10.3 per cent, roughly on par with the global average. All of these countries are estimated to record annual GDP growth below that of the 2008 global financial crisis, at -11.5 per cent to -5.3 per cent forecasted for 2020, compared with -2.2 per cent to 4.5 per cent in 2009.

The grey forecasts would also mean big unemployment across the region. In Malaysia, for example, it was reported that unemployment climbed 42 per cent on-year for the first quarter of 2020. The nations Social Security Organisation stated that COVID-19 has hurt all enterprises there, with businesses suffering from a 37 per cent fall in demand and a 42 per cent decline due to being unable to operate as per usual. The unemployment rate in Malaysia is predicted to hit 4 per cent in 2020 against 3.2 per cent during the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

In another case, Indonesia reported that its unemployment rate due to COVID-19 could hit its highest in over a decade increasing to 9.2 per cent, or almost 13 million people, later this year.

Meanwhile in Vietnam, the General Statistics Office reported that in the first eight months of 2020, the number of firms halting operations hit 34,300, up 70.8 per cent on-year. Some 24,200 enterprises were waiting to be dissolved, down 5.9 per cent on-year. About 10,400 businesses completed dissolution procedures, down 1.9 per cent on-year. Also, 30,600 firms did not operate at registered addresses, up 39.3 per cent on-year.

We have had to halt operations since July as we cannot find any markets for our products and do not have sufficient capital to maintain operations, said Nguyen Tat Thang, director of Hai Minh Trading and Investment Co. Ltd., in Hanois Quang Minh Industrial Zone. Last year, the company borrowed VND3 billion ($130,000) from banks to expand its production of home appliances and wooden products. All of the companys 100 people have been laid off.

Nguyen Duc Manh, 40, one of those prevented from working at Hai Minh, said, Im quite anxious about our familys future as my wife, a worker from a nearby company, has also been laid off. No job means no money, while our two kids have just entered the new school year.

According to Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, to lift people and enterprises in the region out of difficulties, much remains to be done.

Aware that the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic is still looming, we will proactively contain it via prevention measures and development of accessible vaccines and medications, while undertaking early and effective action to support people and businesses to overcome the consequences, thereby step-by-step recovering the economy and returning their lives to normal, he stressed. The ASEAN Coordinating Council will discuss thoroughly ways and means to effectively push forward ASEANs efforts and initiatives to respond to COVID-19.
OLD SAYBROOK  An Old Saybrook restaurant is striving to complete safety measures and reopen Wednesday after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus, according to staff.

Robert Marcarelli, director of operations for Livs Oyster Bar, said in a statement that an employee had been exposed to someone who had tested positive, then later tested positive themselves. The employee had limited contact with customers and staff, Marcarelli said, and has not shown symptoms.

We have notified our local health department and they have confirmed we are following the correct protocols. Consistent with all state and federal regulations we will be closed until all our employees are now tested, as well as safety measures to ensure a safe environment, said Marcarelli. All employees tested have shown to be negative. Anyone within close contact of the employee that tested positive will take a second test prior to returning to work.

The restaurant was cleaned by a professional company this week, Marcarelli said.

The company has taken precautions to keep the restaurant safe during the pandemic, he said, including taking the temperatures of guests and staff each night, checking in on the well-being of staff, and, above all, washing their hands and sanitizing the place.

Marcarelli said the restaurant had received positive feedback from the community for stepping forward to report the positive test result, with residents saying they would return once the restaurant reopens.

For this we are so grateful! Marcarelli said. Covid-19 has impacted restaurants across the nation. We have been operating at 50 percent in a time when we are typically safeguarding money for the winter. But as a family owned business we take the health and well being our our staff and guests very seriously. And we will not open until we are 100 percen,t ready. Unfortunately we have fallen under a circumstance out of our control. We have and will continue to be in contact with our teams until we are ready to reopen.

Marcarelli noted that the company continues to operate Liv's Shacks in Old Saybrook and Westbrook.

The hope is to reopen Livs Oyster Bar on Wednesday, he said, assuming everything is ready to go.

(W)e look forward to seeing everyone back at the Oyster Bar soon for the upcoming $1 Oyster Happy Hour! he said.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Four out of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council have bilaterally expressed support for India's candidature for a permanent seat at the global body, the government said on Monday.

In reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said India has accorded the "highest priority" to getting permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council (UNSC).

"Four out of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council have bilaterally expressed official affirmations of support for India's candidature to a permanent seat in an expanded UNSC," he said.

Muraleedharan, however, did not name the countries.

"In the joint statement issued on the occasion of the visit of the Indian Prime Minister to China in May 2015, it is stated that 'China attaches great importance to India's status in international affairs as a large developing country, and understands and supports India's aspiration to play a greater role in the UN including in the Security Council, he said.

At present, the UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent member countries which are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly of the UN.

The five permanent members are Russia, the UK, China, France and the United States and these countries can veto any substantive resolution.

There has been growing demand to increase the number of permanent members to reflect the contemporary global reality.

India, Brazil, South Africa, Germany and Japan are strong contenders for permanent membership of the UNSC which has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

The process of UNSC reforms is being presently discussed under the intergovernmental negotiation framework of the UN General Assembly.

Last week, the grouping of India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) expressed "frustration" over the "slow" pace of progress on reform of the UN Security Council and said the time has come to move towards a result-oriented process to expand the key global body.

Replying to a separate question on the Chabahar port, Muraleedharan said it has handled over 53,000 tons of India's wheat bound for Afghanistan since the beginning of the current fiscal.

"The Indian company, India Ports Global Limited, has taken over port operations in December 2018 and has since handled 12 lakh tons of bulk cargo and about 8200 containers," he said.

"In the recent past, there has been a rise in transit cargo for Afghanistan through Chabahar. India's assistance of 75,000 tons of wheat to Afghanistan, of which eight consignments have already been shipped, is being supplied via Chabahar," he added.

The Chabahar port is located on the Indian Ocean in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan province.

It is being jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan and is considered a gateway to opportunities for trade by the three countries with central Asian nations.

On the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, the minister said the two sides remain engaged on it.

"India and Iran continue to cooperate on developmental projects in Iran, including the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line," Muraleedharan said.
The cash infusion has given the Biden campaign an edge in advertisement spending, particularly in its ability to purchase costly ads in battleground states. Since August, the Biden campaign has outpaced the Trump campaign in television ad reservations, data show. These reservations were made to place ads at any point in the next six weeks of the general election campaign and beyond.
The United States could immunize Americans "most susceptible" to Covid-19 by December if a vaccine is approved before then, President Donald Trump's coronavirus vaccine czar told CNBC on Monday.

The U.S. could also immunize "most of the elderly" and health-care workers in January, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, who is leading the Trump administration's Covid-19 vaccine program Operation Warp Speed, said in a "Squawk on the Street" interview. The rest of the public would get a vaccine sometime in January, February, March and April, he added.

Covid-19 vaccine development is progressing "very well," he said, with the U.S. already investing in 25 different manufacturing facilities to help produce six potential vaccines. The U.S. has spent billions on six vaccine candidates, including ones from Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which are currently in late-stage testing.

"We are already stockpiling small amounts of vaccine doses that could become readily available in November or in December," he said.

Slaoui's remark came shortly after Trump reiterated on Fox News on Monday that the U.S. could have a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of October. On Friday, he said the U.S. will manufacture at least 100 million coronavirus vaccine doses before the end of the year and have enough to inoculate every American by April.

Asked which drugmaker could be the first to be approved, Trump said Monday that Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca are progressing well. He added Johnson & Johnson's vaccine will "probably be a little later."

U.S. health officials have repeatedly said they don't expect to find a safe and effective vaccine until the end of the year or early 2021, though there is never a guarantee. Trump's vaccine forecast has added to concerns from infectious disease experts and scientists that he is pressuring U.S. regulators to approve a vaccine before it's been adequately tested.

On Sept. 8, nine drug companies in an unusual move released a letter pledging that they would prioritize safety and uphold "the integrity of the scientific process" in their efforts to develop coronavirus vaccines.

Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, also addressed political concerns, telling the Economic Club on Sept. 10 that he has "no intention" of overruling career scientists at the FDA on a vaccine approval.

Earlier this month, Slaoui told Science Magazine that he would "immediately resign" if there were undue interference in this process.

"I'm out," he said, according to a transcript of the interview. "I have to say there has been absolutely no interference. Despite my past, which is still my present, I am still the same person with the same values. The pandemic is much bigger than that. Before being a political person with convictions, humanity has always been my objective."

When asked by CNBC on Monday whether he would publicly take a vaccine once it's been granted emergency use authorization or approval, Slaoui said, "Certainly."

"Would I just as a person, with my values and ethics, ever agree knowingly that something is unsafe and say, 'No, it's safe.' I can guarantee you that would never happen. And, therefore, I'll take it," he said.

He added he'll be looking to see what the recommendation will be from the FDA's advisory committee of outside experts. He said it's possible some of the vaccines could be better suited for the elderly, while others may be better for young adults and children.
FULL THROTTLE: Stories, by Joe Hill. (Morrow, 496 pp., $18.99.) In these scary stories, two of which the author wrote with his father, Stephen King, the gruesome skin of horror  as our reviewer, Charles Yu, put it  wraps around a darker psychological root: the horrors of everyday life.

FURIOUS HOURS: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, by Casey Cep. (Vintage, 352 pp., $16.95.) More than a decade after To Kill a Mockingbird was published, Lee began research on an Alabama preacher who got away with murdering and collecting life insurance on multiple wives and relatives. Picking up the true-crime story where Lee left off, as an excuse to study Lees ultimate silence, Cep lays bare the inner life of a woman who had a world-class gift for hiding, our reviewer, Michael Lewis, wrote.

SPEAKING AMERICAN: How Yall, Youse, and You Guys Talk: A Visual Guide, by Josh Katz. (Mariner, 224 pp., $17.99.) This map-filled survey of American regional dialects, by a Times graphics editor, is a spinoff of the popular quiz he developed for The Upshot in 2013 after collecting data from more than 350,000 people across the country.

THE SEINE: The River That Made Paris, by Elaine Sciolino. (Norton, 400 pp., $17.95.) Our reviewer, Edmund White, called Sciolino  a former Paris bureau chief for The Times  a graceful and companionable writer, someone who speaks about France in the most enjoyably American way, gently informing even as she entertains. White pronounced her book another beautiful and amusing wreath laid on the altar of the City of Light.
BENNINGTON, Vt.  State Police said they are investigating a homicide after human remains found last year in a Searsburg gravel pit were determined to be those of a 43-year-old Capital Region woman who was last heard from by family in July 2019.

Troopers used DNA analysis and investigative work to determine the remains belong to Jessica Hildenbrandt, 43. Police indicated she was from Ballston Spa. Two of her social media accounts said she lived in Niskayuna, and one of her last known addresses was on the border of Colonie and Niskayuna.

Though the Vermont Chief Medical Examiners Office ruled the death a homicide, investigators said the cause of her death is undetermined.

Hildenbrandt, who troopers said was known by the nickname "Red," spent significant time in the Bennington area. Her two Facebook pages indicate an ex-boyfriend lived there.

On April 1, 2019 she posted an apology on Facebook to people she "hurt through my insane toxic relationship." Her final Facebook post was on July 7, 2019.

Police say July 2019 was when she was last in touch with her family.

A relative in Ballston Spa posted on Facebook that the family "needs answers and justice."

"Nobody deserves this," she wrote. "Processing this was hard for many reasons and hopefully this helps bring things to light."

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

The investigation of the woman's killing began when a person called the State Police on Sept. 17, 2019, saying he believed he'd found a human jawbone. Troopers said they found other remains on the site of the gravel pit on Somerset Road.

It is unclear if New York State Police were investigating Hildenbrandt's disapperance. Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo said his deputies were not, and there was no apparent media coverage noting she was missing.

Searsburg is east of Bennington on Route 9.

Anyone with information about this case can contact the Vermont State Polices Shaftsbury Barracks at 802-442-5421.
A rescue dog has been thrown into the deep end of fundraising after swimming the equivalent of 37 miles to raise cash for an animal sanctuary.

Cyril, a two-and-half-year-old Podenco cross, swam for 37 minutes while being held stationary in a hydrotherapy pool specifically built for animals.

Money raised from the sponsored swim will go to the sanctuary in the Isle of Man that took him in when he was born to abandoned mother in Spain.

The pooch struggled with a leg injury and needed an operation on his anterior cruciate ligament.

He had been visiting the hydrotherapy pool in Bride in the Isle of Man to aid his rehabilitation in recent months.

Cyril's owner Caroline Cardona, 44, who runs Greenhill's Animal Sanctuary in Sulby, said she chose 37 miles as it is the distance of the island's annual TT race.

She said: "He was brilliant, it went really well.

"He swam for about 10 minutes then would stop for a rest and swim again.

"He loved it, he's loved going there, he gets really excited every time he goes to the pool.

"He really does enjoy it and it has been fantastic for his recovery, it really is helping him."

Originally from Spain, Cyril has lived with Caroline at her animal sanctuary for the past year with his sister.

Caroline said: "A lot of dogs get abandoned in the street in the Spain.

"I know a lady who lives there and she was filming a dog who had been left in the street when she was pregnant.

"She actually gave birth in the street, I was watching it like 'is this real?'

"The lady was rearing the dogs and I wanted Cyril so asked if I could have him.

"She couldn't look after them all so I took him and his sister Jessie in. All seven pups ended up on the Isle of Man."

Animal lover Caroline cares for four horses, nine cats, seven dogs and eight sheep on her sanctuary, which covers 10 acres of land.

Her sanctuary is entirely non-profit and any money she makes goes to help the animals.

Story continues

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit the island and forced people into lockdown, all of her monthly fundraising events were cancelled, leaving her cash-strapped.

Caroline added: "Every month, especially through the summer, I always hold a fundraising event and this year I haven't been able to hold any.

""The TT race has also been cancelled, so I thought we'd do the swim the same length as the course.

"For every minute that Cyril swims stationary, it is the equivalent of a mile."

Caroline is hoping to raise around 1,500 to cover costs incurred during the pandemic.

She added: "It's been so hard because I still have all the bills to pay to keep the sanctuary running and to I have to feed all the animals.

"I take in all sorts of animals, I have a lot of animals with psychological problems.

"One dog is on her tenth home, she was found in Scotland where her owner was prosecuted for neglect."

Visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/greenhillssanctuarycyril to donate to Cyril's fundraising efforts.
CALGARY - The long-standing chief executive of TC Energy Corp. is set to retire having overseen a corporate name change and dramatic growth and stock price appreciation, but without achieving completion of the contentious Keystone XL pipeline project.

The Calgary-based pipeline, utility and power generation company has announced that Russ Girling will retire at the end of this year after 10 years as president and CEO, also giving up his seat on the board of directors.

He is to be replaced as director and CEO by chief operating officer Francois Poirier, who is also president for power and storage and Mexican operations.

Girling said in a statement it has been a privilege and honour to lead TC Energy.

With the wisdom and guidance of the board and the skills and tenacity of our dedicated employees, we have accomplished many things, delivered the energy critical to millions of people safely and reliably every day, and created significant shareholder value, he said.

I am grateful for the opportunity and confident in how the company is positioned to prosper as global demand for energy.

Girlings age was listed as 57 in the companys management information circular in February.

The timing is a surprise but the replacement isnt, said analyst Ian Gillies of Stifel FirstEnergy in a report.

He pointed out that the companys stock has increased by more than 68 per cent since Girling was named CEO on July 1, 2010, and the company has paid out about $23.84 per share in cumulative dividends.

In Toronto, the stock fell by as much as $2.19 or 3.6 per cent to $58.28 in morning trading.

The Keystone XL pipeline expansion has been the most-watched TC project during Girlings tenure although it was first proposed before he became CEO, in 2008, when George W. Bush was U.S. president.

In March, the company approved construction of the US$8-billion project to transport up to 830,000 barrels per day of oil from Alberta to Nebraska after the provincial government agreed to invest about US$1.1 billion (C$1.5 billion) as equity and guarantee a US$4.2-billion project loan.

Its future is still in doubt, however, as Democratic candidate Joe Biden has said he would cancel the vital Keystone XL presidential permit if he is elected president in November.

The growing difficulty of getting cross-border pipelines built was cited by analysts as part of the strategy when TC Energy changed its name from TransCanada Corp. in May 2019.

The company, however, maintained it was due to its growing presence in the United States through deals like its US$13-billion purchase of U.S. natural gas transporter Columbia Pipeline Group, along with its growing roster of natural gas pipelines in Mexico.

Girling has led the company through a period of unprecedented growth and transformation said TC chairman Siim Vanaselja in a statement.

His discipline, integrity and strategic leadership have been instrumental in the success our company has enjoyed, he said.

TC said Girling and Poirier were not available for interviews on Monday.

Girling joined TransCanada in 1994 after holding marketing and management positions at Suncor Energy Inc., Northridge Petroleum Marketing and Dome Petroleum.

He held positions including chief operating officer, pipelines president, chief financial officer and executive vice-president, power, before becoming CEO.

Poirier joined the company in 2014 as president, Energy East Pipeline (a project cancelled in 2017), after about 25 years in investment banking.

Girling is expected to help Poirier with the transition through Feb. 28.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP, TSX:SU)

Read more about:
Guests attend an event jointly held by the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, UN Women, the UN Population Fund and Rehabilitation International. [For chinadaily.com.cn]

The China Disabled Persons' Federation will take concrete actions to safeguard rights, dignity and value for women with disabilities, federation chair Zhang Haidi said, as the nation has made headway in curbing women's poverty in recent years.

The federation will further strengthen international collaboration to protect disabled women's rights in education, employment and social security and bolster their involvement in cultural and public affairs, she said at a gathering in Beijing on Thursday.

The event was jointly held by the federation, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, UN Women, the UN Population Fund and Rehabilitation International.

Zhang, also president of Rehabilitation International, an international advocacy group for disability rights, said global efforts to achieve sustainable development must benefit and empower disabled women, who, as major contributors to world peace and stability, are also in dire need of assistance.

The federation has been working for years to improve the nation's public service system to the benefit of the disabled community, she added.

At the meeting, the federation and other event organizers released a document titled "Call to Action: Enabling Sisters with Disabilities to Join in Shaping the Future We Want", calling for a coordinated global effort to empower disabled women and girls.

The meeting came as the world marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, which rolled out the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals five years ago.

This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the fourth and the most recent World Conference on Women, which was held in Beijing and remembered as a major event on worldwide gender equality.

The federation said in a media release half the world's 1 billion disabled population are women and girls, who face "double discrimination" for being women and disabled. The COVID-19 outbreak has created new challenges in this area.

China has helped more than 93 million farmers escape rural poverty since late 2012, when China renewed a nationwide campaign to curb domestic poverty. The All-China Women's Federation said half of those who shook off poverty during the period are women.

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)
New Delhi:

Ahead of the Budget session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar have convened separate all-party meetings on January 30 to ensure smooth conduct of proceedings and to know the various issues the political parties seek to raise during the session.



Sources said while the governments meeting has been convened in the morning, the Speakers dinner meet is in the evening.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to raise the issue of transparency in poll fundings during the meeting convened by the government with leaders of various political parties.



The meetings come a day before President Pranab Mukherjee addresses a joint sitting of the two Houses in the Central Hall of Parliament.

Read | No state-specific schemes shall be announced in Budget to ensure fair elections, says Election Commission



The Union Budget is slated to be presented on February 1 and the Economic Survey may also be tabled the same day.



The first half of the session will be a short affair and will end on February 9 as it is being held in the middle of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.



A shorter first part will help parties focus on electioneering. The second half of the session will begin on March 9 and will conclude on April 12.



Sixteen Opposition parties had this month moved the Election Commission urging it to ask the government to present the Union Budget after the elections are over on March 8 so that it is not used as a tool by the NDA to influence voters in the five states.



While the Supreme Court today refused to give any directions to the government in this regard, the Commissions decision is long awaited.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Northampton County is moving full speed ahead to deal with the falling-down Glendon Hotel.

In July, the borough approved a zoning variance for a plan to demolish what is left standing of the hotel on Main Street in Glendon, and replace it with five townhomes.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 15:17:16|Editor: huaxia

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BANGKOK, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- A two-year-old Myanmar boy, who has tested positive for COVID-19 in Myanmar, was believed to have contracted the disease while traveling from Thailand to Myanmar earlier this month, according to an official report released on Sunday.

The report from the Disease Control Department of Thailand's Ministry of Public Health said the Myanmar boy was likely infected with the virus during the time when he was taken across the Thai-Myanmar border by his parents through a natural path in Mae Sot district of Tak province in western Thailand.

His parents managed to slip out of the Thai border area with apparent intent to evade anti-pandemic measures at Mae Sot border checkpoint.

The toddler was suspected to have contracted COVID-19 between Sept. 4 and Sept. 10 after his parents had quit jobs in Ayutthaya province last month, according to the department's report.

The reports said the boy was not suspected to have been infected while living in Thailand since a total of 146 people, reported to have been in contact with him at migrant workers camps in Ayutthaya province and those in Nakhon Ratchasima province, have tested negative.

Another 2,635 people in Mae Sot district, including Myanmar migrants, have also tested negative. Enditem
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban on Monday endorsed Donald Trumps re-election bid for the US presidency, saying his rival Democrats have forced a moral imperialism on the world that illiberal leaders like himself reject.

We root for Donald Trumps victory, because we know well American Democratic governments diplomacy, built on moral imperialism. We have been forced to sample it before, we did not like it, we do not want seconds, Mr Orban wrote in an essay.

Nationalist Mr Orban faces a steep challenge to his decade-long rule in parliamentary elections due in early 2022 as Hungary braces for the economic and social impact of a second wave of coronavirus infections.

The vote would be decisive as the international liberal elite was out to destroy Christian conservatives in Europe, he wrote in the pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet.

They prepare for a decisive battle in 2022, backed by the international media, Brussels bureaucrats, and NGOs disguised as civil organisations, Mr Orban said. It is time for us to line up too.

Hungary and other central European countries would place economic efficiency over European Union policies such as climate goals elevated to absurdity, a social Europe, a common tax code and a multicultural society, he said.

The EU will try to implement the multitrillion euro post-pandemic revival plan with key political discussions yet to be conducted among member states, some of which want to regulate the self-styled illiberal Mr Orban much more strongly.

The idea of strict conditions on the disbursement of EU aid and funds to the rule of law has prompted a threat of veto for the whole package from Mr Orban, who said the system was more aptly described as rule of blackmail.

Mr Orban said the outcome much depended on the succession battle in Germany as chancellor Angela Merkels term nears an end.

Reuters
I was watching the president of the United States suggest to a mostly maskless crowd that a Democratic congresswoman had married her brother when the news broke that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. The shock of her death sledgehammered a country teetering on an ugly and desperate edge. It came in waves. It wasnt merely the loss to the country, or the sadness that a champion of equal rights had died. Nor was it the fact that an increasingly corrupt Republican Party is very close to forcing through the judicial supermajority it needs in order to lock in minority rule and overturn American womens right to reproductive choice. (You will no doubt hear often in the coming weeks that, of the five conservative Supreme Court justices, four were nominated by presidents who had lost the popular vote.) There was a flashback to the contempt and grief Brett Kavanaughs confirmation hearing aroused in so many appalled onlookers. And then there was the dread of realizing that a citizenry breakingfinancially, politically, even cognitivelyunder five different kinds of instability was going to have to endure more. We have been in a bad way for a long time, but this is the hurricane on top of the wildfire that follows the earthquake.

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Whats enraging is that we shouldnt be here. We have institutions and norms and precedents, so what should happen next is almost absurdly plain. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made his thinking on the subject quite clear back in 2016, when Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, nine months before the election. The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice, he said. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president. There shouldnt have been any mystery about what Mitch McConnellof all peoplewould do when a Supreme Court vacancy opened up six weeks (rather than nine months) before Election Day of 2020.

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And there wasnt. Shortly after Ginsburgs death was announced, McConnell declared his intentions: Trumps nominee would receive a vote in the Senate, and though he left the timing slightly unclear, he has no intention of letting the will of the American people (who have already started voting) determine what should happen. He made quick work of the optimists on Twitter suggesting that he surely wouldnt be so hellbent on total power that hed risk destroying the country by breaking the precedent he himself had articulated. Wrong. He would. And anyone who took him at his word when he rejected Merrick Garlands nomination was made a fool when he reversed himself on the question of whether (to quote the man himself) the American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.

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I want to pause here to note, humbly, that it is wounding to watch a public servant reduce those who take him at his word to fools. I mention that not because it matters in any sense McConnell would recognize but because it is simply true that this nations decline accelerates when the conventional wisdom becomes that believing what the Senate Majority Leader says is self-evidently foolish. The chestnut that politicians always lie is overstateda society depends on some degree of mutual trust. One party has embraced nihilism, pilloried trust, and turned good faith into a suckers failing in a suckers game.

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Many of us are coping with that lacerating redefinition by knowingly rolling our eyes. Ginsburgs death hurts, but more than one strain of political grief is operative. This is why so many political reactions at present seem to orbit around the question of whether an unwanted outcome was unexpected. And youre surprised? is a frequent response to some new instance of Trumpian corruption. This brand of cynicism has spread, quite understandably: Its an outlook that provides some cognitive shelter in a situation thathaving historically been at least somewhat rule-boundhas one side shredding the rules and cheering at how much theyre winning. Folks who at one point gave Republican declarations of principle the benefit of the doubt (I include myself) feel like chumps now. Conversely, the cynical prognosticators who used to seem crabbed and paranoid just keep getting proven right. Whatever the worst thing you imagine McConnell doing might be, he can usually trump it.

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Just by way of example: A former White House official told the New Yorkers Jane Mayer for a piece in April that McConnell reassured donors that he would install a Supreme Court justice for Trump regardless of how close to the election Ginsburgs death might be. He apparently referred to the prospect of replacing Ginsburg in the event of her death as our October surprise. In 2019, McConnell gleefully tweeted a photo of some tombstones, one of which had Merrick Garlands name on ithours after a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, in which 23 people died. He has said that stopping Garlands nomination is the proudest moment of his career. Its uniquely painful that this is the person architecting Ginsburgs replacement in violation of his own contemptible theories.

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I am not saying anything new here. But what I am interested in, because I think it must be understood, and because the stakes of it have never been higher, is what McConnellizing does, affectively, to so many American citizens. What it feels like, in other words. We are overdue for a real reckoning with what it means to be degraded by our own leadership. And make no mistake: It is degrading when people lie to you openly and obviously. Leaving the polity aside for a moment, its the kind of emotion we humans arent great at coping with. Sometimes we react by snorting at anyone who expects any better (that is again the youre surprised? cynicism). But if you cant cover it with cynicism, it simply hurts.

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Shall we experience being degraded together? Here is the justification McConnell offered, shortly after Ginsburg died, for violating his own rule:

In the last midterm election before Justice Scalias death in 2016, Americans elected a Republican Senate majority because we pledged to check and balance the last days of a lame-duck presidents second term. We kept our promise. Since the 1880s, no Senate has confirmed an opposite-party presidents Supreme Court nominee in a presidential election year.

This last sentencewhich you will recognize as the heart of McConnells argumentis a lie. But before I supply the dull fact proving that it is a lie, Id like us to pause and notice the extent to which whatever I am about to say will not factor into how you feel reading the above. Whatever I say, it will not provide you relief for me to demonstrate that this tortured reasoning McConnell supplied is horseshit. You are already meant to understand it as horseshit. Thats the insult. Thats where one part of what I guess we could call patriotic pain comes from.

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OK, now for the dull facts: What McConnell says in that statement is not true. In 1988 (an election year!), the Democratically controlled Senate confirmed Anthony KennedyPresident Ronald Reagans nominee to the Supreme Court. McConnell tried to circumvent this reality by crafting his new rule to exclude any vacancy that arose in an election year (Lewis Powell retired in late 1987).

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Does an exercise like this leave us anywhere? I think it might. I think we have a habit of misnaming political experiences in ways that help us metabolize loss. I think, for example, that we have a bad habit of calling McConnells double standardwhich will be devastating to a country already struggling through various legitimacy criseshypocrisy. And sure, step onto Twitter after Lindsey Graham also unabashedly went back on his own word and youll see many a person rolling their eyes at anyone pointing out that Republicans are hypocrites, as if it matters. One can sympathize with the eye-rollersof course hypocrisy doesnt matter. But thats mostly because hypocrisy isnt the word for what this is. Hypocrisy is a mild failing. It applies to parents smoking when they advise their kids not to for their own good; it does not apply to parents lighting the family home on fire for the insurance money while high-fiving each other over how stupid their fleeing children were for thinking anything they told them was true.

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When Ginsburg died, those whose rights she championed were caught in a cruel double bind. Raging against the indecent replacement effort feels wrong, because raging before it happens can feel like implicitly conceding. Treating the matter dispassionately, on the other hand, sensibly pointing out that McConnell has stated clearly what should happen, means granting him a good-faith reading he does not deserve. Thanks to the swiftness with which he declared his intentions, we are no longer under any obligation to attempt the latter. All that remains is to let honest anger do what it must.

It will not help to call the leadership we have right now hypocrites; they will not care, and I doubt the charge will motivate the people who need to be motivated much. But insofar as our own reactions are concernedand while we think about how to counter an obvious and ugly attempt to steal the Supreme Court seat of a feminist champion of equal rights even as Americans have already started votingit may help to register the lies they tell you as the calculated insults to your intelligence and to your citizenship and to your country that they are. Fully witnessing and registering insults and degradation is more painful than sneering that you arent surprised. But Ill be blunt: People are more willing to fight people who insult and degrade them than they are to fight mere hypocrites.

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We deserve better than this. I confess I had no personal feelings about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs passing; my admiration and gratitude were purely professional and civic. But I found this quotea response to Irin Carmon asking her how shed like to be remembereddeeply moving: Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has.

This post has been updated since publication.

For more of Slates coverage of the response to Justice Ginsburgs passing, subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts or listen below.
Sydneysiders have enjoyed warm weather on Monday before a possible thunderstorm overnight, hampering the NSW Rural Fire Service's preparation for the coming season.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster David Wilke said there would be warm conditions ahead of a front moving through Sydney, bringing a possibly severe thunderstorm and damaging winds.

Sydney's temperatures have soared before a possible thunderstorm in the afternoon. Credit:Nick Moir

Sydney was forecast to hit 30 degrees, but the temperature topped 28.4 at Observatory Hill in the city. Temperatures reached 30 in parts of western Sydney including Penrith and Richmond.

Mr Wilke said there was a widespread band of active thunderstorms across the state, and cooler weather would follow in the coming days.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It was a mix of excitement and jitters as preschool and special education students across Staten Island began returning to public school buildings for the first day of school on Monday -- marking the first time kids are back in their classroom since the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak shuttered school campuses in March.

Im excited. I wish he was going full-time, said Chris Fattorusso, parent of eighth-grader Vincent, who goes to PS 37 in Great Kills. I think, especially with special needs children, they need the structure -- so Im very excited. He needs this.

A District 75 school, PS 37 educates students who are on the autism spectrum, have cognitive delays, are severely emotionally challenged, sensory impaired or multiply disabled.

A NEW BUILDING

And on Monday morning, some PS 37 students were welcomed into a new three-floor standalone school building, known as H.S./I.S. 89, that opened for the first time this school year. The new facility has 16 new classrooms, a medical suite, three resource rooms, a physical therapy room, an occupational therapy room, a kitchen and about a dozen ADA-accessible bathrooms.

Those in the main building at PS 37 no longer have to worry about the mold that was reported at the school last week, according to the city Department of Education (DOE).

Our educators and students deserve safe, clean schools during this critical school year. Our facilities teams continue to work around the clock to address any concerns and ensure buildings are prepared for reopening. The mold at PS 37R has been cleaned up and the school was reinspected  clearing it for use, DOE spokesman Styer Nathaniel previously told the Advance/SILive.com.

AN UNUSUAL SCHOOL YEAR

Across New York City, students are returning to school buildings part-time under a blended learning model, or they will learn at home remotely full-time for the 2020-2021 academic year. Those participating in the blended learning model will go to school two to three days a week and learning remotely on the other days.

Fattorusso said he bought a new laptop and other school supplies to prepare for the days his son will be learning from home, adding that he and his wife took time off next week to assist Vincent for his first week of remote learning.

Were going to help him that first week and hopefully we can get him going, Fattorusso said. We let him understand that he has to start doing this on his own. But its going to be tough. Hes excited too. He misses his friends."

Whether blended or remote, parents have been coming up with creative ways to make the school year digestible for their children -- but not without cost. Many Staten Island parents have been forced to pay hundreds of dollars more for school supplies this year compared to previous years.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that the city would phase-in the start of the school year for blended learners, with 3-K, pre-K and District 75 students reporting in-person beginning Monday.

Students in K to five and K to eight schools will begin reporting on Tuesday, Sept. 29, and middle and high school students will begin returning on Thursday, Oct. 1.

And there will be an abundance of safety protocols and procedures in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus while kids are learning in-person, including faces masks and social distancing.

THUMBS-UP AT PS 68

Students at PS 68, Port Richmond, were welcomed back with open arms, as teachers and administrators joyfully greeted families of returning and new students. Principal Lorrie Brown was seen preparing the school entrances for students before they arrived to school on Monday.

Were so glad to have our students back, she said.

Several students gave a thumbs-up before heading into the school. Parent Stephanie Mendoza said her preschool daughter, Mya, was excited to play and make new friends.

FIRST-DAY JITTERS AT PS 37

Thomas Schremm, whose son Jackson is entering 3-K at PS 37, said he isnt worried about the coronavirus, but he has the first-day jitters -- as this is his sons very first year of school.

Im just nervous, as if it was a regular school year," he explained.

Lana Lybinova said she is nervous, yet excited, to bring her 3-year-old son Damian to school.

Our kid is non-verbal, so theres no way to explain to him anything or hear what his feeling is after school, so were a bit worried -- but still very excited, she explained.

View the gallery above to see photos from both PS 37 and PS 68 as students arrived Monday morning.

Catholic school students in New York City went back to school earlier this month.

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NYC to bring in 2,000 more educators for the start of school as de Blasio pushes forward with Sept. 21 reopening

3 S.I. schools see positive coronavirus cases, union says

Coronavirus: How to find ventilation inspection results for your childs school

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NYC school year delayed; in-person learning to start Sept. 21

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Washington:

President Donald Trump on Monday formally pulled the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership as he signed an executive action to withdraw from the negotiating process of the 12-nation trade deal, one of the major international trade initiatives of his predecessor Barack Obama.



Weve been talking about this for a long time...It is a great thing for the American worker, Trump said as he signed the decree to withdraw the US from the TPP, which aimed to set trade rules for the 21st century and bind US allies against growing Chinese economic clout.



Trump had vowed during the campaign to withdraw the US from the Pacific trade deal which he argued was harmful to American workers and manufacturing.



Trump had said the free trade agreements were lopsided against the US and vowed to implement more protectionist trade policies as president, rallying voters to the polls with his America First slogan.



The TPP was negotiated under former President Barack Obama, but never ratified by Congress, so withdrawing from it will not have an immediate, real effect on US economic policies, although it does signal a new and very different US outlook on trade under Trump.



Its signatoriesAustralia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Bruneitogether represent 40 per cent of the world economy.



Fast-tracking implementation of his campaign promises, Trump also signed two other orders including freezing the hiring of federal workers and hitting foreign organisations that provide abortions.



The Wall Street Journal said the move was largely symbolic, because congressional leaders and the Obama administration had signalled in November that no near-term vote would be held on the TPP.



Top Republican Senator John McCain described Trumps decision as a mistake.



President Trumps decision to formally withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a serious mistake that will have lasting consequences for Americas economy and our strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.



This decision will forfeit the opportunity to promote American exports, reduce trade barriers, open new markets, and protect American invention and innovation, he argued.



It will create an opening for China to rewrite the economic rules of the road at the expense of American workers. And it will send a troubling signal of American disengagement in the Asia-Pacific region at a time we can least afford it, he noted.



Abandoning TPP is the wrong decision. Moving forward, it is imperative that America advances a positive trade agenda in the Asia-Pacific that will keep American workers and companies competitive in one of the most economically vibrant and fastest-growing regions in the world, McCain said.



However, Democratic Senator from Ohio Sherrod Brown described this move as one that would reboot the manufacturing sector.



Throwing out TPP is the first necessary step in overhauling our trade policy to put American workers first, said Brown.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Canexia Health (formerly known as Contextual Genomics), a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based maker of cancer testing for treatment selection and monitoring for all cancer patients, received a new financing round from PacBridge Capital Partners (HK) Limited.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The company intends to use the funds to propel long-term global growth and accelerate its product roadmap.

Led by Michael Ball, CEO, Canexia Health makes high-quality cancer genomic information accessible with clinically-validated assays, informatics, and support. Its suite of genomics-based cancer tests is clinically actionable and cost-effective, designed to improve cancer treatment and monitoring.

In the first half of 2020, the company increased commercial partner agreements with new deal with Genolife, AstraZeneca Canada, the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association and Queens University.

Canexia Health also continues to expand the genomic content of its assays, including MSI and CNV content, as well as recently releasing updates to the Canexia Health Fusions panel. The company has also improved the sensitivity of its liquid biopsy assays for use in monitoring and leveraged tens of thousands of processed samples to improve its AI and machine learning algorithms.

FinSMEs

21/09/2020
Even if omicron peak nears, Long Beach cases and hospitalizations will still be up for weeks, official says
She's had a tumultuous few months since announcing her split from ex-partner Steve 'Commando' Willis in January.

But Michelle Bridges' heartbreak seemed like the last thing on her mind as she posed for a playful photo shoot with personal trainer Todd Liubinskas on Friday.

The pair were seen gallivanting down the beach in Sydney's Double Bay, with single mum Michelle, 49, playing up for the cameras by jumping on Todd's back.

Life's a beach! Michelle Bridges, 49, was all smiles as she frolicked on the beach with personal trainer Todd Liubinskas during a playful photo shoot in Sydney's Double Bay on Friday

Michelle looked to be completely in her element as she dashed around the sand with her longtime pal, who works for her 12WBT fitness company.

The fitness doyenne wore a maroon crop top and black leggings, which highlighted her rock-hard abs and bulging biceps.

She tied her chestnut locks back into a ponytail and enhanced her remarkably smooth complexion with a dramatic makeup look.

Jumping for joy! The pair were seen gallivanting on the beach together, with single mother Michelle playing up to the camera by jumping on Todd's back

Not a care in the world! Michelle looked to be completely in her element as she dashed around the sand with her longtime pal, who works for her 12WBT fitness company

Not an inch to pinch! The fitness doyenne wore a maroon crop top and black leggings, which highlighted her rock-hard abs and bulging biceps

Todd, meanwhile, was having a whale of a time as he laughed and joked with Michelle in front of the cameras.

The buff-bodied Adonis dressed in a sage T-shirt, grey shorts, white sneakers and black crew socks.

Following the photo shoot, Michelle and Todd cosied up for a selfie together.

Say cheese! Following the photo shoot, Michelle and Todd cosied up for a selfie together

What's so funny? The duo were seen giggling and joking together in between takes

Camera ready: Michelle tied her chestnut locks back into a ponytail and enhanced her remarkably smooth complexion with a dramatic makeup look

Todd joined Michelle's successful fitness brand 12WBT in July as the lead trainer for the new 'Blokes Only' program.

'I feel like [women] have had their time in the sun, and rightly so and it needs to continue, but the health of the men in our lives is critically important,' Michelle told Body + Soul of her male-oriented program.

Todd confirmed last month he was in a relationship, but hasn't revealed the identity of his girlfriend.

New recruit: Todd joined Michelle's successful fitness brand 12WBT in July as the lead trainer for the new 'Blokes Only' program

Goofing off: At one stage, Michelle leapt into the air and pulled a rather animated expression

Fitness for all: 'I feel like [women] have had their time in the sun... but the health of the men in our lives is critically important,' Michelle told Body + Soul of her male-oriented program

Michelle said of her friendship with Todd: 'I've known Todd for years - he was at the hospital the day after Axel [her four-year-old son] was born.'

'I admire Todd for working grassroots, holding peoples hands and talking them off the ledge, rather than it being all show for Instagram,' she added.

The new business venture comes after a rocky year for Michelle, who was arrested for drink driving on Australia Day just weeks after splitting from Commando.

Close bond: Michelle said of her friendship with Todd: 'I've known Todd for years - he was at the hospital the day after Axel [her four-year-old son] was born'

Proud pal: Michelle told Body + Soul she 'admires' Todd for 'working grassroots' to grow his fitness empire, rather than simply trying to become another Instagram influencer

She was fined $750 and had her licence disqualified for three months, after pleading guilty to mid-range drink driving.

A tearful Michelle said outside court: 'I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep remorse, shame and humiliation [over] this incident and extreme lack of judgment.

'I would like to apologise to my family, friends and community for this gross error in judgment and the consequences of these actions will haunt me forever.'

New start: The business venture comes after a rocky year for Michelle, who was arrested for drink driving on Australia Day just weeks after separating from Commando
Lauren Acker stands near the Supreme Court on a crisp September night as thousands of people gather around in tribute to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The perimeter of the Supreme Court lawn is starting to fill up with flowers and signs left by the people who streamed to the vigil the evening after Ginsburgs death.

It seems bizarre that the loss of one figure has kind of been the trigger for a lot of people to start freaking out, says Acker, a 29-year-old resident of Washington, DC, and a Democrat. Its like the emergency light, right? This is it.  Anybody who believes that what were currently working with is not a functioning system of government, it is now, as it always has been, our responsibility to yell louder, fight harder, and educate everyone we can.

Democrats across the country collectively panicked on Friday night when the news broke that Ginsburg, a beloved feminist and liberal icon, had died from complications related to metastatic pancreatic cancer. Their grief was intertwined with a harsh political reality: For Democrats, Ginsburgs place on the court was part of an institutional safety net, and it is now tethered to a high-stakes election for which voting is already underway. Her death could tip the balance of the court further toward conservatives, an opportunity for the right that would have long-term ramifications.

Shortly after news of her death broke, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to give President Donald Trumps nominee a floor vote, and Trump has said he expects his nominee to be announced in the coming week. Its unclear whether McConnell will have the votes he needs in the Senate to confirm a candidate in the final weeks ahead of the election. Already, two Republican Senators have announced that they think the Senate should wait to vote on a nominee until after the election.

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Democrats lashed out at the hypocrisy of Republicans for seeking to confirm a new justice so soon before the election, after Senate Republicans refused to move on then President Barack Obamas nominee to the court in March 2016. Back then, Republicans argued it was too close to the election and said the electorate should have a voice in the matter. But Democrats are also bullish about the situation, hoping that the inevitable fight over a Supreme Court vacancy will help the party bring out the vote. (Republicans also see this as a potential way to fire up their base.)

While Democrats were already mobilized against Trump, Ginsburgs death has once again reset the board. Now its not just a second term for Trump on the line; its a Supreme Court vacancy that could shape the direction of the country for years, and start by blocking the next Democratic presidents agenda. Our game plan remains the same. And our game plan is: we take nothing for granted, Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, tells TIME. This is yet another reminder to our already motivated voters that the stakes couldnt be higher.

Senate races grew more competitive overnight as it became clear that for the third time in just a handful of years there will be a confirmation battle on Capitol Hill. Prior to Ginsburgs death, the forecast of who would have control of the Senate was looking promising for Democrats. About a dozen Senate races were expected to be competitive, and now Democrats sense of urgency about them has grown as they recognize that in order to have leverage, they have to make gains in the November election.

Democrats have already seen a surge in online fundraising in response to Ginsburgs death. ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising platform, announced that between 8 p.m. EST on Friday and the end of Saturday, it received 1.5 million contributions that amounted to $91.4 million for Democratic candidates and initiatives. The donations broke ActBlues records for money raised in a day, money raised in an hour, the number of contributions made in a day, and the number of contributions made in an hour.

Vote Save America, a self-described one stop shop to get out the vote for Democrats run by Crooked Media, announced that its Get Mitch or Die Trying page, which is currently splitting donations among 13 competitive Senate races, had raised more than $19 million as of Sunday. On Saturday, Tommy Vietor, a former Obama administration official now known for the Democratic podcast Pod Save America, tweeted a graph showing donations to the fund since it was created; the line takes a sharp turn and goes straight up after news of Ginsburgs death.

This is evidence, Democrats say, that the conventional wisdom that Democratic voters are not as motivated by the judicial branch as Republicans is wrong. Trump himself has said his promise to nominate a conservative Supreme Court justice was a major factor in the 2016 election, and earlier this month, he released a list of potential nominees in hopes of inspiring voters again.

But recent surveys indicate Supreme Court nominations may be more important to Democratic voters than Republicans  perhaps because theyve watched the court slipping away from them during the Trump Administration. An August Pew Research Center survey found 66% Biden supporters listed Supreme Court appointments as very important to their vote, compared to 61% of Trump supporters. A CNN poll found that Biden supporters led Trump supporters 47%-32% in calling Supreme Court justice nominations extremely important.

There already is .. just this outpouring of emotion and activism, says Christopher Kang, co-founder and chief counsel to Demand Justice, a progressive advocacy group. I think youre going to see that this is going to be a huge political liability for Republicans.

Among the most closely watched Senate races are Maine and Colorado, seats currently held by Republican Senators Susan Collins and Cory Gardner, respectively. They are seen as two of the likeliest pickups for Democrats. Polling shows Collins has been weighed down by her vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was credibly accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the 1980s during his confirmation process in 2018.

In a September New York Times poll of likely voters in Maine, 55% said they disapproved of Collins vote to confirm Kavanaugh. On Saturday, Collins put out a statement saying that while she wouldnt object to Trump making a nomination or to the Senate beginning the vetting process, she did not believe the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election.

In Colorado, Democrats have gone after Gardner, arguing that he needs to hold himself to the same standard he set in 2016 after Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, when he  like many other Republicans  said that the next president should get to nominate the next justice after the November election.

The voters that both campaigns are vying after right now, theyre not the Trump base. Theyre women, and these women are not going to be mobilized by Mitch McConnells power grabs or any further assault against our rights, says Rachel OLeary Carmona, executive director of the Womens March, a progressive organizing group.

The sudden Supreme Court vacancy has also taken over the narrative in other close races. In North Carolina, Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who is locked in a tight race with Cal Cunningham, put out a statement tying himself to a Trump nominee and Cunningham to a Biden nominee. There is a clear choice on the future of the Supreme Court between the well-qualified and conservative jurist President Trump will nominate and I will support, and the liberal activist Joe Biden will nominate and Cal Cunningham will support, who will legislate radical, left-wing policies from the bench.

In Iowa, Iowa Starting Line, a left-leaning online news outlet, reported that Republican Senator Joni Ernst immediately began fundraising in response to Ginsburgs passing, including sending out text messages that asked donors to help hold the line. In Arizona, where former astronaut Mark Kelly is running as the Democratic nominee against Republican Senator Martha McSally, local organizers were having to add more phone banking shifts because of the added energy, says Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of the Indivisible Project, a progressive organizing group.

The energy is unbelievable. Its people who are grieving, its people who Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a hero of theirs, its people who cant bear the idea of her replacement being somebody who wouldnt uphold in values, says Greenberg. That will manifest in pressure on these Senators, and it will manifest in electoral outcomes as well.

Adding to Democrats confidence is that in some of these swing states, including Arizona, Maine, and Colorado, polling shows Biden leading Trump, which they believe bodes well for their Senate candidates. At the very least, analysts say, Republican Senate candidates will have to appeal to Biden voters to win. Anyone who is in the Senate who is trying to appeal to cross-partisan voters is going to see this as a detriment to them because its really going to make them have to sort of take a stance on an issue that is strongly partisan, says Sean McElwee, a progressive data strategist.

As Trump and McConnell pushed for a quick nomination and Senate vote after Ginsburgs death, the long-simmering discussion around expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court also appears to have gained traction on the left. It would require Democrats taking control of the Senate and the White House in order to pass the legislation, but notably it has gotten a fair amount of discussion among prominent political figures and groups, among them former Democratic presidential candidates and sitting elected officials.

Biden himself has not backed the notion, but the Democratic partys national platform recognizes the need for structural court reforms to increase transparency and accountability. And on a call with Senate Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly told the caucus that if Republicans move forward with a nominee, nothing is off the table.

For years, Democrats have felt the Supreme Courts majority was stolen from them, first after Senate Republicans refused to allow a hearing on Obamas nominee to replace Scalia, Merrick Garland, and instead held off until Trump took office to nominate Neil Gorsuch. In 2018, the chamber then pushed Kavanaugh through despite the accusations against him to replace a retiring justice.

Now Democrats are aware most Republicans will not want to hold back when they have an opportunity to make such a lasting impression on the highest court in the land.

Its rare for a procedural democracy issue to be front and center in a national campaign, but as people realize that everything they care about, everything they care about, depends on reforming the courts, thats why the conversation continues to accelerate, says Aaron Belkin, director of Take Back the Court, a left-leaning advocacy group. Theres a realization among Democrats, and among people who realize that were in a deep hole, that the next administration is going to be in handcuffs from day one because of the stolen courts.
Bengaluru: Hospitality unicorn, OYO Hotels & Homes, on Monday announced the appointment of Tejal Patil as Senior Legal Advisor for India & South Asia.

In a statement, the company said that this appointment is in line with strengthening its leadership bench and creating a global pool of strategic talent that can help the company achieve its goals.

In her new role, Patil will also be responsible for leading OYOs legal function in the region, which includes managing regulatory, contractual, and legal compliance for the company, help steer OYOs strategic initiatives, disputes resolution, and providing senior management with actionable counsel on strategic business decisions and operational execution.

She will also oversee OYOs regional in-house team of legal and compliance professionals and be responsible for managing outside counsel relationships in India and South Asia. Tejal will be reporting into Rohit Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, India & South Asia, OYO and working in conjunction with Rakesh Prusti, Global General Counsel, OYO Hotels & Homes.

We are delighted to have Tejal on board as our Senior Legal Advisor for India and South Asia. Having someone of her calibre and market reputation will help us strengthen our corporate governance standards and ensure the highest level of compliance in all our decisions," said Kapoor.

In her last stint, Patil was that of the General Counsel of General Electric South Asia.

Tejal needs no introduction in the legal fraternity and her proven leadership skills, problem-solving capabilities, and passion for building efficient teams with strong corporate governance make her best suited to take OYOs legal team in the region to the next level," added Prusti.

Earlier, this month, OYO India decided to extend the furlough of its employees till the end of February 2021 and gave them the option to voluntarily separate from the company.

In April, Oyo India had decided to cut salaries of staff, and furloughed staff to save cash, as the travel industry was severely impacted by the covid-19 pandemic.

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The United States imposed a raft of new sanctions on Monday targeting Irans Defense Ministry, Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and more than two dozen other targets in an effort to enforce international sanctions that most of the United Nations Security Council says the United States is unable to unilaterally reinstate.

Rather than wait for the day that Iran threatens the world with a nuclear weapon, the United States is again fulfilling the best traditions of American global leadership and taking responsible action, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

On Monday, President Donald Trump announced an executive order freezing the property of those who contribute to the supply, sale, or transfer of conventional arms to or from Iran, as well as those who provide technical training, financial support and services, and other assistance related to these arms.

The administration also imposed new sanctions and export control measures on 27 entities and individuals it says are connected to Irans proliferation networks, including targets linked to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Maduro, whose country has repeatedly purchased gasoline from Iran in violation of US sanctions, was also blacklisted.

This administration will use every tool at our disposal to stop Irans nuclear ballistic missile and conventional weapons pursuits, which it uses directly to threaten and terrorize the rest of the world, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at a Monday press briefing unveiling the sanctions.

The administration declared on Saturday that international sanctions against Iran had come back into force. Last month, Pompeo said he triggered the "snapback" mechanism at the UN Security Council, a process enshrined in the 2015 nuclear agreement, which removed most international sanctions in exchange for Iran scaling back its nuclear activity.

Most of the UN Security Council says Washington lacks the legal authority to reinstate sanctions under the nuclear deal it withdrew from in 2018. But the Trump administration argues that it is able to trigger sanctions because the United States remains a signatory of the UN resolution that endorsed the nuclear accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

As we have in the past, we will stand alone to protect peace and security at all times. We dont need a cheering section to validate our moral compass, UN Ambassador Kelly Craft said Monday.

False hopes on part of the Security Council members that the JCPOA might contain Irans nuclear ambitions do not excuse members from their obligations to reimpose sanctions pursuant to the process outlined in Resolution 2231, Craft said. It is now our expectation that all UN member states will fulfill their legal obligation and reimpose sanctions on Iran.

On Sunday, France, Germany and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement saying the administrations "purported notification" of reimposed sanctions "would be incapable of legal effect." The European signatories to the deal share Trumps concerns about Irans nuclear ambitions, but they fear restoring sanctions could blow up the nuclear agreement by leaving Tehran with few incentives to comply.

We have worked tirelessly to preserve the nuclear agreement and remain committed to do so, the three European countries, known as the E3, said.

After announcing the sanctions were back in effect, Pompeo warned on Saturday that the United States would "impose consequences" if the rest of the Security Councils member states failed to recognize them.

The United States rolled out another round of sanctions as part of its so-called "maximum pressure" campaign last week, designating 47 Iranian individuals and entities who, according to the Treasury Department, are involved in conducting cyber and malware attacks against perceived adversaries, including foreign governments, Iranian dissidents, journalists and international travel companies.
LONDON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global research has revealed nationwide study patterns, uncovering that English is the country's most cheated on subject.

A new study , conducted by EduBirdie, analyzes the topics of essays written by external authors for students to turn in as their own during university and college courses.

National patterns suggest that English is the toughest subject to study with demands for this essay subject to be written eclipsing all other topics.

Top Six Cheated Subjects - US

English History Psychology Literature Sociology Nursing

The data also reveals just how different males and females are when it comes to cheating too. Fitting a well held stereotype, males make up for the majority of the cheating in the United States of America with 57% of the essay requests coming from students identifying as male.

EduBirdie has also uncovered that students in the US are 52% less dedicated to their education than the global average, when it comes to average essay length. Globally, the average essay length is 6.3 A4 pages, whereas US students are average just over 3.5 A4 pages per essay.

Students in the US also rank below the global average for proactivity with students tending to leave their essays until six days before their deadlines.

Comparing all states we can see that students based in Alaska and Vermont are the most dedicated to their courses with the longest average essay length. Alaskan students have an essay length 77% larger than the global average and 117% over the national average. At the other end of the scale are students in New Mexico who average just 2.5 pages.

The most proactive students in the US are in Vermont and Nevada with averages way above national and global averages. The least proactive students are in Wyoming and Idaho who leave their essays 2 and 3 days before their deadlines.

Notes to editor:

Data should be attributed to edubirdie.com

Requests and questions to [email protected]

About EduBirdie:

EduBirdie is a digital company offering editing and writing services for students of all ages, subject focuses and locations editing and writing services. The platform lets you choose from hundreds of professional academic assistants who can help you with any writing assignment, provide research on any subject, give reasoning and citations, help with formatting and editing.

CONTACT: James Keeble, [email protected]

SOURCE EduBirdie

Related Links

https://edubirdie.com/


A guest on "Tucker Carlson Tonight", Dr. Li-Meng Yan, who is a Chinese virologist and whistleblower, has renewed accusations that the Chinese government intentionally manufactured and released the COVID-19 virus.

According to Yan, more evidence will be released to substantiate her claims. However, she referenced her high-ranking position at a World Health Organization reference lab as a reason to trust her claim..

"I work[ed] in the WHO reference lab, which is the top coronavirus lab in the world, in the University of Hong Kong. And the thing is I get deeply into such investigation in secret from the early beginning of this outbreak. I had my intelligence because I also get my own unit network in China, involved [in] the hospital ... also I work with the top corona[virus] virologist in the world," she said.

"So, together with my experience, I can tell you, this is created in the lab ... and also, it is spread to the world to make such damage."

In May, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and White House coronavirus adviser, told National Geographic: "If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats, and what's out there now is very, very strongly leaning toward this [virus] could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated - the way the mutations have naturally evolved."

Many other scientists have criticized the notion that COVID-19 served as a sort of bioweapon or was released by a lab. Meanwhile, disinformation seeded from China has alleged that the coronavirus was a US-developed bioweapon. Yan also spoke to Fox News in July, when she spoke out on China's alleged attempts to withhold information about its response to the virus. Yan gathered further information about the virus as China blocked international experts from studying the virus in the country.

Yan's former employer, the University of Hong Kong, criticized her research and allegations. A press release stated "that the content of the said news report does not accord with the key facts as we understand them. "Specifically, Dr Yan never conducted any research on human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus at [the University of Hong Kong] during December 2019 and January 2020, her central assertion of the said interview."

According to Yan, she was one of the first scientists in the world to study the COVID-19 virus. In addition, she fears retaliation from the Chinese government for her whistleblowing. She was allegedly asked by her WHO reference lab supervisor, Dr. Leo Poon, to study the strange novel cluster of SARS-like illnesses in mainland China in December of 2019.
Vietnam's human capital index improves

A new report by the World Bank Group pointed out that between 2010 and 2020, the Human Capital Index for Vietnam increased from 0.66 to 0.69.









Students of the Ha Huy Tap Secondary School in Vinh city, the central province of Nghe An attend the new school year ceremony 2020-2021 (Photo: VNA)





This means a child born in Vietnam today will be 69 percent as productive when they grow up as they could have been if they enjoyed complete education and full health.



The score is well above the world's average of 0.56. It is higher than the average for East Asia and Pacific region, as well as for lower-middle-income countries.



An above average score has enabled Vietnam to reach 38th position among 174 economies in the 2020 Human Capital Index.



The indexs components include the probability of survival to age five, expected years of school, harmonised test scores, learning-adjusted years of school, adult survival rate and healthy growth (not stunted rate).



A breakdown of the index shows 98 out of 100 children born in Vietnam survive to age five; a Vietnamese boy or girl attending school at the age of 4 can complete 12.9 years of school, or high school, by the age of 18; and 76 percent of children are not stunted.



Vietnamese students received 519 points in Harmonized Test Scores (HTS), a level similar to countries like Sweden, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. HTS measures how much children learn in school based on countries' relative performance on international student achievement tests, where 625 represents advanced attainment and 300 represents minimum attainment.



Furthermore, 87 percent of 15-year-olds will likely live until the age of 60 in Vietnam.



According to the report, Vietnams Human Capital Index continues to be higher than the average for countries of the same income level despite the level of public spending on health, education and social assistance being lower than that of its peers.



In Southeast Asia, Vietnam ranked above Brunei (56th), Malaysia (62nd), Thailand (63rd), Indonesia (96th), the Philippines (103rd), Cambodia (118th), Myanmar (120th), Laos (126th) and Timor-Leste (128th).



The World Bank Groups 2020 Human Capital Index (HCI) includes health and education data for 174 countries  covering 98 percent of the worlds population  up to March 2020, providing a pre-pandemic baseline on the health and education of children.



The HCI, first launched in 2018, measures the amount of human capital a child born today can expect to attain by age 18.



It conveys the productivity of the next generation of workers compared to a benchmark of complete education and full health.
OK Zimbabwe was forced by the courts to release video footage of Harare West MP Joana Mamombe doing her shopping amid concerns the authorities violated the young legislators privacy, it has emerged.

Harare magistrate Bianca Makwande last week blocked attempts by prosecutors to use the footage in a case where they wanted the MP punished for failing to appear in court.

Mamombe could not appear in court with two other MDC Alliance members  Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova  on charges that they faked their abduction and torture in May because she was hospitalised.

The legislator is said to have suffered a mental breakdown. CCTV footage allegedly of her at a Bon Marche supermarket was then posted on social media by people that included senior government officials, who used it to mock her.

Bon Marche is owned by OK Zimbabwe. Angry social media users started a campaign to boycott businesses that have been releasing footage to the authorities, which is then used to vilify victims of alleged state-sponsored abuse such as in the Mamombe case.

Alex Siyavora, the OK Zimbabwe CEO, however, told The Standard yesterday that the CCTV footage was released to the authorities following a court order compelling every outlet at the shopping centre to release their recordings.

There was a court order, Siyavora said. Everyone at the complex was given an order to release the CCTV footages of a specific time.

Mobile phone operator Econet this year successfully challenged attempts by police to force it to hand over information about its customers that used the Ecocash platform in what was described as a victory in the fight to protect citizens rights to privacy.

High Court Judge Justice Clement Phiri declared the search-and-seizure warrant issued by Harare provincial magistrate Richard Ramaboa as unlawful.

But Siyavora said their situation was different from that of Econet. There is a difference, at our shops, a person just gets in and buys and leaves, at Econet, they record details of the subscribers before issuing them with lines, he said.

Our main concern is security, to detect people who steal from us and it is different from Econet.

State broadcaster ZBC recently flighted footage obtained from outlets in Harares Belgravia shopping centre as the authoritiesought to to prove that the MDC Alliance trio faked their abduction.

Police initially confirmed that they arrested Mamombe, Chimbiri and Marova after they took part in a demonstration against hunger.

The police later recanted their statements after it emerged that the trio had been abducted and brutally tortured.

After they were found in bad shape near Bindura, the police charged the women with allegedly faking their abduction.

They have become targets of Zanu PF-aligned youths on social media, who accuse them of staging the abductions to soil the image of the country. Standard
NEW YORK - The top U.S. public health agency stirred confusion by posting  and then taking down  an apparent change in its position on how easily the coronavirus can spread from person to person through the air.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, file photo, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield puts his mask back on after speaking at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on a "Review of Coronavirus Response Efforts," on Capitol Hill, in Washington. The CDC has stirred confusion, by posting, and then taking down, an apparent change in its position on how easily the coronavirus can spread through the air. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File)

NEW YORK - The top U.S. public health agency stirred confusion by posting  and then taking down  an apparent change in its position on how easily the coronavirus can spread from person to person through the air.

But officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say their position has not really changed and that the post last week on the agency's website was an error that has been taken down.

It was an honest mistake" that happened when a draft update was posted before going through a full editing and approval process, said Dr. Jay Butler, the CDCs deputy director for infectious diseases.

The post suggested that the agency believes the virus can hang in the air and spread over an extended distance. But the agency continues to believe larger and heavier droplets that come from coughing or sneezing are the primary means of transmission, Butler said.

Most CDC guidance about social distancing is built around that idea, saying that about 6 feet is a safe buffer between people who are not wearing masks.

In interviews, CDC officials have acknowledged growing evidence that the virus can sometimes be transmitted on even smaller, aerosolized particles or droplets that spread over a wider area. Certain case clusters have been tied to events in which the virus appeared to have spread through the air in, for example, a choir practice. But such incidents did not appear to be common.

Public health experts urge people to wear masks, which can stop or reduce contact with both larger droplets and aerosolized particles.

But for months, agency officials said little about aerosolized particles. So when the CDC quietly posted an update Friday that discussed the particles in more detail, the agencys position appeared to have changed. The post said the virus can remain suspended in the air and drift more than 6 feet. It also emphasized the importance of indoor ventilation and seemed to describe the coronavirus as the kind of germ that can spread widely through the air.

The post caused widespread discussion in public health circles because of its implications. It could mean, for example, that hospitals might have to place infected people in rooms that are specially designed to prevent air from flowing to other parts of the hospital.

But the CDC is not advising any changes in how far people stay away from each other, how they are housed at hospitals or other measures, Butler said.

The CDC has come under attack for past revisions of guidance during the pandemic, some of which were driven by political pressure by the Trump administration.

Butler said there was no external political pressure behind the change in this instance. This was an internal issue,. And we're working hard to address it and make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.

In a statement released Monday, the CDC said the revisions to the How COVID-19 Spreads page happened without appropriate in-house technical review.

Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

We are reviewing our process and tightening criteria for review of all guidance and updates before they are posted to the CDC website, the statement said.

At least one expert said the episode could further chip away at public confidence in the CDC.

The consistent inconsistency in this administrations guidance on COVID-19 has severely compromised the nations trust in our public health agencies," said Dr. Howard Koh, a Harvard University public health professor who was a high-ranking official in the Department of Health and Human Services during the Obama administration.

To rectify the latest challenge, the CDC must acknowledge that growing scientific evidence indicates the importance of airborne transmission through aerosols, making mask wearing even more critical as we head into the difficult fall and winter season, Koh said in a statement.

___

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.
Donations soared amid fears the states GOP incumbent, Cindy Hyde-Smith, will vote to fill the now-vacant high court seat.

The campaign to elect Democrat Mike Espy to the U.S. Senate broke the record for the amount of money raised in one day for a Mississippi candidate for federal office this weekend.

According to Espys communications director, Kendall Witmer, the campaign raised $302,000 on Saturday alone. By Sunday, donations to the former agriculture secretary topped more than $500,000, with the average donor giving $28.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy speaks to reporters at Highland Colony Baptist Church in Ridgeland, Mississippi after voting in 2018s special runoff election there. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Donations came pouring in amid fears that Mississippis incumbent senator, Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith, will vote to replace recently deceased Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a conservative justice dedicated to dismantling Obamacare, LGBTQ rights and more.

The court is set to hear a case that could overturn the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which could put the healthcare of 100,000 Mississippians at risk of losing their healthcare.

U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) listens during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee reviewing coronavirus response efforts Wednesday in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images)

In a statement shortly after Ginsburgs death on Friday evening, Espy hailed the departed 87-year-old justice as a legal trailblazer, standing up for the less fortunate to ensure protections for gender equality, voting rights, civil rights, and health care.

These contributions to the Espy campaign, Witmer told the Mississippi Free Press, will go toward continuing to build our historic organizing and (get-out-the-vote) effort that will impact Democrats and Democratic organizing up and down the ballot for years to come.

Read More: Biden, Dems forewarn Obamacare overturn amid Supreme Court vacancy

In her statement in response to Ginburgs passing, Hyde-Smith said she devoted her life to the law, becoming one of the most respected and influential women in our time. I appreciate her dedication and service to the nation. President Trump and the Senate now have the solemn duty to fill that vacancy, a process that should not be delayed.

Story continues

I take this responsibility seriously, she continued, and I support the presidents intention to name a nominee as soon as possible.

Read More: Trump supporters chant at North Carolina rally: Fill that seat!

Mississippis other senator, Republican Roger Wicker, said the Senate should fulfill their constitutional duty to fill all vacancies as long as we are in office.

This year marks Espys second time challenging Hyde-Smith. He first ran against her in a 2018 special election after former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant appointed her to fill a vacant Senate seat.

Have you subscribed to theGrios Dear Culture podcast? Download our newest episodes now!

The post Mississippi Senate candidate Mike Espy sees record donations after Ginsburgs death appeared first on TheGrio.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : 'Bollywood kills, Bollywood sexually abuses', were some of the allegations that resonated in the Parliament House complex on Monday.

BJP Rajya Sabha member Roopa Ganguly, one of the earliest lawmakers to seek a CBI enquiry into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's mysterious death, held a symbolic protest holding placards that made the aforementioned allegations. Interestingly, the protest assumes significance in the backdrop of a charge of sexual assault against celebrated filmmaker Anurag Kashyap.

Ganguly held placards that read, "How many more women's dignity will be assaulted by the Mumbai film industry?" Another placard read,"How many more murders will the Mumbai film industry execute?" Ganguly was protesting in front of the famous Gandhi statue in Parliament House.

Late last night, in a veiled reference to Kashyap, BJP's Lok Sabha member Ravi Kishan had raised the matter in the House. He talked about a "famous director".

Earlier actor Payal Ghosh, who levelled the charges against Kashyap told IANS, "I was molested by a very famous director. The director told me that girls he works with have a 'gala time' with him. The circumstances created at that moment were very embarrassing." Asked to name the director, the actress said: "It was Anurag Kashyap who tried to molest me in 2014." Kashyap has denied all sexual assault allegations levelled against him.

But now, with the matter reaching Parliament House, albeit in a veiled manner, the heat is on Bollywood.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Qatar Sunday denied plans to thaw ties with Israel and underscored its support for the Palestinian cause.

The State of Qatar affirmed its firm position on the Palestinian issue, which stipulates ending the Israeli occupation and establishing the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital within the framework of international legitimacy and relevant Security Council resolutions while granting all Palestinian refugees the right of return, Qatar News Agency reported, relaying a statement by the countrys Foreign Affairs Ministry.

It is regrettable to see some misleading media campaigns that try to mix up issues and distort the image of the State of Qatar at the expense of the brotherly Palestinian people, and their legitimate rights at this defining moment in the history of the conflict.

The clarification on its position comes as several regional Arab countries namely UAE and Bahrain formerly last week established ties with Israel. Both countries on September 15 became the third and fourth Arab countries after Egypt and Jordan to establish relations with Israel.

US President Donald Trump who brokered the normalization accords also indicated that five to six other Arab countries are expected to follow suit.
Despite the difficulties, the talks are the best hope for peace in years and come as a result of a February pact between the Taliban and US, allowing US forces to withdraw in exchange for Taliban promises on terrorism

The Afghan government and Taliban militants remain far apart on even the most basic issues a week into talks meant to end two decades of war that has killed tens of thousands of people, diplomats and negotiators say.

The chasm, not just on the predictably difficult problem of a ceasefire but on basic issues such as women's rights, suggests major hurdles to any hopes of binding the wounds of a ravaged country.

Despite the difficulties, the talks are the best hope for peace in years and come as a result of a February pact between the Taliban and the United States, allowing US forces to withdraw in exchange for Taliban promises on terrorism.

But the Taliban have refused to agree to a ceasefire and the war is grinding on. At least 57 members of the security forces were killed in overnight clashes with the Taliban across Afghanistan.

With all foreign troops due to be gone by May next year, pressure is building on the US-backed government as it grapples with how it can share power with its implacable foe or contend with a likely Taliban push for military victory.

Since the spotlight faded from the lavish Sept. 12 opening ceremony in a hotel ballroom in the Qatari capital, Doha, attended by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the two sides have only confirmed that they are diametrically opposed on virtually every issue.

"We are talking to a side that is difficult and inflexible and therefore things are not moving forward," said a senior negotiator on the Afghan government side.

The two sides will have to tackle a diverse range of issues to secure peace, from the legitimacy of the Kabul government to women's rights.

"The first week has demonstrated how complex the talks will be in general, with the most crucial one being Afghanistan's future political system," said Graham Smith, an independent analyst tracking the talks, based in Afghanistan.

Saudi Arabia said on Monday it supported the talks "and everything that would achieve security, stability and reduce violence in Afghanistan", according to a statement on Saudi state news agency SPA.

The Taliban emerged in the early 1990s from the chaos of factional strife between the Islamists who had battled occupying Soviet forces in the 1980s.

Wish For Peace

Founded by religious students, the Pakistan-backed fighters brought a welcome but harsh peace, along with contempt for women's rights, blocking their education, forcing nearly all to quit work, restricting their movement and brutally enforcing a strict dress code.

In recent months, the Taliban have said they will respect women's rights under sharia but many educated woman who have come of age since the Taliban were ousted in 2001 for harbouring al Qaeda leader Osama bin laden have doubts.

Women could be the first casualty of the talks, some activists fear, if the government allows the rolling back of their rights to appease the Taliban.

Three diplomats overseeing the so-called intra-Afghan negotiations told Reuters the talks had bogged down over the finer points of Islamic law.

The government and Taliban both follow the Hanafi school of jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, but their interpretations of sharia are "staunchly different", said a senior Western diplomat in Doha who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the talks.

This affects positions on key issues like punishments for crime, women's rights and freedom of speech.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's spokesman questioned what he said was the Taliban insistence on settling the issue of the Islamic system so early in the talks.

"This doesn't resonate well with our people's wish for a lasting peace and the current political system of Afghanistan which is an Islamic Republic state and has legitimacy," said the spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi.

One of the diplomats trying to shepherd the talks said the focus was for now on keeping the negotiators at the table, talking over tea in the Gulf capital, 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from their war-scarred home.

"They're carving up their playing field," the diplomat said. "The challenge for us is to make sure that no one leaves the field."

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The Business Interruption Grant (BIG) program is a $636 million program developed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly to provide economic relief for small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19.

BIG leverages federal funding provided by the CARES Act to help offset COVID-19 related losses for Illinois small businesses. Funding may be used to help businesses with working capital expenses, including payroll costs; rent; utilities; and other operational costs.

In the first round of grant submissions in August, funding was directed to restaurants, personal care services, gyms and fitness clubs, and businesses located in disproportionately impacted areas or DIAs. The first round of BIG provided a $49 million boost for businesses at every corner of Illinois, with grant funds deployed to roughly 2,800 businesses spanning 400 towns and cities in 78 counties throughout the state.

As a result of the equity-centric approach to the program, more than half of the first-round grants went to minority-owned businesses. Seven Coles County businesses received a total of $110,000 in grants from the first round of the program.

A $220 million second round of BIG aims to provide relief for all types of small businesses, but with a particular focus on businesses downstate, in DIAs, and for heavily impacted industry and regions representing businesses that have been unable to reopen or operating at a severely diminished capacity since the spring.

The second wave of funds includes the following provisions to ensure a wide distribution of funds geographically and across business type:

 Heavily Impacted Industries  $60 million for heavily distressed industries, such as movie theatres, performing arts venues, concert venues, indoor recreation, amusement parks, and more.

 Disproportionately Impacted Areas  $70 million set aside for DIAs, defined by zip codes identified by the General Assembly for communities that are most economically distressed and vulnerable to COVID-19. Coles County is part of the DIAs.

 Downstate Communities  tThe Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has committed to ensuring that at least half of all remaining funds, totaling more than $100 million, are reserved for businesses in downstate and rural communities of Illinois.

 Priority Businesses  Apart from the $60 million for heavily impacted industries, applications from the following types of businesses will be prioritized for review for remaining funds: businesses directly affected by regional mitigations implemented by the state or local governments, independently owned retail, tourism- and hospitality-related industries including accommodations, and more. Many Coles County businesses will now be eligible to apply for funding in this category.

 Agriculture  $5 million of the remainder of funds will be set aside for livestock production disruptions. Applications will be available in the coming weeks from the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

The grant process went live on Sept. 17. To apply for the grant businesses can go to https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/SmallBizAssistance/Pages/C19DisadvantagedBusGrants.aspx

Photos: Remember these? A look back at Mattoon businesses through the years

Ed Dowd is the Executive Director of the Mattoon Chamber of Commerce

Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
A lonely gran who claims she was conned out of 18,000 by her Ghanaian toyboy lover and accused of BEATING him has warned other woman not to be as naive as she was.

Former probation officer Beth Haining fell for Rodney Cudjoe, a Ghanaian musician 30 years her junior.

'I've been a stupid old woman who should know better,' said 68-year-old Beth, of Redditch in Worcestershire.

'I used to laugh at women who fall for these good-looking toy boys from abroad and think how gullible they are. Now I'm one of them.'

Gran Beth Haining fell for the charms of Ghanaian toyboy Rodney, a musician 30 years her junior, and married the 39-year-old after flying out to meet him in Accra in December 2014

Gran-of-four Beth met hunky 6ft 1ins Rodney, now 39, after the pair chatted online in December 2014.

She flew to Accra the capital of Ghana, where he seduced her and proposed to her in front of his friends.

Beth went ahead with the wedding even though her children back home begged her not to.

But after paying for a spouse visa and lavishing 18,000 of her savings on her new groom and his business ventures, she claimed the gentle, attentive man she'd fallen in love with became sulky, moody and cold.

He moaned about the food, the freezing British winters and accused Beth of treating him like a slave when she asked him to paint her living room blue.

Eventually after rowing non-stop, Beth refused to renew his visa and gave him the money to fly home along with the taxi fare to the airport.

Instead, he stayed in the country and falsely accused the 5ft 5ins granny of beating him so badly she split his lip - meaning she had to be quizzed by police after they turned up on her doorstep.

Now she is warning other women not to fall for scammer's tricks after Rodney conned her out of 18,000 and reported her to police when their marriage fell apart saying she had beat him

She wasn't charged with assault and is now divorcing Rodney for the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage after complaining to the Home Office that he won't go back to Ghana. They curtailed his leave to stay in the UK.

'He told me I was beautiful and that he loved me, but he lied to me and used me,' said Beth.

'I had just sold my house when we met and had some savings.

'I fell for him and thought he was genuine. I thought this was my dream romance coming true and I lavished him with attention and gifts.

'I paid for everything, and we spoke about starting businesses together as I wanted us to be happy.

'We had the most amazing time in Ghana, it was magical. He couldn't do enough for me.

'He told me I was beautiful and that he loved me, but he lied to me and used me,' said Beth, who paid for his visa and brought him to her home in the UK, before his mood changed

'We had sex in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening - it was at least three times a day every day.

'But Rodney changed as soon as he came to Britain. He spent more time sleeping on the sofa than he did in my bed.

'He would argue and shout about everything - the food, the cold and having to find work.

'He got a job in a packing factory as I said I didn't have enough money to pay for everything. But he said: 'How can you be broke when you're British?'

'He thought this was the land of milk and honey.

'It was a rude awakening when he saw the reality of British life and living with me. He was a completely different person - he was either shouting or sulking for days at a time.

'My two children and friends didn't like him and when they came round he would go into another room. I thought it was a culture shock and he would adapt.

'I wanted to make it work but eventually I realised it was all a lie.'

When their relationship broke down, Beth and Rodney agreed he would return to Ghana as his visa was up for renewal.

'I gave him the airfare and the money for the taxi but he took the key from the front door and didn't leave,' said Beth.

'I had to change the locks and then two police officers came to the door saying that he had accused me of assaulting him. I never thought he would try and get me arrested.

Beth said she knew their marriage had broken down, but she never thought the music producer would report her to the police and accuse her of assaulting him

'I'm half his size, twice his age and have never hit anyone. It was ridiculous but they asked me to give a statement and so I ended up being quizzed for an hour in the local police station.

'I was petrified, but luckily I had a solicitor and the police released me with no further action taken. I couldn't believe the man I loved and who I'd brought over here so we could be together could accuse me of that.

'The solicitor even recognised me because he'd read my reports when I was a probation officer. It was so embarrassing and I knew then I had to divorce Rodney.'

Beth first fell for music producer Rodney after they met online in December 2014.

She said: 'I was a bit lonely as my sister Gaynor had died a couple of years earlier and my mum Barbara had been diagnosed with dementia but he was very friendly and chatty. We got on well.'

Soon the pair were messaging and then talking to each other every day.

'I thought we were friends, but he started saying I had nice hair and he couldn't wait to touch it,' she said.

'We'd seen pictures of each other and there was a huge age difference so I didn't realise he was flirting at first. I liked him and after a few months he asked if he could borrow some money as he was waiting for a cheque to come through.

'It was just 200 so I did, and he promised to pay me back. Then he needed some money for some studio equipment and to put on some shows where we would share the profits and I sent him another 2,000.

'We began talking about meeting up. I'd been to Ghana before as I raised funds for and been a volunteer at orphanages over there and he asked me to visit him.'

She jetted out to meet Rodney in August 2015 - and he literally swept off her feet at the airport.

'He picked me up and gave me a peck on the cheek, but in the car, he gave me a full-on kiss which gave me butterflies,' Beth said.

'I realised then we weren't just going to be friends and that night we had sex.

'We spent all our time together, eating out and drinking, meeting all his friends. He always had his arm around me and was kissing me. He couldn't do enough for me.'

Rodney even asked Beth to marry him four or five times but she refused, saying they didn't know each other well enough.

A week before she was due to fly home they went to a club - and he stood on the stage and proposed.

'He said he wanted to spend his life with me and had arranged a surprise wedding for five days later on 7 October, 2015, the day before I was due to fly home.

'All his friends were there and they were clapping and cheering. I didn't feel like I could say no,' Beth says.

'I loved him but I thought it was too soon to get married.

'I called my children who told me not to do it. They said he was too young and I didn't know him, but I thought it was love.'

The next day she bought a green wedding dress, the rings and asked her neighbour to send over her divorce papers from her first marriage, which had ended in the 1970s.

How to spot an online scammer The Citizens Advice Bureau offers the following tips to protect your identity and cash from online scammers: only allow someone to remotely access your computer if they are from a trusted source, such as your internet service provider

create passwords which are long, unique and use a mix of random numbers and lower and upper case letters (the longer the password the harder it is to guess - a 10 digit password is better than an 8 digit one)

make sure you change passwords regularly and don't share them

use antivirus software and keep it up to date so you'll be protected against the most recent viruses - if you buy software online make sure it is from a genuine supplier

understand what software you are installing on your computer or phone and make sure you are using a secure site when you buy software, tablet or smart phone - a secure site will have a web address beginning with https, not http

make sure your firewall is switched on - operating systems such as Windows come with built in firewall settings, which can monitor and warn you of unexpected access to your computer

make sure you regularly install updates to your operating system (Windows is an example of an operating system)

install the latest version of your web browser, for example Internet Explorer, which will have the latest security features

dont open suspicious or unknown emails, email attachments, texts or pop up messages - for example an email with an unusually worded subject heading

no genuine company will contact you to ask for your log-in details, such as your password or user id - you should only need to provide this information when you are logging onto a service such as online banking

before entering payment card details on a website, make sure the link is secure Advertisement

'It was when we handed in our papers that I realised Rodney's real age. He had told me he was 40 but when I saw his date of birth I realised he'd lied and really he was 30.

'I was a bit shocked but it was too late by then.

Beth flew home the next day and paid a lawyer 3,000 to arrange for Rodney's visa.

It was granted in February 2017 - and he flew over to live in the three-bedroom former council house that she was eventually left by her mother.

'My mum gave me half when she died and left the other half to her husband's children in trust though I can live here for the rest of my life,' Beth explained.

'I was excited to see Rodney but he was a completely different person. He didn't stop moaning and nothing I did was good enough.

'I had a pension but also ran workshops for people with depression and anxiety, but I wanted him to work and he got a job in a packing factory.

'He sent all the money back to Ghana to buy equipment for a music studio so I paid all the bills in Britain.'

Beth found her husband cold and distant - and they only had sex once that year. 'He wanted kids and I said I obviously couldn't have them and he then said there was no point in having sex.

'He began criticising me, saying he didn't like my cooking and wanted to cook his own food, like yams, plantains and rice.

'He also said I was treating him like a slave as I asked him to do things round the house. I told him 'that's just being a husband' but he didn't like it.

'He thought I should do everything as I was his wife. One time I asked him to clean up his mess and he slammed a knife down so hard on the kitchen worktop that he damaged it. I was a bit scared.'

Beth said she tried to make the marriage work but that after continuously rowing she decided to finish their relationship.

'We went for dinner with friends and he told them he had three swimming pools at his house in Ghana when in reality he has a fish pond. I hated watching him lie and realised then it was never going to work,' she said.

'He begged me for another chance and said that he loved me. He bought flowers and tried to shower me with affection but it was too late.'

Eventually Rodney agreed to go home but Beth says she saw the front door key was missing. After getting the locks changed she thought that was the end of her marriage nightmare.

But she was shocked when the police arrived to question her saying that Rodney had claimed she'd attacked him twice, punching him in the face and busting open his lip.

After making a statement at the local police station she began divorce proceedings.

She also told the Home Office she was divorcing Rodney as she didn't want to be involved with a man who could lie to the police I had attacked him.'

She is now waiting for her divorce, which has cost her 1,400 so far, to be finalised and has already changed her name back to Haining.

Now she wants to warn other women not to be as naive as she was.

'I keep asking myself how could I have been so stupid as to be taken in by him,' she said. 'I thought it could never happen to me. My job for years was doing risk assessments with criminals and so I thought I could never be duped by a man.

'But I fell for it all, and realise it was all lie. I was a silly old woman who fell for the Mills and Boons chat by a good-looking, younger man from Africa, but he just wanted me for my money.

'I've cried for a year over all this and put on four stone. Now I just need that divorce to come through and to get on with my life without him.'

Beth has now co-authored a book about her experiences, called The girls Who Refused To Quit.

Rodney, who is living in Birmingham and claiming asylum said: 'I loved her. It wasn't an act. I wanted to make it work. The money wasn't for me, it was for businesses to make a future together. My visa was expiring on October 27 and she had slapped my face twice in the May.

'The Home Office wanted to know why I had left my house and I had to explain I had been the victim of domestic abuse. I spoke to the Citizen Advice Bureau and Immigration Aid who said they couldn't help me if I hadn't made a formal complaint to the police. I went to talk to the local police as part of the process, that was all.'
In less than a month, another urban disaster has hit Maharashtra, with the collapse of a 30-year-old building in Bhiwandi, Thane, with at least 10 casualties. The building collapsed on Monday at 3:04 am. This comes after the Mahad building collapse which killed 16 people. The period between 2015 and 2019 saw 1,472 incidents of building collapses in Mumbai alone, with 106 people having lost their lives. This number is alarming.

Maharashtra has been infamous for its urban infrastructure which is the result of a domino effect. With rapid urbanisation, buildings are often haphazardly constructed, flouting regulatory norms. The absence of planning often forces citizens to move into unregulated, unsafe buildings, and face the consequences of crumbling infrastructure. Older buildings are often forgotten in the bid to build more. While not unique to Maharashtra alone, the state has seen the unfortunate consequences of poor planning and governance as a product of rapid urbanisation.

The Mahad tragedy should have served as a wake-up call for the Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC), which began to identify extremely dangerous buildings. Now, as a second tragedy unfolds, the only way forward is through proactive decision-making, inspections and administrative will. Changing weather patterns, heavy rainfall and the climate crisis must be regarded as key areas in the approach to building safer cities. Let this be a grave reminder to states to prioritise proper urban planning. Lives are at stake.
HONG KONG  Officials in Thailand had an unorthodox approach to deal with visitors who left a tent filled with litter in a national park: mail the trash to the offenders.

The countrys environment minister said that he wanted to call attention to a garbage problem at Khao Yai National Park that endangers animals that could eat the litter while foraging for food. He vowed in a Facebook post last week to track down anyone responsible for littering in the park.

I will pick up every single piece of your trash, pack them well in a box and mail it to your home as a souvenir, the minister, Varawut Silpa-archa, said in the post. He also posted photos of a delivery box containing a transparent trash bag filled with used plastic water bottles, soda cans, torn packs of chips and sunflower seeds.

Thai officials said they had, indeed, mailed the box of trash to campers who had left the waste in a tent they abandoned. The special package came with a pointed message for the group, who have been placed on a blacklist barring them from returning to the park for overnight visits.
WASHINGTON  A former Connecticut resident is fighting a second attempt by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to deport him to Uzbekistan after being held in ICE custody for more than two and half years, his lawyer said.

Bakhodir Madjitov, 39, was told ICE intends to remove him from the country on Tuesday morning, his lawyer Diana Blank of New Haven Legal Assistance said. Madjitov tested positive for coronavirus in July and according to a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, is now battling the coronavirus on top of depression and anxiety.

ICE declined to comment on the existence of any plans to remove Madjitov from the country, Monday. The agency has not stopped deporting immigrants during the pandemic, even at times carrying out the removal of detainees who have symptoms of the virus or have tested positive, multiple news outlets have reported, contributing to the spread of covid-19.

ICE said on its website only detainees with medical clearance are placed on removal flights.

Any ICE detainee who fails to pass screening by a flight medical provider and/or is suspected of having a health-risk condition potentially contagious to other detainees, staff and/or third parties, will be denied boarding and referred to an ICE approved facility for screening, ICE said.

RELATED: I dont want to die in detention: COVID-19 strikes CT man in ICE custody

On Friday, Madjitovs attorneys filed a tort claim against ICE alleging members of the agency assaulted Madjitov in New York while attempting to remove him from the country in 2019 against the orders of an immigration judge. In the complaint, Madjitov of use of excessive force, negligence, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress in violation of his rights. Madjitov also sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent his removal from the U.S.

Attorneys for ICE argued the lawsuit was improperly filed in New York and this court did not have the authority to stay his removal.

A judge in New York denied Madjitovs request to stay his removal Monday afternoon, Blank said. She said they would pursue an emergency stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Last week, ICE moved Madjitov from Etowah County Detention Center in Alabama, where he has been held a thousand miles from home for the better part of two years, to the LaSalle ICE Processing Center in Jena, Lousiana, the complaint states.

Madjitov is seeking release to his family of U.S. citizens in Broad Brook, Connecticut. Originally from Uzbekistan, he has never been arrested for or convicted of a crime but has been held in ICE custody since Dec. 2017. He has attempted to secure legal status in the U.S. through many applications and appeals. He believes he will be subject to persecution and torture if he is forced to return to Uzbekistan.

My family theyre young. My kids theyre young. I want to go back to my family, Madjitov said in a phone interview with Hearst Connecticut Media in June. I dont want to die in detention.

A few non-profits supporting immigrants rights held a rally outside ICE offices in New York City to object to his deportation on Monday afternoon.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
ATHENS, Ga., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Susan Kreher, MD, is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Top Cardiologist in the field of Medicine for her accomplishments as a Cardiologist.

Backed by twenty-five years of professional successes, Dr. Kreher is one of the most skilled cardiologists in Athens, GA. Now retired, her areas of expertise include nuclear cardiology, echocardiography, and Enhanced External Counter Pulsation (EECP). She practiced at Classic City Cardiology and her private practice at 700 Sunset Dr, while holding hospital privileges at one of the top one-hundred hospitals in America, Athens Regional Medical Center.



An academic scholar, Dr. Kreher attended Hamline University, earning a Bachelor of Arts (BA). She remained in Minnesota for medical studies, earning a Doctorate of Medicine (MD) from the University of Minnesota (UMN) in 1984. For post education training, she worked as a resident at Hennepin County Hospital and a cardiology fellow at UMN. She remains abreast of changes in the field by maintaining affiliations with the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACOC).



Dr. Kreher dedicates this recognition in loving memory of her parents, John E. Kreher and Jean Kreher.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


Shell plans to make sweeping cuts at its oil and gas production business to free up cash it can invest in renewable energy.

The oil major is looking at ways it can slash costs in the division, known as its upstream arm, by as much as 40 per cent. This would include cutting the day-to-day costs of operations, as well as reining in spending on new projects.

And it would be on top of the 3.1billion that boss Ben van Beurden wants to save by the end of next March by laying off staff and suspending bonuses, Reuters reported.

The company has not said how many staff it will let go from its 83,000- strong workforce.

In 2019, the total cost of operations throughout the company was about 30billion  but it does not disclose how much of this is from the upstream business. Shell is said to be considering focusing its oil and gas production on a few key hubs, such as Nigeria, the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea, and trimming costs at its 45,000 petrol stations.

The restructuring is geared not only to help it survive the Covid crisis  which has reduced demand for oil  but to prepare it for the green 'energy transition'.

Energy firms have come under pressure from investors and governments to help the world move away from fossil fuels. Rival BP has laid out plans to invest in renewable technology and reach the key 'net zero' carbon emissions target by 2050 under Bernard Looney, who took over in February.

Some analysts believe demand for fuel will never recover back to 2019 levels after plummeting during the pandemic  which grounded planes, took cars off the road and disrupted industry.

A Shell source told Reuters: 'We had a great model but is it right for the future? There will be differences  this is not just about structure but culture.'
President Donald Trump raced on Monday to cement a conservative majority on the US Supreme Court before the Nov. 3 election, telling reporters he planned by Saturday to reveal his pick to succeed liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he was zeroing in on one or two candidates among five who are under consideration. He called on the Senate, controlled by his fellow Republicans, to vote on confirmation before the election in which he is seeking a second term.

Id much rather have a vote before the election, he said. We have plenty of time to do it.

Two federal appeals court judges appointed by Trump are clear front-runners: Amy Coney Barrett of the Chicago-based 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals and Barbara Lagoa of the Atlanta-based 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals. Trump met with Barrett at the White House on Monday, according to a source familiar with the situation.

RELATED NEWS How Trump Picked Amy Coney Barrett Over Barbara Lagoa for the US Supreme Court

Ginsburg died on Friday of complications from pancreatic cancer at age 87.

Trumps announcement would come before Ginsburg is due to be buried privately at Arlington National Cemetery next week.

Officials have arranged for a public viewing of her body outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday and Thursday and inside the U.S. Capitol on Friday.

Ginsburgs death gives Trump and his party an opportunity to establish a 6-3 conservative majority on a court whose decisions influence many spheres of American life including abortion, healthcare, gun rights, voting access, presidential powers and the death penalty.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has prioritized confirming Trumps judicial appointments, said he would usher through a vote this year, although he did not say exactly when.

The Senate has more than sufficient time to process a nomination. History and precedent make that perfectly clear, McConnell said on the Senate floor.

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, but two Republican senators  Maines Susan Collins and Alaskas Lisa Murkowski  said over the weekend that the chamber should not move forward with a Trump nominee before the election.

McConnell has time, as a new Congress will not be sworn in until Jan. 3. Democrats are hoping to win control of the Senate in the election.

Democrats have accused McConnell of hypocrisy for being eager to usher a Trump nominee to a confirmation vote. In 2016, he refused even to consider Democratic President Barack Obamas nominee to fill a vacancy on the court left by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, saying it would be inappropriate to do so during an election year.

Trump has already named two conservative justices to the high court, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

GINSBURGS DYING WISH

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said any vote should take place next year. That was Justice Ginsburgs dying wish. And it may be the Senates only, last hope, Schumer said.

Trump said without evidence that he did not believe the National Public Radio report that Ginsburg had told her granddaughter she did not want the Senate to consider a successor until next year, when either Trump will begin a second term or Democratic rival Joe Biden, who leads in opinion polls, will take office.

It was just too convenient, Trump said. Speaking of the possible candidates, Trump said: Theyre all outstanding but I have one or two that I have in mind. He called Barrett very respected.

He said he might meet with Lagoa in Miami later this week, adding: I dont know her but I hear shes outstanding.

Obstacles loom for either candidate in the bitterly divided Senate.

Barrett could face opposition from Collins and Murkowski over concerns that she would roll back abortion rights, said a source familiar with the confirmation process who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Lagoa, a Cuban American from the battleground state of Florida, is not as well known, which could slow down the confirmation process.

White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, Vice President Mike Pence, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trumps son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, are leading the selection process, the source said. Outside of White House officials, Leonard Leo, the former executive vice president of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group, is playing a central advisory role.

The Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative group, said it would air $2.2 million worth of television ads urging a confirmation vote, focusing on a handful of states with competitive Senate races.
A pedestrian was struck at the MBTAs Charlestown bus yard and taken to a local hospital Monday morning, according to the Boston Police Department.

Officers responded to the report of a pedestrian being struck by a bus at 95 Arlington St. in Charlestown just after 5 a.m. on Monday, police said.

The pedestrian was taken to a local hospital, police said. Authorities, though, didnt provide further details of how severe the injuries.

The MBTA said the person was an employee and was taken to Mass General Hospital with serious injuries. The agency said investigators are working to determine the facts and circumstances.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian addressed a congratulatory message on the 29th anniversary of Armenias Independence, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The message says:

Dear Compatriots,



I convey my congratulations on the occasion of the most significant state holiday  Independence Day.

On September 21, 1991 we unanimously and confidently said yes to independence.

The aspirations, which we had in our quest for independence and after attaining it, became a reality through the creation of our independent state.

But the journey continues. For us, as a nation and state, much still lies ahead  new projects, new objectives, new victories.

To achieve that we need a precise vision, a feasible plan, as well as unwavering will. Future is born from decisions and efforts emanating from this, from our mentality and conscience, from the total sum of our work, based on our national and moral values, our history, our heritage.

Only an individual, a society, a nation, which remembers and cherishes its past and traditions, its culture and language, looks forward and feels the pulse of time, can enrich its spiritual and material, the virtual and real world.

No matter how much the world changes, it will always be based on the want for kindness, compassion, justice, and truth  everything that our national system of values is based on.

Our brothers and sisters, soldiers and freedom fighters, doctors and intellectuals, farmers and writers from Armenia, Artsakh, and Spyurk, all those who struggled, dedicated themselves to the Fatherland  Armenia and Artsakh, who gave their lives for independence impart us all to spare nothing for the present and future.

I bow to them all.

Dear Compatriots,

Today too, we have devotees right next to us, who defend the borders of our culture and science, our health and education, who are carriers and defenders of our national identity and values, who put their efforts in making the Fatherland stronger, in making homeland more secure, from military to medical workers, from scholars to IT specialists, from teachers in remote villages to nurses in kindergartens, from farmers to bakers, from musicians to athletes, from innovators to archeologists

The destiny of the Fatherland depends on us all, on each and every one, on our ability to be responsible and be able to assume responsibility, on our solidarity, unity, kindness, and tolerance toward each other.



We must be united.

We must work together no matter how different our approaches, visions, and perceptions are.

Independence Day must be the symbol of our all-national unity.

Lets defend and empower our Fatherland  Armenia and Artsakh as the pivot and axis of our national aspirations.

Peace and prosperity to our Fatherland and our people.

Long live the Republic of Armenia!

Long live the Republic of Artsakh!

Long live the united Armenian nation!

Long live citizens of Armenia!

God bless us all.




OCEAN CITY, Md., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The country mourns the passing of trailblazing Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Mia Mason, candidate for U.S. Congress in Maryland's first district gave her thoughts on the passing of Justice Ginsburg:

"Justice Ginsburg has been a hero of mine from the time I was young. Her jurisprudence from the bench of the highest court of the land has moved the country forward in ways that will be felt for generations. She ruled on gender equality, LGBT rights, Voting rights and so much more in her time on the court. I think of all of the young women who will look to her and think that they too can make a difference in the world. Her leadership on the court will be missed.If we all cling to just a small piece of her strength, we are going to be ok."

Justice Ginsburg received the moniker, "Notorious RBG" for her, at times, fiery dissents. Some of her most memorable and notable decisions came on gay marriage, her dissent of the weakening of the voting rights act, and ending gender discrimination in the workplace as well as the armed forces.

Ginsburg told MSNBC's Irin Carmon in 2015, when asked how she would like to be remembered, "[As] someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability, and to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has."

When asked about where we go from here after the passing of Justice Ginsburg Mia Said, "Today we mourn, tomorrow we fight."

Media Contact: Dennis Parker

[email protected]

410-227-6454

About Mia Mason: Mia Mason is a 20 year veteran of the Army, Navy and National Guard. She served 5 tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and helped in relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. After retiring she began to advocate for numerous civil and human rights organizations. In June she became the first openly LGBT U.S. congressional candidate in Maryland.

SOURCE Friends of Mia Mason

Related Links

https://www.miadmason.us


LONDON  Its been a surreal year for most industry leaders, and none more so than for Michael Kliger, the president of Mytheresa, who not only boosted sales and profits through a pandemic but did so as the luxury e-commerce site became the subject of a high-profile custody battle in the Neiman Marcus Group bankruptcy case.

The court battles of the past few months underscored just what a jewel Mytheresa was in the eyes of Neimans parent company, which had not declared bankruptcy, and the retailers creditors. It also underlined the potential that Mytheresa has, going forward, under its current private equity owners, given its strong fundamentals and the spike in online sales worldwide during lockdown.

More from WWD

Mytheresa will reveal on Monday that consolidated net revenues for the fiscal year ended in June were up 19.4 percent to 450 million euros. That figure includes the online business, which saw a 20 percent uptick in the 12-month period, as well as the mens and womens physical stores in Munich.

Although the company did not reveal a profit figure for fiscal 2020, it said overall profitability grew significantly.

In an interview, Kliger emphasized that each quarter saw revenue growth, and profitability increased during the pandemic.

Amid the disruption of the past months Kliger stayed the course, persisting with the launch of mens wear and releasing a series of exclusive capsule collections  from Prada, Thom Browne, Gucci and others  to market the new mens offer on the site.

Even during the darkest days of lockdown, Mytheresa was pumping out all sorts of capsules: There was a his-and-hers Balmain collection, a Brunello Cucinelli capsule for the whole family (Mytheresa has a robust childrens wear business) and, most recently, a Moncler Generation collection, which launched earlier this month. The capsule includes womens, mens and childrens wear  as well as outerwear for dogs.

Story continues

Kliger said that promoting the new mens wear offer just as Europe and the U.S. were locking down was a challenge. By July, however, it began to gain traction.

We were scaling up the business in obviously interesting circumstances  many regions were in lockdown. In the month of July, mens wear orders accounted for 10 per cent of our total business.

He said the closure of physical stores worldwide was a boon for Mytheresa  and for online businesses generally.

People were not buying gowns and pumps, but rather loungewear and casualwear and sneakers. E-tailers were the source, and the amazing, and sometimes untold, story of the ongoing pandemic is that the global logistics systems did not break down. We continued to ship in every region of the world, packages were delivered. It is unbelievable how this backbone of our economic system continued to operate, and retailers continued to ship to customers wherever they were, he said.

Kliger added that Mytheresas logistics never stopped, and the business remained operational throughout the worst of the crisis. By contrast, some competitors were forced to shut warehouses temporarily due to quarantine safety issues.

He said that COVID-19 only helped to speed consumers switch to online shopping, and that Mytheresa saw many more first-time customers, and possibly even customers who had never shopped online, anywhere before.

Over the last three to four months, Kliger said that Mytheresa expanded its business in the Middle East, and saw really good traction in the U.S. He said sales in Europe have been very good and stable, particularly in Scandinavia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Kliger added that the pandemic helped to keep the company sharp, and vindicated many of its already existing strategies.

While it may have been a challenge for Mytheresas buyers not to see or touch the product  or even attend a runway show  Kliger said they adapted quickly.

Focused buying has always been one of our tricks. One of our beliefs is dont go broad, even if there is a big collection. We force ourselves to buy what we believe in and whats right for our customers.

Kliger said that about 3 percent of all of Mytheresas customers generate 30 percent of the business, and the retailer works hard to please them.

We focus on customers who build wardrobes, who buy several times a season. We launched skiwear because we discovered that this is a pastime of our customer base. We work very intimately with them, and we have ideas like the Moncler Generation or Dolce & Gabbana capsules. Those efforts continue to drive our business and get our customers excited.

He added that there are definitely customers out there who buy iconic pieces, they save money for them, they make an investment. But this is not the customer base we focus on.

Mytheresa plans to cater even more to that precious 3 percent by hiring a team of personal shoppers in the U.S.

We know its quite a bizarre moment to hire, but we want to serve our top U.S. customers more. The hiring is happening as we speak, although theyll all work from home for now. On the other side of the world, we launched our very first brand campaign in China and during the pandemic, we added WeChat in addition to Alipay to our payment methods.

In a bid to expand its international reach and outlook, the company has opened a creative studio in Milan exclusively dedicated to mens wear photo shoots, and has set up a technology and services office in Barcelona.

Kliger said that, despite the restrictions of the pandemic, the company was also able to come up with a fresh stream of creative content to engage its top customers. Instead of traveling to the South of France or Marrakech, Morocco, the in-house team stayed put in Germany, shooting the campaign for the Gucci mens capsule in a Berlin restaurant, and the Tom Ford one on the beaches of northern Germany.

He said the pandemic also brought greater focus to the Mytheresa business  and to the worlds of retail and design generally.

It made everything more crisp and clear for designers  and companies. It has become clearer what works, what doesnt, whats important, whats not. Now were thinking, Lets curate even more, focus even more on this customer segment that we want to serve around the world,' and not try to be all things to all people.

Asked where physical stores fit into the post-pandemic landscape, Kliger was clear that they serve a specific purpose. Mytheresas roots are in physical retail, and earlier this year it opened a separate stand-alone mens wear store in Munich.

Do I believe stores are important? Absolutely. I believe the role of multibrand has become more important, because we create focus, we create clarity. Its a confusing world of too much information, someone needs to explain it, to distill it. The retailer needs to provide an answer, he said.

I think the biggest question for me is how the distribution landscape will look in the U.S., because the backbone of multibrand boutiques was never as strong in the U.S. compared to countries like France, or Italy, or Germany. Im not an expert on the U.S. market, but Ive heard that maybe there will be a revival of boutiques in secondary cities. That would be a fascinating trend.

Asked about the resolution of the Neiman Marcus bankruptcy drama, Kliger said he was relieved.

The retailer began its exit from Chapter 11 earlier this month, and in the wake of the courts ruling Mytheresa will be controlled by Ares Management and the investment fund Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Once Neiman Marcus fully emerges from Chapter 11, Ares and CPPIB will no longer have any shareholding in the Neimans business.

It was a very interesting time and, of course, the issues were quite complicated. Im happy for all of our colleagues at Neiman Marcus. It was stressful for us, but that was nothing in comparison to how stressful it was for the staff at Neiman Marcus. In a few days, maybe weeks, it will all be over, and theyll get a full restart. Thats fantastic.

During the court battles earlier this year, it emerged that Mytheresa was worth roughly $822 million in 2018, when the companys ultimate owners moved it, controversially, to another part of the overall business. Neiman Marcus originally purchased the Munich-based retailer in 2014, well before it began running into financial trouble.

Since 2018, Mytheresa has long been operating as an independent entity, and will continue to do so, according to Kliger.

We were never operationally affected, but what the [resolution of the bankruptcy case] does is provides clarity about who owns what. All of the discussions about lawsuits still hanging in the background, all of them are over. We will pursue our continued business development, and well really try to continue what weve done in the last years.

The resolution of the bankruptcy case, he said, adds a bit of focus and clarity, but the real joy is for our Neiman Marcus colleagues, who wont be colleagues anymore, but competitors.
The reactive and piecemeal approach historically used to manage beaches in Hawai'i has failed to protect them. If policies are not changed, as much as 40% of all beaches on O'ahu, Hawai'i could be lost before mid-century, according to a new study by researchers in the Coastal Geology Group at the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST).

In an era of rising sea level, beaches need to migrate landward, otherwise they drown. Beach migration, also known as shoreline retreat, causes coastal erosion of private and public beachfront property. Shoreline hardening, the construction of seawalls or revetments, interrupts natural beach migration--causing waves to erode the sand, accelerating coastal erosion on neighboring properties, and dooming a beach to drown in place as the ocean continues to rise.

The team of scientists, led by graduate researcher in the SOEST Department of Earth Sciences Kammie Tavares, assessed the shoreline around O?ahu that would be most vulnerable to erosion under three scenarios of sea level rise--all estimated to occur before, and shortly after mid-century.

They identified the location and severity of risk of shoreline hardening and beach loss, and a potential timeline for the increase in erosion hazards. The most threatened properties fall into an "administrative erosion hazard zone," an area likely to experience erosion hazards and qualify for the emergency permitting process to harden the shoreline.

"By assessing computer models of the beach migration caused by 9.8 inches (0.25 meters) of sea level rise, an amount with a high probability of occurring before mid-century, we found that emergency permit applications for shoreline hardening to protect beachfront property will substantially increase," said Tavares.

According to co-author Dr. Tiffany Anderson, Assistant Researcher in the Department of Earth Sciences, "We determined that almost 30 percent of all present-day sandy shoreline on O'ahu is already hardened, with another 3.5 percent found to be so threatened that those areas qualify for an emergency permit today. Our modeling indicates that, as sea level rises about 10 inches (0.25 meters) by mid-century, an additional nearly eight percent of sandy shoreline will be at risk of hardening--meaning at that point, nearly 40% of Oahu's sandy beaches could be lost in favor of hardened shorelines."

"In another study published in 2018, we showed that accelerated erosion on neighboring properties, called flanking, usually leads to additional shoreline hardening, and condemnes entire beaches," said co-author Dr. Chip Fletcher, Associate Dean and Professor in SOEST. "It is clear that management decisions made today, and during the careers of most of today's natural resource managers, will be critical in determining if future generations will inherent a healthy shoreline, or one that has been ruined by seawalls, and other types of shoreline hardening."

Coastal erosion is inevitable when sea level is rising and global mean sea level has been rising for decades and is accelerating. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has projected continued sea level rise for many centuries, even if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced or stopped altogether. However, economists are projecting that greenhouse gas emissions will likely continue into mid-century and we will see more years like 2019 when the use of fossil fuels rose faster than the use of renewable forms of energy.

"Despite these facts, we continue to see shoreline hardening as the preferred policy choice, largely because management agencies have failed to develop assisted transition plans for beachfront landowners who are caught in a tightening vice because of accelerating sea level rise," said Fletcher. "In fact, directly to the contrary, beachfront lands continue to be sold to unwitting buyers with no appreciation for the expensive and frustrating situation they are entering into."

"Because coastal zone management laws continue to allow hardship variances in this era of rising sea level, despite widespread knowledge that seawalls kill beaches under these conditions, the same legal system designed to protect public trust lands, is responsible for destroying them," according to Fletcher. "Government agencies must develop creative and socially equitable programs to rescue beachfront owners and free the sandy ecosystem so that it can migrate landward as it must in an era of rising seas. It is urgent that options are developed soon for beachfront landowners and resource managers to avoid further destructive management decisions."

"Beaches are critical ecosystems to native plants and animals, offer protection from storms, are an essential cultural setting, and attract tourists, who are important for Hawai'i's current economy," added Tavares. "This research shows that conversations on the future of our beaches and how we will care for them must happen now rather than later, if we are to protect our sandy beaches."

###
The issue on the introduction of a UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas has been postponed, but remains on the agenda, since Ukraine needs help.

Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said this on the air of the Priamyi TV channel on Sunday evening, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

According to Reznikov, the peacekeeping mission in Donbas could become one of the issues of negotiations at the level of the leaders of the Normandy Four countries. "The UN Secretary-General should send an assessment mission, make a request for budget financing, and then the UN Security Council should support this funding," the minister said.

Reznikov recalled that the issue of peacekeepers "was once discussed by our diplomats at the UN Security Council." According to him, they discussed the nature of the mission  establishing or maintaining peace, as well as where exactly the peacekeepers would be present  throughout Donbas, on the contact line or near the border with the Russian Federation.

There was a dispute between two positions. Of course, the Ukrainian side tried to get the maximum, the Russian side - the minimum, and theoretically they could have come to an agreement, but this didn't happen, Reznikov said.

He stressed that Ukraine needs help, because the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission does not always cope with the situation. He believes that the issue of introducing UN peacekeepers should be discussed at the level of the leaders of the countries.

As reported, on July 11, Reznikov said that Ukraine was studying the issue of introducing peacekeepers to Donbas.

ish
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:

The main objective of USAID's activities for 2020 in the private sector of Azerbaijan is to increase the competitiveness of the private sector, while paying particular attention to agriculture and tourism, the USAID office in Azerbaijan told Trend.

"Over the past six years, thanks to USAID's cooperation with Azerbaijani agricultural enterprises selected within two projects, agricultural products worth over $80 million were exported. Of these, products worth $25 million were exported to new markets in Europe and the Middle East," said the USAID.

"Thanks to the improved agronomic experience offered by USAID, nut yields have increased by almost 100 percent, berry and fruit yields - by 40 percent, and vegetable yields - by 35 percent," said the office.

The US Embassy in Azerbaijan and the USAID mission together with the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) organized the Illinois-Azerbaijan Agriculture Forum in April 2019, and Oklahoma-Azerbaijan - in November of the same year.

"As part of these forums, two delegations of representatives of the agricultural sector of Azerbaijan, together with agricultural enterprises and the US research institutes, discussed the possibilities of expanding business," the USAID said.

Since 1991, USAID has allocated over $377 million to Azerbaijan as humanitarian aid to support the health sector, as well as economic reforms.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: Fidan_Babaeva
I opened the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold last year and spent enough to trigger a 20,000 points bonus by spending 3,000 in the first three months, and a further 10,000 before 12 months was up.

In the first year, the card doesn't carry a fee, but from year two, it carries a 140 annual cost which I don't want to pay for.

I have ticked into year two now as I am waiting for 10,000 of those points mentioned above. Amex makes you wait up to 60 days for these to arrive.

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card is often touted as the best way to pick up reward points, but it comes with a 140 fee after 12 months of holding it

Once they come, I plan to close the card and pro-rata the fee so, it should cost no more than 23 in the end, which I have easily wiped out in recent weeks anyway through its cashback scheme and I want to keep collecting Avios, even if they are hard to spend at the moment.

I have always played by the rules but now need a new way to collect, ideally without paying. What are my options? - via email

George Nixon, This is Money, replies: With an annual fee of 140 after the first year and a 56.6 per cent representative APR, despite its considerable travel benefits it is perhaps no wonder some may wish to ditch the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card when they have claimed all of the bonuses they can.

And while customers do have to pay the 140 fee up-front in order to benefit from the second 10,000 point spending bonus, as you say you can get a partial refund of all but the months you have held the card for, something This is Money addressed back in January.

Rob Burgess, editor of frequent flyer website Head for Points, said: 'I agree that it is often difficult to justify the annual fee for Preferred Rewards Gold after the first year.

'The reader is doing the right thing by waiting for his annual 10,000 points bonus to post before cancelling, and then asking for a pro-rata refund of the annual fee.

'In normal times I would suggest that he might want to hold the card a bit longer if he had any flights coming up, because the new card year brings two new free airport lounge passes'.

Lounge passes are usually estimated to be worth around 40, but it may be hard to use those right now with the increasing number of destinations appearing on the government's 14-day quarantine list.

But customers must be careful not to simply close their card, as doing so can lose all those hard-earned points.

'We often tell people to be very wary about closing accounts that may hold miles and points and to take action to ensure they are not lost', Nicky Kelvin, director of content at website The Points Guy UK, said.

Should you sell your points back to American Express? When you've taken out a card with a 140 annual membership fee and a steep APR to maximise earning points, the last thing someone might consider doing is selling them off. However, Amex gold card holders can benefit until 1 October from exactly that, with customers able to reduce their credit card bill, or even putting it into credit, with their Amex points. This works out at 6.75 per 1,000 Amex points, or 0.675p each, according to Head for Points. While the aim with reward points is to get as close to 1p per point as possible, Burgess wrote: 'You could do better but, of course, your current financial position might mean that 0.675p in cash is more welcome.' However, for those with air mile aspirations, he said: 'If your end goal was to use your Membership Rewards points for Avios, I would stick with that plan. Don't bail out for 0.675p of cash, unless your current financial situation means that it makes sense.' Although, for those yet to turn their Amex points into Avios and concerned about when they will next be able to book a flight with them, it does represent a way to liquidate points in a way that isn't really possible when they are turned into Avios, as This is Money has previously found.

Should you transfer your points out?

While American Express reward points, which are those earned by spending money on the gold card, can be transferred into British Airways Avios points or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles at a 1:1 ratio, or turned into gift cards or used in certain hotel reward schemes, forcing yourself to do so could limit your options.

'I don't recommend transferring membership points unless you are absolutely certain about what you want to do with them, because the flexibility is valuable', Burgess added.

Customers who are certain they wish to turn their Amex points into Avios points or Virgin Atlantic Miles do have some specific free options in the form of the British Airways American Express card or the Virgin Atlantic Rewards credit card.

'The BA card earns one Avios per 1', Kelvin said. 'The Virgin Atlantic Rewards Credit Card earns 0.75 points per 1, which isn't bad for a Mastercard and may be handy if you often spend money where Amex is not accepted.

'Each card has a number of additional perks like upgrade or companion vouchers.'

The BA Amex card also currently benefits from a time limited offer which lasts until 25 October, where every full 2 spent on the card earns an additional Avios point, netting cardholders up to 1,000 in total.

The BA card comes with a representative APR of 22.2 per cent, while the Virgin Atlantic one, which was temporarily taken off sale when flights were grounded in March and April, comes with a 22.9 per cent rate.

What are the alternatives to the American Express gold credit card? Credit card Annual fee Representative APR Spending reward Welcome bonus American Express Preferred Rewards Gold credit card 140 (after the first 12 months) 56.6% 1 Amex point per 1 10,000 Amex points for spending 3,000 in 3 months British Airways American Express credit card N/A 22.2% 1 Avios per 'virtually' 1 5,000 Avios for spending 1,000 in 3 months



Also running an offer until 25 October where every full 2 spent earns an additional Avios, up to 1,000 American Express Rewards credit card N/A 22.2% 1 Amex point per 1 5,000 Amex points for spending 2,000 in 3 months Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card N/A 22.9% 0.75 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles per 1 N/A

Where should you go to keep your Amex points?

But both Burgess and Kelvin suggest previous gold cardholders don't limit themselves to one reward scheme, and instead recommend a different option.

'The best way to keep an Amex rewards balance alive if you wish to cancel a fee-paying card is to take out one of the fee-free membership rewards cards such as the American Express Rewards Credit Card', Kelvin said.

How else to earn points and cashback While the easiest way to earn Avios or Amex points is with everyday credit card spending either in-person or online, deals available through the Amex, British Airways or Virgin Atlantic websites can mean cardholders can earn even more points, or even get cashback, when they spend. This is most relevant to BA Amex and Virgin Atlantic card holders though, rather than those who hold non-branded Amex cards. Kelvin said: 'Airline shopping portals are the most lucrative, with some retailers offering huge earing rates, up to around 40 Avios per pound spend for the most generous offers. 'You simply need to click through to your chosen online retailer through the airline portal you want miles from to earn. 'Some retailers also offer miles when you shop instore  you just need to register your cards with the relevant airline shopping portal. 'Tesco Clubcard points can be converted to Avios and Virgin Flying Club miles and this is another great way to bolster a miles hoard.'

This card comes with no fee, a 22.2 per cent representative APR, and, crucially, earns you one Amex point per 1.

Unlike Avios or Flying Club miles, which disappear if none are earned or spent in a 36-month period, Amex points do not expire.

'You can call Amex to downgrade to this card, and your points balance will remain intact', Kelvin added.

The card also comes with a 5,000 points bonus if cardholders spend 2,000 within their first three months of membership, but those who have held an Amex card, as you have, within the last 24 months are ineligible for this.

The same goes for the BA Amex card, which offers 5,000 Avios if cardholders spend 1,000 over the same period.

In May, American Express gave customers who had applied for a card since January six months rather than three to earn sign-up bonuses, due to the fall in credit card spending as a result of the pandemic.

However, that was withdrawn in mid-August, a move which also applies to customers who benefit from time-limited higher cashback deals. But those who had opened a card by the time the offer was withdrawn will still benefit.

And with both cards earning points, which in the Amex card's case are much more flexible, Burgess recommended going with the vanilla Amex card rather than the British Airways-branded alternative.

He said: 'Both earn Avios at the same rate, but the Amex card gives many other transfer options apart from Avios.

'It is only worth getting the free British Airways card if you know you will spend 20,000 per year to trigger the 2-4-1 companion voucher.'
President Donald Trump on Monday attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as 'crazy' after she refused to rule out impeaching him in a gambit that could be used to stall a Supreme Court confirmation process.

Trump blasted the idea  which has some political risks and practical flaws  as he defended his infamous July 25, 2019 call with the president of Ukraine that was the subject of the Democratic impeachment effort as 'perfect.'

'@SenateGOP Crazy Nancy Pelosi wants to Impeach me if I fulfill my Constitutional Obligation to put forth a Nominee for the vacated seat on the United States Supreme Court. This would be a FIRST, even crazier than being Impeached for making a PERFECT phone call to Ukrainian Pres,' Trump tweeted Monday morning.

Trump also immediately tried to turn the issue into a fundraising appeal, emailing supporters Monday: ' Wow. The Left will stop at NOTHING to try and impeach me. Did they learn NOTHING last time? TELL ME NANCY: HOW CAN YOU IMPEACH A PRESIDENT THAT DID NOTHING WRONG?'

The blasts came hours after Pelosi refused to rule out impeachment as one of the 'options' Democrats could avail themselves of in an effort to try to stall a vote on the judicial vacancy.

Pelosi on Sunday refused to rule out pushing forward a privileged impeachment resolution that would have the effect of eating up Senate floor time and potentially stalling a Supreme Court nomination.

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was asked if she might use impeachment as a tactic to slow a Supreme Court nomination

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' she told ABC's 'This Week' when asked about the prospect.

'This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election," Pelosi continued. "Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus."

Host George Stephanopoulos had asked the speaker about impeaching either Trump or Attorney General Bill Barr as part of a strategy to slow the nomination, with Senate Democrats holding little leverage to act on their own, and President Donald Trump saying he will nominate a successor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg this week following Ginsburg's death Friday.

Pelosi said the vacancy would galvanize supporters, and told Americans: 'You can vote, you can get out the vote.'

She repeated her veiled threat when Stephanopoulos asked her: 'But to be clear, youre not taking any arrows out of your quiver, youre not ruling anything out?'

'Good morning. Sunday morning,' she responded, smiling. 'We have a responsibility, we take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.'

'We have a responsibility to meet the needs of the American people. When we weigh the equities, protecting our democracy requires us to use every arrow in our quiver,' Pelosi said.

President Trump attacked Speaker Nancy Pelosi as 'crazy' after she refused to rule out another impeachment

But the tactic, even if employed, would have a limited ability to soak up floor time. Even if a Senate vote on articles of impeachment were to go forward at the appointed time under a fast track of 1pm each day, leaders could find a way to schedule confirmation hearings and do other background work in the mornings.

President Trump said Monday he is planning to move as soon as this week on a nominee to succeed Ginsburg  although his plans for quick action could be thwarted for a series of services and remembrances as the nation mourns Ginsburg and her 27 years of service on the court. This includes her body lying in repose for two days at the Supreme Court and burial at Arlington National Cemetery that is expected next week.

'I think it'll be on Friday or Saturday,' Trump said of his announcement, speaking on 'Fox & Friends.'

He continued: 'And we want to pay respect. We, it looks like, it looks like we will have probably services on Thursday or Friday, as I understand it. I think in all due respect we should wait until the services are over for justice Ginsburg. And is so we're looking probably at Friday or maybe Saturday."

Pelosi's remarks came just days after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed on Friday to call a vote for whomever Trump nominated as her replacement.

The next day, protesters gathered outside McConnell's home to demand he stop pushing forward with a new SCOTUS pick.

Fulfilling the Supreme Court seat left vacant by Ginsburg's death before the fall election is as much about McConnell's goal of securing a conservative majority on the court for decades to come as it is about confirming Trump's upcoming nominee.

There's no guarantee the Kentucky Republican will succeed, but he is about to move ahead with a jarring and politically risky strategy to try to bend his majority in the Senate. If it works, he will have ushered three justices to the court in four years, a historic feat.

She appeared less inclined to hint at her options when asked about another potential Democratic pressure point: threatening to expand the size of the court should they capture the Senate in November and Republicans push through a conservative successor to Ginsburg.

'Well lets just win the election. Lets hope that the president will see the light,' Pelosi said.

President Trump has said he will nominate a Supreme Court justice this week

Pelosi was asked about whether the House might impeach Trump or Attorney General Bill Barr, which would take up Senate floor time

In the Ukraine call to President Volodymr Zelensky that Trump defended as 'perfect,' he asked his counterpart about investigating rival Joe Biden.

'The other thing, There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great,' Trump aid. 'Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it... It sounds horrible to me.

Pelosi began her remarks stressing the coronavirus and saying Trump planned to use the vacancy to undo the Affordable Care Act  as both parties use the vacancy to try to fire up their supporters.

'She would want us to keep our eye on the ball of the 200,000 people who, probably this weekend would sadly reach that number,' she said of Ginsburg and the growing coronavirus death count.

'The president is rushing to make some kind of a decision because November 10 is when the oral arguments begin on the Affordable Care Act, she said.

He doesnt want to crush the virus, he wants to crush the Affordable Care Act.'

According to a Congressional Research Service report from January 2020 amid Trump's impeachment, after the House transmits an impeachment message and managers, 'The time agreed upon in modern trials has been within a day or two of receipt of the House message.'

'Impeachment Rule III provides that after the articles are presented by the House managers, the Senate will proceed to consider the articles at 1 oclock the next day (unless the next day is a Sunday), or sooner if ordered by the Senate,' it notes.
A New Hampshire mother says she was forced off an American Airlines flights after her tired two-year-old son refused to wear a face mask.

Rachel Davis was flying from Charlotte, North Carolina to Manchester, New Hampshire when she was approached by a flight attendant who demanded the toddler, called Lyon, put on a face covering or they would have to get off the plane.

The pair had not yet sat down in their seats but Davis claimed in an Instagram post that despite attempting to put a mask on her on her little boy, he was overtired and not cooperating.

Rachel Davis was flying from Charlotte, North Carolina to Manchester, New Hampshire with her two-year-old son, Lyon but they were kicked off because he refused to wear a face mask

'I tried repeatedly, begged him, bribed him, pleaded with him, did everything I could while he was screaming and crying as I tried to hold him and put the mask on, feeling my absolute lowest of lows as a mother,' Davis wrote in an Instagram post.

'I told the flight attendant this is our fourth American Airlines flight this week, and he has never been asked to wear a mask. She informed me he (my overtired two year old son) would need to comply with their company policy or we would be asked to leave the aircraft,' she wrote on Instagram.

'I continued trying to get him to wear the mask, bawling my eyes out and hyperventilating behind my own suffocating mask,' Davis explained in the posting which has received almost 200,000 likes.

But the crew would not take no for an answer and ultimately the captain decided that Davis and her son would not be allowed on the flight, although the entire flight had to deplane first.

Video footage showed Davis and her son in the gate area pleading with staff to let them back

'Rather than get themselves any bad press by escorting a crying mom and two year old off the plane, they forced everyone to deplane, and wouldn't let us back on the flight home. Apparently before we got off the plane everyone who left before us lit up the crew in the gate area,' David wrote.

'The captain walking right by me as I screamed my head off in my absolute worst moment.

'Desperate to get home after the worst week. He would have been asleep before we even pushed back if they had just been humans,' she noted.

'This is the world we live in?' Davis' post ends.

Davis could be seen in tears as American Airlines staff members were unable to provide a solution. She ended up having to be rebooked on a later flight

Rachel Davis, pictured together with her son, Lyon, had taken three other AA flights that week and had not been asked to wear face masks on any of the other journeys

Video footage shot by a fellow passenger shows Davis yelling at a member of American Airlines staff as she despairs with the situation.

'What do you want me to do? What do you want me to do? Duct tape his face?' she can be heard asking. 'You don't know? Because there is nothing to be done - he is two years old for God's sake!'

'He is two-years-old. He doesn't get it. We have been on four American Airlines flights and not one of them have asked him to wear a mask.'

Davis's Instagram post drew thousands of comments as some users argued that the flight attendants were doing their jobs while others decried a lack of compassion for a mother traveling with a young child.

One person who claimed to be traveling on the flight wrote on the American Airlines forum on Flyertalk about what they had seen:

'I was on this flight and witnessed the entire incident, both on the plane and at the gate (where the video was filmed, after everyone was removed from the plane.)

'I felt that this was a no-win situation, caused by bad policy. While I agree that (in theory) 2 year olds should wear a mask, in practice it is not always possible. The mother was not argumentative, she was just asking for a solution.

'The AA employees acted calmly and professionally, especially the Captain and the ground managers.

'Could the FA have just "let it slide"? Absolutely. But she chose to strictly enforce a company policy, and that is her prerogative.

'Ultimately they got the family home later that day, but a little more flexibility in policy or enforcement could have prevented this entire unfortunate situation.'

American Airlines says it requires all persons two years and older to wear an appropriate face covering throughout the entirety of their journey

American Airlines has released a statement over the incident in which it explained its mask policy.

'To ensure the safety of our customers and team, American Airlines requires all persons 2 years and older to wear an appropriate face covering throughout the entirety of their journey.

'Policies are enforced and approved face coverings are made available at key points throughout the customer journey. We've reached out to the family to learn more about their recent travel experience and to address their concerns.'

Guidance from the CDC advises children aged two and older to wear a mask in public and when around other people they don't live with.

Davis said she had been contacted by American Airlines and said she wants an apology for how she was treated.

Davis' experience is the latest example of how airlines are struggling to coax travelers back on board while enforcing new rules designed to keep their employees and others safe.

In August, another mother of a two-year-old and her other children were kicked off a flight in Florida as they were returning back to New York, and last week another woman was asked to leave a flight because her son who is also two-years-old would not immediately put his mask on correctly.
"He (Imran Khan) is expected once again to project the just cause of the Kashmiri people and call for action by the international community to halt Indias massive violations of human rights, rescind the unilateral measures imposed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir since August 5, 2019 and promote a solution in accordance with the Security Council resolutions and the will of the Kashmiri people."

If Ambassador Munir Akram made India to adopt a defensive posture in respect to its action taken in August 2019, Gandapur provides India a cover to shield her illegal and unconstitutional action taken in Indian occupied Kashmir.

It is obvious, however, that making GB a fifth province of Pakistan isnt going to fly with anyone. The resistance leadership in Kashmir certainly arent going to. Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik said in March 2016 when such proposal was being floated by Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Pakistans minister for inter-provincial coordination: Any proposal to declare Gilgat-Baltistan as the fifth province of Pakistan is unacceptable as it is tantamount to changing the disputed nature of Kashmir.

Declaring Gilgat-Baltistan as 5th province of Pakistan is unacceptable. It is tantamount to changing disputed nature of Kashmir

Nawaz Sharif, then the Prime Minister of Pakistan, wrote to Mohammad Yasin Malik, Chairman Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front on March 18, 2016:

I would like to make it unambiguously clear that Pakistan is fully aware of the sensitivities attached to Gilgat-Baltistan with regard to the Jammu & Kashmir dispute. Media speculations are a result of either misperceptions or misinterpretations I would like to assure you that Pakistan will never compromise on its principle stance on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute which is based on the UN Security Council resolutions.

Nor will Pakistan take any measure that may cause harm to the valiant struggle of the people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, for their inalienable right to self-determination, promised to them by the UN Security Council resolution.

Likewise, ZA Bhutto, then the foreign minister of Pakistan, wrote to the President of the Security Council on March 16, 1963:

"It is necessary for me to point out the evident fact that the territory of Jammu & Kashmir is not a part, integral or otherwise, of the territory of the Union. The territory of Jammu & Kashmir belongs to the people of Jammu & Kashmir. It is a territory the future of which must be decided in accordance with the United Nations Commission's resolution of plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations to determine its accession to India or Pakistan

My Government is bound by its duty to declare before the Security Council that, pending determination of the future of Kashmir through the will of the people impartially ascertained, no position taken or adjustments made by either of the parties to the present controversy between India and China or any similar controversy in the future shall be valid or affect the status of the territory of Jammu & Kashmir laid down in the resolutions of the Security Council.

One of the highly-noted London-based Kashmiri scholars, Professor Zafar Khan says, If Gilgat Baltistan is absorbed as 5th province into Pakistani Federation, Kashmiris of all hues will consider such an action unfriendly by the Government of Pakistan, similar to the one, taken by the Narendra Modi government on August 5,2019.

Obviously, making Gilgat-Baltistan a province of Pakistan will have disastrous consequences for the disputed territory of Jammu & Kashmir. Those willing to advance its cause among the international community will have lost a major ally.

The Kashmiri diaspora urges the Government of Pakistan to pay attention to the genuine grievances of the people of Gilgat-Baltistan. The government should undertake mega projects for GB, be it development project, educational, health, roads, etc. There is no doubt that the people of Gilgat-Baltistan need the immediate relief from the Government of Pakistan. It must be attended to immediately and not left to tomorrow.

As Justice Muzaffar Ali, former Judge of the Gilgat-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court has said, A prosperous Pakistan requires addressing of the grievances of GBians which are being felt by the educated youth of Gilgat-Baltistan bitterly.

There can be various possibilities of addressing the issues of Gilgat-Baltistan. One of them is, let the people of Gilgat-Baltistan be given choice to elect the Prime Minister and President. Currently Gilgat-Baltistan has elected a Chief Minister as is the case in Punjab, Baluchistan, Khyber-Pakhtun and Sindh. This gives the appearance as if GB is one of the provinces of Pakistan. This mistake needs to be rectified.

---

*Secretary General of Washington-based World Kashmir Awareness Forum

So as bottom lines go, say what you want about Gilgat Baltistan. Do as you wish. It will not affect the status of what constitutes the whole of Jammu and Kashmir or its parts as a disputed territory.The plan was announced by Ali Amin Gandapur, Minister of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgat-Baltistan on September 17, 2020. He further said that people of GB would be given representation in the Senate and the national Assembly of Pakistan.Obviously, if Pakistan makes Gilgat Baltistan the province of Pakistan, then India has all the right, perhaps not legal but as a matter of principle, to justify her stand that Indian part of Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India. And on what justification will Pakistan protest? As the saying goes, what is good for the goose may also be good for the gander.Pakistan has continually made Kashmir an international issue and brought it frequently to the attention of the UN for human rights abuses. On September 14, 2020, Ambassador Munir Akram said:
Chadwick Boseman arrives at the 47th AFI Life Achievement Award gala honoring Denzel Washington in Los Angeles, California, 6 June, 2019. Reuters/Monica Almeida

Denzel Washington has paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman, saying that the 43-year-old actor, who lost his battle to colon cancer last month, lived a full life.

Washington made his comments during a virtual conversation with Hollywood director Barry Levinson for the Toronto Film Festival, insisting that Boseman didnt get cheated... we did.

I pray for his poor wife and his family. They got cheated, but he lived a full life, Washington said. He called the star of 42, Get On Up, Black Panther, and Avengers: Endgame a gentle soul, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

Washington receives the 47th AFI Life Achievement Award in Los Angeles, California, 6 June, 2019. (Erik Voake/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)

Washington recalled attending the Black Panther premiere and becoming emotional at the work of writer/director Ryan Coogler and Boseman, and thinking that they were now primed to take over Hollywood.

"I went backstage and I saw Chad and I saw Ryan Coogler, and then I watched the movie and I remember shedding a tear, because I thought, Man, these young guys are gone. Like they'd taken over.

This wasnt the first time that Washington has paid tribute to Boseman since he died on August 28.

Read More

Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman dies after four-year battle with cancer

Chadwick Boseman found his passion in storytelling

The Oscar-winner, who paid for Boseman and his fellow Howard University students tuition for a summer drama program at Oxford University around 25 years ago, released a statement to CNN in the days after his shocking death.

He was a gentle soul and a brilliant artist, who will stay with us for eternity through his iconic performances over his short yet illustrious career. God bless Chadwick Boseman, it read.

Boseman was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. He kept his condition private, while starring in films including Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, 21 Bridges, Da 5 Bloods, and the upcoming Ma Raineys Black Bottom, which will be posthumously released on Netflix next year and was produced by Washington.
The global health crisis had only just begun its spread across Europe when the plane took off from a London airport back in March. By the time it touched down in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi, 12 passengers in business class, two in economy and a single crew member had contracted the fast-spreading disease.
Irish exploration company Petrel Resources is unlikely to ever be able to commercialise its offshore Ireland assets.

That is due to funding issues and a growing opposition to oil and gas drilling, according to chairman John Teeling.

Petrel owns a 10% working interest in a licence in the Porcupine Basin, off the west coast.

While pre-owned licences have escaped the Governments future drilling ban, Mr Teeling said Australian company Woodside Petroleum, which partners Petrel in Ireland, is unlikely to invest further.

While existing licences may proceed, it is highly probable that any discovery will not be commercialised, it will likely take years to get an exploration permit, if ever, and maybe decades to get planning permission in the face of a small vociferous objecting minority, Mr Teeling said.

It is difficult to see how Woodside will commit the tens of millions to drill.

"This is a sad scene. State policy has effectively stymied offshore exploration," Mr Teeling said.

Petrel reported losses of 243,000 for the first six months of this year, up from a first-half loss of 115,000 last year.

The company said it is well funded and is once again mainly focused on its assets in Iraq.

It also hopes to reignite talks over outstanding land rights in Ghana before the end of the year.

Despite a long-running saga over disputed land in Africa, Petrel said Ghana remains an attractive region for it, with good geology and acceptable financial terms.
Martin Kepman Elon Musk Battery Day

We are excited about Teslas battery day here at Battery Hill, said Martin Kepman, CEO of Manganese X Energy. Teslas Million-Mile Battery is being talked about in EV and Battery circles. Jeff Dahn and his team have come up big for Tesla recently with electrolyte solutions and new studies that show revolutionary energy density measures. We believe manganese has the X factor for EV batteries: low cost, high energy density, and long battery life.

We are excited about Teslas battery day here at Battery Hill, said Martin Kepman, CEO of Manganese X Energy. Teslas Million-Mile Battery is being talked about in EV and Battery circles. Jeff Dahn and his team have come up big for Tesla recently with electrolyte solutions and new studies that show revolutionary energy density measures. We believe manganese has the X factor for EV batteries: low cost, high energy density, and long battery life.

Manganese X Energy Corp. MNXXF

The Future - Manganese-Reliant Battery Technologies

The Future - Manganese-Reliant Battery Technologies

Toronto, Canada , Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Manganese X Energy Corp. (TSXV: MN)(FSE: 9SC2)(OTC: MNXXF), A Canadian company's 100%-owned Battery Hill property near Woodstock, NB, waits to learn the news of Elon Musks predictions, Tesla visionary, as he rolls out his future plans and ideas on replacing cobalt with manganese.

We are excited about Teslas battery day here at Battery Hill, said Martin Kepman, CEO of Manganese X Energy. Teslas Million-Mile Battery is being talked about in EV and Battery circles. Jeff Dahn and his team have come up big for Tesla recently with electrolyte solutions and new studies that show revolutionary energy density measures. We believe manganese has the X factor for EV batteries: low cost, high energy density, and long battery life.

A Lesson on the Cobalt-Free Battery

To help the public understand the advantages of manganese over cobalt for electric vehicles, we have put together a list of its benefits. According to a University of Austin source published in Science News on July 16, 2020, For decades, researchers have looked for ways to eliminate cobalt from the high-energy batteries that power electronic devices, due to its high cost and the human rights ramifications of its mining. But past attempts havent lived up to the performance standards of batteries with cobalt. Researchers from the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas-Austin say theyve cracked the code to a cobalt-free, high-energy lithium-ion battery, eliminating cobalt and opening the door to reducing the costs of producing batteries while boosting performance in some ways. The team reported a new class of cathodes  the electrode in a battery where all the cobalt typically resides  anchored by high nickel content. The cathode in their study is 89% nickel. Manganese and aluminum make up the other key elements. More nickel in a battery means it can store more energy. That increased energy density can lead to longer battery life for a phone or greater range for an electric vehicle with each charge. When high grade, high-purity manganese is used as a primary cathode material in lithium-ion manganese batteries or NCM batteries, it offers high performance. While manganese is an essential ingredient in steel, the demand for nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) electric vehicle batteries and lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries will be the catalyst for this metal.



Is Manganese the Clear Choice of the Future?

Story continues

Manganese dioxide is a key element in the manufacture of the most promising types of lithium-ion batteries, which will power the world in the future. They are the most promising because of their superior storage capacity, safety and cost. Furthermore, demand for manganese will rise as it is increasingly used in rechargeable batteries for consumer electronics, electric and hybrid electric vehicles and clean energy storage for solar, wind and tidal systems.



According to Wajd Boubou, president of Giyani Metals, Roskill forecasts that manganese demand, just from lithium-ion batteries, will grow at a compounded annual rate of 23% from now until 2027. Besides, Tesla and other companies are also looking into other battery options. Boubou also writes, LG Chem uses a 3M patented formulation of NMC and supplies its cells for use in the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf. BMW i3 also uses NMC batteries. General Electric, on the other hand, has selected the LMO battery as the best balance for safety and performance.





The Future - Manganese-Reliant Battery Technologies

With more carmakers committing to make a large proportion of their product line electric in the coming years, battery metals are in the spotlight, and manganese is finding a solid place in the race to provide battery technology. Supply will be a significant factor in the shift towards manganese-reliant battery technologies, as it will drive the cost of the battery pack down and bring the total cost of owning a battery-powered electric vehicle closer to that of owning an internal combustion engine vehicle. A Financial Post article shares that manganese is predicted to become a more than US$30B market in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries by 2020, according to Taiyou Research. Our company and leadership have been at the forefront with the intent of supplying value-added materials to the lithium-ion battery and other alternative energy industries. In addition, our company is striving to achieve new methodologies emanating from environmentally and geographically ethical and friendly green/zero emissions, while processing manganese at a lower competitive cost, says Martin Kepman, CEO and Director. We have also added Dr. Josef Daniel-Ivad, an authority in the field of alkaline manganese-zinc battery technology, to the advisory board. Dr. Daniel-Ivad has authored over 30 technical papers and contributed book chapters to Lindens Handbook of Batteries, Besenhards Handbook of Battery Materials and Elseviers Encyclopedia of Electrochemical Power Sources. Dr. Daniel-Ivads work in the field of alkaline batteries and charging technologies has earned him over 20 patents. To conclude, with the rising demand for battery-powered EVs, consumption will grow, creating more demand for manganese from the battery sector.





About the Battery Hill Project

Manganese X Energy Corp. (TSXV: MN) (FSE: 9SC2)( OTC : MNXXF) with its head office in Montreal QC, owns 100% of the Battery Hill property project (1,228 hectares) located in New Brunswick Canada. Battery Hill is strategically situated 12 kilometers from the US (Maine) border, near existing infrastructures (power, railway and road).

It encompasses all or part of five manganese-iron zones, including Iron Ore Hill, Moody Hill, Sharpe Farm, Maple Hill and Wakefield. In his masters thesis on the Woodstock area manganese occurrences, Brian Way (2012) reports that the area hosts a series of banded iron formations that collectively constitute one of the largest manganese resources in North America, approximately 194,000,000 tonnes.



New Brunswick, Canada

Contact: 514-802-1814

https://www.manganesexenergycorp.com

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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains forward-looking information including statements with respect to the future exploration performance of the Company. This forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements of the Company, expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, as well as others, are disclosed within the Companys filing on SEDAR, which investors are encouraged to review prior to any transaction involving the securities of the Company. Forward-looking information contained herein is provided as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation, other than as required by law, to update any forward-looking information for any reason. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. We seek safe harbor.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE US OR THROUGH US NEWSWIRE SERVICES

Cited:

https://financialpost.com/commodities/mining/small-cap-news/manganese-x-energy-the-next-battery-generation

https://www.theassay.com/technology-metals-edition-insight/manganese-no-longer-just-an-input-on-steel/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200716101612.htm



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manganese_dioxide





News via: Brand Story KISSPR Press Release

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HCL Technologies gained 2.92% to Rs 834.75 after the IT major announced its intent to acquire leading Australian IT solutions company, DWS.

Shares of HCL Technologies hit a record high of Rs 835 in intraday trade today. The stock is up 122% from its 52-week low of Rs 375.50 posted on 19 March 2020.

HCL Technologies before market hours today announced its intent to acquire DWS, a leading Australian IT, business and management consulting group. The acquisition of DWS will strongly enhance HCL's contribution to Digital initiatives in Australia and New Zealand while strengthening HCL's client portfolio across key industries. The transaction is expected to close in December 2020, subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

As the IT industry continues to evolve and the growing demand for digital strategies increases, DWS, with over 700 employees and offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Canberra, delivers business and technology innovation to large clients across a spectrum of verticals.

The DWS Group, with FY20 revenue at A$ 167.9 million, provides a wide range of IT services including Digital Transformation, Application development & support, Program & Project Management and Consulting.

The acquisition shall be done by HCL Australia Services Pty., a wholly owned step-down subsidiary of HCL Technologies at A$1.20 per share for total equity value pay-out at A$158.2 million.

HCL Technologies offers its services and products through three business units - IT and Business Services (ITBS), Engineering and R&D Services (ERS) and Products & Platforms (P&P).

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Lost at sea: surfboard drifts 8,000 km from Hawaii to Philippines When Doug Falter (L) lost his board in a wipeout in Hawaii two years ago, he never imagined it would be found in the remote island of Sarangani in the southern Philippines, where it is now owned by local primary school teacher Giovanne Branzuela (R)

When big wave surfer Doug Falter lost his board in a wipeout in Hawaii, his best hope was for a local fisherman to pick it up. He never imagined it would be found more than 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) away in the southern Philippines.

More than two years after watching his pale blue custom-shaped board disappear in the huge swell of Waimea Bay, Falter was alerted via social media that it had been found near the remote island of Sarangani.

And the new owner -- local primary school teacher and aspiring surfer Giovanne Branzuela -- was happy to give it back to him.

"When I saw the picture of it, I couldn't believe it, I thought it was a joke almost," Falter, 35, told AFP via Zoom.

"I was certain that the board would never be found again."

Branzuela, who bought the badly weathered surfboard from his neighbour a couple of months ago for 2,000 pesos ($40), said fishermen had found it floating in the sea in August 2018 -- six months after Falter lost sight of it.

They thought it may have fallen off a passing yacht and sold it to Branzuela's neighbour for a few dollars.

Despite months drifting across the Pacific Ocean, the name of the board's shaper, Hawaii-based Lyle Carlson, was still visible on the now-yellowish surface.

Curious, Branzuela looked him up on Facebook and sent him a photo of the board.

Carlson shared the picture on Instagram, tagging Falter.

"It turned out it's a surfboard from Hawaii. I couldn't believe it myself," Branzuela, 38, told AFP via telephone.

"It's been my dream to learn to surf and ride the big waves here," he added.

"For now I can use his surfboard. I told him I will take good care of it."

- Surfing videos -

The pair have been chatting on Facebook and Falter plans to visit the small island to retrieve his board after coronavirus travel restrictions are lifted.

"That board meant so much to me because of my accomplishments on it," said Falter, a commercial photographer who took up surfing about 15 years ago in Florida before moving to Hawaii.

Story continues

"It was my first big wave surfboard custom shaped for myself. I surfed it on the biggest days I've ever surfed in my life", he said, including the 2016 Eddie Aikau big wave surf contest in Waimea Bay when the swell was 20 metres (60 feet) high.

Falter said he wants to give Branzuela a beginners surfboard in exchange for his and show him how to catch waves around Sarangani and neighbouring Balut island.

In the meantime, Falter shares short YouTube videos on surfing basics and is raising money to send supplies to Branzuela's school.

"It's an excuse for me to go to the Philippines and visit and basically complete the story," said Falter.

"I think it would be a great ending to... teach him how to surf."

mff/amj/am/mtp
Sadly, none of those will work ... but maybe the following methods will, because they did for some people.

Imagine you've been sentenced to die -- how do you escape? Tunnel your way out? Smile seductively at the guard? Request 10 tons of dynamite for your final meal?

6 Beating The Warden At Chess

Ossip Bernstein was a chess master, which is rad title but didn't pay the bills in the last days of Imperial Russia. For a living, Bernstein worked as a financial lawyer, and it was this job that got him in trouble. Oh, he didn't commit any financial crimes as far as we can tell (making him the most honest financial lawyer in history). But by counseling rich bankers, he marked himself as an enemy of the people once revolution broke out, so in 1918, he found himself arrested and about to face the firing squad.

via Wiki Commons via Wiki Commons Should've been a bricklayer, Ossip.

He got as far as lining up with his fellow prisoners against the wall when an officer recognized his name. "Are you really the famous chess master Ossip Bernstein?" he asked. Bernstein said he was, but surely anyone would have said "yes" if meant a chance of not being immediately shot 30 times, so the officer needed to be sure. The two of them would play chess, he said. If the condemned man played with the skill of a grandmaster, he'd earn himself a reprieve. If not, the punishment would be instant death.

So Bernstein sat down and played. It was like those stories of a dying man playing a game against Death -- another half century would pass before The Seventh Seal came out, but that image comes from an older and more universal myth. In fact, maybe this officer was Death. Sources do not record his name so we have no way to be sure.

Albertus Pictor Albertus Pictor He did carry a scythe, but maybe that's just because he was communist.

Bernstein beat the officer handily, was released, and got the hell out of Russia and into Paris. His life's adventures weren't quite over. After a couple decades more of professional chess, he saw the Nazis took over France, and so it was time to flee once more, as he figured even chess skills wouldn't convince Nazis to spare a Russian Jew. He had a heart attack while making the journey by foot to Spain, but he got through. He survived another heart attack a decade later as well, and that one wasn't from doing anything terrifying. He was just so excited because he was finally returning to Russia to play chess again.
President Donald Trump will nominate a replacement for the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Friday or Saturday.

In an interview with Fox & Friends on Fox News, Trump said his shortlist of nominees, all women, was down to five. The pick would come later this week after services are held for Ginsburg, the president said.

Ginsburg died last Friday evening at the age of 87. Her dying wish, according to NBC News and NPR, was that she not be replaced until a new president is installed.

But the president has said its his obligation to name a potential replacement without delay, noting a nominee could come later this week.

Trump told Fox News that the Senate vote should go very quickly and come before the election.

The bottom line is we won the election, we have an obligation to do whats right and act as quickly as possible, Trump said.

Sens. Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, who were previously on the presidents list of potential nominees, said on Sunday that Republicans had a mandate from the American people to nominate and confirm constitutionalist judges  even just 43 days before an election, four years after the GOP blocked former President Barack Obamas nominee, Merrick Garland.

Trump noted that the naming of a replacement would come after services for Ginsburg.

I think it will be on Friday or Saturday and we want to pay respect, it looks like we will have services on Thursday or Friday, as I understand it, and I think we should, with all due respect for Justice Ginsburg, wait for services to be over, he said.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins are the only Republicans to publicly declare opposition to voting on Trumps nominee before Election Day.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said Trumps nominee will see a vote on the Senate floor, can only afford to lose the support of three senators.

Related Content:
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov had a telephone conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova Oleg Tulea on September 21, 2020, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

During a telephone conversation initiated by the Moldovan side, Tulea congratulated Bayramov on his appointment as the foreign minister and conveyed his best wishes.

The sides exchanged views on a number of issues on the bilateral cooperation agenda, including the expansion of relations in political, economic, trade and other areas.

An agreement was reached that the foreign ministries of the two countries will soon hold political consultations in a video conference format. The sides stressed the importance of further development of economic and trade cooperation between Azerbaijan and Moldova and the full use of existing potential.

Tulea thanked Azerbaijan for its support rendered to Moldova in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The sides stressed the importance of international solidarity and cooperation in combating the global health crisis.

Bayramov briefed his counterpart about Armenia's recent provocative activities raising tension in the region, including provocative statements and actions by the Armenian leadership, noting that such actions undermine the settlement of the conflict through negotiations.

Stating that an Azerbaijani serviceman was killed today by the armed forces of Armenia on the border between the two countries, the minister said that the Armenian leadership is fully responsible for this crime.

During the telephone conversation, the ministers also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.
Universities and colleges may complete their admission process by the end of October and the new academic session for first-year students will likely begin from November 1, according to draft guidelines on the academic year prepared by higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC).

The commissions draft guidelines have suggested that educational institutions adopt a six-day week instead of the current five-day week and also curtail vacations to make up for lost time and ensure they get their final results on time, an official aware of the developments said on condition of anonymity.

To avoid financial hardship being faced by parents due to restrictions brought on by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, full refund of fee will be made on account of cancellation of admissions up to November 30, the draft guidelines have suggested. HT has seen a copy of the document.

Also Read: Bombay HC refuses to interfere with restrictions on online classes

The UGC had earlier created an academic calendar that suggested that the admission process for the first year of Undergraduate and Post graduate students be completed by 31st August. For first year students it was proposed to start the academic session 2020-2021 from September 1, 2020. However, in view of the circumstanced, the commission has decided to issue a revised calendar, the official quoted above said.

An official in the education ministry, who asked not to be named, said: Yes, (the draft guidelines were discussed) in todays full commission meeting of UGC. However, the first semester will be on virtual mode. He did not elaborate on the contours of the virtual mode.

An expert committee headed by Central University of Haryana vice chancellor RC Kuhad previously wrote to UGC that admissions to undergraduate courses be completed by the end of October and the new session begin by November. The draft guidelines followed the proposal.

Also Read: Bombay HC dismisses petition challenging age criteria for admission to primary school

Under the draft guidelines, after commencing classes from November 1, institutions can provide an academic break from March 1 to 7. The first-semester exams can be held from March 8 to 26.

UGC has, however, taken note of a number of factors, from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) results to the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) exams, and allowed universities to make modifications, provided they are legal and transparent. UGC will allow varsities to make modifications based on local situations and government regulations, the first official said.

The start of first year of academic session 2020-2021 is delayed due to the circumstances beyond control but efforts will be made to compensate the loss of this period by curtailing the summer and winter breaks, said the first person cited above.

Institutions where admissions are solely through entrance tests and who have completed the requirements can begin their academic session early. If there is a delay in declaration of result of the qualifying examinations, the universities may plan and start the academic session by November 18, UGC said in the draft document.

Former UGC member Dr Inder Mohan Kapahy said the Covid-19 situation is a dynamic situation and thats why, UGC has to change its decisions and road maps accordingly.
Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon, pastor of the Sarang Jeil Church, walks into the Seoul Central District Court for a trial hearing, in this Feb. 24, file photo. Korea Times file





Presbyterian church leaders meet to discuss Rev. Jun to decide on his fate







By Park Ji-won







Presbyterian church leaders met on Monday to vote on the fate of outspoken pastor Jun Kwang-hoon.







Their gathering came amid controversy surrounding Rev. Jun for his active political involvement and mobilizing protestors for street rallies to put pressure on President Moon Jae-in to step down.







The Presbyterian Church of Korea held its 105th general meeting in an online and in-person format where 35 church leaders were to vote on whether to start an investigation into Jun over "heresy" allegations. Another church organization, the General Assembly of Presbyterian Church in Korea, also held a session, the same day, at which the leaders of 37 churches were to discuss whether Jun was an "advocate of a heresy" or not. The organizations are the members of the progressive National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) and the conservative United Christian Churches of Korea (UCCK), respectively. The Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea will also hold an online meeting today to discuss the matter.







The issue about Rev. Jun is one of the issues the leaders of both church organizations discussed that day.







However, due to time limits, they failed to completely handle the related issue. The Presbyterian Church of Korea discussed the issue of heresy allegations Jun, but will decide on a response at next month's board meeting; while the General Assembly of Presbyterian Church opted to submit a report stating that Jun and his Christian Council of Korea (CCK) are advocates of heresy, but failed to put the matter to a vote. It is largely expected that the assembly will investigation the matter further.







There have been numerous allegations against Jun since he took became the head of the CCK, one of the major Protestant church organizations in Korea, in February 2019. Also, the debate over his alleged "heresy" has been the main issue in religious groups after Jun delisted a church from a list of "heretic churches" last year.







He has been accused of mobilizing his congregants to participate in anti-government rallies in central Seoul since last year, defying measures to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and urging them to vote for conservative political parties, thus violating the Election Law. Several religious groups, including a consultation body of eight Christian divisions, have accused Jun of blasphemy and consider him a cult leader for his past remarks. He once said, "I am holding the throne of God God, you stop there. God, you won't be safe if you don't heed me."







But some say Jun has come under attack as the result of political retaliation based on his open criticisms of the Moon government.







The church pastor, who publicly endorsed the opposition party ahead of the April 15 National Assembly elections, was arrested in February for electioneering prior to the start of the official period, a violation of the Election Law. Under the current law, religious leaders, among other organizational heads, are not allowed to show their support publicly toward parties or politicians before elections because doing so could affect the election results.







The church organizations meetings to discuss Jun has caused a stir as some people claim standards to judge whether certain religious leaders are in contravention of the Church's codes  or what the church deems "heresy"  are unclear.







The Catholic Church has a clear definition of heresy in its Canon Law. Canon 751 states, "Heresy is the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith." However, Protestant churches do not possess a united definition.







Roughly, their definition is "the act of teaching religious beliefs and doctrines in opposition of the existing Christian doctrines. To be specific, denying the traditional definition of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, the Bible, church and salvation or distorting their meaning."







In February, the Counter Pseudo-Religion Committee  made up of the eight Christian divisions  criticized Jun in a statement for being "anti-Bible, anti-religion and anti-theology," while urging believers not to join his congregation. Some churches have already concluded that he is an advocate of heresy. However, some other conservative churches back Jun's activities and criticize the moves to designate him a cult leader.







It is largely expected that it will take some time for the churches to declare him a heretic due to their differences. But even if the decisions are unfavorable to Jun, this doesn't disqualify his church from being one of the main churches in Korea.







The Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, is seen in this Aug. 18, file photo. Korea Times file




Its about my identity, Yara Ali said with confidence. Ali is an Arab-Iraqi lawyer and prominent activist living in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; for security reasons, she uses a pseudonym.

I was forced to wear it. It was to protect me, but it wasnt me. Yara, 29, told Al-Monitor. A couple of years ago, the modern, educated woman who had become a professional and loved her job decided to take off her headscarf.

Her internal conflict was caused by her upbringing by a pious mother and a secular father. I was raised to be independent and strong, with my mother setting limits, she said. The emancipation process gained speed when she traveled for her work and studies and was introduced to people with different backgrounds from her own.

Extremist groups were another layer, she said of the process that ended with her eventually taking off the headscarf. The policies that the Islamic State (IS) promoted in captured areas inside Iraq and Syria, and the atrocities they committed there, shocked the world. It made me worry how people saw me  because of IS many people now view Muslims as bad people.

Although Arab Barometer, a research network at Princeton University and the University of Michigan, suggests that the political system in countries like Iraq and Lebanon reinforces religious identities, which serves to maintain the religious influence in daily life, the same body concluded its 2019 polling surveys by writing, "There has been a decline in religious faith and trust in religious parties across the Middle East and North Africa."

Islamic political parties have warned about the spread of atheism in Iraq, calling for confronting this dangerous conspiracy, according to former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

We need to confront the supporters of these extraneous atheistic ideas with positive thinking and with an iron fist by exposing the methods they use in disseminating their ideas, Ammar al-Hakim, Shiite cleric and head of the Hikma bloc, said in 2017.

There are different ways of being irreligionist. Some young people simply move to atheism and identify themselves as atheists, or only show indifference to religion or chose to be a liberal Muslim instead of a traditional or conservative Muslim. Others convert to religions with less religious commitments like Christianity or modern religions like Bahaism. And some others chose an ancient religion like Zoroastrianism. Finally, some only show their different views on religion with a different practice, such as taking off the headscarf to express critique of the dominant religion.

Ali feels that religion in Iraq had become a "confusing question." I moved away, I distanced myself from it. I believe in God. I am called a Muslim but do not pray, and fast only because of conservative people around me, she added.

What she describes seems to be part of a larger movement of young people moving away from (conservative) Islam, as seen in Iraq in the post-2003 era, especially during and after the war against IS.

Al-Monitor met young men in Baghdad who had begun to question their faith as it had been presented to them, both because of the atrocities that IS said Islam allowed and the corruption of the ruling Islamic parties. They turned away from imams and religious parties; some even joined the Communist Party. It also led to the protest movement that emerged in the south of Iraq in October 2019, denouncing the endemic corruption and lack of services. Interestingly, despite Iraqs conservative culture, many of the protesters are female.

Official statistics are not available, but the trend is illustrated by the fact that religious practice like mosque attendance is down. According to Arab Barometer, the number of Iraqis who say they attend Friday prayers has fallen from 60% to 33% in five years time, in addition to a dramatic decline in trust in Iraqs Islamist parties  from 35% in 2013 to 20% in 2018.

According to Arab Barometer, the percentage of Arabs who describe themselves as "not religious" in the six countries polled  Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Libya  now stands at 13%, up from 8% in 2013. In 2013, around 51% of the respondents said they trusted their religious leaders to a "great" or "moderate" extent. In 2018, that number was down to 40%.

The trend goes hand in hand with the increased activism of young secular activists in the protest movement. They are targeted by kidnappings and assassinations, such as the recent killing of the outspoken Basra activist Rihaam Yacoub who had been organizing womens protests. She was gunned down in the street.

Helen Sarainy, an Iraqi-Kurdish born pharmacist who grew up in the United States, told Al-monitor that during a stay in her country of origin, she became aware of the injustice done to women under the guise of religion. There is a lot of misunderstanding of the faith to benefit men. Why should women have to cover under 15 layers while guys can just wear a T-shirt? I realized that religion comes with parameters that men have set, Sarainy, 37, said on the phone from Washington.

She noted that there is a trend among young Muslim women who take off the headscarf. According to her, most do so before they reach the age of 18; she decided to take off her scarf seven years ago.

Women like her are experiencing pressure from religious groups and from groups that stereotype Muslims.

I was a little late and missed a lot of opportunities because of it. Sarainy said. The scarf was a barrier. She did not get accepted into various graduate schools. After 9/11, the hijab became associated with the attack on the World Trade Center. For my security I was advised to take it off. But it was part of my faith, of my identity, she said. So she didnt.

It was only after she visited the Kurdistan Region of Iraq that she changed her mind. She worked for Doctors Without Borders and taught at the American University Iraq in Sulaimaniyah. I got tired of the attention for my hijab. I was developing my sense of identity and felt misrepresented. It was like carrying a flag. I am more than religion  and too much religion is dogma, she noted.

She also realized that she had become more liberal. I was doing things that are more offending to the faith than not covering. I was not honest, hypocrite even. Yet it was not an easy decision, Sarainy added.

Sairany is writing a book about her "self-liberation" and the "self-discovery" that got her there.

Online is where a lot of the discussions about Islam take place, and where critical opinions are posted, as well as films that ridicule aspects of Islamic thinking.

I talked to 17-year-olds who are discussing Islam online, Ali said. I was shocked as they even dare to ask whether the Prophet Muhammad really existed.

Shilan Bahadin, an English teacher living in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, realized how much of religion she has been taught is actually part of her culture. Our people listen to the mullahs and they just try to follow them without checking if what they say is according to religion. Unfortunately the mullahs have different opinions as they come from various schools of thought, she told Al-Monitor.

The young people who are protesting these societal and religious doctrines know all about the dangers. Ali did, too. If I had not taken the time for the process, the impact would have been negative, she said. Girls need to be prepared to face the negative reactions. Had she removed the scarf too soon  to express a different religious opinion  she would not have been able to face her parents and others outside the family. It only worked when I was strong enough, she concluded.
The Maharashtra government has filed an application before a larger bench of the Supreme Court seeking vacation of the apex court's stay on implementation of Maratha quota in jobs and education, an official statement said on Monday.

The Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government's move comes amidst protests by various pro-quota Maratha bodies in the state.

PWD Minister Ashok Chavan later told reporters that the application was filed on Monday morning and added the counsels representing the government will try to see that the hearing on the application takes place soon.

Asked about the protest by Marathas, Chavan said, "..It is a judicial process. We will have to find a solution through judicial process only. Hence, the government has filed the application before the Supreme Court following the process".

The senior Congress leader, who heads the state cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota, said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray might make a detailed statement on issues such as admissions, jobs etc. concerning the Maratha community in a day or two.

"Our senior counsels will try to see that the hearing (on the vacation application) takes place soon," he added.

Earlier in the day, Chavan met Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar and held discussion about the steps the MVA dispensation is planning to take in view of the stay order.

The Supreme Court earlier this month stayed the implementation of the 2018 Maharashtra law granting reservation to Marathas in education and jobs, but made it clear that the status of those who have availed of the benefits will not be disturbed.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice L N Rao had referred to a larger constitution bench, to be set up by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, the batch of pleas challenging the validity of the law granting reservation to Marathas in education and jobs.

The apex court had said the status of those who have already taken benefits of the 2018 law shall not be disturbed.

The Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018 was enacted to grant reservation to people of Maratha community in Maharashtra in jobs and admissions.

The Bombay high court, while upholding the law in June last year, held that 16 per cent reservation was not justifiable, and said quota should not exceed 12 per cent in employment and 13 per cent in admissions.
Last week, President Donald Trump acknowledged that hes already thinking about the same nightmare-inducing post-election scenarios that many of us are. During his press conference on Wednesday, Trump again made the baseless allegation that widespread mail-in voting would lead to mass fraud and claimed that election returns could be wrong by 5, 10, 15, 20 percent. While these efforts to delegitimize the election are not newand indeed stretch back to before the last presidential electionTrump is now sharing his possible contingency plans. After saying that counting ballots in November will take forever and might not result in a clear winner, Trump declared to reporters, knowingly, at a certain point it goes to Congress. At a certain point it goes to Congress, you know that?

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Under what scenario would it go to Congress, as Trump warned? Well, the newly elected Congress is scheduled to count the Electoral College votes in a joint sessionpresided over by Vice President Mike Pence in his capacity as president of the Senateshortly after the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3. The 12th Amendment states that if none of the candidates has a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, then the House of Representatives votes on the next president by a majority vote of state delegations rather than individual members. This scenario is known as a contingent election, and its exceedingly rare in U.S. history. But in 2020, a 269269 tie in the Electoral College is not out of the question (if youre skeptical, here are several terrifyingly plausible electoral maps that could result in this outcome). Indeed, the electoral analyst Larry Sabatos Crystal Ball on Wednesday published an article saying that if all remaining toss-up states in its analysis went to Trump, the current outcome would be a 269269 Electoral College tie.

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How might the ensuing contingent election scenario play out in the House? It could go any number of ways, especially if Democrats maintain their House majority and are willing to fight. Depending on the circumstances, Democrats seem much more ready to take the fight as far as they can than they were when George W. Bush claimed the presidency through a contested victory in Florida decided by the Supreme Court 20 years ago.

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We cant have the same attitude as we did in 2000, where I think the Democrats lost the legal and political battle, Rep. Ro Khanna told me when asked how far Democrats should take their fight in a disputed election this time around. Khanna recently published an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times with Yale Law professor Bruce Ackerman arguing that any conflicts over the electoral vote should be settled by a five-member commission created by Congress. If the bipartisan consensus needed to create the commission is impossible, though, Khanna acknowledges Democrats may have to go to the mattresses. I think theres a much tougher stance and understanding that this election may go weeks beyond Election Day, he added.

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David Boies, the attorney who argued Bush v. Gore on behalf of Al Gores campaign, was even more insistent that Democrats in Congress have an obligation to prevent a repeat of 2000. I thinkregardless of whether it is the Supreme Court of the United States or a state supreme courtif any court intervenes to try to change an election result or manipulate an election result, I then think it is up to Congress, Boies told me.

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What would happen if it did get to Congress? I think we fight hard, Khanna told me. We do everything within our legal and constitutional rights to uphold what we see as the popular will.

So how might Democrats fight back this time around? To answer that question, its important to understand the mechanics of the contingent electionwhich can be triggered by any scenario in which a majority is not reached, such as unresolved disputes over individual electoral slates. In a contingent election, the House votes on the next president by a majority vote of state delegations. This means Alaskas one member would get one vote, all of the members from Alabama would combine to get one vote, all of the members from Arizona would combine to get one vote, and so on. A candidate would need to win 26 of 50 state delegations to be declared president. (In the Senate, meanwhile, each senator would vote respectively on the next vice president, with 51 votes necessary for victory.)

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Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations and are favored by Sabatos site to retain that advantage. Democrats currently control 22, and the remaining two are essentially tied. Democrats need to win four additional House delegations to make Biden president in the case of a 269269 Electoral College tie, but would need just two delegations to prevent Trump from becoming president if Pennsylvaniawith a 99 split in the current delegationremains tied. To get to 26 delegations after this election, Democrats would need to retain competitive seats in Iowa and Minnesota, and sweep a number of potentially competitive seats in four states from a pool of Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Montana, Texas, and maybe Alaska.

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That math might suggest an advantage to Trump. But there are many other variables. What if, for example, Joe Biden has won the popular vote by a significant amount, while failing to secure an Electoral College majority? Or what if the disputes over the vote count extend to congressional races that might tip state delegations one way or the other?

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It may sound far-fetched, but none of this is outside the realm of possibility. According to Nate Silver, Trump would still have a 1-in-10 shot of winning the Electoral College even if the popular vote went to Biden by a 4- to 5-point margin. This means that Trump could lose by more votes than Mitt Romney lost by in 2012 and still have a shot at the presidency. Who would have the greater claim to popular legitimacy then, particularly in the case of an Electoral College tie?

Popular legitimacy, of course, doesnt matter if Republicans control the state delegations and decide to vote uniformly to defend Trump, as they did during the impeachment saga in the House last year. But if things reach the point of a contingent election, Nancy Pelosishould she retain her speakershipwould likely have a few cards to play. Specifically, her House majority could vote not to seat declared winners in contested elections that may have been marred by voter suppression, bad vote counts, corrupted court decisions from a freshly packed Supreme Court, or even gerrymandering, thus tipping the balance of the House delegations to the Democrats and the presidency to Biden.

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This scenario could require the type of procedural and parliamentary maneuvers that conservatives and some pundits might decry as beyond the pale, but which figures like Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Attorney General William Barr have used and would use without batting an eye. Given the damage that Trump has already done to democratic institutions, Democrats might feel justified to do everything in their power to prevent Trump from winning a contested election. This is particularly true if the vote itself has been marred by suppression and outright miscounts.

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Suppose the delegation count is 2424, with Republicans leading slightly in disputed tipping point races in two remaining states. Here is where Pelosi could step in and show herself to be the Democrats answer to McConnell. Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution gives the House majority the authority to judge any contested elections. Historically, the House has used that power to refuse to seat new members in contested races pending an investigation or a new vote. In 2018, for example, the House refused to seat the Republican candidate in North Carolinas 9th District after a GOP operative was caught committing fraud to swing the race.

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If theres a challenge in any decisive House districtsay, over issues with mail-in ballots not being counted, or disparities in votes being disqualified for signature mismatch, or ballots getting lost in the mailthe House could simply vote not to seat the candidate claiming victory pending an inquiry, even if a given state certifies that victory.

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I think that there is an enormous amount of precedent for not seating members, Boies said, particularly when their election is still being contested in court. Prior to representing Gore at the Supreme Court, Boies represented California Rep. Jane Harman in 1995 when the Republican House majority refused to seat her pending a House inquiry after she was certified by the state to have won her race by 812 votes. There are a number of other precedents where if there is any kind of a plausible challenge, the House will refuse to seat, Boies said. It would be particularly significant this time because of the consequences, but it would not be anything I view out of the ordinary for the House to do that.

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Democrats will probably have plenty of grounds to choose from upon which to plausibly contest close congressional races this fall. Because of the increased use of mail-in balloting, hundreds of thousands of ballots are likely to be rejected for arbitrary technical reasons. During this spring and summers primaries alone, analysis by the Washington Post and NPR showed that at least half a million ballots were rejected for a variety of reasons, disproportionately affecting people of color and young voters. More than 534,000 mail ballots were rejected during primaries across 23 states this yearnearly a quarter in key battlegrounds for the fallillustrating how missed delivery deadlines, inadvertent mistakes and uneven enforcement of the rules could disenfranchise voters and affect the outcome of the presidential election, the Post reported. The same will be true in the fall for any number of potentially critical House seats. In North Carolinas early vote count, for instance, Black voters ballots are already being rejected at more than four times the rate as white voters. That state could potentially face multiple contested congressional races that could threaten the Republican delegation majority.

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Even if there is not a plausible electoral challenge in a key congressional seat in a key delegation under the contingent election scenario, there are other potential challenges the House might raise. These maneuvers would perhaps be even more controversial.

As one example, former 9/11 Commission vice chairman and Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton, former Secretary of Defense and Republican Sen. William S. Cohen, and scholar Alton Frye have argued that the House majority should refuse to seat a state delegation achieved through excessive gerrymandering, because those gerrymanders have begun to place the integrity of the House  in doubt. Indeed, the Wisconsin delegation has been so gerrymandered that it is controlled by Republicans 53 even though Democrats won the statewide House vote by 7.5 points in 2018. Say Democrats win the statewide House margin by 10 points in 2020, but Republicans retain control because of extreme partisan gerrymandering and are set to tip the election in a contingent election to Trump despite a landslide against them and him in the state. How legitimate would that result be?

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I think that you are balancing a perception that could divide the country more than it is already against a need to preserve the integrity of the voting process and a desire to elect Biden, Boies said. If it was 55 to 45 [in Wisconsin], I would make that a strong case that partisan gerrymandering was depriving people of the right to have their votes counted.

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As Boies, Hamilton, Cohen, and Frye all noted, when the Supreme Court ruled against invalidating North Carolinas gerrymandered maps in last years Rucho v. Common Cause, it said explicitly that gerrymandering presented political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts. If it were truly a political question beyond the reach of the federal courts, then the political branch of Congress could choose to remedy it by refusing to seat a heavily gerrymandered delegation until state officials created maps that reflected the will of their voters. I think it is not unreasonable for the House to say were not going to seat these people until this problem is corrected, Boies said.

If Democrats invalidated a delegation, it would certainly be controversial. Because it would come in the context of a presidential election, Boies said, I think there is a danger that it, just like Bush v. Gore, is perceived as a branch of government using its power to determine the election in a way that  was not and is not common to the Constitution. But a Bush v. Gore outcome may be coming one way or the other, and Democrats might have to decide if theyre willing to take things as far as Republicans have already shown themselves willing to go.

Khannapart of the 53-member California House delegation that counts the same as Wyomings single member in a contingent election scenariodeclined to discuss specific hypotheticals for how his side might fight, but said he would need to look into the law and that he would consult people like Lee Hamilton and David Boies, who have already endorsed some forms of constitutional hardball. Ultimately, after years of Republicans changing the rules on them, Democrats may have little choice but to throw out the old rulebook.
Ontario, New Brunswick Strike Carbon Tax Deals With Ottawa Ahead of Supreme Court Challenge

The federal government has reluctantly agreed to allow both Ontario and New Brunswick to use their own carbon pricing systems for big industrial emitters, rather than adopting the federal program.

The decisions come on the eve of a Supreme Court of Canada hearing that will decide if Ottawa has the jurisdiction to set a national standard for carbon pricing and impose federal programs on any provinces that dont comply.

Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson wrote to his counterparts in both New Brunswick and Ontario on Sept. 20 to acknowledge their proposals to tax greenhouse gas emissions from heavy industry.

In his letter to Ontario Environment Minister Jeff Yurek, he said N.B.s proposal meets the federal rules in theory but is significantly weaker than the federal backstop, and it will result in fewer emissions reductions.

A similar letter was sent to New Brunswick Environment Minister Jeff Carr.

The federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act was passed in June 2018 and sets minimum national thresholds for a price on carbon. It requires any industrial facility that produces more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions a year to be part of the big industrial emitters system, and pay the carbon tax on a portion of its emissions.

That price is currently $30 a tonne and goes up $10 in each of the next two years until it hits $50 in 2022. Ottawa intends to review the program after 2022 and is indicating that it will be tightening the rules for big emitters at that point because provinces have found loopholes that allow them to meet the federal benchmarks without cutting the same amount of emissions.

A man fills up his truck with gas in Toronto, on April 1, 2019. The Supreme Court of Canada will hear a federal-provincial legal battle over carbon pricing starting Sept. 22. (The Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov)

Wilkinson asked Yurek and Carr to work with Ottawa to beef up their programs or risk having the federal backstop reimposed after 2022.

Yurek said in a written statement that the province is phasing in the limits but that nobody will get a free pass.

It is a more tailored program for Ontarios environment and economy because it helps us achieve emission reductions from big polluters and achieve our share of Canadas 2030 emissions reduction target without driving away business and job creators, he said.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will begin two days of hearings to decide whether Ottawa had the jurisdiction under the Constitution, to impose a national carbon price the way it did.

The case is to be heard over two days, including submissions from at least seven provinces, the federal government, the Assembly of First Nations, and nearly two dozen intervenors that include provincial utilities, environment groups, and unions.

Stewart Elgie, director of the Environment Institute at the University of Ottawa, says the case is not going to decide if carbon pricing is good policy, but rather who has jurisdiction over it.

The basic issue is who has the constitutional power to price carbon, he said.

The federal carbon levy came into effect on April 1, 2019, beginning at $20 per tonne of CO2 emissions and imposed on provinces that either didnt have their own greenhouse gas (GHG) pricing schemes or had one that didnt completely meet Ottawas requirements.

Citing its power under the Constitution Acts peace, order, and good government (POGG) principle in endeavours of national concern is the federal governments central argument that its carbon levy on dissenting provinces is constitutionally sound.

However, the provinces that objectnamely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontarioargue that imposing the levy on what is effectively localized energy production and consumption is federal overreach, regardless of POGG, and opens the door to further regulatory intrusion by Ottawa.

Appeals courts in Saskatchewan and Ontario have upheld the law, while the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled it unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court case could be a make-or-break decision for one of the central pillars of the Liberal climate agenda. It accounts for as much as 40 percent of the cuts to greenhouse-gas emissions needed to meet Canadas obligations under the Paris climate change agreement.

With files from the Canadian Press
Phuket Immigration overwhelmed as foreigners race to extend stay in Thailand

PHUKET: Phuket Immigration Office will be open this Saturday (Sept 26), the last day of visa amnesty, to process any last-minute applications to extend permits-to-stay.

immigrationCOVID-19tourism

By Tanyaluk Sakoot

Monday 21 September 2020, 06:05PM

The Phuket Immigration Office in Phuket Town was overwhelmed with foreigners seeking to extend their stay in Thailand with just five days to go before the visa amnesty ends this Saturday (Sept 26). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Immigration Office in Phuket Town was overwhelmed with foreigners seeking to extend their stay in Thailand with just five days to go before the visa amnesty ends this Saturday (Sept 26). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Immigration Office in Phuket Town was overwhelmed with foreigners seeking to extend their stay in Thailand with just five days to go before the visa amnesty ends this Saturday (Sept 26). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Immigration Office in Phuket Town was overwhelmed with foreigners seeking to extend their stay in Thailand with just five days to go before the visa amnesty ends this Saturday (Sept 26). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Immigration Office in Phuket Town was overwhelmed with foreigners seeking to extend their stay in Thailand with just five days to go before the visa amnesty ends this Saturday (Sept 26). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Immigration Office in Phuket Town was overwhelmed with foreigners seeking to extend their stay in Thailand with just five days to go before the visa amnesty ends this Saturday (Sept 26). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Immigration Office in Phuket Town was overwhelmed with foreigners seeking to extend their stay in Thailand with just five days to go before the visa amnesty ends this Saturday (Sept 26). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Immigration Office in Phuket Town was overwhelmed with foreigners seeking to extend their stay in Thailand with just five days to go before the visa amnesty ends this Saturday (Sept 26). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The Phuket Immigration Office in Phuket Town was overwhelmed with foreigners seeking to extend their stay in Thailand with just five days to go before the visa amnesty ends this Saturday (Sept 26). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

The confirmation came today as the Immigration Office in Phuket Town was flooded with foreigners seeking to extend their stay in the country, ahead of the amnesty ending on Saturday.

The queue to enter the Immigration Office spilled out to the area set up in front of the main building, with officers stationed there to process applications instead of overcrowding the office inside.

Meanwhile, the queue of cars lined up in the Drive Thru backed up to the street while officers worked as quickly as they could to process all applications filed.

Some of the foreigners said they had arrived at the office in the morning, and were still there at 3pm this afternoon. However, one foreigner explained that filing his application had been delayed because he forgot some of the documents required.

Any foreigners whose permits-to-stay remain expired from Sunday onwards will incur the standard penalties of B500 a day fine. Also, any foreigners caught overstaying in the country by more than 90 days may face being blacklisted.

Pol Col Pakpong Sai-ubol, deputy spokesman of the Immigration Bureau, has warned, Overstaying the tourist visa is punishable by both a jail term and fine under the Immigration Act.

Offenders would also be deported to their countries of origin, he added, reported the Bangkok Post earlier today.

Col Pakpong also warned out that more than 150,000 foreign nationals still needed to have their tourist visas renewed by Sept 26 or face a charge of overstaying.

Phuket Immigration Deputy Chief Lt Col Udom Thongchin told The Phuket News today,

With five days left to extend their visa, according to our records there are in total 1,641 foreigners on tourist or long-stay visas who still have not come to our office to extend their visa.

Lt Col Udom pointed out that many foreigners have left it to the last few days before coming to the Immigration office to extend their visas.

Since last week, we have been processing about 190 applications a day, he said.

The final day for submitting applications [before the penalties come into effect] is this Saturday (Sept 26), he said.

So this Saturday, we will open our office to serve foreigners at 8:30am in the morning and we will stay open to process all applications submitted on that day, even if we have to work until midnight, he said.

But after Sept 26, foreigners will be fined B500 a day if their visa has not been extended, he warned.

Honestly, we do not want to charge them, but we must follow the law. Please come to have your visa extended on time, he urged.

Another Immigration officer The Phuket News spoke with strongly urged foreigners to make sure they bring all the documents required in order for their application to be extended.

Today there are a lot of foreigners here to extend their visas. Many of them did not have some of the documents needed, which made it slower to process their applications and issue their extensions to stay.

If people have all the correct documents, it will help us to work faster and better, the officer added.
Markle and Steinem teamed up to cold call Americans and encourage them to vote

Meghan Markle is going above and beyond to make sure folks vote in the up and coming election.

The Duchess of Sussex teamed up with womens activist Gloria Steinem to cold-call Americans to encourage them to vote. According to the Daily Mail UK, the duchess sat down with Steinem for what they called a backyard chat last month to discuss the importance of representation in politics and the importance of voting.

Read More: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle repay taxpayers for cottage renovations

During her chat with Steinem, Markle, who is biracial, says she is very excited to see a woman of color on the Democratic ticket. Over the summer, as reported by The Grio, Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris will run alongside him as the vice-presidential candidate.

Im so excited to see that kind of representation, said the mother of one. You know, for me, being biracial, growing up, whether it was a doll or a person in office, you need to see someone who looks like you in some capacity.

Gloria Steinem attends as Audible presents: In Love and Struggle at Audibles Minetta Lane Theater on March 01, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Audible)

Steinem told Access Hollywood, when Megan came to visit her, they got straight to business. She came home to vote. The first thing we did, and why she came to see me, was we sat at the dining room table where I am right now and we cold-called voters.

Steinem says they introduced themselves to the calls to voters and kept their message simple. On their calls they started with Hello Im Meg and Hello, Im Gloria and Are you going to vote?

Markle wed Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex in 2018, making her the Duchess of Sussex but since then, the American born royal decided to take a step back from her duties back in March. Markle has always been open about her political views and as reported by The Daily Mail, felt stifled because royals are not encouraged to share their opinions on politics.

Though Markle has not specifically announced who she is voting for, before she married Prince Harry she would often criticize Donald Trumpcalling him divisive and misogynistic.

Story continues

(Photo by Mark Large  Pool/Getty Images)

Read More: Meghan Markle reportedly pitching doc about BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors as part of $100M Netflix deal

The newlywed joined former first lady Michelle Obama recently for the virtual conference When All Women Vote Couch Party. The event was set up by Obamas nonprofit When We All Vote. As a key speaker, Markle told the audience via video chat:

Im really thrilled that you asked me to be a part of this, I think this is such an exceptional time [and I am] happy to be here for my friend Michelle Obamas When We All Vote, and to kick off the When All Women Vote Couch Party, said the former actress. To reiterate the importance of voting, she added, If we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem.

Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!

The post Meghan Markle and Gloria Steinem team up to encourage people to vote appeared first on TheGrio.
Since entering Stage 3, questions have emerged around the higher rates of COVID-19 transmission observed in the Region of Peel, and Brampton specifically.

Our communitys pandemic picture arises from a complex interplay of underlying factors, some within the control of the immediate response, and others driven by disparities that existed well before COVID-19.

Historically, the Brampton has been negatively affected by underfunding across a series of health service metrics. The provincial per capita funding average for health care in Ontario is over $1,900 per person while it is barely over $900 per capita across the Central West Local Health Integration Network which includes Brampton. For public health, the Region of Peel has also historically paid more than 25 per cent of public health costs to offset Provincial underfunding to better keep our residents healthy.

Financial support for health care beds in Ontario averages 2.19 beds per 1,000 persons, while funding for Brampton hospitals does not even provide for one bed for every 1,000 of our residents (.96). Resolving hallway medicine remains a top priority for the community and Brampton City Council declared a health care emergency in January, two months before COVID-19 hit us.

Specific to COVID-19, Brampton and other GTA municipalities saw a larger initial seeding of the virus due to our close connections with New York, the U.S. epicenter of transmission, prior to the border closures in March.

I believe Dr. Naheed Dosanis comment on rising cases and the need to reflect on social economic realities was pitch perfect when he said My feeling on this is that we should try to better understand how peoples vulnerabilities are shaping their circumstances. To me, this is what public health is really all about.

These vulnerabilities are what Dr. Loh, our Medical Officer of Health, shares with me every time we talk. Many Brampton residents are vulnerable. They are working in industries that put them at greater risk. They come home to their social circle and the virus spreads. These are the people we can be ourselves with, hug, laugh and be close. Thats how the virus attacks and spreads in households.

In Brampton, nearly 50 per cent of households have 4 or more people living under one roof while the average Ontario household has 2.58 people. More people are innocently exposed when COVID-19 comes home from work. More people get sick.

Brampton faced unique exposure due to our sizeable workforce employment profile, counting the largest food processing sector in the country, over 11,000 jobs in the Logistics and Transportation industry, and that 80 per cent of everything ordered on Amazon in Canada flows through Brampton. These are not work-from-home jobs; yet every day, our residents make, store, receive and deliver essential everyday goods that people rely on, from food to medical supplies. Canada depends on Brampton and these courageous workers, along with countless others, are unsung heroes.

Despite these health care and socioeconomic disparities, our community came together swiftly to bring the first wave of COVID-19 under control.

Working with provincial partners, Peel Public Health and the City of Brampton guided residents and businesses through an initial set of closures and a gradual reopening to wrest control of the timeline back from the virus.

Collaboration with community partners saw test, trace, isolate and treat in action. One of Ontarios first COVID-19 Assessment Centres was at South Fletchers Sportsplex, with additional testing now available at Peel Memorial. Peel Public Health continues to contact trace and investigate outbreaks, provide insight into data and evidence, and work with partners and businesses to implement precautions.

To date, William Osler Health system has performed over 169,000 tests for COVID-19, the highest testing number in the province. Bylaw Enforcement has investigated over 38,000 COVID-19 incidences resulting in 1,366 warnings issued and almost 700 charges being laid. A few bad apples do not define our City. They are an unfortunate exception.

Last week over 8,000 people took part in our latest COVID-19 tele townhall. Our community has fought hard against difficult odds and the dedicated efforts of many averted a worst-case scenario.

Brampton continues to take this virus seriously; the fight against COVID-19 is not over. We remain determined, vigilant as ever to keep our community safe.

Patrick Brown is the mayor of Brampton.

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SafeGuard Cyber , the leading SaaS platform offering digital risk protection for modern communications, today announced that it has been recognized as a winner of the 2020 American Cyber Awards, named 'Innovative Cloud-Based Product of the Year'.

SafeGuard Cyber is on a mission to safeguard human connections in a digital world. In 2014, the founders realized businesses and agencies were leaving the traditional network perimeter to adopt transformational digital and social media channels. They built SafeGuard Cyber's cloud-based platform as an intelligent system to systematically identify and take action against risks in these communication channels, at scale.

The American Cyber Awards reviews the industry, searching for companies who are pushing the boundaries in the fight against cyber crime. Their judges come from varied backgrounds, and are some of the most well regarded individuals within the cybersecurity space.

"We believe the security paradigm must shift to redefine digital channels that are experiencing explosive growth right now as the first line of defense," remarked Jim Zuffoletti, CEO & Co-Founder of SafeGuard Cyber. "We're grateful to receive the American Cyber Award in recognition of the technology we've built to help companies detect and defend their critical digital infrastructure, so they can focus on driving business growth."

The Cyber Security Awards are a totally independent event, with no affiliation to any magazines, organizations, or products, which enables its industry leading judges to make all their decisions on merit alone.

SafeGuard Cyber's SaaS platform empowers enterprises to adopt the social and digital channels they need to reach customers, while reducing digital risk and staying secure and compliant. The platform is the cybersecurity industry's first and only platform that comprehensively protects collaboration channels, mobile chat, and social media. To learn more, visit safeguardcyber.com .

ABOUT SAFEGUARD CYBER

SafeGuard Cyber is a Charlottesville, Virginia-based company with a cloud-based platform that empowers organizations to use social and digital channels securely, compliantly, and at the scale of global business. With coverage across more than 50 channels, SafeGuard Cyber helps security, compliance, and communications teams work better together. Its customers include Global100 enterprises, small businesses, municipalities, and national governments. For more information, visit www.safeguardcyber.com .

ABOUT AMERICAN CYBER AWARDS

The American Cyber Awards were established to shine a spotlight on the most innovative and successful people, teams and products in cybersecurity in America. The awards are totally dedicated to US organizations and professionals. We are a totally independent event, we have no affiliation to any magazines, organizations, or products. As a result, our industry leading judges are able to make all their decisions on merit alone. To learn more visit www.americancyberawards.com .

SOURCE SafeGuard Cyber

Related Links

https://www.safeguardcyber.com/


There was a time when mazut was the final stage of oil refining; however, with technology becoming more efficient, the main residue from refining is now petroleum coke. Scientists are looking for ways to use coke in the industry, and it's no easy task. As of now, it is mostly being stored in landfills.

"Petroleum coke is not easily combustible because of its graphite-like structure," says co-author Emil Sayfullin. "Graphite burns at 700 C, and petroleum coke, depending on its composition, starting from 450 C. It's difficult and not financially viable to reach some temperatures, so we look for ways to decrease the combustion temperatures with catalysts."

In this paper, the researchers used the so-called "fixed fluidized bed" to study catalyst activity.

Sayfullin explains, "The gist of the technology is to make every particle levitate in air. For instance, if we pour coal powder into a sieve and then blow air from below the sieve, the powder particles will levitate and disintegrate into myriads of smaller parts. The goal is to provide maximum air contact with the compound to enhance combustion."

The second problem with coke is that it contains all the metals that are present in petroleum, which also can have unpredictable effects on burning.

The fixed fluidized bed technology is already widely used overseas, but is relatively new for the Russian oil industry. To improve it, the KFU scientists mixed coke particles with quartz sand. This created a sort of a "freeze" in the porous layer and simplified the study of the kinetics of petroleum coke combustion in the presence of catalysts.

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Working Peoplesa Charter process - 21 September, 2020

Amidst the micro and macro-economic crisis of the last 5 years, the union government has aggressively pushed the agenda of labour law reforms  purportedly to simplify Indiaas acomplexa labour legislations, improve the business environment, and augment growth and employment. These changes, driven primarily by the business fraternity, have been aimed at improving Indiaas ranking in the aEase of Doing Businessa (EDB) index and FDI flows. However, workers and trade unions have called these reforms anti-working class, pushing India back to the aBritish Eraa when slavery was a norm. It is ironic that while there was an outpouring of national sympathy from state and industry for migrant workers during the COVID-19 lockdown, both have turned their backs on the workforce by backing appalling anti-work legislation. In the history of independent India, the passage of labour laws that protect workers has involved long, difficult struggles by the working class. However, in one stroke, the government intends to put the last nail into the coffin of labour protection.

Currently, 44 labour-related laws enacted by the central government deal with wages, social security, labour welfare, occupational safety and health, and industrial relations. Labour is on the concurrent list, giving both central and state governments the power to legislate, resulting in more than 100 state labour laws. Most labour laws have been enacted on the basis of tripartite consultation or on the basis of reports of committees which have heard representatives of both management and workers. Ironically, there has been absolutely no consultation with the representatives of workers nor state governments while drafting the new Codes. Given that the present political regime has not organized the highest tripartite labour policy decision making body, the aIndian Labour Conference,a for a single time in the past 5 years, it is clear that the Union Government does not believe in extending democratic decision making to the working class.

Despite strong opposition, the aLabour Code on Wagesa was passed in 2019, while three others, on aOccupational Safety, Health and Working Conditionsa, aSocial Securitya and aIndustrial Relations,a were tabled yesterday after several rounds of revisions. While the Union Government claims to have responded to demands by worker unions, almost no suggestions have been meaningfully incorporated into the current versions of these Code Bills.

The central government is expecting a smooth passage of these three Codes which are likely to come up for a debate on Monday 21/9/2020 (TODAY). While the government claimed that the exercise of reform was aimed to extend coverage of statutory protection (including need based minimum wages, non-hazardous working conditions, universal social security entitlements) to unorganized sector workers, including new forms of work in the platform/gig economy, the reality is that the codes miserably fail to extend any form of social protection to the vast majority of informal sector workers including migrant workers, self-employed workers, home-based workers and other vulnerable groups.

The Code on Social Security, 2020

The Code on Social Security 2020 seeks to consolidate existing legislation on social security and protections, including Employeesa Provident Fund (PF), Employeesa State Insurance (ESI), gratuity, maternity benefits, etc. while highlighting the diverse sectors of the Indian workforce who would be eligible for these entitlements. In doing so, however, it has dealt a severe blow to labour protections, particularly for informal workers. Despite the historical exclusions faced by the workforce, including migrant workers, which were highlighted during the COVID-19 lockdown, the Code does little to bolster social protections and excludes vulnerable workers in many ways.

To begin, the Code does not emphasize social security as a right, nor does it make reference to its provision as stipulated by the Constitution. In addition, it does not stipulate a clear date for enforcement, which will leave millions of workers vulnerable without clear social protections.

It is essential that social security protections be made universal for the entire Indian workforce, i.e. that such protections be universal. Instead of this, the Code makes arbitrary categorisations that will leave millions of working poor out of its protections. For instance,

1. Section 2(6) retains the old threshold of only those sites with 10 or more buildings and other construction workers needing to be covered by the Code. In addition, apersonal residential construction work,a which forms a large component of daily waged work, is excluded from the provisions of the Code. 2. Section 2(82) retains a wage ceiling to define a waged worker. However, such ceilings might be defined arbitrarily, and despite the Standing Committees recommendation to remove it, the Code retains this clause. 3. For PF, only establishments with 20 or more workers are covered, excluding the millions of micro and small enterprises from its ambit. Moreover, employers could misuse this restriction to exclude existing employees from this protection.

While the Code defines multiple categories, most definitions are ambiguous. It is most distressing to note that definitions have not been revised in the Code to specifically determine whether a worker belongs to the organised or unorganised workforce. For instance, gig workers and platform workers are not defined as unorganised workers, even though millions of Indians are employed as such. Similarly, the term aestablishmenta must be changed to ensure that all workers, without discrimination are included in the ambit of social security protections. The Standing Committee had recommended that the definition of aestablishmenta be altered to include aexchange of services with a provision of less than ten workers,a however this was ignored. In fact, all enterprises without exception should be registered on a mandatory basis with a single body, which should be responsible for provision of social security instead of it being handled through multiple agencies.

While categorisations are often helpful to protect certain vulnerable sections of the workforce, interstate migrant workers (ISMW) must be mentioned as a separate category with the establishment of a sizable Welfare Fund with contributions by sending and receiving states and employers. Given the particular distress faced by such workers in the last few months, it is shocking to see no provisions established for migrant workers who face very specific vulnerabilities. There is not even a provision for the portability of social security which takes into account their continuous movement within the country. In other words, there is no provision for a afloor social securitya protection. A model scheme covering the issues such as education, health, social security, pensions and other benefits which can assure a dignified life for workers as per the rights granted by the constitution of India was not given any consideration in the code. There is no consideration for unemployment protection for unorganised workers, which is particularly important at times of great recession and crisis.

There is also no mention of how social security contributions would work for atypical arrangements where there is no clear employer and employee relationship a including home-based work, self-employment, piece rate work, etc.

Historically marginalised groups continue to be excluded in the Code. Section 4(1) provides no framework to include SC/ST/OBC and female representatives on the Board of Trustees of the EPFO. Nor is there any specific sectoral representation to include diversity of work types within the unorganised sector. Within ESIC, it was recommended that the tripartite composition (worker, employer, state) of the board should not be diluted, but this has been ignored. Maternity benefits have not been universalised either.

Finally, the Code makes it easier for employers to flout legally required social protection for workers. For instance, there is no stringent penalty for non-contribution of PF dues by employer/contractor. As an effective deterrent and policy tool to ensure timely payment of dues, penal provisions should be incorporated for large employers who have the capacity to pay regular PF contributions. For gratuity, the principal employer is not liable if the contractor fails to pay a since contractors are often marginal actors who struggle to survive, this might often be the case.

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

The OSHWC code seeks to consolidate and amend the laws regulating the occupational safety, health and working conditions. However, the Code excludes many branches of economic activities, most notably, the agriculture sector which employs more than 50% of total working population of India. Further, the employees in other unorganized sectors such as small mines, hotels & eating places, machinery repairs, construction, brick kilns, power looms, fire-works, carpet manufacturing, and also those employed as informal workers in organized sectors, including new and emerging sectors such as IT and ITES, digital platforms, e-commerce, have also not found coverage under the Code. We demand that the OSHWC Code should ensure universal coverage of all economic activities and types of workers including domestic workers, home-based workers, trainees and volunteers.

With regards to inter-state migrant workers, the primary burden has been placed on the contractor, who are themselves marginal players and scapegoated by principal employers and large industry players, who get away without any serious liability for worker protection. We acknowledge that moves to enable registration and portability of PDS and BOCW benefits to migrant workers, toll-free numbers to address their issues and provisions to set them free from bondage is welcome, especially in light of the unprecedented distress suffered by them during COVID. However, by increasing the threshold of application of the provisions to establishments employing ten workers or more, very few of these are likely to provide any relief or support to vulnerable workers. It is also disheartening that the Code does not make any mention of protections for intra-state migrant workers, whose magnitude is much higher than inter-state workers, although the vulnerabilities they face are equally acute.

It is appalling that the code has gotten away by not fixing any responsibility on employers with respect to safety and health. It does not specify even minimum standards for OSH, or daily and weekly working hours and everything has been delegated to the Central Government to be stipulated through notification. We demand that a minimum OSH standard be specified in the Code itself. The enforcement mechanisms too have been removed by introducing concepts such as afacilitatorsa , and mechanisms such as third-party certification. The Code also does not contain any provisions for equal treatment for contract labour who perform work of a similar nature as that of permanent workers in the same establishment. We demand that contract labour that is engaged for performing the same or similar kind of work as that of permanent workers in the same establishment should be treated on par with permanent workers in the matter of wages and other conditions of employment.

This code has been consistently ignoring the fact that the workers in the unorganised sector are either self employed or work in small groups. Thus the threshold of 250 for instituting a safety committee at the workplace is nothing more than a laughable provision that will effectively mean that more than 90% of the countryas workforce will not be under any ambit of workplace safety. This is especially critical in a scenario where more than 40,000 deaths are estimated to take place every year in India at work sites. The clauses for penalty in the event of workplace accidents Rs. 1 lakh in compensation and ESI/PF benefits is also quite liberal - we demand that criminal punishments be accorded to employers as a means of ensuring concrete preventive/safety architecture at the workplace.

The social security funds meant for migrant workers /unorganised sector workers is a welcome move but the resources for this are intended to be drawn from the very same penalties mentioned above. This reflects complete adhocism in the structure and resourcing of these funds, which means that migrant workers will be left without any sort of special protection from the government in the event of an accident, closure of business or emergencies related to a pandemic/lockdown.

Even though the COVID related lockdown has exposed the systematic failure of the state in providing basic citizenship rights to migrant workers, it is disheartening to note that the government has simply refused to acknowledge their invaluable contribution to Indiaas growth story.

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020

In violation of the Directive Principles of the Constitution, the Industrial Relations (IR) Code 2020 is designed to protect industry at the cost of the workforce. In continuation with its crackdown on all forms of peaceful and legal dissent, the Union Government aims to prevent millions of informal workers from demanding their rights and entitlements from industry through explicit and covert changes to industrial relations.

Perhaps the most significant damage to worker protection has been done through changes in key definitions in the Code, as well as omissions of terms defined in the previous version of legislation, as outlined below.

With the emergence of new forms of work and employer-employee relations, the government had an opportunity to expand the definition of aworkera but instead chose to restrict it. As a result, millions of new and existing categories will be left out of the ambit of statutory industrial relations protection, including gig/platform workers, trainees, IT workers, those employed in startups and MSMEs, self-employed workers, home-based workers, unorganised and informal sector workers, plantation workers, NREGA workers, etc. Apprentices, earlier explicitly included, have now been left out despite worker protests, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation during apprenticeships. Neither have universal protections been called for, nor have the above categories been specifically mentioned.

The changes in the definition of aemployera , aemployeea and aworkera taken together are confusing, self-contradictory and untenable. Although aemployera includes acontractora , acontractora is not defined for this bill. If we proceed on the basis that acontractora is the same as defined in the code on social security, then the consequences are even more dangerous. There the definition of acontractora has been changed from what is accepted today to include even an obviously asham and bogusa contractor. aThe Royal Commission on laboura in the 1920s had said that the acontract labour systema was used to exploit workers by keeping them away from benefits available as permanent workers. 100 years later, the current political regime is attempting to retain these draconian colonial provisions. While the Supreme Court has often criticised this system, the new definitions seek to legitimise all forms of contract labour including sham and bogus contracts.

The definition of principal employer is ambiguous and could include the contractor as well. The aemployera may be the one directly employing the person or the individual who has ultimate control of the affairs  these may not be the same. As a result, it might not be possible for workers to pinpoint the responsibility of aemployera on any one person.

The definition of strike has been broadened to include athe concerted casual leave on a given day by fifty percent or more workers employed in an industry.a This constrains workersa ability to participate in collective bargaining processes and demonstrations. Beside this, there are several restrictions made on right to strike  workers will be subject to penal sanctions for the mere fact of organizing or participating in a peaceful strike. Imposing such sanctions on strikes that are justified amounts to a grave violation of the principles of freedom of association. Collective bargaining is further weakened by changing the definition ofa adisputea or settlementa to include individual disputes (through Grievance Redressal Committee) and settlements, which also violates the ILO convention on tripartitism. There are no guidelines as per which a workersa representative or union may be recognized. Such provisions will lead to giving legitimacy to dummy unions created by employers, and undermine legitimate voices of workers.

The definition of aindustrya includes terms like acharitablea , aphilanthropica , asociala , etc. which are undefined and can be misused. A manufacturer of sanitary pads or toilet paper, for instance, may claim to be a social activity and therefore not an industry.

The change in the definition of awagea is either the result of muddled thinking or made with malicious intent. It will have the effect of reducing retrenchment compensation, subsistence allowance etc., which is deplorable. Further, if the employee is paid part of his wage in kind, then only 15% of such wage is to be reckoned as paid in kind. There is no justification for this and it is untenable. It is not clear as to 15% of what amount is to be calculated. Further, the exclusions of conveyance allowance, house rent allowance and commission would have an impact on the quantum of compensation payable to a worker in the event of retrenchment or closure or lay off.

One of the most dangerous changes sought to be made is the institutionalisation of afixed term contractsa as a tenure of employment. Workers employed on a fixed term basis may be terminated on the completion of their contract, even while there is an actual need for their services. In other words, they may be terminated from service without any just and reasonable cause. This will further create instability and massive labour market unrest. The fixed term employment does not guarantee the right to receive notice or wages in lieu of notice prior to the termination of services. Neither are workers employed as such entitled to retrenchment compensation or freedom of association.

As regards the provisions for Standing Orders under Chapter IV, this will now only protect a miniscule minority of workers as it only applies to establishments with 300 or more workers as opposed to 100 earlier. It is dangerous that the employer is permitted to make standing orders even on matters other than those in the schedule prescribed. It does not provide for the display of the standing orders in the establishment in a language understood by the majority of the workers.

The limitation of three years for an industrial dispute is unreal, such a provision is only a way of defeating the legitimate rights of workers. In many cases of sham and bogus contracts or of enforced casualness, workers have only organised and attained their rights after several years or even decades.

The criteria of registration of trade union, by imposing a minimum membership requirement of ten per cent or one hundred workers, whichever is less will further exclude a large number of informal sectors to form union. Perhaps the code must include a time limit of 45 days for making a decision in respect of the application for registration of union. The requirement of membership of 75 percent of the workers for recognition as a sole negotiating agent is too high and not in conformity with the principles relating to collective bargaining laid down by the ILO.

The code attempts to abolish labour courts on district level, and proposes only one or a couple of Industrial Tribunals function in each state. By this way workers will be denied access to justice. The present system of adjudication of industrial disputes as provided under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 is effective and there is no need for any drastic alteration to the system. The number of courts should however be increased and necessary measures should be taken to improve their effectiveness.

Conclusion

The government has failed to recognise that focusing on economic growth without redistribution of wealth leads to jobless growth and socially unaccountable prosperity. This leaves workers and communities poorer, insecure and vulnerable to economic shocks and vagaries of the labour market. It is clear that failing to address these issues threatens peace and harmony of the society and undermines the nations capability to improve the living and work conditions for workers. Continuing to deny crores of workers their basic rights and entitlements is not only anti-Constitutional and anti-national, but will have serious implications for the sustainability of our growth model in the long term.

About WPC: Working Peoples Charter process is an initiative to bring together all organizations working with, and organizing people dependent on the informal sector.

For details please contact : workerscharterprocess[at]gmail.com
The country's vibrant coffee industry is known across the globe for setting standards of consistency and caliber and as well as breaking the 2018 Coffee Association's Cup of Excellence price record for high-quality beans. Costa Rica is also the world's leading exporter of carbon-neutral NAMA coffee.

Let's talk about chocolate  Costa Rican cacao boasts the Cocoa of Excellence award, the Central American Chocolate Award, and Silver and Bronze medals from the International Chocolate Awards 2017 Americas competition.

"Applied international standards for sustainability, supply chain integrity, and social progress initiatives set us apart as a country and directly impact the food we produce," says Costa Rica's Export Promotion Agency (PROCOMER) CEO, Pedro Beirute. "More than 300 products leave our borders every day to reach over 100 international destinations."

In fact, 9 of the top 40 global food processing companies have operations in Costa Rica.

What's on the menu of export delicacies? In addition to coffee and chocolate, there's pineapple, hearts of palm, exotic fruit and vegetable preserves, aromatic and spicy sauces, gourmet nuts (macadamias, cashews, and peanuts), and of course world-class rum, craft beer, and other spirits.

Recent developments to meet market demand include the introduction of superfoods. Chia, aloe vera, virgin coconut oil, algae, and other high-nutrient crops are requested with increasing frequency. Certifications, including USDA Organic, Fair Trade, FSSC 222000, among others, are all testimony of Costa Rica's dedication to offering exceptional produce.

"Costa Rica has high-quality products and a promising future in the development of new crops. We want our relationship to be lasting, and we can grow together for years to come." Says import specialist, Miguel A. Romero of E. Sanchez S.L., Spain.

The Essential COSTA RICA Brand

PROCOMER is the government agency responsible for promoting the export of Costa Rican goods and services to the world. Qualified agricultural producers are required to live up to the country's brand standard of excellence, known as Essential Costa Rica. These companies are recognized as industry leaders for meeting the brand's strict criteria of Excellence, Sustainability, Innovation, and Social Progress in their operations, products, and services. For more information on how PROCOMER can satisfy your business's needs, visit Procomer.com.

"Costa Rica is paramount in the success of our supply chain." Said CEO of EXP Group, USA, Anthony Serafino

Contact:

Seth Artavia

sartavia@procomer.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1246189/Cafe.jpg

Related Links

https://esencialcostarica.com/foodindustry/



SOURCE Essential COSTA RICA
External Article

21 September 2020

New Yorkers used to dread the snarled traffic of late September as thousands of diplomats, their motorcades and entourages would descend upon Manhattan for the United Nations General Assembly.

They won't have to worry as the event kicks into high gear on Tuesday, with world leaders sending video speeches to a silent UN hall in the latest blow to New York City's faltering attempts to reopen in the age of Covid-19.

With the pandemic raging on and New York quarantine rules still in place, UN leaders decided to hold the event that marks the world body's 75th anniversary virtually this year, a reminder that while the city has crawled back from a health-care disaster, it's still far from regaining its international allure.

"It's kind of shocking not to be talking about road closures this time," Penny Abeywardena, who works with UN diplomats as the commissioner for international affairs in Mayor Bill de Blasio's office, said in an interview. "It's a shame that all that traffic we get to our bodegas, restaurants and bars will be gone. But it's a recognition of how serious New York is taking the pandemic."
Agents and brokers should be on alert that plaintiffs attorneys in COVID-19 related business interruption claims lawsuits may be eyeing them as more cases against insurance companies begin to fail and claimants start looking around for other sources of reimbursement for losses incurred during government ordered shutdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic, agent errors and omission (E&O) insurance specialists say.

In a presentation on agency E&O best practices and the COVID-19 pandemic during the Virtual Insurcon held by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas in June, Jim Redeker, vice president and claims manager at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, said claims or potential claims against agents were already trickling in and more are expected.

While the primary targets of the BI lawsuits will be insurers, agents will be added as policyholders fail to find relief from their insurance companies. The first target of these lawsuits is not going to be the insurance agents. The first target is going to be the carrier who denies the business interruption claim, he said.

At least one Texas agency has successfully fought an action brought against it and one of its agents over a COVID-19 business interruption claim. The case was dismissed in August by a U.S. district judge in Dallas who found the plaintiffs had failed to state a claim against the defendants on which relief could be granted.

Vandelay Hospitality Group LP, which owns several Dallas-area restaurants, had named Dallas-based Swingle Collins & Associates and agent Brandon Cass as additional defendants in a suit against Cincinnati Insurance Co. over the insurers denial of the restaurant groups claim for reimbursement for losses sustained as a result of forced business closures by local and state authorities. Vandelay had filed a claim under its commercial insurance policy for more than $1 million in losses among its three Dallas-area restaurants.

While Vandelays action against Swingle Collins and Cass has been dismissed, the suit against Cincinnati Insurance was still alive as of mid-August when U.S. District Judge Sidney Allen Fitzwater of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued his opinion in the part of the case involving Swingle Collins and Cass.

Redeker said the plaintiffs bar has been quick to take up the hunt for business interruption claims cases, with trial attorneys that normally work independently joining forces. He cited a mailer by four nationally recognized Missouri law firms that has been mailed out. They ordinarily work on their own. But they are cooperating  going after carriers denying BI claims.

The first sentence of the mailer reads: Business interruption insurance policies are individually crafted to the insureds business. So, it doesnt take much to see that when the carrier balks at playing these claims, theyre going to turn to the agency that was supposed to do the crafting of these policies, Redeker said.

This of course begs the question: how do we respond on behalf of our insured agents and brokers?

In the past, Swiss Re has relied on known panel law firms to handle claims against its insureds, he said. But because the insurer is expecting an onslaught of expected COVID-19 claims, it will be using a national coordinating counsel model.

This method is described as a hub and spoke approach to defending cases. Our national coordinating counsel will act as the hub, receiving every case and reviewing it, and then sending it to a local office. The national coordinating counsel will help develop a defense strategy to be used around the country. The firms local attorneys will the tweak that strategy based on local law and traditional realities of the courts their cases are in, Redeker said.

We are expecting many claims to be made against agents and brokers, said Susan Taylor Wall with Gordon & Rees, who serves as national coordinating counsel for Swiss Re in COVID-19 related E&O lawsuits.

Speaking as part of the IIAT Insurcon panel on E&O, Wall warned that plaintiffs lawyers are very creative. And claims against agents and brokers may include novel allegations that weve rarely seen or may have never seen in the past.

In defending lawsuits against agents, we do not intend to become embroiled in coverage, Wall said. The policy was drafted by the carrier and not the agent. The courts will ultimately determine the meaning behind policy language.

Beyond the issue of policy language, Wall listed several reasons why agents and brokers would be named as defendants in lawsuits along with the carrier who denied the claim for a COVID-19 business interruption loss.

One is that the plaintiff seeks to keep the case in state courts, which they may believe will be more amenable to their case. That was one of the motivations for the addition of Swingle Collins and Cass to Vandelays lawsuit against Cincinnati Insurance mentioned above, according to court documents.

Agents also may be included as a second, deep pocket for recovery. Often plaintiffs lawyers may add an agent or broker hoping that the agent will become embroiled in the coverage question and thus increase the chance that recovery will be made against the agent, Wall said.

Another concerning reason is that there is language on an agencys website or somewhere else in writing that could be construed as a promise of coverage which did not come true, Wall said. Or the agent might have made an oral promise of coverage, which allows recovery against the agent or potential recovery regardless of the ruling by the court on coverage in the policy language.

Wall said agents should never promise a client that they have coverage after a loss  that determination is the carriers responsibility. You dont want to take on more responsibility than the law requires that you have, she said.

If a customer asks about coverage after a loss, the best thing to do is tell them the carrier will determine the claim, that you will put in the claim if the customer asks you to do that. And then the carrier takes over from there, Wall said.

Topics Lawsuits Carriers COVID-19 Agencies Texas Claims USA
Based on comments by the incumbent and a prepared statement by the challenger, Alabamas Senate candidates on Monday essentially declared each other as rubber stamps of their respective political parties when it comes to debate over filling the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In fact, Sen. Doug Jones, D-Birmingham, described Republican opponent Tommy Tuberville as a rubber stamp for President Trump should he win the November election in six weeks and votes on Trumps Supreme Court nominee in January.

Meanwhile, Tuberville said Jones will follow top Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer in opposing the nomination of a replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who died Friday.

And sparring aside, both essentially confirmed the accuracy of their opponents' perspective on their Supreme Court stances: Jones opposes a nominee so close to the Nov. 3 election, Tuberville favors moving ahead to confirm Ginsbergs successor.

It is just pure political power play, Jones said of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky in a Facebook Live video. We are better than that. This should be an appointment made by the next president of the United States, regardless who that might be.

In a statement released Monday afternoon, Tuberville said, The Constitution requires President Trump to offer a nominee, and the Senate should begin the confirmation process as soon as possible.

At issue, of course, is the fact that McConnell refused to hold confirmation hearings in 2016 for Merrick Garland, nominated by President Barack Obama, as a replacement for Antonin Scalia months before the presidential election.

Four years later, the Senate faces a similar scenario: A Supreme Court justice passed away in a presidential election year. This time, however, McConnell is siding with Trump  who plans to announce his nominee later this week.

A distinguishing factor this time, Jones said, is that votes are already being cast in the presidential race unlike four years ago. In fact, Jones tweeted last week that his wife Louise had already voted by absentee ballot.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, is the states senior senator in Washington and has already issued a statement supporting moving forward with the confirmation.

The differences between my conservative views and the liberal beliefs held by Doug Jones were already clear, but this Supreme Court nomination brings them even more fully into focus, Tubervilles statement said.

The election for U.S. Senate may well be decided on this issue alone.

Jones objected to the eagerness of Republicans to confirm a Supreme Court nominee while other issues he described as more urgent are left unattended. Specifically, Jones referred to a second round of federal aid to bolster the economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Were still in the middle of the pandemic, Jones said. "Unemployment is still high. People have lost their lives -- 200,000 people. We have known since the summer we were going to need additional money, additional help.

That is unconscionable. So much urgency to the U.S. Senate (to confirm Supreme Court nominee) that we will leapfrog over everything, even our budget, were going to do what Congress has done for last 20 years and just kick the can down the road and not do our job and get a budget for the America people.
Like the global aviation industry, Air Canada has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and was forced to abandon 30 regional routes earlier this summer. More cuts could be announced in the coming months.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Like the global aviation industry, Air Canada has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and was forced to abandon 30 regional routes earlier this summer. More cuts could be announced in the coming months.

This is a catastrophe for several remote Canadian communities, as it threatens their right to be connected to the national transportation system and severely impairs regional economic development.

Justin Tang / The Canadian Press An Air Canada Express aircrafts windshield is covered as it sits parked at the Ottawa International Airport in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 crisis is providing an opportunity to rethink transportation policy in our country. It also forces us to evaluate the extent to which the free market economy is the best mechanism to structure air transport in a country characterized by great distances and low population density.

Began under Jimmy Carter

The deregulation of air transport started under president Jimmy Carter in the United States at the end of the 1970s. Canada did not escape this movement: Air Canada remained a Crown corporation until 1988, when it became a publicly traded company.

Its remarkable that in spite of the drastic change in its ownership structure, Air Canada is seen as the national airline in the hearts of many Canadians. However, the cavalier way in which the company announced regional service suspension  with some local authorities learning the bad news in the media  was a sharp reminder that Air Canadas only social responsibility is toward its shareholders. Regional development is no part of its mission.

In fact, Air Canadas shareholders were probably pleased with the decision to cut regional routes and would welcome additional suspensions if theyd limit financial losses.

Air travel deregulation resulted in the creation of the hub-and-spoke system: large legacy carriers operated from main airports (the "hubs"), fed by several regional flights carrying passengers from secondary airports (the "spokes"). The hub-and-spoke system protected legacy carriers from new entrants mainly because their passengers had access to seamless multinational networks.

Despite the threat that low-cost carriers started to pose in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the hub-and-spoke model is alive and well today. The main reason why a carrier like Air Canada offers connections between Quebecs Magdalen Islands and Montreal or between Newfoundlands Deer Lake and St. Johns, for example, is to feed its Montreal or Toronto hubs.

Willing to lose money

In periods of economic growth, when international flights are profitable, large carriers are willing to lose money on regional routes in the hopes of snagging regional traffic heading for international destinations.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic made it financially impossible for Air Canada to continue to offer all its regional connections. The pandemic has therefore shed light on the limits of a deregulated air transportation market in a country like ours.

We conducted major research projects for the Quebec Department of Transport in 2008 and 2019, in addition to helping the Quebec government prepare for the 2018 Regional Air Transport Summit. So were very familiar with regional air transport challenges in our country, which are exacerbated by the quasi-monopoly position enjoyed by Air Canada.

Like any provincial government, Quebec does not have regulatory authority over air transit in the province. However, the province offers a number of programs to mitigate the negative impact of the quasi-monopolistic situation.

These programs have had mixed results. For example, only six per cent of those from remote communities who we surveyed in 2019 indicated that they had travelled on a regional flight and benefited from the Quebec Fare Reduction Program, an initiative designed to make regional flights more affordable to users.

Policy recommendations

Our research work led us to formulate a number of policy recommendations, including putting in place conditions that would allow small entrepreneurial carriers to thrive and weaken Air Canadas monopoly position.

It has become clear while surveying or interviewing people in remote communities that the travelling public is often unaware that other options exist beyond Air Canada. It would be relatively easy for provincial governments to organize marketing campaigns to promote regional tourist attractions together with the air service offered by small entrepreneurial carriers.

Participants in the consultations conducted in preparation for the 2018 Regional Air Transport Summit even suggested setting up a regional loyalty program or the creation of an umbrella brand (similar to airline partnerships such as the Star Alliance) under which regional carriers could be grouped.

Fixing a floor price to prevent Air Canada from engaging in price wars that small regional carriers can never win, as well as removing provincial sales taxes on flights offered by small carriers, could also have a positive impact on the sustainability of the regional air transportation network.

Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Trying to make their regions attractive

Some remote communities we heard from when conducting our research stood out for their efforts to stimulate their local economies and develop tourism in order to make their region attractive to air carriers.

Other communities argued that regional air transport should be considered a public service and subsidized the same way urban public transportation systems are. But a fully subsidized regional air transport system is unrealistic, because travelling to and from remote communities is expensive and those costs cannot be entirely borne by taxpayers.

However, the free market is currently threatening the right to transportation of those living in remote communities, as well as their economic vitality. Sound federal, provincial and municipal policies that create synergies between economic and tourism development, as well as sustainable mobility, are greatly needed.

Isabelle Dostaler is dean of the faculty of business administration at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Mohamed Khomsi is a professor of tourism governance at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal.

This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca.
As the world has started moving slowly with the new normalcy, the film industry has also resumed working after months of lockdown. While many film stars who are already back on sets and started shooting, Bollywood actor Kartik Aryan has decided to hold back till the situation Improves. He is yet to shoot for Anees Bazmees Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.

Keeping in view the continuous surge in the numbers of COVID-19 cases, the actor is worried about the safety of casts and crew members. A source is quoted is Mumbai Mirror as saying, Being an actor, he realises that he will be in a privileged position. But taking the safety of others into consideration, he wants to hold back and wait for the situation to improve.

The source also revealed that the actor has stepped out of his home just once in the last six months to go around his building compound. He has also been advising friends and family not to venture out. The source informed the news tabloid that Kartik sure there would be a surge in cases after the unlock.

According to reports, Kartik will have to fly to Lucknow to resume the shooting for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, which also stars Kiara Advani and Tabu. Earlier, the director of the film revealed that they are starting shooting for nearly a 15-day long schedule in Mumbai. Initially, they had planned to go back to Lucknow to restart the films shoot. But, due to the current situation, the team has decided to go ahead with Mumbai portions first. The Lucknow part will be shot later.

Meanwhile, Kartik will also be seen in Dostana 2 with Janhvi Kapoor and Lakshya. The film was earlier scheduled to be shot in London, but now the makers are yet to decide to take the final call. The actor has also the remake of Allu Arjuns Telugu action-drama Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo in his kitty and a 3D action film with director Om Raut.
 Close Donald Trump claims 'low-energy' Joe Biden will need injection for debate

Donald Trump has been accused with flirting with treason by Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren over his refusal to commit to a peaceful transition of power should he lose Novembers election to Joe Biden.

The president has claimed he was the victim of a political hit on the issue, accusing the US Food and Drug Administration of deliberately making approval standards more stringent for drug companies in order to delay the release of a Covid-19 vaccine until after Election Day.

Speaking to supporters at a black economic empowerment event on Friday, the president accused Black Lives Matter supporters of hurting the black community and touted his claims to improve the lives of black Americans during his term.

The president is expected to announce his nominee to the high court on Saturday. The White House has signalled that he will nominate Amy Coney Barrett for the role, what will be his third appointment since taking office.

Mr Biden and Jill Biden visited Washington DC on Friday to attend memorials for late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is lying in state at the US Capitol. The president and top Republicans in Congress did not attend the service.

In an interview with MSNBC on Friday, Mr Biden refused to speculate on the doomsday scenarios that legal scholars and election analysts have considered following the presidents threats to the election, insisting that the president is using fear as a distraction from his administrations failures.

The Democratic candidate instead suggested that the rule of law will prevail and American voters will have their voice heard at the polls.

Its always about distraction with him, he said.

He called the presidents attempts to undermine the results of the election irresponsible and outrageous" and he suggested that a massive voter turnout will overwhelm the presidents claims that the results will be disputed.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 17:11:21|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of people killed after a passenger bus fell into a river in southeast Nigeria on Friday has risen to 18, a police officer told Xinhua on Monday.

One person was confirmed dead on the spot during the rescue operation on Friday, 14 bodies were retrieved from the river together with the bus on Saturday, and three more bodies were retrieved on Sunday, said Stella Uchegbu, state commander for the Federal Road Safety Corps.

Local authorities have rescued six people so far in the mishap, which occurred in Ivo, a district in Ebonyi state, said state police spokesperson Loveth Odah.

"Two persons are presently on admission, two have been officially discharged while two opted to return home having sustained no injuries from the incident," Odah said.

The bus, carrying members of a church who attended their pastor's burial, was returning to the neighboring state of Enugu when the incident occurred, he said.

Initial investigation found the bus driver lost control of the vehicle while trying to overtake an articulated vehicle on the bridge over the river, Odah said.

Efforts are still on to find the remaining missing persons, he said. Enditem
Federal authorities have opened a civil rights investigation as new questions have surfaced about the death of a Black man after a high-speed police chase in northern Louisiana last year.

Relatives of the man, Ronald Greene, 49, were initially told that he had died from injuries he sustained in a crash after he failed to stop for a traffic violation, a lawyer for his family said. But photos that recently circulated online  the images appear to show Mr. Greenes bruised and bloodied face and damage to his car that the family says is inconsistent with a fatal accident  have raised questions about what really happened.

The brutality used against him, that was not what his family was told, Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing Mr. Greenes family, said in an interview on Sunday. It appears that Mr. Greene was sat upon by several officers who tased him repeatedly and beat him before he entered cardiac arrest.

The photos were shared on social media after the president of the N.A.A.C.P.s Baton Rouge branch posted them on Facebook last week. The images were also included in a wrongful-death lawsuit that Mr. Greenes family filed in May arguing that he died as a result of a struggle with troopers that left him beaten, bloodied and in cardiac arrest.
Meghan Markle is doing her part ahead of the upcoming election.

According to Gloria Steinem, the royal family member has been cold-calling Americans for an important reason: She wants people to get out and vote in November.

"She has a stereotype hanging over her head, which is 'princess,'" the feminist icon explained of her friend during a virtual interview with Access Hollywood. "Meg is herself, smart, authentic, funny, political."

Gloria then revealed that Meghan has been doing her due diligence since settling in California with her husband Prince Harry and their 15-month-old son, Archie Harrison.

"She came home to vote," Gloria added. "And the first thing we did, and why she came to see me... was we sat at the dining room table here, where I am right now, and cold-called voters. And said, 'Hello, I'm Meg,' and, 'Hello, I'm Gloria,' and, 'Are you going to vote?' And that was her initiative."

Stars Vote in the 2020 Presidential Election

Gloria gushed, "She is such an inspiration to me.''

Just last month the legendary activist chatted with Meghan about the importance of voting this year. "If you don't vote, you don't exist. It's the only place where we're all equal, the voting booth," Gloria expressed. "What worries me the most are young people, who I understand are the least likely to vote. I can understand the feeling that they don't think they have an impact. And yet it's more important for them to vote than anyone else because they're going to be alive long after I am. They're going to be suffering the consequences."

Meghan Markle, Gloria Steinem

Gloria explained that she's "hopeful" for the future and excited about Joe Biden's pick for vice president, Kamala Harris. If elected, Kamala will not only be the first woman to hold the title but she'll also be the first Black and South Asian American. Of that statement, Meghan replied, "I'm so excited to see that kind of representation. You know, for me, being biracial, growing up, whether it was a doll or a person in office, you need to see someone who looks like you in some capacity."

Story continues

The two also opened up about their feminist ideals. Gloria shared, "Well, you can be a feminist and be masculine and a guy," to which Meghan responded, "Like my husband! I love that when he just came in he said, 'You know that I'm a feminist too, right Gloria?! It's really important to me that you know that.'"

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle

For Meghan, it's important that she and her husband are on the same page. "I look at our son and what a beautiful example that he gets to grow up with a father who is so comfortable owning that as part of his own self-identification," she noted. "That there's no shame in being someone who advocates for fundamental human rights for everyone, which of course includes women."

Chiming in, Gloria replied, "And also that he is a nurturing father. Because then your son will grow up knowing it's OK to be loving and nurturing."
People call for Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler to resign. Do they forget his leadership in fighting the virus? Do they forget he is the first mayor to seek re-election in a decade? Do they forget that federal, state, county, city and community leaders have come forth only lately condemning the violence by all sides? I support Mayor Wheeler, who appears to be alone battling these many fronts and is doing the best he can.

Brenda Smith, Portland
NEWS PROVIDED BY

Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

Sept. 21, 2020

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Rep. Nancy Pelosi's position on the reopening of churches:

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi wants to stop Catholics from attending Mass. She took this position after San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone called for San Francisco Mayor London Breed to amend her policy on church attendance. Breed said churches can reopen at 25 percent capacity but that only one person at a time is allowed inside churches to pray.

Pelosi not only supports this policy, she lambasted Archbishop Cordileone for protesting it. She lectured him, saying, "we should follow the science on this." But she never shared her so-called scientific findings.

The archbishop was forthright in challenging the "one-person at a time" edict on prayer. "Does that make sense to you: one person indoors in a church?" He asked, "Is there a rational basis? Nobody has given me a rational basis for that." Not Pelosi, not Breedno one has offered any rational explanation for this outrageous abridgement of religious liberty.

Robert Siegel, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University, tried to justify the policy by saying it is okay for people to shop in stores but not okay to go to church. "People in places of worship tend to be vocalizing more and vocalizing louder by singing. They tend to be in contact with each other for longer periods of time." Siegel is wrong.

I went to Mass yesterday and, like every week during the pandemic, there was no singing, no talking of any kind. Furthermore, no one was sitting next to someone else, unless they were a family member. Blue tape was put across the pews: parishioners could only sit in designated areas. The Mass lasted 35-40 minutes.

Afterwards, I went to the supermarket. There were many more people there than were in church, and no social distancing was practiced. Moreover, I spent at least as much time in the store as I did in church. In addition, there was absolutely no vocalizing in the church (except for the priest), but there was plenty of chatter in the supermarket.

Mayor Breed allows shoppers to go to huge supermarkets and hardware stores, and to wait in line without social distancing. Pelosi gets her hair done at an indoor salon, violating the same law she says applies to everyone else. In mid-August, she called back the Congress, never explaining how coronavirus protocols were to be observed.

Archbishop Cordileone knows what is at stake, which is why he mobilized over 1,000 Catholics yesterday to partake in a Eucharistic Procession on the streets of San Francisco. More bishops should follow suit.

As he said last week, "Our fundamental rights do not come from the state...they come from God." He made it clear that he respects "legitimate authority" and recognizes that "government has a right to impose reasonable public health rules." But he hastens to add that "when government asserts authority over the church's very right to worship, it crosses a line."


Following Payal Ghosh's accusations against filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment, ex-wife Kalki Koechlin came out in support of Kashyap. Kalki shared a tweet and said, "Trolls will continue to troll."

After actor Payal Ghosh accused filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment, the filmmakers ex-wife Kalki Koechlin came out in support of Kashyap. The Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani actor posted a tweet that the filmmaker continued to stand up for her integrity even after they got divorced. Kalki shared a tweet and said, Trolls will continue to troll. Further, in her note, she wrote Dear Anurag, dont let this social media circus get to you. You have fought for the freedom of women in your scripts. Youve defended their integrity in your professional space as well as in your personal life. I have been witness to it.

The Dev D actor claimed that Kashyap always stood up for her when she felt unsafe at the workplace and that he has always fought for womens freedom in his writing as well. Kalki continued, This strange time where everyone gets to abuse one another and make false claims without any repercussions is a dangerous and repulsive one. It is destroying families, friends and countries.

But there is a place of dignity that exists beyond this virtual blood bath, a place of paying attention to the needs of those around you, a place of being kind even when no one is looking, and I know you are very familiar with that place, further adds. On Saturday, the Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi actor accused Kashyap of sexual harassment. Speaking to ANI, she said, Five years ago I met Anurag Kashyap regarding work. He called me to his house. When I went there, he took me to a separate room and tried to sexually assault me. He forced himself on me.

Also Read: Anurag Kashyap denies Payal Ghoshs sexual assault allegations, calls them baseless

#WATCH: He made me feel uncomfortable. I felt bad about it, whatever happened shouldn't have happened. If someone approaches you for work,it doesn't mean the person is prepared for anything: Actor Payal Ghosh on her allegation of sexual harassment against Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap pic.twitter.com/rL0C1AHZNe  ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2020

Also Read: Payal Ghosh to file FIR against Anurag Kashyap over sexual assault allegations

I request the authorities to kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. I am seeking action against him, said Ghosh. Post the allegations, Kashyap responded on Twitter in which he denied the allegations, claiming that they were baseless. I neither behave like this nor do I ever tolerate this at any price, he said.

Also Read: Day after unruly scenes in Parliament, RS chairman cracks the whip, suspends 8 RS MPs
Brian and Clara Franke: Brian and Clara Franke have committed $1.5 million to support an endowed chair in the Department of Finance in the Universitys Eller College of Management. Brian Franke, a UA alumnus, is a partner in Indigo Partners, a private equity firm specializing in aviation investments. Previously, he was vice president of Franke & Company, a boutique private equity firm focused on small and medium enterprises investments. The Brian and Clara Franke Endowed Chair in Finance will support an actively-teaching faculty member. The fund will also be used to develop a new course, Critical Thinking in International Finance, with a vision to use the fund for an international experience for a select group of students and to bring in guest speakers. It will also provide Ellers Department of Finance the opportunity to better prepare students to excel in the world of finance  taking the field to new heights with industry collaboration and revolutionary research.
- Chris Kirubi said he believed marrying one wife was a foreign concept introduced by missionaries and marriage was a type of enslavement

- To him, anyone who decided to settle down needed to be ready to be someone else's slave for life

- Kirubi reiterated that once someone makes the decision to go to "marriage jail", divorce should never be an option

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Billionaire Chris Kirubi is a man admired for his success, power and freedom.

The tycoon who loves his alone time admitted he views marriage as a form of enslavement or jail.

READ ALSO: Julie Gichuru dazzles in makeup-free photo, gets praised for youthful beauty

Chris Kirubi said Ugandan women made the best wives thanks to their gentility and respect. Photo: Chris Kirubi

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Yvonne Okwara surprises musician who named his song after her

The father and businessman added people needed to be careful when it came to settling down and advised them to be sure of their decisions whenever they considered tying the knot.

Marriage is enslavement and you need to be careful. You have to agree to go into slavery, to go to jail, Kirubi said.

The Capital FM owner further told comedian Churchill that once a person made the decision to be a slave for the rest of their life, then there is no turning back.

READ ALSO: Muthee Kiengei's 2 wives peacefully celebrate, share cake during daughter's birthday

READ ALSO: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Senator Murkomen wants Norwegian sacked after Man United defeat to Crystal Palace

The billionaire said there was no need for considering divorce if marriage was always the goal.

Apparently, anyone who chose to be a slave of marriage should not give up and should teach themselves how to solve any qualms that may pop up.

"It is a permanent affair and you are jailed for life. But if you marry a good woman it is such a pleasure," he added.

READ ALSO: Mtangazaji Joyce Maina akanusha kuwa katika uhusiano wa mapenzi na DJ Mo

As previously reported, Kirubi, who has been in and out of hospital for some time, said he sought God during his most difficult time and true to his belief, his prayers were answered.

Speaking to the Business Daily, the philanthropist confided how prayers from friends helped him in his time of need and that he had picked many lessons from the journey.

According to Kirubi, his belief in God was because he had always believed he could not make any progress without the almighty's intervention.

However, being confided on a sickbed for long revealed to him that beyond friends' help and concern, there was an all powerful God who he even moved closer.

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Keep abusing me, you will get tired eventually - Kenya's youngest Reverend Victor Githu | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
NEW DELHI : A woman fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force will soon join the newly-inducted Rafale fighter fleet as one of its crew flying the multi-role aircraft, official sources said on Monday.

The woman pilot has been flying MiG-21 fighters and was selected to join the Ambala-based Golden Arrows squadron operating the Rafale jets, they said.

"She was chosen to fly Rafale jets following a stringent selection process. She is undergoing training now," said a source.

In 2018, flying officer Avani Chaturvedi scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo. She flew a MiG-21 bison in her first solo flight.

Chaturvedi was part of a three-member women team commissioned as flying officers in July 2016, less than a year after the government decided to open the fighter stream for women on an experimental basis. The other two women pilots were Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh.

At present, the IAF has 10 women fighter pilots and 18 women navigators. The total strength of women officers serving in the IAF is 1,875.

Last week, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik told Parliament that women fighter pilots are inducted and deployed in IAF as per strategic needs and operational requirements.

Five French-made multirole Rafale fighter jets were inducted into the Golden Arrows squadron of the IAF on September 10 at the Ambala air force base.

The Golden Arrows squadron of the IAF was resurrected on September 10 last year. The squadron was originally raised at Air Force Station, Ambala on October 1, 1951.

The squadron has many firsts to its credit; in 1955 it was equipped with the first jet fighter, the legendary De Havilland Vampire.

Ten Rafale jets have been delivered to India so far and five of them stayed back in France for imparting training to IAF pilots. The delivery of all 36 aircraft is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.

The second batch of four to five Rafale jets is likely to arrive in India by November.

The Rafale jets, known for air-superiority and precision strikes, are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.

The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 aircraft at a cost of 59,000 crore.

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21.09.2020 LISTEN

Former President John Dramani Mahama, has described Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president, as an iconic figure in the independence struggle and the liberation of many African countries.

In a message to mark Nkrumah Memorial Day (hitherto Founder's Day) celebrated every year on 21 September to remember those who fought for Ghana's independence, Mr Mahama singled out Dr Nkrumah and saluted him "for his tireless and monumental contribution to our nations history."

In a Facebook post, Mr Mahama said: "Monday, 21st September marks the birthday of Ghanas Founder and first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. He was an iconic figure in the independence struggle and the liberation of many African countries.

"Dr Kwame Nkrumah was an inspiration to many countries around the world. On this day, I want to salute him for his tireless and monumental contribution to our nations history."

The Founders' Day, which was formerly Founder's Day, is observed each year to mark the birth date of Dr Nkrumah and the struggle for independence by the "Big Six".

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, upon assuming office, proposed legislation to Parliament to designate 4 August as a new date of the Founders' Day celebration, to widen the scope of the celebration to cover all people who played a key role in the liberation of the country.

The President again proposed that 21 September, however, should be instituted as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day, to commemorate his birth date.

The decision separated the "Founder's Day" celebration as an honour of the "Big Six" from Dr Nkrumah's Memorial Day celebration on his birthdate at the heroic leader of Ghana's independence attainment and a former President of Ghana

---Classfm
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky explained that his late informing The National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) about changes in the property status of his family was the result of an error that was immediately publicly acknowledged and corrected, and this is not a reason for his resignation from the post of head of the state.

Zelensky responded to an electronic petition calling for resignation for violating the law "On the Corruption Prevention" due to non-declaration of income from the sale of domestic government loan bonds (OVDPs). It was registered by a political scientist and ex-MP Viktor Ukolov, and in mid-July gained the 25,000 votes required for consideration by the president.

"On April 18, 2019, in the talk show the Right to Power, presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky promised to resign if he breaks the law. With this, he encouraged and received the support of 73% of voters in the second round, which took place only four days after that statement. 7 On July 2020, President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that he did not declare UAH 5.1 million in revenues from the repayment of government bonds and thereby violated the law "On Corruption Prevention." We appeal to the President to adhere to his word and resign, or admit that in four days before the second round on April 18, 2020, he lied to his voters," the petition said.

Zelensky said that the words of his promise to leave the presidency of Ukraine in the event of a deliberate violation of the law" were taken from the context of the conversation about the inadmissibility of existence of corruption schemes in government," and said that his position on this issue remains unchanged.

"As for the violation, which, according to the author of the petition, is the basis for my announcement of resignation from the post of President of Ukraine, it consists in untimely informing the National Agency for Corruption Prevention about changes in the property status of my family, and it happened as a result of an error, and it is not related to selfish motives. I emphasize that immediately after the discovery of this error, it was publicly recognized and corrected, and its consequences did not harm interests of citizens or the state. Taking into account the above, I inform you that no decisions are planned in accordance with this petition," he said.

As reported, on July 7, Zelensky personally informed the NACP of his violation of law in connection with the failure to submit a report on significant changes in the property status." In 2019, the family of the head of state received funds to repay the cost of domestic government loan bonds (OVDPs) in the total amount of UAH 5.1 million and incurred expenses for the purchase of government bonds in the amount of UAH 5.2 million. Accordingly, the cost of these bonds exceeded 50 living wages. According to the law, Zelensky had to submit to the declaration register a notification on significant changes in property status within ten days from the date of purchase and sale of government bonds. However, the register did not receive such notification," the Office of the President of Ukraine said.
Figure 1: Location Map

South Mountain Mine

South Mountain Mine

BOISE, Idaho and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc. (OTCQB: THMG; TSX-V: THM), (the Company or THMG) is pleased to announce that BeMetals Corp. has initiated their Phase 2 core drilling program at the Company's South Mountain Zinc-Silver-Gold Project in Owyhee County, Idaho, U.S.A. This years program is designed to extend the mineralized bodies at the Texas Zone and infill drill key areas of the DMEA Zone to prepare for completion of both an updated mineral resource estimate and a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for South Mountain in 2021.



Highlights of the Planned 2020 Resource Expansion and Infill Drilling Campaign:

Complete 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) of diamond drilling for approximately 25 holes from at least three underground drilling locations, including opening and enlarging the southeastern section of the Sonneman level drift towards the Texas Zone;

The new Texas Zone drill stations will provide better locations for testing the newly defined high-grade copper-silver-gold targets;

Conduct infill drilling of the DMEA Zone to further evaluate the significant component of gold and silver intersections from the 2019 program that included;

Drill Hole ID, Zone

& Interval From

(m) To

(m) Core Interval (m) Zn % Ag

g/t Au

g/t Pb % Cu % SM19-002: Interval 3 85.83 96.39 10.56 11.42 123.0 4.43 0.36 0.52 SM19-006 28.01 43.71 15.70 21.27 147.0 8.04 0.77 0.30 SM19-007 26.97 39.17 12.20 18.16 122.6 4.41 1.55 0.16 SM19-016: Interval 2 136.55 146.64 10.09 3.15 151.3 1.68 0.66 0.22 SM19-016: Interval 4 184.18 188.64 4.47 5.04 482.0 4.27 5.80 0.43

Note: Reported widths in the table are drilled core lengths as true widths are unknown at this time. It is estimated based upon current data that true widths might range between 60-80% of the drilled intersection (See notes to table 1 below & QA/QC section).

All the drilling data collected during this 2020 Phase will be incorporated into an updated resource estimate and a Preliminary Economic Assessment in 2021.

Story continues

Plans for the 2020 Phase 2 Resource Expansion Drilling Program

BeMetals has formed a Boise, Idaho-based project team that is focused on advancing South Mountain. This team includes key management of Thunder Mountain Gold Inc., Optionees of the Property, who have coordinated re-establishment of the Project site for the start of Phase 2 drilling. The team continues to build and maintain strong relations with local communities relevant to the South Mountain Project in southwestern Idaho. The Project is largely on and surrounded by private surface land with much of the permitting in place that would facilitate development of the project given favourable results of technical and economic studies.

BeMetals has contracted Boart Longyear to drill a total of approximately 25 underground core holes for some 2,400 meters at the South Mountain project. During the 2019 drilling campaign at South Mountain, the Company identified and intersected multiple zones of high-grade zinc with significant gold and silver mineralization in projected extensions of the polymetallic DMEA zone.

Drilling has commenced from the Muck Bay #5 drilling station while the mining contractor, Quimby Mining Services, works on opening and enlarging the far southeastern section of Sonneman level to prepare drilling platforms closer to targets within the Texas Zone. The historical far southeastern section of the Sonneman adit has not been accessed since the 1980s. Subsequently, little underground exploration has been conducted on this zone in the past four decades.

BeMetals has defined a number of compelling targets related to the Texas Zone from historical drilling, and underground sampling. These targets include both high-grade copper and zinc mineralization with a significant silver and gold component. A significant portion of this years underground drilling are planned to test and extend mineralization in this zone which can potentially add significant tonnage towards updating a mineral resource estimate for South Mountain in the first half of 2021.

The infill drilling planned for the DMEA Zone area is designed to provide further information on the grade and distribution of both the gold and silver component to this polymetallic zone of mineralization. Table 1 below includes the complete results from the 2019 drilling of the DMEA Zone. Table 2 shows the azimuth, dip and collar co-ordinates for these drill holes

Table 1. 2019 Program DMEA Zone: Analytical and Assay Results

Drill Hole ID, Zone

& Interval From

(m) To

(m) Core Interval (m) Zn % Ag

g/t Au

g/t Pb % Cu % DMEA Zone SM19-002 Interval 1 46.88 57.39 10.51 17.81 226 2.41 1.59 0.16 Interval 2 67.85 71.63 3.78 5.45 145 8.39 0.58 0.15 Interval 3 85.83 96.39 10.56 11.42 123 4.43 0.36 0.52 SM19-003 Interval 1 51.18 75.35 24.17 11.12 267 3.44 3.75 0.29 Including 51.18 60.78 9.60 11.74 437 5.99 8.68 0.38 Including 62.09 75.35 13.26 11.77 169 1.88 0.54 0.25 Interval 2 77.60 81.24 3.64 9.74 331 1.94 1.11 0.34 SM19-004 (Did not intersect mineralization) SM19-005 75.13 86.37 11.23 7.97 128 1.20 0.91 0.24 SM19-006 28.01 43.71 15.70 21.27 147 8.04 0.77 0.30 SM19-007 26.97 39.17 12.20 18.16 122.6 4.41 1.55 0.16 SM19-014 Interval 1 105.31 120.40 15.09 9.59 127.1 1.50 0.69 0.28 Interval 2 138.07 143.88 5.81 4.88 76.9 2.55 0.21 0.12 Interval 3 155.17 158.95 3.78 14.49 145.5 0.37 0.25 0.48 Interval 4 184.40 189.56 5.15 0.28 79.9 2.08 0.15 0.06 Interval 5 250.65 258.94 8.29 8.11 178.7 0.48 0.57 1.73 Interval 6 266.33 268.16 1.83 1.32 158.9 2.56 0.56 0.11 SM19-016 Interval 1 112.33 132.05 19.72 0.07 8.39 1.52 0.01 0.002 Interval 2 136.55 146.64 10.09 3.15 151.3 1.68 0.66 0.22 Interval 3 158.27 163.59 5.32 0.59 46.8 1.81 0.11 0.04 Interval 4 184.18 188.64 4.47 5.04 482.0 4.27 5.80 0.43 Interval 5 227.32 230.83 3.51 8.85 136.2 0.17 1.25 1.67

Note: Reported widths in tables are drilled core lengths as true widths are unknown at this time. It is estimated based upon current data that true widths might range between 60-80% of the drilled intersection. Intervals cut offs are based upon visual contacts of massive sulfide units with no more than 1.75 meters of internal skarn. For SM19-016 (intervals 1, 3 and 4) a nominal 0.46 g/t gold cut off has been applied to determine the boundaries of the intersections with no internal dilution. (Note: See details below in QA/QC section).

Upon completion of the 2020 drilling campaign additional metallurgical and hydrology testing as well as rock mechanic and mine modelling will be scheduled to be done in 2021. A Preliminary Economic Assessment for South Mountain is expected to be completed by approximately mid-2021.

Table 2: Drill Hole Azimuth, Dip and Collar Coordinates

Hole ID Azimuth Degree Dip Degree Eoh Length

(m) East (ft) North (ft) Elevation (ft) SM19-002 138 -28 102.41 231,176 394,120 6,868 SM19-003 152 -47 99.97 231,176 394,120 6,868 SM19-004 175 -58 119.79 231,176 394,120 6,868 SM19-005 175 -53 98.45 231,176 394,120 6,868 SM19-006 320 +61 58.67 231,148 393,978 6,860 SM19-007 313 30 74.07 231,1481 393,978 6,860 SM19-014 210 -61 271.79 231,1176 394,129 6,868 SM19-016 237 -58.5 267.61 231,1176 394,129 6868

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY CONTROL PROCEDURES

The Project employs a rigorous QA/QC program that includes; blanks, duplicates and appropriate certified standard reference material. All samples are introduced into the sample stream prior to sample handling/crushing to monitor analytical accuracy and precision. The insertion rate for the combined QA/QC samples is 10 percent or more depending upon batch sizes. ALS Global completed the analytical work with the core samples processed at their preparation facility in Reno, Nevada, U.S.A. All analytical and assay procedures are conducted in the ALS facility in North Vancouver, BC. The samples are processed by the following methods as appropriate to determine the grades; Au-AA23-Au 30g fire assay with AA finish, ME-ICP61-33 element four acid digest with ICP-AES finish, ME-OG62-ore grade elements, four acid with ICP-AES finish, Pb-OG62-ore grade Pb, four acid with ICP-AES finish, Zn-OG62-ore grade Zn, four acid digest with ICP-AES finish, Ag-GRA21-Ag 30g fire assay with gravimetric finish.

The Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Larry D. Kornze, P. Eng., Qualified Person, and Director of Thunder Mountain Gold Inc., and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 standards.

The South Mountain Project

South Mountain is a polymetallic development project focused on high-grade zinc and is located approximately 70 miles southwest of Boise, Idaho (see Figure 1). The Project was intermittently mined from the late 1800s to the late 1960s and its existing underground workings remain intact and well maintained. Historic production at the Project has largely come from high-grade massive sulfide bodies that remain open at depth and along strike. According to historical smelter records, approximately 53,642 tons of mineralized material has been mined to date. These records also indicate average grades; 14.5% Zn, 363.42 g/t Ag, 1.98 g/t Au, 2.4% Pb, and 1.4% Cu were realised. Thunder Mountain Gold Inc. purchased and advanced the Project from 2007 through 2019 investing approximately US$12M during that period. The current mineral resource estimate of the deposit is detailed in Table 3 below and the Company expects to provide a revised mineral resource update following a phase 2 drilling program in 2020.

The Project is largely on and surrounded by private surface land, and as such, the permitting and environmental aspects of the Project are expected to be straightforward. Permits are in place for underground exploration activities and BeMetals does not anticipate significant barriers to any future development at the Project.

Figure 1 is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ceaa4b2a-9ce6-4ac3-bb8c-ee6c50865dc1

Regarding Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc.

Thunder Mountain Gold Inc., a junior exploration company founded in 1935, owns interests in base and precious metals projects in the western U.S. The Companys principal asset is The South Mountain Mine, an historic former producer of zinc, silver, gold, lead, and copper, located on private land in Owyhee County Idaho. In February 2019, The Company entered into an option agreement with BeMetals Corp. ( www.Bemetalscorp.com ) based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Thunder Mountain Gold also owns 100% of the Trout Creek Project  a gold exploration project located along the western flank of the Shoshone Mountain Range in the Reese River Valley, adjacent to and surrounded by Nevada Gold Mines, a joint operating agreement between Barrick and Newmont Goldcorp private mineral lands. For more information on Thunder Mountain Gold, please visit the Companys website at www.Thundermountaingold.com .

About BeMetals Corp.

BeMetals is a new precious and base metals exploration and development company focused on becoming a leading diversified metal producer through the acquisition of quality exploration, development and potentially production stage projects. The Company is searching globally for an entry-level precious metals project while progressing both its advanced high-grade, zinc-silver-gold-copper polymetallic underground exploration at the South Mountain Project in Idaho, and its tier-one targeted, Pangeni Copper Exploration Project in Zambia. BeMetals growth strategy is led by our strong board and management, founders of the Company and significant shareholders, who have an extensive proven record of delivering considerable value in the mining sector through the discovery, construction and operation of mines around the world.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. The forward-looking statements in this press release include statements with respect to the completion of the transactions contemplated with BeMetals Corp., a Canadian Corporation. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, believes or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved or the negative connotation thereof. The forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions, which could change materially in the future, including the assumption that the transactions contemplated with BeMetals Corp. will be completed. By their nature, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include the determination and ability of BeMetals to complete all required option payments and issuance of shares under the BeMetals Option Agreement, the receipt of all required regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of all required terms and conditions. Investors should refer to THMGs Form 10-K, Form 10-Q reports, and Definitive 14C Information Statement as filed May 20, 2019, for a more detailed discussion of risks that may impact future results. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

Cautionary Note to Investors

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, please contact:

Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc.

Eric T. Jones

President and Chief Executive Officer

Eric@thundermountaingold.com

Office: (208) 658-1037




President John F. Kennedy once noted, Theres an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan. But in the case of free trade, the opposite is true. Its been a great success as a policy, but one neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden is willing to claim ownership.

Trump is an outspoken protectionist, regarding imports as bad and domestic production as good. As part of his America First agenda, he made a grand promise to end our chronic trade deficits. (In fact, theyve gotten bigger.) He slapped tariffs on China, South Korea, the European Union, Mexico, India and more. He sees every dollar spent on imported products as a dollar lit on fire.

Biden is in a perfect position to challenge Trumps primitive superstitions about trade. He served under Barack Obama, who pursued major free trade agreements with 11 Pacific Rim countries (not including China) and with the EU. Obama also retreated from his campaign pledge to renegotiate NAFTA, and ultimately declared that trade has helped our economy much more than it has hurt.

Obamas Council of Economic Advisers published a report concluding  as nearly all economists do  that reducing trade barriers raises living standards here and abroad, boosts productivity, fosters innovation and expands employment in high-paying sectors.

Few if any examples can be found of nations protecting their way to prosperity, but many examples can be found of countries prospering as they embraced free markets, Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Euijin Jung of the Peterson Institute for International Economics wrote recently.

As vice president, Biden lobbied members of Congress to approve the TPP, but last year, he suddenly saw everything in a new light. I would not rejoin the TPP as it was initially put forward, he said, aligning himself not with Obama but with  let me see  Trump.

Hes not the first Democratic nominee to deny parenthood: Hillary Clinton, who as secretary of state called the accord the gold standard in trade agreements, repudiated it when she ran for president.

In the Democratic presidential primaries this year, free trade was mostly treated with disdain. Bernie Sanders bashed Biden for his previous support of TPP, and Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker  not to mention Kamala Harris  likewise opposed it.

Biden does not seem to have noticed that they lost and he won  getting nearly twice as many votes in the primaries as Sanders, while trouncing Warren even in her home state of Massachusetts. His past advocacy of free trade deals didnt hurt him at all with voters. More likely, it helped.

Theres reason to think so. A February Gallup Poll found that 79% of Americans see foreign trade as an opportunity for economic growth through increased U.S. exports  up from 46% in 2012. The share of people who see such transactions as a threat to the economy has plunged from 46% to 18%.

Bidens own party faithful are even more positive about trade, with 82% of Democrats taking that view. But Biden is also at risk of turning off non-Democrats: 78% of Republicans and 76% of independents are pro-trade. If Trump thinks the issue is good for him, he might want to reconsider. This issue is another confirmation that everything he touches turns to lead. The biggest jump in public support for expanded trade has been in the past four years. The more he tries to block international commerce, the better it looks.

Yet Biden is passing up the opportunity to capitalize on the trend. He seems to be captive to the anti-trade faction of his party, which is not at all representative of Democrats or the electorate. There are three apparent explanations for Bidens strange stance. First, he may figure that anyone who strongly favors free trade will vote against Trump regardless. Second, Biden fears alienating white working-class voters, who helped deliver Trumps narrow victories in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Most important, however, is a phenomenon long noted by economists: The benefits of protection are concentrated and visible, while the costs are neither. If Trump saves (or claims to save) a factory by shutting out imports, the workers there will pay close attention, but most other people wont notice the negative effects.

In the past, presidents generally understood that while there could be political risks in fostering free trade, the economic payoff was too big to pass up. Whoever wins this election, those days may be gone.

Follow Steve Chapman on Twitter @SteveChapman13

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Flights between Korea and Russia will resume on Sept. 27 after a six-month halt in services due to coronavirus.

Russia banned all international travel in March to prevent the spread of the virus, but it has started cautiously loosening its restrictions. It is lifting entry bans on foreigners, but only for those traveling for essential purposes.


Feral hogs can host more than 30 viral and bacterial diseases as well as scores of parasites (AP)

A population explosion among wild boars in the US has led experts to warn that a "feral swine bomb," if left unchecked, could wreak havoc on large swaths of the country.

Undark Magazine reported on the explosion of the pig population, which has caused an estimated $2.5bn worth of damages every year.

Feral hogs trample and tear-up crops, attack livestock, and can destroy sensitive habitats. The pigs also act as disease carriers. They can host more than 30 viral and bacterial diseases as well as scores of parasites.

There are approximately 9 million feral hogs in the US, and their numbers are multiplying quickly.

Thirty years ago, only 17 states had feral hog populations. Today, there are at least 39 states dealing with the animals' destructive tendencies.

Dale Nolte, manager of the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program at the US Department of Agriculture, told Undark Magazine that their exponential population growth has experts concerned.

"They multiply so rapidly. To go from a thousand to two thousand, it's not a big deal. But if you've got a million, it doesn't take long to get to 4 [million], then 8 million," he said.

In some parts of the country, like Florida, Georgia and California, the feral hog population has grown wildly out of control. Both California and Texas have encouraged the recreational hunting of the pigs, but their attempts to cull the population backfired; in response to the hunting, the pigs simply scattered throughout the state, increasing the scope of the problem.

Data suggests that in Colorado, for example, hunting pigs will actually increase their travelling distance by up to 100 miles.

Montana outright banned the hunting of wild boars after a 2013 incident in which Texas man attempted to bring the beasts into the state to hunt them commercially. Two years later, the state passed legislation banning hunting of feral pigs and prohibiting their transportation or ownership in the state. Those found breaking the feral swine laws could be hit with up to $10,000 fines.

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The pigs are especially dangerous because of their genetics.

The wild boars are the offspring of domestic big breeds and the European wild boar.

As a result of the mix, the pigs inherit the intelligence, heightened sense of smell and rugged survivability from the hogs, and their exceptional fertility - thanks to years of husbandry - from the pigs.

When pigs escape their enclosures and breed in the wild - even with other domestic pigs - their offspring can eventually revert to a feral phenotype after just a few generations - less than 20 years.

"The problem with the hybrids is you get all of the massive benefits of all of that genetics," researchers said.

A few states have started awareness campaigns meant to urge the public to report the pigs so authorities can destroy them.

Washington, Oregon and Montana have a "Squeal on Pigs" information campaign that urges residents to call a 24-hour phone hotline to report pig sightings.

Though Montana has received praise from experts for its use of legislation and public information to help contain the flood of pigs, there is fear that too little is being done to get the creatures under control.

Ryan Brook, a biologist with the University of Saskatchewan that researches animals, said the efforts are just a small part of what is needed to truly contain the pigs.

"The efforts to deal with them are about 1 per cent of what's currently needed," he said.

Read more

We just threw the goats in the back of truck: Llamas, geese, pigs and other livestock among evacuees in wildfire shelters as farmers battle to save livelihood

Thousands of pigs die in farm fire
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has put nearly all Americans under increased stress, there is one group that has been hit especially hard  physicians.

The stressors associated with COVID are enormous, said Sharon Kiely, vice president and chief wellness officer at Hartford Healthcare.

The things tend to make us all healthy  self care, adequate sleep  in COVID, those things went away. People were working longer hours. There was more uncertainty.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month and Thursday was Physician Suicide Awareness Day. For many, this is a time to highlight the risk of suicide in all populations, particularly at such a traumatic time.

Kiely and other experts pointed out that, even before the pandemic, physicians had high rates of burnout, depression and suicide. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, about 300 physicians die by suicide in the U.S. every year. The foundation also reports that the suicide rate among male physicians is 1.41 times higher than the general male population.

The rate among female physicians is 2.27 times greater than the general female population.

There are many reasons for that, according to Dr. Andre Newfield, chairman of psychiatry at St. Vincents Medical Center in Bridgeport, which is part of Hartford HealthCare. For one thing, he said, research has shown that doctors are less likely to seek help than the general population.

Theyre scared their license will be taken away, Newfield said. There certainly is a stigma (attached to mental health issues) and they might be worried about how supervisors or colleagues might look at them. They also might not feel like admitting the problem to themselves is acceptable.

Thats especially true during the pandemic, he said, when so many people are relying on doctors for help. Taking a moment to think about what we experienced has been rather challenging itself, Newfield said.

Indeed, COVID has seemed to heighten the already pervasive problem of physician suicide. At the height of the pandemic, many doctors were battling stress and uncertainty, Kiely said. In addition to the lack of sleep and the steady flow of patients, she said, many found the pandemic disrupted the way they did their jobs.

Many doctors had to switch to telehealth and they had to learn to do that, she said. Some had to work in areas of the hospital that they were not familiar with. They were trained, but that can be unsettling.

One of the more high-profile deaths was that of Lorna Breen, a physician who died by suicide in April after contracting COVID-19, and returning to work at a New York hospital that was inundated with patients. In her honor, her family established the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation, which works to reduce physician burnout, and lessen the stigma surrounding mental health issues, particularly among doctors.

We envision a world where seeking mental health services is universally viewed as a sign of strength for health care professionals, the foundations website reads.

Locally, Kiely and Newfield said St. Vincents and Hartford HealthCare are also encouraging any physicians in need to seek help. Kiely said the system has a colleague support line that is open around the clock for any employees experiencing difficulty. Newfield said the system is also working on peer support programs, so people can offer each other help.

Weve been really very focused on what our colleagues need to take care of our patients and take care of themselves, Kiely said. My message to anyone out there working in health care is that these are unprecedented times. If you need help, now is the time to ask for it.

If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or call 911 immediately.
Viral video sensation TikToks security credentials remain under a cloud despite a deal with Oracle and Walmart that will see a change in the platform's ownership in Australia.

TikTok has narrowly avoided a ban by President Donald Trump on app downloads in the United States by creating a new company called TikTok Global, which will be responsible for providing all TikTok services to users in United States and most of the users in the rest of the world, including Australia.

In a deal reported to value TikTok at up to US$60 billion ($82 billion) both technology company Oracle and retail chain Walmart will take part in TikTok's global pre-initial public offering financing round in which they can take up to a 20 per cent cumulative stake in the company.

TikTok has reached a deal with Oracle and Walmart. Credit:Bloomberg

TikTok Global will have an IPO in less than 12 months to list on a US exchange and President Trump said it had also agreed to create a US$5 billion "education fund" in the United States.
S ix months ago, Boris Johnson spoke to the nation and lockdown began. It was severe, shocking and effective. We knew the rules. We helped each other out.

Today, the country is in a different place: but not the happy, post-Covid one we had hoped for. As the Governments advisers warned this morning, Britain now faces a critical moment in the fight.

We accept that new restrictions on our liberties will be needed. But they cannot be a copy of the ones we endured before. The mood has hardened. The Government must learn from its mistakes.

That will take clear, realistic leadership. We have had enough of the Prime Minister talking of moonshots or a virus-free Christmas, when reality is elsewhere. The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, has been tarnished by his repeated over-promising.

If we are to accept restrictions, and we should, then leaders have to be trusted. We also need a leader who is on top of the job: the Prime Minister messed up in the spring by not attending key Cobra planning meetings. He wont be forgiven for doing that twice.

Getting through this winter will take consistency and clear communication. It is unfair to expect people to cut family contact when they can go to a packed pub.

Can anyone actually list accurately now what is and isnt permitted  and why?

Threatening people with big fines and snitching neighbours reeks of panic. Ministers should stop blaming the public.

They must also realise that we cannot go back to full lockdown, which would be a social and economic calamity. New restrictions must be flexible and targeted: not just keeping schools and some workplaces open, but parts of the economy too. They should also be voted on in Parliament and , in length. If ministers cant convince the Commons, why should the rest of us be expected to fall in line? MPs are right to fear the damage being done to our constitution.

Other lessons from the first lockdown matter, too. We need a supreme national effort to build a testing system which works. Instead we have the opposite.

Testing rates in parts of London are falling. Why?

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We also need to hear from the Chancellor about support for workers hit by new restrictions. The furlough scheme is about to end: today at its conference Labour is setting out a proposal to extend a version of it which the Government should look at.

One other thing would help, too. At the top of government a lot of energy is going into planning for a no-deal Brexit, not Covid or economic recovery. This is mad.

Covid may be beyond their control. But they are choosing to add to the risk by imposing a second potential calamity on the country. We are in enough trouble as it is. The Prime Minister does not need to create more.

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Our help for schools

Weve campaigned against the harm done by school exclusions  which leave some children with almost no chance of completing their education.

Weve also done something about it with generous donors, creating a 1.2 million campaign fund to help schools support disruptive pupils, not exclude them.

Today were proud to announce that eight London schools are benefiting from it  giving London children a chance to build better lives.
Researchers have developed a photo trap that allows inconspicuous monitoring of newts, an important species of biodiversity. To what extent is this development promising?

Newtrap is a new observation method developed by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST). It combines a custom-made camera trap with automated data processing for improved monitoring of newts. Traditional observation methods are known to be time consuming, expensive and conspicuous. But what is the point of observing newts and to what extent is Newtrap innovative?

Newts: an important species for biodiversity monitoring

Certain newt species are bio-indicators: their presence or absence represents the quality of the environment in which they live. This characteristic is particularly important for biodiversity monitoring and biomonitoring studies. If the number of a bioindicator species declines or equals zero, this means that the ecological conditions necessary for the conservation of that species are not or no longer present. These requirements are also often shared with other species. According to Xavier Mestdagh, research engineer working on LIST's Newtrap project, the crested newt for instance is a so-called umbrella species. Protecting its habitat allows the conservation of many other species that live in the same environment as other amphibians, such as the grass frog or insects.

An unobtrusive camera trap and automated data processing

Conventional observation methods consist of setting up fish traps to catch individual animals. These methods are very time consuming, tedious and conspicuous. The researchers have to place the traps, take measurements and repeat the process. Mestdagh explains that in the case of crested newts, for example, researchers have to photograph the abdominal pattern of each captured animal. Just like our fingerprints, this pattern is unique. Mestdagh adds that this is particularly useful for assessing the number of animals in a population, i.e. their size, without risking the same newt being counted more than once. The LIST researchers therefore had the idea of developing a new observation method.

The camera trap is triggered by movement and photographs (same angle, background, light, distance) the animals coming and going in the same way. This provides researchers with more data, which is more harmonised, of better quality and has a higher spatial and timeless resolution. Without intrusive handling of the amphibians, Newtrap also provides new information about the behaviour of newts and even about other species (e.g. grass snakes, leeches).

This new method also uses artificial intelligence (AI) for data management. To do this, the researchers have classified a large amount of data by species, sex and abdominal pattern. They then incorporated this information into an algorithm so that the AI could automatically recognise these features. Species and sex are already identified with a reliability of over 90%. The researchers are now working on improving the automatic recognition system of the abdominal patterns and on increasing the lifespan and robustness of the camera trap.

This new patented observation method (LU93388) was financed by the National Research Fund (FNR) under the JUMP - Proof of Concept (POC) programme and was the subject of a market study which attracted considerable interest at both national and international level. With more than 30 newt species in Europe and even more in North America, the introduction of Newtrap could support the automatic monitoring of many species. Mestdagh and his colleagues now want to establish an industrial partnership to move from a prototype to an operational method for the largest possible number of observers.

Author: Constance Lausecker

Photo : (C) LIST - Newtrap
The Discount Mall in Little Village, home to more than 150 family-owned shops, is like no other shopping center in Chicago. Its been the heart of the community for more than three decades. But soon everything could change if the new owner of Little Village Plaza decides to do away with the concept that has been in place since 1991. The possible changes, which the new owner hasnt confirmed, echo other changes in the neighborhood such as the rehabbing of properties to lure young professionals to the neighborhood.
FLINT, MI -- A suspect has been arraigned on multiple felony charges in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash in Flint Township.

Ramon S. Bishop, 37, of Flint was arraigned Sunday, Sept. 20 in Genesee District Court on single counts of homicide -- manslaughter with motor vehicle, failure to stop at the scene of an accident -- when at fault -- resulting in death, and tampering with evidence.

The incident began around 3:30 p.m. Sept. 13, when Flint Township police were dispatched to the area of Ballenger Highway, south of Flushing Road, for a personal injury crash involving a pedestrian.

Roy A. Welch, also known as Roy Muhammad, died the morning of Friday, Sept. 18, at an area hospital from injuries he suffered after being hit by a vehicle while dispersing literature. He was 64.

It was the first time in decades that a member of the Flint Chapter of the Nation of Islam had been struck by a vehicle while dispersing literature, according to local officials.

Police believe two vehicles, a Chrysler 300 and a gray Chevrolet Malibu, were headed north on Ballenger Highway at high rates of speed. The Chrysler 300 hit Welch in the roadway as it was approaching Flushing Road, police have said.

Police seek driver in Flint Township hit-and-run that left pedestrian seriously injured

Tips provided by Nation of Islam members led police to the Chrysler 300 and Bishop, according to Flint Township police. Subsequent tips led to the arrest of a second suspect.

A second suspect believed to be driving the Malibu that also hit Muhammad has been taken into custody, but the persons name and information on potential charges have yet to be released.

Muhammad was known as the Dean of the Fruit of Islam in the Flint area.

It is with deep sadness that we join today in mourning the death of Roy Muhammad, said Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley in a statement. Our city has lost a great individual who worked tirelessly on behalf of his faith and whose deep commitment I admired. We send our sincere condolences to Mr. Muhammads family and all our friends in Flint Chapter of the Nation of Islam. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

The Fruit of Islam is the security and disciplinary wing of the Nation of Islam.

He always stood straight on the path of trying to do right, said Jalil Carter at the Friday, Sept. 18 press conference. He would always tell us about reading our scriptures and making our prayers. He has been in the Nation of Islam for 39 years. On the day that he was ran down and they left the scene, they ran down a man who was in the commencement of soldiering to get information out to the people that would help people make better decisions in their life. He was considered to be a soldier that was killed on duty.

The collision that ended up claiming Welchs life marked the first time a member of the Flint Chapter of the Nation of Islam had been struck by a vehicle while dispersing literature in 60 or more years, Carter said.

Its a sad loss but we will remember him through the words and information that he shared with us while he was here," Carter added.

Bishop is due back in court Oct. 1 for a probable cause conference in front of Genesee District Judge William H. Crawford.

The incident remains under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Flint Township Police Detective Chris Weber at 810-600-3250 or report a tip anonymously to Crime Stoppers of Flint and Genesee County at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245), on the P3 Tips mobile app, or online at crimestoppersofflint.com.

Read more:

Dean of the Fruit of Islam dies days after hit-and-run crash in Flint Township

Family, police ask for publics help to find missing 87-year-old man with dementia

Man rescued in Thumb region after being pinned under tractor

Flint man drowns in lake at Shiawassee County campground
There is a tacit understanding in the procurement price of China-origin flake graphite based on region. Buyers in Japan tend to buy material at a lower price compared with other major consuming markets in Europe and the US, sources told Fastmarkets.

For example, graphite flake, 94% C, -100 mesh,...
Some college students in the United States are doing something that was once unheard ofreporting other students who attend parties.

Many schools are barring parties and some other social gatherings in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. They are also requiring social distancing and face masks, among other rules.

At the University of Missouri, one senior-year student is publishing pictures and videos on a University of Misery Twitter account. The images show students gathered in large groups at swimming pools, outside bars and other places. Most of the students are seen without masks.

The university has a form on its website where violations of the schools COVID-19 rules can be anonymously reported. But the University of Missouri senior says that publishing such information on Twitter adds a different level of accountability.

Christian Basi is a spokesman for the university, which is in the city of Columbia and has about 30,000 students. He said students have been good about following rules during the day when they are on campus. But, problems happen once students leave campus.

Where were seeing our issues have been off campus, when individuals go home to their private residences, Basi said.

On Tuesday, the University of Missouri said in a statement that it had expelled two students and suspended three others. The actions were taken following violations of the schools coronavirus-related rules.

Some schools, like the University of Miami, in Florida, are paying students to enforce COVID-19 rules.

At that school, 75 public health ambassadors are making $10 an hour to walk around campus and make sure people are wearing masks and social distancing. Reports of serious rule-breaking can be sent to university administrators.

Austin Pert is one of the public health ambassadors. The senior student said people generally follow his orders. But Pert noted the program has its limits. Most violations do not take place during the day on university grounds.

If people want to flout the rules and put social distancing aside for a night to go party, its not happening on campus, Pert said.

Critics say having in-person learning during a pandemic was a mistake.

Ryan Craig is a higher education advisor and businessman. He said it was foolish to think that college students would follow social distancing and masking requirements.

These are college students, Craig added. They are going to do what they want to do.

At Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, administrators saw an Instagram poll last month. It found that more than 100 incoming freshmen said they planned to party.

The student running the account voluntarily gave administrators the identities of the poll-takers. Those students then received a letter warning that partying could result in punishment up to expulsion, a university spokeswoman said.

Nearby Boston University has received about 125 anonymous reports of violations.

Ed Kellermann, a Boston University senior, said he would anonymously report a party if he heard about one. He called it a matter of life or death for Boston locals who live near campus.

Kellermann said reporting parties also increases the chances of completing the school year on university grounds.

Kellermann said, No one wants to get sent home.

Im Ashley Thompson.

Jan Wolfe and Daphne Psaledakis reported this story for Reuters. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

___________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

mask n. a covering for the nose and mouth that is meant to prevent the spread of germs

senior n. a person who is in their final year of high school or college

misery n. extreme unhappiness, horrible suffering

bar n. a public business that sells alcohol and often food

anonymously adv. not named or identified, done secretly

poll - n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something

campus n. the land around a school, business or similar organization

residence n. a building where people live

flout v. to break or ignore a rule or law without trying to hide it

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Its the type of question that does not land well with advisers to Joe Biden: Arent there some Donald Trump foreign policy decisions they should keep, and maybe even build upon, if Biden wins the White House?

After an initial Are you kidding?! cooler-headed Biden advisers grudgingly admit that maybe, just maybe, some of the current presidents approaches are worth considering. It makes political sense, for example, to take a harder line toward Beijing, given how negatively the U.S. public now views China. In other cases, such as keeping the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, it seems like a fait accompli.

World leaders, who are appearing this week at a largely virtual United Nations General Assembly, are closely watching the U.S. election. International diplomats privately say they expect a putative President Biden to reverse many Trump policies, but they also hope that wild swings in U.S. foreign policy dont become the norm in the years ahead.

For the United States to be a trusted and credible international partner, we have to have greater consistency in our approach. We dont, and we havent for quite some time, said Heather Conley, an analyst who served at the State Department during the second Bush administration.

In a sign of the whiplash years of U.S. political turbulence has produced abroad, an Asian diplomat said one way to signal that the United States can be relied upon going forward is if more of its agreements with other countries were approved by the Senate.

Theres little question Bidens foreign policy would look and feel a lot different than Trumps. The former vice president speaks often about restoring alliances, promoting human rights and standing up to dictators  themes you dont often hear from Trump. In his convention speech, Biden vowed to work in common purpose for a more secure, peaceful, and prosperous world.

Understandably, Biden tends to say less about the Trump policies hed keep. His campaign would reveal only that his focus is going to be on rebuilding Americas standing in the world and undoing the incredible damage Donald Trump has wreaked.

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Still, based on talks with a half-dozen people in and around the Biden campaign, here are some ways in which U.S. foreign policy may not change all that much if Trump loses to Biden in November.

A tougher tone

Trump has taken a bullying tone toward many countries, including some allies hes accused of freeloading. Angela, you owe me $1 trillion, hes reported to have once said to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, misstating the financial underpinnings of the NATO military alliance.

While Biden is not likely to be so crude, dont be surprised if he at times takes a more forceful position toward both allies and adversaries than he did when he served as Barack Obamas vice president.

The obvious top target for this tone is an adversary China, which itself has taken a more bellicose attitude toward the United States in recent months.

Unlike Trump, Biden probably wont use terms like China virus, which have offended many Asians amid the coronavirus pandemic. But he appears to have laid aside his past hopes that increased global engagement would nudge China toward democracy. Biden once said a rising China is a positive, positive development, not only for China but for America and the world writ large. More recently, hes called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a thug, accused Chinas leaders of committing genocide against Uighur Muslims and pledged to rally countries to hold China accountable for its economic cheating.

Biden also is likely to keep up the pressure on allies, including Germany, when it comes to defense spending. Obamas first Defense secretary, Robert Gates, bluntly warned NATO in a 2011 speech of the real possibility for a dim, if not dismal future for the trans-Atlantic alliance. U.S. pressure led to a 2014 deal in which NATO members agreed to strive for the goal of spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024.

Trumps harsh rhetoric on the topic  hes privately threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO  might even give Biden more room to push the issue while still presenting himself as a welcome alternative to Trump. And how much other NATO members spend on defense could be a particularly salient issue if Biden bows to demands from progressives to cut U.S. defense spending.

The removal of Trump as an irritant could expose the fact that certain trans-Atlantic differences of opinion go well beyond the current occupant of the Oval Office. Germany, for one, has been reluctant to sign up for across-the-board confrontation with China, which has become a major trading partner. Many European countries also rely on Russia for energy supplies, so they tread carefully in dealings with Moscow.

Trumps overt hostility toward multilateral institutions could present Biden with an opportunity to push through reforms to some international bodies. That includes the World Health Organization, which Trump has moved to quit, and the World Trade Organization, which is increasingly dysfunctional thanks to U.S. decisions.

Another example: Trump quit the U.N. Human Rights Council on the grounds that it was too focused on Israel and that its members include notoriously abusive governments. Instead of simply reinstating its support for the council, Biden could engage it while echoing Trumps criticisms to push for reforms.

Biden also wants to host a summit for the worlds democracies. Such a gathering is an obvious slap at Trump, who has praised many dictators. But its also an implicit challenge to bodies like the U.N. Security Council, where autocracies like China and Russia often block U.S. initiatives. The idea recalls a proposal once pushed by late Republican Sen. John McCain, who called for establishing a league of democracies during the 2008 presidential campaign.





President Donald Trump participates in a United Nations Security Council briefing on counterproliferation at the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, at U.N. Headquarters. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Meaningful punishments

Trump is known for using sticks more than carrots in his interactions with other countries. Sanctions and tariffs, which dont necessarily require congressional action, are among the presidents favorite sticks. He has relied on both to unusual degrees to pursue his agenda on everything from trade to the imprisonment of Americans overseas.

Expect Biden to keep many of these penalties in place.

Trumps tariffs on China would give Biden some leverage over an increasingly hostile Beijing, and he has hinted he might keep at least some during the initial months of his presidency. Although Biden has described Trumps use of tariffs as shortsighted, hes also asserted: I will use tariffs when they are needed, but the difference between me and Trump is that I will have a strategy  a plan  to use those tariffs to win, not just to fake toughness.

The tariffs could come off, but no administration is likely to remove them without getting something in return, said Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security.

Other Trump policies toward China, including technology restrictions and limits on the movements of its diplomats in the United States, also could be here to stay. Given the increasingly widespread and bipartisan desire in Washington to stand up to Chinas communist government, Biden could face blowback for moves that could be portrayed as soft on Beijing.

The Trump administration also has imposed economic and visa sanctions against an array of individuals. Biden might decide to remove some of those sanctions, such as the ones targeting officials with the International Criminal Court; but hes likely to keep many of the so-called Magnitsky sanctions Trump has imposed on individuals overseas for corruption and human rights abuses.

He may not have agreed with some of the steps put in place by Trump, but now that they are in place, hes not going to lift them wholesale without thinking through what he might be able to get for lifting them, one former U.S. ambassador said about Biden.

Immigration is a particularly tricky area. Trump has put in place unusually stringent limits on people seeking to come to the U.S., including severely lowering the number of refugees and outright banning immigrants from some countries. Biden has pledged to reverse these and many other Trump immigration policies.

But if Biden wants to strike a comprehensive immigration reform deal with Republicans, it could help to keep at least some of the changes made under Trump. One obvious possibility: Successful enhancements to security procedures designed to keep out potential terrorists. Another possibility: New rules that make it harder for foreigners to come to America to give birth to children who would then have U.S. citizenship  so-called birth tourism.

At times, it appears Biden is trying to walk a fine line on immigration. Hes said, for instance, that he wont tear down the existing portion of a wall Trump has built along the southern border, but that he wont add to it. Instead, hes pledged to pursue more technologically advanced ways to secure the boundary.

Hard to reverse

A few Trump-era moves would be politically and practically hard to jettison.

Biden already has said he wont reverse Trumps decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and recognize that city as the Israeli capital. Biden has said relocating the embassy again wont help the dormant peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. He has, however, pledged to reopen the U.S. Consulate that dealt with the Palestinians, which Trump shut down.

Biden also is unlikely to re-recognize Nicolas Maduro as president of Venezuela.

Trump dropped official U.S. recognition of Maduro in January 2019, instead recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas interim president. Going back on all that would be  awkward. Besides, disdain for Maduro  a dictator who has overseen the economic ruin of his country  is widespread in Washington and among U.S. allies in Latin America.

Biden probably will tweak the overall U.S. policy toward Venezuela somewhat, possibly to encourage more dialogue between the opposition and the Maduro regime. Democrats also have criticized how little attention Trump has paid to humanitarian suffering and refugee flows from Venezuela and Central America. A Biden administration will likely try to address the problem.

Trump didnt feel encumbered by international agreements made by his predecessor; he pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal despite the advice of some of his top aides. Iran, in response, has taken steps to restart its nuclear program, making it harder for Biden to achieve his stated goal of rejoining the deal.

Take the deal

The Trump administration negotiated an update to the North American Free Trade Agreement dubbed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Biden has already said he supports the USMCA. He also will likely hang on to Trumps phase one trade deal with China, though that pact is fragile.

Overall, a President Biden is expected to show much more skepticism toward trade deals than he has before in his decadeslong political career. That skepticism also aligns him, to some degree, with Trump, though for different reasons.

Trump has long been convinced that both allies and adversaries have been ripping off the United States in trade deals. Biden, under pressure from progressives, says he wants to pursue trade deals that dont exacerbate economic inequality. Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership; Biden has been coy about whether hed rejoin that massive pact, which he once championed, saying hed want to renegotiate parts of it.

Biden campaign officials say they want to focus first on the domestic economic recovery, in a nod to the difficult political climate for launching any new trade deals right now. But the Trump administration is currently negotiating trade agreements with Britain and Kenya; if Biden wins and those deals are unfinished, hell have to decide whether to pursue them or put them on hiatus.

Why not build on it?

Obama wanted to leave Afghanistan. Trump wants to leave Afghanistan. And Biden also wants to leave Afghanistan. So expect the Biden team to look for ways to maintain peace talks with the Taliban, who, under Trump, have agreed to a deal that is still being implemented.

The details, though, could derail the agreement. Biden, for instance, wants to keep a small number of U.S. troops in the country to battle terrorist groups such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State. The Taliban want all U.S. and NATO troops out.

Events on the ground could also force Bidens hand. As it makes peace plans with the U.S., the Taliban has continued to battle with forces loyal to the Afghan government, which remains fragmented and divided over how best to end the countrys internal conflict.

Even if the current deal falls apart, a Biden administration will likely try to keep the channels open to strike a new agreement. The Trump-era deal could offer a template to build upon.

In fact, one person close to the Biden campaign said its possible that if he wins, he may ask Trumps envoy to the talks, Zalmay Khalilzad, to stick around for a few months to help the new administration find its footing with the Taliban.

When asked about this possibility during a recent call with reporters, Khalilzad said it was too soon to discuss the idea, but that he was committed to staying at least until Novembers election.

Biden also has said he wants to build on a push by the Trump administration to get Arab countries to normalize their relations with Israel.

Earlier this month, representatives of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a White House ceremony to sign pledges to establish diplomatic, economic and other ties. It was a historic moment, and one Biden applauded.

A Biden-Harris administration will build on these steps, challenge other nations to keep pace, Biden pledged.

He added a caveat, though, saying his administration would use the momentum to leverage these growing ties into progress toward a two-state solution and a more stable, peaceful region.

Trumps approach to these agreements has made scant mention of the Palestinians, and put zero emphasis on the idea of a two-state solution. Bidens desire to make a two-state solution a goal of the normalization push will no doubt complicate things, not least because the Israeli right wing would fight it.

Doug Palmer and Lara Seligman contributed to this report.
In this file photo taken on August 27, 2020, the TikTok logo is displayed outside a TikTok office in Culver City, California. US officials on September 18, 2020, ordered a ban on downloads of the popular Chinese-owned mobile applications WeChat and TikTok from September 20, saying they threaten national security. The move comes amid rising US-China tensions over technology and a Trump administration effort to engineer a sale of the video app TikTok to American investors.(MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

The agreement, which has been approved by Donald Trump, sees Silicon Valley giant Oracle become the data partner for the video-sharing platform while Walmart becomes a commercial partner, creating a new US company called TikTok Global.

On Monday, ByteDance said in a statement on social media that TikTok Global plans to launch a "small round of pre-IPO financing", after which it would become an 80 percent-owned subsidiary of ByteDance.

The company added that the board of directors of TikTok Global includes ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, along with its current directors and the CEO of Walmart.

"TikTok Global will also launch a listing plan to further enhance its corporate governance structure and transparency," the statement said. It did not say how much it intended to raise or where it plans to list.

Bloomberg News reported that Bytedance was seeking a valuation of $60 billion for TikTok, citing a person familiar with the matter.

TikTok -- which became a global phenomenon with its brand of short, addictive phone videos -- has come under fire in recent months as tensions escalate between China and the west.

Trump has claimed TikTok is collecting user data for Beijing, without providing evidence, and in early August gave ByteDance until September 20 to hand over TikTok's US operations to an American company.

ByteDance, under pressure in China not to give in to US demands, set out to clarify "rumours" on Monday after details of the deal were announced. It said the current plan "does not involve the transfer of any algorithms and technologies".

While Oracle has the authority to check the source code of TikTok in the US, ByteDance said displaying the source code is a way for multinationals to allay local data security concerns.

ByteDance added that a "so-called tax payment of $5 billion to the US Treasury" was a forecast of corporate income tax and other operating taxes TikTok would need to pay for business development.
President Ram Nath Kovind (Image- Reuters)

At least 15 opposition parties wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind on September 21 over the government's farm bills that were passed in Parliament the previous day and urged him not to sign them.

Opposition parties such as the Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Trinamool Congress, as well as the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)  an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)  have opposed these new farm bills.

"We, belonging to diverse political parties cutting across India's political and geographical spectrum, bring this representation to you to respectfully draw your urgent attention to the absolute and total murder of democracy, ironically in the most hallowed temple of democracy, Parliament," said the letter to President Ram Nath Kovind.

"We pray that you return the bills and do not append your signature. We pray that you exert all powers, constitutional and moral, to ensure such a black law does not become law..."

The Farmers' and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, were passed by the Lok Sabha on September 17, amid a walkout by Opposition parties and the resignation of Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal over their passage.

A third bill, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, was listed but not taken up by the House. The three bills are meant to replace ordinances passed by the Centre in June.

These bills seek to provide barrier-free trade for farmers produce outside notified farm mandis and empower farmers to enter into farming agreements with private players prior to production for sale of agri-produce. However, protesting farmers claim that the move will 'corporatise' the agriculture sector and further cripple them financially.

The government claims that these initiatives will help farmers get better prices for their crops, by legalising contract farming among other measures.
The first BAND-AID  Brand Adhesive Bandage was made in 1920, originally developed by a Johnson & Johnson employee who was caring for his wife after a cooking mishap. One hundred years later, BAND-AID  Brand Adhesive Bandages remain a staple in medicine cabinets across the world as a symbolic icon for healing. The CARE  organization was similarly founded to help others, when they sent the first CARE Packages at the end of World War II to deliver food and other supplies to thousands of survivors overseas. This strategic partnership with BAND-AID  Brand marks the first time in its 75 years of operation that CARE  has set up a response stateside, extending its care, comfort and protection to frontline workers in the United States during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are humbled and proud to use our legacy and resources to invite more people to put care in the world during a time when we need it most," said Dawn Hampton, Senior Director, Marketing and Sales, BAND-AID Brand, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. "Being 100 is a historic moment for the BAND-AID brand and our goal is to take this moment to inspire a new generation by partnering with a pioneer in caregiving, CARE, to make a meaningful impact with those who are actively on the frontlines in the United States and all over the world."

Custom BAND-AID Brand x CARE Packages are available to donors at varying levels to directly benefit our frontline heroes nationwide, such as:

$28  Can provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for an international medical professional.

 Can provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for an international medical professional. $35  Can provide one BAND-AID  Brand x CARE  Package Gift Mastercard  for a frontline hero in need via organizations like the American Nurses Association.

 Can provide one BAND-AID Brand x CARE Package Gift Mastercard for a frontline hero in need via organizations like the American Nurses Association. $58  Can provide two Health Worker Starter Packs to provide community frontline workers with a uniform, basic medications and a cooler to deliver medical supplies.

 Can provide two Health Worker Starter Packs to provide community frontline workers with a uniform, basic medications and a cooler to deliver medical supplies. $70  Can fund six drivers to deliver critical supplies and meals to homebound, vulnerable community members.

 Can fund six drivers to deliver critical supplies and meals to homebound, vulnerable community members. $92  Can provide four families with Newborn Baby Health Kits, which includes supplies such as diapers, soap, blankets and a bath.

As part of '100 Days of Care' and its anniversary commemoration, BAND-AID Brand revealed an online digital video spotlighting BAND-AID Brand Adhesive Bandage's role in consumer's lives for the past century. The brand will also be partnering with SHE Media to host 'SK Conversations: Back to Care,' the inaugural SheKnows virtual bespoke event on September 23 that will give the virtual stage to a variety of caregivers who will spotlight the past 100 years of care.

For more information, or to make a donation to help frontline workers and caregivers today, please visit: https://carepackage.org/band-aidbrand/ and check for updates on BAND-AID Brand's Instagram channel.

ABOUT BAND-AID BRAND

BAND-AID Brand Adhesive Bandages have long been a staple in family's first aid kits as a source of caring, comfort and protection. As the technology and innovation behind the brand have grown, the makers of BAND-AID Brand Adhesive Bandages now offer a wide variety of products to meet the diverse needs of today's active families and their lifestyles. For more information please visit www.band-aid.com.

About the Consumer Health business of Johnson & Johnson

At Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, we help more than 1.2 billion people live healthier lives, every day from their very first day. From drawing a baby's bath and healing cuts and scrapes to protecting skin from the sun and soothing aches and pains, people have turned to our innovations for more than 130 years. Our portfolio of differentiated brands, including TYLENOL, ZARBEE'S NATURALS, NEUTROGENA, AVEENO, LISTERINE, OGX and JOHNSON'S, combines the power of science with meaningful human insights to help people care for themselves and those they love.

Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding BAND-AID Brand Adhesive Bandages. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. and/or Johnson & Johnson. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: uncertainty of regulatory approvals; uncertainty of commercial success; challenges to patents; competition, including technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; product efficacy or safety concerns resulting in product recalls or regulatory action; changes to applicable laws and regulations, including global health care reforms; changes in behavior and spending patterns of purchasers of health care products and services; and trends toward health care cost containment. A further list and descriptions of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Johnson & Johnson's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2019, including in the sections captioned "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Item 1A. Risk Factors," and in the company's most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and the company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, www.jnj.com or on request from Johnson & Johnson. Neither Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. nor Johnson & Johnson undertakes to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information or future events or developments.

Media Contacts:

Megan Koehler

Communications Leader, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health

Johnson & Johnson

[email protected]

Dalisbeth Galvez

[email protected]

1According to CARE's first-ever domestic report, essential workers  who are disproportionately BIPOC women  hold more dangerous positions that threaten their economic security and health.

SOURCE Consumer Health business of Johnson & Johnson
The political wing of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, the country's main opposition party, said Monday it would take part in parliamentary elections in November.

The Islamic Action Front's announcement came two months after Jordan's top court dissolved the country's chapter of the Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist movement.

The IAF, which holds 16 seats in the current legislature, said Monday it had decided "to take part in the coming parliamentary elections" set for November 10.

"The Islamist movement is clearly being targeted and faces vigorous attempts to undermine it due to its national role and charitable efforts," it said in a statement.

"We believe our absence from parliament would be a withdrawal from this battle and a derogation of responsibility."

The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, has both charitable and political arms across the Muslim world.

It has faced years of pressure, especially since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, and has been outlawed as a "terrorist" group in Egypt and banned in several other countries.

Amman had tolerated the group's political arm for decades, but since 2014 authorities have considered it illegal, arguing its licence was not renewed under a 2014 law.

It continued to operate, but its relations with the state deteriorated after the government in 2015 authorised a splinter group, the Muslim Brotherhood Association.

In 2016, security services closed Brotherhood offices across the country and transferred their ownership to the splinter group in a step the movement denounced as political.

In mid-July, after a long court battle to retrieve the properties, Jordan's Court of Cassation ruled the group dissolved for "failing to rectify its legal status under Jordanian law".

The Brotherhood argues that it had already obtained licences to operate under previous laws in the 1940s and 1950s.

The IAF took part in legislative polls in 2016, winning 16 seats, after boycotting previous polls in 2010 and 2013.

The Brotherhood, banned in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has widespread grassroots support in Jordan and is supported by Turkey and Qatar.

The breakaway Muslim Brotherhood Association authorised by Jordan aimed to sever ties with the Brotherhood in Egypt.

Elections are set to go ahead despite the novel coronavirus crisis, which has infected 4,779 people in Jordan and left 30 dead.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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New Delhi, Sep 20 (UNI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda on Sunday stated that the Narendra

Modi government has given a better future to the farmers of the country after the Rajya Sabha passed two

crucial farm Bills.

"I congratulate Prime Minister @narendramodi on the passing of the bills brought by the central government

for the empowerment of agriculture and farmers in Parliament and wish all the farmer brothers of the country.

I also thank all MPs and political parties for their support," the BJP President said in a series of tweets

in Hindi.

The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and The Farmers

(Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, were passed by a

voice vote in the Upper House amid tumultous scenes on Sunday.

"The Bills passed by Parliament will truly give farmers the freedom to store, harvest and sell their crops.

Lets free them from middlemen," he said in his tweet.

"MSP -- minimum support price -- was, is and will remain. The system of APMC will also be maintained. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while showing foresight, has taken these steps for the better future of farmers,

which will play an important role in doubling the income of farmers," he stated.

Blaming the Congress for the fierce scenes of Opposition protest and attempts to block passage of the Bills,

Mr Nadda said "Congress does not believe in democracy. Whatever happened in the Rajya Sabha (uproar by the

Opposition) I condemn it. The parties which are anti-farmer, today have done a great derailment of democracy

by making such efforts. They don't believe in democracy either, so they tried in this way."

The BJP National President said, "The parties that repeatedly talk of civilisation, the way they have acted

is very unfortunate and condemnable. The Chairman will take note of it and will also take action on it.

He pointed out that the Opposition Congress in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections last year, had

mention abolition of the APMC system. "The Modi government is providing better options to the farmers. After

all, why does Rahul Gandhi and Congress not want to see farmers becoming stronger," he asked.

He claimed that the Congress never brought in any reforms for the empowerment of farmers nor thought or had

the will to do it. Maintaineing that the Congress had an old habit of doing politics by "misleading" farmers,

and the poor, Mr Nadda claimed that farmers were aware of the double character of the Congress and would

not fall prey to its mischief.



While both the Bills were passed, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, could not be taken up

due to time constraints.

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With no clear outlook on demand revival, the clamour for a cut in taxes on automobiles has become louder than in the recent past. Auto companies are asking the government to review these taxes, which some claim are among the highest in the world. Let's take a look at what really is the issue.

What is the Toyota issue?

In an interview given to Bloomberg, a senior official of Toyota Kirloskar, a subsidiary company of Toyota Motor Corporation, advocated an urgent need to cut taxes on automobiles in India. He went on to state that all future investments by Toyota have been put on hold, accusing Indias tax structure as being we dont want you here.

Within a few hours though, the Bengaluru-based company changed tack and issued multiple statements that it remains committed to India and instead of halting investment has lined up Rs 2,000 crore for the country in areas like electric vehicles.

What is the tax structure in India?

All vehicles (except electric vehicles) carry a GST of 28 percent. Different quantum of cess ranging from 1 percent to 22 percent is added after adding GST. This takes the applied duty to within a 29 percent to 50 percent. Passenger vehicles powered by petrol, CNG and LPG engines not bigger than 1.2 litre and which are not longer than 4 meters are taxed at 29 percent. SUVs powered by engines bigger than 1.5 litre and longer than 4 meters are taxed at 50 percent.

Two-wheelers having engines bigger than 350cc are slapped with a cess of 3 percent, taking the total tax on them to 31 percent. 10-13 seater public transport vehicles are taxed at 43 percent, including a 15 percent cess.

Electric vehicles (EVs) do not carry any cess but only a GST of 5 percent. The government in 2019 slashed the GST on EVs from the earlier 12 percent to boost EV adoption.

What was the tax structure before GST?

Before GST was adopted in 2017, the automobile tax structure was not dramatically different. Excise duty, auto cess and VAT (12.5%+1.1%+14%) totalled to nearly 28 percent. Bigger SUVs, cars and luxury vehicles were taxed between 42%-45%. Road Tax and Motor Vehicle Tax was a state subject and thus varied.

The total tax on two-wheelers having engines less than 350cc went down after the adoption of GST. From 30 percent (excise duty, VAT and cess) the current total tax on two-wheelers is 28 percent comprising just GST. Bikes with engines bigger than 350cc have seen an increase of 1 percent to 31 percent compared to pre-GST levels.

How much are cars taxed in other countries?

In the European Union cars carry VAT which ranges between 19-27 percent. Sales tax, registration taxes and taxes on vehicle ownership which includes vehicle weight, engine power and capacity, CO2 emission, fuel consumption vary from country to country bringing the overall tax to around 25 percent.

China, the worlds biggest automotive market, taxes cars in the range of 1 percent to 40 percent depending on the size of the engine. The US, the worlds second largest auto market, levies a registration fee ranging from $26 to $100. The US does not impose a VAT. Instead the individual states and local jurisdictions have been given authority to levy sales and use taxes against purchase.

Why is the tax cut important now?

The need for a cut in taxes is felt more severely now than ever before because of the freefall in demand. Following the COVID-induced lockdown, carmakers are still limping back to normalcy with no certainty of demand ahead.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has made several pleas for a cut in GST since last year but the tight-on-budget government has remained unmoved. The Centre did however say that two-wheelers do not deserve to be classified in the sin and luxury goods category and thus should carry a lower tax. So far no decision has been made on it.

Why is Toyota demanding a tax cut?

The slowdown has hit the large car models more than compact ones, thereby creating further uncertainty for certain companies like Toyota which does not have a compact car developed by itself. Toyota has traditionally been dependent on bigger models such as Fortuner, Land Cruiser and Innova.

With the switchover to Bharat Stage VI Toyota completely exited the compact car space and also the entry mid-size sedan segment where it used to sell the Etios and Etios Liva. Toyota borrowed the Baleno from Maruti Suzuki to sell it as Glanza and is laying the groundwork for launching the next model Urban Cruiser which is essentially a rebadged Maruti Suzuki Brezza.

Is Toyota right in complaining?

Toyota may not be entirely right in demanding a tax cut. Despite entering India in 1997, Toyota has failed to develop even one best-seller in the hatchback segment. The segment generates more than half of Indias annual car volumes.

Riding on just three models, Korean car brand, Kia Motors, sold nearly two times more than Toyota in August. The Japanese company has an eight model line-up in India. Having entered India only in mid-2019, Kia has already grabbed a 5 percent share of the passenger vehicle (PV) market by the end of August. In comparison, Toyota, having entered India 23 years ago, has a PV share of just 2.57 percent.
What makes Kerala a happy hunting ground for Al-Qaeda, ISIS and many more terror groups

Comprehensive Story

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 21: The busting of the Al-Qaeda module in Kerala comes as no surprise as its subsidiary, the Base Movement has been very active in the state.

The National Investigation Agency had last week bust modules of the Al-Qaeda in both Kerala and West Bengal and arrested nine persons. It was revealed that the members of this module were plotting attacks in different parts of the country. Further the NIA said that they had planned on procuring arms from New Delhi and had also received financial assistance from Kerala.

It has been mentioned on several occasions that both the Islamic State as well as the Al-Qaeda have found it easy to make inroads in Kerala. The terror groups work in a different manner in Kerala and it is the spread of the ideology which has been primary focus.

The widespread of the jihadi ideology is evident from the fact of how the Saudis have infested the Wahhabi preachers in Kerala in a bid to stop the rise of the Shia Muslims.

The Al-Qaeda inclined Base Movement, which carried out the blasts in several courts across South India has its roots in Kerala. The birth of the Indian Mujahideen, one of the deadliest home grown terror outfits took place in Kerala, following a famous meeting called as the Wagamon camp meet. Lastly and more recently, over 20 Indians who joined the ISIS Khorasan in Afghanistan are all from Kerala.

Stanley Johny's new book, 'The ISIS Caliphate From Syria to the Doorsteps of India,' says that one of the most affected states by this ISIS influence was India's most socially advanced one. He also wrote that an investigation into the disappearance and subsequent arrests showed how ISIS's online propaganda is radicalising Muslim youth in the state, where Salafism has strong roots.

Three years back, when the National Investigation Agency questioned some Keralite youth who were arrested for their alleged ISIS links, it was learnt that they were all inspired by the lectures of Anwar-al-Awlaki, a radical preacher from the Al-Qaeda.

Further during the questioning of Subhani Haja Moideen, a resident of Kerala it was learnt that ten from the state who had undergone training in Iraq and Syria returned to Kerala.

It was also learnt that Subhani who was in Iraq in the year 2015 was taken to Mosul where he underwent religious training followed by combat training, which also included a course in automated weapons.

Last year the National Investigation arrested a 25 year old man who was missing in connection with an ISIS case. Habeeb Rahman, from Wayanad in Kerala, was arrested in the two-year old ISIS Kasaragod Module case, the agency said in a statement.

"The case relates to the criminal conspiracy hatched by the accused persons from Kasaragod district of Kerala and their associates since Ramadan, 2015, with the intention of joining and furthering the objectives of ISIS Daish," it said.

The agency said that as part of the conspiracy, 14 accused from Kasaragod district had left India or their work places in Middle-East Asia between mid-May and early July, 2016, before travelling to Afghanistan or Syria, where they joined the ISIS (Daish).

It said that accused Nashidul Hamzafar and Habeeb Rehman remained in touch, over encrypted social media platforms, with other the missing accused in this case like Abdul Rashid Abdulla and Ashfak Majeed.

The agencies say that the problem this time around is immense as there is no organisational network involved. Take the case of the 20 odd persons who left Kerala to join the ISIS in Afghanistan.

They were not part of any network and were literally operating as lone wolves. Each of them spread the ideology among each other and after being radicalised left Kerala. Recent actions by the NIA have led to the busting of dedicated ISIS inspired modules. These work like the run of the mill terror groups. However in the Kerala incident no such thing has been found and the intent was to form a group of like minded persons and then support the ISIS ideology.

The police however feel that the driving force was one Abdulla Rashid Abdulla, a 30 year old operative. He is believed to have inspired all these persons to join the Khorasan. He was not part of any organisation in Kerala, but was highly radicalised. Till date he continues to sent out audio messages on Telegram groups and in one of them, he had said that in the next ten years a majority of the people from the state would migrate.

In another clip Rashid said that the ISIS was being launched in Kerala through the Dammaj Salafis. The Dammaj Salafis are a group of extremist Salafis who are opposed to democracy.

He further went on to add that the Dammaj Salafis in Kerala are in touch with the ISIS and are attempting to get many to migrate or Hijra to ISIS controlled areas. He goes on to say that had there been no salafism in Kerala, the state would have continued with the un-Islamic practices of the Sunnis and Sufis.

He says that the Salafi group led by one Zakkariya Swalahi is closest to the ideology of the Islamic State. Most of the Keralalites who have joined the ISIS are associated with this group. He also says that they had attended classes of the group that were held in Kannur, Kozhikode and Pappinasseri.

Dammaj is a small town in Yemen and the place made it to the news after the youth from Kerala joined the ISIS. After getting attracted to spiritual teachings being taught in Dammaj many have been going there to lead a spiritual life.

At the Attikad village near the Neelambur forests in Kerala there are around 150 people who subscribe to the Dammaj Salafi Sect living in seclusion. Back in 2016, the Intelligence Bureau had said that they were looking for a link between this sect and the disappearance of the 21 youth, who finally ended up joining the Islamic State. The agencies are also studying this closely along with the recent audio clip sent out by Rashid.
Gov. Abbott Loosens Restrictions, Caution Urged As Local Cases Rise Governor Greg Abbott announced loosened restrictions on businesses in most areas of the state in a press conference held Thursday, September 17.



The governor issued executive orders expanding occupancy to 75% for restaurants, retail stores, office buildings, manufacturing facilities, gyms, exercise facilities, museums and libraries beginning Monday, September 21.



He also reauthorized elective surgeries in a majority of the state and announced that limited visitation would be allowed at nursing homes and long-term care facilities.



The governor said that hospitalization data is being used to determine where restrictions can be loosened in the state and when they need to be tightened.



In Trauma Service Areas (TSAs) that have had seven consecutive days in which the number of COVID-19 hospitalized patients as a percentage of all hospitalized patients exceeds 15%, restrictions will not be loosened until that number has been under 15% for seven consecutive days.



Currently, 13 counties located in three TSAs in south Texas are prohibited from opening under the new 75% allowance due to a high number of hospitalizations.



Hill County Judge Justin Lewis said that while Hill County has experienced a sharp rise in cases in the past few weeks, the number of new cases in Texas have been slowing down, which prompted Abbott's new orders.



Data released by Lewis Wednesday, September 16, showed that Hill County had added 96 cases in the previous 14 days. Backlogged cases from August were also added to the county's total.



Since the pandemic began, Hill County has had 585 confirmed cases of the virus. The state was listing 359 of those as recovered as of Friday, but Lewis said that he believes that number is an undercount.



"I knew we would get a Labor Day bump, but this is ridiculous," Lewis said in his update. "I am concerned that we had this big of a jump."



The judge said that 24 of the individuals were of school age, and the largest increase has been seen in those in their 20s. Still, there have been increases across all age ranges, he said.



"We need to do a better job of slowing the spread of this disease," said Lewis. "Wearing masks works to slow the spread. Both the data from the CDC and Texas back up my claim."



Referring to the local rise in cases, Lewis said, "We have had a setback, but that doesnt mean we have been beat. We will get through this by working together and looking out for one another. I want businesses open and kids in school. I want life to regain some semblance of normal. To get to these goals, we must slow this virus."



In Abbott's press conference Thursday, he encouraged Texans to remain committed to protecting themselves and others. "Until additional medical treatments are available, we must continue the safe practices that slowed the spread this summer: staying home if you're sick, sanitizing your hands, maintaining safe distances and wearing a mask," the governor said.



"These practices are particularly important now that students are returning to schools and colleges, fans are returning to sporting events and flu season is upon us," Abbott said.



Announcing the loosened restrictions, the governor said that the state must also be mindful of those who are suffering from unprecedented financial challenges due to the pandemic.



Judge Lewis said that any efforts to reopen businesses in a safe and effective manner are appreciated, but he warned that with local cases continuing to rise, it is important that residents take precautions to allow the recovery process to continue.



The new visitation guidance for eligible nursing homes, assisted living facilities, intermediate care facilities, home and community-based service providers, and inpatient hospice facilities goes into effect Thursday, September 24.



Under the new rules, residents will be allowed to designate up to two essential family caregivers who will be provided necessary training to allow them to safely go inside a facility for a scheduled visit, including in the residents room, to help ensure their loved ones physical, social and emotional needs are being met.



Designated caregivers will not be required to maintain physical distancing, but only one caregiver can visit a resident at a time.



A long-term care facility resident or legal representative can designate the essential caregiver, who can be a family member, friend or other individual.



Facilities are required to train essential caregivers on the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other infection control measures. Proper PPE must be used at all times during these scheduled visits, and the caregiver must test negative for COVID-19 within the previous 14 days before the initial visit.



For general visitors who are not a designated essential caregiver, these updated emergency rules will allow approved facilities to schedule outdoor no-contact visits, open-window visits or indoor visitation with the use of safety barriers to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Physical contact between residents and general visitors is not permitted.



Facilities also must continue to meet all additional visitation requirements outlined in the emergency rules.



The governor also announced last week that the state will be receiving millions of 15-minute COVID-19 tests to further assist in the battle against the virus.



Complete guidance from the state regarding the reopening of businesses and other facilities can be found at open.texas.gov.



Following the governor's announcement, Lewis said, "Lets celebrate todays victory and support our businesses as they are allowed to expand operations, but never forget as friends and neighbors we have an obligation to do all we can to protect one another and keep everything moving in the right direction."


Former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard, now jailed for ethics violations, is selling several radio stations in east Alabama, according to Radio Insight.

The report says that Hubbard will sell several properties from his Auburn Networks:

Classic Hits Wings 94.3 WGZZ of Waverly.

News/Talk 1400 WANI Opelika/98.7 W254AY Auburn.

Sports 106.7 W294AR Auburn/WGZZ-HD3.

Soft AC 96.3 WLEE W242AX/WGZZ-HD4.

A pending application for a translator on 105.1 Auburn.

A construction permit for low-power TV WHBD-LD Auburn.

The package will be sold to Lee Perrymans Auburn Networks LLC for $775,000. The deal also includes East Alabama Living magazine, according to the trade site.

Perryman will begin operating the stations no later than Oct. 1. In the sale filing, Hubbard states that the entire $775,000 purchase price will be utilized to pay off creditors. The buyer will also assume $64,982.90 in debt related to equipment, according to the report.

Perryman is the owner of Marble City Media, which owns five stations in Alabama.

Hubbard reported Sept. 11 to begin his prison sentence. Hubbard, 58, was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for violating the state ethics law. He had been out on appeal since. His defense team has indicated that he will file a federal appeal.

A Lee County jury convicted Hubbard of 12 ethics violations. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld 11 of the 12. The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed six of the 11 and overturned five. Hubbard was one of Alabamas most powerful politicians until his conviction, which automatically removed him from office.

Related: 6-year saga: Timeline of Mike Hubbards ethics case

Prosecutors said Hubbard used his public office to enrich himself, partly through consulting contracts.

Hubbard has maintained his innocence since his indictment in 2014 and said the transactions that led to the charges were normal business activities not related to his public office. The six convictions involved consulting contracts with three companies that paid Hubbard a total of $525,000 while he was speaker, from 2012 to 2014.
The Toronto Board of Health has called on the citys medical officer to publicly release data on workplace outbreaks to protect vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

The motion passed unanimously on Monday asks Toronto Public Health to publish information on workplaces hit hard by the coronavirus, as it has done for outbreaks at long-term-care homes, shelters and schools. Currently, little is known or shared publicly about workplace outbreaks apart from those settings.

Public transparency helps ensure that workers and customers are protected, said board chair Joe Cressy (Ward 10, SpadinaFort York).

We know that COVID-19 disproportionately affects people who are marginalized, and living and working in vulnerable settings, he added. Exposing unsafe working conditions is critical to inform public policy to better protect those workers.

Speaking at a daily press briefing Monday, medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa called reducing inequity a fundamental goal of public health.

Insofar as the sharing of relevant information supports that, that is what we seek to do each and every day.

Following the board of healths direction issued Monday, de Villa said the health unit will explore how workplace data can be shared in a manner that appropriately protects privacy.

Last month, a Star investigation found little uniformity in defining and publicizing workplace outbreaks across the province; public health units are not required to report which workplaces are seeing large numbers of COVID cases. In one case, a factory in northwest Toronto saw 184 workers test positive for the virus, but health authorities did not release this information to the public.

At the time, associate medical officer of health Dr. Vinita Dubey said Toronto Public Health did not publish such details when there has been little to no interaction with members of the public, and so the potential risk to the broader public has been low.

The Board of Health motion passed Monday says details of workplace outbreaks should be shared without compromising individual privacy, but Cressy noted transparency around specific workplaces with significant outbreaks was necessary given the scale and severity of the pandemic.

This is not your usual communicable disease outbreak, he said. This is the most significant pandemic weve seen in over 100 years.

Toronto-based emergency room physician Dr. Kate Hayman, who is also a member of the Decent Work and Health Network, said transparency  as the city provides on shelter and long-term-care outbreaks  is key to making evidence-based policy decisions.

When we dont have that information publicly available, its very hard to understand if the right policy pieces are in place, she said.

Access to data on which workplaces are seeing COVID outbreaks could, for example, help paint a picture of the relationship between access to paid sick leave and containing the virus.

People are missing several days of work, just to follow public health advice and get tested, Hayman noted. A lot of those folks might be losing income because of lack of paid sick leave.

Health experts have warned that workplace outbreaks present a risk to the broader community, and noted that collecting and disseminating this data helps identify vulnerable populations.

A report from the Ontario Health Care Coalition found that the lack of public reporting regarding workplace outbreaks makes it difficult to track (and) monitor transmission.

Transparent reporting should be provided to Ontarians about the spread of COVID-19, the report says.

Cressy said he hoped the health unit would release workplace outbreak data within weeks.

Frankly, we needed it yesterday, he said.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Today, on September 21, the Third Republic of Armenia is celebrating its 29th anniversary of Independence.

29 years ago the Armenian people said its decisive yes through a referendum to declare independence. 99,5% of voters voted in favor of Armenia being a democratic independent state outside the USSR. Two days later, on September 23rd, the Supreme Council declared Armenia an independent, sovereign republic.

The declaration of the newly independent Armenia gave the start of the Third Republic of Armenias history. For 29 years already, the bearers of the Armenian statehood are the people of Armenia.

The first Constitution of the Third Republic was adopted on July 5, 1995 through a referendum.

The active Constitution was adopted in November, 2015, again through a referendum.

September 21st is a day of national pride. The centuries-old dream of the Armenian people of having an independent country is reality for already 29 years.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
A Uighur woman and children ride past a propaganda poster showing China's President Xi Jinping joining hands with Uighur elders Xinjiang region - AP

Chinese officials have admitted that birth rates have plummeted among its ethnic Uighurs, fuelling claims that Beijing is subjecting its Muslim minority to a campaign of forced birth control.

Official statistics show that in Xinjiang, the north-western province where most of the 10 million strong Uighur community live, birth rates dropped by almost a third in 2018.

The figures follow accusations that Beijing is attempting to reduce the Uighur population by threatening women with fines or spells in mass detention camps if they flout harsh family planning measures.

At least a million Uighurs are believed to have passed through the detention camps in recent years, which Beijing insists are voluntary schools to teach Uighurs of the dangers of Islamic extremism.

Human rights groups say they are used to eradicate Uighur culture, in tandem with forced abortion and sterilisation policies that amount to "demographic genocide".

A perimeter fence around what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre in Xinjiang - Reuters

The statistics on birth rates were released by Xinjiang to CNN in response to an article by the news organisation in July that alleged widespread mistreatment of Uighur women.

One mother of three, who had already spent time in an internment camp, claimed that Xinjiang officials had told her she would serve extra time there unless she agreed to sterilisation, despite her wanting to have a fourth child.

Chinese officials disputed much of the CNN report, which was based partly on findings by Adrian Zenz, a senior fellow at Washington's Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, who is known for his research on Xinjiang.

But they said that the birth rate in the region had dropped from 15.88 per 1,000 people in 2017 to 10.69 per 1,000 people in 2018. That is a drop of roughly one-third, or the equivalent of 40,000 babies.

Up until 2015, the Chinese government enforced a "one-child" family planning policy countrywide, which allowed most urban couples no more than one baby. Ethnic minorities, such as the Uighurs, were typically allowed to have up to three, although in practice often had many more.

Story continues

Beijing claims the drop in numbers simply reflects family planning policies now being properly enforced for the first time. However, critics have claimed that Uighur women are sometimes threatened with detention if they have more than two children.

Some women also claim to have been given medications in detention camps that stop them menstruating, or implanted against their will with intra-uterine devices to stop further pregnancies.

Police patrolling in Kashgar, a city in China's western Xinjiang region. - AFP

According to the statistics released by Xinjiang officials to CNN, there were almost 1,000 new IUD implants per 100,000 people in Xinjiang in 2018 - or 80 per cent of China's total for the year.

The Xinjiang officials also told CNN that they attributed the drop in the birth rate in 2018 to improved prosperity in Xinjiang, reducing the need for its residents to have as many children. It also denied having birth-control policies tailored for a "single ethnic minority".

"The rights and interests of Uighur and other ethnic minorities have been fully protected," the officials said. "The so-called 'genocide' is pure nonsense."

In response, Mr Zenz claimed that any fall in a natural birth rate would normally take place gradually over a matter of five years or a decade. In a statement to CNN, he also questioned the officials' claims that women who had been sterilised had requested the treatment voluntarily, saying it was unlikely that "17 times more women spontaneously wanted to be sterilised."
Yves here. As Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway said: The good thing about someone elses prejudices is that they either confirm your own, or they make you cross  either of which is a blessing in these bland times. Here Ilargi reveals a biasbut not, as some might suggest, of being pro-Trump, but of seeing this Presidential election as being personality-driven. I doubt that is correct, which is one of the many factors that makes this contest too difficult to call despite Trump lagging in polls.

Historically, marketers did not like psychographic market segmentations because they would cross demographic and geographic lines, which made it difficult to target prospects cost-effectively. With the Internet creating social media outlets that cater to people with particular views, like lovin gunz or believing in Russiagate, suddenly that sort of segmentation is not only viable but may actually be attractive.

As readers know well, Sanders was running on policy, not personality. As one friend said, Sanders has all the charm of your cranky Jewish uncle telling you to take your feet off the coffee table. Under prodding, he did make some small efforts in his 2020 campaign to seem less scold-y by smiling more and telling a bit of his life story. And as readers also know, Sanders had strong support among young voters.

The Democratic party leadership beat Sanders not by having better policies or a more appealing a candidate, but by using what amounts to machine politics: rallying different voter blocs that are loyal to the party either by design or default.

The extension of the machine policy mindset is the Democratic party strategm of invoking tribalism. This is particularly effective because their core, the professional-managerial class, is so convinced of its right to rule via merit that it is almost incapable of seeing itself as a class (see Thomas Franks Listen, Liberal for a brilliant description of its ethnography). But its shadow side, in Jungian terms, of the PMC is its stereotype of the white working class. In their minds, this uneducated, undisciplined lot is getting what it deserves, and having them have influence is an affront to the proper ordering of society. Hillarys deplorables remark was no accident. Time recapped what she said:

You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trumps supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? Clinton said. The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobicyou name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. She said the other half of Trumps supporters feel that the government has let them down and are desperate for change. Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well, she said.

What is the subtext of Hillarys remark? That Trumps voters are lower income and less educated. The less educated part is correct, the lower income is not. From the Washington Post:

Moreover, according to what is arguably the next-best measure of class, household income, Trump supporters didnt look overwhelmingly working class during the primaries. To the contrary, many polls showed that Trump supporters were mostly affluent Republicans. For example, a March 2016 NBC survey that we analyzed showed that only a third of Trump supporters had household incomes at or below the national median of about $50,000. Another third made $50,000 to $100,000, and another third made $100,000 or more and that was true even when we limited the analysis to only non-Hispanic whites. If being working class means being in the bottom half of the income distribution, the vast majority of Trump supporters during the primaries were not working class. But what about education? Many pundits noticed early on that Trumps supporters were mostly people without college degrees. There were two problems with this line of reasoning, however. First, not having a college degree isnt a guarantee that someone belongs in the working class (think Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg). And, second, although more than 70 percent of Trump supporters didnt have college degrees, when we looked at the NBC polling data, we noticed something the pundits left out: during the primaries, about 70 percent of all Republicans didnt have college degrees, close to the national average (71 percent according to the 2013 Census). Far from being a magnet for the less educated, Trump seemed to have about as many people without college degrees in his camp as we would expect any successful Republican candidate to have. What about the general election? A few weeks ago, the American National Election Study  the longest-running election survey in the United States  released its 2016 survey data. And it showed that in November 2016, the Trump coalition looked a lot like it did during the primariesmany of the voters without college educations who supported Trump were relatively affluent.

It isnt hard to imagine that higher income/less educated voters would resent the preening of the credentialed elites and would find Trumps total lack of respect for what they hold dear to be attractive. But the gods look to have handed Biden a gift with the timing of Ruth Bader Ginsburgs death. Its galvanizing Democratic Party donations and will probably persuade some voters who werent terribly keen about Biden to go to the effort of voting for him.

By Ilargi, the editor of The Automatic Earth. Originally published at The Automatic Earth

I was going to make this the shortest essay Ive ever written. Trump Will Win Because of Energy. Period. But wouldnt you know, things start popping up on exactly the topic it was going to be about The difference in energy between Donald Trump and Joe Biden should be obvious to everyone, including Biden supporters, though they will try to ignore it, as well as the role energy plays in a campaign, as it does in life in general -not just human life either-.

People recognize energy, they feel it. its a primal thing, directly linked to survival. It doesnt get recognized at a rational level, but somewhere much deeper. And its not even so much that Trumps energy levels are above average, for a 74-year old (though they appear to be), but that Bidens are so far below average  or perhaps exactly what you would expect for a 77-year old, which is why so few of them are running for president of the United States, a job that I think we would all agree requires a lot of energy.

When you take out of the equation which person you like or not, when you disregard their policy proposals, and you only look at energy levels, the difference is vast. And people will catch on to this. The first debate is in 9 days, September 29, and how do you prepare Biden for that? Trump last night suggested his handlers do it by applying big, fat shots in the ass, but even that wouldnt do it.

Trump doesnt need to hammer this point home too hard, it will be obvious no matter what. It may even be better for him to show compassion for Biden. One of the main instructions from his team will undoubtedly be to NOT go after Joe Biden so hard it will make him stutter. Because that would make Trump look like a bully, and give Biden points on compassion from the audience.

But I doubt Trump will be able to help himself. And perhaps, at least from his point of view, he should just be and remain who he is. Because that worked four years ago. Will these be the best-watched debates in history? Quite possibly. Meanwhile, as Trump yesterday worked all day -if we are to believe the reports- and then campaigned all night in Fayetteville NC, Biden was MIA.

That by now is a pattern. As is the mysterious lack of door-to-door campaigning by the Biden team. It may not be impossible to win that way, but it certainly would be a first. And it makes the team look like they have a similar energy level to Biden himself (In another mystery, we see people talk about finding it hard to get yard signs for the Biden campaign).

That leaves you with the impression that the Biden team really has just one message: Orange Man Bad. Not: vote *for* me, but vote *against* the other guy. the racist/rapist who killed 200,000 Americans and offends our troops. That in turn appears to signal that what energy there is, is negative energy. Doesnt look like a winning formula.

But if the media, including social media, keep on pumping out that same message 24/7, who knows how many people will buy into it? After all, Twitter and Facebook et al are even more important influencers today than they were in 2016. Then again, the Trump people seemed to be much stronger on social media back then, and why would they have squandered that advantage? But then again, again, they werent constantly censored and banned then.

Trump last night in Fayetteville:

Big, Fat Shots In The Ass: Trump Again Suggests Biden Is On Energizing Drugs

Donald Trump has mercilessly taunted Joe Biden, telling supporters that his Democratic nemesis must be taking performance-enhancing substances and should undergo a drug test. Trump reiterated previous casual accusations that Biden is too senile to be a good fit for the US presidents office while talking to a crowd of supporters in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Using his nickname for his Democratic opponent, Trump said that Sleepy Joe is appearing conspicuously efficient during debates and public events. Dont underestimate [him], hes been doing this for 47 years. And I got a debate coming up with this guy, Trump said as he grinned, before suggesting that performance-enhancing substances were behind Bidens efficiency. You never know, they gave him a big, fat shot in the ass and he comes out, Trump claimed as his audience laughed. And for two hours hes better than ever before. The problem is, what happens after that, the Republican president added. Adding insult to the injury, Trump said offering a drug test to Biden is an option. Remarkably, this is not the first time the 74-year-old president has accused his 77-year-old rival of being on drugs. Over a week ago, he fanned the claim while speaking to Fox. I think theres probably, possibly, drugs involved, Trump told host Jeanine Pirro. I dont know how you can go from being so bad where you cant even get out a sentence he speculated without finishing the sentence. Trump and Biden are expected to face each other during debates in Cleveland on September 29, in Miami on October 15, and in Nashville on October 22. Their vice-presidential nominees Mike Pence and Kamala Harris will have a one-on-one in Salt Lake City on October 7.

In that same vein, there was also this from Irishman Graham Dockery on August 27:

Trump Has Called On Biden To Take A Drug Test. Why Dont Both Old Guys Take This Idea Seriously?

Trump is 74 years old and Biden 77. If elected, Biden would be the oldest president in history, and would assume office at the same age Ronald Reagan left the White House  himself exhibiting the telltale signs of Alzheimers disease. If Trump wins, hell beat Reagans record by one year. Ten percent of white Americans over the age of 65 suffer from Alzheimers and related dementias. After 65, the risk of dementia doubles every five years. Even if Biden was speaking coherently, he would have a one-third chance of developing dementia by the end of his first term. Likewise, while Trump may appear sharp, hes twice as likely to be losing his marbles now than he was in 2016. Modern drugs can mask the symptoms of cognitive decline fairly well. Donepezil, Galantamine, Memantine and Rivastigmine are all used to boost memory, attention and the ability to perform simple tasks  like using a phone. Aside from these prescription medications, a candidate looking for a quick pre-debate fix could swallow some Adderall, a legal amphetamine that boosts cognition, short term memory and attention span, not to mention whatever experimental cocktails these two might have access to. Im not suggesting that either candidate is a chattering speed-freak. Trumps opponents have beaten that drum before, accusing the president of railing Adderall every time he sniffs in a speech. Biden, on the other hand, looks like a man who could use an infusion from Doctor Feelgood. But it would be nice to know for sure. Most Americans would likely balk at the idea of sending a medicated husk to negotiate with allies and outwit adversaries. Let the two men competing for this position lay their cards on the table, and let the American public use this information to inform their decision. After all, this is the leader of the free world were talking about, the man who, with a flick of his finger, could doom the planet to nuclear holocaust. Its probably best if this leader remembers where he left the tapioca pudding.

Note that by now Trumps advantage on energy says little about how the 2020 election will eventually be decided. Its no longer possible for the US to NOT to sink into a deep quagmire because of mail-in ballots and the many days it may take to count them, the hundreds of lawyers that will be involved in various stages of that process -including many lawsuits-, and the Supreme Court, which will be a major election issue before November 3, and a possible/probable deciding factor sometime after that date.

Add to this that having the most votes, or even the highest numbers in the Electoral College system, no longer guarantees you a victory -because: lawyers and because: states may try to tamper with that system- and you end up with the most godawful mess ever. You would think everyone in Washington has an interest in not letting the city devolve into a circus tent where the clowns end up fighting the lions and tigers, but apparently they all have more important things to consider.

And all the time Im thinking, guys, take care of your country, at least someone take care of it, youre going to have to live in it together next year and the year after that etc.
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem has claimed that the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has been cold-calling US citizens to urge them to vote in Novembers presidential election.

Ms Markle, who stepped back from royal duties alongside her husband Prince Harry when they moved to Los Angeles in March, sat down with the 86-year-old for a backyard chat last month, according to the Daily Mail.

During the discussion, the two discussed a range of issues facing the US in the upcoming election, including womens rights, voter suppression and representation.

The former Suits star was raised in Los Angeles, and Ms Steinem revealed to Access Hollywood last week that the Duchess said that she has been cold-calling Americans to urge them to vote in November.

Ms Steinem said: She came home to vote. The first thing we did, and why she came to see me, was we sat at the dining room table where I am right now and we cold-called voters.

Said hello Im Meg and hello Im Gloria and are you going to vote? That was her initiative.

Ms Steinem, described the 39-year-old as smart and political and added that she had the royal stereotype hanging over her head.

Since stepping back from royal duty in March, Ms Markle has become more outspoken on politics, and has repeatedly highlighted the importance of voting in the upcoming US election.

Earlier in the year, an insider told the Mail that Ms Markle had become frustrated with the constraints of being a royal, as members of the family are generally expected to be politically neutral.

The Duchess is said to be frustrated that she was forced to stay out of politics after getting engaged to Harry, the source said.

She has strong political opinions and will now take advantage of the greater freedom she has to express them publicly, they added.

Ms Markle has not publicly stated who she is supporting in the upcoming election, but in 2016 branded Donald Trump misogynistic and divisive shortly after he had been elected president.

The Duchess also told Ms Steinem last month that she was excited to see that Kamala Harris had been picked as the running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Ms Harris will be the first African American, Asian American and woman to serve as vice president if the Democrats win in November, and the Duchess said: Im so excited to see that kind of representation.

She added: You know, for me, being biracial, growing up, whether it was a doll or a person in office, you need to see someone who looks like you in some capacity.

As many of us believe, you can only be what you can see. And in the absence of that, how can you aspire to something greater than what you see in your own world?

I think maybe now were starting to break-through in a different way.
WASHINGTON -- Researchers have demonstrated a new endoscope that uniquely combines photoacoustic and fluorescent imaging in a device about the thickness of a human hair. The device could one day provide new insights into the brain by enabling blood dynamics to be measured at the same time as neuronal activity.

"Combining these imaging modalities could improve our understanding of the brain's structure and behavior in specific conditions such as after treatment with a targeted drug," said research team leader Emmanuel Bossy from the CNRS/ Universite Grenobe Alpes Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Physique. "The endoscope's small size helps minimize damage to tissue when inserting it into the brains of small animals for imaging."

In The Optical Society (OSA) journal Biomedical Optics Express, Bossy's research team, in collaboration with Paul C. Beard's team from University College London, describe their new multi-modality endoscope and show that it can acquire photoacoustic and fluorescent images of red blood cells and fluorescent beads.

Two images are better than one

Acquiring fluorescence and photoacoustic images with the same device provides automatically co-registered images with complementary information. Fluorescent signals, which are created when a fluorescent marker absorbs light and re-emits it with a different wavelength, are most useful for labeling specific regions of tissue. On the other hand, photoacoustic images, which capture an acoustic wave generated after the absorption of light, do not require labels and thus can be used to image blood dynamics, for example.

The new endoscope uses a technique called optical wavefront shaping to create a focused spot of light at the imaging tip of a very small multi-mode optical fiber. "Light propagating into a multi-mode fiber is scrambled, making it impossible to see through the fiber," said Bossy. "However, this type of fiber is advantageous for endoscopy because it is extremely small compared to the bundles of imaging fibers used for many medical endoscopic devices."

To see through the multi-mode optical fiber, the researchers used the spatial light modulator to send specific light patterns through the fiber and create a focus spot at the imaging end. When the focus spot hits the sample, it creates a signal that can be used to build up an image point by point by raster scanning the spot over the sample. Although other researchers have used multimode fibers for fluorescence endoscopy, the new work represents the first time that photoacoustic imaging has been incorporated into this type of endoscope design. Adding sound sensitivity

The researchers added photoacoustic imaging by incorporating an additional, very thin optical fiber with a special sensor tip that is sensitive to sound. Because commercially available fiber optic acoustic sensors are not sensitive or small enough for this application, the researchers used a very sensitive fiber optic sensor recently developed by Beard's research team.

"The focused spot of light allows us to build the image pixel by pixel while also increasing the strength of fluorescence and photoacoustic signals because it concentrates the light at the focal spot," explained Bossy. "This concentrated light combined with a sensitive detector made it possible to obtain images using only one laser pulse per pixel, whereas commercial fiber optic acoustic sensors would have required many laser pulses."

The researchers fabricated a prototype microendoscope that measured just 250 by 125 microns squared and used it to image fluorescent beads and blood cells using both imaging modalities. They successfully detected multiple 1-micron fluorescent beads and individual 6-micron red blood cells.

Because fluorescence endoscopy in rodent's brain has been performed by other scientists, the researchers are confident that their dual modality device will work in similar conditions. They are now continuing work to increase the device's acquisition speed, with a goal of acquiring a few images per second.

###

Paper: S. Mezil, A. M. Caravaca-Aguirre, E. Z. Zhang, P. Moreau, I. Wang, P. C. Beard, E. Bossy, "Single-shot hybrid photoacoustic-fluorescent microendoscopy through a multimode fiber with wavefront shaping," Biomed. Opt. Express, volume 11, issue 10, pp. 5717-5727 (2020).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.400686. About Biomedical Optics Express

Biomedical Optics Express is OSA's principal outlet for serving the biomedical optics community with rapid, open-access, peer-reviewed papers related to optics, photonics and imaging in biomedicine. The journal scope encompasses fundamental research, technology development, biomedical studies and clinical applications. It is published monthly by The Optical Society and edited by Christoph Hitzenberger, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Biomedical Optics Express is online at OSA Publishing.

About The Optical Society

Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional organization for scientists, engineers, students and business leaders who fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings and membership initiatives, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of optics and photonics experts. For more information, visit osa.org.

Media Contact: mediarelations@osa.org
Trailer for COUP 53, a new documentary on the joint CIA-MI6 operation to overthrow the democratically elected government of Iran.

The coup that toppled a democratically elected government in Iran in August 1953 and replaced it with a tyrannical monarchy that lasted 25 years was an intelligence operations whose effects are still felt to this day.

A new documentary recounts the crime with special attention to the often-overlooked role (at least in the United States) of the British.

(If you live in the United States, you can stream COUP 53 here. If you live in the United Kingdom, you can stream here. As with all quality journalism, it will cost you something.)

From the nonprofit National Security Archive, which found some of the key documents cited in the film.

Britains Secret Intelligence Service  MI6  took part in the 1953 kidnapping of the chief of police of Tehran, Iran, according to a recently recovered interview of an ex-MI6 operative that is featured in a new documentary film, COUP 53. The full interview transcript has been posted for the first time by the National Security Archive.

The MI6 operative was a named Norman Darbyshire, described as:

elusive figure who was a key contributor to Britains clandestine approach toward Iran in the early 1950s and whose final words on the coup, provided for the Granada Television series End of Empire, were never aired.

In the interview, Darbyshire said that the Americans took too much credit for ousting Prime Ministers Mohammed Mossadegh, and replacing him with a general. Mossadegh was described as a communist sympathizer because he was calling for the British petroleum company to pay the same royalty fee that American oil companies paid to the Saudis.

What helps make this item noteworthy is the near-total lack of publicly available official records on Britains role during the oil nationalization crisis starting in 1951. Closing in on 70 years after the fact, authorities continue to withhold archival records about the coup. (The Americans in 2017 published what will probably be the last significant official release of their records, although more are known to still be classified.)

Source: COUP 53: New Documentary on Overthrow of Irans Mosaddeq | National Security Archive

MORE: Irans intelligence services today.
Loading A Victorian doctor said PPE guidelines "have been completely inadequate and way too slow." "I work where over 100 people are now infected," the doctor said. "This was completely preventable." Healthcare workers from both states complained about an ongoing lack of fit testing of respirator masks, leaving them exposed through leaks in ill-fitting P2 or N95 masks when they were provided. "Labouring women do not wear a mask - they breathe heavily all over the obstetrician who is between their legs," said a NSW obstetrician, who reported fighting for months with hospital administrators to get a fit-tested N95 mask for use with suspected COVID-19 patients.

"This is a failure of leadership," Dr Ananda-Rajah said. "Our organisational leaders who are directly responsible for our safety have steadfastly adhered to a failing strategy that has resulted in over 3200 healthcare worker infections." Australian Medical Association Victorian board member and emergency physician Sarah Whitelaw said an ongoing lack of mask fit testing and slow progress on addressing cramped working spaces risked holding back the state from getting on top of COVID-19. Victoria still has hundreds of infected healthcare workers across its hospitals and aged care facilities, with many more in isolation. Dr Whitelaw said NSW, where a hospital cluster is growing, must heed Victoria's mistakes and "learn from what we've been through."

She warned if Victoria dropped the ball on infection control, "we're looking at potentially holding up the rest of the community at being able to come out of restrictions." Loading "Now is the time to throw absolutely everything at this," she said. A group of doctors wrote to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant on Friday, urging them to upgrade personal protective equipment guidelines to allow healthcare workers to wear N95 or P2 masks while treating suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in areas with community transmission. Paediatric cardiologist Kate Jardine, who drafted the letter, said she believed the improvement in healthcare workers infections in Victoria had come as "a result of them bringing in N95 masks", along with improvements such as separating COVID-19 patients.

"The biggest travesty was that they kept saying 'a surgical mask will be fine', yet a huge number of doctors wearing surgical masks in Melbourne were infected," she said. "There is so much evidence for aerosol transmission now." Dr Jardine said she wanted fit testing of P2 and N95 masks to be rolled out across NSW and for "all staff and visitors in NSW hospitals to be wearing surgical masks." A NSW Health spokeswoman said the feedback would be considered "in line with our established clinical governance and PPE strategy". Victorian health authorities were initially reluctant to provide the higher level masks unless COVID-19 patients were undergoing aerosol-generating procedures such as intubation, waiting until hundreds of healthcare workers had been infected before agreeing to do so.

NSW follows the national guidelines set by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee's Infection Control Expert Group, which say a surgical mask is sufficient for most interactions with COVID-19 patients because airborne particles are not a "significant" mode of transmission. Mr Hunt announced on September 9 that a new panel of frontline staff would be established to work with the national expert body on infection control guidelines, but the panel was yet to be appointed on Saturday. Victoria went beyond the guidelines to give all healthcare workers in hospitals access to P2 and N95 masks while treating patients in COVID-19 wards from July 31. Dr Whitelaw said better governance and leadership was needed so that healthcare workers were listened to and PPE guidelines could be quickly upgraded as needed.
Sisters in Film (SIF), known in Arabic as rawiyat (the feminine term for storytellers), is a collective of nine emerging filmmakers from across the Arab world. Having struggled to make their debuts, these artists all found it even harder to make a second film, and decided to join forces to pool knowhow, facilitate their own artistic journeys and extend solidarity to other woman filmmakers. The Paris-based initiative will be launched during the upcoming, fourth round of El Gouna Film Festival (GFF, 23-31 October).



Naziha Arebi (Libya/UK), Yasmina Chouikh (Algeria), Danielle Davie (Lebanon), Myriam El Hage (Lebanon), Dorothee Myriam Kellou (Algeria/France), Dina Naser (Jordan), Erige Sehiri (Tunisia), Lina Soualem (Palestine/Algeria/France) and Kawthar Younis (Egypt) are proposing a kind of syndicate or union in which all Arab countries and diaspora Arabs can be represented. Enabling women to function in a safe environment that shields them from the fiercely competitive environment of the film industry, SIF is the first of its kind.

The story began in 2019 when the nine women met in Tunis and again in Rabat-Sale, Morocco for a workshop designed by the artistic director of Sale Film Festival Hicham Falah, part of the Med Films regional programme. As the SIF concept presentation puts it, this was when they realised how many struggles we had in common: isolation, legal and financial challenges, social safety net, moral and sexual harassment, lack of psychological support, difficulty to access information. All of us felt a lack of a network and solidarity not only in the region but globally.

Dina Naser is the Palestinian-Jordanian director of the award-winning Tiny Souls (2019), which follows the daily life of a little girl named Marwa at the refugee camp to which she flees Syria with her family, screened at the IDFA and GFF as well as many other prestigious festivals. For Naser the collective is a response to the first-film trauma suffered by Arab woman filmmakers, which resulted in many giving up their careers altogether.

We work in a cruel, aggressive environment controlled by men and closed circles, she says. At least the nine of us can make nine films happen, and we can support others who are making their first or second film. But she does not feel that the way to do this is to keep men out. There will be collaboration with male filmmakers too. We want to break out of the stereotype imposed on us and the assumption that a female initiative is exclusive to women. Our aim is to create an alternative but inclusive atmosphere where there is room for everyone.



SIFs working plan is still being drafted but Naser stresses the censorial challenges specific to woman directors. For example, as a Jordanian woman filmmaker I have to make all kinds of calculations before I can approach certain subjects. There are many taboo subjects in the Arab world and they are perceived differently when tackled by a woman. In the end we have to have what it takes not to lose our passion and this is just not easy. That is not to mention the lack of specialist skills and financial support since art is seldom prioritised. All of which impacts the industry. Filmmaking is a lifetimes journey and we want to make it more pleasant by building an alternative space governed by solidarity and creativity, and making it available not only directors, producers, writers, but also to technicians in every field of filmmaking.



The Egyptian Kawthar Younis made her debut, the feature-length documentary A Present from the Past (2016), during her third year at Cairos Higher Cinema Institute. But when it came to her second film it turned out the lack of a creative producer was her greatest challenge. A filmmaker cannot make a film based solely on the way she conceives it. There has to be a producer to take ideas further through discussion. One reason our films are not appealing worldwide is that their creative potential isnt explored. The collective could play this role, however: as woman filmmakers they could bounce ideas off each other, aware of the challenges they face in terms of opportunities, space and the ability not just to reach a point but to maintain and build on achievements.



The Lebanese Myriam El Hages A time to Rest (2015) is a personal journey into the horrors of the civil war through the minds of her uncle Riad and his friends. I personally joined SIF because it was so difficult to make my second film, she says, that I felt needed help. I needed people. I needed solidarity. When a female filmmaker makes her second film in her thirties, she faces all the social pressures of starting a family, having kids, and embracing her passion at the same time. It is very important to push women to continue, to make a second film. Because this is where we lose women in the film industry. We should stand by each other and not be part of the industrys competitive game. If we lose our selfish spirit and start taking a helpful and supportive attitude instead, that is what its all about.



In our region, says Danielle Davie, another Lebanese filmmaker, co-directed Embodied Chorus, which won GFFs best project in development two years ago, a female filmmakers biggest challenge is to be taken seriously. The film industry is dominated by men. Here in Lebanon, because we dont have an industry, lots of women work in the media production field but not in filmmaking. There is a different attitude to women even in film schools, and it is not obvious but you can feel it. My challenge is to achieve equality and equity, and help make society ready to listen to womens stories. Our stories dont look at the world in the same way as mens, and this is another challenge. Joining SIF will help to overcome this through solidarity, networking and sharing experience. Maybe one consequence will be changing the way films are funded and produced. For me it is a kind of movement.



For her part Lina Soualem does not believe the initiative is there to change the industry but to empower female filmmakers within it. She is currently developing her second feature documentary after her debut, Their Algeria (2019), which won best doc-in-progress at Canness Doc Corner and was selected to premiere at the Visions du Reel International Film Festival 2020.



I dont think were going to change the industry which is full of difficulties and competition, Soualem says, but we want to bring more solidarity and less competition to relations between filmmakers. Filmmaking is lonely business and if youre a woman you face the obstacle of having to justify yourself, to prove yourself, because people will not trust you as easily with grants or backing. It is important to build a network where the more privileged female filmmakers whose films have already been made and screened at international film festivals can connect with more isolated filmmakers who dont have the same opportunities in terms of travelling and connections.



In the Arab world filmmaking presents psychological challenges, she says: The topics tend to be heavy: political unrest, the trauma of war and colonisation. It is psychologically difficult to make a piece of art tackling social-political issues and to defend your vision and to find money in the West and in the Arab world and to present your project to people all at the same time, and the kind of solidarity SIF provides allows those who have more power and knowhow to share it with the others, she explains.



The Algerian Dorothee Myriam Kellou, SIF president, made In Mansourah, you separated us (2019), which follows her journey with her father Malek back to Mansourah, the village where he was born, for the first time since the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962). Experiencing both worlds she understands Arab woman filmmakers difficulties. We tackle issues that are not very well received in society. In my film I work on colonialism in France and it is still very much a silent topic for which it is hard to find funding and emotional support. When I started my project I was very lonely and felt extremely emotionally isolated. There is also a double pressure on female filmmakers as they should not be free to do what they want, where the balance between your family life, your personal life, and your work life becomes a major concern.



As a woman travelling and working alone you may face sexual harassment too. You may be punished for not allowing yourself to be manipulated as a professional, or you may not be taken seriously. When I was shooting in Algeria, they used to call me by the word tofla, which means young woman. I was also separated from my male crew during mealtimes. That had its positive side, allowing me to connect with the women who let me show their poetry and songs in the film, but it was still segregation that, having no power as a woman director, I had to give in to. That is the importance of SIF: empowering women. We have so much energy to put into the collective. It will grow through the initiatives of its members. Once it is open to other female filmmakers it will also be the initiative of new sisters in film. That is how it will grow.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 17 September, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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A Chinese student victim of a bizarre virtual kidnapping where a man posing as a police officer extorted her family out of $213,000 has been found safe and well.

The 18-year-old, who lives in Sydney, was reported missing by worried friends just before 2am on September 8.

Photos and videos of the student being held at an unknown location were sent to her family over the Chinese messaging app WeChat.

The man in the video claimed to be from the Chinese police and demanded her family pay a ransom in exchange for her safe release.

Photos and videos of the student being held at an unknown location (pictured) were sent to her family over the Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat

Another person could be seen in the room with her in one of the images.

According to NSW Police, the scam started in July when the teenager got an email from people claiming to be Chinese authorities.

The fraudsters said her details had been illegally used on a package that was intercepted overseas.

After the woman was reported missing a strike force was launched with special investigators from the NSW State Crime Command, along with local detectives, to find the missing woman.

On Tuesday, less than a week later, she was found safe and well in Pyrmont, near Sydney CBD.

Police then established a crime scene at an apartment in Chatswood in the city's north where they spoke with a 22-year-old man.

The man in the video (pictured) claimed to be from the Chinese police and demanded her family pay a ransom in exchange for her safe release

The woman believed the scammers were following orders from Chinese police and agreed not to contact her friends and family while she hid in an apartment, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Police confirmed that more than $213,000 had been transferred into an offshore account since July.

Less than two months ago NSW police warned the community about virtual kidnapping scams targeting Chinese students studying in Australia.

Police confirmed that more than $213,000 had been transferred into an offshore account since July. Pictured: The woman who was 'kidnapped'

'It appears these scammers are continuing to operate and are once again preying on the vulnerabilities of individuals in the community who are not in direct physical contact with their families,' he said.

'The individuals behind these "virtual kidnapping" scams continually adapt their scripts and methodology which are designed to take advantage of people's trust in authorities.'

Officers have been assured by the Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney that no one claiming to be from a Chinese authority will contact a student via phone and demand money.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21) The Philippine government is determined to prove wrong allegations of human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings amid ramped-up calls from the global community to address the issues.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said Monday he will personally ensure that the government will effectively debunk claims of human rights violations, which recently hogged the international spotlight following the European Unions push to impose trade sanctions against the Philippines.

I am concerned on that. I will make sure na yung mga allegations na yun, mapatunayan natin na hindi totoo (that those allegations are proven false), Ano told CNN Philippines The Source.

The EU Parliament last week adopted a resolution pushing for immediate trade sanctions against the Philippines over what its members described as a rapidly deteriorating human rights" situation under President Rodrigo Dutertes administration.

The resolution called on the European Commission to initiate the procedure for the temporary withdrawal of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) program granted by the 27-nation bloc to the Philippines "in the absence of any substantial improvement and willingness to cooperate on the part of the Philippine authorities."

Ano, for his part, still welcomed the criticisms, saying that such comments will pave the way for a review of the existing policies of the government, including that of the flagship anti-drug campaign.

He stressed, however, that the Duterte administration has never tolerated any policy on extrajudicial killings.

Rest assured, it has never been a policy of this government and the Philippine National Police to violate human rights, much more (condone) extrajudicial killings, the DILG chief said. We will continue to remind and we will continue to prosecute anyone who violate those rules, violate human rights of our Filipino citizens.

In a House budget hearing on Monday, a lawmaker described as too much and abusive the move taken by the EU Parliament.

Deputy Speaker Luis Raymond LRay Villafuerte said this in response to the EUs statements on specific issues, such as the cyber libel conviction of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, and the decision of the House not to grant media giant ABS-CBN a fresh franchise.

Sumosobra na po itong European Parliament. While we want to continue good relations with them, siguro yung ibang members sa kanila ay masyadong nagiging personal, he said.

[Translation: These interventions by the European Parliament are too much. While we want to continue good relations with them, some of their members are being too personal.]

Vice President Leni Robredo, citing data from the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, had warned that over 200,000 Filipinos could lose their jobs should the sanctions push through. The Trade Department earlier said it is already in communication with the EU Commission regarding the issue.

More killings amid pandemic? We have to verify that

Ano meanwhile said authorities would still have to verify the data citing that drug-war linked deaths have risen in the past few months while the country battled the COVID-19 pandemic.

The official was pertaining to a report by the New York-based Human Rights Watch, which said that the Philippine governments anti-drug campaign worsened during the health crisis.

We have to verify that Those are allegations from critics, from the leftist groups, from human rights groups. We are checking those data. I really do not agree, Ano argued.

According to HRW, drug-linked killings for the April to July 2020 period  when strict community quarantine measures were imposed increased by 50 percent compared to the previous four-month period.

According to the latest government data, 5,810 people have died during anti-drug operations since July 2016, when Duterte took office. However, rights groups both here and abroad argue that thousands more have died in extrajudicial killings, a claim the government has repeatedly denied.

CNN Philippines' Alyssa Rola, Lara Tan, and Danielle Nakpil contributed to this report.
The Taoiseach has raised the prospect of further counties being placed under the same tightened coronavirus restrictions in force in Dublin.

Micheal Martin highlighted Louth, Donegal and Waterford as areas giving rise for concern.

He said experts on the National Public Health Emergency Team would be carefully considering whether to advise Government that restrictions should be tightened in those counties.

Louth, Donegal and Waterford are giving rise for concern. Micheal Martin

Dublin is currently subject to Level 3 restrictions under the Governments Covid-19 five-tier response plan, with the rest of the country at Level 2.

The stricter measures in place in the capital include a ban on indoor social gatherings; a requirement for pubs and restaurants to only serve food outdoors, while travel in and out of the county has been limited to work, education and essential purposes.

Mr Martin warned that other counties could soon move to Level 3.

His remarks came as pubs that do not serve food prepared to reopen, everywhere apart from Dublin, six months after thousands of publicans closed their doors.

Nphet will advise us on a continuing basis in relation to the rest of the country, the Taoiseach told Newstalk.

Certainly Louth, Donegal and Waterford are giving rise for concern, and the CMO (chief medical officer) has said this to us, Ronan Glynn, and obviously that will be closely monitored.

It is a significant decision to move up to Level 3 for any county, so that would be carefully considered and obviously Nphet will advise government in relation to those counties and the broader situation.

The Department of Health said on Monday that an additional 188 new cases of Covid-19 had been confirmed in Ireland, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 33,121.

No further deaths linked to the pandemic were recorded.

Some 71% of the new cases were individuals under the age of 45 and more than a third of the cases were confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or were close contacts of a confirmed case.

76 cases were in Dublin, 25 in Cork, 21 in Donegal, 16 in Kildare, 13 in Galway, 7 in Roscommon and 7 in Waterford, with the remaining 23 cases spread across 12 counties.

Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said people needed to encourage their family and friends to heed the Governments public health measures.

The spirit of the response to Covid-19 since the outset of this pandemic has been solidarity and co-operation. While this pandemic is a uniquely challenging time for everyone, we can and will support one another in getting through this, he said.

Encourage your family and friends to heed the public health advice. Now more than ever, we need to work collectively. Our individual actions count on a population level.

Every one of us doing our bit in our daily lives  halving our social contacts, working from home, keeping our distance, wearing a face covering, washing our hands  matters a great deal. These small, positive steps taken together amount to our best and strongest defence against the virus.

Earlier on Monday, a public health expert urged people to reduce their social contacts to those who are a priority.

Professor Philip Nolan, chairman of the epidemiological modelling advisory group, warned every social interaction carries a risk and advised people, particularly those living in Dublin, to cut their social contacts by half.

This is why I limit my social contacts, avoid congregation and crowded spaces, wash my hands, keep my distance, wear a face covering. If I dont, I constrain and risk the lives of valuable, valued, but vulnerable members of our society. 8/8  Professor Philip Nolan (@PhilipNolan_SFI) September 20, 2020

Prof Nolan, a member of Nphet, said after 396 cases of Covid-19 were reported on Sunday: I was a little bit taken aback when I opened the file yesterday afternoon to find that was the number so its a warning to us, if a warning was needed, to treat this virus very seriously.

I dont think we should panic or be excessively anxious when we see these numbers. It requires a calm response. We still can get this virus under control.

We did expect numbers to continue to rise in the course of this week and would hope to see a change in the following week and the week after.

It is a reminder to everyone to observe those basic measures and to reduce our social contacts to those that are a priority.

He added the dynamics of viral transmission is that you go in quickly and reverse out slowly.

You can go to the pub outside Dublin, the question is should you and how often? Philip Nolan

The Nphet member said if people in Dublin work hard to follow new restrictions, at best there will be a stabilisation or a downward trend in cases.

He added, if the average number of cases stabilises in 10 days, the restrictions are working.

Asked about the reopening of pubs, he said: You can go to the pub outside Dublin, the question is should you and how often?

Its not that we want people to have no social contact.

Social contact is important for our welfare and mental health.

For peoples welfare we want them to on some level have social interaction but every social interaction carries a risk.
Police in Ohio are searching for a man who walked into a family's home and opened fire early this morning, killing a four-year-old boy and wounding four adults.

The mass shooting took place at around 2am on Monday inside a two-story home in the 100 block of Perry Street in Struthers on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

Struthers Police Chief Tim Roddy said during a press briefing this afternoon that the gunman made his way inside the home and began yelling at the people inside.

Scroll down for video

Rowan Sweeny, 4, was shot dead and his mother, Alexis Schneider, 22, was wounded in a mass shooting in Ohio this morning

Police in Struthers, Ohio, are investigating the shooting that killed the child and left four adults injured overnight

Police say a gunman burst into a home on Perry Street and opened fire, killing the child and injuring four adults - two men and two women - in their 20s

Before the residents had a chance to respond, the intruder opened fire inside the living room, reported WKBN27.

Roddy identified the deceased child this afternoon as four-year-old Rowan Sweeney. He died in the arms of his mother, 22-year-old Alexis Scheider, who was also shot.

Struthers Police Chief Tim Roddy gives a press conference on the investigation into the shooting on Monday

Yarnell Green Jr, 30, and 20-year-old Andre Stephon McCoy Jr were in critical condition at St. Elizabeth Health Center, one of them suffering from two gunshot wounds to the head and the other from two gunshot wounds to the back.

Both Schneider and Cassandra Marsicola, 20, were hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in the legs.

The suspect ran away from the home on foot. Police said the surviving victims told them they did not know the gunman.

Marsicola called 911 to report the incident, saying that everyone in the house had been shot.

Schneider could be heard yelling on the call, 'My son is dead.'

Neighbors reported hearing five to eight gunshots but did not see the suspect.

The two injured women were described as friends. They are cooperating with the investigation.

David Sweeney, Rowan's father, broke down in tears while talking about his son's slaying

Rowan died in his mother's arms at the scene. Alexis Schneider (left and right) suffered gunshot wounds to the legs in the shooting

David Sweeney, Rowan's father, was not at the home on Perry Street and was unharmed

Meanwhile, Rowan's father, David Sweeney, delivered an emotional statement, calling his son's killer a 'coward' and a 'scumbag,' and urging him to 'be a man' and turn himself in.

'Rowan was the sweetest boy,' Sweeney said in a voice trembling with emotion. 'Rowan was the best. He is so young. He didn't deserve any of this... buddy, I'm so sorry, for you, buddy. I love you.'

Then addressing the killer directly, Sweeney said through sobs: 'you're sick, dude. you're sick. You took my son from me...you can live with that for the rest of your life.'

Police described the suspect as a thin, light-skinned black man who was last seen wearing a black jacket.

Chief Roddy stressed that it was not a random act of violence but rather a targeted attack.

According to the chief, investigators have several 'good' leads they are following at this time.

Police are looking for a suspect described as a young, light-skinned black male with a thin build who was last seen fleeing the scene on foot

He also revealed that police had been called to the home a week ago for a report of a drug overdose involving one of the people who were shot on Monday.

When officers arrived on the scene, the person who overdosed had fled and had to be chased to make sure he received treatment.

The Mahoning County Homicide Task Force and several police departments in the area are helping Struthers police with the investigation.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: The eight suspended Rajya Sabha MPs had misbehaved, it was a type of "goondaism" and they have no trust in democracy, said Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday.

"When the Chairman names a member then that member has to leave the house. Never before a member defied the orders of the Chair. Eight suspended MPs had misbehaved, it was a type of 'goondaism'. They have proved that they have no trust in democracy," Joshi said during a press conference at the Parliament premises.

"The Opposition MPs threw paper at Deputy Speaker Harivansh even when he agreed for a division of votes. They abused him. It was shameful behavior," he added.

Meanwhile, MPs of opposition parties, including the suspended MPs, held a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Parliament premises, against the suspension of eight MPs by Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced the one-week suspension of Trinamool Congress' (TMC) Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Sanjay Singh, Indian National Congress' (INC) Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora and Syed Nasir Hussain, CPI(M)'s KK Ragesh and Elamaram Karim for unruly behavior with the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman yesterday.

Naidu had also rejected the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against Deputy Chairman Harivansh saying that it is "not admissible under the rules".

Rajya Sabha witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday as the Opposition members stormed the well and reached the deputy chairman's seat to protest against the farm Bills debated and passed by the Upper House through voice vote.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 18:02 487 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4632593 1 National Papua,shooting,shooting-incident,PGI,Yeremia-Zanambani,Jokowi,TNI,Papua-unrest,violence-in-Papua Free

The Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) has urged President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to order a thorough investigation into the recent fatal shooting of Papuan pastor Yeremia Zanambani in Hitadipa district of Intan Jaya regency, Papua, allegedly committed by personnel of the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Citing reports from leaders of the Indonesian Evangelical Christian Church (GKII) and local media in Papua, PGI chairman Gomar Gultom alleged that Yeremia was shot by TNI personnel when he was on his way to his pig pen on Saturday, at the same time when a military operation reportedly took place.

I strongly condemn the shooting that killed pastor Yeremia Zanambani, Gomar said on Monday.

Gomar said the reports that the PGI had received differed from the account of the military, which published a statement on Sunday saying Yeremia had been shot by an armed criminal group in the area.

The GKII, PGI executives and figures of the Moni tribe in Papua -- an indigenous group from which Yeremia hailed -- were currently probing the incident, Gomar said.

He added that the PGI had sent a letter to Jokowi urging him to take action in the matter.

We have sent a letter regarding this matter to the President [on Monday] morning, he said as quoted by tempo.co.

In an official statement published on PGI's website, Gomar demanded Jokowi and the authorities bring the culprits responsible for the shooting to court.

Read also: Papuans return Veronica Koman's scholarship funding to Indonesian government

If the investigation found TNI personnel guilty in the case, Gomar said he wished for security forces to end all military operations in Papua.

Due to the shooting, many churchgoers were terrified and had fled from their homes to nearby forests, he added.

"Papua has long been caught in bloodstained [conflict], and all the violent and military approaches don't solve any problem in Papua. Instead, they create an endless circle of violence, Gomar added.

He further demanded that Jokowi fulfill his promises of implementing a cultural approach instead of a violent one to deal with issues in Papua.

The Papuan people and the churches in Indonesia will demand that the President stick to his word.

Gomar said he wished there would be no more casualties in Papua, adding that the key to end the conflicts in the country's easternmost region was in the hands of the President, with the support of the commanders of the National Police and the TNI.

In a statement on Sunday, the TNI spokesperson for the Joint Regional Defense Command III in Papua, Col. Suriastawa, said Yeremia had been shot by a separatist group in Papua, adding that statements accusing the TNI of being behind the incident were "slander."

"They [the group] is currently looking for a moment to attract [public] attention at the United Nations General Assembly to be conducted at the end of this month, he said.

Meanwhile, Cendrawasih Regional Military Command spokesperson Lt. Col. Reza Patria said on Monday that his team was still investigating the matter and had not yet received detailed information. (trn)
Enormous opposition to the unsafe opening of New York City schools forced Mayor Bill de Blasio last week to delay a return to in-person instruction for most students from September 21 to September 29. However, school bus drivers and attendants will be at work today transporting thousands of special education students not affected by the delay.

Over 60 teachers were diagnosed with COVID-19 last week after they reported to school buildings to prepare for the return of students. There is mounting opposition among teachers and other support staff over the thoroughly inadequate testing and contact tracing by the Department of Education (DOE), as well as poor ventilation and other safety measures. Last week saw many protests across the city.

School bus workers who have spent the last weeks doing dry runs of their routes have also been angered at the DOEs refusal to provide adequate safety protections for the drivers and aides who transport hundreds of thousands of students to school.

Reliant Norman Avenue yard

The Democratic Party, with the full backing of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), is using the restart of in-person instruction in the largest district in the United Stateswith 1.1 million studentsto accelerate the full reopening of other large urban school districts that remain on remote teaching, including Chicago and Los Angeles.

The New York Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee was formed earlier this month to unite teachers, school bus drivers and other school employees, with parents, students and others opposed to the reckless reopening of the schools. These committees, which are independent of the unions, have been set up in Los Angeles, Detroit, Texas, Florida and other locations and are fighting to unite educators across state borders and internationally to protect lives.

New York was an early epicenter of the deadly virus with over 24,000 people dying from COVID-19 since March. The victims include at least 79 teachers and in-school staff and another 20 school bus workers. These figures are likely an undercount, since the DOE has notoriously refused to provide accurate estimates of the number who died from the virus. Mayor de Blasio only shut the schools in mid-March after threats by educators to conduct a sick-out in defiance of the UFT. Keeping the schools open for the previous two weeks as the contagion spread is considered to be one of the major contributors to the high death toll throughout the city.

Public school employees know reopening the schools will produce another disaster. One school bus driver told the World Socialist Web Site, I dont like the school reopening. It is scary. If they do it, they are going to have an outbreak, and the city will have to close again. More people will be dead. I havent heard from my union [the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181]; they say nothing. The teachers union said they were going to strike. But they didnt. They dont care.

Of the 370,000 people employed in the US as school bus workers, more than 70 percent are older than 55 years old, according to the American Association of Retired People. Many older New York City drivers and aides have retired, fearing that going back to work with their health problems would be a death sentence.

Every school bus worker knows that the DOEs protocols for social distancing and other precautions on school buses are almost impossible to enforce. School officials say school buses will be limited to 25 percent of passenger capacity, that students will wear masks and only be allowed to sit next to a window in every other row unless they are siblings, and that buses will be disinfected every day.

Drivers, however, have pointed out to the WSWS that they need to pay attention to the road in the extremely congested city traffic and cannot enforce these rules. More attendants, they say, are needed to monitor and assist students to maintain seating and proper mask usage. There is no rear door entry or plastic shields around drivers as there is in the public buses run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which themselves have proven to be woefully inadequate in preventing the spread of the coronavirus and the death of drivers. Windows in school buses by law cannot be opened more than three inches, providing poor ventilation or none at all in cold or inclement weather. Temperature checks, drivers note, will only be done at the school and children may infect each other or the driver or attendant on their ride there. Temperature checks also do not detect asymptomatic carriers.

A school bus driver who works for Consolidated Bus Transit noted, The only training was a ten-minute video. We were given fifty masks; I dont know how long that is supposed to last but we give masks to children who do not have one. It is up to drivers to clean the bus, but we are not professionals, and no one checks if we do it right. It will be overtime that I dont think we will be paid.

Another driver from the Logan Bus Company explained, They told me I will have 11 kids. But we are driving minivans. You cant help putting kids together in the same seat. I talked with the company, and the company says this may be solved because some students may be going to school on one day and some on the other students days off. The union has talked just like the company, saying that maybe on the three days some kids will be going to school, the others wont.

After breaking contracts with the citys private bus companies in March to cover revenue loss, the city has been negotiating to purchase three bus companies. The DOE budget for pupil transportation this fiscal year was $120 million less than last years budget. The CARES Act did not include school bus companies in its bailout.

On April 30, 16,000 New York City school bus drivers and attendants were furloughed. The Logan driver explained the pressure on workers, They put us on unemployment immediately after they shut down the schools in March, plus the $600 [supplement] after a while, and at least I could pay my bills. What is going to happen now if we dont go back to work? Look at the retirement schedule. If you are a matron and work 30 years you make $800 a month. If you are a driver and retire after 25 years, you get $1,300 a month, and just have to move on to the next job.

City school bus workers went on strike for a month in 2013 when billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg terminated the Employment Protection Plan (EPP), which guaranteed the workers standard pay and benefits if they were forced to transfer to another private company.

The ATU isolated the strike, and then shut it down based on a promise by de Blasio and the other Democratic mayoral candidates to reexamine the issue. This resulted in many drivers having their pay cut in half. De Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo have not restored the EPP.

The betrayal by the ATU has left school bus drivers and attendants impoverished. Before the pandemic these workers often worked twelve hours but were only paid for eight. When driver absences began to increase because of the pandemic, workers were assigned double loads to pick up routes where drivers were absent.

The pandemic has highlighted the enormous class chasm in the US. People living in Americas poorest households are as much as 32 percent more likely to die of coronavirus than their wealthier counterparts, according to an earlier analysis from the Imperial College of London. While the affluent can afford private pods to teach very small groups of children, millions of working-class New Yorkers feel compelled to send their children to school because they cannot afford child care and would be fired from their low-paying jobs if they took time off of work.

The New York City Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee is uniting all school workers to fight the unsafe openings while at the same time demanding full income for parents who must stay home to care for their children. To pay for this we call for a sharp tax increase on the wealthy, including the 118 billionaires in New York City whose net worth jumped $77.3 billion or 14.8 percent in the first three months of the pandemic alone.
A worker arranges freshly caught fish ahead of an auction at a port in Jakarta, Indonesia, in September 2016.

(Bloomberg)  Indonesia continues to sell fish to China after the coronavirus was discovered on the packaging of a local seafood exporters products, the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry said.

China suspended imports from the company for one week but that does not apply to other Indonesian fish exporters, the ministry said in a statement Saturday. The affected businesss health certificate services have been suspended and the government is investigating, it said.

The ministry only identified the exporter by the initials PI. The Chinese customs office said on Friday that it found the coronavirus particles on the packaging of frozen fish exported by PT Putri Indah.

Chinese authorities have been examining imported meat, seafood, packaging and containers as potential sources of the coronavirus since June after repeatedly finding traces of it. Still, only six of more than 500,000 samples have tested positive for the coronavirus, China customs said earlier this month.

China is Indonesias biggest destination for fish exports. It shipped more than 168,300 tons there last year, worth more than $240 million, according to Indonesias statistics bureau.

Contact editor Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)

Support quality journalism in China. Subscribe to Caixin Global starting at $0.99.
Behar defends herself saying the Black community had my back, calling it an homage

Things got tense on the latest episode of ABCs The View when a Black Republican candidate for the U.S. House accused one a co-host of wearing blackface.

Kim Klacik, who is running to represent Marylands 7th Congressional District that includes part of Baltimore, got into a heated exchange with the group of women hosts after she lodged the claim against Joy Behar. The late Elijah Cummings represented the district from 1996 to 2019.

Appearing on the daytime talk show Friday, Klacik showed support for President Donald Trump. When the subject of the White Houses reaction to the coronavirus pandemic came up, Behar pressed Klacik to admit that the Trump administrations response to COVID-19 has not be good, particularly in light of his taped exchange with veteran journalist Bob Woodward in which Trump downplayed the seriousness of the virus to the public.

Kim Klacik (left) and Joy Behar (right) appear on screen in a Friday, Sept. 18 episode on ABCs The View.

You have to put some blame on your president, Im sorry, Behar said to Klacik.

In response, Klacik then said, Is this Joy speaking? The same Joy that paraded around in blackface not too long ago?

Thats not true, Behar replied. The Black community had my back. They know that that was not blackface. That was an homage. Oh, please.

READ MORE: Daquan Instagram account owner defends against Blackface accusation

Klacik was making mention of a 2019 viral moment in which a photo of a 29-year-old Behar was dressed up seemingly wearing blackface, wearing what she called a beautiful African woman costume for Halloween. Behar discussed the costume during a 2016 episode of The View, saying that she wore makeup that was a little bit darker than my skin.

Joy Behar admitted during a taping of The View in 2016 to dressing as a beautiful African women at a Halloween party when she was 29 which involved makeup that was a little bit darker than my skin



The show even ran an image of the old photo pic.twitter.com/qKQqzDPxyn  Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) February 6, 2019

After Klacik stated that she, too, has the support of the Black community, View co-host Sunny Hostin came to Behars defense.

Story continues

The Black community did not vote for you. The Black community did not vote for you, Hostin said. What planet are you living on?

Hostin was referring to Klaciks loss to Democrat Kweisi Mfume during an April special election to serve out what remained of Cummings last term after his death last October. Mfume defeated Klacik with nearly 74% of the vote, according to Ballotpedia.

Klacik and Mfume will face off again for the seat in the November general election.

READ MORE: Maryland congressional candidate Kim Klacik slams Biden at RNC

It was during a special election while we were still under lockdown and I could not talk to people, Klacik responded to Hostin, as all three women began to speak over one another.

Listen, Kim, good luck to you, Behar cut through as the show broke for commercial.

Later that day, Klacik posted a clip of the exchange on Twitter, writing that The View hosts cut her off because they did not agree with her.

Why are they silencing Black Women? Klacik wrote before making one more dig at Behar. I think your White Privilege is showing through your blackface!

The ladies of @TheView didnt like what I had to say, so naturally they cut me off.



Why are they silencing Black Women?



Hey, @JoyVBehar  I think your White Privilege is showing through your blackface! pic.twitter.com/d39hPOAPOV  Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) September 18, 2020

Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!

The post Maryland congressional candidate Kim Klacik accuses The Views Joy Behar of wearing blackface appeared first on TheGrio.
Diners have been urged to consider sustainable alternatives including jellyfish and chips. (Getty)

Fish lovers have been urged to switch to sustainable alternatives  including jellyfish and chips  after a survey found critically endangered species being sold and eaten.

Researchers from the University of Queensland warned that 92 endangered species and 11 critically endangered species were being industrially fished in oceans around the world.

Jellyfish is eaten in several Asian countries, including in jellyfish salads and even ice cream. The scientists also proposed increased use of shellfish such as abalone.

This research is published in Nature Communications.

Many consumers in Australia wrongly eat industrially-produced fish thinking it has been produced sustainably, researchers said.

Researchers say it's difficult to know what you are eating  and it could be endangered. (Getty)

They write: Industrial-scale harvest of species at risk of extinction is controversial and usually highly regulated on land and for charismatic marine animals (e.g. whales).

In contrast, threatened marine fish species can be legally caught in industrial fisheries.

In reality, the researchers warned, fish bought in restaurants could easily be from endangered species.

They have called for a new approach to sourcing sustainable fish.

Student Leslie Robertson, one of the study authors, said: We would never consider eating mountain gorillas or elephants, both of which are endangered.

Read more: Melting snow in Himalayas drives growth of green sea slime visible from space

This means that the 'fish', 'flake' or 'cod' that Australians typically order at the fish and chip shop could be critically endangered.

"Australian seafood is not as sustainable as consumers would like to think, and it's definitely not in line with many of the large international conservation agreements that Australia has signed to protect threatened species and ecosystems.

Many of the problems arise from imported fish, said Dr Carissa Klein, who is researching Australias seafood consumption.

Klein said: Australia imports around 75% of the seafood we consume and is internationally regarded as having effective conservation and fisheries management policies.

Story continues

"When importing seafood from other places, we are displacing any social or environmental problems associated with fishing to that place, which is likely to have less capacity to sustainably manage its ocean."

Read more: Why economists worry that reversing climate change is hopeless

The researchers said the number of threatened species they recorded was a very conservative estimate.

Robertson said it was difficult to keep track of the fishing industrys complex supply chains.

The seafood industry is difficult to manage from a conservation perspective because it has supply chains that span multiple international waters, without a governing body, she said.

A typical situation might look something like a fishing boat operating in Australian waters, owned by a Chinese company, with a crew of fishermen from the Philippines.

Then one part of the fish might get processed in China, and the other can go to Europe.

We don't know what we're eating, it's really hard to trace seafood back to its origin and species because the industry is such a mess.
New Delhi, Sep 20 (UNI) Altogether 94,612 recoveries have been registered in the past 24 hours in the country taking the total number of recoveries to 43,03,043 and the Recovery Rate to 79.68 per cent.

For two successive days, India has reported high recoveries of more than 94,000, an official release

here said.

Sixty per cent of the new recovered cases are being reported from five States of Maharashtra, Karnataka,

Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Maharashtra continues to lead with more than 23,000 new cases of recovered patients, though Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh both have contributed more than 10,000 to the single day recoveries.

As many as 92,605 new confirmed cases have been reported in the past 24 hours in the country. Of them, 52

per cent were concentrated in five states -- the same States contributing maximum to the new recoveries.

Maharashtra contributed more than 20,000 (22.16 per cent) to the new cases. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka

both have contributed more than 8,000.

A total of 1,133 deaths have been registered in the past 24 hours. Thirtyseven per cent of the deaths

reported on Saturday were from Maharashtra with 425 deaths followed by Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh with

114 and 84 deaths, respectively.

UNI SD JW1525
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, Sept. 24, to discuss science investigations, technology demonstrations, and commercial products launching on Northrop Grumman's 14th commercial resupply mission for the agency to the International Space Station.

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/live

Northrop Grumman is targeting Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 10:26 p.m., for the launch of its Cygnus spacecraft on an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's pad 0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. The Cygnus spacecraft will carry crew supplies, scientific research and hardware to the orbiting laboratory to support the Expedition 64 crew.

David Brady, associate program scientist for the International Space Station Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, will provide an overview of the research and technology aboard the Cygnus spacecraft.

Also participating in the briefing are:

Karl Hasenstein , professor of biology at the University of Lafayette , and David Reed , Techshot Florida operations director, who will discuss the Plant Habitat-02 investigation, which will study how radishes grow in space to prepare for feeding future crews on deep-space missions

, professor of biology at the University of , and , Techshot Florida operations director, who will discuss the Plant Habitat-02 investigation, which will study how radishes grow in space to prepare for feeding future crews on deep-space missions Yusuf Erkul , co-founder and president of Kernal Biologics, who will discuss the Onco Selectors investigation, which leverages microgravity to identify targeted cancer therapies

, co-founder and president of Kernal Biologics, who will discuss the Onco Selectors investigation, which leverages microgravity to identify targeted cancer therapies Jim Fuller of Collins Aerospace and Melissa McKinley , NASA Advanced Exploration Systems Logistics Reduction project manager, who will discuss the Universal Waste Management System, a more compact and reliable space toilet that will be used on the space station and on the Artemis II mission

of Collins Aerospace and , NASA Advanced Exploration Systems Logistics Reduction project manager, who will discuss the Universal Waste Management System, a more compact and reliable space toilet that will be used on the space station and on the Artemis II mission Carlos Cabrera , professor of chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras in San Juan , and Camila Morales-Navas , chemistry PhD student at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras in San Juan , who will discuss the Ammonia Electro-Oxidation investigation, which studies a potential innovative water recovery system

, professor of chemistry at the at Rio Piedras in , and , chemistry PhD student at the at Rio Piedras in , who will discuss the Ammonia Electro-Oxidation investigation, which studies a potential innovative water recovery system Felix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphael , co-founders and creative directors of Felix & Paul Studios, and Jonathan Woods , executive producer, TIME Studios, who will discuss the ISS Experience EVA Camera, which will be used to film a spacewalk and Earth views in cinematic 360-degree virtual reality

and , co-founders and creative directors of Felix & Paul Studios, and , executive producer, TIME Studios, who will discuss the ISS Experience EVA Camera, which will be used to film a spacewalk and Earth views in cinematic 360-degree virtual reality Phil McAlister , director of commercial spaceflight development at NASA and Stephane de La Faverie, group president, The Estee Lauder Companies and global brand president, Estee Lauder, who will discuss plans to photograph the company's New Advanced Night Repair serum in the space station's iconic cupola window as part of NASA's efforts to enable business activities at the space station and develop a robust low-Earth orbit economy

To participate in the teleconference, media must contact Kathryn Hambleton at 202-358-1100 or [email protected] by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, for dial-in information.

Questions can also be submitted on social media using #AskNASA.

For launch countdown coverage, NASA's launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/northropgrumman

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


The fuel that powers passenger planes is normally among the most expensive oil products, but in a sign of the times the coronavirus has turned it into a blending component for typically cheaper shipping fuel.

Straight-run kerosene, usually processed into jet fuel, is now being used to make very low-sulfur fuel oil for the maritime industry amid a plunge in consumption by airlines. Higher than normal amounts of diesel and vacuum gasoil are also finding their way into shipping fuel.

The shift, almost unthinkable just a year ago, reflects the obliteration of demand the aviation industry has suffered in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. And with the International Air Transport Association not expecting air travel to get back to pre-virus levels until 2024, it may be a feature of the market for some time to come.

Jet fuel components were used for blending in April and May in Singapore before it became uneconomic as prices moved back to a premium to VLSFO, said Eugene Lindell, senior analyst at consultant JBC Energy GmbH. The switching is picking up again after aviation fuel flipped back to a discount, he said.

Only in a situation where the economy is in complete tatters, do we see usually more expensive components heading straight into VLSFO," Lindell said.

Jet fuel prices in Singapore plunged from above $70 a barrel in January to close to $20 in early May before recovering to trade around $41, according to Bloomberg Fair Value data. VLSFO bunker prices in the Asian oil hub, meanwhile, are now 54% lower than they were at the end of last year.

The destruction of demand for aviation and road transport fuels has led to a greater availability of blending components for shipping fuel, Unni Einemo, director of the International Bunker Industry Association, said at the Platts APPEC 2020 conference last week.

While jet fuels woes are resulting in cheaper prices for the shipping industry, blending can potentially pose problems. Trading houses and refiners typically buy a variety of fuel oil and distillates to mix into fuel for ships. Using too much straight-run kerosene, however, can lower the temperature at which fuels catch fire, a serious risk for vessels.

As a very combustible petroleum product, jet fuel can be used in a marine fuel blend, and so we would not be surprised this practice may be occurring," Tim Wilson, principal specialist for fuels, lubes and emissions at Lloyds Register, told Bloomberg earlier this year. However, jet fuel grades can have a far lower flash point, or temperature at which it ignites, than whats required for shipping fuels, he said.





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Topics
Less than two weeks after signing a $US2 billion ($2.8 billion) deal with General Motors, the founder of electric truck startup Nikola stepped down amid a claim that he had repeatedly lied about the company's technology.

The resignation of Trevor Milton as executive chairman came after investment fund Hindenburg Research published a report accusing him of making numerous false assertions about Nikola's technology, including once producing a video in which a truck was rolled down an incline to make it look as if the company had developed a working prototype.

Trevor Milton founded Nikola in 2014 with a plan to produce zero-emission trucks that run on hydrogen fuel cells and batteries.

Hindenburg, a short-selling firm that said it was aiming to profit by betting Nikola's share price would go down, called Nikola "an intricate fraud." Its report appeared only days after the company and GM agreed to cooperate on production of battery-powered pickup trucks and hydrogen-powered heavy trucks.

Nikola, based in Phoenix, called the accusations by Hindenburg "false and defamatory" and said it would complain to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Nikola shares, which had jumped after the deal with GM, fell sharply after the Hindenburg report. On Monday, the shares were down 17 per cent in afternoon trading, to barely half their value after the GM deal was announced.
As Libya prepares to resume oil production, concerns have been raised over who supervises its export and how to ensure oil revenue will be divided equally among interested parties.

Commander Khalifa Hifter, whose east-based forces led a failed yearlong siege to take the capital, Tripoli, from the U.N.-backed government announced Friday that his forces would allow the Libyan oil facilities to start operating again for the first time since January with conditions that ensure a fair distribution of revenue.

Officials, politicians and observers considered the move by Hifter a gesture that would overcome the obstacles to a possible comprehensive Libyan consensus.

The Deputy Prime Minister of the Libyan Interim Government in the east of the country, Dr. Abdisalam al-Badri, hailed the move as a positive step.

"The decision was clear and very important, as it addressed all the demands of the Libyan people, which are fairness in distribution (of revenues) and not to waste oil resources (on war)," he said, speaking from Benghazi.

Al-Badri added that these revenues will be deposited in special bank accounts so that they are not disposed of until after the formation of a unified Libyan government.

Doubts over this arrangement were voiced by the consultant of the oil and gas sector in the Interim Government, Dr. Abduljalil Mayouf.

Mayouf queried whether the decision would benefit the National Oil Corporation in Tripoli, west of the country, or the National Oil Corporation located in Benghazi in the east of the country, which he considers "legitimate".

Mayouf added that in the event of preference for the western Libyan oil corporation, then guarantees must be submitted by the US government to ensure oil revenues will be fairly divided over all regions of Libya.

Hifter, the commander of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) , announced Friday, September 18, that the work of the oil installations in the country would resume and export will restart in response to popular demands to improve living conditions.

In turn, the Petroleum Facilities Guard of the LAAF announced that it had granted permission to oil companies to resume production and export operations from fields and ports, as of September 18, 2020.

Libyas highly prized, light crude has long been a factor in its civil war, as rival militias and foreign powers jostle for control of Africas largest oil reserves.

Powerful eastern tribes loyal to Hifter first seized control of the oil fields in January, cutting Libyas 1.2 million barrels a day to a trickle and starving the country of badly needed cash, to protest what they said were the inequitable distribution of revenues.

Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled and killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. The country has since split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

The blockade has deprived the Tripoli-based National Oil Corporation of nearly $10 billion in revenue and led to nationwide fuel shortages.
Don't fall for these rental scams. Images: Getty

Scammers posing as landlords have tricked Australians out of $300,000 in the year to September, with the scam watchdog now sounding the alarm.

The volume of money lost to rental and accommodation scams has increased 76 per cent on this time last year, with Scamwatch receiving 560 reports of rental scams.

Scammers are offering reduced rents due to COVID-19 and using the government restrictions to trick people into transferring money without inspecting the property, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deputy commissioner Delia Rickard said.

The scammers post ads on classified or real estate websites for accommodation, or target those who have posted on social media forums looking for a room.

Once the victim responds, the scammer either requests an upfront deposit or for the victim to fill in a tenant application form with personal information, which the scammer can then use.

The loss of personal information through rental scams is becoming more common, with scammers requesting copies of identity documents such as passports, bank statements or payslips, Rickard said.

Once a scammer has your personal information you are at risk of being targeted by further scams or identity theft.

Often, the victim wont realise theyve been scammed until the keys never arrive and the scammer stops responding.

Rickard said scammers will also pose as real estate agents to organise fake inspections. The victims will then arrive to realise theyve been scammed.

Many people are also experiencing financial difficulties due to the pandemic and the financial impact of falling victim to a scam can be devastating, Rickard said.

How can I stay safe from rental scams?

The ACCC said renters should try to view a property in person before handing over any cash to landlords or real estate agents.

It pointed to a scam in Canberra in which a scammer pretends to be a doctor living in Sweden who offers virtual inspictations before asking for bond money.

Story continues

Noting that it may be difficult to view properties in Victoria, the ACCC said renters should carry out an online search to confirm the residence exists. And, if youre talking to an agent, make sure that agent is licensed.

Scammers often rely on email communications to avoid identification, do an independent search for a phone number and speak to the property manager over the phone or arrange a meeting in person, Rickard said.

Before making any payments ensure you are dealing with the licensed agent, if a scammer has your details they may impersonate a real estate agent and attempt to follow-up requesting money after an inspection.

If you suspect you have been scammed, contact your bank and if you used a platform to find a room, contact the platform.

Victims can also contact IDCARE, which supports identity theft victims on 300 IDCARE (432273) or visit their website www.idcare.org.

Want to take control of your finances and your future? Join the Womens Money Movement on LinkedIn and follow Yahoo Finance Australia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Good morning, Bay Area. Its Monday, Sept. 21, and the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has propelled abortion rights back into the spotlight. Heres what you need to know to start your day.

The Bay Areas recent plague of smoke-darkened skies made one thing clear: Hazards like wildfires ignore regional boundaries. But in a state of 40 million residents where parochialism has often defined decision-making, the notion of shared fate can be a hard sell.

Still, some observers are hopeful that recent crises  from climate change to the coronavirus pandemic to affordable housing  may have created an opening to tackle issues in a common way.

A host of problems the last few years have made Californians realize they have to think beyond their local interests, said Mark Baldassare, CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California. Theres a sense that were experiencing some things that are similar. You cant assume you can go to another region and escape.

John King explores the issues.

 As California blazes rage, travel nurses fill critical need at fire camps.

Sara Gobets / Special to The Chronicle

 Ignoring fire evacuation orders is rampant in California. That perilous choice endangers others, officials say.

 California Fire Tracker: The latest on wildfires across the state.

Flu season compounds coronavirus concerns

Bay Area hospitals have reported their first cases of influenza, signaling the start of what could be a turbulent flu season with COVID-19 in the mix. Doctors already are bracing for a worst-case scenario of widespread influenza on top of the coronavirus and other respiratory viruses that may be circulating.

Public health experts want as many people as possible to get vaccinated against influenza over the next couple of months to protect themselves and keep hospitals from being overrun. At the same time, health care providers need to ramp up testing for both the coronavirus and the flu so they can quickly sort out whos infected with either virus  or if people are sick with both.

Read more from Erin Allday.

 Coping with the pandemic: How to draw your mental health road map in the Bay Area.

 Coronavirus tracker: Data on trends in the Bay Area and across California.

Abortion rights front and center after Ginsburgs death

Nick Otto / Special to The Chronicle

In a political year dominated by the deadly pandemic and the fight for racial equality, the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may rocket the abortion question back to the center of American consciousness, with the future of that constitutional right hanging in the balance in the selection of her successor.

Abortion opponents are eager to replace Ginsburg  for whom the right to terminate a pregnancy signified no less than womens equality with man  and see a historic opportunity to reverse Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 decision that remains perhaps the most politically charged issue the high court confronts.

Read more from Nanette Asimov.

 California senators in spotlight: Kamala Harris, Dianne Feinstein key players in fight over Ginsburgs seat.

 Trump Supreme Court for a generation? Prospect upends 2020 campaign.

 San Francisco vigil: Hundreds mourn Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Castro district.

 Devastating loss for our country: Bay Area, state leaders react to Ginsburgs death.

Safeguard for digital privacy on state ballot

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

Two years ago, California legislators passed the first major statewide digital privacy law in the country, giving consumers broad new rights to control how their personal information is used and sold. Efforts to water down the law followed almost immediately.

Advocates led by San Francisco developer Alastair Mactaggart say thats why California needs to approve Proposition 24. The Nov. 3 ballot initiative would prohibit legislators from weakening the California Consumer Privacy Act, create a state agency to enforce privacy protections, and give people more control over how tech companies use their personal information, such as race or health data. Other privacy advocates say it needs to go further to eliminate its pay for privacy aspects.

Read more from Dustin Gardiner.

Around the Bay

Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

 We shouldnt be shut out of church: Large Catholic demonstration in S.F. demands reopening.

 From Kathleen Pender: California stops taking new unemployment applications until Oct. 5 as agency retools.

 From Phil Matier: Burglars switch to homes in S.F. as tourists and their cars stay away.

 TVs finest: Emmy Awards makes history with virtual ceremony, Schitts Creek sweeps. East Bay accolade: Oaklands Zendaya becomes youngest lead-actress drama winner at Emmys.

 Sobering scenario in study: S.F.s Embarcadero could be devastated by earthquakes and rising seas.

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.

 Stressful situation: California State Bar exam, delayed amid pandemic, becomes contentious.

 Scary scenario: Toddler, father rescued after getting stuck on cliff near S.F.s Fort Funston.

 In the courts: Berkeley cant require extra radiation warning on cell phones, federal judge rules.

 Confidence and a can-do attitude: Lewis Butler, prominent modernist architect to Bay Area luminaries, dies at 63.

 Back together after long hiatus: How Warriors created bubble-like environment in San Francisco for minicamp.

 Win comes at high cost: 49ers blowout of Jets marred by injuries to Bosa, Garoppolo, Thomas. From Ann Killion: If Garoppolo is sidelined, injurys full effect wont be felt for weeks.

 30 years of Krukow & Kuiper with Giants: Put em together, and its magic.

Chronicle Food

Esther Mobley / The Chronicle

A new chapter began over the weekend for Toy Boat Dessert Cafe, the beloved San Francisco ice cream shop thats been an endearing Richmond District landmark since 1982. Jane the Bakery owner Amanda Michael purchased the business after longtime owners Jesse and Roberta Fink decided to retire over the spring, and she reopened the doors Saturday morning as Toy Boat by Jane.

Michael installed all new equipment, repainted the walls and edited down the collection of toys displayed around the shops perimeter, but shes preserved the nostalgic, old-timey vibe, and regulars will find it largely unchanged.

We tried to keep the original flavor of the place, she said. But this is our take on it.

Read more from Esther Mobley on the rebirth of a San Francisco classic.

 From Soleil Ho: What I learned from eating frozen food exclusively for two weeks.

 New S.F. cocktail delivery service seeks to take to-go drinks out of takeout containers.

 Indoor dining might resume by months end in S.F. Will it be enough to save struggling restaurants?

Bay Briefing is edited by Taylor Kate Brown and sent to readers email inboxes on weekday mornings. Sign up for the newsletter here, and contact Brown at taylor.brown@sfchronicle.com.
Thousands of Britons are being fined for breaking 'unclear and ambiguous,' Covid-19 lockdown rules, a committee of MPs has warned.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights said it was 'unacceptable' that 'many thousands' were receiving fixed penalty notices (FPNs) despite evidence the police did not fully understand their powers and with no means of redress.

It said the way the regulations were being enforced by the police was having a 'disproportionate impact' on young men from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Police are able to issue fines to anyone flouting social distancing rules. Officers are patrolling busy spots like Richmond Park to ensure people adhere to the restrictions

Although FPNs could result in fines in excess of 10,000 there is currently no realistic way for people to challenge the

'This will invariably lead to injustice as members of the public who have been unfairly targeted with an FPN have no means of redress and police will know that their actions are unlikely to be scrutinised,' the committee said.

It warned many of the regulations were 'confusingly named' making it difficult for people to establish what they were and were not entitled to do.

MPs have heard new fines are 'unclear,' and may unfairly target people, particularly young men, from BAME backgrounds

With the regulations changing on average once a week, it called for greater clarity from the Government as to what was prohibited by the criminal law.

'More care must be taken by the Government to distinguish between advice, guidance and the law, in media announcements as well as in official online sources,' the committee said.

Lockdown fines across Britain The highest fine for flouting social distancing rules is 10,000, which can be issued to any organiser of an illegal gathering. Fixed penalty notices vary in cost across Britain, the Met Police sets them out as follows: England (over 18s): 100 for the first offence, lowered to 50 if paid within 14 days. 200 for the second offence, then doubling for each further offence up to a maximum of 3,200. Wales (over 18s): 60 for the first offence, which may be lowered to 30 if paid within 14 days. 120 for the second offence and for each further offence. Scotland (over 16s): 60 for the first offence, lowered to 30 if paid within 28 days. 120 for the second offence, then doubling for each further offence up to a maximum of 960. Northern Ireland (over 18s): 60 for the first offence, lowered to 30 if paid within 14 days. 120 for the second offence, then doubling for each further offence up to a maximum of 960. Advertisement

'In particular, more must be done to make the up to date regulations themselves (not only guidance) clearly accessible online, particularly as the law has changed, on average, once a week.

'It ought to be straightforward for a member of the public to find out what the current criminal law is, nationally and in their local area, without having to trawl through multiple sets of confusingly named regulations.'

Committee chairwoman Harriet Harman said: 'Confusion over what is law and what is merely guidance has left citizens open to disproportionate and unequal levels of punishment for breaking the rules, and unfortunately, it seems that once again, this is overtly affecting BAME individuals.

'The Government must learn from these mistakes to ensure that any additional lockdowns do not unfairly impact specific groups.'

The committee also expressed concern about the extent of the use of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) notices in care homes during the pandemic, warning that their blanket use would be unlawful.

It urged the Department of Health to take a 'more proportionate approach' when it came to issuing guidance on visiting care homes, and called on ministers to ensure homes were not imposing blanket bans on visitors.

'Restrictions on visiting rights must only be implemented on the basis of an individualised risk assessment and such risk assessment must take into account the risks to the person's emotional wellbeing and mental health of not having visits,' it said.

The committee said ministers should organise 'a quick, interim review' into deaths from coronavirus to ensure key lessons were learned in advance of any second peak in the autumn and winter.

A Government spokesperson said they had worked closely with the police throughout the pandemic, and officers had enforced regulations only as a last resort.

They added: 'Both Houses (of Parliament) have opportunities to scrutinise and debate all regulations, which must be approved by both Houses within 28 days to remain in force. This is the same way all lockdown regulations have been made and none have been voted down.'
While taking questions from reporters at Queens Park last week, Premier Doug Ford paused to praise the newly minted leader of the provinces COVID-19 outbreak response standing by his side, calling him Dr. Dirk.

I think everyone needs to listen to the doc, Ford said of Ontarios Chief Coroner Dr. Dirk Huyer. Hes a champion.

Ford is saying little about criticism of his decision to vault Huyer, who acknowledged at that same press conference that he is not a public health expert, to the front lines of the provinces pandemic response, less than a year after Ontarios auditor general identified serious problems in the coroners office.

Listen to Rachel Mendleson discuss Dirk Huyer's Provincial Outbreak Response role

The cascade of failures found by the auditor included a lack of oversight and inadequate analysis of available mortality data. The Office of the Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service misses the opportunity to make more effective use of its death investigation data to identify actions to improve public safety and reduce preventable deaths, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk concluded in her December 2019 report.

In a statement on Friday, a spokesperson for Premier Ford said Huyer, who was previously appointed in May to lead the provinces testing approach, has played a key leadership role in Ontarios fight against COVID-19, crediting him as a driving force behind Ontarios aggressive push to increase testing capacity.

Premier Ford has absolute confidence in Dr. Huyer and is incredibly grateful for the work he has done and continues to do in helping Ontario respond to COVID-19, the spokesperson said.

The province did not address questions from the Star about how Huyer was selected for the role and the deficiencies the auditor general identified in the coroners office Huyer has led since 2014.

A spokesperson for the coroners office said questions about Dr. Huyers role are best addressed by the Premiers Office.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the governments silence is troubling and speaks to an ongoing concern she has had about a lack of transparency during the pandemic around who is providing medical advice and influencing key policy decisions.

Its absolutely fair to say that there are legitimate concerns that have been raised, she said. People deserve information. They deserve transparency. Thats what gives people confidence.

There are also questions about the impact Huyers leadership role, which includes preventing and minimizing outbreaks in schools, daycares, farms and health-care settings, could have on the impartiality of the COVID-related death investigations conducted by the coroners office.

Dr. Nav Persaud, a former research scientist at the Ontario coroners office and a former investigating coroner in Toronto, said it is important to have some separation between the coroners office and other branches of government.

This independence is especially important in a pandemic, Persaud said, citing investigations of COVID-related deaths of migrant farm-workers and personal support workers in long-term care homes as examples.

The coroners office doesnt assign blame but the recommendations sometimes point to gaps in public policy or gaps in procedures, said Persaud, who is a family doctor in Toronto and Canada Research Chair in Health Justice at University of Toronto.

In response to this concern, Fords spokesperson said that Huyer has delegated all responsibility for COVID-related death investigations to the Deputy Chief Coroner, adding that it is beyond disappointing that anyone would look to disparage someone who has served the Ontario public with integrity and skill for nearly thirty years.

But Persaud said he is not sure how delegating pandemic-related investigations within the office of the chief coroner ensures independence.

The issue of independence ... is not about the qualifications and track record of any individual, he added. Its about the integrity of the death investigation system.

The governments response also does not satisfy Horwath, who said: There doesnt seem to be an appropriate firewall there.

Not to suggest that there is going to be anything nefarious, but people have to have confidence  that theres complete accuracy, that theres no bias, and (not) even unconscious bias, when it comes to how these death investigations occur and are separate from the policy-making when it comes to COVID-19, she said.

In a pandemic that disproportionately impacts racialized people, Horwath is also calling for more transparency around the appointment process to ensure that the medical experts selected for leadership roles reflect the communities they serve.

She said it appears that Mr. Ford, once again, has hand-picked someone he feels comfortable with.

Huyer has served as a coroner in Ontario since 1992, and has been involved in more than 5,000 coroners investigations. He was appointed to chief coroner in March 2014, after serving as regional supervising coroner. He previously worked in the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Program at the Hospital for Sick Children, and is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto.

In a press release announcing his new pandemic leadership role, the government praised his work on his offices investigation of opioid-related deaths that helped inform prevention and response strategies.

Fords spokesperson said Huyer has transitioned to help lead the provinces operational response to COVID-19 outbreaks, supported by some of the best public health advice and talent in the country.

Dr. Mustafa Hirji, acting medical officer of health in Niagara Region, said its a bit curious that someone with Huyers background has been tapped to lead the provinces outbreak response.

This would be something better suited to public health physicians to be taking on  Stopping the spread of infection in the community is the expertise of public health, Hirji said.

Amy Greer, Canada research chair in population disease modelling and specialist in infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Guelph, appeared to echo this sentiment on Twitter this week.

I just had lunch with my 5-year old, she tweeted. In response to my comment that Dr. Dirk Huyer (the coroner) is co-ordinating outbreak response she said, ..if someone doesnt know much about something you should probably not put them in charge. 

Dr. Jack Stanborough, a former regional supervising coroner in the Hamilton area, has a different take. He said the chief coroner has a long track record of working symbiotically with public health on germane issues and is in a good position to recognize and monitor a surge in natural deaths and to appraise the efficacy of preventative measures.

The auditor generals scathing 2019 report found, among other things, that coroners investigated the deaths of former patients without declaring conflicts of interest, coroners conducted death investigations while no longer licensed to practice medicine, and questionable OHIP billing practices such as coroners billing twice for the same service. There was no data tracking to assess whether coroners completed death investigations in a timely and high-quality way. The report said, Although the motto of the Office is we speak for the dead to protect the living, we found that the Office performs limited analysis on the data it collects to identify death patterns or trends.

The Office of the Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service said it welcomed and accepted the insights and recommendations from the Auditor General in an overall response included in the report. It said at the time that key improvement initiatives were already underway and detailed a variety of ways it would implement the recommendations.

In an interview with the Hamilton Spectator in 2019, Huyer said he endorsed and appreciated the recommendations in the report.

Theyve identified things that are challenging and things that we didnt necessarily know were there and caused us some surprise, Huyer said. But we are going to build better policies, procedures and approaches and evaluate the concerns that have been brought to our attention to ensure that we have a full understanding of things and move forward in a way that these sorts of things dont continue to happen.

Weaknesses were also identified late last year by the Death Investigation Oversight Council, an independent agency that investigates complaints against coroners and forensic pathologists and makes recommendations.

The council had been investigating a complaint against Huyer and Ontarios chief forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Pollanen, made by the former director of the Hamilton Regional Forensic Pathology Unit.

During the oversight councils investigation into that complaint, Huyer and Pollanen shut down the Hamilton unit, moving the death investigations to Toronto in stages over eight months. The decision drew fire from Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger and Horwath, the Hamilton Centre MPP, who appealed without success to the solicitor general to halt the closure until the councils investigation was complete.

The councils recommendations, which were obtained by the Spectator but not released publicly, included further leadership and management training for all staff holding management positions, including Huyer and Pollanen.

Neither Huyer nor the province responded to a question from the Star about whether he has completed the recommended training.

Huyer first took on a key leadership role in Ontarios pandemic response in May, when he was tapped to lead the provinces testing approach.

Fords spokesperson credits Huyer with expanding testing capacity from 3,000 tests to as many as 35,000 a day in a matter of months, making Ontario a global leader in testing.

As the surge in demand for testing leads to hours-long waits at some assessment centres, straining hospitals and labs, Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist with the University of Toronto, said the unadulterated praise of the testing system Huyer has led is not warranted.

On one hand, weve heroically increased our testing capacity, Furness said. On the other hand, our testing strategy is completely flawed....We dont have nearly the capacity we need.

With files from Robert Benzie

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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Monday that a total of 90 districts in 11 States are considered left-wing extremism (LWE) affected. The reply stated LWE related violent incidents were reported in 61 districts in 2019 and in 46 districts in the first half of 2020

A total of 90 districts in 11 States are considered left-wing extremism (LWE) affected, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Monday. LWE related violent incidents were reported in 61 districts in 2019 and in 46 districts in the first half of 2020, informed Minister of State (MoS) Home Affairs, G Kishan Reddy, as per a written reply in response to a query posed by MP Rakesh Sinha.

A total of 34 security force personnel, 68 civilians, 54 left-wing extremists were killed and 241 left-wing extremists surrendered this year up to August 15, this year, the reply stated. According to the reply, to combat the LWE menace, the Central government has formulated National Policy and Action Plan in 2015, which consists of a multi-pronged approach comprising security measures, development initiatives and ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities.

MHA is supporting the State governments extensively by way of deployment of CAPF Battalions, provision of helicopters and UAVs and sanction of India Reserve Battalions (IRBs)/ Special India Reserve Battalions (SIRBs). Funds are provided under Modernization of Police Force (MPF), Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme and Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) for modernisation and training of State Police, it said.

Also Read: Pradhan, Jaishankar assess MT New Diamonds condition, discuss ways to expedite cargo crude discharge

Also Read: India-China border tensions: Both countries to hold sixth Corps Commander talks

Earlier today the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Monday that from August 5, 2019, till August 2020 the number of terror incidents, stone peltings, deaths of civilians and security personnel in terrorist incidents have reduced significantly when compared to the same time frame a year ago.



As per a written reply filed by Minister of State (MoS) Home Affairs, G Kishan Reddy, in response to a query posed by MP Anil Desai, the number of such incidents has taken a hit after the abrogation of Article 370 by the Centre.

Also Read: 10 dead, many fear trapped after 3-storey building collapses in Maharashtras Bhiwandi
Two young adults were killed and 14 others were injured in a shooting early Saturday morning at a backyard house party in Rochester, New York, multiple outlets reported.

Acting Police Chief Mark Simmons told reporters during a press briefing that police responded to calls of gunshots on Pennsylvania Avenue around 12:25 a.m. local time and found about 100 people running down the street.

According to USA Today, Simmons described it as "a very chaotic scene."

"This is truly a tragedy of epic proportions," Simmons told reporters, according to CNN and ABC News, adding that "16 victims is unheard of."

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The deceased victims, one male and one female, were between the ages of 18-22, Simmons said. Their identities have not been made public.

The 14 injured victims  whose wounds were reportedly said to not be life-threatening  were taken to Strong Memorial Hospital and Rochester General Hospital, Simmons said.

Police have not yet identified a suspect.

The Rochester Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

During his press briefing, Simmons expressed frustration about the party taking place despite the state's ban on large gatherings being held amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is yet another tragedy where individuals are having these illegal, unsanctioned house parties taking place in these properties, which  number one  is not safe because of COVID, because of the conditions, Simmons reportedly said. And then you add in alcohol and violence and it just becomes a recipe for disaster.

Simmons also said that prior to the 911 call, police were unaware that the party was being held and received no noise complaints.
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Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 17:04 487 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c462ec07 1 National University-of-Indonesia,Universitas-Indonesia,lawmaker,sex-education,orientation,freshmen,PKS,Prosperous-Justice-Party,Instagram Free

Several lecturers of the University of Indonesia (UI) have urged the universitys rector to take legal action against Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Almuzzamil Yusuf.

Previously, Almuzzamil said in a video posted on his Instagram account on Sept. 16 that the university's "endorsement" of consensual sex in this years freshman orientation program (PKKMB UI) could lead to the prevalence of "free sex" among youth and, therefore, jeopardize the country's moral and religious principles.

In a letter dated Sept. 17 and signed by at least 12 lecturers, they demanded the rector ask for Al Muzzammils clarification and an official apology. The lecturers also called on the university to report Al Muzzammil for violating Article 27 of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, saying the lawmaker had humiliated and defamed the university.

"Al Muzzammil Yusuf has clearly attacked, humiliated and defamed the university. He has made a false accusation. The University of Indonesia has never taught consensual sex for students," read the statement.

They also urged the university to issue an official letter to the House of Representatives and People's Consultative Assembly speakers, the Houses Ethics Council and the PKS faction to remove Al Muzzamil from his position as a lawmaker.

Read also: UI under fire for emphasizing consensual sex in sex-ed orientation video

Representatives of the UI academics said the material about sexual violence in this years orientation program, which was held online from Sept. 7 to 11, was based on existing regulations.

We educated the students about sexual violence based on the Pornography Law and the Domestic Violence Law. We delivered nothing inappropriate to the freshmen, the statement further said.

Al Muzzamil on Saturday uploaded another video to his Instagram page, in which he said sexual education was indeed important, but the UI should not use the "sexual consent" approach which is "still controversial, even in Western countries."

"Because besides the self-protection aspect, sexual consent also contains justification and a permissive attitude toward sex outside of marriage based on mutual consent. It contradicts the religious value, he said.
Disgraced former Tory MP has been given a pass which allows him free access to Parliament despite a ban on them being handed to jailed ex-politicians.

The former Thanet South MP, 78, was given the security permit by former speaker John Bercow before he left the post last year.

This was despite a prohibition on handing them out to politicians who have served prison sentences of longer than a year.

Mr Aitken was jailed for 18 months in 1999 after being convicted of perjury after accusing he Guardian newspaper of libel.

But he was ordained as a Church of England deacon two years ago and works as a prison chaplain.

A Commons spokeswoman told the Guardian that the usual ban on handing passes to jailbird former MPs had been over-ruled by Mr Bercow.

'Regarding Mr Aitken, the then Speaker took a view that as his conviction was spent, Mr Aitken should be given a former member's pass,' she told the paper.

Mr Aitken was jailed for 18 months in 1999 after being convicted of perjury after accusing he Guardian newspaper of libel (right). But he was ordained as a Church of England two years ago, and works as a prison chaplain (left)

A Commons spokeswoman told the Guardian that the usual ban on handing passes to jailbird former MPs had been over-ruled by Mr Bercow.

Mr Aiken was an MP in Kent, for more than two decades until stepping down at the May 1997 general election.

He was jailed in 1999 for lying under oath in the libel case against The Guardian.

He sued the newspaper after it said he allowed aides of the Saudi royal family to pay his 1,000 hotel bill at the Paris Ritz in September 1993.

He had famously vowed to 'cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism in our country with the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of fair play.'

But he admitted committing perjury after the paper produced evidence that showed he was lying in his evidence.

The ex-Tory MP was ordained at St Paul's Cathedral in 2018 and followed it with a celebration at the Old Bailey.

He joked at the time that his first return to the famous London court building since being jailed there 19 years ago would be a happier occasion.
Calcutta HC removes squatter Lodha from MP Birla Group

In a significant victory for the M P Birla Group, part of the extended Birla family, the Calcutta High Court today ordered removal of Harsh Vardhan Lodha from all company positions across the group, putting an end to a 16-year-long contest over the legal validity of Priyamvada Birlas will.

Harsh Vardhan Lodha has fought for almost a decade to retain control of the MP Birla group of companies that include cement maker Birla Corp and the assets of jute mills owned by the group.

Lodha, who was in control of the MP Birla empire for 16 years, will now be removed from all positions in the group companies with immediate effect, according to the high court order.

Priyamvada Birla, widow of Birla Corporation promoter Madhav Prasad Birla (grand uncle of Kumar Mangalam Birla), had bequeathed her estate, believed to be worth around Rs5,000 crore then to well-known Kolkata-based chartered accountant, Rajendra Singh Lodha in July 2004.

The legal tussle began as a mutual will written on 13 July 1982 had given away all the assets to charities, while another will dated 18 April 1999 granted them to Rajendra Lodha, now being pursued by his son Harsh Lodha, and other heirs of the senior Lodha.

Lodha was the sole executor of the second will, and he showed up at Birla Park, the Birla family residential complex in Gurusaday Road, south Kolkata, to read the contents of the will, a few days after Priyamvada's death.

Madhav Prasad and Priyamvada had no children, so all of the extended Birla family expected charitable trusts to inherit the estate.

Harsh Vardhan Lodha, the second son of Rajendra Singh Lodha, has since taken control of the MP Birla Groups assets, currently worth Rs25,000 crore from his father RS Lodha.

The probate court said that Lodha, chairman of the group's flagship firm Birla Corp, has been acting against the interest of Priyamvada Birlas estate.

Lodha will be removed as chairman of the groups flagship company Birla Corp. and as director on the boards of other MP Birla companies, including listed firms Vindhya Telelinks Ltd, Birla Cables Ltd and Universal Cables Ltd.

In May, a two-judge division bench of the Calcutta High Court had allowed Lodhas reappointment as director by rotation in some of these group firms. Lodha was also specifically entitled to a profit-related commission in these firms, which was approved by a special resolution at the companies recently-held annual general meetings.

The Birla family had challenged this appointment in the Supreme Court soon after, but the SC turned down the petition and redirected that the case be heard in the high court.

The court in its order said all majority decisions taken by the court-appointed administrator pendente lite (the APL committee, or a committee of administrators appointed in 2012) will be binding on Lodha and that he will be obliged to implement them.

In separate orders in 2019 and 2020, the committee had directed Lodhas removal from the boards of these companies and had refused to support the payment of any profit-linked remuneration to him, but these decisions were not implemented.

These directions mean that Harsh Vardhan Lodha immediately ceases to hold all positions in the MP Birla Group, including as director in the companies and other positions in the trusts and societies of the MP Birla Group," a statement from the Birla family said.

The court held that since the companies are not parties to the testamentary proceedings, directions cannot be passed against them but the decisions of the committee of administrators shall be implemented by Lodhas, who are plaintiffs in the testamentary proceedings His stranglehold on the MP Birla group has been brought to an end by the Calcutta High Court."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 18:33:11|Editor: huaxia

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Aerial photo shows a pomegranate plantation in Zhangguan Town of Huili County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sept. 19, 2020. With a planting area of 400,000 mu (about 26,666 hectares), pomegranate in Huili County accounts for about a quarter of the country's total, with an annual output of 700,000 tons. He Shuang, 24, resigned from an airline in 2017 and started to sell pomegranates in hometown. One year later, her sister He Qian came back home to help after graduation. In 2019, the sisters had sold four million kilograms of pomegranates from August to November through the e-commerce platform Pinduoduo. They have become pioneers to sell local agricultural products on e-commerce. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing)
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan today held personal talks with President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Arayik Haroutyunyan.

Distinguished President of Artsakh, it is my pleasure to meet with you in Yerevan on the day marking the 29th anniversary of the Independence of Armenia. The declaration of independence has a special place in Armenian history, and I believe it is unequivocal for us Armenians that only through the existence of statehood will we be able to guarantee the development of our nation. Of course, Artsakh is currently the major issue on the pan-national agenda, and I am glad that, as in the past, we will combine our efforts to play the role of a guarantor of peace and stability in the region today and in the future, Pashinyan stated.

Thank you distinguished Prime Minister. Taking the opportunity, I would like to congratulate all us Armenians. I am certain and can surely say that the future of Armenia and Artsakh is not only guaranteed, but we will also have dynamic growth. Taking the opportunity, I would also like to thank you for our subsequent meeting. During our meetings, the focus of our discussions is our national security and the several socio-economic programs in Armenia and Artsakh, but we understand that today, in this difficult period in politics, it is our duty to do our best to ensure sustainable peace, Harutyounyan said.

The Prime Minister and President discussed several issues related to the development of cooperation.
The tragedy of the Trump administrations approach is that it has alienated European allies who share the common goal of curbing Irans most worrisome behavior. The United States once stood shoulder to shoulder with not only France, Germany and Britain, but also with Russia and China  to isolate Iran. Now, it is the United States that is isolated.

The bigger question is whether the American efforts to invoke snapback will kill the nuclear deal, which the other parties have been trying desperately to keep alive. Iran had been widely seen as keeping its commitments under the deal until the U.S. exit. Afterward, it increased its production of fissile material, as a calibrated response to the American withdrawal.

Now, the agreement is in tatters. If Mr. Trump is re-elected, the chances of reviving the accord are slim to none. Iran could walk away from the nuclear deal altogether and resume its previous levels of production of fissile material, which it claims will be used as fuel for a peaceful nuclear reactor. This will set Iran back on a collision course with the United States and Israel.

The deal could still get back on track. Irans actions are not irreversible. The fissile material it has produced could still be secured and sent out of the country. Theres also a chance that behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts might lead to informal agreements to refrain from significant arms sales to Iran that would inflame the situation. The arms embargo does not actually expire until October, so there is still time for diplomacy to work.

But the Trump administration has squandered the unity that the international community once had on Iran. It has also squandered the chance to fix the flaws in the Obama-era agreement by failing to pair its dramatic exit with meaningful diplomatic overtures that might have made renegotiation possible. At the time, American diplomats bragged to their European counterparts that the Iranians would soon be brought to their knees, and come begging to reopen talks. That hasnt happened.

The Iranian people are undoubtedly suffering from the U.S. sanctions, all the more so during the pandemic, which has left them short of medicines. But the regime has not come begging for a deal with Mr. Trump. In fact, the Trump administrations policies have made fools of the moderates in Iran, who argued that the United States could be trusted to keep its end of the bargain. The Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has publicly called the deal a mistake. Nevertheless, Mr. Trump has portrayed himself repeatedly as capable of quickly achieving a deal with Iran. Dont wait until after U.S. Election to make the Big deal, he tweeted at Iranian leaders in June. Im going to win. Youll make a better deal now!

Like so much of Mr. Trumps gamesmanship, theres no Plan B behind the bluster. Today, Iran is closer to having enough fissile material to build a nuclear bomb than it was when he took office.
The case going before the Supreme Court in November looks at the questions of whether the requirement that everyone buy insurance or pay a penalty is now unconstitutional, and, if it is unconstitutional, whether the rest of the law is invalid. In 2017, Congress erased that penalty, and a group of states and two individuals argue the entire law is invalid without it.
The pear planting demonstration area in Guanyang County in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, plays an important role in lifting locals out of poverty. [For China Daily]

Guanyang County in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has played its part in targeted poverty alleviation by establishing and protecting the trademark and geographical indication of local agricultural products.

Through a three-year action plan to enhance Guangxi's trademark management and support targeted poverty alleviation, the autonomous region has forged 92 geographical indication-protected products  including the Guanyang pear, Liuzhou luosifen (a Chinese rice noodle dish) and Rong'an kumquat  and 67 geographical indication trademarks, according to Bi Jundong, deputy director of the Guangxi Administration for Market Regulation.

Daren Village is where the Guanyang pear originates. With 902 households and 3,111 residents, the village has worked to develop a high-quality fruit industry with a pear planting demonstration area covering 6.67 square kilometers.

To further develop ecological agriculture and eliminate poverty, the county government grants awards and subsidies to encourage poor households to participate in the fruit cultivation and the existing workers to expand their planting scale.

The pear planting demonstration area is a part of Daren Village's modern agriculture demonstration area that covers 16.67 sq km.

The modern agriculture demonstration area covers 4,200 households and more than 14,500 people, of which 754 households and 2,822 people are impoverished.

Among the 2,822 people is Zheng Aijiao. She is the sole breadwinner of her family, after her husband lost the ability to work due to an accident a few years ago. With two kids to bring up, Zheng has struggled.

Thanks to the help of the local government, she attended technical training to learn professional pear-planting techniques and has been able to earn more money and provide for her family.

This summer, Zheng had a harvest from a 10,000 square-meter pear and plum plantation, with an average yield per hectare reaching 3,000 kilograms.

"I made more than 50,000 yuan ($7,398) this year just from selling pears," Zheng said.

(Source: China Daily)
New Zealand authorities have announced coronavirus lockdown measures will be wound back, though health authorities are scrambling to investigate the source of three new mystery cases in Auckland.

Auckland will move to level two restrictions, which requires physical distancing, face masks on public transport and no more than 100 people at social gatherings, from 11.59pm on Wednesday.

The rest of the country will move to level 1 restrictions, which impose no limits on domestic travel or social gatherings, from 11.59pm on Monday night.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Credit:Getty Images

The country reported no new cases of coronavirus on Monday and the "Auckland August" cluster, which grew to 178 cases, has not had a new infection reported in seven days.
Aquatic organisms -- and terrestrial ones -- that do best when there is lots of food also do best when there is very little. Credit: DTU/ Erik Selander

Biologists have long considered the origins and continued coexistence of the immense diversity of species found in our environment. How can we explain the fact that no single species predominates? A generally accepted hypothesis is that there are trade-offs, which means that no organism can do best in all conditions. One trade-off that is commonly assumed is that between gleaner organisms which are able to acquire and consume more food than other species when resources are scarceand exploiters, which rapidly consume large quantities of the same resources when they are in abundance.

However, when scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) analyzed the consumption of food resources of over 500 terrestrial and aquatic species, they showed that organisms that are efficient when there are low quantities of food, are also best when food resources are abundant. Consequently, biodiversity cannot be explained as a trade-off between gleaners and exploiters. Instead, the idea of risk taking to obtain food needs to be considered, as explained in this PNAS publication.

Dealing with trade-offs is one of the challenges organisms faces when they have to gain the energy needed to grow, defend themselves and reproduce. "If there were no trade-offs, the species that is the most effective in all conditions would come out on top," begins Mridul Thomas, senior research and teaching assistant in the Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences in UNIGE's Faculty of Sciences and the study's second author. "These trade-offsand variations in environmental conditionshelp explain why species are different and why we have diversity. No species can be best in all conditions."

Indeed, there is wide agreement in the scientific community that biodiversity can be explained partly through the gleaner-exploiter trade-off, which arises from the need to invest in both acquiring food and in quickly extracting energy and nutrients from it. Scientists expect organisms living in low-food environments to be gleaners that can quickly search for resources over large areas. Conversely, organisms living in food-rich environments are exploiters that consume resources in abundance and at great speed. Both these strategies can result in success depending on the environmental conditions encountered. And if the food availability changes through time or across space, it can allow competing gleaners and exploiters to co-exist, leading to diversity.

No gleaner-exploiter trade-off in nature

"Although it's taught commonly and is found in text books, there's little experimental evidence for the gleaner-exploiter trade-off," says Mridul. This is exactly the subject that Thomas Kirboe, professor at the National Institute of Aquatic Resources at DTUand first author of the studydecided to investigate. In an attempt to provide an answer, Professor Kirboe has been collecting data found in the scientific literature on the food consumption of hundreds of species, derived from estimates from organisms ranging from single cells to large mammals living both in terrestrial and aquatic environments.

This immense collection of data has made it possible to analyze the speed at which over 500 species acquire and consume food. "For each species, such as a spider, scientists measured how fast it was able to capture and eat food, and they did this when food was abundant and when it was rare. Thanks to this valuable work by many scientists for hundreds of species, we were able to compare this across many organisms," continues Mridul. Curves of the speed of consumption as a function of the abundance of food are derived from this data, making it possible to describe the performance of the organisms in both low and high food conditions. "A negative correlation is expected from the gleaner-exploiter trade-off, but our results show a positive relationship", a clear indication, according to the biologist, that the gleaner-exploiter trade-off does not exist. Kirboe and Mridul have demonstrated that species that perform well in an environment where energy resources are scarce are also the best in a rich environment.

Unexplained biodiversity

However, the researchers' interpretation does not call the concept of trade-offs into question. "Without trade-offs, it is very hard to maintain diversity. Our research does not explain biodiversity, but it does overturn an existing theory about precisely why we have biodiversity," says Mridul. Accordingly, there should be another trade-off: "A trade-off about risk-taking to access food is more likely, and would be consistent with our results. For instance, an organism may be better at getting food whether food is scarce or abundant because it takes more risks. Getting more food is generally good because it helps organisms grow and reproduce. But if in searching for food the organism gets eaten itself, it cannot reproduce. So it can sometimes be good to avoid taking these risks even if it means getting less food which would explain why we see in our study that some species seem very good at getting food and some very bad at it."

Whatever this other trade-off is, the Danish-Swiss study fundamentally changes an important idea about why we have biodiversity that is still being taught and has been taken for granted. It follows that our understanding of ecosystems must be revisited, since this knowledge is essential in the face of the environmental upheavals we are witnessing today.

Explore further Illegal trade with terrestrial vertebrates in markets and households of Laos
The news item with the title 'Senate: CNCD, IRDO to merge, to solve the institutional parallelism existing between them' broadcast on Monday, on the English newswire is cancelled due to an editing error in the Romanian version.

AGERPRES .
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases for September 21 in Uzbekistan increased to 51,789, Trend reports with reference to the statistics of the Uzbek Ministry of Health.

To date, 47,932 patients have fully recovered in the country, while 433 have died.

At the moment, 3,422 patients are treated in medical institutions in Uzbekistan in accordance with the standards, 557 of them are in serious condition, and 245 patients are in critical condition.

From October 1, all border crossing points in Uzbekistan will be open for road, rail, and air transport.

Under the instructions of the President of Uzbekistan, unlimited movement of vehicles, as well as local air and rail travel in Uzbekistan, was resumed since August 15, 2020. Also, from August 17, 2020, Tashkent resumed public transportation.

Citizens are required to wear masks when entering public transport (buses).

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 fishing 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.

Uzbekistan as an active member of the WHO European Regional Office has joined the Coronavirus vaccination program.

--

Follow the author on Twitter: @romakayeva
WorkStep, the company helping large industrial employers, including 16 of the Fortune 500, source, screen, hire  and now, retain  their frontline workforce, today releases COVID-19 and Flight Risk in the Industrial Workforce. The data finds that the majority of industrial workers (70 percent) feel their safety and their familys financial security are in conflict through the pandemic.

WorkStep surveyed more than 600 industrial workers across the country to gain insight on how those on the front lines view the industry, the impact of COVID-19, and their employers response.

Finding and Addressing Workers Frustrations:



COVID-19 Impact is Crushing: 56 percent of industrial workers report COVID-19 having a negative impact on their job; of those respondents, nearly 40 percent stated they did not feel like their work environment is safely protecting them from the virus and 37 percent do not feel their employer offers adequate flexibility to manage through the pandemic. This can put retention - and the resources poured into hiring, onboarding, and training - at extra risk.

Worse for Women, but Bad for All: Nearly 80 percent of women in the industrial workforce (78 percent) feel their safety and their familys financial security are in conflict, compared to 66 percent of men,

Workforce Flight Risk: 58 percent of workers have sought employment at another company and nearly half of respondents (48 percent) have not continued to work full time due to the pandemic.

Age Affects Impact: Respondents under the age of 38 are more likely to have consistently been employed than older workers. Perhaps connected, close to 60 percent feel the pandemic wont accelerate improvements for their work sector; this older cohort is twice as likely to agree with that sentiment than younger counterparts.

No Way to Air Frustrations: 94 percent of industrial workers stated they are more likely to stay at a company they feel listens to and encourages feedback, yet over a quarter (26 percent) do not feel they have an adequate avenue for providing feedback about their supervisor or the workplace in general.

From the Industrial Revolution through the COVID-19 pandemic, the industrial workforce has been the backbone of the U.S. economy. These heroes make sure there is food on our plates, our packages arrive on time, and our buildings stand strong, said Dan Johnston, CEO and Co-founder of WorkStep. Yet, while we call these workers essential, the industry has high and increasing turnover rates and ranks the lowest in overall workforce satisfaction. Ensuring that companies have the ability to find - and retain - skilled frontline workers is critical to the success and overall economic health and wealth of our country.

To help employers address this challenge, WorkStep, has launched RETAIN to provide real-time feedback, benchmark insights, and suggest actions to drive improvements in the workplace to measurably increase employee retention. In its beta-stage, RETAIN has shown promising results, with a projected annual turnover reduction of 18 percent and a labor cost decrease of 3 percent.

RETAIN uses a milestone-based check-in system to give frontline workers the opportunity to provide feedback via pre-populated and custom surveys sent directly to their mobile phones. Survey insights are aggregated then segmented by core attributes (like role, tenure and location) where they are plotted over time and benchmarked against peer data. Algorithms then determine how to weigh the different attributes, giving a quick and easy way to find what kind of feedback is most likely to cause someone to leave their job. This gives employers the opportunity to address the feedback and take actions to prevent future turnover.

"RETAIN provides valuable feedback at key length-of-service milestones to help us improve retention," said Kim Smith, Vice President of Human Resources at TransPak. "The insights RETAIN helps us uncover not only provide actionable steps we can take, but also demonstrate to frontline workers that their feedback is important and can make a difference."

Since its inception in 2017, WorkStep has helped more than 400,000 industrial workers earn over $126 million in jobs placed via the platform. Every month, more than 20,000 industrial job seekers turn to WorkStep to help facilitate job matches with over 100 top employers, including 16 of the Fortune 500.

WorkStep surveyed 600 industrial workers across the country to gain insights into the state of the industrial sector as it relates to COVID-19. The survey was conducted online between August 19 - 25, 2020.

About WorkStep

WorkStep is the leading Employee Lifecycle Management (ELM) software platform purpose-built for the modern supply chain. With its cloud-based Hire and Retain solutions, WorkStep provides HR, recruiting and operations leaders full transparency across the employee lifecycle, helping them source, screen, onboard, train, and retain critical, non-exempt talent. WorkStep customers include hundreds of industrial, logistics, transportation and warehousing employers across North America  including regional 3PLs and distribution centers, as well as 165 of the Fortune 500. With offices in San Francisco, CA and Portland OR, WorkStep plays a critical role in keeping the country moving forward by making the sector a better place to work for employers and employees alike. Visit http://www.workstep.com
Billy Crudup made his second jump to TV last year, receiving critical acclaim for his role in The Morning Show on Apple TV+.

And the New York-born actor's performance alongside Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon earned him his first Emmy nomination.

He seemed to encourage his young fans to vote Sunday, as he gave them a special shoutout in his acceptance speech for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards.

Rock the vote! Billy Crudup seemed to encourage his young fans to vote Sunday, as he gave them a special shoutout in his acceptance speech for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards

The 52-year-old said in his speech: 'This is a pretty incredible experience. Thanks a lot to the Academy. Obviously, the caliber of actors in the category... it's just some of the most esteemed actors that I'm familiar with, and have been for a long time.

'I knew the second I got this part that it was something to be fortunate about, so I tried to thank everyone who's been involved in this project and in my life, loving and supporting me already.

'So, if I haven't thanked you, please call me and yell at me, because I've been meaning to. It has taken an army of support, and I am incredibly grateful.'

He continued: 'To the young people in my life, my glorious son Will, my nephews, Ash, all my godchildren... Please save us. Sorry to ask. But thanks in advance for all of your help.'

First nomination: It came after the New York-born actor nabbed his first ever Emmy nomination for his role in The Morning Show on Apple TV+

Incredible experience: The 52-year-old said in his speech: 'This is a pretty incredible experience. Thanks a lot to the Academy. Obviously, the caliber of actors in the category... it's just some of the most esteemed actors that I'm familiar with, and have been for a long time'

Please save us: He continued: 'To the young people in my life, my glorious son Will, my nephews, Ash, all my godchildren... Please save us. Sorry to ask. But thanks in advance for all of your help'

Stiff competition: Crudup beat out Nicholas Braun, Kieran Culkin, Giancarlo Esposito, Matthew Macfadyen, Bradley Whitford, Jeffrey Wright and his Morning Show costar Mark Duplass for the coveted gold statue

Crudup beat out Nicholas Braun, Kieran Culkin, Giancarlo Esposito, Matthew Macfadyen, Bradley Whitford, Jeffrey Wright and his Morning Show costar Mark Duplass for the coveted gold statue.

He stars in the show, which was renewed for season two in April, as Cory Ellison, a new executive looking to shake things up at a major news organization, which has recently become the subject of a #MeToo scandal.

Costars Duplass, Aniston and Steve Carrel were also nominated, as was director Mimi Leder, but Crudup took home the show's only prize at the awards show, making it the series' first Emmy.

Crudup previously told IndieWire of his character: 'Part of the joy is Im old enough to know a good character like that when I get it.'

He added: 'I couldnt understand him. It was so intoxicating. Something seemed familiar to me about this type of person, but at the same time it was impossible to know what could be motivating him. I wanted to figure it out by playing him. The allure was the mystery.'
Long before the pandemic's onset in March, I was looking for somewhere to go.

I was scanning the cheapest fares  from San Miguel de Allende to Barcelonamusing about far-flung destinations I'd not yet explored and talking to traveler friends who do things the cheap, nomadic way. "Nomadic," of course, meaning "staying with friends along the way."

Soon I had to forget exotic adventures. The pandemic shut down all international travel.



Just come over to Austin," my old college friend Clark said. "Get off the grid. Get out of Houston for a while."

"No, Im spooked to go anywhere," I'd answer.

TEXAS GETAWAY: This Texas city takes top spot as one of America's best cities for quick getaways in 2020

Clark is an eccentric, and our trips over the years have seen everything from .38 revolvers to rattlesnake nests and empty gas tanks miles from civilization. For many years, Clark worked with Austin director Richard Linklater and created plenty of fodder for the most iconic Texas films like Slacker and Dazed and Confused.

Wanderlust is in my DNA, and our trips were a perfect mix of exploration and natural beauty. I feel at home in open spaces and the great outdoors. There's nothing quite like the windows rolled down on a true Texas road trip.

With the strange pandemic summer dragging on, spring and summer passed without any sort of nature getaway until August, when I got an invite from the infamous Clark again inviting me to Austin.

It had been a while since I had explored the hiking trails near Barton Creek Greenbelt or hit Hippie Hollow Park or Hamilton Pool. I missed Franklins Barbecue and longed to journal on the patio and dip my feet into The Hotel San Jose pool.

I decided to head for Austin. Driving through Katy, I felt free of the gravitational pull of Houston. By Columbus, I was ready to be there. By Smithville, I was rounding up my posse on the phone.

As the shadows lengthened and the weather cooled, I arrived at my first oasis in Austin: The Hotel Jose. This place always greets me with a smile. No matter what, no matter when, its the sublime spot I venture to first in Austin as I come in disheveled from the road. It refreshes me. I'll sit and write about my journeys in my journal on the patio. Then my friends will come and gather. Its where we talk about things that matterwhat weve learned, felt, and lost in the pandemic.

After my moment of Zen, it was sunset and time for hurricane Clark to arrive. In his usual whirlwind of excuses and misdirection, we met on the street in front of an old favorite nightspot that was now closed. No libations or food to be had here, so we bid goodbye to South Congress, which was slightly decimated and oddly populated at the same time, as if ghosts of parties past were venturing out for a haunted evening stroll at boarded-up window shopping.

"People are just wandering around like zombies on South Congress, even though a lot of these spots are closed anyway. But I guess they still want to be here anyway," Clark said in his ineffable style. "It took me a while to adjust to the fact that there were so many parking spaces over here."

The next stop was Justines Brasserie - where you better plan ahead and make reservations in advance.

Apparently we had accidentally made reservations at the New Orleans Justines, but the Austin Justines was oh-so-accommodating. We landed the coolest spot in the restaurant, indulged in the scrumptious steak frites, and then sauntered to the back patio and gazebo. We watched the moon slowly eclipse the red planet of Mars and marveled at the precautions and social distancing at a place that is usually elbow-to-elbow. Where we once played petanque, tables were spaced widely apart, fans blew air in every direction and the wait staff wore masks.

"Well, at least we have a private viewing of eclipse of Mars while others are occupied with more earthly matters," Clark noted.

After Justine's, time to hit the late-night spot. Some friends met us over at Kinda Tropical, a cool hangout owned by Amy Mullins, run by a talented chef and frequented by former pro skateboarders, new dog owners and their matching dates. Among our friends sparked a good conversation about who needed the most help in the pandemic, and who could give it where it counted most.

The next morning, sunrise opened up like a blood orange lavender bruise over Barton Creek. It was a perfect day for hiking, so we ventured forth, off on some trail that first ran adjacent to an old fence line and then took another turn. From Twin Falls to Sculpture Falls, the water runs, then it returns under the rocks. Such is the current of all things Austin. The musicians are still here, just not in the clubs. The film makers still writing, editing and pitching. Just not shooting. The politicians talk, campaign, lobby one another and their constituents. They just dont fix anything.

After the third mile, Clark scaled a boulder and surveyed the damage. The new skyscrapers were just around the bend, but you couldn't see them from where we stood. He pointed back up the creek in the direction of J Frank Dobie's famed Paisano ranch.

Im pretty sure when Mirabeau Lamar walked up this creek into what became the city named for his friend Stephen F, the first Comanches he met told him, Oh, man, you got here too late. Ten years ago this place was paradise,'" Clark remarked.

At the trailhead's end, I knew it was time to head back home to Houston. The adventure was over...until next time. It was just liberating to get outside, take a short Texas road trip, when things are still iffy about travel safety amid the pandemic.

Nights in Austin are marked by the flow of tangential conversations, like rushing waters that move from a spring to a stream, and then to the river. One thing I've learned in life: Dont ever try to tame, chase or define those moments of wanderlust. Just let them be, like organic force fields that make you feel happy that youre alive.
The battle between the Christian right and the moderates for number one on the LNP Senate ticket may be determined at preselection for the seat of Groom.

Sitting MP John McVeigh shocked the party on Friday with his sudden resignation, citing his wifes ill health. However, it was also known he was deeply disappointed to lose his ministry under the ascension of Scott Morrison to Prime Minister.

Dr John McVeigh resigned on Friday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Groom, based on Toowoomba, is the safest Liberal seat in the country, won last year by McVeigh with 70 per cent of the two-party vote.

Senator James McGrath, based on the Sunshine Coast, went to high school in Toowoomba. He owns a property near Warwick in the neighbouring seat of Maranoa and is considering contesting the preselection.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Lerman Law Firm (Cathy Jackson Lerman, P.A.) is issuing a Fraud Alert warning residents in North America of potential scams being perpetrated in Canada and the United States. Investors are warned that affiliates of the Palm Beach County-based Hawk Systems, Inc. Ponzi scheme are using aliases and some may be posing as residents/citizens of Canada. Their alleged criminal activity has reportedly spread into personal protective equipment (PPE) fraud and legitimate buyers of these critical supplies are their targets.



Investors and PPE buyers are urged to come forward if they have had any interaction whatsoever with the following entities:

Hawk Systems, Inc.

Hawk Biometrics of Canada, Inc.

Hawk Biometric Technologies, Inc.

DNA Distro, LLC

DNA Global Entities, LLC

DNA Global Properties, LLC

DNA Companies Inc.



These sophisticated fraudulent schemes run the gamut from solicitation of investors to purchase stock in nonexistent or shell companies to commercial offers to sell large quantities of PPE which do not exist. Information obtained by the Lerman Law Firm indicates that some of the same principals of the Hawk Ponzi Schemes are now conducting these new scams.

In particular, an individual named David Columbo, a named affiliate of one or more of these Florida-based DNA companies, may be operating one or more of these schemes with multiple accomplices both male and female. Columbo is using a cell phone number of (561) 329-6800.

The Lerman Law Firm has already gathered information from multiple whistleblowers and victims related to some of these companies and is investigating the extent to which this fraud has spread. There is currently a shareholder derivative suit pending in Palm Beach County concerning the investment scheme involving the Hawk entities and some of these individuals and companies are named defendants.

Anyone with information should immediately contact Cathy Lerman, principal of the Lerman Law Firm at clerman@lermanfirm.com or 954-343-1132. In addition, any whistleblowers, other potential victims or anyone able to offer information in this investigation are encouraged to contact Lerman directly.




RAMALLAH, West Bank  Tension is ongoing at Al-Aqsa Mosque, with daily raids by settlers and Israeli police and what is seen as an increasing attempt by Israeli authorities to bring about changes in the mosque and undermine the sovereignty of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf (religious endowment). It is also seen as an attempt to undermine the Jordanian guardianship of Jerusalems holy sites and impose Israeli sovereignty.

On Sept. 6, Israeli police set up ladders at the entrance and minaret of Bab al-Asbat Gate and mounted them to install huge loudspeakers on the northwestern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The devices were placed on the roof of Al-Aqsa High School adjacent to the Bab al-Asbat minaret and on the roof of the Islamic School for Girls adjacent to Al-Silsila Gate. Two devices were placed on Bab al-Hadid.

Mohammed al-Ashhab, director of public relations and media at the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, told Al-Monitor the Waqf had earlier rejected a request by Israeli police to open the door to the Bab al-Asbat minaret to cross from it to the roof of the northern Al-Aqsa Mosque wall and install loudspeakers. After the refusal, he explained, the police used ladders to reach the roof and forcibly installed them.

Ashhab said four loudspeakers have been installed on the northern and western walls of the mosque, which are supplementary devices for surveillance cameras and sensors that police have installed there over the past years in order to monitor the worshippers, noting that Jordan is now associated with this new violation by virtue of its guardianship over the mosque.

Jordan has the right of guardianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian pledge of allegiance to Sharif Hussein bin Ali on March 11, 1924, which continued until after the West Bank joined Jordan following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, as Jordan was the last local authority to oversee those sanctities before Israel occupied them in 1967. The pledge remained in force as stipulated in the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty signed in 1994, until President Mahmoud Abbas signed the guardianship and sovereignty agreement with King Abdullah II on March 31, 2013.

Ashhab said Israel is committing various violations against Al-Aqsa such as daily raids and pursuing Waqf employees and dismissing them from the mosque. Nearly 30 dismissals have been recorded against mosque guards since the beginning of 2020, in addition to preventing Islamic Waqf restoration projects inside Al-Aqsa  all of which were committed with the purpose of changing the historical and legal status of the mosque.

In August 2017, Israel installed loudspeakers for the first time on the roof of the Omariyeh College near the Bab al-Ghawanima minaret after the Bab al-Asbat protests, which became known as the battle against electronic gates. The addition of even more loudspeakers allows Israeli authorities to disturb worshippers during prayer and give instructions during any confrontation or incident at the mosque without necessarily coordinating with the Islamic Waqf.

Ekrima Sabri, head of the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem, told Al-Monitor Israel is intensifying its monitoring tools against Al-Aqsa worshippers in order to change the current status quo of the mosque.

The Islamic Waqf issued a statement Sept. 6 noting that the occupation's attempt to change the historical, religious and legal reality in Al-Aqsa by force will never succeed. The statement continued, Police plans in support of extremists and transgressions that want to undermine the Waqf and its employees will be destroyed by the steadfastness of the people of the city and the Mourabitoun (self-appointed guardians of Al-Aqsa), appealing to Jordanian King Abdullah II personally to intervene quickly to curb the occupation policies and eliminate its measures that it is trying to impose by force.

Jordanian Minister of Awqaf Mohammed Ahmed Al-Khalayleh issued a press statement the same day warning against the repeated attacks by the occupation authorities against the employees of the Islamic Waqf, who are constantly summoned for investigation and then arrested or dismissed from their worksites in the mosque, stressing that the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem is the only body with exclusive authority to manage mosque affairs.

Israeli authorities have escalated their measures at Al-Aqsa Mosque, and such practices are expected to further increase in the coming weeks and months in an attempt to achieve several goals: imposing its sovereignty and administration over the mosque in line with the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, marginalizing the power and decision of the Islamic Waqf, and undermining and weakening the Jordanian guardianship because of Jordan's position rejecting the US Mideast peace plan and the annexation plan, specifically the annexation of the Jordan Valley.

A senior official in the Islamic Waqf in charge of Al-Aqsa Mosque affairs told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Israel forcibly installing loudspeakers on Al-Aqsas wall after the Islamic Waqf refused the request to do so is part of its campaign to impose sovereignty and administration over Al-Aqsa.

He said Israel is seeking to change three aspects of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The first is to change the historical reality so that it can overstep the powers of the Jordanian guardianship and infringe upon it by violating the powers of the Islamic Waqf, which is a representative of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He noted that it is doing so through raids, police measures, preventing projects in the mosque, and setting up sensors and surveillance cameras without the Waqfs consent.

The second aspect is the human conflict at Al-Aqsa Mosque, as Israel is working to change and dry up the Arab and Islamic human presence in the mosque, expel the Palestinian Jerusalemite presence, and attract settlers and a military presence inside the mosque through dozens of dismissal notices and incessant raids, be it against mosque guards or Mourabitoun.

The third aspect, he added, is Israels endgame, which is to turn Al-Aqsa Mosque into a place similar to the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. The official explained, When Israel installs loudspeakers around the mosque and imposes its security control over it, the Palestinian presence in the Old City [of Jerusalem] dries up, as it controls all aspects of the mosque and prepares to implement temporal and spatial division of the mosque and control it completely.

Israel continues to bring about changes to Al-Aqsa, and it does not seem to be facing any pressure to stop. It is armed with the US decision recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and more recently the two normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, all of which encourage it to proceed with implementing its plan for the temporal and spatial division of the mosque.
Mike Trout walks by a picture of late Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs in center field before a game against the Baltimore Orioles on July 25, 2019, at Angel Stadium. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

A federal judge approved a joint motion on Monday to delay the deadline to indict Eric Kay as prosecutors and attorneys for the former Angels employee continue discussing a plea bargain.

Kay, who worked in the Angels media relations department for 24 years, was charged last month with distributing fentanyl in connection with pitcher Tyler Skaggs overdose death.

Both parties have been in communication during this most recent extension period, but due to the defendants residence in California, communications are more time-consuming and require additional levels of coordination, the joint motion said. Both parties continue to believe that with additional time in which to gather information about the defendant and the circumstances surrounding the events leading to the pending case, a plea agreement may be reached, thus negating the need for an indictment, or the parties might be in a better position to move forward with the case in the most efficient manner.

The motion added: The additional time will allow the parties an opportunity to further review evidence and communicate regarding the evidence and pending case.

This is the second delay U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton in Fort Worth has granted. The first joint motion late last month extended the deadline to Thursday; the new deadline is Oct. 22.

Skaggs died in his Southlake, Texas, hotel room July 1, 2019, before the Angels were scheduled to play the Texas Rangers. The toxicology report by the Tarrant County, Texas, medical examiner found fentanyl and oxycodone in his system.

Prosecutors alleged in the affidavit supporting the criminal complaint that Kay and Skaggs had a history of narcotic transactions and Kay distributed opioid pills to [Skaggs] and others in their place of employment and while they were working.

Investigators found a counterfeit oxycodone pill containing fentanyl in Skaggs hotel room. The affidavit by Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Geoffrey Lindenberg said Kay visited Skaggs in response to his request for pills late at night June 30.

It was later determined that but for the fentanyl in [Skaggs] system, [he] would not have died, the affidavit said.

Kay has not entered a plea, according to court records. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, gave assurances, during his meeting with Miroslav Lajcak, the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and other regional issues in the Western Balkans, that Romania supports the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

According to a press release of the MAE sent to AGERPRES, the meeting took place on Monday, on the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council, held in Brussels.

"On this occasion, the head of Romanian diplomacy expressed his appreciation for the efforts made by the Special Representative in resuming negotiations on this complex issue, after a period in which discussions stagnated. Minister Bogdan Aurescu reiterated that Romania supports a comprehensive agreement between the two sides, mediated by the EU and in full agreement with international law," informs the said press release.

The MAE also noted that the two officials had an exchange of views and assessments on the future of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, both in terms of its difficult aspects and in terms of the incentives that could be given to the two sides to encourage progress towards a sustainable solution. In addition, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs gave assurances regarding Romania's willingness to support developments in this case, taking into account Romania's regional expertise on this level.

The two officials agreed to stay in touch in the next period on all the topics discussed, the MAE informs.

AGERPRES .
DUBLIN, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ResearchAndMarkets.com published a new article on the social media industry "Tiktok's Partnership with Oracle is a Way to Avoid the US Ban while Appeasing the Chinese Government"

TikTok and Oracle might be becoming business partners in the USA, according to CNN, just days before a US ban on TikTok was scheduled to go into effect. The exact nature of the agreement remains unclear; Chinese media said on 14 September that neither Oracle nor its bidding competitor Microsoft would not be allowed to purchase the US operations outright.

TikTok's popularity exploded in the US and Europe in recent years, with 315 million downloads in just the first three months of 2020, according to analytics company Sensor Tower. Like most social media apps, it collects personal information about its users; unlike most apps, it is owned by the Chinese government, leading US officials to see it as a tool for spying on American citizens. The US government threatened to ban the app outright, saying that its US operations needed to be sold to a US company for security oversight. Reuters described the partnership with Oracle as a way to avoid the ban while appeasing the Chinese government.

To see the full article and a list of related reports on the market, visit

Tiktok's Partnership with Oracle is a Way to Avoid the US Ban while Appeasing the Chinese Government

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You know why Bidens not going to get elected? Because that bonehead is trying to just get elected. Thats all hes trying to do. Everybody can see it. Believe me, its as plain as the lies in the newspapers and on TV about how great he is, and how much ahead of Trump he is. Hes too worried about getting elected, and everybody can see it. He doesnt care about whats going on in this country. Hes not going to get in. Its too bad the Democrats cant save their money.
While U.S. forces in the Middle East have not raised their alert status, they are prepared for any aggressive response from Iran to new sanctions ordered by President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday.

In remarks at the State Department with other Cabinet members, Esper said U.S. regional forces already "maintain a high state of alert."

"We continue to maintain all [the] operational readiness we need," he added.

In carrying out an executive order issued earlier Monday by Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the main purpose of the new sanctions is to prevent Iran's access to conventional weapons and thwart its nuclear ambitions.

Read Next: Norfolk Shipyard CO Is 4th Navy Leader to Be Fired in a Month

The sanctions will also serve as a warning to other nations against engaging in weapons deals with Iran, he added.

Trump issued his own statement on the sanctions.

"My actions today send a clear message to the Iranian regime and those in the international community who refuse to stand up to Iran," he said. "The United States will not allow the Iranian regime to further advance capabilities to directly threaten and terrorize the rest of the world."

The sanctions target dozens of entities and individuals involved in Iran's conventional and nuclear weapons programs, including the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, the Defense Industries Organization and its director, Mehrdad Akhlaghi-Ketabchi, Pompeo said.

They are also aimed at Venezuela and its disputed president, Nicolas Maduro. Pompeo charged that Venezuela has engaged in arms deals with Iran in violation of the United Nations arms embargo.

"Our actions today are a warning that should be heard worldwide. No matter who you are, if you violate the U.N. arms embargo on Iran, you risk sanctions," Pompeo said.

Iran has accused the U.S. of hypocrisy for invoking sanctions under agreements in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, enacted by the Obama administration with international partners in 2015 with the aim of limiting Iran's nuclear programs. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA in May 2018.

In virtual remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Iran's main negotiator on the JCPOA, said the new sanctions amount to "nothing new."

"The United States has exerted all the pressure it could on Iran," he said. "It had hoped that these sanctions [would] bring our population to their knees. It didn't."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Related: Iran Vows 'Hit' on All Involved in US Killing of Top General
A retired lecturer who had to fight for nine months to recover 25,000 he lost in a banking scam has published a book about the traumatic experience.

Dr Jonathan Leakey, who lives in Ballymena, hopes the book, called 'Scam Survivor - How One Victim Fought Back', will help other people protect themselves from fraudsters.

The 58-year-old, a former lecturer in modern languages at Ulster University's Coleraine campus, fell victim to the sophisticated swindle in March 2018.

In just a few minutes, in a single transfer, he lost thousands of pounds.

It took months of wrangling before he and his wife Tricia, to whom he dedicates the book, were able to recover the money. They were finally refunded in December that year.

"It was a challenge, quite traumatic at the time but thankfully we came through it," he said.

"At various times, I had to pick myself up, from self-reproach and just feeling stupid. But we got a lot of help from various people, including a retired lawyer friend."

The father-of-two grown-up children explained how the scammers inserted a fake text into his bank's text-stream on his mobile phone, warning him of fraudulent activity on his debit card.

In a hurry to protect his account, he rang a number which put him through to a fraudster, 'Tanya', "who did a very good job convincing me she was from our bank".

Within "a matter of minutes", the large sum of cash had been removed from his account in one single transfer.

Dr Leakey added: "Immediately after the call, I went to my account and I couldn't get on, so they were obviously in there, emptying it.

"I had taken a severance package a couple of years before from the university so we were living off that money.

"Words can't describe how it felt. Even today, when a text or phone call comes in, or if I have to go on to my online account, there is a tension that wasn't there before.

"We are already helping two guys who last month lost five-figure sums. That's my main desire, to help everyone from the millennials to the elderly.

"It has been a cleansing, healing process to get the book published."

The book details the sequence of events on the day of the scam, and how the couple picked themselves up and fought to recover their money.

It includes practical guidance and useful information on what to do and the best people to contact at each stage.

It is aimed at those who have not yet been a victim of fraud, and want to know how to spot a scam and protect themselves better, as well as also those who have been the victim and who despair of ever recovering their money, or of getting over the trauma.

Stressing that scamming can affect anyone, Dr Leakey said: "I am the neighbourhood watch officer for my street and I have a PhD in computing. My wife and I are naturally risk averse and very careful. Before this happened, I thought I was scam-aware."

The book is available on Amazon from the Kindle Store and in paperback. Go to www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1838128905
Olivia McCoy, 20, Kennesaw State University, Psychology Major

" " "If you can vote, vote."  Olivia McCoy Olivia McCoy

Olivia McCoy isn't new to voting  she cast a ballot in the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election. But November will be her first time voting for U.S. president. She plans to vote in person because she attends school (currently online due to the coronavirus pandemic) in her home state.

"I feel like if I don't vote, then I didn't do my job as a citizen due to the political climate," McCoy says. "It makes me feel like an adult. I actually feel able talk about politics and have a say so in it."

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There are numerous issues of significance to her, like immigration, education, student loan forgiveness, how the U.S. is perceived globally and the pandemic. But she doesn't see one election as a quick fix.

"It's going to take more than 20 years to fix racism and how we feel about immigration, and how we feel about the use of our money; what are we paying taxes for," she says. "In the future, I honestly feel like we'll be going through the same issues, sadly, just in different forms."

Nevertheless, she stresses the importance of voting, in part because some people say that voices like hers never mattered and others sacrificed in order to change that. "This is the election for you to show your appreciation of what the people before us fought for," McCoy says.

"You hear a lot of people saying my vote doesn't count, but as a black woman, you really have to understand the position that you play," she explains. "At this point in time, it's pretty much life and death. This is going to be the rest of our lives."

Chloe Sparwath, 20, University of Virginia, Foreign Affairs Major

" " "You're voting for your future."  Chloe Sparwath Chloe Sparwath

A member of the College Republicans and UVA chapter president of the conservative women's group Network of Enlightened Women, Chloe Sparwath says she worries that Americans are so fired up over various issues and blaming problems on the country and its foundations that there will be a push to get rid of the institutions and foundations the country was built on.

"I'm a huge government nerd," Sparwath says. "I love the Constitution, and I love the Bill of Rights." Although the country may not be perfect, she says, people might not realize that the trajectory may lead from debating political issues to debating whether the country should remain.

"It's important for everybody to vote because so many people have fought for this right for us," she says. "No matter what you think of politicians these days, it's still pretty special that we get to choose our leaders when a lot of people don't."

Plus, voting is cool.

"It's really cool to vote in a presidential election, and I'm excited to cast my vote in Georgia, which is my home state," Sparwath says. "We're at a really critical time; I guess people probably say that with every election."

She says social justice issues are top of mind for her generation, while she believes guns, which had been an important focus, have taken a backseat to the Black Lives Matter movement.

"Never has the youth been so informed on so many different issues, or at least think they are informed," she says.

Sparwath says she will be voting by absentee ballot because she is in Virginia for school, even though her classes are all online due to coronavirus. Sparwath, who has volunteered in the past for several senators, says the pandemic has made it more difficult to continue in person, although she plans to get more involved with Georgia races via phone banking.

"It's made political clubs have to reevaluate," she says. "Engagement is somewhat down. It's a weird time."

Mercer Butts, 20, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Animal Science Major

" " "We are essentially going to be the leaders of the future."  Mercer Butts Mercer Butts

Mercer Butts recently completed his applications to veterinary school and hopes to practice production animal medicine. Because of his interest in agricultural matters, he puts topics like farming and the climate change at the top of his list of political concerns.

"We're at a critical time in our country's history," he says. "There are so many issues that are near and dear to me that have to be solved in the next few years. Many farmers, especially smaller farmers, cannot find labor for their farms." He points to the importance of modernizing farms, expanding the H1 visa program and improving internet in rural locations.

Like McCoy, he also believes his generation will be dealing with these problems for decades, but he knows now is a time of crisis. "The same issues will be here 20 years from now," he says. "Ten billion people will be here by 2050, and we can't even feed the people we have right now."

Butts serves on the political action committee at NCA&T, which is the largest and the No. 1 public historically black college in the country. Because of his school's status, many Democratic candidates and other leaders have visited. He attended the first meeting to establish an early voting location on campus for students. Before it was created in 2019, many students had to walk  some up to 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) roundtrip  to the nearest polling location.

"It's so important that we are actually using our right to vote so that we are influencing change for the future," he says. "I've never had to make the decision that will influence us federally and nationally. To have that much power and influence for change is just wonderful. It makes me feel really good."

Butts voted in the primary elections when he was home in Atlanta and plans to drive back to vote in the presidential election, too.

Cory Schmitt, 18, Indiana University, Audio Engineering and Sound Production Major

" " "It is incredibly important to vote and fight for what you believe in."  Cory Schmitt Cory Schmitt

After voting for the first time ever in the California primary, Cory Schmitt left for Indiana to attend college. For the November presidential election, he's counting on his parents to get his ballot at home and mail it to him at school so he will fill it out and mail it back to California.

"Besides the fact that this is the first time I've had a chance to vote [for president], I am voting because I believe this era in history  the last decade through the next decade  will truly determine the fate of humanity and our society," he says via email.

And when it comes to the future, Schmitt says he thinks his generation's vote is the most important because they are the ones who will have to deal with the repercussions of politics for decades to come.

"The youngest people in a group of voters will always matter the most because of that," he explains. "Newborn babies technically have the most important role since they will most likely outlive the 18-year-olds. But they definitely should not be voting, so we'll stick to the adults."

Among young voters, Schmitt finds the most important issues to be COVID-19 and climate change.

"COVID-19 is the biggest problem our country is facing right now, while climate change is the biggest problem the world will face for all eternity if we don't do something about it," he writes.

Although Schmitt has political views, he says he's not typically outspoken about them. Instead, he emphasizes a desire to see "incredibly high" voter turnout because then he'll know people's voices were heard.

"Even if I strongly disagree with those voices," he states. "But I also think that if everyone voted, Donald Trump would not win because I think a majority of this country does not support him. But that could be the Democratic Southern-Californian in me talking."

Tara Joshi, 19, Bucknell University, Environmental Engineering Major

" " "If there's a year to vote, it's right now."  Tara Joshi Tara Joshi

Although Tara Joshi plans to vote in the presidential election, she emphasizes the importance of voting in every election and would like to see more of a focus on that in today's social justice movements, particularly at the local level.

"If you want a change to how the police are being run, then vote for sheriff," she says. During the summer, Joshi voted in the primary and again in a Fulton County, Georgia, runoff. She will be voting again this November and says her plan is to do so in person.

"It's pretty exciting," she says. "Between COVID and BLM and climate change, this is a very pivotal year." As an environmental engineering student, she will dedicate her career to sustainability, so that is an important ballot issue for her. So are social justice issues.

"It's coming to light how far behind our country is in terms of social progress," she says. "You can't get rid of racism in 20 years. I'm hoping it will improve." She views a connection between all of the issues and how each affects the other. For example, with climate change, she says she believes it's low-income communities that suffer most from environmental disasters.

Joshi is currently taking college classes online, although Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, does offer face-to-face options. But because she is at home, she says she's considering serving as a poll worker.

"[Being a] poll worker is the main way I can make a difference," she says. And voting. "If someone doesn't vote and still wants to complain about who the president is, I kind of lose respect for them."

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

Rock the Vote! Rock the Vote turns 30 this year. It was started by music executives back in 1990 in response to the censorship of hip-hop and rap artists, but its partnership with MTV also helped ignite millions of young people in the United States to vote for the first time. If you need information on how to register to vote for the first time, check out Rockthevote.org.
Following Bhiwandi's Building Collapse incident, actor Kangana Ranaut on Monday hit out at Maharashtra government saying that if the Maha govt stopped being obsessed with her, they would know how the entire state was collapsing. The actor has been making headlines recently for her faceoff with the Shiv Sena led government. Earlier Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had demolished her Mumbai's office.

Days after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished actor Kangana Ranauts Mumbai office, the actor on Monday said that if they (Maharashtra government) stopped being obsessed with her, they would know how the entire state was collapsing.

A Twitter user shared an article reporting the collapse of a three-storey building in Bhiwandi, while also tagging Ranauts team, and said, Painful scenes!, he said that such things happen when Maharashtra govt had only the time to dismantle Kanganas. To which, the Queen actor responded on the micro-blogging site, saying that if the Maha govt stopped being obsessed with her they would know how the entire state was collapsing.

On Monday morning, at least ten people were killed after a three-storey building collapsed in Patel Compound in Bhiwandi, Thane. The incident happened at around 3:40 am. Five people were also injured. On September 10, Kanganas office in Pali Hill, Bandra was partially demolished by the BMC. Post which the Tanu Weds Manu star, through her lawyer Rizwan Siddiqui, had moved the High Court against the demolition of what the BMC termed as illegal alterations at her office.

Also Read: Biggest feminist I know: Taapsee defends Anurag Kashyap from sexual assault allegations

Meanwhile Maharashtra government ---- .. if they stop being obsessed with me they will know how the entire state is collapsing. https://t.co/qSUBGApLLA  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) September 21, 2020

Also Read: Bullydozer not bulldozer: Anupam Kher on Kangana Ranauts Mumbai property demolition

Earlier Kangana had attacked Sonia Gandhi in her tweet saying history will judge her silence. The actor asked Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi to take note of the treatment being meted out to her by the Maharashtra Government, in which her party is a coalition member, and sought her intervention.

Ranaut has been making headlines with her statements and revelations about the Hindi film industry after actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai residence in June. She had been provided with Y-plus category security cover by the Union Home Ministry in the wake of the row over her remarks, in which she compared Mumbai with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and also targeted the Mumbai police.

Recently, the actor had also moved the Bombay High Court against the demolition drive by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) at her property in Mumbai here. The Shiv Sena-led state government these days looks more focused on fighting actor Kangana Ranaut than the ongoing coronavirus crisis in Maharashtra, said BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Friday.

Fadnavis told reporters that Maharashtra government believes its fight was not with Corona but Kangana, the maximum number of COVID-19 cases were in Maharashtra, every day 25-30 thousand new cases were coming up. He added that 40 percent of COVID deaths were from Maharashtra, but the government does not want to fight it. The former chief minister also said that Shiv Sena blew the issue surrounding Ranaut out of proportion by issuing threats to her followed by her propertys demolition.

He said that Kangana Ranaut was no political figure, the matter should not have been escalated by Shiv Sena. He said that Kanganas issue was blown out of proportion by you (Shiv Sena). He said that Shiv Sena didnt go to demolish Dawoods home but they demolished Kanganas place. The corporation had earlier filed an affidavit in the High Court stating that Ranaut has unlawfully made substantial alterations and additions to the property, contrary to the sanctioned building plan, and termed her allegations against it as baseless. (ANI)

Also Read: Kangana Targets Sonia Gandhi in latest tweet, says history will judge your silence
WATERLOO REGION  Police are investigating a stabbing in uptown Waterloo.

On Saturday at 5:30 a.m., police received a report that a man had been injured in a fight that happened earlier in Waterloo.

Police were called to a residence on Fairway Road North in Kitchener and found a 24-year-old Kitchener man with stab wounds.

He was taken to hospital and has non-life-threatening injuries.

Police say the stabbing was targeted and ask anyone with information to call police at 519-570-9777 ext. 4499 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
The response of the corporate media over the eleven months since El Pais first revealed details of a vast spying operation against WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, while he was a United Nations-recognised political refugee in Ecuadors London embassy, has been decidedly muted.

The initial El Pais article in October last year has been followed by a raft of damning information. This has established that the surveillance, conducted by the UC Global security company in charge of managing security at the embassy, included the illegal interception of Assanges conversations with his lawyers, in a flagrant breach of attorney-client privilege, menacing probes into his partner and infant child, and discussions about the possibility of kidnapping or even poisoning the WikiLeaks founder.

The mechanisms of the surveillance, which likely involved the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), have also become clearer. UC Global chief David Morales, it is alleged, entered into a secret agreement with emissaries of US intelligence to surveill Assange in 2015, and pass on all of the material gathered, in an operation that extended until March, 2018.

Assange with former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino in 2014

The statements of former UC Global employees, and documentary evidence, have indicated that the security company of Las Vegas casino mogul and leading Trump donor Sheldon Adelson served as the middle-man between Morales and US intelligence. The former Spanish navy marine turned mercenary was raided and arrested by Spanish police late last year, and faces the prospect of substantial criminal charges.

In other words, the apparent lack of media interest is not for want of information, or because the unprecedented surveillance of the worlds most famous persecuted journalist is not newsworthy. Rather, it is a continuation of the alignment of the corporate media with the US-led vendetta against Assange, bound up with their close ties to the intelligence agencies and the official political parties that have spearheaded his persecution, as well as their broader support for an agenda of militarism and authoritarianism.

This was given striking confirmation in an article published by investigative journalist Max Blumenthal on the Grayzone website last Friday. Blumenthals detailed report was based on the statements of an anonymous WikiLeaks source, along with extensive comments from Stefania Maurizi, an Italian journalist who has partnered with the media organisation for the past decade. Hitherto unpublished communications from Morales were also featured, further establishing his and UC Globals secret collaboration with US authorities.

Blumenthal noted the fact, already well-established, that the UC Global spying eventually came to encompass all of Assanges visitors. Among those targeted were Washington Post national security reporter Ellen Nakashima, who visited the embassy in December, 2017 to interview Assange, and Lowell Bergman, who has worked for the New York Times and PBS.

Nakashima was subjected to the standard UC Global protocol for Assanges visitors. She was compelled to leave her possessions at the front desk, and they were then rifled through and photographed by its staff. This included taking details of her phone, which would enable it to be hacked, and an unsuccessful attempt by a UC Global employee to steal her voice recorder.

What was new in Blumenthals article, but not surprising, is that the Washington Post and other leading publications have rebuffed requests that they publish information of the espionage, which clearly constituted an attack on press freedom and their own reporters, and have refused to join a legal action that Maurizi is seeking to launch in October. Blumenthal wrote:

Correspondents from a major US newspaper were presented with detailed evidence of UC Global spying on Assange and his associates, and documentation of the firms relationship with the CIA and Sheldon Adelson, a WikiLeaks source told The Grayzone. Not only were the reporters initially uninterested in the spying scandal, the WikiLeaks source said one correspondent justified the CIAs surveillance on national security grounds. He said, well, thats what an intelligence service is supposed to [do], the source recalled, describing the experience as crazy.

Nakashima herself has never mentioned the spying publicly or responded to multiple requests for comment about it from Blumenthal and others. Maurizi, who was also extensively spied on, explained that she had not received a positive reply from a single corporate US reporter, who she has asked to join a class action to be filed in Spains National Court on behalf of journalists who were caught in the dragnet. Nakashima ignored her correspondence. Bergman said he was not interested.

Surveillance of Bergman, taken by UC Global (Credit: The Greyzone/Max Blumenthal)

Randy Credico, a US comedian, activist and WikiLeaks supporter, recounted a similar response, telling Blumenthal that he went to everybody, with information about the surveillance, which he was also subjected to.

I went to MSNBC, to the Wall Street Journal, CNN, to journalists I knew, and I couldnt get anyone interested. I mean, all these reporters hate Trump, and here you had [US Secretary of State] Pompeo and Sheldon Adelson, the guy who finances Trump, breaking the law. You would think this would be a big deal to these lean forward progressives. And they havent said shit. Its appalling that they havent come forward and said something about this.

Credico's passport photocopied by UC Global staff (Credit: Randy Credico)

The Grayzone report points to some of the obvious reasons for the hostility of corporate publications to any exposure of the CIAs activities. The Washington Post, for instance, is owned by Amazon, which has multi-billion dollar contracts with the Pentagon. Nakashima, when she visited Assange, listed her employer, not as the Washington Post, but as Amazon.

The major publications, moreover, including the New York Times, function as the public mouthpieces of the intelligence agencies. Press releases from the CIA are published almost verbatim, while the word of unnamed intelligence officials, whose unsubstantiated assertions fill so much column space, is treated as the gospel truth.

These publications, moreover, have for over a decade repeated the lies and slanders concocted by the intelligence agencies to undermine support for Assange and WikiLeaks.

This has included the endless promotion of the bogus Swedish investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Assange, the preliminary stage of which was discontinued for the third and final time last year because of the absence of any evidence, without Assange ever having been charged with a crime. Also notable has been the immense coverage devoted to the discredited conspiracy theory that WikiLeaks 2016 exposure of gross corruption on the part of the Democratic National Committee was the product of some sort of Russian plot.

In every instance, the aim has been to poison public opinion against Assange, and divert attention away from the war crimes, diplomatic conspiracies and political abuses that WikiLeaks has exposed. The fact that Assange was the victim of a massive US government spying operation, which violated innumerable international laws and domestic legislation across multiple jurisdictions, simply does not suit the official narrative.

There may be additional reasons for the reticence of the corporate publications, however. Many of them featured material from surveillance inside the embassy, before UC Globals operations became public knowledge last year.

Footage of what appeared to be the sole occasion that Assange momentarily stood on a skateboard was aired ad nauseum after his expulsion from the Ecuadorian embassy and brutal arrest by the British police. This served to justify the absurd claim that the Ecuadorian government had illegally revoked Assanges asylum because he was a bad house guest, and not because it was one of the conditions for massive international loans and closer ties with the US.

The skateboard footage, and other films aimed at degrading Assange, were probably shot with UC Global cameras. While it is likely the material was leaked by the new Ecuadorian regime of President Lenin Moreno, to justify its attack on Assange, it is doubtful that the CIA would have objected.

The question inevitably arises: is it plausible that all of the major corporate publications, and their staff, who enjoy the closest relations with the US intelligence agencies and have participated with glee in the campaign against Assange, did not know of the UC Global spying as it was occurring? And if they did, but chose not to report it at the time, does that not make them complicit in major attacks on press freedom and the institution of political asylum, which is protected by international law?

Meanwhile, Blumenthals article put paid to UC Global head Morales lame denials that he was working for US intelligence. For instance it cites messages from Morales to his employees, informing them in May 2017, that he was travelling to Miami to provide the agency of the stars and stripes with a budget for the installation of more sophisticated surveillance equipment to spy on Assange.

A message from David Morales (Credit: The Greyzone/Max Blumenthal)

Morales, apparently in reference to his ultimate employer, posted cartoons of US President Donald Trump in response to further inquiries from UC Global staff.
A plaque in Balbriggan recalls the centenary of the sacking of the town by British soldiers

President Michael D Higgins has described the sacking of Balbriggan as a "defining episode" in the War of Independence.

More than 50 homes and businesses were torched and two men were killed in the north Co Dublin town on September 20, 1920, following the killing of two Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) officers.

On the centenary of the night of chaos, Mr Higgins said it galvanised support for the struggle that ultimately led to the establishment of the Free State in 1921.

Tragedy

Mr Higgins had been due to attend centenary events in Balbriggan yesterday, but these were scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He instead released his thoughts in a statement.

Expand Close A mural is painted on Bridge Street in Balbriggan Co Dublin, to mark the centenary of the sacking of the town by British soldiers in 1920 / Facebook

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Whatsapp A mural is painted on Bridge Street in Balbriggan Co Dublin, to mark the centenary of the sacking of the town by British soldiers in 1920

"As we remember the bloody violence that occurred in Balbriggan exactly a century ago, violence that would result in tragedy, widespread suffering and lingering bitterness, we must strive to do so ethically and responsibly," he said.

"Such an ethical remembering must refuse any kind of conscious or unconscious amnesia.

"The exercise in remembering must be open to all perspectives, requires us all, each of us, to summon up our shared humanity.

"A humanity which was tested, often brutalised, but also magnified during the War of Independence and indeed over the longer revolutionary period."

Mr Higgins said to forgive "is not to forget".

"Forgiving enables us to come to terms with the past," he said.

"If forgiveness and forgetting did not exist, we would be trapped in the past where every previous action would be irrevocable and where the present is dominated, burdened even, by preceding events and memories.

"Recognition of the act committed, however, is essential.

"It is only through such forms of ethical remembering we can avoid retreating to the blinding categories of censure or denunciation or, indeed, revenge and bitterness that blighted this island for so long.

Peaceful

"Let us all continue with, indeed embrace, the new beginning that the Good Friday Agreement represented as we continue to carve out our peaceful co-existence on the island of Ireland."

Mr Higgins also remembered the late John Hume, saying we should "respect our communities' identities and traditions, paying tribute to John Hume's vision of a shared island at peace".
Representative Image (Image: Moneycontrol)

The Centre in its Unlock 4.0 guidelines had said that states could take a call on whether to re-open schools on September 21 (today) or not. Five states and the union territories (UTs) of Jammu and Kashmir are reopening schools.

The reopening of schools in these states comes after a gap of almost six months, albeit with certain restrictions and guidelines to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

Here is all you need to know and a state-wise update:

> States reopening schools:

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

- States which have decided to reopen schools include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya.

> States not re-opening schools:

- These states have decided to keep schools shut till further notice: Goa (shut till October 2), Gujarat, Jharkhand (decision pending till September-end), Karnataka, Kerala (closed till October-end), Odisha (shut till October 26), Tamil Nadu (only after pandemic is over), Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal (closed till September 30).

> How states re-opening schools will proceed

- Andhra Pradesh: Public, private, and aided educational institutions that are outside of containment zones have been allowed to reopen.

- Assam: From next week, i.e., September 21, classes will resume for students of Classes 9 to 12 in Assam for the next 15 days. After that the situation will be reviewed and further decision on it will be taken accordingly.

- Bihar: Patna District Magistrate Kumar Ravi has allowed educational institutes to resume classes for students of Classes 9 to 12 in schools that are located outside containment zones.

- Haryana: Haryana has allowed senior students to visit their schools if they need guidance. Two government schools  one in Karnal, the other in Sonepat - have reopened on a trial basis already.

- Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu and Kashmir schools will reopen on September 21 on a voluntary basis. Schools would open with 50 percent attendance of staff and students and the attendance of students will be subject to written consent from guardians.

- Meghalaya: State Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui has said: "Schools will be partially opened up from September 21 for students to come and meet their teachers and clarify doubts on subjects they find it difficult. There will be no regular classes and no classroom sessions till September 30.

Also Read | Explained: Heres how partial re-opening of schools for class 9-12 will look like

> Guidelines to be followed:

- Only senior students allowed to come to school voluntarily if they need any assistance or guidance from their teachers.

- Schools which are in containment zones will remain firmly shut.

- Students would need written permission for parents to attend schools.

- It is advised that classes should be held in open area.

- There will be no assembly or events.

- Cafeterias will remain closed.

- Schools will function at 50 percent capacity while online classes will continue.

- Mandatory thermal screening and hand sanitisation will be carried out at the entrance.

- Deep cleaning of all the classes will be carried out.

- Swimming pools within the school premises will remain closed.

- Only asymptomatic staff and students to be allowed.

> State-wise list
I am so proud of the 11 young Latinas who shared their story with hundreds of spectators. Their genuine thrive, resiliency, and grit transpired in every word.

Eleven young Latina girls and women shared their personal experiences to inspire, motivate and elevate international audiences through the very first Young Latina Talks East Coast Edition on Sept. 12.

The virtual event was an extension of the immensely popular Todays Inspired Latina (TIL) book series highlighting the success of Latinas. The speakers, who came from New Jersey and surrounding states, were the following: Jasmyn Lettman, Geanny Rodriguez, Melina Tidwell, Sthefani Camacho, Yasmin Amaro, Gabriela Suriel, Lizmairi Vargas, Celeste Leon, Maria Alfaro, Yeimy Gamez, and Claudia Romani.

Jacqueline S. Ruiz, TILs creator, called this event a virtual success attracting over 11,500 people, over 2,913 views, over 66 shares, 1,478 reactions, and 643 comments.

These results tell me that there is a desire and an openness to encourage other Latinas to succeed in developing their own dreams, Ruiz said. We need to support these Latinas because they will become positive and strong examples for their families and communities.

Joining Ruiz in this effort was TIL author Claudia Vazquez from Elevink who was a strategic partner.

"I am so proud of the 11 young Latinas who shared their story with hundreds of spectators, said Vazquez. Their genuine thrive, resiliency, and grit transpired in every word. People who watched the event are contacting me to ask when the nominations for the 2021 YLT of the East Coast will begin, as they thought of young Latinas who they can nominate. We honor each one of them, and we are excited about their future."

The speakers also vied for the $1,000 Amazing Young Latina Scholarship, which will be used to help with college expenses. Alfaro was selected as the scholarship winner.

Alfaro, raised in Yonkers, New York, and whose family is from El Salvador, is an advocate for mental health awareness through her own nonprofit Que Paso Latinx. She shared with the audience how her mother struggles with bipolar disorder. Because of her mothers condition and her fathers constant work schedule, Alfaro lived with other relatives.

Thanks to a scientific research class in her high school, she was able to learn more about mental illness, which can be considered a taboo subject in Hispanic culture.

As I come to better understand Mommys mental illness, I have come to better understand her today, said Alfaro, who has a bachelors degree in behavioral sciences and is completing her master's degree in organizational leadership. Mommy is one of my best friends. Through her, I have endured pain but I have not allowed it to get the best of me. Instead, I have allowed it to help me heal and move forward in a positive direction. Through her, I have been able to find my strengththe strength to turn all the negatives in my life into positives.

Ruiz sees only bigger and better things come for Young Latina Talks.

I would love to not only have a second event in this region but create similar events in other regions throughout the United States, Ruiz said. We are building a movement for Latinas to be proud of their heritage and share their personal stories to inspire others.

Ruiz kindly thanked the following businesses that partnered for this special event:

Platinum Sponsors:



Unilever

Univision 41

Silver Sponsors:



Cien +

Easy Consulting

Latina Surge

Capturing Beauty Photography

KPMG Hispanic Latino

PNC

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Bronze Sponsor:



Mercedes Consulting and Services, LLC

Senator Teresa Ruiz

Sigo

Cuba Bakery

Arias-Hillard Family

LUPE Fund Inc.

Partners:



Elevink

Bellas Fashionistas

Prospanica

HISPA

ALPFA

Mexican Alliance of New Jersey

Latino Networks Coalition

Yoshida Academy

Yoshida Consulting

Ollin Technology

Cenia

Mindful Consultants

Todays Inspired Latina

6 Books: 152 Authors: 1 Common Dream

A Todays Inspired Latina is an award-winning book series of inspiration and hope, a poignant collection of personal stories that will activate your passion. The series is the largest collection of stories in a book anthology series in the world with 152 to date in six volumes. Volumes seven and eight will be published in 2020 for more than 200 Hispanic female authors. These are success stories that need to be told, to motivate our community for generations to come. By overcoming language barriers, self-doubts and other obstacles in their way, these strong Latinas are a great example of how inspiration and perseverance can lead you to happiness and success in business and life. Its a positive, empowering read for anyone sitting on a dream and thinking it cant come true. Todays Inspired Latina shows that it can! For more information, visit: http://todayslatina.com. ###
Shades of his childhood growing up near Rivers show up in Sean Garritys latest film, I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Shades of his childhood growing up near Rivers show up in Sean Garritys latest film, "I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight."

The movie, which the auteur described as "a love letter to Manitoba," is currently screening in both Brandon and Dauphin.

Although he only spent grades 1 to 5 in Rivers, Garrity said by phone from his Winnipeg home that these were his "formative, mythological years where the world takes on a quality that carries you for the rest of your life."

"The first time I went back as an adult, I walked around and thought, this has been the landscape for all the books that Ive read  over the years," he said. "All of those sets when youre reading, theyre all, of course, from this town where I spent those essential early years."

Although his latest film is set and filmed in Winnipeg and Morden, he said the character-driven movie could have just as easily been set in Rivers or Brandon  not North Dakota, though. Its a strictly Manitoba story.

This, he said, was by design, with the movie he wrote and directed very much about what it means to live in Manitoba  particularly during the winter.

"Growing up, everything happens somewhere else. Everything happens in Los Angeles or New York, Toronto, London or Paris, and I felt growing up that nothing happens here. This place is obviously not important because I dont see it reflected in my media.

"How come we dont tell stories about the places we live  and time-stamp it with things like the dialogue we speak? Everybody lives somewhere, and that somewhere has really interesting characteristics that form the way we live in that place. Then, I should make movies about the place Im from and it should be unapologetic."

BRAD CRAWFORD Kristian Jordan as Simon and Hera Nalam as Iris are seen in a scene from I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight.

The movie opens with with its two main characters, Iris and Simon, joining a group of people pushing a vehicle out of a snowbank in Winnipeg. In a case of mistaken identity, Iris initially believes Simon, obscured by a balaclava, is someone else she knows. They strike up a conversation that carries over to drinks when they decide to get overtly honest with one another, protected from judgment through a promise to never see each other again after that night.

Naturally, they soon bump into each other again.

"Thats probably just as true in Brandon as it is in Winnipeg," Garrity said of the movies premise.

Another, even more quintessentially Manitoba scene, takes place at a Filipino wedding social, which Garrity considers "the ultimate manifestation of multiculturalism in the way it was supposed to work."

"The Filipino wedding social is not something that happens in the Philippines, but its not the wedding social youd see in Winnipeg 30 years ago. Its a very specific thing that has come about as a combination of these two things meeting and borrowing from each other."

"I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight" is Garritys first film in approximately four years and his first upon returning to Winnipeg following a few years in Toronto.

It was filmed during "the last non-COVID winter," in Winnipeg and Morden  exactly where its set, which Garrity said is in keeping with the tone of authenticity he strived toward in every facet of the movie, most notably in its dialogue.

"I really believe that it really touches people if its stuff people would actually say," he said of his efforts to "de-movie-ize the dialogue."

The movie was originally slated for a March 20 release  that was, until movie theatres closed three days prior.

BRAD CRAWFORD Elmer Aquino, Andrea Macasaet, Mithus Mallari and Melissa Hizon are seen in a scene from I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight.

Initially reluctant to begin a staggered opening in cities last month due to safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Garrity said he attended another movie to see what the experience was like first-hand before saying "yes" to the movies distributor, Mongrel Media.

"When I saw how serious they were about the social distancing I called my distributor and said OK, I think this is a good idea," he said.

"I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight" is screening at Brandons Landmark Cinemas until at least Thursday, with the possibility of a weeks extension if enough people turn out to see it.

Countryfest Community Cinema in Dauphin has the movie listed to screen until at least Tuesday.

With most major blockbuster movies on hold due to the pandemic, Garrity said nows the time for low-budget movies such as this to shine in the cinemas.

Rather than wade into open water alongside films that have $100-million budgets, he said now they "dont have as much Hollywood product knocking at the door to get us off the screen early."

Given how well it has been performing in other markets  namely Winnipeg and Toronto  Garrity said the climate is just right for a light-hearted romantic comedy that doesnt shy away from being genuinely adorable.

"There is something about how anxiety-provoking reality is at the moment," he said. "The idea that you could go to the cinema for 90 minutes and get lost in this sweet, fun love story has been a key to a lot of its success."

 tclarke@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB
PHILADELPHIA -- New research has uncovered the previously unknown presence of CD19 -- a B cell molecule targeted by chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy to treat leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma -- in brain cells that protect the blood brain barrier (BBB).

This discovery may potentially be the cause for neurotoxicity in patients undergoing CD19 directed CAR T cell immunotherapy, according to the research team led by Avery Posey, PhD, an assistant professor of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Research Health Science Specialist at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA.

"Our work has revealed that there is CD19 expression in a subset of cells that are, one, not B cells, and two, potentially related to the neurotoxicity we observe in patients treated with CAR T cell therapy targeting CD19," Posey said. "The next question is, can we identify a better target for eliminating B cell related malignancies other than CD19, or can we engineer around this brain cell expression of CD19 and build a CAR T cell that makes decisions based on the type of cell it encounters--for instance, CAR T cells that kill the B cells they encounter, but spare the CD19 positive brain cells?"

As so often happens in scientific endeavors, the path to this discovery was made somewhat by chance. Kevin Parker, a PhD student at Stanford and co-author on the paper, was at home analyzing previously published single cell sequencing data sets in his spare time. He found CD19 expression in a data set of fetal brain samples that looked odd, because the accepted wisdom was that CD19 only existed in B cells. So his lab reached out to the pioneers of CAR T cell immunotherapy, Penn Medicine.

"I suggested we test this as a preclinical model. When we treated the mouse model with CAR T cells targeting the mouse version of CD19, we found what looks like the start of neurotoxicities," Posey said.

The team observed an increase in BBB permeability when mouse CD19 was targeted by CAR T cells, even in mice that lack B cells, but not when human CD19 was targeted as a control treatment (mice do not express human CD19).

"Even more interesting, this BBB permeability was more severe when the CAR T cells were fueled by a costimulatory protein called CD28 than when the CAR T cells used 4-1BB," Posey said "This difference in the severity of BBB permeability correlates with what we know about the clinical observations of CAR T cell-related neurotoxicities -- the frequency of patients experiencing high-grade neurotoxicity is lower for those that received the 4-1BB-based CAR T cells."

His team sought to investigate the higher incidence of neurotoxicity in CD19-directed immunotherapies, compared to treatments targeting other B cell proteins, such as CD20. Notably, CD19 CAR T cells are sensitive to even low levels of CD19 antigen density, emphasizing the importance of identifying any potential reservoir of CD19 other than B cells.

The researchers' discovery of CD19 molecules in the brain provides evidence that this increase in neurotoxicity is due to CD19-directed CAR T cell immunotherapies. Posey said, though, that generally this neurotoxicity is temporary and patients recover.

This research also highlights the potential utility of developing a comprehensive human single-cell atlas for clinical medicine. Sequencing is an unbiased, genome-wide measurement of gene expression that can capture even rare populations of cells. These rare cell types might otherwise be missed in measurements of bulk tissue due to their low frequency, but as this study demonstrates could be critically important in understanding the clinical effects of targeted therapy. While current CAR T cells recognize only a single antigen, future generations of CAR T cells may be able to discriminate between unique combinations of target antigens to improve their cell-type specificity. The researchers envision that a comprehensive database of gene expression across all human cell types will enable the precise identification of cell type-specific target antigens which can be used to design safe and effective cellular immunotherapies.

"That's what we think one of the biggest take-home messages is," Posey said. "The incredible usefulness of single cell atlas or single cell sequencing technology to determine whether a potential immunotherapy or drug target is going to be present somewhere in the body that we would not normally expect it based on conventional thought and whether this expression may lead to toxicity."

CD19 is thought to be a lineage-restricted molecule -- behaving in a functionally and structurally limited way. But this study shows that some small percentage of brain cells also express CD19.

"We would not have identified that through bulk sequencing, where we're looking at a population of cells versus a single cell type," Posey said. "It's only through single cell sequencing that we're able to identify that there's this very small percentage of cells in the brain that also contain this molecule, contrary to popular thought."

###

Other Penn authors include Denis Migliorini, Eric Perkey, Puneet Bagga, Mohammad Haris, Neil E. Wilson, Fang Liu, Khatuna Gabunia, John Scholler, Vijay G. Bhoj, Ravinder Reddy, Suyash Mohan, Ivan P. Maillard, and Carl H. June. Other authors include Kevin R. Parker, Kathryn E. Yost, Thomas J. Montine and Howard Y. Chang.

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (P50-HG007735, P50-NS062684, K08CA23188-0), the Department of Veterans Affairs (IK2BX004183), Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Scleroderma Research Foundation (P41-EB015893).

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $7.8 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top medical schools in the United States for more than 20 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $425 million awarded in the 2018 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center--which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report--Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Medicine Princeton Health; and Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Home Care and Hospice Services, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.

Penn Medicine is powered by a talented and dedicated workforce of more than 40,000 people. The organization also has alliances with top community health systems across both Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey, creating more options for patients no matter where they live.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2018, Penn Medicine provided more than $525 million to benefit our community.
Lady Gaga recently spilled her soul, opening up about her past struggles with suicidal thoughts during an intimate interview on CBS Sunday Morning this weekend.

After an emotional few days - which kicked off with the release of her new 911 music video on Friday - the native New Yorker was ready for a bit of pampering and self love.

Gaga, 34, put a casual twist on her typically wild style while heading to a Sephora on the Upper Westside with mom Cynthia on Sunday, rocking a pink sweat-set with a Matrix-chic patent leather jacket.

Unreal: Lady Gaga glowed while rocking an edgy but casual look for some shopping at Sephora in NYC on Sunday, after she made some dark revelations about her struggle with suicidal thoughts on CBS' Sunday Morning

The A Star Is Born actress wowed as she hit the pavement wearing tiny pink shorts with a matching cropped hoodie that flashed just a hint of her abs.

Providing maximum amounts of drama, Gaga - birth name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta - let her shiny jacket sweep down to her equally edgy shoes.

She leveled up her petite 5foot2 form with platform boots that matched her jacket's slick appeal.

Her mom - who is president and co-founder of Gaga's Born This Way Foundation - went for a significantly more subdued look, opting for a simple track suit dressed up with a classic Gucci purse.

Out of this world: Gaga, 34, put a casual twist on her typically wild style while rocking a pink sweat-set with a Matrix-chic patent leather jacket

Plastic Doll: The A Star Is Born actress wowed as she hit the pavement wearing tiny pink shorts with a matching cropped hoodie that flashed just a hint of her abs.

Standing tall: She leveled up her petite 5foot2 form with a pair of platform boots which matched her jacket's slick appeal

Though Gaga's face was hidden under a hoodie, sunglasses and a sparkling mask, the wild style and flowing aqua tresses made it hard for the superstar to fly under the radar.

The NYU alum recently revealed how dealing with fame pushed her into a dark place before she was able to channel the pain into the making her new album Chromatica.

Gaga explained how the pressure of the spotlight was so harsh that she began thinking about suicide almost daily, a confession she made to CBS's Lee Cowan on Sunday.

'I didn't really understand why I should live other than to be there for my family. That was an actual real thought and feeling: "Why should I stick around?"'

The one and only: Though her face was hidden under a hoodie, sunglasses and a sparkling mask, the wild style and flowing aqua tresses made it hard for Gaga to fly under the radar

Laid back: Her mom, who is president and co-founder of Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, went for a significantly more subdued look, opting for a simple track suit dressed up with a classic Gucci purse

She added of her depression: 'Its not always easy, if you have mental issues, to let other people see. I used to show. I used to self-harm.

'I used to say, "Look. I cut myself. See, Im hurt." Cause I didnt think anyone could see. Cause mental health, its invisible.'

Gaga (whos also opened up about the mental trauma that comes with fame, while showing off her at-home recording studio.

She said: 'This is the piano I've had for so many years. I've written so many songs on this piano. And I think, "Oh my gosh, it's so special, this piano, I love this piano." I don't know how to explain.

Inner pain: Gaga explained how the pressure of the spotlight was so harsh that she began thinking about suicide almost daily, a confession she made to CBS's Lee Cowan on Sunday

Suicidal thoughts: The 34-year-old said: 'I didn't really understand why I should live other than to be there for my family. That was an actual real thought and feeling: "Why should I stick around?"'

'I went from looking at this piano and thinking, "You ruined my life!" I was like, "You made me Lady Gaga. My biggest enemy is Lady Gaga!"'

The Born This Way artist continued: 'That's what I was thinking. My biggest enemy is here. "What did you do? You can't go to the grocery store now. If you go to dinner with your family, somebody comes to the table... It's always about you. And your outfits, look at your outfits! Why you gotta be like that?!"'

She also explained the lyrics to her song 911, for which she recently dropped the music video: '"Pop a 911," that's a reference to the medication that I have to take when I used to panic because I'm Lady Gaga.'

Hiding the pain: She added of her depression: 'Its not always easy, if you have mental issues, to let other people see. I used to show. I used to self-harm. I used to say, "Look. I cut myself. See, Im hurt." Cause I didnt think anyone could see. Cause mental health, its invisible'

Own worst enemy: Gaga added: 'I went from looking at this piano and thinking, "You ruined my life!" I was like, "You made me Lady Gaga. My biggest enemy is Lady Gaga!"' She's pictured at the August 2020 MTV Video Music awards above

Behind the lyrics: She also explained the lyrics to her song 911, for which she recently dropped the music video: '"Pop a 911," that's a reference to the medication that I have to take when I used to panic because I'm Lady Gaga'

Gaga added of Chromatica: 'There's not one song on that record that's not true. Not one. I totally gave up on myself, I hated being famous. I hated being a star. I felt exhausted and used up.'

But she's since found a way through her depression, thanks to her latest album, which recently won her three MTV Video Music Awards.

The Stupid Love artist said: 'I don't hate Lady Gaga anymore. I found a way to love myself again, even when I thought that was never gonna happen.

'Now I look at this piano and I go, "Oh, my god, my piano! My piano that I love so much; my piano that lets me speak; my piano that lets me make poetry; my piano that's mine."'
Lisa Curry's husband, Mark Andrew Tabone, has joined the rest of his grieving family in paying tribute to his wife's eldest daughter, Jaimi Kenny.

The Elvis Presley impersonator said that Jaimi, who died at the age of 33 last Monday after battling alcoholism and an eating disorder for years, loved everyone unconditionally and was widely loved in return.

He also posted a gallery of family photos - including one of Jaimi as a child, another of her as an adult, and finally a recent selfie of Mark, Jaimi and Lisa together.

'You were loved': Lisa Curry's (centre) husband, Mark Andrew Tabone (left), has joined the rest of his grieving family in paying tribute to his wife's eldest daughter, Jaimi Kenny (right)

'Dear Jaimi, yesterday you had the most amazing farewell you would have been so proud of. You loved unconditionally and you were loved in return as it showed immensely,' Mark wrote the day after Jaimi was laid to rest on the Sunshine Coast.

'It's hard for us to understand what happens now, but with my experience with death of family members I feel that your presence and spirit will be around. Your mother and I will talk about you every day, I'm sure, and shed a little tear perhaps.

'We will think of you when we see anything pretty, a butterfly, flowers or every time we cook. It was a pleasure spending human time with you and I will meet you again someday in whatever is next after this life!'

Heartfelt: The Elvis Presley impersonator said that Jaimi, who died at the age of 33 last Monday after battling alcoholism and an eating disorder for years, loved everyone unconditionally and was widely loved in return

Mark had previously paid tribute to Jaimi last week by sharing a post to Instagram in which he remembered her selflessness and 'many talents'.

'As your mother and father weep your loss, I too feel lost and heavy hearted. Nobody should ever lose their child. You always put everybody else first,' he wrote.

'You were gifted with many talents, amazing cook, arts and crafts, writing, and your love and creativity with flowers.

'Thank you all for your condolences at this very difficult time for Lisa, Grant and all the Kenny/Curry family. My job now is to nurture my wife through this unimaginable time.'

Saying goodbye: 'You had the most amazing farewell you would have been so proud of,' Mark wrote. Pictured: Jaimi's funeral on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday

Mark's latest tribute comes after Jaimi's sister, Morgan Gruell, also commemorated her following her funeral service on Saturday.

Morgan said that Jaimi saw the beauty in everyone and everything, and described her as the 'most sentimental person' she has ever known.

'I will always remember her taking the time to stop and take a photo of a pretty flower, an interesting door, or her feet standing next to crunchy leaves that had fallen from the trees,' she wrote in a heartbreaking Instagram post, alongside a recent photo of the pair together.

'We will continue to miss and love you always': Jaimi's sister, Morgan Gruell (right), also paid tribute to her sibling on Sunday following her funeral. In a heartbreaking Instagram post, she called Jaimi the 'most sentimental person' she has ever known

'I promise to always appreciate these things as she did,' Morgan continued.

'You were surrounded by so much love and beauty. Fairy lights everywhere, flowers everywhere, love everywhere. It was a service fitted for the queen of all things pretty, you would have loved it. We will continue to miss and love you always.'

Morgan went on to thank the public for 'all the messages of love and support that have been pouring in over the past week'.

'It means the world to us to know how very loved and adored she was by all who met her,' she concluded.

Jaimi died at Sunshine Coast University Hospital last Monday surrounded by her family, following a long battle with an eating disorder and alcoholism.

Support: Morgan (left) and her mother, Lisa Curry (right), were seen embracing each other at the conclusion of the heartbreaking funeral service

She was buried at a 100-person funeral on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday, which was attended by her parents, sporting greats Lisa Curry and Grant Kenny, and her younger brother, model Jett Kenny.

Lisa's husband, Mark, was also seen comforting his distraught wife as Jaimi's white coffin, covered in pink and orange dahlias and baby's breath, was carried out of the chapel and placed in the back of a hearse.

Morgan, who is pregnant, attended the church ceremony with her husband, Ryan Gruell, and their two-year-old son, Flynn.

Prior to her death, Jaimi had expressed her desire to one day have a family of her own, and absolutely doted on the children in her family.

Beautiful: 'It was a service fitted for the queen of all things pretty, you would have loved it,' Morgan (right) wrote of her sister's (left) funeral

Heartbreaking: Jett, Morgan and their devastated parents embraced as Jaimi's white coffin, covered in pink and orange dahlias and baby's breath, was placed in the back of the hearse

After her parents' marriage deteriorated, Ironman Grant went on to have a daughter named Trixie Belle with radio presenter Fifi Box.

Trixie was the centre of Jaimi's universe, and the nanny even moved down to Melbourne to live closer to the child and her mother.

'Jaimi absolutely adored children and was especially close to Trixie,' a family friend told Sunshine Coast Daily, adding that her younger half-sister and nephew, Flynn, gave her 'a whole new lease on life'.

Pure love: Prior to her death, Jaimi had expressed her desire to one day have a family of her own, and absolutely doted on the children in her family. Jaimi (left) is pictured with Fifi Box and Grant Kenny's daughter Trixie (right)

But her struggles with mental health brought her back to the Sunshine Coast and her parents shortly after making the move south.

She worked closely with the End ED clinic, which specialises in eating disorder treatment and recovery.

Meanwhile, Jaimi met and fell in love with local business owner Lachy Crossley on the Sunshine Coast.

His mother Gail said 'they had plans to be together forever... They were certainly in love'.

'You could just see the love in their eyes that they had for each other. People described them as a modern-day Romeo and Juliet,' she added.

'Jaimi absolutely adored children': Trixie was the centre of Jaimi's universe, and the nanny even moved down to Melbourne to live closer to the child and her mother

But in 2017, Lachy died in circumstances 'too heartbreaking' for the family to discuss.

At the time, the couple had recently moved in together and were discussing their future. They both loved each other and loved children even more.

The tragedy plunged Jaimi further into a depression and she spent the subsequent years in and out of hospital and the eating disorder clinic.

Her medical team tried everything, including blood transfusions, to extend her life.

Family ties: Lisa is pictured with her son Jett (left), surviving daughter Morgan (right) and her grandson Flynn

The Curry-Kenny clan have repeatedly thanked her medical team for their hard work in maintaining Jaimi's quality of life.

On Sunday, Lisa also shared a heartbreaking tribute to Instagram after farewelling her eldest child.

'Yesterday, as the sun was setting, we said goodbye to you, our Jaimi,' she wrote of the funeral.

'Yesterday, as the sun was setting, we said goodbye to you': On Sunday, Jaimi's mother Lisa (right) shared a heartbreaking tribute to Instagram after farewelling her eldest child

'As the last sun rays filtered through the trees onto you, fairy lights flickering everywhere around, with the most divine flowers surrounding you, and a room full of unconditional love, we farewelled you... always our bubba.

'It was just perfect... beautiful, quiet, pretty and sparkly... just the way you would have wanted it.'

Lisa alluded to her daughter's battle with the demons that led to her death, saying that at least now they would haunt her no more.

Tribute: Lisa posted this photo to Instagram of Jaimi and her dog cropped into the shape of a heart and surrounded by flowers

'Our little angel, you can now rest peacefully. Free of pain, free to flourish and free to grow, free to just be,' she wrote.

'Jaimi, as dad and I lovingly held you when you took your first breath, we lovingly held you as you took your last. Goodnight sweet girl... we hope you have a nice long sleep.'

Jaimi's younger brother Jett penned his own sombre tribute on Sunday, reflecting on the good times the close family had with his 'biggest sister'.

Private battle: Jaimi had long battled an eating disorder, with her family supporting her through years of treatment at a private clinic Jaimi (left) is pictured with her family at her sister Morgan's 2016 wedding

'You were there whenever I needed you, you taught me how to cook gourmet food like roast potatoes, chicken and salad, and tacos - the essentials in our household,' he wrote.

'You gave me a slight insight into fashion by dressing me in up in dresses and putting makeup on me when I was young. You'd sit behind me while I ate dinner and would pick at anything pimple looking on my back - even if it was just a mole.

'You were my second mother, you were my biggest sister, you were my friend, and you were a fighter until the very end.

'You were there whenever I needed you': Jaimi's younger brother Jett (left) penned his own sombre tribute on Sunday following the funeral, reflecting on the good times the close family had with his 'biggest sister'

'Jaimi, I will love you forever and you will always have a place in my heart. I will miss you dearly, but cherish the moments we had together greatly. I love you so much, and I will see you again at some point.'

Jett also reflected on the funeral, thanking the people who were able to attend and also those who couldn't because of Queensland's gathering limit due to coronavirus.

On Friday night, Morgan's husband, Ryan, thanked the local community for their support and outpouring of love in the days since Jaimi's death.

'The condolences are so welcome and helpful': On Friday night, Morgan's (right) husband Ryan (left) thanked the local community for their support and outpouring of love in the days since Jaimi's death. Pictured with their son Flynn

'Thank you to everyone who has reached out and offered kind words, gifts, support and love to Jaimi's family and I. The condolences are so welcome and helpful,' he wrote alongside a photo of bouquets of flowers.

'We have been sharing the messages with each other and although we may not have been able to offer a response, we have received the love from all of it and are very appreciative.

'Jaimi was so very loved and will be so very missed but the love we all share for her will keep her memory alive.'

For free and confidential support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, or the Butterfly Foundation for eating disorder concerns on 1800 ED HOPE
Jellyfish could replace fish and chips on a new sustainable takeaway menu to help keep threatened species off the plate.

University of Queensland researchers found 92 endangered and 11 critically endangered species of seafood were caught in oceans around the world after analysing global industrial fishing records.

UQ Centre for Biodiversity and Conversation Science PhD candidate Leslie Roberson said fishing for species that are threatened with extinction is legal and seafood does not have to be labelled according to its species.

"This means that the 'fish', 'flake' or 'cod' that Australians typically order at the fish and chip shop could be critically endangered," Ms Roberson said.

"Australian seafood is not as sustainable as consumers would like to think, and it's definitely not in line with many of the large international conservation agreements that Australia has signed to protect threatened species and ecosystems.

"We would never consider eating mountain gorillas or elephants, both of which are endangered."

Senior Research Fellow Dr Carissa Klein was recently awarded an ARC Future Fellowship to research the nation's seafood consumption and find ways to make the industry more sustainable.

Her research will investigate the costs and benefits of eating more sovereignly and embracing different types of seafood that can be caught more sustainably within Australian waters, like Australian-farmed abalone and wild-caught sardines.

Dr Klein said Australia was one of many wealthy countries importing and catching threatened seafood species while maintaining its international marine conservation reputation.

"Australia imports around 75 per cent of the seafood we consume and is internationally regarded as having effective conservation and fisheries management policies," Dr Klein said.

"When importing seafood from other places, we are displacing any social or environmental problems associated with fishing to that place, which is likely to have less capacity to sustainably manage its ocean."

The researchers said the number of threatened species they recorded was a very conservative estimate.

"The seafood industry is difficult to manage from a conservation perspective because it has supply chains that span multiple international waters, without a governing body," Ms Roberson said.

"A typical situation might look something like - a fishing boat operating in Australian waters, owned by a Chinese company, with a crew of fishermen from the Philippines.

Then one part of the fish might get processed in China, and the other can go to Europe.

"We don't know what we're eating, it's really hard to trace seafood back to its origin and species because the industry is such a mess."

But there is a manta ray of hope for seafood lovers.

"Improving the sustainability of Australia's seafood trade policies could significantly benefit the ocean worldwide, as well as the billions of people that depend on a healthy ocean for their health and livelihoods," Dr Klein said.

"It should be illegal to eat something that is threatened by extinction, especially species that are critically endangered - if we can better coordinate fisheries and conservation policies, we can prevent it from happening."

###

Dr Klein is leading a four-year almost $1 million ARC Future Fellow research project that aims to improve the social and environmental sustainability of wild-caught seafood globally.

It's one of 11 ARC Future Fellowships awarded to UQ this year.

This research is published in Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18505-6).

Video available: https://youtu.be/FhXHTkpc1Zk
After weeks of chaos and uncertainty, thousands of students from across the Toronto District School Board will click in  rather than line up  for their first day of virtual school on Tuesday.

When the restrictions tied to COVID-19 forced the closure of schools and daycares last spring, it made some form of online school this fall seem inevitable. But in the weeks leading up to its opening, details around these schools were slow to be released, and twice, in the last two weeks, the start was delayed. The more than 72,000 students signed up for the virtual schools in Toronto will now, in some cases, start nearly a week after their in-person counterparts when they log in Tuesday morning.

On the eve of its opening, students enrolled in the virtual elementary school learned of yet another potential setback. In an email sent to parents late Monday, the TDSB informed them that, due to ongoing efforts to hire staff for virtual classrooms, not all elementary students would start synchronous learning by Tuesday; theyd be implementing a rolling start.

Virtual school update for elementary students View document on Scribd

The TDSB has cited the 6,000 more students whose parents opted for online learning on the most recent survey as part of the delay, as that increased the proportion of remote learners across the city to nearly a third of all students and required 200 more teachers.

But in the hours before the school was to go live, basic questions lingered, for teachers and parents: what grade will I be teaching? What happens if my childs teacher gets sick? Can the network handle thousands of students across the city using live video conferencing at once?

This lack of transparency has led to the creation of several Facebook and WhatsApp support groups for parents and teachers, some with thousands of members. Frantic members exchange updates, emails and tweets, trying to picture what virtual school would look like come Sept. 22.

Randy Ray is one such teacher who was still searching for answers in the days before classes start.

I dont know what grade Im teaching, what language or where Ill be teaching, said Ray, a French immersion teacher for grades 5 and 6 in Scarborough, from his home last week.

I cant look at the curriculum, because I dont know what subjects Im teaching  so I cant prepare anything.

Later that night, he said, an email from the TDSB indicated that his location had finally been nailed down: For the foreseeable future, and potentially for the full year, teachers in the Virtual School will deliver programming from their home.

Ray said he felt lost and confused.

I dont know if (my class) is gonna have any geographical mix, or if kids in my class will come from the same part of the city or not, he said. Im obsessively checking my phone and email, every hour, and still nothing.

As of Saturday evening, Ray hadnt received his classroom assignment and didnt know who his students were or where theyd be logging in from.

In an email sent to parents of virtual elementary students last week, the board indicated students would learn who their teachers were by this past weekend and that theyd receive an update Sunday night. Parents, as of Monday afternoon, hadnt received that update. Some took to Twitter to post anxiously for answers.

Another teacher whos been with the TDSB for 20-plus years and is also part of the virtual elementary school confirmed the uncertainty being experienced by teachers; as of Saturday morning she, too, hadnt heard what year or subject shed be leading Tuesday.

Im laughing because Im so stressed, she said, requesting her name not be used for fear of possible retribution from her seniors.

Being a junior kindergarten teacher, shes built strong connections with her students parents over the years and has recently found herself leaning on these relationships to get more intel.

When the parents get an email, often what happens is theyll forward it to me and say: Did you see this? she said. So Im actually getting most of my information not directly from the TDSB.

Ray, who has two kids of his own enrolled in Grade 4 and Grade 9 with the TDSB, says he, too, has received more information as a parent than as a teacher. In the most recent delay of virtual school, he only found out that he wouldnt be showing up for work that week via an email to parents.

I saw it on Twitter from the TDSB later  but theres been no direct communication with teachers.

Late Friday night, less than four days before classes were set to start, Ray said the board had finally sent him an email indicating they had put together a week of lesson plans that teachers in the English program could follow if they preferred.

As usual, French immersion teachers are left to their own devices (literally in this case!), he wrote.

For their part, the administrators have been working around the clock, evenings and weekends to get the timetables, classes and assignments of teachers sorted, Ryan Bird, the media relations manager for the TDSB, said last week. For this reason, Bird explained, those responsible for creating the virtual schools were not available for interviews.

From the boards website though, which has undergone nearly daily updates for the past week, you can now see each virtual elementary schools principals, superintendent, vice-principals and guidance counsellors. Across the four virtual elementary schools, there are 14 principals, and for the one secondary virtual school, there are seven, plus eight vice-principals. Guidance counsellors from the students home school will continue to serve the virtual students.

This information, however, only became available on the site Wednesday evening, as teachers who spoke to the Star still didnt know who theyd be reporting to when interviewed earlier last week. Those teachers dont blame the TDSB for these delays.

You know, it really is a lot, said Ray. Whoever is at the top doing this  its a ton of work.

Their concerns lay more in the lack of transparency about the process and how decisions were being communicated to parents and teachers so late.

Its unbelievable to be this disorganized and kept this in the dark, said the 23-year veteran teacher who spoke to the Star on condition of anonymity.

Gaps in relaying important updates are part of the reason some teachers felt they had no choice but to seek out answers, online.

The downtown teacher is a member of the Facebook group Ontario Virtual Teachers 2020/2021, which as of Monday night had 3,200 members less than a month after going live. She said shes also been seeking answers to her questions in multiple WhatsApp groups, but admits they havent always been the most reliable.

In one case, she mentioned how there were half a dozen cases of teachers sharing screenshots of emails theyd accidentally received from the board about removing students from in-person classes to the online school.

She said how in normal times, theyd see an email like that and just forward it to the right person, or reply saying wrong email.

But this person now is going: Oh, my god. Maybe this is my class. Maybe Im teaching this group, she said. Were all taking these tidbits of information that are  really not anything, but were clinging to it.

In the afternoon before the launch, the teacher explained how the chaos surrounding assignments intensified for some teachers as deadline approached.

Some people received one job via email and a separate job in their Brightspace platform, she said, adding that others were logging in to their accounts Monday afternoon only to see that theyd received two jobs simultaneously for a total of 70 children.

Other assignments, she said, just didnt make sense.

Some people received jobs such as class 0 or grade 12345.

Parents have also found few details about the virtual school.

Thats why parents like Bryanna Hines, a research assistant at Ryerson University completing her PhD in social policy, created the Facebook group TDSB Remote Learning Support Group at the end of August to get tips and answers from other families.

Most of the discussion in the group focused on what classes children were getting assigned to, but Hines, who works from home, was also interested in what the day would actually look like.

Its hard to prepare my kids if I dont know if theyll need to be sitting for 20 minutes or 40 minutes, she said. Since her kids are in grades 1 and 3, theyll be receiving 225 minutes of synchronous learning per day, broken into eight sessions of varying length. It would have been helpful just to inform us along the process.

By Monday, things werent getting clearer for her.

Im getting increasingly frustrated. I made a parent account a few days ago but now it says my account doesnt exist, Hines said on the phone late in the afternoon.

My kids dont have teachers, I cant log into their account until an admin resets their password ... and we have less than 24 hours to go and I have no access ... its a mess!

Concerns have also been raised about whether the software, Brightspace, will survive a citywide surge of thousands of students and teachers logging on at the same time for the minimum 180 minutes of synchronous learning for JK/SK students, 225 minutes for Grade 1-8 students, and 300 minutes for secondary students.

The teachers who spoke to the Star explained how theyd experienced glitches with the system on the professional activity days at the beginning of the month when teachers were at their home schools for training.

Asked about plans for monitoring possible surges and bugs, Bird of the TDSB explained that the IT department couldnt be reached for comment, as they, too, were working down to the last minute in setting up for Tuesdays opening.

Parents and teachers who spoke to the Star say what the board is trying to accomplish  squeeze a process that typically takes months into a few weeks  is a huge task, especially considering the virtual school is larger than some entire boards in Ontario.

But preparing for the start of class will be no small feat for teachers either, Ray pointed out.

Sunday morning, he learned hed be teaching Grade 5 French immersion. Monday morning, he still didnt have his class list.

I understand that their numbers are changing ... theyre getting new surveys from parents, he said. But maybe they could have delegated some of that work to the teachers who are all just sitting here waiting ... not able to do anything.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it has charged five Chinese residents and two Malaysian businessmen in a wide-ranging hacking effort that encompassed targets from videogames to pro-democracy activists.

Federal prosecutors said the Chinese nationals had been charged with hacking more than 100 companies in the United States and abroad, including software development companies, computer manufacturers, telecommunications providers, social media companies, gaming firms, nonprofits, universities, think-tanks as well as foreign governments and politicians and civil society figures in Hong Kong.

U.S. officials stopped short of alleging the hackers were working on behalf of Beijing, but in a statement Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen expressed exasperation with Chinese authorities, saying they were  at the very least  turning a blind eye to cyber-espionage.

We know the Chinese authorities to be at least as able as the law enforcement authorities here and in likeminded states to enforce laws against computer intrusions, Rosen said. But they choose not to.

He further alleged that one of the Chinese defendants had boasted to a colleague that he was very close to Chinas Ministry of State Security and would be protected unless something very big happens.

No responsible government knowingly shelters cyber criminals that target victims worldwide in acts of rank theft, Rosen said.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately return an email seeking comment. Beijing has repeatedly denied responsibility for hacking in the face of a mounting pile of indictments from U.S. authorities.

Along with the alleged hackers, U.S. prosecutors also indicted two Malaysian businessmen, Wong Ong Hua, 46, and Ling Yang Ching, 32, who were charged with conspiring with two of the digital spies to profit from computer intrusions targeting videogame companies in the United States, France, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

The Justice Department said the pair operated through a Malaysian firm called SEA Gamer Mall, an online gaming store.

SEA Gamer said in a statement it was aware of the allegations against their employees but denied that the company was involved in wrongdoing.

Without compromising the integrity of any ongoing legal process, suffice to say that the company has never engaged in any illegal activity, it said, adding that it was cooperating with authorities.

U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said on Wednesday that the Malaysian defendants were in custody but were likely to fight extradition.

The Justice Department said it has obtained search warrants this month resulting in the seizure of hundreds of accounts, servers, domain names and dead drop Web pages used by the alleged hackers to help siphon data from their victims.

The Department said Microsoft Corp had developed measures to block the hackers and that the companys actions were a significant part of the overall U.S. effort to neutralize them. Microsoft acknowledged this in a statement that applauded government officials for taking action to protect our customers.
By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan was the fourth largest trading partner of neighbouring Georgia in the period between January and August this year with the trade turnover between the two countries amounting to $594 million in the reporting period.

Azerbaijan's share in Georgia's total trade turnover was 8.5 percent. Thus, Azerbaijan is the fourth largest trading partner of the neighboring country after Turkey, Russia and China.

During the reporting period, Azerbaijan exported goods to Georgia worth $309.5 million, which is by 15.7 percent less compared to the same period of 2019. In the meantime, $284.2 million worth goods were exported from Georgia to Azerbaijan, which is by 11.9 percent less compared to the period of January-August 2019.

Earlier it was reported that Azerbaijan accounted for 59.3 percent of neighboring Georgias exports of bitumen in the period between January-July 2020, and became the countrys largest exporter of bitumen. The country exported 33,900 tons of bitumen to Georgia in the reporting period.

Likewise, 9.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas have been transported to Georgia via the South Caucasus gas pipeline under the Shah Deniz-1 project, since its commissioning.

The volume of Azerbaijans foreign trade turnover amounted to $16.5 billion during the period of January-August 2020. The value of export amounted to $9.8 billion or 59.6 percent of the total turnover, while the value of import amounted to $6.6 billion or 40.4 percent. Thus, foreign trade turnover resulted in surplus of $3.1 billion.

Some 591.4 million tons of cargoes were transported by sea during the reporting period. In addition, 4.4 billion tons of cargoes were transported by railway, and 2.3 billion tons of cargoes by automobile means of transport. Some 46.7 million tons of cargoes were transported by air during the first eight months of the year.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
New Delhi: For four decades Nobel peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi rescued thousands of children from the scourge of slavery and trafficking but he fears all his efforts could reverse as the coronavirus pandemic forces children into labour.

The biggest threat is that millions of children may fall back into slavery, trafficking, child labour, child marriage," said Satyarthi who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for his work to combat child labour and child trafficking in India.

As the pandemic pummels the Indian economy, pushing millions of people into poverty, families are under pressure to put their children to work to make ends meet.

While rates of child labour have declined over the last few years, about 10.1 million children are still in some form of servitude in India, according to the United Nations childrens agency UNICEF.

Across the country child labourers can be found in a variety of industries such as brick kilns, carpet-weaving, garment-making, domestic service, agriculture, fisheries and mining.

Earlier this month, Satyarthis organisation backed by police rescued dozens of girls during a raid on a shrimp processing unit in western India.

Once children fall into that trap they could be pulled into prostitution and could be trafficked easily  this is another danger which government have to address now," he said, adding that he believed sexual abuse of children was also on the rise due to the pandemic.

I cannot be satisfied even if one single child is enslaved  it means there is something wrong in our polity, in our economy, in our society, we have to ensure that not a single child is left out," he told Reuters.
As a brand new train chugged into Janakpur Dham station in Nepal, it brought to an end the wait for hundreds of people for the first modern railway in the Himalayan country.

The trial for Nepals first broad-gauge railway service in Janakpur began on Friday with the arrival of two trains to revive operation in the Janakpur-Jaynagar section.

For 78-year-old Hasim Nadaf, who had come to see the train arrive on its trial run it seemed as if a migrant family member, was returning home after a long time.

I saw trains that ran on coal and then the steam engine and now the modern train. The phase-wise transformation is like the growth of my child whom I havent seen for many years. I was happy and cherished the sight of it arriving in the station, Nadaf said.

Pratap Kumar Bhagat who also was present at the station echoed Nadafs sentiments. I felt as if my son was back home after many years. When a distant family member returns from abroad it brings happiness and prosperity to family, the train similarly is hope for employment and richness for us.

The Konkan Railway delivered two modern Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) trains to the Nepal Railway for Jaynagar-Kurtha broad gauge line on Friday.

In May 2019, Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd had signed a contract agreement with Nepal to supply two 1600 Hp DEMU train sets to operationalise railway link between Jaynagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal.

According to The Himalayan Times, the train service is expected to come into regular operation from November.

The newly manufactured train will cover a distance of 35 kilometres. The Government of India has been providing assistance to Nepal for the 69-kilometre railway line.

The route of the railway line is divided into three sectors.

The first sector which stretches from Jayanagar to Kurtha measures 35 kilometres while the second sector from Kurtha to Bhangaha in Mahottari-17 kilometres. The third sector is from Bangaha to Bardibas stretching 17 kilometers, which is still under construction.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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She was dumped by her boyfriend of 16 months last month after reportedly cheating on him during the early stages of their relationship.

And Zara McDermott insisted 'animals know when you're feeling sad' as she sought comfort in her cat in a clip shared to Instagram on Monday morning after her split from Sam Thompson.

The Love Island star, 23, went make-up free in the video as she stroked her cat just two days after Made In Chelsea's Sam, 28, was seen enjoying a night out with a stunning mystery woman at Amazonica in London.

Hidden message? Zara McDermott insisted 'animals know when you're feeling sad' as she sought comfort in her cat in a Instagram clip on Monday after her split from Sam Thompson

Model Zara appeared to make a reference to her break-up as she captioned the video: 'Isn't it crazy how animals just know when you're feeling sad.'

Just a few hours earlier, the reality star confessed 'we all make mistakes' in a heartbroken post.

The former policy advisor shared a quote from US motivational speaker Steve Maraboli which read: 'We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.'

She wrote alongside the quote: 'I look at so many quotes online every day and they make me feel less alone. If you are going through a hard time. I have found that this really helps.'

Moving on: Made In Chelsea's Sam, 28 - who the model, 23, reportedly cheated on - was seen enjoying a night out with a stunning mystery woman at Amazonica in London on Saturday

'Isn't it crazy how animals just know when you're feeling sad': The Love Island star went make-up free in the video as she stroked her cat

While Zara has yet to publicly confirm or deny claims she cheated on former beau Sam, the TV star has been sharing cryptic quotes on social media.

A source revealed to MailOnline that a tryst took place between Zara and 'someone in the music industry' around the time she took part in X Factor: Celebrity.

The reality star appeared on the series last summer and autumn, as part of the Love Island pop group No Love Lost.

At this point, she had been in a relationship with Sam for several months  but it's said the newly-single star has only recently found out about the infidelity.

Unfaithful: A source revealed to MailOnline that a tryst took place between Zara and 'someone in the music industry' around the time she took part in X Factor: Celebrity

'Mistakes': Just a few hours earlier, the reality star confessed 'we all make mistakes' in a heartbroken post

A source told MailOnline: 'Zara cheated on Sam with someone in the music industry. Someone connected to the X Factor.

'Sam is obviously distraught about this. He only found out about it very recently and has escaped for a few days.

'Zara regrets it and feels terrible. She knows it was a huge mistake and is extremely upset

'Zara and Sam split towards the end of last month. They had been arguing a lot since moving in together as a result of lockdown and things just built up between them.

'Zara has moved back to her parents' house in Essex where she's taking some time for herself, she really loved Sam so this hasn't been easy for her.

'Sam has gone away to have a break from it all and clear his head away from Zara and social media.'

MailOnline contacted representatives for Zara and Sam for comment at the time.
One of two towers The Star casino wants to build at Pyrmont as part of a $1 billion redevelopment will be almost double the height limit of draft planning rules for the inner Sydney suburb.

The Star's revised plans for two towers come less than a year after an independent panel rejected its $530 million proposal for a 237-metre tall casino tower.

Two months after the government released a draft strategy to reshape Pyrmont, The Star has proposed a 110-metre tower at the northern end of its existing site and a 180-metre high rise to its south at another location it owns on Union Street.

An artist's impression of The Star's plans for northern and southern towers. Credit:The Star Entertainment Group

The 110-metre northern tower, which would include a 250-room hotel and signature restaurant, would be almost double the government's proposed height limits for that area of 60 metres.
Intelligence officials believe a Canadian woman is responsible for letters containing the poison ricin that were addressed to Donald Trump.

In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they were assisting the FBI with its investigation after they suspected a Canadian had sent the letters.

Investigators, meanwhile, have identified a woman as a suspect, reported The New York Times, who spoke to an official briefed on the matter.

Two law enforcement officials told CNN that tests confirmed the presence of the poison in the letters that were intercepted.

All mail addressed to the White House is sorted and screened offsite, where the letters containing the lethal poison were caught before being delivered to the White House mail room.

The FBI and Secret Service are investigating and are trying to determine if other packages were sent through the postal system.

A statement from the FBI said: "The FBI and our US Secret Service and US Postal Inspection Service partners are investigating a suspicious letter received at a US government mail facility. At this time, there is no known threat to public safety."

The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.

Ricin is found naturally in castor beans and can be made from the waste material left over when they are processed.

Ingesting or inhaling the poison can cause a range of painful symptoms from nausea through to organ failure and death through a collapse in the circulatory system.

In October 2018, envelopes containing suspicious substances were received by the Pentagon, White House, and campaign offices for Texas Senator Tex Cruz.

The packages mailed to the Pentagon were addressed to then-secretary of defence James Mattis and to the chief of naval operations John Richardson.

William Clyde Allen III, a navy veteran from Utah, was charged with five counts including threatening to use a biological toxin. The castor powder he sent was not in its dangerous form.

In May 2013, letters laced with ricin were sent to president Barack Obama and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. Actress Shannon Guess Richardson was jailed for 18 years for sending the letters.
The official says the only way out of the situation is to involve a third party.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov says that having signed the Minsk agreements on Donbas, Russia trapped itself.

"When the Russians agreed to this political and diplomatic deal, which we call the Minsk agreements, since this is not an international treaty, they trapped themselves as they had agreed the elections in ORDLO [certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions] would be held under the control of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)," he told Ukraine 24 TV channel.

"Accordingly, they [ODIHR] work only with the Copenhagen standard [the OSCE 1990 Copenhagen Document], which clearly states no free independent elections could be held in a territory if it is not controlled by the government. Because the government is obliged to provide security guarantees to representatives of a monitoring mission that is to come [to monitor]," the official said.

Read alsoElections in occupied Donbas possible only after complete de-occupation  YermakThe only way out of the difficult situation in negotiations with Russia is to involve a third party, Reznikov said.

"If the government does not guarantee that they can freely and safely move across the territory, they do not come, accordingly, they do not monitor, there will be no the OSCE/ODIHR conclusion that the elections were held in accordance with Ukrainian laws, the Constitution, and the Copenhagen standard. This means they [the Russians] have nothing to do but to turn over control of the border to the Ukrainian government for holding the elections. The only thing that can serve here as a compromise solution, which could be reached through diplomatic channels, is the involvement of a third party, about which a discussion is already underway, i.e. we get back to the issue of peacekeepers," he said.

Difficulties in implementing Minsk agreements
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.
Sexual Harassment Employee Training

A 2018 study conducted by the organization Stop Street Harassment found that 81% of women and 43% of men report that they have been sexually harassed at some point in their life. This is a serious issue that can cause a lot of problems within the workplace, making sexual harassment training crucial. Every business should have their employees, especially those in management positions, engage in sexual harassment training to help create a non-threatening workplace and prevent such issues from taking place.

We offer a whole suite of sexual harassment training tools to help businesses with their educational efforts, explains Myron Curry, founder of Business Training Media. Engaging employees in a training program now can save a lot of headache, and even money from lawsuits, later on. The training is something every business who has multiple employees should consider.

Business Training Media offers a variety of tools and courses that cover sexual harassment. The courses are available in a variety of formats, including video, DVD, online streaming, e-learning, e-books, and webinars. In addition to training courses that pertain to the entire country, the company also offers some state-specific sexual harassment training courses, including for California, New York, Connecticut, Washington, and Illinois.

The sexual harassment training tools it offers include:



Preventing Sexual Harassment for Employees

The Respectful Workplace for Employees

Preventing Sexual Harassment for Managers and Supervisors

Handling A Sexual Harassment Investigation: Safety Meeting Kit

Harassment: Sex, Religion, and Beyond

Workplace Harassment in the Office Training Program

Workplace Harassment in Industrial Facilities Training Program

Enough! The Consequences of Sexual Harassment

Understanding the Code of Conduct

Quid Pro Quo: When People In Power Make Demands

We offer many workplace harassment courses and videos to help people train their staff, added Curry. Through this training, your team will know what harassment looks like and how to prevent it. We urge every business to consider such training to help create a safe workplace.

Business Training Media offers over 6,500 training programs, including online courses in management, cybersecurity, customer service, sexual harassment, COVID-19 resources, diversity, workplace safety and more. The company has provided training for such companies as Bank of America, FedEx, Verizon, Google, Yahoo, and more. To learn more or register for the course, visit the site: https://www.businesstrainingmedia.com/sexualharassment.php

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Founded in 1998, Business Training Media offers thousands of training products for corporations. Based in Encino, Calif., it provides business training solutions for companies worldwide. It has had over 26,000 customers, including many Fortune 500 companies. Its training tools are available in multiple delivery options, including online, video streaming, DVD, USB, webinars, books, games, and more. To learn more, visit the site: https://www.businesstrainingmedia.com

Source:

Stop Street Harassment. 2018 Study on Sexual Harassment and Assault. http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/our-work/nationalstudy/2018-national-sexual-abuse-report/
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Boris Johnson is right back where he was six months ago: faced with a choice of how far to clamp down on freedoms in order to suppress the coronaviruss transmission. Only then the strategy was simple. Britains lockdown was to protect the capacity of the National Health Service in order to save lives. This time, the goal is more complicated and so are Johnsons choices.

There may be disagreements on what exactly a second wave is  the U.K. has come a long way from seeing 500 deaths a day in March (there were 27 recorded Saturday)  but the arrow is moving in the wrong direction and the question is how the government will respond. In Britain infections are doubling about every week. Only the U.S., Brazil, India and Mexico have had more deaths from the virus.

A second wave was inevitable, Johnson has said. Perhaps so, but its also the result of clear mistakes. The worst of these is the failure to ensure that the countrys Covid testing system could meet the inevitable surge in demand that would come with people resuming normal activities.

Britain isnt alone here. France, Spain, the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe are facing second waves too, with the World Health Organization saying last week that Europes infections are now higher than the peak in March. The causes are similar: the lifting of restrictions, people returning from holiday travel, and the reopening of schools, combined with testing problems and in some places poor compliance with social distancing, especially from younger populations.

On the face of it, things ought to be easier this time. We have a better handle on how to prevent transmission, how to treat hospitalized patients and how to protect the most vulnerable. That ought to mean fewer fatalities. And yet, in other ways this period could be even more dangerous.

The narrative that Britains NHS is coping with this crisis downplays the enormous costs. While it may be more prepared in terms of beds, personal-protective equipment for staff and knowledge of the virus, its also struggling with employee fatigue and a massive backlog of non-Covid cases to plow through. For people who have been living with undiagnosed or slow-moving cancers, hips that need replacing or other illnesses, this period has been torturous. Even if it manages to avoid a surge in coronavirus hospitalizations this winter, the NHS could well face a different kind of crisis as it tries to meet non-Covid demand.

Story continues

When it comes to implementing new lockdown restrictions, the public health situation suggests erring on the side of caution, but doing so would be economically and politically difficult. The U.K. governments decision to end its popular furlough scheme at the end of October means a sharp rise in unemployment is likely. The economy is forecast to shrink 10% in 2020. Almost any action that Johnson is considering  including a two-week circuit breaker lockdown in October to coincide with school holidays  will carry economic costs that will worry the Treasury, which already looks set to extend some business support loans due to the new lockdown pressures.

The governments strategy  to suppress the virus to keep education and the economy open, as Health Secretary Matt Hancock described it Sunday  may seem logical, but theres very little agreement on how that can now be accomplished. The hope that limited, geographical lockdowns  with contained economic fallout  will be enough seems to be fading.

From Tuesday, more than 13 million Britons will face a host of new lockdown restrictions, including 10pm curfews. There will be hefty new fines for those who break these rules. Hancock says Britain is at a tipping point, leaving little doubt that other parts of the country will be affected too. London mayor Sadiq Khan is advocating tougher lockdown measures in the capital, where case numbers are rising again. One thing is clear: In the absence of a working testing and tracing system, both the public health and economic costs will rise.

All of this comes as criticism of Johnson grows within his own party and among the public. The first wave of infections came soon after he won a resounding election victory and celebrated Britains exit from the European Union. He was riding high in the polls, promising to unify and level up the country. But repeated errors, confused messaging and policy U-turns have left many voters disillusioned.

More people now think opposition leader Keir Starmer would make a better prime minister. And that has unsettled many Johnson supporters, who had grown used to his using most situations to his political advantage. Even the magazine Johnson once edited, The Spectator, normally a bastion of unwavering support, has grown impatient and wondered if he has the stomach for the job.

Johnson still has an 80-seat majority and is firmly in charge. But a potential second wave of the virus has brought the first real opposition he has faced since the December vote. If he doesnt get the response right this time, the Tories may eventually decide the man they backed so enthusiastically to get Brexit done is no longer the leader they want.

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

Therese Raphael is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

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

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The Lok Sabha on September 21 passed the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2020 by voice vote. Now, it will be mandatory for all office bearers of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that seek foreign contributions to get an Aadhaar card.

During the debate in Parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised issues such as forced conversions and the role of Christian missionaries. We know what happened in the northeast, how things changed there over the past 50 years and a particular religion became prominent, said BJP leader SP Singh.



We know what happened in northeast, how things changed there in last 50 yrs & a particular religion rose. There's govt & intelligence report that how insurgency increased there with money under FCRA: SP Singh, BJP while discussing Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill pic.twitter.com/pyNlghib6R

 ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2020

Justifying amendments to the FCRA, Singh had cited government and intelligence reports that confirm how insurgency has increased in the northeast through money received under the FCRA.

Condemning the cold-blooded murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his kids, the BJP MP said: There was uproar over Graham Staines. What happened to him and his 2 children was wrong. But the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Odisha Crime Branch and the Justice DP Wadhwa Commission probe concluded that the tribals were being converted there.

Evangelist mission was the reason people had turned against Graham Staines, the MP stated.

Supriya Sule, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP, had responded saying: As a retired policeman from Maharashtra, what example did he (BJP MP Satya Pal Singh) give? That one NGO did not do good work. If he was the police commissioner what action did he take?

She had further said: There may be one NGO doing bad work but there are thousands of NGOs doing very good work. He has defended a case in Odisha about a family that was burnt alive. Whatever they did, no law anywhere in the world allows you to burn people and their children.

The NCP MP had also questioned if it was then justified to burn alive two children because of the actions of their parents.

Staines and his two sons Philip (10) and Timothy (6) were burnt to death on January 22, 1999, while they were asleep in their station wagon in front of a church at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar, about 400 km away from Bhubaneshwar.
Baimadajie Angwang, a community affairs liaison at the 111th Precinct in Queens and a member of the US Marine Corps Reserve, - NYC Police Benevolent Association / Facebook

A New York City police officer has been arrested on charges he was secretly working as an agent of the Chinese government.

Baimadajie Angwang, a community affairs liaison at the 111th Precinct in Queens and a member of the US Marine Corps Reserve, had for years been reporting back to handlers in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), according to a criminal complaint filed at a New York federal court.

Mr Angwang, 33, an ethnic Tibetan native of China and a naturalised American citizen, had allegedly been reporting back on the activities of fellow Tibetans in the US since 2014.

According to the charging documents filed on Monday, Mr Angwang also assessed potential Tibetan intelligence sources, and used his position in the New York Police Department (NYPD) to pass along information about its internal workings to the Chinese.

The investigation has revealed that Angwang had used his official position in the NYPD to provide consulate officials access to senior (police) officials through invitations to official NYPD events, the complaint said.

Since June 2018, the FBI said Mr Angwang has been "in frequent communication" with an unidentified Chinese consular official he referred to as "Boss."

That same year, he was awarded "Officer of the Month" by the NYPD for his initiative and public service.

Mr Angwang, who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and holds a secret-level security clearance, was reportedly tasked with neutralizing sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of the PRC.

Despite his family being Tibetan, a minority group long oppressed and occupied by Beijing, the FBI claims in the complaint that Mr Angwangs affiliations with China ran deep. His father is a retired member of the Peoples Liberation Army, while his mother is a retired government official and a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

Mr Angwang, who makes about $50,000 (40,000) a year, in 2016 wired $100,000 to his brothers account in China, according to investigators. The following month, he sent $50,000 to another account in China, held in someone elses name.

Story continues

He initially travelled to the US on a cultural exchange visa. He overstayed a second visa and eventually claimed asylum on the grounds he had been arrested and tortured in China, due partly to his TIbetan ethnicity.

In a detention memo filed on Monday, the US Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York, said: Angwang has travelled back to the PRC on numerous occasions since his asylum application was granted.

These are not the actions of an individual who fears torture or persecution at the hands of the PRC, thus showing that his US citizenship was secured through false pretenses.

Prosecutors asked a judge to deny bail because Mr Angwang presents a serious risk of flight and is facing criminal charges which hold a maximum possible prison sentence of 55 years.

Dermot Shea, NYPD Police Commissioner, said Mr Angwang had violated every oath he took in this country," in a statement commenting on the charges. "One to the United States, another to the US Army, and a third to this Police Department.

From the earliest stages of this investigation, the NYPD's Intelligence and Internal Affairs bureaus worked closely with the FBI's Counterintelligence Division to make sure this individual would be brought to justice."

John Carman, Mr Angwangs lawyer, declined to comment on the case.
Emmys 2020: 'Succession' star Brian Cox on morality, swearing and Indira Gandhi Emmy nominee Brian Cox discusses how the 'Succession' actors improvise, Jesse Armstrong's unique sensibility, and whether Logan Roy has a favourite child

Succession is the drama series of the year. Created by Jesse Armstrong, the HBO showstreaming in India on Disney+ Hotstarwon four Emmy awards at this year's ceremony, including the highly coveted trophy for Outstanding Drama Series. After declaring it the top new show of 2018 and the finest show of 2019, I spoke with Brian Cox, who plays the shows intimidating patriarch.

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Logan Roy is the fearsome head of a media empire, unwilling to step aside because his four children dont measure up to his expectations. Few could. Cox, a legendary Scottish performer of stage and screen, has played outsized villains before, but there is something insidious about Logan Roy, a profane man profiteering off misinformation, that rings too believable to our current world.

Over a long telephone call, Cox told me about his take on Logan Roy, the way the Succession actors improvise, his experiences with Indira Gandhi, andperhaps most tellinglyabout his favourite on-screen child. Naturally, he swore.

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I remain haunted by the way Logan Roy dismissed deaths on his ships as inconsequential, using the colourful phrase No real person involved. It must be a lonely world for a man who thinks everyone is beneath him.

Thats an interesting thought. Im not sure he thinks like that. I think he thinks the human experiment is rather disappointing. That the greed and avarice of people is something he has all too easily exploited, and he is slightly contemptuous of the fact that he has been able to exploit it to such an extent. So he does feel that human beings have not lived up to their potential. So theres an element in Logan of a disappointed person. It doesnt have to come to the fore, its part of his mystery, but there is that element.

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Given that youve played so many monumental negative characters over the yearsa gallery of rogues from Hannibal Lecter (in 'Manhunter') all the way to, if I may include him, Robert McKee (in 'Adaptation')where do you think Logan fits in? How far is he from redemption?

Well, nobodys ever far from redemption. I think his childhood has affected him both in a good way and a negative way. I think hes certainly been affected. Hes also a self-made man, so hes inherited nothing. Everything he has, he has created, unlike Rupert Murdoch or Donald Trump. He never started with a leg up, therefore he has an equal contempt for those of his own ilk, as he does for those who he thinks are beneath him. And I dont honestly think he thinks in those terms of what is beneath him. He just sees how people do not function or do function. And his main concern, which is the concern of this show, is the succession of his business. His business is everything for him.

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And hes also a journalist. Thats his trade, thats what he started as. So, in a way, he has respect for that job, hes very empathetic to journalism. He started a journalism school in Dundee in his mothers name. So there are elements in Logan that we dont always see which are positive, and I think that he is caught on the horns of a very lonely dilemma, and hes feeling it quite strongly, that these children that hes fathered, and that he loves  he does love his children, thats very important  he sees that they are disappointing. (Laughs) To say the least. They dont live up to the mark. And he also realises its not altogether their fault, but they ought to do something about it. (Laughs)

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They need to step up their game.

They do need to step up their game. And, you know, he talks about the killer mentality. And the killer mentality is only, as he uses it and as has been his experience, kill or be killed. And its as much about avoiding to be killed as it is about killing.

As an actor, is there a particular facet of Logans character you tap into in order to build this performance? What do you create the humanity around?

Well, I think the element that one digs into is the struggle about being alive, and the struggle that he has  which isnt to the fore, because clearly there are and have been struggles in his life  the biggest struggle for him is to come to terms with his childrens inadequacies, which he is partly responsible for. But also, theres a part of him that says Get over it. Stop going on about what you didnt get. All bets are over after the age of 25. Move on.

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I think thats also to do with the conditions of our lives now, and you see it both in our leaders, Johnson here and Trump, Putin, they are people who have exploited these worse aspects to their own greed, and I think Logan understands that. He understands where it comes from. He doesnt particularly respect it, but he understands it. And he realises his children have not got that kill or be killed sensibility. Perhaps Kendall does now, at the end of Season 2.

When has Logan been the most disappointed in (his eldest son) Kendall?

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Hes not disappointed. He thinks that maybe Kendall has come of age. Kendall has been such a coward, hes used drugs and everything to kinda deal with his inadequacies, and hes riddled with these inadequacies, and the bearhug of the first series is the treachery behind his back. Now, Kendall has stepped to the fore and hes declared himself. So good on you, at least now we know where we stand.

Now he stands as a worthy competitor.

Well, I wouldnt say hes a competitor. (Laughs) I wont go that far.

One of the most curious things I find about the show is the elevation of swearing into such an art form, so well-crafted, so quotable. As a classical Shakespearian actor do you feel even swearwords have a certain metre? Is there a way to deliver curses to make them more emphatic?

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The thing is, Im Scot, and the Celts are great at swearing. Were the best in the world at swearing. The Irish swear in a way that is very benign, and I wont go into details of it, but the Scots have a real edge and weariness to their swearing. Fuck off. They can use swearing in all kinds of capacities, thats whats so interesting.

Some of the verbal abuse on the show is so excessively intricate, often even poetic. Is it tricky to deliver them while making them sound off the cuff? You always spit them out as if you live with insults on the tip of your tongue.

Well, I dont find it difficult, I find it sort of liberating, actually. My daughter just said its like going home, swearing, for me. I think shes witnessed a lot of it over the years. I have been a little free with my swearing vocabulary, so in a way Logan and I are a perfect fit. (Laughs) I think my swearing is much more benign. My roots are Irish, so I kind of swear in a nice way. (Laughs)

Tell me about reading Jesse Armstrongs scripts. When did the brilliance of the work really impact you?

It wasnt even reading the script, it was just Jesses sensibility. The scripts are very much the end of the process, and we always get the scripts late anyway. It was really a pitch more than a read that was given to me. Jesse and [director] Adam McKay pitched the show and it was the pitch that got me going, and also I knew that Jesse had been part of Armando Iannuccis team who I have enormous respect and admiration for, and he created The Thick Of It, a wonderful series down here which is (laughs) full of swearing.

Of course. Featuring the most evocative of vulgarians, Malcolm Tucker.

Malcolm Tucker, absolutely! And I realised Jesse is formidable and modest, hes extraordinarily modest  sometimes too modest  but hes lovely, hes a great guy and a great creator and he runs a writing team, a writers room with five or six writers, and he harnesses all of them brilliantly.

At first I was a little wary, because Im an actor who likes to prepare, and of course these scripts would always arrive they were never too late, but they were always late. At first I was going Oh Christ, I need to know what Im doing, but now I get a frisson out of the fact that I dont know whats going to happen next, and that makes it much more exciting. So its very much in the moment, and thats whats so good about Jesses writing.

Everyone has great lines. The repartee crackles, and in these elaborate profane exchanges, the interplay feels so alive. Is there any improvisation, or is it scripted to the last f-word?

It really is the script. I describe it like a sandwich. There may be ciabatta bread, there may be sourdough, there may be plain white, and thats the improvised part, but the meat remains the same, the filling of the sandwich is the same. And thats how we kind of work the script. Well do all kinds of things to get into the script, but the script remains sacrosanct and, of course, it is a great script.

And theyll do this thing where they give you alternate lines. Like Kieran Culkin, who plays [Logans youngest son] Roman, had never improvised in his life before this show. Never. And he turns out to be a bit of a genius at it. He was very nervous about doing it and he didnt like doing it, but now Because the writers come from the comedy world, that affects how they write and therefore you get alternative lines. So therell be a scene and theyll say try that, throw that in.

So what I do is I say tell me on the day. I dont want what Kierans got, which is sometimes five pages of alternate lines. And Ill just say tell me an alternate line and Ill do it, and I find thats much more effective. Sometimes some of these most memorable lines I usually get seconds before the take. Throw that line in. Some of the ruder lines which I shouldnt go into now..

Oh, but you must. I insist.

(Laughs) The chicken scene, you know the chicken scene? When [Logans son-in-law] Tom comes and eats my chicken? And I have the line Whats he going to do next, stick his cock in my potato salad? Well, that was given to me on the moment. They just gave me that line and I said it. (Laughs) So I didnt have to live with that line any longer than it took me to say it.

Does Logan have a favourite child? And does that inform your dynamic with the characters as you manipulate them?

Well, of course hes got one. You know, like all fathers Its ironic because I have three sons, I have a son from a different marriage, and Ive got a daughter, and one always has a stronger bond with your female child. I dont know why, but you do.

Im choosing to take that as a possible spoiler for the next season. And while (Logans daughter) Siobhan may be his favourite, he seems the most disappointed in her.

Yeah, hes ultimately disappointed because shes too impetuous, and her character is not quite formed enough. He finds her impetuosity  especially her behaviour at the Pierce dinner (season 2, episode 5)  as really unacceptable, and I think its a source of great disappointment to him that she hasnt worked out as a possible successor.

The person whos coming from outfield, as we saw in the last episode of the second series, is Roman, who is now emerging a little more considerable than he has been hitherto. Thats why its a shifting thing. Because fathers and daughters have got a very close bond, and they have that closeness together, but at the same time hes not totally enamoured of her husband, and of a lot of her choices which hes found really difficult. And of course clearly shes damaged in some way. Shes not as mature as we think she is.

At a time when popular culture is so often accused of glamourising the bad white guys, how do you feel 'Succession' has completely avoided this trap? Especially considering how quotable the lines are and how fans have favourite characters, like Logan and Roman. How is the show managing not to glamourise these characters in any way?

Its very interesting this whole idea of glamourising villains, because I dont see them as villains. Theyre human beings but theyre flawed, and they behave in a villanous manner. Theyre just pretty awful human beings getting on with their pretty awful lives (laughs). I dont see it as glamourising because its much more surgical than that. Its a look at what is the root of their cancer, and we havent got there yet. Were still in the process of analysis, and doing like a forensic understanding. Its the autopsy of their lives that were seeing.

Is it then fair to consider 'Succession' a morality tale, as a caution against this excess?

Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely! Youve got it right. Thats what Ive always felt, that it is a modern, Chaucer-ian morality tale, a morality tale of our times. That is principally what it is.

None of these characters jostling for power seem happy with any power that they manage to get their hands on.

Theyre not happy with it because human beings I think that the human experiment is a little disappointing. All we have to do is look around us. Look at what we have in terms of our leaders. Look at how your country has become so nationalistic in terms of its Hinduism, which it never was. Hinduism was always very embracing.

I was very lucky, when I was a young actor, I spent some time with Indira Gandhi. She was an extraordinary person, who had the most impossible job, with one son who was crazy, and another son who was rather a good fellow but, tragically, was assassinated. And she herself was, of course, assassinated. There was a great secular thing about India at the heart of it. There was respect for religion and faith, but it wasnt a huge operating force. And we see that now, we see how Putin behaves, we see how Erdogan behaves in Turkey, we see how Trump behaves, we see how Johnson behaves, and there is such a polarisation very much to the right going on in the world, and that is what our show really reflects.

Youve twice mentioned disappointment with the human experiment. Do you see yourself losing hope with the world as it is now poised, or do you feel this current toxicity is a phase and well fight out of it?

Oh, I think its part of our evolution. I think were an evolving species, and weve got to got through a lot of shit first. Im really now more or less an atheist, but I do believe in human beings and I do believe theyre trying to aspire to something, but constantly theyre being knocked back. Its not just attacking a particular group of people, whether they be Jews, Hindus or Muslims, its actually about us as human beings, its an attack on who we are. And I feel were still in the process of sorting that out. And as you rightly say, and one doesnt want to get to deep into it, but our show is a morality tale. It very much represents the mores of our time.

When playing a character who is often brutal in his dealings with people, does that in any way affect your life off-screen? Do you perhaps find yourself more mindful and affectionate in order to compensate for the character, in order to not be anything like Logan Roy?

Well, my problem is I cant keep my mouth shut. (Laughs) So I sometimes, in good humour, will say something and itll get quoted and come back to me. An example is that I received a CBE (Commander Of The British Empire, a British order of chivalry) many, many years ago. And now theres a thing going around in the press that I think my CBE was nonsense. Well, I never said that. I was a bit glib about it, but I have respect for it and I honour what it meant at the time.

It also is equally true that I dont want a knighthood, I will not accept a knighthood because I dont believe in that anymore, but at the same time, there was a time in my life when it validated, not just for me, but for my family, for my sisters, something which was quite important to them. So in a way I accepted the CBE on behalf of my family. And of course being the mouth I am, Im always putting my foot in my mouth and thats one of my problems.

Well, that certainly isnt a problem for someone interviewing you.

I know, I know, its all just copy for you guys. (Laughs)
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Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Over 94% of the total 1,198 detentions made in 2017 and 2018, were from just from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy was replying to TMC MP Santanu Sen who asked the Home ministry about the imposition of the National Security Act (NSA) in the country.

Sharing the National Crime Records Bureau data with the Parliament, Reddy said 501 people were detained in different parts of the country under the stringent law in 2017 and 697 people were detained under NSA in 2018.

In 2017, almost 60% of the total people registered under the NSA were from Madhya Pradesh alone. The state along with Uttar Pradesh together accounted for 94% of the total detentions made under NSA that year.

In 2018, the share of detentions made by MP under the stringent law further went upto 71%. That year, MP and UP together detained 662 people, which was almost 95 percent of the total detentions made in the country under the NSA.

ALSO READ | Nearly 1,200 detained under NSA in 2017, 2018 in India, 563 still in custody

Under the National Security Act, an individual can be detained without a charge for up to 12 months. The individual also need not be informed of the charges for 10 days.

According to the NCRB report on Crime in India' for the year 2018, 406 persons, including 333 in Madhya Pradesh and 57 in UP, were released by the Advisory Board that is required by the NSA to review each case of detention. Percentage-wise, 67.2% of the total detainees in Madhya Pradesh were released by the board in 2018, and in UP, the percentage of those released by the Board was 34%.

The remaining 291, including 162 in MP and 110 in UP, remained under detention in 2018.

In 2017, of the total 501 persons detained in the country 2017, 229 were released by the board countrywide, including 133 from MP and 93 from UP. That year, 272 remained in custody, including from 167 MP and 78 from UP remained in custody.
Precise designed a technology solution for courtrooms at the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, PA to accommodate social distancing. Once we got into the rhythm of the trial, it didn't feel all that different from the normal trial setting.

Precise, Inc., a trusted provider of litigation support services, has recently participated in several civil jury trials throughout Pennsylvania as judges and courtroom administrators determine how to safely proceed in a brick and mortar setting during the coronavirus pandemic. Precise trial consultants provide devices and equipment to present evidence and act as "hot-seat" technicians to manage digital presentations and exhibits during a trial. These core services help fulfill social distancing requirements in courtrooms by lessening or eliminating the use of paper exhibits and allowing people to maintain safe distances from each other.

As more jury trials resume, Precise has been working with courtroom administrators in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties to develop and install new technology plans for courtrooms that have been reconfigured to accommodate social distancing. Precise designed a system to digitally present witnesses and evidence through large LCD monitors throughout the courtroom so jurors may have a clear view when seated throughout the gallery. Signals from cameras and wireless microphones route through a "courtroom control station" where tipstaff can easily toggle between full-screen images or a picture-in-picture format.

Precise's trial consulting team has been implementing presentation technology strategies in courtrooms and meeting spaces across the country for two decades. That collective experience is helping them meet the logistical challenges presented by the pandemic. Eric Matlock, a trial consultant with Precise, recently provided support for a medical malpractice trial in Blair County, PA. "We had to adjust the typical courtroom set-up because of how far apart everyone was, which required us to use two projection screens with a synchronous presentation, Matlock explained. The layout worked well, as everyone was able to see the exhibits clearly. There was an agreement made that no paper documents would be exchanged or distributed; we presented everything electronically. Audio is something were evaluating and planning for as new seating arrangements sometimes challenge the systems in place in the courtroom. This is particularly true in larger courtrooms that tend to have a lot of echo.

"Once we got into the rhythm of the trial, it didnt feel all that different from the normal trial setting, said Joshua Baker, member of Metz Lewis Brodman Must O'Keefe LLC, who rented presentation equipment from Precise for his recent trial in Washington, PA. The biggest change was not being able to move freely about the courtroom during questioning to maintain distancing. This made presentation technology absolutely critical to keep a flow and make sure the jury was able to follow along with exhibits being referenced.

Jury trials will resume in Allegheny County on October 19th, according to an order issued by Allegheny County Common Pleas President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark. Precise, headquartered in Pittsburgh, expects technology to remain a critical component in upcoming trials.

About Precise, Inc.

Founded by attorneys in 2000, Precise, Inc. helps law firms and corporate legal teams use technology to level the playing field regardless of the size of the firm or the scope of the litigation. Precise's subsidiary companies, Precise Advisory, LLC, Precise Discovery, LLC, and Precise Trial, LLC, offer a range of litigation technology support from eDiscovery services to modern courtroom presentations. To learn more, please visit precise-law.com or call 866-277-3247.
In the course of my 50 plus years of writing, commentary and analysis, there has never been a time that wasnt filled with change. The change was always powerful, because people were changing, the forces of production were changing, international balances of powers kept shifting and some countries rose while others fell. There were moments of anxiety and anticipation, often at major crossroads when it was hard to know who would turn left or right, or who would leave the road altogether and take a totally unexpected path.

This years US presidential elections is a case in point. We do not have much more to go before we know the victor in this amazing race which is all the more remarkable because in many ways it seems like an extension of the 2016 elections, or as though the 2016 campaigns are still in progress. Were the US not such an important world power, few would care about the race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

But the information keeps pouring in, the analyses abound and these make the waiting fraught with uncertainty. If there is a general unanimity that Biden is in the lead in the opinion polls, voices here and there are quick to question the value of such polls in light of past experiences in which Republican respondents hid their real opinions from the pollsters. Commentaries in the US media analyse the state of play on the basis of the popular vote and then, in the next minute, they revise their calculations on the basis of possible Electoral College outcomes.

As to the actual difference between Biden and Trump, this is a question we, outside of the US, rarely ponder for long, because its the American people who will ultimately decide whether they need another four years of Trump or whether the experience of his first term was a disaster that has to end. On the other hand, how much change will Biden bring if elected? After all, he has worked for more than 40 years in the US political establishment, as a senator and vice president moreover.

For those outside the US, perhaps it is best to approach the elections from their own particular perspectives, first identifying what they want from the US whether under this president or that, and gauging their optimism or pessimism accordingly.

Another question that has us on tenterhooks these days is the question as to whether the world is heading towards military conflagrations or, instead, will continue the trend towards fewer conflicts. Apart from the Middle East, the world has been relatively calm for the past two decades. Nevertheless, as we know from recent history, the Chinese-Indian border can be troublesome. About six decades ago the two countries went to war, but the conflict subsided into peaceful coexistence that helped stimulate both their economic booms.

Still, the borders remained tense and the question of Tibet constantly raises its head. This summer, violence erupted again in skirmishes and currently diplomatic efforts are in progress to bridge the differences between Beijing and New Delhi. In our region, another clash erupted between two neighbours  Greece and Turkey, which have a history of conflict that dates back centuries if not millennia. In this case, too, there were troop amassments, raucous sabre rattling, and while there were not actual skirmishes, they came close to the brink.

Will the moratorium on old and ingrained conflicts break down and release their violent potential but in the 21st century this time? Is it really the case that what is happening today in the Middle East is an extension of the Arab-Persian and Arab-Ottoman struggles? Is it only a question of time until what remains of the Arab-Israeli conflict will erupt again in some form or other? Or has it already, in the form of Israeli strikes against Syria, Lebanon and Iraq? One lesson from history is that entrenched historic conflicts will continue to emit sparks capable of igniting fires unless the disputants resolve on peaceful coexistence and another mode of life. Unfortunately, that option does not sit well with many parties.

China continues to keep everyone at the edge of their seat in a number of ways. Is it truly on its way to becoming a super power? What will it do if it does become one? Will a new Cold War erupt or just intense competition between two countries with extraordinary capacities? Theres a big difference between these two modes. Whatever the case, with regard to us, it wouldnt work to revert to the old policies of nonalignment or positive neutrality. But how should we conduct our relations with the US and China?

For their part, the Chinese must be waiting with bated breath to see who will be the winner in the US presidential elections. After all, Chinas rise to superpower status is not only a product of its own efforts but also a product of US-driven globalisation and the encouragement it received from Washington to join the World Trade Organisation. All these factors enabled China to surge forward as the production and supply chain hub of the global factory and, more recently, as a high-tech pioneer on earth and in space. Meanwhile, all must be holding their breath as their attention turns to the other side of the Pacific where questions hover over possible responses to Beijings actions towards Hong Kong, Taiwan and the South China Sea, some of which Washington may be able to live with and others of which could spark dangerously soaring tensions.

Fortunately, another formula for Sino-US relations could steer away from the inevitable collision course and the eruption of a cold war similar to that which had prevailed between the US and the USSR before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The alternative to conflict in this case is intense economic and technological competition. This, as mentioned above, is another mode. With conflict, polarisation is acute, there is no common ground with others; it is either with us or against us. In competition mode, positions and sides are determined by the issues at hand, countries diverse geopolitical perspectives and their ability to build hard or soft regional alliances. The sense of anticipation in this mode focuses on gains whereas in conflict mode calculations have to factor in potentially grievous losses.

But there are bigger enigmas involving still evolving entities with uncertain futures. One of these is Russia which, after emerging from the Cold War era, has neither moved in the direction of Chinese prosperity or in the direction of American might. Russia is a strong country with powerful military assets, including nuclear muscle. But it has nothing to offer world markets apart from arms.

The EU is another major puzzle. Brexit has shaken the EU from certitude in the EUs existence. Germany sometimes seems to lead it, but France makes enough noise as to give the impression that it holds the European rudder. Until only recently the EU was on its way to become a world power. Now it has set its sights on becoming a Mediterranean power.

These and other questions are keeping us waiting. In international relations, waiting has material costs. It can be nerve racking and it taxes our patience as long as the waiting lasts.

*The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 17 September, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The $3.5 million fine that the Federal Court meted out to the spectacles retailer Oscar Wylee Eyewear will have made Australian of the Year James Muecke uncomfortable.

The ACCC pursued the company for making false representations about its charitable donations and affiliations. And Dr Muecke? He chairs the charity Sight for All, which teaches doctors throughout Asia to restore sight.

Sight for All has partnered with Oscar Wylee over the years. In its 2019 annual report the charity thanks Oscar Wylee for being a Vision 100 member. It also gave it a certificate for donating more than 3000 frames. And in February 2018, Oscar Wylee funded a study into blindness in Myanmar.

The ACCC took Oscar Wylee to court over its 'Buy 1 Pair, Give 1 Pair' campaign.

Oscar Wylee Eyewear is controlled by the four sons of shy TPG broadband billionaire David Teoh. Bob is executive director, while his brothers John, Jack and Shane have served as directors over the past decade. Oscar Wylee told shoppers it would donate a pair of spectacles to charity for every pair it sold. But that turned out to be a lie.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton is escorted by U.S. security into a court in Olongapo city, north of Manila

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines will have access to potential COVID-19 vaccines being developed by U.S. firms without any strings attached, the health ministry said on Friday, after the presidential spokesman had linked the pardoning of a U.S. Marine to ensuring access.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said none of the U.S. vaccine makers the government is in talks with had set conditions, adding all potential vaccines will undergo a regulatory process to ensure safety and efficacy. "No conditions were provided or given to us," Vergeire told a news conference. The Philippines, which is among a number of developing countries with big populations trying to secure a supply of COVID-19 vaccine, has met with U.S. vaccine manufacturers Moderna Inc <MRNA.O> and Pfizer Inc <PFE.N>.

It has also held discussions with China and Russia, which are among countries leading the global race to develop coronavirus inoculations.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said on Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to pardon a U.S. marine convicted of killing a transgender woman nearly six years ago may have stemmed from his desire to ensure access to coronavirus vaccines. But Roque reiterated on Friday that he was merely stating a personal opinion.

Pemberton was serving a six- to 10-year sentence for killing Jennifer Laude near a former U.S. navy base in 2014. He will likely be released from a military jail and deported this weekend, the Bureau of Immigration said.

Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said U.S. officials were "surprised" by the pardon. While they inquired about Pemberton, they did not push for his release, he told ANC News channel.

The Philippines has the most COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, with more than 248,000 confirmed infections.

The Southeast Asian country plans to buy 40 million doses worth $400 million for 20 million people, about a fifth of its 107 million population.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Ed Davies)
(Natural News) Both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can no longer be trusted, according to billionaire eugenicist Bill Gates, because President Trump is not overseeing these agencies the way Gates would like.

During a recent interview, Gates whined about how Trump is supposedly engaged in political meddling at the FDA, which, according to Gates, used to be the worlds premier public health authority.

Speaking to Bloomberg News, Gates expressed what we can only describe as anti-vaccine skepticism, which is odd for a pharmaceutical fiend who quite literally lives to vaccinate.

The CDC has also lost credibility, according to Gates, because its emphasis and methods have shifted with Trump at the helm. What Gates sees as credible and in the best interests of public health and welfare have become casualties of a presidency that has downplayed or dismissed science and medicine in the pursuit of political gain.

Gates is particularly upset about FDA head Stephen Hahns decision to backtrack on the agencys statement concerning convalescent plasma, which Trump recently announced as a treatment option for Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.

We saw with the completely bungled plasma statements that when you start pressuring people to say optimistic things, they go completely off the rails, Gates droned.

The FDA lost a lot of credibility there, he added.

As for the CDC, Gates says that this agency had likewise been viewed as the best in the world, but that theres been some cracks with some of the things theyve said at the commissioner level.

Bill Gates loves Operation Warp Speed, but wants more money for manufacturing and procurement of vaccines

The only good thing that Gates had to say about anything Trump is doing pertained to Operation Warp Speed, a program created by Trump and headed by a former GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) executive that aims to mass-distribute Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines just as soon as they come off the fast-tracked production line.

If it were up to Gates, however, the program would be massively expanded to infuse considerably more funding for the manufacturing and procurement of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines, especially in poorer areas of the world.

Another $8-$10 billion in funding to create permanent supply chains for pharmaceuticals and vaccines in the Third World would save the U.S. trillions in lost economic output, according to Gates.

The inequity of this  whether its between citizens in the country, blue collar versus white collar, blacks experiencing a higher sickness rate than others  poor countries cant borrow money and spend money like the U.S. and other rich countries have, Gates contends.

Almost every dimension of inequity has been accentuated here.

When asked about the fact that tens of millions of Americans now see Gates as a polarizing figure in the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) era, Gates dismissed the notion that he has ulterior motives as conspiracy theories, which he called crazy.

Gates also blamed social media companies like Facebook and Twitter for accommodating the spread of these conspiracy theories, which Gates seems to agree has caused irreversible damage to his reputation and public image. This is in spite of the fact that Gates is not even remotely qualified to be talking about any of these subjects, let alone influencing public policy with his opinions.

To sum up: Gates doesnt think you should trust bureaucratic institutions (which, by extension, includes Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx) anymore, reports Zero Hedge. Just trust him.

Asked about Gates comments during an interview on Squawk Box Tuesday morning, White House advisor Jared Kushner largely brushed them aside.

If this story piqued your interest around the subject of mass vaccination and the plandemic, you can find more like it at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Managua (Nicaragua) September 19, 2020 (SPS) - The new ambassador of the Sahrawi Republic to Nicaragua, Mr. Wali Amer Ali-Salem, presented Friday his credentials to Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nicaragua, Mr. Denis Moncada, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



On this occasion, the head of the Nicaraguan diplomacy affirmed that Nicaragua and the Sahrawi Republic have very strong fraternal historical ties, stressing the right of the Sahrawi people for self-determination and independence.



For his part, the Sahrawi ambassador commended the accompaniment of Nicaragua to the struggle of the Sahrawi people, expressing the appreciation and gratitude of the Sahrawi government and people.



The Sahrawi Republic and Nicaragua have strong diplomatic relations, usually reflected in positions on issues of common concern. (SPS)



062/SPS/T
Donald Trump might be the most controversial president since Abraham Lincoln.

The other day Trump compared himself to Lincoln in a civil rights context and ignited another media tantrum. Surely, Trump is no match for Lincoln's lawyerly reticence or rhetorical eloquence. As for having the courage to fire arrogant or incompetent subordinates, Trump is more than Lincoln's equal.

Trump/Lincoln parallels are coming into sharp relief as another presidential election looms. Like Lincoln, Trump has a civil war on his hands; and like Lincoln faces a second term might be more hazardous than the first.

President Trump has been besieged by domestic hate, much of it inspired by a hostile press, venal generals, and the Washington establishment from day one.

Like Trump, Lincoln was an outsider, a rural lawyer from Kentucky, reviled by capitol insiders including senior military officers. In Lincoln's second run for the White House, Democrats selected the best failed Civil War general, George McClellan, as their standard bearer.

Alas, Lincoln's electoral victory in 1864 against General McClellan was insured by 11 southern Democrat states whose electoral votes were rendered moot by secession. The 16th president only had to contend with the McClellan cabal and the Democrat Party.

The difference between then and now seems to be that today's failed and embittered Vietnam era McClellans are more numerous.

Trump has to worry about insurgents in both political parties and disgruntled military mandarins like Clapper, Mattis, Hayden, McRaven, McChrystal, Stavridis, and Powell just to name a few of the most treacherous and politicized.

Lincoln had to contend with insurrections on both sides of the blue and grey divide before traitors delivered the coup de grace. In the end. John Wilkes Booth did what disloyal generals and a disgruntled Democrat Party could or would not do.

Then as now, bad losers usually inspire the worst behavior in their ideological camp followers. Today, senior seditious military malcontents slander the President, claiming that Trump belittled fallen US troops in Europe as "losers."

If Trump said anything disparaging, he probably spoke of living generals not dead American heroes. The American high command hasn't won a war since Douglas MacArthur had the Japanese General Staff taking a knee on the fantail of the USS Arizona. America might still have the best trained and equipped military in the world, but that force, poorly led since the Korean War, has been without a big win ever since.

The Pentagon has been mucking about with small wars in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Southeast and South Asia since WW II leaving a global litter of failed states in its wake.

American generals have come to confuse rank with achievement where tenure is the new stand-in for victory.

The endless small war is now the only war.

This in a nutshell is the difference between Trump and his flag officers. The Commander-in-Chief believes in winning. The Pentagon is content with inertia. Indeed, the prevailing ethic under brass hats is that presidents and cabinet secretaries may come and go but the E-Ring nomenklatura, the deep state at the Pentagon, is perennial.

Apparently, Donald Trump's strategic world view is "get in it to win it" - or get out. Trump also believes in "war by other means;" quietly negotiating a political deal, a peace, or dare we say, a victory.

Hard to argue with such crystal-clear common sense and strategic logic.

The fruits of bold leadership on such matters are now apparent in the Levant. Instead of using some establishment types to cut the Middle East Gordian Knot, Trump put his baby-faced son-in-law on point to bring home a big win.

Jared Kushner has done more for peace in the Levant recently than professional politicians and generals have done in the last fifty years.

Recall that erstwhile Obama era DNI, General James Clapper and CIA director, John Brennan, a self-styled Arab "expert," predicted that moving the US embassy to Jerusalem would cause an "explosion."

Explosion indeed. The Two-State chimera is now just a cloud of smoke.

Trump defied the experts, checkmating Persian and Shia terrorists by convincing Sunni Arabs to cancel the PLA/Hamas Palestinian veto on all things Israeli. Defying conventional wisdom, Trump has taken sides with Arabia, in effect creating a new alliance with the Sunni Islamic majority. Trump and Kushner have outflanked the toxic Shia Crescent, and secured a rolling recognition of Israel with neighboring Arab countries that really matter.

Even Tom Friedman at the NY Times, writing about the Abraham Accords, had to admit: "You get big change when the big players do the right things."

The Palestinian blockade has been lifted now by using new ideas and real American leverage to end a long and ruinous half century of Jewish/Islamic wars and cultural stalemate.

The Jewish homeland, the Middle East, and America are now more secure.

The only national asset better than generals who win is an elected leader with the moxie to ignore the "experts" and naysayers and still bring home a win.

Abraham Lincoln had that virtue and so does Donald Trump.

G. Murphy Donovan is a former Intelligence officer and former Director of Research and Russian (nee Soviet) Studies under James Clapper at USAF Intelligence.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York City public school students begin the 2020-2021 school year on Monday, under markedly unique circumstances, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Students are slated to return to school buildings part-time under a blended learning model, or will learn at home remotely full-time. It will be the first time kids go back to their classroom since the coronavirus outbreak shuttered school buildings in March.

But while all students will have a first day of lessons, not all kids will begin the return to campus on Monday, after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that the city would phase-in the start of the school year for blended learners.

The phases for students enrolled in the citys blended learning model are as follows: 3-K, pre-K and District 75 students will report in-person beginning Monday, Sept. 21; students in grades K to eight and K to five schools will begin reporting on Tuesday, Sept. 29; and middle and high school students will begin returning on Thursday, Oct. 1.

Under the blended learning plan, put into place to cut down on the number of students at school at one time, students will return to their classroom one to three days per week, learning virtually the rest of the time. Students also have the choice of learning remotely full-time.

Blended learners will learn remotely beginning Monday until they return to school buildings under the phased approach. Full-time remote learners are unaffected by the announcement and will continue to begin their remote schedule on Monday.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

The school year was initially slated to start Sept. 10, but was delayed to allow more time for teachers and students to prepare. The delay was announced following concerns from labor unions like the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and the Council of Supervisors and Administrators (CSA) that teachers and principals did not have enough time to prepare for the health, safety and instructional challenges for this unprecedented school year.

Heres a look at what you need to know for the 2020-2021 school year.

Will school buildings reopen to kids in New York City?

School buildings are expected to reopen as soon as Monday, Sept. 21, only if its safe to do so. The citys rate of positive cases must be less than 3% using a seven-day rolling average to open.

If new coronavirus cases surpass that threshold, all schools in New York City will close.

Blended learners will return to school buildings within the citys phased reopening plan.

What safety procedures will my child need to follow?

Students who choose blended learning will learn in smaller in-person class sizes to adhere to social distancing protocols. In this learning model, students will rotate in groups between in-person and remote learning.

Students will be required to stay in pods together throughout the day as much as possible, and limit contact with other classrooms to contain any potential spread of the virus to other parts of the school.

Classroom sizes will be slashed by at least half, with student desks spaced apart for social distancing. Signage promoting mask usage, hand hygiene, social distancing and other protective measures will be displayed throughout school buildings, including in hallways and classrooms.

Will there be health screenings?

When students and staff arrive each day to school they will be randomly selected for a temperature check every morning, and will be required to check their own temperature before going to school, according to the DOEs reopening plan.

Students and staff will not be allowed to go to school if they have one or more of the following: a temperature greater than 100 degrees; coronavirus symptoms; a positive coronavirus test. In addition, those who have traveled internationally or to a high-infection state in the last 14 days will not be admitted.

DOE employees will pre-screen themselves before heading to a department building using an Online Health Screening Application. Upon entering, the employee will be asked to provide the results of his or her screening by showing an email on a phone or a printout of results.

Will face coverings be required?

The city Department of Education (DOE) said it will follow the guidance of local, state and federal health experts when it comes to requiring mask usage for both students and staff during in-person learning.

Face coverings will be required inside school buildings -- even in buildings without air conditioning.

Exceptions to wearing face coverings will be developmentally- and age-appropriate, consistent with guidance of health agencies. They will be paired with increased PPE for staff.

The DOE will procure and distribute appropriate PPE for students and staff to use when inside school buildings. They can also bring their own face coverings. Students who cant tolerate a face-covering medically, including situations in which students with such coverings would harm their physical or mental health, will not be subject to wearing one.

What if a student doesnt follow the mask-wearing rule?

The DOE has repeatedly stated that it will strongly encourage students to wear a facial covering at all times and provide age-appropriate lessons to students regarding the importance of mask-wearing.

When asked what would happen if some students continually refused to wear a face covering in school, the DOE has said that those children would be required to transition to a fully remote learning model.

The department emphasized that students being sent home or required to transition to remote learning would not be considered a disciplinary action, but rather a health and safety measure, and would in no way impact a students grades or ability to continue learning remotely.

What if a student exhibits coronavirus symptoms?

The DOEs reopening plan includes guidance should a student exhibit coronavirus symptoms during the school day. Each public school building will have an isolation room, according to the plan submitted by the city to the state and confirmed by the DOE.

An isolation room is a place where a student with suspected COVID-19 symptoms can be safely isolated in the building, and where they can be seen by a health-care professional and/or picked up by a guardian, the plan states.

Should a student exhibit coronavirus symptoms -- such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, lack of taste or smell, or other symptoms -- he or she will be escorted to the schools isolation room. The student will then be evaluated by a nurse or health-care professional.

Should the nurse/health professional be unavailable to examine the student, or if a school does not have a nurse or access to a health professional at that time, the student must wait in the isolation room until picked up, according to the DOE reopening plan.

You can go here to learn the protocols to be followed for a student to return to school after showing coronavirus symptoms.

What about the new mandatory testing program?

New York City public school students, teachers, and staff will be subject to mandatory random coronavirus testing throughout the school year, beginning Oct. 1.

Every school is doing this testing monthly, de Blasio said at a press conference last week. It is random. I want to be clear about that -- so its a mix of members of the school community who will be tested every month. Every union is going to work out their specific approach to it.

Each month, schools will select and test a blind sample of anywhere from 10% to 20% of the school community. The size of the sample will depend on the population of the school, said Dr. Jay Varma, the mayors senior adviser for public health.

All tests will be free of charge, with results available within 48 hours. Parental consent is required for all students under the age of 18. It will be a self-swab test, not the long Q-tip that is inserted far into the nasal cavity, according to de Blasio.

If a student does not receive parental consent for testing, or refuses to take the test, the student will be moved to the remote learning cohort, according to the UFT. Any staff member who elects not to participate in random testing will be placed on unpaid leave, the UFT stated.

A positive test result

Any student or staff member who tests positive for the virus, regardless of symptoms, will be asked to quarantine for 14 days.

City contact tracing teams will then be dispatched to the school to determine any potential spread.

Students can only return to school after meeting the following conditions:

Receives a positive test AND isolates for 10 days;

Presents clearance from a health-care provider AND;

Has been symptom-free for 24 hours without the use of medication;

Or:

Receives a negative COVID-19 test AND;

Presents a clearance letter from a health-care provider AND;

Has been symptom-free for 24 hours without the use of mediation.

Or:

Never gets a COVID-19 test AND;

It has been at least 10 days since symptoms started AND;

Presents a clearance letter from a health-care provider AND;

Has been symptom-free for 24 hours without the use of medication.

What would need to happen for a school to shut down?

As part of the Test & Trace and Department of Health (DOH) investigation, if there are two or more confirmed cases within the same school, and not in the same classroom, the two classes quarantine for 14 days and the school is closed for a minimum of 24 hours while the DOH investigation is underway.

Heres a closer look at what happens if there are confirmed cases in a school:

One confirmed coronavirus case in a classroom, or at least two cases linked together in the same classroom, would be enough to quarantine the entire class of students for 14 days. The school would remain open.

At least two cases in the school in separate classrooms would quarantine both sets of students for 14 days, with additional school members quarantined based on where exposure was in the school. The school would close for an initial 24 hours.

At least two cases linked together by circumstances outside of school would close the school for an initial 24 hours and all students would quarantine for 14 days.

At least two cases not linked together, but exposure was confirmed for each one outside of the school setting, would close the school for an initial 24 hours and quarantine all students for 14 days.

If a link is unable to be determined for at least two cases, the entire school building would be closed for 14 days.

When a school closes or a classroom quarantines, students and teachers will all move to remote learning.

What will instruction look like?

Live instruction will be provided for fully remote learners. This real-time instruction will be delivered in short intervals -- 15 to 20 consecutive minutes -- throughout the day for the youngest learners, and may increase based on developmental appropriateness and grade level, according to the DOE.

Students participating in the citys blended learning model may not get live instruction on the days they are learning remotely.

The DOE initially promised that, on virtual days, students would receive both synchronous and asynchronous instruction that would complement each other for continuity. And students would receive anywhere from 65 minutes to 120 minutes of live instruction -- using video conferencing tools like Zoom or Google Meet.

But NY1 reported last week that the DOE issued new guidance to offer principals flexibility when providing synchronous instruction to blended students on remote days. The agency also removed the requirement to offer a minimum number of minutes of live instruction to those students.

What will my childs school day look like?

Class schedules and schedules for live instruction for all students, including fully remote students and those participating in blended learning, will be posted online for families and students.

For students who choose full-time remote learning, synchronous and asynchronous instruction will be provided.

Synchronous learning refers to real-time remote learning, or live instruction via technology. Asynchronous learning is self-paced learning without real-time instruction. The same system will be in place for students within the blended learning model on their designated remote days.

Students who are in blended learning will learn with their teacher on in-person days, and will learn remotely the other days. Unless a school is able to provide synchronous live instruction for blended learners on remote days, it will be asynchronous instruction.

To facilitate remote learning, students can access multiple educational applications -- such as G Suite, Microsoft O365, and Zoom -- using secure central accounts. Schools should ensure their students have DOE accounts.

Students engaged in remote learning full-time must meet the same academic policies as students engaged in blended learning, which means students will be graded the same.

How do I know what days my kid goes to school?

Under the blended learning model, New York City public 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.

Each public school was required to choose one of three baseline programming models developed by the DOE, which includes a full-time remote learning cohort and in-person learning cohorts for blended learning.

Students who chose blended learning will go to school one to three days per week  depending on the size of the school  and work remotely the other days. Your school will notify you of the cohort your child is in, which will include when he or she will attend school in-person and remotely.

Can I switch to remote learning or blended learning?

The DOE released a form that will allow families to have their children remain fully remote. Families can fill out this form at any time to switch to full-time remote learning.

You can go to this website, www.nycenet.edu/surveys/learningpreference, to fill out the form.

Families who chose full-time remote learning will be able to opt back into in-person instruction during designated timeframes throughout the school year, starting this fall, according to the DOE.

What if I need a device?

Students who are participating in blended learning and who received a DOE-issued device at the end of the 2019-2020 school year are expected to bring that device to school for the 2020-2021 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.

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.

Is it safe to return to school buildings?

Every school will receive backpack sprays, or an electrostatic disinfect, to thoroughly disinfect schools every night. High-touch surfaces will be cleaned throughout the school day.

Inspectors performed ventilation checks in every space occupied by students, teachers and staff -- and 81% of all spaces are considered operational, according to data released Tuesday.

A school and a classroom, bathroom or office space passed inspection if it is considered operational, which means the space has at least one method of ventilation. Rooms that didnt pass inspection need repairs, as the space has no identified working ventilation system.

The city has made the ventilation reports available for parents who wish to check the condition of their childs school. You can go here to find your childs schools ventilation report, and how to better understand what it means.

What about school transportation?

New York City will have 100,000 school bus seats ready for students for the 2020-2021 academic year.

The mayor said students and adults will be required to follow a number of safety measures while riding on school buses. Face coverings will be required for everyone on the bus, windows on the bus will remain open, social distancing will be enforced, and buses will undergo a thorough cleaning every night.

De Blasio said the city would provide 6,000 special education routes and 2,500 general education routes and is working with 60 bus companies to have those routes ready in time with extensive safety measures.

Will kids learn outside?

Students and teachers may also be learning outside this school year. City agencies have been working with school principals to facilitate outdoor learning options, de Blasio said.

Schools can use their own, on-site yards, as well as secure space in parks and streets near their campus to create outdoor learning areas.

Schools can continue to submit their plan, which will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The program is open to all public, charter and private schools, as well as the free child-care program, Learning Bridges.

Where will students eat breakfast and lunch?

Grab-and-go meals will be available for breakfast and lunch each day, though students will be permitted to bring their own lunch.

Lunch will likely be in classrooms to minimize interaction between groups of students.

Grab-and-go meals will be delivered to students in 3-K to kindergarten classrooms, and pickup points within the school will be designated for students in grades one to 12. After eating, students and staff will wipe down the area. Students will be advised to not share food or drinks with other students.

The reopening plan does not specifically state that cafeterias cannot be used for meals. If the cafeteria must be used, schools must maintain appropriate physical distancing, it says.

Students not receiving in-person instruction on a given day can pick up lunch from their own school or an identified school building near their home.

Will there be child care on remote learning days?

The citys Learning Bridges program will begin on Sept. 21, with 30,000 seats.

The mayor said in July that the city will provide free child-care options for 100,000 kids from 3-K through eighth grade this fall. The program will provide relief to families who cant stay home or find alternate care for their kids on days they arent in school buildings.

De Blasio said the first 30,000 seats will be highly prioritized for who has the greatest need.

By the end of October, the Learning Bridges program will have 70,000 seats available and 100,000 seats available by the end of December, according to the city.

A DOE spokeswoman said nurses will be available for all programs for onsite visits and tele-health from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All families who expressed interest and filled out the survey on the DOEs website will automatically go into the enrollment process.

You can fill out the survey here.

Related stories:

NYC to bring in 2,000 more educators for the start of school as de Blasio pushes forward with Sept. 21 reopening

3 S.I. schools see positive coronavirus cases, union says

Coronavirus: How to find ventilation inspection results for your childs school

What will reopening look like in largest U.S. school districts?

NYC school year delayed; in-person learning to start Sept. 21

Reopening of NYC schools delayed: What you need to know

Heres how coronavirus testing will work in NYC schools

Coronavirus: How NYC plans to safely reopen schools in fall

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T he Prime Minister will hold a Cobra meeting on Tuesday amid reports he is planning to announce fresh national lockdown measures in a bid to arrest the second wave of coronavirus in the UK.

It comes after Boris Johnson earlier had calls with the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland about how coronavirus is spreading across the country.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "During these calls, the Prime Minister made clear that the rising infection rates are a cause for great concern, which he is taking very seriously. He reiterated his unwavering commitment to working with the devolved administrations as we continue to tackle the virus.

"They all agreed to act with a united approach, as much as possible, in the days and weeks ahead.

It comes as chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty, in a press briefing on Monday, warned that the viruss re-emergence was no longer being confined to individual areas.

So what measures could be implemented?

Ban meet-ups between households

A measure replicated across the recently-announced local lockdowns in England was a ban on two or more households socialising together in both indoor or outdoor environments.

Prof Whitty, during Mondays Number 10 press briefing, hinted that broader curbs on meet-ups could be required if the horror scenario of as many as 50,000 new Covid cases per day in mid-October is to be avoided.

His colleague Sir Patrick warned that such an outcome, leading to 200-plus daily deaths, was possible if action was not taken.

Museum of London documents Coronavirus Lockdown in the capital 1 /16 Museum of London documents Coronavirus Lockdown in the capital Leicester Square Damien Hewetson/PA Harrods in Knightsbridge Damien Hewetson/PA Bury Street PA Piccadilly PA Leman Street Damien Hewetson/PA Victoria and Albert Museum Damien Hewetson/PA Hyde Park Corner Damien Hewetson/PA Wellington Arch PA Cromwell Road PA Beauchamp Place PA Leicester Square in the early 20th century PA Leicester Square at night circa 1934 PA

Prof Whitty told the nation that we have to break unnecessary links between households because that is the way in which this virus is transmitted.

The Government only last week brought in the so-called rule of six, making it unlawful for groups of more than six who are not already in a single household to mix, with fines available for those found disobeying the regulation.

But during a visit to Oxfordshire on Friday, Mr Johnson said he had been wondering whether we need to go further than the rule of six, fuelling the rumours that more stringent socialising restrictions are being prepared.

Pubs and restaurants told to shut

The hospitality trade was given a much-needed boost when pubs, cafes and restaurants were permitted to reopen on July 4 on what was dubbed super Saturday after being told to lock their doors indefinitely in March.

But Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he could not rule out Englands pubs being forced to close this weekend as part of the measures being looked at by ministers.

People wearing masks outside a pub / PA

Speaking on ITVs This Morning, Mr Hancock said his answer on pubs closing was not a no, and its not a yes.

As part of the local restrictions in places such as Sunderland and Birmingham, pubs and other venues have been given a curfew of 10pm  a possible signal of what could be to come for the rest of the country.

A circuit-breaker lockdown

The papers have been full of speculation about a two-week lockdown whereby the hospitality sector would shut up, socialising would be halted and travel would be advised in only essential circumstances.

Some reports have suggested the so-called circuit-breaker could coincide with the October half-term in a bid to limit the amount of time children spend out of school, with many pupils having lost as much as four months out of their education after the spring lockdown.

The Prime Ministers looming appearance in the Commons, however, seems to imply that any new restrictions will come sooner than next month.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, for example, has warned Scotland that they should brace for additional measures as soon as Wednesday.

A full national lockdown

The response to the initial outbreak of Covid-19 in March was to impose a full-scale national lockdown, banning leaving the house for anything bar exercise or other limited reasons, such as caring for another person.

Ministers would have this at their disposal again as a tool for dealing with the second wave but comments made by both Mr Johnson and Prof Whitty indicate the Government does not want to go to such lengths.

Mr Johnson, speaking to broadcasters on Friday, said: What I dont want to do is go into a second national lockdown of the kind we had in March, April  I dont want to do that again.

During Mondays press briefing, Prof Whitty said there was a very difficult balance to be struck between preventing the NHS from being overwhelmed by a huge spike in cases and a second economic lockdown that could cause unemployment, poverty and deprivation, outcomes which would bring their own long-term health effects.
International Day of Peace or World Peace Day is annually observed on September 21. This official United Nations-sanctioned holiday is celebrated in dedication to world peace, and especially the absence of outright war and violence. This year, more so than any other time in recent history, has shown us that discord among humans as a race can lead to disastrous consequences. This day is celebrated to highlight the fact that we are not each others enemies and that in order to successfully get through these troubling times, we need to be able to rely on one another.

In 1981, the United Nations General Assembly established International Day of Peace and almost two decades later they declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. This ideal is honoured and upheld by many nations, political and military groups, and individuals. The over lining motive for the celebration of this day is to reduce war sustainably. For the inauguration of the day, the United Nations Peace Bell is rung at the UN Headquarters in New York City.

Each year, World Peace Day is celebrated with a theme that is relevant to the ongoing global events. This years theme is focusing on the act of Shaping Peace Together. It focuses on primarily combating the virus that has plagued the world for the majority of this year. This year, it has been clearer than ever that we are not each others enemies. Rather, our common enemy is a tireless virus that threatens our health, security and very way of life.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres urged all warring parties to lay down their arms and focus on the ongoing pandemic that has brought the entire world to its knees. As the United Nations is also celebrating their 75th anniversary, they have extended the conversation on collectively building the peaceful and prosperous future that we all want.

The UN urges us to Celebrate the day by spreading compassion, kindness and hope in the face of the pandemic. Stand together with the UN against attempts to use the virus to promote discrimination or hatred.

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For 75 years, Nobles mission has been to walk alongside farmers and ranchers as they play critical roles for society, said Steve Rhines, president and CEO. Our anniversary year will focus on celebrating them, while we  as an organization  continue to evolve to meet tomorrows challenges.

Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, marked the 75th anniversary of Noble Research Institute and the beginning of a year-long celebration of agricultural producers, the land that provides for our collective well-being, and the organizations future.

Since its founding in 1945, Noble Research Institute has supported farmers and ranchers through education, research and consultation as they steward the nations grazing lands and soil.

Founder and philanthropist Lloyd Noble created his organization as a resource to work beside individuals to rebuild the soil and provide lasting stability for an economy in the aftermath of the Dust Bowl.

During its 75th anniversary year, Noble will celebrate the importance of the land, recognize farmers and ranchers who care for this valuable resource, and highlight their contributions to the public at large through social media campaigns and special video tributes.

For 75 years, Nobles mission has been to walk alongside farmers and ranchers, providing information and assisting them in the critical role they play for society, said Steve Rhines, president and CEO. During this anniversary year, our celebration will focus on their impact on each of us, while we  as an organization  continue to grow and evolve to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

As the organization looks to the future, it will continue to build on its legacy. Noble today is developing programs to help ranchers regenerate their grazing lands and achieve lasting financial stability to enable long-term planning and action. Specifically, Noble will be focused on helping producers implement long-term, regenerative ranching practices.

Regenerative ranching is the process of restoring degraded soils by using practices based on ecological principles. Regenerative ranchers work with the natural environmental system  comprising soil, plants, water, animals and the humans that manage them  to build organic matter and resilience within the soil.

Healthy soil has less nutrient run-off and erosion; sequesters atmospheric carbon, which combats climate variability; and, because of its ability to better hold water, serves as a management tool for both drought and heavy rain. Just a 1% increase in organic matter helps soil hold 20,000 gallons more water per acre.

Building this invaluable resource below the ground also means producers generate higher quality food for consumers and enjoy more productive land with more stable economics.

Today, there are about 655 million acres of public and private grazing lands in the United States. It is estimated that up to 70% of such acres are in a degraded state. This degradation has a broad impact on each of us as well as the environment. Degraded lands impair the quality of our produced food, interferes with fresh water supplies, increases the opportunity for land erosion, and limits the soils ability to capture and store atmospheric carbon.

As we look to the future, we imagine our nations cattle producers having the knowledge and tools needed to rebuild our countrys grazing lands and not only provide for their families but pave the way for the next generation of producers, Rhines said. While we absolutely support their continued delivery of nutritious and affordable food to the worlds plates, our shared vision will be to leave the land better at sunset than it was at sunrise. We are proud of our legacy and honored to have been entrusted to carry forward Mr. Nobles vision. It is what provides context and excitement for our next chapter of transformational work.
Turkish president targets staff of Dimokratia, a right-wing newspaper which published a headline swearing at him.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lodged a criminal complaint against four senior staff employed by a Greek newspaper about an insulting headline, according to Turkish media.

The state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the presidents lawyer, Huseyin Aydin, filed the complaint on Monday about the headline run in Dimokratia, a right-wing paper, on September 18.

The headline Siktir Git Mr. Erdogan, which means F*** off Mr. Erdogan in Turkish, appeared next to a photo of the president, and included the English translation.

In the complaint submitted to the Ankara prosecutors office, Aydin described as suspects the four people involved  Manolis Kotakis, the author of the article, editors Andreas Kapsampelis and Yorgos Giatroudakis, and editor-in-chief Dimitris Rizoulis.

Following the complaint, the prosecutors in the capital launched an investigation against the newspaper.

Considering the silence of the Greek public, it is understood that this moral collapse is not limited to marginal segments, the complaint said, according to Anadolu.

Swearing is the language of those who do not have a word to say, or those who have a word to say but are incapable of speaking in a proper language, it added.

Turkeys foreign ministry had already summoned Greeces ambassador about the headline in, which was also published on the newspapers website.

Freedom of expression protected

The Greek foreign ministry had said on Friday that freedom of expression was fully protected in the EU member country, but added: The use of offensive language is contrary to our countrys political culture and can only be condemned.

Erdogans move came as the two NATO countries are locked in a heated dispute about energy exploration in contested waters in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkeys deployment last month of research vessel Oruc Reis prompted the uneasy neighbours to stage rival air and naval drills in strategic waters between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete.

Last weekend, Ankara pulled the vessel back to the shore for maintenance after its one-month mission, but it extended the operations of another research vessel, Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa, off Cyprus until October 18, according to a message on Friday on maritime alert system NAVTEX.

Turkeys drill ship Yavuz will also remain off Cyprus until October 12.

In recent days, the likelihood of the two countries entering dialogue has improved.

Greece and Turkey are close to reviving talks, a Greek official said Monday.

We are close to restarting the exploratory talks  There will be an announcement when this is finalised but the atmosphere is good, Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas told reporters.

Petsas also confirmed local media reports that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to visit Greece for a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to discuss the crisis, but added that the schedule is still being worked out.
On Monday (Sept. 21), Monticello Raceway hosted its first card of live racing card since March 12, which stemmed from a six-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Race secretary Eric Warner was able to card seven races for the first program.

Greg Merton sat the pocket in the first race with Love Trumps Hate and followed Pine Tab for the large majority of the mile. Pine Tab made a miscue in the stretch, which gave Merton the lead and, ultimately, the win in 2:02 for trainer Wesley Miller. Merton would also go on to win with Seas Ideal in Race 5. Mcgwire Sowers also raced to a driving double during the program and conditioner Steve Ray recorded a training double with the hardy campaigner Racingtowardsadream and With Our Luck.

On hand for the opening was Charlene Cushing, Cushing was the former longtime marshall at Monticello Raceway, and was often referred to as the 'best outrider in the industry.' Cushing made the eight-hour trek from Farmington Maine to be on hand for the first race at Monticello. Cushing has made the transition from harness racing to nursing after moving to Maine. Charlene graduated nursing school a year ago and now works as a nurse in Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington Maine. Charlene is married to Mike Cushing of Farmington, Maine. Mike is the president of the Maine Harness Horsemans Association.

Ironically, Monday marked Charlene's 30th anniversary of when she first started as marshall at Monticello Raceway. Charlene brought her favourite steed to Monticello Raceway for the occasion, Leo Shady Jack, who is a registered Quarter Horse.

(With files from Monticello Raceway)
Gaborone: Toxins in water produced by cyanobacteria killed more than 300 elephants in Botswana this year, officials said, announcing the result of an investigation into the deaths which had baffled and alarmed conservationists.

Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil. Not all produce toxins but scientists say toxic ones are occurring more frequently as climate change drives up global temperatures.

Cyril Taolo, deputy director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told a news conference on Monday that the number of elephant carcasses found since deaths were first reported around early May had risen to 330, from 281 in July.

"What we just know at this point is that it's a toxin caused by cyanobacteria," said Taolo, adding the specific type of neurotoxin had yet to be established.
In late August and early September, Sudan made significant progress toward ending its worst internal wars. On August 31 the transitional government reached an agreement with the SRF rebel coalition. In exchange for parliamentary seats, the rebels will end their rebellion and participate in electoral politics. On September 3 the government reached an agreement with one of the rebel groups fighting in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. In that agreement the government agreed to secularize Sudans politics (ie, end Islamist dominance and have no official state religion). In addition, several thousand rebel fighters will be integrated into Sudans security forces and displaced persons will be returned to their homes. The second agreement could do more than end the wars (plural) in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. It could well forward national reconciliation, which is an objective prime minister Abdalla Hamdok says he seeks. Hamdok is also working on a permanent peace deal in the Darfur region. Prior peace agreements in Darfur failed. But former dictator Omar al Bashir is no longer in power. Hamdok appears to be convincing rebel leaders that he means to end Sudans internal combat. (Austin Bay)

September 20, 2020: Foreign mass media speculate that recent talks between Sudan and the UAE could lead to a Sudan-Israel peace agreement of some type. Economic decline and recent floods have increased Sudans need for economic assistance and food aid. The UAE, which just signed a peace deal with Israel, has indicated it is willing to supply Sudans transitional government with economic assistance.

September 19, 2020: American diplomats are pushing for removing Sudan from the U.S. State Sponsor of Terrorism list. This means Sudan could be removed from the list before Novembers American presidential election. Sudan still has to settle around $340 million in damage claims made by the families of victims of Sudan-related terror attacks. The attacks occurred during the decades of dictator Omar al Bashirs rule.

September 16, 2020: In eastern South Sudan (Jonglei state) the UN warned that tribal warfare in Jonglei state and covid19 virus had increased instability in South Sudan. Concerns over spreading the virus has slowed implementation of the peace agreement. The fighting in Jonglei state involves the Nuer, Murle and Dinka tribes. Fighting among those tribes has killed over 600 people since March 2020. In southern South Sudan (Central Equatoria state) rebels belonging to the National Salvation Front have sporadically engaged soldiers in that state.

September 10, 2020: Sudan declared a new economic state of emergency. The value of its currency has plummeted since July. The government announced it will criminalize the purchasing, selling, possessing or transporting (smuggling) of unrefined gold and other precious metals. The economic state of emergency is in addition to the natural disaster emergency caused by severe flooding.

September 9, 2020: Sudan reported that Nile River level measurements made on August 27 were the highest since 1912, when the Nile River was 17.14 meters (55 feet) over flood stage. In August 2020 it was 17.48 meters. So far, the August and September floods have killed over 100 people.

September 7, 2020: Sudan declared the country has suffered a natural disaster due to recent flooding. The declaration establishes a national state of emergency for three months. Flooding caused by heavy rain has affected 17 of Sudans 18 states.

September 4, 2020: In South Sudan the UN has begun withdrawing peacekeepers from the civilian protection camps. The UN is shifting forces to deal with tribal violence elsewhere in the country, particularly Jonglei state.

September 3, 2020: In Sudan the government and rebel groups in central Sudan (South Kordofan state) and the southeast (Blue Nile state) have reached a peace agreement.

Since August 19 Sudans security forces have arrested 41 suspected terrorists in raids. Most of the raids took place in the capital (Khartoum). In several raids the security forces seized large stocks of explosives. The paramilitary RSF (Rapid Support Forces) led the operation. The RSF indicated that several of the individuals arrested are suspected of being involved in the March assassination attempt on prime minister Hamdok.

September 2, 2020: In Sudan the government confirmed that it is continuing to meet with SRF (Sudan Revolutionary Front) representatives. The negotiators are discussing how to implement the August 31 peace deal.

August 31, 2020: In Sudan the transitional government signed a major peace agreement with the SRF. At least five rebel groups have agreed to end their armed resistance.

August 28, 2020: In South Sudan the government in under pressure from donor nations to investigate the fate of the thousands of the vanished  a term for people who disappeared during the civil war. Most are presumed dead but same may be in forced captivity. The civil war began in December 2013 and South Sudan has survived because of food and other aid from donor nations. Those donors want an end to the violence that led to the vanished as well punishment for the perpetrators.

August 24, 2020: In Sudan illegal gold miners using mechanical digging machines have destroyed a two millennia old archaeological site in the Sahara Desert 272 kilometers (170 miles) north of the capital (Khartoum). The site dates from 350 BC. Sudan is Africa's third largest gold producer of gold after South Africa and Ghana.

August 22, 2020: In Sudan the government announced it is ready to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in the prosecution of war crimes committed in western Sudan (Darfur). Toppled dictator Omar al-Bashir is among those accused of committing genocide and war crimes in Darfur.

August 19, 2020: The Sudan the government fired a foreign ministry spokesman who told reporters that the government was discussing normalizing ties with Israel.

UN officials have made an urgent appeal for $1.6 billion in aid to assist Sudanese citizens affected by recent flooding. Several hundreds of thousands of people are at risk.

August 18, 2020: Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have agreed to discuss new proposals on how to address problems with Ethiopias controversial Nile River hydroelectric dam project, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

August 17, 2020: Sudans transitional government marked one year in power. The transitional government operates on a civilian-military power-sharing deal.
California will not accept any new unemployment claims for the next two weeks after its systems were overwhelmed by a flood of cases during the pandemic.

The two-week 'pause' will allow the Employment Development Department to try and clear a backlog of 600,000 claims that has built up in the wake of lockdown.

It comes after a strike team set up by Governor Gavin Newsom found the backlog is still growing by around 10,000 cases per day, despite employment rates improving in recent months.

California will not accept any new unemployment claims for two week as it tries to clear a backlog of 600,000 cases that built up during the pandemic shutdown (file)

The 'pause' will also allow IT staff to update their systems meaning that new claims can be processed faster in the future, which will stop the problem happening again, a spokesman said. The new systems will also include enhanced fraud prevention.

California Labour Secretary Julie Su added: 'The work of the strike team marks a key turning point to re-focus and re-center the provision of unemployment insurance for the good of all Californians.'

More than 2.1million people were registered as unemployed in California in August, the most recent month for which data was available, the FDD said.

The figure is down slightly on previous months, but still 1.3million more than the same month last year.

The state's economy was hammered by coronavirus shutdowns in April and May that saw the unemployment rate soar to 16.4 per cent - higher than it was the depths of the 2010 Great Recession, when it hit 12.3 per cent.

The rate now stands at 11.4 per cent, the first month since April that it has been below the 2010 benchmark.

The shutdown comes after a 'strike team' ordered into the department by Governor Gavin Newsom (file) found the backlog is still growing at a rate of 10,000 cases per day

But even as the number of new claims falls, staff at the FDD have been struggling to keep up with their new workload.

A report published last week by Newsom's strike team found that the department is working over-capacity, with no realistic hope of catching up with a backlog of cases that have already taken more than 21 days to process.

The report recommended using new IT systems to automate as many claims as possible, freeing up staff to look at more complex cases that are causing delays.

The shutdown will only affect people filing an unemployment insurance case for the first time.

They will be redirected to a page where they can leave their details so they can be contacted once the system is back up and running again.

Those who have already applied will not have to do so again, and can still manage their claim online during the 'pause'.

California's unemployment rate soared to more than 16 per cent at the height of the pandemic shutdown, as more than 2million were left without work (pictured, a gym in Culver City)

Nationally, the unemployment rate peaked at more than 15 per cent during the coronavirus crisis, with a total of 26.4 million unemployment claims filed.

While national figures have also been improving in recent months - with the rate falling below 10 per cent in August - economists have warned that the pace of recovery is slowing as federal stimulus packages run dry.

America has been hit harder by coronavirus than any other country on earth, suffering 6.8million infections, though India - with 5.4million - has the world's fastest-growing outbreak and is due to overtake it in the coming weeks.

The US has also suffered almost 200,000 deaths from the virus which is by far the highest global total. The next-highest is Brazil, which has recorded 136,000.
LONDON  As the U.S. closed in on 200,000 coronavirus deaths Monday, the crisis deteriorated across Europe, with Britain working to draw up new restrictions, Spain clamping down again in Madrid and the Czech Republic replacing its health minister with an epidemiologist because of a surge of infections.

The push to reimpose tough measures in Europe to beat back a scourge that had seemingly been brought under control in the spring contributed to a drop on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed nearly 510 points, or 1.8%, and the S&P 500 fell 1.2%.

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a round of restrictions Tuesday to slow the spread of the disease. British Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned that cases are doubling every seven days and could lead to a rise in deaths in the coming weeks.

The chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland raised the nations COVID-19 alert Monday from three to four, the second-highest level. More than 4,300 new infections were reported on Monday, a level not seen since early May.

We have, in a very bad sense, literally turned a corner, after weeks of rising infections, Whitty said.

In France, where infections reached a record high over the weekend with more than 13,000 new cases in 24 hours, health authorities opened new testing centers in the Paris region to reduce lines and delays. Italy added Paris and other parts of France to its COVID-19 blacklist, requiring travelers from those regions to show proof of a negative test or undergo testing on arrival.

And the Norwegian capital of Oslo banned gatherings of more than 10 people in private homes after a spike in cases and strongly urged people to wear face masks when traveling on public transportation amid a strike by bus drivers that forced many commuters to take the tram.

The situation in Oslo is serious. This development must be stopped, and we have to do it now, Mayor Raymond Johansen said.

Police in the Spanish capital of Madrid and its surrounding towns began stopping people going in and out of working-class neighborhoods that have been partially locked down to combat Europes fastest coronavirus spread.

Authorities said that starting on Wednesday, an estimated 860,000 residents must be able to show that their trips out of their neighborhoods are justified for work, study or medical reasons or face fines. Parks are closed and shops and restaurants in the affected zones are limited to 50% occupancy.

The targeted locations have some of the highest transmission rates in Europe. The measure has been met with protests from people who think the restrictions are stigmatizing the poor.

The German city of Munich, with one of the countrys highest infection rates, will allow only up to five people or members of two households to meet, and will restrict private indoor gatherings such as birthday parties, weddings or funerals to no more than 25 people.

The Czech Republic also faces the possibility of new restrictions after the government appointed epidemiologist Roman Prymula as health minister.

In the spring, the country recorded a relatively low number of COVID-19 cases and deaths compared with hard-hit Western European countries such as Italy, Spain and Britain.

But after the government lifted most of its restrictions over the summer, confirmed cases began making a comeback and reached a record high last week. On Thursday, the day-to-day increase of new cases was higher than 3,000, almost the same number it was in the entire month of March.

Prymula said over the weekend that the loosening of restrictions was done too quickly.

Elsewhere, the U.S. was on the verge of hitting 200,000 deaths, with health authorities deeply worried about the resumption of school and college and the onset of cold weather, which will force more people indoors. A widely cited model from the University of Washington predicts the U.S. death toll will double to 400,000 by the end of the year.

India recorded nearly 87,000 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours. The nation of 1.3 billion people now has over 5.4 million reported cases, and within weeks is expected to surpass the U.S., which has 6.8 million reported cases. Nevertheless, the Taj Mahal reopened to tourists for the time in six months, though visitors will have wear masks and undergo temperature screening.

Myanmars biggest city, Yangon, began its first day under a tightened lockdown because of a rise in cases. Only essential businesses can remain open.

But there were glimmers of good news: All virus restrictions are being lifted across much of New Zealand with the exception of Auckland, the largest city. Health authorities reported no new infections on Monday, and the number of active cases was put at 62. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said officials have reasonable confidence we are on the right track.

And in Africa, the surge in cases has been leveling off after the continents 54 countries joined an alliance praised as responding better than some richer countries, including the U.S. Over 33,000 deaths have been confirmed on the continent of 1.3 billion people.

___

Corbet reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin; Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark; Karel Janicek in Prague; Aritz Parra in Madrid; Nicole Winfield in Rome; and Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan, contributed to this report.

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Follow APs pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak




YANG BERHORMAT DATO SERI SETIA DR. AWANG HAJI MOHD AMIN LIEW BIN ABDULLAH



MINISTER AT THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE AND MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMY II





Dato Seri Setia Dr. Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah ("Dato Dr. Amin") was appointed as the Minister at The Prime Minister's Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II on 27th September 2018, and before that was holding the position of the Minister of Finance II from 30th January 2018. Prior to these appointments, Dato Dr. Amin was the Deputy Minister of Finance (Investment), while holding the CEO position of Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd ("DA"), an investment holding company owned by the Minister For Finance Corporation, Brunei Darussalam. Before joining DA, Dato Dr. Amin held several key positions with the Brunei Government, including being appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance; the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources; and the Managing Director of the Brunei Investment Agency.







Prior to his tenure with the Brunei Government, Dato Dr. Amin worked as a Crude Oil Trader with Brunei Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd in the mid-nineties after returning from the United Kingdom where he worked for ICI Finance PLC as a research analyst in the late eighties / early nineties.





Dato Dr. Amin currently serves on the boards of many Brunei Government linked companies in diverse sectors including telecommunications, medical services, hospitality, aviation, oil and gas, information technology and education.





Dato Dr. Amin graduated with a First Class Bachelor's degree from Queen Mary College, University of London in 1984; and both a Master's degree in 1989 and a PhD degree in 1993 from Imperial College, University of London. Dato Dr. Amin also holds a professional qualification as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) since 2004. He is also a member of CFA Singapore.


A Delhi court has dismissed a plea by former JNU student leader Umar Khalid, booked under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, seeking permission to meet his family during his police custody.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat said there was no merit in the plea by Khalid, who is in 10-day police custody till September 24.

In his application filed through his counsel, Khalid said the police had verbally assured at the time of remand that he would be allowed to meet his family but they were not being permitted. He said since police custody remand was extraordinarily long, he should not be deprived of meeting his family or friends.

The application had sought permission to let Khalid to meet his family on at least two days for 30 minutes every day.

The investigating officer (IO) in his reply to the application said that as per the courts directions, Khalid has been allowed to meet his counsel every day.

He claimed Khalid was non-cooperative during the interrogation. He said letting him to meet his family members may influence the interrogation and could be a hindrance.

The court said Khalids counsel sought permission to meet him during police custody, which was being allowed everyday for 30 minutes.

In the totality of facts and circumstances of the case, I see no merit in the application, and accordingly, the application is dismissed, the judge said in his order on September 19.

Khalid was arrested on September 13 for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to orchestrate the riots.
In a follow-up to the High Courts ruling on coronavirus-related business interruption claims by businesses, the UKs Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is advising insurers that they must pay all valid claims in full at the earliest possible date to support business and consumers during the current situation.

Insurers failing to do so will feel the full weight of the FCAs regulatory power, the agency warns in a Sept. 18 Dear CEO letter signed by Christopher Woolard, interim chief executive of the FCA.

Insurers were instructed to provide the FCA with at least an initial update on the implications of the judgment by Sept. 22.

The High Court has scheduled a hearing on applications for potential appeals for Oct. 2.

The case was brought against eight insurers including Hiscox, RSA, QBE and Zurich over whether various business interruption (BI) policy wordings should cover for closures and disruption put in place due to the pandemic. The case is estimated to affect as many as 370,000 policyholders.

The FCA says the case accomplished what it wanted, bringing clarity to the COVID-19 coverage issues for many small-to-medium (SME) businesses by finding in favor of its policyholder arguments on the majority of key issues, while insurers point out they won some parts, too. (See related article titled: Financial Conduct Authority Hails Business Interruption Ruling as Policyholder Win.)

The FCA acknowledges that the judgment did not say that insurers are liable across all of the 21 different types of policy wording considered by the court in the test sample. Each policy needs to be considered against the detailed judgment to work out what it means for that policy, said the FCA.

Insurers weighed in after the ruling even as they were just beginning to assess the full impact and decide how to proceed. (See Insurers, Policyholders, Analysts React to UKs COVID-19 Business Interruption Ruling.)

Zurich Insurance said the decision affirms its policy interpretations.

QBE said that catastrophe reinsurance will limit the net cost of business interruption claims in its UK insurance business to $70 million. It is weighing whether to appeal.

Hiscox said the judgment clarifies that fewer than one third of its 34,000 UK business interruption policies may respond and it estimates additional COVID-19 claims arising from business interruption to be less than 100 million net of reinsurance.

Insurer RSA said the ruling upheld some but not all of its interpretations of provisions and it estimates the impact of this judgment to be around 85m, which it expects will be reduce further through reinsurance.

Lloyds of London said it will carefully consider the implications for its customers as well as its impact on the Lloyds market.

The Sept. 15 London court ruling came in a test case brought by FCA to clarify insurance coverage for COVID-19 related business interruption claims.

In its latest letter, the FCA urged insurers to not only reassess and settle claims quickly, but also make interim payments wherever possible. The regulator said it wants to ensure that slow payment does not exacerbate financial pressures on policyholders.

In some cases, insurers will feel that the judgment gives them the clarity they need to now conclude their claims processes with their customers. We encourage these insurers to do so as quickly as possible. In other cases, insurers may determine they need to wait to understand whether a specific point in the judgment will be appealed. As you write to your policyholders over the coming week, we expect you to be clear to your policyholders on your next steps, FCA told insurers in the letter.

We believe that insurers should reflect on the clarity the judgment provides and, irrespective of any possible appeals, consider the steps they can take now to progress claims of the type that the judgment says should be paid. This should include taking all reasonable steps to ensure that all those claims are ready to be paid and settled at the earliest possible opportunity after any relevant appeals, the letter said.

The FCA reminded insurers that they typically they should not deduct any government assistance insureds may have received from claims payments.

Top Photo: FAC building.

Topics Carriers COVID-19 Claims
The big shareholder groups in Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) have power over the company. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. Companies that have been privatized tend to have low insider ownership.

Parker-Hannifin is a pretty big company. It has a market capitalization of US$27b. Normally institutions would own a significant portion of a company this size. In the chart below, we can see that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Parker-Hannifin.

See our latest analysis for Parker-Hannifin

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Parker-Hannifin?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Parker-Hannifin does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Parker-Hannifin's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Parker-Hannifin. Our data shows that The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 7.5% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 6.7% and 4.1% of the stock.

Story continues

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 20 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Parker-Hannifin

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that Parker-Hannifin Corporation insiders own under 1% of the company. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own US$134m worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public holds a 18% stake in Parker-Hannifin. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Parker-Hannifin you should know about.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
FRANKFURT - Shares in electric and hydrogen-powered truck startup Nikola plunged on Monday after the companys founder resigned amid allegations of fraud  just two weeks after signing a $2 billion partnership with General Motors.

The company said late Sunday that Trevor Milton resigned. The departing executive chairman said he would defend himself against accusations that the company made false claims about its vehicles, allegations Nikola rejects.

Milton said in a message to Nikola employees that he was stepping aside because the focus should be on the company and its world-changing mission, not me.

Shares in the company based in Phoenix, Arizona, lost over 19% of their value in trading Monday as the broader markets dropped. GM was off nearly 5%.

A report from Hindenburg Research from Sept. 10 said Nikolas success was an intricate fraud and based on an ocean of lies including a video showing a truck rolling downhill to give the impression it was cruising on a highway, and stenciling the words hydrogen electric on the side of a vehicle that was actually powered by natural gas.

Hindenburg said it had taken a short position in Nikola stock, which means it could profit if the stock goes down.

Nikola said it contacted the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is looking into Hindenburgs allegations. News reports have said the U.S. Justice Department is investigating as well.

In a prepared statement, Nikola said the Hindenburg report was replete with misleading information and salacious accusations directed at our founder and chairman and had hired an attorney to evaluate potential legal recourse. It has said the video did not describe the vehicle as moving under its own propulsion and that the company does have working trucks.

Under the partnership announced with GM, the Detroit-based automaker would take an 11% ownership stake in Nikola and would engineer and build Nikolas Badger hydrogen fuel cell and electric pickup truck. GM said in a statement Monday that we acknowledge Trevor Miltons departure from Nikola and the decision of the Nikola board to move forward.

GM said it would go ahead and close the agreed transaction to seize the growth opportunities in broader markets with its fuel cell and battery systems, and confirmed it would build the Badger.

In exchange for the 10-year deal, GM was to get $2 billion worth of Nikolas newly issued common stock that will come in three increments through 2025. The deal gives GM another revenue stream for its hydrogen fuel cell, battery and electric vehicle research, positioning the company as a supplier to others who want to enter the market. It also helps to defray some of the huge capital costs of developing the new technology.

GM CEO Mary Barra said last week that GM has worked with a lot of partners before and a very, very capable team has done the appropriate dilligence on the Nikola deal.

Guidehouse Insights Principal Analyst Sam Abuelsamid said he doubts that GMs pursuit of partners led it to overlook potential shortcomings at Nikola. Auto companies, he said, often unveil concept vehicles that arent powered by the system theyre showing off, he said.

For example, the first versions of GMs Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid were powered by a golf cart motor, not a battery electric powertrain with a gas engine that takes over when the batteries are depleted. The things that Nikola is being accused of are things that automakers do all the time, Abuelsamid said.

News of the GM-Nikola deal on Sept. 8 sent shares of both companies surging despite a broader market downturn. GM has been under pressure from Wall Street to more quickly exploit its electric vehicle technology, while the GM deal gave the startup added credibility, according to analysts.

Under the deal, Nikola will be responsible for the sales and marketing of the Badger, built on GMs new battery electric truck underpinnings and using GM fuel cell and battery technology. GM also will supply batteries for other Nikola vehicles including heavy trucks.

Nikola said that former GM Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky, a member of the board, would replace Milton.

__

Associated Press writers Michelle Chapman in New York and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

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Sexologist Alessandra Rampolla will join Nine's upcoming season of Married At First Sight as a resident 'expert'.

And on Friday, the TV star certainly looked please about the news as she enjoyed a brisk walk around Sydney's beachside suburb of Bronte.

The 46-year-old, who has temporarily moved to Australia from her native Puerto Rico, appeared to be familiarizing herself with the local area she will likely call home during the show's lengthy filming and production process.

Scroll down for video

Married At First Sight's new sexologist Alessandra Rampolla went for a stroll in Bronte on Friday after it was announced she would replace Dr Trisha Stratford on the show

MAFS often films from August until November, and then reconvenes for a reunion episode in January.

As part of Nine's Upfronts on Wednesday, the network announced that Alessandra would be joining Mel Schilling and John Aiken as Married At First Sight's newest relationship expert in 2021.

Taking in the fresh air during stroll, the smiling blonde stunner dressed casually in activewear leggings and a grey T-shirt.

Walking with pace and purpose, Alessandra had on a comfortable pair of sneakers and a cross-body bag draped over her torso.

Here she comes! As part of Nine's Upfronts on Wednesday, the network announced that Alessandra would be joining Mel Schilling and John Aiken as Married At First Sight's newest relationship expert in 2021

Her new local: The 46-year-old appeared to be familiarising herself with the local Sydney area she will call home for the show's lengthy filming and production process

Multi-tasking during the walk, the new expert appeared to laugh during a conversation she was having via her wireless AirPods.

Alessandra placed her hair up in a low ponytail, and applied a neutral-hued makeup look for wherever she was headed.

She accessorised her casual-chic look with a simple necklace, and notably did not have any rings on her fingers.

Nine's newest star was also seen wearing a stylish pair of red-framed glasses as she pulled out her phone to begin texting.

All smiles: Taking in the fresh air during a neighbourhood stroll, the blonde stunner dressed casually in activewear leggings and a grey T-shirt

Single and on the market? Alessandra accessorised her casual-chic look with a simple necklace, and notably did not have any rings on her fingers

Alessandra is already well known in her native Puerto Rico, boasting 677,000 Instagram followers and hosting her own show 'Dare with Alessandra'.

Born in San Juan, Alessandra was educated in the US and holds a master's degree in marriage and family therapy.

She is now a clinical sexologist with over 20 years of experience and has authored a number of published books.

She knows her stuff: Alessandra is a clinical sexologist with over 20 years of experience and has authored a number of published books

Prepared: Proving how organised she must be, Alessandra wrapped a jumper around her waist in case of cooler temperatures and packed a portable charger for her phone

Alessandra will be replacing MAFS 'expert' Dr Trisha Stratford, who announced her departure from the show after seven seasons earlier this month.

'I am thrilled to be joining John and Mel in Australia's biggest social experiment,' Alessandra said in a statement last week.

'With my particular expertise, I hope to contribute to the complex mix of components that ensure marriages not only work but thrive in the long haul.

'I am thrilled to be joining Australia's biggest social experiment': Alessandra will replace MAFS 'expert' Dr Trisha Stratford, who announced her departure from the show earlier this month

'One of my strongest core beliefs is that sexual expression and compatibility are vital in building, nourishing and maintaining healthy romantic relationships, and it is my pleasure to help guide our participants in balancing this important factor in their brave quest for love.'

The glamorous star will help Married At First Sight's existing 'experts' John Aiken and Mel Schilling pair 20 singles achieve their goal of creating ten perfect matches.

Married At First Sight's next season will be its eighth and is currently being produced by Endemol Shine Australia to premiere early next year.
Regional schoolchildren returning to class in term four now have something else to look forward to after months of remote learning  going to school camp.

The state government has given the green light for camps in country Victoria to accept students from regional and rural schools only.

Stringybark Lodge owner Anthony Hall at his school camp in Gembrook. Credit:Eddie Jim

"School camps are an important part of a student's education and they will also provide a much-needed boost for school camp programs and accommodation providers across our regions," Education Minister James Merlino said.

The change of heart is likely to be welcomed by regional camp operators hit hard by the shutdown of schools as part of Victoria's coronavirus restrictions but appears to have dashed the hopes of those within metropolitan Melbourne's lockdown zone that they might be able to open in term four.
The demise of Canadas Mountain Equipment Co-op is a sad moment in history for many outdoor adventurers, bicycle commuters and supporters of alternative business models. MEC rad pants were the unofficial uniform during my years as an undergrad at the University of Victoria, and as a member since that time, I, too, will be mourning the loss of the chain as a co-operative enterprise.

As shocking as the news was that MEC had been sold to American private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management, it likely did not come as much of a surprise to some members, who had been increasingly held at arms length from the co-operative board.

In the end, MEC didnt fail because of a bad business environment or overcapitalization; it failed because in my view it essentially stopped being a co-operative. In a real sense, the story of MEC is an allegory for our present society  once the trappings of democratic involvement are gone, everything becomes a business decision.

Co-operatives are a form of social enterprise that trace their roots back to before the Industrial Revolution. Producer co-operatives formed in farming communities to jointly own mills and other intensive capital investments that no single farmer could afford to purchase but a group could  each working toward the same goal and sharing in the rewards. One member, one vote is still the rule of many co-operatives.

Some time later, Rochdale Pioneers formed in the U.K. as the first consumer co-operative, an enterprise that sought to break the stranglehold of corporations by bulk-purchasing products for its members and forming its own store shared by members  not unlike MEC. Since then, co-operatives have continued to be a small but important part of the economy.

According to Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada, Canadian co-ops contributed $61.2 billion to the Canadian economy in 2015, or about 3.4 per cent of the countrys GDP  putting it at about the same level as the entire utility sector. Co-operatives employ 182,000 Canadians and have 31 million members (some Canadians belonging to more than one).

Even with the loss of MEC as a co-operative, the idea of co-operatives will not simply vanish from the Canadian economy. Likely the opposite will happen: in difficult economic periods co-operatives tend to flourish, with individuals coming together in communities to share in solutions, as has happened in most economic crises of the last century.

But if that is the case and co-operatives flourish during hard times, why did MEC sell out in the midst of one of the most difficult times in recent history?

The answer lies not in its name as a co-operative, but in the function of the board that, in my view, has increasingly run it as a private enterprise.

For several years the MEC board has slowly shifted the company and its board to exclude the voices of the general membership. The rules of the company are so broken that it didnt even feel the need to notify members of the impending sale.

The democratic nature of MEC as a co-operative is dead. In this I blame myself as much as any of the board members, because Ill admit Ive neglected to vote many times. Once we stopped relating to it as a co-op and instead simply as a store, is it any surprise that it stopped functioning as a co-operative in which we had a voice?

Co-operatives are different enterprises because we have a real say in the functioning of the business  we invest, we vote, we purchase. The more involved we are with the co-operative, the better it functions as one, and MEC has had a long slide from that level of involvement by its members.

Now think of that and how we relate to other institutions: our governments are in a sense the largest co-operative we belong to; we each have an equal share in their operations, but if we dont bother with it, others make the decisions for us.

So what is to be done? The co-operative that has supplied the majority of my camping gear has ceased to function as what I thought it was. The wonderful thing about co-operatives is that they are built by us, for us. If we are truly unhappy with a co-op we can leave and start a new one. If a petition over the sale of MEC can continue to generate tens of thousands of signatures, it seems there is a potential membership list for a new co-operative developing, one that will hopefully be more inclined to listen carefully to its members.

Daniel Evans is a doctoral candidate in geography at York University studying co-operative sport enterprises.

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Warning: Orientalist paintings depicting female nudity follow.

Last year, a political party in Germany provoked controversy when it used the following painting in its election campaign to illustrate one of the reasons it was against immigration.

Painted in France in 1866 and titled "Slave Market," the painting was described as "show[ing] a black, apparently Muslim slave trader displaying a naked young woman with much lighter skin to a group of men for examination," probably in North Africa.

The Alternative for Germany party (AfD) put up several posters of this painting with the slogan, "So that Europe won't become Eurabia." Many on both sides of the Atlantic were triggered by this usage; even the American museum where the original painting is housed sent AfD a letter "insisting that they cease and desist in using this painting" (even though it is in the public domain).

Objectively speaking, the "Slave Market" painting in question portrays a reality that has played out countless times over the centuries: African, Asiatic, and Middle Eastern Muslims have long targeted European women  so much so as to have enslaved millions of them over the centuries (see Sword and Scimitar for copious documentation).

As it happens, there is something else  another medium besides writing  that documents this reality: countless more paintings than the one in question concerning the abduction, trafficking, and sexual enslavement of European women, all of which further underscores the ubiquity and notoriety of this phenomenon. Indeed, this was such a well known theme that many nineteenth- and early twentieth-century artists and painters specialized in it, often based on their own eyewitness accounts. (As one art gallery puts it, "Many ... of the most important painters did travel [to the Muslim world] themselves, and what they painted was based on the sketches they had made while they were there[.])

Below are just 20 such paintings (there are many more). Aside from noting the artist's name; year of painting; and, where possible, titleinformation which is often difficult to ascertain  I've limited my remarks to important asides and clarifications, mostly in the first few paintings, leaving the rest to speak for themselves. They follow.

"The Bulgarian Martyresses," by Konstantin Makovsky, 1877. It depicts events from a year earlier, when Ottoman irregular soldiers (the so-called bashi-bazouks or "crazy heads") raped and massacred the Christian women of Bulgaria and their children. American journalist MacGahan, who reported from Bulgaria, wrote the following of this incident: "When a Mohammedan has killed a certain number of infidels he is sure of Paradise, no matter what his sins may be. ... [T]he ordinary Mussulman takes the precept in broader acceptation, and counts women and children as well. ... [T]he Bashi-Bazouks, in order to swell the count, ripped open pregnant women, and killed the unborn infants."

"The Abduction of a Herzegovinian Woman," by Jaroslav Cermak, 1861. From the museum's official description: "Disturbing and extremely evocative, it depicts a white, nude [and pregnant?] Christian woman being abducted from her village by the Ottoman mercenaries who have killed her husband and baby."

"The Abduction," by Eduard Ansen-Hofmann (18201904).

"The Slave Market," by Otto Pilny, 1910.

"Abducted," by Eduard Ansen-Hofmann (18201904).

"Namona," by Henri Tanoux, 1883.

"The Bitter Draught of Slavery," by Ernest Norman, 1885.

"A New Arrival," by Giulio Rosati (18581917).

"The New Slave Girl," by Eduard Ansen-Hofmann (18201904).

"Examining Slaves," by Ettore Cercone, 1890.

"Slave Dealer," by Otto Pilny, 1919.

"Slave Market," by Eduard Ansen-Hofmann, 1900.

"Slave Trade Negotiations," by Fabio Fabbi (18611946).

"White Slavery in the EastGoing to the Slave Market," by Harper's Weekly, April 1875.

"New Arrival," by Eduard Ansen-Hofmann (18201904).

"The Serbian Concubine," by Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, 1876.

"Slave Market," by Emile Jean-Horace Vernet, 1836.

"Slave Market," by Jean-Leon Gerome, 1871.

"Harem Captive," by Eisenhut Ferencz, 1903.

"Scene from the Harem," by Fernand Cormon, 1877.

Raymond Ibrahim, author of Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, and a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
FLINT, MI -- Cynthia Neeley defeated four other Democrats in the primary for 34th District state House of Representatives but has one more election challenge to face against Republican James Miraglia on Nov. 3. Neeley, of Flint, won a special primary and general election earlier this year, winning the right to finish the term of her husband, Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley. Miraglia was unopposed in the August GOP primary. The 34th District includes most of the city of Flint, but not precincts 24, 32, 33, 34, 38, 43, 45, 46, 51, 54, 55 and 56. Those precincts are part of the 49th State House District. The 34th District typically favors Democrats, with more than 10 Democrats voting for every one Republican in the August primary. This year, MLive Media Group partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information for readers. Each candidate was asked to outline their stances on a variety of public policy issues. Information on all state and federal races and many of Michigans county and local races is available at Vote411.org, an online voter guide created by the League of Women Voters. The following background information was provided by each candidate. Miraglia recently retired as a quality engineer in the automobile industry. He listed State University of New York, Plattsburgh, Air Force Officer Training School, and Central Michigan University as his educational background and said his qualifications and experience has been in business and manufacturing. He is a military veteran, having served as an Air Force captain with a B-52 combat crew. Neeley is a state representative and small business owner. She graduated from Star City High School in Star City, Arkansas, and attended Mott Community College in Flint, earning an associate degree and certification in cosmetology. She lists her qualifications and experience as having brought resources to Flint to create a health disparity study and clinic, and helping residents with their problems. All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidates and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should not be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties. All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should NOT be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties.

Heres a look at how the candidates responded to questions on some key issues.

EDUCATION: What is your position on the role of public funding of education in Michigan? What measures do you support/propose to improve educational outcomes and accessibility for all Michigan students?

Neeley: The state must do a better job of funding our public schools and we must realize that a one-size-fits-all model does not work. We must fully support our educational infrastructure by providing resources, support and respect for teachers. All students can be successful in school, but some will need more resources due to trauma, slow learners, disability, or English not being their original language. I want to ensure that every child gets the resources they need to have a successful future.

Miraglia: The U.S. spends more public tax dollars on education than any other nation and the return on our investment is both meager and disappointing. Why should only the children of the wealthy have access to the best schools? Schools should compete for students by providing better educational outcomes. Tax dollars can be converted into vouchers that parents can use to choose the school that they want their kids to attend, including private schools. Charter schools are under-represented in lower class areas. We need to expand these schools into low income districts to further give parents greater choices for their children.

ECONOMIC SECURITY: What policies do you support to increase jobs and help Michigan residents improve their economic positions, in general and given the pandemic?

Neeley: There are so many people struggling right now, especially in Flint. We must have an economic safety net there for everyone by expanding unemployment benefits, increasing the minimum wage, and ensuring everyone has access to health care. We also must provide restart assistance for small businesses to ensure economic stability and continued growth in communities like Flint.

Miraglia: I support the Federal legislation that designated Flint & other struggling areas as Qualified Opportunity Zones. This policy provides tax incentives for businesses to establish & create jobs where they are needed most. Some want to make rich people poorer. Instead we should be striving to make poor people richer. Nobody has ever been hired by a poor person. Regarding the pandemic, its time to open up the economy. Those who say we need to be locked down are the same people who havent lost a paycheck during this crises. Let small businesses open safely. The same businesses that provide most of our jobs.

ELECTIONS: What state policies do you support regarding Michigan elections, voting and campaign funding? Do you support mailing ballots to all eligible voters?

Neeley: We must make voting easier and accessible for everyone. I support mailing ballots to all eligible voters, with necessary provisions ensuring the protections of the voting rights. We also must regulate dark money so everyone knows who is funding campaigns.

Miraglia: One person, one vote. The integrity of our elections needs to be protected with verified identification. It is not a burden to ask a voter to provide I.D. Virtually EVERBODY has one and literally EVERYBODY can obtain one. The mass mailing of ballots is a train wreck thats already left the station. In 2005 a bi-partisan committee warned mail in voting risked massive fraud. Court battles loom large. Who is verifying these mailed-in signatures? Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin once said Its not who votes that counts, but who counts the votes. This poses a greater risk than anything the Russians could ever dream of.

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY: What actions or policies do you support to protect Michigans water, air and land for current and future generations? What is your position on energy efficiency and renewable energy?

Neeley: As a Flint resident, I want to guarantee that all drinking water is safe, affordable, and accessible. Our urban areas have also suffered from poor land management and from some of the worst air pollution in the country and we must change these situations. Renewable energy and energy efficiency are an important step to cleaning our air, and I want those resources to be accessible to all.

Miraglia: By and large, our current policies are sufficient to protect the environment. The Flint water crises, for instance, was due to a failure to treat the water properly as prescribed by established procedures. What we cant do is cripple economic growth or infringe on private property rights with overzealous regulations. When renewable energy becomes cost efficient the market place will embrace it. Since 2005 annual U.S. carbon dioxide emissions have declined far more than any other country in the world. This was achieved by switching to cleaner burning natural gas in combination with greater energy efficiencies.

SOCIAL JUSTICE: How would you address the racial, economic, health, education, etc. inequities, including Michigans 20% of children and 17% of seniors living in poverty?

Neeley: We need policies that directly attack those problems  like increasing the minimum wage and ensuring everyone has access to clean water, clean air, health care, and paid leave time  so families can take care of loved ones without losing their job.

Miraglia: The single greatest contributor to poverty is the collapse of our traditional family structure. Single motherhood usually entraps her family in low paying jobs and government assistance. Its consequences cut across all racial, ethnic, religious, & social lines. I will admit I dont know how to fix this, but at present we arent even having a public discussion about it and I think we must. I warn that todays Social Justice Warriors demand Socialism and that has proven to fail everywhere its been tried. Even the Communist Chinese have recognized that it is Capitalism that has lifted billions of people out of poverty.

GUNS: Do you believe that Michigan has a gun violence problem? If so, what measures would you support to alleviate this problem?

Neeley: No question we have a gun problem and its an epidemic in Flint. We must educate residents about the consequences of gun use but we also must give our youth positive outlets and opportunities in our communities. I would also like to see state and federal law enforcement address and assist with the serious problem of illegal guns flooding our communities.

Miraglia: No, I do not believe Michigan has a gun problem. Guns used in violent street crime are rarely obtained by legal means. Our current laws are sufficient. Lift the poor out of poverty and violence will decline.
Inchcape plc (LON:INCH), is not the largest company out there, but it received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the LSE over the last few months, increasing to UK5.22 at one point, and dropping to the lows of UK4.25. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Inchcape's current trading price of UK4.47 reflective of the actual value of the mid-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Lets take a look at Inchcapes outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

Check out our latest analysis for Inchcape

What's the opportunity in Inchcape?

According to my valuation model, Inchcape seems to be fairly priced at around 4.7% below my intrinsic value, which means if you buy Inchcape today, youd be paying a fair price for it. And if you believe the companys true value is 4.68, then there isnt much room for the share price grow beyond what its currently trading. Although, there may be an opportunity to buy in the future. This is because Inchcapes beta (a measure of share price volatility) is high, meaning its price movements will be exaggerated relative to the rest of the market. If the market is bearish, the companys shares will likely fall by more than the rest of the market, providing a prime buying opportunity.

Can we expect growth from Inchcape?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so lets also take a look at the company's future expectations. With profit expected to more than double over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Inchcape. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

Story continues

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? INCHs optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we havent considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at the stock? Will you have enough confidence to invest in the company should the price drop below its fair value?

Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on INCH, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for the company, which means its worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Inchcape (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable).

If you are no longer interested in Inchcape, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
New evidence obtained by BBC Africa Eye contradicts the official explanation for the cause of an explosion which killed 23 people and destroyed a girls boarding school in Lagos, Nigeria, earlier in the year.

The blast occurred in Soba, a residential neighbourhood of Lagos, on March 15th, 2020, at about 8:56 am.

In its reaction to the incident at the time, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) claimed the explosion occurred as a result of a truck that hit gas cylinders near one of its petroleum pipelines.

But new evidence indicates that the NNPC explanation for the cause of the blast, that decimated over 100,000 square metres of Lagos, is incorrect.

A new video evidence filmed at the explosion site, five minutes before the blast, shows a catastrophic leak of vaporised liquid at the exact location where the NNPC high-pressure petroleum pipeline runs beneath the ground through that area.

The BBC found there was no gas processing plant at the explosions epicentre.

Moreover, analysis of gas cylinders found at the site after the blast indicates they could not have been at the centre of the explosion when it happened.

Three specialist engineers  including experts in LPG gas safety, petroleum pipeline safety, and explosions analysis  who have examined video footage all confirm the huge leak of vaporised liquid could not have come from gas cylinders.

The BBC spoke with eyewitnesses who corroborated this claim. None of them mentioned gas cylinders or saw a collision, but four of them independently said the leak was coming out of the ground beside the heavily laden truck.

The evidence the BBC has uncovered indicates the heavily laden truck stopped on an eroded, unsurfaced road that had been softened by rainwater. This could have pressured the pipeline to breaking point, releasing a cloud of vapourised flammable petroleum product that ignited.

Ambisisi Ambituuni, a petroleum pipeline safety expert, told the BBC the System 2B pipeline network has been in existence for way over the lifespan of the pipeline.

How is it so difficult for the operator to maintain the safety of those pipelines? he asked.

After watching the film, Ebun Olu Adegboruwa, Human Rights Activist & senior Lawyer says incidences of fire disasters have become commonplace for Lagosians.

It just more or less reiterates the need for the government to be responsive and to hold accountable those who are working in the sector in terms of maintaining global best practice in their operation, he said.

Akinbode Oluwafemi, Environmental Rights Activist and Executive Director, Corporate Accountability & Public Participation Africa says: My first ask is that, for the first time, the government should sit down to watch this documentary and set up an independent panel on pipelines explosions in Nigeria and use this as a case study. Lagos State government too needs to start thinking how do we protect the people from these serial explosions.

The BBC said the NNPC was contacted but it denied the pipeline was inadequately protected, reaffirmed their explanation for the explosions cause, and said there was no leakage prior to the explosion.

They also told the BBC that NNPC pipelines comply with safety and regulatory guidelines and that they worked closely with the Lagos State Government in providing a N2bn relief fund for the victims of the explosion.

The film can be viewed at:

It will also air in Nigeria via the following partners on Monday 21st September: NTA  Mondays 22:00 GMT (with repeats on NTA News 24) TVC  Mondays at 17:00 GMT, TVC News  Sundays at 22:00 GMT ABS Anambra  Mondays at 19:00pm GMT Liberty TV  Sundays 16:00pm GMT.

Similarly, it will be broadcast globally on the BBC, and a full version of the film will also be published on the BBC Africa YouTube Channel.
The coronavirus pandemic is not stopping one venue in Fredericksburg from partying on.

While other venues are canceling events, Best of Texas is hosting several festivals this fall, such as Octoberfest and Bratwurst fest, at Bankersmith Dance Hall, located at 7905 Old San Antonio Rd.

Claire Ball, an organizer with Best of Texas, said one of the reasons the festivities continue is because the hall has a 3,400-person capacity.

READ ALSO: The postponed Poteet Strawberry Festival has now been canceled

Additionally, Ball said the organization can use its 85-acre ranch that is adjacent from the hall if crowds become larger than expected. However, she said events don't ever reach more than 300 people.

At every event, Ball said guests have their temperature checked before entry and are asked to social distance themselves from others not in their group. Face masks are not mandatory but are encouraged, she added.

With the cheese and wine festival scheduled for this Saturday, Ball hopes others can head over to the hill country to de-stress and let loose. For tickets for each event, visit bankersmithtexas.com or thebestoftexas.org.

Scroll below to see what events are taking place at Bankersmith Dance Hall this fall.
The Duchess of Sussex has been cold-calling Americans to ask them to vote, Gloria Steinem has revealed.

Meghan Markle, 39, has become increasingly politically active in the last few months while living in her $14 million mansion with Prince Harry, 36, and their son Archie, one, having stepped back from royal duty in March of this year.

Last month, the Duchess joined the Democrat campaigner Gloria Steinem for a 'backyard chat' in which they discussed a range of issues, including voter suppression, women's rights, and the importance of representation.

And now the 86-year-old has revealed Meghan is even cold-calling US voters to encourage them to get out to the polls, telling Access Hollywood reporter Zuri Hall: 'She came home to vote. The first thing we did, and why she came to see me, was we sat at the dining room table where I am right now and we cold-called voters.

The Duchess of Sussex, 39, has been cold-calling Americans to ask them to vote, Gloria Steinem, 86, has revealed

'Said hello Im Meg and hello Im Gloria and are you going to vote? That was her initiative.

She went on to say that Meghan had the princess 'stereotype hanging over her head'.

Affectionately calling the Duchess 'Meg', she added that she is 'smart' and 'political.'

The importance of voting, and women's rights, are topics that Meghan has become well versed on, having herself spoken out at great length about the significance of the upcoming election as she moves to become more politically active in the wake of her stepping down as a senior royal.

Over the past few months, the Duchess has moved to become more politically active and taken part in multiple interviews and summits - having reportedly grown 'frustrated' at her inability to get involved in politics while she was working as a senior royal

Over the past few weeks, the Duchess has taken part in multiple interviews and summits - having reportedly grown 'frustrated' at her inability to get involved in politics while she was working as a senior royal.

Last month, she joined Gloria for a 'backyard chat' in which she made it incredibly clear who she plans to vote for come November, expressing her excitement at seeing a woman of color on the Democratic ticket - Joe Biden's running mate, Kamala Harris - and explaining that the nomination was particularly meaningful to her because she is biracial.

'Im so excited to see that kind of representation,' she said. 'You know, for me, being biracial, growing up, whether it was a doll or a person in office, you need to see someone who looks like you in some capacity.

'As many of us believe, you can only be what you can see. And in the absence of that, how can you aspire to something greater than what you see in your own world? I think maybe now were starting to break-through in a different way.'

Gloria, who sat down with the royal for a 'backyard chat' last month, said the Duchess had encouraged her to cold-call voters ahead of the November election

Meanwhile, she has also taken in voter appeals, at which she made a bold plea to women across the US to take part in the 2020 presidential election, speaking out about the need for 'change' at an online voter summit, while telling participants: 'If we aren't part of the solution, we are part of the problem.'

Meghan made her stance on the 2020 presidential race clear when she addressed viewers at the When All Women Vote Couch Party - an online event organized by non-profit organization When We All Vote, which was founded by 'her friend' Michelle Obama.

Appearing as the opening speaker at the summit, Meghan expressed her 'excitement' at taking part, before telling those involved with the organization: 'We need [your work] now more than ever.'

'I'm really thrilled that you asked me to be a part of this,' the mother-of-one began, adding: 'I think this is such an exceptional time [and I am] happy to be here for my friend Michelle Obama's When We All Vote, and to kick off the When All Women Vote Couch Party.'

Speaking out: Last month, Meghan urged women across the US to vote in the 2020 election, telling a digital voter summit, 'If we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem'

Although the Duchess of Sussex has not named the candidate that she plans to vote for in the election, she made it clear that she believes there needs to be a change to the current administration, warning summit participants that 'there is so much work to be done' before they cast their votes.

The former Suits star's decision to speak out about her political plans marks yet another major break from royal tradition for Meghan; traditionally members of the monarchy are expected to remain politically neutral, and therefore do not speak out about their opinions in public.

However, Meghan confirming to the world that she will be voting in the presidential election will come as no surprise to those closest to her - particularly after it was revealed by a royal source in January that the Duchess of Sussex was aiming to become more 'politically engaged' after she and Prince Harry quit their roles as senior royals at the start of the year.

Criticism: Before marrying Harry, Meghan was outspoken about her dislike for President Donald Trump, branding him 'misogynistic' and 'divisive' in a 2016 interview after he won the election

At the time, an insider told the Daily Mail that Meghan had grown 'frustrated' by the fact that she was not able to be actively involved in politics while she was a senior member of the monarchy, and that she wanted to 'take advantage' of the freedom to share her opinions with the world.

'The Duchess is said to be frustrated that she was forced to stay out of politics after getting engaged to Harry,' the source said.

'She has strong political opinions and will now take advantage of the greater freedom she has to express them publicly.'

Meghan did not reveal who she is planning to vote for the in the upcoming election - however, before marrying Prince Harry, she was incredibly outspoken about her dislike of President Donald Trump, branding him 'misogynistic' and 'divisive' during a talk appearance in 2016, shortly after he had won the election.

When Trump made an official state visit to the UK in June 2019, Meghan did not join the other royals in meeting him - a move that some royal sources claimed was her way of showing her disapproval of the President, although officially, her absence was blamed on the fact that she was still on maternity leave.

However, it was revealed in November 2019 that Meghan had invited Hillary Clinton to visit her and baby Archie at Frogmore Cottage - the family's home in the UK - where the two women were said to have enjoyed a 'very warm, sweet' meeting.
M icrosoft has acquired Zenimax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, the studio behind games like Fallout and the Elder Scrolls series.

The deal between the two sees Xbox and Bethesda Softworks merge together, which means that the teams responsible for franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, DOOM, Dishonored, Prey, Quake, Starfield and many more will now be working with Microsoft.

Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, published a letter on Xbox Wire, in which he welcomed the studios to Microsoft, saying: "Just as they took the bold first steps to bring The Elder Scrolls franchise to the original Xbox, Bethesda were early supporters of Xbox Game Pass, bringing their games to new audiences across devices and have been actively investing in new gaming technology like cloud streaming of games.

"We will be adding Bethesdas iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC".

Spencer also wrote that this "landmark step" means that the future of Bethesda games, both announced and unannounced, will be coming to Xbox consoles and PC including Starfield, a new space-faring game in development by Bethesda.

This also paves the way for Bethesda titles to come to Xbox Game Pass.

Microsoft has acquired Bethesda / Microsoft

At the moment it seems a bit unclear if this is some form of exclusive deal that will take Bethesda games away from Sony because there are two timed exclusives coming to the PS5 and PlayStation at the moment.

Published by Bethesda, the PS5 will get Arkane Studios Deathloop and Tango Gameworks GhostWire: Tokyo. Both of these games are supposed to be timed exclusives when they are released on PS5 next year.

Bethesda senior vice president, Pete Hines, has addressed the deal, writing: The world, our industry, and our company has changed a lot in the 34 years since Bethesda Softworks was first founded.

"The key point is were still Bethesda. Were still working on the same games we were yesterday, made by the same studios weve worked with for years, and those games will be published by us".

Obviously the timing of this deal seems entirely on purpose to place Xbox in a better position with the new consoles coming out in just a few months.

This could be a bid by Microsoft to secure some hard-hitting exclusive titles from the studio, considering how some of the biggest franchises in gaming are from Bethesda, including Doom, Elder Scrolls and Fallout. As you might know, Bethesda titles have historically been exclusive titles to Xbox consoles, like with Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on the Xbox and Doom on MS-Dos.

Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard also spoke about the acquisition, saying that he hopes the move will make Bethesda games more accessible. We share a deep belief in the fundamental power of games, in their ability to connect, empower, and bring joy. And a belief we should bring that to everyone  regardless of who you are, where you live, or what you play on".

Microsofts Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will be released on Nov. 10, pre-orders for the consoles go live on September 22.
The stakes are high in Tiffany & Co. vs. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

And when the two sides face off for the first time in the Delaware Court of Chancery today, they will be extending a legal battle that could determine:

More from WWD

 If the Bernard Arnault-led LVMH has to transfer $16.2 billion to Tiffany shareholders in what would be the titans largest luxury deal ever and the ultimate shotgun wedding.

 Who leads the 183-year-old jeweler and its 14,100 employees through the rest of the coronavirus crisis.

 The contours of the competitive landscape in high-end jewelry.

And the rhetorical stakes are also high.

Already, both sides are in flame-throwing mode, a marked change from the much more positive tone between the two companies at the beginning of the year when the deal was struck. The shift proves that nothing can make a superlative sour quite like a multibillion-dollar merger gone wrong.

The battle lines are drawn. LVMH argued first that it was asked by the French government to postpone the deal (with numerous press reports claiming it was LVMH that asked the French government for the request) and then said Tiffany has been mismanaged and continued to pay dividends despite subpar performance, triggering a key out in the merger contract. Tiffany has answered that its management of the COVID-19 crisis has been just fine, thank you; that it was required to continue to pay dividends, and that LVMH has slow-walked regulatory approval for the deal and needs to live up to its bargain.

LVMH filed for regulatory approval from the EU on Friday, to hold up its end of the process even though it wants to drop the deal.

Thats what theyre saying now, but how the two sides have spoken is telling. Heres a look back at how the corporate love affair  Tiffany was said to long be of keen interest to Arnault  fell apart and just how mad the two sides will be when they finally get before a judge.

Nov. 25, 2019

Story continues

Bernard Arnault: We have immense respect and admiration for Tiffany and intend to develop this jewel with the same dedication and commitment that we have applied to each and every one of our maisons.

Roger Farah, Tiffany chairman: This transaction with LVMH provides an exciting path forward with a group that appreciates and will invest in Tiffanys unique assets and strong human capital, while delivering a compelling price with value certainty to our shareholders.

Alessandro Bogliolo, Tiffany chief executive officer: As part of the LVMH group, Tiffany will reach new heights.

Feb. 5

Arnault: A globally recognized symbol of love, Tiffany will be an outstanding addition to our unique portfolio of luxury brands. We look forward to welcoming Tiffany into the LVMH family.

April 16

Jean-Jacques Guiony, LVMH chief financial officer: We signed a merger agreement. This document is public, so you know what is inside. We will stick to the contract, full stop. I mean thats the only thing I have to say. (Answering an analyst question on whether or not the company could walk back the Tiffany deal.)

Sept. 9

LVMH: As it stands, the Group LVMH will therefore not be able to complete the acquisition of Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany: At the direction of billionaire Bernard Arnault, one of the richest persons in the world, LVMH is trying to take advantage of the pandemic and recent social-justice protests in the U.S. to strong-arm Tiffany into agreeing to a reduced merger price. (In its lawsuit against LVMH.)

Farah: We believe that LVMH will seek to use any available means in an attempt to avoid closing the transaction.As we are not aware of any other French company receiving such a request, it is all the more clear that LVMH has unclean hands.

Sept. 10

Guiony: You must be joking. Are you seriously suggesting that we procured the letter? I dont even want to answer that question. [The letter from the French government] was fully unsolicited. (In response to a reporters question.)

Guiony: To be frank, we were not entirely happy with the way [Tiffany] has been managed and performed over the last few months.

LVMH: LVMH will defend itself vigorously. The long preparation of this assignment [lawsuit] demonstrates the dishonesty of Tiffany in its relations with LVMH.

Sept. 16

Farah: LVMHs opposition to our motion to expedite is the latest attempt to run out the clock to avoid fulfilling its obligations under the merger agreement. If LVMH were confident in its legal position, it would have no reason to oppose an expedited trial schedule.

Farah: LVMHs shifting explanations indicate bad faith in its dealings with Tiffany and are nothing more than distractions meant to hide its efforts to run out the clock and avoid fulfilling its obligations.

Sept. 17

LVMH: Tiffany clearly fears a serene and fair rendering of justice.It is up to the Delaware court to determine who is in his right, and not the chairman of Tiffany through the press.
Things have not been easy for Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex these past few years. The couple got married in 2018 and have found themselves in several different battles, including a legal one with the British press.

In the fall of 2019, they began suing a few newspapers in the U.K. for allegedly invading their privacy. Royals typically do not engage in court battles, so many family members have not come out in support of Harry and Meghan. In fact, even Prince Charles is reportedly too afraid to publicly support his son and daughter-in-law. Find out why below.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are in the middle of a lawsuit against the British press

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has filed a lawsuit against The Mail on Sunday over the newspapers publication of a private letter. Prince Harry said in a statement, "I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces. https://t.co/46Fv5RS7e3  The New York Times (@nytimes) October 1, 2019

RELATED: People Think Prince Harry and Meghan Markles Recent Charity Visits Are Just Self-Serving PR Opportunities

Harry and Meghans lawsuit seems to center around the publication of a letter Meghan wrote to her father. The Sussexes alleged that this was an invasion of privacy by the newspapers.

However, the newspapers claim the Sussexes have urged some people close to them to talk to the media on their behalf, which makes their desire for privacy invalid. In court, the newspapers have brought up a People interview with Meghans friends and the biography Finding Freedom, both of which have been said to be orchestrated in some ways by the Sussexes. Yet, Harry and Meghan denied taking part in the interview and the book.

The lawsuit has received mixed opinions from onlookers. While there are fans who support Harry and Meghan, some critics have said it is unnecessary and could taint their reputation even more.

Why Prince Charles is too afraid to publicly support the Sussexes

Prince Charles, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry | Karwai Tang/WireImage and Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

One person who will probably not be seen supporting Harry and Meghan public is Charles. According to royal biographer Omid Scobie, this is because he is too afraid. Given his role as a future monarch, Charles reportedly does not want to have a fraught relationship with the press.

What I found time and time again was that his [Charles] sympathy for the couple was often there but he was almost too afraid to voice it or take it any further, Scobie said, as reported by Express. He quietly supported Harry and Meghans decision to sue the Mail on Sunday over the letter, but did he publicly support them? No, absolutely not  as a future king, its important for him to have a healthy relationship with the press.

Prince Charles reportedly funded Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

RELATED: Prince Charles Reportedly Wanted 1 Thing to Be Taken From Princess Diana Upon Their Divorce

While Charles may not openly stand by Harry and Meghan, he has shown support in other way. After Harry and Meghan stepped down from being senior royals and started their road to financial independence, it has been said that Charles kept them funded with his money.

However, the Sussexes recently have been able to stand on their own feet. During the summer, they bought a $14.7 mansion in Montecito, California. While some onlookers initially thought Charles helped them buy the home, sources later clarified that the couple took out a mortgage to pay for it.
by Hocine Drouiche*

Her family includes Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and atheists. Other imams refused to pray for her because they "suspected" that she was not Muslim. For Imam Drouiche, this type of Islam acts with the aim of separating communities, creating conflicts and ultimately increasing resentments between French citizens with different beliefs.

Nimes (AsiaNews)  Ms Marie Leeze, a Muslim woman, died at the beginning of last week in Montpellier. All the imams contacted by her family refused to come to pray for the peace and salvation of her soul at the religious ceremony before the funeral.

Without even presenting condolences to her children, a pseudo-imam who preaches in the citys grand mosque  and who gathers young people in a centre where he proffers so-called "Muslim" teachings  replied laconically to the deceaseds children: "Your mother was not Muslim. Our religion forbids praying for a non-Muslim.

The family was shocked by this. Helpless and dejected, they did not know what to do to offer her a funeral ceremony respectful of her faith. The family includes Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and atheists.

One of Marie Leeze's children called me for help and explained the situation. The man, distraught, did not even know if his mother was Muslim or Catholic.

Listening to his story, and despite his ignorance about the faith professed by her mother, I proposed to travel from Nimes and Montpellier to share the familys mourning and pray for the salvation of their mother's soul.

Under the circumstances, for me, what matters is the human element, even before faith and religion. This case reveals the lack of humanity of some Muslim representatives, who select their faithful, refuse to accompany the dead in the name of outdated, segregationist, anti-Muslim and above all anti-human principles.

This is further evidence that we are dealing with an inhuman direction taken by the so-called official representatives of Islam in France, whose fundamental task is to train imams, whose duty is to be at the service of Muslim and non-Muslim believers, and who should provide a message of harmony, not of separatism.

It is inadmissible that that woman was left without religious accompaniment due to doubts over her real belief. The case reveals once again the true nature of this institution, beyond all control, which acts with the aim of separating communities, creating conflicts and ultimately increasing resentments between French citizens with different beliefs.

Yet, there are several verses in the Holy Quran that lead to tolerance and humanism, contrary to the interpretations by some extremist imams who teach Islam in France.

Our modern societies require us today to be increasingly open to others, show more tolerance, more humanism in the interpretation and application of our founding religious texts.

Our age raises fundamental questions that cannot be dealt with by fatwas or hadiths (religious edicts) established, promulgated and written in the Middle Ages.

Such texts, fatwas and hadiths are not often in harmony with the texts of the Quran, and produce nothing but dangerous, fanatical, violent and backward thinking, incompatible with Frances social reality and with the original and historical foundations of the Muslim faith.

In a previous publication, I appealed to Muslim leaders and organisations to seize the day and launch a grand reform and update our institutions to train imams of France in order to select humanism and human dignity in lieu of retrograde teachings, based on fanatical interpretations of other eras, of aggressive sermons that lead above all to a head-on collision, conflict, and the rejection of differences.

What is clear is that today the reverse is happening; the opposite is being taught and the danger is that there will soon be an explosion here and that these rifts could degenerate into more serious clashes in the country.

A "faith" that imposes itself on man, based on inhuman precepts and interpretations, on rejection of others and opposition to anyone, cannot be considered a faith that arises from a personal choice, but comes from a dangerous, manipulative and destructive ideology.

I vow that all those who leave us, be they Muslim Jewish, Christian, agnostic, atheist, or of any religion may freely choose their spiritual or secular accompaniment entrusted to us religious, or to lay people, to accompany them as they wish, in the most dignified way possible, and their mourning families, without adding pain and sorrow to their suffering.

The human side comes first. Faith is a personal choice and can only be at the service of people and not the other way around.

* Imam in Nimes
A dialogue focusing on trade and investment between east China's Anhui Province and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) consulates in Shanghai was held Wednesday in Hefei, capital city of Anhui.

The event attracted nearly 200 attendees from home and abroad, including business representatives, Chinese government officials and diplomats from countries including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Hew Tse Hou, consul general of the Consulate General of Malaysia in Shanghai, said Anhui's economy has been developing rapidly in recent years and Malaysian companies have shown a great interest in its development.

"Our cooperation is focused on the manufacturing industry at the moment, but we hope to expand the cooperation with Anhui in the service industry such as tourism and education in the future," he said.

"We made an investment of 100 million yuan (about 14.77 million U.S. dollars) in Thailand in 2018. Our factory producing rubber products is scheduled to operate in early 2021," said Xia Yongqiang, general affairs manager of Zhongding Precision Technology (Thailand) Co., Ltd. "I hope to enhance our relationship with Thai officials by attending the dialogue."

ASEAN became China's biggest trading partner in the first half of this year, accounting for 14.7 percent of the nation's total foreign trade volume. China's trade with ASEAN stood at 2.09 trillion yuan in the first six months, up 5.6 percent year on year, according to the General Administration of Customs.




Sir Rocco Forte's daughter Irene has married tech whizz Felix Winckler in a 'very intimate family affair'.

The Oxford graduate, 31, who is Wellness Director at her family's 340million hotel empire and founder of Irene Forte Skincare, announced the happy news on Instagram yesterday.

Irene, who had planned a wedding in Sicily before the pandemic, shared two stunning photographs of her tying the knot with her boyfriend of several years in London, captioned '19.09.20' along with a heart and dove emoji.

In the snaps, she showed off her smart white bridal suit, with a tuxedo jacket by Yves Saint Laurent and a statement pillbox hat with veil by Jane Taylor London.

Sir Rocco Forte's daughter Irene has married tech whizz Felix Winckler (pictured together) in a 'very intimate family affair'

The bride's elegant heels were by Aquazzura, while her chic bouquet was by Ellie Hartley Flowers in Mayfair. She was styled by Tatler's Fashion Director Sophie Goodwin.

'It was a very intimate family affair instead of a wedding originally planned in Sicily that same weekend,' due to COVID-19 restrictions, a family friend told FEMAIL.

In one of the images shared by Irene, the couple, who became engaged in January this year, are seen standing outside their wedding building, sharing a kiss while surrounded by their family and friends.

A second shows the pair walking down the streets of London, hand-in-hand, before a beaming Irene and her husband turn back towards the camera.

The Oxford graduate, who is Wellness Director at her family's 340million hotel empire and founder of Irene Forte Skincare, revealed the happy news on Instagram with this picture

Irene shared two stunning photographs of her tying the knot with her boyfriend of several years in London, captioned '19.09.20' along with a heart and dove emoji (above)

Irene kept her long, blonde locks down while sporting stand-out diamond earrings and a smattering of glamorous makeup.

Friends rushed to congratulate the pair on Instagram, with British TV presenter Pips Taylor writing: 'Huge congratulations.'

Jessica Richards, the owner behind Brooklyn based beauty company Shen, beloved by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Rachel Weisz, added: 'Oh my gosh gorgeous congrats! Sending so much love and happiness your way.'

Reaction: Friends rushed to congratulate the pair on Instagram, with British TV presenter Pips Taylor writing: 'Huge congratulations' (above)

Groom Mr Winckler, who is the co-founder of Reflaunt Resell Service, which encourages brands to embrace the second-hand marketplace, is no stranger to society romances, having previously courted Princess Caroline of Monacos daughter Charlotte Casiraghi.

Meanwhile Irene previously dated Jacobi Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, the half-brother of Cressida Bonas for five years before splitting in 2016.

Miss Forte, who runs an eponymous skincare line, often posts about her beau on Instagram, including loved-up messages to mark his birthday.

Miss Forte, who runs an eponymous skincare line, often posts about her beau (pictured together) on Instagram, including loved-up messages to mark his birthday

Irene's older sister, Lydia Forte, who is director of food and beverage at Rocco Forte Hotels, married her husband Greek shipping heir Dimitri Chandris four years ago.

Their Tuscan wedding was one of the society events of 2016, with guests including Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Other high society couples who decided to wed in more low-key, private nuptials this year because of the pandemic include Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Cressida Bonas and Harry Wentworth-Stanley.
Even as state governments have claimed that hospital infrastructure and facilities are being created to meet the increased demand of Covid-19 patients in the country eight months into the fight against coronavirus, a survey has shown that getting a bed for a patient who needs ICU support his only getting difficult.

Independent estimates show that by the middle of October, India will surpass the US in terms of the total number of Covid-19 cases. The government of India says that 92 % of cases of Covid-19 in India are mild in nature.

Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Union Health Ministry, said currently a little over 6% of Covid-19 patients in the country were on oxygen support in hospitals. This included 3.69% patients on oxygen support; 2.17% patients on ICU beds with oxygen support and 0.36% patients on ventilator support.

However, this offers little solace given that patients have had to use their connections or contacts to get a bed, a survey conducted by LocalCircles showed.

As many as 211 districts have been covered by this survey in which 17,000 responses were received. Of all the patients contacted, 38% said they had to use clout or connections to get an ICU bed. About 7% said they had to follow up extensively to secure an ICU bed. Roughly 7% even paid a bribe to get a bed, while only 4% faced no problems. Another 4% did not get a bed at all. Some also said they had to follow up and raise this matter via social media to get the attention of the authorities.

Of the respondents, 92% said that it should be mandatory for hospitals to post and upgrade real time Covid-19 ICU bed availability. For instance, patients complained that the Delhi Governments app Delhi Corona shows that ICU beds are available in some hospitals, however, when they call, they are told the beds are not available.

The Delhi government said that over 500 beds have been added in the last few days. The number of Covid-19 ICU beds available at the time of filing this report was 493 with ventilators. As many as 492 ICU beds without ventilators were vacant.
A San Antonio man was arrested Friday after Google reported explicit images of children were found on an iCloud account, an arrest affidavit said.

David Matthew Newman, 49, was charged with three counts of possession of child pornography.

In June, the Texas Department of Public Safety Internet Crimes Against Children division received information about a Yahoo account that was storing the explicit images in the server. Google reported the photos to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who traced the account back to Newman, according to the affidavit.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

On the iCloud account, there was an encrypted file with explicit images of a child under the age of 5, the affidavit said.

Police said they matched Newman's email and phone number listed on the account.

When police arrested Newman, they seized his laptop and cell phone where at least three additional explicit images of children were found, according to the affidavit. There were also a number pornographic websites with videos of teenagers in Newman's search history, police said.

Newman is being held on a $225,000 bond.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 09:58:59|Editor: huaxia

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HARARE, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has said that the country's international airports are ready to re-open, state media reported Sunday.

The airports have been closed since March when the government came up with regulatory measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

The cabinet has recently resolved to allow both domestic and international flights to resume on Sept. 10 and Oct. 1.

Chiwenga, who is also the Minister of Health and Child Care, warned that re-opening the airports did not imply that COVID-19 was no longer a threat.

He on Saturday toured the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare, Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo Airport in Bulawayo, and the Victoria Falls International Airport to assess their level of preparedness to handle traffic.

Speaking after the tour in Harare, Chiwenga said he was impressed by the level of preparedness.

"We were having this tour to check on the cabinet decision that we are now going to open our international and domestic airports for both local and international tourism. As we do that, we are going to check on the safety of every passenger or person who is going to pass through our airports," he said. Enditem
D etectives hunting burglars who stole five deactivated guns used in James Bond movies today released CCTV of them carrying out 007-style reconnaissance minutes before the raid in north London.

Three men forced their way into author and collector John Reynolds house in Aldersbrook Avenue, Enfield.

When neighbours disturbed them, the suspects jumped out of a window and fled in a silver Vauxhall Minerva with their 100,000 haul before police arrived at 8pm on March 23.

The raiders, said to have eastern European accents, were masked and wearing dark clothing when they broke into the back of Mr Reynolds home.

A Walther PPK used by Roger Moore as he chased Grace Jones's villain May Day at the Eiffel Tower in 1985's A View To A Kill was stolen.

Stolen: weapons used in James Bond films swiped in raid 1 /5 Stolen: weapons used in James Bond films swiped in raid A Beretta Cheetah pistol used in Die Another Day Metropolitan Police A Walther PPK pistol used in A View To A Kill Metropolitan Police A Beretta Tomcat pistol used in Die Another Day Metropolitan Police A Llama 22 pistol used in Die Another Day Metropolitan Police

Halle Berry's Beretta "Cheetah" auto pistol and her Beretta "Tomcat" with laser and silencer from 2002's Die Another Day were also taken.

A Llama .22 calibre gun that Bond Pierce Brosnan used in the same film was stolen too, along with Moore's Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum revolver from 1973's Live And Let Die.

Detectives today released CCTV which shows the Vauxhall Minerva parked on the street before the burglary.

Detective Inspector Paul Ridley, from North Area CID, said: We now have images of a vehicle that was parked near to the scene of the crime and appears to be carrying out reconnaissance in the area.

In scenes reminiscent of a James Bond movie, you can even see the flash of a camera from the occupant engaged in the surveillance. I believe these individuals were involved in the crime, it was only a matter of minutes prior to the raid.

The firearms which were stolen are very distinctive and will almost certainly be recognised by the public and anyone who is offered them for sale.

The yellow Llama pistol was subsequently recovered by a member of the public in a field near to Roydon Railway Station in Essex in April.

DI Ridley added: Sadly, this has been severely rusted due to being exposed to the elements outdoors and its integrity destroyed.

Mr Reynolds had amassed 60 weapons used in Bond films while writing a book about the history if the long-running series. He planned to showcase the stolen weapons in a national exhibition.

Mr Reynolds believes that the gang were lured in after spotting an Aston Martin, the car most associated with 007 movies, on his driveway.

No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting CAD 5890/23Mar or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Delhi BJP MP on Monday demanded the arrest of eight Rajya Sabha members and registration of cases against them for creating ruckus and allegedly scuffling with a Marshal during the passage of farm bills on Sunday.

The North East Delhi BJP MP said strict action is needed against the members involved in "unruly behaviour" to prevent such incidents setting a "bad precedent" in Parliament.

Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday suspended eight members, including TMC leader Derek O'Brien and AAP's Sanjay Singh, a day after the House witnessed unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members during the passage of farm bills.

"Mere suspension is not enough and those who have committed this crime and scuffled with Marshal should be arrested and criminal cases filed against them. If it's not done, a very bad precedent will be set in Parliament," Tiwari told reporters.

What happened in Rajya Sabha on Sunday was a "criminal activity", Tiwari said referring to various past incidents involving AAP leaders.

He said that everyone has the right to protest in a democratic way but one cannot resort to "hooliganism" in the Upper House, which is highly regarded by the people.

AAP's Sanjay Singh said that the BJP government has passed a "black law" against farmers, saying the opposition MPs were terminated for opposing the farm bills.

(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.)
Shrinking ice sheets could add 15 inches to sea level rise by 2100, study finds

Ice shelves in Antarctica, such as the Getz Ice Shelf seen here, are sensitive to warming ocean temperatures. Ocean and atmospheric conditions are some of the drivers of ice sheet loss that scientists considered in a new study estimating additional global sea level rise by 2100. Credit: Jeremy Harbeck / NASA

The international effort leveraged UBs supercomputing facilities for data storage

It took over six years of workshops and teleconferences with scientists from around the world working on ice sheet, atmosphere and ocean modeling to build a community that was able to ultimately improve our sea level rise projections. 

BUFFALO, N.Y.  An international effort that brought together more than 60 ice, ocean and atmosphere scientists from three dozen international institutions has generated new estimates of how much of an impact Earths melting ice sheets could have on global sea levels by 2100.

The research, led by NASA and supported by the University at Buffalos supercomputing facilities, finds that if greenhouse gas emissions continue apace, Greenland and Antarcticas ice sheets could together contribute more than 15 inches (38 centimeters) of global sea level rise  and thats beyond the amount that has already been set in motion by Earths warming climate.

Findings from this effort are in line with projections in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes (IPCC) 2019 Special Report on oceans and the cryosphere. Meltwater from ice sheets contribute about a third of the total global sea level rise. The IPCC report projected that Greenland would contribute 3.1 to 10.6 inches (8 to 27 cm) to global sea level rise between 2000-2100 and Antarctica could contribute 1.2 to 11 inches (3 to 28 cm).

These new results, published this week in a special issue of the journal The Cryosphere, come from the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project (ISMIP6 ) led by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The study is one of many efforts scientists are involved in to project the impact of a warming climate on melting ice sheets, understand its causes and track sea level rise.

One of the biggest uncertainties when it comes to how much sea level will rise in the future is how much the ice sheets will contribute. And how much the ice sheets contribute is really dependent on what the climate will do, said project leader and ice scientist Sophie Nowicki, PhD, formerly at NASA Goddard, who joined the University at Buffalo this semester as Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Geology in the UB College of Arts and Sciences, and in the UB RENEW Institute.

The strength of ISMIP6 was to bring together most of the ice sheet modeling groups around the world, and then connect with other communities of ocean and atmospheric modelers as well, to better understand what could happen to the ice sheets, said Heiko Goelzer, PhD, a scientist from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, now at NORCE Norwegian Research Centre in Norway. Goelzer led the Greenland ice sheet ISMIP6 effort.

UB helped to facilitate the research by enabling the team to transfer, store and process huge amounts of data at the universitys Center for Computational Research (CCR) as part of a pilot project to leverage the facilitys capabilities to support ice sheet research. The UB effort is led by Jason Briner, PhD, UB professor of geology; Jeanette Sperhac, scientific programmer at CCR; Beata Csatho, PhD, professor of geology; Kristin Poinar, PhD, assistant professor of geology; Nowicki; and Abani Patra, PhD, a former UB faculty member who is now at Tufts University, where he is the Stern Family Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics and director of the Data Intensive Studies Center.

With warming air temperatures melting the surface of the ice sheet, and warming ocean temperatures causing ocean-terminating glaciers to retreat, Greenlands ice sheet is a significant contributor to sea level rise. The ISMIP6 team investigated two different scenarios the IPCC has set for future climate to predict sea level rise between 2015 and 2100: one with carbon emissions increasing rapidly and another with lower emissions.

In the high emissions scenario, they found that the Greenland ice sheet would lead to an additional global sea level rise of about 3.5 inches (9 cm) by 2100. In the lower emissions scenario, the loss from the ice sheet would raise global sea level by about 1.3 inches (3 cm). This is beyond what is already destined to be lost from the ice sheet due to warming temperatures between pre-industrial times and now; previous studies have estimated that contribution to global sea level rise by 2100 to be about a quarter-inch (6 millimeters) for the Greenland ice sheet.

The ISMIP6 team also analyzed the Antarctic ice sheet to understand how much ice melt from future climate change would add to sea level rise, beyond what recent warming temperatures have already put in motion. Ice loss from the Antarctic ice sheet is more difficult to predict: In the west, warm ocean currents erode the bottom of large floating ice shelves, causing loss; while the vast East Antarctic ice sheet can gain mass, as warmer temperatures cause increased snowfall.

The results point to a greater range of possibilities, from ice sheet change that decreases sea level by 3.1 inches (7.8 cm), to increasing it by 12 inches (30 cm) by 2100, with different climate scenarios and climate model inputs. The regional projections show the greatest loss in West Antarctica, responsible for up to 7.1 inches (18 cm) of sea level rise by 2100 in the warmest conditions, according to the research.

The Amundsen Sea region in West Antarctica and Wilkes Land in East Antarctica are the two regions most sensitive to warming ocean temperatures and changing currents, and will continue to lose large amounts of ice, said Helene Seroussi, PhD, an ice scientist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California who led the Antarctic ice sheet modeling in the ISMIP6 effort. With these new results, we can focus our efforts in the correct direction and know what needs to be worked on to continue improving the projections.

Different groups within the ISMIP6 community are working on various aspects of the ice sheet modeling effort. All are designed to better understand why the ice sheets are changing and to improve estimates of how much ice sheets will contribute to sea level rise.

It took over six years of workshops and teleconferences with scientists from around the world working on ice sheet, atmosphere and ocean modeling to build a community that was able to ultimately improve our sea level rise projections, Nowicki said. The reason it worked is because the polar community is small, and were all very keen on getting this problem of future sea level right. We need to know these numbers.

The new results will help inform the sixth IPCC report scheduled for release in 2022.
Criminals are using social media to find young people to act as 'money mules', with some 1,000 money mule transactions totalling 12m moved through Irish bank accounts last year.

Some 98% of the incidents involved young people aged 18 to 24 years.

A new information campaign, Don't be a Mule, has been launched by the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), warning young people about the dangers.

The banking lobby says criminals recruit young people to help launder stolen or illegal money, often unwittingly.

This can often result in teenagers being threatened by the fraudsters or facing criminal charges, as money muling is money laundering and can result in up to 14 years' imprisonment for those found guilty.

BPFI's fraud awareness initiative said:

36% of 18- to 24-year-olds said they were likely to lodge or transfer money on behalf of someone else using their own bank account, in exchange for keeping some of the money;

Over a quarter of 18- to 24-year-olds claimed they knew someone who was approached to act as a money mule; however, 44% of those surveyed had never heard of the specific term 'money mule';

The parents of those who took part in the research were also surveyed, and just 18% of the parents said they discussed the issue of money mules with their children.

"Criminals are relentless in their pursuit of money mules as they seek to move stolen money, and very often present themselves online as prospective employers who can help young people make money through the use of their bank account," said Olivia Buckley, lead on the FraudSMART campaign.

Ms Buckley said that money muling is money laundering, and is a criminal offence.

"What can appear as a harmless action to a young person can have serious consequences, and thats what we want to prevent."

She said social media has been utilised by criminals to attract teenagers, and that parents should be aware of the risks.

It is not a way to make easy or fast money and if your child gets involved, knowingly or unknowingly, they are participating in money laundering which is a criminal offence and can carry up to 14-year imprisonment.

Ms Buckley said teenagers who are recruited as money mules can be threatened with violence or physically attacked if they do not continue to allow their account to be used.

"As well as having a criminal record, money mules who are caught face having their bank account closed and will have difficulty opening another account and accessing loans or other credit facilities in the future."

Ms Buckley added that parents should watch out for red flags such as their child suddenly having extra money and their child having new clothes and technology.
CAIRO  Russian diplomats have been busy in Cairo, meeting with Egyptian officials and the local media to promote the so-called Sputnik V, a vaccine developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute  even though clinical trials have not been completed on the drug, and the Chinese seem to be spearheading the race for an agreement with Egypt.

Following only two months of testing, Russias President Vladimir Putin approved the drug in mid-August and the country began to market the medication as Sputnik V, the first registered vaccine against COVID-19.

In an Aug. 19 interview with Egypts state news agency MENA, Georgy Borisenko, the Russian ambassador in Cairo, said that Moscow is looking forward to establishing a partnership with Egypt to produce Sputnik V. Borisenko stated that he had informed the Egyptian ministries of foreign affairs and health about the possibility of holding bilateral discussions on producing the vaccine in Egypt and provided their ministers with all the necessary information.

The Russian diplomat said the vaccine could be a basis for further development of Egyptian-Russian relations. The trade exchange between the two countries reached $6.2 billion in 2019, making Moscow one of the top 10 trading partners of Egypt," he underlined.

On Sept. 3, Borisenko met with the head of the state-run Arab Organization for Industrialization, Abdelmonem Altrass, to discuss the possibility of manufacturing the vaccine in Egypt. In a statement, Altrass affirmed that the vaccine will be subjected to the clinical trials and medical tests required to ensure the safety of citizens' health.

The Russian ambassador also met with Minister of Trade and Industry Nevin Gamea on Sept. 13, expressing Moscow's intentions to cooperate with Egypt in fighting the pandemic by possibly producing Sputnik V with Egyptian pharmaceutical companies.

Since the outbreak began, COVID-19 has caused more than 5,600 deaths in Egypt and the total infection tally has surpassed 100,000 cases, making Egypt the second most affected country in Africa.

Hospitals in Egypt have been using blood plasma from people who have recovered from the virus to treat other patients. Cairo is also conducting clinical trials on a Chinese vaccine.

Russias promotion of the vaccine in Egypt has been spearheaded by Kirill A. Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the man behind the financing of Sputnik V. He said in an exclusive interview on Sept. 1 with Egyptian Channel 10, The vaccine is good news for Russia, Egypt and the entire Arab world.

He went on, We are currently in negotiations with Egypt to prepare the production capacities for the vaccine. Within a year, Egypt will be ready to manufacture this drug on its soil. The official added that his country had asked Egypt to test Sputnik V and stated that the price of the Russian drug will be much lower than any competing vaccine, whether from the United States or from other countries.

Dmitriev noted, There are requests for a billion doses of the vaccine, most of them from the Arab world.

Amgad al-Haddad, head of the Department of Immunology and Allergies at Vacsera, the government-affiliated company that produces vaccines in Egypt, explained to Al-Monitor that vaccines must go through several stages before being approved. The first concerns safety and the second effectiveness, with testing on a small number of people. The third is prefabrication, in which the drug is tested on thousands of people of different races and ages in various countries. After the last phase, researchers measure the number of antibodies, the rate of effectiveness and side effects before beginning production of the vaccine.

According to Haddad, the Russian vaccine has passed only two phases combined in a single step, and was tested on a very small number of military personnel.

The pharmacologist added that the third stage, in which the vaccine is evaluated, is the most crucial.

Haddad said that testing of the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford was halted on Sept. 9 in the third stage after reports of serious side effects during clinical trials. We do not doubt the Russian vaccine, but we also cannot evaluate any vaccine after passing only two stages of the long testing process, he added.

Haddad stated that clinical trials are now being conducted on Chinas coronavirus vaccine inside Vacsera, "it will be tested on several thousand Egyptians and after passing this stage it will be produced in agreement with the Chinese side," he said, without giving a specific time frame for the completion of these experiments.

Vacsera is aware of the meetings between Russian diplomats and Egyptian politicians, Haddad pointed out, but it is still unclear whether the drug will actually be produced in Egypt.

Egypt has a great history in the pharmaceutical industry, a huge population and a distinguished location in the Middle East," Mostafa Kamel Elsayed, a professor of political science at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor. "These are all important factors for Russia to seek Egypt's participation in the distribution of the vaccine.

Once the success of the vaccine is proven, this will be a huge scientific and commercial victory for Moscow, he added. Hundreds of millions of doses of this drug will be distributed to the world, and it will surely be a benefit to any country that produces a vaccine for COVID-19, be it Russia, the United States, China or the United Kingdom, Elsayed concluded.
Imperial Valley News Center

FBI and OIEA Warn Public that Fraudsters are Targeting Owners of Timeshares in Mexico

Washington, DC - The FBI Criminal Investigative Division and the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would like to warn consumers of a recent increase in fraudulent schemes targeting owners of timeshare properties in Mexico. These scams typically involve individuals alleging to be representatives of a brokerage firm, travel agency, title company, or escrow agent making unsolicited contact with owners of timeshare properties.

If you own one of these timeshare properties, the fraudsters may promise to pay you a significant sum of money for your timeshare. Or, they may claim you are entitled to valuable shares of stock in connection with your timeshare and offer to liquidate the shares in exchange for a commission. These fraudsters may provide very official looking documents, including contracts and title paperwork.

In some situations, timeshare owners are told that, to obtain the promised payments, the owners must pay a tax or fee. The fraudsters may claim that, prior to receiving the money for your timeshare or stock, you need to open an account at a specified bank and make a deposit to fund the account. If you make the deposit, the fraudsters will likely devise additional reasons to demand money in advance of the closing, which never occurs.

Fraudsters have various methods of making their timeshare schemes appear legitimate. For example, some fraudsters design convincing websites that may mimic the websites of real U.S. companies, but that contain false information, such as incorrect names for company representatives. In other cases, fraudsters file fraudulent documents with state or local officials and even register with their local Better Business Bureau using the false names from their fraudulent documents. In cases where the fraudsters pose as stock brokers, they may assume the identities of real registered brokers without the true brokers knowledge.

These fraudsters can be persistent. In cases where victims become suspicious and stop sending money to the fraudsters, the perpetrators have contacted the victims, posing as representatives of the Mexican government or a financial institution and demanded an advance fee or tax purportedly to help the victims recover their money.

Tips for Avoiding Becoming the Victim of a Timeshare Advance-Fee Scam:

If you receive a phone call, an e-mail, mail or other communication regarding your timeshare, keep in mind the following tips and warnings:

Be suspicious of any uninvited offers regarding your timeshare, particularly those that seem too good to be true. Contact your timeshare resort, developer, or manager, who may be aware of a new or ongoing scam and may have resources to help you determine whether a particular person or entity is legitimate.

Be extremely cautious if anyone requests that you pay money up-front in order to obtain funds or property to which they claim you are entitled. Also, be skeptical of any request to wire money in connection with your timeshare. It is extremely difficult  and often impossible  to recover money wired abroad, and fraudsters with U.S. accounts can quickly transfer funds overseas.

Be wary of high-pressure tactics, which are often indicative of a scam.

Fraudsters sound convincing, are very responsive, send you authentic looking paperwork, and sometimes create websites that look legitimate. If you do not know the person with whom you are doing business, be extremely cautious and do extensive due diligence.

If someone offers you investment products or services, such as offering to act as a broker to sell shares they claim you are entitled to, check whether the person or firm is registered with the SEC by using the search tool on Investor.gov. Remember that scammers can assume the identities of actual brokers. It is important to verify the identity of the person who contacts you by independently searching for the persons or firms website and checking that the contact information listed there is consistent with the contact information the person provided you.

Hire your own lawyer to review real estate transactions and contracts associated with your timeshare. Be wary of hiring lawyers recommended by third parties who make unsolicited offers, as they may not be impartial.

Be careful if someone claims they have been provided with a special permit from the SEC  there is no such thing.

Be aware that scammers may be located far away from where they pretend to operate. For example, they may use technology to make it appear that they are calling from a different location and use a fake address or a mail drop as their business address.

Scammers count on your lack of knowledge, so take the time to educate yourself about any offer you receive.

Trust your instincts: if a timeshare solicitor makes you uncomfortable or tells you something that does not sound right, do not continue communicating with them.

More information about advance-fee schemes and other online frauds can be found at www.fbi.gov or Investor.gov, the SECs website for individual investors.

You can contact the SECs Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) by phone at 1-800-732-0330, using this online form, or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Receive Investor Alerts and Bulletins from OIEA by email or RSS feed. Follow OIEA on Twitter @SEC_Investor_Ed. Like OIEA on Facebook at facebook.com/secinvestoreducation.

Individuals who have been victimized by this type of scam are encouraged to file a complaint with the FBIs Internet Crime Complaint Center by visiting https://www.ic3.gov.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) on September 20 began publishing a huge array of data from the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and among the top 20 defendants were three from Ukraine: Dmytro Firtash, Andriy Klyuyev and Ihor Kolomoisky.

"SARs (Suspicious Activity Reports) reflect the concerns of compliance officers and are not necessarily indicative of criminal conduct or other wrongdoing," the ICIJ said, adding that the categories "corruption" or "fraud" are not necessarily indicative of misconduct.

In particular, the material of the ICIJ regarding Firtash refers to the files of 50 banks with 38 SARs and 756 transactions totaling $2.37 billion in the period from 2003 to 2017.

The section about Klyuyev contains information about 65 banks, 5 SARs, 752 transactions for $244.9 million in 2010-2015, and about Kolomoisky  some 34 banks, 13 SARs, 277 transactions for $308.6 million in 2012-2017, respectively.

The Slidstvo.Info investigative ezine, which is part of the ICIJ, said that the American edition of BuzzFeed got access to FinCEN documents, which has already shared them with colleagues from the ICIJ, and 400 journalists from 88 countries have been investigating and checking suspicious transactions for the amount of $2 trillion for almost a year and a half.

"Among the transactions that the U.S. FinCEN considers suspicious are companies associated with Kolomoisky, Akhmetov, Klyuyev and other famous Ukrainians. Journalistic investigations concerning them will be published in the coming days and weeks by publications around the world," Editor-In-Chief of Slidstvo.Info Hanna Babinets said in the first article about FinCEN files.

According to the BBC, this documents leak is comparable to the Panama and Paradise Papers, it contains information about possible money laundering and avoiding sanctions through the largest banks in the world in the period up to 2017.
SYDNEY : China will lose access to a strategic space tracking station in Western Australia when its contract expires, the facility's owners said, a decision that cuts into Beijing's expanding space exploration and navigational capabilities in the Pacific region.

The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) has had a contract allowing Beijing access to the satellite antenna at the ground station since at least 2011. It is located next to an SSC satellite station primarily used by the United States and its agencies, including NASA.

The Swedish state-owned company told Reuters it would not enter into any new contracts at the Australian site to support Chinese customers after its current contract expires. However, it did not disclose when the lease runs out.

"Given the complexity of the Chinese market, brought about by the overall geopolitical situation, SSC has decided to focus mainly on other markets for the coming years," the SSC said in an emailed response to questions.

The site is owned by SSC subsidiary, SSC Space Australia.

The Australian government did not immediately respond to questions on Monday.

The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The expansion of China's space capabilities, which includes the growing sophistication of its Beidou navigation network, is one of the new frontiers of tension between the U.S. and China, who are clashing on everything from technology and trade to Chinese activities in the disputed South China Sea.

Australia has a strong alliance with the United States, which includes working together on space research and programmes, while Canberra's diplomatic and trade ties with Beijing have also been fracturing.

China last used the Yatharagga Satellite Station, located about 350 km (250 miles) north of the Australian city of Perth, in June 2013 to support the three-person Shenzhou 10 mission which completed a series of space docking tests, SSC said.

The SSC said the current contract supports Chinese scientific space missions within its programme for manned-space flights for telemetry, tracking and command services.

OVERSEAS EXPANSION

Ground stations are a vital part of space programmes given they create a telecommunications link with spacecraft. While stations have different capabilities, they can be equipped to co-ordinate satellites for civil-military Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as Beidou, Russia's GLONASS, the European Union's Galileo system and U.S.-owned GPS.

China's space programme has been increasing its access to overseas ground stations in recent years in line with the expansion of its space exploration and navigational programmes.

"Generally speaking anywhere you put a GNSS monitoring ground station will improve the accuracy of positioning for that region," said Joon Wayn Cheong, a senior research associate at the University of New South Wales' School of Electrical Engineering.

Christopher Newman, professor of Space Law and Policy at Northumbria University in Newcastle, England, said China wants to remove its dependence on GPS as part of broader plans to expand its global influence.

"GPS could be made unavailable to them in a military conflict. An independent secure system is crucial for the capabilities of the People's Liberation Army in respect to targeting, weapons, navigation," Newman told Reuters.

Beijing last year re-established diplomatic ties with the small Pacific island nation of Kiribati, where it has a mothballed ground station in the central Pacific Ocean.





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Last night, Antifa/BLM criminals (there no longer seems to be any distinction between the two organizations) ran riot in Portland for something like the 100th day in a row, stopping traffic, starting fires, and smashing and looting stores. There seems to be be little or no police presence in Portland, and no political will to restore order to the city before it becomes a dead zone.

As always, Andy Ngo is the best source for on-the-scene coverage:

Antifa-BLM rioters burn a thin blue line flag in downtown Portland. Blue lives splatter, they shout. #PortlandRiots #antifa pic.twitter.com/HR39K8AZ7A  Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) September 20, 2020

Antifa rioter Tracy Molina laughs at the shattered Portland Starbucks, calling it a big sale. #PortlandRiots #antifa pic.twitter.com/HVVYzkZHaF  Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) September 20, 2020



According to Ngo, no arrests were made last night. What we are seeing in Portland and other blue cities is classic fascism. There is zero difference between the Brownshirts of the 1930s and the BLM/Antifa thugs of today.

As Ive said before, there is no daylight between Antifa and BLM. They are indistinguishable. What I want to know is whether there is any daylight between Antifa/BLM and the Democratic Party. Has any Democrat of national stature condemned Seattles crackpot zone, the burning of Minneapolis, the endless riots in Portland, the trashing of Michigan Avenue in Chicago? Was there a chorus of condemnation that I somehow missed?

I dont think so. Democratic politicians view rioting, looting and arson benignly, subject at most to an occasional insincere pro forma scolding, because in their minds, Antifa and BLM are the shock troops of their party. That is my hypothesis, anyway. Can anyone supply evidence to the contrary?

MORE: The conduct of the Democratic Partys shock troops is appalling, obviously:

The left's normalization and routinization of political violence is literally pathological. Putting aside that their political goals are substantively awful, the things that have to be going wrong in your brain to attack a frightened dog on behalf of ANY ideology I mean. https://t.co/SNFKOtSBAz  Omri Ceren (@omriceren) September 19, 2020



What I want to know is, are the Democrats proud of these people? If we vote for Joe Biden, is this what we are choosing?
UK government warns that the country is at a tipping point on coronavirus, as Londons mayor urges quick action to address the spread of the virus.

A stay-at-home order has come into effect in Yangon, Myanmars commercial capital and biggest city, closing offices and schools.

More than 31 million people around the world have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus and almost 959,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 21.1 million people have recovered.

Here are the latest updates:

Monday, September 21

05:30 GMT  Philippines to allow medical workers to leave for overseas work

Tens of thousands of Filipino medical workers, many of them nurses, work overseas [File: Rolex dela Pena/EPA]

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has decided to allow medical professionals to leave the country and work overseas, following a temporary ban due to reported shortage of health workers during the pandemic.

In a statement on Monday, Dutertes spokesman Harry Roque said medical professionals, who have completed their documents as of August 31, are now allowed to work abroad.

At least 1,500 medical professionals are waiting for the government to lift the ban, Roque said. Thousands more medical workers are also stranded in the country due to delays in processing their documents during the lockdown.

05:14 GMT  Canadas Quebec imposes restrictions to prevent COVID-19 resurgence

The government of Canadas province of Quebec has announced new restrictions on gatherings in order to prevent a second wave of coronavirus infections.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube said that starting on Monday, a maximum of 50 people will be allowed to gather, down from 250, in the province.

Dube also said three areas, including Montreal and Quebec City, gatherings will be limited to 25 as the coronavirus alert has been raised to orange level.

04:14 GMT  Coronavirus found in imported squid packaging in China

Health authorities in Chinas province of Jilin reported that traces of coronavirus have been found on the packaging of imported squid.

Authorities said the squid was imported from Russia by a Chinese company.

Last month, authorities in two cities also found traces of the virus on cargoes of imported frozen food, although the World Health Organization said there is no evidence of the virus being spread by food or packaging.

03:36 GMT  Germanys confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 922

Germanys infectious diseases agency has reported 922 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number of cases to more than 272,300.

The Robert Koch Institute reported that there were no new deaths recorded keeping the total to 9,386.

03:15 GMT  Singapore develops robotic equipment to do swab test

Clinicians in Singapore have developed robotic equipment that can carry out safe, gentle nasal swab tests, according to a report by the Straits Times.

The SwabBot allows the patients to control the test themselves, making it more comfortable and safe, the report said. It is equipped with a mechanism that automatically withdraws the swab stick if there is resistance

The process, developed by clinicians from two government hospitals and Biobot Surgical, can take 20 seconds.

02:48 GMT  Australias Victoria on course to ease restrictions

Australias second-largest state of Victoria is on course to ease more restrictions as the number of cases continues to drop.

The state capital of Melbourne reported 35 new cases on Monday  below the target of 50 cases or less by September 28, when many of the restrictions are expected to be lifted.

Meanwhile, New South Wales reported four new cases on Monday, prompting the government to warn residents to maintain safe distances to avoid infection.

02:32 GMT  China reports 12 new cases

Chinas National Health Commission has reported 12 new coronavirus cases, raising the number of cases in the country to 85,291. Most of the infections have now recovered.

The agency said all the new cases are imported. At least 25 others were categorised as asymptomatic.

No new deaths were reported keeping the death toll at 4,634.

02:05 GMT  New Zealand PM announces easing of restrictions

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that coronavirus restrictions in the city of Auckland will be eased starting Thursday, while lockdown limits will be lifted in other parts of the country.

Ardern said that starting from midnight on Monday, the rest of the country will be free of movement restrictions, although health safety protocols will still be in place.

01:40 GMT  Stay-at-home order takes effect in Myanmars Yangon

Under the new lockdown ordered on Sunday, classes are suspended and employees required to work from home [Shwe Paw Mya Tin/Reuters]

A stay-at-home order for Myanmars commercial capital, Yangon, has taken effect as the country tries to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Under the new lockdown, which was ordered on Sunday, classes are suspended and employees are required to work from home.

Myanmar has at least 5,541 COVID-19 cases and 92 deaths.

01:16 GMT  South Korea reports 70 new cases as schools reopen

South Korea has reported 70 new coronavirus cases, the second consecutive day that it reported infections below 100, but the government admitted that a high number of untraceable cases remain.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said at least 55 of the new cases were local infections. The total number of cases has now reached 23,045, and with two new fatalities reported, the death toll rose to 385.

The latest numbers come as in-person classes resumed in the capital Seoul and surrounding areas on Monday, according to Yonhap news agency.

00:48 GMT  Mexico reports 3,542 new coronavirus cases, 235 new deaths

Mexicos health ministry has reported 3,542 new coronavirus cases and 235 new deaths.

The number of infections officially reported in the country now stands at 697,663, while the death toll has hit at least 73,493 although the government reported recently that excess deaths exceeded 120,000.

00:05 GMT  Brazil reports 16,389 new coronavirus cases, 363 deaths

Brazils health ministry has reported 16,389 additional confirmed cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to more than 4.52 million, though the latest numbers do not include three states.

At least 363 new deaths were also reported. Nearly 137,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Brazil, second only to the United States.

00:01 GMT  Health minister warns UK at tipping point

UK health minister Matt Hancock has warned that the country is at a coronavirus tipping point in an interview with the BBC, saying: either that everybody follows the rules  or we will have to take more measures, such as a possible second national lockdown.

The government has reported almost 3,900 new cases on Sunday, prompting a call by London Mayor Sadiq Khan for quick action, with the situation in the capital clearly worsening.

The UK has more than 396,000 cases and more than 41,800 deaths.

_________________________________________________________________

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Read all the key developments from yesterday (September 20) here.
and from chronicles, both real and fictional, of the Spanish conquest by Diego Duran, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, and Fernando de Zarzamora, among others. In this playful compilation, Stavans distills imagery from the work of magic realist masters such as Juan Rulfo and Gabriel Garcia Marquez; from songs of protest in Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru; and from aboriginal beasts in Jewish, Muslim, European, British, and other traditions. In the spirit of imaginative invention, even the bibliography is a mixture of authentic and concocted material.

From the siren-like Acuecueyotl and the water animal Chaac to the class-conscious Oc and the god of light and darkness Xolotl, the magnificent entities in this volume belong to the same family of real and invented creatures imagined by Dante, Franz Kafka, C. S. Lewis, Jorge Luis Borges, Umberto Eco, and J. K. Rowling. They are mined from indigenous religious texts, like the

Ilan Stavans is Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities and Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College, publisher of Restless Books, and host of NPRs podcast In Contrast. He is the recipient of numerous international awards and honors, and his books have been translated into twenty languages. Among his recently published books are two Penn State University Press titles: the graphic novel adaptation of Don Quixote of La Mancha , illustrated by Roberto Weil, and The Return of Carvajal: A Mystery , illustrated by artist and illustrator Eko , whose engravings are also featured in this book.

Preface

A few years ago, during a shamanic ceremony in Colombia, I ingested ayahuasca, made of Banisteriopsis caapi, a South American liana employed for hallucinogenic purposes. Ayahuasca is a plant teacher. It pushes the mind into unforeseen realms. No wonder indigenous tribes in the Amazon make it an essential companion for religious quests.

Using words to describe what I went through defeats the experience. I wrestled with this challenge in the book The Oven (2018), which also became a one-man theater show staged across the United States. The extraordinary out-of-body education I had left a deep mark on me. I felt unconfined, physically as well as spiritually. At one point, I miraculously underwent a mutation that turned me into a jaguar roaming for prey in a vast landscape.

Once I got home, I immediately reread the Popol Vuh (155458), the sacred origin book of the Maya. I became fascinated by the multiple adventures of Hunahpu and Ixbalanke, twins who at one point traverse the underworld, known as Xibalbaa habitat as intricate as Dantes hellwhere they face, among dozens of other creatures, camazotz, bat monsters. In the narrative, these creatures have the terrifying strength of the Cyclops in Homers The Odyssey.

I soon realized that in the shamanic ceremony I had also visualized myself into an assortment of other creatures, a few of them impossible to describe: part human, part-deity, with a few recognizable features but many more I had never encountered before. I delved into pre-Columbian sourcesencyclopedias, testimonies of the Spanish conquest, historical chronicles of life in colonial times under European rulein search of them. What I found astonished me: the sources I looked at were themselves rather inconsistent and described these beasts in fanciful fashion.

It took me time to understand: this ethereal quality is precisely what makes these creatures distinct. I felt the inescapable urge to retell Popol Vuh for a contemporary readership; I also got the inspiration that led me to compile this anthology of pre-Hispanic imaginary beings, quoting from both real and fabricated sources. In the land of Magical Realism, what better way to pay tribute to these creatures than to celebrate their insubstantial status? (Julio Cortazar, in La vuelta al dia en ochenta mundos [Around the Day in Eighty Worlds, 1967], writes: I have always known that the big surprises await us where we have learned to be surprised by nothing, that is, where we are not shocked by ruptures in the order.) After all, I grew up in Mexico; I know how elusive the line between fact and fiction is. Latin America is where what is known and what is hoped for intermingle.

Needless to say, fantastic animals have always been present companions in human civilization. The Bible is full of them, not only unicorns and cockatrices (in the King James Version, 1611), angels and cherubim, but also Behemoth and Leviathan, aside, obviously, from the Almighty, an omniscient being with anthropomorphic qualities whose only limitation appears to besurprisinglynot to have been able to clone itself.

The Greeks had sirens, centaurs, satyrs, chimeras, basilisks, phoenixes, Pegasus, Medusa, Cerberus, and other entities. The Middle Ages were a fertile era for the creation of these creatures too: golems, dragons, and griffins, among others, would all be considered cryptids today.

Modernity added its own contributions, such as Mary Shelleys Frankenstein (1823), Count Dracula, and the massive black earthworm known as Mihoc.o. The production of fantastic creatures has only intensified over the last century, especially in the English-speaking world, with J. R. R. Tolkiens The Hobbit (1937), C. S. Lewiss The Chronicles of Narnia (195056), and, more recently, J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter saga (19972007).

Of course, what is fantastic to one culture is mundane to another. I ask myself, What did the indigenous people of Hispaniola, the first Caribbean island on which Columbus set foot, think of the Italian explorer and his companions? They probably believed the visitors were either demons or gods. As the Talmud (Tractate Berakhot ) argues, we dont see the world as it is; instead, we see it as we are.

The Americas have long been a popular location to find monstrosities. Scientists like Charles Darwin and Alexander von Humboldt and writers like Andre Breton, D. H. Lawrence, Allen Ginsberg all presented these continents as puzzling, deceptive places. This isnt surprising; even today, the so-called New World remains a testing ground in which Europe envisions all sorts of enigmatic occurrences.

Jorge Luis Borges, along with Margarita Guerrero, edited the anthology Manual de zoologia fantastica (Manual of fantastic zoology, 1957), expanded in 1967 and again in 1969 under a different title: El libro de los seres imaginarios (The Book of Imaginary Beings). It includes creatures like the pygmies mentioned by Aristotle and Pliny; the chimera, a three-headed beast with the head of a goat sprouting from its back, a lions head at its front, and a snakes head on its tail; and Emanuel Swedenborgs angels, the perfect souls of the blessed and wise, living in a Heaven of ideal things.

Perhaps most vividly, in Gabriel Garcia Marquezs Cien anos de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude, 1967), a series of bizarre creatures visit the town of Macondo, including the gypsy Melquiades, who dies dozens of times yet is always youthful, and the naive and angelic Remedios la Bella, whose out-of-this-world beauty ultimately makes her fly into the skyneither of which is portrayed as monstrous.

In truth, my interest in pre-Columbian creatures dates back further than my ayahuasca experience, to the late twentieth century, when I first read Moacyr Scliars O carnaval dos animais (The Carnival

of the Animals, 1968), which is full of the most whimsical American fauna. In my personal library, I have an array of volumes that attempt to portray them, a few of them lavishly illustrated. I have acquired artesanias that are the equivalent of action figures. I have talked, sometimes at length, about this obsession of mine with scholars and writers like Cesar Aira, Frederick Luis Aldama, Diana de Armas Wilson, Jose Donoso, Ariel Dorfman, Carlos Fuentes, Moshe Idel, Jose Emilio Pacheco, Ricardo Piglia, Miguel Leon-Portilla, Moacyr Scliar, Earl Shorris, Doris Sommer, and Juan Villoro.

The current selection of forty-six beings emphasizes gods and beasts from the Aymara, Aztecs, Inca, Maya, Nahua, and Tabascos. It is limited to American creatures, both existent and invented, from texts dating back to the sixteenth century, although some came to beand were certainly recorded in historical documentsafter the Conquest and during the colonial period that stretched until 1810. Regardless of their textual traces, these beings are grounded in oral tradition, recorded in the works of Fray Bernardino de Sahagun, Diego Duran, and other missionaries and later expanded upon by mythmakers such as Ni.o Benitez, Carlos Castaneda, Oscar Agustin Alejandro Schulz Solari (aka Xul Solar), and Guillermo del Toro. Im deliberately loose with my primary source quotations and references, to the point of irreverence, distortion, and outright invention.

In my childhood and in travels during my adult years, I have personally seen a handful of these creatures with my own eyes. During a night of conversation, I described them in detail to the legendary Mexican artist Eko. His superb depictions are approximations based on indigenous codices.

Each entry begins with the creatures name, a guide to its pronunciation, and the culture from which it comes. The Further Readings section at the end of this book invites the reader to peruse authentic and fictional sources.

In spelling names, I have chosen to approximate, though not always endorse, the rules established by Bolivias Instituto Iberoamericano de Lenguas Indigenas, Guatemalas Academia de las Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala, Mexicos Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indigenas, and Perus Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua.

My wholehearted gratitude to Patrick Alexander for his long-standing support, and to Alex Vose and Alex Ramos for their superb editorial workthree nonimaginary Alexes in a volume where coincidences reign.

Ilan Stavans
Original West End cast members from Six will reunite for a special concert, both online and live, entitled The Reunion.

The set of three concerts, available for both in-situ audiences and live-stream, will take place on Saturday 10 (7.30pm and 9.30pm) and Sunday 11 October (7.30pm) with the 9.30pm BST Saturday concert being live-streamed. All three are presented at the Oval Space in east London. All audiences will be socially distanced, with masks required.

Aimie Atkinson, Alexia McIntosh, Grace Mouat, Jarneia Richard-Noel, Maiya Quansah-Breed, Millie O'Connell and Natalie Paris will perform numbers from female pop artists in the concerts, produced by Thespie, as well as discuss their bonds as a group both on and off stage. It is unconfirmed if numbers from Six will be performed.

The group said today: "We are beyond thrilled and excited to be back together again with our reunion show! and with an actual LIVE audience! We cannot wait to belt out some of our favourite girl power anthems and bring our fans an epic show they will never forget!"

Six the Musical, currently closed at its usual home, has just revealed plans to return for a socially distanced West End run at the Lyric Theatre, with tickets being released last week.
Johnny Depp was the star attraction when he attended the premiere of his new film Crock Of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan on Sunday.

The actor, 57, was seen lighting up a cigarette before hitting the red carpet at the Kursaal Palace during Spain's 68th San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Cutting a dapper figure in a dark suit with a wide-brimmed hat, the star commanded attention ahead of unveiling the film he produced on pal Shane MacGowan.

Star: Johnny Depp attended the premiere of his new film Crock Of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan at Spain's San Sebastian International Film Festival on Sunday

Teaming his suit with a crispy white shirt, the Pirates of The Caribbean star accessorised with a selection of jewellery and tinted spectacles.

Father-of-two Depp is a longtime friend of The Pogues' MacGowan, 62, and even performed on his first album.

His film on the musician, directed by Julien Temple, combines unseen footage from the band and MacGowan's family and is described as a 'celebration' of the star.

Light it up: The Hollywood actor, 57, was seen lighting up a cigarette before hitting the red carpet at the Kursaal Palace

Stepping out in style: The screen star a dapper figure in a dark suit with a wide-brimmed hat

It's all in the details: The Pirates of The Caribbean star accessorised with a selection of jewellery and tinted spectacles

Ahead of the screening, Depp spoke with journalists about the first time he met MacGowan, admitting that he was instantly taken with the star.

He said: 'When I met Shane he was negotiating a pool table. There was a drink in this hand, a pint, and in this hand there was a guitar.

'And he was teetering, balancing back and forth trying to negotiate which way to fall. I watched him do that for about 15 minutes.

'Then I was introduced to him, before he fell, and from that moment on you just knew... there are moments in life when you know this will happen one time and one time only, when you get the opportunity to spend time with greatness.'

Longtime friends: Father-of-two Depp is a longtime friend of The Pogues' Shane MacGowan, 62, and even performed on his first album. Pictured together in 1994

Upbeat mood: The star appeared to be in an upbeat mood as he arrived for the big unveiling

Celebration: His film on the musician, directed by Julien Temple, combines unseen footage from the band and MacGowan's family and is described as a 'celebration' of the star

First meeting: Ahead of the screening, Depp spoke with journalists about the first time he met MacGowan, admitting that he was instantly taken with the star

He continued: 'Having known him [McGowan] a long, long time I can only say I fell in love with him the second I met him and Im still in love with him to this day.

'His wife Victoria is a wonderful partner for Shane, theyre best friends, and Ive seen that continue over these many years under all kinds of duress.'

The film festival will run from 18 to 26 September 2020 under safety measures like obligatory face mask use and red carpets without public due to the pandemic.

Organisers have also reduced the number of film screenings as well as the seating capacity in cinemas.

Snaps: Depp posed for socially distanced shots with Stephen Deuters (R) and Julien Temple (L)

Love: Depp said of his pal, 'Having known him [McGowan] a long, long time I can only say I fell in love with him the second I met him and Im still in love with him to this day'

Measures: The film festival will run from 18 to 26 September 2020 under safety measures like obligatory face mask use and red carpets without public due to the pandemic

On Friday, Depp took to his Instagram with a nostalgic-feeling video showing him seated at a desk, penning a letter of gratitude.

The text was copied into the caption of the post, which read: 'Hello All! I just wanted to thank you all once again for your constant and loyal support throughout many long and interesting episodes of my life...

'I am only here because of you  and I'm only here for you!!!' the caption continued. 'All thanks and love to you for all, JD'

The post comes as Depp received word Friday from a Virginia court that there will indeed be a delay in the defamation trial he is bringing against ex-wife Amber Heard in the American courts - but not for the reason he had intended.

Here is he: The actor was seen arriving at the festival on Saturday, opting for a typically quirky look as he donned a Ramones T-shirt and a baker boy style cap with aviator shades

Working hard: The media personality later removed his outerwear to reveal his black shirt as he made an appearance at a talk for the new film

As reported by Deadline, Circuit Court Chief Judge Bruce White has delayed the trial from January 11, 2021 to to May 3, 2021  due to continued concerns over COVID-19.

Depp had initially filed a motion on August 21 to have the upcoming $50million defamation trial delayed so he could begin filming Fantastic Beasts 3 in London.

The Cry Baby actor filed court documents in a Fairfax County, Virginia court requesting the trial be delayed until anywhere between March and June of 2021, once filming was completed.

His ex Amber, 34, in turn filed a motion opposing the request.

The court had initially set the trial to run from January 11, 2021 to January 28, 2021, though Warner Bros. recently revealed they plan to start filming Fantastic Beasts 3 in October in London, which will run through the end of February.

Moment of gratitude: On Friday, Depp took to his Instagram with a nostalgic-feeling video showing him seated at a desk, penning a letter of gratitude

The text read, in part: 'I just wanted to thank you all once again for your constant and loyal support throughout many long and interesting episodes of my life'
On a cool, September day with the occasional gust of blustering wind, Gov. Ned Lamont asked a crowd of people to recall what Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said about female representation on the nations highest court.

Remember when they asked her how many female justices is enough on the Supreme Court? he asked. Remember what she answered?

Nine, a group of people called back from the more than 100 people gathered outside the State of Connecticuts Superior Court in Stamford.

So, you remember that, you remember that, you remember that, he said, pointing to members of the crowd, and were going to stand up and remember her legacy every day. It only works if you remember what she stood for, remember what she meant to all of us, and live it in our lives.

Lamont was one of several speakers, including Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who spoke to people who came out to honor the late justices memory Sunday afternoon. The event was organized by a coalition of local activist groups, said Brook Manewal, co-founder of Pink Wave in Connecticut.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, died in her home from complications of metastatic pancreas cancer Friday night. That night, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also announced in a statement that a nominee for the now-vacant spot on the nations highest court would be put to a vote on the Senate floor.

Appointed to the court in 1993, Ginsburg spent close to three decades deciding the fates of key legal issues alongside her fellow justices. But her work as a lawyer before that  which included successfully arguing several noteworthy gender-discrimination cases to the Supreme Court  was already distinguished.

Stamford resident Sherry Tarantino a member of Suburban Women Against Trump, came out to the memorial to honor RBG.

She was a fantastic woman who has really struggled to achieve what she achieved during her lifetime, especially being a woman, she said. And Im not sure any of us women would be where we are today without her diligence.

With it being so chaotic right now, politically, Tarantino said she wanted to make sure civil rights didnt get squashed during this time.

I dont want to go backwards, she said.

With about a month and a half left until the November election, Ginsburgs death comes at a key time in American politics. The vacancy leaves Democrats pushing to have her spot filled after the election and Republicans hoping to push through a Trump-appointed nominee for a judge who will likely serve for several years to come.

Jere Eaton, of Stamford, said Ginsburgs willingness to go against the grain and her famous dissents stood out to her.

I think a lot more people have got to start dissenting, she said. Because weve been going along with the status quo for so long that I think thats the reason why were seeing a lot of whats going on between Black Lives Matter, through whats happening at the deportation areas for people who are not citizens here, and then also for womens rights. And if we dont act more like Ruth Ginsburg, we could end up back to where we were in the 50s.

Bianca Shinn, a Stamford resident, is on the board of directors for the local League of Women Voters. She came out, wearing a pink shirt that said Women Can Do Anything because she said we have to fight, stay mobilized, feet on the ground, show up and vote.

Especially for communities of color, every election, were fighting for our rights on every ballot, she said. In this election, its like we were fighting in the 50s.

Rosalea Fisher, a retired educator who lives near the courthouse, also noted the significance of the coming election.

Ginsburg was her hero, Fisher said. She came wearing Ruth Bader Ginsburg socks showing the former justice lifting weights and wearing a sweatshirt that said Super Diva. She also had a mask that displayed Ginsburgs face among Marvel superheroes.

I have followed her career  everything Ive read about her I already knew, Fisher said. I think shes done an amazing job over the years for women and for everyone. And we needed her. I didnt want her to die before the election.

When Blumenthal delivered the closing remarks of the event, he recounted a story about how he argued three cases before her at the U.S. Supreme Court when he was the states attorney general. His biggest fear, he said, was that she would ask him questions.

And she did, he said. She asked me, in one of the most incisive, insightful questions  she asked me a question that actually rescued me from another question that Justice Scalia had asked me, by getting me out of a rabbit hole and back to the point, and thats my point. She always knew what was important. She always knew what was important in rights and liberties and human values.

He said he would fight to uphold that legacy. That includes her dying wish, he said  that a nominee not be confirmed to the court before the election.

As a member of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, I can pledge to you Im going to fight like hell, he said, the crowd drowning out his words with whoops and applause. We are going to take our case to the American people.
The Ajia Balogun Olubadan, Adegboyega Adegoke, has announced his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State.

Mr Adegoke contested for a House of Representatives seat for Ibadan North West/ Ibadan South-West district on the platform of the Accord Party (AP) in 2015.

He later joined the PDP to work for the victory of Governor Seyi Makinde in 2019.

But on Sunday while announcing his defection, Mr Adegoke said he has consulted all his political associates, leaders and supporters across the 33 local government areas of Oyo state.

He spoke while addressing his supporters at his office at Oke-Ado, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

A few days ago, there was a fake news story that I, Oloye Adegboyega Taofeek Adegoke, has decided to stay back in the PDP.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. I am in APC 100 per cent and will remain in the APC.

Please disregard any rumours or fake news. Just be calm, there is no cause for alarm as victory is certain by His grace, the politician said in a short statement to journalists about his meeting with his supporters.

Last week, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Oyo State governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2019 elections, Olufemi Lanlehin, also rejoined the APC.

Mr Lanlehins return to the APC is coming 18 months after he gave up his ambition to support Mr Makinde.

He is said to be angry that Mr Makinde did not keep to the terms of the accord that drew him the support of some of his rivals for the election.
BIRMINGHAM, Mich., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeffrey Fratarcangeli, managing principal of Fratarcangeli Wealth Management of Wells Fargo Advisor Financial Network, has been recognized in the top 100 of Forbes' America's Top 250 Wealth Advisors1 and Barron's Top Independent Advisors2 in the U.S. for 2020. Fratarcangeli was ranked No. 69 by Forbes and No. 37 by Barron's, which includes the top 100 advisors in the country.

Earlier this year, Forbes ranked Fratarcangeli third on its annual Best-In-State Wealth Advisor list3, making his practice the highest ranked single practitioner practice in Michigan. Since then, Fratarcangeli has moved up the list from third to second in the state according to Forbes.

"For the past 25 years, I have had the privilege of helping hundreds of clients pursue their personal and professional financial goals and preserve their wealth," said Fratarcangeli. "Since 2015, our practice's assets under management have doubled, and I attribute that growth to the trust we've earned from our clients, and our solid track record of helping clients navigate financial complexities and succeed."

This is the fourth consecutive year Fratarcangeli has been ranked among Forbes' Top Wealth Advisors and the sixth time he has been included in Barron's Top 1,200 Advisors4 ranking. Fratarcangeli has also been ranked among Financial Times' Top 400 Advisors5 since 2018.

The Forbes Top 250 Wealth Advisor ranking is developed by SHOOK Research and is based on an algorithm of qualitative criteria and quantitative data, including revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, industry experience and those that encompass best practices in their practices and approach to working with clients. According to Barron's, its ranking reflects the volume of assets overseen by the advisors and their teams, revenues generated for the firms, and the quality of the advisors' practices.

Fratarcangeli and his team manage more than $1.8 billion in assets as of Sept. 1, 2020, and his clients include high net-worth families, athletes and entertainers, publicly traded companies, foundations, government agencies and many more. The practice is comprised of 14 individuals with more than 100 years of combined experience. To learn more about Jeffrey Fratarcangeli and Fratarcangeli Wealth Management, visit www.fratarcangeliwealthmanagement.com or call 248.385.5050.

Investment and Insurance Products: - NOT FDIC Insured - NO Bank Guarantee - MAY Lose Value

Fratarcangeli Wealth Management:

Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. Fratarcangeli Wealth Management is a separate entity from WFAFN. [Practice Name] associates referenced, when registered, are registered with Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC.

2020 Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC. All rights reserved. CAR #0920-02018

1 The Forbes America's Top 250 Wealth Advisors ranking algorithm is based on industry experience, interviews, compliance records, assets under management, revenue and other criteria by SHOOK Research, LLC, which does not receive compensation from the advisors or their firms in exchange for placement on a ranking. Investment performance is not a criterion.

2 The Barron's Top 100 the ranking reflects the volume of assets overseen by the advisors and their teams, revenues generated for the firms, and the quality of the advisors

3 The Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors ranking algorithm is based on industry experience, interviews, compliance records, assets under management, revenue and other criteria by SHOOK Research, LLC, which does not receive compensation from the advisors or their firms in exchange for placement on a ranking. Investment performance is not a criterion.

4 The Barron's 1,200 Financial Advisors rankings are based on data provided by thousands of advisors. Factors include in the rankings were assets under management, revenue produced for the firm, regulatory record and client retention.

5 The Financial Times Top 400 Advisors rankings are based on data provided by investment firms. Factors include assets under management, experience, industry certifications, online accessibility and compliance record. Investment performance and financial advisor production are not explicit components.

SOURCE Fratarcangeli Wealth Management
According to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada, in April 2020 bankruptcies were down nearly 36 percent from the previous year. This may seem like good news, but the springtime decline in bankruptcies may be fleeting at best. Licensed Insolvency Trustee, John Adamson of Adamson & Associates, was recently interviewed by the London Free Press. He warns, Although bankruptcies are historically low now, businesses are hurting. I worry about the tsunami thats coming in the fall.

CERB payments and other government assistance have kept many unemployed Canadians afloat in the midst of the recent pandemic as they await the return of their jobs. For those who were struggling financially prior to the pandemic, deferred payments, too, offered a reprieve from many of the monthly bills. Once paychecks stopped coming, creditors could no longer garnish wages. With the courts closed, consumers couldnt file for bankruptcy either.

But once jobs return, CERB payments cease, and the cadence of life resumes, many people may discover that the economic implications of the pandemic are long-lasting.

Employment Challenges

The crisis in Ontario began in March 2020. The province has been among the hardest hit by measures to contain Covid-19. However, when restrictions started to ease in late May, employment rose by nearly 5.9 percent the following month. Also, the number of people working less than half their normal hours decreased by 6.5 points to 14.1 percent.

Current financial indicators show that employment is indeed rebounding in Ontario and throughout Canada. Although due to social distancing measures, its not an ideal time to be job hunting, companies are hiring. In April 2020, unemployment numbers in Canada dropped from 5.5 million to 3.1 million in mid-June. Prior to Covid-19, unemployment was 5.6 percent; by June it was 12.3 percent. Thats down from a high of 13.7 percent at its peak.

Many Canadians became discouraged or stopped trying to find employment during the pandemic. Going into June, there was renewed hope: the number of people who wanted a job and were actually looking increased by 12.6 percent.

Households with Too Much Debt

According to an Equifax study, consumer debt fell by .5 percent in the first quarter of 2020, bolstered by the 18 to 25-year-old age group. With the onset of the impending crisis, one of the first cuts made by consumers was to reduce spending in stores and restaurants. Although this may have taken the strain off some discretionary budgets, it certainly was not enough to make up for significantly reduced income.

Also, the study notes that there was no debt reduction for the most burdened group of all. For ages 46 to 55, already shouldering an average debt per person of $35,818, the amount of debt actually grew during the early days of the pandemic. Predictably, households that had too much debt before the pandemic are in even worse shape now.

Not Enough Savings

According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian household has only $852 in savings. This means that most Ontarians are only a paycheck away from the inability to pay their bills. In other words, they are perilously close to being insolvent. In fact, Licensed Insolvency Trustees expect bankruptcies to burgeon in the fall. Adamson agrees, adding Deferred payments allow people to put off dealing with their finances.

Life may have seemingly paused during the pandemic, but the bills did not disappear. From the moment that first paycheck resumes, creditors will start to call once again. For some people, it may seem impossible to catch up on their rent or mortgage, make amends for deferred bill payments, and resume all of the normal household expenses. Experts advise that now is the time for struggling consumers to reevaluate their financial situation.

Asked what advice Adamson can offer unemployed individuals with too much debt now, Adamson is measured in his response: It simply doesnt make sense to wait until you are employed once again, yet still struggling to catch up on payments and make ends meet.

Debt Solutions During Covid-19

Bankruptcy is not the only option. Licensed Insolvency Trustees are licensed by the federal government to assist consumers who are unable to meet their debt obligations. LITs are the only people in Ontario who can help with bankruptcy, consumer proposals, debt counselling and more. Its important to be proactive, though, particularly before the anticipated onslaught of consumers requiring debt relief threatens to overwhelm the court system.

Adamson & Associates have been helping consumers get out of debt since 1996. They have offices throughout Ontario. During this period of social distancing and caution due to the coronavirus, Adamson & Associates Trustees offer a free, no-obligation consultation by phone or video-conference at convenient times. For more information, call John Adamson at 1-519-310-JOHN(5646).

###
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers staged agitations on Monday at various stations on the suburban railway network, demanding the resumption of local train services for the general public. While some MNS members were detained, the Railways issued a statement saying train services were not affected.

Local trains have been suspended since March and a limited number of train services resumed in June for those working in essential services. On Monday, MNS staged agitations by boarding trains at various stations and protesting outside stations, demanding the resumption of regular train services. Local trains are the lifeline of the city and its time the government allowed the general public to travel in them, said MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande.

In Thane, MNS leader Avinash Jadhav and around 30 supporters were detained at Naupada police station for two hours. For the common man, getting to Mumbai for work regularly from Thane and beyond is very difficult. Not everyone can afford private vehicles. If buses can ply, why not trains? said Jadhav.

Twenty-four MNS workers protesting outside Kalyan station were also detained by police as were seven MNS workers at Ambernath. To avoid the police bandobast at Boisar station, some MNS workers walked along the tracks and boarded the train at Palghar. Senior police inspector Anil Sonawane of Palghar Government Railway Police said necessary action would be taken against them. Police were able to stop MNS protesters from boarding trains at Dombivli and Vashi.

In a statement issued on Monday, Central Railways said no overcrowding was reported and the trains had run on schedule.

State transport minister and Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab said train services were limited as a precautionary measure. We are unlocking in phases and being cautious. Our problem is that if we allow the full opening of train service and even if two people infected of Covid-19 travel in them, it will spread rapidly, said Parab. The final decision on the resumption of local train services would be taken by the ministry of Railways.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 21, 2020 - Although people of any age can become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, elderly patients face a higher risk of severity and death than younger patients. New research comparing the immune response among age groups, published this week in mBio, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, may help explain why. Older patients with the disease have lower frequencies of the immune cells needed to expel the virus from the body, the researchers found.

"Elderly people have more severe diseases compared to young people, and we found that the cytotoxic part of immune control is not as efficient to respond to the virus in older people," said virologist Gennadiy Zelinskyy, Ph.D., at the University Hospital Essen, in Germany. Zelinskyy led the new study.

He and his colleagues analyzed blood samples from 30 people with mild cases of COVID-19 to observe how T cells, which are necessary for recognition and elimination of infected cells, respond during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patient ages ranged from the mid-20s to the late 90s. In all patients, the investigators found that acute SARS-CoV-2 infections led to lower numbers of T cells in the blood of the patients, compared to healthy individuals.

This reduction has been one of many unwelcome surprises from COVID-19, said Zelinskyy. Most viruses, once inside the body, trigger an uptick in the immune system's expansion of T cells. These include "killer" T cells, which play a critical role in eradicating virus-infected cells. They produce cytotoxic molecules that destroy infected cells in the body. But if a person's immune system produces fewer of these T cells, said Zelinskyy, it will be less successful at fighting off a viral infection.

In the COVID-19 patient group studied by Zelinskyy and his colleagues, the researchers similarly found that the number of CD8+ T cells producing cytotoxic molecules in response to virus diminished with increased age, and that reduction was significantly higher, on average, in patients over 80. Moreover, the "killer" T cells from patients aged 80-96 produced cytotoxic molecules at a lower frequency than similar cells from younger patients.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus attaches to cells in the nose or mouth. From there, it may spread to the lungs and move on to other organs, triggering a life-threatening infection. "Cytotoxic T cells really fight for control during this acute phase of infection," Zelinskyy said. If an elderly patient's immune system produces fewer killer T cells, and these cells are inadequately armed, he said, they may be mounting an insufficient defense against SARS-CoV-2. The viral particles can continue to spread and, as a result, the infection worsens.

The new data suggest that cytotoxic T cells play a key role in control of early infections, but Zelinskyy cautioned that it's too soon to know if that connection can be harnessed to design an effective immunotherapy that uses these cells. In previous studies on viral infections in mice, his group found that a checkpoint inhibitor--an immunotherapy that activates killer T cells and effectively releases the brakes on the immune system--improved virus control at first but had the potential to later cause damage to the lungs and other organs. Further studies are warranted, he said, to better understand the potential risks and benefits of interfering with T cells as a way to control SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses.

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The American Society for Microbiology is one of the largest professional societies dedicated to the life sciences and is composed of 30,000 scientists and health practitioners. ASM's mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences.

ASM advances the microbial sciences through conferences, publications, certifications, educational opportunities and advocacy efforts. It enhances laboratory capacity around the globe through training and resources. It provides a network for scientists in academia, industry and clinical settings. Additionally, ASM promotes a deeper understanding of the microbial sciences to diverse audiences.
"Ho firmato una nuova ordinanza che estende l'obbligo di test molecolare o antigenico ai cittadini provenienti da Parigi e altre aree della Francia con significativa circolazione del virus".

Ad annunciarlo, su Fb, e il ministro della Salute Roberto Speranza. I dati europei, afferma Speranza, "non possono essere sottovalutati. L'Italia oggi sta meglio di altri Paesi, ma serve ancora grande prudenza per non vanificare i sacrifici fatti finora".

A preoccupare il Governo sono i dati elevatissimi dei contagi oltralpe, con oltre la meta dei dipartimenti dichiarati "zona rossa" per allerta coronavirus. E con le politiche attuate che non sembrano pero al momento restrittive come dovrebbero essere: nelle scuole e stato stabilito di mettere tutti gli alunni di una classe a casa solo dopo il terzo contagio positivo.

L'ordinanza di Roberto Speranza sara valida da domani. Ecco le Regioni della Francia indicate: Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi, Corsica, Hauts-de-France, le-de-France, Nuova Aquitania, Occitania, Provenza-Alpi-Costa azzurra.

Lo scorso 12 agosto, in un'altra ordinanza, il ministero ha gia previsto il test molecolare o antigenico, da effettuarsi con tampone, per chi arriva da Croazia, Grecia, Malta e Spagna. Ad oggi e inoltre previsto il divieto di ingresso e transito in Italia per chi nei quattordici giorni antecedenti ha soggiornato o transitato in 17 Paesi: Armenia, Bahrein, Bangladesh, Brasile, Bosnia Erzegovina, Cile, Kuwait, Macedonia del Nord, Moldova, Oman, Panama, Peru, Repubblica Dominicana, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo e Colombia.

 Riproduzione riservata

(Unioneonline/v.l.)
Thulluru : , Sep 21 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh police registered a case to unearth the unidentified criminals involved in the multi-city illegal money, Rs 117 crore, withdrawal attempt from the AP CM Relief Fund recently.

"A case has been registered in the Thulluru police station to investigate the AP CM Relief Fund scam," a police official confirmed to IANS.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has ordered the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials to go to the root of the case and unearth the details of the people involved in this massive racket.

Using forged cheques, conmen attempted to withdraw crores of rupees from the CM Relief Fund from New Delhi, Kolkata and Karnataka.

Using cheques sanctioned to three people of value Rs 16,000 and Rs 45,000, the accused people forged them to withdraw Rs 117 crore.

The massive transactions were averted when bank officials suspected something amiss with those transactions and did not process them after confirming with AP officials.

Meanwhile, all transactions of the AP CM Relief Fund account have been suspended for safety.
Immune Regulation Limited, a US and UK based clinical stage biotechnology company, closed a $40.6m Series B funding round.

The round was led by Morningside Ventures, alongside existing shareholders including London based 24Haymarket. The investment is structured in two tranches and includes an option for Morningside to invest further capital at a step up to the initial two tranches. In addition, Immune Regulation has raised 6m / $7.8m of advance subscription funds from private investors led by Metellus AG which has been applied to the issue of shares. Total aggregate funds equal 40.6m / $53.4m.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its efforts to develop drug product candidates that reset the immune system from a pro-inflammatory state to a balanced state, with the potential to achieve long term disease remission in autoimmune and allergic diseases.

Led by Jonathan Rigby, U.S. based Group CEO, Immune Regulation is a US and UK based clinical stage biotechnology company, pioneering new technologies for regulating and resetting the immune system and developing novel first-in-class therapies for inflammatory and immunological diseases. Its first-in-class immune resetting therapies, IRL201805 (1805) and IRL201104 (1104), have demonstrated unique efficacy and safety in pre-clinical and human studies without suppressing the immune system. These therapies exhibit short pharmacokinetic activity but reset the immune system from a pro-inflammatory to a regulatory state to induce disease remission in patients with allergic and immune mediated diseases, without the negative effects of chronic current therapies.

FinSMEs

21/09/2020
Niamey, Niger (PANA) - Niger's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Kalla Hankouraou, on Monday called on the international community to show more solidarity towards the countries most affected by the health crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the security crisis linked to terrorism and organized crime
Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping attends a meeting with delegates from the 2019 New Economy Forum at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on Nov. 22, 2019. (Jason Lee/Pool/Getty Images)

UK Ambassador to China Criticized Over Photo With Xis Book

The British ambassador to China has garnered a wave of criticism after she posted a photo of herself and her Chinese counterpart holding a book comprising speeches and writings of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The same book recently sparked controversy in Germany.

Caroline Wilson, the newly appointed British ambassador to China, met with the Chinese ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming before setting off to fill her new role in Beijing.

In a tweet on Sept. 16, the day of the meeting, Wilson posted a photo of herself holding the English translation of Xi Jinpings book, The Governance of China, with Liu.

Valuable meeting with @AmbLiuXiaoMing before heading to Beijing. We can and must work for ambitious UK-China collaboration, on climate, health, trade, engaging on trickier topics too. I look forward to supporting a mature, positive UK-China relationship, in line with UK values, Wilson wrote.

Lius Twitter post of the same event came with a generic photo of the two standing together but social distancing.

Wilsons choice of photo stunned Twitter users. Some, including many Hong Kong activists, called the photo disturbing, shameless, humiliating, and a spineless and immature start to her tenure.

Seriously, how could you be so naive to do such a picture? But not only take the picture, but then be so naive as to share it to the world, putting your nativity [sic] on display. Unless of course you only have an audience of one. CCP already has you pegged as a naive pushover, writer Richard Scotford wrote.

Have you asked your boss @DominicRaab that waving a book of Xi Jinping Thoughts is acceptable for a diplomat representing HM Government, the British people and the British value? Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Konga Hong Kong activists group, wrote on its Twitter account.

Some said the book was like the Chinese version of Mein Kampf, Hitlers autobiographical manifesto, and compared Wilson with Neville Chamberlain, the former British prime minister who shook hands with Hitler.

Some compared the book with Maos Little Red Book.

When John McDonnell waved Maos Little Red Book in his opening speech as Shadow Chancellor, he was slammed. I dont see why the UK Ambassador to China posing with Xi Jinping thought is any different, Johnny Patterson, director at Hong Kong Watch, wrote.

However, not everyone shared the same opinion regarding the diplomat.

Euripides L. Evriviades, the former Cypriot ambassador to the UK, praised Wilsons professional record.

Godspeed dear Caroline. Your diplomatic dexterity, accomplishments, outstanding professional skills & personal qualities will be a huge benefit in bridging the gap between theory & practice. Stay safe. Stay optimistic. Look over the horizon. @DominicRaab @PhilipRBarton @FCDOGovUK, he wrote.

Chinese ambassador Liu Xiaoming said he hoped Wilson will play an active and important role in promoting China-UK relations.

Glad to meet Caroline Wilson CMG @CWilsonFCO, the 13th British Ambassador to China and the 3rd I will be working with. I congratulated her on her appointment and hoped that she will play an active and important role in promoting China-UK relations, Liu wrote on Twitter.

A spokesperson from the British Foreign Office defended Wilsons tweet, telling the Voice of America that the UK has a policy of engagement with China and our approach will remain consistent even if difficulties emerge.

We must have a calibrated approach and use engagement to raise matters on which the UK cannot agree or compromise with China, including on human rights and Hong Kong, the spokesperson said.

Between 2012 and 2016, Wilson served as the consul general to Hong Kong and Macao. She told HKFP at the end of her tenure that the one country, two systems principle had been a remarkable achievement since there had only been one breach of it.

Flagrant Chinese Propaganda

Xis book was published in 2014 in nine languages, before being translated into more. The Chinese, English, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Japanese versions of the book were launched at The Frankfurt Book Fair in the same year.

In Germany, over 160 members of Parliament received the book from Chinese officials. Critics recently said that its a blatant propaganda campaign by the Chinese regime, DW reported on Saturday.

The book came under scrutiny after Monika Li, who describes herself as a Sino-expert and lover of Chinese culture, posted on Twitter her recent experience in a Berlin bookshop, DW said.

Li was overjoyed when she found a whole shelf of books about China on the third floor of the Thalia bookshop in Alexanderplatz, Berlin, before she saw The Governance of China among books about the Chinese new year and various novels.

After talking to staff, she found out the shelf was managed by an external merchandiser and does not hold books critical of the Chinese regime, which are in a different location in the shop. Li eventually found those books on an obscured shelf, but none of them had words related to Xinjiang or Taiwan in the title. Li thought that the unbalanced arrangement was de facto support for the Chinese regimes propaganda.

Thalia told DW on Saturday that the merchandiser is China National Publications Import and Export (Group) Co. Ltd. (CNPIEC), a state-owned business with over 40 branches in China and abroad.

A statement Thalia sent to DW said the time-limited experimental cooperation in three of its branches is aimed at serving the Chinese community and others interested in China.

The Chinese Partner would suggest the books, and Thalias management would then need to evaluate and approve the suggestions, Claudia Bachhausen, a spokeswoman for Thalia, said in the statement. She said the shop would feature books critical of China, which would not be affected by the experiment.

German media RND quoted Karla Paul, a spokesperson for the online bookshop Mojoreads, saying that this kind of merchandising, where publishers pay bookshops to have their books displayed in a more prominent spot, is common practice.

Politician Dagmar Schmidt told RND that, in an open society, this kind of practice cannot be prevented, but that there should be greater transparency about the sponsor. She argued that rather than selling books, CNPIEC collaborated with Thalia to increase Chinas visibility in Germany.

The Chinese regime wont allow literature or institutions reflecting Germanys values into the Chinese market, meanwhile, Beijing wants to push the boundaries in Germany, Schmidt said. Thalia must consider if it wants to support this.

The Chinese regime is taking advantage of the open society that we are proud of in Germany, Schmidt said, but we are not allowed in China.

According to DW, German politician Michael Brand said the Chinese regime posted Xis book to over 160 German members of Parliament in 2018, and requested they send back photos of the book in their offices. Brand, who was denied entry to China to visit Tibet, said the move was shameless.

Alexander Zhang contributed to this report
Bengaluru, Sep 22 : Heavy rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in Karnataka's coastal, southern and central districts for the third consecutive day on Monday, disrupting normal life, an official said.

"As the southwest monsoon remained intense, heavy and widespread rains with gusty winds caused flash floods in Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamgaluru, Hassan and Shivamogga districts," a state Disaster Management Authority official told IANS here.

The torrential rains also inundated villages, submerged houses in low-lying areas and caused landslides in the Western Ghat section, disrupting vehicular traffic and bringing down power lines.

"Heavy rains in the catchment areas have turned rivers and their tributaries in the regions in spate, forcing the authorities to advise the people living on banks or in the vicinity to safer and higher places," said the official.

With most reservoirs/dams across rivers Cauvery, Kabini, Hemavathy, Tunga, Bhadra, Harangi and Krishna filling up to the brim, the state Water Resources Department released excess water from them, leading to heavy outflows in the downstream, flooding several areas and submerging roads and bridges.

As the situation in the worst-hit Udupi remained grim, teams of State Disaster Response Force and the National Disaster Response Force were deployed to rescue the stranded people in the temple town and villages in the coastal district.

"The teams have evacuated hundreds of people from their houses flooded with rain water and shifted them to about 30 relief centres set up in the town by the district administration, with food, drinking water and medicines," the official said.

Udupi Deputy Commissioner G. Jagadeesha visited the affected areas and supervised the rescue and relief operations in the town and villages.

In Dakshina Kannada district, several houses and buildings were submerged and vehicular movement was disrupted due to relentless rains since Saturday.

As the weather office has forecast heavy rainfall and gusty winds over the next two days, the district administration has warned fishermen from venturing into the Arabian Sea.

With the Cauvery catchment areas receiving copious rain, the water level in the Kabini dam in Mysuru district reached full level of 2,284 feet.

With heavy rains lashing Kodagu, the inflow into the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam across Cauvery at Srirangapatna in Mandya district continued to rise since Sunday.

As the water level in the dam reached the maximum level (124 feet), the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd released 37,000 cusecs of water into the river.
London, United Kingdom (CNN Philippines Life)  I never thought I would write that book, Cinelle Barnes says. A Filipina author, who has been in the United States since her late teens, Barnes released Monsoon Mansion in 2018, a memoir of her early life in the Philippines, and then very quickly after, Malaya: Essays on Freedom in 2019. This year, she edited the anthology A Measure of Belonging: Twenty-One Writers of Color on the New American South, which comes out October.

It was really hard to write, Barnes says of Monsoon Mansion, which took her six years to complete. In contrast, she worked on Malaya for about six months after the positive reception of her Monsoon, which is a collection of essays about what came after her escape from a tumultuous childhood life. Living in a mansion with servants, her family fell into hard times from a series of events both natural and man made: the Gulf War impairs her fathers petrochemical business, a monsoon destroys the house, and her mother takes a relationship with an opportunistic lover, who turns their house into dangerous place that involves cockfighting and prostitutes. Between having to confront all the trauma these events have caused her and giving birth to her first child, Barnes was in constant negotiation between her past with her mother and her present as one.

Before she started writing it, she was a nightlife correspondent for a small paper, and her beat was on lifestyle and enjoyment. She was also in grad school, for creative writing at Converse College. Barnes was told that, despite writing about fairly innocuous things, Theres always an edge to everything you write.

One of her MFA assignments was to write about something shed never told anyone about. For Barnes, it was her childhood. And if it helps, she was told by her professor, I want you to draw a map of this place. Mark an X. And so, she wrote about her childhood, and the story shed long suppressed, whether consciously or not, began to take shape.

Monsoon Mansion takes into account how meaningful a place can be, especially one as sprawling as the house that Barnes grew up in in Antipolo, with her father, her mother, her half brother, and a whole cast and crew of helpers and strangers. Tied to this place are memories of neglect, abandonment, family (for better and worse), and survival.

Barnes talks about memory as a tangible thing. Its literally DNA, she says of memory cells, recounting how these pass through you, from one generation to the next, especially through motherhood. Its you literally birthing memories.

The writing process for her memoir awakened a dormant volcano of deep-seated energy. Youre not going to write your best story unless you write about this, her husband told her. I dont know how to help you other than to tell you to write. In between nursing and caring for their newborn baby, Barnes wrote on 3 x 5 index cards and recorded voice notes on an iPhone 4. At the end of it, she had three shoeboxes full of cards, and an oral history that was waiting to be put together like a puzzle. Barnes calls this a gift to herself and her daughter.

I tell her that, despite the many horrendous things that had happened in her memoir, and so in her own life, its uplifting how this story gives way to something beautiful. The story in Monsoon Mansion isnt complete, but it gives way for relief and escape; the next chapter of her life is about rebuilding a new one away from the home shes come to know intimately.

Barnes moved to the United States in 2003, after being adopted by an aunt. She went to an arts honors high school and described her uprooting to be really hard.

It was hard to explain to an insular community that we Filipinos werent backwards, she says. Nothing registers. She talks about how little her schoolmates knew about the world beyond theirs, how they were surprised to know that she knew what McDonalds was. Between 16 and 17, Barnes, who left the life she had rebuilt after escaping her traumatic one, isolated herself in the library and read everything.

Barnes considers her memoir as a reaching out to Southeast Asia, sort of like a channel for themselves. I had books for me growing up, she says, and so Monsoon Mansion and Malaya are extensions of stories of something internal. For her, the publication of these books was a sign that someone out there needed to read them, an affirmation of them not being alone, and so, in effect, of her not being alone either.

Although Barnes story seems, at turns, really quite out of this world and in some ways cinematic, in the first week of the publication of Monsoon Mansion, she received correspondence from people saying things like, This was my childhood, too. My family lost everything, too.

Its not something I talk about because I dont think anyone would believe me, she says.

Since moving abroad, she hasnt been back to the Philippines, and was hoping to go home in May of this year, for festival season, when the pandemic struck. Aside from research for her next book  largely circulating around the water crisis in Manila, how it is commercialized and how social stratification in the metropolis surrounds and is surrounded by water  she wanted for her daughter to have an impression of the place where she was born before she turns 10 years old.

Its been a heavy, anxious few months, resulting in really bad back pain. Barnes is a writer and a mother, but she thinks about other Filipinos who live away from home and from their families, separated by miles and miles of water and nothing, and she wonders, How much pain does the Filipino body carry?

The National Anthem comes up, and we both get emotional, with her tearing up as she says, duyan ka ng magiting. She says that the Philippines is your cradle, wherever you go. She says that she talks to her daughter about martial law, or about the work her father did in the Middle East, because things as such were parts of their family histories and they naturally come up. She tells her about her Lolo Ding and his tent in the desert sand.

Filipinos can be chameleons, to their detriment, she says. Many immigrants employ survival tactics, where they work towards assimilating into a new culture. This often leads to an erasure of identity, especially if there isnt a particularly strong hold over you in the first place. Barnes mentions cultures like that of Nigerians and Latinx, for example, where they are so engulfed in their own identities and histories, and mostly evade the trap of white-aspiring narratives that Filipinos are prone to falling into. She talks in awe about Ruby Ibarra, a Filipino-American rapper who is upfront about her identity as a Filipino, whatever that may mean to her.

Its possible to long after something youve never experienced, she says. Many first generation Filipino immigrants are estranged from the Filipino side of their makeup, longing for a home theyve never even been to. Barnes talks about DNA again, the passing on of something intangible, tangibly, physically, viscerally, to someone else through your body. It might be why the pull is strong, especially for these first generation Filipino immigrants, because aside from their family lives, there may be no physical markers of identity within their reach.

Technology helps us a lot to connect now, even from her ensconced home in an affluent part of South Carolina, but its still not the same as being able to breathe the air, touch the earth, see a different sunset, eat a mango and have it taste the way you remember it.

The wind blows differently back home, she tells me.
HALIFAXIndigenous chiefs in Nova Scotia are calling on the federal government to denounce what they described as racism and violence directed toward the Mikmaq people following a weekend of tension in St. Marys Bay.

Nova Scotia Mikmaq chiefs met with Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan and with Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett Monday morning, a day after a flotilla of non-Indigenous fishermen removed about 350 lobster traps off the coast of southwestern Nova Scotia.

Non-Indigenous fishers and citizens are putting the safety of our people at risk, Chief Terrance Paul said in a statement following the meeting.

The federal government and the RCMP, he said, must address the harassment and illegal activities taken against our people and they must enforce and charge those who to are cutting and stealing our traps, shooting flares at our boats, and threatening the lives of our people.

The chiefs said they told the fisheries department the seized traps must be returned to Indigenous harvesters. Minister Jordan did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Sipeknekatik First Nation say its people have a treaty right to fish at any time. Non-Indigenous fishermen say the First Nation is illegally fishing off-season.

A 1999 Supreme Court decision affirms the treaty rights of Mikmaq people to fish for a moderate livelihood. Rhonda Knockwood, director of operations for Sipeknekatik First Nation, said the federal government needs to clearly define the treaty rights of the Mikmaq people to earn a living off fishing.

She said the tensions between the two groups is a culmination of years of frustration with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and its deliberate dithering and underhanded tactics surrounding the negotiations to define a moderate livelihood and implementation of the treaties.

Knockwood said since the traps were taken Sunday, the First Nations lobster harvest was too small to present to buyers. Its not even worth selling, she said in an interview Monday. Were just consuming it as our food in ceremony now.

Colin Sproul, president of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermens Association, said the action taken Sunday by the non-Indigenous fishermen was necessary to remove the illegal traps. He said the lobster-fishing season in St. Marys Bay doesnt start until the last Monday of November every year.

Lobster fishing in the area is closed from May 31 until late November, Sproul explained in an interview Monday, to allow the crustaceans to safely mate during their reproductive period, as the lobsters shells moult and soften during this time.

Sproul said Sundays flotilla removed the gear unmolested under the watch of RCMP, coast guard boats and police helicopters.

The gear that we were collecting was what was in violation of the law, Sproul said. Theres nothing more to show that fishermen have the true, just, lawful position here than the fact that we conducted that activity yesterday and nobody stopped us.

He said his association respects Indigenous treaty rights but it doesnt think its appropriate to fish off-season in a nursery ground such as St. Marys bay.

Paul, however, said Indigenous treaty rights exist alongside the rules set out by the federal government. The public may not comprehend a fishery outside the realm of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, that does not make our fishery illegal.

We called on Canada to help educate the public on the truth and to address the systemic racism that has been a major part in denying our ability to exercise our rights.

On Monday, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said in a statement that the province recognizes the treaty rights of the Mikmaq First Nation but he admitted many of the details surrounding the nature and extent of those rights are not clear.

Clarification, he said, is best addressed through open and respectful dialogue.

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For evangelical Christians, it is difficult to look at major developments in the Middle East without wondering about biblical prophecy. Should we rejoice over the historic peace treaty between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain? Or is this leading to a dangerous, false peace that will only hasten the reign of the antichrist?

Lets first recognize just how historic this peace treaty actually is.

For 30 years, from 1948 until 1978, not a single Middle Eastern nation made peace with Israel. It was not until 1979 that Egypt made that historic move, ultimately factoring into the assassination of the courageous Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat.

The next Middle Eastern (and Muslim) nation to make peace with Israel was Jordan in 1995, 16 years later. Since then, not a single Islamic, Middle Eastern nation has made peace with Israel. That is, until now, 25 years later.

Not only so, but this is the first time ever that two nations signed peace treaties on the same day. So, what previously took 47 years (from 1948 to 1995) took place in a matter of hours. This is completely beyond anything we have seen in the modern history of Israel.

Not only so, but this happened after President Trump moved our embassy to Jerusalem and after he officially recognized Israels possession of the Golan Heights. This makes the peace treaty all the more remarkable.

Lets not forget that, for years we were told that for America to make such moves would be disastrous, leading to an all-out war with the Muslim world. Instead, the aftermath has been a path of peace.

Thats why Boaz Bismuths article on Times of Israel was titled, The Event That Will Change the History of the Middle East. He wrote, Even in a pandemic, we can allow ourselves to rejoice at the first open, warm peace between Israel and Arab countries, and ignore the cynics who are seeking to downplay the importance of today's events.

Obviously, the Palestinians are anything but happy with the treaty. And the details of the agreement must be carefully analyzed.

But what cannot be denied is the magnitude of this treaty, which is being hailed as the Abraham Accords. As one of the official documents states, this development will help lead to a future in which all peoples and all faiths can live together in the spirit of cooperation and enjoy peace and prosperity where states focus on shared interests and building a better future.

Yet it is words like this that cause some prophecy-minded evangelicals to say, Not so fast! After all, there will be no true peace in the Middle East until Jesus returns. Plus, there are prophetic scriptures that speak of a false peace orchestrated by the antichrist that will lull the world to sleep, leading to the slaughter of millions. Beware!

Scriptures that would come to mind include 1 Thessalonians 5:3, where Paul wrote, While people are saying, Peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Also relevant is Ezekiel 38:11-12, where the hostile nations will say about Israel, I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.

Who could imagine the nation of Israel described as a peaceful and unsuspecting people  all of them living without walls and without gates and bars? Who could imagine Israel putting its guard down?

Yet, according to some prophecy teachers, this passage will be fulfilled at the end of this age. In that light, shouldnt the Abraham Accords, which Trump described as the dawn of a new Middle East, be viewed with great suspicion, especially if 5 or 6 other nations follow suit and join the peace process?

As someone who has been studying the Bible intensively for the better part of the last 50 years, I can say with absolute confidence that I do not know.

I do not know if this will prepare the way for the antichrist.

I do not know if this will ultimately hurt Israel more than it helps Israel.

But what I do know is that Jesus said, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9).

What I do know is that Paul wrote, If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18).

What I do know is that it is better for Israel to have more friends than more enemies.

That being said, if sudden and dramatic peace came to the Middle East, I would be both hopeful and cautious.

Would this be the result of decades (if not centuries) of prayer and years of diplomacy? Or would it be the first step towards a dangerous, one-world government that will ultimately oppose God Himself?

Obviously, only God knows. But when it comes to making national decisions, they must be based on pragmatism more than prophecy. Thats because religious believers from all backgrounds have often misinterpreted prophecy before it unfolds, often wrongly predicting the end of the world or the return (or coming) of the Messiah.

But speaking of prophecy, this same Bible I have been quoting speaks of the day when nations like Egypt and Assyria (today, Iraq) will join together and worship the God of Israel after a time of great upheaval and judgment. As stated by the prophet Isaiah, In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance. (Isaiah 19:24-25)

In fact, Isaiah prophesied about other Arabian nations turning to the God of Israel through the Messiah (see Isaiah 42:11; 60:7)

And so, while only the Lord Himself knows the implications of this important peace treaty, at the least, lets be glad that leaders are meeting together rather than killing each other. And let us see the Abraham Accords as a reminder of the day when all the nations of the earth will come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord (Isaiah 2:1-4).

May He hasten that day!
Companies have reduced their MBAs hiring dramatically in 2020, rescinding and renegotiating offers, reducing internships, and leaving vacancies unfilled  a not-unexpected consequence of an unprecedented global health crisis and economic contraction. Poets&Quants has covered this phenomenon more closely than any media outlet; see two of many examples here and here. But MBAs fretting about their job prospects now have data that suggests the bad times may end with this disruptive, chaotic year.

The Graduate Management Admission Council released its 2020 Corporate Recruiters Survey today (September 21), and the annual trove of data on MBA hiring shows that while companies continue to play defense as the coronavirus heads toward its eighth month, they are optimistic about renewed levels of recruitment in 2021. Before the upheaval of Covid-19, 92% of firms stated their intention to hire MBAs in 2020, a number that dipped by a historic amount to 77% in post-COVID sampling. Now, GMAC reports, the data show that nearly 90% plan to hire MBAs in the new year.

In other words, back to normal. Almost.

Everything is so uncertain, but our projections based on what recruiters are thinking at this point of time show optimism for MBA hiring in 2021, Rahul Choudaha, GMACs director of industry insights and research communications, tells P&Q.

RECRUITERS READY TO SCOOP UP THE BEST TALENT IF THINGS START PICKING UP

Rahul Choudaha. GMAC photo

Last years GMACs Corporate Recruiters Survey, conducted in spring 2019, found that demand for MBAs would remain high throughout 2019 and that MBAs were pulling in  and were likely to continue pulling in  record pay. This years survey was on track to report similar findings as GMAC wrapped up its data collection in March. Then  chaos. Choudaha, who joined GMAC that month, says that he and his team recognized the need to go back to phones if they wanted more relevant insights about the economic impacts of Covid-19 across hiring and salary trends.

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The new numbers  collected in what GMAC calls Wave II  took more time to gather and delayed the release of the survey for about two months. But they were worth it, Choudaha says, providing deeper perspective on the skills employers are looking for as organizations continue to grapple with economic downturn. In particular, GMAC found that even amid the disruption of a global pandemic, the skills that MBAs bring to the table remain highly valued.

When the world is all going upside down in such a short period of time, having the level of confidence in these skills of the graduates shows something about the belief that when things stabilize, when things start recovering, recruiters are ready to bring the talent back into their hiring pool, he says. So that level of confidence was something of a surprise and also an interesting finding from this report, and related to the optimism for 2021.

Recruiters are seeing that, OK, yes, today and now and in the next few weeks and months, things are very unstable. We still dont know how this will unfold, but they want to be primed up. They want to be ready as things take the shape for recovery. They dont want to be the last one to look for the talent because as we know, the pre COVID world was pretty much the full employment world. So this is a time for them to really scoop up the best talent if things start picking up.

Will a resumption of normal MBA recruitment levels mean hiring 2020 graduates who may still be out of work next year?

Great question, Choudaha says. In the research, we did not directly capture that element. And so this would be my conjecture, but we can see that there is a great research in terms of demand and supply of the talent. So if there is a carryover of talent from this graduating class and some of them may still be available for the next class, or maybe looking for a more optimum fit for their career next year, there will be possibly a better supply of talent.

And on the other side, we found one skillset that stood out as one that is expected to be more sought-after next year: the ability to adapt to technological disruption. And what that shows is that some of the talent from this class will be picked up, but it also could be that the skillsets with the new class  because of the new learning models, new environment, new context  will make them also very promising. So there are pros and cons to it that wont be one universal scenario for a grad, but I would say that, OK, theres a big reset of demand and supply coming in for the next year.

ABOUT THOSE SKILLS

GMAC CEO Sangeet Chowfla

GMACs annual survey was conducted this year in partnership with MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance, the European Foundation for Management Development, and Highered. In the survey, a total of 135 business schools worldwide registered for Wave I, which was fielded between February 17 and March 17. Because of the initial survey closing right at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, GMAC fielded a second wave of the survey that ran from June 17 to July 17. All schools and employers participating in Wave I were invited to participate in Wave II. An additional 12 business schools registered.

A total of 232 employers responded to Wave II of the Corporate Recruiters Survey, significantly fewer respondents than the 712 recruiters responding to the initial Wave I survey, GMAC says in a news release, with several likely factors to blame including continuing uncertainty posed by Covid-19 which may have prompted several recruiters to abstain from responding. Those who did respond, however, provided a vivid snapshot of the overall estimation of MBAs value. To sum up: Employers still love what MBAs bring to the table. Before Covid-19, 90% of respondents indicated they were highly confident or confident about the ability of B-schools to prepare students for success in their organization. That figure held steady at 87% in surveying performed this summer, highlighting the attractiveness of MBA degree holders and their ability to perform in times of transition and change, GMAC reports.

Talent in an organization is vital to growth and a firms ability to innovate, a reality in any environment, says Jay Nibbe, GMAC board member and global vice chair for markets at EY. The skills highlighted in this report represent significant competitive differentiation when it comes to a companys ability to compete and create value in the marketplace, and they become even more important amid turmoil and constant change.

Adds Choudaha: GMACs research shows that even as the pandemic resets the global economy and job market, the confidence of corporate recruiters in the skills and abilities of graduate management talent is strong. This aligns with 2021s robust MBA hiring projections as organizations plan for their recovery in a post-Covid world, which demands meta-skills integral to managerial talents such as versatility and strategic thinking.

Sangeet Chowfla, GMACs president and CEO, agrees with Choudaha that corporations and schools alike see Covid-19 as a catalyst that is making better MBAs.

When thinking about the skills and experience required to help organizations and industries rebuild after an event like Covid-19, it makes sense that employers are expressing a desire to hire more MBA and business masters graduates, says Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC. The world was changing rapidly even before the current pandemic and while Covid-19 has brought with it perhaps unprecedented challenges across every sector, B-school classrooms have long been preparing MBA students for a dynamic and often uncertain environment. Employers place a premium on that kind of talent and perspective.

SALARY TRENDS: MEDIAN COMPENSATION DROPS BY $10K

Compensation, meanwhile, is under pressure at all levels, GMAC reports, as companies focus on sustainability and as talent demand and supply shifts in favor of employers.

For those members of the Class of 2020 fortunate enough to secure employment, most recruiters say they intend to honor their organizations compensation promises; only a minority of respondents say they will reduce salaries, benefits, or bonuses of those already hired. Nevertheless, the compensation premium commanded by business management graduates has fallen. Pre-Covid, the median salary of MBA degree-holders was $115,000, which is still 75% more than those with only a bachelors degree; however, that figure decreased to $105,000 in post-Covid surveying. GMAC reports that the compensation premium is even more apparent for Fortune 100 companies and the big-three industries of hire for MBA graduates: consulting, finance, and technology. For example, at $145,000, the median salary of MBAs in the consulting industry is twice that of bachelors-degree holders as indicated in data collected prior to March 17. At $115K median for both finance and tech, the premium is less pronounced but still undeniable.

For salary, what we can see is that based on recruiters projections for now, it is looking pretty stable, Choudaha says. Wave I to Wave II, there has been a decline for MBAs in terms of the median salary from $115,000 to $105,000. So there is clearly a decline for MBA base salary within this year. GMAC did not ask for salary projections in 2021, he adds.

GMAC plans a webinar October 1 with industry experts to discuss its report and the implications for business schools and employers.

DONT MISS: B-SCHOOL CANDIDATES CONCERNS OVER JOB PROSPECTS SKYROCKETS or GMAC PAINTS VIVID PICTURE OF THE CHANGING FACE OF BIZ ED

The post After MBA Hiring Drop-Off In 2020, A More Optimistic Outlook For 2021 appeared first on Poets&Quants.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has endorsed US President Donald Trump for presidential elections scheduled in November 2020, citing forced moral imperialism of rival Democrats. In an essay carried by pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet, Orban wrote that they were forced to taste the foreign policy of Democrats but they didnt like it.

We root for Donald Trumps victory, because we are well aware of foreign policy of American Democratic governments based on moral imperialism. We have been forced to sample it before, we did not like it, we do not want a rehearsal, Orban wrote.

The nationalist leader faces a steep challenge in the next parliamentary elections due in early 2022 as the country braces for the impact of the second wave of coronavirus infections. He claimed that the international liberal elite was out to destroy Christian conservative in Europe, making his re-election decisive .

They prepare for a decisive battle in 2022, backed by the international media, Brussels bureaucrats, and NGOs disguised as civil organisations, he added.

Read: Hungary To Be Only EU Country To Attend Israel-UAE Accord Signing In Washington

Read: WWI Started On This Day In 1914 After Austria-Hungary Declared War On Serbia

Hungary's differences with EU

Recently, the European Union leaders decided to set no mechanism that could have forced Poland and Hungary to avoid implementing policies, which EU deem undemocratic, in order to receive money from the coronavirus recovery fund. Orban said that he prefers economic efficiency over European Union policies such as climate goals elevated to absurdity, a social Europe, common tax code and multicultural society.

In June, the top European Unions court ruled that the restrictions imposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on foreign-funded NGOs do not comply with EU law. The European Court of Justice said in a statement that Hungary's restrictions on the funding of civil organisations by persons established outside that member state do not comply with the Union law.

The Luxembourg-based court said that Hungary had introduced discriminatory and unjustified restrictions with regard to the organisations as well as the persons granting them financial support. It held that the restrictions run contrary to the obligations on the Member States in respect of the free movement of capital laid down in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Read: EU Deal's Ambiguous Conditions Could Embolden Nationalist Leaders Of Hungary, Poland

Read: Hungary: Thousands Protest Against Government In Budapest
Bengaluru, Sep 21 : Karnataka's Congress legislator BK Sangamesh from Bhadravathi has been admitted in a private city hospital after testing cornavirus positive , a party official said on Monday.

"As 55-year-old Sangamesh tested positive on Sunday, he was brought to Bengaluru from Shivamogga and admitted in the private hospital here for treatment," party spokesman Rajeev Gowda told IANS.

Bhadaravathi is about 280km northwest of Bengaluru in the southern state.

"It appears that the MLA got infected after four workers at his home in Shivamogga tested positive last week," Gowda said.

Entry to the MLA's house and office at Shivamogga was banned for a week on September 18 after the workers reported corona infection.

Sangamesh is the latest lawmaker to test positive even as the 8-day Monsoon Session of the legislture began on Monday at the Vidhana Soudha here.

Besides Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Cabinet Ministers K Gopalaiah, Byarathi Basavaraj and Prabhu Chauhan are undergoing treatment after testing positive last week.

State Congress legislator Priyank Kharge from Chittapur in Kalaburagi district in the state's northern region also tested positive on Friday after he gave swab sample for testing along with other lawmakers ahead of the Assembly session.

With a number of Ministers and lawmakers testing positive, the ruling BJP plans to curtail the session to 3-4 days from 8 days, as about 60 lawmakers were absent on the first day of the session in the Assembly and the Council on Monday.

The opposition Congress, however, sought an extension of the session as it wanted discussion on the amendment Bills to be moved in the House.

The Assembly has a strength of 225 members and the Council 75 members.
A rash, yeast infection, prolonged crying and interrupted sleep are a few of the side effects from a baby left in a soiled diaper.

But the financial stress of the COVID-19 pandemic has made diapers an unaffordable necessity for many families across Central New York.

The CNY Diaper Bank is hoping to ease families' stress through Diaper Awareness Week Sept. 21-27. This year, the event is going virtual with a 5K done by participants in their own time and a hashtag #EndDiaperNeed to help spread the word. A drive-thru distribution event is planned for Tuesday, Sept. 22; pre-registration is required.

This family is ready to RUN in their race tees! The Diaper Run-Virtual 5k kicks off for National Diaper Need Awareness... Posted by CNY Diaper Bank on Friday, September 18, 2020

As the country reached record unemployment during the pandemic  with the Syracuse rate at 13% in July  the local diaper bank started drive-thru pickups to meet the demand for families in need, and increased donations to partner agencies like Planned Parenthood, Vera House and Huntington Family Centers.

As a mother of three and founder of the volunteer-run CNY Diaper Bank, Michela Hugo understands how unaffordable diapers can be for many. Even a pack of 136 diapers from Walmart is sold for about almost $40, a cost out of reach for many families. This leads some to buy smaller packs at a time, which costs more in the long run.

There were lots of families who found themselves experiencing diaper need for the first time because they had lost jobs or lost hours or any number of economic crisis that was caused by the shutdown, Hugo said.

And we know were not reaching the full need. Theres so much more we can do, which is one of the reasons were raising money: to keep increasing the number of diapers we can get out to the community.

The diaper bank has been distributing more than 185,000 diapers a month  almost double the amount donated in previous years. While some goods like food or juice are covered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits, diapers are not.

Hugo said this is because diapers are categorized with other personal hygiene and cleaning products that arent covered, but that a lack of them can cause added stress during child development.

Its just a big gap in the safety net, Hugo said. Its just a terrible situation. A lot of them are choosing between spending their limited funds on food for their families or diapers.

The runs registration fee goes entirely to the cost of diapers. Those interested can register on the diaper banks website at a price of $15 for youth and $25 for adults.

Were really just trying to be as impactful as we can to help as many families as possible, Hugo said.

We need diapers faster than our supplier can provide them! This is a great time to donate size 4 diapers and size 4T5T... Posted by CNY Diaper Bank on Tuesday, September 8, 2020

How to help

There are a variety of ways to help the CNY Diaper Bank.

Donations can be dropped off at the large purple collection bin outside the nonprofits Liverpool headquarters at Pioneer Warehousing and Distribution, 4645 Crossroads Park Drive.

New packages of diapers are accepted, along with opened packages; clean, loose leftover diapers; cloth diapers (including wet bags, pail liners and other cloth diaper accessories); adult briefs, pads and feminine hygiene products; infant formula and baby food; baby soaps, lotions and ointments; wipes; and laundry detergent.

The nonprofit also has wishlists set up at Target and Amazon.

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The richest one per cent of people in the world are disproportionately to blame for climate change, a study has found.

Researchers assessed the relationship between carbon emissions and individual income and found the top one per cent emits 5.4 gigatonnes of CO2 a year.

In contrast, the poorest half of the world  3.1 billion people  emits just 2.5 gigatonnes, less than half that of the world's uber-wealthy.

Researchers say the posh penchant for private planes, jet-setting lifestyles and gas guzzling vehicles is driving inequality in carbon emissions, with the poorest likely to pay the heaviest price despite barely contributing to the ongoing climate crisis.

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Carbon emissions broken down by income between 1990 and 2015 Global Income groups Cumulative emissions (GtCO2) Cumulative emissions (%) Top 0.1% 32 4 Top 1% 111 15 Top 10% 372 52 Middle 40% 299 41 Bottom 50% 51 7 Total 722 100

This graph, called in the report the 'carbon inequality dinosaur' shows emission growth between 1990 and 2015. Population is shown along the bottom and the size of the red bar shows increase in total emissions (as a percentage of total global emissions increase)

Despite a sharp decrease in carbon emissions due to the pandemic, the world remains on pace to warm several degrees this century.

The impact of this will be catastrophic and threaten poor and developing nations with the full gamut of natural disasters and displacements.

An analysis led by Oxfam and the Stockholm Environment Institute analysed how emissions ballooned between 1990 and 2015.

It found that, on average, a person that is fortunate enough to earn enough money to be in the world's top one per cent creates 74 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year, on average.

However, each person from the poorest 50 per cent of the world creates an average of just 0.69 tonnes a year.

For the top 0.1 per cent, the billionaires of the world, this per capita figure soars to 216.7 tonnes of CO2 each, per year.

Danny Sriskandarajah, Oxfam GB chief executive, said: 'The over-consumption of a wealthy minority is fuelling the climate crisis and putting the planet in peril.

'No one is immune from the impact but the world's poorest are paying the heaviest price despite contributing least emissions as they battle floods, famines and cyclones.'

The project focused on how carbon emissions have changed since 1990 in a bid to find areas where cuts to consumption can have the most impact in order to help reach the targets outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The Paris climate deal commits nations to limit global temperature rise to 'well below' two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

This 'champagne glass' graph shows the difference in carbon emissions depending on income. The dashed green line shows the distribution of CO2 emissions in 1990, while the solid red line shows CO2 emissions in 2010. Population is arranged vertically and share of global carbon emissions is shown horizontally

Researchers say the penchant for private planes, jet-setting lifestyles and gas guzzling vehicles among the wealthy is helping drive inequality in carbon emissions, with the world's poorest likely to pay the heaviest price despite barely contributing to the ongoing climate crisis (file photo)

Aviation accounts for 3.5% of human's impact on global warming Aviation's impact on global warming has doubled in the past two decades, according to a new study. Using computer models, researchers found flying is responsible for about 3.5 per cent of humanity's contribution to climate change, and two-thirds of that is from contrails and other non-CO2 emissions. The team calculates that between 1940 and 2018, the worldwide aviation industry generated 26 billion tons of carbon dioxide - half of which was generated in the last 20 years. Although plans had been grounded during the coronavirus pandemic, experts warn that the near-total shutdown will have minimal impact in the long run. Research published this month in the journal Atmospheric Environment offers the first comprehensive environmental analysis of the aviation industry using a new metric called 'effective radiative forcing' (ERF). ERF calculates the increase or decrease in the energy coming from the sun and the energy emitted from the Earth since the pre-industrialized era. It factors in non-CO2 emissions like contrails, water vapor and nitrous oxide, and allows aviation's impact on climate change to be compared to other sectors, like shipping and ground transport. Advertisement

But emissions have continued to rise since then, and several analyses have warned that a thoroughly re-tooled global economy prioritising green growth is essential in order to meet the goals.

Oxfam's report found that, for this window, 52 per cent of all emissions (372 gigatonnes of CO2) came from the top ten per cent.

The top one per cent accounted for 15 per cent while the bottom half of earners contributed just seven per cent.

Highlighting an ever-widening 'carbon inequality', the analysis said the growth rate of the one per cent's emissions was three times that of the poorest half of humanity.

'It's not just that extreme economic inequality is divisive in our societies, it's not just that it slows the rate of poverty reduction,' Tim Gore, head of policy, advocacy and research, told AFP.

'But there is also a third cost which is that it depletes the carbon budget solely for the purpose of the already affluent growing their consumption.'

'And that of course has the worse impacts on the poorest and least responsible,' Mr Gore added.

With just 1C of warming so far, Earth is already battling more frequent and intense wildfires, droughts and super storms rendered more powerful by rising seas.

A previous study found many coastal regions will experience so-called 'once-a-century' weather catastrophes every year by 2050 due to global wearing created by greenhouse gas emissions.

Another found climate change is creating a 'perfect storm' of heatwaves, hurricanes and floods which is causing a collapse in biodiversity across the tropics.

Mr Gore said governments must put the twin challenges of climate change and inequality at the heart of any Covid-19 recovery plan.

'It's clear that the carbon intensive and highly unequal model of economic growth over the last 20-30 years has not benefited the poorest half of humanity,' he said.

'It's a false dichotomy to suggest that we have to choose between economic growth and (fixing) the climate crisis.'

Commenting on the Oxfam report, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, an environment activist and president of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad, said that climate change could not be tackled without prioritising economic equality.

'My indigenous peoples have long borne the brunt of environmental destruction,' said Ibrahim.

'Now is the time to listen, to integrate our knowledge, and to prioritise saving nature to save ourselves.'
People gathered at the Supreme Court building in Washington on Friday night after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Copyright 2020 the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell could soon be forever linked if the late Supreme Court justices death leads to the termination of the 44th presidents signature domestic policy achievement: the Affordable Care Act

All sides in the coming battle royale over how to proceed with filling the high court seat she left behind are posturing and pressuring, floating strategic possibilities and offering creative versions of history and precedent. Most Republicans in the Senate want to hold a simple-majority floor vote on a nominee Mr Trump says he will announce as soon as this week before the end of the calendar year. Democrats say they are hypocrites because the blocked a Barack Obama high court pick during his final year.

It appears Democrats have only extreme options as viable tactics from preventing confirmation hearings and a floor vote before this unprecedented year is up. Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday refused to rule bringing articles of impeachment against the president or even William Barr, his attorney general whom the Democrats say has improperly used his office to help Mr Trumps friends and use federal law enforcement unjustly against US citizens.

Unless Ms Pelosi pulls that politically dangerous lever, the maneuvering of the next few weeks most likely will end after Congress returns after the 3 November election with a high court with a 6-3 conservative bend. Analysts already are warning that conservatives appear months away from being able to partially criminalise abortion and also take down the 2011 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama care.

Democrats have sounded off since Ms Ginsburgs death to warn that millions of Americans could soon lose their health insurance, especially those with pre-existing conditions. Last year, 8.5m people signed up for coverage using the Affordable Care Act, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Healthcare in this country hangs in the balance, Joe Biden, who is the Democratic nominee for president and was vice president when Mr Obama signed the health plan now linked to his name into law, said on Sunday.

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Mr Biden accused Republicans of playing a game by rushing the process to replace Ms Ginsburg on the court because they are trying to strip healthcare away from tens of millions of families.

Doing so, he warned, would strip away their peace of mind because insurance providers would no longer be required to give some Americans policies. Should a 6-3 court decide to uphold a lower courts ruling that the 2011 health law be taken down, those companies would drop coverage completely for folks with pre-existing conditions, Mr Biden warned in remarks from Philadelphia.

If Donald Trump has his way, the complications from Covid-19  would become the next deniable pre-exinsting condition for millions of Americans. That means they would lose their health insurance and be forced to either pay for care out of their pocket or use credit lines. Both could force millions into medical bankruptcy or otherwise create dire financial hardships.

Mr Trump about a month ago promised to release a new healthcare plan that, if ever passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law, would replace Obamacare.

So far, however, he has yet to unveil that alleged plan.

Trump Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters last week that the White Houses Domestic Policy Council is leading the work on the plan. But when pressed for more details, she chose to pick a fight with a CNN reporter.

Im not going to give you a readout of what our healthcare plan looks like and whos working on it, Ms McEnany said. If you want to know, if you want to know, come work here at the White House.

When pressed, Ms McEnany said stakeholders here in the White House are working on a plan the president has promised for several years. And, as I told you, our Domestic Policy Council and others in the White House are working on a healthcare plan, she insisted, describing it as the presidents vision for the next five years.

The president frequently mentions healthcare during his rowdy campaign rallies, but only in general terms. He promises a sweeping plan that will bring costs down across the board and also protect those with pre-existing conditions. But he mostly brings it up to hammer Mr Obama and Mr Biden for pushing a flawed law that he has been forced to tinker with to make it function better for consumers.

Broad brush

His top spokeswoman echoed those broad strokes during a briefing on Wednesday.

In aggregate, its going to be a very comprehensive strategy, one where were saving healthcare while Democrats are trying to take healthcare away, she told reporters. Were making healthcare better and cheaper, guaranteeing protections for people with preexisting conditions, stopping surprise medical billing, increasing transparency, defending the right to keep your doctor and your plan, fighting lobbyists and special interests, and making healthier and making, finding cures to diseases.

If there is a substantive plan that would protect millions with pre-existing conditions and others affected by Covid-19, it would have made a fine backbone of Mr Trumps August Republican National Committee address in which he accepted his partys presidential nomination for a second time. But healthcare was not the major focus, even though it ranks in the top two issues  along with the economy  in just about every poll that asks voters to rank their priorities in deciding between Mr Trump and Mr Biden.

If there is a coming White House healthcare plan that would protect those with pre-existing conditions and prevent millions from losing coverage as the coronavirus pandemic is ongoing, the president is not using his campaign rallies at regional airport hangars to describe or promote it.

We will strongly protect Medicare and Social Security and we will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions, said at a campaign stop Saturday evening in Fayetteville, North Carolina, before pivoting to a completely unrelated topic: America will land the first woman on the moon, and the United States will be the first nation to land an astronaut on Nars, on Mars.

The push to install a conservative to replace the liberal Ms Ginsburg and the lack of any expectation Mr Trump has a tangible plan has given Democrats a new election-year talking point less than two months before all votes must be cast.

"Whoever President Trump nominates will strike down the Affordable Care Act, Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono told MSNBC on Sunday. It will throw millions of people off of healthcare, wont protect people with pre-existing conditions. It will be disastrous. Thats why they want to rush this."

Read more

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Joe Bidens campaign said Sunday that it entered September with $466 million in the bank together with the Democratic Party, providing Biden a vast financial advantage of about $141 million over President Donald Trump heading into the intense final stretch of the campaign.

The money edge is a complete reversal from this spring, when Biden emerged as the Democratic nominee and was $187 million behind Trump, who began raising money for his reelection shortly after he was inaugurated in 2017. But the combination of slower spending by Bidens campaign in the spring, his record-setting fundraising over the summer  especially after he named Sen. Kamala Harris of California as his running mate  and heavy early spending by Trump has erased the presidents once-formidable financial lead.

Trump and his joint operations with the Republican National Committee entered September with $325 million, according to Trumps communications director, Tim Murtaugh.

The Trump campaign pulled back on its television spending in August to conserve money, as some campaign insiders fretted about a cash crunch in the closing stretch of the campaign. But other officials argued that the Trump campaign would continue to raise heavily from small donors and that the cutbacks over the summer were shortsighted.

In the last four weeks of August, the Biden campaign spent $65.5 million on television advertising, compared with $18.7 million by the Trump campaign, according to data from Advertising Analytics.

Even after the reduction in TV ad spending, Federal Election Commission filings made public late Sunday showed Trumps campaign committee ended August having raised $61.7 million and spent $61.2 million, along with adding about $900,000 in debt.

Money in the candidates own committees, as opposed to the political partys account, is the most valuable of funds because election rules require those accounts to pay for certain types of spending, such as television ads.

Bidens campaign committee reported raising $212 million and spending $130.3 million  banking more than $80 million last month.

Democratic donations surged further over the weekend. Following the death of former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which opened a vacancy that could tilt the ideological bearing of the Supreme Court further to the right, contributors shattered records on ActBlue, the biggest online processing platform for the left.

Donors gave more than $100 million over the weekend after her passing.

Before the latest presidential disclosures were filed, some Republicans were questioning how a Trump campaign that has raised $1.3 billion since the beginning of 2019 with the Republican National Committee has already spent nearly $1 billion of those funds before the start of voting. Trump officials have repeatedly pointed to their bigger investment in ground operations (such as door-to-door canvassing) that Democrats have forgone during the pandemic as prudent spending that will provide a benefit as balloting begins.

Our early investment in states is going to move the needle in a way that Joe Bidens campaign just cant do, even if they tried starting now, Bill Stepien, Trumps campaign manager, told reporters this month.

An extraordinary influx of cash in August accounts for Bidens newfound financial lead, after he and the Republicans entered the month nearly neck and neck. The Biden campaign and his joint operations with the Democratic National Committee raised a record $364.5 million last month  more than any previous candidate has raised in a single month  while Trump brought in $210 million, their campaigns said.

Its hard to even get your head around the size and historic nature of this, Jennifer OMalley Dillon, Bidens campaign manager, said in a call with reporters this month. The cash-on-hand figure released by the campaign shows it spent about $192 million, barely over half of what it brought in last month.

Were going to have the resources, not just to go wide on our map but also to go deep within those states, Dillon said of the Electoral College battlegrounds.

Billionaires and very wealthy supporters continue to exert their influence on the race through super PACs, which have no limits on giving. New filings showed Kelcy Warren, an oil pipeline billionaire, gave $10 million to a pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action, along with $2 million from Diane Hendricks, a Wisconsin billionaire, and $1 million from three others.

On the Democratic side, Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City who ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic presidential primary, recently announced he would spend $100 million supporting Biden in Florida, by far the largest and most expensive electoral prize. James Murdoch, the son of the Fox media mogul Rupert Murdoch, donated $300,000 in August to a pro-Biden super PAC, Unite the Country.

Monthly financial filings for both the Trump and Biden camps made on Sunday offered only a partial window into the state of the money race, as some of their joint committees with the parties will not have to file until next month.

On Sunday, the RNC reported a second payment of $666,666.67 to Reuters News & Media in August labeled legal proceedings  IP resolution. An identically sized and labeled payment was made in June. Reuters and the RNC previously declined to comment on the first such payment.
A Nigerian Army colonel has been killed in a Boko Haram ambush, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

PREMIUM TIMES is withholding the identity of the officer as we are not sure his family has been notified.

The colonel was also a brigade commander of an army brigade in Damboa, Borno State, where the military is battling the Boko Haram insurgents.

This newspaper learnt that the colonel and some soldiers were attacked, on Sunday, when their vehicle was ambushed near Damboa.

Damboa is about 85 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Details of the attack are yet known, but an army source said the late colonel would be buried on Tuesday.

When contacted, the spokesman of the Nigeria Army, Sagir Musa, declined to confirm the attack but said a press statement would soon be released about an attack in Borno State.

Hundreds of soldiers and officers have been killed since the Boko Haram insurgency commenced in 2009. Tens of thousands of civilians have also been killed and millions of others displaced.

The military has, since 2016, been able to restrict the insurgents to three states, Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, although they still carry out attacks in those states.
BRUSSELS - European Union foreign ministers on Monday were weighing whether to impose sanctions on dozens of Belarus officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko, after his main opponent urged Europe to be more brave in taking action.

The EU has drawn up a list of around 40 people it could hit with asset freezes and travel bans in response to irregularities in the Aug. 9 election that gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office, and over the crackdown on protesters that followed.

The question is whether to include Lukashenko, who has repressed opposition and independent news media during 26 years in power and refuses to talk with the protesters. Some EU countries want to gradually ramp up pressure on him by expanding the sanctions list if he refuses to enter into dialogue with the opposition, rather than hit everyone at once.

Speaking after a number of ministers met Lukashenkos main opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, over breakfast, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the violence that Lukashenko is exerting against peaceful demonstrators is completely unacceptable.

Maas, whose country holds the EUs rotating presidency, said the ministers must ask ourselves the question of whether Mr. Lukashenko, the one who bears the main responsibility, mustnt also be sanctioned by the European Union.

Tsikhanouskaya, who is living in exile in Lithuania after fleeing Belarus in fear for her safety and that of her children, told reporters that she had asked the ministers for help and for the EU to call for fresh elections in Belarus.

We did a lot to manage with this situation by ourselves, with only the strength of the Belarusian people, but now I understand that we need exterior help, she said, speaking in English.

She urged Europe not to provide financial support to the regime, because it will only go for violence, for killing Belarusian people.

Tsikhanouskaya said sanctions are very important in our fight to help pressure the government and that while she understood that some European countries are reluctant to impose sanctions she said that at this meeting, I asked just to be more brave .

Cyprus has been accused of blocking the EU sanctions on Belarus until similar measures are slapped on Turkey for its disputed energy exploration efforts in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. But Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said that there is no deadlock to diplomacy.

However, he said, our reaction to any kind of violation of our core basic values and principles cannot be a la carte. It needs to be consistent.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the ministers will also weigh what support they can give to the Belarusian people, and also what relations they should have with Minsk given that we dont recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus.

Referring to the meeting with Tsikhanouskaya, Borrell said: We are really impressed by the courage and perseverance of the Belarusian people, especially Belarusian women who show a real sense of leadership.

He rejected allegations of European interference in Belarus, saying that this cannot be regarded as an interference in internal affairs, because democracy and human rights are at the core of the identity of the European Union.

Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said that the message (Tsikhanouskaya) gave us is very clear: please Europe support democracy and human rights in Belarus.

___

Samuel Petrequin in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
KEY FACTS 2:12 p.m. Ontario to begin offering COVID-19 tests at dozens of drug stores within days

10:25 a.m.: Ontario is reporting 425 new cases, two more deaths

9:09 a.m.: Multiple new cases declared at Oakville elementary schools

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Monday. This file is no longer updating. Click here to read the latest. Web links to longer stories if available.

7:11 p.m. There have been another four deaths in B.C. due to COVID-19 complications.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says two people died in the Vancouver Coastal health region over the past three days, one in Fraser Health and one in the Northern Health region  only the second death in that area since the pandemic began.

Another 366 positive cases have been added over three days for a total of 8,208.

There are 60 people in hospital and almost 6,000 people are considered recovered.

5:37 p.m. The pace of new COVID-19 infections is doubling about every 10 days in Ontario, according to the Stars latest count of the reports of the provinces regional health units, which on Monday collectively reported a jump of more than 500 new cases for the first time since May.

Because some health units do not report cases to their websites on the weekend, the Stars count tends to be higher on Mondays, although that weekly cycle does not affect the seven-day average, which has been rising at an accelerating pace this month.

With 552 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases reported Monday, the provinces seven-day average jumped to 364 daily  about double what the health units were reporting just 10 days ago on Sept. 11.

Ontario last saw such rapid exponential growth in early April, before the pandemics first peak. Although Ontario is still well below that peak level  about 600 infections a day, reported in late April  the current rate of case growth, if sustained, would see the average return to near that rate by early October.

Monday saw significant case spikes across the province: Toronto reported 184 new cases, its most since early June; Peel Region reported 77 new cases; Ottawa reported 60 cases; York Region added 27; Waterloo Region 15 and several other smaller health units also reported above their recent averages.

The province has now seen a total of 49,590 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, including 2,869 deaths.

Three fatal cases were reported Monday: two in Ottawa and one in York Region.

The vast majority of the provinces COVID-19 patients have since recovered, and the recent rise in cases has not yet resulted in an equivalent jump in hospitalizations or deaths. Thats in part because the recent increase has not yet hit the vulnerable outbreak settings  like long-term-care homes  which produced thousands of serious illnesses among highly vulnerable populations in the spring.

The province lists 4,303 active cases of the disease, a number that has been rising in recent weeks.

The Stars count includes some patients reported as probable COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.

The province cautions its separate data, published daily at 10:30 a.m., may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.

5:23 p.m. COVID-19 appeared to be gaining steam in several regions of central Canada on Monday, prompting Quebecs public health director to announce the beginning of a second wave in that province.

Quebec and Ontario reported more than 1,000 cases between them, including 586 cases in Quebec, a jump of more than 100 compared with Sunday.

The news prompted Dr. Horacio Arruda, Quebecs public health director, to declare a second wave of COVID-19 had started in the province.

Quebec announced tighter restrictions on public and private indoor gatherings on Sunday as it raised the alert level for several regions of the province, including Montreal and Quebec City.

Genevieve Guilbault, the provinces deputy premier, said police over the weekend had visited more than 2,000 bars and restaurants, and issued 1,500 warnings and 90 tickets to those not respecting health rules.

In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said his government would release its plan to deal with a second wave of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

Health Minister Christine Elliott added the response to the second wave could be more complicated due to flu season and the need to address the provinces surgery backlog.

Many of the cases reported on Monday appeared to be concentrated in large cities, including Ottawa, Toronto and Winnipeg.

Manitoba health officials said 16 of the 22 new cases across the province were in the capital, and the number of active cases has almost tripled in Winnipeg since the start of September.

Meanwhile, authorities continued to report COVID-19 outbreaks across the country on Monday, including in schools, workplaces and on the main campus of the University of Alberta, which prompted officials there to suspend varsity athletics for 14 days.

A hospital in Calgary also declared an outbreak of COVID-19 on three units after at least 14 patients and four staff members at the Foothills Medical Centre tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

4:31 p.m. The Distillery Historic District has cancelled the Toronto Christmas Market for the first time in its 11 years.

The market usually attracts more than 700,000 people for six weeks in November and December but, in a news release, the district said that the crowds are just too large for safe physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the Distillery District will remain open for holiday shopping with what the district calls a Winter Village experience from early November until the end of March, with light canopies, music and a grand Christmas tree in Trinity Square.

4 p.m. A new piece of medical equipment created at the University of Alberta may help doctors find a quicker and safer way to resuscitate patients who go into cardiac arrest due to COVID-19.

The novel coronavirus can create complications in the lungs and many patients are placed on their bellies to improve ventilation.

Matthew Douma, an assistant adjunct professor of critical care medicine at the U of A, says if patients go into cardiac arrest, doctors have to turn them onto their backs to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR. That can cause delay and put doctors at risk because they have closer contact with infected patients.

Douma says hes part of a group that has created a new CPR board that can be placed under patients while they are prone, with a piece that adds pressure to the chest area while medical staff do compressions on their backs.

3:57 p.m. Under pressure to further respond to escalating rates of COVID-19 in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford said he will unveil his governments plan to deal with a potential second wave of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday.

During his daily pandemic media briefing on Monday, Ford defended the delay in releasing the much-anticipated plan, stressing that the situation in the province has changed frequently since the first wave of the virus hit in March.

In recent weeks, Ford has promised an updated fall preparedness strategy, but pressure to release the document has intensified as daily case rates have steadily increased in recent weeks  with 425 new cases, and two new deaths, reported in Ontario on Monday.

COVID-19 continued to spike in three virus hot spots on Monday, with 175 new cases in Toronto, 84 in Peel Region and 60 in Ottawa.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said 67 per cent of the new cases are in people under the age of 40.

2:55 p.m: Nunavut is reporting a positive COVID-19 case at an open pit iron mine in the Baffin Island area.

Baffinland Iron Mines said last week that there was a presumptive positive case at its Mary River Mine, about 176 kilometres southwest of Pond Inlet, Nunavut.

The territory has now confirmed the positive case, but notes that the person was not exposed to the virus in Nunavut and the case will count as a positive in the individuals home jurisdiction.

Dr. Michael Patterson, the territorys chief public health officer, says there are no Nunavut residents currently working at the Mary River Mine, and the risk of COVID-19 spreading in the territory is low.

He says the infected person has not developed symptoms and is in isolation.

Also last week, the Nunavut government confirmed two cases of COVID-19 at the Hope Bay gold mine, about 125 kilometres southwest of Cambridge Bay.

Those miners were also asymptomatic and were exposed to COVID-19 in their home jurisdictions.

2:40 p.m. Italy added Paris and other parts of France to its COVID-19 blacklist on the same day it counted another 1,350 coronavirus infections of its own. Another 17 people died in the past day, bringing Italys official toll to 35,724, the second-highest in Europe after Britain.

The ordinance signed Monday by Health Minister Roberto Speranza requires proof of negativity or tests on arrival from anyone coming from Paris, Provence, Corsica or several other French regions. Infections in France reached a new record-high this weekend with over 13,000 new cases in 24 hours. France and Spain lead the European Union with the most new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks.

Italy, the onetime European epicenter of the outbreak, already requires tests-on-arrival or a negative tests in the previous 72 hours for anyone coming from Spain, Croatia, Malta or Greece. Speranza said the data from other parts of Europe must not be underestimated, given the efforts Italians made during a three-month spring lockdown to tame the virus: Italy today is better off than other countries, but we still need to be prudent to not render the sacrifices we made in vain.

2:12 p.m. Ontario will begin offering COVID-19 tests at dozens of drug stores within days, Premier Doug Ford said as the province hit another recent high in new cases with 425 residents testing positive.

This is active, this is moving and its moving at a rapid pace, he warned at a news conference Monday.

Hopefully well have up to 60 pharmacies by the end up the week, up and going, and then theyre just going to continue ramping up.

Fleshing out the plan he has mentioned previously to take pressure off long lines at hospital assessment centres, Ford said the testing by pharmacists is intended for people not showing symptoms of COVID-19.

Read more here: COVID-19 tests coming to Ontario pharmacies this week as daily new cases rise to 425

2:11 p.m. The Public Health Agency of Canada is getting a new president as the country heads into the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tapped Iain Stewart, currently head of the National Research Council of Canada, to take over the role.

Last week, the federal public health agencys president, Tina Namiesniowski, announced she was stepping down.

She sent a letter to the agencys staff saying that after months of responding to the health crisis, none of us are superhuman and that she needed a break.

Stewart, who has been a senior member of the public service for about 20 years, aside from a yearlong stint at Dalhousie University, will begin his new job Sept. 28.

Trudeau also gave Namiesniowski a new job as a senior official in the Privy Council Office, a bureaucratic operation that supports the prime minister and cabinet.

1:44 p.m. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed an update on its website that stated coronavirus commonly spreads through the air, saying the post was shared by mistake.

A draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error to the agencys official website, the organization wrote Monday.

The CDC has contended in the past that COVID-19 is primarily transmitted through close contact between people.

In the erroneously shared update, which was released last Friday, the CDCs coronavirus guidelines page listed respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols as one of the ways that COVID-19 most commonly spreads.

It is possible that COVID-19 may spread through the droplets and airborne particles that are formed when a person who has COVID-19 coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes, the since-deleted post read.

Following Mondays update, the CDCs webpage says the virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.

In July, the World Health Organization said there was emerging evidence of an airborne spread of coronavirus after 250 scientists across the world signed an open letter urging the group to acknowledge as much.

1:35 p.m. Longos says an employee at one of their Mississauga locations has tested positive for COVID-19.

According to Longos store updates webpage, management learned of the positive test at their Applewood location, at 1125 North Service Road, on Sept. 19. The employees last day was Sept. 14.

Each store undergoes a deep clean sanitization as needed, based on public health protocols, says the website.

Longos only reports cases for guest-facing team members, but did not confirm the exact position the employee held.

All team members that may have been in contact with the sick employee have been instructed to self-monitor for symptoms and stay home.

1:30 p.m. Americans household wealth rebounded last quarter to a record high as the stock market quickly recovered from a pandemic-induced plunge in March. Yet the gains flowed mainly to the most affluent households even as tens of millions of people endured job losses and shrunken incomes.

The Federal Reserve said Monday that American households net worth jumped nearly 7 per cent in the April-June quarter to $119 trillion (U.S.). That figure had sunk to $111.3 trillion (U.S.) in the first quarter, when the coronavirus battered the economy and sent stock prices tumbling.

Since then, the S&P 500 stock index has regained its record high before losing some ground this month. It was up 2.8 per cent for this year as of Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has soared more than 20 per cent this year.

The full recovery of wealth even while the economy has recovered only about half the jobs lost to the pandemic recession underscores what many economists see as Americas widening economic inequality. Data compiled by Opportunity Insights, a research group, show that the highest-paying one-third of jobs have almost fully recovered from the recession, while the lowest-paying one-third of jobs remain 16 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.

12:30 p.m. Ontario is reporting 18 additional active COVID-19 cases among students and staff in publicly funded schools across the province over the weekend for a total of 90.

The latest report Monday morning reveals that there are 75 schools affected across the province, with 45 of them in the GTA. The report does note that 75 schools is 1.55 per cent of the 4,828 publicly funded schools in Ontario.

Of the 90 cases overall in the province, 33 are students, 26 are staff and 31 were individuals werent identified.

Nineteen schools in Ottawa have an active case.

The Stars Cheyenne Bholla has the story.

11:20 a.m. The federal Liberals plan to spend $1 billion over the next six months so cities and other housing providers can keep people from becoming homeless.

The rapid-housing funds can be used to buy properties being sold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, or to build new modular units.

The Liberals expect the program will create 3,000 new affordable housing units across Canada.

They want all the funds to be committed by the end of March 2021.

The funding will be available to municipalities, provinces, territories, Indigenous governing bodies and agencies and non-profit organizations.

Social Development Minister Ahmed Hussen says Ottawa will provide an additional $237 million to the federal homelessness strategy for pandemic-related expenses.

10:56 a.m. MPPs from all political parties are dividing into cohorts in a bid to conquer the spread of COVID-19.

With new infections on the rise in Ontario, the caucuses in the legislature have decided to separate into different groups to keep each other safe.

We are trying to avoid a Zoom parliament, government house leader Paul Calandra said in an interview Monday.

To that end, there will be two isolated caucuses of about 35 Progressive Conservative MPPs that will be kept separate from one another.

One cohort will be in the house for the next three weeks followed by the second cohort. There will be no physical contact among the two groups.

Only Calandra, Premier Doug Ford, Health Minister Christine Elliott, Education Minister Stephen Lecce, and Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton will be allowed in both cohorts.

Thats because those key cabinet members must be available to the legislature at all times.

Read the full story by the Stars Robert Benzie

10:25 a.m. (updated): Ontario is reporting 425 new cases of COVID-19 today, along with two new deaths related to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says Toronto is reporting 175 new cases, with 84 in Peel Region and 60 in Ottawa.

She says 67 per cent of the new cases are in people under the age of 40.

The total number of cases in Ontario now stands at 47,274, which includes 2,829 deaths and 41,146 cases classified as resolved.

There were also 178 cases newly marked as resolved over the past 24 hours.

The province says it processed 31,753 tests over the previous day.

Read the full story from the Stars Rob Ferguson

9:04 a.m. More Oakville schools have been hit with cases of COVID-19 Monday.

The Halton District School Board is reporting two cases of the disease at Sunningdale Public School and another case at Maple Grove Public School.

For all confirmed cases, families and staff at the school will be notified by letter. Halton Region Public Health will contact any close contacts directly, the Board said on its COVID-19 Advisory page. A positive case at a school does not mean the individual was exposed to COVID-19 at the school. They may have been exposed somewhere else in the community.

The Board has yet to reply to a request for comment, including whether the new cases are students, staff members or a combination of both.

These are the ninth and 10th schools in Halton region to be hit with cases of COVID-19. They come after a weekend where more than 40 cases of coronavirus were reported in the region.
Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab CEO, Dr. Marc Gulitz, DC Annapolis will be a fantastic location for us. We're looking forward to being able to host an opening for our team and partners at an appropriate and safe future date. We're always looking to expand our reach and are currently working on additional sites around the State of Maryland.

Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic, a leading Chiropractic and Physical Therapy practice, today announced a new office location in the Annapolis area of Anne Arundel County. The new location, 2563 Forest Dr # 201, Annapolis, MD 21401, will be the company's ninth location around Maryland, and will become home to a growing team of healthcare professionals.

According to CEO, Dr. Marc Gulitz, the expansion has been planned for some time. "Our vision has always been to serve the entire Baltimore Metro area, and then expand throughout the State and Region. We are excited about serving the needs of the citizens of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, along with our referring Doctors and partners. We're also committed to expanding our team and creating healthcare jobs throughout Maryland."

Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab specializes in the care of acute injuries caused by automobile or work related accidents. Adding a new location is a strategic move that will allow them to have a physical presence in the City of Annapolis, expanding their patient care and reach to tens of thousands more Maryland residents.

"Given the number of residents, and referring partners in the City of Annapolis, and the surrounding communities," says Dr. Gulitz, "we expect this new location to quickly grow in patient visits, and staff. Within six months we believe Annapolis will be seeing a similar volume to our eight other locations."

About Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic

Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic specializes in the rehabilitation of acute musculoskeletal injuries, such as those commonly experienced in auto accidents and work related injuries. Our healthcare providers work alongside primary care physicians, pain management physicians, physical therapists, orthopedists, and neurologists to manage care, and provide positive outcomes for patients. Founded in 2012, Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic is one of the fastest growing practices in the Region. For more information visit the website at http://www.midatlanticspinalrehab.com

About Growth Solutions Team

The Growth Solutions Team is a leading provider of Business Consulting, Sales & Customer Service Training, and Small Business Advisory services. Our team assists companies with revenue generation, profit maximization, business processes, Strategic HR, and business development. Our programs are designed to meet you where you are, and to generate lasting results for your company. For more information visit the website at http://www.growthsolutionsteam.com
President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday night met behind closed doors with President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Bashir Ahmad, the Presidents Personal Assistant on New Media, confirmed this on his Twitter handle.

The presidential aide, who could not elaborate on the agenda of the meeting between the two leaders, however, posted pictures in which the Nigerian leader could be seen escorting his guest after the meeting.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the closure of shops owned by Nigerian traders in Ghana had heightened tensions between the two countries, a situation which led the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama to summon Ghanas Charge d Affaires to Nigeria, Ms Iva Denoo for discussions.

Onyeama had also met with representatives of Nigerian traders in Ghana, led by Jasper Emenike, the National President of Progressive Ambassadors of Nigeria (PAN), and the organisations National Director, Ruth Ango over the matter.

The Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, had also visited Ghana on Sept. 2 with a view to seeing how the issues at stake could be resolved amicably.

According to the speaker, the closure of the Nigerian shops in Ghana contravenes the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol on free movement of citizens of member states, and trade liberalisation scheme.

NAN reports that the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) adopted in 1979 with an agreement on agricultural, artisanal handicrafts, and unprocessed products, and extended to industrial products in 1990, is the main framework for trade and market integration in ECOWAS as it addresses protocols on the free movement of goods, persons, and transportation.

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Vallance said that about 8 percent of the population may have antibodies, which can fade over time. He said the virus has genetically moved a bit, but it has not changed in terms of its propensity and its ability to cause disease and to cause death.
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge early Sunday blocked the Trump administration from requiring Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google to remove Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat for downloads by late Sunday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco said in an order that WeChat users who filed a lawsuit "have shown serious questions going to the merits of the First Amendment claim, the balance of hardships tips in the plaintiffs favor."

Her 22-page order added the prohibitions "burden substantially more speech than is necessary to serve the governments significant interest in national security, especially given the lack of substitute channels for communication."

On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department had issued a order citing national security grounds to block the app from U.S. app stores owned by Tencent Holding's and the Justice Department had urged Beeler not to block the order. Tencent and the Justice Department did not immediately comment.

Beeler's preliminary injunction also blocked the Commerce order that would have barred other transactions with WeChat in the United States that could have dramatically degraded the site's usability for current U.S. users or potentially made it unusable. The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately comment.

WeChat has had an average of 19 million daily active users in the United States, analytics firms Apptopia said in early August. It is popular among Chinese students, Americans living in China and some Americans who have personal or business relationships in China.

The Justice Department said blocking the order would "frustrate and displace the presidents determination of how best to address threats to national security."

Beeler wrote "certainly the governments overarching national-security interest is significant. But on this record  while the government has established that Chinas activities raise significant national security concerns  it has put in scant little evidence that its effective ban of WeChat for all U.S. users addresses those concerns."

Story continues

WeChat is an all-in-one mobile app that combines services similar to Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Venmo. The app is an essential part of daily life for many in China and boasts more than 1 billion users.

The Justice Department also argued that WeChat users could switch to other apps or platforms.

The WeChat Users Alliance that had sued praised the ruling "as an important and hard-fought victory" for "millions of WeChat users in the U.S."

Michael Bien, a lawyer for the users, said "the United States has never shut down a major platform for communications, not even during war times. There are serious First Amendment problems with the WeChat ban, which targets the Chinese American community."

He added the order "trampled on their First Amendment guaranteed freedoms to speak, to worship, to read and react to the press, and to organize and associate for numerous purposes."

Beeler also noted "there are obvious alternatives to a complete ban, such as barring WeChat from government devices.

She added "The regulation  which eliminates a channel of communication without any apparent substitutes  burdens substantially more speech than is necessary to further the governments significant interest."

Separately, the Commerce Department late Saturday said it was delaying enforcement of another order issued Friday that would also have banned U.S. app stores from offering TikTok starting late Sunday.

The one-week delay came after U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday blessed a deal with TikTok owner ByteDance and U.S. companies Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc to create a new company to handle TikTok's U.S. operations

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Fewer US adults now willing to take COVID-19 vaccine amid concerns over safety: poll

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The percentage of U.S. adults who say they would definitely or probably get a COVID-19 vaccine has significantly declined over the last few months amid concerns about the vaccine's safety, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

The national survey conducted Sept. 8 through Sept. 13 among 10,093 adults in the United States with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6 percentage points shows growing concern about the safety of any likely vaccine across all major political and demographic groups.

As the race to develop an effective vaccine for the virus that has killed nearly 200,000 people in the U.S. and nearly 1 million people globally continues, the new Pew data shows that only 51% of respondents say they would definitely or probably get a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 if it were available.

Meanwhile, 49% say they would definitely or probably not get the vaccine.

When asked in May, 72% of respondents said they would definitely or probably get a vaccine and 27% said they definitely or probably would not get the vaccine.

There are widespread public concerns about aspects of the vaccine development process, Pew Researchers Alec Tyson, Courtney Johnson and Cary Funk wrote last Thursday. On the heels of a pledge from nine pharmaceutical companies to ensure that a potential vaccine would meet rigorous standards, the Center survey finds three-quarters of Americans (77%) think its very or somewhat likely a COVID-19 vaccine will be approved in the United States before its safety and effectiveness are fully understood.

According to the researchers, 78% of respondents fear that the pace of the vaccine approval process will move too fast without fully establishing safety and effectiveness. About 20% were concerned the process will move too slow and there will be unnecessary delays.

Some 58% of respondents who identified as Democrat or leaned towards the Democratic Party said they would take the vaccine compared to 44% of Republican or Republican-leaning respondents.

There were also different levels of faith in the potential vaccine according to race. But among all racial demographics, there was a considerable drop in the percentage who said they would get vaccinated.

This month, nearly three-quarters of Asian Americans (72%) said they would definitely or probably get a COVID-19 vaccine. Hispanics ranked second with 56% and were followed by white adults at 52%.

Only 32% of black adults said they were leaning towards taking the vaccine, reflecting a culture of vaccine hesitancy among this group.

In May, 91% of Asian Americans, 74% of Hispanics and white Americans as well as 54% of black Americans said they would definitely or probably get the vaccine if it were available.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont was recently skewered by religious and political leaders in his state for suggesting that black churches should lead in support of a coronavirus vaccine.

We are not guinea pigs. This will not be another Tuskegee [Syphilis Study] and we are not going to allow it, civil rights attorney Tricia Lindsay said at a Sept. 11 press conference in response to Lamonts suggestion.

Ned Lamont is being called to the carpet and anyone else, any other legislator that is on this bandwagon, let him and his family take the vaccine first. Let Bill Gates and his family take the vaccine first. Let the legislators take the vaccine first. We dont need it. Were OK.

The historic relationship between the medical industry and the black community involves what many have come to know as the Tuskegee trial.

From 1932 through 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service conducted a study of the effects of untreated syphilis in black men in Macon County, Alabama.

Some men in the study were offered free medical care and burials, but not penicillin, which became the recommended drug for the treatment of syphilis in the 1940s.

At the recently held National Medical Association's virtual annual convention, past and present U.S. surgeons general said during a panel moderated by current Surgeon General Jerome Adams that vaccine hesitancy in the black community could worsen the disproportionate impact of COVID-19, Medpage Today reported.

Latinos and non-Hispanic black individuals are hospitalized for COVID-19 at a rate that is 4.7 times higher than the rate of non-Hispanic white people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Baldwin County Public Schools will not reopen until September 30, two weeks after Hurricane Sally slammed into Alabamas Gulf Coast.

The school system, which is the third largest in Alabama with 46 school buildings and an enrollment of over 30,000 students, remains closed after Sallys devastating winds and flooding damaged buildings including J. Larry Newton School east of Fairhope, where crews continued to clean up on Monday.

Superintendent Eddie Tyler, in an email to parents Monday morning, said there are schools without power and even some with physical damage that includes standing water, collapsed ceilings and blown-out windows. He also said there is debris on school properties that would block buses from picking up students.

We have schools without power and for which we do not expect power until later this week, Tyler said. In this new age, we need Internet and communications which are currently down so we cannot run many system tests.

He said that restoring electricity and cleaning up the damaged buildings need to be resolved before we can successfully reopen. Tyler, last week, had canceled school through Tuesday.

If everything goes as planned, I expect we will welcome back students on Wednesday, September 30, he said. Teachers, Tyler said, will participate in two teacher workdays to get classrooms and lesson plans back on track.

Parents, please know that we are focused on making this schedule, he said. Many of us have put our own personal recovery needs on hold to make sure we are doing our best to get your children back in school where they need to be. After a spring of Covid, and our return-to-school plan under incredible pressure, we now have this. There is a point of too much and I think we have found it. All we can do is take these things one step at a time.

A school system spokeswoman said that individual schools would not reopen before others within the system, even though not all of the school buildings sustained damage.

Our pacing guides, our state testing, our meals and accountability requirements are based on the system, not only individual schools, said Chasity Riddick, spokeswoman with the district.

Tyler warned parents not to believe rumors about shifting school schedules, and that he plans to provide an update next week, or sooner, if necessary.

Gulf Shores: Returning next Monday

In Gulf Shores, where Hurricane Sally make landfall, plans are for the schools to reopen on September 28. Gulf Shores city schools is the only public school district within the county that is not part of the Baldwin County School System.

We still dont have power at our high school and middle school, Akin said in an email to AL.com. So far, weve only had minor flooding due to roof damage at our elementary school. We also have some cosmetic damage to the outside of all three schools. We will know more about any infrastructure damage (mainly HVAC) when power is restored.

Akin said the school is offering free breakfast and lunch To Go this week. Families can pick up breakfast each day at Gulf Shores High School at 8:30 a.m. and lunch at 11 a.m. at the high school and Pelican Place. \

Mobile County: Remote learning returns Wednesday

Mobile County Public Schools, which is the states largest school system, will be restarting remote instruction on Wednesday. All schools and offices remained closed on Monday, but employees will be returning to work on Tuesday.

Further details about the school systems reopening plans were detailed in a Facebook post on Sunday:
Mallam Ahmed Harun, Imam of Amanase in the Ayensuano District of the Eastern Region, has underscored the need for the country to empower the youth to enable them to take up the challenge and impact positively on the society.



Mallam Ahmed Harun, Imam of Amanase in the Ayensuano District of the Eastern Region, has underscored the need for the country to empower the youth to enable them to take up the challenge and impact positively on the society.



Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) shortly after interacting with the youth of the Amanase Zongo, he said the youth needed to be recognized to encourage them that they were on track and motivate them to strive on.



He also called for a collaborative effort to reward the youth and to encourage them to strive for excellence and serve as role models in society.



Imam Harun tasked them to imbibe only the positive attitudes of developed countries and combine them with local virtues to unearth their potentials to facilitate their development.



He said the countrys population was dominated by the youth and referred to the recent census, which put the youth below 30 years at more than 50 per cent of the population.



The Imam mentioned the provision of sufficient educational opportunities, health care and job creation as some of the challenges posed by the increased population of the youth, for which reason the government had initiated programmes, such as the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), to create jobs for the youth.



He asked religious and organisational groups in the country to refrain from abusing the dignity of opinion leaders and those in responsible positions.



The Chief of Amanase Zongo, Alhaji Allassan Hudu, appealed to the wealthy to help them renovate their mosque, which had not seen any rehabilitation for over 20 years.



The chief and the Imam estimated that it would require about GH 3,000 to repair work on the mosque, which included replacement of windows, doors and their flames, changing of leaked corrugated roofing sheets and damaged ceiling, floor tiles, patching works and painting, on the facility.

Source: GNA









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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (September 21) laid the foundation stone for nine highway projects worth Rs 14,258 crore in Bihar. He also inaugurated the optical fibre internet services ahead of the state assembly elections in the state.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also joined the ceremony via video conference.

During the inauguration event, PM said, ''The country is moving towards its goal of providing internet connectivity to every village in the country. When fast internet will reach every village, it will become easier for the students to study. The children will be able to easily access the world's books, technology at one click.''

PM Modi also spoke on the two Agriculture Reform bill which was passed in Rajya Sabha amid ruckus. He said, ''yesterday, two farm bills were passed in the Parliament. I congratulate my farmers. This change in the farming sector is the need of the present hour and our government has brought this reform for the farmers.''

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He further assured every farmer that the Minimum Support Price system will continue as before and lauded the bill saying, ''These Bills will empower the farmers to freely trade their produce anywhere. I want to make it clear that these Bills is not against the agriculture mandis: Prime Minister Narendra Modi.''

He also spoke about the progress in Agriculture during his tenure and said that during the Coronavirus pandemic, record purchase of wheat has been made from farmers during the Rabi season. He said, ''Rs 1 lakh 13 thousand crores given to the farmers at MSP. This amount is more than 30% over last year.''

These nine highway projects would cover a cumulative road length of about 350 kilometres. The PMO said in a statement that the proposed highways will pave the way for the state's development as they will enhance better connectivity, convenience and economic growth in and around it.

Movement of people and goods will also improve substantially, especially with the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, it added.

The PMO described the optical fibre internet services programme as a prestigious project covering all 45,945 villages of Bihar which will enable a "digital revolution" to reach the state's remotest corner.

This project will be executed by the combined efforts of Department of Telecom, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and Common Service Centres (CSC).

PM Modi had recently laid the foundation of a number of other development projects, including those related to railways, infrastructure, bridges, drinking water and sanitation, in the state which is set to go to the assembly polls in October-November.
Joe Biden on Sunday attacked President Donald Trump and leading Senate Republicans for trying to push through a replacement for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The extraordinary televised plea from the Democratic presidential candidate to Republican senators reflected the ferocious manoeuvring that has followed Ginsburgs death on Friday.

Her death upended a campaign that had, until then, focused on Mr Trumps handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the nations economic collapse and racial unrest that has stoked protests in US cities.

It was my honor to preside over Justice Ginsburgs confirmation hearings, and to support her accession to the Supreme Court. Her opinions, and her dissents, will shape the basis of our law for generations to come  and well be a more just and equal nation because of it. pic.twitter.com/SmZD2KyyyG  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 20, 2020

Mr Trump has said he intends within days to name a woman to succeed Ms Ginsburg, and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell was moving toward the first hearings this week.

Just hours before Mr Biden spoke, a second Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined senator Susan Collins of Maine in opposing efforts to fill Ms Ginsburgs seat before the next president is elected.

It takes four Republicans to break ranks to keep Mr Trumps nominee off the supreme court.

Attention quickly focused on senator Mitt Romney of Utah, who voted to convict Mr Trump on one count of impeachment, and senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a former chairman of the judiciary committee.

Mr Biden acknowledged that those republicans and others like them were his target audience when he warned that Mr Trumps plan was an abuse of power.

Uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience, said Mr Biden, speaking in battleground Pennsylvania. Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have engulfed our country.

There was little chance of calm overtaking the historic campaign as early voting progressed and the death toll from the virus reached 200,000 Americans.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to the House having options she did not name to stall or prevent the Senate from confirming Ms Ginsburgs successor to the lifetime job.

We have arrows in our quiver that Im not about to discuss right now, Ms Pelosi said on ABCs This Week.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may have been petite in size, but the impact she left on America was immense. May her memory be a blessing and inspire each of us to work toward a more equal, more just future for all. pic.twitter.com/tNZ7jsfwHJ  Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) September 20, 2020

The House has no formal role in the confirmation of Supreme Court justices. But Ms Pelosi would not rule out a new round of impeachment proceedings that might divert the Senates attention, though that route seemed unlikely.

Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate. If there were a 50-50 tie, it could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence.

Mr Trump has said he is obliged to act as soon as possible and had at least two women in mind for the seat.

Most Republicans agreed on the need for speed and one named a practical reason. The nine-member court, argued senator Ted Cruz of Texas, must be full if called upon to decide the outcome of a disputed presidential election.

But Mr Biden and other Democrats said voters should choose the next president, who should then choose Ms Ginsburgs successor. Healthcare, abortion rights and religious freedom are on the line, they said.

Mr Biden, who has run on uniting the country after Mr Trumps divisive tenure and imparting a sense of comfort to despairing Americans, warned against more upheaval.

The last thing we need is a constitutional crisis that plunges us deeper into the abyss and deeper into the darkness, he said. He acknowledged that if Mr Trump wins, his choice should be approved.

But he added, If I win this election, President Trumps nominee should be withdrawn and as the new president I should be the one to nominate Justice Ginsburgs successor.
Observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) will hold a press conference on the opening of the observation mission to the local elections in Ukraine on Wednesday, 23 September.

What: An introduction to the role of the ODIHR election observation mission and its planned activities.

The press conference can be attended in person or via Zoom (details below).

Who: Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir, Head of the ODIHR Election Observation Mission.

When: 14.00 on 23 September 2020.

Where: Hilton Kyiv Hotel, Tarasa Shevchenko Boulevard, 30.

Registration:

No registration is necessary if you are attending the press conference in person, but only questions from journalists will be taken.

To take part via Zoom, please register with: Katya Andrusz, ODIHR spokesperson, [email protected] and Veronica Laputska, media analyst: [email protected] or +380678802642.

For further information on ODIHRs election observation activities in Ukraine, please visit: https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/ukraine.
Washington, D.C., Sept. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands presented the 2020 Holland on the Hill Heineken Award to IBM in a socially-distanced ceremony at the residence of Ambassador Andre Haspels. Michelle Browdy, Senior Vice President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, and General Counsel, accepted the award on behalf of IBM.

The Holland on the Hill Heineken Award recognizes industry and business leaders who strengthen the economic relationship between the Netherlands and the United States through entrepreneurship. In times when we have to stimulate economic recovery due to the pandemic, transatlantic cooperation remains crucial.

IBM is an innovative company that excels in the fields of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. A noted leader in technology, IBM has ties firmly rooted in the United States and the Netherlands.

When it comes to innovation and sustainability, IBM is a company that sets a path for others to follow. In the Netherlands, that innovation can be seen in IBMs partnerships with Dutch universities and its role in the creation of the Dutch National AI Coalition, said Ambassador Haspels. The company is forward thinking in sustainability with its Smarter Planet strategy, which complements Dutch sustainability efforts. IBM and the Netherlands are a true transatlantic economic success story anchored in shared values.

IBM has been active in the Netherlands since 1920, and the company now employs several thousand people throughout the country.

IBMs connections to the Netherlands run long and deep. The Netherlands is one of IBMs most strategic and important locations in Europe. With political and economic stability and an open attitude towards international trade, investment, cooperation and new ventures, the Netherlands is a natural ally and perfect fit for us,Browdy said. It is an honor to accept the Holland on the Hill Heineken Award on behalf of IBM in a year that marks the 100th anniversary of IBM doing business in the Netherlands.

The Holland on the Hill Heineken Award is named after Freddy Heineken, who was sent to the United States in the 1940s to establish the Heineken brand overseas. Once he returned to the Netherlands, Heineken used the innovative marketing skills he acquired in the US to make Heineken one of the worlds most recognizable brands. By combining American marketing techniques and his Dutch entrepreneurial spirit, Heineken increased sales by 260 percent.

The Holland on the Hill program was developed in 2014 to highlight the shared values between the Netherlands and the US. Jointly created by the United States Congressional Caucus of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Netherland-American Foundation, the Heineken Award has been presented to Alexander R. Wynaendts of Aegon N.V. (2019), David Hyman of Netflix (2018), Dick Boer of Ahold Delhaize ( 2017), Victoria B. Mars of Mars Inc. (2016), Paul Polman of Unilever (2015), and Werner Vogels of Amazon.com (2014).

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The United Kingdom could see 50,000 new Covid-19 cases every day by mid-October if no swift action is taken, top experts warned on Monday, as the Boris Johnson government considered imposing another national lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.

Chief scientific officer Patrick Vallance and chief medical officer Chris Whitty said the number of cases is doubling every seven days. For the first time in recent months, they appeared on live television without a minister present to report the new data described as critical.

If, and thats quite a big if, but if that continues unabated, and this grows, doubling every seven days...you would end up with something like 50,000 cases in the middle of October per day, Vallance said.

He projected more than 200 daily deaths by mid-November.

The challenge, therefore, is to make sure the doubling time does not stay at seven days. That requires speed, it requires action and it requires enough in order to be able to bring that down.

Health secretary Matt Hancock is due to make a statement in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon. The Johnson cabinet is reported to be divided on the issue of a fresh lockdown in view of another severe blow it would inflict on the economy.

After daily increases in cases in the hundreds in July and August, the figures have consistently been in the thousands in September. On Sunday, 3,899 new cases and 18 deaths were reported across the UK, as the experts reiterated basic precautions needed.

Setting out current situation in Spain and France, the experts said the UK is seeing similar increases, with new cases rising across all age groups, but particularly among the youth. The call for action is also prompted by the annual challenge of dealing with seasonal ailments in winter.

Parts of the UK are already under local lockdowns, with a range of heavy fines to be imposed from September 28 on those breaching self-isolation or lockdown rules. Parts of London are also due to face new restrictions.

The opposition Labour urged the government to avoid a second national lockdown. Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: This rapid spike in infections was not inevitable, but a consequence of the governments incompetence and failure to put in place an adequate testing system.

Labours priority is that there must be a national effort to prevent another national lockdown. The government must do what it takes to prevent another lockdown, which would cause unimaginable damage to our economy and peoples wellbeing, he added.

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New Delhi: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will summon actresses Sara Ali Khan and Shraddha Kapoor soon in connection with an ongoing drugs probe linked to actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death, sources said on Monday. They will be summoned under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Meanwhile, sources also added that fashion designer Simone Khambatta and another actress are also likely to get NCB summons soon.

Actress Rhea Chakraborty, who was arrested by the NCB a couple of weeks ago in a drug case linked to Sushant's death, reportedly took names of some Bollywood celebs before the central probe agency that consumed narcotics substance at parties. Hence, the celebs in question will now be interrogated by the NCB.

Apart from Rhea, her brother Showik Chakraborty, two of Sushant's close aides and alleged drug peddlers have also been arrested by the NCB. As part of its investigation, the NCB had conducted raids at multiple locations in Mumbai and Goa to unearth the drugs supply network.

Sushant was found dead at his apartment in Mumbai on June 14. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) are also separately probing Sushant Singh Rajput's death case.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  The University of Virginia is paying $177,533 to the Thomas Jefferson Health District to support seven new staff members who will be responsible for investigating all UVA-affiliated positive cases of COVID-19.

The health district announced Thursday the details of a memorandum of understanding between UVA and the Virginia Department of Health that outlines the funding, guidelines for data sharing and how university staff will assist with the contact tracing process, among other provisions, according to a news release.

District spokesperson Kathryn Goodman said the agreement, which was signed Aug. 24 and is effective through Dec. 31, solidifies a partnership with the VDH, the district and UVA and comes as students officially returned to Grounds this month.

We would handle UVA cases anyways, as we manage all COVID cases in the community, but this allows for [the health district] to hire additional staff to help specifically with UVA investigations/contact tracing, she said.

The team of case investigators and contact tracers supported by UVA funding will help manage positive cases related to UVA and its close contacts. The investigators who work directly with someone who tests positive will have information about quarantine and isolation resources at UVA and provide those recommendations about what a person should do.

Goodman said the staff members have been hired and are currently in training. In the meantime, other health district staff members are handling the UVA-affiliated cases. The team will prioritize UVA cases but could handle others if the workload permits. The health district has ramped up its contact tracing staff in recent months, standing at about 50 people now.

On Thursday, UVA reported an additional 52 cases among students and that 15% of the on-Grounds quarantine housing was occupied while 1% of isolation rooms are in use. The university has about 1,500 beds for quarantine and isolation, which are available to students who live on Grounds. Those who do not live in university housing are encouraged to isolate or quarantine in their residences, return home or get a hotel room, according to university documents.

Thursdays case increase was the largest since the university started its COVID-19 tracker Aug. 26. But a spokesman said in a statement that a test processing machine was temporarily offline, which created a backlog of tests.

That issue has been resolved, as todays numbers reflect  the large number of cases include a number who were tested earlier in the week and do not represent a sudden spike over the last 24 hours, UVA spokesperson Wes Hester said in a statement. As our testing capacity expands, we expect to see an uptick in cases on Grounds and to adapt our response plan in order to limit the spread of the virus and keep our community healthy and safe.

UVA has reported 430 cases overall, with 382 of those being students. An expanded COVID-19 tracker will be launched Friday.

Thursdays case numbers do not include the results from the mass testing of students at the Balz-Dobie residence hall. The university announced Wednesday that it had identified five positive cases through wastewater and individual testing programs and would test all of dorms 188 residents later that evening.

The agreement also outlines how the health district and the university will securely share data about positive COVID-19 test results. The health district will share case information with the university only if the individual consents, but the case numbers that the district reports do include those affiliated with UVA.

Cases are assigned to the locality in which a person lives. For example, those at UVA who live in the dorms will be assigned to Albemarle County. Many in the community have been wondering about students who give an address outside the district or the state.

In the release, the health district said those cases will be transferred to the district and eventually added to the data portal.

The dates in which UVA reports cases and when TJHD reports cases will not align perfectly and may have a few days difference due to when tracking cases and tests are conducted, officials said in the release.

Goodman said the health district has seen an increase in cases among students, but so far, the spread of the virus is between students, not between students and the broader community.

On Thursday, the health district reported 84 new cases, bringing the total to 3,027. The seven-day average of new cases based on the date of onset, a metric unveiled Monday, continues to decline, though, and stood at 15.43.

The percent of positive cases, another closely watched metric, is at 4.8% after declining all month.

The agreement covers UVA faculty, staff and students. Those at UVAs College at Wise and faculty and staff in the UVA Health System are not included. Nor are students in the medical and nursing schools who are exposed at work. Exposure for the latter two groups would be managed by the health systems infection prevention and control office.

For case investigations, UVA commits to providing the district with points of contact in the Office of the Dean of Students to field questions about contact tracing, such as class rosters, employee lists or other information to speed up the process, according to the agreement. Those resources are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.

The health district agrees to contact UVA community members within 24 hours of positive diagnosis and tracing contacts within 48 hours for at least 90% of the time, which is the standard that the health district uses for contacting all community members.

The agreement promotes collaboration between UVA and the health district in creating handbooks, recommendations and guidelines for processes and protocols on isolation and quarantine, assessment, and the evaluation of COVID-19 prevalence within the university community, including a weekly meeting to review the case numbers, according to the release.

For general questions about COVID-19, community members can call the TJHD COVID-19 hotline at (434) 972-6261.
A Canadian woman suspected of sending an envelope containing the poison ricin to President Trump was arrested over the weekend as she attempted to enter the U.S. at the New York-Canada border.

The woman was in possession of a gun and taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Peace Bridge border crossing near Buffalo. Her name has not been made public.

An arrest was made of an individual allegedly responsible for sending a suspicious letter, the FBI said in a statement. The investigation is ongoing.

The suspect is expected to face federal charges brought by the U.S. attorneys office in Washington.

Last week, law enforcement intercepted a letter that tested positive for ricin at a government facility that screens mail addressed to the White House. The letter appears to have come from Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

The suspect was arrested in March of last year in Texas for possessing an unlicensed weapon, resisting arrest, and having a fake drivers license. She was deported back to Canada after authorities discovered she had overstayed her visa and committed a crime in the U.S.

Federal authorities are also investigating envelopes containing ricin that were mailed to a sheriffs office and a detention facility in Texas.

Ricin, a deadly poison derived from castor beans, has no known antidote and causes abdominal pain, respiratory failure, and often death within two or three days.

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As part of the state agriculture departments initiative to encourage farming of crops of high nutrition value and thereby tackle rampant malnutrition, about 1,800 farmers of Kukribigha village, located in the outskirt of Patna, would start cultivation of biofortified wheat in the upcoming rabi season.

Agriculture minister Prem Kumar launched the much talked about project at Kurkribigha, which has been selected as the first model village by the Rural Development Council (RDC) in the country to grow biofortified wheat, which contains a high proportion of zinc and other micronutrients.

The minister said that cultivation of biofortified wheat would also be launched at another village in Gaya, the ministers home town, and formalities for community farming would complete soon.

Production of biofortified grains would ensure highest value-for-money investments for economic prosperity of farmers, he added.

Also read: At 4.3 million, India has highest recovered Covid-19 cases in the world, says health ministry

Prevalence of Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of the state to food and nutritional insecurity. The state has a 72.7 percent death rate, generally attributed to malnutrition in children ageing less than five years, as compared to the national average of 69.2 percent. This state-wide data on malnutrition was presented by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), and the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) last year.

Kumar said that farmers would get free of cost seeds, along with other farm input such as organic manure and mechanical tools to prepare the fields for farming and harvesting the crop. Farming of biofortified wheat, maize and other cereals like paddy would be extended to other parts of the state upon successful completion of the pilot project in the two villages, said the minister.

Citing a national-level study, the minister said children who ate high-zinc wheat, as chapatti or puri flatbread, or as porridge, experienced 17 percent fewer days with pneumonia and 39 percent fewer days vomiting, compared to children who consumed a lower zinc variety typical of conventional wheat.

Mothers who ate high-zinc wheat spent 9 percent fewer days with fever, said Kumar.

Bihar agriculture management extension training institute (Bameti), a state government institute, would provide necessary skill training to farmers for cultivation of biofortified wheat with technical support from Mahindra and Mahindra and other multinational organisation engaged in health and nutritional programmes.

An agricultural scientist of RDC said that zinc was an essential micronutrient, required for healthy growth and development. Inadequate zinc intake can weaken the immune system, making children more vulnerable to infections and respiratory illnesses like pneumonia, which are the two principal killers of children of this age around the world, he explained.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Subhash Pathak Subhash Pathak is special correspondent of Hindustan Times with over 15 years of experience in journalism, covering issues related to governance, legislature, police, Maoism, urban and road infrastructure of Bihar and Jharkhand. ...view detail
Retirement village in Florida. Ron Levine | Image Bank | Getty Images

Where to live in one's golden years is one of the most significant decisions a new retiree has to make, and the traditional notion of retirement is changing. The old formula of cookie-cutter retirement communities is being challenged by the rise of customizable living arrangements. Sprawling housing developments in retirement havens like Florida are becoming less desirable and, as people live longer, they want their retirement to reflect their lifestyle choices. One of America's largest and most influential generations is leading the evolution of retirement communities: Baby boomers. The oldest boomers are already retired. The youngest are now entering their retirement years, in some cases, whether they like it or not, as the Covid-19 pandemic has forced companies to cut staff and shrink costs. America, as a society, is getting older. The number of households with people age 80 and over rose 71% from 4.4 million in 1990 to 7.5 million in 2016, according to Harvard's "Housing America's Older Adults" report. The report predicts that within the next 20 years, the number of households in this group will double. "Housing America's Older Adults" noted that of the 24 million homeowners over 65, 80% lived in single-family units in 2017. The majority of these homes were at least 40 years old and may present maintenance issues retirees prefer to avoid.

Age of customization

"These communities used to be production builds, but now the consumer, baby boomers, want customization. And over the last six months, we've seen an emphasis on outdoor space," says Jane Marie O'Connor of 55+, a Massachusetts-based consultant that works with builders and developers of senior housing and lifestyles. O'Connor says that the boomers retiring today are adamant about maintaining the active lifestyles that have been a part of their routines since childhood. "This is the generation that grew up with JFK's physical fitness program, they've been active all their lives." Because people have been forced to adapt to technology over the last six months during the pandemic, retirees are more likely to embrace it, meaning that new homes can be designed with even more bells and whistles. Housing amenities have been upscaled and developers and builders are keen to fill homes with technologies like voice-activated consoles and lighting settings that mimic an owner's circadian rhythm, which regulates the sleep-wake cycle. More from Invest in You:

How much your Social Security check may increase in 2021

These hidden fees are taking a bite out of your retirement savings

How to save your future retirement if you're in your 40s and have made much headway While some have speculated that open floor plans might disappear post-Covid-19, O'Connor believes this design is not likely to change. "Universal design, no thresholds, wider doorways, even French-door refrigerators, make these homes more accessible to seniors. Biophilic design like stone and natural woods or aromas are in demand right now," she said. Owners are also more concerned about their carbon footprint, according to O'Connor, who says that many retirees are aware of their footprint and want to actively minimize it whether it be through bamboo flooring or natural landscaping. Some of these trends are part of a global phenomenon. Research by Australian academics concluded that seniors living in urban environments want their homes to be sustainably designed, including solar panels, and include more outdoor space. The idea of retirement communities isn't disappearing, it is just changing in design and location. Some are sprouting up near college campuses. Communities, like one at the University of Washington, allow retirees to live with students. Others, like Lasell Village in Newton, Massachusetts, allow Lasell University alumni to reconnect and continue a tradition of lifelong learning. One of the most enticing aspects of these retirement communities, says O'Connor, is the ability for owners to actively socialize.
WASHINGTON  The race is on for Republicans to quickly fill the Supreme Court vacancy left after Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, though some GOP senators are on board with the idea of holding a confirmation vote before the Nov. 3 election.

President Donald Trump has expressed a preference for getting a candidate confirmed before Election Day. Democrats argue that the Senate should allow the winner of the presidential election, whether it is Joe Biden or Trump, to put forth the nominee for Ginsburg's seat.

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber, and after several key senators announced their positions on Monday, Republicans likely have the votes to confirm a nominee.

Several Republicans, including some facing tough elections, have lined up behind Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's pledge to hold a vote on Trumps nominee. That includes Sens. Martha McSally, R-Ariz.; Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee  the panel charged with examining judicial nominees  backtracked on his previous remarks vowing to oppose a Supreme Court nomination so close to an election. Graham faces a competitive election of his own this year.

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have said they do not think a confirmation vote should take place before the election. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said he would not be making any comments until he had the chance to talk with his fellow Republicans Tuesday at their weekly lunch.

Here is what key senators have said about the issue:

Trump: I'll probably announce Supreme Court pick on Friday or Saturday

What we know: How will Ruth Bader Ginsburg be replaced on Supreme Court?

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska

Murkowski, a moderate Republican, reiterated her previous comments about filling a vacancy in a Sept. 20 statement: "For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election. Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed."

Story continues

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks with reporters during the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Murkowski voted for Trumps first Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, but she voted against advancing the nomination of his second nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Murkowski voted present on the final vote for Kavanaugh to allow a Senate colleague to attend his daughters wedding but said she opposed the nomination.

Democrats weigh options: Pelosi says Democrats 'have our options' when asked about impeaching Trump if he replaces Ginsburg

More: Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins oppose vote on Ruth Bader Ginsburg replacement before election

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah

Romney, a moderate who is sometimes critical of Trump, has not yet commented on a replacement. Elected in 2018, he was not yet in office when the Senate voted on Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.

He has bucked Trump on other issues in the past, though. Romney voted to impeach Trump on one of the two counts in February and has frequently criticized the president, drawing his ire on Twitter.

Romney declined to comment on the issue when asked by reporters in the Capitol Monday and said he would speak with his Senate colleagues first before making a decision.

"Im not going to speak to this until I get to speak with my colleagues," he said.

10/22/19 2:34:15 PM -- Washington, DC, U.S.A -- Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) during the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on Assessing the Impact of Turkey's Offensive in Northeast Syria on Tuesday, October 22, 2019. -- Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY staff ORG XMIT: JG Mitt Romney 10/22/2019 [Via MerlinFTP Drop]

Romney spokesperson Liz Johnson shot down a viral Twitter post alleging Romney had committed to not confirming a nominee until after Inauguration Day in January 2021, calling it grossly false. #fakenews.

The senators statement on Ginsburgs death released Friday evening hailed her record of distinguished service but did not reference filling the vacancy.

'Appalling abuse:' Sen. Mitt Romney votes to convict President Trump on abuse of power charge

More: Mitt Romney: a solitary GOP voice battling Trump for the soul of the Republican Party

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine

Collins, a moderate Republican facing a tough reelection race in Maine, said after Ginsburg's death she did not think the Senate should vote on a Supreme Court nominee before the election, though she left the door open to voting on one after the election.

Collins voted for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.

"Given the proximity of the presidential election, however, I do not believe that the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election," she said. "In fairness to the American people, who will either be reelecting the president or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd."

Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.

Gardner, who is facing a tight reelection race in Colorado, said in a Monday evening statement he would support moving forward to fill the vacancy.

"When a President exercises constitutional authority to nominate a judge for the Supreme Court vacancy, the Senate must decide how to best fulfill its constitutional duty of advice and consent," Gardner said. "I have and will continue to support judicial nominees who will protect our Constitution, not legislate from the bench, and uphold the law. Should a qualified nominee who meets this criteria be put forward, I will vote to confirm."

Gardner voted for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.

More: McConnell says Senate will vote on Trump's nominee to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat

Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., speaks beside during a news conference on Capitol Hill, July 24, 2018 in Washington.

Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala.

Jones, the Democrat facing the toughest race in November, has yet to weigh in publicly on how the Senate should handle the vacancy left by Ginsburg. He has said previously that he would fight to block such an appointment.

But Jones accused McConnell and Trump of dishonoring Ginsburg's legacy by focusing so quickly on the battle to replace her.

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., speaks during a Facebook campaign event on Sept. 11, 2020.

Im saddened  though not surprised  by how quickly this has turned into a political power play by Trump and McConnell, he said in a campaign email on Saturday. It not only dishonors the legacy of an American icon, it distorts the Constitutional process  a deliberate process that the Senate has always used to uphold the independence of our judicial branch.

Jones voted against Kavanaugh. He was not in the Senate for Gorsuchs nomination.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V.

Manchin, a red-state Democrat, was originally thought to be a swing vote on the nomination. But in a statement released on Monday, he said the Senate should not act on a Supreme Court nomination before the election.

"For the sake of the integrity of our courts and legal system, I do not believe the U.S. Senate should vote on a U.S. Supreme Court nominee before the November 3rd election," he said.

Manchin voted for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa

Grassley, one of the most senior members of the Senate, issued a statement Monday saying he would not oppose moving forward on a nomination.

"Ive consistently said that taking up and evaluating a nominee in 2020 would be a decision for the current chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Senate Majority Leader," he said. "Both have confirmed their intentions to move forward, so thats what will happen. Once the hearings are underway, its my responsibility to evaluate the nominee on the merits, just as I always have."

He told Iowa reporters in July he would not favor moving forward but said the decision was ultimately up to Graham or McConnell.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, joined at left by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, deals with objections from Democratic members of the panel as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh waits to testify before on the third day of his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 6, 2018.

I would have to tell him that I wouldn't have a hearing," Grassley said. "But if he decides to have a hearing, that's his decision. And then whether or not the nominee would come up on the floor before the election would be Chairman (sic) McConnell's decision, and you would have to ask him what he's going to do in that regard."

Grassley voted for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas

Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas speaks briefly to reporters after he opened and closed a brief session of the U.S. Senate amid the partial government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018.

Roberts, a retiring Republican, said in a statement posted on Twitter Monday he would support filling the vacancy.

"It is the U.S. Senates constitutional duty to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court of the United States, and I support the decision to do so," he said.

The Kansas Republican was viewed as one of the chambers institutionalists who could be wary of how filling this vacancy could impact the Senate long-term after Senate Republicans also blocked President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, in 2016. As a retiring senator, he did not have to worry about his re-election and the electoral implications of a decision on a nominee.

He had been eyed as a potential swing vote on some of the Senate's most consequential matters, such as earlier this year during Trumps impeachment trial, though he ultimately voted to acquit Trump.

Roberts voted for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court: Senators to watch in the fight over filling RBG's seat
Aleksei Navalny, the Kremlin critic who is recovering in Germany from poisoning with a military-grade nerve agent, has demanded Russian investigators return his clothing, calling it key evidence in his case.



Navalny said in a post on his website on September 21 that the 30-day deadline for police to conduct their preliminary investigation into what he called an attempted murder by poisoning had expired and that he was now entitled to get his items back.



The 44-year-old became seriously ill aboard a Moscow-bound flight on August 20 originating in the Siberian city of Tomsk, where he was carrying out his latest investigation into state corruption.

The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk so that Navalny could be rushed to the hospital.



The opposition activist was airlifted two days later to Germany, where doctors confirmed he had been poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. The German doctors said Novichok was found both inside his body and on his skin.



"Before they allowed me to be taken to Germany, all my clothes were taken off and I was sent completely naked. Given the fact that Novichok was found on my body and that I was very likely infected via contact, my clothes are a very important piece of evidence," Navalny said in a post.



Russian police must either launch an investigation or close a case within 30 days of a preliminary investigation.

However, police in Omsk said they were continuing their investigation and had interviewed about 200 people.
All participants in funeral prayers are required to wear facemasks and adhere to social distancing

Egypt is allowing the holding of funeral prayers in mosques' open-air courtyards nationwide starting Monday under strict safety measures, six months after the shutdown of funeral services in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, Religious Endowments Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said in a statement.

Gomaa said that the safety measures, which were approved by the coronavirus management committee at the cabinet, include limiting funeral prayers to no more than 15 minutes.

All participants in funeral prayers are required to wear facemasks and adhere to social distancing, Gomaa said.

Washing rooms will be closed to participants.

If the funeral prayer is held in a mosques open-air courtyard, a plastic cloth must be placed under the deceaseds coffin.

The funeral prayer can also be held at graveyards or any open courtyard if nearby mosques do not have an open-air space.

Gomaa said that the decision to resume funeral prayers will be under continuous assessment to monitor citizens commitment to preventive measures.

The return of the prayers comes nearly a week after Egypt eased more lockdown measures, including allowing open-air weddings starting 21 September.

Worshippers returned to Egypts major mosques for Friday prayers on 28 August for the first time since the pandemic started.

Egypt has moved towards a gradual reopening of its economy since late June, lifting some of its anti-virus restrictions, including lifting a nighttime curfew, reopening restaurants and places of worship, and resuming regular international flights as part of a plan to coexist with the virus.

Authorities have said that lockdown measures would be reviewed periodically before they decide to gradually relax them further, warning that "strict measures" would be imposed if citizens failed to adhere to the rules.

Egypt has repeatedly urged caution to avoid a second wave of the pandemic, particularly with the advent of autumn.

Egypt currently has an infection tally of 102,015 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 5,770 deaths since the first case was discovered on 14 February.

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New Delhi, Sep 21 : A Delhi court on Monday dismissed an application filed by former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid, arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, seeking permission to meet his family during police custody.

On September 13, Delhi Police's Special Cell had arrested Khalid following a case related to the widespread violence which broke out in Delhi's northeast area in February this year, after which he was sent to police custody for 10 days. His remand period is slated to conclude on September 24.

The former JNU student had knocked on the doors of the court requesting it to allow him to meet his family for two days for a period of 30 minutes each. Khalid's counsel Trideep Pais informed the court that a verbal assurance was given to them by the police for meeting, but later they were denied permission.

Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad apprised the court that the meeting could influence the interrogation and pose a hindrance. It was submitted that the accused was already meeting with his counsel and if he has to convey any message to his family members, he may convey that through them.

Prasad further asserted that there is no provision in CrPC for allowing the family of the accused to meet with the accused during his custody remand. He has also submitted that meeting is permissible during judicial custody as per jail rules.

"In the totality of facts and circumstances of the case, I see no merit in the application, and accordingly, the application is dismissed," the Additional Session Judge noted in an order dated September 19.

Prasad had earlier sought 10 days' police custody of Khalid to confront him with huge technical data running into 11 lakh pages, "as well as other evidence collected during investigation of present case and also to examine at length about other suspects and various other aspects." Khalid is accused of hatching a criminal conspiracy to cause communal unrest by inciting people protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens.

Besides this, Khalid is also named in chargesheets filed in various cases over the riots. Communal violence broke out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after clashes between CAA supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
Portadown 2000. Jackie Hannon and husband John on their Fruit and Veg stall in William Street Portadown market. Picture Colm O'Reilly

A row over the reopening of a market in a Co Armagh town has led to legal threats.

Traders in Portadown are up in arms over plans to relocate their market to a tent.

A petition against the move, signed by more than 1,000 people, was handed into Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council on Friday by a group of stall holders.

But Portadown 2000, the company that runs the market, said it was seeking legal advice over abusive comments made to its employees on Facebook.

The row erupted over plans to erect a tent rather than reopen the traditional market hall in William Street, which was closed when lockdown was imposed.

Traders fear break-ins, rats, mice and cold weather during the winter months if they are forced to move.

But Portadown 2000 said it had taken professional advice on the reopening of the original market hall and had been told it was unsafe.

Traders believe that with safety measures in place, there should be no problems with reopening the venue  and some are refusing to move.

There is local support for the stall holders too, with a Facebook group called Save Portadown Farmers Market attracting more than 1,400 members.

Jackie Hannon, who has run a fruit and vegetable stall in the market for 35 years, said: Its an absolute disgrace, especially at a time when people are losing their jobs and we are having to fight tooth and nail to try and stay in business.

Expand Close Portadown 2000. Shirley Houghton and fellow market traders handing over the petition to DUP Carla Lockhart in William Street Portadown. Picture Colm O'Reilly / Facebook

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Whatsapp Portadown 2000. Shirley Houghton and fellow market traders handing over the petition to DUP Carla Lockhart in William Street Portadown. Picture Colm O'Reilly

We have been trading in the street and we are going to stand our ground and not go into the tent. One gust of wind and it (the tent) is gone anyway.

The trading hours they are proposing and stall prices will mean its not viable for us.

Another enraged trader, Shirley Houghton, who sells costume jewellery and hasnt been able to trade since lockdown, added: Portadown 2000 says the market hall is not safe and compliant, yet they have spent even more ratepayers funds to obtain a tent for future trading.

A tent is not a safe or secure environment to sell foodstuffs because of vermin and it would not be secure for goods left overnight as most traders sell Friday and Saturday.

It is also not suitable for the winter weather and it will be too cold to trade in.

There was no consultation with traders prior to this proposed relocation.

None of the existing traders are willing to sign up for the new tent market because it would greatly affect their profits, their health and the condition of their produce.

Brian Walker, chair of Portadown 2000, said he spent Thursday trying to console staff upset by online comments about the row.

It has been an absolute nightmare. We have seven employees and most of them were in tears due to the abuse and accusations being made online over the last week, he added.

It has got so bad that we are now taking legal advice as people have been accused of dodgy dealing and lining their own pockets. It has got completely out of hand.

The members of Portadown 2000 are all volunteers. It is horrendous to suggest anyone is lining their own pockets.

We are just trying to do a job. We have taken professional advice and we have been advised that the old market hall is not safe. I am not prepared to put my staffs health or the health of the public at risk.

We have had 20 stall holders sign up for the new marquee.

If I have to take legal action, I will because this has gone beyond normal behaviour and it has to stop.

Local DUP MLA Carla Lockhart said she would speak to both sides to try and resolve the dispute.

I want to see it amicably resolved because it does no one any good to have unrest within Portadown 2000 and with the market traders, she added.

I will be working with both sides to try and resolve this situation.
(Newser)  The Supreme Court is now Ruthlessand Democrats should be the same way if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell manages to "get a midnight Trump nominee to the Supreme Court confirmed" and Democrats take both the White House and Senate, writes Scott Lemiuex at NBC News. Lemiuex, a political science lecturer at the University of Washington, argues that Ginsburg's death has shown GOP leadership to "be wholly unscrupulous actors, committed to maximum short-term political gain irrespective" of long-term consequences or political norms. Democrats will be justified in playing "constitutional hardball" in response. Lemiuex says Democrats should consider not only expanding the court, but granting statehood to Puerto Rico and Washington, DC.

story continues below

Lemiuex notes that another Trump judge will give the court a 6-3 conservative majority, although Democrats have won the popular vote in six out of the last seven presidential elections and are on course to make it seven out of eight. In the past, constitutional crises have erupted when opposition factions control the court and the closest parallel to the current situation is the "lame-duck court-packing of John Adams' administration, which led to a fierce legislative backlash from Thomas Jefferson's administration," he writes. If Republicans "firmly establish 'anything that is not strictly forbidden by the Constitution is permitted' as the de facto norm of governance," he concludes, "Democrats should act in kind should they win in November." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer apparently agrees: He warned Saturday that "nothing is off the table for next year" if Senate Republicans push ahead with their plans. (Read more Ruth Bader Ginsburg stories.)
Gardai are working to identify the organisers of a rave (PA)

Gardai are working to identify the organisers of a rave that appeared to breach Dublins coronavirus restrictions on outdoor gatherings.

Social media footage of Saturday nights party at the Oliver Bond Street flats complex show significantly more in attendance than the 15 currently permitted to attend outdoor events in the city.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin raised concern about the event on Monday, describing it as a serious issue.

A Garda spokesman said gardai attended and broke up the rave.

A number of patrols were conducted in the area over the course of the evening and by approximately 11pm gardai requested all persons to disperse and maintained a presence in the area, he said.

An Garda Siochana are carrying out an investigation to identify the organiser(s) of this event. An Garda Siochana is also investigating any other breaches of criminal legislation which may have occurred.

Expand Close Micheal Martin said events like those witnessed at the Oliver Bond flats were a serious issue (Julien Behal/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Micheal Martin said events like those witnessed at the Oliver Bond flats were a serious issue (Julien Behal/PA)

The spokesman said gardai were not investigating breaches of public health regulations by those who attended the event, noting: Social distancing, wearing of masks in a public area and other such guidelines are non-penal regulations.

Mr Martin was asked about the scenes in an interview with Newstalk.

The Gardas approach all along, operationally, has been to encourage compliance, work with people, engage with people  enforcement is a last resort in many cases, he said.

I think the Oliver Bond situation is being investigated by the gardai, the manner of its organisation, there might be a range of issues there that the gardai have to attend to above and beyond the social distancing and the breach of regulations and guidance in relation to public health.

And that is a serious issue  a gathering of that kind in terms of the spread of the virus.
GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobvista, a technology platform providing mobile advertising and marketing services, has passed the SOC2 audit, an authoritative international certification standard, and received the SOC2 Type1 report, becoming China's first company in the mobile internet marketing community to obtain such a report.

The SOC report is a System and Organization Controls (SOC) service audit report formulated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), which includes three forms: SOC1, SOC2, and SOC3. Among them, SOC2 is a standard dedicated to data security and privacy protection. The SOC2 report is recognized as the world's most authoritative and professional report on data security, which can accurately reflect the data security realities of the audited company.

The SOC2 audit was performed by one of the Big Four accounting firms, who assessed the design suitability and implementation effectiveness of control measures concerning security, availability, process integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of services such as Mobvista's top media advertising solutions, programmatic advertising solutions, network-wide traffic aggregation marketing solutions, SpotMax central technology platform, and mobile analytics solutions. Obtaining the SOC2 Type1 audit report indicates that Mobvista fully complies with the SOC2 standard and is at the forefront of the mobile internet marketing field in terms of data security.

With the development of the internet industry and technological innovation, the amount of internet-based content has grown exponentially, and with it, the amount of personal information, resulting in increasingly prominent data security concerns. According to security intelligence provider RBS (Risk Based Security), there were 7,098 data breaches worldwide in 2019, involving 15.195 billion data records. At the same time, the costs associated with managing and fixing data breaches have also risen. According to the annual Cost of a Data Breach Report published by IBM Security, the average cost for a data breach is now $3.86 million, down 1.5% compared to 2019. However, in cases where more than 50 million consumer records are involved, the costs associated with "mega" data breaches will likely be as high as US$392 million, up from US$388 million in 2019.

There are many reasons for corporate data leakage. According to statistics from the Secsmart Research Center for Information Security and Strategy, 71% of the data leaks are caused by the lack of data access control, and 36% is caused by improper data handling. Other reasons include unapproved data operations, and unauthorized data access, among others.

Fortunately, as users' awareness of data security continues to improve, companies are taking data security more seriously.

According to Mobvista CFO Sean Song, the mobile marketing industry is inextricably linked to data. As a global mobile advertiser, data security is a top priority for the Mobvista Group's business growth and development. The SOC2 audit enables the company to build a bridge of information security that will meet regulatory compliance requirements while also increasing customer trust.

How can a company secure its data? First of all, the company must have full-fledged management policies, which cover all management details of the company, including background information of key personnel, the scope of data access within the company, and so on. In addition, the company must establish effective management mechanisms, such as committees comprised of board members. SOC2 is currently one of the most authoritative auditing standards for identifying whether a company's relevant mechanisms are sound. Only companies that meet the SOC2 audit standard can obtain relevant reports.

It should be noted that in addition to corporate governance, external policies and regulations are also constantly urging companies to increase their data security efforts. According to incomplete statistics from the iYiou think tank, there are currently 126 countries and regions in the world that have formulated laws dedicated to personal data protection. Outside China, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the U.S. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018, both require companies to adopt protection measures to ensure data security. In China, there are laws and regulations like the Cyber Security Law and the Measures for Security Assessment of Outbound Provision of Personal Information and Important Data, among other laws and regulations which govern the data security standards at the company-level. The upcoming Personal Information Protection Law and Data Security Law will undoubtedly impose higher requirements on corporate data security.

"Mobvista has always placed great emphasis on data compliance in all the markets we operate around the world. Since 2018, we have successfully implemented the GDPR compliance upgrade and applied COPPA certification for the Group's programmatic interactive advertising platform Mintegral, our performance-oriented marketing platform Nativex, and our mobile game data analysis platform GameAnalytics," Song explained. "The rationale behind the SOC2 audit is that we actually believe that it is not enough to just comply with the general regulatory requirements in terms of data security and privacy protection. Mobvista needs to set the pace by being a responsible company, from a corporate, as well as a social point of view and we will continue to invest more in this area."

The SOC2 audit covered all Mobvista businesses, including Mintegral, Nativex, and GameAnalytics. Song emphasizes that the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of the year has profoundly changed the landscape of the marketing industry, as companies are paying more attention to the results of their marketing campaigns. In this context, a digitally-driven, transparent, and compliant Mobvista is positioned to become the ideal partner for advertisers around the world.

Mobvista has established a presence in 18 cities around the world, with more than 700 employees serving customers in 85 countries and regions around the world.

SOURCE Mobvista
International students will still want to study in Western Australia with or without the COVID pandemic looming over the sector but the border 'needed to open', according to a Perth university leader.

Edith Cowan University vice chancellor Professor Steve Chapman said despite the states borders being closed for months, the attraction for international students to come to Perth had not waned.

Edith Cowan University vice chancellor Professor Steve Chapman. Credit:Lauren Pilat

Speaking at the Committee for Economic Development Australia panel in Perth last week, ahead of the major city deal announcement on Sunday that will see ECU Mount Lawley relocate to Perth by 2025, Professor Chapman said applications had never been higher.

He said before the borders were closed, ECU had its best semester ever for international students and expected other WA unis to have experienced the same seeing as the sector was working together to attract pupils from overseas.
Mumbai: Actor Richa Chadha on Monday said she has initiated appropriate" legal action after her name was dragged in a defamatory" manner by actor Payal Ghosh, who has accused filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment. On Saturday, Ghosh took to Twitter, claiming that the Gangs of Wasseypur" director was sexually inappropriate towards her, an allegation Kashyap called baseless".

In a video released to ABN Telugu, Ghosh claimed that the incident happened in 2014-2015. The actor, who made her Hindi debut with Rishi Kapoor-Paresh Rawal starrer Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi", also claimed that Kashyap boasted about his connection with megastar Amitabh Bachchan and claimed that there were other female artistes who he got intimate with, including Chadha. Chadha took to Twitter to share her lawyer Saveena Bedi Sachars statement. Our Client has initiated appropriate legal action and shall further pursue her legal rights and remedies in law as may be advised in her best interest." The statement further read that the Fukrey" star condemns her name being unnecessarily and falsely dragged in a defamatory manner" into controversies and allegations raised by third parties." Though our client believes that genuinely wronged women should get justice at all costs, there are legislations that are intended to ensure that women have an equal standing in their workplace and to ensure that they have a cordial workplace in which their dignity and self-respect is protected.

No woman can be allowed to misuse their liberties to harass other women with unsubstantiated or non-existent, false and baseless allegations." When a Twitter user criticized the actor for speaking against casting couch in the past and now siding with Kashyap, Chadha called her out for being agenda driven. Attempt to rape is a serious allegation. She should have gone to the cops. You think feminism is women dragging your name in an obscene, unnecessary way in their personal battles? So I can make cheap allegations about you on TV? Your agenda has blinded you towards truth. Shame," the actor wrote in reply.

Later in a tweet, Chadha said while the soft copy of the legal notice was sent to Ghosh, the latter refused to receive the delivery of the hard copy at her residence. Update: soft copy of the legal notice has been sent to Ms. Ghosh. My person along with a person from my lawyers office, went to hand deliver the hard copy of the notice to her residence, which she/representative refused to take delivery of. Weve got the refusal on video," she wrote.

Kashyap, too, shared a statement from his lawyer, Priyanka Khimani, that said the 48-year-old director has been fully advised of his rights and remedies in law and intends to pursue them to the fullest extent." Dismissing the allegations on Sunday, Kashyap called Ghoshs claim an attempt to silence" him for his outspoken views. The director found support in his industry friends, including Hansal Mehta, Taapse Pannu, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub as well as former wives, film editor Aarti Bajaj and actor Kalki Koechlin who credited him for creating safe work space for women.
Protection: President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte visit the castle of Polignac in Condom, south-west France at the weekend. Photo: AP

France's hospitals are at a "tipping point" in the fight against Covid-19 and the second wave "is here", the head of the country's biggest A&E union warned yesterday.

Francois Braun, president of France's Samu-Urgences union, sounded the alarm after France registered 13,500 new infections on Saturday - a record figure since lockdown.

The proportion of people testing positive has risen slightly to 5.6pc, and last week saw a rise in hospital deaths week on week for the first time since the end of lockdown in May.

The national health body, Sante France, said there had been a "rise in all indicators" linked to the virus and a "probable underestimation" of the number of new cases due to test centres reaching saturation levels.

More than 55 of France's departements are now deemed infection "red zones" and several cities - including as Bordeaux, Marseille and Nice - have tightened restrictions, imposing earlier closing times for bars and restaurants and reducing private gatherings to 10 people or less.

"For the past 10 days, we've witnessed a pretty significant rise in cases and this rise is constant from one day to the next," Mr Braun told Le Parisien. "The second wave is here and there is still time to prepare for it (in hospitals)."

While the rise was "not the tidal wave we saw in March" as intensive care units are in the main not yet saturated, "we can sense we have reached a tipping point," he added.

Mr Braun noted that hospitals in Paris and Montpellier had just reactivated emergency Covid "white plans" to free up beds.

He said the worst could be avoided if people strictly respect social distancing and mask-wearing, but emergency services "expect a complicated month of October".

In France, people face fines of 135 for not wearing masks in public transport.

Amid rising infection levels across the country, however, Paris police this weekend warned bars and restaurants that they faced administrative closure if they failed to respect distancing and mask rules.

Mr Braun also said that health workers who battled the pandemic valiantly in March were once again "exhausted and demoralised" as it emerged hospitals were having trouble recruiting enough staff in some regions.

"I can't understand why we haven't learned the lessons in terms of hospital organisation from the first wave," he said.

Meanwhile, Aurelien Rousseau, head of the Paris region health agency, said that while "tension levels have reached maximum levels", "we will not see a remake of the first wave, rather a second season of the epidemic".

On the plus side, patients were better treated, less often admitted to hospital or placed on ventilators in intensive care and for shorter times, he said. Hospitals would be tested, however, because "there is no question of deprogramming non-Covid treatment".

The infection rate in the French capital now stands at 160 per 100,000 inhabitants but the R level remains stable, he added. ( 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]
VietNamNet would like to introduce an article by Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, entitled Prepare and organize the National Party Congress well, bring the country into a new stage of development".

The article was published on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the August Revolution, National Day, and the upcoming 13th National Party Congress.

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong

For nearly a century (90 years since the establishment of the Communist Party of Vietnam), the National Party Congress has always been a significant and meaningful event that marked a new development step of the country. The 13th National Party Congress is taking place at the time the international and regional situation is having very fast, complicated and unpredictable developments; the country faces many advantages, opportunities and difficulties, and challenges many new problems. Our cadres, party members and people have high expectations of correct, strong and wise decisions of the Party.

With the motto: Solidarity - Democracy - Discipline - Innovation - Development, the upcoming National Party Congress not only reviews the implementation of the Resolution of the 12th Congress but also looks back at 35 years of Doi Moi (renovation), 30 years of implementation of the Platform 1991, 10 years of implementation of the revised Platform 2011, the Socio-economic Development Strategy 2011-2020; sets out the directions and tasks for the term 2021 - 2026, defines goals and orientations to 2030 (celebrating the Partys 100th anniversary) and national development vision to 2045 (celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam).

Therefore, this will certainly be an important milestone in the development process of our Party, our people, our country, and has a sense of future orientation, continuing to comprehensively and synchronously promote the cause of Doi Moi, integration and national development.

The draft documents submitted to the upcoming Congress have been prepared in a very meticulous, methodical and thoughtful manner; thoroughly grasping the principle of cleverly combining between theory and practice, between consistency and innovation, and between inheritance and development, on the basis of maximizing democracy, listening to the opinion of scientists, officials, party members and people; selecting, refining, referring to the enthusiastic and responsible proposals; crystallizing the wisdom and creativity of the entire Party, the entire people and the entire army.

The political report is the central document of the Congress, together with the Summary Report on the implementation of the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2011 - 2020, building the 2021-2030 Socio-Economic Development Strategy; Report on evaluation of the implementation of socio-economic development tasks for the 2016-2020 period and directions and tasks of socio-economic development for 2021 - 2025; and Summary Report on Party building work and implementation of Party Charter.

The documents submitted to the Congress show major views, policies and directions, the Party's vision and strategic thinking, the nations development aspirations and the political determination of the entire Party, entire people, and entire army in the cause of firmly building and defending our country  the Socialist Republic of Vietnam  a strong country of rich people, democratic, and civilized society. The recent grassroots-level congress considered and discussed all draft documents of the National Party Congress. I know that the grassroots congresses received diverse, multi-dimensional opinions of different angles and different approaches.

The Document Drafting Subcommittees have received, summarized these opinions to supplement and complete the reports. At the upcoming congresses of the central-level Party committees and the National Party Congress, delegates and delegations will continue to participate in the discussion. I will not go into details of the reports but some major and important issues for further consultation of the Congress.

I- Looking back at the 12th term, we are happy to see that the whole Party, the entire people, and the entire army have promoted the spirit of solidarity, demonstrated bravery, intelligence, creative efforts, overcome many difficulties and challenges, successfully implemented the key objectives and tasks, obtained many very important achievements; The country has continued to develop rapidly and quite comprehensively, with positive changes and many outstanding hallmarks:

- At a time global economy and trade declines and then falls into a serious crisis due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, our economy still maintains a relatively high average growth rate (6%) to be one of the fastest growing economies in the region and in the world. The quality of growth is improved; the macro-economy is still fairly stable; major economic balances are guaranteed; financial discipline of the State budget is strengthened.

Social investment, production and business capacity increase sharply. The economy's potential, size and competitiveness continue to be raised. The society is basically stable, people's lives have been increasingly improved (the household poverty rate fell from 58% in 1993, 9.88% in 2016 to less than 3% in 2020). The fields of social security, health, education - training, science - technology, protection of environmental resources, cultural development, Vietnamese people building, etc. have many positive changes.

- The work of building and regulating the Party and the political system is particularly of interest, carried out comprehensively on all aspects of politics, ideology, morality, organization and personnel, making prominent hallmarks. The fight against corruption, negative phenomena and wastefulness has changed and carried out drastically, methodically, making a breakthrough and achieving many specific, clear and positive results.

Corruption, degradation, self-transformation within the Party and political system has been gradually restrained. Many economic and corruption cases, especially serious ones, were discovered, investigated, prosecuted, trialed in a strict manner, with no restricted areas, no exceptions, creating great deterrence and alertness, and being welcomed, highly appreciated and supported by cadres, party members and people.

- In the face of complicated developments in the world and the region, the hostile forces opposition, our national defense and security have been strengthened. Political security, social order and safety were maintained. Foreign affairs and international integration have been promoted, constantly expanded and developed in depth, contributing to consolidating a peaceful and stable environment for development; resolutely, persistently maintaining independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and strategic interests of the country; Vietnam's prestige and position in the international arena have been continuously improved.

- In 2020, thanks to the sensitive and correct leadership of the Party and State, the drastic and timely direction and administration of the Government, the synchronous and active participation of the whole political system, the agreement, response and strong support from the people of the whole country and our people abroad, we have basically controlled and prevented the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic in the community, minimizing the damage and losses caused by the epidemic, ensuring security and social welfare for the people, step by step restoring production and business, striving to complete the socio-economic development tasks of 2020 and the whole period 2016  2020 at the highest level. Vietnam has become a bright spot in controlling and preventing the Covid-19 pandemic, has been recognized and highly appreciated by the world, through which the people's confidence in the Party, the State and the socialist regime has been strengthened.

The achievements obtained in the past 5 years have both objective and subjective reasons, the most important of which is the proper leadership and direction of the Central Party Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat and Party committees at all levels in implementing the Resolution of the 12th Congress, promptly and effectively solving many new problems that have arisen in practice; drastic and sensitive management and administration by the Government and the authorities at all levels; the National Assembly's efforts to renovate the contents and modes of operation; the unity and synchronous coordination of the whole political system; the promotion of patriotic traditions and strengthening of great national solidarity; the efforts of cadres and party members; the active, creative and responsible labor spirit of the people; the trust, consensus and support of the international community.

These achievements are the products of creativity, the result of a process of persistent and continuous efforts in many terms of the entire Party, the entire people and the entire army, contributing to the creation of great achievements with historical significance of our country.

I have said many times that, with all humility, we can still assert: Our country has never had the career, potential, position and international reputation as we have today. From a small, poor, backward country, with very low education, almost no name on the world map, today Vietnam has grown to become a country with a population of nearly 100 million people, a developing country with middle income, establishing relationships with most countries in the world, joining almost all international organizations and being a responsible member and partner of the international community.

So that we have more faith, excitement and pride, and continue to affirm that our path is correct, in accordance with the laws of objectivity, in line with Vietnamese practices and the trend of development of the era; the policies of our Party are right, creative; the leadership of the Party is wise and the leading factor determining all the victories of the Vietnamese revolution; The Party's political platform continues to be the flag of ideology and theory that leads our nation to firmly promote the renovation and the foundation for our Party to continue perfecting the way of building and defending the Fatherland in the new era.

Five years of implementing the Resolution of the 12th Congress was a very lively practice for us to continue to affirm, supplement and deepen the lessons learned from the previous terms:

Firstly, the Party building work (organization and personnel building) must be implemented comprehensively, synchronously and regularly in terms of ideology, politics, morality, organization and personnel. Consistency and stability on the basis of the Party's ideology go hand in hand with the Party's organizational apparatus building and a really streamlined political system operating effectively.

To be deeply imbued with President Ho Chi Minhs thought "cadre is the root of all works"; "all works that succeed or fail are due to good or poor officials". Therefore, the organization and personnel work must be a breakthrough, a "key" of the "key" tasks, related to the Party's survival and the regime's destiny, the countrys rapid and sustainable development. Paying attention to building and cleaning the contingent of cadres, especially building a contingent of strategic-level cadres who are qualified, capable and reputable, who are on a par with their duties; promoting the responsibility of setting the example of cadres and party members; the higher the position, the more exemplary they must be.

Secondly, in leadership, administration, implementation and organization, there must be very high determination, great effort, dynamism, creativity, focusing on creating breakthroughs for development; attaching great importance to the quality and practical efficiency of the work and upholding the responsibility of the leader. Overcoming weaknesses and delays in leadership, administration, and implementation of guidelines and policies. Maintaining discipline in the implementation of laws, policies, and public service; at the same time protecting cadres and party members who have a high will to fight, to set example in the implementation of the Party's principles and discipline and the State's laws, who dare to innovate, dare to think, dare to say and dare to do, dare to take responsibility, dare to face difficulties, challenges and are determined in action.

Thirdly, in the implementation of the tasks, it is essential to pay special attention to synchronization and comprehensiveness in order to both meet the urgent and immediate objectives, to completely solve the weaknesses, congestion and backlog while building a synchronous development institution to realize the long-term, fundamental and sustainable goals of the country in the direction of ensuring harmony between economic reform and political, cultural and social reform; between economic growth and cultural and human development, realization of social progress and justice; between solving social problems well, and protecting natural resources and the environment; between socio-economic development and national defense and security assurance; between independence and autonomy with strengthening foreign affairs, international integration; and really attaching importance to and promoting the role of education and training, and science and technology in the new conditions.

Fourthly, in ensuring national defense, security and foreign affairs, it is necessary to proactively study, grasp and forecast the correct situation to make proactive plans; handle properly and effectively relationships with major countries, strategic partners, traditional friends and neighboring countries; to pay attention to improving the country's reputation and image while being very wary of increasingly sophisticated and plots and tricks of hostile, reactionary forces that have aggressively opposed our Party, State and people, especially in the field of politics and ideology.

Fifthly, in all the work of the Party and State, always defining "the people as the root", truly believing, respecting and promoting the people's mastery; persistently complying with the principle: "people know, people discuss, people do, people check, people supervise, people benefit". People are the center, the subject of the renovation; all guidance and policies must really come from the aspirations, rights and legitimate interests of the people.

The Party must take full care of the life and interests of the people; build close relationships with people; rely on the people to build the Party, take the results, satisfaction and trust of the people as important criteria to evaluate the quality of the organizational apparatus and the quality of cadres and party members.

In order to consolidate the people's confidence in the Party, it is necessary to be determined and proactive in cleaning the Party's cadres, overcoming the phenomenon of deterioration of the quality and lifestyle of a part of cadres, and Party members; consolidate and build clean and strong party organizations, making the Party truly the leader and loyal servant of the people.

Those valuable lessons are an important basis for our Party to continue to apply and promote in leadership and direction, helping us to gain more courage and confidence in the face of many new and severe difficulties and challenges due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the global economic downturn when entering the 13th term.

II- The directions and tasks of the 13th Congress term and the coming period:

It is forecasted that in the coming years, the international and regional contexts will continue to have many complicated, rapid and unpredictable changes. Under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world has fallen into a serious crisis in many aspects, in terms of health, economy, society and governance. Strategic competition, economic competition, and trade war continue to be fierce.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has strongly developed, creating breakthroughs in many fields, creating both opportunities and challenges for all countries. Countries strive to adjust development strategies and modes to adapt to the new situation. The Asia-Pacific region has an increasingly important strategic position. In Southeast Asia, the security environment and sovereignty disputes in the East Sea continue to be complicated. Climate change, natural disasters, epidemics and other non-traditional security issues have made increasingly strong impacts in many ways, seriously threatening the stable and sustainable development of the world, the region and our country.

Meanwhile, despite achievements, our country still faces many difficulties and challenges. Economic growth is not commensurate with the potential, after the continuous high growth in the first 4 years of the term, it is a sharp decline in 2020, perhaps with a growth rate of only 3%; the quality of growth is low and facing many negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Autonomy and resilience of the economy are not high.

State economy, especially state-owned enterprises, are still operating ineffectively, facing many difficulties and congestion. The private sector and the foreign-invested economy have developed rapidly but not yet sustainably. The socio-economic leadership and state management, ensuring of political security, social order and safety, and protection of environmental resources have many shortcomings, causing social frustration. The fight to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity remains complicated. Historical values, cultural traditions of the Vietnamese nation and people have not been fully promoted.

Institutional building capacity is limited; the quality of laws and policies remains low. The leadership capacity and methods, the fighting strength of many party organizations and party members are not on par with the task. The power control mechanism in the Party and State is inadequate and synchronous, with low effect and efficiency. These difficulties and shortcomings require the entire Party, the entire people and the entire political system of our country to have high determination, make great efforts and act more drastically to overcome.

Continuing to promote renovation, our Party must be truly firm, maintain its revolutionary and scientific nature, stick closely to the people, be trusted and loved by the people, to overcome all difficulties, challenges and lead the successful realization of the goal of building and defending Socialist Vietnam.

The guiding thought of the entire Party, the entire people and entire army is steadfast and creatively applying and developing Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought; consistent with the aim for national independence and socialism; steadfast in the Party's renewal line to build and protect Socialist Vietnam. This is a matter of vital significance to our regime, a solid foundation of our Party.

It is necessary to master and handle well the relationship between consistency and renovation, creative application. If only being "steadfast" in a mechanical way, it is easy to lead to being dogmatic, rigid and conservative, while if carrying out renovation in an unprincipled way, it is very easy to fall into Revisionism, losing direction and "changing color". Therefore, it is necessary to understand clearly and to correctly apply the dialectical method of Marxism-Leninism: Consistency must be associated with creativity and creativity must be on the basis of consistency in accordance with reality, with requirements of renovation, integration and development of the country.

Our country's overall development strategy in the coming period is rapid and sustainable development, ensuring close connection and synchronous implementation of tasks, in which: Socio-economic development is center; Party building is key; Cultural development is the spiritual foundation of society; Ensuring that national defense and security is critical and regular.

The driving force and resources for national development in the new period are to strongly arouse patriotism, the will of national resilience, and promote the synergy of both the political system and of cultures and Vietnamese people; combine national strength with the power of the times.

It is a precious national tradition which has been used creatively by our Party during the 90 years leading the people to fight for national independence, unification and to build socialism. It is of extremely important significance when the country is at a historic turning point, to mobilize great material and spiritual resources to continue to break through and rise.

Our containment and control of the recent Covid-19 pandemic is an eloquent example that affirms the superiority of our regime, the tradition of solidarity, patriotism, humanitarianism and determination of our people. We should not be complacent, subjective, or negligent; the more difficulties and challenges, the more these qualities and traditions must be promoted, the more they must be multiplied.

The decisive factor for the success of the cause of building and developing the country and defending the Fatherland is strengthening Party building, improving leadership, the ruling and fighting capacity of the Party; building a clean, strong, streamlined State and political system, with effective and efficient operation; building a contingent of cadres and party members, especially a contingent of strategic-level cadres, who are qualified, capable and reputable, on a par with their tasks, and have close ties with the people.

With a genuine, clean, strong revolutionary party, with enough bravery, wisdom, experience, and prestige like our Party, and with all the trust and support of the people, we will have great strength to overcome all difficulties and challenges; no forces can prevent our people from going up, making new miracles in the cause of building and developing the country.

Promoting the will and strength of great national solidarity, in the coming Congress, we need to have a vision to the middle of the twenty-first century: Strive to turn our country into a socialist-oriented developed country, set specific goals and tasks to be accomplished for each journey; clearly demonstrate inheritance and development, continuity and completeness in the process of building socialism in our country; the enthusiasm, wisdom and belief, the "will of the Party, the heart of the People" must be merged with the desire, aspiration and will to reach a bright future of the country and the entire nation.



The political report presented to the Congress this time sets out the general goals as follows: Enhancing leadership, the ruling and fighting capacity of the Party; building a clean, strong, comprehensive Party and political system; consolidating the people's confidence in the Party, the State and the socialist regime; promoting creativity, will, and aspirations for the development and strength of great national solidarity, combined with the power of the times; promoting comprehensively and synchronously the cause of renovation, industrialization, modernization, and rapid and sustainable development of the country; firmly protecting the country, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment; striving for becoming a developed country, following the socialist orientation by the middle of the twenty-first century.

On the principle of ensuring scientific, feasible and practical features, inheriting and supplementing in accordance with changes in each development stage of the country, and learning from experiences of other countries and the general development standards of the world, we define specific goals towards the important development milestones of our country:

- By 2025: Being a developing country with modern industry, surpassing the low middle income level.

- By 2030, celebrating the Partys 100th anniversary: Being a developing country with modern industry and high average income.

- By 2045, celebrating the countrys 100th anniversary: Becoming a developed country with high income.

The general and specific objectives set by the Congress are a very important basis for determining directions, tasks and solutions for national construction and development and national defense; ensuring consistency and feasibility, meeting both long-term requirements and focusing on strategic breakthroughs; creating a unity from awareness to action of the entire Party, people and army in the period from now to the middle of the twenty-first century, specifically:

Firstly, continue to strongly innovate thinking, build and complete institutions for sustainable economic, political, cultural, social development, environmental protection, etc., arousing all potentials and resources, creating a new driving force for the country's rapid and sustainable development.

First of all, focus on perfecting comprehensively and synchronously the socialist-oriented market economy on the basis of unifying the perception that this is our country's general economic model in the period of transition to socialism. To attach importance to building and perfecting institutions and policies to effectively and harmonize the relationship between the state, the market and the society.

In particular, institutional breakthroughs must be created to solve practical and specific problems such as: Mobilizing, managing and effectively using resources for development, dealing with corruption, wastefulness and negative aspects in the management and use of land, public resources and property; accumulating and concentrating land for high-tech agricultural development; developing synchronously and creating linkages between economic entities and types of production and business organizations; renewing and improving the operational efficiency of the state economic sector and state enterprises; encouraging and facilitating the development of the private economy to turn it into an important driving force of the economy; removing inconsistencies, contradictions and overlaps in law construction and enforcement, strategies, planning and plans that are hindering the development and operation of a modern and complete market economy and international integration.

Secondly, strongly renovating the growth model, restructuring the economy, promoting industrialization and modernization, improving growth quality, labor productivity and economic competitiveness based on the awareness that this is a basic, important and decisive task for the realization of the country's rapid and sustainable development goals.



To create a fundamental shift of the economy to a growth model on the basis of efficient use of resources, scientific and technological advances and innovation, promoting the potential and advantages of branches and fields, localities and the country. To step up breakthroughs in the construction of modern and synchronous infrastructure, creating a foundation to promote the development of new industries and fields, especially digital economy, digital society and digital government.

To build a strong national industry; develop large-scale agricultural commodity production and high-tech application; strongly develop the service sector based on digital economy and apply modern technology and science achievements. To consistently implement the policy of considering science and technology as the top national policy, the most important driving force to develop modern production forces, to renew growth models, improve productivity, quality and efficiency and the competitiveness of the economy.

To create a strong breakthrough in the development of human resources, especially high-quality human resources through fundamental and comprehensive innovation, synchronous education and training; in which to attach importance to building synchronous institutions and policies, synchronously renovating objectives, contents, programs, modes and methods of education and training towards modernization, international integration, to build a healthy education environment, resolutely overcoming the achievement syndrome, strictly handling the negative aspects in education and training.

Thirdly, to properly and fully implement the issue of sustainable social development management; to harmonize beneficial relations in society. To effectively handle the relationship between practicing democracy along with strengthening legislation, ensuring social discipline. To ensure social progress and equity; focusing on ensuring sustainability in population and development policies and social policies, especially social welfare, social security and human security, towards sustainable employment and comprehensive development of the social security system, towards universal coverage through reforming a sustainable, multi-layered social insurance system based on the principle of pay-benefit.

To build and promote cultural values and strength of Vietnamese people; complete and implement the building of the national value system, cultural value system and human standards associated with promoting the will and aspirations for development and the strength of Vietnamese people in the new period; implement strong and breakthrough solutions to effectively prevent the deterioration of morality and lifestyle, and repel social negativity and social evils.

Fourthly, synchronously, creatively and effectively implementing foreign affairs; building a modern diplomacy for the interests of the nation, taking the people and businesses as the center of service; proactively and actively integrating into the world in a comprehensive and extensive manner. Resolutely and persistently defending the independence, sovereignty, sovereignty right, unity and territorial integrity of the country; protecting the Party, State, people and the socialist regime.

To build the regular, elite, revolutionary armed forces, targeting step-by-step modernization. Actively preventing risks of war and conflicts; detecting early and promptly handling adverse factors, especially those that can cause mutations; struggling to defeat all the plans and activities of hostile forces.

Fifthly, to strengthen the building and rectification of the Party, State and the entire political system in a clean, strong, streamlined manner, operating effectively. Strengthening the protection of the Party's ideological foundation, resolutely and regularly struggling to criticize and reject wrong and hostile views; fighting, preventing and repelling the deterioration of political ideology, morality, lifestyle, and "self-evolving" and "self-transforming" manifestations internally. To be resolute and persistent in the fight against corruption, wasteness, and negativity, with higher determination, acting more aggressively, more effectively, with no restricted zones, no exceptions.

Continuing to focus on building a contingent of cadres at all levels, especially those at strategic levels, with full qualities, competence and reputation, on par with their tasks. Highlighting the spirit of self-discipline to cultivate, practice ethics, and the responsibility to set the example of cadres and party members; the higher the position, the more exemplary the cadres should be. To combine between strengthening discipline and rule of law, building a strict Party with education, fostering revolutionary personality and ethics to effectively prevent and fight against diseases of individualism. Complying well with regulations on power control in personnel work.

Strictly and synchronously handling both party discipline, administrative discipline and legal violations against cadres. To strongly innovate, improve the effectiveness and efficiency of inspection, supervision and party discipline in the direction of close and synchronous coordination among inspection, audit, investigation and prosecution agencies and state management agencies, the Fatherland Front, socio-political organizations.

The process of 35 years of implementing renovation, 30 years of implementing the Platform, including 10 years of implementing the revised Platform (2011), the 2011-2020 Socio-Economic Development Strategy and 5 years of implementation of the Resolution of the 12th Congress, shows that it is necessary to have a deeper awareness, continue to supplement, develop and improve the quality and effectiveness of resolving large ideological relationships, making decisions, removing barriers and obstacles, continuing to develop the country quickly and sustainably, with special emphasis on better handling of the relationships between: innovation, stability and development; economic and political innovation; obeying the laws of the market and ensuring a socialist orientation; production force development and construction, step-by-step improvement of socialist production relations; state, market and society; economic growth and cultural development, realization of social progress and equity, and environmental protection; building socialism and defending the Socialist Fatherland; independence, autonomy and international integration; the Party leads, the State manages and the people as the owner; practicing democracy and strengthening the legislation, ensuring social discipline. These are major relationships reflecting the dialectical laws, core theoretical issues about the innovation direction in our country, requiring the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army to fully realize, thoroughly grasp and perform well and effectively.

The 13th National Party Congress is coming. The workload is very large, while the time is not much, so Party committees at all levels and members of the Party Central Committee must further promote their responsibilities to the Party and the people, striving to successfully complete the targets that the 12th Congress Resolution and the resolutions of the Party Congress at all levels for the term 2015 - 2020 have set out.

In this important moment, we must think about President Ho Chi Minhs words: "The Party Congress is very related to the revolutionary future of our Party and our people. The Congress will make our united Party to be more united and our unanimous thoughts and actions to be more unanimous."

The whole Party, the entire people and the entire army must be in consensus to prepare well and carry out the 13th Party Congress, bringing the country to a new stage of development for the goal of "rich people, strong country, democratic, equal, civilized society", successfully realizing the wishes of the great President Ho Chi Minh and the wishes of the entire nation.

Secretary General and President Nguyen Phu Trong
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: After a hiatus of six months, the schools in four states of the Northeast reopened on Monday but attendance was thin.

While Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland decided on imparting lessons for students of class 9 to 12 students on voluntary basis and in deference to the Centres guidelines, Tripura, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh decided against it.

The government had asked students to come with a written consent from parents or guardians. Only 20 students of a class were allowed to attend the classes at a time. Wherever it was more than 20, the classes were taken in two shifts.

The government schools in Assam, other than those turned into quarantine centres for Covid-19, reopened but many private schools did not. Fifty per cent of teaching and non-teaching staff attended school. They as well as the students came wearing masks.

We dont have the exact percentage of students who turned up but we received reports that they came for the classes across the state, Rumi Choudhury, who is the Deputy Director in Assams Directorate of Secondary Education, told this newspaper.

She agreed that a lot of parents did not send their wards to schools due to the fear about the pandemic.

Syed Anisur Rahman, who is the general secretary of Assam Higher Secondary Teachers and Employees Association, said it was a good beginning.

We welcome it although very few students attended the classes. Nobody will dispute that students learn more from a class taken in a classroom compared to online classes. However, we have suggested that the online classes must not be stopped, Rahman said.

Attendance was thin in rest of the states. In an order issued recently, the Nagaland government had said 50 per cent teaching and non-teaching staff from outside containment zones would be allowed to come to schools. It also said the students of classes IX-XII may be permitted to visit their schools on voluntary basis for taking guidance from teachers subject to written consent of their parents or guardians.

Meghalaya Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said students could meet their teachers to clear doubts. There will neither be regular classes nor classroom sessions, he said. Among all states in the Northeast, Assam is the worst-affected by the pandemic.
PORTLAND, Maine, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For the sixth year in a row, September 25th marks National Lobster Day, an annual holiday celebrating the hardworking men and women who support the integral industry. From the cold, clean waters of Maine, the distinct sweet flavor and sustainable harvesting practices have made Maine Lobster one of the most iconic foods in the world.

While this year has brought challenges to the industry, it has also demonstrated the resiliency of Maine fishermen, dealers and processors that have worked tirelessly to innovate and find ways for consumers to enjoy the sweet flavor of Maine Lobster from the comfort of their own homes  especially during the pandemic, when 54% of Americans are cooking more at home.

"Now more than ever, it's important to recognize the hundreds of small businesses who consider Maine Lobster a way of life," said Marianne LaCroix, Executive Director of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative. "Lobster is an important symbol of Maine's identity and during these challenging times, we hope consumers across the country join us in celebrating National Lobster Day by ordering fresh Maine Lobster and in turn supporting this beloved fishery."

With a range of offerings from DIY lobster roll kits to fresh product, frozen meat and tails, and even ready to eat products like lobster bisque and mac & cheese, the delicious, sweet flavor of Maine Lobster can be delivered directly to your door. Maine Lobster brands featuring nationwide delivery include:

Bayley's Lobster Pound, Scarborough

Beal's Lobster Pier, Southwest Harbor

Bean Maine Lobster, Inc, Rockland

Cap Morrill's Inc, Brewer

Inc, Brewer Cape Porpoise Lobster Co, Inc, Kennebunkport

Dorr Lobster Co, Inc, Milbridge

Get Maine Lobster, Portland

Graffam Brothers Seafood Market, Rockport

Greenhead Lobster, Stonington

Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co, Topsham

Harbor Fish Market, Portland

Little Cranberry Lobster, Islesford

Look's Gourmet Food Co, Inc; Bar Harbor Foods, Whiting

Lucky Catch Lobster, Portland

Luke's Lobster, Saco & Portland

Maine Lobster Now, Portland

Sea Salt Lobster, Saco

Seaview Lobster Co, Kittery

Shucks Maine Lobster, Richmond

The Lobster Shop, Portland

Maine Lobster is one of the most versatile cooking ingredients. It can be used as an alternative protein for a variety of dishes, including pastas, soups and salads, elevating the flavor and adding flare to everyday staples. The Maine Lobster industry offers a wide range of lobster formats that make it easy and accessible to prepare in the home setting. For recipes and tips for how to prepare Maine Lobster at home visit https://resources.lobsterfrommaine.com/cooking-lobster-at-home.

About the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative

The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative (MLMC), founded in 2013, is funded by Maine Lobster harvesters, dealers and processors to grow demand, both for whole live lobster and a variety of value-added products. The MLMC supports that objective by promoting the core values of the Maine Lobster industry, which are sustainability and traceability that's deeply rooted in tradition.

SOURCE Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative
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Citizens of Saudi Arabia living in the UAE will feel right at home when they celebrate this years KSA National Day in Dubai on September 23.

To mark the festivities, the citys most iconic and world famous landmarks will light up in the colours of the Saudi flag, and Dubais best loved destinations will host great family-friendly events until September 26.

With so many Saudi nationals living in the UAE, particularly in Dubai, and with the close ties that exist between the two nations, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) has created a wonderful mini festival to celebrate the day, with the 200+ nationalities that call Dubai home invited to take part in the fun.

To help mark the occasion and encourage the community to get involved, a captivating 35-second video has been created by Dubai Tourism to showcase the close ties between the UAEs citizens and residents and the bonds they share with their neighbours from Saudi Arabia. Filled with families and friends enjoying special moments, the videos theme is one of celebration, joy and togetherness with traditional folk dancing, laser shows and smiles helping to spread the message of KSA and UAE Together Forever (https://we.tl/t-vVXlS1cOVb or https://we.tl/t-Vp5uifixaB)

The Burj Khalifa will display a congratulatory message to mark the occasion, with the Saudi flag projected onto the worlds tallest building. The Dubai Frame in Zabeel Park and the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Jumeirah will also host extra special displays to commemorate the event.

Shoppers and families visiting Dubai Festival City Mall will be wowed by the spectacular IMAGINE Show on September 23. The stunning light and fountains show will entertain residents and visitors as part of the malls fun-packed calendar of events.  TradeArabia News Service
An Australian chemicals and bomb expert who was killed in a blast in the Solomon Islands overnight is being remembered as a legendary action man whose efforts earned him a place on an official Australian stamp.

Newcastle man Trent Lee, 40, was working with 57-year-old British national Luke Atkinson when the pair were killed by a bomb blast in a residential area of Honiara, the capital city of the Solomon Islands on Sunday night.

Trent Lee, originally from Newcastle in Australia, in the Solomon Islands.

The pair were working for Norwegian non-governmental organisation Norwegian People's Aid, which has 1850 experts working to remove undetonated wartime explosives in 19 countries.

The Solomon Islands is littered with undetonated explosives  known as unexploded ordnance (UXO)  from World War II. The area was a key battleground between Allied forces and Japan in the early stages of the Pacific campaign.
The 15-nation West African region bloc known as ECOWAS had demanded that the president and prime minister in any transitional government must be civilians, not from the military junta. It was not immediately clear whether they would accept Goita as vice president as he would still hold a prominent role in government.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 03:43:25|Editor: huaxia

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JERUSALEM, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Man was arrested Sunday after allegedly attempting to ram his car at a Jerusalem rally to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the coronavirus crisis, the police said.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement that the suspect speeded his vehicle at a police roadblock. Rosenfeld added that the suspect was arrested at the scene and taken for questioning.

"He drove in a crazy speed towards the rally. He slammed on the brakes only a second before colliding with police barricades," an eye witness told Israel's state-owned Kan TV news.

Channel 2 TV news reported that "thousands" of Israelis rallied outside the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem for a weekly protest against Netanyahu.

The protesters call the long-time leader to resign over his criminal trial, in which he faces corruption charges in three separate cases.

Netanyahu and his government have been under growing public anger over their failure to prevent the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic in Israel and a growing economic crisis.

Last Friday, a second national lockdown has been imposed in Israel in an attempt to halt the rapid spread of the virus. Enditem
A day after Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh dismissed reports of him having made any claims that a group of IPS officers in the state had attempted to overthrow the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana said that an attempt was made to keep Devendra Fadnavis 80-hour government alive but it was foiled.

An editorial in Saamana on Monday said that some IPS officers were working as if it was their responsibility to prove majority on the floor of the House.

Deshmukh, in an interview with a vernacular media outlet in Maharashtra, was asked about a group of IPS officers working to prevent the Uddhav Thackeray-led government from coming to power. I do not wish to say anything publicly on this. All officers work diligently but there are some officers who can have different ideologies, the minister said.

Following the interview, there were reports that Deshmukh had claimed that a plan to topple the government, hatched by some senior IPS officers, had been thwarted. Later, he issued a clarification stating, This news is completely false... erroneous statements have been put into my mouth. Please see the video clip of the interview and you will realise that I had not said any such thing when I was asked to comment on whether there had been such a move planned by some IPS officers... I had only said that I cannot comment on such things openly.

The Sena mouthpiece said that several officers thought that the Fadnavis government will return to power after the 2019 assembly polls. It was difficult for them to accept that despite having 105 legislators the BJP could not form the government... Some officers were involved in the early morning swearing in [of Devendra Fadnavis] before the Presidents rule was imposed... In a bid to remain in the CMs good books, some police officials even tried to net legislators of smaller parties and some Independents. It is even true that the State Intelligence Department also played a role. Some officers were working as if they had taken up the responsibility of proving the majority, the editorial said.

The editorial added that the state administration is professional and the best. They do not have the power to make or break any government. It is not the culture of Maharashtra. If some minister thinks so that some officers are toppling the government then it sends a wrong message to people that the government is on a weak footing, it said.

It also indirectly slammed the BJP for thinking that officers lobby can help them topple the MVA government. It added that keeping an eye on elements who can pass on information to the opposition and work against the government is the job of the home department.

Some officers [who were involved] are still occupying high posts. They roam with confidence despite openly working to prevent Thackeray government from

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In Parliament today: Bill to amend CVC and Delhi Police Special Act to be tabled today

Arrested 233, evacuated 2,550 says MHA on Tablighi Jamaat members

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 21: The Delhi Police arrested 233 Tablighi Jamaat members, the Union Home Ministry said.

The Ministry also said that 2,361 people had been evacuated from the organisation's headquarters in Delhi's Nizamuddin locality since March 29.

In June the MHA had blacklisted 2,550 foreign Tablighi Jamaat members who were staying in India during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown in violation of visa rules, and they would not be allowed to enter the country for 10 years,

Tablighi Jamaat: HC quashes 29 FIRs says there is probability they were made scapegoats

The action had been taken by the home ministry after various state governments provided details of the foreigners who were found to be illegally living in mosques and religious seminaries across the country.

The home ministry had blacklisted 2,550 foreign Tablighi Jamaat members and banned their entry into India for 10 years, a home ministry official had said.

Action against the foreign Tablighi Jamaat members was first taken after over 2,300 people, including 250 foreigners, belonging to the Islamic organisation were found to be living at its headquarters located at Delhi's Nizamuddin soon after the nation-wide lockdown was announced in March. Several of these members had tested positive for coronavirus.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

The lockdown from March 25 was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

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Story first published: Monday, September 21, 2020, 12:22 [IST]
More than 276,900 Western New Yorkers have contracted Covid-19 since March 2020 and 3,457 have died of it.

The five-county region  Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties  had reported declining case counts, hospitalizations and deaths since its second-wave peak in January, as vaccinations ramped up across the region and more people acquire immunity. Cases and hospitalizations rose in early spring, peaked in mid-April and declined sharply before beginning an uptick in July that continued into the fall. The number of new cases dropped in early December but then shot back up around the holiday, reaching the highest levels since the start of the pandemic. The number of daily reported cases topped 2,000 three times in the last week of the 2021.

Hundreds of thousands of Western New Yorkers are now fully vaccinated, causing the daily pace of new vaccinations to slow.

But disparities in vaccination rates remain. Since the beginning of the rollout, white Western New Yorkers have made up a greater share of the vaccinated than they do of the overall population. Many Western New Yorkers of color have received vaccines at a disproportionately low rate, by comparison.

The share of Western New Yorkers who are fully vaccinated also lags behind the figure for New York State as a whole.

Public health experts and officials, both locally and at the federal level, say the effect of the vaccines can be seen across a range of pandemic-tracking metrics, including the positive test rate," or the share of Covid-19 tests that come back positive.

The number of Western New Yorkers hospitalized with Covid-19 has has risen sharply in November to levels not seen since the spring. Many of the region's most at-risk people, such as nursing home residents, were vaccinated in the early months of the rollout.

More than 4.6 million New Yorkers have contracted Covid-19 and more than 51,300 have died in the past 23 months. Across the U.S., 68.5 million cases  and 857,644 deaths  have now been reported.

This page will be updated daily with the latest statistics from the state and county departments of health, as well as new data from The New York Times' national Covid-19 tracking project. You can get the latest updates by bookmarking this page or subscribing to The Buffalo News' daily Covid-19 newsletter.
21.09.2020 LISTEN

The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said President Akufo-Addo, showed decisive leadership with the banking sector clean-up exercise.

These remarks were made by the party today, Monday, September 21, 2020, at a press conference.

The Chief Executive Officer of the State Transport Cooperation, Nana Akomea, who addressed the press conference attributed the banking crisis to the bad leadership of former President John Dramani Mahama.

He added that the cleanup exercise undertaken by the Akufo-Addo led administration has addressed the challenges of the sector.

The new government led by President Akufo-Addo showed right from the onset decisive leadership by cutting the rot that had engulfed Ghanas financial system. The new leadership with new leadership at the central bank as well in August 2018 took bold decisive and pragmatic steps.

Five big troubled banks were merged to form Consolidated Bank and capitalized to form a whopping sum of GHS450 million. That intervention has since addressed the banking sector crisis and it clearly demonstrates that bad leadership was the major cause of the banking and financial crisis that we had before 2017.

---citinewsroom
PORTLAND, Ore.  A Colorado man has been indicted on federal hate crime charges after a Black man was stabbed in the neck in an eastern Oregon restaurant, prosecutors said.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports a grand jury in Eugene this week indicted 26-year-old Nolan Strauss on one charge of committing a hate crime involving an attempt to kill. Court documents say on Dec. 21, 2019 the 48-year-old victim was in Ontario, Oregon, waiting in the Arbys lobby where he was applying for a job.

Strauss came up from behind and stabbed the man in the neck, prosecutors said. The attack was unprovoked and without warning, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

A struggle ensued and the man freed himself while Strauss was restrained by Arbys employees. When asked why he had attacked the man, Strauss told an employee I dont like Black people, prosecutors said.

The victim was flown to an Idaho hospital where he had surgery for two lacerations to his neck.

Strauss is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Oct. 20 and could face a life sentence in federal prison if convicted. It wasnt immediately known if he has a lawyer to comment on his case.
Seriously ill patients have been left in isolation for up to 15-hour stretches as seclusion times blow out in NSW mental health units under immense pressure during the protracted COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest seclusion rates were a clear sign the government had failed to respond to the mental health crisis with the same urgency as COVID's physical health threat, prompting leading psychiatrist and former national mental health commissioner Professor Ian Hickie to call for federal government funding to buy private mental health beds for public patients in crisis.

Blacktown Hospital reported the longest average seclusion episode duration of 15 hours and 8 minutes between April and June 2020. Credit:James Brickwood

Patients were kept in seclusion for, on average, six hours and 54 minutes each time in NSW public mental health units between April and June 2020, the latest Bureau of Health Information quarterly results showed.

That was one hour and 47 minutes longer than seclusion episodes over the same period last year and three hours longer than NSW Healths "Performance KPI" target of under four hours.
MEA official to be part of Indo-China military commander level talks

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 21: An officer of the Ministry of External Affairs will be part of the military commander level talks with China to be held today.

The delegation for the first time comprise a joint secretary level officer from the Ministry of External Affairs. The decision to include an officer from the MEA was taken by the top brass. The talks are crucial and are taking place in the backdrop of a meeting between the foreign ministers of both India and China.

The last two meetings remained inconclusive between the military commanders of both sides. A source confirmed to OneIndia that China had been trying to delay the talks.

Moreover the PLA has not disengaged along the Line of Actual Control. However when the Indian Army outmanouevered Chinese soldiers and occupied key heights in the Chushul sub-sector in Eastern Ladakh, China changed its stance and agreed to come to the table and talk.

Also Read:

The Chinese troops have disengaged and moved back from the Galwan Valley and Hot Springs. However they are yet to vacate the Pangong Tso Finger areas.

Sources said that the Chinese are yet to vacate Depsang and Gogra. A read out by the Ministry of External Affairs said that both sides agreed to resolve the outstanding issues in an expeditious manner and in accordance with the existing protocols. "The two sides were in agreement that restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas would be essential for the overall development of bilateral relations," the read out also said.

Further the two sides which held the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) agreed to hold more diplomatic and military level talks to ensure that there is complete disengagement.

Even after the last meeting the MEA had said that both sides agreed that an early and complete disengagement of troops along the LAC in accordance with bilateral agreement and protocols was essential for overall development of bilateral relations.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

It may be recalled that the seventh meeting of the WMCC was held last month. Both sides had agreed on complete disengagement along the LAC at eastern Ladakh. The talks are headed by the joint secretary level officials from both sides.

The Chinese have not disengaged in the Finger Area, Depsang Plains and Gogra despite multiple rounds of talks. The Chinese have been camping in the Finger Areas for the past three months and have been constructing bunkers and sangars.

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Story first published: Monday, September 21, 2020, 8:52 [IST]
A bitter deadbeat dad callously executed his estranged son with a hunting rifle after gunning down the teen's girlfriend in front of him.

Pawel 'Paul' Kosowski, 46, shot dead Lukasz Kosowski and Chelsea Ireland, both 19, at his house in Mount McIntyre, South Australia, on August 22.

The Polish immigrant had barely seen his son since his ex-wife threw him out 15 years ago and recent attempts to reconcile ended in tragedy.

Details of the horrific double murder can now be revealed after the truck driver pleaded guilty in Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Monday.

Pawel 'Paul' Kosowski, 46, shot dead Lukasz Kosowski (left) and Chelsea Ireland (right), both 19, at his house in Mount McIntyre, South Australia

Kosowski, 46, (pictured) pleaded guilty to two counts of murder for shooting his estranged son and his son's girlfriend dead

Chelsea Ireland and Lukasz Kosowski, both 19, were shot dead at the property in southeast South Australia during a family gathering

Kosowski was hosting a family gathering at the rural home he shared with his new wife Monica, a source close to the family told Daily Mail Australia.

Lukasz was known to voice his disgust at his father's 'drunken chauvinism' and a heated argument broke out around the fire drum outside.

He and Chelsea left to an upstairs guest room for the night, but an angry Kosowski fetched his rifle, either a .303 or .308, and stormed in at about 11.30pm.

The source said Kosowski shot Chelsea first, at close range, before turning the gun on his son and going back downstairs.

But several minutes later he walked back upstairs and shot Lukasz in the face to make sure he was dead.

'Whatever Lukasz said must have really got to him and he's stewed on it for a while then gone and popped them both,' the source said.

Lukasz (left) was with Chelsea (right) at her older sister Maddie's (centre) 21st birthday party a year ago as he became part of the Ireland family

Pictured: Lukasz was farewelled at an intimate funeral as flowers and a photograph of him was laid on his coffin

Monica and two of her three young children were awake at the time and heard the at least three shots, then witnessed the bloody aftermath.

Kosowski at least saved two shattered families, plus heartbroken friends, the pain of a trial by confessing to two counts of murder just a month later.

Confrontation between father and son was no surprise to old friends of the hotheaded, macho firearms enthusiast.

'There was a lot of animosity because the kid would speak his mind to his old man about his drinking and his pig-headed attitude,' one said.

'He didn't like how he talked about his mother and how much of an a***ehole he was when he was drunk, either.'

Kosowski even 'slapped him around' at his brother's house years earlier in another argument sparked by a Facebook post the boy made about his father's antics.

Lukasz's cousins intervened and Kosowski's brother asked him to leave, an old friend recalled.

The young couple lived in Adelaide and were visiting Kosowski's property, where he lives with Lukasz's stepmother Monica (pictured together), for a family gathering

Kosowski was hosting a family gathering at the rural home in Mount McIntyre, South Australia, he shared with his new wife Monica

Kosowski and his ex-wife Magdalena broke up about 2005 when Lukasz's was four, and has since remarried with another son.

Photos of Lukasz about that time show him with his mother, and another clutching a decoration reading 'Sto Lat (Happy Birthday) Lukasz'.

Magdalena is said to have limited contact between them on account of her ex-husband's drinking, which old friends said caused frequent mayhem.

'His problem his whole life has been alcohol. She left him because he was a p**shead,' one said.

'Paul and his mates would drink vodka to oblivion every weekend. I can't tell you how many car accidents they had because they were hammered.'

Photos of Lukasz about the time his father show him with his mother Magdalena and a family friend about the time his father and mother's marriage collapsed

Lukasz was in this photo is seen clutching a decoration reading 'Sto Lat (Happy Birthday) Lukasz'

A series of drink driving convictions followed, but Kosowski was allowed to get his truck licence and own a gun in the past few years.

Friends said he was aggressive when drinking, leading to numerous drunken fights between his crew and others at the Polish club in Adelaide.

'Paul holds a grudge, he will never let anything go. He'll bring up little things that happened years ago,' a friend said.

'He had a temper and a very short fuse, which was even worse when he was drunk, you had to walk on eggshells.'

A friend said this behaviour did not improve with age as even in the past year he was at frequent rowdy bonfires.

Chelsea Ireland (right) and Lukasz Kosowski (left), both 19, were shot on August 23 after an argument at a family gathering in Mount McIntyre, South Australia

When she was just 15 years old, Chelsea watched a YouTube video that inspired her to donate her waist-length brown locks to cancer patients

Lukasz, by stark contrast, was remembered by those who knew him - far better than his dad - as a funny and gentle young man with a good head on his shoulders.

He was studying journalism at the University of South Australia while working at KFC and was close to his childhood sweetheart Chelsea's family.

After years of ignoring his fatherly duties, the future kinslayer decided to get back in contact when he moved from Adelaide to Mount McIntyre and married Monica.

Contact was sparse and tense with Lukasz objecting to his father's boorish drunkenness. Chelsea only ever met him four times.

Kosowski noted his son's absence from numerous family photos with his three stepchildren and called him 'a stubborn little s**t'.

Exactly what led to the final, deadly, confrontation will be detailed when Kosowski faces the South Australian Supreme Court on November 2 for his first sentencing hearing.
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Linkedin Yunindita Prasidya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 14:21 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4626adf 1 Business cigarette-prices,HM-Sampoerna,tobacco-excise,COVID-19,consumption Free

Consumers are looking for affordability when purchasing cigarettes as the increase in the tobacco excise and the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have hit peoples purchasing power, according to publicly listed cigarette maker PT HM Sampoerna.

Sampoerna president director Mindaugas Trumpaitis said consumers seemed to have a growing preference for products with higher tar concentrations, smaller packages and super-low prices.

The pronounced impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has further eroded consumers purchasing power and has led to a shift in consumer behavior. In the cigarette industry, adult smokers are seeking bigger bang for their buck products, Trumpaitis said during a virtual public expose on Friday.

They are buying smaller packs because they are more affordable and they are buying higher tar products, including SKT [hand-rolled kretek], because they have more impact, he added.

The company owns well-known brands, including Sampoerna A, Dji Sam Soe and Marlboro.

The market share of machine-made high-tar kretek (SKM HT) increased 3.6 percentage points in the second quarter of this year to 43.5 percent from the 39.9 percent booked during the same period last year. At the same time, the market share of low-tar SKM (SKM LT) declined 5.5 percentage points to 33.1 percent, Trumpaitis reported.

This so-called uptaring trend has also been seen in the increased market share of SKT products from 16.1 percent in June last year to 19.1 percent in June this year.

The shift to affordability has also been evident with the market share of smaller pack products  10 or 12 cigarettes per pack  increasing 5 percentage points year-on-year (yoy) to 44.4 percent in this years first half. Meanwhile, the market share of super-low price brands climbed 5.5 percentage points to 19.2 percent during the same period.

In the longer-term, this trend could potentially reverse as the economy improves, Trumpaitis noted.

The Indonesian cigarette industry has been significantly affected by the excise-driven price increases this year along with the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, which has battered business activity. Throughout the first half of this year, industry volume dropped 14.8 percent yoy.

The government has been increasing the cigarette excise in an effort to reduce the prevalence of smoking in the country. It increased the cigarette excise by 23 percent on average in 2020, following 10.4 and 10.5 percent increases in 2018 and 2017, respectively, Statistics Indonesia data show.

The excise increase for 2021 has yet to be decided.

Individually, HM Sampoerna reported that its market share had declined 4 percentage points to 28.2 percent yoy in this years second quarter from 32.2 percent. Trumpaitis explained that this was due to a downtrading trend, wherein consumers shift to cheaper brands, while additionally, the stricter mobility restrictions in urban areas had impacted the companys performance as Sampoernas market share was higher in those areas.

However, the company also increased its market share in higher-margin products. Dji Sam Soe market share, for example, increased 50 basis point yoy as of the first half of this year to 4.2 percent.

Mirae Asset Sekuritas Indonesia analyst Christine Natasya wrote in a report in July that among the reasons behind Sampoernas sluggish second-quarter performance was a loss in market share on the back of uncompetitive pricing compared to lower-tier producers with similar variants such as Wismilak Evo.

We believe [the companys declining market share in this year's second quarter] was mainly caused by the dramatic drop in the companys sales volume during the quarter, given the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), lower smoking appetite due to coronavirus and lower purchasing power of lower-income consumers, which was been worsened by the leap in the average selling price for lower-priced products.

The price of Sampoernas stocks, traded on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) under the code HMSP, was unchanged on Monday morning at Rp 1,515 apiece. Throughout the year, the companys shares have lost 27.86 percent of their value.

The consumer goods sector, on the other hand, has only lost 8.2 percent of its value during the same period. Meanwhile, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), the main gauge of IDX, has fallen 19.69 percent year-to-date.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Republican State Senator Emmett Hanger, a longtime leader in the effort to stop gerrymandering, announced today the formation of Virginians for a Better Tomorrow (VABT). "Our only chance to put citizens first, instead of politicians, is to pass the Constitutional Amendment that creates a bipartisan, citizen-led, Commission to draw new districts," Senator Hanger said. "I helped lead the effort in the legislature to advance this to the ballot, and now I want to finish the job by making sure it passes." The Constitutional Amendment would establish a bipartisan group of both citizens and legislators to draw new district lines in a public process. If the resulting plan is rejected by the legislature, the Virginia Supreme Court will draw new lines.

Senator Emmett Hanger speaking with a constituent in downtown Staunton, VA prior to COVID-19.

Hanger noted that a bipartisan citizen group, One Virginia 2021, has been a significant force behind getting this initiative on the ballot. Hanger indicated that he was honored to have been chosen by this group to carry their legislation in 2019 and that even though the legislature passed an alternative bill that, in his opinion, was not as good as the one initially proposed, it is so much better than our current system that it would be foolish for citizens not to support it on the 2020 ballot. Hanger intends for his efforts to be coordinated with and supportive of efforts currently underway by One Virginia 2021, Fair Maps Virginia, and other groups that are promoting this effort to return power to the people.

Senator Hanger continued, "The right to have fair and equal representation is the basis of representative government. Voters should choose their elected officials, not elected officials choosing their voters. Virginians for a Better Tomorrow will work on a broad range of issues, but our first project is to pass the Constitutional Amendment by raising money and recruiting volunteers to educate voters. We are inviting all Virginians to join us by going to our website: virginiansforabettertomorrow.com."

Virginians for a Better Tomorrow has been organized by Senator Hanger as a political action committee. "Our mission is to bring Virginians from many backgrounds and points of view together to create common-sense solutions to the problems we face and build a better Virginia," Senator Hanger stated.

State Senator Emmett Hanger, named in 2018 as one of the 10 most effective legislators in America, has represented Virginia's 24th District since 1996 and has been a leader in the fight for redistricting reform. He also serves as Co-Chairman of the Commonwealth Caucus (A bipartisan group of legislators that support common-sense solutions for all Virginians) and was named the Most Effective Legislator in Virginia in 2017 and 2018.

Media Contact:

Aaron Evans

Phone: 804-215-8771

Email: [email protected]

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Senator Emmett Hanger speaking with a constituent in downtown Staunton, VA prior to COVID-19.

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In 2006, Australias now Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy wrote a paper on pandemics.

In a cabinet meeting in February this year, he was asked about whether the paper could guide Australias response to the COVID-19 outbreak that was spreading in China. He sincerely hoped not, he said at the time, like most of us unable to foresee what we were heading in to.

Appointed to helm Treasury in September last year, Kennedy has played a central role in designing Australias fiscal response to the coronavirus recession, including costing the JobKeeper wage subsidy, which was criticised for missing the mark by some $60 billion.

In this episode, national editor Tory Maguire is joined by senior economics writer Jessica Irvine to discuss Kennedy's role in mitigating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Australia.
Even as the prices of Basmati have declined to around 1,000 per quintal, paddy growers in Haryana are unable to sell their producethanks to the indefinite strike of the commission agents, which entered the fourth day on Monday.

Due to the strike, the commission agents have not allowed traders to procure paddy and made farmers wait in the mandis for the past three days. Thousands of migrant labourers have been sitting idle since the procurement operations were stopped on September 18.

The growers of early varieties of paddy like PUSA 1509 of Basmati and PR 126 of Parmal are bearing the brunt as the strike may cause a glut in the mandis, leading to a further fall in the prices.

Also Read: Farm bills: PM Modi says farmers to get better prices because of reforms

My produce from four acres of land is lying unsold in the mandi for the past three days. There are no buyers because of the strike. I am unable to pay the labourers who harvested this crop, said Sandeep Kumar, a farmer of Nilokheri, Karnal district.

According to the farmers and the commission agents, there are no buyers despite the prices of some varieties of Basmati have declined to below 2,000 per quintal. Last year, the price was 3,000 per quintal.

The farmers fear that the prices may drop further due to the ongoing strike as the government does not have any control over the private buyers and there is no Minimum Support Price for the Basmati varieties.

Also Read: Congress MP says 12 parties have sought time to meet president over passage of farm bills, request him to not give his assent

Moreover, the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) has also extended its support to the commission agents as it has decided not to procure paddy until the government exempts the market fee even on paddy procured from the grain markets.

In this regard, the AIREA has issued an advisory to private traders not to procure paddy till the government decides to withdraw the Market Fees and Rural Infrastructure Development Fee, which is around 4% on the paddy procured in the mandis of the state.

However, the ahartia (commission agents ) had declared an indefinite strike, demanding the government withdraw the three ordinances passed by the Centre, but now that the bills have been passed in both the Houses, there is no clarity on how long the strike will continue.

The government has become uncontrollable and it is misusing the mandate to enact such anti-farmer anti-ahartia laws. But this will spread the agitations further if the government fails to resolve this issue, said Ashok Gupta, state president of Haryana Anaj Mandi Ahartia Association.

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With 44 days until the U.S. presidential election, it may seem to many as if the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has dramatically changed the political calculusshifting the national conversation away from President Trumps performance in office and refocusing voters on the battle over who, ultimately, gets to select Justice Ginsburgs replacement. But a wealth of new polling data suggests that the fundamentals of this election are not likely to changeand particularly telling are a trio of Gallup survey questions that, taken together, have a strong track record for predicting past races in which sitting presidents vie for a second term.

The three key metricsgauging presidential approval, U.S. satisfaction, and economic confidencewhich were in the field from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13, suggest that President Trump has a very difficult road ahead to win reelection, no matter what happens with respect to the vacancy on the Supreme Court. With those three measures, says Jeffrey Jones, a senior editor and researcher at Gallup, you can get a good sense of the lay of the land. Together, they usually offer a good way to figure out if an incumbent is going to win or lose.

In the latest Gallup survey, 42% of Americans say they approve of the Presidents performance in office and just 14% of Americans say theyre satisfied with the way things are going in the country. The firm assesses economic confidence by way of an index that combines two related measureshow Americans rate current economic conditions today and whether or not they think things are getting better or worse. In both cases, in the latest poll (ending Sept. 13), the majority of respondents answers are negative: 31% rate current conditions as excellent or good versus 34% who say theyre poor; and substantially more people say the economy is getting worse (56%) than getting better (40%).

Overall, Gallups Economic Confidence Index, which calculates responses on a range of negative 100 to positive 100, is at minus 10. While thats up from last months reading of minus 16and sharply higher than its April low, when the sudden fury of the coronavirus led to widespread business lockdowns and an historic rise in unemploymentit nonetheless represents a major challenge for the Trump campaign.

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Its understandablebut also really shockinghow much [economic sentiment] has changed this year, marvels Jones. We didnt see it move that much in all of Obamas presidency. But this year weve seen it go from the highest level in 20 years (a rating of plus 40) to rock bottom (minus 33) and now to minus 10.

The current rating on U.S. economic confidence is not as bad as in 1992, when George H.W. Bush lost, says Jones, but its notably worse than the outlooks faced by other incumbents who won a return trip to the White House: Bill Clinton in 1996, who enjoyed a plus-23 confidence score at this point in his reelection campaign; George W. Bush in 2004 (plus three), and Barack Obama in 2012 (minus one).

Satisfaction overall with the direction of the U.S., according to Gallup, is notably more pessimistic than it is with respect to the economy alone. The 14% share of Americans who say they are generally satisfied with the countrys direction is mostly unchanged from the 13% who said the same a month ago, which itself was the dreariest level of satisfaction measured since the financial crisis in 2008.

That, too, is well below the lowest point at which any presidential incumbent was given a second term33% in 2012, when President Obama sought reelection and won. The current figure is even below the level in 1992, when George H.W. Bush went on to suffer defeat that November.

As for the most familiar measure of the trio, presidential approval, the ratings for President Trump remain sharply below the level that typically ensures reelection. In June of 2012, 46% of voters queried by Gallup approved of thenPresident Obamas performance in office, a level that rose to 52% just before election day. In June 2004, President George W. Bush was at 49% approval, which slid to 48% in the final survey before the election. Those, so far, have been the lowest approval ratings for victorious incumbents in the modern era.

I would say the numbers definitely dont look good for the President being reelected, says Jones. Hes still a little bit above [Jimmy] Carter and [George H.W.] Bush on approval, but in a two-candidate race, with a 42% approval rating, where is he going to get those eight percentage points to get reelected? Some of that will come from turnout, Jones says. We know Republicans tend to vote at higher rates than Democrats, though maybe less so this year because Democrats seem very committed about voting. So thats a lot of votes to make up.

In previous election years, Gallup has found that a given presidents approval ratings this close to November has generally matched the share of the vote he ultimately receives.

Jones, who has been carefully watching polls and studying elections for the past 20 years, explains that the 2020 race is just fundamentally an incumbent election. An incumbent election and an open election are different choices for voters. An incumbent election is a referendum on the president, and its almost irrelevant who is running against him, Jones says. The simple question is, Are you for him or against him? An open election is, Which of these two do I like better?

Thats why the Presidents approval numbers are so revealing today. If a person has been in office for four years and you havent come around to supporting him, it doesnt make a lot of sense that youll vote for that person, he says. This election is about, Does this this guy deserve four more years or not?

Trumps approval rating in the latest Gallup surveyin which 42% now have a positive assessment of the Presidents performance versus 56% who disapprove, a 14-point spreadis slightly more negative than the polling averages compiled by both RealClearPolitics and FiveThirtyEight. In the former composite, as of this writing, 44.8% approve versus 53.7% who disapprove, for a gap of 8.9 percentage points; in the latter, the findings are similar: 43.2% approval vs. 52.7% disapproval, a spread of 9.5 points.

Jones says one reason for that discrepancy is that, in the Gallup surveys above, the firm polls all adults rather than using a model that tries to assess likely voters. And, in fact, in FiveThirtyEights current calculation of polls using that same criteria, Trumps average approval rating (41.6%) is similar to that in Gallups survey, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Even if President Trumps approval rating is actually closer to the high end of that margin of error, however, it would still put him under water come Novemberunless, say, something dramatic (he outduels Vice President Biden in the coming debates, the threat of COVID-19 suddenly wanes, or perhaps the economy bounces back sharply) happens over the next six weeks. Though Mr. Trump did win in 2016 with only 46.1% of the popular vote (compared with Hillary Clintons 48.2%), the circumstances then were quite different than they are today. 2016 was a choice election and many people didnt really like either choice, Jones says. Because of that, you had higher votes for third-party candidates, which easily could have tipped the scales in the three states [Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania] where the election basically came down to fewer than 100,000 votes. In addition, you had lower turnout among Democrats and people voting, but not voting for president in some cases. All of that can certainly make a difference when an election is as close as it was then. Im not sure that those things are going to hold this year.

Polls are not laser precision instruments, he cautions. They can give you a pretty good sense of where things stand in a given moment, but can they always pinpoint it to one or two points? Can they call an election in which one candidate is going to win by one percent or less? Thats quite a challenge. If they are right, a lot of that is luck.

But the gap right now is wide, at least by the limited gauge of history. Says Jones: It just seems hard to imagine, being in the low 40s with no third-party candidate, that the President has a good shot at this point.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
The federal government on Monday unveiled a billion-dollar initiative to fund modular construction projects and the acquisition of land or existing properties to use as affordable housing  though the money is less than a third of what was requested by municipalities.

It was not a question of landing on a perfect dollar amount. It was the urgency of getting those dollars into the hands of municipalities right now, said Toronto MP Adam Vaughan, speaking alongside Families, Children and Social Development Minister Ahmed Hussen in Toronto. Weve jump-started the conversation with cities with an immediate investment of a billion-two  with more to come.

Earlier this month, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities outlined an ask of $3.5 billion from the feds, to acquire an estimated 12,000-plus properties across the country  motels, hotels, rooming houses and other sites that could be converted to supportive and deeply affordable housing. The initiative announced by Hussen and Vaughan on Monday morning aims to create up to 3,000 units through acquisition and renovation as well as the other channels like modular construction, though Hussen noted that any extra money put forward by bodies like the provincial government or individual non-profit organizations could lead to a higher unit count.

The program will be delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and require whichever group is applying for funds  municipalities, provinces and territories, Indigenous governing bodies and organizations or non-profits  to submit an application demonstrating that pitched project can be accomplished quickly, and serve one or more vulnerable groups.

In most cases, that means a project needs to be accomplishable within one year or less, Hussen told the Star, though he noted that some exceptions will apply for remote communities. Projects can be submitted as a package, or they can be submitted individually, Hussen added. Funding for all the approved rapid-housing work is expected to be committed by March 31, 2021.

The announcement was welcome news to Toronto Coun. Ana Bailao, the mayors advocate for affordable housing, though she cautioned that it should be seen as only a first step. The fact they want all this committed by March 2021, its clearly something to be done right now, and what Im seeing is the conversation will continue and the opportunities will continue, she said.

She said the city would try to understand more about the programs delivery in the coming days, stressing the importance of flexibility for it to be successful on the ground level. But she was enthused by the possibility of a strengthened non-profit sector, by giving the organizations direct access to federal funding, more capacity to respond to their needs, and more assets.

Mayor John Tory, in an interview with the Star last week, said that hed like to see the city move forward with acquiring properties that could be used as permanent, supportive housing the day after a potential federal program was rolled out, noting that the city had already declared an intent to discuss purchasing some of the hotel sites theyve been leasing during COVID-19.

Tory, too, called Mondays news a good start. But, he said that a billion dollars spread between all the Canadian municipalities for rapid affordable housing development will be not enough to help us really get at the problem of supportive housing in the way that we have to.

Over the next two years, Toronto hopes to create 2,000 new housing units  supportive housing units, specifically  with half of them created through the acquisition and renovation process, and half through modular construction. The city outlined a request last week of $675 million for those efforts, from a combination of the federal and provincial coffers, plus $48 million per year starting in 2020 for increased housing and supportive services. But while Hussen said Monday that the feds would provide funds to transform physical spaces for use as housing, he told the Star that money for extra supportive services would have to come from the province.

Supportive housing helps people with mental health challenges, addictions, or other difficulties who may otherwise end up in shelters. A report from the United Way and Torontos Shelter, Supportive and Housing Administration last week said that approximately 22 per cent of the citys shelter population are staying in the system for six months or longer.

Providing those individuals with supportive housing would both meet their specific needs, and ensure the shelter system could fulfil its intended function as an emergency service, the report said. Along with the $1 billion announced Monday for acquisitions, renovations and modular construction, Hussen and Vaughan pledged another $236.7 million through the federal homelessness strategy to extend and expand emergency responses to COVID-19.

Still, the city is hoping to move more towards permanent housing options than emergency beds  in part, due to the costs involved. The report last week found that operating a supportive housing unit in Toronto, on average, costs $24,000 a year. Even before the pandemic hit, a shelter bed cost an average of $40,000 to run per year  and since COVID-19 reduced facilities capacity to ensure physical distancing, the city says that cost has nearly doubled.

Providing housing for people experiencing homelessness is not only imperative to saving lives, but also to recovering from budget deficits at all levels of government, the report says. If 3,000 shelter residents in Toronto move into supportive housing, the city estimates savings of roughly $15 million a month, without accounting for savings in other systems like health care.

With files from David Rider

Victoria Gibson is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering affordable housing. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Reach her via email: victoriagibson@thestar.ca

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Comedian Kevin Hart and his pregnant second wife Eniko Parrish got dressed up in 1950s clothing to attend a brunch celebrating the 49th birthday of Harry Ratchford at a rented diner in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The 41-year-old Grammy nominee did his best Danny Zuko or Fonzie greaser style in a white undershirt, cuffed blue jeans, Converse sneakers, and black leather motorcycle jacket.

The expecting 36-year-old wore a floral maternity dotted frock, saddle shoes, neckerchief, and cat-eye shades.

Throwback! Comedian Kevin Hart and his pregnant second wife Eniko Parrish got dressed up in 1950s clothing to attend a brunch celebrating the 49th birthday of Harry Ratchford at a rented diner in Los Angeles on Sunday

'Old-school Sundays, Your name is Wilma or Thea or Thelma,' Kevin - who boasts 185.8M social media followers - instructed Eniko.

'My name is Troy the Tavern Tank. That's what they call me, baby. We old-schooling it today.'

Hart pretended to smoke an unlit Marlboro Light as he danced with Parrish - who will soon welcome his fourth child (her second), a daughter, whom they call '#BabyK.'

The Celebrity Game Face host is keeping the Fabletics brand ambassador close during this pregnancy as he publicly admitted to having cheated on her the last time she was expecting in 2017.

Retro: The 41-year-old Grammy nominee did his best Danny Zuko or Fonzie greaser style in a white undershirt, cuffed blue jeans, Converse sneakers, and black leather motorcycle jacket

She can still twirl! The expecting 36-year-old wore a floral maternity dotted frock, saddle shoes, neckerchief, and cat-eye shades

Kevin instructed Eniko: 'Old-school Sundays, Your name is Wilma or Thea or Thelma. My name is Troy the Tavern Tank. That's what they call me, baby. We old-schooling it today'

'#BabyK': Hart pretended to smoke an unlit Marlboro Light as he danced with Parrish - who will soon welcome his fourth child (her second), a daughter

Kevin was 'fully in character' as he jammed to the jukebox and enjoyed classic diner fare at the party from masked employees.

Worryingly, none of the costumed guests - including the married couple of four years - protected themselves or others from the coronavirus by wearing masks or social distancing.

Indoor dining is currently prohibited in all Los Angeles restaurants, and even private gatherings can only contain up to 50 people.

As of Sunday, there have been over 260K confirmed COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County, which has lead to 6,353 deaths - according to Johns Hopkins University.

'Jukebox swag': The Celebrity Game Face host jammed out to the jukebox while 'fully in character'

'Harry's Diner': Menu items at the party included hamburger & fries, chicken & waffles, shrimp & truffle fries, and beverages

Worryingly, none of the costumed guests - including the married couple of four years - protected themselves or others from the coronavirus by wearing masks or social distancing

Privileged: Indoor dining is currently prohibited in all Los Angeles restaurants, and even private gatherings can only contain up to 50 people

'Lil Swag.. old school Sundays!' In the last year, Hart has survived a bout with the fast-spreading virus as well as three spinal fractures from a car crash

August 15 family portrait: The Die Hart actor and Eniko are already parents to two-year-old son Kenzo Kash, and he has two children - daughter Heaven, 15; and son Hendrix, 12 - from his marriage to Torrei Hart, which ended in 2011

In the last year, Hart has survived a bout with the fast-spreading virus as well as three spinal fractures from a car crash.

The Die Hart actor and Eniko are already parents to two-year-old son Kenzo Kash, and he has two children - daughter Heaven, 15; and son Hendrix, 12 - from his marriage to Torrei Hart, which ended in 2011.

On Saturday, his Netflix special Kevin Hart: Don't F**k This Up lost the unstructured reality program trophy at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards to rival Netflix series Cheer.

Kevin will next follow in the famous footsteps of the late Jerry Lewis by hosting the two-hour virtual Muscular Dystrophy Association Kids Telethon on October 24 with guests Jack Black and Eva Longoria.

Better luck next time: On Saturday, his Netflix special Kevin Hart: Don't F**k This Up lost the unstructured reality program trophy at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards to rival Netflix series Cheer
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump met Monday with Judge Amy Coney Barrett at the White House as the conservative jurist emerged as a favourite to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, the start of a monumental Senate confirmation fight over objections from Democrats its too close to the November election.

Trump said he expects to announce his pick by weeks end, before the burial of Ginsburg, the courts liberal icon, at Arlington National Cemetery.

The president told reporters he was still going to be interviewing other candidates and might meet with Judge Barbara Lagoa when he travels to Florida later this week. But Barrett has long been favoured by conservatives, and those familiar with the process said interest inside the White House seemed to be waning for Lagoa amid concerns by some that she did not have a proven record as a conservative jurist.

Democrats, led by presidential nominee Joe Biden, are protesting the Republicans rush to replace Ginsburg, saying voters should speak first, on Election Day, Nov. 3, and the winner of the White House should fill the vacancy.

Trump dismissed those arguments, telling Fox & Friends, I think that would be good for the Republican Party, and I think it would be good for everybody to get it over with.

The mounting clash over the vacant seat  when to fill it and with whom  injects new turbulence in the presidential campaign with the nation still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 Americans, left millions unemployed and heightened partisan tensions and anger.

Up until now, the race has been largely a referendum on how Trump has managed or mismanaged the COVID-19 pandemic.

Democrats point to hypocrisy in Republicans trying to rush through a pick so close to the election after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell led the GOP in refusing to vote on a nominee of President Barack Obama in February 2016, long before that years election. Biden is appealing to GOP senators to uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience and wait until after the election.

Ginsburg, 87, died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer. She will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol this week, the first woman ever accorded that honour. First, her casket is to be on view mid-week on the steps of the high court. She is to be buried next week in a private service at Arlington National Cemetery.

Conversations in the White House and McConnells office have been increasingly focused on Barrett and Lagoa, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the private deliberations.

A judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, Barrett, 48, was a strong contender for the seat that eventually went to Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. At the time, Trump told confidants he was saving Barrett for Ginsburgs seat.

Lagoa has been pushed by some aides who tout her political advantages of being Hispanic and hailing from the key political battleground state of Florida.

Trump said he is planning to name his pick by Friday or Saturday, ahead of the first presidential election debate. With just over a month before the election, McConnell said the Senate has more than sufficient time.

No nominee has won confirmation so quickly since Sandra Day OConnor  with no opposition from either party  became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court in 1981.

Both sides are mobilizing for a wrenching confirmation fight punctuated by crucial issues before the court  healthcare, abortion access and even the potential outcome of the coming presidential election. Some protesters showed up early Monday morning outside the homes of key GOP senators.

At a Trump rally later Monday in Ohio, people chanted, Fill the seat!

Trump has said he would choose a woman, and he admitted that politics may play a role. He gave a nod to another election battleground state, Michigan, and White House officials confirmed he was referring to Joan Larsen, a federal appeals court judge there.

The president also indicated that Allison Jones Rushing, a 38-year-old appellate judge from North Carolina, is on his short list. His team is also actively considering Kate Todd, the White House deputy counsel who has never been a judge but was a clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas.

As the Senate returned to Washington on Monday, several key GOP senators, including Mitt Romney of Utah, declined to say whether they would agree to a swift vote.

Four Republicans could halt a quick confirmation and Trump criticized Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for opposing a vote before elections. The president warned they would be very badly hurt by voters.

Others, including GOP Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Cory Gardner of Colorado, declined to join in opposing the presidents plan.

Trump went so far as to disparage reports that Ginsburg had told her granddaughter it was her wish that a replacement justice not be confirmed until the inauguration of a new president. With no evidence  just it sounds to me like  he suggested the wish came from his political foes including Rep. Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman.

Schiff said Trump sank to a new low with that comment. He said he had nothing to do with Ginsburgs dying wish but would fight like hell to make it come true.

A day earlier, Biden appealed to Republicans to join Murkowski and Collins in opposing a confirmation vote before the Nov. 3 election. He said, Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have engulfed our country.

On Monday, Biden focused on joblessness and the pandemic rather than the court vacancy as he campaigned in Wisconsin, aligning himself with the countrys workers, especially those who voted for Trump in 2016 after having backed Obama and himself four years earlier.

He noted that COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are surging past 200,000 and said of the count, which many Democrats say Trump has done too little to stop, I worry were risking becoming numb to the toll that it has taken on us and our country and communities like this.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer objected to what he called McConnells utterly craven pursuit of Supreme Court confirmation under current circumstances, warning it would shatter Senate norms. Its enough to make your head explode, he said.

Biden and his team are working closely with Democratic leaders in Congress, and he has spoken with Schumer.

The sudden vacancy seems certain to electrify both parties: Democrats were breaking fundraising records while a packed Trump crowd in North Carolina Saturday loudly chanted Fill that seat. But it remains unclear if the high bench vacancy will persuade disenchanted Republicans to return to Trump or fire up women or suburban voters to break for Biden.

Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate. If there were a 50-50 tie, it could be broken by Vice-President Mike Pence.

___

Jaffe reported from Philadelphia. Lemire reported from New York. Laurie Kellman, Mark Sherman, Kevin Freking and Mike Balsamo in Washington, Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Steve Peoples in New York contributed to this report.
Canadas national nuclear laboratory highlights environmental benefits of mass timber construction as National Forest Week gets underway in Canada

CNL WELCOMES PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY PAUL LEFEBVRE TO CHALK RIVER CAMPUS

CNL welcomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, Paul Lefebvre, to the Chalk River Laboratories campus to announce the Government of Canadas support for the use of Canadian-sourced wood as the principal building material in CNLs new facilities. Pictured is Marianne Berube, Executive Director, Wood Works; Shannon Quinn, Vice-President of Science and Technology, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited; Parliamentary Secretary Lefebvre; and Joe McBrearty, President and CEO, CNL.

CNL welcomes Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, Paul Lefebvre, to the Chalk River Laboratories campus to announce the Government of Canadas support for the use of Canadian-sourced wood as the principal building material in CNLs new facilities. Pictured is Marianne Berube, Executive Director, Wood Works; Shannon Quinn, Vice-President of Science and Technology, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited; Parliamentary Secretary Lefebvre; and Joe McBrearty, President and CEO, CNL.

CHALK RIVER, Ontario, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canadas premier nuclear science and technology organization, welcomed Paul Lefebvre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, to the Chalk River Laboratories campus today to celebrate the Government of Canadas investment into new wood construction. As part of the visit, Parliamentary Secretary Lefebvre participated in the inauguration of CNLs support facility, a new 2-storey industrial-use complex that will serve as a centralized maintenance and support building. This is one of several new facilities at CNL that will use a new generation of mass timber products sourced from Canada as the main structural construction material.



The visit by Parliamentary Secretary Lefebvre comes as Canada celebrates the 100th anniversary of National Forest Week, an annual event that encourages Canadians to learn more about the environmental benefits of wood as a renewable resource. In constructing the new buildings, CNL received $3.96 million in financial support from Green Construction through Wood (GCWood), a program administered by Natural Resources Canada to increase the use of wood in infrastructure projects as a sustainable construction material.

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On behalf of CNL, Id like to thank Parliamentary Secretary Lefebvre for taking time out his busy schedule to visit the Chalk River campus to see this new modern and sustainable building up-close, commented Joe McBrearty, CNLs President and CEO. Were very proud to use wood as the main structural construction material for the new buildings, a renewable resource that reduces the carbon footprint of the Chalk River campus. The design also pays tribute to the rich logging and lumber heritage of the Ottawa Valley, something we also take pride in, particularly during National Forest Week.

The revitalization of the Chalk River Laboratories is key to helping us meet the challenges of tomorrow, including building a low-carbon future, added Richard Sexton, President and CEO of AECL. Using Canadian wood for our new facilities is part of our commitment to environmental stewardship. By building a sustainable, world-class nuclear science and technology campus, we are positioning ourselves to be at the forefront of science and innovation.

The support facility is one of a number of new enabling buildings that are being designed and constructed at the Chalk River campus using wood sourced from Canada, including the outer gate facility, a new building which will transform the site entry point at the Chalk River campus. The support facility features Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) for the elevator shaft, floors and roof panels, which are supported by Glulam timber purlins, beams and columns. Once complete, the building will use 880 m3 of wood and have a net CO2 benefit of 964 metric tonnes.

The buildings are part of a ten-year capital program, funded through a $1.2 billion investment from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), that is designed to transform the Chalk River Laboratories through the revitalization of essential site infrastructure and a significant investment in new, world-class science facilities. In addition to the new enabling buildings, CNL recently opened a brand new hydrogen laboratory complex, a new materials research laboratory, and a new tritium laboratory. Major investments have also been made into important infrastructure improvements, including new domestic water and natural gas service to the campus, a modern sanitary sewage treatment facility, and a system to more effectively manage storm water on the site.

Our commitment to environmental stewardship goes beyond our clean energy research and environmental remediation activities, explained Brian Savage, the Vice-President of CNLs Capital Program. The focus on using wood for new buildings at the Chalk River campus is proof of that commitment. We are also modernizing the site to further reduce our carbon footprint and ensure long-term sustainability.

For more information on CNL, including the revitalization of the Chalk River Laboratories campus, please visit www.cnl.ca.

About CNL

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is a world leader in nuclear science and technology offering unique capabilities and solutions across a wide range of industries. Actively involved with industry-driven research and development in nuclear, transportation, clean technology, energy, defence, security and life sciences, we provide solutions to keep these sectors competitive internationally.

With ongoing investments in new facilities and a focused mandate, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is well positioned for the future. A new performance standard reinforced with a strong safety culture underscores every activity.

For more information on the complete range of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories services, please visit www.cnl.ca or contact communications@cnl.ca.

CNL Contact:

Patrick Quinn

Director, Corporate Communications

CNL, 1-866-886-2325

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5efec1da-986b-4c09-a501-c9a5ba521591




Biden campaign says measures would last 'as long as economic conditons require' (Getty Images)

Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden has pledged to give families with young children a federal payment of $250-$300 per month to help deal with financial hardship during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The proposal, announced six weeks out from November's election, is a temporary extension of the existing child tax credit (CTC) system, which gives tax breaks to parents raising kids.

House Democrats used the Heroes Act to approve the plan back in May, but it will only come into effect if it passes the Senate, currently controlled by Republicans.

Under the plans, families could claim up to $3,000 for children under 17, with an additional $600 for kids under the age of six.

Detailing the plan on its website on Thursday, Mr Biden's campaign said the measure would come into effect in 2021 and last "as long as economic conditons require".

"Biden's CTC expansion will provide thousands of dollars of tax relief for middle-class households," the former vice president's team said of the plan.

"It will also help the most-hard pressed working families avoid poverty and attain greater economic security."

The announcement came as lawmakers on Captiol Hill continued to negotiate on the deatails of the second coronavirus relief package, with millions of Americans still out of work.

House speaker Nancy Pelsoi on Thursday warned that Democrats are refusing to budge on the $2.2 trillion figure put forward in their plan.

Republicans recently put forward their own $500billion deal which was rejected by the Democrats - talks remain ongoing.

Meanwhile, some 860,000 US citizens applied for or unemployment benefits last week - a drop from the previous week, but still a historially high figure, which highlights the economic impact the pandemic has had on the US.

The Labor Department said Thursday that US. jobless claims fell by 33,000 form the previous week. But 12.6 million Americans are collecting traditional unemployment benefits, compared with just 1.7 million a year ago.

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Biden to focus on health care in Supreme Court debate
The Duke of Sussex has sent a good luck message to fundraisers taking part in a 100km walking challenge.

The Trailwalker Relay event is being organised in support of The Gurkha Welfare Trust and Oxfam.

Harry, who served alongside the Gurkhas in Afghanistan and visited Nepal following the 2015 earthquake, urged participants to dig deep to complete the endurance feat.

Thank you for stepping up for the Gurkhas, for Nepal and for all the communities impacted by this pandemic, the duke said in his video message.

Doing this relay virtually is going to make it even more difficult than it already was so youre gonna need to dig deep, physically and emotionally, to get you and your team across those 100 kilometres.

I know that you can do it and with every step you take just remember youre helping those who need it most.

The now-virtual event usually takes place across the South Downs, with hundreds of civilians setting off alongside the Queens Gurkha Signals.

But because of the pandemic, the mass walk was cancelled, with people now taking part separately, splitting the distance between teams, and following social distancing rules.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Nepal is increasing by around 1,000 per day and now stands at 46,257.



More on our website: https://t.co/dfyQZDYu2F  The Gurkha Welfare Trust (@gwtorg) September 8, 2020

Harry recalled his visit to Nepal in 2016 following the devastating earthquake, and praised the spirit and resilience of the Nepalese people.

He added: With Covid-19, the world is being pitted against a new challenge, one that is devastating and destructive in its own right.

I am heartened to see that once again, the Nepalese spirit is unwavering.

In Afghanistan, I was honoured to serve alongside the Royal Gurkha Rifles. These soldiers showed me what they believe in.

They showed me what their values are. The Gurkha Welfare Trust and Oxfam are working together to supply PPE, establish hand-washing facilities and support public education.

They are rallying together in incredibly difficult circumstances to help communities beat this virus and to save lives.

Expand Close Harry watching the sun rise after spending the night in the Himalayan hilltop village of Leorani on his visit to Nepal (Chris Jackson/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Harry watching the sun rise after spending the night in the Himalayan hilltop village of Leorani on his visit to Nepal (Chris Jackson/PA)

The Gurkha Welfare Trust has been supporting Gurkha veterans, their families and communities in Nepal during the outbreak by checking on the vulnerable, distributing medication and clean water, and giving out financial aid.

Oxfam has been providing hand-washing facilities, clean water, toilets and soap in the most vulnerable communities, reaching over four million people across 62 countries.

The Trailwalker Relay begins on Monday and runs until September 27.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nature's essential workers will be front and center on ad space donated by members of the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) to support EARTHDAY.ORG.

Launching on the first day of Climate Week, September 21, the campaign features plants and animals that provide essential services to our ecosystem and aims to reinforce the interdependence of humans and the natural world.

Trees, bees, coral, fish, and butterflies are featured in the out of home ad campaign. Our forests capture and store vast amounts of carbon and release oxygen into the air. Bees are essential pollinators that provide food for humans and other animals and are responsible for every third bite of food we take. While coral reefs take up less than 1% of the ocean floor, they support more than 25% of all ocean life. Parrot fish maintain the health of coral reefs and remove excess algae that make it difficult for corals to thrive. Lastly, butterflies pollinate native plants and foster diversity among plant and animal life.

"For close to thirty years, the environmental community has been focused almost exclusively on fossil fuels. It's time to also turn our attention to the power of nature-based solutions, including nature's essential workers. Our theme for 2021 will be Restore Our Earth, which seems appropriate, particularly now, due to the global pandemic," said Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG.

"We are honored to support this creative, clever and educational advertising campaign in conjunction with Climate Week which underscores the importance of our other 'essential' workers - those preserving our planet's ecosystems," said OAAA President & CEO Anna Bager. "EARTHDAY.ORG continues to play a significant role in fostering awareness across the world about the growing environmental challenges our planet is up against. OAAA is proud to be a long-standing partner to the organization."

The campaign illustrates EARTHDAY.ORG's creative collaboration with OAAA, Extra Credit Projects (ECP), Sarah Finnie Robinson of Boston University's Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE), and Adams Outdoor Advertising.

"In alignment with our long-term goal of raising awareness on climate change, our short-term objective was to creative relevant messages for today, drawing important parallels between the COVID-19 pandemic and the world's pending climate change issues," said Rob Jackson, Founder and Creative Director of Extra Credit Projects.

This digital out of home campaign will run coast to coast on multiple screens including bulletins, posters, bus shelters, Times Square media and more.

To view the creative, click here.

For more information on conservation and biodiversity, visit www.earthday.org/campaign/conservation-and-biodiversity/

About EARTHDAY.ORG

EARTHDAY.ORG's mission is to diversify, educate, and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day (1970), EARTHDAY.ORG is the world's largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 50,000 partners in nearly 192 countries to build environmental democracy. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. Learn more at earthday.org.

About OAAA

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Ranking Member on Parliaments Roads and Transport Committee, Kwame Governs Agboza, has stated that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will ensure absolute safety for Okada businessmen should they come to power after the 2020 polls.



According to him, the law that will leagalise Okada operationalization in the country will dwell foremost on the security and protection of both Okada men and clients.



He was speaking in response to concerns raised over the safety of okada will be up for consideration during processes for the passage of the law.



Speaking in an interview on Citi TVs The Big Issue, Mr. Agboza said Indeed, motorbikes do not have the protection you have in a vehicle. I think the NDC is quite clear on this, and we fully understand the concerns of Ghanaians on the issue of safety. The new law that will be passed will put safety at the heart of that legislation and enforcement of whatever we propose.



The debate on the legalization of the okada business was generated after the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama, made a promise to make legal the business he be voted as President on December 7, 2020.



Meanwhile, okada business is currently outlawed in Ghana following a law passed in 2012.



But the Adaklu MP argued that the okada business has created more jobs since its introduction in the country hence a new law to legalise okada is long overdue.



There are many young people who have finished school but cant find any job, so they look for what they can do. There are many young people you see riding motorcycles and transporting people from place to place.



The Roads and Transport Ranking Member justified that although according to Ghanas laws, okada is illegal, in reality, okada has become part of us.



He added that, It has come to stay and you cant stop it. So I have suggested that when we come into office, we will legalize okada but we will regulate it. We will regulate it and give them the necessary training, so they are able to conduct their business in a safe manner. They must obey all the traffic regulations in order to be able to go about their profession.

Source: ghanaweb.com









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A world-class metro system to enhance the quality of life for people living in Greater Kochi area is expected to be operational by the end of this March.

According to officials, E Sreedharan, principal advisor, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Monday inspected stations between Aluva and Palarivattom section of the Kochi Metro Rail Project.

Sreedharan, who undertook a motor trolley inspection in the viaduct between Aluva and Palarivattom, had detailed inspections at various stations and instructed the officials to speed up various works connected with civil electrical and signal and telecommunication, a DMRC release said here.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and KMRL are working together to complete the work between Aluva and Palarivattom and to commission the section by the end of March 2017.

He expressed satisfaction about the progress of work, the release said.

Signal testing trial will continue between Aluva and Palarivattom for the next one month, it added.

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Lok Sabha passes Banking Regulation Amendment Bill, 2020

Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 aimed at empowering the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to effectively supervise the banking companies, including commercial banks and cooperative banks.

The Bill, which replaces an ordinance issued by the government in the last week of June, will allow the RBI to prepare a reconstruction scheme for failed banks without having to first make an order of moratorium on barring deposit withdrawals.

The ordinance amending the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 was introduced in the wake of deteriorating conditions of cooperative banks in the country.

The changes in the Act that bring cooperative banks under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India, however, will not affect the existing powers of the state registrars of co-operative societies under state laws.

Co-operative banks which enjoy some regulatory concessions compared to commercial banks were found wanting in self regulation, resulting in mismanagement of peoples deposits.

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020 will empower the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to effectively handle mismanagement of funds haps in private banks without allowing any loss of public confidence and disruption in the financial system.

It will also enable RBI to find suitors for a stressed bank.

"For the last two years, depositors of cooperative banks and small banks are facing problems. We are trying to bring this amendment in order to protect the depositors," finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday in the Lok Sabha.

The Bill will replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. In June, the union cabinet approved the ordinance to bring 1,482 urban and 58 multi-state cooperative banks under the supervision of the central bank.

Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill provides for:

RBI to initiate a scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation of a bank without placing it under moratorium;

In case of a moratorium, the lender cannot grant any loans or make investments in any credit instruments during the moratorium tenure;

Co-operative banks will be allowed to raise funds either through equity/ preference/special shares to members or any other person residing within their area of operations. The banks may also issue unsecured debentures or bonds or similar securities with maturity of ten or more years to such persons, with prior approval from RBI;

No person will be entitled to demand payment towards surrender of shares issued to him by a co-operative bank;

RBI may exempt a cooperative bank or a class of cooperative banks from certain provisions of the Act through notification. These provisions are related to employment, the qualification of the board of directors and, the appointment of a chairman;

RBI may supersede the board of directors of a multi-state co-operative bank for up to five years under certain conditions. These conditions include cases where it is in the public interest for RBI to supersede the Board, and to protect depositors.

Amends the provision of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 that cooperative banks cannot open a new place of business or change the location of the banks outside of the village, town, or city in which it is currently located without permission from RBI.

The changes will not affect the existing powers of the state registrars of co-operative societies under state laws.

The Banking Regulation Amendment Bill, 2020 will not be applicable to:

Primary agricultural credit societies,

Cooperative societies whose principal business is long term financing for agricultural development.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the bill is primarily aimed at protecting depositors of cooperative banks and is focused only on those cooperatives that use the word bank and therefore receiving and dealing with deposits.

"This Bill does not regulate cooperative banks. The amendment is not for central govt to take over the cooperative banks," Sitharaman added.

These two societies must not use the term bank, banker or banking in their name or in connection with their business, or act as an entity that clears cheque.

She highlighted that cooperative banks in the country have been regulated by the RBI since 1965 and the Bill only seeks to extend the applicability so that some of the banking regulation laws are also going to be applicable to them.

She asserted that State Cooperative laws are not being proposed to be amended. State cooperative laws are not being touched in this proposed amendment, she said.

This is being necessitated because cooperative banks are in a weak financial position and depositors are suffering. As many as 277 Urban cooperative banks are reporting losses; 105 UCBs are unable to meet minimum regulatory capital requirements; 47 are having negative net worth and 328 UCB having more than 15 per cent Gross NPA ratio as of March 2019. To protect depositors and in public interest, early legislation is required, she said.
A woman fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force will soon join the Golden Arrows squadron operating the newly-inducted Rafale fighter jets, official sources said on Monday. The woman pilot is undergoing training to fly Rafale aircraft, they said. She has been flying MiG-21 fighters and was selected for the Rafale fleet following an internal process, the sources said.

At present, the IAF has 10 women fighter pilots and 18 women navigators. The total strength of women officers serving in the IAF is 1,875. Last week, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik told Parliament that women fighter pilots are inducted and deployed in IAF as per strategic needs and operational requirements.

The Golden Arrows squadron of the IAF was resurrected on September 10 last year. The squadron was originally raised at Air Force station, Ambala on Oct 1 1951. The squadron has many firsts to its credit; in 1955 it was equipped with the first jet fighter, the legendary De Havilland Vampire.

Five French-made multirole Rafale fighter jets were inducted into the Indian Air Force on September 10 at the Ambala air force base. Ten Rafale jets have been delivered to India so far and five of them stayed back in France for imparting training to IAF pilots. The delivery of all 36 aircraft is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.

A second batch of four to five Rafale jets are likely to arrive in India by November. The Rafale jets are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 year after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.

The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.

Also read: No decision on selling only 'Made in India' products in military canteens: Govt

Also read: Rafale induction in IAF a stern message to those eyeing India's sovereignty: Rajnath Singh
On International Day of Peace, the United States of America urges Russia to end its occupation of Crimea, withdraw from Donbas, and cease its aggression against Ukraine.

U.S. Charge d'Affaires a.i. in Ukraine Kristina Kvien said this in a video address posted on the Facebook page of the U.S. Embassy.

Ukrainians, like all people, want to live their lives in peace and with full recognition of their human rights. Until Russia ends the conflict it manufactured and sustains in Donbas and fully withdraws from both Donbas and Crimea, Ukrainians cannot enjoy the peace they deserve," Kvien said.

She added that Russia must also free all Ukrainians it has wrongfully imprisoned in retaliation to peaceful dissent.

The diplomat assured that the United States remains fully committed to diplomatic efforts to end Russias conflict in eastern Ukraine and occupation of Crimea.

The International Day of Peace is marked on September 21. The UN General Assembly declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.

ish
As part of the agreement, Emirati students will be flown to Jerusalem to study at Israel's Sam Spiegel Film and Television School

Film agencies in Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced an agreement Monday to collaborate on television production, the latest development to follow a U.S.-brokered deal between the countries to normalize relations.

The Abu Dhabi Film Commission, an Emirati government agency, said it reached an understanding with the Israeli Film Fund and a Jerusalem film school seeking to strengthen commercial ties through training programs for film and television co-production and joint film festivals.

As part of the agreement, Emirati students will be flown to Jerusalem to study at Israel's Sam Spiegel Film and Television School.

The film agencies hailed the agreement as a way to deepen ``cultural understanding'' between the countries.

The United Arab Emirates, along with Bahrain, signed historic agreements to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel at a White House ceremony last week.

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged on Monday the international community to work together to improve world governance.

"National sovereignty -- a pillar of the United Nations -- goes hand-in-hand with enhanced international cooperation based on common values and shared responsibilities in pursuit of progress for all," the UN chief said at the UN General Assembly ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.

"No one wants a world government -- but we must work together to improve world governance," the secretary-general said.

Noting that "today we have a surplus of multilateral challenges and a deficit of multilateral solutions," the secretary-general said that "in an interconnected world, we need a networked multilateralism, in which the United Nations family, international financial institutions, regional organizations, trading blocs and others work together more closely and effectively. We also need as the (General Assembly) President said, an inclusive multilateralism, drawing on civil society, cities, businesses, local authorities and more and more on young people."

On the founding of the United Nations, Guterres said that "the ideals of the United Nations -- peace, justice, equality and dignity -- are beacons to a better world."

"The organization we celebrate today emerged only after immense suffering," he said. "It took two world wars, millions of deaths and the horrors of the Holocaust for world leaders to commit to international cooperation and the rule of law."

Speaking of the achievements of the United Nations, the UN chief said that commitment "produced results."

"A Third World War -- which so many had feared -- has been avoided. Never in modern history have we gone so many years without a military confrontation between the major powers," he said. "This is a major achievement of which member states can be proud -- and which we must all strive to preserve."

"Down the decades, there have been other historic accomplishments, including peace treaties and peacekeeping, decolonization, human rights standards -- and mechanisms to uphold them, the triumph over apartheid, life-saving humanitarian aid for millions of victims of conflict and disaster, the eradication of diseases, the steady reduction of hunger, the progressive development of international law, and landmark agreements to protect the environment and our planet," the UN chief elaborated.

"Most recently, unanimous agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change provide an inspiring vision for the 21st century," he noted.

However, Guterres underscored that "there is still so much to be done."

"Of the 850 delegates to the San Francisco Conference, just eight were women. Twenty-five years since the Beijing Platform for Action, gender inequality remains the greatest single challenge to human rights around the world," he said.

As for the challenges ahead, the secretary-general said "we can only address them together."
directed on Monday that the number of oxygen-supported beds, ICU and ventilators should be increased in view of the situation.

At a review meeting at his residence, the chief minister said people come from for treatment in Jodhpur, Kota, Bikaner, Udaipur and Ajmer divisional headquarters.

Along with strengthening the medical system there, 1,000 oxygen-supported beds, ICU and ventilators should be increased in Jaipur on priority, he said in a statement



Health Department Principal Secretary Akhil Arora said due to continuous efforts, the department had been successful in controlling mortality rate.

The case fatality rate in September has been less than 0.9 per cent and it was less than 1 per cent August, Arora said.

Rajasthan has an average mortality rate of 1.16 per cent, which is lower than not only the national average, but several large states. The recovery rate is 83 per cent, the official said.

Gehlot also reviewed the implementation of Section 144 imposed at 11 district headquarters of the state during this period. He said the government would not hesitate to take similar steps in other districts if needed.

The chief minister directed Director General of Police Bhupendra Singh to carry out a flag march to ensure compliance of Section 144.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In September 2020, reports about U.S President Donald Trump had circulated on social media. The posts claim that the president said that the wildfires raging on the West Coast were due to exploding trees.

The truth

President Trump made the comments during a September 15, 2020 appearance on the Fox News show "Fox & Friends" after being asked by co-host Brian Kilmeade about the role of climate change in California wildfires. He also asked the president on what should be the appropriate action to combat the wildfires.

Even though President Trump did comment about explosive trees and their role in starting wildfires, it is not clear whether he was using the word explosive when he really meant flammable. It is impossible for trees to spontaneously explode.

The "Fox & Friends" call-in was not the first time that President Trump made "explosive tree" comments. He also made a comment about explosive trees while discussing the wildfires with California Governor Gavin Newsom on September 14, 2020, while visiting the state to check the damage of the fire and to meet the officials.

Also Read: Transient Charged and Arrested, Accused of Starting Wildfire That Killed Dozens

There are now 35 people who have died due to the fire, and millions of acres have burned in wildfires ranging from California to Washington and have blanketed the region in smoke.

Even though the historic wildfires were fueled by a lot of causes and conditions, including downed power lines, dry lightning strikes, and a pyrotechnic device launched during a gender reveal party like the case of the El Dorado fire in California, experts say that climate change exacerbated them.

The Austrian Federal Minister of Agriculture, Elisabeth Kostinger, refused President Trump's claims that Austrians reside in forest cities in a piece published by British newspaper The Independent.

Kostinger said that there are no forest cities in Austria, but people will find habitats closely intertwined with forests. She also emphasized that while Austria does not have exploding trees, the country has learned to sustainably co-exist with nature so that natural habitats can flourish.

Wildfires in the US

In Los Angeles, a wildfire that reached a Mojave Desert community has caused millions worth of damage and has claimed the life of a firefigher. The fire erupted due to a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device that was used by a couple to reveal the gender of their baby.

The death happened on September 17 in San Bernardino National Forest as crews battled the El Dorado Fire about 75 miles or 120 kilometers east of LA, according to the statement released by the U.S Forest Service.

In northern Los Angeles County, the Bobcat Fire burned desert properties that were semi-rural when it was pushed by gusts into the community of Juniper Hills after churning all the way across the San Gabriel Mountains.

Meanwhile, in Oregon, where a massive wildfire is also ongoing, authorities accused six men of starting the fire. There is no evidence that the suspects were motivated by politics, despite numerous conspiracies, according to OregonLive.

There are now ten people dead and 22 missing in Oregon, according to CNN. The thick smoke is making it difficult for authorities to search for those who are missing.

Related Article: Fact Check: Did a Fire Caused by Gender Reveal Party Damage More Property Than 2020 Protests?

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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of our greatest lawyers and justices. Though she has become a folk heroine, as a childrens doll and subject of a book titled Notorious RBG, I will always remember her as a fantastic imaginative lawyer, and a strategic and passionate justice.

Lets consider her effect on the application of equal protection law to gender issues. Not until 1971 did the Supreme Court apply equal protection law to outlaw discrimination based on gender. One of the early cases struck down a clearly irrational state law allowing men, but not women, to administer estates.

Under Ginsburgs guidance, attorneys for gender equality had to convince the nine men on the Supreme Court that laws allegedly designed to benefit the weaker, gentler sex were, in fact, holding women back. Ginsburg often represented men in these cases to show the world just how unfair and discriminatory such chivalrous laws could be.

Ginsburg argued the case striking a military rule allowing wives of male military to get benefits not available to husbands of female military. She also represented a male parent after his wifes death when he could not obtain Social Security survivors benefits, though a woman could obtain such benefits when her husband died. A similar case allowed men to attend a womens-only nursing program over the states argument that nursing was a womans profession and the gender exclusion was to benefit women.

One great victory in these cases was Ginsburgs convincing the court that gender cases must be reviewed under a higher level of scrutiny than other equal protection cases; the state must show it has a substantial interest in its policy and that a particular law is substantially related to that policy, a very difficult standard for a state to meet and one very protective of gender rights. Ginsburg was just one justice short of convincing the court to apply the strictest scrutiny to gender cases.

President Bill Clinton nominated Ginsburg to the Supreme Court in 1993  after she spent 13 years as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia  and she was confirmed 96-3. As a justice, she was always a vote for equality on the basis of gender, as well as race, national origin and immigration status.

As the author of the Supreme Court opinion requiring the Virginia Military Institute, or VMI, an all-male public university for 150 years, to admit women in 1996, Ginsburg reframed the heightened scrutiny to be applied to gender issues as exceedingly persuasive justification. But she also led the court to firmly reject Virginias efforts to create a clearly inferior womens alternative to VMI.

Ginsburgs dissents have pushed Congress to overrule a ludicrous Supreme Court decision that a woman had to file an Equal Pay Act case within 180 days of the first day she was paid less than a man, even though she had no way of knowing about the disparate pay until years later. And her dissent in the 2013 case striking the Voting Rights Act preclearance requirements still sets the standard for clear dissents giving the public, Congress and members of the court a lesson in civics and history.

According to Jewish tradition, a person who dies on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year that began the day of Ginsburgs passing, is a tzaddik, a person of great righteousness. Baruch Dayan HaEmet, or Blessed is the true judge.

Al Kauffman is a professor of law at St. Marys University School of Law, and an expert on constitutional law and the U.S. Supreme Court.
New Delhi: The timing couldnt have been more potent or worse, depending upon who views it and from where. The trigger has been the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), under its most powerful president Xi Jinping recently unveiling a plan of exercising better control over private businesses.

While the CCPs move is in sync with Chinas quest for Zhongguo, or a Middle Kingdom status as the centre of civilization, it raises further question mark over firms such as tech giants Alibaba Group and Tencent who have made deep inroads into Indias start up space. A quick look at unicorns such as Paytm, Paytm Mall, fantasy gaming company Dream11, Byjus, Zomato, Swiggy and BigBasket portrays the true extent of the Chinese influence over the space.

Experts say in China, the party and the state permeate each other and CCP is the state.

Alka Acharya, professor in Chinese studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University said, Clearly we are looking at a Party state. While they have been exploring market reforms, these firms are still tied to the state. Even the so called private players owe their rise to the Party. For instance Jack Ma is a member of the CCP. There is only one Party and it is always necessary that you uphold the Partys principle. Also some Party officials have ties to these private firms." Jack Ma is Alibaba founder.

While there have always been concerns about the likes of Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. close links with the Chinese government, with Beijing' new overt control projection exercise; the global security establishments worst fears seem to be coming true. The plan reportedly calls for private firms hiring a minimum number of CCP members across both large and small firms to strengthen ideological guidance.

In his order Xi stated, Unify members of the private sector around the party, and do better in promoting the healthy development of the private economy."

The message from Great Hall of the People also perhaps marks a pivot in its stated mixed socialist market economy and comes in the backdrop of a trade war with the US government censuring WeChat and TikTok apps. Donald Trump administration is also trying to rally Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) against China state owned firms.

India on its part has been keeping a close watch on its eastern neighbour and the unfolding Himalayan adventure, that is also playing out in New Delhis economic policy decision making. With the US, UK and Australia banning Chinese telecom equipment, India is expected to follow suit in the backdrop of its plan to roll out 5G networks.

We cant do more than what we are doing. We are now trying to limit the damage. However, the question will still be there that if you are trying to keep the Chinese out, who fills that space? Also, given the value chains are so inter-linked, how will you differentiate. It is very difficult to completely sanitise your economic operations from Chinese influence," Acharya said.

From restricting bidders from China in participating for government procurement tenders including smart meters, to barring hundreds of Chinese apps, including Blueholes PUBG, Bytedances TikTok, and Alibabas UC Browser, China watching has assumed a completely new meaning altogether.

The check on Chinese economic armada was succinctly pointed out by Indias external affairs minister S. Jaishankar in his book 'The India Way' where he wrote, The era of benign globalization that facilitated the dramatic rise of China has come to an end."

Some believe that the gravest threat is on the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) front, with China accounting for around two-thirds of India pharmaceutical companies API needs.

The most critical thing is API in my opinion. We need to build indigenous capacity and this shall be treated as a strategic sector otherwise you will have a problem in supplying medicine to your population," said Saurabh Chandra, former secretary in India' department of industrial policy and promotion.

India on its part plans to become an integral part of global supply chains as firms look to move production lines out of China, following the coronavirus pandemic that originated in Wuhan. Added to the mix is Japan push for its manufacturers to move production lines of out of China to India, even as it has been working with India to aggressively develop strategic infrastructure projects in Indias northeastern states.

India concerns have perhaps been best articulated by Portugal former Europe minister Bruno Macaes who in his book Belt and Road: A Chinese World Order wrote, In a world where China and the United States will compete for control over key technologies, India risks becoming the market where the outcome of that battle will be in large measure decided, but no more than that."

Gone are the halcyon days popular narrative of two Asian giants rising together and reaching a middle ground on Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). India has also been critical of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which cuts through Gilgit and Baltistan areas of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Also, it doesnt require an expert reading of tea-leaves to surmise that any proposed energy cooperation between India and China, the worlds third and second-largest oil importers respectively is a thing of the imagined past. In this backdrop, Indian strategic experts believe India and China will turn the screws on each other in a geopolitical race to sew up as much of the worlds next generation natural resources such as lithium.

One also has to concentrate on more domestic crude oil production as it is a strategic sector," said Chandra, who was also former secretary in the petroleum and natural gas ministry.

For now, the Indian economic response in term of decoupling of trade and investment relationship with China has been limited to cancelling railway and road tenders, removing Chinese language from Indian school curriculum and ceasing imports of Chinese silk yarn, tyres and other auto components.

However, given the loud message of brinkmanship from the Chinese dragon, and troops on both sides of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) stationed in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation; Indian policy planners must be tweaking their playbook to keep a check on China private sector juggernaut.

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A billboard that reads "Democrats for Trump" is visible along the 5700 block of Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia, Pa. on September 16, 2020. The political disclaimer says it was paid for by the 21st Ward GOP but the ward leader there says he knows nothing about it. Read more

Clout spotted a pair of complications when we spied the brief lifespan of a Democrats for Trump billboard on Ridge Avenue, at the southern end of Roxborough in Philadelphia last week.

First, the disclaimer for who paid for it  required by state and federal law  said its the local Republican ward who put up the money, not the Democrats who are purportedly fans of President Donald Trump.

Second, Walt Vogler, the Republican leader of the 21st Ward, said he had nothing to do with it. Even though Clout informed him the billboard says, Paid for by 21st Ward GOP  the name of his wards political action committee.

Absolutely not, Vogler said. I know nothing about it.

Adding to the mystery, the billboard vanished after Clout starting asking questions about it. By Saturday, it had been replaced with an advertisement about lowering blood pressure.

Vogler said the billboard was absolutely a violation of state law requiring accurate attribution for political advertising.

Clear Channel Outdoor, the billboard owner, did not respond to requests for information.

 READ MORE: More Clout: Trump is wrong about voter fraud, Tom Ridge says

Democrats outnumber Republicans in the ward, 67% to 19%. Trump won 27% of the vote there in 2016.

Lou Agre, the Democratic ward leader, smells shenanigans in the wind.

If there is really a Democrat for Trump in the 21st Ward hes the only one, Agre said.

Maybe someone felt envious of the Republican Voters Against Trump effort, reported recently by Clout, posting more than 130 billboards across Pennsylvania with messages from Republicans explaining why they are voting for former Vice President Joe Biden.
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The Kremlin's investigators want to speak to Alexei Navalny ally Maria Pevchikh (pictured) over the dissident's poisoning

Russian agents want to question a glamorous UK-based woman who was with Putin-foe Alexei Navalny when he was poisoned with novichok.

The Kremlin investigators allege that Maria Pevchikh, a 33-year-old employee of Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, slipped her boss the toxin as part of a British plot against Moscow.

The Russians make spurious claims about Ms Pevchikh's previous work for a Westminster politician and refer to her father's invention of a special type of needle.

With Moscow under pressure to explain what happened, the UK-based Pevchikh could now face questions from investigators she says are 'doing the opposite' of trying to solve the case.

While suspicion has fallen on Vladimir Putin after three laboratories found evidence of Novichok, pro-Kremlin media has claimed that Western intelligence or Navalny's own allies could have staged the poisoning to embarrass Putin.

Recovery: Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia pose for a picture on a balcony of the Charite hospital in Berlin where the Russian opposition leader is being treated

The Gazprom-owned channel NTV claimed there was a 'British footprint' in the case while Moscow has played down the Novichok finding despite results from laboratories in Germany, France and Sweden.

Pevchikh, an employee of Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, denies any involvement and blames Russian authorities for Navalny's illness.

Speaking to BBC Russian, Pevchikh directly blamed Russian authorities for Navalny's poisoning.

'They tried to kill a person with a chemical warfare agent. Somewhere in the middle of Siberia, he almost died, and most likely would have died in Omsk if he had not been released from there' to go to Berlin, she said.

She accused the Russian Investigative Committee of seeking to cover up those responsible for the poisoning.

'The primary task still remains - to find the person who wanted to kill Alexei Navalny.,' she said.

'The only problem is that we all understand - this is not what they are trying to do, they are doing the opposite.'

Pevchikh claimed she had been secretly filmed on previous trips from London to Russia, and that footage of her was released to pro-Kremlin media after after Navalny's poisoning.

Russian media has quoted her father claiming he invented 'special needles that allow a substance to be injected into the body without going through the bloodstream'.

She has not spoken to her father for 15 years after her parents' divorce, she said.

Another source close to Navalny said: 'This sinister campaign is all about them getting ready for being forced to admit Novichok was indeed used on Navalny.

'They will then blame his companions when this was done by the Russian authorities.'

Pevchikh is portrayed in Moscow as being close to the British authorities.

But Navalny ally Vladimir Ashurkov said she had merely been an intern to a Westminster politician as a student about 10 years ago.

Navalny today demanded that Russia return the clothes he was wearing when he fell ill on the flight in Siberia last month.

He also hailed his wife Yulia for helping to nurse him back to health after he was taken ill and spent weeks in a medically-induced coma.

Navalny, 44, held a coffee mug in one hand and wrapped his other arm around his wife's waist as she looked over the skyline of Berlin from the city's Charite hospital.

'Now I definitely know from experience: love heals and brings you back to life,' he said. 'Yulia, you have saved me, and let it go down in neurobiology textbooks.'

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny poses with his wife Yulia and their children last week at the German hospital where he is being treated after being poisoned with Novichok

Navalny said in his first blog post since emerging from a coma that there was evidence of Novichok 'in and on my body'.

A German military lab found 'unequivocal evidence' of the substance earlier this month, a finding supported by laboratories in France and Sweden.

Navalny's aides gathered discarded objects from his hotel room in the Siberian city of Tomsk and sent them to German experts who found Novichok on a water bottle.

His friends have pointed the finger at Moscow, especially because the nerve agent was the same one used to poison Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018, but the Kremlin denies any involvement.

Russia's transport police says it has questioned 200 people in a basic probe, but authorities have yet to open a full investigation.

The Kremlin has played down Germany's finding of Novichok, insisting that medical tests carried out by its own doctors found no poison in Navalny's body.

Navalny said he 'did not expect anything else' after Russian talk shows suggested that Western intelligence or his own allies had carried out the attack.

Navalny being taken to an ambulance in Omsk (left) after falling ill on a plane following a trip to an airport cafe (right) in August

He also demanded that Russian authorities return his clothes, which were removed before he was flown to Germany 'totally naked'.

'Taking into account that Novichok was found on my body, and poisoning through physical contact is highly likely, my clothes are a very important piece of evidence,' he wrote.

'I demand my clothes be carefully packed in a plastic bag and returned to me.'

Outrage at Navalny's poisoning has led to calls for renewed sanctions against Russia, including scrapping the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany.

The Kremlin has rejected those calls, saying that the pipeline is 'absolutely in line with the interests of both Russia and EU countries'.

Doctors at the Charite hospital said last week that Navalny's condition 'continues to improve', although possible long-term effects are not yet clear.

At the weekend, a former Soviet scientist who was involved in creating Novichok apologised to Navalny and acknowledged that the substance was used against him.

'I offer my profound apologies to Navalny for the fact that I took part in this criminal business, developing this substance that he was poisoned with,' said Vil Mirzayanov in an interview with Russia's TV Rain on Saturday.

Navalny arrives at Berlin's Tegel Airport after he was airlifted from Russia. Doctors at the German hospital say his condition has been improving

Navalny's allies have pointed the finger at Russian president Vladimir Putin (pictured) after the opposition leader fell ill, but the Kremlin has dismissed the claims

Mirzayanov, who now lives in the United States, wrote the first articles on Novichok's development in the early 1990s.

'Navalny will just have to be patient but in the end, he should be healthy,' Mirzayanov said, predicting recovery would take 'almost a year.'

He suggested that Navalny most likely took in the poison by mouth, since he appears not to have contaminated others.

So far three scientists, now in their 70s, have made public statements after working on the top-secret Soviet project.

Navalny has long been the most prominent opposition figure in Russia and his allies say he will return to the country once he has recovered.

Putin's spokesman said last week that Navalny would be free to return to Russia, where he has been arrested multiple times in what critics say were politically motivated crackdowns.

Navalny has also been sued over his anti-corruption investigations and was barred from running in the 2018 presidential election, which Putin won.
T he Covid-19 alert level for the UK should be increased to Level 4, the chief medical officers of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have said in a joint statement.

This means transmission of the virus is high or rising exponentially.

It comes after the seven day rolling average of new infections tripled in just three weeks while the number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus in England is the highest it has been since the end of June, figures show.

The chief medical officers said on Monday: The Joint Biosecurity Centre has recommended that the Covid-19 alert level should move from Level 3 (a Covid-19 epidemic is in general circulation) to Level 4 (a Covid-19 epidemic is in general circulation; transmission is high or rising exponentially).

The CMOs for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have reviewed the evidence and recommend all four nations of the UK should move to Level 4.

After a period of lower Covid cases and deaths, the number of cases are now rising rapidly and probably exponentially in significant parts of all four nations.

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If we are to avoid significant excess deaths and exceptional pressure in the NHS and other health services over the autumn and winter everyone has to follow the social distancing guidance, wear face coverings correctly and wash their hands regularly.

We know this will be concerning news for many people; please follow the rules, look after each other and together we will get through this.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said raising the Covid-19 alert level reflects a significant shift in the threat posed by the virus.

Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures 1 /81 Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures A deserted Westminster Bridge PA A man wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past customers sat outside a restaurant AFP via Getty Images Boris Johnson addresses the nation on the Coronavirus lockdown Andrew Parsons Runners pass cardboard cutouts of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William during the London Marathon in London AP An empty escalator at Charing Coss London Underground tube station Jeremy Selwyn Electronic bilboards displays a message warning people to stay home in Sheffield PA A sign is displayed in the window of a student accommodation building following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Mancheste Reuters People take part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions, in Londo AP People sing and dance in Leicester Square on the eve on the 10PM curfew Reuters Hearts painted by a team of artists from Upfest are seen in the grass at Queen Square, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bristol Reuters Graffiti reads 'good luck and stay safe', as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases grow around the world, under a bridge in London Reuters A sign is pictured in Soho, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures, during a coronavirus briefing in Downing Street, London AP A person runs past posters with a message of hope, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Manchester REUTERS Riot police face protesters who took part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions in London AP An image of The Queen eith quotes from her broadcast to the UK and the Commonwealth in relation to the Coronavirus epidemic are displayed on lights in London's Piccadilly Circus PA Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas' hospital Getty Images Durdle Door in Dorset Reuters Captain Tom Moore via Reuters Mia, aged 8, and Jack, aged 5, take part in "PE with Joe" a daily live workout with Joe Wicks on Youtube to help kids stay fit who have to stay indoors due to the Coronavirus outbreak PA An NHS worker reacts at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital during the Clap for our Carers campaign in support of the NHS Reuters Goats which have taken over the deserted streets of Llandudno @AndrewStuart via PA Tobias Weller PA Novikov restaurant in London with its shutters pulled down while the restaurant is closed London Landscapes: Hyde Park and the Serpentine, central London. Matt Writtle A newspaper vendor in Manchester city centre giving away free toilet rolls with every paper bought as shops run low on supplies due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus PA Theo Clay looks out of his window next to his hand-drawn picture of a rainbow in Liverpool, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue Reuters A young man cuts another man's hair on top of a closed hairdresser in Oxford Reuters General view of the new NHS Nightingale Hospital, built to fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London via Reuters Jason Baird is seen dressed as Spiderman during his daily exercise to cheer up local children in Stockport, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues Reuters A woman wearing a face mask walks past Buckingham Palace Getty Images A man holds mobile phone displaying a text message alert sent by the government warning that new rules are in force across the UK and people must stay at home PA Medical staff on the Covid-19 ward at the Neath Port Talbot Hospital, in Wales, as the health services continue their response to the coronavirus outbreak. PA Prime Minister Boris Johnson taking part in a virtual Cabinet meeting with his top team of ministers PA A shopper walks past empty shelves in a Lidl store on in Wallington. After spates of "panic buying" cleared supermarket shelves of items like toilet paper and cleaning products, stores across the UK have introduced limits on purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have also created special time slots for the elderly and other shoppers vulnerable to the new coronavirus. Getty Images People on a busy tube train in London at rush hour PA Mia, aged 8 and her brother Jack, aged 5 from Essex, continue their school work at home, after being sent home due to the coronavirus PA Children are painting 'Chase the rainbows' artwork and springing up in windows across the country Reuters Social distancing in Primrose Hill Jeremy Selwyn A general view of a locked gate at Anfield, Liverpool as The Premier League has been suspended PA Homeless people in London AFP via Getty Images A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow's street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss PA The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace, London, for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic PA A general view on Grey street, Newcastle as coronavirus cases grow around the world Reuters Matt Raw, a British national who returned from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, leaves quaratine at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside PA Britain's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty (L) and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance look on as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) news conference inside 10 Downing Street Reuters The ticket-validation terminals at the tram stop on Edinburgh's Princes Street are cleaned following the coronavirus outbreak. PA Locked school gates at Rockcliffe First School in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear PA A sign at a Sainsbury's supermarket informs customers that limits have been set on a small number of products as the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases grow around the world Reuters Jawad Javed delivers coronavirus protection kits that he and his wife have put together to the vulnerable people of their community of Stenhousemuir, between Glasgow and Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images A sign advertising a book titled "How Will We Survive On Earth?" Getty Images A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask today in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn A pedestrian walks past graffiti that reads "Diseases are in the City" in Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images Staff from The Lyric Theatre, London inform patrons, as it shuts its doors PA A quiet looking George IV Bridge in Edinburgh PA A quieter than usual British Museum Getty Images A racegoer attends Cheltenham in a fashionable face mask SplashNews.com A commuter wears a face mask at London Bridge Station Jeremy Selwyn A empty restaurant in the Bull Ring Shopping Centre Getty Images A deserted Trafalgar Square in London PA Passengers determined to avoid the coronavirus before leaving the UK arrive at Gatwick Airport Getty Images

The raising of the alert level announced by the UK CMOs reflects the significant shift in the current threat posed by coronavirus.

This country now faces a tipping point in its response and it is vital everybody plays their part now to stop the spread of the virus and protect lives.

The first line of defence has always been all of us playing our part, remembering hands, face and space, the rule of six and self-isolation of those who risk passing on the virus.

It comes as a further 4,368 cases of coronavirus were lab-confirmed in the UK as of 9am on Monday, according to the latest Government figures.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 398,625.

Meanwhile, the latest data reveals 205 people with Covid-19 were admitted to hospital in England on Friday  the most since June 27, when the figure was 209.

A further 204 patients were admitted to hospital on Saturday, taking the total number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus in England up to 116,254.

Tomorrow, Boris Johnson will chair a Cobra meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the next steps in the UK's coronavirus response.

Ahead of the meeting, the Prime Minister will phone the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Cabinet received a detailed briefing from the Governments chief medical, scientific and economic advisers over the weekend, Mr Johnsons official spokesman said.

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In a briefing to the nation on Monday, chief medical officer Chris Whitty hinted at new social curbs to prevent an "exponential" rise in deaths as he called for Brits to "break unnecessary links between households", warning that the "vast majority" were still "susceptible" to Covid-19.
In the new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, based on documents obtained by BuzzFeed News, the five banks that appeared most in the leaked SARs were Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of New York Mellon. Among the allegations are that Deutsche Bank Chairman Paul Achleitner was warned about serious compliance failures that exposed the bank to money launderers. A Deutsche Bank spokesman said the bank had no record that Achleitner had been involved in discussions with another bank in which it raised concerns about Deutsche Banks compliance standards. The spokesman said the bank has devoted significant resources to strengthening its controls and that SARs are alerts of potential issues, not proven facts. Last year, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Congress that he would have FinCEN look into whether Deutsche Bank has the right policies on filing SARs after the New York Times reported that the bank had declined to flag transactions involving President Donald Trumps businesses.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. On the occasion of the Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian Air Force made a festive flight in the skies of Yerevan.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan watched the flight from the hill of Victory Park, the PMs Office told Armenpress.

The Premier laid flowers at the Eternal Flame in the park.


Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 20:36:10|Editor: huaxia

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CHANGSHA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Sitting in a classroom with a history of more than 1,000 years, Wang Gefei, a 26-year-old doctoral student, attended a lecture on China's academic history.

While the desks, chairs and decor in the classroom retain the style of ancient China, teachers here have already begun to use modern teaching equipment when conducting classes.

"Studying here, I can feel the fusion of tradition and modernity every day," Wang said.

Yuelu Academy, where Wang is studying, was founded in 976 at the foot of Yuelu Mountain in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province. The academy, where the cream of Chinese culture, including Confucian classics, social etiquette, writing and calligraphic skills, are taught, was among the four most prestigious ancient academies in China, and later became part of Hunan University.

The educational spirit and concept of ancient academies began to merge here with modern education at the beginning of the 20th century, said Xiao Yongming, president of Yuelu Academy.

"The strong affection between teachers and students is one of the cores of the academy's spirit. We inherit this spirit through a tutorial system," said Xiao.

According to Xiao, Yuelu Academy, which focuses on teaching students in accordance with their aptitude, implements the tutorial system from undergraduate to doctoral students, combining the people-centered education of traditional academies with the curriculum-centered education of modern universities.

"Tutors can influence students with their knowledge and morality, and guide the students' development," he said.

Far from being confined to traditional education, however, the ancient academy has also made various explorations to integrate traditional culture into contemporary university education.

Yuelu Academy has set up a general education center, offering an introductory course on the classics of traditional Chinese studies to all the students at Hunan University. Meanwhile, open lectures on topics such as literature and philosophy are held here every week, with people from outside the province making their way to Changsha for the occasion.

"Academies were places to give lectures in ancient times. Today, we should also strive to hold such lectures and spread culture to the whole of society," said Xiao.

The academy invites more than 100 famous scholars from home and abroad to lecture on traditional culture every year, with one online live broadcast setting a single-lecture record of 1.4 million viewers.

"While nourishing their own spiritual life with traditional culture, the teachers and students at the academy are striving to spread excellent traditional culture to the whole of society and make contributions to the revival of national culture," said Xiao. Enditem
The future of British tech giant Arm is hanging in the balance as MPs prepare to debate its controversial sale to a US rival.

Arm, which makes chips used in almost all of the world's smartphones, is set to be snapped up by US firm Nvidia in a 30billion deal.

But employees fear the sale could put thousands of British jobs at risk, destroy Arm's business model and take a key technology asset out of Britain's control.

Debate: MPs will discuss the deal after Daniel Zeichner, the Labour MP for Cambridge where Arm is headquartered, secured an adjournment debate

Today MPs will discuss the deal after Daniel Zeichner, the Labour MP for Cambridge where Arm is headquartered, secured an adjournment debate.

Zeichner said: 'The Government have been painfully quiet about the acquisition so I am pleased a minister must to come to the dispatch box to explain themselves.'

Zeichner wants the Government to secure commitments that Arm will not fall under US rules which control where products are exported to. President Trump has used these rules to block exports to China, and experts fear Arm could become another pawn in the US-China trade war.

Zeichner added: 'I find it bizarre that the Government would want to give away such powers.'
Saudi Arabia's royalty is now debating whether to join the peace agreements between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Israel.

The kingdom's monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz is in conflicting arguments with his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, over the decision of joining hands with the Jewish state.

Royal dispute

King Abdulaziz has long supported the Arab boycott of Israel and shares the Palestinian's demand for an independent state. However, the crown prince wishes to negotiate with Israel with business and cooperate against Iran.

According to the Wall Street Journal, United States President Donald Trump's announcement on August 13, paving the way for the cooperation of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, surprised Saudi Arabia's king, who had just begun enjoying his summer holiday.

However, several people familiar with the matter said Prince Mohammed was concerned his father would disapprove of a deal that did not advance the Palestinian cause. Experts said that if the king of the kingdom, the Middle East's biggest economy, did not give his support to the agreement, neighboring Emiratis would be hesitant to do so as well.

Prince Mohammed decided not to tell the king of the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates because it did not mention the Palestinian statehood. The deal only had the Israel government agree to suspend annexation of the West Bank to receive diplomatic recognition from the United Arab Emirates.

Later, King Salman ordered his foreign minister to emphasize Saudi Arabia's commitment and desire to build a Palestinian state and foregoing details about the agreement. A close royal family member wrote in an article reiterating the kingdom's position and noted the Emiratis should have pushed the Israeli government for more concessions.

Also Read: Historic Middle East Peace Efforts Include Bahrain as Latest Arab Nation to Recognize Israel

Decision of the Palestinians

Saudi Arabia's former king Abdullah created the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative that detailed how Arab states agreed only to recognize Israel after the Palestinian's reached an accord with the country, as reported by the Times of Israel.

After the announcement of the agreement between Israel and Bahrain, Saudi Arabia remained silent. However, Bahrain has long been considered a client state and a close ally of the kingdom. The Gulf state is unlikely to have pushed through with normalization of relations without Riyadh's approval.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United States President Donald Trump both suggested that more Arab nations could potentially make diplomatic relations with Israel in the future.

Yossi Cohen, the head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, said that Saudi Arabia could follow suit and normalize relations with the Israel nation. However, he refused to answer when questioned whether or not he spoke with the kingdom's rulers.

During the Abraham Accord, Cohen was cited as a critical figure when Abu Dhabi and Manama signed the agreement at the White House on Tuesday. The official reportedly went on discreet travels to Gulf states to forge cooperative relationships with Arab nations.

On Tuesday, US President Trump said he expected the kingdom of Saudi Arabia to forge diplomatic relations with Israel after similar moves by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The Republican leader also announced there were several Arab countries in line to make peace with Israel.

Related Article: Russian and Emirati Cargo Planes Supply Destruction Caused by Libyan War

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A south London council has apologised for scaring social media users after sharing advice warning people to make plans for a potential evacuation.

Wandsworth Council uploaded an image to Twitter on Sunday recommending that residents prepare an emergency bag in case you need to flee your home immediately without time to pack.

Some of the items suggested for the grab-and-go bag included a first-aid kit, batteries, a whistle and a torch.

The notice sparked a backlash from members of the public, who complained about a lack of context for the post, which some felt could cause additional distress in a time of uncertainty.

The council later clarified: Dont worry, were not trying to scare you."

It explained that the picture was part of its contribution to an annual nationwide campaign, #30days30waysUK, which aims to help households and communities prepare for environmental risks.

Dozens of local councils, as well as other institutions, have also signed up to the campaign, and some tweeted similar messages over the weekend.

The council replied to a comment from one Twitter user, who wrote: Great idea but perhaps could have read the room and considered the anxiety this could cause some. Could have been worded a bit better.

Agreed. Were sorry to have caused alarm, its official account said.

A spokesperson for Wandsworth Council said: This is part of an annual national campaign, supported by many public bodies up and down the country, including councils, the NHS, police and fire services, and is aimed primarily at those in vulnerable situations who may need to leave their homes at a moments notice.

This includes people living in a flood risk area, victims of domestic violence or those who may be affected by a gas leak or a power cut.

This national campaign simply urges people to be prepared for sudden emergencies.
Very few women occupy leadership positions in the world of classical music. In fact, only about six percent of professional classical music orchestras are headed by women.

Now, in France, there is an effort to increase the number of women leading orchestras. It is an international competition in Paris called La Maestra. The event gives women conductors a chance to show off their skills.

Over 200 women -- from Asia, Europe and the Americas -- are taking part in the competition. The winner will be announced later this month.

Laurent Bayle is director of the Paris Philharmonic. He says the winner and those who place highly will get two years of intensive mentoring and other support.

Many observers say there is a need for that kind of support. Women head nearly 40 percent of orchestras in Belgium, but only three percent of French orchestras have female conductors. In the United States, only eight percent of orchestra conductors are women.

The Paris Philharmonic, known in French as the Philharmonie de Paris, is doing better. About 30 percent of its visiting conductors this season are women, an increase from a few years ago.

A mix of reasons, from historical to cultural, are said to be responsible for womens lack of advancement in the classical music field. Bayle noted that in France, for example, the country's egalitarian system disapproves of actions designed mainly to help women and minority groups.

Claire Gilbault is one of France's few female conductors. She heads the Paris Mozart Orchestra, which helped to organize the competition. She told VOA that men head all major musical organizations and like to share power among themselves.

La Maestra changes that. Its jury has an equal number of men and women and is led by a female conductor.

But for this all-women competition, performance is the most important criteria.

Twenty-nine-year-old Sara Caneva from Italy was the first candidate to perform. She noted that the coronavirus pandemic has made the competition more difficult.

"It's the first, it's after a long time without conducting because of the lockdown, she said.

Holly Hyun Choe from the United States felt better about her performance. She currently works as a conductor in Switzerland.

"Of course, that has to come with a lot of luck and a lot of hard work, and your own talent."

The Philharmonic's Bayle said the goal of the event is to get other European orchestras to invite these conductors to perform.

Im Susan Shand.

VOAs Lisa Bryant reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

professional  adj. not amateurs, those with the highest skills

orchestra  n. a group of musicians who play compositions

mentor  v. to teach and assist

conductor  n. the leader of an orchestra

advancement  n. to move forward or higher in a system

egalitarian  adj. the idea that all should be treated equal

criteria  n. the skills that are judged in a competition

lockdown  n. forcing people to stay indoors to avoid a contagious disease
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

The number of incoming freshmen at the University of New Mexico increased this fall for the first time in four years, though the states flagship university still saw a slight dip in its total student population.

There are 22,244 students at UNM this year, down 548 from last fall, a 2.5% drop. Total credit hours being taken at UNM this semester are down 4.4% compared to last year, according to a fall 2020 enrollment report the university published Thursday.

But university officials said there are several encouraging trends in this years enrollment data.

The incoming freshman class of 2,788 students is up 7.5% from last year. Thats a sizable swing compared to recent years, which saw freshman enrollment dropping nearly 25 percent between 2016 and last year.

Another piece of good news was that the number of new graduate students is up 19% from last fall.

And more students moved to New Mexico from other states to become Lobos. Nonresident students are up nearly 9% compared to last fall.

Dan Garcia, executive vice president of enrollment management, said officials were particularly pleased with the enrollment numbers given that the COVID-19 pandemic raised questions about students attendance. With so many classes being taught online and more restrictive campuses, higher education officials across the country were concerned many students would take a gap year or opt for community colleges.

I was pleased that despite this pandemic and the challenges people are facing, there was a strong choice by many students to come to UNM, Garcia said.

UNMs enrollment has been sliding for several years.

The total student population has declined 21% since 2016, when there were 27,060 students. At the start of the fall semesters in 2018 and 2019, total enrollment dropped 7% and 6.5%, respectively. And because those drops were unexpected, they caused multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls.

The small decrease (this year) was reflective of some of the prior years declines, said Garcia. I really believe we are doing a better job recruiting New Mexico residents and telling our story about what a great academic experience they are going to have here.

UNM now has 15,776 undergraduates.

Im excited to see so many new undergraduates and new graduate students coming to UNM, provost James Paul Holloway said in a statement. Our educational environment is built on a foundation of excellence in research and scholarship, a foundation that creates a set of academic programs from which students at all levels will benefit personally and professionally. Their learning, and their future accomplishments will greatly benefit their families, their communities, and New Mexico.

Garcia added: To me it says theres a recognition of the value of a UNM degree, and that a lot of people across the state and the nation have been facing challenges, and I think they are looking forward to the future.
New Delhi: BSH Home Appliances on Monday said it will work with select dealers in India to sell its premium and exclusive kitchen range, including dish care, refrigeration, coffee makers, induction hobs, and teppanyaki grills, to upmarket shoppers in India.

The move comes as BSH --that sells appliances under Bosch and Siemens brands -- saw an uptick in demand for its dishwashers and high-end washing machines after India moved into a lockdown and shoppers looked for appliances hoping to ease household chores.

Neeraj Bahl, MD and CEO, BSH Home Appliances said demand for its products continues to be strong and sales in August were up 40% compared to a year ago period, reaching record levels.

Last three months we have done well in washing machines and even mixer grinders. We sold the highest ever mixer grinders in August30,000 of those units in a month up from a monthly average of 9,000 to 10,000," Bahl told Mint.

The company has had however faced severe" inventory pressure as covid-19 has impacted suppliers and vendors across the company's supply chain. It is working with vendors and suppliers to ramp up supplies ahead of peak festive season.

India has entered the key festival season that typically helps consumer-facing companies do brisk business. Bahl said the industry was so far showing positive signs. "The industry is showing positive signswe do see demand coming back in Diwali and could grow 30%," he said.

Through its dedicated dealers, the company will give consumers live demos on select products; the handling, delivery and services will be provided by Bosch as it pushes its direct2consumer buying facility in India. The company has lined up over 30 new kitchen-specific products to be sold here.

After success launches across global markets like Australia, Spain, New Zealand, Bosch now brings this model to the Indian market through its select kitchen dealers. Starting with Mumbai, it will soon be taken forward across all the major cities, where BSH has an established network" the company said.

The company is also in the process of setting up experience centres starting with Mumbai that will showcase its products in India to more consumers. Another eight to ten such centres are planned over the next three to five years, said a top executive at the local arm of the German company.









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~Part of Thursdays Online with Student Support Services Division.~

PHILIPSBURG:--- Student Support Services Division (SSSD) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport is continuing to equip students, who want to continue their studies abroad, with the proper information despite the global pandemic.

On Thursday, September 24, 2020, a free online workshop entitled Applying to Schools in the Netherlands will be held for students who want to continue their studies in the Netherlands. This is part of the Thursdays Online with SSSD series.

According to SSSD, with technology at our fingertips, for some students applying to schools in the Netherlands can be just a few clicks away and then waiting for an answer from the school. For others, however, the task of applying to schools can be daunting and they may not know where to start. Students also have to know the educational system in the Netherlands.

This workshop is geared at students in the last two years of secondary school or recent graduates and will be held online from 5:00 P.M. to 6:30 P.M. SSSD officials indicated that because of the online workshop, students can register in advance and provide their email addresses so that they can receive a digital invitation. Students can also click on the workshop link on SSSDs Facebook page to attend.

The Applying to Schools in the Netherlands workshop is aimed at students from all the sections of the diverse education system on St. Maarten. Vocational, as well as academic tracts and schools with Dutch or English language instruction in the Netherlands, will be covered. Educational changes occur frequently in the Netherlands and it is important for students to know of such, say SSSD officials.

Requirements for admissions may vary from school to school and admission may not be granted with a diploma or good grades. For example, some schools have interviews, language tests and other requirements and students should know this, SSSD officials indicated.

Parents are urged to encourage their children to participate in this workshop. Students are encouraged to register, in advance, for the workshop so an invitation can be emailed to them. Students may also click on the link on the Student Support Services Division Facebook page to participate in the workshop. If parents or students have any questions on these workshops, they can contact the Student Support Services Division at telephone 543-1235 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
Tensions ratcheted up over Ivory Coast's presidential race on Sunday when former president Konan Bedie called for "civil disobedience" in response to Alassane Ouattara's bid for a third term at the helm of the West African country.

"In the face of abuse of authority, there is only one watchword: civil disobedience," he said to thunderous applause at a meeting of the country's main opposition parties.

"We are here to express our fierce opposition to this violation of the constitution," added Bedie, the flagbearer of the Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDCI).

He did not elaborate on the form the civil disobedience should take and there was no call for an opposition boycott of the October 31 presidential election -- an option that had been mooted previously.

Bedie, 86, is one of only three challengers to Ouattara after the electoral commission excluded 40 other would-be candidates.

Among those excluded are two leading opposition figures, former president Laurent Gbagbo, 75, and former prime minister and onetime rebel leader Guillaume Soro, 47.

Gbagbo and Soro, both in exile in Europe, were represented by surrogates at the meeting.

Ouattara, 78, had said in March that he would not seek a third term but made a U-turn just four months later when his preferred successor, prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died of a heart attack.

The argument behind his bid turns on modifications to the constitution in 2016 which supporters say reset the two-term limits to zero, entitling him to run again.

The government has imposed a ban on demonstrations until September 30.

Violent protests against Ouattara's candidacy left around 15 dead last month, reviving memories of post-election bloodshed nearly a decade ago in the former French colony.

Some observers fear a return to the levels of violence that claimed 3,000 lives following the 2010 presidential vote.

The conflict was sparked when Gbagbo, then president, refused to cede to the victor Ouattara, upending Ivory Coast's reputation as a bastion of democracy in the region.

'Dictatorship'

Last Wednesday, Gbagbo supporters called for mass protests against what they called Ouattara's "dictatorship".

Gbagbo's candidacy was rejected on the grounds that he was handed a 20-year jail term in absentia by an Ivorian court last November over the looting of the local branch of the Central Bank of West African States during the post-election crisis.

He was freed conditionally by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague after he was cleared in January 2019 of crimes against humanity.

The former president is living in Brussels pending the outcome of an appeal against the ICC ruling.

Soro too saw his election application rejected because of a 20-year sentence, also in absentia, for the embezzlement of public funds handed down in April.

Soro provided military help that enabled Ouattara to come to power after the conflict, but the two men fell out in early 2019.

Bedie, Gbagbo and Ouattara have dominated Ivorian politics for a quarter of a century.

Their advanced age -- none is under 75 -- contrasts with the extreme youth of the population in Ivory Coast, where 40 percent of the population is under 15.
The claim: Trumps security forces cleared protesters out of the presidents way in June so he can walk across to a Protestant church and hold a Bible upside down.  Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Biden made the statement in a Sept. 17 CNN town hall, in reference to Trumps walk from the White House to the historic St. Johns Church on Lafayette Square. At the time, downtown Washington, D.C., was full of protesters following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

PolitiFact ruling: Pants on Fire! This false claim spread on social media earlier this summer, without evidence, and made it into several news reports and opinion pieces. But fact-checkers debunked it as early as June, and a review of still images and video from that day show clearly that it is inaccurate. Trump held the Bible right-side up throughout the event.

Discussion:

Critics mostly blasted Trump for using tear gas to clear nonviolent protesters just before his walk to the church for a photo-op. But some on social media took aim at how Trump held the Bible.

For instance, novelist Stephen King tweeted, Dear fundamentalist Christian Trump supporters: If Obama had held the Bible backwards and upside down, you would immediately have called him the Antichrist. The tweet attracted more than 164,000 likes.

Biden has made the claim about the upside-down Bible before, even though fact-checkers had debunked it. The claim has also appeared in various news accounts about the church photo-op and social media posts.

Trump himself has previously denied that he held the Bible upside down.

What does the evidence show?

PolitiFact scrutinized a series of images from the Associated Press as well as raw video from NBC News, and the truth is clear: Trump held the Bible right-side up.

The Bible Trump held up had no writing on the front cover, so to viewers who couldnt see the spine, it may have looked like he was holding it upside down and backwards. But there are several AP images that clearly show the spine right-side up.

In the most iconic photos taken of the event, it is a little harder to read the spine, but the free end of the ribbon bookmark clearly dangles below the Bible, which is how it was when the Bible was oriented correctly in the other images.

Video of the event confirmed that Trump consistently held the Bible right-side up. In fact, at several points he appears to look down on it to make sure that hes holding it correctly.

The Biden campaign did not respond to an inquiry for this article.
For the Temple, it is a clear case of intellectual theft. The monastery is the birthplace of kung fu, made famous by Bruce Lee. Despite criticism, Abbot Shi Yongxin has turned the complex into a global enterprise. For the Semir Group, the charge comes on top of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beijing (AsiaNews)  The Shaolin Buddhist temple has accused a Chinese garment giant of illegally exploiting its "Shaolin Kungfu" brand.

Since August, Semir Group has been using the label for a youth clothing line. For the Temple, this constitutes intellectual theft since the company has never requested authorisation from the monastery.

Located in Henan, the Temple is known as the birthplace in 495 AD of kung fu, the martial art made world famous by Bruce Lee and actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Over the past 23 years, Abbot Shi Yongxin has turned the monastery into a global enterprise the Buddhist complex with 666 registered trademarks, earning him the sobriquet of the CEO monk of Shaolin.

Shi has invested the profits into real estate properties at home and abroad; however, this has led to criticism from purists.

In 2017, Henan authorities dismissed some of the charges against him. In addition to marketing a sacred place and leading an expensive lifestyle, a group of monks have accused Shi of extorting money from them in order to pay for his mistresses, with whom he has fathered a number of children.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the temple attracted 1.5 million visitors a year. According to the China Business Journal, it earned US million in 2017 in proceeds.

The complex, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has also earned money as a location for films, and from kung fu classes and performances that take place all over the world.

For Semir, the complaint from the Shaolin Temple represents a severe blow. Due to the pandemic, the Zhejiang-based company has had to close a tenth of its 7,500 stores.

In the past six months, it has also seen its profits fall by 97 per cent over the same period last year.
Airbnb says it has suspended at least two listings in Hamilton and Norfolk County after its hosts violated the companys party and events policy.

The short-term rental website announced Monday that more 40 listings across Ontario have been suspended as part of its effort to crack down on party houses.

Many of the listings were in the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa, London and other rural areas in the province, Airbnb said in a statement. The company did not provide specific details regarding the suspended listings due to privacy laws.

Spokesperson Nathan Rotman said the suspended listings represent a minority of hosts who either received complaints or violated company policy.

This could mean they had parties in their listing and received complaints from neighbours. It could also mean that the language used to describe their listing violated our policies, Rotman said.

The suspensions come amid a company policy change to ban parties at properties and cap the number of people in a given listing at 16.

Earlier this year the company introduced a pilot project in Canada to restrict users under the age of 25 from booking entire homes.

Four men younger than 25 faced drug charges in April after police executed warrants at two Hamilton properties, including one Airbnb property at Cannon Street East and Wellington Street North.

But the company said the pilot has been successful and the practice has been expanded to the United Kingdom, France and Spain.

Airbnb said concerned neighbours can call its 24-7 hotline if they think an Airbnb property is hosting a party in their area.
By PTI

BENGALURU: The eight-day long monsoon session of Karnataka legislature that began on Monday will now be curtailed by two days, due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The assembly session that was scheduled till September 30, will now be for six days till September 26, including Saturday, which is otherwise a holiday, official sources said.

During the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting of the Karnataka legislative assembly today, there was no consensus between the opposition and the ruling side on holding question hour, with the government insisting on tabling the answers.

Confirming about curtailing the session, Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Siddaramaiah, emerging from the BAC meeting, said it has been decided to cut short the session by two days, and it will now be held for five more days till Saturday.

"The session will now also take place on Saturday, following our demand, and the House will meet early, at 10 am every day, thereby ensuring that the House sits for extra hours to transact the business," he said.

According to Siddaramaiah, Yediyurappa at the meeting suggested that as parliament session is likely to be curtailed and similar decision has been taken by several state assemblies, "we should also curtail it, after discussing key bills, but the Congress did not agree to it."

"I and our colleagues said there are about 40 bills including some ordinances, we cannot agree to all of them without proper discussion, because they are of public importance, and they (government) have agreed to it," he said.

The Law Minister, Speaker and Congress MLA Krishna Byre Gowda will prepare a list of important bills and ordinance that need to be discussed,he added.

Siddaramaiah also made it clear that opposition will oppose ordinance amending APMC and land reforms act and labour laws, terming them "anti-people."

According to sources, there has been some agreement regarding discussion on six key bills.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had hinted about curtailing the eight-day session, saying he will discuss with opposition leaders about ending it soon after discussion on important necessary issues, due to the COVID pandemic.

The Chief Minister had even held discussions with the other party leaders about the government's plans to curtail the session for three days, but the opposition made it clear that it cannot be agreed upon if key and contentious bills are tabled, sources said.

Many legislators, including ministers, have tested positive for COVID-19.

State Congress president D K Shivakumar, who was also part of the meeting, said his party did not agree to the government's plan to curtail the session for three days, and also stood adamant demanding that the question hour should be held, "as our MLAs have put 1,600 questions."

He also said it was under his party's instance to follow the set traditions that the government agreed to adjourn the session today in mark of respect to JD(S)' sitting MLA B Sathyanarayana, who passed away recently.

The monsoon session of the Karnataka legislature began on Monday under the shadow of COVID-19 pandemic, amid unprecedented safety measures and restrictions, even as several Ministers and legislators have tested positive for the infection.

The assembly met at 11 am and paid obituary references to leaders and prominent personalities who died while the session was in recess.

It also paid tributes to Galwan valley martyrs and COVID victims and health workers.

Following the obituary reference, the House was adjourned for lunch and it was then adjourned for the day as a mark of respect for the departed.
Warships will no longer be a no-go zone for women naval aviators with two of them --- selected for the helicopter stream --- set to become the first women in the navys history to operate from flight decks of warships and stay on board the vessels, the navy announced on Monday.

The announcement comes even as a female fighter pilot is being trained to fly the Rafale aircraft and join the Ambala-based No. 17 squadron shortly. The woman pilot, who is undergoing conversion training to fly the Rafale jet, is one of the 10 women fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force (IAF), officials said.

Two women officers have been selected to join as observers (airborne tacticians) in the helicopter stream. They will, in effect, be the first set of women airborne combatants who will be operating from warships, a Kochi-based navy spokesperson said.

The entry of women has so far been restricted to fixed-wing aircraft operating from inland bases, he said. In a short-lived experiment, women from the navys logistics branch were deployed on warships in the mid-1990s.

The two lady officers --- Sub-Lieutenants Kumudini Tyagi and Riti Singh (daughter of a naval officer) --- are among the 17 officers who were awarded wings on graduating as observers at a ceremony held in Kochi on Monday. Rear Admiral Antony George, chief staff officer (training), presided over the ceremony.

As observers, the two women have been trained for a variety of roles including navigation, flying procedures, tactics employed in air warfare, anti-submarine warfare and airborne avionic systems.

It feels great to be a part of Indian Navys history today, said Sub Lieutenant Kumudini Tyagi. Being combat-ready platforms of navy, through the helicopters, we will be capable of carrying out combat roles including control of weapons and onboard sensors. This profile is exciting and thrilling at the same time, she said.

Men on deck be ready to be observed. Women observers for sure will navigate you to the shore. Waiting to see women in the trenches now, said Wing Commander Anupama Joshi (retd.), from the first batch of women officers commissioned into the IAF in the early 1990s.

They will serve on board maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare helicopters of the navy --- currently Seaking choppers and later on MH-60R helicopters being bought from the United States.

India is buying 24 Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters from the US to strengthen the navys anti-submarine/anti-surface warfare and surveillance capabilities, in a deal worth Rs 17,500 crore.

Rear Admiral George while complimenting the graduating officers highlighted the fact that it is a landmark occasion wherein for the first time women are going to be trained in helicopter operations which would ultimately pave way for the deployment of women in frontline warships, the navy said in its statement.

Along with the navy, the IAF is also giving its women officers more opportunities and exposure with the Ambala-based Rafale squadron set to induct its first woman fighter pilot. Ten women have been commissioned as fighter pilots after the experimental scheme for their induction into the IAFs combat stream was introduced in 2015, a watershed in the air forces history.

IAF is operating its Rafale fighter jets in the Ladakh theatre where the military is on its highest state of alert, amid heightened border tensions with China. The IAFs current fleet of five Rafale fighters is fully operational and ready to undertake any mission, officials said. India ordered 36 Rafale jets from France in a deal worth Rs 59,000 crore in September 2016.

The air force formally inducted the planes at the Ambala air base on September 10 though they landed at their home base on July 29. The Rafale jets are part of the IAFs No. 17 Squadron, also known as the Golden Arrows.

Rafale weaponry includes Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, Mica multi-mission air-to-air missiles and Scalp deep-strike cruise missiles --- weapons that allow fighter pilots to attack air and ground targets from standoff ranges.

The next batch of three to four Rafale jets is expected to reach Ambala from France in October followed by a third batch in December. All deliveries will be completed by the end of 2021.

The head count of women in the military adds up to more than 4,000, but combat roles were off limits to them until the IAF took the lead in crushing internal resistance to induct them into the fighter stream.

Tanks and combat positions in the infantry are still no-go zones for women, who were allowed to join the armed forces outside the medical stream for the first time in 1992.

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In a bold but rather honest statement, Bharatiya Janata Party's Member of Parliament Rupa Ganguly has alleged that Bollywood not only ruins lives but it also shames women.

"Mumbai film industry kills people, makes them drug addict, and keep an insulting woman, but nobody is doing anything. Mumbai Police remains silent. It does not take action," Ganguly told ANI.

Roopa Ganguly / Agencies

"Why the Bollywood is silent over the sexual harassment charges leveled by Payal Ghosh against Anurag Kashyap? Why Mumbai Police is not taking any action against Anurag Kashyap?" she questioned.

The BJP MP has also demanded an immediate arrest of filmmaker Anurag Kashyap on the basis of sexual abuse allegations leveled at him by Bengal actor Payal Ghosh.

Roopa Ganguly also held a protest at the parliament today. Ganguly held placards that read, "How many more women's dignity will be assaulted by the Mumbai film industry?" Another placard read, "How many more murders will the Mumbai film industry execute?" Ganguly was protesting in front of the famous Gandhi statue in Parliament House.

Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Rupa Ganguly protests in the Parliament premises; says, "Mumbai film industry kills people, makes them drug addict, and keep insulting woman, but nobody is doing anything. Mumbai Police remains silent." pic.twitter.com/2GmaSRefdw  ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2020

Will the Mumbai police continue to remain silent even now?
The 'flu can plunge a pregnant woman into a vascular storm leaving her at risk of life-threatening complications, Irish researchers have discovered.

It has long been known that pregnant women have a higher chance of developing complications if they get the 'flu, particularly in the later stages .

The researchers at Trinity College Dublin have now found the virus does not stay in the lungs but spreads throughout the mothers body.

The findings may also influence our the understanding of Covid-19.

Read More

Prof John OLeary, who led the Irish team, described the impact of the 'flu in pregnancy as a vascular storm.

He said the study represented a landmark advance in our understanding of viral infections and pregnancy.

The discovery of an influenza-induced vascular storm is one of the most significant developments in inflammatory infectious diseases over the last 30 years .

He said it also has significant implications for other viral infections, including Covid-19.

The pre-clinical study was spearheaded by RMIT University in Melbourne Australia in collaboration with researchers and clinicians from Trinity College, the University of South Australia, LaTrobe University and Monash University.

A spokesman said it has overturned current scientific thinking on the reasons why 'flu infections affect pregnant women and their babies so severely.

The findings could also help researchers working to understand the fundamental biology of how Covid-19 spreads from the lungs into the body.

The research, in animal models, showed that during pregnancy 'flu spreads from the lungs through the blood vessels into the circulatory system, triggering a damaging hyperactive immune response.

Lead author Dr Stella Liong of RMIT said the research indicates the vascular system is at the heart of the potentially devastating complications caused by 'flu during pregnancy.

Weve known for a long time that 'flu can cause serious maternal and foetal complications, but how this happens has not been clearly understood.

Conventional thinking has blamed the suppressed immune system that occurs in pregnancy but what we see is the opposite effect  'flu infection leads to a drastically heightened immune response.

The inflammation we found in the circulatory system is so overwhelming, its like a vascular storm wreaking havoc throughout the body.

We need further research to clinically validate our findings but the discovery of this new mechanism is a crucial step towards the development of 'flu therapies designed specifically for pregnant women.

The HSE will include pregnant women among the at risk groups who are urged to get the 'flu vaccine in the coming weeks.

The take-up of the 'flu vaccine among pregnant women in this country remains under target and the most up to date figures show it could be as low as 40pc.

In the new study, researchers found pregnant mice with 'flu had severe inflammation in the large blood vessels and the aorta, the major conduit artery from the heart.

While a healthy blood vessel dilates 90-100pc to let blood flow freely, the 'flu-infected blood vessels functioned at only 20-30pc .

'Flu and coronavirus are different but there are parallels and we do know that Covid-19 causes vascular dysfunction, which can lead to strokes and other cardiovascular problems, said Dr Liong.

The study is published in the PNAS journal.
Syracuse, N.Y.  A Rome appeared in federal court today on charges that he sexually exploited a young child.

Michael Mayhew, 55, is accused of taking several sexually explicit photographs of a 6-year-old child in December 2018.

The Oneida County Sheriffs Office previously arrested Mayhew in January 2019 and charged him with endangering the welfare of a child. Deputies said at the time that Mayhew was accused of engaging in inappropriate conduct in the presence of a young male child in the city of Rome in late 2018.

In March 2019, FBI agents raided Mayhews 746 W. Dominick St. residence in connection to the child endangerment investigation, the Rome Sentinel reported.

If convicted of the federal charges, Mayhew faces between 15 and 30 years in prison and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Mayhew is currently being jailed without bail pending his next court appearance Thursday.

Contact Jacob Pucci at jpucci@syracuse.com or find him on Twitter at @JacobPucci.
Ontario is reporting 18 additional active COVID-19 cases among students and staff in publicly funded schools across the province over the weekend for a total of 90.

The latest report Monday morning reveals that there are 75 schools affected across the province, with 45 of them in the GTA. The report does note that 75 schools is 1.55 per cent of the 4,828 publicly funded schools in Ontario.

Of the 90 cases overall in the province, 33 are students, 26 are staff and 31 were individuals werent identified.

While the morning report said only one school has been closed in the province, Ontarios associate chief medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe confirmed in a media briefing later in the day that two schools are shut down.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board said Sunday that classes are cancelled for the next 14 days at Monsignor Paul Baxter elementary school, where four positive cases have been identified  two among students and two among staff.

Last week, Fellowes High School in Pembroke was closed after a teacher came to work with symptoms of COVID-19 before school reopened.

Nineteen schools in Ottawa have an active case.

The provinces latest numbers also didnt include two Toronto students who have tested positive, which was reported Sunday by the Toronto Catholic District School Board. The students attend St. Gerald Catholic School and St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School.

After the morning report was published, the Toronto District School reported that there are positive cases for a student at Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Adult Learning Centre and Emery Adult Learning Centre. Also a staff member at Humewood Community School has tested positive.

Epidemiologists told the Star last week that the numbers in the schools arent a surprise, and that the cases will be proportionate to the amount of COVID thats in the community.

The province reported 425 new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario overall Monday. Toronto accounts for 175 new cases, 84 for Peel and 60 in Ottawa.

A closer look at the numbers provided Monday morning by the province shows the following 45 GTA schools (an increase of eight from Friday) have confirmed infections:

Toronto (10 schools)

St. Basil-the-Great College School (1 staff)

Bloordale Middle School (1 staff)

Brookhaven Public School (1 staff)

Charles G. Fraser Junior Public School (1 staff)

Don Mills Middle School (1 staff)

Earl Haig Secondary School (1 staff)

Richview Collegiate Institute (1 student)

School for Experiential Education (1 staff)

York Memorial Collegiate Institute (1 student)

York Mills Collegiate Institute (1 staff)

Peel (21 schools)

Loyola Catholic Secondary School (1 unidentified)

Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School (1 unidentified)

St. Cecilia Elementary School (1 unidentified)

St. Joseph Secondary School (1 student)

St. Raphael Elementary School (2 unidentified)

Briarwood Public School (1 staff)

Eden Rose Public School (1 unidentified)

Folkstone Public School (1 unidentified)

Goldcrest Public School (2 unidentified)

Ingleborough Public School (1 unidentified)

John Fraser Secondary School (1 student)

Louise Arbour Secondary School (1 student)

Mountain Ash Public School (1 unidentified)

North Field Office (1 staff)

Plum Tree Park Public School (1 unidentified)

Robert J. Lee Public School (1 unidentified)

Ross Drive Public School (1 staff)

Ruth Thompson Middle School (1 unidentified)

The Valleys Senior Public School (1 unidentified)

Tribune Drive Public School (1 unidentified)

William Parkway Public School (1 unidentified)

Halton (Four schools)

St. Marguerite dYouville Catholic Elementary School (1 staff)

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School (1 unidentified)

Emily Carr Public School (1 unidentified)

Oodenawi Public School (1 staff)

Durham (Four schools)

Ecole Ronald Marion (1 staff)

Maple Ridge Public School (1 student)

Nottingham Public School (1 student)

Pine Ridge Secondary School (2 students)

York (Six schools)

Blue Willow Public School (1 unidentified)

Carrville Mills Public School (1 unidentified)

Dr. Roberta Bondar Public School (1 unidentified)

Little Rouge Public School (1 student)

Sir Wilfrid Laurier Public School (1 unidentified)

Tommy Douglas Secondary School (1 unidentified)

With files from The Canadian Press

Cheyenne Bholla is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Reach her via email: cbholla@thestar.ca
The Fashion Design Council of India has been a front runner in every sphere of fashion, and one of the few organisations in the world, which has readily adopted the need-of-the-hour digital couture week template, in keeping with changing design space and technological advancements.

What propelled us in this direction was the pressing need for our talented designers to showcase their creativity, after facing the worst crisis of the decade. It was also in tandem with the wedding season, which I believe is now extended till January. Giving designers ample time to monetise their collections.

The world by large, including the Paris Haute Couture Week, shifted to a digital medium, as it gives you the freedom to get innovative. Frankly, the digital world has made us reach out to millions of people and shown us the enlightened way.

Interestingly, the detailing of a beautiful garment, the artisanal prowess, succinct craftsmanship, robust hues, can be closely observed, watching it on your screen. Making this an experiential medium with all the technological trappings of decadence.

If you observe the shows at India Couture Week 2020, the themes and their actualisation have been out of the ordinary. Amit Aggarwals film shot underwater to capture the essence of how light and fluid is the new language of fashion. I dont think such concepts could be brought alive in a live runway format.

The Fashion Design Council of India, has been organising haute couture shows since 2008. We have given designers a platform to showcase the magic of artistry through the highest level of fashion. It remains a treat for not just the media to view the spectacle, but also guests as well as, the design fraternity.

The need of the hour is to applaud intrepid concepts which are paving the way for fresh ideas. Gaurav Guptas Name is Love is one such film which voices the need for inclusivity in all areas- sex, colour, weight and mitigates these binding boundaries.

The digital format allows designers to explore cultures and reference these stunning facades. Forts and their picturesque offering straight out of a story book. Rahul Mishra captures the pleasures of both slow life and design processes in his impressive film shot at Tijara fort.

This is the new path we have embarked upon and it will lead us to a nuanced exploration as fashion films have proved.
YSRC general secretary and parliamentary party leader V Vijay Sai Reddy questioned the overreach of the high court order stalling the probe into the alleged land scam in Amaravati and gagging the media from reporting the contents of the FIR registered by the ACB.

YSRC general secretary and parliamentary party leader V Vijay Sai Reddy questioned the overreach of the high court order stalling the probe into the alleged land scam in Amaravati and gagging the media from reporting the contents of the FIR registered by the ACB. Under his leadership, the 27 YSRCP MPs demand for CBI probe into the alleged land scam and Andhra Fiber net scam on regular basis in both houses of parliament and protest in Parliament premises.

Vijayasai Reddy said  The YSR Congress Party came to power on 3 planks. first one is Special Category Status and Justice to the people of Andhra Pradesh with respect to the implementation of the promises of A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014. the second one is Welfare of the common People of Andhra Pradesh whether it be farmers, fishermen, women and so on and and Un-Earthling the large scams taking place in Andhra Pradesh and bring the wrong-doers to face the law and the third one is Bound by the 3rd plank  AP Police, after thorough and meticulous investigation into the land scam in the New Capital of Amravathi found irregularities and filed an FIR which contains the names of children of former Advocate General of AP. The AP police was given full independence and authority to bring the scam to light and put the wrongdoers in Jail and the AP police was doing a stellar job.

But the High court Stays the inquiry and investigation by the AP Police into the scam and Issued a gag order to the effect that no electric or print news item be published with respect the FIR un-earthing the scam and also that the FIR shall not be made public in any electronic, print or social media.

Also read: With spike of over 86k cases, Indias Covid-19 tally breaches 54.8L mark

Also read: Day after unruly scenes in Parliament, RS chairman cracks the whip, suspends 8 RS MPs

Vijay Sai Reddy said the Gag order is unconstitutional as it violates Article 14 of the Constitution which gives us the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression but also Dangerous to India as a democracy. He says the Court order is against Of Prevention of Corruption Section 19(READ) and it Stifles Right to freedom of speech and expression of the media and thereby contravening Article 14. Injunctions against publication can either be an order to prevent possible defamation or invasion of privacy, or one aimed at protecting the fairness of a trial or investigation. The Supreme Court held in Sahara vs. SEBI (2012) that the Court can grant preventive relief on a balancing of the right to free trial and a free press.

However, it favoured such temporary restraint on publication only in cases of real and substantial risk of prejudice to the administration of justice or a fair trial. The YSRCP MPs said if the High Court has even an iota of doubt over the investigation carried out by the Andhra Pradesh Agencies, they may refer it to the CBI also. We are ready for that also for unearthing the scam and making the culprits face the law.

Also read: Lok Sabha passes bill to reduce salary, allowances of MPs, Ministers by 30 pc
[Follow our live coverage of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs commemoration and the Supreme Court vacancy.]

The internet had learned to love Ruth Bader Ginsburg, so it was not surprising that when the news of her death broke on Friday evening, social media lit up with outpourings of love and admiration for this diminutive octogenarian who had been cast as an iron-pumping, dissent-slinging legal ninja.

But those who celebrated her as a one-woman bulwark against the collapse of democracy might have been surprised by something else that bubbled up. Within hours of her death, there also appeared more than a little snarking about the pop-hagiography around her, edged with insinuating questions about just how far-ranging her vision of equality was.

Some noted her poor record of hiring Black law clerks and her comments in 2016 (which she later apologized for) calling Colin Kaepernicks national anthem protests dumb and disrespectful.
There may be no better microcosm for the national mood than Michigan, a state that tipped for President Trump in 2016 by just over 10,000 votes  making it the geographic and symbolic center of the countrys political realignment.

College-educated voters and women voted overwhelmingly Democratic in the 2018 midterm elections, flipping the House blue. This year, the presidents inability to contain the coronavirus has added to many voters frustration with him, and he has struggled to find a message that can draw back Americans at the political center. With voter enthusiasm surging, political observers say this could be the highest-turnout election in the countrys history, despite the pandemic.

And in Michigan, a poll released Friday by The Detroit Free Press showed Joseph R. Biden Jr. leading Mr. Trump by eight percentage points in the state, roughly in line with his advantage in other polls  powered by the same anti-Trump sentiment that helped Democrats flip two suburban House districts in 2018.

Still, the Republican base in Michigan is strong, and it shows up at the polls more consistently than Democratic voters. That was part of what carried Mr. Trump to victory in 2016, when voter enthusiasm was low across the board.
"We are honored to play a part in supporting the veterans community in the Greater Omaha Area," said PenFed Credit Union President/CEO and PenFed Foundation CEO James Schenck. "We live by the credit union philosophy of 'people helping people' and the military community is at our core. We hope the veterans enjoy their new furnished apartments. We can never do enough to thank our military heroes."

A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on Friday, Sept. 18, 2020 to celebrate the opening of the new addition to the Victory Apartments complex. The distinguished speaker was retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. and former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly. Representatives from the PenFed Nebraska team and the Nebraska Furniture Mart chairman were in attendance.

"When a number of PenFed employees who regularly volunteer at Victory Veterans Housing let us know of the need for furniture and household goods in the newly-renovated apartment units, we knew we wanted to help," said PenFed Foundation President and retired U.S. Army Gen. John W. "Mick" Nicholson, Jr. "It is extremely gratifying to know that 35 of our nation's defenders will now find stability and comfort in a welcoming and furnished home."

PenFed has a strong legacy of being a military-friendly company. The credit union donates 2% of its annual net income to charitable organizations, with the majority going to military charities. The PenFed Foundation was created in 2001 and, since then, has provided more than $38.5 million in financial support to veterans, active-duty service members, families and caregivers.

PenFed operates two service centers and a financial center in Nebraska, creating jobs for nearly 600 employees.

Video interviews with veterans in their new homes can be viewed here.

About PenFed Credit Union

Established in 1935, Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) is America's second-largest federal credit union, serving over 2.1 million members worldwide with over $26 billion in assets. PenFed Credit Union offers market-leading certificates, checking, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, student loans, and a wide range of other financial services. Our mission is to empower members of our community to achieve their financial well-being. PenFed Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA and is an Equal Housing Lender. To learn more about PenFed Credit Union, visit PenFed.org, like us on Facebook and follow us @PenFed on Twitter. Interested in working for PenFed? Check us out on LinkedIn. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

About PenFed Foundation

Founded in 2001, the PenFed Foundation is a national nonprofit organization committed to empowering military service members, veterans and their communities with the skills and resources to realize financial stability and opportunity. It provides service members, veterans, their families and support networks with the skills and resources they need to improve their lives through programs on financial education, homeownership, veteran entrepreneurship and short-term assistance. Affiliated with PenFed Credit Union, the Foundation has the resources to effectively reach military communities across the nation, build strong partnerships, and engage a dedicated corps of volunteers in its mission. The credit union funds the Foundation's personnel and most operational costs, demonstrating its strong commitment to the programs the Foundation provides. To learn more, visit www.penfedfoundation.org .

SOURCE PenFed Credit Union; PenFed Foundation

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If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

The interest in Azerbaijans oil potential in the world is not decreasing, on the contrary, it is growing, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview to Azerbaijan Television, Ictimai Television, and Real Television following a groundbreaking ceremony of the offshore operations of the Absheron field at the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deep Water Jackets Plant, Trend reports.

Projects are well underway. Our main source of income is Azeri, Chirag, and Gunashli fields. Work there is going according to plan. A new project, called Azeri Central East, is being implemented there now. The cost of this project is about $7 billion. As a result of the implementation of this project, production from new sources will increase, which will compensate for the decline, of course, the head of state said.

President Ilham Aliyev said that there are currently more than 120 wells operating at the Azeri, Chirag, and Gunashli fields, at the same time, these fields have ample gas reserves.

It is conditionally called deep gas, and now the State Oil Company, together with partners, is carrying out relevant work to develop the deep gas. The Shah Deniz-2 project is being implemented. The volume of gas supplied to Turkey via the TANAP pipeline is increasing every year. Whereas a year ago, Azerbaijani gas was in fourth or fifth place on the Turkish market, we are in the first place now, which is very important for us and for Turkey, because gas ensures the energy security of any country. Today gas is supplied to Turkey from a brotherly country, and additional steps will be taken to increase its volumes. The gas produced in the second phase of the Absheron field development will also be supplied to Turkey via the TANAP pipeline. It may also be supplied to other markets. At the same time, work to develop the Karabakh field is progressing on schedule. The jacket we see here now will be sailed away offshore. I hope that first oil will be produced at the Karabakh field in a year or two, the head of state said.

Azerbaijani president explained that the peculiarity of this field is that there are more oil reserves there, and this is of great importance for maintaining production at a stable level.

Another very promising project is called Shallow Water Absheron. This project also has great prospects. Drilling operations will begin in these fields in a few months. I do hope that we will discover large oil reserves there as well. Work is going according to plan in the Umid and Babak projects, in which SOCAR is the sole operator. These are also very promising projects, and we plan to increase the investment capacity of these projects because I repeat, we always need energy resources for domestic needs. At the same time, our export potential will be secured. There are other promising projects as well. In general, I can say that although the Contract of the Century was signed in 1994 and many contracts have been signed since that time, 26 years have passed, the interest in Azerbaijans oil potential in the world is not decreasing. On the contrary, it is growing, the head of state said.
CHICAGO, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to new research report, "Ball Valves Market With COVID-19 & Oil Price Crisis Impact Analysis By Type (Trunnion-mounted, Floating, Rising Stem), Material, Size, End-User (Oil & Gas, Energy & Power, Water & Wastewater Treatment), and Region - Global Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market was valued at USD 8.1 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 14.7 billion by 2025. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.5% during the forecast period. Increasing demand for valves from healthcare and pharmaceuticals industries due to outbreak of COVID- 19 pandemic, need for replacement of outdated ball valves and adoption of smart valves, rising focus on industrialization, urbanization, and smart city development, and rise in new nuclear power plants projects and upgrade existing ones are the key driving factors for the Ball Valves Market.

Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=80882742

Trunnion-mounted ball valves to account for the largest share of the Ball Valves Market

Trunnion-mounted ball valves are used for critical services in a variety of applications such as transmission and storage, gas processing, dryer sequence, compressor anti-surge, and others. Growth in energy consumption, new production technologies, demand for process safety, increasing focus on sustainability, and environmental regulations are likely to boost the trunnion Ball Valves Market growth. Due to the unavailability of high-performance seat material, floating ball valves are mainly used in medium- or low-pressure applications.

Oil & gas accounted for the largest share of the Ball Valves Market in 2019

Oil & gas is among the key end-user industries for ball valves. In 2019. Owing to the adoption of ball valves in various applications in upstream, midstream, and downstream operations. Ball valves provide process control support by appropriately controlling and positioning actuators. They have become key components in offshore and onshore oil & gas end-user industry operations, wherein high pressure and adverse corrosive conditions are experienced on production platforms and refineries. However, the oil & gas end-user industry has faced a major setback in the first two quarters of 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic and the oil price war, which end-user industry has affected the Ball Valves Market for oil & gas industry. Various companies are planning to reduce their capital expenditure because of the pandemic. For example, Cairn Energy PLCan independent, UK-based oil and gas exploration, development, and production companyannounced an overall 23% reduction in capital expenditure for 2020.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Ball Valves Market"

146  Tables

62- Figures

207  Pages

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North America to account for the largest share of the Ball Valves Market by 2025

North America is a large consumer and a producer of natural gas, and the market in this region is dominated by the US supply and demand dynamics. The US was the world's largest producer and consumer of natural gas in 2019. This factor, along with the shale gas boom in North America, contributed to the significant growth of the oil & gas industry in the region until 2019. However, right from the beginning of 2020, the entire world has been strongly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, a health and an economic crisis. The US is among the most affected countries in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has plummeted the oil demand drastically. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the global oil demand was 11.4 million b/d, lower in March 2020 than the annual average in 2019. It further forecasts the demand to be 17.1 million b/d, lower in April 2020. For the year, the EIA estimates that the demand will be 95.5 million b/d (5.2% lower than that in 2019). This is anticipated to be the largest drop since the EIA began keeping records. This drop in demand is likely to have an adverse impact on the growth of the Ball Valves Market in 2020.

A few of the key players in the Ball Valves Market are Emerson (US), Cameron  Schlumberger (US), Flowserve (US), IMI Plc. (UK), Metso (Europe), Spirax Sarco (UK), Crane Co. (US), KITZ Corporation (Japan), Trillium Flow Technologies (UK), and BRAY International (US).

Related Reports:

Industrial Valves Market With COVID-19 & Oil Price Crisis Impact Analysis By Function (On-off/Isolation, Control), Material, Type, Size, End-User (Oil & Gas, Energy & Power, Water & Wastewater Treatment), and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

Control Valve Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Material, Component (Actuators, Valve Body), Size, Type (Rotary and Linear), Industry (Oil & Gas, Water & Wastewater Treatment, Energy & Power, Chemicals), and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

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Nearly 1,200 people across the country were detained under the stringent Security Act (NSA) by police in 2017 and 2018, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said on Monday. Of these, 563 are still in custody, the minister said in the

According to the latest published report of 2018 of the Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Madhya Pradesh detained the highest number of people under the NSA in 2017 and 2018 among all states followed by Uttar Pradesh, the minister said in a written reply to a question in the Upper House,



A total of 501 people were detained in different parts of the country under the stringent law in 2017. Of these, 229 were released by review boards and 272 are under custody, he said.

In 2018, 697 people were detained under the NSA across the country and 406 were released by review boards while 291 are under custody, Reddy added.

In Madhya Pradesh, 795 people were detained under the NSA in 2017 and 2018; 466 were released by review boards and 329 are under custody.

In Uttar Pradesh, of the 338 people detained under the NSA in 2017 and 2018, 150 were released by review boards and 188 are under detention, the minister 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.)
A Virginia woman is accusing San Antonios USAA Federal Savings Bank of hounding her with more than 130 phone calls in the span of two months this summer over a delinquent credit card bill.

Aubrey Hammond sued the bank Friday in federal court in Virginia, alleging the calls violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The law restricts debt collectors and telemarketers use of automated dialing and prerecorded messages to consumers cellphones.

Hammond seeks thousands of dollars in damages.

USAA spokesman Matt Hartwig said the bank just received the complaint and is reviewing it to determine its options.

We work to follow the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in all interactions with members. Therefore, USAA Federal Savings Bank will defend against the allegations contained in the complaint, he said in an email.

On ExpressNews.com: New USAA CEO Wayne Peacock takes command during rocky times

According to the lawsuit, Hammond had to find a new job in December after her work hours were cut to just a few a week. During that time, she fell behind on her USAA credit card payments.

Hammond eventually found new employment as a hotel receptionist working the night shift. She also cares for her sick parents, performing daily chores and running errands, the suit says.

USAA started placing calls to Hammonds cellphone in May, according to the lawsuit.

When answering a June 1 call from USAA, Hammond heard a pause before the collection agent began to speak, indicating the use of an automated telephone dialing system, the suit says.

Told the call was to collect on a debt, Hammond revoked consent to be called any further.

Despite her request not to be contacted, Hammonds complaint says USAA continued to call her every day until Aug. 10. In June and July, she received no less than 130 calls. Many times she answered, either a prerecorded message played or there was no person on the phone.

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The daily calls to her cellphone constantly woke her up while she attempted to sleep after working her night shift at the hotel, the lawsuit states. The calls violated her privacy, it adds.

The Federal Communications Commissions website says consumers may be robocalled no more than three times within a 30-day period by each servicer or collector per type of loan. Calls need not be completed to count toward the three-call limit.

Hammond also alleges that USAA also called her family and/or friends to embarrass (her) and induce her to make a payment on the account.

She suffered emotional distress caused by USAAs incessant harassment, the complaint adds.

Hammond wants the court to declare that USAA violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and award her damages.

The lawsuit says shes entitled to an award of $500 for each violation. If the court finds that USAA knowingly and/or willfully violated the act, she is entitled to $1,500 for each violation, according to the lawsuit.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act makes it illegal for debt collectors to use abusive, unfair or deceptive practices to collect debts. However, a bank collecting its own debt is not considered a debt collector and may attempt to collect whats owed, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.s website.

Still, banks that are not acting as debtor collectors under the act generally are expected to avoid abusive collection practices and comply with the spirit of the law, the FDIC says.

USAA Banks operations came under scrutiny from bank regulators last year. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a cease-and-desist order against the bank for engaging in unsafe and unsound practices.

Separately, last year, the bank was ordered to pay a $3.5 million civil penalty and $12 million in restitution by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to settle charges that the bank violated banking laws. The bank failed to honor customers stop-payment requests on electronic fund transfers and had reopened customers previously closed deposit accounts without their authorization, the agency found.

Patrick Danner Patrick Danner covers banking, insurance, business litigation and bankruptcies. To read more from Patrick, become a subscriber. pdanner@express-news.net | Twitter: @AlamoPD
WASHINGTON  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state in the United States Capitol on Friday, an unusual honor for a Supreme Court justice and one that has never before been granted to a woman.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the rare distinction  which has not been bestowed since the death of William Howard Taft, who served as chief justice from 1921 to 1930, after having served as president  on Monday. She described Justice Ginsburgs death last week as an incalculable loss for our democracy and for all who sacrifice and strive to build a better future for our children.

The formal ceremony at the Capitol will be open to invited guests only because of the pandemic, Ms. Pelosis office said.

Also out of the ordinary, Justice Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court for two days, on Wednesday and Thursday, and her coffin will be placed under the portico at the top of the buildings front steps, a setup meant to allow for social distancing.
After several instances of gross negligence were reported at state-run MY Hospital in Indore, a new case of irresponsible handling of an old mans dead body has surface at a private hospital in the city. The family of Navin Chandra Jain, 87, has claimed that his body was found nibbled by rats.

District collector Manish Singh has taken cognisance of the matter and ordered a probe into the case through an SDM.

Jain, a native of Itwariya Bazaar under Annapurna police station in Indore, was admitted to a private hospital on September 17 following breathing problems. He was being treated in a Covid-19 ward.

The hospital informed the family around 3 am on Monday that the man had died and a van of the Indore municipal corporation will take the body for cremation.

The family alleged that the old man was in touch with them on phone till Sunday afternoon and did not complain of aggravating health.

Prachi Jain, family member of the deceased told the media that the hospital administration had handed them a bill of Rs 1 lakh as they reached there to claim the body on Monday noon. After paying the bill, the family was handed over the body by the hospital but they were shocked to see that the old mans body was nibbled by rats all over. One of the eyes also carried an injury, she added.

The anguished family members of the deceased protested outside the hospital alongside the dead body. On receiving information, the police reached the spot but no one from the hospital administration turned up to explain the negligence.

According to the family, the patient was normal till Sunday afternoon but at around 8 pm, the hospital summoned them and made them sign papers saying the old man was critical. Later in the night, they were informed about his death.

The hospital administration did not comment on record but a senior physician said they are probing the matter.

Earlier, an unclaimed body had turned into skeleton at the local MY hospital and days later a body of an infant was found sealed in a box inside the mortuary five days after death.
More than a quarter of female MLAs have been sexually harassed during their political life, according to a survey carried out by the Belfast Telegraph.

And we can reveal that 70% have had sexist remarks made to their face by men, and three-quarters have experienced sexism on social media.

A total of 27 of Northern Ireland's 32 female MLAs took part in the survey. Of those who responded, seven (26%) said they had been sexually harassed during their political career at either council or Assembly level.

Nineteen MLAs (70%) said sexist remarks had been made to their face during their work, and 21 said they had experienced sexism or harassment online.

Only four MLAs - from four different parties - said they had experienced neither harassment nor sexism during their political life.

The majority of those who took part in the survey were interviewed on the telephone on condition of anonymity, but some of the female politicians have chosen to go public with their experience.

The current Assembly has the highest ever number of female representatives to sit at Stormont (36%) with 14 from Sinn Fein, six DUP, five SDLP, three Alliance, two Green, one Ulster Unionist, and independent MLA Claire Sugden.

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Most women who took part in the survey thought there was less sexism now at Stormont than previously, and most who had council experience found that had been a more hostile environment.

The majority of those who spoke in detail about sexual harassment had experienced it in local government. One MLA recalled two incidents in her political career. "The first was from a male councillor, a lot older than me, from a different party and a different council. He made unwanted sexual advances," she said.

"The second time was from an independent attendee at my party's annual conference. He made unwanted advances and wasn't taking no for an answer. It really shook me up."

She said she had never experienced sexist remarks at Stormont. "Men will say 'Your hair's lovely' or 'I like that outfit' but they're being friendly, not sexist. I make remarks like that myself. Tell a woman her suit's nice or tell a man that he's got a great tan. It's harmless."

Another MLA said that as a young councillor she had been "inappropriately touched" by two male councillors on separate occasions. "It was done in a way that they pretended they were joking, but they weren't," she said.

"I felt very uncomfortable. It's not something that hangs over me, but I should have called it out. I kick myself now that I didn't. I'm not usually one for saying nothing.

"When I eventually talked to other female councillors, I discovered that it had happened to them as well. There was a lot of toxic masculinity around. There were degrading remarks made too, and I have a thick skin.

"I'd tell a younger me to report the harassment, and to reach out and talk to other women colleagues immediately."

The MLA said she had not experienced sexism since she was elected to Stormont. "The Assembly is very different to local government," she said. "Social media isn't a problem for me either. I get a lot of grief for my politics, but it's not misogynist."

Another MLA said she was inappropriately touched by a constituent at a public event in her Stormont role. "I shocked and horrified," she said. "I don't think anybody noticed, and I didn't want to make an issue of. My silence is indicative of a society that is getting this wrong."

She said that she felt "well-respected in the Assembly", and had no problems as a councillor. But she thought that the media could be sexist and that it questioned the ability of women in politics far more readily than it did men.

One Stormont representative said she had experienced sexist remarks from a male MLA of another party. "He will make comments about my appearance, and he's done the same to other women. He is the only one who does. He may mean it in an old-school way but it's unacceptable," she said.

An MLA said sexist comments had been made to her by a fellow Stormont committee member. She "let the incident slide" because she was in shock.

Another women politician said male MLAs would start "laughing and talking to each other" when she began to speak in the chamber.

One MLA said that while the language used at Stormont was outdated - with committee 'chairmen' - the chamber was "very well-behaved" compared to her council experience.

"I had pig noises directed at me when I was a councillor, and I was told to go away and make the tea. I think the women's caucus at Stormont has really helped change things," she said.

SDLP Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon said she had experienced sexist remarks throughout her political career. "When I was Belfast Lord Mayor and going to functions with my husband, it was often assumed that he was the Lord Mayor," she said.

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"When I met the Queen in 2014, there was more media commentary on what I wore than what I said."

Mallon has suffered sexism at Stormont. "I was Mark H Durkan's Spad (special adviser) when he was Environment Minister. At a meeting, another politician said to me 'Have you not got the tea and coffee ready?'

"Recently, I was at a meeting in Dublin. When I arrived, an official asked me who I was. I said 'Minister Mallon'. He replied: 'Are you his private secretary?' People still don't expect a female to hold political office."

Alliance Justice Minister Naomi Long said: "Recently when I asked to see a document in Stormont, the man replied 'I don't know if you need to see it, it's a very technical document.' I mean, I was a civil engineer before I entered politics, I can do technical.

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Whatsapp Abuse: Naomi Long says the worst sexism can be found on social media sites

"Things are said in a jokey way, but the underlying current is that women are useless. It bounces off me, but I feel it's important to call it out for others. If you don't challenge it, you're allowing the culture to continue."

Long added: "There is less sexism in this Assembly than in previous ones. It's now perhaps more sniggering than comments to your face. The worst stuff has moved online.

"Social media is the wild frontier. The abuse is grotesque. Women are 'hysterical', 'shrill' and 'bitches' if they simply raise their voices."

DUP Economy Minister Diane Dodds said she had experienced "sexism and misogyny" from the start of her political career: "On Belfast City Council, I was proposed as chair of its most powerful committee.

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"Certain officials asked me if I was sure about taking up the role. They would never have asked a man that. Women always have to be better prepared and more on top of the detail than men.

"Male politicians shout you down. They think that whoever shouts the loudest wins the argument.

"There is much sexism on social media. Women are seen as fair game. A man recently said I looked like I was wearing my dressing-gown at an event."

Dodds added: "I'm pretty tough, I've represented tough areas, so it's a niggle, not a wound. Compared to my early days in politics, it's much better now. And sexism is not confined to Northern Ireland. I experienced worse in the European Parliament."

SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly said: "Many sexist remarks have been directed at me, especially years ago when I was on council. There'd be sexual commentary from some councillors when they had a drink in them.

"I worked in a bar as a teenager so I knew how to deal with them. I'd a built-in resilience. People still call you 'love' and 'dear', but I look for the intent. Sometimes, it's patronising, other times it's not.

"Social media is the worst. I was called a tramp, a trollop and a whore in one incident. I thought 'I'm not taking this any more' and I went to the PSNI. The man responsible was convicted. Sexist remarks online aren't just made by men. I've been shocked at what some women say to other women."

DUP MLA Paula Bradley said she had not experienced problems at Stormont. "I was a police officer and worked in the health service, and there is less sexism in politics than in my previous jobs," she said. "I feel women are treated with a level of respect from fellow MLAs and Assembly staff that I've never experienced elsewhere. I'd give Stormont a clean bill of health."

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But she said the social media abuse was awful. "Some of the things said by nameless, faceless trolls on Twitter really hurts me. I'm not going to pretend that I can brush it off.

"You're called horrendous names. I'm not just a politician, I'm a mummy and a granny. I've been told 'You should have been aborted at birth' and 'I hope your children die'. My kids read this stuff. When I put out a statement online, I'm fearful of what will come."

She said the nature of politics here increased her concerns because "politicians are very much part of the community in Northern Ireland, people have easy access to us".

But she said there was "a spirit of sisterhood" in the Assembly. "Contrary to popular belief, we do work together. Women from other parties will ring each other and support each other when something horrible happens," she added.

One MLA said: "Social media is an absolute cesspit. I even get nasty sexualised swear words directed at me when I post about Covid-19 regulations". She has reported an incident to the PSNI.

Another female representative revealed that she had also reported "a few especially vile and dangerous people to the PSNI" over online abuse.

SDLP MLA Cara Hunter said she had received sexually violent and threatening abuse online and by phone when she was a councillor. "Middle-aged men would ask me to come over to their home to sort out 'a problem'.

"They'd try to blackmail me and say that if I didn't go they'd post on Facebook that I was lazy and unprofessional," she said.

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Hunter had to have her contact details removed from Derry City and Strabane District Council's website for her own protection.

She said that sexist comments were made about her looks: "I had my picture taken at a libraries event. A man sniped about my 'pompous Miss World photo-shoot' when I'd done nothing different to what male politicians do."
Seismic Survey Market Research Report by Technology (2D, 3D, and 4D), by Service (Data Acquisition, Data Interpretation, and Data Processing), by Deployment - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19

New York, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Seismic Survey Market Research Report by Technology, by Service, by Deployment - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05941903/?utm_source=GNW



The Global Seismic Survey Market is expected to grow from USD 8,402.56 Million in 2019 to USD 11,810.13 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.83%.



Market Segmentation & Coverage:

This research report categorizes the Seismic Survey to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:



Based on Technology, the Seismic Survey Market studied across 2D, 3D, and 4D.



Based on Service, the Seismic Survey Market studied across Data Acquisition, Data Interpretation, and Data Processing. The Data Acquisition further studied across Airborne Acquisition, Land Acquisition, and Marine Acquisition.



Based on Deployment, the Seismic Survey Market studied across Offshore and Onshore.



Based on Geography, the Seismic Survey Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.



Company Usability Profiles:

The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Seismic Survey Market including Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey, Inc., Compagnie Generale De Geophysique, S.A., Dawson Geophysical Company, Fugro N.V., Geospace Technologies Corporation, Global Geophysical Services, Inc., ION Geophysical Corporation, Mitcham Industries, Inc., Polarcus Limited, Pulse Seismic, Inc., Saexploration Holding, Inc., Schlumberger Limited, SeaBird Exploration, PLC, and Wireless Seismic, Inc..



FPNV Positioning Matrix:

The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Seismic Survey Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Competitive Strategic Window:

The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.



Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:

COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets

3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments

4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players

5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Seismic Survey Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Seismic Survey Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Seismic Survey Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Seismic Survey Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Seismic Survey Market?

6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Seismic Survey Market?

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Climate arson and other wildfire nonsense By Paul Driessen

In what has become an annual summer tragedy, wildfires are again destroying western US forests. Millions of acres and millions of animals have been incinerated, hundreds of homes reduced to ash and rubble, dozens of parents and children killed, and many more people left missing, injured or burned. Air quality across wide regions and entire states is so bad people are told to stay indoors, where many have hibernated for months because of the coronavirus, but indoor air is also contaminated. Acrid smoke and soot have been carried to Chicago and beyond. Firefighters are profiles in courage, as they battle the blazes for days on end, while all too many politicians are displaying profiles in opportunism. If you give a climate arsonist four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised if more of America is ablaze? Joe Biden thundered. Mother Earth is angry, Nancy Pelosi pontificated. Shes telling us with hurricanes on the Gulf Coast, fires in the West, that the climate crisis is real. Despite finally starting to thin out overgrown forests, California Governor Gavin Newsome resorted to the longstanding party line about his states wildfires: Manmade climate change is real. If you don't believe in science, come to California and observe it with your own eyes. Washington Governor Jay Inslee agreed. These are climate fires, he said. And we cannot, and we will not, surrender our state and expose people to have their homes burned down and their lives lost because of climate fires," Its ideological nonsense, intended to deflect blame and avoid responsibility for decades of public policy errors and forest mismanagement  and to justify new laws that would multiply government control over energy, industries, jobs, living standards, lives, property, and freedom to choose where and how we live. One could argue that people shouldnt have built homes in and near these forests. That they should have been persuaded or compelled to live in crowded urban areas, where crime, riots and Covid run rampant. But they do live in rural areas  and our politicians, land managers and judges have a duty to implement policies and practices that protect their homes, communities and lives, as well indigenous wildlife. Perhaps slightly warmer or drier summers have made the wildfires slightly more likely or frequent. But decades of laws, lawsuits, fire suppression policies and forest mismanagement practices have guaranteed the buildup of massive amounts of dead and diseased trees, dry brush and grass, and decaying leaves, needles and debris. With every wet spring spurring plant growth that dries up every dry summer, just one lightning strike, careless camper, gender-revealing pyrotechnic or angry arsonist can ignite an inferno. Because timber harvesting and thinning have been banned for decades, thousands of scrawny trees grow on acreage that should have just a few hundred full-sized mature trees. As of 2017, tens of billions of scrawny trees mix with 6.3 billion dead trees in 11 Western states; state and federal forests in California alone had over 129 million dead trees. Those numbers have most assuredly skyrocketed since 2017, while steadily increasing dry brush and debris now provide even more tinder for super-heated conflagrations. Flames in average fires along the ground in managed forests might reach several feet in height and temperatures of 1,472 F (800 C), says Wildfire Today. But under conditions now found in western tinderboxes, flame heights can reach 165 feet (50 meters) or more, and crown fires can generate critter-roasting, soil-baking temperatures that exceed 2192 degrees F (1200 C). Wood bursts into flame at 572 F. Aluminum melts at 1220, silver at 1762, and gold at 1943 degrees F (1064 C)! 2192 degrees is hellish. Most of this heat goes upward, but super-high temperatures incinerate endangered wildlife  as well as organisms and organic matter in thin western soils that for decades afterward can support only weeds, grass and stunted, spindly trees. Western conflagrations jump fire breaks because these ferocious fires are fueled by the unprecedented increase in combustibles that radical environmentalist policies have created. These monstrous fires generate their own high winds and even mini tornados that carry burning branches high into the air, to be deposited hundreds of feet away, igniting new fires. None of this has a thing to do with climate change. To say a 0.1, 0.5 or even 1.0 degree change in average global temperatures would alter these forest fire dynamics defies credibility. To say the monumental fuel buildups in our forests are irrelevant is like claiming a minimally furnished home will burn as easily and ferociously as one filled to the brim with furniture, books, old newspapers and cans of gasoline. The solution is simple, though expensive and time-consuming at this point. Cut the red tape. Remove some of that fuel, so that fires dont get so big, hot, powerful, and destructive. Clear wider areas around buildings, homes and communities. Create more, wider fire breaks. Build more roads that let people escape the flames. Send the timber to sawmills, to create jobs and tax revenues, and American lumber for affordable homes. Clear out brush and grass under transmission lines  and upgrade the transmission lines. Bolster rapid-response airborne and ground-based firefighting capabilities. Up to now, all this has been prohibited, litigated and shut down in states that now have horrific fires. Radical Greens have even blocked cattle grazing that would control grass and brush in national forests. Still not convinced? Look at recent major fires that petered out when they reached managed forests. For years, San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation foresters chain-sawed overgrown trees, harvested better timber, improved timber stands, and used controlled, prescribed burns, weed killer and other measures to keep their forests healthy, protect sacred sites, and preserve jobs and wildlife. They even turn scrubby trash trees into particle board and sell it for furniture, as part the tribes timber business. In 2017, the Wallow Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Arizona history, burned 538,000 acres  but fizzled out when it reached the reservations well-managed forest. A year later, the Rattlesnake Fire torched more than 20,000 acres in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest  but likewise faded out when it reached the neighboring White Mountain Apache timberlands, which had also been managed responsibly and proactively, using the same management practices that guide San Carlos Apache foresters. Similar success stories can be found in the most unlikely place: California. For decades, the Southern California Edison electric utility employed selective logging, prescribed burns and other management strategies in its Shaver Lake Forest. This years Creek Fire raged through treetops and several hundred thousand acres in the Sierra National Forest. But when it reached the SoCalEd timberlands, it dwindled into a low-intensity surface or ground fire  which doesnt incinerate big trees and wildlife. Back in August 2013, the monstrous high-intensity Rim Fire immolated 180,000 acres in the Stanislaus National Forest. Thankfully the National Park Service (NPS) had been employing prescribed burning and other proactive management practices for years in Yosemite National Park next door. When the wildfire reached the park, it turned into a far less destructive surface fire. The ferocious Rough Fire of 2015 roared through Californias Sequoia and Sierra National Forests, totally torching 150,000 acres. But it too became a ground fire when it reached Sequoia National Park, where the NPS had also used prescribed burns and other good management practices for decades. A final point. The raging fires in our long mismanaged forests are not natural. They are not what used to burn with regularity through Americas forests. A century of fire suppression and fuel accumulation means they turn into superheated infernos. Manage them properly first. Then let nature work again. The lesson? Regardless of what Earths climate may do  regardless of who or what may be responsible for any fluctuations  we must take responsible, appropriate, effective measures now. Doing so will save habitats, wildlife, homes and human lives today, and tomorrow. We cannot and must let more megafires incinerate forests and people for decades to come, under an hubristic, misguided, ideological belief that we can eventually end global fossil fuel use and control planetary climate and weather conditions, thereby somehow making monster wildfires a dim memory. Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org) and author of books and articles on energy, environment, climate and human rights issues. Home
The Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), in partnership with Dubai South, has announced the launch of Dubai Global Connect (DGC), a one million square metre B2B wholesale market in Dubai.

The market will bring together buyers and sellers to safely and easily trade goods from all over the world, all year round in one central location.

The initial focus will be on three sectors which have been identified as being large enough in size, growth, and relevance to the region: Furniture & Living, Food, and Fashion, said a statement.

Meanwhile, DGC today announced it has entered into a strategic alliance with US-based Market Center Management Company (MCMC) for the development and management of DGC's state-of-the-art permanent showroom environment which will be open year-round to qualified retail buyers and designers, manufacturers, and industry professionals, and can be fitted out by sellers according to their own style and budget. The showrooms will be closed to the public.

Mohammed Al Shaibani, Managing Director of the Investment Corporation of Dubai, explained: "As part of our mandate to enhance Dubai's position as a global, competitive economy, ICD has embarked on the creation of DGC with the vision to build a unique trade infrastructure that enhances efficiencies in global trade flows through Dubai. We are excited to have MCMC on board to support our teams in realizing this vision, as well as in the development and management of the market."

MCMC has a legacy of sole, private ownership of the Dallas Market Center (DMC), operating in the US for 65+ years, as well as multinational experience involving both ownership and management of wholesale markeplaces including Brussels International Trade Mart and ShanghaiMart as well as consultation experience on additional projects in Colombia, Vietnam, and Portugal.

Cindy Morris, CEO of MCMC, commented: "We are pleased to be a part of this truly unique opportunity for Dubai to address industry pain points and create an important global destination for wholesale trade. This multi-year agreement aims to foster team collaboration between our companies and ultimately help create a center of commerce for buyers and sellers from around the world."

DGC is unique as it focuses on a global audience in addition to regional audiences to create a truly origin-neutral marketplace to trade goods from all around the world. Traditionally, wholesale markets have focused on promoting domestic agendas by bringing together sellers of local products with international buyers or by presenting international products to regional buyer groups.

"DGC has been a long time in the making but is even more relevant and needed in today's changed global trade environment. Establishing a controlled, permanent marketplace environment is perfectly timed as event producers and their attendees cope with reduced travel budgets and the need for smaller, more controlled gatherings. DGC enables traders to meet halfway by offering producers and manufacturers a window to the world in a central, easy to reach location, and by providing buyers with a safe buying environment and place of reference that is open all year round." commented Douraid Zaghouani, COO of ICD and Chairman of Dubai Global Connect.

DGC, the "City of Trade", is already under construction, with a purpose-built visitor centre opening in Q4 of 2020. The market is expected to be delivered in phases, with the first phase comprising 400,000 sq m of dedicated trade facilities including on-site storage, boutique offices, an innovation hub, and a Smart Service Centre to house third party service providers.

Located at the crossroads of Dubai's logistics corridor, at Dubai South next to Al Maktoum International Airport with a direct connection to the Jebel Ali Port, DGC's physical infrastructure will be supported by best-in-class services and optimal business solutions at the Logistics District, including a digital wholesale trading platform which will connect wholesale sellers and buyers online and facilitate hassle-free trade through DGC. - TradeArabia News Service
Tsimane family, part of an indigenous population in the Bolivian Amazon. Credit: Adrian Jaeggi

It is well understood that mortality rates increase with age. Whether you live in Tokyo, rural Tennessee or the forests of Papua, New Guinea, the older you are, the more likely you are to succumb to any number of different ailments.

But how, exactly, do our bodies weather with age, and to what extent do people around the word experience physiological aging differently?

In a paper published in a special issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, a team of anthropologists that includes Michael Gurven, a professor of anthropology at UC Santa Barbara and chair of the campus's Integrative Anthropological Sciences Unit, and Thomas Kraft, a postdoctoral researcher in the same department, construct and compare a composite measure of "physiological dysregulation" among human populations and other species. The themed issue explores the evolution of aging among primates.

Physiological dysregulation refers to the wearing down of the body's ability to bounce back from stress, damage or other adversity. Examples include how one's body might gradually become less able to properly regulate blood sugar, or it might more likely mount an inappropriate immune response that doesn't dissipate when the threat is gone (thereby damaging the body's own cells). This decline in resilience is often considered fundamental to aging.

"We're only now able to start piecing together what physiological aging looks like holistically in subsistence populations of foragers and farmers," said Kraft, the paper's lead author. "We first built a comprehensive metric of physiological dysregulation in humans, then compared it to other primates. It's not just the case that adult mortality rates are lower in humans; rates of physiological dysregulation are much slower in humans, too."

For nearly two decades, the Tsimane Health and Life History Project has been collecting a large number of measures of health and aging (referred to as biomarkers) among the Tsimane, an indigenous population of forager-horticulturists in the Bolivian Amazon. These range from the typical measures that might be taken during a regular physical examblood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levelto indicators such as grip strength, various immune markers for inflammation and bone mineral density.

Overall, the current study includes 40 biomarkers among 5,658 adults spread across 22,115 observations. "This makes it one of the only comprehensive longitudinal studies of health in a population living a vastly different lifestyle than the urban, industrialized countries, where most studies occur," said Kraft.

"While any single biomarker gives a snapshot of just one small part of health, what we did was to combine information from many biomarkers simultaneouslyboth the levels of these markers and the extent to which they are linked togetherinto a single metric," he continued. "This summary metric gives a holistic portrait of one's 'biological age,' by measuring how 'strange' one's combined biomarkers are relative to a healthy subset of the population."

Noted Gurven, co-director of the Tsimane Health and Life History Project, "In the U.S. and many other countries today, we're more likely to die of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other 'chronic diseases of aging.' But among the Tsimane and other populations living similar lifestyles, these chronic diseases are rare. Does physiological dysregulation occur at the same rate in this very different context?"

To answer this question, the team compared Tsimane with other human populations. "Where adult mortality rates are high, we might expect that aging of our bodies occurs more quickly, tracking closely the higher increase in mortality with age," Gurven explained. "Another possibilityand a goal for many of usis to maintain healthy bodies for as long as we can, and then have everything fall apart close to the eventual timing of our demise."

The researchers found that despite a lifestyle vastly different from that of urban, post-industrialized populations such as those in the United States and Italy, and despite higher mortality rates throughout adulthood, Tsimane adults show only marginally higher rates of increase in physiological dysregulation among the Tsimane.

"Our first glimpse suggests a broad species-typical pattern of physical aging across environments and cultures," said Gurven. "That's a little surprising because the Tsimane have very low levels of late-age chronic diseases. But the Tsimane are exposed to harsher conditions, including strenuous labor tending fields, tropical diseases and minimal access to health care."

Added Kraft, "We also found similarities in physiological dysregulation among Tsimane women and men, despite evidence in many populations showing that men typically age faster and are more likely to die than women at most ages."

As Gurven noted, it's impossible to understand dysregulation and aging without knowing how different parts of the body function over time. "And to date, we have had little understanding of what that looked like in a population like the Tsimane," he said. "Yet the conditions we find ourselves in today, where over half of the global population lives in cities, is just a minor blip in the long history of our species. Groups like the Tsimane offer some of the best insight for our understanding of aging prior to industrialization and urbanization."

All that being said, the researchers are quick to acknowledge that their index is still just a statistical composite. "It's not a complex network model showing how everything is related to everything else," Gurven said. What's amazing, he added, is that our global estimates of physiological dysregulation don't change much once the information from roughly 15 biomarkers are integrated.

"Additional biomarkers tell you little, and it may not even matter which biomarkers you look at once you hit about 20. That seems to suggest that we're capturing something about the whole system," he explained. "And any single biomarker is only weakly correlated with our global index. But we'll learn much more about what it means and how important it might be once we can link dysregulation to useful outcomes, like functional performance, disease states and the likelihood of dying."

Explore further Aging gracefully in the rainforest

More information: Thomas S. Kraft et al, Multi-system physiological dysregulation and aging in a subsistence population, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2020). Journal information: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Thomas S. Kraft et al, Multi-system physiological dysregulation and aging in a subsistence population,(2020). DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0610
Nearly four months after former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Chander Prakash Kathuria was expelled from the primary membership of the party after a video, purportedly shot as he jumped off the second floor of womans house in Chandigarhs Sector 63, surfaced on social media, he has termed the incident a political conspiracy to defame him.

As per the earlier reports, the leader, 51, was reportedly visiting a woman in the apartment for some official work when another person whom he did not want to meet turned up there. In a bid to avoid running into the person, Kathuria reportedly tried to descend from the balcony with the help of a cloth, and fell down after losing grip. He was admitted at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, with a fractured leg.

After the incident, he was expelled from the primary membership of the party for six years.

While addressing a press conference here along with his wife on Monday, Kathuria said that one Vikramjit alias Happy of Karnal, a relative of a local Congress leader, had hatched a conspiracy against him for political advantages.

Kathuria did not rule out the possibility of involvement of local BJP leaders in the conspiracy. He, however, did not take any names.

The woman shown in the video is like my sister and I had known her father since 26 years. I had gone to their house to sort out a dispute between the couple, he said. However, there was some misunderstanding and the woman shown in the video saw Vikramjit outside her house. She asked me not to go out from the main door and therefore I tried to exit from the balcony, Kathuria said. I decided to get down from the balcony with the help of a cloth but lost consciousness and woke up in the hospital, he added.

He said the woman had also filed a police complaint against Vikramjit accusing him of threatening her guest. Kathuria said at that time he could not file a police complaint since he was in the hospital. I have now written to Haryana home minister, he added.

I am not against the party but there are some people who were behind the conspiracy and they should be exposed, he said. Kathuria said he had tried speaking to the chief minister twice but did not get any response.
The government on Monday said many states and Union Territories have not provided details of farmer suicides and hence, the national data on the causes of suicide in the farming sector is "untenable" and cannot be published. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said as informed by the National Crime Records Bureau, many states and UTs have reported "nil" data on suicides by farmers, cultivators and agricultural labourers after several validations, even while reporting suicides in other professions.

"Due to this limitation, national data on the causes of suicide in farming sector was untenable and not published separately," he said in a written reply. According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on accidental deaths and suicides, 10,281 farmers died by suicide in 2019, down from 10,357 in 2018.

The suicide rate in the farming sector accounted for 7.4 per cent of the total suicides in the country  5,957 farmers and 4,324 agricultural labourers, the NCRB said in the report containing the latest data.

Recently, the NCRB data revealed that nearly 43,000 people engaged in farming sector and daily wage earners took their lives in 2019. As many as 32,563 daily wage earners ended their lives during the year and formed 23.4 per cent of the total suicide cases in the country, up from 30,132 in 2018, the data showed.

As many as 10,281 people involved in farming sector (consisting of 5,957 farmers or cultivators and 4,324 agricultural labourers) killed themselves in 2019, accounting for 7.4 per cent of total suicide victims (1,39,123) in the country, it stated. The suicide figures for people engaged in farming sector stood at 10,349 (7.7 per cent) of the total in 2018, previous data showed.

Out of 5,957 farmer or cultivator suicides in 2019, a total of 5,563 were male and 394 female. Out of the 4,324 agricultural labourers who died by suicide during 2019, 3,749 were male and 575 were female, the NCRB, which functions under the Union Home Ministry, stated. Majority of victims engaged in farming sector were reported in Maharashtra (38.2 per cent), Karnataka (19.4 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (10 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (5.3 per cent) and Chhattisgarh and Telangana (4.9 per cent each), the data showed. However, the NCRB stated that West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Delhi UT, Lakshadweep and Puducherry reported zero suicides of farmers or cultivators as well as agricultural labourers.

This news piece may be triggering. If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata)

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Credit: George Hodan/public domain

A hydro dam currently under construction in Ethiopa is set to be the largest hydropower plant in Africa, but could be heading towards controversy for international agreements on water sharing.

New Research from a University of Manchester led consortium points out that some negotiated strategies for filling Ethiopia's new Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dam could be infeasible in critical river flow conditions due to the limited ability of the dam to release water at low water levels.

The University of Manchester led team argues that the possible inability of the dam to follow an eventual international agreement could create controversy and complicate future efforts to share water and electricity in East Africa.

The GERD dam, a large hydropower dam with an installed capacity of 5,150 Mega Watts, is under construction on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. Construction began nearly a decade ago and when completed, the GERD will be the largest hydropower plant in Africa and the tenth largest globally.

The main purpose of the dam is domestic and regional electrication and it is expected to improve electricity access in East Africa through existing and planned power interconnections. But realizing benets will require lling the associated reservoir by retaining water that would have otherwise owed downstream.

The volume of the GERD reservoir is around 1.5 times the average annual ow of the Blue Nile. This means filling it up in one go is out of the question, as that would prevent any water from flowing downstream and deplete most of the Nile river.

Debate on the GERD's filling have been ongoing since the dam was announced. Negotiations between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt on the initial reservoir lling and long-term operation of the GERD took place in Washington in November 2019 to February 2020.

The Manchester team state that the consideration of engineering constraints due to the dam design and construction should inform negotiations over initial reservoir filling to help prevent unnecessary political tension later on.

First author of the new research, Ph.D. student at The University of Manchester and a Science and Engineering Dean's Award recipient, Mohammed Basheer says: "Because the design and construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile were carried out before a transboundary agreement, the ongoing negotiations between the Ethiopian, Sudanese, and Egyptian governments over the initial filling and long-term operation of the dam must consider the engineering characteristics of the dam outlets."

The African Union convened further negotiations in July and August 2020. An agreement has not been reached but several proposals have been made and discussed. So far, negotiations have not fully recognized the engineering requirements of the dam including the hydraulic capacity of the dam's outlets, which determines how much water it can release.

Lead senior author Professor Julien Harou, Chair of Water Engineering at The University of Manchester comments: "Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt are at a crossroads regarding their ability to collaboratively manage the limited and stressed water resources of the Eastern Nile. Preventing eventual predictable sources of contention will help the three countries avert political tensions and lay a foundation for trust, collaboration, and regional prosperity."

Explore further Five questions about Ethiopia's controversial Nile dam

More information: Mohammed Basheer et al. Filling Africa's Largest Hydropower Dam Should Consider Engineering Realities, One Earth (2020). Journal information: One Earth Mohammed Basheer et al. Filling Africa's Largest Hydropower Dam Should Consider Engineering Realities,(2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2020.08.015
Opposition parties seek meeting with President, urge him not to sign farm bills

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Sep 21: A day after two contentious farm bills were passed by Rajya Sabha amid a bedlam, a number of non-NDA parties wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind over the manner in which the government "pushed through its agenda" and urged him not to grant his assent to the proposed legislations.

According to sources, leaders of various political parties including the Congress, the Left parties, NCP, DMK, SP, Trinamool Congress and the RJD have in a memorandum to the President sought his intervention in the matter and asked him not to sign the bills. The bills will become a law only after the President grants his assent to them.

Farm bills: BJP ally SAD to meet President Kovind today

The two key farm bills, dubbed by the government as the biggest reform in agriculture, were passed by Rajya Sabha on Sunday with voice vote amid unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition MPs. Some opposition members, ignoring the COVID-19 protocol, charged towards the podium of Deputy Chairman Harivansh, flung the rule book at him and tore official papers. They yanked his microphone and heckled him over their demand for a division of vote on their motion to refer the legislation to a select committee.

Sources said the opposition parties have described the manner in which the bills were passed in Rajya Sabha on Sunday as "murder of democracy" by the ruling BJP. They have also sought time from the President for a meeting, likely on Tuesday.

The Shiromani Akali Dal leadership will meet President Ram Nath Kovind separately on Monday to urge him not to sign on the bills.

Sources said the memorandum of opposition leaders has been sent to the President. Congress MP and noted lawyer Abhishek Singhvi is learnt to have framed the memorandum. The opposition leaders wish to present their case in urging the President not to grant his assent to the bill after both the Houses of Parliament passed the two bills. They are alleging that the bills are against the interest of farmers and seek to enslave farming at the hands of corporates. These will prove to be a "death knell" for farming, the opposition leaders claim.

Derek O'Brien, Sanjay Singh among 8 MPs suspended for a week over Rajya Sabha ruckus

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks to give freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside the notified APMC market yards (mandis). This, the government says, is aimed at facilitating remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels. Farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce under this Act, according to the government.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 seeks to give farmers the right to enter into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price. It seeks to transfer the risk of market unpredictability from farmers to sponsors.
Image: STR/AFP

The scene came seven minutes into a new Chinese-government-sponsored television drama, so short that it would have been easy to miss: The head of a bus company in Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus outbreak began, asks his drivers if they are willing to make emergency runs during the citys lockdown. A line of volunteers forms. None are women.

That roughly minute-long clip has set off a furor on Chinese social media. Users have called the scene  in which the official then asks why no women have stepped up  a flagrant example of sexism in Chinese society and an attempt to erase womens contributions to the fight against the virus. In reality, women made up the majority of front-line workers during the crisis, according to the official news media.

By Sunday, a hashtag about that segment, which aired Thursday, had been viewed more than 140 million times. Tens of thousands of people had called for the show to be taken off the air.

The uproar reflects lingering tensions even as China emerges from an outbreak that sickened many, cratered its economy and upended the daily lives of hundreds of millions of people. Still-simmering tensions include cynicism about the Chinese governments efforts to rewrite the narrative of the outbreak, disillusionment about the silencing of dissenting accounts and anger toward persistent discrimination against women, both during the crisis and more broadly.

Indeed, many people were particularly incensed by the perceived slight to women, given their prominent role in containing the virus. Women made up two-thirds of the more than 40,000 medical workers who traveled to Wuhan and its surrounding province, Hubei, to fight the outbreak, Peoples Daily, the official mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, said in March. Xinhua, the official state news agency, said that more than half of the doctors deployed to Wuhan from Shanghai were women, as were more than 90% of the nurses.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

In previous television dramas, women would frequently be smeared. But I thought that something would change this year, after the experience of the epidemic, because so many women participated in the fight, Zoe Shen, a feminist activist and blogger in Beijing, said in an interview. I didnt think there would be such a plotline now.

This is not the first time that womens treatment while fighting the virus has set off public anger. In February, an official newspaper shared a video of female medics having their heads shaved before heading to Wuhan, ostensibly for a better fit for protective gear. The newspaper called the women the most beautiful warriors. Many people who saw the video said the women were crying, and viewers accused the government of using womens bodies as propaganda. The video was ultimately deleted.

Other female medical workers said their supervisors rebuked them when they asked for help obtaining tampons or pads when goods in Wuhan became increasingly hard to obtain.

In real life, they pushed women out onto the front lines, said one commenter about the show on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform. In propaganda, they buried the women.

The comment was liked more than 30,000 times.

The episode was the pilot of a new show, Heroes in Harms Way, that dramatizes Wuhans battle against the outbreak. Wuhan was little known outside of China before the pandemic, but as the contagion spread there and then around the world it became a stark warning about the virus threat. Desperate residents shared photos of people being turned away from overwhelmed hospitals, and they raged at the officials who had let the virus spread unchecked in an effort to conceal it.

That desperation is far from the focus of the show, which was aired by Chinas state broadcaster and produced by Shen Haixiong, deputy minister of the Communist Partys publicity department. Instead, the show is a paean to the touching stories that happened on the front line of the epidemic and the Chinese peoples courage to fight and win, according to the state-run media.

In the scene at the Wuhan bus company, dozens of drivers file into a meeting room shortly before the lockdown is imposed. An official explains that the government has requested volunteers for an emergency transport team. A number of men line up, led by a Communist Party cadre.

After reviewing the roster, the official then announces that the list is made up entirely of men.

Will a female comrade step up too? he says.

He singles out a woman sitting in a back row and asks her to volunteer. But she demurs, saying her family has traveled a long way to visit her for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

I really cant, she replies.

In response to the show, social media users quickly began sharing screenshots of the state media reports of female participation in the epidemic response. Many also began using the hashtag Request that Heroes in Harms Way Stop Airing. A poll that asked whether the show should be canceled received more than 91,000 yes votes, with about 6,800 votes for no.

Now I finally know how women disappear from history, one Weibo user wrote.

Others hinted at the broader battle to control the narrative of the pandemic.

Everybody just wants to be able to have an accurate collective memory, one user wrote in a post that was liked more than 110,000 times.

While many posts criticizing the show were still available Saturday, the outrage had attracted the attention of censors. The hashtag requesting that the show be canceled had been blocked, and some clips of the offending segment had been removed. Ratings for the show were also disabled on Douban, a popular film review site.

The official response was a reminder not only of the Chinese governments sensitivity over the story of the outbreak but also of the tenuous space occupied by feminist activism in China. Rhetorically, the government encourages gender equity and even sponsors its own agency dedicated to womens issues. But the party is wary of any organization it does not control and has cracked down on activists who have mobilized independently.

Women are still almost nonexistent in the highest echelons of the party apparatus. Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, has emphasized womens roles as homemakers and mothers. Employment discrimination, curbs on property rights and weak protections against domestic violence are common.

The initial outrage provoked by the bus driver scene also set off other condemnations of the show. Du Keye, a doctor in Wuhan, wrote on Weibo that the show was medically inaccurate, often depicting nurses without proper medical gear or performing chest compressions incorrectly. The show is fictional, he wrote, but accuracy is important because the show was intended to commemorate a momentous event in the countrys history.

Shen, the feminist blogger, also hinted at how deeply the pandemic  and the response to the pandemic  had been etched into the countrys psyche to criticize the show.

To film this kind of show before everyones memory has entirely disappeared is really just an insult to the audiences intelligence, she said.

By Vivian Wang

c.2020 The New York Times Company
"Chinese culture is marvelous, we like it and we want to have more chances to enjoy it in the future," some Fijian women told Xinhua after having had a special and unforgettable experience of the Chinese culture in a remote Fijian village.

With the support by Fiji's Department of Heritage and Arts and the Nausori Multi-Cultural Center, the staff of China Cultural Center in Fiji went on Thursday to Koroqaqa, a riverside village about 30 km north of Suva, capital of Fiji, entertaining local Fijians with a Bamboo Culture photo exhibition and teaching them how to play Chinese Tai Chi.

It is the first time for the staff of China Cultural Center in Fiji to bring their cultural activities to rural Fijians and also the first time for them to jointly celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with rural Fijians.

Besides showing a promotional video "Beautiful China", which showcases China's beautiful and unique landscapes as well as the great achievement that China has made over the past decades, the staff of China Cultural Center in Fiji also briefed the Fijians from different parts of the Nausori district on the cultural exchanges they have had with Fijians in recent years.

Some Fijian women also took notes while listening carefully to the introduction about China. A Fijian woman could not help but telling Xinhua that the Chinese culture is very good, and she hopes to have more chances to experience it.

For the Fijians and their Chinese guests, they were also touched by the beautiful traditional dance by a 13-year-old Fijian girl and a moving Chinese song related to the Mid-Autumn Festival by a Fijian college student. She surprised everyone when she sang the song in Chinese, and loud applause came just after she finished her song.

Some Fijians also practised calligraphy enthusiastically.

Needless to say, it is a good chance for the two different cultures to walk into each other's heart and touch both sides by the uniqueness and irresistible charm of the cultures.

Seini Vakaloloma, principal officer of Fiji's Department of Heritage and Arts, told Xinhua that the cultural activities brought here by the China Cultural Center in Fiji is useful and they have learned a lot from the Chinese culture.

"We have learned a lot from your culture and I really appreciate it. I hope the China Cultural Center in Fiji can bring their activities to other communities in the island nation in the future," she said.

For her part, Anjana Maharaj, administration officer of the Nausori Multi-Cultural Center, told Xinhua that "We believe culture exchange is very important. When we know each other's culture, then we know the people, we know we can interpret each other. We belong to the multi-cultural center, we believe learning each other's culture make sense."

Sun Jie, director of the China Cultural Center in Fiji, told Xinhua that such cultural exchange can help promote the mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries.

"This is the first time for our center to bring our cultural activities to Fijians in the rural area. Our aim is to do cultural exchange and also celebrate our Mid-Autumn Festival with our Fijian friends. We and our Fijian friends do believe that such cultural exchange can help promote the mutual understanding between the peoples of our two countries," he said.
Actor Jeremy Strong has won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He received the accolade for HBOs drama series Succession. The series is a satirical comedy created by Jesse Armstrong. Succession revolves around a family who are the dysfunctional owners of a media and hospitality media empire. Jeremy Strong plays the role of Kendall in the series.

Other nominees for the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series were Jason Bateman for Ozark, Sterling K Brown for This is Us, Steve Carell for The Morning Show, Brian Cox for Succession and Billy Porter for Pose. Jeremy Strong said wow as he started his virtual acceptance speech. He also talked about a poem and said, I read a poem by Stephen Dunn that said, All I ever wanted was a book so good I'd be finishing it for the rest of my life. This job was that for me. [Succession creator] Jesse Armstrong, I owe this to you. [Succession costar and co-nominee] Brian Cox, I share this with you.

Also Read| Emmy Awards 2020: Jennifer Aniston's spontaneous use of fire extinguisher saves Emmys

About Emmys 2020

The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards were originally scheduled to be held at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. However, due to the pandemic outbreak, the ceremony was later declared to be a virtual event. With a part of the audience being present at Microsoft Theater, the celebrities were all glammed up to showcase their Emmy looks virtually while sitting at home. The award ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The award show was preceded by the 72nd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards and it was held from September 14-19. Take a look at Emmy 2020 full winner list.

Also Read| Emmy Awards 2020: 'Watchmen' makes history as it bags Best Limited Series award

Emmy Awards 2020 winners list

Outstanding Drama Series: Succession

Outstanding Comedy Series: Schitt's Creek

Outstanding Variety Talk Show: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

Outstanding Limited Series: Watchmen

Outstanding Television Movie: Bad Education

Outstanding Actor - Comedy: Eugene Levy (Schitt's Creek)

Outstanding Actor - Drama: Jeremy Strong, (Succession)

Outstanding Actor - Limited Series or Movie: Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True)

Outstanding Actress - Comedy: Catherine O'Hara (Schitt's Creek)

Outstanding Actress - Drama: Zendaya, (Euphoria)

Outstanding Actress - Limited Series or Movie: Regina King (Watchmen)

Outstanding Supporting Actor - Comedy: Daniel Levy, (Schitt's Creek)

Outstanding Supporting Actor - Drama: Billy Crudup, (The Morning Show)

Outstanding Supporting Actor - Limited Series or Movie: Yahya Abdul-Mateen 2 (Watchmen)

Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy: Annie Murphy, Schitt's Creek

Also Read| Emmy Awards 2020: 'Schitt's Creek' stars Andrew, Dan Levy win big at virtual ceremony

Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama: Julia Garner, (Ozark)

Outstanding Supporting Actress - Limited Series or Movie: Uzo Aduba (Mrs America

Outstanding Director - Comedy: Daniel Levy, (Schitt's Creek)

Outstanding Director - Drama: Andrij Parekh, (Succession)

Outstanding Director - Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special: Maria Schrader (Unorthodox)

Outstanding Writing - Comedy: Daniel Levy, (Schitt's Creek)

Outstanding Writing - Drama: Jesse Armstrong, (Succession)

Outstanding Writing - Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special: Damon Lindelof, Cord Jefferson (Watchmen)

Outstanding Competition Program: RuPaul's Drag Race

Governors Award: Tyler Perry and The Perry Foundation

Also Read| Emmy Awards 2020: Maria Schrader bags an Emmy for her series 'Unorthodox'

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
Strong investor appetite for the technology sector is set to drive recovery in private equity with the booming area seen as a safe harbour for investments during COVID-19 and forecast to be the major source of deal activity.

In a report to be released on Monday titled The Carry: Private Equity Insights, law firm Herbert Smith Freehills found market uncertainty caused by COVID-19 triggered a dip in deal activity in the second quarter of the year but renewed interest in technology and software could pave the way forward for private equity.

The report records 21 deals completed in the first quarter of the year with the technology sector accounting for 33 per cent. However, there were only six deals in the second quarter of the year because of the "disruptive impact" of COVID-19.

Citadel chief executive Mark McConnell, the technology business that was acquired by private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners last week in a $500 million deal. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The report highlights investor interest in technology-based businesses in communications, logistics, telehealth, fintech and wellness. It says sponsors are becoming more comfortable with allocating committed capital to software and technology investments and technology was being seen as a "safe haven" for investing during the pandemic.
Soldiers perform flag-raising ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan, Sept. 20, 2020. On Sept. 20, President Tsai denounced nearly 40 Chinese military aircrafts intruding Taiwan's Air Defence Identification Zone in the past two days, calling it a threat to the entire region. EPA



Taiwan said on Monday its armed forces have the right to self-defence and counter attack amid "harassment and threats", in an apparent warning to China, which last week sent numerous jets across the mid-line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait.



Tensions have sharply spiked in recent months between Taipei and Beijing, which claims democratically run Taiwan as its own territory, to be taken by force if needed.



Multiple Chinese aircraft flew across the mid-line of the Taiwan Strait and into the island's air defence identification zone on Friday and Saturday, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets to intercept and President Tsai Ing-wen to call China a threat to the region.



Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement it had "clearly defined" procedures for the island's first response amid "high frequency of harassment and threats from the enemy's warships and aircraft this year".



It said Taiwan had the right to "self-defence and to counter attack" and that it followed the guideline of "no escalation of conflict and no triggering incidents".



Taiwan would not provoke but is also was "not afraid of the enemy", it added.



The Chinese drills took place last week as Beijing expressed anger at the visit of a senior U.S. official to Taipei. China has been angered by stepped-up U.S. support for Taiwan, including two visits in as many months by top officials, one in August by Health Secretary Alex Azar and the other last week by Keith Krach, undersecretary for economic affairs.



The United States, which has no official diplomatic ties with the island but is its strongest international backer, is also planning major new arms sales to Taiwan.



China this month held rare large-scale drills near Taiwan, which Taipei called serious provocation. China said the exercise was a necessity to protect its sovereignty. (Reuters)




Mobvista becomes the first company in the Chinese mobile marketing industry to obtain the SOC2 Type1 report.

GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobvista, a technology platform providing mobile advertising and marketing services, has passed the SOC2 audit, an authoritative international certification standard, and received the SOC2 Type1 report, becoming China's first company in the mobile internet marketing community to obtain such a report.

The SOC report is a System and Organization Controls (SOC) service audit report formulated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), which includes three forms: SOC1, SOC2, and SOC3. Among them, SOC2 is a standard dedicated to data security and privacy protection. The SOC2 report is recognized as the world's most authoritative and professional report on data security, which can accurately reflect the data security realities of the audited company.

The SOC2 audit was performed by one of the Big Four accounting firms, who assessed the design suitability and implementation effectiveness of control measures concerning security, availability, process integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of services such as Mobvista's top media advertising solutions, programmatic advertising solutions, network-wide traffic aggregation marketing solutions, SpotMax central technology platform, and mobile analytics solutions. Obtaining the SOC2 Type1 audit report indicates that Mobvista fully complies with the SOC2 standard and is at the forefront of the mobile internet marketing field in terms of data security.

With the development of the internet industry and technological innovation, the amount of internet-based content has grown exponentially, and with it, the amount of personal information, resulting in increasingly prominent data security concerns. According to security intelligence provider RBS (Risk Based Security), there were 7,098 data breaches worldwide in 2019, involving 15.195 billion data records. At the same time, the costs associated with managing and fixing data breaches have also risen. According to the annual Cost of a Data Breach Report published by IBM Security, the average cost for a data breach is now $3.86 million, down 1.5% compared to 2019. However, in cases where more than 50 million consumer records are involved, the costs associated with "mega" data breaches will likely be as high as US$392 million, up from US$388 million in 2019.

There are many reasons for corporate data leakage. According to statistics from the Secsmart Research Center for Information Security and Strategy, 71% of the data leaks are caused by the lack of data access control, and 36% is caused by improper data handling. Other reasons include unapproved data operations, and unauthorized data access, among others.

Fortunately, as users' awareness of data security continues to improve, companies are taking data security more seriously.

According to Mobvista CFO Sean Song, the mobile marketing industry is inextricably linked to data. As a global mobile advertiser, data security is a top priority for the Mobvista Group's business growth and development. The SOC2 audit enables the company to build a bridge of information security that will meet regulatory compliance requirements while also increasing customer trust.

How can a company secure its data? First of all, the company must have full-fledged management policies, which cover all management details of the company, including background information of key personnel, the scope of data access within the company, and so on. In addition, the company must establish effective management mechanisms, such as committees comprised of board members. SOC2 is currently one of the most authoritative auditing standards for identifying whether a company's relevant mechanisms are sound. Only companies that meet the SOC2 audit standard can obtain relevant reports.

It should be noted that in addition to corporate governance, external policies and regulations are also constantly urging companies to increase their data security efforts. According to incomplete statistics from the iYiou think tank, there are currently 126 countries and regions in the world that have formulated laws dedicated to personal data protection. Outside China, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the U.S. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018, both require companies to adopt protection measures to ensure data security. In China, there are laws and regulations like the Cyber Security Law and the Measures for Security Assessment of Outbound Provision of Personal Information and Important Data, among other laws and regulations which govern the data security standards at the company-level. The upcoming Personal Information Protection Law and Data Security Law will undoubtedly impose higher requirements on corporate data security.

"Mobvista has always placed great emphasis on data compliance in all the markets we operate around the world. Since 2018, we have successfully implemented the GDPR compliance upgrade and applied COPPA certification for the Group's programmatic interactive advertising platform Mintegral, our performance-oriented marketing platform Nativex, and our mobile game data analysis platform GameAnalytics," Song explained. "The rationale behind the SOC2 audit is that we actually believe that it is not enough to just comply with the general regulatory requirements in terms of data security and privacy protection. Mobvista needs to set the pace by being a responsible company, from a corporate, as well as a social point of view and we will continue to invest more in this area."

The SOC2 audit covered all Mobvista businesses, including Mintegral, Nativex, and GameAnalytics. Song emphasizes that the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of the year has profoundly changed the landscape of the marketing industry, as companies are paying more attention to the results of their marketing campaigns. In this context, a digitally-driven, transparent, and compliant Mobvista is positioned to become the ideal partner for advertisers around the world.

Mobvista has established a presence in 18 cities around the world, with more than 700 employees serving customers in 85 countries and regions around the world.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1121779/Mobvista_Logo.jpg
Farmers of the country are going through a rough patch for the longest time now. Even as they are protesting over the Farm Bills, their problems are falling in deaf ears.

In Madhya Pradesh, a large number of farmers have complained about receiving deficient sums of money as crop insurance claims. In MP's Betul, a farmer received only Re 1 in his bank account.

According to a report by News 18, the state government has doled out crop insurance compensation to 22 lakh farmers.

File Photo

One among those entitled to compensation in Betul, Puranlal discovered that he has only received Re 1 even though he suffered crop loss of Rs 1 lakh on his two-and-a-half hectare piece of land.

Two other farmers from the area were also reimbursed with only Rs 70 and Rs 92 each.

"The agriculture department refused to respond to queries on the matter, but a senior officer wishing anonymity said that names of those farmers who have received less than Rs 200 are being sent back to insurance companies for review. He added that the department would take up the matter with insurance companies," says the News18 report.

A total of 64,893 farmers have received a total of 81.71 crore as crop insurance compensation. However, many only received a meagre sum in their accounts.
deviousrlm/iStockBy IVAN PEREIRA, ABC News



(NEW YORK) -- A New York City subway derailed and saw significant damage Sunday morning after someone allegedly threw debris onto the track, according to investigators and officials.



The northbound "A" train was coming into a stop at the 14th Street station in Manhattan when it struck the debris and its first car scraped four columns, according to New York City Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg.



"At this time, the cause of the incident appears to be an act of vandalism," she said in a statement.



There were 134 passengers on the train -- no major injuries were reported and the riders were safely evacuated from the train, Feinberg said in a statement. Another train that was behind the derailed cab was stuck in a tunnel and crews were able to get the 125 passengers out safely, according to New York City Transit.



"We have 100 feet of the third rail with damage and we have significant damage to the car itself. In some of the photos, the crash actually struck the steel," Frank Jezycki, the head of subways for NYC Transit, told reporters at a news conference.



WABC-TV reported that witnesses saw a homeless man throwing construction debris onto the tracks. The New York Police Department told ABC News that it was speaking with a person of interest, but as of Sunday afternoon, there were no arrests.



The derailment ruined subway service for thousands of customers for the rest of the day as the station had to be bypassed. Crews worked around the clock to restore power and service to normal.

Feinberg warned commuters to be ready for inconveniences as the workweek began.



"At this time, it is unclear whether express service will be available for the Monday morning rush," she said in a statement.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice Saul Loeb/Getty ImagesWest Virginia Governor Jim Justice

West Virginia environmental regulators are proposing to reduce the fines that a coal company owned by the state's governor could pay for water pollution violations that are the focus of a federal court case. The move comes after the company stopped paying penalties required as part of a settlement four years ago to clean up its mines across the Appalachian coalfields.

Environmental groups allege that the Red Fox Mine, a large strip-mining site in southern West Virginia owned by Gov. Jim Justice's Bluestone Coal Corp., continues to exceed discharge limits for harmful substances. The suit could result in substantial payouts  the maximum potential federal penalties are nearly $170 million  that would go to the U.S. Treasury.

In the weeks before a trial in the case, lawyers for Bluestone filed documents detailing a draft deal worked out separately with the state's Department of Environmental Protection. The state agency, whose administrator is appointed by Justice, has agreed to settle the violations for a fine of $125,000, according to a court filing by the environmental groups' lawyers. (State and federal governments share the authority to enforce water pollution rules.)

Lawyers for Bluestone are asking the judge to throw out the federal case, saying the state settlement and hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal fines the company already paid for the same violations should resolve the matters.

Lawyers for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and other groups say the state settlement doesn't moot their suit, and they urged a federal judge not to grant Bluestone's request to throw out the case. They called the state action "a self-dealing administrative order" and said the proposed penalties "are insufficient to deter future violations, leaving a realistic prospect of continued noncompliance." At best, the lawyers say, the amount paid would offset potential fines in the federal court action.

Story continues

The fight to force Justice's empire to follow pollution rules, the groups say, symbolizes the larger ongoing fight over how aggressively to regulate an industry that remains politically powerful, even as its economic influence declines.

The state's environmental regulators are seen as friendly to coal companies, so the reduced fines are in keeping with prior actions. In one significant example from a decade ago, a $20 million federal settlement with Massey Energy revealed that West Virginia officials were not even reviewing disclosures that Massey had filed reporting thousands of water pollution violations.

"Coal companies pollute," said Vivian Stockman, executive director of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. "There seems to be little consequence to carrying on business in disregard for the law. This has been the case over decades."

The proposed settlement is the latest in which government agencies overseen by Justice have had to regulate businesses owned by Justice, a billionaire whom Forbes has labeled the richest person in the state. He owns a vast array of businesses, including coal mines, resort hotels and agricultural interests, many of them regulated by the state agencies that report to him.

An investigation this year by ProPublica found that companies run by the governor's family have accumulated $128 million in judgments and settlements in cases brought by vendors and other businesses and government entities over unpaid bills. Justice companies that own or are affiliated with the historic Greenbrier Resort have said in court filings that they are "near financial insolvency."

Mike Carey, a lawyer for Bluestone Coal, called any suggestion that the company is getting preferential treatment "completely baseless."

The court records filed in the federal case indicate that state regulators first proposed the settlement more than a year ago, and that it then included a suggested penalty of $883,000. But in its new proposal, which must face public comment before it is finalized, WVDEP proposed a $2.1 million fine, but then dropped that to $125,000. The agency noted that's the maximum allowed under state law but did not explain why it had earlier proposed a larger amount.

While Justice's adult children have day-to-day control over the family's business operations, the governor continues to guide the empire. Justice has repeatedly said his role as governor poses no conflict, and he wants nothing from the state for his businesses or his family.

The last tussle over the governor's coal mines came to a head in 2016, when weeks before Justice won that year's general election, his company agreed to pay a $900,000 fine for past violations, penalties for future violations and millions of dollars for new pollution control measures.

The deal resolved more than 23,000 water pollution violations between 2009 and 2014 by Justice mines in West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama, then under the umbrella corporate parent, Southern Coal Corporation, according to court records filed as part of that settlement. (Southern Coal, like Bluestone, was also owned by the Justice family.)

"This settlement is designed to bring the companies into compliance with the Clean Water Act and requires actions that should prevent future violations," Assistant Attorney General John Cruden said at the time.

But hundreds of times since that 2016 federal deal, those mines discharged more solids, iron, manganese, aluminum and other pollutants than allowed by their environmental permits, the company's own public reports show.

Justice's companies have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for those violations, which are fairly common and seen as a cost of doing business in the coal industry. In August 2019, the environmental groups filed suit against Bluestone, alleging excess discharges of selenium, which can be toxic to fish and other aquatic life.

State and federal agencies have somewhat overlapping authority to regulate coal industry pollution. Federal law also allows citizens to file suit over Clean Water Act violations, both to seek fines, payable to the government, and to force measures to stop further violations.

Then, this year, the Justice companies "apparently stopped paying" some of the stipulated penalties, citing the lawsuit, according to a court filing by the plaintiffs. In a May report to federal regulators, Bluestone Coal marked a list of some of those selenium violations as "in litigation payment not applied."

A federal judge has cited that report and noted unpaid stipulated penalties for 40 selenium violations that date back to July 2018.

A spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Agency said that the earlier settlement does not allow Bluestone to stop paying stipulated penalties, but she declined to say what action, if any, federal officials might take "because this is an active enforcement case."

Carey said that the report indicating those fine payments were being held back because of the litigation "was an error."

In a court filing Tuesday, Carey indicated that a $35,000 payment for some of the fines was made on Sept. 4. Carey also alleged that the environmental groups had offered during settlement negotiations to resolve their lawsuit, and give the company three years to come into compliance, if Bluestone Coal would donate $600,000 and 850 acres of land near the New River Gorge, a scenic area, to the West Virginia Land Trust, a group that tries to protect wilderness in the state.

Bluestone Coal lawyers had earlier tried to have the selenium case dismissed, arguing that it was preempted by the 2016 settlement.

But in a ruling in June, U.S. District Judge David A. Faber in Bluefield, West Virginia, declined to throw out the case, saying that the continuing violations, and Bluestone Coal's failure to comply with a timeline for installing a treatment system, showed the need for the citizen suit. Then, in July, Faber issued a second ruling that found Bluestone liable for the selenium violations. The judge noted that Bluestone Coal could be liable for more than 3,000 days of water permit violations, which could amount to a maximum fine of $169.2 million, according to the citizen groups.

On Tuesday, Faber postponed a Sept. 23 bench trial meant to determine a remedy for the violations. Instead, he scheduled a hearing that day on Bluestone's request to have the case thrown out.

Like his political ally President Donald Trump, Justice has been clear that he wants to curb government regulations meant to protect the environment, especially as those apply to the coal industry and other fossil energy operations.

In his first State of the State address in February 2017, Justice said that, under his administration, the state Department of Environmental Protection would stop saying "no" to business and industry. A week later, he belittled WVDEP inspectors when he told a natural gas industry group that they would have to stop showing up for work with "a tank top and flip-flops on" and looking like they "haven't shaved in three months."

At the WVDEP, Justice put in charge a former coal company executive and energy industry consultant, Austin Caperton. In an early speech once he took office as WVDEP secretary, Caperton said he "doesn't trust" the science that says human activities such as burning fossil fuels are warming the planet, a position that puts him at odds with mainstream science.

As recently as 2017, the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement issued a report outlining continuing failures by the state to police water pollution by coal companies. OSMRE has said it is continuing to monitor WVDEP's efforts to improve oversight of the coal industry.

Over the years, selenium pollution has been especially tricky for coal companies to deal with, presenting expensive and long-term treatment challenges. Violations have prompted other citizen group lawsuits like the one against Bluestone and scientific studies that warned of stream damage from the selenium discharged by mining operations.

In response to questions about Bluestone Coal and its policing of the coal industry more broadly, the WVDEP provided a statement that indicated it was considering a change in the selenium limits for the Red Fox permit that, if approved, would "resolve that component of the enforcement action for the site."

This story was co-published with Mountain State Spotlight, a new nonprofit newsroom covering West Virginia.

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.

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Washington: President Donald Trump says he will announce his US Supreme Court pick by the end of the week, moving quickly to fill the seat of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg and cement a 6-3 conservative majority ahead of his November 3 re-election bid.

The Republican President said he was looking "very seriously" at five candidates and would put forward his nominee on Friday or Saturday after funeral services for Ginsburg, who died of complications from pancreatic cancer on Friday at the age of 87.

Donald Trump has already named two conservative justices to the US Supreme Court. Credit:AP

Trump said the Republican-controlled Senate should hold a vote ahead of the election.

"The final vote should be taken frankly before the election. We have plenty of time for that," Trump said on Fox News.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 09:54:19|Editor: huaxia

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ACCRA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced late Sunday a three-month extension of multiple restrictions to strengthen the country's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his televised broadcast, Akufo-Addo said the restrictions include the wearing of face masks, the closures of public places such as beaches and cinemas, and land borders.

The president called for the public to abide by the social distancing rules to avoid a spike in the number of infections.

"We cannot afford, at this critical moment, to throw caution to the wind and destroy the incredible amount of work by the government, health officials, heroic frontline workers, and security agencies in bringing us this far," he said.

Currently, Ghana has recorded 46,004 COVID-19 cases with 297 deaths, according to the country's health ministry. Enditem
A New York City police officer and Army reservist has been arrested and charged as an alleged illegal agent of China who has been spying on ethnic Tibetans living in the United States.

Baimadajie Angwang, 33, was born in the autonomous region of Tibet in China and maintained a relationship with officials at the New York Chinese consulate as far back as 2014, according to a criminal complaint.

Mr Angwang is an NYPD community affairs in the 111 precinct in Queens and a US Army Reservist at Fort Dix in New Jersey.

The complaint alleges that Mr Angwang acted "at the direction and control" of Chinese government officials to report on the activities of ethnic Tibetans, spot and assess potential ethnic Tibetan intelligence sources and use his official position to give consulate officials access to senior NYPD officials.

New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement Mr Angwang violated every oath he took in this country.

One to the United States, another to the US Army, and a third to this police department, Mr Shea said.

From the earliest stages of this investigation, the NYPDs Intelligence and Internal Affairs bureaus worked closely with the FBIs Counterintelligence Division to make sure this individual would be brought to justice.

According to court filings, the Federal Bureau of Investigation alleges the Mr Angwang has maintained relationships with a handler he referred to as boss within a consulate department responsible for neutralizing and maintaining control over problematic groups like religious and ethnic minorities.

Mr Angwang called or texted the consulate more than 100 times, with transcripts showing he offered handlers attend Tibetan events in Queens and NYPD events to raise our countrys soft power.

"Angwang also discussed the utility of developing sources for the PRC government in the local Tibetan community and suggested that the primary qualification for a source as follows: 'If you're willing to recognize the motherland, the motherland is willing to assist you with its resources,'" the complaint said.

In 2016, Mr Angwang wired $150,000 to accounts in China belonging to his brother and another contact, according to the complaint.

He is facing charges of wire fraud, making false statements, obstruction of an official proceeding, and acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the attorney general.
Meghan Markle discussed the contents of a letter to her estranged father with the Kensington Palace communications team before she sent it because she was considering using it as 'part of a media strategy', the High Court was told.



Meghan has been accused of extensively 'collaborating' with the authors of explosive royal biography Finding Freedom, the court was told.

The Duchess of Sussex allegedly helped the writers acquire 'a great deal of detailed information' about her private life with the Duke of Sussex.

The claims were made during her high-stakes privacy battle against the Mail on Sunday newspaper for publishing extracts of a letter she sent her estranged father Thomas Markle.

Meghan's lawyers confirmed she expects to take the witness stand at the Royal Courts of Justice in person.

Meghan Markle 'collaborated' with the authors of the book 'Finding Freedom', the latest hearing of her High Court action against the publisher of the Mail on Sunday will hear today

ANL's lawyers say Meghan colluded with writers Omid Scobie (left) and Carolyn Durand (right)

Meghan has launched a legal action against the British press after her father Thomas (pictured together when she was a teenager) shared a letter she sent him after the royal wedding

A ten-day trial is due to start on January 11 - with the Duchess's own legal costs predicted to be 1.8million.

Meghan, 39, is suing the newspaper, after she said it breached her 'deepest and most private thoughts and feelings'.

But the publisher's lawyers said it was 'difficult to see' how she could complain about that, if she and Harry had helped with Finding Freedom which exposed their private thoughts and feelings.

Meghan denies that she helped with the book

At a preliminary hearing, Antony White QC said in written submissions the biography 'gives every appearance of having been written with their extensive co-operation'.

He added: 'The book contains a great deal of detailed information about [Meghan's] personal life, including a number of passages referring to her relationship and communications with her father, and a section referring to the letter which is at the heart of this case.'

The newspaper alleged Meghan, either directly or through friends, allowed the bombshell book to use intimate details to paint a 'favourable' picture of her life.

He added that Meghan has previously stated she had disclosed the contents of the letter to the Kensington Palace communications team and she has also stated that she discussed it with them prior to it being sent.

Alexandra Marzec, also representing the paper, told the court the duchess 'was using her friends as, effectively, PR agents' to 'influence the media' in the months before the letter was sent to Mr Markle in 2018.

Ms Marzec said Meghan had spoken to her friend Jessica Mulroney and asked her 'to intervene to attempt to influence' what her former commercial adviser Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne said to the press.

Meghan's lawyers have denied that she co-operated with authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand on 'Finding Freedom,' which was published in August, and said that any reference to her letter in the book were simply 'extracts from the letter lifted from the defendant's own articles'.

Barrister Justin Rushbrooke (pictured left) is now representing Meghan in the High Court after Meghan dropped her lawyer David Sherborne (right)

They also deny that she used her friends to influence press and public opinion.

In a written submission, Justin Rushbrooke QC said: 'The claimant and her husband did not collaborate with the authors on the book, nor were they interviewed for it, nor did they provide photographs to the authors for the book.'

He added that neither Meghan nor Harry to spoke to Mr Scobie or Ms Durand, who he said, 'were not given the impression that the claimant wanted the contents of the letter to be reproduced in the book'.

Mr Rushbrooke will reportedly be representing Meghan for the remainder of the case after she dropped his colleague, David Sherborne.

Mr Scobie has also submitted a witness statement to the High Court as part of the Duchess' case - in which he denied allegations that Meghan had helped with the book.

He insisted that he has spoken to both the Duke and Duchess on occasions in the past, in his role as a royal correspondent - but never about the book.

Mr White QC challenged that assertion and said that he wanted to 'test' Mr Scobie's evidence in cross-examination, when the full trial takes place next year.

He argued that the newspaper should now be allowed to file an amendment to its defence because the book contains descriptions of her 'relationship and communication with her father,' with her approval.

Thomas Markle with a baby Meghan Markle. A picture shown in the Channel 5 documentary called Thomas Markle: My Story, that aired earlier this year

Thomas Markle showing souvenirs he keeps on mantlepiece of Harry and Meghan from the wedding he was unable to attend. Father and daughter have not spoken since

He said that Meghan had 'caused or permitted information to be provided to the authors and co-operated with them - including by giving or permitting them to be given information about the letter'.

The barrister added that Mr Scobie's statement 'seems to confirm that people working on behalf of the claimant co-operated with the authors and gave them the names of people close to the claimant who would help, and that the authors spoke to such people and received information from them.'

A document presented to the court, in which Meghan is referred to as 'C' (claimant) maintains: 'If C provided extensive cooperation to the authors and permitted a detailed account of her private life, relationships, thoughts and feelings to be published, including references to her relationship and communications with her father, it is difficult to see how she can complain that the Letter should not have been published because 'it contained the Claimant's deepest and most private thoughts and feelings.'

Referring to the 'Book,' it added 'The Book sets out in great detail C's feelings on a variety of personal matters, relationships and events, and attributes multiple quotes to her about her feelings.'

Meghan's lawyers also claim that the newspaper's re-amended defence would also significantly delay the start of the full trial, which has been scheduled for next January.

Last month Meghan won the most recent tussle in the legal action after Mr Justice Warby ruled in her favour over protecting the identities of five friends who gave an anonymous interview to People magazine.

The senior judge said he had concluded that 'for the time being at least' Meghan should be granted an order which protects the identities of the individuals, following an attempt by the defendant to name them.

Master Francesca Kaye, sitting at the High Court is also being asked to rule on costs budgets for the case, which has also left the two sides at loggerheads.

Meghan is claiming costs of an estimated 1.8 million, which is being disputed by ANL as being too high.

The combined cost for both parties is estimated to be around 3 million.
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...
As the Holy War concerning filling Justice Ginsburg's seat begins in earnest, one question the Republican side and President Trump should certainly pose is, what would the Democrats do if the situation were reversed? Without question, they would have a Democrat president nominate a new justice, and the Democrat Senate majority would rush to confirm that nominee. In all likelihood, Democrat discipline would work to hold their majority together, and the nominee would be confirmed.

Already, two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have indicated they would not vote to confirm a newly appointed justice before Election Day in November. Collins has gone farther, indicating she would want the newly elected president to fill the seat. If the winner is Trump, then in essence she is saying she would consider voting for Trump's nominee, probably to be announced this week, if the confirmation vote were held after Election Day.

Collins has never opposed a Supreme Court nominee proposed by a president from either party since she took office. She has supported well over 90 percent of judicial nominees proposed by President Trump. She may be trying to restore her reputation of independence among voters in Maine, who at the moment appear to favor her rival, Sara Gideon, for the Senate seat being decided in less than seven weeks. Collins voted for Brett Kavanaugh and made a principled, comprehensive presentation of her reasons for doing so. Her vote was the one that put Kavanaugh over the top.

For any open-minded voter in Maine, her explanation of her vote and the process she went through before deciding should have enhanced her reputation. But we are in a resistance culture, where if you are not for the agenda of the left on every issue, then you must be taken down.

So here is a suggestion for how Collins and Murkowski can live with their decision to not vote for a nominee before the election but still not damage a nominee they might otherwise support if the timing were a bit different. Namely, both senators should abstain from the vote for confirmation if it is held before Election Day. If their opposition is to the timing and not the nominee, why should they vote no? Both senators have made clear that their opposition is to the timing.

The nominee is not yet known, and Collins has indicated she is fine with the confirmation process beginning and scheduling meetings for the proposed justice with senators. To participate in this confirmation process and then vote no, solely because of the timing of the day of the vote, is unfair to the nominee, especially if the nominee would be supported by either or both of the two senators if the timing were different.

There is a lot of threading-the-needle thinking going on concerning this Supreme Court seat at the moment. It would seem to me that Majority Leader McConnell could propose to the two senators that they abstain on a vote to confirm the nominee if it takes place before Election Day.

Photo credit: Joe Ravi C-BY-SA 3.0.
European Union foreign ministers gathered in Brussels on September 21 failed to agree on sanctions against Belarus, despite a plea from the countrys self-exiled opposition leader.



Cyprus has been objecting to a list of sanctions against Belarus, demanding the EU also take measures against Turkey in an unrelated dispute over Ankara's maritime gas exploration activities in the eastern Mediterranean.



The impasse created by one of the bloc's smallest members has highlighted how EU diplomacy is often paralyzed by a system that gives one country veto power over all the others. The dispute will now be addressed at an EU leaders summit on September 24-25.



"Although there is a clear will to adopt these sanctions, it has not been possible to do that today because the required unanimity was not reached," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after hosting the talks.



He added that if the EU fails to impose sanctions, then "our credibility is at stake."

Cyprus's position has the sympathy of some EU countries, particularly France, but even Paris wants the island to decouple the Belarus file from its problems with Turkey as the bloc intensifies diplomacy with Ankara.



Patience with Cyprus in most European capitals is running out.



"It is regrettable that today we could not decide on sanctions on violations of human rights there due to 'a hostage-taking' by a member state," Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics wrote on Twitter. "Sends a wrong signal to Belarusians, our societies and the whole world."



Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides insisted the EU must show consistency with violations of sovereignty and human rights.



"Our reaction to any kind of violation of our core basic values and principles, cannot be a la carte. It needs to be consistent," he said.

The EU vowed three weeks ago to slap sanctions on Belarusian officials whom the bloc blames for abuses against ongoing protests and electoral fraud that gave authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka a landslide victory in the country's August 9 election. So far, the bloc has put together a list of about 40 people it could sanction with asset freezes and travel bans in response to the crackdown.



Belarus opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who met EU foreign ministers in Brussels before the formal gathering, pressed the bloc to be more brave in its actions as she showed officials in Brussels pictures of mass protests and police beatings.

Tsikhanouskaya told reporters that sanctions were a key tool to "force the so-called authorities to start dialogue with us and that the EU should not recognize Lukashenkas legitimacy.



The bloc has not yet made a decision whether the list should include Lukashenka, who has repressed the opposition and independent news media during 26 years in power and refuses to talk with the protesters.



Speaking after meeting Tsikhanouskaya over breakfast, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the violence that Lukashenka is exerting against peaceful demonstrators is completely unacceptable.



Maas, whose country currently holds the EUs rotating presidency, said the ministers must ask ourselves the question of whether Mr. Lukashenka, the one who bears the main responsibility, mustnt also be sanctioned by the European Union.



The meeting in Brussels came a day after Belarusian police detained hundreds of protesters during a sixth weekend of nationwide rallies against Lukashenka. More than 100,000 people attended the rally in Minsk, defying police warnings not to assemble. Protests were held in several other Belarusian cities.



Police have arrested an estimated 12,000 people since the protests began. They have also tortured hundreds of those detained, sparking outrage in the West.

With reporting by AFP, AP, RFE/RL's Belarus Service, dpa, and Reuters
But soon everything could change if the new owner of Little Village Plaza, 3045-3117 W. 26th St., decides to do away with the concept that has been in place since 1991. The possible changes, which the new owner hasnt confirmed, echo other changes in the neighborhood such as the rehabbing of properties to lure young professionals to the neighborhood following the location of a Lagunitas brewery nearby.
SHANGHAI, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987, "Yum China" or the "Company") today announced that it will report its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ending September 30, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 (4:30 a.m. Beijing/Hong Kong Time on Thursday, October 29, 2020).

Yum China's management will hold an earnings conference call at 8:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 (8:00 a.m. Beijing/Hong Kong Time on Thursday, October 29, 2020).

Operator-assisted conference calls are not available at the moment. Please register in advance of the conference through the link provided below. Upon registering, you will be provided with participant dial-in numbers, a passcode and a unique registrant ID.

Pre-registration Link: https://apac.directeventreg.com/registration/event/9899922

Conference ID: 9899922

A live webcast of the call may also be accessed at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/73wvmnjy.

A replay of the conference call will be available two hours after the call ends until 8:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, November 5, 2020 (9:00 p.m. Beijing/Hong Kong Time on Thursday, November 5, 2020) and may be accessed by phone at the following numbers:

U.S.: +1 855 452 5696

Mainland China: 400 602 2065 or 800 870 0206

Hong Kong: +852 3051 2780

U.K.: +44 20 3701 4269

International: +61 2 9003 4211

Replay access code: 9899922

Additionally, earnings release, accompanying slides, a live webcast and an archived webcast of this conference call will be available at Yum China's Investor Relations website http://ir.yumchina.com.

About Yum China Holdings, Inc.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in mainland China. It has exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, China's leading quick-service restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the leading casual dining restaurant brand in China, and Taco Bell, a California-based restaurant chain serving innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China also owns the Little Sheep, Huang Ji Huang, East Dawning and COFFii & JOY concepts outright. It also partners with Lavazza to explore and develop the Lavazza coffee shop concept in China. The Company had 9,954 restaurants in over 1,400 cities at the end of June 2020. Yum China ranked # 361 on the Fortune 500 list for 2020. In 2020, Yum China was named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and was certified as a Top Employer 2020 in China by the Top Employers Institute, both for the second consecutive year. For more information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com.

Investor Relations Contact

Tel: +86 21 2407 7556 / +852 2267 5801

E-mail: [email protected]

Media Contact

Tel: +86 21 2407 7510

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Yum China Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

http://ir.yumchina.com


Here is a list of resources for people who have been displaced by wildfires in our area and people who want to donate money, goods or services to help:

American Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency support for fire evacuees: Linn County Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road E., Albany. Anyone impacted by the wildfires and in need of support can go directly to the closest location or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. The evacuation site at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Corvallis will close effective 10 a.m. today. Staff on site are working to help people connect to ongoing resources. With many evacuation areas being downgraded and many people returning home, Benton County resources can be most efficiently used in connecting people with Red Cross for individualized assistance. For those unable to return home, the Red Cross can continue to provide housing assistance. County staff will be at the fairgrounds to assist people with registering for Red Cross and other resources from 7 to 10 a.m. today. Meals will be served today and services will end by 10 a.m. Livestock housed at the fairgrounds will continue to be supported while their owners make arrangements to return home. At this time, there is no set date for closing down the livestock sheltering function at the fairgrounds. For more information visit www.co.benton.or.us/wildfireresponse.

Apply for federal disaster assistance: State and federal officials are encouraging Oregon residents affected by the wildfires and straight-line winds to register for disaster assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as soon as possible. FEMA's Individual Assistance program for survivors has been made available in Linn, Marion and other counties. Assistance may include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster. Register at 800-621-3362, disasterassistance.gov or the FEMA app. Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration are available to homeowners, renters and businesses. Information: 800-659-2955 or www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Public assistance for emergency work and repair of replacement of disaster-damaged facilities has been made available to counties including Benton, Linn and Marion. All areas are eligible to apply for Hazard Mitigation assistance. Visit FEMA.gov for more information.

Benton County Wildfire Response: Visit https://bentoncountywildfireresponse.recovers.org/ for resources for wildfire victims and for those who wish to help them.

Crisis counseling: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Disaster Distress Helpline provides 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. Call the Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to speak to a trained crisis counselor.

Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool: Producers and landowners can use the online Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, answering five questions to identify U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that will help meet disaster recovery needs. Customers can also download a copy of the new "Disaster at a Glance" brochure. For more information on all USDA disaster assistance programs, visit farmers.gov/recover, or contact your local USDA Service Center, which can be found at farmers.gov/service-center-locator. For assistance with a crop insurance claim, please contact your crop insurance agent.

Displaced animal database: Thousands of Oregonians, their livestock and their other animals are displaced following the devastating wildfires. Many shelters, private groups and citizens are now housing these animals, some of which do not have known owners. While some of these groups are advertising lost animals on their websites or social media, it can be difficult for the public to know where to look. The Oregon Department of Agriculture has created an online database and website to help. The ODA Animal Tracker, https://oda.direct/AnimalTrack, is meant to assist Oregonians looking for animals displaced during the wildfires. This tracker is not intended to replace existing systems already in place at county animal shelters. In order to make the database work, animal shelters, private citizens and groups caring for animals without known owners can email ODA with information and photos. That information will be added to the database and continuously updated. Therefore, owners are asked to visit often if they dont see their animals listed. If you are caring for animals without a known owner, you can have the animals listed by emailing ODA at animaltrack@oda.state.or.us. The email must include the following information: shelter name and location; shelter phone number; shelter email address; location where animal was found (as much detail as known); species; color; sex; and picture(s) of animals. Livestock photos should show left side, right side, face/head and identifying marks such as brands, scars or ear tags. Pet photos should show the left side, right, face/head and back. If the shelter, citizen or group does not have the means to collect and email this information, call ODAs Brand Inspection program at 503-986-4685 to request help. It is important to remember that it against the law to keep found livestock. If assistance is needed to verify ownership of livestock, call ODA to request the assistance of the local brand inspector (503-986-4685). County shelter links can also be found on the ODA Animal Tracker for owners to search. County shelters will be responsible for ensuring ownership of animals discharged from their shelter.

Displaced worker virtual sessions on unemployment insurance, health insurance, human services and other community resources: The Beachie Creek/Santiam Fire has affected many employed by Freres Lumber. These sessions are designed for Freres Lumber workers, but any local workers affected by the fire are welcome to attend. Rapid Response teams are available across the state to provide virtual information sessions when a temporary layoff has occurred. Our goal is to help workers temporarily laid off to navigate unemployment insurance, health care options, and community services while waiting to go back to work. Displaced Worker Virtual Session One on unemployment insurance, health insurance and community resources, 1 p.m. Monday, +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782, webinar ID 869 0195 7184; https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86901957184; or simply enter the webinar ID on the Zoom App. Displaced Worker Virtual Session Two on unemployment insurance, health insurance and community resources, 1 p.m. Wednesday, +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799, webinar ID 879 3724 7691; https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87937247691; or enter the webinar ID on the Zoom app.

Donate or volunteer to help evacuees: Visit https://oregonrecovers.communityos.org.

Donations for victims: One way way to support fire-stricken communities is to provide financial donations to relief organizations actively responding to these disasters. For verified disaster relief organizations, refer to Oregon Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster at www.orvoad.org.

Donations for victims: Those interested in helping those who have been displaced and severely impacted by the recent fires can contribute to the Linn County Wildland Fire Victims Fund. Contributions will be used for hotel vouchers and medical needs. Checks can be mailed to the fund in care of the Linn County Fair and Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road E., Albany, OR 97322, or in care of the Linn County Treasurer, PO Box 100, Albany, OR 97321. Checks also can be dropped off at the expo center. Checks must include the words "Linn County."

Emotional support resources: The Oregon Behavioral Health Support Line is a free and confidential resource for all Oregonians who are looking for emotional support. Call 1-800-923-HELP (4357). You do not need to be in a mental health crisis to call this line. If you need or want help beyond what the line can provide, you will be connected to those services. This can include community-based services such as housing, food assistance or clinical services. Certified interpreters are also available for those who speak a language other than English. Through this number, you can also connect with Lines for Life (linesforlife.org), a suicide prevention organization with specific resources for youth, military personnel and their families, and those affected by substance abuse problems.

Enroll in health coverage: Oregonians affected by the wildfires can use the federal emergency declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to take advantage of an exceptional circumstances special enrollment period. Applications are being accepted at 800-318-2596 and healthcare.gov. The enrollment period could expire as early as Nov. 15.

Find and reunite loved ones: Oregon Emergency Management urges the public to update information on their status with the American Red Cross. Let loved ones know you are safe at the American Red Cross Safe and Well Website. State emergency managers encourage people affected by the fires, whether or not they have evacuated, to register on the site. It is a helpful tool that can bring relief to people looking for loved ones during these fires, and help inform search efforts. Visit https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php.

Food and water for wildfire victims: To donate food, water and other items, reach out to your local food pantry to see if they are able to receive donations. Find food pantries at https://foodfinder.oregonfoodbank.org/.

GoFundMe fundraisers for wildfire victims: More than 60 verified fundraisers have been started for Oregon residents affected by the fires. All of them have been added to GoFundMe's centralized hub: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/oregon-fires.

Health and social services: Call 211 or visit 211info.org to connect with health and social service organizations. These include child care resources, utility assistance, food resources, housing and shelter information and more.

Health Care Heroes Relief Fund: This fund supports Oregon hospital workers who are or become victims of the wildfires. All donations to the fund will be tax-deductible as allowed under law. To donate, visit www.orhealthfund.org.

Information about donating, volunteering, packing and emergency response agency websites: Visit wildfire.oregon.gov.

Locate manufactured home ownership documents: The Oregon Building Codes Division's online system can provide manufactured home owners with information including the record of ownership, if the documents were destroyed in the wildfires. The Oregon Manufactured Home Ownership Document system is available at https://aca-oregon.accela.com/or_mhods. The system allows people to search for their documents and, once they find them, print or email them. If customers need an existing ownership document mailed to them but are displaced from their home, they can call 800-442-7456 or email mhods.bed@oregon.gov and the division can send it to any address the customer wants. The MHOD system also has forms, application forms and other resources. People can access the records without logging in.

Meals for evacuees: Its On Us Corvallis is partnering with local restaurants, farmers and other producers to provide meals to displaced Oregon residents. Several local restaurant owners are showing community support to neighbors displaced by the fires. IOU is dedicated to reimbursing expenses to whatever extent possible, in an effort to help recoup some lost revenue from yet another economic blow. IOU is asking for donations to support the businesses and producers that participate in donating these meals to evacuees. Donations can be made at https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/itsonuscorvallis. To stay up to date on meal distributions, follow Its On Us Corvallis on social media.

Oregon Health Plan members: If you have health insurance under (OHP) and had to leave home quickly due to wildfires, leaving behind important medical equipment or prescriptions, there is a way to get those items replaced. If you have any trouble replacing things like medical equipment, supplies or prescriptions, your coordinated care organization can help. You can find your CCO contact information at http://ow.ly/jprH50BoEAi. If youre an OHP member with an open card, call Member Services at 800-273-0557.

Shelter for wildfire victims: The American Red Cross has temporary shelters available throughout Western Oregon. For a list of shelters, go to websitehttps://www.redcross.org/get-help/disaster-relief-and-recovery-services/find-an-open-shelter.html.

Technical and financial assistance for farmers, livestock producers and private forest landowners: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has technical and financial assistance available to help farmers, livestock producers, and private forest landowners recover from the impact of the recent wildfires. As agricultural producers move into recovery mode and assess damages, they should contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure and livestock losses and damages. The USDA encourages farmers and livestock producers to contact the Farm Service Agency county office at the local USDA Service Center to learn which documents should be provided to help the local office expedite assistance, such as farm records, receipts and pictures of damages or losses. Depending on the operation, the FSA offers a number of disaster assistance programs to help offset eligible losses, including the Livestock Indemnity Program; Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; Emergency Conservation Program; Emergency Forest Restoration Program; Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program; Tree Assistance Program; and Livestock Forage Disaster Program. Additionally, producers in counties with a primary or contiguous disaster designation may be eligible for low-interest emergency loans to help them recover from production and physical losses. The USDAs Natural Resources Conservation Service also offers programs to help in the recovery process. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program can be used to provide resource protection for areas burned by catastrophic fires. Benefits include preventing soil erosion, minimizing the spread of noxious and invasive plants, revegetating burned areas, removing excess dead vegetation, protecting water quality and restoring livestock infrastructure necessary for grazing management. Producers with Federal crop insurance coverage should contact their crop insurance agent for assistance. Producers should report crop damage to their agent within 72 hours of damage discovery and follow up in writing within 15 days.

Wildfire response resource information: https://states.aarp.org/oregon/oregon-resources-for-wildfire-response.

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Examination disproves suicide theory in case over death of Martsinkevich  lawyer

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

14:58 21/09/2020

MOSCOW, September 21 (RAPSI)  The results of an examination, initiated on request of lawyer Alexey Mikhalchik, of injuries found on the body of the leader of the Restruct nationalist movement Maxim Martsinkevich, who was found dead in a Chelyabinsk detention center, rule out the theory that he committed suicide, the lawyer acting on behalf of Martsinkevichs father informs RAPSI on Monday.

Mikhalchik cited the findings of forensic physician Elena Kuchina, whom he asked to conduct the examination; according to the results it did not seem possible that Martsinkevich could do himself certain injuries he suffered.

Relatives of Martsinkevich still insist that a murder case needs to be opened, the lawyer said.

Mikhalchik has already petitioned Chair of Russias Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin to initiate a murder case over the death of Martsinkevich.

Early on last Wednesday, Martsinkevich was found dead in a detention cell. He left a suicide note, a source familiar with the matter told RAPSI.

The man could bargain for release over the next year, his defense said earlier.

Martsinkevich, an infamous Russian nationalist, had a history of clashes with the law. In 2014, he was sentenced to five years in prison for publishing extremist content on the Internet.

He was also convicted of publishing online a video of staging a pretentious execution of a Tajik drug dealer and extremist statements and received 3.5 years in prison in two cases taken together.

In December 2018, Moscows Babushkinsky District Court gave Martsinkevich 10 years in prison for robbery and hooliganism. His associate, a leader of the St. Petersburg cell of Restruct movement established by Martsinkevich, Mikhail Shalankevich received a 6-year prison term but was released due to the time served in detention.

Besides Martsinkevich, nine members of the Restruct movement were involved in the case. According to case documents, under pretense of drug interdiction, the group attacked people who sell smoking mixtures in 2013-2014 in Moscow using electro shockers, gas sprayers and metallic pipes, leaving several people traumatized and one person dead.

The case was reconsidered as in May 2018 the Moscow City Court overturned a specific part of the defendants 10-year prison term concerning robbery and hooliganism and ordered the case review. The court also mitigated sentence for three associates of Martsinkevich, who were also defendants in the case. Dmitry Sheldyashev and Alexander Shankin were sentenced to 5 years and 10 months in a penal colony while Roman Maksimov received 4 years and 10 months.
The weather was perfect for an afternoon filled with ice-skating at Westport's outdoor ice-skating rink Saturday.



Children between the ages of 5 and 14 filled the rink with their gear, light-winter clothing and their group instructors.



Cyndi Palaia, the Parks and Recreation Program Manager, has been teaching kids to skate at the Longshore rink for the past 13 years.



"It's a great winter activity. It gives kids the opportunity to be outside and have a great time," Palaia said.



Westport's Park and Recreation Department offers lessons to the residents of Westport for 150 dollars for a ten-week package. The program runs from the end of November to mid February.
Yoshihide Suga will represent Japan at this week's UN General Assembly just days after replacing the country's longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe.

By the numbers: Suga, 71, may find Abe's longevity hard to match. Japan had 17 prime ministers in the 14 years before Abe took office.

By contrast, Angela Merkel will soon mark 15 years as Germany's chancellor.

Driving the news: Since Abe resigned due to chronic health issues, Suga has undergone "a rapid image makeover from a tough backroom enforcer of the prime ministers policies to a warmer rallying figure best equipped to continue" the legacy of the man he served for nearly eight years as chief cabinet secretary, per WSJ.

His main offering, to his party and his country, has been continuity. Suga's new cabinet includes just two women but 11 Abe holdovers. One of the eight additions is Abe's brother, as defense minister.

While Abe was heir to one of Japan's most prominent political dynasties, Suga's parents were farmers.

He's considered shrewd and hard-working, but not particularly charismatic. It's unclear whether he'll play as visible a role on the world stage as his predecessor, who boasted strong personal relationships with leaders including President Trump.

What to expect: Suga's speech to the nearly all-virtual UN General Assembly was recorded over the weekend, per Nikkei, but won't be streamed until this Saturday.
Mr Gammon claims the proposed studio has in-principle support from the council and regional agency Screenworks. He also claims a temporary studio in a converted industrial building could be operational as early as October.

Byron Studios , meanwhile, is a private consortium headed by VFX producer William Gammon, which aims to develop a two-sound stage facility plus a multi-function hub on land opposite Ballina airport, next door to the site of INXS manager Chris Murphy's proposed X Museum .

The West Australian government last month invited tenders for a proposed studio within a 20 kilometre radius of central Perth. The tender, which closes on September 25, calls for three or four sound stages, including one large enough to rival the largest Fox Studios in Sydney, Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast and Dockland Studios in Melbourne have to offer.

Byron Bay and Perth are leading the rush to build new studios to cater to global demand for film and television content, but some leading industry figures have cast doubt on the need for such high-cost facilities.

"The momentum is here to create something like this," said Mr Gammon, whose company Cumulus VFX has done post-production work on Lambs of God, 2040 and Pine Gap. "We are taking calls from multiple films looking to shoot up here in the next year and the local industry is starting to fire up as well."

The Northern Rivers region is home to many industry figures  most notably the Hemsworth brothers, Liam, Chris and Luke  and has become a screen production hotspot, with the Nicole Kidman-led series Nine Perfect Strangers and the Stan series Eden shooting in the area. Also in production is the low-budget feature film Bosch & Rockit, starring Luke Hemsworth and Isabel Lucas.

Netflix is also rumoured to be considering the area as a location for an upcoming production, though details are yet to be officially announced. In its submission in response to the federal governments options paper, the streamer noted that "the search for stage space to service the production ecosystem is a worldwide phenomenon".

In Australia, the Queensland government has responded by converting former cotton sheds into the SQ Studios facility in Brisbane. In Victoria, the state government is on track to build, at a cost of $46 million, a sixth soundstage at its Docklands Studios large enough to house big-budget Hollywood productions.

"If you want to be in this sector there are certain international preconditions that you've got to meet," said Martin Foley, Victoria's creative industries minister. "We've got far too much invested, and there are far too many opportunities, to muck it up."
A supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was told of Donald Trumps plan to remove him from the Ecuadorian embassy six months before his arrest in London, a court has heard.

Lawyers for Assange, 49, claim the plan to extradite and prosecute him involved the US president and then US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell.

Assange is fighting extradition to the US, where he is facing an 18-count indictment.

This includes alleging a plot to hack computers and conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.

Assange is fighting extradition to the US, where he is facing an 18-count indictment / PA

It comes after he was removed from the Ecuadorian embassy and arrested on April 11 last year.

American journalist Cassandra Fairbanks said Arthur Schwartz, described as an informal adviser to Donald Trump Junior, revealed details to her in a phone call on October 30 2018 after she posted a link to an interview with Assanges mother, Christine.

Lawyers for Assange, 49, claim the plan to extradite and prosecute him involved the US president / AP

In a statement read at the Old Bailey on Monday, she said: He repeatedly insisted that I stop advocating for WikiLeaks and Assange telling me that a pardon isnt going to f****** happen.

He knew very specific details about a future prosecution against Assange that were later made public and that only those very close to the situation then would have been aware of.

Ms Fairbanks, who was working for the pro-Trump Gateway Pundit publication at the time of the call, said she was told Assange would be targeted over the leaks from US army analyst Chelsea Manning.

Protesters outside the Old Bailey / AP

He also told me that the US would be going into the embassy to get Assange.

I responded that entering the embassy of a sovereign nation and kidnapping a political refugee would be an act of war, and he responded, not if they let us.

I did not know at that time that Ambassador Grenell himself had that very month, October 2018, worked out a deal for Assanges arrest with the Ecuadorian government.

Julian Assange - In pictures 1 /30 Julian Assange - In pictures 2019 Julian Assange on his arrival at Westminster Magistrates court on April 11 Jack Taylor/Getty Images 2019 Julian Assange made a defiant gesture with his fist as he arrived at court AFP/Getty Images 2017 Julian Assange puts his fist in the air as he steps out to speak to the media from the balcony of the Embassy Of Ecuador Getty Images 2012 Protesters gather outside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks is staying Getty Images 2012 Masked supporters of Julian Assange outside the Embassy of Ecuador in Knightsbridge Dominic Lipinski/PA 2010 Photographers hold cameras to the windows of a Serco prison van believed to be carrying WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Reuters 2016 ulian Assange's cat, is adorned with a tie and collar inside the window of the Ecuadorian Embassy PA 2016 Pamela Anderson delivers lunch to Julian Assange at Embassy of Ecuador Getty Images 2010 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is pictured through the heavily tinted windows of a police vehicle as he arrives at Westminster magistrates court in London AFP/Getty Images 2010 Jemima Kahn leaves the City of Westminster Magistrates Court after offering to stand as surety for Julian Assange Getty Images 2010 Julian Assange of the WikiLeaks website speaks to reporters in front of a Don McCullin Vietnam war photograph at The Front Line Club in London Getty Images 2010 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange gestures inside a prison van with red windows as he arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice Getty Images 2011 WikiLeaks website founder Julian Assange arrives at The High Court Getty Images 2011 Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, shakes the hand of a supporter as he leaves Trafalgar Square after addressing the crowd during the 'Antiwar Mass Assembly' organised by the Stop the War Coalition Getty Images 2011 Journalist John Pilger and Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, chat before addressing the crowd during the 'Antiwar Mass Assembly' organised by the Stop the War Coalition at Trafalgar Square Getty Images 2012 Placards are left by supporters of Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks whistle-blowing website, outside the Ecuadorian Embassy Getty Images 2015 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with Reverend Jesse Jackson outside the Embassy of Ecuador in London PA 2016 People attend a video conference of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the International Center for Advanced Communication Studies for Latin America (CIESPAL) auditorium in Quito AFP/Getty Images 2016 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange holds up his new kitten at the Ecuadorian Embassy in central London WikiLeaks 2017 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during a press conference from inside the Ecuadorian embassy AP 2018 Supporters of Julian Assange outside Westminster Magistrates Court, London where a court decision is due on whether a UK arrest warrant against the WikiLeaks founder is still valid PA 2018 British hacker Lauri Love and his girlfriend Sylvia Mann are surrounded by media after visiting Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in London on 6th February 2018 AFP/Getty Images 2018 A cat named 'James' wearing a collar and tie yawns by the window of the Ecuadorian Embassy where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been for over five years on 6th February 2018 AFP/Getty Images

Joel Smith, for the US government, said prosecutors could, in later submissions, comment on the partiality of the witness, who admitted to being a supporter of Assange and WikiLeaks and visited him in the embassy, where he stayed for around seven years.

Firstly, the truth of what Ms Fairbanks was told by Arthur Schwartz is not within her knowledge, he said.

Secondly, so far as the remainder of the evidence is concerned, its relied on by the defence, not challenged but not accepted by the prosecution.

Edward Fitzgerald QC, for Assange, said Ms Fairbanks statement is reliable and true.

He told the judge, Vanessa Baraitser: We will, in due course, invite you to rely on this evidence as supporting a pre-coordinated plan at the top level, including Trump and Grenell, to take Assange out of the Ecuadorian embassy, to extradite and prosecute him and also to compel Manning, if possible to give evidence against him.

The hearing continues with medical evidence on Tuesday.
Lightfoot again singled out expired parking meters as something she did not consider to be a public safety threat, though she repeated that drivers would have to keep feeding the meters. She said the message would be conveyed to Chicago Parking Meters LLC, the private meter company that made a one-time payment of $1.15 billion to the city a dozen years ago in return for the right to keep all the meter revenue and raise the rates over the course of the 75-year lease.
Realme C17 has gone official. The latest one in the C-series arrives in Bangladesh while the rest of the devices in the series are available in India and some other markets. For now, it seems the Realme C17 will be exclusive to the Bangladeshi market. There are several upgrades on the Realme C17 over the C15 and C12, such as the 90Hz display. The smartphone is also loaded with several cameras and a huge 5000mAh battery that we saw on the C11.

Realme C17 Price

The Realme C17 comes in a single variant that is priced at BDT 15,990, which translates to roughly Rs 13,900. It comes in Navy Blue and Lake Green colours.

Realme C17 Specifications

The Realme C17 has a 6.5-inch 720p display that also has the 90Hz refresh rate. The high refresh rate is becoming more and more important on smartphones and Realme is ensuring it reaches the mass with its affordable phones. The smartphone is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 processor paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded via a microSD card of up to 256GB. The smartphone runs Android 10-based Realme UI.

For photography, the Realme C17 brings a 13-megapixel main camera along with an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera, a 2-megapixel black-and-white camera, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. There is also an LED flash to assist these cameras in low light, along with the Super Nightscape mode. For selfies, you get an 8-megapixel camera on the front. The Realme C17 has a fingerprint sensor at the back. The smartphone is backed by a 5000mAh battery that charges at up to 18W. You get a USB-C port on the device along with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The company recently launched the C11, C12, and C15 in India, all of them heavily focused on big batteries. But while there were different specifications on these three smartphones, they all have one thing in common, the processor. All three smartphones rock MediaTek Helio G35 processor but the C17 has a new processor. So, it remains to be seen if the C17 can offer better performance over its junior siblings or not. Realme has not said anything about the India launch of the C17.
Brennesha Sampson stood next to a small mound of dirt that covered the blood-soaked ground where her mother was killed just 24 hours earlier, visibly emotional at the reminder of what she has lost.

Still, as painful as it was, it was where Sampson wanted to be  as close as possible to the woman she described as her first love.

"As I stand here, I smell my mothers blood,'' Sampson said of 66-year-old Fannie Carter. Its covered up, but I can still see it. Its here. She lay here face down and just passed away in an obscene way.

Carter was one of three people shot when gunfire erupted Sunday afternoon in Birminghams public housing community. The shooting broke out late in the afternoon when, police say, an argument between teens at the Alabama State Fair Saturday night, spilled over to the following day. "Participants (from the fair altercation) met up in Elyton Village to finish the fight which resulted in shots being fired,'' Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Rod Mauldin.

Also wounded were a teen male and a man in his 70s  police scanner traffic indicated he was 77 but authorities could not confirm his exact age. Both Carter and the male senior citizen were innocent bystanders caught in crossfire.

Mauldin said North Precinct officers were dispatched to the community where they first found a juvenile male wounded by gunfire. He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. While officers were on the scene, a large number of gunshots rang out again.

As they investigated, they found Carter lying unresponsive in a field just feet from her home. She was pronounced dead on the scene by Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service at 5 p.m., according to the Jefferson County Coroners Office. Authorities said Carter had been sitting in a lawn chair under a shade tree when the gunfire erupted. She was struck when she got up to run for cover.

They then found the wounded man, suffering from a gunshot wound to the foot. He also is hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. The two shootings happened several blocks and just minutes apart.

Sampson, a registered nurse who works with hospice patients, was at work when she got a telephone call about her mothers tragic death. "No words,'' she said. I cant express the pain.

"Working around death every day, it hits home when its your mother and thats a pain nobody should have to go through, especially with her being killed and gunned down as an innocent bystander,'' she said.

"My mother was brutally gunned down right here by some cowards and its not right,'' Sampson said. I want justice for her. I dont wish this on anybody.

Carter worked for many years at UAB but had since retired. "My mother was a great woman. She didnt mess with anybody,'' she said. She loved everybody.

Carter, her daughter said, loved everyone, was always smiling and helped who she could at any time she could. In fact, she said, she had gone outside, under that tree, Sunday to check on one of her neighbors who is in a wheelchair.

Carter had three children, five grandchildren and one great grandchild. "If you knew her, you know how much she loved her children,'' Sampson said.

Asked what she would say to the shooter or shooters, Sampson said this: I have no words for them right now.

She did, however, have a message for the community as a whole. "Put the guns down. Put them down,'' she said. Clearly, they dont know what theyre doing. Its obvious and we as a community have to do better at protecting our older people as well as our children.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham police at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Michigan State Police have issued a statewide search for a missing Saginaw County man.

On Sept. 17 at about 9:50 a.m., troopers from the MSP Tri-City Post were dispatched to a residence in Kochville Township to investigate a missing person. Karl Adam Marker, an 87-year-old man, left his residence on this morning at about 8 a.m. He was heading to the Fashion Square Mall in Saginaw, where he would frequently go to walk for about an hour. Marker did not return home.

He was last seen driving his 2011 GMC Savannah van. It is described as a light tan or silver in color vehicle with a Michigan license plate AUY500. According to his family, Marker suffers from dementia.

A statewide search has been active since Thursday morning and troopers have investigated and exhausted every investigative lead thus far.

On Friday morning, a tip directed investigators to the James Township Hall, where a person matching Markers description was asking for directions to the mall. MSP has conducted ground and air searches of the surrounding area and every possible route between Markers home and the mall.

In addition to a statewide "be on the lookout" order, this information has been posted on billboards across the state. These efforts have been unsuccessful so far.

MSP is looking to engage every citizen in the state to locate Marker. He may have traveled well outside of the Tri-City area. Please watch for him and/or his van. Pictures have been provided to all MSP media partners. Marker is an 87-year-old white man, about 5-feet, 7-inches tall and weighs 185 pounds. He has blue eyes and grey hair.

If you have any have any information or see him or his vehicle, contact the Michigan State Police Tri-City Post at 989-495-5555 or 9-1-1. MSP is hopeful that, with the public's help, they can safely reunite Marker with his family.

 Processed by Mitchell Kukulka, Mitchell.Kukulka@mdn.net
A helicopter fights the Bobcat fire burning dangerously close to Mt. Wilson Observatory. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Fire crews remained in battle mode Monday as efforts to save Mt. Wilson from the raging Bobcat fire continued.

Days after officials announced that firefighters had beaten back advancing flames and the 116-year-old Mt. Wilson Observatory was safe, firefighters were battling flare-ups at the top of the mountain. As darkness fell Monday, flames could be seen close to both the observatory and the communications towers on Mt. Wilson.

Just when I thought the danger was over  it wasnt, Thomas Meneghini, the observatory's executive director, said Monday. As I was leaving [Sunday], eight more strike units were rumbling up the road.

It was the second time in a little over a decade that the gleaming white-domed observatory and its companion installations  including the towers that serve broadcast outlets and a variety of law enforcement and national security functions  have faced imminent threat of destruction from wildfire. In 2009, crews battled the Station fire from the ground and the sky over several days.

The Bobcat fire, which ignited Sept. 6, has grown to more than 105,000 acres  one of Los Angeles Countys largest blazes ever  and remains at 15% containment, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Monday afternoon ordered the evacuations of people who live south and west of Upper Big Tujunga Canyon, east of Angeles Forest Highway and north of Angeles Crest Highway.

Firefighters have already used half of a 530,000-gallon water tank on the observatory grounds in their nearly weeklong battle against the blaze, Meneghini said. Crews are working to refill the tank and keep water pressure strong.

Officials from the Forest Service said Mt. Wilson remains a top priority, noting that "multiple, multiple resources" have been dedicated to battling the flames, which continued to burn fiercely through Monday.

"Some of that smoke may have dissipated," Jerry McGowan, an incident commander, said Monday evening, "but there is quite a bit of fire still down in that hole, down in that area."

Story continues

Fire crews were also focusing Monday on the Antelope Valley, where the massive blaze continued to loom large after forcing evacuations and charring multiple homes. The National Weather Service said fire weather conditions, including heat, dryness and gusty winds, could feed the flames and create the "potential for rapid growth and extreme fire behavior."

Out by the Bobcat fire, its still fairly warm and dry, and there will be afternoon and evening gusts of winds, meteorologist David Sweet said from the weather service's station in Oxnard. And thats the concern right there: dryness and gusty winds.

Isolated wind gusts could reach as high as 40 mph, Sweet said. The winds will probably continue for the rest of the week.

Residents in the Juniper Hills area of the Antelope Valley anxiously awaited updates on their homes after evacuation orders last week.

We kept watching the fire maps closely, and we knew that it was in our area, said Juniper Hills resident Bridget Lensing, who evacuated her familys home Thursday. We were hoping and praying somehow our home would be spared.

Lensings parents bought their Cima Mesa home in the 1980s, and she and her brother were raised there. She said that her family rushed to spray the whole property with water before evacuating, and that they spent an agonizing 48 hours away from the area before returning to find much of their neighborhood destroyed.

All the homes on our street were gone, Lensing said. Everything was dust beside the chimneys.

Lensings house was the only one on the street to survive, she said, although it was apparent that flames had swept through the property. Her closest neighbors home of 50 years burned in the blaze.

We feel so, so sorry for them, she said. But they want to rebuild.... Juniper Hills is so strong.

Vince Pena, an incident commander with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said the Bobcat fire has destroyed or damaged 29 structures, although that tally "could go up to 85 or so" as fire crews continue to assess the damage. An estimated 4,000 people have been displaced from 1,100 homes, he said Monday evening.

The Bobcat fire is one of six major blazes currently prioritized by the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday during a news briefing. The other fires are the August Complex, the North Complex, the Creek fire, the El Dorado fire and the Snow fire.

"We're putting all the resources we possibly can on all these complexes," Newsom said, "but focusing, as we should, on that Bobcat fire."

Calling this year a historic fire season, the governor said 19,000 firefighters are battling 27 blazes statewide. Among those, 26 people have died, including three firefighters, and 6,400 structures have been destroyed.

"The 26 fatalities and 6,400 structures are based on what we have seen, what we have witnessed," he said, noting that "by no stretch of the imagination" is that number the extent of potential destruction and death from the fires.

Fifteen mutual-aid states are helping with firefighting efforts statewide, Newsom said, and 3.6 million acres have burned.

For weeks, firefighters on the Bobcat fire have been hindered by steep, rocky terrain within the Angeles National Forest, which made it difficult for large mechanical equipment to reach several front lines of the blaze.

The fire's creep into the Antelope Valley, fed by low-lying desert shrubbery, also presents new challenges.

The more variables you have, the more complex it becomes, Forest Service spokesman Larry Smith said. Its much less terrain-influenced there. Now its a fuel-driven fire.

Grasses, sage and brush are contributing to the fires movement through the valley, Smith said, but he noted that the flatter terrain is allowing for more mechanized equipment, such as bulldozers, to create containment lines.

Adding to complications were two private drones being flown in the area late Monday morning, which grounded a fixed-wing aircraft for 30 minutes, the Forest Service said in a tweet.

"If drones are spotted, firefighting aircraft must stay grounded until the area is cleared," they said.

Mandatory evacuation orders remain in place for multiple areas:

Juniper Hills, Devils Punchbowl and Paradise Springs

Crystal Lake, the East Fork of the San Gabriel River and Camp Williams

Residences along Angeles Crest Highway between Angeles Forest Highway and Highway 39

South of Highway 138, north of Big Rock Creek, east of 87th Street East and west of Largo Vista Road

South of 138th Street East, north of Big Pine Highway and Highway 2, east of Largo Vista Road and west of 263rd Street East

South of Highway 138, north of East Avenue W-14, east of 155th Street East and west of 165th Street East.

The Forest Service said Monday the fire had jumped Highway 2 multiple times and is "now on both sides of the road on Barley Flats."

The following areas remain under evacuation warnings:

City of Pasadena

Unincorporated communities of Altadena and Wrightwood

South of Pearblossom Highway, east and north of Angeles Forest Highway, north and west of Mt. Emma Road, east and south of Highway 122 and west of Chesebro Road

South of Highway 2, north of Blue Ridge Truck Trail, east of Highway 39 and west of the Los Angeles County border

South of Avenue U-8, north of East Avenue W-14, east of 121st Street East and west of 155th Street East

South of Pearblossom Highway, south and east of Pearblossom Highway, north and west of Mt. Emma Road, north and east of Angeles Forest Highway and west of Chesebro Road

South of Mt. Emma Road, north of Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road, east of Angeles Forest Highway and west of Pacifico Mountain





An American Red Cross evacuation point has been set up at Palmdale High School for anyone needing assistance.

Air quality continues to suffer because of the fire. Officials issued a smoke advisory for a swath of Southern California through Monday afternoon.

Although forecasts show good or moderate air quality is expected for much of the Southland throughout the day, pollutants could reach levels considered unhealthy for sensitive groups and individuals in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, areas in and around the San Gabriel Mountains and parts of the Inland Empire.

Given the forecast, Los Angeles County health officials are urging residents with heart disease, asthma or other respiratory diseases to minimize their time outdoors.

As of Monday, roughly 1,700 personnel have been assigned to the Bobcat fire, Smith said, including several firefighters who have arrived from across the country to battle the insatiable blaze.

Is there a fatigue level? Absolutely, Smith said, but firefighters are always optimistic. I never go into a fight with the intent to lose.

Times staff writer Luke Money contributed to this report.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- It took two years for two 19-year-old university students to make $1 million.

AJ Gilbert and Mitchel Sherr kicked off their entrepreneurial ventures in 2016 by selling Elite Pockets" silicone cardholders to friends and businesses. After gaining traction, the duo began creating more promotional products for businesses during their freshman year at the University of Michigan, thus developing Zuplift, a customized promotional branding business for companies, events and organizations.
By The Post Star, Glens Falls

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.  The former director of facilities for SUNY Empire State College was arrested on Friday for allegedly spending $31,000 in taxpayer funds on personal purchases including pool supplies, grilling accessories, motor vehicle parts and power tools.

Erik K. Rick Reimann, 51, was arrested on 44 counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, 40 counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and third-degree grand larceny  all felonies.

An investigation by the New York State Inspector General found that Reimann, the director of facilities at Empire State College from 2010 to 2019, allegedly used a taxpayer-funded SUNY Empire State College credit card to fraudulently charge $31,685 for unauthorized and personal items between January 2016 and August 2019, according to a news release.

Authorities said to conceal the illegal purchases, Reimann forged or altered receipts and statements to make it appear as if they were for legitimate projects at the college. Reimann is accused of making 171 unauthorized purchases ranging from $10.44 for a pool scoop to $2,550 for a high-end air purifier and filter. Other purchases included guitar amplifier parts, Seiko watches, ski gloves, camping supplies, all-season tires and multiple electrical parts and kitchen appliances and accessories, according to a news release.

New York State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro said there was lax oversight at the college at the time, which allowed Reimanns scheme to go undetected. A new administration took over in July 2019 and discovered the misconduct. Reimann, his direct supervisor and others have been terminated from the college.

Reimann was arraigned in Saratoga Springs City Court.
Mr Seth Osei Acheampong, the President of World Peace Volunteers, an NGO has called on Politicians to be more circumspect in their campaign and exhibit high professional practice to enhance peace in the country.



Mr Acheampong urged the citizenry especially the youth to stay away from violence and not allow politicians to engage them for any acts of disturbances before, during and after the December polls.



This was in a statement signed by Mr Acheampong and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra to mark this year's International Day of Peace, today September 21, 2020.



The statement, however, expressed worry about the way some unscrupulous persons created chaos at some registration centres by bringing some alleged unqualified persons to register.



It appealed to the Government and other institutions to play their roles for a successful general election.



The World Peace Volunteers is aimed at promoting world peace through advocating human rights, rule of law consolidation, entrenching of democratic values and good governance through the observation of elections.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
During the signing ceremony of the peace accords between Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates last week, United States President Donald Trump touted the agreement as an achievement of his campaign.

The Republican leader's campaign team released a 30-second ad two days after the signing event that showed footage of Trump during the ceremony. The video also portrays the U.S. president as the heroic peacemaker that brought the Middle East into a new era.

Achieving peace within the Middle East

According to The New York Times, the ad's narrator said President Trump did what people said was impossible, the historic Middle East peace agreement, a first of its kind.

The current U.S. elections are filled with news about the coronavirus pandemic, racial injustice, and recently, a vacancy in the Supreme Court, but Trump's Middle East deal is the latest addition to his list of claimed achievements.

Trump allies have expressed their opinions that the peace agreement benefits Jewish Americans more than others, who are considered a key voting population in Florida. Officials also said evangelical Christians would most likely be swayed because they support Israel.

The executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Matt Brooks, said the agreement marked an important event not only because of its details but also because of what it symbolizes. Brooks said the deal proved Trump is working towards peace and that he was able to succeed where past administrations failed to push through, and on a global scale.

Also Read: Trump Touts Emergence of 'New Middle East' Amid Historic Peace Talks

The achievement is also Trump's latest sign of his increasing campaign as the November elections draw closer. He has also planning to double up on his campaign in Ohio, where he will hold a second rally at the Wright Brothers Aero, moving with the theme of "Fighting for the American Worker," as reported by Spectrum News1.

Trump's planned trip to the state comes after a visit from Vice President Mike Pence at the Muskingum County Fairgrounds. During his event, the vice president said that the president moved forward with his promise to revive the economy and that he fought for job opportunities in the area.

Presidential race

The former United States vice president, Joe Biden, had not visited the state yet since a March 10 trip. However, his wife, Jill Biden, plans to speak to Ohio volunteers virtually for what the Democratic campaign calls its most massive action weekend.

Despite Trump touting the peace agreements in the Middle East, Gaza responded by launching rockets into Israel that show the continuous complexity of the conflicts in the region.

According to Forbes, the Abraham Accords included Arab nations that were not actually in war with each other. Peter Alexander, the NBC News White House correspondent, said the agreement did nothing to address the ongoing battles that Israel is experiencing with Palestinians, Hezbollah, or Iran.

Several critical powers within the Middle East have also expressed their discontent with the peace accords even after Trump said that multiple other Arab nations would soon be joining the historic agreements, including Saudi Arabia.

The leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, said the deal was a betrayal of Palestinians and noted it would quickly be abolished. The statements came amid Hamas' spokesperson Hazem Qassem's note that the agreements were not worth the efforts to achieve them.

Related Article: Historic Middle East Peace Efforts Include Bahrain as Latest Arab Nation to Recognize Israel

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A white Nebraska bar owner indicted five days ago in the May killing of a Black man during protests in Omaha killed himself in Hillsboro on Sunday, authorities say.

Jake Gardner, 38, was found outside a medical clinic on Southeast Ninth Avenue near Baseline Street around 12:20 p.m., according to Sgt. Eric Bunday, a Hillsboro police spokesperson. He declined to release any more information about the death Sunday, citing an ongoing investigation.

Attorneys representing Gardner held a news conference in Omaha on Sunday saying he killed himself. They maintained Gardner shot 22-year-old James Scurlock on May 30 in a clear case of self defense and that he fled Nebraska sometime before the indictment because he feared for his safety.

Gardner was indicted by a grand jury in Omaha on Tuesday on charges of manslaughter, attempted assault, making terroristic threats and using a weapon while committing a felony in the shooting of Scurlock. Gardner was in the Portland area visiting a relative, previously evacuated where he was staying in northern California due to wildfires, and planned to return to Nebraska on Sunday evening to turn himself in to authorities, said attorney Stu Dornan.

The district attorney in Douglas County, where Omaha is located, initially declined to file charges against Gardner, saying evidence showed the killing was in self defense. A special prosecutor in the case said surveillance video, messages from Gardners phone and Facebook account and other evidence showed otherwise and that the grand jury had access to more information in the killing than the district attorney did months earlier.

Scurlocks killing and the initial decision not to charge Gardner became a focal point of several racial justice rallies in Omaha during the summer.

Nebraska authorities said Gardner shot Scurlock outside his downtown Omaha bar during protests for law enforcement and social justice reforms in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

Authorities said the altercation started after Gardners father told protesters outside the bar to leave and pushed one of them. One of them pushed the father back, leading to Gardner intervening. At some point, Gardner showed protesters he had a handgun, was pushed to the ground by some in the group, then he fired two shots that didnt appear to hit anyone.

Scurlock then jumped on Gardners back and the bar owner shot him, authorities said.

Dornan described Gardner as an Iraq War veteran with brain injuries who was shocked by the indictment when they spoke recently. The attorney called the deaths of Scurlock and Gardner terrible tragedies.

-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey

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The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts is defending its plan to have Carnival 2022 events on a limited basis.

This as the decision has been met with mixed reviews from stakeholders and members of the public.

In a release yesterday, the ministry said: To reiterate, the ministry has proposed a Taste of Carnival which would include specific types of Carnival activities for vaccinated persons only in safe-zone arrangements deemed to pose the least risk from a public health standpoint in the context of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Weather Alert

...Bitterly cold temperatures are forecast for the North Country tonight... Another round of cold temperatures are expected tonight with low temperatures generally dipping to between 10 and 30 below zero. Although winds will be light to calm, protect against hypothermia and expect to need multiple layers of clothing if heading outdoors. Running or even a brisk walk in these conditions could result in frost bite on exposed skin.
Reuters

While the government wants to have every knowledge of your movement, transactions, etc, it's only ironic that it has no data on all the issues that the country is currently facing. Read more

Here's more top news of the day:

1) In A Historic First, Two Woman Officers Will Be Posted On Indian Navy Warship

PTI

In a historic move, two woman officers have been selected to join as 'Observers' (Airborne Tacticians) in the Indian Navy's helicopter stream that would ultimately pave the way for women being posted in frontline warships. Read more

2) Stubble Burning Will Not Only Cause Air Pollution But Also Worsen Coronavirus Situation: Expert

PTI

The stubble burning season and its implications are looming large over the country like every year. Stubble burning is likely to start later this month ahead of the Rabi crop sowing season and can exacerbate the Coronavirus crisis, an agricultural-cum-environment expert has cautioned. Read more

3) 17-Year-Old Surat Girl Is Named UNEP's Green Ambassador For Her Efforts To Save Environment

TOI

Seventeen-year-old Khushi Chindaliya from Surat has been passionately involved in the protection of the environment. Her passion has now resulted in her being appointed as Regional Ambassador (RA) for India by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Tunza Eco-Generation (TEG) this September. Read more

4) Make Them Pay: Flipkart, Amazon Will Be Fined For Using Excessive Plastic Packaging In Products

Representational Image

A move that is timely and much-needed, the National Green Tribunal has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to conduct an environmental audit and recover fine from e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart for using excessive plastic packaging. Read more

5) Union Health Minister Reveals Receiving 154 Misleading Ads On AYUSH-Related COVID-19 Treatment Claims

Representational Image

The Ministry of AYUSH got 154 misleading advertisements on AYUSH-related claims for COVID-19 treatment from across India country till August 2020, Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said as per a PTI report. Read more
Pre-clinical study suggests virus does not stay in the lungs but spreads throughout the mother's body

New research helps explain why flu can lead to life-threatening complications during pregnancy, suggesting the virus does not stay in the lungs but spreads throughout the mother's body.

The pre-clinical study has overturned current scientific thinking on the reasons why flu infections affect pregnant women and their babies so severely.

The findings could also help researchers working to understand the fundamental biology of how COVID-19 spreads from the lungs into the body.

The research, in animal models, showed that during pregnancy flu spreads from the lungs through the blood vessels into the circulatory system, triggering a damaging hyperactive immune response.

Led by RMIT University in collaboration with researchers and clinicians from Ireland and Australia, the new study is published in PNAS.

Lead author Dr Stella Liong said the research suggests the vascular system is at the heart of the potentially devastating complications caused by influenza during pregnancy.

"We've known for a long time that flu can cause serious maternal and fetal complications, but how this happens has not been clearly understood," Liong, a Vice-Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow at RMIT, said.

"Conventional thinking has blamed the suppressed immune system that occurs in pregnancy but what we see is the opposite effect - flu infection leads to a drastically heightened immune response.

"The inflammation we found in the circulatory system is so overwhelming, it's like a vascular storm wreaking havoc throughout the body.

"We need further research to clinically validate our findings but the discovery of this new mechanism is a crucial step towards the development of flu therapies designed specifically for pregnant women."

Professor John O'Leary, Trinity College Dublin, said the study represented a landmark advance in our understanding of viral infections and pregnancy.

"The discovery of an influenza-induced 'vascular storm' is one of the most significant developments in inflammatory infectious diseases over the last 30 years and has significant implications for other viral infections, including COVID-19," he said.

Understanding flu and pregnancy

Influenza is not directly passed from mother to baby, but its potentially devastating effect on the mother is closely connected to the complications suffered by the baby.

Pregnant women who develop influenza are at higher risk of hospitalisation with pneumonia and other complications, while babies of mothers severely affected by flu are at increased risk of fetal growth restriction, miscarriage and preterm births.

Scientists have previously thought the reason flu has such serious health impacts is because the immune system is suppressed during pregnancy to enable the fetus to thrive, making it harder to fight infections.

But the new research on Influenza A shows the virus behaves very differently in the bodies of pregnant and non-pregnant mice.

In non-pregnant mice, the flu infection remains localised to the lungs. But in pregnant mice, the virus spreads into the circulatory system via the blood vessels.

This leads to intense inflammation that drastically affects the function of large blood vessels, which severely impacts on the health of the mother and can also restrict blood flow to the growing fetus.

Flu-induced vascular storm

In the new study, researchers found pregnant mice with flu had severe inflammation in the large blood vessels and the aorta, the major conduit artery from the heart.

While a healthy blood vessel dilates 90-100% to let blood flow freely, the flu-infected blood vessels functioned at only 20-30% of capacity.

Lead investigator Associate Professor Stavros Selemidis, RMIT, said even a small change in the diameter of a blood vessel could have profound changes to blood flow.

"We found a dramatic difference in these inflamed blood vessels, which can seriously affect how much blood makes it to the placenta and all the organs that help support the growing baby," Selemidis said.

"We've known that flu infection in pregnancy results in an increased risk of babies being smaller and suffering oxygen starvation.

"Our research shows the critical role that the vascular system could be playing in this, with inflammation in the blood vessels reducing blood flow and nutrient transfer from mum to baby."

While the researchers did not directly measure blood flow, the study found an increase in biomarkers for oxygen starvation in the fetuses of the flu-infected mice.

Why pregnancy makes a difference

During pregnancy, the placenta secretes proteins and releases fetal DNA into the mother's blood, which can cause underlying inflammation.

The new study suggests the influenza infection may tip that underlying inflammation in the mother's body over the edge, into a full-blown systemic inflammatory event.

Selemidis said the research also revealed a new connection to pre-eclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy complication characterised by high blood pressure.

"We found the same protein that is elevated in pre-eclampsia is also significantly elevated with flu," he said.

"While it will take further research to unpack this link, it could mean drugs targeting vascular inflammation that are currently being tested could potentially be repurposed in future for flu infection in pregnancy."

Coronavirus connection

Liong said the research also has implications for our understanding of how the COVID-19 virus may be affecting the vascular system.

"Flu and coronavirus are different but there are parallels and we do know that COVID-19 causes vascular dysfunction, which can lead to strokes and other cardiovascular problems," she said.

"Our studies in pregnancy offer new insights into the fundamental biology of how respiratory viruses can drive dysfunction in the vascular system.

"This could be valuable knowledge for those scientists working directly on treatments and vaccines for COVID-19."

###

The new study is the culmination of over 10 years' work by researchers in the School of Health and Biomedical Sciences at RMIT, leading a global collaboration.

The research was supported by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship and funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC).

'Influenza A virus causes maternal and foetal pathology via innate and adaptive vascular inflammation in mice', with collaborators from University of South Australia, Trinity College Dublin, La Trobe University and Monash University, is published in PNAS (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2006905117).
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has flagged the possibility of opening her state's southern border after regional Victoria recorded successive days without any new coronavirus cases.

Ms Berejiklian said she was monitoring the situation closely in Victoria and said she may consider excluding "Melbourne-ites for now but open it up to everybody else".

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian speaking to reporters on Monday. Credit:Nick Moir

"These are all the options we're considering," she said. "But I do want to make sure that we don't have those border checkpoints for a day longer than we need to," she said.

Victoria's peak medical group said it was now safe for NSW to reopen to regional Victoria while tourism groups also welcomed Ms Berejiklian's comments, saying they provided some hope for the immediate future.
An aspiring local government politician has been forced to issue a grovelling apology after for sharing racist memes mocking Indigenous Australians.

Jane Agirtan, who is a candidate for Kingson Council in Melbourne's south-east, said she made the Facebook posts when she was going through a 'deeply personal time'.

The old Facebook posts resurfaced after she launched her campaign for the local council election in October.

Aspiring councillor for Kingston in Melbourne's south-east, Jane Agirtan, was forced to issue an apology after the offensive Facebook posts were made public

Ms Agirtan shared memes targeting Indigenous Australians, same-sex parents and international students on her personal page between 2014 and 2018

Ms Agirtan shared memes targeting Indigenous Australians, same-sex parents and international students on her personal page between 2014 and 2018.

In one meme there was a picture of an Indigenous elder with the caption: 'Spends all his money on petrol, doesn't own a car'.

Ms Agirtan posted another comment in Russian saying in her 'ideal world, Aborigines would live the same way minus housing, gasoline, VB and benefits and doctors flying in helicopter reservation'.

She also said same-sex parents were depriving children of their right to know their biological parents.

The would-be councillor issued a desperate apology to the Herald Sun and confirmed that the content had been taken down.

'I apologise unreservedly for the Facebook posts and memes in question, which I believe have been removed,' she said.

Ms Agirtan said the posts are not consistent with her current views and says she was going through a 'difficult personal situation' at the time.

The would-be councillor issued a desperate apology and confirmed that the content had been taken down

The posts resurfaced after she launched her campaign for the local council election in October

'I deeply apologise to anyone who may have been offended,' she said.

Kingston Mayor Georgina Oxley said members of the local community had been 'deeply hurt' after seeing the posts.

Ms Oxley said the remarks were 'divisive and upsetting' and 'insight hate towards the groups', with behaviour like that having 'no place in the Kingston community'.

'I want to assure those members in our community who may be deeply hurt by these remarks that these are not the views of our community,' she said.
A journalist appreciates an embroidered artwork that depicts women's lives in the late Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) during a preview of a women-themed exhibition held in the Yunnan Provincial Museum in Kunming, capital city of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on September 16. [CNSPHOTO/Li Jiaxian]

The Yunnan Provincial Museum and the China National Museum of Women and Children jointly launched an exhibition showcasing women's lives in modern China and giving a glimpse of the changes in their lives in the past century.

With three major parts  family and marriage, clothes, and education and careers  the exhibition displays more than 250 women-related antique pieces, including clothes and accessories, betrothal gift boxes, gold bracelets, jewelry cases, hairpins, marriage certificates of different periods and popular women's magazines in history.

It is open to the public, free of charge, from September 17-December 20, 2020.

Chinese historical women's clothes are on display in the women-themed exhibition held in the Yunnan Provincial Museum in Kunming, capital city of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on September 16. [CNSPHOTO/Li Jiaxian]

A journalist takes a photo of a noble's clothing from the late Qing Dynasty (1616-1911), displayed at the women-themed exhibition held in the Yunnan Provincial Museum in Kunming, capital city of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on September 16. [CNSPHOTO/Li Jiaxian]

A journalist takes a photo of exquisite ancient hand-warmers at the women-themed exhibition held in the Yunnan Provincial Museum in Kunming, capital city of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on September 16. [CNSPHOTO/Li Jiaxian]

(Source: CNSPHOTO/Translated and edited by Women of China)
RTHK: Belarus protesters shrug off huge security presence

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Sunday, defying a heavy security presence that included water cannon and armoured vehicles.

More than 100 people were arrested on the sidelines of that demonstration and similar protests in other major cities, the rights group Viasna said.

The protests came a day after police officers detained hundreds of demonstrators at a women's march in the capital.

The opposition movement has kept up a wave of big demonstrations every Sunday since President Alexander Lukashenko won a disputed victory in August 9 polls.

In Minsk, people holding red-and-white protest flags gathered for the "March of Justice" walked through central streets holding placards with slogans such as "Cowards beat up women" and "Get out!".

Natalya Chizhevich, a 60-year-old retired teacher said she came every week.

"Europe won't help us get rid of Lukashenko, the people themselves have to remove him," she said.

Several independent media outlets estimated numbers at tens of thousands, while the opposition newspaper Nasha Niva put the figure much higher at 150,000. Previous marches have drawn estimated turnouts of at least 100,000.

"I hope this won't die down. We come out every time, it's such a breath of fresh air," said Maxim Karpov, 33. "This all gives us strength to fight on."

Police and internal troops drove military trucks, water cannon and armoured personnel carriers into the city centre and set up barbed wire.

In the evening, large numbers of riot police with shields faced off against flag-waving protesters after detaining small numbers at the start.

Viasna said at least 80 had been detained in Minsk and 47 in other cities.

In the southwestern city of Brest, police said they fired tear gas at protesters during tense street clashes and added that one officer fired a stun grenade into the air.

The government ordered a reduction in mobile internet coverage during the protests, and central Minsk metro stations were closed.

Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who has claimed victory over Lukashenko in the polls and taken shelter in Lithuania, praised demonstrators for coming out "to bravely stand up for what they want".

The mass protest followed a police crackdown on Saturday on peaceful women demonstrators who wore shiny accessories for a "Sparkly March".

Protesters were dragged into vans, and some were lifted off their feet and carried.

Belarusian interior ministry spokeswoman Olga Chemodanova said Sunday that police had detained 415 people in Minsk and 15 in other cities Saturday for breaking rules on mass demonstrations. She said 385 had been released.

The scale of Saturday's detentions prompted the opposition's Coordination Council to warn of a "new phase in the escalation of violence against peaceful protesters".

Among those detained was prominent protest figure Nina Baginskaya, 73, who was later released.

The aggressive police tactics prompted an opposition Telegram channel, Nexta, which has more than two million subscribers, to publish what it said were the names and ranks of more than 1,000 police officers.

Protesters have tried to pull masks and balaclavas off police who appear at demonstrations in plain clothes or in uniforms without insignia or name badges.

Opposition leader Tikhanovskaya on Saturday said Belarusians were ready to strip police obeying "criminal orders" of anonymity.

Lukashenko has dismissed opposition calls for his resignation and sought help from Russia's President Vladimir Putin, who has promised law enforcement backup if needed and a US$1.5 billion loan.

Tikhanovskaya is to meet European Union foreign ministers on Monday in Brussels as the EU prepares sanctions against those it blames for rigging the election and the regime's violent crackdown.

Authorities have jailed many of Tikhanovskaya's allies who formed the leadership of the Coordination Council, or driven them out of the country.

Campaign partner Maria Kolesnikova has been imprisoned and charged with undermining national security.

She released a message to protesters Sunday saying: "Freedom is worth fighting for. Don't be afraid to be free!" (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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I think there will be a vaccine that will initially be available sometime between November and December, Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday. There were some caveatsthere would be a very limited supply, which would have to be prioritized for health care workers and high-risk folks. The public, said Redfield, might get this vaccine sometime next year. But still: a vaccine, available in November.

This is, in Trump Land, what passes for a conservative estimate. We think we can probably have it sometime during the month of October, the president told reporters earlier this month. Trump went as far as to call Redfields timeline incorrect information, because a vaccine would really be ready sooner: Were ready to go immediately as the vaccine is announced, and it could be announced in October. It could be announced a little bit after October.

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Its true that scientists and drug companies are working at a record-breaking clip to develop and manufacture a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. But it is not possible for us to have access to a vaccine this fall. At leastbased on the information we have now about where candidates are in the research processnot one that has been proven safe and effective.

We could, maybe, physically have a vaccine by November. As the New York Times vaccine tracker notes, as of Friday afternoon there were nine vaccines in Phase 3 trials, the last major stage of data collection prior to a vaccines release to the public. This is the phase in which a large group of people get a vaccine to test its safety and efficacy. Five of these are not only in Phase 3 trials, but they have been approved for limited use in either China or Russia. While this is promising for our long-term vaccine potential, it is by no means enough evidence to suggest well have a safe, effective vaccine before the end of the year. As the tracker also notes, experts say the rushed process has serious risks.

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There are two main serious risks, and Ive mentioned them a few times now: safety and efficacy. A vaccine that isnt as effective as youd hope means that more people than you expected get sick after getting the vaccine. It might fail to produce an immune response in some people, or the immune response could wear off too quickly. Evaluating the efficacy of a vaccine takes time because people have to get the vaccine (or a placebo shot) and then go about their lives where they may or may not encounter the virus, using the vaccine the way people will use it once it reaches a larger market. We are only just starting that process, which should take monthsin normal times, yearsnow.

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EUAs have not been historically used for vaccines, because theyre given prophylactically to enormous populations.

The second concern, around safety, is about whether the vaccine will produce some adverse reaction in a small fraction of people who get it. By Phase 3, the vaccine has been cleared for use in thousands of study participants, which means we already have a sense that its not going to turn out to be harmful to most people. We know that because it has already been tested on a few humans in Phase 1 and a few hundred or so humans in Phase 2. Phase 3 is necessary for seeing if there are bad side effects that happen in even a tiny fraction of the people who get a vaccine, say an allergic reaction, or an infection. Its critically important because when a vaccine is distributed to an entire country, and planet, a tiny fraction represents an awful lot of people. The concern is that if you jump too fast you might miss something, says Daniel Salmon, director of Johns Hopkins Institute for Vaccine Safety. Releasing a vaccine prior to Phase 3 trials is quite risky.

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It is possible for people to start using the vaccine prior to the completion of a Phase 3 trial if the CDC uses the Emergency Use Authorization on it. This same authorization was used earlier in the pandemic to usher hydroxychloroquine to patients because we thought it might help them recover faster, but it was quickly revoked when it became clear that the drug was not effective. The back-and-forth on hydroxychloroquine raised concerns about the whole process, particularly in how an EUA can be used for political aims.

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Those concerns aside, theres a whole different reason to be worried about EUA use for a vaccine. With therapeutic drugs, an EUA at least makes sense. If youre dying of COVID-19, and theres a drug that shows some clear promise but also might have some rare side effects, you might be willing to take the risk, explains Salmon. But EUAs have not been historically used for vaccines, because theyre given prophylactically to enormous populations. And if youre healthy, taking the risk for a rare side effect (in exchange for a potentially unknown benefit) isnt worth it. Plus, vaccines arent really an individual calculation. For vaccines to workfor a vaccine to be able to stop a disease from circulating in a populationwe all have to take them as a group, which is why they have to be really, really safe.

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Salmon, says it is hard to know what the EUA process would even look like for a vaccine. The point is that regulators require less data to approve a medicine via EUA than they do for a regular approval. But, is that a little less? Is that a lot less? asks Salmon. One limitation is how much data will even be available to analyze. Maria Elena Bottazzi, a virologist at Baylor College of Medicine who worked on a vaccine candidate thats slated to start clinical trials soon, says, Theres no way that a clinical trial will have produced a substantial amount of data by November.* She points to the fact that one of the most promising candidates, a vaccine by Moderna, began its Phase 3 clinical trial in late July, with participants getting the vaccine on a rolling basis. At the time, Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, called having a vaccine distributed by the end of 2020 a stretch goal. In mid-August, Collins criticized the trial for its poor recruitment of minorities, a clear hiccup in the process of gathering data. The trial is still in the process of recruiting participants, who each need to get two spaced-out doses of the vaccine. Then, of course, they need to go about their lives for a few months, to see if it protects against the coronavirus, and to see if they have adverse reactions. You need timetheres no way, says Bottazzi, adding, I dont think they can do that evaluation with a very limited amount of data.

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Were already poised to get a vaccine in a record amount of time, given that vaccines typically take a few years, at their fastest, to develop. There are already concessions to the process that will, if all goes well, help a COVID-19 vaccine obliterate previous records. The vaccines at the front of the race use new technology. Some of them are going through Phase 2 and Phase 3 of testing at the same time. The first vaccine, according to the Food and Drug Administration, will only need to be 50 percent effective and may well be a stopgap until something more effective comes out. Its still impossible to say when well have a vaccine, even with these leaps and concessions. As a New York Times piece on Modernas blueprint for Phase 3 makes clear, just because the company plans to look at the data in November or December doesnt mean theyll have enough information, at that point, to say whether its safe and effective. The company has benchmarks of how many people in the trial will need to get COVID in order to determine effectiveness, the Times explains, and its hard to predict when those will be met. And time to complete the trial asidetheres no guarantee that it will be safe and effective.

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Its becoming a political strategy to suggest, to promise, that early data will tell us something solid and trustworthy about a vaccine. I worry that the push from the White House is politicizing a very important scientific process that should not be rushed, says Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist and infection preventionist. Were essentially now counting on the FDA to do its job, and not bend scientific protocol under political pressure, in an era when public health institutions are bending scientific protocol under political pressure. (Its worth noting that drug companies have some stake in this too, in not pushing out a vaccine that they cant be confident in.) We are very hopeful that those who are going to review the information are going to be very strict, says Bottazzi. Anthony Fauci has been publicly expressing his faith that the FDA will do its job. Then again, its part of his job to not freak us out.

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A rushed vaccine poses a risk not just in terms of rare side effects but in terms of the viability of a vaccine in general, given the importance of public participation. If something goes wrong with a vaccine in early rollout, it hands vaccine skeptics ammunition. Frankly, it could hand people without a previous inclination against vaccines an understandable reason to be skeptical of a COVID vaccine, even later, when it makes it out of Phase 3 trials. Imagine you have to pull it out of the market, says Bottazzi, of a hypothetical early vaccine. That could be damaging to public trust in vaccines, and to public health not just during the pandemic but for years to come.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 22:28:19|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Airways on Monday resumed flights to Tanzania after Dar es Salaam lifted suspension of all Kenyan airline operators.

Allan Kilavuka, CEO of Kenya Airways, said the move follows a circular issued by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority announcing the resumption and restoration of all flights by Kenyan operators with immediate effect.

"We are pleased to resume our services to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar following this announcement by the Tanzanian government. Tanzania is critical to both Kenya and East Africa's economic growth and we look forward to our continued collaboration," Kilavuka said in a statement.

Kilavuka noted that the first Kenya Airways flight to Dar es Salaam departed on Monday and the second will leave on Wednesday and thereafter the Kenyan carrier will operate two daily flights to the largest city in Tanzania.

Kilavuka said that the first flight to Zanzibar will depart on Sept. 26 and will thereafter operate three times a week while flights to Kilimanjaro International Airport will resume in October to target connectivity with the Nairobi- New York route.

The national flag carrier resumed domestic commercial flights on July 15 and international flights on Aug. 1 after four months of suspended operations due to COVID-19 restrictions. Enditem
Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, September 20 stated that several authorities in Russia and Belarus have been tasked to establish greater personal contacts following Vladimir Putins recent talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi.

Read: Belarus Police Officers' Personal Information Leaked As Mass Protests Enter 7th Week

The Russian Presidential spokesman said, "As for system-forming enterprises -- [the leaders agreed] to establish personal communication between heads of agencies and heads of these enterprises. These are the instructions given as a result of this communication in order for us to stop the downward trend in our bilateral relations because this is the basis of our ties.

Last week, Russia also approved a $1.5 billion loan to Belarus. Upon announcement of the loan, Belarus protestors called out Russia for trying to aid Lukashenko amid mass anti-governmental demonstrations in Minsk.

Read: Belarus Official Repeatedly Interrupts UN Meeting On Human Rights Abuse Against Protestors

Mass protests erupted in Belarus last month after President Alexander Lukashenko, who has already served 26 years in office, was declared to have won the August election. Belarus opposition leaders have since then claimed that the elections were rigged and have demanded Lukashenkos resignation.

Belarus has also been accused by the UN of violating the right of the protesters by indulging in arbitrary arrests. September 19 saw a massive womens protest march on the streets of Minsk with hundreds of protestors being detained by the police. Belarus protests just entered their 7th week while Lukashenko continues to insist that the mass unrest is a US ploy to destabilise the country and bring about another colour revolution in the region.

(With ANI inputs)

Read: Belarus: Over 200 Women Protestors Detained In Minsk As Unrest Continues

Read: Belarus Borders Remain Open Despite President Lukashenko's Closure Threat
Q. I understand that the exit tax is actually an estimated tax on the sale of a home if youre moving out of state. Why isnt it just collected when you file a tax return?

 Curious

A. The exit tax, as you said, isnt a separate tax. Its an estimated tax based on the profit from the sale of your home.

When a non-resident  which includes people who leave the state when the sale happens  sells a home, the income earned from that real estate sale is subject to income tax in New Jersey.

Rather than wait for you to file a non-resident tax return, the state withholds the tax at the time of the sale. This is to protect the state from you skipping town and never filing the return.

When you sell property that is based in New Jersey, any gains are most likely taxable in New Jersey regardless of whether or not you live in the state, said Jonathan Donenfeld, a certified public accountant with JLD Tax & Accounting in Jersey City.

If you are a non resident, tax is required to be withheld on the sale, he said. When you file your taxes for the year of the sale, you can request a refund for any overpayment of taxes that were withheld on the sale.

Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com.

Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.coms weekly e-newsletter.
Popcorn & Inspiration: Films that uplift the soul

Few films honor the teaching profession as nobly as Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), the first film adaptation of James Hiltons bestselling 1934 novella. Although this title may not be as recognizable as others from Hollywoods Golden Year, its a classic that deserves the honors and acclaim it received in 1939.

In 1870, 20-something-old Charles Chippings (Robert Donat) arrives at Brookfield School, a centuries-old boys boarding school, to teach Latin. The timid young man struggles to gain his students respect and maintain discipline, so he sometimes leans toward harshness. He becomes a good teacher yet fails to befriend the boys and thus remains a senior master instead of a housemaster.

One summer, a fun-loving German teacher (Paul Henreid) invites Chippings to join him on his Austrian walking holiday. During this trip, Chippings gets stranded in the foggy mountains and meets another solo hiker, Kathy (Greer Garson), a young Englishwoman on a biking tour. They share provisions and get acquainted while waiting for the fog to lift. Although their holidays go separate directions the next day, they happily meet again in Vienna. There, they find romance, though hesitant to admit it. They pledge their love as Kathys train pulls away and decide to marry.

Promotional photograph of Greer Garson and Robert Donat for Goodbye, Mr. Chips. (Public Domain)

Kathy wins Brookfields heart as Mrs. Chippings, helping Mr. Chips befriend his students and become a housemaster. Although her untimely death in childbirth devastates the whole school, Kathy teaches Chips valuable lessons that help him eventually become Brookfields headmaster, guiding the school through difficult times like World War I.

The Forgotten Oscar

Although now less iconic than other 1939 releases, Goodbye, Mr. Chips was acclaimed upon its release. Nominated for seven Oscars, it was one of ten prestigious nominees for Best Picture (then called Outstanding Production) that year. The National Board of Review and Film Daily listed it among 1939s Top Ten Films. In May 1939, the Hollywood Reporters Preview Poll named it best picture. The film was financially successful, earning $1,305,000 according to The Eddie Mannix Ledger (Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study).

Many believe that Clark Gable won Best Actor at the 1940 Academy Awards for playing Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. David O. Selznicks Civil War epic did sweep the Oscars that year, receiving nine wins from fourteen nominations. However, Best Actor was the only one of the Big Five Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Writing) to elude the blockbuster, instead going to Robert Donat for his performance in Goodbye, Mr. Chips.

The Empire cinema in Leicester Square, London, in 1939. (General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Thirty-four-year-old Robert Donat played Charles Edward Chippings over a period of 63 years by looking both younger and older than he really was. He begins the lengthy flashback as a clean-shaven young man. He begins aging by growing a mustache, which he wears from middle age onward. By the time he is 83, as at the films opening and ending, he has tousled white hair and a matching bushy mustache. Its hard to believe that this lovable elder is played by the same actor as the shy youth who first goes to Brookfield. Mr. Donat said of his transformation, As soon as I put the mustache on, I felt the part, even if I did look like a great Airedale come out of a puddle.

Educations Importance

Goodbye, Mr. Chips is one of the greatest films about education. As a Brookfield School master, Mr. Chips influences generations of boys. Montages show countless students reporting their names as new semesters begin over the years. Particularly illustrative is the fact that four generations of one family attend Brookfield during Mr. Chipss tenure. The first generation is John Colley, who is succeeded by his son, grandson, and great-grandson. All four boys are played by Terry Kilburn. It is Peter Colley III, the great-grandson, who utters the films title to the 83-year-old teacher, since he is the last in his family to say goodbye.

Robert Donat received the Oscar for Best Actor for playing a man who ages from his 20s to his 80s. (Loews Inc.)

Students gain wisdom from professors who, like Mr. Chips, have taught for decades, having themselves learned from their innumerable students. Upon first meeting him, Kathy expresses how wonderful it must be for teachers to constantly live with youth:

It must be tremendously interesting to be a schoolmaster, to watch boys grow up and help them along; to see their characters develop and what they become when they leave school and the world gets hold of them. I dont see how you could ever get old in a world thats always young.

In 1909, Headmaster Ralston (Austin Trevor) pressures Chippings to retire, citing the professors reluctance to follow modern trends. Dr. Ralstons eagerness to be progressive makes him ignore how much his students and colleagues love Mr. Chips. Refusing to change or retire, Chips firmly tells Dr. Ralston the importance of education over profits and modernity:

I know the worlds changing, Dr. Ralston. Ive seen the old traditions die, one by one. Grace, dignity, feeling for the pastall that matters here today is a fat banking account. Youre trying to run the school like a factory, for turning out money-making machine-made snobs. Youve raised the fees. And in the end, the boys who really belong at Brookfield will be frozen out, frozen out. Modern methods, intensive trainingpoppycock! Give a boy a sense of humor and a sense of proportion and hell stand up to anything. Im not going to retire; you can do what you like about it.

An Example for Us

As the 202021 school year begins throughout America, many schools are offering some or all virtual classes. While students can see teachers on Zoom, work online, and study at home, the methods are inferior to being in a classroom.

School should be protected as one of societys most valuable institutions. While many children flourish with home-schooling, everyone should have the choice of schoolroom educationeven during trying times.

Instead of hiding during a crisis, education can encourage us to continue bravely. In Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Chips becomes interim headmaster during World War I. During a bombing attack, he continues teaching his Latin class, helping the boys find courage and even amusement in translating Caesars Commentaries.

This film shows how deeply school and a single teacher can impact students lives. During his 63 years of teaching, Mr. Chips profoundly influences innumerable students. In fact, caring teachers can influence their pupils so deeply that they become surrogate parents to them. As Mr. Chips lies peacefully on his deathbed, his colleagues pity him for being childless. Mr. Chips replies:

I thought I heard you saying it was a pity  pity I never had any children. But youre wrong. I have. Thousands of them. Thousands of them  and all boys.

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Director: Sam Wood

Starring: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, Paul Henreid, John Mills

Not Rated

Running Time: 1 hour, 54 minutes

Released: July 28, 1939 (USA)

Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Tiffany Brannan is a 19-year-old opera singer, Hollywood historian, travel writer, film blogger, vintage fashion expert, and ballet writer. In 2016, she and her sister founded the Pure Entertainment Preservation Society, an organization dedicated to reforming the arts by reinstating the Motion Picture Production Code.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday condemned the unruly incidents that took place in the Upper House on Sunday and said it was a bad day for the Rajya Sabha.

Expressing his anguish, the Chairman said "It pained me a lot because what happened yesterday in the House is unfortunate, unacceptable and condemnable".

He said his remarks during the proceedings of the house that all social distancing and Covid-related precautions were violated by some of the members on Sunday. "If we do not follow COVID guidelines, how do you expect common people to follow?" he asked.

He said that some members came to the well and hurled papers and rule book at the Deputy Chairman and abused him. He said some members were "climbing on the Secretary Generals's table, dancing, shouting in the well, tearing papers, breaking the mikes, obstructing Deputy Chairman from his duties, throwing papers, rule book at the Deputy Chairman. "Are these parliamentary standards?", he asked and told the members to do some introspection.

The Chairman said the Deputy Chairman was physically threatened and said "If marshals had not been called on time what would have happened to the Deputy Chairman? I am worried". He said the Deputy Chairman had stated that he was abused with objectionable words. He would have been harmed also, the Chairman added.

Naidu said the Deputy Chairman had stated that if the members had remained in their seats, voting would have been carried out. He said they could have also voted against the Bill had the House been in order.

The chairman rejected the Leader of Opposition and 46 other members of Rajya Sabha expressing no confidence in the Deputy Chairman and desiring to move a motion for his removal.

"After carefully going through the provisions of the Constitution, Rules of Rajya Sabha and past precedents, the Chairman said the motion given by the Leader of opposition and others was not in proper format," he added.

He pointed out that further, as per the provisions of Article 90 (c) of the Constitution, a notice period of 14 days was required for moving a resolution and not a motion. "As the House is going to be adjourned sine die on 1st October, 2020, the notice does not complete the required period of 14 days, hence, I rule that the motion given by LoP and other members is not admissible".

The Chairman said that he had gone through the entire proceedings of the House held on Sunday in the light of the allegations made against the Deputy Chairman. He said the Deputy Chairman had persistently requested the members to go their seats and participate in the debate and move amendments.

Naidu said "obviously, in view of the continuous disruptions in the House, the division could not have taken place. Certainly, the conduct of some members grossly crossed all barriers of all parliamentary decorum and etiquette and thereby lowered the prestige of the House".

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Press Release

Nokia President and CEO, Pekka Lundmark signs a joint Statement that will be handed to the UN Secretary General General to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations

The Statement commits more than 1,000 leaders to: ethical leadership and good governance; invest in addressing inequalities and injustice; promote equality and respect human rights

21 September 2020

Espoo, Finland  Nokia President and CEO, Pekka Lundmark has signed a joint UN Statement, UNITED IN THE BUSINESS OF A BETTER WORLD which will be presented to the UN Secretary General as part of celebration of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.

The Statement, signed by more than 1,000 global CEOs, says that at time of unprecedented disruption and global transformation, international cooperation must be mobilized across borders, sectors and generations. CEOs signing the statement commit to ethical leadership and good governance, to invest in addressing inequalities and injustice, and to partner with the UN, Government and civil society to promote equality and respect human rights.

Pekka Lundmark, Nokia CEO said: The world faces big challenges, such as COVID-19 and climate change, that cannot be solved without global co-operation. Nokia believes in a multilateral system where businesses, governments, organizations, and individuals all work together inclusively and transparently to find solutions and to build a more sustainable future for people and our planet. I am proud to be a signatory of this UN Global Compact statement. Nokia will play its part by ensuring our technology is designed to solve real societal issues and enable greater opportunity for all.

Nokia has been actively working towards supporting a more equal and sustainable future by building technology that improves lives and enables a healthier planet.

Radio networks provided by Nokia supported 6.4 billion subscriptions worldwide in 2019

In September 2019, at the United Nations climate summit, Nokia joined a group of 87 companies in committing to recalibrate its existing science-based climate targets in line with the latest science.

Nokia improved connectivity and coverage in emerging markets with new cooperation in Algeria, Aruba, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sudan, the Marianas, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Nokia was named for the third consecutive year (2018-2020), and the fourth time overall as one of 2020 Worlds Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere.

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About Nokia

We create the technology to connect the world. Only Nokia offers a comprehensive portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing opportunities across the globe. With our commitment to innovation, driven by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, we are a leader in the development and deployment of 5G networks.

Our communications service provider customers support more than 6.4 billion subscriptions with our radio networks, and our enterprise customers have deployed over 1,300 industrial networks worldwide. Adhering to the highest ethical standards, we transform how people live, work and communicate. For our latest updates, please visit us online www.nokia.com and follow us on Twitter @nokia.

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Lafayette  Troopers from Louisiana State Police Troop I responded to a fatal hit and run crash involving a bicyclist on LA. Hwy 182 just south of Pont Des Mouton Road in Lafayette Parish on September 19, 2020, shortly before 8:30 a.m. The crash claimed the life of 54-year-old Carl Broussard of Lake Charles. The preliminary investigation revealed that Broussard was traveling south on the right shoulder of LA 182 and the unknown driver of the unknown vehicle was traveling south behind Broussard. For unknown reasons, the driver of the unknown vehicle traveled onto the shoulder where he struck Broussard from behind.

Broussard suffered fatal injuries as a result of the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the unknown vehicle fled the scene after the crash. This crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information regarding this crash is asked to call Troop I at (337) 262-5880.
Kenyan telecoms giant Safaricom is seeking to transform itself into a technology company, offering new financial solutions to anyone from small businesses to farmers, new CEO Peter Ndegwa told AFP.

Listed on the Nairobi stock market, Safaricom is one of the biggest companies in East Africa, its success fuelled by its mobile money service Mpesa, which was launched in 2007 and has become indispensable in Kenya.

Ndegwa, who was named the group's new CEO following the death of Bob Collymore, said the future of Safaricom would come from "combining technology and innovation."

"We want to move away from being a telecom business into a purpose-led technology company," he said.

"That will mean that we will use technology to create change in other ecosystems in the same way that we have done with Mpesa in the financial services area, in areas such as agriculture, health, education."

As an example, he cites the product Digifarm, a mobile platform which allows farmers to access loans, insurance, as well as markets where they can sell their products.

It also gives farmers information and advice on managing their livestock or crops.

Safaricom is 35 percent owned by the Kenyan government, 40 percent by South Africa's Vodacom, while the remaining shares are listed.

The company also wants to extend more services to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), a major driver of Kenya's economy.

Currently with Mpesa, users can send money directly to each other, pay their bills and buy goods at shops and supermarkets, all from their cellphones.

"We are working to enable SMEs being in control of their business and to grow their business," said Ndegwa.

A new product for SMEs will allow them to pay salaries or suppliers via a special application.

On the international level, the company is trying to forge partnerships with Visa and Paypal which would allow its clients to make money transfers across the globe.

"In addition to that, we are looking at expanding Mpesa ... We have already expressed interest to enter Ethiopia, and we are going through that process."

Mpesa has 25 million users in Kenya, and another 15 million elsewhere in the continent, such as Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ethiopia is busy opening up its telecoms sector, ending a government monopoly under Ethio Telecom, which could allow foreign companies a foothold in a country of 110 million people.

In May, Addis Ababa opened bids for two new licences.

Safaricom announced a 13.3 percent revenue growth in its results for the year ending March 2020.
Ciarran Stott invited his fans to ask him questions on Monday night, and the answers were revealing.

The Bachelor in Paradise star held a Q+A session on Instagram Stories and was quizzed on several topics - including whether he would return to the show.

The 25-year-old was very blunt in insisting he will never set foot in Paradise ever again - at least, not the local version.

Answers: Ciarran Stott (pictured) invited his fans to ask him questions on Monday night, and the answers were revealing. The Bachelor in Paradise star held a Q+A session on Instagram Stories and was quizzed on several topics - including whether he would return to the show

'The Australian one  not a f**king chance!' he declared, adding with a wry expression, 'Never again. No.'

The British-born ladies' man was also asked if he was single - and he admitted it was the most asked inquiry of the night.

'It's like every second one, who's your girlfriend, are you single!' he complained of the questions.

Nope! The 25-year-old was very blunt in insisting he will never set foot in Paradise ever again. 'The Australian one  not a f**king chance!' he declared, adding, 'Never again. No'

Ciarran was linked to Bachelor intruder, Bec Cvilikas, after liking the bombshell's bikini pictures on Instagram.

Earlier this month, he set tongues wagging once again, after being spotted cosying up to Big Brother star, Talia Rycroft, 22, in an Instagram video.

But the Manchester lad is still single and ready to mingle, he told his fans on Monday.

'Everyone is asking! I don't have girlfriend and yes I am single. Single!' Ciarran stated definitively.

Yay or nay: The British-born ladies' man was also asked if he was single. 'Everyone is asking! I don't have girlfriend and yes I am single. Single!' Ciarran stated

He's a fan!Ciarran was linked to Bachelor intruder, Bec Cvilikas, after liking the bombshell's bikini pictures on Instagram. Bec is pictured

Mates: Earlier this month, he set tongues wagging once again, after being spotted cosying up to Big Brother star, Talia Rycroft, 22, in an Instagram video. Talia is pictured

He also addressed his plummeting Instagram follower count after receiving a 'villain edit' on Bachelor in Paradise.

According to The Wash Online earlier this month, the English export has lost on average 353 followers a day.

Ciarran swatted fake tears from his eyes and joked, 'Oh it's terrible!' while pretending to sob.

Then he added seriously: 'It is what it is. If you don't want to follow me don't follow me. Doesn't really bother me'.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

Armenia poses a threat to regional stability, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview to Azerbaijan Television, Ictimai Television, and Real Television following a groundbreaking ceremony of the offshore operations of the Absheron field at the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deep Water Jackets Plant, Trend reports.

Armenia has put forward territorial claims against Turkey. This is reflected and enshrined in their constitution. Today Armenia is trying to revive the Treaty of Sevres, the Azerbaijani president said.

How can a small country living in poverty, having built a state on someone elses lands, put forward claims against a country such as Turkey? How can you blame it? Just look at your potential and then at the potential of Turkey, the head of state said.

Our close ties with Turkey will continue to develop, as great leader Heydar Aliyev said, on the basis of the principle One nation, two states. We are together in all matters, next to each other in every matter, the head of state said.
A bird's-eye view of Sanjiangyuan National Park, Qinghai province. The venue is due to open later this year and officially become China's first national park. [Photo provided to China Daily]

HOHHOT -- China's ecological competitiveness has increased as ecological indicators continue to improve, an official said at the 9th China Forum on International Ecological Competitiveness on Sunday.

China's forest cover has reached 22.96 percent and the forest stock volume has hit 17.56 billion cubic meters, while grassland vegetation cover and wetland protection rate increased to 55.7 percent and 52.2 percent, respectively, said Hu Zhangcui, an official with the National Afforestation Committee, at the forum held in Hulun Buir, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

There are 11,800 natural reserves in China, protecting about 90 percent of the country's typical terrestrial ecosystem, 85 percent of wildlife species, and 65 percent of higher plant communities, said Hu.

Desertified land has decreased by an average of 198,000 hectares per year, and the area of rocky desertification by 386,000 hectares per year, Hu added.

As one of the most representative national conferences in ecology in China, the forum has become an important platform for high-level dialogues and cooperation since 2008.

The forum this year will promote cooperation in green industries with a focus on ecological governance, energy and environment, agriculture and animal husbandry, tourism, and smart economy, as well as accelerate the integration of resources, capital and innovation to promote quality development and enhance ecological competitiveness.


Image: Twitter/@ShriRamTeerth

Along with millions of devotees across India, real estate developers too have voiced a collective "Jai Shri Ram!" Almost a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5, real estate players are awaiting the final Master Plan before they launch their projects in this otherwise-sleepy pilgrimage town.

Land prices in the area almost doubled after the Supreme Courts verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue last year. After the foundation stone laying ceremony last month, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a slew of infrastructure projects, hotels and even an international airport.

Prices have more or less stabilized since the foundation laying ceremony last month and the subsequent schemes announced by the government. The Uttar Pradesh Awaas Parishad has announced a scheme for housing plots and apartments, and commercial plots spread across 700 acres. The scheme is expected to be cleared at the board meeting scheduled for September 22, Shobhik Goyyal, member, Credai UP, and promoter of OP Chains Housings, which conducted a survey of the Ayodhya area, told Moneycontrol.

These land parcels are located barely 2-3 km from the Ayodhya Highway and development work may begin soon. Prices are likely to increase after the Master Plan is ready. There could be a 30 percent increase in land prices over the next three to five years, Goyyal said.

Goyyal and other builders are now waiting for Ayodhya's Master Plan 2031 and also hope for some sops from the government before launching new projects in the area.

Studio apartments, 1-BHK flats, second houses and starred hotels are what developers have planned for this small dusty town in Uttar Pradeshs Faizabad district that had been a battleground of faiths for decades, till the Supreme Court settled the bitter land dispute in 2019.

We would be keen to launch service apartments and second homes in this city, Manoj Gaur, managing director of the Gaurs Group, told Moneycontrol over the phone. This town presents immense opportunities.

The price of farmland has gone up more than 30 percent since the Supreme Court order, developers scouting for real estate parcels told Moneycontrol.

An agricultural land parcel spread across an acre was available for Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore before the SC order. Currently, the asking price is Rs 1.25 to Rs 1.50 crore per acre, depending on the location. Most of these are located 10 to 15 km from the temple site, Goyyal told Moneycontrol.

The top court ordered that the disputed site, where a centuries-old mosque was demolished in 1992, be given to Hindus to build a Ram temple and Muslims be allotted another piece of land to build a mosque.

Ayodhya is in the limelight and we are in talks with the government through bodies such as PHDCCI and Credai, Gaur said. Credai is an all-India lobby group of real estate developers.

Ayodhya is among the towns to be developed under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) that aims to provide basic amenities like water, sewerage and transport aimed at changing the face of urban India.

The National Remote Sensing Centre has been tasked with providing satellite imagery of the town. Land use surveys and ground truthing exercise is complete. The final draft plan is expected to be ready by October 2020 and the final Master Plan of Ayodhya 2031 is expected to be ready by January 2021, Anoop Shrivastava, Chief Town and Country Planner, told Moneycontrol over the phone.

A master plan outlines developmental works expected to be carried out in an area. It demarcates land usefor residential and commercial purposes, including for hotels that Ayodhya will need in large numbers for pilgrims and workers involved in building the temple. Most of the land available right now is agricultural.

Unlike other asset classes, housing projects in holy cities have largely escaped the slowdown and the coronavirus outbreak unscathed.

Retirees or NRIs, who may want to spend a few months at the birthplace of Ram, will be among top property buyers in the town, say realtors.

Ayodhya has the potential to emerge as an ideal market for second homes or retirement homes.

Developers have launched several projects in holy cities such as Amritsar, Haridwar-Rishikesh, the four Hindu Dhams of Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram, and in the South Indian temple towns of Madurai and Tirupati.

Ramandeep Singh, Alliance Residency Ltd, Credai, UP, said there was a dearth of organised real estate projects in the area. There may also be demand from the workforce that comes to work in this area going forward besides demand for pilgrimage housing. Most of the land right now is held by the Akharas. Akharas are Hindu monastic groups.

Also, most of the agricultural land parcels are 10 to 15 km away from the temple site. Two five-star hotels have already been signed up. We are hoping that five more would come up in the area besides 20-odd 3- to 4-star hotels, said Goyyal of Credai UP.

Once the Master Plan is in place, developers foresee a demand for studio apartments or 1-BHK units.

In the next five to seven years, one may see demand for at least 5,000 units in the range of Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh in this area, with maximum demand coming in from devotees. More than 15 developers have already shown interest, he said.

The town would also need a massive infrastructure upgrade, said Shobhit Dass, president, Credai, UP. There is not a single branded hotel in the area, only dharmshalas. Senior living housing could also come up in this area, he said.

We are all waiting for the master plan to be ready and once it is in place, the entire area is expected to be opened up for development, he adds.
Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday rejected a no-confidence motion moved by 100 lawmakers from 12 Opposition parties against his deputy, Harivansh, saying it is non-admissible under the Constitutions Article 90. The article deals with vacation and resignation of, and removal from the office of the deputy chairman of the Upper House of Parliament.

The motion was moved after the government on Sunday rushed through contentious farm reform bills. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill and the Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill were cleared by voice vote even as the Opposition protested and stormed the Well of the House demanding that they be sent to a select committee for a review. Opposition leaders charged towards Harivanshs seat as he was presiding over the proceedings. They jumped onto tables and shot videos of the ruckus.

Also Read: Stormy Sunday in House as 2 farm bills go through

Marshals were called in to form a double-layered barricade to protect Harivansh and remove a lawmaker. The Opposition parties said live telecast of the proceedings was muted, and their demand for a division, or voting through paper ballots, on the legislation was rejected.

Opposition parties sat in the Rajya Sabha after the House was adjourned and drafted the no-confidence motion. The signatories to the motion included lawmakers from the Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal (Secular), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Aam Aadmi Party and the Nationalist Congress Party.

Harivansh was elected deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha the opening day of the curtailed monsoon session on September 14.
Conshohocken artists Marie Pelton and Jim Victor created the mascot-themed butter sculpture for the January 2020 Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg. Read more

Art is often permanent, hung on museum walls for centuries, or cast in bronze and erected outdoors to face the elements and the changing tide of history. The art Jim Victor and Marie Pelton make is transitory and delicious over lobster.

The Conshohocken couple have worked with chocolate, cheese, and ice, but butters brought them worldwide acclaim. Together, they have created large butter sculptures for agricultural shows and fairs all over the country, including most of the Pennsylvania Farm Shows since the mid-'90s. This month, the couple unveiled the 52nd annual American Dairy Association North East butter sculpture at the virtual New York State Fair, an 800-pound pandemic-theme piece  including children remote-learning and a masked milkman  that took them 10 days to create.

Few of their pieces last very long, though one chocolate Statue of Liberty has stood in Las Vegas since 2014.

The food sculptures we do live on in photographs and pictures, and thats how we document them, Pelton said.

Theres no official word on whether Pennsylvanias 105th annual Farm Show, which is going virtual in January, will feature a butter sculpture, but its often a must-see for attendees taking selfies. Last years butter sculpture featured mascots from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, including Gritty, the bizarre and beloved symbol of the Flyers and perhaps the city itself. They spent about 10 days sculpting it.

For the January Farm Show, they havent made a formal announcement, but we think its definitely going to be a go, Pelton said.

Butter is not what Victor, 75, and Pelton, 55, were envisioning when they attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts on North Broad Street. Marble, clay, and stone have been the standard sculpting mediums for millennia, and they both have worked with those traditional materials, along with 50-pound blocks of butter.

On a recent weekday afternoon, the couple sat beside each other in a pen on a West Chester farm, sculpting horse miniatures in clay with their fingers and wooden tools. Wruben, Peltons Dutch Warmblood horse, sniffed the clay from time to time. The couple sculpt Wruben and other farm animals to sharpen their skills, but they also have contemplated teaching classes in sculpting, both online and in person.

Especially during this pandemic time period where our business has completely stalled, we were thinking what could we do to change up our business, Pelton said. Its typically something you would find in culinary schools, and were not chefs.

Pelton and Victor have seen the merging of art and food grow over the last decade, particularly on cable television, where shows about elaborate cakes, baking competitions, and chef challenges have become wildly popular. They may have something in the works themselves, but said theyre required to keep mum about it.

Sculpting with butter, done on site, has unique pros and cons, Victor said. At the Farm Show, the sculpture is displayed in a refrigerated glass room, as butter is prone to melt quickly. Melting butter can make the floor slippery, and on a few occasions, when sculpting in their outdoor mobile booth, the sun has melted some sculptures, causing the pieces to slide to the floor.

Victor said the sculpting room isnt as cold as people would think, often 65 degrees. He prefers his butter to be warmer and softer.

Thats the beauty of it, he said. You can control the temperature and control the consistency of butter.

Sculptural armatures, akin to skeletons, are usually made of aluminum wire, though for the heavier butter sculptures, steel is used. The butter is often donated by large national producers like Land O Lakes or Kellers, and no, it cant be melted and drizzled on popcorn.

Its waste butter we get from plants," Pelton said. "Its stuff thats been extruded or cleaned out, or stuff thats been damaged, or generally cant be sold to the public.

Afterward, the butter is donated to farms that have an anaerobic digester, which breaks down organic material and turns it into a fuel.

Actually, 1,000 pounds of butter can turn into 80 pounds of biofuel, Pelton said.

Victor said his first food sculpture was a chocolate portrait of the actor Mickey Rooney for a Broadway play. His first Farm Show sculpture was made in 1995. Marie began working with him in 2000, though she also paints. Theyve sculpted butter on Prince Edward Island and chocolate in China, and theyve been invited to sculpt in Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

Their largest project was a butter sculpture of Paris that weighed 2,370 pounds. It was created for last falls Best of France festival, organized by the French community in New York City to showcase French brands in the United States.

In terms of farm shows, Victor and Pelton said, the concept is often suggested by the dairy associations and state agricultural departments that hire them. Sometimes, people want too many features in a sculpture, and they have to tone it down.

There has to be a focal point and it has to be interesting from all sides of the sculpture, Pelton said.

In 2020, they said, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman pushed hard for Gritty. Fetterman said it was an honor to unveil the buttery Gritty.

The husband-and-wife duo declined to say how much they earn for an 800-pound butter sculpture. Victor said its more than the $5,000 he was paid for his first Farm Show piece 25 years ago. Art is their main source of income, and they try to take on at least 10 projects a year, most of them during the butter season of summer and early fall, when most of the fairs are scheduled.

Victor said some foods are easier to sculpt than others, but hes always up for a challenge, as long as it nots soup.

I think anything is possible, but some things are just more difficult, he said. Ice cream would be tough, because it has to be so cold. If you tried to do hummus, I dont think it would work. Peanut butter, maybe.
The Taliban militant group on September 20 demanded the creation of an "elite religious council" to replace democratic means of selecting Afghanistan's leaders in a future Islamic system.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told a Dutch broadcaster that the group is seeking to establish a powerful council of religious leaders to select the country's future rulers.

Such councils select the Caliph, or leader, of Muslim states and form central parts of political systems based on Sunni Islam. Taliban founder Mullah Omar was himself appointed Afghan leader by such a council after the group took power in 1996.

In the same interview, Mujahid rejected the Afghan Constitution -- which guarantees the rights of religious minorities and women, media, and freedom of expression -- saying the law was created with the help of occupying forces.

The comments come after a week of intra-Afghan peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government in the Qatari capital, Doha.

The Afghan government has repeatedly asked the Taliban to observe a cease-fire during the talks, but the militants say they will not stop the conflict until the root causes are resolved.

Responding to criticism that no women were included in the Taliban's negotiation team, Mujahid said women were not responsible or capable enough to participate.

However, in a slight softening of the group's position, Mujahid said women would be allowed to play a limited role in the country's judicial, education, and health sectors in the future "true Islamic system" sought by the group.

The Taliban rejected all rights for women and minorities during their reign in the 1990s.
It is alleged that on Feb. 12, 2019, Alrashid met the woman and others at a restaurant in Oak Brook for a business presentation dinner. Following the business dinner, Alrashid and the woman traveled together in Alrashids vehicle back to his house, where the victim had left her car. It is alleged that during the drive home, Alrashid sexually assaulted the woman, according to the release.
He confirmed he was in a new relationship with stunning stylist Alexandra Schapel last month.

And former Bachelor In Paradise star Bill Goldsmith proudly flaunted his romance on social media this week.

The plumber posted a picture of the pair cuddling up while spending time in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast.

Still going strong! Bachelor In Paradise star Bill Goldsmith gushed about his new romance with stylist Alexandra Schapel on social media on Monday

Bill and Alexandra have been spending time together in Queensland, and recently went on a camping trip together.

Alexandra shared several happy snaps from the trip a few days ago.

The happy couple were seen soaking up the sunshine while showing off their toned beach bodies in swimwear.

Bill confirmed the pair had found love with each other to Daily Mail Australia last month.

So in love! Bill and Alexandra have been spending time together in Queensland, and recently went on a camping trip together. Alexandra shared several happy snaps from the trip a few days ago

Alexandra also confirmed the pair were an item.

The couple initially sparked relationship rumours after they were seen cuddling up to each other on Instagram.

Bill has also been leaving a number of flirty messages under style snaps of the beauty lately.

Hot couple! The happy couple were seen soaking up the sunshine while showing off their toned beach bodies in swimwear

Under a photo of Alexandra wearing just a pair of white bikini bottoms and a cropped singlet, posted on July 12, he wrote: 'How's the rig?'

Meanwhile, he commented 'Hot' and posted a flame emoji alongside a snap of Alexandra showing off her midriff in another revealing top and a pair of boyfriend jeans, also posted last month.

It's official! Bill confirmed the pair had found love with each other to Daily Mail Australia last month

'Hot': Bill has also been leaving a number of flirty messages under style snaps of the beauty lately

Compliments: Under a photo of Alexandra wearing just a pair of white bikini bottoms and a cropped singlet, posted on July 12, he wrote: 'How's the rig?'

Bill hit the headlines for a relationship other than his own earlier earlier this year, after making sexist comments about Alisha Aitken-Radburn.

Alisha, 26, declared her love for Glenn Smith, 32, during Sunday night's finale of Paradise, which was filmed in December - but it's believed they subsequently split and 'hooked up' with other people, before deciding to get back together.

Taking to Instagram on Sunday, Bill shared a Daily Mail Australia article about the pair's brief break, and wrote: '"Hooked up" @DailyMailAU you are being too kind.'

'Wait until you hear the full details hahaha,' he added, alongside the squirting water and eggplant emojis and the hashtag #SheWasThirsty.

Interestingly, Bill made no mention of the fact that Glenn had also hooked-up with Helena Sauzier during his break from dating Alisha.

During Friday's episode of the So Dramatic podcast, the host revealed that Glenn and Alisha had called it quits shortly after leaving Fiji and during this time they both 'hooked up' with different people.

Not happy: Bill hit the headlines earlier this week, after making sexist comments about Alisha Aitken-Radburn, following her split from Glenn Smith (both pictured)

Bill has only recently emerged back into the spotlight, following his own run on season two of Bachelor In Paradise.

The mechanical plumber had a short-lived romance with Alex Nation before the pair split after leaving Fiji.

He was later seen kissing a mystery brunette in his work van in Melbourne.
(RNS)  An Idaho church plans to reopen in person despite its pastor being hospitalized for COVID-19.

On Monday (Sept. 14), Candlelight Christian Fellowship in Coeur dAlene posted a notice on the church website with an update on the condition of its pastor, Paul Van Noy, and his wife, Brenda. Both have been recovering from COVID-19.

As of Monday, Pastor Van Noy had spent 11 days in the ICU and was still on oxygen. His wife was recovering at home.

I am watching in prayer that there are no new cases and we can all be back together  worshipping together as called  very soon, Van Noy wrote in the update. "Please pray for health and strength for all. We are called to such a time as this  to represent the Lord!

According to the Candlelight website, the congregation plans to hold two in-person services this coming Sunday. The church had been closed for two weeks and was deep cleaned in preparation for reopening. In addition to their pastor and his wife, five staff members were infected, a church leader told the Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane.

We didnt want, obviously, to be spreading the virus, Eric Reade, a church leader, told the Spokesman-Review.

About 60 people from several churches gathered in a parking lot outside Kootenai Health last weekend to sing and pray for Van Noy's recovery. The parking lot was visible from intensive care, according to the Coeur dAlene Press.

Were praying for a miracle, Kari Schueler, one of the organizers, told the Press.

Van Noy has been critical of COVID-19 restrictions on churches in the past. In a July Facebook post, he claimed masks are not effective in preventing the spread of the disease and that he would not require churchgoers to wear them.

While he said the virus is real, Van Noy argued the threat had been overhyped.

It is true that Covid-19 cases are in escalation here in our community and that the virus is real, he wrote on Facebook. However, the panic to stop the world or mandate public compliance with less than free exercise is causing untold problems and pushback that will not be helpful.

Brenda Van Noy did admit in a Facebook post that she had failed to take the coronavirus seriously, according to the Spokesman-Review. Im humbled," she wrote in early September.

Pray for healing. Love each other. Pray for those who have lost loved ones because of this EVIL virus!

This Sunday, the church plans to host radio preacher and Bible prophecy expert J.B. Hixson as guest preacher. On September 27, pro-Trump activist Charlie Kirk, president of Turning Point USA, and Rev. Rob McCoy, of Godspeak Calvary Chapel near Los Angeles, will be guest speakers. McCoys congregation has been holding indoor services since May, despite California COVID-19 restrictions.

Earlier this year, a California judge issued a restraining order, barring McCoy's church from meeting.

The church is one of a number of congregations suing the state of California, claiming restrictions on indoor worship are unconstitutional. McCoy told Religion News Service earlier this summer that church services should be considered essential.

People needed this, McCoy told RNS in August. What they did was not an affront. They wanted the community to know that Christ is critical and essential and they wanted to testify that no matter what it would cost them, even if they were going to be berated and maligned."

READ THIS STORY AT RELIGIONNEWS.COM.

Article originally published by Religion News Service. Used with permission.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images
NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2020 / Matt Muller New Orleans is quite the traveler. Below, he suggests three must-see National Parks to visit in the western U.S.

Glacier National Park

When you consider some of the most beautiful national parks in the United States, Glacier National Park is one that certainly comes to mind. Massive mountaintops, turquoise-blue lakes, lush forests -- this park has it all. According to Matt Muller New Orleans, this is one of his favorite national parks in North America. With over 700 miles of trails and skyscraping peaks in every direction, Glacier National Park is a nature lover's dream. And due to the increase in tourism over the years, there are ample lodging opportunities. However, to experience nature in its purest form, Matt Muller New Orleans suggests setting up camp at the many local campgrounds in the area. Or better yet, hit the trail and go backpacking!

Grand Canyon National Park

As we head south towards Mexico, we land in one of the seven natural wonders of the world: The Grand Canyon. This leads us to the next favorite national park for Matt Muller New Orleans -- Grand Canyon National Park. While it may just be a huge hole in the ground, the sights of the area are truly a must-see. From red rock in every direction to canyon walls standing thousands of feet in the sky, the Grand Canyon is the jewel of the southwest. If you end up making the trip out there, be sure to bring your camera! There are picture opportunities around every corner! Matt Muller New Orleans also recommends hitting the trail and hiking down into the canyon. But be aware how far you hike down; the hike back up is straight uphill!

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

As we leave our gaze of the canyon walls, we make our way east to the great state of New Mexico. And that gets us to the third top western U.S. destination for Matt Muller New Orleans: Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This incredible area features a set of more than 119 caves, all formed when sulfuric acid dissolved limestone. That left these one-of-a-kind caverns that come in various shapes and sizes. Afraid of closed-in spaces? No need to worry! Given the ample amount of caves in the area, Matt Muller New Orleans says there are massive caves that can fit hundreds of people. That being said, feeling claustrophobic shouldn't be an issue at all! One adventure in the area, Big Room Trail, is among the most popular in the park. The Big Room is a cave that is heavily decorated with beautiful cave formations. As you're hiking on the 1.25-mile trail, Matt Muller New Orleans suggests checking out these other points of interest: Hall of Giants, Bottomless Pit, and Crystal Spring Dome.

If you're ever heading out west, Matt Muller New Orleans says you won't be disappointed if any of these national parks are on your itinerary.

CONTACT:

Caroline Hunter

Web Presence, LLC

+1 7865519491

SOURCE: Matthew Muller

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Market players will be attaining prominence through increasing product launches over the years to come.

ROCKVILLE, MD / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2020 / The global pallet jack market is anticipated to expand at an impressive CAGR of about 9% all through the forecast period (2020-2030). The extensive use of pallet jacks in warehouses or factory premises is complementing the market growth. However, the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has caused a dent in the growth of the manufacturing sector and this has consecutively influenced the pallet jack market too. While, manufacturing has been revived in several regions such as South Asia, Europe, and East Asia. Accordingly, the pallet jack market is poised to touch its original growth rate by the third quarter of 2021.

"Demand-side shortfalls due to COVID-19 pandemic are inducing factories to cease operations. Therefore, the pallet jack sales are anticipated to decline in the third & fourth quarter of 2020," says the Fact.MR report.

Request a report sample to gain comprehensive market insights at

https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=4958

Pallet Jack Market - Key Takeaways

By product, the powered pallet jacks segment accounts for 80% revenue

By end-use, the manufacturing industry accounts for nearly 60% share of the market

While the logistics sector is gaining traction owing to increasing e-commerce shopping, registering an impressive CAGR of 12%

Asia will emerge as a lucrative region due to significant progress in both South & East Asia

Presence of several small enterprises in Europe will create demand for pallet jacks.

Pallet Jack Market - Drivers

Market incumbents are engaged in renting pallet jacks instead of buying them, to frequently examine the workflow and modernizing their business procedure

Governments are working with stakeholders to provide momentum in construction and infrastructure, which would further increase the pallet jack market size over the years to come

Story continues

Pallet Jack Market - Constraints

Pallet jacks, when compared to forklifts, do not have much lifting power and height which can hinder market growth

Manual attribute of pallet jacks might not allow carrying goods for making transport difficult, impacting the market sales

Anticipated Market Impact by COVID-19 Outbreak

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted the pallet jack market. A notable drop in production has affected associated industries and, in turn, is negatively impacting the demand growth. That said, the market is anticipated to recover with the help of governments to revive the industries and further boosting market size in the coming years.

Explore the global Pallet Jack market with 119 figures, 136 data tables, along with the table of contents of the report. You can also find detailed segmentation on https://www.factmr.com/report/4958/pallet-jack-market

Competition Landscape

Key players identified in the global Pallet Jack Market are Jungheinrich AG, Toyota Motor Corporation, Raymond Corporation, Caterpillar Inc., Yale Materials Handling Corporation, Clark Material Handling Company Inc., Komatsu Ltd., Crown Equipment Corporation, UniCarriers Corp., Godrej Material Handling, Combilift Ltd., Carborundum Universal Limited (CUMI), Patel Material Handling Equipment, Jost's Engineering Company Limited, Niuli Machinery Manufacture Co., Ltd, Noveltek Industrial Manufacturing Inc., Ningbo Ruyi Joint Stock Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc. and Wesco Industrial Products, LLC.

More on the Report

The FACT.MR's market research report provides in-depth insights into the pallet jack market. The market is scrutinized on the basis of product (powered pallets jacks and manual pallets jacks), capacity (below 2.5 tons, 2.5 to 5 tons and above 5 tons), and end use (logistics, manufacturing, retail, automotive, food & beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace & defence and general manufacturing) across seven major regions (North America, Europe, East Asia, South Asia, Oceania, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA).

Explore Wide-ranging Coverage of Fact.MR's Industrial Goods Landscape

Pallet Tines Market: Find insights on Pallet Tines market with analysis of segments, statistics, influencers, market players, and business strategies adopted over a 10-year forecast period.

Pallet Trucks Market: Fact.MR's report on the Pallet Trucks market offers insights on the market during 2019-2028, including restraints, revenue sources, market leaders, and market strategies.

Industrial Trucks Market: Read an analysis of the Industrial Trucks market with insights on growth factors, opportunities, restraints, regional market forecast, regulatory policies, and strengths of market leaders.

About Fact.MR

Fact.MR is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. Fact.MR is headquartered in Dublin, and has offices in Dubai. Fact.MR's latest market research reports industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and take critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition.

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Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, who has been in a tussle with the Shiv Sena, on Monday criticised the Maharashtra government after at least 10 people were killed in a building collapse in the western states Bhiwandi city.

Ranauts latest comments against the state government came after a Twitter user shared an article about the collapse of a three-storey building in Bhiwandi tagging the actors team. Meanwhile Maharashtra government k-k-k-k-kNgnaa ..... if they stop being obsessed with me they will know how the entire state is collapsing, Ranaut responded on Twitter.

Painful scenes! Happens when Maharashtra govt has only the time to dismantle @KanganaTeams office! #Maharashtra #Bhiwandi, the user had tweeted.

Meanwhile Maharashtra government ---- ..... if they stop being obsessed with me they will know how the entire state is collapsing. https://t.co/qSUBGApLLA  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) September 21, 2020

At least 10 people were killed after a three-storey building collapsed in the Patel Compound area in Bhiwandi. The building collapsed at around 3:40am.

Ranauts tweet also came days after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished her office in the city. Her office in Pali Hill, Bandra was partially demolished by the civic body on September 10. She had moved the Bombay High Court against the demolition of what BMC termed as illegal alterations at her office.

The civic body had earlier filed an affidavit in the high court, saying Ranaut had made substantial alterations and additions to the property unlawfully and that her allegations against it were baseless.

Ranaut has been at loggerheads with the Maharashtra government since she criticised Mumbai Polices handling of the investigation into Sushant Singh Rajputs death. She referred to Mumbai as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan and triggered a political controversy.

The states ruling alliance has accused her of carrying forward the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s political agenda. Ranaut got security from the BJP-ruled Centre amid her spat with Sena leaders.
UPDATE 11:25 a.m.

British Columbians will be going to the polls October 24, pandemic or no pandemic.

Premier John Horgan confirmed Monday what had been speculated for the past two weeks: That he will capitalize on his high approval rating, and the weakness of the Greens and Liberals, to secure a majority for his NDP government.

He said he has met with the lieutenant governor this morning and received assent to call a general election.

"I want everyone to know I have struggled mightily with this decision, and it did not come easy to me," Horgan said.

He cited the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to address it, as one of the reasons for calling an early election.

"This pandemic will be with us for a year or more, and that's why I believe we need to have an election now," Horgan said. "We can either delay that decision and create uncertainty and instablility over the next 12 months -- more speculation, more talk about what might be -- or we can do what I believe is always the right thing and that's ask British Columbians what they think."

Horgan's NDP did not win the last election. The party won fewer seats than the BC LiberaIs, but Horgan was able to convince the lieutenant governor that he could form government, with the help of the Green Party's three members, who signed a confidence and supply agreement that allowed the NDP to govern.

In calling a snap election, Horgan is violating B.C.'s fixed election statute. In 2001, the former BC Liberal government enshrined fixed election dates into the Constitution Act. The next provincial election should be held in October, 2021.

The Horgan government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in high approval ratings, so Horgan is no doubt banking on that to secure a majority, and free his government from the Green Party's influence.

The Greens are currently down to two sitting MLAs, as former Green Party leader Andrew Weaver now sits as an independent and is not seeking re-election.

As "Machiavellian" as Horgan's snap election may seem, Richard Johnston, political science professor at University of BC, thinks Horgan stands a good chance of winning a majority, partly because of the weakness of both the Green Party in general and BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson.

"The Greens have all along been a kind of a fake party," Johnston said. "They just caught some breaks this time. The Liberals have disappeared from view, and their return to visibility may not help them very much because Wilkinson just doesn't seem to have the jam.

"It's cynical today, but once the election begins, he has a record to run on, and the others don't particularly."

He added, however, that, at least federally, the record of snap election calls has not been good to incumbents. In general, frontrunners lose ground in snap elections, he said.

However, he added that Horgan's track record before the pandemic is generally strong.

"The NDP have strength in their case, generally, even before the pandemic, in the sense that they governed competently," Johnston said. "John Horgan was certainly not Glen Clark."

The NDP will need to field a lot of new candidates in short order, as roughly a dozen NDP MLAs have announced they will not seek re-election, including about half a dozen cabinet ministers.

 Nelson Bennett, BIV

ORIGINAL 9:50 a.m.

Premier John Horgan is expected to call a fall election today.

He will speak with media at 11 a.m. following a meeting with Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin where he will request the Legislature be dissolved and an election called.

Premier John Horgan will address how British Columbians deserve a say in our economic recovery and will decide the future of our province, the BC NDP said in a news release.

Voting day will be October 24, according to Elections B.C.

Horgan appears to believe any blowback he receives from voters for sending them to the polls in a pandemic will be mitigated by his soaring approval ratings.

Both Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson and new Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau have criticized Horgan in recent weeks over the potential of a snap election.

The provincial government made more than a dozen "announcements" on Sunday  a day when government public affairs offices usually go silent  including new affordable housing units in Kelowna and a new hospital tower in Prince George.

More to come...
President Trump said on Monday that he would not approve a deal for TikTok if its Chinese owner did not fully sell its interest in the product, a move that would scuttle an arrangement that was expected to help the app avoid a federal ban.

Asked about reports that TikToks Chinese owner, ByteDance, would still own 80 percent of the service after the deal, Mr. Trump said that they would have nothing to do with it, and if they do we just wont make the deal.

He said Oracle and Walmart, which under the deal would take a 20 percent stake in the new company, TikTok Global, would control the service.

And if we find that they dont have total control, then were not going to approve the deal, he said during an appearance on Fox & Friends.
Ben Foden surprised his wife Jackie and their four-month-old baby daughter Farrah with a surprise anniversary trip to Nantucket, where they wed last August.

Jackie took to Instagram on Sunday to share a slew of holiday snaps of the family at the beach alongside the caption: 'Thank you for such a lovely surprise anniversary trip Benny'.

It comes after the rugby player, 35, admitted it was 'wrong' to marry Jackie on the day his divorce from ex-wife Una Healy, 38, was granted.

Holiday: Ben Foden surprised his wife Jackie and their four-month-old baby daughter Farrah with a surprise anniversary trip to Nantucket, where they wed last August

Ben and Jackie packed on the PDA in the photos, with one showing the pair sunbathing on beach towels.

In another snap the couple held hands as they walked Farrah along the pier.

Jackie looked every inch the doting mum as she helped the youngster dip her toes in the sand.

Family: In one snap the couple held hands as they walked Farrah along the pier

Sweet: Jackie took to Instagram on Sunday to share a slew of holiday snaps of the family at the beach alongside the caption: 'Thank you for such a lovely surprise anniversary trip Benny'

She wrote: 'Happy 4 months to my beach baby... thank you for such a lovely surprise anniversary trip Benny'.

The holiday comes as Ben expressed his remorse about not showing more sensitivity to Una on the day their divorce was granted.

The rugby ace, married Una in June 2012 after four years of dating, but their marriage ended in 2018 after he allegedly cheated on her with PR girl Becky Milne, who denied the claims.

Parenting duties: Jackie looked every inch the doting mum as she helped the youngster dip her toes in the sand

Doting dad: Ben captioned the moment on camera

Just one year later, Ben created shockwaves when he married his second wife Jackie on board a luxury yacht in Nantucket, Massachusetts, just two weeks after they started dating.

The US socialite announced her pregnancy soon after, and the couple welcomed their daughter Farrah Abra Foden in May this year, born three weeks early following health complications.



Speaking in a candid interview with TV presenter Sharon Carpenter on Instagram Live last week, Ben admitted he did not act in a particularly kind way towards Una.

'I hold my hands up and say, it was wrong,' he said. 'My final decree didn't even come through until the morning of us getting married.'

Whirlwind romance: Ben married American Jackie Belanoff Smith in Nantucket after just two weeks of dating on the morning that his divorce came through last August

The former England rugby player nonetheless maintained he had no regrets.

'People will say I wasn't very respectful in what I did, getting married to Jackie very quickly, but you can't help the heart and we've got past it.'

The couple now live in America, where they are raising Farrah.

Ben also co-parents a daughter Aoife, eight, and son Tadhg, five, with Una.

Wasn't to be: It comes after the rugby player, 35, admitted it was 'wrong' to marry Jackie on the day his divorce from ex-wife Una Healy, 38, was granted (pictured in 2017)

Ben also described the period after he split from Una in his interview with Sharon Carpenter.

He said: 'I did a lot of dating. I went a bit crazy for about six-seven months, on a few of the well known apps. I had a lot of fun.

'When I met Jackie, she was like no one I've ever met before in so many departments. She's very independent, very free-spirited.

'She was at a point where she was like, "I want to meet someone and get married and have kids". Even though in my head I was like, "Oh I don't really want to do that" I knew she'd make such a good mum.

'I knew she'd be really kind and respectful to my other kids from my other marriage.'
A barman who had his arm blown off in a horror beer keg explosion will receive a compensation payout after reaching an out of court settlement with a former employer.

Jye Parker, 29, was seeking more than $2million in damages from Bar Beach Bowling Club in Newcastle, two hours north of Sydney, claiming the venue breached its duty of care.

He was helping a friend set up and test a portable beer keg system in October 2014 when it suddenly exploded and changed his life forever.

Mr Parker and the bowling club agreed on an out of court settlement on Monday, just weeks before the matter was due to continue in the Supreme Court.

Jye Parker (pictured before the accident six years ago) has reached a settlement with Bar Beach Bowling Club

The undisclosed payout is believed to be in Mr Parker's favour with costs, NCA Newswire reported.

Mr Parker was an avid surfer and guitarist, who lived next door at the time and previously worked at the bowling club when he offered to help his friend who was having trouble getting beer to flow.

Bar patrons rushed to his aid by ripping off their shirts to try and stem the bleeding and apply pressure to the injuries.

Mr Parker was rushed to hospital where he was placed in a coma and woke the next day to the shock of finding all but 6.5 centimetres of his left arm had been amputated.

Mr Parker (pictured being treated by paramedics) had to have his left arm amputated

Mr Parker claimed the keg exploded because it didn't have a gas regulating device fitted - which he believed was a significant and foreseeable risk.

Staff working at the time described the explosion sounding 'like a bomb going off'.

Bar Beach Bowling Club admitted it owed a duty of care, but denied legal responsibility for Mr Parker's injury as he 'failed to take reasonable care for his own safety' and 'any damage or loss was caused by the plaintiff's own negligence'.

Mr Parker sought damages from the club to help pay for his rising medical and domestic care costs.

The medical bill estimated at more than $250,000, including several expensive hi-tech surgeries for a prosthetic arm and another operation to lengthen his severed humerus bone with titanium, the Supreme Court heard in May.

The explosion at Bar Beach Bowling Club (pictured) changed Jye Parker's life forever

Jye Parker (pictured at a Halloween party after the accident) was seeking more than $2million in damages from his former employer

The court heard Mr Parker was a candidate for targeted muscle reinnervation, which aims to improve the control of prosthetics by using residual nerves to drive the artificial device.

The case has since had an extended postponement due to the need for new medical assessments.

The Newcastle community rallied around Mr Parker in wake of the accident that changed his life forever.

In 2019, he received an estimated $100,000 payout when he settled a lawsuit against keg supplier and brewery giant Carlton and United Breweries.

Jye Parker (pictured in the ambulance after the explosion) was placed in a coma
A former interpreter trapped in a 'hellhole' migrant camp has narrowly missed out on a major policy change allowing Afghans sanctuary in Britain.

Nesar, who worked for two years on the front line in Helmand with UK forces, resigned because of death threats.

He would normally have qualified under the new policy unveiled by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel this weekend.

The change said those who served over 18 months on the front line and resigned will be given visas, affecting up to 100 interpreters plus their families.

But for Nesar, 29, and his wife Nazarine, 28, the change came too late as they had already fled Afghanistan out of desperation in the hope of getting to the UK by boat.

Nesar, who worked with the British in Helmand from September 2009 until 2011, missed out on policy allowing Afghans sanctuary in Britain. Royal Marines seen above in Helmand in 2014

They are now trapped in the remains of the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos which burned to the ground this month.

The rule change exempts those who have already fled Afghanistan because of the Taliban and are now in third countries  so Nesar and his wife no longer qualify.

Last night, former Army officers appealed to the Government to show compassion and allow the interpreter and his wife to the UK as an exceptional case.

Dr Julian Lewis, former chairman of the defence select committee, is also asking the Home and Defence secretaries to make the scheme more generous.

He said: 'Even if they are out of Afghanistan, they had to leave because of working for us and we should reach out and rescue them.'

Speaking from the camp, Nesar told how his wife has spoken of killing herself.

He added: 'The Government change of policy is great news and I thank them for recognising the dangers translators face because of their work with the British, but for me stranded in a place that resembles a hellhole, it is impossible for me to return to Afghanistan... I had no choice but to leave if I wanted to stay alive and keep my wife alive...'

Nesar, 29, and his wife Nazarine, 28, had fled Afghanistan and are trapped in the remains of the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos which burned to the ground this month (above)

More than 13,000 refugees are living at the camp in grim conditions, with Covid an increasing problem.

Colonel Simon Diggins, former military attache at the British Embassy in Kabul, said: 'With the new and welcome policy change, he [Nesar] could have been granted a visa. I therefore call on the Home Secretary to use her discretion under the Dublin III Regulation, to 'claim' Nesar and his wife and process his claims, safely.'

The Mail's Betrayal of the Brave campaign, which led calls for policy change, has highlighted the desperate plight of Nesar and dozens of other translators who believe they were 'abandoned' to the Taliban.

Nesar worked with the British in Helmand from September 2009, leaving in 2011.

This was followed by three years with US Special Forces.
When the coronavirus pandemic led to a statewide shutdown in March and a switch to virtual services for education, employers and health care providers, Gandara Center staff had to quickly figure out how to keep in touch with their clients, many of whom are dealing with mental health conditions.

We immediately tried to understand the impact as the CDC and Gov. Charlie Baker were both sharing information with us, said Lois Nesci, CEO of Gandara Center. There were directives and guidelines we had to interpret and implement. We had to hit the pause button so that we could regroup to really address how to best tackle what COVID-19 was presenting to us.

Gandara Center is based in West Springfield but offering services across the state.

Nesci has held executive leadership positions at several nonprofit human services agencies in Massachusetts and Connecticut, including the title of Chief Operating Officer at the Center of Human Development in Springfield. She began her role at Gandara on Feb. 3, right before the pandemic hit a peak in March and April.

She said even though much of the staff is now working virtually or in the office for limited periods, the shared mission remains the same.

The focus and the goals of Gandara are really based on providing good quality behavioral health services, substance use services, and childrens behavioral health services to Latinos and all people in the communities we serve in Western and Central Massachusetts, she said. We work with individuals with limited resources who often find themselves homeless, unemployed and with poor access to health care. My personal goal is to strengthen that array of service delivery to those who need it most.

Nesci credits the hardworking staff at Gandara Center, who immediately transitioned to providing telehealth services whenever possible and ensured that every client was getting the services and medication they needed.

Yeika Serrano, program supervisor for the agencys Adult Community Clinic Services, said her staff of clinicians, outreach workers and peer specialists doubled their contact with clients once they went virtual.

Many of them dont have the option for the telehealth video conferencing, but our clinicians have been calling them multiple times a week just to check in on them and ensure that their mental health is stable, she said.

The program serves clients with serious to severe mental health illnesses ranging from social anxiety to panic disorders and hallucinations. There are also some clients with severe physical disabilities. Most of them live alone, Serrano said.

One of the reasons my staff increased the phone contact with clients is that many of them are completely isolated outside of maybe a community event or gathering. With those events being limited or canceled they can develop depression or increased anxiety from the isolation, she said. Thats why I have been so impressed with our staff. They care about their clients and want to make sure that they are making it through this pandemic.

5/6/2020 - Springfield - Kritzia Garcia, a front line worker for Gandara Center's homeless youth program. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

While Serranos team deals with adults, Kritzia Garcia has the added challenge of working with teenagers and young adults. Garcia is a housing specialist with the Shine Young Adult Housing Program.

Gandara Center works with homeless youth between the ages of 18-24 providing them with housing and helping them secure employment. During the height of the pandemic, many of them lost jobs or could not go to school and were confined to the small shelter nearly 24 hours a day.

Normally we are just an overnight shelter with five rooms for youth who are currently homeless, but in March we had to transition to being open 24/7 because these youths really had nowhere else to go, Garcia said. Normally during the day they were working or going to school or participating in some of Gandaras outreach programs.

The program also provides housing for about 30 young people across Greater Springfield.

We pay for their rent for a year and provide them with case management services that help them with finding steady employment or getting them onto school, Garcia said. We also teach them about financial literacy and saving money so that after the year they are financially stable enough to continue paying for their apartment and hopefully keep them from facing homelessness again.

While youth are resilient, Garcia said the challenges have ranged from those who did not take the social distancing guidelines seriously at the beginning to dealing with anxiety, depression and even boredom.

Its hard for them to not be able to be out and about,she said. They also are in close quarters so there is bickering and little arguments, but eventually they realized that this is a serious thing, that this wasnt something that was going away anytime soon.

While counseling services and at-home visits have gone virtual, Nesci said many of the services including the bilingual pharmacy on Main Street have remained operational throughout the pandemic.

We certainly had to adapt to how we were delivering services, and that included the use of telehealth, which allows for clinicians and staff to meet with people virtually to address their mental health needs, their substance use needs, including youth who have be behavioral health needs, she said. We have a variety of congregate care settings for individuals who have needs around substance use and recovery and those programs have operated on site because those are considered essential services.

Nesci said the agency has also seen an increase in clients seeking mental health and behavioral health services in the past few months.

The reality is all of our lives changed almost overnight, she said. The biggest thing that happened was the physical distancing and isolation and the lack of contact with people because thats what we were asked to do. But everything we do as humans is relational, so when you say to folks not to be around other people, that often times means they cant go to work or go to church or go to the store. With isolation often comes depression, and on top of that there is a fear factor. People are scared, even now. So we have definitely seen more people reaching out.

Related Content:
Deepening animosity between the worlds two largest economies. An impetuous and unpredictable leader of a nuclear-armed superpower. And a United States of America convulsed by racial turmoil and just weeks away from a historic presidential election. Headline news, not from 2020, but from 60 years ago.

In September 1960 a stellar cast of world statesmen  including Dwight David Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States; Nikita Khrushchev, the pugnacious leader of the Soviet Union; the prime ministers of the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia; and major players from across Africa and Asia, including Nehru, Sukarno, Kwame Nkrumah and Nasser  gathered in New York, for the opening of the UN General Assembly, at a critical moment in history.

Despite a brief thaw in the Cold War, which had seen Khrushchev meet with Eisenhower at Camp David in September 1959, hopes for a meaningful rapprochement had quickly soured. In the bitter aftermath of the U-2 incident, in which an American spy plane had been shot down over Russia on 1 May 1960, and its pilot Francis Gary Powers captured, Khrushchev lashed out at the perfidy of the US.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with EU investors on September 16

At a recent meeting on September 16 with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Elsbeth Akkerman, the Netherlands' Ambassador to Vietnam, said that the EVFTA will be a driving force for the development of bilateral ties, creating a foundation for investment cooperation in logistics projects. The government of the Netherlands supports this project, with the Dutch Development Bank pledging to contribute 10 per cent of the projects investment capital.

Also at the meeting, Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Paul Jansen said that Belgium also supports this project, hoping to strengthen trade between Vietnam and the EU in general, and between Belgium and the Netherlands and Vietnam in particular. The ambassador elaborated that a Belgian investment corporation will contribute capital to the project.

According to potential investors, this project can accommodate big container vessels to convey Vietnamese goods to the world. In addition, investors will also join activities to boost inland waterway transport, thus enabling the transportation of goods and farm produce from the Mekong Delta region to the Cai Mep Ha area and then to the world.

The investors expressed their hope that the project will be soon approved, and confirmed that they will develop it on schedule, ensuring quality and green transportation for sustainable development.

Chairing the meeting, the PM affirmed that the Vietnamese government always creates favourable conditions for foreign investors, especially those from the EU who have strong capacity and high-tech expertise.

The government leader assigned Ba Ria-Vung Tau to work with the Ministry of Planning and Investment on the investment proposal and then reports to him about the related issues.

The leader of the province said that it is ready to provide cleared land for the project.

Vietnam is the EUs second-largest trade partner in ASEAN after Singapore, with trade in goods worth 45.5 billion ($53.9 billion) in 2019. The FTA is projected to help increase Vietnams GDP by 4.6 per cent and its exports to the EU by 42.7 per cent by 2025.

Additionally, the European Commission has forecast the EUs GDP to increase by $29.5 billion by 2035, thus spurring demand for maritime transportation services.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, while calling for a greater alliance against the farm bills that were passed in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday amid a din, announced that her party is ready to support anyone who wants to take the lead for the sake of farmers. The party is also planning to launch massive protest rallies across the state against the farm bills.

The decision to hold protest rallies was taken after Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu suspended eight members of Parliament (MPs), including Trinamool Congresss Derek OBrien and Dola Sen, for the remainder of the session. Terming the suspension as undemocratic, the TMC chief said the move reflected the Centres autocratic mindset and promised to fight against the government.

She spoke to the eight MPs over the protests against the farm bills and appreciated their efforts towards upholding the values of Parliament". The MPs, who are now holding a protest against their suspension along with Opposition lawmakers from across parties, were suspended a day after the Upper House witnessed unprecedented unruly scenes during the passage of the two crucial farm bills.

Banerjee spoke to the MPs for 10 minutes and in her conversation with them appreciated their efforts in fighting against farmer bills, labour bills and upholding the values of Parliament, a senior Trinamool Congress leader said.

Hours ago, she wrote on Twitter, Suspension of the eight MPs who fought to protect farmers interests is unfortunate & reflective of this autocratic Govts mindset that doesnt respect democratic norms & principles. We wont bow down & well fight this fascist Govt in Parliament & on the streets.

Regarding the passage of the bills, Banerjee said, The bills were forcibly passed despite the low attendance of BJP MPs. The BJP did not have the numbers and that is why it suspended the MPs from various parties to pass its anti-farmer bills and anti-labour bills.

I think there is an immediate need for an alliance against the Centre which has passed the contentious bills in a Hitler style. We dont have any problem if someone else takes the lead. I assure the support of the TMC, even if we have to stand in the last line, in this stir for the sake of farmers, she said.

She further urged farmers, students, teachers and leaders of other political parties to come forward and fight against the Centre for bulldozing the democratic fabric of the country. They harassed lakhs of students in the name of NEET, JEE and for holding compulsory college/university examinations. Now, they are depriving farmers of the minimum support price (MSP). They are pushing farmers towards death beds. Famers will be left with no other options but to end their lives. These bills will lead to famine in the country.

Claiming that the bills will also lead to black marketing and it will encourage the racketeer and tout culture in agriculture, the TMC president said, Yesterday was a Black Sunday. We are all struggling with the pandemic and now they passed the bills which will further push weaker sections of a society towards darkness. The coronavirus is already there and now the BJP government at the Centre is pushing us towards marona (go and die).

On Union Labour Ministrys proposal to bring a law which will allow companies with less than 300 workers to hire and fire policy, Banerjee said, The Centra has already tweaked the labour laws and now it is planning to bring a law that will allow companies to hire and fire. This BJP government is crushing the poor people to make ways for a section of touts. We strongly condemn this.

All the partys district and block-level presidents have been asked to reach out farmers and create awareness about the Centres anti-farmer policies, she said.

Earlier in the day, Naidu, who termed Sundays ruckus in Rajya Sabha as a bad day, suspended eight MPs, including Trinamool Congresss Derek OBrien, Dola Sen, Sanjay Singh (AAP), Rajeev Satav (Congress), KK Ragesh (CPI-M), Ripun Bora (Congress), Syed Nazir Hussain (Congress), and Elamaran Karim (CPI-M) for one week. He, however, overruled a notice for no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh moved by the Oppostion leaders and their plea for an adjournment of the proceedings.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, through voice vote amid the din caused by opposition protests.

Banerjee also extended her support to CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav, who have been named in the Delhi riots case. She said, We may have ideological differences but the way they were framed is condemnable. The BJP government is gagging the voice of Opposition leaders and snatching the powers of state governments.
Nancy Pelosi appeared to lose her train of thought and randomly blurted out 'Good morning, Sunday morning' during an interview on ABC's This Week.

Host George Stephanopoulos had asked the House Speaker about possibility of a second attempt at impeaching Trump in the coming months.

But instead of responding to the anchor's question, Pelosi came out with the random phrase, before laughing and then continuing, while avoiding answering the question.

Stephanopoulos asked: 'To be clear, you're not taking any arrows out of your quiver, you're not ruling anything out.'

And Pelosi replied: 'Good morning, Sunday morning. We have a responsibility. we take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. We have a responsibility to meet the needs of the American People.'

Stephanopoulos initially seemed to smirk during the bizarre response, before his look turned to one of confusion as the interview continued.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blurted 'Good Morning, Sunday Morning' during her interview with George Stephanopoulos on This Week

The utterance appeared to make no sense whatsoever and soon got people on Twitter wondering what was going on

STEPHANOPOULOS: "To be clear, you're not ruling anything out?"



PELOSI: "Good morning! Sunday morning!" pic.twitter.com/Moy75XqAIW  Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 21, 2020

It didn't take long before Twitter users began talking about the incident online and shared both their concern and amusement over Pelosi's bizarre outburst.

'This is so uncomfortable to watch....And confusing. Its like something is malfunctioning,' wrote Meghan McCain, the daughter of late Senator and former presidential candidate, John McCain.

'When you accidentally hit the reset button,' joked another user.

One person on social media urged viewers to watch the clip twice, first watching Pelosi and then during a second viewing specifically watching Stephanopoulos's reaction.

'Watch this once while looking at Pelosi the entire time. Then watch a second time and look at Stephanopoulos's face when she answers,' they suggested.

Meghan McCain the daughter of late Senator and former presidential candidate, John McCain, shared her feelings on Pelosi's bizarre outburst

Others took to Twitter to joke about what they had just witnessed on the Sunday morning show

Another user urged people to watch the clip twice looking at Pelosi and then Stephanopoulos

Another Twitter user believed Pelosi's comments were a weak attempt to change the subject.

'I think she tried to do the 'pivot and change the subject', but she doesn't have the dexterity she did when she was younger. And yet, he got the message. What's MORE telling was his reaction, er... non-reaction like she didn't say anything unusual at all.'

'This clip is like somebody hit the reset button on Pelosi in the middle of an interview,' mused one in a response online.

Others were more understanding and put it down to a 'crossed line' between ABC and another network.

'Seems like a mic issue where someone from another show, probably CBS Sunday Morning, that she was also going to be appearing on was patched into her earpiece and she said "Good morning." Not sure why this is a thing,' tweeted another.

John Dennis whose Twitter account describes him as a 'Republican Pelosi opponent' attempted to hint at a possible more sinister reason, but then failed to explain.

Another Twitter user said they believed Pelosi was trying to change the subject

Others suggested that perhaps Pelosi had been subjected to a crossed line with CBS News

John Dennis whose Twitter account describes him as a 'Republican Pelosi opponent' attempted to hint at a possible more sinister reason, but then failed to explain.

'Ive been a Pelosi opponent for over 10 years. Ive never seen her behave like this. Would love to speculate, but wont indulge,' he tweeted.

During the interview, Pelosi refused to rule out pushing forward a privileged impeachment resolution that would have the effect of eating up Senate floor time in the hope of potentially stalling a Supreme Court nomination.

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' she told 'This Week' when asked about the prospect.

'This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election," Pelosi continued. "Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus."

Host George Stephanopoulos had asked the speaker about impeaching either Trump or Attorney General Bill Barr as part of a strategy to slow the nomination, with Senate Democrats holding little leverage to act on their own, and President Donald Trump saying he will nominate a successor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg this week following Ginsburg's death Friday.

During the interview, Pelosi refused to rule out pushing forward a privileged impeachment resolution that would have the effect of eating up Senate floor time in the hope of potentially stalling a Supreme Court nomination

Pelosi said the vacancy would galvanize supporters, and told Americans: 'You can vote, you can get out the vote.'

She repeated her veiled threat when Stephanopoulos asked her: 'But to be clear, youre not taking any arrows out of your quiver, youre not ruling anything out?'

'We have a responsibility, we take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

'We have a responsibility to meet the needs of the American people. When we weigh the equities, protecting our democracy requires us to use every arrow in our quiver,' Pelosi said.

Her remarks came just days after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed on Friday to call a vote for whomever Trump nominated as her replacement.

The next day, protesters gathered outside McConnell's home to demand he stop pushing forward with a new SCOTUS pick.

Fulfilling the Supreme Court seat left vacant by Ginsburg's death before the fall election is as much about McConnell's goal of securing a conservative majority on the court for decades to come as it is about confirming Trump's upcoming nominee.

There's no guarantee the Kentucky Republican will succeed, but he is about to move ahead with a jarring and politically risky strategy to try to bend his majority in the Senate. If it works, he will have ushered three justices to the court in four years, a historic feat.

She appeared less inclined to hint at her options when asked about another potential Democratic pressure point: threatening to expand the size of the court should they capture the Senate in November and Republicans push through a conservative successor to Ginsburg.

'Well lets just win the election. Lets hope that the president will see the light,' Pelosi said.

President Trump has said he will nominate a Supreme Court justice this week

Pelosi was asked about whether the House might impeach Trump or Attorney General Bill Barr, which would take up Senate floor time

Pelosi began her remarks stressing the coronavirus and saying Trump planned to use the vacancy to undo the Affordable Care Act  as both parties use the vacancy to try to fire up their supporters.

'She would want us to keep our eye on the ball of the 200,000 people who, probably this weekend would sadly reach that number,' she said of Ginsburg and the growing coronavirus death count.

'The president is rushing to make some kind of a decision because November 10 is when the oral arguments begin on the Affordable Care Act, she said.

He doesnt want to crush the virus, he wants to crush the Affordable Care Act.'

According to a Congressional Research Service report from January 2020 amid Trump's impeachment, after the House transmits an impeachment message and managers, 'The time agreed upon in modern trials has been within a day or two of receipt of the House message.'

'Impeachment Rule III provides that after the articles are presented by the House managers, the Senate will proceed to consider the articles at 1 oclock the next day (unless the next day is a Sunday), or sooner if ordered by the Senate,' it notes.
VIDEO: Stamford memorial honors Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy

On a cool, September day with the occasional gust of blustering wind, Gov. Ned Lamont asked a crowd of people to recall what Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said about female representation on the nation's highest court.

"Remember when they asked her how many female justices is enough on the Supreme Court?" he asked. "Remember what she answered?"

"Nine," a group of people called back from the more than 100 people gathered outside the State of Connecticut's Superior Court in Stamford.

"So, you remember that, you remember that, you remember that," he said, pointing to members of the crowd, "and we're going to stand up and remember her legacy every day. It only works if you remember what she stood for, remember what she meant to all of us, and live it in our lives."

Lamont was one of several speakers, including Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who spoke to people who came out to honor the late justice's memory Sunday afternoon. The event was organized by a coalition of local activist groups, said Brook Manewal, co-founder of Pink Wave in Connecticut.
TAIPEI : China sent numerous aircraft close to Taiwan during two days of drills from Friday, causing the island's air force to scramble, as Beijing expressed anger at the visit of a senior U.S. official to Taipei.

WHY IS TENSION RISING NOW?

China claims democratically-run Taiwan as its own territory, to be taken by force if needed, a threat the island has lived with since 1949, when defeated Kuomintang, or Nationalist, forces fled there after their defeat by the Communists in the Chinese civil war.

China has been angered by stepped-up U.S. support for Taiwan, including two visits in as many months by top officials, one in August by Health Secretary Alex Azar and the other last week by Keith Krach, the undersecretary for economic affairs.

In addition, the United States is planning major new arms sales to Taiwan. China views all these steps as effectively being U.S. support for Taiwan independence, with the eventual establishment of a Republic of Taiwan, a red line for Beijing.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen says the island is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its formal name, and that the People's Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan and has no right to.

China calls Taiwan its most important and sensitive issue in U.S. ties. For China's ruling Communist Party, Taiwan is the last part of the nation still awaiting "liberation" after the 1949 victory, adding an extra historical significance.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

Taiwan and China do not have an official dialogue mechanism, meaning that any accidental clash between their fighter jets, for example, could quickly spiral out of control.

Taiwan's air force now regularly scrambles to see off approaching Chinese aircraft.

A conflict over Taiwan may suck in the United States and its Asian allies, though it is an open question whether Washington would, or could, come to Taipei's aid.

China may quickly overwhelm Taiwan with missile and cyber attacks before the United States even has a chance to respond.

However, any war would be damaging for China too, in terms of its international reputation and economically, especially if it is subject to broad Western economic sanctions.

WHY IS TAIWAN STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT?

Not only is Taiwan in a key geographic location on the edge of the Pacific between the disputed South China Sea and Japan, but it is a tech powerhouse, home to the world's biggest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd .

The United States views China's tech firms as a security risk and has moved to cut off its access to advanced chips, including those from Taiwan.

HOW DO THE ARMED FORCES OF THE TWO SIDES COMPARE?

Taiwan's military is well-trained and well-armed, but is dwarfed by China's People's Liberation Army, which is adding stealth fighters, aircraft carriers and advanced missiles in the throes of an impressive modernisation programme.

Tsai has made upgrading Taiwan's military a priority, stressing "asymmetric warfare", to make any attack as painful and as difficult for China as possible. This could include, for example, pinpoint strikes by long-range missiles on targets in China.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN A WAR BETWEEN TAIWAN AND CHINA?

While China could easily overwhelm Taiwan with missiles and air attacks, it has other options to bring the island to its knees, such as cyberattacks to take down basic infrastructure, or a naval blockade to force surrender.

Whatever happens, the reaction of the United States will be crucial.





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H elen Faliveno was first diagnosed with asthma when she was five years old and taken to hospital with problems breathing. With medication to control her asthma, she didnt have another bad attack until her early twenties, after moving to London from rural Essex. I passed out and was in hospital for a week. It was really scary, she says.

Since moving, shed had episodes when she struggled to breathe and had a very tight chest, but had presumed it was stress. I had never thought of the connection between not being in London long and it happening ... but its possible it was connected [to air pollution]. Its one of those things where you dont connect the dots until after.

A 2019 study by Kings College London and Imperial College London found around 1,000 London hospital admissions for asthma and serious lung conditions every year were caused by poor air quality in the capital.

Now 32, Faliveno says her asthma flare-ups come in waves. As a yoga teacher, she manages symptoms by utilising breathing techniques, and is sure to always carry an inhaler with her. On the Tube, where her asthma feels worse, she wears a face mask, which feels like an extra layer of protection.

Despite political consensus that air pollution is an issue that needs to be improved, many people find it affects their daily lives. More than two million Londoners, including 400,000 children, live in areas that exceed air pollution limits, with exposure to pollution  the causes of which are complex, including road traffic and the burning of fuels by industry and in our homes  associated with both ill-health and premature death.

Breathing polluted air  especially tiny particles known as PM2.5  can be particularly dangerous for the 12 million people in the UK living with diagnosed lung conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Because the smallest particles get right into the lungs, air pollution can quickly irritate airways and trigger symptoms.

In 2013, Ella Kissi-Debrah, who lived near the South Circular Road in Lewisham, south-east London, suffered a fatal asthma attack aged nine. A new inquest that was scheduled for this autumn will examine whether the UK government failed in its duty to prevent her death after local pollution levels breached EU legal limits.

Zak Bond, policy officer at Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation, explains that the charities have been lobbying for stronger laws through the Environment Bill, which is currently before Parliament.

Were campaigning for the government to commit to WHO limits, particularly on PM2.5. Were currently meeting our legal limits for these tiny particles but thats because they are incredibly lax and they are double what the WHO says is the bare minimum for what you should be aiming for.

Bond says the Environment Bill offers an opportunity for positive change. I think after coronavirus, people have realised how important respiratory health is to the health of the nation.

ONE YEAR BREATHING LONDONS AIR The Air We Breathe is a year-long project that considers the impact of Londons air on our health and asks how we can take action to limit it. This project is supported financially by the Childrens Investment Fund Foundation, Guys & St Thomas Charity, and the Clean Air Fund, who share the projects aims, but our journalism remains editorially independent. This project is part of our Future London initiative, which looks for solutions to some of the biggest issues facing the capital.

For some, however, the impact of the capitals air pollution on their lung conditions has prompted big decisions. Ashley Pollak is moving to Ibiza for six months, in part because of the impact air pollution has on his asthma, with attacks seeing him hospitalised.

Traffic has gone crazy after lockdown lifted, which has had a really noticeable effect on my asthma. In the last week, Ive been really breathless, he says.

In Ibiza, I really have no trouble with my asthma and barely have to take my medication and can be much more active.

Not everyone is able to leave the city. Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, a businessman, farmer and founder of The Black Farmer food range, would rather be on his farm in Devon but has to live in the capital where he is receiving treatment for an auto-immune condition.

He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia seven years ago and later developed Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), following a stem cell transplant. It affects his lungs  leaving him with a permanent hacking cough. Like many who have lung conditions, he finds the days when air pollution is highest is when he suffers most.

He says: Im in this really bizarre situation because I have a fantastic farm down in Devon and its absolutely brilliant in terms of where it is and it probably has the purest environment that you could imagine, but I have to base myself in London to be near the hospital that treats me.

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones / Daniel Hambury

Emmanuel-Jones lives on the 10th floor of an apartment block in Battersea overlooking the river. On his balcony, hes growing tomato and pepper plants for a very specific reason  to help filter out dirty air from coming into his flat from across the city.

Since his diagnosis he has become neurotic about air pollution levels, he says. After buying an air purifier, he let it run for a month without changing its filter  and was shocked when he saw what was caught in it. I was devastated to see it all because it made the air pollution really real for me. Its also the reason I have plants everywhere and why Im growing so much on my balcony, he says.

But while air pollution can exacerbate existing conditions, there is evidence that it may also cause conditions such as asthma. A study published last month in The British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that exposure to increased levels of air pollution can lead to the development of asthma in children, and that a reduction in pollution levels in areas of poor air quality may reduce the number of children who suffer from the disease.

The air pollution debate often misses the link between dirty air, underlying health conditions and inequality and structural racism, argues Rob Hughes, who is a clinical research fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Last year a study found that households in poverty have the highest levels of exposure to air pollution, and the pandemic has underlined that, he notes.Covid-19 really highlighted it for us. It has amplified the inequality  Much more research needs to be done into the link between the air we breathe, lung conditions and inequality.

Claire Thurwood, a musician and legal secretary, who lives in south-west London, believes authorities need to do more to tackle air pollution.

Both she and her 14-year-old daughter suffer from asthma, with her daughter diagnosed when she was two years old. She would have nasty attacks if she caught a virus, Thurwood says. Some were scary and made me rush her to the doctor.

Thurwoods own asthma was only diagnosed last year, although she now believes she has suffered from it for 20 years. The longer I worked in [central] London, the worse [it] got and at that time I didnt realise it was asthma, she says. So I was suffering without proper treatment.

She and her daughter find their asthma definitely gets worse when there is heavy traffic.

Diesel fumes are so hard to take and can spark off a tightening of the chest and wheezing, she says.

How asthma sufferers can help protect themselves from air pollution

More than half a million people in the capital are registered with their GP as having asthma. Asthma UKs 2019 annual report found air pollution to be a trigger for 57.9 per cent of people with asthma, but in London, this figure is even higher at 67.5 per cent.

Rob Hughes, a clinical research fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says doctors should take air pollution into account when giving advice to patients with lung conditions: When kids come in with asthma, GPs should be saying to the parents, Is there a different route you could take to school that would avoid main roads? or Are you signed up to get pollution alerts when theres a particular high pollution event?

He adds: You dont want parents to feel bad for things that are out of their control because its something political and that needs legislation, but you also want them to understand that there are small things you can do.

Asthma UK recommends sufferers check the pollution in their area with Defras UK-wide forecasts, or on a weather app. It also advises those whose asthma is triggered by pollution to avoid main roads, junctions, bus stations and car parks.

Mayor Sadiq Khan is this month supporting the Ask About Asthma campaign, which is asking organisations, businesses and residents in London to take simple steps to improve air quality such as having more greenery in and around homes and offices.

Having developed asthma as an adult, I know how vital our work is to clean up our citys toxic air and prevent many more Londoners becoming ill, Khan says.
La Salle University professor Brian DeHaven sits in his lab Sept. 16, 2020, as he talks with his microbiology students over Zoom about the beer he - and each of them - brewed at home during the coronavirus pandemic. Read more

The 22 students in the La Salle University microbiology class had been brewing their first batch of beer for the last two weeks, and it was time to taste it.

Senior Austin Taylor, participating on the class Zoom call, took a swig from his jar and grimaced.

Oh, oh, thats gross, the senior biology major from Woodbridge, N.J., said, putting his hand over his mouth as if he wasnt sure he could swallow it. That was nasty. I dont recommend that.

His teacher, assistant professor Brian DeHaven, laughed and told him not to worry. So was mine, DeHaven said.

Brewing the perfect beer on the first try could be a byproduct of DeHavens class, called Bootleg Biology, but its not the goal. The aim is the scientific lessons that brewing offers. Students are mixing their hops and malt. Theyre growing or capturing their own yeast, a process DeHaven adapted from a growers website. Theyre measuring the changes in density of the liquid, which allows them to calculate alcohol content and carbohydrates. Then theyre hypothesizing and figuring out how to adjust their process to improve the product.

I didnt know how much science was actually involved in beer-making, said Morgan ODonnell, 22, a biology major from Yardley.

 READ MORE: Teaching coronavirus: Some college professors have written it into their lesson plans

DeHaven has been teaching brewing for several years; COVID-19 presented the hurdle of not being able to do it in person, a challenge for any lab professor. Most of La Salles classes are online this semester, with limited exceptions in areas such as nursing and health sciences. DeHaven conducted last weeks class from his lab for the first time since the pandemic started. Students participated virtually from their homes. They had previously picked up their lab supplies from the university or a local home-brew store.

Its a little hard for me to troubleshoot this year, DeHaven said. If I can taste it, I can usually offer some advice.

Around the country, lab professors who cant work with students in person are trying ways to get over the hurdle.

At the University of Pennsylvania, where almost all instruction is virtual this semester, biology instructors put together and mailed hundreds of lab kits with pocket microscopes, Petri dishes, slides, and other materials to students. Kits went to states as far away as California and to several other countries, including Canada, England, France, and South Korea. The kits will allow students to look at the enzymes in carrots, study the photosynthesis process, analyze DNA, and measure the respiration of germinating peas.

Its important to get students off of their computers and using some of the tools and techniques that are used by scientists, said Linda Robinson, an instructional laboratory coordinator.

 READ MORE: At Ursinus College, all students are tested for the coronavirus every week

Still, its a challenge for students to conduct experiments without having teachers in the lab to guide them, she said. Professors are demonstrating experiments and students are working in groups, so they can help each other, she said.

At La Salle, students in DeHavens class said the lab has been one of their favorites.

The difference between this class and other classes is the amount of participation I can bring," said Maya Moore, a biology major from Egg Harbor Township, N.J. I feel more involved. I feel like Im learning more in this class.

Beer brewing is a natural for a microbiology lab, DeHaven said.

Even as things go wrong, even as their pots boil over," DeHaven said, "I think all of us have just really enjoyed the chance to do something.

A few students arent 21 and had to have a parent or older roommate agree to store and taste for them. Tasting is a small part of the class, DeHaven said, and students are only brewing about 8 ounces each time.

Moore is 20, so her roommate, who is 21, did the honors.

She said it was like a strong Miller Lite, Moore said, noting it had a 7.3% alcohol content.

Gia Citrino, 21, a biology major from Bellmawr, Camden County, was too nervous to try the beer in class but shared it with her father later and sent a video of the moment to DeHaven.

Her look of disgust just about matched that of Taylors. Her alcohol content was about 1.6%.

It actually tastes like beer, though, her father said, encouragingly. Its not good beer.

No, its not good beer, Citrino agreed.

ODonnell ran into technical difficulties when she prepared her ingredients.

She had used too small a pot on a big burner. Now her beer tasted like water.

But that didnt deter her.

My beer had the lowest alcohol content out of everyone in the class, but I think I had the most fun, she said.

Students will brew at least two more batches this semester.

ODonnell is excited to apply what shes learned.

Im changing the pot," she said. Im changing the burner. Im going to have a measuring cup.  Im going to take a totally different approach.
SACRAMENTO  Two years ago, California legislators passed the first major statewide digital-privacy law in the country, giving consumers broad new rights to control how their personal information is used and sold.

Efforts to water down the law followed almost immediately. More than a half-dozen bills were proposed to undo parts of the law, and tech and business lobbyists flooded the state Capitol to push them. The law survived, but some data-privacy advocates say they learned a lesson: Californias protections could easily be weakened unless voters approve an initiative to enshrine them in state law.

Advocates led by Alastair Mactaggart, a wealthy San Francisco developer, say thats why California needs to approve Proposition 24. The Nov. 3 ballot initiative would prohibit legislators from weakening the California Consumer Privacy Act, create a state agency to enforce privacy protections, and give people more control over how tech companies use their personal information, such as race or health data.

Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur and former Democratic presidential candidate, is helping to lead the campaign for the measure. He said it could help expose how tech companies use sensitive information to manipulate consumers.

Weve been living under the shadows of these companies for years, Yang said. We have essentially been trained to think of ourselves as rats in a maze to be pelted with digital breadcrumbs all the time.

Some data-privacy advocates oppose the measure, saying it doesnt fix flaws in the current law that make it harder for low-income people to exercise their privacy rights.

Overall, its a step backward, said Jake Snow, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. It doesnt take into the account the burdens on poor communities and communities of color to pay for their privacy and to do the work to protect themselves.

Still, supporters say that if voters dont approve Prop. 24, Californias privacy protections might not survive long enough for another measure to be put on the ballot.

Business-backed efforts to overhaul the law could have passed in 2019 if not for the actions of one legislator, state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson. The Santa Barbara Democrat blocked the bills during a pivotal hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which she chairs.

Jackson will be gone next year because of term limits. She said she fears the privacy law eventually will wither under the tech industrys virtually limitless ability to spend money on lobbyists and campaigns.

To be honest with you, the pressure was intense, Jackson said of the fight. Its a David and Goliath situation. Davids slingshot, if you will, is very tenuous. Theres billions to be made taking peoples information and monetizing it.

The Legislature passed the California Consumer Privacy Act in 2018, though enforcement of the law didnt start until July 2020. It allows consumers to tell businesses not to sell their data and to demand that they delete the information altogether.

Mactaggart pushed legislators to approve the law after he spent more than $3 million collecting signatures to get a privacy initiative on the 2018 ballot. He agreed to withdraw it after the law passed.

Mactaggart and his wife, campaign director Celine Mactaggart, are bankrolling Prop. 24. They have spent more than $4.7 million, far more than tech companies, which have done little to fight the effort.

Groups opposed to the initiative have raised just $45,000, all of it from the California Consumer Federation and the California Nurses Association.

Some privacy advocates are also lined up against Prop. 24, including the ACLU. One of their criticisms is that the initiative would do nothing to change the laws pay for privacy provision, under which consumers who opt out of having their data sold can be charged more to make up for the value of the data a company must forfeit.

Prop. 24 also clarifies that companies can continue to operate loyalty and rewards programs under the same rules.

Opponents say Prop. 24 could expand pay for privacy by including loyalty programs in the law, making it harder for low-income people and people of color to exercise their rights.

Privacy shouldnt be a luxury for people who can afford it, said Snow, the ACLU attorney.

At its core, the dispute is a philosophical schism about whether control over personal data should be treated as a civil right or a property right. Opponents of Prop. 24 say treating data as a commodity creates a system where the poorest people cannot afford to opt out.

Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle

However, Alastair Mactaggart and Yang argue that removing any monetary value associated with data could close the door to people eventually being compensated for use of their information.

This is why these companies are so valuable, because they know so much more about you than any entity, any government, Mactaggart said. Theres tremendous power in this data.

Yang has long pushed the concept of a data dividend, which would require tech companies to pay people for using their personal information. Prop. 24 leaves the pathway open for such a concept.

But thats just one piece of the initiative, which would expand privacy protections on several fronts. It would:

 Create a California Privacy Protection Agency to enforce the law and fine companies for violations. The agency would receive $10 million a year from the state to hire dozens of investigators.

 Expand the types of information that consumers can block businesses from sharing, including data about their health, genetics, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, sex life, union membership, religion, philosophical beliefs and precise geolocation.

 Triple penalties for companies that break laws regarding the collection and sale of childrens private information.

 Allow consumers to sue companies if negligence causes their email or passwords to be breached.

The initiative is also opposed by the California Small Business Association, which argues it would create a costly burden for shopkeepers still learning how to comply with the state law.

The last thing small businesses need right now is to have to spend more money that they dont have to comply with a law that actually weakens consumer privacy, Betty Jo Toccoli, the associations president, said in a statement.

Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner
Eight days after two friends were shot dead within a distance of 600 metres and in 15 minutes of each other in north-east Delhis Dayalpur, the police have arrested three persons and claimed that the twin murder was a result of a personal and property dispute, officials privy to the development said on Monday.

Three illegal firearms, a car and a motorcycle that were used in the murders have been seized along with 11 cartridges from the arrested persons identified as Javed alias Chickna (38), Sahabjaan (27) and Jaan Saif Ali (22).

The arrested accused are residents of north-east Delhi.

The arrested persons along with their associate, who is still absconding, had fired around 10 rounds at the two separate spots and killed their rivals, Farookh Pehalwan (45) and Abdul Hamid (47) in Munga Nagar and Nehru Vihar on September 12. The incident, which had occurred at night, had triggered panic among local residents. Pehalwan and Hamid had sustained four fatal gunshot injuries each.

The murders had left Delhi Police baffled as around the same time another person, Sonu Rana, was shot dead near a traffic signal in outer Delhis Swaroop Nagar.

The three men, who had killed Rana, had also fired around half a dozen rounds of bullets of which four had hit the victim.

A fourth shooting and murder incident took place the following day on September 13 when three motorcycle-borne men had opened fire at a car, killing the lone man on the drivers seat at a traffic signal near Hasanpur bus depot in east Delhi.

In the twin murder case, the police said that two separate first information reports (FIRSs) were filed at the Dayalpur police station and multiple teams were constituted to probe the incident and nab the killers. During the probe, the role of Chikna and his associates emerged but all of them were absconding, said MA Rizwi, additional deputy commissioner of police (north-east), Delhi Police.

On Saturday, a probe team received the information that the suspects would leave the city in a car. The registration number of the car was also shared with the police.

Acting on the tip-off, a trap was laid and the three suspects  Chickna, Sahabjaan, and Ali Saif  were arrested on Sunday and the car was also seized. The three confessed to their crime and disclosed their fourth associates name. Though raids were conducted, the associate is yet to be arrested.

During the interrogation, an investigator, who did not want to be named, said Chickna and Sahabjaan revealed that they had an enmity with Pehalwan because he was opposed to Sahabjaans bid to marry one of his distant relatives. Pehalwan and Hamid often humiliated Chickna and Sahabjaan over the wedding plan.

There was a near fatal attack on Chickna around a week before he and his associates killed Pehalwan and Hamid. Chickna suspected that the attack was orchestrated by the slain duo. Pehalwans brother Suleman had assaulted Chickna in a Delhi jail some months ago. Chickna took the revenge by killing Pehalwan and his friend Hamid, said the officer.

Chickna also had a property dispute with Hamid, he added.

Pehalwan was a fruit and vegetable vendor at Okhla Mandi, while Hamid was into property business. Hamid was shot dead in his office in Nehru Vihar.

Pehalwan was at his friends factory in Munga Nagar when he was killed, the police said.
Macquarie Group and Commonwealth Bank are facing fresh scrutiny of their oversight of anti-money laundering laws after it emerged that overseas banks had reported close to $US167 million ($230m) of potential dirty money transactions flowing through the two Australian banks.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) has released a massive leak of secret bank reports that show the Commonwealth Bank was flagged by overseas banks over millions of dollars of transactions, including some in crime hotspots in far eastern Russia and in Kazakhstan.

According to the leaked data, $US44 million ($60m) of transactions flowing to or from the CBA were red flagged by other banks. Credit:Louie Douvis

Data released by the ICIJ on Monday shows more than $US174 million of possibly dirty money flowed through Australian banks. Macquarie accounted for 72 per cent of the suspicious transactions by value, or $US123 million.

The Commonwealth Bank was the next frequently named Australian bank in the data leak, with $US44 million of transactions flowing to or from the CBA, which were red flagged by other banks. ANZ Bank, when including its Hong Kong branch, made up $US4.7 million.
WELLESLEY, Mass., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun Life U.S. has added three COVID-19 insurance products to its stop-loss offerings, including coverage for outbreaks, providing risk protection for self-funded employers if employees become infected. Sun Life research shows that employers are focused on keeping their employees healthy while also concerned about the potential costs of COVID-19 in the workplace. More than a quarter of employers would consider benefits that provide additional protection against COVID-19, according to brokers surveyed by Sun Life.

"The needs of our clients have evolved significantly over the past six months," said Jen Collier, senior vice president of Stop-Loss & Health for Sun Life U.S. "These new solutions will allow our self-funded clients to stay focused on creating a safe working environment for employees while letting us provide more protection for higher than expected plan costs associated with the diagnosis, testing, and treatment of COVID-19. For employers that self-fund their own health plans, these products provide meaningful coverage that offers financial protection and also gives them continued peace of mind, allowing them to focus on running their businesses during these challenging times."

Stop-Loss insurance protects self-funded employers when they encounter high-dollar medical claims or higher-than-expected medical costs over the course of the year.

The new Sun Life Stop-Loss suite of COVID-19 coverages provides employers who self-fund their health plans with options for additional financial protection depending on their needs, including:

Outbreak coverage  If a certain number of employees test positive for COVID-19, the employer receives a benefit payment for eligible diagnosed employees once a pre-determined threshold has been met.

Specific benefit  If an employee receives a COVID-19 diagnosis resulting in hospitalization costs that reach the employer's stop-loss deductible, the benefit increases the amount of reimbursement to the employer.

Aggregate benefit  If the amount of claims for COVID-19 cause health plan claims to exceed the employer's aggregate stop-loss attachment point (the aggregate deductible), the attachment point will be reduced, resulting in a larger reimbursement for the employer.

Self-funded employers are eligible for Sun Life COVID-19 protection as long as they are using an approved workplace monitoring program to help manage the return-to-work process, maintain a safe workplace, and prevent the spread of the disease.

The first approved program, Collective Go, is a comprehensive COVID-19 screening, testing and monitoring solution developed by Sun Life partner Collective Health. Collective Go offers an evidence-based approach, with an adaptive scientific protocol developed by in-house medical experts and reviewed by former FDA Commissioners and researchers from leading academic and public health institutions. The Collective Go Protocol identifies external factors and determines a series of necessary measures including frequency of testing, screening, and compliance monitoring to help organizations reduce risk as employees return to the workplace. With the easy-to-use Collective Go app, workers complete a daily symptom and exposure checklist and manage their COVID-19 testing. Those who pass the protocol requirements receive Compliance Certificates.

In Sun Life's recent survey, brokers estimated that about 50 percent of their employer clients were considering implementing a workplace monitoring program.

Since the start of the pandemic, Sun Life has swiftly introduced innovative product features and services to meet the growing and evolving needs of employer clients around the country, including fully virtual benefits enrollment, COVID-19 coverage for critical illness plans and COVID-19 compliance and regulatory expertise.

About Sun Life

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of June 30, 2020, Sun Life had total assets under management of C$1,122 billion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

In the United States, Sun Life is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of insurance products and services in the U.S. includes disability, absence management, life, dental, vision, voluntary and medical stop-loss. Sun Life and its affiliates in asset management businesses in the U.S. employ approximately 5,500 people. Group insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), except in New York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.). For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us .

Media contact:

Devon Fernald

Sun Life U.S.

781-800-3609

[email protected]

Connect with Sun Life U.S.

https://www.facebook.com/SLFUnitedStates

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SOURCE Sun Life U.S.

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Kafeel Khan, the Gorakhpur based doctor, who came out of jail recently after the Allahabad High Court quashed the National Security Act (NSA) slapped on him by the UP government, has written a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) alleging large scale rights 'violations' and 'misuse' of stringent laws to ''suppress the voice of dissent' in India.

Kafeel, who had been arrested in January this year for allegedly delivering an 'inflammatory speech' regarding the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), also accused the UP government of 'torturing' him 'physically and mentally' in jail.

''The government has been misusing stringent laws like NSA and UAPA to suppress the voice of dissent...it will greatly affect the poor and marginalised communities in India,'' he said in his letter.

Kafeel, who spent seven months in Mathura jail in UP, said that he was kept 'without food and water' for several days. ''I was treated in an inhuman manner in jail...I was kept in a jail, where there were more prisoners than its capacity,'' he wrote in the letter.

The Gorakhpur-based doctor, who apprehended that he could be arrested again by the UP government and was shifted to the Congress-ruled state of Rajasthan on the 'advice' of party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had earlier called UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath an ''obstinate child''.

Kafeel had met Priyanka in Delhi on Sunday, according to the sources in the Congress, triggering speculations that he might soon join the grand old party in the near future.

Khan was also an accused in the case of the death of over 60 children owing to lack of oxygen at Gorakhpur Medical College three years back. He was arrested in that case and spent nine months in jail before being freed on bail.
The Irish Council of Civil Liberties says that Google and advertising companies are allowing incest survivors, AIDS patients and substance abuse victims be targeted as ad categories.

The Irish organisation says that this contravenes EU rules that are supposed to exempt especially sensitive categories of activity  including some health topics  from being targeted online for ads.

It says that Googles real-time bidding system allows users to target 1,200 people in Ireland profiled in a substance abuse category, as well as 1,300 people in Ireland profiled in an AIDS and HIV category, Other health condition profiles [from data brokers] available via Google included diabetes, chronic pain, sleep disorders, incest and abuse support, brain tumor, incontinence and depression, the ICCL says.

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The ICCL says that its recently-appointed senior fellow, Johnny Ryan, has been asking the Irish Data Protection Commissioner to address the issue of real time bidding for two years.

Dr Ryan lodged specific complaints on the issue with the DPC two years ago, which he says have not yet been addressed.

Real-time bidding operates behind the scenes on websites and apps, says the ICCL.

It constantly broadcasts the private things we do and watch online, and where we are in the real-world, to countless companies. As a result, we are all an open book to data broker companies, and others, who can build intimate dossiers about each of us. Googles RTB system sends this data to 968 companies.

Google says that the data collected in this way is anonymous.

We enforce strict privacy protocols and standards to protect peoples personal information, including industry-leading safeguards on the use of data for real-time bidding, a spokesperson said.

We do not allow advertisers to select ads based on sensitive personal data and we do not share peoples sensitive personal data, browsing histories or profiles with advertisers. We perform audits of ad buyers on Googles ad exchange and if we find breaches of our policies we take action.

But the ICCL is asking whether that anonymity is notional or real, using the example of OnAudience, a Poland-based firm with a database that includes more than 27 billion of anonymous user profiles from over 200 markets globally that analyses more than several billion impressions daily.

Every person is identified by a unique identifier, says the ICCL. This identifier can then be tied to unique identifiers held by OnAudiences business partners, such as Google, The Trade Desk, and Ad Form.

The audiences built with these identifiers can then be purchased on Googles [real time bidding] system and on [online ad platforms] The Trade Desk and Ad Form implementations of the [Intactive Advertising Bureau] real-time bidding system. This cross-referencing of identifiers, and purchasing of data, is a reoccurring theme in the online data and advertising market.

The ICCL says that Googles real-time bidding system allows users to target 1,200 people in Ireland profiled in a substance abuse category, based on a data broker profile built with real-time bidding data.

Other health condition profiles from the same data broker available via Google included diabetes, chronic pain and sleep disorders, the ICCL says.

The Interactive Advertising Bureaus real-time bidding system allows users to target 1,300 people in Ireland profiled in an AIDS & HIV category, based on a data broker profile built with real-time bidding data. Other categories from the same data broker include incest & abuse support, brain tumor, incontinence and depression.
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I was a slave to opioids that ruined my entire life. It started when I was 30 and my doctor prescribed me hydrocodone, a generic compound opioid of Vicodin and Tylenol, after a car accident revealed during an X-ray that I had a congenital defect in my lower back called spina bifida occulta. The crash aggravated that disc, causing debilitating pain.

Initially, I took just one tablet at night before bed. My prescription said that I could take up to two tablets a day as needed. Within three months, I was consuming two hydrocodone tablets, three times a day. When the opioids coursed through my veins, I felt invincible. They not only made my double shifts bearable as a geriatric charge nurse  responsible for 30 patients and nurses aides  but they helped me cope with my jobs stress between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm.

My raging opioid addiction led to criminal behavior

Within a year and a half, Im ashamed to admit, I was ingesting six hydrocodone tablets, four times a day! I became increasingly erratic, rude, and short-tempered as I experienced manic mood swings.

But it got worse. I began stealing!

When my doctors monthly prescription ran out in four days, I resorted to breaking the Seventh Commandment. I stole opioids from the nursing home where I was employed, claiming that I had given the patients their drugs when in fact I had pocketed them. Plus, I also stole hydrocodone tablets which were on the verge of expiration. When the pharmacy, came to retrieve them to safely destroy them, I lied, claiming I didnt know where they had disappeared to. All told, I had stolen 500 hydrocodone tablets.

It didnt end there.

I was so enslaved to my opioid addiction that I even stole $800 from my beloved father by cashing checks and buying the pills on the street for $5 a pill. My life became a vicious cycle of stealing, using, and acting erratically. The payoff was no longer there. I was pathetic. In fact, I became so disgusted with myself that I contemplated suicide several times.

15 months in prison didnt reform me

To her credit, my sister, a fellow nurse at the same facility, turned me in. I was arrested in February 2009. Ultimately, I surrendered my nurses license, pled guilty to a felony of fraudulent possession, got 10 years of probation, and was locked up for 15 months. But, ironically enough, when I got out from behind bars and entered a sober living facility, my sinful flesh ached for that hydrocodone high again. Not only did I fall under the spell of opioids again, but I had the audacity to write $1,700 of hot checks from the halfway home to pay for my addiction.

Theres one Bible verse that explains my frame of mind to a t at the time. Proverbs 26:11 says, As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. That was me. Foolish. Without excuse. Out of control.

Once I got out of the sober living facility, I binged on cocaine for a couple of months. I still hadnt learned my lesson. On April 24, 2013, I was lying in a dark apartment with blood running out of my nose. As the sun was coming up, I cried out, Satan or God, whoever is more powerful. I just wish you would kill me right now. On my drive to a friends house, I planned to take my life by overdosing on a bottle of Ambien. I couldnt take it anymore!

But God would spare my life once again.

He sent a policeman to save me from myself. As I saw his flashing red and blue lights in my rear-view mirror, I pulled two oxycodone out of my bra, swallowed them down, and lit a cigarette. After pulling me over for expired tags and registration and failure to identify, I sat in the back of the cop car, tears streaming down my cheeks on my way to prison. I vented. I'm tired of being a junkie. I've lost everything. My good paying job as a charge nurse. Relationships with those whom I love the most. I just took a couple of oxycodone that I really don't even want. And I'm hungry. The cop listened compassionately while watching me in the rearview mirror.

After bonding out, I foolishly got drunk on May 7, 2013, the day before a 30-day rehab stay at Oakhaven in Marshall, Texas. But thank God, since May 8th Ive been totally clean.

You know what made the difference?

Two things. First, I had come to the end of myself. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Second, after the Sober House had filed felony charges on me for writing $1,700 of hot checks, my father agreed to cover the stolen money if I promised to (a) pay him back every penny and (b) enter a 6-month Christian rehab program at Morgans Mercy Mansion in Winnsboro, Texas. That was a deal I couldnt resist. By the way, it was no mansion in the physical sense, but an old, run-down 1955 former nursing home which believers had redeemed and named to remind its residents of their future mansions in Heaven. It was just the Godsend I needed.

Christians loved me despite being unlovable

Ill never forget what Sherrie Hansen, the director, told me. She said, Deanna, Ill believe in Jesus for you until you can believe in Jesus for yourself. She was genuine, loving the worlds unlovable.



Frankly, I was suspicious that anyone cared. I thought to myself, Either these people are crazy or they might be for real. And, if they are for real, I might get out of this place sober and stay sober.

During my stay there, we attended a womens retreat in October 2013 at Brookhill Ranch in Hot Springs, Arkansas, organized by 83-year-old Hettie Lou Brook. Between the lake and the lush forest, I soaked up the beauty of Gods creation and the Biblical truth that my sin had separated me from a holy God.

Jesus took away my opioid sin and shame

I picture my heart has many doors in it. No matter how horrible or shameful, I decided to open every door to Jesus. I wanted Him to see my sin in all of its ugliness. And I needed Him to take it away, along with my crippling guilt and shame. It had become an unbearable burden, like the sin-burden was for the character, Christian, in John Bunyans book Pilgrims Progress. Whats amazing is that He already knew what was behind every door and was ready to forgive me for all of it. I told Him, I surrender. Im tired of running. I recognize my sin and I own it. I can't carry it no more. I gotta let You help me.

Psalm 34:18 says that "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Thats what Ive experienced. I was brokenhearted, crushed in spirit, and He gave me fresh hope, a new life.

Every morning at Morgans Mercy Mansion, we recited several I am Scripture-based affirmations which cemented our new identity in Christ.

I am the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 says, God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.)

I am more than a conqueror. (Romans 8:37 says, In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.)

I am the head, not the tail. (Deuteronomy 28:13 says, The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.)

Im a transformed woman, from the inside out

Today, I take better care of myself. I deal with stress by turning in prayer to Jesus, my best friend. I minimize my back pain by wearing good shoes and, when necessary, I take 2 Advils at night.

In Gods providence, for the past four years, Ive worked as a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor for the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice in the Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility located in Winnsboro, Texas. Thats right. He gave me a job in the very place where I once served prison time myself.

As I strive to be transparent about my previous addiction to opioids, my theft to pay for it, and a God who loves the unlovable, He uses my testimony to draw jaded prisoners to Himself. They are initially as dumbfounded as I once was that anyone cares. In fact, one prisoner recently wrote me a note which said, You were like someone who came into a dark house and started to turn on lights.

I daresay that those words of encouragement fill me with greater genuine euphoria than my chemical opioids ever delivered!

My story of addiction is all too common.

Americas churches need to help the 2 million opioid addicts

In fact, according to the Addiction Center:

2 million Americans have an opioid addiction.

Between 1999 and 2017, more than 700,000 Americans died from overdosing on a drug. 400,000 of them, more than half, died from opioid overdoses. There, but for the grace of God, go I.

LifeWay Research asked 1,000 Protestant pastors about their personal connections to the opioid epidemic.

Half of pastors  52%  say someone in their church is dealing with an opioid addiction.

But 60% of pastors say they do not offer a 12-step program or other support groups for substance abuse.

How Recovery Sunday on September 27th can be a lifeline

That's why I am thrilled that three years ago, pastors and addiction recovery professionals teamed up through Mission Recovery, led by Pastor Ron Smedley, to start www.RecoverySunday.com the fourth Sunday of every September. Its coming up this Sunday, September 27th.

The goal is 2-fold.

1. Pastors can dedicate their entire church service to Christ-centered recovery from addiction featuring recovery-themed worship music, a testimony like mine, and a recovery-themed sermon with illustrations and relevant Scriptures.

2. Churches can launch a free, Christ-centered recovery program for their members. When they register, theyll get access to a 52-week plug-n-play curriculum, Recovery Strategies 4 Life, featuring 30-minute videos and access to the pdf of workbooks. Typically, 10% of the congregation will attend.

Addiction is no respecter of persons. No matter ones race, ones gender, or ones economic status, Satan prowls like a roaring lion, seeking someone, anyone, to devour.

Take it from a woman who lost a good paying job as a charge nurse, who sold my household of new furniture for $400, and who damaged my closest relationships. There are people sitting in your pew in your church each week who are battling demons you cannot begin to imagine in your worst nightmare.

Throw them the lifeline of Christ-centered recovery. Email your pastor my story and urge him to host www.RecoverySunday.comthis Sunday, September 27th.

God wants to help them like He helped me. If you speak up today, perhaps the life verse of the addicts in your church will become John 8:36. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
The U.S. Department of Defense issued a new guidance decree on September 1st with the intent of supporting President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order on freedom of speech and religion.

The guidance, Instruction 1300.17 established "DoD policy in furtherance of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment" and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The policy would require Defense Department officials to "oversee the development and provision of education and training on the policies and procedures pertaining to the accommodation of religious practices of Service members" for higher ranking officers.

Essentially, the directive would allow that "Service members have the right to observe the tenets of their religion or to observe no religion at all." Additionally, it would prohibit service members from requiring chaplains to "perform any rite, ritual, or ceremony that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the chaplain." The document also outlines the responsibilities of DoD officials in assuring that guidances are followed.

This new instruction has been both praised and critiqued by religious freedom advocates. Mike Berry, deputy general general counsel for the law firm First Liberty Institute stated that the issues addressed in the directive are exactly "the concerns that First Liberty Institute has been raising for a number of years." Berry would go on to mention, "It's really a breath of fresh air to see the Department of Defense, first of all, applying federal law, applying the Constitution and following the President's executive order on free speech and religious liberty and applying that to the military. And this is something that First Liberty and many others have been asking for. So we are very pleased to see this happen."

However, contrary to Berry, Mikey Weinstein founder of MRFF argued, "In recent years, this 1993 Act has become the go-to law for fundamentalist Christian legal organizations in their ignoble and wholly reprehensible defense of completely unconstitutional promotions of uber-conservative Christianity in the United States armed forces. This law is the sick epitome of the right-wing Christians' tortured view of the First Amendment's religion clauses as creating only a one-way wall - in other words, that that the 'Free Exercise' clause of the First Amendment is THE only religion clause that matters, and that the other direction of the wall, the 'No Establishment' clause, simply doesn't even exist. Such a preposterous position is utterly bereft of any semblance of Constitutional legality and allowance."
THE Dublin-headquartered Inflazome has been bought by pharma group Roche, in a deal that will see shareholders receive 380m upfront.

Inflazome was founded in 2016 by medical researchers Prof Matt Cooper of University of Queensland, Australia and Prof Luke ONeill of Trinity College Dublin.

It is developing drugs that block harmful inflammation.

According to the company, these drugs are useful in the treatment of a wide range of disorders, from Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and motor neurone disease to asthma, inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis.

Inflazome has a portfolio of orally available small molecule NLRP3 inhibitors, with lead molecules having successfully completed Phase I clinical trials, as well as several high potential earlier-stage programmes.

The acquisition gives Roche full rights to Inflazomes entire portfolio.

Roche intends to further develop NLRP3 inhibitors across a wide variety of indications with high unmet medical need.

Along with the 380m payment, shareholders are eligible to receive additional milestone payments.

Matt Cooper, CEO of Inflazome, said: We are delighted to close this deal with Roche, an outstanding pharmaceutical company with a broad commitment to multiple indications.

With Inflazome now part of the Roche organisation, Inflazomes pioneering molecules are well positioned to be developed quickly and effectively so they can help patients suffering from debilitating diseases.

The company, which was founded in 2016, has raised 55m in two rounds of funding.

Last year, it received $1m (899,000) from the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

Lazard acted as financial advisor and Goodwin Procter and Byrne Wallace acted as legal counsel to Inflazome.
Priests from Gangotri shrine in Uttarakhand - one of the Char Dhams - ended their agitation against the formation of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board on Sunday after holding talks with the district administration and a delegation from the board.

The priests will be submitting a list of their demands/suggestions to the state government within a week.

Mayur Dixit, district magistrate Uttarkashi said, The priests have agreed to end their protest. We have asked the priest community to give their suggestions and problems with the Char Dham Board in writing within a week. This will further be sent to the officials of the Board.

On June 21, The Uttarakhand High Court had dismissed the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy against the state governments takeover of the Char Dhams and fifty-one other shrines through the formation of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board.

The court ruled that the ownership of the temple properties would vest in Char Dham shrines and power of the Board would be confined only to the administration and management of the properties.

Last December, the Uttarakhand assembly had passed the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board Bill. In January, Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya gave her assent for the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019.

Also read: PM to lay foundation of 9 highway projects, optical fibre network in Bihar today

Aggrieved priests had threatened to move the high court against the Act as they claimed to have been kept in the dark about the new law. They had alleged that the government took the step to ensure its control over shrine-related issues, bypassing the powerful priest community.

Deepak Semwal, secretary of Gangotri Dham Committee said that priests from the shrine had a meeting with the district administration after which they have been assured that their suggestions and demands for the Board will be noted.

The Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board was, in a way, imposed upon us with the government not holding any talks with us. Now, the officials from the Board want to set up their office near Gangotri shrine. We do not know what work will be done from that office and have asked the district administration to make that clear to us. After talks with the administration, we have also stopped our protests as we have been assured that our suggestions and demands would be considered, said Semwal.

He added that the priests will be submitting a list of suggestions/demands to the district administration after which further talks will be held with the representatives of the Board but till then they will not allow the setting up of an office near the shrine.

Priests from Gangotri had started their protest around the last week of June, alleging that the state government was forcing the rules of the Board on them.

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In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. Benjamin Franklin often is credited with originating that idiom, although at least a couple of writers earlier in the 18th century had used the phrase. I propose amending it: The only certainties are death and politics.

On Friday night, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. She was 87 and had twice survived cancer, so her death was not surprising. Neither is the fact that the process for nominating and confirming her successor will be full of politics.

Justice Ginsburg had a remarkable life, including a great career in the law. A native of Brooklyn, she was a brilliant student at Cornell and Harvard Law School before receiving her law degree from Columbia. While establishing herself as the leading academic authority on womens civil rights, she was a highly successful, much admired activist and advocate, winning five of six cases before the Supreme Court. President Jimmy Carter nominated her to the United States Court of Appeals, and President Bill Clinton promoted her to the Supreme Court, where she was the second woman on the highest court. Justice Ginsburg was often praised as a judges judge, but she also was revered by many women, according to a headline as a feminist icon.

It is likely that President Trump will nominate a successor soon after Justice Ginsburgs burial. Few provisions in the Constitution are more simple: The president may nominate anyone he wants, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

Recent events are instructive. Several months before the presidential election of 2016, Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly, President Barack Obama nominated a successor, Merrick Garland, and the Republican leadership in the Senate refused to consider the candidate, arguing that the voters should decide who would fill Scalias seat. Now, Justice Ginsburg is dead, and the Senates Republican majority leader has already announced that hearings will be held and a vote will be taken before inauguration day in January. Is that hypocrisy? Of course, but I am a realist. The Senate Republicans were able to stonewall Garlands nomination because there was no political cost. They may have equal success this year.

The media is already speculating that the leading candidate is Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Barrett is a native of New Orleans but has lived for many years in Indiana, where she went to Notre Dame Law School and later served on its faculty. After law school, Barrett was a clerk for Justice Scalia, one of the most conservative members of the court in recent decades, so Barrett can be expected to be a reliable conservative. She is a practicing Catholic. I would expect the Senate to confirm her, but, due to its polarized politics, probably narrowly. Barrett is only 48, so she could be on the Court until 2050 or after.

We are likely heading into another era of divided national government. Democrat Joseph Biden is currently favored to win the presidency, and the Democrats are slightly favored to take control of the Senate. That would give them control of the White House and both houses of Congress, with enormous power. However, if President Trump places his third nominee on the Supreme Court, six of its nine justices will have been nominated by Republicans.

Before that happens, the controversy likely to result has some superficial similarities to another a little more than 100 years ago. In early 1916, a presidential election year, there was a vacancy on the Supreme Court, and President Woodrow Wilson, then nearing the end of his first term, nominated Louis Brandeis to the court. No one doubted the brilliance of Brandeis, the son of immigrants from what is now the Czech Republic, and he was a leading spokesman for Progressive Era causes, but his choice was controversial because he was Jewish. Following an ugly confirmation process with much anti-Semitic rhetoric, Brandeis was confirmed by the Senate 47-22, and he served with high distinction for 23 years, although many of his finest opinions were written in dissent. So were Ruth Bader Ginsburgs.

American democracy has few certainties. At one time, the Supreme Court was the staidest institution in the federal government. Filling vacancies on the court now often generates bitter controversy. This is a troubling, but certain, sign of our time.

Steven S. Berizzi is a professor of history and political science at Norwalk Community College.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-17 00:58:58|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The top UN envoy for South Sudan on Wednesday warned against the slow progress in the political process in the war-torn country.

On the positive side, the transitional government continues to function. State governors have been appointed with the exception of the Upper Nile state. State ministerial positions were recently agreed although the county commissioners, which is the level below governors, are delayed, said David Shearer, the UN secretary-general's special representative for South Sudan.

Elsewhere, however, progress has been painfully slow, he told the Security Council.

Cabinet meetings occur irregularly, and South Sudanese want to see the president and vice presidents meet and work collectively. There has been almost no movement on the critical area of security sector reform. Forces who have collected for training are yet to graduate and many of those remaining are abandoning camps because of food and other shortages, he said.

The Transitional National Legislative Assembly is yet to be reconstituted. As a result, necessary new laws are not being passed and progress on the constitution has been delayed, he noted.

COVID-19 has slowed implementation of the peace agreement, including meeting key benchmarks. But the pandemic is not entirely to blame. There is a reversion to business as usual where progress on the peace agreement itself limps along, he said.

"The continuing delays risk pushing elections out well beyond the timeline prescribed in the (peace) agreement. That will add to the growing disillusionment amongst communities about whether the political will exists to give South Sudanese citizens the opportunity to choose their own leaders."

He warned that, without significant international pressure, including regional pressure, political will wane. "So, momentum is urgently needed, particularly to maintain confidence among the signatories (to the peace agreement)." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 23:22:07|Editor: huaxia

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A Palestinian man has his temperature checked at a hospital in Gaza City, on Sept. 21, 2020. The health ministry in the Gaza Strip announced on Monday that Gaza would soon witness a "humanitarian disaster" amid an acute shortage of medical supplies and equipment in handling the COVID-19 outbreak. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

GAZA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The health ministry in the Gaza Strip announced on Monday that Gaza would soon witness a "humanitarian disaster" amid an acute shortage of medical supplies and equipment in handling the COVID-19 outbreak.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the health ministry in Gaza, told Xinhua that the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for the novel coronavirus can only enough for two days, which "would cause a catastrophe."

The densely populated coastal enclave needs to double the PCR tests to combat the virus and avoid its spread, al-Qedra said.

In addition, medical supplies for patients with cancer, heart and kidney conditions who are suffering from weak immunity are in dire shortage, the spokesman added.

"If one of them is infected with the virus, they will face an inevitable death, especially in the light of the deterioration of the health sector," al-Qedra warned.

Meanwhile, the percentage of deficit in pharmaceutical stocks is estimated at 47 percent, while the medical disposables at 33 percent, said Munir al-Bursh, director-general of the pharmaceutical department at the Gaza health ministry.

He called on the Ramallah-based health ministry to provide Gaza with additional equipment to ensure the enclave's ability to conduct tests for the coronavirus.

On Aug. 24, Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry declared the first four COVID-19 cases inside the Palestinian enclave, leading to a full lockdown on the entire enclave to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

Since then, all schools, universities, markets, and private institutions have been closed, and public gatherings prohibited.

"The local residents face the most dangerous disease with severe deterioration of the health and economic sectors," Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-governmental Network in Gaza, told Xinhua.

So far, the Gaza Strip has recorded 2,400 COVID-19 cases, including 17 deaths.

It is worth noting that Gaza witnessed military tensions with the Israeli army for several weeks in August when the Palestinian youths were launching incendiary balloons toward Israeli communities.

In response, Israeli warplanes had been targeting dozens of military sites belonging to the Hamas movement.

The violence between Gaza and Israel, according to Palestinian and Israeli commentators, was triggered by Israel's refusal to allow the transfer of Qatari money into the besieged Palestinian enclave. Enditem
Accolade: From left, Christine White, head of business at Diversity Mark NI, presents Danske Bank chief executive Kevin Kingston and Caroline van der Feltz, HR director, with a Silver Diversity Award

Danske Bank has become the first bank in Northern Ireland to be awarded the Silver Diversity Mark by Diversity Mark NI.

Silver is currently the highest level available and only one other company to date, Allstate NI, has received the award.

The award recognises the bank's commitment to embracing diversity and creating an inclusive culture for all its staff.

Diversity Mark applications are assessed by independent experts, who found that the bank had demonstrated significant improvements in female representation at board level and in senior roles. There was also a strong commitment to wider diversity through clear targets and new initiatives around sexual orientation and disability.

Danske Bank has three employee networks - a Gender Diversity, a Rainbow Network and a disability network, Enable.

Caroline van der Feltz, HR director at Danske Bank said: "At Danske Bank people are at the heart of everything we do and we want to ensure that every colleague and customer feels supported, accepted and included.

"As part of our Danske Belong strategy we have very strong employee networks which are driven by passionate volunteers with the focus and ambition to make Danske Bank a place of work where people feel they can be their true selves."
In a tight race in New Mexicos most conservative congressional district, New Mexico Democratic Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small is trying to showcase her work alongside Republicans, Democrats and even the Trump White House.

Last week, the Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of moderate Republican and Democratic House lawmakers that includes Torres Small, unveiled a negotiated framework for a coronavirus relief proposal that aims to bridge a wide gap between leadership from both parties. She also introduced legislation that would withhold the salaries of members of Congress if they cant reach a budget deal, and her bill would also prioritize bipartisan legislation.

I think folks in New Mexico value someone who is willing to step up and do the work and work with anyone who is wiling to share that load, Torres Small said in an interview with the Journal last week.

Shes highlighting those efforts while locked in a tight race with Republican Yvette Herrell in New Mexicos 2nd Congressional District.

The vast district covers all of southern New Mexico, including the states border with Mexico. Torres Small is only the second Democrat to hold the traditionally conservative district since 1981.

In 2018, Torres Small defeated Herrell by about 4,000 votes, and a recent Journal poll found the race is close again this year. Torres Small had a narrow advantage  47% to 45%  in that poll.

The Herrell campaign is running ads in the Albuquerque and El Paso markets that call out Torres Small for voting alongside Nancy Pelosi most of the time.

And the campaign has recently been touting Herrells recent endorsement from President Donald Trump.

Its become a predictable pattern. During campaign season Xochitl Torres Small runs misleading ads claiming to be moderate, but in Washington she votes with Nancy Pelosi 95% of the time and voted to impeach President Trump twice. New Mexicans wont be fooled this time around, said Michael Horanburg, Herrells campaign manager.

But Torres Small said bipartisan efforts are what her constituents want.

And in the case of the coronavirus relief compromise, she said, it could break the current impasse in Washington.

The House of Representatives has passed a $3.4 trillion HEROES Act, and the Senate has proposed a $300 billion relief package, according to Roll Call.

The Problem Solvers plan would be about $1.5 trillion, though that number could go up or down depending on the course the pandemic takes.

It would come with another round of stimulus checks and an additional, but temporary, $450 in unemployment benefits that would then fall back to what the person was making prior to losing their job.

Will it be harder to sell the proposal to Republicans or Democrats?

I think its just hard to sell to leadership (from both parties), in general, new ideas from rank-and-file members, she said. We will see. I will do my best to sell it to everyone.

CLEANUP EFFORT: Democratic Rep. Debra Haaland joined with Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey this week to introduce the Environmental Justice Legacy Pollution Cleanup Act. The bill would lead to a $100 billion cleanup effort of legacy pollution sites.

The bill would also set aside $3 billion to provide American Indians and Alaska natives with safe drinking water and adequate sewage systems.

A VIRTUAL NM TOUR: New Mexico will play host to a virtual tour across western states as part of the Road to 30 tour.

The tour is part of an effort to create conservation protections for 30% of Americas lands and waters by 2030.

New Mexicos virtual stop along the tour is Monday, and Haaland, along with Sen. Tom Udall, are expected to take part in the event.

Editors note: This article has been corrected to state that New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall is scheduled to attend the Road to 30 virtual tour and clarified Torres Smalls recent legislation.

Ryan Boetel: rboetel@abqjournal.com
Syracuse, N.Y.  Mayor Ben Walsh is considering hiring one of his biggest critics for a top job in his administration.

Common Councilor Tim Rudd, a Democrat, applied to be the citys new budget director last month. Hes a finalist for the job and will meet with Walsh to discuss the position Tuesday, he said.

Rudd has been Walshs most reliable foil on the Common Council. He led an effort that ultimately sunk Walshs contract deal with the police union last year by challenging the administrations math on what it would cost. Hes sparred often with Walshs top aides over policies from police spending to trash collection to the tracking of city finances.

Just last week, Rudd criticized a city policy that let police officers get paid to stay home in the early months of the Covid-19 outbreak.

But Rudd said despite his clashes with City Hall, hes always had a good working relationship with the mayor and other top officials. He said Walsh has always been willing to listen and work with him, even when they disagree.

I dont think weve ever had real conflict like we dislike each other, he said. Ive never had any experience thinking the mayor and I couldnt work together. Hes never been opposed to any idea just because it comes from me.

Rudd was part of the search process to hire a new budget director this summer. Former budget director Mary Vossler retired in June.

After interviewing several candidates, Rudd said he realized he could do the job best.

As I was wrapping up the first round of interviews I was like, oh my god, either I can sit back on the council and watch people do it not the way it should be done and point out all the things that are wrong, or I could just do it, he said.

So Rudd submitted a resume and application, and called Walsh to ask for a meeting to discuss the job. He said that meeting went well and was followed by conversations with other administration officials.

Greg Loh, a spokesman for the Walsh administration, confirmed that Rudd is a candidate for the job and said the mayor expects to make a decision soon. He declined to say whether there are other candidates still being considered.

Rudd spent three years working in the New York City budget office under former mayor Michael Bloomberg. He then spent seven years working for MDRC, a non-for-profit that assesses the financial impacts of public policies. He has been chair of the Common Councils finance committee for nearly three years.

He moved back to his native Syracuse in 2013. He lives on Glenwood Avenue.

Rudd was elected as a councilor-at-large in 2017. He would have been up for reelection next year.

If he gets the budget job, the council will have the option to appoint someone to replace Rudd until the 2021 election. Such appointments have been acrimonious in recent years, but the council passed a law last year establishing new rules for transparency and public input.

The city is facing an unprecedented budget crisis this year and next, due to the coronavirus shutdown. The stalled economy and a freeze on state aid has left the city with a $41 budget gap through next year. Walsh cut $18.1 million from the budget earlier this summer, mostly by leaving vacant jobs unfilled and furloughing employees.

Rudd said he would relish the challenge.

I love fixing the city, so Im going to fix the city, he said. "
Amid new research about the potential impact of COVID-19 on the brain, a Toronto medical firm is showcasing lighter, faster and cheaper MRI technology that makes it easier to scan patients.

Synaptive, a startup that began across the street from Queens Park at the MaRS Discovery District, has developed the Evry, a magnetic resonance imaging machine thats one-fifth the size and weight of the cumbersome existing machines  and about one-eighth the price.

Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli toured the companys manufacturing facility Monday in a former textile factory on Richmond St. W., and said the technology is very impressive.

Its amazing that its made in downtown Toronto. Its designed, developed and constructed ... in Ontario, Fedeli said Monday after a visit to the 150-employee firm.

Synaptive has a great case to make to places like Ontarios Ministry of Health and other health facilities around the world, the minister said, standing beside crates containing one of the 2,000-pound machines that is being shipped to a Manhattan hospital.

There is already an Evry at the University Health Networks Toronto General Hospital and another in Halifax, with dozens more in operation around the world.

Company president and co-founder Cameron Piron said researchers have detected brain problems in roughly one-third of COVID-19 patients, which suggests more people will have to get scanned in the future.

An American study released last week suggested coronavirus, which had originally been thought to be a respiratory disease, also attacks brain cells, sucking up oxygen and causing cell damage.

Similarly, researchers in the United Kingdom found in July there could be nerve damage and other neurological problems from the virus.

But traditional MRI machines are massive and expensive  weighing between 10,000 and 20,000 pounds depending upon the size of their magnets and requiring 2,000 square feet of space in a hospital.

They are so cumbersome that hospitals must have their floors reinforced and cranes are needed to install some of the largest machines.

Piron said his firms machines take up just 250 square feet and cost $1.2 million (U.S.), compared to $10 million (U.S.) for the previous technology.

With the smaller magnet, we are seeing about a quarter of the cost per scan, he said, noting the new MRIs could replace computerized tomography (CT) scans that use inexpensive old X-ray technology.

As well, the Toronto-made machine can scan COVID-19 patients while they are on ventilators  a significant development.

Fedeli, who along with Premier Doug Ford has been pushing domestic manufacturing of medical technology so Ontario doesnt have to depend upon foreign suppliers, said the province must continue to improve the commercialization of such innovations.

When we talk about R and D, we are great at the R, but we have to get better at the D, the minister said, referring to research and development.

That Synaptive began at MaRS  the Ontario governments medical and research sciences incubator is encouraging, he added.

This is a successful case study in an idea that becomes a product that can be purchased worldwide.

Even though COVID-19 has forced 90 per cent of the firms employees to work remotely  including all the software engineers  the pandemic has increased demand for its other products.

A robotic arm, which uses Canadarm technology from the NASA space shuttle program, is being manufactured with auto-parts giant Linamar in Guelph.

It enables surgeons to remotely perform procedures on patients who may have contracted COVID-19 and is already in use in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Halifax and, by next year, in Toronto.

Using 3-D glasses similar to those worn in IMAX theatres and brain-mapping done by Western University scientists, doctors can more easily navigate when doing procedures.
Republicans are set to release a report that focuses on Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

This move from the GOP is done in hopes of putting fresh scrutiny on Biden just weeks before the election, said a report from The Hill.

The controversial probe is spearheaded by Senators Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley. It is focused mostly on Obama-era policy and the work done by Hunter for gas company Burismi Holdings.

The GOP report is set to be released this week. It is expected to argue that Hunter's work impacted Ukraine policy during Obama's term and created a conflict of interest as the former vice president worked in the area.

"I think it's time for the American people to see what we've got," said Johnson, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

While he argued for months that the probe is not driven by the coming election, Johnson said the coming findings could damage Biden's political prospects. He placed it in the context off the coming November election.

He said the investigations "will reveal this is not somebody we should be electing president of the United States." This statement was said during an interview with local Wisconsin radio station WCLO.

Delays in the Biden Report

The report will come days prior to the first debate between Biden and President Donald Trump. It was supposed to be released in July, but Johnson faced delays in getting information for the probe.

According to Johnson, the report will also include a section of unanswered questions for the Bidens.

The GOP member's remarks, talking up the report and blasting at Biden's electoral prospects fueled concerns. Both parties are worried that Johnson is using his chairmanship to target political enemies of Trump.

Other than the Biden report, the two senators are also separately investigating the FBI's Russia probe, "unmasking" and leaks in the early days of Trump's administration.

Romney Warns of 'Political Exercise'

Sen. Mitt Romney, a member of Johnson's committee, stressed that the probe was a "political exercise." Romney said in a committee meeting Wednesday that "it's not the legitimate role of government for Congress or for taxpayer expense to be used in an effort to damage political opponents."

Most GOP senators are on board with the inquiry by Johnson, noted the Associated Press. But Romney, who has been a frequent Trump critic, made it clear that he was concerned the work was being politicized.

Johnson did not respond to the comments made on Wednesday. But he had earlier withdrawn the meeting's agenda to authorize an additional subpoena.

An aide to the committee said that the subpoena was taken back because the witness, Bridget Brink, had agreed to testify voluntarily. She is the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia.

The aide was not authorized to publicly talk about the work in the committee taking place in private and spoke to AP News on condition of anonymity.

Responding to Romney's comments, Johnson spokesman Ben Voelkel said that "the American people have the right to know" the results of the probe.

"This is Congress. Everything here has implications for politics and elections," he said.

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London, Sep 21 : The UK's Prince Charles has warned the climate crisis will "dwarf" the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and urged that "swift and immediate action" was needed, the media reported.

The remarks were part of a recorded message slated to be played at the virtual opening of Climate Week on Monday, the BBC reported.

In his message, recorded from Birkhall in the grounds of Balmoral, the Prince of Wales said: "Without swift and immediate action, at an unprecedented pace and scale, we will miss the window of opportunity to 'reset' for... a more sustainable and inclusive future.

"(The environmental) crisis has been with us for far too many years - decried, denigrated and denied.

"It is now rapidly becoming a comprehensive catastrophe that will dwarf the impact of the coronavirus pandemic." His comments come as a new poll suggests there is growing concern among citizens all over the world about climate change, although there are big differences about the level of urgency required to tackle the issue.

Prince Charles has been championing environmental causes for decades and has previously called for members of the Commonwealth to work together to tackle climate change, the BBC report said.

In January, he urged business and political leaders to embrace a sustainable future at the Davos summit, where he also met teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg.

The global lockdown led to a dramatic drop in greenhouse gases and air pollutants but a study last month suggested this would have a "negligible" impact on rising temperatures.

The analysis suggested that by 2030, global temperatures would only be 0.01C lower than expected.

But the researchers, led by the University of Leeds, stressed that a green recovery could significantly alter the long term outlook and keep the world from exceeding 1.5C of warming by the middle of this century.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Police prevent Sean Feucht and team from setting up for worship night in Chicago

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Police in Chicago prevented popular California worship leader Sean Feucht and the Let Us Worship movement from setting up musical equipment for a riots to revival worship protest to be attended by hundreds at a park in the citys South Side Wednesday, the evangelist said.

Feucht, who's led several worship events in cities impacted by riots in recent weeks, said on Facebook that Chicago police threatened to take action if the group began to set up musical equipment for a worship event at Washington Park that they did not have a permit for.

Feucht, the founder of the Let Us Worship movement who is known for his work with Bethel Music, charged that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot shut us down and said that police threatened to arrest him and others if they began to set up the gear.

We are here in the South Side of Chicago, Feucht says in one Facebook video.

We got a lot of local pastors out here. We are setting up to worship peacefully over this city, a very diverse group. And the police show up. Over 30 of them are here to shut us down. They wont let us take our equipment out. Meanwhile, people are destroying this city with free reign. They are targeting Christians.

In another video, Feucht said that the mayor alerted police to show up and shut us down.

Right now, we have all of these officers and a whole line of police over there and over there, he said. They told us if we set up right now that they would take all of our gear and bring us into prison. But Christians are rising up. This is our new day for the Church. This is our 26th city and we are not about to stop now.

The prayer event comes as Chicago has been victimized by looting in recent weeks and months amid the social unrest that has gripped the nation since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Memorial Day.

According to a co-organizer of the Chicago event who spoke with The Christian Post, organizers did not have a permit but were prepared to hold the worship event as a form of peaceful protest like they have done in other cities.

Officers told organizers that while they could continue to protest peacefully in the street, they were not allowed to erect any type of sound system or tent structure.

Videos posted later in the night showed a large crowd marching along in worship through the streets of Chicago using only acoustic instruments and a bull horn.

The Christian Post reached out to the Chicago Police Department and the mayors office for a response.

While a response is pending from the mayors office, the police department said in a statement that CPD officers were on-site at this gathering to safeguard those in attendance.

"The Chicago Police Department is committed to ensuring First Amendment rights are safely facilitated, while also protecting the safety of the participants, the departments statement added.

The events in Chicago come after Feucht and company held a rally attended by over 200 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, the city where African American Jacob Blake was shot by police when he attempted to grab a knife after resisting arrest in August. Blake was trespassing on the property of a woman (presumably his girlfriend) who called police to report that he had stolen her car keys. Court records show that Blake had previously been arrested at that same property on July 6 and charged with one felony count of third-degree sexual assault, trespassing, and disorderly conduct related to domestic abuse. He also had an outstanding felony warrant for his arrest.

The officer's shooting of Blake, who is now paralyzed due to his injuries, led to weeks of protests, riots, vandalism and arson attacks on local businesses.

Previously, the Let Us Worship movement has held rallies in Minneapolis, Portland and Seattle. Many more are planned.

The Let Us Worship events have gained criticism from some who fear they could spread COVID-19. They have even led to a backlash from some local officials, such as in Seattle, where officials shut a local park to prevent them from hosting a worship rally on Labor Day.

In Minnesota, retroactive action is being considered because the group did not have the required government approval.

Pastor Charles Karuku, president of the Unity Revival Movement, who has worked with Feucht since June and has himself led a revival movement in Minneapolis, told CP that they came into Chicago intending to have a Let Us Worship night.

We were supposed to be at Washington Park and when we arrived to set up, that is when I was told by the park security that they would not allow us to gather there because we dont have a permit, he explained.

In every city we've gathered, we've gathered either with a permit or out of protest where we dont need a permit and the event goes on with no problem either way. Last night, they said, Yes you can gather as a protest because that is constitutionally allowed, but you cannot use or set up any equipment.

According to Karuku, police threatened to confiscate the equipment and hand out tickets if they set up.

It looked like the mayor of Chicago was giving orders to make sure there is no worship event in Chicago with Sean, he charged. These people were completely under the instructions of someone calling shots in the high places. It was ordered coming from above.

For us, we were exercising our First Amendment, the right to assemble and do what we need to do peacefully, the pastor added. Our team was talking to whos who in the city except for the mayor. And I can tell you, everyone that we talked to were for what we were doing and wanted it to be done.

At one point, Karuku said the deputy chief of police brought a bullhorn to the organizers so that they could address the crowd. Karuku said there were hundreds in attendance.

That was so kind of her, to see her trying to balance obeying the orders from above and helping us do something she considered very innocent, he said.

Karuku said that he was ready to get the ticket. But the consensus was they didnt want any confrontation between the crowd and police.

He added that the people who showed up for the rally spanned across racial lines, calling it a spectrum of people who came to pray for peace and unity.

Karuku said the night lasted from 6 p.m. until about 8:30 p.m., featuring baptisms, over an hour-plus of worship, a 30-minute worship march, and dancing. Karuku said that with a conservative estimate, about 30 people were baptized in the street.

We didnt even have a place to set up a baptismal, he said. We had to load it on the back of a truck and back it up. So people were baptized from a baptismal loaded on the back of a truck. That is the length we had to go through to be able to have an event in America.

The pastor assured that no arrests were made during their worship protest.

We rented on our own dime port-a-potties so that we dont have to [relieve ourselves] around the park, he said, adding that it cost thousands of dollars to put on an event like that.

On Thursday, the Let Us Worship movement hosted a worship event in Cleveland, Ohio. Organizers of the event in Cleveland were reportedly given a citation for not having a permit.

We have built incredible relationships with local churches, he said, noting that Feucht has hosted Zoom meeting with local faith leaders in cities he hosts events in to ensure they are part of the planning.

Karuku admitted, however, that some churches have rejected the movement.

The good thing is few have said no and more have said yes, he said. We have incredible support on the ground. Many churches are closed right now and some of these people in these cities are starving spiritually. When they see something is coming to their city, they come out.

While Feucht, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2020, has been described as a political activist, Karuku assured that there are no politics at Let Us Worship events.

If you watch one of those live videos, you will not hear any political statement being made, he added. We dont have time for that right now. What we have time for is to tell people these riots are turning into revival and to tell people that Jesus is coming soon and we better get ready. The focus of these events is worship.

You will not see anything like what you are reading online when you come to the event and experience the presence of God, he said. The results speak for themselves with sometimes thousands of people that are coming and the worship experiences they are having; people are getting saved and healed and baptized. I dont think that happens at a Trump rally.

On Oct. 25, a Let Us Worship event will be held in the nations capital two weeks before the Nov. 3 election.

That is when we want to see all these people in cities that we have been to come together at the National Mall on Oct. 25, Karuku concluded. We will be there the whole day and we want to see America experience a national revival. This is the beginning of the new Jesus people movement.
HALIFAX, NS / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2020 /Namibia Critical Metals Inc. ("Namibia Critical Metals" or the "Company" or "NMI") (TSXV:NMI) is pleased to announce that Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC") will provide an ... Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

HALIFAX, NS / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2020 /Namibia Critical Metals Inc. ("Namibia Critical Metals" or the "Company" or "NMI") (TSXV:NMI) is pleased to announce that Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC") will provide an additional $1,100,000 to expand and accelerate the current drilling program for the Lofdal Heavy Rare Earths Project ("Lofdal") in northern Namibia. This additional commitment will increase the Term 1 joint venture expenditure from $3,000,000 to $4,100,000 by March 31, 2021. All references to dollar amounts are in Canadian dollars. This increase in funding allows for an additional 6,000 m of diamond drilling to develop resources at Lofdal as described below.A second rig has been deployed to site in order to maintain Term 1 program scheduling.

Don Burton, President of Namibia Critical Metals stated "Lofdal is a very exciting project and is unique as one of only two primary xenotime deposits under development in the world, the other deposit being Browns Range in Australia. As demonstrated in our Preliminary Economic Assessment[1] Lofdal has the potential for significant production of dysprosium and terbium, the two most valuable heavy rare earths used in high powered magnets. JOGMEC is supporting the security of light rare earth supplies for Japan by applying its financial scheme to Lynas Corporation. We are very pleased to see this additional injection of funds by our joint venture partner which will enable us to further demonstrate the value in Lofdal as a long term, sustainable supply of heavy rare earths for Japan."

Story continues

Term 1 Drilling Program Expanded

The initial Term 1 budget provided for a total of 7,200 m of resource drilling in Area 4 and 1,500 m of exploration drilling at the Northern Splay and Dolomite Hill to be completed by year end with the primary objective of doubling the resource size in Area 4. Following recommendations to the Joint Venture Management Committee, the drilling budget has been increased to enable resource evaluations in two additional areas - Area 2B and Area 5, and to supplement drilling in Area 4 with an additional 1,000 m of drilling (Figure 1). This additional 6,000 m of drilling will provide for a total of 8,200 m in Area 4, 2,600 m in Area 2B and 2,400 m in Area 5. Both Area 2B and Area 5 have historic drilling and trenching that was carried out by the Company during the period 2010-2012. A second drill rig has been deployed to the project to maintain schedule and drilling will now continue through to March 2021.

Drilling in Area 4 is over 60% completed and on schedule to deliver an updated 43-101 resource estimate in Q1 2021. The Company will now target to include a maiden resource estimate for Area 2B in the same report. In order to meet this additional objective both drill rigs are currently operating in Area 2B to complete that planned drilling before moving back to Area 4 (Figure 2). Drilling in Area 5 will commence in Q1 2021 after which time results will be assessed for inclusion in a separate resource estimate.

JOGMEC Joint Venture Agreement

As previously announced (Company press release January 27, 2020), the joint venture agreement with JOGMEC provides for the two companies to jointly explore, develop, exploit, refine and/or distribute mineral products from Lofdal. JOGMEC has the right to earn an interest in stages following an initial non-refundable exploration commitment of $3,000,000 (Term 1). Subsequent financial commitments may be exercised at the sole discretion of JOGMEC upon completion of each phase with Term 2 requiring a $7,000,000 contribution to earn 40% interest in Lofdal, Term 3 requiring a $10,000,000 contribution for an additional 10% interest in Lofdal after which JOGMEC may elect to acquire an additional 1% interest for $5,000,000. The agreement contemplates completion of a feasibility study for Lofdal at the end of Term 3 and makes provision for JOGMEC to elect to exclusively fund development of Lofdal provided that the Company's interest will not be diluted below 26%. The additional expenditure of $1,100,000 during Term 1 can be credited towards the Term 2 expenditure commitment of $7,000,000. Please refer to the Company press release of January 27, 2020 for further details.

Figure 1 - Geology of the project area showing the location of the Area 4 deposit, exploration drill targets at the Northern Splay and Dolomite Hill, and additional resource targets at Area 2B and Area 5

Figure 2 - Close spaced resource drilling in Area 2B with two drill rigs. Drill operations at Lofdal are contracted to Gunzel Drilling

About Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

Namibia Critical Metals Inc. holds a diversified portfolio of exploration and advanced stage projects in the country of Namibia focused on the development of sustainable and ethical sources of metals for the battery, electric vehicle and associated industries. The two advanced stage projects in the portfolio are Lofdal and Epemebe (described below). The Company also has significant land positions in areas favourable for gold mineralization.

Gold: At the Erongo Gold Project, stratigraphic equivalents to the sediments hosting the recent Osino gold discovery at Twin Hills have been identified but not yet sampled. Soil surveys are progressing over this highly prospective area.

Tantalum-Niobium: In addition to Lofdal, the Epembe Tantalum-Niobium Project is also at an advanced stage with a well-defined, 10 km long carbonatite dyke that has been delineated by detailed mapping with over 11,000 meters of drilling. Preliminary mineralogical and metallurgical studies including sorting tests (XRT), indicate the potential for significant physical upgrading. Further work will be undertaken to advance the project to a preliminary economic assessment stage.

Copper-Cobalt: The Kunene Copper-Cobalt Project comprises a very large area of favorable stratigraphy ("the DOF") along strike to the west of the Opuwo cobalt-copper-zinc deposit. Secondary copper mineralization over a wide area points to preliminary evidence of a regional-scale hydrothermal system. Exploration targets on EPLs held in the Kunene project comprise direct extensions of the DOF style mineralization to the west, sediment-hosted cobalt and copper, orogenic copper, and stratabound manganese and zinc-lead mineralization.

Earlier stage projects include the Grootfontein Base Metal and Gold Project which has potential for magmatic copper-nickel mineralization, Mississippi Valley-type zinc-lead-vanadium mineralization and Otjikoto-style gold mineralization. Detailed interpretation of geophysical data and regional geochemical soil sampling surveys are under way.

The common shares of Namibia Critical Metals Inc. trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "NMI".

Donald M. Burton, P.Geo. and President of Namibia Critical Metals Inc., is the Company's Qualified Person and has reviewed and approved this press release.

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.

For more information please contact:

Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

Don Burton, President

Tel: +01 (902) 835-8760

Fax: +01 (902) 835-8761

Email: Info@NamibiaCMI.com

Web site: www.NamibiaCriticalMetals.com

The foregoing information may contain forward-looking information relating to the future performance of Namibia Rare Earths Inc. Forward-looking information, specifically, that concerning future performance, is subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the appropriate securities commissions.

[1] Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Lofdal Rare Earths Project Namibia dated October 1, 2014 authored by David S. Dodd, B. Sc (Hon) FSAIMM - The MDM Group, South Africa, Patrick J.F. Hannon, M.A.Sc., P.Eng. and William Douglas Roy, M.A.Sc., P.Eng. - MineTech International Limited, Canada, Peter Roy Siegfried, MAusIMM (CP Geology) and Michael R. Hall, B.Sc (Hons), MBA, MAusIMM, Pr.Sci.Nat, MGSSA - The MSA Group, South Africa. The PEA should not be considered to be a pre-feasibility or feasibility study, as the economics and technical viability of the Project has not been demonstrated at this time. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. Furthermore, there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.

SOURCE: Namibia Critical Metals Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/606975/Namibia-Critical-Metals-JOGMEC-Injects-an-Additional-CAD-11M-to-Expand-and-Accelerate-Drill-Program-at-the-Lofdal-Heavy-Rare-Earth-Project




NYPD officer, Baimadajie Angwang (pictured), was arrested on Monday for allegedly acting as an illegal agent for China

An officer with the New York City Police Department was arrested on Monday for allegedly acting as an illegal agent for China.

The officer has been identified in a criminal complaint as Baimadajie Angwang, who was born in Tibet, an autonomous region of China.

Angwang, who lives in Nassau County, Long Island, currently works for the NYPD's 111th precinct in Queens. Angwang, 33, also serves in the US Army Reserve where he holds the rank of staff sergeant. He's stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey in an Airborne Civil Affairs battalion.

Aangwang is being held without bail in federal detention. During a brief hearing held remotely late Monday afternoon, Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann read the charges aloud and asked whether Aangwang understood them. '

'Yes, your honor,' he said. Aangwang, who is being represented by defense lawyer John Carman, offered no additional comments. The judge ordered him detained pending a bail hearing that she said will be held in the 'near future'.

According to a criminal complaint, Angwang was secretly supervised by handlers from the Chinese consulate in New York since at least 2014.

Angwang's job was to 'locate potential intelligence sources' and 'identify potential threats' to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the New York metropolitan area,' court papers say.

Authorities said Angwang, despite being born in Tibet himself and claiming he had been arrested and tortured in China, 'reported to the Consulate on the activities of ethnic Tibetans, and others, in the New York metropolitan area'.

He also was expected to provide consulate officials 'access to senior NYPD officials through invitations to official NYPD events,' they add.

According to the complaint, he allegedly began to devise a plan to 'defraud the US Department of Defense, and to obtain money and property from the US' in May 2019.

The complaint claims that Angwang 'did knowingly act in the United States as an agent of a foreign government' and 'without prior notification to the Attorney General of the United States, as required by law'.

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Angwang (pictured), who lives in Nassau County, Long Island, currently works for the NYPD's 111th precinct in Queens. Angwang, 33, also serves in the US Army Reserve where he holds the rank of staff sergeant

One of the PRC Consular officials at whose direction Angwang acted worked for the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture, a division of the PRCs United Front Work Department, according to investigators.

That department is responsible for neutralizing potential opponents of the PRC and co-opting ethnic Chinese individuals living outside the PRC.

Investigators have also charged Angwang with making false statements. As part of his job in the Army Reserve, Angwang holds a 'Secret' level security clearance.

Court documents show that in 2019, Angwang completed and electronically submitted a background investigation form on which he is accused of lying.

Angwang allegedly lied on the form by denying that he had contacts with a foreign government or its consulate.

He is also said to have denied that he had close contacts with foreign nationals, including his family members who live in China, some of whom are affiliated with the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

Investigators detailed Angwang's ties to China, revealing that his father is a retired member of the PLA and a communist party member. His mother is also a member of the communist party and his brother is serving as a reservist in the PLA.

The investigation revealed that Angwang has 'financial ties with his family members' in China.

Authorities said Angwang wired $100,000 from a US bank to a PRC bank account in his brother's name.

Angwang (left, in October 2018) has been charged with acting as an agent for China without prior notification to the Attorney General, committing wire fraud, making false statements and and obstructing an official proceeding

Angwang's Williston Park home in Long Island has an American flag hanging out the front

News crews set up cameras outside Angwang's home in Long Island on Monday

A month later, Angwang reportedly wired $50,000 from a different US bank account to a PRC account held in the name of another individual.

Authorities said he 'initially traveled to the United States on a cultural exchange visa'.

The complaint claims he 'overstayed a second visa and eventually sought asylum in the United States on he basis that he had allegedly been arrested and tortured' in China.

But according to a detention memo filed on Monday by the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, an investigation found that 'Angwang has traveled back to the PRC on numerous occasion since his asylum application was granted'.

'These are not the actions of an individual who fears torture or persecution at the hands of the PRC, thus showing that his U.S. citizenship was secured through false pretenses,' the document says.

In a statement, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, told DailyMail.com: 'As alleged in this federal complaint, Baimadajie Angwang violated every oath he took in this country.

'One to the United States, another to the U.S. Army, and a third to this Police Department.

'From the earliest stages of this investigation, the NYPDs Intelligence and Internal Affairs bureaus worked closely with the FBIs Counterintelligence Division to make sure this individual would be brought to justice.'

Shea said Angwang has been suspended without pay.

Acting United States Attorney Seth DuCharme said in a statement: 'The defendant allegedly violated his sworn oath to serve the New York City community and defend the Constitution against all enemies by reporting to PRC government officials about the activities of Chinese citizens in the New York area and developing intelligence sources within the Tibetan community in the United States.'

Angwang has been charged with acting as an agent for China without prior notification to the Attorney General, committing wire fraud, making false statements and and obstructing an official proceeding.
Pain is a tricky subject - as it is often considered subjective and dependent on individual pain threshold.

However, while the painfulness of getting a tattoo or having a baby may be debatable, there are certain health conditions or illnesses that are undeniably excruciating.

According to the NHS, there are 20 conditions that rank as pain so disabling that they can prevent you from performing daily tasks - and they include well-known pains such as broken bones and kidney stones to the lesser-known but still agony-causing gout or trigeminal neuralgia.

The NHS also names frozen shoulder as one of the worst pains to suffer, a condition where the joint becomes so tight and stiff that its almost impossible to raise your arm. The condition can last for several years if left untreated.

Endometriosis, a debilitating gynaecological condition where tissue similar to the tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus is found elsewhere in the body, makes the list as well.

The condition, which is thought to affect one in 10 women worldwide, takes an average of 7.5 years to diagnose - during which women can experience general pain, pelvic pain, period pain, and pain during sex, as well as fertility issues.

Also amongst the NHSs list of conditions that can cause the most notoriously severe pains are arthritis, appendicitis and migraines.The full list, in no particular order, is as follows:

Shingles

Cluster headaches

Frozen shoulder

Broken bones

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)

Heart attack

Slipped disc

Sickle cell disease

Arthritis

Migraine

Sciatica

Kidney stones

Appendicitis

Trigeminal neuralgia

Acute pancreatitis

Gout

Endometriosis

Stomach ulcer

Fibromyalgia

Pain after surgery

Of the conditions, Dr Gary LeRoy, a family medicine doctor in Dayton, Ohio, told The Independent: These are all very valid pain conditions that we commonly see in the healthcare setting.

However, Dr LeRoy would argue that two other conditions make the list as well - back pain, the most common thing that we see in primary care practices and toothaches.

According to Dr LeRoy: Chronic lower back pain affects 80 per cent of the population at some point in their life because as homo sapiens who are bending, stooping, pushing and pulling, we end up with musculoskeletal back pain.

Toothaches, which are often dismissed, can also be extremely painful, according to Dr LeRoy, who told us: We often overlook the things above the neck and again, it is such a common thing."

Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday Show all 10 1 /10 Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday 234506.bin Getty Images Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday 234507.bin Getty Images Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday 234511.bin Reuters Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday 234504.bin Getty Images Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday 234509.bin Reuters Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday 234512.bin Getty Images Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday 234513.bin Getty Images Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday 234510.bin Getty Images Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday 234505.bin Getty Images Illness abroad - the 10 best countries to be sick on holiday 234508.bin Getty Images

Dr LeRoy has found himself constantly aware of oral pain syndromes after multiple patients complaining of pain in the mouth, jaw, or ears were actually found to suffer from tooth issues, such as an abscess.

 Patient on his hernia mesh implant: 'You're constantly in pain. I'm sat here now, and I'm in pain'

As for what to do in a situation where pain is affecting a persons ability to function in society, or when it stops them from work, sleep, or providing nutrition to themselves, Dr LeRoy recommends seeking medical advice - as there can be health consequences to prolonged pain.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

And for pain associated with heart attacks, the worst headache you have ever experienced, kidney stones, acute pancreatitis, or appendicitis, Dr LeRoy advises seeking emergency medical attention - as those types of pain can be potentially life-threatening.

[This article was originally published in 2018]
President Akufo-Addo says Government's decision to test international passengers for COVID-19 at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) has paid off.



He said the 26 positive cases recorded at the airport would have mingled with the unsuspecting public.



Following the reopening of the airport on Tuesday, September 1,2020 to international flights after six months closure, Government directed all disembarking passengers to produce a negative PCR test result.



In addition, they were required to undergo a mandatory Antigen Testing at the airport to ascertain their COVID-19 status at a cost of $150.



Individual passengers were required to foot the cost of the PCR Antigen Testing at the airport, which attracted criticisms from a section of the public.



However, President Akufo-Addo, in his 17th televised address on measures taken to contain the virus on Sunday night, indicated that the measures instituted at the KIA had been useful and aided in halting the importation of new virus into the system.



"A lot of the people who experienced at first hand the services being offered at the airport had praised the country for the innovation and farsightedness.



" I will do everything in my power to protect and stop the importation of the virus," the President assured.



President Akufo-Addo announced that 16 out of the 23 airlines that operated at the KIA prior to the closure had commenced flights, with 10,061 passengers undergoing the Antigen Test.



President Akufo-Addo underscored the need for all citizens to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 preventive protocols, especially the wearing of face masks to avert any potential spike.



" The improvement in the COVID-19 situation is due to the effectiveness of the measures put in place by Government, the cooperation and support of all Ghanaians.



"We cannot afford at this critical moment to throw caution to the wind and destroy the incredible amount of work undertaken by Government, health officials and members of the security agencies in bringing us this far," he added.



As at Friday, September 18, a total of 45,258 people had recovered from COVID-19 infections in Ghana, with less than 530 active cases after conducting over 450,000 tests.



A total of 297 persons have succumbed to COVID-19 due to underlying illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic liver and asthma.

Source: GNA









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

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The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, and the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, state their will, in a joint statement, to support the people of Belarus in building a democratic path and appeal to the international community to join the EU and its member states in the demarche of preparing a positive agenda for Belarus, together with a package of support for the political, economic and social transition of the country.

"We, the Presidents of Lithuania, Poland and Romania, as member states of the European Union: supporting firmly liberty and the promotion of democratic principles, emphasizing that free, fair and transparent elections are a fundamental democratic right of any nation, admitting as legitimate the results of the elections only if they are organized in agreement with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and are monitored internationally, explicitly admitting that no one but the people of Belarus has the right to decide the destiny of their country, reassuring on our respect for such a decision made on legitimate bases, understanding that a prosperous Belarus, built on social trust and a common vision, is essential for a more stable and safer Europe, we declare our will to support the people of Belarus in building a democratic path, through a state leadership which is democratically elected, a free civil society, free market and the rule of law," shows the statement of the three presidents titled "Proposal for a democratic Belarus".

The three heads of state show that they offer expertise and know-how for the path of political and economic reforms, to build independent institutions and to ensure an environment where respect for human rights and freedom of expression are an unshakeable fundamental norm of society.

They believe that, in the demarche to support the people of Belarus, it's useful for the European Union - as a major global economic power - propose a package of assistance for the economic transformation of a democratic Belarus which should include, inter alia: the facilitation of commerce with the European Union and assistance for accession negotiations with the World Trade Organization; a liberalized visa regime, when the necessary conditions are met; assistance to diversify the energy sector and for the energy security of Belarus; access to financial resources to restructure and relaunch the liberal economy of Belarus; increased presence and activity of the international financial institutions to reform the economy of Belarus and to increase investment.

"We address an appeal to the international community to join the European Union and its member states in the demarche of preparing a positive agenda for Belarus, together with a package of support for the political, economic and social transition of the country", the three presidents mention.
Why did Dalal Street end up losing Rs 5 lakh crore in 30 minutes

Sensex falls over 190 pts in early trade, Nifty slips below 17,350; HCL Tech & ICICI Bank top losers

Sensex hits 60K in just eight months after scaling 50K in January

Why is the market down today? Equity benchmarks open on cautious note

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 21: Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened on a cautious note on Monday amid lack of directional cues from global and domestic markets.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 38.84 points or 0.10 per cent higher at 38,884.66; while the NSE Nifty rose 10.30 points or 0.09 per cent to 11,515.25.

HCL Tech was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 4 per cent, followed by Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Kotak Bank, M&M and Asian Paints.

HCL Technologies on Monday said it will acquire Australian IT solutions firm DWS Ltd, a move that will help the Indian company strengthen its position in the Australia and New Zealand market.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, Nestle India, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.

In the previous session, Sensex settled 134.03 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 38,845.82, while Nifty fell 11.15 points or 0.10 per cent to finish at 11,504.95.

Meanwhile, exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 205.15 crore on a net basis on Friday.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, the clear lack of direction to either side was visible in last week's trade. "Due to lack of any fresh triggers for the market, the current uncertainty is expected to continue," he added.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading lower in mid-day deals.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.16 per cent higher at USD 43.22 per barrel.

Zinc prices on Monday fell by 0.96 per cent to Rs 195.95 per kg in futures trade as speculators reduced their exposure taking negative cues from spot market.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, zinc contracts for September delivery was trading lower by Rs 1.90, or 0.96 per cent, at Rs 195.95 per kg in 2,412 lots.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

Analysts said offloading of positions by participants owing to slackened demand from consuming industries in the physical market mainly weighed on zinc prices here.
New Delhi: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Monday (September 21, 2020) said that the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) is expected to conduct Common Eligibility Test (CET) from September 2021 onwards.

The NTA was set up by the Centre in an order dated August 28, 2020, as an independent, professional, specialist organization for the conduct of computer-based online CET to shortlist candidates for vacancies of Group 'B' Non-Gazetted posts, Group 'B' Gazetted posts, which are exempted from consultation with the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC); Group C posts in the Government and equivalent posts (where no such classifications exist) in instrumentalities of the Government, for which similar eligibility conditions have been prescribed.

It has been set up to provide the same platform to all candidates at the nearest District HQ and with a view to set a new standard of equity and inclusiveness in recruitment.

NRA will conduct CET to shortlist candidates for jobs in Government sector for which recruitment is presently carried out through the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).

It will conduct only preliminary screening of candidates and the final recruitment will be done through domain-specific tests to be conducted by respective agencies namely SSC, RRBs and IBPS.

Based on the score obtained in CET conducted by NRA, candidates may appear in domain-specific tests to be conducted by respective recruitment agencies.

NRA would identify language experts to translate the question paper in all regional languages included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, as per requirement and subject to an adequate number of candidates opting to take the test in the regional language.
21.09.2020 LISTEN

As we continue to idolize Nkrumah and refresh our memories of him, may we also reflect on his flaws and fate? Not discussing only his success and contributions to mother Ghana, would help those in power, those who have authority and potential future leaders to reflect on this line, "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely ". Not necessarily talking about political power and/or political authority. There are blocks of power and authority in our society, both formal and informal, political and apolitical, traditional and non-traditional, religious and secular.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumahs greatness and achievement is almost on every media outlet as far as space could allow it, especially, today, as his country remembers and celebrates his birthday, so there is no need to repeat them. As human, Dr. Nkrumah, the osagyefo had his flaws, especially as a leader, whose advisors were equally fallible. Have the perceived things that brought Nkrumah down ceased to be characteristics of people in power and of people who have authority today in our society? Maybe, we refuse to discuss them, whenever we have the opportunity to do so.

Nkumah's fate and flaws has repeatedly been seen in all presidents and head of states, who came after him, even including the sitting president. One of the reasons may be due to the fact that we brush those issues aside, whenever we discuss Nkrumah. It is however, refreshing to note that the sitting president evaluates Dr. Nkrumahs leadership style objectively and therefore draws some moral lessons from the African icons leadership style. At least, in the book, "Things Fall Apart", flaws in great Okonkwokwo was that he failed to recognize that the time has changed, and he couldn't afford to uphold so fanatically the very things that held his clan together in the past. The white man had put a knife into those things already. We all can learn from Okonkwokwo and of course, of Nkrumah's flaws. The powerful nations and world bodies, who used to disrespect China in the past are the very first that invite China to the highest table at the feast. Time has changed and unlike, Okonkwokwo, they have learnt some lessons. Nkrumah's coin has 2-sides like any great leader, so let's learn from both sides.

Eben Johnson - Finland

(Letters Without Signatures)
Palaeontologists have discovered a new species of dinosaur estimated to be up to 125 million years old.

The fossils were found perfectly preserved in the Lujiatun Beds, in north-eastern China, after being buried by a Pompeii-like volcanic eruption.

Scientists believe the eruption would have trapped the creatures at the bottom of their burrows.

"These animals were quickly covered by fine sediment while they were still alive or just after their death," Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences palaeontologist Pascal Godefroit said.

The scientist said there were no traces of feathers on the bones but they were incredibly well-preserved having not been moved for 125 million years.

The new species was named Changmiania liaoningensis, with Changmiania meaning eternal sleep in Chinese.

Researchers believe the animal belonged to the Ornithopod family of herbivores and would have lived during the Cretaceous period.

About 1.2 metres long, it is understood the dinosaurs powerful hind legs and stiff tail would have made it a fast runner.

Scientists believe the dinosaur was killed in a Pompeii-like eruption. (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences )

"However, certain characteristics of the skeleton suggest that Changmiania could dig burrows, much like rabbits do today," Dr Godefroit said.

"Its neck and forearms are very short but robust, its shoulder blades are characteristic of burrowing vertebrates and the top of its snout is shaped like a shovel.

So we believe that both Changmiania specimens were trapped by the volcanic eruption when they were resting at the bottom of their burrows 125 million years ago.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court building in Washington on June 1, 2017. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

New Bill Would Place Bust of Late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Capitol Rotunda

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said he will introduce legislation to place a bust of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the Capitol Rotunda to honor her memory and the contributions she made to the country.

As we remember the life and enduring legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, its also important that we commemorate that legacy across our nation. Krishnamoorthi said in a written statement Sunday.

As one step in that process, Ill be introducing legislation this week to place a bust of Justice Ginsburg in the Capitol Rotunda in recognition of her contributions to American jurisprudence, the advancement of women, and the broader pursuit of elevating our nation closer to the ideals of our founding documents, he added.

The bust of Ginsburg would be added to the collection in the United States Capitol Building, which is comprised of statues to honor notable Americans in history.

Statues and busts in the Capitol Rotunda are primarily of U.S. presidents including Dwight David Eisenhower, James Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Wilson Reagan, and Gerald Ford.

Ginsburg died on Sept. 18 in her home in Washington surrounded by family. She was 87. The late justice has since been honored by politicians and citizens alike for her outstanding contributions to law, womens rights, and the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg participates in a discussion hosted by the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington on Sept. 12, 2019. (Sarah Silbiger/Reuters)

In 1993, Ginsburg became only the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, prior to which she worked for more than 34 years as a jurist and litigator.

In the months leading up to her death, Ginsburg dealt with a number of health issues and was hospitalized several times. She is survived by two children, Jane Carol Ginsburg and James Steven Ginsburg, as well as four grandchildren.

Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague, Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement. Today, we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew hera tireless and resolute champion of justice.

President Donald Trump issued a formal proclamation that honored Ginsburg as a trailblazer, not only in the field of law but in the history of our country, and ordered flags flown at half-staff.

Renowned for her powerful dissents at the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg epitomized powerful yet respectful argument; that you can disagree with someone without being disagreeable to them, Trump wrote in the proclamation.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said in a statement on Twitter: Ruth Bader Ginsburg stood for all of us. She was an American hero, a giant of legal doctrine, and a relentless voice in the pursuit of that highest American ideal: Equal Justice Under Law.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
(Natural News) A man whom media reports claim was seen strolling off the highway into a field carrying a lighter and cardboard in order to start a fire has been identified as 36-year-old Jeffrey Alan Acord of Puyallup, an alleged regular attendee of anti-police demonstrations in Seattle.

According to local news affiliate KIRO 7, passersby along Highway 167 in Washington state were somehow able to see Acord holding not just the piece of cardboard but also a small lighter as he allegedly started one of the many fires that blazed across the region in recent weeks.

While Acord says he merely witnessed the flames and decided to pull over in order to call the fire department, other drivers, we are told, indicated to police that they supposedly watched the 36-year-old Puyallup man walk into a field carrying a lighter and cardboard.

Acord is said to be an outspoken proponent of defunding the police, and has appeared at numerous left-wing events throughout Seattle in recent months. Acord is also facing other charges for allegedly breaking into a gas station.

Another individual, 28-year-old Jacob Altona, was also reported to have been arrested in connection to this arson incident. His arrest joins several others in supporting the narrative that potentially some of the major wildfires still ablaze may be linked to left-wing terrorism.

At least one sheriffs deputy, in Clackamas County, Oregon, has come forward to suggest that at least some of the fires were started by members of Antifa, though he was reportedly punished by his department for making this claim while on duty and wearing his uniform.

Democrats shift blame from arson to climate change

While the right busily pegs blame for the wildfires exclusively on arson, the left is instead blaming them on climate change. Bernie Sanders, for instance, has taken the opportunity to push for the Green New Deal as a solution to the wildfires, ignoring what Breitbart News suggests is the reality of poor forest management and environmentalist policies.

Prescribed burning, many on the right insist, would help to thin out the forests and prevent them from so easily succumbing to massive wildfires. The left, however, has supposedly engaged a policy of fire suppression that only ends up exacerbating the problem.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is likewise blaming global warming for his states near-total collapse due to the fiery infernos. Standing before a charred, smoky background scene the other day, Newsom warned Americans that the debate is now over around climate change, as supposedly evidenced by all the burned trees smoldering behind him.

Just come to the state of California, observe it with your own eyes, Newsom declared, grinning the entire time. Its not an intellectual debate. Its not even debatable.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, some 97 fires have already burned more than 4.7 million acres of land across the West Coast. More than 29,000 firefighters have been assigned to try to stop them, with evacuation orders currently in place for at least 40 of the largest blazes stretching across California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho.

President Trump recently visited California to assess the damage, meeting with state officials in Sacramento for about two hours to discuss the situation. During this meeting, Newsom told Trump to reconsider the plumbing of the world, pushing him to support climate policies that would recreate the world as most people currently know it.

Well talk about forest management, Trump rebutted. Ive been talking about it for a long time. They have to do that. You go to other countries and they dont have this problem.

More of the latest news about left-wing terrorism as we approach Nov. 3 can be found at Chaos.news.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com

SFChronicle.com
By Christiana Sciaudone



Investing.com -- Healthcare companies fell Monday as investors worried that a new conservative judge on the U.S. Supreme Court could lead to the overturning of the Affordable Care Act. JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) also downgraded Universal Health (NYSE:UHS) Services.

Presidential candidate Joe Biden in Philadelphia on Sunday warned that a conservative court could result in the elimination of health insurance for millions of Americans, the Los Angeles Times reported. President Donald Trump is trying to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday, as quickly as possible to ensure a Republican-supported majority for the Supreme Court.

Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC) dropped 15%, Universal Health Services fell 12% and Moline Healthcare was down 10%. UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) fell 4.3%.

JP Morgan downgraded Universal Health Services to underweight from neutral and lowered its price target to $115 from $138, saying the best is behind the company.

"While the acute-care business is currently outperforming given a strong economic rebound in certain markets, we believe growth rates have peaked," StreetInsider reported the firm as saying. "We see the expanding market for behavioral services (and inherently lower capital intensity) as the key driver of value over the intermediate term, and we expect UHS to close the valuation gap to pure-play ACHC."

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Responding to questions from the AP, Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman at Irans mission to the United Nations, said Iran will not tolerate interference in our affairs, and in accordance with international law, will respond to any attacks against our sovereignty. He added that Iran has faced numerous cyber attacks from the U.S. and Israel.
A broad cross-section of Florida Republicans, from supporters of Donald Trump to former top aides to Jeb Bush, lined up over the weekend behind Barbara Lagoa, propelling the federal judge and Miami-born daughter of Cuban exiles to the top of the shortlist of potential replacements for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The swift ascension of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals judge to serious consideration by members of Mr Trump's team, along with Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th Circuit and several others, reflects the blunt political calculations informing the White House's decision-making 45 days from an election that could turn on the outcome in Florida, which has never sent a justice to the nation's highest court.

The president, facing a tight race in the state, whose electoral college votes are seen as critical for his path to reelection, is intensifying his courtship of Hispanics, especially the heavily Republican Cuban American community in South Florida.

Within 48 hours of Ginsburg's death, a push for Ms Lagoa has taken shape in the battleground state, drawing on years of goodwill she and her husband have built in Florida's legal and political circles, and their extensive ties with the Federalist Society, the influential conservative legal group.

Advocates for Ms Lagoa sent text messages and placed calls over the weekend to officials in the White House and the Justice Department, as well as prominent attorneys who have sway with Mr Trump's top aides, according to several people with knowledge of the discussions.

"She is a Cuban woman from Miami and Florida is the most important state in the election," said Jesse Panuccio, former acting associate attorney general in Mr Trump's Justice Department and a member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, which vetted her before governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, named her to the state's top court in January 2019.

An effort to install a second Latina on the high court would immediately raise the stakes of a nomination fight that quickly became a clash over principles of fairness and democratic legitimacy. Republicans are seeking to move ahead with a selection process in opposition to the standard they set in 2016, when they blocked Barack Obama from filling a seat in an election year. Choosing Ms Lagoa would represent a bid to refocus attention on a potential nominee's personal story and political appeal rather than the legitimacy of the process.

Nonetheless, Lagoa's 14-year tenure as a state and federal judge presents Democrats with opportunities to scrutinise her record.

Particularly contentious could be her record on voting rights and executive power. Ms Lagoa concurred this month in a federal appeals court ruling that is expected to keep many of the 85,000 felons who have registered to vote in Florida from casting ballots.

Ms Lagoa's role in the case has prompted backlash from Senate Democrats, who sent her a letter this summer alleging that her failure to recuse herself "appears to violate the Code of Conduct for United States Judges" given her role last year in an advisory opinion handed down on the issue by the Florida Supreme Court.

On Florida's high court, and before that, on a state appeals court, she repeatedly sided with businesses, helping to turn back a higher minimum wage in Miami, limiting recourse for homeowners facing foreclosure, and reversing or rejecting cases of employees who sued Caterpillar and Uber. Ms Lagoa also wrote a controversial decision finding that Mr DeSantis had broad executive authority to suspend a county sheriff over his handling of the 2018 shooting in Parkland.

Recommended Republican victory in Supreme Court battle could mean millions lose health insurance in the middle of a pandemic

And while the judge has not expounded at length on abortion and its legal limits - saying in written answers submitted to the Senate last year that she would "faithfully apply  precedents" when it came to Roe v Wade - one of her main advocates, representative Matt Gaetz, said she is "very pro-life, reliably pro-life".

"The hardcore Catholics usually stick with us," the congressman added. "Her faith guides her perspective on life."

Daniel Goldberg, legal director of the liberal Alliance for Justice, was critical of Ms Lagoa's record, saying she is a judge "who has showed contempt for our democracy". Mr Goldberg said he has "no doubt that she will meet Donald Trump's litmus test" for a Supreme Court nominee and support his pledge to overturn Roe and the Affordable Care Act.

Mr DeSantis, a staunch Trump ally, was so taken with Ms Lagoa when he met her in August 2018 that he considered putting her on his ticket as the candidate for lieutenant governor, said Mr Gaetz, a co-chair of the governor's transition team.

Mr DeSantis is now backing efforts to lobby the White House on Ms Lagoa's behalf, according to people in Washington and Tallahassee familiar with the pitch, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to recount private conversations.

She is quiet and collegial, with shrewd political instincts, according to interviews with former colleagues, longtime friends and legal academics who have followed the arc of her career.

Senate confirmation votes for US Supreme Court Justices since 1986, by party (The Independent/Statista)

Especially central for her, these observers said, was her experience as a member of the pro-bono legal team representing the Miami relatives of Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy whose mother drowned while trying to escape with him to the United States and whose subsequent custody case became an international cause celebre. He was eventually returned to his Cuban father after a surprise raid in which federal agents removed him from a Miami home in April 2000.

"Elian was a trophy in a battle between the Cuban government and the relentless anti-Castro politics of the Miami Cuban community, of which Lagoa became a prominent member," said David Abraham, an emeritus professor at the University of Miami law school. "His case became a venue for group solidarity and the maintenance and construction of political power."

Others drew different lessons from the legal battle. Mr Bush's former general counsel Raquel Rodriguez, who helped oversee the vetting process that put Ms Lagoa on the Miami-based 3rd District Court of Appeal, said the episode made evident Ms Lagoa's determination.

"She must have worked day and night on that," Ms Rodriguez said. "She truly believed that this little boy deserved to grow up in freedom, which is what his mother wanted for him. It weighs on her to this day."

Mr Bush, while not responding to a question about whether the Senate should confirm a nominee so close to a presidential election, described Ms Lagoa in an email as an "intelligent, consistent, hardworking judge".

While Ms Barrett has a more prominent national profile and a portfolio of writing and speeches as a law professor that endears her to the conservative legal community, Ms Lagoa has a longer history as a judge, as well as experience as a federal prosecutor, her allies said. They were at pains in particular to present her as an originalist who would adhere to the letter of the Constitution in the mould of Antonin Scalia, the late justice for whom Ms Barrett clerked.

Ms Lagoa has helped render judgments in about 12,000 cases and written more than 400 opinions, Mr Panuccio estimated.

Lagoa's husband, Paul Huck Jr, is the "godfather of the Federalist Society in Miami," said Jose Felix Diaz, a former state legislator and consultant with Ballard Partners, the powerful lobbying firm closely associated with Mr Trump.

Mr Huck is an attorney with Jones Day, the firm that has represented Mr Trump's campaign. His father, Paul C Huck, is a judge on the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, a position to which he was nominated by Bill Clinton in 2000. "I don't think they get overly partisan at the kitchen table," Mr Diaz added.

Ms Lagoa was born in Miami and grew up in Hialeah. She graduated from Florida International University in 1989 and received her law degree from Columbia University in 1992, according to her court biographies.

After her appointment by then-governor Bush in 2006, she served for 13 years on the Miami-area appeals court. Ms Lagoa was among Mr DeSantis' first nominees to the Florida Supreme Court. Already the first female chief judge on the Florida appeals court, Ms Lagoa became the first Cuban American on Florida's high court.

But her stop in Tallahassee became one of the shortest in 50 years. After fewer than nine months, she was nominated by Mr Trump to sit on the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. The Senate confirmed her nomination by an 80-to-15 vote.

Permeating Democratic questions for Ms Lagoa were her connections to the Federalist Society and whether she knowingly benefited from the influential nonprofit's increasing use of expensive media campaigns to promote conservative judges.

In written answers, she recalled how the group's powerful executive vice president, Leonard Leo, had traveled to Orlando to interview finalists for the federal bench. She said she first met Leo "in passing" after a Federalist Society luncheon in 2015 and did not recall speaking with him again until the interview in 2019.

She also acknowledged having attended an annual Federalist Society conference and celebration hosted for judges at Disney World. She said she was not aware of meeting any fundraisers at the event in 2019 who may have been supporting her nomination.

"I spent most of my time at the dessert reception speaking with lawyers and other judges, as well as their children, about non-legal matters (for example, our children, our day on the rides at other theme parks at Walt Disney World)," she wrote.

The Washington Post
TDT | Manama

Bahrain has beenand still isa role model to be emulated in the fields of peace and coexistence among religions and sects, thanks to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifas sound visions, Council of Representatives Speaker Fawzia bint Abdulla Zainal stressed yesterday.

The royal visions have entitled Bahrain to be a Kingdom of Peace, and a leading country in embodying the values and principles of peaceful co-existence among its citizens, she said. The Speaker affirmed that peace is a well-established approach of HM King Hamad, and a firm culture of the Bahraini people, as well as a genuine Bahraini fundamental.

She noted that fostering the values of peace is among the basic pillars of the Reform Project and the comprehensive development march spearheaded by HM the King through unity, love, and harmony among everyone, in addition to supporting peace and tolerance as the best means to advance societies and achieve development and progress.

The Speaker said this in her statement marking International Day of Peace, observed worldwide every September 21, held this year under the theme Shaping Peace Together. The speaker stressed that no stability or prosperity can be achieved without peace that meets the aspirations of peoples and nations for security and stability, which can be a catalyst for them to attain more development.

She emphasized that peace is the strategic option for Bahrain and its civilizational and humanitarian message to the whole world, adding that peace will remain the best embodiment of the cultural and civilizational component of the Kingdoms people and a true expression of Bahrainis moral and humanitarian authenticity.

She pointed out that it is fortunate that this years International Day of Peace coincides with the signing of the Declaration Supporting Peace between Bahrain and Israel, and noted that the bold historic step is consistent with HM King Hamads policies to spread the culture of peace in the world, including the provision of better chances for the Palestinian people to establish their independent state, in accordance with the International Legitimacys resolutions and the Arab Initiative.

The Speaker highlighted the numerous initiatives launched by HM the King to promote openness and acceptance of the other policy, such as the establishment of the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Co-existence, the inauguration of the King Hamad Chair for Interfaith Dialogue and Peaceful Coexistence at La Sapienza University in Rome in November of 2018, and the launch of the King Hamad centers Cyber-Peace Programme in New York on the sidelines of 74th session of the UN General Assembly.

The Speaker asserted that the two chambers of the National Assembly have played a major role in achieving the noble goals of the principles of peace, which has been achieved through adopting legislation and laws that reinforce such concepts and promote them in thought, culture, and practices.
China's Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan speaks during a press conference at State Council Information Office in Beijing on May 18, 2020. Nicolas Asfouri | AFP | Getty Images

BEIJING  The Chinese government is stepping up pressure on foreign businesses not to run afoul of Beijing, as the White House continues to target some of the Asian giant's largest technology companies. China's Ministry of Commerce released long-awaited provisions on its so-called "unreliable entity list" over the weekend. The vaguely worded document mirrors the U.S. Commerce Department's entity list that restricts named companies from accessing items originating in the U.S. "Beijing will likely name at least one US company to the (unreliable entity list) between now and year-end  possibly even in coming days  but will use this tool in a targeted fashion, particularly in its early stages," Michael Hirson, practice head, China and Northeast Asia, at consulting firm Eurasia Group, said in a note released Monday. "The coming debut of the (unreliable entity list) underscores the dilemma facing (multi-national corporations) in China, who are squeezed between the legal and political dictates of the US and its Western allies on the one hand and Beijing on the other," he said.

The Commerce Ministry first announced it was establishing the unreliable entity list in May 2019. The move came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration said it was adding Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to a blacklist, which prohibits the company from working with its U.S. suppliers. Huawei's revenue last year missed internal forecasts by $12 billion, while profit growth slowed from the prior two years. Provisions from the unreliable entity list released Saturday laid out consequences for a foreign entity  a company, organization or individual from another country  that is deemed to be a danger to "national sovereignty, security or development interests of China," according to an English-language version of the policy on the Commerce Ministry website. Authorities can also add a foreign entity to the list if it suspends "normal transactions" or takes "discriminatory measures" against a Chinese entity "which violates normal market transaction principles and causes serious damage to the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise, other organization, or individual of China," the document said. The consequences for an entity added to the list could include: restrictions or prohibitions on China-related trade, investment in China and travel or work permits.

So cutting off semiconductors and banning TikTok are only a beginning for the U.S. ... Regarding this, we have to prepare mentally for the long term. Wei Jianguo former vice minister at China's Ministry of Commerce

The release of the list comes a day after the U.S. Commerce Department announced a ban on U.S. transactions using WeChat  a social messaging app operated by Chinese technology giant Tencent, and TikTok  a short-video app backed by Chinese start-up ByteDance. China's Commerce Ministry said in an online statement that the unreliable entity list will not target a specific country or entity. Other statements on the ministry's website about the unreliable entity list emphasized that China still welcomes foreign direct investment and foreign businesses, which are an important contributor to the national economy. "The unreliable entity list regulations leave a fair amount of discretion to be applied broadly. We hope significant restraint is exercised in utilization of the list," the U.S.-China Business Council said in a statement. "Companies increasingly feel squeezed between the US and Chinese governments, where complying with the rules of one government may cause them to run afoul of rules of the other government." Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, told CNBC in an email: "The vagueness of the language would be disconcerting on its own, but that it comes at a time in which European companies in China are already worried about being next on the chopping block of an increasingly politicised business environment makes it all the more distressing." The American Chamber of Commerce in China and British Chamber of Commerce did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Possible additions to the list

Hirson said in the Eurasia report that actions from the Chinese side would likely focus on products with a domestic competitor and avoid disrupting imports of products that China's technology industry needs. Another factor, he said, could be companies involved with U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. According to the consulting firm, plausible targets include:

. Cisco

. Dell/EMC

. HPE

. Lockheed Martin

. Rockwell Collins On the other hand, the report said less appealing targets include:

. Apple and Microsoft  "high global visibility and reputations as good corporate citizens within China."

. Chipmakers Qualcomm and Intel/AMD, which are "important suppliers who have made strong efforts to establish positive relationships in country."

. Boeing, which "sells Apache helicopters to Taiwan, but its critical role for China's airline industry and profile as a flagship US company will make Beijing cautious about targeting it and inflicting any serious damage."

Long-term implications
The market witnessed sharp selling pressure in the afternoon and closed with more than 2 percent loss on September 21 as traders worried about rising coronavirus cases again in several nations including Europe.

The BSE Sensex fell 811.68 points or 2.09 percent to 38,034.14, while the Nifty50 plunged 254.50 points or 2.21 percent to 11,250.50 and formed a large bearish candle which resembles a Long Black Day kind of pattern on the daily charts, after consolidation in previous 5-6 sessions.

"The index has broken below the crucial lower support of 20- day EMA at 11,415. The downward breakout attempt of a couple of occasions has resulted in a false downside breakout and the market regained that support in a short period of time. Now, the market has closed below that moving average support on Monday. If Nifty fails to regain that support in the next 1-2 sessions by showing upside bounce above 11,450, then one may expect a resumption of broad-based weakness in the market," Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, told Moneycontrol.

"The lower area of 11,100-11,150 is likely to offer minor support for the market in the next few sessions, but the market is expected to break below that support area in the near term. The next downside levels to be watched at 10,700 in the next 1-2 weeks," he said.

The correction was seen across sectors with Nifty Bank, Auto, FMCG, Metal and Pharma leading the charge which saw 3-5 percent fall. The Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices also corrected nearly 4 percent each.

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.

Key support and resistance levels on the Nifty

According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty is placed at 11,134.27, followed by 11,018.03. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 11,450.97 and 11,651.43.

Nifty Bank

The Bank Nifty slumped 664.25 points or 3.02 percent to close at 21,366.80 on September 21. The important pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 21,061.13, followed by 20,755.47. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 21,885.63 and 22,404.47.

Call option data

Maximum Call open interest of 53.38 lakh contracts was seen at 11,500 strike, which will act as crucial resistance in the September series.

This is followed by 11,600 strike, which holds 48.74 lakh contracts, and 12,000 strike, which has accumulated 39.62 lakh contracts.

Call writing was seen at 11,500 strike, which added 20.91 lakh contracts, followed by 11,400, which added 17.29 lakh contracts, and 11,300 strike, which added 16.2 lakh contracts.

Call unwinding was seen at 11,900 strike, which shed 6.37 lakh contracts, followed by 12,000 strike, which shed 4.28 lakh contracts and 11,800 strike which shed 3.4 lakh contracts.

Put option data

Maximum Put open interest of 32.31 lakh contracts was seen at 10,500 strike, which will act as crucial support in the September series.

This is followed by 11,000 strike, which holds 31.97 lakh contracts, and 11,300 strike, which has accumulated 26.39 lakh contracts.

Put writing was seen at 11,300 strike, which added 3.49 lakh contracts, followed by 10,700 strike, which added 32,325 contracts.

Put unwinding was witnessed at 11,500 strike, which shed 13.09 lakh contracts, followed by 11,400 strike which shed 8.65 lakh contracts and 11,600 strike which shed 3.04 lakh contracts.

Stocks with a high delivery percentage

A high delivery percentage suggests that investors are showing interest in these stocks.

No stock saw long build-up

Not a single stock witnessed long build-up on September 21.

91 stocks saw long unwinding

Based on the open interest future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which long unwinding was seen.

43 stocks saw short build-up

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.

4 stocks witnessed short-covering

A decrease in open interest, along with an increase in price, mostly indicates a short-covering. Based on the open interest future percentage, here are 4 stocks in which short-covering was seen.

Bulk deals

(For more bulk deals, click here)

Analysts/Board Meetings

Cipla: The company's representatives to attend JP Morgan's India Investor Summit Virtual on September 22 and to meet Jefferies India via call on September 23.

SRF: Ashish Bharat Ram, Managing Director and Rahul Jain, President and CFO, will be interacting with certain institutional investors through various audio-visual means from September 21 till September 30.

Rossari Biotech: Officials of the company will interact with analysts and investors, Edelweiss Securities and Neuberger Berman, on September 22.

Mahindra Logistics: Group Conference Call is scheduled to be held with Bajaj Allianz and Philip Capital on September 22.

IRCTC: Management of the company will be meeting various investors/analysts/institutions through a group conference call being organised by IDBI Capital Markets and Securities on September 22.

Fine Organic Industries: Officials of the company will be doing virtual meeting with investors/analysts (participants) on September 22.

UPL: The company will be participating in a conference call with analysts/investors on September 22 and 24.

IIFL Finance: The company's representatives will be meeting Triada Capital via video conference call on September 22.

Welspun Enterprises: Officials of the company will be attending an investor conference organised by Antique Stock Broking on September 22.

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals: The company's representatives will meet M&G Investment Management on September 24, Alliancebernstein LP on September 25 and Mirae Asset Management on September 28 via call.

Tech Mahindra: Officials of the company to interact with investors (virtual) on September 22 and 24, and attend JP Morgan  India Investor Summit 2020 (virtual) on September 24.

Stocks in the news

GMM Pfaudler: Promoter to sell 25.71 lakh shares via offer for sale, floor price set at Rs 3,500 per share on September 22-23.

Angel Broking: IPO will open for subscription on September 22 and close on September 24, with a price band at Rs 305-306 per share.

Phillips Carbon Black: CARE reaffirmed the company's long term credit rating at AA-/Stable.

Shree Renuka Sugars: The company approved the allotment of 21,16,70,481 equity shares, for cash at a price of Rs 8.74 per share aggregating to Rs 185 crore on preferential basis to Promoter, Wilmar Sugar Holdings Pte Ltd.

Ramco Cements: ICRA reaffirmed long term credit rating at AA+/Stable.

MEP Infrastructure Developers: Promoter entity Sudha D Mhaiskar released 4.5 lakh pledged shares.

HSIL: The company approved buyback of up to Rs 70 crore worth of shares at Rs 105 per share.

Fund flow

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 539.81 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 517.95 crore in the Indian equity market on September 21, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Stock under F&O ban on NSE

Four stocks -- Glenmark Pharma, Vodafone Idea, SAIL and Vedanta-- are under the F&O ban for September 22. 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.
Are you a sheep farmer or interested in finding out more? If so, you should tune into the Teagasc Virtual Sheep Week on all Teagasc online platforms each day this week.

From Monday 21 to Friday 25 September, Teagasc will be bringing you the latest research from Teagasc Athenry and the best technical advice and information available to sheep producers around Ireland.

Each day youll be able to enjoy updates showcasing the latest developments in the areas of grassland, genetic improvement, flock health, hill sheep as well as information on environmental and policy issues.

Its a great way to learn new things from the comfort of your home. All you need to do is join the live stream each evening at 7pm on the Teagasc website or Facebook page. No registration required.

This week, Teagasc will be posting videos and updates each day. Follow the weeks activities by staying tuned to the Teagasc social media channels, or by searching #VirtualSheepWeek for all information posted.

Heres a quick rundown of what will be happening each day.

Monday : Grassland

On Monday 21 September learn how good grassland management can supply high quality digestible pastures to the grazing ewe and her lambs.

This live panel discussion led by Damian Costello, Sheep Specialist with Teagasc will focus on the current grassland research for sheep and grazing management strategies that can be applied at farm level and will feature panellists Philip Creighton and Micheal OLeary of Teagasc along with special guest John OConnell, Teagasc Sheep BETTER Farmer from County Leitrim.

Tuesday  Breeding

On Tuesday 22 September find out how improving genetics can improve the performance of the animals in your flock.

This live panel discussion led by Michael Gottstein, Head of Sheep Knowledge Transfer with Teagasc will focus on the importance of using high genetic merit animals in your flock, incorporating results from phase one of the Irish / New Zealand Animal Comparison (INZAC) study; the importance of commercial on-farm recording in making breeding decisions and the potential of using genetics to reduce labour at lambing and breed animals with a reduced carbon hoof print will be covered. The panel discussion will feature panellists Fiona McGovern and Aine OBrien, Teagasc, along with special guest Eamonn Wall of Sheep Ireland.

Wednesday  Hill Sheep

Hill sheep farming is carried out on a diverse range of land quality and farming systems and plays a vital role in Irish agriculture and also in the maintenance of delicate landscapes. On Wednesday, 23 September you can view the recent and current Teagasc research on developing systems for finishing hill bred store lambs, and the results from the Teagasc BETTER Hill Sheep Farms.

The live panel discussion will be led by Michael Diskin, Teagasc Sheep Enterprise Leader will feature panellists Frank Campion and John Cannon of Teagasc along with guest speakers Brendan Joyce, hill sheep farmer and chairperson of Atlantic Hill Lamb Producer Group and Patrick Dunne, BETTER Farm Sheep Farmer.

Thursday  Flock Health

Having a flock with a high health status is a critical corner stone to improving flock productivity and profitability. On Thursday, tune in to learn the key factors impacting flock health status.

The live panel discussion will be led by Michael Gottstein, Head of Sheep Knowledge Transfer with Teagasc and will feature panellists Orla Keane and Tim Keady of Teagasc, along with Maresa Sheehan from the Veterinary Laboratory in Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Topics such as internal parasite control, mineral nutrition, lamb survivability and correct quarantine and biosecurity protocols will all be discussed.

Friday  Policy and Environment

Finally, on the last day of the Teagasc Virtual Sheep Week we will discuss the likely policy changes and the important role that sheep farming plays in marinating the natural environment.

Guest speaker Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity will join to discuss the challenges faced by farmers on the hills and uplands. Other panellists include Kevin Hanrahan, Head of Rural Economy with Teagasc and Michael Gottstein, Head of Sheep Knowledge Transfer in Teagasc. The discussion facilitated by Teagasc Director, Professor Gerry Boyle will focus on National and EU Policy and Environment affecting sheep production.

All sheep farmers are invited to join the Teagasc Virtual Sheep Week and get the best technical information and the latest research and advice. Be sure to tune at on the Teagasc website.

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STOCKTON, Calif. An historic World War II bomber owned by a local foundation crashed Saturday evening outside of Stockton, Calif., while it was making its way home to Albany. All three crew members aboard survived, although two had non-life-threatening injuries.

The aircraft was returning from a 75th anniversary commemoration of the end of World War II that was held at the beginning of September in Hawaii. The coronavirus had prohibited veterans from flying to Hawaii for the event so the Prescott Foundation, which operated and housed the plane at Albany International Airport, decided it would bring the aircraft to the veterans instead. The aircraft, a B-25 Mitchell bomber, planned fly overs and stops at airports across the country so veterans could come aboard.

The aircraft began experiencing engine failures about five miles from the Stockton airport and the pilot attempted a crash landing in an open field, said a spokeswoman for the San Joaquin County Sheriffs Office. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.

They had a loss of engine power and the pilots made a great decision to utilize that open field that they saw, rather than take any other chances, said David Prescott, the CEO of the Prescott Foundation.

The aircraft had significant damage, and it wasn't clear whether it could be repaired, but Prescott is hopeful. After the crash, the foundations Facebook page was flooded with messages about people who have found memories in the plane.

At the end of the day these [planes] are part of Americas living history so often times we will do a lot more to restore and recover it than you might do for a regular car, Prescott said. It flew in combat missions during World War II so theres a reason to spend more time bringing it back to life.

Prescott, who describes himself as a serial entrepreneur, founded Integra Optics, a telecommunications company that he based at the airport. The company provides optical transceivers and other equipment to keep fiber optics networks operating, focusing on maximizing what it calls "uptime."

Prescott, a Navy veteran, is also a strong supporter of the Marines Corps Reserves' annual Toys for Tots program. More than 30 pallets of toys designated for the program accompanied the B-25 on its trip aboard a Navy vessel to Hawaii.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Prescott is also an aviation buff. The company's conference room featured a table fashioned from part of a C-47 aircraft's wing. The C-47 was the military version of the DC-3.

When Prescott sold Integra Optics last year, he said the company would remain local, and that the sale "gives me free time to pursue my aviation dreams."

Another of his aircraft is a replica of a Japanese Zero from World War II. The fighter plane starred in several movies including "Tora, Tora, Tora" and "Midway."

The Old Glory bomber was manufactured in 1944 and used in all theaters of conflict for the United States during World War II, said Prescott. Every time it came into Albany airport people would come from all over and would stop to look and take pictures of it.

clairebryan@timesunion.com
Faced with the prospect of a spirited challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly polls due next year, the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal has loosened its purse strings to extend help to Hindu priests, as it seeks to debunk accusations of minority appeasement.

IMAGE: The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC tally in 2014 came down from 34 seats to 22. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Mamata Banerjee government's move to grant Rs 1,000 monthly allowance and free housing to 8000 Brahmin priests is being seen by many as an attempt to shed its pro-Muslim image.

Banerjee, who has repeatedly been accused of 'minority appeasement' by the BJP, had shown her government's benevolence towards the minority community, extending monetary benefits to the Muslim clergy.

The Imams of Mosques and Muezzins, who call the devout Muslims for prayer, get a monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 and Rs 1,500 every month. The arrangement was made in 2012, a year after Banerjee stormed to power defeating the Left Front with the solid backing of Muslims, who constitute around 30 per cent of the state's population.

The Calcutta high court had in 2013 dubbed the government's decision on the Muslim clergy's emoluments as 'unconstitutional and against public interest'.

The Banerjee government, however, did not revoke its decision and created a separate fund under the Wakf Board for the upkeep of the properties that it held. The fund also took care of the emoluments of the Imams and Muezzins.

With the minorities, particularly Muslims, extending unflinching support to her, the Bengal leader now ostensibly wants to court a sizeable section of the Hindu voters.

BJP chief J P Nadda, while addressing BJP workers in West Bengal recently, had called the Mamata government anti-Hindu.

Prashant Kishor, the poll strategist who once helmed the election campaign for Narendra Modi when the latter was the Gujarat chief minister, and later when he made a successful bid for prime ministership, is now advising Banerjee.

Close watchers of West Bengal's political scene say Kishor's team advised Banerjee to hold a 'Brahmin Sammelan' and provide sops to Hindu priests.

"Kishor and his team have diligently worked for spreading information about Mamata Banerjee's commitment to inclusive politics and policies," a senior TMC leader said.

A BJP leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted the TMC government's support for Brahmin priests was aimed at denting the saffron party's Hindu support base, and not out of concern for the majority community.

The TMC, however, rubbished the allegation.

"We don't believe in communal politics, unlike the BJP. We aim to help people and communities in distress. The party has no religious agenda," senior TMC leader and MP Saugato Roy told PTI.

Some in the TMC, however, said the party's overture to Brahmins was aimed at neutralising the alleged BJP campaign that the state's ruling party was against Hindus.

"The BJP has been trying to project us as an anti-Hindu force. Their members have been trying to pitch themselves as champions of Hindutva. So we wanted to reach out to the masses, especially the Hindu community, with the message that we believe in inclusive growth," a senior TMC leader said, wanting not to be named.

He acknowledged that the party had suffered as the BJP made deep inroads even in its strongholds in the Lok Sabha polls last year.

"The allegations that we are anti-Hindu have done a lot of damage to the party during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. We need to change that impression but, at the same time, we can't alienate the minorities. We need to fix these gaps and regain the lost ground before the 2021 assembly polls," he said.

In a stunning performance the BJP had won 18 of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats in the last general elections, while the TMC clinched 22. The BJP also bagged an impressive 41 per cent of the vote share. The TMC's tally shrunk from 34 seats in 2014 to just 22.

"I-PAC (Kishor's organisation) has assessed the situation in Bengal and provided inputs for restructuring our strategy. This attempt to reach out to the Brahmins is a part of the revised plan," a top TMC leader said.

West Bengal has been riven by communal strife over the last few years.

Scores of incidents of communal clashes have been reported over the last decade, leading to polarisation of voters along religious lines.

The TMC and the BJP have been the beneficiaries of the communal strife that left the largely secular polity of the state in the dumps, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left front that ruled the state for over three decades, and the Congress, relegated to the margins.

Biswanath Chakraborty, a political analyst, said the TMC, if it retains its minority support base, while also clinching a share of the Hindu votes that would have otherwise gone to the BJP, it could pull off a surprise win, or at least be in an advantageous position against its saffron challenger.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had recently scoffed at the Mamata Banerjee government over efforts to court the influential Brahmin community.

BJP general secretary and its minder for West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya had called it a 'poll gimmick' that will not yield any favourable result for the TMC.

"What took the TMC government so long to think about Hindu priests? It is only because assembly polls are approaching that such sops are being distributed. The TMC government, otherwise, works for only 30 per cent of the population in the state," Vijayvargiya had said, apparently referring to the TMC's Muslim support base.
The city government filed a lawsuit against the Sarang Jeil church with the Seoul Central District Court on Sept. 18 seeking W4.62 billion in compensation (US$1=W1,161).

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is suing an evangelical church and its rightwing pastor for damages for spreading coronavirus in the city and environs.

The church is accused of disrupting the government's quarantine efforts and submitting false documents in violation of infectious disease prevention laws after it was found to be a new hotbed of the virus.

"Coronavirus spread not only in Seoul but across the country, due to the Sarang Jeil church's refusal to undergo testing and submitting false documents," a city official said.

The damage estimate includes losses from reduced public transport usage due to fears of infection, and overtime payments for public servants who had to track down church members who attended a massive anti-government rally in downtown Seoul on Aug. 15.

According to city officials, by Sept. 17 some 641 infections had been traced directly to the church, most of whose members are elderly, resulting in W330 million in treatment costs, W660 million in aid to people in self-isolation, W1.36 billion for clinics, W2.25 billion the city had to pay public transportation companies to make up for lost revenues, and W17 million in overtime pay for city workers.

A total of 354 public servants worked 19 days and were paid an average of W100,000 a day.

Kang Yeon-jae, a lawyer for the church, told the Chosun Ilbo, "The government failed to contain the spread of a mutated virus and is now trying to pin the blame on the innocent public."
The home of Republican senator Mitch McConnell was targeted by protesters, one of whom was arrested, amid criticism over plans to appoint a new Supreme Court justice.

As the Senate majority leader, Mr McConnell plays a key role in determining whether or not Congress votes to appoint a successor to justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the 3 November presidential election.

He said in a statement on Friday that he intended to hold a vote on whoever president Donald Trump nominates to succeed Ginsburg, who died aged 87.

Speaking on Saturday, the president said a replacement would be made as soon as possible.

Those plans sparked calls of outrage over the weekend, with Democrats criticising Republican plans to make an appointment less than 50 days to the election.

According to local media reports, around 100 demonstrators gathered outside Mr McConnells home in Kentucky, holding signs such as Ruth Sent Us, and No Ethics No Shame.

Some chanted: Hey-hey, ho-ho, Mitch McConnell has got to go, reported WDRB-TV, as others shouted to vote him out.

It was unclear whether or not the Republican was at his home in Louisville, Kentucky, or in Washington on Saturday.

One protester was reported to have been arrested by Louisville Metro Police for disorderly conduct and improper parking, after she parked her vehicle outside a CVS pharmacy without entering as a customer.

Another person kicked a glass door and damaged it, the Courier Journal of Louisville reported, leading to the deployment of a special response team.

Police cleared the scene around two hours after demonstrators began occupying the space outside the senators home.
(Newser)  Comedian Joe Rogan moved his popular eponymous podcast to Spotify at the beginning of the month, and he got things moving last week by making an accusation regarding wildfires near Portland, Ore. "There is a madness going on there," Rogan said during Thursday's podcast, per CNN Business. "You want to talk about madness of crowds. That exemplifies that right now." He noted that officials had arrested "left-wing people" for setting the blazes, adding: "You know, air quote, activists, and this is something that's also not widely being reported." The next day, CNN's Brianna Keilar explained why that is. "It's not being widely reported, because it's not true," the CNN anchor said. Per Vanity Fair, local law enforcement and other agencies in Oregon have pushed back on the conspiracy theory, and even the FBI released a statement refuting claims that "extremists" had set the fires.

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"Conspiracy theories and misinformation take valuable resources away [from] local fire and police agencies working around the clock to bring these fires under control," the agency noted. Rogan apparently got wind of his mistake, and on Friday, the outspoken comedian "uncharacteristically" apologized, per Forbes. "I'm sorry if I duped you," Rogan told fans on Instagram, retracting his remarks and explaining he'd mixed up a couple of stories. "There is nothing I can do about it now. It's out there, but it's definitely a mistake." He also said he'll remember this before making provocative comments in the future. "It feels very irresponsible of me," he said. "I don't take it lightly. I'm very upset with myself ... Sorry." (That's not the only recent controversy Rogan has found himself embroiled in.)
Officials have warned about an undercount in the Chicago region, particularly in communities of color. Census tracts with some of the lowest response rates in Chicago include Back of the Yards, West Englewood, Little Village and North Lawndale, all neighborhoods that are already struggling with lack of resources and stand to lose the most from an inaccurate count.
TROY -- Donations in memory Ayshawn Davis, the 11-year-old slain in a drive-by shooting, have surpassed $50,000 as people rally to support his family.

A reward for information leading to suspects being charged and convicted for the Sept. 13 killing has hit $25,000.

Five GoFundMe funds as of Monday afternoon have raised a combined $50,846 to assist the boy's family as they confront his random killing outside 2266 Old Sixth Ave. The boy was shot in the head when someone opened fire from a vehicle that passed a group of people.

Steven B. Bouchey, president and CEO of Bouchey Financial Group, created one of the funds, the Ayshawn Davis Memorial Fund, after meeting with the family. The fund is intended to pay for family expenses and future college costs for the boy's siblings.

No parent should have to bury their child and now, more than ever, we must stop this senseless gun violence on our streets. In addition to what I do personally to support Latoya, Tarance and the Davis family, I promised them I would help them with their sudden money so that no one takes advantage of them, Bouchey said Monday.

The fund had raised $8,865 of its $10,000 goal as of Monday afternoon.

The Lansingburgh Central School District has also launched the Ayshawn Davis Anything is Possible scholarship for future district graduates starting with the Class of 2021.

Meanwhile, the reward money is at more than $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever killed Ayshawn. The FBI has announced an award of $10,000. The Albany County Sheriffs Office, Trustco and American Shooter Supply have each contributed $5,000 for a total of $15,000. Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin has pledged $500. Other individuals also have pledged money.

The FBI is promoting the search for the killers with two electronic billboards on I-90 and I-787 bearing information about the reward as part of the continuing investigation, Troy Deputy Police Chief Dan DeWolf said.

"We're still working very hard on the case, but nothing to share with the public at this point," DeWolf said.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Detectives have been working to locate a dark-colored vehicle that may have been involved in the shooting.

Two members of the Capital Regions state Legislature delegation have submitted bills to set life in prison as the sentence for anyone convicted of a drive-by shooting.

The bills submitted by Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Amsterdam, and Senator Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon, would make such killings first-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.

The Troy Police Department asks that anyone with information about the case call the department at 518-270-4427 or online at troypd.org.






President Donald Trump said he didn't want to lose to the 'worst presidential candidate' in history, Democrat Joe Biden, as he went on a name-calling tour of his political enemies in Ohio Monday evening.

Trump surveyed the crowd, asking if they wanted his next Supreme Court choice to be a man or a woman. 'It will be a woman, it will be a woman and we are looking forward to it,' the president said, when the crowd indicated by screams they'd prefer a feminine pick.

The crowd booed when Trump mentioned Ohio's Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who was on hand, as the governor had implemented tough COVID-19 restrictions earlier this year.

President Donald Trump campaigned in Ohio Monday night, telling a crowd in Vandalia that he didn't want to lose to the 'worst presidential candidate in history,' Democrat Joe Biden

Trump went after Joe Biden, photographed earlier Monday in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, telling supporters in Ohio that Biden's 'got no spirit, it's dead as a rock'

Trump heralded Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, but the crowd booed the governor likely over his tough COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, which haven't played well with the president's crowd

Trump seemed to be taken by surprise at the booing.

'He's opening up,' Trump said, understanding that the boos were likely coronavirus-related. 'Thank you, Mike. He's a good man.'

The theme of Trump's speech in Vandalia, Ohio was 'Fighting for the American Worker,' and the event was technically not supposed to be a rally.

When he arrived, the president called the gathering a 'friendly protest.'

'We're protesting stupidity,' the president said.

Soon, Trump was tearing into Biden, who he mocked for not knowing what state he was in.

The president suggested Biden would show up to Ohio and say, 'it's great to be in the state of Florida.'

'And he looks around and doesnt see too many palm trees,' Trump said. 'There's nothing you can do to save it,' the president said of making that kind of gaffe, claiming that Biden has messed up locales seven times.

Trump also got the audience going when he yelled out, 'where is the son?' a question about Hunter Biden.

'You know where he is, he's in the basement with his father?' Trump said.

The president claimed that Biden 'abused' American workers with his trade policy.

'Which is why it's time to retire Joe Biden,' Trump said.

At the same time, he suggested Biden could beat him at next week's presidential debate, which will be the first of three.

'He's been doing it for 47 years,' Trump said. 'He's much more experienced,' the president pointed out.

He then reverted to his position that Biden is a terrible candidate.

'I will have lost to the worst presidential candidate in the history of politics,' Trump said.

'Joe's got no spirit, it's dead as a rock,' he said at another point.

The president also lashed out at Biden's running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris.

'She is nothing special,' he said.

'I love Mike, but it's not Pence-Trump,' Trump went on, referencing how Biden had slipped up and called it the 'Harris-Biden' administration, a gaffe Trump called 'strange,' joking that his No. 2, Vice President Mike Pence, told the president, 'You never have to do that.'

And he rehashed some of the drama that happened during the Democratic primary.

Trump called Sen. Bernie Sanders 'the nicest loser I've ever seen.' And he relished how Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who he again called 'Pocahontas' destroyed billionaire Democrat Mike Bloomberg on the debate stage.

The president also went old school, knocking his 2016 rival Hillary Clinton.

'Hillary Clinton is the one who gives away classified information,' Trump said.

The crowd responded with a 'lock her up!' chant.

'How about that idiot John Bolton?' Trump also asked, lumping his Republican ex-national security adviser in with his Democratic enemies. Trump suggested that all Bolton did was want to go to war.

'If I listened to that idiot, we'd be right now in World War Five,' Trump said.

One person the president did speak well of was Russian President Vladimir Putin.

'I like Putin. He likes me. We get along,' Trump said. 'But I'm having a hard time with China,' Trump also offered.

He also spoke well of his forthcoming Supreme Court pick.

'It will be a brilliant person,' Trump said, cementing his commitment to pick a woman to fill the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat. 'OK here's a question, it will be a woman, does anybody here - please raise your hand if you have the courage - is there anybody here that insists it will be and should be a man?' Trump asked with a laugh.

Seeing no obvious volunteers, Trump then looked at the crowd and had them scream for a male pick and a female pick, with the choice of a woman getting more cheers.

'It will be a woman,' Trump said.
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But ugliness is a matter of personal taste as well.

Author Bill King loves Hamilton history and especially the citys historical buildings.

But, he feels we need to be honest. Some of the architecture leaves a little to be desired from an appearance point of view.

For the past three years  from Victoria Day till Thanksgiving  King has hosted weekly walking tours that celebrate various aspects of the city, such as parks or monuments or Hamilton firsts.

But this Sunday, he will do something a little different. He will lead his followers through the downtown pointing to Hamiltons Ugliest Buildings.

While many fine architects left their mark on Hamilton, we look for a few who were not so good, he says in an online blurb for the free tour that meets at 10 a.m. at the Sir John A. Macdonald statue in Gore Park.

Sometimes they look like the architect was drunk or someone bought all the parts at a fire sale. Other times its a matter of taste or the building is out of style, he says.

And while examples of architectural misadventure can be found without too much trouble, he feels there are three that stand out for being drab.

They all involve transportation  trains, buses or automobiles.

The West Harbour GO station in the foreground is a utilitarian structure that pales in comparison to the CNR station behind that has been converted into the LIUNA banquet centre, says local history author Bill King. Photo by Mark McNeil

TRAINS  The newly constructed West Harbour GO Station has been a welcome development in the city, even if the current schedule has a limited number of commuter trains.

But there is another issue. With its prefab utilitarian design, its a sad replacement for the grand CNR Station across James Street North that has been transformed into a magnificent banquet and convention centre by LIUNA (Labourers International Union of North America).

Worse still, King says, the new GO station blocks the view of the iconic Custom House (built 1858-1860) on Stuart Street, that is now the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre.

The Custom House is one of the most beautiful buildings in Hamilton. It was originally put there so it could be seen from the wharves and by people coming up James Street. But now, the GO authorities have placed the station so you cant see the Custom House from James, he says.

And aside from that, the GO station is pretty ugly. It was built as cheaply as possible, purely for function only. Youd think they could do a little better in the core of a major city.

BUSES  The MacNab Transit Terminal, he argues, is even worse.

With some structures downtown, you wonder how they ever got built but the prize would be the MacNab HSR terminal. It looks like something from Stalinist Russia. There is nothing appealing about it at all, he says.

The building from the east and north sides looks like a brick fortification, completely uninviting for people walking by, he says. And its glassed main entrance on the south side is unnecessarily ordinary.

City parking garage on Vine Street. Local history author Bill King says it is an unnecessarily drab concrete structure that ruins what used to be a beautiful street. Photo by Mark McNeil

AUTOMOBILES  The city-owned parking garage between York Boulevard and Vine Street downtown symbolizes to me the downtown devastation of urban renewal. Back in the 1960s, the city demolished and redesigned downtown streets to accommodate the giant Jackson Square complex and other facilities.

The parking garage was built as one of the lots to accommodate cars, and King believes it could have been made to look a lot better.

Vine Street used to be a delightful city street with stone buildings and lots of trees. Now all you see is that concrete garage, he says. Its an example of what should not happen to a downtown street.

In addition to that, his tour will show examples of buildings from the 1800s that have been cheaply retrofitted, betraying their historical charm. And he will note how he feels the Hamilton City Centre is really an ugly cartoon version of architecture that used to stand there.

The Hamilton City Centre is an "ugly cartoon" of the architecture that used to line James Street North before the 1960s urban renewal, says local history author Bill King. Photo by Mark McNeil

There are many more buildings that he loves, such Sandyford Place on Duke or the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority building on James North. A big favourite is St. Pauls Presbyterian Church on James Street South with its 180-foot stone spire. But beautiful buildings is a topic for another day.

King, 58, who works as a law clerk, has become one of the citys most passionate local history buffs in recent years. He published a 232-page book on Isaac Buchanan and his Mountain mansion Auchmar in 2018 and he has other titles in the works including one about historic stone buildings in Hamilton. Most recently his company published a book of photography by Robin McKee, who is known for hosting Hamilton Cemetery tours.

King says he developed his passion for local history as a youngster at Bennetto Elementary School after being inspired by the legendary history teacher Archie McQueen. Over the decades, Kings interest steadily grew.

There is always something new to see and learn in Hamilton, he says.

Walking tour schedule

Sept 27  Hamiltons Ugliest Buildings

Oct. 4  Two hundred years of local watering holes

Oct. 11  Highlights of this years tours

Meet at the Sir John A Macdonald statue in Gore Park at 10 a.m. Tours are free and last 90 minutes. Physical distancing and other pandemic safety measures are observed.
The latest polling shows President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden are nearly tied in the key battleground states of Texas and Florida, with Trump gaining ground in the Sunshine State since earlier this summer.

CBS News Battleground Tracker polls on Sunday showed Trump with a 48% to 46% edge in Texas and Biden with the same lead in Florida. Biden led by six points in a CBS poll of Floridians back in July, but Trump over the last several weeks has gained more of the states undecided voters. Trumps two-point lead in Texas is a one-point bump from two months ago.

The incumbent Republican won both states over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. In both states, most likely voters trust Trump over Biden when it comes to handling the economy, the poll showed. Forty-nine percent of voters in Florida think Trump would do a better job with the economy, compared to 44% for Biden; the gap is wider in Texas, 50% for Trump and 42% for Biden.

CBS noted that Biden has a significant edge on health care, with 54% of likely voters in Florida saying a Biden administration would improve access to affordable health care, compared to 33% for a Trump administration.

The poll was conducted prior to the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Trump says by Friday or Saturday, he will nominate a woman to fill Ginsburgs seat.

An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll of 1,000 registered voters, released Sunday, showed Biden leading Trump nationally 51% to 43%. Biden garnered strong support among Black voters (90%) and women (57%), while Trump held an advantage among whites without college degrees (59%) and just over half of white voters overall.

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Municipalities, their insurers and risk pools should be heeding the current public re-examination of police and prosecutorial actions taking place across the country, according to an insurance policyholder attorney who works on civil rights cases.

Attorney Alexander Brown sees the Black Lives Matter movement, actions by reform-minded prosecutors, increasing legal actions and calls for police reform resulting in more municipalities having to answer for law enforcement errors and misconduct.

This, in turn, will mean closer scrutiny of law enforcement liability insurance policies by those seeking damages for victims of civil rights violations, according to Brown.

However, while insurers now may be changing their policies, the cases being brought tend to go back awhile and thus involve policies issued years and even decades ago.

Brown, who is with the firm Lathrop GPM in its Kansas City office, is an insurance coverage specialist who represents policyholders, including municipalities facing civil rights complaints from victims of wrongful conviction and incarceration.

Brown is a member of the Lathrop GPM Civil Rights Insurance Recovery Practice along with Mike Abram and Bill Beck. In an interview with Insurance Journal, Brown offered his legal and policyholder perspectives on civil rights claims and some insurance ramifications.

Not all persons who have been wronged by law enforcement or the civil justice system are in a position to pursue a liability case against the government. In fact, strong liability claims are relatively rare, in part because of the qualified immunity doctrine for police officers and the absolute immunity doctrine that protects prosecutors while performing prosecutorial functions.

I would say that a majority of people exonerated do not have strong liability claims because of these immunities. If qualified immunity is weakened for police officers, it follows that more liability claims will be brought, Brown said.

Once exoneration is secured, the Lathrop GPM team moves to obtain compensation for the exonerees, who are disproportionately Black men. The settlements, which can sometimes be costly, are most likely to happen where there is insurance.

[I]n these cases where youre trying to come to a resolution outside of a verdict, the existence of insurance is critical. Its the most critical part of the entire settlement process, Brown acknowledges.

According to Brown, obtaining insurer-funded settlements helps avoid trials, which can be risky for both the public entities and the plaintiffs because either could lose big. State caps on liability do not apply in these federal civil rights suits and jury verdicts can be $1 million to $2 million per year. The insurance deals help alleviate situations where a public entity that has no insurance or inadequate coverage may be forced to raise taxes to cover settlements or have to declare bankruptcy.

The cases typically involve older insurance policies because the alleged violations stretch over long periods of time  10, 20 or even 30 years. The cases are treated and should be treated akin to long-tail liability claims for any kind of exposure to conditions, or illnesses, environmental contamination. Its the same kind of thing, where you have a long period of time between the conviction and the exoneration, he said. So really the only win-win scenario, if there is one in these cases, is to make sure that the insurance that they bought specifically for these type of situations covers them.

The insurance settlements also help those who are exonerated and face being released back into society with little or nothing, especially in states without any compensation fund for wrongfully convicted persons. According to The Innocence Project, which works to free wrongfully convicted persons using DNA evidence, the federal government and 35 states have provisions to provide some compensation for exonerees. However, advocates for the exonerees believe the amounts states provide (often $50,000 a year for each year of wrongful imprisonment) are inadequate for the injuries suffered.

Whats Changing

To hold a municipality liable for a civil rights violation, a plaintiff has to show the violation was due to a policy, practice or procedure of the municipality, or that a decision-maker like a sheriff was involved in it. Forces now at play are likely to aid plaintiffs in their causes, according to Brown.

What I see now with the Black Lives Matter is that theres going to be a whole lot of investigation into whether various municipalities or police entities have policies or practices that discriminate against African-Americans, and thats going to be established with respect to numerous cities, Brown said

Once it is established that they do have a pattern and practice of locking away Black men or of beating Black men, then suing those cities and municipalities is going to be a lot easier. Because then they can point to a policy and practice, and so you can hold the city and the municipality liable along with the individual defendant or officer who committed the misconduct.

Once a municipality gets hit with a verdict, not only is that verdict potentially crippling, but also it may signal the start of a pattern of practice for the next aggrieved person who sues.

While it might behoove police departments and prosecutors to review their practices and patterns to see what has been going on, its not that easy.

You might have a police officer saying, Hey, lets not look too deeply into this because we dont want to create paper trails,' Brown suggests.

Similarly, district attorneys may fear legal and financial repercussions may lie ahead for the municipality if they start unearthing wrongful conduct by previous officeholders as they try to get innocent people out of jail, which a few reformist district attorneys across the country are trying to do. Brown is currently representing a prisoner in Missouri who is stuck in jail because of a dispute over a prosecutors authority to undo a previous prosecution.

If youve got a progressive reformist DA whos working, as they should, to get people out of prison who were in prison because of wrongful conduct of their past offices, they know at some level that there might be liability at the end of the rainbow when these guys get out, Brown said. Its a brave thing to do, and its a necessary thing to do.

Brown said that in addition to the current questioning of qualified immunity for police officers in light of several shootings of Black men, there has also been some shifting in case law that could limit prosecutors immunity if they commit misconduct while acting in a non-prosecutorial capacity, such as helping with the investigation or doing ministerial work.

Then they do not have absolute immunity; they only have qualified immunity. So that immunity is slowly degrading, while what cops can get away with in terms of qualified immunity is also degrading. So you have situations where these lawsuits are going to be a serious focus and a serious concern for municipalities and public entities across the country, he stressed.

Landmark Ruling

The 2010 movie Conviction starring Hilary Swank tells the story of how a determined sister secured her brothers exoneration and release from prison after he served more than 18 years for a murder he did not commit. The movie ends with Kenneth Waters release and reunion with his daughter in 2001, but the real story  including the insurance effects  did not end there.

What followed his release from prison were years of legal proceedings and negotiations with insurers to obtain compensation for Waters for the years of mental and physical injuries he suffered while in prison, as well as for his loss of freedom. Eight years after his release, in 2019, Waters estate eventually settled a wrongful conviction lawsuit against the town of Ayer, Mass. Five of the towns six insurers paid $3.4 million to the plaintiffs estate (Waters himself died in 2001 in an accident only six months after getting out of jail).

However, a sixth insurer, Western World, argued that it was not obligated to defend the town under any of the six consecutive law enforcement officers liability policies it issued from 1985 to 1991, and it did not participate in that settlement. But four years later in a follow-up proceeding, a court found that Western World had breached its duty to defend and that its policies did apply. The court awarded $1,000 per day that Waters had been incarcerated ($6.7 million), another $1 million for physical illnesses and injuries incurred during and because of his incarceration and another $3 million for mental anguish, pain and suffering, for a total of $10.729 million against Western World.

Brown says the Ayer decision was significant for holding that insurance policies with unique language can be held accountable for acts during the tenure of a wrongful incarceration and not just at the time of a wrongful conviction.

The Waters case was the first decision to recognize that certain insurance policies issued in post-conviction years might apply to wrongful imprisonment cases, Brown said.

The Waters case was handled by Browns mentor, Bill Beck, of the firms civil rights division. It was Browns introduction to this field of insurance law.

Beyond Hollywood

The Waters case that garnered the attention of Hollywood was important. The ruling has helped get more insurers to come to the table and participate in settlements, according to Brown. Even more important is a case decided in May 2019 in which Brown and his firm were involved.

Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Ethel Mitchell involved whether multiple insurance carriers had a duty to defend their insured, Mississippis Forrest County, which was sued by the estates of three wrongfully convicted men.

The insurers had issued more than a dozen specialty law enforcement liability policies between 1979 and 2010 (the year of the exonerations).

The Travelers v. Mitchell case is our firms most important civil rights case to date, Brown said.

From 2013 to 2019, Brown and his colleagues fought for compensation for the families of the three men in Mississippi who were wrongfully convicted in 1979 and spent a collective 83 years in prison for a rape and murder they did not commit. The men ultimately died from the injuries they sustained in prison.

Brown and his colleagues successfully litigated the underlying rights matter against multiple carriers that resulted in a $20.5 million insurer-funded settlement for the families of the three men.

The insurers appealed. On May 29, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in a unanimous panel decision, upheld the lower court rulings in the case.

According to Lathrop GPMs reading, the Fifth Circuit judges ruled that insurers cannot utilize common law coverage theories such as first manifestation or first exposure or continuous trigger to sidestep the plain language of their policies. In Browns words, This groundbreaking and precedent-setting decision rejected a so-called single trigger theory advanced by the insurance lobby in favor of a plain language reading of the insurance policies, ultimately holding multiple insurers liable for bodily injuries sustained by our clients while imprisoned.

The result was a victory not only for the families of three men but also for the county, police officers and thousands of future exonerees seeking financial compensation for their wrongful imprisonment, according to Brown.

This is definitely a case that municipalities need to be aware of, said Brown, noting that it has since been adopted and expanded in opinions in Missouri (Ferguson v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co.) and Kentucky (St. Paul v. City of Newport Ky.).

(The law firm also said it thinks the Travelers case may have even more widespread implications. While the win immediately benefits the families of wrongfully convicted men, the implications will help business clients vindicate their rights to insurance proceeds to cover liabilities for other long-tail claims including asbestos exposure cases, the firm said in announcing the ruling.)

Brown joined the Lathrop GPM firm in 2013, right after Western World settled in that landmark Waters case. It was a move that he says changed his life.

I never thought as an insurance coverage lawyer that Id be looking at crime scene photos all day long, but its exciting. Its a good feeling to help compensate those who have been destroyed by society as well as protecting the current cities or entities, Brown told Insurance Journal.

Brown and other Lathrop GPM attorneys work pro bono with attorneys from the civil rights litigation firm Neufeld, Scheck & Brustin and The Innocence Project, which Neufeld and Scheck founded in 1992 to use DNA evidence to get innocent people out of jail. The Innocence Project receives thousands of requests for help per year. To date, 375 people in the U.S. have been exonerated by DNA testing, including 21 who served time on death row. These people served an average of 14 years in prison before exoneration and release.

Overall, Lathrop GPM has been involved with more than 15 settlements totaling almost $200 million. Most recent was the case of Craig Coley, 71, who served four decades in prison for a murder that DNA proved he did not commit. The city of Simi Valley, Calif., and its insurers reached a $21 million settlement with Coley. The victories also include getting $25 million for an upstate New York man who in 1991 at age 16 was wrongly convicted and jailed by Putnam County for a rape that in 2006 DNA proved he did not do.

Brown is now working with the legal team representing Lamar Johnson, who remains in a prison in Missouri for the 25th year even though there is evidence he is innocent. He has not been released or given a new trial because of a dispute over whether a current prosecutor  in this case, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner  has the power to try to correct what she believes are wrongful convictions in decades-old cases.

Topics Lawsuits Carriers Claims Law Enforcement Missouri
Chennai:

A day after police forcibly evicted pro-jallkattu protesters, actor Kamal Haasan on Tuesday questioned the action and said he was shocked that women and children were also reportedly caught in the melee.

The popular actor said he wanted reasonable explanation for the police action.

He said women and children were also reportedly affected by the crackdown.

On videos which have gone viral purportedly showing police personnel indulging in arson and beating women, Haasan said he hoped they were not real cops. Hope cops seen in videos are not real.

Referring to the protests, he said it was a symbol of discontent. The uprising is absolutely legitimate, the top star said, adding, he was very touched by the protests.

On the ban on jallikattu, he said more people die in accidents than jallikattu. On demands for banning animal rights group PETA, he said he did not support banning PETA. Can correct them, if they are wrong.

The 62-year-old actor, reacting to the police crackdown on protesters, had yesterday tweeted aggressive police action on students passive resistance will not bear good results.

He had also urged protesters not to resort to violence.

Haasan, a known jallikattu supporter, had earlier lauded students for conducting a peaceful stir on the bull taming sport, saying he had become a fan of these students.

Police had on Monday evicted scores of pro-jallikattu protesters from protest venues across Tamil Nadu, especially

Marina beach, amid incidents of stone-pelting, torching a car and lathicharge at a few places in the city.

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Saudi Industrial Investment Group (SIIG) and National Petrochemical Company (Petrochem), two of the kingdoms petrochemical companies, are planning to merge after the two posted losses.

SIIG Sunday indicated in a bourse filing to Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) that its board of directors has issued an approval to hold initial discussions with Petrochem, Zawya reports.

The company also noted that there is no deal yet.

SIIG owns 50 per cent of Petrochem.

Both companies have earlier incurred losses in line with their operations.

SIIG had earlier reported that its revenues for April to June in 2020 fell by 18.47 percent, while its net losses amounted to 55 million Saudi riyals ($14.67 million), Zawya notes.

Petrochem on its part lost 139 million Saudi riyals during the first half of the year.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has said a Union Public Service Commission training centre set up by the Gujarat University and Jain International Organisation (JIO) will help train administrators who know about the 'Upanishad' (religious texts), needed to make people 'sanskari', as well as about 'upagraha' (satellites).

IMAGE: Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani. Photograph: Courtesy @CMOGuj/Twitter

He was speaking at an e-function on Saturday to inaugurate the 'Pragya Peetham-GU and JIO Shodhan UPSC Training Centre', which will have 200 candidates in the first batch.

"To create good administrators, this UPSC training centre will provide great opportunities to the youth. Like what Bhupendrasinh (Chudasama, state education minister) said, blessing of the saints is not just for personal career (enhancement) but to also offer administration with kindness, compassion, sympathy, culture, and tradition for betterment of people," he said.

"Like it is said, from the Upanishad to Upagraha (satellite).... we have to launch satellites and also teach the Upanishad to make people sanskari (virtuous)," Rupani said, adding the centre will help create administrators for 'new India', giving opportunity to youth irrespective of caste, creed, religion.

"This centre will help realise PM Modi's vision of new India, 'atmanirbhar' India, and help establish Ram Rajya. When such a country will require administrators, people of Gujarat will join the UPSC cadre and become IAS, IPS, IRS (officers)," he said.

State Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said when officers, who are required to implement government policies, 'get proper training in a religious environment', they are better able to understand the plight faced by people while implementing them.

"When a religious organisation comes together with a university to train administrators, we will get sanskari officers," he said.

The centre will train UPSC aspirants from across the state, and also has hostel facilities.
It was the seed of a love story that would take the Darlings and their two daughters to Army posts across the globe. Their home life and incessant travels were helmed by a woman who took on a traditional 1950s role with an unconventional flair that family members said lasted nearly until covid-19 killed her this spring, at age 93.
Australian airports warn they are haemorrhaging about $320 million a month as they grapple with coronavirus border closures, travel bans and security costs.

Airport officials have told the Morrison government the combined losses have reached $2.2 billion already and are expected to surpass $3.5 billion in total this year.

The Australian Airports Association is pressing the government to contribute more to the cost of security for hundreds of grounded planes. Credit:James Brickwood

After years of profits from surging travel and tourism, airports are facing months or years of losses that will put pressure on 8700 employees and another 200,000 jobs the industry says it supports.

In a budget submission that sets out the financial risks, the Australian Airports Association presses the government to contribute more to the cost of security for hundreds of grounded planes.
US State Department's Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Nathan Sales will be visiting Lithuania to meet with Belarusian opposition representatives.

As per the US State Department statement, Sales will meet with members of Belarusian civil society to discuss how the US can support the Belarusian people's demand for free and fair elections and an end to the Belarusian authorities' violent post-election crackdown. He is also scheduled to hold talks with the Lithuanian vice minister of foreign affairs and vice minister of the interior.

Read: Russia, Belarus Leaders Order Officials To Establish Greater Contacts To Strengthen Tires

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Lithuania

Belaruss main opposition leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya fled to Lithuania shortly after the declaration of the presidential election results. The election results declared President Alexander Lukashenko the winner with 80% votes and since then, Belarus has been gripped by larges scale popular movements with protestors rejecting the election as rigged and demanding Lukashenkos resignation.

The Belarusian police force has played a key role in maintaining Lukashenkos hold over political power. The police have been trying to suppress protests with mass arrests, a tactic that has received international condemnation with the UN accusing Belarus of Human Rights abuses.

Read: Belarus Police Officers' Personal Information Leaked As Mass Protests Enter 7th Week

Russia and Belarus strengthen bilateral relations

Meanwhile, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, September 20 stated that several authorities in Russia and Belarus have been tasked to establish greater personal contacts following Vladimir Putins recent talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi.

Last week, Russia also approved a $1.5 billion loan to Belarus. Upon announcement of the loan, Belarus protestors called out Russia for trying to aid Lukashenko amid mass anti-governmental demonstrations in Minsk. September 19 saw a massive womens protest march on the streets of Minsk with hundreds of protestors being detained by the police. Belarus protests just entered their 7th week while Lukashenko continues to insist that the mass unrest is a US ploy to destabilise the country and bring about another colour revolution in the region.

(With ANI inputs)

Read: Belarus Official Repeatedly Interrupts UN Meeting On Human Rights Abuse Against Protestors

Read: Belarus: Over 200 Women Protestors Detained In Minsk As Unrest Continues
(Newser)  The last humpback whale remaining in a crocodile-infested Australian river is now safe. The whale, one of three that made a wrong turn and ended up in the river during their annual migration, returned to sea over the weekend, entering the Van Diemen Gulf. Authorities said Monday the whale appeared to be in good health, the BBC reports. Fears had mounted it could collide with a boat, get stuck in shallow water, or get stranded on a sandbar and attacked by the crocs. Authorities had banned boats along part of the river so that a path to the ocean could remain clear. "This is the very best outcome we could have hoped for," says one scientist. CNN reports the whale had been in the East Alligator River in Kakadu National Park for two weeks. (More on the incident here.)
Losing your memory and the sudden onset of idiosyncratic behaviours are just some of the characteristics that are associated with the natural ageing process.

Its just age, many would say to explain changes that we might typically attribute to mental decline. But when do these behaviours become a disease?

The disease in question is dementia; an emerging condition that is being seen more in the global ageing population.

Undoubtedly, more people live longer today; due to advancements in science and technology. Even with Sub-Saharan Africa having the smallest portion of older people, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs estimates a 10 per cent increase in the number of older people (over 60 years of age) by 2030.

Therefore, as life expectancy increases, birth rates decline, and more importantly, the burden of disease transitions from infectious disease to chronic non-communicable disease; thus making dementia a health priority in Nigeria and the world, at large.

September 21 marks World Alzheimers Day, an internationally recognised day set aside to bring awareness to Alzheimers disease; the most common type of dementia.

An old woman lives alone in a Nigerian community. She is known by her neighbours as one to act strangely. She spoke to herself. Often looked lost, confused and wondered. Some even branded her a witch. This old woman had dementia. In better-organised climes, an old woman, alone, behaving strangely will more than likely attract the attention of social services and receive appropriate care. In Nigeria, her story is a forlorn one. She will very likely die alone, before her time, lonely and uncared for.

What is dementia?

Dementia is simply the umbrella term for a group of chronic conditions that are characterised by deteriorating cognitive function.

The ailment is the result of damaged brain cells or neurons (nerve cells). The brain has various regions, each with its purpose. When the cells of a part of the brain are damaged, signals, just as you would imagine in a computer, become crossed; thus, the symptoms of dementia ensue.

The different types of dementia are categorised by the part of the brain affected.

The most known example of this disease is Alzheimers disease. With Alzheimers, an area of the brain known as the hippocampus which deals with memory is primarily affected. Alzheimers accounts for up to 70 per cent of dementia diagnosed cases worldwide.

Other types of dementia also include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia. While people can have more than one type of dementia, it is impossible to tell unless with a posthumous examination of the brain.

Just how common is this condition?

Globally, about 50 million people are living with dementia. And, this figure is not decreasing as the United Nations forecasts this number to increase to 82 million in 2030 and 152 million in 2050.

2030 is only ten years away! These are 32 million more people who will undoubtedly require care from their respective health systems. Meanwhile, current care provision for the millions of people who have dementia is subpar.

Add to the fact, UN statistics show the number of individuals aged 60 years and over numbered at 962 million in 2017, will likely double by 2050, entering billion figures. The relevance of the previous statistic stems from the fact that evidence suggests a direct correlation between dementia and age.

Dementia is especially prevalent in the global north, as statistics indicate a prevalence of 7.5 million in Western Europe.

In Nigeria, one study looking at the period between 1995 to 2015 has put the prevalence at 4.9 per cent.

The study also noted that dementia is higher in women than in men, and was more likely in persons over 80 years. Findings also revealed that over these two decades, dementia has risen over 400 per cent in the country, 63,512 in 1995 to 318 ,011 in 2015 among persons aged 60 years and over.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, estimates from studies show a rate of between 2 to 5 per cent, perhaps also showing a similar trend.

Signs someone might have dementia

Memory loss is the most noticeable sign. However, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it affects many areas of a persons cognition.

Dementia affects general thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language and even judgement.

The region of the brain affected, generally, predicts the symptoms for an individual. Depending on the severity, some people with dementia can also experience a change in personality altogether.

The severity is determined by the stage in the progression of the condition. In the early stage, a persons functioning is affected. Thus the sign in this stage is forgetfulness.

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In the middle stage, an individual may have difficulties with language and behavioural changes such as repeating stories. In the late stage of dementia, individuals lose sight of time and place; they are unable to recognise loved ones; they have difficulty walking, confusion, agitation and possibly outbursts.

It is also typical of people in the later stages of dementia to require more assistance for daily activities that they otherwise would have been able to do themselves.

At the later stages, the impact of this condition is principally on personal relationships. Parents forget childrens names, faces and change behaviours, personality and emotions; many of the things that make them who they are.

This deterioration can be quite distressing for the family. More so, the affected are also left dependent and vulnerable.

Diagnosing dementia, impediments

Dementia is closely associated with the ageing process and even perceived by some to be the norm.

However, the World Health Organization makes it clear that age is simply a significant risk factor for developing dementia. Other identified risk factors include family history, smoking, and alcohol use and cardiovascular risks, but age remains the most critical factor.

In Nigeria, many individuals still believe that dementia is part of a normal process of ageing. To this, some might point to the fact that there are people who live up to their 80s with no signs of cognitive difficulties.

Essentially, the difference between the brain of a person with dementia and a person without is that while a person without dementia may lose neurons in their old age; someone suffering from dementia loses far more.

This problematic thinking leaves those suffering from dementia in a disadvantageous position. They do not receive medical intervention due to these beliefs, and the warning signs elude their family and friends.

The WHO makes it clear, it [dementia] is not an inevitable consequence of ageing. It is also important to note that while health authorities diagnosed a majority of dementia cases in those aged 65 and older, early-onset dementia accounts for 9 per cent of the incidences.

The misperceptions do not stop there. In instances where the family and caregivers of a person with dementia do not attribute symptoms to ageing, they fall back on an even more dangerous assumption- witchcraft.

Findings show the prevalence of these false assumptions lies in patients with deviant behaviour.

Diagnoses

According to the leading authority on mental and neurological disorders- The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the diagnostic criteria for dementia is exhibiting cognitive deficits that interfere with ones ability to be independent.

There is usually not one test for diagnosing dementia. Instead, doctors carefully look at ones history, day to day functions, and cognitive abilities. Tests such as the 10Word Delayed Recall Test and the Clinician Homebased Interview have been devised to assess function in these areas.

It is also worth noting that several conditions are known to mimic dementia symptoms, fuel misdiagnosis and delay treatment further. Vitamin deficiency, infection, brain tumour or thyroid disease are just some of them.

Therefore, family members ought to bring to a doctors attention, any suspecting or bizarre symptoms noticed in a loved one.

Care, treatment

Dementia is irreversible. Thus, the appropriate treatment once identified, is comprehensive care and management of symptoms.

This management approach is vital after diagnosis to improve health outcomes for the person.

Medications used can come in the form of memory enhancers which address memory loss, confusion and enhance thinking and reasoning. Behavioural therapy targets behavioural and personality changes, and has also shown positive results.

Bringing it home

Concerning care, this, stereotypically, in an African household, is provided by family members and the occasional community caregivers.

They would often give support to the patient in completing daily tasks such as eating. In more severe cases of dementia, care from family and caregivers is not enough for a patient. In such instances, the consensus suggests checking in your loved one into a care home where round-the-clock care is available.

It is worth noting that only one geriatric care centre exists in all of Nigeria. This care centre is in Ibadan, the University College Hospital.

Blaise Umoren, a doctor who works at the University College Hospital, Ibadan provided some insights on a suspected dementia patients experience at UCH.

To diagnose dementia, he said, we do a full blood count test, an ECG, CT scan and mini-mental state examination (MMSE). A doctor will also delve into the patients medical history. So possible family history of the disease and other investigations.

On diagnosing the patient with dementia based on this criteria, he added that we are of course obligated to explain to the patient that this is a condition of gradual decline in memory and explain the progression to them, all the way to end stage dementia.

The subsequent management, proceeding a diagnosis is crucial for a patients quality of life, the doctor said.

Mr Umoren said a priority of ours is ensuring that the patient has support or family. However, management usually depends on what stage of dementia a patient has. So for instance, someone in the early stage of dementia can cope at home if they are independent and dont have any comorbidities.

But someone with hypertension or falls or mobility issues in conjunction with dementia, would be recommended to a care home regardless of the level of dementia. However, these patients are at a great disadvantage as there is not enough care support in the country to address their needs.

Meanwhile, the federal government has announced plans to establish six geriatric centres in tertiary hospitals for each of the six geopolitical zones.

But until this is done, only one care center will remain. This is evidently insufficient for the growing number of dementia sufferers in the country.

Nigeria must also accord dementia or even geriatric care national strategic importance as this has not yet been done.
The federal government is reportedly considering fresh wage subsidies to encourage firms to hire new staff.

Scott Morrison is desperate to get the unemployment rate down after coronavirus restrictions left a million Australians officially out of work in July.

The federal budget on 6 October will contain a series of measures to get the economy back on track.

Scott Morrison (pictured at a steel factory last week) is desperate to get the unemployment rate down after coronavirus restrictions left a million Australians officially out of work in July

The federal government is reportedly considering wage subsidies to encourage firms to hire new staff. Pictured: Construction workers in Melbourne before lockdown

One option being considered is to encourage small and medium businesses to hire new workers by paying a chunk of their wages, government sources told The Australian.

This would be different to the JobKeeper scheme which pays companies to keep existing employees if they suffer a large hit to their revenue.

The government is also tipped to allocate up to $10billion to the states for infrastructure spending.

The AFR reported the cash could be dished out on a 'use it or lose it' basis, meaning states would need to prove they are spending it quickly to qualify for more.

The budget is also expected to bring forward income tax cuts to 1 July next year.

The cuts, originally due in July 2022, would increase the upper threshold for the 32.5 per cent marginal tax rate from $90,000 to $120,000 and increase the upper threshold for the 19 per cent rate from $41,000 to $45,000.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister told Daily Mail Australia: 'We're not engaging in budget speculation.'

The $1,500-a-fortnight JobKeeper payments are being reduced to $1,200 from 27 September and to $1,000 from January for full-time workers.

Mr Morrison on Sunday told the ABC that other measures will be introduced to complement the scheme as it is wound back.

The government is reportedly considering wage subsidies to drive hiring. Pictured: An electrician at work

'What Treasury says is that we need to boost aggregate demand in our economy and the full suite of measures you have as a government need to do that job and that's what the budget will do,' he said.

'And so you don't have to hold on to every measure forever. There are other measures that come in and pick up from where others left off. We are transitioning JobKeeper, it's important to do that. We always said it was not something that would be around forever.

'But there are other programs and the Treasurer will go into greater detail about that obviously in the budget, which are dealing with the here and now, but rebuilding our economy and then building it for the future so we can go into a decade of prosperity.'

The jobless rate unexpectedly fell from 7.5 per cent in July to 6.8 per cent in August, bucking widespread predictions of a slight rise.

Roughly 111,000 people gained employment in August, the third month of exceptionally strong results.

Over half the massive jobs losses in April and May have been recovered.

However such strength masked a 42,400 drop in employment numbers in Victoria, where lockdowns remain.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, a Victorian MP, said businesses in the state were still hard hit by lockdowns.

'I'm hoping and the prime minister is hoping those restrictions can be eased as quickly as it is COVID-safe to do so,' he said.
Especially central for her, these observers said, was her experience as a member of the pro bono legal team representing the Miami relatives of Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy whose mother drowned while trying to escape with him to the United States and whose subsequent custody case became an international cause celebre. He was eventually returned to his father in Cuba after a surprise raid in which federal agents removed him from a Miami home in April 2000. Elian was a trophy in a battle between the Cuban government and the relentless anti-Castro politics of the Miami Cuban community, of which Lagoa became a prominent member, said David Abraham, an emeritus professor at the University of Miami School of Law. His case became a venue for group solidarity and the maintenance and construction of political power.
Actor Anud Singh Dhaka, last seen in OTT series Taj Mahal 1989, says he is born in Durg, brought up in Bhopal but made in Lucknow. Career-wise, all the good things that have happened in life, Lucknow has been the centre-point, said the actor who is currently shooting for series Jackson in the state capital.

In my debut series Taj Mahal, directed by Pushpendra Nath Misra, I played a Lucknow University student. Then I shot KBC advertisement with the Amitabh Bachchan that was directed by Nitesh Tewari here as he (Big B) was shooting for Gulabo Sitabo. And now, Saurabh (Tewari, director) sir has cast me for the title role in Jackson. It feels like a second home, said Anud feeling nostalgic shooting at LU again.

The actor featured in Super 30 and Chhichhore. They were blink and miss roles but the shoot experience taught me a lot. I got a chance to work with such wonderful actors and makers. It was because of Chhichhore I got the KBC ad  after the audition of course. I may have a few seconds shot but that shoot experience of 25 days with such a wonderful team will be with me forever.

Earlier, his journey started after he got admission in St Xaviers College, Mumbai. To learn acting, I started assisting. I was one of the assistant directors in Qarib Qarib Single. At its premier, Irfaan sir called me and said Meri jaan, tum na idhar ho na udhar ho, tum bas beech main sahi jagah hotum bas acting karo. I was probably waiting for such a push and I started auditioning thereafter.

He also did a small role in the YouTube show Adulting. Since I come from an ordinary family, I know that I cant afford to go wrong. I have to be perfect in auditions, reading and in front of the camera. I know that if I dont perform or God-forbid my show does not work then no one will give me a second chance, he said.

Anuds roots are in Uttar Pradesh. My grandfathers village is Dhikoli near Meerut and my mother too belongs to Meerut. Basically, we are Western UP ke Jaats but since I grew up in Bhopal, my Hindi is good which gave me an advantage. Thankfully, I got work in Lucknow which helped me further with good scripts and language.
President Donald Trump has mocked the late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs dying wish that she not be replaced until a new president can be installed, falsely suggesting the quote was created by House speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders.

Asked about justice Ginsburgs statement that was dictated to her granddaughter and later reported by NPR, the president told Fox News on Monday morning: I dont know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and [Chuck] Schumer and Pelosi?

He added: I would be more inclined to the second.

Justice Ginsburg, a liberal stalwart and one of the most consequential judges in US history, told her granddaughter just days before she died of complications resulting from metastatic pancreatic cancer at the age of 87: My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

The comments came as the president revealed his plans to announce a nominee to replace justice Ginsburg as early as Friday, telling the conservative network he has a short list of five candidates he was considering for his third pick on the Supreme Court.

Mr Trump was expected to replace the late justice with a conservative nominee just weeks before the November election, a move that would almost certainly cause the confirmation process to be even more contentious than it had become in recent years.

Democrats have rallied against the idea of replacing justice Ginsburg ahead of the election while condemning Republicans for attempting to conduct the process so close to a national election, after the party refused to hold confirmation hearings for former president Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in 2016.

After it was reported justice Ginsburg passed on Friday, the president released a statement saying he would move forward with selecting a nominee.

We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the statement read, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices.

Recommended Trump seizes chance to reshape America following death of Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Mr Trumps nomination to the Supreme Court only requires a 51-count majority in the US Senate after its procedures were changed in 2017.

Former vice president Joe Biden has meanwhile spoken out against the presidents attempts to replace the late justice just weeks before voters cast their ballots.

There is no doubt, let me be clear, that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider, he said.

Mr Obama also weighed in on the issue, releasing a statement that suggested US democracy could be at risk if Republicans moved forward with plans to replace the justice after refusing his nominee a confirmation hearing.

A basic principle of the law  and of everyday fairness  is that we apply rules with consistency, and not based on whats convenient or advantageous in the moment, the statement read. The rule of law, the legitimacy of our courts, the fundamental workings of our democracy all depend on that basic principle.

Meanwhile, Republicans on Capitol Hill appear eager to fill the vacancy before the election, with several senators who previously spoke out against holding a Supreme Court confirmation process in the midst of an election cycle now saying they would support the president nominating a judge to replace justice Ginsburg.

In 2018 Senator Lindsey Graham said: If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump's term, and the primary process has started, well wait until the next election.

The South Carolina conservative has since released a statement indicating he will vote for the presidents nominee, saying on Saturday he would support Mr Trump in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of justice Ginsburg.

Democrats would require four Republican senators to join them in opposing the presidents nomination in order to have it voted down. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell warned his colleagues against making statements opposing the confirmation process.

For those of you who are unsure how to answer, or for those inclined to oppose giving a nominee a vote, I urge you all to keep your powder dry, the Senate leader wrote. This is not the time to prematurely lock yourselves into a position you may later regret.
On Monday morning the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention swiftly edited its web page describing how the novel coronavirus spreads, removing recently added language saying it was "possible" that the virus spread via airborne transmission. This was the third major revision to CDC information or guidelines published since May.

The agency had posted information Friday stating the virus can transmit over a distance beyond six feet, suggesting that indoor ventilation is key to protecting against a virus that has now killed nearly 200,000 Americans.

The CDC shifted its guidelines on Friday, but the change was not widely noticed until a CNN report on Sunday. Where the agency previously warned that the virus mostly spreads through large drops encountered at close range, on Friday it had said "small particles, such as those in aerosols" were a common vector.

But Jay Butler, the CDC's deputy director for infectious disease, said the Friday update was posted in error. "Unfortunately an early draft of a revision went up without any technical review," he said.

The edited web page has removed all references to airborne spread, except for a disclaimer that recommendations based on this mode of transmission are under review. "We are returning to the earlier version and revisiting that process," Butler said. "It was a failure of process at CDC."

For months, scientists and public health experts have warned of mounting evidence that the novel coronavirus is airborne, transmitted through tiny droplets called aerosols that linger in the air much longer than the larger globs that come from coughing or sneezing.

Experts who reviewed CDC's Friday post had said the language change had the power to shift policy and public behavior. Some suggested it should drive a major rethink of public policy - particularly at a time when students in many areas are returning to indoor classrooms.

It was a "major change," Jose-Luis Jimenez, a chemistry professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder who studies how aerosols spread the virus, told The Washington Post before the CDC reversed itself. "This is a good thing, if we can reduce transmission because more people understand how it is spreading and know what to do to stop it."

Since the pandemic began, experts have debated the ways the virus travels - and the methods to best halt it. At first, widespread fear of contaminated surfaces led some to bleach their groceries and mail. But the CDC soon concluded that person-to-person transmission was a much more pressing threat. Instead, the agency focused its guidance on avoiding the larger droplets hacked up by sneezes and coughs, which are thought to be mostly limited to a six-foot radius.

"We have been saying 'wear a mask' and '6 feet apart' for months," tweeted Abraar Karan, a physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School. Karan said six feet of separation may be insufficient particularly in poorly ventilated indoor areas.

Some researchers suspected that the virus could travel much farther, especially indoors and in places where people talk loudly or sing. Infamously, one infected person in March unknowingly passed the coronavirus to 52 others at a choir practice in Washington state. Similar indoor "superspreader" events added weight to the idea of an airborne threat.

The World Health Organization recognized the threat of aerosols in July, after hundreds of scientists urged the international body to address airborne spread. It's not clear why the CDC finally followed; Jimenez said high-ranking CDC officials were still arguing publicly against airborne transmission as a major vector as recently as late August.

"Evidence has been accumulating for some time. Those of us who have been studying this were frustrated that the change was slow, but it finally came," Jimenez said.

When asked who wrote the draft that was posted in error, Butler said "I don't have all of that information. Obviously I'm asking some of the same questions."

The CDC is "very intensively" discussing guardrails in the publication process to prevent a repeat error. "This cannot happen again," Butler said. In May, the CDC updated an information page that suggested the coronavirus did not spread easily from contaminated surfaces. It also edited that revision after the update received widespread media attention to clarify that tweak was "not a result of any new science."

And last week, the CDC reversed testing guidelines to once again recommend that anyone, regardless of symptoms, who has been in close contact with an infected person be tested. The White House coronavirus task force had directed the agency to change those guidelines in August, allowing that asymptomatic people did not need to be tested.

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Feature Image: A happy punter as Castle Inn Cork reopens. Pic: Clare Keogh

Pubs outside of Dublin are preparing to reopen today for the first time in six months.

Wet pubs closed in mid-March due to the Covid-19 lockdown and remained shuttered, while those serving food alongside alcohol were permitted to reopen during the summer.

Those reopening now must do so under strict guidelines, which include implementing social distancing, mandatory table service and enhanced cleaning regimes.

Pubs in Dublin must be remained closed as the capital remains under Level Three restrictions of the Government's Living with Covid-19 plan.

Best of luck to all of our Publicans across Limerick today as they prepare to reopen after more than 6 long and... Posted by Richard O'Donoghue TD on Monday, September 21, 2020

Pubs Across Tipperary Will Finally Re-Open Today For the past 190 days pubs across the county have been instructed to... Advertisement Posted by Michael Lowry T.D. on Monday, September 21, 2020

In Cork, John OConnor of An Spailpin Fanach said it will be a new way of doing business for publicans, adding that we must learn to adapt to a new way of doing things with Covid-19.

We do what we have to. Its a new learning curve for the next month or two, new systems, Im at it 30 years, I had my own system and procedures, but I suppose I have to learn a new way now. For a while anyway.

He said that his capacity has been reduced from 180 to 65, but he has an upstairs bar that can be used if more space is required.

I'm lucky, there are three or four snugs in my place, so people can socially distance in there.

Mr O'Connor said his staff are delighted to be back working. They want to get back to normal. We will see how it goes, all we can do is our best, we cant do anymore than that.

Councillor Danny Collins, who owns the Boston Bar in West Cork, started serving pizzas so he could open two weeks ago but he said he may go back to operating his business as a wet pub.

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Im very happy pubs that serve drink can open. It has been a strain for me the past couple of weeks, having to force people to eat, that just want to come in for a couple of relaxing drinks and meet their friends and have a chat.

Having to tell them they have to have a substantial meal was a bit overboard really. Most of my customers would be elderly and single and bachelors really, and just need a bit of company during the day or the night.

Waterford

Not all pubs have gone ahead with reopening. With concerns about a spike of Covid-19 cases in Waterford, 103 in the last two weeks, some pubs in the county have decided to remain closed.

Alfies On The Hill, a popular Ballybricken pub, will remained closed for the time being.

In a Facebook post to its customers, pub management wrote: It has now been six months since we closed our doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has always been our best intention to re-open our doors to you all when the timing is right and the safety of our customers and staff can be assured, we currently feel that now is not the time.

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The post continues: We will monitor the news and statistics over the next week and hope to open our doors for our customers in the near future. We will be posting updates on this page regarding our plans going forward as soon as we know more.

Owners of The Vale Pub, M A Heffernan's, said they had decided to remain closed "with a heavy heart" in the interests of the health and safety of staff and customers.

To all our valued friends and customers, at this stage, both I and the team here at Heffernans are absolutely and totally frustrated, angry and tired of being closed for over six months now. We want nothing more than to be back open and serving you, so that we can get some sort of normality into our lives.

Weve been watching the situation very carefully and we have to do whats best for our staff and our customers. For that reason, we are going to watch the local and national situation for at least a week to see how the reopening of wet pubs goes. And most importantly to see what impact it has on the public health situation. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) chief executive Padraig Cribben said that the general sense from publicans was a feeling of happiness at reopening and meeting old regulars.

A VFI statement read: The general sense from talking to publicans around the country is theyre happy to be open and meeting old regulars. Publicans are by their nature outgoing people and the pub is more a way of life than a job, so to be closed for so long was very difficult for their mental health.

For now, our members are getting used to the new normal. Mondays are typically quiet in the pub trade but the novelty of reopening has seen a busy trade in some parts of the country.

Well have to wait until after the weekend to get a proper feel for how customers are responding. Our members have put huge effort into making their pubs safe with proper social distancing and hygiene measures so our hope is the public respond with the confidence to venture out.

While there is a huge sense of relief amongst publicans to be open after six months, they worry that further closures may occur in the future if, like Dublin, their county moves to Level Three.

Jobs

It comes as a leading economist has said that Ireland's drinks and hospitality sector faces severe problems.

A new report has warned that over 100,000 jobs in the industry could be permanently lost by the end of the year.

It claims people under 25 and women will be most affected by the losses.

Anthony Foley, senior lecturer at DCU Business School, carried out the research and issued a warning for the coming year: Obviously for the rest of the year, theres not going to be a resurgence in international tourism.

The worry about next year is that the same problem would arise because a lot of decisions about travel will be made this year for next year.

Other countries in Europe are more open than we are so arrangements may be made for holidays in those particular countries, so by and large, 2021 doesnt look great.
At the moment Im sure lots of us are honing our travel bucket-lists just waiting for COVID-19 restrictions to lift so that we can explore the world again.

One of the destinations I am really looking forward to visiting is Toronto. It is often called the New York City of Canada but is reputed to be much cleaner and safer. There is something to suit the budget of every traveller and you can buy cheap flights to Toronto without breaking the bank.

Toronto is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario and it is the country most populated city. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario, the city is recognised as an international centre of arts and culture and, in fact, is one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Toronto is warm and humid in the summer but the winter is typically very cold and windy, with frequent snow.

Toronto highlights youll want to visit

Below is a list of unmissable things to do on a visit to Toronto according to the travel guides.

Take a walk down Bloor Street

This is the Park Avenue of Toronto where you will find designer labels such as Gucci and Prada and the Holt-Renfrew department store. If you can afford $500 for a pair of jeans, this is the place for you. but window shopping and people watching are always free.

Visit the quirky shops of Queen Street

Here is where youll find trendy clothing stores, independent record shops, and other quirky establishments. Look out for the legendary Horseshoe Tavern where every great Canadian music act has played since 1947.

Stroll through Chinatown

If you are looking for authentic Chinese cuisine, exotic herbs or rare teas, Torontos Chinatown is the place to head for. Chinese restaurants shy away from the traditional North American Chinese menu, serving a variety of authentic dishes to over 400,000 people of Chinese background in Toronto.

Shop at the CF Toronto Eaton Center

Minutes away from popular Toronto attractions such as the CN Tower, Ripleys Aquarium and the Art Gallery of Toronto, the mall is a six-storey structure with a glass ceiling modelled after the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan.

It has over 285 stores with a great food court on the lower level. Make sure to visit New York fries and order the Poutine  a blend of french fries, cheese curds and gravy.

Take a trip on the subway

The Toronto subway is clean, safe, and easy to navigate. There are two main lines, the Younge-University-Spadina and the Bloor-Danforth. From the subway, you can get to all of the main tourist hotspots.

Visit the top of the CN Tower

The worlds tallest building at 553m (1815 ft). The view is amazing. At the top of the tower is the world-class 360 restaurant. The floor does a complete rotation every 72 minutes and, when dining, you will get to view the city below from each direction.

Indulge your passion for art and culture

Toronto is an art enthusiasts dream and is home to several major galleries and museums.

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is the largest in Canada with more than 40 galleries. The museum displays both artworks and natural history items and has the largest collection of avian and mammalian skeletons in the world.

The museums Far East Collection is the largest collection of far eastern artefacts outside of China and features the Ming Tomb, a complete seventeenth-century warriors tomb and the only complete Chinese tomb in the West.

The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art is home to more than 2,000 pieces of ceramic art with a collection featuring everything from pre-Columbian pottery to classic European porcelains of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The Art Gallery of Toronto has strong collections of European and Canadian art. One of the main attractions of the Gallery is its collection of Henry Moore sculptures, one of the largest in the world. Henry Moore personally designed the exhibit space for this collection in 1974.

For more than thirty years the Textile Museum of Canada has celebrated international fiber art. Their permanent collection contains more than 12,000 textiles, from pieces as much as 2000 years old to modern designs, with samples from more than 200 regions of the world.

And, lastly, why not visit The Bata Shoe Museum, housed in a whimsical, shoebox-shaped building designed by architect Raymond Moriyama. The museum is home to a 4,500-piece, semi-permanent History of Shoes exhibit that highlights examples of footwear spanning time and the globe, from ancient Egyptian sandals to the stilettos of the 1990s.

Gourmets will love St. Lawrence Market

Considered in the top twenty-five markets in the world, it has over 50 speciality vendors. Great vegetables, fruits, meat, cheese, and seafood abound. On the lower level, visit the St. Lawrence Market Juice Bar. They specialize in freshly squeezed juices of all kinds and related products.

Visit the eclectic Kensington Market area

Dating back to the original settlement of Toronto in the 1790s by the British, you will now find a diverse area of shopping representing the cultures of Portuguese, East Indian, Ethiopian and Caribbean.

Eat in Little Italy

Heres where youll find wonderful Italian coffee shops, gelato, music bars and great night life  including latin dancing.

As you can see youll be spoilt for choice when it comes to holiday highlights in Toronto.

Have you visited this great city? What would you recommend?

*Collaborative Post
Michelle Klinger, a Minnesota educator, who teaches students with special needs and her school principal pictured in front of one of their donated boxes of Safe Touch Pros. I basically reached out to him because his device saves lives. Make no mistake about it!

In the wake of COVID-19 spikes among U.S. students over the last few weeks amid school reopenings, 13 year-old, Mizan Rupan-Tompkins, creator of the Safe Touch Pro Handle, was inspired to launch an initiative to help every student and teacher, in hybrid and in-person learning environments, with FREE access to his germ-resistant devices during the pandemic. His antimicrobial plant-based safety device allows students and teachers to safely access classroom and school bathroom doors free of touch.

After being declared the 2020 Better Days Ahead winner by national safety advocacy organization, Safe and Sound Schools, Mizan received an email from a Minnesota teacher who teaches children with special needs. She was asking about the cost of my product and she wanted to keep herself and her students safe. I told my parents I wanted her to have them without worrying about the price. So we sent them to her and her class for free, he recounts. I started reading news stories of COVID spikes in schools and hearing about concerned parents, teachers and students across the country and wanted to do something about it.

Since schools have reopened in the U.S., COVID-19 spikes among students and teachers in certain areas of the country have caused many to question if current school safety guidelines are enough. Recently in Florida, coronavirus outbreaks and infections among school-age children jumped 34 percent.(1) Days ago, the Utah Education Association wrote its Board of Education, requesting better, measures to protect the health and safety of public school students, educators and school staff,". (2) And a number of California schools have reopened for in-person learning even while the state classifies most of its counties under Widespread COVID-19 status. (3)

I basically reached out to him because his device saves lives. Make no mistake about it! exclaims, San Mateo County, California, Board of Supervisors Vice President, David Canepa, who recently awarded Mizan a proclamation for his efforts to combat COVID-19.

Candice Celestina of Wisconsin, a supporter of Operation Student Shield, wrote, Absolutely a great idea! :).

To learn more about Operation Student Shield and how to help, visit:

http://www.protecteverystudent.com or

http://www.safetouchprohandle.com/donate-to-schools

https://www.facebook.com/safetouchpro

About Safe Touch Pro

Safe Touch Pro was founded by 13 year-old, San Francisco-Bay Area resident, Mizan Rupan-Tompkins, who created the product and company after witnessing his parents struggle to open public doors with their sleeves, in the name of protecting themselves from Coronavirus. Safe Touch Pro is the first utility tool of its kind to use both antimicrobial silver ions to stop harmful microbes and be made of plant-based material.

At age 8, Mizan was tinkering with microprocessors and coding in several programming languages. By age 10 he had received accolades from Barnes & Noble bookstore as one of its Mini Makers of the year. Months later he found himself presenting his Age Guessing Bot at Maker Faire Bay Area to thousands of people.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21)  Areas with no transmission of COVID-19 might be placed under the less stricter "new normal" classification by October, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Monday.

"[A]ko mismo ang nagmungkahi at nag-agree naman ang IATF na there will be areas na merong zero transmission in the past month na pupwede nang i-deklara as under the regime ng new normal," said Roque, who is also the Inter-Agency Task Force spokesperson.

[Translation: I suggested myself that areas with zero transmission in the past month may be placed under the "new normal,' which the IATF has agreed with.]

The "new normal" classification used to be the fifth, lowest quarantine classification before the IATF removed it in June. Travel and business restrictions are lifted under the "new normal," provided minimum health standards are observed.

To date, there are only four levels of community quarantine: enhanced community quarantine, which is the strictest; modified ECQ, general community quarantine, and the most relaxed modified GCQ.

Most parts of the country are under MGCQ, while the National Capital Region remains under GCQ along with four nearby provinces.

Current community quarantine classifications are set to lapse after September 30.

Lifting of state of calamity dependent on vaccine, cure

Roque also said the country shall remain under a state of calamity until remedies to the highly contagious disease become available.

"Kung meron nang bakuna at gamot sa COVID-19 ay ibig sabihin, may lunas na sa pandemic," the official said when asked what would take President Rodrigo Duterte to lift the said state.

[Translation: If a vaccine and medicine for COVID-19 already exist, it means the pandemic already has a cure.]

President Duterte issued Proclamation 1021 on September 16, which extended the state of calamity from September 13 to September 12, 2021.

Duterte initially declared a national state of calamity on March 17, two days after Metro Manila went on lockdown.

The country currently has over 290,000 cases of the coronavirus. Over 230,000 have recovered, while nearly 5,000 have died from it.
The farm bills passed amid din in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday are good only in theory and are far removed from the ground realities of the small and marginal farmers, say some domain experts, whove also argued that corporates and big agri-business firms have more presence in the proposed legislation than the humble peasants.

According to Dr T Haque, who served as chairperson of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, Theoretically these are good laws. However unless small and marginal farmers are organised as cooperatives or producers groups, they will fail to benefit from such big reforms.

Amid fierce opposition, the government pushed the two major agriculture legislation on Sunday: Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.

The proposed laws are silent on important factors like the minimum support price (MSP), experts say, adding that while framing the rules of implementation the government must ensure protection to small farmers if it intends to benefit them.

The system of MSP especially for rice and wheat should continue in order to support the National Food Security Act. And most importantly protect the small farmers in getting remunerative prices. In fact, no private players should be allowed to pay less than the minimum support prices. There are apprehensions among farmers which should be cleared while drafting the rules and framework for implementation of the law. It should be on paper that MSP will be the benchmark price, said Haque, who was also appointed honorary chairperson of the Special Cell on Land Policy in the Niti Aayog and National Fellow of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research at the National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research.

The reforms are seen as pro-corporate. In fact, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), complained to the Centre in August that the bills paint corporates as farmers while invisibilising the real farmers. The farmers union sought to convince the government to provide protection to farmers by ensuring registration of traders and establishing nyayalaya.

The rules must ensure arrangements to benefit the small farmers, experts say.

The government regulation has to be there to protect farmers from exploitation. There should be a farmers cooperative that empowers them for better bargains. In case of cartelisation of traders and bulk purchasers the government must intervene, Haque said.

Since the significance of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees has been undermined in the new law, APMC and private firms should have a level playing field through rationalisation of market fees, said Haque.

Hundreds of farmer unions across Punjab and Haryana have called for multiple protests in the coming days. The groups have called for a total shutdown on September 25 against the farm bills.
A lexei Navalny has demanded the Russian government return the clothes he was wearing the day he fell into a coma after being poisoned with nerve agent Novichok.

Mr Navalny, an outspoken critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin and leader of the countrys opposition party, on Monday accused Moscow of withholding the clothes and said they form a very important piece of evidence in his case.

The politician fell ill and collapsed on a flight from Siberia to Moscow on August 20 and was flown to Germany, where he was kept in an induced coma in a Berlin hospital for more than two weeks.

Mr Navalny has accused the Kremlin of involvement in the poisoning, which Russian officials have vehemently denied.

Navalny is an outspoken Putin critic and opposition party leader in Russia / AFP via Getty Images

The German government has said tests in Germany, France and Sweden have determined he was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent - the method used in the Salisbury poisonings of former Russian agent and British informant, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Yulia in 2018 - and Western governments, including British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, have demanded an explanation from Russia.

Mr Navalny, who is still recovering in hospital in Berlin, made the demands for his personal items to be returned on his website. He stated that his clothes had been taken away from him by Russian authorities before he was flown to Germany for treatment.

"Before they allowed for me to be taken to Germany, they took off all my clothes and sent me completely naked.

"Considering Novichok was found on my body, and that infection through contact is very likely, my clothes are a very important piece of evidence.

"I demand that my clothes be carefully packed in a plastic bag and returned to me," he said.

Russia has a case to answer over Navalny poisoning, says Dominic Raab

Mr Navalny's clothes were taken by investigators and are no longer in the hospital in Siberia's Omsk where he was initially hospitalised, the RIA news agency cited the local health ministry as saying.

Moscow has said it is yet to see evidence of a crime and has declined to open an investigation so far, instead opening a pre-investigation probe. The Kremlin has denied any involvement.

But Mr Navalny has accused the pre-investigation protocol of being a way to hide evidence.

German police officers stand guard outside Berlin's Charite hospital where Alexei Navalny is treated after his medical evacuation to Germany / AFP via Getty Images

He wrote: The 30 days of 'pre-investigation probe' were used to hide this important evidence.

The Russian transport police told Reuters the probe was still under way and that they had questioned 200 people and planned to carry out further checks. They have also sent requests for legal assistance to Germany, France and Sweden.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : Vodafone Idea's inability to raise debt from external investors could increase equity requirements and push promoters to subscribe to the debt issuance too, according to a report by US financial services house Morgan Stanley.

The company has announced that the Board of Directors have approved a fund-raising plan through a mix of debt (debentures) up to Rs 150 billion and equity up to Rs 150 billion. The mix of equity and debt would be managed in a way so as to raise a maximum of Rs 250 billion and the proposal would be taken up for approval at the AGM scheduled on September 30.

"If the above proposal turns out to be successful, then it may be fair to assume that the market could continue to remain a three private player market at least for the next five years," the report said.

"Inability to raise debt from external investors could increase equity requirements and/or push promoters to subscribe to the debt issuance too," it added.

The note added that the success of this funding raise is critical as current leverage ratios are weak and debt investors will primarily look at leverage ratios such as net debt to EBITDA or net debt to Enterprise Value to understand whether the company will be able to refinance the debt at maturity (given FCF (free cash flow) generated in the business won't be enough to pay off the debt) and to ward off the risk of a negative equity value.

Debt investors will also look at the interest coverage ratio on the cash flow side to understand risk on interest payments.

"VIL already has a net debt to EBITDA of 27.6x after AGR and OTSC provisions (debt investors we spoke to generally found comfort at 3-4x levels in the case of telcos),and it has an interest coverage ratio (EBITDA to financial interest payments) anywhere between 1.5-2x (debt investors we spoke to generally found comfort with a ratio at 2.5-3x levels in the case of telcos)," it added.

Morgan Stanley said that a weakening FCF profile for VIL could require large tariff increases. VIL has been burning cash every quarter despite capex being significantly lower than peers. In the last 12 months, VIL's FCF burn was $2.5 billion with a capex outlay of $1.1 billion, whereas Airtel showed FCF improvement despite a capex of $3.3 billion.

With the additional burden of AGR payments and spectrum repayments resuming in F2023, ARPUs would need to be Rs 185 plus in the near term (vs Rs 114 in F1Q21) and Rs 225 in the medium to long term for FCF break-even for VIL.

The report predicts that the company could need anywhere between $2.5-3.5 billion in the next five years.

Subsequent to the Supreme Court ruling on the AGR case, tariff hikes and a fund raising by Vodafone Idea will become important for the company to pay off its opex and capex and to meet its repayment obligations (including financial debt, AGR and spectrum dues). The company has lost 9 ppt of revenue market share in the last eight quarters, leading to gains for Jio and Airtel.

"We expect Airtel and Jio to gain another 5 ppt by the end of F2021," the report said.
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Prager Metis, a leading accounting, tax, advisory, and business consulting firm with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia, announced today it has created a new affiliate company, PM Internal Audit Services LLC. The company which will provide full service internal audit and risk management solutions and is led by Joel Dunn.

PM Internal Audit Services LLC will provide full outsourced and co-sourced internal audit services, as well as SOX & FDICIA implementation and testing and regulatory and third-party issue validation. "I am very excited about the unique market positioning and rapid growth of Prager Metis." Said Joel Dunn, "I am very proud to be joining a firm with the highest morals and ethics."

PM Risk Management Solutions serves a wide array of clients in the banking industry including financial institutions, banks, credit unions, trust companies, foreign agencies, and branches.

Mr. Dunn brings years of experience servicing both domestic and international financial institutions with their internal audit risk management needs. He has wide-ranging audit experience across accounting, operations, lending, treasury, legal, human resources, compliance and security, as well as BSA/AML and OFAC, Sarbanes-Oxley and FDICIA compliance. Mr. Dunn is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and a Certified Internal Control Auditor (CICA).

Glenn Friedman, CEO of Prager Metis, said "We are extremely excited to launch this new company in an effort to continue to provide the necessary and required services and advice to our financial services and banking clients. We also welcome Joel as CEO of PM Risk Management, who brings years of experience with financial institutions in the internal risk audit industry and will be a tremendous asset to our clients in helping them reach their financial goals."

About Prager Metis

Headquartered in New York City, and with additional offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia, Prager Metis CPAs is an affiliate of Prager Metis International, LLC and one of the nation's fastest-growing accounting and advisory firms, offering a full range of accounting, audit, tax, consulting, and international services. Prager Metis is a Top 40 Accounting Firm.

Contact: Sarah Doctor, [email protected]

SOURCE Prager Metis CPAs
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2020 / Cheapquotesautoinsurance.com (https://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com) has launched a new blog post that explains why drivers should compare car insurance quotes every six months.

For more info and free quotes, visit https://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com/drivers-get-car-insurance-quotes-every-six-months

Many might consider checking online car insurance quotes at every six months, a little bit too much. However, policyholders can save a lot of car insurance money by regularly scanning the insurance market. Insurance rates change frequently and in six months different events that happen can lead to cheaper or more expensive premiums.

Drivers should check if their insurance premiums are still competitive, for the following reasons:

Insurance premiums change frequently. There are many different risk factors that happen throughout the year and the insurers are required to adjust insurance prices. The premiums can fluctuate even from one day to another. Drivers won't notice the insurance price changes that happen daily, but in a period of six months, there can be differences that can be quite significant.

Changes in the credit score . Insurance companies are using the drivers' credit score in order to determine their insurance rates. Drivers that have good or excellent credit score will pay insurance premiums that are significantly cheaper than the premiums paid by drivers that have a poor credit score.

Drivers have maintained coverage . New drivers and drivers that have a long lapse in their coverage history are seen as high-risk by car insurance companies. To lower their risk profile and pay less on their insurance premiums, these types of drivers are required to maintain continuous coverage for at least six months.

The vehicle value depreciates over time . Cars are continuously losing value from the moment they leave the showroom. Policyholders should pay less on the insurance of their older vehicle. Drivers should contact their insurers and see if they are willing to adjust the price of insurance. However, in most cases, the insurers will refuse to do that. If that happens, drivers should look for another insurance provider.

Significant life events. Drivers who are getting married will pay less on insurance than those who are single. Moving to a safer neighborhood can also lower the costs of insurance. In some cases, drivers who got a new job will pay cheaper insurance rates if the new place of work is close to their homes.

Story continues

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Traffic queues of 19 kilometres caused significant delays in Sydney's west on Monday morning following three separate crashes.

Emergency services were called to the M5 in Moorebank just before 8am following a four-vehicle crash. Two of three westbound lanes were closed but have since reopened. One person was taken to St George Hospital complaining of neck pain.

Traffic queues of 19 kilometres caused significant delays on Monday following three separate crashes in Sydney's west. Credit:Live Traffic

Traffic extended about nine kilometres westbound until 10am. Traffic through the area has returned to normal.

In a separate incident, three cars collided on the same road in Hammondville just before 6.15am. None of the patients required medical attention.
ABIDJAN, Cote dIvoire - Opposition candidate Henri Konan Bedie called Sunday for civil disobedience to take place nationwide to protest President Alassane Ouattaras quest for a third term, which his critics consider unconstitutional.

The public declaration by Bedie ahead of the Oct. 31 vote raises the spectre of unrest in a country already scarred by post-election violence in 2010-2011 that left more than 3,000 people dead.

In their declaration Sunday, Bedie and several other opposition leaders also called for the return of two prominent politicians in exile including ex-President Laurent Gbagbo who refused to concede defeat after the 2010 vote.

Ouattara ultimately prevailed and has been in power for nearly a decade. However, after his chosen heir-apparent died unexpectedly the incumbent president said he would run for a third term. Ouattara insists that his first two terms do not count toward term limits because Ivory Coast has since approved a new constitution.

At a meeting over the weekend, the opposition leaders called on Ivorians to mobilize for legitimate demonstrations throughout the country, in accordance with the Constitution, for the restoration of democracy and the rule of law, for fair, regular, transparent and inclusive elections.

Activists want Ouattara disqualified from the election although the countrys constitutional Council already has validated his candidacy. The opposition now wants that council dissolved along with the Independent Electoral Commission, though has stopped short of boycotting next months vote.

They are also demanding an audit of the countrys electoral list of voters, and the return of political exiles led by Gbagbo and former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro.

Gbagbo has been acquitted of crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court, but prosecutors are appealing and in the meantime Ivorian officials have denied him a passport to return home. Ivorian authorities, meanwhile, issued an arrest warrant earlier this year for Soro on charges his supporters say are politically motivated, effectively blocking his candidacy too as he has remained in Europe.

Members of the Ivorian Popular Front party who are still loyal to its founder, former president Gbagbo, were in attendance this weekend as were representatives of Soro, witnesses said.

___

Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Bordeaux, France  Mon, September 21, 2020 08:05 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c461026e 2 Art & Culture France,archeology,tomb,history,culture Free

Human remains found in a tomb where Michel de Montaigne is said to have been buried may indeed belong to the 16th-century French philosopher but more work is needed to solve the mystery, experts said on Friday.

The Musee d'Aquitaine in the southwestern city of Bordeaux had in November launched work to examine the remains in the tomb a basement of the museum, which occupies the premises of a convent where Montaigne, famed for his lofty but highly readable Essays, was buried.

The bones found are those of a "single individual. It is an adult and it is probably a man," Helene Reveillas, an archaeo-anthropologist for the Bordeaux region, told reporters.

"We have elements which do not go against the idea that this is de Montaigne. But we also have nothing which allows us affirm it with certainty", she added.

"The mystery remains," she said.

Montaigne was one of the city's most famous sons, and served as its mayor from 1581 to 1585. Speculation that his remains are housed already within a museum in Bordeaux had caused huge excitement last year.

The opening of the tomb last year revealed a wooden coffin with the word "Montaigne" written in large brown letters.

Read also: Rare Proust book sells for world record 1.5 million euros

The lead coffin was opened this week, revealing "a well-preserved skeleton" and a skull "with almost all of its teeth" as well as the remains of tissue, pollens and insects, according to the archaeologist.

Laboratory research, including using carbon 14 dating, will now be carried out by about twenty scientists.

They will particularly be on the lookout for evidence of the kidney stones from which the writer was known to have suffered.

Reveillas added: "We know that his heart was removed after his death" at the request of his widow, noting that "operation leaves its traces".

Other techniques set to be used in the follow-up include "facial reconstruction" and genealogical research on possible descendants, Reveillas said.

Results are expected next year.

There has long been confusion over the location of the remains of de Montaigne, after the body was shifted between numerous sites after his death in 1592 at the age of 59.

Topics : France archeology tomb history culture
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has accused press watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) of working to "destabilise" the country with its campaign against the jailing of its Algiers correspondent Khaled Drareni.

Rights groups have "targeted" Algeria "to sap the stability of the country", he said in a meeting with local media representatives late Sunday.

"States do not attack us head-on but put non-governmental organisations in charge of the task," said the president, who singled out the France-based RSF for criticism.

Drareni, Casbah Tribune news website editor and correspondent for French-language TV5 Monde as well as RSF, was on September 15 handed a two-year jail sentence.

The 40-year-old was convicted over his coverage of the mass protest movement that toppled Algeria's longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika last year.

He was found guilty of "inciting an unarmed gathering" and "endangering national unity", a ruling that drew condemnation at home and abroad.

Tebboune insisted that "nobody is incarcerated (in Algeria) for an article they have written".

"We forbid insults and attacks on issues related to state security," the successor to Bouteflika said, without elaborating.

Tebboune said Drareni, whose name he avoided using in the encounter, had been sentenced for his "involvement in an affair that has nothing to do with the press".

The journalist, according to Communications Minister Ammar Belhimer, had been working without a professional press card and was allegedly in the pay of "foreign embassies".

After the verdict, RSF head Christophe Deloire said: "We are outraged by the blind stubbornness of the Algerian judges who have just condemned (Drareni).

"Khaled's detention proves the regime locks itself into a logic of absurd, unfair and violent repression," he tweeted.

Algeria ranked 146 out of 180 countries in the RSF's 2020 World Press Freedom Index.
Ontarios government plans to invest in Ford Motor Co.s Oakville plant once the automaker gets past union talks, Premier Doug Ford said.

Were contributing towards this plant  were contributing a massive amount at the end of the day once we get through these negotiations, Ford said Monday at a news conference in Toronto.

Canadas federal government told Ford Motor its willing to provide as much as $500 million to bring electric vehicle production to Oakville, a suburb west of Toronto, the Toronto Star newspaper reported Sunday, citing a draft letter to the automaker.

The factory, Fords only assembly plant in Canada, makes the Lincoln Nautilus and Ford Edge crossover. Its considered at risk to close after the company scrapped plans to make a next-generation Edge.

Doug Ford, whos not related to the family that controls the automaker, declined to say how much his government is prepared to spend to aid the company. The premier said hes looking for a commitment to have battery manufacturing for electric vehicles done in Ontario.

We can manufacture every other part, he said. We have the lithium, we have the nickel, we have the raw materials that go into the batteries.

Unifor, Canadas largest private-sector union, is in negotiations with Ford Motor on a labour contract that will set the wage and benefit pattern for most of its 17,000 members who work for all three of Detroits major carmakers. The union had set a strike deadline of midnight Toronto time, though it said Monday it wouldnt comment on the time frame and plans to give an update on Tuesday morning.

We look forward to negotiating an agreement with Unifor that will help lead Ford of Canada, our employees and our communities into the future. The details about how we do that will be discussed at the bargaining table, not in the media, Rose Pao, a spokesperson for Ford Motors Canadian unit, said in an email.

Read more about:
Amid the race to develop and distribute vaccine against novel coronavirus, Russian government said on Sunday that over 60,000 volunteers have signed up for its first Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V in Moscow , according to a report.

"Over 60,000 people have signed up as volunteers, several thousand people have passed the required medical tests to be registered as potential candidates for carrying out the tests," Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin told reporters, according to Russian news agency TASS.

More than 700 people have been injected with the coronavirus vaccine and "all of them are feeling good," he said.

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko told reporters earlier that the first batch of Russia's Covid-19 vaccine was likely to be delivered to all regions of the country by 14 September, according to TASS.

It had also informed 250 Moscow residents have got the dose of its Covid-19 vaccine, according to report.

The vast majority of them are in good health, the anti-coronavirus crisis centre had told reporters.

Sputnik V Covid vaccine, which is developed by Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology under the Russian Health Ministry, may be granted permission to release a batch of its vaccine for civilian use, the institutes deputy director for research, associate member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Denis Logunov said earlier, according to a report.

On August 11, Russia became the first country to license a Covid-19 vaccine, calling it "Sputnik V" in homage to the world's first satellite, launched by the Soviet Union. But western experts have warned against its use until all internationally approved testing and regulatory steps have been taken. The vaccine is undergoing Phase 3 trials.

The vaccine produced an antibody response in all participants in early-stage trials, according to results published by The Lancet medical journal earlier that were hailed by Moscow as an answer to its critics.

The results of the two trials, conducted in June-July this year and involving 76 participants, showed 100% of participants developing antibodies to the new coronavirus and no serious side effects, The Lancet said.

However, a group of international scientists questioned results from the Lancet medical journal, saying some of the findings appeared improbable, reported Bloomberg.

The researchers flagged concerns over seemingly identical levels of antibodies in a number of study participants who were inoculated with the experimental vaccine. This and other patterns in the data present several different points of concern," according to an open letter written by Temple University professor Enrico Bucci and signed by more than a dozen other scientists.

Meanwhile, Russia on Monday reported 6,196 new coronavirus cases, the most recorded over 24 hours since July 18, pushing its national tally to 1,109,595, the fourth largest in the world.

Authorities also reported 71 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 19,489.

With inputs from agencies





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(Independent)

A New York City police officer and Army reservist has been arrested and charged as an alleged illegal agent of China who has been spying on ethnic Tibetans living in the United States.

Baimadajie Angwang, 33, was born in the autonomous region of Tibet in China and maintained a relationship with officials at the New York Chinese consulate as far back as 2014, according to a criminal complaint.

Mr Angwang is an NYPD community affairs in the 111 precinct in Queens and a US Army Reservist at Fort Dix in New Jersey.

The complaint alleges that Mr Angwang acted "at the direction and control" of Chinese government officials to report on the activities of ethnic Tibetans, spot and assess potential ethnic Tibetan intelligence sources and use his official position to give consulate officials access to senior NYPD officials.

New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement Mr Angwang violated every oath he took in this country.

One to the United States, another to the US Army, and a third to this police department, Mr Shea said.

From the earliest stages of this investigation, the NYPDs Intelligence and Internal Affairs bureaus worked closely with the FBIs Counterintelligence Division to make sure this individual would be brought to justice.
The new president is to lead the country for several months before staging elections, returning Mali to civilian rule.

Malis former defence minister, Bah Ndaw, has been named as president of the countrys new transition government.

Colonel Assimi Goita, the leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) which overthrew Malis President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, was appointed vice president, state television announced on Monday.

The transitional government is to be inaugurated on September 25.

According to a plan backed by the military leaders, the new president is meant to lead the country for several months before staging elections and returning Mali to civilian rule.

Malis military rulers have come under intense pressure from leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to return power to civilians following the August 18 coup that overthrew Keita.

It was unclear whether the arrangement would satisfy ECOWAS, which last week threatened to step up economic sanctions and impose a total embargo on landlocked Mali if its conditions were not met.

Colonel Assimi Goita was named vice president [File: Moussa Kalapo/Reuters]

Ndaw and Goita were appointed by a group of 17 electors chosen by the military leaders to oversee an 18-month transition that will culminate in fresh elections.

Regional leaders had demanded the interim president be a civilian, while signalling they would accept a soldier as vice president so long as he is ineligible to replace the president.

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Goita did not say whether the vice president would remain next-in-line to the presidency as stipulated in a transitional charter approved in multi-party talks earlier this month.

Ndaw was once an aide-de-camp to Malis ex-dictator Moussa Traore, who died last week aged 83.

A veteran soldier, NDaou received training in the former Soviet Union as well as at Pariss renowned Ecole de Guerre.

Kaou NDjim, a spokesman for influential Muslim leader Mahmoud Dicko, who led mass protests against Keita before the coup, praised Bah Ndaws nomination.

Ba is an upright official. He has never been implicated in matters of financial corruption, NDjim told the Reuters news agency.
Washington: Doubts emerged on Monday about Oracle's deal to take over TikTok as President Donald Trump said he may still renege on his approval and the Chinese government signalled reluctance through state-owned media.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin remains confident that Trump will sign off on the transaction, but US national security officials continue to raise concerns that the data of more than 100 million American users would remain in the hands of a Chinese firm, according to four people familiar with the matter.

Icons for the smartphone apps TikTok and WeChat. Credit:AP

US officials are bracing for Trump to reject the deal if it becomes obvious that it doesn't meet criteria the president himself laid out publicly, they said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Chiefly, the agreement with Oracle leaves TikTok owner ByteDance as the majority owner of the service, at least until a public offering of the new company created in the deal.

Trump said on Monday in an interview on Fox News that he wouldn't approve the deal if the Chinese company retains control of the new entity, TikTok Global.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.21

Trend:

The situation on the line of contact between the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, in the direction of the state border with Armenia, is increasingly aggravated by Armenian armed forces, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry's press service.

On September 21, at 09:20 (GMT +4), as a result of another military provocation of Armenia in the Tovuz direction on the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border, a serviceman of the Azerbaijan Army, Junior Sergeant Elshan Mammadov was killed.

According to the ministry, the military-political leadership of Armenia bears the entire responsibility for the aggravation of the situation in the front.

The ministry also stressed that recently the units of the armed forces of Armenia have been more often committing gross violations of the ceasefire, regularly shelling Azerbaijani public settlements, civilians, and infrastructure near the line of contact, using larger-caliber weapons, reconnaissance-sabotage activities against the positions of our units, as well as widely using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have led to a serious aggravation of the situation on the line of contact.

In all cases, units of different branches of troops of the Azerbaijan Army suppress the provocations of Armenian armed forces, inflicting heavy losses on them. So, as a result of the actions of Azerbaijani Air Defense units, another tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of Armenia was destroyed, the ministry 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.
Joseph R. Biden Jr.s campaign said on Sunday that it entered September with $466 million in the bank together with the Democratic Party, giving Mr. Biden a vast financial advantage of about $141 million over President Trump as they head into the intense final stretch of the campaign.

That gap marks a complete reversal from this spring, when Mr. Biden emerged as the Democratic nominee and was $187 million behind Mr. Trump, who began raising money for his re-election bid shortly after he was inaugurated in 2017.

Mr. Trump dodged a question about the disadvantage during an appearance on Fox & Friends early Monday but noted that the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which prompted more than $100 million in contributions to Democratic campaigns over the weekend, was a big event for the opposition.

I could raise so much money if I took one day to make phone calls to rich people, but I dont like doing that. I never have, Mr. Trump told the shows hosts, who repeatedly questioned whether he was taking the gap seriously enough.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : The UAE-based small arms manufacturer Caracal on Monday stated they are committed to the 'Make in India initiative to fast-track the supply of 93,895 CAR 816 assault rifles. The company was selected by the Indian Ministry of Defence in 2018 to supply assault rifles to Indian Army.

Caracal stated that they have already identified the required land, facility and local partners to be able to commence production immediately.

Over 20 per cent of the components fitted on the CAR 816 are already made in India, with Caracal now making a commitment to fully manufacture the rifles in-country, in alignment with the 'Make in India' initiative.

The initiative will also see Caracal oversee technology transfer.

The company stated that they have already surpassed global competitors in terms of performance and technicalities to win the bid two years ago, and now confirms its readiness to service the fast track order from India within 12 months.

Hamad Al Ameri, Chief Executive Officer, Caracal, said: "Caracal was awarded the Close-Quarter Carbine contract in 2018 to supply the Indian Army with the CAR 816, after having undergone a rigorous selection process." He further stated that having agreed to fast track the supply, and with the formalities still under discussion, they would like to reiterate their commitment to the 'Make in India' initiative.

"With strong bilateral ties between our two nations, and with India being a key market for Caracal, we remain on standby to supply the product to the customer upon instruction." The CAR 816 carbines are intended to replace the Indian Army's current 9mm Sterling carbines, with the CAR 816 boasting higher bullet velocity and reduced weight compared to the Sterling carbines.

The assault rifle has secured a number of contracts from customers across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, and has been adapted to suit the Indian Army's needs, incorporating the latest technological advances.

Caracal is part of the missiles and weapons cluster within EDGE, an advanced technology group for defence and beyond, and has wholly-owned subsidiaries in Germany and the US.
Chief Election Commissioner of India Sunil Arora on Monday said elections in India pose formidable challenges at the inauguration of the international webinar on the theme Issues, Challenges and Protocols for Conducting Elections during Covid-19 : Sharing Country Experiences on completion of one year of chairmanship of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).

According to ECIs press note, it was an occasion for democracies world over to come together to share experiences of conducting elections during Covid -19.

South Koreas National Election Commission (NEC) detailed the steps it took for the electoral process, in which it is widely believed that no Covid-19 transmission took place.

South Korea reportedly grappled with nearly 10,000 Covid-19 cases on April 15. The country, however, became the first one to go ahead with its national elections, which saw a voter turnout of around 30 million. At the presentation, the Koreans said that they had implemented a three-phase voting protocol for patients under quarantine.

Home voting was an option for those who had tested positive until March 28 and special early voting was allowed for those who received a positive result between March 28 and April 11.

Eight care centres were set up for the latter, while the registration for home voting was done online and the Commission sent home voting ballot paper.

Over 11,000 voters who had self-quarantined on April 15 were asked to collect a token to vote after 6 pm, close of time of voting, to cast their votes in specific polling stations.

Koreas learnings come ahead of the 243-member Bihar assembly elections, which are likely to be held ahead of November this year and have an electoral pool of over 70 million voters.

Elections in India pose formidable challenges on account of large electorate, geographical and linguistic diversity and differing climatic conditions. Explaining in detail the scale of the upcoming elections to the Legislative Assembly of Bihar, he mentioned that the total number of electors is 729 million, Arora told news agency ANI.

The webinar had participants from over 45 countries. According to officials who attended the webinar, Arora and election commissioners Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar were among those who spoke, along with secretary-general Umesh Sinha.

A presentation was made about the preparedness for the upcoming Bihar polls, said a person familiar with the matter.
At least 10 dead and 20-25 people feared trapped after three-storey residential building collapsed in Bhiwandi.

A three-storey building on the outskirts of Mumbai has collapsed in the early morning hours as residents slept inside, killing at least 10 people, according to officials.

A further 20 to 25 people are reportedly trapped in the building in Bhiwandi  about 40km (25 miles) from Mumbai  the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said on Monday.

Emergency workers from the NDRF team pulled 19 people from the rubble  including two boys aged four and seven  to loud cheers from residents.

Total number of deaths is 10 Rescue operations are ongoing, NDRF commandant Ithape Pandit told AFP news agency.

More than 40 emergency workers, including a team of 30 rescuers from the NDRF, were pressed into action for the rescue operation.

The accident in the city of Bhiwandi occurred at approximately 3:40am local time (22:10 GMT on Sunday), local authorities said.

Images shared on the NDRFs official Twitter page showed emergency workers combing through concrete and brick rubble with electrical wires hanging over their heads.

Television showed a pile of rubble with rescuers climbing ladders to get to anyone still inside and deploying dogs to search for survivors.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on Twitter. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected, he wrote.

The building had been on a list of dangerous buildings and a notice for it to be vacated had been issued, the Times of India reported, citing Pankaj Ashiya, a commissioner in the Bhiwandi-Nizampura City Municipal Corporation.

Last month, at least 13 people were killed after a five-storey building collapsed in Mahad, an industrial town about 165km (100 miles) south of Mumbai.

In 2017, National Crime Records Bureau data showed that more than 1,200 people were killed in building collapses nationwide.
By Takuya Okamoto, KYODO NEWS - Sep 20, 2020 - 09:43 | Feature, All, Japan, Coronavirus

Camping has been growing in popularity and sales of related goods rising in recent months in Japan as people wanting to go out with friends and family members during the COVID-19 pandemic turn to outdoor recreation.

During a weekend earlier this month, a campsite with about 40 pitches in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, was packed with campers of all ages.

"We can avoid risks of being infected with the virus in such an open and large site even though we came as a group," said a 22-year-old man who was setting up a tent with friends.

The coronavirus has apparently boosted sales of outdoor leisure goods following the government's declaration of a state of emergency in April, an official of a camping product manufacturer said.

"Our monthly sales have been growing by between 10 and 35 percent from a year earlier since May," said Yosuke Takanami, managing director of the outdoor goods development division at Captain Stag Co.

Takanami said barbeque grills and Dutch ovens were selling well in May and June in line with the government's stay-at-home request. While the nationwide state of emergency was fully lifted in late May, the government asked people to refrain from traveling between prefectures through late June.

Demand for folding chairs and tables has also been strong for not only home leisure activities but teleworking, industry officials said.

Another hit product is a solo camping tent, even though solo camping was gaining popularity before the coronavirus outbreak, Captain Stag's Takanami said.

"You can reduce risks of virus infections if you sleep alone in a tent even though you go camping in a group," he added.

Visitors to campsites notably grew once the travel restrictions were lifted even though Tokyo raised its own virus alert and asked its residents to refrain from non-essential trips to other prefectures in mid-July, industry officials said.

"Reservations for camping sites grew 30 to 40 percent in July and August from a year earlier after a sharp 80 percent fall in April and May," said Atsuya Tanaka, director of Spacekey Inc. which operates online reservation service "Nap" for hundreds of campsites across Japan.

"Reservations by people living in Tokyo fell 30 to 40 percent from a year before" as the capital saw a resurgence of virus infections, but those by people in Kanagawa and Osaka, the two most populous prefectures after Tokyo, doubled and rose around 30 percent, respectively, Tanaka said.

Shimano Inc. is another company benefiting from the outdoor activity boom. Demand is growing globally for its bicycle components and fishing equipment, the company says.

The Osaka-based firm has said it expects a 13 percent rise in net profit in its current business year ending in December.

"Sales of our bicycle parts in Europe and North America have been robust thanks to the increasing number of first-time bicycle buyers, as people are choosing to ride bicycles near their homes for a breather instead of taking a summer vacation abroad," said a Shimano official.

Related coverage:

Japan national park facilities upgraded with "workation" in mind

Bookings start for trips to and from Tokyo under subsidy program
DUBLIN, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Cell Analysis Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2020-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global cell analysis market grew at a CAGR of around 8% during 2014-2019.

Cell analysis is typically done to understand population heterogeneity, identifying minority sub-populations of interest, as well as discovering unique characteristics of individual cells. It further aids in gene and protein identification, and epigenomics, as well as understanding the factors that underlie cell health, proliferation and death.

Cell analysis is utilized across academic and research laboratories, hospitals, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical, for studying stem cells, immunology, neurology, non-invasive prenatal diagnosis and in-vitro fertilization.

Furthermore, the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, along with the development of advanced therapies for the treatment of cancer, are encouraging technological advancements in cell analysis. For instance, Fluidigm Corporation, a US-based company, announced the introduction of a REAP-seq (RNA expression and protein sequencing) that will help researchers to understand the mechanisms of cancer progression and immune response.

The increasing investments by governments of several nations in extensive research and development (R&D) activities in the life science sector are acting as another major growth-inducing factor. Other factors, such as the rapid expansion of the biopharmaceutical and biotechnological companies and significant growth in the healthcare industry, are expected to further create a positive outlook for the market.

Key Questions Answered in This Report:

How has the global cell analysis market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What are the key regional markets?

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global cell analysis market?

What is the breakup of the market based on the product?

What is the breakup of the market based on the analysis type?

What is the breakup of the market based on the technique?

What is the breakup of the market based on the end-user?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the market?

What is the structure of the global cell analysis market and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the market?

Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global Cell Analysis Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Analysis Type

6.1 Flow Cytometry Products

6.1.1 Market Trends

6.1.2 Market Forecast

6.2 qPCR Products

6.3 Cell Microarrays

6.4 Microscopes

6.5 Spectrophotometers

6.6 Cell Counters

6.7 HCS Systems

6.8 Others



7 Market Breakup by Process

7.1 Cell Identification

7.1.1 Market Trends

7.1.2 Market Forecast

7.2 Cell Viability

7.3 Cell Signaling Pathways/Signal Transduction

7.4 Cell Proliferation

7.5 Cell Counting and Quality Control

7.6 Cell Interaction

7.7 Target Identification and Validation

7.8 Single-Cell Analysis

7.9 Others



8 Market Breakup by Techniques

8.1 Molecular Approaches

8.1.1 Market Trends

8.1.2 Market Forecast

8.2 Image-Based Approaches



9 Market Breakup by End-User

9.1 Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies and CROs

9.1.1 Market Trends

9.1.2 Market Forecast

9.2 Hospitals and Diagnostic Laboratories

9.3 Research Institutes

9.4 Cell Culture Collection Repositories

9.5 Others



10 Market Breakup by Region



11 SWOT Analysis

11.1 Overview

11.2 Strengths

11.3 Weaknesses

11.4 Opportunities

11.5 Threats



12 Value Chain Analysis



13 Porters Five Forces Analysis

13.1 Overview

13.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers

13.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers

13.4 Degree of Competition

13.5 Threat of New Entrants

13.6 Threat of Substitutes



14 Competitive Landscape

14.1 Market Structure

14.2 Key Players

14.3 Profiles of Key Players

Agilent Technologies Inc.

BD Biosciences

Bio-RAD Laboratories Inc.

Danaher Corporation

Illumina Inc.

Merck KGaA

Miltenyi Biotec

Olympus Corporation

PerkinElmer Inc.

Promega Corporation

Sysmex Corporation

Thermo Fisher Scientific

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The front of Oscar Wylee optometrist in Newtown on May 07, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

Oscar Wylee Makes False Claims About Charity Promotion, Fined $3.5 Million

Eyewear retailer Oscar Wylee has been hit with a $3.5 million fine after its Buy a pair, give a pair promotion, was proven false.

Between 2014 and 2018, the company, which has over 60 retail outlets in Australia, ran advertisements through social media, email, and promotional merchandise that for each pair of glasses purchased, it would donate a pair of glasses to someone in need.

The false marketing claims made by Oscar Wylee include: One for one. All the time. Forever. We donate a pair of glasses to those in need for every pair purchased and Buy a pair, give a pair.

Australian Oscar Wylees Buy a pair, Give a pair promotion (Supplied by ACCC)

In almost five years, Oscar Wylee sold 328,010 pairs of glasses but donated only 3,181 frames to charity, without lenses. Nearly one set of frames for each 100 pairs of glasses sold.

The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) began investigating the eyewear retailer in 2019 and brought the case against it in the Federal Court of Australia.

The court found the company liable for misleading or deceptive conduct and making false or misleading representations about its charitable donations and affiliations.

Australian Oscar Wylees Buy a pair, Give a pair promotion (Supplied by ACCC).

Oscar Wylee promoted its charitable activities as a core reason why consumers should buy Oscar Wylee glasses, but its claims were false and were made in circumstances where consumers could not easily verify these claims for themselves, according to ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard.

The misleading conduct also portrayed Oscar Wylee as a socially-conscious company that made significant donations of glasses to people in need, which, because this was not true, unfairly differentiated it from other brands in the market, Rickard added.

She went on to say Oscar Wylee deprived disadvantaged individuals of the benefits promised in the advertising.

The company also admitted to making false or misleading representations to consumers between 2014 and 2018 that it was closely affiliated with the Rose Charities.

These claims included statements like: We have partnered with Rose Charities which helps build sustainable eye care programs in Cambodia, and Were funding Lim studying to be an eye surgeon so he can keep taking solutions into his own hands.

Australian Oscar Wylees claim to be connected with Rose Charities (Supplied by ACCC).

Oscar Wylees association with Rose Charities consisted of a single donation of $2,000 and 100 frames in 2014.

No further donations or support were provided to Rose Charities after this time, despite Oscar Wylee continuing to claim an affiliation until late 2018.

In her judgment, Justice Katzmann said: It built its reputation by engaging in the contravening conduct, appealing to socially conscious consumers who wanted to support charitable causes through their purchasing behaviour.

Its conduct was a betrayal of that promise, she added.

Dr Rob Nicholls, associate professor of competition law at the University of New South Wales said Oscar Wylees promotion capitalised on the generosity of Australians and the countrys high charity donation rates.

Consumers bought their glasses from Oscar Wylee because doing so would provide glasses to someone who could not afford them. For this to be a marketing gimmick with no substance is a heinous form of misrepresentation, he told The Epoch Times on Sept. 21.

Nicholls also noted the court found Oscar Wylee did not understand its responsibilities under Australian Consumer Law and ordered a compliance program.

More unusually, this will be externally audited for the next three years. That is, Justice Katzmann required compliance be much more than a tick the box exercise, he added.

Oscar Wylee will need to undertake an annual review of its compliance for the next three years, carried out by an independent compliance professional.

The court did take note of the companys willingness to cooperate with ACCCs investigation and noted its history of charitable activities. In 2019, it donated $80,000 to charitable causes and over 330,000 frames to charities, foundations, hospitals, and prisons.

The penalty was reduced by 30 percent accordingly.
More than six months after the coronavirus pandemic began in Pennsylvania, Gracedale nursing home residents can finally have their family visit again.

The Northampton County-owned nursing homes universal testing of residents and staff found no cases of COVID-19. So, the county on Friday moved the Lower Nazareth Township facility to the second step of its re-opening plan, which includes family visitations, according to a news release.

While we are beyond thrilled that these visitations will be beginning, we must respectfully ask that, for the health and safety of our residents and staff, all visitors please scrupulously abide by the rules and regulations, county Executive Lamont McClure said. Lives depend upon it.

Gracedales converted its Tower 7 to allow family visitations. Anyone who visits will only be allowed in the elevator to travel back and forth from Tower 7 for a 30 minute visit. Visitation areas will be disinfected between visits in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Family members who wish to schedule a visit can call at 610-829-3671.

Gracedale is the largest nursing home under one roof in Pennsylvania, with 514 residents and approximately 700 people tasked with caring for them, the county says. It was hard hit during the peak of the pandemic with 245 residents and 57 employees testing positive. A total of 76 residents have died, according to state data.

The nursing home is now testing all staff members for COVID-19 the second full week of each month.

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BRIERLEY HILL, England, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Templa, the software company behind TemplaCMS and the leading financial contract management system for cleaning contractors in the United Kingdom and Australia, has been acquired by Innovise, the U.K. subsidiary of TEAM Software. TEAM is the global technology leader specialising in software for security guarding, cleaning and facilities management businesses.

The acquisition brings together the two U.K. market leaders in the cleaning sector: Innovise with its trusted workforce management software and Templa with its fully integrated financial contract management software. The combination creates a significant offering for cleaning and facilities management businesses, primarily in the U.K. and Australia.

Innovise is the U.K. arm of TEAM Software, a technology company with customers on five continents and approximately one million users under management. The combined group supports many of the leading cleaning and security companies in the U.K. and Ireland, North America and Australia.

"Our mission is to extend our offering in the rest of the world to mirror the deep financial management capabilities provided by WinTeam to our North American customers. Adding TemplaCMS to the Innovise portfolio provides an immediate solution for our customers in the U.K. and Australia, and we will work together to broaden this globally while evolving modernizing the TemplaCMS technology," said Mike Taylor, Innovise President and TEAM Software Chief Strategy Officer.

The new partnership will mean that clients of both Templa and Innovise benefit from enhanced technology expertise, improved product scope and global scale. As part of the partnership, Rick Stoor, Templa Managing Director, has joined the Innovise senior leadership team.

"After several decades of successful growth as an independent business, we are excited to be joining forces with Innovise and TEAM software," said Stoor. "This is essentially a merger of committed, ambitious technology companies who want to serve the cleaning industry more effectively. We are excited to work alongside our new colleagues at Innovise and TEAM to set the standard for world-class solutions in our target markets globally."

ABOUT INNOVISE LTD (Soon to be known as TEAM SOFTWARE)

Based in the United Kingdom, Innovise develops financial, operations and workforce management software applications for businesses in the guarding, cleaning and facilities management industries. The focus of the technology is to increase productivity while reducing risk and the cost of operation. Innovise's product portfolio includes a workforce management solution purpose-built for guarding and cleaning businesses as well as a facilities management platform to help monitor, measure and manage service delivery. Innovise has customers in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, Continental Europe and the Australasia region.

Innovise is part of TEAM Software, a global technology company headquartered in the U.S. and focused on the contract cleaning and security markets.

ABOUT TEMPLA COMPUTER SYSTEMS

Templa Computer Systems (TemplaCMS) develops contract management software with integrated accounts and payroll, specifically for companies in the contract cleaning industry. With a focus on transforming back-office systems into solid, software-driven foundations of operations for customers, TemplaCMS currently serves companies in the U.K. and overseas. Founded in 1977, TemplaCMS is based in Tonbridge, a market town south east of London. For more information, visit http://www.templacms.co.uk/.

PRESS CONTACT

TEAM Software

Amanda Sullivan, Director of Marketing and Communications | 800-500-4499 | marketing@teamsoftware.com

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NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ureteroscope Market Research Report by Type (Flexible Ureteroscopes, Rigid Ureteroscopes, and Semirigid Ureteroscopes), by Usage (Multi-Use and Single-Use/Disposable), by Application, by End User - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05942275/?utm_source=PRN



The Global Ureteroscope Market is expected to grow from USD 899.08 Million in 2019 to USD 1,292.56 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.23%.



Market Segmentation & Coverage:

This research report categorizes the Ureteroscope to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:



"The Flexible Ureteroscopes is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"



Based on Type, the Ureteroscope Market studied across Flexible Ureteroscopes, Rigid Ureteroscopes, and Semirigid Ureteroscopes. The Flexible Ureteroscopes commanded the largest size in the Ureteroscope Market in 2019, and it is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.



"The Single-Use/Disposable is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"



Based on Usage, the Ureteroscope Market studied across Multi-Use and Single-Use/Disposable. The Multi-Use commanded the largest size in the Ureteroscope Market in 2019. On the other hand, the Single-Use/Disposable is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.



"The Therapeutic Applications is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"



Based on Application, the Ureteroscope Market studied across Diagnostic Applications and Therapeutic Applications. The Diagnostic Applications commanded the largest size in the Ureteroscope Market in 2019. On the other hand, the Therapeutic Applications is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.



"The Specialty Clinics is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"



Based on End User, the Ureteroscope Market studied across Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Diagnostic Imaging Centers, Hospitals, and Specialty Clinics. The Hospitals commanded the largest size in the Ureteroscope Market in 2019. On the other hand, the Specialty Clinics is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.



"The Asia-Pacific is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"



Based on Geography, the Ureteroscope Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. The Americas commanded the largest size in the Ureteroscope Market in 2019. On the other hand, the Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.



Company Usability Profiles:

The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Ureteroscope Market including Advin Health Care, Boston Scientific Corporation, ELMED Medical Systems, Karl Storz Medical AG, Maxer Endoscopy GmbH, Olympus Corporation, PENTAX Medical, Prosurg Inc, Richard Wolf GmbH, Rocamed, Stryker Corporation, and Vimex Sp. z o.o.



FPNV Positioning Matrix:

The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Ureteroscope Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Competitive Strategic Window:

The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.



Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:

COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets

3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments

4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players

5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Ureteroscope Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Ureteroscope Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Ureteroscope Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Ureteroscope Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Ureteroscope Market?

6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Ureteroscope Market?



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05942275/?utm_source=PRN



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MIAMI  Leading Florida Republican politicians are launching an all-out effort to convince President Donald Trump to nominate federal Judge Barbara Lagoa to the U.S. Supreme Court  a move they say would boost his reelection chances in the must-win swing state.

The biggest names in the Florida GOP are working behind the scenes to advocate for Lagoa: U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott have sprung into action, along with Gov. Ron DeSantis, Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida campaign director Susie Wiles and the presidents former impeachment defense lawyer, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to interviews with a dozen Republicans familiar with the effort.

The Republicans are said to be making the case that the longtime judge and devout Catholic has the legal chops to do the job and the conservative background to appease the GOP base, these people said.

But its Lagoas background as a Florida Cuban-American that could have the most salience for Trump. His reelection hinges on the too-close-to-call battleground state, where his campaign has made outreach to Hispanic voters a top issue, worrying some Democrats.

If the president picks Barbara Lagoa, they will be dancing salsa with joy in Hialeah well past November, said Gaetz, referring to Lagoas home town, a blue-collar majority Cuban-American city that borders Miami and leans Republican.

Lagoa, a 52-year-old Columbia Law School graduate and mother of three children, emerged this weekend as a leading contender to take the Supreme Court seat held by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the liberal stalwart who died Friday at the age of 87.

Lagoa is no lock for the post, however. Shes a relative unknown compared to the favorite of Washingtons conservative establishment anti-abortion groups, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who became a darling of the religious right after her bruising federal confirmation fight in 2017. Barrett and Lagoa are both high on the presidents short list for the post, officials with knowledge of the process told POLITICO.

Story continues

In contrast, Lagoas views on abortion are little known. She had no high-profile rulings on the matter in the nearly 500 decisions she wrote as a state appeals court judge or in other decisions during her brief time on the Florida Supreme Court justice and, since late last year, a judge on the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

However, when she was vetted for her federal judgeship, she told the Senate she considered Roe v. Wade the binding precedent of the Supreme Court and settled law  echoing phrases used by Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh when their nominations were being vetted.

For lower court judges, all Supreme Court precedent, including Roe v. Wade ... is settled law, she wrote in her questionnaire. If confirmed, I would faithfully apply this precedent and all other precedents of the Supreme Court.

To Lagoas proponents, though, shes still a blank slate on abortion  something that could be used to hold off Democrats who want to make overturning Roe v. Wade an issue during nomination hearings. They said her background as a conservative Catholic and her history of right-leaning opinions could signal to religious voters that shes one of them. Gaetz said Lagoas lack of a position on abortion could help Republican lawmakers in battleground districts where the future of abortion rights is a top concern.

Indeed, Lagoas confirmation vote for the 11th Circuit last year had a much more bipartisan reception, 80-15, than the 55-43 vote on Barretts appointment to the 7th Circuit.

Ive had swing district members in swing states who reached out to me today and asked what they could do to help Lagoa because they believe Barrett is a problem for them, Gaetz said, declining to name names.

Gaetz, who spoke at Trumps nominating convention and frequently chats with the president, wouldnt discuss whether or when he talked with the president about Lagoa. Scott began reaching out to the president on Sunday, according to aides, and friends of Rubio say hes starting to weigh in. DeSantis has yet to formally call the president, but go-betweens with the White House and the Tallahassee governors mansion have had conversations, according to two knowledgeable sources. The sources also identified Bondi and Wiles as advocates for Lagoa, but neither would comment.

One of the Republican advisers to Trump who spoke to him about Lagoa said the president was particularly receptive to the message about Lagoas background. As the child of exiles who fled Castros Cuba on what were known as freedom flights in 1966, Lagoas story aligns with the themes echoed at the GOP convention, which featured two Cuban Americans on consecutive nights waxing poetic about the American dream and the horrors of totalitarian socialism.

Trump plans to campaign in Florida. He plans to stop Thursday in Jacksonville and then is scheduled to head to Miami, where some of his Florida advisers hope he announces Lagoa as his pick. Trump said he expects to nominate someone this week.

We know Democrats are going to vote against her, even though they voted overwhelmingly to confirm her to the federal bench before, the Republican said. Democrats always play the race card. Well, we can as well. What are they going to tell Hispanic voters in Florida about rejecting a Latina for the high court?

Democrats say they have an easy answer: the rushed vote for a confirmation shouldnt happen. Instead, they say, the Republican-led Senate should follow the same precedent it set in 2016 when it refused to take up President Barack Obamas nominee, Merrick Garland, before a presidential election. Trump won, thereby ensuring Garland never got a hearing.

Lagoa would bring some legal baggage with her to a confirmation hearing. Lagoa came came under fire recently for refusing to recusing herself from a case in which the federal appeals court upheld a Florida law that requires felons to pay off their court fines and fees before having their voting rights restored. The law was passed by the Republican-controlled state Legislature after voters approved a constitutional amendment that ended the states lifetime voting ban for most felons.

Lagoa and another judge on the appeals court previously sat on the state Supreme Court when it considered how to interpret the amendment.

Sen. Kamala Harris was among the co-signers of a letter that criticized Lagoa for not recusing herself from the federal case. Harris, who was later picked as Joe Bidens running mate, would cast a vote in the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

Desmond Meade, executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, said Lagoas action on the felon voting case shows she is more interested in a political outcome than the law.

Justice Lagoa was a leading voice in the recent 11th Circuit Court decision that fell squarely along partisan lines and silenced hundreds of thousands of voters in Florida, who months earlier had been legally able to vote, Meade said in a text. That decision demonstrated we are fighting so hard for peoples lives to be placed over politics, and that should be the attitude of anyone who aspires to serve on the highest court in the land.

Democrats say that Lagoas decision to join the 6-4 majority that kept the tight voting restrictions on felons could also help rally Black voters because African Americans are disproportionately incarcerated in Florida.

But the racial politics could cut both ways.

We hope Democrats attack a Latina as a racist, said a Republican who has discussed Lagoa with Trumps campaign. Theres a broad pool of Hispanic voters who will get turned off by that.

And to Democrats who would accuse Trump of playing identity politics, Republicans note that Biden pledged to pick a Black woman for the court.

Black voters account for 13 percent of registered voters in Florida; Latinos 17 percent. Both are bases of the Democratic Party, but Hispanic voters are more winnable for Republicans, in part because Cuban-Americans tend to vote heavily Republican. For that segment of the Latino electorate, Lagoa backers say, her nomination would help drive turnout.

But theres a group of independent Hispanic voters, many of them Spanish speakers, who can be messaged to and won by Republicans, strategists say, especially with Biden showing some signs of weakness with Latinos across the state and in Miami-Dade County.

Veteran Democratic pollster and consultant Fernand Amandi, who advised Obamas successful outreach to Latinos and also consulted for Michael Bloombergs primary campaign, said Lagoas potential pick would be a choice pregnant with political considerations.

Its a play for women, Hispanics and most importantly, Floridas 29 Electoral votes, Amandi said. Barbara Lagoa is the conservative Cuban version of Sonia Sotomayor.

Jesse Panuccio, a longtime Florida attorney and former third-ranking official in the Department of Justice in the Trump administration, echoed Amandi and said the pick of Lagoa could energize an important slice of the Florida electorate.

I think choosing Barbara Lagoa as a Supreme Court nominee would be the best thing the president could do politically in this state, said Panuccio, who was on the nominating commission that recommended Lagoa for a spot on the state Supreme Court. It is of course the biggest swing state in the country, everyone knows that.

Pannucio is a member of the conservative Federalist Society, whose members in Florida and Washington are advocating for Lagoa as well.

A DeSantis adviser said of Lagoa that shes money in the bank for Trumps Florida campaign.

She right on the law. She right on the politics. Its a no-brainer, the adviser said.

Lagoa already made history as the first Hispanic woman and first Cuban-American woman to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. DeSantis announced her selection for the high court at Miamis Freedom Tower, which welcomed Cuban exiles and where Rubio announced his 2016 bid for president. One Trump confidante hoped the president would use the venue to make his nomination announcement of Lagoa.

Lagoa spent most of her judicial career, 12 years, on a state appeals court branch after being appointed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush. Her husband, Paul Huck, served as general counsel to Bushs successor, Charlie Crist, whos now a Democratic congressman and who described Lagoa as a delightful person.

She's absolutely charming and struck me as a very good soul, Crist said.

The rapid ascent of the Florida International University graduate doesnt surprise those who know Lagoa.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra, who attended Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Hialeah with Lagoa, used one word over and over to describe Lagoa: Star. Becerra recalled during her investiture to the Florida Supreme Court how Lagoa played the lead role of the Virgin of Guadalupe in a school play that remains a running joke for them after decades.

Its Lagoa connections to Miami-Dade  and her role in trying to block President Bill Clintons administration from sending 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez back to his father in Cuba  that could make her too hard to ignore ahead of the election. The decision by the Clinton administration to repatriate Gonzalez, whose mother died trying to escape from Cuba, reverberated through Florida and may have ultimately cost the 2000 election for then-Vice President Al Gore. Gore lost to George W. Bush by 537 votes in an election that was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Eliot Pedrosa, an attorney who worked with Lagoa on the Gonzalez case, said she was branded by the experience. Pedrosa, who is now the U.S. executive director of the Inter-American Development Bank, said during Lagoas 2019 investiture that the case seared into her soul a respect for the rule of law.

Former Miami Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, who fought to keep Gonzalez in the United States and represented Lagoas home town of Hialeah, said Lagoas legal record is solid and that her background is extraordinary and would help turn out votes as well.

Its an American story, Diaz-Balart said. Heres a Hialeah girl whos a great student who made her family proud from the moment she was born. And now shes making the whole community proud.
SHENZHEN, China, Sept.21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nam Tai Property Inc. ("Nam Tai" or the "Company") (NYSE Symbol: NTP) today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Dr. Lai Ling Tam to the role of Executive Chairman of the Board and has named Mr. Jiabiao Wang, current General Manager of China Operations, as Chief Executive Officer of Nam Tai. These appointments, which are effective immediately, follow the previously announced resignation of Mr. Ying Chi Kwok from the role of Chairman and CEO. The Company also announced, concurrently, the appointment of Mr. Wai Hang Wan, David, CPA, as Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Ms. Yu Zhang, effective immediately.

"Succession planning has always been a top priority for our Board, and has been a part of our ongoing dialogue," said Dr. Wing Yan Lo, Chairman of the Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. "As part of that process, we are pleased to announce these three new appointments, which significantly strengthen our leadership team and set the stage for a new phase of growth and development for the Company."

Dr. Wing Yan Lo continued, "The appointment of Dr. Tam as Executive Chairman brings to the Nam Tai Board a seasoned executive with a 25-year track record of success across the finance and real estate sectors, as well as valuable insights from a shareholder perspective. Dr. Tam's deep understanding of our industry and the markets in which we operate, coupled with his focus on supporting the interests of all Nam Tai shareholders, make him particularly well suited to lead the Board and shape the Company's strategic direction as we work to strengthen our position as a leading industrial ecosystem operator."

"Nam Tai has excellent real estate assets, a clear and differentiated development strategy, a dedicated team of employees and significant opportunity to achieve its goal of strengthening its position as a leading industrial ecosystem operator and a respected enterprise through a clear development strategy based on four key pillars," said Dr. Tam. "I look forward to working with the Board, Mr. Wang and the rest of the management team, as well as the Company's various stakeholders, including its shareholders, to achieve Nam Tai's full potential and create sustainable value for shareholders."

Dr. Wing Yan Lo added, "The appointment of Mr. Wang as CEO reflects our focus on developing our deep pool of internal talent. A 15-year real estate industry veteran, Mr. Wang has significant real estate development, leasing and project management experience, with a proven track record of strong returns in both commercial and residential projects. As General Manager of our China operations, Mr. Wang has played a key role executing our development and leasing strategy, and has gained a deep understanding of the Company's business and operating model. He has proven to be an exceptional leader and is ideally suited to assume this role. We look forward to benefiting from Mr. Wang's experience and business acumen as we enter this exciting next chapter of growth under his leadership."

Mr. Wang said, "I am honored to assume the role of CEO at such a pivotal moment for Nam Tai and the industry. We have made significant progress implementing differentiated strategies to expand our portfolio assets and create value for shareholders. This has included maximizing our existing projects; providing tenants with innovative, high quality industrial space; prudently managing financing obligations; controlling costs and exploring development opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. I look forward to working closely with the senior management team, the Board and Nam Tai's talented employees to build on the Company's momentum and deliver value for all Nam Tai shareholders."

"Mr. Wan is a proven finance leader with over 10 years of investment and accounting experience. He has worked as auditor at PwC with subsequent development in private equity, asset management and property developers," said said Dr. Wing Yan Lo. "He will be a valuable addition to our leadership team."

"I am excited for the opportunity to lead Nam Tai's financial function," said Mr. Wan. "I look forward to leveraging my experience to help strengthen the Company's financial and operational performance, and foster investor engagement to drive value for our shareholders."

About Dr. Lai Ling Tam

Dr. Tam currently serves as a senior advisor to the Kaisa Group, a role he has held since 2015. As a senior advisor, Dr. Tam is primarily responsible for formulation of investment and financing strategies for the group. Previously, he served as Vice Chairman and Executive Director of the Kaisa Group from 2010 to 2014. From December 2007 to November 2008, Dr. Tam was an executive director of SPG Land (Holdings) Limited where he was responsible for the corporate finance activities and investor relations of the company. From April 2005 to November 2007, Dr. Tam was the deputy managing director and chief financial officer of Hopson Development Holdings Ltd., where he was responsible for formulating and executing the company's financing strategy. Dr. Tam also served as an independent non-executive director of Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited. From March 1998 to April 2005, Dr. Tam worked for ICEA Capital Limited for seven years. His last position was Managing Director of their Investment Banking Division, during which he executed a wide variety of corporate finance transactions, including M&A, and debt and equity financings. Prior to that, Dr. Tam also worked for major international investment banks in the area of corporate finance, and a multi-national oil company in the area of business development.

Dr. Tam received his bachelor's degree in Engineering from University College London, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He is also a holder of Chartered Financial Analyst.

About Mr. Jiabiao Wang

Mr. Jiabiao Wang was appointed as the General Manager of China Operations in February 2019, responsible for overall operation management of projects in China. He also served as the Deputy Director of Shenzhen Real Estate Association Housing Rental Committee.

Mr. Wang has over 15 years of experience in real estate development management and has lead functions including marketing, investment and industrial operation management. Prior to joining Nam Tai, Mr. Wang served as Deputy General Manager of Logan Group Shenzhen, Assistant President of Kaisa Group Shenzhen, and President of Kaisa Technology Innovation Group.

About Mr. Wai Hang Wan, David, CPA

Mr. Wan was appointed as Deputy General Manager, Internal Audit, responsible for audit and international investment matters. Before he joined Nam Tai in March 2019, he was Vice General Manager of Kaisa Asset Management Limited responsible for investment. Between 2014 and 2017, Mr. Wan worked at Noah Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited, the Hong Kong subsidiary of Noah Holdings (NYSE: NOAH) with a total committed capital of over USD3.5 billion. His last position was Vice President/ Head of Fund Management and Services covering a diversified portfolio of real estate, private equity, and secondary market funds and funds of funds. Prior to that, Mr. Wan served as Investment Manager of Hermes Capital, Business Analyst at Value Partners Management Consulting and auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong.

Mr. Wan received his bachelor's degree in Finance and Marketing from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and his Master of Business Administration degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

About Nam Tai Property Inc.

We are a real estate developer and operator, mainly conducting business in Mainland China. Our main land resources are located in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("Greater Bay Area") and Wuxi, China, of which the three plots in Shenzhen will be developed into Nam Tai Inno Park, Nam Tai Technology Center and Nam Tai Inno Valley. We plan to build these technology parks into landmark parks in the region and provide high-quality industrial offices, industrial service spaces and supporting dormitories to the tenants. Based on the experience of developing and operating technology parks and an industrial relationship network accumulated over the past 40 years, we have also exported the operation model of technology parks to other industrial properties. Through an asset-light model, we have leased industrial properties for repositioning and business invitation. We will also expand the commercial and residential property business in China as an auxiliary development strategy of the Company. As the growth prospects of China maintain, we shall seize development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area and other first- and second-tier cities in China, and continue to strengthen and expand the business of industrial real estate, and commercial and residential properties. Nam Tai Property Inc. is a corporation registered in the British Virgin Islands and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: "NTP"). Please refer to our corporate website (https://www.namtai.com/) or the SEC website (www.sec.gov) for our press releases and financial statements.

Forward-looking Statement and Factors that Could Cause our Share Price to Decline

Certain statements included in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "might", "can", "could", "will", "would", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "forecast", "intend", "plan", "seek", or "timetable". These forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business and the industry in which we operate. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations about future events. There are several factors, many beyond our control, which could cause results to differ materially from our expectation. These risk factors are described in our Annual Report on Form 20-F and in our Current Reports filed on Form 6-K from time to time and are incorporated herein by reference. Any of these factors could, by itself, or together with one or more other factors, adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. There may also be other factors currently unknown to us, or have not been described by us, that could cause our results to differ from our expectations. Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These forward-looking statements apply only as of the date of this announcement; as such, they should not be unduly relied upon as circumstances change. Except as required by law, we are not obligated, and we undertake no obligation, to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that might reflect events or circumstance occurring after the date of this press release or those that might reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

SOURCE Nam Tai Property Inc.

Related Links

https://www.namtai.com


Married At First Sight star Mike Gunner did something he may forever regret on Monday morning.

The 45-year-old electrician-turned-reality star appeared to upload an X-rated nude photo of himself on Instagram, before quickly deleting it after about 30 minutes.

In the picture, Mike was seen completely naked, with just his hand covering his private parts.

Remember me? Married At First Sight star Mike Gunner shocks fans as he uploads an X-rated nude picture of himself on Instagram... before swiftly deleting it

The photo was captioned with the word: 'vegetarian'.

Despite a number of fans being very impressed with the snap, Mike quickly deleted the racy photo.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Mike for comment.

Raunchy: In the picture, Mike was seen completely naked, with just his hand covering his private parts

Mike has been away from the spotlight following his time on the Channel Nine hit show.

He was most recently in a romance with busty blonde trucker, Jessica Williamson, last year.

On his season of Married At First Sight, he was matched with radio star Heidi Latcham, but the couple fizzled after moving in together.

Private life: Mike has stepped away from the spotlight following his time on the show. He did launch a podcast which involved fun chats about raunchy topics

Speaking about his past relationship, he told 9Honey last year that he will always have feelings for the radio presenter.

'If she walked in here now, my knees would go weak, such was her effect on me,' he said.

'I mean, I'm only a man. As long as I have blood coursing through my veins I will probably always find her attractive.'

Break-up: On his season of Married At First Sight, Mike was matched with radio star Heidi Latcham, but the couple fizzled after moving in together

In April last year, Mike revealed details of his split with Heidi, saying they broke-up shortly after she moved in with him on the Gold Coast.

He claimed he 'couldn't make Heidi happy' when they lived under the same roof.

The tattooed tradesman added that their break-up was 'painful' and that he missed Heidi after they parted ways.
Pressure to cancel this years Mop Fair is continuing to pile on Stratford District Council with town councillors expressing serious concerns about the event going ahead last week.

The district council has yet to make a decision on the Mop, simply saying that the event is being reviewed and that the Fair will be discussed at a meeting of its Safety Advisory Group on Wednesday (23 September).

The cancellation of the Stratford Victorian Christmas Market earlier this month has stoked further calls on social media for the Mop to be abandoned for 2020 too.

During last Tuesdays Mayoral, Civic Ceremonial and Events Committee Meeting at the town council it was clear members did not want the Mop to go ahead.

Cllr Jenny Fradgley: Ive got considerable concerns in the present situation of holding an event in which there would be very little chance to have pods distancing.

She added: To invite the world and his wife to the town for two days where I dont know how the sanitising of the dodgems and the fantastic rides will be carried out. As the government has said, we shouldnt be gathering in groups of more than six.

Cllr Cohl Warren-Howles, said: I just dont think it should go ahead at all, the R rate is going up tremendously.

During the meeting, town clerk Sarah Summers revealed that following discussions between her and the leader of Stratford District Council, it was clear that the district council also had reservations about the event and she was of the opinion that they also wanted the Mop to be cancelled.

She added however that the process was not simple and the district council had to make sure any cancellation was carried out legally.

A decision on whether the Mop will go ahead is expected soon and the town council agreed to reiterate their opposition to the 2020 event going ahead in a letter to the district council.
(Photo : Unsplash) (Photo : (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)) STREET, UNITED KINGDOM - MARCH 03: The HSBC logo is displayed outside a branch of HSBC on March 3 2008 in Street, United Kingdom. HSBC, the UK's largest bank, has said it has made a 8.7bn GBP loss, after the decline in the US housing market hit the value of its loans. The bank's losses are said to be the biggest write-down of the UK's big five because it has a lot of business and operations in the USA, however its annual profits still rose 10 percent to 12.2bn GBP, up from the year before. (Photo : (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)) NEW YORK - MARCH 24: (FILE PHOTO) The JP Morgan Chase building is seen March 24, 2008 in New York City. The banking giant posted a $2.7 billion profit in the second quarterJuly 16, 2009, a 36% jump from 2008. Revenues were up 39%, at $25.62 billion. (Photo : Unsplash)

Five of the world's biggest banks are involved in a massive scandal that questions its integrity and possible involvement in the $2 trillion worth of money to be moved in its systems, illegally, led by criminals and fraudsters that even involves some billionaires across the world. The investigation led by international organizations are called 'historical' and considered a late report by several of these banks.

United Kingdom's biggest bank company, HSBC, along with Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, JP Morgan, and Bank of New York Mellon are the notorious five who allowed dirty and illegal money to pass through and flow amongst its systems.

Daily Mail reports that these banks are even aware of the situation and illegal activities but were too slow to deal with the case and act accordingly to stop the transactions. The dealings resulted in a whopping two trillion dollars worth of illegal transactions that criminals took advantage of.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ), together with BuzzFeed News, first leaked the dossiers and banking papers that reported the criminal activities. The leak was distributed to 108 news companies and organization, which then led to public knowledge.

The FinCEN files or the secret US government documents were also part of the leak that unearthed the massive scandal within the five banks, including several United States-based banking companies. The banks allegedly allow the dirty transactions and profits from it, despite the illegality of the act.

FinCEN Files Ties Five Banks in Massive Illegal Scandal

HSBC is in the hottest seat among the five banks because of its massive stake and activity in the illegal transactions that worked its way inside the company's systems. The UK-based bank continued transferring funds to Hong Kong despite the government's warning of a potential Ponzi pyramiding scheme worth more than $80 million.

The action HSBC took already led to significant million losses for the company. HSBC also says that ICIJ's claim and report are all 'historical' and a past issue, implying that it doesn't apply to the company anymore. Despite this, HSBC still faces a massive question to their integrity and image as a banking company.

On the other hand, ICIJ reports that the United States' biggest bank company, JP Morgan, tied itself to a massive laundering scandal that moved money for people and companies that looted public funds in Malaysia, Venezuela, and Ukraine.

The FinCEN files reveal several known personalities in the list that took part in the significant money scandal. Vladimir Putin's close friend, billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, even makes the list, using Barclays London as its bank of choice to illegally move its money.

Why can't Authorities Persecute Big Banks?

The five banks, with two companies being the biggest in its countries, are facing controversy and massive scandal that questions the legitimacy of its operations and its stake on public money. Despite the massive issues that surface, the question comes to mind that asks if authorities take actions in these as well.

The United States' authorities who monitor and enforce the law on this issue rarely goes after banks as well-known and massive as the five banks on the list. The law enforcement authorities' actions and pursuit makes a small effect on the damage and amount of money lost on the transactions.

HSBC, JP Morgan, along with the five other banks were involved in massive scandals in the past where they vowed and promised to improve their actions and operations.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
ANN ARBOR, MI  When Shannon Beeman won the 3rd District race for Washtenaw County commissioner in 2018, flipping the seat from red to blue with 50.4% of the vote, the county board became entirely Democratic for the first time ever.

Whether it stays that way for another two years depends in part on whether shes reelected Nov. 3.

All nine county commissioner seats are up for grabs and seven incumbents are seeking reelection.

Two seats are open.

In most cases, Democrats are heavily favored to win against Republican opponents in Democratic-leaning districts.

3 Washtenaw County commissioner hopefuls advance in primary election

Two districts where the GOP has had some success in the last decade are District 2, covering the northeast part of the county, and District 3, covering the southwest.

The District 2 seat flipped from red to blue in 2016 when Democrat Michelle Deatrick unseated Republican Dan Smith with 53% of the vote. Democrat Sue Shink won it with over 58% of the vote against Republican Kevin Jardine in 2018.

Shink, D-Northfield Township, now faces Republican Scott Inman and Green Party candidate Eric Borregard as she seeks reelection in District 2.

Beeman, D-Manchester, is being challenged by Republican Ken Siler in District 3.

Heres a quick overview of other county races on the ballot, with links at the end to find out more about candidates:

In District 1, incumbent Jason Maciejewski, D-Dexter Township, faces Republican Rod Anderson.

In District 4, Democrat Caroline Sanders and Republican Michelle Nicholai are competing for the seat held by Felicia Brabec, D-Pittsfield Township, who is running for state House.

In District 5, Democrat Justin Hodge and Republican Timothy King are competing for the seat held by Ruth Ann Jamnick, D-Ypsilanti Township, who is stepping down.

In District 6, incumbent Ricky Jefferson, D-Ypsilanti Township, faces Republican Tom Banks.

Three other incumbents  Andy LaBarre, Jason Morgan and Katie Scott  are seeking reelection against Republican opponents in Ann Arbor districts.

LaBarre faces Joe Miriani in District 7, Morgan faces Joan Knoertzer in District 8 and Scott faces Terry Linden in District 9.

Washtenaw County voters also will decide contests for countywide offices.

Democratic incumbent Catherine McClary faces Republican Paulette Metoyer in the county treasurer race.

Democratic incumbent Larry Kestenbaum faces Republican Gary Greiner and independent write-in Doristeen Taylor in the county clerk race.

Three Democrats seeking other offices are uncontested, including Sheriff Jerry Clayton, Water Resources Commissioner Evan Pratt and Eli Savit, who won a three-way primary race to become the Democratic nominee for county prosecutor.

Find out more:

MLive has partnered with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide information to voters.

Check out the leagues voter guide at Vote411.org/ballot to find information about candidates and issues on the ballot.

MORE ELECTION STORIES:

Early in-person voting at Ann Arbor city hall, UM campus starts Sept. 24

Whos running in the November 2020 election in Washtenaw County

Democrats vs. Republicans: 4 state House races in Washtenaw County on Nov. 3 ballot

Dingell faces 2 repeat challengers in Michigans 12th Congressional District race

Walberg, Driskell face off for third time for Congressional seat

These 12 proposals are on the November 2020 ballot in Washtenaw County

Heres the schedule for Ann Arbor-area political candidate forums

Ann Arbor affordable housing tax proposal heads to November ballot

20-year affordable housing tax could help fundamentally change Ann Arbor, mayor says

Tax proposal on November ballot would help fill Ann Arbors sidewalk gaps

Voters set to decide who will be new Washtenaw County trial judge presiding over family-court cases
Vineet Upadhyay By

Express News Service

DEHRADUN: Wildlife Institute of India is collecting DNA of domesticated elephants across India so that Adhaar like Unique Identity Number (UIN) could be allocated to them to protect them from abuse, poaching, and other atrocities

Dhananjai Mohan, director of WII said, "The data is being collected after which further process will be done."

India has total 2,454 domesticated elephants out of which around 1,000 are in Assam followed by Kerala with over 500 and Tamil Nadu with 300 pachyderms.

The exercise is being conducted under 'Project Elephant' to allocate unique identification numbers to domesticated elephants across India.

Out of total 2,454 jumbos, 560 are with forest departments of the respective states, 1,809 are in private custody and 85 are in zoos.

Out of those in private custody 1,687 belong to individuals while the rest are with circuses and religious institutions.

Last year, Uttarakhand high court had banned the practice of using red chilies and chilly bombs to ward off elephants off their tracks.

Public interest litigation was filed by a Noida based non-government organization 'Independent Medical Initiative Society'.

The petition alleged that the forest department, instead of controlling the human activities in the road passing through these elephant corridors is trying to control their movement elephants using cruel means such as feeding chili powder-filled flour balls to the wild elephants, putting chili power-filled bags on the edge of the road and by firing shots and burning firecrackers to keep them away from the road passing through the elephant corridor.
As China and the EU celebrate the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year, the world's two major powers are moving steadily to broaden prospects for future cooperation.
President Trump phoned the two L.A. deputies who were shot in a drive-by attack in Compton last week to tell them the country was behind them as they recovered from their injuries in hospital.

The were shot in the head by an as yet unidentified gunman who opened fire on their patrol car in Compton on September 12. The gunman fled and is still being hunted by police.

One of the deputies, a 24-year-old man, has been released from the hospital but his partner Claudia Apolinar, a 31-year-old mother, remains under doctors' care.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department shared photos of her in her hospital bed as one of her co-workers held up the phone to her so that President Trump could wish her well.

Scroll down for video

Claudia Apolinar, 31, in the hospital writing out answers to President Trump for her co-worker to relay because she cannot speak. She was shot in the head, as was her 24-year-old partner. LA Sheriff's Department shared these photos over the weekend, obscuring her face

Apolinar was shot multiple times in the torso and in the head. The sheriff's department said she was grateful to hear from Trump

Apolinar with her husband and Sergeant Frederickson (left) and in bed, writing out replies for Frederickson to relay to President Trump because she cannot speak

She is unable to speak so responded by writing down replies for him to relay to Trump.

The post read: 'A week ago today, a callous and heartless criminal attempted to murder two of the heroes that work hard everyday to keep you safe.

'The outpouring of love and support from our Department, L.A. County Sheriff, the community, and indeed from around the world, has been overwhelming, but also very much appreciated!

'This week #potus45 @realdonaldtrump called both of our deputies to check on their spirits, wish them a speedy recovery and remind them that the #american people are behind them and that the coward that harmed them will be brought to #justice!!

'Here, you can see @lasdtransit Sergeant Frederickson with our #heroine and her husband when the President called her in the ICU. Due to her injuries, Sergeant Frederickson relayed her written responses to #presidenttrump.

The pair were shot when a gunman (left opening fire and right fleeing the scene) opened fire into a patrol car in Compton on Saturday night. Both deputies were struck in the head by gunshots, but miraculously they are expected to survive

Along with the male deputy, 31-year-old deputy Claudia Apolinar was injured in the ambush. Despite taking multiple bullets  one to the face and several to her upper torso  Apolinar managed to get her partner to safety, apply a tourniquet and radio for help

Authorities said that the deputies, who both graduated from the police academy 14 months ago, each sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Apolinar is pictured during her graduation

'Both of the deputies and their families were very appreciative of the call!'

Trump previously said the shooter should face a 'fast trial death penalty' if either of the deputies died.

Apolinar was able to drag her partner to safety, apply a tourniquet to his wounds and radio for help despite being shot multiple times herself. She is being praised as a heroine.

It's unclear what the gunman's motive for attacking the pair was beyond the fact that they are police. The shooter has been described as a black male aged between 28 and 30.

The Compton shooting sparked nationwide controversy as bystanders were filmed mocking the bloodied officers at the scene and protesting outside the hospital where they were taken for treatment.

The videos of protesters enraged many critics who said the shooting was the result of anti-police sentiment fueled by a turbulent summer of demonstrations against police brutality.

Trump has taken a firm law and order stance.
Bangladesh: Millions of families face financial hardship as ban on crab export to China prolongs

September 21,2020 | Source: The New Nation

Thousands of crab farmers, traders and exporters are now passing their days in hardship as the China yet to withdraw ban on crab export to the country. Sector insiders said lack of authentic health certificate, quality and diplomatic weakness are reasons behind not to remove obstacles of exporting crab and kuchia (Gangetic mud eel) to the country. A Bangladesh exports crab and kuchia worth Tk 700 crore every year. China alone accounts for 90 percent of the export, according to the Export Promotion Bureau of Khulna office. But the crab and kuchia export to China, the main export destination, has been remained suspended since January 25 due to the outbreak of Coronavirous in the country.



Kazi Mahabubul Alam Azad, Secretary of the BLCFEA, said the export of crabs to China had been totally suspended from January 25 to mid-February. "Later we started exports to some provinces of China at a very limited scale. But from March 23, the exports were stopped again as the Bangladesh government has shut all airports in this country," he said. "The main problem is that we have not got any payment of what has been exported already this year. Our buyers have not paid us yet," Alam said. Md Shakhawat Hossain, a local crab exporter, said, "I haven't yet got Tk 40 lakh against exporting seven tonnes of crabs to China." Officials of the Fisheries Department alleged that suspension is prolonging as some dishonest exporters use fake health certificate to export the crab to China. Moreover, Chinese customs found some unhealthy elements in the crab. As a result, the Chinese customs did authentic result, health certificate mandatory. Being the certificate an expensive one, the crab exporters are unwilling to take the certificate, and so, suspension is being prolonged, they said. A Sources said the leaders of the Bangladesh Live and Chilled Food Exporters Association (BLCFEA) met the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry Secretary Rawnak Mahmud on July 29 to take initiative to withdraw the suspension.



After the meeting, the secretary formed a committee and ordered the committee to take measures within 10 working days, but not yet settled. The BLCFEA requested the Commerce Ministry Secretary Dr Md Jafor Uddin to take initiative to withdraw the suspension as soon as possible for the sake of national interest. Md Yusuf Khan, Principal Scientific Officer of Fish Inspection and Quality Control of Fisheries Department, told The New Nation, "We will hold a meeting with China Customs House to resolve the crisis on Tuesday. Hopefully, the issue will be settled after the meeting."



He further said China Customs House had totally suspended entrance of crab in the country as they enclosed some fake health certificates and different unhealthy elements in the consignments of crab. Latter, they issued notification that the proper health certificate is mandatory to export crab to China and since then the crab export has remained halt, Yusuf said. A large quantity of crabs was usually exported during the Chinese New Year festival. But due to this year's ban, many crabs have already died because those could not be sold in time.
SAN SALVADOR, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- El Salvador expects to attract Chinese investment and export aquaculture products, Salvadoran Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Pablo Anliker said.

Speaking with Xinhua on Friday, the official said doing business with China has become much easier since 2018, when the two countries established diplomatic ties.

During a work trip to China, Anliker observed that the country consumes a large amount of tilapia, shrimp, and other seafood, which he believes represents an opportunity for Salvadoran producers.

"You have to take advantage of that demand that you have as a nation," Anliker said, adding that his country seeks to take advantage of the market and investments from China.

"I invite the Chinese people to come to invest here in El Salvador," Anliker said, mentioning the abundance of fish and shellfish produced in the maritime area along the country's clean, long coastline.

Bilateral cooperation in agriculture could also include training and educational opportunities for both Chinese and Salvadoran experts, he added.

According to El Salvador's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the largest tilapia processing plant in the Central American country produced in May over 40,000 pounds (18,143 kg) per day, with the ultimate goal of processing over 2 million pounds (907,184 kg) per month.

China and El Salvador established diplomatic relations in August 2018. Since then, bilateral cooperation in the economic and commercial spheres has greatly expanded.
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) says the 2020 election is about the performance of the two leading candidates and not their manifestos.

According to the party, manifestoes can be written by any political party but delivering on those manifestos cannot be done by any political party.

The party adds that it takes the credibility and integrity of the presidential candidates to deliver on their promises.

The NPP made this known via a press conference organized today, Monday, September 21.

According to Nana Akomea, the Chief Executive Officer of the State Transport Cooperation, who addressed the press conference said thus urged Ghanaians to not take promises made by John Mahama serious.

John Mahama in 2016 said Ghanaians should be careful with promises made by people when they are out of government because they dont know the reality. So today he is out of government and he is making promises. Do we take him seriously? He himself has instructed us (Ghanaians) not to take such people seriously because they dont know the reality. What do we do? Its the track record is what we must look at not your words.

So that is the choice that is before the people of Ghana because as for putting words in manifestos, every political can do that but when you have somebody putting words in a manifesto but that has had a chance to be in government, then you have measured the performance in government and the not words in the manifesto.

---citinewsroom
WASHINGTON  A Canadian national suspected of having mailed an envelope containing ricin to the White House was arrested on Sunday while trying to enter the United States from Canada, nearly a year after she had been deported from the United States for engaging in criminal activity, according to two American officials.

Customs and Border Protection agents detained the woman, who had a firearm, as she tried to cross the border into Buffalo, the officials said. Currently in the custody of border agents, she is set to be charged by the U.S. attorneys office in Washington.

The suspect had been living in the United States last year and was arrested in March 2019 by the Mission, Texas, police for possession of an unlicensed weapon, resisting arrest and carrying a fake drivers license, according to a senior intelligence official.

While in the Hidalgo County Jail in Edinburg, Texas, authorities discovered that she had overstayed her six-month visa and had violated the terms of her passport by committing a crime while in the United States, and she was deported back to Canada, the official said.
Kyrgyz authorities are probing a brawl that broke out between supporters of two political parties at an election campaign event in the countrys south, leaving at least a dozen people injured.

The scuffle occurred during a Mekenim Kyrgyzstan (My Homeland Kyrgyzstan) party meeting with voters in the Aravan district of Osh Province on September 20.

The party said in a statement, the meeting was suddenly interrupted by a group of provocateurs, who began to beat the participants, without identifying the alleged provocateurs.

Local media reported that fighting involved supporters of Mekenim Kyrgyzstan and the Birimdik (Unity) party, although the exact reason behind the brawl was not immediately clear.

Birimdik representatives called on law-enforcement agencies to establish and punish those involved in the incident.

Police said some 100 people were involved in the fight that left 12 people hospitalized, including one person in serious condition. Police briefly detained 10 people.

Five vehicles were destroyed during the incident.

Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov ordered an immediate probe into the incident. The head of the Aravan district police was dismissed for failing to maintain public order, while several other officials were given warnings.

Mekenim Kyrgyzstan and Birimdik -- both pro-government groups -- are among 16 political parties registered for the October 4 parliamentary elections.
Purchasing a new home offers us the opportunity to meld lifestyle and accommodation. We seek a house that immediately feels like our home, that resides near amenities, is safe for our families, and features the potential for a homegrown community. We also desire a smart home, well constructed and connected for todays digital world. Located in popular Northwest San Antonio, Kallison Ranch has crafted everything a new homeowner seeks in a contemporary residential area. Perry Homes, a premier Texas homebuilder who has served San Antonio for over 20 years, has assumed the developer role in Kallison Ranch.

There are currently 3 Perry model homes in Kallison Ranch, including a new 45 model home. The knowledgeable Perry Homes sales professionals are available to lead you on a socially distanced or virtual tour and discuss all the possibilities to build your dream home. Perry Homes is well regarded in many Texas communities for its commitment to outstanding quality and homebuilding. The new non-profit arm of the organization, Perry Homes Foundation, supports several Texas communities economically, socially and environmentally. Furthering its commitment to community, Perry Homes offers a 1% reduction in sales price for essential workers in a variety of fields through its Perry Homes Heroes program.

Perry homes are known for their light and airy designs, top notch construction and luxurious features such as grand entries, tall ceilings, expansive family rooms and ample walk-in closets that get the most out of every square foot. The Kallison Ranch homes feature floorplans from 1,500 sq. ft. to 4,100 sq. ft and range in price from the $270s to $500s. Kitchens showcase a variety of high quality countertop options and GE Energy Star appliances. The open kitchen design makes for easy casual eating and the opportunity to cook while staying engaged with family and friend activities in the adjacent open plan living room.

Energy Star appliances are just one of several highly efficient integrations that owners can expect from Perry homes. From LED inset lightbulbs to low E-glass vinyl windows and a high-efficiency Carrier air conditioner, these homes provide owners with a comfortable setting that helps the environment and saves on numerous utility bills.

New build Perry homes are as smart as they are efficient, with construction that integrates state-of-the-art technology to support a home office and active digital environment throughout the home. Smart Comes Standard at Perry Homes. The family room and primary bedroom include smart enabled light switches, Nest Smart Thermostats control the inside temperature and CAT5e wiring takes care of connectivity. Buyers who build their own Perry home meet with an audio, security and automation professional to create a home that is as smart as your family.

Impressive sales at Kallison Ranch have led to the construction of a second amenity center to be completed in 2021. Residents enjoy a sparkling pool and refreshing splashpad waterfall in the shallow end for younger swimmers. Outside the chaise-lined pool, families gather to play on the broad lawns, parents catch up while kids take turns descending the slide before a picnic under the covered pavilion.

Kallison Ranchs location is equally well planned. The highly regarded Northside ISD schools could not be more convenient. Henderson Elementary is located onsite. Your youngest children can simply take a short and safe path with their friends and siblings as they make their way to school. A new NISD middle school opens soon near Harlan High School just across the street. Adult amenities are nearly as close, including Northwest Vista College, a great spot to learn that second language, take an adult extension course, or enhance an area of your professional expertise. The Alamo Ranch Shopping Center, home to department stores, more than one dozen restaurants, and many specialty shops, is even closer, just ten minutes door-to-door.

Nature lovers will want to explore Government Canyon State Natural Area, an outdoor enthusiast go-to with 40 miles of hiking and biking trails, interpretive programs, and the countys only known dinosaur footprints. You can also make a splash at nearby SeaWorld, home to thrill rides, and interactive animal exhibits. SeaWorld also plays host to a number of seasonal events like Septembers Bier Fest for adults and Spooktacular for the kids come October.

Of course, life isnt only about play. Kallison Ranch is located in close proximity to major employers such as Joint Base San Antonio, the Westover Hills Medical Center and Capital Group. With easy access to Loop 1604 and Highway 211 youll be back home from work in no time.

For more information contact Perry Homes: Contact Us

Perry Homes presents several floor plans and product sizes to fit a variety of needs and personal styles including a three-car garage, his and her walk-in closets, or a single floor living arrangement among many other options. However you plan to live, Perry Homes in Kallison Ranch makes it easy to say welcome home. Connect with a Perry Homes representative in person or virtually to learn more.
Jimmy Kimmel kicked off the 72nd annual Primetime Emmy Awards by acknowledging how "frivolous" it was to hold an awards show in 2020.

"The big question I guess we should answer is, why would we have an awards show in the middle of a pandemic? No, seriously, I'm asking: Why would we have an awards show in the middle of a pandemic? And why the hell am I here?" he joked.

Jimmy Kimmel argued that the Emmys provided some fun in a year filled with darkness. (YouTube)

Kimmel, who emceed the socially distanced award ceremony  the "Pandemmys"  from a nearly empty Staples Center in Los Angeles, argued that the Emmys provided lightheartedness in a year filled with darkness.

"What's happening tonight is not important  it's not going to stop COVID, it's not going to put out the fires. But it's fun, and right now we need fun. My God, we need fun," he said.

The Emmys also give us a chance to acknowledge how much we've all relied on television in 2020, Kimmel said.

"This has been a miserable year. This has been a year of division, injustice, disease, Zoom school, disaster and death," he said, adding that we've all been living in quarantine like "prisoners" in a "dark and lonely tunnel."

"And what did we find in that dark and lonely tunnel? I'll tell you what we found. A friend, who's there for us 24 hours a day our old pal television," said Kimmel.

Kimmel hosted the show from a nearly empty Staples Center. (YouTube)

"The world may be terrible, but TV has never been better," he added.

When the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" host began his monologue, viewers saw an audience of Hollywood stars cheering and laughing. But, he soon revealed that were actually watching footage from past ceremonies. Kimmel then demonstrated that he was surrounded by nothing but cardboard cutouts of the night's nominees.

Oh, and Jason Bateman.

Jason Bateman showed up for Jimmy Kimmel's monologue, then thought better of it. (YouTube)

When Kimmel spotted the tuxedoed "Ozark" star hiding out in the front row, he told him he could stay as long as he laughed at his jokes.

Bateman deliberated for a moment.

"Huh, I'm out," he deadpanned. "I'm gonna call the car."
Mumbai: US-based automobile distributor HAAH Automotive Holdings has reached out to Indias Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) with an offer to invest USD 258 million in the latters Korean subsidiary SsangYong Motor Company, according to a report by the news agency Korean Investors.

The report said that Indian automobile manufacturer, which owns 75% stake in SsangYong Motor, is considering the proposal submitted by HAAH last week.

HAAH Automotive has also put forth some conditions while offering to invest in SsangYong including deferral of the cash-strapped Korean carmakers debt repayment to its creditors until its recovery, the new agency cited.

M&M declined to comment on the matter.

Earlier in June, Pawan Goenka, managing director at M&M had for the first time said that the company management is open to cede control of its debt-ridden subsidiary to willing investors.

M&M, which had drafted a 3-year recovery plan for SsangYong and had estimated that it would require funding of up to 500 billion KRW or USD 406 million over the next 3 years, later declined to inject any fresh equity citing tough market conditions as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

The company has been looking out for investors since Jan  Feb for SsangYong in an attempt to arrange required funding for the Korean carmaker. M&M had also approached Korea Development Bank for arranging the funding for its subsidiary.

SsangYong posted a loss of 341.4 billion won ($288 million) in calendar year (CY) 2019 because of sluggish sales and increasing depreciation and operating costs, up from $56 million and $58 million in CY2018 and CY2017, respectively.

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Lisa Curry and her ex-husband Grant Kenny put on a united front as they bid farewell to their daughter Jaimi at her funeral on Saturday, following her death aged 33.

And it can now be revealed that Jaimi - who died last Monday after battling an eating disorder and alcoholism for years - had in fact played a crucial role in keeping her tight-knit family together following her parents' separation in 2009.

'She was so fiercely protective of her parents and sister and brother,' a family friend told Woman's Day magazine.

Revealed: How 'fiercely protective' Jaimi Kenny helped keep her family together even after her parents' divorce - before her tragic death at the age of 33 last Monday. Pictured (L-R): Jaimi Kenny, Ryan Gruell, Morgan Gruell, Grant Kenny, Lisa Curry, Jett Kenny

'She believed in family first and even after her parents split, she loved everyone coming together for Christmas and special family occasions - she was a one-in-a million, with a smile like sunshine that will now light up the heavens,' they added.

Jaimi is survived by her younger siblings, brother Jett Kenny, sister Morgan Gruell and half-sister Trixie Belle, as well as her parents, Grant and Lisa.

Following her parents' split 11 years ago, Jaimi not only made an effort to keep the family together, but she also forged a strong bond with little Trixie, the child her father Grant welcomed with radio host Fifi Box in 2013 following a brief relationship.

'She loved everyone coming together for Christmas': Jaimi loved celebrating festive occasions with her family, even after her parents broke up. Pictured: Jaimi with her family - including mother Lisa Curry, father Grant Kenny, sister Morgan Gruell and brother-in-law Ryan Gruell

Family: Jaimi is survived by her younger siblings, brother Jett Kenny (left), sister Morgan Gruell (right) and half-sister Trixie Belle, as well as her parents, Grant and Lisa

Separation: Lisa and Grant separated in 2009 after 23 years of marriage, before finalising their divorce in 2017. They are pictured with Jaimi on the Sunshine Coast on April 3, 2008

Grant dated radio star Fifi for several months in 2012, but had broken up by the time she welcomed daughter Trixie via IVF the following year.

Fifi did not acknowledge Grant was Trixie's father until 2016, when she shared a photo to Instagram of the retired athlete attending their child's third birthday party.

Despite the unusual circumstances, Jaimi became friends with Fifi, and would even babysit her much younger half-sister on occasion while the single mum was at work.

Half-sisters: Following her parents' split 11 years ago, Jaimi not only made an effort to keep the family together, but she also forged a strong bond with little Trixie (pictured), the child her father Grant welcomed with radio host Fifi Box (left) in 2013 following a brief relationship

Nothing but love: Jaimi would even babysit her much younger half-sister on occasion while single mum Fifi was at work (pictured in 2015)

Prior to her death, Jaimi had expressed a desire to one day have a family of her own, and absolutely doted on the children in her family.

'Jaimi absolutely adored children and was especially close to Trixie,' a family friend told Sunshine Coast Daily, adding that Trixie gave her 'a whole new lease on life'.

Jaimi was also fiercely protective of her mother in the face of criticism.

In 2014, Jaimi blasted false and hurtful reports that Lisa was planning to have children out of 'revenge' because her ex-husband had just become a father again.

'Jaimi absolutely adored children': Jaimi's half-sister Trixie (left) was the centre of her universe

Family ties: Jaimi (right) also maintained an amicable relationship with her mother's (centre) new husband Mark Tabone (left) prior to her tragic death

At the time, Lisa was dating a man two decades her junior, Joel Walkenhorst, and there were rumours the couple wanted to have children.

Much of the commentary on social media was negative, and it was suggested by some that Lisa's desire to have a baby at 51 was about 'getting back' at Grant after he and Fifi welcomed Trixie in April 2013.

As reported by New Idea, Jaimi stepped up to defend her mother at the time.

Defensive: Jaimi (left) was also very protective of her mother Lisa (right), as resurfaced social media posts show her lashing out against cruel trolls

Hitting back: In 2014, Jaimi blasted false and hurtful reports that Lisa was planning to have children with then-boyfriend Joel Walkenhorst (right) out of 'revenge' because her ex-husband had just become a father again. Pictured on August 5, 2012 in Sydney

She wrote on Instagram: 'Mum wanting a child had nothing to do with Fifi... Mum had talked with us about her thoughts on going through IVF before Trixie was conceived.

'You never know the conversations we have had as a family, or the timing of these. It's upsetting to read such nasty things being said about our mother, without people knowing her personally.'

Jaimi died at Sunshine Coast University Hospital last Monday surrounded by her family, including both her Olympian mother and Ironman father.

Fake news: At the time, much of the commentary on social media was negative - and it was suggested by some that Lisa's desire to have a baby at 51 was about 'getting back' at Grant, who had welcomed a daughter with radio host Fifi Box in 2013. Pictured with Joel

Dozens of devastated family and friends gathered for her funeral on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday afternoon, after the tight-knit clan spent almost a week grieving the loss of the 'bright, bubbly' Jaimi.

Those in attendance congregated out the front of the church, tearfully exchanging hugs before Jaimi's immediate family followed them out of the service.

Lisa could be seen bursting into tears as her husband Mark Tabone, family members and friends all tried to comfort her.

Supportive: Jaimi stepped up to defend her mother, writing on Instagram: 'Mum wanting a child had nothing to do with Fifi... Mum had talked with us about her thoughts on going through IVF before Trixie was conceived'

Jett, Morgan and their devastated parents embraced as Jaimi's white coffin, covered in pink and orange dahlias and baby's breath, was placed in the back of the hearse and carried away.

The heart-wrenching final goodbye was made all the more difficult with only 100 family and friends allowed to attend under Queensland coronavirus restrictions.

For free and confidential support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, or the Butterfly Foundation for eating disorder concerns on 1800 ED HOPE

Final goodbye: Dozens of devastated family and friends gathered for the funeral on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday afternoon, after the tight-knit clan spent almost a week grieving the loss of the 'bright, bubbly' Jaimi
Tesla is in talks with the Karnataka government officials for a possible investment in Bengaluru. A follow up meeting is expected to be held later this month. As per the reports, the talks are at a preliminary stage and further developments will be known in the days to come. Interestingly, if talks progress further, India could be the second country outside US to have a research centre.

Karnataka is the first state to come up with electric vehicle policy, with plans to generate investments of 31,000 crore in EV research and development, and manufacturing. Bengaluru currently has many local and global companies such as Daimler, Bosh and Mahindra Electric. Bengaluru is also home to a few startups like Ather, Ola Electric, and Sun Mobility.

Back in January, the company opened a Gigafactory, car and battery factory, in Shanghai. Tesla has emerged as a top seller of electric vehicles in China with 50,000 vehicles sold in the first half of the year. More details about Teslas plans will be known in the days to come.

Source: ET

Tesla
Niagara has signed onto the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities.

Todays declaration ... is a legal document that commits all of us to promoting social inclusion, working to establish policies that eradicate racism, discrimination and taking a stand to promote human rights and diversity, said Bradley, who signed the declaration Friday with Niagaras 12 mayors.

The signing was held in the new International Plaza at regional headquarters, which has not had an official opening due to COVID-19.

Bradley said as the plaza is designed to be an open and public area that demonstrates our commitment to ensuring everyone is welcome in Niagara, it was a fitting and appropriate inaugural use for it.

Several local community leaders spoke, including Liette Vasseur, local president of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which oversees the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities.

Liette Vasseur, local president of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which oversees the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities, thanked regional council and the mayors for committing to make their communities more inclusive.

Sadly, racism continues to blight Canadas communities. By joining the coalition, these communities are committing to join others in fighting racism and discrimination in all of its forms, she said.

Rashmi Biswas, co-founder of the Gender Equity Taskforce Niagara and member of the St. Catharines anti-racism advisory committee, also applauded the regions commitment.

What were seeing today is evidence of the political will of the Niagara regional council to be willing to show leadership and take that step, she said. When senior leaders make commitments, other people follow and the community will embrace the changes that you are trying to lead.

Biswas said the important step now is for council to ensure equity and inclusion becomes part of the everyday work. She recommends asking of every policy decision: who benefits, whos missing and who else should we be talking to?

Making sure that we are considering equity in everything we do so it just becomes a natural part of how we do business, she said.

Bradley said the joint declaration will ensure the municipalities work together to build a more inclusive Niagara.

Niagara is the 83rd member of the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:57:36|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan soldiers on Monday killed five al-Shabab militants after the terrorists ambushed the military convoy in Mandera County near the common border.

The convoy of Kenya Defence Forces was on Lafey - Alungu - Elwak Road when it came under attack at about 6.45 a.m., witnesses and police in the region said.

A security report said one security official was killed and two others injured during the fierce gunfight between the soldiers and al-Shabab terrorists.

A senior police officer confirmed the death toll, saying the injured have been rushed to the hospital.

"Five al-Shabab fighters were killed and many others injured during the early morning ambush," said the security officer who declined to be named.

The report said the team was headed for a local airstrip when the incident happened. A witness said the ambush and subsequent fighting lasted about 30 minutes.

The gang used grenades and rifles in the attack before retreating into a bush. The area is near the Kenya-Somalia border and is known for such ambushes. Enditem
Texas has joined Florida in the ranks of the battleground states in the 2020 election, according to the latest polling.

Results of the latest CBS News/YouGov Battleground Tracker poll, released on Sunday, show the race tightening to just two percentage points in both states.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden is ahead in Florida where he leads president Donald Trump 48:46 percentage points. The situation is reversed in Texas, where the president leads Biden 47:45 percentage points  making the race much closer than might have been expected.

No Democratic presidential candidate has won Texas since Jimmy Carter in 1976. The party has long dreamed of the state turning from deep red to purple through demographic shifts centred around growth in the larger urban areas, migration from coastal states, and changing racial composition.

The polls were conducted between 15-18 September in both states, with 1,220 registered voters surveyed in Florida, and 1,161 in Texas.

Both of the candidates leads are within the margins of error of the polls  3.7 points in Florida and 3.5 points in Texas.

President Trump will visit three key states this week to rally supporters. Events are planned in Ohio and Florida, and two in Pennsylvania, which Republicans are setting as a major priority despite Bidens ties to the state.

The latest polling out of Pennsylvania, conducted by the Trafalgar Group, has Biden ahead by two points (47:45), but the rolling average for the state has him leading by four points.

In North Carolina an Emerson poll released on Monday has Biden ahead by one point (50:49).

Nationally, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Sunday, Biden has maintained his lead of eight points over the president (51:43). The RealClear Politics national rolling average has Biden ahead by 6.5 points.
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Linkedin Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, September 22, 2020

A lack of awareness and limited telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas have prevented many of the countrys small businesses from taking advantage of online platforms to boost their sales amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

A recent Statistics Indonesia (BPS) survey of around 34,500 businesses nationwide on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic found that only 43.73 percent of businesses in regencies marketed their products online, compared to 57.46 percent in cities. This is despite the fact the survey found that 80 percent of businesses that utilized online platforms for marketing saw an improvement in sales.

Fhabbyan Rizza, a 25-year-old entrepreneur, told the The Jakarta Post that he felt frustrated with the bad internet connection in Tuban, East Java, when he first took his frozen meat business online. Tuban is located around two hours from the East Java capital of Surabaya.

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Diane Keaton has no plans of ditching her Annie Hall glamour anytime soon.

The Manhattan actress opted for a laid-back version of her signature style while taking a walk with 20-year-old son Duke Keaton in Santa Monica on Monday.

While Diane, 74, kept on the felt hat and a tailored jacket, she gave things a California twist by donning cuffed jeans with the ensemble.

La dee da: Diane Keaton showed off her signature Annie Hall style while walking around Santa Monica with son Duke on Monday

Her penchant monochrome patterns was on display via a polka dots scarf and a plaid face mask.

Subtly checkered shoes with a chunk heel completed the Academy Award winner's look.

Meanwhile, Duke looked like the typical 20-something, pairing a Jordan tank top with light slacks and sneakers. He added a red face mask to his look, per California safety standards.

Holding pattern: Her penchant monochrome patterns was on display via a polka dots scarf and a plaid face mask

This year Diane was mentioned in her ex-boyfriend Woody Allen's memoir Apropos Of Nothing.

In the tome, the controversial writer/actor/director, 84, said that he not only dated the actress, but also both of her sisters.

'I dated her stunning sister, Robin, and we had a short romance,' Allen wrote in his book.

He gets around: This year Diane was mentioned in her ex-boyfriend Woody Allen's memoir Apropos Of Nothing. In the book he mentions dating three of the Keaton sisters. The former couple are seen in 1977's Annie Hall together above

'After that I dated her different stunning sister, Dory, and we had a bit fling. The three Keaton sisters had been all stunning, fantastic ladies.'

For Allen fans, this awkward situation might sound familiar - seemingly the inspiration for 1986's Hannah And Her Sisters - which starred Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest.

Allen met Diane when she tried out for a role in his 1972 comedy Play it Again, Sam.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Due to the popularity of its innovative and unique new all-inclusive MAX SHORE experiences, Atlas Ocean Voyages today unveiled two new luxe-adventure itineraries, which feature included, immersive and complimentary "vacations-within-vacations." Discerning and experienced travelers can choose World Navigator's two new 24-night MAX SHORE itineraries, departing August 4, 2021, from Odessa, Ukraine, to the Black, Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas' smallest, authentic and enchanting destinations. Guests will call at 19 ports in seven countries, and choose one of two complimentary three-night, inland expeditions, mid-voyage, into the heart of the Anatolian peninsula, the historic crossroads of Europe and Asia. In keeping with Atlas' All Inclusive All the Way style, all guests enjoy included air and land transportation, hotels, meals and beverages are also included on MAX SHORE voyages aboard World Navigator, the line's newly constructed and small, expedition ship, launching in July 2021.

"The response to our initial MAX SHORE itineraries has been incredible  with one selling out within weeks," said Alberto Aliberti, President of Atlas Ocean Voyages. "These MAX SHORE itineraries are perfect for travelers seeking an all-inclusive, luxury experience to explore remote archeological sites, unique landscapes and authentic experiences of the Black Sea and Turkey. What makes MAX SHORE innovative is that guests have two luxury vacations in one, combining small-ship, luxury voyages with included and complimentary adventures into the heart of a destination  in this case, the historic crossroads of Europe and Asia."

Travelers can choose between two fascinating MAX SHORE itineraries: Magical Cappadocia  Russia to Israel or Hidden Histories & The Pamukkale Hot Springs. Each MAX SHORE begins on the ninth day, when World Navigator arrives in Istanbul, Turkey. On these MAX SHORE experiences, guests have the enviable opportunity to take to the skies in a hot-air balloon for a picturesque and awe-inspiring ride over Gerome or Pamukkale, often seen in social media. The Cappadocia MAX SHORE focuses on the beauty of the Turkish countryside, while the Pamukkale MAX SHORE will highlight lesser-known antiquities and the Salt Springs. Guests then rejoin World Navigator at Kepez, Turkey. Alternatively, MAX SHORE guests can choose to remain aboard World Navigator and enjoy complimentary local Istanbul shore excursions for three days.

Guests on these MAX SHORE adventures also will call at Novorossiysk, Russia; Batumi, Georgia; Paphos, Cyprus; and the Turkish ports of Sinop, Amasra, Bozcaada, Dikili, Ephesus (Kusadasi), Patmos, Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye, and Kekova Island and Demre. An overnight in Sochi will provide guests additional opportunities for excursions in Russia, while overnights in Masada (Ashdod) and Jerusalem (Haifa), Israel, will also provide guests time to visit Holy Land sites; join in vibrant nightlife; and enjoy some shopping.

On Magical Cappadocia  Russia to Israel, guests enjoy the first day visiting Istanbul's marquee sites and attractions, capped with a whirling dervish dinner show. A quick flight, the next morning, will bring guests into Kayseri, the gateway to Cappadocia, where they will explore this fascinating, semi-arid geological region. Here, guests will marvel at large, cone-shaped rock formations known as "fairy chimneys," into which early inhabitants sculpted elaborate cave houses, underground churches and cathedrals. Guests will also hike the stunning gorge of Ihlara Valley; hot-air balloon over the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Goreme National Park; and even stay in a luxury hotel carved into the mountainside.

On Hidden Histories & The Pamukkale Hot Springs, guests trace the routes and ruins of conquerors and ancient civilizations. Featured on this MAX SHORE adventure is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hierapolis, an ancient Roman spa city with a well-preserved theater, a necropolis with sarcophagi that stretch for 1.25 miles, and a pool in which visitors can swim among submerged, fallen columns. Guests also have the opportunity to board a hot-air balloon for a birds-eye view of the ancient city and adjacent mineral forests and petrified. Additionally, guests will visit the charming, modern city of Isparta, nicknamed the City of Roses, known for their rose products, as well as their characteristic colorful woven rugs.

Seasoned, inquisitive, fun-seeking and like-spirited travelers will find community with Atlas Ocean Voyages, an all-inclusive, luxury cruise brand, defined by simple and refined elegance, which will deliver authentic, once-in-a-lifetime adventures in the world's most extraordinary and remote destinations aboard the newly constructed, safe, clean and green, small expedition ship, World Navigator. Launching in July 2021, World Navigator offers 98 luxe suites and staterooms, all with an ocean view and most with a private balcony, and will sail seven- to 24-night itineraries in the Holy Land, Black and Mediterranean Seas in the summer 2021, followed by nine- to 13-night itineraries in the Caribbean, South America and Antarctica in winter 2021/22.

Experienced, fun-seeking and like-spirited discerning travelers will find community with Atlas Ocean Voyages and all journeys include complimentary round-trip air travel from major U.S. and Canada gateways; prepaid gratuities; alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages; Wi-Fi; L'Occitane bath amenities; a free shore excursion in select ports on every itinerary; international gourmet dining; coffee and tea service; and onboard binoculars and butler service in suites.

Safety is at the core of Atlas Ocean Voyages' Polar Category-C and Ice Class-1B certified expedition ships, and all of the most-modern hygiene and cleanliness measures are being incorporated into their design. World Navigator's construction in Portugal is on schedule, and sister-ships World Traveller, World Seeker, World Adventurer and World Discoverer will join the fleet before the end 2023.

Atlas Ocean Voyages is also committed to preserving the breathtaking locales and waters that its ships visit for future generations to enjoy, and is among the first to employ the latest conservation and sustainability technologies, including a hybrid power management and propulsion system that maximizes fuel efficiency and consumes as low as one-fifth the fuel compared to conventional cruise ship systems. Additionally, World Navigator and her sister ships utilize underwater, forward-looking sonar to confidently navigate coastal, harbor and icy polar waters, and feature an alternate hydro jet propulsion system, which helps the ship quietly cruise up to five knots without disturbing marine wildlife for incomparable up-close encounters.

For more information, please visit www.AtlasOceanVoyages.com and follow Atlas Ocean Voyage on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AtlasOceanVoyages), Twitter (www.twitter.com/atlascruises), and Instagram (www.instagram.com/AtlasOceanVoyages). Travel Advisors can call 1-844-44-ATLAS (1-844-442-8527) to book their clients on an unforgettable luxe-adventure journey.

SOURCE Atlas Ocean Voyages

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Two days before the coronavirus pandemic shut down Italy for two months, shattering wine exports and sales, the owner of one of its most historic vineyards headed back into the country a worried man.

Six months later Francesco Ricasoli and his wine-making team are leading the charge by Italy's "Black Roosters" -- the trademark for Chianti Classico -- to put the country's most famous label back on restaurant tables.

"These are probably some of the most turbulent times in Italy," said Ricasoli, 64, the 32nd Baron of Brolio whose family's roots to Tuscany stretches back to 1141.

"We've seen a strong decrease in wine sales -- particularly in restaurants and bars that specialise in the high end of the market," he told AFP at his winery with the same family name.

Hard hit by the virus that has killed more than 35,500 people in Italy, wine sales and consumption have been battered on a level not seen in 30 years, Italy's agricultural trade union Coldiretti said recently.

Exports too have slumped by 4.0 percent as the virus forced the closure of bars and restaurants in Italy -- which makes nearly a fifth of all the world's wine -- and elsewhere, it said.

But "instead of sitting in a heap and crying like some wineries, we saw an opportunity," Ricasoli said overlooking his vineyards, made famous by the landmark Castello di Brolio, a medieval red-bricked castle which has been family property for more than 800 years.

"We became active in other ways," he said.

- Touch of Tuscany -

The Ricasoli winery's strategy saw an early and vigorous online campaign including overhauling its social media presence including posting a series of short and snappy videos about the estate, believed to be one of the oldest winemakers in Italy.

They feature Ricasoli explaining the creation of the "recipe" for Chianti Classico in 1872 by his ancestor and black-and-white film of a youthful Sophia Loren frolicking in the estate's vineyards and helping to harvest grapes like Sangiovese, the main ingredient for the famous wine's blend.

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Drones took footage of Tuscany's breathtaking landscape around the castle, situated in the rolling foothills of the Chianti mountains outside Siena.

"Our idea was instead of visitors coming to Brolio, we would take it to them," laughed Ricasoli.

Latest sales figures are not yet on hand, but Ricasoli's technical director Massimiliano Biagi told AFP the estate hoped to see much of its annual production of around two million bottles consumed this year.

As Italy's strict anti-coronavirus measures eased in July and August, so the flow of visitors arriving at Brolio Castle's gates increased -- many of them local tourists.

- 'Blessing in disguise' -

"In many ways, the coronavirus lockdown was a blessing in disguise," said Giovanni Manetti, president of the Chianti Classico consortium and winemaker at the nearby Fontodi estate.

"Our vintners had nowhere to go, so since day one (of the lockdown) they concentrated all their efforts on their vineyards," he told AFP.

"And the vineyards responded. We probably have never seen them look so good as they do this year," he said.

With the annual Italian ritual grape harvest, the "vendemmia" kicking off a week early because of good weather, "we're expecting a great vintage," Manetti said.

Formed in 1924, the Chianti Classico consortium -- not to be confused with Chianti -- is the oldest in Italy and today boasts some 515 members or 97 percent of all the wine's producers within its region.

Originally the historic symbol of the Chianti Military League, a 13th-century military-political institution set up to govern municipalities around Florence, the black rooster today still embodies the fighting spirit and solidarity of wine growers in the area.

Manetti said the consortium have put in place various measures to back local growers including signing deals with banks while also launching a project called "Make Room at the table for a producer."

The project sees some 30 different evenings being held in Florence, Siena and in the Chianti region featuring specific winemakers giving tastings in conjunction with some of the best restaurants in the region -- a concept which the consortium hoped will catch on across the country.

On Wednesday night patrons gathered for the latest meal at the Gallo Nero (Black Rooster) restaurant a short walk from the Siena's scenic Piazza del Campo.

Back at the Ricasoli wine estate, production meanwhile is in full swing to harvest merlot grapes, the first wine to go into Chianti Classico blend which must have at least 80 percent Sangiovese.

"Of course we are worried about Covid-19, which will probably be with us for a while still," Baron Ricasoli said as small tractors chugged past pulling load after load of crates.

"Of more concern in the meantime, is how to stop these boars from eating my grapes," he said, pointing to some damage to his vineyards by the wild animals which freely roam around Tuscany's forests.
Ghanaians will on Monday September 21, 2020 mark Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day as a Statutory Public Holiday.



The day is set aside to remember and honour Ghanas first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who earlier was Prime Minister and Africa's foremost champion of continental unity and liberation of the black race.



The day will be marked with lectures and events to commemorate the achievements and legacy of Dr Nkrumah.



Among the activities planned for the celebration is a performance of the Change of Guard at the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum in Accra at 1700 hours, a wreath laying ceremony by the Convention People's Party and the launch of a pan Africanist museum by President Akufo-Addo.



The Government of former and late President John Evans Atta Mills initiated legislation in Parliament to declare September 21, a holiday in memory of Dr Nkrumah. In September 2009, President John Atta Mills declared September 21st (the centenary of Kwame Nkrumah's birth in 1909) to be Founder's Day, a statutory holiday in Ghana.



In the past, the celebration of the day had been marked with some controversy.



The Founders Day versus Founders Day debate has been a longstanding one, and was brought ito the limelight in 2017, starting with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos speech delivered at Ghanas 60th independence anniversary parade.



While some are of the view that Dr Nkrumah is the sole founder of Ghana, others think that there were many people who contributed to the founding of the modern state of Ghana, notably the other members of Big Six, six leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the leading political party in the British colony of the Gold Coast.



The other founding members of the UGCC, from which Nkrumah broke away to form the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) were Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, Edward Akufo-Addo, Joseph Boakye Danquah, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey, William Ofori Atta.



It is argued that they also played pivotal roles in the independence struggle and ought to be celebrated alongside the first President



In 2017, after the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had come to power through an earlier general election, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, the current Speaker of Parliament, on August 4, in a public lecture, as part of Ghanas 60th independence anniversary celebrations activities also challenged the position of Dr Kwame Nkrumah as the Founder of modern Ghana, stoking further controversies on the celebration of Nkrumah the sole founder of Ghana



Later, President Akufo-Addo proposed legislation to designate August 4 as Founders Day, and the birthday of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, on September 21, originally observed as Founders Day, to be observed as Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day.



The thinking informing this proposal, according to the President, was to acknowledge the successive generations of Ghanaians who made vital contributions to the liberation of our country from imperialism and colonialism.



President Akufo-Addo, in a statement said: it is entirely appropriate that we commemorate him for that role, by designating his birthday as the permanent day of his remembrance.



He issued an Executive Instrument to commemorate the celebration of Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Day as a public holiday.



That position came under attack over what some said was a skewed account of Ghanas history to suit his father, Edward Akufo-Addo and uncle, J.B. Danquah, who were critical components in Ghanas fight for independence and the forebearers of the governing New Patriotic Partys tradition.



Born Francis Nwia-Kofi Ngonloma, in Nkroful, a town in the then Gold Coast, the British colony that was to become Ghana to Kofi Ngonloma, a goldsmith, and Elizabeth Nyaniba, a trader, Nkrumah lived, and breathed his last on April 27, 1972, in Bucharest, Romania.



He attended Achimota School and also trained as a teacher. He went to the United States in 1935 for advanced studies, receiving a B.A. from Lincoln University in 1939.



He also received an STB (Bachelor of Sacred Theology) in 1942, a Master of Science in Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942 and a Master of Arts in Philosophy the following year.



While lecturing in Political Science at Lincoln, Dr Nkrumah was elected President of the African Students Organisation of America and Canada.



He continued his schooling in England, where he helped to organise the Fifth Pan-African Congress in 1945.



He then founded the West African National Secretariat to work for the decolonisation of Africa. Nkrumah also served as Vice-President of the West African Students' Union (WASU).



After twelve years abroad pursuing higher education, developing his political philosophy and organizing with other diasporian Pan-Africanists, Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast to begin his political career as an advocate of national independence.



During his lifetime, Nkrumah was awarded honorary doctorates by Moscow State University, Cairo University, Jagielloniaan University in Krakow, Poland and Humboldt University in former East Germany.



He broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention, and on June 12, 1949 to form the Convention Peoples Party (CPP).



The CPP achieved rapid success through its unprecedented appeal to the common voter.



He was made Chairman, with Komla Agbeli Gbedemah as Vice Chairman and Kojo Botsio as Secretary. Other members of the Central Committee included N.A. Welbeck, Kwesi Plange, Krobo Edusei, Dzenkle Dzewu and Ashie Nikoi.



Dr Nkrumah declared positive action on January 8, 1950 in front of a large CPP crowd at a public meeting in Accra. He travelled to Sekondi, Cape Coast and Takoradi to repeat it.



The colonial government declared a state of emergency which took effect from January 12, 1950 and prohibited the holding of processions, imposed curfews and disconnected public services in certain areas.



Dr Nkrumah was arrested on January 21, 1950, tried for inciting an illegal strike and sedition for an article in the Cape Coast Daily Mail and sentenced to three years imprisonment.



Mr Gbedemah kept the party running and was in constant touch with Dr Nkrumah who was held at the James Fort Prison from where messages were smuggled out on toilet paper to the party headquarters.



While in prison, Dr Nkrumah led the CPP to achieve a stunning victory in the February 1951 election.



He was freed to form a government, and he led the colony to independence in 1957.



A firm believer in African liberation, Nkrumah pursued a radical pan-African policy, playing a key role in the formation of the Organisation of African Unity, now African Union, in 1963.



At home, he led a massive socio-economic development that saw the springing up of infrastructure across the country.



As time passed, he was accused of being a dictator and also of forming a one-party state in 1964, with himself as President for life, as well as actively promoting a cult of his own personality.



Overthrown by the military in 1966 with the help of Western backing, he spent his last years in exile, dying in Bucharest, Romania, on April 27, 1972. His legacy and dream of a "United States of Africa" still remains a goal among many.



Nkurmah imagined a united Africa. On March 6, 1957, after ten years of campaigning for Ghanaian independence, Nkrumah was elected President and Ghana gained independence from British rule.



An influential advocate of pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity, now African Union, and was its third Chairman; and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize, a prize was mainly awarded to prominent Communists and supporters of the then Soviet Union who were not Soviet citizens from the Soviet Union, in 1962.



He became Prime Minister in 1952 and retained the position when Ghana declared independence from Britain in 1957. In 1960, Ghanaians approved a republican.constitution and elected Nkrumah as President.



In 1960, Prime Minister Osagyefo Dr. Kwame was sworn into office as the first President of Ghana, and on July 1, 1960, the country was proclaimed a republic.



The Administration of Kwame, as he was affectionately called, was primarily socialist as well as nationalist. It funded national industrial and energy projects, developed a strong national education system and promoted a pan-Africanist culture. Under Nkrumah, Ghana played a leading role in African international relations during the decolonization period.



In 1964, a constitutional amendment made Ghana a one-party state, with Nkrumah as president for life of both the nation and its party.



Nkrumah will always be remembered for the powerful speech he delivered on the day Ghana gained independence, March 6th 1957, proclaiming "Ghana will be free for eve" from British rule, to millions of Ghanaian gathered at the old polo grounds now hosting a mausoleum to his memory. The speech was significant as it relinquished the British control over the Gold coast.



In February 1966, while Nkrumah on a state visit to Vietnam and China, his government was overthrown in a military coup which brought the National Liberation Council, to power. Under the supervision of international financial institutions, the military Junta privatized many of the country's state corporations.



Nkrumah lived the rest of his life in Guinea, where he was named honorary co-president by President Sekou Toure.



Nkrumah was heavily influenced by African history, pan Africanist like Jamaican born Marcus Garvey, Dr Dubois and George Padmore as well as socialism. He was not materialistic and a firm believer in the ability of the African to contribute meaningfully to human civilization.

Source: GNA









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Late last month, Vitold Fokin voiced a controversial idea on the need to pardon members of Russian proxy forces in Donbas, which prompted NSDC secretary to state that the comment was Fokin's personal opinion, not that of the Ukrainian government.

Deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group, Vitold Fokin, admitted that an international UN Provisional Government could be set up in the occupied territories of Donbas, which could in turn ensure the holding of local elections.

"The mandate of the UN Security Council contains the right to create an international provisional government for a required period - maybe for a year or two And security can be guaranteed by international peacekeepers, that is, the UN military contingent... In fact, this isn't a new proposal. We have already spoken about it," Fokin said, speaking at the Persona Grata show on Ukrainian Radio.

The delegate says Russia agreed to this tool toward settlement, while noting that Russia insists on UN military contingent to be amassed on the existing line of demarcation between the warring sides in Donbas. To this, Fokin believes, Ukraine must not agree.

"I fully agree that security must be ensured before elections are held. But what means should be applied to ensure security? It's the country's leaders who should think about that. As one of such means, I proposed applying the mandate of the UN Security Council and forming a Provisional Government in the territories that are now beyond Ukraine's control," the negotiator continued.

Idea of peacekeepers in Donbas: background

The issue of introducing an international peacekeeping contingent in Donbas has been discussed for several years. In 2017, it was raised at the level of the UN Security Council, but to no avail.

Vice Prime Minister, Minister for the Reintegration of the Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov is confident that Ukraine will need the help of UN peacekeepers in resolving the conflict in Donbas. He believes the issue has been backshelved so far, but not totally removed from the agenda.

UN Provisional Government: memo

A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of new nations or following the collapse of the previous governing administration. Provisional governments are generally appointed, and frequently arise, either during or after civil or foreign wars, as per Wikipedia.

Read alsoMP slams Ukraine's first PM over "Donbas pardon" statementProvisional governments maintain power until a new government can be appointed by a regular political process, which is generally an election.

Fokin's earlier statements
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha on Monday suspended eight MPs, including TMC leader Derek O'Brien and Sanjay Singh of AAP, for the remaining part of the Monsoon session over their "unruly behaviour" during the passage of farm bills.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu termed the behaviour of members during the passage of the bills on Sunday as "very unfortunate, unacceptable and condemnable" and one that has "tarnished the image of Parliament, particularly elders' House.

" He also rejected the notice for a no-confidence motion moved by Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and 46 other MPs against Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who was in the chair during the bedlam on Sunday, saying it was not in proper format and does not give the required 14-day notice period.

Two key farm bills were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha with voice vote amid unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members who were demanding that the proposed legislation be referred to a House panel for greater scrutiny The government on Monday moved a motion seeking suspension of Derek O'Brien (TMC), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Rajeev Satav (Congress), K K Ragesh (CPM), Syed Nazir Hussain (Cong), Ripun Boren (Cong), Dola Sen (TMC) and Elamaram Kareem (CPM).

Amid opposition, the motion was adopted by voice vote and the Chairman asked them to leave the House but they remained present and protested against the ruling.

Naidu called for taking up of call attention motion on GST compensation to states where O'Brien, Ragesh and Kareem were listed as movers.

But with members protesting, he moved on to the next listed business saying they were not interested.

As the protests continued, he adjourned the proceedings for 20 minutes.

The House saw three more adjournments as the suspended members remained present in the House and opposition parties protested against the decision.

ALSO READ | Muting of democratic India continues: Congress on Rajya Sabha MPs suspension

Soon after the Zero Hour, Naidu said he was "pained" at the happenings during the passage of the two bills.

He condemned the unruly behaviour of some members and also "physically threatening" the deputy chairman.

As some opposition members wanted to put across their point of view, Naidu asked them to obey the chair and not speak in between.

He rejected their point of order and when they persisted, he named O'Brien and asked him to leave the House.

"It was a really bad day for democracy," he said.

"Some members came to the well of the House and also threw papers. They wrenched the mike of Deputy Chairman. They hurled some papers on the Deputy Chairman. They abused Deputy Chairman, according to the Deputy Chairman," he said, adding the "Rule book was also thrown on him".

"Climbing on the table, dancing, shouting in the well, tearing papers, breaking the mike, obstructing deputy chairman from doing his duties, throwing papers, rule book on dy chairman, is it a parliamentary standard," he asked.

"I only suggest to members of Parliament please do some introspection and is it a way to conduct ourselves," he said.

Naidu said marshals prevented ugly scenes.

"If marshals were not called on time what would have happened to the deputy chairman. I am worried. He says he was abused with objectional words. This is very unfortunate. This should not be allowed. If you have any problem, the way (out) is to discuss, debate and decide.

"If you have numbers vote against the resolution. Deputy Chairman also stated that you please go to your seat he will conduct voting. It is on record," he said.

He said the deputy chairman was "physically threatened. So I am worried he would have been harmed also. Keeping this in mind, the government wants to move a resolution," he said.

Naidu said he had received a letter expressing no confidence against the deputy chairman.

"I have gone through the entire proceedings of the House yesterday. In light of allegations made by the Leader of the Opposition and other members, I observe that the deputy chairman had persistently requested the members to go to their seat and participate in the debate and move amendments.

"Obviously in view of the continuous disruption of the House, the division could not have taken place. Certainly, the conduct of some members grossly crossed all barriers of parliamentary decorum and etiquette and thereby bringing down the prestige of the House," he said.

He said after carefully going through the provisions of the Constitution, rules of the House and past precedence, it is "observed at the outset that the motion is not in a proper format."

"As per provision of Article 90(C) of the Constitution, a notice period of 14 days is required for moving a resolution of the motion. As the House is going to be adjourned sine die on October 1. The notice does not complete the required period of 14 days. Hence I rule that motion is not admissible," he said.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan moved a resolution that eight members be suspended for the remaining part of the session "for their unruly behaviour especially with the chair."

"And their gross disorderly conduct in the violation of rules and etiquette of Rajya thereby bringing disrepute to the this House and causing insult to the office of deputy chairman," he said reading out the motion.

Amid protests, the motion was passed by voice vote and the Chairman said the eight members are suspended for the remaining part of the session.

Naidu also noted that COVID-19 precautions were violated by some members on Sunday.
Market sentiment has been generally bullish over the last week supported by (i) supply disruption caused by Hurricane Sally in the Gulf of Mexico (ii) a draw in commercial crude oil inventories by 4.4 million barrels w/w and (iii) strong language coming from OPEC+ during the JMMC meeting last Thursday, during which Saudi Arabia pressured members to boost compliance to output cuts.

The supply disruption in the Gulf of Mexico reached around 497 thousand bbl/d. Yet, it is reported that supply will soon return as the hurricane has passed the oil production area while being downgraded from category 2 to a tropical storm. Next to the production outages, fuel demand in the affected areas is likely to have been disrupted, at least for a couple of days. Gulf of Mexico drillers, however, are already preparing for a new storm as Beta is approaching fast, potentially leading to another supply outage in the Gulf.

Renewed assurance from OPEC+

The OPEC+ JMMC meeting last week resulted in an extension for compensation cuts until the end of December, as many countries asked for more time to make the required output cuts. Despite the fact that Iraq has been fully compliant in August, it has not delivered its missed targets in the previous months yet. Furthermore, the UAE, Russia and Nigeria have achieved compliance rates of 74%, 95%, and 78%, respectively, according to Platts.

The overall conformity level in August was 101% according to OPEC secondary sources. Overproduction amounted to 1.641 million bbl/d, from the OPEC-10 countries and 0.734 million bbl/d from the non-OPEC countries leading to a total of 2.375 million bbl/d in overproduction between May-August. OPEC didnt decide to change the output cut pact at this meeting. The current agreement includes cuts of 7.7 million bbl/d, Between Aug-Dec, down from 9.7 million bbl/d, between May-July. Related: Saudi Prince Warns Short Sellers Not To Bet Against Oil

The group is scheduled to relax its cuts further to 5.8 million bbl/d starting from Jan 2021. Currently global demand is slowly recovering, with strong Chinese imports leading the way. Global demand levels in August are around 6 million bbl/d below 2019. Chinese refining runs rose to 14 million bbl/d, up by 9.2% y/y, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, despite weak refining margins. Yet, high oil inventories in China and shrinking crack spreads are leading to softer imports in September.

Libya to restart crude exports

The market is bracing for extra supply from Libya as LNA General Haftar announced the lifting of an oil export blockade that lasted for about eight months. The blockade cut Libyan oil supply from 1.1 million bbl/d, in 2019, to less than 0.10 million bbl/d in 2020. The National Oil Company confirmed that it will start production from fields that are free of Russian mercenaries and other militants. The distribution of revenues and fears of supporting armed militias resulted in a $9.8 billion loss, blackouts and fuel shortages in the country.

The first exported cargoes are expected to come from the Arabian Gulf Oil Company which produces around 0.29 million bbl/d which is predominantly exported through the Hariga port on the east coast. Production is not expected to reach capacity anytime soon as the country's oil industry suffers from major infrastructure issues. The OPEC+ agreement excludes three OPEC member countries; Iran, Libya and Venezuela, which leaves Libya with no restrictions on its production. Market reaction will depend on the strength of the economic recovery which may absorb extra supplies.

OPEC and IEA slash their demand forecast

The IEA and OPEC have slashed their demand forecast in 2020, projecting a decline by 8.4 million bbl/d and 9.5 million bbl/d respectively. OPEC and the IEA expect oil demand to average 90.2 million bbl/d and 91.7 million bbl/d, respectively, while our forecast stands at 90.35 million bbl/d. The EIA reported a decline in commercial crude oil inventories by 4.4 million barrels to stand at 496 million barrels. Domestic US production rose by 0.9 million bbl/ and now stands at 10.9 million bbl/d supported by a return of production in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. oil demand now stands at 15.90 million bbl/d, up by 0.64 million bbl/d w/w.

In the meantime, demand continues to recovers in most key crude markets. Citi bank reported its forecast last week, and sees $60 price for Brent in 2021, assuming a full return to pre-crisis demand levels by the end of 2021. Yet, our latest forecast predicts a price of $45 by the end of December, $5 less than our previous forecast. Furthermore, our forecast for next year estimates an average price of $50 in H1 2021 and $52.5 in the H2 2021, assuming a partial return of aviation fuel demand leading to an average demand of 95 million bbl/d in 2021. We do not expect demand to return to its pre-crisis levels until 2023.

By Yousef Alshammari for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Democrat challenger Joe Biden has accused president Donald Trump of abusing his power over plans to replace the late Supreme Court Justice and liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburgh - who died on Friday aged 87 - before the upcoming US election.

Just 24 hours after Ginsburg passed away, the president released a statement outlining his intention to find a replacement ahead of November's poll, a move that has enraged Democrats and threatens to reshape the highest court in the land for a generation.

Mr Trump, backed by Republicans, said he plans to appoint a female conservative justice, which would decisively tilt the ideological balance of power in the Supreme Court. Following Ginsburgs death, there are five justices aligned with the Republican party versus three for the Democrats.

Speaking at an event in Philadelphia on Sunday, Mr Biden said the president's decision to press ahead with replacing Ginsburg was an abuse of executive power, adding that voters voices "should be heard" before any appointment is made.

"The United States Constitution was designed to give voters one chance, one chance to have their voice heard in who serves on the court. And by the way, theres no court session between now and the end of this election," Mr Biden told a crowd at the Philadelphia Constitutional Center.

"That moment is now for the voters to get a chance to be heard, and their voice should be heard. And I believe voters are going to make it clear. Theyll not stand for this abuse of power, this constitutional abuse," he added.

The ideological make-up of the Supreme Court is crucial to its rulings on some of the most important and fiercely contested issues in US law, such as reproductive rights, voting rights, protections from discrimination, the power of the presidency, the rights of immigrants, tax rules and laws, and healthcare for millions of the most at-risk Americans.

Shortly after the president announced his move to replace Ginsburg before the election, Senate leader Mitch McConnell confirmed that he would be prepared to accept a nomination. However, Republicans have a slim majority of 53-47 in the Senate, meaning a few rebels could de-rail the plans. But there is still a very real chance the president could push through a replacement.

Democrats argue that Mr McConnell should follow the precedent set in 2016 when he refused to consider then-president Barack Obamas nominee months before the election, eventually preventing a vote on Judge Merrick Garland.

On Saturday, Mr Trump took to the stage at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to chants of fill that seat. He said it was his constitutional right to appoint a successor for Ginsburg, adding: I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an ardent supporter of womens rights

Attorneys Barbara Lagoa (Atlanta), Amy Coney Barrett (Chicago) and Kate Comerford Todd (deputy White House counsel) are among Mr Trump's most favoured candidates to replace Ginsburg.

As the Senate returns to Washington on Monday, all eyes will be on Republicans Mitt Romney of Utah and Chuck Grassley of Iowa for clues to whether Mr Trump and Mr McConnell will be able to confirm Ginsburg's replacement anytime soon.

During Sunday's speech, Mr Biden urged unnamed Republicans to join senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine in opposing a confirmation vote before the election. It takes four GOP senators breaking ranks to keep Trump's nominee off the court.

"Uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience," said Biden, speaking in Philadelphia on Sunday. "Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have engulfed our country."

Despite Mr Biden's urging, there was little chance of calm in the election campaign as early voting progressed and the death toll from coronavirus neared 200,000.

Just before Ms Murkowski joined Ms Collins, House speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to the House having "options" in attempting to thwart the president's move. Mr Biden has also said he could make changes to the Supreme Court if elected to office.

"We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now," speaker Pelosi said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." The House has no formal role in the confirmation of Supreme Court justices. But Pelosi would not rule out a new round of impeachment proceedings that might divert the Senate's attention.

Additional reporting by Associated Press
While insisting it is not pursuing a nuclear weapon, Iran has been steadily breaking restrictions outlined in the deal on the amount of uranium it can enrich, the purity it can enrich it to, and other limitations. At the same time, Iran has far less enriched uranium and lower-purity uranium than it had before signing the deal, and it has continued to allow international inspectors into its nuclear facilities.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 16:27:19|Editor: huaxia

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A man wearing a face mask stands in front of a poster of COVID-19 preventive measures at Manila Bay in Manila, the Philippines, Sept. 21, 2020. The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 290,190 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 3,475 new daily cases on Monday. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

MANILA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 290,190 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 3,475 new daily cases on Monday.

The DOH said that the number of recoveries also rose to 230,233 after 400 more patients recovered. Meanwhile, 15 more patients died, bringing the death toll to 4,999.

The Philippines has tested over 3.19 million people so far, according to DOH data. The country has 129 COVID-19 testing laboratories.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a virtual media briefing that the DOH has moved to regulate the price of swab testing in the Philippines.

She said the DOH wants the cost of the COVID-19 diagnostic tests in all testing centers to have a standard price. Swab tests cost from 4,600 pesos (roughly 95 U.S. dollars) to 8,150 pesos (roughly 168 U.S. dollars).

Meanwhile, the Philippines has further eased the deployment ban of health workers to work abroad, which was imposed amid the shortage of health workers in the country.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a televised press conference that President Rodrigo Duterte had decided to allow health professionals with complete documentation by Aug. 31 2020 to leave for work abroad.

Before Monday's announcement, the Philippines only allowed health workers with contracts by March 8 to leave the country.

Citing data from the Department of Labor and Employment, Roque said some 1,500 health workers stand to benefit from the new rule. Enditem
MPV

Because it will be a facelift, the Duster wont get all the goodies of the Logan and Sandero due to the different platforms. As a brief refresher, the subcompact sedan and hatchback have switched to the CMF-B vehicle architecture of the Renault Group, which is also utilized by the Clio.From a design standpoint, however, we can all agree that the inevitable will happen. Something that isnt quite clear in the automakers future plans is the Grand Duster , a seven-seat version of the compact utility vehicle weve been hearing about for one too many years. The rumors have come back to our attention for an obvious reason, namely the commercial failure of the Lodgy.The three-rowisnt selling well in these crossover-driven times, which is why the French motoring media is making a case for a Duster-like utility vehicle that would measure 4.5 meters from nose to tail. Renault and Dacia have repeatedly denied this project , so dont get your hopes up too high.Be that as it may, pixel artist Kleber Silva took to his Photoshop skills to imagine a Duster with two more seats, the styling language of the Logan and Sandero, and the Stepway package. Clearly based on the Renault Koleos, the rendering looks considerably better than the Lodgy in Stepway specification.Considering the dimensions and curb weight of the Grand Duster, the TCe 100 three-cylinder turbo doesnt make a lot of sense in this application. The most obvious engine choice would be the TCe 130 four-cylinder turbo, a Renault-Mercedes design that can also be found in the W177 A-Class.If the Lodgy is indeed be replaced by the Grand Duster at some point in the future, you can also expect the starting price to be lower than the competition. As a refresher, the Duster is one of the cheapest CUVs in the segment because the entry-level trim doesn't even come with air con.
Halton Police are looking for possible suspects after a 53-year-old man was shot Sunday night in Oakville.

Police say the incident, which occurred near Sixth Line and Elm Road, is not believed to be a random act but there is currently no public safety concern.

The victim was taken to hospital at around 10 p.m. after sustaining non-life-threatening injuries from the shooting.

The investigation is now ongoing as no suspects have been identified.

Anyone with home CCTV cameras, dash camera footage of the area or anyone with further information is asked to contact Halton Police at (905) 825-4747.

Irelyne Lavery is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Reach her via email: ilavery@thestar.ca

Read more about:
The functional ability of older people is nowadays better when it is compared to that of people at the same age three decades ago. This was observed in a study conducted at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland.

The study compared the physical and cognitive performance of people nowadays between the ages of 75 and 80 with that of the same-aged people in the 1990s.

"Performance-based measurements describe how older people manage in their daily life, and at the same time, the measurements reflect one's functional age," says the principal investigator of the study, Professor Taina Rantanen.

Among men and women between the ages of 75 and 80, muscle strength, walking speed, reaction speed, verbal fluency, reasoning and working memory are nowadays significantly better than they were in people at the same age born earlier. In lung function tests, however, differences between cohorts were not observed.

"Higher physical activity and increased body size explained the better walking speed and muscle strength among the later-born cohort," says doctoral student Kaisa Koivunen, "whereas the most important underlying factor behind the cohort differences in cognitive performance was longer education."

The cohort of 75- and 80-year-olds born later has grown up and lived in a different world than did their counterparts born three decades ago. There have been many favourable changes. These include better nutrition and hygiene, improvements in health care and the school system, better accessibility to education and improved working life." Matti Munukka, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Jyvaskyla

The results suggest that increased life expectancy is accompanied by an increased number of years lived with good functional ability in later life. The observation can be explained by slower rate-of-change with increasing age, a higher lifetime maximum in physical performance, or a combination of the two.

"This research is unique because there are only a few studies in the world that have compared performance-based maximum measures between people of the same age in different historical times," says Rantanen.

"The results suggest that our understanding of older age is old-fashioned. From an aging researcher's point of view, more years are added to midlife, and not so much to the utmost end of life. Increased life expectancy provides us with more non-disabled years, but at the same time, the last years of life comes at higher and higher ages, increasing the need for care. Among the ageing population, two simultaneous changes are happening: continuation of healthy years to higher ages and an increased number of very old people who need external care."

The study was conducted at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences and Gerontology Research Center at University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. The first cohort data were collected between 1989 and 1990 and consisted of 500 people born between 1910 and 1914. The second cohort data were collected from 2017 to 2018 and comprised 726 people born in 1938 or 1939 and 1942 or 1943.

In both cohorts, the participants were assessed at the age 75 or 80 years. Participants were recruited from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The study was funded by the Academy of Finland and the European Research Council.
Northern Ireland producers including Hannan Meats and Craic Foods have received top marks at the prestigious Great Taste awards.

Judges including celebrated chefs and cooks such as Anna Jones, Melissa Hemsley, Jose Pizarro and buyers from Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Waitrose selected 172 NI producers to receive accolades in the awards for their products.

They include The Little Bakehouse in Dromore, County Down, which was named for their Abernethy Lemon Curd - described as delivering "plenty of lovely rich butteryness and a massive burst of fresh, bright, fruity lemon".

Craic Foods in Craigavon, Co Armagh received three stars for their Black Garlic and Porcini Sea Salt, an "umami flavour bomb" for judges who loved its bold mushroom flavour, sweetness from the black garlic and a slight acidic lift toward the end.

Peter Hannan of Hannah Meats in Moira, Co Armagh got the nod for Japanese-inspired Koji Pork Ribs. Judges said they were bowled over with its intense umami from the koji, which really enhances the flavour of the pork - with one judge saying this is the most delicious piece of pork I can remember trying."

The NI producers were chosen after 14 weeks of judging 12,777 entries from 106 different countries. Less than half (42%) went on to be awarded a highly prized Great Taste accolade

Those named will go on to see whether they will scoop the top awards for their region and will have the chance to be named Great Taste 2020 Supreme Champion.

The results will be announced at the virtual Great Taste Golden Fork awards event, set to take place in October.

After being named, producers can add the gold and black Great Taste logo with one, two or three stars on their award-winning products.

The award is recognised as a stamp of excellence among consumers and retailers and is organised by the Guild of Fine Food, with all products removed from their packaging before being tasted.

The awards were recalibrated this year to allow for social distancing restrictions and remote judging after lockdown had an impact one week into the Great Taste schedule.

Organisers said the development necessitated a swift reinvention of the process to ensure that robust judging standards were maintained and the quality of feedback was not compromised.
The Oaks Ibn Battuta Gate Dubai, a new addition to Minor Hotels diverse portfolio of more than 530 properties across six continents, has recently appointed Siva Ram Putta as its General Manager.



Ram Putta, who also manages three other Minor brand properties in the UAE, namely Avani Deira Dubai, Oaks Liwa Heights Dubai, and Oaks Liwa Executive Suites in Abu Dhabi, has been adept with the Oaks brand since he began his career with Oaks Hotels and Resorts in Australia in 2005, a company statement said.



He moved to the UAE in 2009 and has since then become the ambassador for the Oaks brand when he started as Hotel Manager at Oaks Liwa Heights until the time that he assumed the General Manager position for the first Avani brand in the UAE.



Ram Putta is a hotel management graduate from the International College of Hotel Management and holder of Diplome CulinairedHotelier of Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine from Adelaide, Australia.- TradeArabia News Service
Lateness to school and non-usage of face masks were some of the things that characterised the resumption of students in public schools in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital on Monday.

Premium Times recalls that Governor Seyi Makinde of the state had last week approved the resumption dates for public and private primary and secondary schools.

Primary and secondary school students in both public and private schools across the state were ordered to resume today (Monday).

Our correspondent recalls that the schools were shut down few months ago, due to COVID-19 that ravaged the world.

Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Olasunkanmi Olaleye, who issued the statement on behalf of Makinde last week, noted that primary and secondary schools are expected to operate morning and afternoon shiftings.

He advised school heads to make temporary use of spaces like laboratories, libraries and examination hall as classroom where it is necessary in order to observe social distancing.

The resumption date for 2020/2021 academic Session for Public / Private Primary and Secondary Schools as announced by the State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology will commence on Monday, 21st September, 2020.

The revised Guidelines for Primary and Secondary Schools now include the followings: Schools will now operates morning and afternoon shifting for pupils and students of primary and secondary schools as stated below:

Primary 1-3 8.00 am  11.00 am, Primary 4  6 12 noon  3.00 pm, JSSS 1 -3 8.00 am  11.00 am, SSS 1- 3 12 noon  3.00 pm

It becomes mandatory for all Schools, Public and Private to constitute Covid-19 Task force to be headed by Heads of Schools with two members of staff.

School Heads are advised to make temporary use of spaces like laboratories, libraries and examination hall as classroom where it is necessary in order to observe social distancing. Pupils / Students should be attached to Chairs and Tables as well as discouraging sharing of items.

But, findings by Premium Times correspondent, who went round Ibadan on Monday when the students resumed, revealed that most of the students came late to school while a majority of them did not their face masks.

Some of the schools visited include Methodist N5 Basic School, Ibadan, Ikolaba Grammar School, Ibadan, Ikolaba High School and Community Primary School Ikolaba in Ibadan.

Others are Government College Apata, Community Grammar School, Omi Adio, Queens School Apata, Ajibode Grammar School, Ajibode and Ajibode High School, Ajibode, all in Ibadan.

It was observed that while some schools were observing some COVID-19 protocols such as placing hand washing buckets and detergents at the entrance of the school, some did not have such provision.

Students temperature were also checked through infrared thermometer in some schools while such things did not exist in some schools.

Late coming characterised resumption, non-usage of face masks:

Findings by Premium Times correspondent in all the schools visited revealed that a vast majority of the pupils and students in primary one to primary three (Primary 1-3) and Junior Secondary School one to three (JSS 1-3) came to school late.

Most of the students , who are expected to be in the school before 8.00am , were seen coming to the school minutes after 8am or 9am when the academic activities are expected to commence.

At Methodist N5 Basic School where our correspondent spent few minutes to observe the resumption, a vast majority of the pupils were still seen coming around 8.30am when our correspondent left the school.

Majority of the pupils, who resumed, were seen either without face masks or not using it.

The presence of our correspondent who introduced himself as journalist made one of the teachers in the school to mandate those with face masks to wear them.

Some pupils were seen coming to the school when our correspondent left the school.

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Our correspondent, who arrived Ikolaba Grammar School at 8.39 saw some of the students still finding their ways to enter the school premises.

The same thing was observed at Ikolaba High School, Community Primary School Ikolaba and other schools visited by our correspondent where many students were still seen coming to the school when they were expected to be in their classrooms.

Some students of Ikolaba High School were still coming to the school when our correspondent left the school some minutes after 9.00am.

Some students , who did not wear their face masks, were, however, sent back home by their teachers when our correspondent visited some of the schools.

At Ikolaba Grammar School and Ikolaba High School, some students who failed to wear their face masks, were asked not to enter the school premises.

Teachers speak

Some of the teachers, who spoke with Premium Times, identified inability to differentiate between the two different sessions as the major reason for the lateness to school among the pupils.

The head teacher of Methodist N5 Basic School ,who identified herself as Mrs Fowowe, said that most the pupils could not know when they were expected to be in school, a situation which made some of them to come late.

She said, This is Methodist N5 Basic School beside NTA Ibadan. The students are expected to come in two batches. We have primary 1-3 and primary 3-6. The primary 1-3 are to be in school between 8-11 am and primary 3-6, 12pm-3pm. Most of them do not know when they are expected to come that is one of the main reason. And you know that this is the first day of resumption.

A teacher, who spoke with Premium Times at Ikolaba Grammar School, noted that students temperature was checked through infrared thermometer. This was confirmed by our correspondent.

She said, We now have students in JSS 1 going to JSS 2 and JSS 2 going to JSS 3 here. You can see that we are sending some students who did not wear their face masks here back to their parents.

SSS 1going to SSS 2 and SSS 2 going to SSS 3 will resume by 12pm. They will be in school between 12-3pm.

We are happy to resume  Students

Some of the students, who spoke with this newspaper, said that they were delighted to resume today.

One of the students, Aishat Akanbi said that she was delighted to resume today.

I am in JSS 2, I am eleven years old. I fell good to resume today because I want to read. I was happy that is why I come to school today. I was very happy because I did not expect it. Some people in our house said that we will resume next year and I said that God forbid, but I am happy that we resumed today.

Another student, Dunmininu Elegbeleye, said that she was happy.

I was happy that we resumed today. When I was at home, my mummy told me that I should be going to lesson. But, the lesson was not like coming to the school.

Efforts made by Premium Times to get the reaction of Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Olaleye, on the issues of lateness and non-usage of face masks that characterised resumption proved abortive as calls put through his mobile number were not answered.

Mr Olaleye in a reply to an SMS sent to him for his reaction said that he was in a meeting.

He said, I am in a FME/UNICEF stakeholders meeting.
New Delhi:

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in his new role as Samajwadi Party national President will kick off his partys election campaign from Sultanpur on Tuesday, enthused after his victory in the power game within the Yadav clan.

This will be the Chief Ministers first election rally in the state after his party sealed an alliance with Congress for the upcoming UP Assembly Elections.

In 2012, SP had won 224 seats in the 403-member Assembly, but the party has since seen its popularity wane and in last years Lok Sabha polls, it won only five of the 80 seats in the state.

Also Read | UP polls: Samajwadi Party releases fourth list of candidates; Akhilesh to contest from Mubarakpur

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadavs sister-in-law Aparna Yadav will take on BJPs experienced veteran Rita Bahuguna Joshi from Lucknow Cantt in UP Elections 2017. Ms Joshi had won the seat in the last election as a Congress candidate.

Also read | Is astrology behind Akhileshs choice of Sultanpur as site for campaign kick-off?

Schedule -

Akhilesh Yadav to address an election rally in Lapta field of Shahpur at 12 PM, after which he will address another rally in Isauli Assembly Constituency at 2 PM.

#12:45 PM- CM Akhilesh to fly from Lucknow

#1:00 PM- He will reach Motigarpur's Lapta village

#1:05 PM to 1:45 PM - Address first election rally in Lapta village

#2:00 PM- SP Chief to reach Lakhpedwa and address public till 2:45 PM

#3:00 PM- Head back to Lucknow

Live Updates

# We built Yamuna Expressway: UP CM

# SP Govt has launched a number of schemes to benefit the poor including helpline numbers for women in distress, ambulance services etc: UP CM

# People lost lives due to demonetisation: UP CM

# Samajwadi Party working for betterment of poor and farmers

# Demonetisation created problems for common people



# Poor to get one-kilo ghee, Woman to get pressure cooker, after SP forms govt

# We enforced balanced development

# Police arrives in 15 minutes in our govt



# SP govt brought vocational and Skilled training for youth

# Direct recruitment after class 12th in UP Police

# More than 70,000 police personnel recruited in UP



# Samajwadi Party built market for farmers near highways

# We gave employment to youth

# We started service of mobile ambulance



# Centre will copy SP's plans in upcoming budget

# Samajwadi Party fulfilled all the promises it made to you

# Public has decided that the man with Cycle will triumph at the end

# BJP promised for 'Achhe Din', Where are 'Achhe Din

# UP CM Akhilesh Yadav addresses a public rally in Sultanpur

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Recently, United States President Donald Trump once again warned about the dangers during the elections as mail-in ballot usage is increasing. The Republican leader has consistently claimed that the voting process is rigged and criticized governors who support it as "political hacks."

Fraudulent mail-in voting

On Sunday, the U.S. president said during an interview that the election would experience an unprecedented amount of disruption or interference because of the fraudulent mail-in voting process.

According to Fox News, Trump told host Mark Levin that several officials knew the voting process was not going to work because it has already been used within the last 14 or 15 months. He added that the ballots are getting mixed up, citing that he has heard one was used the days before the interview.

Levin continued to detail a potential scenario where the Republican leader wins reelection in November but added that opposition would then bring out objections, using the mail-in ballots as their defense.

The host added Trump's rivals would claim that the Republican leader did not win the elections and support their accusations with lawsuits from the mail-in ballots. Levin said the fraudulent claims were previously seen in California and several other states.

On the other hand, Levin said that if the former vice president and current presidential candidate Joe Biden gains a lead on Election Day, Democrats would then brand Trump as a dictator if he did not accept the results of the race despite the possibility of more votes for the Republican out in ballots.

The host said that either way, Trump would be placed in a predicament where his opposition is setting up a narrative that undermines the legitimacy of the United States' electoral process.

Also Read: Fact Check: Did President Trump Say Wildfires Are Caused by Exploding Trees?

Conclusive evidence

In recent weeks, Attorney General William Barr has expressed his support of Trump's accusations that mail-in ballot voting was a disastrous process that would end in catastrophic results during the election, as reported by NBC News.

Barr claimed that mail-voting fraud was widespread across the nation and also warned about the dangers of foreign entities interfering with the elections by compromising ballots. However, experts said that the accusations were baseless and only supported the factless claims by Trump.

The attorney general's statements echo Trump's consistent view of the dangers of mail-in voting during the election despite voting by mail himself in August.

Several civil rights advocates expressed their concern that a top law enforcement official such as Barr is spreading misinformation about mail-in voting.

President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Vanita Gupta, said Barr's claims were irresponsible and undermined the authenticity and legitimacy of the Justice Department's efforts to protect voters' rights.

According to The New York Times, all types of voter fraud in the United States are exceedingly rare. A study in 2016 discovered only a handful of credible evidence that supports fraudulent voting.

Previously, Trump created a panel that aimed to investigate election corruption. However, the group found no conclusive evidence of voter fraud before the Republican leader decided to disband the panel in 2018.

Related Article: Sen. Lindsey Graham Says Trump Should Release Tax Returns, Suggests Rival Should Do The Same

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
FILE PHOTO: An AH-1 Cobra helicopter fires during the live-fire, anti-landing Han Kuang military exercise, which simulates an enemy invasion, in Taichung

By Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan said on Monday its armed forces have the right to self-defence and counterattack amid "harassment and threats", in an apparent warning to China, which last week sent numerous jets across the mid-line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

Tensions have sharply spiked in recent months between Taipei and Beijing, which claims democratically-run Taiwan as its own territory, to be taken by force if needed.

Chinese aircraft crossed the mid-line to enter the island's air defence identification zone on Friday and Saturday, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets to intercept them, and President Tsai Ing-wen to call China a threat to the region.

Taiwan's defence ministry said it had "clearly defined" procedures for a first response amid "high frequency of harassment and threats from the enemy's warships and aircraft this year".

It said Taiwan had the right to "self-defence and to counterattack" and followed the guideline of "no escalation of conflict and no triggering incidents".

Taiwan would not provoke, but it was also "not afraid of the enemy", it added.

MID-LINE "DOES NOT EXIST"

Taiwanese and Chinese combat aircraft normally observe the mid-line of the Taiwan Strait and do not cross it, although there is no official agreement between Taipei and Beijing on doing so, and the rule is observed unofficially.

"Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing. "The so-called mid-line of the Strait does not exist."

Since 2016 Taiwan has reported only five Chinese incursions across the line, including the two last week.

Late on Monday, Taiwan's Defence Ministry reported two Chinese anti-submarine aircraft had flown into Taiwan's air defence identification zone - but not over the mid-line - to the island's southwest, and were warned away by Taiwanese fighters.

Story continues

The drills came as Beijing expressed anger at the visit of a senior U.S. official to Taipei.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday accused Beijing of bluster when asked about the Chinese activity.

A senior Trump administration official on Monday said the Chinese aircraft movements were "consistent with past Chinese behavior" during heightened tensions and appeared more a reaction to Taiwan domestic politics. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington did not believe China was seeking to escalate into a military confrontation.

On Monday, the official China Daily newspaper said the United States was trying to use Taiwan to contain China but nobody should underestimate its determination to assert its sovereignty over the island.

"The U.S. administration should not be blinkered in its desperation to contain the peaceful rise of China and indulge in the U.S. addiction to its hegemony," it said in an editorial.

China has been angered by stepped-up U.S. support for Taiwan, including two visits by top officials, one in August by Health Secretary Alex Azar and the other last week by Keith Krach, undersecretary of state for economic affairs.

The United States, which has no diplomatic ties with the island but is its strongest backer, also plans new arms sales to Taiwan.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard, Gabriel Crossly in Beijing, Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Robert Birsel, Clarence Fernandez and Gareth Jones)
T wo men have been charged with murder over the death of a man who was hit by a car in east London.

John Avers, 47, was found lying seriously injured in a car park off Whalebone Lane South, Dagenham, just before midnight on September 13.

Mr Avers died at the scene from multiple injuries, a post-mortem examination found.

Metropolitan Police detectives launched an investigation and announced on Friday that they were treating the incident as a murder enquiry.

Bobby Ternent, 31, Gary Ternent, 58, both of Movers Lane, Barking, have now been charged with murder.

The pair were due to appear in custody on Monday morning at Barkingside Magistrates' Court.

Two women arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender have been released under investigation.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting reference number CAD 8443/13Sep. You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers_uk.org.
Cannabis creates a lack of friendliness in that part of the brain. Credit: Pedro Grande. UPV/EHU

The nervous system comprises neurons and glial cells (glia means 'glue'). Astrocytes are the most abundant among the glial cells. Among many other functions they undertake to capture glucose from the blood stream to provide energy and allow the necessary neuronal activity to take place, and thus ensure that cognitive functions are performed correctly. Neurons for their part control astrocyte activity by means of molecules present in the astrocytes, which include type 1 (CB1) cannabinoid receptors. However, these receptors, which also modulate communication between the astrocytes and the neurons, constitute the main target of the psychoactive component of cannabis, known as THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol).

What happens when THC acts on the astrocytes? The research, in which Dr. Pedro Grandes' group participated, concludes that the activation of CB1 cannabinoid receptors in the mitochondria (cell organelles responsible for producing energy) of mice astrocytes hampers the metabolism of glucose and the production of lactate in the brain; this alters neuronal function and leads to a deterioration in social interaction behaviors. Specifically, according to Dr. Grandes, "The activation of these receptors causes the astrocytes to generate fewer reactive oxygen species, which has a negative effect on glucose production from lactate leading to neuronal stress and a lack of social interaction. What makes this research significant is not only the identification of this deficiency, which can be reversed through genetic and pharmacological manipulation of these molecular and biochemical changes brought about by cannabinoid treatment, but also its contribution to knowledge relating to the changes caused by cannabis in the brain."

The following people have participated in this study: Nagore Puente and Itziar Bonilla, Svein Achicallende and Pedro Grandes of the Department of Neurosciences of the Faculty of Medicine and Nursing at the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country and from the Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience; they worked alongside an international multidisciplinary team led by the researchers Juan P. Bolanos (University of Salamanca) and Giovanni Marsicano (NeuroCentre Magendie de Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux) with researchers from the Complutense University of Madrid, University of Poitiers and University Paris-Saclay (France), Universite de Moncton and University of Victoria (Canada), University of Lausanne (Switzerland) and the University Medical Center, Mainz (Germany), among other centers and hospitals.

The collaboration between Dr. Pedro Grandes' research group and the team led by Dr. Giovanni Marsicano of the University of Bordeaux turned out to be crucial in demonstrating, for the first time, the presence of CB1 receptors in neuron mitochondria, whose activation reduces mitochondrial activity leading to memory loss. The results of these studies were published in 2012 in Nature Neuroscience and in 2016 in Nature. However, "What remains to be done is to find out the function of the CB1 receptors located in the astrocyte mitochondria, and therein lies the significance of this new finding, which also constitutes continuity in the cross-border line of research and co-operation," explained Dr. Grandes.

Explore further Star-shaped brain cells shed light on the link between cannabis use and sociability

More information: Daniel Jimenez-Blasco et al, Glucose metabolism links astroglial mitochondria to cannabinoid effects, Nature (2020). Journal information: Nature Neuroscience , Nature Daniel Jimenez-Blasco et al, Glucose metabolism links astroglial mitochondria to cannabinoid effects,(2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2470-y
Over the last couple of months, the Indian film industry has been on the receiving end of backlash post the tragic demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Actress Kangana Ranaut has been vocal about industrys issues including nepotism and drug abuse. Now, actor Guldhan Devaiah has spoken out in support of the industry, saying that a lot of what the actress has said is insincere and is disguised as the righteous fight.

Talking to Hindustan Times, Gulshan said, I dont want to engage with her about anything but all that I will say is a lot of things that she is saying insincere and a lot of voice that are affiliated to her school of thought are also insincere to me. But aap politics karenge aur doosre nahi karenge iska koi matlab nahi hai (but if you do politics, doesnt mean others wont).

They may have faith in what they are doing and they may say that this is a righteous fight but I think it is insincere. It is an insincere fight disguised as a righteous fight," he further added.

The actor said that there are other hidden motives and agendas. He added the narrative about what happened to Sushant Singh Rajput has now become really confusing. He said that the narrative kept changing from nepotism to murder to drugs and then went on to other issues like Maharashtra Police and then Shiv Sena.

The actor also condemned the vilification of Rhea Chakraborty. He said that he did not know her at all before the case, but even if she is convicted later and the benefit of doubt should be with accusers, she shouldnt be subjected to vilification by people. He also said that she is a soft target in the industry.

He also commended people who hav spoken out in support of Bollywood. He said that the film fraternity, though not a family, is a workplace where people are professionally connected to each other. He said that a lot of things about the industry are bad, but a lot of things said about it is not true. He said that people should stand together with respect and dignity.
A n angry backlash has erupted over the UK fielding an all-male team to host the Cop26 summit next year.

Business secretary Alok Sharma, who will act as president, and his team of climate and energy ministers, Lord Callanan, Zac Goldsmith and Kwasi Kwarteng will front the UN climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021.

Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab will also take prominent roles in the conference.

Countries meeting at Cop26 must come up with strengthened commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to hit the targets set out by the landmark Paris agreement in 2015.

Kwasi Kwarteng and Zac Goldsmith / Getty Images

Meanwhile, the leading negotiators and civil servants also form an all-male lineup: chair Peter Hill, lead negotiator Archie Young, envoy John Murton, and Foreign Office official Nick Bridge, according to the Guardian.

There are women working at a more junior level on some subsections of the negotiations.

Lord Martin Callanan is one of the four hosts / Getty Images

These include UK ambassadors and climate crisis attaches in embassies, who are charged with liaising with foreign capitals ahead of the talks in November 2021.

A government spokesperson said: The UK is committed to championing diversity and inclusivity throughout our Cop26 presidency, and our network of leaders, diplomatic representatives and expert voices reflect this in all of their work.

The UK team was to have been led by the former Conservative MP and energy minister Claire ONeill.

However, she was fired in February days before the formal launch of the UKs Cop26 presidency.

Greta Thunberg arrives at the COP25 Climate Conference 1 /30 Greta Thunberg arrives at the COP25 Climate Conference Climate change activist Greta Thunberg is escorted by police on her arrived at Atocha train station in Madrid Getty Images REUTERS AP REUTERS AFP via Getty Images REUTERS REUTERS AP REUTERS REUTERS Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS AP AP AP Getty Images

Carolyn Fairbairn, the director general of the UKs CBI employers organisation, fiercely criticised the lack of women.

She told the Guardian: If ever there was a moment for real diversity in our leadership, this is it. So many communities are affected by [the climate crisis]. We need a team of all talents, and that must be diverse in all respects.

The former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, twice a UN envoy on climate issues, also told the publication: This diminishes the impact [the UK will have].

"Gender divisions in climate are very significant. Having women in leadership is important to ensure these issues are enthusiastically taken up.

Muna Suleiman, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, told the newspaper: Women and children are 14 times more likely than men to suffer direct impacts of natural disasters and climate breakdown, yet are regularly shut out of the decision-making thats supposed to change things.

"The UK needs to resolve this as it hosts the UN climate talks next year, but its already treading familiar ground as an old boys club where women are left off the top table.

A group of Extinction Rebellion writers said: "Not a single woman to rep the UK at #COP26 #climate? Sorry, but that's *unacceptable*Down pointing backhand index And if we're really going to make a difference, how about we get rid of politicians full stop? Replace them with story makers: people who point to a different future."

Another Twitter user added: "It is absolutely outrageous that the UK government intends to have an all male team for COP26 - What does that say about Global Britain?"
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 13:50:54|Editor: huaxia

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TALUQAN, Afghanistan, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Six Afghan army soldiers and three police officers were killed and four security force members wounded in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan's northern Takhar province during Sunday night, a provincial government spokesman confirmed on Monday.

"Militants initially attacked a security checkpoint in Nawabad locality of Dasht-i-Qala district at mid-night. They also laid an ambush against a responding security forces' motorcade, triggering clashes along a road that left the above casualties," spokesman Jawad Hejri told Xinhua.

No details were immediately available about clashes in the security checkpoint in the region, 245 km north of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan.

Several militants were also killed and wounded during the fighting, he said. Several security forces and militants were also killed and wounded during clashes in Nawabad last week.

Such attacks had frequently happened when Taliban targeted responding security forces by roadside bombs or ambushes.

Violence lingers in the war-torn country even as peace talks between an Afghan government delegation and Taliban representatives are being held in Doha, capital of Gulf state of Qatar.

More than 130 people have been killed and over 100 wounded across the mountainous country over the weekend. Enditem
Victoria's top public servant said he doesn't know who made the decision to use private security in Victoria's ill-fated hotel quarantine program.

Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Chris Eccles told the state inquiry into the program this morning he was unaware how it came to be that private security was deployed as the first line of security inside the hotels over police or members of the Australian Defence Force.

Chris Eccles, secretary to the Department of Premier and Cabinet, gave evidence to the inquiry on Monday.

The decision to deploy private security over the ADF or police is a critical issue before the inquiry.

More than 30 security guards ended up catching coronavirus from quarantined returned travellers while working in the hotels.
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SBI Life Insurance on Monday said it has signed bancassurance agreement with Yes Bank to offer a comprehensive bouquet of life insurance solutions to the banks customers across the country.

As part of the partnership, SBI Lifes diverse range of individual and group insurance solutions will be offered to the customers of Yes Bank through the banks branches spread across 28 states and 8 Union Territories in India.

SBI Lifes extensive product portfolio coupled with the banks digital capabilities and widespread presence will ensure easy accessibility of life insurance to the customers.

The agreement was signed by Rajan Pental, Global Head  Retail Banking, Yes Bank and AVS Sivaramakrishna, Regional Director-Mumbai region, SBI Life Insurance, in the presence of Mahesh Kumar Sharma, MD & CEO, SBI Life and Ravi Krishnamurthy, President-Zone 1, SBI Life, among others.

"With this partnership with Yes Bank, we aim to provide financial security for consumers and further reduce the protection gap in India. We are extremely delighted to embark on this journey together and look forward to the alliance for opening up new avenues of growth, Krishnamurthy said.

He said the life insurer is relentlessly moving towards strengthening its distribution channels by establishing strategic associations with banks, corporate agents, brokers, insurance marketing firms etc and will continue to make every effort in making insurance easily accessible to all.

"This partnership is a great opportunity for us to deepen our customer connects, empowering them to stay in control while fulfilling their evolving insurance needs. The combined synergies of SBI Lifes innovative product suite, industry expertise and Yes Banks strong customer connect, will immensely benefit the customers, Pental said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 20)  The company Robotic Activations has apologized after a demonstration of its ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection robot in Baguio City on Saturday left a number of people with eye irritation.

From five to 10 people, including members of the media, reportedly required some medical treatment due to exposure to UV light.

"We sincerely thought we had exercised enough precautions when the press asked to switch the robot on, but it turns out we didn't," said Camille Anton, the company's chief of business development, on Sunday.

Anton said they are already updating their protocols to ensure the incident doesn't happen again. She also assured that the use of UV disinfection is safe as long as proper precautions are in place.

Robotic Activations showed off "Keno", its UV-C disinfection robot, at the Baguio Convention Center before the National Task Force CODE team. It is designed to kill harmful pathogens and is supposedly "equipped with state-of-the-art safety and precision sensors." The company added that the machine can disinfect large areas "without human exposure to chemicals."

"The discomfort from UV exposure is real, but is supposed to be temporary, by all accounts. We remain in contact with those affected to ensure that this is the case," Anton said. "We have reached out, apologized and offered assistance to them, and are hopeful that they will recover quickly."

Both the World Health Organization and the Department of Health have warned against the use of disinfecting UV lamps amid the threat of COVID-19. Health officials said UV light may pose harmful effects if not used properly, including eye and skin burns.

The DOH also cautioned against disinfecting sprays, saying it can further "aerosolize" or spread droplets into the air. It said it is still best to manually wipe surfaces using a rag and disinfectant to kill the virus.
Trump defiantly presses 'UN' sanctions on Iran US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference alongside cabinet colleagues to announce sanctions on Iran

President Donald Trump said Monday that he was imposing sanctions on Iranians for violating a UN arms embargo and demanded enforcement by US allies, who roundly dispute that he has any such authority.

Trump's defiant move came on the very day that the United Nations was celebrating its 75th anniversary with a virtual summit full of calls for greater international cooperation.

The Trump administration said it was imposing sanctions on 27 individuals and entities under a UN resolution including Iran's defense ministry, its Atomic Energy Organization and Venezuela's leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington has been trying without success to topple.

"The United States has now restored UN sanctions on Iran," Trump said in a statement.

"My actions today send a clear message to the Iranian regime and those in the international community who refuse to stand up to Iran."

The Trump administration argues that it is enforcing a UN arms embargo that Iran has violated, including through an attack on Saudi oil facilities.

The embargo on conventional arms shipments to Iran is set to expire next month after the United States failed to win support for a new UN resolution.

The Trump administration says it is "snapping back" virtually all UN sanctions on Iran lifted under a 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran negotiated by former president Barack Obama.

Trump pulled out of the deal with fanfare in 2018 and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo again on Monday called it an "abject failure."

But Pompeo argues that the United States is still a "participant" in the deal -- with the right to impose sanctions for violations -- as it was listed in the resolution that blessed Obama's diplomatic effort.

- Iran says no renegotiating -

The legal argument has been rejected by almost the entire UN Security Council, with European allies of the United States saying the priority is to salvage a peaceful solution on Iran's nuclear program.

Story continues

"We have made it very clear that every member state in the United Nations has a responsibility to enforce the sanctions," Pompeo told reporters when asked about European opposition.

"That certainly includes the United Kingdom, France and Germany."

A news conference to announce the move was scheduled at the very time that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was speaking before a leading US think tank, in an appearance denounced by the Trump administration.

Zarif told the Council on Foreign Relations that the latest effort would have no "significant impact" on his country.

"The United States has exerted all the pressure it could on Iran, it has. It had hoped that these sanctions will bring our population to the knees. It didn't," Zarif said.

The United States already slapped sweeping unilateral sanctions on Iran when Trump withdrew from the nuclear accord, at a time that UN inspectors said Tehran was in compliance with the deal that was meant to offer it economic relief.

Some observers believe Trump's real goal is to definitively kill the nuclear deal, which was staunchly supported by Joe Biden, his Democratic rival in November 3 elections.

Zarif said that Iran was not willing to renegotiate the original accord even if Biden wins.

"The United States must first prove that it's worthy of the trust that is required for its re-entry into the deal before it sets conditions," Zarif said.

- Snub at UN -

The Trump administration has been seeking to reduce Iran's regional clout and boost its rivals Saudi Arabia and Israel.

It achieved a significant win earlier this month when the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recognized Israel.

Pompeo addressed the media alongside cabinet colleagues and the US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, who traveled to Washington rather than stay in New York for the world body's 75th anniversary summit.

As world leaders sent recorded messages, the United States was represented by its acting deputy envoy, although Trump is expected to speak virtually to the annual General Assembly on Tuesday.

French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the anniversary summit by video, urged a new focus on the United Nations to combat the world's "disorder."

"At a time when the pandemic is feeding fear of decline and a narrative of collective powerlessness, I want to say very clearly -- faced with this health emergency, the climate challenge and the retreat on rights, it is here and now that we must act."

sct/sst
Photo: (Photo : Natali Avshalomov / Walking on Sunshine WINTER Donation on GoFundME)

A college student decided to make better use of her time during the pandemic by donating crutches that she personally designed for children in need.

Natali Avshalomov is a senior at Binghamton University and is majoring in human development. While staying at home during the quarantine, she thought of ways to use her free time better. Thus, she started a project that is close to her heart. Inspired by her desire to help kids in need and motivated by her passion for arts and crafts, and healthcare, she created specially designed crutches for kids.

Donations help her make the worthwhile project possible

Avshalomov bought pediatric crutches and supplies from the money raised through the Walking on Sunshine campaign that she organized. The crutches come in different heights for different ages. The crutches can be used for a variety of reasons and purposes as well - temporary or long-term term. "It can be something as simple as a broken bone," she told GMA, "but it can also range from genetic disorders," such as a child missing a limb or cannot walk.



Avshalomov then decorates them with unique designs before sending them out to be donated to kids in vulnerable populations with the help of the Children of War Foundation. The foundation helps her locate the locations where the crutches are needed and when. Twenty pairs of these crutches have so far been donated to children in need in hospitals and orphanages across California.

To create the lovely designs, Avshalomov would either sketch the ideas, brainstorm it, or just go for it right away. She does dedicate time and effort to each pair of crutches, judging from the fact that she would sometimes spend up to three hours on decorating and putting all the details for just one crutch.

Crutches as an accessory and not a burden

As to why she thought of decorating the crutches first before donating them, she said that she wanted the kids to not think of the crutches as a burden but more of a present that they can be excited about. She said she wanted the kids to think of the crutches as an accessory instead of just something they have to carry around to be mobile.

To be dependent on crutches as a child sure has its certain drawbacks, Avshalomov said. With her project, she wanted to put a smile on the child's face while they are dealing with the circumstances.

"It just makes me feel better," she told Spectrum News 1 to help people that don't have the same opportunities. If not for medical donation, these children will not crutches they would need, she added.

One does not need to start a new organization or even have a knack for arts, she said, only the drive to do something and then go for it.

Avshalomov hopes to have a career in orthopedics or podiatry one day. And when that time comes, she wants to decorate her patient's casts with jewels, sparkles, and other unique designs as what is doing with the crutches now.

She plans to make Walking on Sunshine a bi-annual project, every Winter and Summer seasons. To donate, visit her GoFundMe page here.

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Jaipur: As the coronavirus cases continue to increase in Rajasthan, the state government has decided to impose Section 144 in eleven districts from Monday (September 21). Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that the decision was taken in public interest and urged people to follow the instructions.

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot took the decision late Saturday during a review meeting on the pandemic. The 11 districts are -- Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Udaipur, Sikar, Pali and Nagaur.

In a series of Tweet, Gehlot said, ''Section-144 is being implemented in many districts of the state from Moday, this has been done in public interest. I appeal to all to follow the instructions. The government wants the public to corporate in maintaining the rule. This is being done in view of the increasing infection of the Coronavirus.''

 Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) September 20, 2020

The Unlock guidelines and restrictions will continue, the same has been extended till October 31, said CM Gehlot. The Rajasthan government has permitted 20 people to attend funeral and 50 for marriage functions.

"While the already announced unlock guidelines and restrictions will remain, the same has been extended till October 31. Section-144 has been imposed in 11 districts of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Udaipur, Sikar, Pali and Nagaur where more coronavirus cases are being reported," he said.

Section 144 prohibits an assembly of more than five persons at a place.
URBANA, Ill. - Nearly a decade ago, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) developed a new index to assess protein quality in foods. The goal, writ large, was to address food security for the world's most vulnerable populations, creating more accurate tools for food assistance programs seeking to provide balanced nutrition.

Hans H. Stein at the University of Illinois knew he could help.

The new index, known as the digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS), parses out the digestibility of individual amino acids making up proteins. And it relies on pigs, not rats, as the preferred model for humans.

Stein has been evaluating nutrient digestibility, including amino acids, in pigs for 30 years.

"The FAO determined the pig is the preferred model for humans when you evaluate proteins, moving away from the rat, which had been used for the last hundred years. They also recommended human foods should be evaluated exactly the same way as we evaluate feed ingredients for pigs. So, when I saw that I thought, 'Well, we know how to do this,'" says Stein, professor in the Department of Animal Sciences and the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Illinois. "We started doing some research in this area and published the very first paper on DIAAS values for proteins in 2014."

His team has completed multiple studies since then, including a new one published in the British Journal of Nutrition. In this work, Stein and his co-authors show meat products, including ribeye steak, bologna, beef jerky, and more, score above 100 on the DIAAS chart, meaning their amino acids are highly digestible and complement lower-quality proteins.

"If the protein quality is greater than 100, that means it can compensate for low protein quality in another food. In developing countries where people are eating a lot of maize or rice, they are typically undernourished in terms of amino acids. But if they can combine that with a higher-quality protein such as a small amount of meat, then you have improved quality overall," Stein says.

Other meats, as well as dairy products, have already been shown to have high DIAAS scores, but this is the first study to evaluate cooked and processed meat products. Since cooking and processing can affect proteins, Stein knew it was important to feed the pigs the same form of meats that humans consume.

"We did feed ribeye steaks to the pigs," Stein says. "They loved it."

Nine pigs were fed each of nine meat products for a week: salami, bologna, beef jerky, raw ground beef, cooked ground beef, and ribeye roast cooked medium-rare, medium, and well-done. Researchers collected material from the ileum, part of the small intestine, through a small surgically placed port called a cannula. Amino acid digestibility and DIAAS scores were calculated for various human age groups using this material.

For all the meat products and age groups, DIAAS values were generally greater than 100 regardless of processing, although scores tended to be higher when calculated for older children, adolescents, and adults than children between 6 months and 3 years of age.

"The reason for that is the amino acid requirement, and the requirement for higher quality protein, is greater for younger children because they're actively growing. Adults don't necessarily need a very high protein quality because their protein needs are not very high, unless they are bodybuilders or nursing women," Stein says.

The results also showed bologna and medium-cooked ribeye steak offered the highest DIAAS values in the study for the older children, adolescents, and adults age group. That bologna, a highly processed, low-cost meat product, offers high-quality protein could come as welcome news for lower-income families.

Stein points out that meat proteins aren't the only low-cost option. His earlier research shows milk and other dairy products are excellent sources of protein for children. And he plans to evaluate fish, eggs, plant-based meats, and more products in the future.

###

The article, "Most meat products have digestible indispensable amino acid scores that are greater than 100, but processing may increase or reduce protein quality," is published in the British Journal of Nutrition [DOI: 10.1017/S0007114520000641]. Authors include Hannah Bailey, John Mathai, Eric Berg, and Hans H. Stein. Funding for the research was provided by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

The Department of Animal Sciences and the Division of Nutritional Sciences are part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois.
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Covid-19 Update 46 - Level 1 is here

We welcome the news that South Africa will move to national lockdown level 1 from Monday, 21 September 2020.

However, given that we are still in the midst of a pandemic, let us continue to remain vigilant, and to follow all regulations and protocols in order to stave off a second wave of the coronavirus.

Implications for staff and students

We have received many queries pertaining to the return to our campuses and residences (including emails from international students), the continuation of the emergency remote academic programme (contact and/or online teaching and learning), and the mode of the upcoming examinations.

We are waiting for the Minister of Higher Education and Training to announce level 1 regulations for the sector. In the interim, please note the following:

The academic programme will continue as is, unless you are notified otherwise by your faculty,

Your school/faculty will advise you directly about the mode of your examinations,

You should only return to campus if you receive an invitation (and permit) from your faculty,

International students should not return until we have clarity on the regulations from the Ministry,

Students who are invited to return to residences will be issued with permits, and

Staff members should return if requested to do so by their line managers.

Please note that staff and students who are at risk due to co-morbidities should not return to campus, and should follow the Universitys policies and protocols in this regard.

A further announcement will follow next week, once the Ministerial regulations are announced.

Update on student and staff infections

One staff member and three students reported testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week. These include staff members who are working from home. This is out of a population comprising of approximately 5 500 permanent staff and 37 500 students. Affected staff members and students are self-isolating in line with governmental directives and University protocols.

of infections 10 Sept  17 Sep 22 June  17 Sep Staff 1 104 Students 3 187

News and Analysis

For the latest COVID-19 news, opinion, analysis and updates from Wits, please visit www.wits.ac.za/covid19.

COVID Alert SA App

President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged all people living in South Africa to download the free exposure notification COVID Alert SA app. It lets you know when you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 14 days.

#JerusalemaChallenge

The President also encouraged people to participate in the Heritage Day #JerusalemaChallenge. No need to rush to the Library Lawns  simply tag #WitsJerusalemaChallenge on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook or Instagram once you have mastered your moves.

You will receive a further update next week, once the new regulations are announced.

Take care

SENIOR EXECUTIVE TEAM

18 SEPTEMBER 2020
China on Friday released a white paper on the participation of the countrys armed forces in the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations.

The white paper, titled Chinas Armed Forces: 30 Years of UN Peacekeeping Operations, was released by the State Council Information Office.

It reviews the glorious journey of Chinas armed forces in the UN peacekeeping operations (UNPKOs) over the past 30 years, as well as the countrys firm practice and important contribution. It also demonstrates the comprehensive implementation of the pledges announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the UN Leaders Summit on Peacekeeping, introduces the peaceful philosophy and practices of Chinas armed forces in the new era, and profoundly explains that the Chinese armed forces are embarking on missions for world peace. It said Chinas armed forces are a disciplined force for peace and justice that contributes to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Xi once pointed out that Peace is the common aspiration and lofty goal shared by all mankind. It was for the purpose of securing peace that the UN peacekeeping operations came into being. Now as an important means of upholding world peace and security, these peacekeeping operations bring confidence to areas beset by conflict and hope to the local people who are its victims.

The UNPKOs, starting from 1948, aim at creating conditions of lasing peace for countries suffering conflicts. Over the past 70 some years, the UN peacekeepers have made contributions and sacrificed their lives in the worlds most arduous and dangerous places, making the blue helmets a signal of peace and hope for war-torn regions.

Practices show that the UNPKOs have played important and irreplaceable roles in avoiding new world wars, containing the escalation of regional conflicts, alleviating humanitarian disasters, and promoting world peace and development.

A Chinese peacekeeper once recorded in his diary that If you ask me why we go that far for peacekeeping missions in extreme danger, Id say that we must safeguard the bottom line of human civilization.

Chinas Blue Helmets have become a key force in UN peacekeeping. In April 1990, Chinas armed forces dispatched five military observers to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) and embarked on a new voyage as a participant in the UNPKOs. From a few military observers at the outset of its involvement, Chinas armed forces are now sending both formed units and military professionals. Chinese military peacekeepers serve on the UN missions in engineer, medical, transport, helicopter, force protection and infantry units, and as staff officers, military observers and seconded officers. Chinese military peacekeepers have left their footprints in over 20 countries and regions including Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus, South Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic.

Over the past 3 decades, batches of Chinese peacekeepers have engaged in the UNPKOs with courage and determination. Chinas armed forces have contributed more than 40,000 service members to 25 UN peacekeeping missions. Sixteen Chinese military peacekeepers have sacrificed their lives for the noble cause of peace. As of August 2020, 2,521 Chinese military peacekeepers were serving on eight UN peacekeeping missions and at UNHQ. China is the second largest contributor to both peacekeeping assessment and UN membership fees, and the largest troop-contributing country (TCC) among the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

China has played a very critical and a very important role in UN peacekeeping operations, said Atul Khare, UN under-secretary-general for operational support, adding that the UNPKOs couldnt have achieved todays progress without the support from China.

Chinas armed forces participate in the UNPKOs, because the pursuit of peace is in the genes of the Chinese nation. Chinas armed forces participate in the UNPKOs, because the Chinese people care about the wellbeing of humanity. China has always aspired to fulfill its missions of meeting the responsibilities of a major country, safeguarding world peace, and contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Chinese blue helmets have won wide applause from the international society for its ceasefire supervision, stabilizing situation, protecting civilians, providing force protection, deploying enabling capabilities and sowing the seeds of hope.

A Kenyan military officer said Chinese troops not only brought safety, but also warmth. A Lebanese official also noted that there werent many willing to offer sincere help like the Chinese peacekeepers. He said the Chinese help was all-round and with no strings attached, hailing Chinese troops as messengers for peace. A UN official said he saw the greatest qualities of the Chinese nation from the Chinese peacekeepers  kindness and wisdom. He also thanked China for making the world better.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of victory in the Chinese Peoples War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. It is also the 75th anniversary of the founding of the UN. Reviewing the remarkable journey of Chinas blue helmets at this special moment will further highlight Chinas role as a constructor of world peace, a contributor to global development, and protector of international order. Chinese troops are always a force of justice for world peace and development. Peace comes from struggling and needs maintenance. China is willing to work with all peace-loving countries to light every corner of the world with justice.
With work on the underpass connecting the Nizamuddin Railway Bridge and the busy Ashram intersection in south Delhi picking up pace, the Delhi traffic police on Monday released an elaborate vehicular diversion plan to accommodate the construction and the traffic volume.

This traffic plan accommodates the ongoing repair work on the one-way flyover in front of the Sarai Kale Khan ISBT, traffic police said.

According to the traffic police advisory, the construction work would affect traffic movement between east Delhi, south Delhi, Faridabad and Noida for at least a year.

The 750-metre underpass, which was conceived in December 2015, aims to provide a signal-free ride between Nizamuddin and New Friends Colony on Mathura Road. This is much needed as the Ashram intersection is an important link connecting central and south Delhi and also the satellite towns of Noida and Faridabad.

The intersection, one of the busiest in the national capital, connects Mathura Road, National Highway-2 and the Ring Road (linking the flyovers of Lajpat Nagar and Sarai Kale Khan with the DND Flyway).

Data released by the traffic department shows that after the easing of lockdown restrictions, when construction work on the stretch was resumed with preliminary diversions, the intersection saw 2.8 lakh vehicles a day, or about 11,600 vehicles an hour.

While releasing the traffic diversion plan for the Ashram intersection, traffic police advised commuters to avoid the intersection altogether, if possible, in view of the ongoing construction work.

Under the new traffic management plan, all vehicles on Ring Road -- going towards Sarita Vihar, Badarpur, Faridabad and approaching the Ashram Chowk from Moolchand -- can take a right onto Captain Gaur Marg from under the Lajpat Nagar flyover or take the left loop across the Modi Mill flyover and descend on to Mathura Road near Sukhdev Vihar for their onward journey.

Cars and two-wheelers approaching Ashram Chowk from Sarai Kale Khan and Noida -- going towards SaritaVihar, Badarpur and Faridabad -- can take a left on CV Raman Marg. They can then take a right either at Mata Mandir Marg or Johar Marg to reach Mathura Road.

Additional CP (traffic) SD Mishra said this plan will first be implemented on a trial basis to acclimatise commuters to the new routes. He also said with the public works department (PWD) also carrying out emergency repair work on the Sarai Kale Khan flyover, traffic movement is expected to remain heavy in the area.

PWD is carrying out emergency repairs on the Sarai Kale Khan flyover. This is expected to continue for another two weeks. As the work is being carried out in parts, only one carriageway of the flyover is available for traffic going towards Raj Ghat. This has resulted in congestion near the flyover, Mishra said.

To manage the traffic load, all vehicles approaching the Sarai Kale Khan flyover from Ashram or from Barapullah flyover will be restricted to the left carriageway of the Sarai Kale Khan flyover.

All traffic bound for National Highway-24, east Delhi and Ghaziabad -- descending from Barapullah flyover and approaching Sarai Kale Khan -- can opt to go straight ahead and take Delhi-Noida-Direct Flyway. They can also take a left towards Mayur Vihar Pusta Road and rejoin NH-24 or Vikas Marg, the traffic plan read.

Traffic department said ample signboards will be put up to direct commuters towards the new routes.
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Linkedin Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 17:26 487 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4630e97 1 National NU,Nahdlatul-ulama,Muhammadiyah,Pilkada-2020,regional-elections,pilkada,KPU,DPR,postponed-election,postponement,delay Free

Indonesias largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, have urged the government to consider delaying the upcoming regional elections amid heightened concerns over the COVID-19 crisis.

As reported on NUs official website, the organization has called on the General Elections Commission (KPU), the government and the House of Representatives to postpone the major political event, set to take place on Dec. 9, until the health crisis has abated.

Crowds are inevitable, regardless of stricter health protocols, the organization said in a statement on Sunday.

Furthermore, NU said postponement was a sensible call considering the publics penchant for festive mass campaigns ahead of the elections, which would only increase the risk of coronavirus contagion among the public.

NU suggests that the government reallocate the elections budget to the [mitigation] of the health crisis and its real social impact on society, the statement read.

Similarly, Muhammadiyah said in a statement on Monday that public health and safety should remain the top priority during the present emergency, given that coronavirus cases had continued to mount across the country.

Regarding the 2020 elections, the central board of Muhammadiyah calls on the KPU to specifically reconsider [...] the elections and campaign rules that entail the gathering of many people, the statement, signed by chairperson Haedar Nashir and general secretary Abdul Muti read, emphasizing that the KPU should coordinate with the Home Ministry, the House and other related departments regarding the issue.

Read also: Group files lawsuit demanding KPU, Bawaslu postpone Medan elections

For the sake of the nations safety and proper implementation [of the regional elections], the KPU should postpone the 2020 elections until the situation has improved.

Muhammadiyah also urged members of the public to practice discipline and abide by the governments COVID-19 protocols, as well as to refrain from producing and/or disseminating false information regarding the current state of affairs so as to prevent any conflicts.

We urge every member of Muhammadiyah to comply with the central boards instructions in regard to religious, social and education affairs, as well as other public activities, the organization said.

The two prominent Muslim organizations also advised the public against participating in Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) earlier this year over COVID-19 concerns.

It was previously reported that the government was set to draft a regulation to restrict mass gatherings during the upcoming regional elections in an effort to prevent COVID-19 transmission.

Home Minister Tito Karnavian said he would propose either a revision to the existing KPU regulation or a specific government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) for the matter.

Tito emphasized that COVID-19 health protocols had to be enforced not only on voting day but at all stages of the electoral process, including during campaign events.
Om Birla says it pained him that Lok Sabha did not run smoothly during Monsoon session

Monsoon session Day 8: Suspended RS MPs plan overnight sit-in

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Sep 21: The sit-in protest by eight suspended MPs at Parliament premises on Monday continued past midnight and received the support of a large number of opposition leaders.

To show solidarity with their protesting colleagues, senior opposition leaders came in hordes including NC leader Faroukh Abdullah, JD(S)' Deve Gowda, Samajwadi Party's Jaya Bachchan, Congress' Ahmed Patel and NCP's Praful Patel.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh sat with the protesting parliamentarians for almost four hours, one of the suspended MPs told PTI as they sang patriotic songs, surrounded by placards hanging on strings with slogans in support of farmers.

"This is the first time ever that a peaceful overnight protest in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament has happened," protesting TMC MP Dola Sen said.

"This is also the first time that members were openly robbed of their right as MPs to ask for a division (not just a voice vote)," she said.

One of the main concerns for the MPs was the health of two senior leaders who are diabetic -- Congress' Ripun Boren and CPIM's Elamaram Kareem, who are both over 65 years of age. "We are making sure that we are all hydrated and we have enough water," TMC MP Derek O'brien said.

"Refreshments are also coming in from the homes of Opposition MPs at regular intervals to ensure that their sugar levels don't drop. It's a wonderful team effort and we are not going to stop," another senior leader said.

Parliament's monsoon session likely to be cut short as ministers, MPs test coronavirus positive

An ambulance is also on standby for emergency use in case any of the protestors fall ill. The MPs will be able to use the Rajya Sabha toilets as long as the Lok Sabha proceedings are underway, but after that they will have to use the toilets at the reception, another MP said. The protesting MPs are carrying not just their beddings with pillows and blankets but mosquito repellents as well to shield themselves from the vectors.

"We would like the government to know that this is an indefinite protest," O'Brien said. AAP's Sanjay Singh said, "We will continue protesting against the farmer bills until the Modi government provides a rationale behind passing these bills without having the required votes". Old timers said this is the first time in the history of Parliament that an overnight protest has been held on its premises.

However, overnight protests have been held in Assemblies, senior leaders said. Earlier in the day, the government moved a motion seeking the suspension of Derek O'Brien (TMC), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Rajeev Satav (Congress), K K Ragesh (CPI-M), Syed Nazir Hussain (Congress), Ripun Boren (Congress), Dola Sen (TMC) and Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M).

The motion was adopted by voice vote amid protests. During the day, the protests saw MPs from various parties like Congress, CPI(M), Shiv Sena, JDS, TMC, CPI and the Samajwadi Party joining in.

In the evening, many Lok Sabha MPs trickled in to show their support to the suspended MPs who were sitting in protest. Other leaders who came by include Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, NCP's Supriya Sule, DMK's Kanimozhi and Tiruchi Siva, who carried hot idlis for the protestors from his residence.

Monday was Congress MP Rajeev Satav's birthday and his wife and daughter came especially to Delhi to celebrate it. However, he was at the protest site since morning.

The protest by the MPs is being held at a time when around 30 parliamentarians have tested positive for the coronavirus disease.
Lufthansa is considering reducing its current workforce by about 30 percentor around 40,000 jobs. This is nearly twice as many as the 22,000 job cuts the German airline announced at the end of June. The sale of parts of the company is also imminent, including the catering operation LSG-Sky Chefs and Lufthansa Technik.

According to a report in Manager-Magazin, the increase in job cuts was discussed at a closed meeting of the Lufthansa board held at the holiday home of Group CEO Carsten Spohr in Olbia, Sardinia.

During an internal online question and answer session Tuesday, Spohr announced that 28,000 jobs would be cut. Although the airline has received nine billion euros in state aid, the planned reduction of the groups fleet by 100 aircraft together with their respective crews is not sufficient, he said. A decision is to be taken next week after a meeting of the supervisory board, where shareholders sit alongside union officials.

The different unions at the airline have collaborated closely with the board over the past months, seeking to outdo each other with savings proposals, including agreeing to massive wage cuts, job cuts, part-time contracts for older employees and further reductions. Union officials sought to justify their actions by claiming the concessions would save jobs. However, the concessions only encouraged Spohr to tighten the screws further.

In June, the cabin crew union, UFO, collaborated with the Lufthansa board on a plan to cut a surplus of 26,000 jobs. On Deutschlandfunk radio, UFO executive Daniel Flohr declared that a job cut of that magnitude was not a surprise and was based on comprehensible calculations. Lufthansa had been presented with proposals for savings on a silver platter, by the union, Flohr said, and in return, the union had received a promise to avoid compulsory redundancies.

UFO accepted wage concessions amounting to more than half a billion euros and allegedly received an assurance of four years protection against dismissals in return. Now the necessary renegotiations are already being discussed, and an industry news service, aero.de, reports that the contract can be terminated unilaterally in the case of poor business performance.

Meanwhile, UFO managing director Nicoley Baublies complained that there have been no more talks on the details of the transitional arrangements and severance pay since the contract was signed because the employer had gone into hiding. At the LH subsidiaries Germanwings and SunExpress Germany, 1,500 flight attendants are now facing dismissal.

The Verdi trade union, with 35,000 ground worker members at the airline, has offered concessions worth 600 million euros. This was too little, said Lufthansa, which broke off talks saying the concessions represented only an 8 percent reduction in personnel costs, when a 20 percent cut was needed.

After the negotiations broke down, Lufthansa terminated 80 agreements on part-time work for older employees at the Dusseldorf, Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, Nuremberg and Stuttgart sites. Mira Neumaier, who is conducting the negotiations for Verdi, described the terminations as morally subterranean.

The pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit offered a 45 percent cut in salaries, which, with some 5,000 pilots, amounts to savings of 350 million.

The concessions made by the unions have also encouraged Lufthansa to escalate its attacks on the working conditions of flight crews.

The company is setting up a new business unit called Ocean to compete in long-haul flights to tourist destinations because the number of passengers in the quality leisure segment is growing faster than those of business flights due to the pandemic. Lufthansa is in the process of securing an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) for the new unit, which will not operate under its own brand and will compete with the established holiday airlines Condor and Tui.

Ocean is scheduled to start its first flights from Munich and Frankfurt in spring 2021. In line with the Swiss subsidiary Edelweiss, which belongs to the Lufthansa group, employees will be paid far below the level of the Lufthansa collective agreement. Also, the employment contracts will be fixed term.

Until these new crews are recruited, flights will be operated by staff of the SunExpress and Cityline subsidiaries. After that, crews will then be able to reapply on their own routes at significantly worse conditions and may also only hope for a temporary job, Markus Wahl, president of the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), said.

While the unions are collaborating closely with the executive board on job and wage cuts, splitting the workforce into temporary and permanent workers, normal and low-paid workers, and older and younger workers, there is growing anger and a willingness to fight among flight crews. Many employees are looking for a perspective on social media, where discussions are developing.

Aviation workers must break with the bankrupt unions and build independent action committees that unite workers across borders to fight to defend jobs and wages. The crisis in the aviation industry cannot be solved on a capitalist basis. It requires a socialist perspective. The corporations must be expropriated and transformed into democratically controlled public bodies that serve the needs of society, not profit.
BBC Earth will celebrate World Animal Day in October with an Animal Week of programming, including the premiere of One Wild Day.

Screening each evening at 8.30pm from Monday, October 5, the week kicks off with the premiere of One Wild Day, a stunning, modern natural history series which embarks on a 24-hour journey with the most extraordinary animals on our planet. Next we explore the dazzling behaviours and extraordinary diversity of wildlife of Karnatka in Indias Wild Karnataka. The week will finish with Mission Galapagos, where cameras indetify the hidden volcanoes, evolutionary secrets and remarkable creatures of the Galapagos Islands.

Presented by Patrick Aryee, One Wild Day is a fresh, modern landmark natural history series that portrays a 24-hour roller coaster through the wild. Meet extraordinary animals as they thrive at different moments in the day to survive in some of the toughest landscapes on the planet. For some animals 24 hours is the blink of an eye  for others its an entire lifetime  but for every creature this series reveals theres a moment in every animals day it must thrive to survive.

Indias Wild Karnataka narrated by Sir David Attenborough uncovers one of the richest wild places on Earth. Karnataka occupies five percent of Indias land mass, yet it is home to a quarter of the countrys animal species, including more tigers and elephants than anywhere on the planet. Camera teams spent three years here, filming in mountains, deserts, jungles and oceans  and gained unprecedented access to some of Indias most famous national parks. This combination of dedication and skill has captured a wealth of memorable wildlife moments, set against some of Asias most mind-blowing landscapes.

In Mission Galapagos, Liz Bonnin and a team of expert presenters abseil into volcanoes, journey through mangroves to monitor baby sharks and free-dive off shore to tag mighty hammerheads and film baby sea lions at play. Scientists explore the extraordinary ways that local wildlife has adapted to island-life. From sunbathing penguins to iguanas that have learnt to swim, Mission Galapagos reveals just how far a species will stretch itself in order to survive.

One Wild Day premieres on October 5  7 at 8.30pm

Indias Wild Karnataka premieres October 8 at 9.40pm

Mission Galapagos airs October 8  10 at 8.30pm
Woman Arrested at USCanada Border Over Ricin Letter Sent to Trump

A Canadian woman suspected of sending an envelope containing the deadly poison ricin to President Donald Trump was arrested while trying to enter the United States.

Mike Niezgoda, public affairs officer at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the arrest took place on Sept. 20 at the Peace Bridge border crossing in Buffalo, New York. The womans name wasnt immediately released.

The letter was intercepted before it reached the White House.

Canadian police are conducting an operation near Montreal airport on Sept. 21 in connection with the ricin-contaminated letter, the Quebec section of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) wrote on Twitter.

Our Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives team (CBRNE) is leading the operation. Police and fire teams from Longueuil are also on site. All necessary measures have been taken to ensure public safety, the RCPM stated.

Two U.S. officials told The New York Times that the woman was armed with a firearm when she was arrested. A senior intelligence official told the publication that the suspect was living in the United States in 2019 when she was arrested in Texas for possession of an unlicensed weapon, resisting arrest, and carrying a fake drivers license. The official also said authorities later discovered she had overstayed her visa and she was deported.

The FBI and our U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service partners are investigating a suspicious letter received at a U.S. government mail facility. At this time, there is no known threat to public safety, the FBI said in a statement to CNN.

An RCMP spokesperson told Canadian outlet CBC News on Sept. 19 that it was assisting the FBI in the investigation and that initial information from the investigation suggests that the letter originated in Canada.

A letter poisoned with ricin that was sent to President Donald Trump in this undated photo. (CNN)

The incident recalls prior instances in which U.S. officials have been targeted with ricin.

A Navy veteran was arrested in 2018 and confessed to sending envelopes containing the substance from which ricin is derived to Trump and members of his administration.

In 2014, a Mississippi man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after sending letters dusted with ricin to then-President Barack Obama and other officials, while in 2013, a woman sent ricin-laced letters to Obama and then-mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, for which she was sentenced to 18 years in jail.
CAIRO  It seems that the repercussions of the angry Islamic reactions to derogatory cartoons of Prophet Muhammad recently republished by French magazine Charlie Hebdo are far from over.

Egypt's El-Nabaa newspaper published Sept. 13 a report released by the Foreign Missions' Department under Al-Azhar Sheikhdom stating that several European countries have refused a request from the department to open Al-Azhar offices on their territories to welcome more Al-Azhar missionaries in those countries.

According to the report, the Foreign Missions Department linked the rejection of the request to the media campaign that Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb launched against Charlie Hebdo because of the republication of several caricatures deemed offensive to Prophet Muhammad.

Tayeb had issued a statement released in Arabic, English and French Sept. 3, stating that insulting the prophet is a breakdown of all humanitarian and civilized values.

Several regional newspapers and observers believe Tayebs statement openly criticized French President Emmanuel Macron, as it said justifying such insult under the pretext of protecting freedom of expression is a misunderstanding of the difference between the human right to freedom and the crime against humanity under the plea of protecting freedom.

In a press conference Sept. 1, Macron announced that he will not forbid or condemn the caricatures of Prophet Muhammad and justified that by saying France is a state that enjoys freedom of expression and opinion and freedom of the press. It is not the presidents business at all to judge the editorial choices of a journalist or newsroom.

The satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine on Sept. 2 began republishing the controversial caricatures of Prophet Muhammad with the beginning of the trial of al-Qaeda-affiliated members who were involved in attacking the newspaper premises in 2015, killing 12 people and injuring 11.

A faculty member at Al-Azhar University told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Al-Azhars Council of Senior Scholars and Tayeb did not ask Egyptian authorities to make any official response to the French authorities silence regarding the drawings under the pretext of defending freedom of expression and opinion, or on the stubbornness of some European societies vis-a-vis the establishment of offices for Al-Azhar administration for missions in their countries.

However, the source noted that few Al-Azhar faculty members wished Egyptian authorities had issued a statement to respond to French authorities, especially regarding the drawings.

The faculty member said official stances of Arab governments play a key role in alleviating the attack on Islamic sanctities and symbols and toning down hate speech against Muslims.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia recalled their ambassadors to Denmark in 2006 and 2008 and voiced their official objections to several controversial drawings of the prophet published in 2006 and republished in 2008 in the Danish Jyllands-Posten daily newspaper. The drawings were halted in Denmark in 2008 and have not recurred in 12 years.

Although the source wished an Egyptian or Arab stance were issued against the French drawings and against French silence, the source said faculty members at Al-Azhar understand Egyptian authorities' strategy in dealing with the crises calmly and solving them through negotiations and understandings and away from the language of condemnation which might add insult to injury.

The source added, We trust that the wise administration of President [Abdel Fattah] al-Sisi will contribute to resolving the crisis of establishing Al-Azhar offices in Europe, because Egyptian authorities believe that Al-Azhar is among Egypts key soft power tools and a means to fighting terrorism and extremism.

Akram Azab, a London-based opposition journalist and former expert on Al-Azhar affairs at Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper, told Al-Monitor, The Egyptian authorities might be putting pressure on Al-Azhar to halt the campaign against Charlie Hebdo and the French authorities, especially after the resonance of the social media campaign dubbed Everyone but the Messenger of God. The interests and ties between France and Egypt are much stronger than those between Egypt and Denmark, especially following the alliance between Egypt and France against Turkeys military intervention in Libya.

Social media activists reacted to Al-Azhars Sept. 3 statement with the Arabic hashtag that translates into Everyone but the Messenger of God. The hashtag became the most trending on Sept. 3-4.

Azab added that Al-Azhars campaign against Charlie Hebdo and French authorities might further complicate relations between Al-Azhar and Sisis regime, especially with the tensions between them given Sisis call on Al-Azhar to modernize its religious discourse, and his call to annul verbal divorce and limit issuing fatwas to the Egyptian Dar al-Ifta rather than Al-Azhar. Several opposition newspapers supported by the Muslim Brotherhood tackled these disputes, while Al-Azhar denied them on several occasions.

Al-Monitor tried to contact Saleh Abbas, Al-Azhars current undersecretary, to comment on the matter, but he did not answer his phone. And Al-Monitor's source at Al-Azhar stressed that his institute hasn't been under any pressure from the presidency to stop its campaign against Charlie Hebdo cartoons.

Abdul Qader Atta, a retired professor of political science at Assiut University, ruled out the possibility of a potential dispute over Al-Azhars campaign against Charlie Hebdo and French authorities between France and Egypt on the one hand and the Egyptian regime and Al-Azhar on the other hand. However, he indicated that this might expedite a dialogue between politicians in Egypt and France, and perhaps Europe as a whole, about curbing the hate speech against Muslims, their sanctities and symbols, because it is a main cause of terrorism and extremism.

He argued that French authorities have double standards in their support for freedom of expression and opinion. Muslim minorities in Europe might feel persecuted and react violently. He said, France pursues anyone who denies the Holocaust, and the French president chided a French journalist for exposing details of his meeting with Hezbollah leaders during his visit to Beirut. Yet French authorities did not see these pursuits or scolding of the journalist as behavior against free speech and expression.
News

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey Monday issued the following statement on the decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to withdraw the Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR).

We are very grateful to President Trump and the Administration for withdrawing MFAR, said Governor Ducey. The withdrawal of this proposed rule will protect our health care system, especially our rural providers. We are strong supporters of fiscal accountability and proud that AHCCCS is the gold standard for both care and cost control. This will continue to be a priority for us in the state of Arizona. We thank the Administration for listening to doctors, nurses, hospitals, and nursing homes and continuing to work with states to support our health care system, especially as we work to address COVID-19."
New Delhi, Sep 21 : The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Allahabad High Court order granting two months interim bail, on medical grounds, to former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati in a gang-rape case.

A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy and M.R. Shah said: "Issue notice. In the meantime, the operation of the impugned order dated September 3, 2020, passed by the High Court shall remain stayed." It has also sought response from Prajapati in the matter.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had granted interim bail to Prajapati, a minister in the erstwhile Samajwadi Party government. However, despite this bail, he continued to remain in judicial custody as a fresh case of fraud, forgery and criminal intimidation was also lodged against him.

Prajapati, along with others, have been accused of raping a woman and attempting to molest her minor daughter. The gang rape case was registered at Gautampalli police station in 2017.

The bench took note of the plea filed by the Uttar Pradesh government, opposing the High Court order, and stayed the bail order.

The state government contended in the plea that the accused wielded considerable influence in the environs of powers, and his political position was very strong, as the FIR against him was registered only after the victim approached the top court.

In the appeal, the state government had contended that the High Court has erroneously granted a short-term bail of two months to the accused in a POCSO case solely on medical grounds. The state government argued that the High Court did not note that he was throughout being treated in premier national medical institutes KGMC/SG-PGI, and the regular hearing of the bail is scheduled for hearing on September 28.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the High Court had noted that the health of the accused was at risk. Since March 15, 2017, Prajapati has been in jail since and he is currently undergoing treatment for various ailments at the King George Medical University in Lucknow.
From the time lockdown was first imposed on March 24 till September 20, over 3.03 lakh people have been booked for not wearing facemasks and 49, 852 people violated social distancing rules in public places, according to the data shared by the Uttarakhand police department on Monday.

The data revealed that among the total people booked and challaned for not wearing masks, maximum 1.15 lakh were from Dehradun district. In cases booked against those not following social distancing, the maximum cases were registered in Haridwar - 16,825.

According to the data, 4,779 people were booked for violation of lockdown norms.

Similarly, 942 people were also booked for violation of quarantine apart from 212 who were booked for allegedly spreading rumours on social media.

Ashok Kumar, director general (law and order), Uttarakhand police, said, During the action taken to enforce the Covid-19 norms, a total of about Rs 15 crore was also collected as fine from the violators.

With the rising number of Covid-19 cases, the state police is strictly implementing the Covid-19 norms in the state and will continue to take strict action against the violators to ensure the health safety, said Kumar.

Uttarakhand has so far reported 40,963 Covid-19 cases and death of 491 such patients. Dehradun district has reported the maximum 10,685 Covid-19 positive cases so far followed by Haridwar (8263), US Nagar (7351) and Nainital (5081). So far the state has tested over 6.05 lakh samples of which results of over 11,000 are awaited.
David Platt calls for prayers as pastors struggle more than ever during pandemic

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Megachurch pastor and popular author David Platt will hold a special night of prayer for pastors this week as some church leaders hes spoken with during the COVID-19 pandemic have told him they are struggling more than ever.

Most every pastor I talk to is struggling. Including some who dont want to go on, Platt, the lead pastor of McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia, wrote on Twitter last Thursday.

If youre a pastor, I want to pray for and encourage you specifically.

In a short video message included with his tweet, Platt says that pastors are struggling in a variety of ways.

Some say [they are] struggling more than theyve ever struggled in life and ministry, he stressed.

Some of them have even served for decades, the Radical author pointed out.

Most every pastor I talk to is struggling. Including some who don't want to go on. If you're a pastor, I want to pray for and encourage you specifically. Join me and other pastors for prayer & encouragement next week, Wednesday September 23rd at 12pm ET... https://t.co/YmiOPCUJFgpic.twitter.com/LpQMQF0srW  David Platt (@plattdavid) September 17, 2020

Im just burdened to pray for each other as pastors right now. ... You are not alone, Platt, the former head of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, said.

He urged pastors who are struggling to join him for a time of prayer at 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Platt, the founder of Radical.net, will host what is described as a time of Encouragement and Prayer for Pastors, a virtual event that can be accessed through Facebook Live and YouTube.

Platts prayer event comes as other Christian leaders have voiced concerns about the status of fellow pastors.

In a recent op-ed published by The Christian Post, Thom S. Rainer, the founder and CEO of Church Answers, an online community and resource for church leaders, wrote that the vast majority of pastors with whom our team communicates are saying they are considering quitting their churches.

Its a trend I have not seen in my lifetime, Rainer, the former CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, explained. Some are just weeks away from making an announcement. They are looking for work in the secular world. Some will move to bi-vocational ministry. Some will move to marketplace ministry.

Among the struggles that pastors are facing, Rainer said, is that they are weary from the pandemic, discouraged by fights between church members and facing declining membership, financial uncertainties, increased workload and increased criticism.

In July, a LifeWay Research survey found that 5% of Protestant pastors have dealt with an attendee dying from the coronavirus.

In the previous three months, pastors said church attendees had also dealt with reduced hours at work (74%) and losing a job (48%). According to the survey, only 29% were holding in-person Bible studies.

Barna Groups 2017 report, "The State of Pastors," revealed that the median age of pastors had risen from 44 to 54 over the last 25 years.

Pastors play a vital role in the health and well-being of society, Barna president David Kinnaman said in that report. We explore how pastors are faring in a culture where attitudes are growing increasingly skeptical to Christianity. Our goal is for pastors to feel affirmed, challenged and informed to continue the transformative work they do in their churches and communities.

The report further revealed that pastors are not immune to mental health struggles as almost half have faced depression and one in five have struggled with addiction  most commonly, to porn.

A 2015 LifeWay survey found that eight out of 10 pastors agreed they would need to confront conflict in their existing church in the future. More than one in five pastors agreed that their church had unrealistic expectations of them. Also, 24% of pastors agreed they frequently got irritated with people at the church.
Representative image

Taking note of instances of suspected COVID-19 reinfection reported from Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Delhi and Maharashtra, the Union Health Ministry is considering gathering data of such cases to ascertain their veracity, sources said.

They said it needs to be confirmed whether these cases are indeed distinct second infection and not just lingering effects of the first one.

This can be done only by genetic sequence analysis to see if it is the same strain of the virus which had caused the first infection or a different one.

For gathering data on suspected cases of COVID-19 reinfection, the health ministry may also issue guidelines and a format based on which database of all such cases is to be maintained by the State Surveillance Units (SSUs) and District Surveillance Units (DSUs), sources said.

Worldwide, there isn't sufficient evidence on reinfection. Most scientists describe the recurrence as shedding of the residual virus which may happen for up to three months since the first infection is diagnosed, Dr Neeraj Nischal, an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at AIIMS said.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

During such a time their RT-PCR test may come positive, he said.

"The second possibility is that it could be a different strain which is causing the infection. To know whether it is reinfection or active infection, one can do viral culture, sub-genomic RNA analysis or compare the genome of the two samples -- that of the first infection and the supposed recurrence.

"But these methods are technically demanding and not easily available," Dr Nischal explained.

ICMR Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava had last week said reinfection of COVID-19 is possible, even though it is a "very rare" occurrence. He, however, stressed that it is not a matter of serious concern.

"We have seen someone gets measles and is supposed to be protected all his life because he generates certain antibodies. But then, we have seen reinfection occurring in measles as well.

"Similarly, we can have COVID-19 reinfection as has been described by the case in Hong Kong. But, it is not a matter of serious concern. It has been noted that whenever reinfection occurs, both the infections have been mild," Bhargava said.

He had earlier said there is a need to find out how long immunity lasts.

Suspected cases of COVID-19 reinfection has also triggered concerns regarding the effectiveness of vaccines being developed.

According to some researches, immunity to coronavirus probably lasts at least three months or even longer, but it has not been scientifically established yet how long immunity lasts.

"Understanding how our immune system responds to the virus is an important step towards vaccine development," Dr Sanjay Rai, a professor in the department of community medicine at AIIMS said.

"What should be of concern is whether the virus is mutating very fast and to find out if the magnitude of mutation is very large. Then the vaccine developed against the virus may not act on this mutant variety. We don't have evidence to suggest drastic mutations in strains of SARS-CoV-2 in India till now," he said.

The concept of immunity after an infection is important because if immunity wears off it could pose a challenge for vaccines, another researcher said, adding that booster shots may be needed.

It is also unclear whether reinfected people would be able to spread the virus. That's another reason why scientists say people should continue to wear masks, practise social distancing and good hygiene, experts said.

Instances of coronavirus reinfection have been reported from Hong Kong, Belgium and the Netherlands raising concerns that herd immunity may not be enough to curb the pandemic.

However, scientists in India and elsewhere said more studies are needed for reliable inference.
Highlights Amazfit has finally taken the wraps off Amazfit Band 5, yet another fitness band.

Amazfit has launched the Band 5 for $45 (Rs 3400 roughly) in the United States.

. Amazfit has been launched in three pop colors including black, green, and orange.

Huami Amazfit has finally taken the wraps off Amazfit Band 5, yet another fitness band. The band has been unveiled in the US and will be available in the other markets in the coming months. Amazfit Band 5 has some of the interesting features including an SPO2 monitor, heart rate sensor, support for Alexa, and much more. The.

Amazfit Band 5 price and availability

Amazfit has launched the Band 5 for $45 (Rs 3400 roughly) in the United States. The smart band will go on sale starting today on the e-commerce platforms. Amazfit has been launched in three pop colors including black, green, and orange.

Amazfit Band 5 features and specifications

Amazfit Band 5 looks similar to the Mi Band 5 that was launched in China and could arrive in India soon. Amazfit is known for making some of the best fitness bands and smartwatches but this time it has opted for a band with a minimalistic design.

The Amazfit Band 5 boasts of better specifications and features However, there is a clear difference in the price as the Amazfit band is not as economical as the Mi Band is.

The Amazfit Band 5 features a color HD AMOLED display that is shaped like a capsule. The smart band comes along with up to 45 watch faces that can be accessed through the Zepp app and users can customize the watch faces as per their preferences.

The smart band comes with an SPO2 monitor which helps in keeping a track of the blood oxygen levels in the body. Apart from this, there is a 24*7 heart rate monitor that will measure your beats for as long as you are wearing the smart band, a sleep-quality monitor which will analyze your sleep pattern, there is also a stress monitor, and women's health tracker, which will monitor the menstrual health of women.

Amazfit Band 5 is also equipped with Alexa for voice assistant support. You can use the way you use other Alexa-enabled devices, give voice commands, set reminders, control devices, and also set alarms if need be. The device is 5ATM certified this means that it is water resistance and you can wear while swimming or washing dishes. In terms of battery, the band 5 house a 125mAh battery which can provide a battery life of up to 15 days on normal usage and up to 25 days on power-saving mode.
United States Supreme Court - photo by Stan Deatherage

Should President Trump perform his Constitutional duty and appoint a third Supreme Court Justice, or wait until it is suitable to the Democratic Socialists in congress and the media? Yes, Mr. Trump has the Constitutional duty to appoint a supreme court justice and the U.S. Senate is constitutionally sworn to "advise and consent". No, it is too close to the election of president, and the while Democratic Socialists do not have control of the U.S. Senate, they do have the control of the U.S. House and the media. I don't pay attention to these sorts of things. 120 total vote(s) What's your Opinion?



Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg was a lion for the Leftist cause for decades after her nomination by President Clinton. Justice Ginsberg believed in a 'living Constitution', one that could be a malleable instrument to further the cause for a more liberal, Leftist Union, except for her stand on the First Amendment , which, unlike most of today's Liberals and Leftists who do not support that guaranteed freedom, Justice Ginsberg stood strong against her Democratic Socialist party, and for the right of all Americans to speak their minds, their hearts, their thoughts forever undeterred.I always admired the Justice for taking this unpopular stand, which broke with the majority of those from her own political party. That took gumption since Democratic Socialists are the party of propagandists , and intolerance for others that feel and think differently than they do.As sorry as I am for Justice Ginsberg's passing, I am certain President Trump will appoint a 3rd Justice to the Supreme Court in the next few weeks, or sooner, and that Justice will be approved by the Republican Senate, or those Republican Senators will lose their seats, and that would be okay too. RINOs must be exposed, and sent packing.Since the passing of Justice Ginsberg, the President is moving decisively to replace her with a qualified woman, who will honor the Constitution and the Rule of Law. Senate Majority Leader McConnell is moving quickly to put the Senate affirmation process in motion, and I would be shocked if whomever the President selects is not affirmed.Nominal Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski , respectively from the lowly populated states of New Hampshire and Alaska, have announced that they would not vote to affirm Mr. Trump's nomination until after the election, but these may be hollow words.It does not take a political genius to know that if either of these Nominals elected to not support this nomination - the first Conservative Woman to serve on the high court since Justice Sandra Day O'Conner - their political careers would not only be over, but a massive black stain would be slapped against their legacy in which they would never overcome.So, get ready for the biggest fight in the modern history of American politics in this election season, with non patriot Speaker Stammer'n' Nancy Pelosi yet promising Impeachments all around, and for what ... presumed hypocrisy? For this President performing his duties as prescribed for him to honor his office of president?The real deal here is this: No patriotic Republican will not vote to affirm a Republican President's appointment if he should select a fully qualified candidate. So far, President Donald Trump has put forth two excellent selections, even to the chagrin of the non patriot Democratic Socialist senators, who valued the dictates of The Resistance over any patriotic considerations. This President is prepared to put forth yet another third fine candidate, as is his Constitutional duty to do so, and no real Republican or patriot will vote against this nomination.
The UN General Assembly adopted by consensus on Monday a forward-looking declaration on the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the world body that calls for strengthening mechanism to combat terrorism, reformed multilateralism, inclusive development and better preparedness to deal with challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic.

The landmark 'Declaration on the Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations' was adopted at the high-level meeting of the 193-member Assembly to commemorate the milestone anniversary of the world body.

In the declaration, the Heads of State and Government vow to leave no one behind, protect the planet, promote peace and prevent conflicts, abide by law and ensure justice, place women and girls at the centre, build trust, improve digital cooperation, upgrade the United Nations, ensure sustainable financing, boost partnerships, listen to and work with youth.

It is notable that India's priorities for its tenure as non-permanent member of the Security Council find resonance in the declaration that echoes New Delhi's call for strong mandate against terrorism, reformed multilateralism and inclusive development.

India played an active role during the negotiation process, working constructively with the President of General Assembly, co-Facilitators and like-minded Member States to ensure a concise, substantive, forward-looking and unifying text.

The declaration, negotiated through an intergovernmental process, says that the next 10 years, which have been designated as the Decade of Action, will be the most critical of our generation. It is even more important as nations build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic.

It calls for a strong UN development system and effective collaboration between the and the financial institutions, with particular attention to people in vulnerable situations. It calls for immediately curbing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving sustainable consumption and production patterns in line with the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.

UN Member States also underscored in the declaration that the UN must better address all forms and domains of threats.

" and violent extremism conducive to are serious threats to peace and security, the declaration said, voicing full support to Secretary-General's initiative for a global ceasefire.

The member states agreed that conflicts will not be resolved, and sustainable development not occur, without the equal and active participation of women at all levels. "We will accelerate action to achieve gender equality, women's participation, and the empowerment of women and girls in all domains.

Condemning acts of xenophobia, racism, intolerance, hate speech and disinformation, world leaders vowed in the declaration that they will address the root causes of inequalities, including violence, human rights abuses, corruption, marginalization, discrimination in all its forms, poverty and exclusion, as well as lack of education and employment.

They further said that shaping a shared vision on digital cooperation and a digital future that show the full potential for beneficial technology usage, and addressing digital trust and security, must continue to be a priority "as our world is now more than ever relying on digital tools for connectivity and social-economic prosperity.

The leaders also categorically noted that the world of today is very different from what it was when the was created 75 years ago.

"Our working methods need to keep pace and adapt. We support the ongoing reforms by the Secretary-GeneralWe reiterate our call for reforms of three of the principal organs of the We commit to instil new life in the discussions on the reform of the Security Council and continue the work to revitalize the General Assembly and strengthen the Economic and Social Council.

The world leaders said that for too long, the voices of youth have been sidelined in discussions about their future. This has to change now through meaningful engagement with youth.

The world leaders also pledged to be prepared as the COVID-19 pandemic caught nations off-guard.

"It has served as a wake-up call for improving our preparedness for not only health related crises but also other challenges and crises. We need to strengthen international cooperation, coordination, and solidarity, they said.

The world leaders said they commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations with a sense of awe and deep respect for the founders who created this Organisation...No other global organisation gives hope to so many people for a better world and can deliver the future we want."



The declaration asserts that strengthening international cooperation is in the interest of both nations and peoples.

It outlines the priorities of the world body and calls for greater action and international cooperation to meet varied global challenges in the years ahead. It notes that the world of today is not yet the world our founders envisaged 75 years ago. It is plagued by growing inequality, poverty, hunger, armed conflicts, terrorism, insecurity, climate change, and pandemics.

"What we agree today, will affect the sustainability of our planet as well as the welfare of generations for decades to come...We will work together with partners to strengthen coordination and global governance for the common future of present and coming generations," it 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.)
DeRomp Marketing's CEO William Lim with Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin (Deputy Minister of Communication and Multimedia) during the launch of CineDrive Malaysia.

21 Sep  The latest trend in moviegoing sees several drive-in cinemas popping up in Malaysia, and the newest of these is CineDrive, located at Bandar Utama.

Having only started operations on last Saturday, 19 September, CineDrive, which is located at the outdoor parking next to popular shopping mall One Utama, is currently the biggest drive-in cinema in Malaysia.

It has a 42-feet high and 52-feet wide LED screen, and to give a more special experience for moviegoers while watching movies from their own cars, the screen has been placed one-storey off the ground.

Marcel Lariche, MD of Cinema Online, receives a token of appreciation from CineDrive, presented by Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin.

CineDrive was officiated by Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, Deputy Minister of Communication and Multimedia (KKMM), who said that his department encourages the drive-in cinema concept.

"KKMM encourages the drive-in cinema concept to be introduced here especially at the time when our nation is facing the COVID-19 pandemic, because it can be an alternative platform for watching a movie on the big screen while adhering to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

"The concept will be able to give a new chance and experience for audiences to watch movies from their own vehicles," Datuk Zahidi stated during the launch of CineDrive at Bandar Utama recently.

CineDrive was officiated by Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, Deputy Minister of Communication and Multimedia (KKMM), who said that his department encourages the drive-in cinema concept.

"KKMM encourages the drive-in cinema concept to be introduced here especially at the time when our nation is facing the COVID-19 pandemic, because it can be an alternative platform for watching a movie on the big screen while adhering to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

"The concept will be able to give a new chance and experience for audiences to watch movies from their own vehicles," Datuk Zahidi stated during the launch of CineDrive at Bandar Utama recently.

The list of movies and showtimes at CineDrive.

DeRomp Marketing's CEO William Lim stated that CineDrive will be in operation for 9 days, from 19 to 27 September.

Story continues

"Throughout the period, we will screen a total of 22 movies, so you can check the list of movies at CineDrive's official website."

Among the movies that will be screened are "Paskal The Movie", "Ford V Ferrari", "300", "Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse", "Mad Max: Fury Road" and many more.

For more info on the movies and showtimes, visit www.cinema.com.my/drivein.
Farmers in the Mekong Deltas upstream areas are waiting for the flood season, which brings sediment to rice fields and other areas of aquatic resources.

The Binh Thanh crab-catching tool making village in Dong Thap Provinces Hong Ngu District.

The deltas flood season normally occurs between August and November, but this year floodwaters caused by the rising level of the Mekong River in the rainy season have not appeared in many rice fields in upstream areas.

In Dong Thap Provinces Hong Ngu District, the first locality which usually floods, farmers are opening more than 9,000ha of rice fields to wait for floodwaters.

The district has decided to not grow the autumn-winter rice crop, the years third rice crop, on more than 9,000ha of rice fields and will release floodwater into the fields to fertilise the soil and destroy pathogens and pests.

Nguyen Van Hoc in the districts Thuong Thoi Hau A Commune said that after harvesting the summer-autumn rice, he did not grow the autumn-winter and is preparing to receive floodwaters for his field.

He ploughed his rice field so that it will absorb sediments when the field receives floodwater. However, the level of floodwater is low now and has not entered his field.

If low floodwaters cannot enter the field, the next winter-spring rice will be affected because wild grasses, pathogens and pests still exist in the field, Hoc said.

In addition, the production cost of the winter-spring rice will be high because the field has not been fertilised by flood sediments.

The deltas flood season is expected to come late this year because of low rainfall, and will be weaker than normal.

The flood season is estimated to reach its peak at the end of this month and be 0.2  0.4 metre lower than the average level of many years, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting.

Floodwaters are now appearing in some upstream areas in Dong Thap and An Giang provinces. Farmers who catch fish and other aquatic species are also waiting for the rising of floodwaters since big floods offer more fish and other natural resources.

Nguyen Van Doan, who has earned a living from catching mud crabs in Dong Thaps Hong Ngu District for 15 years, said the number of mud crabs had declined significantly in recent years, especially in years when there are small floods.

He now catches only 13  14 kilogramme of crabs every two days.

Fishing tool production

Villages that make tools for catching fish and other aquatic species in the delta have entered their production period for the flooding season, but their operations are not busy as in previous years.

The villages include the Rom Thom fishing net-making village in Can Tho Citys Thot Not District, Lai Vung fishing net-making village in Dong Thaps Lai Vung District and Binh Thanh crab-catching tool making village in Dong Thaps Hong Ngu District.

Binh Thanh produces crab-catching tools year round, but its busiest production time is during the flooding season.

Nguyen Van Ghi, whose establishment makes crab-catching tools in Binh Thanh for more than 20 years, said he normally made 4,000 of these tools each year in previous years.

However, he only makes about 2,000 crab catching tools this year because of small floods.

This year, floodwaters had occurred late and were low, so catching fish and other aquatic species in the flood season in upstream areas had just started, he said.

The sales of fish-catching tools are lower than in previous years, he said.

Crab-catching tools made from bamboo are selling at a price of VND27,000 (US$1.2) each, and producers can earn a profit of VND8,000  10,000 for each, according to producers.

Binh Thanhs crab-catching tools are sold in the province and neighbouring province of Long An and are also exported to Cambodia.

The village has nearly 100 households making crab-catching tools. VNS

What would Vietnam be without the Mekong Delta? With the country overwhelmed by fear of the novel coronavirus, another even more severe threat is slowly approaching in the south: the death of the Mekong Delta.
A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Naples, Italy, on Sept. 20, 2020. Over 46 million Italians are being called to the polls on Sunday and Monday in a nationwide constitutional referendum on cutting the number of lawmakers in the country's parliament. (Xinhua)

ROME, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Over 46 million Italians are being called to the polls on Sunday and Monday in a nationwide constitutional referendum on cutting the number of lawmakers in the country's parliament.

Reducing the number of lawmakers is a key platform plank of the Five Star Movement, which currently rules Italy in coalition with the center-left Democratic Party in the government led by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

Parliament in 2019 approved a law cutting the Lower House from 630 members to 400 and the Senate from 315 to 200. But voters are being asked to ratify this law because it requires changing the country's constitution.

The exact number of voters involved in the constitutional referendum is 46,415,806, while another 4,537,308 voters who live abroad will be mailing their votes, according to the Interior Ministry.

In addition, voters in seven out of Italy's 20 regions will choose new governors in what could be a test for the Conte government as it battles to pull Italy out of a recession in the wake of a pandemic-induced March-May lockdown that drove the country's economy to a halt.

Regional elections are taking place in Valle d'Aosta, Veneto, Liguria, Tuscany, Marche, Campania and Puglia, and will involve almost 18.5 million voters, according to the Interior Ministry.

In Italy, a total of 1,820 voters are casting their ballots from home because they are under quarantine, the ministry said.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. local time on Sunday and will remain open until 11 p.m., while on Monday, they will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time.
They've been going from strength to strength since announcing their romance three months ago.

And Katie Price has revealed she and beau Carl Woods have decided to take things to the next level by trying for a baby AND moving in together - as well as the star dropping some strong hints that she's ready for marriage.

Speaking on new YouTube channel The Adventures Of Katie And Carl, the couple discussed their plans after the former glamour model purchased an ovulation kit.

Making plans! Katie Price and Carl Woods chatted about trying for a baby after she surprised him with an ovulation kit during their first YouTube video on channel The Adventures Of Katie And Carl on Monday

While holding onto the box Carl told his girlfriend he was 'glad that you got it. It's actually kind of cute that you got it.'

After getting over the initial shock of seeing the kit and blurting out 'for f***s sake', the hunk appeared keen on the idea of trying for Katie's sixth child, telling her that they weren't getting any younger.

Carl said: 'If we're going to make a baby then we need the ovulation kit. I'm 31 - I'm getting older. You're 42 - you're even older.

'So we need to know, don't we? I don't want to be an old dad. Do you want to be an old mum?'

Oh boy! After looking a little shocked at first, Carl soon got onboard with the idea and mentioned that they weren't getting any younger

Katie, who turned to the camera and laughed as her cheeky beau referenced her age, joked: 'I already am - but I'd like to be older.'

Carl then went on to say: 'It's a really good idea, Kate. Did you get this today [the ovulation kit]? And why did you buy this?'

Katie, who later revealed they've 'talked about a lot of things', replied: 'For the same reason you said, because of our discussions we've had.'

He said: 'Our discussions about having kids. This is important because if you're coming to move in, we're taking steps.'

Former glamour model Katie also dropped some heavy hints that she's ready for marriage number four during the video.

Big commitment: Katie also surprised her boyfriend with a Wedding Day Yankee Candle, dropping a not so subtle hint that she was ready to exchange vows

Bold: After giving Carl his cheeky gift, Katie agreed that if it had been a leap year she would have already proposed to her boyfriend of three months

After presenting the ovulation kit, Katie handed another bag to Carl which contained a Yankee Candle called Wedding Day.

Laughing at the find, Carl said: 'If it was a leap year, would you have asked me to marry you already?'

Not pausing for a second, Katie responded: 'Yes, without a doubt. Because I know youre the right one.'

And it seems Carl has been a fan of his girlfriend's for some time as he revealed the four things he wanted Katie to bring to his Essex home were mostly Jordan related.

Loved-up: The couple explained that they'll be moving in together at Carl's Essex home but still staying at Katie's abode when she has all of her five children

While unpacking their car Carl held up the 2004 Jordan calendar which he said 'all blokes will know to be an essential item'.

As well as the throwback calendar from Katie's glamour model days, two huge canvas pictures of the star were also brought into their new home,

Carl said: 'I don't want to date Jordan, I just like to look at her.

'It feels like I'm 15 again, had them all [the calendars], just different versions. Now I feel like I've gone back again and I've again got Jordan on my wall.'

Katie then asked her beau 'how does it feel having the person in the pictures living with you?' to which an enthusiastic Carl replied: 'I'm over the f*****g moon.'

Happy: After chatting about trying for a baby and marriage the pair shared a sweet kiss and got on with moving in Katie's belongings

Explaining their home set-up, Katie said she still has her house and will stay there when she has all her five children with her.

Talking about the move in, Carl joked: 'This is where I sign my life away, because she'll be here 24/7 now.'

Katie and Carl have been dating for three-months now and it was claimed on Monday that they beauty is 'rushing through' her divorce so she's free to marry again.

A source told The Sun: 'She's asked her team to rush it through, whatever it takes... She's keen to end the marriage so she's free to marry Carl if he proposes.'

The model married husband number three, former stripper Kieran, in 2013 and the pair share children Jett, seven and daughter Bunny, five. They split in May 2018.

'Essential': One of Carl's must-have-items of Katie's to be moved into the house was her Jordan 2004 calendar, which he said he had other year's versions off as a teenager

Joker: The former glamour model sat in her wheelchair and laughed as Carl reminisced over her Jordan days

Throwback: A huge canvas of Katie's face was carried up the stairs by Carl in his Essex home

During their marriage Katie accused him of cheating with her best friend of 20 years, Jane Pountney, as well as sleeping with pal Chrissy Thomas and nanny Nikki Brown.

Kieran said in March that their divorce was close to being finalised, but it is thought proceedings slowed when Katie went to The Priory.

A representative for Katie confirmed that the star is set to sign her divorce papers this week, but denied she was 'rushing the process'.

They added that the mother-of-five is 'excited' about what her future holds with new beau Carl. MailOnline has also contacted Katie's representative for a comment.

Youngest two: Katie shares son Jett, seven and youngest daughter Bunny, five, with former stripper Kieran Hayler, 33, who she married in 2013

In addition to eldest son Harvey, the media personality shares Junior, 15, and Princess, 13, with first husband Peter Andre, 47, to whom she was married to from 2005 until their divorce in 2009.

Katie also shares son Jett, seven and youngest daughter Bunny, five, with former stripper Kieran Hayler, 33, who she married in 2013.

The mother-of-five was also married to cage fighter Alex Reid, 45, from 2010 until 2012, but the couple did not welcome any children together.
I really think that the amount of people that theyre going to see on the West Side is going to be much larger than the stated number of 300, Paul Lee, co-owner and general manager of Dispensary 33, told the board. I also think the space is too small in order to serve that many people.
"When you're an MP," says Will O'Neill with a twinkle in his eye, "nobody likes you very much." O'Neill served as a military policeman in Korea.

O'Neill, 87, proudly states he's a fourth-generation member of the Walkerville O'Neill-Collins family, born "right there in the house" in Walkerville in 1933.

He remembers the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

"I was in the Dream Theater in Walkerville," he said. "After the show we went to Hunter Drug and we heard about it.

"We were waiting for the Japanese planes to come over the Highlands."

Later, during the last couple years of the war, he delivered The Montana Standard.

"On V-J Day, they shorted me 20 papers," he said. "People were raising hell. They wanted that paper. They had to bring me some more."

He went to St. Lawrence and Sherman schools and then Boys Central, where he graduated in 1951.

O'Neill went right to work in the mines.

A hoist oiler, or apprentice hoist engineer, he worked in the Lexington, the High Ore, Anaconda and Kelly mines.

He and friend Ray Pesanti both volunteered for the Navy, but they were on a waiting list when they were drafted into the Army.

"I got drafted in May 1953," he said. "I asked, 'What about the Navy?' and they said, 'You've been drafted. You're going to the Army or you're going to prison.' And actually it was better, because it was a two-year hitch instead of four."

He went to Fort Lewis in Washington for basic training, joining a group of the Illinois National Guard who happened to be going through at that time.

"They would keep us up until 3 or 4 in the morning, and then we had to get up at 6," he said. "If a guy fell asleep, guys on either side were ordered to elbow him in the ribs."

From there he went to MP training at the Presidio in San Francisco and Fort Baker across the bay in Sausalito with the 505th Military Police Battalion. After two months of training, he was sent to Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California, where troops were staged for travel to Korea during the Korean War.

His trip to Korea was aboard the USS General John Pope, a massive troop transport ship that carried 5,000 men, sleeping in bunks stacked three high.

The ship was anchored at Sasebo Naval Base in Japan waiting for the final leg to Korea when some Navy types on a small launch decided to make fun of the Army soldiers. "We had hard-boiled eggs for breakfast," O'Neill remembers, "and about 90 percent of the troops lined up and threw eggs at that launch. We almost sank it."

From Pusan they were transferred to a troop train that took them to Seoul  "basically in boxcars," he remembers.

"We got processed there and I got assigned to 728th Military Police Battalion, Dog Company."

His company performed a wide variety of MP duties, including keeping order in an area with about 400,000 troops, which wasn't easy.

"There were three dance halls and a Marine division right near where we were," he said with a smile.

At one point, a nearby Army hospital had a celebrity patient  Syngman Rhee, the first president of South Korea. "We had to provide security for the hospital," he said. "They flew doctors in, and his family was there. That lasted two weeks."

His company also provided security for a huge gasoline pipeline between Inchon and Seoul. Koreans would often loosen couplings on the pipeline, and when the gas ran out, they would scoop it up in whatever they could carry. Once, he said, five Korean women had filled a creekbed with gasoline and it exploded from a cigarette, killing all of them.

He also was assigned to transport Chinese prisoners of war.

O'Neill did get one R&R trip to Tokyo.

"Tokyo itself wasn't hard hit in World War II and it was pretty nice," he said.

After his discharge, O'Neill came back to Butte, and back to the mines.

"I worked as a station tender at the Lexington and the Kelly," he said, before going to school at the University of Montana for three years.

He came back to Butte once again and worked at the Mountain Con, filling stopes with "slime," or tailings. He remembers one week when it was 40 below, washing out ore cars.

After that, seeking a little warmth, he went to Los Angeles, where he was hired as a mailman.

He remembers delivering mail on Montrose Avenue on Nov. 22, 1963, when he found John F. Kennedy had been shot. He was devastated.

"John Kennedy was a hero to all Irish Catholics," he said. "I went back to the post office and some people were celebrating Kennedy being shot. I quit two weeks later and came back to Walkerville."

In 1966, he married Janet Tamietti, and they've been married 54 years.

"It took me quite a while to find a woman who would put up with me," he said, his grin making another appearance.

Janet, nearby, nodded in agreement.

He worked as a motorman at the Lexington, then when the mines closed, he became a guard at the Montana State Prison, retiring after 22 years' service there.

The O'Neills' daughter Jacqueline lives in Nevada, but son Jim, curriculum director for Butte School District #1, is close to home. They have five grandchildren.

"One of my granddaughters in Nevada is a mining engineer," Will O'Neill of the Walkerville O'Neills said with pride.

Editor's note: A correction has been made to this text to reflect that Will O'Neill's daughter's name is Jacqueline.

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The World Health Organization on Monday will announce which countries have signed on to its vaccine plan - and provide more details about how a vaccine, when it is developed, will be doled out.

More than 170 countries are in talks to join the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, or Covax, which aims to develop and distribute $2 billion in doses of a vaccine by the end of 2021.

Under the plan, rich and poor countries will pool money to provide manufacturers with volume guarantees for a slate of vaccine candidates. The idea is to discourage hoarding and focus on vaccinating high-risk people in every participating country first.

"If and when we have an effective vaccine, we must use it effectively," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, tweeted Sunday. "And the best way to do that is to start by vaccinating some people in all countries, rather than all people in some countries."

But Covax, which launched in June, is not getting the support it hoped for as vaccine nationalism takes hold and big economies buy up stocks for their own populations.

The White House said this month that the United States would not join, in part because the administration doesn't want to work with the WHO, and will instead take a go-it-alone approach.

To succeed, the facility must attract wealthy nations. The proposed allocation framework, which was reviewed by The Washington Post ahead of its publication, is part of that push.

The framework seeks to answer a question critical to every country: Once there's a safe and effective vaccine, how do you divvy it up?

The WHO's answer is a two-phase plan that will be closely studied and assessed.

In the first phase, doses will be distributed proportionally, meaning each participating country will get doses for a share of its population: 3% to start, then up to 20%.

If supply is still limited after the 20% threshold is met, the allocation method will switch. In Phase 2, Covax will consider each country's covid-19 risk level, sending more doses to countries at highest risk.

The framework makes clear that each participating country can decide whom to vaccinate first, but is based on the idea that doses for 3% of a country's population could be used to vaccinate medical workers first, and then other high-risk groups.

"Providing each country with enough doses to start protecting the health system and those at higher risk of dying is the best approach to maximize the impact of the small quantities of vaccines," said Mariangela Batista Galvao Simao, the WHO's assistant director general for access to medicines and health products.

Analysts said the framework reflects the political nature of the process, and the fact that the WHO is a member state organization.

"It seems like a compromise position," said Thomas Bollyky, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the director of its global health program. "It's not exactly what you would do if you were driven strictly by public health."

In a policy report this month for the journal Science, critics offered an alternate framework called the Fair Priority Model, which is critical of the country-based approach.

They argue that it does not make sense to provide the same 3% share to, say, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, given their vastly different needs and resources. A doctor in a rich country could be lower risk than a member of the general public in a country at higher risk.

The critics argue that distribution should be focused on benefiting people, limiting harm, prioritizing the disadvantaged and showing equal moral concern for all individuals.

The WHO and its partners are struggling to get rich countries to participate. Promising vaccines for 3% of each country's population is meant to encourage them to sign on.

"It's a very pragmatic and expedient way of trying to put forward a simple plan and will not ignite a food fight among different member states in the first phase," said J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"The real food fight," he said, "will come later" - particularly in Phase 2, when the facility will need to assess risk.

So far, these questions have been at the fringe of the conversation on vaccines, particularly in the United States.

The Trump administration said this month it would not participate in Covax either to secure doses or to offer support.

Under "Operation Warp Speed," the United States has placed advance orders for hundreds of millions of doses of vaccines, with an aim to secure doses for most Americans, including those who are at low risk, before anyone else.

The strategy comes with risk, because it eliminates the possibility of securing doses from one of the Covax candidates. If one of the U.S. picks does not pan out, the country could be shut out.

A worst-case scenario, considered unlikely, is that none of the U.S. vaccine candidates are viable, leaving the United States with no option because it has shunned the Covax effort.

A more likely outcome is that one of the U.S. picks does pan out but the United States hoards doses, vaccinating most Americans, while people in other countries go without.

The problem is that a new vaccine, whenever it arrives, is unlikely to offer complete protection to all people, so a portion of Americans will still be vulnerable, especially as tourism and trade pick up.

Britain and Japan have secured doses through advance-purchase agreements but will also participate in Covax - an option the United States could theoretically pursue.

Ultimately, analysts say, it's just the beginning of negotiations and conversation that will be playing out for years. "It still remains very unclear who will get what, in the end," said Suerie Moon, co-director of the Global Health Center at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

"From what we've seen so far, political, industrial and security interests will play a much larger role in determining global vaccine allocation than ethics or public health rationale."
Thirteen people, including six children, were killed, while 22 were injured and 27 still trapped under the debris after a portion of a 36-year-old ground-plus-three storey residential building collapsed in Bhiwandi, around 35km from Mumbai, at around 3.30am on Monday, officials said.

Though the cause of the accident was immediately not clear, however, Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) commissioner Pankaj Ashiya said the Jilani building in Dhamankar Naka was illegal and notices had been sent to residents to vacate.

At the time of going to press, rescue operations were still going on.

According to the BNCMC, 24 of the total 48 flats of the building collapsed, while the portion that did not collapse had a power loom on the ground floor. The injured were rushed to the Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) hospital. A seven-year- old boy, Ayaan Shaikh Ibrahim, who was trapped for nine hours along with his family of five, escaped with no injuries.

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) regional disaster management cell, the fire brigade and the disaster cell of BNCMC were part of the rescue operations, along with locals.

As soon as the incident took place, residents living near the area rushed to the spot and started pulling people from under the rubble. It was painful to hear people calling out for help. My relatives lived in this building, said Khalid Abdullah Khan, 28, who lived in the building one year ago but has now shifted to another building nearby.

Before the NDRF team reached the spot, 21 people were rescued by locals and the Bhiwandi and Thane rescue teams.

Ashish Kumar, deputy commandant of NDRF, said, Since the incident took place at a time when most residents were asleep, we emphasised on searching bedrooms and living rooms. There was also a fear that the remaining portion of the building might collapse as it was also tilting. We focused on canine search operations as we could not use equipment, fearing vibrations that could lead to collapse of the remaining portion. As a precautionary measure, power supply to the area has been snapped.

As soon as the incident took place, I received a call and alerted the fire brigade team to reach the spot. Around 5.30am, the NDRF team took over rescue operations and managed to pull out residents from under the debris, said Ashiya.

Ashiya claimed that the building was built in 1984 during the Gram Panchayat rule and hence it is an illegal structure.

The building is illegal and also very old and we have served notices to the residents and owner to vacate it. If any sort of negligence has led to the incident, legal action will be taken, he added.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray postponed e-opening of the Mankoli flyover in suburban Mumbai on Monday after receiving the news of the incident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as President Ram Nath Kovind offered their condolences to the bereaved families.Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected, PM Modi tweeted.

In a statement issued by the Thane guardian minister Eknath Shinde, a compensation of Rs5 lakhs will be given to the victims kin.

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Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Va.) speaks to members of the media after a closed briefing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Aug. 22, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Moderate Democratic Sen. Manchin Against Supreme Court Vote Before Election

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the only Democratic senator to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said he will not vote to confirm a Supreme Court nominee selected by President Donald Trump before the November election.

It is simply irresponsible to rush the adequate and proper vetting required of any new candidate for the bench, he said in a statement.

Other Democrats in the Senate are expected to try and block the nomination. Meanwhile, two GOP senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said over the weekend that they both do not support nominating a Supreme Court justice before the election.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), another potential swing vote, has not yet released a statement on the process.

Trump said he would attempt to fill the seat and has a number of potential justices lined up, following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 18. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also said he would try to nominate a justice.

McConnell, on the floor Monday, said his chamber has more than sufficient time to confirm Ginsburgs replacement, adding that Democrats are plotting an even more appalling sequel to the fight over Kavanaughs confirmation.

The American people are about to witness an astonishing parade of misrepresentations about the past, misstatements about the present, and more threats against our institutions from the same peoplethe same people who have already been saying for months, well before this, already been saying for months they want to pack the court, McConnell said.

He added: Were already hearing incorrect claims that there is not sufficient time to examine and confirm a nominee. We can debunk this myth in about 30 seconds. As of today, there are 43 days until Nov. 3 and 104 days until the end of this Congress.

McConnell noted that Justice John Paul Stevens was confirmed in the upper chamber in 19 days after they received the nomination.

Justice Sandra Day OConnor, another iconic jurist, was confirmed 33 days after her nomination. For the late Justice Ginsburg herself, it was just 42 days, he said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said over the weekend that nothing is off the table next year, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, We have our options, we have arrows in our quiver that Im not about to discuss right now.

We have a responsibility, we take an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States. We have a responsibility to meet the needs of the American people. When we weigh the equities of protecting our democracy, requires us to use every arrow in our quiver, Pelosi responded, without elaborating or providing a plan.
Daisy Martinez

The Mexican Independence Day celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, drew 19-year-old Daisy Martinez out Wednesday night to enjoy a street festival and truck show.

An explosion of gunfire there that ended her life left her family bereft.

My heart dropped as soon as I heard the news," said her father, Heriberto Barraza, reports KMBC.

"I started crying and up to this day I still cant believe it," he said Sunday. "Its like if its a nightmare. I wish it was a nightmare."

Witnesses and video surveillance from the area showed that a black Silverado truck with a large Mexican flag on the rear bumper was involved in the shooting, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office.

Officers who chased down the suspect vehicle took its owner and another man into custody, and spotted an AK-47 rifle "in plain view," according to a probable cause statement, reports KSHB.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The owner of the truck alleged the second man, 30-year-old Diego Calderon-Guzman, shot the victim, according to the prosecutor.

The crime lab later matched the rifle to shell casings at the scene. Calderon-Guzman told police that after "people started fighting and shooting guns," he grabbed the rifle from the truck and began firing at "what he believed were individuals ... shooting at him," according to the probable cause statement.

He said he hadn't seen Martinez running in front of him when he fired, according to the statement.

Jackson County Detention Center Diego Calderon-Guzman

On Saturday the prosecutor's office said Calderon-Guzman has been charged with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and two counts of armed criminal and unlawful possession of a weapon.

An attorney for Calderon-Guzman was not immediately identified, and it could not be determined if he had entered a plea. He was being held Monday in the Jackson County Detention Center, with the prosecutor's office seeking a bond of $500,000.

Story continues

Daisy was a person who had a good spirit, her laugh you could hear her across the room," said her father. "She had a smile, she was always joking, she was funny. She always had a good heart, a good soul, everybody loved her."

Over the weekend family members and others raised more than $6,000 in donations with a car wash to help cover the costs of a funeral, reports KMBC.

The irony of a young Mexican Latina got shot on Mexican Independence Day by another Mexican young gentleman, the irony of it, it's distasteful, the victim's aunt, Francesca Salas, told the outlet. "I dont think anybody has words for that.
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP from Basirhat, Nusrat Jahan, has filed a complaint with Kolkata Polices Cyber Cell against a dating application for using her pictures without her consent.

In her complaint letter to Kolkata Polices Cyber Cell, Nusrat Jahan wrote, This is to bring to your kind notice that an advertisement is being circulated on Facebook, in the form of a sponsored post by a company named - FancyU - Video Chat App, using my pictures in an unauthorised manner without my consent.

Jahan noticed the post after some people brought to her notice on the social media platform - Twitter.

Immediately, the TMC MP requested the Cyber Cell to register a complaint. Responding to her concerns, the Kolkata Police informed that appropriate action has been initiated.

She later tweeted, Thank you KP Detective Department, Kolkata Police & CP Kolkata for the quick revert and assistance.

Earlier in the day, the actress-politician tweeted to Kolkata Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma and shared a screenshot of the advertisement.

She tweeted, "This is totally unacceptable - using pictures without consent. Would request the Cyber Cell of @KolkataPolice to kindly look into the same. I am ready to take this up legally."

This is totally unacceptable - using pictures without consent. Would request the Cyber Cell of @KolkataPolice to kindly look into the same. I am ready to take this up legally. @CPKolkata https://t.co/KBgXLwSjR4  Nusrat Jahan Ruhi (@nusratchirps) September 21, 2020

Nusrat Jahan, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP from Basirhat, is a prominent actress of the Bengali film industry. She was last seen in 'Asur' while her upcoming movie is 'SOS Kolkata'.
Three days before President Donald Trump's first indoor campaign rally during the coronavirus pandemic - at an arena in Tulsa, Okla., in June - the director of the Tulsa Health Department marveled at the wave of abuse that was cresting in his direction.

"It's been crazy since the announcement of the presidential rally," Bruce Dart wrote to Lori Freeman, a colleague who led an association of local public health officials. "It's amazing how people strike out against anyone who they assume is not supportive of the president instead of listening to our messaging around staying safe in this pandemic."

"You're doing a fabulous job," Freeman wrote back. "Be strong (as will I)."

With the coronavirus still spreading, Trump has now restarted campaign rallies, bringing fresh controversy to new communities. This month, thousands of people, many without masks, crowded into an indoor manufacturing facility in Nevada to hear the president speak, defying a state directive to limit gatherings to 50 people. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, called Trump's actions "shameful, dangerous, and irresponsible." The director of the state's coronavirus response predicted a spike in cases because of the campaign event.

Tulsa's experience before and after the Trump rally show the difficulty that many communities face in balancing the desire to protect residents from the pandemic while catering to a president and Republican Party that have consistently cast doubt on and flouted health recommendations. Dart, a medical doctor and public health expert who has spent his career working for local governments, was one of the few city officials who publicly warned of the danger of an indoor rally. Those warnings earned him angry emails from Trump supporters about his health recommendations as well as those who thought he did not do enough to stop Trump's rally, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post through a records request.

Dart has since said the rally, as well as large protests that weekend, probably led to some coronavirus infections, but he has avoided going into detail. Some attendees have tested positive, including several campaign staff members and Secret Service agents, as well as Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, and former presidential candidate and pizza executive Herman Cain, though it is not known where they contracted the virus. Cain later died of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The rally was not just a health concern for Tulsa. The highly publicized event attracted about 10,000 attendees, according to an estimate by the Tulsa World, including many from surrounding states. There were also crowds of protesters in Tulsa at that time.

"Unfortunately, I think spread occurred elsewhere from being in Tulsa that weekend," Dart said in an interview.

After the Tulsa rally, which attracted a smaller crowd than the Trump campaign expected, the president stopped holding indoor rallies. His appearances have predominantly taken place virtually or at outdoor venues. But the event in a Las Vegas suburb raises the possibility that Trump will revive the indoor rallies that were a mainstay of his 2016 campaign - again putting pressure on state and local officials.

Trump has defended his choice to hold indoor gatherings, telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal last week: "I'm on a stage, and it's very far away."

In Tulsa, the criticism of Dart and the health department did not end when Trump flew home from his rally at the 19,000-seat BOK Center. Dart and his department have been buffeted by subsequent political battles over his department's recommendation that face masks be required in public and that schools start virtually instead of in person.

"Wearing masks is harmful!" one resident wrote to Dart on July 14. "Why are you hell bent on forcing Tulsans to muzzle up?! We are not your serfs or guinea pigs!"

Dart has received threatening calls and emails from residents who "have not been pleased with the recommendations made by the health department," said Reggie Ivey, the department's chief operating officer.

Dart filed a police report about the threats, and the department reviewed security protocols, but no arrests were made, a health department spokesperson said.

"Unfortunately, during covid, I think we've seen the best of human nature, and we've seen the worst of human nature," Dart said.

Distrust and anger toward local public health officials has sprung up in jurisdictions nationwide, including in many conservative areas. For a profession long seen as providing important if unglamorous work - restaurant inspections, immunizations - the scrutiny has added another layer of pressure on top of grueling hours and staffs stretched thin by the pandemic.

"This is a brutal time for them," said Freeman, the chief executive of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. "They've always been so trusted in their community. And now so much of their advice is not trusted or [is] ignored."

Freeman keeps a database of the more than 50 public health officials nationwide who have resigned, been fired, or faced threats and intimidation because of their work during the pandemic.

Protesters, including militia-style groups, have held rallies in opposition to stay-home orders and business closures. Early in the pandemic, the top public health official in Georgia was given an armed guard after threats were made against her. One health director in rural Colorado has had her car vandalized twice since the pandemic began, the Colorado Sun reported.

"I've never seen this rapid loss of experienced expertise, leadership, at a time that we need it most, in the thick of a worldwide pandemic," Freeman said. "It's very demoralizing."

In the days ahead of Trump's June 20 rally, increasingly agitated emails poured into Dart's inbox from people who thought he should cancel Trump's event. If he did not, many said, he would have blood on his hands.

"Do you want this on your conscience the rest of your life," one person wrote to Dart the day before the rally. "Just for a job?" A doctor from Long Island, N.Y., wrote that Dart had a "moral responsibility" to demand that the mayor cancel the event or he would be "complicit."

"This is truly a matter of life and death for many people," wrote one person who described herself as a Tulsa resident for more than 65 years. "The thought of our community being used as a guinea pig experiment is very disheartening."

Not everyone was worried. One Tulsa County resident wrote to warn Dart not to insert himself into politics: "Trump supporters pay your salary just as much, if not more, than Trump haters."

At the time of the rally, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican, chose to let Trump proceed though coronavirus cases had been spiking in the weeks leading up to the event and despite Dart's recommendation that it be postponed until a safer time. At a news conference before the event, Bynum said that the venue manager had "sole discretion" on whether to hold the event and that "it's not my decision to make."

Bynum did not respond to a request for comment.

In July, while discussing a measure to require future large gatherings to have a coronavirus safety plan approved by the health department, Bynum suggested that he would not want a repeat of Trump's rally.

"Am trying to avoid a future situation in which, just to pull an example out of the air, the BOK Center books a rally for 19,000 people without a requirement for a safety plan being on the books as a local regulation," Bynum wrote to Dart and other health department officials in July.

Dart's email correspondence also shows that ASM Global, company that managed the BOK Center arena, did have a plan to keep attendees a safe distance apart. In addition to having 400 hand sanitizer stations, 47,800 gloves, and 34,960 disinfectant wipes, the plan submitted to the health department before the rally said the venue would "decommission every other fixed seat to limit seating capacity," in the arena's inner bowl. On the day of the event, members of Trump's campaign removed thousands of "Do not sit here, please" stickers and the attendees sat shoulder-to-shoulder.

"I support your efforts to recommend additional public safety requirements for events within the BOK Center facility," Dart wrote to the arena management after reviewing the safety plan. "From a public health perspective, I have shared my concerns about the inherent risks of all large gatherings at this time."

In July, Bynum, on Dart's recommendation, proposed an ordinance requiring adults to wear masks in public places. Dart had expressed that such ordinances are a tough sell to the public and that Trump was one reason.

"It's going to be hard to require masks in Oklahoma as political as the issue is with the president and governor refusing to wear masks," he wrote to Dale Bratzler, the chief coronavirus officer at the University of Oklahoma.

The city council ultimately voted 7 to 2 to approve the ordinance.

George Monks, president of the Oklahoma State Health Association, credited Dart and the health department with "brave leadership through a really challenging time," adding that "there's a lot of misinformation and fear." Masks ordinances have saved lives and allowed businesses to stay open, he said.

Although no known coronavirus cases have been definitively linked to the rally, cases spread in Tulsa at a greater rate after the event. The seven-day rolling average, which stood at 112.1 cases on the day of the rally, peaked at 253.9 cases by July 29, before declining to 129 cases as of Sept 17, the most recent data available from the Tulsa Health Department. Tulsa has had 152 deaths related to covid-19, more than double the number when Trump held his event.

Although the health department does contact tracing on all coronavirus cases in the county, including those linked to that Trump rally, it does not make public those findings because it is often hard to isolate where a person contracted the virus, department officials said.

"The bottom line - and this continues, it was true then and it continues to be true - when people come together in large groups, transmission occurs," Dart added. "It's best not to have large gatherings."
administration had sought time from Lt Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia to discuss the alleged non-release of grants to 12 colleges of the varsity fully-funded by the city government but did not get any response, officials said on Monday.

However, the denied the charges, saying they have not received any appointment request from the varsity's side.

According to DU Executive Council (EC) member Rajesh Jha, the matter of alleged non-release of grants by to 12 colleges fully-funded by it was raised in the emergency EC meeting held on Monday.

"The EC was told during the meeting that the varsity administration had sought time from Delhi LG, CM and the deputy CM, but did not get the appointment from any of them.

"The EC members then insisted that the vice chancellor in his capacity as chairperson of the EC should write to the CM and the LG to seek appointment to get the issue resolved," he said.

The varsity administration and the have been locked in a tussle over non-formation of governing bodies in 28 colleges partially or fully funded by the government.

Among them, twelve of the colleges are fully-funded by the government and they have alleged that the grants released by the city dispensation have been inadequate and they have not been able to pay salaries to their staffers since April.

Jha said the EC members strongly opposed the Delhi government's decision of withholding funds of its 12 colleges for the last five months, which has deprived thousands of teachers and employees of their salaries.

"Many of them have received eviction notices from their landlords and are not able to pay EMIs and school fees. In no circumstances, governing body formation should be linked with funding and we demand its immediate release.

"Paying no for last five months in this COVID-19 pandemic situation is very 'un-government-like'. The irregular release of funds for the last one year in these colleges has halted the development works," he added.

The EC also condemned the recent statement by Deputy Chief Minister and Education minister Manish Sisodia to link the and funding of these colleges to the students fees, he said.

However, the Delhi government in a statement on Monday, said the varsity's claim that they had sought appointment with it is "completely false".

"DU VC has not sought any meeting appointment from either the CM or Deputy CM. In fact, Deputy CM had called a meeting with the DU VC to discuss this matter before ordering an independent audit and wrote several letters to him too.

"He refused to attend the meeting and did not even bother responding to letters of the Deputy CM and Education Minister. If he's still willing, he's welcome to meet and discuss this issue in the next two-three days," a government spokesperson 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.)
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban stated on Monday that the authorities are taking into account the possibility of replacing the 14-day mandatory quarantine if a test is taken and the results are negative for people coming from countries with a high number of COVID-19 cases.

"We are analyzing on each country and we will decide in the National Committee for Emergency Situations. (...) These are regular restrictions. We waited because at the level of the European Commission there is a debate in which joint measures at the European level are proposed for the situations of virus spreading. This week we will analyze the developments in each country and we will decide the measures. We are analyzing the possibility of us using the testing method, meaning to replace the 14-day quarantine period if a test is done and it is negative. We are in discussions and during this week we will make a decision," said Orban, in a statement at the headquarters of the National Liberal Party.

On the other hand, he mentioned that at this time it's not necessary to quarantine the counties that have the highest infection rate.

"On our analysis, even if Monday there was a higher number of infections, this was not confirmed by the weekly evolution. In the week that's passed, even if we have a slight increase, it's not an increase that would worry us. Surely we must continue to be vigilant, we must respect the health protection measures so that we limit the spread of the virus," Orban also stated.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS

This is the third investment by the Chinese Central Bank in the financial services company in India.

In March this year, the People's Bank of China increased its stake in the HDFC Ltd to over 1 per cent.

There is no bar on Chinese portfolio investment in India, but relations between the two countries have worsened in last six months.

Expert suggest that it makes a good sense for Chinese Central Bank, which is flush with funds, to diversify part of its war chest in countries like India

After mortgage lender HDFC Ltd and private sector ICICI Bank the People's Bank of China has now made equity investment in one of India's largest NBFCs Bajaj Finance. The Chinese Central bank's investment in mortgage lender HDFC Ltd had created a furore in the financial market. That was followed by the People's Bank of China investment last month in private sector bank ICICI Bank amid the border skirmishes and ban of Chinese apps.

The investment in Rahul Bajaj's financial services arm is less than 1.0 per cent, and hence not reflected in the shareholding pattern of the company filed with the stock exchanges. The timing of the investment is not known, but if it is between February and March-end, the Chinese bank entered at the right time as the NBFC's share price had plunged from around Rs 4,800 to around Rs 2,200 because of COVID-19 impact on the stock market.

Also read: China to draw up a list aimed at punishing firms deemed harmful to its interests

This is the third investment by the Chinese Central Bank in the financial services company in India. In March this year, the People's Bank of China increased its stake in the HDFC Ltd to over 1 per cent. The investment had created a flutter in the market with a section questioning the bigger design of China and the Chinese bank.

Amid anti-China sentiment, the government tightened foreign portfolio investment rules, especially on investments coming from neighbouring countries with a Chinese connection. The rules were issued prevent any 'opportunistic takeovers.'

Chinese bank's investment in the HDFC Ltd or for that matter in ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance is too small to make any impact or pose a threat. In banking sector, no single investor has voting rights of more than 15 per cent while any acquisition of share beyond 5 per cent requires RBI's prior approval.

Also read: Has People's Bank of China sold entire stake in HDFC? Here's what we know

People's Bank of China also reduced its stake below 1 per cent in the mortgage lender in June this year. Currently, there is no bar on Chinese portfolio investment in India, but the relations between the two countries have worsened in the last six months. India has banned over 100 apps including WeChat, shareit, TikTok, PUBG.

In fact, the ICICI Bank investment came amidst the border stand off between the two countries. In ICICI Bank's Rs 15,000 crore capital raising exercise last month, the Chinese Central emerged as one of the successful investors. The Chinese bank invested Rs 15 crore in the private bank under the qualified institutional placement.

Also read: People's Bank of China buys into ICICI Bank amid 'Boycott China' movement

People's Bank of China was amongst the 357 institutional investors that subscribed to the issue which included domestic mutual funds, insurance companies and global institutions. The prominent investors among those were Govt of Singapore, Morgan Investment and Societe Generale.

Expert suggest that it makes a good sense for Chinese Central Bank, which is flush with funds, to diversify part of its war chest in countries like India rather than stay invested in US and European countries. US and China are already locked in a trade war which has now further escalated into their business areas. The market regulator Sebi is also scanning the portfolio investments from China as well as from investors of Chinese origin via Hong Kong and other countries.

Also read: Chinese investment in ICICI Bank: CAIT tells govt to protect 'banking system's sovereignty'
Daniel Kwesi Ashiamah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Buem in the Oti Region, has said the people of Ashanti Region are disappointed in President Akufo-Addo and his government for abandoning them after voting massively for the NPP to gain power in the 2016 election hence the people in the region are bent on voting the NPP out in the upcoming polls.

According to him, the only way the Ashanti Region can atone for its sins is to vote for former President John Dramani Mahama in 2020.

Daniel Kwesi Ashiamah reinstated that most of the projects in the region are ones that were started by the former President, John Dramani Mahama.

Asantes are now wiser and will vote against the NPP government in the 2020 elections, Daniel Kwesi Ashiamah exclusively told Kwaku Owusu Adjei on Pae Mu Ka on Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7

President Akufo Addo has disappointed people in the Ashanti Region big time, If John Mahama were in power at this time, major projects he started would have been completed by now. he bragged.

Daniel Kwesi Ashiamah said the NPP government has been throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians by claiming that they commenced most of the projects in the region.

---KingdomfmOnline
(Natural News) Michael Caputo, an assistant secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), warned viewers during a Sep. 13 Facebook Live session that the Democrats are planning an armed insurrection against President Donald Trump and spoke about hit squads who were going to kill him.

Caputo, a former adviser during the presidents 2016 campaign, issued the warnings after a report implicated him and other pro-Trump officials as the ones pressuring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to alter its weekly reports on the coronavirus pandemic.

During the session, Caputo predicted President Trumps re-election and Democratic candidate Joe Bidens refusal to concede. When the president refuses to stand down at the inauguration, the shooting will begin.

Aside from election-related violence, Caputo referred to hit squads being trained across the U.S. to incite rebellion in case President Trump is elected for another term, adding that the same hit squads were also out to kill him.

The HHS assistant secretary for public affairs also touched upon the killing of Trump supporter Aaron Danielson by antifa Michael Reinoehl during the Portland protests in August. Remember the Trump supporter who was shot and killed? That was a drill, Caputo said. He also warned that the drills such as Danielsons murder were nothing compared to what was in store. Federal law enforcement officers later shot and killed Reinoehl while attempting to serve a warrant of arrest.

Caputo also exhorted his viewers: If you carry guns, buy ammunition, ladies and gentlemen  because its going to be hard to get.

Caputo lashes out at CDC scientists, spares director Dr. Robert Redfield

Caputo lambasted scientists who were part of the CDC and claimed that they have given up science to become political animals. He described the scientists as walking like they are monks and holy men yet practicing rotten science.

He also accused CDC scientists of not wanting America to get well until after Joe Biden is president.

According to Caputo, CDC scientists havent gotten out of their sweatpants except for meetings at coffee shops, apparently planning how to attack the president next.

While Caputo minced no words in disparaging CDC scientists, director Dr. Robert Redfield was spared from his vitriol. The assistant health secretary branded Redfield one of his closest friends in Washington and adding that he was such a good man.

Aside from the CDC director, Caputo also lauded his scientific adviser Dr. Paul Alexander as a genius. Alexander, an assistant professor at Canadas McMaster University, was heavily involved in modifying the CDCs weekly coronavirus reports.

Caputo warned that to allow people to die so that you can replace the president counted as a grievous sin, continuing that these people are all going to hell  referring to the scientists.

Dems are planning an insurrection right under our noses

Days after the Facebook Live session, Caputo announced he would take a leave of absence for 60 days. His scientific adviser Alexander separated with the department alongside Caputos leave.

The hit squads Caputo spoke of during the live session actually exist, although under a different name  antifa. Portland shooter Michael Reinoehl was a 100 percent antifa member despite attempts by the mainstream media to conceal his affiliation.

Antifa serve as the Democratic Partys violent wing, responsible for the Black Lives Matter riots in different U.S. cities, destruction of property and attacks on law enforcement officers.

If their candidate Joe Biden loses in November, antifa will crank up the violence to 11  unless President Trump stops them in their tracks.

Visit Conspiracy.news to find out more about the Democratic Partys planned insurrection when President Trump is re-elected.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Politico.com

NYTimes.com

NPR.org
Tropical storm conditions were expected to begin Monday morning in parts of Texas and Louisiana as Tropical Storm Beta slowly worked its way into a part of the country thats already been drenched and battered during this years exceptionally busy hurricane season.

No longer expected to gain hurricane strength, forecasters also decreased estimated rainfall totals from Beta early Monday, saying in a US National Hurricane Center advisory that up to 15 inches of rain could fall in some areas.

Thats down from earlier predictions of up to 20 inches.

Maximum sustained winds also decreased to 85 kph Monday morning. Beta was moving west at 9 kph, forecasters said.

It was the systems slow movement and storm surge were generating concerns in coastal communities. Storm surge up to 5 feet was forecast from San Luis Pass to Sabine Pass in Texas.

Beta was set to make landfall along Texas central or upper Gulf Coast late Monday night, forecasters said.

It was then expected to move northeastward along the coast and head into Louisiana sometime mid-week, with rainfall as its biggest threat.

Forecasters said Beta was not expected to bring the same amount of rainfall that Texas experienced during either Hurricane Harvey in 2017 or Tropical Storm Imelda last year. Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rain on Houston and caused USD 125 billion in damage in Texas. Imelda, which hit Southeast Texas, was one of the wettest cyclones on record.

The first rain bands from Beta reached the Texas coast on Sunday, but the heaviest rain wasnt expected to arrive until late Monday into Tuesday.

In low-lying Galveston, which has seen more than its share of tropical weather over the years, officials didnt expect to issue a mandatory evacuation order but they advised people to have supplies ready in case they have to stay home for several days if roads are flooded.

Were not incredibly worried, Galveston resident Nancy Kitcheo said Sunday. Kitcheo, 49, and her family had evacuated last month when forecasts suggested Hurricane Laura could make landfall near Galveston, but theyre planning to buy supplies and wait out Beta. Laura ended up making landfall in neighboring Louisiana.

Kitcheo, whose home is 18 feet above the ground on stilts, said she expected her street to be impassable as water from rising tides was already flooding neighboring roadways on Sunday.

This has definitely been more stressful, this hurricane season, she said.

Galveston, which has about 50,000 residents, was the site of the deadliest hurricane in US history, a 1900 storm that killed an estimated 6,000 people.

The city was also hit hard in 2008 by Hurricane Ike, which caused about USD 30 billion in damage. Kitcheos previous home was heavily damaged during Ike and had to be torn down.

Beta was churning slowly through the Gulf of Mexico on Monday morning about 180 kilometers south of Galveston, and 150 kilometers east-southeast of Port OConnor, Texas, the US National Hurricane Center said.

Forecasters ran out of traditional storm names on Friday, forcing the use of the Greek alphabet for only the second time since the 1950s.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Sunday said while Beta was not expected to bring rain like Harvey, he cautioned residents to be weather alert. Be weather aware because things can change.

This is 2020 and so we have to expect the unexpected, said Turner, adding the city expected to activate its emergency center on Monday.

In Victoria County, about 193 kilometers southwest of Houston, officials asked residents to prepare for up to 10 to 15 inches of rain.

As with any event, panic is never helpful or necessary, but preparation is, and now is the time to finalize those plans, said County Judge Ben Zeller, the top elected official in Victoria County.

Beta is forecast to dump heavy rain on the southwestern corner of Louisiana three weeks after the same area got pounded by Hurricane Laura.

More than 41,000 homes and businesses remain without electricity, and Beta could add to that figure by toppling trees that were left leaning by the previous storm, said meteorologist Donald Jones of the National Weather Service office in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Storm debris from Laura clogging draining ditches in hard-hit areas such as Lake Charles could increase the threat of flooding.

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Among its many lines of business, Siemens Healthineers, the medical technology company headquartered in Germany, produces diagnostic tests for various diseases. So by mid-March, Deepak Nath, the companys president of Laboratory Diagnostics knew this was uncharted territory. Youre in the diagnostic field so you remember how you dealt with Zika or MERS, he recalls. As we got into March it became clear we were not dealing with an outbreak like wed seen before and this was not something we were going to be able to snuff out.

Since then, the company has been on the forefront of producing antibody tests for COVIDit recently announced a collaboration with the CDC for a semi-quantitative IGG test for COVID, the first of its kind that will measure the duration and level of an individuals immune response over time with a numerical index value. In the meantime the company is also grappling with how to keep its own global workforce of 50,000 people healthy.

The ideal scenario is to test every employee every day, says Nath. But as of now, thats not a practical goalthe technology we all want, a non-invasise test, a reasonable price, results that are available quickly, that just doesnt exist.

So by definition, anything you come up with will have to piece together those things notes Nath. At his company, they quickly decided the first order of business should be to offer antibody tests to any of its 50,000 employees around the world that wanted one. Then the company put in place a weekly testing regime for any employees whose jobs required them to come on site, or who needed to travel for work. Employees that could work from home were encouraged to do so, and in the offices group meeting were limited, large gatherings banned, and all food service was changed to grab-and-go. Meanwhile, management has worked to reduce site density and provide PPE on site for workers.

Story continues

Though they also use temperature checks, thats a pretty crude tool says Nath, since someone could have been carrying the virus for days before they run a fever. That said, anyone who shows up at work with symptoms or a temperature is immediately sent home, and is given an at-home test to administer.

Though there have been cases identified, Nath says it has been relatively easy to do contract tracing and figure out who employees may have been in contact with and taken together the companys steps have prevented any large outbreaks. (Due to privacy considerations, he says they decided not to do contract tracing through phones or tracking apps.)

For his part, Nath says he has been trying to work from home as much as possible, and that the real risk he worries about, both for himself and his colleagues, is getting to the office whether thats taking public transportation, or in his case, flying to various sites around the world. When he does fly, he wears a mask and face shield, and regardless of his schedule gets tested 1-2x per week as well as doing an antibody test once a month.

Looking forward, he anticipates the next big hurdle for employers is when a vaccine is ready. Can employers ask employees to take it? Should they require it? If you are talking about what you as a company can ask your employees, the answer varies from country to country, he says, noting that for the antibody test they settled on offering rather than requiring it.

In other words, employers can expect plenty more tests as time goes onno matter what field they are in.

More must-read finance coverage from Fortune :

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Generations: Businesses need to demonstrate leadership in shaping what Ireland will look like for their children and grandchildren

The urgency with which individuals, governments and organisations mobilised and adopted radical changes in behaviour to limit the spread of Covid-19 offers hope for our collective efforts to mitigate climate change.

Time is not a luxury we have when it comes to climate action. Collectively, we need to refocus our efforts and accelerate change.

It's widely acknowledged that businesses have a pivotal role to play in addressing climate change and society will look for companies to show leadership. Banks have an important role to play here, given that in Europe, companies rely on banks for 70pc of their total external financing.

Sustainability has been at the forefront of investors' minds globally for some time. Demands for increased transparency and improved disclosure following the Covid-19 pandemic have increased the focus.

Larry Fink chairman and CEO of Blackrock, the world's largest asset manager and shareholder in stock-market listed companies, set out his belief that environmental sustainability will become a core goal of the investment giant's decisions. Accenture's Fjord Trends 2020 highlights that: "Investors, customers and employees are urging organisations to reconsider their view of the world and scrutinise their place in it. Unsettled by changing societal values, climate change and depleting natural resources, and economic and political instability, people are starting to question long-held beliefs - including the notion that growth at any cost is acceptable".

Sustainability has also assumed greater importance from a political standpoint, and it is very much a priority item for Governments around the world. The European Green Deal, which is at the heart of the EU's recovery plan, sets out a roadmap for the EU to be carbon neutral by 2050 with 30pc of the 750bn Covid-19 recovery budget dedicated to efforts to cut harmful emissions.

Here at home, climate action features prominently in the Programme for Government. Among the commitments are an ambition to achieve an average 7pc per annum reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 to 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.

Outside of its importance in the investor and political sphere, it is vital that companies take a rounded view and consider the needs of all stakeholders particularly the colleagues they work with and customers and communities they serve.

Colleagues will expect action on key societal issues and companies will struggle to attract and retain top talent in the absence of a strong position and commitment to change.

Companies meanwhile need to consider what is in the best interests of their customers long-term and demonstrate leadership in shaping what Ireland will look like for their children and grandchildren. Collectively, we have a shared responsibility to the next generation to ensure growth today does not come at a cost to future generations and businesses have a key role to play in this regard. While companies understand they don't have infinite time to change their business strategy and operating procedures, for many, there is a large degree of uncertainty as to what sustainability means for their business and how to position it as a key strategic priority.

Faster progress will not be without its challenges and significant investment will be required to transition our economy. Take for example the estimate from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland that some 35bn will be required over 35 years to make the existing housing stock low carbon by 2050.

Coupled with this, with more and more people working from home due to the pandemic and the likelihood of this continuing in the short to medium term, people are already exploring the different ways in which their home needs to be used in these changing circumstances. As we head into the winter period, we will likely see the conversation shift towards how to save energy in homes that have increased occupancy during the day with this possibly being a further catalyst for increased investment in more energy efficient homes.

As businesses, we need to rise to the challenge and ensure we continue to innovate and expand our products and services to deliver on the sustainability agenda. Globally the expectation is that demand for green banking products will increase significantly in the coming years, particularly as younger people become more active banking customers and investors. We are already seeing this in our daily interactions with customers, who are becoming increasingly interested in our green product range such as green mortgages as well as our green home improvement and green business loans.

But the bigger changes are yet to come, and we need to adapt quickly. At Bank of Ireland, we have started a process of measuring the CO2 output of each of our loan books and we will set targets later this year for our key loan books, with the aim of reducing our carbon footprint over time.

The transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy requires investment and capital. Our new green bond framework, which we recently launched, is another key step in our Responsible and Sustainable Business journey and will enable us to issue Green Bonds and finance more projects across renewable energy, green buildings, and clean transportation which mitigate climate change by reducing carbon emissions and protecting our environment.

More and more, government, businesses and investors are prioritising climate action. We're keenly aware of the role we can play in addressing this challenge too.

Covid-19 has demonstrated we can all adapt rapidly when we need to.

We can use some of these learnings to fast-track how we address climate change.

Mark Spain is the Chief Strategy Officer, Bank of Ireland.
By Rodrigo Viga Gaier

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is scheduled to undergo surgery to remove a bladder stone on Friday, a doctor for the Brazilian leader told Reuters.

Bolsonaro will check in to a hospital in Sao Paulo on Thursday to prepare for the procedure and will be hospitalized until Saturday or Sunday at the latest, said Leandro Echenique, one of several doctors on Bolsonaro's medical team.

"It is something much simpler and more common than other surgeries", Echenique said.

The president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Echenique's remarks. Plans for the surgery were reported earlier by newspapers Folha de S.Paulo and O Estado de S.Paulo, which cited unnamed sources.

Bolsonaro said in late August that he would undergo a procedure to remove a kidney stone this month, although he later said it was actually a bladder stone.

"I have had it more than five years. It's in the bladder, bigger than a bean. I resolved to take it out, as it is probably hurting the inside of the bladder," he told supporters outside his residence on Sept. 1.

Bolsonaro's health has been a concern since he was stabbed while on the campaign trail in 2018, and he subsequently underwent several surgeries.

Another doctor on Bolsonaro's team, Antonio Macedo, said on Tuesday that the president would undergo the surgery in the coming weeks and that it had nothing to do with his stabbing.

"His stomach is very difficult to open, to take out the intestine and other organs because of multiple surgeries," Macedo said last week. "It's something simple that is a bit more difficult because of his history, but he did a checkup with us last month and his health is perfect."

(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Jake Spring; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Daniel Wallis)
On Friday, September 11, 2020, the Executive Chairman of United Airlines, Mr. Oscar Munoz, called on Ghana's Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Dr. Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah, to officially inform him about the company's plan to revive its nonstop service from Washington D.C. to Accra.



As part of United Airlines' plan to expand its global route network, the company has announced new nonstop services to parts of Africa including Ghana, India and Hawaii. When operational, United Airlines will become the only U.S. carrier serving Accra nonstop from Washington, D.C. with three weekly flights beginning in late Spring 2021.



Recounting the past, the Ambassador raised concerns about the standard of aircraft that will be used for the route, the cost of tickets and the quality of services that will be offered to Ghanaians. "Whereas we are grateful for your decision to expand services to Ghana, we are also concerned about the type of services that will be rendered to our citizens. We are counting on United to offer premium customer services and fair prices at all times. We expect a relationship where our citizens are provided with exceptional services and Ghanaian workers employed by United Airlines are treated fairly" the Ambassador expressed.



Reacting to the Ambassador's concerns, Mr. Munoz assured him of his company's readiness to treat Ghanaians fairly and with respect when it comes to prices and the quality of services. Emphasizing the company's commitment to safety, the Executive Chairman said "We recognize the challenges associated with international flights so we will do everything to ensure we provide quality, convenient and safe services to the good people of Ghana."



United Airlines pledged to work closely with the Embassy of Ghana and other relevant agencies in Ghana to ensure smooth operations.

Source: Kofi Tonto, Contributor









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

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Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:

Nikola (NKLA)  Nikola founder Trevor Milton is stepping down as executive chairman of the electric truck maker, amid allegations from short-seller Hindenburg Research that it had misled investors and automakers.

Royal Caribbean (RCL), Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH)  A cruise industry panel has submitted its proposals for heightened health protocols to the Centers For Disease Control, as it seeks a full return to sailing. The proposals include testing of guests and crew members, the use of masks, and enhanced sanitation procedures.

Illumina (ILMN)  The maker of gene sequencing technology will buy privately held Grail  developer of a test for early detection of cancer  for $8 billion in cash and stock. Illumina founded Grail in 2016 and already owns a large stake, and the $8 billion includes consideration it will essentially pay itself as a Grail stakeholder.

Oracle (ORCL)  Oracle will take a 12.5% in the newly created TikTok Global, with Walmart (WMT) taking a 7.5% stake. TikTok Global will be a U.S. entity that will control most of the popular app's global operations.

Walmart (WMT)  Walmart is starting a private label clothing line, hoping to take market share from bankrupt retailers like J.C. Penney and others whose sales have fallen, like Kohl's (KSS) and Macy's (M).

HSBC (HSBC), Deutsche Bank (DB)  HSBC shares hit a 25-year low in overseas trading, following multiple reports that it and other banks had helped move illicit funds over a two-decade period despite red flags about the origin of those funds. Deutsche Bank appears to have facilitated more than half the $2 trillion in transactions reportedly flagged to the U.S. government, according to sources.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A)  The energy producer is seeking to cut oil and gas production costs by up to 40%, according to a Reuters report. The cost-cutting review is expected to be completed this year.

Comcast (CMCSA)  Comcast's NBCUniversal has reached a deal with Roku (ROKU) that will add the company's Peacock streaming service and keep other NBC content on the Roku platform. NBCUniversal is the parent of CNBC.

Tapestry (TPR)  Tapestry was upgraded to "overweight" from "neutral" at Piper Sandler, which cited the luxury goods retailer's cost-saving initiatives as well as positive effects from a China economic recovery.

Tesla (TSLA)  Tesla CEO Elon Musk told employees the company has a chance to deliver a record number of vehicles during the third quarter, according to Electrek.

Tiffany (TIF)  European Union regulators will decide by Oct. 26 whether to clear LVMH's $16 billion deal to buy Tiffany. Despite its plan to back out of the deal, LVMH submitted the deal for regulatory approval to counter claims that it deliberately stalled antitrust proceedings.

Capri Holdings (CPRI)  Capri Holdings was upgraded to "overweight" from "equal-weight" at Morgan Stanley, which cites the Michael Kors parent's quicker than expected global sales recovery.

United Parcel Service (UPS)  UPS was upgraded to "outperform" from "neutral" at Credit Suisse, which raised its price target on the stock to a Street-high $192 per share. Credit Suisse points to pricing power for carriers like UPS, as well as an anticipated decrease in capital expenditures.

Snowflake (SNOW)  Summit Insights Group began coverage of the cloud data warehousing company with a "sell" rating, calling the stock the most expensive name in all of tech with limited differentiation from its rivals.
For months, the villages lining the Baleshwari river in Bangladesh smelt of fish and rice, and rotting human bodies. Through the summer of 1971, as Indian troops began to mass across the border, Mukti Bahini insurgents had relentlessly harried the Pakistan Armys outposts in the south-western district of Pirojpur.

The reprisals were savage: The Pakistan Army and their militia, the Razakars, pillaged villagers food stores, burned down houses, tortured suspected informers, and staged mass executions.

Gouranga Chandra Saha watched as the local grocer, Delawar Hossain Sayedee, marched into the small village of Parerhat Bandor, at head of a group of ten Razakar militia. His sisters  Mohamaya, Anno Rani and Komol Rani  were taken to the Pakistan Armys base at Pirojpur, where they were gang-raped by soldiers for three days, before being released.

In 2011, Saha had the satisfaction  if it can be called that  of testifying at the Parerhat Bandor grocers trial for war crimes. Sayedee had become, by then, a world-renowned preacher, and deputy head of Bangladeshs Jamaat-e-Islami party.

Communal Landscape

Eight years after Sayeedi was sentenced to death by a war-crimes tribunal in Bangladesh, his solemn, low voice colonised the mind of Tania Parveen  a Kolkata student at the centre of a circle of over 70 people charged last week for participation in online jihadist activity. From 2018, the National Investigation Agency alleges, Parveen began to obsessively listen to the clerics speeches, drawing from them inspiration that would drive her towards the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Why should we feel sad when the Hindu brothers choose to leave our country, Sayeedi asked in one widely-reported speech? Do we mourn when we have indigestion and materials leave our bodies?

Her strange story  grim in parts, sometimes darkly comical  helps illuminate how Indias toxic cesspool of communal tensions has become a wellspring for Islamists seeking to seduce young Muslims into jihadism.

Born in March, 1999, to Nurnehar Khatun and Alamin Mondal in the village of Malayapur in West Bengals North 24 Parganas, Parveen grew up in difficult circumstances, sources acquainted with the family have told News18. Her mother works as an Accredited Social Heath Worker, assisting the governments immunisation and birth-control projects in return for a meagre honorarium. Her father, once a farm-hand, suffered long-term unemployment.

Nurnehar Khatun, one source said, ensured her daughter received the best education possible. Parveen, as well as her younger sibling, were sent to a local private school, the London Missionary Society, from which she graduated high school with an enviable 90 per cent score.

In 2019, Parveen went on to gain a Bachelors degree in Arabic from the Moulana Azad College in Kolkata. Her teachers, a West Bengal police officer said, recalled the young woman as being exceptionally bright. In addition to Bengali, English, Hindi, Urdu and Arabic, Parveen picked up functional knowledge of Kashmiri and Bahasa Indonesia on her own.

Even as Parveen was preparing to begin college, events took place which would transform her life. In 2017, a teenager posted images of the Prophet Muhammad on his social media feed, which sparked off widespread tension in North 24 Parganas. Local Muslims attacked Hindu homes, businesses and a religious procession; Hindus responded in kind.

Though the fatalities were limited, by the sad standards of Indian riotsone killed, and 23 injuredthe violence left deep fissures in the regions communal landscape. Parveen began hunting for answersand, the NIA alleges, found them in the idea of violent jihad.

Fantasy Life

Late in 2018, the NIA says, Parveen was introduced to Sayeedis sermons by her cousin Habibullah, a cleric who ran a local mosque. Her explorations of Sayeedis message, digital records obtained by NIA investigators show, soon led her into a maze of Islamist-leaning WhatsApp groups: Voice of Islam, Islamic Ummah and Human Brotherhood. In each, the message was much the same. India was part of a global alliance of states preparing for a genocide against Muslims and the answer was armed jihad.

From the transcripts of the digital records, though, its also clear Parveen found in the WhatsApp groups a sense of freedom and adventure likely denied to her in everyday life. A teenage romance blossomed with Kashmir-based Altaf Ahmad Rather, for examplemuch to the horror of both their families, investigators found.

In essence, the internet enabled Parveen to lead a fantasy life as a kind of Islamist version of Wonder Woman, leading an avenging pack of cyber-superheroes to beat back evil.

Even though her fledgling romance went nowhere, Rathers group led Parveen to make contact with a man using the name Bilal Durrani, who claimed to be a Lashkar-e-Taiba activist based in Pakistan. Durrani, NIA investigators say, provided Parveen with a virtual Pakistani number to join his group, since it barred all Indian phones for fear of surveillance.

The Lashkar-e-Taiba has long argued that the appropriate role for women is as mothers and wives of jihadists  not as fighters. The gun and the purdah, scholar Farhat Haq has pointed out, are the key symbols of the LeTs political agenda. The gun represents their political mission, and the purdah its central purpose.

LeT women, she pithily noted, are to confine themselves to chador and char-devari.

Theres some evidence, though, that women jihadists have imprinted themselves  at least peripherally  on the South Asian jihadists operational imagination. Ishrat Jehan  the young Mumbai woman extra-judicially executed by police in 2003  was claimed by the Lashkar-e-Taiba as a martyr who had volunteered for a suicide-bombing mission.

Insha Jan, the south Kashmir woman charged with facilitating the Pulwama bombing, is alleged to have had an operational role in Jaish-e-Muhammad; several European women played key roles as Islamic State logisticians, recruiters and tacticians.

From Parveens story, similarly, there are suggestions the online world has brought about some important transformations in the jihadist movements attitude to women.

JIHADIST CELL

Late in 2019, Parveen, using the pseudonym Abu Jundal, had risen to administering five Lashkar-linked WhatsApp groups, the NIA alleges. Investigators claim she was in regular touch with multiple Lashkar commanders in Pakistan. Through one of these new contacts, she was put in touch with an Inter-Services Intelligence officer using the pseudonyn Rana, who offered her money in return for raising local recruits.

Praveens efforts at setting up a jihadist cell, NIA investigators say, amounted to little: two girlfriends she added to her WhatsApp group Ghumnaam Tigers, or Anonymous Tigers, left immediately, and acquaintances from college she sought to recruit showed little interest.

There was just one friend who became active in Ghumnaam Tiger, a classmate in a tuition course Parveen attended. From the chat records, theres reason to suspect that his primary interest was not ideological.

Faced with this unimpressive performance, Rana suggested Parveen instead work to seduce Indian Air Force and Indian Army officers using a Facebook pseudo-identity, Priya Sharma. The plot had promising beginnings, after a junior officer made contact with Parveen. The Kolkata college girl, however, panicked when the officer sought a face-to-face video chat.

Low farce followed: when Rana suggested that Parveens mission made it necessary to go ahead with the chat, the young women responded that Islamic law forbade her from removing her veil. A furious row followed, and Parveen snapped contact with Rana.

In March, 2019, when the NIA made dozens of arrests nationwide linked to online jihadist activity, Praveen was running at least six pseudonymous accounts, the charge-sheet asserts: Mustafa, Hamza Tahir, Mutahijab, Abrar Fahad, Ibnu Adam and Abu Thurab.

Theres no way of knowing whether Parveens online activities would ever have escalated to an actual terrorist operation  and in some key senses, thats not the point. That the toxic world of fundamentalist chat groups attracts so many young people speaks of a deep political dysfunction, which it will take more than policing or intelligence services to address.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has endorsed Brandon Adams of Jacksonville in the state House race for District 100.

Im humbled to be recognized from the federal level with U.S. Sen. Durbins endorsement of my candidacy for the advancements Ive recently brought to my community and will bring to the 100th District, Adams said. Im also proud to have simultaneously gotten an endorsement from Equality Illinois today because they know I stand with, and will fight for LGBTQ equality.
Indian Police have arrested journalist Rajeev Sharma over allegations of espionage. Sharma stands accused of passing sensitive information to Chinese officials. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Indian affiliate, the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) are concerned by the arrest and urge the authorities to treat Sharma fairly under the law.

Delhi police revealed on September 19 that the journalist had been arrested for allegedly passing sensitive information about Indias border strategy and Army deployment to Chinese officials in exchange for money. He was arrested on September 14 under the Official Secrets Act.

According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, Sharma received USD 1,000 for each release of information. Police have accused him of receiving 4 million rupees (USD 54,584.96) in one and a half years of delivering information to Chinese officials. The Police stated that it also seized confidential documents related to the Indian defence department from Sharmas residence.Chinese national Qing Shi and her Nepali associate Sher Singh were also arrested on accusations of espionage against India.

Sharma had been writing on foreign affairs for a number of Indian media outlets and wrote a weekly column for the Global Times from 2010 to 2014.

Sharmas arrest comes at a time when tension between China and India has heightened over border disputes in the Himalayan region following a clash in June where 20 Indian troops were said to be killed.

The Indian Journalist Union (IJU) Secretary General Sabina Inderjit said: The IJU is concerned to Sharma's arrest and hopes that Delhi police and other agencies of Indias government will act keeping fairness and objectivity in mind in relation to Sharmas case.

The IFJ said: The IFJ is concerned by the arrest of Rajeev Sharma. We urge the authorities involved to carry out an independent investigation to ensure that the trial process is fair and transparent and there are no adverse impacts on press freedom in the country.
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Steel Strips Wheels share price gained over 2 percent intraday on September 21 after the company gets orders from US caravan trailer market.

Steel Strips Wheels confirms export orders of nearly 10,000 wheels for US caravan trailer market, to be executed in the month of October from its Chennai plant. Orders of similar capacity are anticipated from the same customer base as businesses have picked up speed, the company said in an exchange filing.

The stock was trading at Rs 463, up Rs 12.10, or 2.68 percent. It has touched an intraday high of Rs 464.00 and an intraday low of Rs 455.55.

According to Moneycontrol SWOT Analysis powered by Trendlyne, the company has decreasing promoter pledge with book value per share improving for last 2 years.

Moneycontrol technical rating is bullish with moving averages being bullish and technical indicators being neutral.

: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The Niger State Police Command has arrested one Mohammed Idris Abubakar for allegedly defrauding POS operators in Minna and other parts of the state to the tune of N1.2 million.

Checks revealed that the fraudster, within a year of his operation in various parts of the town and its environs scammed more than 20 operators in the state.

It was also gathered that the suspect, who also paraded himself as a soldier could generate fake alerts to scam his victims.

But, his activities came to an end, last week Monday, when the Police arrested him in his Mercedes Benz golden colour with Reg. No. California 5JUZ 074, while driving around the town and hunting for his next victim.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Wasiu Abiodun confirming the incident told DAILY POST that the suspect is in the custody of the command over alleged fraud and impersonation.

The Niger State Police Command has arrested one Mohammed Idris Abubakar for allegedly defrauding POS operators in Minna and other parts of the state to the tune of N1.2 million.

Checks revealed that the fraudster, within a year of his operation in various parts of the town and its environs scammed more than 20 operators in the state.

It was also gathered that the suspect, who also paraded himself as a soldier could generate fake alerts to scam his victims.

But, his activities came to an end, last week Monday, when the Police arrested him in his Mercedes Benz golden colour with Reg. No. California 5JUZ 074, while driving around the town and hunting for his next victim.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Wasiu Abiodun confirming the incident told DAILY POST that the suspect is in the custody of the command over alleged fraud and impersonation.

He revealed that Mohammed Idris Abubakar, 26 years of Sabi Nasarawa Bosso area of Minna has defrauded POS operators within and outside Minna of N1, 263, 000.00.

Abiodun disclosed that the arrest of the suspect was made possible following a tip-off the Command received about him

The suspect claimed to be a soldier with a Mercedes Benz golden colour with Reg. No. California 5JUZ 074 and has allegedly defrauded over twenty POS operators at various points in Minna and other parts of the State of about #1,263,000:00k.

The suspect, according to him, has confessed to the crime and would be arraigned in court as soon as investigation is concluded.

The Police image maker, however, advised POS operators in the state to ensure they receive necessary confirmation before transacting their businesses to reduce loss.

Members of the public, especially the POS operators are hereby advised to be careful and be very sure that they get necessary confirmation from appropriate financial institutions as regard their transactions to avoid unnecessary losses.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
tech2 News Staff

Last week, Google kicked out Paytm from the Play Store for "repeated policy violations". Two days after the temporary ban, Paytm has now finally opened up about the incident accusing Google of 'arm-twisting.

Paytm says, "we were forced to comply with Googles mandate of removing our UPI cashback offer and scratch cards to get re-listed." The blog states that suddenly UPI cashback is now being termed as an "online casino" by Google.

The Paytm app has since been restored. However, the Paytm First Games app is still off the list. Paytm had to remove the cashback campaign which was subject of concern for Google.

A series of events, as they unfolded.https://t.co/SXuLSbX5u2  Paytm (@Paytm) September 20, 2020

The blog further explained that on 11 September, Paytm had launched a campaign that allowed users to collect stickers and scratch cards that further resulted in UPI cashback. This was applicable on recharge, utility payments, UPI money transfers and adding money to Paytm wallet.

On 18 September at 11.30 AM, Paytm received an email from Google Play Support informing them that the Paytm app has been taken down from the platform. The email read, "Your app contains content that doesnt comply with the Gambling policy as it offers games with loyalty (e.g. engagement or activity) points that (1) are accrued or accelerated via real-money purchases which (2) can be exchanged for items or prizes of real-world monetary value."

According to Paytm, this was the first time that Google had approached it regarding UPI cashback and scratch card campaigns. Moreover, it was not given an opportunity to respond to the concern raised. As per the Paytm blog, "We maintain that our cashback campaign was within guidelines, as well as all laws of the land. We did not break any rules and there was no violation. It is not related to gambling in any manner whatsoever."

Paytm also responded regarding the "repeated" policy violation. It said, "The Google Play Support team had written to us on 3 occasions (on 20 August, 28 August and 1 September) with some concerns on a separate matter of Paytm First Games promotion through the Paytm app. While we strenuously disagreed with the allegation that we are breaching the policy (and we disagree with the policy itself too), we immediately complied with the diktat that barred us from promoting our gaming subsidiary."

Paytm also stated that since Google owns Android, it owns 95 percent of smartphones in India and hence, it has "enormous control" overs apps via its Play Store policies.

The blog added, "There is a bigger question here that the Indian startup ecosystem and developers should think about. As a startup, we are running law-abiding businesses and building for India. Google and its employees are making policies which are over and above the laws of our country, and are arbitrarily implementing them."
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.21

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Exports of electrical goods from Turkey to Azerbaijan grew by 9.11 percent in the past eight months of 2020, compared to the same period of 2019, exceeding $109.2 million, the Turkish Trade Ministry told Trend.

In August 2020, Turkey exported electrical goods worth over $11.3 million to Azerbaijan, which is 19.25 percent less than in August 2019.

The export of electrical goods from Turkey to international markets declined by 8.7 percent in the past eight months of 2020, compared to the same period of 2019, amounting to slightly over $6.5 billion.

The ministry said that Turkeys export of electrical products amounted to 6.4 percent of the country's total export over the reporting period.

In August 2020, Turkey exported the electrical goods worth $852.9 million to foreign markets, which is 0.6 percent more compared to the same month of 2019, noted the ministry.

Meanwhile, Turkeys export of electrical products made up 6.8 percent of the country's total export.

Over the past 12 months (from August 2019 through August 2020), Turkey exported the electrical goods in the amount of over $10.6 billion abroad.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
" " The concept of zombies is thought to have originated in Haiti.

It happens in just about every zombie movie -- a throng of reanimated corpses lumbers toward the farmhouse, shopping mall, pub or army base where the heroes have barricaded themselves. The zombies aren't dead, but they should be. They're relentless and oblivious to pain, and they continue to attack even after losing limbs. Usually, anyone the zombies kill returns as a zombie, so they quickly evolve from a nuisance to a plague.

Like a lot of monsters, zombies have their roots in folklore and -- according to some researchers -- in real events in Haiti. In this article, we'll discuss Haitian zombies, explore depictions of zombies in films and video games and review the best course of action for surviving an attack.

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Haitian Zombies

Zombies are common in Haitian stories and folklore. Researchers studying Haitian culture have related countless tales of bodies brought back to life by bokor, or sorcerers. These zombies are mindless slaves. They are not self-aware and are not particularly dangerous unless fed salt, which restores their senses. These stories are widespread and similar to urban legends -- they prey on the listener's deepest fears and seem believable in spite of their improbability.

Even after documenting numerous stories and rumors, researchers found little solid evidence to explain or prove the phenomenon. Often, the alleged zombies had received little or no medical care before their apparent deaths. Researchers also had trouble ruling out mistaken identity and fraud.

In 1980, a man appeared in a rural Haitian village. He claimed to be Clairvius Narcisse, who had died in Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti on May 2, 1962. Narcisse described being conscious but paralyzed during his presumed death -- he had even seen the doctor cover his face with a sheet. Narcisse claimed that a bokor had resurrected him and made him a zombie.

Since the hospital had documented Narcisse's illness and death, scientists viewed him as a potential proof for Haitian zombies. Narcisse answered questions about his family and childhood that not even a close friend could have known. Eventually, his family and many outside observers agreed that he was a zombie returned to life.

Narcisse was the impetus for the Zombie Project -- a study into the origins of zombies conducted in Haiti between 1982 and 1984. During that time, ethnobotanist and anthropologist Dr. Wade Davis traveled through Haiti in the hopes of discovering what causes Haitian zombies.

Next, we'll look at what Davis discovered.
Chuck Blount / Staff

The former San Antonio home of Tacos and Tequila on Broadway, located on the right corner of The Mosaic building at Josephine Street, is about to get fishy in coming weeks.

Senor Fish Seafood Bar, an Austin-based company that specializes in Mexican twists with seafood, has erected signage on the space and is actively hiring for the new restaurant. Construction crews were working on the outdoor patio area space on Monday.
Rowdy Lee Swanson, Oklahoma bull rider killed in Texas lat week (Rowdy Swanson/Facebook)

A bull rider and Oklahoma State University (OSU) student has been killed at a competition that took place in Texas last week.

Rowdy Lee Swanson was thrown from his bull at the ProRodeo in Mineral Wells, Texas, reported ABC News.

It was unclear what specific injuries Swanson suffered at the event organised by the Palo Pinto County Livestock Association.

Announcing the death of a rider, OSUs Rodeo Team said they had lost one of our own.

With a heavy and aching heart, I am saddened to announce that the OSU Rodeo Team has lost one of our own, Rowdy Swanson, wrote Cody Hollingsworth, in a statement on Twitter.

He was a big part of our rodeo family and he will be missed immensely, he added. Our thoughts are with the Swanson family at this time.

Swanson, who was from Duncan, Oklahoma, was said to have been studying animal sciences at OSUs Stillwater campus.

George Taylor, CEO of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, said he was deeply saddened by the accident.

The hearts of the entire rodeo community go out to Rowdys family in this tragic time. We will continue to keep Rowdy and his family in our thoughts and prayers, he added.

The Palo Pinto County Livestock Association also addressed Swansons death, reported ABC News, saying The entire rodeo committee and our rodeo family extend our heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathies to Rowdys mother Venessa, his brother Roper, and his entire family.

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A child was among the 11 people rescued by a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Monday from under the debris of a collapsed building in Maharashtras Bhiwandi.

The three-storey building collapsed in the Patel Compound area of Bhiwandi on Monday morning, leaving at least eight people dead and several injured. The incident took place between 3 am to 3.30am.

The death toll has gone up to ten in Bhiwandi building collapse. Five more people have been rescued, an official of the Thane Municipal Corporation was quoted as saying by ANI.

The building, which had 24 flats, was more than 30 years old, according to Pankaj Ashiya, commissioner of Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC).

There is no confirmation on how many of the flats were occupied. Around 50-100 residents are fear trapped under the debris. The team has managed to pull out 11 residents alive while ten died. The building is more than 30 year old and we had served notice to the owner and residents recently, he said.

Twenty people were rescued by locals earlier. Operations are underway to pull the trapped residents out.
United Nations, Sep 21 : The General Assembly committed itself to put "new life" into the stalled reform of the Security Council in its Declaration for the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations on Monday.

The Declaration with a 12-point action plan, that was adopted unanimously, said: "We commit to instil new life in the discussions on the reform of the Security Council." To promote peace and prevent conflict, the Declaration said the UN must "better address" terrorism.

"Terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism are serious threats to international peace and security," it said.

Several leaders in their speeches affirmed the need to reform the Security Council to make it more reflective of the current global reality, far removed from the world dominated by a few powers who had won the Second World War in 1945.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "A Council with a structure that leaves the fate of seven billion people at the mercy of five countries (that are permanent members with veto powers) is not fair, and it is not sustainable either. A Council architecture that is democratic, transparent, accountable, effective and based on an equitable representation has become a necessity - rather than a choice - for humanity.

Recognising the primacy of the organisation born "out of the horrors of the Second World War" in world peace and security, the Declaration said: "There is no other global organisation with the legitimacy, convening power and normative impact of the United Nations. No other global organisation gives hope to so many people for a better world and can deliver the future we want." "The urgency for all countries to come together, to fulfil the promise of the nations united has rarely been greater," it said.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has reminded us in the most powerful way that we are closely interconnected and only as strong as our weakest link," the Declaration said, laying out the action plan, one of elements of which is to be be prepared through international action to deal with calamities like the coronavirus calamity.

It said: "The Covid-19 pandemic caught us off guard. It has served as a wake-up call for improving our preparedness for not only health-related crises but also other challenges and crises. We need to strengthen international cooperation, coordination and solidarity." Before the Declaration was adopted, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that "a great achievement of which member states can be proud - and which we must all strive to preserve" of the UN is that it has avoided a Third World War or a military confrontation between major powers.

"No one wants a world government - but we must work together to improve world governance" he said outlining the challenges faced internationally.

Outlining UN's achievements, General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir pointed to the increase in its membership from 51 to 193 "reflecting, in significant part, countries gaining their cherished independence and committing to the United Nations and its Charter as sovereign states".

"Quiet diplomacy and the development of arms control regimes prevented the decades-long cold war from turning into a nuclear conflict. Peacekeeping Missions have kept the peace and protected civilians. UN special political missions have helped defuse crises and promote lasting solutions to conflict. Electoral assistance has reinforced public trust in democracy, including in crucial transition periods." "It is now time to mobilise your resources, strengthen your efforts and show unprecedented political will and leadership, to ensure the future we want, and the United Nations we need," he said.

Among the other elements in the Declaration is empowering women and girls and ending violence against them.

The Declaration committed the UN "to listen and work with youth" who are "the missing piece for peace and development".

While reiterating the goals for sustainable development and fighting climate change and getting the resources needed for those, it committed the UN members to improve digital cooperation.

Other elements of the Declaration include building trust between nations and promoting international security.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis)
By Trend

The Collective Security Treaty Organization is not in favor of provocative actions by Armenia, or anybody else, former OSCE Minsk Group co-chair from the US Matthew Bryza told Trend.

As for the Collective Security Treaty Organization, I dont think it will have a role to play at all, in any scenario, unless Armenia was attacked. Because, we know that the Collective Security Treaty Organization is a defensive military alliance, in which each member state pledges to come to the help of any other member state who may be attacked. If Armenia initiates some sort of military action, the Collective Security Treaty Organization would not be involved. Russia, as well as other members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization is not in favor of provocative actions by Armenia, or anybody else. Armenia is on its own with no support, he said.

Bryza noted that indeed, the government of Armenia has been making very provocative statements not only about Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia, but also suggesting possible military actions against Azerbaijan.

Thats of course, completely against Armenias internationally accepted obligations in the context of the OSCE Minsk Group. It simply reflects some kind of desperation on the part of Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is maybe trying to deflect problems inside of Armenia that he was unable to fix, by playing to Armenian nationalism. Pashinyans provocative statements were answered by Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev in his speech on Saturday, which was a very hard-hitting speech. When Russian news media broadcast President Ilham Aliyevs remarks, they did not broadcast the response of the Armenian side, which is very unusual. It seems to me that Russia would agree of what I just said that these actions by Armenia are unacceptable and they are outside of the framework of the negotiations to date, he added.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Unveiling: Malaysian activist fights for hijab freedom Harassed and placed under investigation by religious authorities -- activist Maryam Lee is a highly controversial figure in Malaysia after speaking out about her decision to stop wearing the hijab

Harassed and placed under investigation by religious authorities -- activist Maryam Lee is a highly controversial figure in Malaysia.

Her crime? Speaking out about her decision to stop wearing the hijab and criticising what she sees as institutional patriarchy in Islam.

Most in Muslim-majority Malaysia follow a moderate form of the religion and wearing a headscarf, known locally as a "tudung" and used to cover the head and neck, is not mandatory.

But experts says the nation has become more conservative in recent years and today most Muslim women wear one.

Maryam, who was made to wear a headscarf from the age of nine, says she realised in her mid-20s that she was conforming to a social expectation rather than a religious requirement and decided to remove it.

"All my life, I had been told that (wearing the headscarf) is mandatory and if I don't wear it, it's sinful. And then I found out that it actually wasn't, so I felt very cheated -- like all your life you've been told one thing, and it turns out to be a lie," she explains.

It was a difficult personal decision but when she went public, detailing her story in her book "Unveiling Choice", she faced a vitriolic backlash and death threats.

Malaysia's religious affairs minister expressed concern and she was hauled in for questioning under a law against insulting Islam -- the country has a dual-track legal system, with Muslim citizens subject to sharia laws in certain areas.

Maryam believes officials were concerned she was encouraging other women to "de-hijab", but insists this is not the case.

- 'Jail of society's expectation' -

"I'm not telling women what to think, I'm asking them to revisit certain assumptions and certain theories that have been taught to them over the years," the 28-year-old says.

"Even without legal criminalisation, women are facing social criminalisation when they want to take [the hijab] off," she warns adding that women like her are in a "jail of society's expectation".

Story continues

To mark the release of her book, which she describes as a story of resistance against patriarchy in religion and wider society, she took part in a talk called "Malay Women and De-Hijabbing" which fuelled the furore against her.

Head coverings differ around the Muslim world, from scarves that leave the face visible, to the niqab that leaves the areas around the eyes clear and the all-concealing burqa with just a mesh screen to see through.

In the West they remain controversial amid debates over freedom of religious expression and women's rights -- France does not allow students to wear hijabs in schools and along with Belgium, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands has a total ban on wearing the niqab or burqa in public.

Muslim women in Malaysia, which is more than 60 percent Muslim but is also home to large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities, wear a headscarf that covers the hair and chest, though it is not legally required.

Critics say this expectation of modesty was not the case a generation ago and is a result of the greater influence of increasingly vocal religious hardliners.

Maryam has been targeted by angry zealots but has also been hailed as the voice of the modern Malaysian woman by some in the social media generation keen to express their individuality as well as their faith.

- 'No less of a Muslim' -

"Women in this part of the world, when they take off the hijab, what happens to them? They get bullied, they get harassed," says Maryam.

Malaysian rights group Sisters of Islam agree women without headscarves come under heavy scrutiny from family, colleagues and in public -- making the decision "difficult and traumatic".

Maryam argues her choice was to step away from patriarchal instruction rather than her faith.

"I was born a Muslim, I'm still a Muslim -- I'm no less of a Muslim because I removed my hijab," she explains.

Even some prominent female politicians in Malaysia such as Rafidah Aziz and former central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz do not cover their heads, nor do the wife or daughter of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

In urban areas, young women have experimented with turbans and other 'fashionable' head coverings, despite criticism they flout religious guidelines.

Sarah, a consultant from a financial firm who gave a pseudonym to avoid upsetting her family, no longer wears the headscarf believing it to be a patriarchal expectation.

"Malay men especially at an authoritative level somehow have this mindset ... that Malay women need to appear in a certain manner, but it doesn't mean that these people who are wearing tudung are any better."

Religious authorities have yet to close their investigation into Maryam, meaning the possibility of further action remains.

But she has no regrets about her decision to open up about her experience: "Society needs to be awakened."

ccy/sr/lto
The TikTok deal has been a vivid example of the Trump administrations policy of reciprocity toward Chinese businesses. Supporters of the approach say it is only fair to treat Chinese companies by the same standards to which U.S. companies are held in China. Critics say the United States should not stoop to the strong-arm negotiating tactics that it criticizes other governments for using.
- Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the 1st president of Ghana, has reached 111 years since the day of his birth

- Although he has passed on, many regard him as the greatest president Ghana has had in its political history

- Ghanaians could, therefore, not keep calm on the day of his birth as they dropped some iconic photos and captions sighted by YEN.com.gh

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

Ghana's first president and leader of the movement that forced the British to end colonialism in the country has now marked 111 years from the day he was born.

Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who was born on September 21, 1909, at Nkroful, is regarded by most people as the greatest leader Ghana has ever had in history.

On this 21st day of September 2020, Ghanaians could not help but pour out their heartwarming words and iconic photos to make his grand day.

READ ALSO: How Dr Kwame Nkrumah got buried at Nkroful

Ghanaians mark Dr Kwame Nkrumah's 111th birthday with iconic photos Source: Face2FaceAfrica.com

Source: UGC

Check out some of the shots shared below:

Delmay dropped a photo that appears to have been taken at the Cape Coast Castle and indicated that Kwame Nkrumah still lived.

@BlueBirdTail mentioned a brilliant quote from Patrice Lumumba and added a birthday wish along with a photo of Nkrumah on some of his usual rounds.

@Togbevegbata also dropped a photo of Nkrumah neatly dressed in suit and tie, indicating that Nkrumah's name shall live forever

READ ALSO: 20 powerful quotes by Kwame Nkrumah

@blackprophetmus captioned an iconic photo of Ghana's first president in Kente with one of his most famous quotes

@Sellasie_Hf joined the trend with a smiling photo of Nkrumah in a casual setting and pointed out that Nkrumah is indeed the greatest president Ghana has ever had.

In another report by YEN.com.gh, Monday, February 24, 2020, marked the 54th anniversary of the overthrow Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana.

To commemorate the day which has been described as a sad one for Ghana, many social media users went online to remember Nkrumah.

Of the many posts and photos of Nkrumah that came up on social media, there was one which caught the most attention.

Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist Dela Jackson has charged the youth in Africa to wake up | #Yencomgh

Share your stories and news by getting interactive on our Facebook page!

Source: YEN.com.gh
SARATOGA SPRINGS  With winter approaching, restaurants that relied on outdoor dining to survived the COVID-19 pandemic hope the state will increase the limits on indoor seating capacity.

On Monday, several local members of the state Assembly made the case for increasing dining-room capacity from 50 to 75 percent.

"Restaurant owners are a tough, resiliant group," Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner said as she and fellow lawmakers stood outside Hattie's Restaurant on Phila Street. "They have stayed open throughout the pandemic, changing their business model on a dime, from serving in-house to takeout and delivery. They have managed to survive the summer with outdoor dining ... but as the days gets shorter and nights cooler, the need for increased indoor dining is critical to their survival and retaining 75 percent of restaurant jobs."

Earlier: Chillier weather cooling diners on outdoor tables

She, along with Assemblywoman Pat Fahy and Assemblyman John McDonald, asked the state to boost indoor capacity as long as the coronavirus infection rates at the county levels remains at or below 1 percent. It will be up to the administration of their fellow Democrat, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, to decide if it is safe to allow more diners inside restaurants.

Hattie's owner Beth Alexander said the restaurant survived outdoor dining during the warmer months but called it unrealistic to think it can continue with the inside tables it has set up now.

"We can not survive serving just six tables nightly," she said. "We have done everything that the governor has asked. We'd love to see 75 percent so that can help us get along through the long winter."

Woerner, a Democrat who is being challenged in this year's election by political strategist and one-time aide to Gov. George E. Pataki, David Catalfamo, are also also asking the state to allow alcohol to-go orders to continue and a 15 percent cap per order on delivery fees from DoorDash or Mealo.

David Zuca, owner of Ravenous, said that the delivery services take about 30 percent of each meal.

"It cuts my net profit in half," Zuca said. "Also, if I can get five or six more chairs in my restaurant, that would help as well."

Fahy said some third-party delivery services are gouging, and in some cases, she said, stealing from restaurant owners.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

There are a whole host of problems that have been uncovered, Fahy said.

However, she said that restaurants have displayed creativity through the pandemic that is "nothing short of amazing."

"Creativity only goes so far," Fahy said. "They have been responsible. ... now is the time to help these businesses get through the winter. We know there is responsible ways to do it. Its a reasonable request if the infection rate is below 1 percent. Let them survive through the winter."

McDonald said its crucial to go forward now with more tables.

Its going to be critical throughout New York State, McDonald said



Restaurants are doing what they can to keep outdoor dining comfortable, mainly by using tents and propane heaters. But Alexander said that comes at a cost. She said her four outdoor heaters cost about $25 each per night.



Todd Shimkus, president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, said he hopes Saratoga Springs will allow outdoor dining through Jan. 1.



We think we can put people outside, to keep them warm, to make it festive with holiday lights, Shimkus said. Downtown Saratoga Springs really is the downtown for the Capital Region. This is the place for people to come, to have fun, shop local and dine local. We have to make it as festive and welcoming as possible this year.
Ex-defence minister appointed Mali's transition leader Mali was gripped by protests against the then president earlier this year

Mali's military junta announced the leaders of a new transition government in the Sahel state on Monday, which will retain strong army links despite international pressure to appoint civilians after a coup.

Junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita said in a televised statement that former defence minister Bah Ndaw would become transition president -- while he himself would serve as vice president.

The announcement comes after the 15-nation West Africa bloc ECOWAS last week gave Mali's ruling officers "days" to appoint civilian leaders, warning that it would not lift sanctions on the country otherwise.

West African leaders imposed sanctions on Mali -- including a trade embargo and shuttered borders -- in the wake of the August 18 military coup that ousted president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The junta said last week that it would prefer the military to run the transition, however.

Ndaw, a 70-year-old retiree, was appointed transition president by a committee chosen by the junta, Goita said on Monday.

"Each proposal has its advantages and its disadvantages," he said, referring to the choice between a civilian or military president.

He added that the committee had taken "a global context" into account when picking Ndaw, in an apparent reference to pressure from ECOWAS, which has yet to comment on the appointment.

- Helicopter pilot -

Ndaw is a former helicopter pilot who was once an aide-de-camp to Mali's ex-dictator Moussa Traore, who died last week aged 83.

He then racked up a series of high-profile appointments: air force chief of staff, director of military engineering, and deputy chief of staff of the national guard, among others.

He later served as a defence minister under ousted president Keita.

A veteran soldier, Ndaw also received training in the former Soviet Union as well as at Paris's renowned Ecole de Guerre.

Monday's announcement followed a three-day forum with political parties and civil-society representatives earlier this month, which met to outline a roadmap to restore civilian rule in Mali.

Story continues

According to a charter which emerged from that forum, the transition president is meant to rule for 18 months before staging nationwide elections.

Delegates had hotly debated the military's role in the transition government, with some arguing to hand over power to civilians in line with ECOWAS wishes.

In Bamako, opinions were divided over the nomination.

"I would have liked a politician to be chosen... I think that there are major players who have the vision, experience and who really have the rigour to lead this transition," said sociologist Ben Aly Toure.

But taxi driver Nouhoum Fomba was satisfied.

"He is apolitical. He is also a career soldier, he has been air force chief of staff, and has held high positions in the army," he said.

- Tough sanctions -

Mali's neighbours, who are anxious the restive country could spiral into chaos, have been pressuring the junta to swiftly hand over power.

Two days after the coup, ECOWAS stopped financial and commercial trade with Mali, except for basic necessities, drugs, equipment to fight coronavirus, fuel and electricity.

The sanctions could bite in the poor country already facing a severe economic downturn as well as a simmering jihadist insurgency and chronic inter-ethnic violence.

It was these state failures that provoked people into the streets earlier this year, with months of protests and unrest building up to the military arresting president Keita and seizing control.

A swearing-in ceremony will take place on Friday, Goita said.

bur-lal/mbx
DP World, a global infrastructure-led supply chain solutions provider, and Bank Leumi, Israel's oldest banking corporation and one of the leading institutions in the region, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work together to enhance trade and logistics in Israel and promote the flow of trade between Israel and the wider region.

The MoU includes a framework for collaboration which will enable the parties to explore potential opportunities including the development of ports and logistics assets in Israel to drive trade and greater job creation; trade finance solutions to simplify working capital requirements for customers improve flow of cargo; and digital solutions in end-to-end logistics to remove inefficiencies in the supply chain, said a statement.

Bank Leumi is one of Israel's largest banks and is actively working to help grow business ties between Israel and the UAE. The Chairman, Dr Samer Haj Yehia, and the bank's President and CEO, Hanan Freidman, are visiting Dubai with a large delegation of Israeli business leaders. The visit follows the normalisation of relations between UAE and Israel.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: "The new relationship between UAE and Israel brings opportunities to increase trade and prosperity in the region. Working in partnership with a reputable financial institution such as Bank Leumi will enable us to better deliver our end-to-end solutions strategy. At DP World we are actively working on opportunities to enable trade, for the benefit of the people of the UAE and the Middle East."

Freidman said: "We at Leumi believe there is a golden opportunity for collaboration between business in Israel and the UAE, and we intend to be an active party. In DP World, we believe there is great opportunity to partner with a world class operator to drive efficiency and trade in Israel and beyond. In that perspective, we will be there for our customers to enable them to fulfil the potential business opportunities, by providing them with the appropriate financial services." - TradeArabia News Service
Representative Image

Unidentified swindlers tried to defraud the Andhra Pradesh government of Rs 112 crore, but alert staff of the State Bank of India's Secretariat branch here smelt a rat and tipped off the authorities concerned, police said. The revenue department, which handles the Chief Ministers Relief Fund, filed a criminal case with the Tulluru police on Sunday night, based on which the police swung into action to trace the swindlers.

The case will be transferred to the Crime Investigation Department as it involves an inter-state network, police said. The fraudsters presented three different cheques for Rs 52.65 crore, Rs 39.85 crore and Rs 24.65 crore in Mangaluru, New Delhi and Chennai for clearance.

The cheques were drawn on the SBI, MG Road branch in Vijayawada, and apparently signed by the assistant secretary in the revenue department handling CMRF. When the cheques came for clearance, the SBI Secretariat branch staff suspected something foul as huge sums were involved and alerted the revenue authorities.

Interestingly, the cash-starved Andhra Pradesh government has stopped all payments, particularly those running into crores of rupees, for many months now. "The three cheques were found to be fabricated and the signature forged. Cheques with the same numbers were previously issued to some individual beneficiaries for Rs 16,000 each and were duly encashed.

The fraudsters fabricated the cheques with the same numbers and presented them in different cities," Tulluru Sub-Divisional Police Officer Y Srinivasa Reddy said. The SDPO conducted a preliminary investigation in the Secretariat here on Monday and spoke to the officers and staff in the revenue department, CMRF section and also the SBI branch. Government sources said the Chief Minister asked the Anti-Corruption Bureau to conduct enquiries to find out if possibly the revenue or other staff had a hand in it.

Special teams are being constituted to trace the culprits, based on the bank account numbers and related details, police said.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. President of France Emmanuel Macron sent a congratulatory letter to Armenias President Armen Sarkissian on the occasion of the Independence Day, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The message runs as follows:

Dear Mr. President,

Dear friend,

On behalf of myself and the French people I address you my warmest congratulations on the occasion of Armenias Independence Day.

France and Armenia can be proud of the mutual relations which are based on historic ties, joint memory and common vision. These unique ties are a wealth more than ever which we are ought to develop. They make us stronger to resist the challenges facing our countries.

I want to assure you that France is determined to support Armenia in this courageous process of reforms launched by the government of Armenia since 2018. France stands by you to contribute to the new progress of your economy, as well as to support Armenia to invest in concrete long-term healthcare projects and the fight against climate change. More than ever the role players of our bilateral relations are ready to assist the reforms and participate in the economic progress. Despite the COVID-19 situation, I praise the latest achievements of our cooperation in university, educational and cultural spheres.

By using this chance I want to state that France, as a Minsk Group Co-Chair, will spare no effort to achieve the quick resumption of negotiations between the sides, with the hope of peaceful and lasting settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Please, Mr. President, accept the assurances of my highest respect.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan and former deputy governor Viral Acharya have together proposed winding down of Department of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry. The duo, in a paper suggesting "reforms that could allow banking activity to grow significantly without the periodic boom-bust cycles it has been subject to", has suggested that scrapping the Financial Services department is necessary as a signal of intent to grant bank boards and management independence. It's also essential as a commitment not to engage in "mission creep" when compulsions arise to use banks for serving costly social or political objectives, the paper said.

"Dealing with (loan) distress is most immediate, but the creation of empowered public sector boards is also possible now - the Department of Financial Services simply has to hand over power to the Bank Board Bureau, which would further delegate the power of appointment of all top management and non-government directors to the reconstituted boards of the banks."

The two also bat for introducing longer terms for senior management, better assessment of performance, performance-based promotions and extensions as a reform for the public lenders. The paper argues about tweaking ownership structures at banks. Rajan and Acharya suggest trimming government stake below 50 per cent in some PSBs and re-privatisation of some of these banks.

The two economists say that bringing change to the legislation which governs nationalised banks and subsequently selling government stakes below 50 percent will only follow smoothly once the bank boards start exercising their powers effectively. "Re-privatisation of select PSBs can then be undertaken as part of a carefully calibrated strategy, bringing in private investors who have both financial expertise," the paper added.

Even though India has a low credit to GDP ratio, the banking system has among the highest gross non-performing assets (GNPA) to total assets ratio globally, the two said in the paper. Combined with the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic, it becomes important to bring in more reforms in the banking sector at the earliest, they added.

Also read:Raghuram Rajan on economy: GDP fall 'alarming'; India needs stimulus now, not later
The first meeting will be held to elect a chairman and two deputies

Egypts Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Alaa Fouad told reporters that Egypt's newly-elected Senate will be ready to hold its opening meeting within the next two weeks or on the first of October at the latest.

Shawki El-Sayed, a constitutional expert and a former Shura Council member, indicated that Article 115 of the constitution, which states that the president of the republic shall invite the House of Representatives to hold its annual opening session before the first Thursday of the month of October, also applies to the Senate.

"The opening session shall be headed by the most senior senator and shall be devoted to members taking the constitutional oath, and then electing a chairman and two deputies," said El-Sayed.

Minister Fouad said "the newly-elected Senate will be ready to hold its opening session once the president of the republic's decree on naming 100 appointees is declared."

Minister Fouad also revealed that the House of Representatives is expected to hold a sixth legislative season.

"The House's tenure will expire on 9 January 2021, and until then there will be time for MPs to meet and discuss a list of new laws which will be referred by the government," said Fouad, adding that "the list includes laws on Unified Planning and the Value Added Tax.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Othman, the Senate's acting secretary-general, indicated that the Senate will get down to business once the president's decree on the appointed MPs is issued.

"When the Senate meets and members are sworn in, its first job will be to elect a chairman and two deputies, and these will form its internal bureau," said Othman.

Besides, said Othman, the number of the Senate's committees has yet to be decided.

"The Senate's internal bylaws, which will be drafted by its members, shall indicate how many committees the Senate will have," said Othman.

Othman also revealed that 141 senators received membership cards on Sunday.

"The senate's secretariat-general will continue receiving newly elected senators over the next few days and until the 59 remaining ones fill in papers and get their membership cards," said Othman.

Egypt's election of 200 senators was held on 9 September. President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi is expected to appoint the remaining 100 senators to the 300-member chamber.

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While pecans and wine are equally enjoyable on their own, they make a delicious duo when paired together. The virtual pecan and wine tasting, A Toast to Texas Pecans, will feature Texas pecan recipes and wine pairings to help wine and food enthusiasts get the most out of these authentically Texas products . The interactive session will make participants feel like they are in the room with Dupuy and Guerra as the two experts talk about what wine pairs with pecans and the rich history and ties each have with the state of Texas.

"Considering the history and culture behind Texas pecans and Texas wine, it's only fitting that we bring the two together to celebrate their place in Texas cuisine," said Dupuy. "This tasting will be a great way to look at the different grape varieties that are doing well in Texas and taste how wines from these varieties are complemented by Texas pecans."

To participate in this exciting educational and delicious tasting, interested individuals simply purchase a tasting kit through Texas Fine Wine by Friday, October 9, at texasfinewine.com/upcoming-events. Each kit is $125 (includes shipping) plus tax and includes five bottles of wine, a 1-pound bag of raw pecans, and a tasting sheet, recipes and other information produced by the Texas Pecan Board to be used during the event. Featured wines include Brennan Vineyards Viognier, Duchman Family Winery Dry Rose, Spicewood Vineyards Tandem (Syrah and Carignan), Pedernales Cellars Tempranillo and Bending Branch Winery Tempranillo, Newsome Vineyards. Once a tasting kit is ordered, purchasers will receive information confirming their kit will arrive in advance of the tasting, and they will receive an invite to the virtual tasting. Tasting kits are on sale until October 9. The kits could make a great gift for someone special!

"Texas pecans and Texas wines are essential when celebrating the holidays in our Lone Star State. Locally grown and sustainable, they make great gifts to share!" said Guerra. "Best of all, when the guests have all gone home, you can relax on your porch with an amazing glass of Texas wine paired with rich Texas pecans  a true Texas experience!"

Native, homegrown pecans have a rich history in Texas, with family-owned pecan orchards and wild pecan trees speckled throughout the spacious Lone Star State. Pecans are integral to Texas food culture. Their distinct flavor and versatile culinary application are why pecans continue to be America's original super nut, nourishing families with their wholesome, heart-healthy nutrients for hundreds of years. Governor Greg Abbott recently signed a proclamation in support of Texas Pecan Month and recognition of the important role of Texas pecan growers.

"We hope all Texans will join us for the month of October in celebration of these two great Texas agriculture products, grown, cultivated and processed by hardworking Texans," said Bob Whitney, executive director of the Texas Pecan Board. "In addition to participating in the tasting, I encourage every Texan to visit their closest pecan orchard and winery to discover what makes Texas pecans and Texas wines so special."

Individual pecan orchards and retail locations across the state may be running specials throughout the month, so be sure to check out your local favorites. In addition to joining the virtual tasting event, Texans can demonstrate their passion for Texas pecans throughout Texas Pecan Month by sharing recipes, wine pairings and Texas pecan-inspired snacking moments in social media by using #TexasPecanMonth.

About the Texas Pecan Board

The Texas Pecan Board is the pecan grower checkoff and the state agency for pecans in the State of Texas. Through the financial support of each and every Texas pecan grower, the Texas Pecan Board does research, education and promotion of the healthiest, most nutritious food on earth - Texas Pecans! Learn more about the Texas Pecan Board at texaspecanboard.com.

About Texas Fine Wine

Established in 2014, Texas Fine Wine is a group of five highly respected wineries making quality, benchmark wines from Texas grapes, sharing exceptional winery experiences, and providing excellent guest services. Texas Fine Wine includes Bending Branch Winery in Comfort, Brennan Vineyards in Comanche, Duchman Family Winery in Driftwood, Pedernales Cellars in Stonewall, and Spicewood Vineyards in Spicewood.

Media Contact: Allison Beadle

[email protected]

(512) 963-6930

SOURCE The Texas Pecan Board

Related Links

https://www.texaspecanboard.com


Kolkata, Sep 21 (UNI) Making no bones about his strong dismay over the West Bengal Director General of Police's "dont care ostrich stance on law and order," Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday reiterated that the state is already a "safe haven to terror, crime and illegal bomb making".

Taking to his twitter handle, Mr Dhankhar said, " Anguished at DGP @WBPolice dont care OSTRICH STANCE on LAW & ORDER  West Bengal police firmly adheres to the path laid

down by law..-State already safe haven to terror, crime, illegal bomb making. "

" Hope he has tryst with reality @MamataOfficial from my note when he sees me, " he added.

" @WBPolice @MamataOfficial is threat to human rights, being in support for ruling party

harmads unleashing murderous attacks on opposition MPs/MLAs/workers, " the Governor rued.

Accusing the State Government of "turning a Nelsons eye to one-sided police actions against particular set of people in all communal situations", Mr Dhankhar termed it as "unacceptable".

" Police and administration @MamataOfficial in crawl mode before political consultants, " he

noted.

" Power corridors are infested #MAP. System hijacked to non state actors, " the Governor

said and described "such usurpation and incursion of power" as "unconstitutional and crime'.

" Governance in accordance with constitution shrined, " Mr Dhankhar observed.

It might be mentioned that taking note of NIA's arrest of six Al Qaeda operatives from

Murshidabad district on Saturday, Mr Dhankhar earlier upped the ante against the Mamata

Banerjee Government for the "alarming decline" in law and order.

Targetting the DGP, Mr Dhankhar stated, "How far distanced is DGP @WBPolice from

reality is cause of worry. His Ostrich Stance is very disturbing. Appreciate (the) role of

policemen in general-they r (are) working in difficult situations."

"Problem is with those at helm who r ( are) unmindful of conduct and r ( are) politically

guided," he stated.

" Police @MamataOfficial busy in carrying out political errands and taking on opposition,"

he said.

" Those at helm @WBPolice cannot escape their accountability for this alarming decline

in law and order, " he added.

" State has become home to illegal bomb making that has potential to unsettle democracy,"

the Governor averred.

UNI PL-SJC BM
The Massachusetts Department of Education is pressuring 16 communities and school districts, which the state deemed low risk COVID-19 areas, to return to in-person learning.

In a letter signed by the Department of Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley, the agency said its guidelines only recommend remote learning for communities designated as high risk." The letter was sent to 16 communities that the state deemed low risk who continue to exclusively offer remote learning.

In light of the stark discrepancy between local public health data and your reopening plan, I am requesting a timeline by which you anticipate providing in-person instruction for the majority of your students including in-person instruction for vulnerable populations, Riley said in the letter.

The 16 communities and school districts included:

Amesbury

Belmont

Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public (District)

Bourne

Boxford

East Longmeadow

Gardner

Gill-Montague

Hoosac Valley Regional

Manchester Essex Regional

Mohawk Trail

Hawlemont

Pittsfield

Provincetown

Watertown

West Springfield

In the letter, Riley cited Massachusetts as one of the states with sufficiently low test positivity rates that meet World Health Organization standards for reopening.

Last week, the two-week test positivity rate in Massachusetts as reported by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is at 0.9%, well below the threshold of 5% established by WHO, the letter said.

The districts and communities that received the letter have fallen into the green or gray color code, which indicates low COVID-19 transmissions.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released reopening guidance on June 25 that stated, There is a clear consensus from both education and medical groups: we must keep in mind not only the risks associated with COVID-19 for in-person school programs, but also the known challenges and consequences of keeping students out of school.

Communities are expected to respond to the Department of Education within 10 days. Riley said the districts responses could prompt an audit to assess efforts to provide in-person instruction and to ensure remote learning programs are consistent with the states guidelines.

I know we share a goal of providing access to a high-quality education for all students, Riley said in the letter. I look forward to working together to ensure as many students as possible can benefit from safe, in-person instruction this school year.

Related Content:
John Hess has been the CEO of Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) since 1995, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for Hess.

View our latest analysis for Hess

How Does Total Compensation For John Hess Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, Hess Corporation has a market capitalization of US$13b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$13m over the year to December 2019. That's a fairly small increase of 7.3% over the previous year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$1.5m.

For comparison, other companies in the industry with market capitalizations above US$8.0b, reported a median total CEO compensation of US$13m. From this we gather that John Hess is paid around the median for CEOs in the industry. Moreover, John Hess also holds US$1.1b worth of Hess stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

Component 2019 2018 Proportion (2019) Salary US$1.5m US$1.5m 11% Other US$12m US$11m 89% Total Compensation US$13m US$13m 100%

On an industry level, around 15% of total compensation represents salary and 85% is other remuneration. In Hess' case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

A Look at Hess Corporation's Growth Numbers

Over the past three years, Hess Corporation has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 57% per year. Its revenue is down 19% over the previous year.

Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. While it would be good to see revenue growth, profits matter more in the end. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Story continues

Has Hess Corporation Been A Good Investment?

Given the total shareholder loss of 1.0% over three years, many shareholders in Hess Corporation are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. So shareholders would probably want the company to be lessto generous with CEO compensation.

To Conclude...

As we touched on above, Hess Corporation 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. Meanwhile, shareholder returns paint a sorry picture for the company, finishing in the red over the last three years. But EPS growth is moving in a favorable direction, certainly a positive sign. Considering positive EPS growth, we'd say compensation is fair, but shareholders may be wary of a bump in pay before the company logs positive returns.

It is always advisable to analyse CEO pay, along with performing a thorough analysis of the company's key performance areas. In our study, we found 3 warning signs for Hess you should be aware of, and 1 of them can't be ignored.

Switching gears from Hess, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 10:13:01|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Sunday called on some decisive Republican senators to reject a vote on a new Supreme Court justice nominee before the election to replace late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Delivering a speech in Philadelphia, Biden made the plea to "the handful of" Republican senators "who really will decide what happens" with the seat on the highest court vacated by Ginsburg's death on Friday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said Friday the Senate will vote on a nominee picked by President Donald Trump, who told reporters the following day that he intended to announce a woman for the job next week.

"Don't vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and Senator McConnell have created," Biden said. "Don't go there. Hold your constitutional duty, your conscience. Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have been engulfing our country."

The former vice president said Friday that the sequence should be that "the voters should pick a President, and that President should select a successor to Justice Ginsburg," meaning the new justice should be selected by the one who wins the upcoming presidential election.

"To jam this nomination through the Senate is just an exercise in raw political power, and I don't believe the people of this nation will stand for it," Biden said in Philadelphia. "If Donald Trump wins the election, then the Senate should move on his selection and weigh the nominee he chooses fairly." Enditem
An Action Hero: Ayushmann Khurrana is now joined by Jaideep Ahlawat as they kickstart shoot in London
Pakistan has denied visa to senior diplomat Jayant Khobragade who was set to be appointed as acting head of Indian high commission in Islamabad, people familiar with the development said on Sunday.





It is learnt that Pakistan did not approve his visa on the grounds that he is too senior for the post.



The people said Pakistan was conveyed by India in June about its move to send Khobragade as India's deputy high commissioner to that country.

There was no official comment on the issue either by Pakistan or India.



Following India's decision to withdraw special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August last year, Pakistan had downgraded diplomatic ties by expelling the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad.



Pakistan also decided not to send the new envoy it had named to head its mission in New Delhi following India's decision on Jammu and Kashmir.



Since then, both the Indian and Pakistani high commissions in Islamabad and New Delhi respectively are being headed by the deputy chiefs of mission of the two countries.



On August 5 last year, India announced its decision to withdraw special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two Union territories.



Since then Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to rally international support against India on the issue. The relations between India and Pakistan nosedived following the decision.

In June, India asked Pakistan to reduce the staff in its high commission by half and announced a reciprocal reduction in Indian strength in Islamabad.



The decision came after Indian authorities allegedly found involvement of certain officials of Pakistan high commission in "acts of espionage".
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The sit-in protest by eight suspended MPs at Parliament premises on Monday continued past midnight and received the support of a large number of opposition leaders.

To show solidarity with their protesting colleagues, senior opposition leaders came in hordes including NC leader Faroukh Abdullah, JD(S)' Deve Gowda, Samajwadi Party's Jaya Bachchan, Congress' Ahmed Patel and NCP's Praful Patel.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh sat with the protesting parliamentarians for almost four hours, one of the suspended MPs told PTI as they sang patriotic songs, surrounded by placards hanging on strings with slogans in support of farmers.

"This is the first time ever that a peaceful overnight protest in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament has happened," protesting TMC MP Dola Sen said.

"This is also the first time that members were openly robbed of their right as MPs to ask for a division (not just a voice vote)," she said.

ALSO READ: Farm bills - Mamata speaks to suspended Rajya Sabha MPs, lauds their efforts

One of the main concerns for the MPs was the health of two senior leaders who are diabetic -- Congress' Ripun Boren and CPIM's Elamaram Kareem, who are both over 65 years of age.

"We are making sure that we are all hydrated and we have enough water," TMC MP Derek O'brien said.

"Refreshments are also coming in from the homes of Opposition MPs at regular intervals to ensure that their sugar levels don't drop. It's a wonderful team effort and we are not going to stop," another senior leader said.

An ambulance is also on standby for emergency use in case any of the protestors fall ill.

The MPs will be able to use the Rajya Sabha toilets as long as the Lok Sabha proceedings are underway, but after that they will have to use the toilets at the reception, another MP said.

The protesting MPs are carrying not just their beddings with pillows and blankets but mosquito repellents as well to shield themselves from the vectors.

ALSO READ: Suspended Rajya Sabha MPs misbehaved, have no trust in democracy: Pralhad Joshi

"We would like the government to know that this is an indefinite protest," O'Brien said.

AAP's Sanjay Singh said, "We will continue protesting against the farmer bills until the Modi government provides a rationale behind passing these bills without having the required votes".

Old timers said this is the first time in the history of Parliament that an overnight protest has been held on its premises.

However, overnight protests have been held in Assemblies, senior leaders said.

Earlier in the day, the government moved a motion seeking the suspension of Derek O'Brien (TMC), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Rajeev Satav (Congress), K K Ragesh (CPI-M), Syed Nazir Hussain (Congress), Ripun Boren (Congress), Dola Sen (TMC) and Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M).

The motion was adopted by voice vote amid protests.

Four of the eight suspended Upper House members had moved resolutions opposing some key bills that appear in the Rajya Sabha List of Business announced for Tuesday.

The four MPs are O'Brien, Satav, Kareem and Ragesh.

Since they are suspended, their names don't figure in the List.

During the day, the protests saw MPs from various parties like Congress, CPI(M), Shiv Sena, JDS, TMC, CPI and the Samajwadi Party joining in.

In the evening, many Lok Sabha MPs trickled in to show their support to the suspended MPs who were sitting in protest.

Other leaders who came by include Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, NCP's Supriya Sule, DMK's Kanimozhi and Tiruchi Siva, who carried hot idlis for the protestors from his residence.

Monday was Congress MP Rajeev Satav's birthday and his wife and daughter came especially to Delhi to celebrate it.

However, he was at the protest site since morning.

The protest by the MPs is being held at a time when around 30 parliamentarians have tested positive for the coronavirus disease.
Current GIC post-catastrophe wildfire imagery includes:

Alameda Drive-Glendower-Obenchain fires in Jackson County, Ore.

Bear-North Complex in Butte County, Calif.

Creek fire in Fresno and Madera Counties, Calif.

Bridger Foothills in Gallatin County, Mont.

Babb fire in Whitman County, Wash.

The GIC continues to monitor conditions and collect data and imagery in other areas, including several other large fires in Oregon and California.

Geospatial images help provide insurers with information to better respond to and settle claims faster, while also mitigating the possibility of fraud. The imagery is also provided to emergency personnel, law enforcement and first responders at no charge.

With devastating wildfires like these, damage assessment is crucial to expedite the recovery process, said Richard Butgereit, director of catastrophe for the GIC. We know that post-disaster, high-resolution aerial imagery can speed up the recovery process, allowing claims processing to proceed faster as well as obtain benchmark fraud for or GIC customers.

In areas like Malden, Wash., officials have estimated that up to 80% of structures have been destroyed.

This imagery can assist with long-term recovery or inform a distressed home or business owner that their property is still standing, Buttgereit said.

Technological advances have improved in recent years, providing insurers with critical tools to enhance fraud detection and expedite fraud investigations, said Timothy Slater, NICB senior vice president and chief operating officer. The GIC is just another example of how the industry is leveraging innovation to help fight fraud in the wake of a disaster like this one.
Paris, France and Belmont, Calif.- September 21, 2020 - Atos SEin France. It will also be available in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands.

Pierrick Belledent, Head of the Business Information Department at the Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS), which uses Unify Office by RingCentral, explains: "The pandemic has made it necessary to virtualize our exam grading process, which is a key strategic activity for the school. Our partnership with RingCentral and Atos enabled us to carry out remote sessions by allowing teachers to collaborate together, freeing them from technical challenges. Atos helped us to implement the RingCentral solution very quickly, which was appreciated by all our users."

With Unify Office by RingCentral businesses of all sizes can communicate and collaborate with ease using industry leading voice, video, team messaging and fax capabilities from anywhere using any device via a single enterprise solution.

Unify Office offers several benefits to customers, including:

Seamless Migration : Customers can migrate at their own pace from traditional on-premise telephony solutions to Unify Office by RingCentral. They can also continue to use their existing Atos Unify OpenScape desk phones with Unify Office.

: Customers can migrate at their own pace from traditional on-premise telephony solutions to Unify Office by RingCentral. They can also continue to use their existing Atos Unify OpenScape desk phones with Unify Office. Simplicity: One Vendor, One Offer, One Solution. Whether a customer's need is big or small we can support them with a simplified landscape to cover all their communication and collaboration needs, wherever their teams are working in the new normal.

One Vendor, One Offer, One Solution. Whether a customer's need is big or small we can support them with a simplified landscape to cover all their communication and collaboration needs, wherever their teams are working in the new normal. Open Platform and Integrations: Easily integrate Unify Office with existing business applications, when using applications such as Salesforce, Microsoft and Google productivity suites through 200+ pre-built integrations or with help of Atos to develop integrations for specific custom workflows.

"Unify Office leverages an industry-leading cloud communication platform to enable flexible technology consumption and address the constantly evolving needs of the increasingly mobile and highly distributed workforce," said Elka Popova, Vice President of Research, Frost & Sullivan"Atos, with its Unify communications and collaboration business, stands out among other solution providers as it combines the skills of an independent systems integrator (SI) with the technology expertise of a communications solutions developer. Drawing on its deep vertical knowledge and vertical industry transformation program, Atos tailors its solutions and services to effectively address the unique challenges and objectives businesses face in their different industries."

Available directly from Atos , at www.unifyoffice.com . Unify Office by RingCentral will also be available from partners of leading regional distributors including Itancia and BusinessCom .

For more information on Unify Office by RingCentral please go to: www.unifyoffice.com

***

About Atos

Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 110,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of  12 billion. European number one in Cloud, Cybersecurity and High-Performance Computing, the Group provides end-to-end Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud, Big Data, Business Applications and Digital Workplace solutions. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos|Syntel, and Unify. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.

The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space.

Atos UCC (Unified Communications and Collaboration) refers to the former Unify Division

Atos Unify refers to the product family of former Unify products and partner program.

About RingCentral

RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG) is a leading provider of cloud Message Video Phone (MVP), customer engagement and contact center solutions for businesses worldwide. More flexible and cost effective than legacy on-premise PBX and video conferencing systems that it replaces, RingCentral empowers modern mobile and distributed workforces to communicate, collaborate, and connect via any mode, any device, and any location. RingCentral's open platform integrates with leading third party business applications and enables customers to easily customize business workflows. RingCentral is headquartered in Belmont, California, and has offices around the world.

 2020 RingCentral, Inc. All rights reserved. RingCentral and the RingCentral logo are trademarks of RingCentral, Inc.

Press Contacts:

Laura Fau

+33 6 73 64 04 18

laura.fau@atos.net

Jyotsna Grover

650-513-8712

jyotsna.grover@ringcentral.com

Attachment
Nearly canceled due to the novel Coronavirus pandemic, then postponed due to weather, the second annual Doggin It for Jeff hot dog eating contest was held Saturday outside the White Buffalo in New Canaan.

Part of The Hot Dog Challenge, an effort among friends started five years ago to see who could eat the most hot dogs between Memorial Day and Independence Day, the overall challenge and the New Canaan contest raise money in the name of Jeff Cortese of Stamford, who lost his sight when he was in his 20s.
In the ongoing process of gradually resuming international flights, the civil aviation ministry has added more destinations to the list of countries where Indians can fly. Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier announced that talks were on with 13 countries to set up air bubbles, which has now been finalised, the minister tweeted.

"India has created an air travel arrangement with Canada," informed civil aviation ministry on its website. Indian carriers and Air Canada are now permitted to operate services between India and Canada and carry the following categories of persons on such flights:

A. From India to Canada

i. Stranded Canadian nationals/residents and foreigners with valid Canadian visa eligible to enter Canada;

ii. Indian nationals with valid visas eligible to enter Canada. It would be for the airlines concerned to ensure that there is no travel restriction for Indian nationals to enter Canada before issue of ticket/ boarding pass to the Indian passenger; and

iii. Seamen of foreign nationalities; Seamen holding Indian passports would be allowed subject to clearance from the Ministry of Shipping

B. From Canada to India

i. Stranded Indian nationals;

ii. All Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders holding Canadian passports; and

iii. Foreigners (including diplomats), who are eligible to enter India as per Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines dated 30.06.2020 as amended from time to time.

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Brian Austin Green has been linked with television personality Courtney Stodden and Australian Instagram model Tina Louise in the wake of his split from estranged wife Megan Fox.

But on Sunday, the Beverly Hills 90210 star opted to go it alone when he stepped out to pick up some groceries at a Ralph's grocery store in sunny Malibu.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging in Southern California, the Los Angeles native wore a camouflage face covering during his time outside of quarantine.

Solo: Brian Austin Green, 47, stepped out of quarantine for a grocery run in Malibu on Sunday

Green, 47, kept it casual in the fashion department in charcoal sweatpants and a black t-shirt that helped show off his toned physique.

He also donned a pair of grey sneakers as he carried a black backpack over his shoulders.

After browsing inside the store, the father of four was seen pushing a cart full of groceries towards his car.

Casual: The Beverly Hills 90210 star kept it casual in sweatpants and a t-shirt, while adhering to health and safety protocols by wearing a face covering amid the COVID-19 pandemic

The actor has seen his fair share of headlines related to his personal life in recent months.

Back in May, Green confirmed his split from wife Megan Fox after 10 years of marriage during an episode of his podcast ...With Brian Austin Green. During his confession, he maintained that infidelity did not play a role in their separation and that he will alway have love for Megan.

'I will always love her. And I know she will always love me and I know as far as a family what we have built is really cool and really special.'

New beau: Green's estranged wife has been dating Machine Gun Kelly since their split

Around that same time Fox was romantically linked with actor and musician Machine Gun Kelly, who reportedly got close while shooting the upcoming thriller film Midnight In The Switchgrass.

It's believed Green and Fox split at the end of 2019.

The former couple share three sons together -- Noah, seven, Bodhi, six, and Journey, four. Green also has a son Kassius, 18, that he shared with ex-fiancee Vanessa Marcil.

Moving on: Since his split from Fox, Green has been seen with Instagram model Tina Louise
Google Maps

Helotes police said the a man who was found dead in his home late Sunday night died of a heart attack, the department confirmed Monday afternoon.

Police were called to the home late Sunday night where they found 57-year-old Craig Manifold dead. Police said they were waiting on the Medical Examiner's Office before they could release details on the death.
Raipur, Sep 21 : Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday virtually inaugurated a 72-seat regular flight linking Jagdalpur in Bastar region with Raipur and Hyderabad, which will greatly shorten the time taken by road journey.

Ministers, MPs and others attended the event via video conferencing while the Chief Minister did the inauguration from his residence in Raipur as the first flight landed from Hyderabad at the Jagdalpur-based Maa Dantewashwari Airport.

Baghel said in his address that the air service will unleash major opportunities for the development of Bastar division.

Alliance Air Bastar, an associate company of Air India, started the services on Monday.

The Chief Minister said that it would take only one hour to fly from Bastar to Raipur and Hyderabad, from where one can travel to anywhere in the world. Presently, it takes six hours to reach from Bastar to Raipur by road and nearly 12 hours to reach Hyderabad.

The air service will promote tourism and play a key role in medical emergencies, he said. It will also help in the development of banking and telecom sectors in the Bastar region.

An Amcho Bastar Canteen was also opened at the airport terminal, which will be run by families affected by Maoist violence.

The Jagdalpur airport has been developed over an area measuring 57.6 hectares. The air strip is 1,704 metres long and 30 metres wide.

Passenger flights will take off from Hyderabad at 9 am and reach Raipur at 12 noon via Jagdalpur. On return, the flight will take off from Raipur at 12.30 pm and reach Jagdalpur by 1.35 pm before landing in Hyderabad at around 3.40 pm.

These flights will be operated daily. The fare for Hyderabad to Jagdalpur is Rs 1,405 and Rs 1,270 for Jagdalpur to Raipur.

The foundation for the Jagdalpur airport was laid in 1939 during British rule.
Now Open

21 September 2020

Swiss-Belhotel International, the global hospitality management chain, has announces the opening of Swiss-Belexpress Cilegon. The hotel is a modern style, value for money accommodation and it is strategically located in Jalan Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Cilegon, Banten, the westernmost province of Java. Known as the "Steel City", Cilegon is popular as one of the major industrial cities in Java.

The stylish Swiss-Belexpress Cilegon provides easy access to major business districts and attractions in the city. The hotel can be accessed within 2 hours from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, 13kms from/to Merak Seaport, which connected the 2 largest islands, Java and Sumatera through Sunda straits and 25kms away from Anyer Beaches.

Swiss-Belexpress Cilegon features a total of 115 contemporary rooms and suites. The property also offers Express Studios and 2 units of one-bedroom apartments with kitchenettes and separate living areas for guests who need to stay longer. Guests will be able to enjoy breakfast and all-day dining at the E-Cafe restaurant and other facilities include a mini gym, wellness area and an outdoor pool. Four flexible function rooms are available and can host all types of event, from social occasions to private business meetings, trainings, seminars and more. Each meeting room is supported by state-of-the-art audio-visual technology.

With all these features Swiss-Belexpress Cilegon is expected to become a leading choice for the travellers visiting this up-and-coming destination.
By Eva Hill

hilleva@grinnell.edu

In recognition of the need for action and community discussion after the killing of Michael Williams, Grinnell College classes will be canceled on Monday, Sept. 21, College President Anne Harris and Chief Diversity Officer Schvalla Rivera announced in an email to the student body on Sunday night.

The Grinnell police department (GPD) has not publicly identified the investigation into the killing of Williams, a Black man whose body was discovered burned in a ditch in Kellogg last Wednesday, as a hate crime at the time of this articles publishing. GPD Chief Dennis Reilly wrote in a letter to the College community that he is keenly aware of the national conversation taking place regarding acts of violence against Black Americans, but also stated that the department believes that there is no continuing threat to our [Grinnells] community.

Heavily followed Grinnell College-based antiracist Instagram account @gcbipoc pushed back on the claim that there is no threat to the community, writing, Chief Reillys statement is what indifference to Black death looks like. And that is disgusting. The post urged readers to call the GPD in opposition to the statement, writing, Michael Williams deserves real justice, and Black Grinnellians need protection.

The email from Harris and Rivera states, This stark and brutal murder in the national context of racial injustice has struck intense fear for the safety of our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) colleagues, friends, and families. National context has become local experience. Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Sarah Moschenross sent a follow-up email shortly afterward listing a series of virtual events, as well as an in-person outdoor vigil (time and location details are in the email) on the College campus, that the school will hold over the next week to help students, faculty and staff process and recognize Williams death and the circumstances surrounding it.

Donate towards Williams funeral expenses and to support his family here and here.
Australian Research Impacted by Loss of Foreign Student Revenue

The Australian government is looking for ways to help the struggling higher education sector to adapt to the financial loss caused by fewer overseas students amid the CCP virus pandemic.

Dan Tehan, the federal minister for education, told ABC Radio National on Sept. 21 that the university sector was seeing significant economic losses on par with the tourism sector.

The international student market is a $40 billion national income earner for our nation. It provides 250,000 jobs. So, were working with the sector to see what we can do to help and support when it comes to research and research jobs, said Tehan.

It was estimated that the sector will lose between $3.1 and $4.8 billion in revenue this year and it is predicted the financial losses will continue next year.

Australian research will be impacted by this loss of revenue, says Catriona Jackson, the CEO of Universities Australia, the peak body for higher education.

Universities Australia has estimated that $3.3 billion, or about 27 percent, of university research and development budgets are currently in doubt.

Jackson said in a media release published on Sept. 1: The reduction in revenue to support researchers means real talent will be lost and universities will be unable to provide essential funds for important new and existing work.

Every researcher lost to the system is one person fewer working on Australias most important problems and represents the loss of years of human and intellectual capital.

But before international students can return the federal government has to help more than 25,000 Australians stranded overseas who want to come home, and open its internal borders.

Its obviously complicated, especially with what happened in Victoria with the quarantine system there. Thats put a huge hole in our ability to be able to bring people into Australia and quarantine them, Tehan said.

Weve got to make sure, first of all, that were getting Australian residents back into the country and getting them properly quarantined, so they can return home. And, also, weve got to make sure that when it comes to state borders, that we can get free movement of domestic students so that they can go to university, whether it be in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Tehan said.

South Australia (SA) is pushing forward with a pilot program that might see 300 international students return to Australia, but this and another similar program floated by the Northern Territory have not yet been approved by the federal government.

A spokesperson for the SA government told SBS Punjabi Radio on Sept. 3: The South Australian Government is still working closely with the Commonwealth and relevant agencies to ensure a pilot program provides a safe return for up to 300 international students.

At this stage, the program hasnt received final approval, and therefore details about the program, including students nationalities cannot be confirmed, the spokesperson explained.
"We are excited to announce the Sprout and Dutchie integration partnership and have already started rolling it out to our mutual customers," stated Jaret Christopher, Founder and CEO of Sprout. "With a major shift in ordering online this year, our partnership with Dutchie enhances the ordering process by making it easy for a consumer to redeem their loyalty rewards during the check-out process," commented Christopher.

With the Sprout and Dutchie integration, dispensaries can now, send promotions and deals to their customers via the Sprout marketing platform, link to a specific product on their Dutchie menu, then allow the consumer the ability to place an order and receive their rewards or discounts at the same time. This in turn will expedite the pickup process, to the benefit of the dispensary and the consumer alike.

Through the partnership, Dutchie, which services over 1,300 dispensaries in the US and Canada, and recently raised $35 million in new funding, will have the ability to offer Dutchie solutions to the Sprout customer base that has experienced exponential growth in 2020 facilitating $1+ billion in cannabis transactions.

"Sprout has always been a fantastic partner of ours, even prior to the integration. This next level of partnership will strongly benefit our mutual customers, as well as bring a more well-rounded solution to future dispensary partners," added Jon Bond, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Dutchie.

Sprout's objective with the combined integrated application, is to expedite and streamline the user experience and strengthen Sprout's position as a must-have CRM & marketing platform for dispensary owners.

Launched in 2017, Sprout is one of the fastest growing cannabis software companies trusted by dispensaries in 30 states, Canada and Puerto Rico

For more information about Sprout and its CRM and marketing platform, visit: Sprout.online .

To learn more about Dutchie, visit: Dutchie.com .

About Dutchie

Based in Bend, Oregon, Dutchie is the cannabis industry's leading and fastest-growing e-commerce provider, powering online ordering for the top dispensaries throughout the United States and Canada. Today, it powers 10 percent of all cannabis sales in the U.S. and hosts more than 25 percent of all cannabis dispensaries nationwide. Dutchie is a product- and design-focused company that has created a best-in-class experience for cannabis dispensaries and shoppers. Since its inception in 2017, Dutchie has experienced significant growth. The company has raised a total of $53M in funding to date. To learn more, visit www.dutchie.com.

About Sprout

Sprout is a leading cannabis CRM and marketing software platform used by dispensaries across 30 states, Canada and Puerto Rico. Sprout helps cannabis companies increase revenues and customer loyalty by engaging their customers, creating brand awareness and driving online and in-store orders. Sprout's cannabis CRM platform includes an entire suite of marketing solutions including customer relationship management, text & email marketing, loyalty, mobile wallets, QR codes, mobile surveys, mobile coupons, advanced customer segmenting and analytics. To learn more about Sprout visit www.sprout.online

Contact:

Roger Ciliberto

VP of Sales and Marketing Ops

[email protected]

888.411.1669

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US announces sanctions on Iran, Venezuelas Maduro under UN authority as UNGA gets under way.

The United Nations has marked its 75th anniversary, celebrating the mantra that multilateralism is not an option but a necessity  even as the coronavirus pandemic underscores the fragility of international cooperation.

The anniversary kicked off on Monday at the global bodys annual UN General Assembly (UNGA), when normally leaders and representatives of nearly 200 countries gather en masse to sound off about the worlds problems and offer myriad solutions.

Instead, with COVID-19 still limiting global movement, just one representative from each of the 193 UN members will be allowed, and only someone already in the United States.

Everyone else will have to appear by videoconference, including at least 160 heads of state.

Here are the latest updates:

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 75th General Assembly of the United Nations meetings are held mostly virutal [Eskinder Debebe/UN Handout via EPA]

20:00 GMT  What value is there for the United States in the UN?

P.J. Crowley, a former assistant secretary of US state public affairs, said although the US has played a central role in the foundation of the United Nations, it remains to be seen whether the Trump admnistrations disdain of it is a temporary tangent and will revert back to a more conventional foreign policy going forward.

This is one of the primary differences between Democratic administrations that believe in multilaterism and Republican administrations that see multilaterism as a constraint, Crowley told Al Jazeera from his home in Alexandria, Virginia.

If we see a Biden administration, we are going to see a restoration of Americas traditional approach to the UN. But obviously the backdrop is significant contention in a relationship with Russia, and significant competition in a relationship with China.

So certainly in terms of a functioning Security Council  even if a Biden administration is more constructive in its approach  obviously these major power relations will play a significant role in how much the UN gets done going forward.

19:00 GMT  Afghanistan faces multiple drivers of turmoil, says President Ghani

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has highlighted five drivers of turmoil his country is dealing with simultaneously.

These include the coronavirus pandemic, unconventional warfare, global terrorism, climate change and an unprecendented explosion of inequality.

Though we are facing multiple drivers of turmoil, theres a clear and urgent priority for us, and that is a ceasefire, he said.

I would like to take this opportunity to call on every member of the General Assembly and the P5 to help us achieve the end state of a sovereign, united and democratic Afghanistan at peace with itself in the region.

A democratically stable and prosperous Afghanistan of how our collective will can overcome the turmoil and uncertainty that defines our world today, he added.

18:35 GMT  Venezuelan leader invites UN to monitor elections

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has invited the United Nations to monitor its upcoming national elections.

We have invited the secretary-general of the United Nations to send a technical commission to accompany the electoral process for a new parliament, a new national assembly on December 6, Maduro said in a recorded speech played at the UN headquarters.

You can count on Venezuela, he said. We are for building that new world without empires, without hegemony over our peoples. The 21st century belongs to our peoples. Long live the United Nations system. And heres to 75 years of our organisation.

17:50 GMT  We are responsible for one another: European Council president

European Council President Charles Michel urged the international community to look into the future and imagine what the world will be like decades from now if it does not act to solve its myriad of problems.

Will vast swathes of land really have become uninhabitable for the human race? Will the great forests be preserved? Will access to water be guaranteed, or will it be a source of conflict or even lead to wars? said Michel in a speech marking the UNs 75 anniversary.

And above all, will the dignity of each human being, personal freedoms, and the fight against all forms of discrimination be weaker or more robust?

He said  intelligence and empathy together among nations can be a force of positive change.

It is with solemnity that today I renew the vow of multilateralism on behalf of the European Union Our speeches will not be enough.





17:30 GMT  Trump defiantly presses UN sanctions on Iran

President Donald Trump said he was imposing sanctions on Iranians for violating a UN arms embargo and demanded enforcement by US allies, who roundly dispute he has any such authority.

Trumps defiant move came on the very day that the United Nations was celebrating its 75th anniversary with the virtual summit full of calls for greater international cooperation.

The Trump administration said it was imposing sanctions on 27 individuals and entities under a UN resolution including Irans defence ministry, its Atomic Energy Organization, and Venezuelas leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington is trying to topple.

17:00 GMT  Frances Macron says foundations of UN crumbling

French President Emmanuel Macron has asserted the need for countries to work together again, citing climate change and battling the coronavirus pandemic as examples.

Macron lamented the state of the United Nations, saying: Our shared home is in disarray. Our foundations are crumbling.

Wars of annexation, chemical weapons use, mass detention are all occurring with impunity, he continued. Our international system is held hostage by rivalries. It is being weakened by its inability to prosecute individuals responsible for these abuses.

Al Jazeeras James Bays said Macron has made multilaterism the centrepience of his foreign policy, and is trying to get the world to work together again.

LIVE: Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani delivers #UNGA address marking the 75th anniversary of the UN. Follow latest updates: https://t.co/CW0aMZnZyB https://t.co/DRfNLzCfu3  Al Jazeera News (@AJENews) September 21, 2020

16:15 GMT  Qatars ruler reaffirms countrys commitment to multilateralism

In a recorded video message, Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has reiterated his countrys commitment to work with and support the UN in order to achieve its desired goals.

We reaffirm Qatars steadfast position in supporting and embodying the principles and objectives of the United Nations charter, Sheikh Tamim said.

We stress the need to implement the political declaration adopted today by promoting multilateralism and preventive diplomacy, respecting the sovereignty of states and dealing with them on an equal footing, addressing resolutely the use of force in international relations  [and] finding solutions to protracted crises and conflicts based on international law.

LIVE: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers #UNGA address marking the 75th anniversary of the UN. Follow latest updates: https://t.co/CW0aMZnZyB https://t.co/0HKDdlFvcD  Al Jazeera News (@AJENews) September 21, 2020

16:00 GMT  Turkish president calls for Security Council reform

Turkeys leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for an equitably representative UN Security Council (UNSC).

In order to empower the UN system, we must first reform the Security Council, Erdogan said, adding that the current structure that leaves the fate of seven billion people at the mercy of the five permanent members of the council is neither fair nor sustainable.

We cant overcome todays challenges through structures designed for the needs of the previous century, he added.





15:00 GMT  Trump to address UNGA on Tuesday

US President Donald Trump did not address the UNs 75th-anniversary event via a pre-recorded video speech on Monday as expected.

Trump was listed as the first speaker among member states on the UNs agenda for the event. Instead, the US acting deputy representative to the UN, Cherith Norman Chalet, spoke in the General Assembly Hall.

For the Trump administration, this anniversary is an important moment to mark the many successes of the United Nations, but to do so with clear eyes and a renewed determination to see this important body serve its intended purpose, she said.

Al Jazeeras diplomatic correspondent James Bays said eyebrows have been raised at Trumps lack of address.

People are asking whether this was a deliberate snub or an indication of how important the US feels the UN is in its priority list, he said, speaking from outside the UN headquarters in New York.

14:00 GMT  UN chief calls for for international cooperation

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for more international cooperation in the face of global challenges at an event marking the world bodys 75th anniversary.

Today we have a surplus of multilateral challenges and a deficit of multilateral solutions, Guterres said.

Climate calamity looms; biodiversity is collapsing; poverty is again rising; hatred is spreading; geopolitical tensions are escalating  and the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the worlds fragilities. We can only address them together.
 Flash

The spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh on Sunday urged the United States to "return to the global community" and perform its duties.

"The world has reached nothing but insecurity, war and instability with U.S. actions," Khatibzadeh said in his weekly press briefing, as quoted by official news agency IRNA.

The Iranian spokesman was commenting on remarks made by the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who claimed that "the United States is returning virtually all United Nations sanctions on Iran."

Khatibzadeh described Pompeo's position as "a world full of lies," and the only trace of the U.S. actions in the world is "ruinous and ominous legacy," and Washington is now heading for "a new act of defiance."

Iran's message to Washington, he added, is that it should "return to the global community and to its duties."

Talking about the possibility that the United States may try to force the unilateral inspection of Iranian ships and planes, Khatibzadeh responded "the fact that the United States is so isolated."

He pointed out that the E-3 countries (Britain, France and Germany), "outright allies" of the United States, have issued a statement on Sunday denying Washington's right to impose sanctions on Iran and saying its actions have no legal effect.

"Any action that violates Iran's sovereignty and international regulations will be met severely and without a moment of hesitation," he warned.

The Iranian spokesman said the United States must "refrain from acts of piracy by land, air and sea, because the era of piracy is over."

The global community, he added, must stand united against the United States so it will respect international laws and regulations and "stop it's criminal activities."
New Delhi: Markets opened on a cautious note on Monday amid lack of directional cues from global and domestic markets.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 38.84 points or 0.10 per cent higher at 38,884.66; while the NSE Nifty rose 10.30 points or 0.09 per cent to 11,515.25.

HCL Tech was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 4 per cent, followed by Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Kotak Bank, M&M and Asian Paints.

HCL Technologies on Monday said it will acquire Australian IT solutions firm DWS Ltd, a move that will help the Indian company strengthen its position in the Australia and New Zealand market.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, Nestle India, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.

Meanwhile, exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 205.15 crore on a net basis on Friday.

Among Asian peers, MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.1% weaker, though it was not too far from a June 2018 peak at 568.84. Australia`s benchmark index slipped 0.5% while New Zealand`s stumbled 0.6%. Chinese shares opened in the red with the blue-chip index down 0.3%. In commodities, U.S. crude slipped 2 cents to $43.13 a barrel. Brent crude fell 1 cent to $41.1. Gold was slightly lower, with spot prices at $1,951.3 an ounce, a Reuters report said.

In the previous session, Sensex settled 134.03 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 38,845.82, while Nifty fell 11.15 points or 0.10 per cent to finish at 11,504.95.
Donald Trumps rhetoric about good genes is indistinguishable from the Nazi rhetoric during the Second World War, an expert on the Holocaust has said.

The US president praised the genes of Minnesotans during a campaign rally in the city of Bemidji last week, during which he also derided refugees, gloated about a reporter being shot with a rubber bullet, and praised a general who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

This state was pioneered by men and women who braved the wilderness and the winters to build a better life for themselves and for their families. They were tough, and they were strong. You have good genes, you know that, right? Mr Trump said to applause from supporters.

You have good genes. A lot of its about the genes isnt it, dont you believe? The racehorse theory you think was so different? You have good genes in Minnesota.

Mr Trumps comments were widely condemned as echoing the language of eugenicists, who believe the human race can be improved genetically by selective breeding.

As a historian who has written about the Holocaust, I'll say bluntly: This is indistinguishable from the Nazi rhetoric that led to Jews, disabled people, LGBTQ, Romani and others being exterminated, Steve Silberman, an acclaimed science writer who has covered the Nazi treatment of people with autism, said on Twitter.

This is America 2020. This is where the GOP has taken us.

Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, said Mr Trumps comments mirrored master race eugenics.

He added: This was how the Holocaust started. Dont ignore.

The US president has a long history of praising the role of genes in human capabilities, and has commended himself for his great and winning genes.

In 2016, Mr Trumps biographer revealed Mr Trump believes in the racehorse theory of genetics, and that his father, Fred Trump, had taught his son the familys success was due to their genes.

The family subscribes to a racehorse theory of human development, Michael DAntonio told PBS.

They believe that there are superior people and that if you put together the genes of a superior woman and a superior man, you get a superior offspring.

In undated video footage unearthed by the Huffington Post, Mr Trump, before becoming president, denied that all men are created equal.

Well its not true, because some are smart, some arent, he said.

In separate footage, Mr Trump said: Im proud to have that German blood. Theres no question about it.
Actor Kangana Ranaut continued her tirade against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government, comprising the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, and alleged that instead of governance, they are obsessed with her. Her latest tirade was in connection with a building collapse incident at Bhiwandi near Mumbai on Monday, where at least 10 people were killed.

Ranaut tweeted: Meanwhile Maharashtra government K-K-K-K-Kangana ... if they stop being obsessed with me they will know how the entire state is collapsing.

Meanwhile Maharashtra government ---- ..... if they stop being obsessed with me they will know how the entire state is collapsing. https://t.co/qSUBGApLLA  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) September 21, 2020

The Sena chose not to respond.

Sena Rajya Sabha (RS) member Sanjay Raut had remarked recently that the party would listen to her but would not react.

A Sena spokesperson said on condition of anonymity that CM Thackeray made it clear not to give her any importance. She is being used by the opposition party and we are only falling into their trap by reacting to her. She is making statements that are going against her after we started ignoring her, said the spokesperson.

Ranaut drew flak a day after she called the farmers protesting against the recently introduced agriculture bills as terrorists.

Also Read: Kangana Ranaut says Anurag Kashyap is very much capable of sexual assault, claims many big heroes misbehaved with her

The comment evoked sharp reactions, which prompted her to issue a clarification that her jibe was aimed at those who were spreading disinformation about the new legislations.

She clarified through a tweet: People who spread misinformation and rumours about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 that caused riots are the same people who are now spreading misinformation about farmers bills and causing terror in the nation. They are terrorists. You very well know what I said but simply like to spread misinformation.

Ranaut has been engaged in a running feud with the Sena.

The ties have worsened after the Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities recently partially demolished her Bandra office on the ground of violation of building norms.

The slugfest started when Raut in Saamana, the Sena mouthpiece, had asked Ranaut against returning to Mumbai since she had no faith in the Mumbai Police.

This provoked Ranaut to compare Mumbai to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) that led to all-round condemnation of her.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently provided Y+ security detail to Ranaut, which has further angered the Maharashtra government.

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As Pennsylvania continues to confront an economic challenge without modern precedent, lawmakers have the near-impossible task of balancing the budget. They should start by revisiting lucrative tax breaks tied to job creation that have potentially failed to live up to their promise. Deals that have, in fact, fallen short should be immediately rescinded, providing much-needed revenue for the state and putting Pennsylvania back on the path to economic recovery.

With both a significant decline in revenues and a rapid rise in unemployment, Pennsylvania budget shortfalls are expected to reach $3.5 billion by years end as states nationwide grapple with lasting damage that experts estimate could top $555 billion. With the clock ticking on how the state will balance its budgets in the years to come, lawmakers must urgently explore realistic and prudent possibilities for ensuring financial solvency by any means.

Revisiting the deals Pennsylvania made with Amazon in recent years would be a fitting place to start. Pennsylvania is just one of the dozens of states and municipalities that have met Amazons demands to build new facilities, offering millions of dollars in lucrative tax breaks on the promise of job creation and driving economic growth. In Pennsylvania, Amazon has been offered 2 subsidies totaling at least $23 million, including the most recent deal that would provide $1.6 million in jobs credit towards a Findlay distribution center.

As Pennsylvania begins to rebuild, the state needs proven job creators that can accelerate economic growth and create employment opportunities for all Pennsylvanians. Unfortunately, Amazon has consistently failed to live up to its attractive promises. Despite the fanfare that typically accompany these deals, experts have found that Amazon fulfillment centers consistently fail to create net job growth and will eventually lead to job losses in other industries that have long been part of the community.

Amazons recent decision to cut ties with a delivery service firm resulted in the loss of over 178 workers in Pennsylvania  a clear indication that Amazon facilities do not necessarily lead to long-term job growth. Communities are now beginning to voice concerns about the dangers that these large warehouses pose.

At the same time, Amazon has been proven in recent months to be willing to agree to construction plans without being offered an array of generous financial incentives. For instance, the company just announced plans for a nearly four million square foot distribution center at the site of the Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit  all without any subsidies or tax breaks for the project. This should serve as a clear indication to lawmakers that these incentives from states have provided unnecessary benefits for the company at a time when every penny counts.

And while state governments continue to suffer, Amazon has doubled its profits during the most damaging months of the pandemic, and appears poised to emerge stronger than ever. With so many local businesses facing a daunting road to recovery, lawmakers need to be focusing on getting more into the hands of business owners in our communities, rather than one of Americas richest corporations. Simply put, this is a company that does not need any more help.

Given the current economic challenges faced by Pennsylvania and the questions surrounding the benefits that come with Amazons expansion in local communities, continuing down the road with subsidies and tax breaks will only make matters worse for all of those in Pennsylvania.

As the state considers ways to balance its budget, there should be serious consideration given to re-examining the subsidies that Pennsylvania has offered Amazon and begin renegotiating the terms of any past agreements with the company.

Robert B. Engel is the chief spokesperson for the Free & Fair Markets Initiative, a nonprofit watchdog group committed to promoting a fair, modern marketplace that works for all Americans.
On Sept. 3, IDOT announced the opening of the east-to-north ramp, which connects inbound traffic on the Eisenhower Expressway, or Interstate 290, to outbound lanes on the Kennedy Expressway. The ramp closed in June to undergo reconstruction to add a lane. The project was estimated to last until October, but it opened ahead of schedule, IDOT said.
Security researcher Amanda Berlins anxiety started when she was a teenager, but it went undiagnosed and untreated for a long time, as it took her many years to realize she needed help. One night, when she was 25 and married with two kids, she had a breakdown. I remember getting out of the shower and I just started bawling, sitting on the floor of the bathroom, she told the audience at Northeastern Ohio Information Security Forum in 2017.

The inside of me was all static. It physically hurt me when I tried to speak, she said. I realized at that point that I probably should try to figure out what was wrong with me.

After she got better, Berlin started talking about her experience of managing depression and anxiety while working from home and caring for two small children. Her tweets got a lot of attention from infosec professionals facing the same struggle, and soon she founded Mental Health Hackers, an organization that aims to educate security professionals about the unique mental health risks faced by those in our field.

Berlin, who is also a senior incident detection engineer at Blumira, believes that the recent shift toward working from home has put even more pressure on infosec professionals. During the first months of the COVID-19 outbreak, remote workers were 30% more likely than others to say their mental health had declined, according to a survey carried out by SAP, Qualtrics and Mind Share Partners in March and April 2020.

While many cybersecurity professionals already had experience with partial telework, most of us were unprepared to suddenly work from home 100% of the time, says Dr. Celeste Paul, cybersecurity researcher at the National Security Agency (NSA), which has done a number of studies on the human aspects of working in infosec. For a community who has such a strong self-identity tied to work, the inability to get work done only further contributes to the stress we carry.
Special K partnered with experts at Twitter and @TwitterData to tap into real people's conversations and discover which flavors Americans are talking about and when. These delectable discussions inspired Special K to match flavors you want to the days you might just want them:

Monday: Special K  Chocolatey Delight

Chocolatey Delight Tuesday: Special K  Red Berries

Red Berries Wednesday: Special K  Blueberry with Lemon Clusters

Blueberry with Lemon Clusters Thursday: Special K  Banana

Banana Friday: Special K  Raspberry

Raspberry Saturday: Special K  Fruit & Yogurt

Fruit & Yogurt Sunday: Special K Cinnamon Brown Sugar Crunch Protein

Inspired by these Twitter conversations, Special K devised a delish idea to help Americans discern the days in different tasty ways  and the Special K Blursday Go-Away kit was born. The kits include tools to keep you on track with:

Flave-of-the-Day Socks including seven pairs, each labeled with the day and decorated with designs inspired by that day's desired flavor.

including seven pairs, each labeled with the day and decorated with designs inspired by that day's desired flavor. Flavors You're Feeling Weekly Planner that breaks out each week with delicious cereal and a you've-got-this attitude.

that breaks out each week with delicious cereal and a you've-got-this attitude. Seven flavors of Special K to help fuel you through the fog of even the blurriest, and busiest, of weeks.

Whitney Port, a star who made her career navigating the blurriness of real life and reality television, is already a huge fan of the Special K Blursday Go-Away Kit and putting it to good use.

"Wearing so many hats as a mom, entrepreneur and designer creates a chaotic schedule and makes the days seem to blur together," Port said. "Special K has these adorable flave-of-day socks that help me keep my days straight. Monday is my personal faveChocolatey Delight!"

SPECIAL K WANTS TO MAKE YOUR (MON/TUES/WED) BLURSDAY

Now, Special K offers fans everywhere the chance to win their very own Special K Blursday Go-Away Kit, complete with everything you need to fight those "wait, what day is it?" woes. Visit www.kfr.com/BlursdayGiveaway for the details and enter for a chance to win. At the end (Oct. 4 at 11:59:59 PM) of the entry period, 700 winners will be randomly selected and receive their very own Special K Blursday Go-Away kit.

"The Special K team is no stranger to Blursday, because we're living it in our own homes too. So, we wanted to create something truly useful  and of course, delicious  for Special K's biggest fans," said Cindy Huntington, Brand Director at Kellogg Company. "While the concept of specific days of the week may seem totally made up right now, we want to help our real fans taste their way back to reality. Because just like how you can't fake delicious, Special K believes you shouldn't have to fake knowing what day it is."

For more information, visit SpecialK.com or follow along on social @SpecialK on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and join the conversation using #EatSpecialK and #Blursday.

About Kellogg Company

At Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), we strive to enrich and delight the world through foods and brands that matter. Our beloved brands include Pringles, Cheez-It, Special K, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Pop-Tarts, Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Eggo, Mini-Wheats, Kashi, RXBAR, MorningStar Farms and more. Net sales in 2019 were approximately $13.6 billion, comprised principally of snacks and convenience foods like cereal and frozen foods. Kellogg brands are beloved in markets around the world. We are also a company with Heart & Soul, committed to creating Better Days for 3 billion people by the end of 2030 through our Kellogg's Better Days global purpose platform. Visit www.KelloggCompany.com or www.OpenforBreakfast.com .

Abbreviated Rules

No Purchase Necessary. Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry and are a registered member of the Kellogg's Family Rewards program. You must be a registered member of the Kellogg's Family Rewards ("KFR") program in order to enter. To become a registered member of the KFR program, go to www.KFR.com/BlursdayGiveaway ("Website") and follow the instructions to complete the registration. To enter, beginning 9/20/20 at 8:00:00 PM (ET) through 10/4/20 at 11:59:59 PM (ET), go to the Website and follow the online instructions to register and complete your entry. Limit one (1) entry per person/KFR account. Subject to complete Official Rules at https://www.kelloggsfamilyrewards.com/content/dam/kfr/pdfs/specialk-blursday-rules.pdf. Odds of winning depend on total number of eligible entries received during the Promotion Period. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Kellogg Company, One Kellogg Square, Battle Creek, MI 49016.

 2020 Kellogg NA Co.

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W hether youre starting a new school year or a university semester, its time to arm yourself with the best tech to get you through your education.

From apps that'll help you eat well to tech to ones that will facilitate your learning and budgeting skills, these are the apps you need for the best year ever.

Best food apps

BBC Good Food

Many students arrive at university without knowing how to cook and it can make you feel like youre thrown in at the deep end. But, with a little bit of creativity and some willingness to learn, you'll be cooking up a storm in no time.

The BBC Good Food app is a great place to start. Whether starting from scratch and looking for inspiration, or you have a particular ingredient you want to make a dish with, there are hundreds of recipes ready to choose from.

Save your favourites in one place and create collections ranging from cheap eats to big group recipes.

Theres no excuse to reach for the baked beans anymore.

Get the BBC Good Food app on App Store and Google Play

Too Good To Go

The food waste revolution is perfect for students. Apps like Too Good To Go match hungry people with restaurants ready to throw away their delicious unsold food at the end of the day.

Using the app, you can 'rescue meals' that would otherwise go to waste from places like Yo! Sushi, Paul and thousands more. Over 2 million meals have been saved in the UK alone.

Simply log in, select a store and pay a small amount of money for the dish, before going to pick it up from the location. Get tasty food for cheap, reduce food waste and save the environment. Easy.

Find food outlets in your area and subscribe for updates on when to rescue meals that otherwise would have been thrown away / Too Good To Go

Get Too Good To Go on App Store and Google Play

Best interior apps

Measure

You have your interiors inspo and a new DIY project to work on, but you dont have a ruler or a tape measure. Stuck? Not anymore, thanks to Apples AR app Measure.

The app uses augmented reality technology to measure the items you point it at  whether thats a book on the table or the width and length of your floor, so youre never stumped without a tape measure again.

Get the Measure app on iOS

Pinterest

It may be a cliche, but Pinterest is hands-down the best interior inspiration app out there.

For tips on how to decorate your room to DIY how-tos, Pinterest is the best way to cover up those horrid yellow coloured walls in halls of residence.

Pinterest

Get Pinterest on App Store and Google Play

Best learning apps

Lingvist

Want to learn a new language? Maybe you have an Erasmus semester coming up and need to brush up on your skills? Language learning app Lingvist uses machine learning to make it faster and more efficient for people to learn new languages.

Last year, the company introduced a new customisable course creation too, using AI and machine learning so you can create the right vocabulary course for you based on hobbies, interests or careers. Called Course Wizard, you can learn about the parts of the language that are necessary for you.

Speaking about the new learning course, Mait Muntel, Lingvist Co-Founder & CEO, said: "We hope that Course Wizard will motivate people to learn languages again whilst giving them the freedom to learn them exactly how they want to, meaning they can fully integrate themselves into another countrys culture."

With the recent declines in people studying languages in the UK, there is a growing need for people with good language skills.

Lingvist uses machine learning to help you learn languages better and faster / Lingvist

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Float

Facing a major essay deadline and feeling overwhelmed with that 3,000+ word count? That's where an app like Float comes in handy. Create a task on the app, set the word limit and deadline date and the app works out a sizeable goal in order to complete the task in hand.

Created by a London-based start-up, the idea is to make managing deadlines easy and accessible wherever they are. As well, by breaking the word count down into smaller chunks, it minimises that pre-deadline stress, helping to improve a student's overall sense of achievement and wellbeing at university.

Get Float on the App Store and Google Play

Best money and work apps

Stint

No time for to fit in a 12-hour part-time job during the week but want to earn some cash? Stint, started by two brothers, is the platform designed to helps students access work shifts around their studies. Sign up to the app and put in your free time between lectures and seminars. Then the app will match you up with retailers and businesses looking for someone to come in for a three-hour shift, or stint.

So far, over 40,000 stints have been carried out on the platform and with the app launching in cities such as Durham, Leeds and Sheffield, expect that number to grow.

L-R: Sol Schlagman and Sam Schlagman set up Stint during their time at UCL / Stint

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Yolt

Managing money is one of the hardest lessons you learn as a student. That influx of student loan at the start of the semester seems exciting until you realise you have to stretch it over a 12-week period minimum.

Yolt is a great app for this. You can link all your different bank accounts into one app, see your spending clearly and take advantage of its easy budgeting tools.

Its smart too. If youre looking to save money on things like your energy bills, Yolt can suggest ways to help you do this. When youre a student, every single penny counts.

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Best revision apps

Hold

Hold has a simple premise: the app challenges you to not look at your phone when you should be studying and rewards you with gifts like free cinema tickets and coffee.

You win points for every 20 minutes you dont use your phone between the hours of 7am and 11pm and then you can exchange them using the apps marketplace at companies like Vue cinemas, Amazon, and Caffe Nero.

Hold app was started by three students at Copenhagen Business School (Hold ) / Hold

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Studytracks

Strictly for GCSE students only, Studytracks is one of the most genius revision apps out there. The app sets the GCSE curriculum to music to make it easier to learn about anything from key moments in Romeo & Juliet to the history of the atom.

And, it was created by award-winning songwriter George Hammond-Hagan so you know the music is going to be good.

There is a free version and premium edition, which gives you more features. With 300,000+ downloads already, this is one of the best ways to learn and remember everything for your GCSEs.

Get Studytracks on App Store and Google Play
The police in Ondo have arrested seven suspected political thugs ahead of the October 10 governorship poll.

The individuals were arrested on Sunday in a Toyota Sienna vehicle, branded with the logo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the picture of its candidate, Eyitayo Jegede.

According to the state police spokesperson, Tee- Leo Ikoro, the suspects were arrested by police with locally-made guns at Ifon, Ose Local Government Area of the state.

Some hoodlums were truly arrested with locally made weapons at Ifon in a branded vehicle with the name of PDP. We have started our investigation.

Hopefully, at the end of that, we will be able to tell if they are truly agents of the PDP or not, he told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday.

In swift reaction to the arrest, the Eyitayo Jegede Campaign Organisation, said the development was an attempt to implicate the opposition ahead of the election.

The campaign organisation spokesperson, Gbenga Akinmoyo, in a statement on Sunday, said the All Progressives Congress (APC) has moved their assassination attempt on the PDP governorship candidate to the next scene of the unfolding drama.

The information of the arrest of some hoodlums in the PDP branded vehicles at Ifon in Ose LG, whilst our campaign train is due to make a stop in the town, that is presently circulating on social media, is nothing but an attempt by the APC to make good its evil plans.

While thanking the security agencies for their vigilance in averting a needless mayhem, we urge the public to remain focused and not fall for the antics of the ruling APC, who are determined to draw us into unproductive arguments that can distract us from the issues that border on the welfare of our people and failure of the APC government in addressing them.

In the same vein, the spokesperson of the Akeredolu/Ayedatiwa Campaign Organisation, Olabode Olatunde, called on police not to handle investigation into the matter with levity.

READ ALSO:

While we commend the police authority for its gallantry efforts at arresting these hoodlums, we condemn this act in strong terms and call for more investigation into the PDP campaign activities.

This is coming despite several appeals for politicians to allow peace reign before, during and after the governorship election, making one to ask if the PDP and thuggery are Siamese twins, he said in a statement.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how suspected thugs loyal to Mr Jegede and Mr Akeredolu had a clash last week at Oba Akoko in Akoko South West Local Government.

In the fight, eight persons were injured and several vehicles were burnt.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

Police in San Francisco are investigating a shooting that happened during a sideshow early Sunday morning involving as many as 100 vehicles.

According to police, officers first learned of the sideshow around 1:05 a.m., occurring near the corner of Barneveld and McKinnon avenues in the Bayview District.

At the scene, officers heard multiple shots and later found shell casings. Officers didn't locate any victims and no suspects were arrested.

Sideshows in San Francisco have become an increasing concern for city leaders and police in the wake of a fatal Labor Day shooting in the city's Excelsior neighborhood, which happened at the same time as an early morning sideshow involving some 300 spectators and 50 vehicles.

As a result of that shooting, 21-year-old Sacramento resident Cesar Corza Avalos died and two other people were injured.

Last week, police announced they've assembled a unit of officers trained to handle such events, and have deployed extra foot patrols and installed surveillance cameras in areas where sideshows have occurred.

Additionally, Supervisor Ahsha Safai last week proposed legislation that would allow officers to impound vehicles found to be associated with sideshows in the city, and also allow officers to arrest anyone found to be involved in organizing the illegal events.

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
The Milford Arts Council and Pantochino Productions will present Happy Haunts Hollow, a drive-through Halloween experience for families Oct. 22-25, from 6-9 p.m., at Eisenhower Park, 780 North St., Milford.

This family-friendly event includes a series of Halloween scenes featuring live actors who portray fun, non-threaterning characters. There will be lights, theatrics, dance, and an original musical score by Pantochinos Justin Rugg.

Attendees can meet a gaggle of friendly witches, dancing scarecrows, a mummy band, and more. Were thrilled to bring this unique and safe family event to life here in Milford, said Bert Bernardi, co-producer of Pantochino. Our ridiculously entertaining brand and favorite company members will all appear in this unique drive-through experience.

Happy Haunts Hollow is sponsored by the City of Milford, Milford Prevention Council, and PEZ Candy USA. Julie Nash, the director of Economic and Community Development for the City of Milford is thrilled that the MAC and Pantochino found a way to keep Halloween alive under the extraordinary circumstances. This is going to be a real treat for kids and adults alike to experience a first class production, said Nash.

Wendy Gibbons, Milford Prevention Council Program director also is excited to partner with Pantochino and the MAC for a safe, fun and entertaining event. This event sends such a positive message to the community that (with creativity) we can still find ways to celebrate and have fun in the current environment, added Gibbons.

This event is just one of many ways that the MAC and Pantochino have turned a challenging situation into a creative opportunity. What some people view as an unfortunate situation, we see as a chance to generate fresh, original, and unique ideas, said Paige Miglio, executive director of Milford Arts Council, the MAC. Being able to bring a little Halloween magic to families, when many are missing out on normal traditions, is so important to both Pantochino and the MAC.

Tickets are $20 per car and may be purchased at http://www.pantochino.com/happy-haunts-hollow.

For more information, visit milfordarts.org or pantochino.com.
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A wildfire burning through a swath of Los Angeles County for more than two weeks remained virtually unchecked Monday as fire managers struggled to gather resources needed to douse the inferno.

The Bobcat Fire is one of scores of major fires burning across the West  including Oregon, where at least six people have been accused of igniting some of the blazes.

The Bobcat Fire had burned more than 165 square miles in and around the Angeles National Forest as of Monday night, destroying or damaging up to 85 structures including an iconic nature center. About 1,100 households, an estimated 4,000 people, have been forced to evacuate.

"We're still in the thick of a good firefight," U.S. Forest Service public information officer Andrew Mitchell told the Los Angeles Times.

COVID, hurricanes, wildfires, politics: 2020 is an American nightmare

Containment was at 17% and rising as of Monday evening, according to Incident Commander Jerry McGowan. Thats good news," he said. "However, there were 219 miles of (fire) line we had to go around.

The report also cited concerns over stretched resources. Almost 19,000 firefighters are battling 27 major wildfires across the state. The Bobcat has more than 1,700 personnel on scene, but fire managers cited "limited resources for the fire. Critical need for resources continue."

Jesse Vasquez of the San Bernardino County Fire Department hoses down hot spots at the Bobcat Fire on Saturday in Valyermo, Calif.

Sophia Mavrolas, a senior at Cal State Northridge and a resident of Juniper Hills, told The Press-Enterprise newspaper she evacuated Friday but returned home Sunday. She said she could hear propane tanks exploding.

"It was so terrifying. The fire line stops within just walking distance of my neighbors," she said. "My neighborhood was extremely lucky to get out of this okay, but my heart aches so bad for my neighbors in upper Juniper Hills.

The county parks department tweeted that the fire's "devastating destruction" burned the nature center at Devil's Punchbowl Nature Area. No animals nor staff were injured at the 1,310-acre "geological wonder" that draws 130,000 visitors annually, the department said.

Story continues

The fire ranks among the largest in county history. The largest, the Station Fire in 2009, burned 250 square miles, killed two firefighters and burned almost 100 homes.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been over 7,900 wildfires that have burned over 3.5 million acres in California. Since Aug. 15, when Californias fire activity elevated amid dry and windy conditions and a plethora of lightning strikes, there have been 26 fatalities and over 6,100 structures destroyed.

There has been some good news in recent days  at least for Californians. Millions of them got a brief respite from smoky skies Sunday as westerly winds pushed smoke toward the east. The smoke is moving through the Great Plains, according to the National Weather Service.

"What benefits us is harming others. Someone has to be downwind," said Brandt Maxwell, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

At least 80 major fires are currently burning across a dozen Western states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Oregon also has been hard hit: More than 1,500 square miles have burned. The Almeda Fire, just north of the California border, destroyed more than 2,000 homes before being 100% contained.

Some Californians see clear skies at last: Major wildfires continue to rage

The Oregonian reports that at least six men across the state have been accused of intentionally setting fires in recent weeks, although only one involved a fire that burned homes and businesses. Michael Jarrod Bakkela is charged with setting a fire Sept. 8 that damaged 15 properties, threatened the lives of 14 people in neighborhoods near Medford  and contributed to the catastrophic Almeda Fire.

None of the six accused men have ties to left- or right-wing groups or appear to have been motivated by politics, The Oregonian said.

In Colorado, wind chased Cameron Peak Fire firefighters from battling the blaze and allowed for one of the fire's largest runs in weeks, authorities said. The fire has burned more than 160 square miles and overran one of the crucial fire lines defending thousands of homes, according to Cory Carlson, the fire's planning operations trainee.

In Wyoming, the Mullen Fire was threatening the Rob Roy Reservoir, which provides water for the the city of Cheyenne.

Contributing: Colin Atagi and Mark Olalde, Palm Springs (Calif.) Desert Sun; Miles Blumhardt, Fort Collins (Colo.) Coloradoan; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wildfires: Bobcat Fire destroys Devil's Punchbowl Nature Center
Supporters of the Affordable Care Act celebrate as the opinion for health care is reported outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, June 25, 2015.

Shares of health insurers and hospitals sold off sharply Monday, following the death of supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the looming battle to confirm her replacement. Analysts say it creates a new level of uncertainty over the future of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

"It sounds like the Republicans are really gonna push for a supreme court nominee approval before the new administration ( and) the fear is that the ACA will be probably repealed," said Jefferies health care analyst Brian Tanquilut, adding "I'm not sure that's necessarily the case, but obviously that's the fear that's been baked into the stocks right now."

Shares of Medicaid insurers Centene and Molina Health fell roughly 8.5%. The ACA has helped fuel the growth Medicaid in states that have expanded coverage to low-income and poor adults.

Hospital operator stocks also fell, with Tenet Healthcare sinking 13%, Universal Health Services down 8.6% and Community Health Systems off 6%. Investors worry that the repeal of the ACA could result in higher uncompensated care for the facilities, if millions were to lose health coverage.

The Supreme Court is set to hear the latest constitutional challenge to Obamacare, the case of California vs. Texas following the election on Nov. 10. If a new justice were to be seated in time for that case to be heard, that could push the balance of the court in favor of repeal.

"If the case gets argued in front of a new Supreme Court with a new justice, the center of gravity and the court will no longer be with Chief Justice Roberts, who has turned away too much stronger challenges to the law. It'll be with the other conservative justices," explained professor Nicholas Bagley, of the University of Michigan Law School, while adding he thinks the fears are overblown.

"The question is, will those conservative justices all vote to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, on the basis of this case... I think it's not likely," he said.

The current case before the high court centers on the issue of the individual mandate. Trump administration and Republican states argue that when Congress reduced the Obamacare individual mandate penalty to $0, the ACA was effectively invalidated. Chief Justice John Roberts cast the decided vote to uphold Obamacare in 2012, by ruling the individual mandate penalty was the equivalent of a tax.

"There's a long way between getting a solid conservative majority and getting rid of the law entirely," because of the consequences of repealing the law, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the bi-partisan American Action Forum, and former economic policy director for 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain. "They could end up landing in a bunch of different places, to avoid a complete disruption. We've seen them do that in the past."

Capitol Street health policy analyst Ipsita Smolinski says beyond the case itself, the battle to seat a conservative justice before the election in November will likely rally President Trump's anti-abortion evangelical voters.

"If he gets somebody through quickly, who is potentially pro-life, that can can rally that base" said Smolinski, while adding it could similarly motivate pro-choice voters. "It cuts both ways, but I think it honestly helps Trump more."

JP Morgan analyst Gary Taylor downgraded hospital stocks Monday morning on greater uncertainty in the economy and the election. He argues the confirmation fight over Ginsburg's replacement could favor Democratic nominee Joe Biden and pave the way for a Democratic sweep in November's election.

"Ruth Bader Ginsburg's unfortunate death may serve to particularly reinvigorate Democratic polling, campaign contributions & turnout. Thus, the election overhang on the sector from Joe Biden's stated support for a 'Public Health Insurance Option,' lowering the Medicare eligibility age and removing the Senate filibuster will likely increase," Taylor wrote in a note to clients.

The stakes will be high for both sides to make sure that there is something in place if the court strikes down the ACA, according to voters polled by the American Action Forum.

"The majority of Republicans and Democrats said don't touch these programs, which is truly quite striking," in this partisan environment said Holtz-Eakin.
Barbara Lagoa, the bilingual daughter of Cuban exiles who grew up in Hialeah and became the first Hispanic woman justice on the Florida Supreme Court, has been described by Gov. Ron DeSantis as a top-flight legal talent.

President Trump apparently feels the same way, as Lagoa is reportedly on a short list of potential candidates to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court, following Ginsburgs passing at 87 on Friday.

At 52, Lagoa would be the youngest member of the court, if selected and appointed, effectively representing a conservative voice on the court for decades.

As Trump departed the White House Saturday for a campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump had this to say about Lagoa: She is an extraordinary person. Ive heard at length about her. Shes Hispanic and shes highly respected.

From a political context, Florida is Trumps biggest battleground state and Cubans make an important voting bloc for the president. A nomination could make inroads with a broader bloc of Hispanic voters.

Lagoa joins Amy Coney Barrett, 49, and Allison Jones Rushing, 38, as potential nominees.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Lagoa to the state Supreme Court on Jan. 9, 2019, making the Cuban American the first Hispanic woman on the states high court, before Trump appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which covers Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

She had proven herself over and over again, DeSantis said at Lagoas Florida Supreme Court investiture ceremony in May of 2019. This is someone who was a top-flight legal talent.

Earlier this summer, she was embroiled in controversy as she and another federal appeals judge and former Florida Supreme Court Justice, Robert Luck, refused to recuse themselves from an appeals case they ruled on as Florida Supreme Court Justices regarding voting rights for people convicted of felonies who served their sentences but still needed to pay fines or fees.

The issue of voting rights for these approximately 775,000 Floridians has been hotly disputed since before the 2018 gubernatorial election, with DeSantis opposing the restoration of those rights before they pay those fines and fees.

Earlier this month, Lagoa and Luck both ruled with the conservative majority of the appeals court against the restoration of those voting rights.

Its not the first case Lagoa was involved in that was in the media spotlight. She also served on the legal team trying to stop Elian Gonzales' return to Cuba. The child became part of an international custody dispute.

In 2006, Lagoa, who was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Florida Southern District, was tapped by Gov. Jeb Bush for a seat on the states Third District Court of Appeal.

Because of her appointment to 11th Circuit, Lagoa has already been vetted. She won bipartisan support in the Senate  with 80 senators voting to confirm her and 15 voting against her appointment.

Lagoa went to Florida International University for her undergraduate work and, after graduating in 1989, headed to Columbia Law School, where she earned her law degree in 1992. While attending law school, she served as the associate editor for the prestigious Columbia Law Review.

She is married to Miami attorney Paul C. Huck Jr., whose father, Paul Huck, is a senior judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Lagoa and Huck have three daughters together.

As a civil attorney at the firm of Greenberg Traurig, she worked on commercial litigation, particularly the areas of employment discrimination, business torts, securities litigation, construction litigation and insurance coverage disputes, according to her Florida Supreme Court profile.

Lagoa sits on the board of directors for the YWCA of Greater Miami and Dade County, the Film Society of Miami, Kristi House and FIU Alumni Association, and is a member of other local civic organizations.

2020 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Human trials of Oxford's vaccine are still on hold in the US over safety concerns, two weeks after they were first paused.

AstraZeneca, the drug giant which owns the rights to the experimental jab, stopped global trials on September 8 because a British volunteer was hospitalised.

Leaked documents claimed the patient, a 37-year-old woman, developed 'transverse myelitis'  inflammation around the spinal cord, typically triggered by viruses but a potential side effect of other vaccines.

Doctors restarted trials in the UK five days later on September 12 after it was deemed safe to do so by an independent safety review committee and the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. They have also continued in Brazil, India and South Africa.

But regulators in the US have yet to resume the experiments over the incident, and are understood to be 'highly concerned' the jab may cause adverse reactions.

The FDA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are seeking to determine what caused the reaction, such as whether it was the vaccine, an underlying medical condition or another unknown factor.

It comes after President Donald Trump accused the FDA  with no evidence  of trying to delay a coronavirus vaccine until after the election for political purposes.

Trump reportedly wants to bypass normal US regulatory standards to fast-track Oxford's vaccine for use in America by October  ahead of the presidential election in November.

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH, last week claimed that it is 'just a matter of time' before the trial resumes in the US, offering hope the vaccine will be back on track to become one of the first approved.

Uncertainty remains about what happened to the unnamed woman, who received the first dose of the experimental vaccine in June and the second in August.

AstraZeneca has repeatedly refused to confirm the diagnosis of transverse myelitis. It also insists there is no proof that the vaccine was to blame for the woman's symptoms, which are believed to have now subsided.



Doctors restarted trials of Oxford's vaccine in the UK on Saturday, September 12. They have also continued in Brazil, India and South Africa. But regulators in the US have yet to resume the experiments over the incident amid reports they are 'highly concerned' the jab may cause adverse reactions. Pictured: AstraZeneca facility in Waltham, Massachusetts

AstraZeneca, the drug giant which owns the rights to the experimental jab, stopped global trials on September 8 because a British volunteer was hospitalised. Pictured: A volunteer gets a jab in South Africa

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH, told CNN Tuesday that it is 'just a matter of time' before the trial resumes in the US

It's the second time the trial has been paused. The first time, in July, was not publicly revealed until recently.

The trial was restarted after it was determined the volunteer had an 'undiagnosed case of multiple sclerosis', a condition that can cause the same neurological reaction as transverse myelitis, which was deemed to be unrelated to the vaccine.

AstraZeneca did not explain how that conclusion was reached - or why it waited more than a month to mention it publicly - and the details of the MHRA's decision to restart trials again have not been revealed.

A statement said: 'AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, as the trial sponsor, cannot disclose further medical information.'

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BRITISH VOLUNTEER? There have been several reports about the woman's state of health since AstraZeneca first announced trials were being paused on September 8. The drug giant announced studies in the UK, US, South Africa and Brazil had been paused indefinitely while it investigated whether the patient's illness was connected to the vaccine. No details about the patient suffering the potential side-effect, or the nature of the reaction, were given in the initial statement, which said: 'In large trials illnesses will happen by chance but must be independently reviewed to check this carefully.' Medical news site Stat first reported the pause in the study, while The New York Times quoted a source saying a trial volunteer had transverse myelitis. Amid rife suspicion, on September 9, Stat News reported AstraZeneca's CEO, Pascal Soriot, told investors in a conference call that the trial was stopped because the woman had symptoms consistent with transverse myelitis. Later that day, AstraZeneca said the media reports were 'incorrect', and that Mr Soriot had 'stated that there is no final diagnosis and that there will not be one until more tests are carried out'. A leaked AstraZeneca report seen by CNN gave details about the 37-year-old woman. The document, which is labelled an 'initial report', was sent to doctors running the clinical trials to warn them of the hospitalised British patient. It described how the study participant 'had trouble walking, weakness and pain in her arms, and other symptoms'. Fourteen days after receiving her second dose of the vaccine in late August, the woman 'experienced confirmed transverse myelitis', the report allegedly says. On September 2, while running, the study participant 'had a trip (not fall) with a jolt.' The report notes that she did not have any obvious injury to her cervical spine. The next day, the woman had symptoms including difficulty walking, pain and weakness in her arms, pain and reduced sensation in her torso, a headache and reduced ability to use her hands. She was hospitalised on September 5, several days prior to the SUSAR sent to doctors, and medical news website Stat said she was due to be discharged on September 9  a discharge date was never officially confirmed. The AstraZeneca report mentions twice that the woman was diagnosed with 'confirmed' transverse myelitis - which is in contrast to the company's claims last week that the condition was yet to be confirmed. The cover sheet on the report, allegedly sent by a contractor hired by AstraZeneca, also described her illness as 'confirmed' transverse myelitis. A neurologist who saw the woman said her case 'suggested the symptoms were consistent with the diagnosis of transverse myelitis' and that she had no past history of neurological symptoms or significant illnesses. But at another point, the report claimed to highlight there was 'limited information concerning the subject's relevant medical history.' The neurologist said the woman's symptoms started to get better quite rapid 'considering her illness started only four days ago'. 'Her symptoms were improving. Her strength and dexterity in her hands was getting better,' the report said. Physicians diagnose transverse myelitis by performing a thorough neurological examination. They use tests, such as an MRI and lumbar puncture, to rule out any other problems, such as an injury. In response to the article in CNN, AstraZeneca said it contained 'inaccuracies including the diagnosis, which is based on preliminary findings'. But it refused to reveal what they were.

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British academics have been confident the decision was the right one.

Peter Openshaw, a professor of experimental medicine, Imperial College London, said: 'It was right to suspend the trial to allow investigation. The restarting of the trial shows that the event was judged not to be vaccine related.

'This is excellent news because the Oxford vaccine is one of the most promising. Inevitably with such a large trial there will be times when safety issues arise.'

But US experts have not been as supportive, calling for further details on the MHRA's decision.

Dr Paul Offit, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the FDA's advisory committee on vaccines, told the New York Times it was unclear how AstraZeneca  or the UK regulators  determined the woman's case of transverse myelitis was not related to the vaccine.

Mark Slifka, a vaccine expert at Oregon Health and Science University, said: 'If there are two cases, then this starts to look like a dangerous pattern. If a third case of neurological disease pops up in the vaccine group, then this vaccine may be done.'

Dr Peter Jay Hotez, a virologist with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, criticised statements released by UK regulators, who he said had failed to supply a clear rationale for resuming their trials.

'Tell us why you came to that decision,' he was reported as saying.

Dr Hotez also told the New York Times: 'The communication around it has been horrible and unacceptable. This is not how the American people should be hearing about this.'

Professor Scott Lucas, of the department of political science and international studies at University of Birmingham, said it's likely the US have not picked things back up due to lack of communication.

He told MailOnline: 'I dont think that its necessarily the US is stricter than the UK. I think both have fairly rigorous regulatory systems. I think it is a question of communication and of what happened to US officials, so the US has moved more slowly.'

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the main drug regulator and American equivalent of the MHRA, has not commented but is reported to be requesting further data on the two adverse reactions from AstraZeneca, The Telegraph reported.

It will come as a blow to President Trump, who has previously slammed the FDA for 'making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics'.

He wrote in a Tweet: 'Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!'

Trump reportedly wants to give Oxford and AstraZeneca's vaccine emergency use authorisation, allowing it to be rolled out in the US without meeting full regulatory approval, before the election, according to the Financial Times which cited unnamed sources.

A representative for the Department of Health and Human Services said suggestions that the FDA would do this are 'absolutely false'.

Professor Lucas said there was a 'danger' of falling into the 'trap set by Trump' - which is to believe any issues of safety and efficacy have been triggered to stop him winning the election.

'The safety and efficacy process is to protect us,' he said.

'The more that politics tries to exploit our fear and concern, it could undermine the effort against Covid-19 because it could scupper vaccine trials.'

'Trump's only motive here is to get re-elected and to get a vaccine shown as effective before November 3. If it ended up killing a lot of people after November 3, it's irresponsible and youve scared people to think any vaccine will cause that effect.

'Certain politicians have tried to push aside the scientific advice, and once you do that, it has very serious effects. Yes, this trial has had two adverse cases and that must be seriously considered. There must be communication, but that is to safeguard the scientific process and it must not manipulated by politics.'

A 'participant information sheet' on Oxford's website, updated on September 11, gave further clues into the situation.

It said: 'In the current trial we have undertaken safety reviews when volunteers in the trials of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 developed unexplained neurological symptoms including changed sensation or limb weakness, and have paused the study while a safety review took place.

'After independent review, these illnesses were either considered unlikely to be associated with the vaccine or there was insufficient evidence to say for certain that the illnesses were or were not related to the vaccine.'

It did not mention transverse myelitis despite the reports of diagnosis. However, it did say Guillain-Barre syndrome could occur.

Guillain-Barre syndrome and transverse myelitis are closely related conditions, both causing inflammation of the spinal cord.

It said: 'Reactions in the nervous system are also extremely rare, but can include an illness called Guillain-Barre syndrome, a condition in which people can develop severe weakness and can be fatal.'

Concerns around neurological side-effects are especially sensitive in the US after an emergency influenza vaccine in 1976 caused 450 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome - a rare neurological disorder which has also been linked to the Zika vaccine.

Dr Avindra Nath, clinical director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the NIH, told Kaiser Health News: 'The highest levels of NIH are very concerned.

'Everyone's hopes are on a vaccine, and if you have a major complication the whole thing could get derailed.'

Regulators want to test tissue or blood samples from the British patient and compare them to samples from other volunteers, Kaiser Health News reported.

This will be to see if they generated any antibodies from the immunization that also attack the brain or spinal cord tissue.

If scientists ascertain the vaccine caused the volunteer to suffer transverse myelitis, the arm may be permanently paused.

Dr William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, told DailyMail.com that it's unclear whether the experimental vaccine or the placebo caused this side effect, but the longer the investigation, the more suspicion builds.

It comes after President Donald Trump accused the FDA  with no evidence  of trying to delay a coronavirus vaccine until after the election for political purposes

'I would have thought if this patient received the placebo, this would have been a really brief assessment: 'Oh well, this is a placebo. Can't have anything to do with the vaccine. Open the trial again,'' he said.

'But the longer this goes on, the longer the suspicion that the patient had received the vaccine becomes more evident because this is exactly the kind of aberrant immune response that would be a concern for any vaccine, and this one in particular.'

However, Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is conducting an investigation into the trial pause, said it was 'just a matter of time' before the US arm continues.

He added that he considered the participant's illness a 'one-off' at this point, and that 'it would be unusual to completely stop a trial on the basis of one single adverse event'.

'You have to be extra special careful and watch out to see if it happens again, and then if it does, it becomes an entirely different situation,' he told CNN last Tuesday.

In a tweet last week, Dr Eric Topol asked pharmaceutical companies running coronavirus vaccine clinical trials to be more open about their work.

'The [Covid-19] vaccine companies haven't been transparent; the stakes are big,' wrote Topol, executive vice president of Scripps Research in California.

On Saturday, following calls for greater transparency and questions were raised about safety, AstraZeneca released a 111-page trial blueprint which gave closer details about its trial protocols and how it will calculate if the vaccine works.

It says that the goal is to develop a vaccine with 50 per cent effectiveness, as mandated by the FDA.

When the vaccine will be found 50 per cent effective, it will apply to the government for early release of the vaccine for emergency use.

There will have to be 150 people ill with confirmed coronavirus among participants who were vaccinated or received placebo shots.

The larger number of people who get sick with the virus, the stronger the data is to say whether or not people with the vaccine were prevented from caching it.

But a safety board will perform an early analysis after there have been just 75 cases, perhaps giving it enough data to apply for an early emergency use licence.
Some of the worlds biggest banks reportedly let criminals and fraudsters move dirty money around the world, according to leaked banking documents seen by BBC Panorama.

More than 2,000 sensitive banking papers detailing more than two trillion US dollars worth of transactions were analysed after being leaked to BuzzFeed News and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which distributed them to 108 news organisations, BBC Panorama said.

They allegedly show banking officials allowed fraudsters to shuttle money between different accounts after being made aware the profits were from multimillion-pound scams or crimes.

The files are also reported to show how Russian oligarchs use banks to avoid sanctions and get their money into the West.

The cache of files, known as FinCEN (from the US Financial Crimes Investigation Network), are mostly files banks sent to the US authorities between 2000 and 2017, raising concerns about suspicious activity in their clients accounts, Panorama said.

The programme called the documents some of the international banking systems most closely guarded secrets.

Anti-corruption group Transparency International UK said the suspicious activity reports (SARs) repeatedly cite weak money laundering defences in the UK financial sector as a major problem.

It added: The leak shows how UK banks continually fail to address suspicious activity and instead offered their services to those with money to hide.

Transparency International UKs research has previously identified 86 UK banks and financial institutions which have, unwittingly or otherwise, helped corrupt individuals acquire assets and move suspicious wealth.

Chief executive Daniel Bruce said: These revelations are a damning indictment of the system that is supposed to prevent the UK and other financial centres becoming havens for dirty money.

The Government should respond rapidly to this significant investigation in order to demonstrate that the UK is serious about tackling dirty money.

We know the solutions exist; for example by bringing forward reform of corporate liability laws to hold banks accountable for money laundering failings and expediting the legislation to overhaul the UK company law.

As it stands, it remains far too easy for kleptocrats and criminals to launder their illicit loot using the veneer of UK companies and institutions.

Alex Cobham, chief executive at Tax Justice Network, said: As will be revealed over the coming days, many of the worlds major financial institutions have comprehensively failed to meet their own responsibilities, in the name of turning a profit  however dirty.

Swift and robust action is needed, including potential criminal charges, or banks will simply continue to treat the prospects of being caught and fined as a simple cost of business.

Panorama: Banking Secrets Of The Rich And Powerful airs at 7pm on BBC One on Monday.
File photo of director and cinematographer Andrij Parekh (right) seen with director Sophie Barthes at the screening of "Cold Souls" at the Racquet Club Theatre during the 2009 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 17, 2009 in Park City, Utah. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
TDT | Manama

A partial economic recovery was realised by June 2020 in the Kingdom, according to a reported published by the Bahrain Centre for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat). The report was part of Derasats partnership with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Bahrain to study the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the country.

It examined data on the number and value of financial transactions in the Kingdom for the period from January 2019 to June 2020, aiming to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on various aspects of consumer behaviour. This includes the pandemics effect on overall purchases, purchases per sector, consumer prices, and changes to various payment methods.

The recovery came after a considerable fall in point-of-sales transactions, attributed to self- and legally-imposed social-distancing measures, which led to restructuring household consumption patterns, promoting household-based consumption such as home-cooked meals, furniture, and telecommunications services, at the expense of external consumption of goods and services such as travel, hotels, and clothes.

A notable observation was peoples preference to shop in department stores and large supermarkets, for convenience and a perceived higher level of safety. Price indices demonstrated the changing demand patterns, where prices increased in sectors that witnessed demand and vice versa. The overall consumer price index fell along with overall demand.

The pandemic also brought profound changes to household consumer baskets. Residents of Bahrain shifted from cash to mobile contactless payments out of necessity during the closure of stores and based on the common view of being less susceptible to contracting the virus. Despite this shift, debit cards and cash remained high, and the contribution of e-wallets was still minor.

In the long term, with the continuous shift to e-wallets, banks, and fintech companies should provide highly accessible and flexible mobile-payment services, combined with efforts to raise consumer awareness of the benefits of mobile e-payment methods to encourage their usage more frequently, according to the report.

Notably, the report was an initial analysis within a more comprehensive study, conducted through a partnership between Derasat and the UNDP Bahrain. The report was prepared by, Derasat research director Dr. Omar Al Ubaydli and research fellow Dr Fatima Al Sebaie, with data provided by the Central Bank of Bahrain.
Switzerland unveils plans to spend billions on new fighter jets despite not having fought in a war in more than 200 years.

The plans have been faced with much opposition, as many believe the notoriously neutral country can't afford the war planes and doesn't need them.

Voters get their say on September 27 on whether the plan to spend 6 billion Swiss franc on the jets should go ahead, according to CNA.

Switzerland unveils plans to spend billions on new fighter jets to replace its ageing fleet of 30 F/A-18 Hornets which will go out of service in 2030 (pictured)

The aircraft would replace Switzerland's ageing fleet of 30 F/A-18 Hornets which will go out of service in 2030.

Choices for the aircraft could be the Eurofighter from Airbus or the Lockheed Martin F35-A Lightning II amongst others.

Priska Seiler Graf, a member of parliament for the left-leaning Social Democrats, called plans 'absurd' and asked who would attack a country 'surrounded by NATO'.

She agreed the country needed a new aircraft, but said a 'simpler aircraft' would be enough and said it would be 'better to have a Fiat than a Maserati'.

Six years ago, voters in Switzerland rejected the purchase of Gripen jets from Sweden.

In 1989 a proposal to scrap its entire army got 35 per cent of voter support, but the Pope's Swiss guards are a reminder of the country's mercenary past.

Voters get their say on September 27 on whether the plan to spend 6 billion Swiss franc on the new jets should go ahead (pictured a Swiss Air Force F/A-18C Hornet)

Lawmaker Thomas Hurter from the right-wing Swiss People's Party, a former air force pilot, said Switzerland had to protect itself without relying on other countries.

He said smaller jets did not have the acceleration needed to react quickly to emergencies.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

Restoration of Albanian Church and the rights of the Udi people is Azerbaijans another contribution to the development of the world civilization, Director of the Baku Network Expert Council, Ph.D. Elkhan Alasgarov said.

Alasgarov made the remark at the video conference entitled "Heritage of Caucasian Albania", held on the initiative of the Baku Network expert platform, Trend reports.

A big expedition of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences arrived in Kish village in Sheki district ten years ago upon the instructions of the Azerbaijani government, Alasgarov added. The work on the restoration of the ancient Christian church was launched.

Alasgarov added that during a tough period, Azerbaijan took on a big responsibility, which also has historical significance.

Azerbaijan, a country predominantly inhabited by the Muslim population, restored the violated rights of small, but one of the most ancient peoples of the Caucasus, the Udins and other peoples of the Christian faith who inhabited the historical Caucasian Albania, restored and opened a church, Alasgarov said.

I think that this is an unprecedented case in the world history when a country that is busy with the issues of occupation of 20 percent of its own territory, that is dealing with a million of its refugees, at the same time helps small, but native for Azerbaijan, Udi-Albanian community," he said.

Alasgarov stressed that Azerbaijan has very strong traditions of Albanian studies.

"The issue is the heritage of all those people who inhabited Azerbaijan during the Christian period, rather than one nation, director of the Baku Networks Expert Council said. Azerbaijan has preserved this heritage in the small Udi community.

I think that this is an example for so many countries that have tried in every way to assimilate this community, Alasgarov added. It should be noted that Armenia, which occupied our territories, presents the Albanian church as the Armenian church.

Azerbaijan makes an invaluable contribution to the preservation of the historical heritage of world civilization, restoring ancient Christian churches, while Armenia, which claims the title of an ancient Christian country, shamelessly presents the Albanian churches as its own and everywhere barbarously destroys the Muslim shrines, Alasgarov said.

He added that Azerbaijan and the people inhabiting it are the descendants of Caucasian Albania and subsequent state formations on its territory.
Amongst the uproar and commotion in India over the arrest of an Indian freelance journalist along with his two associates - a Nepali and a Chinese national, Chinese state media outlet Global Times soon came to express its stand against the arrest of freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma. In an article titled Inappropriate for New Delhi to hype Rajeev Sharmas ties with Global Times, published on Sunday (September 20), the Global Times termed it as a petty trick.

As per the investigation agencies sources, a closer look at the articles, op-eds, and positions on issues over social media by Rajeev Sharma highlights the fact that he might be playing at Chinese hands to spread the propaganda, besides sharing secret information.

Sharma has extensively written on domestic and foreign policy issues in Indian as well as international media platforms, including - around 300 articles written for The Diplomat, around 30 articles for Russian RT, around 150 articles for DailyO, besides sporadic pieces on other platforms. As far as Global Times is concerned, available evidence suggests that he has been writing for and being quoted since as early as 2013, or maybe earlier. said an officer.

In a couple of stories, the Global Times has also mentioned Rajeev Sharma as Global Times correspondent based in New Delhi. Hence, besides authoring opinion pieces for the Chinese platform, he has been institutionally associated with the organisation and has been a part of it. In the most recent piece written for the Global Times on 9th July titled A rapprochement road map for Beijing and New Delhi benefits both countries, he argued that the armed standoff between India and China could wreck their economy and many precious things if the situation isnt amicably eased in double-quick time.

Live TV

However, his publications suggest that he might be favoring Chinas position on numerous foreign policy vis a vis India. In several pieces written over time, he seems to criticise the Indian position on the Dalai Lama.

In a piece titled The Dalai Lama Thorn? On The Diplomat on 27th November2011, Rajeev Sharma tried to project not Chinese expansionism, but The Dalai Lama as the central reason behind Chinas aggression and indirectly vouched for his opinion against Indias position on the Dalai Lama. Seven years later, on 26th June 2018, he once again wrote a piece on Why the Dalai Lama is becoming the biggest bone of contention between India and China published on the DailyO, he termed Dalai Lama a bigger issue that Masood Azhar designation at UN, Indias entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), or the stapled visa issued to citizens of Arunachal Pradesh.

In lines of the above, he tried to create a war hysteria in India by projecting the Chinese dominance and threat over the visit of the Dalai Lama to Tawang monastery in his article titled What can China do about Dalai Lamas Tawang visit? In his piece he apprehended that in case the Dalai Lama visits Tawang, China could resort to either of the four offensives - launch another big ticket incursion into India; launch "surgical strikes" in Arunachal Pradesh while the Dalai Lama visit is still on; launch a trade war

and imposes severe curbs on Indian imports; or turn the heat on India by announcing the next big strategic plans of cooperation with Pakistan.

His pro-China positions were also reflected in the Indo-Nepal bilateral relations. In an article titled India must worry less about China's shadow in Nepal on 28th November 2015, he seemingly defended Chinese colonial designs and expansionist moves in Nepal. He wrote, Beijing is not trying to capitalise on New Delhi's strained tensions with its Himalayan ally. Indian media is full of gloomy reports about India's bilateral relations with Nepal. That India has "lost" Nepal. That the Chinese shadows are lengthening menacingly in Nepal and that China is just about to nudge past India in terms of diplomatic and strategic influence and asked the Indian folks to

calm down.



With growing Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific and Chinese expansionist ambitions, the world is optimistically looking at the Quad alliance including India, Japan, the US, and Australia and arguing to convert into Quad Plus. However, Sharma had opined that Quad shall do more harm to India than good - a logic which the defence analysts have failed to decode. In this article written on 14th November 2017, he put forward five lame reasons why India should not join Quad and raised a number of questions on the functioning and nature of the alliance.

Going a step beyond, he authored an op-ed suggesting India to dig its own grave by accepting Chinas BRI/OBOR project. In the piece titled Doklam standoff: Why India should reconsider its stand on OBOR, published on 19th July 2017, he asked India to accept the BRI and give some kind of concession to Beijing. He also opined, Indias outright rejection of the OBOR has upset China to no end.

Besides all of these, Rajeev Sharma has also authored a number of pieces projecting China on the noble side and creating a war hysteria by highlighting its military might. The number of such articles is in dozens. Nevertheless, opposition parties and a couple of individuals have been sharing the article authored by Sharma praising NSA Ajit Doval, publishedon Firstpost, subsequently, alleging his links with the current regime.

However, a closer look at his publications and social media posts highlights a contrary situation. In one of the recent Tweets made by him on September 14, he shared the link of his YouTube video and criticised Indian media and termed it as lapdog of the government. Similarly, on September 12 he termed bhakts as not normal and took a jibe at them.

Similarly, two days prior, he made a Tweet and termes Kangana Ranaut as BJPs big time investment to take on Priyanka Gandhi. Prominent individuals from Lutyens political circles believe that he has closely been associated with Priyanka Gandhi for a long time.

Rakesh Krishnan Godse, a former journalist working with Russia Beyond has claimed that Rajeev Sharma approached Russia Beyond and asked them for an opportunity to write by claiming, I have inside connections. I know Sonia Gandhi personally. I know the defence secretary. I know the IAF chief. I can give you exclusives. Etc.

Security agencies suspect that Chinese intelligence has penetrated into Indian media in multiple methods by direct transfer of money through Hawala , Payment through advertisement from Chinese companies, Payment for advertisement from dummy companies in third countries, Sponsoring of studies in China for potential talent who can push Chinese narrative in Indian media and Chinese embassy officials have been also trying to feed appropriate stories to media and as a quid pro quo money / gifts/ foreign trips was being routed through PR agencies hired by Chinese companies

These findings might just be the tip of the iceberg as the Indian agencies need to launch a comprehensive investigation to find out about every such proxy masquerading as journalists and working as foot soldiers of India's foes. Besides, the agencies have been arguing that Sharma has been in touch with Chinese espionage agencies for the past two-three years.

However, his Chinese connections date to a decade back. Hence, every such connection should be investigated, exposed, and prosecuted as there is an urgent need to take on China in the fifth generation warfare where Information warfare is the mightiest domain.
Marks a major accomplishment in LNG bunkering to Western Canada

RICHMOND, BC, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cryopeak LNG Solutions Corporation ("Cryopeak"), a Richmond BC based portfolio company of BP Energy Partners, LLC, and Sumitomo Corporation ("Sumitomo") proudly announce a signed Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop an LNG bunker- fuels supply chain in North America's Pacific Northwest ports, such as Vancouver, Fraser River Port, Roberts Bank and Prince Rupert, Canada. This agreement is in line with both parties' initiative to build an industrial platform for procuring and supplying environmentally friendly and low-cost LNG for use as a marine fuel across the globe.

Cryopeak is developing a proprietary design for a 4,000 m3 LNG bunkering barge to be used in an articulated tug and barge configuration ("ATB"), with plans to be in operation in 2023. The ATB will provide ship-to-ship transfers of LNG to vessels that use LNG as a fuel source and ship- to-shore transfers to small-scale marine distribution infrastructure in the North American Pacific Northwest. The rise in demand for LNG as a fuel supply is a direct reflection of the marine industry's growing focus on reducing their carbon footprint, lowering energy costs and maximize operational efficiencies. Cryopeak has a partnership with Island Tug & Barge Ltd ("ITB")., a leading marine bulk fuels transporter based in Burnaby, BC, to develop the LNG bunkering ATB and jointly provide LNG bunkering solutions to the shipping industry.

"Cryopeak is excited to collaborate with Sumitomo Corporation to further LNG bunkering activity in North America. Both companies are driven by a desire to make purposeful and significant contributions to environmental improvement and sustainability," says Calum McClure, CEO of Cryopeak. "Offering a safe and efficient LNG bunkering solution is critical to the adoption of LNG as a marine fuel to the shipping industry""

Under this Agreement, Sumitomo will offer Cryopeak's end-to-end LNG fueling solutions to existing and potential customers in ports on the West Coast of North America.

"We are very proud that the cooperation between Cryopeak and Sumitomo is paving the way towards the development of LNG as a cleaner marine fuel, especially in Vancouver, one of the most eco-friendly ports in the world," said Shu Nakamura, Department General Manager of Sumitomo. "With this agreement, we pursue our ambition to build a comprehensive network of LNG bunkering. It also underscores our commitment to offer our customers the best available and technologically proven solution to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of maritime transport."

About Cryopeak LNG Solutions Corporation: Cryopeak is the leading distributor of LNG in Canada and currently has a fleet of 16 tankers operating in Canada, as well as equipment and technologies for storage, regasification and fuel dispensing. Cryopeak is ISO 9001 certified and has emergency response plans approved by Transport Canada. Cryopeak was founded in 2012 and is a portfolio company of BP Energy Partners, LLC. More info: www.cryopeak.com

About Sumitomo Corporation: For 68 years Sumitomo has primarily supplied client maritime transport companies with comprehensive shipping fuel solutions on a global scale with an emphasis on safety and reliability, thereby helping to develop global maritime transport and trade. Looking ahead to tighter regulations on marine fuels following the Global Sulphur Cap 2020, to reach GHG reduction targets Sumitomo has ordered an LNG bunker vessel via a joint venture, Ecobunker Shipping Co., Ltd and which will commence service in Tokyo Bay in 2021. More info: https://ecobunker-shipping.com/en/

About BP Energy Partners, LLC: BP Energy Partners, LLC is a private equity firm focused on making middle-market control investments primarily across the natural gas value chain, including investments in infrastructure, power, logistics, transportation, environmental services, midstream and natural gas distribution and consumption. In addition to capital, BPEP is dedicated to bringing relationships, management expertise, and operating experience to partner with entrepreneurs, family run businesses and management teams. BPEP's investment strategy is to partner with organizations that provide a solution-oriented approach which increases productivity, decreases costs and provides environmental benefits. More info: www.bpenergypartners.com

SOURCE Cryopeak LNG Solutions Corporation

Related Links

http://www.cryopeak.com


A former Australian correspondent in Beijing said on Monday that he and his 14-year-old daughter were threatened with detention before they left China two years ago.

Matthew Carney said he had not revealed the 2018 incident until now because he had wanted to avoid negative consequences for Australian Broadcasting Corporation's operations in China.

Two weeks ago reporters for the state-funded ABC and The Australian Financial Review newspaper became the last two Australian journalists working for Australian media to leave China due to threats of detention.

Carney was the ABC's China bureau chief in 2018 when Australia passed laws outlawing covert foreign interference in domestic politics, which he said outraged China. Carney said the laws started three months of intimidation and all types of threats for him and his family.

Carney told his story in an interview aired on ABC radio and in an account posted on the news organisation's website Monday. There was no immediate response from China.

Carney said he was told to bring this 14-year-old daughter, Yasmine, to a Beijing Public Security facility where interrogations and detentions were the norm. A woman official told him that he and his daughter were being investigated for a visa crime".

Your daughter is 14 years old. She is an adult under Chinese law and as the People's Republic of China is a law-abiding country she will be charged with the visa crime, Carney said he was told.

He said the woman said his daughter could be detained with other adults in an undisclosed location.

She was obviously very skilled in interrogation and in ramping up the fear and the panic, Carney said.

Carney said he offered to leave China with his wife and three children the next day, but was told he could not leave the country while he was under investigation.

With his visa due to expire within days, the official said he could be placed in detention.

After consultation with the Australian Embassy and the ABC, Carney said he decided to confess his guilt and apologise for the bizarre visa violation", on condition that his daughter was allowed to stay with the family.

Their confessions were video recorded and the woman told him she would write a report to the higher authority for judgment.

With the family's visas about to expire, the official said the judgment could be weeks away.

But he got a phone call the next day and was told two-month extensions had been granted to their visas.

Carney said he made the sudden decision to leave China after a Chinese woman threatened to sue him for defamation over a story he reported about Chinese attempts to engineer better citizen behaviour.

He had legal advice that he would be banned from leaving once legal proceedings were initiated against him.

Australia updated its travel advice in July to warn its citizens of potential arbitrary detention on security grounds in China.

Chinese-Australian spy novelist and blogger Yang Hengjun has been detained in China since he arrived on a flight from New York in January last year in what some suspects is a Chinese reaction to deteriorating bilateral relations. The 55-year-old has since been charged with endangering state security.

The Chinese foreign ministry said the day the last two Australian journalists working for Australian media in China left the country that Australian citizen Cheng Lei, a business news anchor for CGTN, China's English-language state media channel, had been detained on suspicion of national security crimes.
By Maxim Nazarov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Cancelled flights over the coronavirus-related restrictions have brought down the jet fuel prices, prompting the Russians to blend it with diesel for cars, which may lead to shortages of the fuel for planes and lower tax return, industry sources say.

The increase of the surrogate fuel is also a source of the headache for the diesel producers, who are facing the rivalry to their produce from the cheaper blend, production of which is fully legal.

Russian air carriers have cut jet fuel consumption by 36%, or 1.9 million tonnes, in January - August due to the lockdowns. At the same time, jet fuel usage for other needs has jumped by 1.5 times, or 500,000 tonnes, according to Reuters calculations based on the Refinitiv Eikon data.

In May and June, supplies of the fuel for the air planes and surrogate producers were in equal proportion.

Russia typically produces annually around 12 million tonnes of jet fuel, of which 20% is flown for exports. The bulk of the domestically-consumed fuel, or 62%, was used by the civil aviation last year.

Surrogate fuel producers have been the second-largest consumers of the fuel: around 12-13% in 2018 and 2019, while this jumped to 22% in January - August 2020.

Jet fuel is also used to produce paint and in chemical industry.

Market sources say that blend of around 60-70% of the summer-grade diesel and 30-40% of jet fuel is usually used for production of the winter-grade, cold-resistant, diesel.

"Everyone if making the fuel cheap by using the jet fuel," a seller told Reuters. He declined to reveal his identity.

The sources said the bulk of the surrogate fuel does not sell not via the retail network of filling stations, but by deliveries directly to consumers, such as agricultural producers, builders, timber producers and others.

"The Rosstandart (standards agency) will not go to them to check the fuel quality, while they are OK with the quality of it. The main thing is the discount," a trader said.

Story continues

The sources also say that sales of surrogate fuel yield less tax revenues in comparison to the sales of diesel.

The energy ministry has looked into a possibility of capping sales of jet fuel for other usage than for the air carriers at the SPIMEX exchange, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

(Reporting by Maxim Nazarov; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin)
Mother-of-three, Michelle Kiss (pictured wih husband Tony Kiss), 45, from Whalley in Lancashire, died when she went to pick up her daughter from an Ariana Grande concert at the venue in May 2017

The husband of a victim of the Manchester Arena bomb attack has described how he lost 'my girlfriend, my childhood sweetheart, my wife, my friend, my soul mate.'

Mother-of-three, Michelle Kiss, 45, from Whalley in Lancashire, died when she went to pick up her daughter from an Ariana Grande concert at the venue in May 2017.

She was one of 22 people killed as a result of the blast.

On the night of the attack she was 20 metres away from the bomber as she waited in the City Room for her daughter to come out of the concert with her friend.

Her daughter survived, but the inquiry was told how she found Michelle lying unconscious on the ground with a head wound and was 'understandably upset and distressed.'

Today, Michelle's husband, Tony Kiss, told an inquiry into the bombing that Michelle was 'just being a mum' by waiting for their daughter.

Tony said: 'Michelle died but my daughter survived. Amazingly, and so, so thankfully, she was physically unscathed.

'However, the horrors that she must have witnessed in the aftermath of the explosion are fully known only to herself.

'I like to believe though that in their last moments together she brought some comfort to her mum.

'I also like to think of her, at the moment of their parting, as her mum's little guardian angel because I know that Michelle became her guardian angel in that very same moment.'

He described his wife as 'my girlfriend, my childhood sweetheart, my wife, my friend, my soul mate' of 30 years.

Tony described his wife as 'my girlfriend, my childhood sweetheart, my wife, my friend, my soul mate' of 30 years. The couple had three children together (pictured: the family together)

Tony added that Michelle had 'always been my guiding light from the very first moment I met her' when they were 15 and were introduced by a mutual friend.

He said: 'This moment threw my life and my children's lives into a darkness that I feared would last an eternity and unless you've lived this life, it's impossible for another to know.

'Memories do provide real moments of comfort, but sadness comes when we realise there can be no more with Michelle.

'Im now mum and dad, and Im doing my best, but I worry that it cant ever be good enough.

'How can it ever be good enough for my children, without their mum, without Michelle? How can it be?'

Tony added: 'I miss her smile, I miss her voice but, most of all, I miss her beautiful presence and her warm embrace.'

He also praised the 'coming together' of the people of Manchester, adding: 'They demonstrated in the most incredible way, that choosing love can be the more powerful force.

'For this, I say thank you to the wonderful Manchester people for restoring my faith in humanity during the hardest time of my life.'

Michelle worked for the Department of Social Security in Blackburn for a while but she was a 'natural homemaker,' Tony said

Michelle's parents Mick and Christine described how she became 'inseparable' from Tony after they met aged 15 and said that she was so close to her sister, Nicole, that they went on each other's honeymoons.

She was a devoted mother who 'absolutely loved her children beyond measure' and took the boys to football, karate and basketball.

She spent hours taking her daughter to the Stagebox Academy in Manchester and driving her to auditions and rehearsals

Tony and Michelle bought their first house together in their early 20s and were married on the beach in Barbados in 1995, at the same time as her cousin, Gary.

Michelle worked for the Department of Social Security in Blackburn for a while but she was a 'natural homemaker,' Tony said.

Over the years, Michelle visited Manchester Arena many times with their children to watch concerts and events, including seeing Take That, her favourite band, six times.

'How sad to think, that a place that brought so much joy to my family, would be the place, forever, to take away that joy,' Tony said.

His comments come after the inquiry heard from the best friend of an 14-year-old maths prodigy who was killed in the same attack.

Schoolgirl Nell Jones was one of 22 people killed in the attack at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.

Schoolgirl Nell Jones was one of 22 people killed in the attack at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017

Nell had gone to the concert with her friend, Freya Lewis, who was seriously injured in the attack.

The teenager is said to have had a wide circle of friends, who included Freya, but was one of a close group of four who were 'always together in school and out.'

One of her friends, Olivia, who met her at primary school, said in a statement read to the inquiry: 'Nell was the best friend anybody could wish for, always wanting to help people out. She was very confident too, while I was the shy one.

'There were times when we didn't have to say anything to each other, we could just look at each other and burst out laughing. No one else would understand but we would know.'

Olivia added: 'She was the one I could share anything with. If I searched the world over I would never find someone as loyal, caring, funny and full of life,' Olivia said in a statement read to the inquiry.

'She was one in a million and she will live in my heart for ever. One word I would use to describe her is irreplaceable, she will be my best friend for ever.'

Farmer's daughter, Nell Jones from Goostrey in Cheshire, excelled in English and maths and was placed on the gifted and talented register at school.

When she was 13, she took part in the Kangaroos school maths challenge and was awarded gold.

Nell had gone to the concert with her friend, Freya Lewis (pictured), who was seriously injured in the attack

Police help survivors at the scene of the Manchester bombings which killed 22 in May 2017

She was also known for her love of ballet, contemporary dance and musical theatre, and enjoyed the music of Ed Sheeran and Adele.

Brought up on a turkey farm, one of her favourite things was becoming a member of the Knutsford Young Farmers, her family said.

Alex, another of Nell's close friends, said she had 'never met a girl who was so passionate and positive about life.'

She described her friend as 'intelligent and organised' and said she 'loved everything from maths to art and drama.'

They enjoyed Christmas markets, skating in the park, going to the cinema and the young farmers club.

'Our little loving friendship groups had never been happier, I could never have imagined the death of our small village girl who grew up on the family turkey farm would become world news. I feel very honoured to tell people I knew Nell on such a personal level.'

Nell's brother, Sam, read the tributes at the inquiry into the bombing, saying: 'Although she excelled at school, Nell was always very modest about her ability and always thought of others as being far clever than her.

'It was on the stage where everyone really saw Nell shine. Nell loved entertaining others with her bright, bubbly vibrant personality she put her heart and soul into every performance she did, giving her audience plenty to remember.'

In the tribute, her parents, Jayne and Earnie (CORR) said she was always keen to learn new things from her first steps and tying her shoe laces to learning to ride a bike, 'she would persevere relentlessly until she mastered it.'

At school 'she hated any form of unkindness and would protect her friends to the hilt,' and she 'soaked up everything she was taught like a sponge,' they said.

22 people were killed in the terror attacking which took place during the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena in May 2017

Her brother said Nell 'lit up our days with her energy and passion for life' adding: 'Every day was an adventure to Nell and we were all carried along with her.

'The thought of the years ahead without her in our lives is truly unbearable and I have no words to describe the pain and grief which we feel each day but those 14 wonderful years that we shared together and the memories we made were truly special.

'We loved Nell with all our hearts and we always will.'

Mrs Bebbington, her primary school teacher, described her as a 'fabulous role model to look up to' and a 'wonderfully talented girl who showed an aptitude for so many things.'

Her English teacher at Holme Chapel Comprehensive School remembered her as a 'human being with a big heart' who 'worked hard and surrounded herself with friends who had the same work ethic and thirst for life.'

'Those qualities would undoubtedly have taken Nell far, unfortunately we will never know just how far,' her brother said.

Her drama teacher said her 'big heart was matched with a big personality and a big talent' and her music teacher said she 'stood out as a star right from the start.'

'She had a smile and a quiet confidence that lit up any stage, a wonderful, caring young girl with an infectious smile,' the teacher added.

Sir John Saunders, the chairman of the inquiry, said: 'All of your family have every reason to be so proud of Nell.

'What comes over most strongly is the sense of loss everyone feels over her death and my overwhelming impression is, what a loss.'

The commemorative part of the hearings will conclude this week.

The public inquiry, chaired by Sir John Saunders, is to examine the background to the attack by suicide bomber Salman Abedi and the response of the emergency services and will conclude next spring.
He said, Roi, what I want to do is rent a pup tent and I want to live up on the roof for a week so I can bond with her,  Roi told me. I said, Oh my god Kevin, thats wonderful, on one condition: Get a pup tent thats big enough for both of us. I want to do it, too.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

New bioarchaeology research from a University of Otago Ph.D. candidate has shown how infectious diseases may have spread 4000 years ago, while highlighting the dangers of letting such diseases run rife.

Yawsfrom the same bacteria species responsible for syphilis (Treponema pallidum)  is a childhood disease causing highly infectious skin lesions. It is spread via touch from person to person and, in advanced cases, can leave sufferers with severe bone disfigurement. While it is easily curable in its early stages, the bone disfigurements are irreversible.

The disease has been eradicated from much of the world but is still prevalent in the Western Pacific, affecting some 30,000 people. A previous global attempt to eradicate this tropical disease failed at the last hurdle in the 1950's and a new attempt was curtailed by the COVID-19 outbreak, University of Otago Department of Anatomy Ph.D. candidate Melandri Vlok says.

Ms Vlok's Ph.D. research uses archeology to shed light on the spread of diseases when different human populations interact for the first time. Her specific interest is in what she calls the "friction zone," where ancient agricultural people met hunter gatherer people.

In 2018 she traveled to Vietnam to study skeletal remains from the Man Bac archeological site. From the Ninh Binh Province in the north of the country, Man Bac was excavated in 2005 and 2007 and has delivered a treasure trove of information for archeologists thanks to its role during the transition away from foraging to farming in Mainland Southeast Asia.

Now housed in Hanoi's Institute of Archeology those remains are well-studied but had not been analyzed for evidence of yaws, Ms Vlok says.

Her supervisor at Otago, renowned bioarchaeologist Professor Hallie Buckley, had seen what she thought might be yaws on a photograph of Man Bac remains. Professor Buckley traveled with Ms Vlok and together with a passionate team of experts from Vietnam they confirmed their suspicions, Ms Vlok says. Later, Ms Vlok found a second example of the disease.

This was significant, as the Man Bac site dates back 4000 years. Till now, there was no strong evidence for yaws in prehistoric Asia.

Ms Vlok's research suggests yaws was introduced to hunter-gathers in present-day Vietnam by an agricultural population moving south from modern-day China. These hunter-gathers descended from the first people out of Africa and into Asia who also eventually inhabited New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia.

The farmers had been in China for at least 9000 years but it wasn't until around 4000 years ago farming was introduced to Southeast Asia. It is possible this movement of people brought diseases, including yaws, at the same time.

Ms Vlok says the length of time the disease has existed in the region is relevant when addressing how hard it has been to eradicate.

"This matters, because knowing more about this disease and its evolution, it changes how we understand the relationship people have with it. It helps us understand why it's so difficult to eradicate. If it's been with us thousands of years it has probably developed to fit very well with humans."

This year's COVID-19 pandemic has focused people's attention on infectious diseases, and there are lessons to be learned from the past, Ms Vlok says.

"Archeology like this is the only way to document how long a disease has been with us and been adapting to us. We understand with COVID-19 today how fantastic that disease is at adapting to humans. And Treponema has been with us for so much longer. So this shows us what happens when we don't take action with these diseases. It's a lesson of what infectious diseases can do to a population if you let them spread widely. It highlights the need to intervene, because sometimes these diseases are so good at adapting to us, at spreading between us."

Explore further Syphilis may have spread through Europe before Columbus

More information: Melandri Vlok et al. Two Probable Cases of Infection with Treponema pallidum during the Neolithic Period in Northern Vietnam (ca. 20001500 B.C.), Bioarchaeology International (2020). Melandri Vlok et al. Two Probable Cases of Infection with Treponema pallidum during the Neolithic Period in Northern Vietnam (ca. 20001500 B.C.),(2020). DOI: 10.5744/bi.2020.1000
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Time and again, Edwin has demonstrated a gift for driving customers' financial growth and adapting strategically to new environments.

Axiom Bank, N.A., a Maitland-based, leading community bank, recently named Edwin Rasinski as branch manager of its new flagship Winter Park branch. In this role, Rasinski will oversee branch operations to meet the financial and business needs of the Winter Park community.

Rasinskis expertise in business development and his commitment to customer service are the result of more than two decades of experience in the financial service industry, including leadership roles at prominent national banks.

Time and again, Edwin has demonstrated a gift for driving customers financial growth and adapting strategically to new environments, said Urjit Patel, Executive Vice President, Consumer Banking of Axiom Bank. Theres no candidate better suited to serve Winter Parks diverse needs. His skill will benefit Axioms team and customers alike as we help local businesses and families achieve their financial goals.

Rasinski graduated from Medaille College in Buffalo, N.Y. with a bachelors degree in finance and a masters degree in business administration.

For more information about Axiom Bank, visit AxiomBanking.com. The Winter Park branch is slated to open this fall and is located at the northeast corner of Orlando Ave. and Minnesota Ave.

About Axiom Bank

Axiom Bank, a nationally chartered bank headquartered in Central Florida, serves the financial needs of its customers through a wide range of banking solutions and a commitment to exceptional service. The bank has a rich history dating back to 1963. By definition, axiom means a universally recognized truth  the name exemplifies the banks principles of truth, trust, value, convenience, and service excellence. Axiom Bank holds the SBA Preferred Lender status, and specializes in commercial loans, treasury management and other merchant services. The bank also offers asset-based lending and invoice factoring through its division, Allied Affiliated Funding. Axiom is constantly working to expand its services and products and provides consumer banking through its network of branches in central Florida, primarily in select Walmart Supercenters, to conveniently serve local communities. Visit http://www.AxiomBanking.com. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
By Trend

The main objective of USAID's activities for 2020 in the private sector of Azerbaijan is to increase the competitiveness of the private sector, while paying particular attention to agriculture and tourism, the USAID office in Azerbaijan told Trend.

"Over the past six years, thanks to USAID's cooperation with Azerbaijani agricultural enterprises selected within two projects, agricultural products worth over $80 million were exported. Of these, products worth $25 million were exported to new markets in Europe and the Middle East," said the USAID.

"Thanks to the improved agronomic experience offered by USAID, nut yields have increased by almost 100 percent, berry and fruit yields - by 40 percent, and vegetable yields - by 35 percent," said the office.

The US Embassy in Azerbaijan and the USAID mission together with the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) organized the Illinois-Azerbaijan Agriculture Forum in April 2019, and Oklahoma-Azerbaijan - in November of the same year.

"As part of these forums, two delegations of representatives of the agricultural sector of Azerbaijan, together with agricultural enterprises and the US research institutes, discussed the possibilities of expanding business," the USAID said.

Since 1991, USAID has allocated over $377 million to Azerbaijan as humanitarian aid to support the health sector, as well as economic reforms.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
21.09.2020 LISTEN

It is a bugger and ineffable to say that more than 50 per cent (%) of Ghanaians do not know 21 September, is the birthday of Dr Kwame Nkrumah which (that day) doubles as founder's day, which also makes today Monday 21 September a public holiday, some years ago media stations like Joynews, CityTV etc went out to the streets of Ghana to find out what makes today a holiday but most Ghanaians didn't know, what a shame! and

It is said that 'when you don't know where you are coming from you definitely will not know where you are going'.

In 2018 around this time there was a brouhaha about who the founding father(s) of the modern-day GHANA is(were)? Is it the members of the UGCC or CPP( Nkrumah)? Their mottos UGCC: "Self government within a shortest possible time" and CPP (Nkrumah): "Self government now", well! Who is the founding father? Leave it there don't waste your time dividing the youth.

In the history of societies, there comes a critical turning point when things fall apart at the centre, so to speak, a person emerges destined to lead his people towards a way of salvation. The first president of Ghana, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah born on 21 September 1909, who at a very crucial time emerged to rescue the people of the Gold Coast from British colonial cave through a successful social revolution.

This revolution started in 1949, which culminated in political independence on 6th march 1957 being the first black African nation to free his people from colonial rule and this served as a lighting sword for firing up the struggle against colonial rule throughout Africa.

Nkrumah was a pan_africanist who see and will see to it that his people and all other African countries are liberated, this transcended together with Padmore, the 5th Pan-African Congress held in Manchester, England, in October 1945, that congress defined and clarified the ideology of pan-Africanism as an anti-imperialist concept and a socialism builder and at that congress, a resolution drafted by Nkrumah was adopted, search to read the resolution, brilliant resolution.

Also, although ideologically a pan-Africanist, played a pivotal but unintentional role in entrenching colonial-era borders in Africa to shaping the law of self-determination in Africa: He first makes sure that by actively campaigning against 'tribalism' in Ghana; second, by enlisting the UN to prevent the secession of Katanga in 1960, thereby creating a crucial precedent; and, third, by playing a leading role in establishing the OAU in 1963, In this way, Nkrumah helped settle arguments around the authentic self-determination unit in Africa, forging an unintended legacy that continues to shape the legal and political contours of the continent to the present.

Nkrumah laid a strong foundation to served as a pivot of development in Ghana but because of greed and selfishness all is been throw into the bargain now eg some developmental projects of the Legendre (Nkrumah) are

The building of the harbour, Tema motorway and new township of Tema The construction of the hydroelectric Volta dam at Akosombo Nkrumah suppressed sectionalism and tribalism in Ghana and brought a sense of. national unity among Ghanaians. The development of a progressive housing project scheme. Construction of the best nation's hospitals like Komfo Anokye and Korle bu. build and develop educational institutes like UCC, KNUST, UG many polytechnics and secondary schools across the country etc.

What makes the others UGCC members names arguably fade out of the founding father(s) of present-day Ghana and now left with Dr. Kwame Nkrumah alone is that according to David Rooney a historian and author said Nkrumah roused the youth with his "fiery oratory, slept on their verandas ..shared their hardships..captivated them with charm, enthusiasm and passion. He inflamed the people with demands for self-government now".

This was what the leadership of the United Gold Coast Convention lacked. They were unable to relate to ordinary people and their views on political change were.

Notwithstanding his great achievements some still hold the views against him(Nkrumah) of progressively running down Ghana's economic gains at independence, gagging the press, curtailing the freedom of speech and being an authoritarian and wanted to put Ghana into a one-party state which I believed it was better because these NDC, NPP, CPP and a lot of others who only come into government to nag on each other's shoulder and abrogate constructs start by their predecessors, this is a canker that chop down development in Ghana I think legislative instrument should be passed to stop this.

It takes a great man to come out with something like September 2009, President John Atta Mills declared 21 September (the 100th anniversary of Kwame Nkrumah's birth) to be Founder's Day, a statutory holiday in Ghana to celebrate the legacy of Kwame Nkrumah.

I think that is high time we came together as people to reject vision fewer parties and leaders who don't think like Dr Kwame Nkrumah who make sure the national cake is shared evenly and fairly because other regions like upper west, east and Volta etc are the least developed with a very bad roads construction and network, this is not the visions of Nkrumah and the Ghana he wants for us all, in fact, we need legislation on this, vote_out incompetent parties and leaders.

*#Sinto_stands_for_justice*

By Sinto Baluri Abdulai

0554701987

[email protected]
Jose Marin Soriano, 59, is wanted in connection to a woman's death after she was found shot and burned inside a crashed car near his Texas home

Deputies are searching for a man after one woman was found chained inside his home and the body of another woman was found inside a burning car outside his Southeast Texas house.

After responding to a frantic 911 call at around 6.15pm on Saturday, deputies with the Liberty County Sheriffs Office found a woman with her ankle chained to a bed and a rope tied around her neck inside a home on County Road 3415 near Cleveland, Texas.

The victim said she had been sexually assaulted by the homeowner, 59-year-old Jose Marin Soriano.

Deputies determined the two women cleaned houses for Soriano and were lured to the home on Saturday after he told them he had sexually explicit photos of one of the women.

Soriano allegedly promised to delete the compromising images if the women agreed to come over, reported KHOU11.

The woman who survived claimed that Soriano pulled a gun on them, chained her to a bed and assaulted her.

The victim's badly burned body was found inside this car that crashed in a wooded area near Cleveland, Texas, on Saturday

Inside Soriano's home deputies found a woman with a rope tied around her neck and with her ankle chained to a bed

The surviving victim said Soriano chained her to the bed and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint after luring her and her friend to his home

Her companion fled the home, got into her vehicle parked outside and crashed into some woods across the street, where the car caught on fire, according to the sheriffs office.

Investigators later determined that the woman found badly burned in the car had been shot.

An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of her death. Her name has not been released by authorities pending the notification of next of kin.

The other woman, who used Sorianos cellphone to call 911 after he fled the scene, was taken to a hospital to be treated and examined.

Investigators say Soriano fled the scene in a gray Ford truck. He is considered to be armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is being asked to please call the sheriff's office at 936-336-4500 or the local Crime Stoppers office at 1-800-392-STOP (7867).
HOUSTON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Howard Hughes Corporation (NYSE: HHC) today announced that David O'Reilly, President and Chief Financial Officer, has been named interim Chief Executive Officer. Paul Layne has retired as Chief Executive Officer, effective September 17, 2020. Mr. Layne will also step down from the Company's Board of Directors.

During his nine-year tenure at Howard Hughes, Mr. Layne has played a key role in a period of enormous growth and transformation at the Company. He served as Chief Executive throughout the execution of the Transformation Plan announced in 2019, which strategically focused the organization on its core master planned communities (MPCs), sold non-core assets, and moved its headquarters from Dallas to Houston, into The Woodlands Towers at The Waterway. He led the strategic acquisition of approximately 1.4 million square feet of premium office space and developable land in The Woodlands from Occidental Petroleum, and spearheaded the development of 110 North Wacker, a Class A tower in Chicago set to open next month. Mr. Layne steered the Company through the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and leaves Howard Hughes in a strong and opportunistic position as a result of its recent highly successful equity and bond offerings.

"Paul's superb oversight of the development of The Woodlands and his strong stewardship during the pandemic have created and preserved tremendous value for our shareholders, positioning Howard Hughes for long-term success," stated Bill Ackman, Chairman of The Howard Hughes Corporation. "On behalf of myself and the Board, I would like to thank Paul for his many contributions to the Company."

"It has been an exceptionally fulfilling privilege to lead The Howard Hughes Corporation through such a critical period in the Company's history," said Paul Layne. "Together, we have come through stronger than ever, and I am incredibly proud of all we have achieved. I wish David and the Board continued success as Howard Hughes embarks on this next chapter of its transformation."

David O'Reilly has served as Chief Financial Officer at The Howard Hughes Corporation since 2016 and expanded his role when he was appointed President in June 2020. With his substantial financial, operating, and real estate experience, David has been a key player in the Company's efforts to focus its portfolio, strengthen its financial standing, and ensure the long-term success of the business and its communities.

The Board of Directors will conduct a search for a permanent CEO and will consider both internal and external candidates for the position.

About The Howard Hughes Corporation

The Howard Hughes Corporation owns, manages and develops commercial, residential and mixed-use real estate throughout the U.S. Its award-winning assets include the country's preeminent portfolio of master planned cities and communities, as well as operating properties and development opportunities including the Seaport District in New York; Columbia, Maryland; The Woodlands, The Woodlands Hills, and Bridgeland in the Greater Houston, Texas area; Summerlin, Las Vegas; and Ward Village in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Howard Hughes Corporation's portfolio is strategically positioned to meet and accelerate development based on market demand, resulting in one of the strongest real estate platforms in the country. Dedicated to innovative placemaking, the Company is recognized for its ongoing commitment to design excellence and to the cultural life of its communities. The Howard Hughes Corporation is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as HHC. For additional information visit www.howardhughes.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements accompanied by words such as "will," "believe," "expect," "enables," "realize," "plan," "intend," "assume," "transform" and other words of similar expression, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's expectations, estimates, assumptions, and projections as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are set forth as risk factors in The Howard Hughes Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly and Annual Reports. The Howard Hughes Corporation cautions you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. The Howard Hughes Corporation does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information or circumstances that arise after the date of this release.

Contacts:

Media

Gladstone Place Partners

Steve Lipin / Lauren Odell

212-230-5930

The Howard Hughes Corporation

Cristina Carlson, 646-822-6910

Vice President, Corporate Communications & Public Relations

[email protected]

For HHC Investor Relations

David M. Striph, 972-232-2672

Executive Vice President, Head of Operations & Investor Relations

[email protected]

SOURCE The Howard Hughes Corporation

Related Links

http://www.howardhughes.com


The Guardian

Mike Cooley obituary

Engineer, academic and activist who sought to transform the relationship between human skill and technology

John Palmer

17 September 2020

Mike Cooley was instrumental in the formation of the Lucas Plan in the 1970s, which aimed to convert the aerospace companyas production from arms to socially useful products

The innovative thinking and political campaigning of Mike Cooley, who has died aged 86, influenced generations of trade unionists and advocates of a sustainable, green and socially just economy.

It was while working as a highly skilled design engineer at Lucas Aerospace during the turbulent 1970s that Cooley, who was also a mililtant trade unionist, first made his mark. He believed that a radically different relationship between technology and human skill was needed for social transformation. At the heart of his philosophy was a conviction that the supposed conflict between these forms of labour should be transformed into a mutually reinforcing partnership.

At that time, when strike action in defence of jobs and pay was commonplace and workers on the Clyde occupied their shipyards, Lucas workers faced the loss of many hundreds of jobs. Cooley, who then chaired the local branch of the technical trade union Tass (the Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section of the AUEW), and was a member of the Lucas groupas national shop stewards committee, was instrumental in the formation of the Lucas Plan a that aimed to convert Lucas production from arms to the manufacture of a wide range of socially useful products.

Appalled at the contradiction between societyas potential and unmet social need, Cooley later wrote, in his first book, Architect Or Bee? The Human Price of Technology (1980): aWe have, for example, complex control systems which can guide a missile to another continent with extraordinary accuracy, yet the blind and the disabled have to stagger around our cities in very much the same way as they did in medieval times.a

Through consultations with community groups and health service users and workers, the Lucas shop stewards came up with proposals for a hybrid road/rail bus and a radically new kind of portable kidney machine. Following a visit to a centre for children with spina bifida, a vehicle was designed to help children with this condition to be independently mobile.

After realising that 30% of people who die of heart attacks die before they reach the intensive-care unit, union members at another Lucas plant developed a lightweight, portable life-support system that could be taken in an ambulance. Cooley subsequently wrote: aThe workers involved were encouraged to think of themselves in their dual role, both as producers and consumers.a

Without the backing of government and with the decline of trade union power the campaign failed. But some of the socially useful prototypes were subsequently developed and produced by commercial companies in other countries.

Born in Tuam, County Galway, to Eddie Cooley, a garage owner, and Frances (nee Browne), Mike went to the local Christian Brothers school. Due to his love of design and engineering, he was allowed to study one day a week at the nearby technical college. He then worked as an apprentice welder and fitter for the Tuam Sugar company. He began learning German at that time as well, then studied engineering at Bremen Mechanical Engineering University in the mid-50s.

After a period working for a specialist manufacturing company in the Oerlikon district of ZArich, Switzerland, Cooley moved to London in 1957 and gained a PhD in computer-aided design at the North East London Polytechnic (now the University of East London). That marked the start of a lifetime devoted to a better understanding of the role of the replacement a in Marxist terms a of living labour by dead labour.

He became a visiting professor at Umist (the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) and, in 1961, married Shirley Pullen, who proved a lifelong kindred spirit and was his first publisher, of Architect Or Bee.

Fired from Lucas for his activism, in the 1980s he was appointed director of technology at the newly created Greater London Enterprise Board, where I worked with him. There he helped worker co-operatives and other small enterprises to develop 33 new ways for workers to interface with computer technology, rather than their skilled work being replaced by machines.

Cooley drew inspiration from the historical precedent of the builders of the great medieval cathedrals who a he never tired of pointing out a were their own architects. In 1981 he received the Right Livelihood award for adesigning and promoting the theory and practice of human-centred, socially useful productiona .

He continued to lecture at universities across the world, and produced a series of books outlining his ideas for restoring decision-making power to workers in the production process. His output was compiled in the 2020 reader The Search for Alternatives: Liberating Human Imagination.

In Delinquent Genius a The Strange Affair of Man and His Technology (2018), Cooley disputed the ainevitabilitya of ever greater de-skilling of human labour, writing: aI disagree. The script for this finale can still be rewritten. And I do mean amana and not ahumanitya, for it is a relationship from which women have been largely excluded and this to disastrous effect.a

The president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, wrote in a foreword to the book: aMike Cooley may well be the most intelligent Irishman, the most morally engaged scientist and technologist Ireland has sent abroad.a

Cooley is survived by Shirley and a son, Graham. Another son, Stephen, died in 2009.

a Michael Cooley, engineer and author, born 23 March 1934; died 4 September 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called the two farm bills passed by Parliament on Sunday historic, addressed key concerns around each of the three bills that seek to liberalise agricultural trade in the country and criticised opponents for misleading farmers even as Opposition parties slammed the government for hurriedly passing the legislations.

Modi spoke on how each of the three bills bought by his government would help farmers in multiple ways, seeking to dispel misinformation being spread around them while unveiling new projects in poll-bound Bihar through a video address.

Also read: Congress MP says 12 parties have sought time to meet president over passage of farm bills, request him to not give his ascent

The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, passed on Sunday, aims to ease all restrictions on trade of agriculture produce.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, also passed on Sunday, lays down a new architecture for contract farming in the country to ensure farmers can engage with one another more confidently, enable modern supply chains and investments by agribusinesses.

In a speech aimed at putting a lid on concerns of farmers groups, Modi said the existing agricultural state-regulated mandis -- also known as agricultural produce market committees or APMCs -- would continue to function. He also said the government would continue to buy farm produce at minimum support prices (MSPs).

Also Read: On agricultural reforms, its important to tread with caution

APMCs will not shut down. The new laws are not against mandis and I also want to assure the country that the government will continue to buy farm produce at MSPs in every (farm marketing) season, Modi said.

The PM said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had strengthened the APMC system. Every market has been computerised, he said.

To allay fears over an alleged weakening of the MSP mechanism, Modi said: MSPs will continue like before. The proof for our commitment to MSP will come from a comparison of prices paid by our government with that of previous regimes.

MSPs are federally fixed statutory prices, mainly for rice and wheat, at which the government buys from farmers.

Also Read: Endless arrogance of BJP govt has brought economic disaster: Rahul Gandhi

Our government has purchased 24% more oilseeds and pulses at MSPs. Even when the country was under the lockdown because of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, there was record wheat procurement. The procurement of wheat, oilseeds and pulses was 30% more and farmers were paid a total of Rs 1,13,000 crore in MSPs, Modi said.

The new set of laws brought by the government allows direct purchase of produce from farmers outside APMCs.

APMCs have enjoyed a monopoly in farm produce trade so far and there is evidence that trader cartels have often manipulated wholesale prices to the disadvantage of farmers and consumers.

In December 2010, when onion prices peaked, a probe by the countrys statutory anti-monopoly body, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), had revealed that one firm accounted for nearly a fifth of the total onion trade for that month at Lasalgaon APMC, Asias largest onion market in Maharashtras Nashik.

Modi said farm produce would travel freely across states and farmers were already reaping benefits of open markets to get higher prices.

Ground reports tell us how the reforms have benefited farmers, Modi said.

In Bihar, traders bought potatoes directly from farmers for storage in cold chains at higher prices, the PM said.

In Madhya Pradesh (MP), oil processing mills bought oilseeds from farmers paying between 20% and 30% more in June and July, he said.

Modi said growers of pulses would get better prices in states such as Uttar Pradesh (UP), Chhattisgarh and West Bengal because of the freedom to directly sell to traders.

Farmer organisations, such as the umbrella outfit, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, said they would continue to protest these reforms, as the government passed them without adequate consultations, farm leader VM Singh said.

The bills were passed amid stiff opposition in the Upper House and an ensuing chaos during a voice vote, which opposition parties said was unfair and unsound.

The opposition said the deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha, Harivansh, did not allow detailed voting on the bills, called division.

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Community organizer Edna Sandoval, center, raises her fist along with a group of domestic workers protesting at MacArthur Park on Thursday in support of a bill to extend California workplace protections to domestic workers. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Sandra Martinez, 45, a housekeeper, used to work three days a week before the pandemic struck. Now she does the same work for one days pay, because her employer thought one housekeeping appointment was less risky than three.

She used to take three buses to work, an epic commute that made her workdays 15 hours long. Now she pays out of pocket for Uber, exhausting her savings, because her family heard that taking the bus was unsafe.

As we all try to take fewer risks, housekeepers, caregivers and child-care providers like Martinez have paid the price. Nearly three-quarters of domestic workers reported losing their jobs in an April survey. Many domestic workers who can afford only to take the bus to their jobs have lost them. A disproportionate number of domestic workers and their family members have contracted COVID-19 and died.

In California, an estimated 350,000 domestic workers employed by more than 2 million families have no workplace safety protections during a time when their work couldnt be more dangerous or essential.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering a bill that might finally change that. Senate Bill 1257, which passed with little opposition in the Assembly and Senate, would end the exclusion of domestic workers from California Division of Occupational Safety and Health protections. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign it into law.

The bills sponsor, Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), said that ending the exclusion of domestic workers from workplace safety protections is also about showing voters that political leaders plan to keep their promises about confronting modern-day legacies of racism.

We cant just give lip service to institutional racism and veto this. How does that make sense? This is about destroying one of the final legacies of slavery and racism. Its the right thing to do, Durazo said.

The exclusion of domestic workers from labor protections has its origins in Reconstruction-era politics. Southerners wanted to continue reaping the economic benefits of slavery even after its abolition. Freed male slaves were pressed into sharecropping, and many freed female slaves could find work only in the homes of their former masters.

Story continues

When Congress gave employees the right to form unions in 1935, domestic workers and farm laborers  largely freed slaves or their descendants  were excluded by legislators to curry favor with Southern Democrats. When labor standards for workweeks and workdays were established three years later, domestic workers and farm laborers were again excluded for the same reason.

Domestic work, done by women for centuries with no pay, has been systematically devalued in order to preserve a system that benefited domestic employers. But it is one of the most dangerous and injurious types of work, full of the repetitive, strenuous motions that commonly lead to injury.

Emily Uy, a 61-year-old, 5-foot-1 Filipina woman, felt something crack in her back a few years ago while attempting to lift a patient who was losing control of her muscles.

Her employer, who had refused her requests to hire an assistant, also refused to help with her $7,000 medical bill, she said. She didnt want to ask her client, who was living on a fixed income. So she found a loan and paid it off in 24 installments over two years.

We really need protection when we get hurt. If we get sick or hurt, we dont get paid, Uy said.

A new survey conducted by the City University of New York found that domestic workers reported rates of back injury comparable to those of construction workers.

A third of respondents also said they lacked adequate personal protective equipment, and just 1 in 4 had received any safety training for pandemic conditions. More than 67% feared retaliation if they refused to perform an unsafe task, according to the study.

Maegan Ortiz, executive director of Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California, places a message card at a memorial altar to fallen domestic workers assembled at the MacArthur Park protest. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Pandemic conditions have also led to an explosion in the popularity of Clorox cleaning products, thanks to their prominent placement on the federal Centers for Disease Control and Preventions lists of recommended disinfectants to protect against COVID-19. Families are insisting on using bleach products because of virus fears, said Maegan Ortiz, executive director of Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California, a Southern California group that helps organize domestic workers. Clorox revenues are up more than 20% on the year, and the company saw its highest stock price ever.

For Carmen Jimenez, 53, the bleach has meant headaches, inflamed allergies and trouble breathing. She was laid up in bed for three days with flu-like symptoms, but her employer still insisted on Clorox products.

Im just tired. I realize they dont respect us and our health, Jimenez said.

The domestic workforce in California is almost entirely composed of women and immigrants who earn minimum wage or less. There has never been a good reason for excluding them from workplace safety protections, and theres never been a more dangerous time to work in California.

Record wildfires rage across the state, and domestic workers will be asked to clean up the aftermath. An airborne virus stalks every indoor space, and without safety protocols and PPE, they cannot protect themselves or their families.

Domestic workers facing these dangers, with the help of groups such as the California Domestic Workers Coalition, are awakening to the injustice of their conditions. A group of about 50 domestic workers gathered Thursday in MacArthur Park around an altar to fallen domestic workers decorated with Clorox products, mops and cleaning buckets.

Rosalinda, a domestic worker who was not given permission to attend the protest by the Beverly Hills family she works for, spoke via a recorded message.

Diana Mendoza embraces her daughter Naima Wilson, 8, during the MacArthur Park protest in support of protections for domestic workers. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Look at my eyes, so red from working. Sometimes I cannot sleep because I am too tired. We need protection. You can work from home, but we have to do our work in other peoples homes.

After the speeches concluded and the altar was cleaned up, most of us went home. But on the walk to my car, I ran into some of the domestic workers from the rally at the bus stop.

It was 9 o'clock on Thursday morning, and they had to go to work.
In 2014, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the pioneering legal mind and advocate for equal treatment of the sexes who died Friday, did something that probably none of her male colleagues were ever asked to do: She gave a tour of her office closet.

The occasion was an interview with Katie Couric after Ginsburgs strongly worded, 35-page dissent in the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision, in which the court sided with a corporations desire to challenge the Affordable Care Acts contraception mandate on the grounds of religious freedom.

But Ginsburg did not seem remotely put out about starting the conversation with fashion.

Opening the imposing wood doors of her wardrobe, the justice revealed, on one side, the long black robes of the court, and on the other  taking up more than half the hanger space  her extensive collection of elaborate collars. She had them, she said, from all over the world. She had them for every occasion, and for every kind of opinion of the court.

As much as the nickname The Notorious R.B.G., which came to symbolize Ginsburgs status as a pop-culture hero in her later years, the collars served as both semiology and semaphore: They signalled her positions before she even opened her mouth, and they represented her unique role as the second woman on the countrys highest court. Shining like a beacon amid the dark sea of denaturing judicial robes, Ginsburgs collars were unmistakable in photographs and from the court floor.

Though obviously Ginsburgs legacy of jurisprudence is her most important gift to history, her understanding of her own significance as a role model was undeniable. As the rare female law student (and student in the rarefied air at the top of the class)  not to mention the rare female lawyer  she was used to being the only one. She knew that every statement she made, every gesture, every image, would be noted, picked over and parsed. All her choices mattered. So she might as well imbue them with meaning.

Even if they were only about the collar.

In 2009, in an interview with The Washington Post, she explained how her collection originated: You know, the standard robe is made for a man because it has a place for the shirt to show, and the tie, Ginsburg told the paper. So she and Sandra Day OConnor, the first female justice on the court, thought it would be appropriate if we included as part of our robe something typical of a woman. They werent going to obscure their sex or pretend it was beside the point. It was part of the point.

The idea was to claim what was a traditionally male uniform and unapologetically feminize it. That may seem innocuous, but it was in fact radical. In 1993, when Ginsburg joined the court, women in the workforce were still largely wearing mens suits as armour; conventional wisdom had it that looking too girlie was a mistake and would undermine the seriousness with which a woman was received.

But theres almost nothing as classically girlie as lace, that fragile, ethereal fabric associated largely with decoration. By wearing it, and wearing it consistently, Ginsburg  famously tiny, famously tough  was daring the world to revise that judgment. Why could a woman not be both feminine and substantive?

As Marylou Luther, creative director of The Fashion Group International, once said: For this woman who has championed womens rights, its lovely to see that shes championing ladies rights. Its OK to be a lady. You dont have to be a CEO in pantsuits.

Ginsburg liked fashion, and she wore it with pleasure: In addition to her collars, she was known for her fishnet gloves (worn for her portrait in Times 100 Most Influential people issue in 2015), embroidered jackets, and in February, a pair of glittering silver heels, like Dorothys ruby slippers, that she wore to present the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award in Washington, D.C.

But her collars were her weapon.

She used them to expand, ever so slowly and deliberately, in the same way she did the law, the landscape of our own understanding.

She wore her majority opinion collar, a beige and egg yolk yellow crocheted style suspended from a gold chain, with beaded drops at the hem, that was a gift from her law clerks, when speaking for the majority of the court.

Her dissent collar, a spiky bejeweled necklace on a black band from Banana Republic that had been gifted to her when she was named a Glamour Woman of the Year in 2012, she wore when she read her equally spiky dissents from the bench. (She also wore it the day after the 2016 election, which no one thought was a coincidence; the dissent collar became so famous on its own that it was memorialized in jewelry, magnets and temporary tattoos.)

Her crisp white jabot edged in black (from the gift shop of the Metropolitan Opera), which was replica of a similar jabot worn by a character in a Verdi opera she had attended, she wore when she received her honorary law degree at Harvard (along with Placido Domingo, who serenaded her). And then there was her favourite: a delicate white style from Capetown, South Africa.

Her affinity for collars became so well known, fans began to send her their own creations as gifts, and she wore those with pride, too.

When, in 2018, a documentary on her life called RBG was released, the poster featured only a sketch of Ginsburgs head  along with a lace collar. The films first poster, in fact, simply featured the collar and the title; it was all that was needed.

Later, movie theatres placed cardboard cut-out figures of the Supreme Court justice in lobbies so attendees could take selfies with their heads framed by her black robe and elaborate lace collar. After her death was announced Friday, many social media posts simply depicted a collar against a black background.

To pay attention to what a powerful woman wears is often dismissed as a way to denigrate her. But not to pay attention in this case is to disrespect the attention to detail that marked Ginsburgs work in all its dimensions.

After all, a gauntlet may once have been a metal glove, but sometimes it can also be a lace collar. That doesnt make it any less effective at challenging an antiquated status quo.
Houston Congressman Dan Crenshaw ripped into Democrats during a testy interview on Monday, saying they are going too far in pushing mail-in voting, which he says is ripe for fraud and other mistakes.

I think the Democrat party is intentionally trying to create doubt, Crenshaw said during an interview aired Monday as part of the Texas Tribune Festival.

While he said he has no issue with typical absentee voting where a voter requests a ballot and it is sent to them, he said Democrats are exaggerating the risks of voting in person during the pandemic, and that the universal mail-in voting system they support would increase the chances of voter fraud.

Texas is one of five states that wont accept concerns about the coronavirus as an excuse to vote by mail.

LEADING THE WAY IN VOTER SUPPRESSION: Texas is ground zero in voting rights war

Crenshaw, a Republican, said he had just been in a packed grocery store, adding that if people can go there, they can vote in person, too.

Everybody can go vote, Crenshaw told interviewer Tim Alberta of Politico. This is nonsense. Im tired of this nonsense that it is not safe to vote.

Crenshaw said he doesnt believe Democrats have a plan for widespread fraud but says they want to pave the way for universal mail-in voting and are opening the door to fraud.

I think they want to create doubt. Especially in this election, Crenshaw said. I think they want to allow people to vote who dont vote  who shouldnt be voting.

His remarks come as President Donald Trump warns his supporters that Democrats are trying to rig the election. Trump has previously said that the only way we can lose  is if cheating goes on. He has asserted that mail-in voting is very dangerous and that there is tremendous fraud involved and tremendous illegality.

Crenshaw noted that too many elections  like his own primary victory in 2018  are decided by very few votes. Having a couple of hundred voters who shouldnt be voting in an election is enough to change results.

RNC SPEECH: Crenshaw one of few RNC speakers who didnt mention Trump

Crenshaw, a Navy veteran, in 2018 finished in the top two of the GOP primary by a 155-vote margin. He would later win the primary runoff and is now in his first term in Congress.

Crenshaw was highly critical of the media during the interview, saying most arent doing enough to point out the difference between absentee voting and universal mail-in voting.

He said absentee voting is where a voter requests a ballot and that creates a layer of protection from fraud. He said what hes against is states mailing ballots to every voter, something he said states like Pennsylvania do. In response to a reporters question after the interview, Crenshaw acknowledged that wasnt true and that he had mistakenly put Pennsylvania into the category. In that state, people have to request a ballot through an application.

Nine states this year are sending mail-in ballots to people who have not applied for them: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington.

But Crenshaw was also critical of Democrats trying to send applications to vote absentee to all registered voters  as Harris County Clerk Christopher Hollins wanted to do. Hollins wanted to send all 2.4 million voters in Harris County a mail ballot application, but a Texas Supreme Court ruling blocked him.

The clerks office already has mailed applications to voters who are 65 and older, all of whom are eligible to vote by mail under Texas law.

Crenshaw called it totally unnecessary and an attempt to get us to universal mail balloting.

Crenshaw is running for re-election in the 2nd Congressional District, which runs from northeast Harris County, includes areas around Spring and in West Houston. Democrat Sima Ladjevardian is running against Crenshaw.

If Crenshaw wants to spend his days peddling fear and disinformation, he can go work in President Trump's communications shop and let Sima Ladjevardian fight for the health care needs of this community, said Ladjevardians campaign spokesman Dan Gottlieb.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. President of China Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on the occasion of the Independence Day, the Armenian Presidents Office told Armenpress.

On behalf of the people, the government of China and myself personally I address my sincere congratulations and best wishes to you and the good people of Armenia.

China and Armenia traditionally are friendly countries always providing mutual support to each other on matters deriving from their key interests. The joint fight against COVID-19 reflects the high level of the bilateral relations and the deep, sincere friendship between our peoples.

I attach great importance to the development of the Chinese-Armenian relations and I am ready to make joint efforts with you to raise the multi-sectoral cooperation to a new level, the Chinese President said in his congratulatory letter.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Parliament Highlights: A day after the Rajya Sabha saw unprecedented ruckus over agriculture bills, Chairman of the Upper House M Venkaiah Naidu suspended 8 MPs, including TMCs Derek OBrien and AAPs Sanjay Singh, for unruly behaviour in the House. Expressing his disappointment over a bad day for Rajya Sabha, Naidu said some members snatched mics and abused the deputy chairman. Rule book was also thrown at him. This is unfortunate, unacceptable and tarnishes the image of Parliament. If marshals were not called, I wonder what would have happened. Naidu also rejected the motion of no-confidence received against Deputy Chairman Harivansh, saying it was not in proper format and required notice of 14 days. The list of suspended MPs is as follows: Derek OBrien, Sanjay Singh, Dola Sen, Rajeev Satav, KK Ragesh, Syed Nassir Hussain, Ripun Bora and Elamaram Kareem.

The war of words between the BJP and the opposition MPs on the ruckus in Rajya Sabha yesterday over the farm bills is likely to escalate today as the party may move privilege motion against several opposition MPs accused of unruly behaviour in the House. The development comes hours after 12 opposition parties gave a notice for a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh over the manner in which the bills were passed in the House after he overruled their pleas for an adjournment of the proceedings. The ruckus started yesterday when the government was keen to put the farm bill to vote immediately after Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomars reply, but the opposition, led by Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, wanted the Rajya Sabha to take up the ministers reply and the vote on Monday. When the government refused, all hell broke loose.

First to come up to the well of the House were Trinamool Congress MPs Arpita Ghosh and Dola Sen, Congress MPs Kumari Shelja and Jairam Ramesh, and AAP lawmaker Sanjay Singh. Then TMC leader Derek OBrien too came up to the well with the rule book to show that it was a violation of the House rules not to allow division of votes or voting by pressing the button. OBriens actions are now mired in controversy, with some insisting that he tore the pages of the rule book. A close viewing of the Rajya Sabha footage adds to the confusion. It shows DMK MP Tiruchi Siva throwing a book even as Obrien was close to the chair, showing the deputy chairman the particular rule on button voting.
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Birla Corporation share price fell over 5 percent intraday on September 21 after the Calcutta High Court restrained Harsh Vardhan Lodha from holding any position in MP Birla Group companies with immediate effect.

With this Lodha, who has fought for almost a decade to retain control of cement maker Birla Corp and the MP Birla group companies, will be removed with immediate effect from all company positions. The courts ruling is a significant victory for the extended Birla family, which is contesting the legal validity of Priyamvada Birlas Will, according to a Mint report.

The two sides have been locked in a battle for 18 years over the Will in which Priyamvada Birla bequeathed her estate and control of the now Rs 25,000 crore MP Birla empire to her Chartered Accountant RS Lodha and his second son Harsh Vardhan Lodha.

Lodha will also be removed as chairman of the groups flagship company Birla Corp. and as a director on the boards of other MP Birla companies, including listed firms Vindhya Telelinks Ltd, Birla Cables Ltd and Universal Cables Ltd.

The stock was trading at Rs 687.00, down Rs 34.10, or 4.73 percent. It has touched an intraday high of Rs 703.95 and an intraday low of Rs 662.20.

According to Moneycontrol SWOT Analysis powered by Trendlyne, MFs have decreased their shareholding last quarter with declining revenue every quarter for the past two quarters.

However, Moneycontrol technical rating is very bullish with moving averages and technical indicators being bullish.

: 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.
Hundreds of elephants that died mysteriously in Botswana were killed by a toxic in their watering hole an investigation reveals.

More than 300 elephants were killed in Botswana earlier this year from toxins in water produced by cyanobacteria, officials said today.

They announced the results of the investigation into the deaths which had baffled and alarmed conservationists.

More than 300 elephants were killed in Botswana earlier this year from toxins in water produced by cyanobacteria

Locals in the area had reported seeing the elephants walking in circles suggesting they have been neurologically impaired either by a pathogen or a poison.

Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil.

Not all produce toxins but scientists say toxic ones are occurring more frequently as climate change drives up global temperatures.

Cyril Taolo, deputy director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told a news conference the number of dead elephants had risen to 330.

This was from 281 reported in July, where aerial photos showed their carcasses scattered across the Okavango Delta and other northern parts of the country.

The first unusual deaths were reported in May when 169 elephants died in a short period at the Okavango Delta, a marshy and lush wildlife habitat.

That number had almost doubled by mid June, with 70 per cent of the deaths occurring around waterholes, according to local sources.

Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil that had poisoned the watering holes

The department's principal veterinary officer Mmadi Reuben said: 'Our latest tests have detected cyanobacterial neurotoxins to be the cause of deaths.

'These are bacteria found in water.

'However we have many questions still to be answered such as why the elephants only and why that area only? We have a number of hypotheses we are investigating.'

Other animals in the Okavango Panhandle region appeared unharmed.

Some cyanobacterial blooms can harm people and animals, with scientists becoming concerned about their potential impact due to climate change.

This leads to warmer water temperatures, which many cyanobacteria prefer.

Some cyanobacterial blooms can harm people as well as animals, with scientists becoming concerned about their potential impact due to climate change

Southern Africa's temperatures are rising at twice the global average, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

'It amounts to having the right conditions, in the right time, in the right place and these species will proliferate,' Patricia Glibert, a professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, who has studied cyanobacteria.

'These conditions are coming together more often, in more places, so we are seeing more of these toxic blooms around the world.'

In Zimbabwe, about 25 elephant carcasses were found near the country's biggest game park and authorities suspect they succumbed to a bacterial infection.

The animals were found with tusks intact, ruling out poaching and deliberate poisoning.

The animals were found with tusks intact, ruling out poaching and deliberate poisoning

Parks authorities believe the elephants could have ingested the bacteria while searching for food and the carcasses were found near water sources.

'We considered the possibility of cyanobacteria but we have no evidence that this is the case here (in Zimbabwe),' said Chris Foggin, a veterinarian at the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust.

It tested samples from both dead elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Zimbabwe has sent samples to Britain and is waiting for permits to send samples to two other countries, Foggin said.

Africa's overall elephant population is declining due to poaching but Botswana, home to almost a third of the continent's elephants, has seen numbers grow to around 130,000.
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ASUS forays into commercial PC market in India will 11 devices Image Source: IANS News

ASUS forays into commercial PC market in India will 11 devices Image Source: IANS News

ASUS forays into commercial PC market in India will 11 devices Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, Sep 21 : ASUS India, the Indian arm of Taiwanese IT major, on Monday forayed into the commercial PC market in India with launching "Expert Series" brand with 11 devices across laptops, desktops and All-in-Ones, targeting the key enterprise segments in the country.

Powered by Intel Core processors and variants with Windows 10 Pro support, the ASUS 'Expert Series' will offer innovative cutting-edge tech solutions for business users leveraging ASUS's over 30 years of integrated engineering expertise in the PC business, the company said in a statement.

Available soon, the ASUS ExpertBook range has six laptops while ASUSPRO ExpertCenter lineup offers three desktops. ASUS also launched two All-in-Ones (AiOs).

ASUS ExpertBook B9 starts from Rs 102,228 while ASUS ExpertBook P2 will begin from Rs 58,697.

ASUSPRO ExpertBook P1 Series starts from Rs 25,323 and ASUSPRO ExpertCenter D8 will begin from Rs 55,429 (inclusive of a monitor).

"With Expert Series, we are offering enterprises the opportunity to experience the cutting-edge technology, groundbreaking innovation, and unparalleled performance of our commercial PCs," said Leon Yu, Regional Director, System Business Group, ASUS India & South Asia.

"We understand that serving the needs of the business customers requires much more than just delivering hardware. We will focus on delivering solutions and unmatched customer service," he added.

ASUSPRO ExpertCenter D6 will come for Rs 29,669 onwards while ASUSPRO ExpertCenter D3 will cost you Rs 27,429 onwards.

The ASUS AiO (V241FA) starts from Rs 58,466 while ASUS AiO begins from Rs 25,839.

The new series will cater to businesses of all sizes, including educational institutions, government, micro businesses, SMBs and large enterprise customers.

"These latest Expert series offerings from ASUS, powered by Intel Core processors, deliver the intelligent performance features that enable businesses to work efficiently and accelerate productivity," said Prakash Mallya, Vice President and Managing Director of Sales, Marketing and Communications Group, Intel India.

Weighing just 995 grams, ASUS ExpertBook B9 is the world's lightest and most powerful 14-inch business laptop, built with best-in-class strength magnesium lithium alloy, with up to 10th Gen Intel Core i7 Processor and 24-hour battery backup.

ASUS ExpertBook P2 is touted as the most versatile laptop in its segment with Nvidia Discrete Graphics and up to 10th Gen Intel Core i7 Processor.

"ASUSPRO ExpertBook P1 series is an affordable line-up of 14-inch and 15-inch laptops with segment leading features such as FHD Display with thin bezels, fingerprint sensor and up to 10th Gen Intel Core i5 Processor," the company informed.

ASUSPRO ExpertCenter Desktop series are business desktops designed for enterprises, governments and SMBs to fulfill their business needs.

"ASUS All-in-One (AiO) series offers slim-bezel NanoEdge FHD IPS display, segment leading connectivity, SonicMaster audio, wireless peripherals that support up to 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor," the company added.

The company said it has set up a dedicated helpline for sales and services of the new 'Expert Series' PCs with extended hours of operation.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Despite the ban by the Central government on the carnivorous Thai Mangur fish, many fish farmers are still cultivating it in Kumaons US Nagar, officials said Monday.

We have identified 17 fish farmers who are cultivating Thai Mangur in Kashipur and Jaspur areas of the district. Since it is illegal to rear or sell such a variety of fish, we are sending notices to them to destroy their fish ponds or we will be forced to do it ourselves, said Ravindra Kumar, senior inspector, fisheries department, US Nagar.

Around 280 fish farmers are engaged in fish farming in US Nagar. Officials said some of them have been identified for cultivating Thailand catfish commonly known as Thai Mangur. Its cultivation is considered bad for biodiversity, especially other local fish species.

Kumar said, Basically it is African cat fish but it is commonly known as Thai Mangur. At the beginning of 2019, the Central government had banned its cultivation and NGT has also issued instructions for the elimination of such a variety of fish in 2000 and for forming a task force at block level to restrict such fish farming.

Kumar said this particular fish was imported in the late 1980s. Later studies showed its disadvantages and negative impact on the indigenous fish and aquatic life. Finally, the Central government issued an order to ban Thai Mangur in 2019, said Kumar.

Since this fish is carnivorous and feeds on meat, it also pollutes the water bodies. This fish is carnivorous and also eats other fish and thus affects the local fish populations, said Kumar.

The official from the fisheries department also revealed that Thai Mangur grows faster and gains weight of 3 to 4 kilograms in just 2 to 3 months.

Many farmers cultivate this fish despite the ban as it gives high returns on low investment. Apart from this, it has good sale value as it is a poor mans delicacy as it is available between 80 to 100 per kg, he said.

The official added that reports from other areas of the district have also been sought. Last year also complaints of Thai Mangur cultivation were received and notices were issued to fish farmers, he added.

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A new plan for local authorities to deliver 20,000 low-cost homes would not come with the power to take the past behaviour of council tenants into account.

Sinn Fein is making public accommodation the keystone of its alternative Budget proposals, slashing the capital costs of houses by building them on land which would continue to be owned by the State.

But spokesman Eoin O Broin resisted the idea of allowing local authorities to operate a blacklist of applicants who would not get a set of keys  against a backdrop of growing concern about illicit raves and house parties.

He said there would be no proposals to vet people as the low-price homes would be private purchases just like on the private market, except that they would be homes for working people to rent or buy, and not for landlords to rent out or speculators to invest in.

There are significant powers already available to local communities to ensure that, for example, where tenants in rental properties aren't behaving, the landlord can be held accountable and can be fined 20,000 by the Residential Tenancies Board, he said.

Likewise, local authorities with their tenants have significant powers, he said, although he recognised that in many cases residents negatively affected by bad behaviour are often nervous about raising it with the council.

Local authorities and gardai had extensive powers that were there already and should be used more widely, he said.

Under the Sinn Fein proposals, couples with a combined income of 85,000 a year could buy a new three-bedroom home for as little as 230,000.

A single person with 55,000 gross would also be allowed to buy a home at that price.

A buyer would not be permitted to rent out the house but would have to occupy it themselves. They could only sell it to another buyer under the scheme. The same rules apply to those who inherit the property.

A Sinn Fein government would undertake the largest public house-building programme in the history of the State, Mr O Broin said, hiring private builders at a 5-to-6pc margin to construct on State land.

The move would immediately cut out of the cost of the land and also the 15pc that a private developer would add to the sale price, along with the builders margin.

In such a way, 160,000 could be cut from the actual market cost, with the initiative focused on first-time buyers. Entry would also be allowed to those who lose their home through the breakdown of a relationship or a repossession.

People seeking to trade up because their family has increased in size, but who are trapped in negative-equity properties, would also be allowed to apply.

Of the 20,000 target, 12,000 homes would be designated as social, meaning council homes rented to low-income tenants at far less than the private-market cost.

Sinn Fein would retain 8,000 as affordable homes. Of these, 4,000 would be available for purchase at an even lower price and the other half set aside for an affordable rental scheme.

This latter scheme is because there is a large cohort whose income is too high for a subsidised social/council house, but who cant afford to rent at prevailing market rates.

The scheme removes all the costs associated with private development, such as land costs, expensive financing and high-developer margins, Mr O Broin said.

The plan will result in a new layer of housing in the market which will be available to people of a particular income.

The party is also proposing increasing the affordable and social housing budget next year by 1.5bn to 2.8bn. The monthly affordable rent in Dublin for a three-bedroom home would be 700-900, he said, and less outside the capital.

He said a combined income of 85,000 was seen as a tipping point where if a couple earned less, they could not practically afford to buy a house on the open market, with homes in Dublin averaging at 400,000 to purchase.




Peter Andre's wife Emily MacDonagh has spoken out about the spike in coronavirus cases and suggested that young people may be to blame.

The NHS medical professional, 31, said that young generations might feel that they don't need to wear a mask, a view she mentioned was also expressed by Noel Gallagher last week.

Musician Noel, 53, was criticised when he admitted he's refusing to wear a face covering and branded them 'pointless'.

Opinions: Peter Andre's wife Emily MacDonagh has spoken out about the spike in coronavirus cases and suggested that young people may be to blame

Writing in her OK! magazine column, Emily penned: 'I think people are in two camps when it comes to mask wearing  they either say it's up to me and I can work out my own risk, or they're really concerned about Covid and are taking all the precautions.

'I think it's predominately young people who feel the same as Noel, and probably as a result of this we are seeing more cases in young people.

'I understand people feel like the decision has been taken out of their hands, but we all need to do the same thing and pull together. It's all very well being young and healthy but we need to protect the more vulnerable people in our society.'

Going against the law: Noel Gallagher revealed last week he's refusing to sport a face mask, despite UK's restrictions to minimise the spread of coronavirus (pictured in February)

She added that people should 'accept the rules' because it 'won't be this way forever'.

Last Tuesday Noel revealed he's refusing to wear a face mask, despite UK restrictions to minimise the spread of coronavirus - and has even gone to the extent of chartering a private jet to avoid wearing PPE.

Wearing a covering over your nose and mouth is mandatory by law in all shops, supermarkets and on public transport, with exemptions for people with medical conditions and children under 11.

Speaking out: Medical professional Emily , 31, suggested that young generations might feel that they don't need to wear a mask, a view also expressed by Noel Gallagher last week

Explaining the lengths he went to to dodge wearing a mask, Noel revealed that he and five pals travelled by private plane so they wouldn't be 'marched' around the airport being told what to do.

He told The Sun: 'There was six of us and we were like, 'f going to Heathrow and being marched around and being told what to do'. So we went by private jet and it was very pleasant.

'It's not something I do often because they are expensive for what they are but the ballache of having to get on a plane in a mask. I was just like, 'F*** it'.'

Meanwhile, during a new interview on The Matt Morgan podcast, Noel explained: 'Listen to me, it's not a law. There's too many f***** liberties being taken away from us now.'

Controversial: Last Tuesday Noel revealed he's refusing to wear a face mask, despite UK restrictions to minimise the spread of coronavirus - and has even gone to the extent of chartering a private jet to avoid wearing PPE

The Oasis star recalled a time he requested to speak to a shop manager when an employee asked him to don a protective mask.

'I don't give a f**k. I choose not to wear one and if I get the virus it's on me, it's not on anyone else. If every other c***s wearing a mask I'm not gonna catch it off them, and If I've got it then they're not gonna catch it off me. I think it's a p***take', he said.

Last month, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that repeatedly refusing to wear a face mask could lead to a fine of up to 3,200.

At present those who do not cover their faces can be ordered to pay a penalty of 100  or 50 if they pay within a fortnight.

People caught without a mask for a second time face a fine of 200, with the amount doubling on every repeat offence to a maximum of 3,200.

The rock star went on to reflect on another moment he went against the rules, explaining: 'I was going up to Manchester the other week and some guy's going 'can you put your mask on, because the transport police will get on and fine you a thousand pounds. But you don't have to put it on if you're eating.'

'So I was saying 'Oh right, this killer virus that's sweeping through the train is gonna come and attack me but see me having a sandwich and go leave him, he's having his lunch?''
Japans Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held his first talks with US President Donald Trump since he took office, a diplomatic phone call that was one of his first as the countrys leader and one that highlights the close tie between the two allies.

Suga was elected as Japans new prime minister last Wednesday, replacing Shinzo Abe, who forged close personal ties and regularly held meetings and phone calls with Trump. Abe stepped down due to ill health after nearly eight years in office.

I told him that the Japan-US alliance is the foundation of regional peace and stability, and we agreed to continue to coordinate closely, Suga told reporters late Sunday night after the call with Trump.

Suga said Trump also said he wanted to further develop the alliance together.

Suga said the two leaders agreed to cooperate in the fight against the coronavirus and on North Koreas missile and nuclear threats.

Japans Foreign Ministry said in a statement early Monday that the during their 25-minute call the two leaders also pledged cooperation in the development of the coronavirus vaccines and treatment, as well as regional security concerns.

Known for his political prowess on domestic issues, Suga has hardly travelled overseas and his diplomatic skills are largely unknown, though he is expected to pursue Abes priorities.

Suga inherits a range of international challenges, including balancing relations with China in the face of an ongoing US-China dispute over trade and other issues.

Suga said Trump told him he can call him any time if something happened.

Now Ive gained confidence, he said, adding that he hoped to hold phone talks with other global leaders to explain Japans stance and deepen mutual understanding and cooperation.

Suga also held talks with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier on Sunday and agreed to continue cooperating between the countries, the foreign ministry said.
A 23-year-old ovarian cancer survivor has a message to all women - Know the symptoms. The young woman from Parker hopes to spread the words for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

Emily Pickthall reminisced the days of her battle when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She said, "That was just the scariest moment. I'm like, I'm only 21."

At such a young age, it is rare to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. However, it happens, as per KDVR.

#guestpost #globalnews #worldfirstnews pic.twitter.com/Nk0D8pGIkg Know the symptoms of ovarian cancer: 23-year-old survivor spreads the word - FOX 31 Denver: PARKER, Colo. (KDVR)  Know the symptoms. Thats the message a 23-year-old from Parker is hoping to spread for Ovarian https://t.co/RQuGjxcSHa  @easyjanjansen (@easyjanjansen) September 21, 2020

Pickthall admitted that she knew there was something wrong with her. Still, she never learned to talk to her doctor regarding the possibility of having ovarian cancer, especially at such a young age. She said that she might have caught the disease earlier if she had learned about the symptoms beforehand.

Now Pickthall wants to spread Awareness. Ovarian cancer symptoms include feeling full very quickly, bloating, nausea, abdominal pain, or bowel habits changes. But those symptoms could be symptoms of other diseases as well. Ovarian cancer is a disease that has these kinds of similar symptoms to different conditions and should be discussed with your doctor, Dr. Saketh Guntupalli, a gynecological oncologist at UCHealth, said.

Dr. Guntupalli explained that ovarian cancer is really important to at least have a discussion about as "we don't want to miss the early stage that we can potentially cure." The gynecological oncologist added that ovarian cancer has an 80% cure rate if caught at stage one or two. However, Dr. Guntupalli said that 75% of women are usually diagnosed at stage three or four.

People tend to ignore the symptoms just because those are not very specific, the doctor said. Patients need to educate themselves and discuss their symptoms, which Pickthall agrees with. "Honestly, you kind of have to demand answers," Pickthall said.

Pickthall's ovarian cancer is now undetectable after surgeries and six rounds of chemotherapy at UCHealth.

Ovarian cancer is a kind of cancer that forms in the ovaries first and the third most common cancer in women after cervical and breast cancer. Since September is an Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, let's get a better understanding of this disease and the experts' inputs and guidance. Here is what you need to know about ovarian cancer.

A family history of cancer. Infertility. Personal history of cancer. Women who have never breastfed. Hormone replacement therapy over a long time.

Screening Method

Symptoms

Stages

Treatment

Survival rates after ovarian cancer treatment and factors decide the survival

Common Myths

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Jaipur:

Bangladeshi writer and activist Taslima Nasreen's impromptu session at the Jaipur Literature Festival on Monday drew a minor protest in Jaipur, Rajasthan. And now the organisers have decided to not invite her to the event from next year that is 2018, as per their statement.



"They expressed their anger.... I heard them out. Explained we supported minorities in every way. Underscored that we are a platform for all points of view. Agreed that we should consider their request not to reinvite them," Sanjoy K Roy, Producer of JLF, said.



Protesting organisations including Rajasthan Muslim Forum, All India Milli Council, Jamaat-e-Islami and Muslim Personal Law Board, had said on Monday that the writer, who has been living in exile since 1994 after facing the ire of fundamentalists, was a "disputed" personality.



They demanded that no invitation must be extended to the writer again.



"Nasreen is a disputed personality. JLF organisers did not name her in the schedule in JLF booklet. Organisers played hide and seek game and police administration too supported her and allowed her in a session. So we had gone to protest.



"We had a meeting with organisers where producer Sanjoy Roy promised that they will not provide platform to Salman Rushdie and Nasreen from next year," Mehrunnisa Khan, state president of Women India Movement, had told on Monday.



Taslima participated in a surprise session titled, 'Exile' at the festival yesterday, the speakers for which were not revealed until the morning of the concluding day, presumably to avoid the sort of protests that rocked the pink city 10 years ago, when the writer was refused shelter in the city after being driven out of Kolkata by the West Bengal government.



Last evening, the festival's co-director William Dalrymple appeared unwilling to disclose much.



"I vaguely knew that she was coming," he told.



During her session, Nasreen batted for a Uniform Civil Code as a tool for "empowerment" and said the Islamic society needed to be more tolerant towards criticism to make progress.



"It is necessary for Islamic society to be tolerant and accept criticism without which they cannot progress. Uniform Civil Code is urgently required for empowering people with human rights," she had said.



Upholding the freedom of writers around the world, she slammed religious fanatics, saying she did not believe in terms like "nationalism" or "religious fundamentalism".



"I don't believe in nationalism, religious fundamentalism. I believe in one world. I believe in rights, freedom, humanism and rationalism. Until Islam accepts criticism, no Islamic country can be considered secular. Whenever I criticise, people want to kill me," she had said.



Nasreen, an award-winning writer, is best known for her powerful writings on women oppression and unflinching criticism of religion.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
London Fashion Week has brought escapism to the wardrobe - clothes to dream in, to dress up in, to run away in.

Matching the mood of an anxious consumer in lockdown with the creativity and the vision of a designer, equally frustrated by the stresses of being away from their team, has not been an easy situation.

However, for the upcoming Spring Summer 2021 collections, the Irish designers showing at London Fashion Week over the weekend found a way to do it with style - and an insightful, almost poetic eye.

Designing is not a solitary profession, but it has become so of late.

Wexford-born designer Richard Malone made no bones about the "warped and dismantled sense of time" he found himself in during the intense quiet of lockdown.

However, in his flat near Hackney Marshes, Richard succeeded in producing Rehearsal, a body of work full of desire and femininity and a total command of the sensual art of ruching.

This unusual design snakes romantically out from a central seam and envelopes a woman's curves.

His gleaming velvets have an old Hollywood vibe in striking colours like gold. Winner of the Woolmark award last February, his collection included silk-like wool crepes and he found solace in an armoury of gorgeous, weighty, almost-upholstered, substantial evening-wear.

Expand Expand Previous Next Close White embellished dress by Simone Rocha Yellow ruched dress by Richard Malone / Facebook

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Simone Rocha hosted a by-appointment event in a gallery in Saville Row on Saturday, at which she showed 29 looks.

The Dublin-born designer has a thoroughly international following, with stores in London, New York and Hong Kong.

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They have reopened and her SS21 collection excels with luxe fabrics and surface detail, from gilt brocades and broderie anglaise to inky satins.

While Simone has a gift with the mystery of layered-up, ethereal looks, it was her uber plain, panelled cream canvas dress - off-set by pearl embellishment and a bow on the back - that hit the spot with our new sensibilities.

Intriguing new shapes included a bodycon cape that possesses a drama as it closely follows the line of the body. In white, it will surely become a favourite with modern brides.
A series of tweets put out by the Delhi Police Monday created some confusion and panic among people as it gave the impression that gatherings for weddings and funerals were now prohibited in the national capital.

The confusion was cleared by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in the evening, when it issued a clarification that wedding gatherings of up to 50 persons and funerals gatherings of 20 persons were allowed till September 30, when the order will be further revised, taking into account the Covid-19 situation then.

Citing an order of the DDMA, the Delhi Police Monday morning said people cannot be allowed to hold demonstrations in the city till September 30 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Amid protests against farm bills in the capital and elsewhere, the Delhi Police in a series of tweets informed people about the September 3 order of the DDMA which prohibits such activities.

The general public is hereby informed that in view of DDMA order dated 03/09/2020, status quo is required to be maintained with respect to prohibited/permitted activities in NCT of Delhi till 30/09/2020 (sic), the Delhi Police tweeted.

As such, all political, cultural and social gatherings in NCT of Delhi shall remain suspended till 30.09.2020 (sic), it added.

A section of people mistook this to imply that wedding and funeral gatherings were also prohibited, a senior DDMA official said.

Delhi Congress leaders and workers marched towards Parliament on Monday to protest against the new farm bills. The protesters were stopped and detained by the police on RP Road, the party said.
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Linkedin Sunarto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 15:57 487 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c462be00 3 Opinion sumatran-rhino,conservation,population,Indonesia,Malaysia,extinction Free

Sumatran rhinos are the most threatened large terrestrial mammals. Uniquely hairy, they are the last survivor of an ancient genus. Sophisticated communicators, they sing as whales and whistle as dolphins.

Their population and distribution range have declined sharply. Once spread widely across Southeast Asia, they are now only confirmed in three remote areas in Indonesia.

The actual number is a big question due to difficulties in locating the remaining individuals, let alone precisely counting them. Experts guesstimate there are now around 70 individuals. Recent drastic declines have been reported in Malaysia and Sumatra. Extinction in Malaysia was announced last year.

Most other threatened species can still be saved if we can manage poaching, habitats and conflict. Unfortunately, that is not the case for Sumatran rhinos.

They are facing a phenomenon known as the Allee effect. Their survival rate has dropped due to extremely low population or density. The small populations are scattered across vast areas in five disconnected regions in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The low density makes it an enormous challenge for the animal to find a mate, especially one that matches but is genetically unrelated. The risk of inbreeding and female rhinos developing pathology is very high. Additionally, their breeding mechanism is so restrictive and complex. Female fertility only lasts for 24 to 48 hours, and happens only every 18 to 24 days. Their ritual involves some kind of aggressive interactions.

At this point, they are kind of being flushed into the extinction vortex. Only rapid and effective actions can save them from extinction.

In response to this situation, the Indonesian government, supported by organizations, experts and practitioners, has issued the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for Sumatran Rhinos, to be implemented from 2018 to 2021. International partners have also established the Sumatran Rhino Rescue Alliance (SRRA).

In short, EAP includes three main activities: intensive protection of relatively large populations, rescue of isolated individuals, and improving captive breeding programs and facilities.

The implementation of EAP is still ongoing. Some progress includes intensive protection, establishment and improvement of breeding facilities, and the ongoing search for more rhinos. The pandemic has hindered the implementation of the plan.

Breeding is not easy for seven captive rhino individuals in Sumatra and one in Kalimantan. The rhino in Kalimantan has no mate, while only one pair among the seven individuals in Sumatra are proven fertile.

Rescuing more rhino individuals from the wild, which has been debated for a long time, has finally been endorsed under the EAP. Rescuing rhinos is important and urgent, but the progress is very slow. Despite the formal endorsement, rescuers are still facing many challenges. Technically, finding the rare and elusive rhinos in remote locations involves expertise, experience, courage and costly logistical support. Politically, it requires long processes of communication, education and tough negotiations with stakeholders.

Recent research paints an even bleaker picture for rhino communities. A study by rhino reproduction experts Nan E. Schaffer, Muhammad Agil and Zainal Z. Zainuddin recently published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, reported that captive female rhinos had an over 70 percent rate of reproductive pathology. Similarly, six out of the seven isolated rhinos captured and immediately examined also had reproductive problems. This significantly hampered the breeding program.

Based on this finding, although rescuing the isolated rhinos is still important especially for breeding with assisted reproductive technology (ART), for natural captive breeding it is now recommended that the capture of rhinos should be focused on fertile individuals, ideally with a proven breeding record such as from camera traps. This is only likely to be done from relatively healthier or more viable populations.

An additional few pairs of healthy and productive rhinos will help boost the success of captive breeding said Agil.

This is certainly a challenge for decision makers and the rhino community. The rescue focus on isolated individuals is to minimize the risk of disturbing the relatively healthier populations. However, if this recommendation is not considered and followed up soon, it might be too late. Many sites that were initially believed to hold high numbers of rhinos were suddenly found empty, such as in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Kerinci Seblat and recently Bukit Barisan Selatan.

While preparing for the formal decision to be made, the less risky yet urgently needed action to be done is to conduct a systematic and intensive search for fertile rhinos. As a result of rhinos' sensitivity to human disturbance and the sensitivity of rhino information, the search has to be cautiously conducted by extremely trusted and experienced individuals.

Parallel urgent action is to prepare the resources needed for a safe and low-impact capture process. At the same time, efforts to breed naturally or with ART, including securing gametes and producing embryos, from the rhinos already in captivity need to be sped up and intensified. Rescuing isolated rhinos must be continued but should not direct resources away from obtaining healthy rhinos, and the team should maximize the use of rhinos with pathology and breeding problems by securing their gametes for producing embryos to enrich genetic diversity.

Factors, bureaucratic or technical, potentially hindering the integrated process of protection-rescue-breeding, should be identified and immediately solved. It is key to have a good understanding of the problem and situation, a sense of urgency and priority, and strong leadership. This includes taking risks and making decisions that may appear controversial at the local level, but are needed to have a greater impact on rhino recovery. Strong leadership and collaboration are required to mobilize resources and synergize all efforts to recover the rhinos.

Good efforts and achievements by the management authority and partners have been demonstrated in the case Javan rhinos, whose population has increased from ~25 in 1968, to ~74 in 2020 according to a recent press release from the government.

We need to make sure we don't waste this very narrow window of opportunity to prevent the extinction of this very special genus. Together, we can win one of the greatest human endeavors of this century.

***

The writer is a wildlife ecologist, a member of the Sumatran Rhino Population and Habitat Monitoring Expert Panel 2017 and a current member of the IUCN Asian Rhino Specialist Group. This is a personal opinion.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Tulsas experiences before and after the Trump rally show the difficulty that many communities face in balancing the desire to protect residents from the pandemic while catering to a president and Republican Party that have consistently cast doubt on and flouted health recommendations. Dart, a medical doctor and public health expert who has spent his career working for local governments, was one of the few city officials who publicly warned of the danger of an indoor rally. Those warnings earned him angry emails from Trump supporters about his health recommendations as well as those who said he didnt do enough to stop Trumps rally, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post through an open-records request.
The Punjab government on Sunday allowed students of classes 9 to 12 to visit their schools in areas outside containment zones on voluntary basis for taking guidance from their teachers amid coronavirus pandemic outbreak.

The decision was taken in compliance with Unlock-4 guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), a government release said here. However, this permission would be subject to written consent of parents/guardians from September 21 as per Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on September 8, it said.

The state home department has issued detailed instructions to also permit skill or entrepreneurship training in National Skill Training Institutes, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), short term training centres registered with the National Skill Development Corporation or State Skill Development Missions or other ministries of the Government of India or the state governments, the release said.

Likewise, activities of National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) and their training providers have also been allowed from September 21 subject to strict adherence of the said SOPs, it added.
Nothing in ABCs broadcast of the 2020 Emmy Awards was as impressive, or as appropriate to the occasion, as the aplomb with which the first presenter, Jennifer Aniston, wielded a fire extinguisher. Unfortunately, she was only shooting foam at a prop envelope in an endless coronavirus routine. She couldnt put out the dumpster fire that was going on all around her at the Staples Center on Sunday night.

Jimmy Kimmel, hosting the show in the mostly empty arena, invoked our old pal television in his introduction, pushing the theme that the medium has provided an essential relief this year from the emotional toll of pandemic, protest and disunion. The world may be terrible, he said, but television has never been better. That may be true, but the Emmys show continued its trend of feeling out of tune with the way most of us watch TV. Once a year, it gives us that old feeling of being trapped inside a very small box.

The restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic have required rethinking awards-show formats, and the Emmys announcement that there would be cameras at most nominees remote locations was promising. The opportunity to see how and where the nominees presented themselves  living room or scenic vista? Bed-head or ball gown?  sounded like a kick.
Huawei is the most affected company during the ongoing US-China trade war. Earlier this month, news broke out that Chinas Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) could be the next target for the US agencies. According to Digitimes, Qualcomm is now preparing to shift its chipset production from SMIC to foundries in Taiwan.

In the last few weeks, Qualcomm executives have been visiting foundries in Taiwan for securing the manufacturing lines. The company is taking these precautionary measures to avoid disrupting its production in case the ban on SMIC comes into effect.

Qualcomm looking to move its production from SMIC

As per the source, Qualcomm is among the top three clients for the SMICs chip manufacturing business. The US chip giant alone accounts for a whopping 13 percent of the companys overall revenue. Currently, SMIC is responsible for manufacturing application processors (AP) and system on a chip (SoC) using 28nm and 14nm processes.

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It also supplies power management chips using 0.18-micron process technology. However, TSMC lacks advanced technologies for manufacturing SoCs using the latest 7nm and 5nm processes. It is also why Huawei reportedly deciding to end its flagship Kirin chipsets after TSMC was banned from working with the Chinese company.

Will shift the production to Taiwan once the ban comes into effect

Qualcomm is in talks with United Microelectronics (UMC), Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for moving the production from China to Taiwan.

When the ban comes into effect, the US-based companies have to get special permission to work with these blacklisted companies. The same also applies to all the companies in the world depending on US technology. When the report first came out, SMIC said it was shocked by the allegations made by the US government.

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It also officially denied having any sort of ties with the Chinese military. Even Huawei also put out the same statement when the ban came in to affect. Meanwhile, SMIC is also receiving incentives from the Chinese government to improve the domestic semiconductor business.

While TSMC and Samsung have started prototyping 3nm chips, TSMC will move towards 7nm production. From the last couple of months, the US government was forcing Bytedance to sell TikToks American operations to a US-based company.

As per the recent report, Bytedance along with Oracle and Walmart will make TikTok a separate entity. Interestingly, WeChat was able to get a last-minute relief after a judge put the ban on hold.
T he number of people being admitted to hospital with coronavirus in England is the highest since June as new infection rates across the UK triple in just three weeks.

It comes as a further 4,368 cases of coronavirus were lab-confirmed in the UK as of 9am on Monday, according to the latest Government figures.

This means the seven day rolling average of new infections has risen from 1,339 on September 1 to 3,929 as of today.

It also brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 398,625.

Meanwhile, a further 11 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK.

The current death toll now stands at 41,788.

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Separate figures published by the UKs statistics agencies show there have now been 57,500 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.

The latest Government figures also show that the number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus in England is the highest it has been since the end of June.

The data reveals 205 people with Covid-19 were admitted on Friday  the most since June 27, when the figure was 209.

Matt Hancock announces strict fines 'up to 10,000' for breaking isolation

It brings the total number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus in England up to 116,050.

The data, published on Sunday, includes people admitted to hospital in England who tested positive for Covid-19 in the 14 days prior to admission, and those who tested positive in hospital after admission.

Inpatients diagnosed with Covid-19 after admission are reported as being admitted on the day prior to their diagnosis.

Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures 1 /81 Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures A deserted Westminster Bridge PA A man wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past customers sat outside a restaurant AFP via Getty Images Boris Johnson addresses the nation on the Coronavirus lockdown Andrew Parsons Runners pass cardboard cutouts of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William during the London Marathon in London AP An empty escalator at Charing Coss London Underground tube station Jeremy Selwyn Electronic bilboards displays a message warning people to stay home in Sheffield PA A sign is displayed in the window of a student accommodation building following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Mancheste Reuters People take part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions, in Londo AP People sing and dance in Leicester Square on the eve on the 10PM curfew Reuters Hearts painted by a team of artists from Upfest are seen in the grass at Queen Square, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bristol Reuters Graffiti reads 'good luck and stay safe', as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases grow around the world, under a bridge in London Reuters A sign is pictured in Soho, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures, during a coronavirus briefing in Downing Street, London AP A person runs past posters with a message of hope, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Manchester REUTERS Riot police face protesters who took part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions in London AP An image of The Queen eith quotes from her broadcast to the UK and the Commonwealth in relation to the Coronavirus epidemic are displayed on lights in London's Piccadilly Circus PA Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas' hospital Getty Images Durdle Door in Dorset Reuters Captain Tom Moore via Reuters Mia, aged 8, and Jack, aged 5, take part in "PE with Joe" a daily live workout with Joe Wicks on Youtube to help kids stay fit who have to stay indoors due to the Coronavirus outbreak PA An NHS worker reacts at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital during the Clap for our Carers campaign in support of the NHS Reuters Goats which have taken over the deserted streets of Llandudno @AndrewStuart via PA Tobias Weller PA Novikov restaurant in London with its shutters pulled down while the restaurant is closed London Landscapes: Hyde Park and the Serpentine, central London. Matt Writtle A newspaper vendor in Manchester city centre giving away free toilet rolls with every paper bought as shops run low on supplies due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus PA Theo Clay looks out of his window next to his hand-drawn picture of a rainbow in Liverpool, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue Reuters A young man cuts another man's hair on top of a closed hairdresser in Oxford Reuters General view of the new NHS Nightingale Hospital, built to fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London via Reuters Jason Baird is seen dressed as Spiderman during his daily exercise to cheer up local children in Stockport, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues Reuters A woman wearing a face mask walks past Buckingham Palace Getty Images A man holds mobile phone displaying a text message alert sent by the government warning that new rules are in force across the UK and people must stay at home PA Medical staff on the Covid-19 ward at the Neath Port Talbot Hospital, in Wales, as the health services continue their response to the coronavirus outbreak. PA Prime Minister Boris Johnson taking part in a virtual Cabinet meeting with his top team of ministers PA A shopper walks past empty shelves in a Lidl store on in Wallington. After spates of "panic buying" cleared supermarket shelves of items like toilet paper and cleaning products, stores across the UK have introduced limits on purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have also created special time slots for the elderly and other shoppers vulnerable to the new coronavirus. Getty Images People on a busy tube train in London at rush hour PA Mia, aged 8 and her brother Jack, aged 5 from Essex, continue their school work at home, after being sent home due to the coronavirus PA Children are painting 'Chase the rainbows' artwork and springing up in windows across the country Reuters Social distancing in Primrose Hill Jeremy Selwyn A general view of a locked gate at Anfield, Liverpool as The Premier League has been suspended PA Homeless people in London AFP via Getty Images A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow's street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss PA The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace, London, for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic PA A general view on Grey street, Newcastle as coronavirus cases grow around the world Reuters Matt Raw, a British national who returned from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, leaves quaratine at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside PA Britain's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty (L) and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance look on as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) news conference inside 10 Downing Street Reuters The ticket-validation terminals at the tram stop on Edinburgh's Princes Street are cleaned following the coronavirus outbreak. PA Locked school gates at Rockcliffe First School in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear PA A sign at a Sainsbury's supermarket informs customers that limits have been set on a small number of products as the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases grow around the world Reuters Jawad Javed delivers coronavirus protection kits that he and his wife have put together to the vulnerable people of their community of Stenhousemuir, between Glasgow and Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images A sign advertising a book titled "How Will We Survive On Earth?" Getty Images A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask today in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn A pedestrian walks past graffiti that reads "Diseases are in the City" in Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images Staff from The Lyric Theatre, London inform patrons, as it shuts its doors PA A quiet looking George IV Bridge in Edinburgh PA A quieter than usual British Museum Getty Images A racegoer attends Cheltenham in a fashionable face mask SplashNews.com A commuter wears a face mask at London Bridge Station Jeremy Selwyn A empty restaurant in the Bull Ring Shopping Centre Getty Images A deserted Trafalgar Square in London PA Passengers determined to avoid the coronavirus before leaving the UK arrive at Gatwick Airport Getty Images

The data, from the Governments coronavirus dashboard, also shows there were 142 Covid-19 patients in mechanical ventilation beds in England on Sunday.

It is the highest the figure has been since July 11, when it was 152.

There were 1,141 confirmed Covid-19 patients in hospitals in England on Sunday, the highest number since July 22 when there were 1,210.

The highest number of confirmed Covid-19 patients in hospital on Sunday was in the North West at 355, the highest level since July 22 when it was 370.

This was followed by 241 in both the Midlands and North East and Yorkshire, and 167 in London.

The areas with the fewest coronavirus patients in hospital were the East of England with 37, then 76 in the South East.

The figures show the number of confirmed coronavirus cases at midnight the preceding night at NHS hospital acute trusts with major accident and emergency departments in England.

The data also shows there were no new Covid-19 hospital admissions in Northern Ireland on Saturday, while Scotland had recorded three new coronavirus admissions to hospital on September 7 and Wales recorded 41 admissions on Friday.

However, the Welsh data includes confirmed and suspected cases and is not comparable with the other nations.

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The figures should all be treated with caution and are likely to be revised when the data is updated.
DCOP Afful Boakye Yiadom, the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander has advised personnel of the service to be professional in the discharge of their duties and avoid loose talk before, during, and after the general elections.

You are public servants and not politicians, you are not supposed to engage in political activities because it is against the Police regulation which calls for stiffer punishment, he said.

The Police Commander tasked the officers to be guided the tenets of the regulations and not involve themselves in political controversies to affect the image of the service.

DCOP Yiadom gave the advice on Monday when interacting with the officers at the Police headquarters after a route march in some principal streets of Accra as part of preparation towards the upcoming December elections.

He said any officer caught involving in political activities would be dealt with according to its laws to serve as a deterrent to others.

DCOP Yiadom said the exercise was to keep the officers ahead of the polls since they would need a lot of energy to withstand the hours of standing during the election day.

As a result, DCOP advised them to reduce their sexual escapades to get enough energy for the electioneering work ahead to avoid any untoward situation.

DCOP Kwaku Boadu-Pepra, the Director-General in charge of Operations said the Police were well prepared to ensure peace and stability ahead of the elections.

He said the police has so far trained 1,968 special police officers and noted the IGP had given approval for another 2000 to be trained purposely for the elections.

He said the Police strength should have been 50,000 but were in the region of 35,000 to 40,000, to handle the 33,367 polling stations in the country, but had to rely on assistance from other sister security services to ensure peace during elections.

---GNA
Bollywood actor Rakhi Sawant has found herself on the receiving end of online hate for apparently posing with the Pakistani flag. Rakhi, who is well known for her controversial posts and statements, can be seen posing while embracing the flag in photos that have gone viral on social media.

However, the claim is fake. Lets break it down.

The post originally appeared on Facebook and was shared across multiple private and closed groups on the social media platform. The caption, in Hindi, roughly translates to, This is the truth about Rakhi Sawant. She speaks nonsense about her being a proud Indian."

Heres a screenshot of the post, which has now been deleted:

Soon, Rakhi Sawant began trending on social media, with several netizens sharing the exact same collage of photos and caption to attack the actor. Take a look:

#RakhiSawant ye kya hai ..viral ho rahi haisabhi fb par ..its true. pic.twitter.com/W81XXVWu33 Ajay Mathoo (@mathoo_ajay) September 20, 2020

Either Rakhi Sawant wants toPamper Khan gang or maySettle in Pakistan at the earliest? https://t.co/tob26JvnWl A Dwivedi (@ADwived52387919) September 21, 2020

Is Deshdrohi K Pakistan main bhejo Jis Desh Mein Rehti Hai usmein set karte hai Dikar Hai Rakhi Sawant ko pic.twitter.com/1OVOANAHMC Biplab Debbarma (@BiplabD38178343) September 21, 2020

Yes, that is Rakhi Swant with the Pakistani flag draped around her. But the photo has not been taken recently, and as Rakhi herself clarified in 2019, it was part of a shoot for a film.

In 2019, Rakhi posted the same images on her Instagram profile with the caption, I love my india but its my character in the film dhara 370."

Back then too, she had been trolled. Even now, the comments section is filled with vile comments by people calling her a Pakistani" and asking her to leave the country. There are several reports on how the photos kickstarted a social media storm last year.

After receiving online hate, Rakhi had also posted a selfie video of herself clarifying that this was for a role for her movie.

For those wondering, yes, Rakhis movie did release in December 2019. It was titled Mudda 370 J&K" and starred other actors like Hiten Tejwani, Zarina Wahab to name a few. According to IMDB, the movie is about the real story of burning Kashmir" and is based in the 1990s. In the movie, Rakhi plays a Pakistani woman and appears in one song.
When Mason Corona, now 17, earned $30,000 from selling his livestock at shows last year, he made a decision: to reinvest it all in animals to show during his last year in high school.

He went all out, spending seven hours a day in the barn tending to a dozen animals. The effort was driven by visions of the future: Corona planned to use the earnings from selling the livestock, which he hoped would win prizes, boosting their value at auction, to fund his college education in entrepreneurship.

So he watched nervously on March 11 as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was canceled and the Houston region marked its first known case of community spread of the novel virus that, coincidentally, shares his name. Other livestock shows across the nation soon followed suit. A lot was riding on this season  Everything, he said. He carried on, exercising his animals and caring for their health.

On Sunday, Corona won Grand Champion Lamb and first place for showmanship at the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo for a lamb named Capone, whom he hopes will fetch roughly $7,000 at auction on Thursday. The fact that livestock show even occurred  though without the rodeo, barbecue cookoff, kick-off dance or picnic that usually attract hundreds of attendees  showed that, while this year has been anything but normal, exhibitors, vendors and other entrepreneurs are finding a way to carry on.

Luckily, with COVID numbers going down, everything fell into place, said Jay Hunt, president of the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo. While the organization had been planning for a way to host the livestock show that could meet public safety requirements, he noted there was always a risk a new government order could have scuttled those plans if cases had risen.

Usually the open-air pavilion where the animals are shown are bustling with lambs, hogs, goats and cattle, as well as all the students that are caring for them and their families  at least 500 people at any given time, Hunt estimated. Its the way weve done it for 70 years, he said.

Sunday morning, there were nothing but lambs who had been brought in hours before. The livestock show had decided to only have one type of animal on the grounds at a time to reduce the number of people. Roughly a hundred people stood around the show ring as an announcer expressed his gratitude that the show was able to take place. Were just a little more spaced out than normal, he said.

Hunt stepped out of the pavilion and took a walk through the empty arena where the rodeo usually takes place. Bleachers looked out over nothing; the stage that is lowered for performers was stored away near the ceiling.

Most of the $2.5 to $3 million the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo pulls in a year comes from the rodeo and cookoff, according to Hunt  the livestock show is not a moneymaker and would roughly break even.

But it was important to the organization that livestock show go on. At the end of the day, the rodeo, the cookoff, thats what its all about: supporting the livestock show and auction  supporting the youth and education, Hunt said. Theyve been let down everywhere because a lot of other shows have been shut down.

Back in the show ring, Brianna Moore, 15, smiled widely as her lamb took second in the lightweight class. Abbey Mercado, 15, stood off to the side, waiting for her turn to show a lamb named Nacho. She had been at the Houston Rodeo, readying to show her chickens, when it had canceled, leaving her worried about the birds she had spent over $600 on. (The Houston Rodeo gave money to all of the exhibitors who were not able to show.)

The economic impacts of canceled livestock shows has gone far beyond those feared by students who have invested in their animals. They also impact all of the people who work the event, including the vendors selling clothing and carnival food.

During a normal year, the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo hosts roughly 150 vendors, who fill the space between the pavilion and arena and also take over a nearby building, Campbell Hall. This year, the vendor count was down to five.

Jason Arney and Abbi Jones, who served funnel cakes and corn dogs with J.D.A. Company, said that all of the 20 shows they were planning to work this year had been canceled but this one. The couple, who met at the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo five years ago and have been engaged for over a year, have found essential worker jobs to see them through the health crisis  Arney doing deliveries for Door Dash and Jones working at a Dollar General.

Nearby, the owner of a pink bus called the Dainty Cactus, which was filled with rhinestone earrings and lacy blouses, also spoke to the adaptations that were necessary during the pandemic. With no events to work, Tamara Wilcoxson of Santa Fe saw business dry up until recently, when she has started bringing her business to new locations such as the outside of a dance studio. She has also begun selling her inventory online. Wherever theres chaos, theres opportunity, she said.

And despite the chaos, students had the opportunity to show off their work. For some, it was their last chance to do so. Paige Olson, a senior at Deer Park High School, was afraid the event would be canceled and was speechless when she learned it was not. She had began preparing for the show last year  she bought her lamb, Weston Dodge, in December before the pandemic. He won a spot in Thursdays auction, which will have an unusual twist  in order to keep crowds down, buyers are being shown pictures of the animals instead of having them physically present.

For Sidney Grice, 14, this year was the first she was old enough to participate. In between events, she gently kissed her lamb, a mommas boy, on the forehead. He went on to win a spot in the auction. It felt incredible, she said, beaming.

rebecca.schuetz@chron.com;

twitter.com/raschuetz
You didnt really think there was an audience, did you? When Jimmy Kimmel took the stage to host the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, aka the Pandemmys, he was greeted with a sea of smiling celebrities just as if 2020 was any other year and not the year of the coronavirus pandemic. Thank you for risking everything to be here, he said. Thank me for risking everything to be here. You know what they say: You cant have a virus without a host.

But after a few minutes of the usual awards show banter  including jokes directed at TV legend Norman Lear and the mobile content company (and walking punchline), Quibi  Kimmel pulled back the curtain to reveal the truth: All those celebrities were ported in from footage lifted from past awards shows, and the host was cracking jokes to an empty room. Of course Im here all alone; of course we dont have an audience, Kimmel said. This isnt a MAGA rally  its the Emmys!

Jimmy Kimmel opens the 72nd Primetime Emmys. (ABC via Getty Images)

That pointed dig at President Trump and his supporters  who have gathered at in-person events that have notoriously been mask-optional  was the most political jab that Kimmel took during his monologue. Well, except for a distinctly R-rated dig at a prominent Trump fan who has recently fallen from grace amidst a sex scandal. Musing about HBOs much-nominated Watchmen, Kimmel quipped: Isnt Watchmen also what Jerry Falwell Jr. was into?

Mostly, Kimmel used his opening moments to try to explain exactly why the Emmys were going on in the middle of turbulent times that have included a pandemic, a contentious election, raging wildfires and the deaths of elder statespeople John Lewis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Why is a question Ive been asked a lot this week, he said. It might seem frivolous and unnecessary doing this during a pandemic. You know what else seems frivolous and unnecessary? Doing it every other year!

Whats happening tonight is not important, Kimmel continued, making sure to emphasize the not part. Its not going to stop COVID, its not going to put out the fires. But its fun. And right now we need fun. My god, do we need fun. This has been a year of division, injustice, disease, Zoom school, disaster and death. Weve been confined to our homes like prisoners in a dark and lonely tunnel. And what did we find in that that dark and lonely tunnel? A friend who has been there for us 24 hours a day: our old pal television.

Story continues

With the overtures out of the way, Kimmel proceeded to demonstrate how this years Emmy ceremony would be a feat of TV magic. With the theater mostly empty  save for Jason Bateman, who was the lone audience member who heard Kimmels monologue in person, only to promptly bail when he learned hed have to listen to more jokes  Kimmel headed to Emmy Mission Control, a virtual space where hundreds of nominees around the world were videoconferencing from their homes. (Or, in the case of the Schitts Creek folks, a fashionable COVID-free gathering in Toronto.) We have live feeds from over 100 locations in the world, Kimmel boasted. This is where the magic happens; this is the nerve center. He also explained that hazmat-suit-clad Emmy trophy presenters would show up to hand the winners their statues.

Jennifer Aniston and Jimmy Kimmel make sure the winner's envelope is fully sanitized before presenting the first award at the 72nd Primetime Emmys. (ABC/Image Group)

As it turned out, Kimmel wasnt all by his lonesome after all: Other celebrities besides Bateman proved brave enough to put in an IRL appearance. Jennifer Aniston, Tracee Ellis Ross, Zendaya, Barrys Anthony Carrigan and ex-Joe Biden portrayer Jason Sudeikis were among those who stopped by mission control to lend the lonely Pandemmys host an assist. What could possibly go right? Kimmel joked as the show prepared to go on. At least he got by with a little help from his famous friends.

The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards aired Sept. 20 on ABC.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
TikTok was supposed to be banned from the US app stores on Sunday but things did not happen as speculated. In an interesting turn of events, the US government has now delayed the ban on the Bytedance-owned short video app by a week until September 27. On Friday, it was reported that the department of commerce had ordered the app stores to remove TikTok and WeChat from their platforms.

"In light of recent positive developments, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, at the direction of President Trump, will delay the prohibition of identified transactions pursuant to Executive Order 13942, related to the TikTok mobile application that would have been effective on Sunday," the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.

The move was announced after US President Donald Trump gave a thumbs up to TikTok's deal with Oracle and Walmart. He called the deal "fantastic" and also said that he has given his "blessing" to it."If they get it done, that's great, if they don't, that's OK too," Trump was quoted as saying.

TikTok's interim head Vanessa Pappas too assured the users in the United States that the app is not going anywhere. She said that she disagrees with the national security threat in the app but understands the concerns raised by the US government.

"We're pleased that today we've confirmed a proposal that resolves the Administration's security concerns and settles questions around TikTok's future in the US. Our plan is extensive and consistent with previous CFIUS resolutions, including working with Oracle, who will be our trusted cloud and technology provider responsible for fully securing our users' data. We are committed to protecting our users globally and providing the highest levels of security. Both Oracle and Walmart will take part in a TikTok Global pre-IPO financing round in which they can take up to a 20% cumulative stake in the company. We will also maintain and expand the US as TikTok Global's headquarters while bringing 25,000 jobs across the country," she said in a blog post.

Earlier in August, Trump had signed an executive order against the Bytedance-owned short video platform and WeChat. He had granted TikTok only 90 days to sell its share to a US-based company or face a ban in the country. Trump had even refused to extend the deadline. The US President had called TikTok and WeChat a threat to "national security" in its executive order. Repeated threats by Trump was also the reason behind CEO Kevin Mayer's resignation only 100 days after joining the company.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: A 72-year-old Chinese-origin businessman in Singapore was on Monday jailed for eight-and-a-half years for stabbing his Indian-origin son-in-law to death at a coffee shop in broad daylight following disputes over his handling of the family business and extra-marital affairs.

Tan Nam Seng pleaded guilty last month to a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder by stabbing 38-year-old Spencer Tuppani three years ago during a busy lunch hour in the central business district, according to a Channel News Asia report.

Justice Dedar Singh Gill said this was a "vicious and brazen killing" but noted the accused's major depressive disorder at the time, as well as his "fast-deteriorating" health, which the judge said weighed heavily on his mind, the report said.

Tuppani had made several business moves that Tan perceived as a ploy to cheat him of his company.

They also lived in the same household, even after Tan's daughter discovered Tuppani's affair with another woman and the couple was quarrelling frequently, it said.

On the day of the incident, July 10, 2017, Tan saw his son-in-law eating at a coffee shop.

Tan retrieved a knife from the company's office at Cecil Court before approaching the younger man who was there with three friends, the report said.

The accused told Tuppani "you are too much" in Hokkien (a Chinese dialect), before stabbing him three times in quick succession and following the victim as he stumbled away and collapsed in front of an outlet, it said.

Tan stood over his son-in-law and stopped others from helping him, telling them to "let him die" and that "I wish to kill him", the report said, adding that before the police arrived, Tan kicked the younger man's face twice, before calling his daughter.

He said to her: "I can't sleep at night. I have done it. I have killed him. Don't cry. I am old already. I am not scared (of) going to jail." The prosecution asked for 12 years' jail, saying that while Tan was suffering from a major depressive disorder, there were "crucial" aggravating factors including the fact that it was "a revenge tragedy".

Tan exacted revenge on his son-in-law in a "brutal, public and unprovoked killing" in broad daylight, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Lim Jian Yi.

Defence lawyer Wee Pan Lee asked for seven-and-a-half years' jail.

He said Tan is a divorcee who received only primary school education, beginning work as a coolie for a transport contractor in his early teens.

He worked his way up to become a ferry clerk and later started his own shipping and transport cargo company at the age of 27.

At its peak, the group of companies employed more than a thousand people, and Tan intended to groom Tuppani to run the business with his daughters after retirement.

However, when Tuppani handled the sale of the business, Tan and his eldest daughter each received only 450,000 Singapore dollars (USD 3,30,990) instead of 1 million dollars.

"He used company funds to fund his own lavish lifestyle for expensive cars, luxury watches and the upkeep of (his) mistresses," said Wee.

Tan later discovered his daughter's marital woes with Tuppani, who had been "involved in a string of extramarital affairs".

Tan began to realise that Tuppani would not honour his word to return company shares to him and his daughter, and realised his son-in-law had been surreptitiously recording arguments with his daughter to use in divorce proceedings, going against his word to Tan not to fight over custody.

"Objectively, to a right-minded person, this was a vicious and brazen killing carried out in broad daylight on an unsuspecting victim having a meal in a coffee shop ," said Justice Gill.

However, medical evidence has established that Tan had major depressive disorder and was experiencing an episode at the time, said the judge.

He was also in a pervasive dysphoric state and was worried about the well-being of his daughters.

This state of mind adversely affected his impulse control and judgment, and significantly impaired his mental responsibility for the act, the judge added.

For culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Tan could have been jailed for life.

He cannot be caned as he is above 50.
A Miami metro rider has been caught on camera viciously assaulting a lone female traveler in an unprovoked, random attack.

Joshua James King, 25, is accused of beating up Andrea Puerta, 29, during the incident on September 4, leaving her with a concussion, a broken rib and bruising.

Surveillance footage shows King walking onto the metro before launching the sustained attack on Puerta. The clip shows him kick her, slam her head and punch her more than 20 times.

Puerta told Local 10: 'I remember that I closed my hands and I said, "stop, stop". He did not stop. There was a moment when he said, "Sorry" and I looked at him and he punched me and after that, I dont know what happened.'

She said of her attacker: 'Ive never seen him in my life. I never know him until that moment.'

After passing out, Puerta managed to get up and leave the train before calling 911, footage shows. Her attacker remained on the metro; where he is said to have assaulted two more men later that same day.

Scroll down for video

A Miami metro rider has been caught on camera viscously assaulting a lone female traveler kicking, punching and slamming her head in an unprovoked, random attack

Footage shows as the man, identified by police as King, walks onto the metro before launching the sustained attack on Puerta. The clip shows as he punches her more than 20 times

Joshua James King, 25, left, is accused of beating up Andrea Puerta, 29, right, during the incident on September 4, leaving her with a concussion, a broken rib and bruising

King was arrested and is now facing three counts of aggravated battery charges. He was released on a $1,500 bond on September 10 and will next appear in court on Friday.

Pictures of Puerta's injuries show the attack left her with a black eye and a swollen jaw. 'I dont know how I am alive', she added.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Puerta pay for her medical needs, legal help and therapy bills.

It states: 'Andrea Puerta was attacked, without provocation, by a stranger in the metro mover in Miami. The man beat her over and over, breaking her ribs, blacking her eye and giving her a concussion before beating her nearly unconscious.

The minute-long footage begins with the man, named by police as King, stepping onto the train, before walking off and then reappearing.

Without warning he then begins repeatedly punching Puerta before pushing her across the car and launching her headfirst into a chair.

Dad-of-one King was arrested later that day and is now facing three counts of aggravated battery charges.

After passing out Puerta managed to get up and leave the train before calling 911, footage shows. Her attacker remains on the metro; he is said to have assaulted two more men later that same day

Pictures of Puerta's injuries show the attack left her with a black eye and a swollen jaw. 'I dont know how I am alive', she said

Dad-of-one King was arrested later that day and is now facing three counts of aggravated battery charges

'
Airline catering company dnata has told staff it will cut 1000 jobs after Australia's domestic and international border closures in effect stopped its business overnight.

Dnata, which is not eligible for JobKeeper because it is ultimately owned by the government of Dubai, had already stood down thousands of workers and let go 1100 contractors before Monday's announcement.

Transport Workers Union boss Michael Kaine accused the federal government of responsibility for dnata's woes. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

In a memo to employees seen by this masthead on Monday, dnata said the exact number of redundancies was yet to be determined but "it will be in the order of 1000 roles from our workforce at this stage".

A company spokesman said revenue at its catering business had fallen 90 per cent because of the pandemic.
Back to Basics: A Math Professors Quest to Keep Long Division in Canadian Classrooms

Robert Craigen says suggestions to return to traditional teaching methods fall on deaf ears as they don't fit the prevailing ideology

When math professor Robert Craigen was asked to sit on a panel reviewing Manitobas new math curriculum 15 years ago, it didnt take long for him to foresee a problem: Students would no longer be taught long division.

In fact, much of the basic foundational skills of mathmultiplication tables, long division, adding and subtracting big numbers, and computing fractionswere being minimized or eliminated from the curriculum.

At first, Craigen, an associate professor of mathematics at the University of Manitoba, thought it was a misunderstanding.

It just all seemed a little misguided, he recalled. And I thought, well, OK, some people have the wrong ideas, and Ill try to help where I can.

But years later, after Craigens support for keeping fundamental math skills in the curriculum repeatedly fell on deaf ears, he realized that the new math, also known as discovery math, was part of a broad movement thats been happening in education for a very long time and that his well-meaning suggestions simply didnt fit with the prevailing ideology.

Once I started seeing the big picture, I realized that was happening, he said.

Discovery math is part of the so-called discovery learning or inquiry learning methods that fall under the banner of a progressive education approach adopted in schools across Canada and much of the world in recent decades.

These methods mean teachers often view themselves as facilitators of learning rather than instructors. Instead of teaching, they guide students to discover things for themselvesincluding complex concepts such as mathematical formulas.

A tutor works with a student in Toronto on Dec. 7, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)

Proponents of discovery learning methods tout it for developing critical thinking skills, fostering creativity, and empowering students by allowing them a process toward deeper understanding. The thinking goes that the traditional path to mastering foundational skillsteacher-led explicit instruction, memorization, and daily practiceis a drill and kill approach that stifles creativity and hinders a true grasp of the subject.

But Craigen argues that these foundational skills are essential, especially in the early years of learning, for students to build on later. Students are unable to grasp abstract concepts without having a strong foundation to grow from, he says.

Concerned by the rejection of traditional methods and teacher-led instruction, Craigen co-founded the Western Initiative for Strengthening Education in Math (WISE Math) program, a coalition of parents and educators who lobby for changes to the K12 math curriculum to include foundational skills.

He co-founded the group with Anna Stokke, a math professor at the University of Winnipeg, who was concerned about the convoluted methods that her elementary school-age children were learning from the new math curriculumand hearing similar concerns from other parents.

We realized, from a mathematicians perspective, this [new curriculum] was undermining the whole enterprise of learning mathematics. It just didnt seem to make sense to us, Craigen said.

While many educators say that a balance of both progressive and traditional approaches can be beneficial, some of the new methods have had questionable results, sparking controversy and pushback from parents.

In the years after the new math curriculum was implemented, most Canadian provinces saw a slide in their standing in PISA rankings (the OECDs Program for International Student Assessment). Once a top-10 country in the world according to PISA, Canadas ranking and math scores have decreased consistently over the past 15 years. Provincial standardized tests in most provinces also revealed some form of decline among elementary school math scores in recent years.

Some parents also began to question the new curriculum as they struggled to help their kids with their homework or had to hire math tutors for outside help. Pockets of dissent began to emerge: Petitions were launched, advocacy groups were formed, and some went to the media to vent their concerns about schools new approach to math.

The pushback from some parents and educators, in combination with falling math scores, has prompted some provinces to reverse course: Ontario launched a back-to-basics math curriculum this fall, while the Alberta government announced last month that it would end the focus on discovery learning methods and replace them with ones that will give students a foundation of literacy and numeracy over the next two years.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce walk along a hallway at Father Leo J. Austin Catholic Secondary School in Whitby, Ont., on July 30, 2020. Ontario launched its back-to-basics math curriculum this fall. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette)

However, Craigen says discovery learning approaches are still firmly entrenched in the majority of schools, promoted by influential teacher trainers, education advisers, consultants, and other advocates.

These ideas are very tenacious in the world of education, and they have a lot of momentum just because it is so much the prevailing idea, he said, adding that universities heavily push the progressive methods of learning, while educators who tout traditional approaches dont have as much influence in education circles.

A person who pushes the idea of conventional learning will be a bit of an outcast at an education school. So, theres a lot of social and professional pressure.

Halifax-based education expert Paul Bennett says much of the push toward progressive methods in Canada today comes from thought leaders and education gurus who tend to be removed from the day-to-day classroom setting.

The worlds leading education gurus seem to have had a hypnotic effect on policy-makers and superintendents in the entire K12 education sector, he said in an Aug. 3 article on his website.

Challenging the hegemony of this entrenched educational change establishment is a formidable undertaking, he said, adding the most influential edu-gurus have reached celebrity status, often fetching tens of thousands of dollars to speak on education reform at conferences around the world.

The prevailing educational reform consensus has largely gone unchallenged for the past few decades, he noted.

Teacher Movement Calls for More Education Research

Since 2013, a grassroots teacher-led movement that originated in the United Kingdom has been spreading around the world, calling on schools to adopt curriculum and education methods rooted in solid research and proven results before being adopted in schools.

Dubbed researchED, the movement was founded by U.K. schoolteacher Tom Bennett, who grew weary of teaching fads such as some discovery learning methods that were having poor results in his classrooms. His own teacher training was also not preparing him for the challenges he faced in the classroom. There was a lot of stuff I was taught then that later turned out to be, shall we say, less substantiated than people claimed it was, he said at a ResearchEd presentation in 2016.

Bennett started doing his own research and realized that ideas in education were not being held up to the same scientific scrutiny as they were in other disciplines.

After a conversation with other teachers, Bennett posed a question on Twitter asking if any teachers would be interested in attending a conference on education research. Four hours later, he had received over 200 offers of help, moral support, venues, and volunteer speakers. He knew he was onto something. I didnt build researchED, it wanted to be built. It built itself. I just ran with it, he says on the organizations website.

Now researchED holds regular conferences around the world to explore what works in the classroomeducators and researchers collaborate to share knowledge on what methods have had the best results among students. Over 45,000 teachers across four continents have attended researchED events since its inception.

The organization doesnt reject progressive methods such as discovery learning out of hand, but challenges research narrowly focused on supporting current approaches. It supports progressive methods that are proven effective, but is skeptical of those developed by academics, social scientists, or researchers without the collaboration of teachers or that havent been tested in real-life classroom scenarios.

Paul Bennett, Canadas national coordinator for researchED (no relation to Tom Bennett), writes that although researchED has made serious inroads in Britain, Western Europe, and Australia, it has faced stronger headwinds in the United States and Canada, where the progressive education consensus is more all-pervasive.

Roots of Progressive Methods

Progressive theories of education have been around for a century, but Craigen says most parentsand even educators themselvesthink its a new edu-trend and arent aware of its historical roots.

One of the most influential figures in the progressive education movement was philosopher John Dewey, who was influenced by Romantic-era thinkers before him like Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Deweys ideas took the educational establishment by storm in the first half of the 20th century with his progressive model, often known as active learning or pragmatisma learn by doing approach that continues to dominate the thought of most of Canadas educational theoreticians.

John Dewey. (Public Domain)

Dewey has plenty of passionate proponents, but what is perhaps less known about the prolific figure is his democratic socialist idealshe viewed education as a way to move the next generation to accept socialist-collectivist ideals, Craigen says.

He wasnt saying so much that you should be there indoctrinating the children. He was saying more that when a child comes to a classroom, what theyre experiencing is the kind of skills and environment that you want them to have growing up if they want to become part of a societal collective, he says.

So were socializing students into being good citizens, and whats meant by a good citizen is somebody whos part of the collective.

But if a vision of forming a socialist society is the driving force behind the progressive education movement, it tends to leave out more traditional approaches, Craigen says. For example, at most universities, teachers are trained primarily in progressive methods and may not be exposed to other schools of thought that teachers used with success for centuries, he says.

Without deeper context, this naturally becomes the prevailing approach, he notes.

The education schools are more or less infused with these ideasthe so-called progressive education ideasand so the teachers are exposed to that in their training. So many, many teachers dont really know anything else.
House Democrats released a proposal Monday that would fund the federal government through Dec. 11, a measure that would avoid a partial government shutdown if it is passed by the House and Senate by Oct. 1.

The proposed legislation would extend fiscal 2020 spending for most government departments as their annual budget bills have not yet been approved by Congress.

Read Next: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Be Buried at Arlington National Cemetery

For the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, the bill places limits on some activities and bolsters funding for others. The DoD, for example, will not be allowed to launch any new multi-year contracts or activities for the duration of the legislation, with one notable exception -- the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine.

The legislation would allow the Navy to award a contract for the first two boats in the class and allocates $1.6 billion to support the program. The service has been in discussions with defense contractor General Dynamics for those vessels; the contract is estimated to be worth up to $21 billion.

Several bill provisions aim to help secure the livelihoods of federal and contract employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds usually used to pay some civilian Coast Guard employees have dried up during the pandemic; the legislation allows the service to use operations and support funding to pay their salaries. And the proposal would provide COVID-19 relief funding to the Veterans Canteen Service to ensure that the stores can continue operating.

The bill also increases funding for the VA's electronic health record modernization program, helping to keep it on track for its planned introduction in the Pacific Northwest this fall.

Last month, the VA introduced the centralized scheduling component of the program at the VA Central Ohio Health Care System, and it plans to stand up the new electronic health record system at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, this fall after a seven-month delay related to the pandemic.

Earlier this year, the House passed its versions of the fiscal 2021 Defense and Veterans Affairs funding bills, which included $695 billion for the DoD and $241 billion for the VA. But the Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet moved any of its bills, putting Congress in the position of needing a continuing resolution to ensure that the government remains operational past the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said Monday that the Senate has acted irresponsibly in not marking up any of its appropriations bills.

"While the House did its job and passed bills funding nearly every government agency, Senate Republicans did not even begin the appropriations process," she said. "This clean continuing resolution keeps the government open while giving Congress additional time to negotiate annual appropriations bills that will invest for the people."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he backs a short-term continuing resolution, although he expressed his dismay Monday on Twitter over the current House proposal, which he said does not adequately support American farmers.

The House is expected to vote on the continuing resolution this week. The Senate has not said when it will take up the measure.

In addition to funding the federal government, the House proposal bolsters funding for activities related to the presidential transition, should there be one after the Nov. 3 election, and for the District of Columbia to support presidential inauguration activities.

Under a continuing resolution, the departments must operate at the funding levels set in their fiscal 2020 approved budgets.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: Senate Passes $740 Billion Defense Policy Bill With Troop Pay Raise
Hong Kong has banned Air India flights from Sunday to October 3 after a few passengers on its flight on Friday tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival, a senior government official said on Sunday.





Air India passenger flights were barred from landing in Hong Kong between August 18 and August 31 after 14 passengers on its Delhi-Hong Kong flight of August 14 tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival.

Passengers from India can arrive in Hong Kong only if they have a COVID-19 negative certificate from a test done within 72 hours prior to the journey, according to rules issued by the Hong Kong government in July.

Moreover, all international passengers are required to undergo a post-flight COVID-19 test at the Hong Kong airport.

A spokesperson of the national carrier confirmed the recent order, saying, "Hong Kong has prohibited Air India for two weeks -- September 20 to October 3."

"There is only one flight scheduled in the two weeks -- the Delhi-Hong Kong flight of September 21. That flight is cancelled and the passengers have been informed," the spokesperson added.

Air India Express had on Friday said its flights were suspended for 24 hours by the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority for bringing two passengers with COVID-positive certificates on August 28 and September 4.

Air India Express, which is a subsidiary of Air India, resumed its Dubai flights on Saturday.

According to rules in the United Arab Emirates, every passenger travelling from India is required to bring an original COVID-negative certificate of an RT-PCR test done within 96 hours prior to the journey.

"A few passengers on a September 18 Delhi-Hong Kong flight tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival," the senior government official said.

"As a result, Air India's flights have been banned from September 20 to October 3 by the Hong Kong government," the official added.

Besides India, a pre-flight COVID-19 negative certificate is mandatory for all passengers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Africa and the United States, according to the Hong Kong government's rules.

An airline operating a flight to Hong Kong from any of these nine countries has to submit a form before departure, stating that all passengers on board have COVID-19 negative certificates.

Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, special international flights have been operating with the approval of aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Air India has been operating special international flights since May 6 under the Vande Bharat Mission to help stranded people reach their destinations.

Since July, India has established separate bilateral air bubble arrangements with countries such as the US, Germany, France, the UAE, the UK and the Maldives for international flight operations.

Under a bilateral air bubble pact, the airlines of both countries can operate international flights with certain restrictions.
A university the size of Maynooth can expect an average of one student a day being diagnosed with Covid based on the current rate of infection, according to its President Professor Philip Nolan.

Prof Nolan who is also Chair of the Nphet expert maths modelling group advising on the course of the disease, said that they were currently seeing 10 new cases a day for every 100,000 19-24 year olds.

He said in a university like Maynooth with 10,000 students we are going to see a case a day among the campus community as it reconvenes.

Read More

Maynooth University, like others in the Dublin area, is enhancing protective measures against the spread of Covid-19, as the capital comes under stricter public health restrictions.

Its Welcome Week for first years starts today, with the bulk of activities online and the university will reopen for all students from next Monday.

The university is limiting on-site teaching to laboratory, practical and skills instruction, and will limit classes and tutorials to up to 30 persons. Larger lectures will be taught online.

Prof Nolan said he did not think there would be much transmission of the infection in the classroom, but it could happen at social events while small Covid outbreaks should be expected in student accommodation.

He said transmission of the virus on campus more likely result not because of what happens in a classroom  but because some people sat down together and had lunch together and werent careful.

He predicted that country be would be living with public health restrictions for at least year because of Covid: The reality is it will be with us for at least another 12 months.

Prof Nolan, was among the speakers at a webinar organised by the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA) and the Royal Irish Academy. on the theme of safe return to campus.

He said a partnership approach with students was essential , and that it was important for them understand how to learn safely and to live safely and to socialise safely, and to hear that message from their own peers.
Human rights activists report that 101 Ukrainian political prisoners are being currently held in Russia and the occupied Crimea.

"From March 17 to August 31, 2020, the courts of the first instance delivered 96 judgments to detain or to extend detention during the pre-trial investigation of 60 people within the politically motivated prosecution of Crimean residents. Of these 96 rulings on detention, 54 judgments were delivered by Crimean courts, while 42 judgments were delivered by Russian courts," Chairperson of the Crimean Human Rights Group Olha Skrypnyk said at the press conference "Kremlins political persecution amid COVID-19", Radio Liberty reports.

In early August 2020, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak announced the preparations for a new prisoner swap in 100 for 100 format. Yermak expressed hope that the exchange would take place "soon" but did not specify the exact date.

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova earlier stated that Russia held 133 Ukrainian citizens for political reasons.

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New Delhi, Sep 21(UNI) Slamming the BJP-led NDA government over suspension of eight Opposition MPs from the Rajya Sabha for their unruly behaviour yesterday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that the government's arrogance has brought economic disaster for entire country:



In a post on the social media, Mr Gandhi accused the government of 'muting of Democratic India' by initially silencing and later, suspending MPs in Parliament.



"Muting Of Democratic India continues: by initially silencing and later, suspending MPs in the Parliament and turning a blind eye to farmers concerns on the black agriculture laws. This omniscient Government s endless arrogance has brought economic disaster for the entire country,"Mr Gandhi said in a tweet.



His comments came shortly after Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu suspended eight Opposition MPs for creating ruckus in the House on Sunday during the passage of the farm sector bills.



"Derek O Brien, Sanjay Singh, Raju Satav, KK Ragesh, Ripun Bora, Dola Sen, Syed Nazir Hussain and Elamaran Karim suspended for one week for unruly behaviour with the Chair," Naidu said on Monday while suspending the MPs for a week.



The members of the opposition parties had raised an uproar in the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday as Opposition MPs during the passage of the farm sector bills.



The Congress and other Opposition parties have been protesting against the farm bills, which they have described as 'anti-farmer'.



Earlier on Monday, senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram slammed the government over the farm bills and questioned how it was planning to guarantee minimum support price (MSP) for farmers.



In a series of tweets, Chidambaram, accusing the government of lying to the farmers that MSP will be ensured to the farmers under the new system, said, 'The Modi government should stop lying to the farmers and making false promises. The promise of guaranteeing MSP in private transactions is like the promise to deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every Indian.



There will be millions of private transactions every day in thousands of villages all over India. How will the government guarantee MSP is paid in these transactions? Under which law is a private purchaser obliged to pay MSP to the farmer in a private transaction?'



'The PM and other ministers have promised that MSP will be guaranteed to the farmer. Pray tell us HOW? How will the government know which farmer sold what produce to which trader?, 'he asked.



UNI AR SB 1407
If anything is worth celebrating for the former chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, it is definitely not the outcome of the Edo governorship election.

Though Mr Oshiomhole won his local government for the APC, the final result of the election held across the 18 local governments in the state still left many of his supporters disappointed.

Godwin Obaseki of the PDP, having satisfied the requirement of the law and scored the highest number of votes, is hereby declared the winner, Johnson Alalibo, the chief returning officer of Nigerias electoral umpire, INEC, in the state, announced on Sunday.

While many have continued to describe the election as a battle between a godfather and his estranged protege, others have started raising concerns on what will become the fate of Mr Oshiomhole, who had been credited with ending godfatherism in Edo State.

Will the former APC chairman be given a federal appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari as a consolation for the humiliating defeat or will he maintain a low profile like his predecessor in office, John Odigie-Oyegun? This remains one of the uncertainties after the September 19 election.

High Flier

After concluding his tenure as president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Oshiomhole detoured into politics where his rise is best described as meteoric.

As the 2007 candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), he lost to the PDP candidate, Oserheimen Osunbor, a former senator and professor of Law.

The former NLC president challenged the result in court and in November 2008, the Court of Appeal upturned Mr Osunbors victory and declared his challenger (Oshiomhole) the winner.

While in office, Mr Oshiomhole preached against godfatherism. He boasted of retiring some Edo godfathers and political figures, including former ministers Anthony Anenih and Tom Ikimi from politics.

In terms of performance, Mr Oshiomhole has been widely adjudged to have outperformed his predecessors. He is credited with improving the infrastructure in Benin, the Edo capital.

After his two terms of eight years as governor, Mr Oshiomhole successfully installed Godwin Obaseki as his successor in 2016, a decision which he, during his campaign for his now defeated anointed candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, said he regretted.

In 2018, Mr Oshiomhole became the National Chairman of the APC after his predecessor and another former Edo governor, John Odigie-Oyegun, was butted out of office. But shortly after, he began to have problems, one of which was his disagreement with Mr Obaseki whom he sold passionately to Edo electorates in 2016.

Oshiomhole, his many battles as APC chair

Though one could describe what started as a cold war between the immediate past Edo governor and his successor as the genesis of the formers woes but there were other contributing factors.

There had been complaints against Mr Oshiomholes style of leadership by different factions of the ruling party, which later degenerated into calls and protests, demanding his resignation or outright removal.

The controversies eventually led to disqualification of Mr Obaseki from the APC governorship primary  after which he joined the PDP  and the dissolution of the APC National Working Committee headed by Mr Oshiomhole.

Mr Oshiomholes removal as APC chairman appeared to have made him more determined to ensure Mr Obaseki was defeated in Edo.

He led the APCs campaign in Edo with many accusing him of even overshadowing the partys candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu. Unfortunately for the former labour leader, Mr Obaseki won the election convincingly.

Limited options

Having unexpectedly failed to get his new ally, Mr Ize-Iyamu, to win the election, the possibility of Mr Oshiomhole boosting his dented image in the league of APCs national leaders has further been damaged.

Since he has exhausted the two-term constitutionally permitted as a governor of the state, there are few options left for the former chairman to explore, if he does not get a federal appointment by President Buhari.

Getting a federal appointment is, however, not a given for Mr Oshiomhole. His predecessor as APC chairman, Mr Odigie-Oyegun, has not been given any meaningful federal appointment since he left the seat.

Meanwhile, till the end of the electioneering process, Mr Odigie-Oyegun continued to reiterate his displeasure at Mr Oshiomholes management of the Edo APC saga and the exit of Mr Obaseki from the party.

My views and statements on the Edo political situation have been consistent. I strongly advised against the mistreatment of Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki by the late unlamented National Working Committee, NWC, of the APC and his subsequent forced exit from the APC.

Governor Obaseki stood bravely for the dignity and the pride of his people and in the process, suffered unacceptable indignities, PREMIUM TIMES had reported him, saying, barely a week to the poll.

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Such statement signalled the position of Mr Odigie-Oyegun despite his inclusion on the APC governorship campaign train.

Another option for Mr Oshiomhole is to join the rank of former governors who aspire to become senators. The ex-labour leader is still very influential in his Edo North senatorial district as reflected in the governorship election result. However, he would have to wait till 2023 for such opportunity unless the incumbent senator drops out.

The other option for Mr Oshiomhole is to re-contest for the position of APC national chairman later this year or when the election is held. However, although he is eligible to do so, Mr Oshiomholes chances of winning in such election is very slim. The forces within the APC that forced him out of the office are still in the party and his loss in Edo has, arguably, diminished his electoral value.
Complete response of all injected lesions



Regression of non-injected inguinal node, lung, and brain metastases

Expanded data set of trial subject provided

KNOXVILLE, TN, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Provectus (OTCQB: PVCT) today highlighted the clinical outcome of a Stage IV M1d patient (Subject 0602) in the Company's Phase 1b/2 study of small molecule autolytic cancer immunotherapy PV-10, an injectable formulation of Provectus proprietary rose bengal disodium (RBD), in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for the treatment of advanced cutaneous melanoma in patients refractory to immune checkpoint blockade (CB). Preliminary response, safety, and immune correlative data from this CB-Refractory Cohort were previously presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Congress 2020, held online from September 19-21, 2020.

This combination therapy study first enrolled and treated CB-naive patients in its main cohort (CB-Naive Cohort). A subsequent expansion cohort, the subject of this ESMO poster presentation, enrolled and treated CB-refractory patients (CB-Refractory Cohort).

Intralesional (IL) (aka intratumoral) administration of PV-10 for the treatment of solid tumors with PV-10 can yield immunogenic cell death and induce tumor-specific reactivity in circulating T cells.1-3 This IL PV-10-induced functional T cell response may be enhanced and boosted in combination with CB.4 In CB-refractory advanced cutaneous melanoma, IL PV-10 may restore disease-specific T cell function, which may also be prognostic of clinical response.

ESMO 2020 Presentation CB-Refractory Patient Highlights (Subject 0602):

74-year old male with Stage IV M1d (N3) disease

Refractory to BRAF-MEK, CB, and twice-radiotherapy brain treatments

Multiple metastases Injectable subcutaneous (SQ) lesions Distant metastatic sites: inguinal lymph nodes, lung, and cerebellum

IL PV-10 treatment 9 cycles to the injectable SQ lesions over a 5-month period Median dose 0.32 mL PV-10 per cycle (range 0.15-2.46 mL)

At 28 weeks of treatment Complete response of injected lesions Overall: Partial response by RECIST 1.1 with regression of all non-injected metastatic sites



Provectus' current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) RBD is a proprietary pharmaceutical-grade drug substance produced by the Company's quality-by-design (QbD) manufacturing process to exacting regulatory standards that avoids the formation of uncontrolled impurities currently present in commercial-grade rose bengal. Provectus' RBD and cGMP RBD manufacturing process are protected by composition of matter and manufacturing patents as well as trade secrets.

A copy of a slide presentation about Subject 0602s clinical outcome is available on Provectus' website at https://www.provectusbio.com/media/docs/publications/ESMO-2020_CB_refractory_patient.pdf .

A copy of the poster presentation of this CB-Refractory Cohort is available on Provectus' website at https://www.provectusbio.com/media/docs/publications/ESMO-2020-Zager-PV-10-Pembro-in-CB-Refractory-Pts.pdf .

About the Phase 1b/2 Combination Therapy Trial ( NCT02557321 )

A first expansion cohort of the Phase 1b portion of the study began enrolling patients with metastatic cutaneous melanoma who were CB-refractory in December 2018. This CB-Refractory Cohort extended an exploratory group of refractory patients enrolled into the studys main cohort, which primarily enrolled CB-naive patients. Patients with at least one injectable lesion and who were candidates for KEYTRUDA were eligible. Eligible subjects received the combination treatment of PV-10 and KEYTRUDA every three weeks for up to five cycles (i.e., over a period of up to 12 weeks), followed by only KEYTRUDA every three weeks for up to 24 months. The primary endpoint for the Phase 1b trial was safety and tolerability. ORR and progression-free survival were key secondary endpoints (both assessed via RECIST 1.1 after five treatment cycles, and then every 12 weeks thereafter).

About Rose Bengal Disodium

RBD is 4,5,6,7-tetrachloro-2',4',5',7'-tetraiodofluorescein disodium, a halogenated xanthene and Provectus' proprietary lead molecule. The Company manufactures cGMP RBD using a patented process designed to meet stringent modern global quality requirements for pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients.

An IL formulation (i.e., by direct injection) of cGMP RBD drug substance, cGMP PV-10, is being developed as an autolytic immunotherapy drug product for solid tumor cancers. By targeting tumor cell lysosomes, RBD treatment may yield immunogenic cell death in solid tumor cancers that results in tumor-specific reactivity in circulating T cells, including a T cell mediated immune response against treatment refractory and immunologically cold tumors.1-3 Adaptive immunity can be enhanced by combining CB with RBD.4 IL PV-10 is undergoing clinical study for relapsed and refractory adult solid tumor cancers, such skin and liver cancers.

IL PV-10 is also undergoing preclinical study for relapsed and refractory pediatric solid tumor cancers, such as neuroblastoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and osteosarcoma.5,6

A topical formulation of cGMP RBD drug substance, PH-10, is being developed as a clinical-stage immuno-dermatology drug product for inflammatory dermatoses, such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. RBD can modulate multiple interleukin and interferon pathways and key cytokine disease drivers.7

Oral formulations of cGMP RBD are undergoing preclinical study for relapsed and refractory pediatric blood cancers, such as acute lymphocytic leukemia and acute myelomonocytic leukemia.8,9

Oral formulations of cGMP RBD are also undergoing preclinical study as prophylactic and therapeutic treatments for high-risk adult solid tumor cancers, such as head and neck, breast, pancreatic, liver, and colorectal cancers.

Different formulations of cGMP RBD are also undergoing preclinical study as potential treatments for multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria, such as Gram-negative bacteria.

Tumor Cell Lysosomes as the Seminal Cancer Drug Target

Lysosomes are the central organelles for intracellular degradation of biological materials, and nearly all types of eukaryotic cells have them. Discovered by Christian de Duve, MD in 1955, lysosomes are linked to several biological processes, including cell death and immune response. In 1959, de Duve described them as suicide bags because their rupture causes cell death and tissue autolysis. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1974 for discovering and characterizing lysosomes, which are also linked to each of the three primary cell death pathways: apoptosis, autophagy, and necrosis.

Building on the Discovery, Exploration, and Characterization of Lysosomes

Cancer cells, particularly advanced cancer cells, are very dependent on effective lysosomal functioning.10 Cancer progression and metastasis are associated with lysosomal compartment changes11,12, which are closely correlated (among other things) with invasive growth, angiogenesis, and drug resistance13.

RBD selectively accumulates in the lysosomes of cancer cells upon contact, disrupting the lysosomes and causing the cells to die. Provectus1,14, external collaborators5, and other researchers15,16,17 have independently shown that RBD triggers each of the three primary cell death pathways: apoptosis, autophagy, and necrosis.

Cancer Cell Autolytic Death via RBD: RBD-induced autolytic cell death, or death by self-digestion, in Hepa1-6 murine hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells can be viewed in this Provectus video of the process (ethidium homodimer 1 [ED-1] stains DNA, but is excluded from intact nuclei; lysosensor green [LSG] stains intact lysosomes; the video is provided in 30-second frames, with a duration of approximately one hour). Exposure to RBD triggers the disruption of lysosomes, followed by nucleus failure and autolytic cell death. Identical responses have been shown by the Company in HTB-133 human breast carcinoma (which can be viewed in this Provectus video of the process , with a duration of approximately two hours) and H69Ar human multidrug-resistant small cell lung carcinoma. Cancer cell autolytic cell death was reproduced by research collaborators in neuroblastoma cells to show that lysosomes are disrupted upon exposure to RBD.5

Tumor Autolytic Death via RBD: RBD causes acute autolytic destruction of injected tumors (via autolytic cell death), mediating the release of danger-associated molecular pattern molecules (DAMPs) and tumor antigens; release of these signaling factors may initiate an immunologic cascade where local response by the innate immune system may facilitate systemic anti-tumor immunity by the adaptive immune system. The DAMP release-mediated adaptive immune response activates lymphocytes, including CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, and NKT cells, based on clinical and preclinical experience in multiple tumor types. Mediated immune signaling pathways may include an effect on STING, which plays an important role in innate immunity.9

Orphan Drug Designations (ODDs)

ODD status has been granted to RBD by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for metastatic melanoma in 2006, hepatocellular carcinoma in 2011, neuroblastoma in 2018, and ocular melanoma (including uveal melanoma) in 2019.

Intellectual Property (IP)

Provectus IP includes a family of US and international (a number of countries in Asia, Europe, and North America) patents that protect the process by which cGMP RBD and related halogenated xanthenes are produced, avoiding the formation of previously unknown impurities that exist in commercial-grade rose bengal in uncontrolled amounts. The requirement to control these impurities is in accordance with International Council on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines for the manufacturing of an injectable pharmaceutical. US patent numbers are 8,530,675, 9,273,022, and 9,422,260, with expirations ranging from 2030 to 2031.

The Company's IP also includes a family of US and international (a number of countries in Asia, Europe, and North America) patents that protect the combination of RBD and CB (e.g., anti-CTLA-4, anti-PD-1, and anti-PD-L1 agents) for the treatment of a range of solid tumor cancers. US patent numbers are 9,107,887, 9,808,524, 9,839,688, and 10,471,144, with expirations ranging from 2032 to 2035; US patent application numbers include 20200138942.

About Provectus

Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Provectus or the Company) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing immunotherapy medicines for different disease areas based on an entirely- and wholly-owned family of small molecules called halogenated xanthenes. Information about the Companys clinical trials can be found at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) registry, www.clinicaltrials.gov . For additional information about Provectus, please visit the Company's website at www.provectusbio.com .

References

1. Wachter et al. Functional Imaging of Photosensitizers using Multiphoton Microscopy . Proceedings of SPIE 4620, 143, 2002.

2. Liu et al. Intralesional rose bengal in melanoma elicits tumor immunity via activation of dendritic cells by the release of high mobility group box 1 . Oncotarget 7, 37893, 2016.

3. Qin et al. Colon cancer cell treatment with rose bengal generates a protective immune response via immunogenic cell death . Cell Death and Disease 8, e2584, 2017.

4. Liu et al. T cell mediated immunity after combination therapy with intralesional PV-10 and blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in a murine melanoma model . PLoS One 13, e0196033, 2018.

5. Swift et al. Potent in vitro and xenograft antitumor activity of a novel agent, PV-10, against relapsed and refractory neuroblastoma . OncoTargets and Therapy 12, 1293, 2019.

6. Swift et al. In vitro and xenograft anti-tumor activity, target modulation and drug synergy studies of PV-10 against refractory pediatric solid tumors . 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, J Clin Oncol 36, 2018 (suppl; abstr 10557).

7. Krueger et al. Immune Modulation by Topical PH-10 Aqueous Hydrogel (Rose Bengal Disodium) in Psoriasis Lesions . Psoriasis Gene to Clinic, 8th International Congress, Br J Dermatol 177.

8. Swift et al. In Vitro Activity and Target Modulation of PV-10 Against Relapsed and Refractory Pediatric Leukemia . 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, Blood 132, 2018 (suppl; abstr 5207).

9. Thakur et al. Association of heat shock proteins as chaperone for STING: A potential link in a key immune activation mechanism revealed by the novel anti-cancer agent PV-10 . 2020 AACR VAM II, (abstr 5393).

10. Piao et al. Targeting the lysosome in cancer . Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2016; 1371(1): 45.

11. Nishimura et al. Malignant Transformation Alters Intracellular Trafficking of Lysosomal Cathespin D in Human Breast Epithelial Cells . Pathology Oncology Research. 1998; 4(4): 283.

12. Gocheva et al. Distinct roles for cysteine cathepsin genes in multistage tumorigenesis . Genes & Development. 2006; 20(5): 543.

13. Fehrenbacher et al. Lysosomes as Targets for Cancer Therapy . Cancer Research. 2005; 65 (8): 2993.

14. Wachter et al. Imaging Photosensitizer Distribution and Pharmacology using Multiphoton Microscopy . Proceedings of SPIE 4622, 112, 2002.

15. Koevary. Selective toxicity of rose Bengal to ovarian cancer cells in vitro . International Journal of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Pharmacology 4(2), 99, 2012.

16. Zamani et al. Rose Bengal suppresses gastric cancer cell proliferation via apoptosis and inhibits nitric oxide formation in macrophages . Journal of Immunotoxicology, 11(4), 367, 2014.

17. Luciana et al. Rose Bengal Acetate photodynamic therapy-induced autophagy . Cancer Biology & Therapy, 10:10, 1048, 2010.

Trademarks

PV-10 and PH-10 are registered trademarks of Provectus, Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.A.

KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. Kenilworth, New Jersey, U.S.A.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: The information in this press release may include forward-looking statements, within the meaning of U.S. securities legislation, relating to the business of Provectus and its affiliates, which are based on the opinions and estimates of Company management 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 projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as seek, anticipate, budget, plan, continue, estimate, expect, forecast, may, will, project, predict, potential, targeting, intend, could, might, should, believe, and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook.

The safety and efficacy of the agents and/or uses under investigation have not been established. There is no guarantee that the agents will receive health authority approval or become commercially available in any country for the uses being investigated or that such agents as products will achieve any particular revenue levels.

Due to the risks, uncertainties, and assumptions inherent in forward-looking statements, readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof or as of the date specifically specified herein, and Provectus undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Risks, uncertainties, and assumptions include those discussed in the Companys filings with the SEC, including those described in Item 1A of the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and Provectus Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 .

###

Contact:

Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

Heather Raines, CPA

Chief Financial Officer

Phone: (866) 594-5999
HSBC and Standard Chartered's Hong Kong shares fell on Monday after media reports that they and other banks moved large sums of allegedly illicit funds over nearly two decades despite red flags about the origins of the money.

Read | Big banks moved illicit funds, FinCen documents show

BuzzFeed and other media reports were based on leaked suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by banks and other financial firms with the US Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen).

HSBC shares in Hong Kong fell as much as 4.4% to HK$29.60, the lowest since May 1995, while StanChart was down as much as 3.8% to HK$35.80, the lowest since May 25 this year. The Hang Seng Index was down 0.4%.

The SARs, which the reports said numbered more than 2,100, were obtained by BuzzFeed News and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and other media organisations.

HSBC and StanC were among the five banks that appeared most often in the documents, the ICIJ reported.

In a statement to Reuters on Sunday, HSBC said "all of the information provided by the ICIJ is historical." The bank said as of 2012, "HSBC embarked on a multi-year journey to overhaul its ability to combat financial crime across more than 60 jurisdictions."

Standard Chartered said in a statement, "We take our responsibility to fight financial crime extremely seriously and have invested substantially in our compliance programmes."
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday endorsed Donald Trumps re-election bid for the U.S. presidency, saying his rival Democrats have forced a moral imperialism on the world that illiberal leaders like himself reject.

We root for Donald Trumps victory, because we know well American Democratic governments diplomacy, built on moral imperialism. We have been forced to sample it before, we did not like it, we do not want seconds, Orban wrote in an essay.

Nationalist Orban faces a steep challenge to his decade-long rule in parliamentary elections due in early 2022 as Hungary braces for the economic and social impact of a second wave of coronavirus infections.

The vote would be decisive as the international liberal elite was out to destroy Christian conservatives in Europe, he wrote in the pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet.

They prepare for a decisive battle in 2022, backed by the international media, Brussels bureaucrats, and NGOs disguised as civil organisations, Orban said. It is time for us to line up too.

Hungary and other central European countries would place economic efficiency over European Union policies such as climate goals elevated to absurdity, a social Europe, a common tax code and a multicultural society, he said.

The EU will try to implement the multi-trillion euro post-pandemic revival plan with key political discussions yet to be conducted among member states, some of which want to regulate the self-styled illiberal Orban much more strongly.

The idea of strict conditions on the disbursement of EU aid and funds to the rule of law has prompted a threat of veto for the whole package from Orban, who said the system was more aptly described as rule of blackmail.

Orban said the outcome much depended on the succession battle in Germany as Chancellor Angela Merkels term nears an end.
Italy, the onetime European epicenter of the outbreak, already requires tests-on-arrival or a negative tests in the previous 72 hours for anyone coming from Spain, Croatia, Malta or Greece. Speranza said the data from other parts of Europe must not be underestimated, given the efforts Italians made during a three-month spring lockdown to tame the virus: Italy today is better off than other countries, but we still need to be prudent to not render the sacrifices we made in vain.
A Bulgarian court sentenced two men to life in prison on Monday over a deadly terrorist attack against Israeli tourists in the country in 2012. Prosecutors reportedly said they are tied to the Lebanese military and political group Hezbollah.

Hassan El Hajj Hassan and Meliad Farah were found guilty of terrorism, murder, attempted murder and property damage. The charges stem from a bus bombing in Sarafovo on the Black Sea that killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian driver, according to the state-run Bulgarian News Agency.

The two men are not eligible for parole and were tried in absentia. Hassan is a dual citizen of Canada and Lebanon, while Farah is a dual citizen of Australia and Lebanon, the agency reported.

Both Hassan and Farah are in Interpols Red Notice database, which includes people wanted for crimes by national governments. Hassan is listed as a Canadian born in Lebanon charged with terrorism. Farah is listed as an Australian charged with terrorism, according to Interpol.

Bulgarian prosecutors said the two men are linked to Hezbollah, but the judge did not mention this when delivering the verdict, Reuters reported. Hezbollah denied its involvement in the attack at the time.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah is in a state conflict with Israel. The two most recently clashed in August on the Israel-Lebanon border.
The EU welcomes the promulgation of the Government Decree on the Timber Legality Assurance System of Vietnam

Ambassador of the European Union to Vietnam Aliberti trusts in Vietnams continued commitment to the VPA, which entered into force in last June, and its active pursuit of the VPAs objectives to manage all types of forests sustainably and provide a legal framework to ensure the legality of the production of timber and timber products, irrespective of whether the timber is originally from inside or outside of Vietnam.

The preparation of the Decree on the Timber Legality Assurance System of Vietnam (VNTLAS decree) provided for consultation with VPA stakeholders, including the VPA multi-stakeholder core group in 2019, and the EU is grateful for the opportunities for dialogue, which continued during and beyond the VPA Joint Implementation Committee meeting in June 2020.

The VNTLAS decree addresses important elements of the VPA related to the import and export of timber and timber products. It also provides a basis for an Organisation Classification System, albeit one specific to enterprises engaged in processing and exporting timber, and thus lacking some core elements foreseen in the VPA. Such a system covering importer and domestic producer organisations alike is foreseen in the VPA as a tool to facilitate legality assurance throughout the supply chain in Vietnam and is a core element of the VPA.

The decree appears to reflect the import controls committed to in the VPA. The EU looks forward to seeing how these will be developed in line with the VPA, following the joint coordination steps foreseen therein, and Vietnam then puts these controls into practice, including with the specification of adequate, proportionate, and dissuasive administrative or criminal sanctions to address violations.

The decree also points to the need for establishing a FLEGT licensing scheme. However, such a scheme could only become operational once a fully functioning VNTLAS in line with the VPA has been developed, implemented, and jointly assessed as fulfilling all VPA requirements.

In this context, Ambassador Aliberti said, The scope of the VPA extends to all operators, involved in all parts of VNTLAS supply chains and for timber destined to all domestic and export markets. As such, the decree is a step towards these commitments, but should its scope not be aligned with the VPA by the time the decree becomes applicable, it might negatively affect Vietnamese exporters.

The EU looks forward to seeing how Vietnam will in the future extend the scope to address legality, not only at the point of import and export, but importantly for operators involved in the harvesting, trading, and processing of domestic as well as imported timber, and for products destined to all markets.

Vietnam is among the few countries that have ratified a VPA and are actively developing legislation which will provide the basis for systems and capacities to be developed to assure the legality of the production of timber and thus take the necessary steps to underpin the eventual FLEGT licensing scheme. Operators exporting to the European Economic Area (EU, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein) from countries with an operating FLEGT licensing scheme (so far only Indonesia) will benefit, since FLEGT-licenced shipments will no longer be subject to due diligence requirements of the European Timber Regulation. Several other countries, to which Vietnam is exporting, also already expressed interest in an effective VNTLAS, as it would facilitate imports for their operators, as well.

The EU looks forward to continuing to engage with Vietnam during the development and implementation of this and further regulations as needed to fulfil all requirements of the VPA.

The next joint technical meeting on the next steps for the implementation of the VPA is foreseen to take place on October 2, 2020 at the office of the EU Delegation to Vietnam.
Days after launching the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and other projects related to agriculture and animal husbandry worth Rs 294.53 crore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated nine highway projects and the Ghar Tak Fibre scheme via video-conferencing in poll-bound Bihar on Monday.

Today, India is working towards making its villages self-reliant. It is a matter of pride that this process is starting from Bihar, PM Modi said.

Also read: Farm bills will empower farmers, says PM Modi amid opposition protests

Countries that have focused on their infrastructure have seen fast development. Only Atal Bihari Vajpayees government stressed on the importance of a robust infrastructure in India before the current government, he added.

The highway projects inaugurated cover a road length of about 350 kilometres and will be completed at a cost of Rs 14,258 crore.

Ghar Tak Fibre scheme will connect all 45,945 villages of Bihar through optical fibre internet service, according to a PMO release issued on Saturday.

The fibre internet services programme is a prestigious project which will enable a digital revolution to reach the states remotest corner, the release said.

Also read: Ahead of Bihar Assembly Election, Narendra Modi inaugurates schemes, lauds CM Nitish, woos migrants

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister Sushil Modi were also present at the event. Both leaders thanked PM Modi for initiatives that aid in development of the state and criticised the Opposition for their behaviour in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.

It is highly condemnable, there is a way to put forward your views. Also, the farm bills that have been passed in Parliament are in favor of farming sector, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said.

Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh Ji is respected in Bihar and all over the country. The uncalled for incident which occurred with him in Parliament yesterday has hurt the people of Bihar. The people of Bihar will give a suitable answer to the Opposition, Sushil Modi said.
Warning: Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn says we need to take action now. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

A further 188 cases of Covid-19 has been confirmed by the Department of Health, with no new deaths.

Of the cases 76 are located in the Dublin area.

There were also 25 cases in Cork, 21 in Donegal, 16 in Kildare, 13 in Galway, 7 in Roscommon and 7 in Waterford, with the remaining 23 cases spread across 12 counties.

Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn reiterated calls to reduce social contacts as the surge in cases continue.

The spirit of the response to COVID-19 since the outset of this pandemic has been solidarity and cooperation. While this pandemic is a uniquely challenging time for everyone, we can and will support one another in getting through this," he said.

Encourage your family and friends to heed the public health advice. Now more than ever, we need to work collectively. Our individual actions count on a population level.

Every one of us doing our bit in our daily lives - halving our social contacts, working from home, keeping our distance, wearing a face covering, washing our hands - matters a great deal. These small, positive steps taken together amount to our best and strongest defence against the virus," he added.

Earlier today the Government raised concern about the spread of Covid-19 in eight counties other than Dublin which is currently under enhanced restrictions.

Donegal, Leitrim, Limerick, Louth, Kildare, Offaly, Waterford and Wicklow were all highlighted by senior official Liz Canavan as she warned that people have to double their efforts to halt the spread of the virus.

She said that Dublin was moved to Level 3 of the Government's 'Living with Covid' plan last week due to the deteriorating situation there and fears cases could rise to 1,000 new infections a day in a month's time with 50pc to 60pc in the capital.

The national incidence rate has crept up from 50 to 71 per 100,000 in the last seven days, while there are currently 90 people in hospitals with the virus and 16 in intensive care units.
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Linkedin Adrian Wail Akhlas (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 14:45 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c46287d0 1 Business Indonesia-economy,recovery,omnibus-bill,stimulus-package,COVID-19,pandemic,state-budget,ADB Free

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has said that the countrys economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will depend on the fiscal stimulus package and on economic reforms brought about by the omnibus bills.

While the governments virus handling measures would remain a key determinant of economic activity, the minister said, the economy could recover from the pandemic if the stimulus succeeded in stimulating demand and encouraging production.

We want to make sure that the economy recovers by combining fiscal support with reforms to the investment climate, Sri Mulyani said at an online seminar hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The omnibus bill on job creation will overhaul Indonesias investment policy to attract investment and build confidence.

Indonesias economy shrank by 5.32 percent in the second quarter and is widely expected to enter a recession in the third quarter, the first since the 1998 Asian financial crisis, as officials spur government spending to deal with the pandemics economic fallout.

The government has spent about 36 percent of the Rp 695.2 trillion (US$47.19 billion) stimulus package to boost economic growth, but analysts say the stimulus has been ineffective because disbursement has remained slow, even six months into the outbreak.

The government hopes the omnibus bill on job creation, which is expected to be passed into law later this year by the House of Representatives, will be able to cut red tape, improve the countrys competitiveness and attract foreign investment to support economic growth and create jobs, despite significant controversies surrounding the bill.

Indonesia is formulating an additional omnibus bill to develop and strengthen the countrys financial industry, said the Finance Ministry's Fiscal Policy Agency head, Febrio Kacaribu, as reported by Reuters. The bill is expected to shape the financial industry to be more adaptive and responsive to vast developments in technology and business practices, he added.

ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa said the bank was ready to assist member countries, including Indonesia, if the outbreak continued, adding that the bank had prepared $20 billion for countries to fight the pandemic.

We estimate that the economic losses from the pandemic could be as high as 8.25 percent of regional GDP in developing Asia, he said, which would mark the first regional contraction in 60 years. We stress that if the third wave of the pandemic hits members, the ADB stands ready to provide further assistance.

The ADB expects the Indonesian economy to shrink by 1 percent in 2020, a revision down from the ADBs previous projection of 2.5 percent growth and one largely in line with the governments prediction.

In the forum, attended by several Asian finance ministers and central bank governors, Sri Mulyani urged stronger global cooperation to develop a COVID-19 vaccine and rebuild the global economy, saying the future of globalization was not encouraging.

Although we recognize that this crisis is borderless, the response at the global level is lagging behind [] We all need each other so that there will be a global solution, she said.

Japans central bank governor Haruhiko Kuroda said during the discussion that globalization would be sustained and supply chains would be diversified as firms adjusted to the pandemics disruption, adding that resorting to protectionism was not the answer and that regional financial cooperation would provide a safety net to weather future economic shocks.
Four princes from eligible ruling houses of Zazzau Emirate are jostling to replace Shehu Idris, the 84-year-old emir, who died on Sunday.

Mr Idris spent 45 years on the throne, having ascended the position in 1975 after the death of Muhammadu Aminu, the 17th emir since the 1804 Fulani Jihad.

By tradition, a new emir is expected to emerge from any one of the four ruling clans of the emirate. The ruling houses are Katsinawa, Mallawa, Bare-bari and Sullubawa. The late Emir Idris was from the Katsinawa ruling house.

Typically, the Kaduna State Government is expected to announce the new emir after the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, must have approved any of the princes nominate to him by the Zazzau kingmakers.

The kingmakers are Wazirin Zazzau, Ibrahim Aminu; Makaman Zazzau, Muhammad Abbas; Fagachin Zazzau, Umar Muhammad; Limamin Gari, Dalhatu Kasim and Limamin Kona, Muhammad Aliyu.

The contest

To replace the deceased monarch, four princes were being touted late Sunday, though there is no official communication as regards the process.

Those being mentioned as stronger contenders to the throne are the Iyan Zazzau, Bashir Aminu; Yeriman Zazzau, Munir Jaafaru; Magajin Garin Zazzau, Ahmed Bamalli and Turakin Zazzau, Bashir Idris.

There are, however, other princes who are said to be eyeing the position. In this category are Wamban Zazzau, Abdulkareem Aminu, Sarkin Kudun Zazzau Sambo Idris, and a few other sons of the deceased emir.

About the candidates

Iya Bashir Aminu

He was born on December 26, 1960, in the palace when his father, Muhammadu Aminu, was the Emir of Zazzau.

He was turbaned Danmadamin Zazzau by late Emir Idris. When Iyan Zazzau Saidu died, Mr Idris promoted Mr Aminu to the important title of Iya, a position once held by the latters father before becoming the emir.

A trained accountant and accomplished businessman, he is a fellow of the Institute of Financial Accountants (UK) and a Fellow of the Certified National Accountants of Nigeria (CNA).

Until the reforms two years ago to resize the Kaduna traditional institutions, leading to repelling of some districts, Mr Aminu was the district head of Sabon Gari, a position he was first appointed to in 1979.

He sits on the boards of many companies as chairman or director.

Mr Aminu is from the Kastinawa ruling house, like the two previous emirs.

Munir Jaafaru

The son of 18th Fulani emir of Zazzau, Mallam Jaafaru, Munir Jaafaru is a lawyer with vast experience in the private and public sector.

Born on March 25, 1956, he bagged a degree in Law from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in 1979 and was called to the Nigerian bar in 1980. He was retained as a lecturer at the university (1981  1983) and obtained his second degree in Law during the same period in 1983.

Mr Jaafaru held various positions in Kaduna State and at the national level. He was Secretary/Legal Adviser of the Kaduna Cooperative Bank Limited (1983-1987); Commissioner for Local Government and Community Development, Commissioner for Information, Home Affairs and Culture; Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, among other ministries he held.

At the national level, Mr Jaafaru was appointed Secretary of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (1990-1992). He held the position of Director-General of the National Maritime Authority (NMA), the precursor of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) between 1992 and 1996.

The Yeriman Zazzau has held many private sector positions traversing consulting, law, banking and insurance.

The prince hails from the Bare-bari ruling clan.

Ahmed Bamalli

Mr Bamalli is immediate past Nigerian ambassador to Thailand with concurrent accreditation to Myanmar. He was born on June 8, 1966.

He has a bachelors and a masters degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Has obtained diplomas from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, University of York and Oxford University. In 2011 he was at the Harvard University for a short course in governance.

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A holder of the traditional title of Magajin Garin Zazzau, a position once held by his late father, Mr Bamalli is an experienced administrator and banker.

He joined the defunct FSB International Bank in 1998 rising to the position of Regional Manager before moving to Abuja Metropolitan Management Authority in 2006. He switched to the defunct Nigerian Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTEL) a year later as head of Human Resources. He then moved to the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc where he was Executive Director, Corporate Services and acting Managing Director at a point.

After the change of government in Kaduna State in 2015, the new administration appointed him commissioner in the states independent electoral commission. In 2017, Mr Bamalli was nominated as ambassador at the instance of Mr El-Rufai.

Aminu Idris

He is the eldest surviving son of the late Emir of Zazzau, Shehu Idris.

Holder of the traditional title of Turakin Zazzau, he is the youngest of the contenders. He was born the year his father ascended to the throne in 1975 and was named after his fathers predecessor, Emir Aminu.

He attended Federal Government College Kaduna and obtained a degree in Economics from the University of Abuja. He also has a masters degree from a yet to be confirmed British university.

The younger Idris currently works with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as a senior staff at the Crude Oil Marketing Division of the corporation.

He is married to Karimatu, one of the daughters of Iyan Zazzau Bashir Aminu, also a contender.
The test kits sit in nursing homes across the state, untouched.

Unlike the standard molecular analysis tests used to detect COVID-19, these offer rapid results within minutes rather than days or sometimes weeks when there are significant lab backups  as there frequently are in New Jersey.

Nursing home operators said the quick-read tests could be a game-changer in the states hard-hit long-term care facilities, which were devastated by the coronavirus, with nearly 7,000 residents now dead.

But administrators say they are unable to use the new tests in their ongoing battle to protect residents because the state  concerned with their accuracy  wont allow it.

Nursing homes want to test everyone who enters their buildings. It keeps COVID out of the buildings, said Andrew Aronson of the newly formed Nursing Home Advocates of New Jersey, a coalition of some of the states largest nursing home operators.

While acknowledging the tests are not as reliable those mandated by the state, he argued that the lack of accuracy is offset by the ability to test more frequently and the tests would provide another layer of protection. They would allow real-time screening of visitors and workers, he said, providing another layer of defense to protect a vulnerable population that now accounts for nearly half of all COVID-19 deaths in the state.

There is a lot of frustration, remarked Aronson, a healthcare attorney who represents nursing facilities and a former director of Long-Term Care Licensing and Certification in the state Department of Health. They are not giving nursing homes the discretion to test.

What makes the situation even more alarming, he said, is that nursing homes are not permitted to test state inspectors entering their facilities, who he said interact directly with residents.

And while every nursing home is now permitting visitation of family members designated as essential caregivers, in accordance with a Health Department executive directive, he said they are not permitted to require testing of those individuals either.

Thousands of nursing home residents have died in N.J. nursing homes, many were infected with the virus by people who came in from the outside. The testing issue is the latest misstep by the state that has struggled to protect nursing home residents.

While nursing homes across the country were devastated by the pandemic, with at least 50,000 deaths nationwide, New Jersey has had the highest rate of death per capita, according to federal data.

The state has already come under fire over the toll COVID-19 has taken on nursing homes, especially over the lack of adequate protective gear made available to curb the spread of the outbreak. Last week, veterans groups along with dozens of healthcare workers and relatives of residents who died gathered outside the states own Veterans Memorial Home at Menlo Park, demanding an investigation why least 65 residents and one staff member died there.

An investigation into the states nursing home crisis by NJ Advance Media for NJ.com earlier this year, based on internal department records as well as interviews with families, advocates and players behind the scenes, found that New Jersey failed to react fast enough or take forceful, aggressive actions to slow the deadly rampage early in the pandemic.

Antigen tests in storage at a N.J. nursing home.Photo courtesy of Andrew Aronson

The Department of Health said it is currently re-evaluating the use of the so-called point-of-care tests for residents and staff in long-term care facilities and will release new guidance as deemed appropriate.

While we recognize some of the advantages point-of-care antigen tests offer, such as rapid turnaround time and easy access, we have some concerns about their performance, explained Thomas Kirn, medical director of the Department of Healths Public Health and Environmental Laboratories.

He said the department was examining the issue of increased false positive and false negative results, and will offer recommendations to mitigate that.

"Since false positive results could result in unnecessary isolation of unaffected individuals which could strain the workforce, and false negative results could lead to exposure of susceptible individuals to those that are infectious, we need to ensure we address safety first with well-reasoned guidance, he said.

A spokeswoman added that inspectors are offered weekly testing, but are not required to be tested because they wear the required level of personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves. Their presence in a facility is limited, as is their interaction with residents, said Donna Leusner.

More money is being earmarked for New Jersey nursing homes and their workers, under a package of legislative reforms signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy last Wednesday.

In the meantime, the Health Department is not backing down on its testing protocols.

At issue are the approaches the two major tests used to fight the pandemic take in detecting a virus that hides itself well in the early stages of infection, before symptoms appear.

The most reliable test for COVID-19 utilizes what is known as polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, to detect the nucleic acid of the virus. What makes the molecular test so accurate is that PCR acts as a sort of copy machine, amplifying tiny bits of genetic material to spot even traces of the virus. It is currently the basis for most coronavirus testing.

It is extremely sensitive because it can see much fewer copies of the nucleic acid of the virus, explained Maria Gennaro, a professor of medicine at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

But although highly accurate, the turnaround time for the testing is slow. The delay makes it especially difficult to isolate staff who are likely the major carriers of coronavirus into nursing homes. Asymptomatic workers who stay on the job while waiting for test results can infect others until the lab results come back, experts note.

The tests the nursing homes want to use have a different way of looking for the virus. Known as antigen tests, they seek to identify proteins created by the virus.

Gennaro said the tests do not require a lab and can be done anywhere. But the proteins targeted by antigen tests may not be present in sufficient amounts to detect in individuals without symptoms. And she said it is unknown how many viral particles it takes to make someone infectious.

And theres the rub.

Antigen tests are cheap and very quick. But they give a lot of false-negatives, she said. That means people who may have the virus present in low levels may test negative for COVID-19, giving them an unwarranted sense of security as they spread the virus to others around them.

Or they could give false-positive results, as when Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who had no symptoms, tested positive for COVID-19 with an antigen test earlier this year. Hours later, the Republican governor got a PCR test and was found to be free of the coronavirus.

Still, the Trump administration has pushed the antigen tests, especially in nursing homes where the virus proved to be especially deadly. The federal government distributed the tests to 14,000 long-term care facilities nationwide with the aim of increasing routine screening of residents and staff.

Infectious disease experts, though, question the efficacy of antigen tests in a nursing home setting.

Rangarajan Sampath, chief scientific officer of the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, a Geneva-based non-profit group, said antigen testing can be critical in places where there is no access to a lab, and among individuals with symptoms.

It makes a lot of sense when the prevalence of COVID-19 is high, because it will give you enough accuracy that allows you to isolate those who are infectious, he said.

But in places like New Jersey, where the number of cases of the coronavirus are now relatively low, antigen testing may be no better than a coin toss, he suggested.

Molecular is clearly a better performing test. Theres no question. But cost is not the same. And the time is not the same, he said. Antigen tests give you an answer in 20 minutes. But what it comes to is whether can you rely on the result in an antigen test, when you are taking the chance of not isolating those who should be isolated.

Aronson said federal health officials in late August allowed nationwide testing requirements to be met through rapid point-of-care antigen tests, noting further guidance from the government that also suggested for congregate care settings, like nursing homes, "repeated use of rapid point-of-care testing may be superior for overall infection control compared to less frequent, highly sensitive tests with prolonged turnaround times.

Meanwhile, nursing home officials are asking what happened to promises by the state that it would make a new saliva-based PCR test developed at Rutgers University more widely available to them.

Earlier this year, RUCDR Infinite Biologics at Rutgers University received approval for a PCR-based test that uses saliva rather than swabs for specimen collection. The system is less intrusive, allows those being screened for the coronavirus to simply spit in a tube, which is then analyzed at a lab.

Earlier this summer, the state announced it would provide $25 million in funding to support the weekly testing of nursing home staff and said long-term care facilities would have priority access to the new saliva test.

However, Jonathan Dolan, CEO of the Health Care Association of New Jersey, an industry lobby group, complained the nursing homes are not getting the assistance they need.

They havent done anything, he said of the state. We have no guidance.

According to Leusner, nursing homes are receiving the Rutgers saliva tests.

Some long-term care facilities contract on their own with Rutgers University, she said. The state invested $6 million in Rutgers University, allowing it to increase capacity which, in turn, gives Rutgers the opportunity to offer its saliva testing more broadly.

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Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL.
Find all of the most important pandemic education news on Educating N.J., a special resource guide created for parents, students and educators. As schools reopen across N.J., we want to know what is and isnt working. Tell us about it here.

With two weeks of classes in the books for many New Jersey schools, at least a dozen districts have had to switch students to virtual learning because of positive tests for the coronavirus.
Myra F. Levick and Paul Fink, who replaced Morris J. Goldman as director of Hahnemanns art therapy program, in an undated photo published by Drexel University. The art therapy program is now based at Drexel. Read more

Myra F. Levick, 96, a clinical psychologist who helped found the field of art therapy, died Wednesday, Sept. 16, of complications from a seizure at the Abramson Center for Jewish Life in North Wales.

Like many women of her generation, Dr. Levick was first a wife and mother. The Philadelphia native married Leonard Levick, her high school sweetheart, at age 19, and supported him through medical school and the start of his medical career while raising three daughters.

During the 1940s, when women rarely worked outside the home, she wanted a career.

I would work while he was in medical school on condition that he would send me to art school, so 17 years later I went to Moore College of Art and Design, she told 6abc news in a March 2019 interview.

And he honored the deal; he supported her every step of the way, said daughter Marsha.

Dr. Levick earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting from Moore, a masters degree in education from Temple University, and a Ph.D. in psychology from Bryn Mawr College.

In the 1960s, art therapy, the practice of using creative methods of expression to foster psychological healing, was in its infancy. The art therapist does not interpret, she said during the television interview. The important thing is for someone to appreciate their own artwork and understand it.

She helped create a graduate-level art therapy program at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital. The medical school became Hahnemann University in 1981 and part of Drexel University in 2002. The art therapy program is now at Drexel.

Debuting with six students, Hahnemanns program was considered radical because it was housed in a medical setting, where art therapy students could work alongside psychiatrists and nurses, according to a history of the profession posted on Drexel NOW, an online newsletter.

Just after the program began, cofounder Morris J. Goldman, a psychoanalyst and the director of psychiatry at Hahnemann, died at age 39. The whole thing was just strange, Dr. Levick said about her start in the profession.

Goldman had recruited Dr. Levick to work with his patients, first at Albert Einstein Medical Center North in 1963, and then at Hahnemann.

I was only an adjunct professor. They didnt have women professors in those days, Dr. Levick told Drexel NOW. We spent several weeks mourning this very brilliant young man, and then people from the graduate school invited me to a meeting and said they wanted the program to remain. They would have to name me an assistant professor to become director of the program.

In addition to developing the art therapy program, Dr. Levick was also named activities director of Hahnemanns mental health center. She became a tenured professor in Hahnemanns department of psychiatry in 1976.

She continued the work at Hahnemann for 20 years, while mentoring students and publishing books and journal articles.

In 1969, Dr. Levick created the American Art Therapy Association and became its president. The society grew out of a 1968 meeting convened at Hahnemann. Begun with just 20 members, the organization now numbers 4,000, according to Drexel NOW.

At age 62, Dr. Levick retired from Hahnemann and moved to Florida, where she practiced art therapy. She returned to the Philadelphia area in 2018, when her health began to decline, her daughter said.

Dr. Levick stayed active, teaching classes in art and aging to fellow retirees at Blue Bell Place, her assisted living facility in Montgomery County. She also painted in oils, acrylics, and watercolor until two months ago.

Her professional and personal journeys were atypical for her time, her family said in a tribute. As The Feminine Mystique was being written, she was a living example of the power and brilliance of women."

She didnt always make it to the school play, but we understood the courage of her choices, the brilliance of her mind, and the priceless gift of leadership, power, and equality that she bestowed on us, her daughters said in a statement.

Her husband died in 2011. Besides her daughter, she is survived by daughters Bonnie Cossrow and Karen Gomer; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Plans for a memorial service were pending.
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The consultative or indicative ballot is becoming the trade union bureaucracys weapon of choice in avoiding strikes and maintaining their role as partners with the employers.

Legally, the bureaucracy can hold such ballots at any time under their own rules. Most importantly, the unions are required by law to hold a further legal ballot if they wish to proceed with any industrial action. The consultative ballot never implies action being taken, even if a massive vote in favour is returned.

The Industrial Action Handbook of the largest public sector union, Unison, states that in relation to lawful industrial action when all your preparations have been completed to ensure we have an accurate ballot register, it will normally take a minimum of 6 weeks from the date upon which we give notice of the ballot to the employer to the first possible day of action.

It then stresses, Remember also that no actual industrial action can be authorised or take place on the basis of a consultative ballot.

Consultative ballots have been used by the unions for several decades, but as resistance and anger among workers mounts during the pandemicafter a decade of relentless and unprecedented attacks on living standardstheir use by the bureaucracy is becoming ever more frequent and the norm.

As it was working to sell out 50,000 lecturers and other university staff during a national strike over pension at 64 institutions, the University College Union wrote in an internal document, in March 2018, The current practice in UCU is that, where possible, branches are asked to run a consultative ballot prior to a formal ballot and that this forms part of the evidence the nationally-elected officers consider when they consider whether to approve the ballot or not.

Centrica, the owner of UK energy supplier, British Gas, posted a 1 billion loss in 2019. To overcome its financial difficulties the company plans a massive restructuring, cutting 5,000 out of its 20,000 workforce. It also plans to simplify the range of work contracts across the industry. Centrica has announced it would be prepared to use a section 188 notice if unable to negotiate the changes it wants. Under a section 188 notice the company can sack and reinstate its employees on different terms and conditions.

The GMB union, which has 10,000 members working for British Gas, duly organised a consultative ballot. The result was announced on August 19. On a turnout of two thirds, British Gas and P H Jones employees (a heating installation subsidiary of British Gas) voted 95 percent in favour of industrial action.

The GMB notice of the ballot result then called on the Centrica Board to wake up and smell the gas, adding, British Gas was an historically proud British institutionbut Centricas beleaguered management are betraying a once great brandand their entire workforce.

Noting concessions already made and seeking to get the company to negotiate, GMB National Secretary Justin Bowden pleaded, GMB members have spoken loud and clear in delivering their verdict, now its time for the company to listen and get real.

On September 11, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced the result of a consultative ballot of specialist replacement planning engineers (RPEs) working for Openreach, an arm of British Telecom (BT). Openreach is responsible for maintaining the cabinets, cables, ducts and exchanges, which make up the network of phone and broadband connections throughout the UK. The CWU members voted by a 90 percent majority on a more than 90 percent turnout to be willing to take part in official industrial action consisting of a strike.

On July 15, Openreach unilaterally declared its intention to get rid of the role of RPEand instead promote them to a level E management role. This would mean a reduction in leave, sick pay, an increase in the working week by a minimum of 1.5 hours and no entitlement to remain in the defined benefits pension scheme. They would also lose their right to be represented by the CWU. They were given 28 days to sign up to the changed role.

After only a few RPEs had signed up to the new role, Openreach decided not to push acceptance of the management role and allowed them to remain on their previous grade but insisted the new job description should apply. A CWU press release ends, I would hope that by now Openreach senior management will be aware of the expressions of dismay, helplessness and even despair made by so many of our members in their letters to line managersand no decent employer can afford to ignore this type of painfully honest feedbacknor the anger that is reflected in this ballot result.

The company must listen to what its repayment planners are saying, get back round the table and resolve this matteror be under no illusions that the whole of the CWU will be behind our members to help deliver the right outcome.

Rank-and-file members of the union would without a doubt support their co-workers. But the CWUs record demonstrates that the union leadership will be behind management. In June, responding to BTs plans to cut the number of workplace sites by 90 percent on top of previously announced job cuts of 13,000, the WSWS explained the main concern of the CWU is to prove to BT it can be continue to be relied on to help smoothly implement the upcoming attacks.

The WSWS noted a CWU statement which declared, Calling on management to stop pouring petrol on a fire that threatens to burn out of control if more compulsory redundancy notices are served in the coming weeks, [CWU deputy general secretary] Andy [Kerr] concludes: This is not a fight that the CWU has brought onin fact weve done everything we possibly can to avert it by identifying practical solutions that can and do exist.

In its plea to management to deepen collaboration, the CWU bureaucrats boasted that their previous partnership had seen no significant industrial action at BT in response to job cuts and attacks on conditions over a 30-year period.

In March this year, the CWU shelved a near 95 percent majority vote for strike action by over 100,000 postal workers, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August, the UKs largest union, Unite, held two consultative ballots of London bus workers at Arriva and Metroline garages. Workers, angered as the COVID-19 crisis has taken the lives of 33 bus workers, voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action in the consultative ballots. Some depots voted unanimously to strike. All these votes are being sat on by the union bureaucracy, who intend to do nothing.

The latest use of a consultative ballot to stifle the class struggle is in the dispute of around 500 bus drivers in Manchester with the Go North West company. The company is seeking to fire the entire the workforce and reemploy them on inferior conditions. The ballot result showed 94 percent in favour of industrial action. Unite opposed industrial action, and instead has organised an international campaign based on appealing to stakeholders, partners and associates of the Go Ahead group (who own Go North West) to resolve the dispute. A Unite official stated that local management were causing an unnecessary conflict and pleaded for the firm to get around the negotiating table.

When the Johnson government began pushing its homicidal back to work campaign in May, it was the trade unions that played the key role in quashing opposition in the working class. The union bureaucracy worked as a de facto partner of the government and the employers. The working class must draw the necessary conclusions from this and decades of experience and break with these pro-capitalist, nationalist organisations and turn to the formation of rank-and-file, fighting organisations in every workplace.
Goyal said, there is no proposal under consideration on withdrawal of MFN status to China.

India's imports from China declined by 27.63 per cent during April-August this fiscal to $21.58 billion over the same period previous year, Parliament was informed on Monday.

Value of imports from China stood at $4.98 billion in August and $5.58 in July, according to the data provided by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in his written reply to the Lok Sabha.

"India's imports from China have declined by 27.63 per cent during April-August, 2020-21 over the corresponding period of the previous year," he said.

In a separate reply, the minister said there is no proposal under consideration on withdrawal of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to China.

"No such proposal is under consideration at this time," he said while replying to a question whether the government is planning for the withdrawal of MFN status to China to reduce the export-import business with that country.

Later in a media briefing, the minister informed that the country's export is reviving.

During the first half of September, exports have recorded a growth of 10 per cent over the same period last year, he added.

Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/Reuters
Rumor mill: With Nvidias Ampere cards receiving plenty of praise coupled with high demand, the tech industry is waiting to see AMDs response. Team red will unveil its next-gen graphics cards on October 28, and weve once again heard that the flagship will sport 16GB of VRAM, while the model below it will come with 12GB of video RAM.

The latest claim comes from prolific leaker @_rogame, who tweeted that they had confirmation of both Navi 21 and Navi 22 GPUs. In the case of the former, which is based around the Big Navi design used in the flagship Radeon 6000 series, including the Radeon RX 6900 XT, it will feature 16 GB of VRAM.

?



I've now got confirmation for both :



> Navi21 16GB VRAM

> Navi22 12GB VRAM



I have no idea if these are full die or cut down SKUs  _rogame (@_rogame) September 17, 2020

This isnt the first time weve heard about Navi 21 featuring 16GB of RAM. Last month, tech analysis YouTube channel coreteks tweeted the same claim, adding that AMD had priced the card at $599 but dropped it to $549 following the Ampere reveal.

Other leaks, based on an alleged engineering sample, claim Big Navi will use Samsung's GDDR6 memory across a 256-bit wide bus interface.

Rogame wrties that the cheaper Navi 22 GPU will feature 12GB of RAMpossibly across a 192-bit interface. They admitted to being unsure whether these two confirmed variants are based on the full GPU dies or cut-down SKUs.

AMD #RDNA2 architecture and Radeon RX 6000 Series graphics cards will bring the best of Radeon to gamers worldwide. Learn more October 28. pic.twitter.com/CZJRxTBe6m  Radeon RX (@Radeon) September 9, 2020

If the Big Navi claim is true, it would mean the RDNA 2-based card features double the memory of the RTX 3070 and 6GB more than the RTX 3080. However, it still falls short of the massive 24GB boasted by the RTX 3090, and weve just heard that an RTX 3080 variant with 20GB and an RTX 3070 with 16GB of VRAM are on the way.

Nothing about the Radeon 6000 series is confirmed, other than the cooler designpresumably for the flagshipthat AMD tweeted, so we could see different VRAM amounts and bus specs, such as 512-bit and 384-bit. All will be revealed on October 28.
At least four members of the same family died on Sunday in a road accident along Gaya-Dutse Road.

The accident, a head-on-collision, occurred in Jigawa State along the busy highway connecting Kano and Maiduguri.

The victims included Abubakar Isah, a deputy director for the Jigawa State Ministry of Land, who died alongside his wife and two kids.

The police spokesperson for Jigawa State, Abdu Jinjiri, confirmed the incident and said the accident occurred late Sunday night.

He said more details would be provided and that investigation into the accident has commenced.

A relative of the deceased, Ibrahim Isyaku, confirmed that the late Mr Isah was returning to Dutse, his place of work, following a weekend in neighbouring Kano State.

He said the deceased hailed from Birnin Kudu local government area of Jigawa State.

Similar accident

The police had on September 7 confirmed that a car crash resulted to the death of four family members at Danladin Gumel, along Gumel Kano road in Jigawa State.

The police identified the deceased as Farida Ismail, 25; Fatima Ismail, 32; Muhammad Ismail, 22; and Naima Ismail, 6.

The deceased were on their way to Malammadori local government area in Jigawa State. The accident was suspected to be caused as a result of over speeding which resulted in loss of control of the vehicle, the police said.
President Trump hinted on Monday that Pfizer may be pulling into the lead in the race to make a coronavirus vaccine.

'Pfizer's doing really well,' Trump said in a Fox News interview.

'Johnson & Johnson...they'll probably be a little later.'

Also on Monday the same day, the White House's vaccine czar, Dr Moncef Slaoui said that the most vulnerable Americans could be vaccinated against COVID-9 by December, with 'most of the elderly' and frontline workers getting shots in January.

Dr Slaoui told Squawk on the Street that he and Operation Warp Speed could have vaccines to others by April.

That does not quite fit with the timeline laid out by the CDC last week, which suggested that, if a vaccine was approved, states should be ready to distribute it, for free, to Americans by January.

President Trump said on Monday that Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is 'looking really good,' hinting that it could be the first approved in the US (pictured: a self-swab kit to test Pfizer trial participants for the infection; file)

Last month, the CDC sent guidance to US states and territories that advised them to be prepared for the arrival of one of two unnamed COVID-19 vaccines by the end of October.

When the documents were leaked to the New York Times, health officials scrambled to temper that promise without contradicting it.

Several, including Dr Slaoui, top US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Dr Robert Redfield, said that it was possible, but not likely that a vaccine would be available that soon.

Trump only pressed the timeline harder, hinting subsequently that the a vaccine could get approved by 'a very special day' - meaning the November 3 election.

His intent was to promise the public that the best hope to end the pandemic was on the horizon, and linked to his reelection campaign.

Trump is pushing for a vaccine to be ready ahead of the November 3 election (file)

Vaccine czar Dr Moncef Slaoui said the most 'susceptible' Americans could get vaccinated by January with health care workers and the elderly coming next (file)

But public trust in the safety of vaccines only fell further, prompting nine lead vaccine manufacturers to promise they would not seek FDA approval they had enough data to tell them the shots were safe.

Among those companies were Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.

AstraZeneca's was dubbed the most promising vaccine candidate by the World Health Organization - but just after signing the pledge to vaccine safety, a spinal cord issue reported in one of its UK trial participants triggered a hold on its late-stage global trials.

Trials have now resumed in most locations, including the UK, but are still on hold in the US as National Institutes of Health (NIH) and FDA regulators conduct their own investigation.

Pfizer and Moderna have now both published detailed descriptions of their trial methodologies. Pfizer's CEO said the firm expects to have enough data to know whether their shot works by October. Moderna's CEO said the most plausible scenario for the company to know whether its vaccine is safe and effective would be a November deadline - though it's possible they could reach that point by October.

Last week, the CDC publicly released its 'playbook' for rolling out free COVID-19 to the public, nationwide, by January.

The guidance still listed the end of October as the hopeful arrival of one of two unnamed shots.

With Trump's Monday comments, it seems all but certain that Pfizer's is one of those two vaccines, although that has not been revealed by the CDC.

Dr Slaoui's timeline, however, suggests that those in greatest need will only just getting the shot by the end of the year, a timeline more closely matching what CDC director Dr Robert Redfield has detailed, than the optimism of the president.
Only 60% of the respondents state that they meet less often with their acquaintances due to the pandemic

At the beginning of the month, 60 percent still restricted themselves in this regard. At the same time, the proportion of people concerned about the impact of the virus on their social relationships fell to 15 percent. "It becomes clear that for many people life is returning more strongly back to the usual pattern of everyday life", says Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel, president of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment.

https://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/349/200915-bfr-corona-monitor-en.pdf

Nevertheless, the majority of people still consider an infection through proximity to other people to be probable. However, a clear difference can be observed between the age groups: While 78 percent of people under the age of 40 consider an infection via this pathway to be probable, this proportion is only 41 percent among those aged 60 and over. One reason for this may be that elderly people often have fewer social contacts and thus encounter considerably fewer people in their everyday lives than younger people.

In contrast, most of the legal regulations on dealing with other people in public still find broad approval, regardless of age. Both the mandatory use of masks and the mandatory distance are considered appropriate by around 90 percent of the respondents - and a similar number of people state that they implement these measures in their everyday lives.

The BfR continually adapts its FAQs on the topic of coronavirus to the current state of science:

https://www.bfr.bund.de/en/can_the_new_type_of_coronavirus_be_transmitted_via_food_and_objects_-244090.html

###

About the BfR-Corona-Monitor

The BfR-Corona-Monitor is a recurring (multi-wave) representative survey of the German population's perception of risks from the novel coronavirus. Every week between 24 March and 26 May 2020, around 500 randomly selected people were asked by telephone about their assessment of the risk of infection and their protective measures, among other things. Since June 2020, the survey is continued every two weeks with about 1,000 respondents each. A summary of the data is regularly published on the homepage of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. More information about the method and sample can be found in publications about the BfR-Corona-Monitor.

About the BfR

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is a scientifically independent institution within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) in Germany. It advises the German federal government and German federal states ("Laender") on questions of food, chemical and product safety. The BfR conducts its own research on topics that are closely linked to its assessment tasks.

This text version is a translation of the original German text which is the only legally binding version.
- A Ghanaian musician in his 30s identified as Rodney Cudjoe, was sent to Ghana after he got married to a sugar mummy in the UK called Beth Hainling

- It is reported that the 2 lovers had a great time in their relationship after meeting online in 2014, which made the old lady move to Ghana to meet her young lover

- She indicated that he gave her a great reception but things fell apart after they got married and he kept demanding too much

Trending topics on the go: How we write news at YEN.com.gh

Rodney Cudjoe, a Ghanaian musician in his 30s was reportedly sacked from the United Kingdom after he got married to a 68-year-old white lady from the United Kingdom.

According to a report sighted by YEN.com.gh on Ghanacelebrities.com and Mirror.co.uk, the young man fell in love with the old lady through a social media conversation, where the love affair began from.

It is reported that Beth Hainling, the 68-year-old lady flew to Ghana in August 2015 in the heat of the moment between the two lovers.

READ ALSO: Meet the 15 richest people in Africa who are all billionaires; includes 1 woman

Things fall apart as Ghanaian musician gets sacked from UK after marrying white sugar mummy Source: Mirror.co.uk

Source: UGC

Beth recalls that Rodney Cudjoe was so charming that she slept with him the very first day she arrived in Africa to meet the young Ghanaian musician.

During that visit, events unfolded quickly and the white lady was given a surprise marriage proposal and wedding by her charming Ghanaian lover.

I was a bit lonely as my sister Gaynor had died a couple of years earlier and my mum had been diagnosed with dementia. But Rodney was very friendly and chatty. We got on well, she recalls.

READ ALSO: Love goals: Local couple celebrate 60 years of happy marriage

Rodney flew in 2017 to join his beloved wife in the United Kingdom although the woman's two children did not approve of it.

Things began to fall apart as, according to Beth, her young lover kept demanding too much from her and was always unsatisfied.

Beth recounts that her now ex-lover took more than 18,000 on different expenses and she had had enough, which was why she forced him to leave back to Ghana.

In another interesting love report, George Bannerman, a popular Ghanaian Master of Ceremony (MC), is set to get married to his long time girlfriend who he has dated for 13 years on August 1, 2020.

The handsome man, who has been an MC for tons of marriages as shown by photos sighted by YEN.com.gh on social media handles, broke the news on Twitter.

Along with the heartwarming words in the post was a photo that showed the couple when they were both much younger but still together.

Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist Dela Jackson has charged the youth in Africa to wake up | #Yencomgh

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Source: YEN.com.gh
WATERLOO REGION  A student at Riverside Public School in Elmira has tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, an entire class has been asked to self-isolate and get tested, says public health.

The Waterloo Region District School Board was informed Sunday of the positive case by Region of Waterloo Public Health.

The student was last in the school on Friday.

Its a reminder to parents to continue to monitor their children for symptoms and keep them home from school if theyre symptomatic, board spokesperson Alana Russell said.

Public health is contacting all high-risk contacts of the positive case and will provide them with guidance, the board said.

At the guidance of public health, high-risk contacts in the identified cohort will be directed to self-isolate until at least Oct. 2, and longer if symptomatic, the board said.

If a student is not contacted by public health, they are not considered a high-risk contact of the positive case.

In following guidance from the Ministry of Education, the school board is posting confirmed COVID-19 cases on its website.

This is the third COVID-19 case to be reported in a Waterloo Region school this month. Last week, the Waterloo Catholic District School Board said a kindergarten student at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School tested positive. And before classes even started this month, a staff member at Edna Staebler Public School tested positive.

The identity of those who tested positive is protected by privacy legislation.
Premier Daniel Andrews has been urged not to bow to pressure when easing coronavirus restrictions as the falling daily infection rate leads to growing calls for the government to bring forward its road map.

Victoria can avoid repeating the mistakes it made at the end of the first wave of the pandemic by solely focusing on the infection rate  not dates  when guiding the state out of the lockdown, according to leading public health experts.

Premier Daniel Andrews said Monday was a "great" day as he reported a continued decline in daily coronavirus numbers. Credit:Justin McManus

Industry groups, the Victorian opposition and the Prime Minister have argued for some of the most stringent restrictions in Melbourne to be lifted sooner than planned as a result of falling daily coronavirus case numbers.

Victoria recorded 11 new cases on Monday, its lowest daily rise since June 16 when there were nine cases. However, the daily total was revised to nine after two cases were classified.
In his circle of admirers, defence minister Rajnath Singh is called Ajatashatru, or the man who has no enemies. Given the nature of politics, this may not be entirely true, but Rajnath Singh has certainly earned admirers in the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. And many of them are in the opposition camp.

Opposition leaders News18 spoke to agree that its easy to do business with Singh. They praise his demeanor and the fact that he listens, and doesnt talk down to anyone.

We saw it at the business advisory committee meeting of all parties. We were discussing the priority of bills. Instead of telling us what should be done, he asked us what we could do, said a senior opposition leader.

For many opposition leaders, this is a departure from the brash behaviour of some leaders and negotiators. He understands the political language and compulsions of parties, a Congress veteran says.

In the absence of home minister Amit Shah, who is undergoing post-Covid care, the task of floor coordination in Parliament has fallen to one of the senior most ministers of the Narendra Modi government.

Rajnath Singh understands that the opposition is belligerent in complaining that the government does not give them a voice. Yet he did his best to ensure that the opposition found its voice. Credit is due for Rajnath Singh in ensuring a smooth discussion on a topic as complex and sensitive as the India-China standoff in Rajya Sabha, in stark contrast to the scenes witnessed in the Lok Sabha, where the Congress walked out.

In the Upper House, all leaders were allowed to speak and Singh was seen taking notes. He then stood up unruffled, calmly responding to all the interventions. His speech was firm and statesmen-like, much like the persona he has built for himself. After the discussion ended in the Rajya Sabha, the defence minister called up all the senior speakers and thanked them.

Cut to Lok Sabha on Friday, proceedings took an ugly turn following a spat between Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur and Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Thakur blamed Jawaharlal Nehru and Sonia Gandhi during a discussion on an economic bill. Chowdhury responded by calling him a gadha (donkey) and Himachal ka chokra (Himachal boy).

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury appealed to Rajnath Singh to deal with Thakur. After the House adjourned, Singh walked up to Chowdhury and tried to calm him down. He didnt need to as most of the politicians dont bother to. But at least he was decent and it was nice of him to reach out to me, the Congress leader said.

When the government refused to have a discussion on the China issue, saying it was a sensitive situation concerning national security, the opposition cried foul and cited the example of when Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself allowed discussions on national security issues. It was Rajanth Singh who managed to convince party colleagues that he could manage a controlled discussion in the Rajya Sabha and also get the opposition on board.

Many see a Vajpayee in Rajnath Singh. For others, he projects a Pranab Mukherjee-like persona. In the end, the two could manage to bring the opposition around.

Rajnath Singh shares a good personal rapport with opposition leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav. In fact, what makes Rajnath Singh easily acceptable to the opposition is the way he conducts himself. Never offensive, no personal barbs, and no acrimony. Even during the downright bitter campaigning for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Singh, who contested from Lucknow, he was never drawn into an ugly war of words.

This strategy has come in handy in Parliament as well; a heavy-weight politician in Uttar Pradesh but low-profile in the Union cabinet. A man of few words and not one to be aggressive in any of them.

Singh gained political heft after his handling of the China discussion in Parliament. Clearly, the defence minister is no more a shy and reticent parliamentarian. Like modern-day avatar of Magadh warrior Ajatashatru, Rajnath Singh has managed to expand his footprint in Parliament.
The Bachelorette's Carlin Sterritt was spotted with self-described 'wellness expert' Andi Lew in Bondi Beach on Friday, following his split from Angie Kent.

And Daily Mail Australia can reveal that Andi has shared anti-vaccination views in the past, and has also chosen not to get her 10-year-old son vaccinated.

She was featured in a Nine News segment in 2014 about parents in wealthy Melbourne suburbs like South Yarra choosing not to immunise their children.

Medical experts recommend annual vaccination for children aged six months or older to reduce their chances of becoming ill with influenza.

Carlin's mystery woman revealed: The Bachelorette's Carlin Sterritt (left) was spotted with self-described 'wellness expert' Andi Lew (right) in Bondi Beach on Friday. Daily Mail Australia can reveal that Andi, who is in her forties, has expressed anti-vaccination views in the past

'If vaccinations work, then why are you so worried about whether I vaccinate my child or not?' Andi said in the news segment.

After her media appearance, she posted three photos and one short video of the segment to Instagram.

'I am not anti or for. I'm pro-choice. I think people must be educating themselves on the effectiveness and safety around conventional vaccines and making an informed choice to boost their child's immune system safely,' she captioned one of the posts.

Many anti-vaccination campaigners are beginning to use the term 'pro choice' - which is most commonly associated with abortion rights - instead of 'anti-vaxxer' in order to make their views seem more socially acceptable.

Andi was featured in a Nine News segment in 2014 about parents in wealthy Melbourne suburbs like South Yarra choosing not to immunise their children

'We don't put anyone at risk. If vaccines work and your kid is immunised, why should you care if we don't?' she wrote alongside another post.

In May this year, Andi posted a photo of herself with her son alongside a caption that falsely compared getting vaccinated to 'ingesting toxins'.

'How is mandating toxicity "health"? My son has never had a toxin ingested or injected in his ten and a half years and he's never been sick,' she wrote.

'His pure body and my choice, right? He told me when he becomes a world leader, he will make healthy eating and chiropractic care mandatory.'

Unscientific views: 'If vaccinations work, then why are you so worried about whether I vaccinate my child or not?' Andi (pictured) said during the news segment

Infants and children younger than five years of age are at high risk of getting severe influenza infections that require hospitalisation, according to NSW Health.

About 10 per cent of hospitalised infants and children need care in an intensive care unit, and some - even previously healthy children - will die.

Influenza vaccination is provided for free under the National Immunisation Program for all children aged six months to five years.

When asked by Daily Mail Australia if she is opposed to vaccinations, Andi said on Monday: 'No Ive never said that.'

'Im not anti vaccination and have never said that,' she said.

Andi issued a more in-depth response on Tuesday, which is published in full below.

Statement from Andi Lew 'I'm making it very clear that I'm not anti-vaccine, or an activist. 'As a certified food, lifestyle and wellness coach, I will always be inclusive by supporting anyone's liberty to choose how they practise their health, fully support your choice to vaccinate, and also suggest other natural immune-boosting practices to help support your body. 'I've chosen to give my son a natural birth [and a] drug-free start to life, and boosted his immune system with natural immune-boosting practices instead of artificial immune-boosting practices. 'He's had full-term breastfeeding, a healthy diet and lifestyle, immune-boosting chiropractic and homeopathics, and at age 10 and a half, he's never been sick. 'I will continue to inspire others toward optimal health, naturally.' Advertisement

Andi has stated that vaccinations are akin to 'ingesting toxins' - but medical experts highly recommend immunisation to avoid hospitalisation and even death

Andi went on a lunch date with former Bachelorette star Carlin at a cafe in Sydney's Bondi Beach on Friday.

The sighting came after Carlin confirmed in July that he had split from Angie Kent, whom he'd met on last year's season of The Bachelorette.

While Carlin is single, Andi insisted their meet-up was only for creative purposes.

'Carlin was helping me shoot something actually. And I'm very grateful, he's so creative,' she said on her Instagram Story.
India has recorded more than 54.8 lakh cases of the novel coronavirus and 87,882 deaths. Of these, more than 10 lakh are active cases while nearly 44 lakh have recovered.

Across the country, 7,31,534 samples were tested for the novel coronavirus on September 20, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said.

Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally remains the highest among Indian states and Union territories, according to the Union health ministry's latest update.

The health ministry updates its numbers a day after states release their data.

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

Globally, more than 3.07 crore infections and over 9.5 lakh deaths have been reported due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are all the updates from today:

>> India's recovery rate of COVID-19 cases has crossed the 80 percent-mark with over 90,000 recoveries recorded for the third consecutive day, the Union health ministry said September 21.

>> Taking note of instances of suspected COVID-19 reinfections reported from Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Delhi and Maharashtra, the Union health ministry is considering gathering data of such cases to ascertain their veracity, sources told news agency PTI.

>> No significant or drastic mutation in strains of SARS-CoV-2 has been found in India till now, Union minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on September 20 during an interaction on social media.

>> New Zealands Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said coronavirus restrictions in its biggest city Auckland will be eased, while all restrictions will be lifted in the rest of the country.

>> India has announced a $250 million loan to the Maldives to boost its coronavirus-battered economy in a bid to further counter China's growing financial footprint in South Asia.

>> Taj Mahal reopened on September 21 after remaining closed for six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourists will have to follow social distancing and other health protocols during their visit to Indias 17th-century monument situated in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

>> The ICMR is actively exploring saliva-based test for detection of COVID-19, Union health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said.

>> The ICMR has completed the second round of nationwide sero-survey to determine the exposure of the novel coronavirus among the population. The final phase analysis of the survey is underway and the result, once declared, will offer a comparison with the results of the first survey conducted in May, said the council.

>> The COVID epidemic in Britain is doubling roughly every seven days and if it continues to do so there would be about 50,000 new cases per day by the middle of October, the government's Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said on September 21.
Eritrean evangelical, Pentecostal Christians jailed for their faith temporarily freed on bail

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The Eritrean government has released on bail more than 20 prisoners whod been in detention for years because of their faith, the BBC reports.

It says sources have said that the prisoners are from Christian evangelical and Pentecostal denominations, some held in a prison outside the capital Asmara.

In 2002 Eritrea introduced a new law that forbids all Churches except for the Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran ones. Sunni Islam is also officially recognized.

According to a religious freedom campaigner from Asmara, but now based in North America, Hannibal Daniel, people whod been in prison for about 16 years have been freed on bail.

A regional spokesperson for charity Open Doors International said that, for some time, it had heard discussion that prisoners might be freed on bail due to the coronavirus pandemic (as has happened in several other countries) but could not independently confirm the reports: If true, this could be quite significant.

The Eritrean government has not responded to BBC requests for confirmation or denial. Previously, its dismissed accusations of intolerance to religious freedom.

In May 2019, a monitoring group for the UN said thousands of Christians are facing detention as religious freedom continue[s] to be denied in Eritrea and questioned why the UN was not monitoring the situation more closely.

In June 2019, Thomson Reuters reported that more than 500,000 refugees worldwide have left Eritrea, up from 486,200 a year earlier.

Many flee compulsory military service, but others flee political or religious persecution.

That same month, the government seized all Catholic-run health clinics in the country, and arrested five Orthodox priests. These moves prompted the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Eritrea, Daniela Kravetz, to call on the government to uphold religious freedom for its citizens and release those who have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs.

In August 2019, Eritreas Orthodox patriarch, Abune Antonios, was expelled by pro-government bishops of his Church, accused of heresy; he remained in detention throughout 2019.

Abune Antonios, Patriarch, Eritrean Orthodox Church, detained since 2007. Antonios had been under house arrest since 2007, when he refused to comply with the regimes attempts to interfere with church affairs.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom says Eritrea is a Country of Particular Concern, saying In 2019, religious freedom conditions in Eritrea worsened, with increasing interference in and restrictions on religious groups. In spite of the significant regional political changes and the 2018 peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia, Eritrea continues to have one of the worst religious freedom records in the world, and has shown little interest in concretely improving the situation. The State Department estimates there are between 1200 and 3000 prisoners held for their faith. USCIRF included some of those cases in its new Victims List.

Some prisoners, such as the leader of the Full Gospel Church, have been in prison for more than 15 years.

70 Christians detained included 35 women and 10 children

At least 150 Eritrean Christians were arrested by government officials during summer 2019, with some held in an underground prison made up of tunnels.

For instance on 18 August, 2019, Eritrean security officials detained 80 Christians from Godayef, an area near Asmara airport.

Four days later, on 22 August, the United Nations observed its first annual commemoration of victims of religiously motivated violence. On this day, we reaffirm our unwavering support for the victims of violence based on religion and belief. And we demonstrate that support by doing all in our power to prevent such attacks and demanding that those responsible are held accountable, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The governments 2019 clampdown on evangelical Christians had begun in June 2019 when security officials arrested 70 members (among them 35 women and 10 children) of the Faith Mission Church of Christ, in Eritreas second city, Keren. These were taken to Ashufera prison, 25kms from the city.

The prison is a vast underground tunnel system and conditions in which detainees are held are very harsh, a local source said. Its far from a main road, the source said, which means that anyone who wants to visit has to walk a minimum of 30 minutes to reach the entrance.

Inmates are forced to dig additional tunnels when officers need extra space for more prisoners.

After the 2019 arrests, government officials also closed the church-run school, said the local source, whose identity World Watch Monitor withheld for security reasons.

The Faith Mission Church of Christ was the last church still open in the majority-Muslim city, 90kms northwest of Asmara. Started over 60 years ago, the Church once had schools and orphanages all over the country, according to religious freedom advocacy group CSW.

It had been waiting for registration since it submitted an application in 2002 when the government introduced the new law. This clampdown sent other Christians in Keren into hiding, the source said.

Eritrea is 6th on the Open Doors 2020 World Watch List of the 50 countries in which it is most difficult to live as a Christian.

Originally published at World Watch Monitor
The pandemic continues to spread, international trade shrinks sharply, and the local economy is severely damaged, directly impacting many most vulnerable small, medium and micro enterprises and individuals worldwide. However, cross-border e-commerce, particularly the decentralized cross-border e-commerce, has brought new forces to the global trade and e-commerce industry, providing them a solution to weather the storm.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200921005309/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

DHgate, one of the leading B2B cross-border e-commerce marketplaces in China, officially launched MyyShop, a new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product for decentralized cross-border e-commerce. It creates a unique decentralized ecosystem in global trade, enabling everyone to participate in international trade easily. The decentralized e-commerce model is a consumer-centric ecosystem combining e-commerce infrastructure and multiple private domain channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and offline stores.

MyyShop provides one-stop convenient and smart tools and services with a focus on two businesses - online store creation and advanced dropship services for private domain traffic monetizers or social commerce influencers. Those dropshippers hold massive fans or groups, but they are newbies to e-commerce without relevant capabilities to monetize the traffic. The biggest challenges for them lie in finding suitable products, arranging logistics, and providing after-sales services. MyyShop solves these challenging obstacles, offering rapid website creation, strict supplier selection, AI-based product recommendation, smart finance, dropshipping, local delivery, full-channel logistics services, 24/7 customer support, and worry-free after-sales services.

Users can quickly build their online websites or seamlessly connect products on MyyShop to their existing stores on Shopify and eBay quickly. When resellers receive orders from customers, they pay the wholesale costs, and sellers dropship orders directly to their customers. The AI-based product recommendation function can introduce products with higher profit and more popular for end customers. Smart logistics can provide the most cost-effective logistics solution for customers.

With the booming decentralized shopping scenarios such as independent websites, social media communities, and live streaming, decentralized e-commerce has rapidly grown. Everyone in the world can become a scenario to tap into social commerce opportunities, especially those with substantial private domain traffic. With more resellers joining dropshipping business, the global dropshipping market size is expected to reach US$557.9 billion by 2025, recording a CAGR of 28.8% growth from 2020 to 2025, according to Grand View Research. With the increased penetration of e-commerce during the pandemic, the decentralized e-commerce will record considerable growth in the overseas market.

In order to enable more people to participate in the new model of international trade and minimize the impact of the pandemic on them, MyyShop launched the "Global Partnership Program" to develop local agents worldwide. The program includes the full capacity building of decentralized cross-border e-commerce, including e-commerce, logistics, finance, technology, and marketing. It also provides exclusive rights, such as crucial product free trials.

Diane Wang, founder and CEO of DHgate, said, "We are excited to launch this product. MyyShop connects China's powerful supply chain with global private domain traffic monetizers or influencers, helping overseas dropshippers to serve their local customers. Such an ecosystem built with social networks connects every function of international trade, empowering every role of the supply chain."

A win-win global inclusive growth model

Under the uneven international trade, cross-border e-commerce trade has become an indispensable part of it. According to China Customs data, in the first half of 2020, Chinas overall trade in goods decreased 3.2% year-on-year. However, cross-border e-commerce imports and exports have grown against the trend, export volumes via cross-border e-commerce platforms, under the oversight of customs authorities, increased by 28.7%. Chinas governments have rolled out favorable policies to promote this industry at the national level, including the newly launched customs pilot districts for cross-border e-commerce B2B export.

In this context, the launch of MyyShop is at the right time. Its concept of enabling everyone to participate in global trade and empowering locals to serve locals, creates a new model for a win-win global inclusive growth. It can fully activate the entire industrial chain of the international supply chain and promote employment at a global level. It is also vital to Chinese manufacturers, Chinese brands, and traders, providing them with new channels and new tools and connecting them with a vast potential market.

Andy Quan, deputy editor-in-chief of 36Kr, said, "The overseas B2B e-commerce industry is still a blue ocean market with a huge growth rate. Based on DHgate's 16-year experience in the supply chain, fulfillment, and customer acquisition, MyyShop can tap into this fast-growing market."

For more information, please visit www.myyshop.com.

About Dropshipping

Dropshipping is an e-commerce order fulfillment method that allows resellers to sell products to their customers in their online channels without holding inventory, and products will be shipped from third parties to customers directly.

About MyyShop

MyyShop is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based platform, incubated by DHgate. It provides one-stop trustworthy, convenient, and accessible tools and services in online store creation and advanced dropship services. We are committed to helping global users establish online businesses with ease.

About DHgate

Founded in 2004, DHgate has become one of the leading B2B cross-border e-commerce marketplaces in China. Through our global operations and offices, including in the USA and UK, we reach millions of people with trusted products and services. As of June 30th 2020, DHgate served more than 31 million registered buyers from over 220 countries and regions, by connecting them to over 2.2 million suppliers in China and other countries, with over 32 million products. For more information, please visit dhgate.com and follow @DHgate.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200921005309/en/
Indigenous self-determination, leadership and knowledge have helped protect Indigenous communities in Canada during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and these principles should be incorporated into public health in future, argue the authors of a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) .

Indigenous communities in Canada have experienced lower rates of infection and lower death rates from COVID-19 than the general population despite significant differences in social determinants of health, such as adequate housing, access to clean water and healthy food as well as income disparities. First Nations people living on reserve had a COVID-19 case rate 4 times lower than the general population, 3 times fewer deaths and a 30% higher recovery rate.

"Governments, policy-makers and public health providers must embrace the knowledge, expertise and strong leadership of Indigenous communities to face COVID-19," write Dr. Lisa Richardson, a physician at University Health Network and Dr. Allison Crawford, a psychiatrist at Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario.

Public health approaches in Canada were shaped by repressive colonial practices, which outlawed traditional Indigenous cultural and healing practices, forced Indigenous Peoples to seek health care far from their communities and had other negative effects.

The lower incidence of COVID-19 in Indigenous communities may be due to Indigenous ownership of practices to stem the spread of the virus.

"During COVID-19, many Indigenous communities have shown self-determination by articulating and enforcing rules on who can enter their communities, often implementing far stricter measures than those enacted by local municipalities, such as closures and checkpoints," write the authors.

Indigenous self-determination must shape public health approaches during future waves of COVID-19, they urge.

"Anticipating further waves of COVID-19, it is important that the design, implementation and leadership of public health by First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities continue in Canada. At its foundation, Indigenous public health must be self-determined: adapted for the needs of specific nations and grounded in local Indigenous language, culture and ways of knowing; developed, implemented and led by Indigenous Peoples; and informed by ongoing monitoring of data as governed by appropriate data sovereignty agreements."

All levels of governments in Canada must work to address the social determinants of health to improve health in the short-term as well as lay the foundation for longer-term improvements.

###

"COVID-19 and the decolonization of Indigenous public health" is published September 21, 2020
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 09:44:20|Editor: huaxia

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BUENOS AIRES, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Argentine Health Ministry said on Sunday that a total of 631,365 COVID-19 cases and 13,053 deaths have so far been reported nationwide.

The ministry said that 8,431 cases and 254 deaths were registered over the past 24 hours.

Currently, 3,261 patients are being hospitalized for the disease in intensive care units, while 488,231 people have recovered, it said.

Argentina is under quarantine by a presidential decree from March 20 to Oct. 11 to mitigate the spread of the pandemic. Enditem
New Delhi: Computer Age Management Services (CAMS) initial public offering (IPO) will hit the primary market on September 21.

CAMS, which acts as a registrar and transfer agent (RTA) for mutual funds is targeting to raise Rs 2,240 crore from investors.

The company's chief executive Anuj Kumar said NSE decided to sell its entire holding in the company after capital markets watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) directing the top equity bourse to pare its holding in the company, PTI said.

Live TV

Here is all you need to know about the CAMS IPO

The offer will see sale of 1,82,46,600 equity shares or 37.4 per cent stake by NSE Investments



NSE Investments is the subsidiary of National Stock Exchange (NSE).



The entire quantum of shares being sold to investors is NSE's holding.



There will not be any new issue of shares which may see money coming into the company.



The issue will open on September 21 and close of September 23.



Anchor investors' portion will open on September 18.



Half of the issue is reserved for qualified institutional buyers.



35 percent is reserved to retail investors, 15 per cent to non-institutional bidders.



1.82 lakh shares are reserved for employees, who will get the shares at a 10 per cent discount.



The price band has been set at between Rs 1,229-1,230 per share.



Company will raise Rs 2,242 crore at the upper end of the band.



The issue is being managed by Kotak Mahindra Capital Co Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Securities Ltd and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Pvt Ltd.

CAMS is a technology-driven financial infrastructure and services provider to mutual funds and other financial institutions. Headquartered in Chennai, CAMS is co-owned by NSE Investments, Warburg Pincus, Faering Capital ACSYS Investments and HDFC Group.
When Tamara Startin began driving trams a year ago, she learnt the art of squeezing people onto a packed tram during the chaos of peak hour.

Shed remind them to take off their backpacks, squish in a bit and shed gently ring her bell to clear the road, while quietly wondering why people didnt just walk, thinking it would be faster.

Train driver May Nicholson. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Like much of life before coronavirus, that's now a distant memory.

The really big change happened quickly, straight away when the first lockdown came in," Ms Startin says. "All of a sudden youd leave a stop and wouldnt pick up a passenger for five, six, seven stops. The roads became eerily quiet, its like driving at midnight but it could be 8 or 9am."
(CNN)  With roughly 100 million users in the United States, it's no surprise that TikTok videos have taken over the internet.

But as the relationship between Washington and Beijing frays, the fate of the video app, which is owned by China's ByteDance, looks uncertain. In recent weeks, US government officials have claimed that TikTok poses a serious threat to national security, and President Donald Trump has threatened to ban it unless an American company takes control of its domestic operations.

That set off a bidding contest that's roped in some of America's top corporations, including Microsoft, Oracle and Walmart. While Microsoft is no longer a contender  the company on Sept. 13 announced its bid was rejected by ByteDance  Oracle and Walmart appear to have emerged victorious.

The latest major development came Saturday, when Trump said he'd approved a deal "in concept" between ByteDance, Oracle and Walmart, temporarily averting a looming ban on the app that had sent downloads soaring. But the saga isn't over yet. Beijing still needs to weigh in, and Trump's backing isn't set in stone.

What is clear is that the fight over TikTok is bigger than who owns an app popular with Generation Z. It's also about the future of US-China relations, and the murky new rules businesses are forced to navigate as tensions between the world's two biggest economies ramp up.

Here's the latest

Over the weekend, Trump green-lit a proposed deal from Oracle just hours before a ban on downloads was due to take effect.

The ban has now been delayed by one week.

Under the deal, TikTok will set up its headquarters in the United States, creating 25,000 jobs. Oracle would store TikTok data on its cloud platform, while Walmart would be involved as a commercial partner.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said he approved the deal "in concept."

"I have given the deal my blessing," Trump said. "If they get it done, that's great. If they don't, that's okay, too."

Meanwhile, a US ban on messaging app WeChat, which is owned by China's Tencent, was temporarily blocked by a federal judge Sunday night, just hours before it was to take effect. The ban would have barred new downloads and any security updates in the United States.

In issuing the preliminary injunction, Judge Laurel Beeler wrote that the ban on WeChat does not provide enough evidence that it is narrowly tailored to resolve the US government's national security concerns with respect to the app.

How did we get here?

The frenzy kicked off in early August when Trump signed an executive order that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States unless ByteDance could find an American owner for its US operations by Sept. 20.

The Trump administration expressed concerns that the hugely popular app could be used as a spying tool by Beijing. Authorities also fear that it could be leveraged to collect personal data on US citizens, or to censor speech deemed sensitive by the Chinese government.

TikTok has denied those allegations. The company has said its data centers are located entirely outside of China and that none of that data is subject to Chinese law.

Some experts think the proposed deal from Oracle could be helped along because of Trump's ties to cofounder Larry Ellison, a supporter of the president. CEO Safra Katz has also donated to Trump's reelection bid.

Still, the decision was a surprise to some following negotiations who expected a joint bid from Microsoft and Walmart to win the day.

What's Trump's role?

Trump has positioned himself as the kingmaker of any TikTok deal, making clear that he must agree to the terms before anything is made official.

If that seems unusual, it's because it is. While governments often vet pending deals to protect consumers from monopoly power, and often do weigh national security when a merger is announced, Trump's deep involvement is a stark departure from how deals are typically finalized  as is his move to compel a sale in the first place.

"In the end, Trump is the X-factor," said Dipayan Ghosh, the co-director of the Digital Platforms and Democracy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School. "Whatever he wishes will happen, no matter the merits of the related set of policies underlying the proposal."

Trump has previously said that any company that scoops up TikTok must make a payment to the US Treasury as a sign of thanks.

Why does this matter?

The battle for control of TikTok in the United States goes beyond social media, security concerns and who winds up in charge.

Sure, that's a big part of it. But the outcome will have major geopolitical consequences, too, as the United States and China move further apart under Trump.

For a while, the focus was on trade and protecting intellectual property, with both sides slapping tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in goods while government officials tried to negotiate new terms of engagement. But over the past two years, sensitive technology has become a big area of contention, too.

The US government has been conducting a long campaign against China's Huawei, which makes smartphones and is a leading manufacturer of equipment for 5G wireless networks. Citing similar spying concerns, the Trump administration has pushed allies to opt for other 5G equipment vendors, while cutting off Huawei's access to US technology, including crucial computer chips.

As pressure expands to TikTok as well as WeChat, companies are considering the emergence of a new world order that could reshape how global firms do business.

Deutsche Bank has estimated that supply and demand disruptions, along with the construction of a "tech wall" that forces companies to create two sets of standards for the United States and China, could cost companies $3.5 trillion over the next five years.

The broader economic relationship is also at stake at a delicate moment following the historic shock from the pandemic. In a report published in mid-September, the consultancy Rhodium Group found that US-China investment dropped to its lowest level in nine years during the first half of 2020 as tensions rose.

I use TikTok. What does it mean for me?

As the situation rapidly progresses, TikTok's tens of millions of US users worry they could lose access to one of their favorite products.

Under the terms of the ban, people who already had TikTok on their phones could still post short videos of dances, fun recipes and comedy routines per usual, but no new downloads would be allowed. US users also wouldn't be able to receive security patches or other updates, which could cause outages or glitches in the future.

Though a ban has been averted for now, fears about restrictions have sent TikTok downloads soaring. They rose 12% to 247,000 in the United States on Friday, compared to Thursday, according to preliminary estimates from Sensor Tower, a research firm.

 Brian Fung, Sherisse Pham, Jill Disis and Selina Wang contributed reporting.

This story was first published on CNN.com 'What's happening with TikTok? Here's the latest'
U.S. officials still have not released the name of a woman arrested Sunday at the Peace Bridge, suspected of sending a poison-laced package to President Donald Trump.

Monday morning, Quebec RCMP reported via Twitter that its chemical, radiological, nuclear explosives team was leading an investigation in St. Hubert, south of Montreal, believed to be in connection with the letter incident.

A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol confirmed the arrest was made Sunday. However no other details about the woman  a Canadian national who had been deported from the States nearly a year ago, according to the New York Times  have been confirmed by authorities.

She remains in custody and her first appearance in federal court before a U.S. magistrate is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m., said Barbara Burns, a public affairs officer for the United States Attorneys Office of Western District New York in Buffalo.

Citing U.S. court records it said it had obtained, the CBC identified the female suspect as Pascale Ferrier.

The RCMP, working with the FBI, has confirmed an envelope that contained ricin, a deadly poison, was mailed to the White House but was intercepted at a security check.

It said the letter appeared to have been sent from Canada.

Ricin is a poison that can be manufactured using waste material from processing castor beans and can be transmitted as a powder or mist.

It has been used in attempted attacks in the past, including 2013 when ricin-laced letters addressed to a U.S. senator and president Barack Obama were intercepted by authorities.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.21

Trend:

Armenia deliberately targets civilian population and perpetrates provocations along the Line of Contact and Armenia-Azerbaijan border, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during his speech at a high-level meeting to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations held on the sidelines of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Trend reports.

"The last such provocation was carried out this July, along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Our military servicemen and a civilian were killed due to the artillery bombardment of Azerbaijans Tovuz district, while extensive damage was inflicted to civilian infrastructure, the head of state said.

"Armenian sabotage group attempted to penetrate through the Line of Contact," President Aliyev said. "The head of this group was detained by Azerbaijani military servicemen on 23 August 2020. He confessed that the group was planning to commit terror acts against Azerbaijani military servicemen and civilians."
Flight VN310 marked the beginning of the resumption of regular flights to a number of selected countries in Asia since planes were grounded back in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Onboard were Vietnamese trainees, workers, and experts heading back to Tokyo to continue their studies and work after months of disruption.

It also carried a number of Japanese citizens heading home.

All 60 passengers boarding the Vietnam Airlines flight had to present a mandatory proof of a negative coronavirus tests (PCR diagnostics) issued three days before the flight, declare their travel history in the 14 days prior and download contract tracing apps as per health protocols set by the host country.

The flight crew will all undergo health examinations and be quarantined when they returned to Vietnam.

Vietnam Airlines is set to organise two more flights from Hanoi to Tokyo on September 25 and 30, and one from Ho Chi Ming City to Tokyo on September 30.

Budget carrier Vietjet has also announced resumption of flights to Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), and Taiwan (China) starting September 29.

International flights to and from Vietnam were grounded late March after the Government imposed border closures against all foreign entries.

Since then, Vietnamese airlines only carried out a number of irregular flights to repatriate Vietnamese citizens overseas or bring in a limited number of foreign investors, highly skilled workers, experts, business managers, diplomats.

Recently, the Vietnamese Government decided to reopen international flights to six Asian destinations  Japan, the RoK, mainland China, Taiwan (China), Cambodia, and Laos  all important partners and deemed to be epidemiologically safe, as the country aims to balance COVID-19 prevention with economic development.
British-French actor and 'Bond' villain Michael Lonsdale dies Lonsdale, who was bilingual, chalked up more than 200 roles over a six-decade career

Michael Lonsdale, the British-French actor with a far-ranging film and theatre career but most widely recognised as the villain opposite James Bond in "Moonraker", died on Monday aged 89, his agent told AFP.

Lonsdale, who was bilingual, chalked up more than 200 roles over a six-decade career, equally at ease in experimental arthouse productions as in big-budget crowd-pleasers.

With his silky yet imposing voice and a distinctive goatee, Lonsdale often served up memorable performances that stuck with viewers even when only in minor roles.

His agent, Olivier Loiseau, said he had died at his home in Paris, the city where he was born on May 24, 1931, to an English military officer and a French mother.

Arguably the highlight of his career came when he played a Trappist monk in "Of Gods and Men" in 2010.

Based on true events, the film tells the story of seven French monks who were murdered after being kidnapped from their monastery in Algeria in 1996 during the country's civil war.

For the role Lonsdale won his first and only Cesar award -- France's version of the Oscars -- for best supporting actor in 2011.

Yet for millions of people he was the sadistic industrialist Hugo Drax in the 1979 Bond film "Moonraker" starring Roger Moore, with a plot to destroy Earth's population with nerve gas while he escaped into space.

- Struggle with shyness -

Lonsdale was raised in London and later in Morocco during World War II, when in 1942 American soldiers introduced him to films by John Ford, George Cukor and Howard Hawks. He went to the cinema from an early age, and decided to become an actor.

He returned to Paris in 1947, where he discovered theatre and took lessons in dramatic art, later telling AFP of his struggles to overcome his shyness.

He made his theatre debut in 1955, and hit the big screen a year later. His talent for improvisation, his physical presence and mellifluous voice made him in demand from the early 1960s.

Story continues

He performed in plays by top playwrights of the era including Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett and Marguerite Duras.

His breakthrough came when French film director and New Wave innovator Francois Truffaut hired him for "The Bride Wore Black" and "Stolen Kisses," both in 1968.

From then on he veered between arthouse and mainstream cinema, appearing among others in "The Day of the Jackal" (1973), Duras's "India Song" (1975), "The Remains of the Day" (1993) and as a grizzled associate of Robert De Niro's mercenary in "Ronin" (1998).

A practicing Catholic, Lonsdale also took on several clerical roles -- as a priest in Orson Welles's "The Trial" in 1962, as a cardinal in Joseph Losey's "Galileo" in 1975, and as the abbot in Middle Ages thriller "The Name of the Rose" in 1986.

But he was not above lighter fare: In Luis Bunuel's 1974 surrealist comedy "The Phantom of Liberty," Lonsdale, his buttocks in the air, took part in a sado-masochistic session.

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The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the Punjab government to provide the list of those having security cover but are not holding any public office.

Also, the bench of Justice Jaishree Thakur directed the government to provide the number of people given security beyond the State Security Policy, 2013.

The directions came on a petition filed by former Punjab deputy speaker Bir Devinder Singh who has challenged the state governments move to withdraw his security cover on June 23.

As an interim measure, the court has asked state to provide him two security personnel.

In the plea filed on August 25, Devinder had told the court that despite having been provided security since 2018, his cover was withdrawn completely in a unilateral manner even as former MLAs are provided a minimum of two security personnel.He informed the court that he was placed under high-risk category in 1983 and survived an attack in 1991 in Fatehgarh Sahib.

In 2010, his complete security cover was withdrawn but it was restored after the high courts intervention, he added.

The Amarinder Singh-led Congress government withdrew four of his gunmen in March 2018 and with the fresh order he was left with no security cover and was told to get the same on payment basis, he had said.

The move, he claimed, was aimed at settling political scores as he had been critical of the present dispensation as part of his public duty.

The government had responded by stating that he is not entitled to security cover as an ex MLA as per the policy. To counter the claim, Devinder had submitted details of some former MLAs who have been provided security cover by the state.

The matter has been posted for further hearing on October 27.
At least 76 per cent of the new confirmed COVID cases and 86 per cent fatality have been reported from 10 states including union territories in the last 24 hours, the Union informed on Monday.

A total of 86,961 new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours, of which 76 per cent of the new confirmed cases (active cases) are concentrated in 10 States/UTs.

In the last 24 hours, has alone contributed to about 20,627 new cases, while Karnataka has reported at least 8,191 cases.

has contributed to 7,738 cases, has witnessed 5,758, Tamil Nadu has reported 5,516, Kerala has seen 4,716, Odisha is contributing to 4,330 cases while Delhi has reported 3,812 cases. West Bengal has witnessed about 3,177 cases and Madhya Pradesh has reported 2,579 cases.

As many as 1,130 deaths have been registered in the past 24 hours. About 10 States/UTs account for 86 per cent of the deaths in the last 24 hours due to COVID.

reported 455 deaths followed by Karnataka and with 101 and 94 deaths, respectively. West Bengal has reported 61 fatality, Tamil Nadu has witnessed 60 deaths, has seen 57 mortality, Punjab has reported 56 deaths, Delhi has witnessed 37 fatality followed by Haryana which has registered 29 deaths while 27 people have succumbed in Madhya Pradesh due to the virus in the last 24 hours.

So far, COVID19 cases have crossed over 5.49 million mark in India with 87,882 deaths.

(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 British Army major has been fined 5,000 after a corporal suffered serious burns when he ran over burning coals in a 'kangaroo court' punishment.

Major David Landon told Corporal Nathan Black he had to either sing the regimental song or tackle a burning fire pit after being accused of losing his tank regiment's mascot.

Cpl Black, 32, took the 'absurd' option of running across the fire pit, but stumbled and fell in, suffering such serious burns he had to be airlifted to hospital.

Landon, 39, an Afghanistan veteran, has now been fined 5,000 following what was supposed to be a 'humourous' event, a court martial heard.

The incident took place in January after Landon completed a week of live fire training in Latvia with the Queen's Royal Hussar's A Squadron.

The soldiers had been permitted to drink alcohol and build a fire pit during the celebrations, Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire heard.

Major David Landon (pictured) told Corporal Nathan Black he had to either sing the regimental song or tackle a burning fire pit after being accused of losing his tank regiment's mascot

Prosecuting, Lieutenant Colonel Hopkins said: 'Major Landon gave a short speech congratulating everyone on the successful completion of the live fire training course.

'[Following the speech] range targets were burnt in a fire pit. All the ranks attending were allowed to drink within the two can rule.

'Major Landon was present throughout and he was the senior officer present.'

Bulford Military Court heard the evening had been 'jovial and good humoured' and for 'unknown reasons' Corporal Black had already voluntarily run across the pit twice before.

At some point during the night a 'kangaroo court' was convened by the soldiers to decide who was responsible for losing the squadron's toy mascot.

Lt Col Hopkins continued: 'Major Landon said, in jest, it's either a fire run or a rendition of the regimental song.

'Major Landon thought Corporal Black would opt for the song. Black contemplated his response. Several others were shouting for him to lose his eyebrows or moustache.

'After a momentary pause he ran across but this time fell into the fire pit.'

The corporal was taken to hospital before being flown back to the UK where he was 'incubated' and sedated to deal with the pain from burns to his hands and thighs.

After the incident, father-of-one Major Landon - who was on secondment from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards - claimed Corporal Black had simply 'fallen into the pit'.

Cpl Black (pictured), 32, took the 'absurd' option of running across the fire pit, but stumbled and fell in, suffering such serious burns he had to be airlifted to hospital

However, after he learned of the severity of the soldier's injuries he said he was 'mortified' and admitted that the soldier had actually been running across the flames when he stumbled and fell.

Mitigating, Mr Matthew Bolt, said: '[Major Landon] didn't intend any harm to come to Corporal Black. What he said, he said in jest, in the belief he would not enter the fire.

'His culpability lies in miscalculating the risks of those words...

'His expectation was [Corporal Black] would sing the regimental song and appreciate the 'absurdity' of running across the fire.'

Sentencing, Assistant Judge Advocate General Alan Large said: 'During the evening there was a form of a so-called kangaroo court.

'It was held to determine, in a humorous way, who was responsible for various events during the exercise.

'Major Landon told Corporal Black either to sing the song or run across the fire. We accept that as far as Landon is concerned that the latter was said in jest and he did not expect Corporal Black to do it.'

However, he said the Major, who has been in the armed forces for 15 years, was 'unwise' and should have been honest about the incident from the outset.

Major Landon, who admitted one charge of conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline, was reprimanded and fined 5,000.
Boris Johnson

Reimposing blanket lockdown measures to slow the spread of Covid-19 is increasingly unfeasible as the risk of death varies greatly depending on age and medical conditions, a group of leading scientists have warned Boris Johnson.

Urging the Prime Minister to step back and fundamentally reconsider the Governments response to the pandemic, 32 scientists, medics and academics have signed a letter calling for more targeted measures to protect the most vulnerable.

Authored by Professor Sunetra Gupta and Professor Carl Heneghan of Oxford University, and Professor Karol Sikora of Buckingham University, it adds that attempting to suppress the virus until a vaccine is found is leading to significant harm across all age groups.

The scientists argue that the mortality risk of the disease is highly age variant, with 89 per cent of deaths occurring in the over 65 age group, and 95 per cent among those with pre-existing medical conditions.

This large variation in risk by age and health status suggests that the harm caused by uniform policies (that apply to all persons) will outweigh the benefits, they add.

Instead, they claim that the high proportion of deaths in care homes means they should be treated as a priority for intervention.

Pointing to Germany, the scientists say that its effective reduction in deaths is based on a strategy of limiting infections in those older than 70.

The signatories also claim that placing all the weight on reducing deaths fails to consider the complex trade-offs for wider healthcare, society and the economy.

Separately, Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of Tory backbench MPs, warned that ministers could face a rebellion if they try to introduce new measures without proper Parliamentary scrutiny.

Accusing the Government of "ruling by decree", Sir Graham, who has tabled an amendment requiring ministers to put any new measures to a vote, argued that it was "entirely possible" to push through emergency laws quickly through Parliament in the normal way.

Story continues

"The British people are not used to being treated like children," he added.

A group of us across medicine, academia and other areas have come together and sent this letter to the PM and his team.



Professors Heneghan, Gupta and many others - a wide range of voices as this crisis affects everything.



We desperately need a rethink to find a better balance. pic.twitter.com/0jHqta3KYE  Professor Karol Sikora (@ProfKarolSikora) September 21, 2020

Their intervention comes as Mr Johnson is today expected to announce a series of fresh national restrictions, in a bid to slow the resurgence of the disease after a significant uptick in cases over the last fortnight.

In a televised address on Monday, Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, said that the incoming second wave should be viewed as a six month problem that will need to be dealt with collectively.

Prof Whitty also confronted critics who have railed against more restrictions, warning that in a pandemic people who take on more individual risk end up increasing the risk to everyone around them and then everyone whos a contact of theirs.

Sooner or later, the chain will meet people who are vulnerable or elderly or have a long term problem from Covid, he added.

So you cannot, in an epidemic, just take your own risk. Unfortunately, you're taking a risk on behalf of everybody else.

Asked about the split in scientific opinion, the Prime Ministers spokesman said: Throughout, both the Prime Minister, the chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser have considered a wide range of scientific opinions.

They are articulated at Sage (the scientific advisory group on emergencies) and elsewhere. All data and scientific opinion is considered before ultimately ministers have to make decisions.

However, in their letter to Mr Johnson, the scientists argue that the existing policy path is inconsistent with the known risk-profile of Covid-19 and should be reconsidered.

The unstated objective currently appears to be one of suppression of the virus, until such a time that a vaccine can be deployed. This objective is increasingly unfeasible...and is leading to significant harm across all age groups, which likely offsets any benefits, they add.

Instead, more targeted measures that protect the most vulnerable from Covid, whilst not adversely impacting those not at risk, are more supportable.

Given the high proportion of Covid deaths in care homes, these should be a priority. Such targeted measures should be explored as a matter of urgency, as the logical cornerstone of our future strategy.

They add that blanket restrictions would likely have large costs because the adverse effects will impact the entire population.

These include short and long-term physical and mental health impacts, while in healthcare, they point out that two-week cancer referrals decreased by 84 per cent during lockdown.

Citing research conducted by Cancer Research, which estimates that there were 2 million delayed or missed cancer screenings, tests or treatments as a result of the pandemic, they add: The impact of this broader disruption is uncertain. However, estimates indicate it could be as high as 60,000 lives lost.

With the OBR forecasting unemployment to hit 12 per cent by the end of the year and national debt hitting 2 trillion, the scientists claim that when set against the high costs of these policies, their effectiveness in reducing covid deaths remains unclear.

Focusing on the UK, there is no readily observable pattern between the policy measures implemented to date and the profile of Covid deaths, they write

Caution should therefore be exercised in any presumption that such policy measures will successfully lower future Covid mortalities.
Newport Beach, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/21/2020 -- Every individual or labor used in the workplace needs to be treated fairly as it contributes to the productivity of the company, workplace or firm as a whole. However, there are certain organizations that would go against the employment and housing act just for their own selfish interest, thereby depriving their workforce of needed protection and package according to the federal law. To curb this, different bills were signed into law, expanding protection for workers that get disabled or injured under the California's Fair employment and Housing Act (FEHA); which was signed in the year 2000 by Gove Gray Davis. But these workers would need the help of an individual or firm who practise law to advise, counsel and represent the clients on the alleged discrimination. Shanberg, Stanfford & Bartz LLP offers advice and counselling on how to follow up with such cases.



Answering a query on what Shanberg, Stanfford & Bartz LLP does, Shanberg, Stanfford & Bartz LLP's Spokesperson commented, '' Every labor attorney at our firm represents a broad spectrum of employees, from daily wage earners to high-powered sales personnel and organization executives. The sole aim of our law employment firm is to stand up for workers who are treated unfairly and also educate workers on their rights. We handle different employment matters that have to do with wrongful termination, retaliation, health and safety, privacy rights, workplace testing, harassment and discrimination based on race, Americans and Disabilities Act claims, unpaid meal and rest break claims.''



Shanberg, Stanfford & Bartz LLP offers counsel and legal representation to workers looking for job discrimination lawyer who can help them resolve matters as soon as possible so they can move on with their lives.



The Spokesperson further added, '' Shanberg, Stanfford & Bartz LLP envisions a world where workers can get justice for whatever form of discrimination they face, either it is wrongful discharge, overtime disputes, wrongful termination, harassment, wage and hour dispute and so on. To make this a reality, at Shanberg, Stanfford & Bartz LLP, we only employ the services of experienced employment lawyers who are readily available to help our clients seek for their rights. Here at Shanberg, Stanfford & Bartz LLP our lawyers are dedicated to providing strong advocacy and to fighting for our clients. ''



Besides being an employment law firm, Shanberg, Stanfford & Bartz LLP also practice in areas such as business formation and transactions, business litigation, intellectual property, personal injury, Class action California etc. They are a one-stop firm to get the best labor lawyers in Orange County Ca. As a firm that is on a mission to help workers get their rights, Shanberg, Stanfford & Bartz LLP still renders its services to workers who need it even with the restriction in movement going on around the world. Through the internet, people at Shanberg, Stanfford & Bartz LLP are available 24/7 to offer counsel and representation services to workers.



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Contact Information



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Phone: 800-519-9810

Fax: 949-205-7144

Web: https://www.ssfirm.com/
D-Black has been trending on the airwaves following the fake UN award he received from the popular Dr. UN as well as his leaked sex video that went viral.

The leaked sex video captured D-Black and one Black American lady called Adrienne Nicole engage in a sexual intercourse. Nicole, however, came out to explain how the video got leaked.

Nicole in a recent video also expressed her regret to the sudden bedroom video that went viral.

According to her, she has learnt a lesson from what happened. Nicole also made some revelation about D-Black describing him as one such amazing man she has ever met.

In her last submission, she said she is working hard with both authorities in US and Ghana to scrub the video from the internet.

Watch the video below:
College students are learning less, partying less and a majority say the decision to return to campus was a bad decision, according to a new College Reaction/Axios poll.

Why it matters: The enthusiasm to forge something resembling a college experience has dissipated as online learning, lockdowns and a diminished social life has set in.

Now that the fall semester has started, 51% of students say it was not the right choice for their schools to allow students on campus. Just 3% say their school didn't allow students to return.

The dissatisfaction is more acute among those who have had to learn completely remotely, even if they are on campus. For those who have attended in-person classes, 59% say it was the right choice for campus to reopen, compared to just 42% for those who have not.

Removing many temptations of campus life has not made it easier to focus: 60% say they are learning less and just 6% say they're learning more.

What's going on: School administrators have tightened the screws on students to make sure that rule-defiers don't ruin things for everyone else.

After North Carolina and Michigan State (and Notre Dame, temporarily) made the call to move to online-only classes after August coronavirus outbreaks on campus, others have become even more strict in order to pull off a full semester.

Universities have threatened severe punishments for students who party and imposed strict lockdowns when cases emerge, determined to keep their campuses operating.

University of Wisconsin students in two big underclassmen residence halls were given a two-week quarantine order after the campus caseload surpassed 1,000, per the Wisconsin State Journal, forcing them to decide whether to just head back home.

The University of Illinois announced a similar lockdown for undergraduates earlier in the month.

Bradley University in Illinois is keeping all students locked down for two weeks.

The polling shows that attending parties  or even having witnessing one  is associated with a higher chance of knowing someone who's contracted the coronavirus.

12% say they've attended a party, and among them, 60% say they know someone who contracted the virus on campus. Compare that to the 38% who haven't partied and know someone who's gotten COVID-19 at school.

Among those who haven't even seen a party, the number who don't know someone who's contracted the virus drops to 23%. Meanwhile, 55% who have seen a party say they know someone who got sick.

The big picture: While there have been high-profile outbreaks in college towns accompanied by images of partying students, most students have engaged in less conspicuous social activities: 73% of students have either been to a party, bar or restaurant or gathered with friends mask-less.

Methodology: The poll was conducted September 15-16 from a representative sample of 808 college students with a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points.

College Reactions polling is conducted using a demographically representative panel of college students from around the country. The surveys are administered digitally and use college e-mail addresses as an authentication tool to ensure current enrollment in a four-year institution. The target for the general population sample was students currently enrolled in accredited 4-year institutions in the United States.
Donald Trump

On October 7, Democratic Partys Kamala Harris will be participating in the Vice- Presidential debate against her opponent, the incumbent and Republican candidate, Mike Pence. This is the highest position that a person of Indian origin has so far aspired to in the United States.

The visible presence of Indian Americans has changed dramatically over the past two decades. Their number, according to US Census data, is now estimated to be around 4.1 million, rising to 4.5 million if mixed heritage is also included. This is a two-fold rise since 2000. This year 1.8 million are eligible to vote.

Till 2016, there were a total of three Indian Americans ever elected to the US Congress. Since then, there have been five simultaneously, through two election cycles, and the number could increase this November.

More than 100,000 Indian-origin doctors look after one out of seven patients. Around 40 percent of hotel rooms are owned and managed by Indian Americans, generating more than $10 billion of revenue, and contributing significantly to taxes and social security. CEOs of leading companies, including Microsoft, Google, Adobe, IBM, Mastercard, Pepsi, etc. are or have been of Indian origin.

Reports also suggest that there are six billionaires, achieving this status through innovation and enterprise. One-third of startups by foreign-origin persons in Silicon Valley are by Indian-origin entrepreneurs. Indian Americans are now the highest median income ethnic group, and the highest in terms of educational attainment.

The first-generation migrants from India normally focus on getting themselves economically and socially moored, and only recently have begun to get more active politically through campaign contributions, and advocacy on policy issues. The second-, US-born generation feels itself as more rooted in the US, and is actively involved in campaign teams, engagement in policy debates, and fund-raising.

The first sign of this shift came in the Obama presidency, starting 2009, when many more persons of Indian heritage found positions in the administration, and in staff positions in US Congress. Raj Shah as USAID administrator was the highest-level appointee, a sub-Cabinet position. The trend continued under Trump, with Nikki Haley in a Cabinet position as US Permanent Representative to UN, and Seema Verma as the senior official on healthcare issues.

Beyond active engagement in US policy debates, the second generation also goes beyond nation-of-origin identity, to identify with South Asia- or Asia-based groups for electoral fund raising, or professional community such as journalists or lawyers, feeling that these added numbers give them greater salience.

The Donald Trump and Joe Biden campaigns have both made determined efforts to reach out to the Indian American voter. President Trump had joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a 50,000 strong rally in Houston in September last year, and addressed a 100,000-strong crowd in Ahmedabad in February. His campaign has released a video highlighting these events and his friendship with Modi.

The Biden team released special messages from both Biden and Harris on Indias Independence Day, and a special message to the Indian American community. As a minority group in the US, Indian Americans tend Democratic, which espouses pluralism and inclusion. More than 80 percent voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. According to latest sample data, however, support for Biden is at 66 percent, and for Trump around 28 percent, reflecting an enhanced support from the community.

The Indian American vote now, no doubt, matters, since the community has a potential swing presence in some of the battleground states.

This does not mean, however, that the Indian governments policies will receive unqualified support through community advocacy. Harris and Representative Pramila Jayapal have been critical of the Indian government on Kashmir, the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens, etc. Earlier, including before 2014, sections of the community, Sikhs, Muslims, Dalits, Christians, on occasion, made submissions to US Congress on one or more aspects of the Indian governments actions or policies.

On emigration to the US, there is search for cultural rootedness and connect. People normally tend to their regional, linguistic or religious groups for such connectedness, which becomes their primary new cultural identity, despite an overall sense of the Indian heritage. The trend appears to be exacerbated this year with formation of Hindu Americans, Muslim Americans, Sikh Americans for Biden and Trump separately. It is only occasionally that the community comes together for a focused over-arching effort, as for the US India Civil Nuclear Cooperation agreement over 2005-08. India, unlike Israel, is not seen as facing an existential challenge, so an overall unifying theme is absent.

The enhanced numbers, role and influence of the community in the US will be both a challenge and an opportunity. Policy-makers and elected representatives will be more mindful of Indian concerns, and supportive of advancing India-US relations. However, the community advocacy will also be a reflection of Indias diversity. The second generation and beyond will also be defining an identity different from the first.
The US Supreme Court is a very different institution to our own High Court, having been the stage for many of America's most contentious and hard-fought battles over racial and gender equality, abortion, gun laws, campaign funding and LGBTQI rights.

That is why the political battle over who will pick the nominee to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is such a momentous moment for America.

Before her passing, the composition of the nine-member US Supreme Court was finely balanced with four clear voices on the political left  including Ms Ginsburg  four on the right, and Chief Justice John Roberts, who despite his conservative leanings was a deciding vote in recent years in support of abortion, gay rights, immigration and health care.

If US President Donald Trump were to appoint Ms Ginsburg's replacement, his third since coming into office, it would tip the court decisively to the right. With the backing of the Republican-controlled Senate, which has the final say on Supreme Court appointments, he is within reach of enshrining lasting change that would endure long past his days in the presidency.

The possible overturning of Roe vs Wade, the landmark case in which the Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that the US constitution protected a pregnant woman's ability to have an abortion, is only the most obvious of a broad range of progressive causes that could suffer setbacks.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan addressed a congratulatory message on the 29th anniversary of Armenias Independence.

The message says:

Dear compatriots,

I congratulate you on Armenias Independence Day.

Nearly three decades ago we reaffirmed our will of having a sovereign and independent state, becoming the guarantor of our security. In addition, sovereign and independent Armenia became the one uniting Artsakh and all Armenians.

Independence is not a given value, it is achieved by conquering. By the way, we have not only gained our independence, but also had to build our freedom at difficult conditions. The earthquake, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Artsakh war were serious experiments, but the Armenian people managed to overcome that situation thanks to their collective wisdom and even managed to record great victories.

And todays independent, sovereign and democratic Armenia is the guarantor of the power of the future generations and the eternity of the statehood.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
UNDER-FIRE MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday said he was unfazed by the relentless attacks from fellow opposition MDC-T leader Thokozani Khupe and the ruling Zanu-PF party, declaring his party was geared to come out stronger after the storm.

"We represent the new and com-ing. We carry the seed of new beginnings. Not even the angel of death can prevent its sprouting. We sympathise with those who attempt to stand in the way or are op-posed to us. It's game on!"

Chamisa said as Khupe continues piling more misery on the youthful op-position leader by recalling his elected MPs and councillors. On Saturday, Khupe went for the jugular, declaring that she had rebranded and taken over as MDC Alliance leader, creating more confusion in the op position camp ahead of by-elections set for December this year.

The Khupe-led faction said it would use the name MDC Alliance when filing nomination papers on October 9 for by-elections to be held before December 5.

Chamisa contested the 2018 presidential race on an MDC Alliance ticket, losing to President Emmerson Mnangagwa by a small margin.

Khupe, who contested under MDC-T, came a distant third with 45 000 votes. Chamisa yesterday said he would circumvent the political barriers thrown at him.

"We will do the opposite of what our opposition, cynics, critics and naysayers expect us to do," he said.

Party spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere said the party had deployed to the grassroots to consult on the way forward.

"As a people-driven party, the national executive council mandated the leadership at various levels to consult stakeholders, opinion leaders, grassroots structures and party organs countrywide on the multiple options that are available to it," she said.

MDC Alliance secretary-general Chalton Hwende also confirmed that they had deployed for grassroot consultations.

"We have today (yesterday) deployed teams that have started consulting our branches throughout the country on the direction that the party must take. The teams will also consult opinion leaders, churches, traditional authorities, civic society, workers and students," he said.

Hwende said the ruling Zanu-PF party and the MDC-T had connived to decimate Chamisa's party, but both parties have denied the charge.

MDC-T interim secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora taunted Chamisa saying the youthful opposition leader was "more Zanu-PF" than him.

"Those working with Zanu-PF are known. If you want to see that one is working with Zanu-PF, you look at how many times that person has been arrested. Some of us were arrested several times and you (Chamisa), how many times were you arrested?" he asked rhetorically.

But Chamisa's party insisted it was disturbed by "Zanu-PF-driven threats" to the MDC Alliance, the unlawful arrests of its members, the "unlawful recalls" among other issues.

On mediation by the South African ruling African National Congress party, the MDC Alliance said the move was welcome, but pleaded with Sadc and the African Union to intervene urgently before the crisis engulfed the region.

"The party notes the efforts of South Africa and the ANC facilitating of a resolution of the national crisis," Mahere said.

The ANC recently dispatched two delegations to Harare, but were refused permission to meet other stakeholders outside the ruling Zanu-PF party.

The ANC officials were also accused of buying into the opposition narrative of a country in a crisis, but they have stood their ground indicating they would soon come back for separate meetings with the MDC Alliance, United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian Nichols and Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume, among other key stakeholders. Newsday
(Natural News) Antifa and other far-left groups are using internet memes as propaganda to encourage violence against law enforcement and the general public, according to a new report. In addition, the report found that the widespread use of memes has contributed to the growth of far-left online communities in recent years.

The Sep. 14 report was published by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a nonprofit that studies how hate-charged content spreads across social media networks.

During recent Black Lives Matter protests, content featuring outrage against law enforcement saw a 1,000 percent increase on Twitter and a 300 percent increase on Reddit. Furthermore, anarcho-socialist memes posted on Reddit called for the death of police and stockpiling ammunition for a violent revolution.

The report mentioned the use of innovative cyber strategies by anarchist groups such as spreading instructions for building 3D printed weapons, sharing insights on using laser pointers to blind targets, and coordinating offline actions  setting fires, throwing projectiles and using fireworks against police  over the internet.

In addition, the report touched on how anarchist groups use these cyber strategies to coordinate actions across large distances and mobilize network-enabled mobs with just a few clicks. The practice of cyber swarming, for example, calls online users to a real-world scene or situation to provide material aid or human reinforcements.

However, the NCRI report noted that violence from far-left groups had not yet become widespread compared to violence caused by ISIS. In addition, it noted that far-left violence did not have the death toll or historical reach U.S. right-wing extremism had.

President Donald Trump issues warning against violent leftist protesters

President Donald Trump has warned that crossing state lines to incite violence is a federal crime and threatened using the unlimited power of the U.S. military alongside many arrests if the situation wasnt addressed.

Crossing State lines to incite violence is a FEDERAL CRIME! Liberal Governors and Mayors must get MUCH tougher or the Federal Government will step in and do what has to be done, and that includes using the unlimited power of our Military and many arrests. Thank you!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2020

Antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters have been working hand-in-hand to spark violence and agitate rally participants ever since the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement. Countless properties and businesses have been destroyed during the nightly riots.

The chaotic Portland, Ore. protests in August led to two civilians seriously injured and the killing of a Trump supporter. Protests in Kenosha, Wis. took a bloody turn after 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse defended himself instead of simply standing by.

Despite his defense of Rittenhouses actions, the president discouraged his supporters from engaging with antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters, advising instead that they leave it to law enforcement.

The extreme left will double down on violence as the November elections are nearing

Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden claimed that President Trump was encouraging violence  saying that the riots were a political benefit for the reelectionist Republican. However, it is worth noting that most of the riots happened in Democrat-controlled areas, and the president has even offered to help quell the unrest.

A recent report by Breitbart confirmed the far-left anarchists plan to organize a political apocalypse when their candidate Biden loses the November elections. The Fight Back Table (FBT) group and other leftist organizations discussed their plans for a multi-state communications arm against disinformation, a training program for nonviolent civil disobedience and mass public unrest.

The FBT alliance proposed the aforementioned plans under the assumption that any other outcome aside from Biden winning renders the election illegitimate. Truly, violence is the norm rather than the exception in Joe Bidens America.

However, President Trump has promised that any rioting on the night of Nov. 3 wont last long and will be put down very quickly. During an interview with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, the president said he had the power to address any unrest  but would rather not do so since there was no insurrection in place.

Find out more news about antifas attempts to overthrow the government through a violent revolution at AntifaWatch.news.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com 1

NCRI.io [PDF]

Twitter.com

TheEpochTimes.com 2

Bloomberg.com

Breitbart.com

Politico.com
By PTI

INDORE: The body of an 87-year-old COVID -19 victim was allegedly nibbled by rats at a private hospital here in Madhya Pradesh, his family claimed, prompting the district administration to order a probe on Monday.

The shocking incident came to light when a video surfaced on social media.

In the video, injury marks on the face and legs of the corpse are visible, and a distraught person is seen complaining that the body handed over to them by the private hospital had bite marks made by rats.

Indore's COVID-19 nodal officer Amit Malakar said the elderly man, who was on oxygen support due to the severity of the infection, died in the hospital on Sunday.

"The district administration has ordered a probe into the incident," Malakar informed.

The additional district magistrate will handle the probe, he said.

The deceased's grandson said he was admitted in the hospital four days ago following fluctuation in oxygen levels and had tested positive for the coronavirus infection.

"The hospital management handed over his body to us on Monday. We found rat bite marks on his ears and thumbs," he claimed.
Five hubs across Limerick have received funding to support their reopening in compliance with public health guidelines as the economy recovers from the impact of Covid-19.

The investment has been announced by the Department of Rural and Community Development as part of the Atlantic Economic Corridor Enterprise Hub Network project.

The Limerick hubs which will receive support are Broadford Enterprise Centre, Bruree Foods Ltd, Engine Hub, Kantoher and Rathkeale Enterprise Centre.

The Western Development Commission, working with Melissa Buckley, the Atlantic Economic Corridor officer in Limerick managed the delivery of the scheme on behalf of the Department or Rural and Community Development.

A total of 300,000 has been allocated to 65 digital hubs across the country including Enterprise, R & D, Coworking, Scaling and Community hubs across the Atlantic Economic Corridor which stretches from Donegal to Kerry.

Funding has been provided to help the hubs implement social distancing guidelines, purchase necessary safety equipment, online meeting equipment and support marketing of the hub network.

Dr Pat Daly, Chief Executive of Limerick City and County Council has welcomed the funding announcement. The investment in these enterprise hubs in Limerick and along the western seaboard is a crucial piece of infrastructure to aid balanced regional development. Connectivity allows people to work from anywhere while being in contact with their customers and potential customers, he said.

We need to provide the infrastructure to allow people to remote work and develop community enterprises. These will help to reinvigorate rural communities while supporting rural businesses and helping us all to live our lives in a more sustainable manner. These hubs can become the life blood for areas that are in danger of decline. They can also help to build communities between like-minded people who can work together to create sustainable economic opportunities for themselves and their localities, he added.

The Atlantic Economic Corridor Hub Network Project will soon launch an online booking system for all digital hubs in the region alongside a new marketing campaign to help drive awareness and increase use across County Limerick.
The August edition of the Media Foundation for West Africas (MFWA) Language monitoring on Radio has cited the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi, as the most abusive individual on radio.



Others were Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, MP for Assin Central and Mugabe Maase, host of Power FMs Inside Politics. The NPP, and Kumasi-based Wontumi Radio recorded the highest incidents of indecent expressions.



Over the monitoring period (August 1-31), a total of 1,019 radio programmes were monitored on 15 selected radio stations across the country. The programmes included news bulletins, and political/current affairs discussions aired on the 15 radio stations. A total of 99 indecent expressions were recorded by 34 individuals. The 99 indecent expressions are made up of Insulting and Offensive comments; Unsubstantiated allegations; Threats; Provocative remarks; Expressions or Comments promoting Divisiveness. The 34 individuals who made the indecent expressions featured on the radio programmes as hosts, discussants/panelists, interviewees and callers.



The NPP recorded 50 indecent expressions, followed by the NDC with (9), the PPP (3) and the GCPP (2). The Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) and Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) recorded 1 indecent expression each.



Twelve out of the 15 radio stations monitored recorded indecent expressions.



Kumasi-based Wontumi Radio recorded (34) indecent expressions on its morning show. Accra-based Oman FM recorded (28) indecent expressions on two of its major programmes  Boiling Point (24) and National Agenda (4).



Kumasi-based Ashh FM recorded (28) indecent expressions across three programmes  Boiling Point (24), Keynote (3) and National Agenda (1). Power FM also based in Accra, recorded 14 indecent expressions  all on its afternoon political show titled, Inside Politics.



The Elections Campaign language monitoring project seeks to promote issues-based campaigning and use of decent language/expression before, during and after Ghanas 2020 elections. The project is also being implemented in Cote dIvoire and Niger with funding support from OSIWA.















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
Gardai are on high alert after a chief suspect in the Adrian Donohoe murder investigation was released from prison.

The Herald has learned that the dangerous criminal, aged in his early 30s, walked out of a Dublin jail last Thursday after being held behind bars for several months.

The cross-Border thug is suspected of being a key member of the gang behind the Lordship Credit Union robbery in Co Louth during which Det-Gda Donohoe was shot dead seven years ago.

Last month, Aaron Brady (29) was found guilty of capital murder and will face a mandatory 40-year prison term when he is sentenced next month.

Gang

Gardai are continuing their inquiries into the hero detective's murder and are hopeful of bringing further charges against other gang members involved.

One of these is Suspect B, who was named during the murder trial as being centrally involved in the robbery.

The thug was on bail at the time of the murder and only months before had directly threatened Det-Gda Donohoe after being arrested by him.

The criminal has also been linked to a spate of high-profile ATM raids in recent years in highly organised raids. He was jailed in the capital for several months over an incident unrelated to the detective's murder, and was released last week.

A source told the Herald: "He is considered to be a particularly dangerous individual and there is a real concern that he will become actively engaged in criminality after his release.

"Investigations into him are ongoing in relation to the murder of Adrian Donohoe, and also in relation to ATM raids on both sides of the Border.

"Both gardai and the PSNI will be keeping a close eye on him to prevent him linking up with his criminal associates and causing more havoc."

The Northern Irish man is suspected of being one of the masked raiders at Lordship Credit Union when Det-Gda Donohoe was shot dead on January 25, 2013.

He has also been linked to the theft of the getaway car, which was stolen three nights earlier from a house in Clogherhead, Co Louth.

The PSNI have interviewed him about his movements on the day of the murder but he has not yet been formally arrested as part of the murder inquiry.

Even before the raid he was well-known to gardai for involvement in serious crime.

He had been arrested by Det-Gda Donohoe for the previous armed robbery at Lordship Credit Union in August 2011, as well as a separate armed raid at Dundalk racecourse that same year.

During his arrest he made a sinister threat to Det-Gda Donohoe, saying he knew where the detective's family home was located.

Relatives

Since the fatal shooting, gardai have identified 204 persons of interest in the case, and that list has been whittled down to just over 20 people.

This includes men and women who helped the killers as well as relatives and associates with information who are not co-operating with gardai.

Five men remain formal suspects in the inquiry, including a father and his two sons, as well as a man centrally linked to diesel-laundering.

Aaron Brady, who was found guilty by the majority verdict of a 12-person of capital murder on August 12.

He is due to be sentenced on October 14.
Tenant farmers are being advised to consider whether they should be pursuing a farm rent review as the UK's transition period deadline nears.

Most farm tenancies in the UK contain provisions for a rent review that can be used by either landlords or tenants.

But whilst rent review activity has been low in recent years, farmers are now being advised that now is the time to take the initiative.

The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) warns there could be major disruption in agricultural markets after the transition period ends, on 31 December 2020.

Because of this, it has urged farm tenants to think about protecting themselves in that scenario.

TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn said Farm tenants are usually understandably nervous about instigating a rent review. In most cases it is landlords who take the initiative.

"However, serving a formal notice to kickstart the rent review process is a simple procedure which tenants can do for themselves with ease."

The TFA said the rental position of each farm needed to be looked at and compared with other rents being paid in similar situations to decide whether a rent cut is a possibility.

The group added that landlords were continuing to resist reductions, but some rent reductions were beginning to feed through.

Mr Dunn said: "This includes a recent arbitration award which provided a rent reduction. In that case, the landlord was advised by a national firm of land agents arguing for a substantial rent increase.

"Farm tenants must not feel bullied or pressurised into accepting what landlords agents argue for, he added.

Only a very small proportion of rent reviews end up at arbitration, and arbitration can be a stressful and costly experience.

Before serving notices, tenants can take out insurance against the costs of going to arbitration, even when they will serve the notice.

Mr Dunn said: "Often, having insurance means that landlords settle more quickly and better than they would otherwise have done, knowing that tenants have the means to take reasonable cases all the way if necessary.

All farm tenants should consider their position and take advice about how to proceed.
Harold and Marjorie Schneider built the Erie Beach Hotel in Port Dover into a destination spot, but her family says she was the driving force behind the idea.

When the couple bought the now 18-room hotel in 1945 on Walker Street, just a stones throw from the Lake Erie beach, Harold expressed reservations that they could make a successful go of it.

But the family says he was eventually overcome by Marjories optimistic vision and there likely isnt a person in the Hamilton area who hasnt had a perch or pickerel meal at the Port Dover landmark, or who has not heard of it. For a time in the late 1980s, the family operated with a partner an Erie Beach restaurant in the old Spectator newsprint warehouse on King William Street in downtown Hamilton.

She was the driving force, said grandson Andrew Schneider, the third generation to run the hotel. She kept us all on our toes over the years. She wanted to make sure everything was right. She wanted to make people feel at home, welcomed and have them come back.

Marjorie Schneider, the matriarch of the prominent family, who also own the neighbouring and popular Arbor hotdog stand, died Sept. 2 at the Dover Cliffs Long Term Home in Port Dover. She was 100, just shy of turning 101 on Nov. 10.

She thought it had potential sitting on a hill and overlooking the lake, said daughter Gay Brzozowski about her mothers view of the hotel when the couple bought it.

My dad used to say, Marjorie, I cant make any money with the way you are producing the meals and she would say to him, Thats your problem. In later years, he said they made a great team. She was a little shy, but very creative. She made sure everything was right.

Apart from taking advantage of pickerel and perch for dinners, the family says she introduced her unique celery bread to Port Dover. She also brought pickled pumpkin to the menu.

She loved to cook, said her daughter. She decorated, painted, She did everything. When they opened the Cove Room, that was her first big show.

The anticipation and wonder of a meal at the Erie Beach Hotel was captured in a 1993 article by Spectator writer Suzanne Bourret.

Waiting for her meal in the Terrace Room one Sunday evening, she noted there could be as many as 100 orders ahead of hers.

When the food finally came, it was worth the wait, she wrote. The piece of celery bread was buttery and nippy with its celery-seed seasoning. We had ordered the six-to-eight fillets dinner and we counted seven pieces, about two inches each of perch beside the lemon wedge ... succulent perch that is blessedly lightly breaded.

Marjorie Essig was born in Seaforth and grew up in Galt. She was one of four children born to Ernie and Erma Essig. Her father was a postal worker and her mother was a homemaker.

Brzozowski said her parents met in Waterloo when her father was working on the front desk of the Walper Hotel. They married and moved when Harold got a job as manager of the Wallaceburg Inn. Harold joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1941 and Marjorie became manager of the inn.

They unsuccessfully tried to buy the inn, and then Marjorie was tasked with finding a site while Harold was serving in the navy. The family says the only affordable option was the Erie Beach Hotel.

Harold served on Port Dover council from 1949 to 1967. He was village reeve in 1953 and became the first mayor of the new town of Port Dover in 1954. He served as mayor for 13 years.

In a 1966 Spectator article on the family, it indicated the hotel had become a going concern. Harold served as business manager and Marjorie ran the Cove Room, decorated the place and met with brides to help plan their wedding receptions. Son Tony worked in the kitchen and daughters Patricia and Gay worked as waitresses. Son Bruce worked part time.

The summer was busy, but Christmas was a big time, too.

Were as busy in December as July in the dining rooms, Marjorie told The Spec.

Harold and Marjorie sold the business to son Anthony and his wife Betty in the early 1970s, but they didnt really put their feet up.

They didnt retire that much, said grandson Andrew. They were still here most days. She made the pickled pumpkin well into her 80s. She liked to keep an eye on us and make sure we were doing things right.

Anthony and Betty sold the business to son Andrew and his wife Pam in the early 2000s.

The family bought The Arbor in 1984 off the Ryerse family. It marked its 100th year of operation in 2019.

Marjorie Schneider is survived by children Patricia, Gay, Bruce, grandchildren Bruce, Tony, Andrew, Louis, 11 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She was predeceased by her husband Harold in 1988 and son Tony in 2016.
Jessica, a former member of K-pop girl group Girls' Generation, is publishing an autobiographical novel.

"Shine" will hit bookshelves simultaneously on Sept. 29 in 11 nations including Korea, Brazil, Indonesia, the U.S. and Vietnam.

The story depicts the life of a 17-year-old Korean-American girl who wants to achieve her dream of becoming a K-pop star.

"The book offers a realistic account of a girl's journey through many years of training, harsh criticism and strict discipline," according to publisher RH Korea.

Jessica made her debut with Girls' Generation in 2007 and left the group in 2014. Since then, she has run her own fashion business.


Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times Talk Ilhan Omar Is Not Here to Put You at Ease

Few members of Congress have been as much of a political lightning rod during the storm-heavy Trump era as Ilhan Omar. The spotlight has at times been useful, as the 37-year-old Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota has become a prominent voice on issues like racial justice and police reform. But it has also resulted in disturbingly violent rhetoric from her opponents on the right. I have  in one body  six or seven marginalized identities, said Omar, who this year published an autobiography, This Is What America Looks Like, and theres an expectation from everyone on how those particular identities should behave.

Theres a section of your book where  well, Ill quote it directly: I am, by nature, a starter of fires. My work has been to figure out where Im going to burn down everything around me by adding the fuel of my religion, skin color, gender or even tone. Couldnt that kind of language be interpreted as a form of demagoguery? Why is it helpful to express yourself in those terms rather than, say, in terms of building things up? Its metaphorical. There are many times when people will say, Something you said has agitated this space. And its like, no, its me just showing up that did it. There are times when I will choose to not show up, because I know that my presence brings about intensity that isnt going to be helpful. Theres no one else that exists in a space where they have to deal with the hate of anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-Blackness, but also with sexism. People will say its my tone. Im like, youre agitated by my tone because you think people like me should be sitting in a corner, not heard and not seen. Everything that comes out of my mouth is going to be filtered through the lens of you despising my existence. Thats the metaphorical adding-of-fire. That was a thing in the primary campaign: Ilhan is divisive. My being given the mic to say anything is angering, regardless of what the hell I say. I could say, Good morning, and theyre already angry.

Ilhan Omar at her victory party in Minneapolis in 2018 after being elected to Congress. Annabelle Marcovici/Sipa USA, via Associated Press

Do you believe theres a connection between what youre describing  the way youre interpreted  and the accusations of anti-Semitism that youve received? I mean, there are a lot of preconceived notions about what thoughts and ideologies I have that have no basis in reality. Its the same way in which people filter everything through, like, anti-American, which couldnt be further from the truth. I wouldnt run for Congress to be part of the American government if I was anti-American. Its all dependent on whom youre talking to. You could talk to Muslims, and theyll say, Because she grew up in America, she doesnt really like Muslims. Talk to Arabs, and theyre like, Shes African. Anything that I say or do will be filtered to create an excuse of why they now are trying to call me a bigot.

Im curious about whether your being made to think about anti-Semitism has caused any changes or filled in any gaps in your understanding of what anti-Semitism is and how it works. I think a lot of people have gaps in their understanding of what it is. Its been important to understand the ways in which people experience it. In the process of writing a few of the op-eds Ive written on the rise of anti-Semitism in comparison to the rise of Islamophobia, it has been interesting to see the ways in which so many people create a lens through which they see it. It is important, when you are not of that community, to understand the different ways that bigotry shows up. It has always been a disappointment as a minority when I communicate with people and theyre like: Thats not Islamophobia. Thats not anti-Blackness. But I am telling you: This is my experience! This is how these things impact me! So I have brought that lens of frustration to this conversation. Im not going to say, Thats not that because I know what it feels like for me when somebody is dismissive of what Im expressing. If youre an ally, its your job to learn and to be supportive. Thats what I expect of allies, and thats how I behave as an ally.

Given that you understand the nature of some of the attention that you get and the symbolic weight that has been attached to you, isnt your offices continuing to work with your husbands consulting company weird even just from an optics perspective? Maybe its ultimately a small-potatoes thing, but wouldnt it be smarter to avoid inviting that scrutiny and instead work with a different consulting company? No, actually that would be the stupid thing to do. You dont stop using the service of people who are doing good work because somebody thinks it means something else. Why would I not work with people who understand my district, who have been working there for 10 years, who understand what it means to raise resources for a candidate like myself and manage and target our communications to our district to battle the misinformation and narratives that the media and our adversaries continue to put out?

I guess the answer would be that you could avoid a particular negative narrative. Right, and I believe that the narratives exist because those that are putting that narrative out understand what they gain when Im disadvantaged that way.

Given that youre a congressional freshman, do you get the sense that any of your colleagues take issue with the bully-pulpit influence that your profile might afford you? Yeah, but people dont share those things. What I do hear often is from the ones who want us to help amplify their work because they understand the benefit of our platform. We help raise money for our colleagues, talk about their policies, so that there is an opportunity to get attention. You can function that way. You can also function with resentment. For the Squad in general, there is a lot of that. But for well-meaning representatives in the House, they see our platform and think of us as family and ask us to help them.

Omar at a news conference in 2019 with Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib. Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

One of your highest-profile antagonists, Tucker Carlson, had a segment on his show this summer in which he was getting mad at Senator Tammy Duckworth for not accepting an invitation to go on his show. It made me wonder if he has ever invited you. Or if you would take him up on the offer if he did. No. I have no interest in talking to someone as hateful as Tucker. Tucker is someone who, I believe, everything he has had in life was given to him. He has a clear resentment for people who start from nothing and have achieved success that he probably wanted for himself and hasnt been able to have.

A Republican House candidate posted an image on a Facebook page that showed her holding a gun next to pictures of you and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib. How do you even begin to think about something like that? This is not a random person who did that. This is someone who is likely to win a seat with you in Congress. I mean, there have been a few people like this woman who have not only incited violence but who have also been at the forefront of the most bizarre, ill-informed conspiracies. This woman came to the Capitol and said our oath of office is illegitimate because we were sworn in on a Quran. This is Trumps Republican Party. These people are dangerous and have denigrated the ways in which we think about our society, our institutions and respect for traditions and norms. I couldnt imagine leveling a threat like that against anyone, let alone sitting members of Congress who will potentially be my colleagues. We have seen Congressman Clay Higgins threaten to kill people who are within their rights to demonstrate. This is just a level of  I dont want to say insanity, because that kind of excuses the maliciousness of what they are doing  but a level of danger that theyre engaging in, and its terrorizing so many of us.

Have any of your Republican colleagues ever reached out, publicly or privately, and said the use of violent imagery or language toward you is not OK? No. There are really no dissenters. We have now had a few death threats that have been very publicized where people have been arrested and are incarcerated for it. I cant remember a public statement or private comment of support.

Really? No Republican member of the House or Senate has ever offered any words of support? Nope.

Someone could think whatever they want about your politics, but the whole idea of politicians even invoking violence against other politicians  and it being remotely acceptable  is just so discouraging. Are you at all hopeful that these extreme levels of tension will diminish at some point? I have hope, and I also feel discouraged sometimes. Theres a severe cognitive dissonance thats happening with a segment of the American population right now. Theirs is a party that has embraced violence and on top of that a president who has no respect for ethics, for the laws of this country, no respect for our military, for democracy, for counterparts to the executive branch. And for some reason, they believe they are what it means to be American and to love our country. Everyone else, who is fighting to strengthen our democracy, to uplift those who are living in the margins of society, to rid us of the ills of our history with enslavement, is considered un-American, unpatriotic and not for the rule of law and not for order. Its a very bizarre thing.

Im waiting for you to get to the hopeful part. What gives me hope is that a majority of the insanity that we are seeing on social media  its not the lived reality of what exists in American cities and towns. Being in my hometown, the center of what has sparked the mass demonstrations across the country, and knowing that in my last primary race people came out in mass numbers makes me hopeful that the people are paying enough attention to know what kind of change they want to see in their country.

What did you learn about how youre perceived by other Democrats  or even just your political opponents generally  from that last primary race? One of the most fascinating pieces in the primary was that the national-figure thing was seen as a negative  the Focused on the Fifth. As someone who worked at a municipal level, I know what that kind of governance looks like. Then I was a state legislator, so I know what is expected of a state-level representative. And I understand what a federal representative should be. On a federal level, you are supposed to talk about big, structural changes. Were supposed to talk about holistically addressing our climate crisis. Were supposed to talk about what a federal health care policy should look like. Every bill you pass on a federal level is supposed to have an impact on everyone in the country. That is the role of Congress. If you want to have an impact only in Minneapolis and you want to have an impact only in the state of Minnesota, then there are seats you can run for there so that you can have that concentrated impact.

Police reform is an area where the situation in your district of Minneapolis has had national implications. What is your position on disbanding the Minneapolis police force? I am for disbanding the Minneapolis Police Department.

Disbanding the police, emphasizing community policing, reallocating resources to social programs  those are all things that could lead to more safety in the long term. But how do you see balancing moving toward those ends while also addressing a rise in violent crime in the short term? Our Police Department is fully intact, while the crime rate is higher than it was last year. That is not because of the department being disbanded. That is because of what? Where is the answer from the people who advocate not disbanding the Police Department? How do they answer the police still being there and this rise of crime? I dont defend or explain the rise of crime. Thats not my job. The job of explaining the rise of crime falls onto the people who advocate more police, because we do have more police right now in Minneapolis and that crime continues to happen. The reality is that about 50 percent of homicides in the city of Minneapolis go unsolved. Rape kits have been destroyed by the Minneapolis Police Department. There is a crisis in credibility with the Minneapolis Police Department. What we need is for people to allow for the Minneapolis City Council on their path to dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department and constructing a public-safety model that works for all of us.

Omar in June at the site in Minneapolis where George Floyd was killed. Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune, via Getty Images

What do you make of the way that part of the larger political conversation has been shifting toward one centered on law and order and away from racial injustice and racial equality? Ive always been baffled by the ways in which Democrats and the media have adopted the messaging narratives of the Republican Party. This is one of the greatest examples of that. We have an ability as a party to stay with the narrative of what the root causes of these demonstrations are: the social and economic neglect that many brown and Black people have experienced in this country, the need to address police brutality and our ability to create proper investments in communities. We are not as disciplined and as confident in our base, in our policies, and thats why you see the challenges to people who are progressive as soon as they get a national platform. Our party is running from its own shadow. Its afraid of its own ability to resonate with the American people. We have allowed the Republicans to reduce our messages to their messages, which makes us fight on their battleground. I dont know what is wrong with the political consultants that are advising any of these people, but it is quite devastating to see that this is where the conversation has gone.

Does the way the conversation tilts in one direction or another have to do with the respective difficulty of getting certain messages across? For example, its a lot easier for a politician to say, Police good; rioting bad than it is to say, Rioting is a problem, and policing has problems, and these are interconnected issues that require deeper understanding and analysis in order to address them properly. Yes, and there is danger because we are leading from a place of fear instead of leading from a place of courage and strength. Many of the Democrats who are in leadership in Congress, whether it is the House or the Senate  these are Democrats who existed in the era of Ronald Reagan, who have been beaten into submission and into running away from everything that we should be as a party that puts people first. It has been a party that has engaged in some harm because of wanting to appease everyone and not appeasing anyone.

Your father died this year. This is something you touch on in your book, but tell me about the influence he had on your political thinking. My father was instrumental in anchoring me in the reality of the skin I was born in, the gender I was born in, the religion I was born in, the country I was born in and the cultural context in which I was born  and to have an alertness to what representative democracy meant and the power it could hold in creating positive change for people. He and my grandfather had an acute understanding of the benefits of that, because they were people who got a taste of democracy and lost it. They looked for it in different parts of the world and understood there was uniqueness in the way representation was set up in our Constitution. And that, if done right, ours can be the greatest form of democracy.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity from two conversations.
A haunting trail camera photo of a wild boar dragging something ghostly in the dark has created a mystery in southern Alabama, including uneasy jokes of it being a dead alien.

The grainy image was posted on Facebook Sept. 19 by the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division. It shows the feral hog  eyes aglow  with something wispy in its mouth. The objects long legs  or tentacles  are seen trailing on the ground.

Take a look and see if you can determine what this Barbour County pig had for supper, the division wrote in the post.

   Take a look and see if you can determine what this Barbour County pig had for supper.  Game camera photo courtesy of Clint Ludlam. Posted by Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division on Saturday, September 19, 2020

Barbour County is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by the Florida Panhandle, so multiple suggestions the object was a marine animal from the gulf seemed off base. However, commenters also pointed Hurricane Sally brought historic Gulf Coast flooding to Alabama last week, making anything possible.

Squid. That hurricane was something else! Dale R. Patterson wrote on the divisions Facebook page.

Doesnt look like an animal to me, Steve Mulder posted.

Looks like he got himself an alien, David Clements commented.

Others insisted it was a deer, a coyote or palm fronds needed for building a nest.

The photo was taken on a camera owned by Clint Ludlam, who told McClatchy News he has been battling wild hogs on his property for several years.

I have this one (hog) on camera several nights every week. Its a boar, so the comments about it making a nest for its piglets isnt even possible, Ludlam told McClatchy News. There also isnt a palm frond for miles around this spot, so thats not what it is either.

The same camera photographed a small deer and a coyote in the field that night, and he thinks the hog killed one of them.

Feral hogs (also known as wild boar) are an invasive species that grows to 450 pounds on average (for males), according to Outdooralabama.com. However, one weighing 820 pounds was shot and killed in rural Samson, Alabama, in 2017, according to Al.com. The species has no natural enemies in the state and is known for its voracious omnivorous feeding habits, Outdoor Alabama states.

Among the creatures most intimidating features is four continually-growing canine teeth (tusks) that self-sharpen from movement of the upper and lower jaw, the site says.



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The police team tasked with investigating the murder case of a 40-year-old government school teacher couldnt find her jewellery at her house during a search.

Jyoti Ranis decomposing body was found at her Sector-23 accommodation on the night of September 15. Her husband Mandeep Singh, 42, also a teacher at a government school, is the prime suspect in the case. He has also been booked for attempting to kill one of his sons, whom he had allegedly pushed into a canal near Ludhiana. Mandeep is currently absconding.

The detailed statements of the couples salary accounts also revealed that they had less than Rs 2,000 balance in each account, investigating officials said.

As per a probing officer privy to the case, police have been able to trace only one bank account each in the name of Mandeep and Jyoti so far, wherein Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,200 were found, respectively. As Mandeep had not talked to his father Surmukh Singh, a retired inspector from Punjab Roadways, in the last five years, no one in his family was aware if they had more than one bank account.

Bank accounts of the couple had minimal amounts and even the jewellery of the victim was not found in her house during a search, Chandigarh senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vineet Kumar said.

Police sources also pointed out that the family owned a property in Kharar and was considering selling it off.

Missing son was to celebrate birthday on Monday

The nine-year-old son of the couple, who is still missing, was to celebrate his birthday on September 21. His grandparents, who already have the custody of his elder brother, are now worried about his well-being.

Meanwhile, to ensure uninterrupted studies of the couples elder son, one of Mandeeps college friends, Rajinder Singh Kamboj, who teaches at the government school in Sector 43, on Monday collected study material from the boys school.

The couples sons, aged 13 and nine, studied at a Sector-33 private school, which already has decided to offer free education to the boys till Class 10.

Jyoti Rani was found dead at her government accommodation by a police team from Ludhiana, which had come knocking at her house to drop her elder son.

The police are yet to trace Mandeep Singh and his nine-year-old son, who was in the car when he pushed his other son in Neelon canal on the night of September 14.

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The funding is set to pay for the transportation of personal protective equipment (PPE) and life-saving medical equipment to Ireland from outside the EU between April and July this year.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said: This funding is another example of the support provided by the EU to Ireland and other member states in the ongoing fight against Covid-19.

This is a timely reminder that European solidarity is an important element of our response to the pandemic and we will continue to work with the Commission and EU colleagues to share information and co-ordinate actions as much as possible.

The EU is providing financial support to health authorities in 18 member states, plus the UK, under the mobility package of the European Commissions Emergency Support Instrument.

It aims to help member states in their efforts to addressed the pandemic in a strategic, co-ordinated manner at European level.

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The EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said: We continue to support our EU member states to be better prepared to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

We have financed the transportation of essential medical supplies across the EU. The items were delivered where they were needed the most and have boosted national efforts to save lives and better equip hospitals and healthcare workers.
Back in 1964, a MINI of the Cooper S variety managed to beat the competition and the odds and became winner of the demanding Monte Carlo Rally. Two more wins were to follow, in 1965 and 1967, but it was this first one that really brought the small Brit machine under the spotlight.Responsible for driving the car to its first win was Northern Irish rally driver Patrick Paddy Hopkirk. His name, and the cars number 37, have become the stuff of legend for fans, and now a reason for a special edition of the present-day MINI range.Called MINI Paddy Hopkirk Edition, the tribute guise is offered from October on the Cooper S (both 3- and 5-door) and John Cooper Works variants. It comes as a Chili Red body with a white roof and a single white bonnet stripe, riding on 17- or 18-inch wheels, depending on market.High-gloss paint is present on the frame, the horizontal brace of the radiator grille, inserts for the lower air intakes, the opening in the bonnet, the door handles, the fuel filler flap, and many more.Attesting to the editions role in this world are Paddy Hopkirk Monte Carlo stickers, the letter combination 33 EJB of the number plate used by the 1964 Monte Carlo-winning car, and even the signature of Hopkirk on the decorative trim strip on the passenger side.Whats even more exciting is that MINI is not offering this edition as a locked deal. That means that if need be, customers can throw on top of it whatever they want from the MINI customization catalog.The German carmaker did not release pricing for the Paddy Hopkirk Edition.
The industry will be gathering online to focus on leadership development at all career levels and equipping individuals, both female and male, on how to re-evaluate their personal brand.

Attendees will be able to network with industry peers, get practical advice, discover fresh perspectives and hear big-name speakers such as Professor Maja (sociologist, author, and confidence researcher), Errica Rivera (culture and inclusion lead, State Auto Insurance Companies), Elizabeth Geary (chief underwriting officer, TransRe), Jay Chappell (leader of corporate risk and broking for Texas, Willis Towers Watson) and more.

Anyone who wants to be encouraged, inspired and engaged by the industrys foremost women of influence and emerging leaders is encouraged to register now.
The Tripura Public Service Commission (TPSC) has called for online applications from eligible and interested candidates for filling Hundred (100) vacancies to the post of Personal Assistant Grade-II through direct recruitment on a fulltime basis to be posted in Tripura, India. The registration-cum-application process towards the same starts from September 24, 2020 and closes on October 16, 2020 as stated in TPSC notification by 5:30 pm.

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Personal Assistant Grade II Organisation Tripura Public Service Commission (TPSC) Educational Qualification Higher Secondary (HS+2) or equivalent, or Madhyamik examination with Stenography course Experience Freshers can apply Job Responsibilities null Skills Required Typing Job Location Tripura Salary Scale Rs. 5,700 to Rs. 24,000 per month Industry Civil Service Application Start Date September 24, 2020 Application End Date October 16, 2020

TPSC Recruitment 2020: Age And Fees

Candidates interested in applying for Personal Assistant posts through TPSC Recruitment 2020 must have attained 18 years of age and not be more than 41 years as on October 16, 2020 with relaxation (upper age limit) up to 5 years for SC/ST/PH candidates as mentioned in the TPSC notification.

Candidates must pay a prescribed amount of Rs. 150 (Gen/UR) and Rs. 100 (SC/ST/PH) respectively as examination fee for Personal Assistant posts through TPSC Recruitment 2020 as specified in the official TPSC notification given at the end of the article.

TN Police Recruitment 2020: TNUSRB Notification For 10,906 Constable, Warder And Fireman Posts

TPSC Recruitment 2020: Educational Eligibility

Candidates interested in applying for Personal Assistant posts through TPSC Recruitment 2020 must have passed Higher Secondary (HS+2) or equivalent, or Madhyamik examination with Stenography course from a recognised Board/Institution with as specified in TPSC notification.

Candidates must have Computer knowledge and proficiency in Typing as mentioned in TPSC notification.

TPSC Recruitment 2020: Selection Method

The selection of candidates to for Personal Assistant posts through TPSC Recruitment 2020 will be done through a Preliminary Examination of 100 marks (multiple Choice Type Test), (ii) Type Writing (Using Computer) of 100 marks and Shorthand Writing & Transcription (using computer) of 200 marks and (iii) Main Examination of 250 marks (Conventional Type Test) as specified in TPSC notification.

TPSC Recruitment 2020: Pay Scale

Candidates selected to Personal Assistant posts through TPSC Recruitment 2020 will be paid emolument in the scale of Rs. 5,700 to Rs. 24,000 per month as notified in TPSC notification.

ECIL Recruitment 2020 For Technical Officer (TO) Posts, Apply Online Before September 30

TPSC Recruitment 2020: How To Apply

Candidates interested in applying for Personal Assistant posts through TPSC Recruitment 2020 must register online on the official TPSC website from September 24, 2020 onwards and submit their applications on or before October 16, 2020 by 5:30 pm as notified in TPSC notification.

Download TPSC Recruitment 2020 PDF Notification for Personal Assistant
Josselyn Nielsen, a U.S. Navy veteran, has been called to head up JustServe for the Chattanooga Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. JustServe helps link organizations and volunteers for purposes of doing good. The free app and website at JustServe.org are free for everyone  no matter religious affiliation  and perfect for Tennessee, a state of Volunteers.

As stated in previous releases, JustServe.org is being used by nonprofit and government agencies across America. Organizations are posting their needs. And volunteers are using the site to search for places to serve in their communities. We invite everyone to participate, Mrs. Nielsen said. Together, we can elevate life and lift each other.

Mrs. Nielsen and her husband, Tim, and their three children  Sydney, Alejandro and Victoria  settled in Chattanooga about four years ago. Southern hospitality and the natural beauty of the area won us over. We love being part of this community and I am thankful to be called as the JustServe specialist for this location. Service is a part of who we are.

Mrs. Nielsen immigrated to New York from Honduras when she was 8 years old. At age 19, she had a strong desire to give back to the country that gave her mother and her the opportunity for a better life. So, she enlisted in the United States Navy. After boot camp in Chicago and additional training in Meridian, Mississippi, I was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan on board the naval destroyer USS O'Brien DD-975, Mrs. Nielsen said. This is where I met my future husband who introduced me to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Later, I was stationed at the Fleet and Industrial Supply Center (FISC) where I provided supply support for naval submarines. I joined the Church on Feb 18, 2001. After 3 years in Japan, we moved to Virginia where I finished my naval career stationed on the USS Ross DDG-71 out of Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia.

While traveling the world with the Navy, I discovered my fascination with meeting new people, seeing new places, eating foods I never even knew existed  and serving. During my 20-year membership with the Church, I have volunteered in numerous positions. But, serving within the young women's organization has always been close to my heart. I have been in the company of bold women of faith who have inspired me to proudly share my story as a Latina immigrant, a veteran and a woman of faith.

I also love going to work each day with super talented individuals at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce who work incredibly hard to make Chattanooga the best place to live, Mrs. Nielsen continued. Its a privilege to get to know the people of Chattanooga better and I look forward to proudly serving as the JustServe specialist, too. Anyone can give volunteer service where they live. Sign up today at https://www.justserve.org.
New Delhi: Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has denied the #MeToo accusations levied against him by actress Payal Ghosh, terming it "completely false, malicious and dishonest". His lawyer has released a statement on his behalf, which read, "My client, Anurag Kashyap, has been deeply pained by the false allegations of sexual misconduct that have recently surfaced against him. These allegations are completely false, malicious and dishonest."

The statement further read, "It is sad that a social movement as important as the #metoo movement has been co-opted by vested interests and reduced to a mere tool for character assassination. Fictitious allegations of this nature seriously undermine the movement and seek to unconscionably trade upon the pain and trauma of actual victims of sexual harassment and abuse. My client has been fully advised of his rights and remedies in law and intends to pursue them to the fullest extent."

The statement was also posted by Anurag Kashyap on Twitter. Read here:

And here is the statement from my lawyer @PriyankaKhimani .. on my behalf .. thank You pic.twitter.com/0eXwNnK5ZI  Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) September 20, 2020

On Saturday, Payal Ghosh, best known for her role in 2017 film 'Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi', accused Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment in a Twitter post. She also tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in her tweet, requesting him to take action against the filmmaker.

"Anurag Kashyap has forced himself on me and extremely badly. PMO India, Narendra Modi, kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. Pls help," she wrote.

Post which, Anurag Kashyap responded on Twitter in which he denied the allegations, claiming that they were "baseless".
Journalist held for running espionage racket with Chinese woman

The Delhi Police along with central intelligence agencies on Saturday busted an espionage racket and arrested one Rajeev Sharma, a free lance journalist, along with a Chinese woman and a Nepalese citizen.

Rajeev Sharma, who is now in the custody of the special cell, has been arrested for passing classified defence information to Chinese intelligence, police said, adding that the Chinese woman Qin Shi and her Nepalese associate, Sher Singh are also part of the spy racket.

"Special Cell has arrested a freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma for passing sensitive information to Chinese intelligence," the Delhi Police said in a statement.

"A Chinese woman and her Nepalese aide have also been arrested for paying Sharma large amounts of money routed through shell companies," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (special cell) Sanjeev Yadav who is leading the probe.

Police said the Chinese Intelligence Agencies have offered large amounts of money to Sharma in return for 'sensitive information'.

Police have recovered a number of mobile phones, laptops and other incriminating and sensitive material, sources said.

Sharma, a resident of Pitampura in north-west Delhi was arrested by the special cell on 14 September. An FIR (230/2020) has been filed in an Official Secrets Act case.

"He was found to be in possession of some defence-related classified documents. Investigation in the case is still on," reports citing police officials said.

Sharma was produced before a Delhi court on 15th September. He is presently being questioned by a joint team of Central Intelligence Agencies and special cell of the Delhi Police.

Sharma had earlier worked with a news agency and some prominent newspaper. He also wrote columns for several publications and ran a YouTube channel. His primary focus area was foreign and strategic affairs.

This is the second instance of a Chinese citizen being held over spying after the arrest of Chinese national Lou Peng who was accused of paying bribes to Tibetan monks.

In August, the Income Tax carried out raids on several Chinese nationals living in the national capital region, who were accused of money laundering.

During the probe, it was found that Charlie Peng aka Lou Peng had tried to pay bribes to monks living in Majnu ka Tila (North Delhi) so that he could enter the core group of Dalai Lama.

Lou Peng entered India illegally in 2014 and assumed Indian Identity. Chinese intelligence had given him the task of keeping a tab on Tibetan refugees and Dalai Lama.
Earnestine Williams, the Southside Syracuse woman who lived during two major pandemics and volunteered even after she turned 100, has died. She was 103.

Williams died Friday of natural causes, her grandson said. She was surrounded by family and her faith, said Elder Reginald K. Williams, an assistant pastor at Heavenly Vision Apostolic Church and one of Earnestines 29 grandchildren.

Reginald Williams recalled his grandmothers sharp memory and deep, abiding belief in Jesus Christ. She was known for her faith and commitment to community. Her grandson said it wont surprise those who know her to learn she was yearning to volunteer right up until the end.

Williams lived through one major pandemic, the Spanish flu of 1918, as a baby.

She was surviving another this year, which earned her a shoutout from Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon during a news conference. McMahon shared her story to remind the community whom measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing are designed to protect.

Williams told a reporter in April she was eager to return to volunteering once it was safe, noting it was all part of Gods plan.

Its a bad virus, isnt it? she said during an interview in her living room. I aint talked about it. I listen to other people talk. Im hoping God will stop it. Thats the only person going to stop it.

Reginald Williams said his grandmother right up until her final days was eager to get back out and return to her normal activities: volunteer work, church and bingo.

She was still very much enthused and ready to go back to work, he said.

In her final weeks, the family matriarch recalled stories and names of people shed worked with as a volunteer. She sang, hummed and prayed often.

She spent her final hours joyful with her family, thankful," Reginald Williams said. "She went peacefully. She was ready to be with her savior.

The grandson said Williams lived to the fullest right up until the very end, even with the restrictions of coronavirus. One highlight of the last few months for 103-year-old woman was getting in a trip to the nail salon. Reginald Williams said the salon had been so accommodating, even offering curbside" service so the elderly woman did not have to get out of the car.

Her grandson said she was always aware of small acts of kindness and giving, and saw them as reaping the rewards of her faith and service over the years.

Originally from Valdosta, Georgia, Earnestine Williams later lived and worked in Florida before making Syracuse her home in 1980. She moved here with her husband, Lonza Williams, who died in the 1990s, and their 11 children.

Williams was the longest-serving volunteer senior companion for the New York State Office for Persons with Developmental Disabilities. She volunteered for 41 years, leaving an indelible mark on every person with whom she came into contact because of her selflessness, her kindness and the wisdom she so willingly shared, according to a statement from OPWDD.

Earnestine was devoted to making peoples lives better and we are all better for knowing her, the statement said. She will be greatly missed and always remembered.

The family invited anyone wishing to share condolences, memories or tributes to Williams to send messages to the Heavenly Vision Apostolic Church (mailing address P.O. Box 32, Syracuse, N.Y. 13205, or by email at hvacsyr@gmail.com).

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Friday at noon Bellegrove Baptist Church (218 Martin Luther King Jr Way in Syracuse). Calling hours will be held from 10 a.m. to noon followed the burial at Onondaga Valley Cemetery.

Contact reporter Julie McMahon: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992
Whitehall Police seek help from bystanders to track down the person or people who fired shots at the Lehigh Valley Mall on Saturday.

The shots were fired just before 5 p.m. Saturday, police said. Police found three spent 9mm shell casings in the area of Modells Sporting Goods on the malls lower level, according to a news release issued Monday by Whitehall Police.

Officers and troopers from more than 20 law enforcement agencies rushed the mall to find suspects and evacuate shoppers to save lives, the release says. Officers secured more than 120 stores, police said.

No suspects or gunshot victims were found.

Multiple witnesses have been interviewed, but no clear and concise description of the suspect(s) has been provided, the release says.

Investigators continue to secure surveillance video from individual stores and the Lehigh Valley Mall. Theyre asking anyone with video from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Saturday in the area of the shooting to provide it to police. Police are also looking for witnesses. Contact Whitehall Police Detective Matthew Reszek at 610-437-3042 ext. 216.

Who helped?

These agencies responded to the Lehigh Valley Mall shots fired incident.

Allentown Police, Bethlehem City Police, Catasauqua Police, Colonial Regional Police, Coopersburg Police, Coplay Police, Easton Police, Emmaus Police, Lehigh Valley Airport Police, Northampton Borough Police, Northampton County Sheriffs Deputies, North Catasauqua Police, Salisbury Police, Slatington Police, South Whitehall Police, Upper Macungie Police, Upper Saucon Police, Wilson Borough Police, Lehigh County District Attorneys Office, Pennsylvania State Police Troop M, PSP Special Emergency Response Team, Allentown Police Emergency Response Team, Lehigh County Municipal Emergency Response Team, Allentown Fire Department Bomb Squad, Lehigh County Emergency Management, Lehigh County Special Operations/Drone, FBI Allentown, Whitehall Emergency Management, Catasauqua Fire Department, South Whitehall Fire Department (Woodlawn, Greenawalds), Macungie Fire Department, Macungie EMS, Whitehall Fire Department, Whitehall Fire Police, Cetronia Ambulance, Lehigh County 911 Personnel and Tactical Dispatch Northampton County 911 Personnel, North Penn Goodwill

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. If theres anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
A series of recent high-profile rape and child sexual abuse cases in Pakistan has spurred a debate over how to curb the incidence of violent crimes that mostly target women and children.

As part of a government effort to punish and deter such crimes, Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan last week called for the chemical castration and public hanging of rapists and child sexual abusers.

But human and child rights campaigners who oppose the death penalty are instead urging reforms in the police and judiciary and an increase in awareness campaigns for parents, children, and communities as the best approach to fighting and preventing sexual abuse.

Major countrywide protests followed the alleged gang rape of a woman in front of her children on one of the countrys major highways earlier this month. The incident rekindled the debate over how to handle the thousands of reported cases of rape and child sexual abuse in the Muslim country of 220 million -- and the countless cases that go unreported.

Rapists and child molesters should be hanged publicly, Khan told 92 HD News, a private TV channel, on September 14. "Murder is graded as first-degree, second-degree, or third-degree, and rape should also be graded this way. First-degree rapists should be castrated and completely incapacitated."

On September 16, Khan announced that his administration is preparing a three-tier draft bill that will include the registration of sex offenders, policing, and exemplary punishment. [This is] to instill fear, so that when people try to ruin someones life, they should be aware of the consequences, he told lawmakers.

Convicting a sex offender is not an easy job due to the complicated process of presenting evidence and witnesses, Khan said. The legislation will contain guarantees to protect witnesses. Khans comments were apparently aimed at placating the public outrage over recent incidents as scores of rape and sexual abuse cases have been reported in the media across Pakistan this month.

Public opinion leaders in the conservative country have called for strict punishments such as execution as a deterrent against sex crimes. Under current Pakistani law, rape is not punishable by death.

Human rights campaigners, however, oppose the death penalty on the grounds that it represents a serious violation of human rights. Uzma Noorani, co-chairwoman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), told Voice Of Americas Urdu service that severe punishments do not affect crime rates.

Such statements [about strict punishments] can cool down public anger, but it will not solve the issue, she said. In countries such as Pakistan where the criminal justice system faces a lot of problems, the death penalty cannot be granted.

We have seen cases where people were proved innocent after they were executed [for alleged crimes], she added.

Under the Pakistan Penal Code, if proved guilty of rape by a court of law a person can be sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison. Gang rape carries a death sentence or life imprisonment for each offender.

Sahil, an NGO working for child protection and against sexual abuse, echoes HRCPs stance against the death penalty. It advocates reforming the judicial system and educating parents and children to protect themselves as a better alternative to executing offenders.

We hanged a convicted rapist and murderer in Kasur [in eastern Punjab Province] two years ago, but nothing changed, Sahil Executive Director Manizeh Bano told Radio Mashaal. Instead of such punishments, groups involved in pedophilia need to be identified and the process of implementing the law needs to be effective.

In the 2018 high-profile case Bano referenced, Muhammad Imran was sentenced to death amid tremendous public pressure for charges of pedophilia and killing eight children, including the rape and murder of 7-year-old Zainab Ansari. But his execution failed to affect the overall statistics.

Peoples trust and confidence in the judicial system need to be built, Bano said. If the law is upheld, people will understand that court proceedings lead to a result.

Sahil reported 2,846 cases of child sexual abuse in Pakistan in 2019, with over half of the incidents occurring in mostly rural areas of Punjab. The year before, 3,832 cases were reported. According to War Against Rape (WAR), an NGO working to curb violence against women, nearly 1,000 cases of sexual assault were reported at three major hospitals in the southern seaport city of Karachi last year. Overall, the statistics about sexual abuse are patchy because many cases are not reported due to social taboos and fear of reprisal. The actual number of sexual crimes is thought to be much higher.

The reported cases represent only the tip of the iceberg, said Arshad Mahmood, a child rights campaigner in Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The surge in numbers does not reveal the true extent of the problem, which is way bigger. Over the past several years, he added, the reporting of cases has increased because of increased coverage in the press and on social media.

In March, Islamabad passed a law on the recovery of kidnapped children and the prevention of child abuse. The federal government as well as those of Pakistans four provinces have also adopted several more laws to protect children from abuse.

In many instances, however, these laws are not being enforced, according to Mahmood. We have laws in each province and Child Protection Commissions, but the laws are not implemented, he said.

He suggests that work needs to be done at the community level including educating and training children to identify harmful or dangerous situations and how to protect themselves.

Parents also need to work on their awareness, too, so that children can speak up without fear, he noted.
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bridge Medicines and The Rockefeller University today announced an exclusive license agreement to further develop a series of small molecule inhibitors of activated Factor XII (FXIIa) discovered in the laboratory of Jan L. Breslow, M.D.

Breslow and his colleague Manish Ponda, M.D., illuminated a novel role for FXIIa as a key target for hereditary angioedema (HAE), a disease characterized by repeated episodes of swelling, and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID), such as rheumatoid arthritis. With funding from The Rockefeller University and the Robertson Foundation, Drs. Breslow and Ponda subsequently identified a number of inhibitors of FXIIa. Breslow is Frederick Henry Leonhardt Professor and head of the Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics and Metabolism at Rockefeller. Ponda was an Assistant Professor of Clinical Investigation at Rockefeller and is currently the Director of Clinical Development at a major pharmaceutical company.

"Our results indicate that inhibitors of FXIIa may show utility against HAE and potentially a variety of other inflammatory disorders," Dr. Breslow said. "The possibility of developing new treatments to address such unmet medical needs continues to motivate our research efforts."

The agreement with The Rockefeller University allows Bridge Medicines to extend these early research efforts and provides a path to create an innovative series of new medicines. The Bridge Medicines operating model seamlessly moves promising early-stage research projects emerging from premier academic institutions from preclinical proof-of-concept to clinical development.

"We are thrilled to be working with Dr. Breslow on this highly innovative, and therapeutically promising project," stated Dr. William Polvino, CEO of Bridge Medicines. "Drs. Breslow and Ponda have already shown that the lead compounds are efficacious in disease models of immune mediated inflammatory disorders. We see this as an exciting opportunity to revolutionize treatment for these disorders with a new medicine."

About Bridge Medicines

Bridge Medicines is a pioneering drug-discovery company focused on advancing promising early technologies in major academic institutions from proof-of-concept to clinical development. Launched by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, in partnership with Deerfield Management Company and Bay City Capital, Bridge Medicines is a groundbreaking initiative that provides an unbroken, fully funded and professionally staffed path from discovery to drug candidate. For more information about Bridge Medicines, please visit www.BridgeMedicines.com.

Contact:

Matt Stroschein

Jacob S. Lasdon House, 5th Floor

420 East 70th Street

New York, NY 10021

[email protected]

SOURCE Bridge Medicines

Related Links

http://www.bridgemedicines.com


Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:20:30|Editor: huaxia

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JERUSALEM, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel's coronavirus cabinet will convene on Tuesday to discuss tightening the nationwide lockdown in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 infections and mortality, the government said on Monday.

The ministers will discuss the "current morbidity situation and possible further restrictions," a government spokesperson said in a statement.

Officials with the health ministry told the Hebrew-language Haaretz daily that the main measure under consideration is to impose further restrictions on working places in the public and private sectors.

Also on Monday, Director-General of the Health Ministry Hezi Levi warned that Israel is in "a state of emergency" and urged hospitals to postpone "elective procedures," which refer to all procedures that are not urgent.

A three-week lockdown was imposed on Friday, requiring many businesses to stay closed and setting strict limits on movements and gatherings.

Some 4,300 new cases were reported on Sunday, bringing the total cases to 187,902, according to official figures.

The number of overall fatalities reached 1,256, while the number of patients in serious condition rose to a record high of 643. Enditem
Like any other forms of rejection, getting your credit card or loan applications turned down can be a disheartening experience, especially when you feel that you have been responsible about your finances. Recent data has shown that one out of four housing loan applications are rejected by banks on average, so rejections are not an uncommon experience.

Before rushing to re-apply, what you can do is take the time to find out why your application was rejected so that you can address any financial health issues you may have. Here, well highlight some of the factors that influence a banks decision to decline a credit card or loan application.

Not meeting the banks eligibility criteria

First and foremost, the main reason banks may decline your application is because your profile does not meet their eligibility criteria  a list used to help them better gauge your financial stability and repayment ability. It includes factors such as your age, marital status, and education level. It could also be influenced by the field that you work in or your position, as well as the length of your current employment period.

Some banks are be more stringent or upfront than others in terms of its eligibility criteria, which is why you sometimes see requirements such as at least one year in your current employment. This may pose a setback for individuals who work in the growing gig economy, but it is also possible to convince banks of your repayment ability by supplementing your application with relevant financial documents.

Mistakes made during the application process

Youd be surprised by how common this is. Applicants may accidentally fill in the wrong details or place them in the wrong sections, provide incomplete forms, or uploading the wrong documents. Sometimes its also in the little details, such as sending in a blurry scan or an unclear photocopy of your documents. All these may be enough for a bank to reject an application.

Therefore, its important that you double-check your application forms and attach them with clear supporting documents. Most applications call for a similar set of documents, such a copy of your NRIC and various income documents (e.g. payslips, bank statements, EA forms, and employment letter). As such, it may be a good idea for you to prepare clean scans or copies of these basic supporting documents in advance.

Low annual income

Banks may choose to reject your application if they feel that your annual income is insufficient to take on the loan or credit card that you are applying for. Credit cards usually state upfront what minimum annual income is required for a successful application, but with housing loans it depends on the price of the property that you wish to purchase. If you are trying to buy a property that is priced way out of your annual income range, then it is unlikely that the bank will be willing to approve your loan.

Do bear in mind as well that while most banks stick to a general lending guideline set by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), they also have varying approval requirements for their credit facilities, including differing annual income bands. This is why you have different chances of approval with different banks.

Too many financial commitments

Banks usually see having some form of credit commitment (such as a loan or credit card) as a positive indicator of your status as a borrower, but it goes without saying that having too many of these may lead them to be more cautious about extending additional credit facilities to you.

One way to identify if you have a high credit commitment is by calculating your debt service ratio (DSR)  which is basically your monthly credit obligations divided by your nett monthly income. This ratio, often referred to in its percentage form, tells banks how much of your income is being used to repay debts  this then helps them decide if you can take another credit line and reliably pay for it. As such, a high DSR means a larger debt commitment  if this ratio is too high, banks will be less willing to deal with you.

Along a similar line of discussion, note that banks are also cautious of applicants who take up too many financial commitments too quickly. The rapid accumulation of debt is a clear red flag of something amiss, unless you can justify it with concrete proof, such as banking statements.

Limited credit history

While having too many financial commitments is bad, having none at all can be equally detrimental when it comes to getting your applications approved. Without prior credit history, banks are unable to check your past repayment records and determine if you are a good paymaster.

This concern can crop up when you are applying for loans or credit cards for the first time  by approving your application, banks are only relying on your profile meeting their eligibility criteria and take a chance on you, so to speak. For this reason, it is a good idea to kickstart your credit history as early as possible, such as with entry-level credit cards. Another possible way to counter this is to apply for credit facilities at banks where you already have a relationship with (such as a savings account or fixed deposit account).

Unfavourable credit score

Lastly, another common reason for banks to reject credit card or loan applications is the applicants credit score. Simply put, credit score is a measurement of your creditworthiness. It lets the banks know of your financial health and background, such as the number of credit facilities and amount owed to banks, the types of loans that you are currently servicing, as well as financial delinquencies (if any).

Individuals with higher credit score are considered to possess good financial health, thus increasing their likelihood of their applications being approved. That said, this doesnt mean that all hope is lost if your credit score is low. While banks do rely on credit scores during the approval process, they take into consideration various other factors as well (such as your employment profile, etc.). At the same time, you can help yourself by working to improve your credit score, which can be as easy as making payments on time.

***

Given the several reasons discussed as to why banks may reject credit card or loan applications, its clear that keeping yourself informed of your financial health is a must. This is even more crucial during challenging times such as the current Covid-19 economy. Also, it is never too late to start applying good money management practices, such as doing a credit check at least once a year.

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Man accused protesters of not being from the city (Twitter)

Just days after protests resumed on the streets of Portland, Oregon, video has emerged of a black man hitting out at demonstrators, telling them: You ain't from here!

Footage uploaded to Twitter on Sunday night - which has since gone viral - appears to show the man, who says he is from the city, remonstrating with the protesters, some of whom are white.

The man, dressed in a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and a cap, accused the group of not being from Portland, which has been at the centre of demonstrations following the death George Floyd, a black man who was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis in May.

"I got something to say, I got something to say...what do you represent?" the man could be heard yelling, as he approached the group after abandoning his vehicle in the road.

"What do you represent?" he repeated. "You don't represent this motherf*****!"

Based man railing the #Portland kids for not even being from the area. "Whose house is this?! You don't even know! Cause you don't live here!" 1/2 pic.twitter.com/SD1gjS7QMt  Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) September 21, 2020

The man, who appears to be in his 50s, then pointed to a number of properties on the street, before shouting at the protesters: "You don't know whose house that was, whose house that was... you don't know cause you ain't from here.

You don't know cause you ain't from here, motherf*****s but you come here and you got a motherf******g little situation for us, how we're supposed to be."

He added: "You got a situation for us, huh? How you want us to be." "You ain't from this motherf*****! You don't know what we went through motherf*****!" the man added, after one of the group attempts to explain why they are protesting in the city.

Story continues

One of the protesters then told the man the group is from Portland, to which he replies: "Why are all these motherf*****s that ain't from here, they don't look like us, why are they from here?[sic]".

A protester then appears to name a high school in the area, but the man continues to shout profanities at the group, before the video ends. It is unclear if any complaints were made to police; The Independent has contacted the Portland Police Bureau for comment.

Demonstrators took to the streets in Portland again over the weekend, following a dayslong pause largely due to poor air quality from wildfires on the West Coast.

Police declared an unlawful assembly Friday night in a neighbour near a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building where protesters had marched, according to a police statement.

Protesters participated in criminal activity and threw items at officers, police said, leading to 11 arrests.

Less than two weeks ago the mayor of Portland ordered police to stop using tear gas for crowd control during the frequently violent protests that racked the city for more than three months after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Demonstrators had not gathered in the city since at least 9 September, when police and protesters clashed near City Hall. Wildfires have spewed dangerously dirty air across Oregon, California and Washington state, and sent haze across the country.
Uber has beefed up its in-app emergency feature for San Antonio customers.

Currently, if a rider uses Ubers emergency button during a trip, their real-time location, car make, model and license plate number pop onscreen so the rider can give that information to a 911 dispatcher.

Now, in 60 percent of cities with Uber service, including San Antonio, that information automatically will be sent to emergency dispatchers, without the rider having to verbally convey the data.

On ExpressNews.com: Ride-hail drivers brace for the further collapse of San Antonio ridership

San Antonio Police Department officials said a dispatcher can see the information on their computer screen as long as the callers phone is turned on.

Every second counts in an emergency, and we want to make sure our users get help quickly with accurate information if faced with an emergency situation, said Sachin Kansal, an Uber safety product official.

This 911 service is available in more than 270 cities and in parts of Mexico and South Africa, according to the company.

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Calls from wireless phones can be traced using the location of the closest cell towers, but this information is usually not specific enough, making it difficult for first responders to quickly assist those in need.

The Federal Communications Commission has been working on this problem for years as more people use mobile phones and many homes have abandoned landlines. Last year, the FCC proposed a rule requiring nationwide carriers to improve location technology so 911 calls will be transmitted with more precise information.

SAPDs 911 dispatch center gets an average of 178,500 calls each month, 60 percent of which are deemed emergencies.

Sgt. Matthew Brown said the center doesnt track the number of calls made by Uber riders or drivers but that they dont come in very often.

Uber and other major ride-hailing platforms are under increased scrutiny for failing to keep riders and drivers safe during their trips, which has resulted in numerous lawsuits.

In December, San Francisco-based Uber became the first in the industry to release a public safety report. It studied incidents during 2017 and 2018, a time frame in which Uber logged an average of more than 3.1 million trips each day in the U.S.

The company disclosed that 107 people died during motor vehicle crashes during that period, most of them pedestrians, and that 19 people were killed in physical assaults.

During those two years, there were nearly 6,000 sexual assaults reported, or about 1 in 5 million completed trips.

Uber said it will release the safety report every two years.

Laura Garcia covers the health care industry. To read more from Laura, become a subscriber. laura.garcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @Reporter_Laura
A Co Armagh alleged drug dealer has been remanded into custody accused of trying to kill two men.

Appearing at Newry Magistrates Court on videolink from police custody, 42-year-old Aaron Magee confirmed that he understood the seven charges against him.

Magee, from First Avenue in Derry Beg, is accused of attempting to murder two men on Saturday, September 19 and possessing an unknown offensive weapon with intent to commit murder".

The 42-year-old is also accused of possessing cocaine and cannabis and having the class A and B drugs with intent to supply on the same date.

None of the circumstances giving rise to the charges were opened in court according to a police statement, the charges are in connection with an incident which took place on First Avenue, Newry at around 10.50pm on Saturday night.

Giving evidence to the court a detective constable said she believed she could connect Magee to each of the charges while defence solicitor Danny McNamee said he was not applying for bail as there is no proposed bail address available yet.

District Judge Eamon King remanded Magee into custody to 14 October.
Private sector lender HDFC Bank on Monday denied allegations of any wrongdoing in its lending practices and said it would vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit filed in the US. According to a source, the statement pertains to a lawsuit filed by US-based law firm Pomerantz, whereas two other firms  Rosen Law Firm and Schall Law  have already announced that they would be filing suits against the bank.

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A search is underway after a Birmingham police officer was hit by a fleeing suspect early Monday.

The South Precinct officer responded just after 5 a.m. to Lakeshore Ridge apartments on a report of a vehicle break in, said Sgt. Rod Mauldin. When the officer arrived and began to investigate, he encountered the suspect in an SUV.

The suspect, Mauldin said, struck the officer and fled the scene. He also struck the officers police cruiser. Other officers then spotted the suspect and a chase ensued.

A Birmingham police officer was injured Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, when he was struck by a vehicle while investigating car break-ins. (BPD)

The pursuit traveled along Interstate 65 to Interstate 59/20 where officers lost sight of the suspect right before Arkadelphia Road. Mauldin said they do not have a description of the suspect and said the vehicle was a silver SUV.

The injured officer was taken to UAB Hospital with a large police escort. Mauldin said he was responsive when he left the scene en route to the hospital. The extent of his injuries, however, was not immediately known.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
A new research paper by former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and former deputy Governor Viral Acharya talks about a range of issues including management of bad loans, winding up of the Financial Services Department in the Finance Ministry and reforms in public sector banks. The paper examines what holds Indian banking back and suggests implementable reforms that could allow banking activity to grow significantly without the periodic boom-bust cycles it has been subject to.

Here are the key reforms highlighted by Raghuram Rajan and Viral Acharya in the research paper:

Bad loan management

The duo says that out-of-court restructuring frameworks can be designed for time-bound negotiations between creditors of a stressed firm, failing which National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) filing can be applied. "Two need to work in tandem as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Court's (IBC) procedural threat serves as the fall-back, facilitating meaningful negotiation out of court."

The paper also suggests development of an online platform for distressed loan sales to provide real-time transparency in loan sales. "Banks could be nudged to sell loans, and average prices for each class of loans could serve as objective "marks" for recording bank recoveries and losses, as well as guiding write-downs."

It further adds that the national public sector "bad bank" could serve as a vehicle to aggregate loans, create management teams for distressed firms, and possibly buy and hold distressed assets in a sector like power till demand returns.

Improving performance of PSBs

On improving the performance of the public sector banks, Rajan and Acharya suggest that the operational independence for boards and management needs to be embraced by creating a holding company structure for government stakes. The holding company should make professional and diverse board appointments to each bank and these directors should be empowered to guide the bank towards its objectives.

The government can also encourage the banks by paying them for achieving its mandated goals (such as reimbursing costs for maintaining branches in remote areas or opening bank accounts for all). "These payments should be available to all banks so that both private banks and public sector banks compete to deliver on mandates."

Winding down the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance is essential both as a signal of the intent to grant bank boards and management independence, the paper added.

"Incentive structures for management need to be strengthened with longer terms for senior management, better assessment of performance, performance-based promotions and extensions, as well as some reliance on lateral hiring, which would also bring in state-of-the-art banking ideas and practices," it said.

Ownership structure of PSBs

State owned banks can be a first step in altering the ownership structure of some PSBs, where the government brings down its ownership to below 50 percent. It is expected to create distance from operations of banks and improve governance along the way. The paper also suggests reprivatisation of select PSBs.

Reform in credit operations

The banks should focus on a cash flow based lending approach rather than an asset-based approach, the economists said. "Banks could rely more on loan covenants for large borrowers, tied to liquidity and leverage ratios (instead of lending purely against assets). This would set up "trip-wire" points for enhancing loan collateralization, rather than requiring it from the beginning," the paper said. "In case of small borrowers, reliance on GST invoices and utility payment bills, among other cash-flow information, can facilitate such a transition," it said.
David Tennant has been voted the best Doctor Who by fans, in a poll released by Radio Times on Sunday.

The actor, 49, originally took on the role of the 10th Doctor in the iconic sci-fi series between 2005 and 2010, but is still a stalwart favourite.

Earning a grand total of 10,518 votes, David beat current star Jodie Whittaker to the top spot by just 95 votes, as she won 10, 423 votes.

Winner! David Tennant was named the BEST Time Lord in Doctor Who as the actor beats current star Jodie Whittaker by just 95 votes in a poll on Sunday

Peter Capaldi, who was the last Doctor to star during Steven Moffat's tenure as showrunner, was given third place with 8,897 votes.

Matt Smith was next in the poll after gaining 7,637 votes, while of the new era of Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston came in at eighth place with just 1,144 votes.

Tom Baker was voted the best Doctor of the shows original run as he earned fifth place with 3,977 votes, while William Hartnell, who was the first actor to play the Time Lord in 1963, came in sixth place for 1,983 votes.

Close second: Earning a grand total of 10,518 votes, David beat current star Jodie (pictured) to the top spot by just 95 votes, as she won 10, 423 vote

Third place: Peter Capaldi, who was the last Doctor to star during Steven Moffat's tenure as showrunner, was given third place with 8,897 votes

Peter Davison, who played the part from 1981 to 1984, came in last at 13th place, and he is also David's father-in-law as the actor is married to Peter's daughter Georgia.

The Scottish star met his wife Georgia on the show when she appeared in 2008 episode The Doctor's Daughter.

David and Peter appeared on screen together as the fifth and tenth incarnations of the time-travelling alien in the 2007 mini-episode Time Crash, which aired as part of Children In Need.

Fourth place: Matt Smith was next in the poll after gaining 7,637 votes, while of the new era of Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston came in at eighth place with just 1,144 votes

Classic who: Tom Baker was voted the best Doctor of the shows original run as he earned fifth place with 3,977 votes

The pair wed in 2011 and share children Olive, nine, Wilfred, seven, and Doris, five, and Birdie, eleven months, and David adopted Georgia's 18-year-old son Ty when they married.

Huw Fullerton, sci-fi and fantasy editor of Radio Times said of the poll: 'Over a decade after he left the TARDIS behind and after nearly 50,000 votes were cast, it's clear David Tennant is still Doctor Who fans' perfect 10.

But with Jodie Whittaker hot on his heels and a great showing for other recent Doctors like Peter Capaldi, it looks like the fans also hold other Time Lords close to their hearts.'

Finishing on a nail-biting cliffhanger, Doctor Who's eagerly-awaited return will be for a festive special, it was announced in March.

Doctor Who: Who's the best Time Lord 1. David Tennant - 10,518 2. Jodie Whittaker - 10,423 3. Peter Capaldi - 8,897 4. Matt Smith - 7,637 5. Tom Baker - 3,977 6. William Hartnell - 1,983 7. Paul McGann - 1,427 8. Christopher Eccleston - 1,144 9. Jon Pertwee - 1,038 10. Patrick Troughton - 915 11. Sylvester McCoy - 462 12. Colin Baker - 359 13. Peter Davison - 351 Advertisement

With the fate of the Doctor hanging in the balance amid the Great CyberWar and return of The Master at the end of Series 12, fans will have to wait until December to see how the action unfolds.

The identity of the Timeless Child was finally revealed, throwing everything fans know about the Doctor into question.

Jodie will be back as the near-immortal Time Lord in the upcoming festive episode curiously titled Revolution of the Daleks.

This can only mean that the Doctor's biggest and most feared enemies, the Daleks, will be front and centre in shaping the next series, set to be Jodie's last.

Showrunner Chris Chibnall said at the time: 'We can't leave the Doctor there! On that cliffhanger! Well, we did.

'But rest assured, the Doctor and her friends will be back for a one-off extended Special around Christmas and New Year. (I don't know when they're going to put it on yet, otherwise we'd tell you!).

'There will be Daleks. There will be exterminations. Thrills, laughter, tears. You know. The usual. See you at the end of the year.'

Producers also confirmed Tosin Cole, who plays Ryan, Bradley Walsh's Graham, and Yaz played by Mandip Gill will all be returning for the festive episode.

The original: William Hartnell (centre), who was the first actor to play the Time Lord in 1963, came in sixth place for 1,983 votes
Twitter is looking into allegations that its algorithm which chooses a preview image for a large photo is racially biased.

Tests of the algorithm done by users on the social media site over the weekend led to several examples of a preference for white faces from the automated system.

Hundreds of thousands of retweets grabbed the attention of Twitter's bosses and the feature is now under review, they say.

One individual posted two stretched out images, with headshots of Mitch McConnell and Barack Obama in both, in the same tweet. In the first , Mr McConnell, a white man, was at the top of the photo, and in the second image, Barack Obama, a black man, was at the top. Pictured is the preview that Twitter's algorithm chose

Pictured, the two photos used in the above tweet. For both photos the preview image was Mr McConnell. This simple demonstration amassed more than 185,000 likes and more than 50,000 retweets

Trying a horrible experiment...



Which will the Twitter algorithm pick: Mitch McConnell or Barack Obama? pic.twitter.com/bR1GRyCkia  Tony "Abolish ICE" Arcieri  (@bascule) September 19, 2020

The feature uses a neural network, a complex system which makes its own decisions using machine leaning, which Twitter announced in 2018.

A Twitter spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Our team did test for bias before shipping the model and did not find evidence of racial or gender bias in our testing.

'But its clear from these examples that weve got more analysis to do.

'We'll continue to share what we learn, what actions we take, and will open source our analysis so others can review and replicate.'

Parag Agrawal, Chief Development Officer at Twitter, also said online that the feature was tested for any signs of bias before it went live and called the racial bias allegations an 'important question'.

The conversation online about the racial bias sparked outrage and led to various different tests as people tried to determine what may be causing the flaw.

It was all sparked when a white man tweeted that his colleague, a black man, was having issues with Zoom's virtual backgrounds.

He tweeted a snip of the issue, where his colleague's face was not picked up by Zoom's facial detection algorithm, on Twitter and noticed that the preview defaulted to him, not his colleague.

Building on the back of this troubling finding, other Twitter users conducted their own investigations.

One individual posted two stretched out images, both with headshots of Mitch McConnell and Barack Obama, in the same tweet.

In the first image, Mr McConnell, a white man, was at the top of the photo, and in the second image, Barack Obama, a black man, was at the top of the photo.

However, for both photos the preview image was Mr McConnell. This simple demonstration amassed more than 185,000 likes and more than 50,000 retweets.

Other users then delved into more comprehensive tests to tackle variables and further solidify the case against the algorithm.

One user even used cartoon characters in the form of Carl and Lenny from The Simpsons.

In this case the algorithm selected Lenny, who is yellow, instead of Carl, who is black.

I wonder how it is that you've said this without testing it? pic.twitter.com/rro1vn8Mh8  Graham Christensen (@grhmc) September 19, 2020

A faculty member has been asking how to stop Zoom from removing his head when he uses a virtual background. We suggested the usual plain background, good lighting etc, but it didn't work. I was in a meeting with him today when I realized why it was happening.  Colin Madland, PhD(c) (@colinmadland) September 19, 2020

I wonder if Twitter does this to fictional characters too.



Lenny Carl pic.twitter.com/fmJMWkkYEf  Jordan Simonovski (@_jsimonovski) September 20, 2020

This is a very important question. To address it, we did analysis on our model when we shipped it, but needs continuous improvement.



Love this public, open, and rigorous test  and eager to learn from this. https://t.co/E8Y71qSLXa  Parag Agrawal (@paraga) September 20, 2020

Twitter users created a range of tests to see if the Twitter algorithm was bias. One user even used cartoon characters in the form of Carl and Lenny from The Simpson's (pictured)

AI expert warns against 'racist and misogynist algorithms' A leading expert in artificial intelligence has issued a stark warning against the use of race- and gender-biased algorithms for making critical decisions. Across the globe, algorithms are beginning to oversee various processes from job applications and immigration requests to bail terms and welfare applications. Military researchers are even exploring whether facial recognition technology could enable autonomous drones to identify their own targets. However, University of Sheffield computer expert Noel Sharkey told the Guardian that such algorithms are 'infected with biases' and cannot be trusted. Calling for a halt on all AI with the potential to change people's lives, Professor Sharkey instead advocates for vigorous testing before they are used in public. Advertisement

As of Monday morning, it appears Twitter has made some amendments to its algorithm, with previews showing the entire image, wherever possible.

In the case first pointed out by Colin Madland, the man who uncovered the bias with his work friend via Zoom, the picture now shows the whole image, instead of defaulting to a close-up of Mr Madland himself.

The Twitter demonstrations are undoubtedly helpful in providing cases for Twitter to learn from, but a large-scale investigation with a big sample size and scientific analysis is needed to determine if, and to what extent, the algorithm is biased.

Biased algorithms are an issue which plagues much of science. Previous experiments have found the way artificial intelligence systems collect data often makes them racist and sexist.

A similar issue in data collection could be the underlying cause for the recent problem reported online.

Researchers from MIT previously looked at a range of AI systems, and found many of them exhibited a shocking bias.

It stems from a lack of diversity in the datasets which are often used to train AI systems.

'But algorithms are only as good as the data they're using, and our research shows that you can often make a bigger difference with better data,' said Irene Chen, a PhD student who wrote a paper on the topic with MIT professor David Sontag and postdoctoral associate Fredrik D. Johansson.

Another issue which could be hindering the Twitter algorithm is its preference for high contrast levels, according to a 2018 blog post from Twitter.

Again, although not intentionally racist, it may result in racially biased results.

Robotics expert Noel Sharkey said last year issued a stark warning against the use of race- and gender-biased algorithms for making critical decisions.

Calling for a halt on all AI with the potential to change people's lives, Professor Sharkey advocates for vigorous testing before powerful AI systems are deployed.
By PTI

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh Assembly was on Monday adjourned sine die after passing the Finance Bill, 2020 and conducting some other important legislative works.

While 78 MLAs were present in the House during the one-day session, 23 attended it virtually, an official said.

All those came to the House were subjected to thermo and pulse meter checks for coronavirus infection, he said.

The session lasted for one-and-a-half hours during which the Finance Bill, that allows the state government to carry out its expenses, was passed.

The Madhya Pradesh Moneylender Amendment Bill, 2020, the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Law Amendment Bill, 2020 and the Madhya Pradesh VAT Amendment Bill, 2020, among others, were also passed.

In the absence of state Finance Minister Jagdish Devda, Parliamentary Affairs Narottam Mishra presented the Finance Bill-2020 in the House.

After the passage of the bills, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in his statement said Madhya Pradesh tackled the COVID-19 situation better than other states.

He said better arrangements have been made for the treatment of COVID-19 in the state.

Intervening in Chouhans statement, Leader of Opposition Kamal Nath highlighted problems being faced by COVID-19 patients, like non-availability of oxygen and ventilators, among others, and demanded setting up of an open inquiry into it.

The senior Congress leader also demanded a complaint centre where public can register their grievances.

After Chouhan's speech, Protem Speaker Rameshwar Sharma adjourned the House sine die (with no appointed date for resumption).

Earlier, the House paid tributes to 21 prominent leaders who recently died, including former president Pranab Mukherjee, former Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon, Chhattisgarh's former chief minister Ajit Jogi and former Union minister Hansraj Bharadwaj.

The protem speaker also mentioned about the Indian soldiers martyred in the border clash at Galwan Valley in Ladakh, the Baramulla terror attack and those who fell prey to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Members observed a two-minute silence as a mark of respect for the departed souls.
A protester holds up two peace signs in front of a wall of Department for Homeland Security officers and local police in Portland, Oregon - Mark McKenna

The Trump administration has designated three US cities, including New York, "anarchist jurisdictions" and threatened to cut off funding for indulging of race equality protests.

The Department of Justice said New York, Seattle and Portland have permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities," in a statement released on Monday.

The highly unusual move comes after President Donald Trump, who has made law and order a central plank of his re-election campaign, issued a memo ordering financial retribution against cities that have been slashing their police budgets during crime waves, or tolerating violent protests sparked by the May killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police.

The president warned the cities Democrat mayors on September 2 that he was putting them on notice: My Administration will do everything in its power to prevent weak mayors and lawless cities from taking Federal dollars while they let anarchists harm people, burn buildings, and ruin lives and businesses, he tweeted.

A woman argues with a police officer during a protest in Times Square following the death of black man Daniel Prude, after police put a spit hood over his head during an arrest in Rochester - Reuters

The order gives the director of the Office of Management and Budget 30 days to issue guidance to federal agencies on restricting eligibility for federal grants for the cities on the Justice Departments list.

The department criticised New York City Councils decision to cut $1billion (750m) from the police budget at a time when the city faced increased unrest, gun violence, and property damage.

It quoted a 170 per cent increase in the number of shootings this summer compared to 2019.

It also criticised the decision by a number of New York City boroughs not to prosecute protest-related charges.

Portland, Oregon, has seen largely peaceful but sometimes violent demonstrations in the wake of black man George Floyds death.

The department cited Portland Mayor Ted Wheelers rejection of the administrations offer of federal troops to stop the "violent protests".

Story continues

Police advance on protesters to clear a street on the 100th consecutive night of protests against police violence and racial inequality, in Portland, Oregon - Reuters

When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest, Bill Barr, US Attorney General, said in a statement.

We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance, Mr Barr said.It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.

The order does not specify the federal grants that the White House wants to put on hold. Federal funds make up some 7.5 per cent of New York Citys total revenue.

Reacting to the move, Bill de Blasio, the citys mayor, said on Monday: "It's part of his campaign strategy. It makes no sense. It's insulting to the people of New York City and it's unconstitutional."

Andrew Cuomo, the state's governor, called Mr Trump a "bully", adding: "The president of the United States cant interfere with federal funding for cities and states just cause he feels like it. We have laws in this country."

Mr Trump would face a battle in court should funding be withdrawn.

A federal appeals court earlier this year upheld the presidents attempt to take funding from some so-called sanctuary cities - cities including New York which have tried to protect undocumented workers from federal immigration officials - however three other appeals courts ruled against him.

This is a campaign document, a former Office of Management and Budget official told the Washington Post. Any actual restriction on funding in court will immediately be sued and almost certainly struck down.

Mr Trump has presented himself as a "tough on crime" leader as the November 3 election looms. The president has placed the blame for crime mostly on local Democratic leaders and argued that reelecting him will protect the rest of the country from the turmoil of US cities.

An ABC News/Ipsos poll released this month, however, found that fully 55 per cent of all Americans believe Mr Trumps reaction to the protests makes the situation worse.

The same poll found 56 per cent believe Joe Biden, Democratic presidential nominee, would do a better job keeping me and my family safe and nearly 60 per cent said Mr Biden would do a better job reducing violence in the country.
insights from industry Dr. Carmen Escuriola-Ettingshausen MD Hamophilie-Zentrum Rhein Main

An interview with Dr. Carmen Escuriola-Ettingshausen MD, Hamophilie-Zentrum Rhein Main, Morfelden-Walldorf, Germany on providing personalized care for bleeding disorders such as hemophilia and von Willebrand disease.

Please give an overview of prevalent bleeding disorders such as hemophilia and von Willebrand disease.

In patients with bleeding disorders, the clotting process does not work properly and as a result, they bleed for longer but also bleed into internal organs and joints, which might lead to debilitating injuries and may become life-threatening.

Hemophilia is an x-chromosomal inherited disease that primarily affects males and has two variations; hemophilia A and hemophilia B. Hemophilia A is characterized by a deficiency of factor VIII, whereas, in hemophilia B, the clotting factor IX is decreased.

What is very important, is that hemophilia A is a rare disease occurring in about 25 cases out of 100,000 male births. Hemophilia B is much rarer, occurring in about 5 out of 100,000 male births. We also have to distinguish between the different severities and, in general, we can say the more severe the factor VIII or factor IX deficiency is, the more severe the clinical phenotype is, and therefore, the more the patient bleeds.

If a patient has no spurs or only spurs, this can mean less than 1% residual activity of factor VIII, or factor IX. Whereas a normal residual activity is more than 70%. Therefore, lacking factor VIII or IX can lead to severe hemophilia.

Von Willebrand disease is also a genetic bleeding disorder. Some patients suffer from an acquired von Willebrand disease, but I would like to focus on the inherited form.

This is a disease that affects the primary, as well as the secondary, hemostasis. Therefore, it affects platelet function. Platelet aggregation (normal platelet function), is extremely important in forming the primary clot. In the second step, this clot is formed by fibrin production which is disturbed in patients with von Willebrand disease.

Because of this, these patients usually have the problem of mucocutaneous mucosal bleeds, such as nose bleeds and bleeds after surgical intervention, particularly in the mucosal area. Women usually have menorrhagia.

In contrast to hemophilia, this disease affects males as well as females, and, in its mild form, it is a more frequent bleeding disorder occurring in up to 1% of the whole population.

Image Credit: https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMra1601561

What challenges are there for treating patients with bleeding disorders? Why can it be difficult to provide a one size fits all treatment?

As hemophilia and general hemorrhagic diseases are rare disorders, the first challenge is to diagnose these diseases to offer adequate therapy, and not misdiagnose.

If a patient has been diagnosed, they will then need comprehensive treatment, which is personalized. This treatment can only be offered in dedicated and comprehensive care centers, where there are multidisciplinary teams who are experienced with the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of these patients.

We also must face the fact that those patients with chronic diseases are getting older and developing concomitant diseases, which have to be taken into account as well. I believe that access to diagnosis and, more importantly, access to treatment is extremely important.

In developed countries, patients do have sufficient treatment and access to comprehensive treatment centers, but from a worldwide perspective, we have to say that about 75% of people with hemophilia do not receive adequate treatment, and this is really a challenge.

What types of personalized treatments are available for patients with hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, and other bleeding disorders?

The cause of hemophilia and von Willebrand disease is lacking or decreased activity of either factor VIII, IX, or the von Willebrand factor. Therefore, the usual therapeutic approach is to replace the lacking factor.

However, we must distinguish from different situations of treatment for different patients. For example, if a patient has a moderate or mild disease, the clotting factor concentrates are replacing the decreased factor in case of bleeds or during surgery. This is called on-demand treatment.

However, if we focus on the severely affected hemophiliacs and also on those with type three von Willebrand disease (the most severe form of von Willebrand disease), they are bleeding so frequently, particularly into the joints which can lead to the development of arthropathy, and what we want to do is to prevent the bleeds and prevent the sequela.

We also want to prevent other severe bleeds, predominantly life-threatening bleeds, and this can be done with prophylactic therapy, which is a prophylactic administration of clotting factor concentrates at regular intervals. Prophylaxis has been introduced in the treatment of hemophilia for many decades now and there is good evidence that prophylaxis can prevent or reduce bleeds depending on when the prophylaxis has been started in the life of a hemophiliac.

However, we must consider that when we are using a standard regimen, we are not able to prevent as many bleeds as we would like. What we must consider is that each patient is different, and their pharmacokinetic properties can vary. There is a huge difference whether a patient has a factor VIII with a half-life of 6 hours or 18 hours. We have such a large span between the patients and also, an age-dependent one. Usually, young children have a shorter half-life of factor VIII than older people.

This is not true for the factor IX, however. Here we do not see such a variation.

Nevertheless, we have to take this and many other variables (joint status, bleeding phenotype, physical activity, etc.) into account and create the right therapy for the right patient in the right situation. This is called the personalization of prophylaxis.

So, which therapeutic agents can we use? Can we use the standard half-life concentrate? Let's say these are the standard products, which we have had for on-demand treatment, as well as for prophylactic treatment, for many years. The half-life is more or less the same as the half-life in healthy people (usually in between 8 and 14 hours), and you can imagine these patients have to receive very frequent infusions, usually, 3 times weekly, to maintain a factor VIII level above 1%, which converts them from a severe to a moderate hemophiliac.

But technology does not stand still, and during the last few years concentrates containing clotting factor with an extended half-life have been developed and come onto the market. Half-life extension succeeded in hemophilia B products (factor IX). They have an up to five-fold half-life extension, leading to less frequent prophylactic injections (from once a week up to once every three weeks).

In hemophilia A, this is a little bit different. Half-life extensions have also succeeded: We now have a half-life extension of around 1.5-fold, compared to the standard half-life products. However, I think this prolongation is extremely important because we have two options with this; in some patients who are not as active, we can extend the administration interval. So, instead of the three times weekly, patients may inject twice weekly, which is a relief for the burden of treatment of all these patients.

On the other hand, we also have the possibility to inject these concentrates in the same frequency as those with a standard half-life (three times weekly), and we can achieve elevated trough levels, offering more protection for a patient. I think this is extremely important, at least for a subset of patients in a certain period of their life when they require more protection.

In addition, other therapies came on the market, such as non-replacement therapies. These are monoclonal antibodies, which mimic the actions of factor VIII. Other non-replacement therapies are under development. This is also true for gene therapy. The goal of gene therapy is to offer a patient a sustained therapeutic level of their clotting factor over multiple years.

Gene transfer is done by the missing gene being packaged into a delivery vehicle, known as a vector (usually adeno associated viral, AAV, vectors are used). The data is very promising. Nevertheless, this therapeutic approach will be available for adult patients in the very near future and still might be associated with some complications such as mild liver toxicities. The patient with pre-existing immunity against AAV antibodies are also not suitable candidates for gene therapy.

Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com

How can prophylaxis be pharmacokinetically guided? What are the advantages and limitations of using this technique?

The knowledge of individual pharmacokinetic properties is extremely important to tailor the adequate prophylactic regimen for the hemophilia A patient. But, in addition to the patients pharmacokinetic profile, we have to include all other individual factors that might have an impact on the creation of this individual therapeutic regimen, such as the clinical phenotype, joint status, venous access, the willingness to perform frequent or less frequent injections, and, of course, the pharmacokinetic background of this patient.

How do we perform pharmacokinetic evaluations? I think people who are not close to hemophilia think, "Okay. Let's do a classical pharmacokinetic approach." This means that the patient needs a washout phase, followed by the injection of the concentrate. Thereafter frequent blood samples over a certain period are taken to assess factor VIII activity.

Another option is population pharmacokinetic modeling. Here we do not need a washout phase, so the patient is fully protected. Secondly, we only need a few time points for blood sampling. Usually, two samples are sufficient to determine a valid pharmacokinetic profile for a patient. The calculation of factor VIII half-lives can be done using different platforms/calculators, such as myPKFiT (product dependent), WAPPS-Hemo, and Florio. After assessing the factor VIII half-life we can model individual prophylactic treatment regimens, adapted according to the patients needs.

Most of these platforms also offer a mobile application so that patients are able to document their clotting factor therapy and see their estimated factor rate levels over time.

This way, the patient can be actively involved in the treatment and has a more protective infusion regimen adapted according to physical activity.

Image Credit: https://www.personalizedpk.ca/en/about.html

Please describe your research in the CONTINUATION and PROPEL studies, with updates recently presented at the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH) 2020 Virtual Congress.

I was one of the investigators of the PROPEL study looking at personalizing prophylaxis and the possibility to elevate trough levels of factor VIII or to prolong dosing intervals with the use of extended half-life products in patients with hemophilia A.

Since we had no clinical data from studies supporting the theory that higher trough levels are superior, or a higher trough level protects patients better, this was one of the main objectives of the PROPEL study.

In the PROPEL study, 115 patients, older than 12 years, with severe hemophilia A, who have been pre-treated numerous times with clotting factor concentrates, have been randomized to a prophylactic therapy regimen targeting the classical factor VIII trough level, which is 1% to 3%, versus a more elevated trough level, namely, 8% to 12%.

How did they achieve this? All patients had to undergo pharmacokinetic investigation in order to create their individual therapeutic regimen to achieve these different trough levels. Before and during the study phase bleeds in their target joints, spontaneous bleeds, and annual bleed rates were assessed.

What was really remarkable was that those patients who had higher trough levels clearly benefited from them which means markedly reduced bleeding into target joints and a markedly reduced annual bleed rate, within the first six months of this therapy.

Another cohort came from the CONTINUATION study. Those patients had the opportunity to perform pharmacokinetic-guided prophylaxis or continue with their twice-weekly prophylactic therapeutic approach. What could be observed is that those patients also benefited from the individualization of therapy.

I think it is extremely important to show that elevating the trough level really is a benefit for patients with severe hemophilia A because it is more protective, and it also has the possibility to reduce or declassify already existing target joints.

How has your research been impacted by your long-term partnership with Takeda? What are your experiences working with the research department at Takeda?

There are many extremely experienced people working at Takeda and creating studies, such as the PROPEL study, working on the development of new treatment strategies, but also new treatment options and new therapies in order to improve the lives of patients with hemophilia and von Willebrand disease.

Takeda is the company that developed new treatments for patients with bleeding disorders, such as factor VIII concentrates with extended life-life or a recombinant von Willebrand factor. Well established and safe concentrates for the treatment of hemophilia with and without inhibitors are solid treatment options for many years. So, there is a very long partnership and the experience was excellent. There is a strong exchange in-between doctors, treatment centers, and Takeda.

What effect do you hope this research will have for patients who live with these bleeding disorders?

I think research is mandatory to improve the life of patients in general. Preventing bleeds and the sequela (joint disease) should be our aim to preserve the joint health and to enable them to participate in social activities.

I think, at the moment, where we do not have an entirely healing therapy for those patients, we should do our very best to offer the patient the best therapeutic approach, and I think for the complete cohort of severe hemophilia, this is personalized prophylaxis.

Of course, personalized prophylaxis usually aims to prevent all bleeds. But from a world-wide perspective, personalization of therapy can also be implemented with a lower amount of resources, for example in developing countries.

Image Credit: Jarun Ontakrai/Shutterstock.com

In these challenging times, bleeding disorder patients have had to adapt to a new normal, including working from home and shielding to protect from COVID-19. How can personalized treatment be used to help support these people?

We have the technical requirements that patients can be closely connected to our centers, allowing us to use telemedicine. We can consult our patients through virtual consultations and we can also monitor their infusion therapies remotely.

But using telemedicine has its clear limitations, for example, we cannot perform any blood sampling or physical examination.

However, using online platforms and patient apps such as MyPKFit offers good monitoring of the patient. For patients using those devices actively, treatment can be adapted according to the patients needs. In case of bleeding events, the treating physician is immediately informed and can support treatment strategies at home.

What is the future of personalized treatment for bleeding disorders?

In the future, all patients will have a personalized treatment. This means that the different treatment options we have or are going to have in the near future will be implemented according to the patients demands during their whole lifespan.

I think patients will have the opportunity to be treated by different treatment options, for example, starting with replacement therapy, bridging to a non-replacement therapy, then potentially have a gene therapy, followed by another phase of replacement therapy. I think the choice and the intensity of treatment will also be more personalized over the lifespan of a patient.

About Dr. Carmen Escuriola-Ettingshausen, MD

Dr. Carmen Escuriola Ettingshausen is the Director of the Hamophilie-Zentrum Rhein Main - HZRM, Frankfurt-Morfelden, Germany.

She graduated in medicine at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfurt from 1985 to 1992. After that, she became a resident at the comprehensive care center for Thrombosis and Haemostasis of the Childrens Hospital at University Hospital of Frankfurt in the department of Pediatrics until 1996 and obtained the Doctor title in 1995.

She performed specialists training in Pediatrics at the University Hospital of Frankfurt from 1996 until 2000, and since then she was a staff member at the comprehensive care center for Thrombosis and Hemostasis of the University Hospital of Frankfurt, Department of Pediatrics until 2012. In 2012 she founded the Hamophilie-Zentrum Rhein-Main - HZRM, Frankfurt-Morfelden.

Dr. Escuriola-Ettingshausens clinical interests include hemorrhagic disorders with a focus on hemophilia, thrombosis, congenital immunodeficiencies, and hereditary angioedema in both pediatric and adult patients.

Her research interests are hemorrhagic disorders, particularly in the treatment of hemophiliacs and hemophiliacs with inhibitors. Moreover, she is a member of the German, Swiss, and Austrian Society For Thrombosis and Haemostasis Research (GTH), International Society for Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH), and the International Prophylaxis Study Group (IPSG).
(Photo : Whole Mars Catalog via Twitter (@WholeMarsBlog)) (Photo : Tesla) (Photo : Tesla)

The world's most renowned electric vehicle manufacturer, Tesla, reveals its plans of the up and coming Terafactory Texas that would be the most ambitious and massive facility of the company. Terafactory Texas would have three different buildings with open spaces wide enough to accommodate Tesla Semi Trucks to deliver and move loads.

Tesla's eccentric and social-media savvy CEO, Elon Musk, answers questions on Twitter about the Terafactory Texas' new plans that show its design, plans, and size. Tesla's most ambitious facility will house its most significant production yet, once its done, and give the world a new breed of American-made electric vehicles, as promised by Elon Musk.

Elon Musk is yet again on the social media platform, Twitter (@elonmusk), to answer fans' questions and queries about various information and details on innovations on Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and more. The CEO answers almost every question which confirms most of the company's releases and plans.

ALSO READ: Will Neuralink Find Humans For Testing? Survey Shows 63% of Europeans Consider 'Augmentation'

Terafactory Texas' Plans as Confirmed on Twitter

Tesla moves past its ambitions and Gigafactory with the new plans of the company with Terafactory Texas. This factory will take a different path compared to its elders, the Gigafactory, with the new facility to be located real close to a city.

Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) recently tweeted a photo about the Terafactory's floor plans that shows three buildings housed inside the diamond-shaped facility that resembles the Gigafactories spread throughout the world.

Therell be lots of green space around factory, but building itself is continuous. The open areas inside are covered. Theyre internal semi truck roads inside a giant monolithic building.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 20, 2020

Inside the factory and in-between the buildings, there will be the 'open green space' which fascinated and intrigued fans and its huge following. Elon Musk confirms the 'open green space' to be roads and pathways wide enough to accommodate its very own, Tesla Semi Truck, an all-electric vehicle capable of delivering massive loads.

The massive monolith design of the Terafactory would have its every inch covered, even the roads that the Tesla Semi will pass through. Elon Musk describes this as a 'continuous' design and will complement the 'ecological paradise' as Whole Mars Catalog dubs it.

Tesla Semi To Move Terafactory's Needs

After the series of exchanges from the Tesla CEO and Whole Mars, the latter again tweeted to Elon Musk to ask and confirm if Tesla Semi Trucks would be used inside the facility. Elon Musk confirms the tweet by responding a simple 'Yes' reply.

Yes  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 20, 2020



Terafactory's needs, from spare parts and components, along with batteries and accessories of Tesla's electric vehicles and innovations will be transported and moved by the Tesla Semi within the factory. This means that the Terafactory would look like a distribution facility with its very own cargo trucks, going all-electric.

Tesla's massive Terafactory Texas located in Austin is still under construction, the cutting-edged construction techniques by the company's engineers that optimistically targets an early production finish for the facility. Terafactory Texas would register 3,722,612,5 square feet on its three buildings, almost double the size of the 1.9 million square feet space of the Tesla Factory on Fremont, California.

ALSO READ: Facebook Allegedly 'Accesses iPhone Cameras' Illegally Through Instagram Despite Users' Inactivity









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Written by Isaiah Alonzo

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Many private power projects in Vietnam have been delayed for years due to difficulties in acquiring funds and policy roadblocks.

Construction of the $1-billion An Khanh-Bac Giang Thermal Power project in the northern Bac Giang Province has stalled for over a year after the investor, An Khanh-Bac Giang Thermal Power Jsc, had difficulty securing credit.

Ngo Quoc Hoi, its CEO, said since regulations prevent banks from lending over 15 percent of their equity to a single customer, his company has to apply to several local banks or foreign lenders, which is not an easy task.

Adding to the challenge is the fact the government does not guarantee a certain minimum power purchase, which leads to more difficulties for the producer to get bank loans.

Hoi said: "Our request for funding has been rejected by over 20 international credit organizations. They all wanted to know how we would repay the loan if [national utility] EVN did not buy the power we produce."

Banks want EVN to commit to buying 90 percent of output for 10 years, but it has not agreed with this demand.

Hoi said there should be a guarantee policy so that EVN buys electricity produced by private plants.

His project is one of seven approved private power projects with a total capacity of nearly 2,000 MW that have been delayed for years as a result.

Some of them were scheduled to be commissioned last year or this year, but have been delayed to 2021-2023 or indefinitely, according to a report by the Vietnam Energy Association.

Energy expert Nguyen Thanh Son said one of the reasons for these issues is that the so-called independent power producers in Vietnam are not really independent.

Independent projects are supposed to have their own grid and serve a specific area, but in Vietnam they are dependent on the national grid managed by EVN, he said.

Duong Quang Thanh, EVN chairman, said since last year over 100 solar power projects have begun production without requiring government-guaranteed loans thanks to the attractive feed-in tariff from the government.

The same mechanism could be used to resolve the issues faced by independent thermal and hydropower producers, he suggested.

A government plan to establish a competitive power distribution market in 2022 could also benefit them since then EVN would be just one of several distributors selling directly to customers, he added.

The competitive market means customers and power producers could settle on a price without government intervention. Currently EVN decides electricity prices.

Independent producers account for 16,400 MW, or 28.3 percent of the countrys installed capacity, according to the National Steering Committee for Electricity Development.

Of this, 44 percent is from renewables while hydropower and thermal power account for the rest, it added.
No casualties were reported in the past day.

Ukraine has reported one violation of the latest ceasefire by Russia-controlled armed groups in the Donbas warzone on Sunday, September 20.

"In the past day, on September 20, one ceasefire violation was recorded in the areas of responsibility of our units," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) Command wrote on Facebook in an update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on September 21, 2020.

In particular, the enemy used rifles near the village of Novo-Oleksandrivka.

The Joint Forces did not return fire not to respond to the provocation.

Read alsoDonbas update: Ukraine reports one WIA amid three ceasefire violations Sept 19Two ceasefire violations in the JFO zone have been reported since Monday midnight. The enemy used rifles, as well as a grenade launcher near the town of Maryinka.

No casualties were recorded amid shelling in the past day.

The Joint Forces are abiding by the ceasefire, being ready to adequately respond to possible attacks by the adversary, it said.

The situation is under full control of the Ukrainian military.

Donbas ceasefire: background
Death on the Nile is an upcoming mystery thriller film. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, the movie has an ensemble cast including several popular names. Among them is Armie Hammer, who is said to play Simon Doyle. Recently, the actor revealed one thing which was a let-down for him while filming.

Also Read | Death On The Nile Trailer Out! Hercule Poirot Returns To Solve A 'soul Altering' Murder

Armie Hammer had one disappointment while shooting 'Death on the Nile'

In a recent interview with Total Film, Armie Hammer disclosed one production change on Death on the Nile that disappointed him. He said that he is quite sore about being sold a false bill of goods that they were going to shoot the film actually in Egypt. The actor mentioned that it was then moved to Morocco, and he was like, Hey, thats still cool. But the location changed again to Longcross Studios in Surrey. Hammer stated that he was like, wait a second  its Death On the Nile! We need sunshine on the set.

Armie Hammers let-down on filming Death on the Nile turned out to be its location. The actor thought that it will be shot in real locations, including The Nile, which is the longest river in Africa. Instead, the production used CGI and many parts were filmed in studios.

Also Read | Death On The Nile Trailer Called "tantalizing" By Fans As Hercule Poirot Returns

All eyes on the passengers of the SS Karnak. See the new images from #DeathontheNile only in theaters October 23. pic.twitter.com/tKQGQQFPaR  Death on the Nile (@DOTNMovie) September 17, 2020

Also Read | Ali Fazal, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer's 'Death On The Nile' New Images Out, Check Out

Director Kenneth Branagh explained why they found elaborate CGI sets more convenient than certain locations. He said that he thinks they have to deliver on these films. The filmmaker stated that they sort of made a contract with the audience "to take them away, escaping to an amazing landscape." Particularly in the world, they are living with amid the lockdown, a cinematic vacation, he thinks is something that people might really appreciate.

Kenneth Branagh explained that they did visit real Egypt, but they also recreated the Temple of Abu Simbel to its 150-ft height. He mentioned that they built an absolutely enormous Karnak Nile steamer. They built a massive water tank for it to sit in and float in, so they could have real water, a real boat, real people, and occasionally, in England, real sunshine, he noted.

Murder was just the beginning. Watch the new trailer for Death on the Nile, in theaters this October 23. pic.twitter.com/mGfCLeCAVv  Death on the Nile (@DOTNMovie) August 19, 2020

Also Read | Ali Fazal Was Loved By Gal Gadot & Other Cast Of 'Death On The Nile', Says Kenneth Branagh

Death on the Nile cast also includes Gal Gadot, Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, and Letitia Wright. It is a follow up to the 2017s mystery thriller film, Murder on the Orient Express. Kenneth Branagh returns as detective Hercule Poirot.

The film is based on Agatha Christies novel of the same name, which was published in 1937. The plot shows renowned detective Hercule Poirot who sets out to find a murderer, which took place on a cruise and is connected to a mysterious love triangle. Death on the Nile is scheduled to release on October 23, 2020.
Nicole Young was sent a formal letter by Dr. Dres record company Record One who claim she illegally deducted over $360K in August

Looks like the already prickly divorce between Dr. Dre and Nicole Young has gotten even messier now that his record company is accusing the producers estranged wife of embezzlement.

According to TMZ, Young has been sent a formal letter from Record One studios attorneys claiming she committed blatant and unjustifiable criminal embezzlement by allegedly deducting over $360,000 from the companys bank account in August.

The company, which was founded by the couple in 2015, sent Young an image of a check written for $363,571.85 that she reportedly wrote to herself. TMZ has also gone on to claim that they were able to obtain the image from the attorney who handles the LLC behind Record One.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA  FEBRUARY 07: (L-R) Truly Young, Dr. Dre, and Nicole Young attend the Tom Ford AW20 Show at Milk Studios on February 07, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

READ MORE: Dr. Dres wife Nicole Young explains $2 million per month divorce request

In response to this perceived misconduct, Record Ones legal counsel reportedly plan to file a lawsuit against the 50- year-old if she doesnt meet their demands to return the funds by Tuesday.

Last Friday, Young, who was married to her husband for 24 years, filed a lawsuit of her own accusing him of hiding assets from her following years of domination, control, abuse and mistreatment.

Her own lawyers also deny the allegations made in the correspondence sent to her from Record One.

READ MORE: Brandy reacts to Thea Vidale saying she was disrespectful on set of 90s sitcom

This is just a low-grade PR stunt by Andre and his team to try to change the fact that he was caught red-handed and sued for trying to cheat Nicole out of community property to which she is entitled, Bryan Freedman, Youngs lawyer, told TMZ in a statement.

Freedman refers to the 55-year-old producer  born Andre Romelle Young  by his given first name while categorically denying his accusations of embezzlement.

Story continues

This is just a low-grade PR stunt by Andre and his team to try to change the fact that he was caught red-handed and sued for trying to cheat Nicole out of community property to which she is entitled, wrote Freedman.

There is no question that Nicole had both the contractual and the legal right to have taken this action and Andres team is well aware of this fact, the lawyer continued. Any suggestion she did something untoward is preposterous and pathetic.

Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!

The post Dr. Dres record company accuses wife of embezzling funds appeared first on TheGrio.
JK Rowling has offered a rare insight into her 19-year marriage to husband Neil Murray while discussing her favourite and most memorable songs.

The author, 55, who married Neil in 2001 and shares two children with him, shared an anecdote during the Tracks Of My Years segment on Ken Bruce's Radio 2 show.

While listing some of the songs that have touched her life, Rowling said that she thought Bill Withers' love song Ain't No Sunshine was 'beautiful'.

Touching: JK Rowling has offered a rare insight into her 19-year marriage to husband Neil Murray while discussing her favourite and most memorable songs

Explaining her choice for the track, she revealed that her husband told her the song reminds her of how he feels when she is away with work.

She said: 'Well I think of all the love songs written, this might be my favourite. It's such a beautiful, simple sentiment, but I have an additional reason for choosing it, which is that it took lockdown for my husband to say to me

'I was playing it in the kitchen while cooking something; he walked in, he said, "This always makes me think of you when you're down in London" and that was a very moving marital moment so now it has an extra layer of meaning for me.

Discussing her lockdown experience, she admitted she has had a 'special time' spending time with her husband and their teenage kids.

Insight: The author, 55, who married Neil in 2001 and shares two children with him, shared an anecdote during the Tracks Of My Years segment on Ken Bruce's Radio 2 show

She said: 'Well, I hope that all listeners have had the happy experience that I've had of it being quite a special time. We also have teenage kids and it's been kind of wonderful to spend that extra time with them.'

JK shares children Mackenzie, 15, and David, 17, with Neil, while she is also mother to Jessica, 27, from her previous marriage to Jorge Arantes.

Elsewhere during the interview, JK said Jimi Hendrix's All Along The Watchtower detailed playing the song after a particularly bad break-up.

However she revealed the reason she loved the song is because she was in awe of how successful Hendrix was at such a young age [27].

Explaining her reasoning, she said: 'It's just extraordinary that people produce work of that quality when they're so young I think the thing I admire most is having the confidence because I had the idea for Harry Potter when I was 25 and I'd done a lot of writing before then, but I was extraordinarily insecure and very rarely shared anything that I'd written.

Beautiful: While listing some of the songs that have touched her life, Rowling said that she thought Bill Withers' love song Ain't No Sunshine was 'beautiful'

'I wrote some spoof things for friends to make them laugh, but I never shared anything that I'd written in earnest because I was quite insecure. But of course performers are different and they are driven to share in a way that writers don't do; obviously we live in a far more introverted life, but I am drawn to biographies of people like Hendrix because I am just in awe of what they did and what they achieved.'

Speaking on her own lack of self-belief, she said: 'You have to push through your lack of belief. Certainly with Potter and with other things I've written, I've put them down for months at a time.

'I have got better at believing that I can push through. I remember when I was writing Potter I was writing two other things simultaneously and slowly but surely I realised that Potter was the best of them.

'And even though I was very insecure I just kept pushing on, pushing on. Actually, the thing that pushed me to complete the book and really to have belief, was having made such a mess of my life generally. In fact I do remember feeling, "Look, so you get turned down by every publisher in the country, what's to lose now?" Well you know, it was even that I thought it would be a massive success because I certainly didn't.

\What I did believe was, I came to a point where I thought, "This is a good story and I'm going to put everything into this and see what happens." And I'd lost the fear of failing or rejecting that had probably hampered me a little bit early on in my writing.
Il Regno Unito potrebbe tornare a ottobre a un livello di 50mila contagi da coronavirus al giorno (contro i 3900 di ieri) e di 200 morti quotidiani se il rimbalzo dei casi non verra fermato ora. Lo hanno detto in un briefing i professori Patrick Vallance e Chris Whitty, consiglieri del governo di Boris Johnson, indicando la necessita di restrizioni sui contatti sociali in tutte le aree del Paese dove l'indice d'infezione Rt sia di nuovo superiore alla soglia 1.

Vallance ha pure additato gli esempi di Francia e Spagna, dove i contagi - piu numerosi rispetto al Regno - sono riaumentati fra i ventenni per poi estendersi ad altre fasce di eta portnado cosi anche a una graduale ripresa dei morti.

Niente lockdown generale bis, ma restrizioni ulteriori sui "contatti sociali". E al momento questa la strategia del governo di Boris Johnson secondo le parole del ministro della Sanita, Matt Hancock, che in un'intervista a Itv ha escluso al momento l'intenzione di ripristinare limitazioni alle attivita lavorative e alla scuola come accaduto in primavera.

"Vi sono evidenze che la diffusione non avviene tanto a scuola, quanto nella socializzazione fra le persone", ha detto Hancock, negando inoltre contrasti fra se e il ministro delle Finanze, Rishi Sunak, sulla necessita di tenere a bada la pandemia. Entrambi siamo consapevoli "delle conseguenze economiche", ma anche del dovere di mettere "la salute al primo posto", ha tagliato corto.

Il titolare della Sanita e poi tornato a smentire infine le voci mediatiche su un Boris Johnson provato, stanco e non ripresosi del tutto dal ricovero di aprile in terapia intensiva per il coronavirus. Il premier - ha ribattuto - "combatte, e in forma ed e pieno di vita vigoroso come non mai".

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New Delhi circumventing effect of downgrading diplomatic relations says Pakistan

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 21: The Pakistan government has defended its decision to deny a visa to Jayant Khobragade, who New Delhi wanted to appoint as the acting envoy to Islamabad.

Pakistan said that New Delhi is trying to circumvent the effect of downgrading diplomatic relations between the two nations by proposing to appoint a senior diplomat, who had already served as New Delhi's ambassador to another country, as the a ting head of the High Commission of India in Islamabad.

Khobragade who had joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1995 had served as a counsellor in the High Commission of India in Islamabad earlier. He had also served in the Indian mission in Russia and Spain. He was the ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic between 2013 and 2017.

Pakistan persecutes, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians: India at Geneva

Islamabad said it had blocked the move by the New Delhi to appoint him as the acting envoy to Pakistan, while citing his seniority.

Keeping in view the diplomatic norms, Pakistan has counselled India to nominate an official er with senior commensurate with Pakistan's decision of downgrading diplomatic relations, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan said.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

The high commissions of India and Pakistan in each other's capitals are now headed by acting envoys. India and Pakistan had further downgraded diplomatic relations in June and had withdrawn half of the officials posted in the high commissions of the respective countries.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:09:08|Editor: huaxia

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A teacher checks the temperature of a student at Mejocama Primary and Secondary School in Lusaka, Zambia, Sept. 21, 2020. Zambia National Education Coalition Executive Director George Hamusunga said the organization was extremely pleased with the government's decision to reopen all schools. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)

LUSAKA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Esnala Sakala is a sixteen-year-old pupil at Ng'ombe Basic Schools in Lusaka, the Zambian capital who was found running to school on the first day of its reopening after closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bubbling pupil is teeming with excitement and anxiety and cannot wait to sit on a desk after such a long time of just staying at home.

"It is good news that we are opening schools because life in society has not been good to me. I am so excited and I can't wait to sit on my desk and start learning," she said in an interview.

She noted that the closure of schools since March this year when the pandemic broke out has resulted in many pupils engaging in mischief.

"Some of them lost hope in school especially girls to the extent of getting pregnant. For boys, they started engaging in drug abuse," she added.

According to her, the reopening of schools will allow the pupils to spend more time in school and hence reduce engagement in bad vices.

John Banda from Olympia Secondary School also welcomed the reopening of schools as this has dispelled myths that have been circulating that schools will only reopen next year.

"It is great that schools are reopening because some of the pupils were slowly becoming dull," he said.

Zambia National Education Coalition Executive Director George Hamusunga said the organization was extremely pleased with the government's decision to reopen all schools.

"We are glad that the president has listened to our call in a timely manner and we are positive that the action taken by the government will help in mitigating the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the education sector," he said in a release.

He, however, urged all schools to put in place preventive health measures in order to curtail any spike of the pandemic in schools and urged the education to release funds to all schools to enable them to prepare adequately.

In his address to the Fifth Session of the Twelfth National Assembly, the Zambian president said he heard the cries from all stakeholders hence the decision to call for the reopening of the schools.

The Zambian leader acknowledged the negative effects the closing of schools has left on the learners.

Schools were closed in March when the country recorded its COVID-19 cases as part of efforts to combat the pandemic. The government reopened examination classes in June. Enditem
A new study looking at the link between peanut and tree-nut anaphylaxis in children and holidays found spikes at Halloween and Easter. The study, published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) found that most were previously unknown allergies, calling for increased awareness http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.200034.

"Identifying certain times associated with an increased risk of anaphylaxis could help to raise community awareness, support and vigilance," write Dr. Melanie Leung, 4th-year medical student at McGill University and Dr. Moshe Ben-Shoshan, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, with coauthors. "This information would identify the best timing for public awareness campaigns to prevent allergic reactions."

Researchers compared anaphylaxis at Halloween, Easter, Christmas, Diwali, Chinese New Year and Eid al-Adha.

The study included 1390 patients visiting participating pediatric emergency departments between 2011 and 2020 in 4 Canadian provinces: Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia. The median age of patients was 5.4 years and 62% were boys.

For peanut-triggered anaphylaxis, there was an 85% increase in daily average cases during Halloween and a 60% increase during Easter compared with the rest of the year. For anaphylaxis triggered by unknown nuts, there was a 70% increase during Halloween and Easter compared with the rest of the year. However, the researchers did not find an increase at Christmas, Diwali, Chinese New Year or Eid al-Adha.

"The difference in the anaphylaxis incidence among holidays may have been due to the social setting in which each holiday takes place," write the authors. "At Halloween and Easter, children often receive candies and other treats from people who may be unaware of their allergies. The absence of such an association at Christmas may be because Christmas is a more intimate celebration among family members and close friends, who are more vigilant regarding allergen exposure."

Canadian labelling may also be a factor, as individual packages of candies and snacks, which are exempt from labelling requirements listing ingredients, are popular at Halloween and Easter.

The authors suggest education and awareness may help reduce the risk of anaphylaxis.

"Our findings suggest that educational tools to increase vigilance regarding the presence of potential allergens is required among children with food allergies, their families and lay people interacting with children who have food allergies. Newer strategies targeting intervals associated with high anaphylaxis risk are required."

###

Visual abstract: https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.200034/tab-related-content

"Risk of peanut- and tree-nut-inducted anaphylaxis during Halloween, Easter and other cultural holidays in Canadian children" is published September 21, 2020.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

The policy of "Azerbaijanophobia" is prevailing in Armenia, hatred against Azerbaijani people is instilled in the young generation, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during his speech at a high-level meeting to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations held on the sidelines of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Trend reports.

"Recently, Armenia has adopted its aggressive and offensive military doctrine and National Security Strategy. The National Security Strategy contains racist, chauvinistic and "Azerbaijanophobic" ideas. The aggressive rhetoric and provocations of Armenia show that Armenia is preparing for a new aggression against Azerbaijan," the Azerbaijani president said. "We call on the UN and international community to urge Armenia to refrain from another military aggression."

"All responsibility lies on the military-political leadership of Armenia for instigating provocations and escalation of tension," President Aliyev said. "Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict must be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijans territorial integrity according to the UN Security Council Resolutions."
ByteDance, the Chinese parent company for TikTok is seeking a valuation worth $60 billion for the pop video sharing app's U.S. deal.

The valuation from ByteDance comes as Oracle and Walmart take stakes in TikTok, reported Bloomberg News. The U.S. deal was made to address security concerns.

President Donald Trump initially expressed hesitance in TikTok, having the majority of its stake held by ByteDance. But, while the U.S. deal is not as he'd hoped, he gave it his "blessing" after assurance that the app's data will be stored securely.

As it appears, the app won't be banned in the U.S. after all.

Final U.S. Deal Valuation in the Works

The reinvented company will be TikTok Global, and it will be based on Texas, said a report from The Guardian.

Under the new name, Oracle will take about 12.5% stake and store TikTok's entire U.S. user data in its cloud, Reuters said in a report. This will comply with the national security requirements of the government, the companies said on Saturday. Meanwhile, retail giant Walmart will have a 7.5% stake.

Both Oracle and Walmart will then pay a combined $12 billion for their stakes if they agree to a $60 billion asking price.

All four of the involved companies did not respond to comment on the report yet.

The final valuation for the deal has not yet been set. The companies are still working out the equity structure and measures for data security.

Trump Agrees to TikTok Deal "Conceptually"

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was on board with the deal "conceptually."

The new company can employ around 25,000 people, as said by Trump.

For this reason, he gave the company his approval. "If they get it done, that's great; if they don't, that's OK too," said Trump.

Despite getting approval from Trump, the deal still has to go through the Chinese government to move forward, said a BBC report.

Just recently, Trump said his administration would ban people from downloading TikTok from any app store starting Sunday.

However, "recent positive developments" held a pause on the plan. The ban could be delayed for a week, until September 27.

U.S. Deal Resolved Trump's Security Concerns

After TikTok first received ban threats, it has not stopped receiving criticism and speculation of sharing data with the Chinese government. Amid all of these accusations, the company denied handling the data in insecure ways.

Once he had been briefed about the deal, he said the data of about 100 million U.S. users would be safely stored in the Oracle cloud.

"The security will be 100%," he said to reporters. He ensured that it would be "totally controlled by Oracle and Walmart."

The company's directors will be mostly from the U.S., and it will also have a U.S. chief executive. There is also going to be a security expert involved in TikTok Global.

TikTok was pleased that security concerns on their app have already been resolved.

Working with Oracle, the app's source code will be inspected by the California based company.

The IPO for TikTok Global will also be on the U.S. stock exchange. It is expected to be ready after about a year.

Check these out!

Trump Approves TikTok-Oracle Deal

Trump Says He Does Not Approve of ByteDance Control in TikTok Deal

US To Ban TikTok and WeChat on Sunday
An internal police investigation that followed Lincoln Police Officer Mario Herrera's Aug. 26 shooting has determined that the officer who returned fire at two fleeing suspects was following the department's general orders, practice and training, police say.

Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister, who returned to work this week following a bout with COVID-19, said Investigator Cole Jennings, who had been on administrative leave since the incident, returned to duty Sept. 8.

He said Jennings' actions were the primary focus of an internal affairs investigation, which is separate from the Lancaster County Sheriff's criminal investigation into the fatal shooting of Herrera, who succumbed to his injuries Sept. 7.

But, Bliemeister said, another facet of the review is continuing and focuses on the department's general orders on body armor.

"We are asking ourselves if (the department's general orders regarding search warrants) meet (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) standards, meet community standards and adequately describe our expectations to our staff for the wearing body armor," he told the Journal Star in an email last week.
RICHMOND  Three dozen Virginians were temporarily or permanently barred from possessing firearms and/or had their guns confiscated during the first two months of the state's new "Red Flag" law, which prohibits residents from keeping or purchasing a gun if authorities can establish they would be a danger to themselves or others.

Since the law went into effect July 1 after being passed on a party-line vote by Virginia's Democratic-controlled General Assembly, 26 temporary and 10 permanent substantial risk orders were issued against individuals across the state in July and August, according to Virginia State Police, which operates the Virginia Firearm Transaction Center.

Virginia law prohibits state police from releasing any details about those 36 orders, and the statistics the department provided does not include the localities where the orders were granted or the dates they were issued.

A check of localities in the Richmond-Petersburg region turned up only two such orders being granted  both in Colonial Heights. The attorney representing one of those residents will ask a judge during a hearing next month that the order be dissolved because his client doesn't own or possess any firearms and already is prohibited from purchasing them.

The other case involves a resident who was shot and wounded by police in early March after he came to the front door of his home armed with a rifle and confronted officers during a standoff. That man, a veteran who suffers from combat-induced post-traumatic stress disorder, voluntarily consented to the substantial risk order and surrendered 13 firearms he owned, court documents show.

Police sought the risk order against him in mid-August, nearly five months after the incident with police. A city prosecutor wrote in the petition for the order that the man had attempted without success to manage his disorder with medication and is under a doctor's care. Two misdemeanor charges of brandishing a weapon and reckless handling of a firearm lodged against him for the standoff were withdrawn on Sept. 1.

In another case in Frederick County, a man whose guns were seized under a temporary substantial risk order had them returned last week after a judge denied a prosecutor's attempt to extend the order permanently. The man testified during a Sept. 11 hearing that his son and father, who obtained the order against him, lied to police that he pulled a pistol on his son in their home on Sept. 2, the Winchester Star reported.

"The red flag law is wrong because anybody who is spiteful can have someone's guns taken from them," the man told the presiding judge before two semi-automatic rifles, a hunting rifle and three pistols were returned to him, according to the newspaper's account.

To confiscate the man's weapons, the law requires authorities prove "by clear and convincing evidence" that he poses a substantial risk of personal injury to himself or other individuals in the near future. The judge found no such grounds, saying, "There are no witnesses that say a gun was pointed at them," the Star reported, who noted the man's accusers did not show up in court to testify.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch is not identifying any of the people subjected to substantial risk orders because their cases are handled as a civil, rather than a criminal, matter.

The law, supported by Democratic lawmakers and opposed by their Republican counterparts, is designed to reduce gun killings and suicides by confiscating firearms from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. It allows police or a commonwealth's attorney to petition a judge or magistrate to issue a 14-day emergency substantial risk order against a person deemed a threat.

Authorities must first conduct an investigation and submit an affidavit outlining their case.

If granted, authorities can seize a person's firearms and prohibit the purchase of new weapons while the order is in effect.

A hearing must be held within 14 days of the seizure to allow the gun owner the opportunity to have the order dissolved and his guns returned. A judge then rules whether to return the guns or have them held for up to 180 days under a permanent substantial risk order. The order can then be extended for additional 180-day periods with no limits on the number of extensions.

"Thus far, our office has found the 'Red Flag Laws' to be beneficial in cases where there is an indication of mental health issues on the part of the defendant and concerns by our office and the Police Department with regard to safety to the community," Colonial Heights Commonwealth's Attorney Gray Collins said in an email.

The Virginia Citizens Defense League and other state gun rights groups believe the law infringes on the Second Amendment, and allows firearms to be confiscated without due process and based solely on someone's word.

Authorities in Richmond, Petersburg, Hopewell and the counties of Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover, Dinwiddie and Prince George said they have not yet sought substantial risk orders against any residents in their localities.

Richmond-area attorney David Smith is representing the Colonial Heights man who owns no firearms but is subject to an emergency substantial risk order based on threats that police said they heard him make to kill himself and family members. He also told police he suffers from depression and anxiety.

At one point during his encounter with the police, the man was asked if he had a plan to kill himself. The man replied that "he was going get his final check in the mail, then go buy a gun and blow his brains out because he was tired of the human race," the officer wrote in the petition for the substantial risk order.

The man was charged with domestic assault after a verbal and physical altercation with his brother on July 10. He was found guilty last week and sentenced to serve four months in jail.

"I don't think it's an appropriate intervention, specifically because he doesn't have firearms or access to firearms," Smith said. "And I think given his unique situation, he's not able to purchase firearms due to his current legal status, so I feel this is not a case that falls within the intended application of the red flag laws."

However, "I think generally speaking the red flag laws are very useful," Smith added. "I think they are addressing a gap in [the law], with protections that the [the substantial risk orders] have been able to provide."

But Smith foresees the law being struck down in individual cases where defendants who want legal representation can't afford to hire an attorney. Unlike a criminal case where an indigent defendant is guaranteed a lawyer, a person subjected to a substantial risk order  which is adjudicated as a civil matter - is not afforded such protection under the law.

"I think what you're going to see with a lot of these cases, is the law is going to be struck down on constitutional grounds - because the respondent is denied access to counsel and depriving them of a constitutional right," Smith said.
One of the areas most respected cardiothoracic surgeons will start seeing patients at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital.

Moritz C. Wyler von Ballmoos, M.D., Ph.D., director of robotic cardiac and vascular surgery for the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, is joining Marvin D. Atkins Jr., M.D., Charlie Cheng, M.D., and Tony Lu, M.D. with Houston Methodist Cardiovascular Surgery Associates at Sugar Land where he will focus on advanced, specialized cardiovascular surgery.

Wyler von Ballmoos has a distinguished background as a surgeon and clinical investigator. He earned his medical degree and Ph.D. in cardiovascular physiology from the University of Bern in Switzerland and completed his surgical training at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Duke University Medical Center. Wyler von Ballmoos completed the AATS Graham Foundation Robotics Fellowship, as well as an advanced fellowship in minimally invasive cardiac surgery and transcatheter procedures for structural heart and valve disease. He has been recognized for his groundbreaking work as the recipient of the AATS Graham Foundation Robotics Grant, the Michael J. Davidson Award (for minimally invasive cardiac surgery), and the Thoracic Surgery Foundation Advanced Cardiac Robotic Fellowship Award.

Wyler von Ballmoos is an internationally recognized expert in the minimally invasive treatment of heart disease and is the principal investigator or co-investigator for 12 clinical device trials to treat valvular heart disease. He has extensive knowledge and expertise in valve repair surgery and minimally invasive cardiac surgery, including robotic-assisted surgery and related technologies.

Wyler von Ballmoos says Houston Methodist Sugar Lands excellent reputation as a cardiovascular center of excellence and the opportunity to offer minimally invasive valve and bypass surgery outside the Texas Medical Center were major factors in his decision to join the staff.

Through its investment in the areas leading Heart & Vascular Center, Houston Methodist Sugar Land has proven that regional hospitals can deliver the same level of expertise in cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment as large medical center institutions, he explained. The cardiovascular programs growth is an important benefit for patients, as having access to outstanding care close to home can make a real difference in treatment and recovery. Houston Methodist Sugar Land has invested in people and technology to build an impressive cardiovascular service line that benefits the community, and I am excited to join the team and continue the hospitals mission of bringing the best possible care to Fort Bend County and the surrounding area.

The addition of Dr. Wyler von Ballmoos to the hospitals medical staff strengthens an already first-class cardiovascular service, Atkins said. All of us at Houston Methodist Sugar Land are thrilled to have him on board and we look forward to working with him to continue to advance our cardiovascular program.

Houston Methodist Cardiovascular Surgery Associates at Sugar Land is located in Medical Office Building 3 on the Houston Methodist Sugar Land campus, 16605 Southwest Freeway, Suite 560. To make an appointment with Wyler von Ballmoos, call 713-352-1820.

To learn more about Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, visit houstonmethodist.org/sugarland or on Facebook at fb.com/methodistsugarland.
Zephyr Peacock, the India affiliate of New York headquartered private equity firm Zephyr, which invests in emerging markets globally, is raising a $100 million third fund for the domestic market and will be investing in up to a dozen companies from the fund, said a top company official. It is in the process of raising the fund from institutional investors as well as family offices.

The PE fund will be investing in between $3 million and $10 million each in a portfolio of 10-12 companies from the third fund. Over the past decade, the PE fund has invested over $120 million in small ...
FGE captures man accused of 10 sex related crimes in Cozumel, Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen, Q.R.  Investigative Police report the capture of a male who has been accused of 10 sex related crimes between Playa del Carmen and Cozumel.

In a virtual press conference, the head of the State Attorney Generals Office (FGE) of Quintana Roo, Oscar Montes de Oca Rosales, reported that as a result of the field and cabinet work, Investigative Police executed an arrest warrant against Erath J for the crime of rape to the detriment of a minor.

It is believed he is also related to at least nine other cases of rape, sexual abuse and corruption of minors in the municipalities of Solidaridad and Cozumel.

During his public statement, Oscar Montes de Oca Rosale explained that after two months of monitoring, analysis, and the use of technology, police from the intelligence area were finally able to locate the accused. He was found at the address of a place he had just leased for rent in Playa del Carmen.

Montes de Oca Rosale noted that the accused was hiding in various places after his identity and alleged sexual allegations were released on social media. This information release caused nine others to come forward. He explained that some of the other alleged victims were sexually assaulted after being given toxic substances.

He added that currently, 10 investigations have been initiated for events that occurred in the municipalities of Cozumel and Solidaridad on different dates for the crimes of rape, sexual abuse and corruption of minors. From this, Montes de Oca Rosale said police were able to obtain two arrest warrants.

Montes de Oca Rosales added that Erath J will remain in preventive detention, a precautionary measure imposed ex officio, while they continue with investigations regarding the other victims.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Friday lifted the upper limit for visitors at cultural and tourist locations from 50 percent to 75 percent of capacity ahead of the National Day holiday in October. For tourist attractions Tourist attractions across the country are expected to see a peak in visitor flow on the first long-term holiday since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the ministry's new protocol, the attractions should pay extra attention to biosecurity while at the same time promoting the recovery of the industry. Pandemic containment still remains a prerequisite of tourist sites. The requirements could be summarized in terms of limits on numbers, reservations and peak hour rearrangements. Aside from raising the upper limit in tourist numbers, the attractions are also asked to update their disinfection program to facilitate to meet the requirements of the holiday. Reservation and real-name registrations are also required so that the tourists could be traced in time if infections occur. The ministry also encourages the attractions to join hands with the local sanitation department to deal with possible emergencies. For other cultural locations In the updated protocols, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has also encouraged local authorities to deal with cultural locations according to their own condition instead of adopting a "one size for all" approach. The protocol has loosened its restrictions on live house performances, giving priority for "large-scale performances outdoors" in low-risk areas, with the permission of local officials. The news has triggered discussion on social media platforms, with many netizens exclaiming satisfaction that live house concerts are finally able to return. The limit for audience numbers is also set at 75 percent of the capacity, with other pandemic containment requirements unchanged, such as routine disinfection, reservation and real-name registration, temperature checks and health QR code.


Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) for the settlement of the conflict, Leonid Kravchuk, has said that there will be no unilateral inspections of military positions in Donbas in the future.

"Ukraine can decide only in one case - what will happen, so that it is not one-sided. If inspections are held, then they should be held on both sides, because we have dozens, about 50 cases, I emphasize, about 50 cases when that side violates the same Minsk agreements, but say that we are violating them," Kravchuk said in an interview with Radio Liberty.

He added that "it cannot be that they will place demands on Ukraine, and Ukraine will fulfill, without being able to force through the OSCE, through a monitoring mission, let's say, these conditions to be fulfilled by the opposite side."
Key discovery in psoriatic arthritis points way for developing targeted treatments

A new study has revealed psoriatic arthritis may be activated by the same trigger in different patients. Researchers from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Sanger Institute identified high levels of a specific receptor in immune cells from psoriatic arthritis patients, giving the strongest evidence yet of a single cause for the disease.

Published today (21st September) in Nature Communications, this could lead to finding the exact molecular 'trigger' and gives hope for developing a targeted treatment in the future.

A third of patients with the skin condition psoriasis, will develop psoriatic arthritis, which typically causes affected joints to become swollen, stiff and painful. Psoriatic arthritis is a long-term condition that can get progressively worse over time. While some treatments are available there is currently no cure, and in severe disease the joints can become permanently damaged, needing surgery.

It was already known that the disease had a number of genetic predispositions, one of which controls how immune cells called T cells see antigen molecules from disease-causing microorganisms. However, it is not understood exactly what triggers the onset of psoriatic arthritis in patients.

Using cutting edge single cell technology, the researchers analysed thousands of individual immune cells from fluid drained from the knees of patients with psoriatic arthritis. They could see which genes were switched on in each cell and showed these T cells had an activated inflammatory profile. The researchers also amplified and sequenced the RNA from receptor genes, to identify active T cell receptors in each cell. The study showed that many T cells in the joint fluid shared an identical T cell receptor and were therefore clones of each other. These were very likely to have been triggered to reproduce themselves by a particular antigen.

Using machine learning to compare these receptors from different patients, they discovered that the expanded clones of T cells were potentially recognising something in common. These cells also shared other markers, including a receptor called CXCR3, that directed them to the inflammation site.

Dr Hussein Al-Mossawi, Honorary Research Associate at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) at the University of Oxford, said: "Our data suggest that psoriatic arthritis doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Each receptor is like a unique lock that recognises a molecular key and we discovered, that across the patients, they are recognising a common molecule. This gives the first evidence that the T cells are seeing and reacting to the same molecule, which acts as a trigger for the disease. We don't know the exact culprit yet, but this a great step forward in understanding the disease."

The large-scale single cell data from the joints and blood of psoriatic arthritis patients were then used to investigate how the T cells could transfer from the blood to the joint to cause the damage.

Dr Sam Behjati, Group Leader and Wellcome Trust Intermediate Clinical Fellow at the Wellcome Sanger Institute commented: "Our study produced the largest single cell dataset from psoriatic arthritis patients to date. It is helping us to understand the intricate mechanisms behind psoriatic arthritis, including starting to unravel the signals that tell the T cells to cross over into the joint fluid. Imagine the cells as train passengers with a ticket that tells them at which station to get off - the single cell data is allowing us to read that destination for each cell, and understand the signals."

Professor Paul Bowness, Professor of Experimental Rheumatology at NDORMS said: "Our findings indicate that specific T cells are likely to be targeted to enter the joint, where they are triggered to expand, creating inflammation and causing psoriatic arthritis. The next stage of research will be to find the key that is unlocking the disease in patients - from the signals that direct cells to the joint, to what then triggers them to expand. If we can understand these, we could move towards creating therapies that would prevent this, potentially providing a cure."

###

Contact details:

Josie Eade, Acting Communications Manager

Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford

Tel: +44 (0)7711 387215

Email: josie.eade@ndorms.ox.ac.uk, communications@ndorms.ox.ac.uk

Dr Samantha Wynne, Media Officer

Wellcome Sanger Institute

Wellcome Genome Campus,

Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK

Phone:+44 (0)1223 492368

Email: press.office@sanger.ac.uk

Notes to editors:

More information about psoriatic arthritis at: https:/ / www. nhs. uk/ conditions/ psoriatic-arthritis/

Publication:

Frank Penkava et al. (2020) Single-cell sequencing reveals a clonal expansion of pro-inflammatory synovial CD8 T cells expressing tissue homing receptors in psoriatic arthritis. Nature Communications DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18513-6

Funders:

The research was supported by The Kennedy Trust Studentship, The Academy of Medical Sciences, Wellcome, St Baldrick's Foundation, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and other funders. Please see the paper for further details.

Selected websites:

Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) at the University of Oxford.

The Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) is a multi-disciplinary department focusing on discovering the causes of musculoskeletal and inflammatory conditions to deliver excellent and innovative care that improves people's quality of life. The largest European academic department in its field, NDORMS is part of the Medical Sciences Division of the University of Oxford, and is a rapidly growing community of more than 500 orthopaedic surgeons, rheumatologists and scientists all working in the field of musculoskeletal disorders.

The research work of the department takes place in several locations across the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, namely the Botnar Research Centre, the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, and the Kadoorie Centre. The co-location with NHS services puts the department in an excellent position with basic researchers working alongside clinicians. This substantially improves research capacity, improving access for researchers to patients, and facilitating the interaction between clinicians and scientists that is essential for successful medical research. http://www. ndorms. ox. ac. uk

The Wellcome Sanger Institute

The Wellcome Sanger Institute is a world leading genomics research centre. We undertake large-scale research that forms the foundations of knowledge in biology and medicine. We are open and collaborative; our data, results, tools and technologies are shared across the globe to advance science. Our ambition is vast - we take on projects that are not possible anywhere else. We use the power of genome sequencing to understand and harness the information in DNA. Funded by Wellcome, we have the freedom and support to push the boundaries of genomics. Our findings are used to improve health and to understand life on Earth. Find out more at http://www. sanger. ac. uk or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on our Blog.

About Wellcome

Wellcome exists to improve health by helping great ideas to thrive. We support researchers, we take on big health challenges, we campaign for better science, and we help everyone get involved with science and health research. We are a politically and financially independent foundation. https:/ / wellcome. org

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Four of five people charged in connection with protests that turned violent on Sept. 13 had their charges moved to the Lancaster County trial court during hearings on Monday.

The protests began in the hours after 27-year-old Ricardo Munoz was killed in a police shooting. Authorities say Munoz charged at an officer with a knife before the officer fired his weapon. An investigation into the shooting is being done by the Lancaster District Attorneys Office.

Four people waived their preliminary hearings, according to the DAs office, effectively moving their cases to the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas.

Jamal S. Newman, T. Jay Fry and Jessica Lopez will move forward on charges of felony riot, conspiracy and related offenses, the DAs office said.

Seth Gardner, 21, had charges of misdemeanor propulsion of missiles and summary public drunkenness moved to county court, the DAs office said.

Newman, Fry, Lopez and Gardner all had their bail modified, according to the DAs office.

Newman has his bail changed from a $100,000 monetary hold to be released on $100,000 unsecured bail, according to online court dockets.

Frys bail, currently set at $25,000, had conditions added, according to online court dockets. No details of the conditions were available Monday evening.

Lopezs $250,000 monetary bail was changed to unsecured, allowing for her release, according to online court documents.

Garnder, whose bail was originally set at $10,000, had his bail dropped to $5,000 and he was released after posting a bond, according to online court dockets.

Newman, Fry and Lopez are all under conditions that include a ban from being within a block of the police station, the DAs office said. Lopez will be under house arrest.

Charges against Newman, Fry and Lopez were modified during the hearings, according to the DAs office.

A felony count of arson againsts Newman was changed to be a summary based on the value of what was burned the DAs office said. A felony arson charge against Fry was withdrawn due to insufficient evidence.

Multiple counts of conspiracy were consolidated into one count of conspiracy to commit riot, the DAs office said, although it was unclear which people received this consolidation.

The fifth protester, 31-year-old Timothy Garcia, pleaded guilty to misdemanor counts of criminal mischief and possession of cocaine, the DAs office said. He was sentenced to time served to 23 months and must pay restitution.

The investigation into violence that occured on Sept. 13 and 14 is ongoing, the DAs office said, and could result in additional charges.

The actions of police and SERT in an extremely volatile environment last week minimized property damage and protected lives, District Attorney Heather Adams said Monday. Moving forward, we will assure fair process for all defendants by meticulously analyzing all charges and determining what can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

This included an review of the charges filed against people in connection with the protests from her office which did result in amendments, according to the statement.

Preliminary hearings for others charged in connection with the protests are scheduled for later dates, according to the DAs office.

Read more on PennLive:
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The flagbearer of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GPCC), Dr. Henry Herbert Lartey, says his party prepared to pay the GHS100,000 filing fee for presidential aspirants announced by the Electoral Commission (EC).

If the EC comes up with a policy we have to abide by it. If they say we should pay GHS100,000 [as filing fee], we will pay it. They have been generous to a point when it comes to parliamentarians. Was it not GHS10,000 filing fee they charged the last time, and they have not increased that fee? So, if they say we should pay GHS100,000 we will pay it, he said.

Dr Henry Lartey said this in an interview with the media after he was acclaimed as the flagbearer of the GCPP over the weekend.

GCPP on September 19, 2020, held its 6th National Delegates Congress in Accra to elect its flagbearer and executives to steer the affairs of the party.

At the congress, Dr Henry Lartey was acclaimed as the flagbearer of the party.

Dr Lartey further told the media that his party will capitalise on its domestication policy to win votes in the upcoming polls.

Our message has to go straight to the grassroots, so strong, so that we can get as much as we feel we should get because the philosophy of the late Dan Lartey is what is going to save Ghana. So, once it gets to those at the grassroots, and they think through it, they will vote for us, he said.

General Secretary for GCPP, Ato Dadzie also told the media that if voted into power, his party would ensure that factories are constructed in every constituency in the country.

---citinewsroom
Geneva (Human Rights Council) 16 September 2020 (SPS)- The Right Livelihood Foundation called last Monday in an Oral Statement during the 45th Session of the Human Rights Council, for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Western Sahara for the UN to be able to monitor the human rights situation in this last colony in Africa.

The Swedish organisation expressed deep concern about the situation in Western Sahara, where sustained and systematic violations and abuses of the rights of the Sahrawi people, including the right to self-determination, continue to take place in the context of the illegal occupation by the Kingdom of Morocco.

It further indicated that Sahrawi activists, journalists and human rights defenders are routinely subjected to torture, arbitrary detention, unfair trials, forced deportation, and other violations which are met with total impunity. We are also concerned that Moroccan occupation forces keep banning and expelling international observers from the territory.

Despite a number of calls from the international community for proper monitoring of its human rights situation, the Foundation regretted, Western Sahara seems to be off the radar of the UN system. MINURSO remains the only UN peacekeeping mission without a human rights monitoring and reporting mandate, and the premature resignation of the UNSG Personal Envoy is a concerning development that has put any hope of a successful negotiation process on hold for over a year.

The organisation, which awarded Saharawi human rights defender, Ms. Aminatou Haidar, in 2019, recalled the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, that the Saharawi activists had requested that prompt and concrete measures be taken by your Office to address the situation.

In this regards, the statement emphasises We welcome your commitment to organise a new technical mission to the territory but we reiterate our call for a cooperation and capacity building programme to be implemented, without delay, together with the legitimate representatives of the Sahrawi people. We also urge the Council to seriously consider the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Western Sahara. (SPS)

090/500/60 (SPS)
In ordinary times, when we are besieged by the insistent look at me, look at me of friends, foes and strangers alike, at home and at work, on the street and on social media, the idea of seclusion is a fantasy: to shut out that noise and have a moment to know yourself again. This is part of the promise of the Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, designed by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor to honor a 15th-century mystic and completed in Mechernich, Germany, in 2007. From the outside, it has the austerity of a monolith, a concrete tower reachable only by a long dirt footpath through fields of wheat, with a steel triangle for a door, like some abstracted steeple. Inside is a husk, a memory of a teepee-like framework of spruce trees that was burned like an offering, slowly, over three weeks, until the interior blackened, as if the trees shadows had been imprinted on the concrete. The floor is poured lead; a lone bench awaits. You are enclosed in darkness, as in a cave, but there is a reprieve  light leaking in through little orbs of glass that bead the walls, and a hole to the sky that lets in rain and, in winter, snow. You must look up, or within. But this intensely private space is not the expression of a single will. That it exists at all is testament to the collective effort of the farmers who till the surrounding fields, who reached out to Zumthor because they wanted a place to pray and remember their patron saint. Zumthor, in turn, called on them to come together as neighbors and build his design themselves, as in a latter-day barn raising. So the chapel both invites solitude and affirms, by its very presence, the need for community. Even inside that charred interior, you are not cut off: The world enters through that oculus, reminding you its there.
Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation over a headline that insulted Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a Greek newspaper last week.

On Friday, right-wing Greek newspaper Dimokratia published the headline F*** off, Mr. Erdogan in Turkish, along with an English translation, in a story about the two NATO countries' dispute over drilling rights in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to state-run Anadolu Agency, Erdogans lawyer, Huseyin Aydin, has filed a criminal complaint with the Ankara prosecutors office. The complaint described the author of the article, two editors and the newspapers editor-in-chief as "suspects. Prosecutors in the capital, Ankara, have since launched an investigation into the newspaper.

"Considering the silence of the Greek public, it is understood that this moral collapse is not limited to marginal segments," the complaint said, according to Anadolu, describing swearing as a great shame.

Turkeys Foreign Ministry summoned Greeces ambassador over the despicable headline on Friday. Fahrettin Altun, communications director at the Turkish presidency, called on Greece to hold those responsible for the "shameless" headline to account.

Insulting a foreign leader is nothing but a sign of helplessness and lack of reason, and does not fall within the scope of press freedom or freedom of expression, Altun said in a letter to his Greek counterpart Friday.

The Greek Foreign Ministry responded by saying that although it doesnt condone the headline, freedom of the press is protected in Greece.

The use of offensive language is contrary to our countrys political culture and can only be condemned, the ministry said.

Since 2015, Human Rights Watch has documented a dramatic rise in the number of prosecutions for insulting the president in Turkey. The crime carries a prison sentence of one to four years.

The Turkish government has arrested tens of thousands of people, many of them journalists, in a widespread crackdown on dissent that followed the failed 2016 coup. Reporters Without Borders ranked Turkey 154 out of 180 countries in its 2020 World Press Freedom Index.
At the height of the pandemic, 598,000 were in receipt of the payment. This has now fallen to 210,000, but could increase in the coming days due to the Dublin lockdown. Photo: Collins Photos

Further reductions to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) may be postponed under plans being discussed ahead of the Budget.

Despite calls from Fianna Fail backbench TDs to reinstate the full payment for workers who lose their jobs in Dublin due to Covid-19 restrictions, senior Government sources say it is unlikely any changes will be made before the Budget.

However, plans to reduce the rates further in February may be delayed as part of a range of Budget measures aimed at supporting workers who become unemployed due to the Government's coronavirus restrictions.

The top rate of the Covid-19 unemployment payment was reduced last week from 350 to 300 and early next year it is due to be reduced again to 250. The scheme was due to close this month but Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys secured Cabinet agreement for it to be extended until the end of the year.

However, there is mounting pressure from Fianna Fail backbench TDs for the top rate of the payment to be restored for people who lose their jobs due to Level 3 restrictions being imposed on their county.

Senior party TD Barry Cowen has led the calls for the payment to be increased in the wake of the Dublin lockdown and he has been supported by Fianna Fail leadership hopeful Jim O'Callaghan.

Sinn Fein has also said the 350 payment should remain in place until the end of the year.

However, Government sources have insisted it would be costly and complicated to reinstate the highest level of the payment, which was introduced when the pandemic first hit the country.

The Government is examining a range of industry-specific supports for taxi drivers and people working in the hospitality and arts sectors.

The total cost of the payment to date has been 3.5bn.

At the height of the pandemic, 598,000 were in receipt of the payment. This has now fallen to 210,000, but could increase in the coming days due to the Dublin lockdown.
YARDLEY, Pa., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) will release its earnings for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020 after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, October 19, 2020. The Company will hold a conference call to discuss these results at 9:00 a.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

The dial-in numbers for the conference call are (630) 395-0194 or toll-free (888) 324-8108 and the access password is "packaging". A replay of the conference call will be available for a one-week period ending at midnight on October 27, 2020. The telephone numbers for the replay are (402) 220-4720 or toll free (800) 879-4284. A live webcast of the call will be made available to the public on the internet at the Company's website, www.crowncork.com.

Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading global supplier of rigid packaging products to consumer marketing companies, as well as transit and protective packaging products, equipment and services to a broad range of end markets. World headquarters are located in Yardley, Pennsylvania.

For more information, contact Corporate Communications at (215) 602-2653.

SOURCE Crown Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.crowncork.com


The Manhattan district attorneys office, which has been locked in a yearlong legal battle with President Trump over obtaining his tax returns, suggested for the first time in a court filing on Monday that it had grounds to investigate him and his businesses for tax fraud.

The filing by the office of the district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., offered rare insight into the offices investigation of the president and his business dealings, which began more than two years ago.

Mr. Vance, a Democrat, has never revealed the scope of his offices criminal inquiry, citing grand jury secrecy. The investigation has been stalled by the fight over a subpoena that the office issued in August 2019 for eight years of the presidents tax returns.

Lawyers for Mr. Trump have said the subpoena should be blocked, calling it wildly overbroad and politically motivated. Mr. Vance responded to that argument in a carefully worded new filing that did not directly accuse Mr. Trump or any of his businesses or associates of wrongdoing and took pains to avoid disclosing details about the inquiry.
Monster Energys Jessica-Rose Clark Defeats Sarah Alpar via TKO at UFC Vegas 11 "This definitely feels like the first time Ive been able to show up on fight night. I feel like Ive been a good gym fighter over the past couple of years, but I havent shown up on fight night. So, Im very proud of myself for being able to do that tonight." Jessica-Rose Clark

Another big night of fighting is in the books! Monster Energy congratulates Jessica-Rose Clark on her dominating victory against Sarah Too Sweet Alpar at UFC Vegas 11 at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas on Saturday night. In the womens bantamweight division match on the Prelims Card, the 32-year-old mixed martial arts expert from Cairns, Australia, claimed the win via TKO stoppage at 4:21 of round three.

In the nights Main Card welterweight division fight, Monster Energys Donald Cowboy Cerrone went the distance against Niko The Hybrid Price. After three intense rounds, the fight was ruled a majority draw with two judges scores of 28-28 and one 29-27 in favor of 37-year-old MMA icon Cerrone.

Saturdays edition of UFC Fight Night was contested as a closed-to-the-public event in the safe environment of the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas and broadcast live on ESPN+. The event happened amid enhanced safety protocols to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), including stringent pre-fight quarantine and extensive testing for fighters and personnel.

Clark (10-6, 1 NC) came to Las Vegas looking for a win after two consecutive losses against Jessica Eye and Pannie Kianzad. Meanwhile, 29-year-old Sarah Alpar out of Amarillo, Texas, stepped into the Octagon on the back of a three-fight victory streak and a reputation as a submissions expert.

But past achievements held no weight at UFC Vegas 11. From the start, Clark aka Jessy Jess came out swinging with clean right-hand strikes and punishing elbows to defend against Alpars grapple attempts. Drawing on her jiu-jitsu expertise, Clark took the upper hand and scored a takedown in round one. In the second round, Clark maintained the pressure with heavy elbows, strikes, and knee blows supplemented by heavy ground-and-pound whenever the fight moved to the mat.

The action came to a head in round three when Clark followed a front kick and right-hand combo by delivering a damaging knee to the face that bloodied Alpar. The referee momentarily stopped the bout on suspicions of an illegal knee blow, then ruled no foul and let both fighters continue. Following the restart, it was all over for Alpar as Jessy Jess delivered more punishment until the referee finally halted the bout via TKO stoppage at 4:21 of round three.

This definitely feels like the first time Ive been able to show up on fight night. I feel like Ive been a good gym fighter over the past couple of years, but I havent shown up on fight night. So, Im very proud of myself for being able to do that tonight, said Clark upon winning her bantamweight division fight at UFC Vegas 11 on Saturday night, adding: Its the most aware Ive ever been in a fight!

Saturdays victory against Alpar puts Clark back in the winners circle with a total record at 10-6, 1 NC. Expect big things in the future for Jessy Jess and keep an eye out for updates on future fights.

In Saturday nights Main Card welterweight division fight against Niko The Hybrid Price, Monster Energys Cerrone held no punches. Cerrone stepped into the Octagon hungry for a win after suffering losses against Conor McGregor and Anthony Pettis earlier this year.

The fight started with Price on the offense, hitting Cerrone with hard shots. Drawing on years of experience as a top UFC pro, Cowboy fired back with precise counterstrikes and derailed Price with targeted knees after a clinch. However, Cerrone was visibly rattled by not one, but two illegal pokes to the eye, the second costing Price a point on the scorecards.

Both fighters continued to unload punches in the second round, with Cerrone landing the heavier blows and staying dangerous on his counter strikes and low kicks. In the final round, Cerrone surprised his opponent with a takedown from up high, then landed a big head kick after the break. In the final moments of the fight, Cerrone connected a hard left hook as the two brawled all the way until the bell. When all was said and done, the fight ended in a majority draw with two judges scores of 28-28 and one 29-27 in favor of Cerrone.

The majority draw against Niko Price marks the first draw in Cerrones career (36-15-1, 1 NC). Training out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the bona fide MMA legend holds numerous UFC records, including most victories for any fighter with a total of 23.

Jessica-Rose Clark and Donald Cowboy Cerrone count amongst Monster Energys elite UFC team along with Rose "Thug" Namajunas, Jon Bones Jones, Jorge Gamebred Masvidal, Daniel Cormier, Dominick Dominator Cruz, Tyron The Chosen One Woodley, Yair El Pantera Rodriquez, Tony El Cucuy Ferguson, Joanna "JJ" Jedrzejczyk, Maycee The Future Barber, and Chris The All American Weidman.

For more on Clark and Monster Energys MMA athletes visit http://www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About Monster Energy

Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, its the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at http://www.monsterenergy.com.
Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the annual high-level general debate of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Sept. 28, 2015. [Xinhua/Pang Xinglei]

BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua)  "The greatest ideal is to create a world truly shared by all," Chinese President Xi Jinping said five years ago in his debut at the solemn UN General Assembly Hall, citing an ancient adage that reflects the defining world view ingrained in China's millennia-old civilization.

Upholding that ideal, Xi expounded his concept of and approach to building a community with a shared future for mankind, his flagship vision on how to guide humanity through the various common challenges toward a better future.

Five years later, Xi's vision is gaining more relevance and importance. As the United Nations celebrates its 75th anniversary, the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, with COVID-19, the gravest global public health crisis since the 1918 influenza pandemic, having intensified both centrifugal undercurrents that are pulling the world apart and centripetal forces that are strengthening global solidarity and cohesion.

At such a momentous juncture, Xi is to appear once again on the most prestigious international platform, attending a series of virtual UN high-level meetings in the coming days and presenting China's answers to the fundamental questions hanging over the world.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) attends a presentation ceremony on which the Chinese government gives the "Zun of Peace," an ancient Chinese-styled wine container, to the United Nations (UN) as a gift in New York, the United States, Sept. 27, 2015. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also attended the ceremony. [Xinhua/Li Tao]

Common Values

When he visited the UN headquarters in the fall of 2015, Xi brought a gift for the United Nations' 70th birthday  "Zun of Peace," a red bronze bottle decorated by traditional Chinese auspicious patterns.

It shows the aspiration and faith of the Chinese people in seeking peace, development, cooperation and win-win results, which are also spirits of the UN Charter, Xi explained.

"The Zun of Peace embodies the close relations and shared values of China and the United Nations," said then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon when receiving the gift on behalf of the world body.

The great importance Xi attaches to the United Nations has been consistently demonstrated in practice. Over the years, he has visited the UN Office at Geneva and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris, and met on various occasions with UN leaders. In May, he addressed the World Health Assembly via video link. Many of his important thoughts on global governance were delivered through these UN rostrums.

"Peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom are common values of all mankind and the lofty goals of the United Nations," Xi said under the dome of the General Assembly Hall in 2015.

Hanging high behind him was a huge golden UN emblem showing a world map inscribed in a wreath consisting of crossed olive branches, which carries the organization's vision for a world free of war, hunger or injustice.

"Yet these goals are far from being achieved; therefore we must continue our endeavors," he told the 193-member General Assembly.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is attending the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, in Beijing, capital of China, April 26, 2019. [Xinhua/Ding Haitao]

Multilateral Commitment

The United Nations' 75th anniversary is celebrated when the world is reeling from the still raging COVID-19 pandemic, the most serious global public health emergency since the 1918 influenza pandemic.

The pandemic exposes a lack of leadership and unity in the international system. Moreover, the United Nations and multilateralism it represents are facing unprecedented challenges with the rise of unilateralism and protectionism. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation as a "1945 moment."

The more complex and grim the situation is, the more important it is to manifest the authority and role of the United Nations, Xi told Guterres when they met in April 2019 in Beijing on the sidelines of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

China firmly upholds multilateralism, the international system with the United Nations at its core, and the international order based on international law, and promotes the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Xi added.

These words are never empty talk. China is currently working to set up a global humanitarian response depot and hub in China to ensure operation of supply chains amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also working to implement the UN Sustainable Development agenda with stronger actions in eliminating extreme poverty and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Over the past five years, the concrete commitments Xi made in 2015 have been implemented in tandem. A 10-year, 1-billion-U.S.-dollar China-UN peace and development fund was inaugurated in 2016 in support of the UN peacekeeping operations as well as social, economic and environmental projects. China has also completed the registration of a UN peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops.

China's support is crucial to multilateralism, Guterres told Xi during a phone conversation in March.

"No matter how the international situation changes, China will take the side of multilateralism and adhere to the global governance concept of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits," Xi has vowed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) meets with Peter Thomson (L), president of the 71st session of United Nations General Assembly, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2017. [Xinhua/Zhang Duo]

Shared Future

Building a community with a shared future for mankind "to me is the only future for humanity on this planet," said Peter Thomson, president of the 71st Session of the General Assembly, after meeting with Xi in 2017 in Geneva.

Pondering on the fundamental challenges confronting the world and the path for the entire humanity to march ahead, Xi has proposed building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

As BRI cooperation is yielding tangible results one after another, including Greece's Piraeus port, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China-Europe freight trains, Xi has promised that China will continue to pursue a win-win strategy of opening-up, and share development opportunities with other countries.

"Welcome them aboard the fast train of China's development," Xi has proclaimed.

The theme of this year's UN high-level sessions is "The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming Our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism." It echoes with Xi's consistent call to build a community with a shared future for mankind, which was the theme of his landmark 2015 speech at the UN General Assembly.

In that address, Xi set forth a five-point proposal on how to build a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation and create a community with a shared future for mankind, with partnership, security, development, culture and ecology being the key aspects.

Recalling the scene five years ago, Christian Landrein, a retired UN interpreter for French language who translated Xi's speech on site, said it was applauded for multiple times, and "the atmosphere was electric."

"We only have one planet, which is our shared home," said Landrein. "All countries must collaborate to protect it and ensure sustainable development, to guarantee a prosperous future for all nations."

(Source: Xinhua)
Beeler's preliminary injunction also blocked the Commerce order that would have barred other transactions with WeChat in the United States that could have degraded the site's usability for current U.S. users. The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately comment.

On Friday, the Commerce Department had issued an order citing national security grounds to block the app from U.S. app stores owned by Tencent Holdings, and the Justice Department had urged Beeler not to block the order.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco said in an order that WeChat users who filed a lawsuit "have shown serious questions going to the merits of the First Amendment claim [and] the balance of hardships tips in the plaintiffs' favor."

A U.S. judge early Sunday blocked the Commerce Department from requiring Apple and Alphabet's Google to remove Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat for downloads by late Sunday.

WeChat has had an average of 19 million daily active users in the United States, analytics firms Apptopia said in early August. It is popular among Chinese students, Americans living in China and some Americans who have personal or business relationships in China.

The Justice Department said blocking the order would "frustrate and displace the president's determination of how best to address threats to national security." But Beeler said, "While the general evidence about the threat to national security related to China [regarding technology and mobile technology] is considerable, the specific evidence about WeChat is modest."

She added, "The regulation -- which eliminates a channel of communication without any apparent substitutes -- burdens substantially more speech than is necessary to further the government's significant interest."

WeChat is an all-in-one mobile app that combines services similar to Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Venmo. The app is an essential part of daily life for many in China and boasts more than 1 billion users.

The WeChat Users Alliance that had sued praised the ruling "as an important and hard-fought victory" for "millions of WeChat users in the U.S."

Michael Bien, a lawyer for the users, said "the United States has never shut down a major platform for communications, not even during war times. There are serious First Amendment problems with the WeChat ban, which targets the Chinese American community."

He added the order "trampled on their First Amendment guaranteed freedoms to speak, to worship, to read and react to the press, and to organize and associate for numerous purposes."


PUNE, India, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a recent market study published by Growth Market Reports (GMR), titled, "Cannabidiol (CBD) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast", the market was valued at USD 395.2 Million in 2019 and is expected to grow at a healthy growth rate of around 30.4 % by the year 2027. Rise in the use of CBD can be attributed to cannabis legalization in several countries across the globe. Under specific conditions, medical use of cannabis was legalized in Israel (2001), the Netherlands (2003), Switzerland (2011), Czech Republic (2013), Australia (2016), and Germany (2017). Furthermore, in 2018 the US passed the Farm Bill, which sanctioned the farming of hemp  cannabis with less than 0.3% THC by weight. This, in turn, has enabled many farmers to adopt hemp farming, and the domestic supply of the plant has increased drastically.

Request a free sample copy: https://growthmarketreports.com/request-sample/27

The global Cannabidiol (CBD) market is fragmented based on product type, source, application, and region. In terms of product type, the market is segmented into isolate, full spectrum, and broad spectrum. On the basis of source, the market is divided into hemp and marijuana. On the basis of application, the market is segmented into anxiety, fibromyalgia, diabetes, and others. Based on region, the global Cannabidiol (CBD) market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa (MEA). North America region is further bifurcated into countries such as U.S., and Canada. Latin America region is further segmented into Brazil, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America, Asia Pacific is further segmented into, India, China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Europe region is further categorized into U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe, and the MEA region is further divided into Saudi Arabia, South Africa, UAE, and Rest of MEA.

The effect of COVID-19 is anticipated to be strongly felt in the consumer durable industry due to high dependency of different global industries for imports. Moreover, the pandemic situation has led to the closure of several non-essential businesses reducing the demand for consumer durables in the world, which in turn, is impeding the packaging industry. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is diminishing the end- user demand for daily packaging products worldwide, the demand for Cannabidiol (CBD) is reducing in the short-term. The COVID-19 effects majorly on manufacturing units which are currently working with 50% workforce. The global supply chain has at the same time slowed down due to restrictions on national borders.

Enquiry Before Buying of This Report: https://growthmarketreports.com/enquiry-before-buying/27

Key Takeaways from the Study:

North America based Isodiol International Inc, holds approximately 1/4th of market share of global Cannabidiol (CBD) market in year 2019.

based Isodiol International Inc, holds approximately 1/4th of market share of global Cannabidiol (CBD) market in year 2019. North America accounts for a major share of the market, followed by Europe . The market in North America is projected to expand at significant CAGR during the forecast period.

accounts for a major share of the market, followed by . The market in is projected to expand at significant CAGR during the forecast period. In terms of value, isolate segment is anticipated to expand at a significant CAGR during the forecast period.

Physical stores require many employees and high fixed costs (rent) to run stores and thus are unable to offer a wide selection of goods due to the presence of limited space, which offers opportunities for online sales channels. Online retailers can deliver a vast selection of products without having to pay as many workers and needing access to shipping companies to sell their products.

Many businesses with both an online and offline presence (physical stores) view the two different channels as way to increase sales & revenue and expand the business regionally.

The Middle East & Africa and Latin America are expected to generate large revenue during the forecast period owing to growing population, increasing urbanization. Cannabidiol (CBD) consumption has increased considerably in these regions in the past few years.

Read 733 Page Research Report With TOC on "Global Cannabidiol (CBD) Market By Product Type (Isolate, Full Spectrum, And Broad Spectrum), By Source (Hemp, Marijuana), By Application (Anxiety, Fibromyalgia, Diabetes, And Others) and Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa) Size, Share And Trends" at: https://growthmarketreports.com/report/cannabidiol-cbd-market-global-industry-analysis

Key Segments Covered

By Product Type

Isolate

Full Spectrum

Broad Spectrum

By Source

Hemp

Marijuana

By Application

Anxiety

Fibromyalgia (FM)

Diabetes

Others

By Region

North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa (MEA)

Key Market Players Profiled in the Report

Canopy Growth Corporation

Gaia Herbs,

IRIE CBD

Isodiol International Inc,

Aurora Cannabis

Cannoid, Inc.

CBD American Shaman,

CV Sciences, Inc.

Elixinol

Endoca.,

FOLIUM BIOSCIENCES

Medical Marijuana, Inc.

NuLeaf Naturals, LLC

PharmaHemp

Request for customization of this report: https://growthmarketreports.com/request-for-customization/27

Target Audience:

Supply-side: Cannabidiol (CBD) manufacturers, raw material suppliers, primary respondents, and distributors.

Demand Side: Hospitals, Specialty Clinics, Cancer Research Institute etc.

Regulatory Side: Concerned government authorities, commercial research & development (R&D) institutions, and other regulatory bodies

Associations and Industry Bodies: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), World Health Organization (WHO), Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Central Drug Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW), International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Association (IFPMA), World Trade Organization (WTO), Indian Medical Research Council (ICMR).

Other Trending Reports:

Global Vaccines Storage Equipment Market Future Business Strategies and Revenue Impact Analysis

Vaccines Storage Equipment Market Global Teenager Myopia Control Market Future Business Strategies and Revenue Impact Analysis

Teenager Myopia Control Market Global Oscilloscope Probe Market By Product, By Medication Type, By Dosage Forms, By Routes of Administration, By Region

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GMR provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Industry Intelligence Solutions". GMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

Our key analysis segments, though not restricted to the same, include market entry strategies, market size estimations, market trend analysis, market opportunity analysis, market threat analysis, market growth/fall forecasting, primary interviews, and secondary research & consumer surveys.

Contact:



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SOURCE Growth Market Reports
A day after BJP managed to push two contentious farm bills through the Parliament, which the Prime Minister described as a landmark event in the countrys history, the farmers wing of the RSS, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) expressed unhappiness with the bills in a conversation with News18.

Mohini Mohan Mishra, the national secretary of the RSS affiliated farmers union, told News18 that there were valid concerns over the issue of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to the farmers and that BKS itself had raised the issue to the government.

There is definitely an anger among farmers in Punjab and Haryana over these bills. We too had highlighted this issue before the government and asked for some changes to be made. We had in fact handed over a detailed note against some points of the bill, which was submitted to the government along with an endorsement by 50,000 farmers from across the country," Mishra said.

While most of the unions of farmers and workers have called a shutdown on the 25th of this month, BKS has so far not actually joined the protests. Though, Mishra says that the concerns over MSP expressed by many farmers, union leaders and MPs, have really not been addressed in the two bills  Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020  that were passed in a controversial manner in Rajya Sabha on Sunday.

Yes, MSP is definitely one of the issues that has not been addressed. We wanted the government to ensure that private companies dont buy below the MSP," Mishra said echoing the concerns raised by many leaders on the farm bills over the past two days.

Even in the mandis sometimes farmers are not able to sell their produce at MSP. So what assurance is there that private contractors will buy farmers produce at MSP? Yes these things remain," Mishra further said. Though, he added, that BKS does support the principle of having One Nation One Market as was proposed by the Prime Minister and on which these farm bills have been based.

He said that BKS will for the moment wait and watch the developments and not step into the protests.

Meanwhile, All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), a collective of hundreds of farmers unions from across the country has called for a shutdown on the 25th. In a statement released on Monday, almost all the major national trade unions  INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC except the RSS affiliated BMS  have expressed their support to the shutdown call.

VM Singh, the national convenor of AIKSCC, said that 25th of this month will be commemorated as Pratirodh Diwas or the day of resistance.

I heard BJP leaders all day on Sunday saying that through these bills farmers will become happier and richer because they will be able to sell their produce anywhere and will not be bound" like before. But tell me if thats the case then why, after the Prime Minister announced the One nation one market scheme, were the farmers not selling their maize crop above the MSP?" Singh wondered.

He said that the maize crop which came to the mandis in July-August could have been sold by farmers under the new scheme for major gains, but thats not what happened. Farmers ended up selling their maize crop for Rs 600-Rs 1,000, the same crop thats now being distributed by middlemen for Rs 2,000. So, the governments arguments about farmers being unshackled by these bills is plainly misleading," Singh said.

He added that even the verbal assurances that the senior BJP leader and Defence Minister had made, in an effort to placate farmers through his press conference on Sunday, was not going to help assuage the anger of the farmers.

How can we believe the government now. They said we will give MSP according to MS Swaminathan commissions formula. But instead of giving us MSP at C2+50, which is what the commission had proposed, the government defined MSP at A2+50. The government said sugarcane dues of farmers will be paid in 14 days, before the elections. Eight months have passed and the dues have only mounted further. Tell me on what basis will the farmer accept a union ministers verbal assurances?" Singh said.

While protests are going on over several other issues in many other states, such as in UP and Rajasthan over non-payment of sugarcane dues, those happening in Punjab and Haryana are happening with greater vigour because most of the farmer who are beneficiaries of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) come from these two states.
The incident happened in in the West Village on Sunday morning

A subway train in New York City derailed on Sunday after investigators say debris threw it off its track.

The incident happened at the 14 St./Eighth Ave. station in the West Village at 8:17 a.m.

NYC SUBWAY CRASH- VO SUN0091 & VO/SOT SUN0092-A northbound A train struck debris as it was entering the 14th Street-Eighth Ave station shortly after a Sunday. No one was reported injured during the incident and officials said the passengers were all safely taken off the train. pic.twitter.com/xNNrFKN8LG  CBS Newspath (@cbsnewspath) September 20, 2020

Commuters say they saw a man who appeared to be homeless and mentally ill laughing after he threw something onto the tracks.

Read More: Video shows man knocked out on London subway after racist rant

Police took the 30-year-old suspect into custody for questioning. No charges were immediately filed.

The New York Post reported that good samaritans grabbed the man suspected of throwing the metal construction pieces onto the train tracks and held him until police arrived.

According to the NY Daily News, investigators say the northbound A train ran into metal tie plates, also known as D plates about 50 feet into the station.

The tie plates are used to secure tracks to the roadbed. The first subway car derailed, with at least one wheel leaving the tracks and sideswiped seven metal columns.

A source from the NYPD told the NY Daily News that MTA workers have been told in the past not to leave materials near tracks.

People rush through the New York City subway system at rush hour on August 14, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Investigators say about 300 feet of the third rail collapsed during the derailment, which knocked out power to all four tracks in the station.

Another 200 feet of track sustained heavy damages.

The Metropolitan Transit Authoritys chief safety officer, Pat Warren said there were 135 people on the A train at the time of the incident. They were evacuated.

Story continues

Read More: New York City politicians sue governor, mayor to end ban on indoor dining

A Fire Department spokesperson said three passengers suffered injuries, all minor. One person was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

An uptown train with dozens of people onboard got stuck in a nearby tunnel due to the loss of power stemming from the derailment.

Have you subscribed to theGrios podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!

The post Man taken into custody after NYC train derailment appeared first on TheGrio.
By Shakir Mir

Srinagar: Hilal Rasool (now 45) was a young engineering graduate in 2003 when Kashmir was starting to emerge out of a decade of experience with insurgency and civil disturbance. Militancy was waning and a new brand of politics was surfacing: one of healing wounds and ramping up development. It was in this context Hilal, in pursuit of stable employment, enlisted himself in a Self Help Group of engineers that managed to negotiate an agreement with the government. As per the unwritten deal, a portion of government works would be allocated to this group of 4000 engineers.

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We had first sought to reinstate an old policy where a monthly stipend would be disbursed to us, he said. But later we figured out that this agreement worked well. We got a better deal.

For the next 18 years, the engagement deepened and the membership of Self Help Group of Engineers Association (SHGEA) grew to 15,000 in 2020. In executing the works allocated by the government, the group would also rope in masons, labourers, drivers, plumbers, Shikara rowers and carpenters, thus expanding a net of informal employment opportunities to a vast multitude.

Hilals Miyashah Construction Company profited due to this policy enacted during the first term of Mufti Muhammad Sayeed as Chief Minister in 2003 and given a formal shape during PDPs second term in 2017. His brother Irfan Rasool (38)  also an engineer  also found employment in the family firm and did very well.

However, on 10 August last month, the gubernatorial administration of Kashmir issued a directive to subsume engineering wings of 15 government departments under one single department of Public Works. One of the clauses enshrined in the new order reads: The practice of reserving a proportion of projects for Self Help Groups of Engineers is abolished forthwith.

The issue has since triggered fierce protests in J&K where authorities have been apprehensive about all form of gatherings and have swiftly moved to curb them. Last week, the group of protesting engineers were bundled into police vans and later released. On Wednesday, Rajya Sabha MP and former J&K Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad also raised the matter in the Parliament during the monsoon session.

For Hilal and 15,000 engineers who benefited from the policy, the order has struck like a thunderclap. In one fell swoop, all of them have been turned jobless. We wriggled out hands in anxiety, said Syed Parvaiz, president of SHGEA J&K. We couldnt figure out what to worry about first: The loans we had to repay or the employment which was taken away from us.

Its been more than two years that J&K has not had an elected administration. In July 2018, BJP pulled a plug on an alliance with PDP causing the government to collapse. The former state came under governors rule and later under Presidential rule. In the hindsight, the withdrawal from coalition now appears to have been calculated ahead of the abrogation of article 370 in August the following year. It was the Governor, loyal to BJP, who consented for the abrogation on J&Ks behalf.

As part of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, the Union Territory is witnessing a comprehensive rejig. Former institutions like regional wings of women, children and human rights commissions stand de-operationalised. Under new arrangements, fresh power niches are being carved out. New rules pertaining to domicile rights have been promulgated. Recently the government also ended the 131-year-old reign of Urdu as the sole official language in J&K.

It was in this context that Srinagar Civil Secretariats General Administration Department (GAD) issued the latest order  also filed under the subject of Reorganisation of engineering staff.

The move to forfeit this policy which renders 15,000 people jobless and impacts employment opportunities for an unknown number of people working informally has come at a time when the Modi government boasts ushering in unprecedented development in J&K. The emphasis on development has been a defining theme of BJPs Public Relations blitzkrieg as it scrambles to justify the abrogation of article 370 which has left the bulk of the population in Kashmir sullen and resentful. Already, granting outstation bidders access to mineral resources in Kashmir have left local extractors miffed.

Parvaiz has since been frequenting one office after another to extract a word from the government but to no avail. As per Parvaiz, while officials from the Labour and Employment Department of J&K have been sympathetic to their contentions, even they were taken by surprise because they did not expect such a move.

Parvaiz was one among the founding members of the Self Help Group. He had escalated the demands with the PDP government in 2003. This deal was the product of our exhaustive meetings with then R&B minister Qazi Afzal, he said.

Till 2006, the group could only execute a maximum Rs 5 lakh worth of work from the government. That quota was expanded by 30 % in 2008 during the PDP-Congress coalition at the intervention of Muzaffar Hussain Beigh who was the Deputy Chief Minister of J&K then.

In 2010, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had taken the initiative of spelling out formal guidelines of the scheme which were finally approved by the State Cabinet in 2017. By this time, the cap was increased from Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 1.25 crores. There was also a provision of furnishing Performance certificate and if we aced the cap on the worth of work allotted could be increased further, Parvaiz said.

The first work allotted to him was the construction of three blocks of buildings in government school Pampore. He never looked back after that. We got immersed into this work, he said.

Before the revocation of this scheme, these engineers were waiting for approvals from the government for setting up macadam plants so that the work of macadamization of the roads is also outsourced to them for which they are not entitled yet. But instead of being greeted by the good news, they were in for an unmitigated shock.

As per Department of Labour and Employment J&K, a total 1098 SHGs have been registered under it till 2019-20 involving 4664 engineers and a total 2445 number of works have been allotted to them worth approx Rs 2.5 crores.

Javaid Ahmad Rangrez (44) who heads Hope Consultants and Engineers has not been able to sleep soundly since the decision was announced. How long before our savings diminish significantly? he asked. How will I pay the school fee of my children and feed my family of seven? I am the lone breadwinner?

Rangrez enlisted with SHGA J&K in 2006. We were not even consulted before this big step was executed, he said. My current investment into the projects related to constructions of roads and community halls is worth Rs 50 lakh and theres been no word from the government about this.

Many engineers also have invested in high tech state of the art equipment which now lies unused. We dont know what to do with them, said Hilal who has been executing the works allotted by Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA). His work involves de-weeding the highly polluted Dal Lake and relocating the extracted weed detritus to authorised dumping sites.

J&K government spokesperson Rohit Kansal did not respond to calls.

Both traditional parties NC and PDP have taken a serious note of this matter and questioned the administrations intention behind the move. The government is being run at the whims and fancies of bureaucrats who are not even elected, said Imran Nabi Dar, NC spokesperson. This arbitrary reshuffling is hurtful to Kashmiris and doesnt serve any purpose other than that of collective punishment.

PDP spokesperson alleged that the J & K administration was appeasing a certain section of construction mafia.

This scheme provided employment to most professional engineers. 5 engineers banded together to form one group and this association was an amalgamation of several groups, said PDPs Waheed ur Rehman. Now the construction works would be outsourced to amateurs with no professional degrees. This move is aimed at creating more anxiety and pressure in Kashmir. They are not letting go of this chokehold placed since August last year.

More ironically, Labour Department J&K released a coffee table book just days after abolishing the scheme. The book, accessed by this reporter, boasts about the achievements from collaboration with Self Help Groups. In fact, the mention of works executed by SHGs run into several pages. We dont really understand what prompted them to repeal this scheme then? Parvaiz asks. PM Modi talks about atma-nirbhar (self-sufficient) India but in Kashmir, they are doing just the opposite. Some engineers are so tormented by this move than they are contemplating self-immolation. Thats the situation in which the government has put us.

The engineers are worried they might not be able to find employment else as they have crossed the age bar. I dedicated 15 years of my life to this work, Rangrez said. Where do I go from here? Had we known this was a temporary arrangement we would have relocated to some other state or country for work when we were young.

Shakir Mir is an independent journalist based in Kashmir. He has reported previously for Times of India. His work has appeared in The Wire, Firstpost, Caravan Magazine and TRT World. He tweets at @shakirmir.
In the most recent Closing Quote in Insurance Journal, I wrote about why I believe this is the best time in history for entrepreneurial agents to create a new independent insurance agency. My reasons include lower costs, the increased need for insurance companies to appoint new agencies, newly adopted technologies like Zoom that are expanding agencys geographical boundaries and the current economic situation, which is putting unprecedented amounts of business on the streets.

The last decade has seen more new independent insurance agencies created than any other time in history, and those start-ups will continue to grow. Some estimate that newly created agencies represent as much as 20% to 25% of all independent insurance agencies now in business.

In this article, Id like to explore some of the questions that agents ought to ask themselves when considering whether they should be an agency founder. To begin with, I believe the most useful question is why you would want to take the risk and commit to the hard work of starting an agency from scratch when youre already making a good living, perhaps have equity in your book of business and might potentially have the opportunity to buy the agency you already work for?

Accepting the Risks

It is important to recognize that starting a business entails risk. You might fail. And even if you do not, its possible that the investment required will be greater than you imagine or that the returns of ownership are less. When I started in the agency business, seven years before my partners, I took any profit out of the business. During those years, I paid taxes on the profits that we did make out of commissions.

Your experience will likely be better than mine, but recognizing and accepting the risks based on a gimlet-eyed analysis is more useful than wishful thinking.

The risks include whether you will be able to attract the insurance companies you need, whether your marketing and sales plans will work well enough to generate the income you need, and whether your savings will last long enough to carry you to success. In addition to those risks, you need to ask yourself other questions, such as whether you will be able to become a skilled manager of people in order to grow the business and whether you can manage books of business effectively.

Founders need to recognize that while they may have many strengths to contribute to their new enterprise, they will have much to learn. If youve never run a business before, youll not only have to learn in real-time, but youll likely have to pay for that education with some costly mistakes. This isnt unsurmountable by any means, but it is a risk that should be acknowledged, and your business plan should be built to mitigate.

Many of the risks faced by successful entrepreneurs are above and beyond the normal risks of just being in business. You will not have all of the capabilities you need to be successful at the start. You will lack many things. The challenge is daunting, and it requires courage to overcome.

Courage and Commitment

Many people have the dream of owning their own business but have not been able to garner the courage to start. The starting point of courage is commitment. Many people make light of commitment or dont really understand what it means. Commitment means to decide upon a course of action, and the word decide comes from the same Latin root as homicide, fratricide and so forth. Deciding is literally to kill the options. It means to burn the boats.

In 1519, Fernando Cortez, determined to conquer the Aztecs, literally burned the 11 ships he and his men had arrived in so they had no option but to succeed in their quest. This rather dramatic example is the kind of commitment that leads to success as a business founder. So the next question to ask yourself is: Do you have that kind of commitment?

Commitment is scary and takes courage, but it is strengthened by having a clear sense of why you want to (or must) start your own agency. What are you trying to accomplish? Is it personal or business freedom? Or is creating a new and better way to build an agency driving your desire? Perhaps you want to improve the quality of people you work with every day or maybe you just want to create unlimited financial opportunity for yourself and your family.

Whatever your reasons for starting your own agency, they must be explored, acknowledged and factored into your decision making or you will be taking the biggest business risk of all  not having Cortez-like commitment.

Support and Strengths

Another question founders should ask themselves is whether they have an adequate support system to make the effort. As a founder, you will work longer hours to become successful than you ever have before. Perhaps you will miss family events. Maybe vacations will become a distant memory for a few years. Its possible that the stresses of developing a new business will impact personal relationships. So ask: Are the people in your life, including friends, family and work colleagues, committed to helping you not only start but persevere?

Do you have enough capital to see you and the business through to the point of adequate cash flow that supports the business and you? Having worked with hundreds of agency founders, my experience is that most dont think this question through as carefully and clearly as they should. Not doing so isnt necessarily fatal, but it can result in broken plans, slower growth, limited opportunity and certainly unnecessary stress. Independent agencies are low capital businesses in general terms, but they do take money to start.

Finally, ask: What are your unique strengths that your business should be founded on? Having a very clear idea about this will be of enormous value if you stay focused here. For example, Ive seen wildly successful agencies started by gifted salespeople who never hired another producer but backfilled their agency with a strong support team. Ive also seen gifted salespeople fail because they allowed themselves to be hopelessly distracted with service and administrative tasks while wasting time and resources hiring producers who couldnt produce.

Whatever your strengths are, making them the core of your business with plans to supplement in other areas will help guarantee your success.

In my book, UnCaptive Agent, I describe all of these questions as a gut check for founders. My experience is that entrepreneurs are driven and will start their own agency. They cannot be stopped. They will find a way over, around or through every obstacle in their paths. But well-considered answers to these questions will help you deal with the obstacles cheaper, faster, better and more successfully.

Topics Agencies
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 30-year-old Bronx man faces multiple charges after he allegedly threw construction debris onto the northbound A-train subway track in Manhattan Sunday morning, causing a train to derail upon entering the station, police said.

Demetrius Harvard, a resident of the 2100 block of Mapes Avenue in the Bronx, has been charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, assault and criminal trespass, according to a written statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Police said an investigation revealed Harvard was seen throwing the construction debris on the tracks at the 8th Avenue and 14th Street station.

The debris, according to the NYPD, caused the first car on a subway train entering the station to derail.

The New York Post reported a good samaritan initially jumped down on the tracks to remove debris allegedly hurled by Harvard before the 30-year-old threw the material back onto the tracks just as the train was pulling into the station.

The FDNY said three people riding on the train reported minor injuries.

Attorney information for Harvard concerning Sundays arrest was not immediately available.
The foreign ministers of India, United States, Japan and Australia may meet in Tokyo next month to discuss ways to counter Chinas belligerence in Indo-Pacific region, as Prime Minister Narendra Modis government appears to be in dilemma over hosting the meeting in New Delhi.

The meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad  a coalition of India, Japan, Australia and the United States  was initially proposed to be held in New Delhi. The Deputy Secretary of State, Stephen Biegun, also confirmed during a webinar on August 31 that the meeting would take place in the capital of India. But the venue is now likely to be shifted to Tokyo with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi hosting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Australian Foreign Minister Maris Payne and Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

The meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers is being planned amid Chinas growing belligerence, not only along its disputed boundary with India, but also in South China Sea, East China Sea and elsewhere in Indo-Pacific.

The venue may be shifted to Tokyo, as New Delhi is in dilemma over hosting a meet, which may send out a signal about Indias own vision for Indo-Pacific region turning overtly adversarial to China. The four-month-long military stand-off between the Indian Army and the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in eastern Ladakh has brought the relations between the two neighbouring nations to a new low. But a section within the Modi Government still has reservation about going the whole hog and allowing New Delhi to be seen as a zealous participant in the Quad, which is largely seen as a US-led move to bring the democratic nations of the Indo-Pacific region together in order to build a bulwark against expansionist and hegemonic aspirations of China.

Jaishankar did take part in the first meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers, which was held on the side-line of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in September 2019. He will also take part in the meeting in Tokyo if it is indeed hosted by the Japanese Foreign Minister. But, a source in New Delhi told DH, taking part in a meeting is not the same as hosting one.

While India remains committed to its vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, it will have to tread cautiously, preserving its own strategic independence, said the source, who is aware of New Delhis approach on Indo-Pacific region.

India is apparently keen to make it sure that it does not appear to be moving closer to the US in the wake of military stand-off with China.

President Donald Trumps administration has been slamming China for its aggression along its disputed boundary with India, as well as elsewhere in Indo-Pacific, like the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. The US Navy sent two carrier strike groups led by USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz to South China Sea in July to conduct exercises and send out a message to Beijing. The USS Nimitz, while returning from the South China Sea, carried out a joint exercise with Indias warships INS Rana, INS Sahyadri, INS Shivalik and INS Kamorta near Malacca Strait in Indian Ocean.

But a section of the senior policy makers in the Modi Government is of the view that New Delhi should not rely much on the US, which could tone down its rhetoric against China after the November 3 elections, no matter what the outcome of the polls might be.

Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently had a meeting in Moscow and the two sides agreed to continue talks between diplomats and senior military commanders of the two nations.

What also added to New Delhis dilemma about hosting the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad is Russias unease over Indias participation in the US-led move against China in Indo-Pacific. Moscow has been engaged in quiet back-channel talks with New Delhi and Beijing to defuse tension between the two neighbouring nations.

New Delhi signalled its keenness to maintain strategic balance in its Indo-Pacific approach, by deploying Indian Navy warships INS Ranvijay, INS Sahyadri, INS Kiltan and INS Shakti to exercise with Russian Navys Admiral Vinogradov, Admiral Tributs and Boris Butoma in the Indian Ocean early this month.

New Delhi, Tokyo and Moscow are also discussing a separate trilateral initiative in the region, with India and Japan partnering for projects in the Far East region of Russia.

Another source told DH that unrelenting spread of Covid-19 in India might have also been factored in when the decision to shift the venue of the Quad Foreign Ministers second meeting from New Delhi to Tokyo was taken. The viral infection has fallen in Japan.

Tokyo also wants to signal continuation of Shinzo Abes policy on Indo-Pacific even after he resigned as Prime Minister and Yoshihide Suga succeeded him. Jaishankar, Pompeo and Payne are likely to have a meeting with Suga on the side-line of the Quad Foreign Ministers meeting  an opportunity for the new Japanese Prime Minister to articulate his plan to respond to expansionist moves of China.
First, the State of Emergency Extension Bill provided a clutch of sweeping new powers and doubled the length of time a state of emergency could remain in operation. Now the COVID-19 Omnibus Bill adds even more powers, broadening the class of authorised officers and giving them virtually unchecked authority.

Both these bills have been brought to the Parliament in haste, without the required scrutiny, without proper checks and balances. The watchdog of the Victorian Parliament, the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC), is meant to examine bills and regulations, checking for infringements on rights and liberties on behalf of the Victorian community.

The Omnibus Bill was passed last week by the Assembly without a report or scrutiny from SARC, just as three weeks ago the State of Emergency Bill was crunched through both houses in one week without having been fully examined and reported on by SARC.

Police arrive at Chadstone shopping centre as anti-lockdown protesters gathered. Credit:Paul Jeffers

The Liberal Nationals have been deeply concerned about both bills and the increasingly draconian and authoritarian tone of the Andrews government. Whatever the merits or otherwise of these pieces of legislation, sensible, balanced, middle-of-the-road Victorians would be horrified to realise these basic checks and balances on their rights were bypassed. I have introduced into the Upper House the Parliamentary Committees Amendment (SARC Protection Against Rights Curtailment by Urgent Bills) Bill 2020.
NEW YORK: Presidential politics move fast. What were watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign:

Days to general election: 43

Days to first debate: 8

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THE NARRATIVE

The October surprise of 2020 came early.

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg injects another generational fight to an election year that already featured the deadliest public health threat in a century, the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression and the most significant civil unrest since the civil rights era. Six weeks before Election Day, the fight to replace Ginsburg is set to dominate headlines, with the prospect of reshuffling voters priorities and campaign strategies, especially for President Donald Trump.

Still, the pandemic rages on. Millions of school children are stuck at home. The economic recovery is dragging. And more than 200,000 Americans have died.

Coming soon: one of the most highly anticipated presidential debates in the modern era is just eight days away.

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THE BIG QUESTIONS

Is this suddenly a new election?

A presidential election that was shaping up to be a referendum on Trumps divisive leadership through dueling crises may suddenly be transformed into one about Trumps next lifetime appointment to the nations highest court.

Or not.

Its clear that the most passionate partisans in Washington and elsewhere will be obsessed with the election-eve nomination fight. The stakes are huge for the future of the U.S. judiciary and several major issues, abortion rights among them. But its less clear that the persuadable voters of Florida, Pennsylvania and Arizona are equally interested in the Supreme Court battle.

Americans For Prosperity President Tim Phillips, a conservative leader whose organization has spent months knocking on swing-state voters doors and has a keen sense of the electorate, is skeptical that the court battle will change the direction of the election. He was out canvassing over the weekend and tells us that the Supreme Court didnt even come up. He notes that most Americans are dealing with much more imminent crises: millions of children cant go to school, grandparents remain in isolation, and Main Street in towns across the nation is struggling to stay open.

If anybody says they know how this nomination fight will or wont reshape the 2020 landscape, theyre only guessing.

And the nominee is?

Those close to the president are encouraging him to announce his Supreme Court nominee on or before the day of the first presidential debate, which is Sept. 29.

He has promised to pick a woman, and Republicans are hopeful that a female pick could help Trumps GOP with its problem with suburban women and serve as a counterweight to Bidens historic selection of Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. Any nominee will have a record and a background that will undergo intense scrutiny.

Democrats will be praying for unearthed baggage that might delay the process or reflect poorly on Trump, as was the case with the presidents last nominee. Trumps team will do everything in its power to make sure that doesnt happen.

Under normal conditions, Supreme Court nominations are immensely important. In this case, the pick could directly or indirectly reshape all three branches of the U.S. government.

What will Trump say about 200,000 dead Americans?

The pandemics death toll, which exceeded 200,000 on Sunday, is staggering, by far the highest in the world. For context, more Americans have now been killed by COVID-19 than were killed in all the military conflicts after World War II and the 9/11 attacks combined.

The scary part is that there are still several hundred Americans dying each day heading into flu season. Before this is over, COVID could overtake cancer and heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States this year.

Trump, who largely left states to deal with the pandemic on their own, has been escalating his promises of a vaccine in the near future to stop the death. But the presidents well-documented history of spreading false information about the pandemic and other issues has badly damaged his credibility, and as a result, roughly half of Americans report that they may not take the vaccine when its available.

Can Trump reset expectations for the first debate?

Trump and his allies have spent much of the summer degrading Bidens mental acuity, portraying the 77-year-old Democrat as a senile old man who has lost the capacity to speak or think. Polling suggests that this line of attack has not been effective, and worse for Trump, its dramatically lowered expectations for Biden in the first debate.

It may be too late already, but Trumps team has to shift those expectations at least a little before their first debate.

Biden is a far more experienced debater and has a much better command of global affairs and domestic policy than Trump. At the same time, Trump will enter the debate vulnerable on multiple fronts, having been caught on tape encouraging foreign governments to meddle in the election before presiding over the worst economic collapse and public health crises in a century.

Biden has the experience and the ammunition to do real damage. But a week before the debate, thanks to Trumps messaging, the Democrat is the perceived underdog.

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THE FINAL THOUGHT

Bidens home state of Pennsylvania is increasingly looking like 2020s premier battleground state.

While its true that both candidates have multiple paths to 270 electoral votes, their chances of winning would decrease dramatically if they fail to capture the states 20 electoral votes. There has been little public polling in recent weeks, but each side privately tells us the race there is tightening.

Trump is scheduled to campaign in Pennsylvania twice this week. And after Florida, no state will see more spending on presidential advertising over the coming six weeks than Pennsylvania, according to the ad tracking firm Kantar/CMAG. Also, just days ago, Biden unveiled a frame for the election thats decidedly Pennsylvania-focused: This is a campaign between Scranton and Park Avenue," Biden declared, drawing a contrast between his working-class Pennsylvania roots and Trumps privileged upbringing in New York.

Trump became the first Republican since 1988 to win Pennsylvania four years ago. But he did it by just 44,000 votes out of more than 6 million cast.

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2020 Watch runs every Monday and provides a look at the week ahead in the 2020 election.

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APs Advance Voting guide brings you the facts about voting early, by mail or absentee from each state: https://interactives.ap.org/advance-voting-2020/

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
WASHINGTON - A broad cross-section of Florida Republicans, from supporters of President Donald Trump to former top aides to Jeb Bush, lined up over the weekend behind Barbara Lagoa, propelling the federal judge and Miami-born daughter of Cuban exiles to the top of the shortlist of potential replacements for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The swift ascension of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals judge to serious consideration by members of Trump's team, along with Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th Circuit and several others, reflects the blunt political calculations informing the White House's decision-making 45 days from an election that could turn on the outcome in Florida, which has never sent a justice to the nation's highest court. The president, facing a tight race in the state, whose electoral college votes are seen as critical for his path to reelection, is intensifying his courtship of Hispanics, especially the heavily Republican Cuban American community in South Florida.

Within 48 hours of Ginsburg's death, a push for Lagoa, 52, has taken shape in the battleground state, drawing on years of goodwill she and her husband have built in Florida's legal and political circles, and their extensive ties with the Federalist Society, the influential conservative legal group.

Advocates for Lagoa sent text messages and placed calls over the weekend to officials in the White House and the Justice Department, as well as prominent attorneys who have sway with Trump's top aides, according to several people with knowledge of the discussions.

"She is a Cuban woman from Miami, and Florida is the most important state in the election," said Jesse Panuccio, former acting associate attorney general in Trump's Justice Department and a member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, which vetted her before Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, named her to the state's top court in January 2019.

An effort to install a second Latina on the high court would immediately raise the stakes of a nomination fight that quickly became a clash over principles of fairness and democratic legitimacy. Republicans are seeking to move ahead with a selection process in opposition to the standard they set in 2016, when they blocked President Barack Obama from filling a seat in an election year. Choosing Lagoa would represent a bid to refocus attention on a potential nominee's personal story and political appeal rather than the legitimacy of the process.

Nonetheless, Lagoa's 14-year tenure as a state and federal judge presents Democrats with opportunities to scrutinize her record.

Particularly contentious could be her record on voting rights and executive power. Lagoa concurred this month in a federal appeals court ruling that is expected to keep many of the 85,000 felons who have registered to vote in Florida from casting ballots.

Lagoa's role in the case has prompted backlash from Senate Democrats, who sent her a letter this summer alleging that her failure to recuse herself "appears to violate the Code of Conduct for United States Judges" given her role last year in an advisory opinion handed down on the issue by the Florida Supreme Court.

On Florida's high court, and before that, on a state appeals court, she repeatedly sided with businesses, helping to turn back a higher minimum wage in Miami, limiting recourse for homeowners facing foreclosure, and reversing or rejecting cases of employees who sued Caterpillar and Uber. Lagoa also wrote a controversial decision finding that DeSantis had broad executive authority to suspend a county sheriff over his handling of the 2018 shooting in Parkland, Fla.

And while the judge has not expounded at length on abortion and its legal limits - saying in written answers submitted to the Senate last year that she would "faithfully apply . . . precedents" when it came to Roe v. Wade - one of her main advocates, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said she is "very pro-life, reliably pro-life."

"The hardcore Catholics usually stick with us," the congressman added. "Her faith guides her perspective on life."

Daniel Goldberg, legal director of the liberal Alliance for Justice, was critical of Lagoa's record, saying she is a judge "who has showed contempt for our democracy." Goldberg said he has "no doubt that she will meet Donald Trump's litmus test" for a Supreme Court nominee and support his pledge to overturn Roe and the Affordable Care Act.

DeSantis, a staunch Trump ally, was so taken with Lagoa when he met her in August 2018 that he considered putting her on his ticket as the candidate for lieutenant governor, said Gaetz, a co-chair of the governor's transition team.

DeSantis is now backing efforts to lobby the White House on Lagoa's behalf, according to people in Washington and Tallahassee familiar with the pitch, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to recount private conversations.

She is quiet and collegial, with shrewd political instincts, according to interviews with former colleagues, longtime friends and legal academics who have followed the arc of her career.

Especially central for her, these observers said, was her experience as a member of the pro bono legal team representing the Miami relatives of Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy whose mother drowned while trying to escape with him to the United States and whose subsequent custody case became an international cause celebre. He was eventually returned to his Cuban father after a surprise raid in which federal agents removed him from a Miami home in April 2000.

"Elian was a trophy in a battle between the Cuban government and the relentless anti-Castro politics of the Miami Cuban community, of which Lagoa became a prominent member," said David Abraham, an emeritus professor at the University of Miami law school. "His case became a venue for group solidarity and the maintenance and construction of political power."

Others drew different lessons from the legal battle. Bush's former general counsel Raquel Rodriguez, who helped oversee the vetting process that put Lagoa on the Miami-based 3rd District Court of Appeal, said the episode made evident Lagoa's determination.

"She must have worked day and night on that," Rodriguez said. "She truly believed that this little boy deserved to grow up in freedom, which is what his mother wanted for him. It weighs on her to this day."

Bush, while not responding to a question about whether the Senate should confirm a nominee so close to a presidential election, described Lagoa in an email as an "intelligent, consistent, hardworking judge."

While Barrett, 48, has a more prominent national profile and a portfolio of writing and speeches as a law professor that endears her to the conservative legal community, Lagoa has a longer history as a judge, as well as experience as a federal prosecutor, her allies said. They were at pains in particular to present her as an originalist who would adhere to the letter of the Constitution in the mold of Antonin Scalia, the late justice for whom Barrett clerked.

Lagoa has helped render judgments in about 12,000 cases and written more than 400 opinions, Panuccio estimated.

Lagoa's husband, Paul Huck Jr., is the "godfather of the Federalist Society in Miami," said Jose Felix Diaz, a former state legislator and consultant with Ballard Partners, the powerful lobbying firm closely associated with Trump.

Huck is an attorney with Jones Day, the firm that has represented Trump's campaign. His father, Paul C. Huck, is a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, a position to which he was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 2000. "I don't think they get overly partisan at the kitchen table," Diaz added.

Lagoa was born in Miami and grew up in Hialeah. She graduated from Florida International University in 1989 and received her law degree from Columbia University in 1992, according to her court biographies.

After her appointment by then-Gov. Bush in 2006, she served for 13 years on the Miami-area appeals court. Lagoa was among DeSantis's first nominees to the Florida Supreme Court. Already the first female chief judge on the Florida appeals court, Lagoa became the first Cuban American on Florida's high court.

But her stop in Tallahassee became one of the shortest in 50 years. After fewer than nine months, she was nominated by Trump to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. The Senate confirmed her nomination by an 80-to-15 vote.

Permeating Democratic questions for Lagoa were her connections to the Federalist Society and whether she knowingly benefited from the influential nonprofit's increasing use of expensive media campaigns to promote conservative judges.

In written answers, she recalled how the group's powerful executive vice president, Leonard Leo, had traveled to Orlando to interview finalists for the federal bench. She said she first met Leo "in passing" after a Federalist Society luncheon in 2015, and did not recall speaking with him again until the interview in 2019.

She also acknowledged having attended an annual Federalist Society conference and celebration hosted for judges at Disney World. She said she was not aware of meeting any fundraisers at the event in 2019 who may have been supporting her nomination.

"I spent most of my time at the dessert reception speaking with lawyers and other judges, as well as their children, about non-legal matters (e.g., our children, our day on the rides at other theme parks at Walt Disney World)," she wrote.

- - -

The Washington Post's Tom Hamburger, Alice Crites and Lori Rozsa contributed to this report.
The Colorado Wilderness Act from U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette and the CORE Act from U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse are among the eight public lands bills that the House passed in the prior Congress, and are destined for another vote by the full chamber without needing committee consideration first.
Lukasz's father Paul Kosowski, 46, (pictured) pleaded guilty to two counts of murder

A father has pleaded guilty to murdering his son and the teenager's girlfriend while they visited him on his rural property.

Pawel Klosowski, 46, of Mount McIntyre in South Australia, appeared in Mt Gambier Magistrates Court on Monday where he admitted to killing his son Lukasz Klosowski and his girlfriend Chelsea Ireland, both aged 19.

Police were called to his property on August 23 after reports of a shooting and arrested Klosowski without incident.

His two younger step children reportedly witnessed the grim double-shooting.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Detective Inspector Campbell Hill described the deaths as a 'shocking incident to occur in the southeast'.

'It's a tragic event and the impacts of this will not only be felt for the particular families involved, and the associates and the relatives, but also for the southeastern community,' Inspector Hill said at the time.

Klosowski's early guilty plea could entitle him to a discount of up to 40 per cent on any non-parole period.

His case was not expected back in court until December but was reviewed late on Monday afternoon, the final day he could enter an early guilty plea.

Ms Ireland's family revealed she was passionate about the environment and determined to 'change the world' after learning of her death.

Chelsea Ireland and Lukasz Kosowski, both 19, were shot dead at a property in southeast South Australia

Pictured: Lukasz was farewelled at an intimate funeral as flowers and a photograph of him was laid on his coffin

They remembered the mechanical engineering student as someone who left a lasting impression on everyone she met.

'Chelsea was compassionate, strong, selfless and fearless and continues to make us proud every day,' her father Greg Ireland said.

'We haven't just lost a daughter, we've lost a best friend. Our hearts will forever remain broken.'

Debra Ireland said her daughter was passionate about environmental care and making changes to save the planet.

'She was going to change the world,' Mrs Ireland said.

'She not only talked about it, she lived it.'

The family said Chelsea and Lukasz were great mates and had 'just bonded'.

Her devastated parents previously recalled the final moment they shared with their daughter - the morning before the tragedy.

'I went in and kissed her goodbye and said''be careful on that road'' and she said ''what do you think Lukasz is going to do? He's not stupid'',' Mrs Ireland told The Advertiser.

Before she was gunned down in a double murder at a rural farm in southeast South Australia, Chelsea Ireland lived her life putting others before herself

Greg and Debra Ireland, who treated Lukasz like a member of the family, recalled the final moment they shared with their daughter - the morning before the tragedy

Mr Ireland also gave his daughter a hug and said he loved her.

'From an early age, I've always said to the girls ''dads always need hugs'' so I go up, give them a hug and tell them I love them so I did that with Chelsea,' he said.

Chelsea's 21-year-old sister Maddie sent her a message about a double rainbow the day before her death, which she will forever remember as their final conversation.

Mrs Ireland said her daughter had only met the accused killer four times - twice when he took the couple for dinner in Adelaide, and twice in Mount Gambier, near his property.

'I just keep wishing I could have said to her don't go but she was 19, she had travelled Europe on her own. She was street-smart, independent, strong-willed  there was no way I could have held her home, but I just wish I could have,' the mother-of-two said.

Kosowski had barely seen his son since his relationship with Lukasz's mother Magdalena broke down in 2005.

Photos of Lukasz about that time show him with his mother, and another clutching a decoration reading 'Sto Lat (Happy Birthday) Lukasz'.

Pictured: Lukasz Klosowski, Maddie Ireland and Chelsea Ireland. Maddie posted the image on Facebook with the caption 'my guardian angels'

The young couple lived in Adelaide and were visiting Kosowski's property, where he lives with Lukasz's stepmother Monica (pictured together), for a family gathering

Family friends said Magdalena limited contact between her ex-husband and her son, and later started dating a woman she is still in a relationship with.

Kosowski and Lukasz only occasionally crossed paths until recent years when he tried to mend fences after marrying his wife Monica.

However, Kosowski noted his son's absence from numerous family photos with his three stepchildren and called him 'stubborn'.

Two of his stepchildren, all aged under 14, witnessed the shooting, Mount Gambier Magistrates' Court heard on August 24.

The Ireland family are still in shock and told the publication they never thought 'tragedies you see in the paper' would happen to them.

Despite her violent death, the family remembered Chelsea's sense of adventure and kind heart.

Chelsea and Lukasz dated for several years and had travelled the world together, exploring his Polish heritage.

Lukasz was studying journalism at the University of South Australia while working at KFC

Chelsea and Lukasz dated for several years and had travelled the world together, exploring his Polish heritage

They attended different Adelaide high schools - Lukasz at Christian Brothers College and Chelsea at St Mary's College.

Lukasz was studying journalism at the University of South Australia while working at KFC.

His girlfriend was enrolled in mechanical engineering at Adelaide University and working at Baker's Delight.

In an assessment for Adelaide University, the student shared an experience she had visiting an indigenous community on the outskirts of The Great Victoria Desert.

She said it empowered her to want to improve the quality of life for those living in remote communities.

Klosowski has been remanded in custody to appear in the Supreme Court in Mt Gambier in November for arraignment and sentencing submissions.

When she was just 15 years old, Chelsea watched a YouTube video that inspired her to donate her waist-length brown locks to cancer patients
In a historic first, two women officers  Lieutenant Kumudini Tyagi and Sub Lieutenant Riti Singh  will be deployed as Observers" onboard Indian Navy warships as part of the ships crew, paving the way for women air combatants to operate from frontline warships.

They would in effect, be the first set of women airborne combatants who would be operating from warships. Earlier, entry of women was restricted to the fixed wing aircraft that took off and landed ashore," Indian Navy spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said.

Sub Lieutenant Kumudini Tyagi and Sub Lieutenant Riti Singh are part of a group of 17 officers of the Indian Navy, including four women officers and three officers of the Indian Coast Guard (13 officers of Regular batch and 4 woman officers of Short Service Commission batch) who were awarded Wings" on graduating as Observers" (airborne tacticians) at a ceremony held on Monday at INS Garuda, Kochi.

Another Glass Ceiling set to he broken!!02 lady officers, Sub Lt Kumudini Tyagi & Slt Riti Singh selected for operating as Observers" (Tactical offrs) in the helicopter stream @indiannavy, paving way for women air combatants operating from frontline warships#HarKaamDeshKeNaam pic.twitter.com/1r4h3Zckox PRO Defence Kochi (@DefencePROkochi) September 21, 2020

The ceremony was presided by Rear Admiral Antony George NM, VSM, Chief Staff Officer (Training) who presented the awards and coveted wings to the graduating officers," Commander Vivek Madhwal said.

In addition, the chief guest also awarded the Instructor Badge to six other officers, (five from the Indian Navy including a woman and another from Indian Coast Guard) who had successfully graduated as Qualified Navigation Instructors (QNI) on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Rear Admiral Antony George highlighted the fact that it is a landmark occasion wherein for the first-time women will be trained in helicopter operations which would ultimately pave way for the deployment of women in frontline warships of Indian Navy.

Women in the Indian Air Force, too, may join their naval counterparts in shattering the glass ceiling with a woman fighter pilot being trained to fly the newly induct Rafale fighter jets.

Sources said the pilot will be based out of the 17 Squadron in Ambala where the five Rafale jets are stationed.
The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs casket will be on public view Wednesday and Thursday at the iconic steps outside the U.S. Supreme Court building to allow for public mourning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, Ginsburg will lie in state in the Capitols Statuary Hall in a ceremony open only to invited guests, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

President Donald Trump said Monday he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday, after funeral services for Ginsburg and just days before the first presidential election debate.

The court said Ginsburg, the second woman to sit on the court, will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service.

In an interview with Fox & Friends on Fox News, Trump said his shortlist of nominees, all women, was down to five. The pick would come later this week after services are held for Ginsburg, the president said.

Trump said hes pushing for a confirmation vote before Election Day. Democrats vigorously oppose that, pointing to the hypocrisy of Republicans for rushing through a pick so close to the election after refusing to do so months earlier for President Barack Obama in 2016.

Dismissing that argument, Trump said of a rapid nomination and confirmation, I think that would be good for the Republican Party, and I think it would be good for everybody to get it over with.

The impending clash over the vacant seat  when to fill it and with whom  has scrambled the stretch run of the presidential race for a nation already reeling from the pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people, left millions unemployed and heightened partisan tensions and anger. Democratic nominee Joe Biden has urged a delay in a nomination, declaring that the next president should fill the seat.

Ginsburg, 87, died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer. Her dying wish, according to Politico, NBC News and NPR, was that she not be replaced until a new president is installed.

Trump disparaged the reports that Ginsburg had told her granddaughter it was her wish that a replacement justice not be confirmed until the inauguration of a new president. Trump floated a far-flung theory that he thought his Democratic political foes were behind the report, including Rep. Adam Schiff, who led the House impeachment probe, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

Schiff on Twitter called Trumps accusation low. Even for you.

No, I didnt write Ruth Bader Ginsburgs dying wish to a nation she served so well, and spent her whole life making a more perfect union, Schiff wrote. But I am going to fight like hell to make it come true. No confirmation before inauguration.

Mr. President, this is low. Even for you.



No, I didnt write Ruth Bader Ginsburgs dying wish to a nation she served so well, and spent her whole life making a more perfect union.



But I am going to fight like hell to make it come true.



No confirmation before inauguration. https://t.co/QgwPCUK5n7  Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) September 21, 2020

The president and his fellow Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who will control the timing of the confirmation hearings and vote, have pushed back against the 2016 comparison, noting that Trump could win again and saying that, unlike four years ago, the same party controlled both the White House and the Senate.

We have the presidency and the Senate and we have plenty of time, Trump said.

Trump allowed that he would accept a vote in the lame duck period after Election Day but made clear his preference would be that it occur by Nov. 3.

The president criticized Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for opposing a vote before elections, warning they would be very badly hurt by voters.

McConnell and his Senate GOP leadership team were to meet Monday behind closed doors as they assess next steps.

Announcing a nominee on Friday or Saturday would leave less than 40 days for the Senate to hold a confirmation vote before the election. No nominee has won confirmation that quickly since Sandra Day OConnor became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court in 1981. OConnor was confirmed 99-0 just over a month after she was nominated by President Ronald Reagan.

The president confirmed Monday that among the top contenders are Indianas Amy Coney Barrett and Floridas Barbara Lagoa, both appellate court judges he appointed. Barrett has long been a favorite among conservative while Lagoa has been pushed by some aides who tout her political advantages of being Hispanic and hailing from the key battleground state of Florida.

Trump also indicated that Allison Jones Rushing, a 38-year-old appellate judge from North Carolina, is on his short list. He has promised to nominate a woman for the high court, adding that his preference is for someone younger who could hold her seat for decades.

As the Senate returned to Washington on Monday, attention focused on Republicans Mitt Romney of Utah and Chuck Grassley of Iowa for clues to whether Trump and McConnell will be able to confirm Ginsburgs replacement anytime soon.

A day earlier, Biden had urged Republicans to join Murkowski and Collins in opposing a confirmation vote before the Nov. 3 election. It takes four GOP senators breaking ranks to keep Trumps nominee off the court.

Uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience, said Biden, speaking in Philadelphia on Sunday. Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have engulfed our country.

Jamming the nomination through, Biden said, would amount to an abuse of power.

The sudden vacancy is reshaping the presidential race, which to this point has been largely a referendum how Trump had managed the COVID-19 pandemic.

It seems certain to electrify both sides: Democrats were breaking fundraising records while a packed Trump crowd in North Carolina Saturday loudly chanted Fill that seat. But it remains unclear if the high bench vacancy  which could impact everything from abortion rights to legal challenges to the 2020 election  would persuade disenchanted Republicans to return to Trump or fire up women or suburban voters to break for Biden.

Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate. If there were a 50-50 tie, it could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence.

There is another potential wrinkle: Because Arizonas Senate race is a special election, that seat could be filled as early as Nov. 30. If Democrat Mark Kelly wins and is seated, that would narrow the window for McConnell.

Most Republicans concurred on the need for speed and one named a practical reason: The nine-member court, argued Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, must be full if called upon to decide the outcome of a disputed presidential election.

But Biden and other Democrats said voters should choose the next president, who should, in turn, pick Ginsburgs successor. Health care, abortion rights and religious freedom are on the line, they said.

Biden, who has run on uniting the country after Trumps divisive tenure, warned against more upheaval.

The last thing we need is a constitutional crisis that plunges us deeper into the abyss and deeper into the darkness, he said.

He acknowledged that if Trump wins, his pick should be approved. But Biden added, If I win this election, President Trumps nominee should be withdrawn and as the new president I should be the one to nominate Justice Ginsburgs successor.

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Opposition members protested against the decision, leading to adjournment of the proceedings for about 20 minutes

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha on Monday suspended eight members, including TMC leader Derek O'Brien, a day after the House witnessed unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members during the passage of farm bills.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu also rejected a notice for no confidence motion against deputy chairman Harivansh on the grounds that proper procedure was not followed.

Naidu condemned the unruly behaviour and "threats" to Harivansh during the passage of the farm bills.

Shortly thereafter, Parliamentary Affairs Ministers read out a motion seeking suspension of eight members for the remainder of the session.

Naidu put the motion to vote and it was carried by voice vote.

However, Opposition members protested against the decision, leading to adjournment of the proceedings for about 20 minutes.

Two key farm bills, dubbed as the biggest reform in agriculture by the government, were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha with voice vote amid unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members who were demanding that the proposed legislation be referred to a House panel for greater scrutiny
(Natural News) A Portland man was arrested twice  first on Sunday evening and then again on Monday morning  for lighting several fires using Molotov cocktails along Interstate 205.

The first incident began at 4:35 p.m. on Sunday, September 13, when the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) was called by Portland Fire & Rescue (PF & R) to assist them in putting out a fire in the 9600 block of East Burnside Street, which straddles the border between the Southeast and Northeast Portland neighborhoods. PPB said nobody was injured and no structures were damaged by the fires.

Around an hour after the fire was extinguished, PPB officers were flagged down by a person who witnessed the incident. The witness pointed the officers towards a suspect, a man living in a nearby tent.

The suspect was identified as Domingo Lopez, Jr. When confronted by PPB officers, he admitted to lighting the fire using a Molotov cocktail. When police searched his belongings, they seized a plastic bottle with a wick as evidence. Lopez was booked into the jail in the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office but was released soon after. (Related: Oregon State Police officers in Portland deputized as federal officers to avoid having rioters repeatedly released by Left-wing Soros-funded prosecutors.)

Just hours after Lopez was released, at 3:37 a.m. on Monday morning, officers were once again called in by PF & R to assist after more fires were reported. This time, six small fires were found burning along the west side of I-205. Firefighters put out three while passing volunteers from the community extinguished the other three. Nobody was injured, and no structures were damaged.

Moments later, officers found Lopez walking along the shoulder of the freeway and arrested him. He had a lighter on him, which was seized as evidence.

The PPB transported Lopez to a hospital on a police officer hold, where he will be undergoing a mental health evaluation. Lopez is currently being charged with seven counts of reckless burning and one count of second-degree disorderly conduct. Officers stated that arson investigators are doing follow-ups to determine if Lopez was responsible for setting any other fires in the area.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger talks about how liberal and Democrat-run cities like Portland are beginning to collapse under the weight of several crises, like the pandemic, the endless engineered rioting, the arson attacks, surging crime rates and ineffective governance.

Other wildfires in Oregon started by arsonists

Despite the fact that Lopez is the fourth person in Oregon to be arrested in connection with starting a fire, state and local authorities, including police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are still insisting that many of the massive wildfires were started by arsonists.

In one incident, Michael Jarrod Bakkela, 41, is currently accused of starting a major fire that has damaged several towns in Jackson County in southwestern Oregon. Bakkela was arrested and charged with 15 counts of criminal mischief, 14 counts of reckless endangerment and two counts of arson.

The fire is considered to be one of two possible origins for the Almeda Drive Fire, which burned over 3,200 acres in Jackson County, ravaged two small towns and destroyed over 2,350 homes.

The fire started on September 8 and was contained and stabilized by September 15. Search and rescue teams are currently assessing the damage as well as any potential hazards.

On Monday, September 14, the Oregon State Fire Marshals office said that the wildfires in the state were some of the worst they had ever seen.

The Jackson County Sheriffs Department, in a press release, said that a witness saw Bakkela, a resident of Phoenix, light a fire behind their house in northwestern Phoenix. Many of the residents who saw Bakkela start the fire were forced to flee their homes as the inferno started spreading.

When JCSO deputies, along with Oregon State Police officers, arrived at the scene of the arson, Bakkela was standing close to a large fire that was threatening several nearby homes. He was arrested and taken to the Jackson County Jail on Tuesday for possessing methamphetamine. He remains in jail on charges of criminal mischief and arson.

The JCSO has confirmed that at least two people have been found dead in connection to the wildfire that Bakkela started. Fifty other people still remain unaccounted for.

While the Almeda Drive Fire may be contained and the suspected arsonist that started it is behind bars, the South Obenchain Fire is still spreading through Jackson County. The fire started on September 8 at around 2 a.m., five miles east of the town of Eagle Point. As of 12 p.m. on Wednesday, it is the size of 32,513 acres and is only 25 percent contained.

Keep an eye out for any other extreme events that may be perpetrated by domestic terrorist organizations like Antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement by subscribing and reading the unbiased and fact-based articles at AntifaWatch.news.

Sources include:

KPTV.com

KGW.com

OregonLive.com 1

OregonLive.com 2

USAToday.com

InciWeb.NWCG.gov
Parliament on Monday approved the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020, whereby fresh insolvency proceedings will not be initiated for at least six months starting from March 25 in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Replying to a debate on the bill in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the amendments would provide relief to companies reeling under the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill seeking to replace the Ordinance was later approved by the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha has already approved in the bill on Saturday. The bill mandates that a default on repayments from March 25, the day when a nationwide lockdown began to curb the spread of coronavirus, would not be considered for initiating insolvency proceedings for at least six months.

The Congress on dubbed the government as ordinance-savvy", accusing it of promulgating one ordinance after another under the pretext of the COVID-19 crisis. Speaking in Lok Sabha during a discussion, its leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the constitutional measure of bringing ordinance should be resorted to as an exception and not rule.

Criticising the bill, which replaces an ordinance, he said it is weakly constructed with minimum logic and a lot of grey area". It is nothing but is aimed to patronise their (government) preferred corporates," he alleged, adding the MSME sector will be its worst casualty.

The bill does not safeguard any stakeholder, and the government is trying to save corporate debtors," he alleged. He also claimed that under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CRIP), the success rate has been very low.

There has been a poor and dismal" performance under you," he said, referring to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly the list goes on, but there are a limited number of letters in the alphabet. What happens when there are too many storms in one year? And why do we need to name them at all?

Beta lashes the Texan coast

According to CNN weather, Beta has already begun bringing tropical storm conditions to parts of the southwestern Louisiana coast. A warning is also in effect from Port Aransas, Texas to the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, where 2 to 4 feet of storm surge is possible.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards urged residents to get ready for the storm. "Prepare for heavy rainfall and the threat of storm surge and flooding in certain regions of the state due to Tropical Storm Beta," Edwards said in a series of tweets Sunday.

The National Hurricane Center has advised that anyone located within the affected regions "should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water and the potential for other dangerous conditions."

A limited list of storm names every year

The World Meteorological Organization (the body responsible for naming tropical storms in the US) has a pre-prepared list each year of 21 potential storm names, listed from A to W. There are no names corresponding to Q, U, X, Y or Z because of availability.

In 2020, the WMO have come up against an unusual problem: theyve run out of storm names. Instead they have turned to the Greek alphabet so the storm hitting Texas and Louisiana this week is called Beta, rather than a 'regular' name. The only other time this has happened before was 15 years ago in 2005, when six letters of the Greek alphabet had to be used: Tropical Storm Alpha, Hurricane Beta, Tropical Storm Gamma, Topical Storm Delta, Hurricane Epsilon and Tropical Storm Zeta

One major difference this year is that in 2005, the first letter of the Greek alphabet Alpha was called upon on 22 October ; whereas in 2020, closely following Wilfred, Alpha formed over a month earlier on 18 September. With the hurricane season running through into November, there is a high chance 2020 will break the record and need to go to Eta, the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and beyond.

2005 was the most active hurricane season in the Atlantic, with 27 storms recorded. That season's most devastating, Katrina, struck Florida, Louisiana, then Mississippi at the end of August and killed 1,833 people and caused $125 billion of damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in US history.

How does the naming of tropical storms work?

According to the National Hurricane Center, for Atlantic hurricanes there is a list of names for each of 6 years, or in other words, every seventh year one list is repeated. The only time that there is a change in a name on one of these lists is if a storm turns out to be so deadly or costly that its use on a future storm would be insensitive. These names are retired and replaced in time for the next round.

Why do we name storms?

The NHC explains that giving storms short, distinctive names is quicker and less confusing than the older method of using latitude-longitude coordinates. These advantages are especially important in exchanging detailed storm information between hundreds of widely scattered stations, coastal bases, and ships at sea.

The United States began using female names for storms in 1953, before which a now-extinct phonetic alphabet was used. It wasnt until 1978 when mens names were introduced to the list as well. Perhaps it was considered a little sexist

Nowadays, each of the 6 lists alternate between male and female names; one year starting with Arlene, the next with Alberto, and so on.
Its been more than seven months since Massachusetts confirmed its first case of coronavirus in February.

Businesses have since shut down and some have reopened. Some are nearing their eighth month of closure. Masks have become an everyday habit akin to tying ones shoe.

As change remains constant in some sectors, for coronavirus patients, not much has changed in terms of treatment.

As of Sunday, Massachusetts reported 125,479 cases throughout the pandemic. The statewide death toll stands at 9,100.

When people are diagnosed, they just have to wait at home wondering if theyre going to get sick and go to the hospital, said, Dr. David Sullivan, Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. What were trying to do is stop the progression of the disease and stop from having to go to the hospital with treatment.

Once a patient arrives at a hospital theres still only so much doctors can do. While the world waits for a vaccine, researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have partnered with the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester to develop a treatment to help patients ward off the virus early after diagnosis.

Theres plenty to do before the vaccine comes, Sullivan said. We know a vaccine is not going to be perfect. Theres going to be breakthroughs and we still need to come up with outpatient therapy.

The study, which will be conducted in part at UMass Medical School, looks at how blood plasma treatment can help patients early after diagnosis in battling off COVID-19, which has killed nearly 200,000 people in the United States.

The blood plasma treatment isnt new and has been used on illnesses in the past. Its effectiveness during this pandemic has been called into question, though. In August, the Food and Drug Administration held back an approval after top federal officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, criticized its effectiveness.

Unlike other treatments billed in the past, a plasma transfusion is safe for patients. Criticism only revolves around whether it successfully combats COVID-19.

However, Sullivan said past studies, like the one that drew hesitancy from government officials in August, focused on treatment after people had been hospitalized - meaning the virus was in advanced stages.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins and UMass are focusing on plasma treatment for individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 but have yet to experience severe symptoms.

Sullivan believes if the plasma treatment is provided soon after diagnosis, it could fight off the virus before it strengthens.

Sullivan likened the treatment to a cup of water and a fire. A cup of water would have no problem dousing a lit match or two. However, the same cup would have little effect on a conflagration.

Were going to have the most reduction in the virus, the earlier we give it, Sullivan said.

The study is similar to groundbreaking research by Dr. Yang Wang at UMass. She and her team discovered antibodies that may provide effective immunity in the respiratory system against COVID-19.

Like Wangs research, the study Sullivan is leading focuses on passive immunity, rather than active immunity, which is how a vaccine works.

The plasma transfusion would come from a patient who has recovered from COVID-19. Because the recovered patient successfully defeated the virus, their plasma may be able to do the same thing for others. The plasma would aid the patient in fighting off the coronavirus before it strengthens and causes advanced symptoms.

The plasma treatment, Sullivan said, could provide immunity to the virus for up to two months. The study, funded by the Department of Defense, could be used to help first-responders, teachers or service members return to work with passive immunity to COVID-19.

If society is really going to start functioning, were going to need an outpatient therapy and thats what were trying to validate, Sullivan said.

Sullivan hopes to complete the study within a few months.

UMass Medical School is looking for volunteers for the study. Volunteers will be compensated $200, Sullivan said.

As Sullivan explained, the key to the trial is early treatment. Volunteers interested in participating must have been exposed to the virus within three days of contacting researchers. Those who tested positive must contact researchers within five days of diagnosis.

Those interested can contact Johns Hopkins at 888-506-1199 or www.covidplasmatrial.org to fill out the enrollment questionnaire.

Our important work continues even as the cases have waned here in Massachusetts. We are actively looking for patients who were either exposed to or just recently diagnosed with COVID-19, medical director of the UMass Cancer Center and associate professor of medicine Jonathan Gerber said.

Unlike a vaccine, plasma is available now and is inexpensive, Sullivan said. The treatment involves a single one-hour transfusion rather than two doses, which many of the late-stage vaccine candidates require.

A vaccine, Sullivan said, also comes with limitations. Some individuals who are immunocompromised will likely need the most time for a vaccine to respond in their bodies. It may not be effective for others.

We can deal with this virus, but we need people, when they have a COVID illness or exposure, they can make a difference, they can be part of the solution, Sullivan said. Participating in these trials is being part of the solution.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

Oil is not an end in itself for us, it is a mean for creating a better life, better conditions, building a better country, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview to Azerbaijan Television, Ictimai Television, and Real Television following a groundbreaking ceremony of the offshore operations of the Absheron field at the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deep Water Jackets Plant, Trend reports.

Azerbaijani president recalled that Baku, the Absheron Peninsula, and Sumgayit were presented as zones of ecological disaster.

Many things have been forgotten now but our most oil-polluted area was the Bibi-Heybat Bay. The Bibi-Heybat Bay has now turned into a zone of beautiful parks and recreation. The Bibi-Heybat settlement has actually been rebuilt. In other words, the Bibi-Heybat Bay was a zone of ecological disaster and many probably remember that picture. Another area of the ecological disaster was Balakhani and its oil fields. But look at Balakhani now! It has turned into a beautiful settlement, and work is already being completed there. I will go there myself and see how my instructions are being fulfilled. And this applied not only to Balakhani but to all the settlements. I said that all suburban settlements of Baku should be improved, better conditions should be created there for people, all the issues of concern to them should be resolved and the aesthetic appearance of these settlements should correspond to the modern level. All historical sites in the settlements need to be restored, and we will give them a new life. Let us recall the Balakhani dump. Poisonous smoke from there enveloped the whole city  it was poison. When I started working on this issue, some said that it was impossible to extinguish it because it burns from within, that gases are formed down below, this is a very dangerous place and we cannot approach it. Some even suggested building a sarcophagus over it. There were such ridiculous proposals too. But we found a way out and completely cleaned the place. Today a beautiful park has been built there, an incineration plant has begun to operate. Next to it is another zone of ecological disaster  Lake Boyukshor. Part of it has been cleared. This was also an ecological disaster zone because it was an open oil reservoir. At the same time, all sewage water was discharged there. Currently, a boulevard has been created there and birds sit on the lake, the head of state said.

Other projects. Let's recall the Black City. This concept no longer exists and the White City has been built in its place. When we were implementing the White City urban development project, at least two meters of the ground layer was removed. All these were oil deposits, tar, poison. The AzerNeftYag oil refinery is located nearby. Its activity is also coming to an end, as two years from now the reconstruction at the oil refinery named after Heydar Aliyev will be completed and Euro-5 gasoline will be produced. So vehicles that pollute the air the most will be provided with clean gasoline and the AzerNeftYag refinery will be dismantled. All tanks and installations will be dismantled and there will be a large park there. There was also the iodine-bromine plant. Some may not know this but it was also located on the airport road. It was also poisonous. We disposed of it and transported the sediment to a landfill. Or look at the environmental situation in Sumgayit. Earlier, when driving past Sumgayit, people rolled up their car windows so that the stench and poisons would not penetrate into the car. Today Sumgayit resembles a resort city. As the industrial potential of it strengthened, modern treatment plants were built there and industrial estates were created. Sumgayit was considered possibly the most polluted city in the Soviet Union, but today it is one of the cleanest cities. We did all this because it is the life of our people, the health of our children, and the coming generation. Did they pay any attention to this during the times of Tsarist Russia or during the Soviet period? No! They only cared about a plan, about production, exploitation  give us oil, give us gas. But what about people's lives, their way of life and health? Therefore, these issues are in the foreground for us, the Azerbaijani president said.

After being elected president, I said, and this was one of my first statements, that we must turn black gold into human capital and serve our people. In this area, we must, first of all, take into account the human factor because oil is not an end in itself for us, it is a means for creating a better life, better conditions, building a better country, and we are doing exactly that, President Ilham Aliyev said.
Quay County District Judge Albert J. Scooter Mitchell Jr. first appeared in this column in 2016, thanks to a most unusual Court of Appeals opinion.

The case concerned a boundary dispute between two ranchers. One rancher owned parcels of land that touched only on the corners, like two red squares on a checkerboard, and the issue was who owned the passage that connected them, along which cattle were run.

Judge Mitchell conducted a bench trial  that is, a trial without a jury  on Jan. 5, 2010. At the conclusion of the trial, he told the parties how he intended to rule. Nine months later, he issued what is called a letter ruling, literally a letter addressed to the attorneys once again describing how he intended to rule.

Finally, in October 2013, just shy of four years after trial, to quote the Court of Appeals, Judge Mitchell issued a final judgment that contradicted his own letter ruling. In doing so, he decided an issue that he had stated repeatedly [he] would not decide. Unfortunately, the final judgment was so garbled that the Court of Appeals couldnt figure out what the judge was trying to say.

Specifically, the appellate court observed that the final judgment includes several inconsistencies that cause uncertainty as to the district courts intent. It sent the case back to the trial court with a list of issues on which the court was invited to clarify its intention.

Ive read thousands of New Mexico appellate opinions. I cant recall another in which the appellate court just threw up its hands and said, in effect, that it had no idea what the district judge was driving at.

Last year, the Bar Bulletin, the biweekly publication of the State Bar, published an Order and Public Censure from the Supreme Court. The censure was directed at Judge Mitchell. Public censure of a sitting district judge is an unusual event in New Mexico. This censure was especially colorful.

It seems that in early 2018 the Quay County Commissioners voted in a way that displeased Judge Mitchell. The subject of the vote was security at the county courthouse, naturally a matter of personal concern to the judge. The judge met privately with the county manager to give voice to his displeasure.

We dont have a transcript of the meeting, but Judge Mitchell stipulated that the Judicial Standards Commission had sufficient facts and evidence to prove that he made statements indicating he had the governors ear and could call on her to line-item veto capital outlay funds for Quay County if the court security measures [he] wanted were not met.

Judge Mitchell further stipulated that the manner in which he presented the options to the County Manager  was suggestive of a threat. It all sounds like a scene from an old Warner Brothers gangster movie, or like something Michael Cohen might have tried.

The county manager sensibly reported the conversation to the Judicial Standards Commission. I guess its to Judge Mitchells credit that he didnt lie about what hed done but rather consent[ed] to the imposition of a public censure as discipline.

So heres what we know about Judge Mitchell. Hes slow. He took nearly four years to craft an opinion that three judges of the Court of Appeals couldnt make heads or tails of. And he was publicly censured for making statements suggestive of a threat to his county manager.

On the other hand, hes male.

New Mexicos Judicial Performance Commission  the organized branch of the legal professions good ol boys club  recently released its 2020 evaluations. It evaluated 64 district court judges and recommended retaining all but three. Judge Mitchell is among those judges the commission recommends keeping.

What do the three non-favored judges have in common? Theyre women.

One of them, Jacqueline Flores, was the subject of a disciplinary hearing in 2015, but the Supreme Court determined no discipline was warranted. So the commission says voters should retain the judge who was censured but get rid of the judge who wasnt.

I suspect the commission would say in its defense that it doesnt consider the types of things Ive mentioned here. Its website says it considers only a narrow range of materials, including survey results. But the surveys just aggregate subjective impressions, at best  and prejudices at worst. Its not hard to understand how demeanor and courtesy can operate as code words when applied to women in authority.

If the commission disregards public censures and scathing appellate opinions, then its disregarding the very things that matter most when evaluating a judges fitness for the bench. Far from a defense, thats another reason for ignoring its recommendations.

Joel Jacobsen is an author who in 2015 retired from a 29-year legal career. If there are topics you would like to see covered in future columns, please write him at legal.column.tips@gmail.com>href=http://legal.column.tip>legal.column.tips@gmail.com.
Teacher of the Year contestants in Russia were made to rub a phallic crystal trophy during a bizarre ceremony in footage that has gone viral online.

The Teacher of the Year ceremony on the country's energy-rich Sakhalin island raised eyebrows for its unusually-shaped crystal prize.

It is a tradition at the event, which is sponsored by leading international oil companies, for contenders to touch the annual trophy before the winner is announced.

But this year, the specially cut object had an 'ambiguous' shape.

Teacher of the Year contestants in Russia were made to rub a phallic crystal trophy during a bizarre ceremony in footage that has gone viral online

The Teacher of the Year ceremony on the country's energy-rich Sakhalin island raised eyebrows for its unusually-shaped crystal prize

Some of the women seemed amused as they were required to touch the prize, while one male contestant avoided the phallic object and instead put his hands on the object's wings.

RTV host Sergey Minaev, a former editor of the Russian edition of Esquire, posted the video on his YouTube show joking that the ceremony resembled a 'Divorcee of the Year' contest or 'some regional PornHub awards for their best models'.

He went on: 'In fact, no, this is just a Teacher of the Year competition on Sakhalin island.'

Some of the women seemed amused as they were required to touch the prize, while one male contestant avoided the phallic object and instead put his hands on the object's wings

The prize-winner was history and social studies teacher Irina Saraikina, 44, who as well as the crystal pelican won an all-expenses paid trip to London to study English

Local news ouetlet ASTV called the footage 'awkward' and organisers of the contest later admitted it had a 'strange' and 'ambiguous' shape.

The prize-winner was history and social studies teacher Irina Saraikina, 44, who as well as the crystal pelican won an all-expenses paid trip to London to study English.

The contest was sponsored by Russian state oil company Rosneft, Japanese consortium Sodeco, Indian operator ONGC Videsh and Exxon Neftegas Limited, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil corporation.
The ruling, she noted in a lecture at New York University in 1992, tried to do too much, too fast  it essentially made every abortion restriction in the country at the time illegal in one fell swoop  leaving it open to fierce attacks.

Doctrinal limbs too swiftly shaped, she said, may prove unstable.

It was because of her early criticism of one of the most consequential rulings for American women that some feminist activists were initially suspicious of her when President Bill Clinton nominated her for the Supreme Court in 1993, worried that she wouldnt protect the decision.

Of course, they eventually realized that Justice Ginsburgs skepticism of Roe v. Wade wasnt driven by a disapproval of abortion access at all, but by her wholehearted commitment to it.

The way Justice Ginsburg saw it, Roe v. Wade was focused on the wrong argument  that restricting access to abortion violated a womans privacy. What she hoped for instead was a protection of the right to abortion on the basis that restricting it impeded gender equality, said Mary Hartnett, a law professor at Georgetown University who will be a co-writer on the only authorized biography of Justice Ginsburg.

Justice Ginsburg believed it would have been better to approach it under the equal protection clause because that would have made Roe v. Wade less vulnerable to attacks in the years after it was decided, Professor Hartnett said. She and her co-author on the biography, Professor Wendy Williams, spent the last 17 years interviewing Justice Ginsburg for the book and, though it initially didnt have a release date, they are hoping to publish it some time next year, Professor Hartnett said in an interview.
There is no known antidote for the poison allegedly sent to the White House and five other locations across the US.

Canadian police have searched an apartment in a Montreal suburb linked to the woman arrested for sending a ricin-filled envelope to the White House and to five other addresses in Texas, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Monday.

US authorities arrested a woman at the US-Canada border near Buffalo, New York, on Sunday on suspicion that she sent the deadly poison by mail, addressed to the White House. The woman has joint Canadian and French citizenship, two sources told Reuters News Agency.

She will appear on Tuesday at 20:00 GMT (4pm EDT) in Buffalo before Judge H Kenneth Schroeder, Jr, a spokeswoman for the federal court in the Western District of New York said.

We believe a total of six letters were sent, one to the White House and five to Texas, RCMP officer Charles Poirier said outside the modern brown and grey building where the search was taking place. We cant confirm that she lived in [the apartment], but it is connected to her.

Poirier could not say where in Texas the envelopes were mailed, but the police department in Mission, Texas, received a suspicious letter within the last week, Art Flores, a spokesman for the department, said. The department did not open the envelope and turned it over to the FBI, he said.

Flores also said that, in early 2019, the Mission police had arrested the woman now believed to be held in Buffalo, but said he did not have records related to the arrest and referred further inquiries to the FBI.

The FBI is investigating several suspected ricin letters sent to law enforcement and detention facilities in South Texas, a US law enforcement source told Reuters.

So far, they have not found any link to political or terrorist groups, but the investigation is continuing, the source said.

The RCMPs special Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives team is leading the operation, the RCMP said.

On Saturday, the RCMP confirmed the White House letter had apparently been sent from Canada and said the FBI had requested assistance.

The envelope was intercepted at a government mail centre before it arrived at the White House.

Ricin is found naturally in castor beans but it takes a deliberate act to convert it into a biological weapon. Ricin can cause death within 36 to 72 hours from exposure to an amount as small as a pinhead. No known antidote exists.
As part of the Agreement, Enerjisa Uretim will benefit from the Sustainability-linked Loan Mechanism, one of the sustainable debt instruments which has not lost any momentum despite the pandemic with a total volume exceeding 1.5 trillion USD in August. Enerjisa Uretim also announced that sustainability works in two major fields will be accelerated as part of the agreement. The company made a commitment to significantly increase the share of renewable energy within its power investment portfolio and will be working towards reaching the best international standards in gender equality. The agreement, which will contribute in the achievement of the company's goals for the forthcoming periods, strengthened the already concrete financial statement of Enerjisa Uretim more, also enabled Enerjisa to strengthen its provision by replacing long-term loans.

Seven banks including Akbank, Garanti BBVA, Turkiye Is Bankasi, HSBC, ING, TEB and Isbank AG, will offer financing in line with the requirements of Sustainability Linked Loan Mechanism.

Concrete proof of confidence in energy markets

Joint announcement made by the banks participating to the loan read as follows: "This agreement is a significant indicator of our confidence in Turkey and Turkish energy markets. It is a source of pride for us to see Enerjisa Uretim, the leading player in the sector, invest particularly in the renewable growth, while regularly generating cash today with its well-balanced financial statement." Underlining the potential of Turkey particularly in wind and solar areas, banks stated that they would continue to support growth projects in this area.

Ongoing growth in renewable energy

Ihsan Erbil Baycol, CEO of Enerjisa Uretim: "Enerjisa Uretim has a high generation performance as well as a strong cash flow. Today, we continue generating for uninterrupted power supply with our 21 power plants, 56% of which are consisting of national and renewable resources... We attach utmost priority to sustain the increasing trend as well as achieving new investments in renewable energy area, which is also a strategic priority. We will continue our investments and activities 'with the purpose of creating a sustainable value' by reassuring all our stakeholders. I would like to thank all the banks that we have been in valuable collaboration with for their confidence in us during this growth journey."

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1277999/Enerjisa_Uretim.jpg

SOURCE Enerjisa Uretim
An elderly man who was hospitalized became the second Isabella County person to die of COVID-19 in less than a week and twelfth overall. He died Thursday.

The man was infected as part of a two-person household cluster of cases, the only additional information available; its been standard practice by the Central Michigan District Health Department to withhold names of COVID deaths to protect the privacy of families.

The man was not linked to the 288 cases connected to CMUs return to campus, said Steve Hall, CMDHD health officer.

He was the second COVID death reported in less than a week and the third in September. An elderly woman died from it Sept. 12, and there is no information that connects the two. The months first death was reported Sept. 1. Before that, it had been since July 9 since anyone in the county had died of the disease.

Another death was reported June 12.

The biggest number of deaths in the county came from a single outbreak in April at the Isabella County Medical Care Facility. There, four residents died and another 18 were later reported recovered. The states COVID-19 database said that a total of 24 residents and 16 staff at the facility have contracted COVID-19.

A resident of MediLodge of Mt. Pleasant who contracted the disease at the facility and was hospitalized died in early April, the countys only other nursing home death.

Before that, an elderly woman was reported as having died from the disease April 1, and the countys first death was recorded when an elderly man died from the disease on March 28.

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WASHINGTON  Four years ago, the allure of conservative Supreme Court appointments helped persuade skeptical Republicans to support Donald Trump for president. Two years ago, a contentious clash over Trumps choice of Brett Kavanaugh for the court was credited with bolstering GOP gains in the Senate in an otherwise bad midterm election.

And now, just 44 days before Trumps reelection will be decided, Republicans are again looking to a Supreme Court nomination fight to unite a deeply fractured party as it faces the very real possibility of losing the White House and control of the Senate this fall.

GOP leaders are optimistic they can pull it off. In the turbulent Trump era, nothing has motivated the Republican Partys disparate factions to come home quite like the prospect of a lifetime appointment to the nations highest court.

This can be an important galvanizing force for President Trump, said Leonard Leo, co-chairman of the conservative Federalist Society who has advised the Trump administration on its first two confirmations  for Neil Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.

The emerging nomination debate that follows the death Friday of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg threatens to reshuffle voter priorities in the closing weeks of an election that had been squarely focused on another set of generational issues: the pandemic, economic devastation and deep civil unrest.

Trump, backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is pledging to replace the liberal Ginsburg with a conservative jurist, promising on Saturday evening that he will announce his nominee very soon.

Plans are in motion for a swift nomination and confirmation. Lest there be any questions about the political implications, Trump is expected to make his choice in a matter of days. Those close to the president are encouraging him to announce his pick before the first presidential debate against Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Sept. 29.

Biden said the winner of the Nov. 3 election should choose the next justice. Bidens team is skeptical that the Supreme Court clash will fundamentally change the contours of a race Trump was trailing so close to Election Day. Indeed, five states are already voting.

In fact, Democrats say it could motivate voters to fight harder against Trump and Republicans as the Senate breaks the norms with an unprecedented confirmation at a time when Americans are deciding crucial elections.

Everything Americans value is at stake, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told fellow Democratic senators on a conference call Saturday, according to a person who was not authorized to publicly discuss the private call and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biden is not planning to release a full list of potential court nominees, according to a top aide, because it would further politicize the process. The aide was not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Bidens team suggests that the court fight will heighten the focus on issues that were already at stake in the election: health care, environmental protections, gender equity and abortion.

Health care, in particular, has been a top voter concern this pandemic-year election, Democrats say. They will argue that protections for Americans with preexisting conditions are essentially on the ballot as the Supreme Court will hear the administrations argument to strike down President Barack Obamas health law shortly after the election. The Affordable Care Act includes such protections and the court is expected to render a verdict next year.

Make it real, said Hillary Clinton, urging Democrats to take the fight to the polls, in an interview on MSNBC.

Republicans say voters, particularly those the party needs to win back, are motivated by the chance to name a conservative judge  so much so that it could take some states off the map for Democrats. The focus on the nomination fight could help unify such voters around a common issue in an election season with so many distractions, said Leo of the Federalist Society.

Going as far back as 2000, poll after poll shows that the Supreme Court is an issue that resonates strongly with Republican and conservative voters, and importantly even with low-propensity voters from those groups, he said.

Republicans were especially optimistic that the court battle would boost their chances of holding the Senate, particularly in Republican-leaning states such as Montana, Iowa, Kansas, Georgia and South Carolina where GOP candidates are at risk. Democrats need to pick up three seats to claim the Senate majority if Biden wins and four if he doesnt.

Key GOP senators who face tough reelection contests in such states where Trump is popular quickly linked themselves to his push for a swift vote, embracing the prospect of another conservative on the bench. Among them: Martha McSally in Arizona, Thom Tillis in North Carolina and Lindsey Graham in South Carolina.

Yet other Republicans in more contested battleground states, including Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado, held back, heeding McConnells advice to keep their powder dry. Two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, spoke out after Ginsburgs death to object to the speedy pace, saying the Senate should not vote before the election so the candidate elected on Nov. 3 can decide.

As he left the White House for Saturday evenings rally in North Carolina, Trump signaled his displeasure with Collins  and a potential warning to other wayward Republicans: I totally disagree with her, he said.

Democratic challengers and outside allies seized on what they called hypocrisy of Republicans refusing to consider Obamas nominee before the 2016 election, unearthing past statements from many of the same senators now pushing ahead for Trump.

The Democrats raised more than $71 million in the hours after Ginsburgs death.

Many Republicans are hopeful the Supreme Court fight will supersede many conservative voters concerns about Trumps inconsistent leadership and divisive rhetoric. But voters in key states are already dealing with unprecedented hardships that will not simply disappear in the coming weeks.

Conservative activist Tim Phillips, president of the group Americans for Prosperity, is doubtful that the court fight will change many votes. He spent much of Saturday canvassing suburban neighborhoods around Kansas City as part of his organizations massive push to boost down-ballot Republicans in November.

When conservative activists gathered in the morning, the Supreme Court was a prime topic of conversation that strengthened their resolve to get out and work, Phillips said. But once they started knocking on voters doors, it didnt even come up.

I just think given the magnitude of the crises  plural  facing swing voters, this is just not going to be a crucial factor in their final decision, Phillips said.

At the Cambria County Republican Party headquarters in western Pennsylvania, the vacancy wasnt a major topic of conversation as people swung by on Saturday to pick up yard signs and campaign swag.

Lisa Holgash, a 49-year-old Trump supporter, said she would love it if Trump were able to appoint another Supreme Court Justice. But she said she was concerned about the idea of Republicans pushing through a nominee so quickly ahead of the election, especially after Republicans denied Obama a final pick in his last year.

Its not that far now to the election, she said. I dont think it should be rushed.

___ Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe in Wilmington, Delaware, Jill Colvin in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, listens during a hearing in Washington, DC, on June 30, 2020. (Al Drago/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Lamar Alexander Backs Vote on Trump Supreme Court Nominee

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said he backs voting for President Donald Trumps Supreme Court nominee following Ruth Bader Ginsburgs death.

He claimed Democrats would do the same thing if the shoe were on the other foot.

No one should be surprised that a Republican Senate majority would vote on a Republican Presidents Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year, he told The Hill. The Constitution gives senators the power to do it. The voters who elected them expect it.

Top Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), said that Trump should not confirm a Supreme Court justice before the election. Two Republican senators, Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), both said over the weekend that the nomination should be held until after the November election.

I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia. We are now even closer to the 2020 electionless than two months outand I believe the same standard must apply, Murkowski said on Sunday. I would not vote to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. We are 50 some days away from an election, Murkowski told Alaska Public Media.

Democrats will have to find two GOP senators who will not vote in favor of a new Supreme Court justice. If the vote is 50 in favor and 50 against, Vice President Mike Pence would cast the tying vote.

I have voted to confirm Justices [John] Roberts, [Samuel] Alito, [Sonia] Sotomayor, [Neil] Gorsuch and [Brett] Kavanaugh based upon their intelligence, character, and temperament, Alexander added. I will apply the same standard when I consider President Trumps nomination to replace Justice Ginsburg.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he plans on holding a vote on a Trump nominee for the Supreme Court before the election. And Trump said he is planning to pick a woman for Ginsburgs spot.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden called on Republican senators to please follow your conscience and not push through a Supreme Court justice.

But at the same time, some more left-wing Democrats have said they would pack the courts by voting to add more Supreme Court justices in 2020.

On Friday, the Supreme Court said Ginsburg died at age 87 due to complications from cancer. Ginsburg, considered the face of the liberal wing of the court, dictated a statement to her granddaughter saying that a new justice should not be named until a new president is installed, reported NPR.

Republicans face the decision to try and nominate the Supreme Court justice before Election Day or during the lame-duck congressional session following Election Day and January.

Im for whatever gives us the best opportunity to confirm a conservative to the court while giving us the best chance of keeping the Senate and White House, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told The Hill. [But] I suspect we will have a long discussion about it Tuesday.
The new university term starts for students this week - but many fear being stuck inside as the traditional excitement of Freshers' Week passes them by.

Social distancing measures mean many are choosing to commute from home and much of their learning will feel more detached as lessons move online.

Far from the idealised scenes of campus life seen in dramas like Normal People, students will undoubtedly find it harder to seek out like-minded friends.

While scenes of partying students breaking Covid restrictions in the Belfast Holyland area captured headlines last week, most young people and lecturers are now finding ways to adapt.

Elise McFarland (18) from Antrim is starting her medical degree at Glasgow University, but will have to spend her entire first term at home.

International student Su Chuin Ong (22) from Malaysia is now entering her final year in finance at Queen's University.

She said it was a bittersweet way to spend her last year in higher education, but was determined not to let her studies or enjoyment of university life slip.

Ellen Fearon, the president of the National Union of Students in Northern Ireland (Nus-Usi), said her priority was the mental health impact students will face.

"We're expecting huge changes to the typical student experience this term and I think the most worrying part is that no one has an exact grasp yet on how exactly that's going to affect students," she said.

She added: "It's definitely going to be difficult to welcome new students this year, especially international students.

"Part of coming to uni for the first time is building your new friend group and meeting new people with new interests."

Elise McFarland described starting her medical degree from her family home in Antrim as "madness".

"Since last year I've been thinking about this week being Freshers' Week and I could be there meeting new friends but I've just been in my house watching induction videos.

"It's really quite boring overall while everyone else is back at school. Some of my other friends are back at uni but just sitting in their dorms. The whole thing just isn't what I expected at all."

With the risk of travel making a gap year unappealing, she has resigned herself to hitting the books. She added: "We've had Zoom calls with the entire year, but that's about 350 people so how are you meant to make friends like that?"

Su Chuin Ong was working in her placement year when lockdown started for Northern Ireland in March. Now she faces a subdued return to the campus.

"I have heard from other students that it was a really tough thing to go through, especially my friends studying in their last year," she said.

With her classes to be a mix of remote and classroom learning, Su does not have the option of completing her studies from her family home in Malaysia.

"It's the last year of being a student and obviously I want to socialise more, but looking at the situation now I don't see that happening as much," she added.

Asked if she thinks she will still be getting the same value for money, she said: "I think international students, who pay so much more than local students, will wonder if online classes are as valuable.

"But we don't really have a choice, so I was just thinking we'll have to make the best of the situation and make sure we're asking our teachers about any concerns. You don't want to miss your chance and waste your money."

A spokesperson for Ulster University said all students would be welcomed to "a different, but rich and rewarding, blended learning environment."

Some on-campus activities will still take place, subject to a strict risk assessment, and students who do not have on-campus activities in the first term will have access to libraries and staff in support services.
The order would have slowed WeChat down and made it unusable in the United States for video chats with family and friends.

A California court ruling said it granted a motion for a nationwide injunction against the implementation of the government order on WeChat, with the judge citing concerns over free speech. (Photo | AFP)

New York: A US judge on Sunday blocked the governments ban on WeChat downloads, hours before it was due to take effect in an ongoing technology and espionage battle between Washington and Beijing.

The Trump administration had ordered a ban on downloads of the messaging platform WeChat as well as hugely popular video-sharing app TikTok, both owned by Chinese companies. Both bans have now been suspended.

A California court ruling said it granted a motion for a nationwide injunction against the implementation of the government order on WeChat, with the judge citing concerns over free speech.

The order would have slowed WeChat down and made it unusable in the United States for video chats with family and friends, according to experts.

Owned by technology giant TenCent, WeChat has around 19 million active daily users in the United States.

When contacted by AFP, TenCent declined to comment on the ruling.

The ruling is a short-term relief for the plaintiffs, who wanted to be sure that the app was not shut down tonight, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.

If the government appeals and wins, the plaintiffs can appeal that decision. The plaintiffs wanted to just buy time, Tobias said. It may be very soon that the president is no longer the president.

As President Donald Trump seeks a breakthrough with voters to win a second term in the November 3 election, he has increasingly put national security and his aggressive stance toward China at the center of his campaign.

He regularly accuses Democratic opponent Joe Biden of weakness toward Beijing.

The president said Saturday that he had approved a deal allowing Silicon Valley giant Oracle to become data partner for TikTok to avert a shutdown of that app.

The deal, announced by the companies, includes Walmart as a commercial partner and would create a new US company named TikTok Global.

TikTokowned by Chinas ByteDanceconfirmed the Oracle agreement, which came as companies raced against the Sunday deadline.

The US Department of Commerce on Saturday announced it was postponing the ban on TikTok downloads until September 27, due to recent positive developments.

WeChat is mostly used by Chinese visiting or working here or by Chinese-Americans staying in touch with their relatives, said William Reinsch of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

That includes several hundred thousand Chinese students in the United States, who use it for daily online conversations.
Shiva Montazeri was looking forward to a year of working in Niagara, putting her knowledge into use after graduating from Brock University last fall.

Instead, the international student from Iran and her husband Majiv spent most of the year struggling, unable to work due to the pandemic.

And now that her one-year post-graduate work permit is about to expire, Montazeri said government agencies say they are unable to help and advise her to leave Canada.

I wanted to work for at least one year and gain Canadian experience, but now I cant. It ruined all of my plans. All of my dreams.

Oruaro Osifo from Nigeria had been studying kinesiology and health sciences at York University with plans of eventually becoming a physician, as her mother Mary Elo worked as a tailor.

All that changed when the pandemic hit, and without jobs to pay for Oruaros education, she has been unable to cover the cost of resuming her studies.

We all want better jobs, better everything, she said.

They were among dozens of people who gathered at St. Catharines MP Chris Bittles Geneva Street constituency office, Sunday, demanding full and permanent immigration status for all migrant workers after many have been hard hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What this pandemic has shown us is that if youre not making sure every single person is safe, then none of us our safe, said rally organizer Kit Andres, from Migrant Workers Alliance for Change-Niagara.

It was one of at least 10 protests that took place at Liberal MP constituency officers across the country. The rallies were timed in advance of Prime Minister Trudeaus throne speech in which he is expected to announce a new mandate for COVID-19 recovery.

From B.C. to Nova Scotia, theres action happening at all different levels, Andres said.

For this, we really wanted to show the community that status for all means everybody. Everybody is involved in this from migrant students to farm workers.

Rally participants covered the windows of Bittles Geneva Street constituency office with poster-sized photographs of struggling migrant workers, calling for full and permanent immigration status for the workers who often spend most of the year living and working in communities including Niagara.

Even their family members back in Jamaica are participating, Andres said, pointing out photographs submitted by the loved ones of people who are tending to crops in Niagara, many holding signs saying status for all.

This is really about the entire community with no exceptions, she said. We hear a lot of messages about essential workers, like the farm workers  especially this year.

RELATED STORIES Niagara Region Migrant worker rally calls for Status for All

What were saying is that we are all essential, from the people who grow the food, to the people who prepare it in the restaurants  migrant students who work in restaurants here in Niagara, to the people who work in the grocery stores to the people who clean the grocery stores.

Although the federal government introduced a new program in mid-August to help some asylum claimants working in health-care towards becoming permanent Canadian residents, far more migrant workers are left behind.

Andres said many migrant workers do not benefit from Canadas universal healthcare, access to emergency income supports, and decent work. Many are separated from their families.

As a result of the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, refugees, students and undocumented people have lost their income, leaving them unable to protect themselves.

Every one of us is saying we deserve equal rights, we all deserve to be safe at work, we all deserve to be together with our families, Andres said..
(Natural News) California may have a lot of questionable laws on its books, but theres one that is worthy of applause. It prohibits the use of facial recognition technology in recordings that are made by police officer cameras.

Facial recognition is a technology that works by matching the real-time images of a person to a previous photograph of the individual. It is based on the fact that everyones face has roughly 80 unique nodal points in the areas of the nose, mouth, cheeks and eyes that can be used to distinguish people from one another.

A digital video camera is used to measure the distance between these points on a persons face. It includes measurements of the depth of a persons eye sockets, the distance between their eyes, the shape of their jawline and the width of their nose, among others. This information is used to create a unique numerical code that could be matched to a code that was taken from a previous photo.

In March, Washington became the first state in the nation to legalize the use of facial recognition among law enforcement agencies and other state agencies. The software had already been used at the county and city level prior to the new law there. However, facial recognition can only be used in certain cases in the state, such as finding missing people or identifying dead bodies. Agencies will be required to file a notice of intent before using it as well as an accountability report.

Regarding the Washington move, the American Civil Liberties Union said that instead of safeguarding the use of facial recognition, it threatens to legitimize expanding its use. ACLU Project Manager Jennifer Lee said the law contains language allowing agencies to use facial recognition to deny people basic necessities and other essentials, such as housing, food, water and health care.

Privacy advocates praise CA bill

Privacy advocates expressed relief that the California bill was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. It pertains not only to facial recognition but also biometric surveillance in general, such as gait analysis using footage that could be collected from body cam video footage.

The bill states: The use of facial recognition and other biometric surveillance is the functional equivalent of requiring every person to show a personal photo identification card at all times in violation of recognized constitutional rights. This technology also allows people to be tracked without consent.

The move came not longer after the ACLU carried out a study of facial recognition that demonstrated how an Amazon program mistakenly identified more than two dozen California lawmakers as criminals.

A similar ban was instituted months earlier by San Francisco on the governments use of facial recognition for surveillance, and several other American cities have done the same.

China takes the opposite view of facial recognition technology, embracing it fully and using it to track its citizens. It is also used to create social scores that give those who obey the CCP certain perks in their daily lives and restrict the movement and freedoms of those whose scores are lower.

Unfortunately, Californias new law only applies to the use of this technology by law enforcement, not the private sector. Nevertheless, it is a step in the right direction, which is a lot more than we can say about many of the other laws coming out of California.

Sources for this article include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Mashable.com

NaturalNews.com
TURNERS FALLS  Trinity Health Senior Communities Of New England has confirmed that plans are moving forward to begin layoffs mid-October at its Farren Care Center, a skilled nursing and long-term rehabilitative services facility in Franklin County.

A regional division of Michigan-based Trinity Health, the enterprise headed by Janice Hamilton-Crawford notified the state Aug. 17 of the planned job losses in an email that stated the layoffs will begin on October 16, 2020 (or within 13 days of that date), and that it is anticipated 141 employees will be affected.

A list of employees shows that staff at the facility includes two registered nurse supervisors, 12 registered nurses, four nurse managers, 16 license practical nurses and 37 certified nurse assistants.

Trinity would be providing notice to affected employees via first class mail, according to the notice given to the state.

Trinity announced last month that it had filed plans with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to close Farren, a122-bed facility for patients with both psychiatric and chronic medical needs, by Dec. 17. It intends to transfer those patients to Mount Saint Vincent, a skilled nursing facility that it has been managing in Holyoke under an operating lease with the Sisters of Providence Ministry Corporation.

Connecticut-based iCare Health Network has filed a separate proposal with the state DPH to assume ownership of Mount Saint Vincent, a more modern building in contrast to the aging complex that houses Farren, and have that facility licensed for care of dual diagnosed patients. It was reported on Friday that all 106 Mount Saint Vincent employees will receive lay off notices in November, with iCare planning to rehire some of them.

A public hearing Sept. 16 on the proposed closure of Farren drew strong criticism from both family and legal caretakers of residents as well former employees and civic leaders who called the timing of such a proposal during a pandemic ill thought and likely to have devastating consequences for residents as well as workers and the area where income levels have been traditionally less than elsewhere in the state.

Family members of residents at Mount Saint Vincent also voiced concern during that meeting.

A second public hearing on the proposal to close Farren, held remotely because of the pandemic, is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 6 p.m.

The Sept. 30 public hearing can be accessed by dialing (888) 390-5007 and the participant passcode is 7109512.

Written comments, which must be received by Oct. 1, may be sent by mail to: Walter Mackie, J.D., Licensure Unit Coordinator, Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 67 Forest St., Marlborough, MA 01752

They may also be emailed to: HFLLicenseAction@Mass.Gov

Related content:
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on voters Sunday to contact senators and urge them to honor the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's wish that she not be replaced until a new president is installed.

Details: Schumer noted during their news conference "we only need two more senators who will abide by RGB's wish," after Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins said they'd oppose holding a Senate confirmation vote on President Trump's nomination to replace the late Supreme Court justice before November's election.

What else they're saying: Ocasio-Cortez wouldn't rule out when asked a push to impeach President Trump or Attorney General Bill Barr, whom she accused of "potentially law-breaking behavior" and being "unfit for office," but stressed this would be a matter for the House Democratic leadership.

"We need to make sure we mobilize on an unprecedented scale to ensure this vacancy is reserved for the next president," she said. "We must also commit to using every procedural tool available to us to ensure that we buy ourselves the time necessary."

Schumer said they wanted to "protect the rights of women  their rights to their body, to choose, their rights to health care and equality," which he said "would go down the drain" if Trump were successful in his plans.

"A court with a kind of nominee President Trump will choose will undo all of that and not make global warming less likely but more likely and it will come quicker."

 Schumer

Of note: Schumer said Friday "nothing is off the table next year" if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Republican allies move to fill Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat in the coming weeks.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told ABC earlier Sunday that Democrats have "arrows in our quiver" they could use to block Trump's nomination, declining to elaborate further.

The other side: Trump said he'll announce a nominee for the Supreme Court bench "next week."

Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, told CNN Sunday "the decision of when to nominate" another justice "does not lie with" Ginsburg.

Barr dismissed last Wednesday accusations of political interference, saying "prosecutorial power is invested in the attorney general."

Go deeper:
martin-dm/iStockBy CATHERINE THORBECKE and ALEXANDRA LAMBERT, ABC News



(NEW YORK) -- As the daily headlines and mounting death tolls sow widespread anxiety among a population grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses and others have sought to ease fears through a newfound and costly obsession with deep cleaning and sanitizing.



The pandemic-era trend of publicly exhibiting all sanitation efforts has taken both the private and public sector by storm, but some medical experts express concern that these surface-cleaning endeavors may not be the most effective means of combatting the spread of the respiratory virus.



Hotels in California proudly display their $100,000 UV disinfecting robots. United Airlines similarly announced it was using high-tech antimicrobial-spraying robots on some aircrafts to ensure the "deepest cleanings." United noted that it was a complementary technology used in combination with masks and other measures.



The New York City subway system, which operates around the clock, announced nighttime closures for the first time in its history in order to disinfect train cars, a move that comes with an estimated additional price tag of $500 million in 2020 alone. That price tag includes a small portion for protective gear and temperatures checks for employees.



The often-overlooked sanitizing industry has boomed. Stock for Clorox reached a new all-time high last month, and has spiked some 35% in 2020. And a slew of private firms and startups touting disinfecting wands and other gadgets have also reported skyrocketing spikes in interest.



The public-facing displays of disinfecting efforts by companies have been dubbed "hygiene theater" in a recent The Atlantic article, which equated the showy presentations to the post-9/11 "security theater" phenomena, an endeavor that was slammed for focusing more on quelling peoples worries rather than actions that actually emphasized safety.

Is there a 'danger' in so-called hygiene theater?



Dr. Emanuel Goldman, a microbiology professor at Rutgers University and co-editor of the Practical Handbook of Microbiology, warned in a commentary published in the medical journal Lancet in July that the risk of catching COVID-19 from a surface has been "exaggerated" and became one of the major voices raising concerns over misdirecting resources to so-called "hygiene theater."



Goldman told ABC News that the "danger" of hygiene theater is that "it changes the focus from what will really protect you, and that is protecting what you breathe."



Obsessive cleaning in a pandemic is not necessarily a bad thing, Goldman clarified, especially for high-touch, high-traffic locations such as grocery store checkout lanes.



"When you start applying this strategy to the New York City subways for example, public school systems, then its starting to be a bad thing, because it's wasting limited resources," he said. "In the case of the New York City subways, it's not only a huge hit on their budget, its also a tremendous inconvenience on their transportation system to be shut down every night."



Earlier this week, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agency that runs the subway, issued a desperate plea for $12 billion in federal funding, warning that without it, all supplier contracts are in jeopardy.



Ken Lovett, a senior advisor to the chairman and CEO at the MTA, told ABC News in a statement that the MTA "resolved to do everything we could to keep our customers and heroic employees safe, and we continue to do that with round-the-clock cleaning and disinfecting of stations and rolling stock, piloting new methods like UV lights, anti-microbials and electrostatic sprayers, and requiring everyone in the system wear masks."



"Even while the subway fresh air exchange far exceeds the minimum rates required by the CDC for certain health care facilities and restaurants, we are tackling the aerosol issue by bringing new technologies to address the issue through the COVID Challenge and we will continue to respond in real-time to do everything we can to keep our customers safe," he added.



Goldman said that he also received an email recently from a teacher who read his research and told him her school board was planning on shutting the schools down one day a week for "deep cleaning."



"They have limited resources, thats going to cost a lot of money, thats going to cost time," he said. "I wrote the school board for her and miraculously, they listened to me, and redirected their budget to ventilation systems, because breathing is where you catch this disease."



Ultimately, high tech and pricey sanitizing equipment is not necessary in most cases, according to Goldman.



"Soap and water kills COVID," he said. "Ordinary alcohol kills COVID."



Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Childrens Hospital, told ABC News that so-called hygiene theater can be "really important" in certain circumstances -- such as healthcare settings or places where high-risk individuals live or work, where he says, "we want to do everything as much as possible to reduce transmission."



He added, however, that "these kinds of interventions are not absolutely appropriate for every setting."

What is the risk of catching COVID-19 from a surface?



Brownstein explained to ABC News that there was a "theoretical risk" that you could catch COVID-19 from a surface, but it is "probably not the predominant mode of transmission."



The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that "it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this isnt thought to be the main way the virus spreads."



The international World Health Organization says that fomite transmission is "considered a likely mode of transmission" for COVID-19, but adds that despite evidence that the virus can survive on surfaces, "there are no specific reports which have directly demonstrated fomite transmission."



The U.N. health agency also noted that people who come in contact with potentially infectious surfaces often also have close contact with an infected person, making distinctions between respiratory droplet and fomite transmission difficult to discern.



While there have been studies conducted in the past that show COVID-19 can live on surfaces, Goldman said that in real-world scenarios outside of a lab he found evidence of surface (or fomite) transmission of the virus "to be extremely weak."



"A lot of steps have to happen before you would get transmission of the virus from a surface," Goldman told ABC News. "First, you would have to have someone infected cough or sneeze on that surface. Next, you would have to have the individual touch that surface within I would say within the hour or two, and then without washing their hands in between touch their faces, mouth, ears or eyes."



He added that there is then a "presumed risk" of catching the virus that way.



"I dont want to misinform people," he added. "Hand-washing is still important. Proper hygiene is still important. That would be important even if there was no pandemic -- Thats what we should be doing anyways."

If not obsessive surface cleaning, where should efforts be focused?



Brownstein said that one of his biggest concerns with hygiene theater is that "it's just not sustainable."



"Were asking the population and industry to do a lot and at some point there is going to be pandemic fatigue," he added.



He noted that the more experts attempt to enforce these sorts of efforts around a theoretical risk, "the more chance people are just going to, basically, not want to implement them."



"We know that things like mask-wearing is so critical, lets focus on the handful of issues that we know are driving those transmissions," he added.



Similarly, Goldman told ABC News that, "the most important things that can be done is to wear a mask."



While hygiene theater has been largely welcomed by an anxious public, mask-wearing, what experts say is one of the best lines of defense against the spread, has become a flashpoint in the U.S.



Besides strict adherence to mask-wearing, both experts said social distancing, moving indoor activities outdoors, and improving ventilation systems are key for combatting the virus' spread.



Finally, Goldman said if you are entering a store or restaurant or elsewhere, don't look first to their hygiene theater routine for assurance. Rather, he recommends checking out if all of the workers and people are wearing masks, what socially-distancing measures are being implemented and even asking about ventilation efforts.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
While Tropical Storm Beta continues to dump rain on the area, Fort Bend County officials are working to mitigate potential flooding and ensure residents they are prepared for what could happen.

At a news conference Monday afternoon, County Judge KP George was joined by Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Flathouse and Drainage District Chief Engineer Mark Vogler to address possibilities associated with the storm.

Related: Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office prepares for National Night Out

We are constantly in contact with National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center and all our local communities, George said.

While Beta is a tropical storm, George reminded everyone that it does not have to be a hurricane to cause widespread damage. He cited Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 as a primary example.

Allison dumped more than 40 inches of rain in some areas and resulted in more than 30,000 people becoming homeless with 70,000 flooded homes and 2,744 homes destroyed. The storm caused more than $8.5 billion in damage and cost the lives of 41 people.

Related: Fort Bend County bond election update slated for Wednesday

We are preparing and prepared with whatever is heading to our county, Flathouse said. Every four to six hours we are making decisions. Over the next few days something is going to change. The storm can sit on us and grow. Currently as it rains outside we know that it is collecting  in our county.

Impacts have already been felt as the storm was supposed to reach the area on Sunday but, as Flathouse pointed out, the storm sat in the gulf for another full day.

As of 1 p.m., the slow-moving storm has sustained winds of 40 mph with gusts up to 55 mph. It is moving west-northwest about 6 mph along the Texas coast near Port Lavaca but is expected to turn east-northeast Tuesday morning and travel up the Texas coast back toward the greater Houston area.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect. A flash flood watch is in effect until 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22.

Up until yesterday conditions in Fort Bend County were pretty dry, Vogler said. We are (now) pretty saturated. Our channels are designed to handle this rain.

There is currently no reported flooding in the county.

In order to help keep Fort Bend County residents prepared, George urged residents to text FBCalert to 888777 to get emergency notifications from the county.

For more information, go to https://fbcoem.org.

rkent@hcnonline.com
UPDATED at 3:45 P.M. EDT on 2020-09-23

Members of Lao Christian communities are now working with central government officials to inform rural authorities of a law protecting the evangelical church in areas where harassment of Christians continues, Lao sources say.



The Law on the Evangelical Church, approved and signed into law on Dec. 19, 2019, allows Lao Christians the right to conduct services and preach throughout the country and to maintain contacts with believers in other countries. Lao churches must fund their own operations, however, and must obey other Lao laws, rules, and regulations.



To make the law more widely known, church members working in cooperation with the Interior Ministry and the Lao Front for National Construction held a seminar on Sept. 16 in the central province of Bolikhamxay, a church member in the province told RFAs Lao Service next day.



Only Christians living in the capital Vientiane and in other large cities were formerly acknowledged and respected by the general public, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity for reasons of personal safety.



But those living in rural areas were considered bad elements by other residents and by village authorities. Many Christians were abused, reeducated, evicted from their villages, arrested, and jailed--mainly because the local authorities did not understand Christians.



Now we hope that these meetings will improve understanding between the authorities and Christians, he said.



Seminars were also held last week in Bokeo and Savannakhet provinces, with similar meetings planned for other parts of the country in the near future, sources said.



The government has officially approved this law, a Christian pastor in Bolikhamxay said, also speaking on condition he not be named. At the meeting, we explained the law to the representatives of local authorities, and these representatives will pass the information along to other local officials, including authorities in the villages.



Before, we had a lot of problems. But now things will start to improve because local authorities and the general public everywhere are being made aware of the law, another local Christian said, while another church member voiced the hope that Christians will now have more rights and fewer restrictions and limitations.



Laos new law will be beneficial for the countrys Christians when it is more widely known, an official responsible for religious affairs in Savannakhet said.



Once it is understood, there will be less mistreatment of Christians because, like any other law, it will have to be respected, he said.



Reached for comment, officials at the Ministry of Interior declined to speak to RFA.



Cases of abuse still seen



Though improvements in religious freedom conditions were observed in Laos last year, cases of abuse were still seen in remote rural areas, the bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in a report released in May.



In recent years, the number of people arrested or detained for their religious practices has decreased, USCIRF said, adding that there were no reports in 2019 of central government authorities carrying out arrests, although there were several cases at the local level.



Ethnic Hmong families in Laos meanwhile remain objects of suspicion by authorities, with three families evicted from their homes and village in Luang Namtha provinces Tine Doi village earlier this year for refusing to renounce their Christian faith, sources told RFA in an earlier report.



On March 15, Lao pastor Sithon Thipavong was arrested by local officials for conducting unspecified religious activities in Kalum Vangkhea village in Savannakhet provinces Xonbury district, with no official explanation for his arrest ever released.



Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.

A previous version of this story incorrectly said pastor Sithon Thipavong had been sentenced.
Lafayette, La.  For outstanding contributions to the local community and state, Louisiana Economic Development honored LogoJET as a 2020 Louisiana Growth Leader at the virtual Spotlight Louisiana event on September 17, 2020. As an Honored Leader, LogoJET will join an accomplished group of Louisiana businesses under the Louisiana Economic Development Growth Network (LGN) program.

Through this esteemed network, LogoJET will continue to have access to strategic business resources that benefit both the organization and state of Louisiana. Among these are customized leadership retreats with other notable companies, recognition events, networking opportunities with fellow Louisiana Growth Leaders, educational opportunities, and additional technical assistance with the goal of accelerating the growth of Louisianas economy.

The following are LogoJETs key aspects that influenced its selection:

Global leader in UV printing innovations

World-class customer service and tech support

Earned three Specialty Graphic Imaging Associations Product of the Year awards for 2019 (UVx40R  Tabletop Flatbed Printer of the Year, UVx90R  UV/Latex Flatbed Under $70,000 Printer of the Year and H2 UV Inks  Digital Inks of the Year)

Industry trend-setter  latest example is three-year warranty

Company culture has emphasis on core values  teamwork, attention to detail, go theextra mile, solution-oriented, sense of urgency and knowledgeable.

The LogoJET team and I have appreciated the opportunity to work with LED through the years. They have been a wonderful resource and a part of our growth. I am so happy to be selected as an Honored Leader, said Susan Cox, CEO and founder of LogoJET. Our company, based in Lafayette, relies on our core values to excel as a world-leader in the world of UV printing. Our growth, even during the pandemic, is a testament to our hard work and ability to pivot quickly. I am proud of the LogoJET team and the products and company weve built right here in Acadiana.

More information about LogoJET can be found in the online publication - Louisiana's Entrepreneurial Engine (2020).
T he next stage in Meghan's legal action against the Mail's publisher over its publication of a private and confidential letter to her estranged father is due to be heard at the High Court.

The Duchess of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers (ANL), publisher of the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, over an article which reproduced parts of the handwritten letter sent to Thomas Markle, 76, in August 2018.

Sections of the letter were published in the newspaper and online in February last year, and it was announced the duchess would be bringing legal action in October.

A costs and case management hearing is due to take place before Master Francesca Kaye on Monday.

Last month, the duchess, 39, won the most recent tussle in the legal action / AFP/Getty Images

Last month, the duchess, 39, won the most recent tussle in the legal action after Mr Justice Warby ruled in her favour over protecting the identities of five friends who gave an anonymous interview to a US magazine.

The senior judge said he had concluded that for the time being at least Meghan should be granted an order which protects the identities of the individuals.

Meghans lawyers had applied for the five friends who gave an interview to People magazine to remain anonymous in reports of the proceedings.

ANLs legal team resisted the application.

In the People article, published in February last year, the friends spoke out against the bullying Meghan said she has faced.

Meghan, and her husband Prince Harry, have stepped back as senior royals / Getty Images

They have only been identified in confidential court documents.

Following the ruling last month, a source said the duchess was happy with the decision.

Meghan is suing ANL over five articles in total, two in the MoS and three on MailOnline, which were published in February 2019 and reproduced parts of a handwritten letter she sent to her father in August 2018.

The headline on the article read: Revealed: The letter showing true tragedy of Meghans rift with a father she says has broken her heart into a million pieces.

The duchess is seeking damages from ANL for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.

ANL wholly denies the allegations, particularly the duchesss claim that the letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning, and says it will hotly contest the case.
Business solutions provider, Transguard Group, has revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic has played a significant role in invigorating a wide range of digital transformation initiatives that have touched nearly every aspect of its operations.

Digital transformation has long been a priority for Transguard, but the challenges of the last six months have given our specific initiatives a new urgency that has accelerated our progress in a number of areas, explains Greg Ward, Managing Director.

Operations, training, welfare, logistics, payroll  all of these and more have benefitted from digital enhancements or completely new applications that improve customer experience and allow us to be even more efficient in how we deliver services, both internally and externally.

This eye toward efficiency has led to several new streamlined processes over the last few months, including a digital overhaul of Transguards room allocation process, which has allowed for more efficient accommodation assignments for site-based employees, who are also now deployed faster thanks to an enhanced rostering process that was also reengineered over the last few months, said Andrew Stinton, Director  Transformation.

The payslip generation process was also subject to an optimisation review during this time, with the result of a 1000% improvement in timelines for payslip generation, he added.

Transguards portfolio of self-produced apps also grew over the last six months; this started with the launch of a new app that was created to reduce paperwork in the companys chauffeur driver division.

The in-house produced app also tracks all trips, kilometres travelled, fuel cost per trip, photos and logs of any damage and even calculates the revenue per trip per day.

Also in the final stages of in-house development is a meal management app for Taste of Home, Transguards catering division: Once complete, anyone with a Taste of Home meal plan will be able to review upcoming menus, change their meal preferences and redeem meals using the apps ticketing feature.

Not only is the new app anticipated to improve the dining experience for Taste of Home subscribers (both in Transguards own accommodations and in other accommodations serviced by the catering company), the resulting efficiencies in the back office translate into significant hard savings.

Meanwhile, a new mobile app for technicians in Transguard Living, the consumer division of Transguard Group, introduced immediate improvement in terms of staff utilisation and travel time between jobs.

Also benefitting from the companys holistic approach to digital initiatives are Transguards award-winning training programmes, which saw instructors providing classes for both site and headquarters staff in Lean Six Sigma, customer service, financial literacy and other topics. All told, more than 1,600 Transguard employees attended virtual classes between March and August 2020.

Realising from the beginning of the pandemic that amplifying the frequency of communications (as well as the channels used) would be crucial to ensure not only smooth daily operations but also staff morale, Transguard launched a number of virtual well-being initiatives:

Since March, more than 20 online events, including quiz nights, Zumba classes and talent shows have been held online, and in some cases, were even broadcast live into socially distanced viewing areas in the accommodations.

Transguards annual Town Hall and awards events were also held virtually for the first time, with more than 600 headquarters employees logging in to the live sessions.

These included company updates, a live question and answer session with senior management, and a session dedicated to recognising the extraordinary efforts of individuals and business units who continually demonstrate excellence in all that they do.

While digital transformation is a journey that never ends, Transguard has accepted the challenges and obstacles of Covid-19 as opportunities to accelerate our growth in that direction, said Sam Currie, Senior Manager  Digital Transformation.

In fact, we are much further along that road today than we had anticipated at the start of the year. This is a great position of strength from which to face the challenges that continue to come at us from the pandemic. -- Tradearabia News Service
This is not a normal election.

The United States is in the midst of several overlapping crises, any one of which could have decided the race in previous years. The coronavirus pandemic has killed nearly 200,000 Americans and is still out of control. Protests against racial injustice continue across the country. And unemployment is near all-time highs.

Coming as they have simultaneously, these crises have made the prospect of a one-term presidency for Donald Trump a very real possibility the defeat of an incumbent president is something that has only happened four times in the past 100 years.

Faced with these historically unfavourable re-election prospects, the Trump administration has engaged in an unprecedented campaign to undermine the democratic process in an effort to stay in power.

Some of these efforts are taking place behind closed doors, some in the courts, and some out in the open. Together, they have the potential to play a decisive role in the outcome of this years election.

Mail-in ballots

Mr Trump has made unsubstantiated claims about election rigging for years, but until recently he had never identified mail-in ballots as a problem.

His first attacks began in April, at a time when the coronavirus pandemic sparked a dramatic increase in demand for mail-in ballots to protect against the spread of the virus.

Mr Trump said there was a tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, doesnt work out well for Republicans. Since then, he has repeatedly claimed without evidence that mail-in voting is vulnerable to fraud.

The Trump campaign, together with the Republican Party, has also launched litigation in several swing states to block the expansion of mail-in voting  most of which were state-led efforts to protect voters against the coronavirus.

It might seem counterintuitive for a president to attack a method of voting that is also used by his own supporters, but polls suggest that a far greater number of Democrats plan to vote by mail in Novembers presidential election.

According to a recent survey, more than one-third of Americans plan to vote by mail in November: 48 per cent of them plan to cast their vote for Joe Biden, and only 23 per cent for Mr Trump.

Any attempt to slow down, limit or block mail-in ballots, therefore, would likely benefit the president.

Snail mail

It was for that reason that Mr Trumps decision to block emergency funding for the US Postal Service caused such an alarm.

Last month, Mr Trump offered a frank explanation about why he was blocking emergency funding for the service in the next coronavirus stimulus bill.

They need that money in order to make the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots, he told Fox Business. But if they dont get those two items, that means you cant have universal mail-in voting, because theyre not equipped to have it.

Mr Trump has claimed that universal mail-in voting  which means anyone can request an absentee ballot  is susceptible to fraud, again, without evidence. His opponents, on the other hand, say his attacks are political.

I think the motivation is quite clear. Donald Trump sees mail-in balloting as a threat to his re-election, and so he's seeking to dismantle the post office, Eric Swalwell, a Democratic congressman from California, told The Independent.

Mr Trumps attacks on the USPS, in addition to sweeping changes made by the newly appointed postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, have raised concerns that the increased volume of mail-in ballots will not arrive in time to be counted on election day.

Mr DeJoy, a major donor to Mr Trump before he was selected by the Republican-led USPS board of governors, has defended his changes as essential cost-cutting measures and insisted that all election mail will be delivered on time.

But states have accused the postal service leadership of not helping them prepare for the expected surge in ballots.

Ballot boxes

These lawsuits and attacks have not been limited to mail-in ballots. Mr Trump has also frequently targeted ballot drop-off boxes  which voters can use to securely drop off their ballots at locations such as schools or libraries to be collected by election officials.

Mirroring his attacks on mail-in ballots, Mr Trump has claimed without evidence that ballot drop-off boxes are vulnerable to fraud and could lead to a rigged election. His campaign has sued to block their expansion in Pennsylvania and other swing states.

On Thursday, the Trump campaign lost that case, dealing a blow to efforts to limit non in-person voting in the state. Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, called the ruling a win for voters.

This case has always been about promoting safe access to the ballot for all eligible voters in the commonwealth, and the court understood the importance of lowering barriers to voting, he added.

But the cloud of confusion caused by the presidents false claims about mail-in voting could have an impact all on its own. For now, Mr Trumps stated aim for the USPS to be hobbled in its ability to handle those ballots appears to be working.

Voter confidence

Even if many of the Trump administrations attempts to suppress the vote are unsuccessful, they could still have a damaging effect on voter confidence and deter some people from voting.

The unprecedented attacks on the electoral process by the White House have prompted similarly unprecedented warnings from voting rights groups and monitors.

This year, for the first time in its history, the democracy promotion organisation founded by former president Jimmy Carter is conducting its first United States election mission.

The organisation said the move, which was first revealed by The Independent, was motivated by a growing realisation that the state of democracy in the US has been eroding.

We are now at a point where we have taken an institutional decision to explore some direct engagement on US election issues. And this is a departure from our whole history trying not to do that, David Carroll, director of the centres Democracy Programme, told The Independent.

The centre will focus its attention on public information efforts to address potential drop in voter confidence. Its something that other election monitoring experts are concerned about, too.

In the past, he added, the centre has prioritised countries where there is a significant potential for an important change in the quality of democracy, or where democracy is under severe threat.

Dame Audrey Glover, a veteran British human rights lawyer who led the 2016 US election mission for the democracy arm of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), recently told The Independent that voter confidence was absolutely essential for a free and fair election, and it was at risk.

I don't think there's ever been an election quite like this in the United States in recent memory. And one cant underestimate what might happen on election day, she said.

There have been a lot of allegations going around that one hasnt heard in the past, and I think this is worrying the confidence of the individual in the whole system, she said, in reference to questions over the integrity of mail-in ballots.

This lack of confidence in the system could deter people from voting, but it could also create a large number of disgruntled voters who do not trust the result, which would bode ill for US democracy.

Election day

American democracy is facing challenges the likes of which it hasnt seen before. Mr Trump now refuses to say whether he will leave the White House if he loses the election, and many serious observers fear he will attempt to interfere with the outcome.

Whether that happens depends on election day. Many Democrats believe the presidents attacks on mail-in ballots are a precursor to him attempting to stop them from being counted. Mr Trump may well command a lead in votes on election day, but Mr Bidens advantage with mail-in ballots  which take longer to count  might not be known for days.

It is possible that he will say, We should stop counting ballots because all those absentee ballots are illegitimate, Trevor Potter, president of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Centre and former Republican-appointed chairman of the Federal Election Commission, toldThe Washington Post.

If his supporters believe that, it would be false but unfortunate in terms of the country accepting the credibility of the final election results, he added.

Hillary Clinton, who lost to Mr Trump in 2016, suggested her former opponent was messing up absentee balloting in order to gain a narrow advantage in the Electoral College on election day.

Joe Biden should not concede under any circumstances, because I think this is going to drag out, she said in an interview on Showtime.

The only way to avoid such a scenario is a convincing victory either way. Specifically, a win for Mr Biden in Florida  which has dealt with huge numbers of mail-in ballots for years and has the capacity to post a result on election day  would all but grant him victory.

An unclear picture on election day would make all of Mr Trumps attacks on mail-in ballots extremely consequential.
The Data Protection Commission has been accused of an unacceptable lack of action concerning the behaviour of the online advertising industry, alleged to be the largest data breach ever recorded.

A new submission by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) to the DPC claims that the system of real time bidding, the dynamic process of auctioning advertising space as people browsed online, sees Irish peoples health condition, political views, and whereabouts analysed and sold in a dark data market.

The ICCL further claims that insufficient action has been taken on a complaint regarding real time bidding submitted to the DPC by its fellow, Dr Johnny Ryan, two years ago when he was working in the private sector.

The DPC officially opened an investigation into Google Irelands processing of personal data via its online Ad Exchange in May 2019 off the back of Dr Ryans complaint, first lodged in September 2018.

It said at the time that the purpose of the investigation is to establish whether or not the data processed by Google as part of its online advertising auctions is compliant with the EUs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Read More Teenagers recruited as money mules via social media

Extensive recent updates and correspondence on this matter, including a meeting, have been provided by the DPC, Graham Doyle, deputy commissioner with the Commission, said.

The investigation has progressed and a full update on the next steps provided to the concerned party.

The ICCL has alleged that real time bidding, which sees people marketed to via their recorded online actions, breaches Article Five of the GDPR, which requires that personal data be kept secure.

It is the biggest data breach ever recorded, leaking our secrets hundreds of billions of times per day, the Council said in a statement.

While Google, which is merely one of the largest purveyors of such marketable data, has become increasingly sensitive to accusations of data misuse in the past two years, the process of real time bidding remains incredibly lucrative to the tech giant.

In the third quarter of 2018, 87% of Googles total revenue came from advertising equating to about 20.4 billion.

In his and the ICCLs submission, however, Dr Ryan alleges that real time bidding has seen users personal data sold to companies involved in multiple other activities other than the mere sale of products.

It also claims that the system has seen the targeting of 1,200 Irish people profiled as belonging to a substance abuse category.

Other examples of such categories include those profiled under headings such as AIDS & HIV, STD, Chronic Pain, and Sleep Disorders.

Liam Herrick, the ICCLs executive director, dubbed the perceived delay in action by the DPC as being unacceptable.

Continued failure will further harm citizens and damage Irelands reputation, Mr Herrick said.

The DPC, as the one stop shop for regulating the many multinational tech companies headquartered in Ireland, has primary responsibility for monitoring and investigating the likes of Google and Facebook within Europe.

Two years after I formally notified the DPC about the real time bidding privacy crisis, my intimate data continues to be broadcast to countless companies through the RTB system. So does yours, Dr Ryan said.

His legal representative, international digital rights lawyer Ravi Naik, said the DPCs inaction has led to a blockage of enforcement against these practices across Europe.

This is an intolerable situation for such wide-scale abuses and the DPC needs to act for this illegal conduct to end, he added.
The 18th edition of Tirana International Film Festival (TIFF) 2020 kicked off on Saturday evening here in the Albanian capital at a time when the majority of cultural events are canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, TIFF organizers choose to hold the opening ceremony in an open space, at the Amphitheater of Tirana Artificial Lake.

According to Agron Domi, founder and director of the festival, a total of 230 films will be screened on the online platform of TIFF during Sept. 19-25.

Only 108 films of all categories and cinematographic genres, including those in the Albanian language, will participate in the competition ranging from fiction and live-action, animation, to documentary, experimental and video art.

The theme of this year's festival is "Picture your life, create the future".

According to Domi, the festival aims to nurture and educate future cinematic audiences with artistic films, and to draw the interest of the younger generation, whose attention nowadays is more focused on technology.

The festival was opened with Albanian film "My Lake", which is also the final work left by the film director, screenwriter and producer Gjergj Xhuvani, who died in August 2019.

The film paid homage to Xhuvani, one of the most valuable names in Albanian cinematography in the last 30 years.

All participating films will be evaluated by seven international juries comprised of leading film writers, directors, producers and critics.

Founded in 2003, TIFF is the only international film festival in Albania. Since its inception, TIFF has received over 30,000 short and feature films from over 120 countries and regions around the world including China. Out of all these applications more than 200 films can be chosen each year for the competition program.
Sadiq Khan today said he wants face masks worn in all London's public spaces in a 15-point coronavirus crackdown he thrashed out with council leaders.

The Mayor of London has also urged ministers to impose a 10pm curfew on all pubs and restaurants throughout the capital in a bid to 'reduce the amount of hours people spend with each other inadvertently passing the virus on'.

He blamed young people socialising in August for an 'exponential' increase in coronavirus cases after the Government's top scientists today claimed there could be 50,000 daily infections within a month unless draconian action is taken.

Speaking on Sky News today, Mr Khan hinted at further restrictions on people's lives in his 15-point coronavirus plan, including curbs at funerals and weddings, as he claimed the Rule of Six 'isn't by itself sufficiently slowing down the virus spreading'.

The mayor threatened to take 'additional measures' to suppress coronavirus as he called on Londoners to avoid public transport and work from home 'where possible'.

It comes as new data reveal that coronavirus infection rates in 20 London boroughs are higher than areas of England already hit by restrictions.

Mr Khan said in a statement today: 'The Government's Chief Medical Officer (Professor Chris Whitty) and Scientific Advisers made clear today that Covid-19 is now spreading exponentially, in all ages groups, across the UK.

'The evidence from elsewhere in the world, and what we know about this disease, shows that this will lead to hospitalisations and deaths without further action.

'Without adequate testing or contact tracing in London we have no choice but to look at other measures to slow the spread of the virus.

'I firmly believe that acting early, rather than having to impose more stringent measures later, is the right thing to do both for public health and the economy.'

The London mayor added: 'I know that many Londoners, like me, will be deeply frustrated at the likelihood of imminent new restrictions.

'Londoners have shown incredible resolve by steadfastly following the rules and doing the right thing - at great cost. However, taking firm action now to prevent a deeper and longer lockdown in the future is without a doubt the best thing to both save lives, and protect jobs and our economic recovery.'

Public Health England's most recent watchlist shows the authority in England with the lowest case rate considered an 'area of intervention' - the highest degree of concern - is Ribble Valley, with 18.3 cases per 100,000.

But Kensington and Chelsea, Enfield and Southwark, among others, have infection rates higher than that. Redbridge (34.2), Hounslow (32.5) and Barking and Dagenham (29.3) are the three worst-hit parts of the capital.

As the coronavirus crisis deepens:

Sage expert Professor Susan Michie warned the Government's plans to fine people up to 10,000 for failing to self-isolate could prove counter-productive and lead to 'resentment';

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps defended the way ministers have imposed measures without votes in the Commons as he said the 'need for speed' was required to tackle the threat posed by the virus;

Scotland's Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said six months is a 'more realistic' time frame for any new Covid-19 restrictions to be in place;

Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in health protection at the University of East Anglia, suggested a 'circuit break' new lockdown would only halt the Covid-19 surge temporarily;

Downing Street said the delayed NHS Covid-19 app being launched in England and Wales on Thursday will not provide the automatic contact-tracing ability that was first promised before the Department of Health insisted it will;

A further 10 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 29,757, NHS England said

A map showing the rate of infection per 100,000 people across London's 32 boroughs

London mayor Sadiq Khan today said he wants face masks worn in all of the capital's public spaces in a 15-point coronavirus crackdown he thrashed out with council leaders

Crowds gather in Soho, central London yesterday, where roads have been shut off for diners

Stables Market in Camden on the weekend, which was still attracting plenty of visitors

TomTom data showed roads in the capital were 36 per cent congested at 7am this morning compared to 41 per cent last week, suggesting some workers are wary of the increase in infection rates.

Despite the fall in traffic in London this morning, there was a slight increase in Tube journeys, with the number of tap-ins rising by two percent to 754,000. That was still just 33 percent of normal demand. The number of bus journeys remained the same.

It came as Sir Patrick Vallance today warned the UK faces 50,000 new daily cases of coronavirus by the middle of October and more than 200 deaths everyday by November if the spread of the disease is not brought under control.

The Chief Scientific Adviser gave the stark warning as Professor Chris Whitty said the UK has 'in a bad sense literally turned a corner' and that the nation needs to view the fight against the disease as a 'six month problem' over winter before science eventually can 'ride to our rescue'.

London boroughs where infection rates are higher than parts of England already hit by restrictions The other areas with higher infection rates than Ribble Valley are: Redbridge (34.2), Hounslow (32.5), Barking and Dagenham (29.3), Enfield (27.3) Newham (27), Ealing (26.9), Hackney (25.7), Tower Hamlets (25.5), Hammersmith and Fulham (24.8), Harrow (24.4), Havering (24.4), Kensington and Chelsea (23.7), Wandsworth (23), Brent (22.7), Haringey (21.4), Waltham Forest (21), Camden (20.6), Lambeth (20.6), Southwark (19.2) and Barnet (18.6). Advertisement

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has admitted the introduction of new lockdown restrictions in London within days cannot be ruled out in light of rising cases.

Across London as a whole, the rate of cases is reported to have increased in a seven day period ending early last week, from 18.8 per 100,000 people to around 25.

It's a rise of 33 per cent in one week - faster than the North East, which last week was hit by tougher restrictions to control the spread of the virus.

The number of cases per 100,000 has jumped up from 18.8 to around 25 in seven days amid schools re-opening and a drive to get people back into offices and pubs, data suggests. If it crosses over 50, a 'local lockdown' could be triggered, documents seen by The Evening Standard reveal.

And the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates 0.2 per cent of London's population - 18,000 people - are currently carrying the coronavirus, which is second only to the North West. For comparison, the rate in the North East is just 0.16 per cent.

Public Health England figures show Redbridge, a borough in the east of the city, has the highest Covid-19 infection rate at 34.2 and cases have risen in the authority for four weeks in a row. For comparison, the highest in England is 175.2 in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

It is followed by Hounslow (32.5) and Barking and Dagenham (29.3) - boroughs on two opposite sides of the city, suggesting spread is not just limited to one part of the capital. If they had been given 'area of intervention' status, the Government would support the implementation of a 'detailed action plan' to stop cases spreading.

The areas with higher infection rates than Ribble Valley are: Redbridge (34.2), Hounslow (32.5), Barking and Dagenham (29.3), Enfield (27.3) Newham (27), Ealing (26.9), Hackney (25.7), Tower Hamlets (25.5), Hammersmith and Fulham (24.8), Harrow (24.4), Havering (24.4), Kensington and Chelsea (23.7), Wandsworth (23), Brent (22.7), Haringey (21.4), Waltham Forest (21), Camden (20.6), Lambeth (20.6), Southwark (19.2) and Barnet (18.6).

Commuters - many wearing masks - walk across London Bridge into the City this morning

A quiet London Tube station this morning, amid warnings the capital could see new lockdown measures

Roads in the capital were 36% congested at 7am this morning compared to 41% last week, according to TomTom data

Tory MPs rebel over threatened new lock-down after rumours emerge Boris Johnson will shut pubs at 10pm - as serious questions are raised over Whitty and Vallance's doomsday claim that deaths could hit 200 a day by November Boris Johnson faced a mounting Tory rebellion tonight over plans to retighten the lockdown screw on hard-pressed Britons - including a curfew for pubs - amid serious questions over the figures used to justify new restrictions on freedom. The Prime Minister will convene an emergency Cobra committee meeting tomorrow before revealing his new lockdown plans to MPs after the Government's two top scientists warned there will be more than 200 deaths a day by November if the UK fails to slow the spread of coronavirus. His plans are believed to include a new 10pm curfew for the nation's drinking holes, but the plans faced a furious pushback from MPs. It came as Britain's coronavirus alert level was raised to four tonight, meaning meaning transmission of the virus is 'high or rising exponentially'. But there was also criticism of the country's top scientists, with questions being asked over their doomsday scenario picture of the next few months. Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance warned this morning that without action there will be 50,000 new daily cases of coronavirus by the middle of October. And Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said the UK has 'in a bad sense literally turned a corner' with rising rates of infection and that the nation needs to view the fight against the virus as a 'six month problem' before science eventually can 'ride to our rescue'. Advertisement

The only reason Ribble Valley has had any intervention is because health bosses in the North West called for a crack down before the outbreak spiraled out of control. The weekly infection rate for the whole of England is 33.8.

South London has escaped the current spike in cases, with the three boroughs with the lowest infection rates at present being Sutton (9.3), Bromley (11.8) and Bexley (12.1).

While data from only a few days ago suggested London was two weeks behind those areas, the latest modelling seen by Mr Khan was said to show the gap had closed to two or three days.

A mayoral source said: 'It's clear that cases in London are only moving in one direction, we are now just days behind hotspots in the North West and North East. We can't afford more delay.

'Introducing new measures now will help slow the spread of the virus and potentially prevent the need for a fuller lockdown like we saw in March, which could seriously damage the economy once again.'

Yesterday, Mr Hancock was asked on Sky News about comments from Mr Khan that restrictions in the capital were increasingly likely.

He said: 'I've had discussions this week with the Mayor of London, and the teams are meeting today to discuss further what might be needed.'

A mayoral source told HuffPost: 'It's clear that cases in London are only moving in one direction, we are now just days behind hotspots in the North West and North East. We can't afford more delay.

'Introducing new measures now will help slow the spread of the virus and potentially prevent the need for a fuller lockdown like we saw in March, which could seriously damage the economy once again.'

He is also said to be looking at the possibility of asking those who are able to work from home to do so.

There has been a toughening up of government rhetoric over Covid in recent days amid an upsurge in infections.

People in England who refuse an order to self-isolate could now face fines of up to 10,000.

Ministers will impose a new legal duty on people to self-isolate if they test positive or are told to do so by NHS Test and Trace after coming into contact with someone with the virus.

Those on lower incomes who face a loss of earnings as a result of going into quarantine will be eligible for a one-off support payment of 500 to help them cope financially.

With new cases of the infection doubling every week, Boris Johnson said the measures were necessary to control the spread of the virus and to protect the most vulnerable from becoming infected.

However they are likely to alarm some Conservative MPs already concerned at the wide-ranging powers being taken by ministers to curb the disease with little or no debate in Parliament.

The new regulations will come into force in England on September 28, although ministers are in discussion with the devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland about extending them UK-wide.

A single commuter leaves Bank Station in the heart of the City of London this morning

Oxford Street and Regents Street in central London were both largely deserted today

It follows a warning by Professor Neil Ferguson, of Imperial College London - whose modelling led to the original nationwide lockdown, that the authorities needed to act 'sooner rather than later' if they were to avoid a return to the infection rates of last March.

Ministers are still looking at further restrictions, including a temporary two or three-week 'circuit break' in an attempt to break the chain of transmission.

The move could see pubs and restaurants ordered to close or face a 10pm curfew, while socialising between households could be banned.

On Friday, the Prime Minister acknowledged the long-feared second wave of the pandemic affecting countries such as France and Spain had reached Britain and that more cases of the disease were 'inevitable'.

Announcing the new rules, Mr Johnson said: 'The best way we can fight this virus is by everyone following the rules and self-isolating if they're at risk of passing on coronavirus.

'And so nobody underestimates just how important this is, new regulations will mean you are legally obliged to do so if you have the virus or have been asked to do so by NHS Test and Trace.

'People who choose to ignore the rules will face significant fines. We need to do all we can to control the spread of this virus, to prevent the most vulnerable people from becoming infected, and to protect the NHS and save lives.'

Fines will initially start at 1,000 rising to 10,000 for repeat offenders and for 'the most egregious breaches' including those who stop other people from self-isolating, such an employer who requires a staff member to come into work in violation of an order.

The ONS said today London and the North West were the areas that appeared to have highest infection rates, based on swabbing of random people in private households - a better indication of where the outbreak is occurring

How regions' cases per 100,000 compare. London's is showing an uptick along with the North East and North West. The graphs come from Public Health England's surveillance report, published today

The penalties are in line with those for people who fail to quarantine for 14 days after returning to the UK from a country not on the list of low risk nations.

Officials said NHS Test and Trace would be in regular contact with individuals told to self-isolate and would report any suspicions that people were not complying to the police and local authorities.

Police will also check compliance in Covid-19 hotspots and among groups considered to be 'high-risk' as well as following up reports from members of the public of people who have tested positive but are not self-isolating.

Prosecutions could follow in 'high-profile and egregious' cases of non-compliance.

As with other coronavirus rules, there will be specific exemptions for those who need to escape from illness or harm during their isolation, and for those who require care.

Officials said just under four million people on benefits in England would be eligible for the support payments if they lose income as a result of being unable to go into work.

For Labour, shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds welcomed the 'belated' announcement of additional financial assistance.

'It shouldn't have taken months for the penny to finally drop that people on low incomes needed more help,' she said.

The latest announcement comes just days after the 'rule of six' - banning social gatherings of more than six people - came into force and will been seen as further evidence of the concern in Whitehall at the rate of spread of the disease.

On Friday, the Government announced tough new restrictions were being imposed in large parts of England's North West, West Yorkshire and the Midlands.

It means by Tuesday, when the measures come into force, around 13.5 million people in the UK will be living under some form of additional coronavirus controls.

Prof Ferguson said the country was caught in a 'perfect storm' following the easing of lockdown restrictions over the summer, and that swift action was needed to stop the virus spreading out of control.

'Right now we are at about the levels of infection we were seeing in this country in late February,' he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

'If we leave it another two to four weeks we will be back at levels we were seeing more like mid-March. That's clearly going to cause deaths because people will be hospitalised.

'I think some additional measures are likely to be needed sooner rather than later.'
Photo: The Canadian Press Alexandre Laberge-Ayotte attends a demonstration opposing measures to stop the transmission of COVID-19, in Montreal, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Quebec's COVID-19 case numbers hit their highest numbers since the end of May this weekend, but Alexandre Laberge-Ayotte wasn't worried.

Laberge-Ayotte and a handful of other protesters stood outside a Montreal subway station on Saturday, chanting "Liberty!" and waving Quebec flags in one of a number of demonstrations taking part around the province to protest mandatory mask wearing and call for an end to the government state of emergency aimed at fighting the pandemic.

This demonstration was small, with two dozen protesters or less. Others have been much larger, including one that took place a week earlier in Montreal that drew thousands of people.

But while the scope of the anti-mask movement remains unclear, choosing how to address the underlying sentiment poses a challenge to leaders struggling to maintain clear messages and public trust, according to several experts who spoke with The Canadian Press.

Maya Goldenberg, an associate professor of philosophy at University of Guelph whose research focuses on medical beliefs, says anti-mask sentiment is likely a symbol of a larger uncertainty "of what the pandemic will do to us in the long term."

"It becomes a thing to invest energy in, as a way to broadcast a sort of general discontent about how things are and how they might go," Goldenberg said in a phone interview.

Laberge-Ayotte, for his part, says he's not anti-mask, but rather "pro-choice."

He's calling for an end to the state of emergency, which he calls "disproportionate" to the situation. He is also skeptical of some of the numbers provided by the government, including those on deaths, and does not think the rising number of positive tests is concerning because he believes most cases are asymptomatic.

In fact, recent research indicates asymptomatic cases likely account for about 40 to 45 per cent of COVID-19 infections. Those patients can also transmit the virus to others for an extended period, "perhaps longer than 14 days," according to the review published this month in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Goldenberg said those who question public health officials or scientists on the effectiveness of masks or vaccines usually do so from a place of "broader mistrust" of the system as a whole.

Toby Fyfe, the president of the Ottawa-based Institute on Governance agrees.

"I think you see with the masks, it's sort of manifesting itself in terms of a broader discontent and a lack of faith or trust in those who ... tell us what they think we should do," he said.

Fyfe stresses that questioning government authority is nothing new, saying he remembers protests against mandatory seatbelt-wearing.

But he believes the process has been exacerbated by social media, which makes it easier for people to find others who share their own opinions and filter out others.

He points to the election of perceived "outsiders" such as U.S. President Donald Trump, as well as the rapid spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories, as examples of such mistrust.

This month's Montreal demonstration, for example, featured pro-Trump flags as well as numerous signs promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory, which is centred on the baseless belief that Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the "deep state" and a child sex trafficking ring.

The beginning of the pandemic led to a spike in public trust, judging by the sky-high approval ratings of politicians such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Francois Legault. Goldenberg, for one, is not yet convinced that the recent demonstrations are evidence that this trust has eroded.

What is clear, however, is that responding to it poses a challenge for leaders trying to unite a population in fighting the pandemic.

Legault, for example, has faced questions about why he allows the large protests to continue, despite the events exceed gathering limits and seemingly violate health advice.

Earlier this week, he said his government's plan was to continue to tolerate the demonstrations, unless they begin to affect public health. While he doesn't rule out imposing further rules in the future, he also spoke of the right to protest, as well as the dangers of amplifying a movement by attempting to shut it down.

"Do we want to make martyrs, quote-unquote, of these people?" he asked on Tuesday. "So there are pros and cons. It's not black and white."

Goldenberg said addressing protests is difficult for leaders, who need to try to correct misinformation without giving those who spread it more attention.

It's also been a challenge to convey clear and consistent messaging about the pandemic despite uncertainty surrounding the science, she said.

The government, for example, initially told the public that masks were not recommended as a tool to fight the pandemic, before later reversing that stance.

While there is no clear solution to countering mistrust and information, Goldenberg believes the best way to maintain public trust is to keep speaking to the public clearly and competently, as well as to admit when mistakes were made or when the research isn't clear.

"Honesty is usually the best way," she said.

"And support the public, because they're struggling right now," she added.
Amritsar:

Hitting out at Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh for terming them outsiders, founders of a pro-AAP NRI body on Monday said they were not bothered about the rival leaders statement and were ready to go to jail for their party.

The body Chalo Punjab also opposed Amarinders complaint to the Election Commission against them for campaigning for AAP in the poll-bound state.

We are not bothered what Amarinder says, even if we are jailed for supporting AAP, founders Joban Randhawa, Surinder Mavi and Jaskirat Mann said here.

They claimed they had the constitutional right to campaign in the state.

AAPs Toronto youth convener Randhawa claimed more than 35,000 NRIs would be campaigning in Punjab.

The second batch of NRIs from UK would be arriving at Amritsar on January 24 and they would take out a road show the same day, Randhawa said.

Amarinder is frustrated as NRIs have refused to support the Congress. He had visited USA and Canada to garner support but was not allowed enter the latters cities, Toronto and Vancouver, he said.

He told Amarinder that they own land in Punjab and he has no right to brand them outsiders.

NRIs were good as long as they funded Congress and SAD but pronounced terrorists if supporting AAP, Randhawa alleged.

AAPs Canada convener Mavi said Amarinder was scared of NRIs and he lodged the complaint after NRIs didnt support him.

The Congress leader has made a false claims in the media that 400 NRIs were coming to campaign for his party. If he can invite NRIs then what is the problem if we are supporting AAP, he said.

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YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian bestows highest awards and titles to representatives of different spheres  military officials, doctors, police officers, cultural figures, on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of Armenias Independence.

Photos by Hayk Manukyan

The President gives the awards based on the petitions submitted by the prime minister.

The awarding ceremony is taking place at the Presidential Palace and is attended by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and other top officials.

Today, on September 21, the Third Republic of Armenia is celebrating its 29th anniversary of Independence.

29 years ago the Armenian people said its decisive yes through a referendum to declare independence. 99,5% of voters voted in favor of Armenia being a democratic independent state outside the USSR. Two days later, on September 23rd, the Supreme Council declared Armenia an independent, sovereign republic.

The declaration of the newly independent Armenia gave the start of the Third Republic of Armenias history.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Only 27 restitutions have been announced so far, and just one object has been returned.

The Quai Branly funerary post, according to its museum label, was a gift from a French doctor and explorer who went on ethnological missions around Africa. But to Mr. Diyabanza and his associates, the museums contents are all the products of expropriation. As he said in the live-streamed speech before seizing the item, he had come to claim back the stolen property of Africa, property that was stolen under colonialism.

Mr. Diyabanza, who faces a separate trial in Marseille in November, said in the interview that fury had led him to remove the object in a spontaneous and unpremeditated act, and that he had chosen the post because it was easily accessible and not bolted in place.

Anywhere that our artworks and heritage are locked up, we will go and get them, he added.

Mr. Diyabanza is not alone in staging museum actions. On Friday, a London court found Isaiah Ogundele, 34, guilty on a harassment charge over a protest in a slavery-related gallery at the Museum of London. According to a statement from the museum, the demonstration took place in January in front of four African works on loan from the British Museum.

The worry among museum administrators and cultural officials is that such actions will multiply, wreak havoc inside museums and scuttle restitution talks between Europe and Africa.

Dan Hicks, a professor of contemporary archaeology at Oxford University and curator at the universitys Pitt Rivers Museum, which has extensive colonial-era holdings, described Mr. Diyabanzas intervention at the Quai Branly as a visual protest, tailored for social media, that involved a role reversal: a cultural object was being seized in Europe on behalf of people in Africa. He said the episode was about objects in museums and how we feel about them and raised questions about culture, race, historic violence, history and memory.

When it comes to the point that our audience feels the need to protest, then were probably doing something wrong, he added. We need to open our doors to conversations when our displays have hurt or upset people.
Mumbai, Sep 21 : Actress Payal Ghosh, who has levelled sexual harassment allegations against Anurag Kashyap, is all set to file a police complaint against the filmmaker here on Monday.

The complaint will be registered at Oshiwara Police Station.

"I will be reaching at Payal Residence at 8.00 pm and will proceed to Oshiwara police station about 8.30 to 9.00 pm for registration of crime," Payal Ghosh's advocate Nitin Satpute shared in a statement.

"Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi" actress Payal Ghosh has brought #metoo allegation against Anurag Kashyap. In an interview with IANS, Payal claimed that Kashyap stripped off in front of her and tried to molest her back in 2014.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were together for 20 years. Though the couple was thought to be deeply in love during much of their time together, theres no doubt their relationship was tumultuous. But how did it all begin? Well, in Hollywood, of course, when both of their careers were getting started.

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz |  Bettmann/CORBIS/Bettmann Archive

How Lucille Ball ended up in Hollywood

According to Ball and Arnazs daughter, Lucie Arnaz, the I Love Lucy actor new from a very young age that she wanted to be a performer. However, when she first moved to New York City in an attempt to break into show business, her acting teachers sent her home, they said she had no talent and her mother was wasting her money.

So Ball went back to her hometown (Jamestown, New York). But she kept acting.

She stayed in Jamestown a few more years and did plays here and there, Arnaz told the Television Academy Foundation. But she was always acting out, always pretending, always putting on little plays in the backyard, much like me when I was a kid, actually.

RELATED: I Love Lucy: Lucie Arnaz Says Her Mother, Lucille Ball, Wasnt Anything Like Her Beloved Character at Home

After a few years of that, Balls mother told her to go back to New York City to pursue her dreams.

Eventually, her mother said, Oh, go on. Go. You know you want to be back in New York. She helped her, she paid her way, and she became a model in New York.

Ball became a successful model for brands like Hattie Carnegie and the like and eventually became a Goldwyn Girl.

She went with the Goldwyn Girls and made a movie called Roman Scandals with Eddie Cantor, said Arnaz. And she was only out of work for 24 hours the rest of her life.

How Desi Arnaz ended up in Hollywood

In the same interview, Lucie Arnaz detailed her fathers road to Hollywood.

When Desi was young, he and his father had to flee Cuba after the Batista revolution.

My dad and his father escaped, with nothing, to Miami, where they had to start over again basically from scratch, she said. And he lived in Miami in a warehouse with Grandpa. And he killed rats with a bat, he said. It was rough. And he cleaned canary cages there for a while for a living.

Eventually, Desis father suggested he try to make money as a musician. And thats when things started to turn around.

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in I Love Lucy | CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

RELATED: Lucille Balls Mother-in-Law Told Her To Convert To Catholicism After Losing Two BabiesFive Months Later I Was Pregnant

Desi began playing in a local band and was discovered by Xavier Cugat. Eventually, he formed his own band. It was with this band that he introduced the conga line to the United States.

He became quite famous for that and playing the conga drum and doing this conga dance, the conga line, said Lucie.

Her father became so famous for the conga line that a club in New York was named after his contribution: La Conga. When Desi was playing at La Conga one night, Rodgers and Hart couldnt help but admire his performance. The next thing he knew, George Abbott was asking him to be in a Broadway show called Too Many Girls, which opened in New York in 1939.

How Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz met

After the shows run on Broadway, Too Many Girls headed to Hollywood to be made into a film. And who happened to be starring in the film but none other than Lucille Ball herself.

It was in Hollywood where he met my mother who was cast to play the ingenue in the movie, said Lucie. They married six months later.

Too Many Girls: Richard Carlson, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Hal LeRoy, Eddie Bracken, 1940 |LMPC via Getty Images

While Ball has admitted that her marriage to Desi was long, she says it wasnt disastrous.

The marriage wasnt good, it was just long, she told The Washington Star in 1980. But it wasnt disastrous. Because you cant have two beautiful children and call it disastrous.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 00:17:01|Editor: huaxia

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BEIRUT, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The chief of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Monday warned against increased tensions between Lebanon and Israel amid Israeli warplanes' continuous violations against Lebanon's airspace, the National News Agency reported.

"In recent days, UNIFIL has recorded a large number of air violations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)," said Stefano Del Col.

Asking IDF to stop violating Lebanon's airspace, he noted such violations escalate tensions and could trigger incidents endangering the cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel.

These violations contradict UNIFIL's objectives and undermine the agency's efforts to reduce tensions and establish a stable security environment in southern Lebanon, Del Col added. Enditem
The doctor at the centre of Northern Ireland's biggest ever patient recall has left his position at the Belfast Trust, it has been reported.

In 2018, almost 3,000 patients were recalled as part of a probe into the work of Dr Michael Watt at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital.

While he had stopped seeing patients due to restrictions placed on him, he remained an employee of the trust. Last year he had applied for retirement on medical grounds.

The Irish News on Monday, reported he was no longer employed by Northern Ireland's largest health trust. Although the trust refused to state when he left or on what terms, citing data protection laws.

The paper also reported the inquiry into the scandal has resumed face-to-face interviews. Richard Pengelly, permanent secretary at the DoH, established the Independent Neurology Inquiry into neurology services at the Belfast Trust in May 2018.

Almost 200 people - including health staff and patients - are thought to have contributed so far with around 30,000 new papers of evidence submitted.

The inquiry team said it was now at a "sensitive and critical stage in the consideration of its terms of reference".

Dr Michael Watt worked at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital for 20 years. As a neurologist he worked with people with conditions such as epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease and Parkinson's. Concerns about potential misdiagnoses of his patients were formally raised in December 2016 by a GP.

The Belfast Trust said that patient safety measures were immediately put in place which included restrictions on aspects of Dr Watt's practice.

Over 3,000 patients were recalled to attend appointments in 2018. The neurologist was subsequently suspended by the General Medical Council in November 2019.

A report into the recall, published in December 2019 by the Department of Health (DoH), found that more than 20% of these patients were misdiagnosed, while a further 329 patients were given "uncertain" diagnoses.

It's thought payouts for compensation could be among the highest in UK medical history.

Earlier this year it was reported 231 litigation cases relating to the treatment suspended neurologist Dr Michael Watt provided to his patients have been laid against the trust.

In February the first compensation case relating to Dr Watt had been paid out. It was settled outside of court without an admission of liability, however the individual who brought the case was a private patient of the neurologist and was not involved in the patient recall.

The Department of Health is considering a compensation scheme in order to try and progress payments earlier than through the court process and in the hope of minimising distress.

A spokeswoman for the department said it "can also take years to develop, secure the necessary approvals and implement".

"It is for this reason that the department had been examining the alternative of significantly streamlining the civil litigation process. In the meantime, all claims received to date in respect of the care provided by the consultant neurologist are progressing under the standard arrangements for health service litigation claims."

Dr Watt has said he recognised the "distress these events have caused" and offered "sincere sympathy" to those affected.

In October last year, the then chief executive of the trust, Martin Dillon, sent a letter to former patients caught up in the recall to apologise for the distress they have experienced.

He said: "I also recognise that for some people the outcome of [further] tests may have resulted in deep distress and I am acutely aware of the impact of that news. For that, I am truly sorry."

The Belfast Trust confirmed to the Belfast Telegraph Dr Watt was not longer an employee. It said it had nothing further to add.
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) president Mamata Banerjee on Monday called suspension of eight Rajya Sabha MPs, including ywo from her party, over Sundays chaos in the House unfortunate.

Banerjee further vowed to fight the fascist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Parliament and on the streets. Suspension of the eight MPs who fought to protect farmers interests is unfortunate and reflective of this autocratic governments mindset that doesnt respect democratic norms and principles. We wont bow down and well fight this fascist government in Parliament and on the streets, Banerjee tweeted.

TMCs Derek OBrien and Dola Sen were among eight opposition MPs suspended for a week by Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Monday for unruly behaviour with deputy chairperson Harivansh Narayan Singh a day ago. Congress Rajeev Satav, Syed Nasir Hussain and Ripun Borah, Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) Sanjay Singh, and CPI(M) leaders KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem are six other members of the House who have been suspended for a week.

The suspensions came after the dramatic scenes in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday, as opposition leaders, with TMCs OBrien at the forefront, stormed the well of the House to protest against the passage of the two of the three contentious farm bills introduced by the Narendra Modi government.

Farmers in both Punjab and Haryana have taken to streets against the bills, alleging that these would lead to dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system. However, the government, including Prime Minister Modi, has repeatedly assured the farmers the MSP system will not be withdrawn.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 01:50:14|Editor: huaxia

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JERUSALEM, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Ministry of Health declared a state of emergency in all hospitals on Monday after the recent abnormal rise in COVID-19 morbidity and overload of the wards.

In a letter to hospital chiefs, a copy of which was seen by Xinhua, Hezi Levi, director-general of the ministry, warned that the Israeli health system is expected to hit capacity limit within weeks or even days.

Within 10 days there will be additional 200 to 300 COVID-19 patients in serious condition, including ventilated ones, Levi noted.

On Monday, the number of COVID-19 patients in serious condition in Israel reached a record 651, out of 1,348 patients currently hospitalized.

"As in emergency, I expect hospital managements to take part in the national effort to deal with the expected morbidity load," Levi wrote.

He also announced the setting up of a national operation headquarters, which will operate around the clock, supervise all hospitals' COVID-19 activity and provide solutions to problems arising in the hospitals. Enditem
The Reichstag building which houses the Bundestag (lower house of parliament). Photo: TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images

The German economys recovery from the impact of coronavirus is likely to slow somewhat for the remainder of the year, according to the Bundesbank.

In its monthly report today, the central bank said that economy is gradually recovering from the severe slump caused by the pandemic lockdowns earlier in the year.

The successive easing of restrictions on economic and social life led to the economy picking up strongly from May 2020, the central bank said.

However, it noted that in the remainder of the year the recovery may continue but lose momentum.

In the industrial sector, companies are again looking more optimistically to the future, the Bundesbank said. However, expectations regarding exports are still cautious, and the inflow of orders has noticeably lost its upwards momentum recently.

READ MORE: German investor morale brightens in September

The ZEW economic-sentiment index climbed 5.9 points in September from August, to 77.4 points, showing that investor morale in Germany was on the up.

ZEW president Achim Wambach noted that the rise shows finance-market experts continue to expect a noticeable recovery of the German economy.

Stalled Brexit talks and rising COVID-19 cases could not dampen the positive mood, Wambach said in a statement. However, the still-negative outlook for the banking sector reveals fears of a rising number of loan defaults in the coming six months.

German GDP contracted by 9.7% in the second quarter of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. The government recently revised its forecast for 2020 to a decline of 5.8%, after previously forecasting a 6.3% contraction.

The government has now slashed its tax revenue forecast for next year and has committed to additional borrowing in 2021. Finance minister Olaf Scholz told Reuters that the economy wont return to pre-crisis levels until the start of 2022.

Germany is unlikely to need to have a tough national lockdown like the one in spring, but the country is also experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases.

READ MORE: Germanys top virologist doesn't envisage a second national lockdown
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  A growing number of cities across the U.S. are creating committees and task force panels aimed at discussing racial tensions and confronting the past.

From Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Clemson, South Carolina, towns and municipalities recently have formed committees to deliberate the future of debated Confederate and Spanish colonial monuments or address systemic racism in police departments.

In some communities, religious leaders are forming their own racial healing committees to devote attention to racism. Phoenix Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Olmsted announced in July to formations of the Racial Healing and Reconciliation Commission in the Diocese of Phoenix to identify where bias and prejudice cause injustice and offer recommendations.

The mostly volunteer committees seek to have honest  and sometimes emotional  discussions about their cities' past around race and vow to propose ideas to create more inclusive environments.

In Albuquerque, the Race, History & Healing Project is trying to determine what the city should do with a statue of a Spanish conquistador on the grounds of the Albuquerque Museum. Some Native Americans find the image offensive while Hispanic residents who trace their families' lineage to early Spanish settlers say the statue is a reminder of their own struggles.

But in June, a demonstration against the statue turned violent after a Hispanic defender shot a demonstrator. The protester survived but the city removed the statue and put it in storage.

This month, the Town Council of Fairfax, California, formed a Racial Equity and Social Justice Committee to focus on dismantling and eradicating systemic and individual racism, bigotry, and discrimination in the town of 7,500 people. Fairfax police will take part in planned Zoom meetings.

Meanwhile, city councilors in Bremerton, Washington, voted 5-2 in July to form a similar committee to address racial inequities in the city of 41,235 people. The committees creation was praised by Black and Asian American advocates. But at least one city councilor, Pat Sullivan, criticized its formation as exclusionary.

If I saw a gang, and most gangs are Hispanic or African American, if I saw a gang come and spray paint on the side of my neighbors house, which happened like five years ago, am I going to feel comfortable to come to a race equity advisory committee because Im white and theyre a different color? Sullivan said, according to the Kitsap Sun. The comment drew strong rebuke.

Hakim Bellamy, Albuquerques Cultural Services deputy director and the citys former poet laureate, said dozens of people in New Mexicos largest city so far have participated in the Race, History & Healing Project. Diverse groups of residents have joined Zoom gatherings, one-on-one talks and took part in surveys.

Michelle Otero, another former Albuquerque poet laureate, has led some discussions as a facilitator. She described the gatherings as very intense as participants work to see the world through other peoples eyes. And she said everyone may not agree on what to do with the disputed Spanish conquistador statue but they are talking to each other.

This conversation is 400 years in the making, Otero said. We are still living with the consequences of the actions by our ancestors.

-- The Associated Press
New Delhi, Sep 22 : A bill which proposed protection to frontline workers, including healthcare professionals, was passed on late Monday night proceedings of the Lok Sabha with a voice vote and support from all political parties. The Bill was passed a few minutes before 12 O'clock.

Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Saturday, seeks to bring a law that punishes those who attack health workers or doctors who are fighting the coronavirus outbreak or during any situation similar to the current Covid-19 pandemic.

The Bill seeks amendment to the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. It will replace the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) ordinance, 2020 which was promulgated by the President on April 22 this year in order to provide protection to health care service personnel, their living premises as well as their workplaces against any violence during the course of a pandemic.

The draft legislation provides for up to five years in jail for those who attack doctors and health care personnel. The legislation intends to make sure that there is an attitude of zero tolerance towards violence against people working in the healthcare sector.

The service personnel who will be protected under the new legislation include "public and clinical healthcare service providers such as doctors, nurses, paramedical workers and community health workers; any other persons empowered under the act to take measures to prevent the outbreak of the disease or spread thereof; and any persons declared as such by the state government, by notification in the official gazette." Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab questioned the Centre's decision to bring an amendment to the Epidemics Diseases Act, and said: "Why not bring a new Bill in 2020?"

"There is a need to give protection not just to health workers but also to the police," Mahtab added.

Shiv Sena's Shrikant Eknath Shinde and JD-U MP Kaushalendra Kumar participated in the debate on the Centre's Epidemic Diseases Amendment Bill, 2020 and supported the proposed legislation.

Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel criticised those who attacked the healthcare workers at a time when they were protecting the lives of people during the Covid-19 crisis at a cost of risking their lives.

RLP leader and MP from Nagaur in Rajasthan, Hanuman Beniwal, and Congress leader of the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said this bill should be sent to the Standing Committee and bring comprehensive legislation after proper consideration.

In his concluding remark, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan assured the House that the Central government is not just waiting for "act of God" in fight against Covid-19 but also working round-the-clock in the direction to get solution, and confident that a vaccine will be available to the countrymen in the beginning of the next year anytime.

The Minister's response came in a reply to an MP who alleged the government of waiting for act of God in fight against the disease which on Monday inched closer to 55 lakh-mark in India with a total of 54,87,580 cases in 235 days since the first case was reported on January 30.

"We are not believing in the act of God. I had told in my speech (in the House) yesterday about the government's step for (Covid-19) vaccine. We are very confident that the vaccine will be available to the people of our country at the beginning of the new year," the Minister said.

In his over-half-an hour address, Harsh Vardhan lauded the effort of various corona warriors, saying: "We are fighting this war with the help of lakhs of corona warriors." He also praised each mother who sent her son in war against the coronavirus pandemic. "There is not a single incident in which any mother stopped her son in participating in the war against the disease." If any damage is done to clinical establishments, quarantine and isolation facilities of patients, mobile medical units or any other property associated with healthcare personnel during a pandemic, penal provisions can be provoked.

Penalties ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,00,000 can be slapped on any individual who is involved in commission or abetment of such acts of violence. It can also be punishable in the form of an imprisonment for a term of three months to five years.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
BRIDGEPORT  A pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on Laurel Avenue Sunday afternoon, according to officials.

Scott Appleby, director of the citys emergency communications department, said a man in a wheelchair was hit at 3:39 p.m. He said the vehicle fled the scene.
Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accepted the invitation of his Mongolian counterpart, Nyamtseren Enkhtaivan, to visit Ulaanbaatar

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2020) Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accepted the invitation of his Mongolian counterpart, Nyamtseren Enkhtaivan, to visit Ulaanbaatar.

"In conclusion, the [Mongolian foreign] minister invited me to visit Ulaanbaatar once again. I will try to make it with pleasure," Lavrov said at a joint press conference following the talks with Enkhtaivan.

The Russian diplomat also said that the negotiations confirmed the mutual determination to promote partnership between the two countries in all areas, without exception.

The Mongolian minister, in turn, thanked the Russian side for the friendly reception of the Mongolian delegation and expressed confidence in the further fruitful cooperation between the two countries.

The two ministers held talks in Moscow to discuss bilateral, regional and international cooperation, as well as to exchange views on preparations for joint events marking the upcoming celebration of the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Mongolia in 2021.
Hali Fisher, 24, waits in line to vote at Riverside High School, 1615 E. Locust St. in Milwaukee on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. The Wisconsin primary is moving forward in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic after Gov. Tony Evers sought to shut down Tuesday's election in a historic move Monday that was swiftly rejected by the conservative majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court by the end of the day.

A federal judge in Wisconsin on Monday sided with Democrats in a wide-ranging ruling that will allow an extra week for absentee ballots to be counted. The ruling will also extend the deadline for online and mail-in registration and ease the rules for hiring election workers.

District Judge William Conley wrote that the deadline extensions were necessary, given the Covid-19 pandemic, to protect the right of Wisconsin citizens to vote, and said that not doing so would lead to the "near certainty of disenfranchising tens of thousands of voters relying on the state's absentee ballot process."

Wisconsin is one of several states likely to be crucial to the outcome of the race between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden that is seeing an onslaught of election-related litigation tied to the global health crisis.

Conley's ruling extends the deadline for absentee ballots to be received to Nov. 9 if they are postmarked by Nov. 3, which is Election Day. It moves the deadline for voter registration by a week, from Oct. 14 to Oct. 21, and temporarily scraps a state law requiring election officials to be registered voters in the county where they serve.

Conley paused his ruling from going into effect for one week, citing the likelihood that it will be appealed, and said that "NO voter can depend on any extension of deadlines for electronic and mail-in registration and for receipt of absentee ballots unless finally upheld on appeal."

The order came in connection with four consolidated lawsuits between a number of organizations, including the national Democratic and Republican parties. Republicans urged the court to keep the existing absentee ballot deadline in place, while Democrats pushed for the extension.

A similar battle over absentee ballots played out ahead of Wisconsin's elections in April, escalating all the way to the Supreme Court, which sided with the GOP.
Police officers block a street leading to a condo building related to an investigation into the ricin-filled envelope sent to the White House, as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives team checks the area in Longueuil, Quebec, Canada on September 21, 2020. (Reuters/Christinne Muschi)

Canada Police Say Six Ricin-Filled Letters Sent to U.S., Including to White House

LONGUEUIL, QuebecCanadian police on Monday searched an apartment in a Montreal suburb that is linked to the woman arrested for sending a ricin-filled envelope to the White House and to five other addresses in Texas, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said.

U.S. authorities arrested a woman at the U.S.-Canada border near Buffalo, New York, on Sunday on suspicion that she sent the deadly poison by mail, addressed to the White House. The woman has joint Canadian and French citizenship, two sources said on Monday.

We believe a total of six letters were sent, one to the White House and five to Texas, RCMP officer Charles Poirier said outside the modern brown and grey building where the search was taking place. We cant confirm that she lived in (the apartment), but it is connected to her.

Police investigators walk past a condo building related to an investigation into the ricin-filled envelope sent to the White House, as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives team checks the area in Longueuil, Quebec, Canada on September 21, 2020. (Reuters/Christinne Muschi)

Poirier could not say where in Texas the envelopes were mailed, but the police department in Mission, Texas, received a suspicious letter within the last week, Art Flores, a spokesman for the department, said. The department did not open the envelope and turned it over to the FBI, he said.

Flores also said the Mission police had arrested the woman now believed to be held in Buffalo in early 2019, but said he did not have records related to the arrest and referred further inquiries to the FBI.

The womans name has yet to be released.

The FBI is investigating several suspected ricin letters sent to law enforcement and detention facilities in South Texas, a U.S. law enforcement source told Reuters.

So far they have not found any link to political or terrorist groups, but the investigation is ongoing, the source said.

The RCMPs special Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives team is leading the operation, the RCMP said.

On Saturday, the RCMP confirmed the White House letter had apparently been sent from Canada and said the FBI had requested assistance.

The envelope was intercepted at a government mail center before it arrived at the White House.

Ricin is found naturally in castor beans but it takes a deliberate act to convert it into a biological weapon. Ricin can cause death within 36 to 72 hours from exposure to an amount as small as a pinhead. No known antidote exists.

By Christinne Muschi

From Reuters
WASHINGTON, Wash. - A solemn procession of ordinary Americans, many of them mothers with daughters in tow, left flowers, cards and tributes scrawled in chalk Monday as they publicly mourned the death of U.S. Supreme Court icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Matthew Kronzek, of Washington, D.C. takes a photo at the Supreme Court as people honour the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, in Washington. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Cliff Owen

WASHINGTON, Wash. - A solemn procession of ordinary Americans, many of them mothers with daughters in tow, left flowers, cards and tributes scrawled in chalk Monday as they publicly mourned the death of U.S. Supreme Court icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Across the street on Capitol Hill, in stark contrast to the peaceful, sun-dappled memorial growing outside the high court's front steps, a titanic political battle was taking shape over Republican efforts to confirm her successor before the November election.

"A lot of us would sit around and have Ginsburg parties, where we would read her dissenting opinion, because we knew it was going to be that awesome," said Yolanda Trotman, a lawyer and former judge from Charlotte, N.C.

Trotman scrambled to find colleagues to take over her cases so she could hop a flight to D.C. and visit the court in person in order to mark the memory and legacy of the diminutive legal giant known simply as RBG.

"It was really emotional for me, just knowing the enormity of not just the loss for the legal community, but what it means for a generation," she said.

"It establishes how important elections are, because this"  she gestured at the court's towering alabaster columns behind her  "is one of the reasons why elections have consequences."

Like many who turned up Monday, Trotman described feeling dismay at how quickly the news about Ginsburg's death Friday at the age of 87 turned into a political clash over a succession process that promises to change the shape of the court for a generation.

President Donald Trump, reportedly eager to add another conservative jurist to the court, promised Monday to name his nominee before the end of the week.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to ensure a vote on that nominee before the end of the year.

"The Senate has more than sufficient time to process a nomination," McConnell said on the floor of the chamber Monday. "History and precedent make that perfectly clear."

Democrats, meanwhile, are promising to fight tooth and nail to ensure Ginsburg's ultimate successor is nominated and confirmed after the Nov. 3 presidential election.

They point to the fact that in 2016, after the death of Antonin Scalia  a conservative Supreme Court judge who forged an unlikely bond of friendship with Ginsburg  Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham argued unequivocally that it would be up to the next president to name a replacement. "Use my words against me," Graham famously said.

"Same scenario, but this time the benefit is for (Republicans), and not for the American people," Trotman said. "The American people have a right to determine who's going to sit in that seat based on who they elect on November the 3rd."

Canadians, meanwhile, could be excused for wondering why the process of nominating Supreme Court members seems less politically fraught in their country than it is south of the border.

That's in part thanks to the U.S. constitution, which ensures the American judiciary is a coequal branch of government, along with Congress and the White House, said Melissa Haussman, a political science professor at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Indeed, politics and justice are joined at the hip at the U.S. state level, where the vast majority of judges run for office and are elected.

The U.S. court has had judicial review powers over congressional law and presidential actions since 1803, as well as the ability to pass judgment on the constitutionality of state actions, she said.

It wasn't until the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms that the court's Canadian counterpart found itself with similar powers, Haussman said.

None of that means, of course, that politics don't enter the picture in Canada. It just tends to happen behind the scenes, rather than under a public spotlight.

"I don't think that that plays out necessarily on the floor of the House of Commons the way it plays out in these televised hearings of the U.S. Senate, and then in public debate. The nature of the process is very different."

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Outpourings of grief are another point of distinction.

Kathleen Miller and friend Kristen Krzyzewski, both having travelled from Baltimore to hold vigil in Ginsburg's name, appeared close to tears as they contemplated the fallout from the coming political fight.

Miller pointed to Ginsburg's friendship with Scalia, ideological polar opposites though they were, as a model for the nation.

"We need to get back to the relationship that that they had, we need to get back to that type of civility where we can have differences of opinions," she said.

"They voted in life-changing ways, and they were still really good, solid friends. We need someone that's going to help us to come back to that civility, really, because it's there. It's underneath. We all just want to start healing from so many different things that are happening in our country, in our nation and our world."

Sept. 21, 2020.
If nominating the next Supreme Court Justice were up to me, a nobody, and that nominee had to be an arch-conservative, I'd pick Republican Ted Cruz, the junior Senator from Texas.

I guess you could say I'm a fan of unnecessary hypothetical political questions. Here's another one: who would I put on the Supreme Court if I could select anyone? The answer: Beyonce. But, sadly, we don't live in the best timeline.

No, we live in the timeline where the GOP has the historic opportunity to tilt the Supreme Court towards a six to three conservative majority.

And Cruz is qualified for the position, that's for sure. Once upon a time, he was a graduate of both Princeton and Harvard Law School and clerked for Chief Justice William Renquist. From 2003 to 2008 he was Solicitor General of Texas. Nowadays, however, he's more about the retweets.

And that's exactly why I support him. He'll spend his time trolling progressives, not doing the work.

For instance: last week, on Sept. 11 of all days, Cruz had time in his day to jokingly tweet that "many liberal males never grow balls," according to The Hill. Cruz was responding to a The Daily Caller story reporting on The Daily Show's Trevor Noah making fun of gender reveal parties.

A few days before his genital organ tweet, Cruz was on a list of potential Supreme Court nominees cobbled together by President Donald Trump, his former political rival who once insulted Cruz's wife, according to USA Today. The list also included Sen. Tom Cotton and Judge Amy Coney Barrett. At the time the list seemed like a political stunt, the White House's attempt to deflect from a rising pandemic death toll and dropping polls.

Maybe it was. But then the unthinkable happened. This past Friday, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 87.

Justice Ginsburg was a great American. A cultural icon, a feminist pioneer and a serious jurist who will be remembered for her commitment to equality and justice. Her death is a tragedy, but that's just my opinion.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised to rush a vote on the next Supreme Court Justice, after the President nominates one. In 2016, both he and his colleagues, including Cruz, stalled a Supreme Court vote because it was an election year. But that was then, and this is now. When you're in power, you get to make and break promises.

If her vacant seat is destined to be filled by a conservative, then it should be Ted Cruz, because he is an unserious man. Or, rather, Ted Cruz is serious about Ted Cruz. I fear fanatics. I prefer cynics and opportunists.

My hope is Cruz would do for the Court what he has done for Texas. Which is mostly use the job as a springboard to more lucrative media projects.

Cruz isn't just a powerful U.S. Senator, which you think would be enough. He's also the host of the podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz and the author of the forthcoming book One Vote Away: How A Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History. I don't know if he's said anything particularly memorable on the Senate floor recently but he does love starting Twitter beef with people like Mark Cuban.

I want him nominated because that's what we'd have to look forward to from Justice Cruz. Sick burns and hot takes on social media. Like many of his conservative colleagues, including the President of the United States, he seems to want to be Tucker Carlson.

Cruz is on the record saying he doesn't want to sit on the Supreme Court. But a little nudge and I think he might reconsider. Especially when he learns that I, a small potato, would nominate him for the Supreme Court over Arkansas Sen. Cotton, who is a little bit too much Judge Dredd for my tastes.

Federal appeals court judge Amy Coney Barrett is the most likely real-world Trump nominee for the Supreme Court. She is a protege of legendary conservative justice Antonin Scalia and has questioned Roe v. Wade and Obamacare's birth control mandate. I would not choose her because she seems like she'd be a competent conservative justice.

I don't want a conservative who is good at their job on the Supreme Court. I want Ted Cruz. He'd do the least harm because he'd be too busy writing articles for Fox News to assemble boring legal opinions.
MUMBAI : Amid growing tension with China, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will revisit its 5G trial strategy and look at the applications submitted by vendors supplying such technology, the company Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Pravin Kumar Purwar said on Monday.

In September 2017, the state-owned telecom operator had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China-based telecom equipment manufacturer, ZTE, to work on 5G wireless technology for research and knowledge-sharing purposes.

Tensions between India and China escalated in June, when 20 soldiers of the Indian Army were killed in a clash with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. Since then, the government has taken several steps to bar trade with the neighbour, including the ban on more than 200 Chinese applications.

Only a handful companies  Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung, ZTE and Huawei  supply 5G gear, a state-of-the-art technology. The last two are Chinese.

What BSNL expects from the govt

Purwar said the committee headed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) member (Technology) recently submitted its views on fourth-generation 4G spectrum allocation and he expects the government to soon allot 4G radio airwaves to BSNL.

We expect the government will finalise the recommendations so that 4G can be allotted," Purwar said. BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) do not have 4G spectrum. BSNL provides 4G services using high-end Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) in certain circles.

The telco has identified 14 assets for monetisation as part of the governments revival plan for BSNL and MTNL. Of the 14, 11 assets worth 18,000 crore have been approved by the management for monetisation in the next one year, Purwar said.

50% of assets to be monetised

This is a big challenge and task for us. Last six months have been a challenge due to the covid-19 pandemic. We expect at least 50% of the assets should be monetised but all depends on overall economic scenario, market appetite and business sentiment," he said.

Despite the Covid pandemic, Purwar said that the telecom operator managed to raise 8,500 crore via its maiden local bond sale on Monday. The sale fetched 229 bids valuing 17,183.10 crore, double the actual issue size.

These bonds are planned to be listed on the BSE soon and are to be used for debt re-financing and meeting the capex requirement of BSNL," according to a press statement.

Top institutional investors such as HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Axis Bank Ltd, State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Securities Primary Dealership bid on the debt securities. SBI and ICICI Primary Dealership, two of the large investors, are said to have invested 1,500-1,600 crore each.

Purwar said the money raised and other efforts combined will enable the company to turn into Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) positive in 2021".

The investors response indicates the high level of trust of the all investors including banks, mutual funds, pension funds, etc. in BSNL," the statement quoted Parmar as saying.

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New Delhi: Highlighting enforced disappearances in Pakistan at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), India on Monday said that in Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans 'Naya Pakistan' (new Pakistan), you may not return home. First Secretary Senthil Kumar at India's mission in United Nations Geneva, said, "In Imran Khan's Naya Pakistan, you may not return home."

Kumar also said, "Security forces in Pakistan have gained proficiency in unlawful killings and kidnapping of people in so-called counter-terrorism operations. This has been compounded by a weak judiciary in Pakistan which has consistently failed to protect even the basic human rights of the people in Pakistan."

Live TV

New Delhi pointed to the harassment faced by Pakistani journalist Marvi Sirmed, Ahmed Noorani, Gul Bhukari and detention of human rights defender Idris Khattak. Kumar said, "Targeting of journalists through threats, assaults, arrests instilling extreme fear and self-censorship exposes the fallacy of Pakistans so-called military-run democratic system."

India also gave a detailed account of cases of "enforced disappearances, murders, detentions, custodial deaths and torture of civil rights activists, representatives of local political parties and journalists" in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The statement said, "Its well documented that a large number of Kashmiri detainees are in secret detention facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Territories now for several years and they have been severely tortured by the security forces. "

The focus was also on the arbitrary detention of any person in Pakistani provinces of Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh with the statement saying, "Cries of Baloch sister Haseeba Qambrani for her brothers Hasaan and Hizbullah Qambrani, who have been forcibly taken away by the Pakistan military go unheard. "

It is also to be noted that in Pakistan, minorities have to face severe consequences. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2020 report has taken note of forced conversation of girls from minority Hindu, Christian and Sikh communities in Pakistan and how local police has been often complicit to it. The Sikh community in the country has reported more than 55 such instances of abductions and forced conversions in the past few months.

On Monday, India strongly raised the matter of abduction of a Sikh girl in Pakistan with the Pakistani establishment. On September 18, India summoned a senior Pakistani diplomat from the Pakistani high commission in Delhi over the issue and issue a strong demarche or letter of protest on the issue.

Last week, it came to light that the daughter of Pritam Singh, Bulbul Kaur has been abducted and being converted forcibly. Pritam Singh is the head Granthi of Gurdwara Panja Sahib. Panja Sahib located in Pakistan's Hasan Abdal is considered an important Sikh place of worship since it has the handprint of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak.

A candlelight march will take place near Pakistan high commission in Delhi on Tuesday to protest against the development. Around 50 Sikh ladies will be part of the candlelight march.

Earlier conversion of Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur to Ayesha Bibi had rocked the Sikh community in Pakistan. A court had ruled that Jagjit should go with her "husband" Muhammad Hassan. Hassan says Jagjit alias "Ayesha bibi" married to him on her own accord which has been disputed by her family.

Jagjit Kaur is the daughter of the Granthi of Nankana Sahib Gurudwara, one of the holiest Sikh places of worship since it is the birthplace of the founder of Sikhism-- Guru Nanak.

Nine family members of "converted" Sikh Girl Jagjit Kaur from Pakistan's Nankana Sahib had written to authorities asking them to make a passport for them as they want to leave the country.
Downing Street has denied an Italian newspaper's claim that Boris Johnson enjoyed a secret jaunt to Perugia last weekend as Brexit and coronavirus gripped the UK.

La Repubblica cites an official statement from the Umbrian airport dated September 17 which said that Mr Johnson travelled through 'in the last few days.'

A source from San Francesco d'Assisi airport told the newspaper that the Prime Minister landed on Friday, September 11 at 2pm.

Number 10 told the Italian daily 'this claim is wrong' before later releasing a statement rubbishing the story as 'completely untrue'.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a service to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain at Westminster Abbey on Sunday

Lebedev, 41, who owns the Evening Standard newspaper and is frequently seen mixing in the upper echelons of the celebrity social scene, owns the breathtaking Castello di Santa Eurasia

On that Friday, Mr Johnson was faced with MPs preparing to rebel on his international law-breaking Brexit legislation and rising numbers of coronavirus infections across the UK.

The PM and fiancee Carrie Symonds also reportedly baptised son Wilfred that weekend, it was claimed last week.

Mr Johnson has reportedly travelled to the airport before to visit his friend Evgeny Lebedev, owner of the Evening Standard, at his medieval castle.

Russian-born Mr Lebedev, whose father is a former KGB operative, is known for hosting lavish parties for celebrity guests at the Castello di Santa Eurasia.

According to one report Mr Johnson worked from Downing Street on the day in question and took part in a Zoom call with 256 Tory MPs on Brexit.

Mr Johnson had tried to give a patriotic rallying cry to encourage his colleagues to back his controversial plans for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

One source said that Mr Johnson's connection had cut out during the call and when he came back on he joked that he should probably invest in super-fast internet, Politics Home reported.

Russian-born Mr Lebedev, whose father is a former KGB operative, is known for hosting lavish parties for his celebrity friends at the Castello di Santa Eurasia

Last year it was reported that Mr Johnson, during his time as Foreign Secretary, had been spotted at Perugia's airport looking dishevelled 'in last night's clothes.'

A fellow passenger told The Guardian that Mr Johnson appeared to be stumbling around and at one point looked as if he might vomit.

There was silence from Mr Johnson's communications staff when those reports emerged last year.

Last month, Mr Johnson nominated Mr Lebedev for a life peerage for his services to the media industry and his philanthropic work.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: 'This story is completely untrue. The Prime Minister has not travelled to Italy in recent months. Anyone who publishes these claims is repeating a falsehood.'
Saitei: Selling fishing rights in Ghana

by Godfrey Baidoo-Tsibu

September 21,2020 | Source: myJoyonews

Saitei and Saikouare are Japanese words meaning worst and best, respectively (Jisho.org).



The history of Saiko fishing (corrupted from Saikou)  the most destructive form of fishing involving the illegal catching of the juvenile catch of pelagic fish by Ghanaian-flagged industrial trawlers and their illegal transshipment to local Ghanaian specialized canoes-cannot be discussed without coming across the word Saitei.



History has it that Japanese industrial trawler fishermen fishing in Ghanaian waters around the 1960s and 70s would dangle small-sized pelagic fish by-catch at sea before Ghanaian artisanal fishers, shouting Saitei!Saitei!, referring to the small-sized by-catch as not good, and for that matter were to be discarded.



The Ghanaian fishers, on the other hand, would respond to their Japanese counterparts that the small-sized fish was good, (which translates in Japanese as saikou).



The Ghanaian fishers would then exchange fruit and freshwater (goodies) for the small-sized pelagic fish by-catch.



It means that what is currently known in Ghanaian fisheries parlance as SAIKO, has indeed always been ominous. Just like how drug addicts eventually become hooked to illicit and destructive narcotic substances through offerings of free doses of same substances initially, the Saiko fish trade has similarly flourished in Ghana.



Saiko is no longer a barter item but has become a niche trade commodity transacted with money at sea.



Saiko fish, comprising mainly juvenile small pelagic fish (sardinella, chub mackerel, anchovies), now forms about three times the retained landings of trawlers and therefore cannot be considered as by-catch.



The small pelagic fish are purposefully targeted illegally by Ghanaian-flagged industrial trawlers which, on the other hand, are licensed to target demersal fish. Trawlers now spend many weeks at sea in order to catch the small-pelagic fish to increase profits.



The purposeful targeting by industrial trawlers has been as a result of rising demand for fish due to low landings by the artisanal fishers. It is therefore a major contributing factor to the drastic decline in the landings of the artisanal fishers to the extent that the usual seasonality associated with small-pelagic fish landings in July-September has been completely lost.



Saiko fish is illegally transshipped at sea from industrial trawlers to specially-built wooden canoes at Elmina and Apam beaches, and now serves as a source of supply to fill the market-demand gap for the small pelagic fish.



This, however, presents a dilemma to poor fishing communities who now have to buy illegal Saiko fish instead of consuming fish from their own fishing canoes. It has also motivated the artisanal fishers, out of desperation, to adopt other illegal fishing methods such as light fishing, dynamite, poisons and the use of very small meshed nets which also contribute to the already dire situation.



In order to unravel the reason for the colossal landings of small-pelagic fish by the industrial bottom trawlers, a Trawl Gear Audit was commissioned by the Fisheries Commission in 2019 to examine the design and technical specifications of bottom trawls used by the industrial vessels and make suggestions for improvement where necessary.



The audit report has revealed that the trawl nets have cod-ends constructed with stiff twines which prevent the escape of small-sized fish. Some of the trawl nets have cod-ends and chafers with mesh sizes smaller than the approved 60mm.



The Gear Audit also found the proportion of pelagic fish, particularly chub mackerel, in the landings of the trawl net rather disturbing. The report has therefore recommended the immediate removal of the trawl gear with the non-selective cod-ends from the fishery to protect juvenile fish.



Since the existing fisheries legislation only emphasizes the 60mm mesh size control measures, without any provisions regarding the size, gape, length and breadth of the trawl net, Ghanaian operators of industrial trawlers, partnered by Chinese benefactors and beneficiaries, have used trawl nets capable of targeting small pelagic fish resulting in landings which far exceed their retained catches by as much as three times.



This is what has fueled the illegal transshipment of the small pelagic fish at sea to specially-built wooden canoes and also the dumping of colossal quantities into the sea. It is therefore required that the law regarding the trawl net be amended.



The persistent decline in the landings of small pelagic fish by the artisanal fleet over nearly two decades has been studied and discussed broadly and served as the basis for the Scientific and Technical Working Group (STWG, established and funded under the USAID Sustainable Fisheries Management Project and comprised of fishers, fisheries scientists, and practitioners) in 2017, to predict the imminent collapse of the small pelagic fishery by 2020.



Based on the advice of the STWG, the Fisheries Commission implemented the first fishing closed season for three fishing fleets (artisanal, semi-industrial, and industrial trawlers) in 2019. Prior to this, only the trawl fleet had implemented closed seasons ranging from one to two months from 2016 to 2018.



The 2019 closed season for the artisanal and semi-industrial fleet was from 15 May to 15 June, whereas the period for the trawlers was 1 August to 30 September. As contained in the National Fisheries Management Plan (2015-19), the fishing closed seasons should be implemented (incrementally from one to four months) annually over many years to enable the overexploited small pelagic fish stocks to be rebuilt.

 1996-2020 Copyright: MyjoyOnline.com

Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods.
Sushmitha Ramakrishnan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Final semester students, from both engineering and arts colleges, reported several glitches in their university online exams. Students listed connectivity woes, login issues, page loading troubles and inability to seek help, among other complaints.

The second half of September marked the start of exam season for these students, who for the first time, are writing their exams remotely from the 'comfort' of their homes. Exams have commenced for students from at least a dozen state-run universities on Monday while students from Anna University will have their exams from Tuesday.

University of Madras

Students welcomed the decision when the varsity announced an open book online exam for final semester students from September 21-25. However, when exams commenced, many students complained that they could not download the question paper despite repeated attempts.

Students had only an hour to download it. "I tried downloading the question paper for nearly two hours. I kept switching between different devices available before I was finally able to download it," said a student from the Chepauk campus of the varsity.

Students had been asked to download the question papers and upload the scanned copy of answer scripts online after completion. Some students struggled to even login. Others could not upload the scanned answer sheet after completion.

"All students were given contacts of nodal officers across the state in case they faced trouble during the exam. Alternate arrangements have been made for students with such issues," said K Pandian, the controller of examinations at the varsity. We found other means to deliver the question paper to students who reported inability to download the question paper, he said.

ALSO READ | Thiruvalluvar University students scurry for gadgets as online exams gets underway

"Students who do not have the required technology were asked to send the answer scripts via post. We also assisted students by sending them the question paper on Whatsapp if they were unable to download it," he said. The post, however, should reach the university by 3 pm the following day.

Around 60,000 students wrote the exam on Monday and will write these exams until Friday. Almost 25 lakh visits were recorded on the varsity website when a mock test was held for students, he said.

Anna University mock test

Many students reported being denied login or being blocked during the mock test held by Anna University ahead of the semester exam starting on Tuesday. Many students also took to social media to ask the varsity how final exams will be conducted if the mock test had so many glitches.

Students added that they were unable to find help through the helpline set up by the varsity.

Varsity officials however asserted that no student would be failed unfairly because of technical error from the varsity's side and that all glitches observed in the mock tests shall be fixed in the main exams.

While the semester exams have been scheduled from September 22-29, a mock test was held by the varsity on September 18 to familiarise students with the online-mode exam. But students reported several troubles that the varisty held another mock test on Saturday.

"When I tried to login, the website said that my login was blocked because maximum allowed login attempts were exceeded. I could not take up the mock test," said a final-year candidate. Another student said that he could not login for about 10 minutes after the test began.

"After I logged in finally, I automatically got logged out within 10 minutes again. I do not know how the final exam will be," he said.

He added that many of his friends received different kinds of error message pop-ups before they could finally login. Further, students who entered wrong credentials to login were blocked after a few attempts.

"I tried reaching the helpline number in vain. Nobody answered the call," said a student, who claimed that he could not login for nearly 20 minutes.

The New Indian Express could not reach M Venkatesan, the controller of examinations, Anna University for comments. The varsity's Vice Chancellor MK Surappa said that the varsity had taken note of the various technical problems faced by students during the mock test and said "they have been looked into."

He added that the mock test was the first attempt at having such advanced use of technology for exams. "The helpline will definitely be accessible to students during the exams. I assure you that. Students also have to be careful about entering the right credentials so that they don't get blocked," he said.

DMK leader MK Stalin, in a statement on Monday, also urged the varsity to ensure a smooth experience for students writing their exams.

The postal problem

Students from Bharathiar University, Coimbatore said they too faced many obstacles during their mock test on September 16 and added that the varsity has been taking the initiative to address them. The university follows an examination model similar to the University of Madras.

While students were asked to login by 9:45 am and download their question paper in 15 minutes, many students could not login even until 11 am. Similarly, they were given only 15 minutes to upload their answer sheets - a deadline many found impossible to meet.

According to a statement issued by the VC P Kaliraj, on Monday, 96.16 per cent of the 30,393 candidates who wrote the exam, were able to download the question paper. He said that the remaining students received the question paper through the institution. The varsity has extended the time by half an hour to both download the question paper and upload the answer script.

A student from the varsity added that three other fears remain unaddressed: One, many students have not been able to convert their photos into the prescribed jpeg format on their phone; two, post

offices close by the time students upload the answer scripts and so they might not be able to avail that option if online uploading fails; and finally, students living in containment zones and in other states fear being unable to post the answer scripts on time.



ALSO SEE:
Some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State have alleged that Governor Kayode Fayemi is planning to expel them from the party.

The stakeholders also alleged that the governor supported Godwin Obaseki, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just concluded Edo State elections.

Mr Obaseki, who joined the PDP after he was denied the APC ticket, defeated Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC to win Saturdays governorship election.

The crisis rocking the APC in Ekiti State has been on for several months.

Last week, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the special adviser on political matters to President Muhammadu Buhari, Babafemi Ojudu, and 11 others were summoned to appear before a panel for allegedly disobeying the partys directive and failure to withdraw cases instituted against the party in court.

In an official reaction to their summon, the affected politicians in a statement signed by Bamgboye Adegoroye, sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, said Mr Fayemi was responsible for their summons.

A curious process is taking place in the Ekiti State branch of our progressive party. Our governor and the chairman of Nigerias Governors Forum, Dr Kayode Fayemi, after installing the governor of Edo State in a clear case of anti party, is bent on expelling leaders of the party.

Towards achieving this purpose he (Fayemi) has set up a committee of his adulators to put us on trial in a predetermined process. The committee is chairmanned by one Mr Ajigbolamu who recently left the PDP to join our party. We also know that the affairs of the committee is managed by the office of the Attorney General Mr Wale Fapounda, his anointed for the position of governor when his term is over in 2022.

The stakeholders also said despite assisting the governor politically, Mr Fayemi has decided to punish them by appointing new executives of the party in a private home in Iyin-Ekiti, which they said violates the constitution of the party.

We demanded of him the dissolution of this product of illegality and institution of a legitimate executive in compliance with our partys constitution. We intimated our party leaders of these concerns; the same problem which was present in his first term that led to our losing the state to PDP with ignominy in the year 2014.

They also accused the governor of hounding them and suspending members, leading them to resort to instituting court cases to protect their rights.

The stakeholders, however, said that they are threatened by the strategy the governor is trying to employ by setting up a committee to expel us. We, however, insist we shall under no circumstance leave the party to join another. We were members of the party from foundation and also members of ACN, a legacy party that joined with others to form APC. We were in the other progressive parties, AD, AC that existed before and transformed to the present party.

We also make bold to say that some of us being threatened with expulsion were responsible for inviting Governor Fayemi in 2005 to come home and run for the governor of our state. We also worked tirelessly for the period of three and a half years it took to get him installed as governor through the court process.

Ekiti is a progressive state and this has been right from independence. We shall not sit down and allow one mans incompetence to turn our state to a PDP state or a state where batons are exchanged between PDP and APC every four years thus depriving it of the necessary stability to ensure its growth. We are therefore calling our national leadership to stop Dr Kayode Fayemi from killing our party in Ekiti. Things are bad enough now for the party in the state.

Allowing him to carry out our expulsion will only spell doom for our beloved APC.

Mr Fayemis spokesperson, Yinka Oyebode did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES calls and text messages seeking comments from the governor as regards the expulsion allegations and support for Mr Obaseki levied against him.
A Crown Heights building tenant stages a rent strike on May 1 in New York City

A Crown Heights building tenant stages a rent strike on May 1 in New York City Credit - Angela WeissAFP/Getty Images

Nine months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Marlenis Zambrano is out of money. A 48-year-old single mother in Virginia, she tried her best to get by after being furloughed from her Defense Department daycare job in March by selling homemade face masks and empanadas to help support her two dependent children, both in college. She twice applied for housing relief from Arlington County, but was denied because, at the time, she had $5,000 in savings intended for her daughters tuition.

With that money long gone, Zambrano is living off her credit card, racking up $5,000 in charges to pay for her Arlington, Virginia apartment. If she stops paying rent, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions evictions moratorium, enacted earlier this month, should help keep her and her family housed at least until 2021. But with debt piling up and no further financial relief in sight, she feels the CDC rule has merely delayed the inevitable.

You close one hole, but you open many, says Zambrano, of trying to keep up with her bills. We dont know how were going to get out of this situation if I dont get back to work.

Under the CDC moratorium, which superseded a patchwork of state eviction orders, families like the Zambranos can submit a pandemic hardship declaration to their landlords, which can block eviction for nonpayment of rent until the end of the year. The rule has postponed the imminent threat of eviction for up to 40 million Americans at risk of homelessness. However, true rent relief, as well as extended federal unemployment benefits and other forms of direct stimulus, remain stalled in Congress. Faced with a severe affordable housing shortage and a prolonged economic downturn amid a seemingly endless public health nightmare, struggling Americans are feeling the effects beyond their bank accounts, as months of uncertainty are wearing down peoples resolve and potentially exacerbating the countrys pandemic-era mental health crisis.

Story continues

Its really stressful, says Zambrano. I try my best to be positive, but its hard to maintain it because at some point you think, How am I going to make it?

Months of such uncertainty can have real consequences. In order to keep a roof over their heads, families may compromise on food, energy and health care bills, experts say. These things not only take a physical toll, but they take a mental health toll, says Dr. Megan Sandel, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Boston University School of Medicine.

In a 2018 study published in the journal Pediatrics surveying more than 22,000 U.S. families, Sandel and other researchers found that those who had recently been behind on rent faced quadruple rates of food insecurity, twice the rate of maternal depression, and higher rates of child hospitalizations and developmental delays compared to those with stable housing. During the current recession and unemployment crisis, researchers think two or three times as many people may be feeling those effects. Indeed, recent studies have found that three times as many Americans are experiencing depression during the COVID-19 pandemic than beforehand.

Its no longer just a low-income family problem, says Sandel. This is something that is hitting more and more middle-income families. And like so many other effects of the coronavirus pandemic, housing insecurity disproportionately affects households of color, with Black and Hispanic households reporting far higher rates of missed rent payments compared to white households, according to early June reports from the U.S. Census Bureau.

These conditions can have long-term consequences for young children especially. Developmental delays caused by persistent childhood stresses can have enormous effects along the course of a persons life, reducing their likelihood to graduate high school or their lifetime earning potential. This is a critical window of time, Sandel says. Being able to have that stable, decent, affordable home that allows kids to reach their potential is a public health emergency.

Experts say the CDC eviction moratorium is only a temporary relief for families. Its an unfunded program, meaning renters will still be expected to make up for their missed payments eventually. This pushes the problem down the road, says Peter Hepburn, an analyst at Princeton Universitys Eviction Lab. What needs to happen now is that Congress needs to step in to provide some sort of emergency rental assistance.

Until it does, struggling families are likely to fall farther behind as back rent piles up. As of Sept. 13, nearly 14% of U.S. households failed to make that months rent paymentmore than a quarter million more than had not paid as of the same date last year, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. Furthermore, while the CDC moratorium prohibits evictions due to nonpayment of rent, it still allows evictions for other lease infringements. That means at least some landlords are likely to claim other non-rent related violations, which in some lease agreements could be as minor as watching television too loudly, in order to kick renters out.

While four months without the threat of eviction is welcome for many on the edge, months of congressional deadlock have left families in a seemingly perpetual limbo. The tracks are being laid right in front of the train, says John Gainey, a staff attorney at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society. The uncertainty puts a real strain on tenants.

One of Gaineys clients, Monique Jackson, is at least grateful for the bit of breathing room the CDC rule provides. She and her husband Shan fell more than $5,000 behind on rent for their one-story Jonesboro, Georgia ranch house after Shan lost his trucking job in March. Recently, Monique has been juggling her 13-year-old daughters remote learning schedule with calls to bill collectors, bargaining for an extra week here, an extra month there, trying to keep the lights on and prevent the furniture from getting carted out the door.

Its a little relief that youre knowing that you have a while before you have to be out, but its still going to be a big thing once January comes and you dont have the money, says Monique of the CDC moratorium. Its just really buying a little bit of time. Thats it.

The Jacksons worked for years to afford rent on a home they are now likely to lose once the moratorium expires. Shan, now 48, spent a decade working nearly 80-hour weeks in a Savannah sandwich shop. Before that, he spent three years handling 10-pound pork shoulders at a Tyson slaughterhouse in Iowa. Yet for years, the Jacksons could hardly afford decent housing, living in a state where rising living costs and weak affordable housing infrastructure have stacked the odds against low-income residents. In Atlanta, average rents have climbed 65% since 2010, while in Jonesboro, the suburb where the Jacksons live, rents shot up more than 25% in just the past three years. In Savannah, where average rents have increased more than 40% since 2005, Shan, Monique, their daughter Shania, and Moniques grandson once lived together in a single hotel room.

Now, the prospect of losing their single-family home and all the progress it represents weighs on the Jacksonsthough there is some hope. Shan is back to work at a new trucking job, and the family is expecting a check for unemployment benefits backpay that could pull them out of debt.

Were just trusting in God that he knows the situation, he knows what were going through, says Monique. I believe hes not going to let us be out there [homeless] like that.

While the CDC moratorium may temporarily keep millions of families in their homes, its unclear when, or even if, further assistance will arrive. House Democrats $3 trillion HEROES Act, stalled in Congress since May, allocated $100 billion for emergency rental assistance for those at risk of homelessness. A Republican counterproposal included just $3.3 billion for families already receiving federal housing assistancean amount the National Low Income Housing Coalition called a drop in an ocean of need. Some housing experts have proposed federal loan programs, which could help tenants make rent while also keeping landlords solvent as they contend with mortgages or other financial pressures of their own, potentially helping to stabilize the wider economy in the process.

While some are pushing for short-term emergency relief, such measures wont address what some say is a deeper issue that precipitated todays crisis: a national shortage of affordable housing for low-income households. For families judged to be extremely low incomethose at or beneath the poverty line or who earn 30% of their areas median incomeexperts say the U.S. is short 7 million units nationwide. Advocates have proposed expanding national Housing Trust Fund state block grants for low-income housing and rental assistance programs like the Housing Choice Voucher program, as well as providing tax credits for rent-burdened families and reforming developers subsidies to incentivize building housing for the poorest renters.

[Local governments] dont really have the resources to deal with the magnitude of the problem, says Mel Jones, a research scientist at the Virginia Center for Housing Research. The problem was so big before COVID, and now its that much bigger.

In absence of substantial help, theres little for families like the Zombranos and the Jacksons to do but care for their families and hope for the best. All I can do is go to work and try to make money so I can keep my bills paid the best way I know how, says Shan Jackson. Thats all I know how to do.
Dhati Lewis set out to start a church that could be a blueprint for urban discipleship, a church in the city, for the city, that looks like the city. But first, he needed a city.

A decade ago, he left the college town of Denton, Texas, for Atlanta, an urban hub four times larger. With him came 25 longtime ministry partners, including rappers Lecrae and Sho Baraka and pastor John Onwuchekwa. Together they planted Blueprint Church in the Old Fourth Ward, a story chronicled in a recent documentary, Becoming Blueprint, released in honor of the churchs 10th anniversary.

Lewiss approach to ministry grew out of the tension he felt between the white evangelical culture that fueled his faith in Denton and the familiar black culture of his upbringing. In Atlanta, though he was a black pastor leading a diverse congregation in a majority-black city, the work of urban church planting was complicated.

For one, the area around his church continued to gentrify. In this neighborhood, what scares me is the fact that you have Section 8 housing on one end and like a million-dollar home on the other end, he said in the documentary.

Lewis, vice president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Send Network, advises fellow church planters that the urban mission field is no longer the inner city stereotype but is instead defined by density and both racial and economic diversity.

Urban churches straddle dividing lines, and the context challenges pastors to ask whether they are after superficial unity or are willing to do the difficult work of addressing their own assumptions, shallow theology, and cultural hang-ups to engage in reconciliation.

Diversity is such a buzzword these days, and ...

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E vents giant Informa has crashed to a 740 million loss after coronavirus led to postponements and cancellations.

In the first six months this year 160 events - including Game Developers Conference and Aesthetic World Congress - were unable to go ahead due to the pandemic.

Revenues came in at 814.4 million, down 26% year-on-year, with the exhibitions arm down 45%.

Nevertheless chief executive and Gordon Browns former chief of staff Stephen Carter said he was upbeat about the future with conferences slowly returning to normal in China.

He said: Encouragingly, we have seen our physical events business recover in China, whilst our increasing participation in virtual events is maintaining our brands, developing our digital services and enhancing our data capabilities.

Many analysts believe the events industry has already hit a bottom this year though some have warned that as long as business travel remains subdued, the first half of 2021 would be bleak.

The company in April had cancelled its dividend and raised 1 billion in equity to buffer the impact of the pandemic.

It also intends to renegotiate its debt terms with its lenders.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 22:29:10|Editor: huaxia

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Aerial photo taken on Sept. 21, 2020 shows Pursat River in Pursat Province in northwestern Cambodia. The impact of tropical storm Noul has left 11 people dead and one missing in Cambodia, a disaster control spokesman said on Monday. National Committee for Disaster Management spokesman Khun Sokha said heavy rain, strong wind and lightning began in the kingdom on Sept. 17-20 as a result of the storm which battered the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. (Photo by Li Lay/Xinhua)



PHNOM PENH, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The impact of tropical storm Noul has left 11 people dead and one missing in Cambodia, a disaster control spokesman said on Monday.

National Committee for Disaster Management spokesman Khun Sokha said heavy rain, strong wind and lightning began in the kingdom on Sept. 17-20 as a result of the storm which battered the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos.

"Eight people were killed by a lightning strike in Battambang province and three others drowned in the coastal provinces of Preah Sihanouk and Koh Kong, as one is still missing in Pailin province," he told Xinhua.

Noul's impact has caused flash flood in some parts of five provinces - Preah Sihanouk, Koh Kong, Oddar Meanchey, Pailin and Pursat, he said, adding that the flood has inundated 1,825 houses, forcing 475 residents to leave homes for higher ground.

He added that flooding has also caused damage to roads and crops in those provinces. Enditem
An Garda Siochana are appealing to the public, particularly students and younger people, to never authorise any individuals or groups to utilise their bank account, ATM card, or pin number, advising that there are consequences including arrests, charges and convictions for persons acting as money mules for organised crime groups.

30 people have been arrested so far as part of An Garda Siochana's Operation Ransom - an investigation into persons allowing their bank accounts being used for organised crime groups to withdraw and deposit money which was stolen from other bank accounts. In total, 1.5 million has been stolen so far. More arrests are expected.

Of the 30 persons arrested, 18 are male, 12 are female and the persons are located all over Ireland. The youngest person was 15 and the oldest was 38. Over half (16) of the persons arrested were juveniles.

"Young persons are being targeted by organised crime groups in secondary schools, college, online, and via social media. Most people are advised they will receive a percentage if they authorise the use of the account and see the chance to make easy and quick money," gardai said.

"However, in many instances, the organised crime group will clear the person's account once the ATM card or pin number has been handed over and there is no monetary gain for the money mule.

"Instead, these persons face being arrested, charged and convicted under the Money Laundering and Terrorism Act.

"A conviction of this type carries a potential prison sentence of 14 years; could affect visa applications to work in some countries; could place the person on terrorist watch lists; could affect ability to work in financial sector anywhere in the world; could affect credit rating and vetting applications.

"In addition to this, the money mule is aiding international organised criminal groups and enhancing their capability to make money. This action is financing drug and people smuggling, terrorism and prostitution, among many other offences."

An Garda Siochana are advising parents to educate young persons on the dangers of acting as money mules.

Gardai are aware of hundreds of other incidents of young persons acting as money mules in this jurisdiction and more arrests are expected.

Gardai are appealing to people to not allow their account to be used by anyone else. Do not give away your ATM card or your pin number and do not withdraw or transfer money that comes into your account.
HONG KONG (dpa-AFX) - Thailand will on Tuesday release August figures for imports, exports and trade balance, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific activity. In July, imports were down 26.38 percent on year and exports sank an annual 11.37 percent, resulting in a $3.34 billion trade surplus. Taiwan will provide August unemployment data; in July, the jobless rate was 3.9 percent. Hong Kong will release Q2 figures for current account; in the three months prior, the current account deficit was HKD9.0 billion. Finally, the markets in Japan remain closed on Tuesday for the Autumnal Equinox and will re-open on Wednesday. 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.
Stan Grant is returning to ABC News as International Affairs Analyst.

He was formerly ABCs Global Affairs and Indigenous Affairs Analyst presenting The Link and Matter of Fact, but in 2019 he moved to Qatar to work with Al Jazeera English. In April he was also appointed Vice-Chancellors Chair of Australian-Indigenous Belonging at Charles Sturt University.

He recently fronted an episode of Four Corners, noting he was the first indigenous presenter in the shows nearly six decade history.

He will now provide stories and analysis for ABC Online, 7.30, Four Corners, audio current affairs and TV news. This will include contributing to a new regular China segment on The World each Thursday night, produced by the News Channel and the Asia Pacific Newsroom team.

The world is at a critical period, Grant said. Coronavirus has laid waste to our economies and revealed our fragility at the same time as democracy is in retreat and a more authoritarian China is reshaping global power.

Im really looking forward to drawing on my three decades as a reporter covering the big conflicts and stories of our time and joining the dots of that for Australians.

Director, News Gaven Morris said, Covering the China story is a priority, and were actively examining a range of options for how ABC News will continue to provide Australians with the most complete and authoritative reporting and analysis.

Stan Grant is one of Australias most knowledgeable and respected journalists, with extensive direct China experience, and its terrific to have him as part of the ABC team.
MASON, MI  Despite what the sign says, you should not flush your mail-in ballots down the toilet.

A Mason residents bathroom-themed political display has caught the attention of Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum. The sign in a yard on West Columbia Street of the town near Lansing calls on voters to Place mail in ballots here! with an arrow pointing to a toilet. Byrum said the sign is a possible election violation.

Byrum, a Democrat, said in a statement Friday, Sept. 18, that a law that makes illegal possession of an absentee ballot a felony offense could be relevant in this case.

Elections in this country are to be taken seriously and there are many people who are voting by mail for the first time this Election, Byrum said in her statement. We need to put out accurate, complete information about voting by mail, which is the safest way to vote during the pandemic. That starts at the top and I worry that the misinformation coming from President (Donald) Trump is encouraging people to lose faith in the absentee voting process, something that has been taking place since the Civil War.

Related: 2.1 million voters have requested absentee ballots, says Michigan Secretary of State

Byrum said she filed a complaint with the Mason Police Department and Ingham County Sheriffs Office several days prior to releasing her statement Friday. On Monday, Byrum said she has not yet received an update on the complaint and was unaware whether the sign is still up.

Mason officials said in a news release Sunday that two people associated with residence were interviewed and were cooperative with the investigation. The issue was forwarded to the county prosecutors office for evaluation on Sept. 15, but the office declined prosecution, officials from the prosecutors office said Monday afternoon.

Byrum said she takes the political display seriously because local clerks in Ingham County have already mailed out overseas and military ballots, and printed ballots are also available if a person were to request one in-person.

Related: Michigan Senate passes bill to allow absentee ballot processing to begin one day early

I know Michigan elections are safe and secure, regardless of how a voter returns their ballot, Byrum said.

But the display, she said, could be an issue for the homeowner if someone were to actually place a ballot in the gag toilet. That is because only U.S. Post Office employees and election officials can legally handle ballots.

The overarching concern is the attack on election integrity, Byrum said.

She noted the voter registered at the houses address has voted absentee for three elections.

Voters in Michigan can request a mailed no-reason absentee ballot until Oct. 30, but the Secretary of State recommends requesting and returning a ballot earlier to avoid potential mail delays.

Local clerks in the state will begin mailing out absentee ballots on Thursday. Michigan officials are preparing for record vote-in mailing during the coronavirus pandemic despite pressure from President Trump, who questions the security of mass absentee voting.

Related: Absentee ballots delayed in mail must be counted, judge rules

Update: This article was updated Monday afternoon to include that the Ingham County Prosecutors Office denied prosecuting the complaint.
YEREVAN.  Armenia has been very consistent in its approaches to the [Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)] peace process. We have more than clearly emphasized that there is no alternative to the peace process, that the settlement is possible only in a peaceful way, that we say all this on the basis of absolute self-confidence, that Armenia and Artsakh are strong in defending themselves, their interests, their borders. Armenias Foreign Minister Zohrab noted this Monday morning in a conversation with journalists at Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevanand referring to the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have called on the parties to the Karabakh conflict to return to negotiations without preconditions.

"In that sense, we [the Armenian party] remain absolutely committed to a peaceful settlement. It is in this logic that we have been and remain more than ready to continue the peace process, and to continue the work we have done throughout this period. The last time we met [with the Azerbaijani party] was in January, then we have had this situation due to the [COVID-19] pandemic. But our determination to continue the negotiation process has never diminished, and we are ready. When there will be announcements about how we are moving forward, there will be clarity, we will announce," the Armenian FM said.

As for the respective timeframes, Mnatsakanyan said: "We are ready to [do] it very quickly, we are now consulting, talking to the co-chairs, we will be able to reach an agreement, and we will announce it."
In April Dr David Nabarro, a WHO special envoy on Covid, singled out Indias coronavirus response for praise, saying Indians know how to do it, after the country decisively locked down the entire country to prevent the disease from spreading. What we see in India today tells a very different story.

As cases have continued to rise, the most vulnerable in India have been hit hardest, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the Prime Minister, Narenda Modi, has used the shutdown as a way to suppress his critics and make dramatic changes to the Indian state.

Modi surprised the entire country on 24 March. At 8 pm, he announced on a government owned news channel that a nationwide lockdown would be enforced from midnight. All workplaces, schools, shops and hotels were shut down. India had one of the harshest lockdowns in the world in March, according to Oxford Universitys Stringency Index.

The government did not consider the 88 million people living in extreme poverty when it locked down. After the measures were announced, the homeless and beggars had only four hours to find shelter, and rural migrants were forced to flee to their homes thousands of miles away as any prospect of work disappeared. These migrant workers ended up travelling thousands of miles back to their villages without any money or medical supplies.

Men, women, the elderly, and the pregnant walked barefoot, carrying their small children and heavy luggage on their backs and heads. Some only reached their destination after tolerating the brutality of the police, who used violence to enforce the coronavirus restrictions.

Immediately after the lockdown, most hospitals stopped taking non-Covid patients and were forced by the government to close their out-patient departments and cancel elective surgeries. Pregnant women in labour were denied admission. Meanwhile, the governments closure of factories and workplaces led to the loss of livelihoods of another million workers, who are struggling to survive.

Many have died due to lack of medical care and hundreds have committed suicide. In a normal year, 27 per cent of the people who die in India will have received no medical attention. That number will be far greater in 2020, thanks to the lockdown measures.

Modis administration has dangerously ignored the scientific advice during the pandemic. According to leading Indian professional health associations, the government has failed to consult the countrys epidemiologists and experts and relied on the technical advice of the clinical establishment and bureaucrats. As a result, India has introduced ill-planned, hasty lockdowns even though the pandemic has not been as fearsome as projected.

Even the Indian health ministry's own epidemiologists and health teams have reportedly been side-lined by the government. Annoyed with this, an anonymous epidemiologist working on the PMs Covid-19 task force has told a leading Indian magazine that there is no doubt in my mind that the lockdown has failed due to the adoption of unscientific methods.

Modis approach to the pandemic can be summed up by the measures taken in the north-eastern state of Meghalaya. The region is one of the areas least affected by Covid in India, with just 44 confirmed cases and only one death. On June 2, the local health department declared that all of its citizens would be classed as asymptomatic carriers of Covid by default. The government claims the best way to prevent community transmission is through a behavioural change model. In reality, this has hampered the civil rights of its citizens.

On August 7, a 15 year old returned to her village from Shillong, the states capital. A village secretary instructed her family to temporarily leave and stay in the nearby jungle. The entire family including a 5-month-old baby had to leave the village and spend 9 days in the jungle.

Meghalaya Health Commissioner and Secretary Sampth Kumar said, First thing we must remember is that behavioural change does not happen through scaring people. But ironically declaring every person as an asymptomatic carrier creates nothing but panic.

Often it appears that Modi and his BJP party are more interested in creating a climate of fear in India than actually fighting the disease. The government has used the virus as a tool to suspend civil liberties and punish those who oppose Modis dream of making India a Hindu nation.

To get a disease is not a crime but to hide it, definitely is, said the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityananth, in March. Adityananth, who belongs to the BJP, blamed Muslims for the spread of the disease after they attended a religious event in Delhi a day before religious gatherings were banned in the capital.

Registered cases against intellectuals who oppose making of Hindu nation were reopened; they were harassed on pretext of interrogation

Most news channels joined him in blaming Muslims for the spread of the virus across the entire country. By comparison, relatively little attention was paid when the Chief Minister himself took part in a ceremony to move a Ram idol to a new shrine in the city of Ayodhya, after a complete lockdown was imposed.

In December a citizenship bill was passed by Modi which gave citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The bill has been criticised by Muslims and supporters of secularism, who believe it is a way to marginalise Muslims in certain states. But due to Covid-19 restrictions, people are not able to protest the changes. Modi has used the lockdown to crush his ideological opponents and police are arresting those who protested the bill before the lockdown began, on charges of sedition and terrorism.

Its not just Muslims who are being targeted. The government has used the pandemic to silence intellectuals, activists and writers who have spoken out against the Prime Minister. In August, two Delhi University professors and critics of the government, Hany Babu and Anand Teltumbde, were arrested for their alleged involvement in violent protests.

The police have drawn up elaborate conspiracy theories to curtail their right to dissent, and they have been accused of being involved in a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister. No evidence has been provided for these claims.

Not only this, the registered cases against many intellectuals who oppose the making of a Hindu nation were reopened and they were harassed on the pretext of interrogation by police. These include the names of a tribal writer hailing from Jharkhand, Vasavi Kiro, and a Dalit writer who was also the former Director General of Uttar Pradesh Police, SR Darapuri.

Kiro was charged years ago for organising a political demonstration, while Darapuri was accused of leading the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest in Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh Government has threatened Darapuri to promptly compensate for the loss of government property during anti CAA protest, otherwise his private property would be confiscated.

Meanwhile, 55 journalists have been charged by police since the beginning of the lockdown, after criticising the governments coronavirus response.

For some people, exercising their freedom of speech has become more dangerous than the virus itself in India. The real result of the pandemic measures enacted by Modi has been the curtailment of citizens right to dissent and the transformation of Covid into a pandemic of fear.

---

*Young critic and a story writer
Tom Ogren has published his new book Old World Protestant and Beyond: a must-read for Christians seeking to more deeply examine the tenets of their faith and its implications in the contemporary Church.

The author writes, A number of us have been raised in this nation and, to some extent, in the churches that this nation has fostered. Each church has its story to tell that we have traditionally come to accept in the stories handed down as we listened. Much of the knowledge that we have accepted concerning this nation of churches is, for the most part, presumptuous; meaning, we know some of what constitutes the truth, but a lot of what we have acquired to be reliable history of our church has been preempted by what is considered more acceptable version of whats considered to be true of the church. When this happens in the church, it also spills over in the knowledge of what formed our nation. The Bible is a precise biography of Gods church and its history, giving each of us a view of Gods church and those that desired to be a part of that church by faith and those that sought it on their own terms. The examples are many, as we read through these pages that spell out to us the sad ending of those that thought that their way was something that God should accept, seeming sufficient in the eyes of each beholder. In the reading of Gods Word are examples of faithfulness along with what some considered faith but was lacking in one meaningful way, love to God as their creator while manifesting love to man. This was missing. Something that each of us in our fallen state easily loses sight of. This we do naturally, but what comes naturally to us is not the kingdom that Jesus came to establish when coming to this earth and His church. The short essays that are contained in these pages are to broaden our knowledge of Bible content, while it portrays the life story of those that struggled in one way or another to be, by faith, recipients of that Spirit that reflects the love that Jesus submitted to while selflessly going to the cross. Leaving us His example of what true love will do for those they love, in the name of Jesus.

Published by Page Publishing, Tom Ogrens engrossing book is a collection of thought-provoking essays examining Gods vision of his Church as revealed in the Bible.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase

Old World Protestant and Beyond 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.
The logos of the Chinese video portal TikTok and the US software and hardware manufacturer Oracle Corporation can be seen on a smartphone and screen on September 14, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.

SINGAPORE  Facebook and Google will likely be the losers in a deal to keep video-sharing app TikTok operational in the United States, an academic told CNBC on Monday.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has in principle approval a deal where enterprise software maker Oracle and retail giant Walmart will partner TikTok in the U.S. Shortly after the president's comments, Oracle said it was chosen as TikTok's secure cloud provider and will become a minority investor with a 12.5% stake in the company.

The deal "is somewhere between a new vendor agreement in cloud and a joint venture, all with the goal of satisfying the U.S. and creating value for the owners," Jason Davis, associate professor of entrepreneurship and family enterprise at INSEAD, said on "Capital Connection."

He said the deal was "interesting" for Oracle, and that he thinks TikTok Global would likely strip out Google's cloud infrastructure on its platform in favor of Oracle.

For its part, Oracle has has struggled to compete against the likes of Amazon, Microsoft and Google in cloud services. A report from research firm Gartner indicated in 2019, the latter three companies all picked up more cloud revenue than Oracle. Microsoft appeared to be the front runner in the race to buy TikTok's U.S. operations until Sept. 13, when it announced that TikTok's Beijing-based parent company ByteDance had rejected its bid.

TikTok said in a statement Saturday that Oracle will be responsible for "hosting all US user data and securing associated computer systems to ensure US national security requirements are fully satisfied."

"Now, Oracle can actually claim to be hosting what might be the two most important sites of our generation  both TikTok and Zoom. And, they take away a good chunk of equity in TikTok in the process," Davis said. "For them, it's a quite an interesting deal."

Earlier this year, Zoom selected Oracle to expand its cloud infrastructure, and passed up on industry leaders Amazon Web Services, Alphabet's Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft's Azure Cloud. The video conferencing platform saw its popularity soar due to the coronavirus pandemic that forced many people to work and learn remotely.
Brian Tatum, 45, has been charged with two counts of felony murder stemming from a high-speed chase in Houston that killed two Uber passengers

Two women riding in the back of an Uber in Houston were killed when police say another driver suspected of taking part in a street race slammed into the ride-share vehicle while leading police on a chase with speeds topping 100mph.

Brian Tatum, 51, was arrested on felony murder charges stemming from the crash on Saturday night that split the Uber in half, causing the deaths of the passengers, reported ClickOrlando.

According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, the incident began unfolding at around 11.30pm when deputies attempted to pull over Tatum's Acura RDX over as he and another car raced through several red lights in the area of Jensen Drive and Tidewell Road.

The other vehicle stopped but Tatum, who was riding with his wife in the car, sped off, leading deputies on a chase with 'excessive speeds,' according to the authorities.

The pursuit continued for a mile and ended when Tatum smashed into an Uber that was making a left turn at the intersection of Jensen Drive and Parker Road.

Police say Tatum was leading police on a chase with speeds topping 100mph on Saturday when he crashed into this Uber

Tatum's car, seen laying on its side, was later found to contain open containers of alcohol and drugs, according to investigators

'He basically cut the car in two,' Sean Teare, head of the Harris County District Attorneys Office Vehicular Crimes Division, told Houston Chronicle.

The two female passengers who were riding in the backseat of the Uber were ejected from the vehicle. They were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Both the ride-share driver and the suspect were taken to Ben Taub Hospital to be treated for injuries.

Tatum has since been discharged and transferred to the county jail, where he was booked on two counts of felony murder.

A search of his vehicle has yielded open containers of alcohol and drugs, including marijuana, according to officials.

Tatum has extensive criminal records in both Texas and California, which span more than 20 years.

It is suspected that Tatum, who is a convicted felon, was taking part in a street race prior to the chase and crash

According to a letter that the Sacramento District Attorney's Office in California sent to the Board of Parole Hearings in September 2016 opposing Tatum's early release, the suspect's record includes charges of assault with a firearm, burglary, evading arrest and vehicular offenses.

In August 2014, he was sentenced to more than five years in prison after being found guilty of assault with a firearm and convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

'Mr Tatum is a dangerous individual and a continuing threat to public safety,' Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert wrote at the time. 'The entire record in this case shows Mr Tatum has no interest in reformation or rehabilitation, and makes clear that if he is released early, he would pose a current unreasonable risk to public safety.'
A new report says the coronavirus pandemic caused a 65 percent decrease in international travel during the first six months of 2020.

The World Tourism Organization, an agency of the United Nations, published the report on Tuesday. It noted that the drop in international travel resulted in a loss of $460 billion in export revenues from tourism.

The loss is five times greater than the loss recorded in 2009 during the international financial crisis.

The organization said in a statement that the U.N. agency estimates it will take between two to four years for tourist arrivals to return to 2019 levels.

The report shows that Asia and the Pacific were the first areas to be affected by COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. They faced the sharpest drop as the number of tourists fell 72 percent during the first half of the year.

Europe had the next largest decrease, falling 66 percent.

North and South America, Africa and Middle East experienced similar levels of decrease.

"This represents an unprecedented decrease, as countriesclosed their borders and introduced travel restrictions in response to the pandemic," the U.N. agency said.

Around the world, countries have recorded decreases of more than 50 percent in international tourism arrivals, threatening millions of jobs and businesses.

The report shows that as of early September, 53 percent of international tourism destinations lifted some travel restrictions.

However, as some countries begin reporting a second wave of the coronavirus, those restrictions may return.

The World Tourism Organization estimates that the year 2020 will show an overall decrease of about 70 percent, but that number may rise.

Im Susan Shand.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

pandemic  n. a contagious illness that affects many countries

revenue  n. the income from a business

tourism  n. the business of people traveling to place for pleasure

unprecedented  adj. never happened before

destination  n. the place a person or thing is traveling to

wave  n. an occurrence or increase in certain actions
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Tropical Storm Beta steamrolled through the Gulf of Mexico with forecasts of flooding, heavy rainfall and storm surges expected to inundate Southern states, leaving more than 10 million American under storm warnings.

The National Hurricane Service on Sunday revealed that Tropical Storm Beta will likely make landfall Monday in the storm-battered states of Louisiana and Texas.

'There is the danger of life-threatening storm surge near times of high tide through Tuesday along portions of the Texas and Louisiana coasts within the storm surge warning areas,' NHC wrote on Sunday.

According to NHC, Beta will make landfall on the southeastern coast of Texas, including the beachside city of Galveston, after 1pm on Monday.

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Tropical Storm Beta continued through the Gulf Coast on Sunday at 60mph as it prepared to make landfall this week in parts of Texas and Louisiana

A Corpus Christi police officer in Texas places an emergency barricade down to close Laguna Shores Boulevard due to flooding related to Tropical Storm Beta, which is expected to affect parts of the state

Pictured: Cole Broom (right) stands on the beach near the intersection of Highway 124 and Highway 87 on the Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, watching the rough surf

Stacey Young (center) gives her daughter, Kylee Potts (left), a piggyback ride across the flooding Stewart Beach parking lot in Galveston, Texas, as Tropical Storm Beta brings heavy rainfall and flash flood threats to the state

It is expected that Beta will remain a tropical storm as it spins across Texas' coast to southwest Louisiana. Around 1pm on Wednesday, Beta will upgrade into a tropical depression before entering the Pelican State.

Once in Louisiana, Beta's powerful winds and rainfall will overtake the state before extending into Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama.

Beta is forecast to reach those additional four states between Thursday afternoon and Friday afternoon.

Wind speeds as of 4pm CST on Sunday tracked at 60mph, but will drop to 25mph by Friday as it hovers over Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee.

Parts of Louisiana, specifically Lake Charles and the surrounding areas, are still reeling from the devastating affects of Hurricane Laura last month.

The 150mph monster of a storm left nearly a million residents without power, killed at least 10 people and drowned out homes with rain water.

Damage sustained by Hurricane Laura will cost anywhere between $4million and $12million.

Places like Port Arthur, Texas, were also hit by the devastating hurricane but sustained less damage

Pictured: a graphic provided by the National Hurricane Service shows Tropical Storm Beta's predicted path this week along the Gulf Coast

Four Corpus Christi, Texas, city workers load free sandbags for residents ahead of Tropical Storm Beta as the coastal area prepared for heavy rainfall and storm surges

But already, Beta has prompted flooding along parts of Texas and a number of storm warnings have left millions of Southerners on standby.

Photos taken in Galveston, a small island city situated 50 miles from Houston, showed residents already fighting on ocean water on Sunday afternoon.

Families who visited the beach for weekend fund were forced to drag their belongings through elevated waters, while small children were carried on their parent's backs.

As large waves raged towards the shore, Corpus Christi authorities placed barricades along roadways to block traffic amid flooding and city workers loaded free sandbags into resident's cars in preparation.

Some residential streets and parking lots were quickly submerged as Beta continued on its path.

Tyler Heads (left) toted his belongings through tidewaters as he and other beachgoers crossed the flooding Stewart Beach parking lot in Galveston, Texas, on Sunday ahead of Tropical Storm Beta

Pictured: a graphic provided by the Weather Channel shows cities in Texas and Louisiana that are expected to feel tropical storm conditions starting Monday

Weather officials forecast that Tropical Storm Beta will make landfall on Monday afternoon or evening, before continuing further inland throughout the week. Pictured: Steve and Linda Buser of Beaumont check out the rough surf on the beach near the intersection of Highway 124 and Highway 87 on the Bolivar Peninsula, Texas

Flood waters fill the parking lot near Virginia's On the Bay in Port Aransas, Texas, where Gov. Abbot told residents to adhere to local officials advice on staying safe during the storm

Weather officials have sounded tropical storm warnings amid the worsening conditions from Port Aransas, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana, according to The Weather Channel. This includes the cities of Houston and Victoria, Texas, and Cameron, Louisiana.

Storm surge warnings were in effect from Port Aransas, Texas, to the Rockerfeller Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana.

The warnings also encompassed San Antonio Bay, Aransas Bay, Copano Bay, Matagorda Bay, Galveston Bat, Lake Calcasieu and Lake Sabine.

Beta's force winds extended as much as 195 miles from the storm's center, affecting cities like Galveston, Houston and Lake Charles.

Houston resident Lupe Don (center) removes his flip-flops while moving his car from the flooding Stewart Beach parking lot in Galveston, Texas on Saturday

Storm surge warnings were in effect from Port Aransas, Texas, to the Rockerfeller Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana, and include Galveston Bay in Texas. Pictured: Lyrick Gipson, 9, (pictured) races through the flooding Stewart Beach parking lot in Galveston

Weather officials announced that Tropical Storm Beta not longer has the potential to upgrade into a hurricane, leaving much of the Gulf Coast under tropical storm warnings

Pictured: a graphic provided by The Weather Channel outlined areas in Texas and Louisiana where flood alerts have been issued

The Weather Channel reports that Beta will likely come against dry air and wind shear that will stop any significant escalation before landfall. It is no longer expected to transform into a hurricane.

Both Texas and Louisiana's governors issued warnings to their residents this weekend.

'Prepare for heavy rainfall and the threat of storm surge and flooding in certain regions of the state due to Tropical Storm Beta,' said Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards in a statement.

'Many homeowners and business owners in the potential impact areas are already dealing with recovery from Hurricane Laura,' the statement added.

Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas encouraged residents to adhere to local officials advice as they prepare for rain, flash floods and the possibility of isolated tornadoes.

The cross that stands on the beach near the intersection of Highway 124 and Highway 87 gets buffeted by the high seas on Bolivar Peninsula, Texas

The NHC revealed it ran out of names for the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season and began using the Greek alphabet for the second time in history

Pictured: Storm surges, categorized by place and expected rainfall, are shown in this graphic

'The State of Texas is prepared to support communities in the path of the storm, where substantial amounts of rainfall and flash flooding are a significant threat. We will continue to closely monitor the storm and work collaboratively with officials to ensure our fellow Texans are safe,' the statement read.

NHC reported that parts of Louisiana and Texas could see six to 12 inches of rainfall, with 15 inches possible in some areas.

Further away from the coast, people may experience between three and five inches of rainfall from the ArkLaTex area to the lower Mississippi Valley through Wednesday.

Flood alerts have been issued along the northeast Gulf Coast, including Houston, Lake Charles and New Orleans.

Beta was named hours after weather officials located Subtropical Storm Alpha was discovered last week.

The NHC revealed it ran out of names for the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane season and began using the Greek alphabet for the second time in history.
The Celotex RS5000 insulationfound by Phase 1 of the Grenfell Inquiry as more likely than not to have contributed to the spread of the 2017 infernowas sold to construction company Harley Facades at a 47.5 percent discount.

The 660 sheets purchased for 45,804 represented the first Celotex product approved for use on buildings above 18 metres but should only have been utilised with a non-combustible cement fibre cladding. During an Inquiry second phase hearing last week, Harley design manager Daniel Anketell-Jones claimed he was unaware of the discount, and remained unsure whether the reduction had come from Celotex through construction products supplier SIG.

The admission came on the second of three days of testimony by Anketell-Jones, in a week dedicated to investigating the role of Harley in the disaster. The fatal use of a more dangerous cladding may have been generated by a pricing error by Harley estimator Mike Albiston. Last Monday, the Inquiry heard that Albiston had omitted several items in his initial estimates for the Reynobond aluminium composite material (ACM). When compared with the zinc-based Proteus HR cladding system, this meant that use of the Reynobond product would save just 376,000 rather than the 576,000 as costed by Albiston.

He later explained to construction company Rydonthe lead contractor which oversaw the entire refurbishment of Grenfelland Harley management that the 200,000 shortfall could be reduced to 162,750 if the project switched to cassette panels. These can be hung on hidden rails and have a far worse performance (three grades lower) than face-fixed panels which use rivets to bolt them into place. Albiston claimed he did not know that the Reynobond ACM was more combustible than cassettes. But he agreed that Harleys commercial manager Mark Harriss email to Rydons Simon Lawrence that our preference would be cassette for a lot of reasons, referred to financial savings.

The previous week, the Inquiry learned that Rydon commercial manager Zak Maynard had been well aware that the 200,000 in savings that resulted from the error would be pocketed by the company. When asked by lead counsel for the inquiry, Richard Millett QC, if the finances were then organised so that the error would be absorbed by Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), then responsible for managing Grenfell Tower, Maynard admitted, Potentially, yes.

Rydon estimator Katie Bachellier had asked him whether Rydon could go 50/50 with Harley on the savings, as it was their cock-up. Maynard wrote later, First part of the battle, now we will agree to give them 10 per cent of the savings back and we are quids in!! He told the inquiry that this referred to reducing Harleys savings share to 10 percent so Rydon could enlarge its profit, but claimed, I was joking in that bit.

When Daniel Anketell-Jones testified later that same afternoon, it became clear immediately that his so-called expertise also had serious limitations. In its bid for the contract, Harley falsified his CV, listing skills he did not have, as well as two projects he never worked on. He had just begun a masters degree in facade engineering at the University of Bath in late 2014 or early 2015. Despite his position as design manager, he claimed it was not his job to judge products for technical compliance. He explained that responsibility for this had fallen to the previous manager Graham Hackley, who had not been replaced after he left the company.

At no point in his work for Harley did he claim to be qualified to assess technical performance. He did not know the distinction between Class 0 rated materials and the higher qualification of limited combustibility, nor the difference between a fire stop and a cavity barrier. I dont think I was made the technical manager until the end of 2015, beginning of 2016 perhaps. I hadnt had any training in that area yet.

Anketell-Jones admitted in his testimony that he had erased all his computer files relating to his work at Harley after an agreement to keep the device after leaving the firm. He insisted this would mainly have been emails, although documents, design drawings and calculations would also have disappeared. He said he assumed all his work would be retained on the Harley server, and denied he had any role in removing files from the companys internal systems.

Inquiry counsel Kate Grange continued to press Anketell-Jones on his fire safety knowledge, pointing out his attendance at a day-long conference run by the Centre for Windows and Cladding Technology (CWCT). This included a talk on fire testing experiences, with sections on fire testing for facades, incidents and mechanics of external fire spread. He claimed not remembering anything about it. I think I might have been there and not concentrating because it wasnt what I was trained in and not part of my remit.

However, in his testimony last Wednesday, it was shown that the design manager was not as clueless about fire risks as he had claimed. In a day focusing on the fire-stopping and installation properties of cavity barriers around the windows, Anketell-Jones again observed, Each individual person would look after the responsibility on the projects, and no one existed across the company with the assignment to think about fire. But Grange questioned him about an email he sent to stakeholders at the time, claiming, There is no point of fire stopping; as we all know, the ACM will be gone rather quickly in a fire. Asked how he squared this observation with earlier comments about his ignorance, Anketell-Jones attributed it to picking up bits and pieces over the years, and that he knew from his design training that aluminium would soon melt and fall off the building.

Later that afternoon the expertise of another Harley manager was examined. Kevin Lamb, a freelance draughtsman who had initially been brought in for 41 days work, was soon passed off by Harley as project designer, despite not being a qualified architect. With a 30-year career that included some cladding experience as well as curtain wall and window assignments, his task was to furnish a drafting service, transferring architect Studio Es plans into fabrication drawingsallowing the cladding system to be constructed and installed. He assumed Studio E bore responsibility for building regulations compliance. I was never told I was lead designer. I was told, I was project designer. The first I knew of that was when they [Harley] had some business cards printed up with my name on.

As Lamb was finishing his explanations at the inquiry, the injustices mounting against the Grenfell bereaved and survivors intensified.

In the US, a court in Pennsylvania dismissed all charges for civil damages brought by Grenfell survivors and bereaved against cladding maker Arconic and insulation manufacturer Celotex, both of whom have headquarters in the US state. The judges ruled all charges should be heard in the UK. Arconic and Celotex witnesses will testify later at the Inquiry regarding the testing and selling of their products, but will not have to worry about legal action in the UKif any is ever broughtuntil the entire inquiry finishes and a final report is published; a process which will not be complete for years.

Thousands of tower block residents throughout the UK continue to live in the shadow of death. A House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report published last week found that only a third (155 out of 455) of high-rises with Grenfell-style cladding have had dangerous cladding removed, while people living in the unsafe blocks were condemned to lives of stress and fear. Thousands of residents in high-rises continue to complain, years after the Grenfell fire, about paying for the 24-hour waking watches patrols that monitor fire danger.

The ruling elite is hoping that the Grenfell tragedy will quietly fade away, chloroformed by a pointless multi-year inquiry and by its determination to ensure the guilty in corporate and political circles evade justice.

The Grenfell community must take matters into their own hands and end collaboration with this sham Inquiry that has no powers of prosecution and hasin alliance with the Toriesensured that corporations giving testimony are immune from future prosecution! The Socialist Equality Party calls on Grenfell survivors and the bereaved to demand the immediate arrest and criminal prosecution of the guilty parties.

For further information visit and join the Grenfell Fire Forum Facebook page.
Supreme Court in transition: Since this 2018 photo, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (front row, second from right) has died, giving President Trump a chance to move the court even further to the right. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

The notion that Democrats should dramatically remake the Supreme Court the moment they control the White House and both chambers of Congress has been simmering in the party's progressive wing for a couple of years.

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg has placed it on the front burner, where it belongs.

In its most common form, the remaking would take the form of expanding the court from its current nine members to at least 13. That's the version Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of UC Berkeley's law school, advocated in a Sept. 18 column in The Times.

The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in 2016

Chemerinsky raised the idea in the context of what might be an unseemly rush by the White House and Senate Republicans to nominate and confirm a conservative justice to replace Ginsburg prior to the November election.

"One way for Democrats to make clear they will not tolerate Republicans trying to fill this seat in advance of the election," Chemerinsky wrote, "would be for them to pledge that, if they take the White House and Senate in November, they will increase the size of the Supreme Court to 13 justices."

The stakes could not be higher today.

With the Supreme Court firmly in the hands of conservatives, constitutional scholar Garrett Epps wrote in the Atlantic in 2018, The Courts progress on LGBT rights will almost certainly come to an end; its faint interest in protecting the political process from political gerrymandering will also disappear."

The 1973 abortion rights decision Roe vs. Wade and its 1992 successor, Casey vs. Planned Parenthood Assn. of Southern Pennsylvania, hang in the balance, as does the Affordable Care Act.

The ACA is in grave danger thanks to a Texas-led lawsuit aiming to declare the law unconstitutional. The lawsuit is scheduled to be heard by the court in mid-November.

Story continues

That's after the election, but at a time when the court will either be split 4-4 or under the thumb of three Trump-appointed justices. If the former, than a lower-court ruling striking the law will stand, disastrously.

Chemerinsky, like many other progressive legal scholars, has been a long-term advocate of the expansion. It is the only way to keep there from being a very conservative court for the next 10-20 years, he told me in June 2018, the last time I wrote about the idea.

At the time, Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was considered a swing justice based on his history of lining up sometimes with conservatives and sometimes with liberals, had just announced his retirement. President Trump ultimately replaced Kennedy with Brett Kavanaugh, who has been a reliable conservative vote. The prospect of a further veer right was manifest.

As I observed then, the court's liberal wing included two justices in the twilight of their years  Ginsburg was then 85 and Stephen Breyer, 79. By contrast, the conservative bloc then comprised relative spring chickens. None was older than 70 (Clarence Thomas), two in their 60s, and one (Neil Gorsuch) only 50. Kavanaugh is 55.

The authority of Congress to establish the size of the Supreme Court isn't in doubt. The Constitution mandates only that there be a chief justice but implicitly, via Article III, leaves the size of the bench to that branch.

Acts of Congress variously set the size of the court at six members from 1789 to 1807, seven until 1837, nine from then to 1863, 10 from 1863 to 1866, and seven from then until the current strength was enacted into law in 1869.

Expanding the court to 13 justices or even more wouldn't guarantee a liberal bench in perpetuity, of course. But it might prevent any single president from drastically remaking the court, because it would take more appointments to make a difference.

Most presidents have had scant opportunity to fashion a court to their preference: 24 of the 45 have appointed two justices or fewer.

The idea of expanding the court anew rests on two legislative markers. One is Franklin Roosevelt's 1937 court-packing scheme, which was a notable flop. More on that in a moment. The other is Mitch McConnell's court-packing scheme of 2016, which was successful.

Indeed, the refusal of Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-Ky.) to even hold Senate hearings on Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to the court in 2016, following the death of the conservative Antonin Scalia, is occasioning an outburst of hypocrisy and dishonesty among Senate Republicans today.

It will be remembered that McConnell based his refusal to consider Garland on the ginned-up principle that, with a presidential election just nine months away, "the American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.

McConnell thereby banked the nomination against a possible Republican victory that November, effectively packing the court with a conservative majority.

Any people who thought that McConnell would apply his principle consistently to a vacancy opening just six weeks before an election don't know their Mitch. He already is claiming that the principle applied only when the White House and Senate were held by opposing parties, as was the case then, not by the same party, as is the case now.

Such ex post facto reasoning is also on display from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who couldn't have been more clear in 2016 when he said, "I want you to use my words against me. If theres a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said lets let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination."

Graham is now chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will oversee a Supreme Court nomination. His walkback is even more dishonest than McConnell's: He's arguing that, among other things, Democrats and "the liberal media conspired to destroy the life of Brett Kavanaugh and hold that Supreme Court seat open."

* Harry Reid changed the rules to allow a simple majority vote for Circuit Court nominees dealing out the minority.



* Chuck Schumer and his friends in the liberal media conspired to destroy the life of Brett Kavanaugh and hold that Supreme Court seat open.



#2  Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) September 19, 2020

That brings us to FDR's scheme. Roosevelt was acting in accordance with what he perceived to be popular discontent with the court following a string of rulings, guided by a strong conservative bloc, overturning New Deal initiatives. This discontent increased in the wake of a 1936 ruling known as Tipaldo, after its contemptible protagonist, a slave-driving New York factory owner.

The ruling, which overturned a New York law setting a minimum wage for women on grounds of the supposed constitutional sanctity of the contract between employers and their employees, even united two old adversaries.

They were Herbert Hoover, who proposed a constitutional amendment to overturn it, and Harold Ickes, a liberal Republican who was FDRs Interior secretary and who castigated the court for upholding the sacred right ... of an immature child or a helpless woman to drive a bargain with a great corporation. Ickes added, If this decision does not outrage the moral sense of the country, then nothing will.

Yet in this case FDR uncharacteristically misread his public. He was faulted for rolling out the plan as a surprise, and without consultation with congressional allies.

Moreover, his scheme was elaborate to a fault: Its mechanism was to add a new justice whenever an existing justice reached the age of 70, up to a maximum of 15. This was seen as a personal affront to the six justices who already had reached that age, including Louis Brandeis, a leading liberal, and Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes.

Under Hughes leadership  and possibly his concern that FDR would make good on his threat to remake the court  the justices already had begun to move away from their opposition to the New Deal and worker rights.

In the spring of 1937, the court upheld a Washington state minimum wage law, collective bargaining rights under the National Labor Relations Act, and Social Security. (The vote change on minimum wage by Justice Owen Roberts, who upheld the Washington law but had earlier voted against the New York statute, was dubbed the switch in time that saved nine.) Roosevelt ultimately withdrew the court-packing scheme.

The Supreme Court today is already as out-of-step with popular politics as its 1930s predecessor. Most Americans favor abortion rights, the Affordable Care Act and protections for LGBTQ people from discrimination. Official attacks on voting rights, especially those of Black and other minority voters, have proliferated since 2013, when this Supreme Court tossed out key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Supreme Court's rightward lurch, which would only become more dramatic and more lasting with a premature filling of Ginsburg's seat, threatens the court's credibility and, much more serious, democracy itself. There may be only one way to save both.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Despite the existence of sanctions, the Syrian Democratic Forces are selling oil to the regime, which they desperately need, facilitated by Hossam al-Qatriji reports Baladi News.

Converging news sources said today that more than 800 tanks belonging to Hossam al-Qatirjis company, affiliated with the regime, entered the areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to transport oil to the Homs refinery.

According to the sources, the tanks entered from the al-Houra crossing, south of the city of Tabqa in the countryside of Raqqa, to transport crude oil.

A severe gasoline crisis besets the Syrian regime-controlled areas, in addition to the collapsing economic situation and the soaring prices. Cars lining up in front of petrol stations in Aleppo and Damascus has become customary.

The price of a liter of gasoline on the black market has reached 1,000 Syrian pounds (equivalent to half a US dollar), while petrol stations sell it at 250 Syrian pounds. Taxi drivers have been waiting for a whole day to acquire a few liters of gasoline, which is not even enough for two or three days.

Sources revealed to Basnews that transporting oil and trade activity between the Autonomous Administration regions in northeastern Syria and regime areas are ongoing and made possible through brokers.

According to the same sources, trade flows and transporting oil from the Autonomous Administration areas to the regime-controlled areas has not stopped despite US sanctions imposed on Damascus and the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Businessperson Hossam al-Qaterji had begun to form militias in areas in the countryside of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, in order to conduct smuggling, especially oil, between SDF areas and the regime forces.

He had previously played the role of mediator between the Islamic State and the regime, buying daily shipments of oil from wells in the al-Omar oil field, east of Deir ez-Zor, which benefited the regime. Qatirji is still playing the same role after the Islamic State was expelled and the SDF took over the region.

It is noteworthy that the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Qatirjis oil company in Syria in September of last year, as it played the role of mediator between the Syrian regime and the Islamic State by facilitating the transfer of oil shipments between the two parties, in addition to facilitating fuel and weapons shipments, and providing financial support.

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.
At around 7 pm local time near a Metro rail station in Compton, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, 2 LA County Sheriff's Deputies, a 24-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were fired gunshots at by a gunman without warning. Both deputies underwent surgery immediately after the attack.

"Moments ago, 2 of our Sheriff Deputies were shot in Compton and were transported to a local hospital. They are both still fighting for their lives, so please keep them in tour thoughts and prayers." the LA County Sheriffs posted on Twitter.

Upon camera footage of the scene, the LA County Sherrifs captioned, "Update: The gunman walked up on the deputies and opened fire without warning or provocation."

President Trump acknowledged the camera footage post by LA County Sheriffs and reposted, "Animals that must be hit hard!" referring to criminals like the gunman in the camera footage as "animals."

After the health conditions of the two deputies were updated on Sunday morning, Donald Trump retweeted his sons's Tweet saying, "Please pray for these two Sheriff Deputies. Their lives matter!!!" with the caption, "If they die, fast trial death penalty for the killer. Only way to stop this!"

The Los Angeles Police Department tweeted, "We stand with our brothers and sisters at the @LASDHQ tonight. The thoughts and prayers of the men and women of the LAPD, are with the two deputies that were ambushed while sitting in this vehicle earlier this evening."

Protestors gathered outside the location of the hospital allegedly yelling "We hope they die" and while one of the protestors were getting arrested by the police, the LASDHQ forcibly grabbed, tossed, and slammed a female reporter to the ground for what they claim ignoring "repeated commands to stay back" and not identifying herself as press. Josie Huang, the female reporter who was one of the victims attacked by police has footage of her getting abused by the LASDHQ that night filmed by ABC7 Eyewitness News.

The gunman opening fire to deputies without provocation seems to be a far-fetched statement considering the statistics of harm committed by the police to civilians thus far and continuously.
S Raja Reddy By

Express News Service

ADILABAD: After gunning down two Maoists in Kadamba forest area in Kumrambheem-Asifabad district in an encounter, the police are on the hot trail of the six remaining ultras who fled the scene even as CPI Maoist state secretary Jagan called for a week-long plenary of the party beginning on Monday, obviously to script a strategy to once again take the movement forward in Telangana.

The two Maoists killed on Saturday night were identified as Chukkal, an action committee member of Kumrambheem-Asifabad and Mancherial division, and Jugnak Badhi Rao, a native of Neeradigonda mandal in Adilabad district.

After visiting the encounter spot, Ramagundam Commissioner of Police V Satyanarayanna, who is in-charge of Kumrambheem-Asifabad district, said: Chukkal was a native of Bijapur district in Chhattisghar and Jugnak Badhi Rao was from Yapalguda village in Neeradigonda mandal in Adilabad district. The police recovered 9mm carbine, 12mm bore firearm, Maoist literature and kit bags. The exchange of fire lasted for about one hour on Saturday night.

The Maoists who were trying to find their feet again on Telangana soil, suffered a serious setback when the police bullets felled the two ultras in the encounter.

The six-member team, of which the two Maoists were part of, was led by state committee member Mailerapu Adellu alias Bhaskar, who moves in the Kadamba forest area.

According to police, when they came face to face with Maoists, they had demanded that they surrender but they began firing at them while trying to escape, leaving no alternative for the police except to retaliate with gunfire.

The bullets caught two ultras while the others managed to escape into the thick jungles under the cover of darkness.

The Greyhounds and special police stumbled on the ultras while they were conducting combing operations on the banks of the Pranahita river, near Dahegoan, Nenel while Maharashtra police were looking for them in Srivoncha border.

Two dead ultras identified

Two Maoists killed on Saturday were identified as Chukkal, an action committee member, and Jugnak Badhi Rao, a native of Neeradigonda.
News

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey Thursday joined Second Lady Karen Pence for a Military Spouse Occupational Licensing Roundtable to discuss Arizonas leadership in eliminating burdensome occupational regulations for military families, and all Arizonans, who want to get to work.

The Second Lady and the Governor were joined by U.S. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, Commander of the 56th Fighter Wing Brigadier General Gregory Kreuder, Arizona Department of Veterans Services Director Colonel Wanda Wright, military spouses and advocates for military families.



While our men and women in uniform are serving their country, their spouses are serving right alongside them, said Governor Ducey. We support our military by supporting their families  and cutting down on occupational licensing requirements is just one way we can do that. The Second Lady has tirelessly led on supporting military families, and Im grateful for her continued work to give back to the servicemembers and their families who serve our nation.



Arizona led the nation in granting recognition of out-of-state occupational licenses for military spouses several years ago. The state has also made sure that people can count relevant experience from the armed services toward their licensing. Military Spouse Magazine in September 2019 published a story highlighting the states work to ease the burden when transitioning occupational licensing, especially for military families.



In April 2019, Governor Doug Ducey signed legislation making Arizona the first state in the nation to recognize occupational licenses for new residents, helping them get to work faster. Since then, more than 1,700 people have utilized Arizonas national recognition of occupational licenses.



Additionally, the Governor in April 2019 signed a bill removing excessive and unnecessary occupational licensing requirementslike 1,000 hours of trainingto blow dry hair. In 2017, he also signed a bill requiring state licensing boards to waive any initial licensing fees for first-time applicants from families earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level. During his State of the State Address in January, the Governor also called for legislation, sponsored by Representative Joanne Osborne, waiving licensing fees for military spouses. The bill passed unanimously from the House on February 6th.
Hundreds of thousands of people were without power Friday along the Alabama coast and the Florida Panhandle in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally as officials assessed millions of dollars in damage that included a broken bridge in Pensacola and ships thrown onto dry land.

While the cleanup pressed on, the record-shattering hurricane season notched another milestone: Forecasters ran out of traditional names for storms after three new systems formed in about six hours. That forced them to begin using the Greek alphabet for only the second time since the 1950s.

In Loxley, Alabama, Catherine Williams lost power and some of her roof to Sally. The storm also destroyed three pecan trees in her yard that she used to try to make ends meet.

Theres no food, no money. I took my last heart pill today, said Williams, who has been laid off twice from her job as a cook because of the economic problems caused by COVID-19. She hoped that the Red Cross would soon show up at her home.

Two people in Alabama were reported killed  a drowning and a death during the cleanup in Baldwin County. In Florida, authorities were looking for a missing kayaker who was feared dead in Escambia County.

The supercharged Atlantic hurricane season has produced so many named storms that scientists ran out of traditional names as Tropical Storm Wilfred developed in the eastern Atlantic. It was only the second time that has happened since forecasters standardized the naming system in 1953. Wilfred was weak and far from land.

Two hours after Wilfred took shape, the National Hurricane Center moved to the Greek alphabet when Subtropical Storm Alpha formed just off the coast of Portugal. It was followed later in the day by Tropical Storm Beta, which formed in the western Gulf of Mexico. The same practice will govern storm names for the rest of hurricane season, which lasts until the end of November.

The only other time the hurricane center dipped into the Greek alphabet was the deadly 2005 hurricane season, which included Hurricane Katrinas strike on New Orleans.

The onslaught of hurricanes has focused attention on climate change, which scientists say is causing wetter, stronger and more destructive storms.

In Pensacola, Mamie Patterson was cleaning

the yard of her cousin who was recovering from heart surgery after they lost power in a low-income neighborhood in Pensacola.

Pattersons mother uses an oxygen machine that they took to an uncles home to charge because he had power. She saw utility trucks all over the city and wondered when power would be restored in her neighborhood, where several inches of water was standing in streets more than 48 hours after the storm.

We feel a lot forgotten back here, she said. I hate to say it, but its the ghetto neighborhoods. We dont have lights.

Elsewhere in the city, Karen Robinson sat on the steps of her first-floor apartment and rattled off a list of belongings ruined by 4 feet (120 centimeters) of water from Sally  clothes, shoes, furniture and food.

It took months to recover from a 2015 flood after a heavy rainstorm sent nearly the same amount of water from a creek into the 200-unit complex. She was concerned because more than two months are left in hurricane season.

This could happen again. Thats the problem, Robinson said as men tossed soggy items out of an apartment window nearby.

In Louisiana, about 41,000 people were without power Friday around Lake Charles, where Hurricane Laura made landfall on Aug. 27. On Oak Island, North Carolina, which was ground zero for Hurricane Isaias on Aug. 3, some rental homes finally reopened by Labor Day.

It wasnt pretty. We had piles of sand everywhere, plies of debris everywhere, but the roads were open, Mayor Ken Thomas said.

With the dunes that provide some protection to the island gone, Thomas said people will be nervous for the rest of the storm season.

Theres a hurricane for everyone out there, he said.

Escambia County, which includes Pensacola, estimated that Sally caused at least $21 million in damage to public infrastructure such as roads and drainage. It will likely cost an additional $8 million to restore the sand washed away at Pensacola Beach, officials said.

The year-old Three Mile Bridge that connects Pensacola to the beaches was heavily damaged in at least two places, and authorities do not know how much money or time it will take to fix.

In several places along the Gulf Coast, ships washed up on shore. They included pleasure boats and even a replica of Christopher Columbus ship the Nina, which docked in Pensacola to ride out the storm and came loose from its mooring. The vessel came to rest in mud and grass at a nearby marina.

Back in the Atlantic, Hurricane Teddy was a powerful Category 4 storm about 850 miles (1,370 kilometers) southeast of Bermuda. The island was hit directly by Hurricane Paulette on Monday, and forecasters said a hurricane watch for Teddy may be issued soon.

___

Associated Press writers Bobby Caina Calvan in Tallahassee, Florida; Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, also contributed to this report.

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

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Florida Windstorm Profit Loss Hurricane Alabama
Liquid metals (LMs) are promising for applications in flexible electronics and biomimetic functional composites. Nanometerization and surface modification of LMs are usually used to improve their substrate affinity and processing properties. In most cases, LM nanodroplets are encapsulated into ultrathin and fragile shells of oxides or amphiphile monolayers.

However, it may be hindered from being incorporated homogeneously into various composites through conventional processing methods. Therefore, producing stable and processable LM nanodroplets remains challenging.

In their previous study, Prof. LI Chaoxu and his coworkers from the Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) revealed that LM can initiate free radical polymerization of vinyl monomer under ultrasonication.

Recently, this research group, for the first time, has found that the ring-opening polymerization was initiated by sonicating liquid metal in fluidic lactones and proposed multifunctional liquid metal nanocapsules. "By this in-situ polymerization, LM nanodroplets were encapsulated into polylactone shells with tunable thickness, which could further be dried into solid powder," said Prof. LI.

Besides high chemical stability and dispersibility in organic solvents, the powder of LM capsules combined exceptional properties of LM droplets and polylactone shells. It could be introduced into thermoplastic composites through liquid casting and thermal-/photo-molding for notch-insensitive tearing property, sintering-induced electric conductivity and photo-thermal effect.

LM initiator of ring-opening polymerization may start a pathway to produce stable and thermal/photo-moldable powder of LM capsules and their multifunctional composites applicable in biomedicines, soft electronics and smart robots.

###

The study was published in Advanced Materials on Sept. 21. It was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, QIBEBT & Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy (DNL), CAS and Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center.
Chicago Mail Carriers Threaten to Stop Deliveries After Carrier Gets Shot

Letter carriers in Chicago may stop delivering mail to some areas after a carrier was shot while on the job.

A 24-year-old woman was shot on Sept. 10 while delivering mail on South Ellis Avenue on the South Side.

She was on duty, delivering, a Chicago police official told reporters about the shooting, adding that she did not appear to be the target of the shooter.

In addition, someone fired paintballs a day later at another letter carrier.

Thats a traumatic experience, especially when you had a coworker shot the day before, Mack Julion with National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 11, told WLS-TV.

Its not funny, these are federal employees. Our members are at work trying to do their job, trying to support their families, trying to serve the community.

U.S. Postal Service mail carrier Lizette Portugal finishes loading her truck amid the COVID-19 pandemic in El Paso, Texas, on April 30, 2020. (Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images)

Julion and letter carriers gathered for a vigil at the site of the shooting late last week. Thats where he said some carriers may not deliver mail.

Any letter carrier that do not feel safe in any one of these communities; that they are not to deliver mail; and that the customers have to pick up their mail. We are not going to have another situation where a letter carrier is shot down, Julion told CBS Chicago.

I would say a lot of our members are terrified, Julion added to WLS-TV. They are terrified this random violence, it can happen to them, too.

The association didnt respond to a request for more information.

The carrier was rushed to the hospital, where she was being treated for critical injuries.

A $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter or shooters is being offered by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The shooting was the second this year.

In March, a 47-year-old letter carrier was struck by gunfire in Brighton Park, on the Southwest Side, in the early afternoon, police said.

An arrest still hasnt been made in that case, Silvia Carrier, a postal inspector, told The Epoch Times via email.

At this time, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is working with the Chicago Police Department and the investigation is developing, she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-20 22:49:28|Editor: huaxia

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A China-Europe freight train arrived in Budapest, carrying anti-epidemic supplies, clothes and digital products. China-Europe freight trains are a rail connectivity project initiated by China to boost exchanges with European countries. It has bucked the transport trend amid the COVID-19 epidemic thanks to their cost-effectiveness and reliability.
Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg and Princess Stephanie smiled proudly as they planted a tree in honour of the birth of their first child, four-month-old Prince Charles.

The Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, 38, revealed the Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg, 35, gave birth to their son - Prince Charles Jean Philippe Joseph Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg - in May this year.

The new parents looked extremely proud of their baby as they stood posing for photographs beside the new tree.

In celebration of the birth of their first child, Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg and Princess Stephanie planted a tree in Luxembourg, accompanied by their four-month-old son Prince Charles

The chubby-cheeked youngster was born in May this year after years of speculation as to when the royal couple would start a family after tying the knot in 2012

Heir to the throne The Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, 38, smiled proudly alongside his son Prince Charles Jean Philippe Joseph Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg and wife Princess Stephanie

The royal father and the heir to the throne squeezed and kissed his baby boy as they enjoyed their special ceremony in Luxembourg today.

Princess Stephanie, the new mother, wore a colourful flowing floral dress with long billowing sleeves which she paired with a pair of nude heels.

Their chubby-cheeked son was dressed in blue dungarees, in traditional royal style similar to that of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's son Prince George.

With the dungarees the parents also put some blue buckled shoes on their son's feet.

The royal father and the heir to the throne squeezed and kissed his baby boy as they enjoyed their special ceremony in Luxembourg today

Princess Stephanie, the new mother, wore a colourful flowing floral dress with long billowing sleeves which she paired with a pair of nude heels while cradling her four-month-old son

But the future heir to the throne looked less than impressed by the ceremony, with a rather grumpy-looking frown on his face.

The doting parents announced the arrival of their son earlier in the year during a television broadcast.

Discussing the birth, Prince Guillaume said it was 'probably the most incredible day that we will have in our life'.

'To be able to greet the child that comes into one's life is the most magical thing, parenting, a couple can have,' he added.

The couple shared the news that their son was called Charles Jean Philippe Joseph Marie Guillaume, before photographs were shared as the newborn met his grandparents the Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa over a video call.

Their chubby-cheeked son was dressed in blue dungarees, in traditional royal style similar to that of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's son Prince George

The doting parents announced the arrival of their son earlier in the year during a television broadcast, with explaining it was 'probably the most incredible day that we will have in our life'

But the future heir to the throne looked less than impressed by the ceremony, with a rather grumpy-looking frown on his face

A royal statement confirmed the sweet youngster weighed 3.190 kg at birth and was 50cm tall.

The future heir said that the couple were 'delighted' to be 'living and sharing' the experience with Luxembourg, particularly because of the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

He explained: 'We are delighted to [have this experience] at a time that is difficult for families that have been separated but in the next weeks will see each other again.

'A birth is a message of hope, it's a blessing. This is what we are so happy to share with Luxembourg and all the different countries.'

The couple announced they were pregnant with their first child in December last year and finally welcome the new arrival in May this year, at the peak of the coronavirus lockdown

A royal statement confirmed the sweet youngster weighed 3.190 kg at birth and was 50cm tall. There was a lot of speculation in recent years as to when the couple would have their first child, with Princess Stephanie stating in 2016 she did not have any plans to become a mother

The couple announced they were pregnant with their first child in December last year.

There has long been speculation about when the royal couple would be starting a family, with the pairing tying the knot in a lavish affair in 2012 after two years of dating.

Princess Stephanie told French magazine Point de Vue in 2016 that she didn't 'have any plans to become a mother. For the moment, I'm enjoying spending time with my husband.'

Prince Guillaume is the eldest child of Grand Duke Henri Luxembourg and his wife Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and the heir to the Luxembourg throne.

His child will follow him in the line of succession for the throne, pushing Guillaume's four siblings - Prince Felix, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra and Prince Sebastien - further down the list.
Chandigarh, Sep 21 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday dismissed the Centre's "paltry hike" in the MSP of wheat and five other Rabi crops as a "cruel joke" on the farmers amid their growing apprehensions about abolition of the MSP regime following the passage of the new agriculture Bills in Parliament.

"This is callous. They have made a mockery of the farmers' protests over the farm Bills, which by all accounts will eventually pave the way for ending the minimum support price (MSP) system and abolish the Food Corporation of India," he said.

Amarinder Singh said if the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre thought it would appease the agitating farmers with this trifling hike, they clearly did not understand the situation.

"You can't just throw crumbs at someone who may be on the verge of losing his livelihood as a result of your shameful actions," he said.

The farmers have been asking for a written guarantee that the MSP will not be tampered with, but instead, the Centre has handed out to them a measly offering, said the Chief Minister, adding that this once again showed how little the BJP and its allies, including the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), knew about the farmers and their problems.

At a time when the farmers, in fact the whole nation, was not even sure that the MSP regime will stay, and for how long, making these meagre hikes in the support price of a few crops amounted to trifling with their emotions, Amarinder Singh said.

The verbal assurances and promises made by a government which has failed to implement even its written promises and commitments are totally meaningless, he said, urging the Central government to even now take cognisance of the concerns of the farmers and address them with meaningful steps instead of such antics.

The Chief Minister said that the farmers are at present worried about their future, and that of their families, and only want categorical and clear commitments, in black and white, that their produce will continue to be procured in the APMC markets at a minimum assured price.

They want to be secure about their livelihood, which in any case has been progressively declining due to the Centre's "anti-farmer" policies over the past six years, he added.

The Chief Minister also regretted that the Centre had once again failed to announce a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal for paddy straw management to incentivise farmers not to burn it.
Dani Dyer celebrated 21 weeks of pregnancy by sharing a snap of boyfriend Sammy Kimmence kissing her bare baby bump on Monday night.

The Love Island 2018 winner, 24, took to her Instagram account to share the heartwarming image, as she declared in a caption dedicated to her baby: 'We love you so much already  #21weekspregnant.'

Hours before sharing the post, the daughter of EastEnders star Danny Dyer revealed on her Instagram Stories that she's on the verge of releasing her own maternity line.

Sealed with a kiss: Dani Dyer celebrated 21 weeks of pregnancy by sharing a snap of boyfriend Sammy Kimmence kissing her bare baby bump on Monday night

During a Q&A session, one fan told her she needs to bring out a maternity range, to which she responded: 'It's happening trust me. I've literally got 5 outfits, may 3 now the weather has changed. So I cannot wait for you all to see. Not long now.'

When another suggested she also put out a nursing range, the bubbly Essex girl said: 'You know what I'd actually love [to].

'Designing a maternity range is actually a dream because I never see a lot out there. Gonna see how this goes and if all is good defo will consider the nursing clothes.'

Update: The star has been keeping fans updated on her pregnancy over the past several weeks

New line: Hours before sharing the post, the daughter of EastEnders star Danny Dyer revealed on her Instagram Stories that she's on the verge of releasing her own maternity line

Elsewhere, the reality star also spoke candidly about her experiences with pregnancy, as well as her hopes of still being able to hold a baby shower as new COVID-19 pandemic regulations ban groups of more than six gathering.

On her potentially scuppered baby shower plans, the star revealed that she was remaining optimistic, explaining: 'I'm gonna send out save the dates just in case.

'The invites were too pretty so thought I'll send them out and hope for the best... if not there's always more celebrations! Maybe a welcome to the world party?'

She started off the chat with her fans by admitting that her daily life in recent months has consisted of 'just eating, cleaning, watching Desperate Housewives and having Zoom meetings' amid the pandemic.

Physical changes: 'I'm really noticing the body changes,' she said. 'I've become really veiny! And I've started getting all the aches in my back and my hips'

And while her routine hasn't changed a great deal, she admitted that she's been seeing and feeling all of the differences in her body.

'I'm really noticing the body changes,' she said. 'I've become really veiny! And I've started getting all the aches in my back and my hips.

'I see the midwife Becky today and she has recommended I start some yoga. So definitely going to give that a try.'

She added: Our bodies are actually amazing ain't they. How they can create a little human really is something special.'

Routine: She started off the Q&A by admitting that her daily life in recent months has consisted of 'just eating, cleaning, watching Desperate Housewives and having Zoom meetings'

When a fan said that her own pregnancy as been 'a roller coaster of emotions', Dani enthusiastically agreed, admitting: 'OMG ain't it. For some reason on Sundays I'm so emotional. I really do cry at anything.'

As for other pregnancy symptoms, she said: 'Still get headaches but not as painful as they [were] before. I'm still so tired though. I do have days where I've got a lot of energy but by the mid afternoon I am so ready to sleep.

'I used to be able to clean the whole house in a day. Now everything is put on pause. But I love eating tomatoes again so I'm so happy about that.'

Elsewhere, she spoke about how 'worrying' it is to be expecting her first child amid the global novel coronavirus pandemic  while also sparing a though for others.

Baby shower plans: She also spoke about her possibly scuppered baby shower plans, following new restrictions amid the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown

She said: 'You know what it is worrying, especially with the apparent second lockdown! But it upsets me more for people that are struggling more than ever

'It's not spoken about enough on the news on what people are going through and it upsets me to think people are losing [their] jobs, houses and we have no idea when this is all gonna be over! Just think it's been such a tough year for many people..

'I think it's been awful as well for people that haven't been allowed partners in scans etc, I couldn't have not had Sammy by my side which is why I paid for private scans but I know that's not the option for everyone!

'But I get so anxious and nervous I have to make sure he was there.'

Glowing: The reality star regularly shares pregnancy snaps with her Instagram followers

Read all about it: Also on the discussion list were how much more emotional her pregnancy has made her, and plans for the baby's nursery

In the meantime, the star plans to busy herself working on getting her baby's nursery ready, as she revealed: 'We actually are planning the baby's nursery.

'We have an exciting new chapter coming in out lives as well as the baby coming so makes it all even more exciting for us.'

Earlier this month, Dani admitted she was becoming increasingly superstitious as her pregnancy progressed, while her boyfriend was desperate to discover the gender of their unborn child.

She wrote: 'Happy Monday everyone. On way home from seeing our little one The build up to a scan is the most nerve wrecking/exciting thing, I kept seeing one magpie and it was really starting to irritate me I wanted to see 2!

Worried: Elsewhere, she spoke about how 'worrying' it is to be expecting her first child amid the global novel coronavirus pandemic  while also sparing a though for others

'Ive become too superstitious cant believe we are almost half way... Sammy honestly in every scan has become more and more charming to the the lady who scans us so she will tell him what the sex of baby is ITS NOT HAPPENING!!

'Love you little one more and more everyday so glad you are healthy in there.'

The previous day Dani revealed that she's started feeling her baby kick after worrying she wouldn't be able to due to having an anterior placenta.

The reality star took to Instagram on Sunday to explain that despite her placenta cushioning the baby she's started to feel movement at 19 weeks.

Happy news: The former Love Island winner confirmed in July that she is expecting her first child with on-off boyfriend Sammy

Speaking in her pink dressing gown and black framed glasses, Dani gushed that it was 'so lovely' to feel her child moving around.

She explained how she realised what the kicks were during a visit to a midwife after first assuming the movements 'were wind'.

Dani said: 'The other day i was standing by the sink and I felt this feeling in my belly. I thought "Its probably wind Dan, stop overthinking".. but maybe it was the baby!

'Anyway, I go and see this lovely lady called Becky in Loughton who I love and adore and shes a midwife. I go see her once a week in between my scans, she checks my blood pressure and stuff like that and the babys heartbeat.

Happy news: Dani recently revealed that she's started feeling her baby kick after worrying she wouldn't be able to due to having an anterior placenta

'And yesterday there was a tiny kick and she went "did you feel that Dan?" So I have been feeling the baby!

'And it's so lovely because at my last scan they told me I had an anterior placenta.

'It's basically my placenta is at the front and cushions the baby so I might not be able to feel the kicks and movements so much... but I thought so long as the babys healthy stop stressing about that.'

Dani also wrote on her post that it would be lovely if her partner Sammy could feel their baby moving while in her tummy.

Update: Taking to Instagram earlier this month, Dani explained how she first thought the kicks were 'wind' and she had been told at her last scan about the anterior placenta

The beauty ended her update by showing her support for other pregnant women who might have an anterior placenta and sweetly writing 'she was with' them.

In July, the reality star announced she was expecting her first child with boyfriend Sammy - just three months after they rekindled their relationship.

'Little bubba can't believe you are going to be ours,' she wrote. 'Me and Sammy are so excited to start this next chapter in our lives, feel so lucky and grateful...2021.'

Dani also recently said that she has started to 'embrace' the changes in her body.

Joyful: Love Island winner Dani announced that she was expecting her first child with Sammy back in July

She wrote: 'I've really started noticing the changes in my body and I'm definitely embracing it.

'Apparently at this stage I'm supposed to feel 'on top of the world' which I really hope for as the first few months have been really hard.'

But Dani revealed it was a struggle to find suitable maternity clothes and said she only had a handful of outfits to choose from.

She said: 'I'm so in denial that I don't fit into any of my clothes anymore. I can't find any nice maternity clothes, all very granny for me.

Mama to be! Bubbly Essex girl Dani, 24, will welcome her first child with Sammy in early 2021

'I'm literally living in six outfits, I've got two pairs of jeans that I bought from Zara that are like a paper bag and four tight dresses, the ones that are really stretchy.

'And I'm sitting here like, what am I going to wear today? I have to alternate my outfits cos I've literally got six that fit me.'

Dani has also been giving updates on the severe migraines she's been experiencing during her pregnancy, saying acupuncture had provided her with relief.

She said: 'I asked my midwife and it's completely safe, so far so good. I have another one next week. Spent less time on my phone/television (like the doctor said haha). Drinking a lot more water and noticed a difference.'
By Online Desk

India's COVID-19 case tally rose to 54.87 lakh with a spike of 86,961 new cases & 1,130 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.

The total case tally stands at 54,87,581 including 10,03,299 active cases, 43,96,399 cured/discharged/migrated & 87,882 deaths, the Health Ministry's latest update informed.

Schools in parts of the country reopened today partially in accordance with the Unlock 4 guidelines. Class 9-12 students in states like Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir have been allowed to attend school on a voluntarary basis following the guidelines.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  A man who robbed a Kalamazoo bank in February and then spent more than $2,000 at a local strip club was sentenced to prison Friday.

Daniel Augustine Solis, 28, pleaded guilty in June to robbing the Chase Bank at 141 E. Michigan Ave. in Kalamazoo. He was ordered by U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker to serve 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Solis, according to his arrest affidavit, entered the bank at around 4:30 p.m. Feb. 12 and handed a bank teller a demand note. Solis was given $7,038 cash by the teller, which he put in his backpack prior to leaving.

He then went to Angels Gentlemens Club in Kalamazoo, where he spent more than $2,000, according to the affidavit.

Solis, who was unarmed when he robbed the bank, was arrested the following day at a Kalamazoo residence in the 1700 block of Alamo Avenue in the citys West Douglas neighborhood.

Kalamazoo Township detectives, who recognized Solis from surveillance footage after interviewing him on an unrelated manner, assisted Kalamazoo Public Safety in tracking Solis to the home.

Related: Kalamazoo bank robbery suspect sought for interview in Washington child porn case

In the days leading up to the bank robbery, Solis, according to a news story in the Spokesman Review, had also been connected to a child pornography case in Spokane, Washington.

Solis, according to the story, had been accused by his ex-girlfriend Audree Pederson, of Chattaroy, Washington, of asking her to film sex acts with her child and send them to him. She allegedly filmed multiple assaults, which she then sent to Solis after he moved to Kalamazoo, according to the Spokesman Review story.

Pederson was arraigned one day prior to Solis' robbery on multiple charges in Washington. She is currently awaiting trial in Spokane County Superior Court on three counts of first-degree child rape and one count of second-degree child rape.

Solis has not yet been arraigned in Washington for his alleged role. Solis, who moved from Washington to Michigan in December 2019, was arrested in connection with the Chase Bank robbery Thursday, Feb. 13.

Also on MLive:

Former Kalamazoo County board chair faces off with real estate consultant for District 60 seat

Michigan K-12 schools show low coronavirus numbers so far, but thats not the whole story

Michigans largest cities, townships and countries ranked by 2019 median household income

The case against Matt Patricia in Detroit
(Video produced by Ma Tianyi, Du Mingming and Alvaro Lago)

An iconic part of Zhuang ethnic culture, Zhuang brocade is renowned for its variety of colors and intricate patterns. Together with Shu, Yun, and Song brocade, they are regarded as Chinas four most famous brocade styles.

Xincheng County, in Laibin City of south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is famous for being the cradle of Zhuang brocade. For over a thousand years, the county has laid a profound cultural foundation for the art and developed outstanding weaving techniques.

Due to its complexity, only a few people have managed to master the art of Zhuang brocade weaving. 34-year-old Liang Hengyuan is one of them. Together with his 26-year-old cousin Lan Peiwen, the two male inheritors have dedicated themselves to bringing this traditional art back to its former glory, while at the same time integrating it with poverty relief efforts.

Inherit and innovate

Liang started learning brocade weaving when he was 13 years old, but only started taking it seriously five years later.

Liang Hengyuan, a representative inheritor of Zhuang brocade, demonstrates weaving techniques in Xincheng County, Laibin City of south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo provided to Peoples Daily Online)

"When I was studying in Liuzhou [city of Guanxi], I often went to the museum. Once, I saw Xincheng Zhuang brocades on display, and I saw some of my familys brocades from when I was back home. At that time, I thought that someone had to pass on this classic folk art," said Liang.

None of the young women in Liangs family were willing to learn brocade, and his parents objected to his decision to get into the Zhuang brocade business to begin with. However, when Liang successfully wove a brocade duplicate that none of his family members were able to, his parents changed their minds.

With his mothers help, Liang wove the first batch of Zhuang brocades in 2014, turning them into fashionable bride and groom costumes. With their strong local ethnic characteristics, they proved a hit with customers.

Liang then realized that to broaden his market, he had to inject new vitality into his work through innovation. For the next few years, he and his cousin Lan Peiwen traveled to many parts of China and Southeast Asia to learn advanced weaving and dying techniques.

They incorporate fashionable elements with traditional Zhuang brocade, making product lines that meet the needs of the modern market.

Dolls in Zhuang brocade Qipao clothes (Photo provided to Peoples Daily Online)

For instance, the popularity of court operas and Hanfu in recent years has given Liang a new source of inspiration, driving him to create a series of "Barbie Doll Souvenirs", integrating the weaving skills of traditional Zhuang brocade into cultural and creative figures. These vivid and classical dolls became very popular with consumers when they hit the market.

Used for poverty relief

To better protect and pass on the technique to future generations, Xincheng County has set up a Zhuang brocade productive protection and demonstration base. Built on the site where ancient government officials of Xincheng County used to have their residences, the base establishes a characteristic industrial chain for the integration of intangible cultural heritage with poverty alleviation.

Lan Peiwen, an inheritor of Zhuang brocade, demonstrates weaving techniques in Xincheng County, Laibin City of south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Peoples Daily Online/Yan Lizheng)

Lan Peiwen is in charge of the Zhuang brocade base. In addition to showcasing and passing on the traditional weaving techniques, he directs local people in introducing many of the novel pattern designs and continuously enriching the product types, bringing a new lease of life to the traditional art.

As its a characteristic handicraft of the Zhuang ethnic group, passing down the art of brocade is particularly important. With the support of the local authority, a flexible employment base was established at the Zhuang brocade base. It offers a one-month training course on Zhuang brocade technique at least once a year, taking in 20 impoverished local people for each course.

Students who have completed the training can get a job provided by the employment base, which allows them to choose to work in the bases brocade workshop or take raw materials from the base and finish their work at home. Jobs provided by the employment base can increase local peoples incomes by an average of around 15,000 yuan a year.

When a student knows how to weave Zhuang brocade, he or she can teach it to other people. In this way, more people will be able to learn the skills, and the craft can be passed on while at the same time providing more employment opportunities, said Lan.

A worker makes Zhuang costumes at the Zhuang brocade workshop in Xincheng County, Laibin City of south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Peoples Daily Online/Du Mingming)

According to Lan, the base also works together with many universities, vocational schools, and even middle schools and primary schools to teach students Zhuang brocade skills or demonstrate it to them.

Live-streaming e-commerce has become a buzzword for people seeking to sell their products online. According to a report by iiMedia Research, the number of users in China's live-streaming industry is expected to reach 526 million in 2020, and the market size looks set to exceed 900 billion yuan. Lan often encourages his students to start their own businesses on online platforms.

All the hard work seems to be paying off. Xincheng Zhuang brocade products now are not only known throughout China, but have also gained a market in ASEAN countries, and are even exported to Europe and America.

According to local official Zeng Yanqun, Xincheng County will further promote the model combining intangible cultural heritage with e-commerce and poverty alleviation in order to create jobs and raise incomes for more poor households.




Iran and North Korea have resumed long-range missile cooperation in a project that includes the transfer of "critical parts," Reuters reported, citing an unnamed senior U.S. official.







The official did not offer detailed evidence on the joint work, but the remark reinforces speculation over the North's weapons proliferation activities amid its economic woes stemming from biting international sanctions.







"Iran and North Korea have resumed cooperation on a long-range missile project, including the transfer of critical parts," the official was quoted as saying in the report Sunday.







He declined to say when such joint work first began, stopped and then started again.







The official made the remarks as he explained that the U.S. on Monday will sanction more than two dozen people and entities involved in Iran's nuclear, missile and conventional arms based on the argument that Tehran wants nuclear weapons capability and delivery means.







The report on Iran-North Korea missile cooperation came as U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be stepping up pressure on the Islamic republic in an apparent move to appeal to pro-Israel voters ahead of the Nov. 3 election.







Pyongyang has long been suspected of cooperating with Tehran in the development of ballistic missile and nuclear technologies, with rumors that Iran apparently purchased North Korean missiles decades ago.







Efforts to denuclearize the North have been stalled due to a deadlock in nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang, which has continued since the two countries' no-deal summit in Hanoi in February last year. (Yonhap)


PHOENIX  The Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to review a lower courts ruling that upheld a Phoenix suburbs payment of $2.6 million to a private Indiana university to open a branch site in the city.

The justices said Wednesday theyll consider the Arizona Court of Appeals finding that Huntington Universitys promise to Peoria to invest in the universitys own business was adequate consideration under an Arizona Constitution provision prohibiting public subsidies to private entities without a direct public benefit.

The case brought by taxpayers who challenged the incentive arrangement also involves a commercial real estate firms renovation of its own property for its own private profit.

A divided Court of Appeals panel in January upheld a Tax Court judges ruling that Peorias payments to Huntington University and Arrowhead Equities didnt violate the Constitutions Gift Clause.

The appeals court said the expenditures were for a public purpose and that taxpayers challenging the incentives didnt prove the benefits to Peoria were inadequate when compared against the value of the incentives.
It's a playground for the rich and famous with luxurious yachts permanently docked in the harbour - so naturally Portofino is the ideal spot for Prince George's billionaire godfather, the Duke of Westminster.

Still enjoying a summer break, Hugh Grosvenor, 29, was spotted taking a stroll through the Italian village today, while doing some shopping.

The socialite, who inherited his title and estate from his father, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, the sixth Duke of Westminster, upon his death in 2016, looked suave in a blue shirt and sunglasses.

It is thought he is enjoying his Mediterranean holiday with several friends and his mother Natalia, who is also Prince William's godmother.

It's a playground for the rich and famous with luxurious yachts permanently docked in the harbour - so naturally Portofino is the ideal spot for Prince George's billionaire godfather, the Duke of Westminster (pictured)

The duke teamed his low-key attire with a blue trousers and bright green trainers, while enjoying a shopping trip through the coastline village.

The family holidayed in the same resort in 2017 and 2019, which is famed for its harbour packed full of lavish superyachts.

Hugh became Britain's youngest billionaire after inheriting 9.3billion following his father Gerald's sudden death in 2016.

Hugh also inherited 300 acres across London's Mayfair and Belgravia  two of the most expensive areas in the world  as well as estates in Oxford, Scotland and properties around the globe - including the 10,872-acre family estate at Eaton Hall in Cheshire.

He hit headlines earlier this year after pledging 12.5million to help the NHS in its fight against coronavirus.

Still enjoying a summer break, Hugh Grosvenor (pictured left), 29, was spotted taking a stroll through the Italian village today

The Duke donated 2.5million to the Health Service when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, but said he was so 'humbled' by the work of doctors and nurses he wanted to give another 10million.

He donated most of his money to NHS Charities Together, to provide respite, rehabilitation and mental health assistance to NHS staff and their families.

Hugh is close friends with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the youngest of Prince George's godparents.

His father Gerald Grosvenor had surgery to remove a tumour from his lung in July 2013. The operation was said to have been a success and he apparently made a good recovery.

But Hugh lost his father three years later in August 2016 after he suffered a sudden heart attack while out on a country walk, aged 64.
Editors Note: The below is an expanded version of a piece published in the current issue of National Review.

With Gil Troy, the American historian, Natan Sharansky has written a new memoir: Never Alone: Prison, Politics, and My People. He was working on the book when I talked with him in Jerusalem last year. He said he wanted to call it Nine, Nine, Nine. With a smile, I told him about Herman Cain.

The late Mr. Cain, when he ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, had a tax plan that he termed 9-9-9. He wanted to replace current taxes with a 9 percent personal income tax, a 9 percent federal sales tax, and a 9 percent corporate tax. My colleague Kevin D. Williamson wrote a piece in opposition to this scheme, titled Nein! Nein! Nein!

By Nine, Nine, Nine, Sharansky meant nine years in the Soviet gulag; nine years in Israeli politics and government; and nine years as head of the Jewish Agency (the organization that serves as a kind of liaison between Israel and the worlds Jews). The symmetry of the numbers appealed to him as a mathematician. But his publishers didnt go for it, for a variety of reasons. So Never Alone it was, and is.

He never felt alone in the Gulag, he tells me, even though the KGB tried to convince him that he had been abandoned. Only if you cooperate with us, they said, can you save your life. But Sharansky knew they were lying. He knew that there were many people behind him  even when he was deep in the isolation cell.

It was more difficult, he says, not to feel alone in the world of politics! There, youre always competing with everybody else, as he puts it. Youre buffeted by Left and Right.

I ask him whether it was pleasant to relive his experiences, or unpleasant  or some combination. Its always pleasant to return to the years of struggle in the Soviet Union, he says  because of the result. It ended grandly. Less pleasant was to relive the years of politics.

Sharansky is particularly distressed by lessons unlearned. For example, people think it useful to make one-sided concessions to terrorists, in the belief or hope that this will enhance stability. Sharansky regards Israels withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 as a terrible mistake. (Indeed, he quit the government over it.) As he sees it, the withdrawal has given terrorists a launching pad.

Story continues

Natan Sharansky  actually, Anatoly Shcharansky, in those days  was born in Stalino in January 1948. This was four months before the modern Israel. Stalin had five more years to live, and rule.

Young Sharansky was a math and chess whiz. He went to the Soviet MIT, i.e., the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. I ask him a funny question. Does he feel that his destiny as a mathematician or scientist was somehow diverted? Diverted by politics, the struggle for human rights, and the quest to go to Israel?

He explains that he grew up an assimilated Jew, deprived of freedom and identity. He learned from his parents that, if youre Jewish, you have to be the best, in math, chess, music, or what have you. Professional perfection was the way for Jews to survive.

Math, for Sharansky, was a kind of ivory tower, he says, into which he could retreat and be safe. But he soon understood that if you want to be a free person, and a person who belongs, you have to fight for it. There was something more important than mathematics  or any other professional or intellectual pursuit  namely inner freedom, he says. That is why, instead of being the best mathematician, I became the best as a prisoner.

Andrei Sakharov was probably the leading scientist in the whole Soviet Union  a genius physicist (and the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb). Sharansky says he and his classmates knew Sakharovs name when it was half secret. In May 1968, Sakharov published his pivotal, historic essay, Reflections on Progress, Peaceful Coexistence, and Intellectual Freedom. Overnight, says Sharansky, Sakharov went from being the No. 1 scientist to being the No. 1 dissident.

This shook up Sharanskys life. Sakharov had thrown down a gauntlet before him (and others). How do you want to spend your days? What is the purpose of life?

In due course, the young mathematician Sharansky became an activist and dissident. He also became an aide to Sakharov. The closer you get to most great men, Sharansky observes, the smaller they seem. With Sakharov, it was the opposite. The closer you got to him, the bigger he appeared. He was kind, modest, and noble.

I would like to call him my rabbi, says Sharansky, but hes not Jewish, so I say he was my teacher.

Sharansky married Avital in 1974. The next day, she left for Israel, before her exit visa expired. (The groom had been denied one  refused one, making him a refusenik.) The biggest mistake the KGB made was letting Avital out, says Sharansky. She was a tremendous advocate in his behalf.

He was arrested in 1977 and imprisoned until 1986. Charles Krauthammer once remarked to me that, despite the horrors of the Gulag, Sharansky emerged unscathed  in amazing mental and emotional balance. It was like he had gone to the Caribbean to lie on the beach for nine years, said Krauthammer. Last year, I brought this up with another great Soviet dissident, and veteran of the Gulag, Vladimir Bukovsky (who has since died). Its very simple, he said. If you are not broken, you are unscathed. They failed to break him, therefore he is unscathed. Its very personal.

When Sharansky stepped off the plane in Israel, he was a hero, to one and all. But he entered politics, which entails taking positions and incurring the displeasure of roughly half the population. What does Sharansky have to say about this?

You know, its very boring to be a hero, especially when youre young and still have a life in front of you. You listen to all these compliments, enjoy them, and so what? Life is full of interesting challenges.

Sharansky wanted to help the other political prisoners  his fellow zeks, left behind in the Soviet Union (Jewish and Israel-seeking or not). When the USSR collapsed, he wanted to help the one million Jews coming to Israel feel at home, and feel like citizens  full-fledged ones. Absorption was a big challenge.

You quickly find out, says Sharansky, that if a refusal to compromise is your weapon against the KGB, it cannot be your weapon in democratic politics  because such politics requires many compromises. At the same time, there are some things you feel you cant compromise on. That is why I was in four governments but resigned twice, says Sharansky.

He continues, When Bibi [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] wanted me to continue my political career, I said, Bibi, I was in four governments and resigned twice, and I was in four prisons and never resigned. So something is wrong with me in politics.

Sharansky has enjoyed his time in the arena, trying to influence things for the better. That is really what gives meaning to your life, he says, and not the titles  like the title Oh, youre a real hero. You know, I exchanged the title Youre a real hero and inspiration for the title What a disappointment you are very willingly, because that meant you were in a real fight, bearing real ideas that you believe in.

Some of us are fascinated by Israeli political leaders, from Ben-Gurion down through Netanyahu. I ask you, readers: Have you ever read The Prime Ministers, by Yehuda Avner? (He served four of them.) If you like Israeli politics, its delicious, like a box of candy.

Talking with Sharansky, I nose around for stories about Menachem Begin. Here is one: The phone company went to Prime Minister Begin to say that Avital was making many overseas phone calls, in her campaign for her imprisoned husband. She was late in paying her bills. Could the government pay them? No, said Begin, that would be improper  but he himself would pay them, which he did.

How about Ariel Sharon? Sharansky had a long relationship with him, and has many things to say about him. He loved him. He cites a long list of merits and accomplishments: personal, military, and political. But Gaza  unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip  was Sharons policy, and they broke sharply  painfully  over that.

How about Netanyahu? Has he stayed too long? (Many think so, including me.) The prime minister and Sharansky have been friends for more than 30 years. Sharansky loves Netanyahu, and surely its mutual. Again, Sharansky cites a long list of merits and accomplishments. He does concede, though, that theres such a thing as staying too long, and such a thing as allowing younger people to rise.

Sharansky was head of the Jewish Agency for two terms  eight years. Netanyahu and others wanted him to have a third term. Sharansky declined, however, saying that new people with new ideas should come in. He agreed to serve one more year, however  liking the symmetry of nine.

You could not have had a book titled  you could not even have entertained the title  Nine, Nine, Eight.

I want to throw at Sharansky a question I have long explored: Which is more radical, more intransigent? The Palestinian leadership or the people themselves, the street? Or are the two inseparable?

Sharansky says that the problem is first of all with us  the leaders of Israel. In the Oslo process, more than 25 years ago, they brought back Yasser Arafat from Tunis, telling Palestinians, This is it. Arafat will be your leader now, your dictator. And Israelis told themselves, Its good that Arafat will be a dictator, because hell be able to make peace and fight Hamas without the burdens of a free press, independent courts, human-rights organizations, and all that.

Often, democrats like to deal with dictators.

From the start  1993  Sharansky warned that, if you imposed Arafat on Palestinians as dictator, Arafat would do everything he could to make Palestinians hate Israel more and more, because dictators need an external enemy to keep the people in line, and what better enemy is there than Israel?

So, blame the Palestinian leadership, sure, and the street, too  but Israelis should accept that Oslo was a colossal mistake, says Sharansky (with Gaza a further and related blunder). They should abandon an illusory peace process and begin a real one, which depends on democratization for Palestinians: the development of civil society, a free economy, and the rest.

In 2004, Sharansky wrote The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror. One critic of the book was the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, who told the author, Your theories may be good for the basement of the KGB, but they make no sense in the Middle East.

If it was necessary to make the case for democracy in 2004, it is all the more necessary today, with a preference for strongmen all around. At least that is what I think. Sharansky is inclined to agree. In 2004, he says, people remembered the Soviet Union, and the awful destructiveness of Communism. But memories fade (and new people are born). Today, Marxism, along with other isms, is making a comeback. People are once more talking the language of class struggle, etc.

A good 20 years ago, Sharansky noticed that pro-Israel students on American campuses were afraid to speak out. Now, according to polls, people on both left and right are afraid to express their political views  anywhere, not just on campus  which is alarming in a free society, says Sharansky.

Toward the end of our conversation, I ask him what hes up to these days (aside from memoir-writing and discussion). There is Zooming, of course. You dont have to travel, and you can talk to people in Alaska and Australia simultaneously. He says that the pandemic should remind people that there are enemies we can defeat only together.

And he is spending time with his grandchildren  the seven of them. All grandparents love their grandchildren, of course, but this is a little different, or it has a twist, lets say.

It was no sure thing that Natan and Avital would have children (or that Natan would survive the Gulag). As it turned out, they were separated for the first twelve years of their marriage. When their first child was born  a daughter  Natans mother, Ida, sent a picture of her to the head of the KGB prison. For her, the picture, and the girl, were a great symbol of triumph over evil.

So, yes, says Sharansky, I am spending a lot of time with my grandchildren, not forgetting to fight against anti-Semitism and to support the struggle for human rights and democracy all over the world.

One last thing. I always ask Sharansky  I cant help it  Do you have your Psalm book on you? He had it in the Gulag, and had to fight to keep it. His leading verse was, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me. So, where is it? Where is that little, historic book? In the left pocket of my shirt, as usual, says Sharansky. It is always with me, it is always giving me strength.

More from National Review
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 17:35:36|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The international community has denounced the unilateral announcement made by the United States to resume United Nations (UN) sanctions on Iran, saying the attempt is illegitimate and that the United States has no right to impose them.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, on Sunday wrote a letter to the president of the Security Council and UN secretary-general, expressing his opposition to the U.S. unilateral move.

In his letter, Zhang said that the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, and is no longer a JCPOA participant. Therefore, he said, it is illegitimate for the United States to demand the Security Council invoke the snapback mechanism.

On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that "the United States welcomes the return of virtually all previously terminated UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran," and "sanctions are being re-imposed on Iran pursuant to the snapback process under UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 2231."

Shortly after Pompeo's statement, Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the UN Security Council has not taken any action that would lead to the resumption of the previous sanctions against Iran.

To claim that UN sanctions against Iran have been restored is "wishful thinking," the ministry added, urging the U.S. side to "have the courage to finally face the truth and stop speaking on behalf of the UN Security Council."

Meanwhile, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on Sunday said the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and therefore "cannot initiate the process of reinstating UN sanctions" under the UNSCR 2231.

"Consequently, sanctions lifting commitments under the JCPOA continue to apply," he said.

As coordinator of the JCPOA Joint Commission, Borrell pledged to continue to ensure the preservation and full implementation of the JCPOA by Iran and other participants.

Commenting on the remarks by Pompeo, spokesperson of Iran's foreign ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh said Pompeo's position is "a world full of lies," and the only trace of the U.S. actions in the world is "ruinous and ominous legacy," and Washington is now heading for "a new act of defiance."

Iran's message to Washington, he added, is that it should "return to the global community and to its duties."

The U.S. administration has sought to invoke the "snapback" mechanism to restore all pre-2015 UN sanctions against Iran after its failed attempt in the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo against Tehran.

In August, the president of UN Security Council said he "is not in the position" to take further action, as there is no consensus among council members over the issue. Enditem
However, Borrell said that the ministers were united in their rejection of the results of the Aug. 9 election that swept Lukashenko back into office after 26 years in power and want to see new polls held under the guidance of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21)  All U-turn slots along EDSA will soon be closed to improve the flow of buses on the major thoroughfare, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said Monday.

MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia said in the regular Laging Handa briefing that the 13 U-turn slots will gradually be closed in the coming months, depending on their location.

"Alam naman natin ang ginagawa nating bus lane nasa middle lane, so if ever na itutuloy na natin iyan ay maaapektuhan ang U-turn slots," Garcia said.

[Translation: We already know that the bus lane is currently in the middle lane. If this will be continued, the U-turn slots will be affected.]

No exact dates were given, but Garcia said that an advisory would be issued a week before any closure is done. These are:

Caloocan City

Between Monumento Circle to Balintawak Cloverleaf:

- General Tinio

- De Jesus Street / 8th stret left turning

- General Malvar

All vehicles must turn at the Monumento Circle.

Vehicles coming from NLEX (North of Luzon) towards or taking a left turn at A. De Jesus/8th Street must go straight, take A. Bonifacio Avenue, then right at C3/Sgt. Rivera.

Quezon City

Between Balintawak Cloverleaf and Quezon Avenue:

- Balintawak Market U-turn slot in front of BPI

- Kaingin Road U-turn slot in front of Nissan

- Congressional LRT Station

- U-turn slot in front of PANORAMA

- Corregidor intersection/Bansalangin U-turn slot

- U-turn slot in front of Quezon City Academy

- North Avenue U-turn slot before MRT-North Avenue

Between Balintawak Cloverleaf and Quezon Avenue:

- Santolan/Boni Serrano U-turn slot in front of Camp Crame.

All South-bound vehicles must make a U-turn at Balintawak Cloverleaf, while those headed North must do on Quezon Avenue. Vehicles coming from White Plains towards the South should make a U-turn using the service road or intersection under the Santolan flyover.

Makati City

- Buendia U-turn slot under the Kalayaan Flyover

Vehicles coming from Guadalupe going North have to make a U-turn using the service road/ intersection of EDSA/ Ayala Avenue.

Pasay City

- P. Celle U-turn slot

- U-turn slot before Roxas Boulevard near Heritage Hotel

Vehicles coming from FB Harrison headed South must make a U-turn under the Magallanes Flyover, while those coming from the South towards the North must take the signalized intersection where the flow of traffic is timed or MOA Circle.
Louisville police have declared a state of emergency ahead of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's announcement about whether he will charge officers involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor.

Interim Chief of Police Robert Schroeder said the declaration will remain in effect 'until further notice' in a memo to the entire Louisville Metro Police Department on Monday.

City staff set to work putting up barricades in downtown Louisville and boarding up police buildings and courthouses in anticipation for protests that may erupt in the wake of Cameron's decision.

In a statement released publicly after Schroeder's internal memo, Sgt Lamont Washington said officers' off-day and vacation requests have been cancelled.

Washington noted that Cameron has said there is no timetable for his announcement, but the extensive police department preparations suggest that it is coming soon.

Louisville police have declared a state of emergency ahead of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's announcement about whether he will charge officers involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor (pictured)

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (pictured) has said he will announce his decision about whether to charge the officers who shot dead Breonna Taylor 'soon'

The officers that could face charges are Brett Hankison (left), Myles Cosgrove (center) and John Mattingly (right). Hankison was fired from the LMPD while the other two officers remain on the force on administrative assignment

City staff set to work putting up barricades in downtown Louisville and boarding up police buildings and courthouses on Monday in anticipation for protests that may erupt in the wake of Cameron's decision

Protesters and police argue over the placement of fencing near Jefferson Square Park - the epicenter for Louisville protest action following Taylor's killing

It's been over six months since 26-year-old Taylor was shot and killed on March 13 by officers who stormed into her home with a no-knock narcotics warrant.

The EMT's death set off weeks of protests, policy changes and a call for the three Louisville Metro Police Department officers who performed the raid to be criminally charged.

One of the officers, Brett Hankison, was fired for 'blindly' firing 10 shots into Taylor's apartment from outside.

The other two, John Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, remain on the force on administrative assignment.

On Monday the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that an internal LMPD probe is looking into whether six officers involved in Taylor's death violated department policies.

The investigation led by the department's Professional Standards Unit is separate from the probe by its Public Integrity Unit. The findings of the PIU probe were already forwarded to Cameron's office.

The targets of the PSU investigation include Cosgrove and Mattingly, as well as three detectives who were present on the night Taylor was killed - Tony James, Michael Campbell and Michael Nobles.

The sixth target is detective Joshua Jaynes, who was not present on that night but swore out an affidavit to get the warrant used in the deadly raid.

Interim Chief of Police Robert Schroeder said the emergency declaration will remain in effect 'until further notice' in a memo to the entire Louisville Metro Police Department on Monday

The windows of the Romano L Mazzoli Federal Building are seen covered with plywood after it was identified as a 'high risk' target for protests

City workers erect a fence outside Jefferson Square Park on Monday

Last week officials announced that four federal buildings identified by the Department of Homeland Security as 'high risk' targets would be closed from September 21 to 25 in anticipation of protests following Cameron's announcement.

Those buildings include Louisville's federal Gene Snyder US Courthouse & Customhouse, the Romano L Mazzoli Federal Building, the US Attorney's Office building and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.

The General Services Administration has already begun taking proactive steps to protect the buildings, general facilities manager Tom Moore said.

Also last week, the city of Louisville agreed to pay Taylor's family a record-breaking $12million in a wrongful death lawsuit that her mother Tamika Palmer filed against the city and its police department back in April.

At a September 15 press conference announcing the settlement, Palmer repeated her plea for charges to be brought against the officers involved in her daughter's death.

'As significant as today is, it is only the beginning,' Palmer said. 'We must not lose focus on what the real job is, and with that being said, it's time to move forward with the criminal charges, because she deserves that and much more.'

In addition to the $12million, the settlement will also include a series of police reforms for Louisville.

Among the reforms is a requirement that police commanders must approve all search warrants before they are sent to a judge.

Last week, the city of Louisville agreed to pay Taylor's family a record-breaking $12million in a wrongful death lawsuit that her mother Tamika Palmer (pictured) filed against the city and its police department back in April

At a September 15 press conference announcing the settlement, Palmer repeated her plea for charges to be brought against the officers involved in her daughter's death

Mayor Greg Fischer stated that the settlement had nothing to do with Cameron's criminal investigation and said the city would be enacting reforms regardless of the outcome.

'I'm deeply, deeply sorry for Breonna's death,' Fischer said. 'My administration is not waiting to move ahead with needed reforms to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again.'

As part of the settlement, the mayor said Louisville police officers will be offered housing credits to move to some of the poorest parts of the city in the hopes of improving community ties.

They will also be encouraged to regularly volunteer for community organizations and will face increased random testing for drug use.

Ben Crump, an attorney for Taylor's family, noted that the settlement was not only the largest ever paid by the city of Louisville, but also the largest ever for a black woman killed by police.

'We won't let Breonna Taylor's life be swept under the rug,' Crump said.

The attorney also called for charges against the officers and urged people to 'say her name' - a phrase that has become a refrain for those outraged by the shooting.

At least 10 bullets went into Taylor's apartment through a sliding glass door located in the living room and also through a bedroom window

Bullet holes and blood smeared on the walls could be seen in one evidence photo taken inside the apartment in the hours after Taylor was gunned down

The lawsuit filed by Taylor's mother alleged that police used flawed information when they obtained the no-knock warrant to enter her apartment.

Police descended on her apartment after securing a court-approved warrant as part of a drug investigation involving her ex-boyfriend that allowed officers to enter her home without any warning.

Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, had been sleeping in bed when the officers served the warrant at around 1am.

Walker fired his gun when officers stormed into the apartment and has since said he thought he was defending against a home invasion.

At the time, Walker told police that he could hear knocking on the night of the shooting but did not hear police announce themselves.

Walker said he was 'scared to death' so he grabbed his gun and when the door was knocked down, he fired a shot that ended up striking an officer in the leg.

Investigators said police were returning fire when they shot Taylor eight times.

No drugs were found at her home.

The city has already taken some reform measures, including passing a law named for Taylor that bans the use of the no-knock warrants. Police typically use them in drug cases over concern that evidence could be destroyed if they announce their arrival.

Fischer fired former police chief Steve Conrad in June and last week named Yvette Gentry, a former deputy chief, as the new interim police chief. Gentry would be the first Black woman to lead the force of about 1,200 sworn officers.

The department has also fired Officer Hankison, who is appealing the dismissal.
Masked members of Belarus's security forces were seen in the capital, Minsk, on September 20 detaining people during another day of anti-regime protests. Belarusians have been taking to the streets every day since the August 9 presidential election, in which the authoritarian incumbent, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, declared a landslide victory, despite accusations by the opposition and the West of widespread fraud.
Named Binh Thanh, this sizable and modern-looking sale office and customer service centre will play a key role in beefing up Hanwha Life Vietnams business in Ho Chi Minh City and neighbouring provinces.

Hanwha Life Vietnams Board of Director unveils the new sale office and customer service centre in Binh Thanh district, Ho Chi Minh City

The fresh location is part of the companys roadmap to expand presence as well as deepen roots in the Vietnamese market. The modern design and complimentary amenities of the new trade office will be key in spurring the cultivation and development of Hanwha Life Vietnams new cores activities, including Hanwha full-time agency (FTA) force, flexible general agency (Hanwha Flexi), and the new general agency network in Ho Chi Minh Citys eastern part and surrounding areas.

Hanwha Life Vietnam aims to have in place more than 180 customer service centres in the whole country by the end of 2020.

The inauguration ceremony featured Im Dong Jun, CEO cum chairman of the Member Council at Hanwha Life Vietnam, other members of the companys Board of Directors and representatives from the local government.

Marking the occasion, the company donated VND40 million ($1,740) to the Business Scholarship Fund of University of Economics and Finance (UEF). Addressing the launching ceremony, CEO Im Dong Jun said: The new sales office and customer service centre in Binh Thanh district will serve as a springboard for Hanwha Life Vietnam to expand our service network in Ho Chi Minh City and southern region of Vietnam. With modern facilities at the easy to access locations, Binh Thanh sales office will get our customers better experiences and help us to better serve and understand our customers as well.

In the year to date, Hanwha Life Vietnam has rolled out 18 customer service centres to keep abreast with customers growing demands, thus pushing up the total number of its centres to nearly 170 across Vietnam. The company aims to have in place more than 180 such centres in the whole country by the end of 2020.
Students returned to schools on a voluntary basis for academic guidance at several places across India for the first time since March when educational institutes were shut as part of sweeping measures to enforce social distancing norms to check the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic that has claimed around 88,000 lives in the country.

The Centres Unlock 4 guidelines, which were issued late last month to further ease the restrictions imposed in March to deal with the pandemic, allowed students of classes 9 to 12 outside containment zones to return to schools on a voluntary basis from September 21 (Monday) for the guidance. The Union health ministry on September 8 issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) saying only 50% of teaching and non-teaching staff will be allowed on campuses. Attendance is not mandatory for students.

Schools in four north-eastern statesAssam, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Meghalayaallowed students to return to campuses for the guidance in line with the guidelines and safety protocols, and social distancing norms in place. Officials said only students with written consent from their parents were allowed on the campuses. Schools will remain shut in Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur for now.

Also Read: Maharashtra teachers request education department for Covid-19 insurance

Assams secondary education director, Phanindra Jidung, said the situation will be reviewed after 15 days and that the SOPs are meant for all categories of schools. Private schools have to decide when they want to resume their classes.

According to the Assam-specific SOPs, classes 9 and 12 students will be allowed to seek guidance on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The remaining days will be reserved for classes 10 and 11 students.

Nagalands chief secretary, Temjen Toy, said students of classes 9 to 12 were being permitted to visit their schools in areas outside containment zones only on a voluntary basis for taking guidance from their teachers, subject to the written consent of their parents/guardians.

Also Read: IIT Kanpur reopens hostels for research students

The Meghalaya government underlined that students would be allowed to return to schools to clear their doubts with their teachers. But no regular classes would be held until September 30.

Regular class activities for schools, colleges, and educational institutions will continue to remain suspended until September 30, Meghalayas principal secretary (education), DP Wahlang, said in an order.

In north India, schools in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and the Union Territories of Chandigarh and Jammu & Kashmir also reopened for students to seek the guidance.

Anjali Gupta, the principal of Jammus Government Ranbir Higher Secondary School, said they have been instructed to only open schools partially. those students who are facing problems with online classes due to network problems, or those who do not have android phonesmust come to schools voluntarily to seek guidance from teachers, she said.

We have been directed to have 50% of staff. We have made a group for online classes. And we have intimated that those students who want guidance in any subject have to get letters of consent signed by their parents and come to school by following all SoPs given from time to time. Gupta said they have sanitised and fumigated the school.

In Andhra Pradesh, officials said the students will be allowed to get their doubts cleared and not permitted be remain on the campuses throughout the school hours.

Ramavat Kamala, the headmistress of a high school in Andhra, said they reopened the school as per the state education commissioners orders and that all teachers have been asked to resume work. Students of 9th and 10th classes only are allowed to [come to] school for clarification of doubts...

She said they have been asked to wear masks and create awareness about sanitisation. Students will be allowed to sit at a distance of six feet from each other in classrooms. They will be sent [back] immediately after getting clarifications. She said the students have been asked to bring their own water bottles, and not to exchange them. They are asked to sanitise [their hands] at regular intervals. The school was sanitised before the opening for students.

Kamala said they sent back students, who did not bring approval letters, and cross-checked with parents of those who had them.

The closure of schools and online classes as an alternative triggered concern about the digital divide among students. Three-fourths of students in India did not have access to the internet at home, according to a 2017-18 all-India National Statistical Office survey. The share of those, who did not have computers or devices such as palm-tops and tablets, was much greater89%. Access to these facilities was higher among students at higher levels of education. But even at the highest levels, a large share of students did not have access to these facilities.

(With agency inputs)
Representative Image

The nationwide demonstration on September 25 by peasants and farmworkers to protest against the passage of two farm bills in Parliament has received the support of 10 central trade unions.

The shared platform of central trade unions and sectoral federations announced its unstinted support to the initiative of Joint Platform of Peasants and Agricultural Workers Organisations, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee to hold a countrywide rally and strike on September 25, 2020, the central trade unions said in a joint statement.

"We also join them in protesting against the disastrous Electricity Amendment Bill 2020," the statement said. The ten trade unions are NTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC.

Two key farm bills, dubbed as the biggest reform in agriculture by the government, were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha with voice vote. The Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 have already been passed by Lok Sabha and will now go to the President for his assent before they are notified as laws.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed it as a "watershed moment" in the history of Indian agriculture, asserting that the bills will ensure a complete transformation of the farm sector and add impetus to the efforts to double the income of farmers. The Congress and other opposition parties have slammed the bills as "death warrants" of farmers.

Central trade unions and sectoral federations have called upon workers and their unions of all affiliations and across the sectors to join actively in the programmes of protest and resistance being organised by peasants' organisations in and around their respective areas, the statement said.

The trade unions alleged that the proposed laws are aimed at completely restructuring the management of the agricultural economy including farm trade in total favour of the big-landlord-corporate nexus and multinational trading cliques on agricultural produce.

"They virtually kill the rights and entitlements of the agricultural population. The Essential Commodities Act and related anti-hoarding, anti-black-marketing regulations are going to be curbed," it said. They are of the view that the virtual withdrawal of the government's role in ensuring fair and remunerative prices for farmers' produce will pave the way for ultimate doing away with government procurement of agricultural produce with minimum support price.

In totality, peasant agriculture will be totally ruined, on which survival of more than 60 percent population is dependent, the statement said. The new measures are also aimed at facilitating profiteering by big players like Adani, Wilmar, Reliance, Walmart, Birla, ITC etc and also large trading companies, both foreign and domestic, it alleged.

The joint countrywide action on September 25 which may turn into total Bandh in Punjab and Haryana and series of blockades in every corner of the country, is therefore a necessary action to protect farmers, food security and the country's economy, the unions stated.
NYPD Officer Arrested for Allegedly Spying for China

A New York City police officer and U.S. Army Reserve member has been arrested on federal charges of acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese regime, federal prosecutors said on Sept. 21.

Baimadajie Angwang, a 33-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen born in Chinas Tibet region, fed intelligence about other ethnic Tibetans in New York to the Chinese Consulate in the city, according to a criminal complaint.

Angwang works in Queens and lives in Nassau County, Long Island, prosecutors said. He was arrested on Sept. 19; at his initial court appearance in district court for the Eastern District of New York, he was ordered held without bail. Angwangs attorney, John F. Carman, declined to comment to The Epoch Times about the case.

Angwang was charged with acting as an agent for China, committing wire fraud, making false statements, and obstructing an official proceeding. He faces up to 55 years imprisonment if convicted of all charges.

Prosecutors also alleged that he helped Chinese consulate officials gain access to senior NYPD officials.

According to the complaint, Angwang also works as a civil affairs specialist in the Army Reserve, holding the rank of staff sergeant and is stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. His work involves planning, training, and executing civil-military programs, the document said. He holds a secret level security clearance in connection with this role.

In a phone call to an unnamed Chinese consular officialwhom he referred to as Bossin December 2018, Angwang identified himself as an asset for Beijing, saying that even if they deny you in the end for whatever reason, but at least let them know, hey, you have someone in the police department here now, the court records show.

He had regular communications with his handlers in the New York City consulate. He called and texted the Boss at least 55 times between June 2018 to March 2020. The Boss had invited him to the consulates National Day reception to celebrate the founding of the Chinese regime under Communist Party rule.

In a phone call on Oct. 30, 2018, the Boss complimented Angwang on being promoted within NYPD, to which he replied that he was preparing for a promotional exam for the people back home.

Theres a whole bunch of people looking at you, the Chinese official replied.

On Nov. 19, 2018, Angwang also informed the Boss about upcoming NYPD events to raise our countrys soft power, indicating that the intel could help the official advance in ranks within the Chinese government.

In the future, after you get a whatever position [sic] in Beijing, I will wait for your invitation, he told that official.

This is the definition of an insider threat, said William Sweeney, assistant director-in-charge at the FBI, in a statement. As alleged, Mr. Angwang operated on behalf of a foreign government; lied to gain his clearance, and used his position as an NYPD police officer to aid the Chinese governments subversive and illegal attempts to recruit intelligence sources.

The prosecutors noted that Angwang had failed to notify the U.S. attorney general about his activities for the Chinese regime. Agents of foreign governments are required to register with the Justice Department under federal law.

NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the departments intelligence and internal affairs bureau worked closely with the FBIs counterintelligence division to investigate Angwang.

As alleged in this federal complaint, Baimadajie Angwang violated every oath he took in this country. One to the United States, another to the U.S. Army, and a third to this Police Department, Shea said in an emailed statement.

Angwang first traveled to the United States on a cultural exchange visa and eventually obtained asylum, claiming he was arrested and tortured in China due to his Tibetan ethnicity.

Eva Fu China Reporter Follow Eva Fu is a New York-based writer for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S.-China relations, religious freedom, and human rights. Contact Eva at eva.fu@epochtimes.com
Occupation of Crimea and military Russian aggression in Donbas prove that the tragic lessons of WW2 have not been learned, the Ukrainian leader noted.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed in a pre-recorded video statement the participants in the 75th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Zelensky recalled the "difficult and unstable post-war times" that united the UN founders and prompted them to "put aside the contradictions in order to build a better world" where "peace, respect and the rule of international law, human rights and the truth" would prevail, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

At the same time, "regrettably," Zelensky says, "we have to acknowledge that the world of the 21th century is full of conflicts, aggression, dictatorship, and human rights violations."

The humankind "should have learned the tragic lessons of World War 2," the Ukrainian president stressed.

"But occupation of Crimea and military Russian aggression in the Donbas prove that these lessons have not been learned," the statement says.

Zelensky has reminded that "it's not only and not just war in Ukraine."

"It's war in Europe," the Ukrainian leader has stressed.

"And it's not just an encroachment on the sovereignty of an independent state. It's like an attempt to return to division of spheres of influence in the world," Zelensky said.

"The world we live in today is as challenging as it was 75 years ago. Peace and prosperity remain the values people are shedding blood for in different corners of the world," the president went on to say, noting that humankind "has climbed highest peaks, dived into deepest trenches, conquered the space, and even with the help of modern technologies can hold UN meetings remotely."

"Are we really incapable of stopping aggression and wars?" he appealed. "Do we need more bloody lessons to rethink our being on this planet?"

Zelensky underlined that this year, amid the coronavirus pandemic, "we should use this warning sign to stop controversies and join efforts for achieving real, groundbreaking results  not only come back to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter but to start their permanent and full implementation."

"Let's start now. There is no Planet B. We live here and only once," Zelensky concluded.
Travis Barker, the drummer who shot to fame as part of the original Blink-182 supergroup and who has since branched out into hip hop and as a producer, loves Cadillacs so much he has at least two tattoos dedicated to the marque on his body. And this 1964 DeVille is a very special car.Barker is selling it on Bring A Trailer , with the bidding currently sitting at $21,000 and less than 24 hours to go into the auction. Reports online note that hes hoping to sell it for $25,000, so unless it attracts more bids, chances are he wont be parting with it yet.Barker has had it since 2011 and its most likely a favorite: he even featured it in the official music video for the 2015 release 100, though only as a show car, making an appearance parked in the driveway right at the end. Its a gorgeous and well-preserved DeVille, with only some minor wears and tears signs visible in the interior.Finished in Bahama Sand over a Sandalwood cloth and leather interior, this DeVille is powered by a 429ci V8 paired with a TH400 three-speed automatic transmission, producing 340 horsepower and 480 lb-ft when new. The last revision was completed in 2019, and it is believed the car was fitted with a kill switch along the years. Barker is believed to be the third owner.Factory options include chrome bumpers and trim, Soft Ray blue-tinted glass on the windows, 15 wheels with whitewall tires, lap belts on both benches, heat and air conditioning, power-adjustable front seat, and AM/FM radio.The odomoter shows 60,000 miles (96,560 km), 500 (804 km) of which were put there by Barker. The car is offered with a clean California title in the drummers name.At the end of last year, Barker got himself a brand new Rolls-Royce Cullinan customized by Platinum Group. And thats just the most recent acquisition that we know of, so he has to move some of the older cars in order to make room for newer buys.
The pandemic is being used as a cover for privatisation of what remains of the National Health Service (NHS).

Tens of thousands are being exposed to COVID-19, forced into unsafe workplaces, schools and universities. The global pandemic has now claimed the lives of more than 963,000. According to heavily massaged official figures in the UK, 41,777 have died and 394,257 have been infected.

With cases rising exponentially, many are unable to get tested and the Conservative government has said it will begin restricting tests and require those attending Accident & Emergency departments to book in advance.

This abject failure is not primarily a result of incompetence, though this plays a role. Billions in public revenue is being outsourced to private corporations and their shareholders. This has further fragmented an already austerity-weakened NHS, preventing working people and their families from accessing vital health provision.

A National Health Service hospital (source: Wikipedia Commons)

The spotlight necessarily falls on Tory connections and profiteering, but this conspiracy stretches across the spectrum of official politics. It is politically buttressed by the Labour Party, capitalist media and the trade unions who are fully conversant with all that is taking place.

The plunder of public health assets and funds began immediately with the lockdown in March, when the government suspended regulations requiring it to advertise for new contracts over 100,000, using emergency measures.

The exact value and extent of the resulting contracts is unknown, with many Freedom of Information requests refused. What details have leaked out indicate that billions are being transferred to the private sector, including consultancy firms and hedge funds, while public health care provision is grinding to a halt.

By August approximately 56 million had been handed over to at least 16 consultancy firms, including Deloitte, McKinsey and PWC, many with links to Tory ministers and advisers.

According to OpenDemocracy, on March 30, one week after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a lockdown, a Deloitte crisis cell was established in the Cabinet Office to deal with PPE [personal protective equipment] procurement ...

Deloitte was the favoured beneficiary, but McKinsey consultants were awarded a 563,000 contract to advise on the scrapping of Public Health England and its replacement by a new National Institute for Health, effective from Friday. It is headed by Tory Baroness Dido Harding, a Tory peer and a former McKinsey consultant.

This is the tip of the iceberg.

Hundreds of front-line health staffdenied adequate protectiondied in the first COVID-19 spike, and thousands in hospitals and care homes. This was despite the government awarding contracts of at least 15 billion for PPE. The Good Law Project has said that among the top awards were contracts to companies specialising in pest control [Pestfix], a confectionery wholesaler [Clandeboye Agencies] and an opaque private fund [Ayanda] owned through a tax haven.

More recently, Byline Times revealed that approximately 150 million worth of the masks supplied by Ayanda Capital arent fit for use in the NHS and The other 100 million of masks, meanwhile, were reportedly still undergoing tests at the beginning of August.

The site also reported that a 122 million contract for the supply of gowns was awarded to PPE Medpro Limited on June 25, less than two months after the firm was incorporated. Medpros founding directors, Anthony Page and Voirrey Coole, work in private trust and wealth management. The Government has also shelled out 364 million on full-body coverallsbut has delivered just 432,000 of these items for use in health and social care services. This amounts to 840 per bodysuit.

Testing has been almost entirely handed over to private sector operators, with contracts to develop and manage testing sites nationally handed to Deloitte, Serco, Boots, G4S, amongst others, with Amazon supplying logistics.

Of the 35 data processor bodies involved in NHS Track and Trace, just four are NHS organisations. Dr. David Wrigley, deputy chair of the British Medical Association, told the Huffington Post, NHS Test and Tracedespite its nameis not an NHS service, its a largely outsourced programme that sees numerous private companies given billions of pounds to run testing sites, process samples and manage contact tracing call centres.

The 800,000 contract for the queue-management system used on the COVID testing site is run by US-based ACF Technologies.

The public health network has also been largely bypassed for laboratory testing. In April, the green light was given to a Deloitte-run project for the first private sector Lighthouse labs, which include pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca. Professor Alan McNally, of the Institute of Microbiology and Infection at Birmingham University, who was involved in the first lab in Birmingham, said it was clear infectious disease diagnostics were going down a privatised route.

NHS Nightingale under construction. Credit: MoD

The governments much vaunted Nightingale Hospitals, seven in total built in record time at the end of March, also provided a multimillion-pound boon for private companies. With KPMG as project manager, the main contracts were awarded to CFES, Integrated Health Projects, Interserve, Kier, BAM Construction and Tolent Construction. Despite costing at least 220 million, they were not fit for purpose, lacking intensive care provision. Just two admitted any patients and all were subsequently mothballed.

The cleaning contract for these hospitals was handed to the facilities management corporation ISS, whose chair is Labour Party peer, Lord Charles Allen of Kensington. ISS cleaners at Lewisham Hospital, London took strike action at the height of the first coronavirus peak because their meagre wages were not paid on time.

Also in March, the government requisitioned the capacity of most UK private hospitals, supposedly for the pandemic and essential surgery. In return, the government met the operating costs of private groups including BMI/Circle Healthcare, Spire Healthcare and Care UK at the cost of an estimated 125 million a week. Barely anyone was treated. From November, it is report that these private hospitals will be paid up to 10 billion over the next four years to relieve waiting lists. But the deal only delivers 700 extra doctors, as most private hospitals rely on NHS consultants.

The largest intended privatisation is Johnsons recently announced 100 billion-plus expansion of the national coronavirus testing programme, Operation Moonshot. Deloitte has been awarded the contract to deliver more than half of the project, involving eight workstreams.

The programme has been widely ridiculed as being truly out of this world, and the government has already scaled back its boast of being able to test 10 million a day, to 4 million, while pushing back the target delivery date to February.

It is big business that is laughing all the way to the bank, as the cost of underperformance will be borne by working people. Private firms involved in the original test and trace farrago were protected against financial penalties for non-delivery by specific clauses written into their contracts.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : Only four per cent patients were able to get a Covid-19 ICU bed through the routine process, while 78 per cent had to use connections and clout, a survey revealed on Monday.

The number of Covid cases in India has mounted to 54 lakh and the country has been recording on average over 90,000 cases daily for the last two weeks. Hospitals now are seeing more critical patients than they did in May-June this year. With the rise in critical cases, the availability of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds has drastically reduced.

After receiving many complaints from citizens from across the country about their family friends or associates not being able to find an ICU bed at a government or private hospital, 'LocalCircles' decided to conduct a survey to get citizen's pulse on the issue and received over 17,000 responses from citizens located in over 211 districts of the country.

In the first question, LocalCircles asked citizens about the experiences of people in their social network in regard to getting a Covid-19 ICU bed. To ensure that the right feedback is sought, citizens were requested to make calls to their contacts in case they were unaware themselves about the detailed experience of their contact in getting an ICU bed.

In response, 55 per cent citizens said that they did not have any person in their network who needed a Covid ICU bed. These respondents were taken out of the sample to only analyse experiences of citizens who had someone in their network needing a Covid-19 bed.

When this sample was analysed, 38 per cent respondents said they had to use clout to secure an ICU bed while seven per cent said they had to follow up extensively to secure the ICU bed. 40 per cent said they had to use their connections, follow up extensively.

They also had to escalate via social media or complain to the government to secure the ICU bed. Seven per cent said they had to bribe (cash or kind) hospital or government officials to secure the ICU bed, while only four per cent said they got the ICU bed without any of the above. Another four per cent said they did not get an ICU bed at all.

In Delhi for instance, patients complained that the Delhi government's app, Delhi Corona, shows ICU beds available in some hospitals, however, when they call that hospital, they are told that the bed is not available.

The Delhi government also recently asked 33 big private hospitals in the state to reserve 80 per cent of their total ICU beds for the Covid-19 patients. However, whether that is actually implemented by the hospitals remains to be seen as an association of healthcare providers said that it would challenge the order in the high court because such a move would hamper the treatment of non Covid patients with critical ailments.

In the next question, citizens were asked -- given the ICU beds shortage for Covid-19, should it be made mandatory for all hospitals to list on their websites and the building entrances the real time ICU bed availability. A whopping 92 per cent citizens responded in its favour while only seven per cent voted against it.

According to many citizens, those with clout and connections are able to get the ICU beds even if they have mild symptoms while many common citizens, including the healthcare workers with severe symptoms are being denied an ICU bed or being granted the same much later. Several examples have been shared.

According to the people, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the State Health Departments must issue the right SOPs to hospitals in making the ICU bed availability more transparent by displaying this information in real time (as it changes) on their website and building entrances so the only criteria for who gets an ICU bed is the patient's condition.

Also, given the sudden spurt in the number of Covid cases in India over the last two months, people feel it is imperative that states work towards increasing their capacity of ICU beds as the need for them will rise further in the coming weeks as India goes into the festive season in most parts of the country.

LocalCircles will submit a copy of this report to senior members of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the chief secretaries of all states for their urgent consideration.

Over 17,000 responses were received across 211 districts of India. 65 per cent respondents were men while 35 per cent respondents were women. 52 per cent respondents were from tier 1 cities, 26 per cent from tier 2, and 22 per cent respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Oak Street Health, Inc. ("Oak Street" or the "Company") (NYSE: OSH). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Oak Street and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

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On September 16, 2020, post-market, Oak Street issued a press release announcing the Company's financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2020. Among other results, Oak Street's announcement reported a quarterly loss of $72.53 per share, missing by a significant margin the $0.16 per share loss expected by analysts.

On this news, Oak Street's stock price fell $1.62 or 3.90%, to close at $39.89 on September 17, 2020.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said on Friday he hoped talks between the Afghan government and Taliban due to begin on Saturday would lead to an end to the country's long-running war, but said many challenges remain.Khalilzad told reporters in a telephone briefing that the United States would engage the participants and be willing to assist if needed, but the two sides would decide how to proceed.

"This is a new phase in diplomacy for peace in Afghanistan. Now we are entering a process that is Afghan-owned and Afghan-led," he said, adding they the talks would hopefully bring about a roadmap to end the war. "These negotiations are an important achievement, but there are... significant challenges on the way to reaching an agreement," he added.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Only 4 percent people of those who needed an ICU bed were able to find one by going through the routine process, while 78 percent had to use connection or clout to find a bed, a survey has revealed.

The survey, conducted by LocalCircles, included responses from over 17,000 individuals located in over 211 districts of the country.

Amid rising COVID-19 cases there have been many reports of shortage of beds in private, as well as government hospitals.

"After receiving many complaints about people's inability to ICU bed we decided to conduct a survey to get the pulse on the issue," founder of LocalCircles Sachin Taparia said as per a report by Indian Express.

In response to a question on their ability to secure an ICU bed, 38 percent respondents said they had to use clout/connections to secure the ICU bed, 7 percent said they had to follow up extensively to secure the ICU bed, 40 percent said they had to use their clout/connections and escalate via social media or complain to the government to secure the ICU bed, 7 percent said they had to bribe hospital/government officials to secure the ICU bed, only 4 percent said they got the ICU bed without using any of the above measured.

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

Remaining 4 percent said they did not get an ICU bed at all.

Track this blog for all the latest updates on coronavirus pandemic

Asked that whether it must be made mandatory for all hospitals to update availability of ICU beds on a real-time basis on their website, 92 percent responded in its favour.

Of 653 respondents from Pune, 32 percent said that they had to use connections to secure a COVID-19 ICU bed, while only 5 percent said they got it through the routine process.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey on September 20 told Rajya Sabha that India has 1.16 beds per 1,000 persons with its population estimated at 139.78 crores as per the 2011 census.

COVID-19 vaccine tracker | Check out the latest developments from around the world

In his written response, Choubey said India has 15,403 COVID-19 treatment facilities with 15,54,022 isolation beds, 63,758 ICU beds and 2,32,505 oxygen supported beds while so far, a total of 344.78 lakh N95 masks and 141.46 lakh PPE kits have been supplied to states, Union Territories and central government institutions.

According to the figures provided by the minister, Delhi has 162 COVID treatment facilities with 25,719 isolation beds, 2,617 ICU beds and 10,023 oxygen-supported beds.

Maharashtra has the maximum COVID treatment facilities at 3,328 centres with 3,50,340 isolation beds, 14,866 ICU beds and 56,737 oxygen-supported beds, followed by Karnataka with 1,809 facilities, 1,38,725 isolation beds, 4,963 ICU beds and 17,162 oxygen-supported beds.

India reported 92,605 fresh COVID-19 cases on September 20, taking the total COVID-19 cases to 54,00,619. The death toll climbed to 86,752 with the virus claiming 1,133 lives in a span of 24 hours. Total reported active cases in the country stand at 10,10,824.
By Earl Baker and T.J. Rooney

Despite Americas struggle to slow the rise in coronavirus cases and gridlock in Washington stalling a new fiscal relief package, two Pennsylvanians are reaching across the aisle to find solutions to manage the growing national debt.

In June, U.S. Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, who represents Chester County and Reading, and Lloyd Smucker from Lancaster, joined a bipartisan group of 58 other legislators calling on House leadership to restore congressional accountability for decreasing the federal deficit.

In this moment, it is critical to manage the public health and economic crises. The federal government must support the country with near-term borrowing until the virus is controlled and the economic has recovered. These legislators acknowledged the necessity of large amounts of near-term borrowing to provide aid for Americans in the letter. But they also recognize the need to plan for what comes next once this crisis has subsided.

Even before the pandemic, America was on a precarious fiscal path. In the pre-pandemic period of economic growth, lawmakers from both parties continued to borrow money instead of paying down the debt accrued from the 2008-09 recession.

Coming into 2020, the deficit was already about $1 trillion. While pre-pandemic debt was expected to surpass the size of the entire economy by 2031, the emergency borrowing and economic recession has shifted this timeline up substantially.

The national debt now totals nearly $21 trillion and will exceed the size of the economy next year. Measuring the debt by the share of gross domestic product, it will reach a new record by 2023 (107%), surpassing the 106% mark set in 1946 just after World War II.

As seen after the 2008 financial crisis, finding policies to decrease the deficit is a politically unpleasant decision and one that congress has been unwilling to make. However, with the uncertainties and dangers of the rapid deficit increase, it will be necessary for congressional action to preserve Americas fiscal future. In this letter, these members have begun laying the groundwork for this process by highlighting bipartisan, common sense long-term budget reforms.

This letter listed three goals for budget reform that can be included in the upcoming relief package: improved transparency, Congressional accountability, and responsibility. Policies to establish fiscal goals and maintain trust fund solvency are offered as mechanisms to achieve these goals.

While reform would not be practical until after the current health and economic crises have passed, Congress should work proactively to mitigate long-term rising debt before we reach a point of fiscal reckoning, whether that happens during ourss or our childrens, or even our grandchildrens, lifetimes. The longer we wait, the more difficult it will be to change the national debts unsustainable trajectory.

Congress is long overdue for a discussion on the national debt. There will be disagreements over different options to decrease the deficit, but Congress must have these discussions to reach a compromise and find a solution.

In this Congress, Reps. Houlahan and Smucker have been leaders in proposing fixes to manage this countrys fiscal health. Both have offered legislation designed to prevent costly government shutdowns. The most recent shutdown cost the economy $11 billion. They have also cosponsored the Fiscal State of the Nation resolution, which was a proposal named in the letter. This bill would help raise public awareness of the debt by requiring the Government Accountability Office to issue an annual publication on the nations fiscal health and present it to the congressional budget committees.

In a time of hyper partisanship, it is not easy for legislators to work together to find solutions. Taking proactive, bipartisan steps on an issue as challenging as the national debt is that much more admirable. Looking forward, we should encourage members of both parties to follow their example and work together to develop meaningful and effective solutions to solving our deficit problem.

Earl Baker is a former Pennsylvania State Senator, representing Chester County, the states former GOP State Chairman and a former Chester County Commissioner.

T.J. Rooney is a former Representative in the Pennsylvania State Representative for the counties of Lehigh and Northampton and former Pennsylvania Democratic Party chairman.
PORTLAND, ON (September 21, 2020)- From his first laps at the wheel of a family-owned Mini Stock to the most recent weekly battles in his No. 75J Troyer Small Block Modified, the converted school bus that serves as the teams race hauler has been a fixture in the pits at Brockville Ontario Speedway. With the 2020 edition of the Northeast Fall Nationals  October 2nd and 3rd  on the horizon, 33-year-old Joe Banks is ready to return to the raceway that has been his home for about the last 20 seasons. Other than a small handful of road trips here and there during his career, its the only track he and his family have ever known.

Together with his wife Paige, the father of two from Portland, Ontario  who earns a weekly paycheck as a truck driver with Willows Agriservices  is continuing a tradition that dates back to Kingston Speedway where family members Ed and Ab Banks got the ball rolling. Like so many others, his own career started in karting, before moving to the Mini Stocks and eventually the headline Small Block Modifieds.

Dad raced in the Modifieds for several seasons and I took over when he stepped away, Joe Banks explained. He used No. 75, so I added a J when I moved into the car. Over the years, it has become part of the family. Our son Melcolm and daughter Mila are racing karts now and both use No. 75. I hope to someday accomplish most of my goals so my kids can move up and take over the family racing headlines.

While he enjoys spending time with the many friends hes made in the sport, Banks says it can quickly become an expensive hobby and tough to stay competitive and keep-up with the ever changing technology. Hes happy to have a crew of family members including his father Pernie Banks and son Melcolm as co-crew chiefs on the car, along with his wife Paige, his mother Cynthia, daughter Mila and brother in-law Tyler Hazelaar to lend a hand at the track and behind the scenes. With everything that has happened during the 2020 season, Joe Banks is hoping for a strong finish to the year.

COVID-19 has kept my kids away from the racetrack and doing what they love so were thankful for everything Paul & Cheryl Kirkland at Brockville Speedway have done to put together another strong edition of the Northeast Fall Nationals, said the driver. Its been a couple of years since my feature race wins in 2017, so Im hoping for a strong showing against some very tough competition.

Sponsorship for the No. 75J team comes from Willows Agriservices, D & J Transportation, Fosters Repair, Evans Mills Raceway Park, Welchs Drywall, Bangs Fuels, Hewitts Livestock, Frenchs Trucking, Milk, Target Fabrications, Cylinder Head Engineering and Herrington Graphics.

Family, friends and fans can stay up-to-date with Joe Banks and the team by liking banksracing75 on Facebook or following @banksracing75.

Prepared by Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media

clarkemotorsports@hotmail.com, www.facebook.com/clarkemotorsports

613.968.6410
Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu on Monday highlighted, at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU member states in Brussels, the need for the European Union to ask Russia to take responsibility and ensure an impartial, transparent and comprehensive investigation in the Navalny case, while also mentioning the need for the EU to examine the possibility of adopting restrictive measures, if needed.

According to a press release of the MAE, Minister Bogdan Aurescu had an intervention on the "Current Affairs" item.

Bogdan Aurescu referred to the EU-Russia relations in the Navalny case, stressing "the need for the EU to ask Russia to take responsibility and ensure an impartial, transparent and comprehensive investigation in this case and to fully cooperate fully with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons - OPCW," the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) release reads.

Minister Aurescu also joined the other ministers who said it was useful for the EU to take an active position on the issue and examine the possibility of adopting restrictive measures, if necessary.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy also referred to the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, reiterating his call for reducing tensions and conflict de-escalation.

Aurescu supported the diplomatic efforts of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, the President of the European Council and Germany to resume direct dialogue, advocating a balanced approach that would create political space for negotiations, the same source said.

Regarding the situation in Libya, Minister Bogdan Aurescu stressed the importance of EU unity on the Libyan file, on all its components.

"Romania supports the UN and Germany's mediation efforts in this case," Aurescu said, adding that it was necessary to use the "window of opportunity generated by the ceasefire agreement, which is a step towards a substantial political discussion that could lead to to a lasting settlement of the conflict," showed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the said release.

The position of the Romanian side regarding the EU-African Union relations is in the sense of concluding a modern and ambitious post-Cotonou Agreement, being necessary to consolidate and adapt the communication strategy towards Africa, given that the EU is the largest donor for Africa, said the head of the Romanian diplomacy, according to the abovementioned source.

The Romanian minister also conveyed Romania's solidarity with the Belarusian civil society, which is defending its rights, despite repression, and stressed that sanctions must enter into force as soon as possible, in line with what was discussed and agreed at the Gymnich meeting in Berlin, while any delay in their adoption risks triggering unwanted developments.

Minister Bogdan Aurescu mentioned Romania's support for civil society and independent media in Belarus and stressed the need to continue EU assistance to them.

He briefed on the support of the Romanian side for an OSCE mission to facilitate national dialogue and presented the Joint Statement of the presidents of Romania, Poland and Lithuania on Belarus, stressing the need to develop a package of economic assistance for Belarus, as proposed in the Joint Statement.

The European foreign ministers also discussed other topical issues, such as the situation in Lebanon, the EU-China relations, the situation in Hong Kong and the situation in Venezuela, the press release informs.

The MAE also notes that during the working lunch, the foreign ministers discussed the EU's relations with the southern neighbourhood.

"The position of the Romanian side is that the discussion on this subject is opportune, on the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Barcelona Process, but also in the context of the adoption of the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument. The future of relations with the region should take into account the most pressing concerns of the southern neighborhood, the instability and insecurity affecting a number of states in the region and having a negative impact on the EU. The partnership with the region must take into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a priority on restoring the economies in the southern neighbourhood by using the existing financial mechanisms and instruments," the MAE also shows.

AGERPRES .
In a review paper published in Frontiers in Plant Science, scientists urge the importance of combining the knowledge harbored by farmers of diverse crop varieties - which is often overlooked by scientists - with high-tech breeding done in laboratories.

Authors argue that farmers' knowledge and high-tech breeding to improve crops can be effectively combined to unlock more resilient and nutritious food supplies in the face of climate threats. They say that involving farmers in crop improvement enhances the chance that new varieties will be adopted, making crop improvement more efficient.

"Modern breeding under a microscope in the lab can speed up breeding of 'elite' varieties able to provide significant yield increase," says Carlo Fadda, a co-author from the Alliance of Bioversity and International Center for Tropical Agriculture. "But are those varieties and traits most important to farmers? Do they plant them? On the other hand, traditional varieties can better withstand changing climatic conditions, but are these varieties high-yielding enough?"

This Seeds for Needs approach, first trialed in Ethiopia to speed up durum wheat breeding, has already yielded surprising results. When scientists took a selection of elite and traditional durum wheat varieties obtained from Ethiopia Biodiversity Institute (EBI) to farmers to get their feedback, traditional varieties outperformed elite ones, producing double the average national durum wheat yield while also resistant to major diseases.

"Rather than mass-producing seed to cope in a broad range of conditions, we need to find varieties for local contexts in order to maximize yields at each site," says Fadda. "Traditionally, farmers grow a portfolio of crops to withstand different conditions and make different products. Some will plant wheat for bread, for local-brewed beer, for injera - the local flatbread - to minimize their risk."

The 'Seeds for Needs' approach further integrates scientific rigor and cutting-edge breeding to fast-track climate-resilient traits and crop varieties. Combined with farmer selection of varieties, which can cope in field conditions, the result is a better-adapted food supply, more resilient to the impacts of the impending climate crisis, say authors.

"Climate change is a shifting target, and to address it we need a dynamic process," says Fadda. "This approach provides a constant injection of new material adapted to a broader set of conditions within one locality. With this approach, as climate change advances, there will always be well-adapted crop varieties for local conditions, bringing together high tech approaches and traditional knowledge."

Matteo Dell'Acqua, a co-author and geneticist at the Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, in Pisa in Italy, adds: "This approach shows the value of combining the most advanced genomics approaches with traditional knowledge of farmer communities. In this framework, modern breeding and crowd-sourcing methods can complement each other in supporting local adaptation of farming systems to the impacts of climate change."

With the advent of digital tools, the researchers say farmer 'citizen scientists' can provide adequate, reliable information identifying varieties with superior traits tolerant to climate-induced stress. Research conducted with farmers in Ethiopia, Honduras and India shows they are keen to be part of trials, to contribute to research or in exchange for advice.

In Ethiopia, two wheat varieties bred using the 'Seeds for Needs' approach have already been released four years faster than the average time required to release new varieties. Now, the approach is being used across Africa, Asia and Latin American and the Caribbean.

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It is that time of the year. Time for the Democrats to call Republicans racists just as they have for nearly every presidential campaign for more than 50 years. President Ronald Reagan was called racist for saying the phrase welfare queen, President George H. W. Bush for the Willie Horton commercial, and President Richard Nixon for saying he had a Southern strategy. President George W. Bush faced accusations of not liking black people post-Hurricane Katrina. But the results of Republicans tenures as president tell a different story.

Politicians will say what would be in their best interests and whatever will excite their base, rationalizing that if they can not get elected, then they cannot help anybody. The real question is how do the parties govern. A review of the achievements of Republicans and Democrats is quite telling.

GOP led successes

Civil Rights: During the 1960s every major Civil Rights bill passed with a higher percent of Republican votes (80 percent House, 82 percent Senate) than Democrat votes (61 percent House, 69 percent Senate). It is noteworthy that it was largely Democrats who worked hard via the use of filibusters to stall and block Civil Rights bills even prior to the 1960s. And, President George H.W. Bush signed the last Civil Rights bill in 1991. All Civil Rights bills have largely been led by Republicans.

School Desegregation: I grew up during the forced busing era, causing white flight in neighborhoods and ripping our country apart. The Republican Party came up with a workable solution  magnet schools. Millions of students across America have benefited from this initiative.

Reduce Tax Burden: To make the economic plight of the poor just a little more palpable, the Republicans in 1969 started the Earned Income Tax Credit. The credit allowed the poor to receive a tax refund even though they may not have made any tax payments. This Republican program has helped hundreds of thousands every year.

Equal Opportunity: President Nixons Executive Order sought to force companies, colleges, associations, and all employers who sought federal funds to treat Black and Hispanic Americans fairly. This allowed me to work for three Fortune 500 companies and has been a huge success for millions of Americans.

Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988: President Reagan signed into law.

Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday: President Reagan signed into law.

Urban Renewal: Helping our urban areas has been something that the Republican Party has constantly pushed for with Congressman and HUD Secretary Jack Kemp playing a key role. We have had Empowerment Zones and HUBZones that have produced billions in economic incentives, profits, and advantages over the decades. Now, we have added Opportunity Zones.

Welfare Reform: I chaired the GOP Task Force for welfare reform. It has played a role in attempting to end the cycle of government dependency. I wrote the Debit Card/Electronic Benefit Transfer provision which has helped to eliminate cash in the welfare system.

Justice Reform: Republicans focus on recidivism programs to help those who have paid their debt to society so they can re-enter and regain opportunities.

By contrast, I have found Black Democrats all too frequently on the wrong side of history.

Democrats misdirected issues

Abortion: I have been Pro-Life for nearly 25 years, as would most Republicans, and all the GOP presidential candidates in my memory. Today, Blacks and Hispanics make up 56 percent of all the abortions in America and abortion providers are disproportionately placed in Black and Hispanic communities.

Racial Gerrymandering: I was temporarily tossed from the Congressional Black Caucus and physically attacked by the father of a CBC member who was subsequently arrested. At the time, the CBC refused to accept that a Black person could get elected to Congress without having a majority-minority district. I testified before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Savannah, Georgia, and the three-judge panel agreed with me that racial gerrymandering is not necessary. Today, most of the growth of the CBC has come from Black members of Congress representing majority-white districts, including two Black women from New England.

School Choice: Democrats exercise their right of school choice for their children yet deny it to their constituents. The NEAs grip on Democrats prevents school choice programs that would help to desegregate the school districts where many are more segregated today than in the years immediately after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.

Division: When Joe Biden served as Vice President, America experienced gridlock second only to the divide during the Civil War. The Affordable Care Act was a major social reform bill that passed without bipartisan support, a manner which was unprecedented and fostered years of anger. Obama-Biden was the first ticket to win re-election but lose the white vote by a landslide of 20 percent. Their victory was brought by a majority of the Hispanic vote and nearly 95 percent of the Black vote.

Democrats talk about having plans and about their fight, however they have very few real accomplishments that truly make a difference in the lives of the Black community.

Gary Franks served as the U.S. representative for Connecticuts 5th District from 1991 to 1997. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years, and was New Englands first Black member of the House. He is host of the podcast We Speak Frankly. Follow him @GaryFranks
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The last bar of Dairy Milk, encased in that familiar purple wrapper, may have long since rolled off production lines in the space now occupied by Cadbury World, but chocolate still runs through the core of this tourist attraction on Birmingham's south-west fringes.

A gloriously retro Cadbury logo at the top of this 19th-century cocoa temple greets us, erstwhile signage that has seen millions of Cadbury classics boxed up and shipped across the world.

The heady aroma hits our brood as soon as we wander over the threshold. The question on our lips? How much might one get to gobble, Augustus Gloop-style, during this 90-minute tour? The answer comes quickly. We're given a map and 12  TWELVE!  bars of favourites. Our six-year-old, Cleo, ponders the maths before exclaiming: 'Three for me!' 'Don't overdo it, have a couple of squares and save the rest' I chastise to deaf ears, knowing this is no place for the Sugar Police.

Joanna reveals how there are 'surreal moments' - such as the 'beanmobile' ride (stock image from Cadbury)

The purple and gold sign of Cadbury World in Birmingham, where the company was founded

A young Roald Dahl, while a boarder at nearby Repton School, landed himself the world's tastiest job testing out Cadbury's latest inventions (Cadbury stock image)

I dare you to leave the adjacent shop empty-handed, where a sizeable bag of mis-shapes  the wonky veg of the chocolate world  will set you back just 3. Opened in 1991, Cadbury World unfolds over two floors of one of England's most famous factories.

Like wide-eyed Charlie Buckets, we begin in an Aztec Jungle themed area, where cacao pods were first fawned over, before we hurtle through time with conquistador Hernan Cortes, who gifted Europe the ambrosial beans.

Belle, nine, and Cleo love the time travel, especially when we blink out on to early 19th-century Brum, with its replica of Quaker John Cadbury's Bull Street grocery store, which sold drinking chocolate to obsessed Georgians.

Delicious fun: A family enjoys some creative writing with chocolate in the Have A Go area (Cadbury stock image)

Looking on in sheer wonder in the chocolate-making zone where, writes Joanna, 'there's plenty of practical fun' (Cadbury stock image)

A ticket for a family-of-four to Cadbury World costs 53.80, under fours go free. Pre-book tickets at cadburyworld.co.uk. Pictured is Advertising Avenue (Cadbury stock image)

The 4D cinema, writes Joanna, is the most futuristic of Cadbury World's attractions. She describes it as a visual spectacle to rival Disney

Joanna writes: 'The heady aroma hits our brood as soon as we wander over the threshold. The question on our lips? How much might one get to gobble, Augustus Gloop-style, during this 90-minute tour? The answer comes quickly... 12' (Cadbury stock image)

TRAVEL FACTS A ticket for a family-of-four to Cadbury World costs 53.80, under fours go free. Pre-book tickets at cadburyworld.co.uk. Advertisement

I'm gripped when I read a notice about how a young Roald Dahl, then a boarder at nearby Repton School, landed himself the world's tastiest job testing out Cadbury's latest inventions with his pals. As inspiration for a book goes, it must have been mouth-watering fodder.

There's no Willy Wonka-style host today though; this tour is run by a slick bunch of microphone wearing, Covid-conscious teens. There's plenty of practical fun. The 'Have a Go' area sees a purple-coated technician whip up the kind of filled chocolates you'd find in a tin of Roses. We try writing our names in liquid chocolate and gawp at chocolatiers behind glass.

There are surreal elements. We squeeze into a 'beanmobile' and trundle around the psychedelic 'Cadabra' world.

A circus-master on stilts towers above guests as we queue for the 4D cinema, the most futuristic of Cadbury World's attractions. It's a visual spectacle to rival Disney.

From our comfortable, very purple seats we don our special specs and board a Crunchie roller coaster, then a Creme Egg airship. It's a thrilling end to the most delicious of day-trips. Now, pass me a mis-shape, won't you?
China will take legitimate countermeasures in response to recent visits of U.S. high-ranking officials to Taiwan, including measures targeting relevant individuals, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a regular press briefing, urging the U.S. side to stop any form of official exchanges with the island.

According to media reports, U.S. Under Secretary of State Keith Krach visited Taiwan last week and met its leader Tsai Ing-wen, after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar's visit in August.

"China firmly opposes any kind of official ties between the United States and the Taiwan region," Wang said, adding the recent visits by U.S. officials have seriously violated the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques.

"It is a political provocation that emboldens 'Taiwan independence' separatists and undermines China-U.S. relations as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," he added.

"China firmly opposes and strongly condemns it. We will take countermeasures, including against relevant individuals," said the spokesperson, adding the U.S. moves will further jeopardize coordination and cooperation between the two countries on major international and regional issues. "The U.S. side must take full responsibility of the consequences."

Wang said China is determined in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, opposing interference in its internal affairs by external forces, and achieving national reunification.

"We solemnly inform the United States that 'Taiwan independence' will only lead to a dead end, and any attempts to condone and support 'Taiwan independence' are doomed to fail," Wang said. "Any attempt to hurt China's core interests and interfere in China's internal affairs will be met with strong reactions. The historical trend of China's reunification won't be stopped by any force."

"China urges the United States to correct its mistakes, fulfill its commitments in the three joint communiques, stop its official exchange and military ties with Taiwan, and stop its interference in China's internal affairs as well as words and deeds that undermine China-U.S. relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Wang said.

In response to a question about the "median line," Wang said the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the so-called "median line" is non-existent.
Huawei, a leading global provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices, has appointed Li Shi as the new regional president for its Cloud and AI Business Group as the company restructures its offerings in these fields.



Shi assumes the role of President of the Huawei Cloud and AI Business Group in the Middle East region effective immediately. Under his leadership, the group seeks to help governments and local industries to tap into the power of digitalization while creating more intelligent and safer societies.



Based in Dubai, UAE, Shi will oversee the expansion of the groups regional product and solution portfolio along with partner ecosystems that will create ultimate service experiences by utilizing Huaweis global capabilities.



The executive will further seek to deliver comprehensive terminal-edge-cloud solutions and services to more of Huaweis customers and strategic partners, all with respect to data sovereignty that can support the digital economy and smart society of countries across the Middle East.



Shi was most recently the CEO of Huawei UAE and had also previously held executive positions for Huawei in other Gulf and Levant countries.



Charles Yang, President of Huawei Middle East, said: The innovations behind AI and cloud computing are advancing by leaps and bounds, and will soon pave the way to a digital Middle East in which all things are connected. Governments and enterprises are reinforcing their investments in these two fields. Under Li Shis leadership, I am confident that Huaweis Cloud and AI Business Group will bring the value of ubiquitous computing to even more communities across the Middle East.



Shi added: Nearly every industry in the region has been re-booting for the digital age. Cloud and AI technologies will accelerate this transformation over the next decade. By offering new cloud services with our partners, enabling deeper AI research and development, and introducing new supercomputing capabilities to the region, our team will reinforce Huaweis unrivalled end-to-end capabilities in the ICT domain while inspiring innovation in organizations of all shapes and sizes.



Established earlier this year, Huaweis Cloud and AI Business Group in the Middle East is an evolution of the companys Cloud Business Department. Under the slogan Cloud Everywhere, the restructuring enables a more focused approach to developing and deploying solutions that will form the bedrock of the digital world.  TradeArabia News Service
If Zinedine Zidane has expressed satisfaction with his Real Madrid squad for the coming season, there was little evidence of it on the pitch in the 0-0 draw at Real Sociedad on Sunday evening. The Frenchman elected to hand debuts to two Castilla players, Marvin Park and Sergio Arribas, rather than trusting first-team squad members Borja Mayoral and Luka Jovic to try and find a breakthrough in the Reale Arena.

Anything can happen between now and October 4, Zidane said in his pre-match press conference. The emergence of Martin Odegaard as a genuine contender for a regular midfield spot and the departures of James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale, two players who were hardly Zidane favourites, has gone some way to pacifying the Frenchman but he has asked for reinforcements that have not materialized  Eduardo Camavinga and Dayot Upamecano  while the club concentrates on a move for Kylian Mbappe next summer.

Zidane not keen on his striking options

Sergio Arribas in action against Real Sociedad. REALMADRID.COM

It seems that Zidane has little space for three of his four number nines  Jovic, Mayoral and Mariano  and it doesnt seem as though that is likely to change. I dont understand Zidane because I think that one of those strikers can make a difference on days like today, said former Spain keeper Santiago Canizares commentating on television. Madrid director Emilio Butragueno said after the match in an interview that as things stand, we have a squad that gives us guarantees. That as things stand may prove instructive in the next two weeks.

The debuts of Marvin and Arribas can be considered a reward for their work at Castilla and the backing of Raul after the reserve sides run in the UEFA Youth League. Zidane though, unlike Jose Mourinho, does not seek to point out how many players he has given debuts to. The Portuguese blooded 17 youngsters. Zidane has given first team starts to just 12, including Marvin and Arribas. The Real manager tends to make debuts hard to come by, as Mariano, Alvaro Tejero, Ruben Yanez, Achraf, Oscar Rodriguez, Luismi Quezada, Jaime Seoane, Franchu and his sons Enzo and Luca can attest.

We didnt change our formation. Its tricky, because if you throw on another centre-forward, you have to change the formation and I didnt want to. We needed to bring on players on the wings, and thats what we did, Zidane said after the match.

The line up and these debuts were last minute decisions, he added, in reference to Casemiros absence from the starting XI.

Zidane may look to Marvin and Arribas again this season, as well as two other Castilla players knocking on the door of the first team, Antonio Blanco y Miguel Gutierrez.

Until 4 October, Jovic and Mayoral will have to wait and see how things stand for them.
New Delhi: In compliance with the Unlock-4 guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), schools in Haryana partially reopened on Monday (September 21) to enable students studying in Classes 9 to 12 to visit their institutions on a voluntary basis for taking guidance from their teachers.

Recently, the Haryana government had allowed students of class 9 to 12 to visit their schools in areas outside COVID containment zones only, on a voluntary basis for academic guidance.

The students carried written permission that had the consent of their parents or guardians allowing them to visit schools for guidance from teachers. Authorities had asked schools to follow all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently.

Live TV

In the wake of the coronavirus lockdown imposed earlier and due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, schools have remained shut for the past six months, though online teaching is being imparted by schools.

Though the overall number of students who turned up in schools on the first day was less, the number was reportedly more in government schools while only a few turned up in private schools.

While students at many places said they were happy to be back in school, even if regular classes had not resumed yet, there were some parents who were apprehensive as coronavirus cases had surged in the state and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, teachers were instructed not to share books, dusters, chalks with either students or other teachers. Some schools had installed foot pedals to control water taps.

Only one student at a time was allowed to go to the toilet, which was regularly cleaned. It has also been made mandatory for teachers to download the Aarogya Setu app on their mobile phones and all were required to take a COVID-19 test before September 21.
Real Wood Floors Gallery Its our passion and purpose to work towards the day when every child is home.

Real Wood Floors, the maker of quality flooring, is expanding its efforts this week and opening a new location at 1100 Fatherland Street, in Nashville, Tennessee. The building was originally scheduled to open in March, but after a vehicle ran through the front glass and delays from tornado recovery and adjusting to Covid, Real Wood Floors had to delay its opening.

Spokesperson Dan Ruhland expressed enthusiasm about the new launch on March 1, stating, We designed our space to feature panels of our flooring first and foremost. We think nothing better exhibits a beautiful floor more than seeing a large sampling of it displayed for easy viewing with home-style lighting. We have plenty of samples and catalogs for you to take home to compare with your coordinating pieces.

Aside from the showroom space, Ruhland notes the flexibility of Real Wood Floors customer service. We enjoy serving our clients in custom and personal ways, including jobsite, office, and coffee shop meetings designed to best help them find solutions.

Real Wood Floors has also opened up new locations in Denver and Atlanta in the last two years.

Dan also added that this expansion will generate additional revenue to help Real Wood Floors grow their mission. Its our passion and purpose to work towards the day when every child is home. In some cases that home is with new families through adoption, but we believe the best solution is often in creating ways for these children to find homes in their own countries. Were partnering with organizations to find creative solutions to lift children up from the most challenging circumstances and provide not only loving homes, but education and support assistance to give them a better chance to thrive. We believe these elements are life-changing and we love thinking outside the box to find solutions. Just as we love to innovate and embrace challenges in our industry, we want to apply the same drive to not only helping individual children, but solving the problem. Growing our business in Nashville significantly impacts our efforts in helping to fulfill this purpose.
A corruption inquiry into former Wagga Wagga Liberal MP Daryl Maguire has heard allegations he improperly used his public office, claiming he could open doors in the pursuit of his own financial interests.

The first hearing of the inquiry on Monday contained audio extracts of two intercepted phone calls in which Mr Maguire allegedly spruiked his connections and his diplomatic weight in the Asia-Pacific region.

ICAC will hold public hearings into former Liberal Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire. Credit:Janie Barrett

Mr Maguire had been an MP for 19 years, variously serving as a parliamentary secretary and the chairman of the NSW Asia Pacific Friendship Group. He was forced to quit Parliament after another corruption inquiry exposed his attempts to broker property deals and seek commission on behalf of a Chinese developer.

Monday's inquiry is investigating allegations that from 2012 to August 2018, Mr Maguire engaged in conduct that involved a breach of public trust to gain a benefit for himself and business entities, including G8wayinternational/G8wayinternational Pty Ltd and other people.
By Deborah Smith-Gregory

University Hospital in Newark was front and center as the premier academic medical center responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital performed the function it always has for our state: it cared for and treated everyone who walked in through the door.

In a community largely made up of people of color, which was also disproportionately affected by COVID-19, University Hospital struggled yet rose to the challenging demands to continue to serve its mission of caring for all patients. At the height of the pandemic, every inch of the hospital was turned into COVID-19 units and tents were built out in the parking lot to triage symptomatic patients.

Unfortunately, the revised FY2021 Budget continues to exacerbate the hospitals financial frailty and, as a result, undermines the healthcare of Black, brown, uninsured, and underinsured people in our state. In addition to New Jerseys approximately 640,000 uninsured residents, another 124,000 have lost insurance due to job loss during the pandemic. University Hospital treats a large portion of those uninsured patients, relying on charity care to make up some of the revenue lost.

Because it is charged with treating the sickest with the least ability to pay, the hospital lost millions in federal funding due to the CARES Act allocation formula, which relied on 2018 revenues. For a public health facility like University Hospital, where 73% of all revenue comes from healthcare subsidies such as Medicare and Medicaid, the reimbursement rate is a fraction of what private insurance pays, lowering overall revenues for the hospital.

While University Hospital has to subsist on mainly Medicaid, Medicare, or charity care, private hospitals can tap into better-resourced patients who have private insurance with reimbursement rates that are at least twice as high. To be generous, we can say the federal reimbursement formula had the unintended consequence of victimizing the hospital and the people it serves. Now, the State of New Jersey is poised to extend the pain in its proposed budget.

As New Jerseys only public health hospital, University Hospital stepped up admirably in caring for patients during the pandemic and yet is recommended for a cut in appropriations. Our state legislators weighing funding priorities need to determine whether the cut in funding is fair and equitable. We assert that it is not. Total state aid to the hospital has decreased by $11.5 million since 2014, while treating almost 100,000 patients in its Emergency Department each year. University Hospital deserves more to ensure the viability our states premier public health institution.

The states intent when it took possession of the former Newark City Hospital in 1968 was to turn it into not only a premier hospital but to maintain the mission of caring for the underserved and uninsured. University Hospital has become a Level One trauma center and a state-owned teaching hospital associated with Rutgers Universitys New Jersey Medical School. It cannot maintain the mission of caring for the most vulnerable if its budget suffers any decreases in state funding, especially while dealing with a continuing pandemic.

Successive administrations of state government as well as Rutgers have treated the states only public hospital with sometimes benign, but often willful neglect, starving it of funding and leaving the public facility to rot. University Hospital has served the needs of the state as well as possible, despite that neglect. If the governor and Legislature are truly interested in eliminating healthcare disparities by providing essential healthcare, it is time to recognize the huge role University Hospital does and must play to bring healthcare equity to the states citizenry.

While the global COVID-19 pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime event, University Hospital responded much the way it always has when assisting emergency service units. The hospital has stood by the people of New Jersey through many crises, including Hurricane Sandy, caring for victims when 9/11 terrorists crashed planes into the World Trade Center and caring for several victims of a nightmarish school bus crash on the highway.

Every step of the way, since its first inception in 1882, University Hospital has met the health challenges of New Jersey. It is time for the state to reward rather than punish the only public health hospital in the state. Cutting its funding at this critical time continues a trend of disinvestment in this historic and critically important hospital that is serving some of our most vulnerable communities. It is not too late to begin to treat University Hospital as a precious state resource  in fact it is long overdue.

As Governor Murphy said in his recent budget address, This pandemic isnt done with us yet. Not by a long shot. We are still at war. University Hospital needs adequate funding so it can successfully fight this pandemic war and the war on unequal healthcare access.

Deborah Smith-Gregory is president of the Newark, NJ Chapter of the NAACP.

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Turkey's agreements and cooperation with Libya's UN-recognised government will continue despite Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj's desire to quit

Turkey's agreements and cooperation with Libya's UN-recognised government will continue despite Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj's desire to quit, Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin was quoted as saying on Monday.

In June, Turkish military support helped Sarraj's Government of National Accord (GNA) repel an assault on Tripoli by commander Khalifa Haftar's eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), which is supported by Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

President Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey was upset by Sarraj's announcement that he planned to quit, but Kalin said Turkish support for the GNA and their bilateral agreements, which include a security pact signed last year, would continue.

Turkish officials may travel to Tripoli "in the coming days" to discuss developments, he added.

"These accords will not be impacted by this political period because these are decisions made by the government, not by any individual," Kalin told Demiroren News Agency.

The GNA declared a ceasefire last month and called for the lifting of a months-long blockade on oil output. The leader of a rival parliament in eastern Libya also appealed for a halt to hostilities, offering hope for a de-escalation of the conflict across Libya since a 2011 uprising.

Haftar dismissed the calls, but said on Friday he would lift for one month his blockade on oil outputs and that he had agreed with the GNA on "fair distribution" of energy revenue.

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A joint paper by former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan and former deputy governor Viral Acharya have suggested ways to make India's banking sector more agile and competitive. The research paper, which focuses on the challenges faced by the public sector banks, suggested that the best way to transform the state-owned lenders is by increasing efficiency, competition and variety.

The economists said that public sector banks might perform better if they are freed from court-mandated new entry-level hiring constraints that hiring can be done through open exams, which makes it hard for PSBs to attract candidates from elite educational institutions, who have little desire to sit for yet another exam.

"PSBs need to be able to recruit laterally, while retaining the talent they have, but to do so they need to be able to promise employees adequate compensation, responsibility, as well as the freedom of action. Unfortunately, employee actions in public sector banks are constrained by government rules and second-guessed by vigilance authorities, even while pay is limited. It has been hard therefore for public sector banks to compete for talent," the paper said.

Rajan and Acharya said that PSBs had the best talent, but past hiring freezes decimated their middle-management ranks, while private banks and multinationals also poached talented personnel from the state-owned banks.

The paper claimed that the PSBs' performance also suffer in the process of fulfilling the government mandates. It also cited the recent push into MSME lending under the Mudra scheme which has turned into bad loans.

"With the government strapped for funds, its ability to support the capital needs of public sector banks as part of the second grand bargain has been eroded," it said.

Despite inadequate support from the government, undercapitalised public sector banks tend to revert to financing the government rather than taking risks on new corporate or retail lending, the research paper said, adding that such "lazy lending" is a serious impediment to the growth of productive parts of the economy, even if it keeps the banks relatively safe on paper.

Besides, the lack of profitability at PSBs has also affected their ability to service their core deposit franchise well, so they are slowly but steadily losing deposit share to private banks.

"They cannot keep veering from bouts of crazy lending - where they make losses and deplete capital - to lazy lending - where they lend to the government but not to the private sector - and back. Their limited current capabilities have to be seen as the central impediment to Indian banking's progress, and it has to change if India is to have any hope of high rates of growth. Before that, however, the balance sheets of many public sector banks (and some private banks) have to be restored to health," it said.

The duo also suggested scrapping Financial Services Department to provide bank boards and management independence. They also called for introducing longer terms for senior management, better assessment of performance, performance-based promotions and extensions as a reform for the public lenders. The paper argues about tweaking ownership structures at banks. Rajan and Acharya suggest trimming government stake below 50 per cent in some PSBs and re-privatisation of some of these banks.

By Chitranjan Kumar

Also Read: Bad loan management, PSB reforms: Rajan, Acharya make key suggestions

Also Read: Raghuram Rajan, Viral Acharya suggest scrapping of Financial Services Dept in Finance Ministry for PSBs' independence

Also Read: 'Grand bargains' 50 years ago to lazy lending: Rajan, Acharya explain why Indian banking is in shambles
Demand for oil has dropped like a stone since the pandemic hit.

Renewable energy is gaining ground around the world.

Forests in the western U.S. are burning up because climate change means warmer, drier weather: yet another urgent call to reduce carbon emissions as fast as possible.

And yet Alberta Premier Jason Kenney can still hardly bring himself to utter the words climate change, energy transition or, God forbid, green plan.

Instead he refers to green plans as pie in the sky ideological schemes. Instead he establishes an inept war room to fight environmentalists who he says are wrecking Albertas plans to keep producing oil.

If Justin Trudeaus economic recovery plan to be announced in this weeks throne speech features a green recovery, Kenney has already signalled that he will take it as an affront and a threat to the survival of Albertas petroleum industry.

So is there anything that might change Kenneys denial of reality?

Or will he continue to furiously row the leaky fossil fuel lifeboat that he desperately hopes will deliver Alberta back to prosperity?

Oil and natural gas as sources of much-needed energy for transportation and electrification are not going to disappear overnight, no matter what climate activists and green economists want.

But demand is going to slow down as governments move to significantly reduce carbon emissions in order to slow climate change, and as improvements in technology make solar, wind, and hydrogen power  as well as electric vehicles  more and more feasible.

So says international petroleum giant BP, which last week predicted that oil demand will peak this decade. In its latest report, DNV-GL, a Norwegian-based worldwide risk assessment expert, predicts the demand for oil may never exceed 2019 levels. The cover story for the latest issue of The Economist predicts clean energy will soon upend relationships between the worlds power brokers.

These are conservative voices, not the wild-eyed radicals that Kenney envisages as yearning to put a stake in the heart of the fossil fuel industry.

And what is he going to do if Joe Biden is elected president of the United States?

Biden has a $2 trillion  yes, trillion  detailed green plan that in its quest for clean energy pretty much ignores the fact that the U.S. is the worlds biggest oil producer.

Among other things, Biden aims to remove carbon from the electricity sector by 2035 using a clean energy standard for utilities; funnel billions of dollars of government money over the next four years into research and development of batteries and electric vehicles; create a million new jobs in clean energy auto manufacturing, auto supply chains and auto infrastructure; and provide funding for green infrastructure that would include 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations.

Of course, if Biden wins he and Trudeau will be much chummier on a host of issues, including climate change activism, than Trudeau and Trump are.

Where will that leave Kenney? Fighting it out against the rest of the world?

Kenney will be in office for the next three years and they promise to be tumultuous times.

So he needs to consider how he can forge some kind of alliance with Trudeau that will help Alberta and the rest of the country more easily adapt to the worlds changing energy requirements.

Promoting, protecting and defending the oil and gas industry at all costs, which is what Kenney has been doing since he was elected last year, isnt working so far.

He needs to look and act like a leader who is ahead of the pack, not someone who is desperately fighting off the pack at his heels.

There is no better example than the kind of alliances and gamesmanship that Rachel Notley embraced when she was premier.

She was certainly given the most credit by Albertans for the decision by the Trudeau government to purchase the $4.5 billion Trans Mountain pipeline project and save it from being mothballed.

Would that have happened if she hadnt previously committed to Trudeaus national climate action plan? Not likely.

Alberta  and all of Canada  would stand to benefit if Kenney would now simply face reality and get on with what needs to be done.

GS Gillian Steward is a Calgary-based writer and freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: is a Calgary-based writer and freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @GillianSteward

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REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Mach49 , the growth incubator for global businesses, announced that Fortune 1000 strategic growth advisor Mark Simoncelli has joined the leadership team as Senior Vice President of Business Development.

"With a background spanning multiple global industries, Mark has unrivalled expertise in innovation and digital transformation, business process optimization, human capital development, and business model transformation," said Linda Yates, CEO and Founder of Mach49. "He will play a critical role at Mach49 helping clients realize their venture building aspirations."

"Large global businesses are best positioned to take advantage of this once-in-a-generation growth opportunity," said Mark. "I'm excited to work with an experienced team that is relentlessly focused on building ventures even during these challenging times."

Led by a group of successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and C-Suite executives, Mach49 has pioneered an approach that lets global businesses beat startups at their own game. Working with global leaders like Shell, Schneider, Intel, Pernod Ricard, and Stanley Black & Decker, Mach49 helps clients create and launch ventures, build incubators, successfully invest in startups, and bring the best of Silicon Valley venture-building principles and practices into their businesses.

Mark joins Mach49 from Frost & Sullivan where he was Global Senior Vice President for Growth Implementation Solutions and was responsible for establishing their worldwide growth strategy and implementation practice. With Mark's relocation to the US, his focus shifted primarily to the America's region where, along with his cross-functional team, supported strategy for a portfolio of key accounts across multiple industries, including automotive, energy, industrial, healthcare, aerospace/defense, and financial services.

Starting his career at Accenture and having focused on large-scale technology implementations, Mark has worked across all aspects of shareholder value creation. Prior to Frost & Sullivan, he worked directly with the Board of an international retailer, leading a complete reorganization across their entire business that established the foundation for a significant increase in shareholder value.

About Mach49

Mach49 partners with global businesses to disrupt markets and create new growth opportunities. Mach49 focuses on execution, with a unique approach to venture building and investing fueled by decades of Silicon Valley experience. Founded in 2014 and with incubation hubs worldwide, Mach49 is based in Redwood City, CA and has offices in Boston, London, and Singapore. Learn more about Mach49 and our recent acquisition by Next 15 at www.mach49.com .

SOURCE Mach49

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NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Turnbridge Equities (Turnbridge), a vertically integrated real estate investment and development firm, announced that Michael Gazzano will oversee new acquisition and development opportunities on the West Coast, as the firm expands its investment footprint throughout the country.

Michael Gazzano, Turnbridge Equities

Gazzano, who joined the firm in 2019 as a Managing Director, has been supporting other projects in the Turnbridge portfolio throughout the U.S. over the last year. In his new role, he will now focus his efforts on identifying new investments for Turnbridge on the West Coast, with target markets that include the entire Southern California region in addition to Seattle, Portland, and Phoenix.

Gazzano will oversee West Coast acquisitions for ground-up development and value add initiatives, as well as distressed note acquisitions, across various asset classes including multifamily, mixed-use, office, and industrial. Gazzano will be based in Los Angeles.

"Our focus on identifying and securing new opportunities throughout the West Coast marks the next phase of Turnbridge's long-term national expansion," notes Andrew Joblon, Managing Principal and Founder of Turnbridge. "Since its inception, Turnbridge has implemented successful investment strategies in emerging markets throughout the country and the decision to increase our presence on the West Coast was a logical next step in our business growth plan. We're pleased to have Michael lead our West Coast efforts and bring our vertically integrated real estate investment platform to markets across the region."

"Turnbridge has a well-earned reputation as a strategically focused real estate investor with a history of sourcing and executing investments nationwide and I look forward to continuing the firm's winning track record by building its West Coast portfolio," Gazzano adds.

Turnbridge continues to be an active investor and developer across the U.S., and most recently announced the recapitalization of the Bronx Logistics Center, a Class-A industrial property the firm is developing in a joint venture with Dune Real Estate Partners. The development is in the Hunts Point submarket of New York City and is expected to be one of the largest multi-story, last mile distribution facilities in the region when complete.

About Michael Gazzano

Gazzano has over two decades of real estate investment and development experience. Prior to joining Turnbridge, he served as Vice President of Development for Caruso, one of the largest privately-held development companies in the country. During his time at Caruso, he oversaw acquisitions, entitlements, design, leasing, construction, and financing of various projects, including Palisades Village, Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort, 333 La Cienega, 8500 Burton Way, San Vicente, and The Americana at Brand. Prior to that, Gazzano worked in the Global Real Estate Group for The Walt Disney Company and started his career with C.W. Driver, a large General Contractor, where he worked on several projects in Southern California.

Gazzano holds a Master's Degree in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning and a Minor in Civil Engineering also from the University of Southern California. He is a member of ULI and a Board Member for the USC Price Real Estate Advisory Board as well as Co-Chair of the USC Price Real Estate Alumni & Affiliates.

About Turnbridge Equities

Turnbridge Equities, founded in 2015 by Andrew Joblon, is a privately-held, vertically-integrated real estate investment and development firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Miami, and Austin. Turnbridge is an SEC registered investment advisor, Turnbridge RE Fund Management Company I LLC, with assets under management in excess of $1.7 billion. Turnbridge's full-service platform and extensive relationships enable the company to acquire, develop, reposition, and operate real estate and generate value for its investors and partners. Turnbridge and its principals seek to bring high levels of creativity and thought leadership to drive the results of each of its investments. With a track record of implementing successful investment strategies, Turnbridge has capitalized on emerging trends and monetized value in advance of market shifts.

Contact :

Great Ink Communications, Ltd.  212-741-2977

Tom Nolan

Francisco Miranda

[email protected]

SOURCE Turnbridge Equities
Premier John Horgan and Minister of Finance Carole James announce B.C.'s Economic Recovery Plan during a press conference at Phillips Brewery in Victoria, B.C., on Sept. 17, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito)

John Horgan Calls an Election in British Columbia for Oct. 24

LANGFORD, B.C.B.C. Premier John Horgan has called a provincial election for Oct. 24 during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying unprecedented times call for unprecedented actions.

Horgan says he grappled with the idea of calling an election but there are significant health and economic challenges facing the province.

B.C. has a fixed election date set for October 2021, but Horgan says to wait for 12 more months would be time wasted.

Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson and Green Leader Sonia Furstenau have questioned the need for an election during the pandemic.

The provinces minority NDP government took power in 2017 after signing an agreement with the Greens, but Horgan says political stability is needed and that is what he is seeking for the next four years.

The NDP and B.C. Liberals were tied with 41 seats each when the legislature was dissolved today by Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin, while the Greens held two seats, there were two Independents and one seat was vacant.

Wilkinson, who became Liberal leader in 2018, has been critical of the governments response to the pandemic, saying last week that it has taken too long to roll out a $1.5 billion economic recovery plan.

Other provinces unveiled their plans months ago, he said last Thursday.

Theyre trying to stoke election fever with an economic plan.

Horgan described the plan as building on a foundation of previously announced provincial and federal commitments aimed at recharging the economy.

This recovery plan is just the start, the first step on a long road of recovery that we will take together, he said in announcing details of the plan.

Well continue to invest wherever and whenever we need to, to keep our economy growing and keep people safe.

The Greens, meanwhile, announced Furstenau as their new leader a week ago when she dismissed the need for an election, arguing the agreement her party has with the NDP is working.

John Horgan needs to recognize that an unnecessary election right now is an entirely irresponsible thing to do, she said at the time.

Elections BC has been consulting counterparts in New Brunswick after that province successfully held an election earlier this month during the pandemic.

By Dirk Meissner
The survey was conducted on September 12-16.

A recent survey says 31.8% of respondents would support incumbent Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky if presidential elections were set to be held in the near future.

That's among voters who intend to cast ballots and have already made up their choice, according to a poll conducted by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

Another 18.9% of those polled would vote for former President Petro Poroshenko, and 13.3% for the leader of the pro-Russian Opposition Bloc Party Yuriy Boyko.

Read alsoUkrainian political parties: fresh ratingsAnother 9.9% would cast ballots for leader of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) Party Yulia Tymoshenko, 6.8% for leader of the Syla i Chest' (Strength and Honor) Party Ihor Smeshko, 6% for leader of the Radical Party Oleh Liashko. Some 4.9% said they would vote for leader of the Hromadianska Pozytsia (Civil Position) Party Anatoliy Hrytsenko, and 2.3% for former MP Oleksandr Vilkul.

Other politicians have scored less than 6.1% all together.

Compared to Zelenky's rating in April, his approval rating fell by 10.8 percentage points (from 42.6% to 31.8%), while that of Poroshenko rose by four percentage points (from 14.9% to 18.9%).

The mechanics of the poll

The survey was conducted on September 12-16 through computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) using a random selection of cell numbers.

The sample is representative of the adult population (aged 18 and older). The survey was conducted in settlements across Ukraine with the exception of Russia-occupied Crimea and certain districts in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The study involved 2,000 respondents.

The margin of error does not exceed 2.2% for indicators close to 50%, 2.1% for indicators close to 25%, and 1.4% for indicators close to 10%.

Other surveys
(Natural News) Proving once again why the Democratic Party, home to the American Left, should never, ever be given the reins of power again because their Stalinists and Leninists, blue checks on Twitter threatened to burn up the country and leave bodies in the streets literally if President Trump and the Republican Senate name a successor to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg following her Friday death from pancreatic cancer.

If they even TRY to replace RBG we burn the entire f**king thing down, Reza Aslan, an Iranian-American and former CNN contributor who claims to be a religious scholar tweeted.

If they even TRY to replace RBG we burn the entire fucking thing down.  Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) September 19, 2020

He would later tweet in response to a statement from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who vowed to give any nominee made by Trump a vote, Over our dead bodies. Literally.

Over our dead bodies. Literally. https://t.co/rQbvuKakHU  Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) September 19, 2020

Writer Beau Willimon added, Were shutting this country down if Trump and McConnell try to ram through an appointment before the election.

GQ reporter Laura Bassett wrote, If McConnell jams someone through, which he will, there will be riots. She would follow that up with *more, bigger riots but she deleted it.

https://twitter.com/LEBassett/status/1307104689561825280

Meanwhile, a professor at the University of Waterloo tweeted: Burn Congress down before letting Trump try to appoint anyone to SCOTUS. He then protected his account on Twitter because, in reality, obviously, hes a coward.

Now, granted, for the most part, it would be easy to wave off the threats made by these lunatic threats as hyperbole  were it not for the fact that our country has just endured months of rioting, looting and statue-toppling violence, ostensibly in the name of a career criminal in Minneapolis who may have died a wrongful death but who certainly does not deserve sainthood. (Related: Marxist-planned 50-day siege at White House, set to begin yesterday, fizzles with empty park.)

And we might be able to dismiss them if we werent already aware of a sinister plot by the Stalinist Democrat Left to try and steal the election in November with waves of fake mail-in ballots and endless lawsuits  many of which would ultimately wind up before the Supreme Court, making that the No. 1 reason why the president and the Senate GOP have to put a successor on the high court.

So the threats have to be taken seriously, even if the whiny, butt-hurt leftist Twitter warriors are making them from the safety of their homes and basements arent actually going to be the heroes lining the streets readying for battle.

Because as weve seen all summer long, there are hidden forces behind the current violent protests  organizing them, funding them and, reportedly, transporting them.

There is no doubt, then, that those same revolutionary forces will exploit the presidents next Supreme Court nomination to launch all kinds of new violence. The only good news is that the rioting will no longer be about alleged police systemic racism or Black Lives Matter (see how quickly the revolutionary left pivots from one issue to another, always plotting, always exploiting, always lying in wait for the next opportunity to tear the country apart?).

What the president does in response to these threats is all-important. He cant really take them with a grain of salt, not that he has thus far. Hes been calling for law and order, literally, since the George Floyd incident. And in some cases hes managed to achieve it.

Part of his response plan ought to be a mobilization of willing souls on the local level who are not afraid to put their country and their communities and their families first  above politics  in order to save the greatest nation on earth from assured self-destruction that a second civil war would create.

We cannot tolerate the perpetually angry left attacking the civil society every time they dont get their way.

That said, 2020 cannot be over quickly enough.

Sources include:

NaturalNews.com

Breitbart.com
MCCOMB, Miss. - A woman in Mississippi received a slithering surprise when she got home from work last week: a snake that had been lodged on top of her front door landed on her head.

The encounter happened after the intruder made its way on top of Christina Mitchells door on Thursday, the Enterprise-Journal reported. I felt this thump on my head, Mitchell said. I looked down and the snake had landed at my feet in the house.

The newspaper reports the 10-inch (25-centimetre) serpent then darted to the kitchen while Mitchell called her husband to let him know about their new visitor. But she didnt wait for help. She grabbed a broom and ushered the reptile out of her house in McComb, a city located about 80 miles (127 kilometres) south of Jackson.

He did his striking pose because it was just a scared little rat snake,Mitchell said. He tried to bite at my broom whenever I put him outside. He probably thought that was really rude. We kind of had a stare-down.

Based on the photo Mitchell took, her sparring partner looked like an Eastern Rat snake, a largely nonvenomous reptile, according to the National Wildlife Federation.

Mitchell was concerned since the animal had a large jaw, but she has been familiar with snakes since she was a child and says she would not go out of her way to kill an animal, even if it lands in her house.

I actually really like snakes, she said. I think theyre fascinating.

She also does not plan to move the pitcher plant, even though it might have attracted the snake.

I just love my pitcher plant, she said. I feel like Ill just take my chances and open my door really slow from now on.
Sir Graham Brady today accused Boris Johnson of 'ruling by decree' during the coronavirus crisis as Tory MPs demanded any move to reimpose lockdown is put to a vote in the House of Commons.

The chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbench MPs suggested the Government has been treating people 'as children' during the pandemic.

He is tabling an amendment which would require the Government to put any new lockdown measures to a vote of MPs.

There is growing anger among Tory figures about the way in which the Government has imposed measures over the last six months without first consulting Parliament amid fears new rules will be rolled out in the coming weeks to tackle a surge in cases.

Sir Graham's intervention came after the Supreme Court's first female president said Parliament had 'surrendered' powers to the Government during the pandemic.

Baroness Brenda Hale, who served as president at the UK's highest court from 2017- 2020, criticised the draconian measures and 'sweeping' powers being imposed on the British public without the say of MPs.

Sir Graham Brady today accused ministers of 'ruling by decree' during the coronavirus crisis

The senior Tory claimed Boris Johnson, pictured running this morning, has treated people as children' during the crisis

Sir Graham told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme: 'I think what we have also seen over the last six months is the Government has got into the habit of, in respect to the coronavirus issue, ruling by decree without usual debate and discussion and votes in Parliament that we would expect on any other matter.'

Told that the nature of the crisis required the Government to have the ability to act swiftly, Sir Graham said: 'It is a very important, very serious situation, something that obviously the Government needs to have some powers to act.

'Arguably the Government already has the powers under the Civil Contingencies Act but that would entail very frequent and close parliamentary review and scrutiny.

'So really what I am proposing is that we make sure the powers that are exercised under the Public Health Act or the Coronavirus Act should be subject to the same regular parliamentary scrutiny and approval as the Civil Contingencies Act would be as well.'

He added: 'Governments find it entirely possible to put things to Parliament very quickly when it is convenient for them to do so.'

Sir Graham said MPs must be able to seek 'proper answers' on the measures being proposed before they are put in place as he suggested Parliament may not be willing to vote for a second national lockdown.

'The British people aren't used to being treated as children,' he said.

'We expect in this country to have a parliamentary democracy where our elected representatives on our behalf can require proper answers to these things from the government and not just have things imposed on them.'

Asked what would happen if MPs were given a vote on whether to proceed with a second lockdown, Sir Graham said: 'I think it is a very interesting question because I think opinion in the country and in parliament is starting to move.'

His comments came after Baroness Hale lashed out at the Government's use of draconian powers and at Parliament's apparent willingness to allow ministers to act without normal levels of scrutiny.

Baroness Brenda Hale, who served as president at the UK's highest court from 2017- 2020, criticised 'sweeping' powers being enforced on the public without the scrutiny of Parliament

She claimed Parliament 'did surrender control to the Government at a crucial time' and urged ministers to now restore a 'properly functioning constitution'.

She added: 'My plea is that we get back to a properly functioning constitution as soon as we possibly can.'

In an essay seen by The Guardian, the baroness also said the way in which the powers were used had led to confusion.

She said: 'It is not surprising the police were as confused as the public as to what was law and what was not.'
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2020 / Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc. ("Zinc8" or the "Company") (CSE:ZAIR)(OTC PINK:MGXRF)(FSE:0E9) is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement in principle (the "Agreement") with Vijai Electricals Ltd from Hyderabad, India ("Vijai"). The parties have agreed to explore joint-venture projects concerning the deployment of Zinc8's patented Zinc-Air Energy Storage System. Additionally, they have agreed to explore the potential of manufacturing components of the Zinc-air Energy Storage System in India. Vijai, with close to 50 years of industry experience, has established global partners and an extensive distribution network in over 40 countries, as well as an established customer base, which is being examined as a potential pipeline of projects for the Zinc8 system.

Vijai is a proven high-quality technology and manufacturing company that has successfully partnered with globally branded companies to deliver top notch products to its customers. "I have been impressed by Vijai's 47-year track record in distributed energy and manufacturing, its commitment to quality, and its trusted partners in India and over 40 other countries. This Agreement is an important step as Zinc8 enters the global long duration energy storage market" said Ron MacDonald, President and CEO of Zinc8 Energy Storage Inc.

"Vijai is happy to work with Zinc8, a pioneer in cost effective Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for longer durations. With Vijai's extensive manufacturing strength and the advantage of India's educated and relatively inexpensive workforce, we are confident that this solution will go a long way to serve the needs of long duration BESS. For countries like India which need round the clock renewable energy systems, it is expected that Zinc8 BESS would fill the need in an effective way. Vijai, with its past experience of successfully serving export utility markets around the world, will be proud to work towards fulfilling this need." said Dasari Jai Ramesh, Chairman of Vijai Electricals Ltd.

Story continues

About Vijai Electricals Ltd.

Vijai Electricals Ltd. has a long history of transformer manufacturing in India. They are headquartered in Hyderabad, India. They have been active in the distributed energy and grid space for close to 50 years, having been established in 1973. Vijai is a manufacturer of electrical distribution transformers and small power transformers. Vijai Electricals has played a significant role in the global market development of Amorphous Metal Core Distribution Transformers (AMDT) which are energy efficient. They also manufactured extra high voltage transformers up to 400kV, 315 MVA for large scale power generation and transmission applications and, world's highest voltage class 1200kV, 333 MVA single phase for Indian system R&D purposes. Vijai Electricals also manufactures conductors up to 800kV system and aerial bunched cables. Vijai have been a strong Engineering, Procurement and Construction player for electrical transmission and distribution projects, overhead and underground, in India and abroad. In addition, Vijai is foraying into smart metering solutions.

http://www.vijaielectricals.com

About Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc.

Zinc8 has assembled an experienced team to execute the development and commercialization of a dependable low-cost zinc-air battery. This mass storage system offers both environmental and efficiency benefits. Zinc8 strives to meet the growing need for secure and reliable power.

To watch a short video outlining Zinc8's technology, please visit: https://zinc8energy.com

More about the Zinc8 Energy Storage System (ESS)

The Zinc8 ESS is a modular Energy Storage System designed to deliver power in the range 20kW - 50MW with capacity of 8 hours of storage duration or higher. With the advantage of rechargeable zinc-air flow battery technology, the system can be configured to support a wide range of long-duration applications for microgrids and utilities. Since the energy storage capacity of the system is determined only by the size of the zinc storage tank, a very cost-effective and scalable solution now exists as an alternative to the fixed power/energy ratio of the lithium ion battery.

Technology

The Zinc8 ESS is based upon unique patented zinc-air battery technology. Energy is stored in the form of zinc particles, similar in size to grains of sand. When the system is delivering power, the zinc particles are combined with oxygen drawn from the surrounding air. When the system is recharging, zinc particles are regenerated, and oxygen is returned to the surrounding air.

Applications

The flexibility of the Zinc8 ESS enables it to service a wide range of applications. Typical examples include:

Smoothing energy derived from renewable sources such as wind and solar

Commercial/Industrial backup replacing diesel generators

Industrial and grid scale, on-demand power for peak shaving and standby reserves

Grid-scale services such as alleviating grid congestion, deferring transmission/distribution upgrades, energy trading and arbitrage, and increasing renewable energy penetration.

Architecture

The Zinc8 ESS is designed according to a modular architecture that enables a wide variety of system configurations to be created from a small number of common subsystems. Each subsystem implements a single element of the technology:

The Zinc Regeneration Subsystem (ZRS) provides the recharging function

The Fuel Storage Subsystem (FSS) provides the energy storage function

The Power Generation Subsystem (PGS) provides the discharging function

Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains certain statements or disclosures relating to Zinc8 Energy Solutions that are based on the expectations of its management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Zinc8 Energy Solutions which may constitute forward-looking statements or information ("forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. All such statements and disclosures, other than those of historical fact, which address activities, events, outcomes, results or developments that Zinc8 Storage anticipates or expects may or will occur in the future (in whole or in part) should be considered forward-looking statements.

Forward looking statements in this press release include that we can execute the development and commercialization of a dependable low cost zinc-air battery; that our mass storage system offers both environmental and efficiency benefits; that we will work jointly with Vijai on various projects; and that we can help meet the needs for secure and reliable power. Zinc8 Energy Solutions believes the material factors, expectations and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable at this time, but no assurance can be given that these factors, expectations and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are not guarantees of future performance. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements including, without limitation: that our LOI with Vijai doesn't result in any definitive agreement, and even if it does, that no joint projects or sales are undertaken; that our technology fails to work as expected or at all; that our technology proves to be too expensive to implement broadly; that customers do not adapt our products for being too complex, costly, or not fitting with their current products or plans; our competitors may offer better or cheaper solutions for battery storage; general economic, market and business conditions; increased costs and expenses; inability to retain qualified employees; our patents may not provide protection as expected and we may infringe on the patents of others; and certain other risks detailed from time to time in Zinc8 Energy Solution's public disclosure documents, copies of which are available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the CSE nor any Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information please contact:

Incite Capital Markets

Kristian Schneck / Eric Negraeff

Zinc8 Energy Solutions Inc.

Ron MacDonald

Ph: 604.493.2004

Email: investors@zinc8energy.com

SOURCE: Zinc8 Energy Solutions





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You've seen the ads. But you're not sure what any of these California ballot measures actually do.

Fear not! Here's a handy, simple guide to each of the 12 propositions on the California ballot for the November general election. From affirmative action to overturning the highly controversial gig worker bill (AB-5), there are plenty of significant measures California residents will be voting on this fall. This guide is broken into three categories: 1. The big ones that interest groups are dumping millions of advertising dollars into, 2. The criminal justice ones, and 3. The rest.

The big ones

Proposition 16

What it does: Allows the state and its public universities to discriminate or grant preferential treatment based on race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, education, or contracting.

Major players for it: The University of California Board of Regents, Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein, and various Black Lives Matter-related advocacy groups.

Major players against it: A number of Asian American groups and Republicans in the California state Assembly.

Recent polling: 31% support, 47% oppose, 22% undecided (PPIC poll, Sept. 4-Sept 13.)

Links to learn more:

New poll finds shaky support for Proposition 16 to restore affirmative action in California (LA Times)

Proposition 16: Why some Asian Americans are on the front lines of the campaign against affirmative action (Mercury News)

Proposition 15

What it does: Raises funds for schools and local governments by requiring commercial and industrial properties with more than $3 million in holdings to be taxed based on market value as opposed to purchase price. Does not impact homeowners.

Major players for it: Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, and the California Teacher's Association.

Major players against it: California Chamber of Commerce, California Small Business Association and several taxpayers' groups.

Recent polling: 51% support, 40% oppose, 9% undecided (PPIC poll, Sept. 4-Sept 13.)

Links to learn more:

Prop. 15 could raise billions for California, But who will pay? (NBC San Diego)

Governors endorsement of Proposition 15 disappoints Farm Bureau (Lassen County Times)

Proposition 22

What it does: Classifies app-based drivers as independent contractors and not employees, which effectively kneecaps AB5.

Major players for it: Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other similar services.

Major players against it: Sen. Kamala Harris, Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and several state Assembly Democrats.

Recent polling: 41% support, 26% oppose, 34% undecided (Redfield and Wilton poll, Aug. 9)

Links to learn more:

Uber and Lyft have poured millions of dollars into a November ballot measure to keep Calif. drivers paid as independent contractors (Business Insider)

Uber analyst expects California's Prop. 22 to pass based on latest polling (Yahoo Finance)

Proposition 21

What it does: Allows local governments to enact rent control on housing that was first occupied over 15 years ago.

Major players for it: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Democratic Socialists of America, Los Angeles chapter and various tenants' groups.

Major players against it: Gov. Gavin Newsom, California Apartment Association and construction workers' unions.

Recent polling: N/A

Links to learn more:

Bernie Sanders backs rent control, slams greedy landlords in new yes on 21 spot (Business Wire)

Opponents of rent control initiative say Prop. 21 backers violated Stolen Valor Act in ad (San Diego Union Tribune)

The criminal justice ones

Proposition 25

What it does: Eliminates cash bail and gives judges the ability to determine whether a defendant should be released prior to a trial.

Major players for it: Gov. Gavin Newsom, several congressional Democrats and civil liberties groups.

Major players against it: Orange County Board of Supervisors and several groups affiliated with the bail bonds industry.

Recent polling: 39% support, 32% oppose, 29% undecided (UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies poll, Sept. 13-Sept.18)

Links to learn more:

Californias cash bail system favors the rich. Would replacing it help people of color? (Fresno Bee)

Prop. 25 will replace cash bail with risk assessment, if passed (Daily Cal)

Proposition 17

What it does: Restores voting rights to people with felony convictions who have been released from prison but remain on parole.

Major players for it: Sen. Kamala Harris, the ACLU of California and many state Assembly Democrats.

Major players against it: State Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-4) and the Election Integrity Project California.

Recent polling: N/A

Links to learn more:

LA County supervisors support proposition restoring voting rights to those on parole (CBS Los Angeles)

Alex Padilla: Why Prop. 17 will strengthen both voting rights and public safety (San Diego Union Tribune)

Proposition 20

What it does: Adds several crimes to the list of violent felonies for which early parole is restricted. Would undo a series of reforms enacted between 2011 and 2016 aimed at reducing the state's prison population.

Major players for it: Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-9) and multiple law-enforcement-affiliated groups.

Major players against it: Former Gov. Jerry Brown, the ACLU of California and several criminal justice reform advocacy groups.

Recent polling: N/A

Links to learn more:

Grocery stores are pushing California to be tougher on crime (LA Times)

Opposition to Prop. 20 increases; opponents charge its a step backward for CA (Davis Vanguard)

The rest

Proposition 19

What it does: Allows homeowners over the age of 55, disabled or victims of a natural disaster to take existing, lower property tax rates to new homes anywhere in the state.

Major players for it: California Realtors Association, California Professional Firefighters and several local real estate groups.

Major players against it: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

Recent polling: N/A

Links to learn more:

Prop. 19 debate: Funding for fighting wildfires or attack on Prop 13 tax protections? (CBS San Francisco)

Worried about fires? California ballot initiative could help you move to a new city (Sacramento Bee)

Proposition 24

What it does: Expands the state's consumer data privacy laws by creating a new state agency to enforce privacy laws, empowering consumers to order that businesses not sell their personal information, and increasing financial penalties on those who violate privacy laws.

Major players for it: Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and several online privacy groups.

Major players against it: ACLU of California and the Consumer Federation of California.

Recent polling: N/A

Links to learn more:

Andrew Yang takes lead role in California data privacy campaign (Politico)

Prop. 24 seemingly seeks to expand internet privacy, critics say it won't (Salinas Californian)

Proposition 18

What it does: Allows 17-year-old Californians who will be 18 by the following general election to vote in primaries and special elections.

Major players for it: California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Assembyman Kevin Mullin (D-22).

Major players against it: The Election Integrity Project California.

Recent polling: N/A

Links to learn more:

Alex Padilla: Vote yes on Prop. 18 to engage, energize and empower the next generation of voters (San Diego Union Tribune)

Thousands of 17-year-olds could vote in California primaries if initiative passes, study says (Sacramento Bee)

Proposition 14

What it does: Issues $5.5 billion in general obligation bonds for the state's stem cell research institute.

Major players for it: Californians for Stem Cell Research, Treatments & Cures and the University of California Board of Regents.

Major players against it: The Center for Genetics and Society

Recent polling: N/A

Link to learn more:

Prop. 14: Theres much, much more than meets the eye (Capitol Weekly)

Proposition 23

What it does: Places several new regulations on dialysis clinics, including requiring an on-site physician, mandating increased reporting of dialysis-related infections, and not allowing clinics to close before obtaining consent from the state health department.

Major players for it: Californians for Kidney Dialysis Patient Protection

Major players against it: American Legion, California Medical Association and several veterans' and health groups.

Recent polling: N/A

Link to learn more:

Prop. 23: Kidney dialysis clinic rules (Cal Matters)

Eric Ting is an SFGATE reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 15:28:26|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out committing to a net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 despite describing it as "achievable."

Morrison said on Sunday that Australia would achieve net zero emissions in the second half of the century but said that the target would not be legislated by his government.

"I'm more interested in the doing," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television.

"I know people get very focused on the politics of these commitments, but what I'm focused on is on the technology that delivers lower emissions, lower cost and more jobs."

"I think those sort of things are achievable with the right investments in the right technology."

In order to achieve net-zero emissions every tonne of man-made greenhouse gas that is emitted must be matched by a tonne removed from the atmosphere.

Every Australian state has committed to net zero emissions by 2050 as have more than 70 countries.

Morrison's comments came ahead of the federal government's release of the technology roadmap on how the energy industry can reduce emissions.

Earlier in September Morrison identified the gas industry as key to Australia's economic recovery from the COVID-19 and broadened the mandates of the government's renewable energy investment agencies to include low-emissions technologies.

He said on Sunday that those moves would help achieve net zero emissions without legislating it.

"Our policy is to achieve that in the second half of this century, and we'll certainly achieve that," he said.

"And that's why this week's announcements were so important because it was about the technology we need to invest in now, which will make it a reality, particularly on the other side of 2030 and I think even the sort of target you've talked about, then becomes absolutely achievable." Enditem
New Delhi, Sep 21 : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday approved the hike in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all mandated six Rabi crops in crop season 2020-21 (July-June).

While announcing the MSP hikes in the Lok Sabha, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar reiterated that procurement of crops at MSP will continue across the country.

The increase in MSPs is in line with the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission, as per a Agriculture Ministry statement.

"Working for the welfare of farmers is a matter of good luck for us. The Cabinet has taken a historic decision on the MSP increase in tune with our priority to work for those providing us food. Crores of farmers will benefit from the decision," Modi tweeted in Hindi.

The highest increase in MSP has been announced for lentils (Rs 300 per quintal), followed by gram, rapeseed and mustard (Rs 225 per quintal each) and safflower (Rs 112 per quintal).

For barley and wheat, an increase of Rs 75 per quintal and Rs 50 per quintal respectively has been announced. The differential remuneration is aimed at encouraging crop diversification.

The MSP of wheat for crop season 2020-21 has been raised from Rs 1,925 to Rs 1,975 per quintal and that of barely from Rs 1,525 to Rs 1,600 per quintal.

MSP of lentils for the same season has been fixed at Rs 5,100 per quintal, and Bengal gram or chana at Rs 5,100 per quintal. For the crop year 2020-21, the MSP of rapeseead and mustard has been fixed at Rs 4,650 per quintal. Similarly, the MSP of safflower has been increased to Rs 5,327 per quintal.

The expected returns to farmers over their cost of production are estimated to be highest in the case of wheat (106 per cent) followed by rapeseed and mustard (93 per cent), and gram and lentil (78 per cent). For barley, the return to farmers over their cost of production is estimated at 65 per cent and for safflower 50 per cent.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other designated state agencies would continue to provide price support to the farmers, said Tomar.

The government has set up a buffer stock of pulses and domestic procurement of pulses is also being done under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF), he added.

The umbrella scheme of 'Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan' (PM-AASHA), comprising Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS), and pilot Scheme of Private Procurement and Stockist Scheme (PPSS) will aid in the procurement of pulses and oilseeds, said the Minister.

Despite global COVID-19 pandemic and consequent nationwide lockdown, timely intervention made by the Centre led to an all-time record procurement of wheat at about 39 million tonne for Rabi Marketing Season (RMS) 2020-21 and around 43 lakh farmers benefited under procurement operations period, which is 22 per cent higher than the RMS 2019-20, said the statement.

In 2019-20, 390 lakh tonne wheat is estimated to be procured, while in 2014-15, 280 lakh tonnes was procured.

In 2019-20, 15 lakh metric tonne pulses is estimated to be procured, while in 2014-15, 3 lakh tonnes was procured.

In 2019-20, 18 lakh metric tonne oilseeds is estimated to be procured, while in 2014-15, 12,000 metric tonne was procured, as per the Ministry.
Americas proud history is worth defending, and it is worth defending through government and politics. There are fair arguments about how best to go about that task consistently with a duly conservative skepticism about the proper powers of federal and local government, but conservatives should not shy away from conserving the core of our national history, ideals, and culture  a goal that not so long ago was neither partisan nor ideological.

The current lines of battle are joined around the teaching of the New York Times 1619 Project, Howard Zinns 1980 screed A Peoples History of the United States, and other fact-challenged efforts to supplant the story of America, its ideals, and its exceptional history with critical-race and gender theory and leftist agitprop. It is wrong to fill the heads of children with falsehoods, or to subject them to outside-the-mainstream theories until they are old enough to learn to evaluate them critically. It is right and important to commemorate what makes this nation great and special.

Control of public-school curricula is properly a local matter, but presidents can provide moral leadership, start national conversations, and raise alarms in this area. So long as there is a federal Department of Education with its hands in school curricula, its actions, too, should aim to be constructive rather than destructive. A proper American history does not mean feeding children Parson Weemss whitewashed just-so stories. It is, rather, what Ronald Reagan called for in his Farewell Address in 1989, an informed patriotism:

An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world? . . . Weve got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom  freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare. Its fragile. . . . Lets start with some basics: more attention to American history and a greater emphasis on civic ritual.

Story continues

It is to preserve that history and civic ritual that the Trump administration has announced a 1776 Commission to promote patriotic education. The commission, at least as presently envisioned, will not dictate anything to anyone. There is precedent for such a commission. In 1973, Congress created the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, which oversaw the pageantry of public patriotic events in 1976. The Statue of LibertyEllis Island Centennial Commission performed a similar function in 1986 for the symbols of Americas immigrant roots. The national Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution in 1987, chaired by Chief Justice Warren Burger, partnered with the Smithsonian, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Bar Association, the National Park Service, and the Daughters of the American Revolution to educate Americans on the history and blessings of our national charter.

How President Trump plans to fund the commissions work without Congress may be another story. The cultural Left has often openly extorted private corporations into funding its propaganda, whether or not that extortion takes the form of government power. Trump claims that his approval of a new deal between TikTok, Walmart, and Oracle is conditioned on $5 billion directed by the companies towards a patriotic-education foundation. It does not appear that this would fund the presidential commission directly, but while the cause is a good one, the government should not be in the business of conditioning regulatory approvals on the creation of slush funds for cultural causes.

We are likewise skeptical of federal efforts to ban schools from teaching the 1619 Project or other particular books or courses of study. This is not the proper role of Washington. Where federal funding is being used to finance leftist propaganda, the better solution should be to eliminate that funding or redirect it to parents to control.

Informed patriotic education was once seen as a necessary component of citizenship. No prior generation of American leaders would have argued that we should be indifferent to whether our citizens know their own history and the Founding ideals on which the nation rests. Abraham Lincoln returned often to the unique history of America, not only to hold together the nation in crisis but to call it to its highest ideals. Calvin Coolidge, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, argued:

Our forefathers came to certain conclusions and decided upon certain courses of action which have been a great blessing to the world. Before we can understand their conclusions we must go back and review the course which they followed. We must think the thoughts which they thought. . . . If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it.

Parents, of course, should be the first teachers of patriotism and the reasons why we love America and its history. So long as children are educated by the government, however, what they are taught will also be a political issue. Conservatives are overdue to enter that essential fight. We applaud the president for doing so.

More from National Review
Venugopal is valued highly by Mrs Gandhi and Mr Gandhi.

They consider him a loyalist, more to the point, one who can deliver, observes Aditi Phadnis.

IMAGE: K C Venugopal, right, with interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

He belongs to Kerala's Kannur district (in the north) but has been elected several times, both to the assembly and the Lok Sabha, from Alleppey in the south of the state.

A nice Nair boy who has a master's degree in mathematics, he could have got any job he wanted.

But he opted for politics.

And though his Hindi is a bit wobbly, he was the general secretary dispatched to sort out the recent Congress mess in Rajasthan.

At a meeting of top leaders of the party, he said what he thought of them quite bluntly, apparently secure in the confidence that Those Who Matter would back him.

That makes him a hatchet-man.

Who is K C Venugopal, where did he come from, and where is he going?

In the Congress in Kerala, there have always been at least two factions.

One was led by K Karunakaran, the other by A K Antony.

If you wanted to get anywhere in politics in the state, you needed to be part of one or the other.

Mr Venugopal chose Karunakaran, who embraced him enthusiastically, backing him to head the Youth Congress.

This he did, for seven years at that.

But he also realised that he had a rival: Ramesh Chennithala, also a Nair and a highly efficient and organised politician.

Mr Chennithala fell out with Karunakaran later.

But at that time, Mr Venugopal could see the glass ceiling.

So slowly and skilfully, he slid out and joined Mr Antony.

It paid off.

Mr Karunakaran was ailing and died in 2010.

But Mr Antony was very much a pillar of the establishment. Ahead of the Kerala assembly elections in 2011, Mr Antony persuaded Manmohan Singh to induct Mr Venugopal as a minister, arguing that the Nairs needed a voice in the council of ministers.

By then, Mr Venugopal had been a three-term MLA and a minister in the state, but had resigned his assembly seat to contest and won the Alleppey Lok Sabha seat in 2009.

So he was a first-time MP and he got the power portfolio.

Interestingly, his entry into the council of ministers coincided with the exit of Shashi Tharoor (also from Kerala), who had to resign over an investment matter concerning a team that took part in the Indian Premier League.

This tension was to resurface later.

The Congress lost badly in 2014 but Mr Venugopal was re-elected, again from Alleppey.

In 2017, he became party general secretary.

His first job was handling Goa (2017).

The Congress had emerged single-largest in the 40-member assembly with 17 MLAs.

But skulduggery was afoot and Digvijaya Singh and Mr Venugopal were sent to help the local Congress.

Even before the party could lay claim to form the government, one of its MLAs, Vishvajit Rane, resigned, taking two Congress MLAs with him.

It was a classic crisis -- and Mr Digvijaya Singh just could not be contacted.

The Congress lost Goa to a chortling BJP.

Mr Venugopal returned to Delhi to relate the whole sorry tale of how the party snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

He also settled all the accounts promptly.

This was duly noted and the next time there was a crisis -- in Karnataka -- it was he who was picked again.

He would be sent to Maharashtra and later, Rajasthan, to douse the fire.

Then came the 2019 general election.

It became clear to the party that Rahul Gandhi's Amethi seat was no longer safe.

Various options were discussed.

P Chidambaram offered Tamil Nadu, but that meant hanging on to the coat-tails of the DMK.

The Bellary seat in Karnataka, which Sonia Gandhi had contested in 1999 (and won), was an option but in the delimitation it had become a reserved seat.

D K Shivakumar, Congress strongman in the state, offered his brother D K Suresh's seat, Bengaluru Rural.

But help from the Janata Dal-Secular would have been needed and there were no guarantees about its cooperation.

Mr Venugopal and Mr Antony offered Wayanad in Kerala, where the Congress did not have a candidate -- M I Shahnavas, a two-term MP, had died in 2018.

To ensure success, Mr Venugopal made the ultimate sacrifice: He opted not to fight the election, focusing instead on managing Mr Gandhi's campaign.

The Congress lost Alleppey: Of the 20 Lok Sabha seats, it won 19.

Admittedly, A M Ariff of the CPI-M won the Allepey seat by a margin of just 10,000 votes.

But Mr Gandhi won Wayanad by a huge margin.

And Mr Venugopal won as well.

The commonest complaint about Mr Gandhi is that he doesn't meet people: When Mr Tharoor sought a meeting, he was advised to make an appointment through Mr Venugopal.

He baulked at this: And he is one of the group of 23.

Mr Venugopal has emerged as the go-to guy.

As general secretary (organisation), he knows the party intimately now.

On the other hand, proximity to the People Who Matter has earned him enemies as well.

He is not especially communicative at the best of times, particularly in Hindi.

However, he is valued highly by Ms Gandhi and Mr Gandhi -- they consider him a loyalist, more to the point, one who can deliver.

Eventually his sights are set on the chief minister's job in Kerala.

He may make it there eventually.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
New Delhi: The Sino-India talks to resolve the stand-off in Ladakh on Monday (September 21) continued for more than 13 hours at Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The meeting between corps commanders of India and China was attended by 14 Corps Chief Lt Gen Harinder Singh and his likely successor Lt Gen PGK Menon along with a Joint Secretary from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), for the first time, to reduce tension along the LAC.

This is the sixth meeting between the two neighbouring nations since June this year. The DNA analysis would explain to you the ongoing diplomatic talks between India and China through 4 big points.

1. China is learned to have refused to retreat from Pangong Lake in this meeting. The talks between the two countries, therefore, will prolong.

2. India has asked China to restore the pre-April 2020 situation. Under this demand, the Chinese soldiers are required to retreat and go to the place where they were in April 2020.

3. The Indian delegation also includes Lieutenant General PGK Menon, who will take over the command of the 14th Corps from Lt Gen Harinder Singh, who will retire in October. The 14 Corps is responsible for the protection of Ladakh.

4. For the first time, an official from the Ministry of External Affairs is also participating in such talks. Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs, along with top military officials remained present in the meeting.

Notably, the Indian delegation comprised two Lieutenant Generals, two Major Generals, four Brigadiers, and an IGB of ITBP, besides a Joint Secretary from the Ministry of External Affairs.

The agenda and issues to be raised by the Indian side in the meeting were discussed and finalised during a high-level meeting attended by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane last week on Friday.

The ground commanders had been talking to each other on an almost daily basis on the ground. The current talks are happening at a time when the Indian side has also occupied six major hill features which are helping the Indian Army to be in dominating positions on heights.

India is likely to press for simultaneous disengagement and de-escalation by the Chinese side in the Eastern Ladakh sector during the meeting of two Corps Commanders.

The DNA analysis will also tell you about 5 key points of military and diplomatic discussions.

1. For the first time, the army is leading talks between the two countries, in which diplomats are participating. You can call it the new rules of engagement of the New India Foreign Policy.

2. Earlier on September 10, a meeting was held in Moscow, wherein, Foreign Ministers of India and China participated. The sixth meeting can be termed as the follow-up of the Moscow meet as both the countries are now taking forward steps on the 5 issues agreed upon earlier.

3. MEA's Joint Secretary Naveen Srivastava is currently in charge of the China desk. He has thus full knowledge about the Sino-India border dispute. His presence, therefore, is expected to help in bringing the conversation to some conclusion. This can also facilitate an on the spot decision if need be.

4. The presence of MEA's representative in the talks also means that India is seriously trying to reduce the tension, and want to have frequent meetings with China to reach a solution.

5. Today's meet can be called a joint effort of the army and foreign ministry against China. It is possible that the representative of the Indian Army would also attend a diplomatic meeting next time. China has been using this formula.

There is a difference between the past and the present talks along the LAC. India has given sleepless nights to China after occupying several peaks on the LAC. In earlier talks, India used to tell China to restore the pre-April 2020 position during the Commander Level talks, but now China is also talking about restoring the Status Quo.

The task of the Indian Army is to protect the borders, but the government has the responsibility to determine its boundary. There is a 3,488 km long LAC between India and China, but the two countries still lack consensus on the LAC.

The erstwhile British regime deliberately set wrong boundary lines between the countries, which were under its suzerainty, to maintain its supremacy after granting freedom to such nations. The British wanted that the boundary disputes between the two countries would continue and they would take advantage of that.
Reznikov suggested the Normandy summit could consider it.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov says the issue of deploying a UN peacekeeping mission to Donbas has been postponed, but it has not been removed from the agenda.

"The issue of peacekeepers was once discussed by our diplomats at the level of the UN Security Council. There was a discussion about the nature of this mission (establishing or maintaining peace), where exactly the peacekeepers will be deployed: throughout Donbas, along the contact line, or on the border with Russia. There were two positions in dispute and, theoretically, they could have come to a compromise somewhere in between, but they postponed it," he told Ukrainian Pryamiy TV channel, as reported by the RBC Ukraine news agency.

Reznikov suggested the issue of the peacekeeping mission in Donbas could be included in the agenda of the Normandy Four summit.

Read also"One-time inspection" in Donbas could take place in a few days  KravchukHowever, before deciding on the peacekeepers, the UN Secretary General will have to send an assessment mission to the region. This implies a request for budget funding, which must be approved by the UN Security Council, the official added.

Latest developments in Donbas
10:58 | Lima, Sep. 20.

This was stipulated on September 17 by Supreme Decree No. 151-2020-PCM , published in El Peruano official gazette.
Almost a third of the Welsh population will be plunged into lockdown from tomorrow amid a 'worrying and rapid' spike in Covid-19 cases.

The areas of Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Blaenau Gwent will face the new regulations from 6pm.

Pubs and bars have been ordered to close by 11pm and meeting people from outside your own household is now banned. All licensed premises will have to shut at 11pm.

The latest measures push the number of people affected by local lockdowns in south Wales to 850,000, after Caerphilly county borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf were also handed new rules last week.

Health minister Vaughan Gething said there had been a 'worrying and rapid rise' in cases of Covid-19 in the four areas in south Wales.

Health minister Vaughan Gething (pictured) said there had been a 'worrying and rapid rise' in cases of Covid-19 in the four areas

The town of Bridgend (pictured) is one of the areas that will go into a local lockdown

Cars at a drive-thru coronavirus testing station at Ebbw Vale in Wales. New coronavirus lockdown restrictions will come into force

Mr Gething said many of the coronavirus cases had been linked to people socialising indoors without physical distancing.

'We are seeing evidence of coronavirus spreading,' Mr Gething told a press conference in Cardiff.

'We need to take action to control and, ultimately, reduce its spread and protect people's health.

'It's always a difficult decision to introduce restrictions but coronavirus has not gone away - it is still circulating in communities across Wales and, as we are seeing in parts of South Wales, small clusters can quickly cause real issues in local communities.

'We need everyone's help to bring coronavirus under control. We need everyone to pull together and to follow the measures which are there to protect you and your loved ones.'

The Welsh Government will call an urgent meeting of all local authority, health board and police forces from Bridgend to the English border on Tuesday.

People on the high street in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, which will be one of the next areas to have a local lockdown

This will discuss 'the wider situation in south Wales and whether further measures are needed across the region', the government said.

On Sunday, Public Health Wales said a further 199 people had tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 20,644.

It comes just hours after the Sir Patrick Vallance said the UK could see 200 or more deaths per day by mid-November if the current rate of infection is not halted,

The Government's chief scientific adviser said the 'vast majority of the population remain susceptible' to catching coronavirus and the current situation required swift action to bring the case numbers down.

He added that if current infection rates continue, the UK could see around 50,000 cases a day by the middle of October.

It comes as ministers make final decisions on what national measures are needed to tackle rising cases, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock strongly hinting that separate households could be prevented from mixing.

In the first televised address alongside England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty that was not attended by politicians, Sir Patrick said there was 'no doubt' the UK was seeing increasing cases of Covid-19 among all age groups.

He said it was 'not a prediction', but the current doubling of cases every seven days could lead to a dramatic rise in hospitalisations and deaths.

In mid-September, around 3,000 new cases were recorded every day in the UK, he said.

Sir Patrick Vallance today warned the UK could face 50,000 new coronavirus cases by mid-October if the spread of the disease is not curtailed. He is pictured alongside Professor Chris Whitty in Downing Street this morning

Official Downing Street slides showed that if the current rate of infection continues there could be 50,000 coronavirus cases every day by the middle of October and that could lead to 200 plus deaths a day by the middle of November

'If - and that's quite a big if - but if that continues unabated and this grows, doubling every seven days, then what you see, of course, let's say there were 5,000 today, it would be 10,000 next week, 20,000 the week after, 40,000 the week after, and you can see that by mid-October, if that continued, you would end up with something like 50,000 cases in the middle of October, per day.'

He said the '50,000 cases per day would be expected to lead a month later, so the middle of November, say, to 200-plus deaths per day.

'The challenge therefore is to make sure the doubling time does not stay at seven days.'

Sir Patrick said it was not the case that the rise in coronavirus in the UK was down to more testing being carried out.

'Could that increase be due to increased testing? The answer is no. We see an increase in positivity of the tests done - so we see the proportion of people testing positive has increased, even if testing stays flat.'

Prof Whitty hinted that curbs to social lives were needed to prevent coronavirus spiralling out of control, saying there was a need to 'break unnecessary links' between households and a need to 'change course'.

The map of the UK on the left shows spikes in cases in the north west of England but cases are increasing almost across the board

He said there were four things to do - washing hands and using masks, quarantine measures, and investing in vaccines and drugs.

'The third one, and in many ways the most difficult, is that we have to break unnecessary links between households because that is the way in which this virus is transmitted,' he said.

'And this means reducing social contacts whether they are at work, and this is where we have enormous gratitude to all the businesses for example who have worked so hard to make their environments Covid-secure to reduce the risk, and also in social environments.

'We all know we cannot do this without some significant downsides.

'This is a balance of risk between if we don't do enough the virus will take off - and at the moment that is the path we're clearly on - and if we do not change course we are going to find ourselves in a very difficult problem.'

Prof Whitty warned the country should be braced for a tough winter, adding that colder months were known to benefit respiratory viruses.

'So we should see this as a six-month problem that we have to deal with collectively, it's not indefinite,' he said.

Mortality rates from Covid-19 were 'significantly greater' than seasonal flu, which killed around 7,000 annually or 20,000 in a bad year, he added.

He suggested that science would eventually 'ride to our rescue' but 'in this period of the next six months, I think we have to realise that we have to take this collectively, very seriously'.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is expected to hold a press conference on Tuesday, spent the weekend with senior ministers and advisers discussing what steps should be taken next.

Mr Hancock said on Monday that final decisions were still being made but hinted at curbs to households socialising.

He told ITV's This Morning: 'I think the main thing in terms of what we learnt is that where people catch the disease tends to be in social settings, people coming around to your house, or you going out and socialising essentially.

'We've seen relatively few cases caught through schools and relatively few through people at work.'

He said the Government was 'determined' to keep schools open, adding: 'The evidence is that schools aren't where a lot of transmission happens, it's more about people socialising.'

Asked by presenter Phillip Schofield if people would be 'locked down in our own homes socially', Mr Hancock said: 'Well there are already parts of the country where, sadly, there are measures in place to say you shouldn't socialise with people in your household.'

Mr Hancock said he wanted Christmas to be 'as normal as possible', adding: 'It depends how much we can control it now.

'If this runs out of control now, then we'll have to take heavier measures in the future.

'The more we can control it now by everybody doing that bit, including us - absolutely - but everybody together, then the easier it is going to be to have as normal a Christmas as possible.'

On the possibility of a vaccine, Mr Hancock said: 'For the mass rollout we're talking about the first bit of next year, if all goes well.'

He said there was a chance it would 'come on stream before Christmas' but said the most vulnerable - such as those in care homes and older age groups - would get it first.

Mr Hancock also dismissed as 'completely overblown' reports of rifts within Government between himself and Chancellor Rishi Sunak over the response to coronavirus and whether health risks or the economy should be prioritised.
Automobile dealers in Ghana have said governments swift U-turn on the implementation of the law to ban the importation of salvaged vehicles and vehicles more than 10 years into the country is a mere political gimmick.



The Automobile Dealers Union of Ghana says the suspension of the Customs Amendment Act is an attempt by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government to win more votes in the 2020 general elections.



General Secretary of the Automobile Dealers Union, Clifford Ansu, told Citi News that a total cancellation of the law that was set to take off on November 1, 2020, should be the way to go.



If this is what you want to do at the moment then it means that immediately after the elections, the law can come back because if something is good, you dont suspend it.



Suspensions are only done when someone misbehaves but if you only say this is what you can do for us now, then the decision by the government on this issue is not definite and we are not happy with the decision, he said.



Already, the Minority Members of Parliament have asked Ghanaians to ignore suspension of the law.



Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, said the suspension is propaganda because the government has no power to suspend the law.



The Act which was passed in March 2020 amid fears of job losses.



Mr Iddrisu explained that when the law was first introduced in Parliament, the Minority cautioned the government that it was a bad law that will take Ghanaians out of jobs.



After realising that this law will bite them hard in the elections, they have now turned round to claim that it has been suspended, he added.



The Customs Amendment Act 2020 provides incentives for automobile manufacturers and assemblers registered under the Ghana Automotive Manufacturers Programme and prohibits the importation of salvaged motor vehicles and cars over to years of age into Ghana.



The implementation of the law was suspended suddenly last week.

Source: ghanaweb.com









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By Azernews





By Akbar Mammadov

Reserve military officials in Azerbaijan are called for training sessions in various specialties, the State Service for Mobilization and Conscription announced on September 21.

The state service noted that according to the Law of Azerbaijan on military duty and military service, military officials are called up for military training, military inspections and special gatherings during their reserve period.

Armenia has recently stepped up its military provocation in the line of contact and on the border.

On July 12, Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijan's positions in Tovuz, the country's strategically-important district. The Armenian attack killed 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, as well as a 76-year-old civilian. Armenian forces retreated after suffering losses in Azerbaijan's retaliation.

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.
UW Libraries to Host Lift Every Voice Poetry Programs in October

Camille Dungy

University of Wyoming Libraries is partnering with the Albany County Public Library (ACPL) to offer a series of events to celebrate African American poetry in October.

Lift Every Voice: Why African American Poetry Matters is a national program dedicated to enhancing appreciation of the extraordinary range and richness of the 250-year-long African American poetic tradition.

UW Libraries received two grants to celebrate African American poetry and culture: one from the Library of Americas Lift Every Voice project and a second from the Wyoming Humanities Council.

UW Libraries-sponsored events will all be virtual, free and available to residents throughout Wyoming and the region. To view information about the Lift Every Voice programs, including speaker biographies and links to the programs, go to www.uwyo.edu/libraries.

Lift Every Voice programs will begin Monday, Oct. 5, and will culminate Tuesday, Oct. 27, with a reading by Camille Dungy, an award-winning African American poet. Dungy is noted for her poetry that explores nature, love and African American survival. She is the author of four collections of poetry and a collection of personal essays. Her honors include the 2010 Crab Orchard Open Book Prize, the American Book Award in 2010, a Colorado Book Award and a California Book Award silver medal. Dungy is a professor in the Department of English at Colorado State University.

UW Libraries is excited to host Lift Every Voice programs and make them accessible statewide, says Cass Kvenild, UW Libraries associate dean. We hope these programs will build on the national dialogue about racial justice with local community conversations enriched by the power and history of African American poetry.

Lift Every Voice programs are:

-- Monday, Oct. 5, 2 p.m.: Timothy Askew, a professor of English and humanities at Clark Atlanta University, will discuss the song Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson. Askew will explore how the song offers a window in understanding the political and social consciousness of African Americans in the 20th and early 21st centuries.

-- Friday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m.: The UW Black Studies Center will present Find Your Voice, a youth poetry slam. Sign-ups are limited to middle school, high school and college students. There will be prizes available for first, second and third places.

-- Sunday, Oct. 11-Saturday, Oct. 17: ACPL will offer Lift Every Voice children and young adult programs to promote the importance of African American poetry. More information can be found at http://events.acplwy.org/.

-- Thursday, Oct. 15, 2 p.m.: Fredrick Douglass Dixon, director of the UW Black Studies Center and an assistant professor in African American and Diaspora Studies, will host Cafe of Poetry Readings, a family-friendly event. There will be readings of African American poetry and musical performances by the Laramie High School Jazz Choir.

-- Tuesday, Oct. 20, 4:30 p.m.: Caskey Russell, director of the UW Native American and Indigenous Studies Program; graduate student Nicole Foss, president of the Dead Poets Society student group at UW; and Dixon will be panelists on the Poetry Sucks panel. This lighthearted panel will give an educational response to those who dislike or struggle with poetry. Scott Henkel, director of the Wyoming Institute for Humanities Research (WIHR), will moderate the discussion.

-- Tuesday, Oct. 27, 6:30 p.m.: Camille Dungy will share her work in a reading.

Sponsors and partners for the events are the Lift Every Voice project, Wyoming Humanities Council, ACPL, UW Black Studies Center, WIHR and the Laramie High School Jazz Choir.

For more information, call Cynthia Hughes at (307) 766-5611 or email chughes5@uwyo.edu.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre for continuing muting of democratic India, turning a blind eye to farmers concerns over the contentious farm bills and bringing economic disaster for the country.

Muting of Democratic India continues: by initially silencing and later, suspending MPs in the Parliament & turning a blind eye to farmers concerns on the black agriculture laws. This omniscient Govts endless arrogance has brought economic disaster for the entire country, tweeted Gandhi, who is away in the US accompanying his mother and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, for a health check-up.

Muting Of Democratic India continues: by initially silencing and later, suspending MPs in the Parliament & turning a blind eye to farmers concerns on the black agriculture laws.



This omniscient Govts endless arrogance has brought economic disaster for the entire country.  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 21, 2020

The tweet came after Rajya Sabha chairperson, M Venkaiah Naidu, suspended eight opposition lawmakers over protests on Sunday against the governments move to rush through the contentious farm reform bills.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill and the Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill were cleared by voice vote in Rajya Sabha even as the Opposition members protested. The members stormed the Well of the House demanding that the bills be sent to a select committee for a review. Opposition leaders charged towards Rajya Sabhas deputy chairman Harivanshs seat as he was presiding over the proceedings. They jumped onto tables and shot videos of the ruckus.

Also Read: Rajya Sabha: 8 Opposition MPs suspended for a week after protests over farm bills

The bills seek to allow farmers more flexibility in selling their produce. Many experts have hailed the reforms as significant, but some farmer bodies and opposition parties have insisted the new laws would only benefit corporate entities and traders and not the farmers.

The minimum support price (MSP) regime has not been mentioned in the legislation. It has triggered fears the new laws will weaken the existing regime set by the government to purchase produce directly from farmers.

In a series of tweets related to the legislation, Congress leader P Chidambaram separately questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government how will they guarantee the MSP to the farmers.

Also Read: Democracy is ashamed of govts death warrant against farmers: Rahul Gandhi on farm bills

The PM [Modi] and other ministers have promised that MSP will be guaranteed to the farmer. Pray tell us HOW? How will the government know which farmer sold what produce to which trader? he asked. There will be millions of private transactions every day in thousands of villages all over India. How will the government guarantee MSP is paid in these transactions? Under which law is a private purchaser obliged to pay MSP to the farmer in a private transaction?

Chidambaram said the Modi government should stop lying to the farmers and making false promises. The promise of guaranteeing MSP in private transactions is like the promise to deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every Indian, he said.

Chidambaram was referring to a speech Modi gave in 2014 election as the prime ministerial candidate in which he promised to bring back black money stashed in foreign banks within 100 days of coming to power. He had said that if all the black money was brought back, it would be enough to deposit Rs 15 lakh in every poor persons bank account.

The Congress has separately called a meeting of its general secretaries and in-charges of states to discuss the future course of action on the farm bills and give a final shape to its proposed nationwide agitation on the farm reforms issue. The meeting will be held in the absence of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at the party headquarters in Delhi. Six members of the partys special committee--AK Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni, KC Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, and Randeep Singh Surjewala--will attend the meeting.
The outbreak of the new coronavirus has reached every nation in Africa, a continent of 1.2 billion people.



As of September 19, the confirmed coronavirus death toll on the continent stood at 33,626, with deaths including the former president of the Republic of the Congo, Jacques Joachim Yhombi-Opango, and Somalia's former Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.



There are 1,390,560 confirmed infections and 1,140,980 recoveries, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.



Experts warn fragile healthcare systems in many African countries could be overwhelmed in the face of a severe outbreak of COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.



Below is an interactive map tracking all the coronavirus cases in Africa.



Countries with confirmed cases of COVID-19

Source: ghanaweb.com









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The first digital storefront launching today will be hosted by professional Tennis champion Naomi Osaka, who will unveil the US debut of the Covid-19 masks that she and her sister Mari have been in the process of designing for several months. As the designer for all of Naomi's creative projects, Mari said: "I wanted to make something fierce, especially after the last mask, which was more on the cute side. Also, since Naomi started to play tournaments, it was something she could wear that would show people that she wasn't messing around," said Mari Osaka.

Basic.Space is the sole distribution channel for Naomi and Mari's masks and all proceeds will benefit UNICEF.

"There are a lot of people who are suffering in the world right now and we wanted to do our part to help, so donating the proceeds was a no brainer for us. UNICEF does amazing work around the world and we are happy to support them and their COVID-19 relief efforts," said Naomi and Mari Osaka.

Driven by the new mindset of Generation 'Next'  a forward-thinking psychographic that transcends age, gender, race, ethnicity and income  Basic.Space recreates the discovery, connection and human touch of the in-store shopping experience that has disappeared with the rise of online algorithms and digital transactional buying. Offering a coveted mix of vintage pre-owned items alongside exclusive new products and experiences, Basic.Space is the answer to this generation's quest for a shopping experience that is intrinsically online and offline, authentic, socially conscious and inspiring.

Basic.Space operates on a membership model Basic.Space Select that values community and connection above all else. Its private Instagram account is accessible only to Select members, encouraging a direct and authentic dialogue between sellers, brands and customers. Each membership card, equipped with a unique QR code directing members to their own page on the site, unlocks exclusive access to digital storefronts and experiences. Furthermore, each member's profile page is uniquely customized based on the information collected during the gamified onboarding process  a process that sets the stage for a totally futuristic shopping experience.

A commerce model that views itself as a movement for authentic self-expression while highlighting the unique narratives around creators, Basic.Space believes in the power of connecting through personal stories. So, over the next 12 months, the company will donate 1% of all profits to the Los Angeles-based non-profit organization +Me Project, which works to empower middle and high school youth by teaching the art of storytelling.

Media Contact:



Sophie Gubernick

(917) 239-0989

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SOURCE Basic.Space

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Had you asked a year ago, many high school students might not have been inclined to think of themselves as politically engaged.

Politically aware, yes. Gen Z youth  those born after 1996  live online and swipe through data of the day in significant measure.

But a year ago, the economy was booming, the unemployment rate was low, the world was open and the future looked boundless and bright.

A year ago, they might not have felt the urgency to take an activist role in social changes they believe in such as climate change and gun violence and civil rights that generations before them had left undone.

A year ago, they might have thought there was more time, enough time, to deal with all that.

But 2020 and COVID-19 changed all that.

And this year many of those same young folks know that the time is now.

But the question is how.

Galicia Monforte, a senior at ASK Academy in Rio Rancho, said she knows one way  by voting.

We no longer can think of the White House as a hypothetical place thousands of miles away and that the governments policies dont affect us and our futures, Monforte said. We are seeing that we can and we need to make a difference. And one of the ways we make a difference is to vote.

But, she said, in talking to fellow students who will have turned 18 by November she has come to realize that the very act of registering to vote is perplexing to some.

Thats not something were taught in school, she said. And some kids grow up with parents who arent politically engaged and dont vote so theres no one at home to ask for help.

So this Tuesday, she plans to hold a Zoom rally for her fellow Gen Zers to discuss the how of it  how to register to vote, the various ways to vote, the reasons to vote.

Although initially her plan was to focus on bringing together students from West Side high schools, so far shes connected with 16 high schools from Alamogordo to the Navajo reservation but is hoping even more teens will tune in to hear from and ask questions of a few keynote speakers, including a representative of the Secretary of States Office and Pamelya Herndon of the New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative.

Monforte said she was inspired to organize the rally after listening to former first lady Michelle Obama speak on the importance of voting, but she added that the rally is not about who to vote for or what party to support.

Its just about how to execute your right to vote, she said. I think this is more impactful coming from someone their age like me than someone on the news.

That, even though she will not be eligible to vote in the general election.

I will not turn 18 until next May, she said. But thats part of the reason Im even more motivated to do this. I will not be able to voice my opinion and my right to vote. But I hope those seniors who are 18 will.

Her belief that Gen Zers  projected to be one in 10 eligible voters in November  are ready to take up their power at the polls is born out by a recent survey of youths ages 18 to 29 by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

The survey found that 83% of Gen Zers believe young people have the power to change the country, 60% say they are part of a movement that will vote to express its views and 79% say that COVID-19 helped them realize that politics and the decisions of the people they vote into office affect their daily lives.

But the same survey found that 32% said they did not know whether their state allows them to register to vote online.

(And yes, in New Mexico you can register to vote online at the Secretary of States NMVote.org site  by Oct. 6 in order to vote in the November general election.)

A separate survey  this one conducted by professors at Stanford University, Washington College, Goucher College and the president of Ignite, which trains young women to be political leaders  found that more than 75% of participants ages 18 to 24 see voting as a duty, yet more than 40% say a major reason more of them dont vote is because they believe their vote wont change anything.

Monforte is here to say it can. It will. It must. In a strange and unexpected way, she believes the COVID-19 shutdown has helped crystallize that for many of her peers.

If there is anything positive you can say about the pandemic its that we have been made to see that we can no longer just live in our high school bubble anymore, she said. COVID-19 popped that bubble. It was comfortable, but sadly we cannot live there anymore.

Which is to say that thinking outside the bubble means, in part, thinking inside a voting booth.

Monforte plans to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, after she graduates next year. She said she hopes to attend law school after that.

And after that, she envisions a career in politics.

Maybe those who elect her someday will have registered to vote for the first time because of her.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Reach Joline at 730-2793, jkrueger@abqjournal.com, Facebook or @jolinegkg on Twitter.

Get voting

Youth Voter Registration Rally, 4-6 p.m. Tuesday on Zoom. Learn how to register, absentee and early voting. Keynote speakers, Q&A session. For Zoom invite, passcode and questions, email in advance Galicia Monforte at gmonforte@theaskacademy.org.
State-run banks are set to invoke the personal guarantees given by as many as 300 promoters for corporate loans following instructions from the finance ministry, two people with direct knowledge of the development said.

Notices to promoters who feature in the first such list being prepared by the banks are likely to be sent in the first week of October, the people cited above said, seeking anonymity.

The move follows a 26 August communication by the finance ministry to state-run banks, asking them to prepare a list of cases where personal guarantees of promoters can be invoked based on the revised Insolvency Resolution Process Rules, 2019, which has empowered lenders to file bankruptcy applications against personal guarantors of corporate loans before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The rules came into effect on 31 December.

A personal guarantee obligates the guarantor to pay back a business loan if the corporate borrower defaults. In such cases, promoters, typically, provide personal assets as collateral. According to industry estimates, promoters have provided personal guarantees to state-run banks for dues worth 1.85 trillion.

Banks may consider putting in place a mechanism for monitoring the cases, which may require initiation of individual insolvency processes before the NCLT against personal guarantors to corporate debtors," the ministry said in the letter.

View Full Image Sarvesh Kumar Sharma/Mint





Recent instances of invoking personal guarantees include State Bank of Indias move against Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani and Sanjay Singal, former chairman of Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd.

SBI, which has the biggest chunk of such cases, is looking at moving against several large promoters of defaulting companies, said one of the two people cited above. All cases of 50 crore and above where personal insolvency cases can be filed in order to ensure that promoters pay up are under review."

While the government has suspended all fresh bankruptcy cases for six months from 25 March because of the pandemic, bankruptcy courts are allowed to take up cases where defaults have happened earlier.

Legal experts said invoking personal guarantees can be tricky for lenders and entails a lengthy legal process.

As things stand, banks are in a bit of a quandary due to the recent Supreme Court ruling in which it refused to vacate a stay by Delhi high court on the invocation of personal guarantees against Anil Ambani. Lenders fear more cases may go the same way as courts may provide interim relief to such promoters," said Ajay Shaw, a partner at DSK Legal. The Delhi high courts final judgement in the matter will be crucial and will set an important precedent."

In July, the Supreme Court asked the finance ministry why state-run banks have not invoked personal guarantees of big corporate loan defaulters. The bench, headed by Justice Rohinton F. Nariman asked the petitioner to make a representation to the finance ministry within two weeks. The court also ordered the ministry to respond within four weeks of receiving the representation.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea by SBI to vacate the stay on personal insolvency proceedings against Anil Ambani for recovery of 1,200 crore granted to his firms. The matter will be heard next by the Delhi high court in October.

Some of the cases being considered for personal insolvency include those where lenders have not yet invoked guarantees and where promoters were interfering with the resolution of their companies, said a lawyer advising bankers on these matters.

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AIA Financial Career Scheme 2020 will provide eligible candidates with comprehensive financial services training as well as vital financial support whilst undertaking the programme

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 21 September 2020 - AIA Singapore today announced the creation of up to 500 new career opportunities, in-depth training and financial support aimed at fresh graduates and mid-career switchers, amid ongoing economic uncertainty and increasing unemployment as a result of COVID-19. AIA's Financial Career Scheme 2020 is a reinforcement of the continued efforts by the government of Singapore to create and sustain job opportunities for Singaporeans, as the number of retrenchments more than doubled in the second quarter of this year[1].









Ms Wong Sze Keed, Chief Executive Officer of AIA Singapore, said, "At a time when so many are impacted by retrenchment or are struggling to find jobs, it is vital that we support Singaporeans and permanent residents by creating sustainable and long-term career opportunities.

"The AIA Financial Career Scheme 2020 equips individuals with the skills and necessary financial knowledge to pursue a new career path in the financial services industry. By sharing our expertise and industry knowledge, candidates will embark on fulfilling and successful careers, contributing to Singapore's economic future well beyond COVID-19," she said.

A strategic collaboration between AIA Singapore Private Limited (inclusive of its wholly-owned subsidiary, AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited) and AIA Group's flagship asset management company, AIA Investment Management Private Limited (AIAIM), the AIA Financial Career Scheme 2020 aims to provide support to individuals seeking careers in Singapore's financial services sector. Eligible candidates will undertake soft and technical skills training to enhance their industry employability, as well as receive financial support to sustain them whilst enrolled in the programme. Financial support will be provided to qualifying individuals across six financial allowance schemes, ranging from S$2,000 -- S$5,000 per month[2], with a bonus earned upon successful completion of certain training modules.

Story continues

"The programme is designed to equip candidates with sound financial and investment knowledge, which will enhance their employability as well as better serve the long-term needs of their clients." said Mr Cheong Poh Kin, Chief Executive Officer of AIAIM.

Suitable candidates who meet AIA's requirements will be enrolled progressively over a period from 15 September 2020 to 31 March 2021, where successful individuals will receive structured training over an initial 10-month period leading to three certifications comprising:

1. Associate Financial Planner (AFPCM) / Associate Financial Consultant (AFC) certification, as part of the AIA Premier[3] Programme.

2. Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) Level 1 certification.

3. Foundation Investment Certification accreditation by AIAIM.

After the initial 10-month period, further training programmes will be offered over the total two-year period based on individual candidate preferences and development needs.

In addition, all successful candidates enrolled in the programme will be assigned a mentor who will partner and guide them toward successful completion of the programme and potentially a rewarding career with AIA Singapore or AIA Financial Advisers as an AIA Premier Consultant.

For six consecutive years, the AIA Group has achieved the largest number of MDRT members becoming the only multinational company in the world to have done so. We also maintained our market leadership in agency distribution for six consecutive years, with the largest number of MDRT registered members in Singapore. Internationally recognised as the standard of excellence in life insurance and financial services, AIA's agency force represents the industry pinnacle in professional knowledge, ethical conduct and outstanding client service. AIA Singapore is also the Winner of The Insurance & Risk Management Sector of the Singapore's 100 leading graduate employers in 2019/2020 for three consecutive years.

Interested candidates can contact us via this link and we will be in touch to share more about the AIA Financial Career Scheme 2020, and how to build a rewarding career with AIA Singapore or AIA Financial Advisers: https://www.aia.com.sg/en/about-aia/careers/not-just-another-job.html





[1]https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/manpower/singapore-sees-worst-ever-quarterly-fall-in-employment-in-q2-as-retrenchments

[2] Financial allowance is subject to terms and conditions and meeting certain sales validation.

[3] AIA Premier is a structured programme with a comprehensive training and support system to groom new AIA Financial Services Consultants to achieve Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) within 2 years.





About AIA

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively "AIA" or the "Group") comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific -- wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR[4], Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan (China), Vietnam, Brunei, Macau SAR[5], New Zealand, a 99 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, and a 49 per cent joint venture in India.

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai more than a century ago in 1919. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$291 billion as of 30 June 2020.

AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 36 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code "1299" with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: "AAGIY").









[4]Hong Kong SAR refers to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

[5]Macau SAR refers to Macau Special Administrative Region





About AIA Investment Management Private Limited

AIA Investment Management Private Limited (AIAIM) was incorporated in Singapore in 2016 as the hub for regional investment management and central trading for AIA. AIAIM holds a Capital Markets Services Licence for Fund Management, and Dealing in Capital Markets Products from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. As of 30 June 2020, AIAIM manages around US$118.2 bn across asset classes and has 111 employees. Since incorporation, AIAIM has built specialist teams to supporting and manage asset classes across geographies, having strong research capabilities in Equities, Fixed Income and Alternative Investments. AIAIM solely caters to AIA and dedicate its investment resources to manage the assets of AIA.
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An enormous wildfire that churned through mountains northeast of Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert was still threatening homes on Monday as it burned across more than 103,000 acres.

The Bobcat Fire is one of the largest ever in Los Angeles County and it has burned for more than two weeks. It's just 15 per cent contained.

Authorities said more than 1,700 firefighters are battling the blaze. The Angeles National Forest released a containment date of October 30.

Evacuation orders and warnings are in place for thousands of residents in foothill and desert communities, where semi-rural homes and a popular nature sanctuary have burned. No injuries have been reported.

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An enormous wildfire that churned through mountains northeast of Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert was still threatening homes on Monday as it burned across more than 103,000 acres. Embers float from a burning tree in Wrightwood, California, Monday morning

The Bobcat Fire is one of the largest ever in Los Angeles County and it has burned for more than two weeks. It's just 15 per cent contained

Authorities said more than 1,700 firefighters are battling the blaze. The Angeles National Forest released a containment date of October 30

Firefighters battle the Bobcat Fire near Wrightwood, California. The fire has burned across a large percentage of the Angeles National Forest and threatened the historic observatories on Mount Wilson

Erratic winds that drove flames into the community of Juniper Hills over the weekend had died down, said US Forest Service fire spokesman Larry Smith.

'It's slightly cooler too, so hopefully that will be a help to firefighters,' Smith said.

Officials said it could be days before teams determine the scope of the destruction in the area about 50 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

Firefighters fought back against another flareup near Mount Wilson, which overlooks greater Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Mountains and has a historic observatory founded more than a century ago and numerous broadcast antennas serving Southern California.

The Bobcat Fire started September 6 and has doubled in size over the last week. The cause is under investigation.

The wildfire also destroyed the nature center at Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area, a geological wonder that attracts some 130,000 visitors per year.

The Bobcat Fire, as seen from the 105/605 interchange, continues to burn, becoming one of the largest fires in LA County history

Erratic winds that drove flames into the community of Juniper Hills (pictured on Sunday) over the weekend had died down, said US Forest Service fire spokesman Larry Smith

Officials said it could be days before teams determine the scope of the destruction in the area about 50 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles

The wildfire also destroyed the nature center at Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area (entrance pictured), a geological wonder that attracts some 130,000 visitors per year

A wildlife sanctuary on the property was undamaged, and staff and animals had been evacuated days earlier.

Nearly 19,000 firefighters in California are fighting more than two dozen major wildfires.

At least 7,900 wildfires have burned more than 6,000 square miles in the state this year, including many since a mid-August barrage of dry lightning ignited parched vegetation.

Officials were investigating the death of a firefighter at another Southern California wildfire that erupted earlier this month from a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device used by a couple to reveal their baby's gender.

The death occurred on September 17 in San Bernardino National Forest as crews battled the El Dorado Fire about 75 miles east of Los Angeles, the US Forest Service said in a statement.

Officials confirmed that the blaze is at 59 per cent containment.

The name of the firefighter killed has not yet been released. A statement from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said it was the 26th death involving wildfires besieging the state.

Authorities also have not released the identities of the couple, who could face criminal charges and be held liable for the cost of fighting the fire.

In Wyoming, a rapidly growing wildfire in the southeastern part of the state on Sunday closed in on a reservoir that's a major source of water for the state's capital city, Cheyenne.

The water system remained safe and able to filter out ash and other burned material that flows through streams and reservoirs after wildfires, said Clint Bassett, water treatment manager for the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities.

Flames have blackened a record 3.2 million acres in California alone since mid-August. Another 1.7 million acres have burned in Oregon and Washington state since Labor Day.

The blazes, described by scientists and officials as unprecedented in scope and ferocity, have largely incinerated several small towns, along with thousands of dwellings.
South Africa: Monitoring visit to East London car plant

Deputy Minister in the Presidency Thembi Siweya has paid a visit to the Daimler car plant in East London.

Accompanied by the Eastern Cape MEC for Transport, Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe and the MEC for Economic Development, Mlungisi Mvoko, on Monday, Siweya's visited formed part of the continued mobilisation of stakeholders to play a part in the socio-economic recovery of the country.

While Daimler was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has no plans to retrench employees. Instead, the company adjusted its operations to suite the different stages of lockdown by introducing new shift structures, while mainly remaining productive.

The report we received indicates that quantities were only marginally reduced because they could manage two shifts instead of the normal three. They further committed that a new C-Class Mercedes Benz will be in the offering, affirming continued investment in South Africa, Siweya said.

The monitoring delegation was largely positive about what they had observed during the visit.

Daimler has put in place health protocols to ensure continuous operation of the plant.

The company also has a social and financial management support programme, which includes availing educational opportunities through community outreach programmes, while distributing sanitisers and masks to schools.

Daimler is one of the worlds biggest producers of premium cars, whose continued investment in South Africa stands to benefit the economy.

Government considers the private sector a key stakeholder in the recovery of our economy and continuous development of communities, Siweya said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
TICKERS: WHN

Source: Streetwise Reports (9/21/20)

Westhaven Gold is now drilling below where high-grade surface samples were found and expects assays shortly.



The old adage says the best place to find a mine is besides a mine, but Westhaven Gold Corp. (WHN:TSX.V) is finding gold driving distance from Vancouver. Could it be that no one thought there could be gold so close to home?

The company's Shovelnose project is a mere two and a half hour drive from Vancouver. "You could go up there, spend the day, and even go as far as our Prospect Valley Gold Property, and be back home at nighttime," Westhaven President and CEO Gareth Thomas told Streetwise Reports.

"A lot of people can't believe that we are unearthing high-grade gold that close to Vancouver that had never been discovered before," Thomas said. "Location is key, and our properties are just off a major highway and all are road accessible; we have a unique advantage."

Ed Balon, who serves as a technical advisor to Westhaven, is credited with discovering the Spences Bridge Gold Belt, where Shovelnose and Westhaven's other three properties are located.

"In the late 1990s, early 2000s, Ed realized that this area had potential to host gold and the first drill hole ever was in 2005, on the Skoonka property, which we now own 100% outright," Thomas said. They drilled 12.8 meters of 20.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold in 2005; that was the first drill program ever on this belt. And that definitely got people interested in the area." Despite this, no further work was done on the property after 2007.

"When we acquired Shovelnose, which had never been drilled, we began getting high-grade drill intercepts, and believed that there's got to be more on this belt. So we started acquiring our other three projects: Prospect Valley, Skoonka and Skoonka North," Thomas explained.

In 2018, Westhaven hit a discovery hole at Shovelnose of 17.7 meters of 24.5 g/t gold. That was followed in early 2019 with intercepts as high as 12.66 meters of 39.31 g/t gold and 133.11 g/t silver. In late April 2020, the company announced a new discovery of another zone that appears to be on strike parallel with the main zone.

"We've now found two more parallel vein zones, but the main one appears to be much bigger than we initially thought. And we're really excited about our new Franz Zone discovery, which is actually where this outcrops on surface. We hit up to 51 g/t gold and 165 g/t silver from surface samples," Thomas said. "We're drilling there now, to see if there is something of significance underneath that outcrop, but it's our belief that there will be and this is going to change the story, making this a much larger target."

Westhaven currently has three drill rigs turning at Shovelnose. "Our goal this year is to define another South Zone, where we made the initial discovery, and we think we're on the verge of doing that," Thomas said.

Shovelnose is a low-sulphidation epithermal deposit, and Thomas notes that low-sulphidation epithermal deposits constitute some of the highest grade mines in the world, including Kupol in Russia, Hishikari in Japan and Fruta del Norte in Ecuador.

One advantage of Westhaven's project location is low drilling costs. The company reports that its all-in drilling costs are $190/meter, compared to an average of $454/meter for its peers. "The number one factor behind that would be location; we are near a major highway and don't have to use planes or helicopters," Thomas explained. "We're 30 minutes outside of a town of about 10,000 people, so we have everything we need there. We stay in motels, which brings our costs down significantly."

The company is preparing to begin drilling at its Skoonka Creek Gold Property, located north of Shovelnose. In 2017, "Westhaven identified the JJ-West target, which is possibly the continuation of the high-grade JJ Vein zone last drilled in 2007. We look forward to applying what we have learned at our Shovelnose Gold Property to the Skoonka Creek Gold Property," Thomas said.

In June, Westhaven closed a CA$5.175 million bought-deal placement of flow-through common shares. "Right now we have about CA$5 million in working capital," Thomas said.

Westhaven has about 102 million shares outstanding, 115 million fully diluted. About 30% are held by directors and officers.

The company is on the radar of industry observers. Brien Lundin wrote in Gold Newsletter on August 27, "The discovery of the Franz area in outcrop gives Westhaven Gold Corp. yet another key target to follow up on as it continues its drilling efforts at the Shovelnose project. . .the company is also beginning a 2,000m drill program to follow up on high-grade historic assays from its Skoonka Creek project. . .given the high-grade the company is chasing at both projects, quality assays from either drill program could spike Westhaven, particularly if delivered into the next uptick in gold prices."

Eric Coffin wrote in HRA Journal on August 25, "Westhaven Gold Corp.'s management is interpreting Franz to be a potential extension of zone 1, the main vein zone at Shovelnose. . .if Franz does turn out to be the literal extension of zone 1, the overall system scale will be increased to 3.7 km. . .it does give the company room within the system for a lot of ounces."

[NLINSERT]

Disclosure:

1) Patrice Fusillo compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Westhaven Gold. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.

3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases.

Additional disclosures:



Gold Newsletter: The publisher and its affiliates, officers, directors and owner actively trade in investments discussed in this newsletter. They may have positions in the securities recommended and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. The publisher is not a registered investment advisor. Authors of articles or special reports are sometimes compensated for their services.

Disclosures from HRA Special Delivery Alert

We do not receive or request compensation in any form in order to feature companies in this publication. We may, or we may not, own securities of the companies mentioned herein.
Rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed three-storey residential building in Bhiwandi, western India

At least 15 people were killed and up to 25 others were still feared trapped Monday after a three-storey apartment block collapsed in western India, officials said.

Local residents cheered as emergency workers from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) pulled 20 survivors -- including two boys aged four and seven -- from the rubble of the building in Bhiwandi, near Mumbai.

An NDRF spokesman told reporters that emergency workers had retrieved 15 bodies from the rubble.

NDRF director general Satya Narayan Pradhan tweeted that specialist teams and sniffer dogs were trying to rescue another "20-25 feared trapped".

An official at the Thane city authority, which oversees Bhiwandi, told AFP that more than 40 emergency workers were helping search for survivors.

Images broadcast on the NDRF's official Twitter feed showed emergency workers combing through concrete and brick rubble with electrical wires hanging over their heads.

The cause of the pre-dawn accident was not immediately clear, but building collapses are common during India's June-September monsoon season, with old and rickety structures buckling after days of non-stop rain.

vm-amu/grk/sst
While we did not agree with many of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs views about the Constitution or the judicial function, we never doubted her industry, dedication, gumption, civility, or patriotism. We send our condolences to all who mourn her passing.

Justice Ginsburg almost certainly had more fans than any other justice in U.S. history, with her great friend Justice Antonin Scalia in second place. The wide acclaim, and wide opprobrium, for these justices is a sign of something that has gone wrong in our political culture, in which the Supreme Court looms entirely too large. Her death has therefore led not just to mourning but to the start of a political convulsion.

Many commentators, mostly Democrats, are saying that the Republicans have an obligation to show restraint: to leave this vacancy to be filled by whoever wins the presidential election rather than moving forward with a nomination and hearings. They say that in 2016, when President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace Scalia, Republicans argued that no nomination should proceed right before a presidential election and that Republicans should adhere to that same principle now. They say also that if Republicans fill the seat, Democrats will retaliate next year by expanding the Supreme Court to add more liberals to it.

The argument from 2016 is unavailing. Our own view was that the Republicans point about acting in an election year was secondary to the imperative to advance constitutionalism on the Court. But the most careful articulations of the Republican position in 2016 held that when a Supreme Court vacancy arose while the White House and Senate were controlled by opposite parties and a presidential election was coming soon, the vacancy should be filled by the winner of that election. In short, the voters should be asked to break the deadlock between two branches they elected. That condition does not apply today, as Republicans have won a Senate majority in three consecutive elections. (It is tempting, because it would be useful for conservatives, to say that Democrats should be held to what many of them said in 2016: that the Senate had a constitutional obligation to proceed with any nomination the president made. But that argument never had any grounding in the Constitution.)

Story continues

The notion that Republicans should calm troubled waters by standing down is a little more beguiling. But it should also be rejected. Supreme Court nominations have become incendiary events because the Court has strayed so far from its proper constitutional role. There is no need to be coy: What we have in mind most of all, just like progressive activists, is abortion. In Roe v. Wade, the Court swept away the laws of 50 states and trampled on the most fundamental of human rights, and it did it without any justification in the text, original understanding, logic, structure, or history of the Constitution. Even legal scholars who approve of the policy result have admitted as much. A Court that claims that power for itself can commit many other enormities. And the Democratic Party, very much including its current presidential nominee, maintains a litmus test that any Supreme Court nominee must pledge fealty to that anti-constitutional ruling.

The rift between constitutional law and the Constitution has done great damage to our political culture. It would be perverse to give up a chance to pull them back together because of that damage. And it would be a mistake to allow the risk of future progressive mischief to cause conservatives to refrain from taking that chance.

President Trump, like President Obama in 2016, has the constitutional power to nominate a Supreme Court justice. He should exercise that power to put forward someone with a track record of respect for the law and for its limits on the judiciary. The Senate, as it did in 2016, will then have the power to decide whether to proceed. If the nominee meets threshold conditions of quality and judicial philosophy, we hope it will schedule hearings expeditiously and vote whenever enough time for deliberation has passed.

More from National Review
To the Times:

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., has gone on record a number of times to say that a Supreme Court vacancy occurring near an election should be filled by the next president.

He said it in a March 2016 statement and in an April 2016 oped.

In a Tweet dated March 16, 2016, he reiterated that, with the presidential election fewer than eight months away, it is wise to give the American people a more direct voice in the selection and confirmation of the next justice.

In an April 8, 2016 constituent response, Sen. Toomey said: The current vacancy on the Supreme Court, however, presents an unusual situation. In the final year of a presidency, it is extremely rare for vacancies that arise on the Supreme Court to be filled. In fact, the last time such a vacancy was filled was 1932.

We are now within six weeks of a presidential election.

Voters need to know: Is Sen. Toomey a man of integrity or does he say whatever he needs to justify his actions?

Peggy Bradin Wilson, Drexel Hill
Crimean activist and blogger Nariman Memedeminov has been released from Russian penal establishment after two and a half years in prison, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova has said.

"The greatest joy on this day is that I heard the voice of Crimean activist Nariman Memedeminov, who was just released after two and a half years of Russian imprisonment. We spoke on the phone, but this is the feeling when it was as if I was there. He is going home now and most of all wants to hug his family and friends," she wrote on Twitter on Monday afternoon.

As reported, Russian security forces detained Memedeminov at the end of March 2018. Memedeminov was charged under Part 2 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of Russia (public calls for terrorist activities made using the Internet).

In October 2019, the Southern Military District Court of Russia's Rostov-on-Don sentenced Memedeminov to two and a half years in prison.
- Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen who is a former law lecturer was the first one to concur with Maraga and asked Uhuru to act accordingly

- Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Junior, however, differed with the advisory, terming it premature

- Senator James Orengo agreed with Maraga's position saying it was "probably the most significant and historic from a constitutional standpoint"

- Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula dismissed the CJ's standpoint arguing the adoption and passage of the gender bill was not just a responsibility of Parliament

- Law Society of Kenya Nelson Havi and Narc Kenya Party leader Martha Karua also commend Maraga for upholding the constitution to the latter

Chief Justice David Maraga has returned to the public limelight again barely three years after delivering a landmark ruling that nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta's election in 2017.

Maraga became a subject of social media discussion for the better part of Monday, September 21, evening, after advising President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve Parliament for failing to pass the gender bill.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Kenya records 98 new infections, 62 recoveries and 2 deaths

Chief Justice David Maraga. Photo: The Judiciary.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Rais Museveni adai maski aliovaa akiwa ziarani Tanzania ilimpotezea sauti

In the advisory that divided Kenyans among them the country's top lawyers, the CJ noted Parliament had refused to comply with orders issued by the High Court compelling it to enact and implement the two-thirds gender rule for over nine years.

"It is incontestable that Parliament has not complied with the High Court order in Constitutional Petition No. 371 of 2016. As such, for over nine years now, Parliament has not enacted the legislation required to implement the two-thirds gender rule which, as the Court of Appeal observed in its said judgement, is clear testimony of Parliaments lackadaisical attitude and conduct this matter, said Maraga in his advisory to the president.

READ ALSO: Frank Lampard says Kai Havertz, Timo Werner need time after duo flopping against Liverpool

Lawyers differ

A section of Kenya's polished legal brains shared their varied views regarding the CJ's advisory.

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen who is a former law lecturer was the first one to concur with Maraga and asked Uhuru to act accordingly.

"Mr.President now, therefore, dissolve Parliament. Immediately!" he tweeted.

His learned friend and Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Junior, however, differed with the advisory, terming it premature.

"The message by CJ for dissolution is premature. Article 216(6) requires an order to be issued before the clause (7) is invoked. Sen Farhiya and yours truly have a constitutional amendment bill on two-thirds gender rule at second reading. The president should RTS the advisory.

READ ALSO: Vera Sidika reveals plans to go back to school and pursue degree in interior design

On his part, Senior counsel James Orengo who is also the Siaya Senator agreed with Maraga's position saying it was "probably the most significant and historic from a constitutional standpoint".

"CJ Maragas advice to the President to dissolve parliament is momentous. Probably the most significant and historic from a constitutional standpoint. How we apply foundational principles and values of the rule of law and constitutionalism is now the big test," he said.

Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula dismissed Maraga's standpoint arguing the adoption and passage of the gender bill was not just a responsibility of Parliament.

"On the basis of the legal doctrine and logic of "balance of convenience", CJ Maraga is dead wrong. He has acted per incuriam and nobody or authority will act on the same. The resolution, restatement and construct of the gender rule is not just about Parliament," argued the long-serving lawyer.

Homa Bay MP Peter Kaluma said the CJ handled the elusive matter casually arguing the issue of gender ruling would not be achieved even if parliament was dissolved.

"Decision to dissolve an elected arm of government is too serious to be casually made by the Chief Justice! The people of Kenya elected this Parliament and will never meet 2/3 gender requirement even in future elections under this first past the post electoral system!," he tweeted.

Exiled lawyer Miguna Miguna lauded the Chief Justice for defending the constitution and urged the president to comply with the advice.

"This is to express our deepest gratitude to Chief Justice David Maraga for finally issuing a judicial decree to Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve Parliament and park up and go. Yes, "there is no gain without pain." he tweeted.

Law Society of Kenya Nelson Havi and Narc Kenya Party leader Martha Karua also commend Maraga for upholding the constitution to the latter.

"Chief Justice David Maraga has advised dissolution of Parliament. President Uhuru Kenyatta must dissolve Parliament within 21 days. If he does not, all laws enacted and decisions made by Parliament thereafter will be of no effect. The People should reclaim sovereignty," said Havi

However, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi argued that the role of enacting and implementing the two-thirds gender rule was not a sole responsibility of Parliament.

Senate Majority Whip Irungu Kang'ata also disagreed with Maraga's advisory.

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

I was afraid my son would become a beggar-mumbi ndung'u | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Actor Renuka Shahane got talking about Kangana Ranaut's conduct on social media and news media in recent times and her insulting name-calling of her colleagues in the Hindi film industry. Renuka pointed out that what started out as 'justice for Sushant Singh Rajput' is no more about that.

"The case was left behind long ago, when Kangana Ranaut was talking about Mumbai Police' incompetence, targeting Maharashtra government for that, and calling Mumbai PoK," said Renuka, in an interview with Hindustan Times.

Talking about Kangana dismissing Urmila Matondkar by calling her a 'soft porn star', Renuka said, "It crosses the line of decency, there are some people who do it all the time, and there are others who believe that should not be done. It's your choice, how you want to lead your life... some people think crossing the line of decency and saying the most vile things is their freedom of expression. What do you do about it?"

Kangana's remarks on Urmila came after the latter disputed the former's claims of 99 percent of the film industry being involved in substance abuse.

ALSO READ: Urmila Matondkar Showered With Love By Celebs After Kangana Ranaut's Attack

Drawing a parallel between Kangana and her social media persona, Renuka said, "If you yourself are this, then your tweets are going to reflect that. If you are a vile person, your tweet will reflect that, and if you are decent, the same thing. It's not a question of opposition, I think people within a family also don't agree with each other on many things, but there is space for disagreement. But what I feel is just because you are against somebody's point of view, you don't have to be vicious against the person!"

ALSO READ: Kangana Ranaut Deletes Tweets, Blocks Journalist After Being Condemned For Threatening Him

Many other celebrities have come out and condemned Kangana's statements and conduct since the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and have called her out for being terribly opportunistic.

ALSO READ: Sona Mohapatra Calls Out Kangana Ranaut For Playing A Messiah Using Sushant Singh Rajput's Death!
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
County officials believe the jail may have been the first in the country to operate as a precinct, said Cook County sheriffs office spokesman Matt Walberg. In the general election, partly as a concession to the pandemic but also due to a smaller population, the jail is set to operate four polling places, three fewer than in the primary.
Two prominent gaming retailers in South Africa told MyBroadband that PlayStation 5 pre-orders sold out within minutes of going live last week.

Sonys next-generation consoles are available in two models, which are priced as follows:

Digital Edition PS5  R9,999

Standard PS5  R11,999

BT Games, Koodoo, and Raru were the first retailers to open pre-orders on Thursday morning. By the afternoon of the same day, none of these retailers had any stock remaining.

Ecommerce giant Takealot was next to go live with pre-orders on Friday morning at 09:00.

Around 20 minutes later, the Digital Edition was no longer available, and soon afterwards, the Standard console was also out of stock.

Massmarts Makro and Game stores also opened their pre-orders on Thursday and Friday afternoon, respectively. As of Monday morning, neither of these stores had any stock remaining.

MyBroadband asked retailers how many PS5 units were allocated to them, how quickly these sold out, and if they would be receiving additional stock in the near future.

We also asked the retailers about their plans for Microsofts next-generation consoles  the Xbox Series X and S  which will go on sale on Tuesday 22 September.

Raru

Raru told MyBroadband it had about a 20-minute warning before going live with PlayStation pre-orders. Once orders were opened, the console sold out in a matter of minutes.

Our PS5 Standard Console Pre-Order went live at 9:30 AM and sold out four minutes later, Raru said.

If you look at what has happened globally with PS5 pre-orders, any retailer which does manage to secure PS5 Console pre-order stock can expect these to sell out extremely quickly.

The company told MyBroadband this initial allocation was for the Standard version of the console only, while accessories were limited to the DualSense Controllers, Remote, and Pulse 3D Headset.

It expects demand to remain very high for the foreseeable future and anticipates a second round of PlayStation 5 allocations to be made available.

There is no date yet as to when these new allocations will be available from. We do hope that it will be before the end of the year, but nothing has been confirmed as yet, Raru said.

It also expects strong demand for the new Xbox consoles.

From the wishlists for the Xbox Consoles, the current ratio is 3 to 1 for the Xbox Series X console versus the Series S, Raru said.

BT Games

BT Games told MyBroadband it offered its allocation to customers who had previously expressed interest in acquiring the console.

Because of this, its pre-orders were sold out within 10 minutes.

Although it was unable to share the number of PS5 consoles it was allocated, it indicated the Digital Edition constituted only about 8% of its total consoles sold.

It said it will be getting a second drop of both the Standard and Digital Editions three to four weeks after launch.

We have both SKUs coming in but the digital allocation is about 10% of the total number, BT Games said.

It also said there appears to be a large shipment of PS5s earmarked for mid-January.

BT Games will be opening pre-orders for the Xbox Series X and Series S at 09:00 AM on 22 September.

It said it has received a larger allocation for this console and has the option to get more stock in the event that it is sold out.

Microsoft has prioritised South Africa with stock allocation and believes it will be able to meet more demand, BT Games said.
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have your data. Why not TikTok?

The Trump administration said Friday that it would bar two popular Chinese-owned mobile apps WeChat and TikTok from U.S. app stores as of midnight Sunday, escalating the U.S. standoff with China.

Todays actions prove once again that President Trump will do everything in his power to guarantee our national security and protect Americans from the threats of the Chinese Communist Party, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

On Saturday, the president told reporters Saturday that he approved a bid by Oracle and Walmart to take over TikTok's U.S. operations. "I have given the deal my blessing, if they get it done thats great, if they dont thats OK, too," Trump said. "We'll see whether or not it all happens, but conceptually I think it's a great deal for America."

The Trump administration contends the data collected from American users by TikTok and WeChat could be accessed by the Chinese government.

The Trump administration is looking to make sure U.S. TikTok consumer data stays out of Beijing, said Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives.

TikTok ban: Here are 5 cool alternatives

TikTok no more? U.S. banning use of WeChat, downloads of TikTok for national security

Owned by Chinas ByteDance, TikTok collects user data like all social media companies.

The only difference is the worries around a backdoor to Beijing around user data, Ives said. Data issues for Facebook, Google and others are viewed much differently by the Beltway compared to the TikTok situation given the Chinese ownership.

TikTok says it does not store U.S. user data in China and that it would not hand over that data to the Chinese government.

Tapping the personal information people freely share on social media platforms to target advertising helped turn Facebook's business into one of the world's most powerful and lucrative. But this is the first time a Chinese-owned social media company has commanded the attention  and personal information  of so many Americans, raising national security concerns, said Brian Wieser, president of business intelligence for GroupM, the media buying arm of advertising giant WPP Plc.

Story continues

TikTok on the screen of an iPhone with the U.S. flag as background.

TikTok, which has become a wildly popular platform to share videos in the United States, is estimated to reach about 100 million users here. The Trump administration's worry: The view into the lives of Americans that all the personal information collected could provide the Chinese Communist Party, Ross told Fox Business news Friday.

What they collect are data on locality, data on what youre streaming toward, what your preferences are, what youre referencing, every bit of behavior that the American side is indulging in becomes available to whoever is watching on the other side, Ross said. As you know, China has been taking all kinds of data from all sorts of internet activities and thats what were trying to squelch.

The TikTok ban is the latest move by the Trump administration to counter Chinese influence in the U.S. The president's trade war has blocked mergers involving Chinese companies and cracked down on companies like Huawei, which makes phones and other telecommunications equipment. The activities of U.S. tech companies in China are sharply curtailed by Beijing.

The U.S. has never made very clear exactly what the national security concerns are and the actions directed at China seem as much about trade and competition and techs future as national security, said University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias.

The vast collection of the personal information of Americans by data brokers and others is a major problem, but not necessarily a national security problem, said Kirsten Martin, University of Notre Dame professor of IT, analytics and operations.

Beijing could use any social media platform to target Americans or any ad network to target Americans on any site, Martin said. Foreign countries push propaganda on U.S. citizens via other platforms that are owned by U.S. counties such as the Russian interference in elections.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Facebook has your data. Why not China-owned ByteDance's TikTok?
4 People Killed in Single-Engine Airplane Crash in Texas: Officials

Four people from Louisiana died after their single-engine plane crashed in Texas while they tried to make an emergency landing, said officials on Sunday.

The crash took place in a field near Hilltop Lakes. The Texas Department of Public Safety told The Eagle newspaper that all four people in the plane died.

Leon County Sheriff Kevin Ellis told the outlet that the plane was trying to make an emergency landing and was in radio contact with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) when the crash occurred.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is investigating the crash, saying the plane involved in the incident was a Piper PA-46.

NTSB is investigating the September 20, 2020 crash in Hilltop, TX involving a Piper PA-46. The NTSB is not traveling to the scene of the crash at this time.  NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) September 20, 2020

The 1984 single-engine plane departed Horseshoe Bay Resort near Marble Falls, west of Austin, at 10 a.m. and was going to an airport in Natchitoches, flight records indicate, according to KBTX.

A witness told the station that the aircraft was very close to the ground. When the pilot tried to pull up, the motor stopped working, said Justin DeLeon.

He got over the putt-putt area across from the stables. He banked left almost overcorrected and then banked right again and then he banked left one last time and when he did that second bank to the left he pretty much nose-dived straight vertical into the ground, he said.

The names of those who died in the crash were not disclosed. Other details about the incident are not clear.
Locals said that the building was in a poor condition and had been served notices by the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation, but those were ignored. Besides there were unattended problems of leakages and seepages which may have weakened the structure located in a congested locality of the town.(National Disaster Response Force via AP)
Microsofts $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media is huge news in many ways. It brings renowned studios like Bethesda, id and Arkane into the Xbox family, along with popular franchises including Doom, The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. It makes the Xbox Series X and S more compelling, especially given theyre launching with a relatively weak lineup. (That Halo Infinite delay certainly didnt help either.) But most importantly, its yet another win for Game Pass, as Microsoft has confirmed that Bethesda titles are headed to the subscription service over the coming months.

When I argued that the Xbox Series S was an incredible next-gen deal, Game Pass Ultimate was a big part of that. For $15 a month, you get access to 100 recent titles on console and PC, first-party Microsoft games, Xbox Live, and EA Play. (You could also get Game Pass on its own for $10 a month on consoles and PC, but that doesnt make much sense since youll likely want multiplayer support too.) Now with the upcoming Bethesda titles, and later a likely slew of others from the ZeniMax lineup, Game Pass will be a no-brainer subscription for most Xbox gamers.

Microsoft

Microsoft is now at a crossroads when it comes to handling this influx of new titles. The decisions it makes over the next few years have the potential to fundamentally reshape the gaming industry. Microsoft could either perpetuate the exclusivity war its been waging with Sony for years  something that inevitably hurts gamers who only own one system  or it could take the high road where it ends up publishing more titles on competing platforms. (Thats something Microsoft is already doing with Minecraft on the PlayStation 4 and Switch.)

Microsoft Xbox head Phil Spencer told Bloomberg that the company is honoring Bethesdas deal with Sony to release Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo as PlayStation 5 exclusives for a limited period. Meanwhile, the company plans to bring upcoming Bethesda titles like Starfield on Xbox, Windows PCs and Game Pass, while managing releases on other consoles on a case-by-case basis, according to Spencer.

Heres where things get worrying. Even though Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says the company plans to make its gaming content broadly available, its unclear what that means in the future, especially if it needs the cachet of enticing exclusives to fend off Sonys huge franchises like God of War, Spider-Man and Uncharted.

Microsoft spent most of the last console generation recovering from a bungled launch. The Xbox one cost $100 more than the PlayStation 4 (blame the updated Kinect for that), didnt have nearly as many compelling games, and was bogged down by the companys terrible messaging around DRM and used game support. So would you blame Microsoft for keeping its new toys to itself? But, given how much Nadella has pushed Microsofts software and services to other platforms like iOS and Android, a similar strategy might make more sense.

Sure, it would be nicer for Microsoft if you could only buy the next Elder Scrolls game only on the Xbox Series X and S. But the company certainly benefits from bringing it to other platforms too  itll be able to sell far more copies, for one. And in an era where playing competitive multiplayer games across different consoles is becoming normalized, theres less of an argument for locking major franchises to a single system (especially if they were previously cross-platform). Itll be tough to maintain the high road, though, when Sony has a titan like Final Fantasy XVI coming to the PlayStation 5 exclusively. (Microsoft still wins a bit in that case, since FFXVI is also headed to Windows PCs.)

There are also potential issues if Microsoft follows the Apple Arcade route and makes some games exclusive only to Game Pass, with no ability to purchase them without subscribing. That would certainly sell more memberships, but it could be a problem for gamers who dont want yet another monthly service on their credit card bill. I appreciate Game Pass for the sheer breadth of its library. But if I only cared about one game, it wouldnt make sense to pay a recurring fee instead of making a one-time $60 or $70 purchase.

I wouldnt worry too much about that dark timeline, though, as Microsofts current Game Pass strategy seems to be working out well enough. The company just announced today that it has 15 million subscribers, and Id expect that figure to grow quickly once the new consoles launch. (Game Pass Ultimate is also included with the Xbox All Access monthly payment plan for the next-gen consoles.) Currently, you can play Game Pass titles for free, or purchase them at a discount to keep them in your library.

One things for certain: As soon as Microsofts ZeniMax acquisition is complete next year (barring any regulatory issues), you wont be able to say the company doesnt have enough games.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Brisbane, Australia  Mon, September 21, 2020 10:07 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c461b253 2 Environment Australia,tree,Venom,Science,scientists,plant,dendrocnide Free

Australia is notorious for its venomous spiders, snakes and sea creatures, but researchers have now identified "scorpion-like" toxins secreted by a tree that can cause excruciating pain for weeks.

Split-second contact with the dendrocnide tree, a rainforest nettle known by its indigenous name gympie-gympie, delivers a sting far more potent than similar plants found in the US or Europe.

The tree, which has broad oval- or heart-shaped leaves, is primarily found in rainforest areas of northeast Queensland, where it is notorious among hikers.

A team of Australian scientists say they now better understand why the gympie-gympie's sting haunts those unlucky enough to brush up against its leaves.

Victims report an initial sting that "feels like fire at first, then subsides over hours to a pain reminiscent of having the affected body part caught in a slammed car door", the University of Queensland researchers said Thursday.

In the final, drawn-out stages, simply taking a shower can reignite the pain.

Read also: In an African forest, the enduring mystery of a giant butterfly

Though the gympie-gympie is covered in fine needle-like hairs similar to other nettles, previous testing for common irritants such as histamines came up empty.

Irina Vetter, an associate professor at the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience, said the research team discovered a new class of neurotoxin miniproteins, which they christened 'gympietides'.

"Although they come from a plant, the gympietides are similar to spider and cone snail toxins in the way they fold into their 3D molecular structures and target the same pain receptors -- this arguably makes the gympie-gympie tree a truly 'venomous' plant," she said.

Australia is already infamous for its venomous fauna including snakes, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus and funnel-web spiders, although deaths in humans from bites or stings are rare.

Vetter said the long-lasting pain inflicted by the tree may be explained by the gympietides permanently altering the chemical makeup of the affected sensory neurons -- not due to the fine hairs getting stuck in the skin.

The scientists hope their research, published in peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, will eventually help lead to better pain relief treatment for people who have been stung.

Topics : Australia tree Venom Science scientists plant dendrocnide
LAS VEGAS - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from President Donald Trumps reelection campaign challenging Nevadas new vote-by-mail law, saying the campaign failed to show how it could be harmed by the law.

The campaign, which has filed lawsuits in several states over voting rules, had asked the judge to block a new Nevada law that calls for mail-in ballots to automatically be sent to all active Nevada voters, a change prompted by efforts to contain the coronavirus.

The campaign has argued the law passed by the Democrat-led state Legislature is unconstitutional, removes election safeguards and would allow people to cast votes after Election Day.

U.S. Judge James C. Mahan, in a ruling Friday, dismissed the case. He said the Trump campaign and Republicans made allegations that were policy disagreements but did not show any constitutional harms. He said Trumps campaign asked the court to rule in the case to clear confusion over the new law, but noted that it did not ask for any injunction to temporarily block the law or any speedy court proceedings, leaving the case poised for a last-minute decision before the election.

Ballots will start to be mailed to voters on Thursday in some counties. In Clark County, which includes Las Vegas and about three-quarters of the states population, ballots will be mailed in early October.

I said from the beginning that President Trump and the Republican Party didnt have a leg to stand on, and Im pleased that the court agrees. Their allegations of fraud are speculative at best, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said.

The Nevada State Democratic Party, which sought to join the lawsuit on the states side, called the ruling a win for democracy.

The office of Nevadas Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Trump himself has repeatedly blasted mail-in voting as rife with fraud, which elections experts say is rare. Hes also repeatedly made incorrect claims about Nevadas voting law, falsely saying the state does not verify voter signatures on ballots.

Trumps campaign initially sought to block Nevadas entire law, arguing it would undermine the elections integrity and would treat rural voters differently than urban voters because it stipulated a higher minimum number of in-person polling places in urban areas than rural voters

The campaign later narrowed its challenge, focusing on part of the new law that Republicans argued would allow people to cast votes by mail one or two days after the election and have their votes counted, even without a postmark. The USPS as a policy says ballots are postmarked in every state.

We are disappointed in the decision upholding the Nevada Legislatures last minute and reckless overhaul of its electoral system and are assessing our options, Keith Schipper, a spokesman for Trumps campaign in Nevada, said about the judges ruling.

While the judge dismissed the case on a legal procedural ground, in his ruling he referred to the underlying arguments several times as too speculative and generalized.

___

Associated Press writer Ken Ritter contributed to this report.

___

This story has been corrected to note that ballots will be mailed to voters in Nevada as soon as Thursday.
The RBI has not asked banks and non-banking financial institutions to raise capital to brace for a possible pile up in bad debt in the coming months, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur informed the Rajya Sabha. However, he said, "banks and non-banking financial institutions are required to maintain capital as per prudential capital adequacy norms on an ongoing basis.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das at an event in July had advised that banks need to raise capital on anticipatory basis to build up adequate capital buffers to mitigate risks arising out of coronavirus outbreak.

"In such a situation, it has become a lot more important that the banks have to improve their governance, sharpen their risk management skills and banks have to raise capital on an anticipatory basis instead of waiting for a situation to arise. Proactively, it is necessary for both public and private sector banks to build up adequate capital buffers," Das had said.

The economic impact of the pandemic - due to lock-down and anticipated post lock-down compression in economic growth - may result in higher non-performing assets and capital erosion of banks, he had said.

A recapitalisation plan for public sector and private banks has, therefore, become necessary, Das added.The government in the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants has sought Parliament nod for Rs 20,000 crore towards recapitalisation of public sector banks during the current fiscal.

With the intent to ease financial stress caused by COVID-19 disruptions and meet the challenges of bad loans, the RBI in August permitted lending institutions to grant concession to eligible borrowers for COVID-19 related stress in personal, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and corporate loans by implementing individual resolution plans in respect of eligible loans.

Resolution plan would include alteration in the rate of interest, sacrifice by lending institution on the amount payable to interest, waiver of penal interest and conversion of accumulated interest into a fresh loan with a deferred payment schedule, Thakur said. Replying to another question, the minister said the government has implemented a judicious mix of fiscal and monetary policies to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on the economy.

On May 12, 2020, the government announced the Aatmanirbhar Package, a special economic and comprehensive package of more than Rs 20 lakh crore equivalent to 10 per cent of India's GDP with an aim to encourage business, attract investments and strengthen the resolve for 'Make in India'. On the monetary front, Thakur said, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) responded with a mix of conventional and unconventional monetary and liquidity measures to mitigate the negative economic fallout of COVID-19.

The policy rates have been significantly reduced and around Rs 9.57 lakh crore or 4.7 per cent of GDP have been injected since February 2020 to enhance the credit flow in the economy, he said. The RBI has taken several developmental and regulatory policy measures to enhance liquidity support for financial markets and other stakeholders, ease financial stress caused by COVID-19 disruptions while strengthening credit discipline, improve the flow of credit, deepen digital payment systems and facilitate innovations across the financial sector by leveraging on technology, he said.

"It has announced certain regulatory measures wherein, in respect of all term loans (including agricultural term loans, retail and crop loans) outstanding as on March 1, 2020, all regulated lending institutions were permitted to grant a moratorium of six months on payment of all instalments falling due between March 1, 2020 and August 31, 2020." he said. Subsequently, he said, it has provided a framework to enable the lenders to implement a resolution plan in respect of eligible corporate exposures without change in ownership and personal loans.
IDEA Center at UB receives another 5-year cycle of national funding

The recently opened Hampton Inn Buffalo-Amherst hotel across from UB's North Campus is one example of how UB's IDEA Center has worked with the business sector on inclusive design.

Were really pushing universal design to the next level by supporting its commercialization and widespread implementation, and building the business case for it. 

BUFFALO, N.Y.  A quarter of a century. Thats how long a University at Buffalo center that specializes in advancing universal design has been continuously funded.

The Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access, or IDEA Center, was just awarded another five-year, $4.6 million grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research for the centers Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Physical Access and Transportation (RERC).

The RERC is in partnership with the University Health Network in Toronto and the University of Michigan, among other stakeholders.

Over the past two-plus decades now, the IDEA Center  which is housed within UBs School of Architecture and Planning  has worked to advance the field of universal design. The center is a globally-recognized leader in the field.

The centers work has included developments to improve access to public transportation for people with disabilities, as well as a first-of-its-kind program, called isUD, that grants certification to buildings that prioritize inclusivity within their design and operations.

The funding comes at an exciting time for the centers work, as the RERC will now be led by Jordana Maisel, PhD, director of research for the IDEA Center. In addition to new leadership on the project, there are new UB faculty members and community partners involved, as well as new research methodologies being employed.

Were really pushing universal design to the next level by supporting its commercialization and widespread implementation, and building the business case for it, Maisel said.

This new round of funding marks the fifth cycle of five-year funding for the RERC, a project that touches a broad scope of domains, including museums, hospitals and office buildings, streetscapes, transportation systems and housing.

The new cycle will support the centers ongoing work, while paving the way for new projects and partnerships:
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.




Two Indian lieutenant generals are among the military commanders taking part in the corps commander-level talks between India and China on Monday, officials familiar with the developments said. Apart from Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, the second three-star officer will be Lieutenant General PGK Menon, who will be a representative of the army headquarters, the officials said.

Menon is set to replace Singh as the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps soon as the latter will be completing his term next month. Singh has been leading the military talks with China to reduce border tensions. He took charge of the corps in October 2019.

The military dialogue at Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) across the Chushul sector will also, for the first time, involve the participation of a joint secretary-ranked officer from the ministry of external affairs as a step to ensure that the talks yield a positive outcome, the officials said, requesting anonymity. The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs, the diplomatic dialogue between the two countries, involves a representative of the Indian defence ministry.

Also read | PLA mobilises theatre commands

Corps commander-ranked officers from the two armies have so far met five times but failed to break the deadlock in the Ladakh sector, which has seen a significant military build-up by both sides.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is operating its Rafale fighter jets in the Ladakh theatre where the military is on its highest state of alert amid heightened border tensions with China. IAFs current fleet of five Rafale fighters is fully operational and ready to undertake any mission, the officials cited above said.

A high-powered panel on China reviewed the latest developments in the Ladakh sector last week, with a focus on charting the course of future negotiations to restore status quo ante of mid-April along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC). The agenda for Mondays military talks between Indian and Chinese corps commander-ranked officers was discussed at the high-level meeting, even as the situation in Ladakh remains tense after a series of recent manoeuvres by the two armies in the Pangong Tso area.

Also read | Altitude begins to take a toll in Ladakh

The meeting of Indian and Chinese corps commander-ranked officers will be their first after the Indian Army swiftly moved and occupied a series of key heights to prevent the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) from grabbing Indian territory on the southern bank of Pangong Tso in a stealthy midnight move on August 29.

The ridgeline positions on the southern bank of Pangong Tso is now controlled by the Indian Army and that allows it to completely dominate the sector and keep an eye on Chinese military activity, with the positions scattered across Rezang La, Reqin pass, Gurung Hill and Magar heights.

The Indian Army has also taken control of key heights overlooking the PLAs deployments on the Finger 4 ridgeline on the northern bank of Pangong Tso where rival soldiers are deployed barely a few hundred metres from each other, as reported by Hindustan Times on September 10.

Indian and Chinese troops have come face-to-face at multiple points along the LAC since the tensions began in early May. In some of these areas, particularly the Finger Area and Depsang, Indian forces have been cut off from reaching forward areas they could previously patrol.
She has been proudly flaunting her two-stone weight loss after dropping dress sizes at the start of the summer.

And Chloe Ferry sent temperatures soaring as she showed off her trimmed down physique in a sizzling lingerie snap on Instagram on Monday.

The Geordie Shore star, 24, flaunted her ample assets in the plunging pink lace bodysuit which hugged her hourglass figure.

Wow! Chloe Ferry sent temperatures soaring in a plunging pink lace body suit in a sizzling Instagram snap on Monday

The high-cut number also showed off her incredibly toned and tanned legs as she posed up a storm.

The TV star wore her dyed blonde tresses in curls around her shoulders and opted for a typically glamorous layer of makeup.

She kept her accessories to a minimum by simply donning a gold necklace to keep all the attention on her show-stopping lingerie.

Radiant: The Geordie Shore star, 24, has been proudly flaunting her two-stone weight loss after dropping dress sizes at the start of the summer

Back in May, Chloe cried 'tears of happiness' as she thanked her followers for their support during her weight loss journey in an emotional Instagram clip.

Despite her transformation, the beautician recently admitted she still doesn't 'feel great' about her figure.

Chloe said the trolls have got 'inside my head' after being inundated with cruel taunts calling her 'fat and ugly every day'.

Proud: Back in May, Chloe cried 'tears of happiness' as she thanked her followers for their support during her weight loss journey

The blonde recently enjoyed a trip to Marbella which came after she ignored speculation she had faked a trip to Ibiza and had instead secretly joined her ex Sam Gowland, 25, in Dubai.

It had been reported that the star had back together with her co-star ex - despite being in the throes of filming Celebs Go Dating.

A source told The Sun the former-couple were said to be 'reconnecting', but fans also connected the dots.

An insider said: 'Chloe's taking it really slowly and she's keen to keep it quiet as her friends will all be furious after all the drama. It's a chance for them to reconnect.'
Minorities suffer most from COVID-19 in nursing homes, assisted living communities

Older racial and ethnic minority residents and their caregivers bear the severest brunt from COVID-19 across the entire spectrum of US nursing homes and assisted living communities, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers report in two groundbreaking studies in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

For example, nursing homes with disproportionately higher numbers of racial and ethnic minority residents reported two to four times as many new COVID-19 cases and deaths per facility than other nursing homes for the week of May 25, according to a study led by Yue Li, Ph.D., professor of public health sciences.

The findings -- the first to be reported based on newly mandated, weekly data reported from 15,587 US nursing homes to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) - are also the first to document the disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities in nursing homes across all states.

Disparities of this magnitude, Li says, suggest that longstanding, fundamental inequalities in nursing homes resulting from segregated facilities with limited resources and poorest quality of care are being "exacerbated by the pandemic."

A first-ever empirical study involving the incidence of COVID-19 in US assisted living communities showed a four-fold higher case fatality in these communities, compared to the counties in which they are located. The study was led by Helena Temkin-Greener, Ph.D., M.S., professor of public health sciences.

"As in the nursing home study, we also see that assisted living communities with more minority residents have more cases, and we confirm that communities with a higher proportion of residents with dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and obesity, experienced more COVID-19 cases," Temkin-Greener says.

The findings are based on data from seven of 13 states that publicly reported COVID-19 data from nursing homes and residential care settings through May 29, 2020.

Assisted living communities need 'same attention' as nursing homes

Unlike nursing homes, assisted living communities are not subject to federal regulation; they are regulated by the states "with varying degrees of rigor," Temkin-Greener says.

Several factors leave them "ill prepared" to deal with a pandemic, the study reports. For example, assisted living communities are often financially challenged, care for increasingly sicker residents, operate under limited oversight, and experience staff and PPE shortages. The workers providing daily care are often personal care aides rather than certified nursing assistants or registered nurses, and receive little if any training in the use of PPE.

Moreover, "unlike nursing homes, which have recently been mandated to collect and report data on COVID-19 --including cases and deaths--to the CMS, there's no system at all to report such data for assisted living communities," Temkin-Greener says.

Hence the lack of previous studies. Temkin-Greener and her collaborators were able to combine state-reported data for 4,685 assisting living communities in Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina with a 2019 national inventory of assisted living communities and Medicare beneficiary data for residents of those communities, which the researchers had prepared as part of another project.

They found that:

Whereas the percentage of COVID deaths ranged from 3.32 percent of the overall number of cases in North Carolina to 9.26 percent in Connecticut, the percentage of COVID deaths in assisted living communities in those states ranged from 12.89 percent to 31.59 percent - even though fewer than 10 percent of assisted living communities reported being affected by the pandemic.

Assisted living communities with higher proportions of Black and Hispanic residents had more COVID-19 cases - but not more deaths.

Assisted living communities with a greater proportion of residents with dementia, COPD, and obesity had significantly more cases and deaths related to COVID-19.

And yet, assisted living communities have been relatively overlooked by the federal response to COVID-19 compared to nursing homes, the researchers note. For example, the federal government has allocated more than $10 billion to specifically assist nursing homes with the pandemic, including support for testing, PPE, and staff shortages. However, federal assistance to ALs has been limited to those communities serving Medicaid eligible residents, or only about 16% of assisted living communities, even though they care for very similar populations and share many of the same pandemic-related challenges as nursing homes.

"Relying on AL communities to muster a rigorous response to the COVID-19 pandemic largely on their own is clearly unrealistic," the researchers conclude. "Assisted living communities and their residents urgently need local, state, and the federal governments to pay at least the same level of attention as that given to nursing homes.'

'Systemic inequalities' fuel higher nursing home toll among minorities

By July 30, 362,000 people in virtually every US nursing home were infected with the virus, representing about 8% of all cases in the country. At least 62,000 nursing home residents died of COVID-19, representing 41% of all COVID-19 deaths nationally.

The CMS Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File used by Li's team includes weekly counts of cases and deaths among nursing home residents and staff, as well as facility capacity, staff, and supplies of PPE, as reported by individual nursing homes to the Centers for Disease Control. The researchers used the first available weekly count (May 25-31) and compared it to several other databases.

Of the 12,576 nursing homes whose data passed CMS quality assurance checks, those with higher proportions of racial/ethnic minority residents tended to be larger for-profit facilities affiliated with a chain, had more Medicaid residents and lower RN and total nurse staffing hours, and were located in counties with more COVID-19 cases and deaths as of May 31, with lower socio-economic status, and with higher competition for nursing home care.

The number of weekly new COVID-19 confirmed cases among residents increased from an average of 0.4 cases per facility among nursing homes with a low proportion of racial/ethnic minority residents to 1.5 cases per facility for the highest proportion homes.

The predicted counts of cases and deaths per facility were two to four times higher in nursing homes with the highest proportions of racial/ethnic minority residents.

These disparities in rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths mirror pre-pandemic studies showing that nursing homes with lower resources and higher concentrations of racial/ethnic minorities have poorer outcomes, Li's team reports. In addition, nursing home literature for several decades has indicated that nursing homes remain highly segregated, and that racial/ethnic minority residents tend to be cared for in a small number of facilities located in communities of color with poorest quality of care and highly restricted resources.

Nursing home staff from these communities--especially staff of color who make up over 50 percent of nursing home direct care workforces--are more likely to live in crowded households and neighborhoods, travel to and from work by public transportation, and be low paid with few or no benefits such as paid sick leave, "all placing them at higher risks of COVID-19 infection as well as inadvertent cross-infection with patients," the researchers report.

Thus, "immediate actions are needed to ensure that as the pandemic continues to evolve, racial/ethnic minority nursing home residents, and the frontline workers caring for them, do not bear an additional later or sufferings due to systemic inequalities."

Although 22 percent of all nursing homes reported shortages of staff, and 25 percent reported shortages of PPE for the reporting week, "we did not find evidence of dramatic disparities in these self-reported shortages across nursing homes," Li's team notes. However, "it is likely that nursing homes predominated by racial/ethnic minority residents face more of other institution-wide issues, such as poor testing capacity, and inadequate staff knowledge and training in infection control and prevention."

They recommend that CMS' weekly reports be expanded to include data collection for these "additional and more nuanced items."

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Other collaborators on the assisted living study included Li; Xueya Cai, a research associate professor in biostatistics and computational biology; and Wenhan Guo and Yunjiao Mao, Ph.D. students in health services research and policy. Temkin-Greener, Cai and Xi Cen '19, former PhD student, now a research associate and health economist at IMPAQ International collaborated on the nursing home study.

The nursing home study was supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The assisted living community study was also supported with funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Witty speaks during a press conference about the CCP virus inside 10 Downing Street in London on March 9, 2020. (Alberto Pizzoli /pool/AFP via Getty Images)

UK Lawmaker Says Parliament Should Vote on New Restrictions As COVID-19 Cases Rise

While Englands chief medical and scientific advisers warned on Monday of the need to urgently halt a possible exponential growth in deaths from COVID-19, Conservative lawmakers are calling for Parliament to have a greater say on CCP virus restrictions.

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said in a televized briefing that the number of deaths from COVID-19 will continue to rise, potentially on an exponential curve, that means doubling and doubling and doubling again, and you can quickly move from really quite small numbers to really very large numbers.

If we dont do enough the virus will take off.  If we do not change course then were going to find ourselves in a very difficult problem, he said.

There has been speculation that the UK will undergo another two-week lockdown or bring in additional measures, such as curfews, to try to slow the spread, with new cases estimated to be around 6,000 a day.

Commuters walk across London Bridge during the morning rush hour amid an outbreak of the CCP virus in London on Sept. 21, 2020. (Reuters/Hannah McKay)

But just hours before Whittys briefing, Sir Graham Brady, chair of the backbench 1922 Committee of Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs), told BBC Radio 4s Today program that the government has got into the habit of ruling by decree.

The government has enacted CCP virus restrictions thus far using what Brady describes as really quite extreme emergency powers under the Coronavirus Act created six months ago, which is due for review by Parliament on Sept. 30.

If it wasnt for my colleague David Davis proposing an amendment right at the start of this, we would not be having a vote on the extension of the [Coronavirus Act] powers for two years down the line, Brady said.

He has called for more debates and votes in Parliament before any new CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus restrictions are put in place, and has introduced an amendment to the Coronavirus Act to ensure this.

Debate and Clarification

While acknowledging that the pandemic was a very important, very serious situation, Brady said that measures to curb it were being put in place without usual debate and discussion and the votes in Parliament that we would expect on any other matter.

When asked if the government nevertheless needed to be able to act quickly amid the pandemic, Brady said that governments find it entirely possible to put things to Parliament very quickly when its convenient for them to do so.

It would have been entirely possible for example for a day of general debates in Parliament to be swept aside for a full days debate and vote on the recently introduced rule of six in advance of its imposition across England, Brady said.

Such a debate would have clarified why children were included in the rule of six restriction in England while children in Scotland were not, he said.

The debate would also have covered the really, really, vital issue of what the criteria would be for bringing the restrictions to an end.

A giant television over the A57 Motorway urges people to stay home in Manchester, England, on March 26, 2020. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Brady said he was confident that Parliament would have supported the initial lockdown six months ago but that views were starting to move based on subsequent scrutiny of data and comparisons with other countries.

Ive no doubt at all had there been a vote six months ago  the government would have had the overwhelming backing of the House of Commons, he said.

Brady said, however, that people, intelligent people, across the country are taking a very, very, close interest in the data, in the facts  in international comparisons.

He cited Sweden, which did not have a mandated lockdown, as a telling comparison for UK people.

You can see that Sweden today is in a better place than the UK, he said.

Brady raised concerns about UK civil liberties around having restrictions imposed without prior parliamentary debate taking place.

The British people arent used to being treated as children. We expect in this country to have a parliamentary democracy where our elected representatives, on our behalf, can require proper answers to these things from government and not just have things imposed on them.

Other Conservative MPs have also expressed concern about the way measures have been imposed without parliamentary scrutiny.

Civil Liberties

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, also interviewed on Monday by Radio 4s Today program, was asked to respond to Bradys concerns around government accountability and civil liberties.

He replied that the government is obliged to make hard decisions and implement them very quickly, but are still held accountable for them.

We do have to go back to Parliament all of the time, and I stand at the dispatch box quite a lot having to be held to account for these decisionsthats absolutely right, he said. These are exceptional times requiring exceptional circumstances.

Shapps said civil liberties are in the balance if the government doesnt act quickly, and not doing so leads to a situation like in the first lockdown when it was actually illegal to be outside your house for anything other than four reasons.

Thats what happens to civil liberties, he said

A member of the public walks her dogs down an empty high street in the city center in Exeter, England on April 2, 2020. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the restrictions would be different from last time. The government wants to crack down on socializing but have schools and many workplaces stay open.

If we do have to take action, it will be different to last time and weve learned a huge amount about how to tackle the virus, he told ITV.

Schools arent where a lot of the transmission happens, its more about people socializing, he said.

The UK already has the biggest official COVID-19 death toll in Europe, standing at 41,777.

The chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland recommended all four nations move up to COVID-19 alert Level 4an epidemic is in general circulation; transmission is high or rising exponentially.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to speak on Tuesday.

Reuters contributed to this report
An American Pepsi official who famously served soda to the former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow at the height of the Cold War has died.

Donald M Kendall, who was the chief executive officer of Pepsi for 23 years, died on Saturday aged 99 of natural causes.

He grew up on a dairy farm in Washington and served with distinction as a naval aviator in World War Two in New Guinea and the Philippines.

Donald Kendall who made Pepsi a famous worldwide brand has died aged 99

It was, however, his work with Pepsi which gained him and the soft drink worldwide publicity.

He had already been involved with expanding the soft drinks empire into the Soviet Union and China before he met the Soviet Premier.

Mr Kendall was Pepsi-Cola's head of international operations when a US official recruited him to take part in the 1959 American National Exhibition in Moscow.

Howard Kendall serves Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev watched by then Vice President Richard Nixon

He had a team of American students who could speak Russian, a supply of Pepsi fountain syrup and carbonation machines with him.

He was under orders from then Vice President Richard Nixon that the trip needed to be a success.

Then on July 24 1959 Nixon and Premier Khrushchev toured the exhibition. The two stopped at the Pepsi stand where Mr Kendall gave the Soviet leader cups of the drink.

Mr Kendall said, at the time, 'I wanted to show him that we could make a product in Moscow that was just as good as what we made in the US.

'If I've learned one thing,' he wrote, 'it is that Russians and Americans have far more in common than most people would ever guess.'

Pictures of the culture clash incident were carried round the world in newspapers.

According to Mr Kendall Khrushchev said at the time: 'Drink the Pepsi-Cola made in Moscow. It's much better than the Pepsi made in the US.'

It was in 1974 that Pepsi finally broke into the Russian market when it opened its first bottling plant there.

In return Pepsi agreed to expand its distribution of Stolichnaya vodka and other Soviet drinks.

Four years later the company and the USSR agreed to expand both operations.

Mr Kendall became a regular visitor to Russian, a friend of Richard Nixon and co-chairman of the US-USSR Trade and Economic Council.

The current Soviet leader Vladimir Putin has also welcomed Howard Kendall to Russia

After the Second World War he joined Pepsi and sold fountain syrup. By 1952 he had become vice president in charge of national sales.

He was head of Pepsi International between 1957 and 1963 during which time he doubled the number of countries in which Pepsi did business and tripled overseas revenue.

He oversaw the launch of the famous slogan - Come Alive! You're in the Pepsi generation and met the current Soviet Premier Vladimir Putin.

Kendall and his wife of 55 years, Bim, had two children. He also had two children from a previous marriage.

After stepping down as Pepsi' chief executive officer in 1986 Mr Kendall served as chairman of the board's executive committee until 1991.

Current chief executive officer and chairman, Ramon Laguarta, said Mr Kendall was 'relentless about growing our business, a fearless leader, and the ultimate salesman.

'He believed in business as a way to build bridges between cultures.'

Howard Kendall who was a regular visitor to Russia thanks to his work with Pepsi

In a tribute Mr Kendall's family said: 'Our family is heartbroken, but also incredibly proud of the truly epic life he led.

'The fact that he climbed to the top and grew Pepsi into the global enterprise it is today is a fitting testament to his legendary work ethic, drive, optimism, competitive spirit and love of people.

'He believed passionately in the ability of commerce and relationships to bridge cultures and heal divides.

'Bringing Pepsi to the Soviet Union as the first Western consumer product sold there, and following up with the historic openings of China, India, Iran and many other countries to trade is probably his proudest legacy.'

Donations, in lieu of flowers, are requested to the Carroll C Kendall Boys & Girls Club in Sequim, Washington.
* Mainland China reported 10 new COVID-19 cases on September 19, down from 14 cases reported a day earlier, the Chinese national health authority said on Sunday. The total number of COVID-19 cases for mainland China now stands at 85,279, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.

* Brazil recorded 33,057 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 739 deaths from the disease, the Health Ministry said on Saturday (September 19).

* Mexico's health ministry on Saturday reported 5,167 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the country, bringing the total to 694,121 cases, and 455 new deaths, for a cumulative death toll of 73,258.

* Russia reported 6,148 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the second straight day when the daily number of cases exceeded 6,000, taking the national tally of infections to 1,103,399.

* As European countries introduce new restrictions to curb a sharp resurgence in the number of coronavirus infections, Britain says it is considering hefty fines for people who fail to obey self-isolation rules.

* The Thai Government House said on Saturday on its website that the fiscal 2021 budget bill had sailed through the parliament session late on Friday after three days of debate. The budget for the next fiscal year has been set at around THB3.285 trillion (US$105.6 billion). Of the 456 members of parliament present, 269 voted in favor, 60 voted against and 127 abstained from voting.

* Myanmar reported 393 more new COVID-19 confirmed cases on Sunday morning, according to a release from the Ministry of Health and Sports. The newly confirmed cases brought the number of infection cases of COVID-19 in the country to 5,263 in total. Since the second wave of the outbreak starting Aug. 16, the number of infection cases and deaths has been increasing day by day in the country, especially in Yangon region. Myanmar reported its first two positive cases of COVID-19 on March 23 with 81 deaths being reported so far.

* The confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan increased by 601 to 78,782 as of Saturday evening, according to the latest figures from the health ministry and local authorities. The figure excludes the 712 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo earlier in the year. The death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at 1,514, with two new fatalities announced Saturday. The death toll includes 13 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

* New Zealand reported four new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. Of the four new cases, two were community cases and two were at managed isolation facilities, said the ministry. The current number of active cases in New Zealand has reduced to 71, including three patients in Auckland hospitals. The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reached 1,464 in New Zealand. New Zealand is now at COVID-19 Alert Level 2 with additional restrictions on gatherings for its biggest city Auckland.

* Republic of Korea reported 82 more cases of the COVID-19 as of Saturday midnight compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 22,975, health authorities announced Sunday. The daily caseload fell below 100 in 38 days. It had grown in triple digits since Aug. 14 due to cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province linked to church services and a massive rally held in central Seoul on Aug. 15. Five more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 383. The total fatality rate stood at 1.67 percent.

* The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,345 to 271,415, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by two to 9,386, the tally showed.

* International flights to and from Maldives' Velena International Airport (VIA) have increased 5.25 percent in the second month since borders were reopened for foreign visitors from mid-July, local media reported on Sunday. According to Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), 441 inbound and outbound international flights were recorded at VIA between Aug. 16 and Sept. 15, a 5.25 percent increase compared to flights in the first month after borders were reopened on July 15.

* The Czech Republic's daily count of new coronavirus cases dropped to 2,046 on Saturday, still a record number for a weekend day when fewer tests are done, data from the Health Ministry showed on Sunday. The overall count of confirmed cases rose to 48,306 in the country of 10.7 million people.

* The regional government of the Spanish capital Madrid ordered a lockdown from Monday in some of the poorer areas of the city and its outskirts that are home to about 850,000 people.

* Australia looked set to record its lowest daily increase in new coronavirus cases in three months on Sunday as a hard lockdown in the city of Melbourne brought the country's virus epicentre down sharply.

* Canada's most populous province is cracking down on private social gatherings as COVID-19 cases surge, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a surprise news conference called on Saturday.

* France reported 13,498 new confirmed COVID-19 cases over the previous 24 hours, setting another record in daily additional infections since the start of the epidemic.

* Palestine on Saturday recorded five more fatalities from the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to 291. In a press statement, Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said that three fatalities were recorded in the West Bank, while two deaths were reported in East Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the health ministry reported 726 new cases infected with the virus in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the coastal enclave, raising the total number of infections to 44,763. Palestine currently has 13,234 active cases.

* Israel entered a second nationwide lockdown at the onset of the Jewish high-holiday season, forcing residents to stay mostly at home amid a resurgence in new coronavirus cases.

* The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday announced 809 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 84,242. At the same time, 722 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries in the UAE to 73,512, UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention said.It also confirmed one more death, pushing the country's death toll to 404.

* Turkey confirmed 1,538 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the total diagnosed patients to 301,348 in the country, the Turkish Health Ministry announced. Meanwhile, 68 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 7,445, according to the data shared by the ministry. A total of 1,312 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 266,117 in Turkey since the outbreak.

* Innkeepers in Munich tapped their barrels on Saturday for revellers determined to make the most of a scaled-down Oktoberfest after the world's biggest beer festival was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

* More than 30 Taliban militants were killed and eight others wounded after the Afghan Air Force targeted Taliban assailants, the Afghan Defense Ministry confirmed late Saturday. The airstrike came after the Taliban assailants attacked security checkpoints in northern Kunduz province early in the day.
Joe Biden made another gaffe on Sunday when he declared an estimated 200 million Americans had died from COVID-19 - but the death toll is actually just under 200,000.

The Democratic presidential nominee made the remark during a campaign event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

With just 44 days until the embattled election, both Biden and President Trump have revved up their campaigning to secure votes before Americans go to the polls.

While discussing the devastation the COVID-19 pandemic has leveled against the United States and Trump, Biden accidentally claimed that nearly two-thirds of the country had died.

'If Donald Trump has his way, the complications from COVID-19, which are well beyond what they should be - it's estimated that 200 million people have died -- probably by the time I finish this talk,' said Biden.

Although the number of COVID-19 deaths are staggering in the United States - 200 miillion Americans have not died of the virus.

Biden likely meant to say 200,000 deaths, which the country has slowly edged towards for the last week. As of Sunday, deaths have amassed to 199,474 and there are 6.7 million confirmed cases.

Joe Biden (pictured): 'If Donald Trump has his way, the complications from COVID-19, which are well beyond what they should be - it's estimated that 200 million people have died -- probably by the time I finish this talk'

The former vice president made a similar gaffe at a campaign stop in June, when he said that 120 million Americans had died because of COVID-19.

Biden's comments were made while he criticized Trump for his health care policies, which he suggested failed Americans during the pandemic.

'Millions of Americans are voting because they know their health care hangs in the balance,' Biden said.

'In the middle of the worst global health crisis in living memory, Donald Trump went before the Supreme Court trying to strip health care coverage away from tens of millions of families.

'Strip away the peace of mind from more than one hundred million Americans with preexisting conditions. If he succeeds, he could discriminate against or drop coverage completely from people living with pre-existing conditions like Asthma, diabetes, cancer...'

National Institutes of Health-funded Moderna COVID-19 vaccine study participantWilliam Webb (right) gets a COVID-19 nose swab test by University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Biden referred to the Trump administration previously asking the Supreme Court in June to invalidate the Affordable Care Act put forward by former President Barack Obama.

In doing so, certain provisions protecting those with pre-existing conditions or who are sick could be dropped. Millions of Americans relied on Obamacare.

Trump has vowed to maintain those protections while facing criticism for his administration's public health response to the pandemic.

He previously slammed Biden over mistaking the COVID-19 death toll, saying: 'If I ever said something so mortifyingly stupid' and 'this is beyond a normal mistake.'

But Trump has been criticized for a number of gaffe's himself over the last four years in the Oval Office.

Both President Trump (left) and Joe Biden (right) have been criticized for making gaffes during their campaigns

According to The Independent, Trump mistakenly referred to the 9/11 terror attacks as '7/11' during a 2016 campaign rally.

'I was down there and I watched our police and our firemen down there on 7/11,' he said to the crowd in Buffalo, New York.

'Down at the World Trade Center, right after it came down, I saw the greatest people Ive ever seen in action.'

One of his most famous mix ups was when he used the 'covfefe' in a tweet that was meant to read 'coverage,' in 2017.

'Despite the constant negative press covfefe,' the tweet read. The word was soon turned into an ongoing joke that spawned a plethora of memes.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 19:21:43|Editor: huaxia

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VIENNA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Fighting the coronavirus will remain the top priority of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, until the pandemic is finally defeated, said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Monday.

The last 12 months have been "unprecedented" in the history of the IAEA, Grossi said in his opening speech at the 64th IAEA General Conference held here.

"During the lockdown, we continued to implement safeguards throughout the world to prevent any misuse of nuclear material and we launched the largest operation in the agency's history to help countries confront the coronavirus," he said.

Grossi said 1,300 consignments of equipment for virus detection and diagnosis and other supplies have been delivered, or are in transit, to 123 countries.

"Fighting the coronavirus will remain our top priority until the pandemic is finally defeated," he said. "COVID-19 will certainly not be the last pandemic which threatens the world."

For this, Grossi encouraged all member states to support IAEA's initiative of the Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action project, known as ZODIAC, which uses nuclear and nuclear-derived techniques to make the world better prepared for future outbreaks of zoonotic diseases.

Regarding the Iran nuclear issue, he told the conference that the IAEA continues to verify the non-diversion of nuclear material declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement.

He welcomed the agreement reached between the IAEA and Iran during his visit to Tehran last month on the resolution of some safeguards implementation issues, and hoped that it "will reinforce cooperation and enhance mutual trust."

The Iran nuclear issue has been back under the spotlight after the U.S. unilaterally re-imposed UN sanctions against Iran. On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that "sanctions are being re-imposed on Iran pursuant to the snapback process under UN Security Council resolution 2231," which endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.

The international community has denounced the unilateral announcement made by the U.S. to re-impose UN sanctions on Iran, saying the attempt is illegitimate and that the U.S. has no right to impose them.

The JCPoA was inked by Iran in July 2015 with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S., together with the European Union. The U.S., under President Donald Trump, withdrew from the JCPoA in May 2018. Enditem
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 | Sept. 21, 2020

No arrests made after shots fired inside the Lehigh Valley Mall. Pennsylvania hospital asks judge to seal all records and issue a gag order over wrongful death lawsuit. Bad news for canners, as Pennsylvania stores face a shortage of lids and jars. Allentown teen is the star of a new Netflix series.

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.
Australia's cyber spy agency will be grilled at a parliamentary hearing over its shock decision to cancel a contract with the Australian National University to write its official history.

The Australian Signals Directorate is in talks with the ANU about how much of the $2.2 million contract it will pay out after military historian John Blaxland worked for more than a year on the project.

Professor John Blaxland was halfway through the first volume of the ASD's official history.

The ASD's decision to sever ties with Professor Blaxland, revealed by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on Saturday, has embarrassed some senior members of the Morrison government who have been urging the agency to be more transparent.

The development comes at a sensitive time for the signals directorate, with the government looking to pass new laws giving the agency more powers to protect the nation's critical infrastructure from cyber attacks and help federal police go after serious criminals onshore.
ORLANDO, Fla.  The decision to shorten by a month the 2020 head count of every U.S. resident was not made by the U.S. Census Bureau, and some agency officials suspect it was made by the White House or the Department of Commerce, according to a report from the bureaus watchdog agency.

The report by the Office of Inspector General did not identify who made the decision to shorten the 2020 census from the end of October to the end of September, but it said bureau officials confirm it was not made by them.

The accelerated schedule increases the risks to the accuracy of the 2020 Census, the Inspector General report said. This was the consensus view of the senior Bureau officials we interviewed.

Because of the pandemic, the Census Bureau got support last spring from the Department of Commerce, which oversees the agency, to push back its deadline from winding down the head count from the end of July to the end of October. The extra time was contingent on Congress extending the deadline for the Census Bureau turning in figures used to determine how many congressional seats each state gets from Dec. 31 to the end of next April, according to the report.

This shift would allow the Bureau to follow the planned operations it had spent a decade developing, the Inspector Generals report said.

At some point in July, though, support for the extensions from the Trump administration and Congress were called into doubt. There was pressure from the Commerce Department to speed up operations, legislation in Congress to extend the deadlines stalled and President Donald Trump issued a directive trying to exclude people in the country illegally from the numbers used in redrawing congressional districts, according to the Inspector General.

At least two Census Bureau officials interviewed by the Office of Inspector General believe the presidents order changed the administrations support for extending the deadlines, the report said.

A three-judge panel in New York blocked Trumps directive earlier this month, saying it was unlawful. The Trump administration is planning an appeal to the Supreme Court.

On July 29, a senior Department of Commerce official told bureau officials to put together options for meeting the Dec. 31 deadline, and officials at the statistical agency concluded that it would have to end the head count at the end of September in order to have enough time to process the apportionment data.

Federal judges on opposite coasts this week are hearing arguments in two lawsuits seeking to extend the 2020 census into October. The lawsuits filed by civil rights groups, cities, counties and citizens say minority communities, including Latinos, Asian Americans, and non-U.S. citizens, stand to be undercounted if the census ends a month early.

A hearing in Maryland was held Monday, and a hearing in San Jose, California, will take place Tuesday.

During a 2 1/2-hour virtual hearing, a three-judge panel in Maryland focused their questions to attorneys on what would be considered an inaccurate count. They didnt say when they would rule on a request from the plaintiffs for either a temporary restraining order or an injunction that would stop the count from finishing at the end of the month.

The judge in the San Jose case earlier this month issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Census Bureau from winding down 2020 census operations for the time being. Plaintiffs in the San Jose case allege the decision to shorten the schedule was made to accommodate Trumps directive.

Government attorneys have argued that the census must finish by the end of September to meet the Dec. 31 deadline for turning over apportionment numbers.

So far, more than 95% of households had been counted. The Census Bureau has a goal of reaching 99% of households.

The bureau doesnt have a plan if it doesnt reach that 99% goal, the Inspector General report said, and the sped-up data processing plan after field operations end poses a myriad of risks to accuracy and completeness.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP.
Pushkar Banakar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Centre said that it had revised minimum rate of wages for employees engaged in scheduled employment in the central sphere. In reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the government said that the percentage distribution of casual workers as per the periodic labour force survey showed 29.3 per cent workers in rural areas and 10.7 per cent in urban areas.

Under Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the enforcement is secured at two levels. In the Central Sphere, the enforcement is secured through the inspecting officers of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) commonly designated as Central Industrial Relations Machinery (CIRM) and the compliance in the State Sphere is ensured through the State Enforcement Machinery, the government said in its reply and added that the DA given to these workers was revised according to the consumer price index and was last revised on April 1.

According to the revised rates, casual workers in agriculture would earn Rs 333 per day as against the Rs 237 per day in Area A, Rs 303 as against the Rs 216 in Area B and Rs 300 as against the Rs 214 in Area C. While urban agglomerations in cities like Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, etc fall under Area A, cities like Ajmer Agra, Hubli-Dharwad, etc fall in Area B while the remaining places are placed under Area C.

Similar raises have been given to workers engaged in sweeping and cleaning, watch and ward, loading and unloading, construction and non-coal mines. In what seemed to be a clarification for the Centres remarks that it had not complied data of migrant deaths, Minister for Labour and Employment Santosh Gangwar on Wednesday said that the government has taken number of unprecedented steps for the welfare of workers during the pandemic.
PHILIPSBURG:--- On September 10th, 2020, members of the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset joined club President, Elisia Lake, and gathered at the Government Administration Building for the presentation of 67 tablet computers to various public schools on the island. Rotary Sunset launched its tablet/computer donation drive in August with hopes to provide the much-needed computer devices to students who were unable to attend online classes.

Supporting basic education and literacy is one of Rotarys primary areas of focus and Rotary Sunset strongly believes in the right to sound education for every child. The club has organized numerous projects to promote education and literacy with its annual Reading Slumber Fun, Read A Book A Day Free Little Libraries and Teachers Appreciation initiatives, among others. Given the challenges faced by many students on the island with logging in to their online classes, the club saw the opportunity to take action in addressing the needs of these students.

Providing a tablet for a student in need is like igniting a flame of endless opportunities. Although COVID-19 has presented our educational system with numerous challenges, it has also accelerated our educational system to embrace all the benefits of technology through virtual learning. As an educator and avid supporter of education, I am truly honored to be a part of an organization that takes action to create lasting change in our community, who made it possible for over 60 students to attend online classes, President Elisia Lake stated.

Various Rotarians, Rotaractors, and friends such as Temard Butterfield, Montgomery Penn, Akeem Lennard, Karl Isaac, Lakeia Lewis, Jerrell George, Julie Ramchandani, Lorenzo Scotland, the Rotary Club of Randolph Sunrise in Vermont, Corinne Laville, Kenneth Vandermark, David Palmer, Alvin Parker and Arlene Standford from Turks & Caicos, Bahamas, Virgin Gorda, Jamaica, USA, and St. Thomas shipped their donated tablet to the island as a contribution towards this initiative. Local contributors such as TamLeo, Digital Gumbs, West Tech Shipping, Rissa Productions, Consider It Solved by Roosburg & Partners, PSB Bank N.V., Kalaboom Events, Mr. Fries & Tingz SXM, SXM Promotionz, Auto Depot, Manek Imports, Tonys Airconditioning, Tyrone Yates, Shiela Vie, Joanne Marie Lake Corrick, Shaunette Wilson, Jocelyn Levenstone, Deborah Richards, Tracey Thewet, Marie Boasman, Gracias Maccow, Tarnive Pemberton, Erica Woodley, Tameka Lambert, Ayanna Guy, Goslinga Aukje Johanna, Aswayan Cocks, Rotarians Elisia Lake, Roylyka Roache, Louis Wever, and Aernout Kraaijeveld also made significant contributions toward the much-needed tablets.

The tablets were distributed to the students through the school managers of the Marie Genevieve de Weever, Leonald Connor, Oranje, Prins Willem Alexander, Ruby Labega, and Martin Luther King Jr. Primary Schools. The students were selected base on a thorough data analysis conducted by the various Student Care Coordinators. The Honorable Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Drs. Rodolphe Samuel, gave words of encouragement and gratitude, towards the club for carrying out this initiative and vowed that the ministry would do its part to ensure that no child is left behind. During the brief ceremony, schools had the opportunity to win additional tablets, a MAC Book Pro, and school supplies. President Elisia encouraged the schools to adopt a loan system, where the tablets can be loaned to each student in need with the understanding that it will be returned to the school at the end of the pandemic in good condition. This would ensure future use for other students that may be in need.

The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to the general population of St. Maarten and Rotarians across the globe for their kind contributions towards this initiative. There are still 133 students from various public schools who lack an electronic device to be able to attend classes. Persons who are still interested in contributing can do so by making a deposit to the clubs WIB USD Account number- 82173909, WIB NAF Account number-82173806.

For additional information, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit our social media pages; facebook.com/rotarysxmsunset or call +1 721 587-4193 / +1 721 586-5241
Data released by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control showed five countries in the region with more than 120 confirmed cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days. Spain was ranked top of the grim table, with almost all of its regions colored crimson on a map that also showed swathes of dark red spreading across southern France, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Romania.
Last Thursday evening, I was in La Chaux-de-Fonds. That was the first time I had been there this year, whereas any other year would have been replete with visits and meetings in this UNESCO-listed city, rich in horological history and watch companies both new and old.

In this instance, I was there attending the awards ceremony of the Prix Gaia, where a few friends of ours, namely Antoine Preziuso, and Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei (Urwerk) were being honoured for contributions to the field of time measurement. Antoine received the award in the CraftsmanshipCreation category, while Felix and Martin received the award in the Entrepreneurship category.

Although I had already planned to attend the ceremony, held at the Musee International dHorlogerie, and had marked it down in my calendar, registering my presence online through the event website (attendance was strictly controlled for this edition of the Prix Gaia, for health and safety reasons), the evening turned out to be a little more special than I had expected. The winners were announced some weeks before the actual ceremony, and the lovely Yacine Sar, head of communications at Urwerk, rang me up to ask if I would say a few words introducing Felix and Martin and their achievements on the evening itself.

In a few minutes  hardly enough to even touch upon the depth and breadth of Urwerks impact on our industry  I attempted to describe the significance of pioneers and envelope-pushers such as Martin and Felix. Because of their audacious watches, we have learned to talk about contemporary watchmaking in a completely different way. This is especially impressive when you remember that Urwerk was founded in 1997, making them essentially the first brand to adopt the futuristic, space-tech aesthetic that later became popular.

What has always been far more interesting to me than their watches, however, are the mechanical systems they have introduced, based on the idea that the dynamic between watch and wearer, between man and machine, can be a two-way relationship. Right from the beginning, their UR-103 with its fine-adjustment screw conveyed this idea. The latest evolution of this philosophy is the groundbreaking AMC, with a synchronised atomic clock and mechanical wristwatch, paired in a system first proposed by Abraham-Louis Breguet.

Occasions like this are important. They remind us that our field, which is based on a centuries-old metier, is still very much alive and evolving. They remind us that creativity and ingenuity are the source of pleasure in life. They remind us that you can always find things to celebrate, even in hard years (perhaps especially so).

In less than a month, I will be up in the Musee International dHorlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds again, for the opening of the touring exhibition of the Grand Prix dHorlogerie de Geneve (GPHG). The 84 watches competing in the final round of the GPHG will be available to view there, for the first time all together in 2020. Thats something else to celebrate. Will I see you there?
United Nations Security Council has issued a statement regarding the ongoing Afghan peace talks, reaffirming its commitment to Afghanistans "sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity & national unity".

US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad in a series of tweets on Saturday, September 19 said the statement "supports the path the parties are currently on, which is to find a political settlement that accommodates all Afghans, one the region and international community can endorse in spirit and inaction.

Read: Afghanistan Leader Mohammed Haneef Atmar Thanks India For Its Commitment To Afghan Peace

'Comprehensive and inclusive' talks the only way: UNSC

Khalilzad went on to say that the intra-Afghan peace talks present a unique opportunity as the two parties embroiled in the conflict are negotiating directly and there is also widespread international support for the ongoing peace negotiation. The UNSC statement also added that sustainable and long-lasting peace in Afghanistan can only be achieved through comprehensive and inclusive talks. The UN body also hopes that a comprehensive ceasefire agreement will also be reached by both parties.

1/3 The UNSC issued a statement on Afghanistan Peace Negotiations that underscores international commitment to Afghanistan's "sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity & national unity." /https://t.co/pd9iO9P7uP  U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (@US4AfghanPeace) September 19, 2020

2/3 The UNSC statement supports the path the parties are currently on, which is to find a political settlement that accommodates all Afghans, one the region and international community can endorse in spirit and in action.  U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (@US4AfghanPeace) September 19, 2020

3/3 This is a unique moment for Afghanistan. Not only are Afghan parties negotiating directly, but as indicated by the UNSC statement, there is broad international support for a negotiated political settlement and peace in Afghanistan. This unique opportunity must be seized.  U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (@US4AfghanPeace) September 19, 2020

Read: Afghanistan: Airstrikes On Taliban Base In Kunduz District Leads To 30 Civilian Casualties

According to reports, the representatives from the Afghanistan government and Taliban will next meet on Saturday, September 26 to discuss rules and regulations. There are four major points of contention between the two negotiating parties, one of which involves the use of the word war'; the Taliban wishes for it to be replaced by the word conflict.

The intra-Afghan peace talks are a result of an agreement signed between Washington and the Taliban back in February. The opening ceremony of the talks was attended by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who said the talks presented a historic opportunity towards achieving peace in Afghanistan. While the talks are currently being held in Qatar, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have offered to host any future talks between the Taliban and Afghan government.

Read: India & Afghanistan Win Seats On UN's Prestigious ECOSOC; Votes Show China's Drubbing

Read: International Support For Afghanistan Peace Talks
James Jeffery is meeting with Kurdish political leaders to help broker a deal that would see a unified Kurdish political authority reports Basnews.

United States Special Representative for Syria Engagement, Ambassador James Jeffrey, arrived in western Kurdistan (Syrian Kurdistan) to meet the Syrian Kurdish political forces.

An informed Syrian Kurdish source confirmed to Basnews that Jeffrey will meet the Kurdish National Council in Syria (ENKS) and the Kurdish national unity parties (the largest of which is the PYD), today, regarding the ongoing negotiations between the two parties.

The source added, Until now, we do not know whether the meeting between Jeffrey and the two Kurdish parties will be in-person or via teleconference. The meeting will tackle the topic of the announcement of a sole Kurdish political authority and the ongoing negotiations among the Kurdish political forces.

The source indicated that Jeffreys visit to Syria is related primarily to the Syrian Kurdish negotiations and the issue of the anti-regime Syrian opposition.

The source suggested that the American official will be meeting with the Arab political opposition forces.

The source said that the date for the announcement of the Kurdish political authority is still unknown and we still do not know if Jeffrey will be attending the announcement ceremony.

An informed Syrian Kurdish source revealed on Friday that the Kurdish National Council and the Kurdish national unity parties had reached a final agreement, sponsored by the US, with regards to the Kurdish political authority, and that it would be announced soon.

The 2014 Dohuk agreement regarding governance, partnership in administration, protection, and defense is the basis for the continuation of the ongoing dialogue and negotiations between the two delegations, which aim, in the near future, to reach a comprehensive agreement.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
New Delhi:

Hearing a plea, the Supreme Court has refused to resume the toll tax on the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) highway for the time being.

On Monday, the apex court has said that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has asked for eight weeks to submit a reply in the case.

Notably, the Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL) had filed a plea in SC in relation to waiving off the toll tax being collected on the DND flyway.

Earlier in October 2016, the top court had denied putting a stay on Allahabad High Courts order which said that no-till will be collected from commuters plying on DND till further orders.

Passengers commuting from Delhi to Noida or from East Delhi were given a major sigh of relief after they were exempted from paying Rs 56 (Rs 28 each way) to and from as toll tax every day to ply smoothly while entering or leaving Delhi-NCR region.

The DND expressway which started operation for public in 2001 provides commuters with a convenient route and reduces a considerable amount of time while travelling between Delhi and Noida. Currently, about 1.5 vehicles ply on DND daily.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Daniel Carlin, MD, is a national leader in the field of telemedicine and a recognized pioneer in the delivery of connected medical care to distributed populations and workforces. He is a board-certified emergency physician and a former US Navy medical officer.

Dr. William Lang is the Medical Director of WorldClinic and a former Director of the White House Medical Unit and Deputy Physician to the President and Associate Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Homeland Security.

Imagine that its November 24, 2020, three weeks after a presidential election in which a record 73% of eligible voters participated in our democracys most fundamental process.

Yet, the widely predicted wave of post-election day infections never happened.

The secret? Governments across America followed doctors orders  creating much safer polling stations that prioritized the health of all voters during this most unusual election year.

The first step was understanding how COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, works. Early on, science thought COVID was a heavier-than-air droplet infection that would require a lot of surface cleaning.

Voters fill out ballots during the primary election in Ottawa, Illinois, U.S., March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Daniel Acker TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

But now we know the real threat is in the air: this is an aerosol virus, and the more viral particles floating in the air, the greater the chance of voters inhaling enough to cause an infection.

Knowing this, the polling stations were rigorously designed to limit the density of viral particles in the atmosphere.

On Election Day, voters arrived to find an entirely different environment than theyd ever seen before.

Jocelyn Bush, a poll worker at the Edmondson Westside High School Polling site, cleans each station after a ballot is cast, in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., April 28, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

9 a.m.: Get out and vote!

The first thing voters noticed was that the wait would be entirely outdoors this year. Masks were mandatory and 6-feet markers punctuated the length of each line.

Voters who forgot their masks found them freely available alongside a seemingly endless supply of hand sanitizers and gloves. For older or higher-risk voters, there were N95 masks available and express lines to move them through quickly. Waits were amazingly short: With so many more voting booths than usual and ample space between them, voting was a breeze, literally.

Story continues

Speaking of which, in most of the country, voting booths were outside in the open-air. Where it was too rainy, open but heated tents had been erected for the occasion. In the few places where it was simply too cold, indoor voting happened with windows flung open wide, and heaters going full blast. A bit bracing, to be sure, but really not bad at all. In older buildings, intake and exhaust window fans were used to ensure a fresh circulation of air through each space.

Voters wait in line outside Riverside University High School to cast ballots during the presidential primary election held amid the coronavirus outbreak in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. April 7, 2020. REUTERS/Daniel Acker

It seemed odd to some people, but voters who were doctors or engineers instantly recognized the strategy: Everything possible was being done to maximize air exchange. By changing out the atmosphere with constant fresh air or high-flow air exchange systems, voting facilities were able to reduce and dilute the number of virus particles in the air.

Get in. Vote. Get out.

The third big difference voters noticed was that voter validation was streamlined, and there were so many booths it was easy to get in, vote, and get out.

One gloved and masked voter after the next stepped into booths across the United States to vote. Things were as touchless as possible, and nothing that one voter touched was touched by another without being sanitized. Pencils, markers, and styluses were all disposable or cleaned after each voter.

Signage about COVID-19 procedures sits in a ballot booth at the Beltrami County Administration building on September 18, 2020 in Bemidji, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Between voters, poll workers pulled open the curtain at the voting booth and wiped down all contact surfaces with an antiseptic.

The whole voting experience, far from being unsafe or a hassle, turned out to be faster and more fun than ever. On their way out of the polling place, voters discarded their gloves in handy receptacles and stepped out feeling fine.

Democracy was healthy. And so were they.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., right, waits in line to cast his ballot during early voting at the Voter Registration Office in Alexandria, Va., on Friday, September 18, 2020. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

In this ideal future, the government had gotten four key things right:

They maximized air exchange: changed out the atmosphere with constant fresh air or high flow air exchange systems to reduce and dilute the number of virus particles in the air. They limited the ability of infected voters to exhale virus into the air. They limited the ability of uninfected voters to inhale or contact the virus in the polling station. And most importantly, they made voters feel safe and welcome. No Americans hesitated when deciding what to do on November 3. This was not a choice between their personal health and Americas future.

We can vote safely this November. We just need to follow doctors orders.

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SAN ANTONIO -- Sept. 21, 2020 -- Data from Southwest Research Institute-led instruments aboard ESA's Rosetta spacecraft have helped reveal auroral emissions in the far ultraviolet around a comet for the first time.

At Earth, auroras are formed when charged particles from the Sun follow our planet's magnetic field lines to the north and south poles. There, solar particles strike atoms and molecules in Earth's atmosphere, creating shimmering curtains of colorful light in high-latitude skies. Similar phenomena have been seen at various planets and moons in our solar system and even around a distant star. SwRI's instruments, the Alice far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectrograph and the Ion and Electron Sensor (IES), aided in detecting these novel phenomena at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G).

"Charged particles from the Sun streaming towards the comet in the solar wind interact with the gas surrounding the comet's icy, dusty nucleus and create the auroras," said SwRI Vice President Dr. Jim Burch who leads IES. "The IES instrument detected the electrons that caused the aurora."

The envelope of gas around 67P/C-G, called the "coma," becomes excited by the solar particles and glows in ultraviolet light, an interaction detected by the Alice FUV instrument.

"Initially, we thought the ultraviolet emissions at comet 67P were phenomena known as 'dayglow,' a process caused by solar photons interacting with cometary gas," said SwRI's Dr. Joel Parker who leads the Alice spectrograph. "We were amazed to discover that the UV emissions are aurora, driven not by photons, but by electrons in the solar wind that break apart water and other molecules in the coma and have been accelerated in the comet's nearby environment. The resulting excited atoms make this distinctive light."

Dr. Marina Galand of Imperial College London led a team that used a physics-based model to integrate measurements made by various instruments aboard Rosetta.

"By doing this, we didn't have to rely upon just a single dataset from one instrument," said Galand, who is the lead author of a Nature Astronomy paper outlining this discovery. "Instead, we could draw together a large, multi-instrument dataset to get a better picture of what was going on. This enabled us to unambiguously identify how 67P/C-G's ultraviolet atomic emissions form, and to reveal their auroral nature."

"I've been studying the Earth's auroras for five decades," Burch said. "Finding auroras around 67P, which lacks a magnetic field, is surprising and fascinating."

Following its rendezvous with 67P/C-G in 2014 through 2016, Rosetta has provided a wealth of data revealing how the Sun and solar wind interact with comets. In addition to discovering these cometary auroras, the spacecraft was the first to orbit a comet's nucleus, the first to fly alongside a comet as it travelled into the inner Solar System and the first to send a lander to a comet's surface.

###

Additional instruments contributing to this research were Rosetta's Langmuir Probe (LAP), the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA), the Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO) and the Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS).

Rosetta is an ESA mission with contributions from its member states and NASA. Rosetta's Philae lander is provided by a consortium led by DLR, MPS, CNES and ASI. Airbus Defense and Space built the Rosetta spacecraft. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the U.S. contribution of the Rosetta mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, under a contract with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). JPL also built the Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter and hosts its principal investigator, Dr. Mark Hofstadter. SwRI (San Antonio and Boulder, Colorado) developed the Rosetta orbiter's Ion and Electron Sensor and Alice instrument and hosts their principal investigators.

For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/planetary-science or DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1171-7.
Ideal, a Sao Paulo, Brazil-based broker dealer, raised BRL 100million in Series A funding.

The round was led by Kaszek Ventures, which will hold minority shareholder interest in the broker. The deal still awaits Brazilian Central Bank approval.

The new capital injection will allow the company to broaden and diversify its customer base and its activities in different segments and products.

Created in 2019 and lucas Cury, COO, and Nilson Monteiro, CEO, Ideal provides innovative services in the financial intermediation market. It offers technology for institutional investors and has been profitable from day one.

FinSMEs

21/09/2020
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks about the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after he arrives at at New Castle Airport in New Castle, Del., on Sept. 18, 2020. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

Biden Says He Wont Release Supreme Court Nominee List Before Election

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden says he wont release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees before the Nov. 3 election, while asserting that President Donald Trumps move to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before then is an abuse of power.

Biden called on Senate Republicans to hold off on voting on any candidate nominated by the president to the high court until after the election. Trump said he will this week nominate a woman to succeed the longstanding liberal justice following her death on Sept. 18 at the age of 87.

Biden called the presidents plan an exercise of raw political power.

We cant ignore the cherished system of checks and balances. That includes this whole business of releasing a list of potential nominees that I would put forward, the former vice president said from Philadelphia over the weekend.

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump took the unprecedented step of releasing a list of potential nominees before he was elected, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February that year.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia at the American Bar Association (ABA) 59th annual Antitrust Law Spring meeting in Washington on March 31, 2011. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

Its no wonder they ask that I release the list only after she passed away. It is a game for them. It is a play to gin up emotions and anger. Theres a reason why no other candidate than President Trump has ever done such a thing, Biden said.

Biden said that if he were to release the names of potential nominees before the election, it could improperly influence those candidates decisions in their current court roles, as well as subject them to unrelenting political attacks.

Thats because, Biden said, any nominee I select would not get a hearing until 2021 at the earliest.

She would endure those attacks for months on end without being able to defend herself, he said.

Thirdly and finally, perhaps most importantly, if I win, Ill make my choice for the Supreme Court not based on a partisan election campaign, but on what prior presidents have done, Republican and Democrats, and I have served with them, he concluded. Only after consulting Republicans and Democrats in the United States Senate, and seeking their advice and asking for their consent.

He said if he has the opportunity, he will nominate an African American woman to the court.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Retired Detective Superintendent Deborah Wallace was one of the most formidable - and glamorous - officers in the history of the New South Wales Police Force.

The 60-year-old, known to cops and crooks as 'The Gangbuster', was equally famous within the force for her trademark high heels and colourful sense of style.

In the 1990s, Wallace took on major Asian heroin dealers at Cabramatta in Sydney's south-west before running the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad.

As commander of the Criminal Groups Squad and Strike Force Raptor, she led the dismantling of the state's biggest and most violent bikie gangs.

But before all those senior roles Wallace was a young constable who played a small but significant part in bringing to justice five of the most despised killers in Australian history.

Detective Superintend Deborah Wallace took on major Asian heroin dealers at Cabramatta in Sydney's south-west in the 1990s before running the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad. As commander of Strike Force Raptor, she led the dismantling of the state's bikie gangs

Deborah Wallace joined the New South Wales Police Force in 1983 and expected to spend her career in uniform. She rose to the rank of detective superintendent and commanded some of the state's major crime squads. She is pictured at the Redfern Police Academy in 1983

As a young constable working general duties at her first station Wallace was asked by detectives to dress as murdered nurse Anita Cobby and re-enact her final train ride from Central station to Blacktown in February 1986. She is pictured on the train

While working in general duties at Blacktown in Sydney's west in 1986, Wallace was called upon to re-enact the last known movements of 26-year-old nurse Anita Cobby.

Like the onetime beauty queen whose abduction, rape and murder shocked Australia, Wallace was in her mid-20s and lived with her parents not far from Blacktown.

Wallace's involvement in the Cobby investigation would shape her outlook on crime and policing and lead to a distinguished 36-year career that ended last December with her retirement.

She has now told her story to veteran crime reporter Mark Morri in a biography subtitled 'The True Story of Deborah Wallace, The Cop Known as The Gangbuster'.

'A woman of force, her inner strength and empathy meant that she was a constant go-to for some of the state's toughest cases,' the publisher states.

'Her poise and compassion earned her a special place in the lives and hearts of her colleagues - and the grudging respect of her criminal foes.'

Anita Cobby was a 26-year-old nurse when she was abducted, raped and murdered in western Sydney in a crime that shocked the nation. Her killers were sentenced to life behind bars

The following is an exclusive edited extract of A Woman of Force by Mark Morri, published by Pan Macmillan and available now:

Deborah Wallace was stationed at Blacktown after her graduation from the Redfern Police Academy. She is pictured third from left at her passing out parade in 1983

Deb loved the rough and tumble of being out on the streets, and the camaraderie that went with it. In her mind she was going to work general duties for the rest of her career.

But then a beautiful young nurse from Blacktown called Anita Cobby was murdered. The case, which outraged a nation, also changed the life and career of Constable Deborah Wallace.

On 3 February 1986, a Monday afternoon, a man named Garry Lynch walked into Blacktown Police Station and reported his daughter missing. Her name was Anita Cobby, and she was just 26 years old. Anita had gone out for dinner with friends after work the night before. Her father was supposed to collect her from the train station afterwards, but she never called him to say she was on her way, and she never returned home.

Deb went out searching that Monday night, but the report wasn't treated as anything other than routine.

The next day police connected a report of a woman screaming to the missing persons report. Around midday on 4 February, that missing persons report turned into a murder investigation after Anita's naked, bloodied body was found in a paddock on Reen Road at Prospect. The location was known to most general duty officers; it was a well-known spot for local lovers and dumped stolen cars.

Deborah Wallace was 25 when asked to re-enact the last known movements of murdered nurse Anita Cobby. She lived with her parents not far from where Anita lived with her mum and dad at Blacktown. Wallace is pictured third from left with fellow Blacktown officers on a cruise

Anita had been severely beaten, raped and tortured before having her throat viciously slashed, almost decapitating her. Her injuries were so severe that, even to this day, the detectives working on the case are haunted by what they saw in the paddock. Anita's fingers had been broken as she obviously fought for her life. The look in her eyes, frozen in death, was sheer terror.

Parts of the autopsy were leaked to the press and also read out on radio. The gruesome details sickened the entire nation.

The city, and particularly Blacktown, erupted in a hotbed of emotion: anger, disbelief, sadness and fear turned into a driving need to find the perpetrator of this heinous crime.

Deb observed the detectives 'upstairs' working around the clock, looking for Anita's killers. As a uniform officer of just three years, her role was minimal. She took some phone tips that came in, but otherwise life, and petty crime, moved on.

But no one was unaffected by the case. Deb could see the detectives, some of whom she knew well, pushing themselves relentlessly.

The 1986 murder of onetime beauty queen Anita Cobby (pictured) led to calls for the reintroduction of the death penalty after her naked, broken body was found in a paddock at Prospect in western Sydney

Many young cops saw detectives as gods. They were the top rung of police work, especially Homicide. But being a detective wasn't on Deb's radar; she was content with her role. The work she was doing was interesting and rewarding, and she took satisfaction from helping the community.

Two days into the investigation, Deb was working the switchboard when one of the lead investigators, a man named Graham Rosetta, walked past her, did a double take, and then stopped.

'Hey Wallace, how old are you? How tall?' he asked in his gruff way. Deb was 25 years old at the time, a year younger than Anita and of similar height and body shape. When she answered Rosetta's questions, he paused, looking thoughtful, then said, 'I think I have an idea. Come with me.'

Gary Murphy points out to detectives Graham Rosetta (left with hands on hips) and Tony Waters (right) the direction in which he and his four accomplices dragged Anita Cobby through the western Sydney paddock where they raped and killed her in February 1986

Rosetta, or 'Rosy', as he was called (why, nobody knew - nothing about him resembled a flower) explained to Deb that they wanted to do a re-enactment of Anita's last movements. Leads were drying up and the media coverage was starting to drop off.

He wanted to keep the public engaged. There were also some discrepancies about what time Anita may have caught the train. Rosy hoped that broadcasting a re-enactment might jog someone's memory. He knew the information was out there somewhere.

A Woman of Force by Mark Morri is published by Pan Macmillan and available now

Deb's head was spinning. Here was Detective Sergeant Graham Rosetta, an iconic officer in the Blacktown region, asking her, a freshly minted young constable, to become involved in the biggest murder case in recent Australian history. Until then she had very little to do with the detectives apart from nodding hello or passing on statements.

She quickly agreed. Whether or not she wanted to, you didn't say no to Rosy.

The re-enactment was quickly organised. The friends Anita had caught up with for dinner on the night of her disappearance, Lyn Bradshaw and Elaine Bray, were brought to the Blacktown Police Station to meet Deb. They had been among the last to see Anita alive, and were asked to provide a detailed description of what she had been wearing that evening.

The trio went to Westfield at Parramatta, trying to get the exact clothes Anita had been wearing: ski pants and flat ballets. Deb found the experience quite strange, and knew it was hard on Anita's friends, trying to remember every detail while consumed with grief, and struggling to come to terms with their friend's bloody murder.

Deb dressed in Anita's clothing at Blacktown Police Station and then caught the train to Central station with one of the lead detectives on the case, Kevin Raue.

In her naivety, Deb thought there would be only a small media contingent  maybe a couple of cameramen and the odd photographer. She couldn't have been more wrong. It was a true media scrum, even for 1986.

Deborah Wallace was handpicked to dress as Anita Cobby and re-enact her last train ride from Central station to Blacktown. Wallace thought there would be only a small media contingent - maybe a couple of cameramen and the odd photographer

The press were allowed to film Deb getting onto the train, but were kicked off a station later. The scene was carefully managed to ensure the re-enactment didn't include 50 journos on a train carriage that would have been deserted.

Likewise at the other end, the cameras were allowed to film Deb getting off the train, but that was it. While the cops wanted publicity, keeping the media on the train was a risk. If by chance someone got on the train who did see Anita they would be swamped by journalists, or worse still, be frightened off from talking to the cops.

As Deb travelled to Blacktown with the cameras behind her, it really sunk in just how deeply the community was invested in solving this murder.

When Deb started the walk that would be Anita's last, with night falling all around her, she couldn't help wondering what had been going through Anita's head at that moment.

John Raymond Travers was 18 and considered the ringleader of the gang who kidnapped, raped and murdered Anita Cobby in February 1986. All five killers were sentenced to die in jail

At first she was focused on the job she had to do, asking herself, Am I doing it right? Am I walking at the right speed? Then she reached a point where she thought to herself, This is the fine line between life and death. Anita had probably been thinking about seeing her parents, planning for the next day.

At the time Deb was also living at home with her parents. They didn't live that far from Blacktown. Putting herself in Anita's shoes at that exact moment was all too easy, and it made the walk all the more difficult.

Anita would have been oblivious to what was about to happen to her. Deb couldn't stop thinking of the terror she must have endured, the awful violence she'd suffered.

After the re-enactment, mentally drained, Deb went back to Blacktown Police Station with the detectives. As they stood in the car park, Rosetta came over and told Deb that a journalist would like a quick chat. He gave her the okay to speak to the journo, saying not much harm would come of it, and every little bit of extra publicity helped.

Les Murphy (left) was 22 when he took part in Anita Cobby's murder and was known as having the worst temperament of the Murphy brothers. Gary Murphy (right) was 28 and also known to have a particularly violent temper

Michael Murphy (left) was 33 at the time of Anita Cobby's murder and the oldest of nine Murphy brothers. Michael Murdoch (right) was 19 and a longtime friend of John Travers

It was Deb's first contact with the media. The questions were fairly routine  the journalist asked Deb how the reenactment had gone, and how she'd felt while doing it. As he put away his notepad he muttered conversationally that it was a horrendous murder, and he hoped they would catch the killers.

Deb agreed, and the journalist commented that he believed in an eye for an eye.

'I can understand people wanting that,' Deb replied, not thinking much of it.

That night after everything had died down, Graham Rosetta turned to the young cop.

'How would you like to stay with the team?' he asked.

Dumbfounded, she said, 'I'm not a detective.'

He shrugged and said, 'You'll be fine.'

Wallace went on to have a distinguished career in the New South Police Force, receiving the Australian Police Medal and retiring in December last year. She is pictured with sword on parade

Deb went home exhausted, but also proud that she had been asked to join the team. She knew it would be menial work, but she didn't care - she had a chance to help catch the men who had killed Anita Cobby. Having relived Anita's last moments, Deb was now even more invested in catching the men responsible for her death.

Deb's first day on the task force didn't start in quite the way she'd have liked. The station boss called her up to the office and announced, 'I don't want you to panic, but Detective there's a bit of a furore about what you said to that reporter last night.'

Deb was baffled. Her boss explained that the police hierarchy had been approached by the top-rating Ray Martin variety show Midday. At that time, two young Australians, Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers, were facing execution in Malaysia for drug smuggling.

Gary Murphy (far right) is taken by police to the spot where Anita Cobby's naked, broken body was found in a paddock in western Sydney. The killer is pictured with marks on his face caused during his capture the previous night

'They want you to discuss the merits of capital punishment, which you are not doing!'

Deb remembered the journo's 'eye for an eye' comment, and what she'd thought was her neutral response. Another lesson learnt: be very careful of the media.

For the next two weeks Deb divided her time between helping the detectives on the Cobby case and doing her other regular duties. She was officially on what was called the 'A' list, which is when young cops are given a chance at detective work before being asked to take the detectives course, a sort of 'try before you buy'.

Two weeks later the Cobby killers were caught. Sydney went wild. As word spread a massive crowd built up around Blacktown Police Station. They made makeshift nooses and hung them from nearby buildings with 'Hang the bastards' written on them.

An angry crowd congregates outside the Blacktown police station as news breaks of the arrest of the five men who raped and murdered Anita Cobby. This images was taken on 24 February 1986, almost three weeks after the nurse was killed at Prospect in far western Sydney

The hatred for the men was palpable. As police drove the accused killers into the station, the cop cars were rocked as the crowd tried to get their hands on the murderers.

Later, one of the lead detectives Ian 'Speed' Kennedy said, 'We had to call in extra cops to stop the crowd from breaking into the police station to lynch them.'

Sydney had never witnessed such mass hysteria over a killing and inside the station was Deb Wallace, bewildered at what was happening outside.

While she hadn't done the heavy lifting on the case, her involvement had given her a taste of another sort of police work  a type that she would excel at as her career progressed.

Until Rosy had asked her to be on the task force, Deb was welded to the truck and thought she would be a uniform copper until she retired.

Deborah Wallace believed she would spend her police career in uniform until asked to join the task force investigating Anita Cobby's murder. She is pictured in one of her colourful suits

But now she could see all around her the enormous satisfaction in the team that had helped bring the Cobby killers to account and something stirred inside her. Deb knew that locking up drunks and car thieves was important police work, but the adrenaline and warm feeling surging through the team that day made her rethink her career path. Maybe, just maybe I want to be a detective and catch big time crooks. Just being a small part of helping catch the Cobby killers was life-changing.

Several years later, in 2002, Deb met Anita's parents at - bizarrely - an art exhibition centred on Anita's murder, held at the Penrith Regional Gallery.

Deb thought it was odd too, but she'd received an invite, so decided to go along with others who had worked on the case.

Wallace met Anita's parents Garry and Grace Lynch in 2002 at an art exhibition and she formed a bond with Grace that last until her death in 2013. The Lynches are pictured at Anita's grave

Garry Lynch walked over, put his arm around Deb and sat her down next to Anita's mum, Grace.

It was an emotional meeting. Deb knew that Grace had been upset by the re-enactment, saying that Anita would never have worn ski pants as tight as those Deb wore that night, so she wasn't sure what to expect. But she was lovely, and the two connected right away.

That meeting forged a unique relationship between Grace Lynch and Deborah Wallace that would last until the day Grace died, in 2013. It also led to Deb's involvement in the Victims of Homicide Support Group, which was founded by the Lynches and the parents of another murder victim, a young girl by the name of Ebony Simpson.

Gary Murphy was pictured in public for the first time in 33 years in July 2019 when he was taken from Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick back to Long Bay jail where he had been bashed by at least six other inmates in a shower block

Grace was an amazing woman with enormous strength, and her compassion was inspiring. Even as Grace was dying, whenever Deb visited her all she would ask about was others. Meeting her and being involved in her work was an honour, and one of the highlights of Deb's career.

On 10 September 1989 Constable Deb Wallace became a designated detective. Her days of working the truck were over. She came in the top ten in her class, which was topped by a female officer called Catherine Burn, who went on to be the deputy police commissioner.

Deb's career was about to soar.

A Woman of Force by Mark Morri is published by Pan Macmillan and available from here now for $34.99.

Five men - John Travers, Michael Murdoch and Gary, Les and Michael Murphy - were convicted of Anita's rape and murder and sentenced to life in jail. Michael Murphy died in prison in February last year aged 65.
India used the ultra-low crude oil prices earlier this year to top its strategic petroleum reserves with oil at $19 a barrel, saving nearly US$700 million in the process, Indias Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said on Monday.

Taking advantage of the low crude oil prices in international market, India purchased 16.71 million barrels (mbbl) of crude in April  May, 2020 and filled all the three Strategic Petroleum Reserves created at Vishakhapatnam, Mangalore and Padur, the ministry said in a statement, quoting Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as telling Parliament in a written reply today.

The average cost at which India bought the crude oil in April and May was $19 per barrel, compared to $60 a barrel oil price in January 2020. Thanks to the cheapest oil in years at the start of the second quarter, India saved US$685.11 million on its crude oil import bill, the ministry said.

India, like the worlds largest oil importer, China, took advantage of the lowest oil prices in decades in April to stock up on crude oil.

As a result, India paid much less for the crude oil imported between April and July 2020 compared to the same period last year, due to the significantly low oil prices and lower import volumes amid decreased fuel demand.

Because of the slump in international oil price benchmarks, Indias crude oil import bill was US$12.4 billion in April-July, the first quarter of Indias fiscal year. For this sum, India imported 57.2 million tons of crude oil, compared to imports of 74.9 million tons worth US$36.2 billion for the same period of 2019, Pradhan told Parliament last week.

Fuel demand in India, which crashed by 60 percent during the initial nationwide lockdown, fell again in August month over month, for the biggest monthly decline since April, as localized lockdowns impacted mobility and economic activity.

Indias oil import volumes could also be a source of concern on the oil marketimports fell in June to the lowest in more than five years, while the imports in July slumped to their lowest level in over a decade amid local lockdowns and refinery maintenance.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
An Air India flight carrying 91 Indians, who were stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a long time due to the COVID-19 outbreak, arrived here in Madhya Pradesh early Monday morning, an official said.

As part of the central government's Vande Bharat mission, the flight from Dubai landed at Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport here at 4.15 am, said Amit Malakar, Indore district's nodal officer for COVID-19 prevention.

"A total of 91 passengers, including 27 from Indore and 64 from other places, came back to their home country by the special flight," he said.

Malakar said out of the total passengers, 84 carried with them COVID-19 negative reports from Dubai. Rapid antigen tests were conducted on others, who also tested negative for the viral infection, he said.

"As a precaution, all the passengers will have to remain in home isolation for 14 days," he added.

(Representative image: PTI)
By Mathieu Rosemain, Anna Koper and Geert De Clercq

PARIS/WARSAW (Reuters) - Iliad's move to buy Polish mobile group Play in a $4.2 billion deal got a cool reception from investors on Monday as the French company already faces heavy investments in France and Italy.

The surprise bid would allow Iliad, controlled by French tycoon Xavier Niel, to become Europe's sixth largest mobile operator, in a further expansion of the company's business outside France, where its low-cost mobile offers shook up the market nearly a decade ago.

Iliad has already bought a minority stake in Ireland's eir and launched in Italy in 2018.

Iliad's shares were down by 3% at 0941 GMT.

"To embark on a new adventure in Poland is a surprise for investors who would have liked to see first the benefits of the improvements in France and Italy," said Stephane Beyazian, an analyst at Main First Bank.

Iliad has been fighting cut-throat competition in France which put pressure on its shares and led Niel to tighten his grip on the company via a 1.4 billion-euro share buyback.

The group, whose stock has gained 40% since the start of the year, managed to attract new customers in France as well as securing an 8% market share in the mobile business in Italy. But the need for more spending on networks spooked investors when the company reported first-half results.

The deal, which gives Play an enterprise value of 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion), includes 2.2 billion euros for Play's equity, or 39 zlotys per share, a 38.8% premium to its Friday close.

The Paris-based group said it had already agreed to buy 40% of Play from two private investors, Tellerton Investments and Kenbourne Invest II, respectively controlled by Greek businessman Panos Germanos and Icelandic businessman Thor Bjorgolfsson, according to regulatory filings.

The two investors agreed to exit as the whole industry faces heavy costs upgrading to the next generation of mobile internet, or 5G.

Story continues

Play followed the same playbook as Iliad in Poland, with aggressive prices in mobile that helped it to take the number one position in the market with a 29% market share of users.

"We have the same maverick mindset," Iliad's chief executive Thomas Reynaud said in a call with analysts. "Each time we have cracked the market and revolutionised the access to mobile data."

The fierce price competition hit sales revenues overall in the Polish market, which are now stabilising.

Play competes against Orange Polska, Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile and Polkomtel [PTL.UL], a unit of Cyfrowy Polsat. It launched its broadband services this year, leaving room for expansion in this business.

Iliad said the acquisition will be earnings-accretive from year one and the offer, which starts Oct. 19 and closes Nov. 17, will be financed by debt and cash.

($1 = 3.7556 zlotys)

($1 = 0.8429 euros)

(Reporting by Geert De Clercq and Mathieu Rosemain; Additional reporting by Douglas Busvine and Anna Koper; Editing by Kim Coghill/Sherry Jacob-Phillips/Alexander Smith/Jane Merriman)
A day at the beach became a family affair as Alec and Hilaria Baldwin made an appearance with newborn son Eduardo on Sunday.

Hilaria, 36, cradled the child - her fifth with Hollywood star Alec - as the couple ventured out for a coastal stroll in exclusive New York enclave The Hamptons.

The proud parents were accompanied by daughter Carmen, seven, and their three elder sons, Rafael, five, Leonardo, four, and two-year old Romeo while taking in their picturesque surroundings.

Proud mother: Hilaria Baldwin cradled newborn son Eduardo - her fifth child with Hollywood star Alec Baldwin - as the couple ventured out for a coastal stroll in The Hamptons on Sunday

Alec and Hilaria welcomed Eduardo on September 7th after previously suffering two miscarriages while trying for a fifth child.

Taking to Instagram shortly after the birth, Hilaria was seen holding the baby as she sat in her hospital bed with her 62-year-old husband by her side.

Captioning the snap, she wrote: 'We had a baby last night. He is perfect and we couldnt be happier. Stay tuned for a name.'

In good company: Alec and Hilaria were joined by daughter Carmen, seven, and their three elder sons, Rafael, five, Leonardo, four, and two-year old Romeo while taking in their surroundings

I've got you: Hilaria held her youngest son to her chest while making her way across the beach on Sunday

All mine: Hilaria welcomed Eduardo on September 7th after previously suffering two miscarriages in her quest for a fifth child

In 2019 Hilaria suffered two miscarriages as she tried to add to her family, both of which she candidly documented on social media in an attempt to normalize them for other women.

Taking to Instagram November she posted a selfie from the doctors office, revealing that she had undergone a D&C to remove the remaining tissue from her uterus, one day after her second miscarriage was confirmed.

'Eyes swollen from crying, groggy from anesthesia, crampy from the surgery...but I made it and I want you to know that Im physically ok,' she wrote at the time.

Main man: Alec looked relaxed as the family made their way across the beach

Good times: Hilaria and Alec appeared to be enjoying the September sunshine as she stepped out with her family

Hands on: Alec cradled one of his four sons while relaxing in The Hamptons

The following day she posted side-by-side images of herself before and after the procedure to show just how quickly her baby bump had gone down, while admitting that she was missing her growing tum.

'I was so proud of my belly,' she wrote alongside the photos. 'My bump was taken away so swiftly in a day... Tuesday. And I miss it... but the body knows and its elasticity doesn't lie.'

Hilaria first spoke out about her struggle to conceive in April of last year, when she took to Instagram to reveal to her followers that she was 'likely experiencing a miscarriage', while posting an image of herself in her underwear showing off a tiny baby bump.

She and her Blue Jasmine actor husband wanted another daughter to their family after welcoming three boys and have publicly said they will continue trying until that happens.

Let's talk: The actor chatted with Hilaria as she fussed over their baby son on Sunday

Tragic: In 2019 Hilaria suffered two miscarriages as she tried to add to her family, both of which she candidly documented on social media

Growing family: She and Alec wanted another daughter to their family after welcoming three boys and have publicly said they will continue trying until that happens

Hilaria announced her pregnancy in April, telling People at the time that she knew instantly that she had conceived again.

'I knew right away. I knew before I could take a test that I was pregnant,' she told the publication.

'I've done this so many times that I really know that feeling. Even though I knew it would be early, I started taking a test every other day to kind of give myself a sense of how far along I would be. And right when I thought it would turn positive, it did!'

Let's go: Alec kept a watchful eye over his children as they made their way across the beach

My boy: Hilaria had her hands full with Eduardo for much of their latest appearance on the east coast
Jeffrey Martin, CEO of SightMD, said We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Rafailov to our practice. We look forward to adding another oculoplastic surgeon to our growing team of physicians. I am certain that with his expertise and training, he will bring much benefit to the company and his patients.

SightMD, a multi-specialty ophthalmology practice, announced that it has hired Leon Rafailov, M.D., who focuses on a wide range of plastic and reconstructive surgery, to join its growing team of over 80 providers in the New York Tri-state region.

Dr. Rafailov received his MD from SUNY Downstate, which he chose for its excellence in clinical hands-on training. He went on to complete his intern year at Yale where he split his time between general surgery, plastic surgery, internal medicine, and pediatric rotations. Following his intern year, he completed his residency in ophthalmology at Rutgers. During his residency, he was invited to speak at numerous national and international conferences. After residency, Dr. Rafailov completed a 2-year fellowship in oculofacial, aesthetic, and reconstructive surgery at the Duke Eye Center, widely regarded as one of the best eye hospitals in the country. While in fellowship, he acted as a clinical instructor and trained dozens of ophthalmology and plastic surgery residents. Here, he received the prestigious Hornaday Fellow Award given for excellence in teaching.

Jeffrey Martin, CEO of SightMD, said We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Rafailov to our practice. We look forward to adding another oculoplastic surgeon to our growing team of physicians. I am certain that with his expertise and training, he will bring much benefit to the company and his patients.

John Passarelli, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Clinical Governance Board said Dr. Rafailov is an excellent physician with fantastic training. We are so excited to see the company continue to expand with talented physicians such as Dr. Rafailov.

Dr. Rafailov added, Im thrilled to join such a robust and quality-driven practice. Im looking forward to contributing to its excellent track record in patient care. Partnering with SightMD will allow me to provide a full range of oculoplastic surgery and services to our patients.

Dr. Rafailov has published numerous journal articles, abstracts, and book chapters focusing on a wide range of topics in oculoplastic surgery. He prides himself in providing specialized and patient-focused care using the most advanced surgical techniques available. Dr. Rafailov is well known by his patients for his personalized and attentive care.

Our commitment and dedication to our patients has never been interrupted which is why SightMD has continued to serve our community throughout the COVID pandemic. SightMD has continued to expand and look for additional practices and doctors that align with our values and patient first mind set.

Dr. Rafailov will care for patients out of SightMDs Babylon, Bethpage, Deer Park, Riverhead and Smithtown locations offering Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and Cosmetic Eyelid Surgery.

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 ###


Cuisine is shared across the Indian subcontinent in the same way culture is: intricately tied together, with a great deal of shared history. But the food traditions we celebrate are independent of each other, with essential differences that give each nation  and region  a unique identity.

I grew up in a Bangladeshi household in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, so there are layers to the food I miss from home: wedding-worthy fine dining; fill-your-belly, stick-to-your-bones comfort staples; and quick-and-spicy street food (which, as immigrants, my parents have made at home for years)  the kind that makes you embrace the tears for the flavor.

Biryani, for example, is one of the most widely beloved dishes across countries, but every iteration of it is different.

Some South Asians will tell you Hyderabadi/Kacchi is obviously best with its slow-cooked, tender meats and moist, fatty rice, while others will die on the hill of Dhakai biryanis superiority, with its flavor-bomb potatoes and traditional boiled eggs.

For me, biryani is a memory of special occasions, of weddings and akikahs (baby-naming ceremonies) and visiting my grandfathers village, where my uncles would butcher one of their own goats that day for the best, freshest meat.

Here in Houston, Himalaya Restaurant has quenched my thirst for a sinfully rich, surprisingly spicy biryani that Ill eat until it hurts every time. And yes, I realize Himalaya is no secret Desi-insider spot with its No. 9 ranking on Alison Cooks latest top 100 restaurants, but the praise is well-deserved.

The mutton biryani is my favorite, though I do wish the meat were bone-in for extra tenderness (I believe all Desis are born knowing how to pick the best cut of meat from a dish. It can become a curse when your siblings get to the table first). Pro tip: eat with your hands, and dont be afraid of the creamy raitha that comes with the biryani.

Ultimately, biryani could only sustain me for so long. As the pandemic stretched into months (and what now feels like years), I began to crave the less splendid but just as flavorful, and likely more healthy, dishes my mom cooks every day.

I scoured the web but I couldnt seem to even find many Bengali joints in Little India, aka the Mahatma Gandhi district, much less the Bangladeshi enclave I hoped to find among its many Indian, Pakistani and Afghani establishments.

This Ramadan, however, brought me a blessing: my search for a traditional iftar (food to break ones fast) led me to a small restaurant-cum-grocery store in the corner of a semi-dilapidated strip mall  in Little Saigon, of all places.

Imagine my surprise when I drove up to the Bangladeshi restaurant I was seeking and stumbled across not one, but two whole Bengali grocery stores: Bangladeshi Grocery and Bangla Bazar.

It felt like fate. Buying the proper spices to make a smokey, flakey aloo paratha at home felt even better. If you love Desi food like me, you know the spices make the dish; here, you can grab everything from garam masala to panchforon for your own authentic Desi creations (or those hard-to-find ingredients in your favorite butter chicken recipe).

Sojeeb All Bengal Sweets and Restaurant is my go-to for the humble home-cooking dupes I crave when it rains hard and heavy, reminding me of the monsoons of my childhood when a steaming murghir jhol or chicken curry was all that could bring us sisters back inside from taking rain showers, as we called them.

Their chicken curry is a magical thing, rich but light all at once, with a thin, aromatic gravy you could eat with roti and rice alike. The rohu/rui fish is also exquisite, hefty cuts of the prized midsection sitting in a bath of spices fatty with the ruis oils and a tinge of cilantro.

Daal is, of course, an essential part of the meal  the soupy spiced lentils add volume and protein, and essential flavor. I recommend trying it with each protein you order and finding the combos you like, though personally, I like my daal with meat and not fish.

Finally, Biryani Pot makes the best golab jaamun Ive had in a long time  the fresh, warm balls of sweets uber-soft in their silky, fragrant syrup.

Unfortunately, I havent found a desi joint to satisfy all my street food cravings just yet, but All Bengal Sweets in Little India makes a mean samosa and daal puri, and not some wholesome and healthy version, just pure deep-fried deliciousness. I have yet to find a perfectly spicy, crunchy, tangy-sweet fuchka (or panipuri) in town, but thats more due to budget constraints and distance than a lack of options (Im looking at you, Sugar Land).

In the meantime, Ill be making an easy (and cheap) khichuri and omelette, reminiscing over my moms classic rainy-day dish while Houstons downpour transports me back through the years. The simple recipe is below, courtesy of my mother. Thanks Ammu, and I miss you.

Khichuri, a classic rainy day comfort food in Bangladesh

1 cup white rice, preferably short-grain

1/2 cup red lentils (masoor daal)

4 cloves garlic, minced

 medium onion, sliced

1 tsp chili powder

 tsp cumin powder

1  tsp salt

1 pinch/shake turmeric

2 tbsp vegetable/canola oil

Wash rice and lentils, combined. Drain. Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan. Add 3 cups water. Stir well. Bring contents to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer. Stir occasionally, simmering for about 15-20 minutes (less for long-grain rice like basmati) until lentil-water reduces to thick, creamy consistency and coats rice. Fry up an egg on the side, and try a classic garnish of thinly sliced red onions.

A note: Desi is how many South Asians colliquially refer to those from the Indian subcontinent. Desh simply means country or nation in Bangla, so deshi refers to someone from the homeland. Desi is the Hindi/Urdu pronunciation of the same word.
Pakistan: Mubarak village - untouched and neglected

by Hafeez Tunio

September 21,2020 | Source: The Express Tribune

The remote sandy beach, crystal clear water and pristine blue skies of Mubarak village seem to be a scene from a fable. An hour-and-a-half away from Karachi, this remote fishing community is virtually untouched. And that's the catch. Here, there are electricity poles but no electricity. Though there is a dam, it stores only enough water for three months. Emerging as a tourist spot, the village also lacks facilities such as toilets for visitors.



And so, Mubarak village is also neglected. "The beach has immense potential to attract picnickers but there are no huts, toilets or drinking water," Khuda Ganj, a community leader from the village, lamented. "The area is also deprived of electricity." No wonder the beach mostly remains deserted apart from some picnickers turning up no weekends. Among them was Amjad Hussain, visiting Mubarak village with his friends. "I haven't come across a place as wonderful as this in Karachi and its suburbs yet. Feel the air: it's pollution free," he said. But much to his disappointment, the picturesque beach - which to him is no less than those in Europe - lacks facilities.



His disappointment rings true. It appears no efforts have been made by the government to promote tourism here, and apart from a few makeshift shops where residents sell beverages, no facilities are in sight. According to villager Bilal Ahmed, the beach has gained picnickers' attention in recent years. Before, it was just a fishing village. He said lobsters were a common catch, but of late the catch had dropped by 70 per cent - because, as it attracted the attention of picnickers, it also attracted that of fishing trawlers. Even as the village rejoices over potential tourists and worries about the fish traders, the fact remains that it has failed to get the attention it needs. Now a part of the new Keamari district, the centuries-old village has historically been a stronghold of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, a law minister in Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's cabinet, won a National Assembly seat here, and today, PPP MNA Abdul Qadir Patel and MPA Liaquat Ali Askani hold seats from the constituency. "But all successive governments have neglected the village, failing to provide even basic facilities," decried Ganj.



He particularly complained about the lack of electricity, despite poles being erected for the purpose in 2011. "They [relevant authorities] just installed the poles and left. There is no electricity even nine years on," he said, adding that villagers were also compelled to drink water from the same ponds and dams as animals. The village has approximately 400 houses, mostly wooden, with a population of around 5,000. All of them face the same ordeal. According to villagers, they only received some respite when Mustafa Kamal was elected as the city's nazim and initiated the construction of small dams and roads in the area.



"We have a dam here now, which fills to its capacity each rainy season. But the water lasts no longer than three months due to the lack of maintenance," Mustafa, a fisherman, told The Express Tribune. "The dykes are filled with sand and there is dire need to desilt it to allow storage of more water." While MPA Askani claims that the dam has been repaired and remodeled, Mustafa insists the village faces a drinking water shortage, forcing residents to rely on tankers. Giving his own example, he said, "We are a family of 15 and it takes at least three tankers to meet a month's water requirements at a cost of Rs7,500." And sometimes, people have to call tankers from as far away as Keamari, he added.



Others, who cannot afford tankers, drink water unfit for consumption. As a consequence, diarrhoea and skin diseases are common. "To serve these patients, there is just one dispensary, which, after being non-functional for years, is now being run by a trust," said village grocer Ali Akbar Baloch, though Askani says it is jointly managed by the trust and the provincial government. Baloch further related that a NGO once ran a school in the village but it had been taken over by the government. Now, it has just one teacher, rarely conducting classes. And this is not just the story of Mubarak village. Deh Gabo Pat, Allah Bano, Lal Bakhar and other nearby areas face the same misery. Yet there may be light at the end of tunnel. The World Wide Fund for Nature has installed a solar plate in each house. According to WWF's Asif Sandilo, this electricity is mostly used for light-bulbs and charging mobile phones. However, the area is still off-grid and yearns for proper electricity supply. Per Askani, the government too has planned development schemes for the village. He also pledged the allocation of funds for road, sanitation and water projects in the next budget. How and when these promises come to fruition, though, is yet to be seen.
Were not trying to get rid of remote learning, were not trying to force anyone to go into the school that cant do that, we want our kids back in school, she said. There are districts all around us  where schools are offering full in-person education.
Welcome to your voters guide to Pennsylvanias 2020 general election.

Voters will head to the polls, or have to have their ballots mailed, by Nov. 3 to select a president, U.S. representatives and the state Legislature.

The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, in partnership with PennLive, invited candidates to submit information by this guide. Candidates without information listed chose not to submit.

Is your information missing from the voters guide? Click here to submit your information and it will be added to our database.

Follow this link to the voters guide and learn more about the candidates.
Weeks after Niche.com crowned Rice University the best college in Texas, the Houston university has landed a pair of top rankings on the U.S. News & World Report's "2021 Best Colleges" list.

This year, Rice University clinched the No. 16 spot among U.S. universities on U.S. News & World's list, as well as the distinction of best Texas college, as first reported by CultureMap.

"Were pleased that Rice continues to be recognized not only as providing one of the best college educations in the United States, but also as one of the best values," President of Rice University, David Leebron, told Chron.com. "Particularly gratifying is the high recognition of our outstanding professors, and departments in every school as among the top ten in the country.

TOP MARKS: Houston university gets high marks as best in Texas, No. 7 in nation

The report analyzed 1,452 bachelor's degree-granting institutions across 17 measures of academic quality. The ranking factors include graduation and retention, social mobility, graduation rate performance, undergraduate academic reputation, faculty resources for 2019-2020 academic year, student selectivity for the fall 2019 class, financial resources per student, average alumni giving rate, and graduate indebtedness.

For a bigger picture of the university's rankings, here's a breakdown of how Rice University got high marks:

No. 6 in best undergraduate teaching

No. 8 in best value schools

No. 18 in most innovative schools

No. 224 in top performers on social mobility

No. 18 in best undergraduate engineering programs

The other Texas schools which grace the 2021 Best Colleges list include the University of Texas at Austin, which ranked as No. 42. Texas A&M University and Southern Methodist University tied at No. 66. Baylor University ranked at No. 76 and Texas Christian took No. 80 spot on the list.

The top 5 universities in the nation were: Princeton University, No. 1; Harvard University, No. 2; Columbia University, No. 3 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University, which tied for the No. 4 ranking.
By Trend

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan does everything to disrupt the negotiation process, and he does it in front of the OSCE Minsk Group, Azerbaijani MP Elshan Musayev told Trend.

Pashinyan understands that he has lost. He is in panic and makes one irresponsible statement after another. Armenia and its leadership still cannot accept reality, do not intend to abandon their provocative actions, and continue their occupation policy, said the MP.

"By its actions, the Armenian leadership is currently trying to divert attention from the internal collapse, clumsy and aimless policies of Pashinyan. However, it will not work. These attempts will also fail. The Azerbaijani army is capable of repelling all provocations of Armenia and liberating our lands, stressed Musayev.

Pashinyan's statements are absurd and senseless. The occupying country, whose prime minister he is, ignores all the basic principles of international law, UN resolutions. The whole world says that Karabakh is Azerbaijan. Except for Pashinyan. However, he himself understands that this cannot continue. Pathos, cliches, and inappropriate threats will not get you very far. Recent events and fighting on the front lines have shown that weakness of Armenia's own military power. Without outside support, Armenia will not be strong enough to hold out for long, the MP emphasized.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Even after five decades of use, the telescope at Ooty that Dr Govind Swarup designed and built continues to be the largest single frequency radio telescope in the world, notes Hari Pulakkat.

Nearly six decades ago, a young radio astronomer called Govind Swarup came to India from Stanford University and joined the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. He was doing well in Stanford, enjoying all the facilities and the generous funding that a scientist could expect in an American university.

India was a new country with no radio telescopes or a community of astronomers at that time. It had emerged as a new nation and was struggling to get its economy on its feet.

Dr Swarup responded to the situation by taking a courageous decision: To build a telescope that would be four times larger than any radio telescope in the world.

Even after five decades of use, the telescope at Ooty that he designed and built continues to be the largest single frequency radio telescope in the world.

Dr Swarup had built it to solve a big problem in astronomy: To find evidence for the Big Bang, an event that supposedly gave birth to the universe.

When he conceived the telescope in 1963, the Big Bang was thought to have happened 10 billion years ago, but there was no clear proof.

It came before Dr Swarup built the telescope; in 1964, two American astronomers, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, detected the radiation that was the remnant of the Big Bang.

Dr Swarup, who passed away in Pune at 91 on September 7, and his student Vijay Kapahi got additional proof for the Big Bang in the mid-1970s, after they built the telescope. They had proved that the universe had evolved over billions of years, by showing that galaxies in the far distance -- and hence far back in time -- were closer together than they are now.

Over the years, the Ooty telescope had been used for investigating several astronomical objects, including radio galaxies, pulsars (fast-spinning neutron stars), supernovae. It turned out to be useful for monitoring and predicting space weather as well.

When Dr Swarup began work on the telescope in the mid-sixties, there was no community of radio astronomers in India. No one had built even a small radio telescope in the country.

And yet Dr Swarup was confident that he could build the world's largest radio telescope, half a kilometre long and weighing around 200 tonnes.

Dr Homi Bhabha, director of TIFR at that time and who was responsible for bringing Dr Swarup back, never questioned the young astronomer's capability to build it.

In the end, it was not just a telescope that Dr Swarup built. He built an ecosystem replete with a community of young astronomers, most of whom being his own students.

He had overseen every aspect of the construction. He learned engineering from textbooks, taught his students science as well as engineering, negotiated with companies for components.

By the time the Ooty telescope was ready, India also had a team of young and competent radio astronomers. As they grew in their profession, they needed another big project to fire them up.

Dr Swarup then dreamt up the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope. It was to have 30 dishes spread over an area of 30 km. It was to use the principle of aperture synthesis, a technique developed by British astronomer Martin Ryle.

Using aperture synthesis, the GMRT would combine the data from 30 dishes to give an output equivalent to that from a single dish with an area of 30 kilometres. It was then the largest scientific project planned in India.

Dr Swarup moved from Ooty to Pune to build the telescope near the town Narayangaon, 60 km from Pune. The telescope was ready by the end of the 1990s.

The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research formed a new institution, the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, to oversee its construction and use. Dr Swarup became its first director.

Vijay Kapahi took over from him after Dr Swarup retired at the end of the 1990s.

In over four decades, Dr Swarup had grown Indian radio astronomy from nothing to a large community with a substantial presence in the world.

The Ooty telescope is still useful for research, although only a few students and astronomers use it.

The GMRT got an upgrade recently and is well-positioned to be useful for another decade at least. About 50 per cent of the proposals to the telescope are from other countries.

In building a new field in India, Dr Swarup had to compromise on his science.

He had well-cited papers while at Stanford, but his attention turned to project management and mentoring after he moved to India, and hence his scientific output declined. It was a sacrifice that he had made willingly.

Dr Swarup remained an optimist throughout his life, believing that humanity will last for a long time.

He would remain as one of the greatest scientific pioneers of post-independent India.

Hari Pulakkat is a winner of the INSA Indira Gandhi Prize for Science Popularisation. His book, Space, Life, Matter: The Coming of Age of Indian Science, will be published by Hachette India later this year.
(Bloomberg) -- The TikTok video-sharing app was already under U.S. scrutiny when users pranked President Donald Trumps campaign by pretending to reserve thousands of tickets to a June re-election rally in Oklahoma.

For Trump administration hardliners who wanted a tougher stance toward Beijing and viewed the Chinese-owned app as a national security threat, it was the perfect moment to pounce. The president, furious over the Covid-19 pandemic and embarrassed by empty seats at his campaign event, obliged.

Linking TikTok to Beijings handling of the raging coronavirus outbreak, Trump in July threatened to ban the app used by 100 million Americans unless China handed over control of the company, its algorithms and data to the U.S. Hearkening back to his New York real estate days, he also insisted the U.S. government get compensated in the process.

The deal Trump signed off on Saturday, hours before a Sept. 20 deadline, does almost none of that.

Trump said he wanted the U.S. part of the business owned by an American company. But Chinas ByteDance Ltd. remains the majority shareholder in a new U.S. company that will include fresh investments by Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. in a future fundraising round.

Trump said he wanted the data to stay in American hands, for national security reasons. And he succeeded: Oracle becomes TikToks cloud provider, taking over the responsibility of hosting user data on servers within the U.S. But the algorithm itself -- the thing that makes TikTok TikTok, and that critics warn can influence public opinion if its recommendations engine is abused -- will still belong to ByteDance so national security concerns remain, experts said.

TikTok, Hong Kong and More U.S.-China Flashpoints: QuickTake

And the government payout? That turned into a vaguely worded promise of new tax dollars, and a new education initiative to teach kids reading and math online.

As for the so-called $5 billion tax to the U.S. Treasury, that refers to an estimate of the corporate income tax and other taxes TikTok will have to pay in coming years as part of its business development, ByteDance said in a statement Monday. TikTok is confident in its future but the actual tax amount will have to be determined in accordance with the actual state of the business and American tax structures.

Still, Trump said he was satisfied.

Theyre going to be setting up a very large fund, Trump said Saturday. Thats their contribution that Ive been asking for.

The president did get a partial victory. He said the new company will have a Texas headquarters and promised to hire 25,000 Americans, although no breakdown or timeline for the hiring was provided. The board will be American-run. Most importantly, the move wraps up a crisis six weeks before the U.S. election, concluding one of the more extraordinary episodes in a presidency that has been filled with them.

Its a great deal for America, Trump said Saturday. Itll be a brand new company, it will have nothing to do with any outside land, any outside country, it will have nothing to do with China, itll be totally secure, thatll be part of the deal.

All About Cfius, Trumps Watchdog on China Dealmaking: QuickTake

Statements like those are causing skeptics to say Trump singled out TikTok for political reasons -- either because of a perception its users dislike him, or to bludgeon China -- and that he took an agreement that met few of his terms for the same reason. They add that the presidents direct involvement and his acceptance of a deal brokered by a key ally -- Oracle founder Larry Ellison -- reeks of political interference.

The government should be in the business of citing national security concerns but they shouldnt be in the business of brokering a back-room deal with a U.S. company, said Ari Lightman, a professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University. You have to ask yourself -- why didnt they go through the proper steps?

For national security hawks, a key issue all along was Chinese control of American users data. Traditionally, U.S.-developed software and apps were exported abroad -- think Facebook or Twitter. TikTok was the first Chinese app to rocket to such popularity in the U.S., giving Beijing a chance to project the sort of soft power abroad that it long craved.

Trump Blesses Oracles TikTok Deal, Sets Up App Store Ban Delay

For Trump, it was more personal, according to a person familiar with the matter. The White House was furious that TikTok users may have encouraged people to request but never use tickets to the June 20 rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The rally was billed as Trumps first big event after months sheltering from the coronavirus, and the campaign expected tens of thousands of people to show up. In the end, about 6,000 people turned out and Trump was greeted by rows of empty seats.

At the same time, a security review of the app was underway. The scrutiny stemmed from ByteDances 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly, a lip-synching app based in China but whose majority of users were in the U.S. It was folded into TikTok. ByteDance didnt report the deal to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. for approval, but two years later the panel contacted ByteDance.

The issue simmered into 2020 as tensions between Washington and Beijing soared and the Covid-19 pandemic initially dismissed by Trump began killing tens of thousands of Americans. Cfius opened a formal investigation into the acquisition in June.

Oracle Boosts Cloud Ambitions With Help From TikTok and Trump

The Cfius probe was in keeping with much stricter investigations against China under Trump. He previously blocked three acquisitions by Chinese investors, the most of any president, while numerous other deals have collapsed after the committee raised national security alarms.

It was worries about personal data, for instance, that prompted Cfius last year to force the Chinese owner of the gay-dating app Grindr to sell the business.

With a Sept. 20 deadline Trump set for a deal looming, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin got to work. By last week, a resolution appeared to have been found. Treasury sent a term sheet to ByteDance that laid out the conditions which were eventually approved: four out of five people on the board would be American, including a representative from Walmart, along with a national-security committee led by an American with cyber-security credentials to oversee any issues that arise.

TikTok, Hong Kong and More U.S.-China Flashpoints: QuickTake

In addition, the sides agreed that the new company -- which Mnuchin dubbed TikTok Global -- would file for an initial public offering next year. The company will seek a valuation of $60 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

That seemed to persuade the most significant participants on the Cfius executive committee. Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross were always on board. But even Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, who had long warned about the dangers of China exploiting U.S. user data, eased his own opposition. Several Republican senators who had also expressed early opposition came around.

Questionable math is being leaned on to get around Trumps demand that U.S. investors have majority control of the company. ByteDance will retain an 80% stake in the new company. But because existing U.S. investors hold a 40% stake in ByteDance, counting the new investments by Oracle and Walmart as well as other minority American shareholders, the Trump administration claimed there is 53% ownership by the U.S.

Then there are the clear political overtones associated with the new investors. Oracle CEO Safra Catz was on Trumps transition team and was considered a possible candidate for top jobs including national security adviser and World Bank president. Company founder Ellison hosted a fundraiser for Trump and met with Pompeo along with other tech titans in January.

Credibility Questions

Its not just Oracle: Sequoia Capital, a major investor in ByteDance who helped broker the TikTok deal, will also retain its stake in the Chinese company. Sequoia managing partner Doug Leone donated $50,000 last year to Trump Victory, which splits contributions between the campaign and the Republican National Committee. He also gave the same amount that year to America First Action, a super-PAC that supports Trump, although a person familiar said Leone doesnt have a personal relationship with the president.

There are reasons to be skeptical about President Trumps own motivations to ban the app, given the perverse political incentives in play, said Elsa Kania, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Different rationales and motivations with varying degrees of credibility appear to come into play.

Officials at Sequoia declined to comment. Officials at Oracle didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on whether political factors gave them an edge in getting the deal approved. White House officials didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on that issue or the role the Tulsa rally played in motivating Trump to act.

As part of the deal, Oracle will get access to TikToks source code and updates to make sure there are no back doors used by the companys Chinese parent to gather user data, people familiar with the matter said last week. Yet ByteDance will allow Oracle only limited access to view the source code for safety purposes and retain full control of its algorithms, the company said in its statement Monday.

Security experts said the original source of concern about TikTok still hasnt been resolved, even with Oracle and the U.S. board having insight into the apps technology and data.

These sound like great political talking points, said Michael Coates, chief executive officer of Altitude Networks and former chief information security officer at Twitter. The whole notion that this is protecting national security is pretty challenging. There are plenty of instances where U.S. companies bundle data and put national security at risk. Picking the odd foreign company that does this and targeting them wont help.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
At the State Department, Ms. Craft struck a defiant tone.

As we have in the past, we will stand alone to protect peace and security at all times, she said. We dont need a cheering section to validate our moral compass.

The top European Union diplomat, Josep Borrell, had earlier repeated his stance that the United States could not impose the international sanctions because it was no longer a party to the deal that had lifted them. I call on all to do their utmost to preserve the agreement and to refrain from any action that could be perceived as an escalation in the current situation, Mr. Borrell said in a statement on Sunday.

The dispute between the United States and Europe widens a diplomatic breach that began when the Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018, but it appears mostly symbolic: An E.U. arms embargo against Iran is not set to expire until 2023, meaning that any weapons trade with its nations would already be penalized. But American officials are warily watching Russia and China, both of which have expressed interest in arms trade with Iran once the embargo expires.

In targeting Mr. Maduro, the Trump administration also ratcheted up pressure against a leader whose ouster it has sought for nearly two years, after his disputed re-election in 2018, and on whom it had previously imposed sanctions. Last month, the United States seized fuel headed to Venezuela from Iran after the shipping company was warned it would be hit with severe penalties for allowing the transfer.

The sanctions also targeted Irans Defense Ministry and armed forces logistics for the suspected weapons trade with Mr. Maduros government.

The Trump administration also said two of the Iranian officials who worked for Tehrans Aerospace Industries Organization assisted with a space launch vehicle, with the help of missile specialists from North Korea. That is also a violation of sanctions imposed against North Korea.

During Mondays teleconference, Mr. Zarif argued that it made little difference that Iran, in reaction to the American withdrawal from the nuclear deal, was enriching more uranium than allowed by the agreement. He acknowledged that by some measures, Iran had enough for three bombs already.
Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil on Monday said that 12 parties have sought time to meet President Ram Nath Kovind over the passage of farm bills in the Rajya Sabha.

The parties have requested the President to not give his assent to the bills that were passed by the upper house of Parliament on Sunday without voting, news agency ANI quoted Gohil as saying.

The bills were cleared in the Rajya Sabha by voice vote amid unruly conduct by Opposition members who protested against the passage of the bills and demanded that the proposed legislation be referred to a House panel for greater scrutiny.

Also read: Farm bills will empower farmers, says PM Modi amid opposition protests

Following the passage of the bills, Opposition called it a black day while the ruling party members sought action against those who created ruckus in the Rajya Sabha premises.

On Monday, eight members of Parliament (MPs) - TMCs Derek OBrien and Dola Sen, Sanjay Singh of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress leaders Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora and Syed Nasir Hussain and KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem of the CPI(M) - were suspended by the upper house chairman M Venkaiah Naidu for a week under Rule 256(2).

These MPs, however, refused to leave the House and remained present protesting against the ruling. They are now staging a protest in Parliament premises. They were seen holding placards and pamphlets that read we will fight for farmers.
The Novi Yarylovychi entry-exit checkpoint on the border with Belarus in Chernihiv region has resumed its work. About 550 cars are waiting in line to enter the country, according to the press service of the State Customs Service of Ukraine.

The Novi Yarylovychi entry-exit checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border in Chernihiv region resumed its work. Restrictive measures were introduced due to the spread of coronavirus disease. The closure of the Novi Yarylovychi checkpoint led to a long queue of vehicles at the Vystupovychi checkpoint. About 550 cars are waiting in line to enter Ukraine and 250 vehicles to leave the country, the report says.

As Ukrinform reported, more than 1,000 Hasidic Jewish pilgrims arrived at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border on September 14 and were stranded in the neutral zone between the Belarusian and Ukrainian checkpoints. They were not allowed to enter Ukraine due to the ban on the entry of foreigners until September 28 related to the prevention of the spread of COVID-19. The Novi Yarylovychi checkpoint was closed from September 16.

The pilgrims explained their arrival from Belarus to the line of the Ukrainian border by their desire to come to Uman, Cherkasy region, for the traditional celebration of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.

On September 18, Hasidic pilgrims left the border territory where they had been since the beginning of the week.

ish
Seaport companies still reported positive earnings despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dinh Vu Port in the northern province of Hai Phong. (Photo: dinhvuport.com.vn)

According to Sacombank Securities Joint Stock Company (SBS), due to the pandemic, port throughput has decreased in growth momentum compared to previous years as exports to Europe and the US fell sharply. Key products such as apparel and leather shoes witnessed orders fall more than 50 percent.

However, in general, seaports were still among the least affected industries amid COVID-19, SBS said.

According to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, in the first eight months of this year, the total output of goods through Vietnam's seaports was estimated at nearly 485.3 million tonnes, the volume of container cargo reached more than 13.9 million Teus, up 6 percent and 8 percent respectively over the same period in 2019.

SBS said that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) taking effect would boost the development of the seaport and logistics industries in the long term.

The EVFTA would help Vietnam's exports increase by an average of 4-6 percent per year within 10 years from the date of the entry into force of the agreement.

Dinh Vu Port Investment and Development JSC (DVP) reported net revenue of more than 237 billion VND (10.2 million USD) in the first half of this year, down nearly 18 percent, but post-tax profit reached more than 139.4 billion VND, similar to the previous year.

Meanwhile, Tan Cang Logistic JSC (TCL) recorded revenue of over 512.1 billion VND, post-tax profit reached more than 42.1 billion VND, up 14 percent and 5.5 percent respectively compared to the first six months of 2019.

Danang Port Joint Stock Company (CDN) recorded revenue of over 439.6 billion VND and after-tax profit of more than 113 billion VND, up 17.5 percent and 26.6 percent respectively compared to 2019.

Other seaport enterprises such as Hai Phong Port JSC (PHP), Saigon Port JSC (SGP), Hai An Transport and Handling JSC (HAH), Southern Logistics JSC (STG) and Transimex Transportation JSC (TMS) also recorded positive business results in the first half of the year, SBS said.

SBS forecasts that the performance of this group of businesses will decline slightly in the second half of this year, especially for those businesses in the northern region due to increased competitive pressure.

The seaport industry had not been directly affected but would surely be impacted indirectly when the global economy enters a major recession, SBS said.

The appearance of a series of new ports on a large scale led to an oversupply, which would make competition stiffer, especially in key areas such as Hai Phong port cluster and Cai Mep-Thi Vai port cluster.

In Hai Phong, two new ports have come into operation including MIPEC port and Vinalines Dinh Vu port.

This means the revenue and profitability of businesses operating in these areas will continue to decline.

However, in general, seaport operators, cargo transportation and warehousing companies were less dependent on loans compared to other industries so they did not have to suffer as much pressure, said SBS.

This was a huge advantage compared to other industries in the current pandemic which is forecasted to last for a long time, SBS said.

In seaport industries, the listed enterprise with the largest debt to asset ratio is Transimex JSC (TMS) with only 25.2 percent.

That ratio of Hai Phong Port JSC (PHP), Tan Cang Logistics JSC (TCL), Saigon Port JSC (SGP) are all lower than 15 percent. Dinh Vu Port Investment and Development JSC (DVP) even reported no debt.

The large amount of cash can help these businesses quickly restore operations when the pandemic is controlled.

According to SBS, with less negative impact from disease, seaport stock prices remain more stable than the general market.

The plunge of the local stock market after the Tet holiday also affected this group but still much less than the decline of the VN-Index, SBS said.

Some stocks even recorded growth such as Vietnam Container Shipping Joint Stock Corporation (VSC), up nearly 26 percent since the beginning of this year. Tan Cang Logistics JSC (TCL) rose by more than 37.2 percent, Port of Hai Phong JSC (PHP) increased by over 13.8 percent, Danang Port Joint Stock Company (CDN) grew by more than 18.1 percent and Hanoi Construction Corporation  JSC (HAN) climbed by more than 8.4 percent.

SBS said the current difficulties that the seaport industry was confronting were only temporary. Along with the forecast that countries will soon produce a COVID-19 vaccine next year, the industry's recovery is likely to begin in the second half of 2021, SBS said./.VNA

Vietnam opens seaports to receive new FDI 'wave' Development of coastal industrial zones appears to be the right move to take advantage of incoming FDI.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Senior army commanders of India and China on Monday held talks on implementing a five-point agreement reached between the two countries on disengagement of troops and de-escalation of the tense situation in eastern Ladakh, government sources said.

The sixth round of Corps commander-level talks began at around 9 AM in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) across India's Chushul sector in eastern Ladakh, they said.

The Indian delegation is headed by Lt Gen Harinder Singh, the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps of the Indian Army.

The team also included a joint secretary-level officer from the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) and Lt.

Gen PGK Menon, who is expected to succeed Singh as the commander of the 14 Corps next month, the sources said.

It is for the first time that a senior official from the MEA was part of the high-level military talks aimed at defusing the volatile situation in the mountainous region.

Maj Gen Liu Lin, the commander of the South Xinjiang military region, is slated to lead the Chinese delegation.

"The meeting is underway," said a source.

The government sources said the agenda for the Monday talks was to chart a specific timeline for implementation of the agreement reached between the two countries at a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Moscow on September 10.

ALSO READ | Arrested scribe Rajeev Sharma's YouTube channel has 327 videos on several issues, including India-China ties

The agreement aimed at ending the over four-month-long border standoff included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the LAC.

Military sources, meanwhile, said the newly-inducted Rafale jets started carrying out sorties in eastern Ladakh as part of measures to give a boost to the overall combat readiness in view of the "provocative actions" by Chinese troops in the last three weeks.

The deployment of French-made Rafale jets in Ladakh came less than 10 days after they were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force(IAF).

At a ceremony in Ambala on September 10 where five Rafale jets were inducted into the IAF, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said this was crucial considering the atmosphere being created along the frontier and was also a "big and stern" message to those eyeing India's sovereignty.

The sources said the Army has made elaborate arrangements to maintain the current level of troops and weapons in all forward areas in eastern Ladakh and other sensitive high-altitude sectors in the harsh winter months when the temperature drops up to minus 25 degree Celsius.

They said the situation remained tense at both the southern and northern bank of the Pangong lake area as well as in other friction points.

There have been at least three attempts by the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) to "intimidate" Indian troops along the northern and southern bank of Pangong lake area in the last three weeks where even shots were fired in the air for the first time at the LAC in 45 years.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the southern bank of Pangong Lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30.

On September 7, the Chinese troops again made an unsuccessful bid to close in on the Indian position and even fired shots in the air in the Mukhpari area of Rezang-La ridgeline on the southern bank of Pangong lake.

As Jaishankar and Wang were set to hold talks in Moscow, Chinese soldiers fired a barrage of "warning shots" in the air on the North Bank of Pangong lake to "intimidate" the Indian troops, Indian Army sources had said.

India occupied a number of strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions.

China has been occupying the areas between Finger 4 and Finger 8.

The mountain spurs in the area are called Fingers.
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From helping local schools with rush orders for printed education packets to supporting other local businesses with branded hand sanitizers and face coverings, International Minute Press in Gastonia makes a difference in their community and shows that print is essential.

International Minute Press Gastonia, NC Photo

Bill and Pam Joles, owners, International Minute Press printing franchise, Gastonia, NC.

Bill and Pam Joles, owners, International Minute Press printing franchise, Gastonia, NC.

GASTONIA, N.C. & CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- During the COVID-19 pandemic, local business owners like Pam and Bill Joles of the International Minute Press printing franchise in Gastonia have worked harder than ever to adapt and serve their communities. Pam says, We have always been right here and we remain in service to our local business and community every day, all day.



For Pam and Bill, orders from clients did not disappear because print is an essential business and their full-service design, printing, and marketing center has remained open throughout the pandemic. Their roll with it attitude has helped lift up other businesses who depend on them. There was never a thought that we would stop working on behalf of our clients.

Pam continues, We prepared ourselves for anything during this unpredictable time. We dont have a big team, but we talk every day about area challenges and solutions, finding new ways to keep COVID-19 guidelines respected and orders coming in for as many as trust us with what they need.

Regarding the financial side of the business, Pam says, I stayed on top of accounts receivable to keep money flowing and wisely use what we had in terms of emergency funds. We cut expenses right away, taking advice from our Regional Vice President David Walton by eliminating third-party social media. We can do a great job by ourselves, and by doing so saved money and sharpened up new tools to pass on to our customers.

International Minute Press in Gastonia helped fulfill a big rush order from local schools for thousands of educational packages. It was the defining moment for their business and showed just how essential printing can be for the local community.

Story continues

When Pam and Bill received a rush order from local schools, they jumped right in to help. Everything was shutting down when the school system came to us and told us, on a Saturday morning, that they needed educational packages together by Monday.

Her team worked back to back 12-hour weekend shifts with all of the latest print technology up and running. By Monday morning, thousands of packages were ready on behalf of area children. Supplying our school system immediately was probably our defining moment during this pandemic.

Pam also signed up with Reboot, Recover, Rebuild and is listed under marketing services in Gaston County. Its known as the R3 Program and is funded by a North Carolina State grant through community colleges. We are providing marketing strategy counseling so small business owners can get their products and services out in the marketplace, starting with branded door hangers, EDDM, rack cards, flyers, coupons and brochures.

The time, technology and expertise they bring is making a difference as people wish to support local business and appreciate Pams efforts to make it easier. It doesnt pay a lot, but we are building ties by getting to know new people and adding more all the time. I advise people to sign up for R3 for their own savings if they call us first. Then, we help them build up their business strategy right away.

Prior to pandemic restrictions, Pam says her customers were loyal and in high demand within their industries. While some entrepreneurs were forced to shut down, the foundation of most of most International Minute Press customers is sturdy enough to withstand disruptions. We have our attention on every client, every project and are ramping up production in each case as they say the word. Fortunately, many of our orders were only delayed, but April and May picked back up.

Inspired idea boosts client sales and keeps hands clean

A tire company came to Pam for advice and she told them to expand on the use of branded hand sanitizer. They are giving out hand sanitizer with their logo along with service cards with the promise that customers can return and refill the empty bottles from a dispenser in the shop. This way, people are returning to their location regularly. He ordered 500 and people are loving the idea.

Pam ventures a guess that living in a manufacturing area was a blessing going into the spring, but the essential nature of work her center provides definitely makes a difference to stability. For the most part, the printing industry and our system puts us in a better position than a lot of others. Just about everyone we deal with is working business as usual already.

Restaurants, auto retail outlets, tire companies and pharmacies are among the assorted mix of what is a rebounding local economy. It is admittedly rewarding to be a mentor in marketing right now. Helping our pharmacy learn how to market, we came up with three key strategies for them:

Use branded hand sanitizer and distribute freely so people see the logo and it becomes a conversation piece to mention value and location. Contact area medical practices and distribute the rack cards we provide for additional branded materials in just the right hands. Get on several speaker schedules using zoom to start with visible branding while you speak. Eventually, networking will come back in other ways and theres no reason to wait.

As the sun starts to shine on the new business day, Pam and Bill help shape it. Face masks, shields and gloves are going to be part of apparel for a while, so most businesses are smart to have it all tell their company stories. Companies, colleges and local schools will have more spirit and success with their logos imprinted on PPE when possible.

We are following government guidelines and even looking ahead on behalf of the people in their area. We will be making customized labels using our dye sublimation machines and wide format printers to create face shields. The addition of these shields is helpful behind the counter and maybe even to make eye-to-eye networking possible sooner.

Her business carries top technology into the future, but small-town charm remains. Here, shopping locally is a big deal. We have Bounce Back USA signs throughout our area and we are helping by hosting that free initiative that provides free local listings and COVID-19 awareness posters for Gastonia businesses. 

We love our community and know that it is human spirit and work ethic that matter. In fact, for our times of high demand, I count on an older lady named Charlotte who comes in and affixes labels by hand. She loves the work and she is a big part of our team when we need her.

Gastonia, NC is budding with enthusiasm for healthy, renewed activity in all aspects of life.

Pam is using her centers full capabilities, plus heart and soul to make sure it keeps going. As always, we will meet every order with value and speed during this transition time. Things will be different for a while, but things will get back to normal as far as what truly matters.

For more information on International Minute Press in Gastonia, visit https://www.impressnc.com . Learn more about Minuteman Press International franchise opportunities at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com . (Minuteman Press International operates as International Minute Press in North Carolina.)

Contact:

Minuteman Press International

Franchise Opportunities, 1-800-645-3006

https://minutemanpressfranchise.com

or

Media:

Chris Biscuiti, 631-249-1370

cbiscuiti@mpihq.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a5673c94-fae2-4944-b134-de4c59f0cd93




XIAMEN, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland official has urged young people from Taiwan to make contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Liu Jieyi, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks on Saturday when visiting a district in the city of Xiamen and holding discussions with Taiwan youth representatives in Fujian Province.

Liu commended young people from Taiwan for their commitment to rural development and corresponding achievements.

He also sent greetings via video link to young people from Taiwan who are contributing to the poverty reduction fight in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Taiwan compatriots and Taiwan-funded businesses have made important contributions to the mainland's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, reflecting the Chinese people's solidarity and perseverance, Liu said.

Only when the mainland and Taiwan maintain sound relations can Taiwan compatriots' interests and well-being be fundamentally safeguarded, Liu noted, calling on young people across the Taiwan Strait to live their lives to the fullest and make contributions to the national rejuvenation.
Hurricane Sally pummeled coastal Alabamas cotton crop, which was expected to be among the best in the states history.

The storm also caused a setback to Alabamas tourism industry less than seven months after the beaches were closed for about five weeks at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

While it might not be known for a while what the exact economic toll the hurricane had on Mobile and Baldwin counties, the storms affect has rattled some key sectors in the states southernmost region.

The Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance, along with our five Chamber of Commerce partners, and every city in Baldwin County will do everything we can to wrap our arms around the Baldwin business community to make every effort to emerge stronger than before, said Lee Lawson, president and CEO with the alliance.

Cotton plants, pecan trees

Brian Hardin, director of governmental and agricultural programs with the Alabama Farmers Federation, said the biggest concern for farmers in the coastal area is the affect the storm had on cotton plants and pecan trees. Hurricane Sally, with its torrential and slow-moving downpours coupled with sustained wind gusts over 100 mph, toppled trees, and crushed plants throughout the coastal region.

Cotton was at a point where we were a few weeks from harvest, said Hardin. Its a lot of wind damage with whipping and twisting of the plant and damage to the bolls of cotton that had opened. We wont know the extent of the damage until we harvest.

Still, Hardin said he anticipates the states overall cotton production falling from high expectations farmers had more than a week ago. Alabama is among the 10 states that produce the most bales of cotton in the U.S.

The bottom line with the cotton crop is were very concerned in what could have potentially been one of our best crops in the state to potentially becoming average at best, he said.

The more long-term devastation, Hardin said, is to the pecan trees. Hurricane Sally, perhaps more than any devastating hurricane in recent memory, uprooted trees throughout Mobile and Baldwin counties.

You are talking 10 to 20 years before you even see peak production for these trees, said Hardin.

He said most of the regions corn crop had been harvested before Sally arrived, and that peanuts had yet to be dug out of the ground. He said he wasnt expecting long-term losses with either crop.

Hardin said he hopes good weather will salvage the soybean crop. Baldwin County is among the five biggest soybean producing counties in Alabama.

We will wait to see what happens, said Hardin. When you look visually at the plants and the plants (appear) damaged and wind whipped, and we hope they recover for the most part if we have good weather the next few weeks.

Beaches closed

Alabamas tourism sector, already hit hard by the pandemic, got another unexpected halt by Hurricane Sally when Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism closed the states beaches until September 27.

Kay Maghan, spokeswoman with the tourism bureau, said on Friday she was unsure when the beaches would reopen and deferred that decision to Alabama Gov. Kay Iveys office. The beaches have been closed twice this year, the first occurring for five weeks between March 20 and April 30 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Maghan said that, unlike the busier spring months, September tends to experience a dip in coastal tourism as schools reopen and the summer vacation season slows down. Vacation rental occupancy, ahead of Hurricane Sally, was at 50%. By comparison, over Labor Day weekend, occupancy rates were at 90% or higher.

Our occupancy normally drops in September during a normal year because people are back at schools and not travelling much, said Maghan. Unfortunately, the hurricane on top of COVID is the double whammy. We know for a couple of weeks what the impact was.

Brian Harris, who owns and operates 120 rental properties in coastal Alabama, said he was seeing the best fall on record because more people are working outside their offices or are attending school remotely.

Weve had a rough year already, said Harris. Now we have a situation where we have a lot of man hours that are needed and guests (seeking) refunds, said Harris. Our revenues come from people staying in these properties. We have a lot of work ahead and not a lot of revenue (coming in) and that is difficult.

Maghan said that cancellations were ticking up, which is understandable, which will lead to a drop in occupancy. Also keeping visitors away are coronavirus-related cancellations of festivals like the National Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores, which draws large crowds to the beaches in October; The Hangout Oyster Cook-Off in November; and the Frank Brown songwriter festival in November.

Perhaps the biggest concern for tourist officials is the long-term outlook for Gulf Shores and Orange Beachs charter boat business. Charter fishermen are popular tourism attractions, especially during the summer months as tourists flock to the beaches and seek fishing excursions into the Gulf of Mexico.

Im concerned about charter fishing, said Maghan. So many of those marinas were destroyed. We have boats on land. We have missing boats.

Related: Alabama shatters tourism records in 2019, but 2020 looks bleak

Power remains out in a wide swath of the area where tourists tend to go, especially in the Fort Morgan peninsula where some roads remain impassable.

Harris, on Friday, said he was concerned that the outages would extend beyond the 10-day beach closure. Baldwin EMC, which provides power to the area, reported Sunday that it had restored 61% of its system. Most of the outages remain south of U.S. 98, which includes heavily damaged Fort Morgan.

I am doubtful we will have power in 10 days down there, said Harris. I think were more than two weeks. I didnt see a power pole in Fort Morgan that wasnt bent, crooked or falling over."

Mobile hotel boost

Despite the devastation to beach tourism, and a halt to occupancy rates, some hotels saw an uptick in activity during Hurricane Sally. In Mobile, which did not suffer the extent of damage that Baldwin County did, hotels filled up on Wednesday and Thursday nights from people evacuating the storm.

The unpredictability of Hurricane Sally mattered. Some evacuees fled Mississippi for hotels in Mobile because initial storm reports indicated the storm was veering toward coastal Mississippi. Contractors, utility crews, and insurance adjusters have also sought out Mobiles hotel rooms.

Its such a fluid inventory situation that its hard to manage, said Kent Blackinton, general manager with the Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel in downtown Mobile. One day you have no rooms, but the next day, the insurance guys show up and they were supposed to take 30 of your rooms but they dont show.

David Clark, president & CEO with Visit Mobile said there had been hotel availability on Thursday night or slightly more than 24 hours after Sally struck on Wednesday. But he acknowledged that the hotels would remain popular as crews stay in the region to work on the power outage and cleanup.

Its a day-by-day situation, said Clark. When power is restored, people leave and go back home.

Clark said the short-term bump in activity for Mobile represented a rare bright spot in economic activity in a year with plenty of bad spots.

On Friday morning, visitors to downtown Mobile were enjoying seasonable weather and eating breakfast outside. Fifteen minutes away, in Daphne, tens of thousands of people remained without power as work crews zipped up and down city streets.

Ive been through enough of these that youll have some wins and losses and you just have to take the wins when you get them, Clark said. Even if other people are not winning, the people here are here to help.

The scariest adventure: Riding out Hurricane Sally

Long lines for fuel, boats damaged: Coastal Alabama cleans up from Sally

Its mighty bad, Ivey says after coastal flyover

Hurricane Sally: Two dead in Baldwin County
Some of the world's biggest banks, including HSBC, JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered, moved trillions of dollars identified as being potentially tied to money laundering or other crimes despite raising concerns about those transactions in filings with US regulators, according to media reports on Sunday.

The disclosures again raised questions about the success of government efforts to stamp out the flow of illicit funds around the globe and the effectiveness of internal anti-money-laundering compliance systems, which global banks have spent tens of billions of dollars to revamp in the past decade.

Shares of HSBC and Standard Chartered fell sharply in Hong Kong on Monday after the media reports, with HSBC's stock, at one point, trading at its lowest level since 1995.

Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.

HSBC declined 2.9 per cent to HK$30.05 in morning trading in Hong Kong on Monday, while Standard Chartered fell 2.7 per cent to HK$36.20. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.4 per cent.

The reporting was based on more than 2,100 so-called suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by banks and financial institutions between 1999 and 2017 with the US Department of Treasury's Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN) that were obtained by Buzzfeed News and shared with the International Consortium for Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

Among the SARs obtained by BuzzFeed, banks flagged more than US$2 trillion in transactions for potential criminal activity, including money laundering and sanctions violations. In some cases, banks continued to do business with individuals after receiving warnings from US officials, the ICIJ reported.

Several of the banks cited in the stories, including HSBC and Standard Chartered, previously paid billions of dollars in fines and agreed to deferred prosecution agreements in the past decade over failures in their anti-money-laundering programmes.

Story continues

HSBC and Standard Chartered both declined to comment on individual clients, but said they have spent substantial amounts in recent years to improve their compliance programmes.

The Post was not able to independently verify the claims as the documents themselves were not made public by the ICIJ.

FinCEN said earlier this month that the unauthorised disclosure of SARs is a "crime that can impact the national security of the United States, compromise law enforcement investigations, and threaten the safety and security of the institutions and individuals who file such reports". FinCEN said in its September 1 announcement that it referred the matter to the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department's inspector general.

Last week, FinCEN announced it was considering changes to enhance the effectiveness of its anti-money-laundering programme.

Deutsche Bank had the largest amount of transactions flagged in suspicious activity reports reviewed by ICIJ, with transactions totalling more than US$1.3 trillion. Photo: EPA-EFE alt=Deutsche Bank had the largest amount of transactions flagged in suspicious activity reports reviewed by ICIJ, with transactions totalling more than US$1.3 trillion. Photo: EPA-EFE

Financial institutions that access the American financial system are required to file reports on cash transactions by customers exceeding US$10,000 and report suspicious activity that might indicate criminal activity, such as money laundering or tax evasion.

Filing a report does not indicate misconduct actually occurred and only a handful of the reports filed annually result in action by law enforcement. About two million SARs are filed each year.

Of 640,000 SARs filed by 19 institutions in 2017, only about 4 per cent resulted in follow-up inquires by law enforcement, according to a 2018 study by the Bank Policy Institute, a US lobbying group for the financial industry.

Banks are barred from discussing SARs publicly and are asked, in some cases, to keep accounts identified as suspicious open "so that law environment can track where the money is going and gather further evidence to support an arrest and conviction", the industry group said.

Deutsche Bank had the largest amount of transactions flagged in SARs reviewed by ICIJ, with transactions totalling more than US$1.3 trillion. JPMorgan was the second biggest with US$514 billion in transactions identified as suspicious.

Other financial institutions whose SARs were obtained by BuzzFeed include Bank of New York Mellon, China Investment Corporation, Citigroup and Societe Generale.

Aggressive efforts by the US and other governments to crack down on money laundering, terrorism financing and tax evasion in recent years have led to a dramatic uptick in transactions flagged as suspicious, as well as settlements with lenders for failures in their money-laundering controls.

But, that has not stopped banks from continuing to do business with individuals whose transactions raise red flags internally, even after agreeing to settlements for past compliance failures, the ICIJ found.

For example, JP Morgan and other banks reported more than 100 suspicious transactions since 2013 involving companies with links to Malaysian financier Jho Low and others related to the alleged siphoning of US$4.5 billion from the 1Malaysian Development Berhad state investment fund, according to the ICIJ.

JP Morgan and other banks reported more than 100 suspicious transactions since 2013 involving companies with links to fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low. Photo: SCMP alt=JP Morgan and other banks reported more than 100 suspicious transactions since 2013 involving companies with links to fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low. Photo: SCMP

After authorities sought Low's arrest in 2016, JPMorgan raised questions about more than a dozen additional wire transactions, including purchases of property in New York City and paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet, the report said. Low, who has denied wrongdoing, remains at large.

"We have played a leadership role in anti-money-laundering reform that will modernise how the government and law enforcement combat money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial crimes," a JPMorgan spokesman said in a statement.

Another example cited by ICIJ was World Capital Market, which the US Securities and Exchange Commission accused of being a Ponzi scheme in 2014 and obtained an asset freeze against that year. The fraud allegedly raised US$80 million from investors.

HSBC moved more than US$30 million on World Capital Market's behalf in 2013 and in 2014, despite the fund facing investigations in several countries, according to the consortium.

The bank was subject to a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with US authorities at the time after agreeing to pay US$1.9 billion in 2012 related to prior failures in its anti-money-laundering compliance and sanctions controls,

A HSBC spokesman declined to comment on its suspicious activity reporting, saying the information provided by the ICIJ was historical and predated the conclusion of its DPA.

"Starting in 2012, HSBC embarked on a multi-year journey to overhaul its ability to combat financial crime across more than 60 jurisdictions," the spokeswoman said. "HSBC is a much safer institution than it was in 2012."

Standard Chartered reached its own settlement with US authorities in 2012 and pledged to strengthen its financial crime controls that year, but continued to process transactions in 2013 and in 2014 for clients of a Jordanian bank found to have deficient money laundering controls, the ICIJ reported.

It continued to process transactions for Arab Bank despite the lender facing a jury trial over whether it had transmitted money disguised as charitable donations on behalf of Hamas, which the US considers a terrorist group, the ICIJ reported.

"The reality is that there will always be attempts to launder money and evade sanctions; the responsibility of banks is to build effective screening and monitoring programmes to protect the global financial system," a Standard Chartered spokeswoman said. "We take our responsibility to fight financial crime extremely seriously and have invested substantially in our compliance programmes."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Fran Ruchalski, MBO / Associated Press

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday issued a disaster declaration for more than two dozen counties as Tropical Storm Beta closed in on the Texas coast, with heavy rains expected to cause dangerous storm surges through Wednesday.

The counties include Harris and Bexar, though the weather forecasters predict the worst flooding to occur along low-lying portions of the coast, from Matagorda to Galveston.
We knew we had to stay true to the heritage of the brand, even though this was a new service, based on modern technology

C.O. Bigelow Chemists has been dispensing prescriptions and expert advice since 1838. As New Yorks oldest and most trusted pharmacists, they have been at the forefront of medicine for nearly 200 years. For their latest innovation, Meditrac, they use robotic dispensing equipment to combine customers pills (prescription, supplements and OTC drugs alike) into convenient pouches, divided into the proper doses.

The new service presented a unique branding challenge. How to show technology and innovation within the context of a 180-year old family-owned heritage business? For help, the team at Bigelow, led by Owner Ian Ginsberg and his son, Pharmacist Alec Ginsberg, turned to Levinson Tractenberg for solutions.

Levinson Tractenberg, based in the SoHo neighborhood of NYC, is known for their work with heritage brands and luxury clientele. They applied their proprietary brand assessment methodology to Bigelow and Meditrac, coming away with some key insights that drove creative development.

Ian shared the company archives with our team. It was incredible to see the evolution of their logos and packaging through the decades, and seeing prescriptions filled for the likes of Teddy Roosevelt just really humbled us and instilled a sense of reverence for the history of C.O. Bigelow. We knew we had to stay true to the heritage of the brand, even though this was a new service, based on modern technology, explains Joel Tractenberg, Partner at Levinson Tractenberg.

The creative teams also got an introduction to the robotic machinery that drives the pill sorting and packaging. The hands-on Bigelow pharmacists oversee every step of the process, making for an interesting juxtaposition.

We saw your classic, lab-coated pharmacists who would have fit in quite well in the Bigelow of the 1800s, working with this bleeding edge technology and we were just so inspired. Their dedication to serving customers has stayed consistent through the years, but the delivery system is going through a rapid modernization, said Joel Levinson, Partner at Levinson Tractenberg. The goal became how to say old-fashioned service with a modern twist, and to convey it visually in their branding.

The team developed a logo based on the classic shape of pill capsules, to reflect the pharmaceutical nature of the service, and chose a modern font. After much discussion, client and agency agreed that they needed to retain the C.O. Bigelow vintage logo on all packaging to let everyone know that this was not some impersonal tech startup, but rather the evolution of the pharmacy brand that New Yorkers have come to love and trust.

The color scheme of blues and greens gives the branding a medical/clinical appeal, while the spot varnishes applied to select elements of the design provides both an eye-catching flash of color as well as upscale production values that are designed to inspire confidence the brand.

The feedback on the brochures and packaging has been extremely positive. Our customers and participating doctors absolutely love the new design -- and the service. Levinson Tractenberg did a fantastic job of positioning our brand to both please and reassure our existing customer base as well as appeal to a whole new generation of C.O. Bigelow customers. We have always gone above and beyond for our customers, but I doubt our founders would ever have guessed that robots would eventually be helping us make our customers lives easier, jokes Alec Ginsberg, who runs the pharmacy department for his familys business. In these challenging COVID days, we are so pleased to have innovated a way to offer old-world convenience and service, while enabling our clientele to stay safely at home.

Find us on social:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-levinson-tractenberg-group/?viewAsMember=true

https://www.instagram.com/cobigelow/
A state audit identified inadequate business office security controls, lack of oversight and potential lost revenue at a Salem County school system, but local officials say the issues have largely been addressed through staffing, procedure and technology changes.

In a report released last week, the Office of the State Comptroller found problems at the Salem County Special Services and Vocational Technical school districts that resulted in inappropriate financial transactions and vulnerabilities that could lead to the misuse of district funds  35% of which was state aid during the period covered in the audit.

The audit covered the period of July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2016.

The special services district, which provides special education to residents from birth to age 21, and the vo-tech school share management and administration.

The audit found faults in how financial transactions are processed. While multiple staffers should handle various stages of the accounts payable process, two clerks were able to access the blank check supply, print signed checks and issue payments, all without authorization, making it harder to detect improper transactions or human error, the audit found.

In one instance, the vo-tech was responsible for reimbursing unused grant funds to the state Department of Education. Instead of returning just the unused portion, though, they sent back the entire grant amount, which was a difference of $546,200, according to the report.

Auditors reviewed more than 200 checks issued by the districts and found missing supporting documents, transactions without signed purchase orders and invoices with payment figures that didnt match the authorized purchase amount.

In one case, a vendor billed $3,000 more than what was authorized on the purchase order.

In all, the audit found the district paid 564 purchase orders that exceeded the authorized dollar figures.

School business administrators are responsible for reviewing and authorizing charges greater than the purchase order amounts, the auditors noted, but in a sample of 30 of those purchase orders, none were approved by the school business administrator.

In addition, a lack of adequate security controls for its accounting system allowed unrestricted user access privileges to employees who didnt need this level of access to carry out their jobs, the audit found. Accounts payable clerks were able to open, change, approve or make a payment without oversight or approval, making district funds vulnerable to theft, loss or misuse, according to the comptrollers office.

In his response to the audits findings, Superintendent John R. Swain, who oversees both districts, said they accepted the findings, but noted that officials had proactively addressed many of the findings through a change in leadership.

The issue with the grant sent back to the Department of Education was a clerical error in the business office and the funds were returned to the district, Swain said Monday. As for overpayments described in the audit, the district contacted vendors to recover those funds when the errors were discovered, he said.

The business office is currently operating with two business administrators  one for each district  and moved to a new business software platform in 2018 that includes new security controls, according to Swain.

To ensure accounting controls and segregation of duties, a full review of job descriptions and responsibilities has taken place where tasks have been aligned to ensure consistency in the process for both districts.

The district has made considerable progress since the issues described in the report, Swain said.

I felt very good about it, he said of the audit. The information they provided made us a better district and more efficient.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
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By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday reacted sharply to the suspension of eight Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs, including three of its own, with Rahul Gandhi saying the "muting of democratic India continues" by initially silencing and later suspending the parliamentarians.

The suspension of the eight members comes a day after the Upper House witnessed unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members during the passage of two farm bills.

"'Muting Of Democratic India' continues: by initially silencing and later, suspending MPs in the Parliament & turning a blind eye to farmers' concerns on the black agriculture laws," Gandhi said in a tweet.

"This 'omniscient' Government's endless arrogance has brought economic disaster for the entire country," the former Congress chief said.

Reacting to the development, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked whether or not there is any parliamentary system in the country.

ALSO READ | Rajya Sabha suspends 8 MPs over unruly behaviour; Naidu rejects motion of no confidence against Harivansh

"Is it a sin to raise the voice of the farmer in Parliament? Have dictators held Parliament hostage?" Surjewala said in a tweet.

"Do you not listen to the voice of truth under the influence of power? How many voices will you suppress Modi ji. Of the farmers, of workers, of small shopkeeper, of Parliament," he tweeted with the hashtag 'Kisaan Virodhi (anti-farmer) Modi'.

The government on Monday moved a motion seeking the suspension of Derek O'Brien (TMC), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Rajeev Satav (Congress), K K Ragesh (CPM), Syed Nazir Hussain (Congress), Ripun Boren (Congress), Dola Sen (TMC) and Elamaram Kareem (CPM).

Amid opposition, the motion was adopted by voice vote and Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu asked them to leave the House but they remained present and protested the ruling.

The chairman also rejected a notice for a no confidence motion against Deputy Chairman Harivansh on the grounds that proper procedure was not followed.

Naidu condemned the unruly behaviour and "threats" to Harivansh during the passage of the farm bills.

The Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were passed by the Rajya Sabha on Sunday with a voice vote, amid unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members demanding that the proposed legislations be referred to a House panel for greater scrutiny.

The two bills have already been passed by the Lok Sabha and will now go to the president for his assent before they are notified as laws.
By Akbar Mammadov

Head of Nagorno-Karabakhs Azerbaijani Community, MP Tural Ganjaliyev has said that Armenia is preparing for new attacks to occupy more Azerbaijani territories.

Commenting on the relocation of the "parliament" of the so-called regime established by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan to Shusha, Ganjaliyev noted:

Aggressor Armenia is not interested in a peaceful solution to the conflict and is preparing for new attacks to occupy more territories of Azerbaijan.

He emphasized that the Armenian political leadership has added another element to its efforts to make a peaceful solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict impossible.

Thus, the head of the puppet regime established by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan said that the parliament of the so-called regime will be moved to Shusha by 2022, and given the historical role of Shusha, this move has a symbolic meaning, Ganjaliyev said.

The head of the community stressed that against the background of recent events, the deliberate use of the name of Shusha, one of the main cultural centres of Azerbaijan, as a tool is a clear example of the occupying state's preparation for the next insidious game.

This decision also shows that Armenia is interested in deliberately increasing tensions in the region."

We declare that the occupation of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is temporary. All our territories occupied by Armenia will be liberated and the return of all internally displaced persons to their native lands will be ensured."

Earlier, on September 14, the head of the community pointed out that Armenian Defense Minister threatens Azerbaijan with "new war for new territories" and added that Armenian Prime Minister's wife Anna Hakobyan has recently organized military exercises for Armenian women in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

Shusha, one of the most strategically important places of Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region, was occupied by the Armenian armed forces on May 8 in 1992. 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.

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.

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
Judy Robinson, the 2020 Census manager for Sacramento County, Calif., commenting on the states financial dependence on residents participation in the 2020 Census to secure appropriate funding for the next 10 years. While the county has already surpassed its 2010 participation rate, it is now seeking an 80 percent response rate. ( The Sacramento Bee - September 21, 2020)
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. On the 29th anniversary of Armenias independence, President of Russia Vladimir Putin offered congratulations to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian PMs Office told Armenpress.

The message reads, in part:

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

Please accept my sincere congratulations on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia.

Russian values its friendly, allied relations with Armenia. I am confident that the constructive dialogue, the multifaceted bilateral cooperation, and the ongoing interaction in the frame of integration processes within the Eurasian space will continue to develop successfully. It is indeed in the best interest of our two nations as it goes in tune with our efforts to ensure regional security and stability.

Dear Nikol Vovayevich, I wish you good health and every success, as well as peace and prosperity - to all citizens of Armenia.

***

The Russian leader also congratulated Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on the Independence Day.

The relations of our countries are based on the traditions of friendship and mutual respect. The further development of the allied relations and the multilateral cooperation undoubtedly is within the long-term interests of our brotherly peoples and will contribute to the strengthening of peace, stability and security in the region.

I sincerely wish you good health and success, and to the good people of Armenia  welfare and prosperity, reads Putins congratulatory letter.
By Akbar Mammadov

Armenia has staged another military provocation on the border, killing a serviceman of the Azerbaijan Army, the Defence Ministry reported on September 21.

Junior Sergeant Elshan Mammadov was killed at 09:20 on September 21 in the Tovuz direction on the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border, the ministry said.

The ministry emphasized that the situation on the line of contact between the two countries troops and in the direction of the state border with Armenia is increasingly aggravated by Armenia.

Recently, there has been an increase in cases of gross violations of the ceasefire by the units of the armed forces of Armenia, regular shelling of our public settlements, civilians, and infrastructure near the line of contact, the use of larger-calibre weapons, reconnaissance-sabotage activities against the positions of our units, as well as the widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have led to a serious aggravation of the situation on the frontline, the statement reads.

In all cases, the units of the Azerbaijani Army have suppressed the Armenian provocation and the adversary has suffered heavy losses.

The ministry declared that the military-political leadership of Armenia bears the entire responsibility for the aggravation of the situation in the front.

The ministry reminded that on September 20, at 23.13, Azerbaijan's Air Defense Units destroyed a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the units of the Armenian armed forces. This was the ninth UAV belonging to Armenian army units that have been downed in the Azerbaijani territories after attempting to carry out a reconnaissance flight over the positions of the Azerbaijani Army's units since July 16.

Earlier, on September 14, an Azerbaijani military serviceman was wounded as a result of Armenian cease-fire violation in the direction of Hajalli village in Azerbaijans Tovuz region on the state border. Azerbaijani Armys Warrant Officer Aliyev Renat has received medical treatment and his condition is stable.

It should be noted that Armenia has stepped up its military provocation recently, staging sabotage both on the border and on the line of contact.

On July 12, Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijan's positions in Tovuz, Azerbaijan's strategically-important district. The attack killed 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, as well as a 76-year-old civilian. Armenian forces retreated after suffering losses in Azerbaijan's retaliation.

Since 16 July, eight UAVs of the Armenian armed forces, attempting to carry out a reconnaissance flight over the positions of the Azerbaijani Army's units, have been destroyed by the Azerbaijani Air Defense units.

Another provocation was staged on August 23 at around 6:00 am when Azerbaijan thwarted a provocation attempt by the sabotage-reconnaissance group of the Armenian armed forces in the direction of Goranboy region of Azerbaijan. As a result of measures taken by the Azerbaijani army, the commander of the sabotage-reconnaissance group of the Armenian Armed Forces, senior lieutenant Gurgen Alaverdyan was taken as prisoner.

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.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

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Its about 2,000 years ago, the evening of December 25. Mary rides into Bethlehem on a donkey with Joseph, urgently needing to deliver her baby. Although its an emergency, all the innkeepers turn them away. So they deliver baby Jesus in a stable. Then, angels sing to the shepherds. Afterwards, they all join three kings with camels in worshipping the quiet, newborn.

This is the story surrounding Jesus miraculous birth that most of us have heard and believed most of our lives. Theres only one problem. This version is not biblically-based. The events surrounding the birth have been retold so many times and in so many ways  in plays, poetry, books and movies  that most people have a distorted view of the true events. The only accurate record is found in the Bible.

"Mary arrived in Bethlehem the night she gave birth."

The Bible doesnt suggest this. They could have arrived weeks earlier. Gods Word simply says, while they were [in Bethlehem], the days were accomplished that she would be delivered (Luke 2:6). Arriving in town well before her due date would make more sense.

"Christ was born on Christmas Day."

The Christmas story has become synonymous with the date, December 25. Whether youre listening to carols or looking at nativity scene imagery, the idea that Christmas is His birthday is everywhere. But what has become popular belief isnt exactly true to history.

The Bible does not specify a date or a month when Jesus was born. There are many different theories as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25. A very early Christian tradition said that the day when Mary was told that she would have a very special baby, Jesus (called the Annunciation) was on March 25  and its still celebrated on the day. Nine months after that date is December 25. Others believe Christmas is celebrated on this day because it was already popular in ancient religious celebrations as the birthday of the sun. The Winter Solstice and the ancient festival day celebrating the return of the sun Saturnalia and Dies Natalis Solis Invicti took place in December around this date. While December 25 was popularized as the date for Christmas, it was not because Jesus was born on that day. If you take a close look at Scripture, it indicates that this is an unlikely date for Christs birth. Although its not impossible, it seems unlikely that Jesus was really born on December 25.

"Jesus was born in a stable, because there was no room in the inn."

This is such an important part of many peoples vision of the Christmas story. The Bible does say that Jesus was laid in a manger, which gave rise to the popular notion that all this happened in a barn next to an inn. But the Bible doesnt say that and, in fact, there is good reason to assume otherwise.

The Greek word being translated to inn here is kataluma. That word can mean inn, but it doesnt have to. The only other time kataluma is used in the New Testament is in reference to the well-furnished guest room where Jesus ate the Last Supper with His disciples. We know Joseph had family in Bethlehem so its safe to assume that, in this case, kataluma is referring to a family guest room. The word manger here does mean an animal feeding trough, but at the time, a familys animals were often brought into the house itself at night to protect them from theft. It was not at all uncommon for families to have mangers in their ground-floor rooms so the animals could be fed at night while the human members of the household slept in the upper levels.

What probably happened was this: Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem expecting to be able to stay with Josephs family. But the guest room was full by the time they arrived, so Mary and Joseph stayed downstairs with the animals. Not exactly an ideal scenario for giving birth, but not a barn either.

"Manger is another word for stable."

When people talk about a manger scene, or Jesus being born in a manger, or a star shining down on the manger, its not clear they always understand that manger refers not to a barn but to Jesus makeshift crib. A manger is a trough used to feed animals. The word is derived from the French verb manger, meaning to ear. The 1st-century Judean houses, mangers were found both outside and inside the home, sometimes separating space for people from a space where animals were kept. Thus, in the Nativity story, Mary may have had one at her disposal, despite not being in the immediate vicinity of a stable.

"Three kings came to visit Jesus on the night He was born."

While this is a popular belief, the Bible doesnt say that any kings or camels visited young Jesus. It does report wise men (magi) came, but it does not say how many. Since the word magi used in the Bible is plural, there were apparently at least two, and there could have been more  even several more. The Bible mainly mentions three costly gifts they presented  gold, frankincense and myrrh, but this doesnt necessarily indicate the number of magi. There is also no proof of what country these men came from. Also, the wise men clearly didnt visit Jesus when he was still lying in the manger, as commonly shown on greeting cards and in plays. The magi didnt arrive until sometime after Christs presentation in the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:22-39).

Despite what Nativity plays and Hollywood epics would have us believe, the story of the birth of Jesus is more complicated than many people think. Much of what people commonly know about the story of Jesus birth, from the date to where it took place is much different than what the Gospels say.
University of Delaware Associate Professor Michelle Cirillo (right) interviews undergraduate Kayla Hurst about her preservice teaching experience that moved from in-person to online during the 2020 spring semester, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Credit: University of Delaware

When the coronavirus (COVID-19) prompted the closure of schools, impacting the field experience of University of Delaware students enrolled in teacher preparation programs, researchers Michelle Cirillo and Raymond LaRochelle jumped into action. They made sure a group of secondary math education students learning to teach in a 100-level University math class continued to polish their skills, despite the move to online learning.

Cirillo, an associate professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences with a joint appointment in the College of Education and Human Development, and LaRochelle, a postdoctoral researcher in the department, worked with math instructor Tammy Rossi to consider how the preservice teachers could remain involved remotely.

The research team decided to have the student teachers facilitate small-group student discussions in virtual Zoom breakout rooms and provide support for problem sets that followed the course instructor's lessons. The future educators would focus each week on practicing specific teacher discourse moves and reflecting on how it went in an assignment for a teaching methods course they were taking in tandem with LaRochelle. The online field experience wouldn't be exactly the same, but they hoped it would still be beneficial for all involved.

As the plan was coming together, Cirillo realized that the unusual circumstances presented an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of an online-teaching field experience in comparison to the one typically executed in an on-campus classroom setting. Specifically, this situation was unique in that the researchers could study two groups of students who experienced in-person and online teaching with the same instructor, in the same course, during the same semester. Typically, making these kinds of comparisons would require control and experimental groups; and such comparisons have their limitations.

The researchers interviewed the preservice student teachers, the math students enrolled in the pre-calculus course serving as the site for the field experience, and Rossi about how things were going, shortly after returning from the extended spring break and again at the end of the semester.

Early results of the National Science Foundation (NSF) supported math education studypublished in a paper in the Journal of Technology and Teacher Educationprovided some interesting clues as to what undergraduates need and value in preparing for their student teaching placements.

The UD early field experience for secondary math education students grew out of a model developed by Cirillo's colleague Kristen Bieda, an associate professor of mathematics education at Michigan State University, and later piloted at UD by Cirillo and at Pennsylvania State University by her colleague Fran Arbaugh. The university teaching experience model (UTE), coordinated through UD's Mathematical Sciences Learning Laboratory, aims to unify the experience of preservice teachers so that they have a stronger foundation when they head into the community for their first student teaching placement.

The idea is to provide future educators a common classroom context and experience where they can work on lesson plans, facilitate small-group discussions, observe their instructor and peers, and often facilitate their first lesson with an actual class.

Cirillo described the class as a "kind of safe space with lots of support that allows them to practice teaching," while the education methods class, which the students take concurrently, provides specific techniques for actually learning to teach.

During a typical semester, the preservice teachers enrolled in this course attend class and work with a group of math students in the classroom. They also plan and teach two activities, a 15-minute and then a 30-minute activity, to the pre-calculus class to gain experience. When the spring 2020 class moved online, the preservice teachers instead worked on problem sets with math students week-to-week in Zoom breakout rooms and focused on honing a specific teaching skillfacilitating mathematical discussions.

The research team's findings revealed that preservice teachers missed having the opportunity to see the instructor, Rossi, teaching live in a classroom setting, where they could watch both what the professor taught and how it was interpreted or experienced by the math students.

"I'd never heard this as a benefit of the UTE model in the two years we've been studying this, but when it was taken away, the preservice teachers' comments showed how important it was to observe the live instruction and Rossi's effective student interactions," Cirillo said. The preservice teachers also expressed disappointment at having to write lesson plans that they would never deliver in person, another important insight since many students who become teachers engage in this practice in other courses.

That said, it was clear that the preservice teachers were a valuable part of the classroom, whether class was conducted in person or online.

"The math students were ecstatic when they logged into their small breakout Zoom groups and discovered that the preservice student teachers continued to be part of the class and were available for questions," said LaRochelle, adding that many students said they would recommend being in a section with preservice teachers to their friends.

The Zoom breakouts were recorded, allowing the preservice teachers to review and reflect on their interactions as an assignment for their education methods class with LaRochelle.

"Because the Zoom breakouts were recorded, I was able to watch the video recordings, read the preservice teachers' reflections and offer feedback, unpacking which parts of a particular move the future teachers got right and illuminate things they were missing," said LaRochelle. "It created an interactive dialog that helped the students improve or consider other ways of doing things in the future."

Though it was a bit more work for the instructor, LaRochelle called it "incredible, uplifting, energizing" and said having this feedback week-after-week created a more personalized experience for the future teachers. The preservice students reported finding it particularly helpful to learn the names of the discourse moves and to be able to reflect on what happened when they tried to execute various discourse moves for the first time.

"According to the student interviews, the opportunity to reflect on the use of these moves within their small groups was so beneficial that I want to think about a way to incorporate that activity into the field experience when we go back to campus," said Cirillo.

Tips for thriving in a new normal

As many students and educators return to virtual classrooms this fall, the research team offered three tips for enhancing student engagement online, based on the student interviews.

First, Zoom breakout rooms bolster students' ability to share ideas. Math is a visual subject, and the math students in the class reported missing working with peers in the classroom to share ideas verbally and visually (e.g., "What does your graph look like?") and thought it was helpful to have group and/or one-on-one time with the student teachers in the breakout rooms. However, they advise that students may need tips and strategies for productively interacting with each other in the online environment while the instructor is busy helping other groups.

Second, encouraging students to keep web cameras on can stimulate engagement in an online setting between students and teachers, or between students and their peers.

"We visited several breakout rooms in different classes, and we saw great active learning instruction when everyone had their cameras on," said Cirillo. "It was seamless, almost like they could've been in person, though, admittedly, this usually worked better with smaller groups."

LaRochelle agreed, adding that students having the cameras on seemed to enhance engagement with the lesson materials and with their peers, and, for faculty, it helped to diminish the fatigue associated with teaching to black boxes on a computer screen.

"Even after just five minutes of talking to black boxes I was tired, and I had never felt that when I was teaching face-to-face," said LaRochelle.

Finally, the research team suspects online office hours may be here to stay, beyond the coronavirus pandemic, since they offer both students and educators the opportunity to connect from wherever they happen to be at the time. Many of the students interviewed actually seemed to prefer the online option.

And while this early paper is an important step in generating discussion and new ideas in the field amidst the ongoing pandemic, Cirillo reiterated that the work is far from over.

"This is just one idea, based on early interview data," she said. "We are working on other studies that look at the full range of interviews from the end of the spring 2020 semester, as well as data on what students and student teachers consider most challenging about learning and teaching mathematics online."

Explore further Future teachers often think memorization is the best way to teach math and science  until they learn a different way

More information: Cirillo et al., An Innovative Early Field Experience for Preservice Secondary Teachers: Early Results from Shifting to an Online Model. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education (2020). Cirillo et al., An Innovative Early Field Experience for Preservice Secondary Teachers: Early Results from Shifting to an Online Model.(2020). www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/216305/
Eight opposition MPs were on Monday suspended from the Rajya Sabha  the most in the history of the Upper House  for the remainder of Parliaments monsoon session for gross disorderly conduct during protests against two contentious farm bills the previous day, triggering a fresh confrontation between the government and the Opposition.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress accused each other of not upholding democratic norms after action was ordered by Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu against the MPs from four opposition parties for their Sunday protest, in which they stormed the Well of the House and charged towards the Chair, which was occupied by deputy chairman Harivansh.

The suspended MPs refused to leave the House on Monday on the grounds that the action was unilateral and without considering their version of what transpired. After House proceedings were halted, they brought bedsheets, snacks, and water, and sat beside the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament House, where they said they intended to stay through the night. They were still in the premises till late evening.

Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek OBrien and his colleague Dola Sen; Aam Admi Partys Sanjay Singh; Congresss Rajeev Satav, Syed Nasir Hussain and Ripun Borah; and KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem of the CPI(M) were suspended for seven days each.

The last time a large group of MPs was suspended from the Upper House was in 2010, when seven MPs from three parties were barred for the rest of their session over their protests against the Womens Reservation Bill.

On Sunday, Parliament marshals formed a double-layered barricade to protect Harivansh, who was presiding over the proceedings when the MPs charged at him, ostensibly for not paying heed to their demand for a division of votes on the two agricultural reform bills. The bills were passed by voice vote, without being referred to a select committee of Parliament.

In the House on Monday, Naidu condemned actions of the eight MPs and read out a list of offences he said the members were guilty of.

Some members came into the Well of the House. They also threw papers. They wrenched the mike of the deputy chairman. They hurled some papers at the deputy chairman. They also abused the deputy chairman also and the Rule Book was also thrown at him, the chairman said.

Declaring that he was pained yesterday, which he called a really a bad day for the Rajya Sabha, Naidu said: I am worried that he (Harivansh) would have been harmed also.

The day began with the government moving a resolution seeking the suspension of the eight MPs for unruly behaviour especially with the Chair and their gross disorderly conduct in violation of the rules and etiquettes of Rajya Sabha.

Amid furious protests, Naidu named OBrien and repeatedly requested him to leave the House. OBrien refused to go, while several opposition members demanded that their side also be heard.

As chaos prevailed, Naidu also rejected the no-confidence motion by opposition MPs against deputy chairman Harivansh. As per the provisions of Article 90 (c) of the Constitution, a notice period of 14 days is required for moving a resolution, not a motion. As the House is going to be adjourned sine die on October 1 as per the present schedule, notice does not complete the required period of 14 days, Naidu said.

Leaders of 18 political parties, including the Congress, the Left parties, NCP, DMK, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena and the RJD, submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind, seeking his intervention in the matter.

We pray that you return the bills and do not append your signature, it added.

Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh said the eight opposition MPs were suspended without being heard . The Murder Of Democracy in India rolls on. CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said: By suspending MPs if the government hopes to silence the Opposition, it shall not succeed.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the government. Muting Of Democratic India continues: by initially silencing and later, suspending MPs in the Parliament & turning a blind eye to farmers concerns on the black agriculture laws. This omniscient Govts endless arrogance has brought economic disaster for the entire country, he tweeted.

The Congress alleged that the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman tried to muzzle and throttle the voices of the opposition parties at the behest of the Prime Ministers Office (PMO).

BJPs Bhpender Yadav hit back at the Congress. My leader and my party have a tradition of following democratic principles. We were in the House and debating the Bills following the point of order set by the Chair. Who started the hooliganism is for everyone to see, he said.

Parliamentary affairs minister, Prahlad Joshi, defended the suspensions. When the Chairman names a member, then that member has to leave the house. Never before (has) a member defied the orders of the Chair. Eight suspended MPs had misbehaved, it was a type of goondaism {hooliganism}. They have proved that they have no trust in democracy.

In a media briefing on Monday evening, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the suspended MPs had no right to talk about democratic processes. Suspended MPs who assaulted the dy chairman of Rajya Sabha yesterday refused to follow the orders of the chairman today and created ruckus despite directions to leave the house. They have no moral authority to talk about democracy if they cant respect the institutions of democracy.

The suspension of the MPs was carried out after invoking section 256 of the rule book, which allows the chairperson to ask an MP to leave the house for unruly behaviour. Rule 256 provides for the suspension of a member; it says: If the chairman may, if he deems it necessary, name a member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the Council by persistently and wilfully obstructing the business thereof.

Commenting on the suspensions, PDT Acharya, a former Lok Sabha general secretary, said: There were unruly scenes on the floor of the House. These things have been happening and dont always end up in suspension; the choice to take action is also a political decision.

On the Oppositions charge that their demand for a division of votes had gone unheeded, Achraya said that as per the rules, the Chair cannot deny a division. If the chair has done that, then it is a cause for addressing. As per the Constitution if a member has asked for division, the chair has to agree.

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According to the Torchlight Report of Working Caregiver Concerns, U.S. employees across the country are self-reporting a 35.5% rise in anxiety and depression since mid-March 2020 as they juggle their work lives and families. The report found that employees are not only struggling with their own mental health, but are also trying to manage education issues with their children, surging mental health and social challenges with both their children and elderly family members.

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By Express News Service

MUMBAI: Eleven persons, including seven children, died and 20 others, including a four-year-old boy, were rescued after a three-storeyed building collapsed in Maharashtras Bhiwandi town.

The 43-year-old building named Jhilani, caved in at 3.40 am in the wee hours of Monday. The building had 40 flats, with around 150 people living in it.

Thane Disaster Response Force, Fire Brigade and NDRF were engaged in the rescue operation.

Bhiwandi is a power loom town around 10-kms from Thane while 50-kms from Mumbai. NDRF DG S N Pradhan said they were using acanine squad to search people trapped under the debris.

The building was not in the list of dilapidated structures of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation.

#WATCH Maharashtra: Rescue operation by NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) underway at the site of building collapse in Bhiwandi, Thane.



Eight people have lost their lives in the incident which took place earlier today. pic.twitter.com/dFvXwhHPH3  ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2020

Bhiwandi DCP Rajkumar Shinde said offences under sections 337,338,304 (2)of the IPC were being registered against the owner of building Sayyed Ahmed Jilani following a complaint by the civic officials after the collapse.

Thane guardian minister Eknath Shinde said a probe would take place. He visited the site and announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each victim.

Shinde said 102 buildings are dangerous in Bhiwandi where evacuation has been already done.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives in the building collapse.

"Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected," Modi tweeted.

Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 21, 2020

Expressing pain, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray instructed the administration to ensure proper rescue operation is conducted and the injured are given proper care.

An eyewitness said local residents rushed to the spot immediately after the building collapse and helped pull out some persons from the debris.

The power supply to the locality was snapped as a precautionary measure, an official said. He also said that the injured were shifted to the hospital and are under care.
A former deputy mayor accused of killing two family members on either side of the Murray River asked his brother what he knew about pain and then, police say, shot him dead.

Police allege Paul Cohrs murdered his brother, Raymond, at a property in the NSW town of Rufus on October 30, 2018, and then drove to Red Cliffs near Mildura, where he shot dead their mother, Bette Schulz, who was caring for her great-grandson.

Former Wentworth Shire deputy mayor Paul Cohrs is accused of killing his brother and mother.

The killings happened about 90 minutes apart before Mr Cohrs drove back to Rufus, where he shot himself in the chest when confronted by police.

Mr Cohrs, 60, survived the self-inflicted shot and is awaiting trial in Victoria over the death of his 82-year-old mother. After that he will be extradited to NSW over his brother's death.
Kim Kindersley, front, with Michael O Lionsaigh and his son Niall in the hemp fields

His ancestor invented Guinness almost 300 years ago by roasting the barley; now Kim Kindersley has turned to the cultivation of the cannabis plant, hemp.

From his smallholding in Co Cavan, he's helping to revive an industry that disappeared from the Irish countryside a century-and-a-half ago.

Kindersley and Michael O Lionsaigh, a Cavan farmer, are harvesting their hemp crop to produce CBD oil, which is undergoing a worldwide boom because of its perceived medicinal qualities.

"Hemp is believed to be the oldest cultivated crop in the world; it could bring life back to rural Ireland," says O' Lionsaigh - who, like Kindersley, is passionate about a plant that can be used to produce thousands of products and is leading the boom in hemp oil production.

Sitting in a mobile home beside the farm's quaint rural cottage, they, and various friends and acquaintances who have gathered for the harvest, extol the virtues of hemp, a non-intoxicating variety of the cannabis plant with less than 0.3pc THC, the compound that produces the 'highs' associated with cannabis use.

"Growing it here with family and friends gives us all a connection to the land," says O Lionsaigh. Because of its close association with cannabis, it is highly regulated.

Despite a worldwide boom for its derivate products, there seems to be no official appetite to revive a crop that was once extensively grown in Ireland to supply the sailing industry with the product needed to make ropes, rigging and sails for ships in the era before steam and diesel.

Kindersley grew up spending summer holidays at the Luggala Guinness estate with his grandmother Oonagh Guinness.

He met Mike in Kenya, where he was studying the ancient shamans and their connection to the land and the use of plants, roots and bark for what is known as 'herbal medicines'.

They decided to get involved in a growing movement to revive hemp - a tall, thistle-like plant that thrives in the drumlin country of Cavan.

Sean, who has arrived from Longford to help with the harvest, is a historian who says evidence of the plant has been found in Woodstown in Waterford from the year 850.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was widely grown around Skerries and Rush in north Dublin and it was often combined with linen for strength.

It is now undergoing a revival as a by-product of the growing cannabis industry, although they are all at pains to point out that hemp by-products like CBD oil don't and can't give users a 'high'.

"CBD oil has remarkable properties," says Kindersley.

"More and more people who were sceptical have taken it and it has changed their lives," he says, citing its anti- inflammatory properties - which help with arthritis, in particular, and a whole raft of other ailments.

Gathering a few wheelbarrows and secateurs, we set off for the four-acre plot just coming into bloom on the farm near Stradone, a couple of miles from Cavan town.

"Rub the top of the plant," says O Lionsaigh. When you do, fragrant oil sticks to your hand - but not in a cloying way. This is a totally organic product, it brings people back to their roots. This could be a lifeline for many farmers because it is an alternative crop and it remediates (revives) the soil. It can produce hundreds of different products."

We are joined by his young son Niall as we move through the field, cutting the taller plants low down to leave long stems so that it can be laid out on wires to dry, like tobacco, in the polytunnels at the back of O Lionsaigh's farmhouse.

When it is ready, the seeds of the dried plant are cold-pressed (like top-quality olive oils) to extract the concentrated oil, which is siphoned into small bottles and labelled under their brand name, Hu Botanicals.

"We have 12 acres here; everything is organically grown and hand-harvested," says O Lionsaigh.

"Everything is done in a very beautiful way," chimes in Kindersley, who is based in England but has come over for the harvest.

They both believe that the ultra-strict and convoluted licensing regime regarding hemp should be relaxed.

What they call 'Big Pharma' is also trying to increase restrictions so that it can move in on the artisan cottage industry, they say.

Pharmaceutical giants want it regulated to such a degree, they believe, that the "natural" product of small producers will eventually be replaced by a synthetic pill.

"What we're doing is not only preserving our natural farming heritage but helping people to deal with life 'in the fast lane'," says Kindersley.

Hemp, they say, is biodegradable and its by-products can be used in everything from 3D printing to building houses.

A US patent has also found that cannabinoids, such as those found in hemp, "have antioxidant properties... useful in a treatment of a wide variety of diseases".

In the peaceful setting of a Cavan hill-farm, the field is buzzing with wildlife from the bees from the row of hives at the end of the field, to colourful flocks of goldfinches swooping and zigzagging in flight across the tops of the tall, dark-green hemp plants.

Taking a break from filling the wheelbarrows, O Lionsaigh looks over to a distant hill, which helps him gauge when rain is on the way.

"Hemp can bring people back to their roots; this plant is in our DNA," he says.

His grand plan, apart from producing the CBD oil, is to turn the cottage and outbuildings into a healing centre.

But, in the meantime, more volunteers are arriving and the job of bringing in the harvest has to take priority over further discussion about the magical powers associated with the plants blooming amid the wild-flower meadows of rural Cavan.
CALIFORNIA  Just as California hit a record low for new COVID-19 cases last week, the state surpassed the 15,000 mark of coronavirus deaths Sunday. The news comes after a tough week for the Golden State, amid a catastrophic fire season and a 4.5 magnitude earthquake that rattled the Southland Saturday.

California has more than 785,000 cases, more than any other state in the country. But over the last few weeks just 3.6 percent of tests in California were positive, showing the lowest rate since late March. Nearly a month ago, the positive test rate was almost twice as high.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said in August that California was finally "turning the corner." And although the state's death toll is astonishing, it's lower than New York's 33,000 deaths.

Numbers have been declining steadily since the state saw a widespread surge in cases in mid-summer and over holiday weekends. The sharp decline in cases has allowed some counties to expand outdoor services and reopen more businesses, with some counties moving off of the state's dreaded widespread purple tier.

Since it usually takes around two weeks to determine whether a rapid rate of infection has resulted from a certain date, officials are still unsure whether the state came out unscathed from Labor Day weekend.

Los Angeles County reported 991 new cases of COVID- 19 and 23 more deaths Sunday, bringing the county's totals to 260,797 cases and 6,353 fatalities.



"As we prepare for the fall, we must acknowledge that COVID-19 remains a significant threat," Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. "The difference between now and the early months of the pandemic, is that we have a much better idea of how to effectively protect each other from becoming infected."



San Diego County health officials reported 284 new COVID-19 infections and no new deaths Sunday, raising the region's totals to 44,577 cases with the death toll remaining at 760.

Story continues

The county, which was in "orange" tier, was edging toward moving back into the purple tier, the most restrictive, after a surge in cases likely linked to San Diego State University caused some controversy.

The county's Board of Supervisors met to discuss possibly suing the state Thursday after Newsom rejected a county effort Wednesday to discount more than 700 new cases from SDSU students. San Diego will find out Tuesday whether it will slip back into the purple tier.

The San Francisco Bay Area surpassed 100,274 COVID-19 cases Saturday evening and saw 1,411 deaths from nine Bay Area counties, including Santa Cruz, ABC7 reported.



Mayor London Breed announced the timeline and steps to reopening indoor dining in San Francisco Friday. The city will begin seating patrons up to 25 percent capacity and up to 100 people in an establishment once the county is classified as "orange" on the state's COVID-19 blueprint. The county was expected to enter its new tier by October.

Restaurants have been hit hard by COVID-19. Many have adapted with takeout and outdoor dining, but theyve still been barely hanging on and, sadly, some have closed for good, Breed said Friday. We are laying out the next steps to make sure restaurants are ready to reopen as safely as possible.



This article originally appeared on the Across California Patch
Masika Kalysha has issued a statement after a former Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood producer, who also served as her landlord, made some claims against her.

Masika Kalysha | Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic

Masika Kalyshas former landlord, who is also a former Love & Hip Hop producer, makes claims

Recently, David Weintraub, a reality televison producer who has worked on shows like Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Hollywood Hillbillies, and Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood, made claims about Kalysha.

He was a guest on Brandi Glanvilles Brandi Glanville Unfiltered podcast when he talked about being Kalyshas landlord. He said, When I say the biggest garbage can human being, disgusting lying scam artist low-life person is this woman Masika Kalysha Tucker that happened to be on one of our shows, Love & Hip Hop  who attempted to buy a house from me but committed fraud.

RELATED: Love & Hip Hop: Why Masika Kalysha Believes Her Fake Kidnapping Video Worked, Despite The Backlash

Weintraub alleges that Kalysha used the coronavirus (COVID-19) eviction moratorium to not pay her lease while she was still shopping. He claims that owes him $75,000 and squatted in the home, making it so he couldnt sell it or have prospective renters visit. Weintraub says that when she did leave, she took electronics, as well as the washer and dryer. He alleges that Kalysha was buying a house before the pandemic and once a loan fell through, thats when she used the moratorium to get out of the lease.

Kalysha responds to the claims

Sending an exclusive statement addressing the matter to The Shade Room, the reality television personality and entrepreneur denies the allegations that were levied against her. Breaking her silence on the matter, she said, I am offended that David Weintraub, a white man who manages and profits from Black talent, would attack me, a Black woman, with the tired racial slur back to the projects. I am disturbed that he would include my 4-year-old daughter in his hate-filled tirade. Children are off-limits.

She continued, Davids demeaning remarks are wrong on many levels. Although I have never lived in the so-called projects, his bigotry doesnt just disparage me. His racist and bigoted rhetoric is abusive and offensive, and his comments disrespect the honest and hardworking people who live in affordable housing, including some of my fans, followers, and audience. David publicly confirmed what I already knew: He is a bigot and a racist, without respect for women, children, his clients, and their supporters.

In addition to this statement, Kalyshas legal counsel also send an extensive statement to the outlet, which outlined the living arrangement in detail. The statement also alleges that Weintraub and his mother and the homes co-owner, Judith Axonovitz, attempted to harass and intimidate Kalysha after a series of events. That statement reads in part, David Weintraubs allegations that Masika Tucker was a squatter in his Woodland Hills home or that he gave her the house mischaracterizes how Ms. Tucker came into possession of the property.
Editor's take: Microsoft's pending acquisition of Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax has many wondering about the fate of already announced big-name titles expected to be coming to the PlayStation 5. Phil Spencer says that while Xbox will honor Bethesda's commitment to timed PS5 exclusivity on Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo, uncommitted titles will be considered on a "case-by-case basis." This likely means PlayStation 5 owners will not see huge console sellers like the forthcoming The Elder Scrolls VI any time soon, if at all.

This morning Microsoft announced that it is about to close a $7.5 billion deal to acquire ZeniMax. This pick up is huge for the Redmond tech giant as it places several high-profile gaming franchises from the likes of Bethesda, id Software, and MachineGames in its Xbox stable.

Must-have exclusive content is the one thing the Xbox Series X has been lacking, especially with the delay of Halo Infinite. Now the company has the potential to rope in customers with Xbox exclusivity on big AAA titles such as The Elder Scrolls, Doom, and the Wolfenstein series. It's a move that has long term implications, but even in the short term could work to sell Microsoft's consoles.

In a Monday interview with Bloomberg's Dina Bass, Xbox head Phil Spencer said that as far as exclusivity deals are concerned, the company will look at it on a "case-by-case basis." He added that Microsoft intends to honor the timed exclusivity obligations Bethesda has with Sony for the PlayStation 5 games, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Deathloop.

Spencer also mentioned that the ZeniMax deal has effectively doubled its potential gaming content.

"Content is just foundational to what we do, and with this move, we double the number of content creators we have inside of Xbox," the Xbox chief said.

The move is also likely to be a blow to the PlayStation 5 in the current battle for console supremacy. Sony seemed to be holding an advantage last week when it matched Microsoft's pricepoint for its next-gen console. It spurred a pre-order buying blitz that has systems sold out in a matter of hours.

However, the feeding frenzy had Microsoft's rival apologizing for not having enough consoles to go around and promising more in the coming days and weeks. The shortfalls also fed into fears that a PS5 shortage is on the horizonclaims that Sony has denied, but an analysis of initial GameStop allotments seemed to confirm.

It just goes to show that if you are on the fence about which system to purchase, anything can change in a matter of days, so you might want to hold on a bit longer. It's unlikely Microsoft's move will go unanswered.

Image credit: Joseph GTK
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Monday he will announce his U.S. Supreme Court pick by the end of the week, moving quickly to fill the seat of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg and cement a 6-3 conservative majority ahead of his Nov. 3 re-election bid.

Trump said he would put forward his nominee on Friday or Saturday and called upon the Senate, controlled by his fellow Republicans, to vote on confirmation ahead of the election.

We have plenty of time for that," Trump said on Fox News.

Trump has mentioned as possible candidates two federal appellate judges: Amy Coney Barrett of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Barbara Lagoa of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He appointed both to their current posts.

The president said he is looking very seriously" at five candidates. Ginsburg died last Friday of complications from pancreatic cancer at age 87.

Trumps announcement on a nominee would come before Ginsburg is due to be buried privately at Arlington National Cemetery next week. Officials have arranged for her body to lie in repose outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday and Thursday so members of the public can pay their respects before she lies in state at the U.S. Capitol on Friday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has prioritized confirming Trumps judicial appointments, has said he would usher through a vote. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, but two Republican senators - Maines Susan Collins and Alaskas Lisa Murkowski - over the weekend said the chamber should not move forward with a Trump nominee before the election.

McConnell has time, as a new Congress will not be sworn in until Jan. 3. Democrats are hoping to win control of the Senate in the election.

Ginsburgs death has upended the campaign season, giving Trump and his party an opportunity to strengthen its grip on a court whose decisions influence many spheres of American life including abortion, healthcare, gun rights, voting access, presidential powers and the death penalty.

Trump already has named two conservative justices to the high court, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Barrett and Lagoa are clear frontrunners, according to a source familiar with the selection process who spoke on condition of anonymity. Either could face complications in the bitterly divided Senate.

Barrett could face opposition from Collins and Murkowski over concerns that she would roll back abortion rights, the source said. The source said Lagoa, a conservative Cuban-American jurist from the election battleground state of Florida, is not as well known, which could slow down the confirmation process.

TERRIFIC WOMAN

Shes a terrific woman from everything I know," Trump said of Lagoa on Fox News. I dont know her. Florida. We love Florida." The state is viewed as one that Trump must win to beat Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the election.

White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, Vice President Mike Pence, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trumps son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner are leading the selection process, the source said. Outside of White House officials, Leonard Leo, the former executive vice president of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group, is playing a central advisory role, as he did during the nominations of Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.

Trump on Fox also was asked about Judge Allison Rushing, who he appointed to the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year.

Im looking at five, probably four, but Im looking at five very seriously. Im going to make a decision on either Friday or Saturday," Trump said.

The court vacancy has given Trump and his fellow Republicans a chance to steer the national discussion away from the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed almost 200,000 Americans and thrown millions of people out of work.

Democrats have accused McConnell of hypocrisy for being eager to usher a Trump nominee to a confirmation vote. In 2016, he refused to even consider Democratic President Barack Obamas nominee to fill a vacancy on the court left by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, saying it would be inappropriate to do so during an election year.

Biden on Sunday called on other Republican senators to join Collins and Murkowski and allow the winner of the election to name the next Supreme Court justice.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Sunday found that a majority of Americans - some 62% including about half of Republicans polled - agreed with that sentiment.

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
In advance of Wednesdays federal throne speech, Winnipeggers who want Ottawa to create a universal basic income, plan to hold a prayer vigil at the St. Boniface office of cabinet minister Dan Vandal.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In advance of Wednesdays federal throne speech, Winnipeggers who want Ottawa to create a universal basic income, plan to hold a prayer vigil at the St. Boniface office of cabinet minister Dan Vandal.

"Theres a rumour (universal basic income) will be in the throne speech," said Lorraine MacKenzie Shepherd, minister at Westworth United Church, who is organizing Tuesdays event.

It will feature prayers from different faith traditions and comments from speakers who believe a basic income will help Canadas poorest citizens.

MacKenzie Shepherd said the pandemic has been a "tremendous challenge" for many but it is also an opportunity.

"The pandemic has made more people aware of the many Canadians who are vulnerable," she said. "It has shaken us up and maybe made us more open to trying new things that once were sealed off from discussion."

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Theres a rumour (universal basic income) will be in the throne speech, said Lorraine MacKenzie Shepherd, minister at Westworth United Church.

People of faith should attend the vigil since it is a way to "put their faith into action," she said.

"As a Christian, I take my guidance from Jesus and the mandate he gave for his ministry to proclaim good news to the poor," she said. "Following Jesus means I need to be concerned for those who are marginalized."

Participants in the vigil are asked to take a candle, wear a mask and observe social distancing guidelines.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FAITH - United Church vigil for Universal Basic Income. Portraits of Loraine McKenzie Shepherd, minister at Westworth United Church, outside her church on Friday. Loraine McKenzie Shepherd is organizing a prayer vigil outside the office of MP Dan Vandal on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 12:30 PM. Story to run in advance of the Speech from the Throne in support of Universal Basic Income which is part of a cross-Canada United Church of Canada call to action on this issue. See Story by John Longhurst Sept 18th, 2020

Those who cant make it are invited to light a candle at home or work during the day or evening and post a photo on social media, tagging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and #UCCanlivableincome.

Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The Winnipeg vigil is one of a number being organized across the country by the United Church of Canada.

"Building on the positive experience of the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit, this is a unique opportunity to make an important policy change to ensure greater income security for all Canadians," the church said in a statement.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FAITH - United Church vigil for Universal Basic Income. Portraits of Loraine McKenzie Shepherd, minister at Westworth United Church, outside her church on Friday. Loraine McKenzie Shepherd is organizing a prayer vigil outside the office of MP Dan Vandal on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 12:30 PM. Story to run in advance of the Speech from the Throne in support of Universal Basic Income which is part of a cross-Canada United Church of Canada call to action on this issue. See Story by John Longhurst Sept 18th, 2020

"A guaranteed livable income program would address the inequities that exist within the present wage and social benefit structures in our country," it went on to say, adding "particular attention should address the barriers experienced by Indigenous peoples in accessing relief programs related to COVID-19."

The Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada also support the call for a universal basic income.

The prayer vigil at Vandals office is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FAITH - United Church vigil for Universal Basic Income. Portraits of Loraine McKenzie Shepherd, minister at Westworth United Church, outside her church on Friday. Loraine McKenzie Shepherd is organizing a prayer vigil outside the office of MP Dan Vandal on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 12:30 PM. Story to run in advance of the Speech from the Throne in support of Universal Basic Income which is part of a cross-Canada United Church of Canada call to action on this issue. See Story by John Longhurst Sept 18th, 2020
Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaks during a discussion on the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington on Feb. 10, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

The Passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Correct Call to Fill That Seat!

Commentary

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed on Sept. 18. Ginsburg, a feminist and role model for some women across America, is being lauded as a legal giant and trailblazer, accolades being doled out across political boundaries. Ginsburg was dedicated to jurisprudence tasks, even pouring over legal briefs from her hospital bed.

But what did Ginsburg trailblaze, and in what sense was she a legal giant? From the bench, Ginsburg politicized jurisprudence, fighting for womens equality and pay, the rights of the disabled, and the environment. She was in the minority on the 5-to-4 Bush v. Gore decision, which appointed George W. Bush as presidenta precedent she will not be able to reproduce in the 2020 presidential election. A sign of her political activism, Ginsburg signed her opinion I dissent, rather than I respectfully dissent, like her other colleagues in the minority.

While a political advocate for womens rights, Ginsburg also pushed for unlimited reproductive rights, thereby asserting the right to unilaterally end the lives of babies of both sexes. She even asserted that taxpayers should cover the costs of abortions for women who could not afford them. Not only advocating for gender equality in abortions, she went further than arguing that the sexes were equal. She also suggested that the sexes were the same. She pursued the sex integration of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, because they perpetuate stereotyped sex roles.

While few can deny Ginsburgs brilliance, many can impugn her activist approach, despite or because of her unyielding dedication to the cases before her.

Even as mourners gather outside the Supreme Court bearing candles and leaving flowers and other tokens to commemorate the life of Ginsburg, ominous warnings are emerging across the United States. On social media, one finds calls for attacks on Republican senators, full-scale riots, and an explicit threat on Twitter to burn the entire [expletive] thing down should Trump nominate and the Senate attempt to confirm Ginsburgs replacement.

Meanwhile, at a Sept. 19 rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, thousands of President Donald Trumps supporters called for POTUS to Fill That Seat! Trump also took a live poll of the crowd, where an overwhelming number of rally attendees agreed with the president that a woman should fill the Supreme Court vacancy.

Amy Coney Barrett, the first and only woman to occupy an Indiana seat on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and a professor of constitutional law at Notre Dame Law School, is emerging as a top contender for the replacement of Ginsburg by Trump. During the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, Trump reportedly asserted that he was saving Barrett as a replacement for Ginsburg, according to a 2019 report in Axios.

As Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) pointed out on Hannity on Sept. 18, its imperative for Trump to act with urgency on any SCOTUS replacement. Hillary Clinton has stated that Joe Biden shouldnt concede the 2020 presidential election under any circumstances. That would mean that, without a replacement, the election could be decided by a 4-to-4 Supreme Court.

Conservatives and Trump supporters certainly cant rely on Bushs John Roberts to side with Trump in any disputed 2020 election outcomes. The same deep-state elements who in 2000 demanded the installation of George W. Bush (Democrats and establishment Republicans) will be adapting a by any means necessary mantra for Joe Bidens installation in 2020. The only difference is that the candidate is a Democrat, and their battle positions will be buttressed by a ubiquitous, deeply biased social media.

While some celebrate the accomplishments and memorialize the impact of Ginsburg, all patriots should demand that Trump act with utmost haste in nominating a constitutional originalist to the Supreme Court. These positions arent exclusionary.

We cant fear the consequences of an obstreperous and outraged left. Weve already endured the Summer of Love, which has included shootings, burnings, and riots. Trump and Attorney General William Barr can respond by invoking the Insurrection Act, if necessary. The left cant be allowed to intimidate the president, and the Senate must act swiftly to obviate an election disaster.

Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D., is a former professor at New York University and author of Beyond Woke, The Google Archipelago, and Springtime for Snowflakes.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Delhi Commission For Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) summoned 45 private schools last week for allegedly denying books to students of the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category, according to one of its members.

The DCPCR received complaints that the children had not been given books by these private schools since April, the member said.

Taking up the matter, the commission summoned the schools and resolved the issue, the member further said, adding that the institutions have agreed to provide the textbooks.

The Right to Education (RTE) Act mandates private schools to reserve 25 per cent seats for EWS/DG category and impart free and compulsory education to these students till the completion of elementary education.

Under the Delhi RTE rules, students enrolled under the EWS/DG (disadvantaged group) categories in private schools have access to free textbooks, writing material and uniforms, for which the government reimburses a fixed amount.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hysterectomy doctor, Dr. Mahendra Amin, is not certified by the American Board Obstetrics as and Gynecology (ABOG), according to a report.

The ICE physician is being accused of performing unwanted and unnecessary gynecological procedures at an immigration detention center.

Many immigration advocacy groups representatives and whistleblower filed a complaint to the Office of the Inspector General on Monday. Cited in the complaint is disturbing medical neglect and occurrences of unwanted and unnecessary hysterectomies at the Irwin County Detention Center.

Dawn Wooten, a licensed practical nurse who was previously employed by the center and is represented by Project South and Government Accountability Project, reported seeing a number of hysterectomies performed on immigrant women.

Wooten described Amin as the "uterus collector" and said that the doctor performed hysterectomies on every detained immigrant woman he saw inside the facility.

Wooten added that she believed that the women did not totally understand what was happening to them during the procedures.

ICE did not respond to previous requests for comments. However, Wooten's allegations have been denied by the attorney of the ICE doctor.

"Dr. Amin is a highly respected physician who has dedicated his adult life to treating a high-risk, underserved population in rural Georgia," Atty. Scott Grubman said in a report.

Grubman noted that they look forward to all of the facts coming, and they are confident that Amin will be cleared of any wrongdoing.

"Dr. Amin will be cleared of any wrongdoing," Grubman said.

Not a Board-Certified OB-GYN

An ABOG spokesperson said that its record found that the organization does not certify Amin as an OB-GYN. The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) also confirmed in a report that Amin was not certified by any of its 24 member boards.

Susan Morris, Associate Vice President on Communications at ABMS, said that Amin is not one of their doctors and is not certified by any of their boards.

Unlike state licensure, board certification is not required. However, many physicians often pursue certification to expand their skillset. It also establishes credibility with patients.

The organization's website said that ABOG-certified doctors must pass a qualifying written exam to show "the special knowledge and skills" required for women's medical and surgical care.

ABOG-certified doctors also need to pass a certifying oral exam that reviews physicians' past cases and tests their ability to treat different conditions.

Reports said that Amin had maintained an active license with the Georgia Composite Medical Board. The ICE doctor has also practiced in Douglas, Georgia for at least 20 years. He has served as a medical director for the labor and delivery department at Irwin County Hospital.

Previous court records showed that Amin had settled lawsuits with at least two former patients or patients' families. One case accused Amin of discharging a pregnant patient when her test results showed "life-threatening abnormal lab values."

The patient received an emergency cesarean section after returning to the hospital with contractions, bleeding, and high blood pressure. The said patient died after.

Amin denied any knowledge of the "abnormal" lab values based on the court information.

Check these out:

Hysterectomies Performed on Immigrant Women in US Without Consent, Whistleblower Says

ICE Facility: Claims of Unwanted Hysterectomies and Other Abuses Lead to Investigation
15:39





According to sources, leaders of various political parties including the Congress, the Left parties, NCP, DMK, SP, Trinamool Congress and the RJD have in a memorandum to the President sought his intervention in the matter and asked him not to sign the bills.





The bills will become a law only after the President grants his assent to them.





The two key farm bills, dubbed by the government as the biggest reform in agriculture, were passed by Rajya Sabha on Sunday with voice vote amid unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition MPs.





Some opposition members charged towards the podium of Deputy Chairman Harivansh, flung the rule book at him and tore official papers. They yanked his microphone and heckled him over their demand for a division of vote on their motion to refer the legislation to a select committee. Sources said the opposition parties have described the manner in which the bills were passed in Rajya Sabha on Sunday as "murder of democracy" by the ruling BJP. They have also sought time from the President for a meeting, likely on Tuesday.





The Shiromani Akali Dal leadership will meet President Ram Nath Kovind separately on Monday to urge him not to sign on the bills. Sources said the memorandum of opposition leaders has been sent to the President. Congress MP and noted lawyer Abhishek Singhvi is learnt to have framed the memorandum.





The opposition leaders wish to present their case in urging the President not to grant his assent to the bill after both the Houses of Parliament passed the two bills. They are alleging that the bills are against the interest of farmers and seek to enslave farming at the hands of corporates. These will prove to be a "death knell" for farming, the opposition leaders claim.





The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks to give freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside the notified APMC market yards (mandis).





This, the government says, is aimed at facilitating remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels. Farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce under this Act, according to the government.





The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 seeks to give farmers the right to enter into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price. It seeks to transfer the risk of market unpredictability from farmers to sponsors. -- PTI

A day after two contentious farm bills were passed by Rajya Sabha amid a bedlam, a number of non-NDA parties wrote to President Ram Nath Kovid over the manner in which the government "pushed through its agenda" and urged him not to grant his assent to the proposed legislations.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 01:02:26|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China will take legitimate countermeasures in response to recent visits of U.S. high-ranking officials to Taiwan, including measures targeting relevant individuals, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a regular press briefing, urging the U.S. side to stop any form of official exchanges with the island.

According to media reports, U.S. Under Secretary of State Keith Krach visited Taiwan last week and met its leader Tsai Ing-wen, after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar's visit in August.

"China firmly opposes any kind of official ties between the United States and the Taiwan region," Wang said, adding the recent visits by U.S. officials have seriously violated the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques.

"It is a political provocation that emboldens 'Taiwan independence' separatists and undermines China-U.S. relations as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," he added.

"China firmly opposes and strongly condemns it. We will take countermeasures, including against relevant individuals," said the spokesperson, adding the U.S. moves will further jeopardize coordination and cooperation between the two countries on major international and regional issues. "The U.S. side must take full responsibility of the consequences."

Wang said China is determined in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, opposing interference in its internal affairs by external forces, and achieving national reunification.

"We solemnly inform the United States that 'Taiwan independence' will only lead to a dead end, and any attempts to condone and support 'Taiwan independence' are doomed to fail," Wang said. "Any attempt to hurt China's core interests and interfere in China's internal affairs will be met with strong reactions. The historical trend of China's reunification won't be stopped by any force."

"China urges the United States to correct its mistakes, fulfill its commitments in the three joint communiques, stop its official exchange and military ties with Taiwan, and stop its interference in China's internal affairs as well as words and deeds that undermine China-U.S. relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Wang said.

In response to a question about the "median line," Wang said the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the so-called "median line" is non-existent. Enditem
This story is part of an ongoing series  The Road to a Vaccine  that looks at Canadas quest to secure a COVID-19 vaccine amid the global pandemic, as well as the hurdles and history it faces to do so.

Canada has officially signed onto a major international effort to share potential COVID-19 vaccines and hopefully make sure countries with fewer resources arent left out in the cold.

On Monday, Canada was listed among the countries that have officially joined the COVAX Facility, a strategy designed to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines to every country.

It was launched this spring by the World Health Organization and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations Gavi alliance, among others. While Canada had previously expressed interest, its participation is now official.

The general idea behind COVAX is to allow member countries to pool both money and risk by investing in a range of potential vaccines. Then, if any prove successful, the group can quickly get its hands on them.

According to a statement from Gavi, there are now 64 higher-income countries committed, with another 38 expected to sign on in the coming days.

Listen to Alex Boyd discuss the road to a vaccine

Notably absent is the United States, which made headlines earlier this month when the Trump administration said it would not participate in the effort.

There are two pieces to the COVAX effort.

While the COVAX Facility is all about getting access to vaccines, there is also a funding arm, called the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, which is trying to make sure that low-income countries have a spot at the table. If all goes according to plan, any eventual doses would be shared among a mix of high-income countries, such as Canada, that have contributed financially, and also poorer countries that are supported by donations.

According to the release, this second part has a target of raising US $2 billion by the end of the year, and currently it has about $700 million, raised from donor countries, the private sector and philanthropists.

There also 92 low- and middle-income countries that are eligible to receive vaccines through the COVAX facility, according to Gavi.

This means that 156 economies, representing roughly 64% of the global population in total, are now either committed to or eligible for the COVAX Facility, with more to follow, Gavi said in a release.

COVAX is now in business: Governments from every continent have chosen to work together, not only to secure vaccines for their own populations, but also to help ensure that vaccines are available to the most vulnerable everywhere, Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said in a statement.

With the commitments were announcing today for the COVAX Facility, as well as the historic partnership we are forging with industry, we now stand a far better chance of ending the acute phase of this pandemic once safe, effective vaccines become available.

COVAX is not Canadas only plan to procure vaccines.

The federal government has signed advanced purchase agreements with four different biopharmaceutical companies should any of their candidates pass both clinical testing and Health Canada approval, in a move that has drawn accusations from some health and policy experts that this country is engaging in vaccine nationalism.

In an interview last week, federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand said that Canada was supportive of the objectives and principles of the COVAX Facility, as the only global procurement mechanism that allows countries to share risk.

In a statement Monday, a spokesperson for Karina Gould, the federal minister of international development, added the government is commited to equitable access to vaccines for people in developing countries.

Were working to finalize our global approach, and we will have more to share soon. Canada cannot be fully safe and healthy until everyone is.

The goal of the project  which will depend on how much money is contributed by partner governments  is to deliver two billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021 that have all either passed regulatory approval or been pre-qualified by WHO.

While countries such as Canada are able to request a specific number of doses  which will determine how much they have to chip in  lower-income countries will receive a share of doses based on their population.

Now that dozens of countries have officially signed up, the COVAX Facilitys next step will be to start signing formal agreements with vaccine manufacturers and developers.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks at a press conference held in LaGuardia Airport's new Terminal B on June 10, 2020 in New York City.

New York Attorney General Letitia James warned Monday she is preparing a lawsuit after President Donald Trump's Justice Department labeled New York City an "anarchist jurisdiction" and threatened to withhold federal grant money.

Trump "is trying to distract the American people from his failures as a leader and is using the last few months of his presidency to sow more chaos, more hatred, and more fear," James said in a statement.

"The president should be prepared to defend this illegal order in court, which hypocritically lays the groundwork to defund New York and the very types of law enforcement President Trump pretends to care about."

Earlier Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo also vowed to challenge the administration in court if it followed through on its threat to cut off funds to NYC.

"The president is not above the law," Cuomo said during a teleconference with reporters.

"If they actually do this, we will challenge it legally, and he will lose once again, because we've seen this play before," Cuomo said, referring to the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities.

The warnings came hours after the Department of Justice labeled New York City, along with Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, as jurisdictions that "are Permitting Anarchy, Violence, and Destruction in American Cities."

Trump earlier this month asked Attorney General William Barr to compile a list of "anarchist jurisdictions" and have the government's budget chief, Russell Vought, share guidance on blocking or disfavoring some federal grants from those areas.
Uttar Pradesh, INDIA - The parents of a woman claimed that because of desperation to have a son, the husband of their 35-year-old daughter cut open his own wife who is now in critical condition.

According to the reports, the man who is a father of five girls sliced open the stomach of his pregnant wife hoping to confirm that his wife is carrying their future son.

Based on the information given by a senior police official, the suspect was only identified as Pannalal who was arrested after he inflected his own wife leaving her suffering for serious injuries, The Sun reported.

Superintendent Pravin Singh Chauhan shared in an interview that the investigation is still ongoing as they want to dig some more information regarding what really happened on the incident that occurred on Saturday in the village of Nekpur, an area which is part of the Indian northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India.

According to the authorities, they are still determining the motive behind the act, and based on the running investigation the item used to cut open the body of the victim is still not clear.

The parents of the soon-to-be mother of her sixth child claimed that the man carried out the bloody attack because he was desperate of having a boy in their family after having five girls.

The 35-year-old victim is seven months pregnant and currently still in critical condition in Bareilly Hospital.

Based on the statement from the family and their neighbors, they have taken the victim to a near district hospital before she was transferred to the said hospital.

Read also: Man with HIV Arrested for Sexual Misconduct Towards 12-Year-Old Girl He Met on Snapchat

As of the moment, the status and the condition of the baby is still not clear.

According to Mirror, the alleged incident only reflects that the stigma towards baby girls in a number of areas of India still continues.

In June of 2019, a video of a newborn baby girl who had been abandoned in a rubbish bin went viral after it circulated on Twitter.

After witnessing the brutal video, filmmaker and journalist Vinod Kapri and his wife Shakshi Joshi announced that they are already in the process of the little girl's adoption after they were able to track down the girl to JLN Hospital in Naguar, Rajasthan.

Way back 2017, a Sunday People investigation found out that three unwanted baby girls are being dumped on a monthly basis outside the Palna center in New Delhi.

And similar figures also reflect on the baby girls abandoned outside other hospitals, orphanages, and stations of police in the capital of India waiting for a loving home to stay in

The so-called cradle scheme of India was set up to save children from death in a country where daughters are treated and seen as a burden, causing their poverty.

The acts are considered as common in some areas in India.

Based on the latest reports, a shocking number of baby girls are being dumped dead or even alive in bushes, ditches, rubbish tips, or sometimes buried alive.



Related article: Son Killed and Dismembered His Parents, Boiled His Mom's Severed Head in Water Pot

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
US Coast Guard report criticises China for illegal fishing and aggressive tactics

by Eduardo Baptista

The US Coast Guard had harsh words for China in a new report on illegal fishing, calling for like-minded nations to unite against predatory states at sea in a thinly veiled warning to Beijing.



The report, released on Thursday, also criticised Chinas armed fishing militia, which several studies said Beijing has used to enforce its claims in the highly contested South China Sea by swarming the waters around disputed islands with vessels in order to push out fisherman and soldiers from other claimant countries.



The Peoples Armed Forces Maritime Militia, estimated to include more than 3,000 vessels, actively carries out aggressive behavior on the high seas and in sovereign waters of other nations to coerce and intimidate legitimate fishers in support of the Chinese Communist Partys long-term maritime strategic goals, the report said.



Recently, the US Coast Guard has taken an increasingly assertive stance near Chinas home turf, conducting its own exercises in the South China Sea and joining the US Navy in freedom of navigation operations across the Taiwan Strait.



Amid crumbling Washington-Beijing relations, the report signals the US Coast Guards resolve to increase operations against Chinas sprawling distant water fishing fleet, which recent estimates place at around 17,000 vessels, with more than 12,000 of them operating in non-Chinese waters.



Although Chinese vessels are not the only ones illegally catching fish in other countries waters, a June report by the London-based Overseas Development Institute named China as the largest contributor to a global fisheries crisis because its distant water fishing fleet is the largest in the world.



In a 2019 index of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing developed by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, China was ranked the worst-scoring country.



The US Coast Guard will shine a light on the activities of those who violate international rules-based order, exposing and holding accountable the most egregious predatory actors, said the report.



In February, Admiral Karl Schultz, commandant of the US Coast Guard, said China was one of the worst predatory fishing offenders and a threat to the food security of other nations.



This is a national security challenge warranting a clear response, he said.



The report released on Thursday was couched in similar terms. Although no mention of China is included in the three Lines of Effort the report says the US Coast Guard will pursue, there is a clear emphasis on predatory behaviour, the kind Schultz said China was guilty of.



Predatory and irresponsible nations that turn a blind eye to IUU fishing distort markets with aggressive economic policies, undermine free and open democracies, challenge security and prosperity, and destabilize at-risk nations around the globe, the report said.



Predatory nations seek to expand the reaches of their own state-driven economic models and grow their power at the expense of the sovereignty of others, the report continued, making a veiled reference to the Chinese economy. The US Coast Guard will confront the actions of predatory and irresponsible State actors by promoting partnerships with at risk coastal States and like-minded nations.



On Thursday, Schultz appeared in a pre-recorded panel discussion hosted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, noting the role the US could play in helping other countries monitor Chinese fishing vessels operating in their waters. Schultz pointed to a case in July when a US Southern Command ship helped Ecuador locate a 300-ship Chinese fleet operating just outside of Ecuadors waters.

Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods.
Binu Jacob, CEO of Nestle Vietnam

What is the contribution of the NESCAFE Plan to the sustainable development of Vietnams coffee sector?

Despite being the worlds largest Robusta coffee nation, Vietnamese coffee is facing several problems that cast adverse impacts on the segments long-term development. The quality of Vietnamese coffee is still limited as most coffee farmers plant and harvest by following traditional methods without the application of modern science and technology. Also, ageing coffee areas have also affected coffee quality and output.

Nestle launched the global NESCAFE Plan in 2010. The programme aims at creating shared value in the coffee sectors for coffee farmers, communities, and the planet while at the same time ensuring our continuous support for responsible and sustainable value chains. The NESCAFE Plan was launched in key growing coffee areas of continents such as America, Africa, and Asia. We are very proud that together with Brazil, NESCAFE Plan Vietnam is the largest-scale project globally.

In Vietnam, NESCAFE Plan has been active since 2011. Working with the Western Highland Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (WASI), Nestle Vietnam has provided strong support to coffee farmers in the Central Highland provinces of Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, and Gia Lai, achieving outstanding results in terms of improved practices (following the 4C verification scheme) improved green coffee quality and improved farm income with more environmentally sustainable farming practices and inputs. Up to now, more than 21,000 farmer households have received the internationally recognised 4C certification with the support from our agronomists.

The Nescafe Plan in Vietnam has empowered local farmers with the goal of supporting them to become agripreneurs. With a team of 10 Nestle agronomists, we have conducted 230,000 training lessons on the best farming practices and equipped farmers with useful techniques to improve the output, bean quality, and sustainable farming practices. We have also more than 274 farmer group leaders who help farmers exchange experiences among each other and with our agronomists.

In the last 10 years, through the NESCAFE Plan, we have distributed 46 million high-yielding and disease-resistant coffee plantlets to coffee farmers in five provinces of the Central Highlands. Working with WASI, we have supported the government programme to rejuvenate 46,000 hectares of aged coffee areas.

How does the NESCAFE Plan help improve the lives of Vietnamese coffee farmers?

As I mentioned earlier, the issues that can affect the medium-term success of coffee growing in Vietnam include the age of the coffee trees. More than 30 per cent of the countrys coffee trees are 20-30 years old, and the present high productivity may decline over time if they are not rejuvenated.

By rejuvenating the coffee farms with high-yielding, disease- and drought-resistant varieties, we have helped to increase the coffee productivity and to improve the coffee economics for farmers.

Through the adoption of sustainable farming practices, coffee farmers have saved costs by reducing 40 per cent water for irrigation and 20 per cent chemical fertilisers and pesticides while increasing their incomes by 30-100 per cent by using intercropping models.

Since last year, our agronomists have assisted farmers to manage their farms with the FARMS advanced software. This is a mobile application managing the data of each farm and connecting farmers with experts to get assistance in a timely manner. The software also creates a database of the best farming practices so that farmers can learn and apply them directly on their coffee farms.

How important is Nestles collaboration with other stakeholders to ensure sustainability and competitiveness of Vietnamese coffee?

Creating Shared Value is fundamental to how we do business at Nestle. We believe that our company can only be successful in the long term by creating value both for our shareholders and for society. Companies that create shared value demonstrate that business can be a force for good.

To develop sustainably and to be more competitive, we strongly believe that all concerned stakeholders must work closely together. Thats the reason why we have actively worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Western Highlands Agriculture & Forestry Science Institute, and provincial Agricultural Extension Centers in the Central Highlands since 2010. Nescafe Plan in Vietnam is considered a successful public-private partnership in the coffee industry.

All Nescafe products produced in Vietnam are sourced from the Central Highlands. The high quality of Nescafe products made in Vietnam have also convinced international consumers in more than 25 countries and regions and in Asia, Europe, America, and Oceania with notoriously high-quality, strict compliance markets like Japan, South Korea, the United States, and the European Union.

Vietnam aims to increase its coffee export turnover to $6 billion by 2030 while maintaining its position as the worlds second-largest coffee producer and exporter. What is the role and strategy of Nestle Vietnam to help Vietnam achieve the targets?

While Vietnam is the second-biggest coffee producer in the world and the biggest in Robusta, Nestle is the biggest buyer of coffee in Vietnam with approximately 20 per cent of the total output. Every year, Nestle injects $600-700 million into the rural economy through coffee purchasing.

To add more value for Vietnamese coffee, we have been continuously increasing the volume of processed coffee for domestic demand and export. At Nestle Tri An Factory in Dong Nai province, we produce decaffeinated coffee, soluble coffee, and coffee capsules branded Nescafe Dolce Gusto of which recent reformulated capsules with Vietnamese coffee such as Americano Rich Aroma, Espresso Intenso, and American earned enormous praises from strict markets like Japan, resulting in us producing these goods at 100 per cent capacity every month.

In strict markets such as the EU, various authorities have set limits of maximum residue levels for glyphosate herbicide in different commodities. Therefore, we continue to work with farmers and other stakeholders on improving and monitoring agricultural practices and reducing pesticides and herbicide where possible. This is to ensure that no potential compliance issues related to responsible sourcing arise.

Bringing new product choices to young and demanding local consumers is another priority by Nescafe. This year alone, we have introduced new Nescafe Ca Phe Viet soluble products and some other new coffee products that meet the needs of young Vietnamese consumers.

Key NESCAFE Plan Figures

NESCAFE Plan has played a crucial role in public-private partnership in Vietnams coffee sector. What are some highlights of the Nescafe Plan in the last 10 years?

Co-chaired by Nestle Vietnam and the MARDs Department of Crop Production, the PPP Coffee Task Force has 22 partners, including global roasters, coffee traders, input companies, certification organisations, development partners, financial institutions, and government organisations. On a pre-competitive platform, partners of the PPP coffee task force invest along the value chain to improve coffee quality, coffee sustainability, and farmer income (see graphic).

Nestle Vietnam was recognised by the MARD for its important role in the development of the Vietnamese coffee industry. We were presented with the Certificate of Merit for our outstanding contributions to the Vietnams coffee industry and sustainable agricultural development under the PPP model.
(Image: Reuters)

Nikola Corporation Founder Trevor Milton has resigned effective immediately as Executive Chairman of the electric vehicle (EV) start-up, the company said in a statement on September 20.

Milton said he made the decision as focus should be on the company and its mission, not me adding that Nikola is in my blood and always will be, Bloomberg reported.

His move comes less than two weeks after a sharply critical report of Nikola brought the startup in the radar of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice.

Milton, who founded the company in 2014, has been replaced by board member Stephen Girsky, 58, who is designated as Chairman, Bloomberg reported. Girsky, was a Vice Chairman of General Motors (GM) and had helped pull the Detroit-based automaker out of bankruptcy.

Notably, Nikola in early September signed a $2 billion partnership deal with GM to manufacture the latters pick-up trucks and EV ventures. GM now holds 11 percent cash-free equity in the start-up.

Since listing in June 2020, Nikolas stock saw wild swings. At one point it even soared higher than Ford Motor and made Milton who own 35 percent stock, worth $9 billion and the worlds 188th richest person, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI). Milton is now worth $4 billion.

The stock however tumbled after short seller Hindenburg Research questioned Nikolas claims of its EV tech and called it an intricate fraud built on dozens of lies, drawing regulator attention. The criticism was called a hit job by Milton who tweeted detailed responses to the one-sided false claims, the report noted.
Wellington, Sep 21 : The New Zealand government has committed to investing NZ$27 million ($18 million) in Covid-19 vaccine development through the global COVAX Facility, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said on Monday.

"The COVAX Facility is a key part of our Covid-19 Vaccine Strategy to obtain safe and effective vaccines," Peters, who is also the Foreign Minister, said in a statement.

"It allows us to invest in a high-quality, diversified portfolio of Covid-19 vaccine candidates. This will ensure we are spreading risk and keeping our options open," he added.

New Zealand expressed interest in joining the COVAX Facility in July, which allowed the country to support international efforts to shape how the facility works, he said.

It has officially confirmed its commitment to the COVAX Facility and will invest an initial amount of NZ$27 million to support development and manufacturing.

It will act as a pre-purchase should any of the vaccine candidates be successful, Peters said.

Additional funding will be required to purchase Covid-19 vaccines if any of the candidates in the COVAX Facility portfolio are successful, but the exact amount of additional funding is not yet known, he said.

This initial investment is part of the allocation the government announced in August from the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund, he added.

"The agreement will ensure that New Zealand receives enough vaccines to cover up to 50 percent of the population of New Zealand and the Realm, which includes Tokelau, Cook Islands and Niue," said Peters.

"It's important that all countries are able to access sufficient amounts of vaccines to protect their populations and contribute to getting the pandemic under control on a global level," he added.

New Zealand has so far reported a total of 1,815 coronavirus cases, with 25 deaths.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
TRENTON  Someone is trying to save his own hide. Is it John Morelli or Edward Kologi?

In a letter Sunday, the council-appointed attorney defended himself against Mayor Reed Guscioras allegation that the Kologi Simitz law firm violated terms of its contract with the city.

In a bold decision to fire councils attorney Friday, Gusciora blamed Kologi for unilaterally advising legislators on municipal matters without consulting Trentons law director.

Kologi was supposed to operate under the direction of Morelli per the terms of his contract, the mayor said. He also took the lawyer to task for not stepping in when council met illegally in its Sept. 3 executive session with a redeveloper who wanted to buy the historic Roebling Wire Works building.

In an interview, Kologi accused the Gusciora administration of lying about the true reasons he was fired and pledged to fight the decision in court.

Your feeble attempt to lay the blame for this issue on me or my firm is more than disingenuous, and your comments and criticisms in your letter and in the September 20, 2020 Trentonian are untrue and outright defamatory, Kologi wrote to Gusciora.

The contract gives Morelli wide latitude saying the law firm agrees to perform all legal services prescribed in the RFP, and all related matters deemed necessary by the City Attorney, and only at the request of, under the general supervision of, and in accordance with the manner prescribed by the City Attorney.

Regardless of whether the request for services is received by City Council or from an individual City Council member, all assignments must be submitted to the City Attorney for authorization prior to the commencement of services. ALL WORK INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE GIVEN BY THE CITY ATTORNEY.

The Request for Proposal says the firm must be available for consultation on a regular basis and shall deal directly with the Council members or such individuals designees.

Kologi pointed this out in his letter to the mayor.

Unilateral communication and consultation with Council Members is in fact mandated by our Contract. However, you inexplicably opine that it constitutes a contractual violation, he wrote. Additionally, at no time did the Law Department ever provide any direction on this issue which was contravened.

Emails obtained by The Trentonian showed Morelli appeared to first bring the alleged contract violation to Kologis attention Sept. 9.

That was six days after a blowup over councils apparent flouting of the state Sunshine Law in the proposed redevelopment deal.

You are required to get the permission of the City Attorney before undertaking projects, Morelli wrote.

Kologi wrote back that he was flabbergasted the law director was claiming he violated the contract for not getting approval in advance to draft a minor ordinance for councilwoman Robin Vaughn on a foreclosure matter.

The council-appointed attorney told The Trentonian he had developed a working relationship with Morelli in which he often drafted proposed legislation for legislators then sent it to Morrelii for review and approval.

Morelli never made an issue of it before, he said.

Are you kidding me? Since Day 1, when I came here, we have had the authority and weve had the latitude to do all these types of stuff, Kologi said in a phone interview. Now all of a sudden, the rules are changing. I said, Now Im sensing you want to start a paper trail against me.  You cant keep talking out of both sides of your mouth.

Kologi said his contract can be terminated for cause but that doesnt exist in this case, adding the mayor doesnt have legal standing to end the contract without council approval.

Consequently, we do not believe your determination as set forth in your September 17, 2020 letter has any legal force or effect, he wrote.

Kologi said the mayors basis for ending the contract is also flawed.

Your correspondence states that in certain instances, we  unilaterally provided legal advice and direction to the Council that is in contravention of [our] Contract as well as the direction of our Law Department. You do not cite any specific instances, because there are none, he said.

Gusciora pointed to a Superior Court-level case in laying out his basis for firing Kologis firm.

The Robertson Court warned, [h]aving two attorneys doing duplicate work creates the potential for confusion and even stalemate in the event that the advice given by both differs.' the mayor wrote.

Kologi said the case carries little legal weight in New Jersey.

While I am not going to debate the law in this email, suffice to say that your Law Department drafted the Requests for Proposals in such a way as to avoid any of the difficulties suggested by that case, the fired attorney wrote. At no time has there ever been conflicting legal advice given by me and the City Attorney. In fact, we always worked together to reach a consensus on our legal opinions so as to avoid any potential confusion.

Gusciora said Sunday he stood by his reasons for axing Kologi.

He went off on his own path, the mayor said. Well see him in court. I wouldnt if I was him, but thats OK.

Background

Council renewed the firms $84,000 contract in July after Kologi was first brought aboard at the beginning of the year to act as council-appointed attorney because of the governing bodys strained relationship with Morelli.

Some members of the legislative branch distrusted Morellis legal advice.

Even though counseling the mayor and legislators is part of Morellis duties as law director, the administration, seeking to lessen discord at City Hall, agreed to legislators request for special counsel and hired Kologi Simitz in January following a competitive bidding process.

The initial contract for $45,000, approved 6-0 at the Jan. 23 meeting, ran through June 30 of this year.

On July 2, council approved Kologi Simitzs renewal after it was rated the top contender among 12 bidders, records show. The contract runs through June 2021.

Before his sudden dismissal, Kologi said his relationship with Morelli worked extremely well.

He provided The Trentonian an email as recently as Aug. 16 of the law director praising the firms work.

I am going to have a conversation with the mayor tomorrow and see if we can come to a resolution, Morelli wrote. It has nothing to do with you or the work you have done. You are a very able and accomplished attorney. As Im sure that you have seen, the conflicts between the individual council members and the mayor are an almost daily occurrence and you (and I) get caught in the crossfire.

The dynamic with Morelli fundamentally changed after the Sept. 3 meeting, Kologi said.

Thats when the council illegally met with redeveloper John Liu of Elite Spiders LLC in executive session to discuss acquiring the Wire Works building for $200,000.

Liu presented his vision to the governing body to turn the building into a face mask/PPE manufacturing plant. The proposal drew the ire of arts community, which doesnt want the building sold since its home to the annual Art All Night festival.

The mayor slammed Kologi for not advising legislators that they were violating the Open Public Meetings Act by meeting privately with Liu.

It begs the question: how this was allowed to happen in contravention of the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) as well as customary practices of municipal government under the Faulkner Act, Gusciora wrote.

Governing bodies can meet in executive session to discuss contract negotiations among themselves but not with the interested party.

Those who sat in the session, speaking on condition of anonymity, say neither Kologi nor Morelli advised them against going forward with the private meeting.

Morellis Fault?

Kologi said it was Morellis duty to instruct council if he felt the executive session ran afoul of the OPMA.

Morelli has told The Trentonian he did not agree with the councils decision to hold the private session and tried getting more clarity about councils stated exception to OPMA.

The agenda cited two reasons for the executive session: attorney-client privilege to discuss redevelopment; and a discussion regarding the issuance of Rice notices related to the alleged breach of firefighter candidates confidential information, which falls under the personnel exception to OPMA.

The issue arose after a law department memo to then-fire director Derrick Sawyer was inadvertently included in councils agenda packet, Morelli said.

McBride wanted Morelli excluded from the closed-door meeting. The council ultimately voted to allow Morelli into the executive session after he pleaded with members, audio shows.

For the meeting record, what I indicated to council president: First of all, the resolution that was just passed does not exclude the city attorney, Morelli said, according to audio of the meeting. I am by statute and by code required to represent the city council and the mayor, as well as the city, and to exclude me from this meeting is improper and inappropriate, both under the statute and the code.

Morelli offered to have assistant city attorney Peter Cohen sit in the executive session if McBride felt he was conflicted out.

Mr. Morelli, what my preference is that I have the attorney that was selected for the body, which is Mr. Kologi, and the attorney that was selected for the redevelopment, which is Mr. Hoffman. Now I am not clear on why were paying three attorneys to be on staff when we are paying our attorney the sum of $84,000, McBride said at the meeting. I cannot understand why we have a list of attorneys on these calls when we have retained Mr. Kologi. Im just not getting it. We can have that discussion later. But thats where Im with this. I just think thats an overkill and it costs the city money every time you have this amount of attorneys on. Thats my personal opinion.

Morelli fired back.

The argument really should be why we need Mr. Kologi and why do we need Mr. Hoffman when you have the city attorneys office? City attorneys office are here on salary, he said. They dont get paid extra to put in all this extra time. I put in a 16-hour day on Tuesday. All I asked you was, as a courtesy, whether you wanted Mr. Cohen and graciously offered to step aside.

Audio of the public session shows Morelli never advised council it was violating OPMA by entering into closed session to discuss the redevelopment pitch.

City clerk Matthew Conlon told The Trentonian that he did not record the executive session. So The Trentonian cannot independently confirm whether Morelli advised council not to go forward with hearing Lius pitch once he was aware of what the redevelopment discussion centered on.

Kologi said he was never asked to research the legality of the executive session before the discussion with Liu took place, so he deferred to Morelli on that issue.

He made clear in his letter he had nothing to do with putting the executive session on the docket or writing the resolution that allowed council to enter the closed session.

Morelli never shut down the Liu pitch during the closed session, Kologi said.

I am absolutely being made a scapegoat, Kologi said. Why didnt [Morelli] get up and say anything?  Its absolutely ludicrous.

Morelli claimed he tried to shut down the executive session but McBride cut him off.

The council president cut off Morelli about something other than the OPMA issue, Kologi said.

The Trentonian read Kologi case law it cited in its letter to AG Gurbir Grewal asking him to investigate councils apparent OPMA violations.

The Appellate Courts decision in Nevin v. Asbury Park City Council stated, In our view, exception b(7) [of OPMA] does not relate to contract negotiations with the opposing party but only, as plaintiffs contend, to discussions about contract negotiations by the public body.

Kologi wouldnt say whether he agreed with The Trentonians interpretation of the law that appears to implicate Trenton council with an OPMA violation.

I have not read the cases on this issue. The law is the law, he said. If council is going to go into executive session on something like that, it has to fall into a legitimate exception.

Again, Kologi said, as head guy, determining the answer to OPMA questions falls on Morelli.

For him to take an outside firm and try to put the blame on them because they were in the room? Kologi said.

Simmering Tensions

Kologi cited an alternate reason he believes his and Morellis relationship soured, which he alluded to in his letter to Gusciora.

Everything changed when Council began an inquiry into Law Department practices as a result of a breach of privacy matter involving the dissemination of certain private personnel documents, Kologi wrote referring to the firefighter memo. For reasons Mr. Morelli is well aware of, he then embarked on an effort to discredit us.

With all due respect, it would have been prudent for you to have made a comprehensive inquiry into the aforesaid issues before publicly taking us to task for something we had no role in, and for accusing us of deficiencies which are illusory.

A text messages exchange between the dueling attorneys appears to show that Morelli was also upset that Kologi didnt stand up for him when McBride attempted to shun him from the executive session.

You really had my back there, didnt you, Ed, Morelli wrote Sept. 3.

Kologi, who confirmed the texts were genuine, said the text exchange was over McBrides attempt to exclude Morelli over the Rice notice issue, not the OPMA debacle.

John. Im sorry. She wouldnt recognize me to give any opinion, and at the end I tried to raise the issue of who gets the Rice notices but they did a quick adjournment. I should have handled it better.

Kologi went on to tell Morelli, You have been great to me and I am beside myself at not handling this better. I think I was flabbergasted that Conlon gave an opinion as to the conflict issue, and I guess i expected a Council member to jump in and argue why are we going this route.

In any event, if after this is over you believe you should cut us loose, I truly understand. Im on my porch drinking scotch and opining that when I f**k up its a doozy. Regardless of what happens, you will always have my respect and friendship. Please delete this text at some point. EJK.

Kologi denied his f**k up had to do with him not advising council against hearing Lius pitch.

I think Morelli was one of our biggest cheerleader until that September 3 day, Kologi said. The law department doesnt even know all the fires that I put out before they even got to them because this is what we were supposed to do.

For the mayor to assault our competence and accuse us of things that are just factually inaccurate and to portray us the negative way he did  we have been defamed significantly.  I am very upset about it.

Editors Note: The story has been updated to clarify Kologis and Morellis text exchange
Bithumb headquarters in Seoul / Yonhap



By Park Jae-hyuk



Bithumb is facing a lawsuit from a joint venture it established in Thailand in 2018. This would have a negative impact on the leading Korean cryptocurrency exchange operator's recent bid to sell its controlling stake on the local M&A market.



According to Cha & Kwon, Monday, a representative of Bithumb Thailand hired the law firm recently to sue employees and major shareholders of Bithumb Korea and Bithumb Global Holdings for fraud.



"Our client previously joined hands with Bithumb Korea, when it was looking for global partners to expand its presence overseas," lawyer Kwon O-hoon of the law firm said. "However, our client said Bithumb Korea unilaterally stopped its businesses in Thailand. The company has been suspected of using its foreign partners to do other businesses."



In 2017, Bithumb Korea announced it would recruit foreign partners to establish cryptocurrency exchanges in other countries. The establishment of foreign affiliates in the following year was reported by several news outlets and Bithumb hired local employees in Thailand.



However, the opening of an exchange there eventually floundered.



Bithumb Thailand has claimed Bithumb Korea made an empty promise from the beginning, without having any real intention of setting up and running a cryptocurrency exchange in the Southeast Asian country.



Bithumb Korea declined to comment on this issue, saying the lawsuit has yet to be filed.



The company's board chairman Lee Jung-hoon, who is regarded as de facto owner, is also embroiled in separate legal disputes.



He was summoned last week by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency after BXA coin investors accused him of fraud for allegedly not keeping his promise to list the virtual money on the cryptocurrency exchange.



Following the accusation, police have searched Bithumb headquarters multiple times.



In addition, the chairman's considerable stake in Bithumb has been put under provisional attachment since last week because the Seoul Central District Court accepted a request from BK Group Chairman Kim Byung-gun, who has been in a dispute with Lee since his previous attempt to take over Bithumb ended in failure.



Industry insiders expect a series of legal battles will make it difficult for Bithumb to sell its stake.



Bithumb's previous leak of customer data and its questionable sustainability are cited as additional factors causing difficulties for its attempt.



According to industry sources, Bithumb, which hired Samjong KPMG as the underwriter, shortlisted potential buyers recently.



The company was initially expected to go public when it was reported that it hired Samsung Securities as the lead underwriter for its initial public offering. However, a source said the company has changed its plan due to private equity firms and venture capital firms showing interest in the takeover.



In 2018, Bithumb Korea posted 391.6 billion won ($337 million) in sales and 265.1 billion won in operating profit, and suffered a 205.7 billion won net loss. Although its sales and operating profit declined to 144.6 billion won and 67.7 billion won, respectively, in the following year, the company turned a profit by reposting 37.2 billion won in net income.


China hasnt named anyone yet, but there are plenty of possible targets. HSBC Holdings Plc could make the list because of its participation in the U.S. investigation of Huawei. FedEx Corp. has been under scrutiny after China accused it of mis-routing some parcels sent by Huawei. Chinese state media has raised the specter of backlash against U.S. companies including General Dynamics Corp. and Honeywell International Inc. in connection with a proposed $2 billion U.S. arms sale to Taiwan. China also vowed retaliation against U.S. companies participating in a proposed $8 billion U.S. sale of Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan. China also has pledged to retaliate against Trumps sanctions related to human rights violations.
Senior official Liz Canavan warned that people have to double their efforts to halt the spread of the virus. (Brian Lawless/PA)

THE Government has raised concern about the spread of Covid-19 in eight counties other than Dublin which is currently under enhanced restrictions.

Donegal, Leitrim, Limerick, Louth, Kildare, Offaly, Waterford and Wicklow were all highlighted by senior official Liz Canavan as she warned that people have to double their efforts to halt the spread of the virus.

Ms Canavan said the situation nationally is a "cause for concern" but zoned in on eight counties as she outlined rising rates of the disease.

She said that Dublin was moved to Level 3 of the Government's 'Living with Covid' plan last week due to the deteriorating situation there and fears cases could rise to 1,000 new infections a day in a month's time with 50pc to 60pc in the capital.

Ms Canavan, an Assistant Secretary General in the Taoiseach's Department, said the Government had to be decisive in imposing increased restrictions on Dublin.

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She said while the impact on people and businesses is appreciated, the decision would not have been taken by the public health authorities and Government "if they did not truly believe they are necessary now to try to stop the spread of the disease" and to protect people and the wider economy.

The situation in Dublin where there's increased restrictions on social gatherings and businesses like pubs and restaurants will stay in place for three weeks and be reviewed on October 9.

She said that elsewhere there are "concerning trends" of instances of the virus in all but six counties in the rest of the country which is at Level 2 in the Government's plan.

Ms Canavan raised particular concern over rates in seven counties but also said there are "worrying trends in most areas".

She said Co Louth has seen 120 cases in the last two weeks, compared to 18 in the previous two week period with 102 Donegal over the same period compared to 18 in the previous fortnight.

In Wicklow cases have jumped from 19 to 99 in recent weeks.

She said the Government wants the country to stay in Level 2 or improve to Level 1, adding: "We don't want to go the other way".

"To keep all of the businesses we care about open, we must all work together to stop the spread of the virus.

"That means meeting fewer people inside your home, limiting the number of people you meet outside your home as much as possible, avoiding crowds, prioritizing the people you need to see, keeping groups small and seeing them regularly, rather than meeting lots of different people from lots of different households."

She advised people to keep their distance, wear face coverings where appropriate and wash hands.

"We all know the core messages and it's time to double our efforts to stay safe.

"Every individual action we take to interrupt the transmission of this disease, keeps ourselves on our families safe," she said.
Abuja, Monday, September 21, 2020: The most transparent public institutions in Nigeria over the last one year as well as the least open and responsive will be unveiled on September 28 at the second edition of the National Freedom of Information (FOI) Ranking scheduled to take place in Abuja as part of activities to commemorate the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI).

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), who also has oversight over all public institutions in Nigeria in the implementation of the FOI Act, is expected to be Special Guest of Honour at the event, which is co-organised by six civil society organisations, namely Basic Rights Watch (BRW), BudgIT, International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), and Right to Know (R2K).

PPDCs Chief Executive Officer and Incoming Co-Chair of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Nigeria, Mrs. Nkemdilim Ilo, explained that the FOI Ranking initiative is aimed at promoting the effective implementation of the FOI Act in order to entrench a culture of transparency and accountability in public institutions in the country.

She said: The annual FOI Ranking assesses the level of compliance by public institutions with the FOI Act in terms of how responsive they are to requests for information from members of the public as well as the extent to which they are fulfilling their duties under the Act, including their proactive disclosure obligations. The objective of the ranking exercise is to encourage and motivate public institutions across various sectors to improve their compliance practices by showcasing the institutions compliance levels for each year in accordance with the requirements of the Act.

Mrs. Ilo explained that a total of 213 public institutions, including some from the security sector, the Legislature and the Judiciary, were assessed based on a number of parameters which include their proactive disclosure practices, the speed with which they respond to requests for information, the level of disclosure, the provision of FOI training for their officials; whether they have designated and proactively published the contact details of their FOI Desk Officers as well as their submission and disclosure of annual FOI implementation reports.

Besides Justice Minister Malami, other speakers expected at this years ranking include the Chairman of the House or Representatives Committee on FOI, Hon. Prince Cornelius N. Nnaji; and Mr. Edetaen Ojo, MRAs Executive Director.

The 2020 edition of the International Day for Universal Access to Information will be the first international commemoration of the Day since its proclamation by the UN General Assembly at its 74th Session in New York last October. UN General Assembly in recognition of the significant role access to information plays in the development of a country. Prior to the proclamation, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had also adopted a resolution in November 2015 designating September 28 of every year as IDUAI.

For further information, please contact:

Nnenna Eze

Communications Officer, PPDC

[email protected]

Idowu Adewale

Communications Officer, MRA

[email protected]

Gambo Ndazhaga Tukura

Communication Officer, BRW

[email protected]

Iyanu Fatoba

Communications Associate, BudgIT

[email protected]

Victoria Etim

Programs Officer R2K, Nigeria

[email protected]

Abeeb Alawiye

Social Media Officer

[email protected]


Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, addresses the 12th Straits Forum held in the port city of Xiamen in southeast China's Fujian Province via video link on Sept. 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

XIAMEN, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang addressed the 12th Straits Forum held in the port city of Xiamen in Fujian Province via video link on Sunday.

Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, congratulated the forum on its opening despite COVID-19 and some obstruction from Taiwan.

The opening of the forum and the large number of participants from Taiwan have fully demonstrated that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have a sincere and strong desire for communication, and no force can stop it, Wang said.

The development of cross-Strait relations over the past few decades shows that both sides benefit from exchanges but are hurt by isolation, he said.

He added that some forces from Taiwan are trying to impede communication and cooperation across the Strait, which will bring nothing but harm to Taiwan.

"Taiwan independence," a path to nowhere, will only bring unbearable risks to Taiwan, said Wang. "We will not tolerate any damage to China's sovereignty, security, and development interests."

The mainland promotes the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations on the basis of the 1992 Consensus and will further improve the institutional arrangements, policies and measures to benefit Taiwan compatriots, said Wang.

Wang expressed the hope that people from both sides of the Strait can jointly shoulder the historical responsibilities of national reunification and advance the great cause of national rejuvenation.
CEDAR FALLS -- The COVID-19 pandemic made schools seek innovative ways for students to be safe when they returned to school this fall.

Earlier this summer Cedar Falls School District STEM Coordinator Kenton Swartley committed to having the schools robotics team that he leads, design and manufacture 46 polycarbonate divider panels for elementary school classrooms. In late August an additional 200 pieces were ordered to be delivered by the end of August. The substantial increase created a challenge for the group to meet that deadline and needed help to meet that demand.

The original design for the base supports for the dividers was being fabricated using 3-D printers with plastic filament would take nine days to complete. When the volume quadrupled the project then was handed to the CF CAPS Robotics & Engineering team to meet the four-day deadline.

CF CAPS R&E, a profession-based learning program that focuses on the development of skills and interest in STEM careers, discovered that it would take approximately two to three weeks to meet the Aug. 31 deadline using the additive manufacturing method.

The team knew that time frame did not fit what the school district was needing. CAPS Associates Savoy Hiesterman and Brody Bruns approached Kevin Harberts, president/CEO of Kryton Engineered Metals, on how his company could partner with CAPS on the project to support the local elementary schools. Kryton Engineered Metals is the host site for CAPS R&E at their facility in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park.

For our production team to get these on the line to meet their short deadline was a challenge as it meant interrupting the work we are doing for our customers, said Harberts. That was a real-life aspect of manufacturing that was great to teach these associates about that they hadnt necessarily thought about.

Harberts connected the student associates with Kyrton engineers Zach Berg to assist in moving the project forward. Berg worked with the CAPS team to redesign the part using aluminum and fabricated using the companys laser cutter and metal brake to bend the aluminum to fit the new design for the dividers. Kryton was able to produce 420 finished pieces the next day, while the CAPS team focused on finishing the polycarbonate sheets.

This was an amazing project for our associates to take on, especially during the first week of school, said CAPS Director Ethan Wiechmann. Kryton has been such an amazing partner of CAPS since we began in 2017. Without continued outreach to the community through CAPS, the relationship and understanding of what high school students can accomplish would not have been at the level needed without Krytons team to move such a project forward so quickly. Due to the commitment by our associates and partners like Kevin and Kryton, they were able to provide the materials needed for safer interactions for our elementary students in Cedar Falls.

With the demand Harberts and his team saw in the development of the dividers, they have challenged the CAPS associates to develop a business concept that could help the company serve a larger market beyond Cedar Falls to provide this type of in-demand product during the pandemic.

I really cannot say enough good things about Kenton and CAPS, said Harberts. They were awesome to work with and hopefully a few of them are more excited about careers in manufacturing than when they started the program a couple of weeks ago.

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When Franklin announced the indictment last week, he gave an overview of new evidence, including messages on Gardners phone and video from inside his bar.

Since charges were filed, we expected those details to emerge in court. Now that Gardner has committed suicide, we are pressing for the grand jury report Franklin had promised if no charges were brought. We believe the city needs that transparency.

Moving toward equal treatment for people of color is an important, ongoing battle supported at least in words this summer by Omaha police, the mayor, business leaders and others.

Suicide by our nations veterans, of whom Gardner was one, is a crisis we also must address.

We cannot do these things if we get sucked in by Twitter influencers who benefit from encouraging people to scream and threaten.

James Scurlock and Jake Gardner carried the experiences of their very different lives onto Harney Street on the chaotic night of May 30 and got into a fight. Video shows that much without dispute. Gardner brought a gun that he fired three times, and the judicial system was set to determine if his actions were criminal. That also is an indisputable fact.
Jerry Harris, the breakout star of the Emmy-winning Netflix series Cheer who was arrested last week and charged with producing child pornography, will remain in custody, a court decided on Monday. His lawyer waived both his detention and preliminary hearings at a 10-minute hearing in a federal court in Chicago.

Mr. Harris, who dialed into the hearing by phone, was represented by three lawyers, who appeared in person in the courtroom. His lead lawyer, Todd Pugh, asked the judge to postpone a decision about whether Mr. Harris will be released on bond, saying he did not yet have a plan for where Mr. Harris could stay if he were released.

The judge, Sunil R. Harjani, asked Mr. Harris if he understood that his lawyer was waiving his right and that he would be in custody until a plan is in place, at which time he could ask the court to consider releasing him on bond.

Mr. Harris said he understood.

Judge Harjani ordered that Mr. Harris remain in custody in Chicago until a next hearing, which had not been scheduled.
President Trump has given his 'blessing' to a deal which will allow Chinese social media app TikTok to continue operating in the US.

In a major U-turn, Trump said he was willing to approve a partnership between TikTok and US tech giant Oracle.

Change of heart: In a major U-turn, President Trump said he was willing to approve a partnership between TikTok and US tech giant Oracle

It followed Friday's announcement by the US Department of Commerce that the video-sharing platform would be banned in the US from Saturday.

But before the midnight deadline, Trump said he had 'approved the deal in concept', adding, 'I have given [it] my blessing.'
Large discrepancies in payments disclosed by patient groups and major drug companies are highlighted in a new report published today - Sunday 20 September 2020.

The research, which appears in BMJ Open from an international research collaboration led by University of Bath academic Dr Piotr Ozieranski, analysed the disclosure of payments made by drug companies and patient organisations covering a period from 2012  2016. The research is covered exclusively in The Sunday Times.

It covers a large sample of 425 patient groups registered as charities in the UK, campaigning on issues ranging from disease awareness, research into new treatments, to patient support; and a sample of 87 drugs companies signed up to the Code of Practice of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).

By comparing and contrasting drugs companies own reporting of payments made, against how much patient groups claimed they had received, the study reveals large discrepancies between the two. In total, it found drugs companies disclosed 3235 payments worth over 54 million. By comparison, patient organisations, disclosed just 772 payments worth over 33 million - a shortfall of over 21 million.

Although 63 drug companies reported payments, 84 were mentioned by patient organisations. In addition, drug companies disclosed payments to 425 patient organisations, yet only 200  less than half - reported receiving such funds.

Reaching these conclusions required the research team to spend hundreds of hours trawling through 220 disclosure reports published by drug companies, as well as 1,428 annual financial accounts published by patient organisations.

Their analysis raises important questions about transparency in patient organisation finances, which the team say requires swift policy action. They say this should focus on creating a single state-run, permanent database which would integrate payments reported by both drug companies and patient organisations in order to eliminate any underreporting and provide full clarity about funding sources.

Dr Ozieranski from the Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy at the University of Bath explains: "Whilst aspects of this report might appear technical, these are transparency issues which affect us all given how much patient organisations can influence and shape decisions about how diseases should be treated, including new drugs that can have huge cost implications for the NHS.

Patient organisations play an important role and we expect them to be their true, authentic voice. This is why their members, policymakers, individual and institutional donors, as well as the broader public, need to know about who funds them as funding relationships can create potential conflicts of interest. The same applies to any expert voices in public debates.

Marcell Csanadi, a study co-author from Syreon Research Institute in Hungary, noted: In the current economic climate, it is unavoidable that patient organisations accept drug company funding. But especially in this context, transparency is a powerful way of reassuring everyone that the receipt of industry support is managed carefully. This is important because perceived conflicts of interests may be just as important as the real ones.

In their conclusions, the authors suggest that careful disclosure of funding information represents good governance and the general ability of patient organisations to report their finances transparently. It also best demonstrates that a drug company and patient organisation is serious about potential conflicts of interest.

As an interim step towards a state-run unified system, the researchers suggest the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (the trade group representing drug companies in the UK) could create a single database of payments which companies following its Code of Practice make to patient organisations. This solution would be much more user-friendly than allowing individual companies to publish payment reports on their websites, they say, and a similar, industry-run, centralised disclosure database of payments to patient organisations is already in operation in Sweden.

Finally, the team suggest charity regulators could introduce tailored solutions related to reporting corporate funding in annual accounts. This could include a simple template which might comprise a short payment description, its value, and donor name in order to help standardise the process. Patient organisation websites should report this information separately or include clear signposting to the annual accounts, they also argue.

This study was funded by a grant from the Swedish Research Council for Health and Working Life, and Welfare (FORTE).

The full research team involved: Dr Piotr Ozieranski and Emily Rickard from the University of Bath, Marcell Csanadi from the Syreon Research Institute in Hungary and Dr Shai Mulinari from Lund University in Sweden.

Notes

To cite: Ozieranski P, Csanadi M, Rickard E, et al. Under-reported relationship: a comparative study of pharmaceutical industry and patient organisation payment disclosures in the UK (20122016). BMJ Open 2020;0:e037351. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037351
Betty Jones voted for President Donald Trump in 2016, but the lifelong Republican has her doubts she will do it again this year.

The federal response to the coronavirus pandemic that has killed about 200,000 Americans and forced older adults to restrict their activities has her contemplating a leadership change.

It "makes me unsure," said Jones, 78, of Largo, in Pinellas County, Florida. Before COVID-19, she said, she would have definitely voted for Trump.

Polls show that many people will have the pandemic and its public health and economic consequences on their minds when they cast their votes  whether by mail or in person  this fall. Early in-person voting starts Oct. 19 in most Florida counties, including Pinellas.

Even if the issue leads a tiny proportion of them to change their choice for president, it could have huge consequences in battleground states like Florida, which Trump carried in 2016 by about 1 percentage point.

Within the Sunshine State, few places loom as large in the race for the White House as here in Pinellas County, the largest swing county in the ultimate swing state.

Pinellas, with nearly 1 million residents, has been a political bellwether in recent years, having voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election since 1980  except for the disputed race between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000.

This county just east of Tampa known for its sugar-white beaches is nearly evenly split between the major parties, with 251,000 registered Democrats and 245,000 registered Republicans. An additional 200,000 voters registered as independents.

The city of St. Petersburg, in the southern part of the county, is a Democratic stronghold, while the northern half of the county is more Republican. The county is largely a white suburban area, with a large, older middle-class electorate.

President Barack Obama twice won Pinellas  and Florida  but Trump outpaced Hillary Clinton here by 5,500 votes out of the nearly 500,000 cast.

Democrats are hoping Pinellas will help tip the statewide balance to former Vice President Joe Biden this fall  and they expect a boost from residents spooked by the pandemic. The county has been hit hard by COVID-19 with more than 20,000 cases, 2,000 hospitalizations and 700 deaths. It has the highest COVID-19 death rate of the state's most populous counties.

Older voters have been deeply affected by the coronavirus since they face a high risk of serious complications and have had to curtail their lives dramatically to avoid the virus. Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist in Tallahassee, said those factors should help Biden do well with this key voting group. About 1 in 4 Pinellas voters are 65 or older.

"There is no world where we win Florida without Pinellas," Schale said. "If we win there by a few points, it's a harbinger of good things."

A tiny shift in voter preferences could have major implications, he added.

"We are talking like 4% to 5% of the electorate in Florida is truly up for grabs, but in a state where the vote was decided by 1%, that is a huge chunk of the electorate," Schale said.

While about one-third of Florida voters said the economy was their leading issue in the presidential campaign, Democrats were seven times more likely than Republicans to cite the coronavirus outbreak as their top issue, according to a KFF and Cook Political Report survey of three Sun Belt states released Thursday. Nearly a third of Democrats said the pandemic is their most important issue, while just 4% of Republicans and 17% of independents chose the coronavirus outbreak.

The poll of 1,009 Florida voters was conducted Aug. 29 to Sept. 13. The margin of error for Florida results is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The survey found Biden and Trump virtually tied in Florida with 11% undecided.

National surveys show the pandemic  and its impact on the U.S. economy  are key issues for voters.

A Pew Research Center poll in August found that 62% of voters overall say the outbreak will be a very important factor in their decision about whom to support in the fall. For Trump supporters, however, the economy (88%) and violent crime (74%) are the most salient issues.

By contrast, the largest shares of Biden supporters view health care (84%) and the coronavirus outbreak (82%) as very important. According to an August Georgetown University poll of Florida and other battleground states, 38% of respondents said they approve of how Trump is handling COVID-19, while 60% said they disapprove.

John Andrew Barnes, 33, of Largo, said he knew he liked Biden before the pandemic, but the Trump administration's response to COVID-19 reinforced his decision. Trump's "blatant distrust" of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other experts and what Barnes viewed as a lack of national response left him unsatisfied, he said.

Yet, among Republicans, the president's decisions on coronavirus policies have played well and some are nervous that Biden's efforts to curb the virus might undercut the economy even more.

Ricard Gregorie, 54, of Largo, said the federal government's response to the pandemic has "absolutely been incredible." For Gregorie, the quick distribution of ventilators and maintaining an open economy were decisions that reaffirmed his support for Trump. "We can't ask for miracles," he said.

Carl Joyner, 35, a firefighter who lives in St. Petersburg, said COVID-19 has not affected his support for Trump. He opposes anyone who wants to force him to wear a mask. He backs Trump's position to quickly open businesses and schools.

"People are living paycheck to paycheck here and the hospitality industry here really got lambasted," he said.

Anthony Pedicini, a GOP political consultant based in Tampa, said the pandemic may not have a big influence because most voters were locked in on their choice for president before the pandemic hit. "If you didn't like the president before the pandemic you don't like him after," Pedicini said. "But if you liked him before you still will."

That's also what more than a dozen Pinellas voters said in interviews in shopping centers over the past month.

Pinellas has a large working-class community that is trending Republican, Pedicini said. It's a county in transition with many elders aging out and a younger, more diverse population moving in.

Most political experts say that even in swing counties fewer than 10% of voters switch their party support from election to election. As a result, victory likely depends on who can turn out his base of voters.

In Florida, Hispanic as well as Black turnout declined markedly in 2016, from 59% in 2012 to 52%, according to the nonpartisan Brookings Institution.

Given Trump's poor approval ratings, the upheaval in the economy and polls showing voters' disdain of the federal response to the pandemic, there is just no way you would expect the president to win reelection, said Stephen Craig, a political science professor at the University of Florida. "If history holds, Joe Biden will be president. But Trump is a candidate who breaks all the rules."
Watch: Botswana elephant deaths 'caused by toxins'. VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC MATERIAL

The deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana, which had left conservationists baffled earlier this summer, have been blamed on a neuroxin produced by bacteria.

Officials in the area said that cyanobacteria was behind the 300 deaths.

Cyanobacteria occur commonly in water, but those that produce toxins are becoming more common due to climate change, officials said.

Read more: Nature crisis - new global extinction target agreed

Hundreds of elephants were found dead in Botswana in May and June. (Reuters)

Elephant carcasses were spotted in Botswanas Okavango delta in May and June. The country is home to up to a third of Africas declining elephant population.

Cyril Taolo, deputy director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told a news conference the number of elephant carcasses found since deaths were first reported around early May had risen to 330, from 281 in July.

He said: What we just know at this point is that its a toxin caused by cyanobacteria.

Taolo said that the specific type of neurotoxin had yet to be established and that, for now, there was no evidence to suggest that Botswanas wildlife was still under threat as the deaths appear to have ceased.

Elephants were found dead in the Okavango Delta earlier in the summer. (Getty)

Other animals in the Okavango Panhandle region appeared unharmed.

Mmadi Reuben, the departments principal veterinary officer, told the same news conference that questions remained as to why only elephants had been affected.

Read more: Melting snow in Himalayas drives growth of green sea slime visible from space

Some cyanobacterial blooms can harm people and animals, and scientists are concerned about their potential impact as climate change leads to warmer water temperatures, which many cyanobacteria prefer.

It amounts to having the right conditions, in the right time, in the right place and these species will proliferate, said Patricia Glibert, a professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science who has studied cyanobacteria, told Reuters.

Story continues

These conditions are coming together more often, in more places, so we are seeing more of these toxic blooms around the world.

Read more: Why economists worry that reversing climate change is hopeless

In neighbouring Zimbabwe, about 25 elephant carcasses were found near the countrys biggest game park and authorities suspect they succumbed to a bacterial infection.

The animals were found with tusks intact, ruling out poaching and deliberate poisoning.

Parks authorities believe the elephants could have ingested the bacteria while searching for food. The carcasses were found near water sources.

We considered the possibility of cyanobacteria but we have no evidence that this is the case here (in Zimbabwe), said Chris Foggin, a veterinarian at the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, which tested samples from dead elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Watch: Chester Zoo welcomes birth of endangered chimpanzee
Grahams words couldnt be clearer, nor could those of Sen. Chuck Grassley, former chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who blocked Garland. Just last month, Grassley said that he couldnt move forward with a Trump nominee this year because of the 2016 standard. If Republicans force a justice on us, its because they believe that standards are for suckers, and people who hold power need not be constrained by any pledge or institutional tradition.
House Democrats rough draft of a government funding bill shamefully leaves out key relief and support that American farmers need, said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader. This is no time to add insult to injury and defund help for farmers and rural America.

The White House, backed by congressional Republicans, has sought the agriculture funding to ensure that farmers will continue receiving payments even as the Commodity Credit Corporation program nears its borrowing limit. But Democrats have long been concerned that Mr. Trump is leveraging that aid to curry favor with an influential voting bloc in states that are crucial to his re-election.

The president has reinforced those fears in recent days, announcing last week during a campaign rally in Wisconsin that he would deliver $14 billion from the program for more payments to farmers. A nonpartisan watchdog agency this month found in an assessment of the $14.5 billion in payments that were made last year through the program that big farms and Southern states, a key part of Mr. Trumps political base, disproportionately benefited from the program.

Three people, including two Republican aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose the details of private negotiations, said that Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California on Friday reneged on an agreement that she had made with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that would have included $30 billion for the agricultural loan program, in exchange for about $2 billion the speaker demanded for food assistance for children. A Democratic aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that while the idea had been raised as a possible way to resolve an impasse, Ms. Pelosi had never agreed to it.

Republicans on Monday appeared to be weighing how to proceed, given the proximity of the funding deadline. Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he planned to talk to the leader about it, and well go from there.
Monica Lewinsky has tweeted that she is 'more scared of our government now' than she was in 1998 - the year her affair with Bill Clinton came to light, and his impeachment proceedings begun.

Lewinsky found herself attacked from all sides, and, aged 22, was at the center of a worldwide scandal.

Her timeline on Monday showed the 47-year-old growing increasingly concerned in the days following Friday's announcement of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death.

A battle has now begun over the replacement of Ginsburg, a trailblazing Supreme Court justice who was decisive in enacting womens' and minority rights.

Democrats want any decision over her replacement to be made after November's election, while Donald Trump seeks to replace her with a conservative judge, immediately.

Monica Lewinsky, pictured in October, tweeted on Monday that she was 'scared'

Lewinsky's tweet went viral and was 'liked' 187,000 times by her followers

On Monday morning she tweeted: 'just realized i am more scared of our government now than i was in 1998. and that's saying a lot. A. LOT.'

Lewinsky's previous tweets explained her agitation.

On Sunday she tweeted: 'i would love to know what the other justices  some of whom knew justice ginsburg for decades think should be done with her dying wish? and what would they want if the president in office were of a different political party?'

On Saturday she asked: 'ok, smart legal twitter... can #MerrickGarland sue for 'hiring discrimination' if/when they try to fill the seat?'

Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton pictured around the time of their 1995-97 affair

Hillary Clinton looks on as her husband, then the president, speaks during his impeachment

Garland was Barack Obama's choice to fill an empty Supreme Court seat, after Antonin Scalia died in February 2016.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican serving as leader of the Senate, blocked Garland's appointment, and declared any appointment by the sitting president to be null and void. He said the next Supreme Court justice should be chosen by the next president  to be elected later that year.

Ginsburg's dying wish, dictated to her granddaughter Clara Spera and first reported by NPR, underscored the battle she knew was coming.

'My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,' she said.

Lewinsky's Twitter timeline showed her growing increasingly concerned

The 47-year-old Californian posed questions about Ginsburg's replacement
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 03:52:19|Editor: huaxia

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An Iranian flag is pictured at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Jan. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

The Trump administration's latest sanctions against Iran came after the overwhelming majority of Security Council members asserted that the United States has no right to invoke the "snapback" mechanism as it has withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Monday announced fresh sanctions and measures against entities and individuals related to Iranian nuclear and conventional weapons programs, a move to support its self-claimed UN snapback sanctions widely ignored by the international community.

President Donald Trump said that he had issued an executive order to impose sanctions and export controls on more than two dozen entities and individuals "that support Iran's nuclear, missile, and conventional arms-related activities."

"The Executive Order I am issuing today blocks the property, and interests in property, in the United States of those who contribute to the supply, sale, or transfer of conventional arms to or from Iran, as well as those who provide technical training, financial support and services, and other assistance related to these arms," Trump said in a White House statement.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, standing with other senior U.S. officials in a press conference, said that the United States had also designated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for his alleged ties with Tehran on conventional arms-related activities.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before leaving the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, Iran's Defense Industries Organization and its director, as well as individuals and entities associated with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, are also on the sanction list.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Monday dismissed U.S. sanctions as "nothing new," U.S. media reported.

"The United States has exerted all the pressure it could on Iran. It had hoped that these sanctions will bring our population to their knees. It didn't," Zarif said during a think tank event.

This latest move came shortly after the Trump administration's Saturday claim that all pre-2015 UN sanctions against Iran had been restored according to the "snapback" mechanism under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The United States unilaterally invoked the "snapback" on Aug. 20 after its failed and isolated attempt in the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo against Tehran that expires next month.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during the international conference on "Unilateralism and International Law" in Tehran, Iran, Oct. 21, 2019. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)

The overwhelming majority of Security Council members, however, asserted that the United States has no right to invoke the "snapback" mechanism as the country is no longer a participant following its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, on Sunday wrote a letter to the president of the Security Council and UN secretary-general, expressing opposition to the U.S. unilateral announcement on the return of the UN sanctions on Iran on Saturday.

In his letter, Zhang said that the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, and is no longer a JCPOA participant. Therefore, it is illegitimate for the United States to demand the Security Council invoke the snapback mechanism.

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell denied on Sunday the unilateral announcement made by the United States to resume UN sanctions on Iran.

Borrell said the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and therefore "cannot initiate the process of reinstating UN sanctions under the UN Security Council resolution 2231."

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday that to claim that UN sanctions against Iran have been restored is "wishful thinking," urging the U.S. side to "have the courage to finally face the truth and stop speaking on behalf of the UN Security Council." 
In October 2011, Vietnam and Germany officially upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership, creating a new impulse to promote substantive cooperation between the two sides. German Ambassador to Vietnam Guido Hildner affirmed that Vietnam is an important strategic partner of Germany. Mutual trust and understanding have been enhanced through the maintenance of high-level delegation exchanges and cooperation mechanisms, which is a solid foundation for the two countries to successfully implement many important areas of cooperation.

Vietnam-Germany economic relations have achieved many impressive results in recent years. Germany is Vietnams largest trading partner in Europe, representing nearly 20% of Vietnams exports to the European Union (EU), and is also an important transit gateway for Vietnamese goods to the market. Two-way trade turnover reached more than US$10.24 billion in 2019, with Vietnam enjoying a trade surplus. Germany is a big market, consuming many Vietnamese products, including telephones, computer parts, footwear, coffee and farm produce. For Germany, Vietnam is a potentially fast growing market in Asia. As of May 2020, Germany has 361 valid projects in the country with a total registered capital of US$2.06 billion, ranking fourth among EU countries and 18th out of the 132 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

Germany is one of Vietnams most important partners in vocational training. The country has assisted the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in developing a national vocational training strategy, drafting the Law on Vocational Training, as well as opening vocational training schools according to Germanys parallel vocational training model. In terms of development cooperation, Germany has provided more than US$2 billion for ODA projects in Vietnam since 1990 through technical and financial cooperation, with technical cooperation projects implemented in the form of nonrefundable aid.

In addition, bilateral collaboration in culture and education-training has been growing consistently. Over recent years, cultural and artistic exchanges between the two countries have taken place in a vibrant fashion. Germany has supported Vietnam in implementing a number of projects on conservation and restoration of cultural heritages in the ancient capital of Hue, as well as in archaeological research. With regards to education-training, there are about 300 Vietnamese postgraduates receiving research scholarships in Germany, and more than 7,000 Vietnamese students are studying at German universities. Moreover, since 1993, through the German World University Service (WUS), the Hessian State Ministry for Science and the Arts has granted 150 scholarships annually to students with excellent academic results at some colleges and universities in Vietnam.

2020 marks a crucial milestone for both Vietnam and Germany as they hold important positions at multilateral forums. Ambassador Guido Hildner emphasised that the two countries serving as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term, Vietnam holding the ASEAN Chairmanship 2020 and Germany assuming the rotating EU presidency in the latter half of the year have created favorable conditions for the two countries to expand and deepen bilateral cooperation.

The diplomat affirmed that Germany and Vietnam have become cohesive on the basis of their long-standing friendship and close partnership. The 45-year journey is a clear testament to that sound relationship. Based on the established foundations and with the determination and relentless efforts of the two countries leaders and peoples, Vietnam-Germany friendly relations and cooperation promise to grow further and attain greater achievements in the near future.
Four out of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have bilaterally expressed official affirmations of support for Indias candidature to a permanent seat in an expanded UNSC, said the Centre on Monday. In reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said India has accorded the "highest priority" to getting permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council (UNSC).

"Four out of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council have bilaterally expressed official affirmations of support for India's candidature to a permanent seat in an expanded UNSC," he said. Muraleedharan, however, did not name the countries.

"In the joint statement issued on the occasion of the visit of the Indian Prime Minister to China in May 2015, it is stated that 'China attaches great importance to India's status in international affairs as a large developing country, and understands and supports India's aspiration to play a greater role in the UN including in the Security Council," he said.

At present, the UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent member countries which are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly of the UN. The five permanent members are Russia, the UK, China, France and the United States and these countries can veto any substantive resolution. There has been growing demand to increase the number of permanent members to reflect the contemporary global reality.

India, Brazil, South Africa, Germany and Japan are strong contenders for permanent membership of the UNSC which has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The process of UNSC reforms is being presently discussed under the intergovernmental negotiation framework of the UN General Assembly.

Last week, the grouping of India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) expressed "frustration" over the "slow" pace of progress on reform of the UN Security Council and said the time has come to move towards a result-oriented process to expand the key global body.

Replying to a separate question on the Chabahar port, Muraleedharan said it has handled over 53,000 tons of India's wheat bound for Afghanistan since the beginning of the current fiscal.

"The Indian company, India Ports Global Limited, has taken over port operations in December 2018 and has since handled 12 lakh tons of bulk cargo and about 8200 containers," he said. "In the recent past, there has been a rise in transit cargo for Afghanistan through Chabahar. India's assistance of 75,000 tons of wheat to Afghanistan, of which eight consignments have already been shipped, is being supplied via Chabahar," he added.

The Chabahar port is located on the Indian Ocean in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan province. It is being jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan and is considered a gateway to opportunities for trade by the three countries with central Asian nations.

On the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, the minister said the two sides remain engaged on it. "India and Iran continue to cooperate on developmental projects in Iran, including the Chabahar-Zahedan railway line," Muraleedharan said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday inaugurated a 72-seat regular flight service from Jagdalpur to Raipur and Hyderabad from his residence office via video conference.

Ministers, MPs, Parliamentary Secretary, MLAs, and public representatives of the Bastar region along with senior administration officials also attended the inaugural programme virtually.

In his address, Baghel said with the inauguration of air services from Jagdalpur, we have unleashed major opportunities and possibilities for the development of the Bastar division.

He mentioned in detail about various efforts made to connect Bastar through air services and said that the government has been making consistent efforts to benefit the people of Bastar with air travel services.

Our government successfully received permission for flight services from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), New Delhi on March 2, 2020, as a result of which Alliance Air Bastar (An associate company of Air India) has started flight services from Jagdalpur today, Baghel said.

He said it would take only one hour to reach from Bastar to Raipur and Hyderabad via a flight. And from Hyderabad, one can travel to any place in the world. Presently, it takes six hours to reach from Bastar to Raipur by road and nearly 12 hours to reach Hyderabad by road. Now in case of medical emergencies, people of Bastar will be able to reach Raipur, Vishakhapatnam, or Hyderabad via flight within an hour.

Flight services will also promote Bastar Tourism, attracting tourists from across the world, he added. Commencement of air services will also help in the development of the banking and telecom sector in Bastar.

He said flight services would also unleash employment opportunities in Jagdalpur. It will lead to extensive growth and expansion in employment-oriented sectors such as business, education, medical science, tourism. In the same sequence, Amcho Bastar Canteen is being opened at the airport terminal. Naxal-affected families would run this canteen.

Meanwhile, Union Aviation Minister for State Hardeep Singh Puri said in his message that the commencement of air travel services will promote tourism and development in Jagdalpur, Bastar.

Bastar art and culture has its unique identity, he Puri said.

He gave detailed information about the action plan for expansion of Raipur airport, and efforts being made to develop Jagdalpur and Ambikapur airport under Udaan Yojana. He congratulated the people of Bastar and Chhattisgarh, on behalf of Airport Authority, Air Indias associate company Alliance Air, State Government.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text)

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Russian-occupation forces have violated the ceasefire agreements near the towns of Marinka and Vodiane in Donbas, according to Ukraines Defense Ministry spokesperson Yulia Pampukha.

As of 12:00 on September 21, two violations of the ceasefire by the armed formations of the Russian Federation were recorded on the line of contact. No casualties among our defenders were reported, Pampukha said at a briefing on Monday, September 21, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

In particular, near Marinka (23km south-west of Donetsk), the enemy opened fire from small arms and fired three shots from grenade launchers adapted for placing POM mines. Later, the enemy fired small arms in the area of Vodiane (94km south of Donetsk).

The shots were provocative, so Ukrainian servicepersons did not fire back, Pampukha added.

On September 20, the armed formations of the Russian Federation fired small arms near Novooleksandrivka (65km west of Luhansk). The shots were provocative and did not pose a threat to the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, so they did not fire back.

ish
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Driving the 1.0L Turbo-Petrol MT

Turbo GDI engine gets a host of technical innovations. It's quite a compact motor and has its exhaust manifold integrated into the block. The 998cc turbo-petrol engine develops 99 BHP & 172 Nm. That's 19 BHP lesser than the Venue, but with the same torque. Assuming the hardware is the same, you will literally "fly" with a remap that gets you the Venue's 118 BHP:





The Grand i10 Nios turbo-petrol is powered by Hyundais in-house developed 998cc, 3-cylinder engine. It's called the Kappa 1.0 Turbo GDI and gets a direct-injection fueling system, electronic wastegate actuator, variable oil pump, oil spray jets for the pistons from the crank side and dual variable valve timing. The same is offered in the Aura. It is also used to power the Venue in a higher 118 BHP state of tune (note: Nios, Aura & Venue have the same 172 Nm torque though).



The 1.0L petrol produces a strong 99 BHP (@ 6,000 rpm) and 172 Nm (@ 1,500 - 4,000 rpm). Both - the power figure as well as the torque rating - put it ahead of most of its rivals, but shy of the recently launched Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI (109 BHP @ 5000-5500 rpm and 175 Nm @ 1750-4000 rpm). Sadly, the Nios doesnt get the 1.0L & dual-clutch AT combination of the Venue. Instead, the lineup has the familiar 1.2L petrol with an AMT. Hyundai has lost out on a crucial advantage as it could have offered a smooth DCT versus Volkswagens Polo which recently received a 6-speed torque converter with its 1.0TSI (



The Nios turbo-petrol has a kerb weight of 979 kg, while the Polo TSI weighs 93 kilos more. To put things into perspective, the power-to-weight ratio of the Nios is 101 BHP/Ton ( Polo = 102 BHP/Ton ) and the torque-to-weight ratio is 176Nm/Ton ( Polo = 163Nm/Ton ). As you might have guessed by now, there is more than enough performance available to keep drivers happy. This is a Hyundai that is fun to drive . We're happy to see this trend & hope to see more of it; even the Creta 1.4L turbo-petrol is surprisingly good on the highway (engine + handling, both).



To start the engine, you need to press the clutch and then turn the key to crank. At idle, it is decent for a triple cylinder, although enthusiasts like us will notice mild vibrations (there is mild cabin shake when cranking too). Its not like other 4-cylinder Hyundais (e.g. i20) where you cant even tell if the damn engine is running. On the move, the refinement is impressive! Not many will be able to tell that the engine is missing a cylinder.



The Grand i10 Nios moves off from a standstill in a clean manner. Despite the high power output from such a small turbo-petrol, driveability is satisfactory. In fact, the car clears the second gear speed breaker test. Some lag is there of course, yet it's minimal & well-controlled. Overall city behaviour is decent and the engine does the job as long as the rev counter is 1,000+ rpm (drop lower and you need to downshift). This turbo-petrol is pretty peppy and fast. Throttle response is not the sharpest, but it's fair. As you rev the engine, there is a nice tug from the turbo. Cross 2,000 rpm and the 1.0L engine comes into its powerband. Keep the motor on the boil and it will reward you with satisfying performance. That, clubbed with the small footprint + light steering, makes the Nios quite nimble on its feet.



On the open road, Hyundais turbo-petrol is simply fantastic! We loved high-revving this little 1.0. Its fast, has a punchy mid-range and good refinement for a triple cylinder. The mid-range, in particular, is lots of fun. This engine should be your top choice if you're looking at the Grand i10 Nios. Keep the revvs high, work the gearbox and she transforms into a fast expressway cruiser. Trivia = 2nd gear is so tall that the Nios is a rare budget car that can hit ~108 km/h in 2nd gear itself! This also means that the 2nd gear is genuinely usable from 0 km/h right up to 108 km/h. The engine revvs till 6,600 rpm, which we found to be a little low for a petrol. This rev limit can sometimes catch you out in the middle of an overtaking manoeuvre. When cruising, the car sees 100 & 120 km/h at ~2,100 & ~2,500 rpm respectively. These are neat numbers for a small petrol. Highway driveability is good and you won't find the need to downshift often, although there is some lag in the higher gears. Thus, while passing slow-moving vehicles on undivided highways, it is better to downshift, use the mid-range and fly past them.



In stop-and-go traffic on steep hills, turbo-lag can sometimes catch you out. You'll need careful A-B-C pedal coordination in such conditions.



The gearbox is light, smooth & sure-slotting. Do note that the Grand i10 Nios has a 5-speed MT, and not 6 like the Venue. While the clutch is light, we found its travel range to be on the longer side for a small petrol hatchback.



Coming to NVH levels, the Nios does very well at slow speeds and around town - the cabin has excellent insulation. You shut the door / windows and exterior sounds are noticeably reduced. Theres almost no engine sound heard in the cabin if you're driving calmly. Even while cruising on the highway, the engine is silent enough. Upon revving, you can hear that familiar 3-cylinder thrum though. What we appreciated is that the engine actually sounds nice when revved hard. Enthusiasts will like it, but not regular folk as things get l-o-u-d above 5,500 rpm. At highway speeds, wind noise is minimal, but the cabin isnt very silent due to road and tyre noise.



The Garrett turbocharger sits at the back:





Smooth & sweet 5-speed MT. The reverse is located up, to the extreme left:





Yikes!! No labelling on the fuel flap or cap indicating the car's diet. The fuel cap doesn't even get a string to keep it attached to the base. Please ensure that the fuel pump attendant fills the right fuel in your Grand i10 Nios; someone mistakenly putting diesel will destroy the high-tech turbo-petrol motor:





Ride & Handling

The Nios uses a McPherson strut suspension with coil springs at the front and a coupled torsion beam at the rear. Low-speed ride quality is compliant, with small bumps being absorbed well. However, it's not plush. There is a bit of a firm edge to the ride than what we expect in Hyundais. The tune is more mature than the usual soft suspension of Hyundai cars. Ride comfort overall is fine for a budget hatchback, but bad roads are felt and large potholes come in strong. There is a little more side-to-side swaying on broken roads too. Do note that lesser variants with their smaller wheels + taller tyre sidewalls will be cushier. On the other hand, because of the more mature suspension, high-speed ride quality is better than your typical Hyundai. The car feels quite comfortable on the expressway & the rear end doesnt bounce about excessively either. On the highway, the Nios handles imperfect roads fairly well & tackles smaller potholes with ease.



Straight-line stability at 100 - 120 km/h is acceptable. She can cruise at triple-digit speeds without feeling nervous at all. In the area of handling, the Nios remains neutral, just as you'd expect of a family hatchback. There is some body roll, yet it's controlled since the suspension isn't too soft. However, the car's 175/60 MRF ZVTV tyres are too thin for the turbo-petrol (this flagship engine should have gotten 185 / 195 mm tyres). The car understeers easily if pushed, with the tyres giving up much earlier than the car does. Because of the thin tyre size & rubbish MRF ZVTV Ecotred budget rubber, getting the tyres to squeal is easy. BHPians should most definitely look at upsizing to 185 / 195 mm tyres from a superior brand; it's not a want, but a need .



The electric power steering is typical Hyundai - super light at parking speeds, light enough at city speeds & weighs up alright on the highway. Along with the compact footprint, the light steering makes the Nios an extremely easy car to drive in the city. Its turning radius of 4.7 meters is tight. Since the car is light, the turn-in is sharp and you can really chuck the Nios into corners. However, theres nothing much to enjoy after that. The steering lacks feel or feedback of any kind, which takes some of the fun away. Overall though, this steering is far better than what were seeing in the newer Marutis.



The ground clearance is good enough to go over bumps with ease. However, we didn't load the car up with 4 passengers & luggage to verify. Team-BHP ownership reports will tell us the real-world story.



All variants of the Nios come with disc brakes at the front and drums at the rear, with ABS + EBD. The brakes perform well and have good stopping power. However, the pedal travel before the brakes bite is a little longer than you expect. It's not a problem, but takes 3 - 5 km to get used to. Turbo GDI engine gets a host of technical innovations. It's quite a compact motor and has its exhaust manifold integrated into the block. The 998cc turbo-petrol engine develops 99 BHP & 172 Nm. That's 19 BHP lesser than the Venue, but with the same torque. Assuming the hardware is the same, you will literally "fly" with a remap that gets you the Venue's 118 BHP:The Grand i10 Nios turbo-petrol is powered by Hyundais in-house developed 998cc, 3-cylinder engine. It's called the Kappa 1.0 Turbo GDI and gets a direct-injection fueling system, electronic wastegate actuator, variable oil pump, oil spray jets for the pistons from the crank side and dual variable valve timing. The same is offered in the Aura. It is also used to power the Venue in a higher 118 BHP state of tune (note: Nios, Aura & Venue have the same 172 Nm torque though).The 1.0L petrol produces a strong 99 BHP (@ 6,000 rpm) and 172 Nm (@ 1,500 - 4,000 rpm). Both - the power figure as well as the torque rating - put it ahead of most of its rivals, but shy of the recently launched Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI (109 BHP @ 5000-5500 rpm and 175 Nm @ 1750-4000 rpm). Sadly, the Nios doesnt get the 1.0L & dual-clutch AT combination of the Venue. Instead, the lineup has the familiar 1.2L petrol with an AMT. Hyundai has lost out on a crucial advantage as it could have offered a smooth DCT versus Volkswagens Polo which recently received a 6-speed torque converter with its 1.0TSI ( Related thread )! The Koreans are probably worried about the price point going too high for a hatchback and cannibalisation between its cars. Well, if you don't cannibalise yourself, someone else will gladly do it for you. Most importantly though, Hyundai now even has the iMT clutchless manual transmission option in the Venue which is being received very well by the audience. This iMT option on the Nios could be the trump card for Hyundai against Volkswagen. The Polo AT costs over 9.67 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), while adding an iMT would add Rs. 15,000 - 20,000 to the cost of the Grand i10 Nios, still making it approximately Rs 1.7 lakh cheaper than the VW!The Nios turbo-petrol has a kerb weight of 979 kg, while the Polo TSI weighs 93 kilos more. To put things into perspective, the power-to-weight ratio of the Nios is 101 BHP/Ton () and the torque-to-weight ratio is 176Nm/Ton (). As you might have guessed by now, there is more than enough performance available to keep drivers happy. This is a Hyundai that is fun to drive. We're happy to see this trend & hope to see more of it; even the Creta 1.4L turbo-petrol is surprisingly good on the highway (engine + handling, both).To start the engine, you need to press the clutch and then turn the key to crank. At idle, it is decent for a triple cylinder, although enthusiasts like us will notice mild vibrations (there is mild cabin shake when cranking too). Its not like other 4-cylinder Hyundais (e.g. i20) where you cant even tell if the damn engine is running. On the move, the refinement is impressive! Not many will be able to tell that the engine is missing a cylinder.The Grand i10 Nios moves off from a standstill in a clean manner. Despite the high power output from such a small turbo-petrol, driveability is satisfactory. In fact, the car clears the second gear speed breaker test. Some lag is there of course, yet it's minimal & well-controlled. Overall city behaviour is decent and the engine does the job as long as the rev counter is 1,000+ rpm (drop lower and you need to downshift). This turbo-petrol is pretty peppy and fast. Throttle response is not the sharpest, but it's fair. As you rev the engine, there is a nice tug from the turbo. Cross 2,000 rpm and the 1.0L engine comes into its powerband. Keep the motor on the boil and it will reward you with satisfying performance. That, clubbed with the small footprint + light steering, makes the Nios quite nimble on its feet.On the open road, Hyundais turbo-petrol is simply fantastic! We loved high-revving this little 1.0. Its fast, has a punchy mid-range and good refinement for a triple cylinder. The mid-range, in particular, is lots of fun. This engine should be your top choice if you're looking at the Grand i10 Nios. Keep the revvs high, work the gearbox and she transforms into a fast expressway cruiser. Trivia = 2nd gear is so tall that the Nios is a rare budget car that can hit ~108 km/h in 2nd gear itself! This also means that the 2nd gear is genuinely usable from 0 km/h right up to 108 km/h. The engine revvs till 6,600 rpm, which we found to be a little low for a petrol. This rev limit can sometimes catch you out in the middle of an overtaking manoeuvre. When cruising, the car sees 100 & 120 km/h at ~2,100 & ~2,500 rpm respectively. These are neat numbers for a small petrol. Highway driveability is good and you won't find the need to downshift often, although there is some lag in the higher gears. Thus, while passing slow-moving vehicles on undivided highways, it is better to downshift, use the mid-range and fly past them.In stop-and-go traffic on steep hills, turbo-lag can sometimes catch you out. You'll need careful A-B-C pedal coordination in such conditions.The gearbox is light, smooth & sure-slotting. Do note that the Grand i10 Nios has a 5-speed MT, and not 6 like the Venue. While the clutch is light, we found its travel range to be on the longer side for a small petrol hatchback.Coming to NVH levels, the Nios does very well at slow speeds and around town - the cabin has excellent insulation. You shut the door / windows and exterior sounds are noticeably reduced. Theres almost no engine sound heard in the cabin if you're driving calmly. Even while cruising on the highway, the engine is silent enough. Upon revving, you can hear that familiar 3-cylinder thrum though. What we appreciated is that the engine actually sounds nice when revved hard. Enthusiasts will like it, but not regular folk as things get l-o-u-d above 5,500 rpm. At highway speeds, wind noise is minimal, but the cabin isnt very silent due to road and tyre noise.The Garrett turbocharger sits at the back:Smooth & sweet 5-speed MT. The reverse is located up, to the extreme left:Yikes!! No labelling on the fuel flap or cap indicating the car's diet. The fuel cap doesn't even get a string to keep it attached to the base. Please ensure that the fuel pump attendant fills the right fuel in your Grand i10 Nios; someone mistakenly putting diesel will destroy the high-tech turbo-petrol motor:The Nios uses a McPherson strut suspension with coil springs at the front and a coupled torsion beam at the rear. Low-speed ride quality is compliant, with small bumps being absorbed well. However, it's not plush. There is a bit of a firm edge to the ride than what we expect in Hyundais. The tune is more mature than the usual soft suspension of Hyundai cars. Ride comfort overall is fine for a budget hatchback, but bad roads are felt and large potholes come in strong. There is a little more side-to-side swaying on broken roads too. Do note that lesser variants with their smaller wheels + taller tyre sidewalls will be cushier. On the other hand, because of the more mature suspension, high-speed ride quality is better than your typical Hyundai. The car feels quite comfortable on the expressway & the rear end doesnt bounce about excessively either. On the highway, the Nios handles imperfect roads fairly well & tackles smaller potholes with ease.Straight-line stability at 100 - 120 km/h is acceptable. She can cruise at triple-digit speeds without feeling nervous at all. In the area of handling, the Nios remains neutral, just as you'd expect of a family hatchback. There is some body roll, yet it's controlled since the suspension isn't too soft. However, the car's 175/60 MRF ZVTV tyres are too thin for the turbo-petrol (). The car understeers easily if pushed, with the tyres giving up much earlier than the car does. Because of the thin tyre size & rubbish MRF ZVTV Ecotred budget rubber, getting the tyres to squeal is easy. BHPians should most definitely look at upsizing to 185 / 195 mm tyres from a superior brand;The electric power steering is typical Hyundai - super light at parking speeds, light enough at city speeds & weighs up alright on the highway. Along with the compact footprint, the light steering makes the Nios an extremely easy car to drive in the city. Its turning radius of 4.7 meters is tight. Since the car is light, the turn-in is sharp and you can really chuck the Nios into corners. However, theres nothing much to enjoy after that. The steering lacks feel or feedback of any kind, which takes some of the fun away. Overall though, this steering is far better than what were seeing in the newer Marutis.The ground clearance is good enough to go over bumps with ease. However, we didn't load the car up with 4 passengers & luggage to verify. Team-BHP ownership reports will tell us the real-world story.All variants of the Nios come with disc brakes at the front and drums at the rear, with ABS + EBD. The brakes perform well and have good stopping power. However, the pedal travel before the brakes bite is a little longer than you expect. It's not a problem, but takes 3 - 5 km to get used to. Last edited by GTO : 21st September 2020 at 11:02 .
For the first time, Iranian authorities are seriously discussing the possibility of adding Chinese to the foreign languages taught in the nation's schools.

Acting Head of the Curriculum Planning Department of the Educational Research and Planning Organization of Iran, Ali Mohebbi, announced on Sunday, September 20, that Chinese and Arabic might be added to the list of foreign languages taught in schools.

Speaking to the Iran Students News Agency (ISNA), Mohebbi noted that, based on the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution's resolutions, teaching English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian has already been approved as officially recognized in the national curriculum.

To avoid highlighting Arabic and Chinese, Mohebbi immediately said that "other foreign languages recognized as official and international languages, if there are any, will be seriously discussed to be added next year."

Iranian authorities previously expressed dissatisfaction with citizens' willingness to learn English. In 2016, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei harshly criticized the promotion of learning English in Iranian educational institutions. "Now, we have reached a point where teaching the English language is extended to kindergartens and daycares, as well," Khamenei said, warning about the designs of an "international hegemonic system" led by the United States, Israel, and other "hostile countries."

Khamenei added that Iran's enemies were plotting to change the nation's youth's culture into neither Islamic nor indigenous. To back up his claim, Khamenei raised the issue of promoting the English language in Iranian schools.

Currently, English is not in the official Iranian curriculum for six years of elementary school. However, various private, semi-public, and even a few public schools teach English as an extracurricular activity in non-mandatory classes

Immediately after Khamenei's remarks in 2016, the Ministry of Education banned English teaching in primary schools. Referring to Khamenei's dissatisfaction, 57 members of the Iranian Majlis Parliament presented a "single urgency motion" in September 2019 to remove English language lessons from all schools in Iran.

If approved, teaching the English language would have been removed from schools' curriculum and provided only in "private schools" under the Ministry of Education's supervision. However, the motion to ban the employment of English teachers at public institutions was not approved.
The benchmark indices bounced into positive terrain in morning trade. At 10:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 112.95 points or 0.29% at 38,958.77. The Nifty 50 index added 8.05 points or 0.07% at 11,513.

The broader market was negative. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.42% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.18%.

The market breadth is negative. On the BSE, 948 shares rose and 1255 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.

India-China standoff:

Sixth round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China on border stand-off will be held from Monday (21 September) at Moldo. The talks will include the implementation of a five-point agreement reached between the two Foreign Ministers at the SCO summit in Moscow on disengagement of troops and de-escalation of the situation in eastern Ladakh.

Parliament passes two Farm Bills:

Parliament passed two bills aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers' incomes. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 which were passed by Lok Sabha on 17 September 2020, were passed by the Rajya Sabha on 20 September.

The new legislation will create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce. It will also promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets notified under State Agricultural Produce Marketing legislations. The farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce and will not have to bear transport costs. The Bill also proposes an electronic trading in transaction platform for ensuring a seamless trade electronically. In addition to mandis, farmers will get freedom to do trading at farmgate, cold storage, warehouse, processing units, etc. Farmers will be able to engage in direct marketing thereby eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realization of price.

New Listing:

Route Mobile were trading at Rs 645 at 10:26 IST on the BSE, a premium of 84.29% over the initial public offer (IPO) price of Rs 350.

The stock was listed at Rs 708, a premium of 102.29% to IPO price of Rs 350 a share. So far the stock hit a high of Rs 735 and low of 625. On the BSE, 17.33 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far. The issue opened for bidding on 9 September 2020 and closed on 11 September 2020. The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 345-350 per share.

The IPO of Route Mobile received bids for 89.23 crore shares as against 1.21 crore shares on offer, as per the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) website data. The issue was subscribed 73.30 times. The non-institutional investors category was subscribed 192.81 times. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 89.76 times. The retail individual investors (RIIs) category was subscribed 12.67 times.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index rose 2.12% to 20,247.30, extending gains for eight day in a row. The index has added 10.87% in eight sessions while the benchmark Nifty 50 index has added 1.86 during the same period.

MindTree (up 3.08%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.24%), Infosys (up 1.96%), Coforge (up 1.93%), TCS (up 1.88%) and Wipro (up 1.86%) edged higher.

HCL Technologies gained 4.13% to Rs 844.60. The IT firm announced its intent to acquire DWS, a leading Australian IT, business and management consulting group. The acquisition of DWS will strongly enhance HCL's contribution to Digital initiatives in Australia and New Zealand while strengthening HCL's client portfolio across key industries. The transaction is expected to close in December 2020, subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

The acquisition shall be done by HCL Australia Services Pty., a wholly owned step-down subsidiary of HCL Technologies at A$1.20 per share for total equity value pay-out at A$158.2 million.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bandhan Bank fell 3.05% to Rs 289.60. The bank reportedly said that its collection efficiency ratio has touched 80% at the end of August, and expected collections to normalise by December. The ratio, which is improving on a "daily basis", is likely to be over 90% in October, it reportedly added.

Tata Metaliks slipped 1.03% to Rs 547.85. The company on Saturday (19 September 2020) informed about the execution of a planned shutdown of one of its blast furnaces and its associated facilities at the company's Kharagpur plant for repair & maintenance including hearth profiling. The operations are expected to be back on stream in 2nd half of October 2020, it added.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

By Tamilla Mammadova  Trend:

Georgia exported products to Azerbaijan in the amount of $84.2 million from January through August this year, Trend reports referring to the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

Compared to last year, exports decreased by 11.9 percent.

For 8 months Azerbaijan with a share of 13.7 percent has become Georgia's second main export partner after China.

In January-August of this year, Georgia imported products worth $309.5 million from Azerbaijan. Compared to last year, Georgia's imports from Azerbaijan decreased by 15.7 percent.

The share of Azerbaijan in total imports of Georgia amounted to 6.3 percent. Azerbaijan has become the fifth main import partner of the neighboring country after Turkey, Russia, China, and the United States.

In January-August of this year, the volume of trade turnover between Georgia and Azerbaijan amounted to $594 million. Compared to last year, the volume of trade turnover between Georgia and Azerbaijan decreased by 13 percent.

The share of Azerbaijan in the total trade turnover of Georgia amounted to 8.5 percent. This means the fourth place among the trading partners of the neighboring country after Turkey, Russia, and China.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday suggested the government to privatise select public sector banks, set up a bad bank to deal with NPAs and dilute the role of Department of Financial Services. The reforms are necessary to ensure growth of the banking government without the periodic boom-bust cycles, said a paper titled Indian Banks: A Time to Reform?, co-authored by Rajan and former Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Viral Acharya.

Re-privatization of select PSBs can then be undertaken as part of a carefully calibrated strategy, bringing in private investors who have both financial expertise as well as technological expertise; corporate houses must be kept from acquiring significant stakes, given their natural conflicts of interest," the paper said. Noting that the government obtains enormous power from directing bank lending, it said sometimes this power is exercised to advance public goals such as financial inclusion or infrastructure finance, sometimes it is used to offer patronage to, or exercise control over, industrialists.

Winding down Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance is essential, both as an affirmative signal of the intent to grant bank boards and management independence and as a commitment not to engage in mission creep when compulsions arise to use banks for serving costly social or political objectives," the paper noted. According to the paper, private asset management and national asset management bad banks should be encouraged in parallel to the online platform for distressed loan sales.

The national public sector bad bank could serve as a vehicle to aggregate loans, create management teams for distressed firms, and possibly buy and hold distressed assets in a sector like power till demand returns. It could provide fall-back prices for loans sold by PSBs," the paper suggested.

It also argued that state-linked banks can be a first step in altering the ownership structure of some public sector banks (PSBs), where the government brings down its stakes to below 50 per cent, creating distance from operations of banks, and improving governance along the way. Apart from regulatory and market reforms, we propose reforms to bank governance and ownership, especially for public sector banks. With the current enormous strains on government finances, there may be a window of opportunity in which these reforms may be possible since the status quo is untenable," the paper said.

On dealing with bad loans, the paper said out-of-court restructuring frameworks can be designed for time-bound negotiations between creditors of a stressed firm, failing which the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) filing should apply. The two need to work in tandem as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Courts (IBC) procedural threat serves as the fall-back, facilitating meaningful negotiation out of court, it added.

On bank licencing norms, the paper pitched for on-tap licencing of banks to be kept open at all time. On-tap licensing for banks can be kept open at all times  with an annual invitation for applications  to create more vibrant banking with entry of better players, especially allowing high-performing micro-credit institutions to become small finance banks, and similarly, high-performing small finance banks to become universal banks.

Conversely, poorly performing universal banks can be relegated to small finance bank status," it suggested. The paper also stressed on the need of allowing PSBs to recruit laterally while retaining the talent they have.

Incentive structures for management need to be strengthened with longer terms for senior management, better assessment of performance, performance-based promotions and extensions, as well as some reliance on lateral hiring, which would also bring in state-of-the-art banking ideas and practices," it said. The paper also made a case for the operational independence of boards and management.

This can be done by creating a holding company structure for government stakes. The holding company should make professional and diverse board appointments to each bank, and these directors should be empowered to guide the bank towards its objectives," it said. It also pointed out that with government deficits and debt levels reaching enormous levels, there simply are not enough budgetary resources to recapitalise banks.

An encumbered, under-capitalized public sector banking system will not lend well, which will be a huge tax on growth, as it has been for the last six years. More worrisome, without reform the banks will cumulate further losses. Status quo is simply not an option," it said.

The paper also noted that despite the governments decision to set up the Banks Board Bureau to make public sector bank appointments, it still appoints bank CEOs. Yet five years later, it appears that little has changed. The government still appoints bank CEOs," it said.

The paper noted that Indias credit market outcomes are full of paradoxes. Acharya is currently a professor of Economics at the Department of Finance at New York University Stern School of Business (NYU-Stern).

He was RBI deputy governor between 2017 and 2019. He quit ahead of the completion of his term in July last year. Rajan, currently a professor at the University of Chicago, led the central bank between 2013 and 2016.
Apart from the foldables, all 2020 Galaxy flagship smartphones support video recording in 8K resolution. According to Yonhap News Agency, Samsung will produce an 8K movie titled Untact shot on the Galaxy smartphones. It is a romance movie written and directed by Kim Jee-woon.

Samsung is expecting this new project will better promote its 8K technology. In addition, the company will open two new 8K cinemas in Seoul next month to premiere the movie on its QLED 8K TVs. Later, the movie will also be made available through online platforms like YouTube

Samsung is producing a movie to promote 8K video recording on Galaxy Smartphones

Apart from 8K video recording on Samsung smartphones, the movie should also promote its 8K QLED TVs. Meanwhile, the company also confirmed that the crew will also use other equipment for shooting scenes that require additional effects. This wont be shot entirely on Galaxy smartphones

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The Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra, launched at the beginning of this year, are the first Samsung smartphones to support 8K video recording. It is also available in the newly launched Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra smartphones. The 8K content, at a resolution of 7,680 x 4,320 pixels, includes a total of 33,177,600 pixels.

If you didnt know, 8K is four times the resolution of 4K and 16 times the resolution of Full HD. However, the current implementation is far from perfect and cant be considered as true 8K. Even for DSLR cameras, it will take a couple more years to make the 8K video recording widely available.

There is a 5-minute time limit for recording 8K video

Moreover, one minute of 8K video will consume 600MB of storage. Furthermore, there are a lot of restrictions when shooting videos in 8K resolution. The Galaxy smartphone cant record 8K videos more than 5 minutes in duration. Additionally, the frame rate is limited to just 24 fps and the aspect ratio is set to 16:9.

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Apart from 8K video, the current Samsung Galaxy flagships are also capable of recording up to 4K 120fps video. The company is also working to bring 4K video recording at 120 fps to the masses. The newly launched 108MP ISOCELL HM2 and 48MP ISOCELL GM5 sensors are capable of recording 4K 120fps videos.

The smartphones with these new sensors should be launching in early 2021. Based on the leaks, the upcoming iPhone 12 Pro smartphones might even support 4K video recording at 240fps. For the 8K video recording on smartphones, there is a lot that needs to be done to make it the preferred choice for consumers.
Plans to allow people to self-identify as a different gender will be formally dropped this week after they sparked controversy.

Ministers have decided to scrap proposals to permit gender on birth certificates being changed without a medical diagnosis.

Instead, it is believed the cost of changing gender as it currently stands will be made cheaper.

Equalities Minister Liz Truss, pictured, will this week publish the Governments new stance on the 2004 Gender Recognition Act. Proposals to alter the legislation were sent out for consultation in 2018. But plans to allow people to change the gender on their birth certificate without a medical diagnosis have been dropped. The Government says it believes the current legislation is 'sufficient' to support people's right to change their sex.

The proposals to alter the 2004 Gender Recognition Act were sent out for consultation in 2018.

Liz Truss, the equalities minister, will this week publish the Governments new stance on the policy.

But a Government source told the Sunday Times: We think that the current legislation, which supports peoples rights to change their sex, is sufficient.

At the moment, those wishing to change sex have to pay 140 and apply to a panel for a gender recognition certificate.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling is in the spotlight again because her new book, Troubled Blood, features a 'transvestite serial killer'. Rowling has come under fire in the past for making transphobic remarks on Twitter. Transgender activists have described Rowling as a 'TERF', a derisive acronym for 'trans-exclusionary radical feminist'.

They have to supply two reports stating they have suffered from gender dysphoria, which normally come from their GP and another doctor or psychologist.

Tory MPs claimed Boris Johnson developed cold feet about scrapping the reforms after being influenced by his fiancee Carrie Symonds.

Trans rights activists have said failing to liberalise the law would be a Section 28 moment, referring to a 1988 ban on councils and schools promoting homosexuality.

It comes after author JK Rowling was accused of transphobia after tweeting her opinions about the importance of biological sex.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Intolerances to chemicals, foods and drugs impact 8%-33% of individuals, studies suggest, yet few people are screened for it at their doctors' offices.

To address this and increase awareness of chemical intolerance, researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) developed and validated a three-question, yes-or-no survey that primary care providers, allergists, dermatologists and other specialists can incorporate into patient visits. The survey, called the Brief Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory, or BREESI, can also be used by researchers and patient groups, and for epidemiological studies in exposed populations.

Sept. 16 in the journal PLOS ONE, the researchers reported that the BREESI accurately predicts scores on a comprehensive 50-question survey called the Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (QEESI). The QEESI, which the UT Health San Antonio group introduced online in 2014, is available at no charge to patients and clinicians. Researchers worldwide are using it, making it the new standard for measuring chemical intolerance.

"People who become ill from exposures to chemicals, such as bleach, disinfectants, pesticides, mold, combustion products or volatile organic compounds (VOCs), have higher scores on the QEESI," said Claudia S. Miller, MD, MS, professor emeritus in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. "But the QEESI is a little long for rapid screening."

Carlos Jaen, MD, Ph.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the university, suggested that the team develop and test a brief screening questionnaire.

Predictive value

The BREESI focuses on three different exposure categories: chemical inhalants, drugs/medications and foods/food additives. The research team enrolled 293 volunteers from a university-based primary care clinic and online to complete the BREESI and QEESI.

"The BREESI showed high sensitivity and specificity," according to the authors.

Of respondents who said "yes" to all three BREESI questions, 90% had scores "very suggestive" of chemical intolerance.

Of those who said "no" to all three BREESI questions, 95% had scores "not suggestive" of chemical intolerance.

Ray Palmer, Ph.D., professor of family and community medicine at UT Health San Antonio, said the team is currently validating the BREESI in larger, population-based studies in the U.S. and internationally.

"Only a minute or two is required to administer the BREESI, making routine evaluation of chemical intolerance feasible for medical and surgical workups, epidemiological investigations, and before-and-after studies of environmental exposure events such as the Gulf War burn pits or 9/11," Dr. Miller said.

California wildfires

Currently, Dr. Miller is concerned that misuse of disinfectants to combat COVID-19 may be endangering susceptible individuals. Combustion products from the California wildfires are another concern. Outgassing of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) from new construction, remodeling and "sick" buildings frequently triggers chemically intolerant individuals' symptoms.

"Quick screening questionnaires are used routinely in clinics today, e.g., for quality of life or substance abuse, or reactions to antibiotics or latex, and we believe chemical intolerance also needs to be assessed routinely, given its high prevalence," Dr. Palmer said.

Pregnancy and chemicals

It is especially important for expectant mothers to know whether they are chemically intolerant, so that they can work with their physicians and families to eliminate exposures that may affect them and their babies, Dr. Palmer said.

"We encourage physicians to use the BREESI to identify chemically intolerant mothers whose children may be at increased risk for ADHD and autism," Dr. Palmer said. ADHD is short for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation, for which Dr. Miller is environmental medicine consultant, funded the research. "Our goal is to improve everyone's understanding of chemical intolerance through research, education, and outreach," Dr. Miller said. "Educating health care workers is a top priority. We have now given them a useful tool."

Both the BREESI and the QEESI are available online at no charge. Researchers should contact the TILT Research Program for permission to use these surveys in their studies. TILT is short for Toxicant-Induced Loss of Tolerance.

Explore further Study finds autism, ADHD run high in children of chemically intolerant mothers

More information: Raymond F. Palmer et al, Three questions for identifying chemically intolerant individuals in clinical and epidemiological populations: The Brief Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (BREESI), PLOS ONE (2020). Journal information: PLoS ONE Raymond F. Palmer et al, Three questions for identifying chemically intolerant individuals in clinical and epidemiological populations: The Brief Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (BREESI),(2020). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238296
Trump said he wanted the US part of the business owned by an American company.

The TikTok video-sharing app was already under US scrutiny when users pranked President Donald Trumps campaign by pretending to reserve thousands of tickets to a June re-election rally in Oklahoma.

For Trump administration hardliners who wanted a tougher stance toward Beijing and viewed the Chinese-owned app as a national security threat, it was the perfect moment to pounce. The president, furious over the Covid-19 pandemic and embarrassed by empty seats at his campaign event, obliged.

Linking TikTok to Beijings handling of the raging coronavirus outbreak, Trump in July threatened to ban the app used by 100 million Americans unless China handed over control of the company, its algorithms and data to the US Hearkening back to his New York real estate days, he also insisted the US government get compensated in the process.

The deal Trump signed off on Saturday, hours before a September 20 deadline, does almost none of that.

Trump said he wanted the US part of the business owned by an American company. But Chinas ByteDance Ltd remains the majority shareholder in a new US company that will include fresh investments by Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc in a future fundraising round.

Trump said he wanted the data to stay in American hands, for national security reasons. But the algorithm itself -- the thing that makes TikTok TikTok -- will still belong to ByteDance, so national security concerns remain, experts said.

And the government payout? That turned into a vaguely worded promise of new tax dollars, and a new education initiative to teach kids reading and math online.

As for the so-called $5 billion tax to the US Treasury, that refers to an estimate of the corporate income tax and other taxes TikTok will have to pay in coming years as part of its business development, ByteDance said in a statement Monday. TikTok is confident in its future but the actual tax amount will have to be determined in accordance with the actual state of the business and American tax structures.

Still, Trump said he was satisfied.

ALSO READ: TikTok-Oracle deal: Heres everything you need to know about it

Theyre going to be setting up a very large fund, Trump said Saturday. Thats their contribution that Ive been asking for.

The president did get a partial victory. He said the new company will have a Texas headquarters and promised to hire 25,000 Americans, although no breakdown or timeline for the hiring was provided. The board will be American-run. Most importantly, the move wraps up a crisis six weeks before the US election, concluding one of the more extraordinary episodes in a presidency that has been filled with them.

Its a great deal for America, Trump said Saturday. Itll be a brand new company, it will have nothing to do with any outside land, any outside country, it will have nothing to do with China, itll be totally secure, thatll be part of the deal.

Statements like those are causing skeptics to say Trump singled out TikTok for political reasons -- either because of a perception its users dislike him, or to bludgeon China -- and that he took an agreement that met few of his terms for the same reason. They add that the presidents direct involvement and his acceptance of a deal brokered by a key ally -- Oracle founder Larry Ellison -- reeks of political interference.

The government should be in the business of citing national security concerns but they shouldnt be in the business of brokering a back-room deal with a U.S. company, said Ari Lightman, a professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University. You have to ask yourself -- why didnt they go through the proper steps?

For national security hawks, a key issue all along was Chinese control of American users data. Traditionally, US-developed software and apps were exported abroad -- think Facebook or Twitter. TikTok was the first Chinese app to rocket to such popularity in the US, giving Beijing a chance to project the sort of soft power abroad that it long craved.

For Trump, it was more personal, according to a person familiar with the matter. The White House was furious that TikTok users may have encouraged people to request but never use tickets to the June 20 rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The rally was billed as Trumps first big event after months sheltering from the coronavirus, and the campaign expected tens of thousands of people to show up. In the end, about 6,000 people turned out and Trump was greeted by rows of empty seats.

At the same time, a security review of the app was underway. The scrutiny stemmed from ByteDances 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly, a lip-synching app based in China but whose majority of users were in the US. It was folded into TikTok. ByteDance didnt report the deal to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US for approval, but two years later the panel contacted ByteDance.

The issue simmered into 2020 as tensions between Washington and Beijing soared and the Covid-19 pandemic initially dismissed by Trump began killing tens of thousands of Americans. Cfius opened a formal investigation into the acquisition in June.

The Cfius probe was in keeping with much stricter investigations against China under Trump. He previously blocked three acquisitions by Chinese investors, the most of any president, while numerous other deals have collapsed after the committee raised national security alarms.

It was worrying about personal data, for instance, that prompted Cfius last year to force the Chinese owner of the gay-dating app Grindr to sell the business.

With a Sept. 20 deadline Trump set for a deal looming, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin got to work. By last week, a resolution appeared to have been found. Treasury sent a term sheet to ByteDance that laid out the conditions which were eventually approved: four out of five people on the board would be American, including a representative from Walmart, along with a national-security committee led by an American with cyber-security credentials to oversee any issues that arise.

In addition, the sides agreed that the new company -- which Mnuchin dubbed TikTok Global -- would file for an initial public offering next year. The company will seek a valuation of $60 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

That seemed to persuade the most significant participants on the Cfius executive committee. Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross were always on board. But even Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, who had long warned about the dangers of China exploiting US user data, eased his own opposition. Several Republican senators who had also expressed early opposition came around.

Questionable math is being leaned on to get around Trumps demand that US investors have majority control of the company. Bytedance will retain an 80% stake in the new company. But because existing US investors hold a 40% stake in ByteDance, counting the new investments by Oracle and Walmart as well as other minority American shareholders, the Trump administration claimed there is 53% ownership by the US.

Then there are the clear political overtones associated with the new investors. Oracle CEO Safra Catz was on Trumps transition team and was considered a possible candidate for top jobs including national security adviser and World Bank president. Company founder Ellison hosted a fundraiser for Trump and met with Pompeo along with other tech titans in January.

Credibility Questions

Its not just Oracle: Sequoia Capital, a major investor in ByteDance who helped broker the TikTok deal, will also retain its stake in the Chinese company. Sequoia managing partner Doug Leone donated $50,000 last year to Trump Victory, which splits contributions between the campaign and the Republican National Committee. He also gave the same amount that year to America First Action, a super-PAC that supports Trump, although a person familiar said Leone doesnt have a personal relationship with the president.

There are reasons to be skeptical about President Trumps own motivations to ban the app, given the perverse political incentives in play, said Elsa Kania, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Different rationales and motivations with varying degrees of credibility appear to come into play.

Officials at Sequoia declined to comment. Officials at Oracle didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on whether political factors gave them an edge in getting the deal approved. White House officials didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on that issue or the role the Tulsa rally played in motivating Trump to act.

As part of the deal, Oracle will get access to TikToks source code and updates to make sure there are no back doors used by the companys Chinese parent to gather user data, people familiar with the matter said last week. Yet ByteDance will allow Oracle only limited access to view the source code for safety purposes and retain full control of its algorithms, the company said in its statement Monday.

Security experts said the original source of concern about TikTok still hasnt been resolved, even with Oracle and the US board having insight into the apps technology and data.

These sound like great political talking points, said Michael Coates, chief executive officer of Altitude Networks and former chief information security officer at Twitter. The whole notion that this is protecting national security is pretty challenging. There are plenty of instances where US companies bundle data and put national security at risk. Picking the odd foreign company that does this and targeting them wont help.
Jimmy Kimmel was called out for his 'white privilege' after quipping that he would report fellow comedian John Oliver to ICE during the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards.

The Emmy Awards kicked off on Sunday in an unusual way as nominees dressed to the nines and set up cameras inside their homes to attend the virtual ceremony.

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences once again tapped Kimmel to host the award show after two previous stints in 2012 and 2016.

But on Sunday, Kimmel upset some viewers when he made a joke about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and John Oliver.

HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver won Outstanding Variety Talk Series for the fifth consecutive year since 2015.

Each year, Oliver's late-night talk show has scooped the Emmy Award and beaten Jimmy Kimmel Live in the process.

After losing this year, Kimmel applauded the Englishman with a joke that fell flat.

'Congratulations again to John Oliver, I will be reporting him to ICE,' said Kimmel.

Soon after, many viewers took to Twitter to express their displeasure over the joke amid reports that immigrant women in a Georgia facility allegedly underwent 'mass hysterectomies.'

Jimmy Kimmel (pictured) was chosen to host to 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, making it the third time he's spearheaded the award show

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Talk Series consecutively over the last five years

'The amount of white privilege it took for jimmy kimmel to get up on stage at a nationally televised event and make a joke about ice and have not one tell him that that isn't okay, is absolutely astonishing to me,' one person wrote on Twitter.

'@Jimmykimmel @The Emmy's what's so funny about ice?'

Another Twitter user admitted they 'don't think Kimmel is all that funny.

'Particularly when he jokes about ICE and the systemic terror that they cause, or any of his other highly weird jokes.

One person noted that it was Hispanic Heritage Month and Kimmel's joke came amid a small Latinx representation at the Emmy Awards.

'Happy Hispanic Heritage Month from the #Emmy's where the only Latinx representation we got was Count von Count ft. Lin Manual [and] America Ferrera presenting an award and Jimmy Kimmel's tasteless and hurtful ICE joke,' they wrote.

A number of Emmy Award viewers shared their displeasure over Jimmy Kimmel's joke on Twitter

One person noted that making jokes about ICE takes away from the 'systemic terror they cause'

'Happy Hispanic Heritage Month from the #Emmy's where the only Latinx representation we got was Count von Count ft. Lin Manual [and] America Ferrera presenting an award and Jimmy Kimmel's tasteless and hurtful ICE joke'

Other shared similar sentiments by pointing out that families have faced deportations by ICE and that it's no laughing matter.

'My dad was deported. He was literally placed on a plane with two federal agents. He was in chains. He was dropped off at Heathrow Airport and that's it,' one person wrote.

'Making an ICE joke isn't funny, period. Making an ICE joke on an award show that I was hoping to enjoy? F*** you, Jimmy Kimmel.'

One person wrote that Ice was 'tearing families apart' and another wondered how Kimmel could make the joke 'in this political climate.'

Charlotte Clymer, an activist and writer, summarized the internet's thoughts by saying: 'EwwwwJimmy Kimmel. No jokes about calling ICE, please. Thanks.'

One person shared their experience with ICE deportations and blasted the joke as insensitive

A Twitter user found that Kimmel's joke was inappropriate and asked 'what's so funny about people tearing families apart?'

Twitter user: Jimmy kimme; making an ICE joke in this political climate??? yeah he did not think this through

Charlotte Clymer: 'EwwwwJimmy Kimmel. No jokes about calling ICE, please. Thanks'

Last week, a whistleblower who previously worked at an ICE facility in Georgia filed a complaint to the Department of Homeland Security claiming that ''mass hysterectomies' were performed on immigrant women.

Dawn Wooten, a former nurse at Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, acknowledged in the complaint that some woman may have required hysterectomies but 'everybody's uterus cannot be that bad.'

She testified that the immigrant women were referred to an unidentified doctor outside the detention center for 'high rate of hysterectomies' and many women did not understand why the procedure was done.

'Everybody he sees has a hysterectomy - just about everybody,' Wooten said. 'He's even taken out the wrong ovary on a young lady.'

ICE said in a statement that just two woman had been referred to an outside gynecologist for hysterectomies since 2018.

The Office of the Inspector General opened an investigation into the matter.
While white evangelicals remain a core voting bloc for President Donald Trump, in the 2020 race against Joe Biden white Catholics are expected to be a crucial demographic.

Data indicates that Bidena lifelong member of the Catholic churchmay shift the white Catholic vote away from the Republican leanings it held for the past four presidential elections and make it a true swing vote going forward.

Even small changes among Catholics could affect the electoral outcome, particularly in swing states. In 2016, Donald Trump won Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Florida by narrow margins of 1 percent to 1.2 percent of the votes cast.

Despite all the chatter around the strong support that Trump received from white Christians and white evangelicals last election, their voting patterns in 2016 were relatively consistent with elections going back to 2008.

Across Christian traditions, white voters have been relatively stable but have slowly drifted toward the Republican Party by 34 percentage points in eight years. (Nonwhite Christians, particularly black Protestants, have historically favored the Democratic Party by strong margins and are expected to continue to do so this year.)

For instance, in the 2008 presidential matchup, 78 percent of white evangelicals cast their ballots for Barack Obamas Republican challenger, John McCain. Trump did just a few points better in 2016, with 81 percent.

The partisan split among white Catholics and white mainline Protestants mostly held steady as well. In both 2008 and 2012, 56 percent of white Catholics voted for the GOP, and that nudged up just slightly to 59 percent in 2016.

For mainline Protestants, the vote in 2008 was nearly evenly split, with John McCain receiving a slim majority of votes (53%). Mitt Romney did slightly better four years later (55%). Trump enjoyed slightly more support from white mainline Protestants in 2016 (58%).

What do these patterns tell us about potential outcomes for 2020? Polling during the spring and summer of this yearduring the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemicindicated that President Trump may be in a weaker electoral position this time.

Based on weekly survey data collected by Data for Progress, then broken down by Christian traditions, we see white Christian support for the president slipping. Across traditions, slightly fewer Christians say they plan to vote for Trump and slightly more say they plan to vote for Biden than five months ago.

According to the Data for Progress survey, Bidens share of the evangelical vote hovered around 20 percent in April and May, right in line with Clintons share four years ago. Trumps support was around 70 percent, with about 15 percent of the sample saying that they were undecided or expressing the intention to vote for a third-party candidate.

However, support for Biden edged up during July and August to around a quarter of white evangelicals intending to vote for the Democratic challenger. The most recent data (collected on September 1) shows that Biden has as high as 30 percent of the white evangelical vote, a significant uptick from Clintons result in 2016 of just 19 percent.

If the trends hold, it appears likely that Trump may end up receiving 75 percent of the white evangelical vote, or possibly even less if those who are undecided break toward Biden in the last several weeks of the election cycle.

If the results for white evangelicals are slightly worrisome for the Trump campaign, the polling of white Catholics is a much louder alarm bell.

The president received 59 percent of this constituency in 2016, and in the spring it seemed likely that Trump would repeat that result in his matchup with Biden. In most waves of the survey, the president polled around 50 percent, while Joe Bidens support was around 40 percent and another 10 percent were undecided or voting for a third party.

The poll conducted in September indicates a sharp shift among white Catholics: Biden and Trump are in a statistical dead heat, with just 3 percent now unsure. Of course, this could just be a statistical aberration, but this shift toward Biden in September appears for both white evangelicals and white Catholics. Its more dramatic among the Catholics, a jump of nearly 8 percentage points.

With so few undecided voters in the sample, it seems very likely that the white Catholic vote may be closer to 50-50 in 2020, a huge shift from the 18-point margin Trump won in 2016.

The results for white nonevangelical Protestantscomparable to the mainline Protestant data from the earlier electionsseems to show fairly similar results to the 2016 race. Clinton received 41 percent of this voting bloc, and Biden appears to be on track for around the same.

On average, Trump is hovering around 47 percent, while Biden is at 42 percent with another 10 percent undecided. Its possible that the mainline vote will not deviate much from 2016.

Polling is an inexact science. Its important to note that data from other polling firms shows that the votes of religious groups in 2020 look almost exactly like they did in 2016. But some state-level polls are reinforcing the trend that white Catholics are slipping away from Trump.

For instance, Marist found that among white Catholics in Pennsylvania, Trump was at 53 percent, while Biden was at 43 percent. In 2016, Trump beat Hillary Clinton among that group by 22 percentage points. In a state where white Catholics are a quarter of the vote, a 10-point swing among white Catholics should be enough to switch the state from red to blue.

For Trump to repeat his electoral victory in 2016, he is banking on holding together the coalition of voters that sent him to the White House four years ago. His opponent then did not engage in the level of faith outreach being conducted by the Biden campaign. But while Biden possibly picking up five points among white evangelicals would be noteworthy for observers of religion and politics, it wouldnt be enough by itself to change the outcome of the election.

The Catholic vote, on the other hand, might. Biden, in part by virtue of his own religious background, may be well positioned to take nearly half of the white Catholic vote in 2020. If that pattern holds, the pathway to 270 electoral votes for the incumbent president becomes nearly impossible. The shift would also represent the most dramatic change in white Christian voting patterns in the last four election cycles.

Ryan P. Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. His research appears on the site Religion in Public, and he tweets at @ryanburge.
Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell are moving ahead full-throttle with their intention to put a sixth conservatice just on the Supreme Court before Election day, cognisant of and bowing to a number of political realities and a system that gives them few incentives to delay.

The president started the first full workday since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on Friday by letting Senate Republicans know he wants them to close ranks quickly behind his desire, fully embraced by Mr McConnell, that the chamber take up his coming nominee and vote to place them on the high court before 3 November.

We were put into this position by voters, Mr Trump said as Republicans contend voters handed them the White House and Senate in 2016, even expanding that upper chamber majority two years later. On Sunday, several McConnell allies hit the political talk show circuit to argue they and the president have a constitutional duty to nominate, vet and confirm a justice to restore the court to its nine-juge dais as soon as possible.
President Klaus Iohannis participates, on Monday, in the train-testing trip on Bucharest North railway station - 'Henri Coanda' International Airport railway connection.

According to the Presidential Administration, at the end of the trip, the head of state will hold a press statement.

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban and Minister of Transport Lucian Bode are also attending the trip.

Minister Lucian Bode said last week that the railway line Gara de Nord - Otopeni Airport will be put into operation in December.

According to CFR SA, the new railway to the airport starts from the connection area (former Halta Odaile) for about 600 meters, the route continues with a consolidation area, 900 meters long, and a viaduct of 1.52 kilometers, which crosses national road DN1, to the new passenger station, from the 'Henri Coanda' International Airport Arrivals Terminal. The railway line was installed along the entire route, the manufacturer currently carrying out the last drilling and mechanical profiling works.

The project "Modernization of the Bucharest North railway line - 'Henri Coanda' International Airport Bucharest - PHASE I: Connection C.F. at Terminal T1, 'Henri Coanda' Bucharest International Airport" provides for the construction of a simple railway on 2.95 km length, with three bridges, a viaduct 1.52 km long (37 piles and an abutment) that crosses DN1 and a double line railway station at Terminal T1.

The value of the contract amounts to 398.1 million lei and its financed through European non-reimbursable funds.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an unparalleled champion of voting rights. One of her most famous dissents in a voting case came in Shelby County v. Holder, the 2013 Supreme Court case holding that Congress no longer had the power through enforcement of the Voting Rights Act to require states with a history of racial discrimination in voting to get federal approval before making changes in their voting rules.

Ginsburgs Shelby County dissent correctly warned that voter suppression would make a return, with federal voting protection gone. And she said that the ball was in Congress court to pass major federal voting rights legislation under the ample powers granted to it in the Constitution. If President Donald Trump follows through with his plan to name Ginsburgs replacement, vote suppressors will likely be emboldened by a new conservative supermajority on the court. Efforts to make it harder to vote could be supercharged in the years ahead without major action by Congress. A new Democratic Congress may well act to expand voting rights in 2020, but that legislation could face significant headwinds at the Supreme Court.

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In Shelby County, Ginsburg famously responded to Chief Justice John Roberts claim that federal protection was no longer necessary by stating that throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.

The umbrella line is a classic for the ages, but theres another part of Ginsburgs Shelby County dissent that is equally worthy of mention but gets little attention: her belief that Congress has a great reservoir of power to protect voting rights, a reservoir Democrats must draw from should they take back control of the Senate and the presidency in November.

Ginsburgs second footnote in Shelby County reads:

The Constitution uses the words right to vote in five separate places: the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-Fourth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments. Each of these Amendments contains the same broad empowerment of Congress to enact appropriate legislation to enforce the protected right. The implication is unmistakable: Under our constitutional structure, Congress holds the lead rein in making the right to vote equally real for all U.S. citizens. These Amendments are in line with the special role assigned to Congress in protecting the integrity of the democratic process in federal elections.

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As University of Michigan Law School assistant professor Leah Litman and I explained in a recent article marking the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendmentas part of a Georgetown Law Journal symposium that also featured a conversation with Ginsburgthis sparse footnote is momentous. In it, Ginsburg was offering a thick and muscular reading of the Constitution that provides a road map for greater congressional protection for voting rights.

In footnote 2 of her Shelby County dissent, Ginsburg was saying that we should read the Constitution synthetically as a message of expanding voting rights: for Black Americans, for women, for 18- to 21-year-olds, and for the poor. More than that: Each time that the United States amended the Constitution to expand voting rights, the amendment provided an enforcement section giving Congress the power to protect these new voting rights. As Congress passed the 19th Amendment enfranchising women, for example, it specifically rejected a proposal to allow only states to enforce the amendment. The idea was that we need the national government to stop laggard states from discriminating in voting. That was true when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965, when SCOTUS decided Shelby County in 2013, and today.

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Ginsburgs message that the ball is in Congress court on the protection of voting rights must be taken seriously if Democrats retake power in 2020. As I argued in Slate almost 2 years ago, theres a whole bunch of things Congress could do if the Senate eliminated the filibuster for voting reform:

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 Legislation restoring the pre-clearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act using a new coverage formula to satisfy the courts standard in Shelby County.

 Legislation passed under Congress Article I powers to require states to establish independent redistricting commissions using neutral standards for the drawing of congressional district lines.

 Legislation admitting Puerto Rico and D.C. as states in the union, creating four more Senate seats and enfranchising millions of American voters.

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 Legislation giving greater voting rights to American citizens living in U.S. territories.

 Legislation establishing automatic voter registration for congressional elections, complete with a national registration system that would both ensure that eligible people are registered to vote and that ineligible people are kept off the rolls.

 Legislation establishing generous public financing for elections (perhaps through the use of campaign finance vouchers), barring foreign interference in U.S. elections, requiring greater transparency in political giving, and limiting contributions to independent groups like super PACs.

Over the past several years, Ginsburg surely saw that it was increasingly going to fall to Congress to protect voting rights because the Supreme Court simply would not. In one of her last dissents earlier this year, Ginsburg lamented the decision of the Supreme Court majority not to extend the time for Wisconsin voters to return absentee mail ballots during the April 7 primary conducted in the midst of a pandemic: Either they will have to brave the polls, endangering their own and others safety. Or they will lose their right to vote, through no fault of their own, she wrote. That is a matter of utmost importanceto the constitutional rights of Wisconsins citizens, the integrity of the States election process, and in this most extraordinary time, the health of the Nation.

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The Wisconsin case shows that we cannot trust the states to adequately protect voting rights. But it also shows another impediment to reform: The Supreme Court has already shown itself unwilling to be the voting rights champion Ginsburg urged. And in Shelby County, it took a narrow view of congressional power to protect voting rights.

If a new Democratic Congress and president go big and bold on voting rights, the big question will be whether the Supreme Court will rule against those protections. The court could say, as it did in Shelby, that Congress is exceeding its powers to enforce the voting rights amendments. It might block a revived Voting Rights Act that the country so desperately needs. And a court with another conservative justice would be even more likely to do that.

If the Supreme Court kills voting reform, a movement to amend the Constitution so as to provide affirmative protection for the right to vote, or changes to the composition of the Supreme Court itself, may be the only ways to fully protect voting rights in the way Ginsburg envisioned and the Constitution demands.
A pair of surveillance cameras along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront as skyline buildings stand across Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, on July 28, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

EU Firms Selling Surveillance Tools to Chinese Police: Report

Some European tech companies have been selling digital surveillance technology to Chinese security agencies involved in serious human rights violations, Amnesty International said on Monday.

Three companies based in France, Sweden, and the Netherlands sold digital surveillance systems, such as facial recognition technology and network cameras, to key players of the Chinese communist regimes mass surveillance apparatus, according to a new report (pdf) published by the human rights organization.

In some cases, the export was directly for use in Chinas indiscriminate mass surveillance programs, the report revealed.

This photo taken on May 31, 2019 shows a Uighur woman (C) going through an entrance to a bazaar in Hotan, in Chinas northwest Xinjiang region. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

Out of Control

Europes biometric surveillance industry is out of control, said Merel Koning, Amnesty Internationals senior policy officer on technology and human rights.

Our revelations of sales to Chinese security agencies and research institutions that support them are just the tip of the iceberg of a multi-billion Euro industry that is flourishing by selling its wares to human rights abusers, with few safeguards against end-use abuses.

Security guards patrol below surveillance cameras on a corner of Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Sept. 6, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

These companies are profiting from of the sale of digital surveillance technologies that are linked to horrific human rights violations, said Koning. The companies should have known full well that sales to Chinas authorities were of significant risk but apparently took no steps to prevent their products from being used and studied by human rights abusers.

Serious Questions to Answer

Sales of digital surveillance systems are not currently restricted by the European Union despite posing risks to privacy and other freedoms in countries that lack adequate safeguards, according to the report.

These technologies can be exported freely to every buyer around the globe, reads the report. The EU exports regulation framework needs fixing, and it needs it fast.

A man wearing a protective face mask walks under surveillance cameras as China is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Shanghai, on March 4, 2020. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Amnesty International called for the technology to be treated in the same way as goods with dual civilian and military use, meaning export deals could be blocked if judged to pose a significant threat to human rights.

EU governments need to face up to their responsibilities and rein in this unchecked industry, said Koning. Until the EU does, they have serious questions to answer about their potential role in human rights violations perpetrated by the Chinese government.

The European Parliament and EU member states will hold a crucial meeting in Brussels on Tuesday to decide whether to strengthen EU export rules.

Flags of the European Union fly outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on May 11, 2016. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Allegations Denied

The Amnesty report identified three EU companies that have supplied surveillance equipment to Chinese police.

Morpho, which is now part of IDEMIA, a French multinational, was awarded a contract to supply facial recognition equipment directly to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau in 2015, the report says.

IDEMIA said the sale had involved an old-generation system for the identification of faces on recorded footage rather than live surveillance, adding it did not and does not sell facial recognition technologies to China.

Axis Communications, a Swedish company, was said to have supplied its technology to Chinas public security apparatus and is repeatedly listed as a recommended brand in Chinese state surveillance tender documents dating from 2012 to 2019.

Axis issued a statement saying we understand that our solutions, like many other technologies, can be used for purposes other than intended. But it said we always respect human rights and oppose discrimination and repression in any form, and customers are systematically screened to highlight any legal restrictions or inclusion on lists of national and international sanctions.

Dutch company Noldus Information Technology supplied emotion recognition systems to public security and law enforcement-related institutions in China, Amnesty said.

Noldus CEO Lucas Noldus rejected the allegation. Our software cannot be used for mass surveillance and does not pose a risk to human rights, he said in a statement (pdf).

Reuters contributed to this report.
Vested interests misleading farmers on farm bills: PM

A day after Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the lone minister from NDA partner Akali Dal, resigned in protest over the Lok Sabha passing two of the three farm bills, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took on critics of his governments farm liberalisation plan, accusing them of spreading misinformation and lies, over a reforms that is in the best interests of farmers.

People who ruled this country for decades and were in powersuch people are trying to mislead farmers. They are telling lies to farmers, Modi said.

Fake news is also being spread that wheat and rice etc will not be procured by government agencies from farmers. This is an absolute lie, completely wrong and an attempt to cheat farmers, the prime minister said.

The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, allows buyers of farm produce to trade outside the mandi system or wholesale market system run by states under the agricultural produce market committees or APMCs.

APMC laws require farmers to only sell to licensed middlemen in notified markets, usually in the same area where the farmers reside, rather than in open markets, which economists say scuttles price discovery, hurting farm profits.

The bill enables farmers and buyers of their produce to trade outside these markets without any taxes and will therefore open up APMCs to competitions.

While making the announcement in Parliament on Thursday, Sukhbir Badal, leader of the Akali Dal and husband of Harsimrat Kaur Bdal, said the Akalis will continue to support the government and BJP but will oppose the "anti-farmer policies".

PM Modi made the remarks in his address while dedicating a railway bridge in Bihar and on the microblogging site Twitter.

The Lok Sabha passed the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 by a majority voice vote.

On Tuesday, the lower House had passed a third legislation, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the union cabinet on Thursday as her party faced heat from some farmers organisations over its initial support to ally BJP's farm sector bills. She had earlier attended the cabinet meet that cleared the bills. But after the bills were passed by the Lok Sabha, she tweeted that she was "Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter & sister".

Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal said for now, they would support the government from outside but oppose "anti-farmer policies".

Amidst Congress criticism that the farm bills cater to business interests and not address farmers woes, the prime minister asserted that the government will continue with its MSP purchase policy while opening another window for farmers who want to sell their produce over and above the government purchases.

"Farm bills clearing Lok Sabha is a historic moment for the farmers in the country and the agricultural sector. These bills, in true sense, will eliminate bottlenecks and middlemen," PM Modi tweeted in Hindi. "A lot of people are trying to mislead the farmers. I want to assure my brothers that MSP and government purchase will continue. These bills, in true sense, are meant to empower the farmers," he added.

The Produce Trade and Commerce and the Price Assurance and Farm Services bills sailed through Lok Sabha as the opposition parties walked out. Most of the opposition parties and some of those that lend issue-based support to the government, including Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal and the TRS, were opposed to the bills.

The government said the bills, which would replace the three ordinances issued in June, will help farmers across the country get a better market and price for their produce.

The Akalis, who initially supported the proposed laws, made a U-turn this week after realising the depth of the farmers' resentment. The party had appealed to the centre to hold off the bills till the farmers' concerns were addressed. But with the BJP deciding to push through the bills, the Akalis decided to vote against it.

"Farmers' trust in Shiromani Akali Dal is sacred to us and we are proud to preserve the glorious legacy of fight for farmers," Harsimrat Kaur Badal said. "I have resigned from Union Cabinet in protest against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation. Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter & sister," she tweeted later.
If its good or not, you need to know about this for your works sake, Mr. Angwang said to the official, according to prosecutors. They are the biggest venue for activities right now.

That same month, Mr. Angwang received the Cop of the Month award from the New York Police Department, according to a Facebook post that has since been removed.

A lawyer for Mr. Angwang declined to comment. The Police Department said Mr. Angwang, who joined the force in 2016, had been suspended without pay.

Tibet, an autonomous region in China, has been a flash-point in U.S.-China relations for decades. Beijing considers Tibet to be part of its historical empire, but many Tibetans believe the region was illegally incorporated into China in 1951 and have pressed for independence. The Chinese government has long viewed the Tibetan independence movement as a threat to its stability.

A spokesman for International Campaign for Tibet, an advocacy group in Washington, said in a statement that the allegations showed the Chinese Communist Party was seeking to suppress dissent not only in Tibet, but any place in the world where Tibetans are free to express themselves, starting with the United States of America.

In addition to the charge of acting as an illegal agent, Mr. Angwang faces three other counts of wire fraud, making false statements and obstruction.

The recorded conversations cited in the complaint indicated that Tibetans who agreed to become intelligence sources would be compensated by the Chinese government for information they provided.
Jacinda Ardern has apologised for participating in selfies that have broken her own COVID-fighting social distancing measures.

The Labour leader toured Massey University at Palmerston North on Thursday while campaigning for New Zealand's October 17 election.

Ms Ardern was spotted through the windows of a laboratory and a large crowd quickly grew outside the facility's exit.

She was flooded by students and fans as she made her way to the campaign van and asked the crowd to back away but soon embraced it and took the photo.

The New Zealand Prime Minister was pictured during a tour of Massey University (pictured) on Thursday last week while campaigning for New Zealand's October 17 Election

She was also caught-out while touring Isles Construction on the same day, stopping to pose for selfies with tradesmen and not keeping in line with social distancing.

The Labour Leader was in Auckland on Monday to announce the rollback of COVID-19 restrictions and admitted she should have known better.

'All the way through on the campaign trail and even before during alert level settings, I work really hard not to shake people's hands,' she said.

'I sanitise. I wear my mask in Auckland, and I work hard to try and keep my social distance.

'In that particular photo I did make a mistake. I should have stepped further forward. I should have asked them to step apart from each other, and I acknowledge that.'

Auckland, which was at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak that plunged New Zealand back into lockdown, will go into alert level 2 on Thursday.

The rest of the country will lift its lockdown restrictions entirely from midnight on Monday, with just 62 active coronavirus cases in the country.

The New Zealand Prime Minister often takes selfies with supporters while campaigning

National leader Judith Collins said she had been 'staggered' to see the photos of Ms Ardern.

'I was staggered to see the Prime Minister clearly not socially distancing with no mask just the other day in Palmerston North in a level 2 lockdown,' she said on Monday.

Alert level settings outside of Auckland do not require masks to be worn but Ms Ardern continuously urges people to 'be vigilant' and socially distance when possible.

The COVID restrictions have been tough on the country's politicians, who have been unable to reach voters in the means they've become accustomed to.

Politicians have scrapped door knocking efforts, instead holding footpath meetings.

Debate crowds have been scaled right back, with voters encouraged to watch online rather than attend in person.

National leader Judith Collins said she had been 'staggered' to see the photos of Ms Ardern

The Labour Leader was in Auckland on Monday to announce the rollback of COVID-19 restrictions and admitted she should have known better

Rallies have also been held back until the end of the campaign.

As of Tuesday, candidates and parties are free to hold gatherings of any size outside of Auckland.

In the country's biggest city, it is against the law to hold a gathering with more than 100 people, though this restriction is due to come offline on October 8, just nine days before election day.

Deputy PM Winston Peters, who entered parliament in 1979, decried the restrictions, saying they made for 'the worst campaign environment that I've been involved in'.

Ms Ardern said the restrictions weren't aimed at dampening campaign efforts.

'None of our decision-making around these alert levels, actually are based on the politics or the campaign. They can't be. They have to be about safety,' she said.

'There's awkward moments where I refuse to shake people's hands and try and keep distance.'


Donald Trump said Monday that he will wait to announce his nomination to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg until Friday or Saturday  after funeral services have concluded for the late justice.

'I think it'll be on Friday or Saturday,' Trump said of the impending announcement for his third Supreme Court nomination. 'And we want to pay respect. We, it looks like, it looks like we will have probably services on Thursday or Friday, as I understand it.'

'I think in all due respect we should wait until the services are over for Justice Ginsburg,' he told the Fox & Friends panel during a Monday morning call-in interview. 'And so we're looking probably at Friday or maybe Saturday.'

Trump said he has a list of four or five women he is 'seriously considering' to replace her.

'Five women are being looked at and vetted very carefully. Five. And we'll make a decision probably Saturday,' Trump told reporters Monday before leaving the White House for back-to-back remarks in swing state Ohio.

He also urged the Senate vote on the nomination before the election, claiming there is 'plenty of time' to get someone through the process before Election Day on November 3.

'I'd much rather have a vote before the election because there's a lot of work to be done,' the president asserted. 'We have plenty of time to do it. I mean there's really a lot of time. So let's say I make the announcement on Saturday, there's a great deal of time before the election. That'll be up to Mitch in the Senate. I think it sends a good signal. And it's solidarity I'm just doing my constitutional obligation.'

The Republican Senate blocked then-President Barack Obama's nomination to the Supreme Court after Justice Antonin Scalia's death in March 2016, which was 8 months before the election.

At the same time signaling 'respect' for the late justice, the president also brought into question her 'dying wish' that she not be replaced by a Trump nominee.

He cast doubt on Ginsburg's dying wish to have the next president replace her on the Supreme Court, alleging it was actually written by a Democrat.

Trump said it was actually Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff who were behind the justice's last request.

Donald Trump told Fox & Friends Monday morning he will reveal his pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday or Saturday, claiming he wanted to 'respect' her by waiting until after her funeral services to make the announcement

Trump said he is 'seriously considering' five or four different people for the job, as a person familiar with the process said the White House narrowed it down to four women  Amy Coney Barrett, who is considered the front runner, Barbara Lagoa, another strong contender, Kate Todd and Allison Jones Rushing

Trump also cast doubt on Ginsburg's 'dying wish' that she be replaced by the next president, telling reporters at the White House Monday that the statement portrayed by her granddaughter is just 'too convenient'

There is not proof that this allegation has any validity and Trump did not offer any explanation.

'I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff, Schumer and Pelosi,' Trump said during his Fox & Friends interview.

'I would be more inclined to the second, it sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or shifty Schiff. So that that came out of the wind. Let's see. I mean, maybe she did and maybe she didn't,' he added.

Ginsburg's granddaughter Clara Spera said that in her dying days, the liberal justice dictated a dying wish to her.

'My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,' she said.

Trump told reporters before boarding Marine One from the South Lawn Monday: 'It just sounds to me that it would be someone else. I don't believe  it could be, it could be and it might not be too.

'It was just too convenient,' he added.

Democrats have used Ginsburg's words and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's actions in 2016 - when he held back President Barack Obama's nominee until the election was decided - as an argument to let the winner of November's contest nominate Ginsburg's replacement.

He also lashed out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday as 'crazy' after she refused to rule out impeaching him in a gambit that could be used to stall a Supreme Court confirmation process.

Trump blasted the idea  which has some political risks and practical flaws  as he defended his infamous July 25, 2019 call with the president of Ukraine that was the subject of the Democratic impeachment effort as 'perfect.'

'@SenateGOP Crazy Nancy Pelosi wants to Impeach me if I fulfill my Constitutional Obligation to put forth a Nominee for the vacated seat on the United States Supreme Court. This would be a FIRST, even crazier than being Impeached for making a PERFECT phone call to Ukrainian Pres,' Trump tweeted Monday morning.

Trump also attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday as 'crazy' after she refused to rule out impeaching him in a gambit that could be used to stall a Supreme Court confirmation process

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was asked if she might use impeachment as a tactic to slow a Supreme Court nomination

The blast came hours after Pelosi refused on Sunday to rule out impeachment as one of the 'options' Democrats could avail themselves of in an effort to try to stall a vote on the judicial vacancy.

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' she told ABC's 'This Week ' when asked about the prospect.

'This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election,' Pelosi continued. 'Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus.'

Ginsburg, who was lovingly referred to as RBG, will be honored in a viewing outside the Supreme Court building later this week, according to pandemic-era guidelines.

The late Justice will lie in state this week as her casket will be on public view Wednesday and Thursday at the Supreme Court Building and Friday in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. Private ceremonies will also be held at both locations.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday that the formal ceremony at the Capitol on Friday morning is invitation-only due to the COVID pandemic.

It's unclear if President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will pay their respects and, if so, when.

Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service, the court said in a statement. Her husband, Martin Ginsburg, was buried at Arlington in 2010.

Protesters gathered outside of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's Washington D.C. home on Monday morning. The crowd appeared after Graham said he would support Trump's pick for the open Supreme Court seat

Graham is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominees

The president also claimed to the Fox News morning show panel that he has narrowed his list of potential nominees to five different people.

'I'm looking at five, probably four, but I'm looking at five very seriously,' Trump said.

'I'm going to make a decision on either Friday or Saturday. I will announce it either Friday or Saturday, and then the work begins,' he continued. 'Hopefully, it won't be too much work, because these are very qualified people. No matter how you would look at it, these are the finest people in the nation. Young people. Pretty young for the most part.'

The president has signaled an impending announcement following the death of Ginsburg last week, claiming it's his 'obligation' to nominate a new justice 'without delay.'

With Ginsburg's passing, only two of the remaining eight justices are women, prompting Trump to promise over the weekend he will nominate a female.

There are four women who have made the shortlist, a source with knowledge of the process said, according to Politico  Amy Coney Barrett, who is considered the front runner, Kate Todd, Barbara Lagoa and Allison Jones Rushing.

Barrett is 48, Lagoa is 52, Rushing is 38 and Todd is 45. If any of these women are nominated and confirmed, they would be the youngest currently seated on the current Supreme Court.

'These are the smartest people, the smartest young people, you like to go young, because they're there for a long time,' Trump told Fox & Friends.

He added that his nominee would 'abide by the Constitution,' be a 'good person' and have 'very, very high moral values.'

RBG died at the age of 87 late last week due to complications from her ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer.

Trump said Saturday that his nomination for the open Supreme Court seat 'will be a very talented, very brilliant woman.'

'I like women more than I like men,' he continued during a campaign rally in North Carolina over the weekend.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was lovingly referred to as RBG, died last week at the age of 87 due to complications from an ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer. She will be honored in an outdoor viewing near the Supreme Court building later this week

The president's swift and impending nomination will be made in hopes of pressuring the Senate to ratify his decision before voters are given the chance to decide on a second term.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to hold confirmation hearings and bring a vote to the floor on Trump's nomination.

The Kentucky senator has also been lobbying for Republicans on-the-fence about the nomination to join in with the majority of the GOP  who intend to confirm Trump's decision.

Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee fell in line with the leader Sunday.

McConnell has locked down Alexander's key swing vote for the Supreme Court fight after two other GOP senators said Ginsburg should not be replaced before the election.

Alexander threw his support behind McConnell in a statement, saying 'no one should be surprised' by a new appointment in an election year and that voters 'expect it'.

The news is a blow to the Democrats, as the retiring Senator was viewed as a potential swing vote against McConnell and Trump's plans to rush the court appointment.

The nomination will come just six weeks before the election and has sparked fierce debate, with many Democrats - as well as some Republicans - insisting the seat must not be filled until after the election.

The crux of the debate centers around the move made by Republicans back in 2016 - and led by McConnell - to block then-President Barack Obama from appointing a new justice to the court nine months before the election.

Their argument at the time was that the position should not be filled until a new president was elected by the American people - a standard set by the Republicans that the Democrats now argue the party must continue to honor.

Demonstrators also mobbed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells Louisville home on Saturday as the Kentucky senator said he would bring a vote to the floor of the Senate on confirming Trump's SCOTUS pick

Four GOP senators need to join the Democrats to stop a Supreme Court nomination going forward.

Protesters mobbed McConnell's Louisville home on Saturday, urging the leader to work against the president's impending nomination and not allow a vote to take place.

And early Monday morning, demonstrators also gathered outside of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham Washington D.C. home.

'We can't sleep so neither should Lindsey,' on banner, held by multiple protesters, read.

'We are wide awake,' another sign said.

Graham is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and will oversee the confirmation hearing for whoever is nominated to the open Supreme Court seat.

Alexander released a statement on his decision, claiming: 'No one should be surprised that a Republican Senate majority would vote on a Republican president's Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year.'

'The Constitution gives senators the power to do it. The voters who elected them expect it.'

Alexander, who is retiring at the end of his current term, went on to say that Democrats would also rush to fill the seat 'if the shoe were on the other foot'.

'Senator McConnell is only doing what Democrat leaders have said they would do if the shoe were on the other foot,' he said.

'I have voted to confirm Justices [John] Roberts, [Samuel] Alito, [Sonia] Sotomayor, [Neil] Gorsuch and [Brett] Kavanaugh based upon their intelligence, character and temperament.

'I will apply the same standard when I consider President Trump's nomination to replace Justice Ginsburg.'

The senator has a history of bipartisanship, having worked closely with Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in the past on making it easier for the Senate to confirm presidential nominees.

He had also been eyed by Democrats as a swing vote during Trump's impeachment trial, one of a handful of GOP senators that hinted they could vote to hear from witnesses with knowledge of Trump's conduct toward Ukraine.

However Alexander disappointed Democrats in this instance too, deciding against the calling of witnesses and calling the trial a 'partisan impeachment.'

Mitch McConnell has locked down the key swing vote of GOP Representative Lamar Alexander for his Supreme Court fight. The Tennessee Senator threw his support behind McConnell in a statement Sunday, saying 'no one should be surprised' by a new appointment in an election year and that voters 'expect it'

Two GOP senators - Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins - have already dissented on the Supreme Court vote, vowing to derail Trump's nomination plans until after the November 3 election.

Murkowski became the second Republican senator Sunday to say the chamber should not take up the president's nominee before the American people vote for their next president, hours after Trump threw shade at her publicly and after her colleague and frequent collaborator Collins made her own opposition to a quick vote known.

'For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election,' the Alaska senator said.

'Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed,' she continued.

'I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia.

'We are now even closer to the 2020 election  less than two months out  and I believe the same standard must apply.'

Murkowski in her statement was referencing the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland, which never got a hearing despite Barack Obama nominating Garland nine months before the 2016 elections.

Two GOP senators - Lisa Murkowski (left) and Susan Collins (right) - have already dissented, vowing to derail Trump's nomination plans until after the November 3 election

WHO'S WHO ON TRUMP'S SUPREME COURT SHORTLIST REPUBLICAN SENATORS Ted Cruz, Texas. 49 Josh Hawley, Missouri. 40 Tom Cotton, Arkansas. 43 JUDGES Bridget Bade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 54 Stuart Kyle Duncan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 48 James Ho, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 47 Gregory Katsas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 56 Barbara Lagoa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. 52 Carlos Muniz, Supreme Court of Florida. 51 Martha Pacold, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 41 Peter Phipps, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 47 Sarah Pitlyk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. 43 Allison Jones Rushing, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 38 Lawrence VanDyke, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 47 CURRENT AND FORMER REPUBLICAN OFFICIALS Daniel Cameron, Kentucky Attorney General. 34 Paul Clement, partner with Kirkland & Ellis, former solicitor general. 54 Steven Engel, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. 46 Noel Francisco, former U.S. solicitor general. 51 Christopher Landau, U.S. ambassador to Mexico. 56 Kate Todd, deputy White House counsel. 45 Advertisement

Trump took a slap at Murkowski hours before she released the statement Sunday morning, as he kept up his pressure campaign on his own party and prepared to nominate a Supreme Court Justice in an upended election.

The president kept his comments brief, penning a simple 'No thanks!' as he retweeted a promotion by the Alaska Chamber of Commerce speech by Murkowski for Tuesday.

Murkowski voted against Trump's last Supreme Court pick  Justice Brett Kavanaugh. More critically for the current scramble underway, were statements she said shortly before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death.

'I would not vote to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. We are 50 some days away from an election,' she said, Alaska Public Radio reported.

She referenced Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision not to grant a hearing to Garland in 2016 nearly nine months before the election.

'That was too close to an election, and that the people needed to decide,' Murkowski said.

'That the closer you get to an election, that argument becomes even more important.'

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine  with whom Murkowski often votes when diverging from party orthodoxy  came out with her own statement Saturday.

'In fairness to the American people, who will either be re-electing the President or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd,' Collins, facing a tough re-election race herself, said on Twitter.

Collins is up for reelection in a close race.

The two dissenters have left Democrats still shy of the count of four needed to derail a nomination, but points to the possibility they could prevent it by winning over an additional pair of Republicans.

With Alexander no longer a possible dissenter, the focus has shifted to Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who votes with conservatives but also voted for an impeachment article against Trump and has called him out occasionally in public.

Democrats have put several other options forward to stall or counteract Trump rushing through the appointment for Ginsburg's replacement.

Several including Rep. Joe Kennedy III have threatened to pack the Supreme Court if they capture the Senate in November and Republicans have already pushed through a conservative successor to Ginsburg.

President Trump said Saturday his Supreme Court nominee is most likely to be a woman. On Sunday he tweeted about Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski

President Donald Trump tweeted a dig at GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who said before Ginsburg's death that she would not vote for a replacement close to the election

What is court packing? Court packing is the move to appoint extra justices to the Supreme Court. It is a move several Democrats have proposed if the party takes control of the Senate in order to increase the presence of liberal justices on the bench. Franklin D. Roosevelt made attempts to pack the court back in 1937 when the Republican president wanted to pass his New Deal laws and needed more conservative justices in the court to vote in favor of them. Roosevelt's attempts failed and he was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans for the move. However Democrats argue court packing will be necessary to rebalance the court if President Trump does not wait until after the presidential inauguration to appoint Justice Ginsburg's replacement. The issue in contention is that Republicans barred President Obama from appointing a justice in the election year in 2016. Many Democrats say this meant the seat - finally filled by a Trump nominee after he entered the White house - was 'stolen' by Republicans and that if Republicans now do the very same thing they banned Democrats from doing in 2016 by rushing through an appointment, Democrats will then be within their rights to rebalance the court. Advertisement

Joe Kennedy III, who represents Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District and is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, tweeted Sunday: 'If he holds a vote in 2020, we pack the court in 2021. It's that simple.'

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler wrote on Twitter: 'If Sen. McConnell and @SenateGOP were to force through a nominee during the lame-duck session -- before a new Senate and President can take office - then the incoming Senate should immediately move to expand the Supreme Court.'

Court packing is a controversial move, however Democrats argue it will be necessary to rebalance the court if Trump does not wait until after the presidential inauguration to appoint Ginsburg's replacement.

Other options on the table are the pursuit of impeachment charges, something House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would not rule out in an interview Saturday.

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' she told ABC's 'This Week' when asked about the prospect.

'This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election,' Pelosi continued.

'Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus.'

AOC echoed the possibility of pursuing impeachment charges at a joint press conference with Schumer Sunday saying there has been 'an enormous amount of lawbreaking' under Trump's watch and branding Barr 'unfit for office'.

'I believe that certainly there has been an enormous amount of lawbreaking in the Trump administration,' she said, when asked about impeachment.

'I believe Attorney General Bill Barr is unfit for office and that he has pursued potentially law-breaking behaviors.'

She said America must 'use every tool at our disposal' and turn to 'unprecedented ways' to stall the appointment and that means putting all options 'on the table'.

'I believe that also we must consider again all the tools available to our disposal and all these options should be entertained and on the table,' she said.

Two other senior Republicans, Roy Blunt of Missouri and Rob Portman of Ohio, backed McConnell in public statements Sunday.

Conservative Trump loyalist Sen. Tom Cotton told 'Fox News Sunday' the president should act 'without delay.'

'The Senate will exercise our constitutional duty,' he said. 'We will move forward without delay.'

Trump's public pressure comes hours after he said at a campaign rally he will act swiftly to make a nomination.

'I will be putting forth a nominee this week,' he said at a campaign rally in North Carolina

'It will be a woman,' Trump added.

The nomination would fail if Republicans were to lose four members from their 53-vote majority.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz on Sunday pushed the Senate to vote on a nomination before the election, but would say his party has the votes.

'I don't know the answer to that. I believe we will' he said.

Before he left the White House for the rally, Trump had named two conservative women who he has elevated to federal appeals courts as contenders, a move that would tip the court further to the right.

Trump, who now has a chance to nominate a third justice to a lifetime appointment on the court, named Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees.

He praised Lagoa, in particular, as an 'extraordinary person'.

GOP Sen. Tom Tillis (center) holds a sign as President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, September 19 in Fayetteville, North Carolina

Lest there be any questions about the political implications, Trump is expected to make his choice in a matter of days. Those close to the president are encouraging him to announce his pick before the first presidential debate against Democratic challenger Joe Biden on September 29.

Biden said the winner of the November election should choose the next justice. Biden's team is skeptical that the Supreme Court clash will fundamentally change the contours of a race Trump was trailing so close to Election Day. Indeed, five states are already voting.

In fact, Democrats say it could motivate voters to fight harder against Trump and Republicans as the Senate breaks the norms with an unprecedented confirmation at a time when Americans are deciding crucial elections.

'Everything Americans value is at stake,' Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told fellow Democratic senators on a conference call Saturday, according to a person who was not authorized to publicly discuss the private call and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biden is not planning to release a full list of potential court nominees, according to a top aide, because it would further politicize the process. The aide was not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biden's team suggests that the court fight will heighten the focus on issues that were already at stake in the election: health care, environmental protections, gender equity and abortion.

Who is Amy Coney Barrett? On Saturday afternoon, Trump named Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees. Emerging as the favorite is Barrett, 48, a mother of seven children, including two adopted from Haiti and one with special needs. Her involvement in a cult-like Catholic group where members are assigned a 'handmaiden' has caused concern in Barret's nomination to other courts and is set to come under fierce review again if she is Trump's pick. The group was the one which helped inspire 'The Handmaids Tale', book's author Margaret Atwood has said. Barrett emerges now as a front runner after she was already shortlisted for the nomination in 2018 which eventually went to Brett Kavanaugh. Trump called the federal appellate court judge 'very highly respected' when questioned about her Saturday. Born in New Orleans in 1972, she was the first and only woman to occupy an Indiana seat on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Married to Jesse M. Barrett, a partner at SouthBank Legal in South Bend and former Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, the couple have five biological and two adopted children. Their youngest biological child has Down Syndrome. Friends say she is a devoted mother - and say with just an hour to go until she was voted into the 7th District Court of Appeals by the U.S. Senate in 2017, Barrett was outside trick-or-treating with her kids. Barrett's strong Christian ideology makes her a favorite of the right but her involvement in a religious group sometimes branded as a 'cult' is set to be harshly criticized. In 2017, her affiliation to the small, tightly knit Christian group called People of Praise caused concern while she was a nominee for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The New York Times reported that the practices of the group would surprise even other Catholics with members of the group swearing a lifelong oath of loyalty, called a covenant, to one another. They are also assigned and held accountable to a personal adviser, known until recently as a 'head' for men and a 'handmaid' for women and believe in prophecy, speaking in tongues and divine healings. Members are also encouraged to confess personal sins, financial information and other sensitive disclosures to these advisors. Advisors are allowed to report these admissions to group leadership if necessary, according to an account of one former member. The organization itself says that the term 'handmaid' was a reference to Jesus's mother Mary's description of herself as a 'handmaid of the Lord.' They said they recently stopped using the term due to cultural shifts and now use the name 'women leaders.' The group deems that husbands are the heads of their wives and should take authority over the family while 'the heads and handmaids give direction on important decisions, including whom to date or marry, where to live, whether to take a job or buy a home, and how to raise children,' the Times reported. Unmarried members are placed living with married couples members often look to buy or rent homes near other members. Founded in 1971, People of Praise was part of the era's 'great emergence of lay ministries and lay movements in the Catholic Church,' founder Bishop Peter Smith told the Catholic News Agency. Beginning with just 29 members, it now has an estimated 2,000. According to CNA, some former members of the People of Praise allege that leaders exerted undue influence over family decision-making, or pressured the children of members to commit to the group. At least 10 members of Barrett's family, not including their children, also belong to the group. Barrett's father, Mike Coney, serves on the People of Praise's powerful 11-member board of governors, described as the group's 'highest authority.' Her mother Linda served as a handmaiden. The group's ultra-conservative religious tenets helped spur author Margaret Atwood to publish The Handmaid's Tale, a story about a religious takeover of the U.S. government, according to a 1986 interview with the writer. The book has since been made into a hit TV series. According to legal experts, loyalty oaths such at the one Barrett would have taken to People of Praise could raise legitimate questions about a judicial nominee's independence and impartiality. 'These groups can become so absorbing that it's difficult for a person to retain individual judgment,' said Sarah Barringer Gordon, a professor of constitutional law and history at the University of Pennsylvania. 'I don't think it's discriminatory or hostile to religion to want to learn more' about her relationship with the group. 'We don't try to control people,' said Craig S. Lent. 'And there's never any guarantee that the leader is always right. You have to discern and act in the Lord. 'If and when members hold political offices, or judicial offices, or administrative offices, we would certainly not tell them how to discharge their responsibilities.' During her professional career, Barrett spent two decades as a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, from which she holds her bachelor's and law degrees. She was named 'Distinguished Professor of the Year' three separate years, a title decided by students. A former clerk for late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, she was nominated by Trump to serve on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017 and confirmed in a 55-43 vote by the Senate later that year. At the time, three Democratic senators supported her nomination: Joe Donnelly (Ind.), who subsequently lost his 2018 reelection bid, Tim Kaine (Va.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.), according to the Hill. She was backed by every GOP senator at the time, but she did not disclose her relationship with People of Praise which led to later criticism of her appointment. Barret is well-regarded by the religious right because of this devout faith. Yet these beliefs are certain to cause problems with her conformation and stand in opposition to the beliefs of Ginsburg, who she would be replacing. Axios reported in 2019 that Trump told aides he was 'saving' Barrett to replace Ginsburg. Her deep Catholic faith was cited by Democrats as a large disadvantage during her 2017 confirmation hearing for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. 'If you're asking whether I take my faith seriously and I'm a faithful Catholic, I am,' Barrett responded during that hearing, 'although I would stress that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge.' Republicans now believe that she performed well in her defense during this hearing, leaving her potentially capable of doing the same if facing the Senate Judiciary Committee. She is a former member of the Notre Dame's 'Faculty for Life' and in 2015 signed a letter to the Catholic Church affirming the 'teachings of the Church as truth.' Among those teachings were the 'value of human life from conception to natural death' and marriage-family values 'founded on the indissoluble commitment of a man and a woman'. She has previously written that Supreme Court precedents are not sacrosanct. Liberals have taken these comments as a threat to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide. Barrett wrote that she agrees 'with those who say that a justice's duty is to the Constitution and that it is thus more legitimate for her to enforce her best understanding of the Constitution rather than a precedent she thinks clearly in conflict with it'. Among the other statements that have cause concern for liberal are her declaration that ObamaCare's birth control mandate is 'grave violation of religious freedom.' LGBTQ organizations also voiced their concern about her when she was first named on the shortlist. She has also sided with Trump on immigration. In a case from June 2020, IndyStar reports that she was the sole voice on a three-judge panel that supported allowing federal enforcement of Trump's public charge immigration law in Illinois, The law would have prevented immigrants from getting legal residency in the United States if they rely on public benefits like food stamps or housing vouchers. Advertisement

Who is Barbara Lagoa? Barbara Lagoa , 52, was named by Trump as one of his potential nominees to the Supreme Court. A Cuban American who parents fled to the U.S., Lagoa was born in Miami in 1967. She grew up in the largely Cuban American city of Hialeah. According to the Tampa Bay Times, her parents fled Cuba over five decades ago when Fidel Castro's Communist dictatorship took over. During the 2019 news conference in Miami announcing her appointment to the Supreme Court, she told the crowd that her father had to give up his 'dream of becoming a lawyer' because of Castro. If nominated to the nation's high court by Trump and confirmed by the Senate, the mother of three daughters would be the second Latino justice to ever serve. She served on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for less than a year after being appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate on an 80-15 vote Prior to that she also spent less than a year in her previous position as the first Latina and Cuban American to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. Lagoa is considered a protege of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a close Trump ally. Her position in crucial swing state Florida could help Trump politically. Last week, she voted in the majority in a ruling that barred hundreds of thousands of Florida felons who have served their time from voting unless they pay fees and fines owed to the state. This decision could have a major impact on the presidential race as Florida is often won by a candidate by only razor-thin margins. 'Florida's felon re-enfranchisement scheme is constitutional,' Lagoa wrote in a 20-page concurrence, according to USA Today. 'It falls to the citizens of the state of Florida and their elected state legislators, not to federal judges, to make any additional changes to it.' In 2000 Lagoa was one of a dozen mostly pro bono lawyers who represented the Miami family of Elian Gonzalez, a Cuban citizen who became embroiled in a heated international custody and immigration controversy. In 2016 while in the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, she wrote an opinion reversing the conviction of Adonis Losada, a former Univision comic actor sentenced to 153 years in prison for collecting child porn. She ruled that a Miami-Dade judge erred in not allowing Losada to defend himself at trial. That same month she became unpopular with free press advocates when she was one of three judges who allowed a Miami judge to close a courtroom to the public for a key hearing in a high-profile murder case. They ruled that publicity surrounding the machete murder of a student in Homestead might unfairly sway jurors at a future trial. Lagoa is a graduate of Florida International University and Columbia University Law. She is is a member of the conservative Federalist Society, which stresses that judges should 'say what the law is, not what it should be.' She is married to lawyer Paul C. Huck Jr., and her father-in-law is United States District Judge Paul Huck. Advertisement

WHO IS ALLISON JONES RUSHING? At 38-years-old, Judge Allison Jones Rushing is the youngest woman Trump is considering to become a Supreme Court Justice. The only other potential nominee younger than Rushing is Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is 34. But President Donald Trump vowed to nominate a woman to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat, meaning Rushing is effectively the youngest potential nominee. Trump told Fox & Friends he want to nominate someone young 'because they're there for a long time.' Rushing in from North Carolina and graduated magna cum laude Duke University School if Law in 2007, where she served as executive editor of the Duke Law Journal. She formerly worked at Williams and Connolly and now serves as judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District. She clerked from 2007-2008 for then-Judge Neil Gorsuch, who went on to become a Supreme Court Justice by Trump's nomination. And also clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas during the 20102011 term. In March 2019, Rushing was confirmed as a federal judge after being nominated by Trump. During the confirmation proceedings, Rushing was asked about her ties to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)  which is a conservative Christian group she interned for in 2005 while in law school. ADF has received harsh criticism for opposing LGBT rights and had been labeled a 'hate group' by some. But Rushing said 'Hate is wrong, and it should have no place in our society. In my experience with ADF, I have not witnessed anyone expressing or advocating hate.' Advertisement
RDS repairs 37 km of H-01 highway in Cherkasy region ahead of schedule, wins tenders for 35 more km

The leading and biggest road-constructing company in Ukraine RDS Ukrainian road-building group of companies has completed the repair of 37 km of the section of the N-01 road in Cherkasy region ahead of schedule, the group's co-founder, Yuriy Shumakher, has told Interfax-Ukraine.

"According to our commitments, we were supposed to complete the work in November, but we completed the renovation at the end of summer and in September we expect the section to be launched," he said.

Shumakher recalled that, under the Big Construction program, from the beginning of 2020, the second category H-01 highway, which connects Kyiv with Znamyanka, is being repaired, and the company has repaired three sections with a total length of 37 km from Horodysche to Smila.

According to the information in the ProZorro system, at the beginning of July, four more tenders were announced for current medium repairs in total 35 km of this road in Cherkasy region, and all of them were won in August by Rostdorstroy LLC from the RDS Group, offering about UAH 713.9 million in total. The corresponding agreements were signed in early September.

Its competitors were Joint Ukrainian-German Venture Autostrada LLC and ShRBU-48 LLC.

Shumakher said that the overhaul of the N-01 highway had not been carried out since the 1970s, as a result of long-term operation of the road and heavy traffic of heavy trucks the road surface was badly worn out.

RDS won three tenders for the restoration of the specified 37th section of this road last year offering the price of UAH 658.24 million in total.

In addition, the group has already started repairing two more sections of the H-01 road, the total length of this section is 19 km.

The total length of the H-01 highway is 289.3 km. The road passes through three regions: Kyiv, Cherkasy and Kirovohrad.

RDS Group is included in the top three road construction companies of Ukraine. It includes Kyivshliakhbud" and Rostdorstroy. The core business is construction, reconstruction and maintenance of roads and bridges, construction of airfield complexes.

The group of companies operates in 9 regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Odessa, Vinnytsia, Luhansk, as well as in the cities of Kyiv and Odessa. RDS production facilities are located in each of these areas. The assets of the company include asphalt and cement concrete plants, laboratories, a fleet of vehicles.

The number of employees is over 2000 people.



RDS co-founded the National Association of Road Workers of Ukraine (NARWU). In addition, it is a member of the European Business Association (EBA).

The ultimate beneficial owners of RDS Group are Ukrainian citizens Yuriy Shumakher and Yevhen Konovalov.




By Jun Ji-hye







Lotte hotels across the country are offering a variety of spa packages to help people better cope with the stress and depression caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.







Premium landmark hotels Signiel Seoul and Signiel Busan are showcasing the "Deep Relaxation" package.







Signiel Seoul's Evian Spa, a spa brand inspired by the European Alps, offers a heavenly rest with a striking view from the 86th floor, while Signiel Busan, a Chantecaille aromacology spa that uses natural ingredients, provides luxurious skincare.







Lotte Hotel Seoul's Sulwhasoo Spa enhances the treatment effect with its anti-aging herbal spa program, which uses ingredients from the herbal cosmetics brand Sulwhasoo.







Customers who sign up for the "All About Healing" package can enjoy a 50-minute skincare program in addition to a dinner for two at one of the three restaurants at the hotel  Mugunghwa, Momoyama and Dorim.







The package is available until Oct. 12, with prices starting from 510,000 won.







At Lotte Hotel World and Lotte Hotel Ulsan, customers can experience the Spa EIR programs.







The nation's largest hotel operator said a spa would be one of the best ways to soothe and pacify the body and mind worn out by busy daily life, noting that the treatment products that combine nature and science in addition to the delicate touch of therapists offer tranquility.







It added Lotte Hotel is making all-out efforts to ensure the hygiene and safety of its customers in line with the government's anti-virus standards.







The company has attracted keen attention from the hospitality industry by quickly drawing up a manual to respond to COVID-19 pandemic and disseminating it to its global chain hotels as well as hotels in Korea.


Tulsi Gabbard Says Election Fraud a Serious Threat, Announces Bill Targeting Ballot Harvesting

Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) on Sept. 19 echoed President Donald Trumps concerns about the risk of election fraud regarding mail-in ballots, calling it a serious threat as she announced her new bipartisan legislation that seeks to outlaw ballot harvesting.

In announcing the legislation, which is being co-sponsored by Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Gabbard raised concerns about the practice that permits a third party to collect and return multiple ballots, saying the risk presented is not a partisan issue.

Banning ballot harvesting is not a partisan issue. Its been used & abused in states like North Carolina and California & is ripe for fraud, Gabbard said on Twitter Friday.

Banning ballot harvesting is not a partisan issue. Its been used & abused in states like North Carolina and California & is ripe for fraud. Thats why I introd HR8285, the Election Fraud Prevention Act w/ @RodneyDavis  to protect the integrity of our elections & our democracy pic.twitter.com/ltZhaenSVB  Tulsi Gabbard  (@TulsiGabbard) September 18, 2020

Gabbard said that she and Davis introduced HR8285, the Election Fraud Prevention Act, to protect the integrity of our elections and our democracy.

The strength of our democracy lies in the integrity of our elections, Gabbard said. Whether in the midst of a pandemic where mail-in voting is likely to drastically increase, or in a normal election, no one should get in between a voter and the ballot box.

The bipartisan bill aims to improve the security of the mail-in ballot process, according to a press release, and seeks to slash federal funding from states that refuse to prohibit ballot harvesting.

Ballot harvesting remains a source of partisan dispute. One of the few recent instances of fraud related to ballot collection happened in North Carolina in 2018, resulting in a congressional election being overturned.

More than half of states allow a third party to collect ballots. And political groups and campaigns from both parties have run ballot-collection programs aimed at boosting turnout and ensuring voters who are older, homebound, disabled, or live far from U.S. postal services can get their ballot returned.

While some states have prohibited vote harvesting, many states lack any regulations that would stop third-parties from fraudulently collecting and mishandling ballots as has occurred in recent elections, Gabbard said in a statement. Our bipartisan bill incentivizes states to take action and prevent any political parties or any third-party special interest groups from interfering with our sacred right to vote.

The legislation would ensure that voters seeking to turn in their mail-in ballots may only be assisted by an election official or mail carrier acting in their official capacities, as well as family members, household members, or caregivers, the release states.

Davis said, Allowing any individual, including political operatives, to pick up multiple voters ballots and deliver them to a polling location undermines the integrity of our elections.

Banning ballot harvesting shouldnt be a partisan issue, he said in a statement. Weve seen ballot harvesting widely used in states like California and a recent court case in North Carolina outlined the clear opportunities for fraud and coercion with the ballot harvesting process. This bipartisan bill will encourage states to ban this process that is ripe for fraud and is a major threat to the integrity of our elections.

Gabbard introduced similar bills to the House in March 2018 and 2019.

Trump and the GOP contend the rule opens the door for fraud and have fought to restrict it. This has escalated as some governors push forward with plans to send out unsolicited ballots for universal vote-by-mail amid the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, some of who the Trump administration are challenging in court.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 26 states allow voters to more broadly designate someone to drop off their ballot. About a dozen of those states have imposed limits on how many ballots a person can submit. Minnesota limits a person to collecting and returning three ballots, for example.

California since 2016 has allowed for someone to collect an unlimited number of ballots from voters, though it does bar someone from being paid based on how many ballots they return.

Californias law became the source of controversy and GOP criticism after Democrats used the practice to their advantage in 2018, flipping Republican-held congressional seats after a flood absentee ballots came in before the deadline and were counted after Election Day.

Attorney General William Barr told CNN in an interview that aired on Sept. 2 that the Department of Justice is conducting several very big voter fraud investigations in multiple states, but said he did not know the exact number.

At least 32 people were criminally convicted of voter fraud in 2019, according to a database maintained by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.

Last month, a California, Norwalk, man was charged with voter fraud after authorities said he voted for his dead mother in three elections.

Ivan Pentchoukov and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
BERNALILLO  At the virtual Sandoval County Commission meeting Thursday night, commissioners decided Paseo del Volcan is the countys No. 1 priority.

Commissioners selected five capital projects to prioritize in the Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan, submitted to the state on Friday. Legislators will decide how much funding to grant to the county in the next legislative session. The ICIP covers the fiscal years of 2022-26.

In a 4-1 vote, with Jay Block, District 2, voting no, the top five projects of the county are:

 Paseo del Volcan widening and extension;

 A permanent animal shelter;

 Body cameras for law enforcement;

 Making voting sites in the county Americans with Disabilities Act compliant; and

 A building addition in a garage shop in Cuba.

Block said he voted against those five was because he believed projects for first responders should have been higher on the list.

I just feel that the sheriffs body armor, uniforms and the public safety communications system should be more of a priority, in my opinion, but thats fine; we will get to that, hopefully, by next year, he said.

About $1.6 million has been funded for Paseo del Volcan, and about $11 million is still needed with $7 million being requested for 2022.

I would be remiss to many of my constituents if I did not address what is glaring, and that is this list puts a $7 million request as our No. 1 request, when that is probably moot. There will probably not be those types of dollars available during the January session unless something miraculous occurs that none of us are aware of, said Katherine Bruch, District 1.

Bruch wanted to place PdV as the countys 10th priority; Commissioner Michael Meek, District 3, did not agree.

Meek said placing PdV lower on the list would show it is not important to the county.

We got all these people in Albuquerque and to the south of us asking for way more money than this, and they are putting their projects, which have no real chance of coming to fruition unless this gets pushed down, and I believe we have to maintain our due diligence in keeping this our No. 1 position, Meek said.

The county recently moved a temporary animal shelter to the Sandoval County administrative complex in Bernalillo. County Manager Wayne Johnson was tasked by the commission to plan a permanent animal shelter, estimated to cost $4.35 million.

Some items on the list are mandatory, like body cameras for law enforcement and being ADA compliant, tying the hands of the county, Johnson said at the Sept. 6 meeting.

The county needs to purchase more body cameras for deputies, with an estimated cost of $724,000.

The county is requesting from the state about $400,000 to make county-owned voting sites permanently ADA compliant, plus another $560,000 to build an addition to a shop in Cuba that services county vehicles.

The next county commission meeting on Oct. 1, will be lived streamed at sandovalcountynm.gov, under Quick links in a tab called meeting videos.
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Macarthur Minerals Limited (ASX: MIO) (TSX-V: MMS) (OTCQB: MMSDF) (the Company or Macarthur) announced last week that it is retaining 100% of its tenements in the Pilbara region of Western Australia following the end of the Option Agreement (Agreement) entered into with Fe Limited (FEL) in 2019. The tenements, held by the Companys wholly owned subsidiary Macarthur Lithium Pty Limited (MLi), include the Hillside, Panorama, Strelleys Gorge and Tambourah projects. These projects are considered prospective for gold, copper, lithium and iron.



Following last weeks announcement (see release here) the Company has already received a number of new enquiries regarding future joint venture opportunities. This early interest augurs well for the future of the Pilbara projects and the value potential for Macarthurs shareholders. Macarthur continues to primarily focus its resources on bringing its flagship Lake Giles Iron Project into production and is seeking options to advance the Pilbara tenements to realise shareholder value without incurring material expenditure or significant management time.

The terminated Agreement with FEL has delivered value to Macarthur. Macarthur retains 26,666,667 FEL shares, which were issued following FELs election to exercise the option for an earn in. FEL has also contributed to exploration expenditure over the last 12 months including an initial drilling program at the Hillside project with encouraging results from this first phase drilling program as reported on 10 February 2020 (see FEL release dated 10 February 2020 here).

Over the last 12 months, the program of exploration that has been undertaken across the Pilbara tenement portfolio has provided very positive early results for a range of base and precious metals. A summary of the previously reported prospectivity of the tenement portfolio is outlined below:

Story continues

Hillside Gold and Copper Project

The Hillside Gold and Copper Project (Hillside) includes four tenements covering 400 km2 located approximately 185 km south east of Port Hedland and 50 km south west of Marble Bar. The project is situated in an area of highly prospective greenstone terrane that includes the Apex and Euro Basalts and other units of the Warrawoona group. Numerous surface gold and copper rock chip occurrences suggests this area is highly prospective for gold and copper mineralisation.

The Hillside tenements surround the mining lease of the historic Edelwiess gold mine. A limited drilling program consisting of six rotary percussion (RC) holes conducted by Metana Minerals N.L in 1980 intersected gold mineralisation associated with quartz veins. Gold was recorded in three holes with an average grade of approximately 12 g/t Au and a maximum of 25.83 Au g/t. In addition, sampling along a discontinuous outcropping gossan over a strike of 18 km, showed high potential for copper mineralisation. A total of 20 results yielded above 1,000 ppm Cu to a maximum of 7.8% Cu.

Whilst the Hillside area has previously been explored by various companies for gold, copper, zinc and lead, limited drilling has been conducted on the Hillside tenements. As previously reported by FEL on 9 October 2019 (see FEL release dated 9 October 2020 here), numerous surface gold and copper rock chip occurrences suggests a potential for this area to be highly prospective for gold and copper mineralisation.

The gossan line was traced over a 14km strike length with remnant outcrop identified at regular intervals along strike. A total of 36 rock chip samples were collected including 15 from outcropping gossan with several samples containing visible copper minerals such as malachite. Remaining samples were collected from quartz outcrops, many of which returned strongly anomalous gold grades.

The assay results are highly encouraging with eight samples returning copper values over 1% with a peak of 18.8% Cu and often accompanied with elevated gold, silver and zinc values (+/- cobalt).

Exploration at the Hillside Project also discovered high grade manganese mineralisation in sub parallel outcrops to the gossan line sampled above. Rock chips samples returned a maximum of 59.4% MnO (>46% Mn).

In November 2019, a drilling program was completed at Hillside which focused on a gossan line and outcropping quartz reefs. Assay results, returned from the laboratory demonstrate support for a mineralised gossan model with down dip extension of mineralised gossan at surface intercepted in three holes with the following results as announced by FEL on 10 February 2020, (see FEL release here).

HRC001: 1m @ 0.19% Cu, 230ppm Co, 0.14% Zn, 0.07ppm Au from 28m

HRC022: 1m @ 0.74% Cu, 349ppm Co, 0.41% Zn, 0.14ppm Au from 83m

HRC036: 1m @ 0.18% Cu, 0.12% Zn from 25m and 1m @0.27% Cu from 40m

Further exploration activities on the Hillside tenements including a fixed loop electromagnetic survey (FLEM) were undertaken in the second quarter of 2020. The survey data is currently being processed and interpreted by Macarthur.



Panorama Gold Project

The Panorama Gold Project (Panorama) includes three tenements covering 250 km 2 , located 265 km south-south-east of Karratha and is prospective for lithium and gold hosted within conglomerate. The tenement group contains an extensive area of the Mt Roe Basalt which is the geological member of the Fortescue Group that overlies the conglomerate gold horizon at Artemis Resources Purdys Reward Project near Karratha, Western Australia.

In 2018 the Company conducted stream sediment sampling programs across the Panorama tenements confirming several anomalous sediment values ranging from 13 ppb to 113 ppb Gold.

Strelleys Gorge and Tambourah Iron Ore Projects

Macarthur considers the Strelleys Gorge and Tambourah tenements prospective for iron ore.

In 2019, Macarthurs then joint venture partner FEL, conducted a reconnaissance trip to the Strelley Project with two samples taken from the outcropping Banded Iron Formation (BIF) continuing along strike from the previously mined Abydos iron ore project owned by Atlas Iron. The results, referred to in the FEL release dated 5 September 2019 (see full release here) returned assays of 61.3% Fe and 58.11% Fe.

Tambourah Lithium Project

The Tambourah Lithium Project is located approximately 200km south east of Port Hedland and 80km south west of Marble Bar. Assays received from rock chip sampling returned very promising results of up to 1.47% lithium (Li2O), confirming the presence of lithium bearing pegmatites.

The Company also holds Exploration License E45/5324, which is near its Tambourah Lithium Project in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia. A review of historical data indicates that this area is prospective for nickel-copper-cobalt and platinum group element mineralization.

An infographic accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cbeb0526-3b83-4bca-ad96-df62e872bff3

Cameron McCall, Executive Chairman of Macarthur Minerals commented:

Macarthur is enthusiastic about the prospectivity of its Pilbara tenement portfolio and is excited to have retained its 100% interest these Projects. This is a positive outcome for the Company.

The results of previous exploration and drilling programmes underpin the confidence of the Board and Management in the potential of this ground.

The Company is already receiving new enquiries about the potential to venture out the ground. We will seize the opportunity to advance exploration work in the area and identify and work together with the most suited partner to fulfil the potential of these tenements and maximise value for our shareholders.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Mr Cameron McCall, Executive Chairman

For more information please contact:

Joe Phillips CEO & Director +61 7 3221 1796 communications@macarthurminerals.com Investor Relations  Australia Investor Relations - Canada Advisir Investor Cubed Sarah Lenard, Partner Neil Simon, CEO sarah.lenard@advisir.com.au +1 647 258 3310 info@investor3.ca





A different version of the current report was submitted to the ASX and formatted according to the JORC requirements. The technical data presented in both reports are identical and only the format and legal statements may differ.



Qualified persons

Mr Andrew Hawker, a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, is a full-time employee of Hawker Geological Services Pty Ltd and is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101. Mr Hawker has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.

Company profile

Macarthur is an iron ore development, gold and lithium exploration company that is focused on bringing to production its Western Australia iron ore projects. The Lake Giles Iron Project mineral resources include the Ularring hematite resource (approved for development) comprising Indicated resources of 54.5 million tonnes at 47.2% Fe and Inferred resources of 26 million tonnes at 45.4% Fe; and the Lake Giles magnetite resource of 53.9 million tonnes (Measured), 218.7 million tonnes (Indicated) and 997 million tonnes (Inferred). Macarthur has prominent (~721 square kilometer tenement area) gold, lithium and copper exploration interests in Pilbara region of Western Australia. In addition, Macarthur has lithium brine Claims in the emerging Railroad Valley region in Nevada, USA.

This news release is not for distribution to United States services or for dissemination in the United States

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Certain of the statements made and information contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including but not limited to statements regarding expected completion of the Feasibility Study; conversion of Mineral Resources to Mineral Reserves or the eventual mining of the Project, are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release reflect the current expectations, assumptions or beliefs of the Company based upon information currently available to the Company. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct as actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include but are not limited to: unforeseen technology changes that results in a reduction in iron or magnetite demand or substitution by other metals or materials; the discovery of new large low cost deposits of iron magnetite; the general level of global economic activity; failure to complete the FS; inability to demonstrate economic viability of Mineral Resources; and failure to obtain mining approvals. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. Such statements relate to future events and expectations and, as such, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release and except as may otherwise be required pursuant to applicable laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.




While Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were signing agreements to normalize relations with Israel in Washington Sept. 15, Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip fired long-range rockets over southern Israeli cities, wounding 13 Israelis, one of whom suffered serious injuries, and causing material damage. No faction claimed responsibility for the rocket attack.

A few hours after the incident, in the early hours of Sept. 16, the Israeli army launched 10 airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, targeting a weapons and explosives factory and a complex used by Hamas for training and rocket testing.

Factions responded by firing 15 rockets toward southern Israeli settlements.

On the same day, Sept. 16, the Israelis accused, once again, Hamas of being responsible for what has been happening in Gaza.

In a tweet on the same day, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas military wing, said they will respond in kind to any attack on the part of Israel.

The Islamic Jihad movement, for its part, announced that the resistance fired a salvo of rockets at Israel, but there were no casualties or injuries.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem, speaking to Al-Monitor, chose his words carefully in supporting the action without claiming Hamas' potential responsibility, saying, The Palestinian resistance is capable of keeping the Palestinian issue at the forefront of events [in the region] at all times, despite some regional attempts to undermine it. The rocket fire came as a response to the Israeli air bombing of resistance sites. Our response was swift and accurate to deter the Israeli aggression on Gaza. We will not change the rules of battle or impose new equations. The resistance factions, namely Hamas, will continue to face the deal of the century (the US Middle East peace plan) and its repercussions, and the [Israeli] annexation plan, with all means possible.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Sept. 16 statement that Gazas rockets aimed to disrupt the peace process between Israel and the Gulf. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned Sept. 16 that if Hamas continues firing, last nights retaliation will just be the tip of the iceberg, referring to Israeli reprisal raids in the coastal enclave following the firing of a salvo of rockets.

Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh said in an interview with Al-Mayadeen TV on Sept. 16 that the resistance fired rockets in response to the humiliating scene in Washington, referring to the UAE and Bahrains signing of normalization deals with Israel.

The fact that no faction claimed responsibility for the firing of rockets into southern Israel is an unusual occurrence. It seems that at least the Palestinian factions seem to be united in sending one message to the signatories in Washington: that the real decision about Palestine comes from within the Palestinian territories, that these agreements do not mean that Israels occupation will not come to an end, and that Gaza will eventually be free of the blockade. The Palestinian Authority, also in an unusual move, did not condemn the rocket firing, which suggests that it tacitly approved them.

Saeed Bisharat, editor-in-chief of the Hodhod news network for Israeli Affairs, told Al-Monitor, The escalation ended with an Israeli response to the Gaza rockets. I do not think Israel wants to further escalate the situation. The threats made by the Israeli defense minister and some army leaders are merely for propaganda at home.

Israel, however, could ride the wave of normalizing ties to start an aggression on Gaza, but the regional powers supporting the Palestinian resistance, i.e., Iran and Turkey, would not allow it. Should an escalation happen in the future between Hamas and Israel, I dont think it will turn into a full-fledged open war. Israel would respond to Hamas strikes with targeted attacks, Bisharat said.

Wissam Afifa, director of Al-Aqsa TV, which is close to Hamas, told Al-Monitor, The last escalation round in Gaza has pushed the Palestinian factions to be wary of the imminent danger from the emerging alliances and partnerships in the region following the Washington agreements. The armed factions believe that they would be the first victims to such agreements, as they include military and security items targeting them. The upcoming period could also witness intelligence cooperation between these countries against the resistance.

The coming period will also witness increased media synchronization between Israel and its Gulf partners in such a way to condone any Israeli aggression on the Palestinians, who would be blamed for it, under the pretext of the need to dry up the sources of arms and funding for the military resistance, he added.

The Gaza rocket-firing came as a surprise for several reasons, mainly because it targeted an area outside the Gaza envelope and reached the coastal cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon, as rockets have been previously fired at open agricultural lands.

Rockets were also fired a few days after the latest escalation ended Sept. 1 through Qatari mediation. Israel was careful not to violently respond but to merely hit targets inside Gaza, seemingly because it did not want to disrupt the peace celebrations with the UAE and Bahrain.

Mohammed al-Brim Abu Mujahid, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, told Al-Monitor, Firing the rockets at Israel was a crucial message and a significant response to the Arab normalization of ties with Israel. We also sent a message that we will keep responding in kind. We will respond to bombing with bombing. This will not change.

We, however, fear that the UAE-Bahrain-US alliance would carry security implications affecting the Palestinian resistance. But we are ready for the worst-case scenario. Should we need to send other messages, we will. The resistance is ready for all plausible scenarios, including any foolish Israeli military venture in Gaza, Abu Mujahid said.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020, whereby fresh insolvency proceedings will not be initiated for at least six months starting from March 25 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bill mandates that a default on repayments from March 25, the day when a nationwide lockdown began to curb the spread of coronavirus, would not be considered for initiating insolvency proceedings for at least six months. The Bill, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Saturday, seeks amendment in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and replaces the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which was promulgated by the President on June 5 this year.

Speaking on the Bill while moving for passage, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the amendment was necessitated in the form of ordinance. In Parliament registry, this is among one of those Bills, now an Act, Sitharaman said, which come very quickly each time when the ground situation required changes so that this becomes a robust law.

Giving detailed reasons behind amendment in the law, the minister said the need for such ordinance has never been contextual in the last 100 years. "Such kind of atmosphere cannot be in the coming 100 years too." Indicating towards the Covid-19 disease, the minister said the dimension and the scale of the pandemic was obvious and therefore we had to come up with an ordinance which clearly suspended the application of three sections - 7, 9 and 10 -- of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

"We had to prevent any company which is experiencing distress because of Covid being pushed into the insolvency proceedings. And therefore we had to suspend these sections." The ordinance had prohibited the initiation of insolvency proceedings for defaults arising during the six months from March 25 this year (extendable up to one year).

Simply put, no insolvency proceedings can be initiated by either the corporate debtor or any of its creditors for defaults arising during this six-month period beginning March 25.The ordinance came in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which had created uncertainty and stress for businesses for reasons beyond their control. It was also felt that during the Covid-19-induced lockdown, it may be difficult to find an adequate number of resolution applicants to rescue the corporate debtor who may default in discharging their debt.

The Finance Minister also defended the provision in the Bill to cap the suspension of sections 7, 9 and 10 for one year. By putting the upper limit of one year, the government is ensuring that excessive delegation does not go to the executive and also that Parliament approval would be necessary if the suspension were to be extended beyond one year, she noted. "I would rather not remove (the one-year cap) it. This is a restraint we have put for ourselves," she said.

With the six-month timeline for the suspension coming to an end on September 25, Sitharaman indicated that a formal announcement on the way forward will be made on September 24. She also asserted that the amendments brought through the ordinance were not intended to protect promoters from their fraudulent transactions.
The American Human Rights Council (AHRC) is deeply saddened by the recent death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ginsburg was a trail blazer and a true inspiration for all, especially for women, nationally and internationally. Justice Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and continued to serve as a justice until her death.

She is the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court. She was known for her tenacity, work ethic and civility. For example, despite her being ideologically a polar opposite to the late Supreme Court Justice Anton Scalia, the two were in fact friends.

Ginsburgs legacy includes her work with the ACLU in defending womens rights. As a Supreme Court Justice, she wrote landmark majority opinions as well as strong dissents.

Her most notable opinions include United States v. Virginia, a decision that struck the Virginia Military Institutes policy of not admitting women.

In this day and age, with the nation divided and with a marked lack of civility at many levels, we sorely miss her.

One of the lessons of Ginsburgs life is that one can disagree with others on politics and ideology without being personally disagreeable or odious.

Ginsburg was a role model for generations of lawyers- especially women lawyers. She will continue to inspire generations of lawyers for years and decades.

We offer our deep condolences to her family, friends and supporters.

Justice Ginsburgs Supreme Court decisions supported our mission of the promotion of human rights.

We hope her replacement would also be a woman who believes in human rights and makes decisions that are consistent with the countrys democratic values and traditions.
Democrats and Republicans are closely monitoring the U.S. Senate special election in Arizona, which could decide how and when the vacant US Supreme Court seat is filled.

If Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly wins the seat, he could take office as early as November 20, shrinking the GOP's Senate majority at a crucial moment and complicating the path to confirmation for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee.

Kelly has maintained a consistent polling lead over Republican Senator Martha McSally, who was appointed to the seat held by John McCain, who died in 2018.

Because the contest is a special election to finish McCain's term, the winner could be sworn in as soon as the results are officially certified. Other winners in the November election won't take office until January.

In a recent poll by The New York Times/Sienna College Research Institute, Kelly had secured 50 per cent of likely votes and McSally weighed in at 42 per cent.

A victory for Mark Kelly in the Arizona U.S. Senate race could make it more difficult for Republicans to push through a Supreme Court nominee vote

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (pictured) on Friday died surrounded by her family in her Washington D.C. home after a long battle with pancreatic cancer

Trump has pledged to nominate a replacement for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal icon who died Friday in her Washington D.C. home after a long battles with metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 87.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed that Trump's nominee 'will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.'

If Kelly wins, the timing when he formally takes office could be crucial in determining who replaces Ginsburg. It could eliminate a Republican vote in favor of Trump's nominee  the GOP currently has 53 seats in the 100-member chamber  or require McConnell to speed up the nomination process.

With McSally in the Senate, four GOP defections could defeat a nomination, while a tie vote could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence.

President Trump (pictured) has said that he wants to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat as soon as possible, with backing from his GOP colleagues and peers

McSally quickly laid down a marker, declaring on Twitter within hours of the announcement of Ginsberg's death that 'this U.S. Senate should vote on President Trump's next nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.'

She has not elaborated on whether the confirmation vote should come before or after the election. But she highlighted the renewed stakes of her race in a fundraising pitch on Saturday.

'If Mark Kelly comes out on top, HE could block President Trump's Supreme Court Nominee from being confirmed,' she wrote.

Democrats in 2018 found success in Arizona, a state long dominated by the GOP, by appealing to Republicans and independent voters disaffected with Trump.

The Supreme Court vacancy could shake up the race and boost McSally's lagging campaign by keeping those voters in her camp.

Sen. Marha McSally (pictured) has lagged behind Mark Kelly in recent polls, indicating a chance she could lose her seat come November

Kelly said late Saturday that 'the people elected to the presidency and Senate in November should fill this vacancy.'

'When it comes to making a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, Washington shouldn't rush that process for political purposes,' Kelly said in a statement.

Republican and Democratic election lawyers agreed that Arizona law is clear: If Kelly wins, he will take office once the results are official.

Arizona Supreme Court precedent favors putting elected officials in elected positions as soon as possible, said the Tim LaSota, the former lawyer for the Arizona Republican Party and a McSally supporter.

'Somebody who has only been appointed does not have the imprimatur of the electorate,' LaSota said. 'It's sort of intuitive that the law should favor somebody who has won an election as opposed to someone who's just been appointed.'

Arizona law requires election results to be officially certified on the fourth Monday after the election, which falls this year on November 30. The certification could be delayed up to three days if the state has not received election results from any of the 15 counties.

Mark Kelly (pictured): 'When it comes to making a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, Washington shouldn't rush that process for political purposes'

Mary O'Grady, a Democratic lawyer with expertise in election law, said the deadlines are firm and there's little room for delay.

'I don't see ambiguity here,' said O'Grady, who was Arizona's solicitor general under two Democratic attorneys general.

Arizona law allows recounts and election challenges only under very limited circumstances, she said.

'Usually, the Secretary of the Senate's office goes out of its way to accommodate the new senators coming in,' former Senate Historian Don Ritchie told The Arizona Republic, which first reported on the prospect for Kelly taking office early a day before Ginsburg's death.

'The old senator is out of their office there. I mean, they actually literally put a lock on the door so their staff cant go in.'

Still, GOP leaders are optimistic they can pull it off. In the turbulent Trump era, nothing has motivated the Republican Party's disparate factions to come home quite like the prospect of a lifetime appointment to the nation's highest court.

'This can be an important galvanizing force for President Trump,' said Leonard Leo, co-chairman of the conservative Federalist Society who has advised the Trump administration on its first two confirmations - for Neil Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.

GOP Sen. Tom Tillis (center) holds a sign as President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, September 19 in Fayetteville, North Carolina

Lest there be any questions about the political implications, Trump is expected to make his choice in a matter of days. Those close to the president are encouraging him to announce his pick before the first presidential debate against Democratic challenger Joe Biden on September 29.

Biden said the winner of the November election should choose the next justice. Biden's team is skeptical that the Supreme Court clash will fundamentally change the contours of a race Trump was trailing so close to Election Day. Indeed, five states are already voting.

In fact, Democrats say it could motivate voters to fight harder against Trump and Republicans as the Senate breaks the norms with an unprecedented confirmation at a time when Americans are deciding crucial elections.

'Everything Americans value is at stake,' Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told fellow Democratic senators on a conference call Saturday, according to a person who was not authorized to publicly discuss the private call and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biden is not planning to release a full list of potential court nominees, according to a top aide, because it would further politicize the process. The aide was not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

People gather at Washington Square Park in New York Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, a day after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Biden's team suggests that the court fight will heighten the focus on issues that were already at stake in the election: health care, environmental protections, gender equity and abortion.

Health care, in particular, has been a top voter concern this pandemic-year election, Democrats say.

They will argue that protections for Americans with preexisting conditions are essentially on the ballot as the Supreme Court will hear the administration's argument to strike down President Barack Obama's health law shortly after the election. The Affordable Care Act includes such protections and the court is expected to render a verdict next year.

'Make it real,' said Hillary Clinton, urging Democrats to take the fight to the polls, in an interview on MSNBC.

Republicans say voters, particularly those the party needs to win back, are motivated by the chance to name a conservative judge - so much so that it could take some states off the map for Democrats.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (pictured) quickly backed President Trump and advocated for finding a new Supreme Court Justice as soon as possible

The focus on the nomination fight could help unify such voters around a common issue in an election season with so many distractions, said Leo of the Federalist Society.

'Going as far back as 2000, poll after poll shows that the Supreme Court is an issue that resonates strongly with Republican and conservative voters, and importantly even with low-propensity voters from those groups,' he said.

Republicans were especially optimistic that the court battle would boost their chances of holding the Senate, particularly in Republican-leaning states such as Montana, Iowa, Kansas, Georgia and South Carolina where GOP candidates are at risk. Democrats need to pick up three seats to claim the Senate majority if Biden wins and four if he doesn't.

Key GOP senators who face tough reelection contests in such states where Trump is popular quickly linked themselves to his push for a swift vote, embracing the prospect of another conservative on the bench. Among them: McSally in Arizona, Thom Tillis in North Carolina and Lindsey Graham in South Carolina.

Yet other Republicans in more contested battleground states, including Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado, held back, heeding McConnells advice to keep their 'powder dry.'

Two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, spoke out after Ginsburgs death to object to the speedy pace, saying the Senate should not vote before the election so the candidate elected on Nov. 3 can decide.

Both GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have said the Senate should not vote on a nominee before the November 3 election

As he left the White House for Saturday evening's rally in North Carolina, Trump signaled his displeasure with Collins - and a potential warning to other wayward Republicans: 'I totally disagree with her,' he said.

Democratic challengers and outside allies seized on what they called 'hypocrisy' of Republicans refusing to consider Obama's nominee before the 2016 election, unearthing past statements from many of the same senators now pushing ahead for Trump.

The Democrats raised more than $71 million in the hours after Ginsburgs death.

Many Republicans are hopeful the Supreme Court fight will supersede many conservative voters' concerns about Trump's inconsistent leadership and divisive rhetoric. But voters in key states are already dealing with unprecedented hardships that will not simply disappear in the coming weeks.

Conservative activist Tim Phillips, president of the group Americans for Prosperity, is doubtful that the court fight will change many votes. He spent much of Saturday canvassing suburban neighborhoods around Kansas City as part of his organization's massive push to boost down-ballot Republicans in November.

People gather at the Supreme Court on the morning after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, Saturday in Washington D.C.

When conservative activists gathered in the morning, the Supreme Court was a prime topic of conversation that 'strengthened their resolve to get out and work,' Phillips said. But once they started knocking on voters' doors, 'it didn't even come up.'

'I just think given the magnitude of the crises - plural - facing swing voters, this is just not going to be a crucial factor in their final decision,' Phillips said.

At the Cambria County Republican Party headquarters in western Pennsylvania, the vacancy wasn't a major topic of conversation as people swung by on Saturday to pick up yard signs and campaign swag.

Lisa Holgash, a 49-year-old Trump supporter, said she would 'love it' if Trump were able to appoint another Supreme Court Justice. But she said she was concerned about the idea of Republicans pushing through a nominee so quickly ahead of the election, especially after Republicans denied Obama a final pick in his last year.

'Its not that far now to the election,' she said. 'I dont think it should be rushed.'
Over the course of the past several months, the Logan Square Neighborhood Association has been portrayed as either villains or saints depending on who you speak to. We are neither. We are residents of a neighborhood that we love. We have enviable amenities: proximity to world-class cultural institutions, walkable city streets, convenient access to restaurants and retail, beautiful public parks, public transportation, and the coveted spine of our neighborhood  the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphias Main Street. The Parkway is where Philadelphia comes to celebrate, protest, enjoy, and it attracts thousands of visitors and tourists. But issues of the past several months have called into question our love affair.

Despite three efforts to relocate residents of the JTD encampment at 22nd Street and the Parkway, negotiations have reached an impasse. We are eyewitnesses to the convergence of decades of economic and housing policies that have plagued our city and nation. A recent article in Billy Penn suggested: Theres never been enough affordable housing to go around. Philly has had housing insecurity problems for at least a century.

 READ MORE: After deadline passes for homeless encampments to clear out, city wont say whats next on Parkway and at PHA

Our neighborhood has long been home to unsheltered residents that included a Parkway encampment at the former Youth Study Center that is now the Barnes. There was an encampment along the old Reading Railroad tracks, hopefully one day to become part of the Rail Park. In the 1930s there was an encampment burrowed into the side of Fairmount as the Philadelphia Museum of Art was being constructed. And for decades, church-affiliated organizations have seen Parkway public feedings as essential to their mission. While we are not unfamiliar with the plight of homelessness, we have never had a tent city in Von Colln Memorial Field, 22nd Street blocked, and half the Rodin grounds fenced off.

We have been advocates for restoring dignity to homeless residents by calling for indoor meals and access to social services from the city. We have advocated on behalf of housing insecure residents over several administrations, and supported the establishment of the Hub of Hope to offer unsheltered Philadelphians solace and social services, showers, and laundry services. We have also made it a top priority to establish affordable housing in our neighborhood development plan to ensure diversity. As a Registered Community Organization (RCO), we make affordable housing an issue in fulfilling our duties for civic planning, which includes our Parkway plan.

 READ MORE: I live by the Parkway homeless encampment and see it offering public services, not nuisance | Opinion

We dont have immediate answers for housing options for the JTD residents, but we do know that living in tents outdoors is no way to live. We can only hope that the Kenney administration will use this opportunity to forge a new destiny for the citys unsheltered residents and take a serious approach to affordable housing. We urge policymakers to recognize that living outdoors on Von Colln Memorial Field, Sharswood, or anywhere in our city is no substitute for a roof over ones head and a place to call home. The JTD encampment amplifies issues of housing, health, and safety for the Logan Square neighborhood in and outside the encampment. But the current camp conditions and the environment it has created have had a considerable impact on the camp, neighborhood, and surrounding area. It is unsustainable and untenable for all.

Last week at our monthly meeting, our association agreement was for there to be a peaceful nonviolent resolution of the encampment. Going forward, we as a city should commit to policies for a long-term housing solution for our fellow unhoused Philadelphians that meet long-overdue needs and closes the encampment.

Dennis J. Boylan is the president of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA).
Rolls-Royce shares plummeted after the aerospace giant confirmed it is considering raising 2.5billion from a rights issue or other fundraiser to shore up its balance sheet..

Shares in the UK the group tumbled by 8.13 per cent today after it acknowledged the media speculation on Friday and admitted it was reviewing all funding options.

Rolls-Royce said: Amongst other options, we are evaluating the merits of raising equity of up to 2.5billion, through a variety of structures including a rights issue and potentially other forms of equity issuance. Our review also includes new debt issuance.

Could Rolls-Royce get investment from a sovereign wealth fund like Singapore's GIC soon, or could the funding come from within our boundaries?

The review will also see it consider taking on new debt to support its finances after the aerospace industry was hammered by the pandemic.

The company added: No final decisions have been taken as to whether or when to proceed with any of these options or as to the precise amount that may be raised.

It has been reported that the company is in talks with a number of sovereign wealth funds, including Singapore's GIC, to secure the funds. This is Money has contacted GIC for comment but at the time of publication has not yet received a response.

The Derby-based company has done much to try and stem the impact Covid-19, which it described as unprecedented.

Back in May it announced that 9,000 jobs would be axed from its 52,000 global workforce in response to the crisis - 3,000 of which will be in the UK.

Warren East, CEO of Rolls Royce, said at the time: This is not a crisis of our making.

'But it is the crisis that we face and we must deal with it. Our airline customers and airframe partners are having to adapt and so must we.

Being told that there is no longer a job for you is a terrible prospect and it is especially hard when all of us take so much pride in working for Rolls-Royce. But we must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times.

Governments across the world are doing what they can to assist businesses in the short-term, but we must respond to market conditions for the medium-term until the world of aviation is flying again at scale, and governments cannot replace sustainable customer demand that is simply not there.

We have to do this right, which means we will work closely with our employee and trade union representatives as appropriate, look at any viable alternatives to mitigate the impact, consult with everyone affected and treat our people with dignity and respect.

Last month, the company slid to a 5.4billion half-year loss as it was battered by the downturn in air travel.
KYIV, Ukraine - Police in Belarus said they detained more than 400 protesters who took part in a weekend demonstration demanding the resignation of the nations authoritarian president following a disputed vote.

With protests rocking the country for more than six weeks, tens of thousands of Belarusians marched through Minsk, the capital, on Sunday, calling for President Alexander Lukashenko to step down after 26 years in power.

Soldiers blocked off the centre of Minsk using water cannons, armoured personnel carriers and barbed wire.

Protests also took place in several other cities, including Brest, where police used tear gas in an effort to disperse the crowd.

Human rights activists estimated the crowd in Minsk at about 100,000 people. Police, however, said a total of over 20,000 people rallied in cities and towns all over the country.

According to a police statement Monday, a total of 442 protesters were detained on Sunday, including 266 in Minsk. Police said 330 of them remained in custody as they await hearings in court.

Protests began on Aug. 9, after Lukashenko won his sixth term in office in an election opposition supporters and many European governments believe was rigged. Demonstrations have taken place daily since the vote, though the rallies on Sundays in Minsk have been the largest, attracting crowds of up to 200,000 people.

Lukashenko, who has run the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist since assuming office in 1994, repressing opposition and independent media, has rejected suggestions of dialogue with the opposition. During the first three days of the protests, demonstrators faced a brutal crackdown, with police using truncheons and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. Several protesters died.

Amid international outrage, Belarusian authorities switched to prosecuting top activists and mass detentions, avoiding large-scale violence. Many members of the Coordination Council that was formed by the opposition to push for a transition of power have been arrested or forced to leave the country.

On Monday, a court rejected the appeal of the arrest of prominent council member Maria Kolesnikova. She is being held pending trial on charges of undermining the state, which carry a potential sentence of five years in prison.

In response to the crackdown, opposition supporters released personal data of more than 1,000 police officers on Saturday. No one will remain anonymous, even under a balaclava, popular opposition blog Nexta Live on the Telegram messaging app said, promising to release more data if detentions continue. Police opened an investigation into the leak.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Lukashenkos main opponent in the Aug. 9 election who is currently in exile in Lithuania after fleeing Belarus in fear for her safety and that of her children, has repeatedly condemned the crackdown on the protesters as unlawful.

In a video statement released Monday, she urged law enforcement officers to refrain from crime and dishonest actions towards your fellow citizens, even if forced by your superiors.

Be with the Belarusian people, and the people will not forget that you were on their side, Tsikhnaouskaya said.

Ales Bialiatski, head of the Viasna human rights group, told The Associated Press that the loyalty of the security forces is crucial for Lukashenko.

Loyalty of the security forces is critical for Lukashenkos ability to hang on to power, Bialiatski said Monday. It is by the hands of these people that large-scale political repression is carried out in the centre of Europe.

___

Daria Litvinova in Moscow contributed to this report.

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HAMPDEN  Firefighters have extinguished a brush fire on Minnechaug Mountain after nearly two days of battling the flames.

Local firefighters were assisted on Monday by a National Guard helicopter which dropped buckets of water on the flames. Multiple departments from Wilbraham, Monson, East Longmeadow, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and West Stafford, Stafford, and Somers in Connecticut all assisted in the effort, Fire officials said.

Steep terrain, dry conditions and winds are making the fire extremely stubborn. Fire is burning deep in the ground as opposed to outward, officials said.

The fire was reported at about 8 p.m., Saturday and firefighters have been working to try to extinguish the flames since.

After spending more than 12 hours at the fire on Sunday, firefighters had it mostly contained so it wouldnt spread. They returned on Monday to ensure that the flames were still completely contained and extinguished, officials said.

The Fire Department will continue to watch the mountain for rekindling over the next few days. The cause of the fire is under investigation, officials said.

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LONDON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The SME Climate Hub will encourage small and medium-sized companies to commit to halving greenhouse gas emissions before 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions before 2050. SMEs making this commitment -- which will be globally recognized by the United Nations Race to Zero campaign -- will be able to take advantage of accessible tools and resources to help them reduce emissions and build business resilience. The platform will couple these tailored resources with opportunities for businesses to unlock direct commercial incentives.

Despite making up approximately 90 percent of business worldwide and employing over two billion people, SMEs have been largely underserved by climate action initiatives to date. In establishing the SME Climate Hub, the co-hosts of the platform see an opportunity to enable emissions reductions at large scale -- and, in doing so, build bottom-up resilience to climate risks in essential global supply chains.

Recognizing that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted small businesses throughout the world, the initiative will place a strategic emphasis on enabling SMEs to leverage climate action as a means of winning and retaining business, reducing costs, enhancing access to capital and increasing business preparedness to external shocks.

Several major multinational corporations, including Ericsson, IKEA, Telia, BT Group and Unilever, that have set targets to reach net-zero emissions in their value chains have committed to support the SME Climate Hub through a new "1.5C Supply Chain Leaders" group. These companies have made a firm commitment to include climate-related targets and performance in their supplier purchasing criteria -- and to work with the SMEs in their supply chain to deliver net-zero greenhouse emissions before 2050. They will also provide concrete tools, share knowledge and exchange best practices for implementing robust climate strategies through the SME Climate Hub.

"Addressing climate change has never been so business critical. We are delighted to partner with like-minded organisations to bring to life the SME Climate Hub and help support the companies that make up the backbone of our global economy, in the face of the increasing risks of climate change. We want to make it as easy as possible for small and medium-sized businesses to protect and grow their business," said John W.H. Denton AO, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

"The SME Climate Hub will support companies to expand their climate commitments across their entire value chain, enabling SMEs  which represent over 90% of the world's businesses  to Race to Zero. This will be an exciting turning point, and we look forward to seeing exponential growth in corporate net zero commitments as we work towards COP26," said Nigel Topping, UK High Level Climate Action Champion for COP26.

"IKEA is committed to working closely together with our supply chain partners to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions from production by 80% by 2030. We are proud to be a 1.5C Supply Chain Leader and to contribute to facilitating the climate journey for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We will not be able to limit climate change by working alone. Only by working together will we show that it is possible," said Henrik Elm, Global Supply Manager, IKEA.

"Our vision is to mobilize millions of small and medium-sized enterprises to accelerate climate action. This is the start of a journey and we first make it possible for SMEs to commit to halve emissions before 2030. A first strategic resource is the 1.5C Business Playbook , a guide that helps SMEs to develop a climate strategy anchored in the latest science and start taking action. Along the way, the goal is to provide tools and resources which both simplify and make it beneficial for SMEs to cut emissions and provide the next generation green solutions," said Johan Falk, Co-Founder and Head of Exponential Roadmap Initiative.

"Mobilizing SMEs to take action is critical. It is fantastic to see the SME Climate Hub making it easy for small and medium-sized companies to take action. At the We Mean Business coalition we have seen large companies gain competitive advantage over their peers through taking climate action. SMEs with climate action plans will position themselves to become the most attractive suppliers to the hundreds of multinationals with decarbonization plans as well as to the growing number of investors now addressing climate related risk," said Maria Mendiluce, CEO, the We Mean Business coalition.

"As a small business owner, I have seen first hand the benefits of putting a sustainable future at the heart of my business strategy, but I also know that even when we desperately want to do well, as a small business, it is not always easy to know where to start. That is why I am so excited about the SME Climate Hub - it allows small business owners like myself to make a climate commitment with the confidence that they will be supported with practical resources and incentives," said Gonzalo Munoz, CEO TriCiclos, Chilean High Level Climate Action Champion for COP25.

About the SME Climate Hub:

The SME Climate Hub is an initiative founded by the International Chamber of Commerce, the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the We Mean Business coalition and the UNFCCC Race to Zero campaign, with the aim of supporting small and medium-sized businesses to build business resilience. The SME Climate Hub provides a one-stop-shop for SMEs to commit to climate action and access tools, incentives and other resources designed to make it easier than ever for small and medium-sized businesses to cut carbon emissions, bring innovative green solutions to market and build business resilience.

Normative.io, have been selected as technology partner for the SME Climate Hub based on their leading expertise with automated sustainability management software.

For more information about the SME Climate Hub, visit: www.smeclimatehub.org

About the SME Climate Commitment:

The SME Climate Hub provides any business with less than 500 employees with the opportunity to publicly demonstrate its commitment to climate action by signing the SME Climate Commitment. Making the commitment means that your business will start to take immediate climate action in order to:

Halve greenhouse gas emissions before 2030 Achieve net zero emissions before 2050 Disclose progress on a yearly basis

SMEs that make the SME Climate Commitment will immediately be recognised by the United Nations Race to Zero campaign.

For more information about the SME Climate Commitment, visit: https://www.smeclimatehub.org/sme-climate-commitment

About the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

ICC is the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 100 countries with a mission to make business work for everyone, every day, everywhere.

Through a unique mix of advocacy, solutions and standard setting, we promote international trade, responsible business conduct and a global approach to regulation -- in addition to providing market-leading dispute resolution services. Our members include many of the world's leading companies, SMEs, business associations and local chambers of commerce.

We act as the primary voice of the real economy in a range of intergovernmental organizations  from the United Nations to the World Trade Organization  championing the needs of local business in global decision making. Find out more at: iccwbo.org

About Exponential Roadmap Initiative

The Exponential Roadmap Initiative brings together technology innovators, scientists, companies and NGOs, with the mission to accelerate climate action exponentially through radical collaboration. The initiative has released the Exponential Roadmap, highlighting the 36 solutions that can scale exponentially to halve Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2030 worldwide, and the 1.5C Business Playbook , a guideline for companies and organisations of all sizes to set a 1.5C aligned strategy and move to action. Find out more at: exponentialroadmap.org .

About the UNFCCC Race to Zero Campaign:

The UNFCCC Race to Zero campaign is an international campaign that brings together an unprecedented coalition of real economy actors and 120 governments committed to achieve net zero carbon emission by no later than 2050. These real economy actors include: 1,128 companies, 452 cities, 22 regions, 549 universities, 45 of the biggest investors and 2,100 chambers of commerce  creating the largest ever alliance committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by no later than 2050: the "Climate Ambition Alliance".

About the We Mean Business coalition:

We Mean Business is a global coalition of nonprofit organizations working with the world's most influential businesses to take action on climate change. The coalition brings together seven organizations: BSR , CDP , Ceres , The B Team , The Climate Group , The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development . Together we catalyze business action to drive policy ambition and accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon economy. Find out more at: wemeanbusinesscoaltion.org .

SOURCE We Mean Business

Related Links

https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/


Noel Vasquez/Getty Images for HennessyNas, Fivio Foreign and A$AP Ferg were spotted in the streets of Harlem shooting the music video for the King's Disease cut, "Spicy."

The New York rappers were seen filming in Washington Heights, New York over the weekend, and were joined by a crowd of fans hyping them up.

"Nutcrackers and pure up in the Heights with my Dominican brothers #186," Nas captioned a video of the crowd on Instagram.

"[The] music video bouta be [fire]," wrote Fivio with four fire emojis.

"Spicy" is presumed to be the second single from Nas' twelfth studio album, Kings Disease. Executive produced by Grammy winning producer Hit-Boy, the 13-track effort was released last month with features from Charlie Wilson, Lil Durk, Anderson .Paak, Big Sean and Don Toliver, plus a track titled "Full Circle," which unites his 90's rap supergroup, The Firm, including veteran rappers AZ, Cormega, and Brooklyn icon Foxy Brown.

Fivio is best known for his 2019 single "Big Drip," and was recently inducted as one of XXL's Freshman Class of 2020.

As for Ferg, the "Move Ya Hips" rapper recently announced his upcoming album, Floor Seats II, arriving Friday, September 25, possibly on the same day the "Spicy" music video drops. Stay tuned.

By Rachel George

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Adorable pictures show a rescued orangutan playing in the rain.

A staff member at Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, Andri Kornelius, took these pictures whilst a group of orangutans were having fun on the playground at the BOS Foundations Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Central Kalimanta, Indonesia.

The pictures show an orangutan named Bumi enjoying the rain as he raises his arms toward the sky.

Adorable pictures show a rescued orangutan playing in the rain. (Caters News)

Bumi was rescued when he was just 2 months old in June 2016 after being violently separated from his mother shortly after he was born.

That day was unbearably hot and humid. Our surrogate mothers decided to sprinkle the orangutans with water to help them cool down, said 33-year-old Nicola Walpen, a campaign officer at the headquarters of the BOS Foundation.

The orangutans were actually still eager to play despite the scorching heat, but we thought that this spontaneous rain shower would be a welcome surprise.

Bumi tries to catch rain drops on his tongue. (Caters News)

Bumi the orangutan makes funny faces during a photoshoot in the rain. (Caters News)

So, we did. Bumi seemed to be very enthusiastic about playing with the water. He followed closely every spray by the surrogate mothers to ensure he was always under the stream. It was like he was dancing in the rain.

Walpen added: Bumi was rescued in terrible physical condition. Our team at Nyaru Menteng took him on 18 June 2016, following this rescue from Tumbang Koling village in Central Kalimantan. Bumi was so incredibly weak that he could not even open his eyelids.

We know that we can never replace his mother, but we will do everything possible to nurture him back to health and help him grow into a confident, young orangutan.

Bumi was rescued when he was just 2 months old in June 2016 after being violently separated from his mother shortly after he was born. (Caters News)

The Epoch Times contributed to this report.
A Victorian coroner has ruled out foul play in the death of Melbourne motor dealer Bo "Nick" Zhao just days before his sentencing for fraud after he had racked up debts of up to $8 million.

Mr Zhao, a former Liberal Party member, became the subject of intense scrutiny in September 2019 when it was confirmed he had told ASIO that a suspected Chinese spy and Melbourne businessman, Brian Chen, had offered him $1 million to run for the Australian Parliament.

Bo "Nick" Zhao and Brian Chen, who he alleged was trying to get him into Federal Parliament. Credit:The Age

On Monday, coroner Sarah Gebert said that, as the police investigation into the death was under way, she had become aware of "media coverage ... [indicating] suspicious circumstances around Mr Zhao's death".

However, "after considering the evidence, this was not my view, or the view of police investigators". She said Mr Zhao appeared to have taken an overdose of medication under intense financial pressure and the death was therefore a suicide. The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald does not suggest otherwise.
FRANKFORT, MI  Crews are searching for a 12-year-old boy after he was swept off a pier into Lake Michigan.

9&10 News reports a family visiting from Tennessee was walking on the Frankfort North Pier on Monday when three kids were swept off the pier. A family member was able to rescue two of the children, but a 12-year-old boy is still missing.

The pier is located in Lake Michigan off of Frankfort Public Beach, a popular place for residents and visitors located near the downtown.

Benzie County, where Frankfort is located, is one of several Northern Michigan counties under a hazardous weather warning for beach conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
World GDP will return to the level it was before COVID-19 by mid-2021 after a stronger-than-expected economic bounce in recent months, Deutsche Bank said on Monday, but bloated debt levels and a shift in policy could heighten the risk of a financial crisis.

"Global economic recovery from the depths of the COVID-19 plunge this past winter and spring has proceeded significantly faster than we envisioned," Peter Hooper, Deutsche global head of economic research wrote in a note to clients.

"As Q3 draws toward a close, we estimate that the level of global GDP is about half way back to its pre-virus level, and we now see that journey being completed by the middle of next year, a couple quarters sooner than in our previous forecast."

Deutsche upped its forecast for global GDP to -3.9% after predicting in May a year-on-year contraction of -5.9% for 2020. For 2021, Deutsche raised its growth forecast to 5.6% from 5.3%.
As Tropical Storm Beta lumbers toward Texas coastline, heavy rains and potentially strong wind gusts will be the main threat for the Baton Rouge metro in what is sure to be a wet week.

The slow-moving Beta is expected to make landfall late Tuesday in coastal Texas before turning northeast and moving through central Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Beta is expected to weaken as it moves inland and passes northwest of Baton Rouge as a tropical depression. The largest concern for the capital region will likely be the accumulation of water that could fill streams raise river levels.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service predict the metro area could see 4 to 6 inches of rain, with higher amounts in some areas. With similar amounts expected throughout southern Louisiana, the agency issued a flash flood watch for the Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette metro areas through Wednesday. Coastal areas have a tropical storm warning.

The heaviest downpours will likely come Tuesday and last into Tuesday night as detached bands from the storm move through parts of southern Louisiana.

We dont think its going to be any flooding rains immediately but its going to be more of a cumulative thing over several days, said meteorologist Robert Ricks with the National Weather Service in Slidell. Three or four days of rainfall could potentially pose a problem.

River stream and river levels are currently low, so they're able to take in more, Ricks added.

Strong eastern winds are also expected to push tides along lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain up to 3 feet higher than normal. As the wind reduces, those tides will likely lower, Ricks said.

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Ascension and Livingston parishes closed waterway traffic Monday in anticipation of gusty winds and high tides.

Assumption and St. James parishes were also under a wind advisory Monday and could potentially see wind gusts up to 40 mph, which can blow away unsecured items and make driving difficult.

Weather officials on Monday also extended flood watches north of Interstate 12, including the Felicianas, Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa parishes.

The Baton Rouge metro has been largely spared from serious weather amid one of the most active hurricane seasons in recorded history.

With the capital region experiencing few impacts from Hurricane Laura  and dodging bad weather from Hurricanes Sally and Marco  officials in some parishes say its allowed them to be better prepared.

In Iberville Parish, emergency officials still had 50,000 sandbags available, and most fire stations still had some on hand from previous storms.

Mark Migliacio, director of operations for Iberville Parish said hes preparing for a rain-soaked week that could see up to six inches of rainfall.

We may not get much, but were ready, he said.


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By Sam Richards

Bay City News Foundation

MARTINEZ (BCN)

As adults with their Ruth Bader Ginsburg masks and T shirts milled about beneath the steps of the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in downtown Martinez, 12-year-old Jenna Oriol was writing in chalk on the courthouse steps, along with other kids.

Then, about 20 minutes later, she put down the chalk, walked up the steps and picked up a piece of the mantle.

"This is both a sad day and (also) the day we come to the realization of how much Ruth Bader Ginsburg has meant to all of us," said Oriol, the youngest of a half-dozen speakers at a hastily convened tribute to the longtime Supreme Court associate justice who died Thursday after serving for 27 years on the nation's highest court.

Janessa Oriol, Jenna's mom, said RBG, as the justice was popularly known, has had a profound influence on all the women in their household. "Jenna aspires to be an attorney, and RBG is much of the inspiration," Janessa Oriol said.

About 100 people came out to the 40-minute tribute event in Martinez, and most of those who spoke said Ginsburg was a true American hero, revering her for what she accomplished for the rights of women (and others) during her time on the high court.

One case mentioned by several who attended Sunday's tribute in Martinez happened 22 years before Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993. In 1971, Ginsburg - as an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union - argued in front of the Supreme Court in the landmark case Reed v. Reed, in which SCOTUS unanimously ruled that administrators of estates cannot be named in a way that discriminates between men and women.

"She made it possible for me to get a credit card in my own name," said Ruth Bumala of Martinez. "She spoke out for gender equality, she defended women's rights, and she defended separation of church and state, and those are all things that are important to me."

Also cited by several attendees Sunday morning was the 1996 case United States v. Virginia, in which Ginsburg was one of seven justices to vote to strike down the Virginia Military Institute's longstanding males-only admission policy.

The Bay area had already played host to a few other events in tribute to Ginsburg after her death, including a candlelight vigil in San Francisco Friday night that drew hundreds, Licia Parsons Waita of Martinez got Sunday's event going with a posting on a local Facebook page, and word spread. She was thrilled with the turnout.

"I can't tell you how proud I am to see this civic engagement with young people," Parsons Waita told the assemblage Sunday. "The 'Notorious RBG' has become their beacon of hope."

Several in attendance Sunday said the sadness of Ginsburg's death must be used as motivation to make sure the social gains Ginsburg worked for aren't compromised, by whomever replaces her on the Supreme Court or by anyone else.

For AnaMarie Avila Farias, a former Martinez City Council member, that motivation means, first and foremost, working to get out the vote in the Nov. 3 election.

"The best way to honor her is to keep fighting for that," Farias said. "We have to turn our mourning into action for her."

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
With a majority of New Mexicans again expected to vote via absentee ballot due to the coronavirus pandemic, and with our Postal Service facing serious budget woes, adding secured containers for absentee ballot drop-off is a great example of responsive governance.

The Secretary of States Office says county clerks should, at minimum, have drop boxes at every voting location. Though not mandatory, all 33 New Mexico county clerks should provide them. Its a no-brainer, no-cost option reimbursed by $6 million in federal pandemic relief funds.

Drop boxes will minimize person-to-person contact and hopefully prevent a repeat of the June primary, when an estimated 3,000 absentee ballots were mailed to county clerks too late to be counted on Election Day.

Every vote should be counted, in every election. The more who vote, the more who are invested in the results, the democratic process, their community, their state and their country.

In an effort to avoid a repeat, an emergency change to the election code allows county clerks to mail out absentee ballot applications sooner. The application deadline to request an absentee ballot has also been moved up, to Oct. 20.

In the June primary, voters were allowed to request absentee ballots until the Thursday before the election. That created havoc, with voters urged to drop off their ballots at polling sites rather than risk mailing them in too late.

The drop boxes, under a 2019 state law, can be installed outside traditional polling places. County clerks are required to publicly disclose their locations in advance and adhere to strict security guidelines. A memo from Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver stipulates constant supervision of the drop boxes by at least two county staffers or election workers and daily ballot removal. In addition, the drop boxes should either be bolted down or easily moved to a secure location when not in use. While the notion of padlocks on drop boxes in crime-ridden Albuquerque has been the butt of jokes on talk radio, it appears election officials have the bases covered.

Its anticipated most drop boxes will be at polling places and county clerks offices. Absentee voting begins statewide Oct. 6, also the last day unregistered voters may register by mail or online at www.sos.state.nm.us. Early in-person voting begins Oct. 17 and runs through Oct. 31.

Voters may drop off completed absentee ballots starting Oct. 6 at county clerks offices and available drop boxes, at early voting convenience centers starting Oct. 17 or simply mail them back postage-free. Ballots can also be dropped off at any polling location in your county on Election Day, Nov. 3.

Absentee voting rates skyrocketed during the June primary, when a record 264,793 voters used the method  or about 63.4% of all votes cast. With nearly two-thirds of New Mexicans choosing absentee voting in the primary, clearly theres a desire among many to avoid crowds at the polls.

Interest in this years elections is high, evidenced by the 42% turnout for the June primary when a record 422,000 New Mexicans cast ballots. Political pollster Brian Sanderoff says the turnout showed voters were eager to take advantage of the easier method. And fears Republican voters wouldnt warm up to absentee balloting proved unfounded, as the total number of GOP absentee ballots cast shot up 44% compared to the 2016 primary.

In addition to a high-profile presidential race, all 112 legislative seats and various judicial and county-level offices are up for election. Ballots are also packed with important multimillion-dollar bond and judicial retention elections and two constitutional amendments.

The Journal will feature Q&As and biographies of candidates in contested races, along with district maps and Journal Editorial Board endorsements; all can be viewed in early October at ABQJournal.com as early voting begins. Voters are encouraged to do their research. Theres a lot to digest. Being able to deliberate at home with absentee ballot nearby, then drop it off at a secured drop box positions our state for record turnout.

And no matter who wins each race, making it easier, safer and more secure to participate in our democratic process is a win for New Mexicos voters.

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.
SRINAGAR: A CRPF personnel was injured during an encounter between terrorists and security forces in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday (September 21).

Kashmir Zone police confirmed the encounter and tweeted, "#Encounter has started at Chrar-i-Sharief area of #Budgam. Police and security forces are on the job. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice."

According to reports, a joint team of Jammu and Kashmir Police, Army & CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in Charar-i-Sharief area of Budgam in central Kashmir. A police official said that as the joint team cordoned off the spot, the hiding terrorists opened fire at the search party, which retaliated to the gunfire, leading to an encounter.

All the entry and exit points of Nowhar village areas have been sealed and lights have been installed so that trapped terrorists cant take the benefit of darkness and flee from spot.

Police sources said at least two to three terrorists are believed to be trapped in the area; however the exact number is yet to be confirmed.

Earlier in the day, a group of terrorists attacked a party of 110 battalions of CRPF in Nowgam in Srinagar. No injuries were reported in the incident and the area was immediately cordoned off.

In Dadsara, the Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested a youth in connection with a weapon snatching incident that took place in Awantipora. According to the police, the incident took place at Jammu and Kashmir Bank Dadsara on Saturday.

"Two youths have been identified in a weapon snatching incident which took place at Jammu and Kashmir Bank Dadsara, Awantipora on Saturday. One of them has been arrested and 12 bore rifle has been recovered," police said.
RS chairman Venkaiah Naidu breaks down over oppn ruckus, equates it to 'sacrilege'

Om Birla says it pained him that Lok Sabha did not run smoothly during Monsoon session

Parl clears IBC amendments to protect stressed cos from fresh insolvency proceedings

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Sep 21: Parliament on Monday approved the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020 to protect COVID-19-stressed companies from being pushed into insolvency under the Code.

Winding up a discussion on the bill in Lok Sabha, Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the provisions will not impact insolvency proceedings initiated before March 25, the day the national-wide lock down was imposed by the government to check the spread of coranavirus.

"We have to prevent companies facing distress on account of pandemic from being pushed into insolvency," the minister said, adding the many other countries have extended support to the companies to help them come out of the current crisis.

The bill seeking to replace an ordinance, promulgated in June, was later approved by Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha approved the bill on Saturday.

Farm bills: SAD team meets President Kovind, requests him not to sign farm bills | Oneindia News

The relaxation from initiation of insolvency proceedings was initially provided for a period of six months which ends on September 25.

Monsoon session Day 8: Suspended RS MPs stage dharna

A decision with regard to extension of the time period by another six months was likely to be taken later in the week.

The changes in Sections 7, 9 and 10 of the IBC, she said, would provide relief to companies reeling under the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sections 7, 9 and 10 deal with initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process by financial creditor, operational creditor and corporate debtor, respectively.

The minister said that insolvency proceedings against corporates defaulting on loans prior to March 25 will continue and the amendment will not stall those cases.

The minister also stressed that IBC was a critical part of business now, and cited data to show the working of the Code.

Citing data for NPAs of commercial banks during 2018-19, she said that Lok Adalats recovered 5.3 per cent, Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) recovered 3.5 per cent and SARFAESI recovered 14.5 per cent. On the other hand, IBC ensured 42.5 per cent of recovery.

The priority is to keep the company as a going concern rather than to liquidate them, she said, adding that 258 companies were saved from going bankrupt through the IBC process, while 965 firms went for liquidation.

According to the minister, 258 companies rescued had assets of Rs 96,000 crore and the 965 companies sent for liquidation had assets of Rs 38,000 crore.

Responding to some of the concerns of the members, the minister said that she was aware of the problems concerning appointment of judges in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) and would be addressing those issues.

Participating in the debate, Congress member Manish Tewari said the economy was in distress even before the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Observing that supply side measures would not be of much help, he urged the government to focus on demand side initiatives by extending monetary help to the poor.

Jaydev Galla (TDP) asked the government to institute more benches of the NCLT and fill the vacancies in the tribunal.

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Story first published: Monday, September 21, 2020, 23:51 [IST]
Increase of 123% occurred during a time when VCU Medical Center was experiencing a lower-than-average number of overall visits.

RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 21, 2020) -- In a paper published Friday by the Journal of the American Medical Association, Virginia Commonwealth University researchers released data showing an alarming surge in opioid-related overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nonfatal opioid overdose visits to the VCU Medical Center emergency department in Richmond increased from 102 between March and June 2019 to 227 between March and June 2020. That's an increase of 123%.

The overdose increase occurred during a time when the emergency room was experiencing a lower-than-average number of visits overall. March through June visits in 2020 were down 29% from the same time last year.

The study's lead author, Taylor Ochalek, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow at the VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research, analyzed the 2019 and 2020 data from VCU Medical Center's emergency department.

"Social isolation, job loss, the inaccessibility of community resources -- these could all contribute to the overdoses we're observing," said Ochalek, who works in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the VCU School of Medicine.

Ochalek also examined demographic information for the opioid overdose patients. For both years, the patients mostly were male (70% in 2019 and 73% in 2020), and nearly half were uninsured (40% in 2019 and 44% in 2020). But the percentage of Black patients increased: from 63% in 2019 to 80% in 2020.

"Health disparities have been magnified during the pandemic," Ochalek said. "I hope this study provides a baseline of data for future research into reasons for the increase, mitigation efforts, longitudinal outcomes for patients and further overdose data."

"This data is from the Richmond area, but it confirms what we're hearing anecdotally from across the U.S.," said F. Gerard Moeller, M.D., director of the Wright Center and director of the VCU Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies. "The pandemic is more than a crisis of one disease. Its ripple effects will be felt for some time in the form of secondary health impacts like addiction."

Collaborators on Ochalek's study are Kirk Cumpston, D.O., a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine; Brandon Wills, D.O., an associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine; Tamas Gal, Ph.D., director of research informatics at the Wright Center; and Moeller.

"The numbers in this study are alarming, and it's important that health providers and community partners know what we're facing," said Peter Buckley, M.D., interim CEO of VCU Health System, interim senior vice president of VCU Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine. "Studies like these will guide us in providing the best possible care to the Richmond community."

###

VCU Health provides referrals to treatment resources, such as clinics, rehabilitation centers and clinical trials, that direct overdose patients into individualized care. A majority receive prescriptions for naloxone, an overdose-reversal drug.

About VCU and VCU Health

Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 30,000 students in 233 degree and certificate programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Twenty-two of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU's 11 schools and three colleges. The VCU Health brand represents the VCU health sciences academic programs, the VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Health System, which comprises VCU Medical Center (the only academic medical center in the region), Community Memorial Hospital, Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU, and MCV Physicians. The clinical enterprise includes a collaboration with Sheltering Arms Institute for physical rehabilitation services. For more, please visit http://www.vcu.edu and vcuhealth.org.
Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and S Jaishankar reviewed the condition of Motor Tanker (MT) New Diamond and discussed ways to expedite arrangements for the discharge of cargo crude from the vessel. MT New Diamond, the Sri Lankan vessel was accessed to be safe and stable.

Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and S Jaishankar on Monday reviewed the condition of Motor Tanker (MT) New Diamond and discussed ways to expedite arrangements for the discharge of cargo crude from the vessel.

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas wrote on Twitter that Min P&NG Shri @dpradhanbjp along with EAM Shri @DrSJaishankar and MoS(IC) Shipping Shri @mansukhmandviya chaired a meeting to review the condition of the crude vessel MT New Diamond which is chartered by @IndianOilcl and currently located off the coast of Sri Lanka,

They discussed ways to expedite arrangements for the discharge of cargo crude from it. Collective efforts are underway by Ministries and agencies concerned including DG Shipping and DG @IndiaCoastGuard to complete the task in a safe and secure manner, the Ministry wrote in another tweet. Last week, the Indian Navy had informed that MT New Diamond was safe and stable after sailors undertook deballasting measures on the ship.

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MT New Diamond (Sri Lankan vessel) safe and stable. Sailors undertook deballasting from Engine Room to Ballast Tanks. All leaks on the hull sealed. Tug Boka Expedition took over 2 pm, 13 Sep. MT New Diamond assessed pollution-free and ready to be towed, Indian Navy had tweeted. MT New Diamond which caught fire after a major explosion in its engine room on September 3, is stable and safe 95 kilometers from Sri Lanka coast, the Navy had said. A joint team of Indian Navy, Sri Lanka Navy, and a diving team had completed underwater inspection.

The large 333-metre long crude carrier was carrying over three lakh metric tons of crude oil for the Indian Oil Corporation from Kuwait to Paradip.

Also Read: 10 dead, many fear trapped after 3-storey building collapses in Maharashtras Bhiwandi
Pupils won't be ready to sit next year's A-Levels and GCSEs, teaching professionals have warned.

Headteachers and unions have written to the Prime Minister to warn of the impact of testing problems has had on children and teachers as it has caused disruption since schools reopened this month.

In a new poll, released by the Publishers Association, more than half (53%) of teachers with students due to take exams next year claim their students are not on track to get the results they are capable of.

This figure rises to 66% in deprived schools with the most children receiving free school meals.

A new study has found more than half of teachers do not believe their students will be ready to take their A Levels and GCSEs to a standard they are capable of next year due to disruption

Private and state schools prepare for exam alternatives A working group of education professionals has been set up to discuss alternatives to traditional exam qualifications. According to the Guardian, the group - named Rethinking Assessments - has been set up and backed by Margaret Thatcher's education secretary Kenneth Clark, who created GCSEs. The group of schools includes Eton, Bedales, St Paul's girls' school, Latymer upper school and several substantial academy chains. It is expected they will launch a formal campaign in the coming weeks. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, who has been meeting members of the group, told the paper: 'If a few of the big multi-academy trusts say: "Actually, we don't think GCSEs work for our young people  we think this other qualification would," it would start changing the narrative. That would be a defining moment.' Alternative measures being considered include peer-reviewed exams where teachers from neighbouring schools mark each other's papers. Other schools are looking at alternative qualifications such as AQA's Extended Project Qualifications, where students write a research-based thesis worth the equivalent of an AS-level. Advertisement

The Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference - the group of 280 oldest and biggest private schools - has told the Times they will be making their own plans by working with exam boards.

Simon Hyde, the HMC's new general secretary, told the newspaper they planned to compile detailed data over the next two terms.

He said: 'One possible alternative would be peer-reviewed pupil assessments, which operates in Germany, where a teacher marks a paper and then sends it off to another school to moderate.

'This year's Year 11s and 13s have missed substantial chunks of the curriculum. We can't plan on the basis of an uninterrupted school year.

'Schools are sending home whole year groups already because someone has taken ill. We really need some serious and immediate thinking.'

The study found that 81% of headteachers stated they do not have access to the funding needed to fully equip pupils who will take exams in 2021 with the physical textbooks and workbooks required to succeed.

In a letter to the Prime Minister published yesterday, the National Education Union (NEU) demanded 'urgent clarity and realism on exams and tests for next year'.

The letter stated: 'There needs to be fairness for children across the country who will miss varying amounts of schooling as a result of isolation and local lockdowns.'

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary NEU, told the Times: 'The government has to get real about the ongoing impact of Covid, as it works with Ofqual on the exams for next summer.

'As things stand, exams will become a measure of the disruption caused by Covid rather than what pupils are capable of.'

The study also shows that local lockdowns will widen the gap between the most and least privileged with 60% of teachers in the most deprived schools feel they cannot provide the resources needed for home study.

Simon Hyde (left) of the HMC and Dr Mary Bousted (right) of the NEU have warned of the impact Covid-19 disruption is having on preparing children for next year's GCSEs and A Levels

Meanwhile less than 1% (0.4%) of teachers in private schools say their students are not equipped to learn from home.

Chief Executive of the Publishers Association, Stephen Lotinga, said: 'Teachers need access to the best possible tools to properly educate our children in the classroom and at home in these unprecedented times.

'Many pupils, particularly those from the most deprived backgrounds, will fail to achieve the exam results they are capable of and see their life chances harmed unless action is taken.

'The government must urgently provide schools with additional funding to ensure that young people have access to the digital learning platforms and textbooks needed.

'There is no reason why a child attending a school in a deprived area shouldn't have access to the same resources as those in the most privileged schools.'


LONDON (dpa-AFX) - AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L, AZN) announced Monday that Lynparza (olaparib), jointly developed by the company and Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK), has been recommended for approval in the European Union for treating prostate cancer as well as Ovarian Cancer.



The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use or CHMP of the European Medicines Agency has made the recommendations.



Lynparza is a first-in-class PARP inhibitor and the first targeted treatment to block DNA damage response (DDR) in cells/tumours harbouring a deficiency in HRR



Lynparza has been recommended for marketing authorisation for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) with breast cancer susceptibility gene 1/2 (BRCA1/2) mutations, a subpopulation of homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene mutations.



The CHMP recommendation is for the treatment of adult patients with mCRPC and BRCA1/2 mutations (germline and/or somatic) who have progressed following prior therapy that included a new hormonal agent.



CHMP based its positive opinion on a subgroup analysis of patients with BRCA1/2 mutations from the PROfound Phase III trial.



In the prostate cancer trial, the primary results were published in The New England Journal of Medicine in May 2020.



The second recommendation of Lynparza by CHMP is as 1st-line maintenance treatment with bevacizumab for homologous recombination deficient or HRD-positive advanced ovarian cancer.



For this, CHMP based its positive opinion on a biomarker subgroup analysis of thePAOLA-1 Phase III trial, which was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.



Lynparza was approved in the US for men with HRR gene-mutated mCRPC in May 2020 based on the PROfound Phase III trial. Regulatory reviews are ongoing in other countries around the world.



AstraZeneca and Merck are exploring additional trials in metastatic prostate cancer including the ongoing PROpel Phase III trial testing Lynparza as a 1st-line treatment for patients with mCRPC in combination with abiraterone versus abiraterone alone. Data are anticipated in the second half of 2021.



Further, Lynparza in combination with bevacizumab is approved in the US and several other countries as a 1st-line maintenance treatment for patients with HRD-positive advanced ovarian cancer and is currently under regulatory review in other countries around the world.



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Sam Frost has revealed her ex-boyfriend Dave Bashford still holds a special place in her heart, even though they are no longer dating.

The couple, who had previously been friends for years before getting together, split in July after almost three years.

'Dave's an amazing person and that's never going to change,' the Home and Away star, 31, told TV Week of their relationship.

'We promised to look after each other': Sam Frost has revealed her ex-boyfriend Dave Bashford still holds a special place in her heart, even though they are no longer dating

'It wasn't an ugly or messy break-up; it was just two people who love each other dearly as friends, and we promised to look after each other,' she added.

Sam went through two public splits before ending things with Dave: the first was with Blake Garvey in 2014, and the second was with Sasha Mielczarek in 2016.

Unlike those break-ups, Sam said she didn't care about any media backlash this time.

Friendly exes: 'Dave's an amazing person and that's never going to change,' the Home and Away star (pictured with Dave) said of their relationship. 'It wasn't an ugly or messy break-up... and we promised to look after each other'

'Dave is one of my best friends and for me, we will always support each other, so it was easy. We knew there was a lot of speculation,' she said.

On July 2, a representative for the actress released a statement saying: 'Sam and Dave are no longer in a relationship. They remain great mates.'

Sam had hinted at a split several days earlier, when she shared footage to TikTok of herself posing with her dogs and mocking the viral 'couple challenge'.

Dave was nowhere to be seen, and Sam tellingly included the hashtag #31SingleAndFabulous.

Clue: On July 2, a representative for the actress released a statement saying: 'Sam and Dave are no longer in a relationship. They remain great mates.' Sam had hinted at a split several days earlier, when she used the hashtag #31SingleAndFabulous on TikTok (pictured)

A source had allegedly 'confirmed' their split to Woman's Day in January, saying that Sam had decided to prioritise her career over romance.

'It all became too much for Sam who was going through a lot,' the insider said at the time.

'When things are good, they're both very happy, but the lows are bad. They argue over trivial things.'

End of the road: A source had allegedly 'confirmed' their split to Woman's Day in January, saying that Sam had decided to prioritise her career over romance

Sam rose to fame by winning the 2014 season of The Bachelor, starring Blake Garvey.

After their relationship ended, she became Australia's first Bachelorette the following year and went on to date winner Sasha Mielczarek for 18 months before splitting up.

In July 2017, Sam confirmed that she was dating her longtime pal Dave.
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Published Sept. 21, 2020

The University of Louisiana Monroe and Delta Community College will sign a Memorandum of Understanding at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 22 in The Terrace, seventh floor of the ULM Library.

On Sept. 4, 2020, The University of Louisiana Monroe and Louisiana Delta Community College were granted approval by the University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors to enter into a partnership to offer a bridge program for LDCC students wishing to transfer to ULM.

Bridging the Bayou is a partnership between ULM and LDCC and will expand student access with a streamlined transfer process into a baccalaureate program at ULM.

The Bridging the Bayou program will allow students to attend LDCC to complete coursework needed to seamlessly transfer to ULM while also giving them a chance to take part in the University experience, stated President Ron Berry, We are excited to partner with LDCC and work more closely with them to provide students access to educational opportunities so they can pursue their dreams. Higher education must be innovative and offer unique programs like Bridging the Bayou to meet the unique needs of our students.

This partnership will allow students to successfully complete developmental coursework and other general education coursework at LDCC to be eligible for transfer to ULM. Students will also have an opportunity to complete an associate degree with LDCC. LDCC faculty will teach the developmental and general education courses at ULM and LDCC.

Bridging the Bayou students will have access to ULM campus resources and services such as the ULM Activity Center, on-campus housing, ULM Library, computer labs and university events.

"The experience LDCC and ULM are providing students through this partnership is transformative. It allows us to meet students' academic needs without disrupting their much-anticipated college experience. Solutions, as such, are reflective of institutions willing to put the needs of students first. We're thankful for our partnership with ULM, and we look forward to serving the students of northeast Louisiana," expressed Interim Chancellor Chris Broadwater.

The official signing of the memorandum of understanding will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22 at in the Terrace on the seventh floor of the ULM Library.
Lallan has returned. The man had virtually vanished for many months.

His tea stall in Old Delhi was among the citys most atmospheric chai places, and looked like it had been here foreverthough founded only four years ago.

The stall consisted of an arched niche scooped into the outer wall of a dilapidated building in Galli Choori Wallan street. This sublime niche was the best part of the stall.

In his late 20s, Lallan would walk to this spot every morning from his room in the vicinity, which he shared with half-a-dozen brick-layers. Within minutes, he would set up the stall consisting of a stove, a kettle, a steel tray, boxes of sugar and chai patti (tea leaves), stacks of plastic glasses, a pan of milk, strainers, and a few tea snacks such as the flaky fen, made in the neighbourhood bakeries. He carried the entire paraphernalia in a rusty metal trunk that the customers would use as bench.

In the morning, the space around the picturesque niche teemed with tea drinkers. They would be busy in their chai, gossip and newspapers, totally oblivious to the beautiful setting.

Suddenly, early last year, the stall vanished. The niche lost its life, although meantime it was whitewashed and made to look new by the building owner. Save for some ominous rumours, nobody around had a clue on what had become of Lallan.

Now, Lallan has resurfaced. This morning he is casually sitting inside that same niche, but without the tea things. Carefree and maskless, he says, Id gone back to my des (he means his village). Hes from a village in Bahraich, UPhome to his parents, wife and four kids. Lallan left the city because I was bored, he admits shyly, shrugging his shoulders. He didnt experience the city during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. But why be back in such a challenging time?

Because I must restart working... Ill do something new, maybe become a brick layer.

While his beautiful chai stall is not likely to be back, at least our city has regained its Lallan.

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US Democratic presidential candidate has called for the postponement of the Senate vote to fill the Supreme Court vacancy until after the November election, following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

"Her (Ginsburg's) granddaughter (Clara Spera) said yesterday ... that her dying words were 'My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,'" Biden said in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, adding "as a nation, we should heed her final call."

Biden stressed that the American people have already started voting and appointing a new Supreme Court justice now will be an "abuse of power."

"Even if President (Donald) Trump wants to put forward a name, now, the Senate should not act until after the American people select their next president," he said.

Senator Susan Collins said on Saturday that Trump did have the constitutional authority to make a nomination to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, but because of the upcoming presidential election "the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3" and the Senate should not vote on the nominee prior to the election.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Trump said he was going to nominate a new Supreme Court justice next week and that he did not agree with Collins' stance on the issue.

"I totally disagree with her. We have an obligation, we won, and we have an obligation as the winners to pick who we want. That is not the next president," Trump said, adding "hopefully I will be the next president."

He explained that the obligation that he has concerns all US voters who support him.

The US President named Amy Coney Barrett of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees.

Later on Saturday, speaking at a campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump confirmed that he will announce his Supreme Court justice pick next week and it will be a woman.

"We are going to fill the seat," Trump said, stressing that "there have been 29 times of vacancy open during an election year or prior to it ... every single time the sitting president made a nomination."

"I will be putting forward the nominee next week, it will be a woman," he added.

On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer, at the age of 87, at her home in Washington.

Trump now has the opportunity to expand the Supreme Court's conservative majority to six (out of a total of nine) justices.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Friday that the Senate will vote on Trump's pick to replace Ginsburg despite the fact that it is an election year.

The Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the US Senate.

(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 law firm had specifically named the bank's chief executive and managing director of over 25 years, Aditya Puri, his designated successor Sashidhar Jagdishan and company secretary Santosh Haldankar as defendants.

Largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Monday denied the allegations of misleading claims levelled by a US-based law firm to seek damages in a class action suit.

The bank vowed to defend itself vigorously in the lawsuit and added that the response to the lawsuit will be ready by early next year.

Rosen Legal last week filed the class action suit seeking damages for the losses incurred by investors because of alleged "materially false and misleading" representations by HDFC Bank.

It had specifically named the bank's chief executive and managing director of over 25 years, Aditya Puri, his designated successor Sashidhar Jagdishan and company secretary Santosh Haldankar as defendants.

The bank said the lawsuit has been filed against three of its employees by a "single small security holder who seeks to represent a class" of its security holders, and is based on allegations, that the security holder claims, caused a temporary decline in the bank's ADR (American Depository Receipt) stock price in July.

The bank denies the allegations and intends to defend itself vigorously in the lawsuit, it said in an exchange filing.

The complaint did not mention the exact quantum of the damages sought though it maintained that may be thousands of investors would have suffered.

As per the suit, bank officials "engaged in a plan, scheme, conspiracy and course of conduct, pursuant to which they knowingly or recklessly engaged in acts, transactions, practices and courses of business which operated as a fraud and deceit, resulting in the losses to investors.

The allegations pertain to the vehicle finance vertical, where the Bank has later acknowledged to have found some improprieties which resulted in some executives being acted against.

The bank had inadequate disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, maintained improper lending practices in the vehicle financing making the operations unsustainable and all this was likely to have a materially negative impact on its financial condition and reputation, it alleged.

The Bank's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times, the suit claims, adding the defendants knew that the adverse facts had not been disclosed and were being concealed from the public.

The period during which the losses are alleged to have happened to the investors is between July 31, 2019 and July 10, 2020 which is referred to as the class period.

Initially, the bank had termed the move to file the suit as "frivolous" and asserted that it has been transparent in all its disclosures.

According to reports, the bank used to bundle vehicle tracking devices along with auto loans sold by it, resulting in an additional cost to the borrower, and also concerns over privacy.

There was speculation over the circumstances under which its head of the unit left the office, but the bank later clarified that it was a scheduled retirement.

HDFC Bank shares closed 0.82 per cent down at Rs 1,048.70 apiece on the BSE, as against 2.09 per cent correction on benchmark index Sensex.

Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon announced today its support to those recently affected by Hurricane Laura. Nearly 2,000 Avon Representatives in Louisiana were directly impacted and Avon is sending special care packages to assist them at this difficult time. Each package will include a selection of essential personal care products such as soap, body wash, toothpaste and deodorant.

Avon's longtime partner, Feed the Children, is also working in the impacted region to provide disaster relief supplies to those who need it in both Louisiana and Texas. Feed the Children, a leading non-profit focused on alleviating childhood hunger, works closely with community partners to get Avon's product donations to displaced residents. They have alerted Avon to the most pressing needs of the most affected communities so it can send vital resources to help.

"Our hearts go out to all those affected by Hurricane Laura including members of our Avon family," said Avon CEO Paul Yi. "We hope our efforts can help provide some needed relief to those coping with the overwhelming conditions. We also appreciate the dedication of our partner Feed the Children who works continually to get our products to those who need them most at times like these."

In addition to care packages, Avon's customer care team will be assisting impacted Representatives with account support and there will be a phone option for calls to be routed to front of the queue for priority service.

ABOUT NEW AVON COMPANY

New Avon Company is the leading social selling beauty company in North America, with independent sales Representatives throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Avon's portfolio includes award-winning skincare, color cosmetics, fragrance, personal care, and health and wellness products featuring brands such as ANEW, Skin So Soft, belif, CHI, and The Face Shop, as well as home essentials, fashion and accessories. Avon has a 134-year history of empowering women through economic opportunity, and supporting the causes that matter most to women. Avon philanthropy has contributed over $800 million to breast cancer and other important causes. Learn more about New Avon and its products at www.avon.com .

For more information, please contact Susan Small [email protected], 212-282-6066

SOURCE New Avon Company

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Succession creator Jesse Armstrong attacked Donald Trump and Boris Johnson for their 'crummy' responses to the coronavirus pandemic as he accepted an Emmy for his hit HBO series last night.

The British screenwriter sent 'un-thank-you' messages to Trump, Johnson and the virus itself after winning the Outstanding Drama Series award at the virtual ceremony last night.

He accepted the award - the seventh for Succession on the night - from a hotel in London after the show beat out Better Call Saul, Killing Eve, Ozark, Stranger Things, The Crown, The Handmaid's Tale and The Mandalorian to win the prize.

In the last speech of the night, he berated the US and UK leaders for their 'crummy and uncoordinated' handling of Covid-19 while taking aim at 'all the nationalists and quasi-nationalist governments in the world'.

Jesse speaks out: Succession creator Jesse Armstrong didn't pull any punches in his acceptance speech for his hit HBO series winning Oustanding Drama Series at the Emmys

Speaking out: His speech was the last of the night, the seventh win in total for Succession on the night, when Armstrong took aim at the political leaders of the United States and his native United Kingdom: Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. Succession winner rips Donald Trump and Boris Johnson in speech

From Peep Show to Black Mirror: Jesse Armstrong's career Born in 1972, Jesse Armstrong worked as a researcher for Labour MP Doug Henderson before he started his screenwriting career. With his longtime collaborator Sam Bain, he was a co-creator of Peep Show and wrote for another British comedy duo in Mitchell and Webb. The pair were also credited on the film Four Lions, a send-up of jihadist terrorism. Armstrong also worked with Armando Iannucci on The Thick of It, as well as its film spin-off In The Loop and the loosely-inspired US adaptation Veep. In 2011 he wrote an episode of Black Mirror - The Entire History of You - for Charlie Brooker's widely-acclaimed series. HBO commissioned Succession in 2017 and the show premiered a year later, claiming its greatest awards triumph last night. Advertisement

Armstrong's show is a portrait of a powerful, back-stabbing family wrangling for control of a dynastic media empire.

The showrunner spoke after the series won awards for best drama writing and directing, while star Jeremy Strong bagged best actor honors.

'Thank you very much indeed. This is such a very nice moment and it's very sad not to be with the cast and some of the crew to share it with you all tonight, but this is a wonderful achievement for the whole group,' Armstrong said.

His speech was briefly interrupted by a telephone ringing, with Armstrong quipping, 'Room service, probably,' as Kieran Culkin was seen laughing in another video.

'But for being robbed of the opportunity to spend this time with our peers and with the cast and crew, I think I'd maybe like to do some un-thank yous,' Armstrong added.

'Un-thank you to the virus for keeping us all apart this year. Un-thank you to Trump for his crummy and uncoordinated response, un-thank you to Boris Johnson and his government for doing the same in my country,' he added.

He added: 'Un-thank you to all the nationalist and quasi-nationalist governments in the world that are exactly the opposite of what we need right now and un-thank you to the media moguls who do so much to keep them in power. So un-thank you.'

America and Britain have two of the highest death tolls in the world from Covid-19 and both countries have faced severe criticism for their handling of the crisis.

A YouGov poll tracker shows fewer than 40 per cent of people in the UK and US approving of their government's response, compared to more than 60 per cent in Germany, Italy and Canada among others.

Nice moment: 'Thank you very much indeed. This is such a very nice moment and it's very sad not to be with the cast and some of the crew to share it with you all tonight, but this is a wonderful achievement for the whole group,' Armstrong said

Laughing: His speech was briefly interrupted by a telephone ringing, with Armstrong quipping, 'Room service, probably,' as Kieran Culkin was seen laughing in another video

Un-thank-you: 'But for being robbed of the opportunity to spend this time with our peers and with the cast and crew, I think I'd maybe like to do some un-thank yous,' Armstrong added

No thanks: 'Un-thank you to the virus for keeping us all apart this year. Un-thank you to Trump for his crummy and uncoordinated response, un-thank you to Boris Johnson and his government for doing the same in my country,' he added

After the ceremony ended, Armstrong revealed his celebratory plans in the U.K. involved grabbing some breakfast.

'(I'm) hopefully by going to breakfast because its 4 a.m. [in the U.K.] and in case something positive happened I didnt drink anything so Im hoping for a champagne breakfast with this lovely group,' he said.

Armstrong added, 'Its the kind of celebration an old person would have' after the ceremony.

Armstrong's hit series Succession took home seven Emmys out of 18 nominations in its second season at HBO.

Breakfast: '(I'm) hopefully by going to breakfast because its 4 a.m. [in the U.K.] and in case something positive happened I didnt drink anything so Im hoping for a champagne breakfast with this lovely group,' he said

Jeremy Strong won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Kendall Roy, with Cherry Jones winning Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series at the Creative Arts Emmys last week.

Armstrong himself won for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the episode This Is Not For Tears.

Director Andrij Parekh won Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the episode entitled Hunting.

Succession also scored Creative Arts Emmy wins for Outstanding Casting For a Drama Series (Avy Kaufman) and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series (William Henry, Venya Bruk).

Winners: Succession also scored Creative Arts Emmy wins for Outstanding Casting For a Drama Series (Avy Kaufman) and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series (William Henry, Venya Bruk)
The newly formed US Space Force has deployed troops to a vast new frontier: the Arabian Peninsula.

Space Force now has a squadron of 20 airmen stationed at Qatars Al-Udeid Air Base in its first foreign deployment.

The force, pushed by President Donald Trump, represents the sixth branch of the US military and the first new military service since the creation of the Air Force in 1947.

It has provoked scepticism in Congress, satire on Netflix and, with its uncannily similar logo, Star Trek jokes about intergalactic battles.

Airmen deployed to Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, during an enlistment ceremony as they transferred into the Space Force (Staff Sgt Kayla White/US Air Force via AP)

Future wars may be waged in outer space, but the Arabian Desert has already seen what military experts dub the worlds first space war  the 1991 Desert Storm operation to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Today, the US faces new threats in the region from Irans missile programme and efforts to jam, hack and blind satellites.

Were starting to see other nations that are extremely aggressive in preparing to extend conflict into space, Colonel Todd Benson, director of Space Force troops at Al-Udeid, told the Associated Press.

We have to be able to compete and defend and protect all of our national interests.

In a swearing-in ceremony earlier this month at Al-Udeid, 20 Air Force troops, flanked by American flags and massive satellites, entered Space Force.

Soon several more will join the unit of core space operators who will run satellites, track enemy manoeuvres and try to avert conflicts in space.

Colonel Todd Benson, the US Air Force Central Command director of space forces, at Al-Udeid Air Base (Staff Sgt Kayla White/US Air Force via AP)

The missions are not new and the people are not necessarily new, Col Benson said.

That troubles some American legislators who view the branch, with its projected force of 16,000 troops and 2021 budget of 15.4 billion dollars (12 billion), as a vanity project for Mr Trump ahead of the November presidential election.

Concerns over the weaponisation of outer space are decades old.

But as space becomes increasingly contested, military experts have cited the need for a space corps devoted to defending American interests.

Threats from global competitors have grown since the Persian Gulf War in 1991, when the US military first relied on GPS co-ordinates to tell troops where they were in the desert as they pushed Iraqi dictator Saddam Husseins forces out of Kuwait.

Col Benson declined to name the aggressive nations his airmen will monitor and potentially combat.

But the decision to deploy Space Force personnel at Al-Udeid follows months of escalating tensions between the US and Iran.

Hostilities between the two countries, ignited by Mr Trumps unilateral withdrawal of the US from Irans nuclear accord, came to a head in January when US forces killed a top Iranian general.

Captain Ryan Vickers displays his new service tapes after transferring from the US Air Force to the US Space Force (Staff Sgt Kayla White/US Air Force via AP)

Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles at American soldiers in Iraq.

This spring, Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched its first satellite into space, revealing what experts describe as a secret military space programme.

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Irans space agency, accusing it of developing ballistic missiles under the cover of a civilian programme to set satellites into orbit.

World powers with more advanced space programmes, such as Russia and China, have made more threatening progress, US officials contend.

Last month, defence secretary Mark Esper warned that Russia and China were developing weapons that could knock out US satellites, potentially scattering dangerous debris across space and paralysing mobile phones and weather forecasts, as well as American drones, fighter jets, aircraft carriers and even nuclear weapon controllers.

The military is very reliant on satellite communications, navigation and global missile warning, said Captain Ryan Vickers, a newly inducted Space Force member at Al-Udeid.

American troops, he added, use GPS co-ordinates to track ships passing through strategic Gulf passageways to make sure theyre not running into international waters of other nations.

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the worlds oil flows, has been the scene of a series of tense encounters, with Iran seizing boats it claims had entered its waters.

President Donald Trump walks past the US Space Force flag in the Oval Office of the White House (Alex Brandon/AP)

One disrupted signal or miscalculation could touch off a confrontation.

For years, Iran has allegedly jammed satellite and radio signals to block foreign-based Farsi media outlets from broadcasting into the Islamic Republic, where radio and television stations are state-controlled.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has warned that commercial aircraft cruising over the Persian Gulf could experience interference and communications jamming from Iran.

Ships in the region have also reported spoofed communications from unknown entities falsely claiming to be US or coalition warships, according to American authorities.

Its not that hard to do, but weve seen Iran and other countries become pretty darn efficient at doing it on a big scale, said Brian Weeden, an Air Force veteran and director of programme planning at the Secure World Foundation, which promotes peaceful uses of outer space.

Theres a concern Iran could interfere with military broadband communications.

Responding to questions from the AP, Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman at Irans mission to the United Nations, said Iran will not tolerate interference in our affairs, and in accordance with international law, will respond to any attacks against our sovereignty.

He added that Iran has faced numerous cyber attacks from the US and Israel.

Failing an international agreement that bars conventional arms, such as ballistic missiles, from shooting down space assets, the domain will only become more militarised, said Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association.

Russia and China have already created space force units and the Revolutionary Guards sudden interest in satellite launches has heightened US concerns.

Still, American officials insist the new Space Force deployment aims to secure US interests, not set off an extraterrestrial arms race.

The US military would like to see a peaceful space, Col Benson said.

Other folks behaviour is kind of driving us to this point.
HOUSTON - (Sept. 21, 2020) - A dose of artificial intelligence can speed the development of 3D-printed bioscaffolds that help injuries heal, according to researchers at Rice University.

A team led by computer scientist Lydia Kavraki of Rice's Brown School of Engineering used a machine learning approach to predict the quality of scaffold materials, given the printing parameters. The work also found that controlling print speed is critical in making high-quality implants.

Bioscaffolds developed by co-author and Rice bioengineer Antonios Mikos are bonelike structures that serve as placeholders for injured tissue. They are porous to support the growth of cells and blood vessels that turn into new tissue and ultimately replace the implant.

Mikos has been developing bioscaffolds, largely in concert with the Center for Engineering Complex Tissues, to improve techniques to heal craniofacial and musculoskeletal wounds. That work has progressed to include sophisticated 3D printing that can make a biocompatible implant custom-fit to the site of a wound.

That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. With the help of machine learning techniques, designing materials and developing processes to create implants can be faster and eliminate much trial and error.

"We were able to give feedback on which parameters are most likely to affect the quality of printing, so when they continue their experimentation, they can focus on some parameters and ignore the others," said Kavraki, a renowned authority on robotics, artificial intelligence and biomedicine and director of Rice's Ken Kennedy Institute.

The team reported its results in Tissue Engineering Part A.

The study identified print speed as the most important of five metrics the team measured, the others in descending order of importance being material composition, pressure, layering and spacing.

Mikos and his students had already considered bringing machine learning into the mix. The COVID-19 pandemic created a unique opportunity to pursue the project.

"This was a way to make great progress while many students and faculty were unable to get to the lab," Mikos said.

Kavraki said the researchers -- graduate students Anja Conev and Eleni Litsa in her lab and graduate student Marissa Perez and postdoctoral fellow Mani Diba in the Mikos lab, all co-authors of the paper -- took time at the start to establish an approach to a mass of data from a 2016 study on printing scaffolds with biodegradable poly(propylene fumarate), and then to figure out what more was needed to train the computer models.

"The students had to figure out how to talk to each other, and once they did, it was amazing how quickly they progressed," Kavraki said.

From start to finish, the COVID-19 window let them assemble data, develop models and get the results published within seven months, record time for a process that can often take years.

The team explored two modeling approaches. One was a classification method that predicted whether a given set of parameters would produce a "low" or "high" quality scaffold. The other was a regression-based approach that approximated the values of print-quality metrics to come to a result. Kavraki said both relied upon a "classical supervised learning technique" called random forest that builds multiple "decision trees" and "merges" them together to get a more accurate and stable prediction.

Ultimately, the collaboration could lead to better ways to quickly print a customized jawbone, kneecap or bit of cartilage on demand.

"A hugely important aspect is the potential to discover new things," Mikos said. "This line of research gives us not only the ability to optimize a system for which we have a number of variables -- which is very important -- but also the possibility to discover something totally new and unexpected. In my opinion, that's the real beauty of this work.

"It's a great example of convergence," he said. "We have a lot to learn from advances in computer science and artificial intelligence, and this study is a perfect example of how they will help us become more efficient."

"In the long run, labs should be able to understand which of their materials can give them different kinds of printed scaffolds, and in the very long run, even predict results for materials they have not tried," Kavraki said. "We don't have enough data to do that right now, but at some point we think we should be able to generate such models."

Kavraki noted The Welch Institute, recently established at Rice to enhance the university's already stellar reputation for advanced materials science, has great potential to expand such collaborations.

"Artificial intelligence has a role to play in new materials, so what the institute offers should be of interest to people on this campus," she said. "There are so many problems at the intersection of materials science and computing, and the more people we can get to work on them, the better."

###

Kavraki is the Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science and a professor of bioengineering, mechanical engineering and electrical and computer engineering. Mikos is the Louis Calder Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and a professor of chemistry and materials science and nanoengineering.

The National Institutes of Health, Rice University, the National Science Foundation and a Rubicon postdoctoral fellowship from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research supported the study.

Read the abstract at https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ten.TEA.2020.0191.

This news release can be found online at https://news.rice.edu/2020/09/21/ai-could-expand-healing-with-bioscaffolds/

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Related materials:

Grooves hold promise for sophisticated healing: http://news.rice.edu/2020/02/04/grooves-hold-promise-for-sophisticated-healing-2/ 3D-printed tissues may keep athletes in action: http://news.rice.edu/2019/03/28/3d-printed-tissues-may-keep-athletes-in-action-2/

Grow a better jawbone in your ribs: http://news.rice.edu/2019/03/18/grow-a-better-jawbone-in-your-ribs-2/

Kavraki Lab: http://www.kavrakilab.org

Mikos Research Group: https://mikoslab.rice.edu

Department of Computer Science: https://csweb.rice.edu

Department of Bioengineering: https://bioengineering.rice.edu

Image for download:

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2020/09/0921_SCAFFOLD-1-WEB.jpg

A "high quality" 3D-printed bioscaffold as designed with help from a machine learning algorithm developed at Rice University. Scale bar equals 1 millimeter. (Credit: Mikos Research Group/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2020/09/0921_SCAFFOLD-2-WEB.jpg

Artificial intelligence can speed the development of 3D-printed bioscaffolds like the one above to help injuries heal, according to researchers at Rice University. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

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 3,978 undergraduates and 3,192 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. 1 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 20:03:59|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- COVID-19 cases in Asia-Pacific countries continued to rise on Monday, with infections in India reaching more than 5.4 million.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India rose to 5,487,580, India's federal health ministry said, with 86,961 new daily cases and 1,130 more deaths reported from across the country.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand government has committed to investing 27 million NZ dollars (18.3 million U.S. dollars) in COVID-19 vaccine development through the global COVAX Facility, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.

New Zealand's largest city Auckland will ease restrictions on gatherings at midnight Wednesday, moving down from COVID-19 Alert Level 2.5 to 2, with the rest of the country moving down from Alert Level 2 to Level 1 from midnight Monday.

Malaysia reported 57 new COVID-19 infections, the Health Ministry said, bringing the national total to 10,276. Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that six of the new cases are imported and 51 are local transmissions.

Afghanistan reported 30 new COVID-19 cases after health authorities conducted 165 tests within a day, bringing the number of total cases in the country to 39,074, including 32,576 who recovered from the virus, the country's Ministry of Public Health said.

Bangladesh reported 1,705 new COVID-19 cases and 40 new deaths, bringing the total cases in the country to 350,621 and the total deaths to 4,979, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

The country has authorized the use of antigen tests for the first time to detect and treat COVID-19 infections.

The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 4,176 within one day to 248,852, with the death toll adding by 124 to 9,677, the Health Ministry said.

Brunei reported no new cases of COVID-19 with the national tally standing at 145. It marked the 18th consecutive day without new cases since Sept. 3.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 290,190 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 3,475 new daily cases. The number of recoveries also rose to 230,233 after 400 more patients recovered. Meanwhile, 15 more patients died, bringing the death toll to 4,999.

South Korea reported 70 more cases of the COVID-19 as of midnight Sunday local time compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 23,045, local health authorities announced. The daily caseload stayed below 100 for two straight days, after having grown in triple figures for 37 days in a row.

Myanmar reported 264 new COVID-19 confirmed cases, bringing the tally to 5,805 in the country, according to a release from the Ministry of Health and Sports. Enditem
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 21

By Elnur Baghishov  Trend:

The establishment of a joint industrial park between Azerbaijan and Iran will lead to the industrial development of the region, Executive Director of the Industrial Parks Company of Ardabil Province, Mohammad Ahli told reporters, Trend reports citing Fars news agency.

The director noted that a joint industrial park between Azerbaijan and Iran will be established in Tazeh Kand district of Parsabad county.

Ahli added that the establishment of a joint industrial park will open a new page in the development of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran.

"The use of the border position of Ardabil Province can play an important role in increasing exports to the neighboring countries," he said.

According to him, the territory of the park which is established within the visit of Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade and Executive Director of the Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) Mohsen Salehinia to the region has been determined. Thus, it is possible to create a border park on the 100 hectares of land in the first stage.

The director stressed that the establishment of a border park will increase development and employment in border areas.

With the establishment of a joint border park, the conditions will be created for the participation of local and foreign investors in Ardabil Province.
(HealthDay)Myocardial infarction (MI) events may occur earlier in life in patients with psoriasis, which in turn may affect hospital outcomes, according to a study published online Sept. 11 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Susanne Karbach, M.D., from the University Medical Center Mainz in Germany, and colleagues used the nationwide German inpatient sample (2005 to 2016) to assess the impact of psoriasis on mortality and other in-hospital adverse events among 3,307,703 patients with MI (37.6 percent women; 56.8 percent aged 70 years).

The researchers found that 9,028 patients (0.3 percent) in this MI cohort were diagnosed with psoriasis. Patients with MI and psoriasis were significantly younger (68 versus 73 years) and had a significantly lower in-hospital case-fatality rate (7.1 versus 12.4 percent), which remained significant (odds ratio, 0.68) after adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidities. MI patients with psoriasis more frequently had cardiovascular risk factors, including arterial hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, diabetes mellitus, or obesity. Patients with and without psoriasis had comparable rates of percutaneous coronary intervention (41.4 versus 42 percent), while coronary bypass surgery was more often performed in MI patients with psoriasis (7.7 versus 4.7 percent).

"Psoriasis seems to enhance the prevalence of classical cardiovascular risk factors and might therefore explain the earlier time point for MI," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Explore further Body mass index lower in patients with familial psoriasis

Copyright  2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
A Jeju Air jet is parked in front of an Eastar Jet plane at Incheon International Airport. / Yonhap



By Jun Ji-hye



Eastar Jet and Jeju Air are preparing to file lawsuits against each other after the latter scrapped its plan to acquire the former amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, industry officials said Monday.



In March, Jeju Air signed a deal with Eastar Holdings, the holding company of Eastar Jet, to acquire a controlling 51.17 percent stake in the low-cost carrier for 54.5 billion won ($47 million). But Jeju Air abandoned its acquisition of the cash-strapped carrier, July 23, due mainly to growing uncertainties in the aviation industry caused by the pandemic.



Eastar Jet is working to file a damage suit against Jeju Air, claiming its financial difficulties had worsened since March when Jeju Air "asked it to shut down all of its flights" as part of measures to proceed with the takeover deal.



Eastar Jet said this has led to unpaid wages for its employees that total tens of billions of won.



Eastar Jet's debts, estimated at about 170 billion won including the company's delayed payments for fuel and the use of airport facilities as well as the unpaid wages, are some of the thorny issues that hampered negotiations between Eastar Holdings and Jeju Air.



"Jeju Air's order to stop our flights was the direct cause of the unpaid wages for our employees," Eastar Jet CEO Choi Jong-gu said in a statement. "We might not have been driven into a corner if Jeju Air had not issued such an order."



Eastar Holdings has already filed a lawsuit against Jeju Air, demanding fulfillment of a stock purchase contract.



In response, Jeju Air claimed Eastar's words contradicted its actions.



"Eastar Jet is currently working to find a new owner, which means the company acknowledged the cancellation of the takeover contract," a Jeju Air official said. "Demanding fulfillment of a stock purchase contract at this stage is contradictory to this."



For its part, Jeju Air is considering filing a lawsuit against Eastar Holdings for a refund of the down payment it made.



Since Jeju Air put a stop to its planned acquisition, Eastar Jet has been struggling to draw up countermeasures to avoid bankruptcy and find a new investor. The measures included reducing its workforce by more than half, which has caused intensifying conflicts between the company and its workers' union.



The union has held several press conferences, calling on the company to withdraw its decision to lay off hundreds of employees.



The union also called on Rep. Lee Sang-jik of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, the founder of Eastar Jet, to take responsibility for and resolve the matter.



Rep. Lee told reporters at the National Assembly last week, "There is nothing I can do now as the founding family members already contributed all their shares," fueling the union's anger.



Amid growing criticism against Rep. Lee, the ruling party's in-house ethics probe body is investigating various allegations raised against him and will decide on whether to take disciplinary action soon.


Gyeonggi Province Government building located in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Gyeonggi Province





By Lee Hyo-jin







Gyeonggi Province will hold a two-day job fair from Wednesday for international students in Korea seeking employment here, according to province officials, Monday.







Through contactless job interviews, the municipal government plans to match foreign students in the area with local companies seeking to expand their business overseas.







Some 80 international students have enrolled for job interviews conducted by 15 local businesses from various sectors.







The city had previously planned to set up one-on-one counseling booths and on-site recruitment, but had to move the event online due to a recent resurgence of coronavirus cases in the greater Seoul area.







Prior to the job fair, students will be provided with detailed information about the firms through a recruiting website. Job interviews will be held from Wednesday without face-to-face contact, using kiosks installed at Gyeonggi University and Shinhan University.







Students can select a company and go through the interview by answering a set of questions sent from each firm. The companies will later decide whether to hire applicants by evaluating the recorded interviews.







"We hope the career fair will ease the difficulties of international students here in finding jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic," an official at Gyeonggi Provincial Government said.







For inquiries about the job fair, call (031) 8008-4982.






Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) has announced that work is currently under way on 10 major industrial projects - linked to pharmaceutical and medical industries - being developed in the emirate at an investment of AED932 million ($253 million) to help achieve self-sufficiency in the emirates health sector.

ADDED said the government had identified 23 industrial areas for setting up factories. The total number of licences issued for medical manufacturing in the emirate reached 23 with an investment value of AED1.992 billion ($542 million).

Among these investment areas, 14 belong to new industries in the market while the other nine are already existing ones, it added.

The identification of investment areas is part of the Basic Industries project being implemented by ADDEDs Industrial Development Bureau in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), the Department of Health  Abu Dhabi, and the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha).

Chairman Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa said that the Basic Industries project seeks to create new investment opportunities and promote self-sufficiency in the food, health, industry and energy sectors.

Of the 23 areas identified for investment in the health sector, nine belong to pharmaceuticals, six related to existing areas while the rest are newly emerging, stated the top ADDED official.

According to him, the Basic Industries project is important in achieving self-sufficiency in the health sector of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

"Moreover, it will play a key role in creating new areas for investment as well as in enhancing many of the already existing basic industries in Abu Dhabi," stated Al Shorafa.

Rashed Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, Undersecretary of ADDED, said while 10 projects are under construction, 13 projects have reached Production status with an investment value of AED1.069 billion.

Factories that have licenses with Production status are identified as five for the production of medical protection supplies with AED268 million as investment value; four specialized in pharmaceutical production with an investment value of AED467 million; and four factories for the production of medical devices and equipment with an investment value of AED334 million, he noted.

ADIO Director General Dr Tariq Bin Hendi said these new investment areas represent a wealth of new possibilities for investors and manufacturers looking to set up base in Abu Dhabi.

"In particular, the thriving healthcare sector offers sizeable commercial opportunities for investors, and ADIO is here to help these companies," added Bin Hendi.-TradeArabia News Service
A love for Alaska coupled with a competitive spirit have Gladwin native Shaynee Traska and her dog pack set for another 1,000-mile jaunt through the states wilderness in the 49th annual Iditarod next March.

I decided to run again this year not only because I love the race and crossing Alaska by dog team, but for a few other reasons as well, said Traska, who is entering the famous race for the third time in four years. A lot of our main racing dogs are the perfect age and I wanted to race Iditarod again before they got too old.

In 2018, Traska became the first woman born and raised in Michigan to complete the Iditarod, finishing it in 12 days, 16 hours, eight minutes, and 25 seconds, and earning 48th place out of 67 starting teams.

The 2021 race is scheduled to begin on Saturday, March 6, in Anchorage, Alaska, and to finish in Nome. Traska is one of 61 mushers who have registered so far for the race.

Traska, along with her husband, Jeremy, had a successful racing season this past winter in 200-mile and 300-mile races  earning second place in both ventures and earning the Vet's Choice Award for both.

Traska said she and Jeremy trained a little bit differently than they have in the past and were happy with the results and how the dogs performed.

So, I am really looking forward to seeing how our new training and nutrition program prepares the team for 1,000 miles, Traska said.

The team for the March 2021 jaunt will be made up mostly of dogs that started with Traska before when she finished the 2018 Iditarod and attempted but did not complete the 2019 Iditarod.

Most of the same dogs that finished with me in 2018 were part of our success last winter and will hopefully all be on the trail again as we race this winter, she said. Unlike a lot of other teams, we raise and train our dogs from birth and the same dogs are competing with us year after year.

We have a few younger dogs that may make the team for the first time as well, so it will be exciting to see how they do, Traska added. We have a lot of leaders and I rotate them around within the team quite a bit. But for sure, I will have Logan, Impulse, Springsteen, Earl, and Julius in the front quite a bit.

Traska explained that those are her most experienced dogs.

Traska said brothers Earl and Julius, who are named after two of her great-grandparents, are in the lead together and perform beautifully, sometimes even barking at each other to pump one another up.

I was disappointed when I didn't finish the race in 2019, she said. But I think that has made me feel like I need to prove to myself again that we can do it. And I am competitive, so I want to come back and do even better.

Traska said she is preparing herself mentally and spiritually to ensure success in the 2021 Iditarod.

The race is such a mental struggle for the mushers -- that's the hardest part, and I just need to stay positive and do a lot of praying so my spirits stay up and we don't let what happened during our last attempt affect us, she said.

Impacted by COVID

A typical summer for Traska and her dogs involves giving dogsled tours on a glacier both for income and to keep the dogs in shape during the "offseason."

But due to COVID-19, she said, tourism in Alaska took a bit hit this year, so she and Jeremy found "normal" jobs that didn't involve the dogs. And in an effort to keep the dogs active, she has let them run loose and play.

We will take groups of 15 or 16 dogs for walks at a time to exercise and bond, Traska said. In the next couple of days, we will begin our serious training by running teams on four-wheelers until we get snow, when we switch to sleds.

Traska is also hoping to participate in a couple of races before the Iditarod to get some additional training.

For its part, the Iditarod Trail Committee has stepped up to ensure a safe race. Iditarod organizers have been preparing for the 2021 race since the 2020 race ended.

Iditarod race director Mark Nordman said the ITC is engaged with Alaskas health care leaders and others to protect rural community checkpoints and all involved in the race, including rural residents, mushers, and volunteers.

Today, we are focused on executing the 2021 race with hypersensitivity to the pandemic, Nordman said. We are expanding our plan development to include those we consulted with during the 2020 race, as well as a broader community of state and rural health safety responders.

"In an effort to ensure the safest path through this pandemic for the Last Great Race, we are modeling three tiers of contingencies that correspond to a range of future COVID status predictions. There are many factors to consider, and we will make our best effort to provide the safest event possible in this changing environment," Nordman said.

When asked about possible returning to Gladwin before the race, Traska said it doesnt appear possible. She said that between working full-time, heading into the racing season, running a 44-dog kennel, and directing all income to the dogs, there is not extra time for a vacation.

The website for Traska's sled dogs is www.howlingridgekennel.com and the Facebook page is under Howling Ridge Kennel Racing Sled Dogs or at https://www.facebook.com/HowlingRK.
Transmission lines are installed to connect renewable energy plants in Thuan Nam district, Binh Thuan province. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - As private investment can play a significant role in increasing local power supply, experts have worked to find better mechanisms and policies to solve problems that have discouraged investment in the sector.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong told a seminar on independent power producers (IPPs) in Hanoi on September 18 that electricity demand will increase by 7.5- 8 percent per year by 2030 when local production capacity nationwide should reach 526 billion kWh, meaning the total capacity of the national grid would reach 131,000 MW.

The scale and proportion of private investors have been increasing. Specifically, by the end of 2019, the national power source structure had a capacity of 19,253 MW belonging to the private sector including power plants invested in the form of IPP and build-operate-transfer, accounting for 34.4 percent," he said.

Vuong, also deputy head of the National Steering Committee for Electricity Development, added: From now to 2030, an additional 75,100 MW of electricity will be needed each year.

Calculating that the investment required for this power source is between 7 billion USD and 8 billion USD per year, the official said there is great potential for investors to join the market.

According to the National Steering Committee for Electricity Development, IPP power projects that have been invested in and put into operation reached a total capacity of 16,400 MW, accounting for 28.3 percent of the total capacity of the national grid.

Other experts told the seminar that the renewable energy market should be encouraged by lengthening the feed-in tariff (FIT) mechanism for another one or two years as many projects of that type had faced difficulties and delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of July, there were a total of 99 solar power plants operating with a total capacity of 5,053 MW and 11 wind power plants in operation with a total capacity of 429 MW, accounting for about 9.5 percent of the total installed capacity of the system.

Hoang Tien Dung, Director of the Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy under the MoIT, said his department is working with the Institute of Energy to complete the Power Planning VIII and submit it to the MoIT by the end of this month.
The Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG) of the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) has renewed its federal contract to operate the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR).

The Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG) of the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) has renewed its federal contract to operate the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). Among its key functions, the SRTR evaluates the status of the nation's solid organ transplant system and provides analytic support to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) for purposes including the formulation and evaluation of organ allocation policies in the United States.

HHRI manages the SRTR under contract with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The renewal marks the third contract term for the operation of the SRTR for HHRI, which has operated the SRTR since 2010. The renewed contract contains a series of optional terms to extend through September 2025.

HHRI is the research arm and a nonprofit subsidiary of Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc., an integrated healthcare system that includes the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), a nationally recognized Level 1 Trauma Center and acute care and teaching hospital in Minneapolis, MN. HHRI is one of the largest nonprofit medical research institutions in Minnesota, ranking nationally in the top 10% of institutions receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

CDRG currently serves as the Coordinating Center for the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) and in the past has managed the Kidney Early Evaluation Program of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), the North Central Donor Exchange Cooperative (a collaboration between kidney transplant centers in the Upper Midwest), the Peer Kidney Care Initiative, and the CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) Health Evaluation Risk Information Sharing project conducted by NKF in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDRG has also received international recognition for its analyses of chronic disease states, including chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

Jon J. Snyder, PhD, MS, will continue to serve as SRTR Director, Ajay K. Israni, MD, MS, as Deputy Director, Bertram L. Kasiske, MD, FACP, as Medical Director for Living Donation, and Ryutaro (Ryo) Hirose, MD, as Surgical Director. National Senior Staff members with organ-specific expertise and expertise in epidemiology, histocompatibility, biostatistics, economics, and computer modeling of allocation systems help complete the team. More information about SRTR can be found at http://www.srtr.org.

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Clothes worn during alleged Novichok poisoning an important piece of evidence, says Kremlin critic, as he recovers.

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has demanded that Moscow return his clothes, claiming that Western laboratories had found traces of a Novichok nerve agent in and on his body.

Navalny, who is recovering in Berlins Charite clinic, fell violently ill during a flight from Siberia to Moscow on August 20. He spent two days in hospital in Russia before being airlifted to Germany.

Before they allowed for me to be taken to Germany, they took off all my clothes and sent me completely naked, Navalny wrote on his website in his first blog post since emerging from a coma.

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Considering Novichok was found on my body, and that infection through contact is very likely, my clothes are a very important piece of evidence, he said.

I demand that my clothes be carefully packed in a plastic bag and returned to me.

Navalnys clothes were taken by investigators and are no longer in the hospital in Siberias Omsk, where he was initially hospitalised, the RIA news agency cited the local health ministry as saying.

Russia has said it needs to see more evidence before a formal criminal investigation is opened and has asked Germany to hand over Navalnys medical data so that it can be reviewed.

The 30 days of pre-investigation probe were used to hide this important evidence, Navalny said.

Ivan Zhdanov, a member of Navalnys team, said Russian transport police had summoned Navalnys spokeswoman and other team members for questioning as part of the pre-investigation probe.

Zhdanov said they would not attend, as a 30-day deadline for police to decide whether to open a criminal case had passed.

The transport police said the probe was still under way and that they had questioned 200 people and planned to carry out further checks. They have also sent requests for legal assistance to Germany, France and Sweden.

Two independent laboratories in France and Sweden and the Bundeswehr specialised laboratory confirmed the presence of Novichok in and on my body, Navalny wrote, referring to a German military lab.

He noted that Russian talk shows had suggested that Western intelligence officials or his own allies carried out the attack.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2020 / Noble Roman's, Inc. (OTCQB:NROM), the Indianapolis based franchisor and operator of Noble Roman's Pizza and Noble Roman's Craft Pizza & Pub announced today that it has established planned dates to open two new company-owned Craft Pizza & Pub restaurants: in Greenwood, Indiana on approximately October 12, 2020; in McCordsville, Indiana on approximately November 23, 2020. The company also announced that the franchisees of the Craft Pizza & Pub in Lafayette, Indiana plan to open their second Craft Pizza & Pub in Kokomo, Indiana between November 5 and 12, 2020. These openings will take the company-owned operations to seven Craft Pizza & Pub locations and the third franchise Craft Pizza & Pub location. Noble Roman's began this year with four company-owned Craft Pizza & Pub locations and two franchised locations.

According to Scott Mobley, President & CEO of Noble Roman's, Inc., "We are extremely excited to be opening our second and third company-owned locations for the year in what we believe will prove to be fantastic markets. The new restaurants in Greenwood and McCordsville are situated in newer, high growth areas with a great mix of commercial and residential traffic. The opening of three new company-owned restaurants this year, in addition to the four existing restaurants, has certainly been challenging during the pandemic, but our guests are responding with excitement." An additional opening this fall will occur in Kokomo, IN, and will be owned and operated by the company's Lafayette, IN franchisees. The Lafayette location opened in May 2019 to great success, and the Kokomo market has strong Noble Roman's brand awareness as well.

The first Noble Roman's Craft Pizza & Pub opened on January 31, 2017 in Westfield, Indiana. The other company operated restaurants are in Whitestown, Fishers, Carmel and Brownsburg, Indiana in addition to the upcoming locations in Greenwood and McCordsville, Indiana. The company also has two franchised Craft Pizza & Pub locations operating in Lafayette and Evansville, Indiana and with a third franchise location opening in Kokomo, Indiana.

The statements contained in this press release concerning the company's future revenues, profitability, financial resources, market demand and product development are forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) relating to the company that are based on the beliefs of the management of the company, as well as assumptions and estimates made by and information currently available to the company's management. The company's actual results in the future may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties that exist in the company's operations and business environment, including, but not limited to, competitive factors and pricing pressures, non-renewal of franchise agreements, shifts in market demand, the success of new franchise programs, including the new Noble Roman's Craft Pizza & Pub format, general economic conditions, changes in purchases of or demand for the company's products, licenses or franchises, the success or failure of individual franchisees and licensees, changes in prices or supplies of food ingredients and labor, and dependence on continued involvement of current management. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected or intended. The company undertakes no obligations to update the information in this press release for subsequent events.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Media Information - Scott Mobley, President & CEO: smobley@nobleromans.com

Investor Relations - Paul Mobley, Executive Chairman: pmobley@nobleromans.com

SOURCE: Noble Roman's, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/607071/Noble-Romans-Plans-to-Open-Three-New-Craft-Pizza-Pub-Restaurants-in-the-Next-Two-Months-in-Greenwood-McCordsville-and-Kokomo-IN
Liz Truss says better modelling "will help us capture the full benefits" of free trade agreements - ANDREW PARSONS/10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty Images

Liz Truss is ready to rip up the Trade Departments rule books on assessing deals in a bid to improve how it measures the economic benefits of its post-Brexit Global Britain project.

The Trade Secretary has drafted in experts to overhaul the departments models.

Tony Venables, an economics professor at Oxford University, will lead a team including Graham Gudgin of Cambridge University, Swati Dhingra of the London School of Economics, Michael Plummer of John Hopkins University and Christine McDaniel of George Mason University.

Their task will be to advise the chief economist of the Department for International Trade (DIT) on how to adapt its traditional trade gravity model, which gives weight to the proximity of trading partners, to focus more on trade in services, including digital and data.

Official data has projected that certain trade deals could shrink the economy and the new results are therefore likely to cast the Governments Global Britain trade deals in a more favourable light, given the UK is the second-largest exporter of services globally.

Indeed, Dr Gudgin published a paper in 2017 arguing that the trade gravity model generated overly pessimistic predictions of the impact of Brexit on the UK economy.

Ms Truss said: Better modelling will help us capture the full benefits of free trade agreements and strike British-shaped deals that suit our economy and deliver for the whole country.

DIT has also asked that the panel accounts for the benefits of securing open trade routes and low tariffs compared to scenarios where protectionism might increase.

Deep and dynamic free trade deals are even more valuable when trade barriers elsewhere are high, and we want our economic assessments to reflect that, Ms Truss added.

DITs initial scoping assessment of the impact of Britain leaving the EU  its closest trading partner  forecast a 5pc loss of GDP over 15 years. Meanwhile, official estimates saw up to a 0.01pc loss of GDP from a deal with New Zealand  the UKs most distant trading partner.

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The deals Britain is seeking to strike with non-EU countries are not expected cumulatively to compensate for the loss of membership of the single market and customs union under current modelling, but these estimates are based on data from 2011.

The review is expected to take about a year so the results will not be ready in time to assess the impact of the UK-Japan trade deal agreed in principle last week, or any other free trade agreements signed in the meantime.

Trade talks are also under way with the EU, US, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, with a goal of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)  of which Canada, Japan and Australia are members  in the longer term.

It came as the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Australian Council of Trade Unions and New Zealand Council of Trade Unions published a joint statement ahead of a new round of negotiations starting on Monday, calling for workers rights to be prioritised in trade discussions.

Frances OGrady, general secretary of the TUC, said: Trade deals must not be hijacked by the narrow interests of global corporations, or we will face a race to the bottom for workers rights.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 03:35:18|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Monday unveiled new guidelines enabling state aid to prevent polluting industries from moving to non-EU countries where the climate standards are lower.

The new guidelines were adopted after the European Commission put forward a plan to further cut emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030.

The adoption was in line with the European Green Deal, which was presented by the Commission in December 2019 as a roadmap for making the EU's economy sustainable and achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

The EU's revised Emission Trading System (ETS) State aid Guidelines, which will enter into force on Jan. 1, 2021, will replace the previous guidelines adopted in 2012.

European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said the new guidelines enable member states to support those sectors that, because of indirect emission costs, are most at risk of carbon leakage.

The new guidelines are aiming at reducing carbon leakage, which happens when companies move their operations to countries outside the EU, which have less ambitious climate policies. This leads to less economic activity in the EU and no reduction in greenhouse gas emissions globally, according to the Commission.

Under the new guidelines, the aid will be targeted at sectors at risk of carbon leakage due to high indirect emission costs and their strong exposure to international trade. Based on an objective methodology, 10 sectors and 20 sub-sectors are eligible for the aid.

The compensation will cover 75 percent of costs, rather the previous 85 percent and will not cover non-efficient technologies, to maintain the companies' incentives for energy efficiency. Enditem
As expected, Chloe Zhaos Venice Golden Lion winner Nomadland took the often Oscar-predictive Toronto International Film Festival Peoples Choice Award announced this morning. Regina Kings One Night in Miami was second, and Beans was third in the slimmed down competition at the fest, which had about a sixth of the number of films in play than usual. That also meant far fewer Oscar hopefuls aiming to get this prize.

As the Fall Festival season, such as it is in the age of coronavirus, now continues on to the just started New York Film Festival, (which opened Thursday with Steve McQueens Lovers Rock, the 68-minute first installment of a series essentially of TV movies that was originally to have played Cannes) and then moves to London and the AFI Fest in October, the latter opening with streamer Amazons latest, a modern day film noir with an outstanding performance by Rachel Brosnahan in a movie called Im Your Woman, this has indeed been a crazy kickoff to what is normally the beginning of the Oscar movie awards season. Actually it has proven to be anything but the normal awards season kickoff with only a mere handful, if that much, of genuine contenders promising to be remembered half a year from now when voting finally begins for the two-month delayed 2020 Oscars. Bottom line, despite what some eager beaver pundits would have you believe, this Oscar season, coming after the end of Emmy season tonight, will not get going in earnest until at least November after the election, and of course, even that cautious start date is dependent of where we are COVID-wise, Theatre-wise, and Content-wise.

The Peoples Choice winner at TIFF, since a streak that started in 2011, has been guaranteed at the very least an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, and in some cases like Green Book, Slumdog Millionaire, and others a Best Picture win. But when you look at the short list of even possible Best Picture nominees coming out of the Cannes and Telluride selections (not actually able to be shown though at those cancelled fests), along with what was offered up for typical Oscar bait at Venice and Toronto is there anything beyond Chloe Zhaos minimalist but affecting Nomadland, Kings directing debut of Amazons One Night In Miami, and Francis Lees very British brooding female romance, Ammonite? Hardly. Those three ought to continue to have a presence as scores of other satellite festivals offer them up, and also because their respective distributors Fox Searchlight, Amazon, and reigning Best Picture champ NEON (Parasite) have proven they will seriously campaign if they think they have a shot. These three all used a festival strategy and are sticking with it, however virtually, to stay alive on the long road ahead to a year where Oscar is promising ten Best Picture nominees once again. As timing would have it, the Academy has ironically chosen a year that looks to be largely indie-driven as they expand the number of nominees for some more popular appeal. Timing is everything. By the way, Searchlight tells us this is their fifth TIFF audience award win and the first time the TIFF honor has matched the Golden Lion.

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It is no surprise that Nomadland is taking on some early heat in a thin field so far. The TIFF honor will add to that as that film. Some performances likely to be considered also popped at Venice and/or TIFF with suggestions by Cannes and/or Telluride led of course by Frances McDormand in Nomadland where she proved she could pack Amazon boxes with the best of em, and Anthony Hopkins giving a career highlight turn as a man slipping into dementia in The Father, a role strong enough to likely be remembered all the way from its original Sundance 2019 debut right up to the April 25, 2021 Oscars. Kate Winslet has really been putting in the campaign work already for Ammonite racking up whatever award can be arranged for her by NEON strategists (ironically the Lesbian drama pales next to NEONs similar entry last year, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire which was sadly completely ignored by AMPAS members).

There is also the Netflix factor and the pickup of the harrowing and brilliantly acted Pieces Of A Woman out of Venice and TIFF where Vanessa Kirby in lead actress and 88 year old Ellen Burstyn in support promise to land acting nominations IF Oscar voters can make it through the wrenchingly intense first 30 minutes before turning off their link. The film, as I said last week in predicting Kirby would be a strong bet for the Actress award at Venice (she won), is worth the effort, and though Netflix has pointedly decided to skip the festival circuit altogether this year in favor of a series of virtual debuts for their growing multitude of films beginning next week, now by virtue of that pickup does indeed find themselves at least partially on the fest circuit after all, and a beneficiary of the critical acclaim and quotes that come with it. The streamers big dollar TIFF pickups of Halle Berrys Bruised, going back for more editing work, and the completely pandemic-produced Sam Levinson black and white film Malcolm & Marie with Zendaya and John David Washington are for next year, not this season (which now runs thru February 28, 2021 in terms of eligibility) I am told. Netflix is hoping the pandemic, during which Malcolm & Marie was made, will be reduced to such a point where they can give this one the full red carpet treatment insiders say it deserves.

As for Torontos hybrid of a live and virtual film festival this year, I have to say I thought in execution, and in availability of movies and panels through their Digital Pro viewing platform (so easy and professional) was a rousing success. Although I missed being in Canada this month, as I also missed Telluride and Cannes this year, I got used to casting to my big screen 85-inch TV screen this wide variety of far fewer films than normal. And I saw several worthy of pickups, and even a couple that definitely could be thrust into this Oscar season with the right handling and distributor. I have already praised the Naomi Watts/Andrew Lincoln film Penguin Bloom, and Endeavor/Content hopefully can find a home for that, as well as the stirring Concrete Cowboy with a very fine Idris Elba.

Beyond that, I had a great time with the wickedly dark comedy of I Care A Lot starring Rosamund Pike, Dianne Wiest and Peter Dinklage among others in a very funny and biting film about a nursing home scam run by Pikes character that has so many twists and turns you will get whiplash. Pike would be a dead certainty in the Golden Globe comedy Actress lineup if they can get this qualified in time.

And I had an even greater time with the late breaking female-driven action flick called Shadow In The Cloud (winner of TIFFs Midnite Madness prize earlier today) coming out of nowhere this week at TIFF, a real surprise, starring a never better Chloe Grace Moretz as a female WWII pilot on a secret mission on a plane with all men that turns into a nightmare thrill ride when she is confronted by a Gremlin-like creature attempting to wreak havoc on their flight, and to top it all off she has smuggled her newborn baby on board. It comes from New Zealand director Roseanne Liang. I was so buzzed about this that one I immediately emailed one of the producers, Fred Berger (La La Land) to exclaim it as a big hit (!) Roseanne is a rising star, he wrote back. That is an understatement after this non-stop action picture that, to tell the truth, features Moretz in, yes, an absurd but knockout turn that is the most impressive work I saw from an actress (well, maybe Kirby too) on this years fest circuit so far. But dont worry. This movie is in a genre the Academy usually snubs, and though quickly picked up for distribution by Vertical, it is for a theatrical run next summer where it ought to become a certified sleeper smash.

Another movie that blew me away at TIFF already came with real cred as the Silver Lion award winner at Venice a week earlier. Michel Francos devastating New Order, a film so remarkably timely considering the protests in the streets of this country currently, is set in an unrest-riddled Mexico City setting up a battle between the haves and the have nots. For its sheer importance and incredibly prescient storyline this film should have actually been knocked up a notch by the Venice jury and given the top Golden Lion (that went to Nomadland), but I suspect that when, and if, it is selected as the official Mexican entry for Oscars Best International Film it will become a major contender. It is universal, and considering what is going especially in America now, and (hopefully not) after the November 3rd election when some are predicting even more intense unrest and violence, it is positively scary and believable that what is just a movie in New Order is very plausibly what could happen for real. This is a WOW, and an urgent warning. Franco, who I interview In Cannes five years ago when he was in competition with the Tim Roth starrer Chronic another very disturbing film, is the real deal.

I caught up with a couple of official 2020 Cannes Competition entries that made their way to Toronto for North American Premieres. Thomas Vinterbergs Another Round (Danish title: Druk) stars Mads Mikkelsen in another fine performance as a high school teacher who joins with three other male colleagues in an experiment to drink their way their greater happiness. It felt oddly like a Danish Husbands, the John Cassavetes movie with Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, and Cassavetes, but I doubt had it been able to actually play Cannes that it would have won any prizes there. I also saw Francois Ozons latest, a return to the feel of some of his earlier work, and a nostalgia-laden male love story called Summer Of 85. It might not be one of the prolific directors top-drawer items but was a worthy choice for both Cannes and TIFF, and nicely evocative of the pre-AIDs era of the 80s.

Mark Wahlberg has never been better than in another TIFF World Premiere I saw based on a tragic true-life story called Good Joe Bell. Walhberg plays a father who sets out on a two-year journey to walk from Idaho to New York City in order to bring attention to his quest to stop bullying against gays, something that personally affected his own son played here memorably by newcomer Reid Miller. It is probably best if you arent aware of the actual facts in the case, in order to appreciate the twist near the 40 minute mark, but director Reinaldo Marcus Green might want to take another whack in the editing room with this one due to a complicated and confusing structure that diminishes what should be an overwhelming emotional experience watching this very sad but important movie. I was so confused that I looked up the real Joe Bell on Wikipedia at that point (you can do that when watching on your couch) to try and clarify things. As my Deadline colleague Mike Fleming Jr. reported exclusively Friday, Good Joe Bell just sold to Solstice Studios (Unhinged) for a theatrical release this awards season and Oscar run. Certainly Wahlberg and Miller are deserving but the film, for me at least, just misses, but it could be improved and find an appreciative audience if Solstice gives it the right push. The appeal of Wahlbergs name as a draw and his heartfelt and moving performance is certainly is a high water mark in his career. This is another TIFF entry that has a very worthy message behind it. Right now, it sits a little underwater with a 55% Rotten Tomatoes score, just under the fresh threshold.

In some ways, as I was recently reminded in talking to director Roger Michell this week on the occasion of this weekends opening of his very fine film Blackbird that maybe premiering virtually rather than in person at the Toronto International Film Festival does indeed have its advantages. I attended the Blackbird World Premiere at TIFF exactly one year ago at a packed house at the cavernous Roy Thomson Hall. The film stars Susan Sarandon as a woman choosing Euthanasia in order to die with dignity on her own terms rather than let ALS slowly destroy her body and all its functions. SPOILER ALERT: Just as the film was getting to a crucial scene near the end when she is drinking the formula that will end her life, a voice was heard somewhere in the theater yelling, Doctor! Doctor! It appears there was someone in need of help, and the film was stopped suddenly, frozen in time. Because of the nature of the movie, I dont think I was alone in wondering if maybe this was someone viscerally reacting to the film. Ultimately, though, it wasnt serious; the person exited, and the film resumed. I was curious how a filmmaker would react to such an interruption at the premiere of his movie at a major film festival like this. I got my answer.

We were in this enormous theater, over a thousand people. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone was so into the movie, recalled Michell, who was still smarting from the experience. And then this wretched person started having some kind of episode in the front row. I wanted him to die, actually. Either die or be removed from the theater, but the worst possible thing happened. They stopped the movie; they stopped the movie and brought the lights up. This person eventually got up and wandered out. It was a terrible a thing to happen. You know, I work in theater a lot and very occasionally these things happen in live theatre, but you really dont expect your film to be interrupted in that way by a medical episode. I dont know really if it was prompted by the content of the film, but it was deeply regrettable.

You never know what can happen, but I have to think if the premiere were virtual as was the case for many this year, Michell and his cast could have avoided an incident that still stings a year later. Maybe there is a bright side to all this after all.

Thanks, TIFF, for the most unusual Toronto ever. Now on to New York in the long and winding road to Oscar.

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Maldives luxury resort, The Nautilus Maldives, announced on September 20 a Workation Package which will allow the vacationers to work remotely in the post-COVID-19 era with the most luxurious experience ever. In a press release on its website, the resort said that it has implemented the new package that constitutes over 28 days or more, basis preference of the holidayers at one of the Nautilus houses and residences.

"Our Young Wanderers club provides an extensive educational programme for your children whilst we provide you with luxury office amenities to maintain productiveness, the resort mentioned in the release.

$23,250 remote working package

The $23,250 luxury remote working package by the Maldives resort includes the "dedicated" personal assistant in inclusion to a remote work desk arranged at a scenic view overlooking the ocean. Moreover, the resort offers additional refreshments on basis of a customized menu and a complimentary laundry service. The travellers are given options to choose from one of The Nautilus Maldives residences in the UNESCO biosphere which costs up to $23,250, or $37,850 or $52,000 for a two-week or three-week stay at the resort.

This month, Maldives government announced the relaxation to the COVID-19 advisories and protocols and reopened at least 43 resorts including Kudafushi Resort & Spa, Lily Beach Maldives, LUX* North Male Atoll, OBLU by Atmosphere, Soneva Fushi, Angsana Resort & Spa, VARU by Atmosphere, Jumeirah Vittaveli, Velaa Private Island. Meanwhile, the guidelines allow more than 94 percent of the luxury resorts and villas to be fully operational by October with adherence to the prescribed state guidelines for safety amid the pandemic. Moreover, Maldivian borders were opened to international visitors as the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) announced nearly all resorts to open by October with the Ministry of Tourism guidelines compliance, according to local media reports.

Read: US Warns Citizens Against Travel To China, Hong Kong Citing COVID-19, Arbitrary Detention

Read: US Eases China Travel Advisory Citing 'improved Conditions', Asks People To 'reconsider'

Whats in the package?

The Nautilus Island in its package promises to provide an incredible secluded experience for the remote workers on a private island, which includes services like the yoga, fitness, and meditation sessions. A private sunset dolphin cruise will take the tourists for an oceanic exploration onboard its luxury yachts. The resort also gives those that subscribe to the workation package a secluded sandbank to work under a shaded sun canopy for a few hours every day for relaxation. Further, the resort said in the release that it will take care of the immigration "and other processes for the guest from the time of their arrival. They are provided a private lounge at the airport to relax while the formalities are taken care of by the resort.

Read: Hawaii To Allow Travelers To Skip Quarantine With Virus Test

Read: Gordon Ramsay Studio Looking For Candidates For Food And Travel Show; All You Need To Know

(Images Credit: The Nautilus Maldives)
New Delhi, Sep 21 : A Delhi court on Monday remanded Journalist Rajeev Sharma, Chinese woman Qing Shi and Nepalese citizen Sher Singh to seven-day police custody in connection with a Chinese espionage racket case.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pawan Singh Rajawat sent the three to police custody after they were produced before the court at the end of their previous remand period.

On September 14, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police had arrested 61-year-old Indian freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma, allegedly found working for Chinese intelligence.

Image Source: IANS News

During a search of Sharma's house in Pitampura here, one laptop, some confidential documents related to Indian Defence and some other incriminating papers were reportedly seized.

Rajeev Sharma has also moved a bail plea in the court, which will come up for hearing on Tuesday. The application, moved by advocate Amish Aggarwala on Sharma's behalf, put forth that he is being framed in a false case and has not committed any offence.

During his police remand, a Chinese woman Qing Shi and her Nepalese partner Sher Singh alias Raj Bohra were also arrested. They were found supplying the arrested scribe with huge amounts of money routed through hawala channels for conveying sensitive information to Chinese Intelligence, DCP Special Cell Sanjeev Yadav had said.

A few days back, an input was received from an intelligence agency that Rajeev Sharma, a resident of St. Xavier Apartment, Pitampura, New Delhi, had links with a foreign intelligence officer and has been receiving funds from his handler through illegal means and Western Union money transfer for conveying sensitive information about national security and foreign relations.

A case under section 3 (possession of any sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information, which relates to munitions of war communicates), 4 (Communications with foreign agents) and 5 (Wrongful communication) of the Official Secrets Act was registered on September 13. Thereafter, Rajeev Sharma was arrested on September 14 and a warrant was obtained for searching his residential premises by the Delhi Police.

Image Source: IANS News

"On interrogation, Rajeev Sharma disclosed his involvement in the procurement of secret and sensitive information and conveying the same to his Chinese handlers Michael and George, based in Kunming, China, through different digital channels. He further disclosed that he was about to send these recovered secret documents to his handlers," Sanjeev Yadav said.

Police said that in the past also, Sharma had sent several documents in the form of reports to his handlers and got a handsome amount of money from them.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 05:51:10|Editor: huaxia

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TUNIS, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- On the occasion of the United Nations' 75th anniversary, Tunisian President Kais Saied said Monday that "the UN must be more united on the basis of a new set of values, because humanity has entered a new era."

In his video speech, Saied said "international relations cannot be ruled with the same principles as those of the last century and the ones before."

According to the Tunisian president, it's time to lift the injustices among human beings wherever they are around the world.

"Unfortunately, still many rights have not found their way into practice, mainly the right of the Palestinian people to their land," Saied added.

"The world needs nations to be united as stipulated by the UN charter," he concluded. Enditem
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.21

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

The value of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Belarus amounted to $368.5 million over the first seven months of 2020, compared to $437.4 million during the same period of 2019, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Statistics Committee.

The share of Belarus in the total value of Kazakhstans trade turnover stood at 0.75 percent during the reporting period compared to 0.8 percent during the same period of 2019.

Kazakhstans export to Belarus amounted to $37.1 million over the period from January through July 2020, compared to $64.8 million during the same period of 2019

Belaruss share in the total volume of Kazakhstans export amounted to 0.1 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 0.2 percent during the same period of 2019.

In turn, Kazakhstans imports from Belarus amounted to nearly $331.4 million over the reporting period, compared to $372.6 million during the same period of 2019.

Belaruss share in the total volume of Kazakhstans import amounted to 1.6 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 1.7 percent during the same period of 2019.

The total volume of Kazakhstans trade turnover amounted to $48.7 billion over the period from Jan. through July 2020 which indicates a decrease from $54.5 billion during the same period of 2019.

Kazakhstans export amounted to $28.6 billion during the reporting period of 2020 ($33.03 billion in the same period of 2019), whereas imports amounted to $20.1 billion ($21.5 billion in 2019).

During the reporting period, the main articles of Kazakhstan and Belarus trade turnover were food products, agricultural products, as well as products of the chemical industry.

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
TDT | Manama

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani received yesterday US Embassy charge daffaires Margaret Nardi, in the presence of other officials. The Foreign Minister praised the historical friendship and cooperation distinguished by the strategic partnership between Bahrain and the US.

He noted the tangible efforts made by the US to establish peace and stability in the region, particularly in the recent signing ceremony hosted at the White House of the peace agreements between Bahrain, the UAE, and Israel. He wished the US and its friendly people further progress and prosperity.

For her part, Nardi congratulated Bahrain on the occasion of the signing of the peace declaration and stressed the importance of continued bilateral cooperation and coordination between both nations in various fields. She wished the Kingdom and its people further progress and prosperity. Also during the meeting, a number of regional and international issues and topics of common interest were discussed.
Before the pandemic, Fernanda Yanchapaxi already knew how difficult life could be without child care. The 39-year-old University of Toronto graduate student spent nearly three years on daycare waiting lists for each of her daughters, who are now seven and three. She schlepped them to her classes, tried to soothe them during lectures and pushed her studies late into the night. She managed as best she could, but it never felt sustainable.

I just remember feeling like I didnt have a choice, she says today. I didnt have another alternative than to do both at the same time, but sometimes its too much to do both.

So even though she needed to use almost all of her scholarship money to pay daycare fees  which ranged from $900 to $1,300 per month  she jumped at spots for her kids as soon as they became available. (Since her partner works full time, they didnt qualify for fee subsidies.) It was expensive, but it let her continue her studies, complete a masters degree and start her PhD.

Then the pandemic hit and she was back to juggling everything. She tried to do it all at first, but eventually put her studies on hold. It was really hard to do both things.

She said the pandemic reinforced for her the value of child care. But more than anything, it reinforced my frustration with the lack of a universal, fully funded system, she said. Its a gap that leaves parents alone.

Governor General Julie Payette is scheduled to make the throne speech on Wednesday on behalf of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government, and child care is expected to figure prominently. Yanchapaxi says she will be watching and looking for more than vague nods to supporting working parents.

Ive heard that before, she said. I actually want to see a plan to have a universal and fully funded system across Canada that works in the same way that public school works, so every family does not have to make a choice between generating income for the family or taking care of the kids.

Yanchapaxi isnt alone. Child-care advocates are hopeful that this is their moment  that the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the necessity of universal child care, while also creating the political circumstances for it to be a major plank in the governments economic recovery efforts.

Advocates envision a national system that is funded primarily by the government and accessible to all families with low or no fees.

This is the legacy program of the 21st century, said Armine Yalnizyan, an economist and the Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers. Theres absolutely zero bigger issue right now.

During the pandemic, women lost jobs at a higher rate compared to men, and their employment has been slower to recover. A recent study by the Royal Bank of Canada found womens participation in the labour force is at its lowest point in 30 years.

But Yalnizyan said affordable child care is not just about getting women back to work; its about ensuring Canadas economy can grow to meet the needs of an aging population.

This isnt a feminist issue or a childrens issue, she said. This is a macroeconomic issue. We cannot get recovery without having a she-covery, and we cannot have she-covery without child care.

Yalnizyan said there needs to be a muscular investment by the federal government in the provinces  in the neighbourhood of $8 billion  and it needs to be tied to specific, measurable outcomes and timelines. The money has to be buying change.

But first the government needs to preserve the existing child-care capacity, which has been threatened by declining enrolment and rising costs related to the pandemic. Earlier this summer, the feds announced $625 million to support the child-care sector during the pandemic. But many child-care centres have yet to reopen, and advocates fear some may be forced to close permanently.

Right now were seeing day by day, the disaster that comes from leaving child care to a patchwork market system, said Carolyn Ferns, the public policy and government relations co-ordinator at the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care. The throne speech should include a plan to shift toward a publicly funded, universal system, she said. Its never been more clear that thats the direction we need to go than it is right now, because of what this pandemic has done.

Ferns said she would like to see national legislation to enshrine the goal of building a national system and insulate it from shifting political winds. We have to entrench some of these things so that we dont continue this lurching (between governments), and all the starts and stops.

Martha Friendly, founder and executive director of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit, has been through all the starts and stops on child care, going back to the 1970 Report on the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, which called for a national daycare act.

Friendly said that since Wednesday is merely a throne speech, not a budget, she knows it will only be a broad-strokes vision. But she will be looking for signals of the governments intention to move toward a system that is more resilient, less marketized and not dependent on parent fees to keep the lights on.

Building universal child care may be a daunting task, she said. But so was building health care.

Its something that can be done, she said. Were not the first country to do this  were also not the last, but were close to the last  and if Canada actually cant start developing a serious, well-developed national child-care program now, after this pandemic, with everything we know about it, I mean, cmon, what else do we need to do?
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 23:22:38|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China will stay actively engaged in reforming and developing the global governance system, President Xi Jinping said on Monday while addressing a high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th UN anniversary via video. Enditem
On the occasion of World Peace Day, the U.S. Embassy called on Russia to end the conflict in Donbas, which it has provoked and supports, to withdraw from Donbas and Crimea and to release all illegally imprisoned Ukrainians, said Charge d'Affaires a.i. of the United States in Ukraine Kristina Kvien.

"On World Peace Day we call on Russia to choose peace. Ukrainians, like all people, want to live their lives in peace, and with full recognition of their human rights until Russia ends the conflict it manufactured and sustains in Donbas, and fully withdraws from both Donbas and Crimea. Ukrainians cannot enjoy the peace they deserve," Kvien said in a video address posted on Twitter on Monday.

The Charge d'Affaires also stressed that the United States supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

"Russia must also free all Ukrainians it has wrongfully imprisoned and retaliation for peaceful decent. The U.S. remains fully committed to diplomatic efforts to end Russia's conflict in eastern Ukraine and its occupation of Crimea. We stand with the people of Ukraine and support Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity," Kvien added.
A ll remaining virus restrictions were being lifted across much of New Zealand today, with the exception of Auckland, which will continue to have some measures in place for at least another 16 days. Health authorities have reported no new cases.

The Taj Mahal reopened today after six months of closure due to lockdown measures  the longest it has ever been shut. Indias biggest tourist attraction, which can see up to 70,000 visitors a day, will now allow only 5,000 visitors daily and enforce Covid-19 safety measures, including temperature checks, as cases continue to spike.

Rising new infection numbers in countries like France, Austria and the Netherlands are worrying, German health minister Jens Spahn said today, adding that Germany will sooner or later import cases. Countries like Spain have infection dynamics that are likely to be out of control, Spahn said.

Thousands of Israelis protested outside prime minister Benjamin Netanyahus official residence in Jerusalem today after a new nationwide lockdown was introduced on Friday. Israel has seen one of the worlds highest per capita rates of coronavirus infections in the past two weeks. While the government won praise for its initial handling of the pandemic, many Israelis have accused it of bungling the response since.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

The export of steel from Turkey to Uzbekistan decreased by 48.20 percent from January through August 2020, compared to the same period of 2019, having reached $21 million, the Turkish Trade Ministry told Trend on Sept. 21.

In August 2020, Turkey exported steel worth $2.3 million to Uzbekistan, which is 56.96 percent less than in the same month of last year.

Export of steel from Turkey to the world markets decreased by 16.1 percent from January through August 2020, compared to the same period of 2019, amounting to $7.9 billion.

The ministry said that Turkeys export of steel made up 7.7 percent of the country's total export over the reporting period.

In August 2020, Turkey exported the steel worth $878.4 million to the world markets, which is 13.5 percent less compared to August 2019, the ministry noted.

At the same time, Turkeys export of steel in August 2020 accounted for seven percent of the country's total export volume.

Over the past 12 months (from August 2019 through August 2020), Turkey exported steel worth over $12.3 billion to the world markets.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
US automaker Tesla is working on a plan to set up a research centre in India's IT capital Bengaluru.

Tesla and Karnataka government officials discussed the matter on September 10, according to a report by The Economic Times.

The officials will present a detailed proposal to the Tesla executives at a meeting later in September, the report said.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

If the talks are successful, this would be Tesla's second research facility outside the US.

India's electric vehicles (EV) market is estimated to be around Rs 50,000 crore by 2025, according to a report by Avendus Capital July.

Tesla and Karnataka's Department of Industries and Commerce had not yet responded to requests for comment sent by The Economic Times.

"Tesla has shown initial interest to invest in a research and innovation centre in Karnataka and the talks are at a preliminary stage," a source told the publication.



Sorry, should hopefully be soon!

 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 10, 2020

Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk had in July said "hopefully" when a Twitter user asked when the Model 3 sedans will be available in India.
23:13

Navies of India and Australia will carry out a two-day mega exercise in the Indian Ocean Region beginning Wednesday that will involve a range of complex naval manoeuvres, anti-aircraft drills and helicopter operations, officials said.





The exercise comes in the midst of India's tense border row with China and in the backdrop of growing activities by the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean Region.





"The exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability, improving understanding and imbibing best practices from each other. It would involve advanced surface and anti-air exercises including weapon firings, seamanship exercises, naval manoeuvres and cross deck flying operations," a Navy spokesperson said.





It will be the fourth major military drill by the Indian Navy since June. It has already carried out similar exercises with the navies of the US, Japan and Russia.





HMAS Hobart, the lead ship of the Hobart-class air warfare destroyers, will be among the assets to be deployed in the exercise by the Royal Australian Navy, officials said, adding Indian Navy ships Sahyadri and Karmuk will be part of Indian platforms.





"The exercise, which is in keeping with the strong bond shared by the two navies, would be another step towards strengthening Indo-Australia defence relations and the continued efforts of both governments to work closely to enhance safety and security of the global commons," the Navy spokesperson said.





He said the two navies have built a robust relationship through regular exercises.





Earlier this month, navies of India and Russia carried out an exercise in the Bay of Bengal.





In July, the Indian Navy carried out a military exercise with a US Navy carrier strike group led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off the coast of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.





The USS Nimitz is the world's largest warship.





In the exercise with the US Navy, four frontline warships of the Indian Navy participated.





The US carrier strike group was transiting through the Indian Ocean Region on its way from the South China Sea.





The US Navy carrier strike group comprises USS Nimitz, Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Sterett and USS Ralph Johnson.





The Indian Navy carried out a similar exercise with the Japanese navy in June.





India has significantly expanded its deployment in the Indian Ocean Region with a plethora of warships and submarines following the border row to send across a message to Beijing.





The maritime space around the Malacca Strait is very critical for China's supply chain through sea routes. -- PTI


Doctors of Vietnam's level-2 field hospital No. 1 head to South Sudan for UN peacekeeping mission in 2018. (Photo: VNA)

On the eve of the event, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnamese mission to the UN, said since Vietnam officially joined the UN on September 20, 1977, the cooperative relations between the two sides have contributed to protecting and promoting national interests, particularly maintaining and consolidating a peaceful and secure environment favourable for national development as well as international integration.



The relationship has also helped raise Vietnams position and image in the international arena, and deepen relations between Vietnam and other countries, key partners and friends.



The Ambassador stressed that on the other hand, Vietnam has proactively made substantial contributions to the UNs operation. As such, the UN and international community have described Vietnam as a model of success in implementing SDGs, and a country that has seriously worked to materialise the 2030 agenda on sustainable development and the Paris agreement on climate change.



Vietnam has actively promoted the UNs reform initiatives, and it was considered among the leaders in implementing the Delivering As One initiative.



Quy said the UN has repeatedly praised Vietnam as a model of the developing countries that have emerged from poverty and war remnants to gain the middle-income status.



In his congratulatory message to the Vietnamese Government and people on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of National Day (September 2), UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Vietnam has always been a strong partner of the UN since its admission to the UN in 1977.



The Vietnamese army is participating in the UN's peacekeeping activities and Vietnams leading role in fulfilling the MDGs lays a solid foundation for the country to carry out the Sustainable Development Programme 2030, he said.



According to Ambassador Quy, as a non-permanent member of the UNSC in the 2020-2021 term, Vietnam has participated in the councils work in the spirit of independence, activeness and with responsibility, while affirming its stance of advocating adherence to the UN Charter and basic principles of international law, supporting the search for solutions to regional and international disputes through talks and peaceful negotiations.

As President of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in January 2020, Vietnam has left a good impression with the organisation of an open debate on adhering to the UN Charter to maintain international peace and security, and the first-ever meeting on cooperation between the UN and ASEAN.



The ambassador also affirmed that Vietnam has outstandingly fulfilled its positions as chairs of the committee monitoring the implementation of resolutions on South Sudan and the Informal Working Group on International Tribunals, and as coordinator of the 10 non-permanent member countries of the UNSC (E10) in May.



With the dual role as non-permanent member of the UNSC and ASEAN Chair 2020, Vietnam held a meeting on the UN-ASEAN, and promoted the role of regional organisations in settling issues in regions.



Ambassador Quy quoted the UN Secretary General as assessing that as a non-permanent member of the UNSC, Vietnam has been making significant contributions to sustainable peace./.


P iers Morgan has urged the UK to be "realistic" about the prospect of Christmas Day being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Good Morning Britain host described the fight against the pandemic as "our war" and urged the UK not to complain if Christmas does not go ahead.

"This virus has not got any less virulent," Mr Morgan said on the show on Monday morning.

"It doesn't understand rule of six, or Boris' idea of having Christmas Day off, as if somehow we can all amass on Christmas Day and then go back to the rules.

"If we miss Christmas Day as a country, if that's what we have to do, we have to do it.

"This is our war. I think people have to be realistic about that."

Last week, Boris Johnson warned that actions to stop a second surge of Covid-19 must be "tough now" in order to "protect" Christmas .

The Prime Minister said people have to be "both confident and cautious" and that it is "crucial" the country does not re-enter "some great lockdown again that stops business from functioning".

"Christmas we want to protect, and we want everyone to have a fantastic Christmas," he told the Sun.

Coronavirus: Weekend Round-up before New Rule of Six - In pictures 1 /30 Coronavirus: Weekend Round-up before New Rule of Six - In pictures People sing and dance as they watch a street performer in Leicester Square PA General view of people enjoying a night out in Soho PA People have been warned against having a "party weekend" PA A former chief scientific adviser said the UK is "on the edge of losing control" of coronavirus PA People sing and dance as they watch a street performer in Leicester Square PA A group of friends enjoy the Autumn sunshine at a bar in Brighton PA Beachgoers pack the beach in Brighton AFP via Getty Images General view of people enjoying a night out in Soho PA General view of people enjoying a night out in Soho PA People sing and dance in Leicester Square REUTERS People gather in the Soho area REUTERS People dance in Leicester Square REUTERS People sing and dance in Leicester Square REUTERS People sing and dance in Leicester Square REUTERS Beachgoers pack the beach in Brighton i AFP via Getty Images People gather on Primrose Hill AFP via Getty Images People gather in the food market in Camden AFP via Getty Images People gather on Primrose Hill AFP via Getty Images People drink and dine at restaurants and cafes on Northcote Road Getty Images People gather on Primrose Hill AFP via Getty Images People drink and dine at restaurants and cafes on Northcote Road Getty Images People drink and dine at restaurants and cafes on Northcote Road Getty Images People attend a busking show in Leicester AP

"But the only way to make sure the country is able to enjoy Christmas is to be tough now.

"So if we can grip it now, stop the surge, arrest the spike, stop the second hump of the dromedary, flatten the second hump."

At a Downing Street press conference in early September, Mr Johnson said that he was "still hopeful" that Christmas could go ahead as normal.

But he suggested that this would require the "moonshot" of mass-testing, adding: "We are aiming for that. We are driving for that. As I have saidwe cannot be 100 per cent sure that we can deliver that in its entirety."

It comes after a Tory minister said people should stop whingeing about not meeting granny at Christmas as much could change in the coming weeks.

Lord Blencathra was speaking in a debate on face covering regulations in England, in which he supported the measures in place and pressed the Government to simplify the rules on wearing face masks.

Separate Government rules which limit social gatherings to six people have caused concern for people about the impact it will have on their Christmas celebrations.

But Lord Blencathra said: "Please (health minister Lord Bethell) tell the media to stop whingeing about not meeting granny at Christmas.

"Christmas is three months away and anything can happen in the meantime."
Mumbai, Sep 21 : The Indian stock market plunged on Monday, tracking a global selloff due to a fresh spurt of coronavirus cases across Europe.

The BSE Sensex plunged over 800 points and the Nifty50 closed below the 11,300 mark as the resurgence in Covid cases has also given fuel to anticipation of renewed lockdown restrictions across countries in Europe, including the UK and France.

The BSE Sensex closed at 38,034.14, lower by 811.68 points, or 2.09 per cent, from the previous close of 38,845.82.

The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) settled at 11,222.20, lower by 282.75 point, or 2.46 per cent, from its previous close.

The across-the-board selloff was led by auto, telecom, metal and FMCG stocks.

Manish Hathiramani, technical analyst with Deen Dayal Investments, said: "The markets have broken the support of 11,300 on a closing basis and this is definitely an alarming situation. We could drop to 10,950-11,000 levels as the fall today has been fierce and on the back of good volumes." "The resistance on the upside is at 11,550-11,600. Until then the markets look weak," he added.

Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said that the global cues were negative at the start of the day with lofty valuations, fading US stimulus and fresh wave of coronavirus infections in Europe being major risks.

"In the US, attention is turning back to negotiations on fresh stimulus and the forthcoming election. Further, European markets fell after a report on bank allegations and signs that London is heading for a second lockdown," he added.

On the domestic front, weak global cues and profit booking ahead of the monthly F&O expiry this week dragged the market, Khemka said.

Analysts said that going forward, the market would continue with its cautiousness as investors would keep a close watch on the rising Covid cases and delay in US stimulus.
Kolkata, Sep 21 : Bengali actress and Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Jahan has threatened legal action against a video chatting app that has used her photograph in an advertisement without due permission.

Nusrat took to her verified Twitter account on Monday to protest against the "unacceptable" behaviour by the makers of the app. She tagged the Police Commissioner of Kolkata, Anuj Sharma, in her tweet.

"This is totally unacceptable - using pictures without consent. Would request the Cyber Cell of @KolkataPolice to kindly look into the same. I am ready to take this up legally.

@CPKolkata," Nusrat tweeted on Monday.

Kolkata Police has started investigating the matter on the basis of Nusrat's tweet.

Replying to the actress-politician's tweet, Commissioner Sharma tagged Kolkata Police Detective Department, which replied: "Sir, We have taken a note of the matter and the same is being looked into by our concerned section for necessary action. Regards."
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) or Namami Gange has initiated a project for organic farming in the villages along Ganga right from its source in Gangotri in Uttarakhand till Gangasagar in West Bengal to curb pollution in its water.

The project was launched during the lockdown month of May under which the agriculture departments of the respective states where the Ganga flows will work on promoting organic farming in the villages situated along the river with funds for the same from NMCG.

In Uttarakhand, the project will cover the villages located alongside Ganga from Devprayag in Tehri Garhwal district where its two main tributaries Alaknanda and Bhagirathi, merge in it. It will also include the villages near its aforementioned two tributaries till Haridwar from where the Ganga exits to Uttar Pradesh. The total length of Ganga in the Himalayan state including the tributaries is about 250 km.

50,000 hectares area covered in Uttarakhand with project cost of Rs 400 crore

Suresh Chandra, joint director, Uttarakhand state agriculture directorate which is overlooking the project in Uttarakhand said the total cost of the project here is about 400 cr.

Under this project, the finding will be completely done by Namami Gange while the implementation would be done by state agriculture department. Of the total cost, we have already received 37 cr from it so far after it was launched in May this year, said Chandra.

He informed that in Uttarakhand, an area of 50,000 hectares would be included in the project.

The area is of the villages which are situated near the Ganga and its tributaries in Uttarakhand. In the project duration of three years, we will promote organic farming by training the farmers there for its implementation so as to gradually stop the use of chemical fertilizers, said Chandra.

Move meant to stop flowing of chemical fertilizers in Ganga

Chandra said that the main objective of the project is to stop the flowing of chemical fertilizers into Ganga from the crops near it.

As of now, farmers majorly use chemical fertilizers in their crops which during rains wash down into Ganga which then pollutes it and affects water quality. This initiative aims to stop that as in organic farming the farmers will stop using the chemical fertilizers, he said.

Not much effort needed to implement the project in Uttarakhand

The agriculture department official also said that in Uttarakhand not much effort will be needed to implement the project.

It is because we have been already working on promoting organic farming here before this project was launched. We have an Organic Farming Act- the only state in the country to have it and already have 1.45 lakh hectares in organic farming. This project will add 50,000 hectares in it which is not a big deal for us, said Chandra.

Initiative will improve Ganga water quality as well provide quality agri-produce

Explaining the importance of this project, Chandra said that it will not only improve the water quality but will also improve the quality of agricultural produce in the crops near Ganga.

The improved water quality will be beneficial for the rivers ecosystem. Apart from this, with organic farming, the people will be able to get good quality vegetables and fruits from the crops near Ganga. So it is a win-win situation for all, he said.

Experts have mixed opinion on the project

The experts, however, have mixed opinion on the initiative with some welcoming it while others termed it a mere gimmick.

Prominent environmentalist and Padma Shri awardee Anil Prakash Joshi who runs Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) welcomed the initiative saying it will curb down the pollution in Ganga which is much needed.

About 70% pollution in Ganga is due to man-made pollutants. This move will, if not all but, reduce the pollution by at least 15-20% which is significant considering the number of people this river has an impact on. Hence, we should welcome this step, said Joshi.

Rajendra Singh, another eminent environmentalist and Magsaysay awardee, who is also known as the Waterman of India called the initiative as mere gimmick.

Singh said, This move is nothing but a mere gimmick in the name of cleaning Ganga and an attempt to defame the farmers. The main cause of pollution in Ganga is discharge of waste water by industries and sewerage by the cities situated near it.

It was evident during the lockdown when the quality of water in Ganga had improved significantly because the industries were shut down. It was not because of organic farming, he said.

Singh also said that the Maa Ganga is actually suffering from a cardiac disease but the government is like trying to treat her toothache with this new project. The focus should be on cardiac disease which is industrial pollution.

SP Subudhi, member secretary of Uttarakhand state pollution control board welcomed the Namami Ganges move and said, The government has launched the project after much analysis, it will surely help in curbing down the pollution in Ganga and improve its water quality.

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Reducing the carbon footprint of milk production: Virtual Farm Walk and Webinar from Portlaw, Co Waterford.

Dairy farmers and anyone with an interest in sustainable food production are being encouraged to tune into a virtual farm walk and webinar which will be broadcast live from the Fitzgerald family farm in Co. Waterford, on Thursday 1st October.

This event will highlight the many steps being taken by the Fitzgerald family to reduce the carbon footprint of their milk production and to improve sustainability on farm, and will provide an opportunity to share their experiences with the wider farming community.

Shane Fitzgerald, who farms 92 hectares with his father near Portlaw, in County Waterford, will host this virtual event, which is being supported by Teagasc, Glanbia Ireland, the European Milk Forum and the National Dairy Council.

The virtual farm walk and webinar takes place at 11.00am and will include contributions from:

Shane Fitzgerald, Host farmer

Zoe Kavanagh, spokesperson European Milk Forum and CEO National Dairy Council

Shane McElroy, Glanbia Ireland

Brendan Horan, Teagasc Moorepark

After the webinar, the Fitzgeralds in collaboration with the European Milk Forum will take over Teagasc Twitter and Instagram accounts to continue the discussion and share best practice with farmers and other interested parties.

To find out more and to register for the webinar visit www.teagasc.ie/sustainabledairywalk

Speaking ahead of the event Shane Fitzgerald said: Since Ive taken over the family farm, Ive been really proud to partner with Glanbia Ireland /Teagasc as part of their Open Source Future Farm programme to help drive innovation and sustainability across the farm  from the soil to the milking parlour, the cows to the hedgerows.

Zoe Kavanagh, spokesperson European Milk Forum and CEO National Dairy Council said: Right across Ireland more and more farmers are taking actions large and small to improve sustainability, enhance biodiversity and reduce the carbon footprint of their farms, and Im really looking forward to joining Shane to see first-hand the many actions he has taken on the family farm in Portlaw.

Shane McElroy, Head of Technical at Glanbia Ireland, said: We are delighted to see the firm commitment and the many actions being taken on the Fitzgerald family farm that positively impact the long-term environmental footprint of the farm. As a participant in Glanbia Ireland/Teagasc Open Source Future Farm programme the approach to managing the farm provides an excellent benchmark for other farmers.

Brendan Horan, Teagasc Moorepark said: Improving the efficiency of dairy systems is a significant challenge. By building on the very latest research, pasture-based grazing dairy farms can play a major role in supplying healthy foods from systems with few input requirements, while adapting to climate change and providing rich habitats for wildlife. The Fitzgeralds are a great example of what is possible when the very best science is put in practice by our leading farmers.

The Fitzgeralds are part of the Glanbia Ireland / Teagasc Open Source Future Farm programme.

The European Milk Forum plays a vital role in developing new approaches to dairy farm sustainability across Europe, addressing the challenges of climate change and the determination of the dairy sector to be part of the solution.
Public health experts from Yale and Harvard have created a site that ranks colleges on their COVID-19 dashboards and how well they keep their communities informed on cases with both of the Ivy League schools receiving top grades.

The site We Rate COVID Dashboards was founded by researchers from major universities including Harvard and Yale as students started returning to campuses across the country.

The researchers have been issuing grades based on whether colleges in the United States have COVID-19 dashboards.

They rank the colleges on how frequently they report COVID-19 data and how detailed that information is, including if it differentiates cases in students and teachers.

Yale and Harvard are among just a handful of colleges that have received an A grade.

One of the other researchers involved is from Baylor University in Texas, which received a B ranking by the site.

The site We Rate COVID Dashboards, which was founded by researchers from major universities including Harvard and Yale, ranks the COVID-19 dashboards of various colleges

Johns Hopkins University, which has become a global leading source for COVID-19 data, was given an F from the site.

The Baltimore-based school failed, according to the site, because it does not currently have a dashboard for its campus.

John Hopkins built a dashboard early on in the coronavirus pandemic that is cited by health officials globally.

It continues to track global COVID-19 infections and deaths and provides state-by-state breakdowns for cases in the United States.

Princeton and UCLA also failed for not having COVID-19 related dashboards, according to the site.

Meanwhile, Yale's report card notes the dashboard is easy to read and data is updated daily. The data includes positive cases and testing numbers. The school's dashboard is also praised for reporting student and teacher data separately, as well as county data trends.

Harvard's grade was based on similar findings, according to the site, but was also praised for displaying the number of students in isolation or quarantine status on campus.

The site notes that its ranking system is an ongoing work in progress and they are working to rank even more schools.

They also change rankings if schools made changes to their respective dashboards.

Yale's report card notes the dashboard is easy to read and data is updated daily. Harvard's grade was based on similar findings

Johns Hopkins University, which has become a global leading source for COVID-19 data, was given an F from the site. Princeton and UCLA also failed for not having COVID-19 related dashboards, according to the site

It comes as an Associated Press analysis found that among the 50 US counties with the highest concentrations of students and overall populations of at least 50,000, 20 have consistently reported higher rates of new virus cases than their states have since September 1.

On average, infection rates in those 20 counties have been more than three times higher than their states' overall rates.

Health officials fear that surges among college students will spread to more vulnerable people - older ones and those with underlying health problems - and trigger a new wave of cases and hospitalizations.

Some worry that colleges could overwhelm hospitals already bracing for increasing cases of COVID-19 and flu this fall and winter.

While universities have emerged as hot spots in nearly every state, many of the worst outbreaks have been scattered across the South and Midwest. Of the 50 college counties analyzed by the AP, James Madison's had the highest infection rate, followed by counties that are home to the University of Georgia, Florida State and Indiana University in Bloomington.

In the 10 counties with the highest infection rates, colleges have reported at least 15,000 cases among students and employees in recent weeks, though testing and reporting practices vary significantly and the actual number is probably much higher.

For many colleges, the return to campus was a carefully orchestrated process that took months to plan and millions of dollars to pull off. But as safe as they've made their campuses, many colleges have struggled to curb off-campus gatherings that have been tied to thousands of infections.

Parties were blamed for dozens of cases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which brought students back in early August only to send them home weeks later.

Other schools have cracked down on parties and disciplined students. The University of Missouri in Columbia announced this week that it expelled two students and suspended three others for violating rules meant to slow the viruss spread.

The outbreaks are increasingly straining relations between universities and their towns.

The site We Rate COVID Dashboards was founded by researchers from major universities including Harvard and Yale as students started returning to campuses across the country. Pictured is the library at Yale University with social distancing measures in place

Amid a spike in cases at the University of Colorado at Boulder, county health authorities Tuesday urged all students to quarantine for two weeks. Students and others at the university have accounted for 76 percent of the county's 663 positive cases over the past two weeks, officials said.

At Miami University in Ohio, county health authorities ordered all of the school's athletes to isolate for 14 days last month after 27 tested positive for the virus. Last week, local police cited six men at an off-campus house party that included several students who had recently tested positive.

As cases increase at Boston College and the campus runs out of quarantine space, the mayor of nearby Newton is asking the school not to use any of the town's hotels or other property to isolate students.

Some cities have tightened rules at bars to discourage students from gathering. As cases surged at Illinois State, the towns mayor issued an order requiring all bar customers to be seated to be served. He also limited gatherings near campus to no more than 10 people.

While some colleges have sent students home amid outbreaks, many others are digging in. Some have moved classes online but urged students to stay where they are until cases drop. Among them is the University of Notre Dame, which paused in-person classes August 18 and moved them online amid a surge that saw as many as 89 new cases per day. Weeks later, after a sharp decrease in infections, classes have started to resume on campus.

Other schools are hoping to replicate that success, including the University of Illinois, the University of Wisconsin and West Virginia University, which recently shifted classes online as the virus spread.

In a recent call with governors, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, cautioned against sending students home, saying that could spark outbreaks elsewhere.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also endorsed Notre Dame's approach, saying colleges that 'work through it' and find ways to isolate infected students are more likely to 'end up in the best place.'
Tipper drivers at Kasoa have embarked on a strike today Monday, September 21, until government intervenes to reduce the price of quarry materials in the area.

The drivers say the cost of the materials produced by Chinese companies has increased astronomically thereby affecting their finances.

Last Friday, the tipper drivers at Kasoa demonstrated over the development.

Despite the demonstration, they say they are yet to hear from stakeholders.

Speaking to Citi News, the national chairman of the National Tipper Drivers Association, Abdul Inussah, said: Every three to four days, they increase our prices for us. It will be difficult for us to convey the message to our customers. When you take the money and get to the site, you cannot even buy the stones and deduct the transportation from it

We have spoken to them [company] and even sent them to the Minerals Commission, yet they go the way they want and tell us to go to the government. So today, every driver is putting their vehicle down until we hear something from the government, he added.

The Chairman called on the President and the Transport Minister to intervene to save their businesses.

---citinewsroom
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

The prime minister of Armenia puts forward seven conditions to us. First of all, who are you to speak to us in the language of conditions? If we wanted to talk to him in the language of conditions, his political life would not last long, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview to Azerbaijan Television, Ictimai Television, and Real Television following a groundbreaking ceremony of the offshore operations of the Absheron field at the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deep Water Jackets Plant, Trend reports.

I have said that we are rejecting these nonsensical conditions. We have one condition  they must leave our lands unconditionally and completely. This is reflected in UN Security Council resolutions. There are staging some comedy-like training there. In other words, every single step is an open provocation against us, the head of state said.

The July provocation is already an armed provocation, and it is no secret to anyone that it was instigated by Armenia, the Azerbaijani president said.

A high-ranking official of one of the Minsk Group co-chairs has openly confirmed that. I said back then and am saying today that we have no military targets in Armenia. If we wanted to, we could have moved into Armenia and had full military capabilities to do that. We did not do that. Because this is not part of our military concept  unless we are seriously provoked. If they do, then there will be no limits for us. Let everyone know that there will be no limits. If they are flouting international law, why should we abide by it?! We will flout it too, but the end will be bitter for them. After the July provocation came the August provocation. Acts of terror against our civilians, a sabotage group was sent to commit military provocations against our servicemen, and the leader of that sabotage group was arrested. He gave evidence, made a confession, mentioned names of those who sent them, and how. In other words, he is not a shepherd or a child who lost his way. Otherwise, they call all their spies herders and madmen. We already have five or six of them. Are they all herders or madmen? It turns out that the majority of people in Armenia are either herders or madmen. They wanted to call this one a herder too, but they can no longer do that. Who committed this provocation? Did we send a sabotage group? No, they did! Did we commit the July events? They did! Did we kill their citizens? No, they did! There were no civilian casualties on the Armenian side but our 76-year-old elder was killed and many homes were destroyed. Therefore, these provocations are in fact the logical result of that policy. The goal is to disrupt the talks, then blame us and make the status quo unchanged. This is their goal. This is why they think they can do it. I think they are wrong. The sooner they understand this, the better it will be for them, the head of state said.
All the eight MPs who were on Monday suspended from the announced an indefinite protest in the Parliament premises, demanding the revocation of their suspension.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu today announced the one-week suspension of Trinamool Congress' (TMC) Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Sanjay Singh, Indian Congress' (INC) Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora and Syed Nasir Hussain, CPI(M)'s KK Ragesh and Elamaram Karim for unruly behaviour with the Deputy Chairman yesterday during the passage of the farm bills

Leaders of the parties of the suspended MPs have criticized the central government.

Terming the suspension of eight MPs from Rajya Sabha for one week as "unfortunate", West Bengal Chief Minister and founder Chairperson of Trinamool Congress (TMC) Mamata Banerjee today said that her party will fight against the "fascist" government in Parliament and on the streets.

"Suspension of the 8 MPs who fought to protect farmers interests is unfortunate & reflective of this autocratic Govt's mindset that doesn't respect democratic norms & principles. We won't bow down & we'll fight this fascist Govt in Parliament & on the streets. #BJPKilledDemocracy," Banerjee tweeted.

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "I condemn this kind of expulsion of the members of Rajya Sabha in such a brazen and undemocratic manner. We will protest to restore the status quo ante of our members in Rajya Sabha."

Suspended CPI (M) MP Elamaram Karim in a tweet said, "Suspension won't silence us. We will stand with farmers in their fight. Dy.Chairman throttled Parliamentary Procedures yesterday. Suspension of MPs exposed the coward face of BJP. People will see through the attempt to divert attention from their undemocratic actions."

Aam Aadmi Party in a tweet said," Sanjay Singh is sitting on strike against the black law and has asked crores of farmers of the country to wake up to ... and oppose this black law. We are on agitation inside Parliament, you should agitate outside."

Meanwhile, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the behaviour by the suspended MPs was a type of "goondaism" and they have no trust in democracy.

"When the Chairman names a member then that member has to leave the House. Never before has a member defied the orders of the Chair. Eight suspended MPs had misbehaved, it was a type of 'goondaism'. They have proved that they have no trust in democracy," Joshi said during a press conference at the Parliament premises.

Rajya Sabha witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday as Opposition members stormed the well and reached the deputy chairman's seat to protest against the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and passed by the Upper House through voice vote.

(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.)
Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank say they are 'honoured' to have had two koala joeys named after them at a Sydney wildlife park.

The two joeys, whose names were announced as Eugenie and Jack today, were born at Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park at the start of the year to first time dad Archer and mum Brooklyn.

Sharing a 'cheeky' video of Eugenie the koala winking to her Instagram page, the Princess wrote: 'These two little baby koalas are living safely at Featherdale Wildlife Park in a wonderful habitat after the devastating bushfires earlier this year and we are honoured that they have been named after Jack and I.'

The two joeys, Eugenie (left) and Jack (right), were born at Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park at the start of the year to first time dad Archer and mum Brooklyn

The royal added: 'So proud to be a part of rebuilding and supporting these sanctuaries.'

A 19-year-old Princess Eugenie visited the wildlife park in 2009 during her gap year and she's said to have been a 'huge supporter ever since'.

Featherdale Zoo Director Chad Staples, who hand-raised the joeys' father Archer, told The Morning Show: 'They've [Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank] been massive supporters.

'They're dying to come back out, obviously when everyone can travel again.

Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank say they are 'honoured' to have had the joeys named after them following a tough year for the species, with 30,000 lost to wildfires

'It'll be great because that will help us to boost awareness around habitat and what we can do for them.'

The joeys, who emerged from their mother Brooklyn's pouch in June, are said to be in good health, now venturing short distances away from their mother and displaying their own personalities.

The positive news comes after a tough year for wildlife in Australia, particularly koalas, with 30,000 lost to wildfires and a massive 71 per cent of the population wiped out in New South Wales alone.

Princess Eugenie shared a humorous clip of the joey which has been named after her appearing to wink at the camera, she wrote: 'Eugenie's a bit cheeky... winking to the world'

A message shared by Princess Eugenie to her Instagram, thanking the sanctuary for naming the joeys after her and her husband Jack

Although the joeys' father Archer had a tough start to life with his mother abandoning him, he was taken in by Chad who kept him in a pouch and bottle-fed him three times a night until he was introduced to the Koala Sanctuary at Featherdale.

The koala character is now well known as the face of the park's individual animal sponsorship program, with his own social media channels.

He was also voted Australias Cutest Animal in 2019, a quality which his two joeys seem to share.

Featherdale Zoo Director Chad Staples (right) and Archer the rescued Koala Bear, father to joeys Eugenie and Jack
Bonnstetter got started in paper cutting in 1999 as he and his wife, Marsha, were struggling with worry about whether their little girl Claire would ever be able to walk on her own, and mounting medical bills from Mayor Clinic where they had taken her for a diagnosis.

As he was idly cutting snowflakes for their home, a thought came out of now where. What if he put designs in the snowflakes? What if he designed and cut the paper so that within the flake there were pictures?

That was the beginning of his business, and the Mayo bills were paid in six months. A man of strong faith, paper-cutting was a journey in which Bonnstetter saw the hand of God and an answer to prayer.

Not one to hoard his knowledge or skill, he was happy to teach paper-cutting to others, and he had taught at the German center for almost as long as it has been open.

Whenever a new class was announced, calls started coming in right away, Kelly Lao, today's executive director, said. Some people never missed. And it wasn't just because that they wanted to make another snowflake.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

By Samir Ali  Trend:

Scheming of new provocative plans by Armenia demonstrates that in reality, the country intends not to settle the conflict peacefully, but to continue carrying out the illegal occupation of Azerbaijani lands, the press service of Prosecutor Generals Office of Azerbaijan told Trend on Sept.21.

According to the press service, the provocations and crimes committed by armed forces of Armenia on the line of contact betoken the country's intention to refuse from negotiations and lead to an escalation of the conflict.

The provocative attacks by the armed forces of the occupying country, their violation of the ceasefire, and crimes committed against the servicemen of the armed forces of Azerbaijan, not only undermine the negotiation process but are also show open disrespect for the norms and principles of international law, including resolutions and decisions of the UN Security Council.

As a result of another violation of the ceasefire by the armed forces of Armenia, which continue committing crimes against peace and humanity by carrying out acts of aggression, shelled a combat post of Azerbaijani armed forces in direction of the village of Aghdam, Tovuz district at about 17:00 (GMT+4) on September 20, as a result of which soldier Azad Gurbanov was wounded from shrapnel.

A criminal case was raised by the Azerbaijani Shamkir Districts Military Prosecutor's Office following Articles 100.2 (conducting an aggressive war) and 120.2.12 (attempted murder based on national, racial, religious hostility and enmity) of the Criminal Code.

Moreover, the Armenian armed forces, continuing to demonstrate the occupation essence, grossly violated the ceasefire in the Tovuz districts direction and shot Azerbaijani military positions at about 09:00 on September 21, 2020. Azerbaijani armys serviceman Elshan Mammadov died a martyr while preventing the Armenian provocation.

A criminal case was raised by the Shamkir Districts Military Prosecutor's Office following the Criminal Codes above articles.

To bring the servicemen of the armed forces of Armenia to justice within the framework of international law, the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan will ensure the implementation of the necessary institutional measures.

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.
Denouncing opposition's behaviour in the Rajya Sabha, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called what happened in the Parliament as "shameful". He said that he himself is a farmer and he assured farmers that the farmer bills are in their favour.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday condemned the unruly behaviour of some Opposition MPs during the debates on the farm bills in Rajya Sabha and termed the incident as unfortunate and shameful. Parliament Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi will move a motion under Rule 256 in RajyaSabha to seek suspension of MPs who intimidated Deputy Chairman. Suspension call to be taken by Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

The Union minister said addressing the media shortly after two bills were passed amid unprecedented uproar by the opposition that he was also a farmer and was the agriculture minister and he could never believe that the government of which he is part of would take any step against the interest of the farmers, what happened was against the decorum of House.

Rajnath Singh said that attempts are being made to mislead the farmers on the basis of rumours and assured that the government will not end the system of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Agricultural Produce Market Committee (AMPC) Act.

Also read: Rajya Sabha passes 2 Farm Bills amid protest by Opposition MPs

Also read: Agriculture Bill: Rajya Sabha adjourned after ruckus by Opposition

The Defence Minister said that when the discussion was taking in Rajya Sabha over two agriculture bills, it was saddening, unfortunate and shameful. He said that he knew that it was the responsibility of the ruling side to run the House smoothly, the support of the Opposition was also expected. He said that the confusion was created among farmers for their vested interests, it was not good for healthy democratic values.

Around 100 opposition MPs have also filed a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh after he overruled opposition pleas for postponing Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomars reply to the debate on the two farm bills till Monday since the sitting time scheduled of the House was over.

The Defence minister said that everyone saw misbehaviour with the Chair, members tore rule book, climbed podium, he had never seen such misconduct in Parliament. He said that it was condemnable, as far as he knew, this had never happened in the history of Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, this happening in Rajya Sabha was an even bigger matter. He said that attempts were being made to mislead the farmers on the basis of rumours.

The Rajya Sabha witnessed unruly scenes after opposition MPs, rushed into the Well of the House after their demands for proper voting by Division was denied. An attempt was made to snatch the mike at the Chairmans podium. The rule book was also shown to Deputy Chairman Harivansh from the well of the House by an opposition member.

Rajnath Singh had earlier today called the bills historic for the agriculture sector and said it will help in increasing the income of farmers.

The Defence Minister said that both those two bills were historic for farmers and agriculture, by implementing it, we would be able to increase the income of farmers. He added, rumours were being peddled that MSP and APMC would be ended. He said that farmers would now be able to sell their produce anywhere., the government was not ending MSP and APMC.

Responding to a question on the notice against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh by Opposition parties, Singh said that notice had been given to the Chairman, a decision would be taken by him. I dont want to say anything politically. This is the prerogative of the Chairman.

There are some political reasons behind every such decision. I dont want to comment on why did she take this decision, Singh said while responding to a query on the resignation of Harsimrat Kaur Badal from Union Cabinet.

Earlier the Defence Minister had termed the passage of the two farm bills in Parliament as a landmark day for Indias agriculture sector and farmers.

The Defence Minister wrote in a tweet that with the passing of two landmark agriculture Bills in Rajya Sabha today, India had cemented the strong foundation for Atmanirbhar Agriculture. He added that this was the result of endless dedication and determination of the Govt under the leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi.

Also read: Parliament session likely to be cut short amid Covid crisis as parties reach consensus
SONNING Commons village magazine is looking for someone to deliver it.

The job involves dropping off about 10 bundles of Sonning Common every two months, plus a few individual copies to houses.

It is a non-profit magazine that is published bi-monthly by volunteers and distributed free of charge to more than 2,000 households.

For more information, email

editor@sonningcommon

magazine.org
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 10:25:21|Editor: huaxia

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. judge on Sunday temporarily halted President Donald Trump's executive order to ban WeChat, a Chinese messaging, social-media and mobile-payment app, slated to go into effect Sunday night.

Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco issued the order granting motion for preliminary injunction, which determined the restrictions placed on WeChat could violate the Constitutional Amendment rights of its users in the United States.

The plaintiffs, including the U.S. WeChat Users Alliance (USWUA) and other app users argued that WeChat is irreplaceable for its users in the United States, particularly in the Chinese-speaking and Chinese-American community.

On Aug. 6, Trump issued an executive order banning U.S. transactions via WeChat, which would take effect on the late night of Sept. 20.

To fight for the legal rights of all WeChat users in the country, USWUA, an NGO, sued the Trump administration for the ban. The lawsuit opened in court on Sept. 17.

On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department issued the Identification of Prohibited Transactions. "The result is that consumers in the U.S. cannot download or update the WeChat app, use it to send or receive money, and -- because U.S. support for the app by data hosting and content caching will be eliminated -- the app, while perhaps technically available to existing U.S. users, likely will be useless to them," Judge Beeler wrote in her order.

After three hearings held in three consecutive days, Judge Beeler finally hit pause on the Trump administration's WeChat ban. Enditem
Press Release

September 21, 2020 Statement of Sen. Joel Villanueva on the lifting of healthcare workers travel ban We thank the President for heeding the appeal of our healthcare workers and easing the deployment ban by allowing to leave those with perfected contracts by Aug. 31. It is a win for our healthcare workers who have been suffering from the policy, which was instituted in April with the good intention of ensuring available manpower during the height of the pandemic. Unfortunately, we have not maximized the availability of our healthcare workers, with only 7,850 hired out of the 10,468 slots approved under the emergency hiring program of DOH, which it shared at our labor committee hearing last month. Likewise, the employment terms offered are not competitive. For instance, our healthcare workers face the reality of getting paid very low, without guarantee of hazard pay, despite working at high-risk conditions. The period of engagement is just three months, which is short considering the pandemic will likely persist through 2021. Para na rin po silang na-endo dito sa ikli ng engagement. We will continue to push for the lifting of the total deployment ban because it unfairly affects the livelihood of our healthcare workers. If we want them to stay, our government should value them by offering better employment terms.
The son of former Aston Martin boss Victor Gauntlett has tracked down the iconic Bulldog supercar more than 30 years after his father sold it to a Middle Eastern buyer for 130,000.

Richard Gauntlett says he was 'obsessed' with the car as a child when his father was running the car manufacturing company in the 1980s.

The Aston Martin Bulldog was a one-off supercar concept produced in 1979 in an effort to show off the capabilities of the company's new engineering facility in Milton Keynes.

Initially a production run of 15 to 25 cars was planned but the project was deemed too expensive by Victor Gauntlett and only one was ever built.

Richard Gauntlett, son of former Aston Martin boss Victor Gauntlett, has tracked down the iconic Bulldog supercar more than 30 years after his father sold it to a collector to raise money for the company and will now work with experts to restore the car to its former glory

The car, designed by William Towns, was produced in 1979 and was the only one ever built

The car once reached speeds of 192mph but the firm's experts claimed it could reach 237mph

The 1979 Aston Martin Bulldog supercar Design: William Towns Produced: 1979 Body style: two-door coupe Doors: gullwing Top speed: 237mph Engine: twin-turbo 5.3-litre V8 Height: 43ins Length: 15ft 6ins Advertisement

Now his son Richard has tracked down the vehicle and is heading up a project to restore it.

Speaking to the BBC, Richard described the car as a 'mythical creature' and said no one has seen it run in at least 30 years.

He added: 'There's a great deal of personal meaning to this because I was obsessed with the car as a child.'

The vehicle was sold by Richard's father to a middle eastern buyer in 1984 to help raise cash for the then-struggling company.

It is believed the vehicle has spent the last 30 years in different storage units around the world including spending some time in the United States.

And although Richard says it kept turning up in 'different storage units' nobody had seen the car running since it had been sold.

Now it has been located in the Far East and was bought by an American Bulldog fan before it was transported to Shropshire where it will be restored by a team of experts at the Classic Motor Cars company headed by Richard.

Victor Gauntlett axed plans to build more of the supercars because it would be too expensive

The car was traced to the Far East and has been bought by an American fan for restoration

The car's futuristic design with gullwing doors and wedge shaped body was popular with fans

Experts estimate the restoration project, in Shropshire, will take up to a year to be completed

The two-door coupe style car broke records when it reached 192mph in 1979 with its sleek futuristic design and Aston Martin 5.3-litre V8 engine but Aston Martin's experts claimed it was capable of going as fast as 237mph.

The vehicle itself was was 15ft 6in long and just 43in tall, with a pair of electro-hydraulically operated gullwing doors.

Inside, the supercar's interior was upholstered in leather and used multiple LED buttons.

The team hope to restore the car to its former glory and, according to the Classic Motor Company, want to see it pass the 200mph mark as it was originally designed to do.

Experts estimate the project will take about a year to complete.
Lack of charging infrastructure, high acquisition costs and a poor supply-chain system are putting off established manufacturers from entering the electric two-wheeler space.

After Atsushi Ogata, the newly appointed head of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), evinced little interest in entering the electric two-wheeler category, the head of Piaggio India, which manufactures the Vespa and Aprilia range of premium scooters, has joined the chorus.

While Ogata blamed scarcity of charging stations for Hondas reluctance in entering the electric two-wheeler space in India, the inability to scale up EV component sourcing within India to 100 percent is the reason behind Piaggios unwillingness to launch EVs.

The decision comes just a few months after the company showcased the electric version of the Vespa, which it sells in Europe, at the India Auto Expo.

Positive response, but

Speaking to Moneycontrol Diego Graffi, Chairman and Managing Director, Piaggio Vehicles, said: We are producing and selling electric two-wheelers mainly under the Vespa brand outside India. We felt quite positive about the response we received from dealers and customers for the electric Vespa showcased at the Auto Expo.

Piaggio believes that there is a natural restriction on the level of localisation a company can manage for electric vehicles in India, and this is preventing it from launching any electric two-wheelers here.

The constraint is that the level of localisation for electric two-wheelers in India, at least in the scooter space at the moment, is not affordable for our kind of product proposition. Mainly considering the fact that most of the powertrain is still not available in India but has to be imported from China or other parts of the world, Graffi added.

Vespa Elettrica

The electric version of the Vespa is called Vespa Elettrica and is sold mainly in Europe. It has a charging time of four hours and a ride range of 100 km. A 4kW motor powers the Vespa to a top speed of 70 km per hour.

The e-Vespas specifications are almost the same as the electric Bajaj Chetak, which was launched in January. In fact, both the e-scooters have the same design and styling theme as both are of the same lineage. The Chetak of the 1970s borrowed design and styling from the Vespa following a partnership between Bajaj Auto and Piaggio.

Heavy reliance on China

Though an electric vehicle has far fewer moving parts than petrol- or diesel-powered vehicles, many of the parts related to the battery or the motor are imported, mainly from China.

In fact, Pune-based Bajaj Auto suffered a complete halt in the supply of such parts for the Chetak since its component supplier was importing them from Wuhan, the Chinese city that was the origin of the Covid-19 virus. All lithium-ion batteries fuelling electric vehicles in India are imported from China.

We are investigating the possibility to have full localisation of the powertrain that we have designed for the European model here in India for the Vespa. Whenever we see the level of cost for this kind of initiative becoming affordable, at that point we will come with a product in that range, added Graffi.

Piaggio has launched electric passenger three-wheelers in India and in the coming months, will launch electric cargo three-wheelers with fixed and swappable battery technology.
A Dubai court has approved the extradition to Australia of two Sydney men labelled kingpins over their role in an alleged major drug importation ring.

A court in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday ordered Benjamin Neil Pitt and Matthew Battah to be returned to Australia, pending a 30-day appeal period.

Benjamin Neil Pitt will be extradited from Dubai, pending an appeal period. Credit:Facebook

They were detained in Dubai in June and face charges relating to drug importation on their return.

The pair is believed to have fled Australia as long ago as 2015. A seven-year investigation by the organised crime squad under strike force Millstream uncovered a major criminal syndicate with links to the outlawed motorcycle group Lone Wolf.
New Delhi: A year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a ferry service between India and the Maldives, the service was formally launched on Monday (September 21, 2020). The service connects the Indian ports of Tuticorin and Cochin ports with Kulhudhuhfushi and Male ports in the Maldives.

PM Modi during his visit to the country in 2019 had announced the ferry service in the Maldives Parliament or People's Majlis. The visit was his first foreign visit after taking charge as the PM in the second term.

India's minister of state for shipping Mansukh Mandaviya speaking at the virtual event inaugurating the service said, "Fulfilled the important commitment of PM Modi to the Maldives last year. The service will increase people to people contact between the two countries and assist in ensuring food security and stable and predictable trade for the people of Maldives."

Direct Cargo Ferry Service was jointly launched today by Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation @aishath_nahula & Minister of Shipping @mansukhmandviya. A key instrument to upgrade our trade partnership,the Ferry Service will also support eco. dvpt. of northern Maldives. pic.twitter.com/gsNBgOD1xX  India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) September 21, 2020

India's envoy to Maldives Sunjay Sudhir was also present in the virtual event.

The Cargo Ferry Vessel MCP Linz operated by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) will connect the Indian and Maldivian ports. The vessel is expected to arrive in Kulhudhuhfushi on September 26 and Male on September 28.

Maldives Transport Minister Aishath Nahula expressed that the service will empower northern islands of Maldives and is a key milestone to decentralize economic activity.

Kulhudhuhfushi is a port in the north of Maldives.

The vessel which is used for ferry service can carry 380 TEUs and 3000 MT on bulk cargo and has refrigerated containers.

The Cargo service will open the large India market for Tuna exporters of Maldives and will further provide a springboard to Europe through Cochin and Tuticorin ports. Cochin Port has weekly connectivity to Europe through a 6500 TEU vessel.

The decision to commence the Cargo Ferry Service between the two countries was announced during a virtual meeting between EAM Dr.S. Jaishankar and Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid in the month of August. India will subsidise the service at approx $ 3 million.


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More than 11,600 Indian nationals living abroad were infected by the Coronavirus and 373 of them died of Covid-19, the government informed the Parliament on Monday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan said information collected by Indian missions showed the total number of Indian citizens abroad infected by the Coronavirus was 11,616, as on September 10.

Of these, 373 Indians lost their lives due to Covid-19, he said, adding that the highest number of deaths  284  was recorded in Saudi Arabia, followed by Bahrain (30) and the US (13).

The highest number of infections was reported from Singapore (4,618) followed by Bahrain (2,639), Kuwait (1,769), Oman (907), Qatar (420), Iran (308), the United Arab Emirates (238), Italy (192) and Malaysia (60).

Indian missions arranged for the welfare of Indian nationals, including through community associations. In some countries, arrangements were made for board and lodging and emergency medical assistance.

The total expenditure incurred by the missions in assisting Indian nationals in distress from the Indian Community Welfare Fund was close to 22.5 crore, Muraleedharan said.
As I write this, TikTok has narrowly averted being banned from app stores in the US for at least another week. The White House demanded in early August that the popular short-video app be sold to American owners by the weekend, and while Microsoft and later Oracle turned up as suitors, such a sale did not go through. In a last-minute reprieve, US President Donald Trump gave his blessing" to a deal for 53% of the TikTok company to be sold to a consortium of Oracle, Walmart and others.

Many see the TikTok drama in the US as Trumps personal revenge against an app whose users had wrecked a rally of his in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June. The week before that, Trump had tweeted: Almost One Million people requested tickets for the Saturday Night Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma!" One local official said over 100,000 supporters would show up near the arena. But come rally day, registered attendees didnt fill the venue at Tulsas Bank of Oklahoma Center. Empty seats at the rally became a laughing stock and deeply embarrassed the Trump campaign.

A coordinated effort was underway on TikTok in the days leading up to Trumps rally, encouraging people to register online for the event and not show up. Until that rally, TikTok was seen as a platform for teenagers entertaining one another and not as a tool of political action. Ever since Trump threatened to ban the app (and Chinas WeChat) from app stores in the US, advocates of internet laissez faire" have been complaining loudly.

But too much is being made of Trumps alleged motives by the tech worlds laissez faire camp. To insist that TikTok and other Chinese apps must be left alone by the US and Indian governments is ludicrous. Countries have the right to take justified action, especially when it comes to an app from a country that has violated so many basic norms of the internet.

The US drama follows events in India, where the app was banned in June, and where the sale of its assets (read its user base) has proven thorny. Mint reported earlier this month that technology transfer curbs by China and the rise of rival platforms in India could make any acquisition of TikTok India a tough affair.

Mint had reported that SoftBank, a minority investor in TikToks parent company ByteDance, had begun talks with potential partners to jointly bid for the India unit, which arguably had the apps largest user base anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, Chinese rules that prevent homegrown companies from transferring technology algorithms to foreign entities could come in the way. This would prevent the transfer of its successful content recommendation algorithm, the one behind its For You" page, which presents personalized content for each user by using text analysis, voice recognition and other techniques to hone its recommendations.

I argued at the time that the real question was not necessarily where the algorithm resides. In fact, it is possible to reverse engineer black box" algorithms by studying their output. Researchers are now proving repeatedly that while black box engines may be inscrutable, they arent above being reverse-engineered; not unlike pharmaceutical drugs whose individual active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can be broken down and reconstructed. Interestingly, in the artificial intelligence world, this is accomplished by a term that shares the acronym API, which in computer speak is short for application programming Interface".

A few years ago, a team of computer scientists at Cornell Tech in New York City, Swiss Institute Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne and University of North Carolina published a paper titled Stealing Machine Learning Models via Prediction APIs. APIs are built into a computer application to let programmers and other applications access it. These researchers found a way to create their own artificially intelligent interface for a black box and then use this boxs output to reconstruct its internal workings, thereby reverse-engineering it.

The laissez-faire approach to data privacy has allowed the growth of business models based on attention capture, surveillance and user opinion modification. Indifference for the past two-and-a-half decades to what happens on the internet has destabilized political systems, even allowing for foreign interference in American elections.

If tech laissez faire has run its course, what are the alternatives? The first is to ape China and impose net nationalism, which makes the state the predominant authority over all things online. This will inexorably lead to the global internet splitting up into several national ones. The clear and present danger is that such national internets can become instruments of state power. They might end up serving as a means of disseminating state propaganda, monitoring dissent and furthering crony capitalism.

Tech-nationalism is not the only alternative, though. We also have democracy, which holds that matters of public importance should be decided by the peopleand that people should control the excesses of both private and government power. We have laws against child labour, for instance, and against the excessive use of force by police authorities. Similarly, when it comes to the internet, democratic principles hold that legitimate governments can make rules so long as these serve the interests of the people.

This is the concept of tech democracy. The only justifications for any non-democratic intervention would include national security, the defence of institutions, the preservation of markets, the need for retaliation against a belligerent foreign power, and so on. But it is the interests of the public and not the whims of a leader, nor the interests of corporations, that should guide us. Getting the tech policy balance right is a key challenge for democratic governments around the world.

How we could do this in an orderly fashion is beyond me, especially given that Big Tech internet companiesboth Chinese and Americanhave now become powerful enough to sway public opinion. But I take heart in Indias approach to net neutrality, where the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, after a public referendum, put an end to a thinly-veiled attempt at stifling net neutrality during the Free Basics fiasco back in February 2016.

While Americas TikTok drama rages, maybe India has a chance to lead the globe in ushering a golden age of a democratically-controlled internet. The next step should be to look within our own borders, where dangerous dragons also lurk.

Siddharth Pai is founder of Siana Capital, a venture fund management company focused on deep science and tech in India

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Lily Jordan, an outspoken activist and fundraiser for young people battling cancer, died early this morning, her family said.

In an email, Jordans father Richard Jordan III shared that she died at 4:30 a.m. following a long battle against osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, and the resulting complications. She was diagnosed in July 2015 at age 13.

Over the five years she fought against the disease, Jordan regularly shared updates on her Instagram page, with both her struggles and triumphs in treatment.

Jordan lost her left leg to osteosarcoma and suffered a permanently dislocated right hip in October 2015. But not long after the amputation and six months of chemotherapy, she was raising funds with her Thon team by selling ribbons outside of her Camp Hill home.

Jordan remained active as part of the Thon fundraiser for the Four Diamonds foundation throughout her treatments, continuing to raise awareness for other pediatric cancer patients. She also began making and selling bracelets while receiving care at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, selling each one for $5 as a Four Diamonds fundraiser effort.

Shes the most inspirational, positive person I know, Danielle Digugiolmo, a Penn State student on Jordans Thon team, said in 2016.

That positivity  and the outpouring of love and support from friends, family, student volunteers and followers on social media  led to Jordan meeting with the Jonas Brothers when the band came to Hershey last year. Jordan had initially planned to attend their Hersheypark Stadium concert, but was forced to cancel due to treatments. When her Twitter post inviting the band to visit her went viral, the Jonas Brothers responded by doing just that.

The support from social media was so incredible and I felt so loved and supported. I said, even if the Jonas Brothers dont come, it doesnt matter. I feel so warm and snuggly knowing that all of these people are pulling for me'," Jordan said following their visit, joking that, of course at that point, they couldnt really refuse.

Jordans final post to her Instagram page was both honest and optimistic, ending with determination and resolve despite the challenges facing her.

Bet I look pretty badass in this photo, she said. Bet I look super inspiring and strong. But that is not how I felt, or feel right now. The pst four days in the hospital, 2 emergency procedures on my pericardial sac, And now a permanent must-stay-dry noodle hanging out of my arm, I feel angry and sad and frustrated and existential and scared and overwhelmed and sad and its all because of this little central line.

She added that she promised not to shy away from the truth of her condition or her treatment, both for her own well-being and to keep her followers informed of the very real struggle facing those with pediatric cancer.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 13:54:00|Editor: huaxia

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SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- South Korea reported 70 more cases of the COVID-19 as of midnight Sunday local time compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 23,045, local health authorities announced Monday.

The daily caseload stayed below 100 for two straight days, after having grown in triple figures for 37 days in a row.

It was attributed to cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province linked to church services and a massive rally held in central Seoul on Aug. 15.

Of the new cases, 21 were Seoul residents and 18 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Fifteen were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 3,092.

Two more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 385. The total fatality rate stood at 1.67 percent.

A total of 90 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 20,248. The total recovery rate was 87.86 percent.

Since Jan. 3, the country has tested more than 2.23 million people, among whom 2,186,008 tested negative for the virus and 22,536 are being checked. Enditem
HARRISBURG  The Nov. 3 presidential contest will test Pennsylvanias ability to handle a massive mail-in vote and, while its high court settled several partisan points of dispute over how to update the states election law, counties remain unprepared in several important ways.

Plus, the legal challenges are not necessarily over.

Meanwhile, lawmakers and election officials continue to warn that the conditions are ripe for a presidential election result to be left hanging in limbo on a drawn-out vote count in Pennsylvania, a premier battleground state where the result could be very close again. Some also warn that huge numbers of mail-in votes could be invalidated, unless the law is changed.

Decisions on Thursday by a divided state Supreme Court filled the vacuum of inaction left by a partisan stalemate in the state Capitol.

It also fanned partisan flames.

President Donald Trumps campaign, the Republican Party and leaders of the state Legislatures Republican majorities had opposed two key decisions of the courts Democratic majority.

In those decisions, the court extended the period to receive mail-in ballots for three days after Election Day  as long as a ballot isnt clearly mailed after polls close  and it ruled that drop boxes and satellite election offices are allowable under current law.

Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said the courts decisions blew up negotiations with Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat.

Well try to recreate something with the governor at this point in time, but I dont know if its possible, Corman told The Associated Press on Friday.

Here is a look at whats next:

Whats at stake

Fueled by concerns over the pandemic, more than 3 million voters are expected to cast ballots by mail in the Nov. 3 election.

Thats more than 10 times as many as voted by mail in the 2016 presidential election, when Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton by a mere 44,000 votes, or less than 1 percentage point.

Polls show another close race between Democrat Joe Biden and Trump in Pennsylvania.

What the court did

All told, the court handed victories to both Democrats and Republicans.

Extending the deadline to receive mailed-in ballots and upholding the use of drop boxes and satellite election offices were good for Democrats.

Counties, such as Philadelphia and Allegheny County, planning to use satellite election offices and drop boxes are home to more than half of the states registered Democratic voters.

Meanwhile, more than 1.3 million of the 2 million registered voters who have thus far requested a mail-in or absentee ballot are registered Democrats, according to figures from the state elections office.

Thats nearly three times as many as registered Republicans and that means that counties will have more time and more ways to receive mail-in ballots that are far likelier to be from a Democratic voter.

In two other wins for Democrats, the court kicked the Green Partys presidential candidate off the ballot and it upheld the requirement in state law that a party-designated poll watcher be a registered voter in the county.

But in wins for Republicans, it rejected requests to let voters who arent disabled give their mail-in ballot to someone else to deliver; to require counties to let voters fix disqualifying problems with their mail-in ballots, such as not signing their return envelope; and to require counties to count mailed-in ballots that arrive without a secrecy envelope.

What counties want

Counties want more time  as much as three weeks before Election Day  to process mailed-in ballots to get them ready to count. In theory, that would allow them to more quickly produce election results. Leaving the law unchanged risks protracted vote counting, they warn.

Republicans support giving counties a three-day head start, but Democrats are pushing for more time than that.

Counties also want to shorten the period in which to request a mail-in or absentee ballot, moving the deadline back to 15 days before Election Day, from seven days in current law. Republicans support it, Democrats oppose it.

That request came after thousands of ballots arrived after polls closed in the June 2 primary election.

Forrest Lehman, the elections director for Lycoming County, warned of problems if the deadline remains seven days before Election Day.

Tens of thousands of people will worry about their mail-in ballot arriving in time and will show up at polling places to vote, where they will have to cast a provisional ballot, Lehman said.

Massive and unheard-of numbers of provisional ballots  perhaps 50,000 or 100,000  will require at least a week, if not longer, to sort out, Lehman said, potentially delaying a presidential election result.

I think its going to be the issue that takes everybody by surprise in November, Lehman said.

Whats next?

Some of these issues could resurface in legislation or be relitigated.

Republicans say they are considering asking a federal court to block the state Supreme Courts decisions. Plus, Wolf and lawmakers still have the power to make changes in the law.

Meanwhile, Trumps campaign has a lawsuit pending in federal court.

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A British Airways air stewardess has revealed how she quit her job to become a pilot.

Suzie McKee, 25, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, spent a year working in the cabins of British Airways flights before deciding she would rather fly the planes instead.

Suzie, who is a languages graduate, needed 120,000 for training and started the process by raising huge 30,000 by working as a barmaid and a receptionist in an MOT garage, and borrowing the rest from her parents.

In February 2019 the ambitious former air stewardess started the painstaking process of applying to study the profession with Flybe, but after the airline went bust in March, Suzie decided to pursue her dream without any airline backing.

Suzie McKee, 25, (pictured) from Portsmouth, Hampshire, quit her job as an air stewardess for British Airways to become a pilot (left, before, and right, as a qualified pilot)

Suzie (pictured) said she had a great time working as cabin crew but always pictured herself flying the planes

Suzie explained that she was always the one volunteering to take tea to the cockpit and to do the safety checks before take off. Pictured: Suzie when she was a stewardess with a colleague

The languages graduate admitted she became tired of doing safety demonstrations and pouring drinks, while longing to be in the cockpit where the action was.

She explained: 'I'd had a great time being cabin crew, but I always had this picture in my mind of me in the cockpit. I realised I wanted to actually fly the plane.

'I knew I didn't want to be serving the chicken pasta in the back with the passengers, I wanted to be at the front of the plane where the action was.

'I would always be the one who volunteered to take the tea into the cockpit for the pilots or do the safety checks with them before take off.'

The former air stewardess (pictured) who can speak three languages, has already visited 55 countries and is eager to fly her first air craft with passengers (pictured left, at work, and right, visiting China on one of her adventures)

Suzie (pictured) managed to save 30,000 and her parents decided to lend her the rest of the funds for pilot school (pictured, learning to be a pilot)

Suzie who worked for British Airways, handed in her notice and returned to the UK to begin raising the 120,000 required to go through pilot school.

It wasn't long before she had managed to save 30,000 and her parents decided to lend her the rest of the cash so she could pursue her dream.

In February 2019 the ambitious former air stewardess started the process of applying to study the profession with Flybe.

The process involved undertaking several interviews, aptitude, personality and spatial awareness tests as well as physics and maths exams.

Suzie (pictured) began the process of applying to study to become a pilot in February 2019, having to complete several interviews and a series of exams

After Flybe went bust in March, she began studying at FTEJerez flight school in Jerez, Spain, (pictured)

But Europe's biggest regional airline FlyBe collapsed at the beginning of March with 2,000 staff losing their jobs.

The determined Suzie decided to continue her studies at FTEJerez flight school in Jerez, Spain, without any airline backing.

She now has just 20 hours of solo flying left to complete before she will be given her full ATPL in November.

Suzie said: 'When I was with an air hostess I would do the passenger announcements and then listen to the pilots being able to tell the passengers that they were the ones that had flown them safely to the destination.

Suzie (pictured) is set to be given her full ATPL in November, after completing 20 hours of solo flying

'As a pilot you get to look out of the windows and see all these beautiful views.

'But the biggest thing is being able to feel like you've succeeded in safely carrying people.

'You might have flown them thousands of miles in the space of a few hours taking them somewhere that they might never have been before or back home after years of not seeing family and friends.'

She added: ''I look back and think how weird it is that I was serving people their meals and now I'm flying planes around.'

Suzie (pictured) said she looks back and now finds it strange that she has gone from serving meals to flying people around

Suzie said you might have flown someone somewhere that they've never been, or taken them back home after spending years away
FILE PHOTO: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during interview with Reuters at U.N. headquarters in New York

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - World leaders came together, virtually, on Monday to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, as the deadly coronavirus pandemic and tensions between the United States and China challenge the effectiveness and solidarity of the 193-member body.

As COVID-19 began to spread around the world earlier this year, forcing millions of people to shelter at home and devastating economies, countries turned inward and diplomats say the United Nations struggled to assert itself.

Long-simmering tensions between the United States and China hit the boiling point over the pandemic, spotlighting Beijing's bid for greater multilateral influence in a challenge to Washington's traditional leadership.

The coronavirus emerged in China late last year, and Washington accuses Beijing of a lack of transparency that it says worsened the outbreak. China denies the U.S. assertions.

In an apparent swipe at the United States, China's president, Xi Jinping, said on Monday: "No country has the right to dominate global affairs, control the destiny of others, or keep advantages in development all to itself. Even less should one be allowed to do whatever it likes and be the hegemon, bully or boss of the world. Unilateralism is a dead end."

Xi's remarks were not in the video he recorded for the meeting. They were included in a longer statement that the Chinese U.N. mission said was submitted to the world body.

China has portrayed itself as the chief cheerleader for multilateralism as President Donald Trump's disregard for international cooperation led to Washington's quitting global deals on climate and Iran and leaving the U.N. Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Cherith Norman Chalet, told the General Assembly that the world body had in many ways proven to be a "successful experiment, but "there are also reasons for concern."

Story continues

"The United Nations has for too long been resistant to meaningful reform, too often lacking in transparency, and too vulnerable to the agenda of autocratic regimes and dictatorships," she said.

The U.S. withdrawal from the WHO came after Trump accused the agency of being a puppet of China, a claim the WHO denied.

"THEM AND US"

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said "increasing discord" in the international community was sparked by some countries meddling in the domestic affairs of other states and imposing unilateral sanctions - a veiled dig at Washington.

"The world is tired of dividing lines, dividing states into them and us. The world requires increasing multilateral assistance and cooperation," he said.

The pandemic has exposed the world's fragilities, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. "Today we have a surplus of multilateral challenges and a deficit of multilateral solutions," he said.

The Security Council took months to back a call by Guterres for a global ceasefire - to allow countries to focus on fighting COVID-19 - due to bickering between China and the United States.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the interests of individual member states had "too often" forced the United Nations to lag behind its ideals.

"Those who believe that they can get along better alone are mistaken. Our wellbeing is something that we share  our suffering too. We are one world," she told the General Assembly.

Several leaders called for a reform of the United Nations and in particular the 15-member Security Council, arguing it was unfair that the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain were the only permanent veto-wielding powers.

"A council structure that leaves the fate of more than 7 billion people to the mercy of five countries is neither fair nor sustainable," Turkey's president, Tayyip Erdogan, said.

The one-day special event on Monday comes ahead of the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations, which starts on Tuesday with no presidents or prime ministers physically present in New York. All statements have been pre-recorded and will be broadcast in the General Assembly hall.

The United Nations was created when countries came together after World War Two to prevent another such conflict. While there has not been a World War Three, leaders adopted a statement on Monday acknowledging "moments of disappointment."

"All this calls for greater action, not less," the statement said.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; editing by Diane Craft, Bernadette Baum and Leslie Adler)
A 3D printed brain implant, which can be connected to a computer and used to treat spinal injury patients, has been created by British scientists. - The University of Sheffield

A 3D printed brain implant, which can be connected to a computer and used to treat spinal injury patients, has been created by British scientists.

The team of engineers and neuroscientists at the University of Sheffield, in collaboration with St Petersburg State University, Russia and Technische Universitat Dresden, Germany, designed the implant so it can fit on the surface of the brain, the spinal cord, peripheral nerves or muscles.

The flexibility of the device means that it could be used in the development of treatments for multiple neurological conditions, the researchers said.

Scientists have been exploring placing a computer chip inside the human brain for some time, in the hope of better understanding neurological diseases, as well as unlocking the potential of connecting the human brain to technology.

Last month, Elon Musk released the design of his companys Neuralink brain implant, which is hoped will help patients suffering from paralysis. In the future, Mr Musk intends for the chip to have the potential to control a computer or mobile device.

In this latest research, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, by 3D printing the implant it makes the production quicker and more cost effective than previous attempts, the researchers said.

Engineers have been able to link the brain to computers using 3D printed implants - The University of Sheffield

The researchers were able to create a softness in the material of the implant, allowing it to be easily adapted for different surgical procedures.

The power of 3D printing means the prototype implants can be quickly changed and reproduced again as needed to help drive forward research and innovation in neural interfaces, said Professor Ivan Minev, of Intelligent Healthcare Technologies at the University of Sheffields Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering.

The implant can detect and send small electrical impulses in the brain and the nervous system, the experts said, which are then recorded by a computer.

The team trialled the implants on animal models which were simulated as having spinal cord injuries. They were able to stimulate and record electrical signals from the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerve of the animals.

It is hoped the implants could now be adapted to use in humans with paralysis. The adaptability and speed of 3D printing could also allow for surgeons to print the implants directly in the operating theatre while patients are prepped for surgery, the researchers said.

Prof Minev added: Patients have different anatomies and the implant has to be adapted to this and their particular clinical need.
NORWALK  Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik on Monday said he has referred a confrontation between his police officers and state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff to the departments internal affairs unit for further investigation.

Kulhawik said the department is investigating the July 24 encounter, in which Duff has claimed one officer spat toward him, others swore at him, and dozens poured out of headquarters into a parking lot in an apparent bullying tactic before he drove away.

The investigation is ongoing, Kulhawik said. I referred it to Internal Affairs, so that all officers present could be interviewed.

Kulhawik said he has offered to meet with at least two groups that have spoken out against the incident where Duff was escorted from headquarters after a scheduled meeting with police union leaders.

Ellie Kousidis, Duffs Republican challenger in the upcoming election, on Monday urged Duff to apologize to police for what she said was an exaggeration of the July incident.

The incident happened the day after the state House of Representatives approved a controversial law enforcement accountability bill, which prohibited choke holds while making personnel records of officers accessible for public inspection. The Senate approved the legislation on July 29. Gov. Ned Lamont signed it into law, which takes effect in the summer of 2021.

For about two weeks after the July 24 incident, Duff claimed, a motorist drove by his home, shouting expletives. State Capitol Police, who investigate threats against state lawmakers, stationed personnel at Duffs home.

Surveillance footage of the incident, released by the Norwalk Police Department last Monday, showed a Norwalk police officer interrupting a conversation between Duff and two other officers with a spitting gesture. The video does not have sound and runs about 35 minutes.

In her statement, Kousidis claimed Duff greatly exaggerated the situation, attacking and fueling mistrust of local police officers.

Kousidis, a media specialist in the Stamford school system, said the video painted a different picture than the one Duff told to members of the news media, but did not further specify. She said Duff owes every officer an apology, and that a public apology is also needed.

What concerns me most of all is the selfish use of his platform to elevate his own voice above all others, she said. We have real problems in our community, not the least of which includes the mental and emotional health of our children in the middle of a pandemic and the safety of all people.

Duff declined to comment on Monday.

On Aug. 20, Duff sent a letter to Norwalk Police Union President David OConnor  a copy of which was also sent to Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik and Mayor Harry Rilling  describing what happened, but without naming the officers who he said confronted him.

If Bob Duff truly felt threatened by what allegedly happened, why did it take him six weeks to make the incident known? Kousidis questioned. And why did he go to the press with the story and not to Capitol Police first?

Kousidis claimed in her statement that by co-authoring and voting in favor of the police accountability bill, Duff turned his back on public safety and police officers.
Aisha Pategi, a former special duties commissioner who resigned from Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaqs cabinet, has challenged the state government to publish the local governments financial accounts starting from 2019.

Ms Pategi, whose controversial resignation letter was tendered three weeks ago, had, in July, accused the states ministry of finance of diverting N300 million local government funds while she headed the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

Afterwards, she was moved to the ministry of special duties during a cabinet reshuffle carried out in the same month. This decision did not go well with the commissioner which led to her resignation, this paper learnt.

However, she made no public statements until Monday.

In the early hours of Monday, Ms Pategi, in a tweet, dared the state government to publish the local governments accounts.

Absolutely not true publish all LGA accounts from may 2019 to date. #freekwaraLGAmoney, she wrote, in response to claims that the local government councils are autonomous.

According to a statement from the spokesperson of the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development, Azeez Bolaji, the state government has restated the independence of all local government councils in the running of their affairs without interference from any quarters.

The Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development, Arc. Aliyu Mohammad Saifuddeen (FNIA) emphasized this while featuring on a live programme tagged GOOD MORNING KWARANS at the Kwara Television Service during the weekend.

Arc. Saifuddeen said as the Commissioner saddled with the cabinet responsibility of supervising and monitoring the activities of the Third Tier of Government, he can emphatically say that since the inception of the present administration in the State, no single kobo of the Local Governments money was missing or diverted by anyone, Mr Bolaji stated.

When contacted for clarification on her tweet, Ms Pategi declined further comments. She promised to reach out to PREMIUM TIMES in due time.

It should be noted the state governor had set up a commission of inquiry to look into the alleged diversion of the N300 million local government councils funds but no report has been submitted yet.

The panel, headed by Justice Mathew Adewara, is expected to turn in its report soon as submissions are still ongoing.
(Natural News) Chinas state-run media is lamenting the fact that increasingly more Chinese people are rejecting flu shots, and presumably the upcoming Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, due to Chinas extensive history of pharmaceutical scandals.

While some Chinese people, stricken with fear over the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), are eagerly rushing out to get jabbed, others are more skeptical, recalling many instances in the past when drug corporations distributed faulty drugs and vaccines that harmed people.

The communist Chinese regime is reportedly ramping up its clinic capacity to ensure that all Chinese residents can get vaccinated. The problem is that many of them are not planning to, which could prove problematic from the governments perspective.

According to reports, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) currently has enough capacity to increase the flu vaccine supply. But public demand has remained low because of a lack of trust, a lack of public awareness, poor access, as well as cost, reports the South China Morning Post (SCMP), a state-run media source.

Another problem is cost, as some Chinese people, depending on where they live, have to pay out-of-pocket for a flu shot in the event that they decide to get one.

Ive heard friends discussing it, saying this year is special because of the coronavirus and we are among the high-risk group, says Xu Liang, a 68-year-old retiree who lives in Wuxi, located in Chinas Jiangsu province.

But 100 yuan is too much for retirees like me, he adds. Its five days of my familys food budget.

Xu added that he has also never had a flu shot, and is unsure whether or not it would even work, or if it is even safe for him.

I know how effective it is, he says. And I doubt its quality. I remember there were scary reports of substandard vaccines years ago.

Communist China uses propaganda to convince residents to get flu jabs

The reports Xu is talking about involved a Chinese vaccine manufacturer known as Changchun Changsheng Bio-technology, which reportedly sold more than 250,000 DPT vaccines in Chinas Shandong province before tests conducted in Nov. 2017 showed that many of them were not effective.

Changchun Changsheng was fined by a provincial regulator the U.S. equivalent of around $500,000, a relatively small sum for a company that during this same year raked in the U.S. equivalent of more than $83 million in profits.

One year later, Changchun Changsheng was caught falsifying production data on its rabies vaccine, deceptively suggesting that the drug was safer and more effective than it actually was.

It is kind of like what happened in Argentina when U.K. drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was fined a measly $90,000 by an Argentine court after illegal vaccine trials led to the deaths of at least 14 innocent babies  $90,000 being a drop in the bucket for this multi-billion dollar drug behemoth.

These scandals have eroded my confidence in vaccines made in China, says Yi Jie, a 32-year-old computer programmer in Beijing who, despite all the scandals, still thinks she should probably get a flu jab this fall, even if it is made in China.

But Ive been told by private clinics that imported flu vaccines have already been booked out so Ill have to accept a domestic flu shot if theres no other choice, she adds. My bet is domestic vaccines are safe after producers learned a lesson from the scandals.

This statement by Yi, of course, is at the end of the SCMP article, suggesting that other Chinese people reading it should follow her lead. Our suggestion, if you are somehow reading this article in China, is to think twice and remember that there is no turning back, no matter the outcome, once that needle is in your arm.

For more related news about Big Pharma corruption and the dissolution of public trust in pharmaceuticals and vaccines, visit Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

SCMP.com

NaturalNews.com
State Releases COVID-19 Data For School Districts As cases of COVID-19 continue to be reported in schools locally and statewide, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) are launching a statewide tracker this week.



Last week, the statewide number of cases of COVID-19 reported by Texas public schools were posted on the DSHS website. At that time, the reported count of on-campus student cases of COVID-19 in the states public schools was 2,344, and on-campus staff cases were 2,175.



The number of student and staff COVID-19 cases in Texas public schools will be updated each week. Beginning this week, it will include data by school district.



According to DSHS, the data will provide an overview of the burden of disease in Texas schools over time and inform public policy decisions about COVID-19.



DSHS said that schools will still be required to inform all parents, teachers and campus staff of any positive cases tied to their on-campus instruction or activities.



Local school districts reported several additional cases last week.



Between Monday, September 14, and Friday morning, September 18, Hillsboro ISD added three additional cases to its total, Whitney ISD added four and Itasca added two cases.



To access the statewide COVID-19 data for school districts, visit dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/schools/texas-education-agency/.


President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the Kaduna State Government to keep up its laudable investment efforts and surpass the impressive results already attained.

The president, who was the special guest at the fifth edition of the Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KADInvest), commended the Kaduna State Government for its efforts to establish its credentials as the investment destination of choice in Nigeria.

The president spoke after Governor Nasir El-Rufai revealed that Kaduna State has attracted both domestic and foreign investments worth about $800 million since 2015, with investors pledging a further $2.1bn.

The maiden edition of KADINVEST 1.0 was held from 6th to 7th April, 2016, with the theme, Lets Move Kaduna into the Global Economy.

The annual summit has been held since 2016 but this is the first time the event would hold virtually and the theme of KADINVEST 5.0 is, Infrastructure, Industrialisation and Innovation.

Mr El-Rufai, who gave an overview of what the previous summits achieved, said that Kaduna has faced fiscal headwinds as a result of Covid-19 pandemic, with several mitigating strategies aimed at repositioning the state to maintain solvency and emerge stronger post pandemic.

According to the governor, KADINVEST 1.0 attracted 25 businesses and local as well as foreign investments worth $500 million.

The summit also facilitated investments through the creation of a one-stop shop and operationalising of the ease of doing business charter, to break down barriers to investments and expansion of the fiscal space, he added.

Mr El-Rufai further said that the second edition of the summit, KADINVEST 2.0, witnessed the launching of Kaduna State Development Plan(SDP) and Sector Implementation Plan(SIP) as a vehicle to achieving SDP through annual budgeting framework.

The Ease of Doing Business charter, Bus Rapid Transit(BRT) system, the Eyes and Ears Citizens Engagement platform were all launched at KADINVEST 2.0, he added.

According to him, a three-year Memorandum of Understand(MoU) with the United States Agency for International Development(USAID), to help drive the economic development of the state was signed at the event.

He further said that that edition of the summit attracted a number of foreign Direct Investment in the state, especially Olam Poultry and Feed mill, Mass Housing at Millennium City and KADICT.

The governor also said that Kaduna State Infrastructure Masterplan(2015-2050), 14 + investments solidified through foreign and local domestic investments, were launched at the third edition of KADINVEST 3.0. El Rufai said that the summit focused on building human capital, adding that it attracted 79% Foreign Direct Investment and 21% Domestic Investment.

Last year, KADINVEST 4.0 focused on the operationalisation of Kaduna Industrial Plan and Improvement of the investment portfolio by 300%, he further pointed out. The governor said that Kaduna was launched into the Industry 4.0 phase by focusing on developing a knowledge driven economy while revamping industries, during the summit.

Mr El-Rufai said that Kaduna State took some measures in order to mitigate the effects of Covid-19, by commencing staff verification and screening to reduce overhead cost. According to him, the government revised the 2020 budget to manage the revenue and expenditure impact of Covid-19 .

In his good will message, President Buhari noted that KADINVEST has become a respected fixture on the investment calendar, held annually since 2016.

According to him, it is a fitting statement of the resilience of the Kaduna State Government that it is able to host the 2020 edition amidst the severe disruptions to the normal order caused by Covid-19. This is the sort of determined focus that can help the country to navigate the challenging consequences of the pandemic, President Buhari added.

Mr Buhari commended the efforts of the Kaduna State Government for establishing its credentials as the investment destination of choice in Nigeria.

These efforts have received just recognition in the response of the business community which has put in new investments in the state. It is hardly a surprise that Kaduna State has emerged as the leading destination for foreign direct investment within Nigeria.

This is a further affirmation of the ranking of the state as Number One for Ease of Doing Business by the World Banks Doing Business Report 2018. I call on the Kaduna State Government to keep up these laudable efforts and surpass the impressive results already attained, he added.
European stocks were headed for their worst fall in three months on Monday as fears that a second wave of COVID-19 infections would lead to new social distancing measures hit travel and leisure shares and banks amid a new dirty money scandal.

There could be up to 50,000 new cases per day in Britain by the middle of October if the epidemic continues at its current pace, the country's chief scientist adviser warned amid speculation over new "stay-at-home" orders from the government.

"I think theyre (investors) clearly nervous on chances of a second lockdown," said Jane Shoemake, an investment director at Janus Henderson.

London's FTSE 100 was the worst-hit blue chip index in Europe, falling bout 3.5% with UK-focused midcaps in the FTSE 250 dropping over 4%.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 2.9%, a fall not matched since the beginning of June.

Europe's travel and leisure index fell 5.7%, its worst drop since April with airlines such as BA owner IAG retreating 13.5% or Lufthansa 8%.

European banks fell over 6% just a few points from a record low following reports that banks such as HSBC and Standard Chartered were among those moving large sums of allegedly illicit funds over the past two decades.

HSBC's shares in Hong Kong and Standard Chartered's in London fell on Monday to their lowest since at least 1998 after media reports that they and other banks, including Barclays and Deutsche Bank, moved large sums of allegedly illicit funds over nearly two decades despite red flags about the origins of the money.

Barclays and Deutsche Bank, which were also mentioned in the reports, fell 5.6% and 5.8%, respectively.

Meanwhile, a report from China's state-run Global Times suggested that HSBC could be a possible candidate for inclusion in the country's "unreliable entity list" that targets foreign firms which violate Chinese laws or commit "illegal acts."

Among other individual stocks, Britain's Rolls-Royce Holdings slumped 9.6% after the aero-engine maker said it was looking to raise up to 2.5 billion pounds in an effort to strengthen its balance sheet.

German telecom 1&1 Drillisch dropped 28% after warning that an increase in the cost of its network access deal with Telefonica Deutschland would hit profits this year. Its parent United Internet fell 26.1%.

Adding to recent string of M&A activity, Play Communications soared 37.2% after French telecoms group Iliad said it plans to acquire the Polish mobile phone operator in a 3.5 billion euros deal. Iliad slipped 2.3%. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Stephen King turns 72 today. The legendary author and King of Horror has won countless awards for his prolific output of supernatural fiction, many of which have translated perfectly (and disturbingly) to the big screen.

To wish the Maine-born writer a happy birthday (and to buckle down for Halloween season), well share our 10 favorite films adapted from his truly spooky written material.

Read our picks (and honorable mentions) below:

10. It (2017)

I have a soft spot in my heart (or a dark, hollowed-out hole in my head) for the 1990 miniseries featuring Tim Currys chilling take on Kings murderous clown Pennywise, but well stick to the big screen works for this list. Director Andy Muschietti switches the setting to summer 1989, when a group of bullied kids band together to destroy the shape-shifting monster that preys on the children of Derry, Maine. It doesnt quite gel enough to tell a compelling story, though Muschietti delivers an impressive sizzle reel of horror set pieces, particularly one slide projector moment giving the film its biggest scare.

9. Pet Sematary (1989)

A grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead. Director Mary Lamberts adaptation of this spooky supernatural King thriller has some truly shocking elements that might stick with you for decades (Id personally love to never see or envision Victor Pascow in my head ever again, but oh well). A little silly? Sure, but who cares when youre petrified?

8. Dolores Claiborne (1995)

A big-city reporter (Jennifer Jason Leigh) travels to the small town where her mother (Kathy Bates) has been arrested for the murder of an elderly woman that she works for as a maid. Five years after her Oscar win for Misery, Bates returns to Kings universe to turn in another impressive effort as a woman hiding unsettling secrets to protect herself and loved ones. Wonderful supporting work from David Strathairn, Christopher Plummer and Judy Parfitt. And how about those Maine accents?

7. The Mist (2007)

A freak storm unleashes a species of blood-thirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives in this adaptation from Frank Darabont, starring Thomas Jane and, in a delightfully whacked-out performance, Marcia Gay Harden as a religious zealot. The ending packs a wallop, folks.

6. Stand by Me (1986)

After the death of one of his friends, a writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy. Based on Kings novella The Body, this quickly became a favorite coming-of-age tale, thanks to director Rob Reiners careful handling and the young casts remarkable chemistry and maturity. Perhaps even more troubling for parents knowing our children will often feel the need to learn about this sad and beautiful world on their own terms.

5. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency. Frank Darabonts adaptation of Stephen Kings novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption stars Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman and remains an American classic. Is it technically scary by Kings standards? Do you consider being wrongfully convicted, receiving two consecutive life sentences, being assaulted daily and remaining imprisoned for decades under a corrupt warden scary? Then I guess not.

4. Carrie (1976)

Lets tip-toe back into traditional horror territory, shall we? Sissy Spacek stars as Carrie White, a shy, friendless 17-year-old girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother (Piper Laurie), as she unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom. Brian De Palma directed this haunting King adaptation that most definitely holds up, thanks mostly to Spacek and Lauries performances.

3. Misery (1990)

After a famous author (James Caan) is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels (Kathy Bates), he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse. Kathy Bates won an Oscar in this adaptation, perfectly directed by Rob Reiner, who makes his case for best handle on Kings material.

2. The Dead Zone (1983)

We should have known David Cronenberg would be a perfect match for the author with this adaptation of Kings The Dead Zone, in which a man (Christopher Walken) awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic detective ability. Plenty of creepiness permeates through his supernatural thriller, starting with Walkens piercing eyes. But the most frightening aspect comes as Walken shakes the hand of U.S. Senatorial candidate Greg Stillson (a wild Martin Sheen), during which he has a vision of him becoming president and ordering a nuclear strike against Russia that leads to a nuclear holocaust. In his maniacal words, The missiles are flying. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Sheen also happens to use a child as a human shield.

1. The Shining (1980)

Stanley Kubricks adaptation of Stephen Kings horror classic is arguably the scariest movie ever made. A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father (Jack Nicholson) into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future. Famously disliked by the author, who signed off on a TV adaptation in 1997, we dug the marriage of these timeless artists and still cant shake its most terrifying moments (or that Penderecki music).

Honorable Mentions: Cujo (1983), Christine (1983), Firestarter (1984), Children of the Corn (1984), The Running Man (1987), Needful Things (1993), The Green Mile (1999), 1408 (2007), Geralds Game (2017)

Related:

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The Special Counsel's investigation did find enough evidence that Donald Trump obstructed justice but Robert Mueller was too timid to write it into the final report, one of his top deputies has claimed.

Andrew Weissmann claimed that Mueller 'did not deliver what he was tasked with doing' because he shied away from reaching a firm conclusion.

Weissmann says that it was 'obvious' that Trump obstructed justice but Mueller utterly failed the American people by not saying so.

In a new book he claims that the Special Counsel's office didn't subpoena Trump because they were afraid of upsetting the White House.

For the same reason they didn't subpoena Donald Trump Jr. about his notorious June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Hillary Clinton.

They didn't even ask to speak to Ivanka Trump for fear of incurring the President's wrath, Weissmann claims.

The explosive claims will reopen the wounds of the Special Counsel's investigation with just six weeks to go until the election, according to a preview in The Atlantic.

Robert Mueller found enough evidence in his investigation that Donald Trump obstructed justice but 'did not deliver what he was tasked with doing', a top deputy claims

Mueller's top deputy Andrew Weissmann claims that Mueller was too timid to write his findings into his final report, saying it was 'obvious' that Trump obstructed justice

Mueller's investigation was the greatest potential threat to Trump's presidency, but according to Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor who is now a senior fellow at the NYU School of Law, it failed to do its job.

In his book 'Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation', which is out on September 29, Weissmann gives an unprecedented look at the almost two-year long inquiry.

It was set up to examine whether Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election and obstructed justice by, among other things, firing former FBI director James Comey.

The book titled 'Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation' gives an unprecedented look at the almost two-year long inquiry

Mueller concluded that there was not enough evidence to show collusion and while he made no determination on obstruction, he said he was unable to 'exonerate' the President.

In an unusual move, Mueller left it up to Attorney General William Barr - a close Trump ally - to decide if there should be criminal charges and he declined to bring them.

The handling of the obstruction part of Mueller's investigation is what angers Weissmann so much.

The Atlantic article states: 'Weissmann goes to great lengths to understand Mueller's thinking on two of his central decisions: not to subpoena Trump, and not to state plainly in the report what the evidence of volume two makes clear - that Trump obstructed justice. Neither decision holds up to Weissmann's scrutiny'.

Weissmann says he was 'flummoxed' by Mueller's thinking and claims the Special Counsel was 'making his own, freelance judgments about what was appropriate and not delivering on what he was tasked with doing'.

Weissmann says that in volume one of the report, which dealt with collusion, they said there was insufficient proof of a crime.

He says: 'But when there is sufficient proof, with obstruction, we don't say it. Who is going to be fooled by that? It's so obvious'.

Asked if he thought that Mueller let the country down, Weissmann says: 'Absolutely, yep'.

He adds: 'I wouldn't phrase it as just Mueller. I would say ''the office.'' There are a lot of things we did well, and a lot of things we could have done better, to be diplomatic about it'.

Asked if the investigation was a 'historic missed opportunity', Weissmann says: 'That's fair'.

The special counsel's office didn't even ask to speak to Ivanka Trump for fear of incurring the President's wrath, Weissmann claims

Mueller didn't subpoena Donald Trump Jr about his notorious June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Hillary Clinton because he did not want to upset the white house, Weissmann claims

In the Mueller report the stated reason for not subpoenaing Trump was that the legal battle would have delayed the inquiry.

But Weissmann says that the real excuse was 'Mueller's aversion to having an explosive confrontation with the White House'.

Such timidity extended to Trump Jr as well and Ivanka.

Weissmann writes that Mueller 'feared that hauling her in for an interview would play badly to the already antagonistic right-wing press - Look how they're roughing up the president's daughter - and risk enraging Trump, provoking him to shut down the Special Counsel's Office once and for all'.

Weissmann writes that the Special Counsel's office worked under the constant threat that Trump would fire Mueller just as Richard Nixon fired Archibald Cox, the first Watergate special prosecutor, in the Saturday Night Massacre.

Trump tried to remove Mueller several times but was stopped by his staff but the threat neutered the inquiry

Weissmann writes: 'The specter of our being shut down exerted a kind of destabilizing pull on our decision-making process.'

In the book Weissmann depicts Mueller, a former FBI director who did things by the book, as being ill suited to doing battle with Trump.

Mueller's integrity meant he played by the rules and expected others to do the same but he did not apparently realize that Barr - an old friend of his - was on Trump's side.

In an unusual move, Mueller left it up to Attorney General William Barr - a close Trump ally - to decide if there should be criminal charges and he declined to bring them

Trump emerged from the Mueller inquiry stronger and arguing that he was the victim of a 'hoax' that was designed to illegally remove him from office.

The Democrats did not impeach him based on Mueller's findings but when they did for allegedly trying to get Ukraine's President to investigate Joe Biden, he survived a trial in the Republican-controlled Senate.

In the introduction to the book, Weissmann says: 'Had we given it our all - had we used all available tools to uncover the truth, undeterred by the onslaught of the president's unique powers to undermine our efforts?

'I know the hard answer to that simple question: We could have done more'.

Elsewhere he writes: 'Part of the reason the president and his enablers were able to spin the report was that we had left the playing field open for them to do so'
Inspired by the Future is Female line up of products, the In The Girls' Room campaign represents the intimate places where women feel comfortable and can be the most honest with themselves and their closest friends, turn off any inhibitions, and truly embrace things that might seem like 'too much information'. The organically interconnected group of ambassadors will help to engage the OLLY community in stigma-busting dialogue about common experiences women can have with their female health, sharing light-hearted and honest moments with their followers.

"I am so proud to be partnering with OLLY for the launch of their new Future Is Female collection! It's so important for women to feel comfortable when discussing female health and OLLY's offering of unique supplements takes the taboo out of common female health topics so we can be open," says OLLY ambassador, Nicole Richie.

The Future Is Female collection offers four uniquely formulated capsule supplements, designed to address common female health topics. Beat The Bloat aims to reduce belly bloat and water retention with digestive enzymes and botanicals, Miss Mellow supports a balanced mood with a powerful blend of natural botanicals, Cleansing Cranberry helps urinary tract health with cranberry and Vitamin C, and Lovin' Libido promotes a healthy sex drive and sensation with Ashwagandha, Maca and Damiana.

"We are so excited to launch the Future is Female collection, with supplements specifically formulated to support female health and wellness. It's truly fantastic to be working with such an incredible line up of talented women who have teamed up with OLLY to foster open and honest conversations about women's wellness and help to break down any stigmas that exist around feminine health," says Mari Mazzucco, Marketing Communications Manager for OLLY.

Chicago-based, board certified OB-GYN Dr. Kiarra King will also be joining the In The Girls' Room campaign as OLLY's expert female health medical advisor to support the launch of the Future is Female collection.

The Future is Female line is available at www.olly.com and Target (in stores and online) and is priced from $15.99 to $19.99.

About OLLY

OLLY is a San Francisco based company whose mission is to make nutrition delightfully easy as it believes good health is the foundation of happiness. OLLY is known for its gummy vitamins and supplements, and also sells protein powders and bars.

SOURCE OLLY

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's successor should be chosen after the November presidential election, according to a new poll.

The majority of Americans said they want the presidential election winner to name Ginsburg's successor.

The national opinion poll was done on Sept. 19-20, after Ginsburg's death announcement.

The poll suggests that many Americans oppose President Donald Trump's plan to push through another lifetime appointee.

The recent poll also showed that 62 percent of American adults agreed the winner of the upcoming elections should fill the vacancy.

Meanwhile, 23 percent disagreed, and the rest said that they were not sure.

When it comes to political parties, eight out of 10 Democrats agreed that the appointment should wait until after the election.

Aside from that, five in 10 Republicans agreed on the same notion.

U.S. President Donald Trump needs the support of the Senate to confirm a nominee. It currently has a 53-47 Republican majority.

Two Republican senators have said publicly since Ginsburg's death that they think the winner of the election should make the nomination.

These Republican senators are Maine's Susan Collins and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski.

Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised a vote with weeks to go in Trump's term.

The poll also showed that 30 percent of American adults said Ginsburg's death would make them more likely to vote for Biden.

A total of 25 percent said they were now more likely to support Trump. Another 38 percent said that it had no impact on their interest in voting.

The rest said they were not sure.

The Reuters poll was conducted online, in English across the United States.

It amassed responses from 1,006 American adults, including 463 Democrats and 374 Republicans.

Possible Successors

Reports said that the Supreme Court likely starts with these federal appeals court judges:

Amy Coney Barrett was among a finalist for Trump's second high court nomination.

She is a favorite of religious conservatives.

She was the top of Trump's list of potential nominees after her 2017 confirmation hearing for a set on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.

Federal appeals court Judge Barbara Lagoa was also on the list.

She is a Cuban American from the swing state of Florida.

Lagoa served shortly on the Florida Supreme Court. She is also considered a protege of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis appointed Lagoa to the Florida Supreme Court, making her the first Cuban American woman to serve there.

Joan Larsen was also being eyed for the position.

Larsen spent her career as a professor at the University of Michigan Law School.

Larsen worked as a deputy assistant U.S. attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel during the term of President George W. Bush from 2002 to 2003.

Britt Grant is the youngest frontrunner for Ginsburg's previous position.

He was a past Georgia Supreme Court Justice and solicitor general.

Allison Eid and Amul Thapar are also vying for the position.

.

Check these out!
HSBC and Standard Charter shares touched their lowest level in as much as 25 years; other banking shares hit too.

Global banks faced a fresh scandal about dirty money on Monday as they sought to limit the fallout from a cache of leaked documents showing they transferred more than $2 trillion in suspect funds over nearly 20 years.

UK-based HSBC Holdings Plc, Standard Chartered Plc and Barclays Plc, Germanys Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG, and US-based JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of New York Mellon Corp were among the lenders named in the report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and based on leaked documents obtained by BuzzFeed News.

The report was based on 2,100 leaked suspicious activity reports (SARs), covering transactions between 1999 and 2017, filed by banks and other financial firms with the US Department of Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen). Banks are required to file an SAR whenever they handle funds that cause grounds for suspicion of criminal activity.

While some banks said many of the transactions happened a long time ago, and they had since put robust checks in place, the reports revealed broader problems with the monitoring system at the heart of global policing of money laundering and other criminal activity.

If the government cares at all about the UK's reputation globally, it must stop rolling out the red carpet to the criminal and corrupt Global Witness

The reports drew calls from some industry groups and activists for reforms. Investors worried about the potential fallout for global banks, many of which have faced hefty fines in the past for lapses in controls and spent billions of dollars to bolster compliance.

It confirms what we already knew: that there are huge amounts of SARs being filed with relatively low numbers of cases brought through to prosecution, said Etelka Bogardi, a Hong Kong-based financial services partner at Norton Rose Fulbright.

It also brings out the point that managing financial crime risk goes beyond making SARs, Bogardi said.

The Institute of International Finance, an industry group, called for reforms. There is a balance to be struck between managing financial crime risk and ensuring access to the financial system for legitimate customers, the IIF said.

HSBC and StanChart shares touched their lowest level in as much as 25 years, although they fared little worse than their peers amid a wider sell-off in global stocks.

JPMorgan and Bank of New York Mellon, which were also in the top five banks mentioned most frequently in the SARs, fell more than 4 percent each during midday trading in New York.

Lots of banks are struggling with high false-positive rates and the backlog (of existing cases) Cliff Lam, director, AlixPartners, Hong Kong

Shares of Deutsche Bank, which was involved in the largest number of SARs in BuzzFeeds dossier, were down more than 8 percent at one point on Monday morning following the reports.

Several analysts, however, played down the scale of problems.

Unless there are more substantive allegations of fact, we expect that this article will not have lasting impacts on the industry or stock prices, Chris Kotowski, analyst at Oppenheimer, wrote in a note.

Bank shares were also pressured on Monday by other news, including worries about the resurgence of the coronavirus in Europe.

Important work

Deutsche Bank said the issues raised in the media reports were historic, while the German Finance Ministry on Monday said the cases linked to Germany in the reports had already been dealt with.

HSBC also said the information in the reports was historic, while Standard Chartered pointed to recent investments to improve its control procedures.

BNY Mellon said it fully complied with all all applicable laws and regulations. JPMorgan said it has thousands of people and hundreds of millions of dollars dedicated to this important work.

Unless there are more substantive allegations of fact, we expect that this article will not have lasting impacts on the industry or stock prices Chris Kotowski, analyst, Oppenheimer

Many of the suspicious transactions were linked to companies incorporated in Britain or offshore British territories, prompting calls from action groups for tougher rules.

If the government cares at all about the UKs reputation globally, it must stop rolling out the red carpet to the criminal and corrupt, and refuse to legitimize their money through our companies and banks, Global Witness said.

The UK government said it was working on reforms to its corporate registry system that will require more checks on company directors.

Major wealth hubs

Global banks in recent years have boosted investments in technology and staff to deal with tighter anti-money laundering and sanctions regulatory requirements across the world.

Thousands of clients were booted out of bank accounts in major wealth hubs including Hong Kong and Singapore after a money-laundering scandal in Malaysia, the Panama Papers expose, and a global push for tax transparency.

Compliance experts said part of the problem now was banks were struggling to distinguish between transactions that were and were not suspicious, so were simply filing millions of SARs that enforcement agencies lack the capacity to deal with.

Lots of banks are struggling with high false positive rates and the backlog (of existing cases). Thats why you see that sometimes SARs were raised over 100 days after the transaction, said Cliff Lam, a director at AlixPartners in Hong Kong.
Lawyers for Jacob Gardner, 38, had expected him to return to Omaha after a grand jury returned a four-count indictment on Sept. 15.

"He was really shook up, because the grand jury indictment was a shock to him, it was a shock to us and it was a shock to many people, attorney Stu Dornan told reporters.

Police in Hillsboro, Oregon, a suburb just west of Portland, confirmed in a statement that Gardner's body was found on Sunday outside a medical clinic. His death was not immediately classify as suicide.

Gardner's lawyers said he fled to Northern California and later Oregon on their advice due to death threats on social media, after Douglas County District Attorney Don Kleine declined to charge him in the death of 22-year-old James Scurlock.

Grainy video taken outside Gardner's bar shows two men in an altercation during sometimes violent protests on the night of May 30 that swept through Omaha and other U.S. cities, following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

An investigation into Scurlock's death led to a grand jury charging Gardner with manslaughter, use of a deadly weapon, attempted assault and terroristic threats.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:55:01|Editor: huaxia

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COLOMBO, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of recoveries from the COVID-19 virus rose to 3,100 in Sri Lanka on Monday after 12 more patients were discharged from hospital, the Health Ministry said.

The total number of COVID-19 patients in the island country stood at 3,287, but with the latest number of recoveries, the active patient count has dropped to 187.

Authorities said that those who have tested positive for the virus in recent weeks have been among those repatriated from overseas and who had been under quarantine in the centers. No new patient has been detected from the communities for over a month.

Sri Lankan authorities have made face masks mandatory for all citizens while strict health guidelines also need to be followed by businesses, schools and in public places.

The country has recorded 13 deaths from the COVID-19 virus. Enditem
Australian university managements last week announced thousands more redundancies, including forced retrenchments. This poses the urgent necessity for a unified national struggle by university workers and students against the escalating assault on jobs and basic conditions.

Three universities aloneMelbournes RMIT University, the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the Australian National University (ANU)unveiled a total of nearly 2,900 job losses. That is on top of many thousands of jobs already eliminated by the public universities since March.

Across the country, as is happening globally, governments and university employers are demanding that staff and students pay the price for the disastrous response of the capitalist ruling elites to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now surged to 31 million infections and nearly 1 million deaths.

The initial wave of job cuts for 2020 has become an avalanche for 2021 and beyond. After years of multi-billion dollar funding cuts by one government after another, the pandemic is being exploited to accelerate the pro-business gutting and restructuring of universities.

Never has the need for an all-out fight against this offensive been so great.

But the greatest barrier to this struggle are the university trade unions, which are doing everything they can to prevent a nationwide strike and instead isolate their members at individual universities, while intensifying their partnerships with the managements to facilitate the cuts.

At university after university, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) is pleading with vice-chancellors to work more closely with the union to devise means of implementing cutbacks, even as the vice-chancellors sign up to the Liberal-National governments latest funding cuts and student fee hikes.

RMIT University intends to shed some 1,200 staff, rather than the 355 voluntary redundancies it confirmed last month. That is 10 percent of the workforce. Another 345 forced redundancies are proposed and 500 to 600 casual and fixed-term staff will have no work next year.

The NTEU has responded by urging its members to sign a petition to ask the vice-chancellor to meet and talk with us directly with regard to how the university has been affected by the COVID 19 crisis.

After asking the vice-chancellor to provide a real commitment to open governance and financial transparency, the petition concludes by laying out the readiness of the union to help implement whatever sacrifices are required to keep the university afloat.

It is our commitment to each other that will see RMIT through this current crisis, the petition pleads.

The line-up is similar at the ANU, which is planning 215 retrenchments on top of a reported 250 so-called voluntary redundancies. Hundreds of casual and fixed-term staff have also had their contracts ended.

In an email to NTEU members, the unions Australian Capital Territory division secretary Cathy Day called on management to be open and transparent about all possible financial options including borrowing, revenue raising and non-salary savings.

This is in the same vein as the NTEUs national framework offer to the vice-chancellors at the beginning of the pandemic to impose wage cuts of up to 15 percent and still permit the destruction of 18,000 jobs. That offer had to be withdrawn in the face of hostility from university workers, but the NTEU has since only stepped up its efforts to strike similar agreements at individual universities.

UNSWs declaration that over half of the almost 500 job cuts it flagged in July will be forced redundancies is likely to trigger deep opposition among university workers. So far, the union has made no public response.

Far from calling for unified action to fight the job loss tsunami, however, NTEU national president Alison Barnes merely told the media: The NTEU cannot understand how the government can just sit idly watching thousands and thousands of jobs disappearing from higher education.

Prime Minister Scott Morrisons government is not sitting idly by. Its job ready graduates plan dictates the further transformation of universities into vocational institutions serving the direct needs of big business, while doubling the fees for students in humanities and a range of other courses not considered relevant enough to those profit-driven requirements.

The government also has launched an anti-China witch-hunting inquiry into the universities, tying them into Washingtons military and economic confrontation with China.

The vice-chancellors to which the union is appealing for closer partnerships are now rushing to support the jobs ready plan, and urging senators to pass the bill, in the hope of securing a little extra cash in return.

Last weeks announcements take the job losses to a new level.

Already, Melbournes Monash University is pressing ahead with 277 voluntary redundancies, and Sydneys Macquarie University has initiated a voluntary redundancy scheme aimed at jettisoning an unspecified number of positions. The University of Sydney had signalled job cuts of up to 30 percent in humanities.

Other full-time losses include up to 500 positions at the University of Technology Sydney, 450 at the University of Melbourne, up to 430 at La Trobe University, 300 at Deakin University, 200 at the University of New England and 100-plus at Charles Sturt University.

More than 200 jobs are to be eliminated at Western Sydney University, up to 200 at Perths Murdoch University and hundreds at Perths Curtin University. At each institution, this follows other cost-cutting attacks such as pay and hiring freezes and higher workload allocations.

Various pseudo-left groups in the NTEU are assisting the union to enforce the cuts. At north Queenslands James Cook University, the union is formally opposing the deferral of a 2 percent salary increase due this month. That is because the NTEU is asking the management to consult with it to find other means of extracting sacrifices from its members.

Speaking to the media, the unions JCU branch president, Jonathan Strauss, a member of the pseudo-left Socialist Alliance, made this explicit. Staff are willing to make sacrifices, he said, but they need to know that what is being asked of them is necessary and proportional. James Cook simply hasnt been as badly affected by the loss of international students as CQU or some of the big metropolitan universities.

This sums up the role of the union and its pseudo-left accessories in dividing workers and students at each university from one another. They are imposing the market-driven program of the supposed education revolution introduced by the last Greens-backed Labor government, which compels the public universities to compete with each other for financial survival.

At the same time, all the pseudo-left organisations, such as the Socialist Alternatives NTEU Fightback, are urging university workers to join and rebuild the NTEU. Their perspective is to become the leaders of the NTEU itself, just like their now increasingly discredited predecessors, such as Barnes, who was once a member of the International Socialist Organisation, a forerunner of Socialist Alternative.

In order to reverse this historic assault, university workers and students have to break out of the political and industrial straitjacket of the NTEU and its pseudo-left accomplices. They need to form democratically elected rank-and-file committees of university workers and students, completely independent of the unions, to prosecute a unified industrial and political struggle against all the union-enforced cuts.

That means rejecting the dictates of the capitalist profit system and turning to a socialist perspective based on the total reorganisation of society in the interests of all, instead of the financial oligarchy.
The Canadian series scooped nine Emmys in total  seven at Sunday nights awards show and two at the Creative Arts Emmys held last week.

During the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, anchored from Los Angeles by host Jimmy Kimmel on Sunday, the series was named winner of the outstanding comedy series category, with four of the cast members also taking home gongs in various acting categories.

Heres what you need to know about Schitts Creek:

1. A family team

The series, which first aired in 2017, was written and created by Daniel Levy and his father, Eugene Levy, of American Pie fame.

Described as a reversal of fortunes story, it follows the once-wealthy Rose family who are forced to move to the fictional town of Schitts Creek  which they once purchased as a joke  after they lose everything.

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Daniel and Eugene play father and son duo David and Johnny Rose on screen, with sister Sarah also starring in the series as waitress Twyla Sands.

Actress Catherine OHara is Moira Rose, family matriarch and fallen actress, while Annie Murphy plays ditzy daughter Alexis Rose.

Eugene and OHara were named winners in the outstanding lead actor and actress in a comedy series categories, while Daniel and Murphy won the outstanding supporting actor and actress in a comedy series gongs.

2. The town of Schitts Creek

Forced to live in the town they once purchased as a joke, the once-wealthy Rose family move into a rundown motel, where they meet motel clerk Stevie Budd (Emily Hampshire).

They soon also meet the towns mayor Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott) and his wife Jocelyn, played by Jennifer Robertson.

Other notable characters that fans will come to meet include the towns vet, Ted (Dustin Milligan), and Patrick Brewer (Noah Reid), who goes on to become Davids love interest.

Music also features throughout the series, with Moira joining local singing ensemble the Jazzagals.

3. Lasting impact

The series has been hailed for its LGBTQ+ storylines, and Daniel, who is openly gay, recently spoke about whether he felt an expectation to tell gay stories.

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In Schitts Creek, his character David meets the love of his life, Patrick.

Speaking on David Tennants podcast, he said: The great thing about the show and what Ive always wanted to do is just be as inclusive as I possibly can, include characters that represent my life in a way that doesnt feel like there has to be a lesson learned.





I think the casual nature of including people is what we need more of, just generally in television, without having to make the gay characters the butts of the jokes or the punchline.

I will always have queer characters in whatever I continue to write because thats important to me. Its such a necessary conversation to have.

People need to see themselves reflected on television screens and I think were realising more and more that there are so many people who have not seen themselves on television.

During a documentary which aired earlier this year, the cast became emotional as they read a letter from mothers of LGBTQ+ children who thanked them for the series and its powerful impact.

The letter came from a Facebook page called Serendipitydodah  Home of the Mama Bears, a group for mothers of LGBTQ+ children.

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a group of moms with LGBTQ kids wrote a truly beautiful thank you letter to the cast of #SchittsCreek & I couldn't stop crying as it was read aloud to the actors pic.twitter.com/2oULXjliT9  Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) April 8, 2020

In the letter, they said: We sincerely believe that shows like Schitts Creek will serve as a catalyst to help change the world into a kinder, safer, more loving place for all LGBTQ people to live, and because of that, we will remain forever grateful.

4. The series was a life changer for Annie Murphy

The Canadian actress has earned herself a legion of fans for her role as Alexis, and notably for her phrases like Da-v-id! when lamenting her on-screen brother.

Earlier this year, Murphy told the PA news agency in an exclusive interview how the series had changed her life.

She explained: I was on the verge of figuring out something else to do with my life, days before I got the audition. I had, it was a bit bleak, my apartment in Toronto had just burnt down and I had about zero dollars in the bank and I hadnt worked in almost two years.



I had a real snotty cry in the Pacific Ocean and decided I was going to do something else

Id spent the last two years like coming very close and then being the girl that never got the phone call  it was like the universe was screaming pretty loudly to me that I should do some reconsidering, and so I was in LA and I had just blown a screen test, I had a real snotty cry in the Pacific Ocean and decided I was going to do something else.

What that thing was I had no idea but it was going to be something else and then the next day I got the audition for Schitts Creek.

5. Series highlights

Things you need to keep an eye out for during the series include Moiras wigs and her utterly out-of-this-world wardrobe, as well as a rendition of Simply The Best that you will not forget in a hurry.

Theres also Murphys A little bit Alexis number that youll find yourself wanting to watch on repeat.

Schitts Creek is currently airing on Netflix in the UK.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 02:03:13|Editor: huaxia

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) leaves 10 Downing Street for a Cabinet Meeting in London, Britain, Sept. 15, 2020. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

Rajneesh Narula, the John H. Dunning Chair of International Business Regulation at the Henley Business School, University of Reading, told Xinhua that he anticipated the bill could face difficulties in the House of Lords (upper house of the British parliament).



"My reading from that is that this is probably the brinkmanship more than hard Brexit and people have been assured in private that this is not going to lead to a hard Brexit," he said.

LONDON, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Downing Street has reached a deal with some Tory MPs who are unhappy with the controversial UK Internal Market Bill, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to give the parliament a vote before he could use the power to override parts of his Brexit agreement with the European Union (EU).

Analysts say the move could head off a potential rebellion over the issue but it still faces a bumpy road ahead as it fails to address concerns over the damage the bill could do to the Britain-EU trade talks as well as Britain's international reputation.

Rajneesh Narula, the John H. Dunning Chair of International Business Regulation at the Henley Business School, University of Reading, told Xinhua that he anticipated the bill could face difficulties in the House of Lords (upper house of the British parliament).

Johnson's Internal Market Bill addresses part of the Withdrawal Agreement -- the Northern Ireland Protocol, which looks to prevent a hard border between Britain's Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier walks to Britain's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in London, Britain, Sept. 10, 2020. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

If the bill is passed and becomes law, it would give British ministers the power to modify or "disapply" rules relating to the movement of goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain, if London and Brussels are unable to strike a trade deal.

For Narula, the assumption that the bill will not kick into law unless there is a no-deal situation is an important factor to consider during the debate.

"That is an important rider because it changes everything," said Narula, adding that an agreement between Britain and the EU is still possible under the current circumstances.

Narula suggested that Johnson's tactics could be one of two things: he could be gambling in a game of brinkmanship, where the British government is trying to push the EU to come to an agreement and see how far they can push the regional block; or it could be a genuine attempt to force a hard Brexit.

"My reading from that is that this is probably the brinkmanship more than hard Brexit and people have been assured in private that this is not going to lead to a hard Brexit," he said.

"As long as there's a substantive agreement and an agreement that comes up with zero tariffs, there will be no breach of the Good Friday Agreement," he added, referring to a peace agreement reached in April 1998 between the British and Irish governments, and most of the political parties in Northern Ireland.

EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (L) walks to Britain's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in London, Britain, Sept. 10, 2020.(Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

However, the proposed bill has drawn strong international reactions.

The EU has called for Britain to drop the controversial bill or face legal actions. Across the Atlantic, U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has warned that Britain must honor 1998 Northern Ireland peace agreement as it withdraws from the EU or there would be no separate U.S. trade deal.

"The Good Friday Agreement is close to almost every American administration. And they were instrumental in pushing the Good Friday Agreement and getting the Good Friday Agreement signed and implemented," Narula said.

The Internal Market Bill passed its first hurdle in the House of Commons (lower house of the parliament) on Monday as MPs backed it by 340 votes to 263 in its second reading.

Those who support the deal say it contains vital safeguards to protect Britain if negotiations on a future trade deal break down. But a number of critics, including Conservative MPs, have warned it risks damaging Britain's reputation by breaching international law.

But whether or not this is a game of brinkmanship to satisfy the right-wing base of his party and followers, Johnson has placed Britain's reputation to follow international law at risk, the expert said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street for the House of Commons in London, Britain, Sept. 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, September 22 2020

President Joko Jokowi Widodo is to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in a video message early on Wednesday from Jakarta  the first time he will speak at the multilateral forum since entering office in 2014. Ahead of his maiden speech at the UNGA, The Jakarta Posts Dian Septiari speaks with Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi to touch on the key messages that the President is to raise, as well as Indonesias views on the UN as it celebrates its 75th anniversary.

Question: What key issues does Indonesia want to highlight at the UNGA?

Answer: There are several clusters in the Presidents messages. First, the President wants to remind us all why the United Nations was established. The UN was established after the war with the goal to prevent another war from happening again, and to create [...] a more peaceful, stable and prosperous world.

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Bengaluru, Sep 21 : Hundreds of farmers from across Karnataka staged a massive protest rally on Monday here against amendments to the APMC Act and Land Reforms Act by the BJP government.

"We are against the state government amending the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act and the Land Reforms Act as they are anti-farmer and anti-people," thundered Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha state president Kodihalli Chandrashekar while addressing the rally.

Dressed in their traditional attire with a green towel on their shoulders and many of them sporting cloth headgear, the farmers, including women marched from the city railway station to the freedom park in the city centre, as the police did not allow them to proceed to the Vidhana Soudha where the monsoon session of the state legislature began earlier in the day.

"We will not budge from our agitation till the state government withdraws the bills to amend the Acts to replace the ordinances it promulgated in May amid the Covid pandemic," asserted Chandrashekar in Kannada, while staging a sit-in demonstration on the middle of the road, disrupting vehicular traffic and shouting slogans against the ruling BJP and its government.

Alleging that amendments to both the Acts would benefit more corporates and multinational firms, Chandrashekar said the state and central governments were taking anti-agriculture and anti-farmer decisions unilaterally.

"The amendments will deprive farmers of getting better prices for our produce and hold on to our farmlands if non-agriculturists are allowed to buy our lands for non-farming activities," reiterated Chandrashekar.

State Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy is set to introduce the bills in the legislative assembly on Tuesday to amend the APMC Act and the Land Reforms Act.

The opposition Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) have also opposed the amendments, alleging they were against the interests of farmers.

As the ruling BJP has majority in the House, the bills are expected to be passed by voice vote after discussion, though the Congress and JD-S said they would oppose them.

Defending the amendments, state Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa earlier said the revised APMC Act would empower the farmers to sell their produce for the best price in the APMC yard or outside it.

"The amended APMC Act will lift restrictions on sale of farm produce and allow farmers to sell their crop in APMC yard or in private markets where they get the best price," said Yediyurappa.

Noting that the amended Act would benefit farmers in improving their income and reduce losses due to market fluctuations, the chief minister said the new law would also protect them from volatile market trends.

"It will help farmers in doubling their income, as wished by the prime minister," Yediyurappa added.

The amendment will not dilute powers or work of APMCs, as all marketing activities will be monitored by the state APMC director.

Clarifying that his government was not removing the APMCs or the Act governing their activities, the chief minister said only two sections of the law were being amended to enable farmers sell their produce in markets where they get maximum remuneration.

The new law will stop exploitation of farmers by market forces, middlemen and commission agents and prevent them from selling their produce in distress when prices fall. They can sell their produce to those who pay them the highest price," pointed out Yediyurappa.

The amendment to the Land Reforms Act, 1961 will allow anyone, including non-agriculturists to buy and own farmlands across the state for agricultural activities.

The state cabinet on June 12 agreed to amend the Land Reforms Act to allow all citizens to purchase agricultural lands for farming or growing vegetables and fruits.

Sections 63A, 79A and 79B of the Act barred non-agriculturists from buying farmlands as property in the interests of farmers who were entitled to buy for growing more foodgrains or other crops.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Describing it as absolute and total murder of democracy in Parliament over the manner in which the government pushed through its agenda to get the two controversial farm Bills passed by the Rajya Sabha on Sunday, as many as 18 Opposition parties on Monday wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him not to grant his assent to the proposed legislations.

We, belonging to diverse parties cutting across Indias political and geographical spectrum, bring this representation to you to respectfully draw your urgent attention to the absolute and total murder of democracy, ironically in the most hallowed temple of democracy, Parliament, read the letter.

Leaders of various political parties, including the Congress, the Left parties, NCP, DMK, SP, TMC and the RJD, also requested the President to return the Bills and exert all powers  constitutional and moral  to ensure such a black law does not become a law. Two of three farm Bills that the government says will bring major reforms to the farmers were passed in the Upper House amid chaos, with Opposition members rushing to the Well of the House, attempting to tear up the rule book and the microphone of the Deputy Chairman.

On Monday, eight members were suspended for unruly conduct, but their refusal to leave the House led to five adjournments of the Rajya Sabha.The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill give farmers the freedom to sell their produce anywhere in the country and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 enables farmers to get into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price.

On an issue like this majoritarian, insensitive, and uncaring governance has no role at all, and all stakeholders have to listen, absorb and imbibe and thereafter act with humility. There is no place for politics of zid (stubbornness) and arrogance, added the letter. The Congress has also decided to launch a nationwide agitation from September 24.

Murder of democracy: Mamata

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday termed the suspension of eight Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha as the murder of democracy under PM Narendra Modis dictatorship. She urged all Opposition parties to fight against the farm Bills. The government is pushing the country towards another famine like 1976. When the nation is fighting against Covid-19, the Centre is forcing the people to face another crisis, the TMC chief said.

Cong, RJD owe answer to Bihar

The government on Monday came down heavily on the unruly behaviour of the Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha, with the Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad saying the Congress and the RJD will have to explain to the people in Bihar for the attack on the Deputy Chairman of the House Harivansh Singh. We are not saying that we will make the attack on the Deputy Chairman an election issue in Bihar. Harivansh is a reputed person... The Congress and the RJD owe an answer to the people of Bihar, said Prasad.
Confronting footage has emerged of a 69-year-old dog walker screaming hysterically as six police officers detained her during an anti-lockdown protest.

The video shows the mother-of-four being arrested at Elsternwick Park, 10km southeast of Melbourne's CBD, on Saturday.

'Give me my phone!' the woman can be heard yelling she is surrounded by several officers.

Two officers then pull her hands behind her back to handcuff her.

The 69-year-old woman screamed as two officers pulled her hands behind her back at Melbourne's anti-lockdown rally in Elsternwick Park on Saturday

'Keep your hands behind your back, you're under arrest,' an officer orders.

The grandmother begins wailing 'no' and attempting to briskly walk away from police before she is cornered at a fence and handcuffed.

She is then escorted to another area of the park to speak with officers, who remove the cuffs and hand her a penalty notice.

Speaking to the videographer following the incident, she broke down in tears.

'It hurt,' she says.

'I have never been treated like this in my life.'

The woman then collapsed on the ground and curled into a ball crying.

Victoria Police refused to comment on the arrest.

In a video posted online, the woman collapsed on the ground and began crying after being released by police

Up to 100 people gathering at Elsternwick Park in Brighton dispersed to Elwood when faced with a long line of officers at the site, 11km from Melbourne's CBD. Pictured: Protesters and officers at the Saturday demonstrations

Up to 150 people gathered in the city's southeast on Saturday to protest against Melbourne's Stage Four restrictions.

Victoria Police issued 21 fines and arrested 16 demonstrators as up to 150 people clashed with officers during the rallies.

Law enforcement teams circled Elsternwick Park included officers from Public Order Response, the Mounted Unit, Air Unit and Highway Patrol.

Multiple demonstrations have taken place in Melbourne over the past few weekends as conspiracy theorists, COVID-19 deniers, and fed-up residents call for the end of lockdown.

On Sunday, a small group of demonstrators gathered in Chadstone Shopping Centre to sing John Farnham's 'You're The Voice' before dispersing minutes later as Public Order Response Teams arrived on the scene.

The protest, which organisers had originally touted as the 'biggest ever' with around 700 people tipped to be in attendance, dissolved in less than five minutes and resulted in two arrests and six fines.
Daniel Shovelton (pictured) found guilty of killing Mark Bradbury in Warrington, Cheshire

An ex-Army sergeant who battered a father-of-two to death with 'ferocious' blows and stole from his home to pay off a drugs debt has today been jailed for life.

Daniel Shovelton, 40, was found guilty of killing Mark Bradbury, 58, in his own home in Warrington, Cheshire in an attempt to solve 53,000 of debt he had accumulated due to his 1,000-a-month drug habit.

He initially lied to police about sleeping in his parents' car at the time of the murder, but was caught on CCTV buying whisky with Mr Bradbury's cash just hours later.

Shovelton was today handed a life sentence with a minimum of 24 years in prison after being convicted of the murder at Liverpool Crown Court.

During a two-week trial, jurors heard how 'doting' dad Mr Bradbury was 'battered to death' in the harrowing ordeal in August last year.

Prosecutors said Shovelton saw 'small time' cocaine dealer Mr Bradbury, who sold drugs in order to fund his own habit, as the 'answer to his problems'.

Shovelton, who served in Afghanistan and Ireland, made three trips to his victim's street on the day of Mr Bradbury's death, and was captured a fourth time on CCTV in the area at 7.10pm.

He remained there for three hours before leaving shortly before 10pm.

Shovelton (pictured) was caught on CCTV buying whisky with Mr Bradbury's cash hours later

Victim Mark Bradbury's daughter Hannah (pictured together), 19, read out a 'powerful and poignant' statement in court as Shovelton was sentenced today

The body of Mr Bradbury was discovered three days later, with a post-mortem investigation concluding that he had died of head and neck injuries.

Shovelton, who had recently lost his job as a delivery driver, had known Mr Bradbury for 20 years before the attack and regularly bought cocaine from him.

The court heard how he was living with his parents after his home was repossessed and had resorted to asking his daughter to lend him money.

Shovelton was found guilty of murder on Friday, after police found traces of blood on a key ring.

Officers also recovered Mr Bradbury's gold ring inside his pocket and an empty packet of cigarettes which police believed were purchased on the evening of his death.

The victim's daughter Hannah, 19, read out a 'powerful and poignant' statement in court as Shovelton was sentenced today.

She said: 'It is extremely difficult to put into words the experience over the last year.

'It is a pain only imaginable and a living nightmare. The things I used to enjoy I do not anymore, and it does not get easier. On August 4, my life fell apart and nothing will ever fix that.

She said: 'It is extremely difficult to put into words the experience over the last year'. Pictured: Hannah and Mark Bradbury

Pictured: A gold ring Shovelton stole from his victim after the murder and a cigarette packet believed to be purchased on the night of the murder

'People say I am brave, but I am not. I'm frightened and scared that I will never stop grieving.

'You cannot say everything happens for a reason as this shouldn't happen to anyone.

'My dad made memorable impressions on people and was someone who would give anyone the coat from his back.

'He will be greatly missed.'

Sentencing, Judge David Aubrey told Shovelton: 'In August last year, you battered and strangled to death Mark Bradbury in his own home.

'I am satisfied that you killed him and intended to do so as you were desperate and he was an easy target.

'The killer, you, had been rumaging around and was looking for anything worth stealing.

Pictured: Shovelton at a Tesco Extra hours after he killed Mr Bradbury in his own home

Victim Mr Bradbury pictured buying alcohol in a shop just hours before he was murdered

'You went on a magical mystery tour to discard discriminating items, including your blood-stained clothing.

'A powerful and poignant statement from the victim's daughter describes him as someone who would give anyone the coat from his back.'

Detective Inspector Sarah Oliver, from Cheshire Police, added: 'I hope the conviction of Shovelton helps Hannah and all those who knew Mark to continue to come to terms with what happened.

'Shovelton has never shown any remorse for his actions and continues to avoid responsibility for the hurt he has caused.

'He has shown himself to be an utterly selfish man who put his own need for cash and cocaine above all else.

'He saw Mark as someone who he could take both - with devastating consequences.

'This case demonstrates the impact drug and gambling addiction can have and I would urge anybody with an addiction to seek help.'
A retired Indian Navy officer (55), who was into real estate business, was shot dead by a man following an altercation in the parking area on the ground floor of an apartment at Pochanpur in south-west Delhis Dwarka on Sunday night, the police said.

The victim, Balraj Deshwal, was shot in his face from a very close range and died on the spot.

The alleged accused, Pradeep Khokar, is absconding, said Santosh Kumar Meena, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (Dwarka), Delhi Police.

Gehlan Apartment, where the murder took place, was constructed by Deshwal and his three business partners. Khokar had purchased one of the flats and was staying in Gehlan Apartment. We have learnt that Khokar was to pay an outstanding amount of Rs 5 lakh to Deshwal. Its not yet clear whether the murder took place because of a dispute over the payment, said DCP Meena.

The crime occurred place at around 8:30 pm, when Deshwal and one of his business partners were sitting in the parking space on the ground floor of the building. Khokar entered building while having an argument with a person over the phone, one of Deshwals partners told the police in his statement.

One of Deshwals partners told us that Khokar looked angry and was abusing the person on the phone. Soon, Khokar disconnected the call and got into an altercation with Deshwal without any provocation. During the argument, he whipped out a pistol and fired at Deshwals face from a very close range. Deshwal died on the spot, said the DCP.

Khokar fled the crime scene and Deshwal was rushed to an adjacent hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. A case of murder has been registered and teams have been formed to arrest Khokar.

We have learnt that Khokar got a job as a teacher in Haryana. The information is

being verified, added DCP Meena.
Jake Gardner was due to return to Omaha on Sunday to face charges for killing James Scurlock.

The Nebraska bar owner who was charged with manslaughter three months after shooting a Black man during protests against police violence has died by suicide, according to his attorneys.

The family of Jake Gardner has asked Tom Monaghan and myself to share the news of his death today, at his own hand, attorney Stu Dornan said at a press conference Sunday.

Gardners body was found outside of a medical clinic in Oregon, where he had allegedly fled due to great risks, such as death threats, his attorney said.

The Nebraska bar owner who was charged with manslaughter three months after shooting protester James Scurlock (above) has died by suicide, according to his attorneys.

The man was due to return to Omaha on Sunday night to face charges in the shooting death of 22-year-old James Scurlock outside of his establishment. A warrant for Gardners arrest had been signed on Friday, but the process had not been completed. He was expected to turn himself in this week.

READ MORE: Nebraska bar owner charged 3 months after killing Black protester

Unfortunately, there are two men who have died in a terrible tragedy, Dornan said. Its a terrible tragedy for the Omaha community; its a terrible tragedy for James Scurlock and his family, its a terrible tragedy for the Gardner family.

During the press conference, Gardners attorneys blamed their clients suicide on a combination of his history of behavioral health problems as a result of a head trauma sustained as a Marine, as well as the belief that people were out to kill him and an incessant rush to judgment related to his charges on social media.

Read More: NC man charged for allegedly running into BLM protesters

Scurlock was killed on May 30 as protests in Omaha inspired from the videotaped killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers spiraled into vandalism. He was walking down the street with several people when they approached The Gatsby bar, where Gardner, 38, and his father were standing.

The charges against Gardner were filed by a special prosecutor, Fred Franklin, after a grand jury reviewed the shooting following the original decision by Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine, who declined to file charges based on Gardners self-defense claims. Franklins probe found evidence that seriously undermined those assertions, and that evidence comes primarily from Jake Gardner himself, Franklin said.

Story continues

Gardners family is expected to issue a statement today.

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The post Bar owner dies by suicide after being charged with BLM protester shooting appeared first on TheGrio.
NEW DELHI : The Indian Air Force's (IAF) newly-inducted Rafale aircraft fleet is all set to get its first woman fighter pilot, a person familiar with the development said on Monday.

The woman pilot in question has been flying MiG-21 fighters and was selected to join the Ambala-based Golden Arrows squadron operating the Rafale jets. However, the name of the lady is yet to be disclosed.

"She was chosen to fly Rafale jets following a stringent selection process. She is undergoing training now," the person cited above stated.

Currently, the multi-role air dominance Rafale aircraft is flying sorties in Ladakh, where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a four-and-half-month-long border row.

5 Rafales join Air Force's Golden Arrows Squadron

Five of the 36 French-made multirole Rafale fighter jets that India has ordered from France were inducted into the Golden Arrows squadron of the IAF in a ceremony at the Ambala air force base on 10 September. The Rafale jets, known for air-superiority and precision strikes, are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia in 1997.

"Rafale is the most potent aircraft and having a woman pilot among its select crew is very significant," said a senior military official said.

In 2018, flying officer Avani Chaturvedi made history by becoming the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo. She flew a MiG-21 Bison in her first solo flight. Chaturvedi was part of a three-member women team commissioned as flying officers in July 2016, less than a year after the government decided to open the fighter stream for women on an experimental basis. The other two women pilots were Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh.

At present, the IAF has 10 women fighter pilots and 18 women navigators. The total strength of women officers serving in the IAF is 1,875, according to a defence ministry response to a parliament question.

The Golden Arrows squadron of the IAF was resurrected in September last year. The squadron was originally raised at Air Force Station, Ambala on October 1, 1951.The squadron has many firsts to its credit; in 1955 it was equipped with the first jet fighter, the legendary De Havilland Vampire.

Ten Rafale jets have been delivered to India so far and five of them stayed back in France for imparting training to IAF pilots. The delivery of all 36 aircraft is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.

The second batch of four to five Rafale jets is likely to arrive in India by November.

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Saudi Reinsurance Company (Saudi Re), the sole reinsurance company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, announced receiving the Sharia certificate for its offerings from Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB).



With a solid financial base of total assets SR2.9 billion ($772 million) and an A3 rating by Moody's, Saudi Res is eyeing opportunities to strengthen its presence in its target markets in the Kingdom, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Lloyds. As one of the largest re-insurance players in the industry, Saudi Re is committed to ensure socially responsible growth, a company statement said.



Fahad Al-Hesni, Managing Director and CEO, Saudi Re, said: We are progressing well in our international diversification strategy, and the Sharia certificate provides additional reassurance to an important segment of our clients. Demonstrating our Sharia compliance will complement our value proposition to our clients especially in the Takaful and Cooperative reinsurance market.



Al-Hesni added that Saudi Re has identified Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives from investors perspective, among which Sharia compliance was emphasized as a key factor in reflecting the responsible conduct.



Yasser S Dahlawi, Founder and CEO of SRB, said: Cooperative insurance and reinsurance companies that deal with significant, complex risk-based transactions are actively embracing our Sharia advisory services. By helping Saudi Re attain Sharia compliance by reviewing its processes, were supporting them to gather meaningful insights by staying focused on their business-critical functions while we cater to all their Sharia compliance needs.



SRB apply various Sharia supervisory actions like reviews, investment screening, interactive consultations, Sharia Board administration and periodic Sharia audits.



Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB) is a leading Sharia Advisor with scholarly presence in more than 12 countries from US, Europe, Africa, GCC and Asia. The scope of the engagement includes reviewing the reinsurance, claims, financial and investment transactions of the company and ensuring compliance with Sharia standards as set by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).  TradeArabia News Service
A woman compared US President Donald Trump to genocidal dictator Adolf Hitler in a fiery Q&A exchange.

In a US election special of the ABC's flagship talk show on Monday night, audience member Eleanore Wells asked the panel whether Trump had shown a 'smarter autocrat how it's done'.

'Could we have another Hitler? ... It doesn't seem far fetched to me,' she said.

German dictator Adolf Hitler took control of Germany in the 1930s and started World War II by invading Poland.

History's greatest villain is reviled for exterminating about six million Jews in concentration camps, along with five million others including gypsies, homosexuals, disabled people, political dissidents and Russian prisoners of war.

Host Hamish Macdonald immediately challenged Ms Wells.

'That's an extreme comparison to draw,' he said.

'Hitler has the responsibility for the deaths of six million Jews - Trump hasn't done anything like that.'

Pictured left: German dictator Adolph Hitler. Right: US President Donald Trump. An audience member compared Donald Trump to Hitler on QandA's US election special on Monday

But Ms Wells interrupted energetically: 'Is it? Is it?.

'Is it extreme? Hitler didn't start out this big. It was a small thing and it grew.

'We don't know what point in the trajectory it is. But it doesn't sound far fetched to me at all.'

Comparisons of people to Hitler or his Nazi party are so often made they long ago sparked 'Godwin's Law' for angry online discussions.

Before he left the Washington Herald, columnist Larry Simoneaux wrote that the analogy is appalling - because places like Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dachau, Sobibor and Treblinka were in a realm of their own.

QandA host Hamish Macdonald immediately challenged the comparison, saying 'Hitler killed six million Jews. Trump never did anything like that'

Audience member Eleanore Wells said she hated what America had become

'If you were a gypsy, you died. If you were mentally handicapped, you died. If you were a homosexual, you died. If you were a dissident, you died. If you were a Jew, you moved to the head of the line as part of a program aimed at the extermination of an entire race,' he wrote.

'Mothers and children were killed. Fathers and sons were killed. The sick and the old were killed. Babies were based against walls. Children were thrown into fires. People were packed into "bath houses" and killed by the score, after which the bodies were put into ovens and burnt to ash.'

Ms Wells said she was 'terrified' of returning to the nation divided by a stressful election season, with 'all the tension, all the strain' where she said 'the evils have become unleashed'.

'I was thinking about becoming a dual citizen. But if Trump were to win, that would absolutely escalate my application to become a citizen of Australia,' she said.

'I'm not sure I'm at the point of rescinding legally my American citizenship but in my heart it certainly would be rescinded.'

Civil unrest has burnt the streets of US states from Oregon to Texas since the killing of George Floyd by four police officers in Minneapolis on May 25

Barbara Heineback who served in two Democrat-run White House administrations, said she felt the Democrats were unfairly downplaying the violence of the BLM rioting but said she loves her country, and is excited to vote

Black Lives Matter riots against police violence have rocked the US in the wake of the death of African American man George Floyd. Four police officers were charged over his death.

Businesses have been destroyed, and bystanders killed during the unrest.

Ms Wells said she hated 'what America had become' and said she was frightened of being shot by police if she returned.

'I'm terrified of going home,' she said.

'I'm terrified of being shot by police.'

African American panellist Barbara Heineback, who served in two White House administrations as a Democrat advisor including to Bill Clinton, said the BLM rioting had been downplayed by Democrats unfairly and black-on-black crime was ignored.

Riot police push back against Black Lives matter protesters in Washington DC on August 29

From May 25 onwards she said, there was 'not one mention of the demonstrations and all of the terror that it has caused ... And depending on what station you watch, you didn't see a lot of the violence on CNN and other stations'.

Prestigious science journal, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published a research article last year calculating the risk of being killed by police in the US.

Called 'Risk of being killed by police use of force in the United States by age, raceethnicity, and sex', it analysed the data and found black women have a probability of being killed by police of between 2.4 and 5.4 per 100,000.

That is less than the odds of being struck by lightning, which is one per 15,300, or 6.5 per 100,000, according to the US National Weather Service.

It found that by far the greatest risk factor was not being black, but being male.

The report found a man's chance of being killed by police in the US is one in 2000 for men but just one in 33,000 for women.

Black men are about 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police than are white men, the report found.

Members of black militia group NFAC protest in Louisville Kentucky on September 5. Perceived racial grievances over police killings have led to racial unrest

Heavily armed NFAC members march in Kentucky on September 5

Social unrest continues to unfold ahead of the November 3 elections.

A heavily-armed black militia called the NFAC or 'Not F**king Around Coalition' have staged protests including one in July where a member accidentally wounded three comrades when a gun went off during a face-off with 'far-right' militia group the Three Percenters.

Despite the unrest, however, Ms Heineback, stressed the good in America to the Q&A audience.

She said she loved her country which was founded on the 'Three C's: Christianity, the Constitution and Capitalism'.

'I too am an American, love America, always vote,' she said.

'There are few things that I get excited about as much as my vote.'
Press Release

21 September 2020

The AAA Four Diamond InterContinental Houston - Medical Center, located in the renowned Texas Medical Center, is taking further steps to enhance its approach to cleanliness by becoming the first hotel to use the innovative Integrated Viral Protection (IVP) Bio Defense Indoor Air Protection Filtration System.



The IVP Air heated-air filtration system is a mobile, plug-and-purify device designed to eliminate SARS-CoV-2, anthrax spores and other airborne contaminants through a heated filter that does not impact the temperature of the ambient air. Building on a comprehensive set of procedures and protocols in place with the IHG Way of Clean program, the use of this technology marks yet another enhancement that General Manager Jorge Landa and the InterContinental Houston - Medical Center hotel team are offering to guests and colleagues to provide further confidence in the hotel experience.



The system was first designed by IVP founder and inventor, Monzer Hourani, a Houstonian who also serves as the head of the InterContinental Houston - Medical Center's ownership group. Hourani, who has a background in physics, science and engineering, developed the advanced biodefense system in partnership with Dr. Zhifeng Ren, Director of the Superconductivity Center of Texas at the University of Houston, and with other scientists at the UTMB Galveston National Lab and University of Texas A&M Engineering and Experiment Station.

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Monzer Hourani, inventor, and founder, IVP said: "The time for action is now, and helping our hometown reopen in record time with this proven science that kills COVID-19 is so important to me as we use Houston-based research to help lead us out of this crisis and get us back to business"

Jay Caiafa, Chief Operating Officer, Americas, InterContinental Hotels Group said: "The safety and well-being of our guests and colleagues is core to the True Hospitality we deliver each day - and we know that a priority on cleanliness is more important now than ever before as travel resumes. Throughout the response to Covid-19, we have built on an already strong heritage of cleanliness and hygiene by implementing a variety of enhanced processes based on the guidance of health authorities and industry-leading experts and exploring where technology can make a difference. In bringing this innovative IVP Air technology to the InterContinental Houston - Medical Center, we are pleased to support the efforts of owner Monzer Hourani and his team as they offer guests, colleagues and visitors even further confidence in a safe, comfortable hotel experience"

Materials Physics Today published a peer-reviewed study confirming the system effectively eliminates actual SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID-19), anthrax spores and other airborne contaminants. The research has been publicly supported by research faculty at the Argonne National Laboratory and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In addition to the hotel, the IVP Air technology has been deployed at Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center, the Texas A&M Health Science Cente r and student housing, True North Classical Academy in Miami, Florida, Slidell Independent School District in Slidell, Texas and Post Acute Medical Rehabilitation with sites in Texas and Las Vegas. For additional information on IVP, please visit IVPair.com.

IHG understands that cleanliness is top of mind for today's traveler. The company's longstanding commitment to rigorous cleaning procedures includes the IHG Way of Clean program developed with Ecolab and Diversey, both world leaders in hygiene and cleaning technologies. The program, launched in 2015, features deep cleaning with hospital-grade disinfectants as well as new COVID-19 protocols and best practices, developed with experts from the Cleveland Clinic. Additionally, as a part of the IHG family of brands, the InterContinental Houston - Medical Center offers guests additional peace of mind with the IHG Clean Promise. Guests can be reassured that their room will meet IHG's high standards of cleanliness. Learn more about IHG's new cleanliness initiatives and guest programs here.

Photo: IHG

About Integrated Viral Protection (IVP)

Integrated Viral Protection (IVP) is a technology solutions company that specializes in the design of biodefense indoor air protection systems. Data from scientific peer-reviewed publications show significant promise for reducing the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the air, safeguarding people against the dangerous, lifethreatening pathogen. IVP has formed a public-private partnership with a team of scientists, engineers, and virologists and has collaborated to develop a promising biodefense indoor air protection system that combats COVID-19 in commercial, transportation, residential and personal environments. For more information, please visit: www.ivpair.com.

About the InterContinental Houston - Medical Center

Revel in modern design paired with unrivaled hospitality in the heart of the Texas Medical Center at the InterContinental Houston - Medical Center, located at 6750 Main Street. Adjacent to the world's largest medical center, our hotel provides easy access to the city's top attractions with METRORail, which is within walking distance of the property. Discover Houston's fine dining, renowned international arts, and famous Museum District. If rest and relaxation is your aim, take comfort in the hotel's spacious luxury suite.
PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech government could declare a state of emergency if a recent spike in coronavirus cases continues in the coming days, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said.

The Czech Republic's daily count of new coronavirus cases has reached record highs in recent days and the country of 10.7 million had reported a total of 48,306 cases as of Saturday, Health Ministry data showed.

"Should we need to have some deeper measures (against the epidemic), then the emergency state will be necessary," Vojtech said in a televised debate on Sunday.

The government should debate this step on Monday, Vojtech said, added that he would not yet propose declaration of a state of emergency.

"We have not seen an escalation. The 'R' (reproduction) number is around 1.6. We will have to assess it based on weekdays when more tests are done," he said.

The 'R' number measures how many people are likely to get infected by one person that carries the virus.

Earlier in the weekend, Vojtech told the seznamzpravy.cz news website that he would consider proposing a state of emergency if the number moved close to 2.

The Czech government last declared a state of emergency in March in the early days of the global pandemic. Such declarations do not impose any specific measures but create a framework for the executive to act faster and with stricter measures than under normal conditions.

In the past 14 days, the Czech Republic has had 193 cases of coronavirus per 100,000 people, the second highest number in Europe behind Spain, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Czech authorities are now bringing back some measures imposed in spring, such as the wearing of face masks indoors, while seeking to avoid a full-scale lockdown.

For a Reuters COVID-19 tracker, click on: https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/czech-republic

(Reporting by Robert Muller; Editing by David Goodman)
BOSTON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc. ("Blue Cross") today kicks off Service Week, the company's 10th annual company-wide volunteer event. From Sept 21-25, 2,700 Blue Cross employees will volunteer for 65 virtual and in-person service projects supporting 70 nonprofits across Massachusetts.

This year's service event has been reinvented to respond to the twin crises of COVID-19 and racial inequities, with an emphasis on employee education and engagement. It also has been extended to a week, rather than the traditional day of activities.

"The events of 2020 have spotlighted the health inequities affecting our communities," said Andrew Dreyfus, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. "We are excited to expand our Service Day into a week-long opportunity for our employees to not only serve our communities, but also to learn more about systemic barriers to health and the solutions that can move us forward."

Most of the company will participate in educational sessions featuring cross-sector leaders from nonprofit, healthcare, and civic organizations focused on promoting health equity. Panelists include David Waters, executive director of Community Servings, Dr. Aaron Bernstein, interim director for Harvard Chan School of Public Health's Center for Climate Health and the Global Environment, Dr. Thea James, associate chief medical officer at Boston Medical Center and Rosario Ubiera-Minaya, executive director of Amplify Latinx.

Approximately 2,400 employees also will take part in remote projects from their homes, such as making birthday banners to lift the spirits of children in the hospital, writing letters to isolated seniors, and making blankets to donate to community members facing mental health challenges, depression and substance abuse.

More than 300 employees will volunteer in-person, practicing strict safety protocols, at nonprofits including the Greater Boston Food Bank, Joined Forces in Chicopee, and the Urban Farming Institute in Mattapan.

Blue Cross is providing a grant for materials or a speaking honorarium to each participating nonprofit to support their mission, for a total contribution of $775,000 in grants and volunteer hours during Service Week. Since its inception in 2011, Blue Cross has made more than $9.2 million in community contributions on the annual volunteer day.

To address COVID-19 and health inequities, Blue Cross and its Foundation also have committed $10.6M million in financial support, pro-bono and in-kind support, including $1 million to The New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund. View highlights here.

Learn more about Blue Cross' commitment to improving the health of Massachusetts residents here. You also can read the 2019 Corporate Citizenship Report .

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (www.bluecrossma.com) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We are committed to the relentless pursuit of quality, affordable health care with an unparalleled consumer experience. Consistent with our promise to always put our members first, we are rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Related Links

http://www.bluecrossma.com


A sixth religious group in Canada has been granted an exemption to use the hallucinogenic tea, known for causing visions and vomiting, as part of its ceremonies.Rachel BrowneVICESeptember 17, 2020A church in Winnipeg, Manitoba just became the latest to get a government exemption to legally import and use daime tea, known as ayahuasca, VICE News has learned.The Centre for Universal Illumination Luz Divina is part of a growing number of religious groups with special permission to use ayahuasca, as advocates and scientists continue to push for more research into the potential benefits of the substanceand the decriminalization of all psychedelics.To date, Health Canada has granted six federal exemptions for churches in Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg to allow them to import and use ayahuasca, a tea brewed from plants from South America containing harmaline and dimethyltryptamine, otherwise known as DMT, which is banned in the U.S. and Canada. The brew has been used for centuries in healing ceremonies in Central and South America, and its effects can last several hours and include visions and vomiting.In an email, Health Canada spokesperson Maryse Durette told VICE News exemptions are issued after a comprehensive assessment that ensures the risk of diversion and any other health risks is minimized.The Winnipeg church received support for their Health Canada exemption application from Jessica Rochester, the founder of the Ceu do Montreal, which uses ayahuasca, referred to as the sacrament in its ceremonies according to the tenets of the Brazilian religion Santo Daime. The mission of her church, founded in 1996, is to provide for transformation and evolution of all persons seeking enlightenment, according to its website.As VICE previously reported, Rochesters Montreal church was one of the first two in Canada to receive an ayahuasca exemption in 2017 after more than a decade of trying. Since then, four other exemptions were granted to churches that use ayahuasca in Quebec, in Toronto, and now in Winnipeg.Somebody in Winnipeg found out about our church and actually for a couple of years flew from Winnipeg to participate in our work [rituals] and  just fell in love with the path, Rochester told VICE News in an interview.Someone who identified as the president of the Winnipeg Centre for Universal Illumination Luz Divina, but would not reveal their identity over concerns that doing so would compromise their job, told VICE News in an email that the group was founded in 2019 and has three members.We were not open to new members until now because without an exemption it was illegal to import, possess and serve the Daime Tea in Canada. Now things have changed for us, the spokesperson wrote. We will begin our calendar of ceremonies this fall.On average, the spokesperson said ceremonies involving ayahuasca last six hours.There are two types of ceremonies. Concentrationssilent meditations combined with hymns and prayersare shorter while Hinarios, involving singing and dancing in a formation on special festive days such as Christmas, may last longer.The spokesperson said they expect more Santo Daime churches to open in the future, but at a slow pace, as the existing groups demonstrate the benefits of the Daime so more can follow the trail.Rochester said she is not aware of any other groups with pending exemption applications for ayahuasca, but warned there are plenty of unregulated, underground ayahuasca ceremonies across the country taking place.An advisory on her churchs website cautions members to assure themselves of the authenticity, legality and accountability of any event they choose to attend.Drug policy and psychedelics experts say these types of exemptions that allow for the legal use of psychedelics can help demystify it and also help support calls for decriminalization. Health Canada has also been issuing exemptions for people with terminal illnesses to legally use psilocybin, known as magic mushrooms, to support their end-of-life care.The more we talk about psychedelic medicine, the more we reframe psychedelics into popular culture, the more popular it becomes, Mark Haden, Chair of the Board of MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) Canada, told VICE News.And that changes public opinion, and eventually it becomes relatively less painful for politicians to support it.Hadens group is currently involved in researching supporting final-phase clinical trials on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorders.Unlike cannabis or other psychedelics that can be manufactured into standardized doses, ayahuasca is more difficult to study because its in the form of a tea and is usually taken within ceremonial settings, Haden said. Brazilian researchers recently found that ayahuasca may help with depression, however the pharmacology of it is not completely understood and may carry some risks.One Canadian study from 2013 followed 12 people in an Indigenous community in British Columbia as they participated in treatment that included the use of ayahuasca. The researchers found that ayahuasca-assisted therapy may have potential benefits for people struggling with drug addiction and that there was no evidence of harm associated with the administration of ayahuasca in a controlled ceremonial context.Another Canadian researcher at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto has also been evaluating an ayahuasca-based treatment program in Peru, where the substance is legal.But Haden added that ayahuasca specifically probably does not need to go through clinical trials in order to become legalized in Canada.The more the Santo Daime churches become legalized, the more people have access to it, and theyre not having access to it through a stage one, two, and three clinical trial and prescription process, theyre having access to it through the shamanic process, Haden said.There are many different roads to legalization, and I think different medicines are on different roads. And thats probably a good thing.Durette would not say how many pending ayahuasca exemption applications Health Canada has received. People can apply for the special exemptions from the federal minister health to use illicit substances for medical or scientific purposes. They last for two years and are renewable.Follow Rachel Browne on Twitter
Bengaluru, Sep 21 : After at least 100 members of Vidhan Soudha secretariat staff as well as ministers tested Covid positive, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition parties on Monday agreed to shorten the ongoing eight days Monsoon legislature session to six days.

One of the main reasons for the opposition parties to agree to the ruling party's decision to shorten the session was allowing these parties to debate on six contentious bills of the 32 bills, the ruling party is planning to get approval from the House.

Speaking to reporters here after the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting headed by the Speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri, Siddaramaiah said, "The scenario is similar across the country. Every state legislature is cutting short its days. But, as the opposition parties we have held our ground, did not agree to the initial proposal of bringing down business days to three, instead we have succeeded in making them agree to continue this session till Saturday. We will take all contentious issues, which they have already promulgated through ordinances." The three days which the Opposition has agreed to cut short will be compensated by calling the house early at 10 a.m. and adjourning the house late in the day till (7 or 7.30 p.m.), he added.

Siddaramaiah further said that the ruling party has not come to terms with the opposition parties regarding question hour discussions as the opposition parties want discussions on at least some questions if not all. "We will slowly resolve this as well," he said.

While, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, D. K. Shivakumar said that the opposition parties have not agreed to the suggestions made by the ruling party to curtail the on-going legislature session.

"As well know that at least as many as 60 staff members of secretariat have tested positive till yesterday and nearly 35 to 40 legislators have tested positive. Hence, we all have decided to have the session till Saturday," he said after the BAC meeting.

Several legislators from ruling and opposition parties, told reporters on the condition of anonymity that they feared to attend the session due the pandemic.

This fear was subtly conveyed by the Siddaramaiah too as he said that none should be affected by this dreaded disease. "This disease is such that it won't even allow your near and dear ones to come near you. It's very painful. When I came out of hospital, my entire family went into isolation. In both cases neither I could go and see them nor could they come and see me. That was a very horrific experience I have ever had," he said.

According to the sources in the secretariat, nearly as many as 70 legislators have remained absent. "With nearly half of the MLAs not even showing interest to participate in the session, there is no point in arguing our case to extend the days. Hence, we all agreed to shorten the session," a senior leader who attended the meeting told IANS.

Earlier in the day, an eight-day monsoon legislature session began with unprecedented mandatory security measures like compulsory wearing masks, gloves, face shields and entry to only those carrying COVID-19 negative certificates to all legislators, staff members, marshals and journalists.

This was the first-of-its-kind Monsoon session and has seen several new things, for the first time legislators were made to sit in fibre-glass enclosures which separated them from their adjacent seats.

Keeping Covid-19 safety protocols in consideration, special seating arrangements were made for MLAs and MLCs in adherence to social distancing guidelines.

"Till date at least as many as 70 MLAs, MLCs and more than dozen ministers have been tested COVID-19 positive, as a result of this, the secretariat has taken these measures," an official said.

The Assembly and Legislative Council was adjourned for an hour for lunch after obituary references to former president Pranab Mukherjee and other Members of the Parliament, leaders and prominent personalities who have passed away during the interregnum. As per the protocols, the session recommenced and adjourned for the day owing to customs, whenever if a sitting legislator passed away, the session adjourns for the day.

The Congress is trying to push hard for debate on the state's economy, an alleged corruption during COVID -19 management, drugs scandal, to corner the government. While the JD(S) planned to counter the ruling party on various three contentious ordinances which were in line with the union government's farm reform bills recently.
Voters, former Vice President Joe Biden said, know their healthcare hangs in the balance during this COVID-19 pandemic.

In a speech Sunday at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden warned that the conservative rush to fill a Supreme Court vacancy poses a threat to Obamacare.

Biden warned that President Donald Trumps push to add another conservative justice could eliminate healthcare for millions of Americans. Voters, he said, know their healthcare hangs in the balance in the middle of the worst health crisis in living memory.

Cool the flames that have been engulfing our country, Biden pleaded, directly addressing GOP lawmakers. To jam this nomination through the Senate is just an exercise in raw political power, he said.

Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks Friday after touring Jerry Alander Carpenter Training Center in Hermantown, Minnesota, where he also visited with people at a coffee shop downtown and stopped at a fire station. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg less than two months before the presidential election has made the election even more crucial. Biden urged Senate Republicans to follow your conscience after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged that Trumps appointee would get a vote on the Senate floor.

It was McConnell who denied the confirmation of Merrick Garland, the judge nominated for the high court by then-President Barack Obama in 2016 more than 10 months before the election.

Read More: Biden calls for Trump to step down over pandemic response

However, President Trump said he has an obligation to fill the vacancy.

We have an obligation. We won. And we have an obligation, as the winners, to pick who we want. Thats not the next President. Hopefully, Ill be the next President, said Trump. But were here now. Right now, were here. And we have an obligation to the voters, all of the people  the millions of people that put us here in the form of a victory.

Read More: Biden makes push for voters on National Black Voter Day

Yet, Biden said the nomination would plunge the country into a constitutional crisis that will plunge the country deeper into the abyss  deeper into the darkness, he said. If we go down this path, it would cause irreversible damage.

Story continues

Democrats like Senator Cory Booker warn that the rush to fill the vacancy less than two months before the election will cause long-term damage to the strength of our democracy and the institutions that are so critical to our success as a nation.

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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

Suspect in 2008 Bengaluru serial blast case arrested from Kerala

India

oi-Deepika S

Bengaluru, Sep 21: A suspect in the 2008 Bengaluru serial blasts case was arrested from Kerala on Monday, a senior police officer said.

One person was killed and 20 others were wounded in the serial blasts at nine places in the city on July 25 that year. 'Important arrest in 2008 Bengaluru serial blast case.

Bengaluru City Anti-Terror Cell, with the assistance of central agencies, has detained one accused Shoab,' Bengaluru Joint Commissioner (Crime) Sandeep Patil said in a brief statement.

He said Shoab had been on the run since 2008, following which a Red Corner notice was issued against him.

Amid farmers protest in Bengaluru, Karnataka legislature session begins

'He was detained in Kerala today and is being brought to Bengaluru,' Patil added.

Two ATC officers have gone to Kerala to bring him to Bengaluru, he said.

Farm bills: SAD team meets President Kovind, requests him not to sign farm bills | Oneindia News

A few suspects were arrested, including a cleric who allegedly hatched the conspiracy and had links with some terror outfits operating outside India.

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Story first published: Monday, September 21, 2020, 23:36 [IST]
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Linkedin Adrian Wail Akhlas (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 19:07 487 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4635be3 1 Business Sri-Mulyani-Indrawati,halal-certification,halal-industry,sharia-economy,food-and-beverage,sharia-finance Free

Indonesias halal certification process should not be burdensome for businesses, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Monday, calling for the use of technology to simplify the certification process to support the halal economy.

The finance minister told a virtual discussion on Monday that halal certification should be provided without risking competitiveness, adding that the use of technology coupled with good policy could support businesses.

Technology can help boost competitiveness, but policy and institutions need further reviews to support an efficient, innovative and competitive halal industry, she said.

Indonesia is in the process of obliging all non-haram products and services to obtain halal certification, according to the 2014 Halal Products Guarantee Law. The rules will be implemented gradually, starting with food and beverage products, followed by medicines and cosmetics, among other products.

However, various business players, especially micro and small enterprises, have complained of the complicated and expensive procedures to obtain halal certification.

Despite becoming the fifth largest halal economy in 2019 based on the Global Islamic Economy Indicator, Indonesia has yet to fully benefit from it, pushing the government to boost the halal industry through several measures such as promoting sharia financial services and developing halal tourism.

The worlds 1.8 billion Muslim consumers spent an estimated US$2.2 trillion in 2018 across different sectors of the halal economy, which indicated 5.2 percent year-on-year growth. The overall halal economy is projected to be worth $3.2 trillion by 2024, based on the 2019 State of the Global Islamic Economy report by research and advisory firm DinarStandard.

Indonesia Halal Lifestyle Center chairman Sapta Nirwandar explained in a webinar on April 24 that Indonesias Muslim consumers spent around $218.8 billion across core sectors of the halal economy in 2017 and that the figure was estimated to reach $330.5 billion by 2025.

The food and beverage sector will see the biggest growth in value as spending in the sector is forecast to hit $247.8 billion by 2025, up from a recorded $170.2 billion in 2017, he stated.

At the same time, Indonesias Islamic finance development was considered the best in the world last year in terms of leadership and potential, beating other Islamic countries, according to the 2019 Global Islamic Finance Report (GIFR) published by the Cambridge Institute of Islamic Finance.

The report said that the country was bound to become an unrivaled global leader in the industry supported by the governments commitment to promoting Islamic finance, regulatory developments and significant improvement in the Islamic finance ecosystem.

Although the industry has grown significantly, the role of Islamic banks has been conspicuously muted compared with conventional banks, Sri Mulyani went on to say. Sharia banks should be improved by providing efficiency, technology and profitability so that the benefits can be felt by society.
On Saturday, Jacobin magazine, which is affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, published an article promoting the policy of herd immunity advocated by the Trump White House and the fascistic right.

The article takes the form of an interview with Katherine Yih and Martin Kulldorff, a pair of academics advocating the so-called Swedish model of allowing large sections of the population to become infected with COVID-19 in the name of achieving herd immunity.

During the interview, Kulldorff argued, Schools and universities should reopen because young, healthy people contribute to the herd immunity that will ultimately benefit all. Jacobin reporter Nicole Aschoff tossed softball questions at Kulldorff and Yih, failed to challenge any of their claims, and then added her own observation that the closures of businesses has caused additional pain beyond the impact of the pandemic.

In a passage approvingly retweeted by Jacobin publisher Bhaskar Sunkara, Kulldorff declares, The lockdown is the worst assault on the working class in half a century.

Workers wearing personal protective equipment bury bodies in a trench on Hart Island, April 9, 2020 [Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo]

By choosing to publish this article, the editors and publishers of Jacobin have endorsed the Trump administrations homicidal response to the pandemic, which has killed 200,000 Americans so far. Trumps entire response to the pandemic was based around crippling all measures to contain the disease and reopening businesses and schools as quickly as possible.

Last week, Trump publicly embraced the strategy advocated by White House COVID-19 advisor Scott Atlas, who is the United States leading advocate of allowing the pandemic to spread unchecked throughout the population. With time, it goes away Youll develop, like a herd mentality I think it will go away very quickly. Trump continued, a lot of people do agree with me. You look at Scott Atlas.

Among those who agree with both Trump and Atlas is Kulldorff, who Jacobin presents as a leading authority on the pandemic. Last week, Kulldorff defended Atlas and his herd immunity policies against 98 Stanford epidemiologists, doctors and other scientists.

The Stanford academics, expressing the overwhelming sentiment among all reputable scientists, published an open letter stating they had both a moral and an ethical responsibility to call attention to the falsehoods and misrepresentations of science recently fostered by Dr. Scott Atlas.

The letter concluded that encouraging herd immunity through unchecked community transmission is not a safe public health strategy. In fact, this approach would do the opposite, causing a significant increase in preventable cases, suffering and deaths, especially among vulnerable populations, such as older individuals and essential workers.

But Kulldorff unequivocally defended Atlas. In a letter to the editor of the Stanford Daily, he wrote: It is natural and reassuring that Atlas also consider plummeting childhood vaccinations, postponed cancer screenings, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, deteriorating mental health and more house evictions, just to name a few.

Kulldorf has been even more explicit on Twitter. Responding to a statement by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, If the president had done his job all the people would still be alive, Kulldorff wrote, Naive/dangerous to think all COVID deaths can be prevented. Such strategies increase deaths. We minimize deaths with age-targeted strategy advocated by [Scott Atlas] @SWAtlasHoover & me.

In the Jacobin interview, Yih advocates for abandoning measures to keep the disease from spreading, There is a kind of simplistic goal of keeping people from getting infected, period. Now this may seem like a worthy goal, but with a highly contagious respiratory virus to which most of the worlds population is probably still not immune, people are going to get infected. The virus will spread, quickly or less so, until herd immunity is reached. Jacobin reporter Nicole Aschoff abdicates her basic duty as a journalist to point out that China, South Korea, and Singapore have all contained the pandemic through rigorous testing and contact tracing, in combination with lockdowns.

Among the lies told by the advocates of herd immunity is that governments would protect the elderly while they allowed the rest of the population to get infected.

The reality behind this policy was shown in Sweden, where keeping schools open, with the direct intention of infecting the broadest segment of the population, was accompanied by the abandonment of efforts to protect the elderly in nursing homes, leading to some of the highest death rates in Europe.

When confronted with this reality, the advocates of herd immunity say that the high death rates in Sweden were the result of a failure to properly implement protections for the elderly. But this, too, is a lie. The massive death toll for the elderly in Sweden is a direct consequence of its herd immunity policy.

The claim put forwarded by Kulldorff and Yih, and echoed by Aschoff, that lockdowns benefit the managerial class while throwing the working class under the bus, is so stupid that it is degrading to even answer it. It is self-evident that reopening factories, schools, and other non-essential workplaces while the pandemic is raging endangers workers and their families. Jacobin accepts the entire framework of the ruling class response to the pandemic. They accept that resources will not be made available to workers who cannot work because of the pandemic. They accept that no safety measures will be put in place to ensure the health of workers in essential industries.

Socialists argue that workplaces must remain closed until the pandemic is contained, and that workers must be provided full pay and benefits while workplaces are not in operation. Even this modest demand, elementary from a public health standpoint, is inconceivable to both the Jacobin interviewer and the interviewees.

Kulldorff welcomed the Jacobin article on Twitter, declaring, In the United States, there is a now second front against lockdowns, from the left.

The first front, of course, is led by the neo-Nazi right, which organized anti-lockdown protests throughout the country in April and May, and by every government in North America, Europe and the global south, which have abandoned effectively all efforts to contain the pandemic.

In reality, there is only one front against vigorous efforts to contain the pandemic, and this front is an attack from the right against the working class. Jacobin has allied itself with the Trump administration in its homicidal efforts to get workers back on the job to generate profits for Wall Street.

Just two months ago, the DSA published a statement opposing the premature reopening of schools, declaring The ruling class are forcing a premature return to in-person learning in schools just as COVID-19 rates spike across the country.

It continued, The push to reopen schools by both major parties is an act of political violence. We demand NO reopening until our schools are safe for students and all staff.

This statement by the DSA stands as an indictment of the policies now advocated by Jacobin and, by extension, a substantial portion of the leadership of the DSA itself.

The timing of the Jacobin interview is significant. Throughout the United States, school districts are herding teachers and students back into classrooms that are hotbeds of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are being assisted by the trade unions, which have worked to sabotage all independent resistance to the back-to-work policy, including the recent strike by graduate students at the University of Michigan. Jacobin, speaking for the privileged sections of the upper-middle-class that staff the trade union bureaucracy, finds itself increasingly opposed to all measures to combat the pandemic, even amid mounting working class resistance to Trumps back-to-work campaign.

At the same time, Jacobin is preparing the arguments that, in the event that Biden assumes office following the election, would be used to carry out essentially the same policies as the Trump administration.

It should be noted that Thomas Friedman, the columnist for the New York Times, the house organ of the Democratic Party, first developed, in late March, the slogan the cure cant be worse than the disease in opposition to lockdownsa phrase that was embraced by Trump and used to carry out a nationwide premature return to work with the assistance of Democratic governors. Jacobins open embrace of Trumps herd immunity policies stands as a confirmation of every warning made by the World Socialist Web Site about the brand of middle class politics embraced by the DSA. In defining these organizations as pseudo-left, we explained that this was not a slur, but a sociological definition.

Words have meaning. By embracing and openly advocating the policies of the Trump administration, the publishers of Jacobin have made themselves complicit in the administrations crimes. The millions of working people whose friends and loved ones died needlessly will not forget the words and actions of Jacobin.
In January 1978, a manhunt was underway for one of the most notorious serial killers in the history of the United States. Ted Bundy was being held in a small jail in Glenwood Springs, Colo., while awaiting trial for the murder of Caryn Campbell. He escaped by sawing through a metal plate in the ceiling, going through the crawlspace above and walking out through the apartment of the jailer, who happened to be out for the night.

After traveling through Illinois, Michigan and Georgia, Bundy ended up in Tallahassee, Fla On Jan. 15, 1978, he went into the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University. He bludgeoned four students with a club and strangled them. Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman were killed. Bundy also sexually assaulted Levy and bit her, leaving clear bite marks.

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Bundy was recaptured in February 1978 and eventually went on trial for the murders he committed in the Chi Omega house. The bite mark was the only piece of physical evidence that he left at the scene. Investigators took plaster casts of Bundy's teeth, which showed that his teeth were unevenly aligned and that several of them were chipped. A forensic dentist was able to show that these casts matched with photographs of the bite mark from the body of Lisa Levy. This evidence was instrumental in his conviction; if Bundy hadn't bitten Lisa Levy while assaulting her, he may not have been found guilty.

The Bundy case is just one example of how our teeth can uniquely identify us. Forensic dentists (also known as forensic odontologists) have two different tasks: to identify the dead by their teeth and to determine who (or what) did the biting when bite marks are found. Let's start by looking at the system that all dentists use to distinguish one tooth from another.


By Laman Ismayilova

New project "Our heritage is our responsibility" has been successfully launched in Azerbaijan.

Initiated by the Cultural Ministry, the project aims to preserve and promote the country's rich cultural heritage and history as well as to encourage public to join the action.

Cleaning campaign was carried out on the territory of bathhouse in Buzovna village, Khazar region as part of the project.

Built by Mammadrza Takhmazov, the 19th century bathhouse ceased to function and gradually came to desolation.

The First Deputy and Acting Minister of Culture Anar Karimov, Deputy Chairman, Acting Chairman of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations Azad Jafarli, Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture Rufat Mahmud, Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation Farid Jafarov took part in the cleaning campaign.

Speaking about the project, Anar Karimov noted that there are 6,308 state-protected historical sites in the country. As a result of the monitoring, lists of historical sites will be compiled. Restoration and conservation work will be carried out as well.

The project is being implemented with the support of the State Service for the Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, Azerbaijan Youth Foundation and the Azerbaijan Union of Volunteer's Organizations.

Moreover, it is also planned to attract the private sector for this purpose. Within the framework of the project, various actions will be regularly organized on the territory of the historical sites.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-20 22:51:22|Editor: huaxia

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres briefs reporters on the upcoming General Debate of the 75th session of the General Assembly and other matters at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 16, 2020. (Mark Garten/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

Calling it "a pillar of multilateralism," the UN chief said China has been playing an increasingly bigger role in regional and world affairs, adding that the UN's close cooperation with China also extends to peace and security issues around the globe, including in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told Xinhua he believes that the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need to strengthen multilateralism, while also expressing hope to continue to work closely with China to address the common challenges facing the world.

"Looking at today's global landscape, it is clear that the common good is best served through more international cooperation, not less," the UN chief said on Friday.

"The UN's 75th anniversary, now more than ever, reminds us that multilateralism, consensus and cooperation must be instrumental in maintaining and safeguarding the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter," the secretary-general said.

Guterres reiterated his stance on multilateralism under the current situation, noting it must be both "networked" and "inclusive."

Photo taken on Sept. 14, 2020 shows the United Nations (UN) flag flying outside the UN headquarters in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

"We need a networked multilateralism, in which the United Nations and its agencies, the international financial institutions, regional organizations and others work together more effectively with stronger institutional links," he said.

"And we need an inclusive multilateralism, drawing on the critical contributions of civil society, business, foundations, the research community, local authorities, cities and regional governments," the secretary-general elaborated.

Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic, Guterres said "the virus is the number one global security threat in our world today and we need international solidarity to defeat it."

"We need to massively expand new and existing tools that can respond to new cases and provide vital treatment to suppress transmission and save lives," he said.

Chinese medical expert team members pose for a photo at Dr. John Garang Infectious Disease Unit in Juba, South Sudan, Aug. 21, 2020. (Chinese Embassy in South Sudan/Handout via Xinhua)

The secretary-general spoke highly of China's contribution to addressing global challenges and its success in poverty reduction.

Calling it "a pillar of multilateralism," the UN chief said China has been playing an increasingly bigger role in regional and world affairs, adding that the UN's close cooperation with China also extends to peace and security issues around the globe, including in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

"The United Nations and China enjoy a high level of cooperation," he said. "I welcome China's comprehensive position on a wide number of topics of common interest, ranging from climate change to peacekeeping, and sustainable development."

"I hope that China will continue its proactive policies to strengthen the UN's global work on maintaining peace and security and encouraging sustainable development," the secretary-general added.

Children have fun in a poverty-relief resettlement site in Xia'ao Town of Du'an Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

The UN chief also called China's achievements in poverty reduction "very strong."

China is in the final stage of eliminating absolute poverty, he said. At the end of 2019, the number of impoverished people in China's rural areas declined to 5.51 million from 98.99 million at the end of 2012, with the poverty headcount ratio dropping to 0.6 percent from 10.2 percent during the same period.

The secretary-general said China is "emerging as a key player within the UN system."

China is the second largest contributor to the UN's regular budget, a major contributor to UN peacekeeping, and the second-largest financial contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget, he said.

Members of China's 5th peacekeeping infantry battalion to South Sudan take a military exercise in South Sudan, on Jan. 4, 2019. (Photo by Zhu Xiaonan/Xinhua)

Currently, China contributes a total of over 2,500 uniformed peacekeepers, who showed "consistently high quality and professionalism" in their service with UN peacekeeping operations, he said.

Guterres said that the UN is "proud of the strong presence of the United Nations family in China."

"Last year, we marked the 40th anniversary of the UN working in China, which coincided with the period of China's transformation through its reform and opening-up policy," he said.

"The United Nations has supported and witnessed China's remarkable development achievements during this period and is committed to further strengthening our partnership in all pillars of the organization's work, including development, peace and security and human rights," he added.

He said he trusts that China will continue playing an important role in supporting multilateral efforts in building more equal and inclusive societies that are more resilient towards unprecedented global challenges. 
By Express News Service

KOCHI: Two persons, who were on Covid19 quarantine, were killed in a blast at a building adjacent to a quarrying unit in Malayattoor in Ernakulam early on Monday.

The deceased -- both migrant workers -- have been identified are Periyannan Lakshmanan, a native of Salem, Tamil Nadu and D Naga, Chamaraja Nagar, Karnataka.

According to police, a spark from the nearby electric pole during the heavy rain in the wee hours of Monday was the main reason for the blast.

"Both workers were in quarantine. They were sleeping close to the room filled with explosives. Though we suspect the electric spark as the trigger to the sudden blast, a probe has been launched into the incident," said a police official.

Alleging terror links into the incident, Kochi-based social activist C R Neelakandan demanded an investigation by National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the blast.

"As it shows the clear violation of quarry rules issued by the state government by storing huge amounts of explosives, there should be a thorough investigation by the NIA into the blast. With two lives lost in the blast, a terrorist angle should also be probed," he said.

According to him, the land owned by the forest department was given for agriculture farms and later the surplus land was returned to the department.

"It was illegally converted into a quarry with the help of a few politicians," Neelakandan said.


The Nigerian government has announced that it will be conducting a seroprevalence survey to better understand the burden of COVID-19 infection in the country.

The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu, made this known at the bi-weekly Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Monday in Abuja.

He said the household survey will be carried out in Gombe, Enugu, Nasarawa and Lagos states to provide accurate evidence on the extent of COVID-19 infection in the country.

These seroprevalence surveys, which will be carried out in Gombe, Enugu, Nasarawa and Lagos States will provide the best evidence yet, on the extent of COVID-19 infection in Nigeria, he said.

Seroprevalence surveys are used to identify the occurrence of disease in a population by estimating the presence of antibodies in individuals who have had the disease. This is done by testing blood samples in randomly selected households in selected states.

The deadly COVID-19 virus which first emerged in Wuhan, China in December, 2019 has affected over 31 million people globally, data on worldometers shows.

Nigeria has recorded 57, 242 cases of COVID-19 and over 1,000 deaths from the virus.

Survey

The NCDC chief said the survey will be conducted between September and November and preliminary results are expected to be released by December 2020.

He noted that household members in the selected states will answer a brief questionnaire followed by a test for the presence of COVID-19 antibodies.

This will however be done with their consent, he said.

He said the outcome of the surveys will increase the current understanding of COVID-19 transmission patterns, the burden of infection in the population, and the age groups most affected.

Mr Ihekweazu said the result will inform COVID-19 response decisions by the Nigerian government and partners as part of measures towards ending the pandemic.

The surveys will also estimate the proportion of people who have COVID-19 but are not showing any symptoms i.e. asymptomatic, he said.

The NCDC chief noted that the survey participants will also have a rapid malaria test and receive treatment if the test is positive.

He said by administering rapid malaria tests, the surveys will also assess malaria infections and their possible relationship to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

PREMIUM TIMES understands that the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC) and the University College London (supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) are supporting NCDC and the Nigeria Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in implementing these surveys.

The US CDCs implementing partner, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), will also support the state ministries of heath with implementation.
Dear Colleagues,

Dear Guests,

Thank you most sincerely for this opportunity to take part in the opening of the new academic year at the University of National and World Economy (UNWE). This academic year coincides with the remarkable 100th anniversary of our university. This is a good opportunity to once again express our gratitude to the generations of professors, students, administrators, and to all those who helped the UNWE become what it is today - the biggest, the oldest and the most respectable business university in Southeast Europe.

This year is unique and not for very positive reasons, including the health crisis which turned into an economic one, and the complicated political situation. Due to these developments we are faced with very difficult challenges, the true response to which must be institutional. In this sense, today's situation is a test of the institutions. When speaking about institutions, I mean the entire spectrum - from politics, the healthcare and educational sectors and the economy, to public finances and banks. The healthier the institutions are, the stronger the response will be. If we are unable to give an adequate institutional response, the effects could be disastrous.

I will focus on what is happening in the banking sector in response to the crisis, and also from a broader strategic perspective.

The banks entered the current crisis well-prepared thanks to what has been done in recent years. I will only mention the unprecedented in their scale and depth asset quality review and stress tests conducted in the banks by the BNB and the European Central Bank. One of their main objectives was to get the banks prepared for the most adverse macroeconomic scenarios which many, at the time, considered to be impossible to materialise. Now that we are going through these 'impossible' scenarios, we see that the banks are responding adequately and they continue to be in good shape.

This good preparation helped us, at the very beginning of the crisis, to take additional measures and reinforce the banks' capital position and liquidity. Among the measures were the full capitalisation of all the profits in this sector, strong reduction in foreign exposures, and also cancellation of the planned additional capital requirements associated with cyclical risks. This package of measures ensured an additional resource of BGN 9.3 billion in the banking system.

The package of measures has not been launched only and exclusively for banks. It has rather been designed to ensure that banks are able to take steps and cushion the effects of the crisis for businesses and households. The main tool that was used to this purpose and is still in place is the so-called 'private moratorium' on loan payments. Up to now payments for over 14 thousand businesses and over 93 thousand households, totalling more than BGN 9 billion, have been suspended , which really and considerably eases the financial conditions during the hardest time of the crisis.

The crisis has moved the external financing conditions issue to the top of the agenda. You know that the crisis triggered the accumulation of deficits which must be financed and the required financial buffers must be maintained. Therefore, we had to give an additional signal to markets and investors that Bulgaria stays stable in the crisis in terms of its financial position and its monetary regime. This signal was given with the EUR 2 billion swap line set up between the European Central Bank and the Bulgarian National Bank, and it has been read unequivocally as a positive one by markets, rating agencies, and investors alike. I want to point out one very important thing - the conclusion about Bulgaria's strong financial position remains valid now, despite the developments in the last months. A drastic change of this direction would be a mistake with serious repercussions.

All measures so far pursued in relation to the banking sector, which I believe were successful and timely, do not, in any way, diminish our concern of what is happening and is going to happen in the coming months. There is great uncertainty as to the development of the health crisis, the economic crisis related to it, and to how the political situation will evolve.

Therefore, as you may have seen from the data we recently published, the Bulgarian National Bank remains conservative in its economic growth forecasts, and with a rather broad range of assumptions, at that. We are presently working on a new, updated assessment of this year's situation and of our expectations for the next one. We will publish this assessment in October. We also carefully monitor the economic developments in the euro area, which will be of crucial significance, mainly regarding, but not limited to, external demand, for the way and the pace of recovery of our economy. We share the assessment of the European Central Bank, communicated just a few days ago. In short, this is as follows: there are clear signs of economic recovery; however, the uncertainty with regard to the pandemic and the way it will be curbed is still great. Depending on the developments, both in the country and in the euro area, we in the Bulgarian National Bank are ready to launch additional measures, if needed.

Out of the context of specific additional crisis-related measures, in the current year we also achieved development of enormous strategic importance, which will be ever more highly valued in the future. What I have in mind is the simultaneous accession of the Bulgarian Lev to the EU exchange rate mechanism and the country to the European Banking Union. This is the first step towards Bulgaria's full integration into the euro area, i.e. to the core of the European Union, an act the importance of which goes far beyond the banking and financial sector.

In a matter of days, on 1 October, the Bulgarian National Bank, through its banking supervision, will become the first Bulgarian institution that is a full-fledged member of an important euro area institution - the Single Supervisory Mechanism. This, inter alia, is a notable example of institutional development. Only a few years ago the supervision was one of the most vulnerable and most criticized regulatory institutions in the country. Now, it is one of the most sound and strong institutions, unanimously welcomed to the family of EU banking supervision. This example of institutional development may also be applied in other important areas. This will allow us to cope not only with the challenges of the present but also of the future day.

Please allow me to end on this note and to thank you sincerely for the privilege to be with you on this day and to wish you a successful academic year.
The senior public servant in charge of administering a $250 million NSW government fund that is the subject of pork-barrelling claims says he did not see any signed authorisation from the Premier or Deputy Premier about the grants despite being instructed by their offices.

Other than a set of emails from advisers to Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Nationals Leader John Barilaro, Office of Local Government chief executive Tim Hurst said he never received any written brief regarding approved projects under the Stronger Communities Fund, in an admission described to an inquiry as "extraordinary".

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian approved more than $100 million going to councils in Coalition seats in the lead up to the state election. Credit:Rhett Wyman

The parliamentary inquiry is probing the integrity of the funding process following revelations Ms Berejiklian personally approved more than $100 million going to councils in Coalition-held seats, and Mr Barilaro approved more than $4 million in his own electorate, in the lead up to the 2019 state election.

Questioning Mr Hurst before the upper house's public accountability committee on Monday, Labor MLC John Graham said there was always a ministerial signature accepting responsibility for the distribution of grants under a particular fund.
Any chance of more stimulus declined even more with Ginsburg's death

Published Mon, Sep 21 2020 11:02 AM EDT
GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) has announced that the 128th edition will go online from October 15-24. This 10-day virtual exhibition will leverage its digital interaction features to create new opportunities for global companies to source products and forge trade partnerships.

"To hold the Canton Fair online is conducive to further playing its role as an all-round open platform for foreign trade, promoting the stable and healthy development of foreign trade in a time of normalized epidemic prevention and control, and to ensuring an unimpeded foreign trade industry chain and supply chain. We will work hard to provide better and more convenient services for the exhibitors and buyers. Chinese and foreign enterprises and buyers are welcome to actively participate in the exhibition and do business," said Gao Feng, the spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce.

The 128th virtual Canton Fair will set up 50 exhibition zones featuring 16 product categories with a cross-border e-commerce zone dedicated to promoting the integrated pilot zones to expand cooperation across B2B cross-border e-commerce platforms.

The digital platform of the virtual trade fair comes with enhanced functions and an optimized registration process for global buyers. This newly improved website enables easier webpage navigation to boost efficiency for both buyers and sellers though more comprehensive search features and a more intuitive interface. Innovative cloud-based technology, online tools for services such as live-streaming product demonstration, instant communication tools, business meeting appointment and trade matching will also be provided to facilitate business processes.

Promoting Global Trade through New Channels

The Canton Fair is an example of China's latest innovative contribution to stabilize global industry and supply chains. With China's import and export continuing to show a strong momentum of recovery, the Fair is poised to promote global trade by opening up new channels to strengthen international economic and trade cooperation.

With the new consumption trend led by the stay-at-home practices, the Canton Fair will help companies adjust to a new economic normal through building a platform to debut their high-quality household products including home appliances, kitchenware and portable indoor exercise equipment.

The Canton Fair 2020 autumn session will also feature "Promotion on Cloud" events, develop new global partners, and launch supporting programs designed to help buyers better adapt to the online exhibition.

https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1276982/Canton_Fair.jpg
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend:

Azerbaijani energy resources play a significant role in the global market, MP in the Georgian Parliament, Mahir Darziyev, told Trend.

The construction of Azerbaijani oil and gas pipelines through Georgia has also contributed to the country's economy. Currently, the Georgian society also benefits from these projects, said Darziyev.

The friendship between Azerbaijan and Georgia is a friendship that can serve as an example for the whole world. Azerbaijan and Georgia are friendly and strategic allies. Relations between these countries are developing in all directions. The projects implemented in recent periods are a clear example of this, the MP noted.

An exact example is the transportation of Azerbaijani energy resources through Georgia. Currently, the entire world is facing the problem of the security of energy carriers. The entry of Azerbaijan's energy resources to the world, including the European market, has significantly reduced the dependence of these countries on Russian energy resources. Certainly, this issue is also political independence for these countries. Therefore, it became a contribution to the independence of these countries, Darziyev said.

Stressing that the development of Azerbaijans economy is obvious, the MP said that this became possible due to the entry of Azerbaijani gas to the global market.
Aarogya Setu, the biggest COVID-19 contact tracing app in the world, has more than 15.7 crore registered users, Parliament was informed on Monday. Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Sanjay Dhotre, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, said the app has maintained "utmost transparency" in all aspects.

He said Aarogya Setu is equipped with security features to protect the confidentiality and security of users data.

Replying to a specific question on low rating reportedly given by an organisation to the app, Dhotre said the rating was by an independent media company MIT Technology Review, and not the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

He further said no inputs were taken from the National Informatics Centre (NIC) prior to publishing of the report.

"It may also be noted that the review given by the media company was based on their understating and interpretation of the app and the way it functions," Dhotre said.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

The 'MIT Technology Review Media Company' has given Aarogya Setu two stars out of five, he said, adding the two stars were given for transparency and data destruction parameters.

Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic

The Aarogya Setu app is not allowed access from outside India, hence it is not clear how the media company evaluated it from outside the country, the minister said.

In addition, the app has been "indigenously designed to cater to the specific demographics of India, and the features and functionalities in the app are built accordingly", he said.

He added that an organisation publishing a report needs to understand the context of how and why the app was built with particular features suited for India.

He pointed out that giving a rating based on the organisations own interpretations is not justified.

Aarogya Setu is the biggest COVID-19 contact tracing app in the world with more than 15.71 crore registered users, Dhotre said.

The apps data is encrypted in transit as well as at rest. Personal information provided at the time of registration is encrypted before being uploaded to the back-end server, where it is stored in encrypted form, he said, adding that the data collected by the app is governed by stipulated protocols and policy.

Response data from Aarogya Setu is shared with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, state governments and other ministries and departments, "where such sharing is strictly necessary to directly formulate or implement an appropriate health response", he said.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2020 / Mel Carter is undeniably a man who wears many hats. His hard work in business and the music industry has definitely paid off over the years, landing him the roles of SVP of A&R of Republic Records, Investor in Sweet Chick restaurant, and Owner of Hikari-Ultra Records. His label and management company has a joint venture with Republic and signed artists such as City Morgue.

Prior to teaming up with Republic, Carter spent ten years facilitating deals throughout the industry, including signing Jovanie to Atlantic Records - at 14, he became the label's youngest-ever artist at the time. He has no prior history of working in Corporate and yet still managed to deliver amazing results since accepting the position with Republic in November of 2019. Within the last year, he managed to generate 3 million in artist merch and apparel sales.

"I'm most proud of the fact that I came from absolutely nothing, without prior history of working at a corporation or working at a record label," says Carter. "Someone just saw something in me and believed in my work and gave me my own record label/funded my own record label. And from there, made me an SVP at the number one record label in the music business, SVP of A&R."

Hailing from Trinidad, he came to live in the US at a very young age. Despite growing up in poverty and without a college education, he still managed to successfully make it in the music industry. He credits a lot of success to his mom, who passed away 5 years ago from Lupus. Watching her work hard everyday at a hospital while battling an illness was the much-needed motivation he needed at a young age. "My mom did the best she could absolutely do, but there were times when we didn't even have enough money for food, and we were evicted several times from our apartment, " he said. "Overall, I had a good and loving mother who encouraged me and my sister very much to never give up on our dreams." As a father, a successful Music Executive, Carter wants to provide the same inspiration for his daughter that his mom provided for him. Everyday he walks in his life purpose to create change and motivate. His end goal is to help the youth that are in similar positions that he grew up in as well as model success for his daughter and family. "I want my daughter, family, and other kids who grew up like me as a troubled teen to see that you can overcome it as long as you don't give up no matter how hard it is." For more on Mel Carter, make sure to follow him on Instagram @melcarter CONTACT: KeAndrea Ayers

213-732-9369

Info@ayerspublicity.com SOURCE: Mel Carter Mel Carter

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/607007/How-Mel-Carter-Dominated-Music-Business
KYODO NEWS - Sep 21, 2020 - 21:56 | All, World

Ang Rita Sherpa, a Nepalese alpine guide who was the first person to climb Mt. Everest 10 times, died Monday morning, mountaineering officials said. He was 72.

Ang Rita, nicknamed snow leopard, achieved the feat between 1983 and 1996 without supplementary oxygen.

Of the 10 summits, one was in fall when even the most hardened climbers avoid the mountain because of significantly higher risks than during the more preferred spring climbing season.

"It is a major loss to mountaineering," said Temba Tsheri Sherpa, who climbed Mt. Everest at the age of 16 in 2001, setting the world record for the youngest person to climb the mountain.

Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli, in a tweet, expressed condolences to Sherpa's loved ones and said his record would never be forgotten.

While fame did not elude Sherpa, he faced financial troubles and was dependent on his children, members of the climbing community say.

His health steadily deteriorated since 1999. In his final years, he battled liver and brain diseases.

Setting records on Mt. Everest is the quickest path to fame and affluence to Nepal's Sherpas who are employed by foreigners as guides, cooks, and porters because of their ability to stay largely unaffected by the myriad hardships caused by high altitude.

Sherpa's record has since been shattered by several members of the Sherpa community. The record is now with Kami Rita, who has climbed the mountain 24 times.

Ang Tshering Sherpa, former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association and a close friend of Ang Rita, said his cremation will be held Wednesday following passing rites of Sherpa tradition.
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In the 2017 White House questionnaire, Barrett was asked if it was her view that abortion was always immoral. She didnt answer the question directly but said: If I am confirmed (to the 7th Circuit), my views on this or any other question will have no bearing on the discharge of my duties as a judge.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

New research by an international team of chemists describes a new type of artificial cell that can communicate with other cells within the bodywith potential applications in the field of smart pharmaceuticals.

"In the future, artificial cells like this one could be engineered to synthesize and deliver specific therapeutic molecules tailored to distinct physiological conditions or illnessesall while inside the body," explained Sheref Mansy, a professor in the University of Alberta's Faculty of Science who conducted the study in collaboration with researchers at the University of Trento in Italy.

The artificial cells work by detecting changes in their environment within the body. In response, the artificial cell creates and releases a protein signal that influences the behavior of other cells within the body.

"In this way, the changing needs of the host would be rapidly met in a manner that does not flood the entire organism with drug molecules," said Mansy.

Mansy's lab is the first to build artificial cells that can chemically communicate with and influence the behavior of natural living cellsfirst with bacteria, and now with cells found in multicellular organisms.

"This work begins to bridge the divide between more theoretical 'what is cellular life' type of work and applicative, useful technologies," noted Mansy.

The study, "Artificial Cells Drive Neural Differentiation," was published in Science Advances.

Explore further Passing the chemical Turing test: Making artificial and real cells talk

More information: O. Duhan Toparlak et al. Artificial cells drive neural differentiation, Science Advances (2020). Journal information: Science Advances O. Duhan Toparlak et al. Artificial cells drive neural differentiation,(2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb4920
September 21 : Post-lockdown several filmmakers and production houses have resumed shooting after taking all necessary precautions stated by the state government. Filmmaker Milap Zaveri had also announced some time back that his team would resume shooting of Satyameva Jayate 2. Today, it has been announced that the makers of the film have decided the release date of the film.

John Abraham-starrer Satyameva Jayate 2 will release on May 12, 2021, on Eid. Milap had worked on the script during the lockdown to give some finishing touches to it. Soon John will start shooting in Lucknow to fight against the corruption in the city. Bankrolled by Bhushan Kumar and Nikkhil Advani, the action drama is the sequel to the original film which was a commercial success in 2018. The franchise also features Divya Khosla Kumar opposite John. The actor will fight corruption in all levelspolice, politicians, industrialists, as well as common man.

John took to his social media and shared a new poster of Satyameva Jayate 2, in which the actor proudly flaunts his patriotic colours. Sharing the poster, he wrote: Jis desh ki maiyya Ganga hai, wahan khoon bhi Tiranga hai! #SatyamevaJayate2 in cinemas on 12th May, EID 2021. John is seen with a plough in his hand as the colours of the Indian Tricolour ooze out of his wounds on the body.

Earlier, the film was supposed to be based in Mumbai, but now the shoot location has been shifted to Lucknow as the director wanted to make it more relatable to the masses, and also to widen the scope of the film. It is reported that Satyameva Jayate 2 will be more powerful and dynamic in terms of scale. Satyameva Jayate 2 is expected to lure the masses with action, music, dialogue, patriotism and heroism.
ALMOST 25,000 has been raised in just a week and a half to support a Limerick girl and her family after a road traffic accident.

Holly McGrath, aged 12, from Nicker, was knocked down by a car in Pallasgreen last Thursday, September 3. She had just started secondary school in Scoil na Trionoide Naofa in Doon earlier that day.

Holly was airlifted to Cork University Hospital before being transferred to Temple Street in Dublin. The GoFundMe page was started by Laura Heelan on Wednesday, September 8

I have set this page up to help my family with an accident that happened last week. Holly is now in Dublin in Temple Street coming out of a medically induced coma. The reason for this page is to help with bills that now have occurred over the accident. Thanks for taking your time for reading this and any donation at all is kindly appreciated," said Laura.

Only a week and a half later the amount is reaching 25,000. Laura said she cannot believe the support.

I would just like to say a massive, massive massive thank you to every person who donated to the Go Fund me for Holly. It is unbelievable the support that Holly and her family have received. It truly is amazing!, said Laura.

She said Holly is doing great and hopefully will wake up very soon.

Im sure her little sister Katie and brother Luke cannot wait to see her. Her mam and dad would love to have her back home in Nicker too, said Laura.

The family is highly regarded across east Limerick. The McGraths and Gammells would be very well known and especially Hollys great grandfather Bill Gammell, who is one of the elder statesmen of the parish of Pallasgreen-Templebraden. While on the maternal side the Colemans are steeped in the GAA in Doon.

Laura also wished to highlight the danger of the N24 in Pallasgreen village so this does not happen to someone else.

Pallasgreen village is a large one, home to lots of children. However, the road through the village is the main Limerick to Tipperary road. While there is speed limits and signage, drivers are on top of the cross before they even notice the village. More signage and lights are needed particularly on the Oola side of the cross, said Laura.

Michael Ryan, chairman of Pallasgreen Templebraden Community Council, said they have long-held concerns over safety on that stretch.

It is a very, very busy road. We need as a parish to see what we can do to make it safer. Many of us feel despite the fact that it is a major road, probably a roundabout at the Cross of Pallas is the easiest and safest way to ensure that it is safe into the future. It is certainly not safe, said Mr Ryan.

On behalf of the parish, he wished Holly well on her recovery.

She is a lovely young girl who had just started secondary school. Everybody is thinking of her and her family and praying hard she will make a full recovery. It is a grueling time for the family who are very well-known throughout east Limerick. The prayers of everybody in the community are with them at this very difficult time, said Mr Ryan.

Principal of Scoil na Trionoide Naofa, Eilis Casey said the entire school community is thinking of Holly.

Our hope is that Holly will be back to us as soon as possible, said Ms Casey. Support structures have been put in place for her friends.

For more Limerick news click here
Gamshaad Baloch, the spokesperson of the Free Balochistan Movement (FBM), said in a statement that Pakistan is still vigorously promoting religious extremism in occupied Balochistan, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) spokesperson Gamshaad Baloch said in a statement that Pakistan is still vigorously promoting religious extremism in occupied Balochistan, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said that on September 13, the religious foot soldiers of the Pakistan army, Sabah-e-Sahaba, armed with machine guns, attacked the peaceful protesting camp of Voice for Missing Persons of Sindhi & Baloch missing persons in Karachi in which several men and women were injured. The videos and photos of this attack, now viral on social media, show that fanatics members of Sipah e Sahaba, the armed wing of Jamaat-e-Islami were brazenly attacking the secular Baloch and Sindhi human rights activists whose loved ones disappeared.

FBM spokesperson said that just eight days ago on September 12, Jamaat-e-Islami, the mother organisation of all religious extremism forces across the world, held a rally in Karachi in which sectarian slogans were raised against another religious sect of Islam! It showed that Pakistan didnt abandon its policy of promoting religious extremism in the region to advance its deep state agenda of Punjabs monopoly over resources of Baloch, Sindhis, and Pashtun nations.

Also read: India-China border tensions: Both countries to hold sixth Corps Commander talks

Also read: Pakistans economy completely destroyed in last two years, says former PM Nawaz Sharif

FBM spokesperson urged the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that it must not overlook the current wave of religious violence Pakistan has unleashed against the peaceful secular people of Balochistan Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

If the past is a guide, then the country study of Pakistan shows that it will never heed to guidelines and warnings. Therefore the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) must immediately put Pakistan on the blacklist because it adopted religious extremism as a state policy to promote its vested in interests in South Asia.

Furthermore, Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) spokesperson urged FATF to look into the facts that why Pakistan has failed to deliver as a responsible member state of the United Nations in terms of promotion of peace and prosperity in South Asia?

It has internally subjugated Baloch Sindhi and Pashtun people to abject poverty and externally it has wreaked havoc in Afghanistan and India and above all, it has proliferated nuclear technology to rogue states like Iran, North Korea, and Libya, besides promoting its stockpile of dirty tactical weapons. Today these rogue states have become the deadliest countries for world peace.

Pakistani militia forces, locally known as Frontier Corps (FC) has turned the Balochistan coast & Southern Afghanistan border near Baramcha into opium trade corridors, and from these drugs corridors it is smuggling opium to Africa, Europe, and America, Gamshaad Baloch said.

He further maintained that Pakistan Army & ISI are earning billions of dollars through drug smuggling. Unfortunately, the international community and the FATF are overlooking this source of black money because Pakistan has deceptively termed drugs smuggling money as remittances it receives from its overseas citizens from Europe America and the Gulf States.

Also read: G20: Trade and Investment Working Group two-day virtual meeting begins today
For this final episode of the Going to College podcast series, presenter Sinead Ryan discusses the practicalities of college life, finding out what you can expect and how to make the most of your college years.

Joining Sinead to give their insights and advice were Noirin Deady, First Year Experience Co-Ordinator at UCC, Roisin Nic Lochlainn, Welfare & Equality Officer, NUI Galway, and Hannah Bryson, Education Officer, UCD.

Noirin outlined just how much of their content as well as induction and orientation has now gone online to help with the smooth transition to lectures for students whilst she also pointed out that the most common questions at the moment are in relation to accommodation.

Students should be organising their accommodation, she said. As the university aims for as much contact time as possible within the government health guidelines.

Noirin also said that while some restrictions may lift in the second semester, accommodation would still be needed then and would be harder to find at that stage.

Roisin Nic Lochlainn meanwhile said that the main concerns she is getting from students is about making friends when so much college time will be online.

Were still encouraging people to join clubs and societies, she said.

The issue of sexual harassment on campus was also raised and UCDs Hannah Bryson said that despite everything being done, it is still common place.

It is happening a lot and coming to the fore, she told Sinead Ryan. The importance of consent training for students is vital.

Roisin Nic Lochlainn agreed.

It is rampant, she said pointing to a survey that showed 50% of students experience sexual harassment in their first year of college.

Going to College is a four-part podcast series, presented by Sinead Ryan, that will help you prepare for some nerve-wracking - and exciting - weeks ahead.

From the Leaving Cert results to CAO offers and then going to college in a time of Covid, its stressful and life-changing, but this series will help with practical advice, tips and insights from experts in the area.

Dont forget to listen and subscribe to the entire series on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Independent.ie.

The Going to College series is in association with QQI.
By Eli Walsh

Bay City News Foundation

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that the state Economic Development Department will stop accepting new unemployment insurance applications for two weeks to determine how to reduce the state's vast backlog of claims.

The EDD temporarily halted accepting new claims on Saturday following the release of a report detailing why the agency has not been able to handle the influx of unemployment insurance applications since the novel coronavirus pandemic began.

The report from the EDD Strike Team found a backlog of some 600,000 unfulfilled unemployment claims due in part to claims being flagged for manual procession rather than being processed through the state's automated identification system.

In addition, that backlog was growing by some 10,000 claims per day before the agency halted new applications.

Newsom argued the claim processing issue is a result of the state's aging technological systems, which he said his administration inherited and has been "trying to patch it together."

"This system is a 30-plus-year-old technological system," Newsom said, adding that it needs to be upgraded or "frankly ... strewn to the wastebin of history."

The two-week pause in accepting new claims will allow the state to install a new identification system from the identity verification company ID.me, which is already used by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to confirm identities.

Before the two-week pause began on Saturday, some 40 percent of unemployment claims were being sent to manual processing, which can take weeks or months to complete, according to the report.

Newsom and state Government Operations Secretary Yolanda Richardson, who co-chaired the strike team, said the new automated ID system would allow EDD to process around 90 percent of those stagnant claims in a matter of weeks.

"This is about getting a check in their hand much faster," Richardson said.

The report was initially supposed to be released one week ago, but Newsom said the two-week pause went into effect Saturday because "I didn't want to wait another day to start this reset period to get this system back on its feet."

The ID.me system is expected to go live and begin processing claims Oct. 5, according to state officials.

Once that happens, EDD Director Sharon Hilliard said the backlog is expected to be cleared by January.

"But we're making huge progress each and every day," she said, adding that many backlogged claims are likely to be processed before then.

Newsom said the two-week pause is not a silver bullet to fix years of technological issues and months of delayed claims, but is part of the state's short- and long-term strategy to more efficiently help Californians.

Part of that long-term strategy, he said, also centered on procuring more information technology experts to "bring modern and innovative thinking into our processes."

"We recognize the magnitude of the responsibility and the extraordinary challenge that we have in front of us," Newsom said. "So we'll be more transparent ... in real time over the course of weeks, not waiting months for the results of these efforts."

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A semi-automatic phone triage system designed to help people with chest discomfort during the out of hours period is unsafe and unreliable, according to research published in the journal Open Heart.

The severity of more than a quarter (27%) of patients with a serious heart condition was underestimated by the phone system and input from nurses was needed to ensure patients were better assessed, researchers from the Netherlands found.

Adequate triage followed by early diagnosis is crucial for patients with acute chest discomfort who might have an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) such as a heart attack or other life-threatening events such as pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lung).

Telephone triage of such patients is sometimes provided by primary care out-of-hours services or emergency medical services but it can be challenging because, based on symptoms only, it is difficult to differentiate acute coronary syndrome and other life threatening events from other causes of chest pain.

Most Western countries use a semi-automatic computer triage system to support telephone decision making in which triage nurses complete a standard list of questions ranked by importance that pops up after they choose the patient's main complaint in the computer system, and the computer automatically generates a recommended level of urgency.

Since 2011, most out-of-hours primary care in the Netherlands and half of the emergency medical services use the Netherlands Triage System (NTS) which aims to guarantee efficient and safe care.

The NTS appears to be safe with a very low rate of serious adverse events but the accuracy of semi-automatic assisted telephone triage with the Netherlands system in out-of-hours primary care has never been validated against clinical outcomes.

Therefore, a team of researchers from the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care in Utrecht, set out to assess the accuracy of telephone triage for patients with chest discomfort who called the service.

Both the accuracy of the NTS tool and the "final" urgency, including overruling by the triage nurses, were evaluated.

They carried out a cross-sectional study of telephone conversations with 2,023 patients with acute chest discomfort (pain, pressure, tightness or discomfort) who called out-of-hours services for primary care between 2014 and 2016.

Eventual diagnoses were gathered from the patients' medical records in general practice, including hospital specialists' discharge letters.

Analysis of the results showed that of the 2,023 patients who called, 227 (11.2%) had acute coronary syndrome (men 14.9%, women 8.2%) and 58 (2.9%) had another life-threatening event (men 3.6%, women 2.3%).

The researchers found that the safety and efficiency of the NTS decision support tool was poor for telephone triage in patients with acute chest discomfort.

The tool underestimated the level of urgency in 27% of patients with acute coronary syndrome and other life-threatening events.

In 13.2% of the calls, the triage nurse overruled the NTS urgency, mostly by upscaling (11%).

When the tool was overruled by nurses, this improved safety but there were still 14% of people with these serious cardiac situations who were allocated too low a level of urgency while efficiency remained poor.

The researchers acknowledged that a low urgency allocation did not necessarily mean the acute coronary syndrome was being missed, but there was an undesirable risk to patient safety with the hazard of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death due to severe pumping failure of the heart in those having a heart attack.

They concluded: "Primary care semi-automatic assisted telephone triage of patients with chest discomfort is not safe or efficient.

"The 'human factor' is conducive to safety in the current telephone triage process. Nonetheless, potential room for improvement should be studied, both of the decision support tool itself by developing better diagnostic prediction rules as well as by improving its use by triage nurses and management. 'Blind trust' in decision support systems should be replaced by critical use of it."

Explore further Ethical recommendations for triage of COVID-19 patients

More information: Accuracy of telephone triage in primary care patients with chest discomfort: a cross-sectional study , Open Heart, DOI: 10.1136/openhrt-2020-001376 Accuracy of telephone triage in primary care patients with chest discomfort: a cross-sectional study ,
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have united to blast Mitch McConnell's 'blatant, nasty hypocrisy' over the Supreme Court pick and to urge voters to pressure GOP senators into delaying Donald Trump's nominee until after the election.

AOC and Schumer joined forces for a press conference Sunday night outside James Madison High School in Brooklyn, that both Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Schumer attended.

The two Democrats warned that the rights of Americans are at risk if Trump plows ahead with his plans to appoint a new justice before the election and urged people to call their Senators and demand they respect Ginsburg's dying wish.

They said 'all options are now on the table' to stall Trump's Supreme Court nomination, including pursuing the impeachment of the president and AG Bill Barr.

Ginsburg said her 'most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed' in the days leading up to her death Friday.

The president on Saturday urged the GOP-run Senate to consider 'without delay' his upcoming nomination to fill her seat.

The move comes just six weeks before the election and has sparked fierce debate, with many Democrats - as well as some Republicans - insisting the seat must not be filled until after the election.

The crux of the debate centers around the move made by Republicans back in 2016 - and led by McConnell - to block then-President Barack Obama from appointing a new justice to the court nine months before the election.

Their argument at the time was that the position should not be filled until a new president was elected by the American people - a standard set by the Republicans that the Democrats now argue the party must continue to honor.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have united to say 'all options are now on the table' to stall Trump's Supreme Court nomination - including impeaching the president and AG Bill Barr - as they blast Senate Leader Mitch McConnell for his 'blatant, nasty hypocrisy'

Democrats have put several options forward to stall or counteract Trump rushing through the appointment for Ginsburg's replacement, with several including Rep. Joe Kennedy III threatening to pack the Supreme Court while others such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have not ruled out pursuing impeachment charges.

AOC echoed the possibility of pursuing impeachment charges Sunday saying there has been 'an enormous amount of lawbreaking' under Trump's watch and branding Barr 'unfit for office'.

'I believe that certainly there has been an enormous amount of lawbreaking in the Trump administration,' she said, when asked about impeachment.

'I believe Attorney General Bill Barr is unfit for office and that he has pursued potentially law-breaking behaviors.'

She said America must 'use every tool at our disposal' and turn to 'unprecedented ways' to stall the appointment and that means putting all options 'on the table'.

'I believe that also we must consider again all the tools available to our disposal and all these options should be entertained and on the table,' she said.

An impeachment would force the US Senate to hold a trial, delaying its ability to appoint Ginsburg's successor.

AOC warned of the risks to the American public if Trump picks a replacement prior to the election.

'It's extraordinarily important that we understand the stakes of this vacancy,' she said.

'Our reproductive rights are on the line. Our labor rights are on the line. Our rights to healthcare are on the line. Labor and union protections are on the line. Our climate is on the line.

AOC (pictured) echoed the possibility of pursuing impeachment charges Sunday saying there has been 'an enormous amount of lawbreaking' under Trump's watch and branding Barr 'unfit for office'

Schumer said he was also willing to consider radical options including the possibility of packing the court

'With an early appointment all our rights, the rights that so many people died for... are at risk.'

The Representative for New York's 14th congressional district spoke of the need to 'buy ourselves some time' by using 'every procedural tool available'.

'We all need to be more courageous and we all must act in unprecedented ways to make sure our rights are stabilized' and that 'the American people have their say'.

She called on the public to contact US senators and demand they hold off an appointment.

'We need to make sure that we mobilize on an unprecedented scale to ensure that this vacancy is reserved for the next president and we must use every tool at our disposal,' Ocasio-Cortez said.

'Everyday people need to call on senators to hold this vacancy open.'

Schumer blasted McConnell's (pictured) 'blatant, nasty hypocrisy' after he said Friday that Trump's nominee would be voted for by the Senate despite insisting in 2016 that a Supreme Court vacancy should not be filled until after the election

WHO'S WHO ON TRUMP'S SUPREME COURT SHORTLIST REPUBLICAN SENATORS Ted Cruz, Texas. 49 Josh Hawley, Missouri. 40 Tom Cotton, Arkansas. 43 JUDGES Bridget Bade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 54 Stuart Kyle Duncan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 48 James Ho, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 47 Gregory Katsas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 56 Barbara Lagoa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. 52 Carlos Muniz, Supreme Court of Florida. 51 Martha Pacold, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 41 Peter Phipps, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 47 Sarah Pitlyk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. 43 Allison Jones Rushing, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 38 Lawrence VanDyke, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 47 CURRENT AND FORMER REPUBLICAN OFFICIALS Daniel Cameron, Kentucky Attorney General. 34 Paul Clement, partner with Kirkland & Ellis, former solicitor general. 54 Steven Engel, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. 46 Noel Francisco, former U.S. solicitor general. 51 Christopher Landau, U.S. ambassador to Mexico. 56 Kate Todd, deputy White House counsel. 45 Advertisement

AOC had stern words for McConnell over his aboutface on the process, saying 'we need to tell him that he is playing with fire'.

Schumer blasted McConnell's 'blatant, nasty hypocrisy' after he said Friday that Trump's nominee would be voted for by the Senate despite insisting in 2016 that a Supreme Court vacancy should not be filled until after the election.

'If you want to get back at Mitch McConnell's blatant, nasty, hypocrisy call your senator and tell them not to listen to Mitch McConnell and not to be afraid of Mitch McConnell and to do the right thing - to stand up and do just what is fair and right and to adhere to RBG's final wish,' Schumer said at the press conference.

He pointed out the time difference between the Merrick Garland case in 2016 which came nine months before the election and today with just six weeks before election night.

'I quote Mitch McConnell what he said four years ago when Merrick Garland was nominated that when it is close to the election the next president should decide,' he said.

'People are already voting - it's just a few days away. We are not close to an election. We are in an election,' he said, pointing to the early voting already under way in Virginia.

'To try and decide this at this late moment is despicable and wrong and against democracy,' he continued.

'It's shoving the wishes of the hard right and the wishes of the Republicans that go along with them down Americans' throats.'

Schumer pointed to a Reuters poll that found 62 percent of Americans do not believe the seat should be filled until after the election, saying this was further proof the Trump administration would be going against the wishes of the public by pushing through the appointment.

'That's such a high number it has to mean Democrats, Republicans and independents have to agree that it is only right and only fair to abide by RBG's last wish that she be replaced when a new president is installed,' he said.

He reinforced AOC's calls on the public to pressure senators to keep to the standard set by Republicans in 2016, saying 'we only need two more senators to say they will abide by RBG's wish.'

Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have both publicly said the chamber should not vote before the election.

Schumer said he was also willing to consider radical options including the possibility of packing the court.

'It will be a decision that comes to the Senate. We first have to win the majority before that can happen... but everything is on the table,' Schumer said when asked by reporters.

Joe Kennedy III, who represents Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District and is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy

Kennedy III tweeted: 'If he holds a vote in 2020, we pack the court in 2021. It's that simple'

What is court packing? Court packing is the move to appoint extra justices to the Supreme Court. It is a move several Democrats have proposed if the party takes control of the Senate in order to increase the presence of liberal justices on the bench. Franklin D. Roosevelt made attempts to pack the court back in 1937 when the Republican president wanted to pass his New Deal laws and needed more conservative justices in the court to vote in favor of them. Roosevelt's attempts failed and he was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans for the move. However Democrats argue court packing will be necessary to rebalance the court if President Trump does not wait until after the presidential inauguration to appoint Justice Ginsburg's replacement. The issue in contention is that Republicans barred President Obama from appointing a justice in the election year in 2016. Many Democrats say this meant the seat - finally filled by a Trump nominee after he entered the White house - was 'stolen' by Republicans and that if Republicans now do the very same thing they banned Democrats from doing in 2016 by rushing through an appointment, Democrats will then be within their rights to rebalance the court. Advertisement

Their comments come as several Democrats have vowed the party will expand the size of the court if they capture the Senate in November and Republicans have already pushed through a conservative successor to Ginsburg.

Joe Kennedy III, who represents Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District and is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, tweeted Sunday: 'If he holds a vote in 2020, we pack the court in 2021. It's that simple.'

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler wrote on Twitter: 'If Sen. McConnell and @SenateGOP were to force through a nominee during the lame-duck session -- before a new Senate and President can take office - then the incoming Senate should immediately move to expand the Supreme Court.'

And Sen. Ed Markey tweeted Friday: 'Mitch McConnell set the precedent. No Supreme Court vacancies filled in an election year.

'If he violates it, when Democrats control the Senate in the next Congress, we must abolish the filibuster and expand the Supreme Court.'

Senator Elizabeth Warren, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris, as well as former Rep. Beto O'Rourke had already raised the possibility of adding as many as six seats to the nine-seat court, long before Ginberg's death.

While running as a Democrat presidential candidate against Biden, Buttigieg was one of the first to put the idea of a Supreme Court expansion back on the table last March.

He said he would restructure the Supreme Court, expanding it to 15 justices with five justices selected by the court itself through a unanimous vote in a move that would help 'de-politicize' it.

O'Rourke also called it 'an idea we should explore' at a campaign stop in Iowa around the same time.

'What if there were five justices selected by Democrats, five justices selected by Republicans and those 10 then pick five more justices independent of those who picked the first 10,' O'Rourke said.

'I think that's an idea we should explore.'

Several Democrats have threatened to pack the Supreme Court next year if Trump plows ahead and nominates a justice to full RBG's position

He also suggested putting term limits on justices rather than the current tenure until retirement or death.

'There's another idea of adding term limits on those justices so that there's a more regular rotation through there,' he said.

'We're a country of 320 million people. There's got to be the talent and the wisdom and the perspective and that court should be able to reflect the diversity that we are composed of.'

Harris, Biden's running mate, has also said she wouldn't rule out court packing in the past.

'We are on the verge of a crisis of confidence in the Supreme Court,' she said in March 2019.

'We have to take this challenge head on, and everything is on the table to do that.'

Warren said around the same time the focus should be on 'depoliticizing' the court and that adding more judges is 'a conversation that's worth having.'

Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden is yet to wade in on the fresh debate around packing the court since Ginsburg's death.

However, back in 2019, Biden spoke out against the practice.

'No, I'm not prepared to go on and try to pack the court, because we'll live to rue that day,' he told Iowa Starting Line in July 2019.

As long as the GOP holds a majority in the Senate, it's unlikely a Democratic president could add more justices.

Since 1869 nine justices have served on the nation's highest court.

However there is no set requirement on how many justices there should be in the Supreme Court, and Congress can change the number by passing an act signed by the president.

Democrats have argued Republicans set a standard in 2016 by preventing an appointment during an election year and so the standard must now be maintained

Packing the Supreme Court: For and against? For: Rep. Joe Kennedy III

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler

Sen. Ed Markey

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Mayor Pete Buttigieg

VP candidate Kamala Harris

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke Against: President Trump

Joe Biden

Sen. Bernie Sanders

Former Rep. John Delaney Advertisement

While there are nine now, George Washington had six and Abraham Lincoln had 10, for example.

That said, the concept of court packing is a controversial one.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to pack the court with 15 in 1937 after watching the high court deal setbacks to his New Deal initiatives.

He sought to expand the court to as many as 15 judges but many Republicans - as well as some Democrats - opposed his plan, slamming it as a move to enable him to appoint judges that would push through his laws.

The bill was unpopular and ultimately stalled.

Ginsburg herself also criticized the move prior to her death, telling NPR in an interview last year that it is a 'bad idea' and would 'make the court appear partisan'.

'Nine seems to be a good number. It's been that way for a long time,' she said.

'I think it was a bad idea when President Franklin Roosevelt tried to pack the court.'

'Well, if anything would make the court appear partisan, it would be that.

'One side saying, 'When we're in power, we're going to enlarge the number of judges, so we would have more people who will vote the way we want them to.''

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (pictured back in February) died Friday after a battle with cancer. Her dying wish was 'that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not spoken about the option of court packing bu has refused to rule out pushing forward a privileged impeachment resolution that would have the effect of eating up Senate floor time and potentially stall the nomination.

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' she told ABC's 'This Week' when asked about the prospect.

'This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election,' Pelosi continued.

'Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus.'

When pressed on the option of expanding the size of the court, Pelosi was less forthcoming.

'Well let's just win the election. Let's hope that the president will see the light,' Pelosi said.

The high court's chamber and Justice Ginsburg's seat was draped in black in tribute to the legal pioneer and champion of women's rights

Ginsburg's seat is draped in black. Several Democrats have vowed the party will expand the size of the court if they capture the Senate in November and Republicans have pushed through a conservative successor to Ginsburg

Nancy Pelosi and members of the public paid tribute to Ginsburg outside the Supreme Court. Pelosi on Sunday refused to rule out pushing forward a privileged impeachment resolution to stall the nomination of Ginsburg's successor

Franklin D. Roosevelt's failed attempt to pack the court The only other time court packing has been attempted was in 1937 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried and failed to make the major change to the Supreme Court. Roosevelt's plan was seen as a move to pass his unpopular New Deal laws. In 1935, the Supreme Court had struck down three of his New Deal laws. The House, Senate and White House were all Democrat-controlled but the court was led by 75-year-old Republican Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes and many of the older appointees voted down the laws, because included in one of them was a cut in Supreme Court pensions. When Roosevelt won a second term in 1936 and soon after he proposed a new bill called the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 to expand the bench from nine to 15 justices, saying there was a need for an 'infusion of new blood in the courts'. The addition of six justices coincided with the number of justices over the age of 70 currently serving on the court. Critics slammed the move, accusing Roosevelt of fixing the court with people likely to push through his laws. Both Republicans and Democrats - even Roosevelt's vice president John Nance Garner - were largely opposed to the plan and the bill to shake-up the court ultimately failed. However, by the end of his second term, three justices retired and two died, meaning Roosevelt was able to replace all five. Throughout his White House tenure, the president had appointed nine justcies to the court. President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried and failed to pack the Supreme Court in 1937 Advertisement

While court packing may be a divisive move, it comes as Democrats are scrambling to prevent Trump nominating Ginsburg's successor - something that would directly contradict the stance Republicans took back in 2016 when the shoe was on the other foot.

Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016 and then-President Barack Obama planned to appoint Merrick Garland to fill the position on the court.

Republicans refused to hold hearings or vote on a replacement until after a new president took office with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying: 'the American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.

'Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.'

The seat was not filled and two weeks after taking office Trump appointed his own choice Neil Gorsuch to the court instead.

In 2016, the position was empty nine months before the election, while Ginsburg's death comes just six weeks before the nation heads to the polls.

Democrats argue Republicans set a standard in 2016 by preventing an appointment during an election year and so the standard must now be maintained.

They say Republicans 'stole' the seat that should have been filled by Obama, and so Democrats would be within their rights to add more seats to reset the balance.

However, McConnell issued a statement Friday after news of Ginsburg's death broke that appeared to backtrack on his stance in 2016, saying Trump's nominee would be voted for by the Senate.

'President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the Unites States senate,' he said.

The next day, protesters gathered outside McConnell's home to demand he stop pushing forward with a new SCOTUS pick.

Several Democrats have said it would be hypocritical if the president filled Ginsburg's seat on the court before the election and have pointed out McConnell's aboutface on such a move.

'The Senate should not consider a Supreme Court nomination until after the presidential inauguration,' Senator Dianne Feinstein tweeted Sunday.

'Those aren't my words, they're the words of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham.'

Feinstein shared McConnell's pledge in 2016 to block the Democrats from appointing a new justice and also quoted comments made by Graham in 2018.

'If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump's term, and the primary process has started, we'll wait till the next election,' Graham said back in October 2018.

Obama on Friday penned a Medium blog paying tribute to Ginsburg and insisting Trump must not appoint a new justice until after the election because the Republicans refused to allow him to do the same thing back in 2016.

'Four and a half years ago, when Republicans refused to hold a hearing or an up-or-down vote on Merrick Garland, they invented the principle that the Senate shouldn't fill an open seat on the Supreme Court before a new president was sworn in,' he wrote.

'A basic principle of the law  and of everyday fairness  is that we apply rules with consistency, and not based on what's convenient or advantageous in the moment... As votes are already being cast in this election, Republican Senators are now called to apply that standard.'

Trump announced Saturday night that his Supreme Court nominee will be a woman, spotlighting two conservative women as his potential pick.

During a campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump declared 'I will be putting forth a nominee this week, it will be a woman', later adding his pick would be a 'very talented, very brilliant woman' because 'I like women more than I like men'.

As he left the White House for the rally, the president identified two women as front runners: Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees.

Who is Barbara Lagoa? Barbara Lagoa , 52, was named by Trump as one of his potential nominees to the Supreme Court. A Cuban American who parents fled to the U.S., Lagoa was born in Miami in 1967. She grew up in the largely Cuban American city of Hialeah. According to the Tampa Bay Times, her parents fled Cuba over five decades ago when Fidel Castro's Communist dictatorship took over. During the 2019 news conference in Miami announcing her appointment to the Supreme Court, she told the crowd that her father had to give up his 'dream of becoming a lawyer' because of Castro. If nominated to the nation's high court by Trump and confirmed by the Senate, the mother of three daughters would be the second Latino justice to ever serve. She served on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for less than a year after being appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate on an 80-15 vote Prior to that she also spent less than a year in her previous position as the first Latina and Cuban American to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. Lagoa is considered a protege of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a close Trump ally. Her position in crucial swing state Florida could help Trump politically. Last week, she voted in the majority in a ruling that barred hundreds of thousands of Florida felons who have served their time from voting unless they pay fees and fines owed to the state. This decision could have a major impact on the presidential race as Florida is often won by a candidate by only razor-thin margins. 'Florida's felon re-enfranchisement scheme is constitutional,' Lagoa wrote in a 20-page concurrence, according to USA Today. 'It falls to the citizens of the state of Florida and their elected state legislators, not to federal judges, to make any additional changes to it.' In 2000 Lagoa was one of a dozen mostly pro bono lawyers who represented the Miami family of Elian Gonzalez, a Cuban citizen who became embroiled in a heated international custody and immigration controversy. In 2016 while in the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, she wrote an opinion reversing the conviction of Adonis Losada, a former Univision comic actor sentenced to 153 years in prison for collecting child porn. She ruled that a Miami-Dade judge erred in not allowing Losada to defend himself at trial. That same month she became unpopular with free press advocates when she was one of three judges who allowed a Miami judge to close a courtroom to the public for a key hearing in a high-profile murder case. They ruled that publicity surrounding the machete murder of a student in Homestead might unfairly sway jurors at a future trial. Lagoa is a graduate of Florida International University and Columbia University Law. She is is a member of the conservative Federalist Society, which stresses that judges should 'say what the law is, not what it should be.' She is married to lawyer Paul C. Huck Jr., and her father-in-law is United States District Judge Paul Huck. Advertisement
Harris has been held for the past four days at the MCC in downtown Chicago  a facility that was put on lockdown for months to try to curtail the spread of the coronavirus among inmates and staff. Seven inmates at the Loop jail have tested positive for the disease, while 126 others have since recovered from it, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. There have been no COVID-19-related deaths reported at the MCC.
The government announced the details of its five level Living with Covid plan last week.

As most of the details had been reported over the course of the previous days, there were no surprises.

The so-called wet pubs in Dublin will not be opening on September 21, a huge blow to the sector in the city, but also a nod to the fact that Dublin has seen a surge in Covid-19 cases with over 1,000 confirmed in the past fortnight.

At the moment, the entire country remains at Level 2 status but higher levels will be used to deal with greater incidences of the disease as the weeks and months progress.

We are at a critical period in this pandemic. Six months after the initial lockdown and lives have been changed utterly. Over 1,700 lives have been lost. But a weariness has set in, a sense of exhaustion is taking over, and the government is facing an uphill battle to convince people to stay on track for the greater good.

But increasingly, the government is the focus of a lot of anger and frustration and the internal wranglings of the three party coalition, especially Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, arent helping matters.

It was stated last week that daily NPHET briefings are scaring people. The Acting Chief Medical Officer outlining the facts of the day is a lot less scary than spending three weeks on a ventilator. Or worse.

Just two days ago, the Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said he was optimistic that Ireland could begin vaccinating against Covid in early 2021. The Dept of Health quickly dismissed this statement.

If politicians really want to keep the public on message, they are going to have to adopt an approach that is a bit alien to them.

Step back and let someone else do the talking.

It is time for the politicians, even those with medical backgrounds, to accept that people have more faith in the experts.

The renewed respect for knowledge and expertise has been one of the few silver linings of this crisis so let's keep the experts to the forefront.

Let us hear the daily figures every day, for now, to ensure that Covid remains foremost in the public mind every time one of us steps out the door.

Let's treat the public with respect by giving them as much information as possible, not less. There is a time and a place of politicking - and it's not now.
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The Czech government moved Monday to appoint an epidemiologist as the new health minister as the country struggles with a surge of new coronavirus infections.

The outgoing minister, Adam Vojtech, resigned from his post on Monday, saying his departure was meant to create space for a possible different approach to the pandemic.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis, in announcing Prymulas selection, said it was a moment for crisis management.

President Milos Zeman said he planned to swear in epidemiologist Roman Prymula to the post later Monday.

As deputy health minister, Prymula led the governments response to the coronavirus pandemic for a time in the spring.

The country recorded a relatively low number of COVID-19 cases and deaths then compared to hard-hit western European countries such as Italy, Spain and Britain.

Prymula later assumed a different post, as a government health care envoy.

After the government lifted most of its restrictions in the summer, the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases began to gradually grow and reached a record high last week.

On Thursday, the day-to-day increase of new cases was higher than 3,000, almost the same number as it was in the entire month of March.

Prymula said on the weekend that the loosening of restrictions was carried out too quickly. He estimated that the country could see 8,000 new daily infections if strict new restrictions are not applied.

The Czech Republic has had a total of 49,290 confirmed cases and 503 deaths in a population of nearly 11 million people.

Babis said he was sorry about Vojtechs resignation, calling the outgoing minister the best the country ever had. But a month ago, when coronavirus infections were growing, Babis opposed a health ministry plan presented by Vojtech to introduce restrictive measures to contain the surge, including mandatory face masks at schools and elsewhere.

Its time for us all to co-operate, to do our maximum to end the spike, Babis said Monday.
Canary Wharf - Daniel Borg/Moment RF

British banks have been accused of enabling fraudsters, criminals and money-launderers, following a leak of secret files.

A cache of more than 2,000 suspicious activity reports (SARs)  those filed to the authorities by banks who suspect wrongdoing  reportedly contains allegations that a number of major UK lenders allowed dirty money to flow through their accounts.

Over 100 global organisations reported on the so-called FinCEN Files, which were obtained by BuzzFeed News and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Allegations in the consortiums reporting include that HSBC allowed money from a Ponzi scheme to be transferred around the world and that a close associate of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, may have used Barclays to launder money and avoid sanctions.

The SARs contained in the leak cover more than $2 trillion (1.5 trillion) worth of transactions, conducted between 1999 and 2007.

NEW: Together with @buzzfeednews and 108 other media organizations we reveal the #FinCENFiles  our latest cross-border investigation.



Using super secretive bank documents and months of reporting, we expose how banks fail to stop dirty money flows. https://t.co/hBG1poGsho  ICIJ (@ICIJorg) September 20, 2020

Produced by banks compliance officers, the reports are not evidence of wrongdoing, but are aimed at alerting authorities to potentially suspicious transactions. However, lenders are supposed to block transactions if they have evidence of criminal activity.

The ICIJs Fergus Shiel said the report showed that money for drug cartels, corrupt regimes, arms traffickers and other international criminals continued to be moved around, and how a broken US-led enforcement system perpetuates business as usual.

Story continues

HSBC said it does not comment on suspicious activity reporting. Responding to the allegations, the lender said it embarked on a multi-year journey to overhaul its ability to combat financial crime from 2012 onwards. It added: HSBC is a much safer institution than it was in 2012.

Further reporting said that Barclays began an internal investigation into accounts it suspected were linked to oligarch Arkady Rotenberg and his brother Boris, close friends of Mr Putin, who are subject to US sanctions aimed at freezing them out of the Western financial system.

In a statement, Barclays said we believe that we have complied with all our legal and regulatory obligations, including in relation to US sanctions.

BuzzFeed also reported that the Financial Conduct Authority accused Deutsche Bank in a 2016 letter of being willing to take on very profitable clients, regardless of financial crime risks. The City watchdog went on to exonerate Deutsches senior management.

Deutsche Bank said the ICIJ has reported on a number of historic issues. The issues have already been investigated and led to regulatory resolutions in which the banks cooperation and remediation was publicly recognised, it said in a statement. Where necessary and appropriate, consequence management was applied.

It added: SARs are alerts of potential issues, not proven facts.
Lok Sabha passes bills to empower farmers in direct marketing

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.

Farmers will now have freedom for direct marketing of their produce and realise better prices. Government will also continue its minimum support price (MSP) procurement scheme, union minister of agriculture and farmers welfare Narendra Singh Tomar said.

The reforms will accelerate agricultural growth through private sector investment in building agricultural infrastructure and supply chains for Indian farm produce in national and global markets, create employment opportunities and strengthen the economy, he said.

Two bills aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers income were passed by Lok Sabha.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were introduced in Lok Sabha on 14th September 2020, to replace ordinances promulgated on 5 June 2020.

Replying to the discussion on the bills, Tomar said the government is fully committed to the welfare of `Gaon-Garib-Kisan. He reassured emphatically that while farmers will now be freed from the restrictions of having to sell their produce at designated places only, the procurement at Minimum Support Price will continue and mandis established under state laws will also continue to operate.

The union agriculture minister said these legislations will bring about revolutionary transformation and transparency in the agriculture sector, electronic trading will increase, there will be accelerated agricultural growth as private investment will be attracted in building supply chains and agricultural infrastructure, new employment opportunities will be created and rural economy will get a boost, which will in turn help to strengthen the national economy.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks to provide for the creation of an ecosystem where the farmers and traders enjoy the freedom of choice relating to sale and purchase of farmers' produce, which facilitates remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels to promote efficient, transparent and barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce of farmers' produce outside physical premises of markets or deemed markets notified under various state agricultural produce market legislations; to provide a facilitative framework for electronic trading and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Farmers in India suffered from various restrictions in marketing their produce. There were restrictions for farmers in selling agri-produce outside the notified APMC market yards. They were also restricted to sell the produce only to registered licensees of the state governments. Further, barriers existed in free flow of agriculture produce between various states owing to the prevalence of various APMC legislations enacted by the state governments.

The new legislation will create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce. It will also promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets notified under state Agricultural Produce Marketing legislations. This is a historic-step in unlocking the vastly regulated agriculture markets in the country.

It will open more choices for the farmer, reduce marketing costs for the farmers and help them in getting better prices. It will also help farmers of regions with surplus produce to get better prices and consumers of regions with shortages, lower prices. The bill also proposes an electronic trading in transaction platform for ensuring a seamless trade electronically.

The farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce under this Act. Further there will be a separate dispute resolution mechanism for the farmers.

The bill basically aims at creating additional trading opportunities outside the APMC market yards to help farmers get remunerative prices due to additional competition. This will supplement the existing MSP procurement system which is providing stable income to farmers.

It will also pave way for creating `One India, One Agriculture Market and will lay the foundation for ensuring golden harvests for farmers.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 seeks to provide for a national framework on farming agreements that protects and empowers farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for farm services and sale of future farming produce at a mutually agreed remunerative price framework in a fair and transparent manner and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Indian agriculture is characterised by fragmentation due to small holding sizes and has certain weaknesses such as weather dependence, production uncertainties and market unpredictability. This makes agriculture risky and inefficient in respect of both input and output management.

The new legislation will empower farmers for engaging with processors, wholesalers, aggregators, wholesalers, large retailers, exporters etc, on a level playing field without any fear of exploitation. It will transfer the risk of market unpredictability from the farmer to the sponsor and also enable the farmer to access modern technology and better inputs. It will reduce cost of marketing and improve income of farmers.

This legislation will also act as a catalyst in attracting private sector investment for building supply chains for supply of Indian farm produce to national and global markets, and in agricultural infrastructure. Farmers will get access to technology and advice for high value agriculture and get ready market for such produce.

Farmers will engage in direct marketing thereby eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realisation of price. Farmers have been provided adequate protection. Sale, lease or mortgage of farmers land is totally prohibited and farmers land is also protected against any recovery. Effective dispute resolution mechanism has been provided for with clear time lines for redressal.
A man has been charged in relation to 62 child sex offences, stretching over a nearly two-decade span.

Police say the 43-year-old, from Rosemeadow in Sydney's south-west, had been under investigation since early 2018 following reports that several children and a woman were sexually assaulted between 1995 and 2012.

Detectives arrest a 43-year-old man at a home in Rosemeadow on Monday. Credit:NSW Police

The man was arrested at 8.45am on Monday and taken to Campbelltown police station, where he was charged with a string of offences, including 17 counts of indecent assault with a victim under 10, and 20 counts of sexual intercourse with a victim under 10.

He was also charged with one count of rape, seven counts of aggravated sexual assault with a victim under 16 and several other offences.
A Garda investigation has been launched into a street party near the Oliver Bond flat complex in Dublin City Centre.

Gardai are investigating whether the organisers of the event breached Covid-19 restrictions on outdoor gathering.

An investigation is also underway into the possibility that drug dealing was taking place at the party which took place on Saturday evening  the same day new restrictions came into place in Dublin.

Scenes from the party have sparked outrage among Dubliners who have to endure new restrictions for the next three weeks.

The video footage shows around 100 people dancing while music is played by a DJ performing under a marquee.

There was confusion last night when gardai suggested they were not investigating the incident.

Read More

However, it has been now clarified they are investigating the organisers of the event rather than those in attendance.

There are no laws for gardai to enforce regarding attendance at a party deemed to be outside the newly announced Covid regulations for the capital.

Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney who represents Dublin South Central said such scenes are absolutely unacceptable and called for more Garda intervention.

"We require more high visibility Garda patrols in areas where required and prosecutions where warranted, Ms Seery Kearney said.

The prevention of uncontrolled gatherings such as this event has to become a priority for authorities and Government if required."

"We are in a fight to protect the health of everyone across Dublin and our country. These events cannot take place."

"Otherwise, the efforts and sacrifices by all others will be completely demeaned by the tiny minority, she added.

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said community leaderships should take ownership of the problem and intervene to education younger people of the dangers of their parties.

Politicians and people involved in sport and other community activities need to take responsibility for whats going on in their communities, Mr Gannon said.

The guards can only do so much in seeking out the ring leaders. But community leaders such as myself, and I should be doing more myself, cant absolve ourselves and blame the government, he added.

Green Party TD Patrick Costello said he would like to see community policing increased in inner city communities.

The community guards are well trained and very different from the public order unit, Mr Costello said.

They know everyone in the community and they know who to engage with when these incidents occur. You can be sure there are people in these complexes who werent happy with the parties taking place, he added.
ALBANY, N.Y.  A Watervliet man was sentenced to 180 months in prison for sexually exploiting a child.

In pleading guilty, Aaron Vroman admitted that, on at least four occasions, he secretly video-recorded a minor using the bathroom for the purposes of obtaining sexually explicit images of the victims genitals.

Vroman also admitted that he touched that same victims genital area over the victims underwear while the victim was sleeping and that he video-recorded that conduct. Vroman also possessed images of child pornography on his laptop computer that did not involve the victim and that he obtained via the internet, including videos depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of pre-pubescent girls.

Senior United States District Judge Norman A. Mordue also imposed a 25-year term of supervised release, which will start after Vroman is released from prison. As a result of his conviction, Vroman will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
Imperial Valley News Center

Former California EDD Employee Sentenced for Disability Benefits Fraud and Identity Theft

Sacramento, California - Katherine Decker, 49, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to three years and seven months in prison for a disability benefits fraud and identity theft scheme, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, between June 14, 2013, and May 1, 2017, Decker and codefendant Angela Stubblefield, 49, of Tacoma, Washington, formerly of Martinez, participated in a scheme to defraud the State of California by filing fraudulent claims for disability insurance benefits with the California Employment Development Department (EDD). In furtherance of the scheme, Decker and Stubblefield used Deckers position as an employee with the EDD to file fraudulent claims for disability benefits and to fraudulently extend existing disability claims, using the names and identities of real persons with and without their knowledge. In total, the conspiracy resulted in 15 fraudulent disability claims, resulting in a loss to the EDD of approximately $373,566.

This case is the product of an investigation by EDDs Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shea J. Kenny and Amy S. Hitchcock are prosecuting the case.

On Feb. 10, Decker and Stubblefield pleaded guilty to the fraud scheme. Stubblefield is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Mueller on Nov. 9. A hearing to determine the restitution amount is also scheduled for Nov. 9.
Atletico Madrid have been working on an agreement with Luis Suarez to sign the 33-year-old striker on a free transfer.

If it comes to fruition, the Uruguay international would earn around nine million euros per season for the next two campaigns.

While Atletico Madrid are insisting that they have not yet finalised an agreement, the reality is that Suarez is very close to joining Los Rojiblancos.

As RAC1 reported on Monday morning, the Uruguayan will officially part ways with Barcelona soon, rescinding his contract that was supposed to go on until 2021.

For the move to the capital to become reality, Alvaro Morata's loan to Juventus will have to be confirmed so that Atleti can make space in their salary cap.

Diego Simeone has played a key role in Atletico's interest in Suarez, pushing for the move once the player was informed by Ronald Koeman that he is not part of Barcelona's plans for the 2020/21 campaign.
The Stroud Area Regional Police Department is looking for information that could lead to the person or people responsible for shooting two men Sunday.

Police found the gunshot victims around 4 a.m. Sunday in the 600 block of Main Street. One adult male was shot in the lower back, according to a news release. Another was shot in the right bicep and right ankle, police said. Police applied a tourniquet to the victims arm, the release says. The injuries were not life threatening, the release says.

The release says the gunshot victims are New Jersey residents but does not identify them. The shooting is believed to be an isolated incident.

Anyone with information about the incident should call Stroud Area Regional Police Detective Robert Transue at 570-421-6800 ext. 1027 or email him at rtransue@sarpd.com.

The Pennsylvania State Police, Pocono Township Police, East Stroudsburg University Police and Suburban Ambulance assisted with the incident.

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Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. If theres anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
New Delhi, Sep 22 : The Lok Sabha in a midnight proceeding on Tuesday passed Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

These Bills were moved for passage after the House passed the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020 that seeks to bring a law that punishes those who attack health workers or doctors who are fighting the coronavirus outbreak or during any situation similar to the current Covid-19 pandemic.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan moved these Bills for passage in the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Lok Sabha which on Monday started at 3 p.m. and ended at 12.24 a.m. on Tuesday -- the second consecutive day in a row of this session in a hurry to pass maximum important Bills brought by the Central government.

The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on September 18, seeks amendment to the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. It will replace the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 promulgated by the President on April 24 this year.

Harsh Vardhan later moved the Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020 for its passage. The Bill seeks to amend the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, as passed by Rajya Sabha.

It will replace the Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which was promulgated by the President on April 24 this year.

Both the Bills were passed around 12.20 a.m. on Tuesday after a short debate among a few Members of Parliament (MPs) followed by Harsh Vardhan's concluding remark.
Are you a member of Gen Z who has had your finances or career affected by Covid-19? If you are willing to share your story, email money reporter Alicia Adamczyk at alicia.adamczyk@nbcuni.com. As the coronavirus pandemic upended life in the U.S. and across the world over the past six months, economists have credited the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act, with keeping many American families, and the economy at large, afloat. The record $2 trillion bill provided hundreds of billions of dollars in extra food aid, enhanced unemployment benefits and stimulus checks for workers and their families, including expanding unemployment insurance to millions of workers who previously would not have qualified. It also provided loans to small businesses struggling during lockdown orders and kept some workers on payrolls. The results: Americans set an all-time-high savings rate in April. And though a record number of Americans were out of work, poverty actually decreased slightly compared to 2019, thanks to the CARES Act's generous safety-net provisions. In fact, the Federal Reserve reported Friday that "extraordinary governmental measures in response to the pandemic seemed to have eased families' financial strain." Americans' financial well-being was higher in many ways  more adults reported being able to pay all of their bills and pay for an unexpected $400 emergency, among other aspects  in July than it was in April, before the relief efforts from the CARES Act were in place. "A substantial number of families received one or more forms of financial assistance," including from the government or from a charity, the report reads. "The effects of these programs were apparent in people's overall financial well-being and ability to cover expenses."

Congress is at an impasse
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A woman who poisoned her partner with a deadly cocktail of morphine, valium and tramadol to claim his $300,000 estate has been jailed for at least 25 years.

Wendie-Sue Dent, 62, was handed the lengthy sentence in the Supreme Court of South Australia on Monday for her shocking murder of her lover David Lawrence.

She had been found guilty in April of murdering her de facto husband inside his Morphett Vale home, south of Adelaide, in December 2015.

The conviction was handed down despite Dent repeatedly denying the charges.

The prosecution alleged Dent, who lived at Dapto in NSW's Illawarra region before her arrest, administered Mr Lawrence a mixture of serious medications - including 20 doses of morphine.

Wendie-Sue Dent, 62, was handed the lengthy sentence at the Supreme Court of South Australia on Monday

She had been found guilty in April of murdering her de facto husband David Lawrence at his Morphett Vale home, south of Adelaide, in December 2015

A post-mortem examination revealed the toxic levels of morphine alone were enough to kill the 62-year-old.

The prosecution also accused Dent of faking Mr Lawrence's will.

In sentencing on Monday, Justice Tim Stanley said she had exploited her victim's love for her own financial benefit.

'Mr Lawrence was besotted with you,' he told Dent.

'Ultimately you killed him for your own financial gain.'

The judge said Dent had preyed on his kindness and generosity and had compounded the hurt caused to the family by continuing to pursue his money.

He rejected suggestions she had acted in a 'self-induced intoxication' of opiates that had clouded her judgment.

'I am not in a position to make a finding as to whether you administered the fatal cocktail or you induced Mr Lawrence to do so, but it makes no difference to your culpability for his death,' the judge said.

'Not only did you not demonstrate any contrition or remorse for your crime, but you have compounded the grief and suffering of Mr Lawrence's siblings by the continued pursuit of Mr Lawrence's money.

'Your actions demonstrate your determination to pursue the plan to enrich yourself through his murder.'

The judge said Dent had preyed on David Lawrence's kindness and generosity and had compounded the hurt caused to the family by continuing to pursue his money

The judge imposed the mandatory head sentence of life in jail but set a non-parole period of 25 years

The judge imposed the mandatory head sentence of life in jail but set a non-parole period of 25 years, meaning she will not be eligible for parole until 2042.

Outside court, Mr Lawrence's nephew Blake Lawrence said the family was pleased with the 25-year sentence which meant Dent was likely to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

'She exploited David. He was a kind, loving, gentle person and she took advantage of that for her own greed,' he said.

'She's a callous, remorseless individual. We're glad to see her stay behind bars.'

Dent has launched an appeal against her conviction, arguing the guilty verdict was unsafe and unsatisfactory based on the evidence at her trial, including her love for Mr Lawrence and his love for her.

She said the prosecution had also not properly discounted the possibility that his death was an accident.

The appeal court will rule on a date to be fixed.
APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz.  A man has been arrested after a 68-year-old woman was fatally attacked while walking to her car outside an apartment complex.

They said 30-year-old Jay Hungerford is being held in the Pinal County jail on suspicion of second-degree murder and aggravated assault.

It was unclear Sunday if he had a lawyer yet.

Police said Hungerford and Joan Sirhan had no prior contact before what appears to be an unprovoked attack.

They said Sirhan visited her daughter and grandchildren and was headed home about 5:30 p.m. Thursday when she was attacked.

Officers found Sirhan lying on the ground unconscious with extensive injuries to her face and head. She later was pronounced dead at a hospital.

While police were at the apartment complex, they were able to identify Hungerford as a suspect.

They said the case remains under investigation.
HARVESTPLUS VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

POSITION: PROJECT MANAGER

LOCATION: INERAKINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC)

SUPERVISED BY: AFRICA REGIONAL DIRECTOR

POSTING DATE: September 16, 2020

CLOSING DATE: September 23, 2020

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Background

HarvestPlus improves nutrition and public health by developing and promoting biofortified food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals and providing global leadership on biofortification evidence and technology. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by its 15 research centers in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. HarvestPlus is based at the International Food Policy Research Institute

(IFPRI) and collaborates with multiple CGIAR centers and partner organizations. This position will be based in DRC and recruited through the CGIAR Bioversity and CIAT Alliance.

Position Summary

HarvestPlus is seeking a Project Manager for an anticipated World Bank Multisectoral Child Nutrition and Health Project (PMNS) project in DRC.

The recruitment of this position is contingent on the award of the project.

The Project Manager will have overall responsibility for managing the technical assistance that will be offered to the DRC government. This first phase of the project will scale up the Nutrition a Assise Communautaire (NAC) model in four high-malnutrition-burden provinces. It will also improve the supply of key nutrition-specific services as well as family planning services delivered through the health sector and pilot a limited set of nutrition-sensitive interventions in agriculture, social protection, and education. The objective of this phase is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the NAC platform and the complementary services as the national model to address child malnutrition. The HarvestPlus Technical Assistance is to lay the foundation for biofortified staple crops to replace their non biofortified counterparts across the DRC.

HarvestPlus technical assistance will focus on strengthening the institutional, technical and operational capacity of agricultural public services, at national, provincial and territorial levels, with respect to integration of biofortification into nutrition smart agricultural plans, projects, programs and investments that constitute development of agricultural sector. This will facilitate the wide, sustainable adoption of bio fortified staple food varieties by farmers and the integration of biofortified food products into the food value chain.

Duties & Responsibilities

Build a strong partnership with government line Ministries in DRC, particularly agriculture and health.

Foster a strong partnership with the World Bank technical staff engaged in the management of the government loan.

Create a project environment, which supports high quality implementation of the project, as well as positive working relationships with country counterparts, partners, project staff, and donors.

Provide technical leadership in the implementation of the project. Technical expertise will be required in agriculture, nutrition, markets, supply chains, and social and behavior change design and implementation.

Oversee and supervises several of the following functions: government and World Bank reporting, operations and finance; procurement, grants, and subcontracts; communications; and Monitoring and Evaluation.

Oversee development and ongoing management of annual work plans and other reports, including quarterly reports and other updates

Monitor operational standards and procedures to ensure compliance with HarvestPlus internal controls, The Ministry of Health of the

Government of DRC and World Bank rules and regulations; seek efficiencies to improve systems to enhance and accelerate the implementation of technical activities.

Review documentation associated with recruitment, procurement, grants, subcontracts, and financial transactions to ensure that operations are in full compliance with all applicable rules and regulations

Ensure local expenditures and financial reports are consistent with HarvestPlus standards; provides financial reports to the World Bank and Ministry of Health of DRC.

Provides guidance and mentorship to all staff based on best practices and HarvestPlus values.

Foster regular communication within HarvestPlus, and with in-country partners, providing senior management support to country operations as required

Manage project deliverables like weekly, quarterly, and annual reports; annual work plans; plan, organize, and facilitate all staff workshops.

Represents the project to the World Bank, Government of DRC and the donor community while proactively communicating progress, achievements, and challenges.

Supervise project staff.

Criteria for Success

Must possess strong project management experience and skills

Must possess strong people management skills

Must be able to work independently with minimal supervision

Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills

Willingness to travel extensively

Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.

Requirements

Advanced degree in either nutrition, agriculture, markets, social and behavior change or related field.

At least 10 years experience managing and implementing international projects, specifically with experience in nutrition-sensitive agriculture and at least one of the following behavior change, food systems, markets, supply chains, or private sector engagement.

Professional experience working in partnership with international donors and agencies, host country governments, partners, the private sector, and other relevant stakeholders.

Proven skills in group facilitation, team building and coordination.

Demonstrated ability to manage multiple activities simultaneously and work in a complex environment with team members physically located

in different time zones and geographic areas around the world.

Results oriented and able to produce high quality work under deadline.

Excellent verbal and written communications skills and the ability to organize and present information in a compelling way.

Experience working in Francophone Africa is required. Familiarity with The Democratic Republic of Congo is strongly preferred

Fluency in spoken and written French and English required

TO APPLY

Please email a cover letter and updated resume/CV by September 23, 2020 to: HarvestPlusCV@cgiar.org. HarvestPlus will contact finalists.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 23:20:02|Editor: huaxia

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PRAGUE, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Czech epidemiologist and deputy health minister Roman Prymula was appointed on Monday as the country's new minister of health, according to the office of President Milos Zeman.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who nominated Prymula, expects crisis management to be the core of his program as health minister, including ensuring the proper capacity of hospitals. Prymula will take up his new post on Tuesday.

The government also wants to improve communication over virus-related restrictions, which was a major source of criticism for his predecessor.

Prymula's appointment follows the resignation Monday morning of Health Minister Adam Vojtech, who left the office to "create space for a solution" to the country's spiraling COVID-19 caseload.

Vojtech had faced pressure from the opposition to resign over his management of the epidemiological situation in the country.

Latest figures from the Czech Ministry of Health showed that the country with a population of close to 10.7 million people, has so far registered a total of 49,290 COVID-19 cases, and 503 deaths.

Last Wednesday alone saw 2,137 new confirmed cases in the Czech Republic, the highest daily count and the first time the single-day figure had exceeded 2,000, according to data from the Ministry of Health. Enditem
(Independent)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor on Monday to explain why hell hold a vote on Donald Trumps pending nomination to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, even though he opposed voting on Barack Obamas nomination to the court in similar circumstances in 2016.

Mr McConnell differentiated Mr Obamas 2016 selection of DC Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland to replace Justice Antonin Scalia from Mr Trumps 2020 pick by saying there was divided government in 2016, whereas Republicans control both the Senate and the White House now.

Mr Obama was asking for "an unusual favor" for an opposite party-controlled Senate to confirm his Supreme Court pick in an election year, Mr McConnell said on Monday.

The Kentucky Republican, who is also up for re-election this November, vowed to hold a vote on Mr Trumps nomination before the end of the year.

President Trump's nominee for the vacancy will receive a vote on the floor of the Senate, he said.

"The Senate has more than sufficient time to process the nomination" before the 3 November elections, Mr McConnell said, although he did not commit to holding a vote before then.

The Senate could also vote on Mr Trumps nominee in the lame-duck session after the election.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership is busy considering names of possible candidates for the eight assembly seats in the state, bypolls to which are likely to be held soon.

The party is also planning a high voltage campaign in these by-poll seats with chief minister Yogi Adityanath expected to be the lead campaigner along with other ministers and BJP functionaries, party leaders said.

On Sunday, CM Yogi held a meeting with state BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh at the formers residence after which ministers were tasked with responsibility for seats due for by-polls.

As soon as the by-polls are announced, the chief minister would be canvassing for party in all 8 seats, a BJP leader said, adding that several ministers would also campaign for the party.

It would be a high voltage campaign, the party leader said, adding that no decision had yet been taken on conceding ally Nishad Partys demand to let it contest the Jaunpur seat as part of an alliance.

Also read: Autocratic mindset - Mamata Banerjee fumes at suspension of 8 MPs

Moreover, in a departure from its usual policy of not contesting by-polls, the Bahujan Samaj Party has decided to field candidates this time.

The Congress too is holding meetings to finalise candidates as this would be the first electoral exercise in Uttar Pradesh after Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had been given full-fledged responsibility of the state.

The main opposition Samajwadi Party, which held two of the eight by-poll seats  Malhani in Jaunpur and Suar in Rampur - is also desperate to make an impression in these mini-polls.

Of the two seats, the BJP is eyeing Suar seat which is considered a bastion of Samajwadi Partys Rampur MP Azam Khan. The seat was won by Azams son Abdullah in 2017 UP polls but his subsequent disqualification paved the way for by-poll.

Azam, who has a string of cases filed against him since 2017, is currently in jail along with his lawmaker wife Tazeen Fatima and Abdullah Azam.

The BJP has decided to task states law minister Brajesh Pathak and party lawmaker Vijay Kashyap with the responsibility of Suar seat while it has given its backward classes welfare minister Anil Rajbhar the responsibility of Malhani seat in Jaunpur.

Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has been made in-charge of Ghatampur assembly seat while the other deputy CM Dinesh Sharma has been asked to look after Firozabads Tundla seat.

Adityanath, after assessing the party strengths, said at the meeting with BJP leaders that the opposition was divided and desperate.

The CM laid stress on continuing the public outreach initiatives that the BJP has rolled out to help the poor and the needy during the pandemic. He specifically said the environment was favourable for the BJP though he also warned against getting complacent, a party leader said.

For the 6 bypoll-due seats held by the BJP, the party has named ministers Laxminarayan Chaudhary and Baldev Aulakh for Amroha; Ashok Kataria, Suresh Rana and Kapil Dev Agarwal for Bulandshahr. Surya Pratap Shahi and Satish Dwivedi would look after Deoria while Mahendra Singh and Suresh Pasi would look after Bangarmau seat.
A doctor who contracted Covid-19 treating stricken patients at a Texas hospital has died after a two-month battle with the virus.

Dr Adeline Fagan became infected as she did a coronavirus rotation in the ER and died over the weekend after suffering a massive brain bleed.

Dr Fagan, 28, fell ill in early July and quarantined at home for a week after testing positive for Covid-19.

But her family say that her condition worsened and she began to fall over and her lips turned blue, a sign of lack of oxygen, according to Syracuse.com

Dr Fagan, who worked in obstetrics and gynaecology in Houston, was admitted as a patient as her condition deteriorated.

Doctors tried to give her an experimental drug and placed her onto life-support with an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine.

Before we could see if this new drug was effective, her lungs could no longer support her, her family wrote on her GoFundeMe page.

Dr Fagan spent several weeks in intensive care on a ventilator before suffering a massive brain bleed and doctors said she would need emergency surgery.

The doctor said they have seen this type of event in COVID patients that spend time on ECMO, they added.

Her family say she was only given a 1 in a million chance of surviving the procedure, but Dr Fagan died before it could be performed.

We spent the remaining minutes hugging, comforting, and talking to Adeline. And then the world stopped, they wrote on Facebook.

Dr Fagan was originally from Syracuse, New York, and was in the second year of her residency.

We want to sincerely thank all who supported Adeline and us through this difficult time, her father Brant Fagan wrote in a CaringBridge post.

You were all there cheering and praying and crying. The numbers of well wishes and caring people humbles us.

Even in this darkest of times, there are good people willing to share a piece of themselves for the sake of another.

If you can do one thing, be an Adeline in the world.

Be passionate about helping others less fortunate, have a smile on your face, a laugh in your heart, and a Disney tune on your lips.
By Ayya Lmahamad

As many education institutions in the country have switched to online format due to COVID-19, Azerbaijans Ministry of Transport, Communication and High Technology is providing equipment to orphanages to ensure that children receive online education.

The ministry recently provided laptops to orphanage No.1 in Baku. Moreover, internet-providing company Baktelecom LLC started the corresponding work to provide the orphanage with high-speed internet.

Earlier, the ministry presented the children from orphanage No.1 with computers. The ministry jointly with members of the public association on support of families of martyrs Zafar presented tablets and school accessories to pupils who couldnt access distance classes due to absence of the computers and internet in the place of residence. Additionally, Aztelecom LLC laid a telephone communication line in the homes of students.

Kindergartens, schools and universities across the country were shut down since March 3 as part of the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

New academic year started in Azerbaijan on September 15, with Cabinet of Ministers approving temporary rules for the work of educational institutions.

Thus, primary school pupils attending 1-4 classes started school from September 15 with classes being held 2-3 days per week.

Pupils of the fifth to ninth grades will start school from October 1 while attending online classes from September 1 till October 1.

As for the senior classes, they will go to school from October 15 and till that time study remotely.

The classes for all pupils might be resumed in full as of November 2 if the epidemiological situation shows positive dynamics.

Additionally, it is planned to start preschool groups again with classes held 2 times a week from October 1.

As to higher educational institutions, university students will continue studying on online basis. However, 1st year students of Bachelor programs will go to the universities for orientation as of October 1. In addition, the education process will start at the full-time base for some specialties such as medicine, engineering and so on, as of October 15.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
" " Scent dogs like bloodhounds have super long ears that act as catchers mitts, scooping up invisible scent particles on the trail and sweeping them towards the nose. Tom William /Getty images

When convicts Richard Matt and David Sweat decided to pull a "Shawshank Redemption" in 2015 and tunnel out of the Clinton County Correctional Facility in upstate New York, a 2-year-old bloodhound named Ginney was hot on their trail.

Working with James Pendolino from the Rensselaer County, N.Y. Search and Rescue team, Ginney and a number of other canines used their noses during the June manhunt to scour the vast Adirondack region hoping to pick up the escapees' scent. "They never make a sound on the trail," Pendolino said of bloodhounds in an interview with an Albany, New York, television station. "All this loose skin helps hold the scent."

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Bloodhounds, with their floppy skin and gangly ears, are the quintessential tracking dogs, and there's good reason. While all types of dogs, including German shepherds and Labrador retrievers, can sniff out convicts, cadavers and victims of disasters, the dogs with floppy ears seem to be the best at what they do.

For one thing, regardless of breed, dogs have amazing noses. With more than 220 million olfactory receptors, experts say a dog's sense of smell is thousands of times more sensitive than a human's. Moreover, dogs with floppy ears, such as bloodhounds, coon hounds, Bassett hounds and others are exceedingly good trackers.

That's because their long ears act as catcher's mitts, scooping up invisible scent particles on the trail and sweeping them toward the nose. The scent particles also get trapped in the folds of wrinkly skin allowing the dog to carry reference samples as they hunt. Long ears also tamp down a dog's ability to hear far-off sounds, forcing the dogs to rely more on their sense of smell.

NOW THAT'S INTERESTING In 2009, researchers at Pennsylvania State University created a computer model of a canine's nose to better understand how dogs smell. They reported in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface that each nostril pulls in air about five times every second. The dog, it seems, knows which nostril is pulling in the scent, allowing them to turn right or left when tracking. Moreover, receptors continue to hold on to scent molecules even after the dog exhales.
Late last month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo embarked on a last-minute trip to Sudan amid a wider tour of the Middle East aimed at convincing Arab leaders to establish formal ties with Israel.

The night prior to Pompeos arrival in Khartoum, the State Department rushed documents over to the White House that, if signed by the president, would formally remove Sudan from the US state sponsors of terrorism list, Al-Monitor has learned.

US and Sudanese officials had long been in talks about removing Khartoum from the terror blacklist, and Sudans interim government had already largely met the main requirement laid out by the Trump administration.

But Pompeo raised a new proposal during his visit to Khartoum: That Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and immediately establish formal ties with Israel, according to two sources briefed on the meeting.

Hamdok demurred, reportedly saying Sudans transitional government did not have the authority to do that. Back at the White House, the rescission was called off, according to two US sources familiar with the matter.

Word of the attempt has raised concern among some in Congress that the White Houses Middle East advisers may have tried to circumvent the complex policy process for delisting Sudan in hope of scoring a political win for Trump ahead of the 2020 presidential election, and with little apparent regard for Sudans delicate internal politics.

A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the diplomatic discussions in Khartoum, but told Al-Monitor that removing Sudan from the terror list remains a top priority. Rescission is a multi-step process that depends on Sudan meeting the relevant statutory and policy criteria. Congress also plays a role in this process, the State Department spokesperson told Al-Monitor via email. We remain active in discussions with Sudan regarding the policy and statutory requirements for consideration of potential rescission of Sudans SST designation, the spokesperson wrote. SST stands for state sponsors of terrorism.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council referred Al-Monitor back to the State Department.

Sudan has been on the terror sponsors' blacklist since 1993, where it sits alongside North Korea, Syria and Iran. Despite having harbored Osama bin Laden, Abu Nidal and other international terrorists, former dictator Omar al-Bashirs government began cooperating with the United States on counterterrorism in 2001.

Last year, Bashir was overthrown in a coup following mass protests.

Sudans interim government agreed with US officials that it would come up with $335 million to settle a court ruling to compensate the families of victims of the 1998 Tanzania and Kenya embassy bombings  Washington's last significant condition for rescinding Khartoums terror-sponsor designation.

The long-awaited delisting is expected to ease the impoverished countrys access to foreign financial assistance and development, but the process has been drawn out.

Saudi Arabian officials previously backed away from a White House request to help Sudan meet the requirement, according to sources closely familiar with the process. The Saudi government is currently fighting a lawsuit seeking to make Riyadh pay billions in compensation to businesses, insurers, and families of the victims of the September 11 attacks.



Sudans interim government now says it is able to come up with the money, in part via a loan from an Africa-based development bank, US and Sudanese sources say.

But the funds had not yet been put into escrow at the time of Pompeos visit, and can only be distributed after Congress passes legislation that would enshrine the settlement agreement.

Despite a bipartisan push to advance such a measure by the end of September, lawmakers remain at an impasse amid opposition from Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J.

Congressional sources who spoke with Al-Monitor said that if the White House prematurely delisted Sudan, it could have set the stage for an override of this decision on Capitol Hill, throwing a major wrench into the legislative process designed to ensure that victims families receive compensation.

According to one US source briefed on the Khartoum meeting, Pompeo told the Sudanese leader that recognizing Israel would ease the legislations passing through Congress. Foreign Policy first reported details of Pompeos request.

It may have seemed from the Sudanese perspective a bit disingenuous for Pompeo to say they can fast-track the delisting, when he might not have been able to do so, according to Hilary Mossberg, policy director for The Sentry, a group of researchers who track illicit money flows in Africa.

Sources on the Hill told Al-Monitor that since Pompeos trip, the administration has signaled that it intends to cooperate with the legislative process. Pompeo sent letters to Senators Chris Coons and Mitch McConnell urging lawmakers to advance the de-listing process by the end of the month, citing a "narrow window" posed by the upcoming continuing resolution legislation, Foreign Policy revealed on Friday.

But one congressional aide said on the condition of anonymity that the administration has ignored multiple requests for lawmakers to be briefed on the Khartoum meeting and on the White Houses intentions moving forward.

Pompeo has spoken to Sudan's prime minister at least twice since their meeting last month, according to sources familiar with the discussions. Only one of those calls has been announced by the State Department.

News of the attempt has raised further questions about the administrations methods to convince Middle Eastern leaders to recognize Israel ahead of Trumps reelection bid.

Last month, senior White House adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is directing the initiative, said the administration was not pressuring Gulf states to recognize Israel because a relationship that is built on pressure is not one that is going to last.

Countries will do things that are in their interests to do, Kushner said.

Reports that the Trump administration secretly offered the United Arab Emirates the chance to buy advanced F-35 fighter jets with the Israeli prime ministers knowledge reportedly led to bafflement in Congress and sharp criticism by Israeli officials.

The UAE and Bahrain signed their agreement to normalize relations with Israel at the White House on Tuesday, with Sudans charge daffaires, Amira Agarib, reportedly in attendance.

On September 17, a senior State Department official dangled the possibility of upgrading Qatar to the status of US non-NATO ally after Dohas deputy foreign minister said her government does not intend to recognize Israel without a two-state solution for the Palestinians.

Sources familiar with Pompeos meeting in Khartoum also expressed concern that Sudans unelected transitional government may face political opposition if its leaders unilaterally agree to recognize Israel.

Sudans Foreign Ministry spokesman Haidar Badawi al-Sadiq was abruptly fired last month after publicly saying the government was looking forward to a peace agreement with Israel based on Khartoum's interests without sacrificing the values.

Nonetheless, there are signs Sudanese leaders are open to future ties with the Jewish state.

In February, one of the transitional governments top leaders, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, met with Netanyahu in Uganda, leading to an agreement to open Sudanese airspace to Israeli commercial flights. That meeting was set up in part by the US State Department, according to Al-Monitors sources.

Pompeo also met with Burhan in the Sudanese capital after sitting down with Hamdok last month.

According to two sources briefed on the conversation, Burhan did not outright reject Pompeos suggestion that Sudan recognize Israel, but mentioned that his government needed several billion dollars to help offset the countrys staggering debt.

On Sunday, Axios reported that Prime Minister Hamdok's chief of staff would meet with the UAE's national security council advisor Tahnoun bin Zayed and the head of Gulf affairs at the US National Security Council, Brig. Gen. Miguel Correa, in Abu Dhabi this week to discuss the prospect of Sudan recognizing Israel in exchange for humanitarian and economic aid, as well as the de-listing of from the terror sponsors' list.

Sudans ambassador to the United States, Noureddin Satti, alluded to Pompeo's request in an interview with Newsweek earlier this month. Sudans position on this issue has been clearly pronounced by the transitional government, Satti said.

To my mind, removal of the SST and other positive actions that follow should be an incentive rather than a conditionality.
Tanner Martiniere is a landscaper who has spent long days outdoors clearing debris since Hurricane Sally pummeled Alabamas Gulf Coast on Wednesday morning.

A nice warm shower and a relaxing evening in the comforts of his home is what he would prefer. But his Daphne home has been without electricity since the storm struck, even though the lights are starting to come back on in neighborhoods all around him.

The people around us have power, but yet we got nothing, said Martiniere, who lives off Park Drive in the middle of the city. Ive called the outage line, and the last three days, they tell me my ticket is open and that they will get to it, and thats all they can say. My in-laws live in Lake Forest off Hope Drive and they havent seen a crew around.

Martinieres frustrations are echoed by those who have gone nearly six days without electricity. But its a dwindling number of around 21% of the customers with Baldwin Countys two largest utilities  Baldwin EMC and Riviera Utilities  who continued to remain in the dark. According to the website poweroutage.us, there are 15,000 Baldwin EMC customers who remain without power and 12,000 with Riviera Utilities. The two companies serve close to a combined 126,000 customers.

The numbers have declined drastically in recent days, and now around 80% of customers in the cities where the eyewall of Hurricane Sally hit Wednesday morning now have electricity, according to Baldwin County officials. Another 75% of customers in Robertsdale and 85% of customers in Fairhope have had their power restored, and nearly all of Bay Minettes power is back on.

Boil orders remain in effect for Foley, Orange Beach, Elberta, Bon Secour, Magnolia Springs, and Seminole. A countywide burn ban is also in place, and curfews remain in effect for almost the entire county as power companies continue to work on restoring electricity.

There has been a lot of progress, said Jenni Guerry, deputy director with the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency during a morning Facebook report. Many communities are reporting 75% to 85% being energized again.

Dorothy Boilen of Foley is a Riviera Utilities customer who was without power up until the early morning hours on Monday. She said she had to rely on neighbors for food and showers, and that her 12-year-old son had to leave to go live temporarily at a relatives house in Spanish Fort.

Its been rough, said Boilen. The internet is down and the house stinks from that stuff (in the refrigerator) being bad. I have to clean the refrigerator and clean the yard. Im trying to hold it together.

Pam Mason of Silverhill has also been without power up until Monday. Though thankful for all the hard work from the utility crews, she is hoping that her power is restored just like the neighborhoods that around her.

Im not fussing about anything and understand the situation due to the circumstances, she said. Ive been through hurricanes from Frederic (1979) to Ivan (2004).

Rebecca Shobe, spokeswoman with Baldwin EMC, said the utility is at 75% restored. That includes the hardest hit areas by Sally, such as Gulf Shores and Orange Beach and the Fort Morgan peninsula.

The utility has been aided by 1,400 workers from outside the coastal Alabama area. Baldwin EMC, for instance, has 100 workers.

Shobe said the crews have come from a dozen states, and as far as Delaware and Maryland to the east, and Illinois and Indiana in the Midwest. The crews have established overnight bases for themselves at the OWA parking lot in Foley, and at a location in Bay Minette.

Without them, we would be here for a very, very long time, said Shobe.

Miles McDaniel, spokesman with Riviera Utilities, said roughly 400 crews have assisted his linemen in removing downed trees and power lines in cities like Daphne, Foley, Elberta, Spanish Fort and Lillian.

The damage is historical and we havent had anything like this in our system in 30-plus years, said McDaniel, who compared the power outages to those experienced during Hurricane Frederic, when Jimmy Carter was president.

Neither McDaniel nor Shobe would provide an estimate on when the power would be fully restored.

Its really too hard to target, said Shobe. We had to get our substations back up first, and they are all back up. It comes down to  individual lines that serve one person or five to 10 people. They have to go down each one of those individual (lines) and check for broken poles, downed power lines and remove trees from the lines. There are a lot. To get those last ones back up, we have a lot of crews who are here helping us and I hope it gets back up quickly.

McDaniel said there are some Riviera Utilities crew members who have not yet laid eyes on their houses since the storm hit.

They are working and staying at the office spending the night, said McDaniel. Some folks have gone home once since the hurricane hit and have blown out windows and roof damage.

Power outages compound Hurricane Sally agony in coastal Alabama

The scariest adventure: Riding out Hurricane Sally

Amazing person killed in Alabama Hurricane Sally cleanup; family struggles with funeral expenses

Long lines for fuel, boats damaged: Coastal Alabama cleans up from Sally

Its mighty bad, Ivey says after coastal flyover
Photograph: Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters

The US Department of Justice on Monday designated three cities as anarchist jurisdictions, where it says elected officials have allowed property destruction and violence during protests over racism and police brutality.

Related: Trump says he will announce supreme court pick 'Friday or Saturday'  live

The move is an explicitly political gambit, part of the Trump administrations law and order re-election push. In seeking to withdraw federal funding from the three cities, the DoJ is likely to be stymied in the courts.

Earlier in September, Donald Trump released a memo asking the DoJ to identify cities supposedly permitting anarchy, violence, and destruction, and to publish names on its website within two weeks.

The DoJ duly did so, outlining its criteria: forbidding police from intervening to restore order; defunding police; and withdrawing law enforcement protection or refusing federal law enforcement intervention.

In a press release, the department said New York cut $1bn from its police budget, and Portland and Seattle allowed prolonged protests to occur.

Officials in the cities have permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract these criminal activities, the DoJ said.

In a statement, the attorney general, William Barr, added: We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance.

When the Trump memo was published, a former senior official from Barack Obamas Office of Management and Budget told the Washington Post it was a campaign document coming out of the White House that will almost certainly be struck down in court.

Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, said Trump was not a king. He cannot defund NYC. Its an illegal stunt.

Mondays announcement was the latest administration attempt to emphasize the presidents law and order message, which Trump is pursuing even as thousands continue to die of Covid-19, a toll set to reach 200,000 in the next day.

Story continues

The strategy was unofficially declared in June, as protests erupted across the US in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In one incident, federal authorities deployed teargas to disperse peaceful protesters near the White House in Washington, so Trump could stage a photo op at a nearby church. Trump also sent federal agents to cities including Portland, where clashes with protesters attracted huge controversy.

Trump has attempted to convince voters the protests are unruly and violent, when in fact the vast majority are peaceful. Acting on the presidents wishes, Barr has sought to crack down on individuals arrested at protests, going so far as to instruct federal prosecutors to consider bringing rarely used sedition charges.

The administration also wants voters to see crime as a serious threat. It is unclear if that is working. In a Pew Research poll published in August, 59% of voters said violent crime was a very important issue, but it was fifth behind other issues including the economy, healthcare and the coronavirus.
Aish_4761 BHPian



Join Date: Jul 2020 Location: BDQ/PNQ Posts: 50 Thanked: 209 Times

A short & crisp drive to Champaner & Pavagadh

So I took out my tried and tested 17-year-old Alto which was very well sanitized by me just a couple of days back.



A sneak peek into the story ahead...!!





The Significance



Well for the people in and around Gujarat and parts of MP, we are quite aware of this name, however for the fellows who don't know, Pavagadh is a hill that was formed many million years ago due to a possible volcanic eruption. Usually, we see there is a range of at-least multiple hills side by side whcih is not the case here. It falls under the Vindhyachal range but visibly is a single high (really steep) hill that has another significance due to the presence of Kalika Mata Temple atop it. Devotees can be seen trekking through the old walkways on the hill. Cars or bikes can only take you halfway through, for the rest, there is a ropeway. If an enthusiast visits the place, they can even ditch ropeway to trek and many locals do so, however, neither did I nor any of my friends or family did so. If you want to enjoy visiting the temple, you need one whole day.



Further, the hills have a historic significance as well with multiple ASI certified tourist spots on and around the hill. More on this later.



For more details, you can visit the following link:



https://www.gujarattourism.com/?gcli...RoCangQAvD_BwE

Since, we wanted to minimize the exposure time plus the crowd of people thinking COVID was over, we were definitely in no mood of visiting the temple.



Distance from Vadodara City: ~55 Kms (Base of the Hill) add ~3 Kms for additional place (One Way).



Time Chosen: 10:00 HRS (Sunday) (Yes the lazy person in me is writing this short piece of travlelogue after 6 days straight)



Edibles: Home-made Snacks and fruits which could be consumed on the Go.



Precautionary Measures: Masks on 95% of the time (Even in the Car), individual bottles of Sanitizers and a disinfectant spray. And it was already decided that under no circumstances anyone stepping out with people around the car and only biobreaks to be taken where no ones is around and there is ample greenery to soak your crime (Sorry about that but, couldn't help it, couldn't have afforded to enter public restrooms in these unprecedented times).



Now, in order to reach Pavagadh, you have to take a State Highway which is also called as Halol Toll Road (SH 87). This SH startes from Vadodara and ends in Godhra passing through Halol. Well, Halol holds a different place in the Indian Automotive scenario. When GM entered India in collaboration with Hindustan Motors in the 90s, it set-up its first plant in the Halol town which changed multiple hands over the years, finally falling into the Chinese pit of "Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) Motors", fondly hidden behind MG (Morris Garages).



Since 2017, private vehicles bearing GJ registration do not need to pay tolls on state highways anywhere around the state. However, before this, people used to state themselves as locals and sneak on to the main toll road. To tackle this problem, the officials came up with a solution on making small boundaries on the main road and provide a poor quality service road alongside.



The road is smooth, not butter smooth and filled with curves but, there is a heavy truck traffic which might not please everyone. Morover, the road has divider cuts in the middle from where people of all agegroups tend to come, sometimes without looking and traveling at an alarming speed.





The Route:

Once you are on the Halol toll road, it is kind of a straight forward way as you simply need to follow the road itself. Nearly 35KMs into the journey, the Pavagadh hill is visible however, I won't advise one to stop, remember, the narrow road filled with loads of truck traffic.

People living near mountain ranges might not be impressed with this but, here you go with one picture of the same:





After driving for ~47 KMs, the toll road ends and traveling <1Km takes you to a round about from where a right turn has to be taken. You will be greeted to a scene like this:





Leading to this gate whin a few Kms, marking your arrival into the territory :

"The Pandavas were actually leading us into the area in a WagonR. "





The road is well paved with proper barricade on the left for pilgrims who walk to the temple. It has so much of a religious belief that there is even a famous gujarati song fondly played during the renowned Garba season (Will be missed this year though). BTW, Vadodara is also called as "Sansakaar Nagri" and is the traditional capital of Gujarat. The United Way Garba is the largest in terms of size, population, & enhusiasm and famous around the world with some real talented artists taking part in the ceremony.



There are a few spots around the hill which can be and should be visited (only if you are keen about the history or like photography) by taking the only left you will encounter after travelling around 5Kms from the round-about. There is a 2 Historic places amongst which one is the Jami Masjid which was built in 1424 and the other one being Khajuri Mosque, both of which have been certified by the ASI. The latter has free entery while I am not sure about the price of the entry ticket for the former one.



Though I did not get down from the car near Khajuri Mosque, thanks to the crowd around, I did manage to find one photo from one of my previous visits:





So we drove a bit ahead to an open field, had some snacks. Just opposite to this lies a large lake in which, the water level remains low most of the time but monsoons. While returning from the open field ahead, I found a sweet spot where the Car could be photographed with the Lake and the Hill in the same frame. Later I realized that the sweet spot was actually a no parking zone hence, as soon as I got down, the costable started shouting. Realizing what the situation was, I requested him to stay calm as that I was leaving within a minute. Quickly took out my phone and clicked a few photos which, I think turned out to be great. I will let the pictures to the talking from here on:









Then we proceeded towards the actual hill drive and the rest of the drive was pretty much just about driving and enjoying. Driving on the hill needs caution not because of two things:

1. It is a steep climb (I swear, my 2015 Honda Jazz needs downshifting to 1st gear at multiple instances, which was not the case with Alto though, turn off the AC for an instant boost)

2. The public carrier jeeps are driven in an extremely rash fashion.



Well, the last photo of the trip was:





Some information about the Car:

2003 Alto LX Special Edition named Celebration edition

5Speed MT with 47HP 796 CC 3 Cylinder F8D

Odo Reading 487XX

The car has spent most of its life in Gujarat, was bought in Sibsagar, Assam and is nowadays spending its life in Pune with me (before Lockdown though)

I tried maintaining a steady speed of around 80Kmph and the car returned an efficiency of 18.6Kmpl under 100% AC on run and a few minutes of stationary AC operation and 10 kms of hilly drive.





This was my first ever travelogue, hope you guys have enjoyed it...!! 2020 has been a year that gave a new meaning to the word Uncertainty. We were stuck inside our houses and cars at their respective parking spots. Work from home became the new norm and going on drives with our family members became an old one. However, one fine day, I was determined to break this monotony which made me think why not to visit a place that is wide open, is kind of a tourist attraction and the isn't way to far so the exposure time is limited. Additionally, I am gonna be taking a car so without lowering the windows, everything should be fine...!!So I took out my tried and tested 17-year-old Alto which was very well sanitized by me just a couple of days back.A sneak peek into the story ahead...!!Well for the people in and around Gujarat and parts of MP, we are quite aware of this name, however for the fellows who don't know, Pavagadh is a hill that was formed many million years ago due to a possible volcanic eruption. Usually, we see there is a range of at-least multiple hills side by side whcih is not the case here. It falls under the Vindhyachal range but visibly is a single high (really steep) hill that has another significance due to the presence of Kalika Mata Temple atop it. Devotees can be seen trekking through the old walkways on the hill. Cars or bikes can only take you halfway through, for the rest, there is a ropeway. If an enthusiast visits the place, they can even ditch ropeway to trek and many locals do so, however, neither did I nor any of my friends or family did so. If you want to enjoy visiting the temple, you need one whole day.Further, the hills have a historic significance as well with multiple ASI certified tourist spots on and around the hill. More on this later.For more details, you can visit the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalika...mple,_Pavagadh Since, we wanted to minimize the exposure time plus the crowd of people thinking COVID was over, we were definitely in no mood of visiting the temple.~55 Kms (Base of the Hill) add ~3 Kms for additional place (One Way).10:00 HRS (Sunday) (Yes the lazy person in me is writing this short piece of travlelogue after 6 days straight)Home-made Snacks and fruits which could be consumed on the Go.Masks on 95% of the time (Even in the Car), individual bottles of Sanitizers and a disinfectant spray. And it was already decided that under no circumstances anyone stepping out with people around the car and only biobreaks to be taken where no ones is around and there is ample greenery to soak your crime(Sorry about that but, couldn't help it, couldn't have afforded to enter public restrooms in these unprecedented times).Now, in order to reach Pavagadh, you have to take a State Highway which is also called as Halol Toll Road (SH 87). This SH startes from Vadodara and ends in Godhra passing through Halol. Well, Halol holds a different place in the Indian Automotive scenario. When GM entered India in collaboration with Hindustan Motors in the 90s, it set-up its first plant in the Halol town which changed multiple hands over the years, finally falling into the Chinese pit of "Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) Motors", fondly hidden behind MG (Morris Garages).Since 2017, private vehicles bearing GJ registration do not need to pay tolls on state highways anywhere around the state. However, before this, people used to state themselves as locals and sneak on to the main toll road. To tackle this problem, the officials came up with a solution on making small boundaries on the main road and provide a poor quality service road alongside.The road is smooth, not butter smooth and filled with curves but, there is a heavy truck traffic which might not please everyone. Morover, the road has divider cuts in the middle from where people of all agegroups tend to come, sometimes without looking and traveling at an alarming speed.Once you are on the Halol toll road, it is kind of a straight forward way as you simply need to follow the road itself. Nearly 35KMs into the journey, the Pavagadh hill is visible however, I won't advise one to stop, remember, the narrow road filled with loads of truck traffic.People living near mountain ranges might not be impressed with this but, here you go with one picture of the same:After driving for ~47 KMs, the toll road ends and traveling <1Km takes you to a round about from where a right turn has to be taken. You will be greeted to a scene like this:Leading to this gate whin a few Kms, marking your arrival into the territory :The road is well paved with proper barricade on the left for pilgrims who walk to the temple. It has so much of a religious belief that there is even a famous gujarati song fondly played during the renowned Garba season (Will be missed this year though). BTW, Vadodara is also called as "Sansakaar Nagri" and is the traditional capital of Gujarat. The United Way Garba is the largest in terms of size, population, & enhusiasm and famous around the world with some real talented artists taking part in the ceremony.There are a few spots around the hill which can be and should be visited (only if you are keen about the history or like photography) by taking the only left you will encounter after travelling around 5Kms from the round-about. There is a 2 Historic places amongst which one is the Jami Masjid which was built in 1424 and the other one being Khajuri Mosque, both of which have been certified by the ASI. The latter has free entery while I am not sure about the price of the entry ticket for the former one.Though I did not get down from the car near Khajuri Mosque, thanks to the crowd around, I did manage to find one photo from one of my previous visits:So we drove a bit ahead to an open field, had some snacks. Just opposite to this lies a large lake in which, the water level remains low most of the time but monsoons. While returning from the open field ahead, I found a sweet spot where the Car could be photographed with the Lake and the Hill in the same frame. Later I realized that the sweet spot was actually a no parking zone hence, as soon as I got down, the costable started shouting. Realizing what the situation was, I requested him to stay calm as that I was leaving within a minute. Quickly took out my phone and clicked a few photos which, I think turned out to be great. I will let the pictures to the talking from here on:Then we proceeded towards the actual hill drive and the rest of the drive was pretty much just about driving and enjoying. Driving on the hill needs caution not because of two things:1. It is a steep climb (I swear, my 2015 Honda Jazz needs downshifting to 1st gear at multiple instances, which was not the case with Alto though,2. The public carrier jeeps are driven in an extremely rash fashion.Well, the last photo of the trip was:Some information about the Car:2003 Alto LX Special Edition named Celebration edition5Speed MT with 47HP 796 CC 3 Cylinder F8DOdo Reading 487XXThe car has spent most of its life in Gujarat, was bought in Sibsagar, Assam and is nowadays spending its life in Pune with me (before Lockdown though)I tried maintaining a steady speed of around 80Kmph and the car returned an efficiency of 18.6Kmpl under 100% AC on run and a few minutes of stationary AC operation and 10 kms of hilly drive.
ezPaycheck Payroll Software Now Available for a Limited Time with Special Pricing For New Customers Developers at Halfpricesoft.com have updated the 2020 version of ezPaycheck 2020 at a cost any consumer can afford at $79.00 per single user version.

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In an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media, the two lead investigators in the Jennifer Dulos case say they believe Fotis Dulos may have altered his appearance to frame a colleague and they are hopeful new evidence may finally lead them to the 50-year-old mothers remains.

The 16-month investigation has generated more than 1,500 leads as authorities have pursued charges against Fotis Dulos, his ex-girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, and his former attorney, Kent Mawhinney, while also conducting numerous searches throughout Connecticut for evidence that could lead them to the New Canaan mother.

At one point, I think we had every single unit working on the case, said Detective John Kimball, of the Western District Major Crimes Unit. This taxed us to a large extent, but we are committed to finding Jennifer.

Here are five key moments in the case:

AUG. 28

During her first court appearance since February, Michelle Troconis was charged with two additional counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence. A charge of first-degree hindering prosecution was removed and replaced with a second-degree hindering prosecution charge.

JAN. 30

Fotis Dulos died from an apparent suicide at a New York hospital. Two days earlier, Fotis Dulos was found inside his running SUV in the garage of his Farmington home, police said. Police conducted a welfare check when he didnt show up for a court hearing where a judge could have revoked his bond and sent him back to jail.

JAN. 7

Fotis Dulos was charged with murder and kidnapping, while Troconis and Mahwinney were each arrested on conspiracy to commit murder charges. According to their arrest warrants, police said Troconis and Mawhinney conspired to provide an alibi for Fotis Dulos on the day his estranged wife vanished.

JUNE 1, 2019

Fotis Dulos and Troconis were arrested for the first time in the case. They were each charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. The charges mostly stemmed from video footage that police said showed them in Hartford the night of the disappearance. Police said the video showed Fotis Dulos dumping bags that were later determined to contain Jennifer Dulos blood and clothing.

MAY 24, 2019

Jennifer Dulos was last seen on a neighbors security camera around 8 a.m. as she was returning to her Welles Lane home after dropping off her children at school. Police said Fotis Dulos was lying in wait in her garage, where they say Jennifer Dulos was the victim of a serious physical assault. Police said Jennifer Dulos has been presumed dead based on the blood and other evidence found in the garage.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

The prime minister of Armenia deliberately undermines the format and substance of negotiation process under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said.

President Aliyev made the remark while addressing the high-level meeting in a video format to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations held on the sidelines of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.

"His statement that "Karabakh is Armenia" is a serious blow to negotiations," the president added. "He puts groundless conditions to the negotiation process. His unacceptable so-called seven conditions to Azerbaijan have been rejected by us."

"We have only one condition to achieve the peace," the Azerbaijani president said. "The armed forces of Armenia must withdraw from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The entire world recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as integral part of Azerbaijan."

"The Armenian prime minister announced the establishment of civilian militia consisting of tens of thousands of civilians who will be forced to undertake military actions against Azerbaijan," the president said. "This clearly demonstrates new aggressive intention of the Armenian leadership. The Armenian defense minister threatens Azerbaijan with so-called "new war for new territories" statements."
Demanding Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's immediate resignation, the country's major Opposition parties have launched an alliance to hold a countrywide protest movement to oust his government.



A 26-point joint resolution was adopted on Sunday by the All Parties Conference (APC), which was hosted by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and attended by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) and several other parties.



At a joint press conference after the end of the multi-party meeting, JUI-F chief Mualana Fazl ur Rehman read out the resolution and said that the Opposition parties have agreed to launch an alliance named Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to organise countrywide protests against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government from October.



The resolution alleged that the Khan government has been granted "fake stability by the same establishment" that interfered with the elections to bring the incumbent rulers to power.



In an obvious reference to the powerful Pakistan Army, the resolution expressed "extreme concern" over the increasing interference of the establishment in the internal affairs of the country and regarded it as a "danger to the nation's stability and institutions".



According to the resolution, the protests would start in phases. In the first phase, the Opposition parties will hold joint rallies in all four provinces in October. The second phase will begin in December during which the Opposition will hold huge rallies across the country.



Finally, a "decisive" long march towards Islamabad would start in January next year to oust the government.



The forum also demanded that elections be held again in a transparent manner and that electoral reforms should be passed in order to ensure free and fair polls.



Terming the Parliament a "rubber stamp", the PDM declared that the opposition will not cooperate with the government in the legislative process.



The Opposition will also enlist lawyers, traders, farmers, students, media as well as members of the civil society in its movement. In order to oust the government, opposition parties will use "every legal and constitutional option in and out of parliament, which include moving no-confidence motions and collective resignations from assemblies at an appropriate time," the resolution stated.



The joint resolution, JUI-F chief Rehman said, has also rejected any attempt to introduce a presidential form of government in the country and pledged to strengthen the parliamentary system of the country.



Earlier, addressing the multi-party conference through a video link from London, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said the struggle of the Opposition parties was not against Khan but against those who brought an "inefficient" man to power.



The 70-year-old PML-N supremo has been living in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treatment.



On Friday, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari talked to him over phone and invited him to virtually attend the conference.



Sharif staged a political comeback by criticising the country's powerful military establishment for allegedly supporting Khan.



"Our struggle is not against Imran Khan. Today, our struggle is against those who installed Imran Khan and who manipulated elections (of 2018) to bring an inefficient man like him into power and thus destroyed the country, he said.



He asked the Pakistan Army to stay away from politics and follow the Constitution and vision of the country's father Quaid-e-Azam' Muhammad Ali Jinnah.



"If change is not brought, it will bring irreversible loss to this country...We have made this country a joke in our own eyes and internationally as well," Sharif said.



The Pakistan Army has ruled the country for more than half of its 70 plus years of existence and has wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.



Before Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari also addressed the conference through a video-link and criticised the government, which he said was using the tactics to suppress the Opposition.
Mira's films are alive, rocking and so true to the reality I know.

They are gifts that I keep revisiting, and I cannot wait for what more she will share with us, notes Aseem Chhabra.

IMAGE: Director Mira Nair. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Getty Images

In 1983, my late journalist friend Arthur J Pais told me that he was going to interview film-maker Mira Nair for India Abroad. The interview was for her 52-minute long documentary, So Far From India./p>

I had seen the charming film -- the story of a Gujarati immigrant in New York, who works at a subway station newsstand on Manhattan's Upper West Side and his trip back to India to visit his family, including wife and a newborn baby he had not met.

I had loved the film and had insisted that Arthur take me along with him, as his assistant. He agreed saying I could be his photographer.

We did not have a flash, and Mira, being a director, politely told us there was not enough light for me to take photographs.

But it was fascinating listening to her speak.

It was first time in my brief career as a journalist where I had seen a film and then heard the director speak about it.

As I have told Mira a couple of times in all these years, that interaction convinced me I wanted to become a film journalist, to speak to film=makers and share their voices with the readers.

IMAGE: A scene from So Far From India.

Last week -- 37 years after I first met her -- Mira Nair was presented with the Jeff Skoll Award for Impact Media, one of the Toronto International Film Festival's tributes.

Other tributees included Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins and Chloe Zhao, whose film Nomadland won the audience award at this year's TIFF.

Mira was presented the award by Tabu, who has worked on two projects with the director -- The Namesake and A Suitable Boy (this year's closing night event at TIFF).

In accepting the award, Mira said, 'I have often said if we don't tell our own stories, no one else will. But it doesn't stop there. In telling these stories, I have also discovered the power of listening, of the possibility of making bridges, the possibility of translation, of being porous.'

'The award tells me that my art and my films have actually made change. That is such a beautiful feeling.'

It is a well deserved recognition for Mira, as a woman director, a person of colour and an immigrant in the US and Uganda, while she also makes her third home in India.

Baring a few projects where she was the director for hire, Mira has consistently strived to make films that made a difference in the lives of the audience, while also enthralling and entertaining them.

IMAGE: A scene from Salaam Bombay.

After So Far From India, Mira went on to make her first feature Salaam Bombay -- a heartbreaking and yet often delightful tale of street kids in Bombay, written by Sooni Taraporevala, her friend from Harvard University.

She cast real street kids, had them participate in a workshop conducted by her theatre guru Barry John. And then she made the film with some trained actors but mostly young kids who were playing scenes out of their own lives.

Salaam Bombay went to receive an Oscar nomination in the Foreign Language Film category (only one of three Indian films to be nominated). It is an essential film, a slice-of-life story about the street kids of Bombay that few of us ever acknowledge.

I have lost count of the number of times I have seen the film and how it always makes me cry, the haunting soundtrack by L Subramaniam and the story of a young boy lost in the big bad world of Bombay.

His only desire is to escape the life of drudgery, drugs and the world of prostitutes and pimps.

But alas, he is never able to save enough money and does not know where his home is.

IMAGE: A scene from Mississippi Masala.

For her second film, Mississippi Masala, Mira and Sooni traveled through America's South, threading together stories of Indian motel owners, some who had fled Idi Amin's Uganda.

They weaved a complex narrative of displacement, migration, and an inter-racial romance that featured a first time actress -- the British-Indian Sarita Choudhury and the young Hollywood star, Denzel Washington, who had already won an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category.

It was while watching Mississippi Masala that I realised why Mira Nair's voice mattered.

Trained as a documentary film-maker at Harvard, she had started to observe and develop narratives around the lives of immigrants, stories she understood, that were a part of who she was.

Mississippi Masala opened in 1991.

I had already been in the US for 10 years.

Hanif Kureishi wrote about his Pakistani-British life in scripts of My Beautiful Launderette (1985) and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987), and later in his novels, The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), The Black Album (1995), plus the short story My Son The Fanatic (1994).

A couple of years after Mississippi Masala, British-Indian film-maker Gurinder Chadha exploded on the screen with her film Bhaji On The Beach (1993).

IMAGE: A scene from The Namesake.

But I was looking for my experience as an immigrant in America.

With Mira's films, I felt she could read my heart, my struggles, my longing to be an Indian, as well as an American.

She did it with a dose of humour, and often a tinge of sadness.

I am not Gujarati, nor do I know about motel life, but Mississippi Masala spoke to me, as did Mira's finest film of her career, The Namesake, based on an equally brilliant novel by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Again, my immigrant experience and even my background in India was much different than that of The Namesake's Ashoke and Ashima Ganguly. But I recognised their lives, understood their confusions and identity crisis in a foreign land.

The Namesake -- the book, but more so Mira's film -- felt like home to me.

It was the comfort I was seeking in cinema and arts, while living as an Indian-American in New York City.

IMAGE: A scene from The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

Later, Mira developed a film about a Pakistani-American immigrant.

The Reluctant Fundamentalis (2012) went beyond the thin novel that Mohsin Hamid wrote in 2007.

Although it did not wholly succeed, Mira captured the warmth of Pakistani homes, including that fabulous opening party hosted by Om Puri and Shabana Azmi's characters, with qawwali by Abu Muhammad and Fareed Ayaz.

For all of us who lived through the September 11 terrorist attacks and the hate crimes that were inflicted on brown immigrants, whether Arabs or South Asians, the film showed us our worst fears. Those were memories that frightened us.

But the film was also important in making us understand how a man, who loved America, could change so dramatically.

The disillusionment Changez, Mira's lonely Pakistani protagonist (played with a lot of empathy by the wonderful Riz Ahmed), feels with America is so believable and relatable.

His mind is equally questioning the ethical decay of the capitalist system.

And so when Atif Aslam sings Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poetry Mori Araz Suno, one cannot help but care for this young man, even weep a little with him.

He had everything going for him in the US, yet now he feels an alien in a world where he stands out, as brown, as Muslim, as a Pakistani.

IMAGE: A scene from The Perez Family.

Earlier, Mira had examined the plight of Cuban immigrants in her 1995 film, The Perez Family.

The characters arrive in Miami as part of the Mariel boat lift, facing hardships in the new land, but Mira beautifully paints the film with brushstrokes of humour, sensuality, memories and nostalgia for what they have lost.

IMAGE: A scene from Monsoon Wedding.

How can I forget the Golden Lion winner from Venice, Monsoon Wedding, where Mira examines post-liberalisation India, the exuberant Punjabi culture of Delhi and an upstairs-downstairs story that has all heart? Gosh, what an amazing soundtrack the film had!

I danced at so many parties to Sukhwinder Singh's voice when he belts out the song Aj Mera Jee Karda.

IMAGE: A scene from A Suitable Boy.

Sometimes I feel Mira Nair makes her films just for me.

I am sure many of her fans around the world also believe that.

We see ourselves in her films, even when she sets the plot in the early 1950s -- her recent foray into making a series based on Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy.

Watching A Suitable Boy, I began to imagine that all of the show's characters were my friends.

I wanted to visit them in their homes, sit in their living rooms and gossip with them over tea, wear their clothes and fall in love as they did.

Mira's films are alive, rocking and so true to the reality I know.

They are gifts that I keep revisiting. And I cannot wait for what more she will share with us.
Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks with reporters in Wilmington, Del., on Sept. 16, 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

After Ginsburgs Death, 59 Percent Believe Biden Should Reveal Supreme Court Candidate: Poll

A recent Scott Rasmussen poll found that, in the wake of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg, the majority of likely voters believe Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden should announce his candidate to replace the vacant seat on the nations highest court.

In a survey carried out the day after Ginsburg died, 59 percent of likely voters said Biden should reveal who he would nominate if elected to the White House. The poll also found that just 21 percent dont think he should, while 20 percent are undecided.

Meanwhile, some 62 percent of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll said they think the winner of the November election should get to nominate a justice to fill the vacancy.

It comes as Biden said Sunday that he wont release a list of potential Supreme Court picks before the Nov. 3 election, saying that doing so, as President Donald Trump did, could improperly influence those candidates decisions in their current court roles and subject them to unrelenting political attacks. Biden reiterated his pledge to nominate an African American woman to the court if victorious in his bid for the White House.

Trump said he will this week nominate a woman to fill the vacant seat.

I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman, Trump said at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where supporters chanted fill that seat.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on Sunday brushed off Democratic complaints over nominating a replacement.

Lets be very clearif the shoe were on the other foot and the Democrats had the White House and the Senate, they would right now be trying to confirm another member of the Supreme Court, Barrasso said on NBCs Meet the Press.

Over the weekend, several Republican senators, including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) signaled support for Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in their calls to fill the vacant seat.

Im dead set on confirming @realDonaldTrumps nominee Graham wrote in a tweet, while Tillis rejected Democrat claims that Republicans are being hypocritical by blocking then-President Barack Obamas nominee in 2016, while supporting Trump and McConnell in seeking to fill the spot.

Four years ago, a Supreme Court vacancy arose under divided government and a lame-duck president as Americans were choosing his successor. Today, however, President Trump is again facing voters at the ballot box and North Carolinians will ultimately render their judgment on his presidency and how he chooses to fill the vacancy, Tillis wrote.

The reasoning outlined by Tillis in drawing a distinction between Republican actions in 2016 to block the nomination of Merrick Garland reinforced remarks McConnell made in a letter to members of the GOP caucus, in which the Kentucky senator challenged the notion that Senate Republicans set a rule in 2016 that the Senate would not fill a vacant seat in a presidential election year.

That is not true, McConnell said, explaining that, in 2016, Senate Republicans followed a rule that said Supreme Court vacancies that arise in presidential election years should not be filled when the presidency and the Senate majority are held by parties on the opposite side of the aisle.

Democrats have argued that because McConnell blocked Obamas nominee in 2016, the GOP should not move to replace Ginsburg before the Nov. 3 election.

Biden, in Sundays remarks, called on Senate Republicans to hold off on voting on any candidate nominated by the president until after the election, and called Trumps plan to nominate a replacement an exercise of raw political power.

We cant ignore the cherished system of checks and balances. That includes this whole business of releasing a list of potential nominees that I would put forward, the former vice president said.

The Scott Rasmussen survey also found that 52 percent of likely voters overall believe the Senate should wait to confirm Ginsburgs replacement until after the presidential election, though broken down according to party affiliation, the numbers differ starkly.

Among likely voters who identified as Republican, 73 percent said they believe a Supreme Court nominee should be confirmed as soon as possible, while 80 percent of Democrats believe confirmation should wait until after the election.

Earlier on Sunday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she did not support Trumps plan to move fast on filling the seat, becoming the second of the 53 Republicans in the 100-seat chamber to object publicly following Ginsburgs death.

On Saturday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said the presidential election winner should pick the nominee.

Reuters contributed to this report.
(HealthDay)Everyone needs sleep, but too little or too much of it might contribute to declines in thinking, a new study suggests.

Too little sleep was defined as four or fewer hours a night, while too much was deemed 10 or more hours a night. The ideal amount? Seven hours a night.

"Cognitive function should be monitored in individuals with insufficient or excessive sleep," said study author Yanjun Ma, from Peking University Clinical Research Institute, in China.

Still, Ma cautioned that the study can't prove that too little or too much sleep causes mental ("cognitive") decline, only that there appears to be an association.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep is essential because it lets your body and mind recharge. The right amount of sleep also helps you stay healthy and prevent diseases.

Without enough sleep, the brain cannot function properly, impairing concentration, clear thinking and memory-processing.

But the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. It's possible that inflammation might be related to excessive sleep, Ma said.

Meanwhile, too little sleep might increase cerebrospinal fluid levels of amyloid plaque and tau protein, which are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, Ma added.

Dr. Sam Gandy, associate director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in New York City, added, "More than any other time in the circadian cycle, during sleep, the brain's glymphatic system is active in washing out excess levels of toxins, including amyloid-beta peptide."

Each person probably has some optimum balance between sleep and amyloid clearance, with too much or too little of one causing the other to tip in the wrong direction, he explained.

"The technology for individual optimization has not been generally rolled out to the level of toxins in the brain, but this looks to be an important emerging area," Gandy said. "Optimizing sleep and amyloid clearance is likely to join sleep apnea as another readily treatable factor driving late-life cognitive decline."

For the study, Ma's team collected data on more than 20,000 men and women who took part in either the English Longitudinal Study of Aging or the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.

Participants reported their sleep habits and were given tests of cognition.

During follow-up, cognitive scores dropped faster among people with four hours or fewer and 10 hours or more of sleep per night than those who slept seven hours per night, the researchers found.

This association is called a U-shaped relationship, because the effects of sleep on cognition are seen at both ends of the curve.

The report was published online Sept. 21 in JAMA Network Open.

Dr. Yue Leng, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, co-authored an editorial that accompanied the study. She said, "An increasing number of studies have found a U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and cognition, where both short and long sleep duration was associated with worse cognition."

But the implication of this U-shaped relationship is unclear, partly because of the limitations in study design, Leng said.

To really determine how sleep affects cognition, studies need to go beyond sleep duration and take into account both sleep quality and quantity, Leng noted. Perhaps, then, sleep can be used in the prevention and management of dementia, she suggested.

"It has been almost two decades since sleep duration was first suggested to be linked with cognitive health in older adults," Leng said. "Better study design and more valid and reliable measurements are needed to help clarify this relationship."

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep each night.

To get a good night's sleep, the foundation recommends having good sleep habits that include:



Having a realistic bedtime and sticking to it every week and weekend night.

Keeping the bedroom cool and dark.

Banning televisions, computers and tablets, cellphones and other electronic devices from the bedroom.

Not ingesting caffeine, alcohol or large meals in the hours before bedtime.

Not using tobacco day or night.

Exercising during the day, which can help you wind down and get ready for sleep.

More information: For more on sleep, head to the Journal information: JAMA Network Open For more on sleep, head to the Sleep Foundation

Copyright  2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Donald Trump has boasted that he has broken 'every record' on the appointment of judges, stating that only George Washington did more 'because he appointed 100 per cent'.

The president spoke with pride of his achievements over the course of 18 interviews with Bob Woodward for Woodward's book Rage.

He said that Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate, was obsessed with appointing conservative judges, and celebrated that fact that Barack Obama left the White House with 100 vacancies in the courts.

The issue of appointing judges has become an intense topic following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday, aged 87.

Trump and McConnell hope to quickly replace her with a candidate of their choosing; while Democrats argue that it is wrong to appoint a new judge so close to a presidential election, and whoever wins in November should choose.

'You know what Mitch's biggest thing is in the whole world? His judges,' Trump told Woodward, according to tapes obtained by the Washington Post.

Donald Trump, pictured on Saturday, boasted about securing judicial appointments

Trump told veteran journalist Bob Woodward that only Washington had appointed more

He said that faced with a choice between pushing 10 ambassadors or a single judge through the Senate, 'he will absolutely ask me: "Please, let's get the judge approved instead of 10 ambassadors."'

Trump in January bragged that he had installed 187 judges to the federal bench -making one in four circuit court judges a Trump appointee - and two to the Supreme Court.

'The only one that has a better percentage is George Washington, because he appointed 100 per cent,' Trump told Woodward.

'But my percentage is, you know, like, ridiculous.'

Woodward noted that Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, never got the chance to nominate a Supreme Court judge during his presidency.

Trump replied: 'He deserved none.'

Trump's first appointment to the Supreme Court was Neil Gorsuch, sworn in in April 2017

Trump then secured a Supreme Court seat for Brett Kavanaugh in October 2018

Trump told the veteran journalist and author in March that he had just signed his 220th judge and expected to be at '260, 270, maybe even 280, maybe even 300' by the end of his first term.

The Senate has so far confirmed 216 of Trumps judges.

Noting Trump's evident pride, Woodward joked: 'Maybe theyll put a statue of you outside the Supreme Court.'

The president, according to the taped interview, was impressed.

'Oh, what a good idea,' Trump said.

'I think I'll have it erected tomorrow. What a great idea. I'll think I'll use it.

'I won't say it came from me.'
Rajya Sabha was today adjourned for the day as suspended members from the Opposition refused to leave the House. The Upper House will reconvene again on Tuesday (September 22) as part of the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Parliament.

The suspended MPs continued to stage a protest inside the house despite repeated requests from the Deputy Chairperson Harivansh and Presiding Officer Bhubaneswar Kalita to leave the house so that the order was restored. The House was adjourned five times, the last one when the Presiding Officer finally called it the day around noon.

I request the suspended members to please leave the house so that the Leader of the Opposition speaks in an orderly manner, Kalita said before calling it a day in the.

Rajya Sabha session is held between 9 am and 1 pm and Lok Sabha from 3 pm to 7 pm every day in the session.

Earlier in the day, chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced the suspension of the eight members for one week from the House for misconduct with deputy chairman Harivansh during discussions on farm bills on Sunday. The suspended members are Rajeev Satav, Syed Naseer Hussain and Ripun Bora of the Congress, KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem of the CPI Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen of AITC, and Sanjay Singh of AAP.

We will not leave the house until the government tells us how come were the farm bill passed without a vote and despite not having numbers, Sanjay Singh was heard in a video from inside Rajya Sabha that his team released to the media.

The suspensions came after the House adopted the government motion moved by Union Parliamentary Affairs minister Pralhad Joshi under the section 256 of procedure and conduct of business in the Upper House.

Naidu condemned the ruckus that took place in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.

"I was pained yesterday.Whatever happened yesterday defied logic. It was a bad day for the Rajya Sabha. Some members came to the well of the House and threw papers. They damaged the mic of the deputy chairman and also threw papers at him. You have no right to obstruct the chair and the business in the House. It tarnishes the image of the House. Is it a Parliamentary standard?, the Vice President of India said.

The House, however, rejected the no-confidence motion moved by twelve Opposition parties against Rajya Sabha deputy speaker Harivansh over the manner in which two farm bills were passed in Rajya Sabha without allegedly following the due process.

The suspension sparked a political slugfest between BJP-led NDA and Opposition parties

Muting Of Democratic India continues: by initially silencing and later, suspending MPs in the Parliament & turning a blind eye to farmers concerns on the black agriculture laws. This omniscient Govts endless arrogance has brought economic disaster for the entire country. Congress leader Rahul Gandi said.

The Upper House witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday evening after Opposition members alleged that the due process of allowing a detailed discussion on the farm bills was not followed in the House. A ruckus erupted soon after the deputy chairman, Harivansh put the bills to vote amid a demand of detailed discussion form the Opposition members who also wanted the bills to be scrutinised by a select committee of the Parliament.

The bills were eventually passed through a voice vote even as some Opposition members rushed into the well, shouting slogans against the government accusing it of being anti-farmer.
A mother has launched legal action after being told that her son's grave didn't contain any remains - 45 years after he died at just one week old.

Lydia Reid, from Edinburgh, has been fighting to find out what happened to the body of her son, Gary Paton, since he died in 1975.

Ms Reid, 71, says she is suing the Crown Office and Scotmid Co-Operative Funerals, who dealt with the burial, and is seeking 75,000.

She told the Daily Record: 'It's been three years since we discovered Gary wasn't in his grave. We thought we would get his ashes returned to us after that and he could be laid to rest, but nothing has changed.'

Lydia Reid, from Edinburgh, has been fighting to find out what happened to the body of her son, Gary Paton, since he died aged one week in 1975

Forensic anthropologist Professor Sue Black exhumed and examined Gary's grave in 2017.

She found no remains or signs of decomposition in the coffin in Saughton Cemetery, Edinburgh, and Ms Reid demanded tests to determine if there were traces of her son inside.

Ms Reid believes Gary's body parts were unlawfully retained and is now going to court to try to get them returned to her so she can give him a proper burial.

When Professor Sue Black exhumed and examined Gary's grave in 2017, they found it contained a shawl, hat, cross, name tag and a name plate with Gary's name spelled wrong

She is calling for the return of slides which might contain samples of his organs.

Ms Reid refused to believe the body she was shown was that of her son after he died at Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

She said the baby she was shown was blonde and big, while hers was tiny and dark-haired. She was told she was suffering from post-natal depression.

When she finally won her battle to exhume her son's coffin, she found a shawl, hat, cross, name tag and a nameplate with Gary's name spelled wrong.

Ms Reid said there were no remains and no signs of decomposition in the coffin which was buried at Saughton Cemetery, Edinburgh

Ms Reid said there were no remains and no signs of decomposition.

She had long suspected the coffin would be empty because of how light it was at the funeral, she says, but hoped she was wrong before the exhumation.

About 6,000 organs and tissue samples were retained by Scottish hospitals from 1970 and 2000, with the NHS admitting many of those were from children.

Professor Black said the only 'logical explanation' was that the body wasn't put in the coffin.

Ms Reid told the Record: 'Are they keeping this going in the hope Ill kick the bucket? Because Im not going to give up or keep fighting for Gary and for other parents. Theyre not going to keep me quiet.'

She had long suspected the coffin would be empty because of how light it was at the funeral, she says, but hoped she was wrong before the exhumation

Mark Thorley, Ms Reid's solicitor, confirmed legal proceedings were underway, according to the Daily Record.

A spokesperson for the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service said: 'The investigation is ongoing. As such it would not be appropriate to comment at this time.'

Ms Reid's son, Steven, said he wants the truth for Gary. He told the Daily Record of his anger after finding out that his mother had been right about her son after years of people blaming post-natal depression and 'calling her crazy'.

Steven, who is helping his mum in her fight, also spoke of his 'nightmare' at not being able to fulfil the dying wish of his late father Bruce.

Bruce wanted to be laid to rest alongside his son when he passed away in January.

Bruce and Ms Reid had divorced years ago, but when they found out Gary's body wasn't in the grave it 'united them' and they spoke for the first time in years.

MailOnline has contacted Scotmid Co-operative Funerals for comment.
The Office of the Chief Information Officer also said that there is solid evidence of criminal elements accessing these accounts for more than a month before the CRA uncovered the breaches.

As a result of ongoing forensic analysis of these cyber incidents, the CRA has identified suspicious activities occurring between early July and August 15 on approximately 48,500 of the more than 14 million CRA user accounts, said the Office of the Chief Information Officer.

The RCMP and the affected government bodies are continuing their respective investigations on the matter, CTVNews.ca reported.

The CRA said that it has already sent identity reconfirmation emails to affected users, but did not divulge how many have been able to regain access to their accounts.

The CRA will work with individuals affected by identity theft or fraud to help ensure they are not held liable for fraudulent claims and payments made by fraudsters using their account. Individuals whose accounts have been compromised will be offered credit protection services free of charge, the agency said in a statement.
and are scheduled to hold their sixth Corps Commander-level talks on Monday at the Chinese side of the Chushul/Moldo meeting point in the Eastern Ladakh sector to address the ongoing military standoff there.

According to sources, Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary (East Asia) of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), will also attend the Commanders' Conference today.

The Corps Commanders of the two sides would be meeting after more than a month as both sides had been engaged in at least three firing incidents that have taken place along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The corps commanders would be meeting at the Moldo meeting hut opposite Chushul on the Indian side.

The agenda and issues to be raised by the Indian side in the meeting were discussed and finalised during a high-level meeting attended by Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane last week on Friday.

is likely to press for simultaneous disengagement and de-escalation by the Chinese side in the Eastern Ladakh sector during the meeting of two Corps Commanders.

The ground commanders had been talking to each other on an almost daily basis on the ground.

The talks are happening at a time when the Indian side has also occupied six major hill features which are helping the to be in dominating positions on heights.

(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.)
Bengaluru, Sep 21 : An NDPS special court on Monday adjourned the hearing of the bail applications filed by Kannada actresses Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani till September 24.

Both the actresses were arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Bengaluru for their alleged connection with a drugs case involving high profile event managers, resort owners and actors which came to light three weeks ago.

The adjournment by the NDPS court means that these actresses will have to spend their time in jail till such time or till they get bail.

While Ragini was arrested by the CCB on September 4, Sanjjanaa was picked up on September 8 after the police raided their premises.

Both the actresses had applied for bail last week. They have been lodged in separate cells of the Parappana Agrahara Central jail on the outskirts of the city.

A few days ago, Ragini and Sanjjanaa were taken to the KC General Hospital in Bengaluru for a dope test and hair follicle test.

Ragini and Sanjjanaa tried to create a scene to evade testing, but the police didn't pay heed to their attempts.

CCB officers have arrested more than dozen people in this case. The agency has so far interrogated Kannada actor-couple Diganth and Aindrita Ray, small time actor Aryann Santosh Kumar and TV anchor Akul Balaji, besides grilling Congress leader and senior MLA R.V. Devaraj's son R.V. Yuvaraj, who is also a former BBMP corporator.
The Comey Rule, writer-director Billy Rays two-part Showtime adaptation of James Comeys memoir, A Higher Loyalty, is an exposition-packed retelling of extremely recent history in the style of Jay Roach and Danny Strongs HBO movies Recount and Game Change. In this case, the history in question is Comeys tenure at the FBI: his handling of the investigations into Hillary Clintons emails and the Trump campaigns contacts with Russia.

Heres whats fact and what was invented for the series, as far as we can tell after consulting Comeys book, Peter Strzoks book, the inspector general report on the Clinton investigation, the Mueller report, contemporary news accounts, and the presidents Twitter feed. Since many of the incidents depicted in The Comey Rule are highly disputed by Donald Trump and his followers, weve offered Trump the opportunity to respond by tweet to the charges made on the show.

James Comeys Encounter With the Ramsey Rapist

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The Facts: Chronologically speaking, the earliest event in both A Higher Loyalty and The Comey Rule is sort of an origin story. In 1977, when he was 16, Comey and his younger brother were held captive at gunpoint by an alleged serial rapist whod been preying on their New Jersey neighborhood. He locked the Comey brothers in a bathroom and captured them again after they snuck out a window, but he eventually fled into the woods after they escaped a second time. The Comey Rule has Comey telling a simplified version of the story to Obama during an Oval Office meeting in May 2013, when the president was deciding whether to nominate Comey to serve as director of the FBI. (Spoiler: He got the job.) Comey recounts the incident in A Higher Loyalty, but he does not say that he mentioned it to Obama. A contemporary account can be found in the Oct. 30, 1977 Hackensack Record.

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A Response From the President:

The only thing James Comey ever got right was when he said that President Trump was not under investigation!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2018

The Comey Family

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James Comeys wife, Patrice (Jennifer Ehle), and three of the couples children appear in the miniseries. Their opinions about Comeys actions line up with A Higher Loyalty, as does the preelection scene in which someone approaches Comey and his family at a restaurant to express their displeasure at Comeys handling of Operation Midyear Exam. The scenes of Comey explaining his actions to his wife and daughters are inventedif Patrice Comey tearfully begged her husband to consider the effect he might be having on the election, Comey didnt write about itbut the women in Comeys family did support Hillary Clinton, and Patrice has spoken publicly about being devastated by the election results. On screen, The Comey Rules Comey daughters include Maurene (Emmanuelle Nadeau), Claire (Isabella Pisacane), and Abby (Violet Brinson), but Kate and son Brien Comey dont appear. A Higher Loyalty also includes a moving account of the death of the couples other son, Collin Comey, but this isnt mentioned in the miniseries.

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A Response From the President:

I only wish my wonderful daughter Tiffany could have been with us at

Mar-a-Lago for our great election victory. She is a winner!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2016

Barack Obama (Kingsley Ben-Adir)

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The Facts: The Comey Rule portrays Comeys relationship with President Barack Obama exactly the way Comey does in his book: deliberately distant. The show depicts one of two Oval Office meetings Comey had with the president while being considered for the position of FBI director, and, except for that exposition dump about the Ramsey Rapist, closely follows Comeys account of that meeting. In memoir and miniseries alike, Obama is mostly used as a counterpoint to Trump and his unethical attempts to manipulate the FBI for his own benefit.

A Response From the President:

OBAMAGATE!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2020

The Hillary Clinton Email Investigation

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The Facts: The first episode of The Comey Rule revolves around two investigations the FBI conducted in the closing days of the 2016 election, one of which was Operation Midyear Exam, the FBIs investigation into Hillary Clintons handling of classified material while serving as secretary of state. Comeys account of this investigation in A Higher Loyalty focuses on the scenes where he was directly involved: the July 2015 meeting in which FBI Deputy Director Mark Giuliano informed Comey that the bureau had received a referral from the Inspector Generals Office about Clintons emails and would have to open an investigation, a September 2015 meeting in which Comey updated Attorney General Loretta Lynch about the cases progress during which he says she asked him to refer to it as a matter rather than an investigation (a claim Lynch disputes), and the disastrous public relations strategy that saw Comey first announce that the investigation was finished, then announce that the investigation was back on, then announce it was finished all over again.

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The Comey Rule follows Comeys memoir very closely when describing the high-level decision-making that went into the investigation, from the moment Giuliano told Comey he was screwed to the aftermath of election night and the backlash Comey faced from people who believed hed thrown the election to Trump. But since Comey was not involved in the day-to-day grind of Operation Midyear Exam, the show also pulls from other sources to re-create the dynamics of the investigation, primarily the 2018 inspector general report, which has a stupefyingly detailed chronology.

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Two departures from the record are worth noting. First, Lisa Page, special counsel to thenFBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe (Michael Kelly), was not involved in the early days of Operation Midyear Review; she came on board in February of 2016. (The IG report notes that senior FBI officials disliked Page for ignoring the chain of command, while McCabe valued her ability to spot problems, all of which is dramatized in The Comey Rule in a conversation between McCabe and Giuliano.) Second, the prosecutor played by Jonathan Potts, portrayed in The Comey Rule as a former employee of Clinton attorney David Kendall with a habit of crying in his office when more powerful lawyers yell at him, is a composite. The IG report doesnt name the prosecutors assigned to the investigation, although it does note that the FBI was frustrated both by the time it took to assign prosecutors and the tactics Kendall used in response to the investigation. Its also clear that Page and the prosecutors didnt get along: The IG report includes an excerpt from a prosecutor complaining about her offering opinions from the cheap seats.

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A Response From the President:

So Crooked Hillary Clinton can delete and acid wash 33,000 emails AFTER getting a Subpoena from the United States Congress, but I cant make one totally appropriate telephone call to the President of Ukraine? Witch Hunt!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2019

Lisa Page and Peter Strzok (Oona Chaplin and Steven Pasquale)

The Facts: Lisa Page and Peter Strzoks extramarital affair has been exhaustively hashed over in a variety of official reports, congressional hearings, and dubiously sourced Facebook posts, but given that The Comey Rule gives the duo several hotel room scenes, it seems worth noting that Comey doesnt talk about them in his memoir. In fact, he alludes to Page only once, as a junior lawyer on the Midyear Exam team whose frankness he valued despite her habit of annoying her colleagues with aggressive interruptions.

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A Response From the President:

Why was the FBIs sick loser, Peter Strzok, working on the totally discredited Mueller team of 13 Angry & Conflicted Democrats, when Strzok was giving Crooked Hillary a free pass yet telling his lover, lawyer Lisa Page, that well stop Trump from becoming President? Witch Hunt!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2018

The Pulse Nightclub Shooting

The Facts: In the shows single most questionable departure from the historical record, The Comey Rule has a scene of Comey visiting the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, after the 2016 mass shooting, looking sadly over a floor strewn with bodies and asking to gather the first responders so he could thank them. Comey did visit Orlando to thank first responders, but he did so days later, not in the immediate aftermath.

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A Response From the President:

Really bad shooting in Orlando. Police investigating possible terrorism. Many people dead and wounded.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2016

Trump and Russia

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The Facts: As with Hillary Clintons emails, The Comey Rule closely follows A Higher Loyaltys narrative of the investigation into the Trump campaigns contacts with the Russians. Its possible that, in real life, Mike Flynn came off a little better than he does on the show during his meeting with Vladimir Putin or his phone call with Sergey Kislyak or his FBI interview about those conversations, or that George Papadopoulos seemed less obviously sleazy while drunkenly bragging that Russia had offered the campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton. But the facts shown on screen line up with the details in both Comeys memoir and the Mueller report, so why give anyone the benefit of the doubt? The show traces the Russia investigation from its early days to the appointment of a special prosecutor, and its portrait of the Trump campaigns contacts with Russia lines up with what we know.

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A Response From the President:

Russian Collusion with the Trump Campaign, one of the most successful in history, is a TOTAL HOAX. The Democrats paid for the phony and discredited Dossier which was, along with Comey, McCabe, Strzok and his lover, the lovely Lisa Page, used to begin the Witch Hunt. Disgraceful!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2018

Trump and Comey (Brendan Gleeson and Jeff Daniels)

The Facts: Night two of The Comey Rule focuses on Comeys relationship with the Trump administration in the months before Trump fired him. By now, you will not be surprised to hear that the show closely follows Comeys memoir in portraying these events. Comeys big scenes with Trump are the meeting at which the FBI briefed the campaign on the Russian efforts to elect Trump, the bizarre dinner Comey and Trump shared at the White House, and the unscheduled meeting Trump held with Comey in the Oval Office in which he tried to persuade Comey to drop the investigation into Michael Flynn. The show re-creates these scenes more or less beat for beat from Comeys account, including the private briefing Comey gave Trump about the Steele dossier and the pee tape.

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The primary difference between fact and fiction here is that Comey often summarizes Trumps dialogue, writing, for instance, that he began discussing cases where women had accused him of sexual assault, a subject I had not raised. He mentioned a number of women, and seemed to have memorized their allegations. On screen, we have to see Brendan Gleesons Trump actually run through several of these accusations, which is way more repulsive. (To add to the repulsion, Comey specifically writes that he didnt tell Trump about the pee tape at his Trump Tower meeting, but in The Comey Rule, he does.) Finally, although Comey doesnt confirm this one way or another, it seems extremely unlikely that Trump ended a meeting in 2016 by saying, My behavior has been unimpeachable, with a weird emphasis on the last word, as though future events would make that moment look weirdly prophetic.

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A Response From the President:

James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017

Comeys Firing

The Facts: This incident was exactly as shoddy and petty as it comes off in the miniseries, complete with Trump getting mad that the FBI let Comey fly home on an official plane instead of stranding him in Florida.

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A Response From the President:

....untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI. His handling of the Crooked Hillary Clinton case, and the events surrounding it, will go down as one of the worst botch jobs of history. It was my great honor to fire James Comey!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018

Rod Rosenstein (Scoot McNairy)

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The Facts: Although it is based on James Comeys memoir, The Comey Rule uses Rod Rosenstein as a pseudo-narrator, which gives the filmmakers a perspective from which to criticize Comey for his moralizing. As seen in the miniseries, Rosenstein wrote a memo about Comeys performance that led to his firing, but Rosenstein was horrified and embarrassed by the way Trump used the memo, and he had an emotional meeting with Andrew McCabe about it in which he said he felt the administration had used him. The Comey Rule has Rosenstein offer to wear a wire and record Trump at that same meeting, an allegation Rosenstein has denied. Scoot McNairys Rosenstein comes across as perhaps a little more sympathetic than some might see the real man as being, but the facts are more or less accurate.

Donald Trumps Election

The Facts: As seen in The Comey Rule, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016, an office he holds to this day.

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A Response From the President:
Falwell and the fire department are launching a campaign aimed at students and their families to remind them of the importance of having working smoke detectors in homes. They are showing up at PTA meetings on Zoom and are recording videos that students and parents will be able to view through their school learning platforms from home.
By Akbar Mammadov

The Armenian leaderships irresponsible and provocative behavior fuels the tension in the region and nullifies the peace negotiations around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said on September 21.

Abdullayeva's remarks follow Armenian Foreign Ministrys statement on President Ilham Aliyev's recent speech.

The spokesperson noted that during his groundbreaking ceremony for the Absheron field on September 19, Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev exposed Armenia's aggressive policy with his convincing answers to local media, reflecting historical realities and based on real facts.

Abdullayeva stressed that the traditional false and hypocritical statement issued by the Armenian Foreign Ministry on this issue shows that the country is still unable to accept the truth.

Armenia has been posing a serious threat to lasting peace and security for many years, pursuing an aggressive policy by ignoring the norms and principles of international law, occupying the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan and carrying out ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories, creating a hotbed of conflict in the region, Abdullayeva said.

The spokesperson emphasized that like the previous criminal junta of Armenia, the current provocative leadership is far from properly assessing the situation in the region and the events around it and ensuring the interests of its people.

It is unfortunate that Armenia has not yet been able to pursue an independent policy based on national interests and perceive the benefits of peace, security and prosperity in the region.

Furthermore, Abdullayeva highlighted several recent provocative actions taken by Armenia against Azerbaijan and the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Attempts by the Armenian Prime Minister to change the format of the negotiation process, his unfounded remarks about the negotiations, the nonsensical statement in August 2019, attack by the Armenian armed forces against Azerbaijani positions on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border on July 12-16, 2020, a sabotage attempt by an Armenian sabotage and reconnaissance group on August 23, demonstrative implementation of the policy of illegal settlement in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and other such provocations are a direct blow to the political settlement of the conflict, and the responsibility for this lies directly with the Armenian leadership, Abdullayeva said.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Good morning.

Today, we have another dispatch from the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, written by Tessa Paoli and Nina Sparling:

Anita Nadolsky, 59, thought she had finally caught some luck.

In May she became one of several dozen homeless people in Tuolumne County to get shelter through Project Roomkey, a much-publicized California program intended to move medically vulnerable people out of homeless camps and shelters and off the streets as a way to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

Ms. Nadolsky moved into a room at the Old Oak Ranch, a 170-acre summer camp in the Sierra foothills. She had been living out of her van the last few years, and a robbery at gunpoint last winter left her so nervous she stayed up until dawn most nights to guard against more attacks. Her arrival at the ranch, she said, was the first time in months shed slept through the night. She stayed in one of the camps large rooms  what she called the V.I.P. room  and had meals delivered to her door.

My first night I was in shock and awe, she said. I felt safe for a change.

[Track coronavirus cases in California by county.]

Yet just six weeks after shed settled into her new room, she had to move out. They told me I had to be out of there by 6 oclock, she said. They just threw everything in my van. I was treated like a bag of trash again.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has hired 165 new faculty members in the academic session 2020-2021.

With the addition of these new faculty members, JGU has 725 full time faculty members across nine schools and three research and capacity building institutes.

Their contribution as researchers, professors, and scholars will promote a vibrant culture of academic excellence in diverse range of disciplines and fields and enhance institution building at JGU.

C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University observed, "This is an incredible milestone for a young university, which will be celebrating its 11th anniversary by the end of this month. We have recruited some of the most outstanding individuals from India and around the world to be part of a vibrant intellectual community of scholars and researchers.

"Notwithstanding the COVID-19 crisis and the global pandemic, we will work towards fulfilling our institutional responsibilities and shared commitment to our students and to the larger cause of education, research and social transformation. JGU continues to maintain a faculty student ratio of 1:9, which is an impeccable achievement for the University at any point of time, but more importantly, during these most difficult and challenging times." JGU has made a huge commitment through these new faculty hires of 165, including 68 Academic Tutors and TRIP Fellows. This has substantially expanded its faculty and will give more opportunities for learning to the students of JGU. The decision to hire such a large number of faculty members, scholars and practitioners across different disciplines and backgrounds is a testament to JGU's commitment to establish a world class institution of excellence in India.

Raj Kumar, while outlining the vision for the rationale of the recruitment of new faculty members said, "Within a short span of eleven years, JGU has been able to attract and retain faculty members from across the world by focusing on the five core principles: first, providing academic freedom, autonomy and independence to the faculty members; second, promoting pluralism and celebrating diversity; third, promoting collegiality and teamwork; fourth, focusing on the faculty development programmes to emphasize on knowledge creation, research, publications, and citations; and fifth, maintaining highest ethical standards in professional and personal behaviour." Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, Registrar, O.P. Jindal Global University observed, "JGU has sustained the process of hiring faculty members who have outstanding educational qualifications, global orientation, impeccable publication record, relevant work experience, including in the world of practice and those individuals who have a strong commitment to institution building. It is also a proud achievement for JGU that 63 per cent of its faculty members have at least one international qualifications from the leading universities of the world."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Many nationalists interpret the GFA to mean, tweeted the commentator Owen Polley last week, if a policy advances the cause of an all-Ireland state, its definitely, irrefutably required by the agreement and, if it strengthens the UK, its an ungodly affront to the peace process.

The GFA also provides a weapon for people who never read it  let alone understood it  to damage the Brexit for which the United Kingdom electorate voted.

But what is a nationalist? When I was growing up in Dublin, nationalist was just another name for Irish people. If there were any people living in the Republic who didnt subscribe to that identity, they kept their heads down.

Studying history taught me it wasnt that simple and, as I began to follow Northern Irish politics, I became sceptical of my countrymens view that nationalism was good and unionism bad. I accepted that it was a matter of which allegiance you felt most comfortable with.

And then in the Republic, the IRA murder campaign poisoned nationalism for many, including The Irish Times long-time guru, Fintan OToole.

Like many of the Dublin intelligentsia, he embraced a European identity and was understandably horrified by Brexit.

In Left-wing intellectual circles in London and New York, as well as in Dublin, OToole is regarded as the go-to authority on Brexit, which is a bit of a problem since he appears not to understand the English at all.

He thinks the main source of our ills is nationalism  of the English variety. Because it has been buried for centuries under two layers of disguise, he wrote last week,  the United Kingdom and the British Empire  it has no knowledge of what, through bitter experience over those bloody years, most of the rest of us have had to discover about nationalism.

Other countries, like Ireland, have learned the hard way that nationalism is petrol: a combustible political fuel that can drive you forward, or, if you do not control it, drive you off a cliff. Which is what he thinks we Leavers did.

Mind you, hes reasonable compared to his fellow Irish Times writer Patrick Freyne.

Tory policy is explicitly trying to return to a time when people had rickets, he wrote on Friday, the NHS didnt exist and having a building collapse on you wasnt seen as unusual ... the Tories sell the Blitz spirit to the populace, because they are planning to rain class war down on them from above like a libertarian, 21st-century Luftwaffe.

Most people who voted Leave  and many, like me, did so after much heart-searching  are bewildered by the obsessive Remainer delusion that Leavers were nostalgic for the British Empire.

The only people Ive ever heard mention the Empire in my decades of living in England were either historians, Irish republicans, or breast-beating, guilt-ridden Lefties.

Remainers might bear in mind that that no empire has ever dissolved itself as peaceably as did the British Empire and that the British Commonwealth is a voluntary association of equals.

Most Leave voters were happy being part of a common market, but were intuitively troubled by the federalist thrust of an unaccountable Brussels.

They simply felt that, difficult though it would be, the United Kingdom would be better off going it alone.

And the way in which the EU has behaved over the past four years has confirmed their suspicions.

They are not, as alleged, Little Englanders. They call themselves patriots, not nationalists. Indeed, of all European countries, the United Kingdom  and especially England  has been the most successful in dealing with mass immigration and is the most accepting of diversity. Look at the Cabinet.

In a letter to The Irish Times last Thursday, Roy Greenslade, the British journalist now resident in Donegal who used to write for An Phoblacht, told us that, in Boris Johnson, English nationalists, meaning English racists, have found their man ... the most venal virus of all now infecting England is a miserable, misguided, misanthropic disease called nationalism.

He recently tweeted a speech of Mary Lou McDonalds with the caption: Here is a leadership and vision that Ireland needs, that the Irish people need.

Does that mean that Mary Lou is no longer a nationalist?

Im confused.
Several demonstrations took place over the weekend in Madrid in protest at the regional governments plans to impose selective coronavirus confinements due to the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths that are being registered in the area.

After a protest on Friday evening in the capitals central Puerta de Sol square, Sunday saw thousands of people take to the streets in a wave of demonstrations in many of the 37 areas of the city of Madrid and the surrounding region where, from Monday onward, there will be restrictions on mobility.

Called to protest by organizations from a number of neighborhoods, with instructions to wear masks and to respect social distancing, the demonstrators denounced the regional governments plans as ineffective and discriminatory, claiming that they were focused on southern satellite cities such as Fuenlabrada and humble, working-class neighborhoods. They also called for greater investment and resources for local healthcare centers and for public transportation.

Residents of Vallecas during a protest against the selective lockdown on Sunday. Olmo Calvo

One of the biggest crowds formed outside the Madrid regional parliament, where there were moments of tension when the protestors tried to approach the building and the police sought to stop them. More healthcare and fewer police, they chanted.

Before midday, dozens of people began to gather outside the parliament, as they shouted a series of slogans in support of the national healthcare system and calling for the resignation of the regional premier, Isabel Diaz Ayuso of the conservative Popular Party (PP). Long live the fight of the working class, and Vallecas defends itself were among the chants heard, the latter a reference to a working-class neighborhood in the south of the city that is being particularly hard hit by the second wave of the coronavirus. While safe distancing was respected at the start of the protest, the demonstrators ended up closer together as more and more people arrived.

What good the measures do if we are going to have to travel halfway across Madrid to go to and from work? Dolores Solascasas, a teacher in Madrids central Tirso de Molina neighborhood

One attendee explained that she had come to complain about the stigma that the measures were creating. The primary healthcare system is completely overwhelmed and public transportation is packed in the neighborhoods where people who cant work from home live, she complained. Her partner works and she is a student, she explained. With the little money that we earn, it turns out that now we cant even go out for a wander.

The administration of Ayuso  which is made up of a coalition of the PP and center-right Ciudadanos (Citizens), and propped up by far-right Vox  has come in for harsh criticism from the opposition and citizens alike, for what has been perceived as inaction ahead of the reopening of schools and the restarting of activity in the region after summer vacations. Last week there was a chaotic series of announcements and denials, after the deputy health chief announced selective lockdowns only for Ayusos team to backtrack, saying that nothing had yet been decided.

A protester holds a sign with the message: I refuse to be confined solely for being an immigrant and living in Vallecas. Olmo Calvo

Among the measures Ayuso finally announced late on Friday, after a series of delays, is the closure of all establishments from 10pm in the 37 affected areas. What is allowed are journeys within the area, but anyone who leaves the perimeter will have to justify their trip for work reasons, for example. Among the other reasons permitted under the new rules are visits to healthcare or educational centers, to banks and to the courts or a notary, as well as the renewal of official documents, exams, the return to your usual place of residence, the care of seniors or dependents or reasons of force majeure. The police will be able to demand that citizens present documentation that attests to the reasons for their movement.

Ricardo Martinez, an office clerk in a healthcare center in Vallecas, complained at the protests on Sunday that the administrations have done nothing in six months to strengthen [healthcare] services, and that now it is residents who are suffering as a result. He claimed that the primary healthcare system is on the brink of becoming completely overwhelmed and that the new lockdowns were simply an excuse to cover up bad management.

Dolores Solascasas, a teacher in Madrids central Tirso de Molina neighborhood, asked what good the measures do if tomorrow we are going to have to travel halfway across Madrid to go to and from work? She showed a photo on her cellphone of a Metro station that was packed with people. I took this the other day when I was returning to work, when it was already late, she explained. So now were not going to be able to have a beer in the neighborhood but we can travel to another one to serve them? she asked, in reference to the closure of hostelry establishments at 10pm in the affected areas under the new measures.

Alvaro Jarabo, also from Vallecas, criticized the motives for the restrictions. How can you explain that Vallecas is being locked down but other areas with high infection rates such as Lavapies are not subject to any measures? The latter neighborhood, located in central Madrid just south of the Puerta del Sol, is currently registering more than a thousand positive cases for every 100,000 inhabitants, which exceeds the 37 areas affected by Ayusos new measures. But for now, no restrictions are being implemented there.

A protester holds a sign with the message: Ayuso, abuse! in reference to Madrid premier Isabel Diaz Ayuso. Olmo Calvo

According to a statement released by the Federation of Neighborhood Associations in Madrid (FRAVM), the protest was organized via social media in support of the dignity of the south, and reflects not just the deep uneasiness caused by the regional governments management of the pandemic, but also decades of institutional neglect.

The primary healthcare system is completely overwhelmed and public transportation is packed in the neighborhoods where people who cant work from home live Ricardo Martinez, an office clerk in a healthcare center in Vallecas

As well as the protest outside parliament, there were other demonstrations in the districts of Villaverde Bajo, Villaverde Alto, Puente de Vallecas, Villa de Vallecas, Carabanchel Alto, Carabanchel Bajo, Arganzuela and Ciudad Lineal-San Blas, as well as the municipalities of Getafe, Parla, Fuenlabrada, Alcobendas and San Sebastian de los Reyes. At around 1.30pm, when the protest in central Madrid began to move along Martinez de la Riva street, the demonstrators received waves of applause from the windows of nearby apartments.

One of the protestors, Nicolas Lazaro, 55, lives in the Francia area, which will be confined from Monday despite having a cumulative incidence of the coronavirus of 661, much lower than in other areas that have not seen new restrictions. We dont understand anything and they are not explaining what it is due to, he complained.

Lazaro works in maintenance at Madrids Complutense University, and he is not afraid of losing his job. But his wife, Trinidad Gil, 52, cleans buildings in the center of Madrid and doesnt know whether she can continue doing so. Ill find out tomorrow, she said, adding that she felt fortunate because she has a contract. She questioned what will happen to the people who are working off the books, with no official papers. They wont be able to claim that theyre employed, its all a disaster, she lamented.

English version by Simon Hunter.
(Independent)

Police in Louisville, Kentucky, are cancelling vacations ahead of an announcement in the Breonna Taylor case.

On Monday, Louisville Metro Police Department released a statement saying that all off-day and vacation requests were cancelled until further notice, WHAS11 reports.

The move comes in preparation for an announcement by Attorney General Daniel Cameron concerning the case, though no timetable has been given.

The statement added that the public may see barriers being staged around downtown Louisville as part of the departments preparations.

AG Cameron has said in the past that a thorough investigation cannot follow a specific timeline and that the office of the attorney general will pursue justice however long that will take.

When the investigation concludes and a decision is made, we will provide an update about an announcement, a statement from 9 September reads.

The news will come from our office and not unnamed sources. Until that time, the investigation remains ongoing, it continues.

Breonna Taylor was killed by police on 13 March when Louisville Metro officers carried out a narcotics raid on her home.

The emergency medical technician had been asleep when the officers entered her apartment and was shot eight times when they confronted her boyfriend. No drugs were found on the property.

Anger at the death of the 26-year-old led to demonstrations both locally and then nationwide demanding the officers involved be arrested.

Read more

Emmy Awards 2020: Regina King and Uzo Aduba wear Breonna Taylor T-shirts for virtual ceremony

How much does a Black life cost in America today? $12 million, according to the Breonna Taylor settlement

Formula One governing body rules out investigation into Lewis Hamiltons Breonna Taylor T-shirt

Breonna Taylor: Black healthcare worker 'shot at least eight times by police' in own home, lawsuit says

Biden says police officers who shot Jacob Blake and killed Breonna Taylor should be charged: 'Let's make sure justice is done'
By Fergus Shiel and Dean Starkman

Drawing on a cache of secret financial intelligence reports, the global investigation by more than 400 journalists reveals how banks continue to move dirty money for drug cartels, corrupt regimes, arms traffickers and other international criminals  and how a broken U.S.-led enforcement system perpetuates business as usual.

Obtained and shared by BuzzFeed News, the documents include more than 2,100 suspicious activity reports, or SARs, filed by global banks to the United States Treasury Departments intelligence unit, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, together with BuzzFeed News and 108 other media partners in 88 countries, spent 16 months organizing and analyzing the documents, dubbed the FinCEN Files. ICIJ and its partners collected additional leaked documents from sources, reading through voluminous court and archival records and interviewing hundreds of people, including crime fighters and crime victims.

A former U.S. Treasury Department official, Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, from Virginia, pleaded guilty in January to conspiring to unlawfully disclose documents to BuzzFeed News.

BuzzFeed News has not commented on its source.

The FinCEN Files investigation was able to trace banks roles in hiding money looted from government treasuries, scammed from pensioners, and generated through drug sales, illegal gold mining and other illegal activities.

The findings expose  from the inside  the consequences of allowing banks themselves to lead the worlds anti-money laundering defenses against kleptocracy, crime and terror, even as they earn huge profits from these same malefactors.

They also show how laundered money provides the lifeblood for corrupt authoritarian regimes and the enemies of democracy worldwide.

The Treasury Department documents reveal how major banks continued to move staggering sums of suspect cash even while on criminal probation after highly touted money-laundering crackdowns by U.S. and U.K. authorities.

ICIJs analysis of the FinCEN Files and U.S. authorities enforcement actions indicates that imposing fines and deferring prosecutions of banks and declining to prosecute bank executives hasnt stopped banks from continuing to profit from moving suspect transactions.

The records also reveal financial secrets of a motley collection of politicians and political figures on the run or facing trial for financial crimes. Among them: former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, convicted for bribing witnesses during his trial on charges that he led soldiers on a rape and looting spree; Samark Lopez Bello, who U.S. authorities allege is the primary frontman for Tareck El Aissami, Venezuelas petroleum minister-cum-alleged drug dealer; Kazakhstans former energy minister; Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, who Angolan prosecutors have charged with fraud and money laundering in a bid to recover around $1.1 billion; and Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Klyuyev, who is sanctioned by the European Union for allegedly looting state funds.

Because of their access to the U.S. Federal Reserve System, global banks U.S. operations serve as switchboard operators for dollar transactions, allowing them to see who is sending what money where and when.

When they see a suspicious transaction, they are empowered to take action to stop it  but they often dont have to. Instead, they can simply send a SAR to FinCEN at the Treasury Department. The FinCEN Files represent less than 0.02% of the more than 12 million suspicious activity reports that financial institutions filed between 2011 and 2017.

The sweeping, unprecedented leak shows banks moved more than $2 trillion in payments between 1999 and 2017 they themselves believed were suspicious, plus hundreds of spreadsheets, involving financial institutions with flagged clients in more than 170 countries. SARs reflect concerns by watchdogs within banks and financial institutions and are not necessarily indicative of any criminal conduct or other wrongdoing.

An ICIJ analysis found that banks in the FinCEN files regularly processed transactions to companies registered in so-called secrecy jurisdictions and did so without knowing the ultimate owner of the account. At least 20% of the reports contained a client with an address in one of the worlds top offshore financial havens, the British Virgin Islands, while many others provided addresses in the U.K., the U.S., Cyprus, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Switzerland.

ICIJs analysis found that in half of the reports banks didnt have information about one or more entities behind the transactions. In 160 reports, banks sought more information about corporate vehicles, only to be met with no response.

The banks could serve as a chokepoint, cutting off the flow of dirty money around the world, or at least to anonymous shell companies. But banks financial incentives run toward keeping dirty money moving. And too often, that is exactly what they do.

The FinCEN Files dataset is a sprawling jumble of more than 2,600 files, including 2,100 narrative reports of varying quality that reveal the private concerns of global bank anti-money laundering compliance departments about certain transactions, along with attached spreadsheets of sometimes hundreds of lines of raw transaction data. And many spreadsheets, filled with names, bank names, figures and dates, came unattached to any narrative that would provide a reason for their inclusion.

According to BuzzFeed News, some of the records were gathered as part of U.S. congressional investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election; others were gathered following requests to FinCEN from law enforcement agencies.

ICIJs collaboration mined the narratives of the FinCEN Files SARs and created more than 55,000 records of data structured into fixed fields that include details on more than 200,000 transactions flagged by the banks in the SARs. The effort resulted in an unprecedented dataset that touches regions across the globe. The leak also includes reports, written by FinCEN, called Kleptocracy Weekly, that provided additional perspective on the SARs.

Key findings

Key findings of ICIJs FinCEN Files investigation include:

Global banks moved more than $2 trillion between 1999 and 2017 in payments they believed were suspicious, and flagged bank clients in more than 170 countries who were identified as being involved in potentially illicit transactions. The figures include $514 billion at JPMorgan Chase and $1.3 trillion at Deutsche Bank.

The FinCEN Files show that five global banks  JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank and Bank of New York Mellon  moved illicit cash for shadowy characters and criminal networks even after U.S. authorities fined these financial institutions for earlier failures to stem flows of dirty money.

five global banks  JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank and Bank of New York Mellon  moved illicit cash for shadowy characters and criminal networks even after U.S. authorities fined these financial institutions for earlier failures to stem flows of dirty money. In half of the FinCEN Files reports, banks didnt have information about one or more entities behind the transactions.

JPMorgan Chase moved money for companies tied to the massive looting of public funds in Venezuela, Malaysia and Ukraine, including under-the-table payments from disgraced Ukrainian officials to Paul J. Manafort Jr., U.S. President Donald Trumps convicted former campaign manager.

Deutsche Bank ignored red flags for years and played an integral role in the historic $230 billion money laundering scandal now engulfing Danske Banks Estonian operation. The German giants automated systems flagged one anonymous U.K.-registered shell company  later revealed as a major laundering vehicle  a dozen times but the bank still processed $2.6 billion and didnt file a SAR for years until a separate scandal brought the shell company to light.

Danske Estonia bankers implicated in the scandal ran a secret side company to help set up U.K. shell companies on a wholesale basis for anonymous clients.

Shadowy entities with ties to the Baltics, known as formation agencies, use a loophole in U.K. corporate law to mass produce anonymous U.K.-registered shell companies and help them set up accounts in corrupt Baltic banks. Nine agencies alone set up 2,447 companies found in the FinCEN Files.

HSBC continued to transmit money for alleged money launderers and an international Ponzi scheme even while it was serving a five-year probation with U.S. courts.

In 2014, a U.S. task force recommended that the Treasury Department designate Dubai-based gold conglomerate Kaloti Jewellery Group as a money laundering threat under the USA Patriot Act  but the government didnt act.

Banks reported more than $4.8 billion between 2009 and 2017 in suspicious transactions with links to Venezuela. Nearly 70% of that amount had a Venezuelan government entity, such as the Ministry of Finance or the state oil company, as a party.

Everyone is doing badly

FinCEN condemned the leak of the documents, declining to comment on the content of the suspicious activity reports, and saying it had referred the matter to the Justice Department and the Treasurys inspector general.

As FinCEN has stated previously, the unauthorized disclosure of SARs is a crime that can impact the national security of the United States, compromise law enforcement investigations, and threaten the safety and security of the institutions and individuals who file such reports, FinCEN said.

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Days before the FinCEN Files investigation was published, FinCEN announced it was seeking public comment on regulatory amendments to require that financial institutions subject to anti-money laundering laws maintain an effective and reasonably designed anti-money laundering program. The agency said the changes were intended to modernize the regulatory regime to address the evolving threats of illicit finance and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of anti-money laundering programs.

Department of Justice Criminal Division spokesperson Matt Lloyd said: The Department of Justice stands by its work, and remains committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting financial crimeincluding money launderingwherever we find it.

JPMorgan, HSBC and other big banks deny systematic wrongdoing and say they are working to improve their programs for preventing money laundering and screening out customers involved in criminal activities.

Starting in 2012, HSBC embarked on a multi-year journey to overhaul its ability to combat financial crime, said Heidi Ashley, a spokesperson for the bank. HSBC is a much safer institution than it was in 2012.

A Standard Chartered spokesperson said U.S. and U.K. authorities had publicly acknowledged that the Group had undergone a comprehensive and positive transformation over the last several years.

In 2019 we monitored more than 1.2 billion transactions for potential suspicious activity and screened more than 157 million transactions for compliance with applicable sanctions requirements. The reality of the global financial system is that there will always be attempts to launder money and evade sanctions; the responsibility of banks is to build effective screening and monitoring systems and we work closely with regulators and law enforcement to bring perpetrators to justice.

But even top officials concede that whatever its merits, the system just doesnt work to slow the flood of dirty money.

Everyone is doing badly, David Lewis, head of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, acknowledged in an interview with ICIJ.

The ICIJ Team

Director: Gerard Ryle

Project manager & editor: Fergus Shiel

Senior editors: Dean Starkman, Michael Hudson, Ben Hallman

Reporters: Simon Bowers, Sasha Chavkin, Will Fitzgibbon, Kyra Gurney, Spencer Woodman, Tanya Kozyreva, Mike Sallah, Scilla Alecci

Data editor: Emilia Diaz-Struck

Data reporters: Agustin Armendariz, Karrie Kehoe, Delphine Reuter, Mago Torres, Margot Willams, Miriam Pensack, Jelena Cosic, Miguel Fiandor

Associate editor and fact checker: Richard H.P. Sia

Additional fact checking: Spencer Woodman, Margot Williams

Online editor: Hamish Boland-Rudder

Community engagement editor: Amy Wilson-Chapman

Copy editor: Joe Hillhouse

Additional editing: Tom Stites

Video reporter: Scilla Alecci

Web developer: Antonio Cucho Gamboa

Chief technology officer: Pierre Romera

Technology team: Ash Guevara, Soline Ledesert, Miguel Fiandor, Bruno Thomas, Anne LHote, Madeline OLeary, Maxime Vanza

Training manager: Jelena Cosic

Illustrators: Ben King, Alicia Tatone of BuzzFeed News

Confidential Clients designer: Lexi Namer

Digital producer: Asraa Mustufa

Editorial intern: Carmen Molina Acosta

ICIJ worked with a team of more than 400 reporters from around the world. Meet the team.
New barriers to trade within the UK must be avoided at all costs to ensure it remains as frictionless as possible for producers, says Scottish Land & Estates (SLE).

Following a debate in Westminster last week which focused on the impact of the UK Internal Market Bill on Scotland, SLE says that, given the importance of the UK market to Scottish producers, moves to protect the ability to trade within the UK are welcome.

However, it says that any new system must have the confidence of all four nations and not negatively impact on devolved competencies.

Eleanor Kay, policy adviser for the rural business group, said she welcomed measures to protect the UKs internal market and the continuation of trade.

With the rest of the UK being the destination for the majority of Scottish exports, we do not want to see barriers to trade within the UK."

However, she added: We need to see more clarity on the wider impact of some of the provisions within the Bill and particularly those that may affect devolved powers."

Rural businesses say they would like to see more detail from UK government on any potential financial constraints the Bill might have on Scottish agri policy and any issues regarding devolved competence.

Scotland must also retain its ability to create an agricultural policy which suits its own unique circumstances, Ms Kay added.

What is absolutely essential is that all devolved administrations and the UK government have trust in those responsible for monitoring and scrutinising the internal market.

"Effective governance of the internal market will be crucial if economic barriers are to be avoided, so we welcome the proposal to establish an Office for the Internal Market."

Ms Kay added: A mixture of mutual recognition, non-discrimination and common frameworks will be required to create an internal market that encourages growth throughout the UK and is fair for all.

"The internal market will not only impact UK producers but our export markets too, so we urge all four governments to seek a collaborative approach to this issue.
South Africa: SA joins globe in observing World Alzheimers Day

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has encouraged South Africans to protect, care and support senior citizens with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Zulu made the call as the department prepares to commemorate Social Development Month in October, and in commemorating World Alzheimers Day.

World Alzheimer's Day is commemorated annually on 21 September, where world organisations' efforts are focused on raising awareness about Alzheimers.

This year, the day is observed under the theme, 'Lets Talk about Dementia'.

Alzheimers is a chronic neurodegenerative disease, which worsens gradually as senior citizens advance in years.

Common symptoms include difficulty in remembering recent events, problems with language, disorientation, mood swings and loss of motivation.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines dementia as a chronic illness that arises from an interplay of genetic, environmental and behavioural factors, with severe adverse influences on social and physical activities, and quality of life.

It is a condition deemed one of the major causes of disability among older persons.

It is estimated that approximately 2.2 million people in South Africa live with some form of dementia.

However, little is known about the prevalence of dementia or its impact on older adults living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa, including South Africa.

Furthermore, there has been little research into the aetiology and risk factors in LMICs.

Zulu said there is a critical need for studies to investigate these factors in South Africa.

A study in Cape Town found that 79% of a memory clinics clients were being cared for by family members, some of whom had given up their jobs to do so.

Caregiver stress is highlighted as one of the areas of concern in dementia care in LMICs, even in traditional cultures where family care is regarded as the norm.

Many people are not aware of Alzheimers disease and the symptoms associated with the disease. As such, some older persons suffering from Alzheimers disease are targeted as witches due to what is perceived to be strange behaviour and lack of understanding of the disease, Zulu said.

She said the department has a role to create legislative awareness on issues affecting the lives of older persons.

Raising awareness is a fundamental preventative strategy, which involves not only sharing of information but helping to change attitudes and behaviour, Zulu said.

Older Persons' Act

It is for this reason that the Older Persons Act 13 of, 2006, mandates that services for older persons should cover the full spectrum of care, ranging from those who are healthy, to frail older persons.

The Act mandates the provision of the following services:

The development of programmes aimed at caring for older persons suffering from Alzheimer's disease, dementia and others who need 24-hour care.

Public education on issues of ageing, including dementia.

Counselling services for older persons and family members who need these services.

The Act also advocates for older persons to remain in the community for as long as possible, including frail older persons, while recognising that some older persons may live in residential care facilities.

It further emphasises the prevention of elder abuse, thus improving the quality of lives of older persons.

The three pillars of the 2002 Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing calls for development of older persons, advancement of their health and well-being into old age, as well as an enabling and supportive environment for them to thrive.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The United States has imposed sanctions on more than two dozen people and entities involved in Iran's atomic activities or its missile and conventional weapons programs, as Washington unilaterally seeks to enforce a UN arms embargo against the Middle East country.



The punishments are part of a new sanctions offensive by the Trump administration that rests in part on a "snapback" clause from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers that the United States abandoned two years ago.



"The United States has now restored UN sanctions on Iran," President Donald Trump said in a statement after he signed an executive order spelling out how Washington will enforce the "snapback." "My actions today send a clear message to the Iranian regime and those in the international community who refuse to stand up to Iran."



The new sanctions allow the United States to impose measures -- including asset freezes -- on any company or individual helping Iran evade the UN arms embargo. It comes two days after Washington unilaterally reimposed the ban.



The Trump administration's effort has prompted objections from China and Russia and increased frictions between Washington and some European allies over the United States' legal right to reinstate the embargo.



That, in turn, has raised questions about whether other governments would observe it.



Washington withdrew in 2018 from the multiparty agreement -- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- that paved the way for the embargo's expiration in October.



The September 21 announcement includes new sanctions and export controls on 27 individuals and entities connected to Tehran's weapons and nuclear industries.



Trump's statement accuses Tehran of "malign behavior" including the supply of weapons and military support "that fuels ongoing conflict in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen."



Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the United States would use its "new and powerful tool" to punish anyone testing Washington's resolve to enforce the weapons ban.



"Our actions today are a warning that should be heard worldwide. No matter who you are, if you violate the UN embargo on Iran, you risk sanctions," Pompeo said.



He said Washington was determined to keep up its "maximum pressure" effort to change Tehran's behavior.



"We will continue and expand our sanctions until Iran is willing to conclude a comprehensive negotiation that addresses the regime's malign behavior," Pompeo said. "We are always open to diplomacy with Iran, but Iran must respond with diplomacy, not with more violence, bloodshed, and nuclear extortion. Until then, maximum pressure will continue."



Iran has insisted it is not pursuing nuclear weapons, although UN atomic monitors have accused it of obfuscating and misleading about past nuclear activities.



Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin viewed the new U.S. sanctions as illegal, but he did not say whether Russian companies would seek to get around it.



Russia has historically been one of the largest suppliers of weapons to Iran.



China and Iran have also reportedly been in talks on a $400 billion trade deal that includes arms.



The Iranian entities sanctioned by the United States include the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, the Defense Industries Organization, and three bodies associated with the Atomic Energy Organization, the country's nuclear supervisor.



The list of individuals sanctioned by the United States includes Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington does not recognize as that country's rightful president and has accused of conducting conventional-arms-related deals with Iran.



In May 2018, Trump withdrew from the deal and restored U.S. sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. The other parties -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- remained in the deal.



Tehran has announced it has "stepped back" from some of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal since the United States withdrew and reimposed tough unilateral trade and economic sanctions two years ago.



Some of those commitments include limits on the size of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium as well as the level of purity to which it was allowed to enrich uranium, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

With reporting by Reuters and AP
At least 50,000 people attended two anti-government protests over the weekend. For participants, the country belongs to the people and not to the monarch. Whilst the king has remained silent, the prime minister has called for unity to fight COVID-19. New rallies and a general strike are planned. The student movement is growing, getting support from partisans of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Bangkok (AsiaNews)  Some 50,000 people, mostly young students, took part in two anti-government protests over the weekend.

Although the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, a pro-democracy student group, expected 100,000 protesters, these rallies were the most impressive since the 2014 military coup.

At one of the rallies, protesters placed a commemorative plaque, later removed by the authorities, near the Grand Palace. The sign read: this country belongs to the people and is not the property of the monarch. Police announced that they might press charges against the people behind the gesture.

In an open letter to King Maha Vajiralongkorn, delivered to Bangkoks police chief, the protesters demand the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his government, a new democratic constitution, and the reform of the monarchy.

With respect to the sovereign, they want a review of his political role and an audit of financial endowment. This is a major point since the monarch is seen as a sacred figure in Thailand, and any offence against him can be punished with imprisonment for up to 15 years.

The Royal Palace did not answer the protesters' questions. The king is currently in Europe, where he spends most of his time. For his part, Prime Minister Prayuth limited himself to thanking law enforcement agencies and demonstrators for their "peaceful" conduct, and called on the country to join the fight against COVID-19

Since mid-July, also due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, public pressure has mounted against the prime minister, a former commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army, who came to power in a coup six years ago.

He has led a civilian government since last year, but has been accused by the opposition of rigging the elections that led to the formal end of the military junta.

His government has also been criticised for its management of the pandemic crisis. The country's economy is largely dependent on tourism, which has been almost completely wiped out by the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.

Encouraged by the outcome of the two days of protests, students announced a new rally for next Thursday in front of Parliament this time. The student movement has also called on ordinary Thais to take part in a general strike planned for 14 October and to boycott the Siam Commercial Bank, in which the king is the majority shareholder.

According to press reports, student actions are winning the sympathy of increasingly large sections of the population, including the "red shirts", supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire removed from the military in 2006, and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who also served as prime minister.

Some analysts note that the youth movement can have a lasting impact on the country's politics only if it is able to enlist the support of the rural population.
The US Commerce Department said it will challenge an order issued by a judge that blocks the Trump administration from requiring Apple and Google to remove WeChat from their U.S. app stores.

In a ruling dated Saturday, Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in California said the government's actions would affect users' First Amendment rights as an effective ban on the app removes their platform for communication.

The Justice Department had urged Beeler not to block the action, saying it would 'frustrate and displace the president's determination of how best to address threats to national security.'

'Prohibiting the identified transactions is necessary to protect the national security of the United States, and the department expects to soon seek relief from this order,' the Commerce Department said.

A group of WeChat users had made the injunction request after the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday it would bar WeChat from U.S. app stores and keep it from accessing essential internet services in the country, beginning Sunday night at 11:59 p.m.

WeChat is a messaging-focused app popular with many Chinese-speaking Americans that serves as a lifeline to friends, family, customers and business contacts in China. It's owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent and has an average of 19 million daily active users in the US, analytics firms Apptopia said in August.

The US Commerce Department said it will challenge an order issued Sunday by a judge that blocks the Trump administration from requiring Apple and Google remove WeChat from their U.S. app stores

The government cited national security and data-privacy concerns in taking action against WeChat and imposing similar restrictions on TikTok, another popular Chinese-owned app.

Restrictions on TikTok were pushed back by a week Saturday after President Donald Trump said he supported a proposed deal that would make TikTok a U.S. company.

WeChat users had argued the moves targeting the all-in-one app with instant-messaging, social media and other communication tools would restrict free speech.

In the ruling, the court said that a WeChat ban 'eliminates all meaningful access to communication in the plaintiffs' community,' and that an injunction would be in the public interest.

The government cited national security and data-privacy concerns in taking action against WeChat. Trump is pictured Saturday

In a ruling dated Saturday, Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in California said the government's actions would affect users' First Amendment rights as an effective ban on the app removes their platform for communication

The US government had earlier argued that it is not restricting free speech because WeChat users still 'are free to speak on alternative platforms that do not pose a national security threat.'

Specific evidence about WeChat posing a national security threat was also 'modest,' according to Judge Beeler.

The dispute over the two apps is the latest flashpoint in the rising tensions between the worlds two largest economies, as the Trump administration attempts to counter the influence of China.

The one-week delay came after Trump on Saturday blessed a deal with TikTok owner ByteDance and U.S. companies Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc to create a new company to handle TikTok's U.S. operations

The dispute over the two apps is the latest flashpoint in the rising tensions between the worlds two largest economies, as the Trump administration attempts to counter the influence of China.

Since taking office in 2017, Trump has waged a trade war with China, blocked mergers involving Chinese companies and stifled the business of Chinese firms like Huawei, a maker of phones and telecom equipment.
Brokers are expecting a clamour for shares in The Hut Group today as the firm begins trading in full on the stock market.

Investment platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell have reported strong demand from customers for the shares, which began 'conditional' trading on Wednesday.

But even as savers prepared to plough in, there was no sign of a new independent director at the firm. The Hut Group had promised an appointment to allay concerns over its governance, and increase protections for investors.

Dual role: Matthew Moulding, pictured left, is both chairman and CEO at The Hut Group

But a company spokesman declined to comment on whether an appointment was imminent, only stating that a decision would be made over the next 12 months. Andy Agathangelou, of the Transparency Task Force, said a quick appointment was vital to ensure shareholders' interests were represented in the boardroom.

He added: 'This person will require superhuman skills to avoid the inevitable biases and relationship-based influence on judgement which could be rife on a board of long-standing friends and associates.' The UK Corporate Governance Code, which listed businesses are expected to follow, says at least half of a board should be independent non-executive directors.

To be 'independent', that person should have no material relationship with the company and not be involved in daily operations. They should also have held the role for fewer than nine years, and after six years must have their independence reviewed.

The Hut Group, which has shunned the code, only has two independent directors  Zillah Byng-Thorne and Dominic Murphy  on its six-strong board. Both have worked closely with the company and its founder Matthew Moulding for years.

Byng-Thorne was an adviser to The Hut for four years before joining the board in 2018, and Murphy helped to broker the investment by private equity giant KKR in The Hut in 2014 before joining as a director.

Several other 'red flags' have been raised. Moulding, 48, is both chief executive and chairman, a position banned by all corporate governance codes. He also holds a 'golden share', which gives him a influence over big decisions.

And Moulding is now The Hut's landlord, having bought all of its properties into a company he controls and leased them back.

Sources close to The Hut have said Moulding's role is key to retaining its entrepreneurial structure. They added that the property transaction was completed at a fair value, and would help to remove debt.

The Hut is likely to be popular with savers, as analysts have claimed its ecommerce technology and online retailing sites will be winners.

Its shares have already climbed 18 per cent during conditional trading since Wednesday.
Kolkata, Sep 21 : A day after the suspension of eight MPs who fought to protect the interests of farmers in Parliament, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre saying that the Trinamool Congress would hit the road from tomorrow in protest of the "undemocratic" move and urged people from across the sections to join the movement.

The CM said that all opposition parties should come together and fight these anti-farmer bills.

"The Centre has done nothing to control the price rise of essential commodities. These bills will lead to severe food crisis... At a time when the country is reeling under the Covid-19 pandemic, the Centre is trying to create famine through these farm bills," Banerjee told a press conference at the state secretariat Nabanno here.

Earlier, the CM also came down heavily on the BJP government protesting against its 'undemocratic norms and principles' of functioning.

"Suspension of the eight MPs who fought to protect farmers' interests is unfortunate and reflective of this autocratic Government's mindset that doesn't respect democratic norms and principles," she tweeted this morning.

Eight opposition members, including Trinamool Congress' Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien, were suspended from the Rajya Sabha this morning for the rest of the session over unprecedented chaos in the Upper House during the passing of controversial farm bills on Sunday.

Besides O'Brien, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s Sanjay Singh, Congress's Rajeev Satav and CPI-M's KK Ragesh, were told they had displayed "unruly behaviour especially with the Chair and gross disorderly conduct".

"We won't bow down and we will fight this fascist Government in Parliament and on the streets," the Trinamool supremo said, accusing the BJP of killing democracy in the country.

She said that Trinamool Congress' women cell, led by Chandrima Bhattacharya, would stage a sit-in demonstration with limited members, keeping in mind the Covid-19 safety guidelines. She said that yesterday's incident would be marked as "black Sunday" in the history of Parliament.

"This government has failed to perform. Economy has been in a really bad shape. The states are not getting their GST dues. We have not received anything for the Amphan relief, except for Rs.1,000 crores. This BJP government should go," Banerjee said, pointing that her party would spearhead the protest against the BJP government on a sustained basis in coordination with all opposition political parties in the country.
LOS ANGELES - Schitts Creek, the little Canadian show about a fish-out-of-water family, made history at Sundays Emmy Awards with a comedy awards sweep, something even TV greats including Frasier and Modern Family failed to achieve.

The Pop TV shows awards included best comedy series and awards for its stars, including Catherine OHara, and father-son Eugene and Daniel Levy.

Our show at its core is about the transformational effects of love and acceptance, and this is something we need more now than ever before, said co-creator and star Daniel Levy, who encouraged people to register and vote to achieve that goal.

OHara accepted the award virtually in the pandemic-safe ceremony, which included a number of winners who made a point that the Nov. 3 general election was near.

Though these are the strangest of days, may you have as much joy being holed up in a room or two with your family as I had with my dear Roses, OHara said, surrounded in a decorated room in Toronto by mask-wearing co-stars who play the Rose family members.

Levy called it ironical that the straightest role I ever played lands me an Emmy for a comedy performance. I have to seriously question what Ive been doing for the past 50 years.

Moments later, Levys son Daniel won the award for comedy writing for an episode of Schitts Creek, then shared a directing award and captured the supporting actor comedy trophy. The supporting actress trophy went to his co-star Annie Murphy.

Daniel Levy thanked his father and OHara for teaching an extended master class in comedy. The shows sweep came for its much-acclaimed final season.

References to coronavirus were an ongoing part of the ceremony, with essential workers  including a teacher and a UPS deliveryman  presenting awards and Jason Sudeikis ostensibly getting a COVID-19 test onstage.

In a year with a record number of Black nominees, 35, there was a notable lack of diversity in the shows early going. With Schitts Creek gobbling up comedy awards, that left Insecure and creator Issa Rae empty-handed Sunday.

That was also true of Ramy Youssef, creator-star of the semi-autobiographical comedy Ramy, about a young Muslim Americans love and religious life. Yousef tweeted a video of a hazmat suit-wearing person clutching an Emmy and waving goodbye after he lost the lost the comedy actor category.

There was a sign of change with the drama awards, which came in the latter part of the ceremony.

The powerful series Watchmen, a graphic novel-adaptation steeped in racial pain, was voted best limited series and star Regina King won lead actress for her work on the HBO show. She was showered by confetti as she accepted in an armchair, wearing a T-shirt that honoured police shooting victim Breonna Taylor.

This is so freaky and weird, said King, who regained her composure and called on viewers to vote.

Her co-star, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, won the Emmy for best supporting actor in a limited series. Uzo Aduba won the counterpart actress award for her portrayal of Shirley Chisholm in Mrs. America.

Anthony Anderson, a nominee for black-ish, came on stage to make his disappointment vigorously known, saying the awards should have been Howard University homecoming Black.

This isnt what it should have been. ... But Black stories, Black performances and Black Lives Matter, he said, urging host Jimmy Kimmel to shout with him.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver was again honoured as best variety-talk series, with David Letterman announcing the award after being abandoned roadside by an annoyed ride-share driver.

Oliver joined the ranks of winners calling for Americans to vote, as did Mark Ruffalo, who won the limited series acting trophy for I Know This Much is True

Kimmel opened the show with a monologue that appeared to be defiantly delivered in front of a packed, cheering theatre  until it was revealed they were clips from past Emmy shows.

Of course Im here all alone. Of course, we dont have an audience, he said. This isnt a MAGA rally. Its the Emmys.

With more than 100 long-distance video feeds with nominees ahead, what could possibly go right?

A minor gaffe marred Saturdays virtual Emmys for technical and other honours, when Jason Batemans name was announced for a guest acting award that belonged to Ron Cephas Jones of This Is Us. Other guest acting honours went to Eddie Murphy and Maya Rudolph for Saturday Night Live and Cherry Jones for Succession.

Bateman was one of the few people on hand at the Staples Center for Sundays show, sitting in the audience during Kimmels opening monologue. Bateman sat stone faced amid a collection of cardboard cutouts, trading jokes with Kimmel after the host pointed out he was there.

Euphoria star Zendaya could become the youngest winner in the drama actress category at age 24 (topping Jodie Comer, who was 26 when she won last year for Killing Eve).

The producers of Sundays broadcast have said gaffes could occur. Kimmel is on stage at downtown LAs Staples Center, central command for camera feeds relayed from 130 nominees socially distanced at home or elsewhere in 10 countries and 20 cities.

Other recent awards shows, including the BET Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards, bowed to the coronavirus with a mix of pre-taped and live segments. How the Emmys fare may influence Hollywoods awards season.

The creative Emmys that were handed over five days, culminating Saturday, underscore the point: awards have been collected by 29 outlets representing cable channels, streaming services and broadcast networks. So far, longtime leader HBO and rising Netflix are tied with 19 awards each, followed by Disney+ and NBC with eight honours apiece.

The Mandalorian, home of the character dubbed baby Yoda by fans, earned the bulk of the Disney services honours, seven to date. Watchmen has a matching number, with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel led among comedies with four awards going into Sundays ceremony.

___

Online: https://www.emmys.com/
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NAHSVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AtWork Group, a rapidly growing national staffing franchise announced today the opening of its new office in the Nashville, Tennessee area, extending the company's overall reach in the state of Tennessee. The location is owned and operated by Mike Kull, a veteran sales and marketing professional.

"With this expansion into Nashville we're looking forward to developing a strong presence in Middle Tennessee," said Jason Leverant, president and COO of AtWork Group. "By coupling Mike's experience with the knowledge, tools, and resources of AtWork's national franchise network, clients and associates alike will be able to realize why AtWork has been named a Best of Staffing award winner for 5+ years!"

"I am looking forward to helping the people in my community connect with the many job opportunities available in the greater Nashville area," said Mike Kull, owner of AtWork South Nashville. "I absolutely love the idea of making these connections!"

The new office is located at 3011 Harrah Dr., Suite M, Spring Hill, Tennessee 37174 and will be placing candidates into light industrial, manufacturing, warehouse, administrative, and clerical positions. The business may be reached at 615-392-5359 or by visiting AtWork.com/SouthNashville.

AtWork Group has been ranked in: Staffing Industry Analysts' report on the Largest Staffing Firms in the United States, Franchise Business Review's Top Innovative Franchises, Forbes' America's Best Executive Recruiting Firms and America's Best Professional Recruiting Firms, Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500, Franchise Times' Fast & Serious, Franchise Times' Top 200+ and Inc. Magazine's Inc. 5000.

About AtWork Group

AtWork Group is an industry leading staffing franchise, based in Knoxville, Tenn. Providing temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire services across industries, AtWork specializes in three lines of service  AtWork Personnel, AtWork Medical and AtWork Search. There are locations across 27 states, with the goal to reach 325 by 2029. AtWork franchisees execute region-based decisions that make a difference in their local economies to strengthen their communities. The company facilitated 50,000 hires last year. For more information about franchise opportunities, visit www.AtWorkfranchise.com.

SOURCE AtWork Group
Every four years around this time, political observers become breathless in anticipation of an October surprise, an event or disclosure or a gaffe that will change the dynamic of the upcoming US presidential election. And it is almost a given something will come up to shake things up.

2016 had two so-called surprises: Donald Trumps Access Hollywood tape, released on October 7, and the FBI reopening their investigation into Hillary Clintons emails on October 28.

This years October surprise arrived a month early: the death of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the impending political war over filling her vacancy on the court. Of course, everybody wants to know how this will affect Novembers presidential and congressional elections, but the short answer is: nobody knows.

For the clearest sense of how this might all play out, cut through the noise of the politicians and talking heads and look closely at voters reactions in the coming weeks to Trumps choice and the subsequent nomination battle.

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Leading up to this moment, there has been little indication of how a Supreme Court fight might influence the vote. A Fox News poll released last week showed that likely voters trust Democrat Joe Biden over Trump, 52 to 45 percent, to do a better job with Supreme Court nominations.

The New York Times last week asked voters in three battleground states who are undecided or could change their minds who they preferred to choose the next Supreme Court justice  they preferred Biden over Trump 49 to 31 percent.

However, until voters are asked by pollsters what they think about this development and the subsequent fallout, all we can do for now is watch the political players.

Biden said if he wins the election, a Trump nominee for the court position should be withdrawn [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]

Their strategies will be calibrated not only for a long-term political advantage, as Supreme Court appointments usually are, but also for a short-term electoral advantage, something the US has never seen this close to a presidential election.

There is no question this is an opportunity for Trump to change the focus of the election away from voters negative reviews on his performance as president and his handling of the pandemic and racial justice issues.

It is almost certain he will make his choice and this process one of, if not the, main focus over the next six weeks. But what is not clear is which strategies he will adopt regarding his nominee and the subsequent fight over that choice.

Trump had announced a lengthy public list of potential nominees before Ginsburgs death and said on Saturday he would nominate a woman. But will he choose one to placate his unwavering conservative base, promising them a 6-3 conservative-leaning court for the next generation?

Will he pick someone who will emphasize his divisive, us-versus-them, culture-war campaign strategy or someone he and Republicans can try to sell to voting blocs with whom he is underperforming, such as independents, suburban women and older voters?

Trump said he would nominate a woman to fill the Supreme Court vacancy [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]

As for the pace of the nomination process, will it be rammed through before election day or will Trump and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell try to hold a vote after the election to allow embattled incumbent Republicans fighting in Senate battlegrounds to defer making up their minds until the electoral pressure has eased?

Will Republicans even have the full support of their Senate ranks? It only takes a few out of their 53-47 majority to create significant problems for confirming Trumps nominee.

As for Democrats, they have no immediate legislative or procedural tools at their disposal, so at this point, the focus will be on vociferously arguing that Trump and the Republicans are imperilling the country by trying to ram a nominee through.

They will talk about Republicans hypocrisy on blocking President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominee in 2016 because the vacancy was too close to an election, though it was 9 months prior.

They will talk about how abortion rights, immigration, healthcare, LGBTQ rights and civil rights will all be in jeopardy under a 6-3 conservative majority Supreme Court.

And they will surely talk about how just days before her death, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.

Ginsburg said she wanted a new president to be installed before her replacement on the court is selected [Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Berggruen Institute via AFP]

In their effort to honour Ginsburgs wish, Democratic leaders escalated their rhetoric over the past two days, suggesting they are ready to strike back at the Republicans, maybe not immediately, but down the road.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer issued a direct threat to McConnell: If the Senate Republicans go forth with filling the vacancy, nothing is off the table for next year.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when asked if another impeachment of Trump could be used to prevent filling the vacancy, did not respond directly but did say: We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that Im not about to discuss right now.

With all the uncertainties Ginsburgs passing and her vacant Supreme Court seat create, there is one certainty: every crucial decision and statement made by an elected official will be made while they ask themselves the question: How does this affect me on election day? It is the effect of those decisions and statements that will be closely watched to see how voters react to this early October surprise.
Crystallex, the Canadian mining company that years ago won a $1.4-billion arbitration against Venezuelas PDVSA has urged a district judge to set a date for the sale of U.S. refiner Citgos parent company, Mining.com reports.

Judge Leonard Stark is the justice that is looking into Crystallexs dispute with PDVSA over the arbitration, which Venezuela has refused to acknowledge and to pay. The mining company has been pushing for the sale of Citgo for some time now and last year won when Judge Stark ruled Citgo was not separate from the Venezuelan state: an important decision that legitimized Crystallexs claims that it was owed compensation for the nationalization of its Venezuelan assets and it could get it from the sale of Citgo.

The ruling by Judge Stark was unique: government assets such as Citgos parent, PDVSA, are as a rule protected from lawsuits targeting a state. Yet in Starks ruling, the judge said that Venezuela had blurred the lines between the government and the state oil firm, with a military official at the helm of PDVSA.

Even if the court has ruled in favour of Crystallex, the miner is yet to get what it wants. None other than the U.S. government, the strongest opponent of the Maduro government, is against the sale of Citgo, or rather its parent, PDV Holdings. Last November, the Treasury said it would not allow any claimants for compensation from Venezuela to try and seize Citgo assets.

Earlier this year, Washington issued another warning against claimants trying to seize Citgo. It asked Judge Stark to not grant Crystallex the right to sell the shares of PDV Holdings because such a move would have a negative impact on U.S. foreign policy and national security interests. Now, the judge has asked whether he should take into consideration this warning when deciding whether to set a date for the sale of PDV Holdings shares in January, Mining.coms Valentina Ruiz Leotaud reports.

The situation is sticky: half of Citgo is owned by Rosneft, after PDVSA pledged the stake as collateral for a loan. The other half of the refiner is collateral for a bond that matures this year and one that PDVSA has already defaulted on. The maturity date for the bond is October 27. If it comes and goes without a payment, the new owners of 50.1 percent of Citgo would be a group of institutional investors.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Kabul, Sep 21 : Six Afghan soldiers and three police officers were killed and four others injured in a Taliban ambush in Takhar province, a government spokesman confirmed on Monday.

"Militants initially attacked a security checkpoint in Nawabad locality of Dasht-i-Qala district on Sundat midnight," the spokesman told Xinhua news agency.

"They also laid an ambush against a responding security forces' motorcade, triggering clashes along a road that left the above casualties," he added.

No other details were immediately available about clashes in the security checkpoint in the region, 245 km north of Kabul.

Several militants were also killed and wounded during the fighting, according to the spokesman.

The Taliban was yet to comment on the incident.

Violence has lingered in the war-torn country even as peace talks between an Afghan government delegation and Taliban representatives are being held in Doha, capital of Gulf state of Qatar.

More than 130 people have been killed and over 100 wounded across the country over the weekend.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
By Stephanie Nebehay and Kate Kelland

GENEVA/LONDON (Reuters) - Some 156 nations have joined a global scheme for fair distribution of future vaccines against COVID-19, an alliance led by the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, but superpowers China and the United States did not sign up.

U.S. President Donald Trump's government has already secured future supplies through bilateral deals, prompting accusations of selfish behaviour to the detriment of poor countries.

China, where the coronavirus began, was also missing on the list of 64 rich nations who joined the so-called COVAX plan to deliver 2 billion vaccine doses round the world by the end of 2021, prioritising healthcare workers and the vulnerable.

But alliance officials said dialogue continued with Beijing.

The scheme would account for about two-thirds of the world population, according to the WHO and GAVI vaccine alliance, which published the list of signatories after a deadline for binding commitments expired on Friday.

Dozens of vaccines are in testing for the coronavirus which has infected about 31 million people globally and killed nearly 1 million, a fifth of those in the United States.

'THIS IS NOT CHARITY'

"COVAX will give the world the largest and most diverse portfolio of vaccine candidates," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a virtual briefing.

"This is not charity, it's in every country's best interest. We sink or we swim together ... This is not just the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do."

With some wealthier nations reticent over COVAX, the plan has highlighted the challenge of distributing vaccines equitably around a world of haves and have-nots.

The vaccine alliance said it expected another 38 wealthy countries to join the initiative in coming days.

It said it had received commitments for $1.4 billion towards vaccine research and development, but a further $700 million-$800 million was urgently needed.

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The alliance did not say which countries were providing funding while not planning to take supply of vaccines from the scheme. France and Germany have said they will only source potential shots via the European joint procurement scheme.

More than 150 potential vaccines are being developed and tested globally, with 38 in human trials.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, Kate Kelland and Mike Shields; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Shoppers have been urged to restrain themselves from panic-buying amid growing fears of tighter coronavirus restrictions.

Toilet rolls, frozen food and long-life produce was wiped from the shelves in some stores in scenes familiar to March when the nation braced to hunker down at home.

As customers flooded social media with pictures of empty aisles, one shopper declared: 'It's happening again.'

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: 'We urge consumers to be considerate of others and shop as they normally would.'

He played down the presence of panic-buying and paid tribute to the 'excellent job' of retailers to provide food during the pandemic.

Reassuring the public, he added: 'Supply chains are stronger than ever before and we do not anticipate any issues in the availability of food or other goods under any future lockdown.'

But supermarkets are bolstering security at their doors and have doubled the number of delivery slots.

Bulk and panic buying begins at Costco, Trafford Park, Manchester

There are concerns that a second wave of panic buying has already begun, with stocks of essential items like toilet roll running low. (Pictured: Tesco in Portsmouth)

Shoppers have taken to social media to share photographs of supermarkets with the shelves stripped bare (above, ASDA in London)

One woman was seen picking up 80 toilet rolls at a Tesco in Kennington, South London, today

Tesco has boosted its online ordering capacity to around 1.5million, but in its stores the shelves were emptying quickly today

Queues formed in some supermarkets as shoppers were met with empty shelves (Pictured: Asda on Old Kent Road, South London)

Supermarket staff and shoppers have started to notice shelves emptying, like these in Asda, South London, but retailers are playing down fears of a rise in bulk-buying

Britain's biggest chains have made assurances that they have enough stock and delivery slots to last (pictured: empty shelves in Asda, south London)

Toilet roll stocks were getting low at a Tesco store in Surrey Quays, London, as social media users lamented the panic, with one user posting: 'It's happening again'

Checkouts were busy as people emptied their packed baskets and trollies amid warnings of panic buying over the weekend

One supermarket worker in Birmingham told The Mirror: 'Some people are definitely panic buying again. We have 4,000 more items this weekend than we usually would.

'When the panic buying started months ago, we hadn't experienced it. We are prepared now.'

Another tweeted today: ' I just finished my shift at work and witnessed so many customers panic buying again. Please dont - there is no need for it!'

It comes as Morrisons announced it will be reinstating marshals at its doors to limit the number of shoppers coming in and out, while also reminding them to wear face masks.

Shoppers and workers have started to notice signs of panic buying returning to parts of Britain

Have you seen any panic buying? Email tips@dailymail.com Advertisement

Concerned shoppers took to Twitter over the weekend to share photographs of their local supermarkets, showing shelves completely emptied of essential items.

One Twitter user shared photographs of an ASDA in London where cereals seemed in short supply, leaving shoppers with fewer brands to choose from.

Another shopper posted pictures of a Tesco in the West Midlands, where kitchen roll and toilet roll was in short supply - but had not been completely cleared out.

One person shared pictures on Twitter, writing: 'This was my local Tesco! People are already panic buying once again! Even though supermarkets do stay open.'

An ASDA shopper said: 'This is our ASDA it's madness and as you say even though they are staying open.'

Shelves have started to empty at supermarkets today, including at Tesco Extra store in Bolton

Canned goods and other items were starting to disappear from the shelves at the Bolton store

Shoppers were also purchasing bags of pasta, amid warnings of panic buying in recent days

Items starting to disappear from shelves Pasta

Tinned tomatoes/tomato sauces

Toilet paper

Flour

Other tinned goods Advertisement

And another person predicted that 'It's happening again'.

Tesco's weekly ordering capacity has risen from 600,000 to 1.5million - but it remains fully booked until Wednesday.

Asda has increased its online delivery slots by 65 per cent - from 450,000 to 700,000.

There are three-day waiting times for Ocado, while Sainsbury's is experiencing high demand.

Sainsbury's revealed the number of Christmas pudding searches was four times higher than this time last year.

The online supermarkets pasted notices on their 'pick a slot' page warning customers the sites were experiencing high demand.

Ocado's read: 'Delivery slots are selling out faster than usual. If you can't find a slot now, please use the 'Next 3 days' button to see available slots further in advance.'

A notice on Sainsbury's delivery slots page said: 'Slots are still in high demand. We have been working hard to expand our service. More slots are now available and we are able to offer some of them to other customers.

'Customers who are vulnerable will get priority access and are able to book slots in advance of anyone else. We're releasing new slots regularly so please check back if you can't see any available.'

On Saturday, Tesco was fully booked until Wednesday with an available slots all priced at 5.50 - and there were no available spaces until Monday at Asda.

Morrisons has reinstated marshals to monitor customer numbers and remind them to wear masks, while Tesco has boosted its online ordering capacity

Shoppers have shared their concern on Twitter about fears of a second wave of coronavirus fuelling the return of panic-buying, which was seen at the beginning of the crisis in March

Delivery slots for supermarkets, including Ocado and Sainsbury's, are also selling out 'faster than normal' as shoppers worry that a second wave of panic buying has already started

Toilet roll and kitchen roll was seemingly in shorter supply than normal at a Tesco in the West Midlands, with one shopper sharing pictures of the bare shelves on Twitter (above)

Andrew Opie, Director of Food & Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said:

'Retailers have done an excellent job in ensuring customers have access to food and necessities throughout this pandemic.

'Since March, retail businesses have strengthened their supply chains as well as investing hundreds of millions to make stores safe and secure for customers; this includes perspex screens, social distancing measures and additional hygiene measures. As such, retail remains a safe space for consumers, even under future lockdowns.

'Supply chains are stronger than ever before and we do not anticipate any issues in the availability of food or other goods under any future lockdown. Nonetheless, we urge consumers to be considerate of others and shop as they normally would.'

Concerned shoppers shared pictures of panic buying from stores in London and other parts of the country

The graphic above shows the break down of what Britons spent their cash on in the supermarkets when panic buying started back in March

The Prime Minister is now threatening to 'intensify' coronavirus restrictions as he blames the British public for the rise in cases - despite his repeated pleas for people to return to their desks and eat out at pubs and restaurants in a bid to resuscitate Britain's economy.

Government scientists have spooked Boris Johnson with warnings of hundreds of daily coronavirus deaths 'within weeks' as they said: 'There is no alternative to a second national lockdown.'

Mr Johnson looks to ditch his Rule of Six and introduce fortnight-long 'circuit breakers' nationwide for six months, following claims that it was 'inevitable' that a second wave would hit the country.

The new approach to get the UK through winter would see it alternate periods of stricter measures, including bans on all social contact between households and shutting down hospitality and leisure venues like bars and restaurants, with intervals of relaxation. Schools will be shut as a 'last resort', a Whitehall source claimed.
European aerospace giant Airbus released details of three hydrogen-fueled concept planes on Monday, saying they could enter service by the year 2035. The designs, named ZEROe, differ in size and style, but are all meant to be zero-emission, using hydrogen as their primary source of power.

They include an aircraft that would use turbofan engines and carry between 120 and 200 passengers. With a range of more than 2,000 nautical miles, it would be powered using what the company described as "a modified gas-turbine engine running on hydrogen, rather than jet fuel, through combustion." According to the designs, liquid hydrogen would be stored behind the rear pressure bulkhead, at the back of the plane.

Another design, using turboprop engines, would also be powered using modified gas-turbine engines, have a range of over 1,000 nautical miles, but carry fewer passengers.

A third design offers a radical vision of how airplanes could look in the years ahead. Carrying as many as 200 passengers, the "blended-wing body" concept would see wings "merge" with the aircraft's main body.



"I strongly believe that the use of hydrogen  both in synthetic fuels and as a primary power source for commercial aircraft  has the potential to significantly reduce aviation's climate impact," Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said in a statement.



"These concepts will help us explore and mature the design and layout of the world's first climate-neutral, zero-emission commercial aircraft, which we aim to put into service by 2035."
Reveleer, a healthcare technology company named as one of the Fastest Growing Companies in America by Inc. 5000, today announced the expansion of their Quality Improvement offering with the launch of their Prospective Review and Gap Closure solution powered by Natural Language Processing (NLP). Customers are now able to uncover valuable information from medical charts that can be converted into supplemental data for HEDIS reporting. Additionally, this software provides an additional provider feedback loop for unclosed care gaps impacting both HEDIS hybrid and administratively reported measures.

Reveleers Prospective Review speeds up the process of gap closure while providing exceptional accuracy with the application of Natural Language Processing (NLP). Customers can concurrently review all potential care gaps at the member level and close them through the discovery of relevant chart documentation. Extensive process automation for chart intake and Quality review applying Natural Language Processing (NLP) speeds this process while enhancing the quality of results.

The net impact to customers using Reveleer Prospective Review and Gap Closure will be increased accuracy of administrative or electronically reported data, which will increase the accuracy of quality reporting initiatives and decrease provider office traffic during the busy HEDIS reporting season. Additionally, a new Unresolved Gap Reporting feature will quickly inform providers of true gaps in care or documentation.

Health plans can now close gaps faster and more accurately leveraging the Reveleer platform, said Michael Curran, Reveleers Vice President of Quality Improvement Programs. This is very important as many prospective gap closure projects involve massive chase volumes requiring rapid resolution of both documentation and care gaps in time for annual HEDIS reporting.

Since its inception over a decade ago, Reveleer has been at the forefront of transforming data into actionable insights, said Jay Ackerman, CEO of Reveleer. Our mission is to provide health plans with total freedom to perform Quality programs on their own. Reveleer Prospective Review and Gap Closure furthers this mission by applying machine learning technology to solve critical challenges around clinical quality improvement and reporting, reducing the time, resources, and complexity of these programs.

Reveleers Platform offers health plans powerful Quality Improvement capabilities, including end-to-end medical record review that leverages Natural Language Processing (NLP), Intelligent Automation, and automated workflows to increase productivity and reduce manual work. The Prospective Review and Gap Closure solution complements the recently launched NLP-Driven Overread for Quality Review, an automated level of review that health plans can use to increase accuracy of HEDIS reporting.

About Reveleer

Reveleer is a healthcare software and services company that uses Machine Learning and Intelligent Automation technology to empower payers in all lines of business to take control over their Quality Improvement and Risk Adjustment programs. The Reveleer platform enables payers to independently execute and manage every aspect of provider outreach, retrieval, coding, abstraction, and reporting  all under one platform. Leveraging proprietary technology, robust data sets, and subject matter expertise, Reveleer also assists payers with full record retrieval and review services to support financial performance and improved member outcomes.
Couples with a combined income of 85,000 would be able to buy a new three-bedroom home for 230,000 under an affordable housing scheme proposed by Sinn Fein.

The initiative aimed at first-time buyers will also allow a single person with a gross income of 55,000 to buy a house for the same price.

However, under the proposed scheme being launched today, the land the houses are built on would be owned by the State

This means that anyone who buys one of these homes would not be allowed to rent the house and would only be allowed to sell it back to another buyer seeking a property through the scheme.

Homes sold under the scheme can be passed on to family members, but the same rules will apply to those who inherit the property.

Although the initiative would be focused principally on first-time buyers, it would also be available to second-time buyers who lost their homes due to a breakdown in a relationship or repossession.

People seeking to trade up because their family size has increased but are trapped in negative equity properties would also be able to apply.

Sinn Fein estimates it could build 8,000 affordable homes next year, with 4,000 available for purchase and the other half set aside for an affordable rental scheme.

The houses would be built on state land serviced by local authorities before being sold to people who apply to the scheme.

Sinn Fein housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin said research shows houses can be built for 160,000 less when private developers are eliminated.

Expensive

"This scheme removes all the costs associated with private development such as land costs, expensive financing and high developer margins," Mr O Broin told the Herald.

"The plan will result in a new layer of housing in the market, which will be available to people of a particular income."

The party is also proposing increasing the affordable and social housing budget next year by 1.5bn to 2.8bn.

Separately, Social Justice Ireland director Dr Sean Healy, speaking in advance of the launch of the think tank's briefing on Budget Choices 2021, called for a progressive Budget.

"Budget 2021 should be socially progressive and promote well-being," he said.

"This is key to a fair and inclusive recovery as we learn to live in a Covid-19 world."

Among its housing proposals is that property owners and local authorities must be incentivised to bring vacant homes and sites back into use.

In addition, it said the Government should seek to emulate best practice in other European countries and increase social housing to 20pc of all housing stock. It is currently 9pc.

The body also urged a rethink on construction.

"We should be looking at smaller-scale, socially-advantageous construction projects with higher work intensity," Dr Healy said.

"Local projects inject much- needed revenue into towns and cities and support regional development.

"Because they are small-scale, there is greater flexibility to scale up or down, depending on available funding, and that funding is more readily available at low interest through EU Green Deal mechanisms."

While developing a thriving economy is essential, it cannot be delivered without simultaneously working to provide decent services and infrastructure, just taxation, good governance and sustainability, Social Justice Ireland said.
Regina King in "Watchmen." (HBO)

Never underestimate HBO during awards season. The pay-cable stalwart was the winningest network at the 2020 Emmy Awards Sunday night, topping streaming rivals including Netflix.

Prestigious programming led by "Watchmen" and "Succession" propelled AT&T-owned HBO to 30 trophies, including creative arts Emmys doled out during the week before the main broadcast. The darkly prescient superhero drama "Watchmen" won for limited series and the media mogul saga "Succession" topped for drama series.

Netflix scored 21 statuettes, including major awards for drug drama "Ozark" and miniseries "Unorthodox" given out during the telecast. Julia Garner won supporting actress for "Ozark," while Maria Schrader won for directing "Unorthodox," about a young woman who escapes her Hasidic Jewish community in Williamsburg, N.Y.

HBO's awards-season success is a welcome affirmation for the premium pay TV network, which now shoulders the burden of carrying the brand identity of its parent company's most important initiative: streaming service HBO Max. The streamer, which costs $15 a month, got off to a sluggish start when it launched in May.

Los Gatos-based Netflix came into Emmys week with a record 160 total nominations, ahead of HBO's 107 nods. Netflix's surge in nominations, though, came with the caveat that it produces way more shows than its AT&T-owned rival, which takes a more bespoke approach to industry dominance.

Awards such as the Emmys don't exist just as coveted bragging rights for networks and streaming services. Especially for streamers like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, winning prestigious awards is a way to stand out among a growing number of well-funded competitors jockeying for viewers. Getting onto the Emmy stage is a good way for a new player  like Disney+ or Quibi  to signal to the industry that they've arrived.

For HBO, it's about maintaining its position as the industry's beacon of quality programming and longtime Television Academy favorite. HBO became a subsidiary of Dallas-based AT&T in 2018 when the telecommunications company acquired Time Warner Inc. , which was rebranded as WarnerMedia.

Story continues

At the time, analysts worried that the parent companys demand for more programming from HBO would dilute its boutique brand and that the exit of key executives would hurt the networks prospects.

And yet HBO has continued to produce critically acclaimed programming including Watchmen, set in an alternate reality in Tulsa, Okla., in which masked vigilantes are outlawed.

The acclaimed racially themed Damon Lindelof-created show won awards including limited series, lead actress (Regina King) and supporting actor (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).

"Succession's" haul included drama series, lead actor (Jeremy Strong, as the troubled scion of the Roy family) and directing.

HBO also won dramatic lead actress for Zendaya's performance in Euphoria, about teens struggling with drug abuse, sexuality and other issues. "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" and Mark Ruffalo vehicle "I Know This Much Is True" also delivered awards.

Last year, HBO led the networks with 34 Emmy wins, topping both Netflix and Amazon thanks to the final season of "Game of Thrones" and limited series "Chernobyl." Netflix took 27 statuettes in 2019, and Amazon nabbed 15.

It was also an extraordinary night for ViacomCBS-owned cable channel Pop TV, which earned multiple awards for its Canadian comedy "Schitt's Creek," which has significantly increased the small channel's profile.

The beloved CBC show's sixth and final season earned seven Emmys Sunday night, including comedy series, actor (Eugene Levy), actress (Catherine O'Hara), supporting actor (Daniel Levy) and supporting actress (Annie Murphy). Pop won 10 Emmys, including two for "Schitt's Creek" last week.

Legacy networks mostly took a back seat as streamers and HBO dominated the proceedings. Disney-owned FX Networks managed a win for Uzo Aduba's turn in the historical miniseries "Mrs. America." RuPaul's Drag Race won for VH1, also owned by ViacomCBS.

The major broadcast networks  NBC, FOX, CBS and ABC (which aired the Emmys)  were overshadowed.

Among the broadcast networks, NBC led with eight creative Emmys including a handful of wins for "Saturday Night Live."

Some newcomers made their presence known during Emmys week. Walt Disney Co.'s Disney+ had a strong showing this year, thanks to its popular Star Wars series "The Mandalorian," which earned seven technical awards last week.

Apple TV+'s flagship series "The Morning Show" scored a prime-time win for supporting dramatic actor Billy Crudup.

Amazon Prime Video had a relatively low-key Emmys week. The Amazon streaming arm earned four awards total, all given out before Sunday for the popular comedy "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman's Quibi, the short-form streaming startup that has struggled to make a splash since its launch during the pandemic, managed to get two wins last week. It won two acting awards for its social justice series #FreeRayshawn.




Levy won lead actor in a comedy for his role of Rose family patriarch Johnny in the final season of Schitts Creek, which he co-created with his son Daniel Levy. He was also nominated in the comedy series category, as an executive producer on the show. This was Levys second consecutive nomination in both categories. Previously, Levy won two writing Emmys in the variety or music program category for his time as part of the SCTV staff. Both of those were earned in the 1980s.
The Bristol County District Attorneys office issued a nationwide arrest warrant for 46-year-old Eduardo Mendez after a new DNA test identified the man as the suspect accused of raping a woman in Attleboro more than 25 years ago, officials said.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III announced Sunday that the arrest warrant charges Mendez with aggravated rape in connection to the decades-old cold case.

On June 9 in 1994, a woman in her mid-30s was accosted by three men while walking near the Pleasant Street bridge in Attleboro, according to a statement from the district attorney.

She was forced into the stairwell of a nearby building by the suspects, who covered her mouth as she tried to scream, the statement alleged. Two of the men are accused of pinning the victim down while a third man violently raped her before they all ran away.

The woman immediately reported the case to the police, who responded to the crime scene but were not able to identify any of the suspects, according to Quinns office. Officers were able to find the victims purse at the scene, however.

The victim was taken to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, where she was treated and a sexual assault evidence collection kit was recovered, the district attorney said.

Evidence from the 1994 crime was retested recently using modern DNA technology, according to the prosecutor. After the DNA was uploaded to a national database system, it matched to Mendezs.

The victim, when contacted about the recent developments, indicated she was very relieved to hear the news, stating that even after 26 years she is still living with it, " the district attorneys statement said. She also reported that she now feels a sense of relief because after so many years had passed, she had lost hope that the case would ever be solved.

Mendez was 21 at the time of the rape and was living just a few houses away from the scene of the crime, according to Quinns office.

Along with being linked to the attack via DNA testing, the suspects physical appearance also matched the description of the attacker, the prosecutor noted.

According to the victim, her assailant had gold on his teeth. Investigators learned Mendez had gold in his teeth as well, authorities said.

Law enforcement claimed the suspect left the state after the crime, traveling to New York City, where he was eventually sentenced to jail in the 90s for skipping bail as well as beating and stabbing another man with a pool cue stick, The Sun Chronicles reported.

In 2011, he was deported to Guatemala, his native country, according to the newspapers report.

Whether the suspect is currently living in the United States is unknown, the district attorneys office said.

The effort to identify the suspect in the 1994 crime was part of a county-wide project by Quinns office and the Unresolved Crime Unit of the Massachusetts State Police, which is spearheaded by Lt. Ann-Marie Robertson.

Quinns office was given a $2.2 million federal grant last year to test all previously untested evidence from old sexual assault cases using modern methods, said Gregg Miliote, a spokesperson for the district attorney.

MassLive reported in 2019 that more than 2,100 rape kits submitted by Bristol County law enforcement to Massachusetts State Police dating back to 1983 were never tested or were only partially tested.

A total of 2,273 rape kits were sent to the state police crime lab from the county during that time period, meaning only 149 were fully tested for DNA at the lab.

At the time, Miliote said the district attorneys office had received some details about why the kits went untested and that that information was still being reviewed.

In his statement, Quinn said authorities will continue to use modern technology to try to solve cases like the Attleboro one and bring justice to victims. Unsolved cases, in particular homicides and sexual assaults, are a top priority for his office, he noted.

This was an extremely serious and violent assault committed against an innocent victim. This type of case shocks the conscience," the prosecutor said about the 1994 crime. I am pleased that the victim now knows her attacker has been identified.

Anyone with information about Mendezs location has been urged to call Robertson at 508-961-1918 or email her at AnnMarie.Robertson@state.ma.us.

Massachusetts State Police can also be contacted directly at 855-627-6583 or by email at mspunresolved@pol.state.ma.us.

Anonymous tips can be made as well using the Bristol district attorneys text-a-tip program. Members of the public can text the word Bristol to CRIMES (274637) and then send the tip.

Related Content: Marlene Roses murder went unsolved for 8 years while a rape kit with her killers DNA sat untested; in Mass., hundreds of kits remain untested still
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The Quebec government on Sunday announced new restrictions on gatherings in order to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 infections.

The number of people allowed in "rented halls, places of worship, festive events weddings" will drop from 250 to 50 from Monday, said Health Minister Christian Dube.

In three of the regions in the provinceincluding the cities of Montreal and Quebec City, which have increased to an "orange" alert levelsuch gatherings are limited to 25 people, Dube told a press conference.

The restrictions do not apply to theaters or cinemas, where social distancing is easier to implement, he added.

"The contagion has increased in three socio-sanitary regions," Dube told reporters. "The number of cases is increasing and our ability to take care of the sick is decreasing."

"We ask that you keep contact to a minimum and avoid visiting each other... Avoid family dinners, dinners with friends and parties."

Canada has seen an increase in the number of coronavirus cases over recent weeks. Quebec and neighboring Ontario, the hardest-hit provinces, have clamped down on large gatherings and private parties.

Ontario expanded restrictions on private gatheringsalready in effect in Toronto and Ottawato cover the entire province on Sunday. Gatherings are now limited to 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors.

People who organize parties that exceed those limits are subject to a minimum fine of Can$10,000 (US$7,587).

Canada had recorded 145,750 cases of COVID-19 and 9,267 deaths as of Sunday.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2020 AFP
Northern Ireland-wide restrictions that will see a ban on households mixing have been announced after an urgent meeting of the Executive following a spike in the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus at the weekend.

The ban on the mixing of households indoors, with some exemptions, was initially introduced in areas such as Greater Belfast, Ballymena and parts of Co Armagh. It will be in place across Northern Ireland from 6pm on Tuesday.

The decision was made as First Minister Arlene Foster revealed that several outbreaks are being dealt with across Northern Ireland, forcing the Executive to take action ahead of an urgent COBRA meeting with the Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday morning.

"In this last 48 hours nearly 400 new cases have been reported," said Mrs Foster. "We are now dealing with outbreaks in every county."

Speaking at the Stormont press conference, she said: "For every home across Northern Ireland, there will be no mixing of households indoors, with exemptions for bubbling with one other household, caring responsibilities including childcare, essential maintenance, supported living arrangements, and visits required for legal or medical purposes, or marriage or civil partnerships where one partner is terminally ill.

"No more than six people gathering in a private garden from no more than two households, exempting children twelve and under" will be allowed outdoors.

Mrs Foster highlighted the difficulty of regulating gatherings in domestic properties when dealing with the spread of the virus.

"It is clear that it is in the environment where we feel safe and relaxed where we drop our guard, she said. "It is gathering in domestic properties where most of the virus transmission is occurring. Other environments away from the home can be better controlled and regulated.

"This is not a return to lockdown," she insisted. "Doing nothing was not an option but neither is returning to full lockdown," she said.

This is not a return to lockdown Arlene Foster

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Earlier it was announced that there have been two further deaths and 125 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Northern Ireland.

The deaths, which occurred on Friday and Saturday, bring the total death toll to 577 people.

Out of the 3,380 people tested for the virus in the last 24 hours, 125 individuals returned positive results. The total number of infections is now 9,466 since testing began.

In Northern Ireland 33 patients are in hospital with Covid-19, with five in intensive care.

There are 30 active outbreaks in care homes.

Meanwhile, the UK could be facing 50,000 new Covid-19 cases a day by mid-October leading to 200 deaths a day in November if the current rate of infection is not halted, the Government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance has warned.

"At the moment we think the epidemic is doubling roughly every seven days," Sir Patrick said.

"If, and that's quite a big if, but if that continues unabated and this grows doubling every seven days... if that continued you would end up with something like 50,000 cases in the middle of October per day.

"50,000 cases per day would be expected to lead a month later, so the middle of November say, to 200-plus deaths per day.

"The challenge therefore is to make sure the doubling time does not stay at seven days."

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Scroll down to see how Monday unfolded:
Richa Sharma By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Piqued at not being allowed to seek voting on two farm bills, 12 opposition parties on Sunday moved a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh. On the other hand, the BJP may also move a resolution seeking action against some of the MPs for their unruly behaviour in the House. Several Union ministers reached the residence of Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to discuss the pandemonium created by the opposition MPs.

The Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the DMK, the Samajwadi Party, the NCP, the RJD, the CPI (M), the CPI, the AAP, the Muslim League, the JD(S) and the NCP have signed the resolution expressing no-confidence in Harivansh. We move this no-confidence motion against the deputy chairman for he has violated all canons of law, precedence, parliamentary practice and fair play, reads the motion.

It says Harivansh during the point of order to be raised, did not allow many members opposing the anti-farmer bill to even speak, purported to extend the session beyond 1pm on September 20. As per the convention of parliament, the House functions with the consensus of all political parties. This was specifically pointed out by Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The deputy chairman did not even attempt to generate consensus in this regard and did not allow RS members sitting LS to even participate. The opposition wrote that the deputy chairman attempted to have the Bills passed in haste and without application of mind, circumvented all demands for proper voting by division. Harivansh was accused of not allowing the opposition to seek voting on the Bills and pf passing them by voice vote amidst din.

The dictatorial attitude of the Chair in not wanting to get a sense of the House, which is the convention to extend the session beyond the scheduled 1 pm, led to bedlam & chaos. The anti-farmer Bills were passed in the din without voting. Why the tearing urgency? On whose orders? tweeted Jairam Ramesh, Congress.

The Centre is mulling action against MPs seen tearing copies of bills, damaging microphone and climbing on tables. Opposition has showed height of intolerance today. They think of themselves as baadshah (king). We condemn the unruly behaviour of the opposition and we will never budge to such threats, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said outside Parliament.

Microphones muted?

Amidst the uproar in the Rajya Sabha, the telecast of RSTV was muted. A few of the Opposition members also alleged that their microphones were turned off so that they could not speak.
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for campaign travel to Minnesota from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, September 18, 2020.

President Donald Trump said he will name his pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday or Saturday.

During an interview by phone on "Fox and Friends" on Monday morning, the president said his list of potential nominees for the Supreme Court was down to five names.

"I will announce it either Friday or Saturday and then the work begins," Trump said.

Trump over the weekend said he planned to name a nominee some time this week. He has said he will nominate a woman.

Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, said on CBS earlier in the day that it was likely Trump could name a nominee by Wednesday.

But Trump said that he wanted to allow for time for Ginsburg's funeral services to take place first.

"We want to pay respect," Trump said.

Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are in a hurry to place Ginsburg's successor before Election Day, which is just 43 days away.

Democrats, including presidential nominee Joe Biden, have said that any new nominee must be named after the election.

Ginsburg passed on Friday at 87-years-old after suffering from pancreatic cancer. She was the senior member of the court's liberal wing.

Whether Republicans will be able to muster the votes necessary to confirm a nominee ahead of Nov. 3 remains to be seen. Already over the weekend, cracks in the party's unity began to show.

Two moderate Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, said they did not support holding a vote on a new nominee before the electorate decides whether Trump will hold office for a second term.

Democrats need to peel off just two more of the 53 GOP members in the Senate to stymie the president's effort.

On Monday, Trump repeated his call to have the vote before Election Day.

"We have every right to do it, and we have plenty of time," Trump said. "Now if this took place one day, if we had one day or five days or 10 days .... that would start to look a little bit bad," he added.

Pressed on McConnell's 2016 stonewalling of Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Trump said "there's a difference."

"When you have the Senate, when you have the votes, you can sort of do what you want as long as you have it," Trump said.

Among the judges thought to be likely candidates are Amy Coney Barrett, a favorite of social conservatives who sits on the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Barbara Lagoa, a recent addition to the 11th Circuit, which is located in Atlanta.

Lagoa, previously a justice on the Florida Supreme Court, is seen as potentially helpful for Trump politically in the crucial battleground state.

Trump said he tried not to make politics a part of the selection, but "I think probably automatically it is."

"Even if you're not wanting to do that, it becomes a little automatic," he said.

-- CNBC's Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report
Letter was intercepted before it reached the White House (Getty Images)

A woman accused of sending a letter addressed to president Donald Trump at the White House which contained the deadly poison ricin has been arrested at the US-Canada border, authorities have confirmed.

The suspect, who has not yet been named, was apprehended by US Customs and Border Protection officers at a state crossing in New York State on Sunday, law enforcement officials said.

She was carrying a gun at the time of her arrest, sources told CNN. The suspect is being held in custody and is expected to face federal charges, officials added.

FBI agents on Saturday announced that the package was intercepted at an off-site government screening facility before it reached the White House.

It was later confirmed to have contained ricin, which can potentially kill a person who has been exposed to it within 36 to 72 hours. Investigators said there was no ongoing risk to the public.

The Trump administration has not yet commented on the incident. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the letter appears to have originated in Canada, where the suspect is thought to reside.

Ricin is a highly toxic, naturally occuring substance that is found in castor beans. A tiny amount of the poison can kill a person and there is no known antidote to treat someone who has ingested ricin.

Eating or inhaling the poison can cause a range of painful symptoms from nausea to organ failure and death through a collapse in the circulatory system, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.

It is not the first time ricin has been used to target a US politician. In October 2018, envelopes containing suspicious substances were received by the Pentagon, White House, and campaign offices for Texas Senator Tex Cruz.

The packages sent to the Pentagon were addressed to then-secretary of defence James Mattis and to the chief of naval operations John Richardson.

William Clyde Allen III, a navy veteran from Utah, was charged with five counts including threatening to use a biological toxin. The castor powder he sent was not in its dangerous form.

Story continues

In May 2013, letters laced with ricin were sent to president Barack Obama and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. Actor Shannon Guess Richardson was jailed for 18 years for sending the letters.

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Canadian woman suspected of sending packages addressed to Trump containing poison ricin
Personal information belonging to almost 20,000 University of Tasmania students was mistakenly made public for more than five months due to security settings being configured incorrectly.

Affected students were on Monday informed of the breach, which made their data available to anyone with a UTAS email address from late February to August 11.

UTAS says analysis of the files has revealed a 'number of users' with university emails have accessed the information.

About 20,000 pupils of the University of Tasmania (pictured) were on Monday informed their personal details were mistakenly made public for more than five months

The data, which contains personally identifiable information, is used to inform how the university supports students in their studies, UTAS says.

Bank account details were not part of the data breach.

'Security settings on shared files were unintentionally configured incorrectly, which made the information visible and accessible to unauthorised users,' the university said in a statement.

The university says it became aware of the breach on August 11 and has engaged independent experts to assist.

The breach was due to security settings being configured incorrectly - allowing people with a UTAS email to access the information from February to August 11. Picture: A woman studying

The information made publicly available contained personally identifiable data, used to inform how the university supports the students in their studies. Bank account details were, however, not part of the data breach. Pictured: University students studying

'I sincerely apologise to all students who have been affected by this incident,' University of Tasmania Vice-Chancellor Rufus Black said.

'We have undertaken a thorough review of how this information became accessible and took immediate steps to ensure it is secure.'

UTAS is in the process of contacting people who accessed the data and has 'sought assurance' that the files, or screenshots or shared copies of the files, have been permanently deleted.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Rufus Black added every student affected was on Monday contacted 'to explain what happened, to apologise, and to offer support.' He said the university (pictured) engaged independent experts to assist in securing the information

Information belonging to the 19,900 students was made public through Microsoft Office365 platform SharePoint, which is used to store, share and access files.

Access privileges were incorrectly configured on an Office365 application, which displays content to users based on those privileges.

'There is no evidence this data breach was a result of malicious activity,' UTAS said.

'The system has now been correctly configured.'

UTAS has set up a hotline for students with questions or concerns.
Transactions made at NI cash machines have halved during the six months since the coronavirus lockdown, a report said today.

According to LINK, the UK's main cash machine network, 80,000 fewer customers visited ATMs to withdraw cash in Northern Ireland but those who are, are taking out more.

In Northern Ireland customers are withdrawing 90 per visit - rather than 70 before Covid-19, while across the UK customers withdrew an average of 82 per visit.

Since April, consumers have withdrawn over 1.1bn from cash machines here and they remain the most popular choice for accessing cash. There are 1,800 cash machines in NI. Over 200 closed during lockdown, but more than 50% have now reopened. Nick Quinn, head of financial inclusion at Link, said: "The economic impact of Covid-19 has made the UK's ATM network more fragile, as people have stayed at home, and chosen new ways to pay. With more than 7.5m being withdrawn every day in Northern Ireland though, it shows the continued importance of cash.

"There remains good access to cash in general across Northern Ireland, but we want to hear from communities where people are struggling to access cash. Whether forced to pay a surcharge at an ATM or having to travel a long way to access cash, we are determined to support people accessing cash for as long as is necessary, and encourage people to get in touch."

Scott Kennerley of Consumer Council NI said the figures show that consumers here still rely heavily on cash. "We're delighted to be working with LINK to highlight problems and will keep campaigning to ensure people can access cash, free of charge, in their community," he said.

At the height of lockdown many retailers encouraged consumers to use contactless payments where possible.

Northern Ireland Retail Consortium director Aodhan Connolly said the pandemic has accelerated the increasing move towards card payments, but effort must be made to ensure access to cash is maintained.

"The Covid-19 pandemic hasn't started the change but has very much accelerated the change. We have to protect access to cash. Cash remains an important part of the payment mix in NI and access to cash is a concern for the retail industry. The NIRC is calling for action to ensure the long-term viability of ATMs across NI, especially in rural areas, and to address the fees and charges levied on retailers that provide cashback services to customers," he said.

Mr Connolly said the government must tackle increasing charges on retailers for non-cash payments. "Our payments survey in 2019 showed that, for the first time, credit card spending outstripped cash spending with cash accounting for just 1 in every 5 of retail spending. While it is good news in reducing contact, card costs continue to rise. Retailers across the UK spent 1.3 bn with third parties in 2018 in order to accept payments from their customers, up 70m."
Accused of mishandling bodies and lying on death certificates, a Lancaster County funeral director is heading to trial.

Andrew T. Scheid, 49, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Monday morning on all charges related to abuse of a corpse and falsifying death certificates, according to the Lancaster County District Attorneys Office.

Scheid was charged in August with four felony counts of tampering with public records and four misdemeanor counts of abuse of a corpse, stemming from incidents at two funeral homes he ran in Manor Township and Lancaster.

Scheid had been barred from acting as director of the Andrew T. Scheid Funeral Homes in January after the Pennsylvania Department of State accused him of keeping an un-embalmed body unrefrigerated for three days and not returning cremated remains to families.

The criminal charges against Scheid are related to these actions, which authorities said took place between December and January. According to investigators, four bodies were found Jan. 14 at the funeral home. Although they had been there for several days, none were embalmed, sealed or refrigerated as required by law and had started to decompose, investigators say.

Services for the mishandled remains were carried out by other funeral homes, according to authorities, who also accused him of falsifying death records about when the remains were embalmed or cremated.

The Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office had also announced the filing of a lawsuit against Scheid, seeking to permanently close his funeral home.

Additionally, 10 instances of misconduct were filed in support of Scheids suspension earlier this year in a 51-page submission sent to the State Board of Funeral Directors in December. This resulted in his license being suspended for no less than three years, according to an order from the Department of States Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.

Scheid remains free on $250,000 unsecured bail.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it mistakenly published guidance suggesting that the novel coronavirus spreads through the air.

'A draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error to the agency's official website,' the agency in a statement.

'CDC is currently updating its recommendations regarding airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). Once this process has been completed, the update language will be posted.'

If the virus does spread in fine particles, six feet of distance from an infected person would not necessarily be enough to protect you from catching the virus - but whether or not this is a significant mode of transmission is still hotly debated.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it contacted the CDC earlier on Monday about the update to its guidance.

During a news conference, Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO's health emergencies program, said the WHO had not seen 'new evidence' regarding airborne transmission and that it reached out to CDC to 'better understand' why the guidelines had changed.

It comes days after the CDC changed its controversial recommendations that people exposed to COVID-19 who are asymptomatic forego testing.

On Monday, the CDC it mistakenly published guidance several days ago suggesting that the novel coronavirus spreads through the air. Pictured: CDC director Dr Robert Redfield pauses while speaking at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Friday

Over the weekend, the CDC's website had warned that airborne viruses 'are among the most contagious and easily spread.'

Officials recommended the public use air purifiers use air purifiers to clean the air in indoor spaces, in addition to wearing masks, washing hands, and isolating if ill.

The virus is spread through 'respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols, produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes,' the guidance posted on Friday stated.

These particles can be inhaled and 'this is thought to be the main way the virus spreads.'

However, this wording was gone by Monday and morning and replaced with a statement that the new guidance was published 'prematurely.'

In July, the WHO changed its own guidelines to acknowledge that it 'is possible' to become infected by airborne transmission.

It came after 239 scientists in 32 countries wrote to the UN agency asking it to acknowledge the growing evidence the virus is airborne.

Benedetta Allegranzi, the WHO's technical lead for infection prevention and control, acknowledged at the time that evidence of airborne transmission was emerging -but that it still needed to be carefully studied.

'The possibility of airborne transmission in public settings - especially in very specific conditions, crowded, closed, poorly ventilated settings that have been described, cannot be ruled out,' she said.

'However, the evidence needs to be gathered and interpreted, and we continue to support this.'

For the time being, both the CDC and WHO still say that close and prolonged contact with an infected person is the most common way that the disease spreads.

This is not the first time that the CDC has backtracked on guidance published on its website.

Last month, the CDC suddenly and silently amended its testing recommendations to say that people who have come into contact with COVID-19 patients but don't have symptoms 'do not necessarily need a test.'

Public health experts that noticed the change admonished the agency, arguing more tests are needed, not fewer, and that it is well-known the virus can be spread by asymptomatic people.

Last week, the agency returned to its previous testing guidance and said anyone is exposed, regardless of symptoms, should be tested.

The New York Times recently revealed that the first change was directed by officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and was published without review by scientists at the CDC.

Previously, CDC said the virus is spread through respiratory droplets and close contact, but that there may be evidence the virus is airborne (file image)

The novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China, at the end of last year when it caused a cluster of infections centered around a seafood market.

Since then it has spread rapidly to almost every country, infecting more than 31 million people, according to a WHO tally.

The US is the world's worst-hit country with 6.8 million infections, though India - with 5.4 million - has the world's fastest-growing outbreak and is due to overtake America in the coming weeks.

Nearly one million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to official counts, though this is widely believed to be an under-estimate.

The US has also suffered almost 200,000 deaths from the virus which is by far the highest global total. The next-highest is Brazil, which has recorded 136,000 deaths.

Ongoing problems with testing, even in developed countries, means that, often, only patients with severe infections are able to have a diagnosis confirmed.

This is significant because many patients are thought to exhibit only mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.
UPDATE: Murphy, top Dems agree to $32.7B budget with 4.5B in borrowing, reduced public worker pension payment

Gov. Phil Murphy and his fellow Democrats who lead the New Jersey Legislature have agreed on a state budget deal that raises taxes on high-income earners and HMOs while extending a 2.5-percentage point surtax on corporations with over $1 million in income.

The agreement also jettisons Murphys other proposed tax increases on sales of cigarettes, firearms, boat sales, limousine rides and a tax on opioid manufacturers, according to two legislative sources who were not authorized to publicly discuss the plan and requested anonymity.

It was still unclear early Monday how much the governor and legislative leaders have agreed to raise through borrowing. Murphys proposed budget anticipated taking on a $4 billion, 10-year loan as the state copes with cratering tax revenue in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Murphy declined to comment on the budget at his coronavirus briefing in Trenton on Monday.

Lawmakers expect to take up the bills in budget committees Tuesday and hold a final vote in the full state Senate and Assembly on Thursday. Murphy then has until Sept. 30  next Wednesday  to either sign the budget or veto it in part of in full.

But the governor and lawmakers do not expect the kind of last-minute drama over the budget that has clouded Murphys budget proposals the last two years, when the threat of a state government shutdown hung over negotiations.

The budget committee agendas reflects that the bills will be in committee Tuesday, though they are not yet available for public review. The budget bill is described as appropriating $32.7 billion  about $300 million more than the governors proposed spending plan.

Murphy submitted his proposed budget to the state Legislature less than a month ago, followed by limited legislative hearings due to the truncated budget cycle. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1 and runs for nine months until June 30.

The budget, as proposed, includes $1 billion in tax increases and borrows $4 billion to close a projected revenue shortfall.

A deal announced late last week resolved one piece of the budget negotiations: Murphys long-sought millionaires tax. The governor, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, reached an agreement to install a proposal Murphy campaigned on but previously failed to convince lawmakers to adopt. The leaders said the proposal would increase from 8.97% to 10.75% the tax rate on income between $1 million and $5 million in New Jersey.

In exchange, married couples in the state with at least one dependent child and less than $150,000 in gross income and single parents with at least one dependent child and less than $75,000 in gross income will receive a tax rebate of up to $500 next summer.

Murphys administration estimated the millionaires tax will generate $390 million for the state and the permanent extension of the corporation business tax increase, $210 million.

The tax on corporate income over $1 million was increased by 2.5 percentage points in a budget deal between Murphy and the Legislature would otherwise be phased out.

A boost in an assessment on HMO plans to 5% would drum up more than $100 million.

Any borrowing plan will also require approval from a special committee of four lawmakers, including Sweeney, Coughlin and the chairs of the Senate and Assembly budget committees.

Politico New Jersey was the first to report about the corporate business tax and the elimination smaller tax proposals.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
This summers Black Lives Matter protests, capped by the March on Washington on Aug. 28, have inspired a massive shift in public opinion. Support for the movement has increased over 30 percent since 2017, now shared by as much as two-thirds of the American public. But heightened national sympathy and scrutiny have not protected unarmed Black people from police shootingsjust last month, a policeman fired seven shots into Jacob Blakes back. In order to reduce systemic inequalities and racially biased police violence, protesters must not only shift attitudes on race but also spur substantive policy change.

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Despite the movements early policy victories, such as the D.C. City Councils passage of emergency policing reform and $100 million budget cuts to the L.A. Police Department announced by Mayor Eric Garcetti, proposals to bring more accountability to policing and redirect resources to community-based social programs have stalledboth in the U.S. Senate and in progressive strongholds like California. The disconnect between shifting opinions and rigid legislatures highlights an opportunity for progressives to demand new governing systems that are more responsive to citizens. Digital tools can help citizens organize online and pressure politicians to negotiate and break gridlock on important issues. These civic participation platforms could empower citizens with greater agency in the policymaking process and enhance traditional forms of civic activism.

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Taiwans grassroots Sunflower Movement provides a useful example of how civic movements can champion digital technology to accomplish their objectives. In 2014, Taiwanese students occupied the national legislature to protest a lack of government accountability that resulted in an unpopular free trade deal with Beijing. Activists argued that the allotted seven-day public comment period left no time for substantive public debate on such an important topic, and public frustration catalyzed a reform movement that advocated for greater transparency and citizen agency in the policymaking process. Near-constant livestreaming of the protests earned broad popular support for the movement, and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party incorporated government transparency and the use of digital civic participation tools into its campaign platform. After the DPP won elections in 2016, the party enacted a slew of initiatives and created Cabinet ministry positions to mandate online civic participation as a phase of the policymaking process.

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One community of civic-oriented programmers active in the Sunflower Movement named g0v (pronounced gov-zero) assembled a collection of open source programs to build vTaiwan, a hybrid online and in-person deliberation process. VTaiwan has a broad set of features that help citizens, government agencies, and civil society reach agreements on contentious issues. The process allows users to transparently propose policies and crowdsource facts, facilitate public discussion, deliberate with key stakeholders, and draft suggested changes.

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VTaiwans public discussion phase uses a program called Pol.is to accelerate negotiation and consensus-building between disparate factions. Pol.is enables users to comment on posted topics and either upvote or downvote other comments while preventing replies to existing comments. These features disincentivize trolling on the platform and encourage participants to find consensus viewpoints that earn the highest number of upvotes. Pol.is also uses machine learning and statistical inferences to map how comments appeal to distinct clusters of users. Data visualizations can identify areas of agreement to help participants make progress on seemingly intractable differences.

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Digital civic participation has increased Taiwanese political engagement and facilitated rational online debate on divisive policy issues. Pol.is allowed local taxi drivers, UberX drivers, and the broader public to overcome a contentious dispute about Ubers entry into Taiwans taxi industry. The platform uncovered common ground between these opposing camps and led to the ratification of the Diversified Taxi Plan in 2016. A similar process brokered a solution to a six-year debate about online liquor sales in less than six months. Just five years since its inception, vTaiwan has helped negotiate a total of 26 legislative proposals, and has since become an indispensable tool for integrating citizens directly into the policymaking process.

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Inspired by the success of vTaiwan, public officials created a government-managed platform called Join, which hosts debates from nearly 5 million Taiwanese on a range of critical issues crowdsourced by citizens. One of the most consequential aspects of Join is its institutional mandate. Join requires public officials from relevant ministries to deliver on-record, public responses to proposals that receive 5,000 signatures. By ensuring that popular petitions receive a documented response, Joins mandate bridges the gap between civil society and the legislative process. Join gives citizens an opportunity to translate good ideas into real policy proposals and transforms what might otherwise be a civic-oriented discussion board into a vehicle for direct democracy.

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In 2011, the Obama administration implemented a similar petition-response system with a minimum threshold of 100,000 signatures. The system, WeThePeople, pressured the Obama White House to clarify its stance on police body cameras and a range of other issues.

WeThePeople also drove legislation to alleviate copyright restrictions that prevented individuals from accessing their phones firmware. However, because the Obama administration created WeThePeople as a discretionary policy, successive administrations are not required to maintain the platform. The Trump administration provided only seven halfhearted petition responses before it stopped engaging with the public through WeThePeople altogether.

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Today, in Taiwan, both political parties support Join and vTaiwan as valued democratic institutions. The Black Lives Matter Movement shares a host of similarities with the Sunflower Movement, including grassroots youth leadership, broad popular support, and a focus on forging new roles for marginalized voices in the policymaking process. Black Lives Matter activists now have an opportunity to create comparable momentum for online civic participation by using their platforms to broadcast the importance of citizen-led governance and the promise of civic participation software.

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Absent a landslide victory for the Democratic Party in 2020, civic participation platforms may not soon be feasible at the federal level, but Black Lives Matter organizers should consider pushing cities and states to institute these systems. There are a number of advantages to this approach. Police budgets are largely determined at the local level, making them critical targets for activists seeking to reallocate policing resources toward more inclusive, productive programs. Many municipal governments are also progressive strongholds composed of politicians seeking to rebuild trust with Black communities that have been historically excluded from the policymaking process. These politicians could champion accountable governance as a key tenet of a new political agenda and leverage public pressure generated by online civic engagement to drive overhauls to policing. Beginning at the local level would also allow laboratories of democracy to demonstrate the organizing power that civic participation platforms provide and generate a broad-based coalition of citizens that demands more responsive institutions at all levels of government.

Though civic participation platforms are not new innovations, the current swell of activism in the U.S. makes the current moment opportune for online civic engagement. If leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement seize this opportunity successfully, protesters may have a better chance of seeing the policies they are demanding on the street enacted into law. In the long run, digital civic participation could underpin a new relationship between citizens and their elected representatives and establish a new, accountable democratic process fit for the 21st century.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Lever, North Adams Awarded Grant To Support Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Lever and North Adams were awarded $85,000 in state grant funding to support Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership

Lever and the City of North Adams have been awarded $65,000 and $20,000, respectively, through a state grant program to support forest stewardship and conservation, trail improvements, and nature-based tourism in the Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership (MTWP) region.

"Outdoor recreation is an attraction for North Adams residents and visitors alike," North Adams Mayor Tom Bernard said. "You don't have to step too far away from the center of the city to connect to nature or enjoy our spectacular views. I'm thrilled to work with the MWTP, and I'm grateful to the Baker-Polito administration for supporting our efforts to promote outdoor recreation in North Adams. I'm also so pleased to have a great partner in Lever. I know that the Mohawk Trail Entrepreneur Challenge will build on Lever's incredible record of promoting entrepreneurship and strengthening our region's economy."

The City of North Adams will use its funding to inventory the City's network of trailscity-owned, state, NGO, and privateand, with input from residents and owners of tourist-focused businesses, create and market a comprehensive trail map to draw more tourists to the City for hiking and walking.

Lever, the only economic development organization in Massachusetts to receive funding, will use its grant award to create the Mohawk Trail Entrepreneur Challenge (MTEC), a business acceleration program for entrepreneurs within the MTWP region looking to launch or expand innovative forest-based businesses. Designed to help accelerate four to eight new enterprises, each company in the Challenge will incorporate sustainable forestry and natural-resource-based tourism in their business models.

Lever's Executive Director Jeffrey Thomas explained that the Challenge will draw entrepreneurs from all sixteen Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership towns, including North Adams, Adams, and Clarksburg.

"We're delighted to support entrepreneurs from Berkshire and Franklin Counties from our North Adams headquarters," he said.

The MTEC will be launched from the City of North Adams, where Lever headquarters are located, and aims to maximize regional economic impact through businesses that can attract revenue from areas outside the Mohawk Trail region, create new jobs, and attract financing from multiple sources.

Finalists will be selected in September 2020, and in 2021, the winning project will receive $25,000 to support its goals.

Lever has organized 15 previous challenges, working with a wide range of business models, and has supported more than 80 entrepreneurs whose companies have created dozens of jobs in the region.

Announced by the Baker-Polito Administration to mark Climate Week in the Commonwealth, $225,000 in total grant funding was awarded to Lever and eight municipalities in the MTWP region. The MTWP, a grassroots-led program based on conserving forests and supporting their sustainable management in order to advance economic development in rural MA communities along the Vermont and New York border, provides funding to assist 16 member towns in the Commonwealth's most rural and forested region to plan for the care of forests in the face of climate change, prepare forest offset projects, and improve nature-based tourism.
 Zak Doffman

Huawei is about to shift the 600 million users on its smartphone ecosystem from Android to its own HarmonyOS/HMSat least thats what seemed to be the key takeaway from HDC, the companys developer conference a week ago. Wellmaybe not. The real takeaway from HDC is much more interesting and will be a much more serious threat to Android than just shifting Huawei users. If it works, of course.

The reason Huawei is venturing an alternative to Android is the U.S. blacklist pulling Google software from its devices. That same blacklist has now removed chipsets and displays. Theres not much point in a new OS if smartphones are in short supply. The biggest threat to Android is not Huawei users shifting OS, its a potential market shake-up that impacts many more manufacturers than that.

Huawei has painted this shift from Android as an industry game-changer, a strike against Google and archival Samsung, fuelling the companys ambition to fight Android head-on and take the lead. Huawei overtook Samsung for global smartphone shipments earlier this year, albeit temporarily. The new U.S. action ensures that Samsung, as Androids leading light, will recapture the market lead. Huaweis ambition had been to topple Samsungs crown. Now it needs to adopt an entirely different strategy to attempt the same.

At HDC, these game-changing supply chain issues were played down. Huaweis consumer boss, Richard Yu, mentioned restrictions and software shortages in among an upbeat summary of booming sales, number one or twoglobally and in Chinain wearables, watches and notebooks. Number three for tablets. And, above all, number oneboth globally and in Chinafor smartphones. For now, at least.

The U.S. first blacklisted Huawei in May last year, with the loss of Google being the headline. That tanked export sales for new Huawei phones, but its domestic market grew and grew. A year on, in May this year, the U.S. prohibited Huawei from using American tech to design or fabricate the custom chips that power its flagships. Plan B was to turn to standard offerings. Painful but not existential. Then, in August, Washington played its Trump card. Suddenly those third-party chips would also be restricted. Theres no obvious Plan C.

So lets return to Yus bullish presentation. Yes, our business has been affected, he said, but we can see our business is still growing fast. Surely this means the company has a clever plan to replace those smartphone chipsets? That would mean the reported 75% decline in smartphone shipments next year, down to some 50 million units, must be very wrong. So, is there a secret Plan C after all?

Actually, there probably isnt. Even if China pushed its domestic suppliers to breach U.S. sanctions, they could not produce the sophistication and volume of chipsets required. If theres a secret, so to speak, its that Huawei seems to be contemplating a change in the relationship it now enjoys with those 600 million smartphone users around the world. One that would bypass U.S. sanctions.

Yus punchlines were all HMS-related. This is Huaweis answer to Googles Mobile Services (GMS), everything from the Play Store to Google Pay, as well as stock apps for maps, mail and search. Alongside HarmonyOSa cross-platform operating system, HiLinkthe networking ecosystem to connect Huawei devices to partner offerings, this is the new ecosystem intended to replace Android.

Huawei has been talking up its ecosystem for more than a year. A seamless, AI-driven linkage between smart devices. At the heart of this strategy is 1+8+n, where 1 a users smartphone, 8 is the users smart devicesPC, tablet, wearables, and n is the myriad other IoT devices that link into this ecosystem, controlled by that central Huawei hardware.

The latest expansion of the U.S. blacklist has hit Huaweis strategy with a fatal flaw. Tricky to deploy a strategy with a smartphone at its heart if you cant produce the smartphone. But what if the smartphone isnt from Huawei, its powered by Huawei? An open-source operating system like Androids AOSP, available to other manufacturers? Through this lens, the integration between HarmonyOS (out of the box IoT ready) and HMS (490 million active users, 261 billion app downloads) becomes more than a stick-on Google replacement.

The growth [of HMS] is really fast, Yu told HDC. The development has exceeded our expectations. HMS Core 5.0 is the latest iteration. Faster networking than Android and with lower latency, more APIs than Googles GMS. If you want to build an ecosystem to compete with the world leader then this is important stuff. But how do you get partners to play alongAndroid isnt broken, its a global powerhouse. Huaweis experience in post-blacklist export sales tells you all you need to know about Androids lock on the market.

Huaweis answer is to play the China card. Huawei would like to enjoy joint success with global partners and developers, Yu explained. We are dedicated to introducing Chinese developers to global consumers. We are hoping to see more TikToks in the futureso we can take them to the overseas market... At the same time, Huawei has the ambition to help overseas developers serve Chinese consumers.

The China card. If you buy into the splinternet, the tech division that is being driven between east and west, then the macro opportunity for Huawei has always been to lead a new and united eastern alternative to the U.S. dominance of the mobile ecosystem. As I said last year, not long after the blacklist, if Huawei were to pass a point of no return on Google, then its long-game alternative would be to place itself at the beachhead for this new momentum, one supported by Chinas own emerging technology strategy. And now here we are.

Looking at the potential for this balkanisation, competing operating systems and ecosystems, Yu told his audience that we would like to be the bridge in-between. The SDK for HarmonyOS 2.0, the smartphone-ready flavour is due by year-end, Yu said. The consumer boss has promised this before. Just after the blacklist, he said HarmonyOS (HongMeng as was) might be available before the end of 2019. That became 2020. Now it has become 2021. But the stakes have changed. This isnt about posturing anymore, this is about survival.

Wang ChengluHuaweis software boss, told HDC that the company has learned lessons a year into its own OS. Developing a good ecosystem is far harder than developing good technologies... We don't have along history of software development in China.

Beyond consumer adoption, weaning millions off Google, the challenge for Huawei is to get its domestic rivals to play ball. No mean feat given theres no Google-shaped burning platform for them to jump from to maintain their export sales. But China will push and cajole. This could fast become a national strategy. I hope developers and partners can unite with us in this historic moment, Wang said, in this way a Chinese ecosystem can be long-lasting and thriving... Today we are taking the first step.

Huaweis smartphone-centric ecosystem was born out of its premium devices that competed head-to-head with Samsung and Apple. The thought that this ecosystem might now be launched onto a market absent those flagships is a twist that was never envisaged until last month. And Huawei users will not be expecting that as a potential outcome from next yeareven now, Chinese consumers are snapping up Huawei devices, fearing supplies will run out early next year.

Most HDC write-ups have focused on the news that, finally, Huawei has confirmed that HarmonyOS is getting prepped for smartphones and will be a replacement for Android. Maybe starting from next year we will see smartphones with HarmonyOS, Yu told the developer conference. The question as to who will make those smartphones, though, might be much more important.

Ifand its a huge ifHuawei can coral Chinese (and maybe even non-Chinese?) smartphone makers to jump from Android to its own operating system and app store, it will be a massive achievement. It will also be a serious threat to Googles lock on the Android market and to market-leader Samsung. Again, though, lets not be too hasty with any predictions. We havent even started a debate yet as to whether the U.S. would go so far as to sanction manufacturers who opt for Huaweis OS.

: forbes.com
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 20

Trend:

The statements of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict during an interview with Azerbaijani TV channels after the ceremony of laying the foundation for offshore operations at the Absheron field at the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deep Water Jackets Plant answered the questions of all sides regarding the unsettled conflict, Head of the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, MP Tural Ganjaliyev said, Trend reports.

Ganjaliyev said that the main reason the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is unresolved is because of the disingenuous and unprincipled approach of those in power in Armenia.

"The interview of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev answers all questions related to the conflict. After the recent change of government in Armenia, there were certain hopes for a solution to the conflict. Criticism of the policies of Pashinyan's predecessors in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict as well as announcements on a new approach to relations after he became head of government, raised new hopes not only in Azerbaijan but also in the OSCE Minsk Group, which mediates the conflict," the communitys head noted.

"We soon saw the opposite. The absence of progress in the negotiations on the settlement of the conflict, the Armenian provocations on the front line showed that Nikol Pashinyan also followed in the footsteps of his predecessors. I think that if Pashinyan, like his predecessors, didn't backtrack from his previous statements and promises, today we would see a completely different picture of the conflict settlement. The current leadership of Armenia doesnt realize this responsibility," Ganjaliyev said.

"Official Baku stated that Azerbaijan will not participate in the negotiations for the sake of imitation. The Armenian president violated the negotiation process. Their pointless statements and provocative steps render the negotiations meaningless," the head of the community added.

Ganjaliyev also touched upon the warm relation of some Muslim countries with Yerevan amid the insult to Islamic cultural heritage in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

"We have witnessed regretful incidents related to our mosques in Shusha, Aghdam, and other districts. There were 17 mosques in the 17 quarters of Shusha. Currently, all mosques, except for the Yukhari Govhar Agha mosque, have been destroyed. Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque is also presented as the center of Persian culture. Our mosques in other occupied territories were also demolished. Amid this, the warm relation of the Muslim countries with Yerevan raises questions. If these countries are committed and sincerely defend Islamic values, then why are they silent about the destruction of dozens of mosques in Karabakh?," Ganjaliyev added.
As the nation approaches 200,000 coronavirus fatalities, Massachusetts health officials on Monday reported another seven COVID-19 deaths, bringing the statewide death count to 9,107.

Officials also confirmed another 244 cases of the virus, for a total of at least 125,723 statewide cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Thats based on 10,823 new molecular tests reported on Monday, according to the Department of Public Health.

The seven-day weighted average of positive COVID test results has hovered around .8% for some weeks now, while the three-day average of deaths from the disease continues to fluctuate, according to DPH data.

There are currently 367 people hospitalized with the virus across the state, including 69 patients in intensive care.

As of Monday, there are at least 6,786,352 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Massachusetts is one 25 states and U.S. territories where new viral infections over the past two weeks are low and staying low, according to a New York Times analysis.

The latest numbers come as the Massachusetts Department of Education wrote to 16 communities deemed low risk COVID-19 areas urging that they resume in-person instruction. State officials asked local leaders to submit to them a timeline for returning to in-person learning.

In light of the stark discrepancy between local public health data and your reopening plan, I am requesting a timeline by which you anticipate providing in-person instruction for the majority of your students including in-person instruction for vulnerable populations, state officials said in a letter to the communities.

Those communities include Amesbury, Belmont, Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public (District), Bourne, Boxford, East Longmeadow, Gardner, Gill-Montague, Hoosac Valley Regional, Manchester Essex Regional, Mohawk Trail, Hawlemont, Pittsfield, Provincetown, Watertown and West Springfield.

The latest data also comes the day the CDC suddenly deleted guidance it had updated on Friday warning that the respiratory virus spreads through aerosols, or airborne particles, according to CNBC.

These are the number of coronavirus cases in each county as of Monday:

Barnstable County: 1,713

Berkshire County: 702

Bristol County: 9,811

Dukes County: 62

Essex County: 19,086

Franklin County: 403

Hampden County: 8,011

Hampshire County: 1,206

Middlesex County: 26,784

Nantucket County: 88

Norfolk County: 10,065

Plymouth County: 9,540

Suffolk County: 23,798

Worcester County: 14,114

Unknown location: 340

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 17:48:41|Editor: huaxia

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DHAKA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh has authorized the use of antigen tests for the first time to detect and treat COVID-19 infections.

Bilkis Begum, a Health Ministry official, told journalists on Monday that they had already issued a circular in this connection.

According to the circular, antigen-based testing has been permitted in all the public health institutions as per the proposal of the government's health directorate in compliance with the interim guidelines of the World Health Organization.

Bangladeshi Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health said in its proposal that the antigen tests would be carried out on people with symptoms. Enditem
Percussionist Jason McNamara at the launch of Dublin City Councils Busker Fleadh in Temple Bar (Niall Carson/PA)

Twenty acts will appear on a virtual stage at this years Busker Fleadh, showcasing the best of independent music and performance in Ireland.

The free online event takes place on the weekend of October 3 and 4.

The event, hosted by Dublin City Council, will be streamed on the Busker Fleadh Facebook page and YouTube channel because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Now in its fifth year, the event will feature a diverse line-up of bands and solo acts playing both well-known hits and original compositions.

Expand Close Sean Regan at the launch of Dublin City Councils Busker Fleadh in Temple Bar (Niall Carson/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Sean Regan at the launch of Dublin City Councils Busker Fleadh in Temple Bar (Niall Carson/PA)

Viewers will also have the opportunity to vote for their favourite performance online during the fleadh.

Music industry judges will also be present on the day to choose their favourite buskers, one group and one solo act.

The winner will receive a free recording session with a professional sound engineer valued at 1,000 euro in Windmill Lane Recording Studios, a digital copy of their recordings, and a new model Hudson Guitar valued at 300 euro from Gandharva Loka and Hudson Guitar Company.

Lord mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu said: This has been a tough few months for those involved in the performing arts, so its a great opportunity for buskers to get out and share their talents safely, in line with current Covid-19 safety guidelines.

The Busker Fleadh is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate Dublins vibrant music scene, the diverse range of talented performers and the importance of busking and music culture to our city.

Busking culture is an important part of Dublins vibrant music scene and the Busker Fleadh is a great opportunity to celebrate this Kathryn Byrne, Busker Fleadh

Kathryn Byrne, Busker Fleadh organiser, said: Were delighted to see so much interest in the Busker Fleadh and are excited to have such a diverse and exciting line-up planned.

We were worried that this years event would not be possible due to Covid-19, so we are thrilled that this years Fleadh can go ahead, albeit in a slightly different format.

Busking culture is an important part of Dublins vibrant music scene and the Busker Fleadh is a great opportunity to celebrate this.
Espionage case against ex-Inter RAO board member to be heard by panel of three judges

 pixabay.com

16:12 21/09/2020

MOSCOW, September 21 (RAPSI)  The Moscow City Court held during a preliminary hearing that an espionage case against ex-board member of Inter RAO energy holding Karina Tsurkan would be considered by a panel of three judges, RAPSI was told in the Moscow City Court on Monday.

The next hearing is scheduled for September 29.

Investigators believe that in August 2004 Tsurkan became an agent involved in confidential and unofficial cooperation with a Moldovan secret service.

In April 2015, while staying in Moscow she allegedly received a digital version of a document on project prepared by the Ministry of Energy. The project was allegedly related to the actions of Russian energy companies in the sphere of international cooperation. In September of the same year, she allegedly transferred the document to a secret service.

Tsurkan could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The woman denies wrongdoing and claims that she does not know representatives of foreign secret services and did not see the document in question. She also asked to provide her evidence in the case.




The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg injects new uncertainty into the fate of the Affordable Care Act as the landmark health-care law heads to a third showdown before US Supreme Court.

President Donald Trumps administration is asking the court to declare the law invalid and wipe out its protections for people with pre-existing conditions. The court is scheduled to hear arguments on November 10, a week after the election, and probably will rule in the first half of 2021.

With Ginsburg on the court, the laws supporters held a strong, perhaps even unbeatable, hand. She was one of five justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, who remained on the court after voting in 2012 to uphold the core of the law in a case that raised similar issues.

Her death Friday means defenders of the law will have to pick up a fifth vote from one of the other Republican-appointed justices.

I think you have to say that Affordable Care Act is in a more tenuous position today than it was on Friday morning, said Nicholas Bagley, a health-care law professor at the University of Michigan Law School. And you can hold that thought and still think that the likeliest outcome is that this very silly lawsuit will be turned away.

The laws supporters have a strong candidate in Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose past votes and opinions term suggest he would be unlikely to throw out the entire ACA. Justice Samuel Alitos record also suggests he would be open to upholding the bulk of the law, though he voted to invalidate it in 2012.

Democrats are seeking to make Trumps stance in the case a pivotal issue in the presidential election. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Sunday Trump is trying to strip away the peace of mind from more than 100 million people with pre-existing conditions.

Republican Challenges

The law, also known as Obamacare because it was signed by President Barack Obama, brought health insurance to 20 million people. Republicans have tried repeatedly to kill the law since it was enacted in 2010. The court also upheld Obamcares crucial tax credits in 2015 in a clash that centered on a glitch in the wording of the statute.

The latest legal fight stems from a provision known as the individual mandate, which originally required people to acquire health insurance or pay a tax penalty.

Writing for the court in 2012, Roberts said that provision was a legitimate use of Congresss taxing power. A Republican-controlled Congress later joined with Trump to zero-out the tax penalty, leaving the mandate without any practical consequences.

Republican-led states then sued to challenge the law. They argue that, without the tax penalty, Robertss rationale for upholding the individual mandate no longer applies. And the Republicans say the mandate is so integral to the law, even without any penalty attached to it, that the court now must strike down the whole thing.

Kavanaughs Vote

The Trump administration is largely backing that position, while Democratic-run states are leading the defense of the law.

Kavanaugh now could cast the pivotal vote. In other contexts, he has indicated reluctance to throw out an entire statute just because one part is unconstitutional.

Constitutional litigation is not a game of gotcha against Congress, where litigants can ride a discrete constitutional flaw in a statute to take down the whole, otherwise constitutional statute, Kavanaugh wrote in July in a case involving the federal ban on robocalls to mobile phones.

Roberts and Alito joined that opinion, which stripped out an exception for robocalls made to recoup debt owed to or guaranteed by the federal government.

CFPB Precedent

Those three were also in the majority this year when the court resolved a case over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by stripping out a provision that shielded the director from being fired by the president. As with the robocall case, the court severed the job-protection provision from the statute that set up the CFPB.The reasoning in those cases, as well as a law review article Kavanaugh wrote before joining the Supreme Court, suggests the court will leave most of the ACA intact even if it decides the individual mandate is invalid, says Ilya Somin, a professor at George Mason Universitys Antonin Scalia Law School.

I dont think there are five votes on the Supreme Court for holding that whats left of the individual mandate is not severable from the rest of the ACA, Somin said.

If a successor to Ginsburg hasnt been confirmed by the argument date, the court in theory could split 4-4. That probably would mean a second argument to let the newest justice take part. The court could also take the preemptive step of rescheduling the argument to help ensure that nine justices can take part.

No matter what the court decides, if Democrats win both the White House and the Senate, they could override the decision with a new law. They could even try to scuttle the case by re-imposing the tax before the court issues its ruling.

And if Trump wins re-election, he will have four more years in the White House to try to kill the ACA.

Whoever wins the presidential election will have much more to say about the success or failure of the act than the court, said Theodore Ruger, a health-law expert and dean of the University of Pennsylvanias Carey Law School. If its Trump, there are many administrative ways he could stifle it.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden warned Republicans that rushing a vote to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court before the election would cause irreversible damage, and vowed to nominate a black woman to take her seat.

The last thing we need is to add is a constitutional crisis that plunges us deeper into the abyss, deeper into the darkness. If we go down this path, I predict it will cause irreversible damage, he said in a speech in Philadelphia.

"The infection this president has unleashed on our democracy can be fatal. Enough. Enough. Enough," he added.

In an address at the National Constitution Centre, he paid tribute to late liberal justice, who died aged 87 on Friday.

"The nation lost a heroine, an icon. It also lost a mother, a grandmother, and a matriarch, the former vice president said.

On her achievements Biden said: "She did as much to advance the constitutional rights, opportunities, and justice for women  as Justice Marshall did for African Americans."

As a nation we should heed her final call to us  not as a personal service to her, but as a service to the country, our country, at a crossroads, Biden said, noting her final wish that she not be replaced until a new president is installed.

Calling out Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham for their flip flop over Supreme Court confirmations, Biden said: Having made this their standard when it served their interest, they cannot, just four years later, change course when it doesnt serve their ends.

The former vice president noted that it is not that the election is close, but that it is already underway as early voting has begun.

[This appointment] is not about the past. Its about the future and the people of this nation. And the people of this nation are choosing their future right now as they vote, said Biden. To jam this nomination through the senate is just an exercise in raw political power and I don't believe the people of this nation will stand for it."

He continued: President Trump has already made clear this is about power. Pure and simple power. The voters should make clear on this issue  that the power in this nation resides with them, the American people. The voters.

Biden added that if he wins the election, president Trump's nominee should be withdrawn and, as the new president, he should be the one to nominate Justice Ginsburg's successor. But he also said that if the president is reelected, Mr Trump's nomination should receive a fair hearing on the Senate floor.

He said that for voters not to have a say in who replaces Justice Ginsburg is constitutional abuse.

Addressing Senate Republicans, Biden implored: Dont vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances president Trump and Senator McConnell have created. Dont go there. Uphold your constitutional duty and your conscience. Let the people speak. We can't keep rewriting history, scrambling norms, and ignoring our cherished system of checks and balances."

On his own potential pick for the court vacancy, Mr Biden said: I have made it clear that my first choice for the [court] will make history as the first African American woman Justice, adding that his pick will be the product of a process that restores the countrys finest traditions, and not the extension of one that has torn this country apart.

He noted that one reason he will not release a list of names of potential nominees is that she would endure months on end without being able to defend herself.
When Angela Rayner stood in for the self-isolating Keir Starmer at prime ministers questions last week, her staff were braced for a backlash that never happened. In her five years as one of Jeremy Corbyns most visible shadow ministers, and in her more recent six months as the Labour Partys deputy leader, whenever Rayner has appeared on television, it has been met with a depressingly inevitable reaction on social media.

The Vicky Pollard stuff is how one member of her team jovially describes it, though it is not a jovial matter. It is foul and abusive, and not worth repeating in detail, other than to say that it is hardly shocking that there should be a large corner of the internet that seems unable to cope with the idea that a working-class woman who left school at 16 with no qualifications while pregnant might be doing rather more with her life than they are.

But it is surprising that, on Wednesday lunchtime, they were conspicuously quiet. Rayner, by common consent, gave an outstanding performance. Silencing Boris Johnson on these occasions has, in the past few months, come to look rather easy. Silencing the worst of social media is a challenge of a different order of magnitude.
University of Nevada, Reno alumni and donors may have had their information stolen in a data breach that occurred in May, university officials said.

The school was told of the breach on July 16 by Blackbaud, a third-party fundraising technology provider. About 200,000 people may have had their contact information, addresses and giving history compromised from the hack, said university spokeswoman Kerri Garcia.

No social security numbers, credit card information or banking information was taken, Blackbaud said.

The university informed alumni and donors of the breach on Aug. 31.

Blackbaud said in its summary of the incident that the hackers made a copy of the data they received and the technology provider paid a ransom to ensure that the copy was destroyed.

The information was not transferred to another party other than the hackers, Blackbaud said.

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

Topics Cyber Fraud Education Universities Nevada
University of Michigan economists say there two main factors will influence the rate at which Oakland Countys economy recovers from the historic COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, U-M economists Dr. Gabriel Ehrlich and Donald Grimes released their annual three-year Oakland County Economic Outlook (2020-2022), something delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report is usually released in the spring. They were both joined by Oakland County Executive David Coulter for the virtual reveal of the report.

Ehrlich said the two most important, and unknown, factors that will influence the rate at which the county recovers will be the overall course of the pandemic and whether the county will receive more coronavirus relief dollars from the federal government. In April, the county received $219 million in CARES Act dollars.

To be really clear, we are looking at a really difficult situation if we dont have more federal support for state and local governments, he said. We are looking to Congress to extend additional relief. In our forecast, we have assumed some additional federal stimulus forthcoming, but were getting into the second half of September and we dont have a deal.

According to the report, Oakland County is forecast to see a 9.1 percent decrease in the number of total jobs in 2020 compared to 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (678,026 vs. 746,103), but has seen an impressive rebound by historical standards.

Oakland County spending CARES Act dollars at faster rate than other regional counties

Oakland County 2020-2022 Economic Outlook

The countys job losses in the second quarter of 2020 totaled nearly the same number of jobs the county lost in the entirety of the 2000s (2000-2009).

Even with these negative job losses, economists are expecting the countys jobs market to recover faster than Michigan overall, recovering an additional 39,100 jobs in 2021 and 14,300 jobs in 2022. Average annual employment in Oakland County in 2022 is still forecast to remain 14,700 jobs, or 2.0 percent, short of 2019 levels.

Ehrlich said there continues to be substantial uncertainty surrounding the nations economic prospects, and the outlook for Oakland County is no different.

We have had to make several strong assumptions about the future course of the pandemic and the federal economic policy response to produce the forecast in this report, read the report. If those assumptions turn out to be incorrect, Oakland Countys economy is likely to evolve differently than we have forecast.

Pandemic and Poverty: Long-term economic impact on people, property owners and businesses is anyones guess

Lower wage sectors hit hardest

According to the forecast, county jobs in lower wage sectors have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic with recovery expected to take longer. Job losses in the lower-wage industries are concentrated in retail trade (-4,600) and leisure and hospitality services (-9,200).

Lower-wage industries, which include retail trade, nursing and residential care, social assistance, leisure and hospitality, make up 27 percent of the countys wage and salary employment in 2019.

Although the lower-wage service industries experience high growth in the recovery period, those industries also saw the greatest decline this year from the pandemic, especially in the retail trade and leisure and hospitality sectors, said Grimes. We forecast that by 2022, the lower-wage services industries will have 11,400 fewer jobs than in 2019.

Blue-collar industries are forecast to bounce back best to include manufacturing, construction, natural resources and mining, and transportation and warehousing, which made up 15 percent of the countys wage and salary employment in 2019. Construction and transportation and warehousing industries will lead the job growth between 2019 and 2022, with job gains of 2,500 and 1,200, respectively.

Over 50 regional companies participating in virtual Oakland County job fair Sept. 23

US layoffs remain elevated as job markets gains weaken

The high- and middle-wage industries, which include government, wholesale trade, utilities, information, financial activities, business and professional services, education, ambulatory health services, hospitals, and the unallocated services industries, accounted for 58 percent of the countys wage and salary employment in 2019.

Between 2019 and 2022, job losses in the high- and middle-wage service industries are concentrated in administrative support services (-5,800 jobs total) and government (-2,600 jobs total). Economists are expecting modest job growth in most high- and middle-wage service industries.

We forecast that by 2022, employment in the high- and middle-wage service industries will be 5,100 lower, and jobs in blue-collar industries will actually be 1,900 higher than in 2019, said Grimes.

As employers look to bounce back from the pandemic, economists say, in the years ahead, serious and major problems will include too many unemployed workers, continued weakness in labor force growth, and employer ability to find available and qualified workers.

Between 2021 and 2022, Grimes and Ehrlich are expecting that the countys unemployment rate will average 7.2 percent and 6 percent.

COVID-19 provides uncertain future

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the uncertainty surrounding its future, has proved to be a unique challenge to economists ability to create economic forecasts.

Ehrlich said economists like himself have had to play the role of being an immature epidemiologist in creating this years economic outlook report with COVID-19 being the biggest obstacle to the county, state, and countrys overall economic recovery. He added it remains to be seen how the virus could impact the countys economy as more economic activity begins to move indoors with the colder months approaching.

I think there are real questions about what is going to happen, he said. We would be the first to admit that we dont know. We really wanted to be upfront about what are the assumptions that we used to put this forecast together. Were hoping that as testing capacity increases and as people take more precautions, that will prevent a more generalized outbreak of what we saw in the spring.

According to the report, improvements in COVID-19 testing, tracing, and treatment will allow Oaklands economy to operate with roughly the same level of precautions it currently has in place until a vaccine becomes widely available, which economists hope will occur by mid-2021.

Even though Ehrlich and Grimes arent assuming another large-scale outbreak and uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 next spring, that doest mean there wont be continued impacts on economic activity. U.S. Real GDP is forecast to hit pre-pandemic levels sometime in mid-2022, says Ehrlich.

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Greater Accra Region rep, Naa Dedei Botchwey, has been crowned the 2020 Ghanas Most Beautiful winner.

The former student of Central University and the Ghana Institute of Journalism beat Ahafo Regions Abena to win the car, crown and GH10,000 as her cash prize. She also received GH2,000 more.

Volta Regions Kafui came third while Northern Regions Zuzu fourth. Upper East Regions Talata and Central Regions Afriyie were fifth and sixth respectively.

It was a night of glitz and glamour as the final of the most popular beauty reality show in Ghana was held inside TV3s Studio B for the time in many years.

It was held under strict Covid-19 protocols. Notwithstanding, Naa ensured that the crown returned to the capital region from the Central Region.
Central China's Hubei Province, once hard-hit by COVID-19, on Monday commended more than 1,000 people and over 500 groups and organizations for their contribution to the battle against the virus.

At a meeting held in Wuhan, the provincial capital, 1,164 individuals, 436 groups, 160 CPC members, and 130 primary-level Party organizations were commended for their efforts.

Earlier this month, China held a meeting in Beijing to commend role models in the anti-epidemic battle.
The Ghana AIDS Commission has expressed worry over the increasing prevalence of HIV among adolescents.

It said out of the 20,068 new infections recorded in 2019, 5,613 representing 28 per cent were between the ages of 15 and 24.



Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Director-General of the commission, Mr Kyeremeh Atuahene, said the indication was that those young persons were being infected by older persons.



Raising awareness among this age group has become critical because our analysis indicate that these young people are not being infected by their peers but older persons, giving an indication of inter-generational sex, he said.



Mr Atuahene said the commission, with support from its partners, was intensifying education and sensitisation among the youth to empower them to make informed decisions regarding their sexual lives.





He appealed to the media to use their wide reach to advance the sharing of accurate educational information with the public to help reduce stigma and new infections and encourage behaviour change.



He pointed out that the annual average of infections had remained at more than 20,000 although new infections had reduced by about five per cent between 2015 and 2019.



If this trend, is allowed to continue, 200,000 more newly infected Ghanaians will be added to the HIV population over the next 10 years, the Director-General said.



Determination



However, Mr Atuahene said the commission was more than determined to end the epidemic as a public health threat.



He said achieving the 90-90-90 HIV national and global targets was possible but added that it was a shared responsibility.



He, therefore, called on the general public to apply caution with their sexual lives by either sticking to one partner or avoiding unprotected sex with non-partners or people whose status they were not sure of.



We emphasise on sex because HIV is basically a sexually transmitted disease and other contributory factors for transmission is negligible, he said.



The 90-90-90, which is the United Nations (UN) policy on ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic, requires all member countries to ensure that by the close of 2020, 90 per cent of people who are HIV infected will be diagnosed, while 90 per cent of people who are diagnosed will be on antiretroviral treatment, and 90 per cent of those who receive antiretroviral will be virally suppressed.



Viral suppression is when a persons viral load  or the amount of virus in an HIV-positive persons blood - is reduced to an undetectable level.



That, Mr Atuahene said, meant the virus would be present in the body but could not be shared.



However, he warned that once a break occurs in the taking of medication, the virus would become active again, multiply quickly and make the infected person sick and might cause death.



He said the National and Sub-National HIV Estimates and Projections were done yearly to generate HIV data on prevalence and the population of persons living with HIV (PLHIV), among others, for purposes of planning, management of national programmes and global reporting.



He added that HIV had no cure but there was a scientifically proven therapy to suppress the virus, which is the anti-retroviral (ART) that worked when taken diligently.



Youth empowerment



Adding to the concerns of the Ghana Aids Commission, the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) and the National Population Council (NPC) have also maintained that adolescents and the youth should be consistently empowered with information on sexual reproductive health to enable them to protect themselves from the ramifications such as sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.



The Country Representative of the UNFPA, Mr Niyi Ojuolape, said considering the fact that the country had a youthful population, such empowerment was needed to harness the countrys economic potentials to enhance development.



He said if the youth were not having unwanted babies, not infecting themselves with sexually transmitted diseases, and avoid unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions, they would be in a better position to maximise their potentials and contribute to national and global development.



They need to have access to information and family planning commodities such as condoms to be able to do that, he said.



Reality



The Executive Director of the NPC, Dr Leticia Appiah, said although stakeholders believed in, and were preaching abstinence, it was obvious that many of the youth and adolescents were sexually active and vulnerable.



We can deceive ourselves and keep pretending as though our young persons are abstaining, but the truth is that they are having sexual intercourse and we need to protect them from the ramifications of such activities, she said.



Based on that, she said, it was important that education was intensified, as well as access to family planning commodities such as condoms.



The NPC and its partners are committed to safeguarding the hard-fought gains and ensuring that Sexual Reproductive Health Rights and services stay on the local agenda to enlist societal and political will in maintaining the momentum towards achieving the SDGs by 2030 and develop Ghana beyond Aid, she said.

Source: Graphiconline.com









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

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File those statements under Dont believe everything your government tells you. The city shifted its position on parking in the central business district and went on writing citations for parking at expired meters, parking without the proper stickers and permits, having expired license plates and the like. About 70% of the tickets issued during the specified period were for violations that Lightfoot had said would be ignored. And, no, the city didnt publicize the change.
FARMINGTON  The Navajo Nation may buy property to house the Navajo Nation Washington Office in Washington, D.C.

A bill introduced earlier this month seeks to use approximately $5.1 million from the principal of the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to purchase the parcel at 11 D St. SW in the metropolitan area.

The amount would also pay for any repairs or renovations to the two buildings that occupy the property.

Expenditure of the principal requires 16 votes or more in favor of passage by the Navajo Nation Council, where final authority rests.

The Navajo Nation Washington Office was created in 1984 as an entity of the tribal government to represent the tribes concerns to federal leaders and agencies in the U.S. capital.

Among the responsibilities of office personnel are to monitor and analyze federal legislation, disseminate congressional and federal agency information, develop strategies and decisions regarding national policies and budgets that affect the tribe.

Santee Lewis, the offices executive director, recommended the real estate purchase in a June 16 memorandum to Rudy Shebala, executive director of the Division of Natural Resources, and Land Department Manager Mike Halona.

This property will help fulfill the purpose for which the Navajo Nation Washington Office was created and save money for the Navajo people in the long term, Lewis wrote.

Shebala wrote in a May 7 memorandum that the office has spent more than $3.5 million in rent for office space from November 2003 through December 2019.

The memorandum also states that the offices current monthly rent is approximately $24,691.62 and is adjusted annually depending on market variables including a minimal 3% annual escalation.

This land acquisition and office building acquisition will provide the Navajo Nation with a suitable facility and alleviate the future expense of paying rent. This is a cost savings to the Navajo Nation, Shebala wrote.

The bill, sponsored by Delegate Wilson Stewart Jr., notes that the offices current location at 750 First St. NE, Suite 940, was severely damaged in May by water from a broken tank situated on top of the building.
The Justice Department will label New York City an anarchist jurisdiction along with Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore., threatening the federal funding of those cities, the New York Post reported on Monday.

The designation comes after President Trump signed a memo in early September ordering federal agencies to evaluate ways to redirect funds away from cities that have permitted violence and the destruction of property in the summers mass demonstrations and riots. In particular, the memo ordered federal agencies to target cities that moved to slash police budgets.

Demonstrations and calls to defund police departments came after the death of George Floyd, an African American man killed during his arrest by officers in Minneapolis, Minn. New York cut roughly $1 billion from the NYPD budget in July, although roughly $349.5 million of those cuts were achieved by transferring some police services to other agencies. The city receives about $7 billion in various federal funds, and it is unclear to what extent those funds would be cut.

When state and local leaders impede their own law-enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest, Attorney General William Barr writes in a statement, obtained by the Post, to be released on Monday. We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance.

Barr goes on, It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.

Portland has seen nightly demonstrations since Floyds death, many of which have devolved into riots and attacks on local and federal police officers. Seattle saw demonstrators establish an autonomous zone throughout the month of June, which was disbanded after multiple shooting deaths occurred in or near the zone.

More from National Review
Srinagar, Sep 21 : An encounter is underway between terrorists and security forces at Charar-i-Sharief in central Kashmir's Budgam district on Monday, officials said.

The firefight took place after security forces cordoned off the area and launced a search operation on the basis of specific information about presence of terrorists. As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where terrorists were hiding they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter.

"Encounter has started at Charar-i-Sharief area of Budgam. Police and security forces are on the job," police said.
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Canadian police on Monday swooped on an apartment complex in Montreal in connection with a ricin-laced letter that was sent to Trump, allegedly by a woman who then tried to enter the US while armed with a gun.

Authorities arrested on Sunday a person suspected of sending the deadly poison by mail, addressed to the White House. A source said the person arrested was a woman with Canadian citizenship.

Now, it has emerged she also allegedly sent more letters to law enforcement officials in Texas.

Police in Canada say she sent one letter addressed to Trump and another five to addresses in Texas.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrive at the home of the woman suspected of mailing Trump a letter that contained ricin

The woman has not been named but she is also suspected of sending similar letters to law enforcement officials in Texas

The woman has not been named but it is understood she was arrested by the FBI and may face charges from prosecutors in Washington.

At the apartment complex on Monday, police roped off a modern beige and brown apartment building and evacuated its inhabitants.

On Saturday, the RCMP confirmed that the letter had apparently been sent from Canada and said that the FBI had requested assistance.

The envelope was intercepted at a government mail center before it arrived at the White House.

U.S. agencies were investigating whether other ricin letters were sent by the same person to other U.S. addressees, two sources told Reuters.

The woman remains in custody in the US. She is thought to have been arrested by the FBI

A Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman at the scene of the raid on Monday afternoon

It's unclear how the woman became connected to the ricin plot. She was arrested on Sunday trying to enter the US

The RCMP said the search is being led by chemical and explosives teams. They do not think there is a threat to the public

Ricin is found naturally in castor beans but it takes a deliberate act to convert it into a biological weapon.

Ricin can cause death within 36 to 72 hours from exposure to an amount as small as a pinhead. No known antidote exists.

Envelopes containing ricin were also mailed to law enforcement agencies in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, according to another law enforcement official.

The official did not say which agencies were sent the envelopes but said they are believed to have been mailed by the same person who sent one to the White House.

The FBI declined to comment on Monday.
Authorities in the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa have recorded an outbreak of African swine fever in the pig herd of a local household.

The outbreak was detected in the herd of 24 pigs belonging to Nguyen Van Kiem in Phuoc Dong Commune, Nha Trang City.

The provincial Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine confirmed on Sunday that three test samples collected from the herd had come back positive for African swine fever.

Local authorities previously examined Kiems swine herd on September 15 and noticed that three pigs were showing signs of the disease with such symptoms as hemorrhage, cyanosis of the skin, congested lymph nodes.

They collected samples for lab tests and disposed of the three animals.

The Peoples Committee in Phuoc Dong Commune requested Kiem to monitor the condition of his remaining hogs.

However, the man did not comply with regulations on disease prevention and instead sold all of his pigs without reporting to local authorities.

Kiem claimed he had bought the swine herd from a seller in Suoi Dau Commune in Cam Lam District, Khanh Hoa, where an African swine fever outbreak occurred last year.

He gave the pigs foot and mouth disease vaccine shots on July 31 and the blue ear disease jab on August 22.

According to the Khanh Hoa Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine, the African swine fever epidemic previously appeared in the province on April 11, 2019.

The epidemic started going out of control in late September the same year, peaking in October, before becoming less serious.

As of December 15, 2019, African swine fever outbreaks had broken out in Dien Khanh, Cam Lam, and Khanh Vinh Districts, as well as Nha Trang and Cam Ranh Cities in Khanh Hoa Province.

More than 13,600 infected pigs weighing nearly 760 tons were destroyed in the province.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 22:30:34|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Minister of Health Jens Spahn said on Monday that he wanted to prepare the country for a potential increase in COVID-19 infection numbers during the cold season by setting up outpatient clinics and a new testing strategy.

"In autumn, we need regional and local so-called fever outpatient clinics to which patients with typical respiratory symptoms, such as corona and flu, can turn," Spahn told the German newspaper Rheinische Post on Monday.

The minister said he was counting on the Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV), responsible for the medical care of people insured by statutory health insurance companies in Germany, to offer such outpatient clinics locally. "In concept, they already exist -- ideally they should be accessible nationwide in autumn," said Spahn.

The daily number of new reported COVID-19 cases in Germany has increased by 922 to a total of 272,337 over the past 24 hours, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Monday. Last week, Germany recorded the highest number of new confirmed cases since April.

"It is crucial that we develop our testing and quarantine strategy for the autumn and winter in a well-founded and careful manner," said Spahn, adding that he expected the further development of the testing strategy in coordination with Germany's federal states to last until mid-October.

Testing capacities in Germany have already been ramped up significantly. "In the last four weeks alone, about a third of all tests since the beginning of the pandemic have been performed," said Spahn.

He said he also wanted to develop a separate strategy for risk groups in Germany, arguing that it was important that "we continue to provide special protection for the particularly affected risk groups and that we sharpen the concepts for this in everyday life again."

Preventive COVID-19 tests in "sensitive areas," such as nursing homes, were an important part of Germany's testing strategy for autumn and winter, according to Spahn.

As the world is in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries across the globe -- including Germany, China, Russia, France and the U.S. -- are racing to find a vaccine. According to the website of the World Health Organization (WHO), as of Sept. 17, there were 182 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 36 of them were in clinical trials. Enditem
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia has filed terrorism charges against a prominent media mogul and opposition politician from the Oromo ethnic group, Jawar Mohammed, the attorney general's office said on Saturday.

Jawar, founder of the Oromiya Media Network and a member of the Oromo Federalist Congress party, was arrested in June amid the widespread unrest that followed the assassination of popular Oromo musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa.

Jawar and 22 other activists, including Oromo opposition leader Bekele Garba, face charges relating to the violation of anti-terrorism laws, telecom fraud laws and firearms laws, the attorney general's office said in a statement on social media.

Those charged include journalists and scholars. Bekele is a senior leader of the Oromo Federalist Congress.

They will appear in court on Monday to answer to the charges, the attorney general's office said in the statement.

Jawar, a former ally of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, was instrumental in the Oromo protests that brought Abiy to power in 2018. But he became a critic of Abiy, accusing the prime minister of failing to protect Oromo interests.

Tuuli Baayyis, Jawar's lawyer, told Reuters that they had learnt about the charges from social media as formal charge papers had not been provided to them yet. He did not comment on the charges.

At least nine people have died in the Oromiya region around Addis Ababa following clashes between Ethiopian security forces and protesters demanding the release of the detained Oromo opposition politicians.

The unrest in Oromiya highlights the challenges facing Abiy ahead of elections which were due this August, but were postponed due to the coronavirus crisis.

(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Ros Russell)
President Donald Trump said Monday that he would not support a TikTok deal unless Walmart and Oracle own a controlling stake in the popular video-sharing app  appearing to reject the terms of an agreement he said over the weekend had his approval.

Trump's statements suggest a deal that on Saturday seemed to only need final security approvals could still fall apart as parties argue over what the delicately brokered terms really mean. The agreement must satisfy both Washington and Beijing and the companies are spinning conflicting messages about the pact that appear designed to win over their home governments.

Oracle and ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, put out contradictory statements Monday about whether the proposed ownership structure for the new TikTok Global  which includes a combination of U.S. and Chinese investors  means ByteDance will have an ownership stake.

Trump, for his part, said the deal means Walmart and Oracle are purchasing TikTok outright  in line with his original demand that a U.S. company buy TikTok to satisfy concerns that U.S. user data could be shared with the Chinese government.

"They are going to buy it. They're going to have total control over it. They're going to own the controlling interest," he told reporters. "And if we find that they don't have total control, then we're not going to approve the deal."

But Oracle and Walmart are not buying TikTok and they will not own a controlling interest, according to the deal as negotiated. The companies said over the weekend that they will become minority investors in TikTok Global, owning a combined 20 percent of the new entity. Oracle will own 12.5 percent to Walmart's 7.5 percent.

Trump also told reporters that ByteDance would have no role in the company, though people familiar with the deal's terms say its investors are still involved. And ByteDance has said it would retain ownership of TikTok's prized algorithms and other proprietary technology.

Story continues

"They will have nothing to do with it, and if they do, we just won't make the deal," Trump said.

But the existing investors in ByteDance, which include American, Chinese and international owners, will hold shares of TikTok Global  including ByteDance's founder, Zhang Yiming. Once Oracle and Walmart enter the deal, American investors will own a majority stake and control the board of directors, according to a person familiar with the terms. The person spoke anonymously because discussions are ongoing.

Trump's pronouncements come as the companies themselves are putting out opposing claims about the deal.

Oracle said Monday that ByteDance will have no ownership of the new TikTok Global. Meanwhile, ByteDance put out a statement in Chinese saying the deal structure means it will retain 80 percent ownership  though, according to a person familiar with the deal, only a portion of that will belong to Chinese investors.

Those statements fall roughly in line with divergent priorities expressed by Washington and China.

With just weeks until the election, Trump has framed his stance on TikTok as part of a broader crackdown on Chinese technology companies that the government asserts pose a national security threat.

China, meanwhile, doesnt want to be seen as letting the U.S. snatch one of its technology crown jewels without putting up a fight. The government of Xi Jinping has accused the Trump administration of targeting TikTok for political and economic reasons under the guise of national security.

"This isn't something that can be solved with the political wave of a magic wand," Paul Triolo, a longtime government analyst who now heads the Eurasia Group's geo-technology practice, said last week. "The details are going to have to make sense to both sides."

That dynamic has already caused confusion. Trump claimed on the campaign stump Saturday that the deal would create a $5 billion education fund  an announcement that reportedly surprised ByteDance and that the company later refuted. Oracle and Walmart swooped in within hours to amend the record: the newly formed TikTok Global would generate $5 billion in new tax revenue and the companies would launch an online education initiative.

"Its entirely possible that this messaging gets the whole thing killed," said the person familiar with the deal.

ByteDance also said Monday it will retain control over its prized algorithms and other technology that power the TikTok app  a concern Beijing took so seriously that it amended export controls to halt a full-blown sale of TikTok and its technology without the government's expressed permission. A request for further comment from ByteDance was not immediately returned.

Oracle will, however, be able to review TikTok code for any security concerns and will host all U.S. data in its cloud computing facilities. The companies have said that, plus additional government oversight and third-party security audits, should settle concerns about U.S. data being inappropriately funneled to China.

Caitlin Oprysko contributed to this report.
Animals have taken over classrooms of the Likpe Mate Evangelical Presbyterian (E.P) Kindergarten and Primary Schools in the Oti Region following the closure of Schools due to the coronavirus pandemic.



Some of the classrooms, which had windows and doors removed, were filled with goats, sheep, and fowl droppings.



Desks belonging to students were also left in the classrooms without any form of protection, while weeds gradually engulfed the premises of the School.



Mr Dormenya Zury, Assembly-Man of the Likpe Mate Electoral Area in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) described the situation as a result of lack of maintenance.



He said there was the need for management of the School to report challenges they faced to stakeholders especially when they had no means to address them to enable them to offer the appropriate help.



Mr Dormenya said the dilapidated parts of the School do not enhance the conducive learning environment for students while making it difficult for teachers to teach in such conditions and again unattractive for parents to enroll their wards.



The Assembly-man said it was unfortunate that the Electoral Area does not belong to any Assembly making it difficult to report some of these challenges for the needed solutions.



All the same, I am trying to negotiate with benevolent organisations to come to our aid to help the School. I also appeal to friends and brothers to come to the aid of the to make sure the compound is neat and safe for teaching and learning activities.



Mr Bernard Adotey, Unit Committee Chairman, Likpe Mate Electoral Area said the community had mobilized some members who bought trips of sand to renovate the classrooms.



He said the project came to a standstill due to a lack of funds and appealed to benevolent organisations to come to the aid of the community to give the school a facelift.

Source: ghanaweb.com









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

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Tom Holloway, the former leader of The Bank of Edwardsville and Magna Bank, has joined Carrollton Bank.

My career has been working with leading local banks in Madison County and St. Clair County, Holloway said. And this move gives me the opportunity to continue doing what I like to do best.

Holloway was CEO of The Bank of Edwardsville, now Busey Bank, from 2005 to 2015, and President of Magna Bank in St. Clair County, now Regions Bank, from 1991 to 2005.

He is looking forward to being able to spend his time working directly with business owners and customers without the daily administrative responsibilities of running a bank.

Several banks approached me about joining them, Holloway said. When I decided that a move back to a local bank was the right one for me, Carrollton Bank was the obvious choice.

Tom has the ideal combination of bank leadership, an outstanding reputation, and strong local roots, said Tom Hough, CEO of Carrollton Bank. We are extremely pleased that he has chosen to join our bank.

I look forward to working with Bill Barlow, Dan Jackson, Tom Hough, and everyone at the Edwardsville and OFallon Carrollton Banks, Holloway said.

Its going to be great working with Tom again, said Bill Barlow, President of the Carrollton Bank in Edwardsville. Weve worked together for six years, and been friendly competitors for another four years. I know from firsthand experience what an excellent banker he is, and we all know of the many contributions he has made to our community.

Dan Jackson, President of the Carrollton Bank in OFallon, has a similar 13-year history of friendly competition with Tom in St. Clair County. Together, Holloway, Barlow and Jackson have almost 100 years of experience serving metro-east business owners and customers.

For 30 years weve seen big, out-of-market banks buy up leading local banks in St. Clair and Madison Counties, Hough said. Many bankers from those fine organizations have joined our bank so they could continue serving their customers the same way they always had.

Holloway said hes always been active in community organizations. He is currently Chairman of the Champions Circle for the Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois, Chairman of SIUE University Park, and Chairman of the Belleville Memorial Hospital East Finance Committee. He also serves as the Chairman of McKendree Universitys Committee on Financial Affairs and Endowment, and on the Southwestern Illinois Development Foundation Board of Directors.

In addition to its banks in Edwardsville and OFallon, Carrollton has Illinois locations in Alton, Jerseyville, Carrollton and Springfield, and Missouri banks in Clayton, Des Peres, St. Louis Hills, Creve Coeur, St. Charles and Arnold. The bank is privately owned by its bankers, has been led by five generations of the same family for 143 years.
In his blues phase, he'd been dismissive of jazz until he recognised that Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith were also great blues artists. He'd wanted to sing but was not encouraged and so gravitated to the saxophone as a substitute, embracing the '30s jazz of tenor saxophone master Lester Young. For his final school year, he went to Sydney Conservatorium, as did his friend, Martin Keys, a clarinetist, who opened his ears to classical music and bebop, whereupon Simmonds completed a 10-year musical odyssey by embracing the revolutionary jazz of Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Albert Ayler. He then enrolled in the newly established jazz studies course at the Con, run by US saxophonist Howie Smith, who also played in a band called the Jazz Co-Op, although Simmonds developed a deeper admiration for its drummer Phil Treloar and pianist Roger Frampton. In the 1970s, he had a weekly residency at Morgans Feedwell, Glebe, with Treloar and bassist Jack Thorncraft. "For me at the age I was, that was like the dream machine," he told me in a 2007 interview. In 1979, Treloar formed the Australian Art Ensemble, with Simmonds and pianist Bobby Gebert, which recorded the first of only three major documents of Simmonds' playing. This volcanic album, easily among Australian jazz's most significant, was finally released in 2011 as Trio '79. The trio received a grant to study in New York, which proved a pivotal, if not always edifying, experience. Simmonds found some of the knowledge and teaching laughably inadequate and was similarly disappointed by many concerts, with Sun Ra, Arthur Blythe (the only saxophonist he thought as original as Australia's Bernie McGann) and ex-Miles Davis saxophonist George Coleman the exceptions. His studies with the latter were a world away from formulaic learning, and this deeper understanding opened up limitless possibilities. "Until the last day I played saxophone, I was still at the edge of learning something new," he said. He left New York no longer intimidated by the jazz tradition.

Mark Simmonds saxophonist Credit: Jane March Back in Australia, he and Treloar worked extensively together, privately on complex rhythmic ideas and publicly in Treloar's Feeling to Thought project, which recorded in the late '80s, the extraordinary results released in 2012 as Primal Communication. Simmonds also collaborated with such diverse bands as KMA Orchestra, the Dynamic Hepnotics, Jackie Orszaczky's Jump Back Jack and Mara!. His primary focus, however, was his own band, the Freeboppers, playing his startlingly original compositions, some of which he'd penned while still at school. He conceived of rhythm section parts as intrinsic to a piece's identity as the chords or melody, and sought to push players out of their comfort zones to expunge cliches. Every note had to carry meaning, and the music was a constant dialogue between Simmonds' twin desires: to control the outcome and to create an environment that maximised the players' creativity. He could obsessively cajole them on stage, yet amid the complexity he sought a core simplicity: "You have to be like a folk musician," he said. "You have to be that close to the earth all the time." Many of Australia's finest players passed through the band, which made only one album: the aptly named Fire (1993), recorded by an especially strong incarnation, with trumpeter Scott Tinkler, bassist (and long-term Simmonds collaborator) Steve Elphick and drummer Simon Barker. Another incarnation followed before Simmonds broke up the band amid a firestorm of adversity. Substance abuse had been masking his bipolarity, and he decided to bow out of music and get a job as a hospital cleaner, but his life spiralled down until he was living on the streets for a while. A 2002 comeback at the Side on Cafe confirmed that performing was unendurable for him. Now he was beset by endless well-meaning questions about why he'd stopped and when he'd start again. Beyond being physically unable to do so with poorly fitting dentures (after being assaulted), he didn't want to face the extreme highs and lows of performance. Instead he played recorder, re-engaged with blues guitar, taught himself piano, composed and eventually bought a soprano saxophone. Even when living on the streets, he was still studying music books.
Citing an order of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), police on Monday said people cannot be allowed to hold demonstrations in the city till September 30 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amid protests against farm bills in the city, the Delhi Police in a series of tweets informed people about the September 3 order of the DDMA which prohibits such activities.

"The general public is hereby informed that in view of DDMA order dated 03/09/2020, "Status Quo" is required to be maintained with respect to prohibited/permitted activities in NCT of Delhi till 30/09/2020 (sic)," the Delhi Police tweeted.

"As such, all political, cultural and social gatherings in NCT of Delhi shall remain suspended till 30.09.2020 (sic)," it added.

Delhi Congress leaders and workers marched towards Parliament on Monday to protest against the new farm bills.

The protesters were marching towards the Parliament building but were stopped and detained by the police on R P Road, the party said.

Also read: 5,000 visitors, two slots, fee hike -- Strict COVID-19 measures as Taj Mahal reopens after six months

Also read: From ostrich to rhino: Delhi zoo to soon house bunch of new animals
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The deadline to register to vote in the 2020 presidential election is Oct. 5, so now is the time to ensure your information is up to date.

Below is a quick guide to checking whether you are registered and instructions about how to register or update your registration.

With all the misinformation circulating about the November election, The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com asked Northeast Ohio elections officials to answer questions about how the process works as part of a myth-busting series of stories called Election Truth. In this installment, we address the voter registration process amid reports that Secretary of State Frank LaRose intends to purge inactive voters from registration rolls.

Fear not: An estimated 120,000 Ohio voter registrations will be purged, LaRose says, but not until after the Nov. 3 election. If you happen to be on the list (check here), it will not affect your chance to vote this fall.

Even so, many voters will likely want to ensure their information is up-to-date and they are properly registered. Heres what you should do.

Checking your voter registration online

Think you are registered at the correct address? Go to the Ohio Secretary of States voter search webpage here to check. If the correct information doesnt pop, double-check that you have entered the information correctly, or consider whether you might be registered with a different version of your name (Robert vs. Bob etc.), registered with a former last name, or registered at a previous address in a different county.

Most local boards of elections in Northeast Ohio also include a voter search option on their websites as well.

If you have questions or find a problem, call your local board of elections.

Updating your voter registration

Need to update your address? Those with an Ohio drivers license or state identification card number can do so online here, at the Secretary of States website. Otherwise, use this form and mail or drop it off at to your local board of elections.

Your registration address must be a location you consider to be a permanent, not temporary, residence.

If you need to change the name on your registration, you must update your information by mail (forms can be printed here) or in-person at your board of elections.

The form used to update your registration is the same used to register to vote. Such forms can also be found at boards of elections, Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices, libraries, schools, county treasurer offices and Ohio Department of Job and Family Services offices. Deliver forms in-person or by mail to your local board of elections.

Registering to vote

If you have an Ohio drivers license or state ID card, you can register online at olvr.ohiosos.gov. You will need to provide your license or ID card number, name, date of birth, address and last four digits of your Social Security number. The reason you can register online with a license or ID card is because the board of elections will use the signature you provided to the BMV for signature comparison purposes, according to a Cuyahoga County board spokesman.

If you do not have any of the above pieces of information, fill out this form and mail or drop it off at your board of elections. (Forms are also available at the board, or at many community locations. See previous section for possibilities.)

Who is eligible to register?

You must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old on or before Election Day, not in jail or prison for a felony conviction, not declared incompetent for voting by a probate court, and not permanently disenfranchised for election law violations.

What if a voter fails to update their registration in time?

If you do not update your registration by Oct. 5 and have moved to a different precinct or to another Ohio county, you can cast provisional ballots in-person on or before Election Day at the board of elections, or at the designated polling place for your current address.

If you failed to update a name change and remain at the same address, you can cast a regular ballot at your polling location if you provide proof of a legal name change, such as a marriage license or court order showing your previous and current names.

More information can be found here.

How is Ohios voter registration process secure?

The personal information needed to register names, dates of birth, ID numbers  are key to the security of the process, according to Aaron Ockerman, executive director of the Ohio Association of Elections Officials.

Ohios statewide voter registration database connects to the U.S. Social Security Administration database, which allows officials to confirm the identity and Social Security numbers of the person registering.

Every year, Santa Claus tries to register to vote. He doesnt have a Social Security number, so Santa Claus doesnt get registered, Ockerman told cleveland.com.

Ohios registration database also lists all existing registrations and connects to databases for 29 other states and Washington D.C., so officials can see whether someone has an active registration elsewhere. Those connections are a result of Ohios participation in the Electronic Registration Information System, a non-profit collaborative overseen by member states that seeks to improve the accuracy of Americas voter rolls.

Another way to rule out potentially fraudulent behavior, according to Cuyahoga board spokesman Mike West, is the confirmation card mailed to each newly registered or voter with updated information. If a card gets returned to us, we know they wrote down a wrong address or they were trying to do something fishy, West said.

Voter registration forms also include a warning that falsifying election information is punishable by a fifth-degree felony.

Read more Election Truth stories:

Introducing Election Truth: A Plain Dealer and cleveland.com series about voting in Northeast Ohio and how the system is secure

How to apply for Ohios vote-by-mail option, and why its secure: Election Truth

Using a state ID to apply for an Ohio absentee ballot? You should know this: Election Truth
LAS VEGAS, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Classful.com recently announced it launched a new feature to its already popular teacher-funding platform: the addition of new profiles for schools. Starting Sept. 28, donors will be able to search for school profiles in addition to specific, individual teacher-fundraising campaigns. This allows donors to fund an entire school if they wish, ensuring that their generous gifts may benefit the whole.

Classful - funding for teachers and schools

School administrators and teachers are welcome to join Classful and begin building free funding-campaign profiles for each school, showcasing areas of need and informing donors of goals and directions for the money to be collected. And best of all, public school donations, as well as donations made to nonprofit entities, are fully tax deductible. Classful is a free educational funding website that has been in operation for over two years.

"We've been doing this work for a while because it is so important and necessary. Now, it's become more crucial than ever. In addition to individual teachers who need help, whole schools are running into unforeseen funding problems due to the chaos and flux of both the pandemic and the economy," said Michael Paladino. "Schools can create a profile for their entire institution on Classful, detailing exactly what they need. And donors receive tax-deductible receipts for publicly funded schools because those schools are tax-exempt government-funded entities. Private schools that have set up non-profit organizations or endowment funds can offer tax-exemption on their donations as well. Private schools that don't have such provisions can still set up profiles, asking for donations that will be considered 'personal gifts.' Either way, donors and communities can support the schools of their choice."

Classful: Simple Three-Step Process to Fund Teachers and Schools

Part of the Classful.com experience is an easy-to-use design that allows donors and educators to connect quickly and efficiently. After educators create their profiles, Classful employs a three-step process:

Find Your Teacher: Using a direct link (created for each profile), or the Classful search bar, finding teachers and schools is fast and accurate. Donate to Teacher/School: Donors choose an amount, enter their details over the Classful.com secure server, and then send. That's it. Watch How Donations Help: Teachers and schools can use the Classful interface to update their donors, as donations roll in. Donors can see their donations helping, via social media, email, and directly through each individual Classful profile.

Teachers and schools receive donations immediately, with no wait times. Learn more about Classful by going online. Or follow them on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

About Classful.com

Classful is a digital platform that supports educators and other school staff, so they can continue the important work of helping their students. Whether providing new educational tools, exciting opportunities, field trips, school supplies, new and innovative ways to learn, or simply rebooting and refreshing current learning spaces, Classful is the platform that can make it happen. Classful is built to provide funding for any number of educational requirements or pursuits, with the understanding that teachers know their students' needs better than anyone else. The Classful process is smooth, streamlined, and straightforward  allowing teachers and school staff to create profiles, ask directly for what they need, and receive donor money with as few complications possible. Classful makes it possible for communities to come together and support teachers and schools directly. Learn more at: www.Classful.com.

Media Contact:

Paul Scruton, Media

702-863-9633

[email protected]

SOURCE Classful
Covid update: India overtakes USA; Air India ban; UK tipping point

From India overtaking the United States of America in terms of total recovered patients, to Air India facing suspension in Hong Kong - here are the top news updates on the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of India's cured patients now account for around 19% of global recoveries. The national recovery rate has reached 79.2%. This is the ratio of recovered patients and total cases. Meanwhile, Delhi saw a daily death toll of around 30-40 between September 15 and 19, even as its cases rose past 2.4 lakh with 4,000+ new cases on all 5 days. In international news, the United Kingdom government said that the nation was on a 'tipping point' when it came to the pandemic, and a second lockdown might be necessary in case people don't follow precautionary rules. Meanwhile, Hong Kong barred Air India flights till October 3 over a surge in cases. Watch the full video for the other updates regarding the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus. ...read more
Air New Zealand boss Greg Foran has ruled out a quarantine-free trans-Tasman travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand until at least March 2021.

The Chief Executive Officer said establishing the plan 'could well be longer', and warned international travel would be 'clunkier' when it restarted.

Tracking and tracing needs to be upgraded and would be required, Mr Foran said.

Passengers might also be required to take rapid COVID-19 tests before and after flights.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran, who used to be CEO of American retail giant Walmart (pictured), said establishing the trans-Tasman 'could well be longer' than March

His comments follow Air New Zealand (pictured) grounding the majority of its seven 777-300 aircraft until the end of 2020 as well as signalling it was unlikely to fly eight 777-200 aircraft in the foreseeable future

The former Walmart CEO's comments follow Air New Zealand grounding the majority of its seven 777-300 aircraft until the end of 2020 as well as signalling it was unlikely to fly eight 777-200 aircraft in the foreseeable future.

The aircraft - stored at Auckland, Roswell, New Mexico and Victorville, California at the end of September - have operated the majority of the airline's long haul routes over the past 15 years.

'I certainly do not believe we will see anything across the Tasman this calendar year. It's hard to believe it would be before March next year and could well be longer. If it comes back quicker, we're going to pop some champagne,' Mr Foran told the Sydney Morning Herald.

This is because the vaccines likely to roll out from the end of 2020 will not be 100 per cent effective, he added, and only 50 per cent of people are likely to take it.

'In America ... they've recently done a survey over there and only half the people said they'll take the vaccine ... and then of course we have reinfection rates,' he said.

The aircraft (pictured) - stored at Auckland, Roswell, New Mexico and Victorville, California at the end of September - have operated the majority of the airline's long haul routes the past 15 years

The trans-Tasman bubble was called off by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) in August as Victoria struggled with a second wave of infections, and clusters became apparent in New South Wales and Auckland

A trans-Tasman bubble allowing unrestricted travel between Australia and New Zealand was initially planned to be up and running by September.

But New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put it on hold in August as Victoria struggled with a second wave of infections, and clusters emerged in New South Wales and Auckland.

'Obviously this is going to be some time away now,' Ms Ardern told Radio NZ at the time, adding all of Australia would need to be free of community transmission for a minimum of 28 days before the travel bubble went ahead.

'Anywhere where we have COVID-free travel they have to be free of community transmission for a period of time - that will be some time for Australia.

'It will be on the backburner for several months.'

The trans-Tasman bubble - allowing unrestricted travel between Australia and New Zealand - was initially planned to be up and running by September. Pictured: An Air New Zealand aircraft at Nelson Airport in New Zealand

Mr Foran added flights to the US would also not likely resume until the end of 2021, and said wiping the coronavirus out was not realistic.

'Elimination, which is a worthy thing to go after, is probably not sustainable based on what we're now learning, which is the vaccine is not going to be 100 per cent effective, not everybody is going to take it, and it's going to take years to get distributed,' he said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, on the other hand, remained optimistic about establishing the plan.

He told the Federal Cabinet on Friday the trans-Tasman bubble could be implemented between regions with zero community transmission of COVID-19.

'For example, the whole of the South Island is an area where there is no COVID,' Mr Morrison said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) was, on the other hand, remained more optimistic about establishing the trans-Tasman bubble between regions with zero community transmission of COVID-19

'If we can get to the situation soon where those coming home from New Zealand are able to enter Australia without going into a 14-day quarantine in a hotel, or in the worst-case scenario, only having to do that in their home, then what that does is that frees up places in our hotel quarantine system.

'We see that as another way of enabling more and more Australians to come home.'

Air New Zealand, which reported an after-tax loss of $454 million for the year until June, announced on Thursday it would cut an additional 385 cabin crew staff due to the lack of long-haul international lights.

The company has lost about 37 per cent of its workforce - higher than cuts to Qantas with 30 per cent and Singapore Airlines with 20 per cent.

The figure will be added to the 4,000 jobs lost at Air New Zealand since February.
A Hospital Hack Caused A Patient To Die

German police have now begun an investigation after hackers took-down the computer systems at Dusseldorf University Hospital and a woman patient died while doctors attempted to transfer her to another hospital. The female patient was suffering from a life-threatening illness and was due to have life-saving treatment, but had to be turned away on the night of 11 September by the citys university hospital and she died after the ambulance carrying her was diverted to another hospital (20 miles) away.

Medical staff believe the woman died from the delay in treatment after hackers attacked a hospitals computer system.

Cologne prosecutors have now officially launched a negligent homicide case saying that the hackers could be blamed for the death. One expert said, if confirmed, it would be the first known case of a life being lost as a result of a hack.

The ransomware attack hit the hospital on the night of 9 September, scrambling data and making computer systems inoperable. Such attacks are one of the most serious threats in cybersecurity with dozens of high profile attacks so far this year. The attackers can demand large payments in crypto-currency Bitcoin in exchange for a software key that unlocks IT systems.

Some local reports suggest the hackers did not intend to attack the hospital and in fact were trying to target a different university. Once the hackers had realised their mistake it is reported they gave the hospital the decryption key without demanding payment before disappearing.

Germanys cyber security agency, the Federal Office for Information Security, was called in to shore up the hospitals systems. Its chief, Arne Schonbohm, said the Citrix flaw had been known about since December 2019 and called on healthcare facilities not to delay IT security upgrades.

Ciaran Martin who stepped down as the head of Britains National Cyber Security Centre recently said, If confirmed, this tragedy would be the first case I know of, anywhere in the world, where the death of a human life can be linked in any way to a cyber-attack, he told a Royal United Services Institute event in London.

The bad news is that causing disruption, pain and economic harm through cyber-attack and even putting small numbers of people indirectly at risk as weve seen with ransomware remains too easy for my liking ... The better news is that killing large numbers of people by cyber-attack deliberately remains thankfully quite hard.... The capabilities to do it are in the hands of only a very small number of nation-states and it is currently not in the interest of any of them any more than it is to fire live rounds at their adversaries.

Martin also said that although in his time as NCSC chief executive he never had to declare a category one cyber-attack, the most severe type of national incident, it did not mean they may not in the future.

BBC: Guardian: NY Times: Shropshire Star:

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Easy: Hackers Take Down A Hospital:
Tulsi Gabbard is back, looking splendid as ever.

And she's got a cause any sane voter interested in free and fair elections can support, sponsoring a bipartisan bill targeting the odious practice of ballot-harvesting. The Hawaii representative's bill, co-sponsored with Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois, calls for a withholding of federal funds for states that refuse to ban the practice, where sleazy political operatives target vulnerable voters in their homes and "helpfully" collect their ballots for them, doing what they need to do with make sure the vote goes in the direction of their party with the broken chain of custody before turning the ballots in. It's a fount of potential voter fraud.

Banning ballot harvesting is not a partisan issue. It's been used & abused in states like North Carolina and California & is ripe for fraud.



That's why I intro'd HR8285, the Election Fraud Prevention Act w/ @RodneyDavis - to protect the integrity of our elections & our democracy pic.twitter.com/ltZhaenSVB  Tulsi Gabbard  (@TulsiGabbard) September 18, 2020

It's a striking move, because Democrats are all in favor of the practice, given that wherever it is practiced legally, it has benefited them.

In 2018, ballot-harvesting mysteriously flipped historically red Orange County, California entirely blue, days after the election, as ballot-harvesters kept "finding" ballots and turning them in, until they got the result they wanted.

There also was an outrageous case in North Carolina, where a sleazy Republican operative illegally harvested ballots from black Democratic voters and threw them in the trash to ensure that those ballots would not be counted. The latter case forced a judge to call a new election in North Carolina. Anything can happen when the chain of custody of votes is broken with ballot-harvesting, and it has.

Ballot-harvesting is banned already in most states because it's a repulsively corrupt practice last done on a wholesale level in Mexico during the days of its PRI permanent party, which held power for 70 years. Mario Vargas Llosa described that country and its entrenched one-party state where no one could change his government as "the perfect dictatorship."

Now Tulsi has brought forth a cause any sane American who cares about democracy and fairness should care about.

The background here is interesting. Tulsi, who is a Democrat with a independent streak and a soft spot or Bernie Sanders, is hated in the Democratic Party for not going along with their program and their machine candidates. She personally destroyed Kamala Harris in one of the last Democratic debates, exposing her shady record as a prosecutor and single-handedly tanking her polling numbers to single digits. Prior to that, Kamala was nearly in the lead.

For that, the Democrats punished her at least twice, first denying her a spot on the next Democratic debate platform despite the fact that she had qualified and then denying her a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention despite the fact that she drew delegates, unlike most of the other Democratic candidates, including Harris, who were given big speaking slots.

Tulsi knows all about Democratic election manipulation, it seems, and has come out with a fairness measure to correct some of it  which will make her more unpopular than ever among Democrats.

Yet she has nothing to lose. She's leaving office.

What do we see here? She can't benefit from the Democrats now, and she probably won't be able to join the Republicans, so the only conclusion we can see in this bid for fairness that she is positioning herself as the last sane branch of the Democrats.

It's possible she sees a Democratic crackup in the future as Democrats grow increasingly desperate to hold onto their grip of power, by fair means or foul, and are willing to do anything, fair or not, to maintain that grip on power. The PRI was eventually toppled despite its entrenched manipulations to ensure its permanent power.

Gabbard is obviously betting that the Democrats will be, too. And she will be there to clean up.

Let's wish her well. Democrats need some sane voices, and right now, other than her, there aren't any.

Image credit: Twitter screen shot.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) claimed Monday that Republicans have no right to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the recent death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ahead of the November election, and said doing so would spell the end of the Senate.

Schumers comments came in a speech on the Senate floor in response to Senate majority leader Mitch McConnells remarks that President Trumps nominee for a vacancy would receive a vote on the floor of the Senate.

By all rights, by every modicum of decency and honor, Leader McConnell and the Republican Senate majority have no right to fill it, no right, Schumer said.

Schumer then repeated Ginsburgs alleged statement to her granddaughter in her final days of life that her most fervent wish was that she should not be replaced until a new president is installed.

He added that Senate Republicans should have no problem adhering to Justice Ginsburgs dying wish as Leader McConnell held the Supreme Court vacancy open for nearly a year in order to give the people a voice in selecting a Supreme Court justice.

He criticized McConnell and Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) for going back on the standard they set in 2016 following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia when Senate Republicans refused to vote on President Obamas nominee Merrick Garland.

The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice, McConnell had said then. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.

However, McConnell said his current stance is not comparable to his position from 2016 as the Senate was held by Republicans while the president was a Democrat.

On Monday McConnell quoted his own comments from February 2016 in saying, The Senate has not filled a vacancy arising in an election year when there was a divided government since 1888, almost 130 years ago.

Yet Schumer painted a dire picture of the Senate should Republicans move forward with filling the vacancy, saying the move would take the legislative body down a dangerous path.

Story continues

I worry for the future of this chamber if the Republican majority proceeds down this dangerous path. If a Senate majority over the course of six years steals two Supreme Court seats using completely contradictory rationales, how could we expect to trust the other side again? he said.

If, when push comes to shove, when the stakes are the highest, the other side will double-cross their own standards when its politically advantageous, tell me how this would not spell the end of this supposedly great deliberative body, because I dont see how, he continued.

The New York Democrat urged four Senate Republicans to commit to rejecting any nominee until the next president is installed, saying that was Justice Ginsburgs dying wish and it may be the Senates only last hope.

Senators Susan Collins (R., Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) have both said they would not support confirming a presidential nominee ahead of the election.

More from National Review
DeGeneres, 62, marked the premiere of Season 18 of her long-running eponymous chat show with an admission that "things happened here that never should have happened".

The once esteemed media personality fell from grace after claims of workplace bullying on set began to circulate online.

"I take this very seriously and I want to say I'm so sorry to the people it affected," DeGeneres told her audience on Monday (local time).

DeGeneres said "the necessary changes" had been made after WarnerMedia launched an internal inquiry into the allegations of misconduct.

Three of the series' top producers - Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman - were subsequently dismissed in August.

Long-standing studio DJ, Stephen 'tWitch' Boss, has since been promoted to co-executive producer, she announced.

"I learned that things happened here that never should have happened.

"If I've ever let someone down, if I've ever hurt their feelings, I am sorry for that."

DeGeneres said the show was "starting a new chapter", including a new tag for the talk show host.

In a BuzzFeed News article earlier this year, several former employees accused senior staff of intimidation, racism and sexual harassment on set, with one even solicited for oral sex.



It was revealed that DeGeneres had issued an apology to the show's staffers via email in July, as well as in a video meeting with her team in August.

"On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness - no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect," she wrote in the memo, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.



"Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case.

"For that, I am sorry. Anyone who knows me knows it's the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show."

DeGeneres herself has become embroiled in the accusations, with Everybody Loves Raymond actor Brad Garrett claiming the host's alleged bad behaviour was "common knowledge" in the industry.

For more visit Newshub.
40 Days for Life CEO: 'We're starting to see the end of abortion' amid uptick in pro-life millennials

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The head of a prominent pro-life organization said he believes society is beginning to see the end of abortion as up-and-coming generations grow increasingly uncomfortable with the pro-abortion movement.

Theres a mass exodus out of the abortion industry, Shawn Carney, president of 40 Days for Life, told The Christian Post. Thanks to new technology and science teaching us that life begins at conception, I believe there is growing discomfort with abortion, regardless of how common it is.

A 2019 poll from Students for Life of America's Institute for Pro-Life Advancement found that 93 percent of millennial-aged Americans do not subscribe to the official Democratic Party platform on abortion.

According to the 2016 Democratic Party platform, every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortionregardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured.

The findings corroborate a January 2017 Quinnipiac poll, which found that 18- to 34-year-olds were more likely than other age demographics to support a ban on abortions after 20 weeks gestation.

The pro-life movement has gotten younger and larger, and I believe were beginning to see the end of abortion, Carney told CP. The response to the pro-life movement has been overwhelmingly positive, whereas it was overwhelmingly negative 20 years ago.

Launched in 2007, 40 Days for Life is a global movement that orchestrates 40-day spring and fall campaigns of prayer, fasting, and nonstop peaceful public vigils outside abortion clinics.

Carney, himself a father of seven, said that so far, his organization is operational in more than 30 countries and in 507 cities worldwide. As a result of their efforts, nearly 17,000 lives have been saved, 196 abortion workers have quit, and 106 abortion centers have closed.

We are not protesting; we are holding prayer vigils, taking a Christ-like approach of being peaceful and law-abiding, he said. Because of this approach, weve gotten a great response from those in the abortion industry.

Anytime there's an act of violence near an abortion facility, we hear abortion advocates say, We know that wasnt 40 Days for Life,'" the bestselling author continued. "Its been wonderful to see such a positive response to our work. We wouldnt have saved so many lives and helped so many people leave their jobs if we took a violent and judgmental approach. That would just be fuel to help justify their jobs.



One of the most recognizable figures to leave the abortion industry thanks to the work of 40 Days for Life is former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, whose story is featured in the 2019 film Unplanned. Following the release of the film, 40 Days for Life saw a 30 percent increase in volunteers.

Abby Johnson, a Planned Parenthood abortion center director, walked into my office on October 5, 2009, and told me she'd had a change of heart on abortion, Carney recalled. She was the 26th abortion facility worker to have a conversion and leave the abortion industry during a 40 Days for Life campaign.

Obviously, abortion workers dont want us at their facilities in the beginning, but over the weeks, they start thinking about us and the work were doing, he said.

Despite the positive steps toward ending abortion, Carney stressed that there is still a culture of death that pervades American society.

We have to acknowledge that we are in a crisis, he said. Weve lost over 60 million children to abortion. Three thousand children are aborted every day. Its an easy statistic to ignore because its overwhelming.

Earlier this year, Carney released the devotional To the Heart of the Matter: The 40 Day Companion to Live a Culture for Life. The book provides direction and inspiration for all pro-life advocates seeking to make a difference in the ongoing battle for the unborn.

In this book, I show how we can live out a culture of life every day, through our obligations, jobs, families, and marriages, he said. We didnt get here overnight with the abortion crisis. I want people to know that when you live out your faith, that is living a culture of life and changing the world.

In his book, Carney draws from real-life stories and statistics to identify practical ways pro-life readers can foster a culture of life, from engaging in prayer, fasting, and Scripture-reading to being intentional in their marriages and other relationships.

Our relationships have become superficial and distant thanks to technology. Were not getting together or going to coffee, so were not having healthy recreation and human interaction. When we dont, we can get to a very dangerous place where we no longer cherish life or care about human dignity, Carney said.

I have a whole chapter on simply taking your spouse on a date, he continued. When theres no authentic love or respect between the parents of a child, its easier to discard the fruit of that relationship. Couples need to be fostering and growing their relationship to help build a culture of life.

Carney stressed that the most powerful way to fight abortion is through prayer, adding, We have to pray, daily, for an end to abortion. What a tragedy to let a day go by where we dont pray for an end to abortion.

For those who feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of abortion, he stressed that its possible to change the culture in your daily life.

We need to get back to the basics; the heart of the Gospel, he said. Our Lord came into the world through a womb and through a family. The more we drift from that, the more we will support a culture that attacks marriage and the unborn child. We need to make an intentional effort to do these small, substantial things every day to foster a culture of life, trusting in our Lord all along the way.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday made four proposals on the development of the United Nations (UN) and its role in the post-COVID era.

The UN must stand firm for justice, uphold the rule of law, promote cooperation and focus on real action, said Xi while addressing a high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the UN via video.
She's the spritely spinster who is about to celebrate her 100th birthday in the home she has lived in her whole life.

Vera Bunting is set to mark her 100th birthday tomorrow in the Lake District home where she has lived since 1921.

Her parents moved into the modest three-bed mid-terrace property, in Ambleside, Cumbria, when she was six-months-old.

But single Vera never left the property - despite four marriage proposals - and has no plans to leave.

The retired council worker said: 'I never wanted to live anywhere else. I was always happy here.

'Growing up I had a wonderful childhood, it used to look very different around here.

Vera Bunting (pictured left) is set to mark her 100th birthday tomorrow in the Lake District home where she has lived since 1921. Single Vera (pictured right in around 1940) never left the property - despite four marriage proposals - and has no plans to leave

Her parents moved into the modest three-bed mid-terrace property, in Ambleside, Cumbria, when she was six-months-old

'Now it is built up with houses all around but back then we were surrounded by fields and trees.

'My mum used to pack us up a picnic basket with sandwiches and cake - she was a good baker - and we'd go out into the fields with all our friends and play all day.

'It was wonderful.'

Vera's parents, Rosemary and Bob, moved onto Wansfell Terrace with babies Mary and Vera - paying just shillings in rent.

But with a third child on the way, they moved three doors down into a bigger house when Vera was just six months old.

Back then the property had a coal fire and an outside toilet.

Vera has lived in the same house ever since and continues to pay rent to the same family who they first rented the property from.

Vera's parents, Rosemary and Bob (pictured in around 1940), moved onto Wansfell Terrace with babies Mary and Vera - paying just shillings in rent.

With a third child on the way (pictured left to right: Vera, her brother William and sister Mary), they moved three doors down into a bigger house when Vera was just six months old

Despite the property having two flights of stairs - with her bedroom on the first floor and the bathroom on the second - Vera is fit and agile enough to get around the place.

The soon-to-be-centenarian, who will have a low-key birthday party, puts her willingness to stay put down to the fact she lives in one of the most beautiful places in the world - Ambleside in the Lake District.

She also never left home because she didn't marry - turning down four marriage proposals at the end of the war.

So when her older sister, Mary, and younger brother, Richard, moved out when they met their spouses, Vera stayed behind and vowed to always be there for her parents, Bob and Rosemary Bunting.

Vera said: 'I had four proposals towards the end of the war but I didn't want to be tied down.'

Her parents never considered buying their home, renting the property from a man who owned the 12 houses on the whole street.

Her parents never considered buying their home, renting the property (pictured) from a man who owned the 12 houses on the whole street

Back when Vera and her parents first moved into the property it had a coal fire (pictured) and an outside toilet

 Slide me  Vera's (pictured left today and right in around 1940) three-bed house is still rented from the same family, with the daughter of the owner inheriting some of the properties from her father.

Vera's three-bed house is still rented from the same family, with the daughter of the owner inheriting some of the properties from her father.

Some of the houses on the terrace were inherited and sold by grandchildren.

Earlier his year one of the houses on the street sold for 300,000.

Vera said: 'At one point I did consider moving to buy a house but my dad wouldn't let me. He said I didn't want to get into property.

'Of course, he was wrong.'

Vera made good on her promise to look after her mum and dad, taking early retirement from her job working as secretary for Ambleside Council to look after her mum when her dad died in 1970.

She looked after her mum until she died, at home, in 1981.

Active Vera puts her longevity down to the fact she has never smoked or drank and living in clean, fresh air.

Active Vera puts her longevity down to the fact she has never smoked or drank and living in clean, fresh air

She said: 'I loved to go dancing when I was younger, we had plenty of partners as the soldiers were stationed nearby at Grasmere.

'I had some friends who were going to pubs but my dad told me that if I were to start going to them I wouldn't be doing any more dancing. So I never did.

'Instead I would dance and go walking in the mountains every weekend with my friends.

'I do love to travel, I have holidayed all over the world, but home is where the heart is. I am very lucky to live here.'

Travel loving Vera has visited Australia, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Sardinia, Tunisia, North Africa and she even had an audience with Pope Francis in Rome.

Vera's fitness means she can stay in her home, with her home comforts, looking after herself.

Vera does now have central heating although she still has a coal fire and will put a log on when the dark nights draw in.

She also has a downstairs loo which was put in when the home had an upgrade to include a bathroom and inside loo.

Ver said: 'We had a back porch and the fella who came to inspect said we ought to turn that into a toilet for my elderly mum.'

Vera keeps her mind active by writing a journal every day - something she has done since she was 18-years-old.

Vera did her own shopping until the pandemic hit and is now being helped by her nephew, retired gas fitter, Kevin Bunting, 68, and his wife, National Trust employee, Suzi Bunting, 61.

The pair are in awe of Auntie V - as they call her - and are delighted to celebrate her centenary with her.

Suzi said: 'Quite a remarkable and still an independent lady is Miss Bunting.'
Here's a peek at health official push back following Sunday protest from parents and students . . . Unelected medical officials are basically reminding locals of the VAST POWER THEY HOLD and as fear of a coronavirus 2nd wave looms AND info from the CDC seems dangerously contradictory.

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Linkedin Ioan Voicu (The Jakarta Post) Bucharest  Mon, September 21, 2020 12:21 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4622ecf 3 Opinion diplomacy,United-Nations,general-assembly-meeting,UNGA,pandemic,COVID-19 Free

In 2019, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on behalf of 193 member states, decided that the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) shall be commemorated in 2020 under the theme "The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism".

The UNGA further decided to convene in New York, on 21 Sept., a high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the UN, with the participation of heads of state and government.

Earlier, in 2018, under an agenda item entitled "Global health and foreign policy", the UNGA requested the UN secretary-general, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), to provide a progress report on the matter in 2020.

In 2019, the UNGA decided to convene a high-level meeting on universal health coverage in 2023 in New York in order to identify gaps and solutions to accelerate progress towards the achievement of universal health coverage by 2030.It was also decided that the scope and modalities of this objective should be decided no later than the 75th session of the UNGA in 2020, taking into consideration the outcomes of other existing health-related processes.

It should be reminded that on Dec. 12, 2019 France, on behalf of the seven members of the Foreign Policy and Global Health Initiative  Brazil, France, Indonesia, Norway, Senegal, South Africa and Thailand  introduced the draft resolution entitled "Global health and foreign policy: an inclusive approach to strengthening health systems". Several paragraphs of the draft were approved by vote, while the resolution as a whole was adopted by consensus.

There was no reference to COVID-19 in all diplomatic deliberations about the above 2019 resolution, in spite of the fact that, as announced by BBC, on Dec. 1, 2019 the first onset of symptoms of this virus were observed, according to the Lancet medical journal.

The UNGA adopted two resolutions which are self- explanatory by their official titles: "Global solidarity to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)" and "International cooperation to ensure global access to medicines, vaccines and medical equipment to face COVID-19".

In May 2020, on the proposal of 130 co-sponsors, including Thailand and Australia, as well as the European Union and its members, the WHO adopted a comprehensive resolution. In its first operative paragraph, the World Health Assembly "calls for, in the spirit of unity and solidarity, the intensification of cooperation and collaboration at all levels in order to contain and control the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its impact."

All the above mentioned reports and resolutions will be on the table of the 75th session of the UNGA. All of them recommend action-oriented measures to combat COVID-19 pandemic.

In the light of a challenging unprecedented reality, diplomats from all countries of the world will have the imperative duty to cooperate in order to give a collective practical response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 75th session of the UNGA will offer to the G20 members the chance to demonstrate their diplomatic maturity by helping all UN members to reach a consensus for a genuine strategy for promoting and defending global health.

While history teaches us that diplomatic maturity is a rare phenomenon at the global level, there is no doubt that, at present, worldwide solidarity in fighting COVID-19 will remain just a pure aspiration if diplomatic maturity does not become a mobilizing force able to overcome national egoisms in searching for universal solutions.

What diplomats participants in multilateral diplomacy under the auspices of the UN and WHO are expected to do is to give nations they represent a perspective of what is possible to accomplish, help them to win the battle with an invisible enemy.

On 19 February 2000 the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) adopted by consensus a document entitled "Bangkok Declaration: Global Dialogue and Dynamic Engagement" which contains relevant provisions fully applicable during COVID-19 times.

I was in the conference room when this first programmatic document was enthusiastically welcomed by all delegations. It says inter alia that "Solidarity and a strong sense of moral responsibility must be the guiding light of national and international policy. They are not only ethical imperatives, but also prerequisites for a prosperous, peaceful and secure world based on true partnership."

After 20 years, the full implementation of these objectives is still on the waiting list. The UN secretary-general recognized it in clear terms. In his remarks on Sept. 4 2020, at the G20 extraordinary meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs, he said: "we still lack effective international solidarity to respond to the economic and social impacts and the underlying fragilities exposed by the pandemic."

There are doubts that the declaration to be adopted by the high-level segment of the UNGA session will contain specific solutions. More results can be expected from the substantive deliberations in the UNGA plenary about global health and foreign policy.

In this regard, Indonesia has already officially announced that during its chairmanship of the Foreign Policy and Global Health Initiative in 2020, it has chosen "Affordable health care for all" as the central theme. Since promoting global health involves and requires concerted efforts on the part of multiple stakeholders, Indonesia would like to revitalize the Initiative to translate this specific cooperation into more concrete actions and results and affordable care for all.

It is in this organizational framework that a new comprehensive resolution could be adopted after serious consideration of the WHO report on the relevant agenda item. In this framework an authentic test of diplomatic maturity can take place. Yet, such a maturity cannot emerge spontaneously without a strong stimulus from national leaders who need themselves a true political maturity as decision-making actors.

In the opinion of some academics, leadership maturity may be the most overlooked factor in the global political arena. This is a paradox, because almost every meaningful decision of national leaders has multisystemic and sometimes local, national, regional and even global implications affecting diplomacy. In such circumstances, in order to be able to pass the test of diplomatic maturity it is necessary to take advantage of the most mature transformative leadership capacities at the national level.

Diplomats might be inspired by the wisdom of Edmund Burke (1727-1797) according to whom "Society. becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are dead and those who are (yet) to be born". This truth is valid for all human beings, including the actors of multilateral diplomacy who are expected to successfully pass in the near future the test of diplomatic maturity.

***

Visiting professor at Assumption University, Bangkok. The original article was published in On Line Opinion, Australias e-journal of social and political debate.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority are scheduled to sign on Tuesday morning the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) Charter via teleconference, Cyprus' energy ministry announced in a press release on Monday.

The ceremony officially establishes the international forum of which Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority are members, the statement said.

The EMGF constitutes a very important initiative by Egypt, as it makes the most of the excellent relations and cooperation between Eastern Mediterranean countries, in order to find ways to develop in the best possible way the regions natural wealth, and primarily natural gas, the statement added.

Egypt's petroleum minister Tarek El-Molla is set to sign the agreement.

The EMGF was originally established between Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus in October 2018. It was later declared an international body with more countries joining it from the East Mediterranean.

The forum's aim is to have "an international organisation that respects the rights of members with respect to their natural resources from natural gas and oil in accordance with the principles of international law, and supports their efforts to benefit from their reserves and use of infrastructure," according to the EMGF declaration in January 2019.

In the last meeting held prior to the coronavirus crisis in January, France presented an official request to join the EMGF, and the US expressed interest to join as "a permanent observer."

The signing of the chart comes as the East Mediterranean region is witnessing tensions between Greece and Turkey over gas exploration in the area as well as the two maritime demarcation agreements between Greece and Egypt, and Turkey and Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA).

Mediterranean countries neighbouring Turkey were incensed by a maritime deal signed between Turkey and the Tripoli-based GNA in November 2019, under which Ankara claimed vast areas of the Mediterranean Sea.

Tensions rose in the past weeks over Turkish decisions to hold military drills and as gas exploration missions in the East Mediterranean area.

Israel, Greece, and Cyprus reached an agreement to set up a pipeline in the East Mediterranean to ship gas to Europe, a project that Turkey has opposed.

The teleconference ceremony will see the first virtual meeting between Palestinian Authority and Israeli officials after peace talks had faltered between the two sides months ago.

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By Akbar Mammadov

Reserve military officials in Azerbaijan are called for training sessions in various specialties, the State Service for Mobilization and Conscription announced on September 21.

The state service noted that according to the Law of Azerbaijan on military duty and military service, military officials are called up for military training, military inspections and special gatherings during their reserve period.

Armenia has recently stepped up its military provocation in the line of contact and on the border.

On July 12, Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijan's positions in Tovuz, the country's strategically-important district. The Armenian attack killed 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, as well as a 76-year-old civilian. Armenian forces retreated after suffering losses in Azerbaijan's retaliation.

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.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Facebook says it has already registered 2.5 million Americans to vote in the upcoming presidential election, with a goal of registering 4 million total before Election Day.

In a blog post in advance of National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, the social-media giant touted its combined registration figures from Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, extrapolating from conversion rates from several states.

So far, an estimated 39 million people have visited Facebook and Instagram's Voting Information Centers.

'With six weeks until Election Day and registration deadlines fast approaching in many states, this week we're putting the full force of our platform behind this campaign to empower every eligible voter to make their voice heard in this election.'

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Facebook announced it has already signed up 2.5 million new voters, with a goal of registering 4 million by Election Day. The campaign is part of the platform's ongoing effort to thwart voter misinformation and disenfranchisement and during the campaign season

Last weekend, Facebook launched a poll-worker recruitment drive to help staff election centers facing shortages because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It also started pinning voting information at the top of all three apps, with links to official state voting websites and nonpartisan voting organizations.

The voter hub will remain top-of-feed through September 25.

Today, Facebook announced a national campaign, 'More Questions, More Answers,' would appear on both Instagram and Facebook with the aim of directing people to its Voting Information Centers 'to help ensure their vote is counted in this election.'

Screenshots from Facebook's voting information hub. On Monday Facebook announced a new national campaign, 'More Questions, More Answers,' would appear on both Instagram and Facebook

The company said this was the first time a campaign was being deployed on both apps, and it will be highlighted in radio and TV spots nationwide.

New National Voter Registration Day stickers are launching Tuesday and users who download them will be added to a special Register To Vote story.

On Tuesday morning, Facebook Watch will kick off a one-hour Vote-A-Thon 2020 special with celebrities and public figures calling Americans to get out the vote and celebrate 'the unsung heroes of the election process.'

What is Facebook doing to protect the election process?  All new political ads on Facebook and Instagram banned a week from November 3 - but existing ones can stay be re-used and be re-targeted  Misinformation about voting is being removed now, not 72 hours before November 3 as had been planned  Group forwarding on Facebook Messenger is suspended so users can only forward five messages at a time.  Posts with 'implicit' voter suppression is being removed.  Facebook's voting info center will tell people 'there is nothing illegitimate about not having a result on election night.'  Anyone claiming election victory before it has been called by Reuters will have their post flagged with a link to the official results. Advertisement

Next week information about early voting and vote-by-mail will start appearing in feeds of users where they're available.

Social media, and Facebook in particular, was criticized for allowing misinformation campaigns to taint the 2016 election.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company will remove all political ads a week before the election, though users can deactivate such ads now if they choose.

'This election is not going to be business as usual,' Zuckerberg wrote. 'We all have a responsibility to protect our democracy.'

Adam Chiara, a communications professor at the University of Hartford said Facebook seemed to be acknowledging the power it holds over the upcoming presidential race.

'Maybe some steps they are taking work and others are mistakes,' Chiara said, 'but I would rather have the platform try to be a positive force than be in denial of the role it plays in our democracy.'

Other social media platforms have also announced intense efforts to prevent election tampering.

Twitter will remove or label unverified postings claiming electoral victory prematurely, and YouTube is taking down content aimed at manipulation, including 'videos that contain hacked information about a political candidate shared with the intent to interfere in an election,' according to a statement.

YouTube will also remove videos promoting efforts to interfere with the voting process such as telling viewers to create long voting lines.

Last week, Snapchat announced it had registered more than 400,000 new voters, more than half of whom were between the ages of 18 and 24.

More than half of Snapchat users who registered through the app in 2018 voted in the midterm elections, highlighting the power of social media as an election driver.
Federal funding of new technology is crucial for astronomy, according to results of a study released Sept. 21 in the Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments and Systems.

The study tracked the long-term impact of early seed funding obtained from the National Science Foundation. Many of the key advances in astronomy over the past three decades benefited directly or indirectly from this early seed funding.

Over the past 30 years, the NSF Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation program has supported astronomers to develop new ways to study the universe. Such devices may include cameras or other instruments as well as innovations in telescope design. The study traced the origins of some workhorse technologies in use today back to their humble origins years or even decades ago in early grants from NSF. The study also explored the impact of technologies that are just now advancing the state-of-the-art.

The impact of technology and instrumentation research unfolds over the long term. "New technology is a science multiplier" said study author Peter Kurczynski, who served as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation and is now the Chief Scientist of Cosmic Origins at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. "It enables new ways of observing the universe that were never before possible." As a result, astronomers are able to make better observations, and gain deeper insights, into the mysteries of the cosmos.

The study also looked at the impact of grant supported research in the peer-reviewed literature. Papers resulting from technology and instrumentation grants are cited with the same frequency as those resulting from pure science grants, according to the study. Instrumentation scientists "write papers to the same degree, and with the same impact as their peers who do not build instruments," said Stasa Milojevic, associate professor of informatics and the director of the Center for Complex Network and Systems Research in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering at Indiana University, who is a coauthor of the study.

Also noteworthy is that NSF grant supported research was cited more frequently overall than the general astronomy literature. NSF is considered to have set the gold standard in merit review process for selecting promising research for funding.

An anonymous reviewer described the article as a "go-to record for anyone needing to know the basic history of many breakthroughs in astronomical technology." Better observations have always improved our understanding of the universe. From the birth of modern astronomy in the middle ages to the present day, astronomers have relied upon new technologies to reveal the subtle details of the night sky with increasing sophistication.

This study comes at a critical time of reflection on the nation's commitment to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. U.S. preeminence in STEM is increasingly challenged by China and Europe. This study reveals that investments in technology have a tremendous impact for science. Astronomers today are still reaping the benefits of research that was begun decades ago. The future of astronomy depends upon technologies being developed today.

A post on the NSF Science Matter blog provides an in-depth look at one discovery enabled by support of the ATI program: Downloading the first image of a black hole by the the Event Horizon Telescope in 2019.

###

About the National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense..." NSF is vital because it supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future. This type of support: Is a primary driver of the U.S. economy, enhances the nation's security, advances knowledge to sustain global leadership. With an annual budget of $8.3 billion (FY 2020), NSF is the funding source for approximately 25 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing.

About the Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation Program

The Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation (ATI) program provides individual investigator and collaborative research grants for development of new technologies and instrumentation for astronomy and astrophysics. The program supports overarching science objectives of the Division of Astronomical Sciences. Development of innovative, potentially transformative technologies are encouraged, even at high technical risk. Supported categories include but are not limited to: advanced technology development or concept feasibility studies and specialized instrumentation to enable new observations that are difficult or impossible to obtain with existing means. Proposals may include hardware and/or software development and/or analysis to enable new types of astronomical observations. The program encourages making products of research available to the public. It also encourages community coordination of technology and instrumentation development efforts via an annual Principal Investigators meeting.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 18:36:00|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- A speech made by President Xi Jinping at a recent meeting with grassroots representatives has been published.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered the speech at the meeting on Sept. 17.

The booklet, published by the People's Publishing House, is available at Xinhua Bookstore outlets across the country. Enditem
UPPER EAST SIDE, NY  Students, parents and alumni demonstrated outside one of the city's most prominent public high schools on Friday, calling on administrators to resolve what they called a "diversity crisis" that has grown more acute in recent years.

The group argues that Black, Latino and low-income students are drastically underrepresented at Hunter College High School, among the most selective and prestigious in New York.

Despite the skewed demographics, Hunter, which is run by CUNY, has arguably escaped the harsh scrutiny applied to other specialized high schools like Stuyvesant and Bronx Science, where a high-profile diversity debate has played out.

Out of nearly 1,300 students enrolled at Hunter last year in grades 7 through 12, only about 6.2 percent were Latino and 2.3 percent were Black, records show. About 8.2 percent were eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. (Citywide, New York's public school students were about two-thirds Black and Latino during the 2018-19 school year, while about three quarters were from low-income households.)

It wasn't always this way  in 1995, Hunter's incoming seventh-grade class was 12 percent Black and six percent Latino, the New York Times reported in 2010.

Senior Isaiah Register said the lack of diversity has tainted his academic experience, as one of just six Black-identifying students in a grade of more than 200.

"It kind of just seeps into everything," he said at Friday's protest, which took place outside Hunter's campus on East 69th Street and Lexington Avenue. "I do feel somewhat pressured to share my experience, because I feel like people need to hear it. It can get uncomfortable."

"The decline of the diversity of the student body ... was not inevitable," said alumnus Deepak Bhargava, now a professor at CUNY. "It was the choices this administration made about how they were going to pursue admissions." (Nick Garber/Patch)

He is among the students calling for the school to reform its admission practices, under the banner Hunter College High School For Diversity. Working with parents and alumni, and following consultations with experts in school integration, the group is pushing Hunter's president, Jennifer Raab, to rewrite the school's entrance exam and expand its criteria for admission. They argue the changes would expand access to students unable to afford test preparation classes.

Story continues

The coronavirus pandemic has created an opportunity for change, they say: institutions like CUNY and Hunter College have suspended standardized test requirements for the incoming class of students, and the high school could do the same.

The effort has won support from more than 1,200 alumni who signed onto students' "Call for Diversity" in June, as well as Chris Hayes, the MSNBC host and 1997 Hunter graduate.

So proud of @hchs4diversity, the students at my alma mater organizing around the diversity crisis at Hunter College High School. It is *extremely* disappointing that @HunterPresident won't even meet with them about their urgent concerns.

 Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 16, 2020

"It was the choices this administration made"

Despite months of appeals, students say they have received minimal response from administrators, including Raab, who has not agreed to meet with them.

"She's been here for 20 years and diversity has only gotten worse under her," senior Chloe Rollock said of Raab, who has led the institution since 2001.

Deepak Bhargava, a 1986 Hunter graduate, said Friday he was dismayed that the school's demographics had grown more skewed in the years since he left.

"The decline of the diversity of the student body ... was not inevitable," said Bhargava, now a professor at CUNY. "It was the choices this administration made about how they were going to pursue admissions."

In a statement, Hunter College Campus Schools Director Lisa Siegmann said the institution was "committed to inclusion and diversity," and has supported initiatives to improve access to its entrance exam.

"A task force has already been established to examine and respond to racial equity issues at both the College and the Hunter College Campus Schools. Among the topics being reviewed at the Campus Schools include admissions for both elementary and high school, curriculum and campus climate," Siegmann said.

"We have a deep commitment working with the students, parents and staff, who have already been involved in discussions and will continue to meet as the school year gets underway."



Friday's demonstration was the second in three days that targeted Hunter's administrators: on Wednesday, teachers blasted the high school's reopening plan, which they said lacks the coronavirus protections in place at other city public schools.

This article originally appeared on the Upper East Side Patch
It was a quick trip for the Indian Creek resident from being charged by federal prosecutors with income tax evasion last month to his 18-page guilty plea agreement, although sentencing has been postponed until next year. Not only did he plead guilty to the charge of failing to report income on his 2016 federal tax return, he admitted to falsifying income on tax returns for 2012 through 2015, according to Chicago Tribune reporter Jason Meisner.
China reported the September 4 th launch of its own version of the U.S. Air Force X-37B UOV (unmanned orbital vehicle). The Chinese spaceplane landed two days later on a 5,000-meter (16,000 foot) landing strip near their Lop Nor nuclear test site in the Gobi Desert. No pictures of their UOV have been released yet and when asked what their UOV was like the Chinese mentioned the X-37B. The Chinese UOV was spotted by an American space surveillance system releasing a smaller object into orbit. The Chinese UOV apparently released two such objects before returning to earth. The Chinese UOV remained in a 350 kilometer high orbit for over 40 hours.

The Chinese UOV was not a complete surprise as Chinese space officials mentioned such a project in 2017. It was believed they would test their UOV in 2020 and they did, but without any publicity until it landed safely. The only other nation to develop and use a spaceplane was Russia. The Buran project was similar to the American manned Space Shuttle and made one unmanned flight in 1988. This was for only two orbits before Buran was landed. The Soviet Union dissolved in 1988 and there was no money for further work on Buran. The one working Buran vehicle was stored in a hanger and destroyed in 2002 when the hanger collapsed. The European Space Program is developing a space plane as is India.

On May 17 2020, one of the American X-37Bs was launched into orbit, the sixth time this has been done. This was seven months after the other X-37B returned from its last, and longest (25.5 months) mission. The X-37B has been doing this for a decade now, going into orbit for the first time in April 2010, and remaining up there for over seven months. Each subsequent launch (March 2011, December 2012, May 2016 and September 2017) kept the X-37B in orbit longer (225 days then 469, 675, 718 and 780). There are two X-37B spaceplanes so they are not putting the same one back into orbit soon after it returns.

One unanswered question is; what does X-37B or the Chinese UOV do up there? The X-37B operations are classified secret and little information about what happens in orbit is released. China seems to be equally secretive. The most recent X-37B mission caused a problem when the air force mentioned that the X-37B had carried and released three cubesats (very small satellites) that were not registered with the UN. That X-37B was known to be carrying ten cubesats to be released into orbit to perform various experiments. The Chinese appear to have done the same during their two days in orbit. The latest X-37B in orbit was reported to be carrying more items to put into orbit than any previous X-37B.

Cubesats are technically U Class spacecraft that can be no larger than 10 cm (about four inches) square and weigh no more than 1.33 kg (2.9 pounds). Cubesats are increasingly popular for science experiments by smaller organizations, or even individuals, who cannot afford a multi-million-dollar satellite that is ten or more times larger and heavier than a cubesat. Over 1,200 cubesats have been launched since 1998, with about 93 percent reaching orbit. That number is expected to double in the next few years because more and more commercial satellite launchers are providing unused space and weight on their launcher rockets for carrying and launching some cubesats. In some cases, the cubesat owners pay for this service while in other cases some cubesats are taken up for free, as a public service.

The U.S. is accused of using the unregistered cubesats launched from the X-37B as a test of a new anti-satellite weapon. A cubesat placed in the proper orbit could intercept and destroy or disable a much larger satellite. Or so the theory goes. The U.S. Air Force has no comment although two senior air force officials did mention, in 2019, that there were some secret anti-satellite projects underway. An anti-satellite weapon that is kept secret is more effective when used because the enemy doesnt know what to prepare for.

The X-37B is unmanned and operated by earth-based controllers. It does have automatic landing software that has been used several times without any problems. While the air force reports few details about the X-37B, it was difficult to hide the fact that mission 5 used a different launch vehicle; the SpaceX booster. This was important because the SpaceX rocket itself is reusable; its first stage returns to earth and lands upright for refurbishing and reuse. Air force officials noted that the SpaceX design is a fitting match for X-37B which was designed for multiple reuse and autonomous operation. Mission 5 was apparently similar to Mission 4 in that new technologies were tested and more micro-satellites were placed in orbit, including the unregistered cubesats, which are the smallest class of satellites.

Mission 6 was originally scheduled for late 2019, using the disposable Atlas 5 launch vehicle normally employed but probably on its way out. SpaceX is cheaper and has a growing list of successful landings including twelve successes in a row, including all ten in 2017. The SpaceX landing tests began in 2010.

It was eventually revealed that X-37B mission 4 tested a new thruster system for mobile satellites that needed to be tried out while in orbit. Also carried were dozens of different materials, possibly including some new spy satellite components to see what the harsh environment in orbit, especially radiation, can do. Such exposure can have unpredictable effects on materials and microelectronics after prolonged time in space.

Earlier missions were also successful. The third X-37B mission ended in October 2014 after nearly two years in orbit. The second mission landed on June 16th, 2012 after 15 months in orbit. The first mission ended on December 3rd, 2010 after seven months in orbit. The official endurance of the X-37B was originally about nine months (280 days). The real endurance appears to be 3-4 times that, at least. The long endurance is largely because the X-37B carries a sizable solar panel, which is deployed from the cargo bay, unfolded and produces enough power to keep the X-37B up there for a long time. The air force has not made public much about what the X-37B has been doing up there for nearly 2,000 days so far.

In effect, the X-37B is a remotely controlled mini-Space Shuttle. The space vehicle, according to amateur astronomers (who like to watch spy satellites as well), appears to be going through some tests much of the time. The X-37B is believed to have a payload of about 227-300 kg (500-660 pounds). The payload bay is 2.1x1.4 meters (7x4 feet). As it returned to earth, it is designed to land by itself after being ordered to use a specific landing area. The X-37B weighs five tons, is nine meters (29 feet) long and has a wingspan of 4 meters (14 feet). In contrast, the Space Shuttle was 56 meters long, weighed 2,000 tons and had a payload of 24 tons.

The X-37B is a classified project, so not many additional details were expected to be made available. It's been in development since 2000 but work was slowed down for a while because of lack of money. Whatever the X-37B is now doing up there has been convincing enough to get Congress to spend over a billion dollars on it. What makes the X-37B so useful is that it is very maneuverable, contains some internal sensors (as well as communications gear), and can carry mini-satellites, or additional sensors, in the payload bay. The X-37B is believed capable of serving as a platform for attacks on enemy satellites in wartime. Using a remotely controlled arm, the X-37B could refuel or repair other satellites. All this is speculative because, as a classified project, there is little confirmed information about its payload or mission, other than testing the system on its first mission. It is likely that future missions will involve intelligence work, and perhaps servicing existing spy satellites, which use up their fuel to change their orbits. For regular satellite refueling missions a larger X-37C would probably be used. This is a scaled-up X-37B that would have a much larger (probably over a ton) payload. The X-37C could be quickly switched between cargo and passenger configurations. The X-37C would still be robotic and not require anyone onboard to control it. Work on the X-37C has apparently been halted because there are similar alternative designs that are closer to service.

The X-37B also demonstrated that it could not be easily tracked while in orbit. An international collection of amateur sky watchers proved remarkably adept at spotting orbital objects in the past, including classified ones like the X-37B. The amateur orbital observer community has concluded that one thing the X-37B tested was how well it could constantly switch positions, and stay hidden. In that respect, the X-37B was a resounding success. That's because these amateur observers are generally very good at tracking what's up there.

But the X-37B has proved elusive and sometimes became a frustrating challenge to the amateur sky watchers. This is pleasing to American air force officials, who designed the X-37B to be elusive to terrestrial observation and the dedicated (and quite effective) amateur satellite watchers gave the X-37B quite a workout. China apparently seeks to do the same.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  After 11 people were shot the previous weekend, Grand Rapids police put an extra 110 officers on the street this past weekend.

Police seized 10 illegal firearms and arrested 16 on felony charges.

Importantly, police made contact with the community, police said. The officers werent just investigating crimes but stopping to talk to residents to build trust and relationships.

It wont happen overnight but it was a good start, Grand Rapids police Sgt. Dan Adams told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press on Monday, Sept. 21.

24 Community prayer to end Grand Rapids violence

Grand Rapids usually has 24 officers on weekend night shifts.

The extra 110 officers were divided over three nights, focused on areas troubled by violence. The officers included those assigned to road patrol, Vice Unit, Detective Bureau and Special Response Team.

There were reports of shots fired over the weekend but no serious injuries or homicides. Many have been alarmed by the 23 homicides so this year. Last year, there were 18. The year before that, there were nine.

While no one was killed the weekend of Sept. 12-13, there were 11 people injured by gunfire, including seven at the East Paris Hookah Lounge.

Adams said that many residents were pleased with the enforcement and public-engagement effort.

Thats just getting out of the car or off the bike and talking to people, Adams said.

Along with the 155 non-enforcement interactions, police conducted 40 traffic stops, 18 misdemeanor arrests and 16 felony arrests. Police also spent 31 hours on bike patrol and 38 hours walking the beat.

Adams said police recovered the firearms while investigating other incidents.

By all accounts, we can label this a significant success, Police Chief Eric Payne said in a statement. My officers worked very hard to address the violence and engage residents in a positive way.

Police targeted violent crime by using intelligence obtained by police officers and information provided by crime analysts.

They also made meeting with residents a priority.

This is the policing Grand Rapids can expect as we move forward and implement our new strategic plan, Payne said. Through these efforts, we are committed to making sure everyone in Grand Rapids is safe and feels safe at all times.

Read more:

Gunshots started going ablaze, Hookah Lounge shooting victim says

Grand Rapids police promise high visibility presence in areas battling violence

Pastors pray for police, end of violence after chaotic summer in Grand Rapids
The additional funding would become available once local election authorities use up the $16.8 million in funding from the federal coronavirus relief package approved earlier this year. State election officials said the additional money most likely will be shifted from funds that were dedicated to upgrading the states voter registration system.
The very people risking their lives to defend the nation are among those most likely to have their ballots left uncounted in the presidential election in November.

With nearly 1 million absentee ballots sent to military and overseas Americans worldwide by this past Saturday  kicking off voting for the election  history shows many never will be returned in time and a greater percentage will be rejected when compared with the rest of the population.

Theres just a high percentage of ballots that just dont make it back in time, said Don Inbody, a lecturer in political science at Texas State University and author of The Soldier Vote.

Theyre active-duty military. Theyre usually pretty busy, so they are not going to be quite as efficient as youd like them to be in getting their ballots back.

That looms particularly large this year, as polls show military voters are more divided than ever on the presidential election and that they could have an effect on close races in states such as Texas, North Carolina and Florida.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

HOW TO VOTE IF YOURE IN THE MILITARY OR A QUALIFIED SPOUSE 1. Fill out a Federal Postcard Application, which registers a person to vote and requests an absentee ballot at the same time. The postcard can be downloaded at FVAP.com or is available at voting assistance offices found on most bases. 2. Once you receive a blank ballot from the home election office, mark the ballot and send it back immediately. Remember to personally sign the ballot package. Do not have a spouse or relative sign it. (Many ballots get tossed out for this reason.) 3. Texas residents can track their ballots to see if they have been received though the Texas Secretary of State's Office at votetexas.gov/military-overseas-voters/. 4. If a ballot to vote hasn't arrived yet and it is close to Election Day, military and qualified spouses can fill out a special Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot and send it in as a backup to assure their vote is tallied. The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot is available at www.fvap.gov See More Collapse

While active-duty military voters have skewed toward Republicans in recent elections, the Military Times reported that this years election is up for grabs. Among 1,018 active-duty soldiers polled from late July to early August, 41 percent said they would vote for former Vice President Joe Biden, while 37 percent sided with President Donald Trump.

Four years ago, a similar poll showed Trump was the choice of 38 percent, while Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton was the choice of just 16 percent. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson had more than twice as much support as Clinton in that poll, with 37 percent saying they would vote for him. An additional 5 percent said they wouldnt vote at all, given the choices.

Federal data shows that members of the military are less likely to vote than the civilian population. In 2018, only 26 percent of military members voted, compared with 52 percent of the rest of the population. In that election, nearly half of all ballots sent out to military and overseas voters who requested them never were returned. And of those that were returned, nearly 6 percent were rejected by elections officials for various reasons, according to a report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Nationwide, about 1 percent of absentee ballots are rejected among the civilian population.

The most common reasons for ballots being tossed out are late submission, problems with the voters signature and missing postmarks.

During the 2016 presidential election, Texas elections officials sent out almost 30,000 ballots to uniformed military and their dependents stationed around the nation and worldwide. But just 60 percent were returned, one of the worst rates in the nation. Nationwide, military voters returned ballots nearly 70 percent of the time in that election, according to the Election Assistance Commission.

Reforms have raised turnout

Texas has 15 military installations, with more than 117,000 active-duty personnel stationed in Texas as of this summer  only Virginia and California have more.

Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen said there always have been challenges in getting ballots to military voters around the globe and getting those ballots back on time. She said that over the years, the federal government, Texas and local election offices like hers have taken steps to improve the system.

Texas also allows extra time for them: Even if a ballot comes in up to five days after Election Day, it still will count.

In the mid-2000s, even worse ballot return rates caught the attention of Congress. In 2006, nationwide, 1 million ballots were sent out to people in the military and overseas, but just one-third of those ended up being counted. A major problem was ballots arriving too late for the service members to fill them out and get them back.

Congress responded in 2009 with new laws requiring all local election officials to get requested military ballots out to soldiers domestically and overseas 45 days before an election. This year, that meant by this past Saturday. While early voting in Texas isnt set to start until Oct. 13, military and overseas voters who already requested a ballot could have gotten started making their picks as early as this past weekend.

New laws also have required each state to give troops the ability to transmit votes electronically via email, fax or a secure internet portal in some instances in order to get ballots back in time. That is especially important for troops who may be on ships, bases or submarines thousands of miles from home. Texas allows only troops in combat areas such as Afghanistan or other parts of the Middle East to fax ballots back. Texas does not allow emailed ballots.

Those laws also created a backup voting system for troops who have not received their requested ballots or are afraid those ballots wont arrive in time. In that case, members of the military can print out a federal backup write-in ballot that allows them to vote in key federal races, such as for president and Congress.

Congress requires all states to have an online system that allows troops to track their ballots to see if they have arrived and if theyve been counted. In Texas, the secretary of state allows voters to check their ballot status at www.votetexas.gov/military-overseas-voters/.

All the changes had an effect. In 2018, just over 50 percent of military and overseas ballots shipped out were returned and counted.

Offering assistance

Last year, Congress tried to streamline the process for troops again. As part of the National Defense Authorization Act, Congress is requiring all service members to get a postcard application that allows them to request a ballot and register to vote in their home county at one time. That used to require separate mailings, which created another step where something could go wrong.

Soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines regularly put their lives on the line to defend our democracy, and its only right they have ample opportunity to fully participate in that democracy, said Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who sponsored a bill incorporated into the legislation as it became law in December.

A big part of improving voter participation on bases is better outreach to troops and showing them how to navigate the system, said David Beirne, director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, which was created to help military and overseas Americans vote.

Beyond having a national website to help guide people through the process, the Defense Department has voter assistance offices set up at military bases across the nation. Even ships at sea have a designated voting assistance officer on board.

In addition, FVAP continues to send direct emails to all 1.2M active-duty personnel on a monthly basis to inform them of upcoming federal elections and key information, Beirne said.

The federal voting assistance program is also available to 700,000 spouses and dependents and an estimated 3 million U.S. residents overseas who are eligible to vote.

FVAP now is also using a Voting Ambassador program in which fellow troops create social media content that is designed to resonate with military members and their families to encourage them to sign up to vote and learn how to do it.
Chinas insects and other invertebrates are spoilt for choice with the countrys array of deserts, rainforests, mountains and tropical coastlines. The winning photographs of the Wild China Biodiversity Photography Contest hosted by Wild China Film present the countrys sweeping lands and rare plants from unexpected perspectives. Here is a pick of the crop

Jan 21, 2022 06:20 PM
"We continue to review all funding options to enhance balance-sheet resilience and strength," Rolls-Royce said in a statement. (stock photo)

Rolls-Royce Holdings said it may raise as much as 2.5bn (2.7bn) as it weighs options to boost its balance sheet.

The British maker of aircraft engines is in talks with sovereign wealth funds, including Singapore's GIC, as in turns to investors for the funds next month, the Financial Times reported, citing three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The company is working with Goldman Sachs Group on the planned equity raise, it added.

"We continue to review all funding options to enhance balance-sheet resilience and strength," Rolls-Royce said in a statement.

The options include "a variety of structures including a rights issue and potentially other forms of equity issuance. Our review also includes new debt issuance," it said.

The company said it hasn't decided if it's moving ahead with any of the options or the timing of the fundraising. Last week it said it was continuing to consider ways to bolster its coffers after the coronavirus-driven aviation downturn slammed revenue.

The maker of wide-body turbines has been hard hit by the drop in long-distance travel, with its share price down 74pc this year and its debt downgraded further into junk.

This puts Rolls-Royce in a bind, faced with either further diluting equity investors or borrowing money at higher costs.
The monsoon session of the Karnataka assembly that began on Monday has been cut short amidst growing concerns of increasing Covid-19 cases in the state. Instead of the 10 days till September 30, which was the original duration of the session, it has now been truncated to six days after the government finally managed to convince the opposition and will now end on September 26.

Earlier CM BS Yediyurappa had appealed to the opposition to curtail the session to a mere three days pointing out that nearly 55-60 of the 225 MLAs in the assembly could not attend as they had been infected. Though administration officials said that extraordinary precaution has been taken to ensure safety measures are in place, there was concern among both leaders and officials.

Finally at the Business Advisory Committee meeting, leader of opposition Siddaramaiah who till then had even called for extending the session to three weeks, agreed to cutting it short. In turn the government has promised that it would allow detailed discussion on some of the contentious bills including those related to land reforms, APMC, amendments to electricity act and purchase of equipment for Covid-19 care. The government is looking to pass at least 38 bills.

Siddaramaiah said that the APMC act was a death sentence for the farming community in the state. Unable to control the pandemic and misusing the occasion, the government is bent on destroying agriculture which has been one ray of hope, he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, thousands of farmers took to the streets of Bangalore protesting against the governments proposed changes in the land reforms act which would permit non-agriculturists to purchase farm land. They are also protesting against changes proposed in the electricity act, APMC and are demanding adequate compensation for farmers who have lost crops due to recent floods.

The amendments in the APMC act allow farmers to directly sell to private players circumventing the 160 APMCs in the state. This some farmer organisations would put farmers at a disadvantage. They have threatened to launch a state wide bandh on Friday in case the contentious bills and amendments are not withdrawn.

The opening day of the session also witnessed an unseemly fight between a ruling party MLA from Kadur, Belli Prakash and minister for horticulture Narayana Gowda over release of some funds and transfer of officials, creating embrassment for the government. Though later on both BJP legislators tried to underplay the incident claiming it was just differences between brothers the opposition said that this was an indication of the inefficiency and chaos in the government.

Nearly 10 members of the BS Yediyurappa cabinet including deputy CM CN Ashwath Narayan, home minister Basvaraj Bommai, among others - have tested Covid-19 positive or are under isolation. Several opposition leaders too, including former minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge, have tested positive for coronavirus and are in isolation.

The state which till now has recorded more than half a million Covid-19 positive cases said on Monday that it had identified 7,339 new cases and 8,145 people have died till now due to Coronavirus. Earlier in the day, responding to a question on cabinet expansion, CM Yediyurappa had said that he is awaiting directions from the party high command.
The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced 2020 admit cards have been released by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi on Monday

JEE Advanced 2020 | The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced 2020 admit cards have been released by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi on Monday. Candidates who have registered for the entrance exam can download their hall ticket from jeeadv.ac.in.

The JEE Advanced 2020, the entrance examination for admission to undergraduate programmes across IITs and IISc, will be conducted on 27 September.

A report by The Times of India said the exam will be conducted in two shifts. Paper 1 will be held in the first shift that will be from 9 am to 12 noon.

Paper 2 exam will be held in the second shift that will be from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

According to a report by The Indian Express, a total of 1,60,864 students have enrolled to take the exam this year. They are the top-ranking students from the JEE Main 2020.

Around 2.5 lakh JEE Main rank holders, every year, are eligible to take the Advanced exam.

Keeping in mind the safety of students amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of exam centres this year has been increased to 1,150 from 600 last year. The exam will be held in 222 cities.

The result will be declared on 5 October and seat allocation process will commence from 8 October.

A report by Careers 360 said that candidates can download the admit card by 27 September up to 9 am. The examination will be conducted as a computer-based test (CBT).

The admit card will mention details including examination date, time, centre's name and address. If there be any discrepancy in the hall ticket, candidates should contact the Chairman of the respective zonal coordinating IIT.

Steps to download admit card:

Step 1: Visit the official website of JEE Advanced - jeeadv.ac.in

Step 2: Tap on the link that mentions, "Candidates may download their Admit Card"

Step 3: You will be directed to a new page where you will be required to enter your registration number, date of birth, and registered mobile number

Step 4: Press the login button

Step 5: Your JEE Advanced 2020 hall ticket will be available on the screen. Save and take a print out

Here's the direct link to download the admit card: http://cportal.jeeadv.ac.in/
40 Days for Life to have record participation despite COVID-19 pandemic

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The annual pro-life prayer vigil campaign 40 Days for Life will reportedly break a record for the most participating cities this year, despite pandemic-related shutdowns.

The 40-day annual event, which involves pro-life activists regularly praying outside of abortion clinics seven days a week, will begin Sept. 23 and conclude Nov. 1.

Shawn Carney, president and CEO of the group 40 Days for Life, told The Christian Post that 588 cities were participating this year, the largest since the observance was first held in 2007.

Many thought that the pandemic and civil unrest in our streets would be a deterrent, but I am so proud of the local leaders who came out in droves to apply, train, and lead their campaign locally, said Carney.

The desire to help women and their unborn children is at an all-time high despite nearly five decades of legalized abortion. The pro-life movement gets larger and younger by the day and that is illustrated in this record.

Carney also told CP that for the prayer campaign, his organization enhanced and expanded our training for the pandemic but also for security and keeping all participants safe.

The campaign is ready for any potential litigation, Carney explained, noting that they have extensive legal support available just in case a vigil faces legal harassment.

Historically, 40 days for Life is well-known in the communities we are in and we have a good reputation with local officials and law-enforcement, he continued.

If a local judge attempts to use COVID-19 as a vehicle to suppress our rights, then we are prepared to respond and defend those rights as Americans.

While largely concentrated in the United States and Canada, according to their website, 40 Days for Life vigils are slated to occur in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Argentina, Croatia, Germany, India, Nigeria, Spain, and Uganda.

Dorothy Zarelli, director of the local campaign for Tacoma, Washington, explained to CP that their vigil will be at the Cedar River Clinic, a late-term abortion provider.

We are on the sidewalk praying and holding our signs. We do not march or yell or confront anyone. We are just there to pray for the unborn and witness, said Zarelli.

Some days the sidewalk counselors are there and they are trained for one-on-one conversations with the people going into the clinic. We also have info on CareNet, a facility where pregnant woman can go get help with their pregnancy and a free ultrasound.

Zarelli noted that their campaign will feature four two-hour shifts seven days a week, with around 60 people being involved and at least two individuals present per shift.

Paula Grimm of the Right to Life League, head of the campaign for Pasadena, California, told CP that she first took part in a 40 Days for Life years ago as a college student.

Grimm explained that her local observance will take place at a Planned Parenthood in Pasadena, located right across the street from the offices of the Right to Life League.

Our volunteer list has 160 people on it and is growing rapidly, reported Grimm. LA county still has strict COVID health regulations in place, so our volunteers are required to wear masks and stand six feet apart at all times.

For our larger events  kickoff, midpoint, closing  we will space ourselves up and down the busy boulevard and across the street, rather than gather in one area.

As with other mass gatherings, demonstrations outside of abortion clinics have periodically been the target of law enforcement over concerns regarding the spread of the coronavirus.

In April, a district court judge issued an order allowing for pro-life activists to demonstrate outside of abortion clinics in Michigan after they had previously been ticketed for doing so.

U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff issued an order approving an agreement between the City of Detroit and pro-life activist Andrew Belanger of the group ONElife for Life.

The City of Detroit shall dismiss the criminal citation issued to Plaintiff Andrew Belanger and any related criminal charges or proceedings that might arise from this citation and the incident related to it, read the order.
The People's Assembly have met to discuss upcoming projects and emphasised the need to the Syrian people and the homeland writes SANA.

On Sunday, the Peoples Assembly held its first session of the 1st Ordinary Round of the 3rd Legislative Term chaired by Speaker Hammouda Sabbagh, to discuss the ministerial statement of the government which includes the agenda of the upcoming phase, in presence of Prime Minister Hussein Arnous and Cabinet Members.

At the beginning of the session, the Assembly referred a number of draft projects to the specialized committees to study them and prepare necessary reports regarding them.

Sabbagh stressed in a speech at the Assembly, that they and the cabinet will work together to serve the people and the homeland.

Sabbagh pointed out that Syria has successfully passed a significant stage in facing the powers of evil, hostility and terrorism and all kinds of economic, media, psychological and diplomatic wars, which are in continually escalating, particularly following the large victories achieved by the Syrian Arab Army against terrorism.

Sabbagh saluted the Syrian Arab Army, the souls of its brave martyrs and courageous wounded, as well as the resilient Syrian people who are rallying around their army and leader.

Sabbagh concluded his speech by stressing the need to adhere to the approach that President Bashar al-Assad has talked about in his speeches in front of members of the Peoples Assembly and members of the cabinet in dealing with the tasks and challenges, on top of them possessing the means and the ability to meet needs of the people in best possible and available ways in light of the pressures and siege Syria is facing.

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 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Minnesota canceled a planned two-day strike that was to begin September 14 at two Allina Health hospitals in the Twin Cities metro region after the health care giant threatened legal action if workers picketed during the strike. About 220 medical tech workers and therapists voted by more than 90 percent to strike Allina at its Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the St. Francis Medical Center in the southern suburb of Shakopee.

The cancellation of the strike comes as 4,000 workers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), including cashiers, custodians, parking attendants, laboratory animal caretakers, emergency medical technicians and physical therapists in SEIU Local 73 remain on picket lines in Chicago, Peoria, Rockford and Urbana, fighting unsafe working conditions and abysmal pay.

Last Monday, the UIC workers joined striking members of the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) at University of Illinois Hospital (UIH), after overwhelming sentiment for a combined struggle forced the SEIUs hand. Despite the support of UIH staffers for the nurses at UIC, the INA called off their strike on Friday with none of their demands met.

In the Twin Cities, the SEIU gave a 10-day strike notice on September 3 and had categorized the strike as an unfair labor practices strike, which from a purely legal standpoint seeks to avoid the companys ability to permanently replace striking workers. Apparently, Allina did not go before a judge to seek an injunction of any sort. It merely informed SEIU of the threat and that was enough for union officials to retreat, declaring it was postponing the strike out of an abundance of caution. A new strike date will be announced in the near future. Union president Jamie Gulley said the SEIU had never seen an employer use this tactic before.

The workers are seeking wage increases, increased paid time-off and enhancements to health insurance and retirement plans. But workers were especially aggrieved over the fact other Allina workers are granted full wages and benefits should they contract COVID-19 or must quarantine, regardless the frequency of occurrences.

The SEIU, on the other hand, has only been able to negotiate a temporary agreement during the pandemic for a one-time compensation in the event they get the virus or must quarantine. After this initial compensation, they have to dip into their sick days and workers are already being forced to do so.

Allina is only offering workers a meager 2.25 percent over the life of the contract and called the modest 13 percent wage increase demanded by workers simply unrealistic. Despite receiving over $170 million in government support for COVID-19, complained the company, Allina Health still experienced financial losses of $152 million through the end of June.

A good portion of these losses has been due to a sharp reduction in profitable elective surgeries. Like President Trump, hospitals have been at pains to revive this business by trying to create the illusion that the coronavirus is not a threat inside its walls. Hospitals across the country cracked down on workers in the early months who donned face masks because they claimed they frightened potential patients.

When the SEIU gave its 10-day strike notice, Allina responded, It is also disappointing that the union would state publicly that this is a strike about safety issues. This combined with picketing, in the opinion of management, would discourage potential elective surgeries.

Earlier this year at Allinas United Hospital in St. Paul, the company threatened nurses who took action to protect themselves from the deadly virus by protesting and reporting unsafe conditions. Two Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) stewards in the forefront of this struggle, Cliff Willmeng and Monica Norberg, were fired by the company in May.

In the aftermath of the firings, the company ran a banner headline on its internal website, Thank you for reassuring consumers it is safe to get care at Allina Health. The subtle message was that workers who sought to protect themselves against COVID-19 in a manner that conveyed any hint of danger to the public were tampering with Allinas profitability and would face similar victimization as that of Willmeng and Norberg.

The MNA, facing a growing protest from nurses, called a demonstration to let off steam but since then has carried out no campaign among the ranks of health care workers on behalf of Willmeng and Norberg.

While a two-day strike by workers at two of Allinas 10 hospitals would have been thoroughly inadequate in fighting the health care corporations attack on workers, the fact that the SEIU refused to carry out even such a token measure demonstrates that the union operates in direct opposition to the health and safety of its membership.

The SEIU specializes in calling impotent one- and two-day strikes by isolated and small sections of workers. Far from threatening management, their intent is to create the illusion among workers that this will put pressure on hospital management. On top of this, the SEIU has segregated health care workers at Allina from workers at other health care systems such as Fairview, Minnesotas second largest hospital chain.

The UIH nurses and UIC staffers have many allies. Last week, University of Michigan graduate student workers struck for over a week against their universitys reckless and dangerous drive to have in-person classes in the midst of the pandemic, only to end with a sellout agreement after the American Federation of Teachers union intervened to end the strike. Teachers, parents and students have organized rank-and-file safety committees in New York, Texas, Florida and other states to fight against the homicidal drive to reopen schools and campuses across the country.

It is time for health care workers to take a sober look at the struggle they confront. The only way for workers in the Twin Cities, Chicago and elsewhere to combat poverty wages and unsafe working conditions is to take the struggle out of the hands of the unions by forming rank-and-file strike committees. Nurses and other health care workers must break the isolation imposed upon them by the SEIU and nurses unions and link up their struggles with workers through the US and internationally.

The only solution is to wage a struggle to forge the unity of all health care workers through the formation of rank-and-file safety committees and to reach out to the broadest sections of the working class. We encourage Allina doctors, nurses and technical workers to study the example now being set by autoworkers and teachers to construct rank-and-file committees to wage a struggle against the pandemic and to put an end to the profit system that is the source of the crisis.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials on Sunday said the death of 12-year-old Sumedha Kapuria last week may not have been due to drowning in a nala in Neredmet, as circumstances at the time of her death do not substantiate the theory.

The officials maintained that there was no way she could have drowned in the canal and was washed way for over two kilometre since, on that day in the area, there was very little rain and the nala had little water.

Officials proffered this theory after the police and the people who live in the area had blamed the civic bodyfor the mishap.

Officials ruled out death by drowning, saying that on the day of the incident, water in the nala was only four-feet deep, and from the surface of the water to the bottom of the nala, the depth was hardly one foot.

How could the girl be washed way to the far-off Banda Cheruvu lake? On top of it, even if she was carried along the current, there was no way the she could have reached the lake as, along the the course of the nala, several cables and pipelines are there, which could have resulted in the body getting stuck somewhere, a GHMC official said.

If the girl was swept away, the body should have had external injuries, but there were none. The police investigation is in progress, they are trying to reconstruct what happened and are inquiring into the incident from different possible angles, including kidnapping, the official added.

If the police investigation reveals that the GHMC was at fault, then we will consider paying ex-gratia to the family, GHMC officials said.

Dasoju Sravan wants KTR booked for murder

AICC spokesperson Dasoju Sravan alleged that the death of 12-year-old Sumedha was not an accident, but an institutional murder committed by an incompetent government.

Stating that the girl died due to GHMCs negligence, Sravan demanded that MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao, Mayor Bonthu Rammohan and Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav be booked for murder.

A TPCC delegation led by Shravan visited Sumedhas family at Deendayal Nagar in Malkajgiri on Sunday.

They extended condolences to her parents Sukanya and Abhijeet. Speaking to the media afterwards, Sravan said, It is extremely sad to hear that Sumedha, who had a bright future ahead, lost her life due the civic bodys negligence. Isnt covering naalas the basic duty of the GHMC?
Accenture, a leading global professional services company, has announced the formation of Accenture Cloud First with a $3 billion investment over three years to help clients across all industries rapidly become cloud first businesses and accelerate their digital transformation.



Karthik Narain will lead Accenture Cloud First and join the Global Management Committee, effective October 1. Narain most recently served as the lead for Accenture Technology in North America, helping guide Global 2000 brands in using the power of the cloud and other technologies to transform their businesses.



Accenture is recognized as a leading partner to the worlds major cloud providers. With approximately $11 billion in cloud revenue in its fiscal year 2019, Accentures leadership spans from Software as a Servicedelivered through the companys Intelligent Platform Servicesto its migration, infrastructure and application cloud services. More than 100,000 Accenture cloud professionals help clients shape, move, build and operate their businesses in the cloud and realize the clouds business value, speed, cost, talent and innovation benefits.



Covid-19 has created a new inflection point that requires every company to dramatically accelerate the move to the cloud as a foundation for digital transformation to build the resilience, new experiences and products, trust, speed and structural cost reduction that the ongoing health, economic and societal crisis demandsand that a better future for all requires, said Julie Sweet, chief executive officer, Accenture.



Accenture Cloud First and our substantial investment demonstrate our commitment to delivering greater value to our clients when they need it most. Digital transformation requires cloud at scale, and post-Covid leadership requires that every business become a cloud first business.



Accenture Cloud First is a new multi-service group of 70,000 cloud professionals that brings together the full power and breadth of Accentures industry and technology capabilities, ecosystem partnerships, and deep commitment to learning and upskilling clients employees and to responsible business, with the singular focus of enabling organizations to move to the cloud with greater speed and achieve greater value for all their stakeholders at this critical time.



Specifically, this new group integrates the companys wide-ranging cloud expertise, including cloud migration, infrastructure, and application services and ecosystem partnerships; deep industry and cross-industry insights, data and Applied Intelligence capabilities.



Accenture Cloud First also combines world-class learning and talent development expertise; deep experience in cloud change management; and cloud-ready operating models with a commitment to responsible business by designwith security, data privacy, responsible use of artificial intelligence, sustainability and ethics and compliance built into the fundamental changes Accenture helps companies achieve.



Accentures $3 billion investment will be used to continue advancingoften together with its cloud and broader technology ecosystem partnersindustry roadmaps, data models, and solutions; cloud AI data and AI architectures; integrated full-stack infrastructure and applications capabilities; cloud tools, assets, and automation to drive lower unit cost and innovation; and research and development in edge computing and related cloud technologies.



Cloud is the most disruptive and value-creating technology of our timeit is the foundation for the digital transformation that is driving profound changes in how businesses operate, compete and create value for all their stakeholders, said Paul Daugherty, group chief executive, Accenture Technology.



With most businesses currently at only about 20% in the cloud, moving to 80% or more rapidly and cost effectively is a massive change that requires a bold new model. Accenture Cloud First, along with our $3 billion investment and our market-leading Software as a Service capabilities in Intelligent Platform Services, ensures that we provide our clients with value, speed and innovation in every part of their cloud journey.



The acceleration to new levels of digital performance by companies requires a transformation of talent across the enterprise to achieve truly new ways of competing, operating and serving customers, said Annette Rippert, group chief executive, Accenture Strategy and Consulting.



We believe that helping our clients purposefully build the core skills they need and quickly adopt new ways of working is essential to achieve value moving to the cloud. Accenture Cloud First brings our strong capabilities in driving change and developing talent not only for our clients but also for Accenturewe are already 95% in the cloud, and in FY19, we invested $1 billion in developing our people.



Todays announcement comes as worldwide demand for cloud computing has skyrocketed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Gartner, the worldwide public cloud services market is forecast to grow 6.3% in 2020 to total $257.9 billion, up from $242.7 billion in 2019.



When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, there were a few initial hiccups but cloud ultimately delivered exactly what it was supposed to, said Sid Nag, research vice president at Gartner. It responded to increased demand and catered to customers preference of elastic, pay-as-you-go consumption models.  TradeArabia News Service
Kanye West has allegedly paid over $3 million to gather signatures in order to be placed on the presidential ballot in November.

The rapper, 43, reportedly enlisted the help of a number of people to get the required signatures, however he has found many states have barred him from being included in the ballot despite his efforts.

According to a report from TMZ on Monday, a source at Let the Voters Decide said Kanye has paid the petitioning group between $3.5 and $4.5 million for them to work across 15 states but with mixed results.

Funding: Kanye West 'has spent over $3 million to gather signatures to make the presidential ballot in 15 states... but he has been BARRED from three states', it was reported on Monday

The publication claimed Kanye paid $1 million to get 93,000 signatures in Arizona, but a judge is said to have barred him from being on the ballot.

It was also claimed that the same thing happened in Ohio and Virginia, and he is said to have pain $325k and $300k respectively for the signatures but still didn't make it on the ballot.

Despite this, Kanye has made it onto the ballot for 12 states including Kentucky, where he allegedly spent $400k to get the necessary signatures, and in Iowa, after reportedly paying $80k.

Campaign: According to TMZ, a source at Let the Voters Decide said Kanye has paid them between $3.5 and $4.5 million for them to work across 15 states

Many states require Kanye, and other potential candidates, to collected a specific number of signatures from qualified voters showing their support as well as payment of filing fees in order to be put on the ballot, the number varies state-to-state.

MailOnline has contacted Kanye's representatives for comment.

Earlier this month, it was reported Kanye spent nearly $6million of his own money on his 2020 presidential campaign since July, records show.

Financial filings with the Federal Election Commission, obtained by Politico, show that West personally loaned his campaign - which kicked off on July 19 - nearly $6.8million.

The filings cover the period from July 15 to August 30.

Not allowed in: The publication claimed Kanye paid $1 million to get 93,000 signatures in Arizona, but a judge is said to have barred him from being on the ballot

So far, West has reported spending $5.9million on the campaign and has over $1.2million in outstanding debt, which is owed to consultants.

The filing also indicated that he has received about $11,000 in outside contributions to the campaign.

Most of the campaign expenses - amounting to $4.4million - were reported to have been spent on trying to get West onto ballots across the country.

West, who is running as a third-party candidate with the 'Birthday Party,' is currently on ballots in 10 states, among them potential battlegrounds like Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota, CNN reported.

He is said to have litigation pending in other states. At the moment, though, even if he carried the states in which he is on the ballot, he would not have enough electoral college votes to win.

The bulk of West's other expenses were reported to be paid to consulting firms.

His campaign said that they had paid nearly $1.3million to Atlas Strategy Group, run by Republican Gregg Keller, who worked on campaigns for Republicans including President George W. Bush and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.

An additional $2.6million is being paid to Millennial Strategies, which says it worked with Democrats including Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign and New York City public advocate Jumaane Williams' campaign.

The campaign said that it was spending $444,000 with the company for polling.

Some success: The same thing happened in Ohio and Virginia, but he made it on the ballot for 12 states including Kentucky, where he allegedly spent $400k to get the necessary signatures

West's campaign is also spending about $1.5million with Fortified Consulting in Arizona, which Politico said has the same mailing address as Lincoln Strategy Group's Arizona headquarters.

Lincoln Strategy Group worked on President Trumps 2016 campaign, in addition with other Republicans, the news outlet reported.

West was reported to have spent more than $260,000 in legal fees while trying to get onto state ballots. Among his legal efforts is asking the Arizona Supreme Court to reverse the ruling that keeps him off the state's ballot.

West is a registered Republican and is therefore not allowed to be on the same ballot as Donald Trump, the Hollywood Reporter said.

Big bucks: Earlier this month, it was reported Kanye spent nearly $6million of his own money on his 2020 presidential campaign since July, records show

West made headlines after he cried as he told people at his South Carolina campaign launch event that he and wife Kim Kardashian discussed aborting their first child after learning Kardashian was pregnant.

On Friday it was reported Kim is feeling powerless amid husband Kanye's continuing erratic behaviour.

After a flurry of troubling tweets this week - some of which resulted in Twitter suspending his account for 24 hours - the 43-year-old rapper raised concerns even more on Friday as he posted a message about 'going to war' and his fears of being murdered.

Just two months after Kim and Kanye had marriage crisis talks in Wyoming, it seems that again the 39-year-old Kardashian is struggling to keep her marriage together as sources revealed Friday she's 'at the end of her rope'.

Candid: West made headlines after he cried as he told people at his South Carolina campaign launch event that he and wife Kim Kardashian discussed aborting their first child

Family: Kanye and Kim wed in 2014 and share four children together, daughters North, seven, and Chicago, two, and sons Saint, five, and Psalm, one

'He's off his meds,' an insider told PEOPLE. 'He promised he'd stay on them. The last time, part of his negotiation with Kim was that he'd get back on his medication and he would work very hard to control his impulses.

'He made a lot of promises. And now those promises are broken, less than a month later.' they added.

Kanye and Kim wed in 2014 and share four children together, daughters North, seven, and Chicago, two, and sons Saint, five, and Psalm, one.

The E! star was apparently taken aback by Kanye's latest tweets and wants him to 'take care of his own health'.

'He's off his meds': On Friday, Kim was said to be 'at the end of her rope' and felt powerless to help husband Kanye amid his latest tweetstorm

Struggle: A source said of the couple, 'It's the same thing over and over and over again. He's on very thin ice with her right now, and she's truly trying to decide what to do to protect the kids'

'She can't force feed him medication. She can't make him do anything he doesn't want to do.' the source added.

Early Friday morning Kanye concerned fans as he shared - and then deleted - a troubling tweet in which he expressed paranoia about being murdered and having his eldest daughter taken away from him.

'NORTHY I AM GOING TO WAR AND PUTTING MY LIFE ON THE LINE AND IF I AM MURDERED DON'T EVER LET WHITE MEDIA TELL YOU I WASNT A GOOD MAN... WHEN PEOPLE THREATEN TO TAKE YOU OUT OF MY LIFE JUST KNOW I LOVE YOU.' he wrote.

Along with the message Kanye shared a photo of his eldest daughter looking playful and throwing up two peace signs.

Disturbing: Kanye posted and deleted this message on Twitter early on Friday morning, and Kim is said to want him to 'take care of his own health' as she can't 'force feed him medication'

The couple seemed to be back on track last month as they took a make-or-break vacation together with their kids to the Dominican Republic and then camping in Colorado.

Before the trip, Kim addressed her husband's mental health in a length Instagram message, asking fans for compassion.

'Those that understand mental illness or even compulsive behaviour know that the family is powerless unless the member is a minor.' she wrote.

We are not afraid: Friday saw more tweets from Kanye as he talked up his Yeezy academy

'He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bipolar disorder,

'Living with bipolar disorder does not diminish or invalidate his dreams and his creative ideas, no matter how big or unobtainable they may feel to some.

'That is part of his genius and as we have all witnessed, many of his big dreams have come true.'

Complicated: Earlier this year Kim asked for compassion when Kanye's bipolar disorder caused an emotional outburst at a presidential rally in July followed by Twitter outbursts
21.09.2020 LISTEN

Kwame Nkrumah was a quintessential leader, an eminent evolutionist and a true stalwart of Pan-Africanism. A man who sacrificed physical freedom demonstrated herculean courage and made tremendous strides towards achieving his envisioned Ghana, a Ghana free from Oppression.

Nkrumah spun a progressive dream for Ghana and Africa. His bravery in nurturing the hopes and aspirations of the then enslaved nation gave rise and with renewed force, today's Ghana.

But One question that continues to linger in my thoughts as I write this is "Whether Nkrumah would be proud of the Ghana he Left Behind?" Chew the Cud on this too! I believe Nkrumah would have been horrified to see the condition of Ghana today despite his early efforts to bring economic liberation to Ghanaians.

Unfortunately, mediocrity has eaten up the Ghana Nkrumah left behind and it is appalling, how contemporary events have compelled our country to stray from its founding principles. While this should completely outrage every Ghanaian that understands the hard-fought freedom of our nation, indifference is the norm!

mother Ghana has been lulled to sleep and failed to notice that her fundamental freedoms are increasingly in jeopardy.

There seems to be a general consensus around the fact that the Founders and early Leaders of this nation, Nkrumah et al were really men of great vision but unfortunately can that be said of some of today's politicians?. Well, few may possess the vision but even with that, avidity as an impetus is yet absent in most. A total divorce from the founding vision!

Today's leaders pursue their selfish will instead of pursuing the people's will. Today's leaders say one thing to get elected but then follow the dictates of its party instead of the people's will when elected. Where is the probity that lived in the past?

How disappointed Nkrumah will be!

Our Inaction as a people will only guarantee continuum of the grievance. It is ineffective to sit back while efforts of the likes of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah gradually go in vain! Fellow Ghanaians instead of succumbing to Mediocrity, let's grow backbones and rise up to Greatness! Let us grant and fulfil the wishes of Dr.Kwame Nkrumah by reconsidering our allegiance to Ghana for as long as his Name lingers in our memories, it reminds us that our original vision can be revamped!..that engine of optimism and collective progress can be restarted! The vision must live on!

Continue to Rest Well Legend! Our History books would forever be kind to you!
I always felt a sense of dread when I had to read one of Justice Ginsburg's decisions as part of my legal research. Her writing was turgid and convoluted. The worst thing about her decisions, though, was how she misused case authority to create new principles out of whole cloth. Nothing shows that more than in her determination to bypass our American Constitution and law and look to foreign constitutions, laws, and customs.

Ginsburg did not much like our Constitution, and she wasn't shy about showing it. In 2012, Ginsburg showed up in Egypt, offering some "helpful" advice to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt as it was contemplating the Egyptian Constitution of 2012:

"I would not look to the U.S. Constitution, if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012," Ginsburg said in an interview on Al Hayat television last Wednesday. "I might look at the constitution of South Africa. That was a deliberate attempt to have a fundamental instrument of government that embraced basic human rights, have an independent judiciary. It really is, I think, a great piece of work that was done."

In July 2010, Ginsburg spoke at the International Academy of Comparative Law at American University. Her thesis was that the Court should be free to look to foreign law and even blogs for authority when deciding cases involving issues confined with America's borders, such as homosexual relations and the death penalty. To support her thesis, she cited to three cases, The Nereide, 13 U.S. 388 (1815), The Paquete Habana, 175 U.S. 677 (1900), and Martin v. Hunter's Lessee 14 U.S. 304 (1816):

The law of nations, Chief Justice Marshall famously said in [The Nereide in] 1815, is part of the law of our land. Decisions of the courts of other countries, Marshall explained, show how the law of nations is understood elsewhere, and will be considered in determining the rule which is to prevail here. Those decisions, he clarified, while not binding authority for U. S. courts, merit respectful attention for their potential persuasive value. Decades later, in 1900, the U. S. Supreme Court reaffirmed that "[i]nternational law is part of our law and must be ascertained and administered by [our] courts of justice . . . . [W]here there is no treaty, no controlling executive or legislative act or judicial decision, resort must be had to the customs and usages of civilized nations, and, as evidence of these, to the works of jurists and commentators, who by years of labor, research and experience, have made themselves peculiarly well acquainted with the subject of which they treat." [snip] The U.S. Supreme Court, early on [in Martin], expressed a complementary view: The judicial power of the United States, the Court said in 1816, includes cases "in the correct adjudication of which foreign nations are deeply interested . . . [and] in which the principles of the law and comity of nations often form an essential inquiry."

Wow! That really does sound as if the Supreme Court can look to any law it likes when deciding a case. As she so often did, though, Ginsburg was misrepresenting the cases she was citing. The reason those cases spoke about international law was because they involved international problems.

The Nereide case arose when a Spanish citizen named Pinto sought to recover for goods seized from a British vessel during a battle in the War of 1812. Pinto claimed that, because he was not actively engaged in battle, the "law of nations" entitled him to recover his goods or their value. Marshall carefully analyzed the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States to see if there was anything that specifically addressed the facts of the case involving third-party goods seized from an enemy vessel during a war.

It was in that context that Marshall said that, absent American authority for this international problem, "Till such an act be passed, the Court is bound by the law of nations which is a part of the law of the land." Contrary to Ginsburg's typically dishonest implication, Marshall was not saying that, for matters arising with America, the Supreme Court was free to look around for international authority it liked better.

Ginsburg also took the Paquete Habana case out of context to argue that the Supreme Court can roam the world finding things it likes better than the American Constitution and laws. The case arose in the context of vessels seized off the coast of Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

Finally, the Martin case involved a land grant in Virginia from one British subject to another British subject during the Revolutionary War. The case struggled to define the new nation's controlling jurisdiction and law. The language Ginsburg quoted about foreign law arose in a discussion about "cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction," which "embraces all questions of prize and salvage." (And of course, these matters arise in international waters.)

The reality was that Ginsburg was an internationalist. She found that American law got in the way of her vision of global values about abortion, marriage, health care, or whatever other leftist fad was argued before her. Therefore, in her usual squirrely fashion, Ginsburg blatantly misrepresented unambiguous case authority to make her point. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the reasons she was such an advocate for the club-like civility of the Supreme Court was that it kept the other members from calling her out on her dishonesty.
A Belfast-based gym outfitter has completed a new project at one of the world's most prestigious hotels.

Blk Box's work on an outdoor gym at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel Complex in Dubai is the latest in a series of projects that the company has recently successfully undertaken in the Middle Eastern market, including in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Belfast-manufactured equipment supplied by Blk Box for the gym included a customised outdoor rig showcasing the Jumeirah Beach Hotel brand.

The company worked with its partner Vivo Fitness to provide the club with a full turnkey solution including impact flooring, custom turf track, acoustic underlay, rigs and accessories, as well as civil works consulting.

The project follows the installation of Blk Box equipment at the gym in The J Club, an indoor fitness club inside the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

Founded eight years ago by Greg Bradley, Blk Box is headquartered in Titanic Quarter, Belfast where it employs over 60 people in a manufacturing, distribution and office facility.

The company's latest project in Kuwait involved providing an outlet of the premium UN1T franchise, which was originally founded in London, with full turnkey package including a wide range of Blk Box equipment which was flown from Belfast to Qatar ahead of the opening earlier this year.

Other Middle Eastern projects supplied by Blk Box include a gym at the 65,000 sq ft Studio Republik in Dubai. The company, again, worked with Vivo Fitness to provide over 3000kg of plates, almost 50 barbells, and five custom power racks with integrated platforms in the main gym at Studio Republik.

In Abu Dhabi, it provided a range of equipment including a customised CrossFit Training Rig plus flooring solutions for Let's Go Gym. The project was complete from order to site in just eight weeks.

Miles Canning, commercial director of Blk Box, said: "We have completed a series of projects in the Middle East, including in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. We have developed excellent relationships with partners based in the market and they have continually turned to Blk Box for our team's expertise and experience, as well as the quality of our equipment, which is manufactured in Belfast."

The company completed its 150th installation across the UK for PureGym recently. It is now moving forward with the next phase of a major UK contract with the operator.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 00:32:45|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency COBRA meeting on Tuesday to tackle the rising coronavirus cases, Downing Street said Monday.

Johnson will also discuss the coronavirus response with the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland later on Monday, according to the prime minister's spokesman.

"One thing he will do is (to) reiterate his commitment to working together with the devolved administrations as one United Kingdom in response to the rising infection rates that we're seeing across the UK," the spokesman said.

"We do face significant challenges as we enter the winter months," the spokesman added.

COBRA, named after Britain's Cabinet Office Briefing Room A on Whitehall, gathers ministers, civil servants, the police, intelligence officers and others appropriate to whatever they are looking into in an emergency response.

"Tomorrow morning is an opportunity for COBRA to discuss what next steps may be required in the coronavirus response," the spokesman said.

Earlier Monday, the British government's Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance warned that Britain could see 50,000 new cases of coronavirus per day by mid-October unless intervention is taken to slow the current infection rate.

The number of new COVID-19 cases was doubling roughly every seven days and Britain could see 200 deaths a day by mid-November, Vallance told a press briefing at 10 Downing Street.

"The challenge therefore is to make sure the doubling time does not stay at seven days," Vallance said.

"That requires speed, it requires action and it requires...enough in order to be able to bring that down," he added.

Britain recorded another 4,368 infections overnight on Monday, bringing total number of coronavirus cases to 398,625. The coronavirus-related death toll rose by 11 to 41,788, according to official figures released Monday.

Senior government officials have signalled that a social lockdown, with curbs on meeting people from other households and closures or shorter hours for pubs and restaurants.

Meanwhile, countries such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

Vallance said it is possible that some vaccine could be available in small amounts later this year, but it is more likely that a vaccine will be available early next year, although that is not guaranteed.

England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, who joined Vallance for the televised briefing, said the British government has to take decisions that will have to balance the impact on the economy with the danger of the virus.

"If we do too little, this virus will go out of control...But if we go too far the other way we can cause damage to the economy which can feed through to unemployment and poverty which have long term health effects," he said.

Coronavirus cases are spiking sharply in London, as in much of the rest of Britain.

At the same time, a spokesperson for the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said, "The situation is clearly worsening. Sadiq will meet council leaders and any London-specific measures will be recommended to ministers following that."

"The mayor wants fast action as we cannot risk a delay, as happened in March," the spokesman said. "It is better for both health and business to move too early than too late."

The British government has recently introduced "the rule of six", limiting the number of people who can gather indoors or outdoors to six. More stringent restrictions, which include a ban on the mix of different households, have been put in place in parts of Britain to tackle rising infection rates. Enditem
China on Monday said the United States has no right to demand UN Security Council invoke "snapback" mechanism against Iran, urging the U.S. side to refrain from unilateral actions.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press briefing when asked for comment to the U.S. announcement on Sept. 19 calling for the restoration of all pre-2015 UN sanctions against Iran.

"The United States is no longer a party to the JCPOA. Its letter to the Security Council on Aug. 20 has no legal validity, nor does the United States have any right to demand that the Security Council invoke a snapback," Wang said.

Wang said that the president of the Security Council has concluded that he would not take further action on the U.S. request and the Security Council has not taken any action on triggering the snapback.

"Therefore, the Security Council, pursuant to Resolution 2231, will continue with its ways with regards to the sanctions on Iran," Wang said.

According to Wang, over the past weekend, parties to the JCPOA, including China, Russia, France, the UK and Germany, sent letters respectively to the Security Council president to make clear their opposition to the U.S. unilateral announcement on restoring sanctions. The European Union also put out a statement. "All these reflect the shared position and consensus of the international community," he said.

Not only has the United States violated international law, but it also threatens to sanction and coerce other countries with illegitimate unilateral actions, said Wang, adding that such arbitrary actions have been widely opposed by the international community.

He said China has noted relevant countries' concern over situations in the Middle East and the Gulf region, and proposed that the relevant parties establish a new dialogue platform for regional countries under the precondition of safeguarding the JCPOA, to promote a new consensus that safeguards regional peace and stability, Wang said.

"China is willing to work with the concerned parties to continue to promote a political and diplomatic resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue," the spokesperson said.
ALBANY  Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday a moratorium on COVID-related commercial evictions and foreclosures will extend another month, to Oct. 20.

"The pandemic remains far from over, and we need to continue protecting the business owners supporting their families amid restrictions necessary to protect the public health," Cuomo said in a statement. "That's why it's the right decision to extend the eviction ban for commercial tenants another 30 days."

An open-ended moratorium protecting residential tenants is already in place. The Tenant Safe Harbor Act went into effect on June 30 and will protect renters who can prove they were imperiled by COVID-19 until the state announces the emergency is over.

The current moratorium on evictions of commercial tenants expired Sunday.

At Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany, where the tenant mix is both national and local, vice-president for real estate Janet Kaplan said the company has been working with tenants to support them.

In addition to rent abatement, the company offered deferrals to allow tenants to repay back rent later. Office tenants are fine, Kaplan said, even though the spaces aren't as busy as before because employees are working remotely. The medical tenants at the plaza have reopened.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

There are three vacancies in the plaza. Catherine's, a plus-size woman's clothing store, closed because its parent company declared bankruptcy. Pink Paddock closed in February, a planned event unrelated to the pandemic and there is one other vacancy that pre-dates the pandemic, Kaplan said.

"Sales are still off in restaurants and stores, but everyone is open and operating," Kaplan said.

In April, the company bought $10,000 in gift cards from its restaurants that were doing takeout and delivery and donated them to local healthcare workers, including employees at Albany Medical Center and St. Peters Hospital.
At a Glance Experts Rating Pros Excellent speeds

Detailed real-time information about the network

Good pricing with many subscription options Cons MacOS application could be better

Team is largely anonymous Our Verdict AirVPN has a lot to offer power users, with detailed stats about the network, details about its protocol and ciphers, as well as per-server info including how many users are currently on the server. AirVPN also offers good prices and speeds, though we thought the desktop application wasnt friendly enough for novices.

AirVPN is a popular service among privacy-conscious users. The VPN is well known for transparency about its network, reasonable costs, and attention to privacy. Its not a perfect service, but its well worth considering for anyone who wants a good amount of anonymity.

AirVPN started life in 2010 as a free project by privacy-conscious activists, hacktivists, and hackers, according to the VPNs about page. It then became its own entity with a dedicated company around 2012.

Note: This review is part of our best VPNs for Mac roundup. Go there for details about competing products and how we tested them.

AirVPNs Status page.

Currently, AirVPN offers connections in 21 countries, with 240 servers. Anyone who wants to see the status of all of AirVPNs servers can head to the Status page on the companys website. Here youll see each server location to the city level, current load, and even the number of users on that server. At the top of the page there are some even more interesting topics such as the top 10 user speeds, the 10 servers with the highest amount of user traffic, and the top 10 user session times. Theres also a pending-issues section showing servers with any issues. You can see, for example, that the Ross server located in Montreal is experimenting with the ChaCha20 cipher.

This is an amazing amount of transparency from a VPN service, and power users will appreciate having a look at this data.

Security, software, servers, and speed

AirVPN displays what it uses for VPN connections on its Technical Specs page. Here we can see AirVPN uses OpenVPN as the protocol, and only OpenVPN. AirVPN tells us it is experimenting with WireGuard, but it wont put the newer protocol into production until some of the technical and privacy concerns it has are addressed. You can read more about the issues in this AirVPN forum post.

AirVPN server options for the U.S. and UK.

AirVPNs Data encryption uses AES-256-GCM by default, and the specs page displays the order of negotiation for other ciphers. The control channel default is TLS-DHE-RSA-WITH-AES-256-GCM-SHA384.

AirVPN doesnt publish any information about its team, but it does name Paolo Brini as its point of contact. Brini is known as a hacktivist based in Italy, and AirVPNs headquarters are in Perugia, Italy. There isnt much information about Brini, but he does have a Twitter presence that promotes information about AirVPN. I asked AirVPN about the teams anonymity and Brini responded from the generic AirVPN email address with this response: Personal data and privacy protection of our personnelis important for us and arguably for any company supporting NGOs in countries controlled by human rights hostile regimes or by criminal organizations. In such countries, or some areas of those countries, its not infrequent that activists and journalists are imprisoned without trial, tortured or killedWe follow a non-disclosure policy: the choice to disclose any relation with AirVPN is up to each person. Working for or with AirVPN might be potentially dangerous in a few countries.

To sign up for AirVPN you need to supply an email, username, and password. Thats fairly standard for VPN services. AirVPNs privacy policy says an email address is not required, but the sign-up page says otherwise.

I asked AirVPN about this and the response was that an email address wasnt required; however, when I entered a nonsense addresses into the email address entry box I was denied an account several times. It was only when I used a legitimate email address that I got an account. In practical terms an email address is required despite what the privacy policy says.

AirVPNs primary application is called the Eddie UI. Its a very basic window with information necessary to connect to the VPN. There are no maps or clearly marked buttons to help you figure it out. Its not that its an impossible task to get it working, but it doesnt have the friendliest interface, and I wouldnt recommend it to novice users.

AirVPNs application window is accessible from the status bar on macOS.

For Mac users, the app doesnt offer an option to copy it over to the Applications folder, so youll have to do that yourself.

At first I couldnt figure how to access the apps primary window, but eventually I saw that its accessible from the status area in the menu bar. The app has six tabs: Overview, Servers, Countries, Speed, Stats, and Logs.

The primary Overview tab is where you log in with your user account. The Servers tab shows all available servers in the network with a solid amount of information about each one. The app displays the nickname of each server, its location, latency in milliseconds from your location, and the current server load. That is just fantastic. This tab also displays an amber/green indicator so you can see at a glance whether a server is recommended for you. Both the Servers and Countries tabs also have a Users column showing exactly how many people are using each server or country location depending on the tab.

AirVPNs Countries tab.

Moving over to the Countries tab, the app shows the country name, number of servers in that country, and the general load, as well as an amber/green indicator. On the right rail of the Countries tab youll see a green checkmark, red X, and a blank box. Highlight a country, click the green checkmark and that countrys servers will appear on the Servers tab. Its more or less a favorites option, and you can select as many countries as you want.

Click the red X, however, and that country disappears from the list (most people wont want to do that). To remove the green checkmark from a country you need to click the blank box.

Selecting a country does not connect you to a VPN server. For that you have to pick the server you want in a given country by going back to the Servers tab. Connect to a server by highlighting it and selecting the icon in the right rail that looks like it means sign out (a right-facing arrow pointing into a square bracket). Again, there are also the checkmark, X, and blank box icons. Theres also a refresh icon here to get new information about ping times and load.

Power users, in particular, should appreciate the ability to use a VPN with all the information they could ever want about the various locations, right down to the number of users on a given server.

The Overview tab in AirVPNs Eddie UI.

Now, you might be asking what the privacy policy is like given the service supplies so much information including active user count on a given server. First, AirVPN tells us that all of that top 10 data is just real-time stats that come from running an OpenVPN server. The Top 10 Users are extrapolated from all the data of all the daemons running in the various servers, AirVPN told us. No user personal data is collected as OpenVPN real time stats are tied to a client session, and a client is identified by the certificate/key pair. Data is not stored, it remains in RAM: when a client disconnects (or a daemon stops) even the stats are lost.

AirVPNs privacy statement says that all user data the service needs to do its job are kept in RAM and only when necessary to provide the service. AirVPN does not log or inspect user web traffic, browsing history, and so on, nor does it store or log user IP addresses in a long -erm storage device.

AirVPN also takes a number or precautions to safeguard user data, including encryption that you can read about on the AirVPN site.

Now lets get to those speeds. They were simply fantastic. In tests across three days, five countries, and multiple runs, AirVPN maintained a smidge over 42 percent of the base speed. There wasnt a single country where I could complain about the speed. It was excellent overall.

Pricing

AirVPN has a large number or pricing tiers, and all prices are in Euros. A three-day trail costs 2, one month is 7, three months is 15, six months is 29, a full year is 49, two years is 79, and three is 99. Those are very good prices, amounting to an average yearly subscription of about $5 per month (4.23 at this writing).

AirVPN accepts payment via PayPal, credit card, or direct cryptocurrency transfer. There are no cash payment options.

Bottom line

AirVPN is very good, especially for power users. The speeds are above average, the prices reasonable, and the application is serviceable. AirVPN is also really transparent, with its service showing a lot of information about the network, and the privacy policy is acceptable.

AirVPN is a good choice for privacy conscious users, though it doesnt offer the amount of privacy and anonymity you can get with a service like Mullvad, which generates a random account number for you, and gives you the option to pay in cash.

Wed also like to see AirVPN be more transparent about whos running the show. The argument about activists in other countries is understandable, but numerous VPNs still manage to put a truly public face on their companies even though they service vulnerable people living under repressive regimes.

Still, AirVPN is excellent and power users who dont mind a UI thats a little rough around the edges, will find a lot to like.

Editors note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- MHz Choice announces its October slate of premieres including Special Division, its first scripted series from the burgeoning Armenian television market, the Scandi-thriller, Kieler Street, Perfect Murders from France and the final season of the Norwegian legal drama, Aber Bergen.

Thorbjrn Harr in Kieler Street on MHz Choice

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020

SPECIAL DIVISION | VIDEOPLUGGER | NEW SERIES | ARMENIAN

Special Division is a police-procedural drama is set in Armenia's capital city, Yerevan, and follows an investigative team led by Colonel Arno Ghazaryan (Shant Hovhannisyan). Arno's a low-key man of few words and the moral center of a team that struggles with the strain and sense of responsibility in investigating crimes involving domestic despair, revenge and deception. Produced for First Public Television of Armenia, Special Division seems to draw from the grittiness of Dragnet and the relational heat of NYPD Blue.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020

KIELER STREET | ITV STUDIOS | NEW SERIES | NORWAY

Jonas is a former criminal who has a new life and identity in Scandinavia's least criminal neighborhood. But the facade starts to fall apart when Jonas realizes that several other inhabitants also have hidden identities and they're all prepared to do anything it takes to protect the illusion they have created. Featuring a stellar Scandinavian cast, including Thorbjrn Harr (Vikings, Bel Canto) Nicolai Cleve Broch (Acquitted) and Alexandra Rapaport (Gasmamman), Kieler Street is a characterful driven thriller that deconstructs what it really means to be a 'normal' person and how far people are willing to go to achieve that.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020

ABER BERGEN | ITV STUDIOS | FINAL SEASON | NORWAY

In this third and final season of Aber Bergen, Norwegian defense attorneys Erik (Odd-Magnus Williamson, Kon-Tiki) and Elea (Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Acquitted) attempt to balance their personal relationship with their professional partnership. Seasons 1 and 2 of this compelling legal drama from the creators of Mammon are currently streaming on MHz Choice.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2020

PERFRECT MURDERS | FRANCE TELEVISIONS | NEW SERIES | FRANCE

Perfect Murders is a collection of stand-alone mysteries featuring killers who believe they've committed the perfect crime and the investigative duos who relentlessly set out to prove them wrong. It features a rotating cast of investigators, including Antoine Dulery (Little Murders of Agatha Christie) and Philippe Caroit (Murder In), and some of the biggest names in French television, including Samuel Labarthe (Agatha Christie's Criminal Games), Bruno Debrandt (Spiral, Cain) and Franck Adrien (Speakerine, The Returned) and Bruno Solo (Blood on the Docks, Grand Hotel), guest-starring as the murderers.

About MHz Networks

MHz Networks offers viewers access to a library of the best television mysteries, dramas, comedies and documentaries subtitled in English through its subscription streaming service, MHz Choice. Select MHz Networks content is also available on DVD and on its free ad-supported service MHz Now available on Samsung TV Plus.

New MHz Choice customers receive a free 7-Day Trial. For more information, go to mhzchoice.com

SOURCE MHz Networks

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Leaked state cabinet documents reveal the $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel project is facing a $3 billion cost blowout, with a third of the cost overruns linked to problems moving underground pipes.

The question of who should cough up the cash for the 45 per cent increase in the tunnel's price tag has not been resolved in a three-way dispute between the Andrews government, Transurban and the projects joint building venture John Holland and CPB Contractors.

West Gate Tunnel works: over budget and behind schedule Credit:Joe Armao

This is the second significant surge in the cost of this flagship toll road, which was first announced in 2015 with an initial price of $5.5 billion, and promoted as the best way to relieve congestion on the West Gate Bridge.

But Treasurys advice to cabinet suggests the project's costs could increase even further, as Transurban makes an additional claim in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic on the toll road linking the West Gate Freeway in Spotswood and CityLink at Docklands.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Amitabh Kant-led empowered group to meet industry executives of private sector on Tuesday to assess recovery in various pandemic-hit sectors and discuss measures to strengthen them.

The high-level meeting is being seen as ongoing exercise to take inputs from industry for Stimulus 2.0.

Sectors likely to be the focus of discussion are hospitality, textile and real estate.

Measures to boost MSMEs, one of the worst affected sectors, also on agenda

Many economists and public policy experts have pitched for another round of fiscal stimulus worth at least 2% of GDP to put economy on growth path and protect jobs

Amid demand for second round of stimulus, the empowered group headed by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant would meet industry executives of private sector on Tuesday to discuss measures to boost pandemic-hit sectors.

The high-level meeting is being seen as ongoing exercise to take inputs from industry for stimulus 2.0.

NITI Aayog CEO is coordinating with private sector, NGOs and international organisations for COVID related responses. There are five other empowered groups tasked with suggesting responses such as economic measures, medical infrastructure, availability of essential items, public awareness, and supply chain and logistics management.

Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj heads the group on economic and welfare measures.

"We will detail the stress faced by various sectors. We hope government comes up with measures to address the concerns of the industry sooner than later," said an industry executive associated with a leading industry body.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) are among the industry bodies invited to give their inputs.

"The empowered group wants to know how various sectors have responded so far to the economic measures announced earlier and what steps need to be taken to revive them," he added.

Some of the sectors that would be the focus of discussion are hospitality, textile and real estate. Measures to boost the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), one of the worst affected sectors, would also be discussed.

Many economists and public policy experts have pitched for another round of fiscal stimulus worth at least 2 per cent of GDP to put economy on growth path and protect jobs. While government has indicated that it will announce fresh set of measures once coronavirus pandemic stabilises in the country or shows signs of abatement, some economists have argued for stimulus given the current state of economy.

The GDP fell 23.9 per cent in April-June quarter, recording worst performance in many decades. Research and rating agencies have predicted negative growth and revised their previous projection further downward. Global research firm Goldman Sachs expects real GDP growth to contract 14.8 per cent in FY21 against its earlier estimate of 11.8 per cent contraction in this period.

Suvodeep Rakshit, Vice President and Senior Economist at Kotak Institutional Equities, said government should be focussing on reforms and capital expenditure to help the economy rebound.

ALSO READ: India needs another round of fiscal stimulus to tackle COVID-19 impact: IMF

ALSO READ: Airlines seek $1.5 billion interest-free credit line from Centre

ALSO READ: India's GDP to shrink by 8.6% in FY21, urgent need of fiscal stimulus, says UBS
By Associated Press

KYIV: Police in Belarus said they detained more than 400 protesters who took part in a weekend demonstration demanding the resignation of the nation's authoritarian president following a disputed vote.

With protests rocking the country for more than six weeks, tens of thousands of Belarusians marched through Minsk, the capital, on Sunday, calling for President Alexander Lukashenko to step down after 26 years in power.

Soldiers blocked off the center of Minsk using water cannons, armored personnel carriers and barbed wire.

Protests also took place in several other cities, including Brest, where police used tear gas in an effort to disperse the crowd.

Human rights activists estimated the crowd in Minsk at about 100,000 people.

Police, however, said a total of over 20,000 people rallied in cities and towns all over the country.

ALSO READ | Belarus cracks down on women's protest march against authoritarian president, 200 booked

According to a police statement Monday, a total of 442 protesters were detained on Sunday, including 266 in Minsk.

Police said 330 of them remained in custody as they await hearings in court.

Protests began on August 9, after Lukashenko won his sixth term in office in an election opposition supporters and many European governments believe was rigged.

Demonstrations have taken place daily since the vote, though the rallies on Sundays in Minsk have been the largest, attracting crowds of up to 200,000 people.

Lukashenko, who has run the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist since assuming office in 1994, repressing opposition and independent media, has rejected suggestions of dialogue with the opposition.

During the first three days of the protests, demonstrators faced a brutal crackdown, with police using truncheons and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. Several protesters died.

ALSO READ | March of 100,000 protestors marks week seven of Belarus protests against 'authoritarian president'

Amid international outrage, Belarusian authorities switched to prosecuting top activists and mass detentions, avoiding large-scale violence.

Many members of the Coordination Council that was formed by the opposition to push for a transition of power have been arrested or forced to leave the country.

In response to the crackdown, opposition supporters released personal data of more than 1,000 police officers on Saturday.

"No one will remain anonymous, even under a balaclava," popular opposition blog Nexta Live on the Telegram messaging app said, promising to release more data if detentions continue.

Police opened an investigation into the leak.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Lukashenko's main opponent in the August 9 election who is currently in exile in Lithuania after fleeing Belarus in fear for her safety and that of her children, has repeatedly condemned the crackdown on the protesters as unlawful.

In a video statement released Monday, she urged law enforcement officers to refrain from "crime and dishonest actions towards your fellow citizens, even if forced by your superiors."

"Be with the Belarusian people, and the people will not forget that you were on their side," Tsikhnaouskaya said.

Ales Bialiatski, head of the Viasna human rights group, said that the loyalty of the security forces is crucial for Lukashenko.

"Loyalty of the security forces is critical for Lukashenko's ability to hang on to power," Bialiatski said Monday.

"It is by the hands of these people that large-scale political repression is carried out in the center of Europe."
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OneAscent announced that Pearson and Associates is rebranding as OneAscent Wealth Management. OneAscent Wealth will continue the more than 15-year legacy Pearson and Associates established serving individuals and institutions who want their investments to align with their values. The company will hold a ribbon-cutting at their headquarters, located in Hoover at 23 Inverness Center Parkway, at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, September 22. The ribbon-cutting will feature the Hoover Mayor Frank Broccato. OneAscent Wealth's new Birmingham headquarters will enable the firm's team of financial advisors to serve clients nationwide. The company has announced offices in Tennessee and Georgia, with more locations coming soon.

The OneAscent Wealth Team in front of their headquarters in Birmingham, AL.

OneAscent Wealth provides wealth management, financial services, and investment solutions using proprietary tools to help individuals and institutions develop a values-based process for planning, investments, and stewardship.

"We help our clients live well and finish well," said OneAscent Wealth Founder and CEO Harry Pearson. "We believe your investments should align with your values not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is a wise approach to investing."

OneAscent Wealth is launching with new tools and resources designed to serve clients who want their investments to align with their values. Most mutual funds and other pooled investment products don't provide insight into the industries and causes supported by companies in their portfolio. OneAscent Wealth uses proprietary technology to identify mutual funds invested in companies that profit from abortion, pornography, tobacco, gambling, and other industries that might not align with their client's values. This opens the "black box" of pooled investments, enabling investors to make informed decisions about the industries funded by their investments. Each client is unique, so OneAscent's financial advisors make complicated financial topics easy-to-understand while providing custom financial planning solutions tailored to their needs.

"Investments should support companies that meet a need in the marketplace while generating profits and positive returns," said Pearson. "We help our clients invest in companies that bless humanity and generate sustained returns."

ABOUT ONEASCENT

OneAscent is a family of companies committed to delivering Kingdom-class financial solutions to advisors and investors. OneAscent Wealth Management advisors help individuals and institutions find clarity, confidence, and contentment in their financial lives. Our comprehensive suite of solutions aligns your planning, investment, and stewardship decisions with what you value most.

Contact: Cole Pearson

OneAscent Wealth

(205) 313-9142

[email protected]

For more information about OneAscent Wealth Management, please visit www.oneascentwealth.com.

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OneAscent Wealth Team

The OneAscent Wealth Team in front of their headquarters in Birmingham, AL.

SOURCE OneAscent

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This is the moment a gang who stole five guns famously used in James Bond films were spotted carrying out surveillance on the property they were preparing to raid.

In what police have described as a 'scene reminiscent of a James Bond movie', CCTV footage shows the gang taking pictures of the 007 fan's home minutes before the burglary took place.

The short video shows a brief camera flash coming from near a silver Vauxhall Minerva - the vehicle which police believe was used to stake out the property.

It comes as police make a fresh plea, following a BBC Crimewatch feature, for help to find the stolen guns - which were used in various Bond films and are said to be worth more than 100,000.

The iconic Walther PPK handgun used in Roger Moore's final outing as Bond in A View To A Kill, and Beretta Cheetah and Tomcat pistols, from Pierce Brosnan's Die Another Day, were stolen at an Aldersbrook Avenue property in Enfield, London, on Monday, March 23.

A Beretta Cheetah (pictured) used by Halle Berry in Pierce Brosnan's Die Another Day were stolen at an Aldersbrook Avenue property in Enfield, London, on Monday, March 23

In what police have described as a 'scene reminiscent of a James Bond movie', CCTV footage shows the gang taking pictures of the 007 fan's home minutes before the burglary took place

A unique Smith and Weston 44 Magnum used by Roger Moore in Live And Let Die was also stolen in the raid

Halle Berry in 2002's Die Another Day, wielding a Beretta Cheetah (left) which was stolen in the burglary

Two other guns, a Revolver Smith and Weston 44 Magnum, the only one in the world where the whole gun is finished in chrome and which featured in Live And Let Die, as well as a Llama 22 calibre handgun from Pierce Brosnan's last outing as 007, were also stolen.

A fifth gun - a yellow-handed Llama pistol - was subsequently recovered by a member of the public in a field near to Roydon Railway Station in Essex in April.

Enquiries to locate the four outstanding firearms, which are all deactivated, are ongoing.

Detective Inspector Paul Ridley, from North Area CID, who is investigating the burglary, said: 'It has now been six months since the burglary and only one of the firearms has been recovered.

'Sadly, this has been severely rusted due to being exposed to the elements outdoors and its integrity destroyed.

'We now have images of a vehicle that was parked near to the scene of the crime and appears to be carrying out reconnaissance in the area.

 Slide me  One of the firearms - a yellow-handed Llama pistol (pictured left) - was subsequently recovered by a member of the public in a field near to Roydon Railway Station in Essex in April. It was found severely rusted (pictured right) due to being exposed to the elements outdoors

'In scenes reminiscent of a James Bond movie you can even see the flash of a camera from the occupant engaged in the surveillance.

Which guns were stolen during the raid? The stolen guns: One Beretta 'Cheetah' auto pistol, serial number H02641Y; One Walther PPK, serial number 146872; One Revolver Smith and Weston 44 Magnum, serial number N60304; One Beretta 'Tomcat' auto pistol, serial number DAA264306; One Llama 22 cal. Serial number 271915. Advertisement

'I believe these individuals were involved in the crime, it was only a matter of minutes prior to the raid.'

Police have previously described the intruders as three white males with Eastern European accents who drove away in a silver vehicle.

It is believed the suspects forced entry, before stealing the five deactivated weapons, estimated to be worth more than 100,000.

Bond fans were left heartbroken as the guns were meant to be put on display as part of a national exhibition.

Officers say the suspects were disturbed by neighbours during the raid and left the scene before officers arrived.

They are believed to have jumped through an open window before fleeing in their getaway car. No arrests have yet been made.

The Met Police have described the stolen firearms as 'very distinctive and bespoke', and 'will almost certainly be recognised by the public'.

Detective Inspector Paul Ridley added: 'The owner of these unique items is devastated, particularly in terms of the sentimental value - they were due to be showcased on display as part of a national exhibition.

'I have provided photographs of the stolen firearms and provided the unique serial numbers. Many of these items are very unique.

A Walther PPK pistol used in A View To A Kill, starring Roger Moore as 007. Bond is assigned with stopping Max Zorin from exterminating his Silicon Valley competitors

Roger Moore with Jane Seymour in 1973's Live And Let Die, Moore's first outing as Bond. 007 is investigating the deaths of British agents when he is led to a Caribbean drug lord

A Beretta Tomcat pistol used in Die Another Day, Pierce Brosnan's final outing as Bond

A unique Smith and Weston 44 Magnum used by Roger Moore in Live And Let Die was also stolen in the raid

'For example, the Magnum is the only one in the world ever made where the whole gun is finished in chrome. It has a six-and-a-half inch barrel and wood grips.

'The Walther PPK was the last gun used by Roger Moore in View to a Kill in a famous scene with Grace Jones who descends the Eiffel Tower on a parachute.

'I would urge any members of the public that may have witnessed the suspects arriving and leaving, know where the firearms are now, or may have been offered these stolen items for sale, to come forward to my investigation team as a priority.'

Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to call police on 101, quoting CAD 5890/23Mar. Alternatively tweet @Met_CC or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
(Natural News) On Sept. 11, 2020, The Washington Post (WaPo) published a perspective piece written by Rutgers University historian Mark Bray that praises the work of Antifa while decrying the groups detractors.

Published in the Sunday Outlook op-ed section of the left-wing paper, Brays Five Myths feature claims to debunk the narrative that Antifa is a violent domestic terrorist organization, which is how the group was classified by the Trump administration.

Bray, author of the book Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, contends that Antifa is a staple of radical politics both here and abroad for decades. Describing the groups work as militant antifascism, Bray sees nothing wrong with Antifa, noting its long history under the banner of the Anti-Racist Action network.

According to Bray, Antifa is not a single organization, but rather a loosely affiliated network of activists whose politics center around revolutionary opposition to the far right.

Bray also opposes the idea that Antifa are the masterminds behind all the violence taking place at Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests.

 neither the Justice Department, the FBI nor the press have found evidence to corroborate the grandiose allegation that the most widespread and significant political upheaval this country has seen in half a century was masterminded by one shadowy organization, he contends.

Even though independent journalists like Andy Ngo have proven, with actual evidence, that Antifa militants are responsible for much of the rioting, looting and violence taking place across America, Bray wants people to believe that Antifa is innocent of most charges.

As to the claim that Antifa are the real fascists, a popular rebuttal to the violent movement, Bray claims that this, too, is a misnomer. In his view, the fact that Antifa is derived from the word antifascist somehow proves that its goals and agenda are to defeat fascism rather than promote it.

Comparing antifascists to fascists only makes a bit of sense if one divorces the tactics from the underlying views that animate them, he insists. Such comparisons stem from the misguided horseshoe theory: that ultimately political extremes meet.

Antifa relies on capitalism to raise money for its anti-capitalism activities

None of Brays arguments hold any weight, to be frank. Their presuppositions are inherently flawed and stem from Brays own misguided belief that Antifa truly is an antifascist movement rather than the fascist movement it has long proven itself to be.

We know from the testimony of Kyle Shideler, director of the Center for Security Policy, that Antifa is both well-organized and well-funded. Its basic structure is an affinity group that Shideler described as:

A small cell of individuals, known to each other, who agree to come together to participate in direct actions  including sabotage, vandalism, and premeditated assault.

Affinity groups come together to form clusters, and larger clusters may organize actions using what are called spokescouncils,' Shideler explained. Antifa chapters form at the city level and join regional networks such as Torch Antifa, the largest Antifa network in the U.S., as well as national and international networks.

Antifa also receives funding from wealthy, far-left groups like the Democratic Socialists of America, The International Workers of the World, Refuse Fascism, and the National Lawyers Guild, as well as from other well-coordinated protest organizations.

Antifa routinely requires these outside groups to sign so-called memorandums of understanding, forcing allies to agree not to interfere with their criminal activity. This affords a level of protection for these outside groups.

Other ways Antifa rakes in funding is through crowdsourcing technology, event admission fees, cash donations and selling merchandise  the epitome of capitalism  at so-called anarchist bookfairs.

If you enjoyed reading this story, you can find more like it at Terrorism.news.

Sources for this article include:

NewsBusters.org

NaturalNews.com
Mumbai, Sep 21 : Indian Idol winners Salman Ali and Sunny Hindustani will hit the stage in London next month.

"Indian Idol season 11" winner Sunny and Salman, who had won the title the previous season, had performed together on the reality show. Now, they will entertain fans with their show at indigo in The O2, London.

Musician Choklate Pi Single, who had paid tribute to late actor Sushant Singh Rajput with a single, will join them.

"There is abundance of unexplored talents in India. Salman and Sunny are highly skilled and have exceptional singing talent. I felt that their live concert will be a hit with Indian diaspora in the UK and across the world, as there is a huge fan following for Indian music," said Choklate.

"Hopefully, we will have more such talent from different shows and can promote it across the world. Indian music is popular but it needs to get even more popular, globally," he added.

The concert will be live-streamed worldwide on October 31.
An opposition supporter addresses law enforcement officers during a rally to demand the resignation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko more than a month after the disputed presidential election, in Minsk, Belarus on Sept. 20, 2020. (Tut.By via Reuters)

Belarus Mass Rallies, Police Data Leak Keep Pressure on Lukashenko

MINSK, BelarusMore than 100,000 Belarusians marched through the capital Minsk on Sept. 20 in the sixth straight weekend of protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, keeping pressure on the veteran leader to quit.

Many walked in a vast column that stretched several miles, decked out in red-and-white opposition colors and chanting go away, as helmeted riot police patrolled the streets with water canons on hand, a witness said.

Several protesters were dragged away from the crowd by security forces. In the city center, riot police rhythmically beat their shields as a warning, while several people threw glass bottles at them.

Videos shared by local media outlets showed security forces in helmets or masks hauling protesters off the streets in simultaneous protests in other cities.

The Eastern European country was plunged into turmoil following a presidential election in August that Lukashenko says he won by a landslide but the opposition says was rigged. In power for 26 years, the former Soviet collective farm manager has shown scant inclination to resign, buoyed by support from Russia.

The European Union vowed weeks ago to impose sanctions on Minsk for alleged election fraud and human rights abuses but is likely to miss its own Sept. 21 deadline for action.

Police Data Leaked

In tandem with the protests, anonymous hackers leaked the personal data of 1,000 police officers in retaliation for a crackdown in which thousands of people have been detained, many complaining of beatings and torture in jail.

The government has denied abusing detainees.

The loyalty of the security forces is crucial to Lukashenkos ability to cling to power. Their faces are often obscured by masks, balaclavas, or riot helmets. Some protesters have torn the masks off some officers.

As the arrests continue, we will continue to publish data on a massive scale, according to a statement distributed by the opposition news channel Nexta Live on the messaging app Telegram. No one will remain anonymous, even under a balaclava.

The government said it would find and punish those responsible for leaking the data, which was widely distributed on Telegram channels on the evening of Sept. 19.

The forces, means, and technologies at the disposal of the internal affairs bodies make it possible to identify and prosecute the overwhelming majority of those guilty of leaking personal data on the Internet, said Olga Chemodanova, the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Strategic Buffer

At least 80 people were detained across the country on Sept. 20, the human rights group Spring-96 said.

The Russian news agency TASS said at least 10 people had been held, citing police; the government typically releases the final figures the following day.

Footage shared by Belarusian media outlets showed police dragging people from the front of a column of protesters who had linked arms in the western city of Brest, and firing spray from a bottle into the face of one of them. One security officer fired a warning shot into the air in a separate incident.

Metro stations were closed in central Minsk and the mobile internet disrupted for several hours.

The government said 390 women were detained for taking part in a protest on Sept. 19. Most have been released.

Minsk reacted angrily on Sept. 19 to reports that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leading opposition candidate in Augusts election, could soon meet EU foreign ministers.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also criticised the EU for inviting Tsikhanouskaya to the ministerial meeting as well as for considering sanctions against Minsk, saying Brussels is trying to rock the boat in Belarus.

Russia sees Belarus as a strategic buffer state against the EU and NATO and has accused the United States of fomenting revolution in its neighbor.

Moscow agreed to give a $1.5 billion loan to prop up Lukashenkos government following a meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Belarus will channel about $330 million of its new loan to cover its outstanding debt to Russian gas giant Gazprom, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was quoted by TASS as saying.
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Envelopes filled with the deadly toxin Ricin was mailed to the Hidalgo County Sheriff and three of his deputies, Sheriff Eddie Guerra said in a tweet Monday.

No one was hurt and the FBI is investigating, Guerra said in the tweet.
New Delhi: The Delhi Police Special Cell on September 16 had filed over a 17,000-page charge sheet in connection with the Delhi riots case against 15 accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Indian Penal Code, and Arms Act, and the recent reports reveal shocking details about the same.

According to sources, the riots that broke out on February 24 this year that left at least 53 people dead and injured more than 500 were well planned. The key conspirators had made up their mind that the final showdown of the pan Delhi protests will be executed in North-East, Shahdara, and South districts with the areas of Chand Bagh and Jafrabad as the initial hotspots.

Sources told Zee News that a secret meeting was held at the Chand Bagh area in the national capital on the intervening night of February 16-17, eight days before the clashes took place between the supporters of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and those against it.

There was a clear and cogent understanding between the key conspirators who attended this meeting that the protest sites located near Muslim dominated areas, would need to be shifted and converted into 'chakka jam' on carefully chosen locations in order to paralyze the normal movement of traffic and flow of life.

Sources said that the 'chakka jam' would be followed by confrontation and attack on policemen and the general public along with the damage and destruction of public property by use of arson and other methods.

As per sources, Mohd Ayub, Shadab Ahmad, Mohd Saleem Khan and Ibrahim who have been arrested for the murder of Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal, were all present in the secret meeting.

Other than these, Gulfisha Fatima who was arrested for rioting and attempt to murder, Yasin, arrested for rioting and arson, and Mohd Mustaqueem who has been apprehended for the murder of Rahul Solanki, also attended the meeting.

In Pics: Chargesheet filed in Delhi riots hints at larger conspiracy



All these were also reportedly in regular contact with either one or more than one of the other conspirators namely Mohd Athar, Nazam-Ul-Hassan, Salim Malik (Munna), Suleman Siddiqui, Salim Khan, Rizwan Siddiqui, Devangana Kalita, Ayub, Shreya, Upasana, Zakir, Tasleem, and Rashid.

It is said that the task to kill a non-Muslim was assigned to Mohd Mustaqueem by Rashid on the day of the murder.

Sources said that it is not a mere coincidence that while the weapon of the offence was financed by Tahir Hussain, the finance for cartridges used in the murder of Rahul Solanki came from Suleman Siddique.

On the other hand, Devangana Kalita, Gulfisha Fatima and Shadab Ahmad, all three who had also attended the meeting were in regular contacts with each other and were later arrested for different offences.

As per sources, Arshad Qayyum, arrested for rioting, was a regular contact of Ayub, who had also attended the meeting.

Apart from the above, an important bridge between the conspirators who were physically present in the meeting and the top masterminds' under whose watch and guidance this meeting had taken place was Nadeem Khan of United Against Hate (UAH) and DPSG (Delhi Protest Support Group).

It is on record that Rashid had texted Nadeem Khan at 02:36 am, while the meeting was in progress.

The exact exchanges in this communication are being ascertained and are under investigation.

Live TV

Athar Khan, the key convener of this meeting, had received a telephone call from Rahul Roy (the documentary filmmaker who has also been named as the key conspirator) on February 23 at 12:18 hrs. At the same time when the final movements of 300 odd female protestors from Jahangir Puri who were to later precipitate the violence at Jafrabad was being coordinated between Tabrez, Janhvi Mittal and Rahul Roy.

The other shocking details reveal that on February 22 around 20:30 hrs, Janhavi Mittal made a call to Kusum Tabrez, wife of Tabrez which was immediately followed by three long calls made out to Rahul Roy. After getting complete information about the manpower and capabilities of the Jahangir Puri protestors, Rahul called back Janhavi and they spoke for about 20 minutes to set the stage for what was to happen on February 23.

Subsequently, on February 23 at 8:41 hrs, Tabrez called up Janhavi and gave an assessment of the manpower and logistics available with him after which Janhavi then directed him to make a move towards Shaheen Bagh protest site.

It is important to understand the motive for which about 300 female protestors from Jahangir Puri were dispatched to Shaheen Bagh and not directly to North East Delhi where the planned riots were to take place later in the day.

By the time, Tabrez, commandeering 6 buses and 1 truck reached Mori Gate at 13:03 hrs, Janhavi called him up and told him that from Shaheen Bagh, he should take these people to Jafrabad. Before this at 10:30 hrs (about the time when Tabrez was arranging buses and loading protestors), Janhavi had called up Rahul and they had firmed up the plans over a call which lasted for more than 15 minutes.

After reaching Shaheen Bagh, where there was nothing to be done, Tabrez, as ordered, started travelling at about 16:30 hrs towards Jafrabad with 6 buses and 1 truck under his watch.

On February 23 at about 18:44 hrs, Rahul received a telephonic confirmation from Devangana Kalita of Pinjra Tod about the arrival of women folk from Jahangir Puri. Women numbering approximately 300 had precipitated violence at Jafrabad area by clashing with police personnel and pro-CAA protestors.

After lighting the initial spark, the same ladies were sent back to Jahangir Puri and their success was shared by Devangana Kalita in a telephonic call she made to Rahul Roy at 23:08 hrs.

The expenses incurred by Tabrez in hiring 7 vehicles were paid to him upon arrival at 66 Foota road by Devangana and Natasha Narwhal (who is also a member of Pinjra Tod).
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Come January 1, 2021, mutual fund investors will be able to avail the closing net asset value (NAV) of a scheme on the day their funds are realised. The new NAV rules, however, will not be applicable to liquid and overnight funds and cut-off timings for all schemes shall remain unchanged, said markets regular Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in a recent circular.

It has been decided that in respect of purchase of units of mutual fund schemes, closing NAV of the day shall be applicable on which the funds are available for utilisation irrespective of size and time of receipt of such application, Sebi said. Currently, investment up to Rs 2 lakh in an equity or debt mutual fund gets the NAV of the same day if the application is submitted before 1 pm. For higher sums, the NAV is applicable subject to realisation of funds. This could be up to three days after the cheque is submitted. Sebi is now implementing a level playing field for all investors.

The mutual fund schemesexcept liquid and overnightshall allot the units and NAVs on the basis of when the funds have realised the cheques rather than the size or time of the investments. If you submit the purchase application after 1 pm, you get the next days NAV. Similarly, if you submit the application before 12:30 pm you get the previous days NAV. In addition to the submission of the application, the new circular also mandates that the money has to reach the fund house on the same day to get that days NAV.

Meanwhile, experts say that the new system may be an issue for investors who submit purchase orders very close to the cut off time. Funds can be credited quickly through online fund transfers, but there could be some lag for cheque deposits. Customers of smaller banks also tend to have slower settlement cycles.

That apart, the circular says that AMCs need to put in place a detailed written-down policy including details of the specific activities and the roles and responsibilities of various teams engaged in various activities for the fund
CANBERRA, Australia - A former Australian correspondent in Beijing said Monday that he and his 14-year-old daughter were threatened with detention before they left China two years ago.

Matthew Carney said he had not revealed the 2018 incident until now because he had wanted to avoid negative consequences for Australian Broadcasting Corp.s operations in China.

Two weeks ago, reporters for the state-funded ABC and The Australian Financial Review newspaper became the last two Australian journalists working for Australian media to leave China due to threats of detention.

Carney was the ABCs China bureau chief in 2018 when Australia passed laws outlawing covert foreign interference in domestic politics, which he said outraged China. Carney said the laws started three months of intimidation and all types of threats against him and his family.

Carney told his story in an interview aired on ABC radio and in an account posted on the news organizations website Monday. There was no immediate response from China.

Carney said he was told to bring this 14-year-old daughter, Yasmine, to a Beijing Public Security facility where interrogations and detentions were the norm.

A woman official told him that he and his daughter were being investigated for a visa crime.

Your daughter is 14 years old. She is an adult under Chinese law and as the Peoples Republic of China is a law-abiding country she will be charged with the visa crime, Carney said he was told.

He said the woman told him his daughter could be detained with other adults in an undisclosed location.

She was obviously very skilled in interrogation and in ramping up the fear and the panic, Carney said.

Carney said he offered to leave China with his wife and three children the next day, but was told he could not leave the country while he was under investigation.

With his visa due to expire within days, the official said he would be placed in detention rather than deported on its expiration.

After consultation with the Australian Embassy and the ABC, Carney said he decided to confess his guilt and apologize for the bizarre visa violation, on condition that his daughter was allowed to stay with the family.

Their confessions were video recorded and the woman told him she would write a report to the higher authority for judgment.

With the familys visas about to expire, the official said the judgment could be weeks away.

But he got a phone call the next day and was told two-month extensions had been granted to their visas.

He said he thought it was some bizarre theatre to send a message to himself and Australias government that A, if you do bad reporting, B, if your government is going to introduce harsh laws we dont agree with, well then there is a price to be paid.

In retrospect, thats what I think it was, thank God. They didnt follow through on their threats, Carney said.

Carney said he made the sudden decision to leave China after a Chinese woman threatened to sue him for defamation over a story he reported about Chinese attempts to engineer better citizen behaviour.

He had legal advice that he would be banned from leaving once legal proceedings were initiated against him.

Australia updated its travel advice in July to warn its citizens of potential arbitrary detention on security grounds in China.

Chinese-Australian spy novelist and blogger Yang Hengjun has been detained in China since he arrived on a flight from New York in January last year in what some suspect is a Chinese reaction to deteriorating bilateral relations. Yang has since been charged with endangering state security.

The Chinese foreign ministry said the day the last two Australian journalists working for Australian media in China left the country that Australian citizen Cheng Lei, a business news anchor for CGTN, Chinas English-language state media channel, had been detained on suspicion of national security crimes.
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COLONIE  Albany International Airport is the latest to receive advanced scanners that produce detailed three-dimensional images of a carry-on bags contents. The Transportation Security Administration is installing 300 of these units at airports nationwide over a five-year, $96.8 million program, according to TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein.

X-ray cameras produce an image that TSA officers can manipulate on a video screen to view a suspicious item from all angles, helping them determine whether something in the bag that may have triggered an alarm is in fact a threat, often eliminating the need to physically open and go through the luggage.
MILAN: Italy will make testing for COVID-19 compulsory for people traveling from Paris and some other areas of France, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Monday, following growing concerns about rising cases in Europe.

European data is worrying. Italy is doing better than other countries but we need to be cautious," Speranza wrote on Twitter.

A health ministry spokesman said the new testing would start from Tuesday.

Testing will be compulsory for those travelling from Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, Corsica, Hauts-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, Provence-Alpes-Cote dAzur, and Ile-de-France - the region that includes Paris, the ministry said in a statement.

French health authorities reported 10,569 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, down from the previous days record increase of 13,498.

Italy, hit by one of Europes worst outbreaks of COVID-19 with over 298,000 confirmed cases and 35,700 deaths, managed to contain the contagion after a peak in March and April. On Sunday it reported 1,587 new cases.

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
We are so glad to be seeing our community members in person again.

Most of the branches of the Charleston County Public Library are now open after being closed for several months due to the pandemic.

Only our small branches remain closed for in-library service while still providing curbside service.

We are committed to providing a safe space for our patrons and staff, which is why we worked closely with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control on our plans for reopening.

Beyond books, our library is continuing to narrow the digital divide in our community by providing computer, internet/Wi-Fi and access to lending mobile hot spots.

While closed, we continued operating our Wi-Fi outside branches with an average of 1,000 people a week connecting.

We know the need is great and we are ready to provide services our community has come to rely on.

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month and we want to encourage people to sign up.

The resources are endless with print and digital books, audiobooks, music and movies as well as access to dozens of subscriptions, including The New York Times, Consumer Reports, language programs and more.

Get a library card and unlock the possibilities that await you.

ANGELA CRAIG

Executive Director

Charleston County Public Library

Bridgeview Drive

North Charleston

Indebtedness dangers

With consideration for the immediate needs of all who are suffering and require funds, along with the remaining threat of hurricanes, we are not given enough information on the danger of creating more indebtedness on top of our already overburdened obligations.

Hopefully, our grandchildren will be able to deal with the problem, even though most of them do not understand it now.

JOHN WINTHROP

North Adgers Wharf

Charleston

Help hurricane victims

I have always been proud of the way Charleston-area community has been quick to support hurricane-ravaged communities, but I agree with the Sept. 14 editorial that the Lake Charles, Louisiana, region has been overlooked and forgotten in the wake of other storms, wildfires, racial tensions and the pandemic.

It could have been Charleston struggling to recover from Hurricane Laura instead of Lake Charles, which was also pummeled in 2005 by Hurricane Rita.

Much of the area is still under mandatory evacuation orders, as residents have little or no power, water or other services.

Hospitals, schools, churches and other buildings have been damaged along with homes and utility lines.

Dusk-to-dawn curfews are in effect, and road conditions are dangerous.

Residents arent worried about virtual vs. in-school learning for their children.

Theyre worried about having safe shelter and food for their families amid the COVID-19 crisis, and how and when their schools will be rebuilt.

Many hurricane victims dont know what food, gas or emergency supplies exist because there is almost no communication. They need our help.

Please support the Lake Charles area by contributing to the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, the Salvation Army or Catholic Charities.

DONNA EMERSON

Kushiwah Creek Court

Charleston

McCollum for Congress

There is never a bad time to look at candidates for offices long held by another, such as Congressman Jim Clyburn.

There is much that could be done to improve opportunities for people in Congressional District 6, starting with Opportunity Zones, bringing businesses to Columbia, Hardeeville, Sumter, Orangeburg, Kingstree, Yemassee, Hemingway, Hampton and Walterboro.

Its time to take a business approach to new ideas, growth and other community needs to enhance the quality of life in this district.

None is better qualified than Navy veteran John McCollum, who shows respect for his opponent while judiciously seeking the votes to give him a chance to serve the people of District 6 with the energy of fresh ideas.

South Carolina has a choice in District 6.

SYLVIA BURCH

Glacier National Way

Lancaster

Political Truth or Dare

Truth: Never have I ever been so grateful for ... the fast forward and mute buttons on my TV remote.

SHARON HUTCHINSON

Cotswold Court

Charleston
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 10:55:03|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) will open high-level meetings to commemorate its 75th anniversary on Monday, with world leaders gathering via videoconference to express support for collective efforts to tackle global challenges.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to reaffirm China's commitments to supporting the work of the UN and improving global governance system, and elaborate on China's concepts for development, as he did five years ago, aiming to promote the building of a better future for the international community.

ADVOCACY OF UN

China will continue to participate in building world peace, contribute to global development and uphold the international order, said Xi at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly in 2015.

In the past five years, a host of important initiatives and measures in support of the work of the UN announced by the Chinese leader have all been delivered on the ground, demonstrating China's resolve to promote and uphold multilateralism.

As the novel coronavirus is ravaging across the world, China actively responded to the UN global humanitarian response plan against the pandemic, by twice donating funds to the World Health Organization (WHO) totaling 50 million U.S. dollars, provided material aids to over 150 countries and international organizations, and exported epidemic prevention supplies to more than 200 countries and regions.

China will continue to support the WHO in playing a leading role in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi said earlier this month at a meeting held in Beijing to commend role models in the country's anti-virus fight.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed appreciation for China's help in fighting COVID-19 in a phone conversation with Xi in March.

The UN appreciates China's sharing of experience in epidemic prevention and control with developing countries and provision of such valuable assistance as medical supplies, vaccines and medicines, he said.

In an interview with Xinhua on Friday, the UN chief said China is "a pillar of multilateralism."

China has been playing an increasingly bigger role in regional and world affairs, Guterres said, adding that "the United Nations and China enjoy a high level of cooperation ... I welcome China's comprehensive position on a wide number of topics of common interest, ranging from climate change to peacekeeping, and sustainable development."

SUPPORT FOR PEACE

Since the deployment of China's 18th peacekeeping mission in Lebanon in May, Chinese soldiers have cleared landmines in an area of over 10,000 square meters at the border region between Lebanon and Israel. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon hails the Chinese peacekeeping mission as an important contributor to defending peace and stability.

Since the 2015 Leaders' Summit on UN Peacekeeping, China has registered an 8,000-strong standby force and a 300-member permanent police squad for UN peacekeeping missions, as the Chinese president pledged.

Six of its standby contingents have been elevated to Level Three in the UN Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System. As such, China now has the biggest standby force and most varieties of contingents among all UN member states.

The China-UN Peace and Development Fund has also provided a total of 67.7 million dollars for over 80 projects, supporting the UN's efforts in areas such as peacekeeping, counter-terrorism, energy, agriculture, infrastructure, health and education.

China has been playing an increasingly bigger role in regional and world affairs, Guterres said, adding that the UN's close cooperation with China also extends to peace and security issues around the globe, including in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

"The United Nations has supported and witnessed China's remarkable development achievements during this period and is committed to further strengthening our partnership in all pillars of the organization's work, including development, peace and security and human rights," he added.

Guterres said he trusts that China will continue playing an important role in supporting multilateral efforts in building more equal and inclusive societies that are more resilient toward unprecedented global challenges.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

To implement Xi's initiatives, China has since 2015 assisted other developing countries with 180 poverty reduction projects, 118 agricultural cooperation projects, 178 aid-for-trade projects, 103 projects on ecological conservation and climate change, 134 hospitals and clinics, and 123 educational and vocational training institutes.

The South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund has supported over 80 projects in more than 30 developing countries, injecting impetus into global sustainable development.

China has also made important contribution to women's development in the world.

With a donation of 10 million dollars to UN Women, China is the largest contributor among developing countries to the UN entity for gender equality and empowerment of women. It has completed 133 health projects for women and children and invited over 30,000 women from other developing countries to training programs in China.

China has also been taking an active part in global ecological governance.

Its Juncao technology, which uses grass to grow mushrooms, has made its way into more than 100 countries, ranging from Laos to the Central African Republic. China's technology and knowledge in greening the desert have been shared with countries in Africa and Central Asia.

Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, said China "has had a tremendous success in demonstrating climate leadership in recent years" through large investments in clean energy and technologies, electric mobility, and wide-scale land restoration.

"We need a staunch multilateralism" to form an effective response to the environmental problems common to all humanity, Andersen said. "I am pleased to see China taking an active role in promoting this approach." Enditem
Canadian police on Monday searched a home in the Montreal area in connection with a letter addressed to US President Donald Trump that is believed to have contained the poison ricin.

The operation, undertaken at the request of the FBI, comes after a female suspect was arrested trying to cross into the US from Canada, a spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

The woman, who was carrying a firearm when she was taken into custody, was expected to appear in a US court on Monday to face federal charges.

The special RCMP unit -- experts in chemical, biological, explosives and nuclear threats -- searched a home in Longueuil, south of Montreal.

Police refused to say if the home belonged to the suspect.

Ricin, which is produced by processing castor beans, is lethal even in minute doses if swallowed, inhaled or injected, causing organ failure.

The letter was discovered last week and did not reach the White House, according to The New York Times and CNN.

Mail addressed to the White House is first inspected and sorted in depots outside Washington.

CNN said the contents of the envelope were tested repeatedly at one depot and confirmed to contain ricin.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 10:23:59|Editor: huaxia

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SHANGHAI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai reported two imported COVID-19 cases and no domestically transmitted cases on Sunday, the municipal health commission said Monday.

One of the patients is a Chinese national who left Guinea on Sept. 16 and arrived in Shanghai on Sept. 18 via France, while the other is an Egyptian who arrived at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport from Egypt via Germany on Sept. 17.

The patients have been sent to designated medical institutions for treatment. A total of 56 people in close contact with them on the flights have been put under quarantine.

The municipal health commission said a total of 632 imported cases had been reported in Shanghai by Sunday. Among them, 584 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 48 continue to receive treatment in hospital with one in critical condition.

By Sunday, the municipality had reported 342 locally transmitted confirmed cases, including seven deaths. Endite
After battle with addiction, Thats So Raven star Orlando Brown is finding hope in Christian fellowship

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After a tumultuous last few years, actor and rapper Orlando Brown, best known for his role as Eddie Thomas on the Disney Channel series That's So Raven, is getting ready to graduate from a faith-based treatment center in Texas and he's singing high praises about the power of prayer and Christian fellowship.

Brown, 32, who has had a very public struggle with drugs and his mental health, told The Christian Post Monday that he is looking forward to graduating from Rise Discipleship, a free 6-month in-patient recovery program for men who struggle with addiction, homelessness and other life-controlling issues run by Rise Church in Abilene, Texas.

We help not only those who struggle with drugs and alcohol, but also those who battle depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Every RISE student will be given a biblical foundation that will assist in character building and the leadership development to approach life in a new light, the Rise Discipleship website explains.

While he said he wasnt yet ready to do any extended interviews on his journey with the program, Brown told CP that he graduates at the end of November and its definitely been a great process.

I can tell you that Im OK. Im alive. I was in an unsafe position and it has been shaky but at the end of the day all I can tell you is Im OK and Im graduating and I will be getting married, he said.

At a fundraising event for the home last Thursday, which was broadcast on Facebook Live, Brown also spoke briefly about his battle with addiction and his current journey to recovery.

I went through a lot. I experimented with crystal meth, with weed. I didnt know what I was doing. I was addicted to the internet. All kinds of stuff, he said.

Browns battle with drugs first made headlines in February 2016 when he was arrested and charged in Torrance, California, with domestic battery, obstruction of justice, drug possession with intent to sell, and possession of contraband following a fight with his then-girlfriend in public.

In 2018, he reportedly entered a short-lived attempt at rehab, after an intervention from friends and family. He would endure subsequent arrests for drugs and prostitution. That same year, Brown also appeared on an episode of Dr. Phil with retired psychologist Phil McGraw, where he made claims that pointed to an unhealthy mental state.

Earlier this year, Brown also claimed on Instagram that rapper and television host Nick Cannon once performed fellatio on him while dressed as a woman. Cannon denied the claim as hilarious!!!!" and urged better support systems for our youth.

I watched various of this young brothers videos and all I see is a cry out for help. So I don't know if there are any real leaders or solid individuals in this young man's life but let's embrace him and tighten him up so he doesn't become another lost victim to these Hollywood circumstances, Cannon wrote on Instagram.

In April, Brown claimed actor Will Smith raped him as a child.

My student Orlando Brown giving his testimony at Rise Church for the Rise Home rally. Proud of you my bro. pic.twitter.com/PzyNijgTfU  Rey Sandoval (@PastorRey1) September 20, 2020

In his testimony Thursday, Brown explained that he learned about Rise Discipleship from his fiancee and he was moved by how he was accepted for who I am.

My fiancee told me about this place and when I came it was amazing, he said. I had a blast. These brothers accepted me for who I am.

Rise Discipleship explained that while fundraising to support the program normally consists of the men from the home going across Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and other places selling crosses and ministering to those who need prayer and to others struggling with addiction, the coronavirus has limited their efforts.

The program, which does not have a waitlist, provides housing, food and basic needs for the men being treated.

The men do not work while they are in the program so they can focus on having life change so they can then go out and be the fathers, husbands and sons their family needs them to be, the website explains.

Jubal Elrod, whom Brown describes as the home overseer, said at the fundraising event Thursday that Brown has been a leader during his time in the program.

Hes completely turned around. He got on this like in his third week, hit it like a man. Now hes leading classes. Hes actually overseeing discipline and teaching other brothers how to get through it. I'm super proud of you man, proud of you Orlando, Elrod said.

Rey Sandoval, Rise Church founder and senior pastor, also echoed Elrods pride in Browns recovery in the program so far.

My student Orlando Brown giving his testimony at Rise Church for the Rise Home rally. Proud of you my bro, Sandoval said in tweet on Sunday.

Brown explained to CP that his main focus right now is getting back to his family and life, and prayer has been really helpful.

Prayer is so essential especially in cases like these where we have a whole bunch of men come off the street and they are doing their thing to change, he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21)  The country's Food and Drug Administration is joining the Department of Health in warning the public against the use of ultraviolet light for disinfection against COVID-19.

"We do not advise the use of these devices because they are potentially harmful and not proven to be useful for use in households and offices in preventing COVID-19 transmission," FDA Director General Eric Domingo told CNN Philippines on Monday.

Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said UV light products have to undergo a review from the FDA and the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute since they emit radiation. But Domingo clarified that the FDA does not regulate the sale of UV lamps and wands because they are not considered as medical devices.

Vergeire said UV light may cause eye damage, skin burns, and affect the respiratory tract after prolonged use, adding that severe exposure may even injure the cornea. She said UV light can only be used by trained personnel in a controlled facility, such as hospitals.

A number of people, including several media personnel, suffered from photokeratitis after an exposure to a robotic UV light in a government event in Baguio City on Sept. 19. The American Academy of Ophthalmology described photokeratitis as a painful eye condition caused by damage to the eye from UV rays, likening it to having sunburned eyes.

CNN Philippines' Senior Correspondent David Santos was present during the event and was among those who experienced the side effects. He said the demonstration happened prior to a scheduled meeting of National Task Force Against COVID-19 chairman Delfin Lorenzana with government hospitals and other agencies that was covered by the media.

Santos said he, and his camera man, experienced side effects, like redness of the eyes and difficulty to open one's eyes the night after the event. He said that upon consulting a doctor, they were told that their condition will heal in three to four days, but long-term effects, like developing cataract, may happen in the future.

The DOH said the best way to kill the virus is to wipe surfaces using a rug and disinfectant.

CNN Philippines correspondent Carolyn Bonquin contributed to this report.
From my apartment in Midtown Atlanta, I could hear the helicopters above the protesters after the murder of Rayshard Brooks in June. By then, demonstrators had been in the streets for weeks, incensed by the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

In cities across the country, crowds were marching for black lives and praying for racial justice. Yet this national movement took on a different magnitude in Atlanta, a city shaped by the faith, activism, and political prowess of its African American forebears.

Much of the same could be said about black hubs like Detroit, Houston, Harlem, and Washington, DC. But there is a unique echo for justice in Atlanta, where leaders have walked the same streets and stood in the same pulpits as civil rights heroes who came before them. The Southern capitala dreamed-of black mecca and the major metropolitan area with the highest concentration of black Christians in the UShas this history in its bedrock.

As Coretta Scott King, the civil rights leader and wife of Martin Luther King Jr., said, Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won; you earn it and win it in every generation.

I think of the black men and women of my generationrecently called the Trayvon Generation by poet Elizabeth Alexander. We were raised to be aware of the ever-present threat to black lives because it was right in front of our faces, in headlines and on our Instagram feeds. Amid a very public conversation about racism and equity in America, we can see signs of progress. But as long as we find ourselves continually angry and mourning over another black death, we are far from being able to call these small iterations of progress ...

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The September 19 gubernatorial election in Edo State has come and gone, won and lost, according to the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The win is as exciting to the winners as the loss is heart-wrenching to the losers.

The winner of the Edo gubernatorial tussle, Godwin Obaseki, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), garnered 307,955 votes to defeat his main challenger, Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who garnered 223,619 votes.

Mr Obaseki had defected to the PDP from the APC when he was disqualified from participating in the APC governorship primary election over alleged irregularities in his academic qualifications. Many saw his disqualification as high-handed, wondering why the party that gave him the platform to contest in 2016 would deny him the same platform barely four years later.

His disqualification, which paved the way for the emergence of Mr Ize- Iyamu as the candidate of the APC, was, however, largely interpreted as a strategy for Adams Oshiomhole, former national chairperson of the APC, to take his own pound of flesh from Mr Obaseki following their seeming irreconcilable political differences.

Mr Obaseki became the candidate of the APC in the 2016 governorship election and eventually governor of Edo State largely as a result of the efforts of Mr Oshiomhole. Along the line, Messrs Oshiomhole and Obaseki fell apart for whatever reasons.

Expectedly, the PDP has been jubilating over its victory while the APC is crying foul, alleging irregularities in the election which saw Mr Obaseki defeating Mr Ize-Iyamu in 13 of the 18 local government areas of the state.

Meanwhile, the INEC, police and other stakeholders concerned have been hailed for conducting a significantly hitch-free election in the South-south state.

As usual, while the winners  Mr Obaseki, the PDP and their supporters  have started counting their blessings, the losers are mourning their loss in their closets.

One of the losers in the election, Bola Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos State and a national leader of the APC, has been identified as one of the forces that caused the APC and its candidate, Mr Ize-Iyamu, to lose the election.

Mr Tinubus recorded video

A few days to the election, Mr Tinubu made and circulated a video wherein he called Mr Obaseki a dictator. He appealed to the Edo electorates to reject the governor at the polls. He also described himself as the leader of all democrats in the country, an appellation that angered some leading politicians and political observers in the country.

According to some commentators, the video irked a preponderance of Edo voters who further resolved that they would vote Mr Obaseki to disgrace Mr Tinubu. And they truly did, as they promised.

Luckily for Mr Obaseki, his supporters weaponised the video and used it massively to demarket the candidate of the APC, saying Edo is not Lagos, a message that resonated well with the voters who used their votes to seal the fate of Mr Ize-Iyamu according to an earlier analysis did by PREMIUM TIMES.

Bolaji Okusaga, a public relations expert, said Mr Tinubus video was needless and tactless. He said Mr Tinubu should not have released it.

Mr Okusaga said: APC did everything to undo itself in Edo, but I reckon that video claiming fatherhood of democracy and asking Edo people to reject a particular candidate was the last straw.

Mr Okusagas sentiment was reinforced by Temitope Ajayi, a public affairs commentator.

Mr Ajayi said the video from Lagos (referring to Mr Tinubu) did not help matters in Edo, too, saying it fits properly into the narrative of protest against a godfather.

He said the video by Mr Tinubu was a wrong move which played into the hands of those using the godfather narrative to pummel the APC candidate. It probably also helped undecided voters to take a position against Pastor Ize-Iyamu. Local sentiments are important factors to consider in election, he said.

Continuing, Mr Ajayi, a sympathiser of the APC, said, however, people should not get it twisted. The idea of a godfather in politics, as in other vocations, is not bad in itself. Godfathers are like helpers and giants whose shoulders others stand on to rise. We all need godfathers in different forms.

We should not weaponise it to mean evil or something sinister. Catholics have the culture of godfather to a newborn or one who sponsors wedding for a younger person.

Fact is nobody can win election alone without the help of others in different ways it can manifest. For those who said Oshiomhole and Asiwaju are godfathers that Edo people rejected, does it mean they rejected two godfathers to embrace other godfathers in Wike, Ikimi and other forces that helped Obaseki? he asked.

Failing to learn from history

From all indications, it appears Mr Tinubu failed to learn any tangible lesson from history.

Prior to the Osun gubernatorial election in 2018 which Gboyega Oyetola, his nephew, narrowly won, Mr Tinubu had made an infamous statement at the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, Jimoh Olanipekun, during a courtesy call on the traditional ruler.

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In the video, Mr Tinubu said that he was not projecting his nephew, Mr Oyetola, to become Osun governor so he could make money from the state. He boasted that Osun is not rich enough for him to be interested in its money.

The statement reportedly irked many indigenes of the state who took turns to condemn Mr Tinubu, who is believed to be nursing a presidential ambition ahead of the 2023 general elections.

At the time, as it became clear his party might lose the election, Mr Tinubu made spirited efforts to clarify his infamous statement, all to no avail.

According to multiple reports on the verbal slip, many Osun voters resolved to vote the candidate of the PDP in the election, Ademola Adeleke, who was coasting home to victory until the election was declared inconclusive by INEC.

Mr Oyetola eventually won the supplementary election after the APC had cut deals with Iyiola Omisore, then chieftain of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Moshood Adeoti, a former Secretary to the State Government, to secure their support in the supplementary election. Even then, the supplementary election was condemned by local and international observers as it was characterised by voter intimidation and violence.

Till today, the PDP in Osun State still believes it won the 2018 election in the state, saying it was rigged out through the instrumentality of federal might, a euphemism for the ruling party at the national level using federal forces to compromise elections to its advantage.

A way forward for Mr Tinubu

Going forward, a handful of analysts have admonished Mr Tinubu to do whatever he has to do to support the candidate of the APC in any election behind the scene without making statements that can be weaponised by the opposition to curry the sympathy of voters, the real deciders of who wins or loses in an election.

Perhaps Mr Tinubu will take a cue from the shellacking the APC got in the Edo election to tread softly as the Ondo governorship election approaches.

Although Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, the candidate of the APC in the October 10 election in Ondo State, has reconciled with him, Mr Tinubu has been advised to avoid making any broadcast or statement that can make the people of the state reject Mr Akeredolu in the election.

In a veiled reference to him, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, while congratulating Mr Obaseki on his victory, also appealed to the electorates of Ondo State to reject the godfather (Tinubu) in the October 10 poll in the state.

Mr Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 presidential election, told the voters in Ondo State to free themselves from  the oppressive grasp of godfathers and external forces that seek to dominate your will and eviscerate your treasury. It is possible. Edo has done it. You can do it too!

Well, will Mr Tinubu listen to the admonition of those telling him to avoid making statements that can be used to demarket whomever he supports in an election or hold on to strategies that have proven to be counter-productive? Time will tell.
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Cannabis is expected to witness rising applications across different industries over the next couple of years. Market Research Future (MRFR)s assessment asserts that the North America cannabis market was valued at over USD 3.5 Bn in 2015 and is anticipated to reflect a double-digit CAGR of 33% over the forecast period of 2016 to 2021.

Legalization of cannabis for medicinal purposes in over 30 states of the U.S. is the primary factor expected to encourage the growth curve of the North American Legal Cannabis Market in the forthcoming years. In addition, the legalization of the product for recreational purposes in certain regions is further expected to catapult the market on upward trajectory. Rising investments in research & development of drugs are likely to generate demand for cannabis as it is widely used in the production of painkillers. This, in turn, is poised to boost the growth of the North America cannabis market in the foreseeable future.

Market Segmentation:

By derivatives, the North America cannabis market has been segmented into marijuana/flowers, industrial hemp, other concentrates/products.

By application type, the North America cannabis market has been bifurcated into applications of marijuana, applications of hemp.

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Regional Analysis:

By region, the North America cannabis market has been segmented into the United States and the Rest of America. The U.S. currently accounts for the maximum market share accounting for over 95% share. It is anticipated to maintain its pole position over the next couple of years. The regional segment was valued at over USD 3 Bn in 2015 and is expected to register a robust CAGR of 30% over the assessment period. Although cannabis is banned in most of the states in the U.S. for recreational purposes, the medical application of the product has led to its legalization in 33 states. These states have different laws regarding the production and application of cannabis. But it has unleashed tremendous opportunities for the development of the North America cannabis market in the recent times. In addition, 11 states have legalized even the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. This, in turn, is expected to boost the growth of the North America cannabis market over the next couple of years. Also, some of the derivative components of cannabis has been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) which is poised to accelerate revenue growth for the participants of the North America cannabis market in the years to come. The increasing use of cannabis as well as hemp oil in medical applications is anticipated to catapult the market on upward trajectory. Factors such as the growth of the healthcare sector and rising investments in research & development are expected to favor the expansion of the North America cannabis market in the U.S. On the other hand, Rest of America is also expected to witness substantial growth over the next couple of years. The regional segments growth can primarily be ascribed to the legalization of cannabis in Canada. Canada is expected to contribute to the development of the regional segment in the years to come.

Competitive Dashboard:

The major players operating in the North America cannabis market studied in this MRFR report are Plandai Biotechnology., Canadian Cannabis Corporation, Tweed Marijuana Inc, Privateer Holdings, Inc, Cannabis Sativa Inc, Affinor Growers., Cannavest, Omnicanna Health Solutions., Canna Brands Inc, and Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The competitive landscape of the market exhibits robust competition and is likely to attract massive investments over the next couple of years. With more and more governments legalizing cannabis production, the market in North America is expected to witness an influx of new entrants in the nearby future. The marketing strategies adopted by the key players for gaining market share are mergers & acquisitions, collaboration, product innovation, portfolio development, etc.

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PHILADELPHIA  A federal judge has ensured that a Hatboro man and former pastor will spend the remainder of his life in prison on charges he sexually abused and recorded the abuse of an infant and young girl.

Jerry William Zweitzig, 72, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 200 years in a federal penitentiary on charges of manufacturing and attempted manufacturing of child pornography. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone.

U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain said the charges stemmed from Zweitzigs sexual abuse of an infant and a young girl, who was under 10, both of whom were in his care at the time of the abuse. Zweitzig was a pastor at the Horsham Bible Church at the time of the abuse, according to prosecutors.

The level of depravity in these cases leaves me almost speechless, McSwain said. I will simply say this: todays sentence ensures that Zweitzig will die in prison, which is probably a better fate than what he deserves.

In the case involving the young girl, Zweitzig pleaded guilty to five counts of manufacturing and attempted manufacturing of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

The charges arose from Zweitzigs sexual exploitation of the girl over a period of years, his photographing and videotaping of the sexual abuse, and his collection of more than 10,000 images of child pornography involving thousands of other children on four different hard drives that were found in his home.

According to court documents, the collection included disturbing images of prepubescent children being raped by adult males, forced oral sex on babies and young girls by adult men and women, and insertion of objects into children  many of which show children crying and clearly in pain.

In the case involving the infant, Zweitzig pleaded guilty to one count of manufacturing and one count of attempted manufacturing of child pornography. Those charges were based on a video that the defendant made in 2010 that depicted an infant under six months of age being coaxed to engage in a sexual act. In the video, Zweitzigs voice could be heard repeatedly saying, Thats a good boy.

Investigators discovered the video of the infant while preparing to prosecute Zweitzig for the sexual exploitation of the young girl.

Safeguarding children from being victimized by predators is a top priority for Homeland Security Investigations, said Brian A. Michael, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia. Mr. Zweitzigs behavior is deplorable, and the exploitation of children is inexcusable.

HSI special agents and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue child predators, in every form, and ensure those who commit these atrocious crimes are brought to justice, Michael added.

Court records indicate Zweitzig also is awaiting trial in Montgomery County Court on separate charges of indecent assault of a child, unlawful contact with a minor, invasion of privacy, indecent exposure and child pornography. Those charges were brought by Horsham police.

This federal case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the Horsham Police Department, and the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric L. Gibson handled the federal prosecution.
In the body, in an organ or even in an individual cell, countless biochemical reactions  the fundamentals of life processes  are underway at any given time, with proteins playing a central role. Ruedi Aebersold, Professor Emeritus of Molecular Systems Biology at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, has devoted his research career to finding a way to record all the proteins of a cell or living organism qualitatively and quantitatively at a given point in time (the proteome): in other words, to not only identify the various protein species, but also to determine the quantities in which they are present. For this, he used a mass spectrometry-based analytical methodology, which he then refined on an ongoing basis.

This approach allowed Aebersold to usher in a paradigm shift in favour of the quantitative measurement and systemic observation of proteins, thereby transforming our understanding of organisms and biology in general. The researchers efforts have also influenced the field of translational medicine and laid the foundation for the personalised medicine of the future.

Receiving the Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist is a great honour for me and my wonderful team. It also honours the importance of international collaboration between researchers and the open exchange of measurement data  both of which are fundamental to the success of proteomics and to scientific progress more generally, says Aebersold.
New Mexicos colleges and universities are using a variety of tools and tactics to keep students, faculty and other employees safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They also are involved in key research projects connected to the virus, which has claimed the lives of nearly 200,000 Americans and 800 New Mexicans.

The University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University and Central New Mexico Community College all produced detailed return-to-school plans over the summer.

The leadership at UNM and the (Health Sciences Center) worked diligently (over the summer), said Carla Domenici, director of finance and administration for strategic initiatives, who has been named the UNMs COVID coordinator. I think that hard work and thoughtfulness has worked.

Most other higher education institutions in the state  including New Mexico Highlands University, Eastern New Mexico University and others  have released their own comprehensive return-to-campus plans as well. Visit those schools websites for more details about their individual plans.

Most classes at UNM, NMSU and CNM are currently conducted through remote learning with a few in-person classes and labs. A smaller number of students are living in the dorms at UNM and NMSU.

We are preparing for the most unusual fall term in CNMs history, said CNM president Tracy Hartzler in a YouTube address where she also stressed her appreciation for the hard work and patience of those in the CNM community.

Among measures schools have taken include:

 School officials said students have been given new conduct codes that require them to wear masks and socially distance. The colleges deans of students also will make efforts to monitor students off-campus behavior.

 After someone on campus has tested positive for COVID-19, contact tracers work to determine whether others on campus are at risk.

 Both UNM and NMSU have created large outdoor seating areas where students can study or socialize at distance.

 Both UNM and NMSU have warned their fraternities, sororities and dorm residents against holding large gatherings.

 CNM improved ventilation in many of its buildings.

 UNM is sending mask ambassadors throughout campus to encourage healthy habits.

 NMSU researchers are working on a wastewater testing system that will monitor for signs of the virus. The technique has already been used at other colleges throughout the country, with the goal of detecting coronavirus in feces before people start to show symptoms.

Safety projects

Among other research efforts, NMSU is partnering with a local telemedicine technology company to evaluate an early detection system for the virus. Over the summer, Las Cruces-based Electronic Caregiver began deploying a system to monitor 100 study participants  40 students and 60 faculty members  before they leave home and then pre-screening them every morning for signs of infection.

If the morning surveys detect any red flags, the system tells that person to seek medical advice, alerts health professionals about the issue and offers direct online consultation to determine next steps, said project director Joe Tomaka, a professor in the Public Health Sciences Department at NMSUs College of Health and Services.

The project is a feasibility study to try to encourage symptom monitoring among those on campus.

The six-month project could show whether broad technology deployment can help change individual patterns of behavior, encouraging people to take the necessary precautions to slow the spread of COVID-19.

People say theyre monitoring for symptoms already, but were not sure how much that conscious effort actually happens, Tomaka said. This study will show if folks can do this on a daily basis.

At UNM, Marygold Walsh-Dilley, an associate professor in the Honors College, is leading a study to determine the patterns of food insecurity among students at UNM.

The Basic Needs Study at UNM measures the prevalence and patterns of food and housing insecurity experienced by students, according to Walsh-Dilley.

It began with a focus on food insecurity, which is what my own research and teaching examine, but it expanded to also include housing insecurity because there is a growing interest both here on campus and in the literature more broadly to understand both issues simultaneously.

The study examines the rates of food and housing insecurity and how they are patterned across different demographic groups on the UNM campus. Because the COVID-19 pandemic occurred during data collection, the study will also examine the virus impact on students basic needs over the next few years.

Vaccine research

UNM researchers are among the ranks of scientists across the globe conducting studies that might lead to a vaccine, according to a UNM Health Sciences release.

Researchers David Peabody and Bryce Chackerian are working on a project to create vaccines from particles the school describes as the opposite of Trojan Horses, a release said. They look deadly on the outside but are harmless on the inside.

Researchers hope the particles will trick peoples bodies into thinking they have been infected, triggering a reaction that will prepare it for the actual virus, the release said. The team is using a one-year $250,000 grant to develop the vaccine.
An important Sunday night look at local tragedy beyond mere demographics, identity politics or civic boundary for our more contentiousness readers:



INDEPENDENCE, MO (KCTV) -- Family and friends of another homicide victim fear their loved one may have been killed due to a hate crime. Aerrion Burnett, 37, was shot and killed early Saturday morning in Independence. She was a black trans woman and, as KCTV5's Leslie Aguilar reports, it seems that's a dangerous thing to be in Kansas City.
Over 3,000 day-old chicks were left to die under the sun, on Thursday, inside a vehicle impounded illegally by task force officials in Imo State.

The incident which happened in Owerri has been attributed to a rash decision by two police officers and three task force officials who were insisting that the vehicle should have had Imo State emblem on it.

Various states in Nigeria, for the purposes of revenue-generation, require commercial vehicle owners to affix state emblem on their vehicle.

Some owners, especially those whose vehicles travel across several states, however, prefer to get a consolidated emblem which allows for easy passage through states and saves them the clumsiness of having to buy emblem from every state.

Tega Silas, the driver of a Toyota Sienna, who transported the day-old chicks  8,000 of them  from a hatchery in Kaduna State, said he pulled over on the Owerri road on the order of the police officers manning a roadblock.

The driver said he left Kaduna around 9 p.m., travelled through the night  about 687 km  so he could get to Owerri early in the morning to avoid the chicks being affected by harsh weather.

He said he arrived Owerri around 8:50 a.m.

I was very close to my final destination (in Owerri) where the owners of the chicks were waiting before a policeman stopped me at a checkpoint. I told him, please, I was carrying day-old chicks, and that he should allow me to go, Mr Silas told PREMIUM TIMES, Saturday.

The officer, armed with a rifle, inspected the chicks packed in several cartons inside the minivan, the driver said.

Shortly, his vehicle was surrounded by three men working for the Imo State task force on vehicle emblem, he said. The men and the police officers demanded the Imo State emblem which the vehicle did not have.

Mr Silas vehicle, however, had a consolidated emblem on it.

Mr Silas said he explained to the officer that the chicks could die in the next five minutes because of the weather if they delayed him any further.

Is the day-old chicks you are carrying more important than the (police) uniform I am wearing? the driver said the officer told him.

The driver said the police officer assaulted him at some point.

Sensing that the incident could drag on, Mr Silas said he handed his vehicle key to the police officer and left the scene to get the owners of the chicks to come over and possibly offload them from the vehicle.

It took about five minutes to get to where the owners of the chicks were staying, he said. I tried reaching them on phone, but the calls were not connecting.

When Mr Silas returned with the poultry farmer, he could not find his vehicle, the police officers, or the task force officials.

Chijioke Nicholas, the chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria, Imo State, who corroborated Mr Silas story, told PREMIUM TIMES that it was through his intervention that they were able to trace the vehicle to a local park that serves as an operational base for the task force.

By the time Messrs Nicholas and Silas got to the park where the vehicle was packed and its tyres deflated, several of the chicks were already dead.

Mr Nicholas, angered by what happened, ordered that the dead chicks should be brought out from the minivan and spread on the ground for the world to see.

With his mobile phone, he began filming the scene.

There are between three to four thousand birds here, Mr Nicholas voice could be heard in the video as he zoomed in on the dead chicks.

This is what has been killing enterprise and killing agriculture in Imo State, he added. We will relate with the governor and the commissioner for livestock development in Imo State for this to be settled.

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The market value for each of the day-old chicks is N600, Mr Nicholas said.

Mr Nicholas said the task force was negotiating for a settlement with the owners of the dead chicks.

The distributor of the day-old chicks, Abayomi Adio, who contracted the driver of the Toyota Sienna, said harassment of drivers in Imo State has become a constant challenge for poultry farmers.

Mr Adio said over 3,000 chicks died in the incident.

The task force is supervised by the Imo State Ministry of Transports.

When contacted, the states Commissioner for Transport, Rex Anunobi, said he has spoken with his counterpart in the ministry of livestock on the incident.

Mr Anunobi said the incident was regrettable. He promised to look into it to see how the matter could be resolved.

We hope that such a thing will not occur again, he added.
A legally blind, 72-year-old man was robbed and attacked in Boston earlier this month, resulting in the permanent loss of vision in the victims left eye, police said over the weekend.

The person accused of assaulting the elderly man has since been arrested and identified as 50-year-old Willis McGhee, the Boston Police Department announced in a statement Sunday.

Officers responded around 6:54 p.m. on Sept. 10 to a call about the robbery at 30 Fremont St. in Mattapan, according to the statement.

McGhee is accused of punching and kicking the victim, the statement said. While trying to steal the elderly mans wallet, he also ripped the pants off the legs of the victim, the department claimed.

Police arrived at the scene and gave medical aid to the victim, who was then taken to a nearby hospital, according to authorities.

Detectives immediately launched an investigation into the attack and collected numerous images of the suspect. The pictures were then shared among members of the Boston police patrol force, officials said.

At about 10:10 p.m. on Saturday, officers pulled over a car during a routine traffic stop near Tesla Street and Edgewater Drive in Mattapan, according to police.

While interacting with the driver, officers noticed that McGhee, who was riding in the front passenger seat, matched the description of the suspect in the attack on the 72-year-old man nearly two weeks before, the Boston Police Department said.

The 50-year-old man voluntarily returned to the district police station to be interviewed by investigators, who then established probable cause to arrest him, the department said.

He was charged with unarmed robbery, assault and battery on a person over the age of 60 and mayhem, which means the willful and permanent crippling, mutilation or disfigurement of any part of the body, according to police.

The suspect is expected to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court on Monday, authorities said.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The determination of the Armenian side to continue the peaceful negotiation process for the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has never declined, there is no alternative to the peace process, Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan told reporters, commenting on the observation that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs called on the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to return to the negotiations without preconditions.

Armenia has been very consistent in its approaches over the peace process. We have more than clear stated that the peace process has no alternative, that the settlement is possibly only through peaceful means, that we say all this absolutely based on the self-confidence that Armenia and Artsakh are fully capable of protecting themselves, their interests and borders. And in this sense we remain absolutely committed to the peaceful settlement. It is within the logic that we are more than ready for the continuation of the peace process and are ready to continue the work which we have done in this whole period, the FM said.

The minister reminded that the last meeting with the Azerbaijani FM under the auspices of the OSCE MG Co-Chairs took place in January, but then the situation connected with the pandemic arrived. However, our determination to continue the peace process and the negotiation process has never declined. And we are ready, he added.

Asked whether there is something concrete for the return to the negotiation table, the FM stated: There is a concreteness from us, but I cant say anything for the other side. We are ready to do that very quickly, currently we are talking to the Co-Chairs, are in touch with, are working in order to be able to plan, and will announce immediately.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Monday that the Gara de Nord - Henri Coanda railway line would be made available to beneficiaries at the shortest time possible.

He brought to mind that the idea of the Gara de Nord - Henri Coanda railway sector had come up during his tenure as Transport Minister. Furthermore, Orban pointed out that when the Liberal Government took over governance, the progress on the line was "a little over 11 percent."

"The technical trials are necessary for commissioning it, same as other procedural stages - the selection of the rail transport operator, however this line is a reality and it will be made available to beneficiaries at the shortest time possible," said Orban.

He maintained that, unfortunately, the railway had been the "Cinderella" of transport modes over the past 20 years, eluded by serious investments and treated as second rank transportation.

"At EU level, rail transport is regarded as a priority transport, because it is a safe, fast and especially environmentally friendly transport. As far as we are concerned, we will implement the EU development strategy in Romania and we will put the development of railway transport infrastructure among the priorities for the development of the transport infrastructure," said Orban.

The Prime Minister indicated the objectives that the Government has in this field. Thus, he listed the completion of the process of modernization of the railway from Constanta to Nadlac, announcing that this week the contract regarding Apata - Cata will be signed, which aims at the modernization of 44 km of railway.

He also indicated that for the other important routes on the pan-European corridor IX, from Ploiesti to Focsani, from Focsani to Roman and from Roman to Iasi and the eastern border, contracts are signed for the feasibility studies for the modernization of the railway on the pan-European corridor IX on two lines.

Orban specified that on the section from Bucharest to Craiova-Turnu Severin-Caransebes there are contracts signed for the feasibility studies for almost all sections, that the section Cluj-Napoca-Oradea-Episcopia Bihor will enter the design and execution phase, and Bucharest's railway ring will provide "additional mobility in transport".

"We will allocate European funds, billions and billions of euros will be invested in the modernization of the railway transport infrastructure, which will represent a basis for Romania's economic development," Orban said.

President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban and Minister of Transport Lucian Bode made a test trip by train on the railway connection Gara de Nord - Henri Coanda Airport.

AGERPRES .
Lovecraft Countrys Atticus Freeman has proven himself a smart, savvy navigator of the supernatural. But in Sundays episode, he was literally outfoxed.

The hour took us back to 1950, when Tics military unit arrived in South Korea. The episode was told from the perspective of Ji-Ah, a Korean nurse played by guest star Jamie Chung (Once Upon a Time). If the characters name sounds familiar, its because shes the woman Atticus has phoned in mysterious fashion a few times since the series began.

At first, Ji-ah seems like a lonely young woman whose widowed mother is begging her to bring home a man and help restore honor to the family. But we soon learn that bring home a man really means bring home a man, have sex with him and then allow the monstrous spirit dwelling inside you to kill him in the bloodiest manner possible.

Or, more to the point: Ji-Ah is a a kumiho, or fox spirit, inhabiting the body of the widows daughter. Theres a long, sad story about how it got there, but what you need to know is that the kumiho needs to take 100 souls, and then it will become human.

Ji-Ah has almost reached her tally when all of the nurses on her shift are rounded up and brought to an American camp, then questioned about being Communist spies. Two of the women are killed with little preamble, and Atticus is one of the soldiers who pulls the trigger, killing Ji-Ahs best friend. So when he winds up wounded in Ji-Ahs hospital soon after, she decides that he will be the 100th man she murders.

Problem is, she and Atticus fall in love. Everything is great until one day, she lets her guard slip while theyre in bed, and her kumiho tails start to attack him. Shes able to pull back in time, saving him, but not before she sees scenes from his entire life playing out in her mind. She warns him that he cant go home, even though his time in Korea is up, because hell die. But hes too busy freaking out and grabbing his clothes to pay much attention; the interlude is the last time they see each other.

Story continues

TVLine got Lovecraft Country star Jonathan Majors on the phone to discuss the episode, titled Meet Me in Daegu, which answers some questions about Tics life before the series began but also poses a whole bunch of new ones.

TVLINE | Ji-Ah has clearly been on his mind since he left Korea: She appeared in his hallucination at Ardham, and hes called her a few times. Given what hes seen since he left came back to Chicago, do you think now he might be thinking about their last night together in a different light?

Atticus is haunted, and we dont know that. You think his first issue is his dad, right? And you find out the reasons hes not going home isnt just because of the issue with his father, but also because hes been warned not to. So, its twofold. Yes, he has the issue with his father, but also hes been told [not to] by a woman that he may or may not know if he loved or is still in love with, you know?

But hes carrying that love with him still, and therefore is carrying that sense of dread with him, as well. And then, when I get to Chicago, and all these things begin, its almost as if, as Othello says, ocular proof, you know? He sees it, rendtions of what it is shes mentioned. Her being a kumiho. Him seeing a shoggoth. Him dealing with the Sons of Adam And so, the manifestation of all these things, he takes extremely seriously  and is trying not to until the code is broken. Its such a private war.

 Were at the halfway point, you know? Were just about to tip into what I call the answer sequence. At least, thats how I viewed it, in working on it. Atticus had his first question answered at the end of [Episode] 5. He decodes something. He finds something out. He gets proof there for himself, you know? Okay, Die. And How did you know?! [to Ji-Ah].

lovecraft-country-recap-season-1-episode-6-atticus-jiah-jonathan-majors-interview

TVLINE

| I noticed before that you stopped short of saying that Ji-Ah was his first love.

I absolutely think it is his first foray into love. I think I interrupted my thought. I wasnt choosing not to say it.

TVLINE | Ah, OK.

She is, and thats the most confusing thing. Because in [Episode] 5, he feels as if hes in love with Leti, you know? And she asks, Were you in love with her? I dont know.

Ive experienced that a persons love, whenever you encounter love, you dont really know what it is until its gone. As cliche as it sounds, its cliche because its true. I just got done with a breakup a little over five days ago.

TVLINE | Oh my God. Wow.

You kind of go, Man, I really did [love that person]. Or, Maybe I didnt. Its really that question. I think, in time, its really only after the next lover or the next foray that you can really put into clarity what it is you had before. Especially so young. Especially when youre at the juvenilia of your amorous encounters. [Laughs]

TVLINE | Which brings me to my next question: I love that when we saw him with Leti, up against the wall in the bathroom in Episode 3, he seemed so self-assured. And then we get to this episode, in which Tic has sex for the first time ever, and Im like, Honey, you barely know whats going on, yourself!

[Laughs] Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah. [Laughs]

lovecraft-country-recap-season-1-episode-6-atticus-jiah-jonathan-majors-interview

TVLINE

| Atticus has shown himself to be someone who can adapt and roll with things rather quickly. But in that last scene with Ji-Ah, he cannot handle what happens. I mean, obviously, its a huge shock.

Right.

TVLINE | But in the pantheon of things hes run into since, its not even that bad!

Right! [Laughs] I mean, thats the great part about this episode, because [in earlier episodes] you go, Why is he not tripping at this moment? The first thing one needs to understand about Atticus is that Atticus was a Black soldier in the Korean War. The Korean War was horrendous. And it wasnt televised. Theres just memoirs about it. The Coldest Winter [by David Halberstam] is something I kept in my trailer and would read over and over and over, and before this episode shot, I actually went to Hawaii and lived in a cave, and just read this book, you know? That andwhat was the other book? Letters to a Young Poet [by Rainer Maria Rilke].

TVLINE | Back up a second. You lived in a cave?

Yeah, in Hawaii. I went hiking, and I stayed in this cave, and I was on a hiatus.

TVLINE | Wow. Im sorry to belabor the point, but were you camping in the cave? Was it tricked out, or was it just rock, you and your sleeping bag?

Yeah, that. I was kicking it, you know? It was safe, I mean, it was civil. But thats what I was doing.

TVLINE | Wow. OK, continue.

So I knew that, going into this episode, that it was important that we show Tic  this is actually the first time you see Tic, right? Once the show starts, hes Atticus the entire time. You see flashes of Tic when he really gets into it with his father, the boy in him, but hes a boy when hes in war, you know? And if you remember the very beginning of the pilot, theyre running through the trenches and killing, but taking life is not an easy thing, and not something that people do.

Its quite unnatural, especially in that way, with machinery. And so, in this episode, hes being deflowered in all the ways. When you meet him, he does seem stoic, and a little tough, but also, like, an easy cry. But thats because hes holding on to all those things. Its stuck in his body.

TVLINE | Tell me about the scene Ji-Ahs tails start to attack Tic.

At at one point, Im literally holding these green tentacles. And Jamie is struggling with them, and were anchoring each other. And then shes holding onto my arms  and Jamies a very, a petite lady, and Im not necessarily a petite fellow  so shes holding onto me, and pulling like mad.

And Im, like, doing the machine almost, like, doing the exercise. [Laughs] And shes wrestling with them, and they say Cut, and I let them go, and she falls back, and I fall back. [Laughs] Bam! And its, OK. All right, we go again. It was fun. Its really the most ridiculous and artful thing you can do, you know, because its so serious, right, because youre dealing with bodies, and emotions, and all these things. And then youre adding this element of, like, Now theres tentacles! [Laughs] You know?

TVLINE | Last week, the audience got a huge revelation: That Atticus father, Montrose, is in a relationship with Sammy. What can you tell us about how Atticus might encounter that when/if he finds out?

I know how [Laughs]

TVLINE | What can you tell us without spoiling anything?

There are things in life that Im quick to say You hurt me, its fine. Fine. Ill roll with it. [But] you hurt someone I love? Its fire and brimstone. So, in that same way with Atticus, the terrible things that have happened to me as Atticus, I can handle that. At least, I think I can. [Laughs] Thats about me, and only about me. When you bring in my Number One attachment  I would say Montrose is his primary attachment. If you start fking with that, that shakes the foundation of the human being that can take it on the chin when it has to do with him.

And so, with this secret, there are going to be repercussions because of that. Its interesting as we move forward with that discussion, and is it a matter of social stigma? Is it a matter of familial sanctity?

And where is [Atticus] catching his feelings from, you know? The taboo-ness of it, or the fact that your father I mean, lets just think about that, your father holding something so personal and dear from you as his offspring, you know?

More from TVLine

Best of TVLine
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 22:43:58|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The world should work together to promote a greater degree of globalization during the pandemic in order to benefit mankind, instead of going against the trend, according to Nobel Prize winner in economics Erik Maskin.

Speaking via video link at the recent Global Science and Technology Innovation Think Tank Forum, as part of the 2020 Zhongguancun Forum held in Beijing, Maskin said there is no reason to retreat from the trend of globalization due to some problems in the process.

Instead, the world should work together to solve the problems and unswervingly promote the advance of globalization, he said.

"For example, American companies that were importing parts from Chinese companies discovered in the pandemic that they weren't able to get these parts, because imports were being interfered with, at least temporarily. And some people have argued we shouldn't have international supply chains. I think this argument, however, is wrong," he told the forum.

Maskin said such conclusions ignored the fact that it is possible to protect the supply chain from being disrupted, and a safer strategy would be multi-sourcing, which means a company having multiple suppliers for their parts.

Maskin called on governments to subsidize the diverse supply chains instead of banning the globalization of such chains.

He also called on the world to join together to tackle the challenge of climate change.

"Climate change is not just a scientific problem, it's also an economic and political problem. And I hope that after the pandemic, we make it our No.1 problem for solving," he said.

The 2020 Zhongguancun Forum, lasting from Thursday to Sunday, highlighted science and technology-based anti-epidemic efforts, with the aim of boosting innovation and global cooperation.

With the theme "meeting challenges with cooperation and innovation," the event drew some 2,600 representatives from over 40 countries and regions. Enditem
Tech Tattle

Paytm says it was forced to comply with Google Mandate

Shortly after being taken off Google's Play Store for violating its rules for gambling and being restores shortly thereafter, the digital payment app Paytm says it was forced to comply with Google's mandate. Read here to know more.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2020/06/02: Lloyds Bank logo seen one at one of their branches. Photo: Dave Rushen/LightRocket via Getty Images

British expats living in the European Union could face losing their UK bank accounts before the end of the year, because the government has failed to agree banking rules post-Brexit, according to a report in The Times.

Major banks, including Barclays (BCS) and Lloyds (LLOY.L), have begun sending letters to British account holders in the EU to say they will no longer be able to service them after 31 December, when the Withdrawal Agreement ends, because of the cost and the complexity of EU banking rules.

As part of the EU, UK-based financial businesses could passport into Europe, but if there is no new agreement on this before 31 December, then banks would need to apply for new banking licences separately with individual EU countries, which would be time-consuming and may not make financial sense.

Jason Porter, director of specialist expat advisory firm Blevins Franks notes that passporting is currently possible because the UK Financial Conduct Authority is bound by the same rules and standards as other regulators in the EU.

But once the UK leaves the EU, the regulation of financial activity and consumer protection may not continue to line up on both sides, Porter said in a note. As such, unless a mutual deal is agreed on financial services, the EU will not permit ongoing passporting arrangements for UK financial businesses and advisers from 1 January 2021.

Watch: What are negative interest rates?

Lloyds began notifying its EU-based customers in August that their accounts would be shut on December 31. The bank told The Times that this affects 13,000 customers across Holland, Slovakia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Portugal.

If customers have regular deposits into, or payments out of, their account, they will need to make other arrangements before their account is closed, Lloyds told The Times.

Barclays said that it had started sending letters to its banking and Barclaycard credit-card customers had started receiving letters  customers in Spain, France and Belgium confirmed to the newspaper their Barclaycards will be cancelled.

Story continues

In light of the UK leaving the EU at the end of 2020, we continue to review the services we offer to customers within the European Economic Area (EEA), and any impacted customers will be contacted directly, Barclays said. The timings for account closure will depend on the type of product that a customer holds, but we will always give notice to customers.

Coutts confirmed to The Times that it would no longer serve customers based in the EU if there is no agreement to replace the EEA passporting regime between the UK and EU.

READ MORE: FinCEN report: HSBC shares drop to lowest level since 1995
Hardisty, Alberta  the major oil hub in Canada that serves as the basis for the Canadian oil benchmark  doesnt have a school anymore, and the community fears that without a school, the town will struggle to attract more residents.

Canadas oil delivered at Hardisty, Alberta, serves as the basis of forming Western Canadian Select (WCS), the benchmark price of Canadas heavy oil.

The Battle River School Division board of trustees approved in March the closure of the Hardisty Allan Johnstone K-9 School, despite the fact that the oil industry employs a lot of people in the town.

Battle River School Divisions board of trustee said in March that the school had 48 students, a number below critical enrolment levels in all areas.

Without a school, you don't really have a viable town life, the mayor of Hardisty, Doug Irving, told CBC News Janet French.

According to residents, the simple solution to the school problem in Hardisty would be redrawing the school division boundaries because under current boundaries, students from Hardisty ride the bus 32 kilometers (20 miles) to the west while the boundary with the neighboring Buffalo Trail school division to the east  where some parents prefer to send their children to school  is just four kilometers (2.5 miles) away from Hardisty.

Coincidentally, the closure of the only school in Albertas most important oil hub was decided in March, when oil prices crashed and hurt Albertas oil industry and economy hard.

Earlier this month, a poll showed that the majority of people in Alberta saw their economic fortunes worsened after the pandemic and the oil price crash, compared to a national average of 35 percent who consider they are worse off compared to last year.

According to a new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute, 17 percent of Canadians said that their economic fortunes improved over the last year. But twice as many35 percentfeel that their economic fortunes have worsened. The number of those negatively impacted rises to 51 percent in Alberta, the poll showed.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Child murderer John Edwards displayed strange and aggressive behaviour at the Hornsby RSL Rifle Club when he tried to gain membership there, but was still allowed to shoot despite breaching the club's rules, an inquest has heard.

Edwards also followed in his car and menaced the president of the Ku-Ring-Gai Pistol Club - enraged he had been refused membership there - but no one at that club notified the state's Firearms Registry despite a legal obligation to report anyone who "may pose a threat" to public safety.

On July 5, 2018, Edwards gunned down his two children at the West Pennant Hills home where they lived with their mother Olga, having escaped Edwards' controlling and violent behaviour. Edwards returned to his Normanhurst home and killed himself. Olga took her own life months later.

An inquest into the deaths of Jack, 15, and Jennifer, 13, is examining how Edwards was granted a gun licence and was able to shoot at gun clubs despite a 30-year history of domestic violence against multiple partners and children.

"He was pushy in terms of wanting to be a member now," Hornsby club captain Heather Smith told the inquest of her interactions with Edwards. "He was a little bit arrogant, a little bit pushy. I didn't feel comfortable with him."
The confrontation between the defrauded customers of TeleTrade and the broker that scammed them is underway. Bogdan Terzi, the head of the advertising company Amillidius, that helps the harmed investors, called another press-conference to reveal the names of TeleTrade bosses and speak about the brokers project Sync Trading, to which thousands of people around the world are losing their money.

The new press-conference of Amillidius became the logical extension of the previous one. Before covering the new topic, Bogdan Terzi reminded about the criminal cases on large-scale fraud, initiated against Teletrade in Russia (Art. 159, Sec. 4 of the Criminal Code of the RF) and Kazakhstan ( Art. 190 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan), as well as about the official warning, issued by the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine, about the risk of losing money to the Center of the Stock Technologies, a TeleTrades subsidiary.

The Amillidius head described the current situation. He referred to the flow of negativity and accusations with extortions, with which TeleTrade hammered this company and brokers deceived customers.

Bogdan Terzi placed special emphasis on the fact that TeleTrades attorney Evgeniy Solodko and a certain Daria Rulevskaya, introducing herself as TeleTrades press secretary, are placing pressure on the mass media. By intimidating media sources, the people, defending TeleTrades interests, are pursuing their goal to silence the defrauded customers and drive them out of the media space. Bogdan Terzi urged all the mass media to respect one of the fundamental principles of journalism  objectivity that implies reflecting various opinions. He also urged to confront the threats of TeleTrades accomplices.

Moreover, Solodko and Co. defend the Russian citizens who dipped their hands into the pockets of Ukrainians. The press-conference exposed the names of the owners and top-managers of TeleTrade: these are Russian nationals and half of them are wanted in Russia under the criminal case against TeleTrade. Today, they are hiding from law overseas.

Further exposing the TeleTrades criminal activities, Bogdan Terzi told the reporters about the scamming scheme of the Sync Trading project, which was designed to replace the project of Traders Stock Exchange (it was spoken about at the previous presser). In the now-closed Traders Stock Exchange project, the customers accounts were blown by the human traders at the instruction of TeleTrade management. Meanwhile, in the service of deal-copying Sync Trading, this job is performed by trading bots, controlled by the TeleTrade software specialists. All these robots are titled in the names of non-existent people; each bot has virtual money on its account. While the people who are connecting to such trading bots are very real and so is their money. When connecting to the bots, they lose their savings - eventually, they land in TeleTrade bosses pockets. Today, utilizing this scheme, the scammers deceive customers around the world. In different countries, this project has different names: Sync Trading, Copy Trading, TeleTrade Invest. In Ukraine it goes under the name   (Sync Trading)", the head of Amillidius reported.

The conference didnt fail to have some tough talk, too - Bogdan Terzi had to take part in a verbal joust with the very same journalist who tried to hijack the previous press-conference. The opponent of Bogdan Terzi and defrauded customer Alexander Rogovskiy seemed to act in the interest of TeleTrade. Such a twist of the events came as no surprise  TeleTrades attorney Solodko in his interview warned his client would spare no means or effort to protect themselves.

Despite all of that, the head of the advertising company Amillidius and defrauded customers keep exposing the scheming that enriches TeleTrade bosses. It is not only meant for returning the money, stolen from the customer but also for warning all Ukrainians and citizens of other countries about the threat, coming from the cooperation with this broker. This is the aim of several forthcoming press-conferences. ...One press-conference cannot fit it all, so were going to organize a few - to bring the TeleTrade activities to the spotlight and fully expose every component of this scamming structure,  indicated Bogdan Terzi.
An Alawite opposition figure has called for Assad to step down, saying there can be no political solution while he remains in office writes Arabi 21.

Civil Labor Movement Advisor and attorney, Issa Ibrahim, expanded on the message that the movement sent to President Bashar al-Assad, in which it demanded his immediate resignation from power.

In an exclusive interview with Arabi 21, Ibrahim, a Syrian politician from the Alawite sect from which Assad hails, said, The country has reached a critical stage, and a search for a way out must begin, and this exit will not materialize as long as Assad is still in power.

He added that the message calls on Assad to step down so what remains of Syria can be preserved, noting that, Assad bears the responsibility of preserving what remains of the state, as he is the head of the Syrian state and possesses powers given to him by the constitution.

The message stated that Assad bears full responsibility for what happened and is happening in Syria, starting with the lives that have been lost, to the huge number of wounded people, as well as every tragedy that has taken place. The message says that the number of victims has exceeded one million, with three million wounded and disabled, and that the number of displaced makes up for more than half of the population.

The message, addressing Assad, reads, There is no longer a reason for you to remain in power, because in every Syrian home there is a catastrophic impact from the effects of this continuous disaster, except for your home and your family. There is no longer anyone who wants you to stay or is able to convince others  intellectually, morally or legally  of the need for you to stay, even if they are themselves convinced.

The message ends by calling for the formation of a tripartite presidential council composed of wise men known for their integrity, in preparation for the political transition process.

Ibrahim revealed that, the movement sent the message to Assad to echo the demands of the people of Syria, including the supporters of the regime.

Building on that, he said that many demands of residents of regime-controlled areas, and from pro-regime people, reached the movement, saying that everyone should look for a way out, especially since the economic conditions have reached an unprecedentedly difficult stage.

To the question Has the movement addressed Russia, as it is Assads greatest ally? Ibrahim answered, In our previous meeting with the Russians, we presented the real facts to the Russian administration.

Ibrahim was one of the Syrians from the Alawite sect who met with the Russian mission at the United Nations in Geneva in mid-June. Days after the meeting, Ibrahim received assassination threats from Damascus.

At the time, he attributed the threats to what the Syrian regime had considered, crossing red lines, especially since the meeting put an end to the monopoly the regime had on representing the Alawite community in Syria.

Ibrahim alluded to the approaching departure of Assad from power, saying, Now, in my opinion, the burdens Assad presently places on Russia are greater than the benefits he used to bring them.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic said that the forces of the Assad regime continue to kill, torture, and rape civilians, noting that there is reasonable evidence that they have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

This came in a report by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria covering the period between Jan. 11 to Jul. 1, 2020.

The report emphasizes that Syrians are still being killed every day, and are subjected to serious human rights violations. It includes examples of the regimes attacks against civilians, indicating that the regime forces have committed crimes such as torture, rape, and murder.

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.
In the span of a week (Sept. 13-20), the Transportation Security Administration discovered eight loaded firearms at security checkpoints in Tennessee, including at least one in every major airport in the state.

Nashville International Airport (BNA)

9/14/2020; loaded Sig Sauer .380 caliber

9/17/2020; loaded Sig Sauer .380 caliber

9/17/2020; loaded North American Arms Derringer .22 caliber

9/18/2020; loaded Ruger 9mm

Memphis International Airport (MEM)

9/18/2020; loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm

McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS)

9/20/2020; loaded Smith & Wesson .40 caliber

Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA)

9/18/2020; loaded Glock .380 caliber

Tri-Cities Airport (TRI)

9/17/2020; loaded Ruger 9mm

In each instance, TSA officers notified local enforcement partners, who removed the firearms and passengers from the checkpoint area.



Firearms are prohibited in carry-on baggage. They may be transported in checked baggage, provided they are declared to the airline, locked in a proper carrying case and unloaded.

Security is the first concern of the TSA, and having these items in bags that are traveling with you on the aircraft is dangerous to other travelers and can be easily mistaken as an intentional attempt to bring a prohibited item onto an aircraft.

Even with much lower than normal passenger numbers, we continue to find firearms at a very high rate at security checkpoints, said Steve Wood, TSA Federal Security Director for Tennessee. Passengers must remember theyre responsible for the contents of bags and our advice is they thoroughly inspect all personal belongings to make sure there are no illegal or prohibited items before coming to the airport.

TSA officers have detected 106 firearms at Tennessee airports year to date in 2020. A total of 139 were detected across the state last year.

In addition to potential criminal charges, passengers who bring firearms to a checkpoint face civil penalties from TSA: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/civil-enforcement

For more information about TSA prohibited items, please follow these links:



https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/all

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition
This is the moment two truckers messed around as they drove lorries along the M6 - with one filming the other wearing a huge fancy dress elephant head at the wheel.

The clip, uploaded to TikTok on August 6, is believed to have been filmed on the motorway near Carlisle in Cumbria.

However, the pair's reckless antics for the sake of viral fame could land them on the wrong side of the law.

Two lorry drivers lark about on the M6 in Cumbria as they film a video for TikTok

Police said they were making enquiries 'to trace and prosecute both drivers' who were transporting live cattle when the video was filmed.

Footage shows a red HGV belonging to Martin O'Neill Transport Haulage driving down the motorway on the inside lane.

As the filmer, in a second truck, pulls level with the first vehicle's cab, the driver's bizarre elephant mask comes into view.

The furry head - complete with giant trunk and ears - covers the driver's entire head but somehow he seems able to see where he is going.

He looks over at his mate through the window twice before lifting his hands off the steering wheel. He then puts his foot down and accelerates ahead of the filming lorry.

The clip shows one trucker wearing a fancy dress elephant head - complete with giant trunk and ears - while driving a red HGV

The truckers appear to know each other as the clip shows the pair laughing and joking together.

Martin O'Neill, 36, owner of the haulage company based in Strabane, Northern Ireland, defended the antics and claimed that there was no law against wearing elephant masks while driving.

Mr O'Neill said: 'I don't think it's against the law for a driver to wear an elephant mask. I don't see no law that you shouldn't wear a mask.'

However Cumbria Police said they were 'making enquiries' and the truckers could face prosecution.

A Cumbria Constabulary spokesman said: 'Driving while distracted can have serious consequences.

Cumbria Police said they were 'making enquiries' and the truckers could face prosecution. The pair were transporting live cattle when the video was filmed

'We would urge all drivers to concentrate on driving safely and behaving in a responsible manner while behind the wheel.

'Officers from the Constabulary's Mobile Support Group are making enquiries to trace and prosecute both drivers.'

After the video was uploaded to TikTok, the uploader revealed that they were heading towards Annan, a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

On the same TikTok profile, which features eight videos with red lorries adorned by Martin O'Neill Haulage signage, the uploader can also be seen filming more footage while driving his cab.

Other videos appear to show the drivers joking together at truck stops while another clip shows the second driver, without the elephant mask on, laughing through the window to his pal while giving him the middle finger.
Rosemary Ndinda quit her job with Henkel in April 2020 after working for nine years with the German multinational consumer goods company. She had been the country head, Consumer Adhesives, Eastern, West and Central Africa.

The sales and marketing guru quit to start her own consulting company, Solidlaunch Consulting Kenya.

Ndinda talks to Hustle about her background in sales, marketing and distribution and why she is not rejoining employment.

Nine years in a well-paid job. What prompted you to quit?

At some point, I realised that the job was taking a toll on me, and I decided to take a break. Quitting meant taking time to think about the next move, but I was always open to going back to work. I also knew that I did not want to retire without having my own venture to lean back on.

What happened after quitting?

I got a flurry of calls from SMEs consulting on how to brand their products and make their distribution easier and better. I realised that most of these people had the potential but had little know-how of how to maximise it. I also got calls from companies from outside the country that wanted to establish businesses and settle in Kenya.

In April, I entered a deal with Chemsols (a manufacturer of adhesives, thinners, leather care, printing inks, fillers and metal primers) where I was to help them in consultancy and execution of sales, marketing and distribution.

But even as early as May, job offers were trickling in aplenty.

What changed your mind about being open to employment?

Starting my venture, I intended to have it as a side hustle. In May, I met Nikhil Sadhwani, the Group CEO of Metal Can and Closures Africa. A five minutes encounter turned into a four-hour conversation about the market, retail, trends and finally about my plan, to which he responded Rosemary, youre brilliant, I am amazed at your deep understanding of the market: youre good at this. I would dare you to focus on consulting, in six months, it will pay off.

And that was it. I was going it my way.

And so what is Solidlaunch Consulting principally about?

Solidlaunch Consulting is like a one stop shop, a focused consultancy devoted to helping organisations realise growth and capture more value, offering a package that includes every tool a successful business needs. Solidlaunch Consulting brings together experts from diverse fields and with expertise aimed at providing multifaceted solutions to the customers. We do consultancy and execution for companies in sales, marketing, branding and distribution.

We have solutions that are tailored to fit individual customer needs. Every company has its budget within which we operate. The aim is to offer expertise for SMEs through which they dont have to pay with an arm.

We offer digital solutions such as website development, social media marketing, SEO and E-Commerce. Covid-19 paved way for the digital golden age. Digitalisation, once considered a nice to have, is now a must have. From the Mama Mboga stalls, to other kiosks, to huge multinational organisations, business owners must embrace digitalisation.

How do you acquaint yourself with companies?

I have been doing aggressive digital campaigning. I formed a web of networks when I was still employed and these have helped me a lot. I have also established professional connections on LinkedIn. Further, the power of referrals cannot be overstated. Once you have done a good job for a company or two, they will spread word about you. It has been happening.

How do you manage to execute for companies that need more than just consultancy?

We outsource. We hire competent people who can do marketing and distribution. As a market expert, I am able to tell who can deliver what.

Some of the most important lessons you have learnt about the business?

There were many SMEs that did not understand the importance of marketing until we met. Marketing is very important. I have seen the gaps that exist for SMES and that limit their success and thus I am able to help them seal such gaps. I have also learnt that if you give 20 per cent of your attention to business, it will only yield 20 per cent in profits. You need to give 100 per cent in business.

Business rewards consistency. If you treat it as a side hustle, it treats you as an option.

Also, people should consult before starting a business. So many ventures go wrong because of lack of a proper plan and a lack of consulting.

Would you advise someone to leave employment for business?

Well, that depends with individuals. Employment is quite like a marriage. You cannot tell someone to leave until they decide to do so willingly. You will wonder why they are being harassed but do not seek to move away, but it is until such a party decides to exit that they will. Such is employment.

What do companies look out for when venturing into new markets?

Ability to win. A company will go into a market where there is an opportunity to thrive and where the chances of success are high. This is what we call ability to win.

Word of advice.

After I had quit employment, one company approached me with an aim of hiring me but it could not afford me. I was earning higher than the offer they put on the table. I went ahead to launch my consultancy.

It is always important for one to know their worth and not to back down. Do not compromise on your value. You see, cheap and good do not go together.
The future is just about here and it's not all that wonderful. It can be hard to recall now, given the woozy, wild ride we've been on since autumn, but back in March when the first serious wave of restrictions on our lives were imposed, there was still a sense of optimism around.

Many of us budgeted mentally and financially for a difficult six months once the global COVID-19 pandemic was declared. After that, it was thought that the worst might be over. The federal government built that time frame into its key support measures, notably JobKeeper and JobSeeker. Some over-enthusiastic reports suggested that a vaccine could be developed by September.

Illustration: Jim Pavlidis Credit:

Donald Trump has been widely ridiculed for his prediction from around that time that one day the novel coronavirus would just disappear. But deep down, didn't a lot of us want to believe that he might be right? There's always been the hope that sooner rather than later the wave of a magic wand by some unseen hand would deliver us from this awful reality  our separation from the sufferers, the fear that the virus was everywhere and everyone else was a carrier, the economic damage.

But here we are at the six-month mark, almost into the final quarter of the year, and the expectation that we could start to meaningfully put the pandemic behind us has been exposed as an understandable bout of wishful thinking.
The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) processed $137 million in funds connected to the Ponzi scheme OneCoin, according to leaked documents sent to financial watchdog Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The documents in question are from a collection of over 2,500 files that were sent to the bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury. The files were sent to FinCEN by banks around the world between 1999 to 2017 and included over 2,000 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARS). The files account for over $2 trillion in transactions.

According to "FinCEN Files"  an investigation by Buzzfeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)  the bank flagged suspicious transactions by several companies associated with OneCoin. According to the bank, these companies were using "layering," a technique used to mask the source of illegal funds by transferring it through different transactions.

OneCoin was a Ponzi scheme that was passed off as a new digital cryptocurrency by founder Ruja Ignatova and others involved. In March 2019, the U.S. Justice Department charged Ignatova and the other leaders behind the scheme with wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. OneCoin raised an estimated $4 billion worldwide before the scam was shut down in 2017.

The FinCEN files showed one specific transaction in 2016 when Fenero Equity Investments, a company based in the British Virgin Islands, sent about $30 million from its account at Cayman-based bank DMS Bank & Trust, to BNY Mellon. Fenero called the payment "a loan for CryptoReal," an account that was set up by Ignatova.

In a statement sent to the ICIJ, BNY Mellon said it takes its role in protecting the integrity of the global financial system seriously, including filing Suspicious Activity Reports. As a trusted member of the international banking community, we fully comply with all applicable laws and regulations, and assist authorities in the important work they do."

Story continues

OneCoin and Ignatova did not respond to ICIJ's requests for comment.





 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
A one-legged thief already behind bars for a $20,000 armed robbery giggled when he faced court for stealing a sex toy and lubricants.

Jack Quinlivan, 28, was convicted in the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court for stealing a vibrator, climax stimulating gel and delay gel from Chemist Warehouse in Chadstone, Melbourne, in November 2018.

The lower-leg amputee said he 'borrowed' the sex toy and lube and forgot to pay because of his post-traumatic stress disorder, the Monash Leader reported.

The court heard Quinlivan was waiting for a prescription to be filled when he took the items and left the chemist without paying.

Melbourne man Jack Quinlivan (pictured) giggled as he was convicted in the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court for stealing a vibrato and lube from the Chemist Warehouse in Chadstone in 2018

Magistrate Victorian Campbell fined Quinlivan $100 and ordered him to pay $84.40 in costs.

A conviction was also recorded.

'He is a relatively young man who has had significant difficulties from birth, his whole upbringing was dysfunctional,' she said.

'Hopefully he can work off that fine while he's in custody.'

The court heard Quinlivan had a criminal history littered with aggravated burglary offences.

He still has at least nine months remaining on his sentence after pleading guilty to the 2019 armed robbery of the Holdsworth Bros. Jewellers, in Eastland.

Quinlivan stole $20,000 worth of jewellery after threatening staff with a hammer and claiming to have a gun.

The amputee fled through a security door and hailed a taxi before being arrested two days later.

He was sentenced in the County Court to a maximum four years and one month jail for the robbery, with a minimum 25 months to be served.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 22:42:46|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Egypt confirmed late on Sunday 115 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total cases registered in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic to 102,015, said the Health Ministry.

A total of 20 patients died from the novel coronavirus on the same day, bringing the death toll to 5,770, while 866 others were cured and discharged from hospitals, increasing the total recoveries to 89,532, the ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement on Monday.

Total recoveries in the most populous Arab country have currently reached 87.7 percent of the total cases registered in the country.

Egypt announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the viral disease on March 8.

Around mid-June, Egypt saw a peak of COVID-19 daily infections and deaths, with a record 97 deaths on June 15 and 1,774 infections on June 19, before they started to gradually decline in the first week of July.

Egypt and China have been cooperating closely in fighting the pandemic through exchanging medical aid and expertise.

In early February, Egypt sent a batch of medical supplies 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 CEO and founder of truck start-up company Nikola has stepped down as executive chairman amid allegations that it misled investors with exaggerated claims about its technology.

Trevor Milton announced his decision on Sunday, days after the Financial Times reported that the Justice Department will team up with the Securities and Exchange Commission to probe the business.

Milton said: 'The focus should be on the Company and its world-changing mission, not me. So I made the difficult decision to approach the Board and volunteer to step aside as Executive Chairman.'

The businessman, 39, had an estimated net worth of least $3.2 billion last year, according to Forbes.

Shares tumbled as much as 30 per cent on Monday in the wake of the news.

Trevor Milton (pictured) the founder and CEO of truck company Nikola, has stepped down amid allegations that it misled investors with exaggerated claims about its technology

Shares tumbled as much as 30 per cent on Monday in the wake of the news of Milton's stepping down

The Phoenix-based company said in a statement that it had accepted Trevor Milton's resignation and that he would be replaced by Stephen Girsky, a Nikola board member and former vice-chairman at General Motors (GM).

Founded by Milton in 2015 to develop trucks and pick-ups powered by electric batteries or hydrogen fuel cells, Nikola has not yet built anything, but caught attention by signing strategic partnerships with such renowned groups as GM and German engineering giant Bosch.

The company said that Milton had agreed to give up all of 4.9 million performance-based stock units he was granted last month as well as the option of a two-year consultancy agreement which would have netted him $20 million.

Stock market investors, who have been selling the company's shares for a week, were not convinced, driving the stock down by as much as a third in early deals before it found some support.

'While founder Trevor Milton's departure may give the appearance of a company that's moving on, we believe this is only the beginning of Nikola's unraveling,' Hindenburg said in its own statement on Monday, asking GM to reevaluate its deal.

Brokerage J.P.Morgan noted that Milton's resignation could weigh on some of the partner and customer relationships that he had forged, but said Girsky is better suited to the role as Nikola moves on to its next phase.

Brokerage RBC slashed its price target on Nikola by $28 to $21 after the news.

The announcement of the GM partnership on September 8 caused shares to leap 41 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.

But two days later, investment company Hindenburg Research published a report accusing the startup of 'intricate fraud' based on multiple lies by Milton, who it said 'misled partners into signing agreements by falsely claiming to have extensive proprietary technology.'

The company was accused of staging a promotional video for its Nikola One truck that reportedly didn't have an engine

That announcement triggered a plummet in share value, with stock diving 36 percent in three days.

It also sparked an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

In a statement announcing his resignation, Milton said: 'The focus should be on the Company and its world-changing mission, not me. I intend to defend myself against false allegations leveled against me by outside detractors.'

Nikola had rejected most of the claims in the Hindenburg report.

The sensational claims came just two days after General Motors announced it would be investing $2billion in the company.

In its lengthy report, Hindenburg claimed to have 'extensive evidence' that the Nikola's proprietary technology was purchased from another company.

The report accused Trevor Milton of making countless false statements over the last decade.

Hindenburg also alleged that Milton appointed his brother, Travis, to lead a unit in the company for which he did not have any substantial experience related to the sector.

The company is also accused of faking a promotional video for its truck, the Nikola One, in 2018.

In its lengthy report, Hindenburg claimed to have 'extensive evidence' that the company's proprietary technology was purchased from another company, and accused its founder and CEO Trevor Milton (above) of making countless false statements over the last decade

The truck allegedly didn't have a functioning engine so instead it was rolled down a hill with the footage edited to make it appear as if it was driving on a flat road.

Nikola responded that it had 'never stated its truck was driving under its own propulsion in the video' but had simply said that it had been 'in motion.'

'Trevor has managed to parlay these false statements made over the course of a decade into a $20 billion public company,' Hindenburg wrote.

'He has inked partnerships with some of the top auto companies in the world, all desperate to catch up to Tesla and to harness the [Electric Vehicle wave].'

In a tweet, Milton called the report a 'hit job' and asked the public to 'give me a few hours to put together responses to their lies'.

'It makes sense. Tens of millions of shares shorted the last day or two to slam our stock and a hit job by Hindenburg. I guess everything is fair game in war, even a hit job. I know who funded it.'

Nikola also released a formal statement, writing that the company has been 'vetted by some of the world's most credible companies and investors. We are on a path to success and will not waver based on a report filled with misleading information attempting to manipulate our stock.'

Hindenburg is betting against Nikola's shares, meaning the hedge fund will profit if its stock falls.

Nikola was listed on the stock exchange in June through a blank-check acquisition, and its shares have more than quadrupled since.

Much of its meteoric ascent has been spurred by the belief the company could one day rival Tesla  despite having no planned sales until at least 2022.

One of Hindenburg's most striking claims comes from the allegation that the company faked a promotional video for its Nikola One truck in 2018.

Titled 'Nikola One in Motion' and published to Nikola's official YouTube page, the video appeared to show the truck driving on a level road at a high rate of speed.

But according to Hindenburg the truck didn't actually have a working engine. Instead, the company rolled the prototype along a downhill stretch of a highway and filmed it as if it was being driven.

A former employee who reportedly spoke with Nikola Chief Engineer Kevin Lynk, said Lynk told them 'how it was going to work and he said they would tow it to the top of a super low grade hill and let it roll'.

A person familiar with the video also reportedly confirmed it was faked to the Financial Times, claiming the video was shot on a hill in an isolated area of Utah. The footage was then edited to make the terrain look flat, the source said.

A personal familiar with the video also reportedly confirmed it was faked to the Financial Times, claiming the video was shot on a hill in an isolated area of Utah. The footage was then edited to make the terrain look flat, the source said

A former employee who reportedly spoke with Nikola Chief Engineer Kevin Lynk said Lynk told them 'how it was going to work and he said they would tow it to the top of a super low grade hill and let it roll'

Hindenburg reportedly conducted their own experiment down the same hill, known as the Mormon Trail, where by they claimed to have rolled a vehicle down it in neutral, reaching speeds of up to 56 mph and travelling more than 2.1 miles

Hindenburg reportedly conducted their own experiment down the same hill, known as the Mormon Trail.

They claimed to have rolled a vehicle down it in neutral, reaching speeds of up to 56 mph and travelling more than 2.1 miles.

More shockingly, Hindenburg claims the company never had any intentions of finishing development of the Nikola One, theorizing rather that the promotional video was merely a stunt to appease skeptical investors.

The Nikola One was first unveiled by the company in December 2016, and the product launch later fell subject to much scrutiny.

Milton billed the Nikola One as 'by far the most state of the art truck ever built in history'.

He also assured in a tweet that the truck unveiled at the event would be 'functioning' and 'fully built'.

During the unveiling, he said: 'I don't want someone to end up doing something and driving this truck off the stageso we're going to try to keep people from driving off. But this thing fully functions and works, which is really incredible.'

He then insisted three times at the close of his presentation that the truck was real.

'For every doubter out there that said there's no way this is true. How can that be possible? We've done it. It's my pleasure to actually let you guys enjoy the night, see the truck, know it's real, touch it, feel how sturdy it is. You're going to see that this is a real truck. This is not a pusher. Thank you so much everyone!'

However, a Bloomberg report from June claimed that the Nikola One truck presented on stage that night was indeed a pusher - referring to an inoperable prototype - and did not function as claimed.

Others familiar with the launch told the network they were concerned by Milton's claims about the truck.

Gears and motors were reportedly missing, and while the words 'H2 Zero Emission Hydrogen Electric' were emblazoned on the side of the vehicle, there was no fuel cell on board.

'There wasn't a fuel cell in the truck. We never claimed there was,' Milton said, while confirming the motors and gears weren't in the vehicle for safety reasons.

Gears and motors were missing, and while the words 'H2 Zero Emission Hydrogen Electric' were emblazoned on the vehicle, there was no fuel cell on board

A close up of the H2 decal on the truck from the night of the launch is seen close up above

Behind-the-scenes photos of the launch acquired by Hindenburg purportedly show how incomplete the truck actually was in the build up to the launch.

The photos, said to have been taken three months prior, show the Nikola One consisted largely of a metal frame of rails with wheels mounted onto it.

Other vital components of the vehicle  including the body and fueling system  had reportedly not arrived and the factory workers were assembling it in was not even set up for production.

Hindenburg said that some workers were even forced to run to local hardware stores to pick up basic parts.

The body of the truck reportedly arrived in late November, roughly a week before the show.

While Milton claimed the truck was fully functioning, a source who worked on the unveiling reportedly told Hindenburg that during the show the truck couldn't function independently, so an electric cable was snaked up from under the stage through the floor of the cab.

The hedge fund published a screenshot from the reveal, purporting to show the wire peering out from behind one of the truck's wheels.

Following the success of the launch, in January 2017, Nikola raised significant capital and signed partnerships with a number of major companies, including Bosch, as well as CNH International who agreed to assist in manufacturing.

After securing the partnerships, development on the Nikola One project reportedly ceased shortly after  much to the surprise to those involved.

'It appears the prototype had already served its purpose: giving the company the legitimacy it needed to raise more investment and court larger partners that would be able to build them an actual working model from start to finish,' Hindenburg wrote. 'It was not considered necessary to actually back up the false claims that had been made on the stage.'

The group shared a text message from an alleged employee that read: 'We haven't touched the truck since the show  you didn't hear that from me.'

When questioned why investors aren't asking to see if the truck actually runs, the worker replied: 'I'm sure they do. I can't imagine how much work it would take to get that to run.'

Hindenburg claims the 'staged' promotional video was then released by Nikola more than a year on to appease any investor doubts.

While Milton claimed the truck was fully functioning, a source who worked on the unveiling reportedly told Hindenburg that during the show the truck couldn't function independently, so an electric cable was snaked up from under the stage through the floor of the cab (above)

Behind-the-scenes photos of the launch acquired by Hindenburg purportedly show how incomplete the truck actually was in the build up to the launch. The photos, taken three months prior, show the Nikola One consisted largely of a metal frame of rails with wheels mounted onto it

The body of the truck reportedly arrived in late November, roughly a week before the show

In another instance, the fund said that Nikola had bought electrical inverters from a third-party supplier while claiming publicly to have made them in-house. The product's true branded label was then covered up with a piece of green masking tape during a demonstrational video, the group said.

'Nikola has regularly used off-the-shelf products from third parties, while claiming to have vast internal proprietary technology and to 'design' all the products itself,' the report reads. 'It then partners with companies that actually have the components Nikola claimed to have already developed internally.'

The fund also accused Milton of lying about Nikola's Phoenix headquarters being 'completely off-grid' and run entirely by solar panels in April 2019.

'We have the only off-grid headquarters that we know of, completely off of hydrogen, battery, and solar. We have 3.5 megawatts of solar up on the roof producing about 18 megawatts of energy a day in our headquarters,' Milton said during an interview.

However a report in June 2019 by Bizjournals stated that the company had yet to install any solar panels on its roof.

Hindenburg compared two aerial images of the Nikola's headquarters from December 2019 and January 2020, which appeared to show no sign of solar panels on the roof either.

The report further suggests Nikola management overstated its internally developed battery and fuel-cell capabilities.

'Nikola announced [in 2019] it would revolutionize the battery industry,' the Hindenburg authors wrote. Nikola planned to buy new technology, but the deal, according to Hindenburg, fell through.

'Nikola has never walked back claims relating to its battery technology. Instead, [founder Trevor Milton] continued to publicly hype the technology.'

In another instance, the fund said that Nikola had bought electrical inverters from a third-party supplier while claiming publicly to have made them in-house. The product's true branded label was then covered up with a piece of green masking tape during a demonstrational video, the group said

The fund also accused Milton of lying about Nikola's Phoenix headquarters being 'completely off-grid' and run entirely by solar panels in April 2019. An aerial image from January 2020 appeared to show no solar panels had been installed

Nikola, whose stock rose nearly 40 percent on Tuesday following the GM investment announcement, fell almost 15 percent last Wednesday as rumors circulated of an impending critical report.

The GM deal plays an interesting role in the Hindenburg report.

GM is getting an 11 per cent stake in the company, in exchange for agreeing to provide Nikola with hydrogen fuel cells and batteries for its vehicles.

GM will also be providing engineering support and will manufacture the company's Badger pickup truck. Nikola will be responsible for sales and marketing of the Badger.

The deal could indicate that GM's fuel-cell and battery technology is superior to what Nikola claimed to be developing internally, Barrons reported.

In a statement, GM told FT: 'We are fully confident in the value we will create by working together. We stand by the statements we made in announcing the relationship.'

Milton issued another tweeted statement late Thursday morning.

'Cowards run, leaders stay and fight for integrity,' the CEO wrote.

'Hindenburg is only making people love us more for trying to destroy us. It will take the rest of the day to address the one sided false claims, but I will put out a detail report to address it. In the meantime, troll on.'
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bernstein Liebhard, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action that has been filed on behalf of investors that purchased or acquired the common stock of Braskem S.A. ("Braskem" or the "Company") (NYSE: BAK) between May 6, 2016 and July 8, 2020 (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you purchased Braskem securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Braskem Shareholder Lawsuit or contact Matthew E. Guarnero toll free at (877) 779-1414 or [email protected].

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations and prospects. Specifically, Defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose to investors that the Company was overstating and/or mischaracterizing: (i) Braskem's salt mining operations were unsafe and presented a significant danger to surrounding areas, including nearly two thousand properties; (ii) the foregoing foreseeably increased the risk that Braskem would be subjected to remedial liabilities, including, but not limited to, increased governmental and/or regulatory oversight or enforcement, significant monetary and reputational damage, and/or the permanent closure of one or more of its salt mining operations; (iii) accordingly, earnings generated from Braskem's salt mining operations were unsustainable; (iv) Braskem downplayed the true scope and severity of the Company's liability with respect to its salt mining operations; and (v) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times

On April 2, 2019, media sources and, later, Braskem, disclosed that the Company had been sued by local authorities in connection with a geological event it had purportedly caused in the state of Alagoas, Brazil. Specifically, Braskem disclosed, in relevant part, that the Company "ha[d] become aware, through the media, of a lawsuit filed against it by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Public Defender's Office, both of the State of Alagoas." The Company disclosed that the lawsuits were "requesting the freezing of amounts and assets in a total of approximately R$6.7 billion [i.e., 6.7 billion reais] to guarantee any potential damages owed to the general public affected by the geological phenomenon which occurred in districts near the rock salt extraction area in Macei."

On this news, Braskem's American Depositary Share ("ADS") price fell $1.60 per share over two trading days, or 5.98%, to close at $25.14 per share on April 3, 2020.

Finally, on July 9, 2020, during pre-market hours, Braskem disclosed that authorities in northeastern Brazil had advised the Company that the geological damage from its salt mining operations was more widespread than initial estimates. Specifically, among other things, 1,918 properties needed to be evacuated because of the geological event associated with Braskem's mining operations, and Braskem estimated that moving the residents would cost the Company an additional R$850 million in possible payments to those residents, with another additional R$750 million in expenses to "definitively" shut down Braskem's salt mining operations.

On this news, Braskem's ADS price fell $0.59 per share, or 6.20%, to close at $8.93 per share on July 9, 2020.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 26, 2020. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.

If you purchased Braskem securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit https://www.bernlieb.com/cases/braskemsa-bak-shareholder-class-action-lawsuit-stock-fraud-296/apply/ or contact Matthew E. Guarnero toll free at (877) 779-1414 or [email protected].

Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for ten consecutive years.

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.  2020 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. The lawyer responsible for this advertisement in the State of Connecticut is Michael S. Bigin. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.

Contact Information

Matthew E. Guarnero

Bernstein Liebhard LLP

https://www.bernlieb.com

(877) 779-1414

[email protected]

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Actor Payal Ghosh, who has accused filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment, said that she will file an FIR against him at Oshiwara Police Station by today evening.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 21 (ANI): Actor Payal Ghosh, who has accused filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment, said that she will file an FIR against him at Oshiwara Police Station by today evening.



The Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi actor said that her advocate Nitin Satpute will also be writing to Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh to provide security, as there is a threat to her life. Ghosh also talked about her meeting with the Gangs of Wasseypur filmmaker and said, I dont know whether Anurag Kashyap consumes drugs or not but when the incident took place, he was smoking something but it was definitely not a cigarette.



Talking about the filmmaker getting support from actors, she said, There are many people who have supported Anurag Kashyap because of their bread and butter and their family run because of him so they will definitely talk in support of him.



Also read: Day after unruly scenes in Parliament, RS chairman cracks the whip, suspends 8 RS MPs

Also read: 10 dead, many fear trapped after 3-storey building collapses in Maharashtras Bhiwandi

Earlier in the day Kashyaps lawyer rejected the false allegations of sexual misconduct levied against his client, terming it completely false, malicious and dishonest.



The statement from Kashyaps lawyer, Priyanka Khimani, came after Ghoshs lawyer of, who had accused the Bollywood director of sexual harassment, said that an FIR would filed an against him at the Oshiwara police station today.



On Saturday, Ghosh accused Kashyap of sexual harassment. Speaking to ANI, she said, Five years ago I met Anurag Kashyap regarding work. He called me to his house. When I went there, he took me to a separate room and tried to sexually assault me. He forced himself on me.



I request the authorities to kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. I am seeking action against him, said Ghosh.



Post the allegations, Kashyap responded on Twitter in which he denied the allegations, claiming that they were baseless. I neither behave like this nor do I ever tolerate this at any price, he said. (ANI)

Also read: With spike of over 86k cases, Indias Covid-19 tally breaches 54.8L mark
UAE dives into Lake Manzala project

September 21,2020 | Source: Arab News

The UAE National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) has announced that it won the rights to the expansion project of Lake Manzala in Egypt, valued at 600 million UAE dirhams ($163 million).



The companys announcement of the new project came following a disclosure published on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange website. It ensures compliance with the principle of disclosure and transparency in force in the UAE.



Lake Manzala is one of Egypts largest natural lakes. It is known for its potential fishing opportunities, as it has the basis for high fish stocks due to natural nutrients and a moderate climate throughout the year. It produces about half of the natural fish production in lakes.



The lake has witnessed neglect in recent years, losing much of its importance and wealth. In May 2017 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi launched a national project to develop Egyptian lakes, with a key focus on Lake Manzala.



NMDC said in a statement that winning the project came through its partnership with the Egyptian-Emirati Challenge Company. It said that it will take about two years to implement the project.



NMDC is one of the leading companies in the field of dredging, land reclamation and civil and marine construction in the Middle East. The Lake Manzala development project aims to improve the quality of water to restore free fishing and return the lake to its previous state, which will boost the local market and export output.



President El-Sisi said that Lake Manzala will contribute to enhancing Egypts fishing industry, and export operations will be activated after its full development. He directed the border governorates, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior and the Armed Forces, to remove all encroachments and criminal outposts on the lake.



Several days ago, Dakahlia governorate completed a difficult operation to remove encroachments on the lake. A large campaign that used Armed Forces Engineering Authority equipment removed 301 houses in the Abdo El-Salhy area in El-Matareya city, known as the fishermens land, which was built on areas that were filled in from the lake. The operation occurred after local fishermen were persuaded to obtain compensation for vacating their houses.

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
Secret U.S. government documents reveal that JPMorgan Chase, HSBC and other big banks have defied money laundering crackdowns by moving staggering sums of illicit cash for shadowy characters and criminal networks that have spread chaos and undermined democracy around the world.

The records show that five global banks  JPMorgan, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank and Bank of New York Mellon  kept profiting from powerful and dangerous players even after U.S. authorities fined these financial institutions for earlier failures to stem flows of dirty money.

U.S. agencies responsible for enforcing money laundering laws rarely prosecute megabanks that break the law, and the actions authorities do take barely ripple the flood of plundered money that washes through the international financial system.

In some cases the banks kept moving illicit funds even after U.S. officials warned them theyd face criminal prosecutions if they didnt stop doing business with mobsters, fraudsters or corrupt regimes.

JPMorgan, the largest bank based in the United States, moved money for people and companies tied to the massive looting of public funds in Malaysia, Venezuela and Ukraine, the leaked documents reveal.

The bank moved more than $1 billion for the fugitive financier behind Malaysias 1MDB scandal, the records show, and more than $2 million for a young energy moguls company that has been accused of cheating Venezuelas government and helping cause electrical blackouts that crippled large parts of the country.

JPMorgan also processed more than $50 million in payments over a decade, the records show, for Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for President Donald Trump. The bank shuttled at least $6.9 million in Manafort transactions in the 14 months after he resigned from the campaign amid a swirl of money laundering and corruption allegations spawning from his work with a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.
Replacing fish with other types of ocean creatures such as jellyfish on takeaway menus could help save threatened species, according to a team of scientists.

Conservationists from the University of Queensland found that 92 endangered and 11 critically endangered species of sea creatures end up in meals worldwide.

Fishing for creatures that are threatened with extinction is legal in most of the world, the team said, adding that Europe and the USA are the biggest importers.

The team have called for tougher rules on seafood labelling as currently the label on cooked seafood doesn't have to match the species.

Seafood items like 'fish' or 'flake' found on a menu - or products battered and filleted in a chip shop - could be from an endangered creature.

They have created a 'sustainable seafood guide' designed to offer alternative edible options to endangered fish - such as the jellyfish which is common worldwide.

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Replacing fish with other types of ocean creatures such as jellyfish (pictured) on takeaway menus could help save threatened species, according to a team of scientists

Conservationists from the University of Queensland found that 92 endangered and 11 critically endangered species of sea creatures end up in meals worldwide

The guide ranks seafood options as a better choice, eat it less or just say no. Under the better choices are foods like the abalone, blue mussel and mud crab.

TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT: CONSIDER THE LOCATION, FISHING METHOD AND SPECIES Researchers recommend checking the location and capture method of a fish. Say No Better Choice Albacore tuna Abalone Bigeye tuna Barramundi Commercial scallop Patagonian toothfish Eel Oysters Hake Sea urchin Advertisement

It does vary by the location the creature is caught - for example an octopus caught in New South Wales is marked as 'say no' but one from Tasmania is a 'better choice'.

How they are caught also makes a difference. In some areas and for some species the farmed variety is more sustainable, for others it is the wild caught versions.

Other examples of 'better choice' options include wild caught Australian sardines and blue swimmer crabs, as well as farmed Murray cod, oysters and prawns.

On the other side of the menu, the study authors recommend people avoid Albocore tuna, farmed Atlantic salmon and ocean perch.

The aim of the guide is to protect species in decline in certain areas by encouraging people to either pick an alternative or buy from a different region.

This should be used alongside tougher regulations on labelling and importation, according to the team behind the study.

UK regulations only need fresh, chilled, and live fish to be labelled with its scientific and commercial name, but cooked fish can slip through the net.

Doctoral student Leslie Roberson and the Australia made the startling finding that endangered species were ending up battered and fried.

The seafood industry is tough to manage when it comes to conservation as it involved multiple global supply chains in international waters.

It also doesn't have a global governing body, according to Robertson, who said you could have a fishing boat in Australian waters, owned by a Chinese firm, crewed by fishermen from the Philippines.

The globally process goes beyond just the actual fishing - one part of the fish might get processed in China, and the other can go to Europe.

'We don't know what we're eating, it's really hard to trace seafood back to its origin and species because the industry is such a mess,' Robertson said.

UQ senior research fellow Dr Carissa Klein, is set to start further research on seafood consumption and find ways to make the industry more sustainable.

Klein's work focuses on improving sustainability in Australia but says it could have national significance.

Researchers say products not obviously from one specific fish species - such as fish tacos (pictured) - don't have to have the species on the label

The team want tougher rules on labelling and better regulation for the global fish trade - that currently operates across multiple jurisdictions without a governing body

'Improving the sustainability of Australia's seafood trade policies could significantly benefit the ocean worldwide,' Dr Klein explained.

She said it would also help the billions of people around the world that depend on a healthy ocean for their health and livelihoods.

People wouldn't consider eating endangered mammals or land animals, so why would they eat fish facing similar rates of extinction, Klein said.

'We would never consider eating mountain gorillas or elephants, both of which are endangered.'

'It should be illegal to eat something that is threatened by extinction, especially species that are critically endangered - if we can better coordinate fisheries and conservation policies, we can prevent it from happening.'

'When importing seafood from other places, we are displacing any social or environmental problems associated with fishing to that place, which is likely to have less capacity to sustainably manage its ocean.'

The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.
As many as 10 central trade union on Monday announced their support to the nation-wide protest on September 25 by peasants and farm workers to oppose passage of two agri bills in Parliament, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party government should stop anti-farmers measures.

IMAGE: Congress workers protest over farm bills, in New Delhi. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

The joint platform of central trade unions and sectoral federations declares its unstinted support to the initiative of Joint Platform of Peasants and Agricultural Workers Organisations -- the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee to hold countrywide protest and resistance on 25th September 2020, the central trade unions said in a joint statement.

"We also join them in protesting against the disastrous Electricity Amendment Bill 2020," the statement said.



The ten trade unions are National Trades Union Congress, All India Trade Union Congress, Hind Mazdoor Sabha, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, All India United Trade Union Centre, Trade Union Coordination Centre, Self Employed Women's Association, All India Central Council of Trade Unions, Labour Progressive Federation and United Trade Union Congress.



Two key farm bills, dubbed as the biggest reform in agriculture by the government, were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha with voice vote.



The Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 have already been passed by Lok Sabha and will now go to the President for his assent before they are notified as laws.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed it as a "watershed moment" in the history of Indian agriculture, asserting that the bills will ensure a complete transformation of the farm sector and add impetus to the efforts to double the income of farmers.



The Congress and other opposition parties have slammed the bills as "death warrants" of farmers.



Central trade unions and sectoral federations have called upon workers and their unions of all affiliations and across the sectors to join actively in the programmes of protest and resistance being organised by peasants' organisations in and around their respective areas, the statement said.



The trade unions alleged that the proposed laws are aimed at completely restructuring the management of the agricultural economy including farm trade in total favour of the big-landlord corporate nexus and multinational trading cliques on agricultural produce.



"They virtually kill the rights and entitlements of the agricultural population. The Essential Commodities Act and related anti-hoarding, anti-black-marketing regulations are going to be curbed," it sad.



They are of the view that the virtual withdrawal of government's role in ensuring fair and remunerative prices for farmers' produce will pave the way for ultimate doing away with government procurement of agricultural produce with minimum support price.



In totality, peasant agriculture will be totally ruined, on which survival of more than 60 per cent population is dependent, the statement said.



The new measures are also aimed to facilitate profiteering by big players like Adani, Wilmar, Reliance, Walmart, Birla, ITC etc and also large trading companies, both foreign and domestic, it alleged.



The joint countrywide action on September 25 which may turn into total Bandh in Punjab and Haryana and series of blockades in every corner of the country, is therefore a necessary action to protect farmers, food security and the country's economy, the unions stated.
PIL in SC challenges Centre's ordinances on powers to extend tenure of Directors of CBI, ED

Govt tells Lok Sabha 64 cases under CBI probe for more than 5 years

CBI searches against dairy products firm over Rs 1,400-cr bank fraud

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Sep 21: The CBI on Monday conducted searches at eight locations after booking Delhi-based dairy products company Kwality Ltd. and its directors for allegedly cheating a Bank of India-led consortium, causing a loss of over Rs 1,400 crore, officials said.

The CBI has registered the case against Kwality Ltd and its directors Sanjay Dhingra, Siddhant Gupta, Arun Srivastava besides other unidentified persons, they said.

"It was alleged in the complaint that the said accused had cheated the Bank of India-led consortium comprising BOI (lead bank), Canara Bank, BoB, Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank, IDBI, Central Bank of India, Dhanlaxmi Bank, Syndicate Bank to the tune of Rs.1400.62 crore (approx.)," CBI spokesperson RK Gaur said.

Tuticorin custodial death case: CB-CID arrests three more cops

They allegedly cheated the banks by way of "diversion of bank funds, sham transactions with related parties, fabricated documents/receipts, falsified books of accounts" and created false assets and liabilities etc, Gaur said.

Farm bills: SAD team meets President Kovind, requests him not to sign farm bills | Oneindia News

The searches were conducted Monday at eight locations including at Delhi, Saharanpur, Bulandshahr (Uttar Pradesh), Ajmer (Rajasthan), Palwal (Haryana) etc. on the premises of the private company and other accused.
Pro-democracy activists Eddie Chu and Owen Chow with relatives of some of the 12 Hong Kong activists detained at sea, Hong Kong, on Sept. 20, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Relatives of 12 Hong Kong People Arrested by China Demand Access for Own Lawyers

HONG KONGRelatives of some of the 12 Hong Kong people arrested by China at sea last month demanded the citys government check on their condition and ensure that lawyers appointed by the families and not the Chinese regime can meet with them.

The 12 were arrested on Aug. 23 for illegal entry into mainland Chinese waters after setting off from Hong Kong in a boat bound for self-ruled Taiwan.

All were suspected of committing crimes in Hong Kong related to anti-government protests that erupted last year. Ten had been charged, released on bail and not allowed to leave the former British colony, and all are now being detained in neighboring Shenzhen.

Relatives of some of the detainees held a news conference outside the Hong Kong police headquarters on Sunday to express their frustration with local authorities.

We want our son back Even though we cant visit him, at least give us a photo or letter from him to confirm that hes there, said the father of one detainee, Li Tsz Yin.

The relatives also asked police to give an account of the date, time, place and process of the arrest and whether there were any injuries or casualties, and the Marine Department to release radar records of the day of the arrest.

In a statement late on Sunday, Hong Kong police said authorities had reviewed the marine traffic records from Aug 23 and did not find sign of any China coast guard vessels entering or staying in Hong Kong waters. It said marine police records would not be released to the public.

Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) are now maintaining close communication with the mainland law enforcement department to obtain the latest update of the case and take timely follow-up actions. No further information has been received so far, the statement said.

Earlier, the detainees family members said the Hong Kong government only shirked responsibility and confused the public with mere excuses.

However, up to now, the lawyers appointed by the families have been refused (the chance) to meet with the detainees. In other words, the conditions of the so-called arrested persons are still known only to the Chinese authorities, a statement said.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam voiced discontent with the group being characterized by some as democratic activists being oppressed, saying they were running away from the law. Lam said they would have to be dealt with by mainland authorities, but pledged to provide feasible assistance.

Police in Shenzhen said last Sunday they were suspected of illegal entry, their first public comment on the matter. The same day, Chinas foreign ministry labelled the group as separatists.

By Jessie Pang and Scott Murdoch
Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:13 - 0:00 transcript Biden Appeals to Obama Voters Who Backed Trump in Wisconsin Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic presidential nominee, appealed to voters in Manitowoc, Wis., who had supported Barack Obama but backed President Trump in 2016. When Donald Trump said he didnt create  he didnt want to create a panic  he wasnt just talking about a health panic. He was focused on the stock market. Trump was worried that if he told the public the truth, there would be a panic in the financial markets and that would hurt his chances of being re-elected. Thats how Donald Trump views the world. He sees the world from Park Avenue. I see it from where I grew up, in a town like this, from Scranton, Penn. Workers here pay close to twice that amount, close to 30 percent. Trumps tax cut for the wealthy is going to cost billions of dollars a year, and those who  and whose hide does it come out of? It comes out of your hide. The simple truth is that Donald Trump ran for office saying he would represent the forgotten men and women in this country. And then once he got in office, he forgot us. The truth is that he never really respected us very much. Oh, he loves his rallies. The next time he holds one, look closely  Trump keeps his distance from anyone in the rally. Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic presidential nominee, appealed to voters in Manitowoc, Wis., who had supported Barack Obama but backed President Trump in 2016. Credit Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Joseph R. Biden Jr. directly appealed on Monday to voters who once supported Barack Obama but were drawn to President Trump in the last presidential election, visiting a foundry in northeast Wisconsin and accusing the president of turning his back on working people.

In his latest campaign trip to a critical Midwestern battleground, Mr. Biden traveled to Manitowoc, a city along Lake Michigan in a county that Mr. Trump won by 21 points in 2016  a dramatic shift from 2008, when Barack Obama won there by nearly eight points. (Mitt Romney narrowly won it in 2012.)

I know many of you were frustrated, Mr. Biden said at Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, offering a direct message to people who voted for Mr. Trump in 2016. You were angry. You believe we werent seen. You werent being seen, represented or heard. I get it. It has to change, and I promise you this: It will change with me. You will be seen, heard and respected by me.

The speech was Mr. Bidens latest attempt to place himself squarely on the side of American workers while presenting Mr. Trump as catering to the rich. The simple truth is that Donald Trump ran for office saying he would represent the forgotten men and women in this country, Mr. Biden. And then once he got in office, he forgot us.

It was another appearance in which Mr. Biden drew upon his upbringing in Scranton, Pa., continuing a theme from last week. Once again, he took issue with it being pointed out that he, unlike recent presidents, lacks an Ivy League degree.

You close the door on me because you think Im not good enough.  Mr. Biden said. Guess what? Like all you guys, Im going to bust down that door.

Mr. Biden, a graduate of the University of Delaware and Syracuse University College of Law, added: I say its about time that a state school president sat in the Oval Office. Because you know what? If Im sitting there, youre going to be sitting there, too.

Mr. Biden also addressed the latest grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic, with the death toll in the United States now at about 200,000. He criticized Mr. Trump for playing down the virus earlier this year, noting that the president has said he did not want to create panic.

Trump panicked, Mr. Biden, who wore a mask during his speech, said. The virus was too big for him. All his life Donald Trump has been bailed out of any problem he faced. And with this crisis, a real crisis, a crisis that required serious presidential leadership, he just wasnt up to it. He froze. He failed to act. He panicked. And Americas paid the worst price of any nation in the world.

The trip on Monday was Mr. Bidens second to Wisconsin as the Democratic presidential nominee. In early September, he visited Kenosha in the aftermath of the police shooting of Jacob Blake and held a small event in Wauwatosa, a Milwaukee suburb.

Polls continue to show Mr. Biden with an edge in Wisconsin. A poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College this month found him with a five-point lead over Mr. Trump among likely voters.
RTHK: China, US stay out of WHO vaccine scheme

More than 60 wealthy nations have joined a WHO-backed programme to facilitate poor countries' access to coronavirus vaccines, but China and the United States are not on the list published on Monday.

The World Health Organisation has in coordination with the global vaccine alliance group Gavi and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi) created a mechanism aimed at ensuring a more equitable distribution of any future Covid-19 vaccines.

But the mechanism, known as Covax, has struggled to raise the funds needed to provide for the 92 low-income countries and other economies that quickly signed up.

WHO had encouraged richer nations to step up to the plate by the end of last week and when the deadline fell, 64 were onboard with another 38 expected to join in "coming days", the three organisations said in a joint statement.

Among those who have signed up are "the European Commission ... on behalf of 27 EU member states plus Norway and Iceland," it said.

The United State, which under President Donald Trump has relentlessly criticised the WHO's handling of the pandemic and which is in the process of withdrawing from the organisation, is not on the list.

And China, where the novel coronavirus first surfaced late last year, is also absent.

"The purpose of the Covax facility is to try to work with every country in the world," Gavi chief Seth Berkley told a virtual briefing when asked about China's absence from the list.

"I can assure you that we have had conversations and will continue to have conversations with all countries," he said.

In addition to working to get more countries to join Covax, Berkley said there was also an ongoing dialogue with vaccine-producing countries about "if they have successful vaccines that come out, how we can make sure they are made available to others in the world."

The aim is for Covax to lay its hands on two billion doses of safe and effective vaccines by the end of 2021.

But the mechanism is facing a range of significant challenges, not least a serious funding shortfall.

The WHO has said some US$38 billion is needed for its overall ACT-Accelerator programme, which includes Covax, but also global collaboration towards developing and ensuring equitable access to tests and treatments for Covid-19, and strengthening health systems.

But so far it has received just US$3 billion of that. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro chatted with "Queer Eye" star Jonathan Van Ness about politics and the upcoming election on the latter's podcast last week.

Van Ness' describes his podcast "Getting Curious" as a 40-minute conversation with a "brilliant expert to learn all about something that makes me curious."

RELATED: Julian Castro shares his stay-at-home, twin look with his young son

"There are fewer than 50 days until the 2020 United States elections, and over at 'Getting Curious,' we're feeling a little...shaky," details for the episode say. "To lay the foundation for this final stretch of election season, Jonathan's calling on an expert in strong leadership, intersectional policies, and an enduring hope: (Secretary) Julian Castro."

Castro, who also served as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and was a democratic presidential candidate, spent time remembering politics in the 1980s and 1990s, intersectional thinking and police reform.

"What can we do to not freak out about all of the news and make really good decisions," the host asked Castro.

Castro encouraged residents to apply pressure in their local communities  to call, write emails and attend public comment opportunities.

"I can tell you, from having been on the city council of San Antonio for four years, been mayor for five years, sometimes you think it doesn't make a difference," he said. "But, especially in numbers, it does make a difference."

They also talked about police reform through paying attention to negotiations over contracts with police unions.

"We have to grapple with the fact that we have a lot of police unions in this country that have become toxic," Castro added. "Too often times, they (unions) are toxically defending the status quo, a status quo that harms communities of color, especially Black Americans. Local governments negotiate police union contracts every three years, every five years. That's where the action is at. A lot of the action with discipline, accountability, transparency, it's there at the local level."

Castro also mentioned San Antonio's Black Lives Matter protests when Van Ness brought up interactions between police and activists.

"Too often times you have some police officers that have, I think, the wrong mentality when they're handling protests. They are overly aggressive and they end up provoking a response," he said. "The San Antonio SWAT team started using projectiles and tear gas in a way that had not been the case in the nights before and there were folks that I talked to that basically acknowledged they had been overly aggressive."

Castro's own podcast, "Our America," launched Sept. 10.

The episode with Castro, and Van Ness' other content, can be heard on the Earwolf website or on Apple Podcasts.

Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @maddyskye
Hermann Hauser was crystal clear when I spoke to him in New Zealand via Zoom this weekend. The serial entrepreneur says it is not too late for Britain to block the 30billion bid for Arm Holdings by US giant, Nvidia.

Hauser may be thousands of miles away on his farm, where he has been stuck since lockdown, but that has not stopped the Arm co-founder from launching his one-man Save Arm campaign calling on the Government to intervene in the bid which he describes as a disaster for Cambridge, Britain and Europe.

After writing to the Prime Minister  who has yet to reply  Hauser is firing off another media blitz in a final attempt to persuade the Government to block the bid. He says time is on the UK's side as Nvidia's bid will take months to clear regulatory hurdles.

The chips are down: Hermann Hauser says it is not too late for Britain to block the 30billion bid for Arm Holdings by US giant, Nvidia

Some would argue that it's already too late, that the time to intervene was four years ago when Japan's SoftBank was allowed to buy Arm. But Hauser says that if the PM is serious about nurturing homegrown technology giants to rival those in the US and China, then they should stop the takeover on national interest grounds and use Arm to build such a rival.

His solution is ambitious. SoftBank should divest Arm and float on the London Stock Exchange as a new company backed by the UK government, taking an anchor stake of 1billion or so held as a golden share. The Arm team would then invite other interested parties such as the big licensees of its chip design technology  Apple and Qualcomm  to become minority shareholders.

There is a logic to this. Having Arm's main clients on board as investors would help ensure its neutrality as the Switzerland of the semiconductor industry.

Staying neutral is essential for Arm's growth because of fears over conflicts of interest as Nvidia produces its own processors.

This may mean Arm's clients  which compete with Nvidia  will depend on a rival. Hauser, who was a fervent Remainer, also supports Dominic Cummings, the PM's chief adviser, in his ambition to nurture British technology businesses to match its US $1trillion rivals.

Hauser believes Arm could create a powerhouse to rival Intel. Sound fanciful? Not if Arm, he says, is allowed to develop and to make its own strategic acquisitions with other great UK innovators such as the Bristol-based Graphcore, leaders in machine learning. His fund, Amadeus Capital, is an investor.

Blocking the bid on national interest grounds under the Enterprise Act 2002 is the sort of move you can imagine Cummings would encourage. But it's unlikely because of the message it might give to overseas investors.

More probable is that the bid is referred to the Competition and Markets Authority. That would be the right decision. Hauser has serious points to make and they should be investigated. He is not alone in kicking up a fuss: many of its big clients like Apple are also worried. A referral would also give time for a rival bid to be put together.

If nothing is done, Nvidia has said it will protect the Cambridge HQ and jobs, and even suggests it will grow the UK business. But the world of chip processing is moving so rapidly that such promises are meaningless unless legally binding. If in doubt, remember Kraft's disastrous takeover of Cadbury.
This brings us to the most important step: Democrats should commit to the structural reforms necessary to undo the damage Republicans have wrought. Republicans were able to block Judge Merrick Garland and install a conservative majority on the Supreme Court despite representing less than half of the population. The Senate overrepresents white conservatives, while minority voters are more underrepresented than at any time since 1870. A white conservative minority imposing its will on a diverse majority  in part through federal judges serving lifetime appointments  is a fundamentally unhealthy dynamic for our democracy.

If Democrats win the White House and the Senate in November, they can pass reforms to rebalance our democracy through simple majority votes. The only thing standing in the way will be the filibuster  a procedural mutation that was not a part of the original Senate and that has been manipulated in recent decades to transform the Senate from the framers vision of a majority-rule institution into one where most business requires 60 votes (or a supermajority) to pass. There are many good reasons to get rid of the filibuster, but Republicans jamming through a nominee should motivate any hesitant Democrats to commit to eliminating it if they take back power.

Without the filibuster, reforms can be passed by simple majority votes, as the framers intended. Democrats should commit to reforming the Supreme Court: They can add seats to the court; apply age or term limits; or pass any of a range of credible proposals. Congress has the prerogative to change the court, including its size, which it has done six times since the founding.

Democrats should also reform the Senate so it better represents the nation. They can start by inviting territories bound by federal law but lacking voting representation in Congress to become states. The District of Columbia has roughly a similar or greater population as Wyoming or North Dakota, while Puerto Rico has more people than 20 states. Both deserve to become states if they so choose.

Committing to these changes now will enable Democrats to move quickly if they take back power.

Some commentators have floated the idea of shutting down the government (funding runs out on Sept. 30). But this would backfire politically, and the Senate can confirm a nominee even if the government is shut down. Its a bad idea.

This is a dark time for Democrats, but it has the potential to be clarifying. The Senate is awash in myths and misconceptions about norms and traditions, most of which were invented to serve narrow political interests. Republicans naked hypocrisy will reveal that much of what senators assure us is grand Senate tradition is just hardball politics.

Democrats options before the election may indeed be limited. But if they win, the only restraints will be their own ambition and will.

Adam Jentleson, a progressive strategist and former deputy chief of staff to Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, is the author of the forthcoming book Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy.
A woman has lost her job as a childcare educator after she was caught selling MDMA pills to a network of customers.

Rhianna Dorothy Dooley, 21, pleaded guilty to numerous drug offences stemming from a narcotics business operating out of her Queensland share house, with her boyfriend also being charged.

The Townsville Supreme Court heard Dooley sold as many as 50 pills at a time to her clients.

Her barrister Mark McCarthy told the court that his client was a 'passionate' childcare worker before her arrest, according to The Townsville Bulletin.

Rhianna Dorothy Dooley (pictured), 21, plead guilty to numerous drug offences after a police investigation into a narcotics business that operated from her Queensland share house

Ms Dooley's boyfriend Dean Shaw (pictured left) was also charged after police busted the drug trafficking business and was sentenced on September 2

She has since lost her 'Blue Card' over the drug trafficking charges - meaning she can she is longer allowed to work with children.

Video evidence played to the court showed Ms Dooley packaging the powdered drug into capsules with her boyfriend Dean Robert Shaw, who has also been charged with multiple drug offences.

Ms Dooley was an 'enthusiastic' member of the significant trafficking operation, the prosecutor told the court.

The then 20-year-old was not a focus of the police investigation into the business they alleged had been running from November 11 to December 31 2018.

However, after officers raided the couple's house in Townsville's west on December 31 last year, she admitted her involvement and gave police her phone.

Ms Dooley had used encrypted apps to market the narcotics - selling up to 50 capsules per transaction at a price of $25 each.

Ms Dooley used encrypted apps to market the narcotics - selling up to 50 capsules per transaction at a price of $25 each

Video evidence played to the court showed Ms Dooley packaging the powdered drug into capsules with her boyfriend Dean Robert Shaw, who has also been charged

After the raid she was charged with one count of trafficking drugs, nine counts of supplying drugs and possessing something used in the commission of a crime.

Ms Dooley received a three year sentence for the trafficking charge and smaller concurrent sentences for the other charges.

She was immediately released on parole, but will now have a criminal record.

Shaw received the same sentence for a string of charges including trafficking on September 2 and also had convictions recorded.
After going into eyelashes business, Nigerias cross-dresser, Bobrisky has now ventured into hair business.

He will now be competing with brands he had earlier modeled for and called the BEST HAIR BRAND in town soon as he launches his.

His hair brand will be launched on October 1st, and well expect it to be a sell out.

Didnt they rush his eyelashes too? With many vendors begging openly to be a distributor live on Instagram???

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Chad Wolf, under fire in the courts and from government watchdogs about the legal status of his appointment at acting head Department of Homeland Security, is offering an alternative explanation of his standing.

Wolf has been serving as acting secretary at DHS since November 2019. His appointment was secured due to a revision in the DHS order of succession that put Wolf, who was confirmed by the Senate to be undersecretary of policy and plans, as next in line to take over the top job.

However, the Government Accountability Office challenged that claim in August with a legal opinion that stated neither Wolf, his deputy Ken Cuccinelli nor his predecessor as acting secretary Kevin McAleenan were properly appointed to their posts.

The GAO opinion relies on readings of the Homeland Security Act, the legislation that authorized the department, and on the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which sets out conditions under which senior officials can serve in leadership jobs on an acting basis.

The consequences of violating the FVRA can be serious  and include rolling back any decisions made by an acting official if a violation is affirmed in federal court. Wolf and others are defendants in multiple lawsuits  mostly aimed at overturning immigration policy moves -- that cite allegations of improper succession.

In an effort to deflect against an adverse legal judgement  Wolf issued a memo on Sept. 17 out of an "abundance of caution" to ratify his actions as acting secretary. The memo and an accompanying explanation are scheduled to be published Sept. 23 in the Federal Register.

According to the memo, Wolf's nomination by President Donald Trump to the top DHS job in August allows for the consideration of an "alternate scenario" of Wolf's ascent to the top job. Even if the initial appointment of Wolf was unlawful  which he does not concede  Wolf's nomination to lead DHS allows for the temporary elevation of Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator to exercise the authority of the DHS secretary.

In that theoretical capacity, FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor issued a real memo on Sept. 10, 2020, that designates the same order of succession that was established in November 2019 by former Acting Secretary McAleenan.

That act by Gaynor, assuming it was valid, essentially cut off Gaynor's authority under the FVRA and established Wolf's legitimacy under the succession order.

"Once the Gaynor Order was executed, it superseded any authority Mr. Gaynor may have had under the FVRA and confirmed my authority to continue to serve as the acting secretary," Wolf wrote. "Thus, in addition to the authority I possess pursuant to the November 8, 2019 order of succession effectuated by former Acting Secretary McAleenan, the Gaynor Order alternatively removes any doubt that I am currently serving as the Acting Secretary."

The memo concludes with an affirmation of all actions taken by Wolf from the start of his tenure as acting DHS chief through September 10  a move that DHS hopes will eliminate any adverse legal consequences arising from conflicting interpretations of the legality of Wolf's appointment.

However, the agency is not saying that the Gaynor Order, Wolf's memo or their publication in the Federal Register are in any way necessary to affirm Wolf's legal standing as head of DHS.

"Neither the ratification nor the publication is a statement that the ratified actions would be invalid absent the ratification," Ian Brekke, deputy general counsel at DHS, states in the Federal Register notice.

Despite the new path offered to explain Wolf's legitimacy, GAO is sticking to its reading of the succession.

"GAO stands by its original decision of August 14 in which we concluded that Mr. Wolf and Mr. Cuccinelli were named to their respective positions of Acting Secretary and Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Secretary by reference to an invalid order of succession," Shirley Jones, GAO's managing associate general counsel told FCW in an emailed statement. "We also stand by our reconsideration decision in which we concluded that DHS had not shown that our original decision contained either material errors of fact or law, nor had DHS provided information not previously considered that warranted reversal or modification of the decision. "

This story was updated Sept. 22 to include comment from the Government Accountability Office.
Police are on high alert after a Northern Ireland man who is a chief suspect in the Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe murder investigation was released from prison

Police are on high alert after a Northern Ireland man who is a chief suspect in the Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe murder investigation was released from prison.

The criminal, aged in his early 30s, was released from a Dublin jail last Thursday after being held for several months.

The cross-border criminal is suspected of being a key member of the gang behind the credit union robbery during which Det Gda Donohoe (41) was shot dead seven years ago.

Last month the gunman, South Armagh man Aaron Brady (29), was found guilty of capital murder and will face the mandatory 40-year prison term when he is sentenced next month.

Gardai are continuing their inquiries into the detective's murder and are hopeful of bringing further charges against other gang members.

More than 20 people remain persons of interest with five men formally classified as suspects.

One of these is Suspect B, who was named during the murder trial as being centrally involved in the robbery.

He was on bail at the time of the murder and only months beforehand had directly threatened Det Gda Donohoe after being arrested by him.

The criminal has also been linked to a spate of high-profile ATM raids in recent years in highly organised raids.

He was jailed in the capital for several months over an incident unrelated to the detective's murder, and was then released last week.

A source said: "He is considered to be a particularly dangerous individual and there is a real concern that he will become actively engaged in criminality following his release.

"Investigations into him are ongoing in relation to the murder of Adrian Donohoe, and also in relation to ATM raids on both sides of the border.

"Both gardai and the PSNI will be keeping a close eye on him to prevent him linking up with his criminal associates and causing more havoc."

The Northern Irish man is suspected of being one of the masked raiders at Lordship Credit Union when Det Gda Donohoe was shot dead on January 25, 2013.

Mr Donohoe was married with two young children.

He was one of two detectives on late-night duty who were escorting a cash collection at the rural credit union when the robbery took place.

Brady, from New Road in Crossmaglen, whom a 12-person jury found guilty by majority verdict of capital murder, will be sentenced on October 14.
Emily Martin, vice president for education and workplace justice at the National Womens Law Center, said she is troubled by the suggestion that the Department of Education taking sexual misconduct seriously  and pressuring schools to do the same  could be construed as evidence of bias against men. Praising Ginsburgs legacy of fighting for womens rights, Martin bristled at the prospect of replacing someone like that with a judge who is eager to use the language of sex discrimination in order to defend the status quo, and to use the statutes that were created to forward gender equality as swords against that very purpose.
(Newser)  Democratic lawmakers in Kentucky are urging their Republican colleagues to force out a state representative indicted on charges of strangulation and assault. GOP Rep. Robert Goforth, 44, was indicted by a grand jury Friday on one count of first-degree strangulation and one count of assault in the fourth degree, the Corbin Times-Tribune reports. Goforth was arrested and released on bail in April after a woman told police he had hit her, strangled her with an ethernet cable until she was on the brink of losing consciousness, and threatened to "hog-tie" her. Police said the womanwho had bruises on her forehead and legs and marks on her necktold them Goforth had assaulted her while three young children were in the house.

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The woman, who told police Goforth refused to release her until she agreed to unlock her phone, also applied for an emergency protection order, records state. Goforthwho got almost 40% of the vote in a 2019 primary challenge to then-Gov. Matt Bevinpleaded not guilty to charges from the alleged April incident at an arraignment in June, the Washington Post reports. The case then went to the grand jury for possible indictment. In a statement after that indictment, Kentucky Democratic Party spokeswoman Marisa McNee had a message for GOP leadership, saying Goforth "should have resigned back in April and his party should have taken action against him when he refused to do so." The Post notes that in 2019, Goforth helped pass a law to make it easier to prosecute strangulation as a felony. (Read more Kentucky stories.)
Editor's take: One feature that Im glad to see return is the auto MagSpeed magnetic scroll wheel. When scrolling at normal speeds, it affords the same clicky feedback youd experience with most any scroll wheel. Give it a quick zip, however, and it switches to freescroll mode where lines zoom by in a hurry  up to 1,000 lines per second. Its an incredibly handy feature and one of my favorite from earlier Logitech mice.

Logitech on Monday announced a new wireless compact mouse that is joining the Master Series.

The new Logitech MX Anywhere 3 is a low-profile pointer designed for use anywhere work needs to be done, which in this day and age, can be virtually everywhere. Given its compact nature, Logitech said it should be a good fit for those with smaller hands.

The pointer can connect wirelessly from up to 10 meters away. Battery life is equally impressive as the mouse can last up to 70 days on a full charge. A quick one-minute recharge over USB-C can supply up to three hours of additional runtime, were told. With Bluetooth, users can simultaneously link the mouse with up to three different devices and toggle between them at the push of a button.

Logitechs new MX Anywhere is priced at $79.99 in your choice of gray, black or rose color schemes. It also comes with Logitechs Unifying USB dongle for additional flexibility when connecting. Theres also a version optimized for Mac at the same price. Both are expected to ship this month, were told.
September is Sepsis Awareness Month as health officials worldwide encourage people to familiarise themselves with this potentially fatal condition.

Sepsis can develop from any infection and can affect anyone, but it is more common in the very young, the elderly, people with pre-existing medical conditions or those with a weakened immune system. And while it is difficult to diagnose as it can be easily confused with other conditions early on, the HSE is urging everyone to be aware of the signs and symptoms - which causes one in five people to die - because if detected early, the risks are reduced.

Audrey McGahon is still emotional when she recalls the close call her daughter had with sepsis in 2018. Molly, who was 12 at the time, came home from school in Ennistymon, Co Clare, feeling tired, had a high temperature and a pain in her back.

Her parents brought her to the GP, who prescribed bed rest, but her instinct caused Audrey to take further action and she decided to drive her daughter to the nearest hospital - an impulsive decision which almost certainly saved Molly's life.

"I had given her some cough medicine which had codeine in it, so I knew it would knock her out a bit, but she also seemed really warm and when I took her temperature, it was 39C so I took her to the out-of-hours doctor," says Audrey. "But he didn't seem too concerned and just prescribed fluids, rest and paracetamol if needed. After we had seen him, we sat in the car for a few minutes and I don't know why, but we decided to take Molly to A&E in Limerick for a second opinion.

"When we got there, she was very drowsy, so my husband Noel carried her in and the nurse brought her straight to triage. She asked us how long she had been like this and we said she was just tired due to the cough medicine, but before we knew it, the room was full of doctors and nurses all working on Molly - it was like an out-of-body experience."

The concerned parents, who also have two other children - James (11) and Phoebe (7 months) - still had no idea how serious the situation was until they were informed that their daughter would have to be intubated and then transferred to hospital in Dublin.

"I went outside for some air and a doctor came out after me with some forms which said that intubation may cause cardiac arrest, but we had to sign them before this could take place," says Audrey. "I was naturally shocked, and we rang Noel's brother whose wife is a GP to ask her advice. She said we had to do it and at this point, we realised that, as she had gone into renal failure and all her organs were being attacked one by one.

"We were totally numb from the shock as Noel sat with Molly in ICU while she was being intubated. The ambulance arrived from Dublin and were full of praise for the Limerick staff, who they said did everything they possibly could. My mum was very sick at the time, so my dad was minding James and we sat with Molly all night until we were told that it was time for her to be transferred.

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"We were advised to say goodbye to her as it was highly likely that she wouldn't make the journey and had to sign more disclaimers saying we wouldn't tail the ambulance and wouldn't stop if we saw it pulled over. Needless to say, it was the most terrifying journey and every time we went around a corner, we expected to see the ambulance on the side of the road."

When they finally arrived at the hospital, things had gone from bad to worse and it was looking increasingly likely that Molly (now 15) would not survive.

"A nurse took me straight to ICU and the room was full of doctors," says Audrey. "Molly was unrecognisable as she was puffed and swollen, had been stripped of her clothes apart from some sort of a diaper and was plugged up to a ventilator which was causing her body to vibrate. Someone behind me, who didn't realise I was her mother, said: 'The poor child doesn't have much time left.'

"When Noel came in, we were taken to a family room and it was confirmed that she didn't have long to live. But she survived that night and the next few days, however, we had no idea if she would pull through. We kept a vigil by her bedside because even though we had been offered a room, we couldn't bear to leave her."

This horrendous situation played out for almost four weeks as Molly's condition remained critical. But she eventually began to come around and was placed on dialysis. Her parents were told this would be the case for the rest of her life, but thankfully, she once again proved doctors wrong.

But despite the fact she miraculously survived, the teenager has been left with serious side effects.

"Molly suffered a lot of damage from the sepsis," says Audrey. "Her lungs were very bad and completely full, so she was placed on her front a lot. This took hours each time as the sepsis was so bad that it had to be done very slowly and carefully - her knees, elbows and hip bones were protruding through the skin as if she had a flesh eating disease.

"Then, after being in ICU for a month, she was moved into the renal ward where she was put on dialysis. She had also lost the ability to cough, so although her lungs were full of phlegm, she couldn't clear it. Her feet had also gone completely black and fixated, so we thought she was going to lose them. Thankfully she didn't, but still, after years of therapy and surgery, she can't place them flat, so she will have to have another operation.

"She was then moved to Limerick where she stayed another few weeks before finally returning home almost two months later. It is a miracle that she survived and doctors still don't know how - in fact, at the nurses station in Temple Street, they have a picture of her on the wall as they call her their medical mystery. But even though she did pull through, she has been left with a chronic lung condition called bronchiectasis, which although completely unrelated and not hereditary, my mum (who had lupus) unfortunately passed away from just a couple of weeks ago.

"She is also still up on her toes, despite external fixators on her feet for months, which initially corrected the problem, but a few months after they were taken off, they sprang back up, so we are waiting on surgery to try and help with that. But fortunately, she is still the same person, mentally and emotionally, despite the fact that doctors thought she had also suffered brain damage."

There is no doubt Molly is incredibly fortunate to have survived, but Audrey says it is vital for people to be aware of the dangers of sepsis, as if she hadn't acted as quickly as she did, her beloved daughter may not be here.

"Molly has been left with side effects and it is very worrying trying to keep her safe from coronavirus and the normal flu season, but it is just incredible that she survived at all," she says. "So my advice to anyone who has any worries at all is not to wait - sepsis doesn't just strike people who have an underlying health condition.

"I don't know what made me drive to Limerick that evening, but if I hadn't, she wouldn't have survived the night. Our message to families, parents and children out there - just don't take any chances. There were no huge warnings with Molly, so just don't wait."

Dr Martina Healy, National Clinical Lead, HSE Sepsis Programme, agrees and says everyone can play their part in trying to reduce their risk of contracting sepsis.

"The most effective way to reduce death from sepsis is by prevention, which includes good sanitation, personal hygiene, eating healthily, exercising moderately, breastfeeding, avoiding unnecessary antibiotics and vaccinating against vaccine-preventable infections," she says.

"The next most effective way is early recognition and treatment. This is not simple. Sepsis evolves over time and the pace of its development depends on the patient's general health status, their genetic response to infection and the characteristics of the infection. So the patient's characteristics (age, existing medical conditions, medications) represent only one aspect of the pattern. The body's response and the causing bug also play a part on the clinical course of the illness."

For more information visit hse.ie.

Sepsis symptoms

 Slurred speech, confusion, excessive drowsiness

 Excessive sleepiness or drowsiness, confusion

 Pain or discomfort in the muscles or joints, passing very little or no urine

 Severe breathlessness, a racing heart, shivering, fever, feeling very cold

 Skin changes like pale, cold, discoloured skin or a rash that won't fade when pressed on

In children, the signs to look out for include:

 Abnormally cold to the touch, mottled, bluish or pale skin, breathing very fast, unusually sleepy and difficult to wake, a rash that does not fade when you press it, having fits or convulsions

For under-fives, symptoms also include:

 Not feeding, vomiting repeatedly, has not had a wet nappy in last 12 hours.
People are evacuated by boat from the Amorella cruise ship near the Aland islands, seen from Finland, on Sept. 20, 2020. (Niclas Norlund/Lehtikuva via AP)

Baltic Sea Ferry Runs Aground in Finnish Waters, No Injuries

HELSINKIA Baltic Sea passenger ferry with nearly 300 people aboard ran aground in the Aland Islands archipelago between Finland and Sweden without injuries Sunday, and rescuers evacuated the vessels passengers to shore, Finnish authorities said.

The Finnish coast guard tweeted that the M/S Amorella operated by ferry company Viking Line between the Finnish western port city of Turku and Swedish capital Stockholm hit ground south of the port of Langnas in the Aland Islands near the Julgrund island

There are no reported human casualties, Viking Line said in a short statement adding that the situation with the vessel was stable. The vessel had 200 passengers and a crew of 80 aboard.

The coast guard were alerted to the incident just before 1 p.m. Finnish time, and rescue boats evacuated those onboard to shore. Authorities were investigating why the ferry ran aground.

Viking Line CEO Jan Hanses told the Finnish public broadcaster YLE that the accident was caused either by technical failure or human error.

Something has gone wrong with the ships steering, Hanses told YLE, adding that water had leaked into one of the vessels sections but was unable to specify how bad the leakage was.

The coast guard said it hadnt observed oil leakage in the area as a result of the grounding.

The number of passengers aboard the vessel, capable of carrying up to 2,500 people, was unusually low because of the Nordic regions coronavirus travel restrictions which have badly hit Baltic Sea ferry companies.

The Aland Islands, an autonomous Finnish territory, are midway between the two port cities and M/S Amorella was set to make a scheduled stop there en route to Stockholm.

The archipelago consists of thousands of named and unnamed islands and its shallow waters and narrow passages are particularly tricky to navigate for large ships.

Finnish media reported the M/S Amorella ran aground in the same place in 2013.
News

Washington, DC - Two Iranian nationals have been charged in connection with a coordinated cyber intrusion campaign  sometimes at the behest of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran)  targeting computers in New Jersey, elsewhere in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

According to a 10-count indictment returned on September 15, 2020, Hooman Heidarian, a/k/a neo, 30, and Mehdi Farhadi, a/k/a Mehdi Mahdavi and Mohammad Mehdi Farhadi Ramin, 34, both of Hamedan, Iran, stole hundreds of terabytes of data, which typically included confidential communications pertaining to national security, foreign policy intelligence, non-military nuclear information, aerospace data, human rights activist information, victim financial information and personally identifiable information, and intellectual property, including unpublished scientific research. In some instances, the defendants hacks were politically motivated or at the behest of Iran, including instances where they obtained information regarding dissidents, human rights activists, and opposition leaders. In other instances, the defendants sold the hacked data and information on the black market for private financial gain.

We will not bring the rule of law to cyberspace until governments refuse to provide safe harbor for criminal hacking within their borders, said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. Unfortunately, our cases demonstrate that at least four nations  Iran, China, Russia and North Korea  will allow criminal hackers to victimize individuals and companies from around the world, as long as these hackers will also work for that countrys government  gathering information on human rights activists, dissidents and others of intelligence interest. Todays defendants will now learn that such service to the Iranian regime is not an asset, but a criminal yoke that they will now carry until the day they are brought to justice.

These Iranian nationals allegedly conducted a wide-ranging campaign on computers here in New Jersey and around the world, said U.S. Attorney Carpenito for the District of New Jersey. They brazenly infiltrated computer systems and targeted intellectual property and often sought to intimidate perceived enemies of Iran, including dissidents fighting for human rights in Iran and around the world. This conduct threatens our national security, and as a result, these defendants are wanted by the FBI and are considered fugitives from justice.

The indictment of two Iranian nationals charged with computer hacking, fraud, and aggravated identity theft demonstrates how the FBI continues to work relentlessly with our law enforcement partners to identify cybercriminals who seek to do harm to American citizens, businesses, and universities, regardless of where those criminals may reside and hold them accountable, said George M. Crouch Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Newark Division. Mehdi Farhadi and Hooman Heidarian are now fugitives and have been added to the FBI website for charges in connection with a massive, coordinated cyber intrusion campaign. These actions demonstrate how imposing risks and consequences on our cyber adversaries will continue to be a top priority for the FBI.

According to the indictment:

Beginning in at least 2013, the defendants were responsible for a coordinated campaign of cyber intrusions into computer systems in New Jersey and around the world. The victims included several American and foreign universities, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, a defense contractor, an aerospace company, a foreign policy organization, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), non-profits, and foreign government and other entities the defendants identified as rivals or adversaries to Iran. In addition to the theft of highly protected and sensitive data, the defendants also vandalized websites, often under the pseudonym Sejeal and posted messages that appeared to signal the demise of Irans internal opposition, foreign adversaries, and countries identified as rivals to Iran, including Israel and Saudi Arabia.

To select their victims, the defendants conducted online reconnaissance, including gathering public data and intelligence to determine a victims areas of expertise, and using vulnerability scanning tools and other means to assess computer networks. The defendants gained and maintained unauthorized access to victim networks using various tools, including: session hijacking, where a valid computer session was exploited to gain unauthorized access to information or services in a computer system; SQL injection, in which they used malicious code to access information that was not intended to be displayed, such as sensitive government data, user details, and personal identifiers; and malicious programs installations, which allowed the defendants to maintain unauthorized access to computers.

The defendants then used key-loggers and remote access Trojans to maintain access and monitor the actions of users of the victim networks. They also developed a botnet tool, which facilitated the spread of malware, denial of service attacks, and spamming to victim networks. In some instances, the defendants used their unauthorized access to victim networks or accounts to establish automated forwarding rules for compromised victim accounts, whereby new outgoing and incoming emails were automatically forwarded from the compromised accounts to accounts controlled by defendants.

Assistant Attorney General Demers and U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Crouch in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges.

Each defendant is charged with: one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers and access devices; unauthorized access to protected computers; unauthorized damage to protected computers; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and access device fraud; and five counts of aggravated identity theft.

The counts of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and related activity in connection with computers and access devices, and unauthorized access to protected computers, each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The counts of unauthorized damage to protected computers and access device fraud each carry a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. The count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The counts of aggravated identity theft each carry a mandatory sentence of two years in prison.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean C. Sovolos of the U.S. Attorneys Office National Security Unit, Daniel V. Shapiro, Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorneys Office Criminal Division, and Trial Attorney Scott McCulloch of the National Security Divisions Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Turkey's president, who has long called for a reform of the United Nations, said the world body has failed in its response to the pandemic.

In a televised address following a Cabinet meeting, claimed the UN was late in accepting the existence of the pandemic and had failed to make its presence felt for nations requiring help to fight infections.

The UN, which has fallen flat concerning crises from Syria to Yemen, as well as developments in fragile regions of Africa and South America, has also flunked during the pandemic, he said.

His comments came as world leaders mark the 75th anniversary of UN General Assembly this week.

(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 Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) has identified 23 industrial areas for investment mainly in the pharmaceutical and medical industries aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in Abu Dhabis health sector.



Among these investment areas, 14 belong to new industries in the market while the other nine are already existing ones, reported Emirates news agency Wam.



The identification of investment areas is part of the Basic Industries project being implemented by ADDEDs Industrial Development Bureau, IDB, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), the Department of Health  Abu Dhabi, DoH, and the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha).



Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of ADDED, said that the Basic Industries project seeks to create new investment opportunities and promote self-sufficiency in the food, health, industry and energy sectors.



Al Shorafa explained that among the 23 areas identified for investment in the health sector, nine of them belong to pharmaceuticals, six of which are related to existing areas while the rest are newly emerging.



He also noted that the medical supplies and protection equipment category has five investment areas, three are new while two are already existing. For medical devices and equipment category, nine investment areas have been specified and eight of which are new ones.



He emphasised that the Basic Industries project is important in achieving self-sufficiency in the health sector of Abu Dhabi and the UAE and among the efforts being done to accomplish this is the identification of 24 top priority medical products, including pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and medical protection supplies.



Al Shorafa projected the initiatives strong contribution to providing enough basic and vital products for the local market and addressing peoples needs during crises, emergencies, and disasters. It would also contribute to promoting locally manufactured products and commodities to become more competitive with imported ones, thereby increasing their market share.Moreover, it will play a key role in creating new areas for investment as well as in enhancing many of the already existing basic industries in Abu Dhabi.



Rashed Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, Undersecretary of ADDED, said that the total number of licenses issued for medical manufacturing in the emirate reached 23 licenses with an investment value of AED1.992 billion ($542 million), 10 of which are currently Under Construction with an investment value amounting to AED932 million; while the other 13 have reached Production status with an investment value of AED1.069 billion.



Factories that have licenses with Production status are identified as five for the production of medical protection supplies with AED268 million as investment value; four specialized in pharmaceutical production with an investment value of AED467 million; and four factories for the production of medical devices and equipment with an investment value of AED334 million.



Al Balooshi added that the leading public and private hospitals annual consumption of priority healthcare related products is valued at AED5.5 billion. According to reports issued by one of the specialized companies pharmaceutical products constitute 90 percent of the total consumed products, which is equivalent to AED5 billion of the total consumption value.



Medical supplies come at second place with 6 percent. Meanwhile, medical equipment represents 4 percent of the consumed products.



Dr Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, said: "The new investment areas represent a wealth of new possibilities for investors and manufacturers in or looking to establish in Abu Dhabi. In particular, the thriving healthcare sector offers sizeable commercial opportunities for investors, and ADIO is here to help these companies."



"ADIO is translating the investment areas identified by the Basic Industries project into business opportunities, connecting investors to relevant partners and supporting their expanding operations both locally and abroad. We are also conducting several feasibility studies and looking at policy reforms directly related to these areas to ensure long-term sustainable opportunities for businesses," added Bin Hendi.
The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc), in collaboration with Royal Exchange General Insurance Company (REGIC), has developed the Hybrid Multi-Peril Crop Indemnity-Index Insurance (HM-II).

A statement from NIRSAL said the move will have a significant positive impact on agricultural productivity and assure income for farmers.

The new product, launched at NIRSALs Head Office in Abuja, is an outcome of NIRSALs commitment to the development of innovative agricultural insurance products and expanding coverage for agricultural lending across the entire agricultural value chain.

It is designed to protect farmers from losses during a planting season caused by bad weather (low & high rainfall, early & late season dry spells, lightning, hailstorms and thunderstorms), pest outbreak, disease outbreak, fire outbreak and permanent disability or death of the farmer.

A key advantage of the HM-II is that in cases where such risks happen, benefits paid out to the farmer would be up to the maximum loan or the insured amount after confirmation by advanced satellite technology, an assessment by an agriculture expert, or both.

The development of HM-II is in accordance with NIRSALs mandate to de-risk Agriculture and facilitate the flow of finance to the sector and aligns with the organizations target of increasing distribution of existing and new Agric insurance products to 3.6 million farmers nationwide by 2026, of which, NIRSAL Plc has already reached a milestone of 1,476,289 smallholder farmers.

NIRSALs Managing Director/CEO, Aliyu Abdulhameed, who spoke during the launch event, revealed that the HM-II was piloted during NIRSALs participation in the Central Bank of Nigerias (CBN) 2019 Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP)Wet season farming.

He added that the new product is another step towards the development of the NIRSAL Comprehensive Index Insurance (NCII), conceptualised in 2018, with the ultimate goal of Agric insurance product development by factoring in commodity pricing parameters in the cover to be issued.

Towards achieving the NCII, the launch of the HM-II marks an improvement to the NIRSAL Area Yield Index Insurance (AYII) which the corporation developed in 2017 and piloted in the wet season farming of the same year to significant effect, covering17,000 farmers and 10,000 hectares with a harvest value of 3 Billion.

This latest development is a testament to the progress NIRSAL Plc is making in the Agricultural insurance space. Prior to NIRSAL Plcs intervention, private underwriters were not insuring agriculture. However, leveraging on NIRSAL Plcs Insurance Pillar and in collaboration with the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), we have brought about the inclusion of underwriters other than NAIC in underwriting Agricultural transactions and stimulated the development of new and innovative agricultural insurance products, he said.

Specifically, NIRSAL Plc has been able to crowd in private insurance companies into the Agric insurance space via the formation of a consortium of four insurance companies in 2017 which has now grown to 10 insurance companies- including REGIC  in three years.

In his remarks, Yusuf Yila, Director of CBNs Development Finance Department revealed that the CBN has adopted NIRSAL Plcs Area Yield insurance (AYII) products and looks forward to deploying the HM-II.

He went on to commend NIRSAL Plc for always being at the forefront of agribusiness innovation and encouraged the company to continue on its upward trajectory. Yila concluded by expressing his confidence that NIRSAL Plc will continue to play a key role in the development finance functions of the CBN, its owner.

Also speaking during the event, Benjamin Agili, Managing Director/CEO, REGIC, described HM-II as a product that protects the smallholder farmers from farming loss including disability during a particular farming season. This, he said, guarantees sustainability and continuity, ensuring the farmer is able to remain in business, no matter the loss or situation.

READ ALSO:

He ended by thanking NIRSAL Plc for the exceptional job being done to change the face of agriculture financing in Nigeria and for giving REGIC the opportunity to partner with it on the HM-II.

On his part, Sunday Thomas, NAICOMs Commissioner for Insurance/CEO, who was represented by NAICOMs Director of Policy & Regulation, Leonard Akah, stated that in line with the Federal Government of Nigerias (FGN) Financial Inclusion Strategy, NAICOM was eager to lend its support to the development of a product such as HM-II.

Furthermore, he noted that in order to support the federal governments efforts in the promotion of agriculture and economic diversification, partnerships such as the one between NAICOM, NIRSAL PLC and REGIC- a partnership he described as visionary- have become inevitable.

In addition to developing new innovative insurance products along the entire Agric value chain, NIRSAL Plc is driving the enlightenment of different categories of Agric Value chain actors on Agric Insurance and training insurers & risk officers on innovative Agric Insurance product design and farm/agribusiness assessment.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell could soon be forever linked if the late Supreme Court justices death leads to the termination of the 44th presidents signature domestic policy achievement: the Affordable Care Act.

The stakes are potentially seismic: millions of people may lose their healthcare, in the middle of a pandemic no less.

All sides in the coming battle royale over how to proceed with filling the high court seat she left behind are posturing and pressuring, floating strategic possibilities and offering creative versions of history and precedent.

Most Republicans in the Senate want to hold a simple-majority floor vote on a nominee Mr Trump says he will announce as soon as this week before the end of the calendar year. Democrats say they are hypocrites because the blocked Obamas high court pick during his final year.

It appears Democrats have only extreme options as viable tactics from preventing confirmation hearings and a floor vote before this unprecedented year is up. Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday refused to rule bringing articles of impeachment against the president or even William Barr, his attorney general whom the Democrats say has improperly used his office to help Mr Trumps friends and use federal law enforcement unjustly against US citizens.

Unless Ms Pelosi pulls that politically dangerous lever, the maneuvering of the next few weeks most likely will end after Congress returns after the 3 November election with a high court with a 6-3 conservative bend. Analysts already are warning that conservatives appear months away from being able to partially criminalise abortion and also take down the 2011 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama care.

Whoever President Trump nominates will strike down the Affordable Care Act. It will throw millions of people off of healthcare, wont protect people with pre-existing conditions. It will be disastrous. Thats why they want to rush this. Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono, Hawaii

Democrats have sounded off since Ms Ginsburgs death to warn that millions of Americans could soon lose their health insurance, especially those with pre-existing conditions. Last year, 8.5m people signed up for coverage using the Affordable Care Act, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Healthcare in this country hangs in the balance, Joe Biden, who is the Democratic nominee for president and was vice president when Mr Obama signed the health plan now linked to his name into law, said on Sunday.

Mr Biden accused Republicans of playing a game by rushing the process to replace Ms Ginsburg on the court because they are trying to strip healthcare away from tens of millions of families.

Doing so, he warned, would strip away their peace of mind because insurance providers would no longer be required to give some Americans policies. Should a 6-3 court decide to uphold a lower courts ruling that the 2011 health law be taken down, those companies would drop coverage completely for folks with pre-existing conditions, Mr Biden warned in remarks from Philadelphia.

If Donald Trump has his way, the complications from Covid-19  would become the next deniable pre-exinsting condition for millions of Americans. That means they would lose their health insurance and be forced to either pay for care out of their pocket or use credit lines. Both could force millions into medical bankruptcy or otherwise create dire financial hardships.

Mr Trump about a month ago promised to release a new healthcare plan that, if ever passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law, would replace Obamacare.

So far, however, he has yet to unveil that alleged plan.

Trump Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters last week that the White Houses Domestic Policy Council is leading the work on the plan. But when pressed for more details, she chose to pick a fight with a CNN reporter.

Im not going to give you a readout of what our healthcare plan looks like and whos working on it, Ms McEnany said. If you want to know, if you want to know, come work here at the White House.

When pressed, Ms McEnany said stakeholders here in the White House are working on a plan the president has promised for several years. And, as I told you, our Domestic Policy Council and others in the White House are working on a healthcare plan, she insisted, describing it as the presidents vision for the next five years.

The president frequently mentions healthcare during his rowdy campaign rallies, but only in general terms. He promises a sweeping plan that will bring costs down across the board and also protect those with pre-existing conditions. But he mostly brings it up to hammer Mr Obama and Mr Biden for pushing a flawed law that he has been forced to tinker with to make it function better for consumers.

Broad brush

His top spokeswoman echoed those broad strokes during a briefing on Wednesday.

In aggregate, its going to be a very comprehensive strategy, one where were saving healthcare while Democrats are trying to take healthcare away, she told reporters. Were making healthcare better and cheaper, guaranteeing protections for people with preexisting conditions, stopping surprise medical billing, increasing transparency, defending the right to keep your doctor and your plan, fighting lobbyists and special interests, and making healthier and making, finding cures to diseases.

If there is a substantive plan that would protect millions with pre-existing conditions and others affected by Covid-19, it would have made a fine backbone of Mr Trumps August Republican National Committee address in which he accepted his partys presidential nomination for a second time.

But healthcare was not the major focus, even though it ranks in the top two issues  along with the economy  in just about every poll that asks voters to rank their priorities in deciding between Mr Trump and Mr Biden.

If there is a coming White House healthcare plan that would protect those with pre-existing conditions and prevent millions from losing coverage as the coronavirus pandemic is ongoing, the president is not using his campaign rallies at regional airport hangars to describe or promote it.

We will strongly protect Medicare and Social Security and we will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions, the president said at a campaign stop Saturday evening in Fayetteville, North Carolina, before pivoting to a completely unrelated topic: America will land the first woman on the moon, and the United States will be the first nation to land an astronaut on Nars, on Mars.

The push to install a conservative to replace the liberal Ms Ginsburg and the lack of any expectation Mr Trump has a tangible plan has given Democrats a new election-year talking point less than two months before all votes must be cast.

"Whoever President Trump nominates will strike down the Affordable Care Act, Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono told MSNBC on Sunday. It will throw millions of people off of healthcare, wont protect people with pre-existing conditions. It will be disastrous. Thats why they want to rush this."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 15:02:18|Editor: huaxia

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YINCHUAN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- A tourist train has taken about 800 visitors from eastern China on a six-day tour of the scenic spots of the country's western regions.

The train departed from the city of Zhongwei, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Saturday, representing the third such train this year. More than 1,700 passengers have taken the journey so far.

The train will make stops at several popular tourist destinations in neighboring Gansu Province, before returning to Ningxia and visiting the region's leading tourist attractions.

More such train services will be launched in October. Enditem
Tommie McGlothen Jr. is pictured in this 2014 photo.

SHREVEPORT, La.  Four Louisiana police officers were indicted Friday in connection with the death of Tommie Dale McGlothen Jr., a Black man with a known mental condition who died at the hospital a short time after his detention and arrest by the officers.

The Caddo Parish Grand Jury returned indictments against four Shreveport Police Department officers, Treona McCarter, Brian Ross, DMarea Johnson and James LeClare, who are charged with negligent homicide and malfeasance. McGlothen, 44, died on April 5 following an incident with a Shreveport homeowner.

According to Dr. Todd Thoma, the Caddo Parish Coroner, police arrived at the home after McGlothen blocked a driveway and followed a homeowner into his house. Police reported that McGlothen was 'mumbling incoherently' and 'exhibiting signs of paranoia and emotional disturbance,' the coroner said in a news release.

'Police officers used Tasers, mace and nightsticks to control McGlothen, who was agitated and combative and had fought with a homeowner,' according to the coroner.

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Video of McGlothen's arrest broadcast by KSLA which the station shot off of the cellphone of a person who the station said witnessed the altercation shows officers wrestling with a man on the ground, with at least one officer punching him repeatedly and another appearing to hit him with a baton. A voice can be heard saying that the officers were using a Taser on the man. The man can be seen kicking at police officers.

At one point police get the man to his feet with his hands appearing to be handcuffed behind him and he immediately falls or is pushed backward to the ground. After getting him up again, they then walk him over to the police vehicle, push him against it and his head hits the hood.

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According to the coroner, McGlothen died of factors including 'excited delirium' but his death possibly could have been prevented and it should have been obvious 'that he needed medical care.' The coroner said McGlothen was left in the back of a police vehicle for 48 minutes before it was discovered that he was unresponsive and not breathing.

Story continues

'He was predominantly unsupervised during this entire period. After a violent confrontation with psychotic behavior, and being tased several times, a more thorough evaluation ... would have been indicated,' the coroner said.

The officers had, in fact, been notified of McGlothen's mental condition during the first of three encounters with officers within a short time span. In each encounter, McGlothen exhibited signs he was a mental patient in need of medical treatment, according to information provided by the coroners office.

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McGlothen's family, with their attorney James Carter, held a Friday afternoon press conference thanking the Caddo Parish Grand Jury for returning indictments against four Shreveport Police Department officers in connection with McGlothen Jr.s death.

We are very, very grateful today to have you all come out to hear our response to the indictment that came down today, Carter said. We want to thank (Caddo) District Attorney James Stewart as well as his staff for committing to the impartial administration of justice in this matter.

'We dont want stickers. We want justice': Family, attorney speak on McGlothen case

McGlothen Jr.s case is one of many police brutality cases in this country and in this region, Carter said.

Carter added that hes grateful to Stewart for convening the grand jury.

We are very grateful and thankful to them for committing to impartial administration of justice in the indictment of the four officers involved in the untimely death of Tommie McGlothen Jr., Carter said. I am so thankful to the citizens of this city as well as the McGlothen family. We see this as one small, but significant step in the ongoing pursuit of justice relative to Mr. Tommie McGlothen Jr.

Attorney James Carter, surrounded by the family of Tommie McGlothen Jr., takes questions during a press conference on Friday. Four Shreveport police officers have been indicted on charges of negligent homicide and malfeasance.

Community activist Breka Peoples, who first brought McGlothens case to light with her advocacy for justice for McGlothen and others, joined Carter and the family for the press conference.

I want to thank the jury for the four indictments, Peoples said. I want to thank the family for coming together as one to fight for this. We still have a system that we have to fight in Shreveport that has to be destroyed and we have to destroy it. Im happy that Tommie McGlothen and his family were able to get justice.

Tommie McGlothen, III and Tommie McGlothen, Sr., attended the press conference thanking the grand jury and the district attorney's office for the indictments.

Carter said he and the family are looking forward to a vigorous prosecution of this case by the district attorneys office and that hes also putting together a petition for damages against the City of Shreveport and SPD. Carter would not disclose the amount of the damages he will be seeking.

Carter said the evidence in this case went where it should logically go resulting in charges of negligent homicide and malfeasance.

It is a change in America now, Carter said. We have a different mentality, we have a different approach. Its a more unified approach than weve ever had. Dr. (Martin Luther) King talked about this when he said, Black men, white men, Jews and gentiles will all come together at one time in the history of this nation to litigate for justice without regard to religion, race, color and creed.' I think America is tired of this and of course this family is tired of it and I think we see a new way and a new approach, and we think this is precedent setting and were very grateful for Gods blessing in this situation.

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Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins issued a statement Friday.

We have cooperated with the District Attorneys Office throughout the McGlothen investigation. Now that the Grand Jurys decision is out, we will allow the legal process to run its proper course. We have adopted additional policies related to excessive use of force to prevent incidents like this from occurring in the future. The McGlothen family remains in our thoughts and prayers," his statement read.

The Times reached out to SPD for their response and was provided with the following: We are not making any statements regarding this matter.

In this instance, the SPD officers used excessive force in violation of SPD Taser policy; used excessive use of physical force that was injurious to McGlothen when it was unnecessary; failed to call for medical assistance; and placed McGlothen in the patrol cruiser on his head, limiting his ability to breathe. Finally, the officers failed to transport McGlothen to the hospital or call for paramedics for transportation to the hospital for care and treatment.

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The SPD officers violations of use-of-force policy and protective-custody policy demonstrated a reckless disregard for a known risk of harm to McGlothen. These resulted in the indictments for negligent homicide and malfeasance in office.

The four indicted officers were notified they were subjects of the Grand Jury investigation and were given the opportunity to testify. Each chose to testify and three were represented by counsel. The officers turned themselves in on Friday and were released on $20,000 bonds.

If convicted, each of the officers faces up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000 on each count.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Four Louisiana cops charged in death of Black man with mental illness
A man holding a phone walks past a sign of Chinese company ByteDance's app TikTok, known locally as Douyin, at the International Artificial Products Expo in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China October 18, 2019.

LONDON  Interest in virtual private network (VPN) software surged in the U.S. over the weekend as citizens realized President Donald Trump could soon block their access to Chinese-made apps like TikTok and WeChat over national security concerns.

VPNs allow users to conceal their location online and pretend to be somewhere they're not. Chinese citizens use the software to access apps like Facebook and Google, which are blocked by the Chinese Communist Party. U.S. citizens could theoretically use a VPN to try to bypass a government block on TikTok or WeChat.

Daniel Markuson, digital privacy expert at NordVPN, told CNBC that NordVPN has seen more interest than normal from U.S. citizens since the announcement of the ban on TikTok and WeChat on Aug. 6.

"Expecting a (TikTok) ban to go into effect on Sunday, people rushed looking for VPN more actively: this weekend alone inquiries from the U.S. surged by 34%," Markuson said in an email. NordVPN declined to give exact figures but said it has 14 million users globally.

Rival firm ExpressVPN has also seen an uptick in interest. Harold Li, vice president of ExpressVPN, told CNBC: "We saw a 20% increase in traffic to our website from the U.S. following Trump's initial announcement of a potential TikTok and WeChat ban in early August."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Surfshark, another VPN provider, said the company saw a notable uptick in free trials. "Comparing last weekend (12-13 Sept.) to this weekend (19-20 Sept.), we reported a 38% surge in free trials. Since TikTok aims to reach Generation Z, the 'mobile-first' generation, I presume it might be connected," they said.
DARWIN, Australia  An Australian and a Briton working to map a deadly legacy of unexploded munitions from World War II have been killed in the South Pacific nation of the Solomon Islands after a bomb they were working on detonated.

The blast occurred on Sunday inside the house that the two explosives experts were sharing in a suburb of the capital, Honiara. The police and the humanitarian group they worked for, Norwegian Peoples Aid, expressed shock that the men had removed the munition from the field and taken it to a residential area.

We determine what to do with the UXOs after the survey has located them, Clifford Tunuki, the police inspector, said of the unexploded ordnance in a statement released on Sunday. An official investigation is underway, and the site is being treated as a crime scene, he added. It was unclear whether nearby homes were damaged.

Per Hakon Breivik, the aid organizations director of disarmament, said that he had known one of the men, Stephen Atkinson, 57, of Britain, for more than 20 years, and that Mr. Atkinson and the other bomb expert, Trent Lee, 40, of Australia, were devoted professionals.
Kalvakuntla Kavitha, former MP and daughter of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao becomes the first woman politician in South India to clock a million followers on Twitter.

Kavitha had joined the Telangana statehood campaign in 2008 after returning from the US and gave a cultural thrust to the movement by launching an NGO called Telangana Jagruthi to connect the spirit of Telangana with the movement.

The Twitter journey of Kavitha began in the year 2010 on Twitter as a voice that represented the interests of the Telangana statehood movement. Since then she has never missed a chance to echo peoples voice and sentiments physically and virtually, weaved her Twitter journey with a mix of politics and emotions.

She tapped into the power of social media to connect with natives across the world, through the NGO Telangana Jagruthi and her efforts yielded to garnering the national attention of Telanganas Bathukamma Festival. Kavitha ran various campaigns on social media which includes #SistersForChange and #GiftAHelmet which saw massive engagement online and on-ground scores of common people and celebrities joined the bandwagon that led to a national Twitter trend during every Raksha Bandhan festival.

Her latest campaign #ThankYouWarriors that Kavitha had run to thank COVID-19 frontline warriors while serving the society have left a long-lasting digital and real impression upon people. As a leader Kavitha used the platform from the very beginning not just to connect with her mass supporter base but she has been an active voice in expressing her consent, dissent, and expectations from the

establishments.

Delighted with reaching one million followers, Ms Kavitha speaking with Deccan Chronicle said All I can say is that the followers on twitter have been very kind.

Explaining the efforts in reaching the greater number of people not only to just spread out the ideologies but to serve the people who are in distress and dire needs, Kavitha said my intention and endeavour is to serve society and it has always been reflected on my social media handles.

She said I can proudly say that due to social media only we are able to serve the people through offering free meals to the needy in my constituency (Nizamabad) for the last three years. It gives me an opportunity to serve the number of people during this COVID crisis and also extend a helping hand in bringing students, migrants and people in distress stuck abroad and within national borders back to their state."

Replying to a question with regard to the kind of back office support she had to deal with the grievances of people and to help them, Kavitha said whoever comes up with any request, my office and I try very sincerely to address their concerns. As a result, I believe that the last one year it has grown, and I believe social media today has become a great tool in the hands of the common man.

She felt that the more space we give for social media and the more interaction of the public representatives and authorities on the social media, I believe the reach to the common man, which is the ultimate goal for any system in this country will be fulfilled and we will be a true democracy.

Kavitha said I have a great deal of youngsters who work with me. We are a team and not from now, but they were here since the Telangana movement. They all work with me and a few people have certain assigned jobs to handle. At the end of the day, it is TRS party Karyakartas and Jagruthi workers at the ground level. They are the ones who coordinate and deliver a lot of the work.

Answering a question pertaining to resolve the grievances of people with the government departments, Kavitha said it is all about coordinating and making sure the work is done with a great deal of follow-up. A common man approaches a public representative with the hope that it will be solved but he doesn't know what goes on behind it or how the matter would be resolved.

She explained that suppose if somebody has an issue with their land patta clearing up or their name coming into the land records, they would simply go give an application to a public representative and they have no clue what else to do. The rest of the procedure is taken care of by my office, if the issue or request is genuine.

Kavitha said I want to add one more thing. What has happened is that once people understood that in this state leaders react to social media, like my brother KT Rama Rao who is very active on social media and he reacts to requests also quite often. I have seen many women creating social media handles and sending me special requests and we address the same.

She said so what is seen on social media is like a public request. There are many requests which directly come to us as well, which are hidden requests, we follow up with them too. They're actually tenfold to what you see. So that's much richer. So, I believe that in a way it is an empowering tool for the women too.
While listening to a batch of petitions against the anti-CAA protests in December, the top court said that the right to protest has to be balanced against acts like blocking of roads and the situation may vary from case to case.

The Supreme Court on Monday said there cannot be a "universal policy" on right to protest and possible curbs as the situation may vary from case to case.

The apex court made the observation while reserving its verdict on a batch of pleas against the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests which led to blocking of a road in Shaheen Bagh in the National Capital last December.

A bench consisting of justices SK Kaul, Aniruddha Bose, and Krishna Murari stated that the right to protest has to be balanced against other public rights such as the right to mobility.

Restrictions had been imposed on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch and the Okhla underpass, which were closed on 15 December due to the protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The protest site was however cleared in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There were some supervening circumstances which came into play and it was no one's hand. God almighty itself intervened," PTI quoted the court as saying.

According to Bar&Bench, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said suggested that the petitions may not survive in light of the developments in the case, however, none of the petitioners, barring one agreed to withdraw their pleas.

One of the petitioners, Amit Sahni, said that these kind of protests should not be allowed in larger public interest.

"This was allowed to have continued for more than 100 days and people faced difficulty. This kind of incident should not have happened. Yesterday, there was 'Chakka Jam' in Haryana. They have also called 'Bharat Bandh' on 24 and 25 September," he said.

Advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing for an intervenor, said that there was a right to peaceful protest and "some people from a political party went there and created riots".

"We have the right to protest. State machinery is not sacrosanct. Members of a political party went there with the police and created the situation," PTI quoted him as saying.

Justice Bose said that the right to protest had to be balanced with the right of people to use a public road. "For a long period of time, a public road was blocked. What about this right to use the road?", LiveLaw quoted Bose as saying.

When Pracha suggested that universal guidelines could be laid down for protests, the bench said: "We have to balance right to protest and the blocking of roads. We have to deal with the issue. There cannot be a universal policy as the situation may vary on a case-to-case basis."

"In a parliamentary democracy, protest can happen in Parliament and on roads but it has to be peaceful," it added

Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that the right to protest cannot be absolute and there are some judgements to this effect.

Reserving its verdict, the bench said that it had appointed "interlocutors" in the Shaheen Bagh case as an experiment and they had suggested some measures which can be looked into.

The top court had earlier heard the pleas, filed by Sahni, former BJP MLA Nand Kishore Garg and Ashutosh Dubey, against the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh.

Sahni had earlier approached the high court seeking directions to Delhi Police to ensure smooth traffic flow on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which was blocked by anti-CAA protesters on 15 December. The high court had urged local authorities to deal with the situation, keeping in mind the law and order situation.

Sahni has filed a special leave petition in the apex court against the high court's order. The plea sought directions to the police to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch.

It also sought supervision of the situation in Shaheen Bagh, where several women were sitting in protest, by a retired Supreme Court judge or a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court in order to avoid any violence.

Separately, Garg, through his counsel Shashank Deo Sudhi, had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking directions to authorities to remove the protestors from Shaheen Bagh.

Garg's plea claimed that various other arterial roads of Delhi have been facing traffic congestion due to the protest at Shaheen Bagh.

Alleging that the law enforcement machinery has been "held hostage to the whims and fancies of the protesters," the plea sought laying down of guidelines for protests which led to obstruction of public places.

"It is disappointing that the State machinery is muted and is a silent spectator to hooliganism and vandalism of the protesters, who are threatening the existential efficacy of the democracy and the rule of law and had already taken the law and order situation in their own hand," the plea said.

The State has a duty to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens, who have been facing trouble due to the road blockade, the plea further said.

"Hence, it is urgently required that public places must not be allowed to be abused and misused for ulterior and mala fide purposes such as staging a protest against a constitutional amendment in the heart of the capital city and thereby causing incalculable hardships and difficulties to the common people," it said.

According to LiveLaw, the petition filed by Dubey, however, stated that the protests could continue after the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic was over.

With inputs from PTI
By the summer the earliest vaccines to go into clinical trials delivered promising results. The vaccines didnt cause any serious side effects in the volunteers and produced promising levels of antibodies. At that point, they moved into Phase 3 trials.

Dr. Anderson said that vaccine makers could have started running trials for children over the summer, as soon as they had gotten good Phase 2 results from adults. But that did not happen. And with autumn around the corner, that still hasnt happened.

Whenever these trials do start, it could take upward of a year to get vaccines for Covid-19 ready for children. Vaccine makers will need to write protocols and get them approved by the F.D.A. Theyll need to recruit volunteers  a process that is more time consuming for pediatric vaccines since parents must give informed consent. Getting to the first injections could take a couple of months.

By necessity, the trials would have to start small, with researchers giving perhaps just half a dozen kids a low dose of the vaccine and then monitoring them for several days. Then the trial could expand to dozens and then hundreds of kids.

A couple more months might pass while the vaccine developers give a low dose to a small group of kids. Each group of children would need two months of observation to check for their immune response and to make sure they dont have any side effects. Only then would vaccine developers start a new trial with a higher dose.

These tests would likely start with older children, before researchers could shift down to kids between 3 and 8. And only after gathering early data from that trial would it be possible to start one for children under 3. Once all of the results from these trials came in, the F.D.A. would have to put them through an independent review before approving the vaccines for children.

There were good reasons behind the early focus on adults. Children are far less likely to die from Covid-19. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report which concluded that, of more than 190,000 people who died in the United States with Covid-19, only 121 were under the age of 21. Likewise, the rate of hospitalization in children under 18 is 20 times lower than it is in adults.
Protests over a decades-old water-sharing treaty have shaken northern Mexico, where farmers seized a dam to try to prevent the country from supplying the neighbouring United States.

Demonstrators have occupied the La Boquilla dam in the border state of Chihuahua since September 8, saying they fear a drought will ruin their crops.

Seventeen soldiers were detained for investigation after a woman was shot dead in the unrest. The National Guard called her death an "unfortunate accident."

The government says that the hydroelectric dam has suffered damage amounting to $4.7 million.

Under the pact dating back to 1944, the neighbouring countries share water from two major rivers flowing from the southwestern United States to Mexico.

The agreement obliges the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water a year from the Colorado River.

In return, Mexico must supply an average of 432 million cubic meters annually over a five-year cycle from the Rio Grande, which forms part of the border between the two countries.

The United States complains that its neighbour owes almost a year's worth of water that it must supply by October 24.

Authorities in the US state of Texas say the water is vital for crop irrigation, municipal water supplies and industry.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has written to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to ask him to intervene to ensure Mexico complies with its side of the deal.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says that his country has already delivered 82 per cent of its obligation and will supply the remainder on time.

He has ruled out trying to renegotiate the pact, saying: "I don't think there's a better deal."

Although Lopez Obrador has warned that Washington could raise tariffs if the agreement is broken, geographer Gonzalo Hatch Kuri does not expect any such retaliation.

"The United States has never waged war on us for not paying it" in the past, said the professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

"It has not gone beyond diplomatic friction."

But the water debt is becoming a political issue in the United States as Abbott presses Pompeo.

"Mexico needs to end the cycle without a debt. Mexico ended the last cycle, as well as several previous cycles, in a debt. This trend cannot continue," he wrote in a letter dated September 15.

With US President Donald Trump seeking re-election on November 3, Hatch Kuri does not rule out the possibility of water becoming a campaign issue.

But as Lopez Obrador has sought to maintain cordial relations with Trump, the Mexican leader is anxious to meet its obligations under the pact, he added.

Lopez Obrador has assured Mexican farmers they will have enough water for the agricultural season that ends in October.

But the farmers, backed by Chihuahua Governor Javier Corral, say that taking water out of the reservoirs will threaten the next season's crops.

Parched Chihuahua has registered temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) this year.

On Sunday farmers massed in the northern city of Delicias in protest against the supply of water to the US and the death of their fellow demonstrator.

Lopez Obrador has said that he is willing to talk with Trump to make the deal more flexible.

But he criticizes the protesters for being intransigent and suggests that there are political motivations behind the unrest ahead of next year's gubernatorial elections.

Corral, who is allied with Lopez Obrador's political opponents, accuses the government of failing to cooperate on the issue.
Participants of PJSC Zaporizhia Titanium and Magnesium Combine (ZTMC), a 51% share of which is owned by the state through the State Property Fund (SPF) of Ukraine, at their meeting on August 10 decided to channel the funds contributed by the investor in the amount of UAH 177.7 million strictly to the reconstruction of the enterprise.

"At the general meeting of the company's participants, it was decided to allow the targeted use of UAH 177.748 million. Separately, we note that all funds of ZTMC are blocked due to debts for electricity generated by the previous management of the enterprise," the press service of the SPF told Interfax-Ukraine last week in response to the news agency's request.

As Group DF reported earlier, the Higher Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) ordered the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) to open criminal proceedings into the attempt of the newly appointed ZTMC management to embezzle funds contributed by the investor  Tolexis Trading Limited  for the reconstruction of the enterprise. HACC, by its decision No. 991/7049/20 dated September 3, 2020, obliged NABU to enter information about a criminal offense under the lawsuit filed by the investor of ZTMC into the register.

This is about funds in the amount of UAH 159 million contributed in 2013 by Tolexis Trading Limited for the modernization of the plant in accordance with the agreement on the establishment of ZTMC LLC.

"This money was forced to be kept in deposit accounts of ZTMC LLC... The current management of ZTMC LLC, together with representatives of the State Property Fund on August 10, 2020, at a general meeting of ZTMC LLC participants, decided to use UAH 159 million for other, not related to reconstruction of ZMTC LLC, goals," Group DF said then in a press release.

In this regard, Tolexis Trading Limited demanded to open criminal proceedings against the current management of ZTMC, recognize Tolexis Trading Limited as an injured party and arrest ZTMC's accounts in order to avoid illegal waste of funds. Before the court's decision, NABU refused to start an investigation into this fact due to the corpus delicti, Group DF said.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The state of Florida is going to get tough on people who engage in violence during protests, Floridas Republican governor said Monday in announcing new legislation.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said his proposed legislation will impose felony-level penalties on anyone who damages property, causes injury or destroys public property during a protest.

Recently in our country we have seen attacks on law enforcement, weve seen disorder and tumult in many cities, DeSantis said.

Floridas Legislature wont begin its annual 60-day session until March, so its somewhat unusual for the governor to announce a legislative proposal so far in advance. But DeSantis has the support of incoming Senate President-designate Wilton Simpson and House Speaker-designate Chris Sprowls, along with local law enforcement agencies throughout the state.

Democratic leaders criticized the measures as a ploy to help President Donald Trumps re-election bid. Floridas 29 electoral votes are a key to Trumps re-election and polls show a tight race with former Vice-President Joe Biden.

The governor is attaching himself to Donald Trumps propaganda and manufacturing a non-existent law and order crisis in Florida, said Senate Democratic Leader Audrey Gibson. Its political fearmongering to bolster a presidents re-election bid.

A Tampa activist also questioned the governors motives.

The right to peaceably assemble is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. This is an attempt to chill legitimate dissent and somehow equate protests against police killing Black people with criminal activity despite the clear evidence that the protests occurring in Florida are overwhelmingly peaceful, said Kelly Benjamin, co-founder of Tampa for Justice.

DeSantis said he supports the right to hold peaceful protests.

Under the proposal, felony charges could be filed against: anyone participating in an assembly that results in property damage or injury; anyone who obstructs traffic during an unauthorized protest; anyone who topples a monument or destroys public property during a violent protest.

It would also be a misdemeanour to harass people at places like restaurants during a disorderly protest.

You see these videos of these innocent people eating dinner and you have these crazed lunatics just screaming at them and intimidating them, DeSantis said. Youre not going to do that in the state of Florida.

He is also proposing a mandatory minimum six months in jail for anyone who strikes a law enforcement officer during a protest.

People arrested during a violent protest would be held without bail until at least their first court appearance. He pointed to the ongoing protests in Portland, which he said involved the same people getting arrested and released.

They get their mugshot taken and then they get released, and its like a carousel. On and on it goes. Now thats not going to happen here in Florida, DeSantis said.

Legislation would also strip municipalities of state money if they defund law enforcement and lift a $200,000 cap on lawsuits against local governments that dont take appropriate action to protect people and property.

While DeSantis said Florida hasnt seen the type of violent protests that have occurred in other states, he said he wants to make sure they dont happen.

We need to do more in terms of a strong legislative response so we do not always have to play whack-a-mole any time you have situations like this develop, DeSantis said.

___

AP writer Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg contributed to this report.
She's long been known for her chic fashion sense.

And Kelly Brook was proudly displaying her famous curves in a frilled cream blouse as she arrived at Global Studios to present her show on Heart Radio on Monday.

The model, 40, teamed the classy top with boot-cut jeans and boots as she headed into the studio in London, after recently revealing her struggles with school bullies.

Gorgeous: Kelly Brook, 40, proudly displayed her famous curves in a frilled cream blouse as she arrived at Global Studios to present her show on Heart Radio on Monday

Kelly showed off her famous curves in the pretty cream blouse with long sleeves and a frilled neckline as she arrived at the studio.

The presenter tucked the top into indigo boot-cut jeans and finished her look with chunky platform boots.

Kelly completed her stylish ensemble with black sunglasses and chain-strapped sunglasses as she headed into the radio studio.

Lovely: The model teamed the classy top with boot-cut jeans and boots as she headed into the studio in London to present the mid-afternoon show

It comes after Kelly recently revealed that school bullies used to call her 'Smelly Parsnips' when she was younger.

She said on Heart FM: 'My real name is Kelly Parsons and they used to call me Smelly Parsnips because it rhymes.

'Imagine sending that email, saying "You know, I've met this Prince, so can you just stop calling me Smelly Parsnips."

Kelly revealed that she had to ask others to stop using the nickname once she began dating.

She is currently in a relationship Jeremy Parisi, after they began dating in 2015.

Lovely: Kelly completed her stylish ensemble with black sunglasses and chain-strapped sunglasses as she headed into the radio studio

In July, Kelly claimed that sex gets better with age and said her longterm love, 35, Jeremy is a big fan of her curves.

Speaking on Vicky Pattison's The Secret To... podcast, she said: 'My boyfriend is 35 and he is Italian, so, you know, he likes a nice large curvy woman so that's always a good thing! I think your sex life gets better as you get older!

'You get confident! You are not so hung up on stuff. You know what you enjoy. You know what you like, so you are not as scared to tell them.

'When you're young you don't tell them. They are like 'is that nice?' or whatever and you're like 'yeah!' When you're older you are gonna make sure you get what you want!'
Victoria has recorded 28 coronavirus cases and three more deaths, sparking calls for the state to ease lockdown restrictions early.

The latest figures, which were released on Tuesday, show a slight spike in case numbers after the state recorded just 11 new infections on Monday and two deaths - the lowest number in three months.

Monday's figures pushed Melbourne's 14-day average down to 34.4, well below the state's target of 50 which was the mark for restrictions to be lifted.

Under Daniel Andrews' targets, restrictions will be eased in Melbourne on September 28 but the lockdown won't be fully lifted until after October 26 with a 14-day average of five or less coronavirus cases.

Despite the slight increase, Federal deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth said health official were taking note of the low case numbers.

Victoria recorded 28 coronavirus cases and three more deaths on Tuesday (pictured: Locals are seen walking by a tram during COVID-19 in Melbourne, Australia)

The spike comes after the state recorded it's lowest number of new infections on Monday (Pictured: Police patrol the boatsheds on bikes during COVID-19 in Melbourne, Australia)

'If (case numbers) continue down into single digit territory there's no doubt that that will be provoking some thought on behalf of the Victorian government about the road map and when restrictions can be lifted.'

Premier Daniel Andrews said they would use 'common sense' when it comes to decisions around end restrictions earlier than planned.

'If circumstances change, if we find ourself ahead of schedule  not for one day, but in a manifest sense  common sense always guides us,' he said.

'We will look at what sits behind the numbers and then we will have to make a judgment. Has enough time passed for us to be confident that the numbers we are seeing are a true reflection of how much virus is out there?'

Mr Andrews on Sunday said the path towards easing rules would be constantly reviewed, but he is standing firm by his 'safe and steady' approach.

'That is proof positive beyond any question that this strategy is working,' he said at Sunday's press conference.

'There's no good opening up too early. There's no good letting our frustrations get the better of us.

'All that will mean is that everything metropolitan Melbourne has given, everything that everyone has done to produce these low, but still not low enough, numbers will count for nothing.'

Optimism has risen among Melbourne small businesses, with a survey showing 35 per cent now believe the Victorian economy will be better in one year's time.

Locked-down Melbourne residents could be freed by mid-October as experts predict cases will fall below five in the next two weeks. Pictured: Women walking through Footscray during protests on Sunday

Victoria recorded just 14 new infections on Sunday, the lowest number in three months. Pictured: Police talking to a protester on Sunday

That compares with just 17 per cent in August believing the state's economy will improve by then, the Sensis Business Index shows.

More also think the national economy will mend, with 26 per cent saying it will be better in a year compared with 14 per cent last month.

Despite the premier's upbeat tone, frustrations were evident on Sunday as anti-lockdown protests continued in Melbourne.

More than a dozen protesters illegally gathered at Chadstone Shopping Centre and belted out a rendition of John Farnham's You're The Voice before police intervened.

Two people were arrested and six were issued fines, adding to Saturday's 16 arrests and 21 fines after up to 100 people rallied in Melbourne's inner beachside suburb of Elwood.

Kids on scooters are seen enjoying the warm weather at Elwood Beach in Melbourne over the weekend
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 19:00:37|Editor: huaxia

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-- To fight for the legal rights of all WeChat users in the country, the USWUA sued the Trump administration for the ban.

-- The actions against TikTok and WeChat are to weaken China's role in the global digital economy generally, mainly for geopolitical reasons.

-- The USWUA said it is ready to defend the hard-won victory, a powerful response to the current trend of discrimination against the Chinese people in the United States.





SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- After three hearings held in three consecutive days, a U.S. judge on Sunday temporarily hit pause on President Donald Trump's ban on WeChat, a Chinese messaging, social-media and mobile-payment app, originally slated to go into effect Sunday night.

Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in San Francisco issued the order granting motion for preliminary injunction, which determined the restrictions placed on WeChat could violate the Constitutional Amendment rights of its users in the United States.

On Aug. 6, Trump issued an executive order banning U.S. transactions via WeChat, which would take effect on the late night of Sept. 20.

On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department issued the Identification of Prohibited Transactions. "The result is that consumers in the U.S. cannot download or update the WeChat app, use it to send or receive money, and -- because U.S. support for the app by data hosting and content caching will be eliminated -- the app, while perhaps technically available to existing U.S. users, likely will be useless to them," Judge Beeler wrote in her order.

A tablet screenshot taken on Sept. 20, 2020 in San Francisco, the United States, shows the start page of WeChat, a Chinese messaging, social-media and mobile-payment app. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

IRREPLACEABLE APP

Many WeChat users in the United States, including the U.S. WeChat Users Alliance (USWUA), believe that the app is irreplaceable for them, particularly in the Chinese-speaking and Chinese-American community, and the executive order ignores the livelihood of people who rely on the app.

To fight for the legal rights of all WeChat users in the country, the USWUA sued the Trump administration for the ban. The lawsuit opened in court on Thursday.

The active users of WeChat, developed by the Chinese tech giant Tencent, exceeds 1.2 billion in 2020, including tens of millions of overseas customers. More than 5 million Chinese-Americans are currently living in the United States, and most of them use WeChat.

"What we represent is just the most common WeChat users. Most of us want to use our hard-working hands to create a simple life full of little happiness only," the USWUA wrote on its website.

"However, such a simple wish was deprived by the executive order, like a delicate dandelion in the storm, which might disappear at any moment," it said. "Mr. President has no right to deprive us of our choice with a vague and unclear decree."

Arthur Dong, an active Chinese community leader who runs a photographers' club in the Bay Area, said that if WeChat were banned, he could not find an alternative to manage his business.

WeChat has become an essential part of diverse communities for not only Chinese social communication, but also corporations between Chinese and American people in various fields, Dong said.

"Using WeChat to initiate charity concerts and other events, we have raised and donated more than 100,000 U.S. dollars to support the reconstruction of Northern California's towns destroyed by wildfire," he told Xinhua. "It would be impossible without WeChat."

"I use WeChat every day to communicate with my business partners in China. It is vital to my business. I can't imagine doing business with China without WeChat," said Steve Hoffman, an entrepreneur and angel investor in the Bay Area.

"I use WeChat for negotiating deals in China, arranging meetings, sending documents, sharing news, and just keeping in touch," said Hoffman, CEO and chairman of Founders Space, one of the leading incubators in Silicon Valley. "I think it's shortsighted for Trump to ban WeChat from the U.S. app store."

"Americans, Europeans, Indians, Japanese," WeChat is essential for everyone to do business with China, he said, adding that "without WeChat, Americans will be at a severe disadvantage when working with the Chinese. But maybe that's what Trump wants. This is all part of Trump's decoupling strategy."

A tablet screenshot taken on Sept. 20, 2020 shows the download page of WeChat, a Chinese messaging, social-media and mobile-payment app, on a U.S. App store. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)





NOT LAWFUL BUT POLITICAL

While the Trump administration sought to remove "untrusted" Chinese apps such as WeChat from U.S. mobile app stores in the name of protecting "America's critical telecommunications and technology infrastructure," experts said the executive order serving the administration's political interest was not a lawful exercise of authority by the president and the commerce secretary under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Michael Bien, a lawyer for the WeChat users, said "the United States has never shut down a major platform for communications, not even during war times. There are serious First Amendment problems with the WeChat ban, which targets the Chinese American community."

The U.S. actions have fundamentally violated the inherent law of technological development, run counter to the trend and direction of digital economy development, and are harming the common interests of the global community, including China and the United States, said Shen Yi, a scholar on global cyberspace governance at China's Fudan University.

"It's all political," said Hoffman, adding that Trump tried to shift blame onto others for America's problems, and China is one of the others.

"He wants to breakdown communication, so it becomes more difficult for Chinese and Americans to be together. I personally think this strategy is misguided and will wind up hurting both countries. But in the case of WeChat, it will hurt American businesses more," he added.

"The actions against TikTok and WeChat are to weaken China's role in the global digital economy generally, mainly for geopolitical reasons," Jeffrey Sachs, an economics professor at Columbia University and a senior United Nations advisor, told Xinhua.

Zuo Xiaodong, vice president of the China Information Security Research Institute, said the U.S. moves reveal the intention to purge Chinese high-tech companies, cripple China's competitiveness, and contain China's development.

Bob Grubba, president and CEO of Broadway Limited Imports, contacts his Chinese partners via WeChat in his office in Ormond Beach of Florida, the United States, June 6, 2019. (Xinhua/Zou Guangping)





VICTORY TO DEFEND

Some U.S. WeChat users have supported the federal judge's order to temporarily halt Trump's ban on WeChat, saying the success of the case has temporarily protected the rights and interests of all WeChat users in the United States.

"I'm relieved to hear that a federal judge temporarily ruled to block the Trump administration from banning WeChat, but this probably won't stop Trump," Hoffman said.

"I believe Trump can work around any temporary legal hurdles. He's done this with immigration and other initiatives. He will just issue a new executive order with different wording until he gets what he wants. That's been his strategy every time judges try to restrict his actions," he added.

Noting that the lawyer team prejudged that the federal government was likely to immediately resort to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for not accepting the preliminary injunction, the USWUA said it is ready to defend the hard-won victory, a powerful response to the current trend of discrimination against the Chinese people in the United States.

This year's hate crimes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, expelling Chinese students and visiting scholars, restricting visas for many Chinese, along with blocking WeChat, all these together, started a new trend of discrimination against Chinese in American history, which can date back to the Chinese Exclusion Act enacted in 1882 and not canceled until 1943, the USWUA said in an article via WeChat. 
Trendsetters in Indias online casino industry enjoy a large market share due to massive investment in innovative technology. Today, live dealer games are the major attractions to online casino websites. These games have taken the local market by storm and for many good reasons.

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Live Games Galore

As the online casino industry continues to grow, players demands continue to evolve. Now that live dealer games are the biggest trend, software developers are in a race to release the most exciting games. For players, this means a wider range of live games to try.

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The Future of Indias Online Casinos

Live dealer rooms are set to become the future of the Indian gambling landscape. More players continue discovering this easier and more exciting way to enjoy their favorite games even on mobile. If you love casino games, live games will add the thrill to your experience.
Unilever is a step closer to establishing a sole UK headquarters after Dutch shareholders backed the consolidation plans.

Since its creation via merger in 1930, the Anglo-Dutch group behind Dove soap and Marmite has had bases in London and Rotterdam.

But under plans approved by investors in the Netherlands yesterday, there would be just a single legal base in the UK. It has stressed this will not affect its overall presence in either country.

Switch: Since its creation via merger in 1930, the Anglo-Dutch group behind Dove soap and Marmite has had bases in London and Rotterdam

Unilever wants the changes, which it says will make its structure simple and easier for the purposes of deal-making, to take effect from November 22.

And the final step is to win approval from British shareholders in a vote on October 12, which is expected to pass easily.

Unilever began its push to restructure under previous management after a failed 112billion takeover approach by US rival Kraft Heinz in 2017.

It tried to base its headquarters in Rotterdam but changed course after a Mail campaign and opposition from investors.

Chief executive Alan Jope said Unilever would press on despite recent proposals from a Dutch opposition party to impose an 'exit tax' if it quits the Netherlands.

The company's lawyers believe the move would violate international law. However, Unilever has said it could cancel the changes if the law was passed.

Shares in the consumer goods group fell by 1.7 per cent.
Parts of Texas and Louisiana braced Monday for flooding and a damaging storm surge up to four feet as Tropical Storm Beta slowly worked its way into a part of the country that's already been drenched and battered during this year's exceptionally busy hurricane season.

Beta's winds were weakening as it got closer to making landfall sometime Monday evening and the storm was not expected to strengthen into a hurricane.

But its path along the Texas coast over the next couple of days once it gets inland could produce bands of showers with heavy rainfall, forecasters said. Rain from Beta was already coming down Monday in the Houston area.

'This still is probably the most uncertain part of the forecast,' Dan Reilly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the Houston-Galveston office, said about rainfall from Beta.

Earlier predictions of up to 20 inches in some areas were downgraded Monday to up to 15 inches. Texas coastal counties were most likely to see 4 to 6 inches with 2 to 4 inches farther inland, Reilly said.

Storm surge up to 4 feet was forecast from Port Aransas to Sabine Pass in Texas.

Scroll down for video

Dario Romero kayaks to his house in Galveston, Texas on Monday as a tidal surge from Tropical Storm Beta inundated the low-lying areas around Galveston County

Michael Koudelka and Carol Kelly walk through tidal flood waters on East Hunter Drive in the unincorporated community of Freddiesville near Bayou Vista, Texas on Monday

A truck drives through a flooded street in Galveston, Texas on Monday as the tropical storm prepared to make landfall

A barricade floats along flooded Strand Street near 25th Street in Galveston, Texas on Monday

Images showed how bad Strand Street in Galveston, Texas, was flooded by the storm on Monday

Texas is still bracing for heavy rainfall as the storm prepares to make landfall Monday evening

Beta's maximum sustained winds were 45mph Monday afternoon. The storm was moving west-northwest at 7mph at about 1pm, forecasters said. It was about 45 miles southeast of Port O'Connor, Texas.

After Beta makes landfall, it is expected to move northeast along the coast and head into Louisiana sometime mid-week, forecasters said.

Flash flooding was possible in Arkansas and Mississippi as the system moves farther inland.

In Galveston, an island city southeast of Houston, there was already some street flooding from rising tides and part of a popular fishing pier collapsed due to strong waves.

On Monday, Gov Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 29 Texas counties ahead of Beta's arrival.

A storm surge up to four feet was forecast from San Luis Pass to Sabine Pass in Texas

Forecasters said flash flooding was possible in Arkansas and Mississippi as the system moves further inland

Forecasters said Beta was not expected to bring the same amount of rainfall that Texas experienced during either Hurricane Harvey in 2017 or Tropical Storm Imelda last year.

Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rain on Houston and caused $125billion in damage in Texas. Imelda, which hit Southeast Texas, was one of the wettest cyclones on record.

The first rain bands from Beta reached the Texas coast on Sunday, but the heaviest rain wasn't expected to arrive until late Monday into Tuesday.

In low-lying Galveston, which has seen more than its share of tropical weather over the years, officials didn't expect to issue a mandatory evacuation order but they advised people to have supplies ready in case they have to stay home for several days if roads are flooded.

'We're not incredibly worried,' Galveston resident Nancy Kitcheo said Sunday.

Kitcheo, 49, and her family had evacuated last month when forecasts suggested Hurricane Laura could make landfall near Galveston, but they're planning to buy supplies and wait out Beta.

Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rain on Houston and caused $125billion in damage in Texas. Imelda, which hit Southeast Texas, was one of the wettest cyclones on record

A 'No Wake' sign is seen partially submerged in tidal flooding from Tropical Storm Beta in Jamaica Beach, Texas on Monday

A section of the 61st Street Fishing Pier rests on the beach near Central City Boulevard in Galveston, Texas, on Monday

A man is seen with his dog as heavy rainfall flooded South Live Oak Street in Rockport, Texas, on Monday

A DQ Restaurant's parking area experienced flooding ahead of Tropical Storm Beta Monday in Kemah, Texax

Laura ended up making landfall in neighboring Louisiana.

Kitcheo, whose home is 18 feet above the ground on stilts, said she expected her street to be impassable as water from rising tides was already flooding neighboring roadways on Sunday.

'This has definitely been more stressful, this hurricane season,' she said.

Galveston, which has about 50,000 residents, was the site of the deadliest hurricane in US history, a 1900 storm that killed an estimated 6,000 people.

The city was also hit hard in 2008 by Hurricane Ike, which caused about $30billion in damage. Kitcheo's previous home was heavily damaged during Ike and had to be torn down.

Forecasters ran out of traditional storm names on Friday, forcing the use of the Greek alphabet for only the second time since the 1950s.

Steve and Linda Buser of Beaumont check out the rough surf on the beach near the intersection of Highway 124 and Highway 87 on the Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, on Sunday

A house sits on the beach on Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, buffeted by the winds and rough surf, on Sunday

A Corpus Christi police officer placed a barricade to close Laguna Shores Boulevard due to flooding on Sunday in Corpus Christi, Texas

Water spills over South Padre Island Drive Intracoastal Turnaround on Sunday in Corpus Christi, Texas

Beta is forecast to dump heavy rain on the southwestern corner of Louisiana three weeks after the same area got pounded by Hurricane Laura.

More than 41,000 homes and businesses remain without electricity, and Beta could add to that figure by toppling trees that were left leaning by the previous storm, said meteorologist Donald Jones of the National Weather Service office in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

If Beta makes landfall in Texas, it would be the ninth named storm to make landfall in the continental US in 2020. That would tie a record set in 1916, according to Colorado State hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.

Parts of the Alabama coast and Florida Panhandle were still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Sally, which roared ashore Wednesday, causing at least two deaths.

The hurricane caused about $2billion in privately insured losses from wind and storm surge, Boston-based disaster modeling firm Karen Clark & Company estimated.

That doesn't include uninsured losses, the National Flood Insurance Program claims or damage to offshore property, like oil rigs.

Meanwhile, tropical storm winds and big waves battered Bermuda on Monday as Hurricane Teddy approached.

The Category 2 storm was expected to pass east of the wealthy British territory as it headed to Nova Scotia, which was under a tropical storm warning from Lower East Pubnico to Main-a-Dieu.

Teddy was located about 160 miles southeast of Bermuda on Monday morning. It had maximum sustained winds of 100mph and was moving north-northeast at 9mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The large hurricane was expected to pass some 120 miles east-southeast of Bermuda around noon on Monday at its closest point.

The government closed all air and sea ports, schools and government offices for the second time in a week.

Hurricane Paulette made landfall in Bermuda on September 14 as a Category 1 storm and then strengthened into a Category 2, knocking down trees and leaving thousands without power.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it would send up to $14 billion in aid to farmers who continue to face dramatic losses in revenue and market disruptions because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Associated Press, the USDA released the details of its plan Friday, saying the additional money will compensate the agricultural producers for the difficulties they have experienced selling their crops, milk, and meat because of the pandemic.

The agency further noted that it will provide "financial assistance that gives producers the ability to absorb increased marketing costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic."

President Donald Trump first mentioned the financial aid in a speech Thursday night in Wisconsin, a state considered vital for his chances to win a second term. The additional payments indicate the importance of farmers as a voting block to the Republican President's reelection.

Trump addressed the farmers in Wisconsin directly by saying, "you gotta love Trump" and promised favorable trade, regulatory changes, and tax cuts.

"Now we have to get four more years to cement it and do additional things," Trump added.

In a statement on Friday, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said America's agriculture communities are resilient, but still face many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We listened to the feedback received from farmers, ranchers, and agricultural organizations about the impact of the pandemic on our nations' farms and ranches, and we developed a program to meet better the needs of those impacted," Perdue noted.

The pandemic has created different problems for farmers, as per AP News. The availability of labor dropped, resulting in reduced crop and livestock production as well as processing capacity in meatpacking plants and other facilities.

These issues have pushed prices that farmers receive for commodities lower. The demand for some products has also decreased as fewer people have been eating out. Farm households also suffered from loss of income from off-farm job, which they use to fund farm production needs, family expenses, and payments on farm business debt.

The USDA aid program places a payment cap of $250,000 per person or farm entity for all commodities combined. Gross income cannot be more than $900,000, unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching, or forestry-related activities.

Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions. Farmers can start signing up for the money on Monday.

Agriculture groups applauded the financial aid, most of which will come in direct payments for crops that meet a specified threshold of price decline. They include rice, corn, wheat, soybeans, alfalfa, and some cotton, among others. Chicken, milk, eggs, beef cattle, lambs, and pigs will also be covered.

This is not the first time that the Trump administration and the Agriculture Department will release a financial aid to the farmers. It can be remembered that the agency released an amount of $19 billion aid in April to the farmers and ranch owners, most of which was in the form of direct farm payments.

It followed the $28 billion the federal government gave farmers to compensate for two years of disruptions caused by Trump's tariff battles with trading partners.

The way the previous aid was divided was criticized by some crop and livestock groups, and National Farmers Union President Rob Larew stressed that farmers want the money distributed fairly.

"The first round of funding, though greatly appreciated, was not without its flaws. Not only did it favor large farms over smaller ones, but it also sent millions of dollars to foreign-owned operations and excluded some farmers entirely," Larew said.

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Mahama Salifu, the Executive Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCC) said, government is committed to deepening local democracy, improving internally generated revenue of assemblies and promoting local economic development.



The commitment, he said was shown in the new National Decentralisation Policy and Strategy (NDPS 2020-2024) formulated by government to address systemic challenges of local democracy and local economic transformation in Ghana.



Speaking at the nationwide series of Sensitisation Workshop on the NDPS (2020-2024), he noted that the recent attempt by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to cede some of his Constitutional powers to the citizens to elect their own Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) demonstrated the commitment of government to realise democracy.



He said to ensure that, the President through the new decentralisation policy aims to bring not only government and services closer to the people but also accountability.



Mr Salifu said without downward accountability, local democracy was not complete and that the new policy among its objectives was to fulfil the requirements under Article 240(2) (e) of the 1992 Constitution, which provides for accountability of Local Government authorities to the people in local government areas.



The policy, which was approved by Cabinet in December 2019, was funded by the European Union Delegation to Ghana and the sensitisation workshop brought together Regional Coordinating Directors and Economic Planning Officers, District Coordinating Directors, Budget Analysts, Planning Officers, Traditional Authorities, Civil Society Organisations, private enterprises and other key stakeholders across the country.



The participants were carefully selected to discuss all the 22 policy measures envisaged with related activities, outputs and timelines for implementation over the next five years.



The roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders were discussed to ensure that there was effective and efficient implementation and monitoring of achievements and shortfalls for immediate remedies.



He said with its overarching objective to achieve quality service delivery through a democratically decentralised local governance system and active citizens participation, the new decentralization policy puts local residents at the centre of local governments services provision and accountability.



The NDPS localises the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda by facilitating local governments internally generated revenue mobilisation and improving their financial management.



"The policy will also take local economic development one-step further by encouraging Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to enter into public-private partnerships with entrepreneurs and enterprises to promote local industrialisation, agriculture production, tourism and any economic activities in which they have local endowments".



It emphasises that the responsibility of MMDAs to do business with enterprises to make products that can be associated with local government areas and further promote local exports.



The policy makes sustained local business development, decent jobs creation and local income growth key responsibilities of MMDAs in addition to their traditional role of service delivery".



The IMCC Executive Director explained that Ghana, over the past three decades had embarked on major reforms to decentralise some administrative functions and decision-making powers of the central government to sub-national governments generally referred to as the MMDAs.



Under the Directive Principles of State Policy, Article 35 Clause 6(d) of the 1992 Constitution enjoins the state to



make democracy a reality by decentralising the administrative and financial machinery of government to the regions and districts and by affording all possible opportunities to the people to participate in decision-making at every level in national life and government.



"Chapter 20 of the 1992 Constitution was also devoted to decentralisation and local government which provided broad guidelines on institutional arrangements and functions of entities in a decentralised administration".



He identified some imperatives for achieving the envisaged decentralisation system which is basically to ensure the transfer of functions, powers, responsibilities and resources from the central to local government and measures to build the capacity of local authorities to plan, initiate, coordinate, manage and execute policies.



"Also to establish a sound financial base with adequate and reliable sources of revenue; vest control of persons in the service of local governments in local authorities, as far as possible; and to also create opportunities for people to participate effectively in governance for the accountability of local authorities".



Mr Salifu indicated that the promulgation of the decentralisation policies by government was part of the vigorous initiatives to support processes for local governance and development.



He said the new NDPS (2020-2024) had six policy thrusts that were anchored on key government policy documents, namely; the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies on the theme: An Agenda for Jobs: Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunities for All, the Public Sector Reform Strategy and the Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework.



It further localises the global development agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Change.

Source: GNA









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OSHA Cites Massachusetts Dental Practice for Coronavirus Protection Violations

Georgetown Dental received six serious violations and a fine of $9,500.

Georgetown Dental LLC in Georgetown, Massachusetts was cited by OSHA on September 16, 2020 for violating standards such as respiratory protection.

Georgetown Dental was cited for seven total violations, with six of them being classified as serious. The citations culminated in a penalty of $9,500, which the company has paid in full.

The dental practice was cited for failing to provide medical evaluations and fit testing for employees required to wear N-95 respirators. There were also citations for inadequate eyewash stations, insufficient bloodborne pathogen training and controls, lack of written programs related to respiratory protection and bloodborne pathogen exposure control and chemical hazard communication. The company has abated all of the citations.

OSHAs goal is to ensure abatement of hazards. With this settlement and hazard abatement, the goal has been met, said Anthony Covello, OSHA Andover Area Officer Director. OSHA will continue to field and respond to complaints and take steps needed to address unsafe workplaces.

More information on OSHA standards can be found at osha.gov. Resources for health and safety practices during COVID-19 are available at OSHAs coronavirus response webpage.
Cal Fire released a preliminary damage assessment map showing homes that were damaged or destroyed in the North Complex, a group of fires burning east of Chico.

The map displays home addresses and uses a scale to show the degree of damage, from affected (1-9%) to destroyed (more than 50%).

Cal Fire will continue to add to the map as more homes impacted by the conflagration are identified.

"Field damage inspection is still ongoing and subject to change," Cal Fire said. "The points shown in this map are being updated regularly. Data is subject to change as information is gathered and verified."

A total of 1,887 structures have been destroyed in the blaze, according to Cal Fire officials.

The North Complex ignited in mid-August when a rash of thunder and lightning storms moved over Northern California, sparking hundreds of wildfires that have now burned nearly 3 million acres in California combined. The North Complex was 294,301 acres acres with 64% containment as of Wednesday morning.

The North Complex Fire in Northern California surprised fire officials by how quickly it spread after smoldering for weeks in a mostly unpopulated region.

Aided by strong winds, steep terrain and miles of dried out foliage, the fire quickly roared into Butte County on Sept. 8., extending toward Lake Oroville and the former burn site of the 2018 Camp Fire

This time, Paradise was spared. Smaller mountain communities such as Berry Creek and Feather Falls were quickly overwhelmed. Firefighters scrambled to rescue more than 100 people.

Amy Graff is the News Editor for SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.
Realme announced the C15 in July and introduced the C12 last month. Today, the company will add another member to the C series - dubbed Realme C17. The launch event will be hosted by Realme in Bangladesh, which will be streamed on YouTube starting at noon local time (6AM UTC). You can join us in watching the event by tuning to the stream below.

Realme already confirmed that the C17 will pack a 90Hz display with a quad camera setup on the back joined by a fingerprint reader. The company hasn't divulged the entire specs sheet of the C17, but previous leaks revealed the smartphone will have a Snapdragon 460 SoC at the helm with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.

The rest of the leaked specs of the Realme C17 include a 6.5" HD+ display, 5,000 mAh battery with 18W charging support, and a total of five cameras - an 8MP selfie camera inside the punch hole, and a quad camera setup on the back comprising a 13MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP monochrome and 2MP macro units.
Leading Indian skincare brand Joy, today announced Bollywood actress Kriti Sanon as its new brand ambassador. Kriti will endorse the brands entire facewash product portfolio. Joys current offering in the facewash category includes, a range of fruit-infused face washes, pure aloe facewash, pure neem facewash, and neem & turmeric facewash. Further expanding its facewash category, the brand also recently launched its new activated charcoal face wash.

The new skin purifying, deep detox activated charcoal facewash is made using a 5 in 1 dermatologically-tested formula that keeps skin hydrated and provides a refreshing cool feeling. The key ingredient of the facewash, activated charcoal, helps fight acne by drawing bacteria, chemicals, dirt, pollution, and other micro-particles from the surface of the skin keeping it clean. Moreover, Glycerin retains natural moisture from the skin preventing it from drying post wash. The product is also free from alcohol, parabens, phthalates & micro beads.

Speaking about this association Sunil Agarwal, Chairman, RSH Global said, Joys facewash range has been growing. We are currently one of the largest players in the 2,424-crore facewash market (as per Nielsen - MAT SEPT 19). In order to expand our product portfolio and enhance the market share, we have introduced activated charcoal face wash by bringing modern science to an ancient remedy. I would also like to welcome Kriti Sanon as our new brand ambassador. She was already been the face for our body lotions & creams and were delighted to extend our partnership with her with our face wash range as well. She is a young achiever, confident, passionate and is an inspirational figure for Indian women. We are certain that this partnership will be mutually beneficial

Elaborating on the product campaign, Poulomi Roy, Chief Marketing Officer, RSH Global said, Taking care of our skin is a daily ritual and it needs to be simple, hassle free & effective & thats what the essence of the campaign is. A splash is all it takes to bring out the natural beauty with our charcoal face wash which draws out deep-seated impurities from the pores, thoroughly cleaning the skin and making you feel refreshed for the day. It is all about the simplest skincare possible without gloating about over the top inconsequential benefits

Actress Kriti Sanon, said, I am extremely happy to extend my association with Joy Personal care to be the face of an elaborate product range under their facewash category. Joy has always been known for their use of natural ingredients in their products and their newest addition of the activated charcoal face wash is something that a very few brands have in the case of personal care products catered for women. The campaign highlights the USP of this facewash in an interesting way which the consumers will be able to relate to.

Kriti will soon be seen featuring in a slew of commercials spanning television and social media for the brands activated charcoal and the lemon facewash.
Church sparks outrage for depicting Jesus as trans with beard and breasts in a dress

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In an ad purportedly meant to encourage children to attend Sunday school, the National Church of Iceland featured a bearded Jesus with breasts, makeup and a dress dancing under a rainbow.

After receiving backlash, the church removed the ad from social media  but not busses  and released an apology. However, the church also argued that it believes its okay to depict Jesus as a woman, transgender or anything else.

The animated ad, which depicts Jesus as having breasts and jumping around as he points to a church, was posted on the churchs website and Facebook page on Sept. 11, according to the Daily Mail, which reported that the post was deleted after it sparked outrage.

However, Iceland Monitor reports that the ad continues to appear on some buses.

The ad campaign cost the church about $14,800, which was contributed mostly by the bishops office.

Facebook users objected to the ad, according to the Mail.

One comment read, There was a reason I left the National Church and found another Christian congregation. Another read, Shame on the bishop! Some called it tasteless and particularly stupid. Another user wrote, The church should be ashamed for humiliating Jesus like this.

The church, known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland and considered the official Christian church in the country, apologized, saying: The 2020 Assembly of the National Church regrets that the picture of Jesus in a Sunday school advertisement has hurt people. The goal was to emphasize diversity, neither to hurt people nor shock them."

Further, Petur Georg Markan, media representative for the church, sought to explain why the ad was used.

Its just as important for us to bring attention to diversity as it is to respect the opinions of those who dont like this representation of Christ, he told the Monitor.

In this one, we see a Jesus who has breasts and a beard. Were trying to embrace society as it is. We have all sorts of people and we need to train ourselves to talk about Jesus as being all sorts in this context, Markan said. Especially because its really important that each and every person see themselves in Jesus and that we dont stagnate too much. Thats the essential message. So this is okay. Its okay that Jesus has a beard and breasts.

Gurun Karls- og Helgudottir, a minister of Grafarvogskirkja church, was quoted as saying: Each person interprets something in this picture. Some people interpret it as a trans-Jesus, others as a woman. Some see Mary with a beard, and others see a genderqueer person. Views within the church are just as diverse as elsewhere.
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey Friday released the following statement on the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Arizona joins the nation in mourning the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg led a trailblazing career as a champion for women and equal rights. During her 27 years on the Supreme Court, her immense intellect, tireless work ethic, and incredible talent as a jurist never waned, nor did her passion for justice. She has inspired generations of young girls and boys and gave us one of the most endearing examples of how to befriend those from across the aisle. Part of Justice Ginsburgs enduring legacy is her friendship with Justice Scalia  a reminder of the importance of civility and decency. Now is the time for our country to honor her and her historic life as she so rightly deserves. My deepest condolences go out to her family and loved ones.



Justice Ginsburg was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Clinton in 1993, becoming the second woman in history to serve on the Supreme Court. She was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1933. She received her B.A. from Cornell University, attended Harvard Law School, and received her Law Degree from Columbia Law School.
Funding Earmarked to Support Programming of Long-Standing Community Partners

Food Lion

Food Lion

Food Lion

SALISBURY, N.C., Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Food Lion announced today that it has selected several longstanding community partners to receive additional funding to support their work to address racial equality and justice.



At Food Lion, our value of care is at the center of everything we do, from how we run our business to how we engage with associates and customers to how we nourish our communities, said Meg Ham, president of Food Lion. Because we believe there is no place for systemic racism in our world, we are committed to doing our part to support racial equality inside our organization and inside our communities. We are holding ourselves accountable for making lasting change, and together with our community partners, we are hopeful that we can create a better future for all, Ham added.

All funding will be earmarked for initiatives that support equality and social justice including scholarships and internships for Black and African-American students, education and social engagement in the Black and African-American community, Census participation and voter registration, development of diverse suppliers, education for children on civil rights, police community relations, and virtual town halls and community engagement series.

These funds augment the more than $1 million annually that Food Lion already directs to community partnerships supporting racial equality.

Multiple chapters of some of the following organizations will be supported by Food Lions funding:

100 Black Men of America

Carolinas-Virginia Minority Supplier Development Councils

International Civil Rights Center & Museum

NAACP

NC Institute of Minority Economic Development

The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture (Charlotte, N.C.)

Urban League of Central Carolinas



The funding supports partnerships that Food Lion has had in place with these organizations, in some cases, for more than three decades.

Story continues

Our partnership with Food Lion is built on a shared vision of a fair world, free of racial discrimination and injustice. With this generous gift from Food Lion, the Virginia State Conference NAACP will continue to expand its efforts with regard to civic engagement, voter registration and criminal justice reforms. Further, we will be able to use these resources to enhance the work of our Youth and College Division to ensure the readiness of the next generation of leaders, said Robert Barnette, president of the Virginia State Conference NAACP.

Food Lion is also committed to addressing these issues within the company. Since June, Food Lion leaders and associates have had multiple conversations across the company about racial disparities  ranging from small group discussions to larger group Courageous Conversations hosted by Food Lions Business Resource Groups to promote dialogue and a greater understanding around race relations in America.

As part of its internal commitment, Food Lion has set aside funding to enhance new hire onboarding and orientation and promote ongoing learning and development in the areas of racial equity and social justice for its associates.

Food Lions community investment is part of the $5 million commitment announced by its parent company, Ahold Delhaize USA, to work toward racial equality. This commitment is in addition to the many other diversity and inclusion efforts underway.

About Food Lion

Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, has more than 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 77,000 associates. By leveraging its longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations, Food Lion is working to own the easiest full shop grocery experience in the Southeast, anchored by a strong commitment to affordability, freshness, and the communities it serves. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has donated more than 500 million meals to individuals and families since 2014, and has committed to donate 1 billion more meals by 2025. Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Ahold Delhaize. For more information, visit www.foodlion.com.

CONTACT: Emma Inman, APR

757-408-0110 (m)

Emma.Inman@foodlion.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/64588855-45b8-45c4-9e5e-4139c071b07a








The University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences and its partners in the Western Massachusetts Health Equity Network will continue their series of virtual conversations on racism with the first of three talks by social justice activist Loretta Ross, co-founder of the Reproductive Justice Movement.

The virtual conference will be held Wednesday, Sept. 23 from noon to 1 pm.

Racism is a public health crisis, manifesting as police brutality and the disparities made more explicit by COVID-19, which has disproportionately affected communities of color and has further illuminated the deeply rooted structural racism in our country, said Risa Silverman, director of the Schools Office of Public Health Practice and Outreach.

This series delves into the underlying factors behind these disparities in exposure and care, as well as the long-standing barriers to healthcare that communities of color continue to experience, and begins conversations as to what we can do collectively to address them.

Ross teaches a course at Smith College entitled White Supremacy, Human Rights and Calling In the Calling Out Culture. She will host two more talks in October and November.

These conversations are needed and timely, says Brenda Evans, coordinator and community research liaison with the Schools Center for Community Health Equity Research and co-chair of the Networks Conversations. I am very excited to listen and learn from Loretta Ross  she is one of my sheroes. 

The health equity series kicked off last month with a webinar on Race and Health Equity Tools for Local Governments and Organizations.

Register here for the free virtual conference.
Mumbai, Sep 21 : Actor Chandan Roy Sanyal visited actor Irrfan Khans resting place in the city, and says that he took a piece of his former co-star back along with his blessings.

Chandan and Irrfan had starred together in the 2013 film "D-Day" and "Jazbaa", which released in 2015.

Sharing photos of Irrfan's grave in Versova burial ground, Chandan tweeted: "Was missing irrfan since yesterday, beating myself for not having gone to his tomb for 4 months. Today i went ,there he was resting alone with no-one around with plants. In silence. I left him some Rajnigandha and took a piece of him back with his blessings. So long #IrrfanKhan."

Image Source: IANS News

Irrfan, who had been battling neuroendocrine tumour, passed away on April 29. He was 54.

Following his death, Chandan had posted on his unverified Twitter account: "The first meeting with Irrfan happened in Mr. Rishi Kapoor's hotel suite in Taj, Ahmedabad with K L Sehgal playing on itunes and Scotch flowing. I am staring at the walls now .#death."

Image Source: IANS News

-- Syndicated from IANS
A building due for repairs that could not be carried out due to coronavirus restrictions has collapsed, killing at least 10 people in the Indian city of Mumbai.

Between 20 to 25 people are feared trapped under the rubble of the four-story building in Maharashtra state that collapsed at around 4 am, said India's National Disaster Response Force, and rescuers are working to find and free them.

Some residents were trying to get out of the building, in the industrial town of Bhiwandi, 25 miles northeast of Mumbai, after cracks appeared in it in the middle of the night, when it crashed down.

At least 11 people were injured when the building collapsed, said Pankaj Ashiya, the commissioner of Bhiwandi in Thane district, a suburb of India's financial capital Mumbai.

He said the building was more than 30 years old and needed repairs, which could not be carried out due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Aftermath of a residential building's collapse in Bhiwandi, outskirts of Mumbai, India, on Monday

Exposed walls, with household items still intact, are seen in what were rooms of a three-storey residential building after a portion of it collapsed in Bhiwandi on the outskirts of Mumbai

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel rescue a survivor from the debris of a residential building which collapsed in the early morning, in Bhiwandi

Emergency responders rescue a man from the rubble after a building collapsed. At least 11 injured people were rescued in total

'Half of the building collapsed and nearly 25 to 26 families are feared trapped,' Ashiya said.

It was not clear why the building, which had 54 apartments on three floors, collapsed.

At least 11 injured people were rescued.

Teams of police, city workers and members of the National Disaster Response Force removed debris in the cramped lanes of the neighbourhood, trying to reach people calling out for help under the rubble, a Reuters witness said.

'We heard a noise and I noticed that there were cracks on the floor,' resident Sharif Ansari, 35, told Reuters.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel rescue a survivor from the debris of a residential building which collapsed in the early morning

A man is rescued from the rubble. Teams of police, city workers and members of the National Disaster Response Force removed debris in the cramped lanes of the neighbourhood

People gather at the scene of a residential building's collapse in Bhiwandi, on the outskirts of Mumbai, India

'I woke up my neighbours and my wife and we rushed everyone down.'

Ansari said he went back up to alert more people and was on the first floor with some other residents when the building it came down.

'We jumped from there and managed to escape but there are at least another 60 people trapped,' he said.

Torrential rain is often blamed for building collapses in India, with the number of incidents, often involving old or illegally built buildings, rising during the June-September monsoon.

: Indian National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials rescue people from the rubble of a three storey Gilani building in Bhiwandi that collapsed on the outskirts of Mumbai

Officials rescue people from the rubble of a three-storey Gilani building on Monday morning

Indian National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials rescue people from the rubble of a three storey Gilani building in Bhiwandi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on Twitter. 'Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected,' he wrote.

Maharashtra is one of India's hardest hit states by the virus with over a million reported cases. India has reported over 5.4 million coronavirus cases.

Last month, more than a dozen people were killed when a building collapsed in the industrial town of Mahad, 100 miles south of Mumbai.
Representative Image

Scientists of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Delhi could see the warmest September since 2015. The national capital is currently witnessing high temperatures throughout the day and reporting up to 80 percent humidity, causing high discomfort. There has also not been any rainfall in Delhi for the past few days.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 38 degrees Celsius on September 18, which was 3 degrees above normal. In the past week, both maximum and minimum temperatures have been two to three degrees above normal.

Hindustan Times quoted Kuldeep Shrivastava, Head, Regional Weather Forecasting Centre, Delhi, as saying: In 2015, the average temperature for the month was 36.1 degrees Celsius, this time it may be around 36 degrees Celsius. The western end of the monsoon trough has been around the Himalayan foothills for the past few days. There has been no western disturbance or low-pressure system that has moved up to Delhi, so it has not rained. It is not cloudy either. It is humid and hot. We are expecting very light rain on September 22.

This monsoon, Delhi has seen 18 percent rain deficit, with 62 percent rain deficit in September.
188 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) today.

There have been no new deaths from the virus confirmed in Ireland.

This means the total number of deaths related to the disease in Ireland remains at 1,792 while there have been a total of 33,121 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

A breakdown of the case data released from the HPSC today shows:

96 are men / 90 are women

71% are under 45 years of age

36% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case

19 cases have been identified as community transmission

76 cases are in Dublin, 25 in Cork, 21 in Donegal, 16 in Kildare, 13 in Galway, 7 in Roscommon and 7 in Waterford

The remaining 23 cases are spread across 12 counties.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) have said contact tracing is taking place for the patients to prevent further spread of the virus.

In response to the latest case numbers, Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said the smallest steps in solidarity by the public is the best defence against coronavirus.

The spirit of the response to Covid-19 since the outset of this pandemic has been solidarity and cooperation.

While this pandemic is a uniquely challenging time for everyone, we can and will support one another in getting through this.

Encourage your family and friends to heed the public health advice. Now more than ever, we need to work collectively. Our individual actions count on a population level," Dr Glynn said.

Dr Glynn said that the public need to continue to heed public health guidelines and that collective action through these individual measures are very important.

Every one of us doing our bit in our daily lives - halving our social contacts, working from home, keeping our distance, wearing a face covering, washing our hands - matters a great deal.

"These small, positive steps taken together amount to our best and strongest defence against the virus, said Dr Glynn.

Dr Glynn's appeals for renewed public solidarity in the face of the pandemic follow claims that the number of daily Covid-19 cases across Ireland could soar to 1,000 in a month if the current progress of the virus remains unchanged.

Liz Canavan, Assistant Secretary General at Department of the Taoiseach, said the profile of the disease in Dublin is at an extremely critical juncture.

Ms Canavan warned up to 60% of these daily cases could be in Dublin.

Dublin is facing stricter health measures including a ban on indoor social gatherings and a requirement for pubs and restaurants to only serve food outdoors, while travel in and out of the county has been limited to work, education and essential purposes.

Ms Canavan said the measures in level three of the Covid-19 five-tier response plan are targeted specifically at reducing the level of social contacts and congregation.

She told a Covid-19 briefing: If the current progress of the virus remains unchanged, based on the modelling available to us, we believe there will be between 500 and 1,000 cases per day in a months time, 50% to 60% of which will be in Dublin.

The Government took the decision to place the entire county of Dublin on level three of the framework.

This action was based on a review of the public health advice and in response to deteriorating situation of the virus in Dublin.

The decision has been taken to protect our priorities, we must protect the most vulnerable, resume non-Covid health and social care and maintain educational activities.

These choices are incredibly difficult to make but the situation is such that we have to be decisive. The restrictions in Dublin will be in place until October 9.

It will then be reviewed by Government based on the state of the virus.

Ms Canavan urged the public to co-operate with public health measures.

Meanwhile, the Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the rise in case numbers in Louth, Donegal and Waterford is a "cause for concern" and is being monitored closely.

There is growing speculation the three counties will move to a higher level of restrictions but Mr Martin said a move from level 2 to level 3 is a significant move and not done lightly.
JERUSALEM - An Israeli court on Monday approved the extradition of a former teacher wanted in Australia on charges of child sex abuse, potentially paving the way for her to stand trial after a six-year legal battle.

Malka Leifer, a former educator who is accused of sexually abusing several former students, has been fighting extradition from Israel since 2014. Leifer maintains her innocence and the battle surrounding her extradition has strained relations between Israel and Australia.

Earlier this month, Israels Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Leifers attorney over a Jerusalem courts ruling that she was mentally fit to stand trial, saying it was putting an end to the saga that has been drawn out for many years.

On Monday, the Jerusalem District Court ruled that Leifer could be extradited to Australia to stand trial for 74 charges of child sex abuse. The formal extradition now requires an order by Israels justice minister.

Leifers attorneys said they would appeal an extradition order to Israels Supreme Court, saying it would be a political decision.

For those who think that this chapter is now closed, Im sorry, the process will still last quite a few months more, said Nick Kaufman, one of Leifers defence lawyers.

Critics, including Leifers alleged victims, have accused Israeli authorities of dragging out the case for far too long.

State prosecutor Avital Ribner Oron said Leifer had made every effort to avoid and delay the extradition proceedings but that today the court put an end to those efforts and declared her extraditable to Australia.

The ruling was an important decision for the rule of law, for international co-operation, and most importantly, to the victims of Malka Leifers crimes, Oron said.

In Australia, parliament member Josh Burns praised the court ruling.

Justice has taken far too long. But finally, justice has won the day, Burn said. And while we await further appeals, we call on the Israeli judicial system to deal with them as quickly as possible and for the justice minister to give the extradition the final sign off without any further delays.

Earlier this year an Israeli psychiatric panel determined Leifer had lied about suffering a mental condition that made her unfit to stand trial. As a result of the findings, Israels Justice Ministry said it would move to expedite her extradition.

Three sisters  Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper  have accused Leifer of abusing them while they were students at a Melbourne ultra-Orthodox school. There are said to be other victims.

This is a victory for justice! A victory not just for us, but for all survivors. Exhaling years of holding our breath! Erlich wrote on Facebook following the courts decision.

The Associated Press does not usually identify alleged victims of sexual abuse, but the sisters have spoken publicly about their allegations against Leifer.

As accusations surfaced in 2008, Israeli-born Leifer left the school and returned to Israel, where she has lived since.

Manny Waks, the head of Kol vOz, a Jewish group that combats child sex abuse and that has been representing the three sisters, said Mondays ruling marked a great day for justice.

It is a day which at times seemed like it would never arrive, but we are thrilled that it is finally here, Waks said. It has taken 71 court hearings to get to this point. It has been Israels shame.

___

Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this report.

Read more about:
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (AP)

Nothing is off the table next year, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in a conference call with congressional Democrats on Saturday.

The call was to discuss a response if president Donald Trump and the Republican Party move to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The possibility of a nominee not being confirmed by a vote in the chamber remains, but is deemed unlikely. There are questions about timing though and whether confirmation could be pushed through before the election or in the lame-duck session after 3 November.

With polling that suggests they are currently favoured to win back control of the Senate, Democrats could move ahead with a wishlist of progressive changes to government once thought unattainable.

The response is likened to total war and armageddon by one commentator and could fundamentally remake the judicial and legislative branches of government.

To begin, the number of justices on the Supreme Court is not fixed and could be changed with an act of Congress signed by the president  this would require a Joe Biden victory.

Congressman Joe Kennedy III tweeted on Saturday: If he [McConnell] holds a vote in 2020, we pack the court in 2021.

A sentiment echoed by House Judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler: If Sen. McConnell and @SenateGOP were to force through a nominee during the lame duck session  before a new Senate and President can take office  then the incoming Senate should immediately move to expand the Supreme Court."

The concept of expanding the court has been around since the president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who wanted to add justices to encourage the older members to retire. An expanded court would also mean that individual justices are less critical to the function of democracy and the death or retirement of one would not necessarily trigger a political crisis.

The idea resurfaced in 2016 after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to allow a vote on the appointment of Merrick Garland to the court, and the concept was embraced by a number of Democrats including presidential primary candidate Pete Buttigieg and former attorney general Eric Holder.

Story continues

If he holds a vote in 2020, we pack the court in 2021.



Its that simple.  Rep. Joe Kennedy III (@RepJoeKennedy) September 19, 2020

Presidential nominee Joe Biden has previously said he is not in favour of adding justices, but may be swayed by the current mood in the party. Justice Ginsburg said last year that she was opposed to an expanded court.

An alternative or additional measure would be a constitutional amendment limiting the term length that justices could serve, allowing for more turnover. Presidential primary candidate Andrew Yang proposed an 18-year cap.

A Democrat majority could also end the Senates 60-vote threshold to end a filibuster, a tactic that has stalled many pieces of legislation. This could be changed to a simple majority vote.

Former president Barack Obama spoke about changing the rules about the filibuster in his eulogy for congressman John Lewis, and included other ideas to honour the late lawmaker that could be rolled out by a new congress.

Once we pass the John Lewis Voting Right Act, we should keep marching to make it even better. By making sure every American is automatically registered to vote, including former inmates whove earned their second chance. By adding polling places. And expanding early voting and making election day a national holiday, Mr Obama said.

Perhaps the most dramatic way in which a Democrat controlled Congress could attempt to reform the legislative branch would be by pushing for statehood for both the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico  both almost guaranteed to return Democratic lawmakers.

Filling the SCOTUS vacancy during a lame duck session, after the American people have voted for new leadership, is undemocratic and a clear violation of the public trust in elected officials. Congress would have to act and expanding the court would be the right place to start.  Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) September 19, 2020

Giving US citizens representation in the federal government and adding two more stars to the Stars and Stripes would not be easy though  a constitutional amendment would likely be required.

Nevertheless, Democrats are gearing up for a fight with House speaker Nancy Pelosi not dismissing the idea of a second impeachment of the president or attorney general William Barr.

In an appearance on ABCs This Week, she said: We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that Im not about to discuss.

She later added: We have a responsibility to meet the needs of the American people. When we weigh the equities of protecting our democracy, [it] requires us to use every arrow in our quiver.

Read more

Trump promises to replace Ginsburg with a woman - and soon

Trump seizes chance to reshape America following death of Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Mitch McConnell doesnt care what replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a conservative provokes  remaking America in his image is too enticing

Nancy Pelosi refuses to rule out second impeachment of Trump to delay Supreme Court battle

Democrats smash donation records following death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Defense Minister Benny Gantz instructed the Israel Defense Forces on Monday to prepare for the opening of field hospitals to treat the COVID-19 outbreak. A statement issued by his ministry read, "Gantz has ordered staff to begin preparations to build an army field hospital that would contain about 200 beds." Gantz reportedly instructed the IDF to begin planning an exit strategy for the nationwide lockdown while simultaneously preparing for the possibility of more severe lockdown restrictions. In such a scenario, the police could require reinforcements to see restrictions are followed.

The IDF will also deploy hundreds of additional soldiers to do contact tracing in the coming days as Israel's coronavirus tzar Ronnie Gamzu has transferred the responsibility for contact tracing to the IDF. Thousands of Home Front Command soldiers were deployed last week to work with local authorities in handling the pandemic. The police enforce the lockdown, while the soldiers conduct tests, run quarantine hotels and distribute food.

Israel currently has 51,503 active infections registered, and more cases are detected every day. The country entered a three-week lockdown on Sept. 18, the eve of the Jewish New Year, to continue throughout the high holidays season. Schools have closed and businesses are operating at reduced capacities.

Gamzu warned Sept. 21 that infection numbers were reaching crisis levels of 20 deaths a day, or 600 per month. Gamzu instructed several hospitals yesterday to open extra specialized wards, some of which might be installed on underground floors. Health Ministry director Hezi Levi wrote to hospital chiefs Monday morning that in the next 10 days, the country is likely to see up to 200 to 300 new coronavirus patients in serious condition. "I ask you all, without exception, to treat this situation as an emergency for the health system, and as such I expect the management staff of all the hospitals and geriatric institutions to all join the national effort to deal with the expected burden."

The warnings from Gamzu and Levi and Gantz' field hospitals came on a backdrop of reports that hospitals are flooding with COVID-19 cases. Assuta hospital in Ashdod and Jerusalems Shaare Zedek hospitals both announced that they can no longer accept new coronavirus patients due to overload. A spokesperson for Assuta said that the hospital "is at maximum occupancy," adding, "The situation is clear and the Health Ministry and Magen David Adom [Israels Red Cross] are aware. Verified patients who arrive at the hospital will be transferred to another facility. Jerusalems Hadassah Ein Kerem, Hadassah Mount Scopus, Netanyas Laniado hospital and Ramat Gans Sheba Medical Center are all working at full capacity and beyond.
TAIPEI (Reuters) - China sent numerous aircraft close to Taiwan during two days of drills from Friday, causing the island's air force to scramble, as Beijing expressed anger at the visit of a senior U.S. official to Taipei.

WHY IS TENSION RISING NOW?

China claims democratically-run Taiwan as its own territory, to be taken by force if needed, a threat the island has lived with since 1949, when defeated Kuomintang, or Nationalist, forces fled there after their defeat by the Communists in the Chinese civil war.

China has been angered by stepped-up U.S. support for Taiwan, including two visits in as many months by top officials, one in August by Health Secretary Alex Azar and the other last week by Keith Krach, the undersecretary for economic affairs.

In addition, the United States is planning major new arms sales to Taiwan. China views all these steps as effectively being U.S. support for Taiwan independence, with the eventual establishment of a Republic of Taiwan, a red line for Beijing.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen says the island is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its formal name, and that the People's Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan and has no right to.

China calls Taiwan its most important and sensitive issue in U.S. ties. For China's ruling Communist Party, Taiwan is the last part of the nation still awaiting "liberation" after the 1949 victory, adding an extra historical significance.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

Taiwan and China do not have an official dialogue mechanism, meaning that any accidental clash between their fighter jets, for example, could quickly spiral out of control.

Taiwan's air force now regularly scrambles to see off approaching Chinese aircraft.

A conflict over Taiwan may suck in the United States and its Asian allies, though it is an open question whether Washington would, or could, come to Taipei's aid.

China may quickly overwhelm Taiwan with missile and cyber attacks before the United States even has a chance to respond.

Story continues

However, any war would be damaging for China too, in terms of its international reputation and economically, especially if it is subject to broad Western economic sanctions.

WHY IS TAIWAN STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT?

Not only is Taiwan in a key geographic location on the edge of the Pacific between the disputed South China Sea and Japan, but it is a tech powerhouse, home to the world's biggest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd <2330.TW>.

The United States views China's tech firms as a security risk and has moved to cut off its access to advanced chips, including those from Taiwan.

HOW DO THE ARMED FORCES OF THE TWO SIDES COMPARE?

Taiwan's military is well-trained and well-armed, but is dwarfed by China's People's Liberation Army, which is adding stealth fighters, aircraft carriers and advanced missiles in the throes of an impressive modernisation programme.

Tsai has made upgrading Taiwan's military a priority, stressing "asymmetric warfare", to make any attack as painful and as difficult for China as possible. This could include, for example, pinpoint strikes by long-range missiles on targets in China.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN A WAR BETWEEN TAIWAN AND CHINA?

While China could easily overwhelm Taiwan with missiles and air attacks, it has other options to bring the island to its knees, such as cyberattacks to take down basic infrastructure, or a naval blockade to force surrender.

Whatever happens, the reaction of the United States will be crucial.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press prior to his departure from the White House on Sept. 19, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Trump: Supreme Court Nomination Will Be Announced Sept. 25 or 26

President Donald Trump said Sept. 21 that he will announce his nominee to replace deceased Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 25 or Sept. 26.

The delay stems from a desire to wait until services happen for Ginsburg, whom he called a legendary figure.

I think itll be on Friday or Saturday. And we want to pay respect; it looks like we will have services on Thursday or Friday, Trump said in a phone interview with Fox & Friends.

We should wait until the services are over for Justice Ginsburg.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany had said about an hour earlier that it was very likely that the nomination would be announced before Sept. 23.

Twelve women are on Trumps expanded list of candidates, but the president said on Sept. 21 that hes narrowed down the options.

Its down to five and it could be any one of them, he said. These are very qualified people, and no matter how you would look at it, these are the finest people in the nation.

Democrats want Trump to hold off on nominating Ginsburgs replacement, arguing that because the presidential election is just weeks away, it would be inappropriate.

Under no circumstances should the Senate consider a replacement for Justice Ginsburg until after the presidential inauguration, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.

Republicans, including Trump, say voters opted to keep the GOP with control of the Senate in the 2018 midterms, giving them the responsibility to nominate and confirm the presidents nominee.

We won the election and we have an obligation to whats right and act quickly, Trump said.

People gather in front of the Supreme Court following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in Washington, on Sept. 18, 2020. (Al Drago/Reuters)

Ginsburg on her death bed reportedly told her granddaughter that she would prefer a new president nominate her replacement, appearing to refer to whoever won the upcoming election.

Asked about that wish, Trump said: I dont know that she said that or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Pelosi and Schumer, he said, referring to Rep. Schiff (D-Calif.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Most of those on the shortlist have already gone through the Senate confirmation process for lower court positions, Trump said, which means a Supreme Court confirmation should happen quickly.

While most Republican senators have said they support Trump and McConnell, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have said they oppose moving to replace Ginsburg before the election.

Trump said their opposition will hurt them in reelection battles. Collinss seat is up for election this year while Murkowskis current term ends in 2022.

The president challenged the notion that swiftly approving a Ginsburg replacement would hurt senators facing tough reelection battles. He said he believes it will help them, along with the country.

Im very lucky, Trump said. Because, rarely does a president have this opportunity to pick  three. Some presidents never get to pick any.
British TV legend and famed naturalist Sir David Attenborough, 94, has said the time has come for the world's richest countries to put aside 'national interest' and tackle climate change with greater internationalism.

He has urged the world's wealthiest countries to give back to the global effort after taking a lot from the natural world.

The veteran broadcaster said that if not, the 'consequences could be apocalyptic' after his generation 'muffed it' on the environment.

Speaking at the launch of his new film, A Life On Our Planet, Sir David called for humanity to use the shared hardship of the coronavirus pandemic as fuel for the ongoing fight on climate change.

Speaking at the launch of his new film, A Life On Our Planet, Sir David, called for humanity to use the shared hardship of the coronavirus pandemic as fuel for the ongoing fight on climate change

He said: 'Covid-19 pandemic has caused, and will continue to cause, immense suffering.

'If there is hope that can come out of it, then that may arise from the whole world having experienced a shared threat and found a sense that we are all in it together.

'The same unique brains and communication skills that fuelled the development of our civilisations now have access to technologies and institutions that allow all nations of the world to collaborate and co-operate should we choose to do so.

'The time for pure national interests has passed.

'If we are to tackle climate change, enable sustainable development and restore biodiversity, then internationalism has to be our approach.

'In doing so, we must bring about a greater equality between what nations take from the world and what they give back. The wealthier nations have taken a lot and the time has now come to give.'

He also echoed calls from scientists and said the world 'is at a crucial moment'.

'Humanity is at a crossroads and I think the natural world is really under serious, serious threat, and the consequences could be apocalyptic,' he said.

Conservation charities WWF and RSPB have recently published reports exposing the dramatic impact humans have had on nature.

The WWF found wildlife populations around the world declined by more than two thirds in less than 50 years.

Sir David Attenborough pictured with executive producers Keith Scholey, Silverback Films, and Colin Butfield, WWF, in the Maasai Mara in Kenya while filming David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet. The film will premiere on 16 April 2020

A documentary on Sir David's life will air in cinemas next week and be on Netflix in early October. It was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic but will be a call to arms for action to halt the climate crisis

Prince Charles warns the coming climate crisis will 'dwarf' the impact of coronavirus Prince Charles will warn that the climate crisis will 'dwarf' the impact of coronavirus and call for 'swift and immediate action' in tackling the matter. In a recorded message from Birkhall in the grounds of Balmoral, the Prince of Wales, 71, will say that the Covid-19 pandemic is a 'window of opportunity' to reset the economy for a more 'sustainable and inclusive' future. The prince's comments come months after he urged nations to work together to tackle the environmental threat to the planet as he attended WaterAid charity's Water and Climate event at Kings Place in London. In his message, to be played at the virtual opening of Climate Week on Monday afternoon, the prince said: 'Without swift and immediate action, at an unprecedented pace and scale, we will miss the window of opportunity to 'reset' for a more sustainable and inclusive future. 'In other words, the global pandemic is a wake-up call we cannot ignore '[the environmental] crisis has been with us for far too many years  decried, denigrated and denied. 'It is now rapidly becoming a comprehensive catastrophe that will dwarf the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.' Advertisement

From elephants in central Africa and leatherback turtles in Costa Rica to Arctic skuas in Orkney and grey partridges in the UK, populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish have fallen an average of 68 per cent globally since 1970, the WWF Living Planet Index (LPI) 2020 reveals.

Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF, described the findings as 'catastrophic' and said these serious declines in wildlife species populations are 'an indicator that nature is unravelling and that our planet is flashing red warning signs of systems failure'.

RSPB slammed the British Government for its failure to reach conservation targets which, the charity claims, resulted in a 'lost decade' with many species close to extinction.

A landmark UN report published last week also found humanity is presiding over 'unprecedented' losses to nature and is not doing enough to prevent destruction of the world's ecosystems.

The Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 report, published by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), reveals the world has failed to meet a series of key targets set a decade ago to save the world's biodiversity.

In 2010, a total of 20 'Aichi Targets' were developed and hailed as the blueprint for saving life on Earth.

This latest report reveals that none of these were fully met, with only six being classed as 'partially achieved'.

Professor Jane Memmott, who is president of the British Ecological Society and was not involved in the report, says: 'The crisis in nature is such that we need to act now.

'We are dependent on the natural world for our food, wellbeing and prosperity and the current rate of loss of species is seriously worrying.'

According to Sir David, the most important thing to do now is put 'the right politicians into positions of power who will say something about saving the planet'.

Sir David also echoed calls from scientists and said the world 'is at a crucial moment'. 'Humanity is at a crossroads and I think the natural world is really under serious, serious threat, and the consequences could be apocalyptic,' he said. Pictured, bleached coral reef caused by water that is too warm

Sir David (pictured) says the time has come for people to be vocal in their support of conservation, letting leaders know it is a public priority. He says it is of the utmost importance to demand our elected leaders do something to aid environmental pursuits, and, if necessary, 'convince them that we are prepared to take an increase in tax'

His comments will likely echo strongest with Americans, whose president has decided to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement.

This seminal international agreement was signed by Donald Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, as well as leaders from 194 other countries, and signalled intent to keep global warming below a 2C compared to pre-industrial levels.

Sir David says the time has come for people to be vocal in their support of conservation, letting leaders know it is a public priority.

He says it is of the utmost importance to demand our elected leaders do something to aid environmental pursuits, and, if necessary, 'convince them that we are prepared to take an increase in tax'.

David Attenborough calls plastic pollution 'unfolding catastrophe' Plastic pollution and waste are killing people every 30 seconds in the developing world, Sir David Attenborough warns in a report out today. Single-use plastics, shipped across the world by rich countries like Britain or sold by multinationals, may help to cause up to a million deaths a year. This is according to a 2019 report backed by Sir David which says children playing around plastic waste are twice as likely to get intestinal bugs like cholera - the second biggest killer in under-fives. Advertisement

Asked about young people taking up the issue, Sir David said of the environment: 'I've had my chance and muffed it perhaps, my generation really has muffed it

'I think they have every right to make themselves heard.'

However, he alluded to current movements from extremists such as Extinction Rebellion, who have repeatedly performed high-profile stunts which have seen people be arrested.

These include blocking roads, super gluing themselves to the pavement outside parliament and disturbing the distribution of British newspapers.

'To what degree you break the law is a different issue altogether,' Sir David says.

'I don't believe that it's sensible politics to break the law, because if you're any good at all, some of your demands will be met and then you will be demanding that people abide the law and take notice of what they say  you can't have it both ways.'

He said being wasteful 'is the real demon, the real sin. We are astonishingly wasteful'.

Recalling his father-in-law being 'appalled' after seeing someone stubbing his cigarette out on a half-eaten steak, he said: 'Waste is immoral  the wasting of power, the wasting of paper, the wasting of energy.

'We shouldn't waste space  we are wasting space that could be occupied by the natural world. It's the waste that is the sin.'

David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet premieres in cinemas on September 28, featuring an exclusive conversation with Sir David and Sir Michael Palin. The film will launch on Netflix on October 4.
Early on Monday, Tiyanna Jackson, who had quit her job in the spring to care for her 4-year-old daughter, Zuri, was flooded with relief as she arrived at a pre-K center in the South Bronx. Finally, with Zuri starting school, she could get back to work.

In East New York, Brooklyn, Balayet Hossains day began with disappointment after he brought his two daughters to school, only to find that the children, a kindergartner and first grader, could not return to school buildings until next week.

And in Corona, a Queens neighborhood that was hit particularly hard by the coronavirus in the spring, Baryalay Khan said dropping off his daughter, Fathma, at pre-K made him feel that the city was finally recovering.

Schools are reopening, its a good sign, he said.

New York City, home to the largest school district in the country, took the biggest step of any major city toward restarting in-person classes by bringing up to 90,000 of the citys youngest students and children with advanced disabilities back into about 700 school buildings on Monday.
Indian Army strengthens dominance in over 20 heights in Eastern Ladakh

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 21: The armies of India and China are set to hold the sixth round of Corps Commander-level talks in the next couple of days to explore ways to defuse tension in eastern Ladakh even as India further bolstered its dominance in over 20 mountain heights around the friction points near the Pangong lake, government sources told PTI.

They also said that the IAF is set to use the newly-inducted Rafale jets to carry out sorties in Ladakh as part of the overall boosting of combat readiness in view of "provocative actions" by Chinese troops including the three incidents of shots being fired in the air in the last three weeks.

On the sixth round of Corps Commander meeting, the sources said a joint secretary-level officer from the Ministry of External Affairs is expected to be part of the Indian delegation as India is looking for some concrete outcome from the dialogue.

"It is set to take place in the next two days. There is a possibility that it may take place tomorrow (Monday) itself," said a source.

The main focus of the meeting is expected to be on the implementation of a five-point agreement reached between the two countries.

Also Read:

Both sides reached the agreement to resolve the border row at a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) meet in Moscow on September 10.

The agreement included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The sources said the Indian Army also strengthened its dominance in over 20 strategic mountain heights around the northern and southern banks of Pangong lake as well as in the extended general area of Chushul in the last few days even as freezing conditions are gripping the area, the sources said.

The deployment of French-made Rafale jets in Ladakh came less than 10 days after they were formally inducted into the IAF.

At a ceremony in Ambala on September 10 where five Rafale jets were inducted into the IAF, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the induction of the fleet was crucial considering the atmosphere being created along the frontier and that it is a "big and stern" message to those eyeing India's sovereignty.

Speaking on the occasion, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria had said induction of Rafale jets could not have happened at a more opportune time considering the security scenario.

The Rafale fleet is stationed in Ambala air force station.

The multirole Rafale jets, built by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, are known for air-superiority and precision strikes.

"The Rafale jets are flying around Ladakh," said a source without elaborating.

The IAF has deployed almost all its frontline fighter jets like Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft in the key frontier air bases in eastern Ladakh and elsewhere along the LAC. The IAF is also carrying out night time combat air patrols in the eastern Ladakh region.

The IAF has also deployed Apache attack choppers as well as Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to transport troops to various forward locations in eastern Ladakh.

The sources said the Army has made elaborate arrangements to maintain the current level of troops and weapons in all forward areas in eastern Ladakh and other sensitive high-altitude sectors in the harsh winter months when the temperature drops up to minus 25 degrees Celsius.

They said the situation remained tense in both southern and northern banks of the Pangong lake areas as well as in other friction points.

There have been at least three attempts by the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) to "intimidate" Indian troops along the northern and southern bank of Pangong lake area in the last three weeks where even shots were fired in the air for the first time at the LAC in 45 years.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the southern bank of Pangong Lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30.

On September 7, Chinese troops unsuccessfully attempted to close in on the Indian position and even fired shots in the air in the Mukhpari area of Rezang-La ridgeline on the southern bank of Pangong lake.

As Jaishankar and Wang were to hold talks in Moscow, the Chinese military resorted to firing a barrage of "warning shots" into the air on the North Bank of Pangong lake to "intimidate" the Indian troops, Army sources had said.

India occupied a number of strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions. China has been occupying the areas between Finger 4 and Finger 8. The mountain spurs in the area are called Fingers.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

China has strongly objected to India's move. However, India has maintained that the heights are on its side of the LAC.

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Story first published: Monday, September 21, 2020, 9:12 [IST]
Gunfire that killed a Birmingham grandmother and injured two other people Sunday was linked to an altercation the previous night at the Alabama State Fair.

The shooting happened Sunday afternoon in the citys Elyton Village public housing community, killing 66-year-old Fannie Stevenson Carter. Also wounded were a teen male and a man in his 70s  police scanner traffic indicated he was 77 but authorities could not confirm his exact age. Both Carter and the male senior citizen were innocent bystanders caught in crossfire.

The shooting began about 2:15 p.m. Birmingham police quickly placed patrol vehicles at each entry/exit point of the public housing community which sits between Third Avenue West and Graymont Avenue and spans several blocks. Many of the officers had their long guns out.

Sgt. Rod Mauldin said North Precinct officers were dispatched to Elyton Village where they found a juvenile male wounded by gunfire. He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. While officers were on the scene, a large number of gunshots rang out again.

As they investigated, they found Carter lying unresponsive in a field. She was pronounced dead on the scene by Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service at 5 p.m.. Authorities said the woman was sitting in a lawn chair under a shade tree when the gunfire erupted. She was struck when she got up to run for cover.

They found the wounded man, suffering from a gunshot wound to the foot. He also is hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

The two shootings happened several blocks and just minutes apart and Mauldin said they were linked.

"We had reports of an altercation occurred out here earlier and shots were fired,'' Mauldin said Sunday. We believe this was an ongoing thing out here today.

Late Sunday night, Mauldin said investigators determined that the gunfire was linked to a fight at the Alabama State Fair which opened Saturday at the Birmingham Race Course. "Participants (from the fair altercation) met up in Elyton Village to finish the fight which resulted in shots being fired,'' he said.

Multiple police responded to the State Fair Saturday night about an hour before the event was set to close after fights erupted. One person was taken into custody and a security guard suffered minor injuries.

The fair was scheduled to be open until 11 p.m. Saturday, but closed for the night after the fight or fights broke out around 10 p.m. It is scheduled to be open today from noon to 10 p.m.

Alabama State Fair Director Mark Lovell said Sunday that the incidents were being blown out of proportion, and that the incident Saturday were a couple of minor scuffles that broke out between teenagers. As a result of the incidents, however, Lovell said the Alabama State Fair would no longer allow unaccompanied minors to attend the fair.

Were implementing a new policy today of no underage drop-offs, Lovell said. Were not a daycare center, were the Alabama State Fair.

Carter is Birminghams 88th homicides so far this year. Of those, 14 have been ruled justifiable and once accident and therefore arent deemed criminal. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 127 homicides including the 88 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham police at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
The CEO of Air France-KLM has said more than 10 billion euros in loans from the French and Dutch governments will only keep the airline afloat for less than a year. Benjamin Smith said the group needs to do "much more" to reduce costs in the face of the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

We knew before the pandemic, that we had to transform the group to make it stronger," said Smith in an interview with French daily L'Opinion. "The plan we announced in November 2019 is still relevant, but the crisis is forcing us to accelerate it."

The beleaguered carrier suffered a loss of 2.6 billion euros in the second quarter of 2020 due to the closure of air traffic due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This followed a loss of 1.8 billion euros in the first quarter.

We are making all possible savings within the group and in the companies, which is essential to be able to get through the months to come, Smith said in the interview.

He mentioned that among the key areas is the reorganisation of the domestic network of Air France which the airline's biggest loss market.

Future uncertain

Smith's remarks come a few days after the Dutch finance minister Wopke Hoekstra had warned that the airline's survival was not guaranteed if the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 continued.

Speaking to Dutch television NPO, Hoekstra stressed the need to cut costs. He said that the bailout for KLM must be accompanied by a comprehensive restructuring plan as well as commitments to re-establish performance and competitiveness.

France and the Netherlands, who each own 14 percent stake in the group, have provided 7 billion euros and 3.4 billion euros respectively in aid this year.

CEO Smith estimated that the financial aid will allow the airlines to hold out for last less than twelve months if the passenger traffic remained at its current level. We are discussing with our shareholders how to strengthen our balance sheet beyond this period, he said.

As a part of the cost-cutting measures, Air France had announced in June that it would cut almost 7,600 jobs by the end of 2022 and KLM up to 5,000 jobs.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Monday marked the dawn of a new era in leadership at three NYPD precincts on Staten Island, as a trio of new commanding officers took the helm.

In changes announced Friday, Deputy Inspector Tania Kinsella replaced Deputy Inspector Isa Abbassi at the St. George-based 120th Precinct; Capt. Timothy Wilson, who had been serving as commanding officer of the 123rd Precinct, moved to the New Dorp-based 122nd Precinct, in place of Deputy Inspector Melissa Eger; and Capt. Andrey Smirnov replaced Wilson at the 123rd, based in Tottenville.

Eger will become the commanding officer of the 19th Precinct in Manhattan, while Abbassi will be heading to the NYPDs Office of Collaborative Policing.

The outgoing leaders transferred each precincts traditional commanding-officer pin -- which is handed down from commander to commander -- to their successors.

The precincts posted photos of that transition, as well as messages to the outgoing and incoming commanders, on social media.

Tonight at midnight Ill be turning over command of the 120 Pct to my dear friend DI Tania Kinsella, said a message from Abbassi Sunday morning on the 120th Precinct Twitter feed. To the greatest community and police officers in all of NYC: I am indebted to you all for giving me the best years of my career and I wish you continued prosperity and safety.

Tonight at midnight Ill be turning over command of the 120 Pct to my dear friend DI Tania Kinsella. To the greatest community and police officers in all of NYC: I am indebted to you all for giving me the best years of my career and I wish you continued prosperity and safety. pic.twitter.com/jq0YAlbjuY  NYPD 120th Precinct (@NYPD120Pct) September 20, 2020

Today we welcome Captain Wilson as our new commanding officer, said the 122nd Precinct Twitter feed. Also, we say goodbye to Deputy Inspector Eger, the new commanding officer of the @NYPD19Pct! Congratulations, you will be missed!

Today we welcome Captain Wilson as our new Commanding Officer. Also, we say goodbye to Deputy Inspector Eger, the new Commanding Officer of @NYPD19Pct ! Congratulations, you will be missed! pic.twitter.com/y57NYCXPTk  NYPD 122nd Precinct (@NYPD122Pct) September 21, 2020

Said the 123rd Precinct:

Congratulations to the 123 Precincts new Commanding Officer Captain Andrey Smirnov. We all look forward to working with you and getting to know you. And a fond farewell to Captain Timothy Wilson. Our loss is the 122s gain.
In this article we will present the 10 worst states for suicide in the United States. Click to skip ahead and see the top 5 worst states for suicide in the US.

The US is currently the worst affected country in the world with reference to the Covid-19 pandemic, with over 6.7 million cases and nearly 200,000 deaths. Because of this, since March, the US has been in a state of lockdown, even though many restrictions have been lifted in most states now. Having to spend 6 months in isolation without being able to meet your friends and loved ones is an extremely hard thing for most people to do, which is why there has been a historic rise in depression in the country.

We all know that there is a major connection between depression and suicide, with people who are depressed much more likely to commit the act. And with depression rising as mentioned, the likelihood of significantly increased suicide rates is no more a remote possibility. Of course, we will only truly know the actual impact of Covid-19 once the pandemic subsides, the debris is cleared and studies are undertaken, which does not seem to be happening anytime soon.

Countries with the Highest Mental Illness Rates in the World

Rattanapon Ninlapoom/Shutterstock.com

Even before the pandemic, the US has had a high suicide rate, even though it does not make the list of 10 countries with the highest suicide rates in the world. It is the 10th leading cause of death in the country at an overall level, and on average, 123 Americans commit suicide every single day, or around 45,000 deaths annually. I cannot even imagine the mental state of a person whose only option is to kill himself, and yet people consider them as cowards or someone who has 'taken the easy way out'. Unless this despicable mentality is eradicated, we will never be able to truly understand why people commit suicide and hence, will never be able to reduce this rate.

For our rankings, we have referred to the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention and their statistics for 2018, which is the latest year for which information is available. We have ranked each state according to its suicide rate and total number of suicides as well, and then gave 70% weighting to the suicide rate (as it's more indicative of the situation) and 30% to the total deaths by suicides. So let's take a look at the states which need to do a lot more for mental health, starting with number 10:

Story continues

10. Nevada

20.8 people per 100,000 commit suicide, leading to a total of 657 deaths in the state in 2018. This is despite the fact that Nevada is the only state to reduce its suicide rate from 1999 to 2016. It is the second leading cause of death for ages 10-34.

Pixabay/Public Domain

9. Montana

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the reasons why Montana has a high suicide rate, as this deficiency has been linked to an increase in depression, which may explain a suicide rate of 24.9 and 265 deaths in the state.

Pixabay/Public Domain

8. Idaho

Idaho has the 5th highest suicide rate in the country at 23.9, though a lower number of deaths means it doesn't place as high in our list of states with the highest suicide rates in the US.

Pixabay/Public Domain

7. Wyoming

Wyoming has the highest suicide rate in the nation at 25.2 but again, is slightly saved by a lower number of deaths. More than 70% of suicides are through a firearm which makes sense since it has the highest percentage of residents with access to firearms, providing means to carry out the act.

best places to visit in USA in September

Pixabay/Public Domain

6. Oklahoma

The suicide rate for males is significantly higher for Oklahoma as compared to the US average, at 30.3 vs the US average of 23.3. The biggest issue is for the age group 15-24, which exceeds the US rate by nearly 10.

Pixabay/Public Domain

Click to see the top 5 worst states for suicide in the US. Disclosure: 10 Worst States for Suicide in the U.S. is originally published at Insider Monkey.
The issue is set to be further considered, while today's disaccord is due to Cyrpus' veto.

Top diplomats representing European Union's member states on Monday, September 21, failed to reach a unanimous agreement of all 27 members that is required to impose sanctions on Belarus.

The news comes after the European Parliament said the EU did not recognize Alexander Lukashenko's win in the latest presidential election and condemned the violent crackdown on Belarusian activists contesting the election outcome in the streets.

"Discussing many issues in #EU #FAC, including #Belarus. It is regrettable that today we could not decide on sanctions on violations of human rights there due to 'a hostage taking' by a member state. Sends a wrong signal to Belarusians, our societies and the whole world," Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics tweeted on Monday, September 21.

Discussing many issues in #EU#FAC, including #Belarus. It is regrettable that today we could not decide on sanctions on violations of human rights there due to a hostage taking by a member state. Sends a wrong signal to Belarusians, our societies and the whole world  Edgars Rinkevics (@edgarsrinkevics) September 21, 2020

Cyprus vetoed the move, saying it can only agree to the Belarus sanctions when the EU also imposes them on its neighbor, Turkey, in a separate gas extraction row that has raised tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, according to Reuters

"Although there is a clear will to adopt the sanctions, the required unanimity was not reached," Josep Borrell, EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told reporters.

Read alsoEP votes to reject official results of Belarus presidential poll, calls for sanctionsApproval is still possible by EU leaders at a summit on Thursday and Borrell said that by the next time foreign ministers meet on October 12, the sanctions would be agreed. But he also acknowledged the paralysis was damaging for the EUs image.

Speaking at the European Parliament last week, Josep Borrell said "We are using all the tools that we have at our disposal to contribute to the end of the violent repression that has been developing in Belarus after the elections, which we do not consider to have legitimately elected Lukashenko," Politico reported.

Belarus election: reactions
Computer Age Management Services (CAMS), a technology-driven financial infrastructure and service provider, launched its maiden public issue on September 21, with a price band of Rs 1,229-1,230 per share.

The IPO consists of an offer for sale of 1,82,46,600 equity shares where NSE Investments, subsidiary of National Stock Exchange, will be selling its shares. Hence, all the money raised from public issue will go to NSE Investments and the company will not get any money from this offer.

The issue size is Rs 2,244 crore at higher end of price band, of which the company has already garnered Rs 667 crore through 35 anchor investors on September 18.

Almost all brokerage houses have assigned a 'subscribe' rating to the public issue citing leadership position in the sector of registrar and transfer agent (RTA) for mutual funds, zero debt, high return ratios, strong financials, strong relationship with AMCs, experienced management team, a proxy way to the growing mutual funds penetration, etc.

In fact, they advised subscribing the issue with long term perspective given the potential going ahead.

CAMS is the dominant player in a two-player MF RTA industry, with 70 percent market share. It services 4 of the top-5 MFs in the country. Its revenue growth is directly linked to the AUM growth of its partner MFs and it is, hence, a proxy play on the MF industry.

Also read: CAMS mops up Rs 667 crore from anchor investors

"The opportunity landscape for the MF business in India is huge, given low penetration and financialisation of household (HH) savings, thus providing long-term visibility. At Rs 1,230 per share (IPO price), CAMS is priced at 35x FY20 EPS, at a 10-15 percent discount to listed AMCs, Exchanges and Depositories. We expect stock to trade in-line with other comparables and further re-rate," said IIFL Securities while assigning subscribe call.

The brokerage feels premium valuations are justified given dominant market share in a growing industry, low risk of competition, strong parentage, strong free cash flow generation, and robust RoEs.

The market share of CAMS, a key service provider for MFs and other financial institutions, has increased from 61 percent in March 2015 to 70 percent in July 2020, as AUMs of the MFs serviced by CAMS grew by 21 percent per annum versus industry growth of 18 percent per annum.

CAMS provides services through a pan-India physical network comprising 271 service centers spread over 25 states and five union territories.

Chemcon Speciality Chemicals IPO to open on Sept 21; 10 key things to know

In addition to CAMS, KFin Technologies (erstwhile Karvy Fintech) offers RTA services to 24 AMCs and has a market share of 27 percent, while the balance 3 percent is with the captive arm of Franklin Templeton MF, IIFL said.

MFs is the key segment for the company and accounts for 85-90 percent of its revenues. CAMS has maintained its leadership position since 2005-06 and benefitted with above-industry AUM growth of the MFs it services, leading to increase in market share.

"We see low risk of MFs shifting to the other RTA, or starting their own captive arm, as the migration cost is prohibitive (risk of disruption to operations) and there is limited cost-saving potential. Resultantly, we see low competition risk to CAMS (market-share loss is likely, if MFs serviced by CAMS start underperforming)," said IIFL Securities.

CAMS is looking to diversify its revenue base with addition of AIFs and Insurance companies to its client roster.

"Future outlook will largely depend on the increase in AIF and insurance repository business improvement, which look very promising for the long term, hence we advise investors to apply with a long term horizon," SPA Securities said.

The company earns a healthy RoE of over 35 percent, has zero debt, has a dividend payout policy of at least 65 percent and generates robust free cash every year. The valuations are reasonable at FY22E P/E of 26x, feels Yes Securities which also assigned a subscribe rating.

Following a moderate growth in FY21 (COVID impact), the brokerage expects AMC industry to register 15 percent AUM CAGR over the medium term.

Incorporated in 1988, Chennai-based CAMS also enjoys a first mover advantage with no listed players for valuation comparison and high entry barriers protecting investor's risk.

Hence, Mehta Equities recommended investors to subscribe to the issue for long term only as the market always rewards a player who has the growth potential with high returns.

The brokerage likes the story with a unique integrated business model having pan India asset-light strategy. "If we presume mutual fund AUM is expected to grow by 16-18 percent CAGR for next 5-6 years, then CAMS is well placed to tap the business growth in the same tandem."

On valuations parse at upper price band (Rs 1,230), the issue is asking for market cap Rs 5,997 crore and seeking PE 34x times on FY20 EPS, which seems the issue is fully priced in but asset-light business models typically tend to be valued differently and expect decent 15-20 percent return on investment (ROI) YoY, said Mehta Equities.

Hem Securities also likes the asset light business model of company & excited by the fact that the industry is mainly concentrated between limited players with company holding majority market share.

Also company has long history of existence since 1988 & presently company has experienced management & marquee shareholders, said the brokerage which recommended subscribe the issue both for listing gains as well as long term horizon.

Dinesh Kumar Mehrotra is the Chairman and Independent Director of the company. He has previously served as the chairman and the managing director of Life Insurance Corporation of India.

Anuj Kumar is the Whole time Director and CEO of firm. He was previously associated with Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company, Blow Plast, Escorts Finance, BillJunction Payments, IBM India and Concentrix Daksh Services India.

Its marquee shareholders include Great Terrain (an affiliate of Warburg Pincus), HDFC, HDFC Bank and NSE Investments (NSEIL), among others.

CAMS has delivered a robust financial performance overall revenue growing at a CAGR of 14 percent in FY17-FY20 driven by strong growth in AAUM (around 15 percent CAGR). Over the same period, the EBITDA and net profit grew at a CAGR of 13 percent and 12 percent respectively. The company carries no debt obligation, thus translating in healthy return ratios with ROCE/ROE of 37/35 percent. Furthermore, it is consistently paying dividend with FY20 payout at 40 percent.

Hence given the leadership position, zero debt, healthy cash position and high return ratios, LKP Securities recommended to subscribe.

Among others, Geojit Financial Services and KR Choksey Securities also advised subscribing the issue, but despite positive fundamentals, Choice Broking believes the demanded valuation is little stretched, so it assigned a "subscribe with caution" rating for the issue.

However, investors, who are subscribing the issue, should also consider risks and concerns like subdued economic growth and poor financial investment market, unfavourable change in the mutual fund AUM composition, any sharp decline in AUMs or reduction in yield by MFs, unfavourable regulatory environment, exit of one client which can create huge impact on financials, Cyber security is a material threat, and competition.

: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Former President John Dramani Mahama on Monday began a four-day campaign tour of the Bono Region.

Accompanied by NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, Campaign Manager Professor Joshua Alabi, former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah and Special Aide Joyce Bawah Mogtari, the former President made his first stop at Nchira in the Wenchi constituency, where he interacted with farmers and chiefs.

In his remarks, Mr. Mahama explained his plans to modernise agriculture through improved services to be provided by mechanization centres in various districts.

According to him, the centres would be established in all farming zones to help increase yield and income levels of farmers and pledged to prioritize the completion of all abandoned projects, particularly in the road, education and health sectors.

Former President Mahama said the stoppage of work on various projects had caused financial loss to the state and worsened the plight of contractors and the beneficiary communities.

Mr Asiedu-Nketiah said they would roll out a National Apprenticeship Programme, explaining that the initiative would target some 500,000 youth who would benefit from skills training and receive start-up packs to start their own businesses.

He said the John Mahama administration would set up agro-processing factories to add value to crops for export to boost revenue generation.

On the agri- business sector, he added, it would open up job opportunities in the value chain.

Former President Mahama will visit Subinso, Wenchi, Badu, Nsawkaw and Brohani on Monday, where he will among others interact with cashew farmers.

---GNA
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Sandia National Laboratories and New Mexico's largest electricity provider, PNM, have teamed up to bring energy resiliency, security and stability to the state and country.

"The partnership with PNM will address energy challenges not just in New Mexico but across the United States," Sandia Labs Director James Peery said. "This agreement provides a pathway for Sandia's advanced technologies to be put to the test in a real-world system, while advancing the goals of electric power system resiliency and safety that are critical to national security."

The labs and PNM have signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement to collaborate in the fields of energy storage, solar photovoltaics, power electronics, energy conversion systems, economic and life-cycle analyses, artificial intelligence and machine learning, computational simulation and sensor technologies. Funding and support for Sandia's work will be provided through the Department of Energy Office of Electricity's Energy Storage Program.

A CRADA is an agreement between a government agency or federal laboratory and nonfederal entity to work together on research and development. In this case, the CRADA will allow Sandia and PNM to develop energy projects to meet specific goals and targets.

Sandia will develop and test technologies for resiliency and its national security mission, said Charles Hanley, Sandia's senior manager for the Grid Modernization and Energy Storage Program.

The work aligns with the labs' recently initiated $40 million, 7-year Resilient Energy Systems Mission Campaign. That effort is supported by the Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, which funds exploratory work in science and technology.

"We expect to play a significant role in the work on energy storage and its integration in a modern grid," Hanley said. "The analytic capabilities and the tools that we will be developing are focused on the national security aspects of maintaining grid resiliency."

PNM's goal is to meet its stated target of 100% emissions-free generation.

"Our goal for 100 percent emissions-free energy requires advanced resources to bridge the technological gap," said Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM chairman, president and CEO. "We are fortunate to have a national laboratory in Albuquerque, and the combination of their expertise, technologies and resources with our team's industry experience is an ideal collaboration to solve this challenge. We look forward to this opportunity for shared learning and progress."

Evaluating technology options

The first joint project with PNM, scheduled to last five years, will identify the tools needed to assess current and future energy storage technologies in an integrated, nearly statewide grid, and will conduct computer modeling and simulations and other analytic exercises to identify priorities.

PNM will focus on the more immediate need to meet its emissions-free goal, while Sandia will examine research and development opportunities for the longer term, with a concentration on energy storage technologies and analytics.

"We'll be working with PNM to see how it can meet its clean-energy target," Hanley said. "We'll be exploring different types of storage technologies, such as batteries, thermal storage, hydrogen and others that can provide grid resilience on timescales that extend from seconds to seasons."

In subsequent projects, Sandia will look at future technologies that may provide greater flexibility in the electric system and enhance the efficient use of emissions-free generation technologies. Advances may include networked microgrids, virtual power plants, highly efficient distributed and centralized storage systems, and reconfigurable grid architectures that provided added resilience.

To bolster such research, Sandia has a wide breadth of expertise, technologies and facilities, including Sandia's Control and Optimization of Networked Energy Technologies Laboratory, Energy Storage Controls and Analysis Lab, Advanced Power Electronics and Converters Lab, Distributed Energy Technologies Laboratory and Battery Abuse Testing Laboratory, among others.

While initial research will focus on grid technology, Sandia's renewable energy facilities -- including the National Solar Thermal Test Facility, Scaled Wind Farm Technology Facility and Wave Energy Converter Facility -- could also be used in the future.

CRADAs allow cooperation

The agreement with PNM is known as an umbrella CRADA and thus allows the labs and electricity provider to explore research collaborations in several areas. In contrast to a standard CRADA, which involves a single project in one technical area, an umbrella CRADA covers multiple projects and technologies.

So, while the first named project will focus on identifying the tools needed to assess current and future energy storage technologies, future CRADAs could focus on more specific or broader research and development as needed.

"The Umbrella CRADA between PNM and Sandia will allow opportunities to spark collaboration related to electric grid modernization with a potential to affect our local community while addressing national energy distribution concerns," Sandia business development specialist Jason Martinez said. "Such agreements allow Sandia to better serve the state and the nation."

###
The Britfield Institutes mission is to transform education throughout America, inspire literacy, equip children with the tools to succeed and bring creativity back into classrooms.

America is engulfed in an educational crisis, with more than 30% of enrolled students not returning to school this fall. National literacy scores have drastically dropped since 2011 (ranked #13: PISA 2019). Creativity scores have consistently declined for twenty years. The emergence of AI threatens the job market where previously taught skills are becoming obsolete.

________________________________

However, the Britfield Institute has launched a national campaign: Literacy in a Box. Working with Title-1 schools and underprivileged demographics, Britfield is helping to improve education and inspire students creativity, literacy and learning. The Institute is providing life-changing experiences for children and teachers by offering virtual writing, creativity, and entrepreneur workshops; mentoring programs and essential resources. With its cosponsored educational tour, the Britfield Institute has already had massive impact by traveling through 18 states and presenting at over 150 schools to more than 25,000 students.

With the growing importance of creativity, America has a limited number of individuals who are capable of finding and implementing solutions to problems our nation faces today as literacy and creativity scores continue to decline. The Britfield Institute was established to reverse these trends by providing engaging virtual courses that help students to excel as they discover their own unique gifts and abilities. Often marginalized based on their socio-economic status, these students will receive fresh learning opportunities and individualized attention in reading, writing and entrepreneurship.

While creativity is the #1 most important skill required in 2020 (PRCA), it is not being taught or fostered in our schools. The national economy will continue to decline unless our education is taken seriously, literacy is promoted, and creativity is implemented in our entire educational system. This is why the Britfield Institute has undertaken a national mission to help underprivileged students by providing them opportunities of a lifetime. Creativity is the most powerful competitive advantage a child can have.

Discussion/Article Topics



How this crisis will transform education and businesses

Why creativity is the most important skill in the world

Britfields impact on literacy, creativity and education

The Homeschool Revolution

The Britfield Institute is a non-profit, committed to bringing creativity into the classroom, promoting literacy, and fostering a childs imagination. Impacting all demographics, we provide students, teachers, educators and schools the opportunity to read and write with passion while inspiring critical thinking, communication and collaboration.
The HSE has reached a deal with a German lab to create surge capacity of up to 2,000 additional Covid-19 tests, beyond the current daily capacity of 15,000 tests, according to the Irish Times.

This daily limit was almost reached last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as the weekly number of tests processed reached a new high of 85,000.

The deal with the lab operated by Eurofins Biomnis will increase capacity, though sending tests will increase the time it takes to get results.

Hospitals are also being equipped to increase their own testing capacity from 3,500 tests per day to 5,000, with the HSE supplying more testing kits.

Second wave

It comes as HSE chief Paul Reid told ministers at the Cabinet Covid-19 sub-committee that Irelands testing system will not be able to withstand a second wave of the virus.

Advertisement In the past 7 days we've completed over 85,000 #COVID19 tests & met all demand. However testing doesn't provide us with a "suit of armour" against the virus. Our first line of defence is ourselves and what we do. It's serious again but we can turn this around too. @HSELive  Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) September 21, 2020

Mr Reid told the Taoiseach, Tanaiste and other senior ministers that the HSE currently has no scope to increase capacity beyond carrying out around 14,000 tests per day or 100,000 per week.

Serial testing at meat plants had to be stopped earlier this month due to an increase in demand for swabs in the community.

Head of the HSEs contact tracing service Kilian McGrane said it was now at its busiest since the peak of the outbreak, with 2,000 calls per day made to close contacts.

Mr McGrane said the calls to close contacts have also become more complex, with contact tracers being met with frustration on the other side of the line.

The number of calls made by tracers has doubled in the past fortnight from 4,600 per week to more than 10,500.
A police officer who starred in a crime-fighting TV documentary has been thrown off the force after admitting to a string of child sex offences.

Lee Tatton, 54, appeared on UKTV's fly-on-the-wall documentary Cops UK: Bodycam Squad as a response officer covering Hanley in 2016.

But the Staffordshire Police officer's career lies in ruins after he pleaded guilty to multiple child sex offences at Birmingham Crown Court on September 1.

At a special case hearing held today, Tatton was dismissed without notice after it was concluded his actions amounted to gross misconduct, the Mirror reported.

Lee Tatton, 54, who appeared on TV documentary Cops UK: Bodycam Squad, was dismissed without notice after pleading guilty to a string of child sex offences on September 1

Staffordshire Police Chief Constable Gareth Morgan said: 'Officers swear an oath to serve the people of Staffordshire with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality  and the overwhelming majority of officers and staff are loyal to that promise.

'Lee Tatton has fallen far short of the high standards expected by the public and the force and his discreditable conduct has led to his dismissal.'

Response officer Tatton did not attend the hearing and was dismissed in his absence.

In the show, he was nicknamed Tatts and was filmed rescuing people from a flat fire and breaking up a pub brawl in Stoke by camera crews.

Production company Raw Cut shadowed PC Tatton and his fellow officers for several weeks to gain insight into his job.

But he was arrested in December last year while dealing with minor crime for the Northern Resolution Centre by his own force's Operation Safenet team.

At a special case hearing held today, it was concluded that the actions of the Staffordshire police officer amounted to gross misconduct

The dedicated unit is tasked with looking into online child abuse to protect vulnerable young people from perverts and paedophiles.

Tatton was immediately suspended from duty by Staffordshire Police and remains on suspension subject to an internal force hearing.

At court, Tatton pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and four counts of making an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child.

Production company Raw Cut spent several weeks in 2016 shadowing paedophile Tatton and his fellow officers on a range of incidents.

He was filmed rescuing people from a flat fire and breaking up a brawl a pub in Stoke - where he was accidentally pepper-sprayed by a colleague.

It was hoped that the crime-fighting programme - on UKTV's Really channel - would give the public an insight into the work of Staffordshire Police.

Tatton, nicknamed Tatts, started in a TV documentary where he was filmed rescuing people from a flat fire and breaking up a brawl a pub in Stoke (pictured at a drugs bust in 2008)

Tatton pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and four counts of making an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child at Birmingham Crown Court (above)

Speaking when the show premiered, Tatton said: 'It was put to our shift about the camera crews coming out with us and I was happy to volunteer. After a while it became second nature explaining to them what we were dealing with.

'I hope it will give people an insight into what we do and the things we have to deal with at 4am and 5am when most people are tucked up in bed.'

In a statement earlier this month, Assistant Chief Constable Scott Green said: 'Tatton's actions are unacceptable and have caused harm and distress to the very people we should be protecting and keeping safe.

'His actions fell well below the high standards that the public and the force demands and expects of police officers.'

Tatton will be sentenced on November 2 this year.
For a few years in the 1980s, it seems that everyone was trying to hand Bruce Cockburn his very own rocket launcher.

Rarely has such an angry song about the atrocities of defenceless wartime human slaughter been so perfectly articulated in song as in the Ottawa-born Cockburns 1984 hit If I Had A Rocket Launcher.

But it seems as though a few people misinterpreted the lyrics.

There were actually three incidents, says a chuckling Cockburn, on the line from the San Francisco residence he occupies with his wife and daughter.

Cockburn, who celebrates half a century as a recording artist with the Sept. 25 release of the vinyl-only, five-disc collection True North  a 50th Anniversary Box Set, recalls an incident in Afghanistan after he had just finished performing the song to Canadian troops stationed in Kandahar.

General (Jonathan) Vance  currently Canadas chief of defence staff  appeared at my shoulder with the rocket launcher and handed it to me, he recalls.

It was loaded  it was one of those little single-use anti-tank rocket things, but there I am, cradling this thing in my arms and there was this picture in the paper  Ive got this enormous grin and it looks like Christmas.

But that was the best of those moments.

Cockburn, 75, remembers a second incident, following a concert in the southern U.S. around the time of the songs release, when a radio station sent some employees to join him for a pre-show photo opportunity.

Theyd brought a rocket launcher that theyd rented from the National Guard  and they wanted to pose with it. They thought it was cute, he remembers. At this point, the song was fresh and I found it really offensive. I told them so. They didnt get it. The song doesnt say, I wish I had a Rocket launcher. It says, if!

But the scariest occasion occurred after a show in Bellingham, Wash. We were crossing over the border into Vancouver after the show and while I was in the parking lot, a guy says, I have a gift for you but you have to come to my car to get it.

The guy  over six feet tall, very muscular, very short hair  pops his trunk and has three rocket launchers in there. He wanted to give me one.

Cockburn thanked him and politely declined. If I had said, yes, there would have been a checkpoint somewhere. I think it was a trap. He had cop written all over him.

These are just some of the adventures the noted troubadour and respected guitarist has enjoyed since 1970, when he helped launch the True North Records label with the self-titled Bruce Cockburn.

Over the course of 26 studio albums, four live recordings, three compilations and the 2014 box set Rumours of Glory, the 13-time Juno Award winner has expounded upon the folk idiom to include blues, roots, rock, pop and  for want of a better word  Americana. Cockburn, a member of the Order of Canada and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, has also expanded his topical horizons, writing hundreds of songs that are as intellectually stimulating and thoughtful as they are emotional, informed by a Christian faith that is neither intrusive nor sermonizing.

His songs range from mystical to introspective to philosophical to romantic to political to playful to sober, from roaming idyllic moods with Wondering Where The Lions Are or expressing environmental concern with Radium Rain. Hes tackled political effrontery in Call it Democracy and raised awareness of inhumane treatment by government regimes in Nicaragua, his observations recorded from first-hand visits to war-torn territories.

Hes a fearless explorer, notes Nicholas Jennings, author and music historian who has provided liner notes for Cockburns entire remastered catalogue, including the new box set.

His curiosity is incredibly deep and hes always looking for answers. Hes always looking for new truths. Hes a seeker in the full sense of the word  He is always trying new things. Thats what keeps him fresh and maybe thats whats kept him a vital, meaningful artist.

In terms of his role in sounding alarm bells about human rights transgressions over the years, though, Cockburn is clear.

I know that the songs have affected people  because I hear from the people, he states. Theyve had a role to play in terms of drawing peoples attention to situations that needed addressing  But in terms of affecting the whole situation, its a drop in the bucket. I think all of the drops in the bucket are meaningful  and mine is one of them.

Cockburns love for music occurred at an early age but wasnt set in stone until later in life. By the time he dropped out of Bostons prestigious Berklee College of Music, I knew then that my life was going to be tied up with the guitar one way or another.

He met Bernie Finkelstein, his manager of 50 years, when Cockburns band then, The Children, opened for The Paupers and The Lovin Spoonful at Maple Leaf Gardens. Finkelstein was managing The Paupers. Cockburn says he and his future producer Eugene Martynec were having a coffee in Yorkville, agreeing theyd like to make a record in the style of blues veteran Mississippi John Hurt, with Cockburn as artist and Martynec as producer.

Gene said he knew somebody who wanted to start a record company, so he goes and talks to Bernie. Bernie said, this could be the first True North Records album  and it was. That was the first time we had actually talked to each other.

Cockburn became True Norths flagship artist.

As far as the management end of our business goes, Bruce and I never had a contract, Finkelstein says from his Prince Edward County home. The joke I often make with Bruce is, If we had a contract, it probably would have ended and he would have left. But because we dont have one, he doesnt know how to leave.

Although the new box set consists of only three albums  Bruce Cockburn, The Charity of Night and Breakfast In New Orleans  Dinner In Timbuktu,  lovingly remastered by Colin Linden and the latter two albums making their vinyl debuts  its important to note the set also marks the 50th anniversary of Toronto-originated True North Records as a label that helped establish folk singer Murray McLauchlan, sexually provocative rockers Rough Trade, and roots trio Blackie And The Rodeo Kings.

What I was always interested in was originality, the ability to perform and great songwriting, Finkelstein says of his signings. I think our label stood for that and I think we stood for it in a way that  at least during the early years  that no other label really did. We made our own world.

Cockburn says the inclusion of the double disc, coloured vinyl sets of Charity and Breakfast  limited to 750 copies and individually signed by the artist  is by design.

Those two albums stand out for me as among the best Ive done, says the artist, who has written three songs towards a potential new studio album. I went through a lot of personal life stuff that ended up in those songs. Travelling in developing countries with a deeper sense of what I was seeing made a difference.

It made it more complicated because its easier to write passionate songs about things you dont know very much about. Whether its a first love or a first encounter with a situation, the feelings are simpler and more vivid.

As you get to know things, it gets deeper and the motivations to say things are a bit more complicated. Theres more to say.

There was a lot of love stuff and just different experiences in life that ended up shaping those songs.

Im kind of grateful and glad that my songs have touched people the way they have.
LONDON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NatWest Group plc (the "Offeror") is today announcing the Reference Yield and the Purchase Price for each series of Notes (as defined herein) subject to its previously announced cash tender offers (each, an "Offer" and, together, the "Offers") for any and all of certain series of its U.S. dollar denominated notes set out in the table below (the "Notes").

The Offers are being made on the terms and subject to the conditions set out in the offer to purchase dated September 14, 2020 (the "Offer to Purchase") and the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (together, the "Offer Documents"). Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this announcement have the same meaning as in the Offer to Purchase.

The Reference Yield in respect of each Series of Fixed Spread Notes was determined at 2:00 p.m., New York City time, today. The Purchase Price for each Series of Notes is based on the Reference Yield plus the Fixed Spread as set forth in the table below:

Title of Security Issuer ISIN/CUSIP Principal

Amount Issued Principal Amount Outstanding Fixed Spread (bps) Reference

U.S. Treasury

Security First Call Date Maturity Reference Yield Purchase Price(1) 6.425% Non-Cumulative Trust Preferred Securities ("Trust Securities") RBS Capital

Trust II US74927PAA75 74927PAA7 $650,000,000 $393,573,000(3) 105 0.625% U.S. Treasury Security due August 2030 January 3, 2034 N/A 0.666% $1,556.87 7.648% Dollar Perpetual Regulatory tier One Securities, Series 1 ("PROs") The Royal

Bank of

Scotland

Group plc(2) US780097AH44 780097AH4 $1,200,000,000 $761,746,000 140 0.625% U.S. Treasury Security due August 2030 September 30, 2031 N/A 0.666% $1,547.47 6.125% Subordinated Tier 2 Notes due 2022 ("2022 Notes") The Royal

Bank of

Scotland

Group plc (2) US780099CE50 780099CE5 $2,250,000,000 $2,250,000,000 145 0.125% U.S. Treasury Security due August 2022 N/A December 15, 2022 0.137% $1,098.79 6.100% Subordinated Tier 2 Notes due 2023 ("2023 Notes") The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc(2) US780097AY76 780097AY7 $1,000,000,000 $1,000,000,000 155 0.125% U.S. Treasury Security due August 2023 N/A June 10, 2023 0.152% $1,116.01

(1) Per $1,000 principal amount of the Notes (as defined herein) validly tendered and accepted for purchase. (2) Currently NatWest Group plc. (3) Excluding $256,427,000 principal amount of 6.425% Non-Cumulative Trust Preferred Securities, which are held by the Offeror as of the date hereof and are deemed not to be outstanding.

The Offers will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on September 21, 2020, unless extended (such date and time, as the same may be extended, the "Expiration Deadline") or earlier terminated. Holders must validly tender and not validly withdraw their Notes at or prior to the Expiration Deadline in order to be eligible to receive the relevant Purchase Price. Notes validly tendered may be withdrawn at any time prior to the Withdrawal Deadline, but not thereafter.

In addition to the Purchase Price, holders whose Notes are accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offers will also receive in the case of PROs, 2022 Notes and 2023 Notes, accrued and unpaid interest on each $1,000 principal amount of such Notes (rounded to the nearest $0.01) from, and including, the last interest payment date up to, but not including, the Settlement Date and, in the case of the Trust Securities, an amount equal to accrued and unpaid cash distributions on each $1,000 principal amount of such Trust Securities (rounded to the nearest $0.01) from, and including, the last distribution payment date up to, but not including, the Settlement Date.

Unless the Offers are extended, reopened or earlier terminated, the Settlement Date is expected to be September 24, 2020.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Copies of the Offer Documents are available at the following web address: www.lucid-is.com/natwest

Requests for additional copies of the Offer Documents and information in relation to the procedures for tendering should be directed to:

Tender Agent

Lucid Issuer Services Limited

Email: [email protected]

David Shilson

Telephone: +44 20 7704-0880

NatWest Treasury Markets

Scott Forrest

Email: [email protected]

Head of Treasury DCM

Telephone: +44 (0)774 745 5969

Investor Relations

Paul Pybus

Email: [email protected]

Head of Debt Investor Relations

Telephone: +44 (0)776 916 1183

Global Arranger and Lead Dealer Manager

NatWest Markets

Telephone: +44 20 7678-5222

Email: [email protected]

Attn: Liability Management

Dealer Managers

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Telephone: +1 800 828-3182

Collect: +1 212 357-0215

U.K.: +44 20 7552-6157

Email: [email protected]

Attn: Liability Management Group

UBS Investment Bank

Telephone: + 1 888 719-4210

Collect: +1 203 719 4210

U.K.: +44 20 7568 1121

Email: [email protected]

Attn: Liability Management

DISCLAIMER

This announcement and the Offer to Purchase (including the documents incorporated by reference therein) contain important information which should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Offer. If you are in any doubt as to the contents of this announcement or the Offer to Purchase or the action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own financial and legal advice, including as to any tax consequences, immediately from your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial or legal adviser. Any individual or company whose Notes are held on its behalf by a broker, dealer, bank, custodian, trust company or other nominee or intermediary must contact such entity if it wishes to participate in the Offer. None of the Offeror, the Dealer Managers, the Tender Agent or the trustee with respect to the Notes (or any of their respective directors, employees or affiliates) make any recommendation as to whether holders should tender Notes pursuant to the Offer.

OFFER RESTRICTIONS

European Economic Area ("EEA")

The communication of this announcement, the Offer to Purchase and any other documents or materials relating to the Offers does not constitute an offer of securities to the public for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 and accordingly the requirement to produce a prospectus does not apply to the Offers.

United Kingdom

The communication of this announcement, the Offer to Purchase and any other documents or materials relating to the Offers are not being made, and such documents and/or materials have not been approved, by an authorized person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the "FSMA"). Accordingly, this announcement, the Offer to Purchase and such other documents and/or materials are not being distributed to, and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of the Offer to Purchase and such other documents and/or materials is exempt from the restriction on financial promotions under section 21 of the FSMA on the basis that they are only being distributed to and are only directed at persons to whom they can lawfully be circulated outside the United Kingdom or to: (i) persons in the United Kingdom having professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within the definition of investment professionals (as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended, the "Financial Promotion Order")); (ii) persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.") of the Financial Promotion Order; (iii) persons falling within Article 43 of the Financial Promotion Order; or (iv) any other persons to whom the Offer to Purchase and such other documents and/or materials may otherwise lawfully be communicated under the Financial Promotion Order (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). This announcement and the Offer to Purchase and such documents and/or materials are directed only at relevant persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement and the Offer to Purchase relate is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons.

Belgium

Neither this announcement, the Offer to Purchase nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offers have been submitted to or will be submitted for approval or recognition to the Financial Services and Markets Authority (Autorite des services et marches financiers / Autoriteit voor financiele diensten en markten) and, accordingly, the Offers may not be made in Belgium by way of a public offering, as defined in Articles 3 and 6 of the Belgian Law of April 1, 2007 on public takeover bids as amended or replaced from time to time. Accordingly, the Offers may not be advertised and the Offers will not be extended, and neither this announcement, the Offer to Purchase nor any other documents or materials relating to the Offers (including any memorandum, information circular, brochure or any similar documents) have been or shall be distributed or made available, directly or indirectly, to any person in Belgium other than "qualified investors" in the sense of Article 10 of the Belgian Law of June 16, 2006 on the public offer of placement instruments and the admission to trading of placement instruments on regulated markets, acting on their own account. This announcement and the Offer to Purchase have been issued only for the personal use of the above qualified investors and exclusively for the purpose of the Offers. Accordingly, the information contained in this announcement and the Offer to Purchase may not be used for any other purpose or disclosed to any other person in Belgium.

France

This announcement, the Offer to Purchase and any other documents or offering materials relating to the Offers may not be distributed in the Republic of France except to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifies) as defined in Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation. This announcement and the Offer to Purchase have not been and will not be submitted for clearance to the Autorite des marches financiers.

Italy

None of the Offers, this announcement, the Offer to Purchase or any other documents or materials relating to the Offers has been or will be submitted to the clearance procedure of the Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa ("CONSOB"), pursuant to applicable Italian laws and regulations.

The Offers are being carried out in the Republic of Italy ("Italy") as an exempted offer pursuant to article 101-bis, paragraph 3-bis of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of February 24, 1998, as amended (the "Financial Services Act") and article 35-bis, paragraph 4 of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of May 14, 1999, as amended (the "Issuers' Regulation"). The Offers are also being carried out in compliance with article 35-bis, paragraph 7 of the Issuers' Regulation.

Holders or beneficial owners of the Notes located in Italy can tender the Notes through authorized persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with the Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No. 20307 of February 15, 2018, as amended from time to time, and Legislative Decree No. 385 of September 1, 1993, as amended) and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or with requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian authority.

Each intermediary must comply with the applicable laws and regulations concerning information duties vis-a-vis its clients in connection with the Notes and the Offers.

Canada

The materials relating to the Offers do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation in any place where offers or solicitations are not permitted by law. Any offer or solicitation in Canada must be made through a dealer that is appropriately registered under the laws of the applicable province or territory of Canada, or pursuant to an exemption from that requirement.

Hong Kong

The communication of the Offer to Purchase and any other documents or materials relating to the Offers and/or the Notes is not being made in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong) (the "CWUMPO"), or (ii) under the exemptions applicable under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) (the "SFO") and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the Offer to Purchase and any other documents or materials relating to the Offers and/or the Notes being a "prospectus" as defined in the CWUMPO.

General

The Offers do not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell Notes (and offers to sell will not be accepted from the holders) in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful. In those jurisdictions where the securities or other laws require the Offers to be made by a licensed broker or dealer or similar and any of the Dealer Managers or any of the Dealer Manager's respective affiliates is such a licensed broker or dealer in that jurisdiction, the Offers shall be deemed to be made by such Dealer Manager or affiliate, as the case may be, on behalf of the Offeror in such jurisdiction.

Each holder participating in the Offers will be deemed to give certain representations in respect of the jurisdictions referred to above and generally as set out in the Offer to Purchase. Any tender of Notes pursuant to the Offer to Purchase from a holder that is unable to make these representations will be rejected. Each of the Offeror, the Dealer Managers and Lucid Issuer Services Limited reserves the right, in its absolute discretion (and without prejudice to the relevant holder's responsibility for the representations made by it), to investigate in relation to any tender of Notes, whether any such representation given by a holder is correct and, if such investigation is undertaken and as a result the Offeror determines (for any reason) that such representation is not correct, such offer to sell will be rejected.

The Offeror and its affiliates expressly reserve the right at any time or from time to time following completion or termination of the Offers, to purchase or exchange or offer to purchase or exchange Notes or to issue an invitation to submit offers to sell Notes (including, without limitation, those tendered pursuant to the Offers but not accepted for purchase) through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, exchange offers or otherwise, in each case on terms that may be more or less favorable than those contemplated by the Offers. In addition, the Offeror also reserves the right to issue new debt securities from time to time, including during the term of the Offers.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

From time to time, we may make statements, both written and oral, regarding our assumptions, projections, expectations, intentions or beliefs about future events. These statements constitute "forward-looking statements". We caution that these statements may and often do vary materially from actual results. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. You should read the sections entitled "Risk Factors" in the Offer to Purchase, in our Annual Report, Q1 2020 Interim Report and H1 2020 Interim Report and "Forward-Looking Statements" in our Annual Report, Q1 2020 Interim Report and H1 2020 Interim Report.

Any forward-looking statements made herein or in the documents incorporated by reference herein speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA"), any applicable stock exchange or any applicable law, we expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained in the Offer to Purchase or the documents incorporated by reference herein to reflect any changes in expectations with regard thereto or any new information or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. The reader should, however, consult any additional disclosures that we have made or may make in documents we have filed or may file with the SEC.

Legal Entity Identifiers

NatWest Group plc 2138005O9XJIJN4JPN90

SOURCE NatWest Group plc
Police and paramilitary guards surround a woman while a policeman reads her petition amid tightened security on Tiananmen Square in Beijing on March 6, 2007. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

Beijing Kicks Out Protesters Ahead of National Holiday on Oct. 1

Petitioners in Beijing are warning that the Chinese regimes office for hearing public complaints and other similar governmental offices will sweep them out of the capital before Oct. 1, the regimes annual commemoration of its founding.

Citizens with grievances typically travel to Beijing in the hopes of appealing their cases to authorities.

Around the time of important Party meetings or political anniversaries, authorities typically crack down on dissent.

Some petitioners recently said on social media that they wont be allowed to stay in the capital during the one-week national holiday.

On Sept. 18, at around 2 a.m., Huang Ling traveled from the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province, to visit the national Central Committee for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) office in Beijing and file her complaints. The CCDI is the regimes anti-corruption watchdog.

When she arrived, a long waiting line disheartened her. She thought it would be impossible for her to get registered for the day.

She heard that the administration would remove all petitioners before Oct. 1. The previous day, some waiting in line were packed into three full buses and taken away, Huang said. No sooner had a female petitioner come out of the building than she was forcibly pushed into a vehicle from Jilin Province. All the police and security guards lent a hand to get her inno way of escaping. Its an order from the institution, Huang said.

Huang warned fellow petitioners on social media: Avoid coming over, my friends. It would be too bad if youre caught on the way here. Come at least after Oct. 1. Beijing police can find you out any time, since your health code has been scanned. Shes referring to the health tracking app that assigns each person a code that determines ones risk of contracting COVID-19. The codes are usually scanned at security checkpoints and at major transportation hubs.

Huang has a history of 10 years of petitioning in Beijing. She alleges that she was unfairly removed from her position as a prison guard in Wuhan.

On Sept. 20, Zheng Meicui, who came from Baoshan district in Shanghai, was stopped by officers from filing her complaint. She was taken back to Shanghai and detained on the charge of picking quarrels and provoking trouble.

Zheng alleges that her company was illegally seized for redevelopment, causing her to lose more than 10 million yuan (about $1.47 million).

On May 23, during the Two Sessionsthe annual meeting of the Chinese Communist Partys rubber-stamp legislature and its advisory body to enact policies and agendasZheng, out of despair, took insecticide out of her pocket, intending to commit suicide near Zhongnanhai, the Partys headquarters in Beijing. But she was stopped by approaching local police. Later, she was detained for 30 days, and eventually released on bail.

Sun Hongqin, also from Shanghai, told The Epoch Times: Zheng did nothing wrong. She just filed her complaints by normal means. The government detains petitioners or throws them into prison because they just want to crack down on them and retaliate against them.

The origins of the regimes petitioning system can be traced back to 1949, shortly after the Party won a civil war and took control of China. But it didnt come into being until 1980, when Beijing established the Letters and Calls Bureau to hear grievances from persecuted individuals. The office was later renamed the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration.

Ma Yanhong, former petitioner from northeastern Chinas Liaoning Province, told The Epoch Times that she hopes the Party will step down from power  so all the suffering that wethis generationhas undergone will not be passed down to our children and grandchildren. Ma, who has since fled China, alleges that authorities illegally seized her chicken farm.
People left flowers at a makeshift memorial in the days after the eight-year-old was killed

An Eritrean man who fatally threw a boy under a train in Germany will be placed in psychiatric care, a court ruled Friday at the end of a politically charged trial.

The district court in Frankfurt found that Habte Araya, 41, pushed the eight-year-old boy and his mother onto the tracks in an apparently random attack at Frankfurt's main station in July 2019.

The judges ruled that while he could not be held criminally responsible due his "acute paranoid schizophrenia", he still posed a danger to society and should be confined to a mental hospital.

The mother of the boy was able to roll off the tracks to avoid the oncoming high-speed InterCity Express train, but the boy was killed instantly.

Araya, who had entered Germany from Switzerland just days before the incident, was also accused of trying to push a 78-year-old woman onto the tracks, though she managed to save herself.

The attack stunned Germany and stoked a heated debate on immigration and security.

A psychiatric expert who examined Araya had told the court on Thursday that the accused was experiencing an episode of paranoid schizophrenia at the time and continues to suffer from a "pathological mental disorder".

The expert recommended that Araya be placed long term in a secure psychiatric facility.

Prosecutors and Araya's own defence team supported the recommendation.

- 'Infinitely sorry' -

Araya apologised in a written statement read by his lawyer at the opening of the trial on August 19.

"I am infinitely sorry, especially for the family," he said, admitting that the crime "must have happened according to all the information I have received", though he could not remember it.

The tragic case led the far-right AfD party to call for tighter controls on foreigners entering Germany, although the suspect was not in the country illegally.

"Protect the citizens of our country at long last," the anti-migration party's parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel tweeted.

Story continues

Conservative Interior Minister Horst Seehofer also saw the case as an occasion to take a tougher line on immigration, suggesting more extensive screening and "occasional temporary checks" at borders.

- 'Successful integration' -

A married father of three, Araya had been living in Switzerland and was on the run from Swiss police after a violent incident the previous week.

He had threatened a neighbour with a knife and locked her up, and also trapped his wife and their children, aged one, three and four, in their flat before running away.

Police said it appeared the suspect had not been listed as wanted in European police databases and had been able to cross borders freely.

Araya had been living in Switzerland since 2006 and was granted asylum in 2008.

According to the Bild newspaper, he had worked for a local transport company and was described by authorities as "an example of successful integration".

He was even featured in a campaign by Swiss authorities to promote positive integration.

bur/dlc/mfp/txw
The man who bashed Melbourne woman Courtney Herron to death in a park will remain in prison while he waits for a bed to become available at a secure forensic mental health hospital.

Henry Hammond was last month found not guilty due to mental impairment of the murder of Ms Herron, 25, who was fatally assaulted in Royal Park in the early hours of May 25 last year.

Courtney Herron died at the age of 25.

The Supreme Court heard last month that two psychiatrists believed Hammond was in the midst of a relapse of his schizophrenic illness at the time of the killing, evidence which was accepted by Justice Phillip Priest.

In court on Monday, Justice Priest said he had hoped to impose a custodial supervision order, which would see Mr Hammond held at Thomas Embling Hospital and receive compulsory treatment for his mental health.
A Catholic Priest in Kumasi who has been appointed as Justice of the High Court can no more exercise his priestly ministry in public, the Catholic Church has said.

According to the church, he could only celebrate sacraments privately.



Last Wednesday, Rev. Fr Joseph Owusu-Agyemang, a Catholic priest incardinated into the Catholic Archdiocese of Kumasi, was sworn in as a Justice of the High Court by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, becoming the first Catholic Priest in Ghana to assume the position of a Justice of the High Court.



Concerns have been raised as to whether the Priest-Judge can perform a dual role.



Explaining the implications of the appointment in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, the Chancellor of the Kumasi Archdiocese of the Church, Rev. Fr. Peter Sarpong, said apart from political appointments, the church did not stop its priests from serving offices, including serving as lecturers, to the security doctors, among others.





Justice Owusu Agyemang was among 16 individuals who were sworn in as justices of the High Court by President Akufo-Addo.



History



Speaking to the Daily Graphic day after claiming a slice of history as the first Ghanaian Catholic priest to attain such appointment, Justice Owusu-Agyemang,52, said he would not be in charge of any Catholic community until he retired as a judge.



"There will be no combination of roles here because I will not be in charge of any Catholic community until I retire as a judge," he said.



On remuneration, the former Director of the Kumasi Archdiocesan Legal Services Department, said: "I will receive remuneration from the Judicial Service alone."



Lawyer first



Tracing his life trajectory, Justice Owusu-Agyemang revealed that he was called to the Bar on October 4, 2002, before he later completed his studies to become a priest in 2007 at the Grand Seminaire St Gall in Ouidah, Benin.



"Since 2007, it has been a constant practice of Law, alongside being a priest. So, I have been doing that over the years till I decided to apply to the Judicial Service for this position," he stated.



Justice Owusu-Agyemang added that his duties as a judge would only be influenced by the laws of Ghana.



Reaction



Explaining the law which allowed Justice Owusu-Agyemang to accept the appointment, the Chancellor of the Kumasi Archdiocese said the church's law was epitomised by the last code that: "Salvation of souls is the supreme law of the church".



He said such appointments were only allowed by the Catholic Church provided that a Diocesan Bishop had judged that it contributed to their spiritual growth under the Canon Law.



The Canon Law of the Catholic Church is the system of laws and legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Catholic Church to regulate its external organisation and government and to order and direct the activities of Catholics towards the mission of the church.



Rev. Fr Sarpong urged Ghanaians to pray for the Priest-Judge to make a difference and be an evangelist in the Judiciary.



Qualifications



Justice Owusu-Agyemang holds an LLB from the University of Ghana, a BL from the Ghana School of Law and an LLM from the University of London.



He has also served in various capacities including being a Legal Advisor to the Ghana Armed Forces, Member of the Board of Directors of the Nursing and Midwifery Training College at Dunkwa-on-Offin. Chairman of the Board of Directors of Marist Schools, Part-time Lecturer of the University of Education, Winneba, and a partner at the F&J Legal Consult.









Source: Graphiconline.com









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

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Since it would be too much of a stretch to refer to a series of stage performances as Carnival, the Government has decided to offer instead a Taste of Carnival.

For traditional Carnival interests whose events will be facilitated and supported by the State, the proposal presented on Wednesday by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Randall Mitchell, must be a welcome case of half a loaf being plenty better than none.
In March, the NHS outlined plans to run 10,000 tests for coronavirus a day amid the pandemic.

Currently there are coronavirus antigen tests available to anyone with symptoms - although there have been widespread reports of these being inaccessible or people being offered tests hundreds of miles away from where they live.

But these tests are not the same as antibody tests, which show if you have had Covid-19 previously, not currently.

The NHS says: "Antibody tests are not widely available yet. Free NHS antibody test kits are currently only available for people living in England and Wales who work in adult social care.

These tests are to help the NHS and scientists learn more about who has already had the virus and how it has spread in the UK.

If you're unable to get an NHS antibody test, you can pay to have a test at a private clinic if you want to do so. But these are not officiated or credited by the health service or government.

And on 21 September, at a Downing Street press conference, Professor Chris Witty said there were indications that antibodies fade in some cases after people have had Covid-19.

So what is an antibody test?

An antibody test, also called a serological test, is supposed to be able to detect whether a person has already had the coronavirus before, and has since recovered.

The test looks at individuals blood for coronavirus antibodies to see if they have already recovered from the virus and therefore may have gained a certain degree of immunity to it.

On 19 March, health secretary Matt Hancock tweeted that the government is in negotiations for a brand-new type of antibody test  which can tell you if youve had the virus and are immune, saying that the government planned on buying hundreds of thousands of tests.

During the daily press conference on Tuesday 24 March, the health secretary stated that the government had bought 3.5 million antibody tests that will allow people to see whether they have had the virus and are immune to it and then can get back to work.

However, on 6 April the governments testing chief admitted that none of the 3.5 million antibody tests, which were ordered from China, were fit for widespread use.

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On Thursday 14 May, it was reported that a 100 per cent accurate antibody test had been approved for use in the UK for the first time.

The tests, which were developed by Swiss firm Roche, have already been in use in the US.

In late March, a Public Health England director said that 15-minute home test kits, which can determine whether a person has or has had the coronavirus, would be made available to the British public within days.

However, Professor Chris Whitty, the UKs chief medical officer, later dismissed the claim the tests would be ready for circulation so soon, adding that frontline NHS workers would be prioritised for tests once they are available.

On Friday 17 April, the World Health Organisation (WHO) cast doubt on the use of antibody tests to detect immunity from Covid-19.

Expert epidemiologist Dr Maria Van Kerkhove informed a briefing that the presence of antibodies in the blood does not necessarily mean a person is no longer at risk of catching the virus again.

Where else are antibody tests being used?

In February, it was reported that Singapore had become one of the first countries to trial an antibody test.

The test, which was described as a world first, was developed by scientists at the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.

On 23 March, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York City stated that he would like antibody blood tests to be utilised so that healthcare workers who have immunity to the virus can return to work.

At a daily press conference, the governor said that a serological drug is being developed that would test the antibodies of individual to see if they had the virus already.

We all believe thousands and thousands of people have had the virus and self-resolved. If you knew that, you would know who is now immune to the virus and who you can send back to work, he stated.

During her briefing on Friday 17 April, Dr Maria van Kerkhove of WHO said: There are a lot of countries that are suggesting using rapid diagnostic serological tests to be able to capture what they think will be a measure of immunity.

Right now, we have no evidence that the use of a serological test can show that an individual has immunity or is protected from reinfection.

On 29 April, it was reported that an antibody test to check whether someone has been infected with coronavirus, and said to be 99 per cent accurate, had been certified for use across Europe.

Global diagnostics specialists Abbott, which has a UK base in Maidenhead, said it was expecting to have shipped millions of the laboratory based lab tests across Europe by the end of May.

Can I get a home testing kit for antibodies?

An antibody test is a blood test to check if you've had coronavirus before. But this test is not widely available in England.

The government has instead focused largely on the antigen tests - those that show if you have Covid-19 currently.

An antibody test does not tell you: if you're immune to coronavirus, or if you can or cannot spread the virus to other people.

On 21 September, Chris Witty said there were indications that antibodies fade in some cases after people have had Covid-19.
State-run telecom firm raised more than Rs 8,500 crore through sovereign guarantee bonds with government funds and PSU banks participating in the issue, a top official of the company said on Monday.

Chairman and Managing Director P K Purwar said the company is also planning to monetise assets worth Rs 18,000 crore within a year and expects the loss-making company to become operationally profitable in the financial year 2021.

"We opened the bond issue at 10.30 am and closed at 12 pm. The bond was subscribed over two times. We were able to get bids of over Rs 17,170 crore but we accepted only Rs 8,500 crore as per the approved bond size," Purwar told reporters.

received a total 229 bids valued at Rs 17,183 crore. The bonds have been issued at a coupon rate of 6.79 per cent per annum for a 10-year period.

BSE stock exchange in a statement said that BSNL made its first-ever bond issue successfully and raised Rs 8,500 crore by issuing bonds on private placement basis using BSE BOND platform.

BSNL saw participation of ICICI Prudential Bond, National Pension Scheme, Postal Life Insurance Rural Postal Life Insurance, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank etc.

"SBI has participated in a big way. State Bank of India has directly contributed Rs 1,500 crore," Purwar said.

The provision of was part of a revival package of debt-ridden public sector telecom firm.

Purwar said that the company has applied for 5G trials but the company will review the partner for the trials based on government guidelines.

BSNL applied for 5G trials with Chinese telecom gear maker ZTE. The Chinese firm has supplied around 44 per cent of mobile network equipment to the company.

Meanwhile, the company expects the government will soon approve a proposal for floating 4G tender which will focus on including "Made in India" telecom gears in the network.

Purwar said that the fund raised through bonds will be used to partially pay off dues of its vendors.

"The dues of the vendors have significantly reduced in 3-4 months. Part of the money raised through bonds will also be used to clear dues of vendors," Purwar said.

The government had also approved a sovereign bond issue worth Rs 6,500 crore for MTNL which will be raised separately.

Talking about asset monetisation plan, Purwar said that it has identified 14 assets which will be monetised and out of which 11 assets have been given in-principle approval by an inter-ministerial group.

"The value of those assets is around Rs 18,000 crore. Those assets are proposed to be monetised in the current 12 months period. This is a very big challenge and task. This is the period where economic activities have been impacted due to COVID-19 and business sentiments are a little bit impacted because of COVID. Despite all challenges, we all know BSNL has a very good quality of assets," Purwar said.

He said that the company is also working on resolving all voluntary retirement scheme related issues within 30 days.

The VRS was offered by BSNL to its employees on October 4, 2019. The scheme was closed on December 3, 2019. As many as 78,569 employees have opted for the VRS.

(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.)
Alexander Acosta resigned as secretary of labor after controversy erupted over an old plea deal he cut with Jeffrey Epstein, the sexual predator who also happened to be chummy with Mr. Trump.

Paul Ryan, the former House speaker, had his dash up the career ladder disrupted. Under Mr. Trump, Mr. Ryan oversaw an explosion of the national debt, ruining his image as a fiscally disciplined wonderwonk. He was also constantly beaten up by Mr. Trump, even as he indulged the presidents worst impulses. Rather than wait around for his party to get trounced in the midterms, Mr. Ryan announced in April 2018 that he would not run again.

The carnage stretches beyond the government. The National Rifle Association and its longtime frontman, Wayne LaPierre, spent truckloads of cash getting Mr. Trump elected in 2016. In return? The group has spent the Trump era rent by infighting and plagued by possibly existential legal and financial troubles.

One of Mr. Trumps most zealous evangelical supporters, Jerry Falwell Jr., was recently nudged out as head of Liberty University following a sex scandal that included his wife and a former pool attendant. The universitys board has announced an investigation of the schools operations under Mr. Falwell.

More broadly, the entire white evangelical brand has been soiled as even many people of faith question this demographics unwavering devotion to a president of such moral  flexibility.

A more personal loss for Mr. Trump may be the defenestration of David Pecker. As the head of American Media, The National Enquirers parent company, Mr. Pecker promoted Mr. Trumps political career: slathering him with praise, denigrating his opponents and doing catch and kill, burying potentially damaging news. Some of Mr. Peckers tactics drew legal scrutiny. Last month, Mr. Pecker was bumped from leadership of American Media, recently renamed A360Media, to the post of executive adviser.

Though much of the conservative news media has flourished in the Trump era, a couple of players have overstepped. Trish Regan went so far into coronavirus-response-is-aimed-at-bringing-down-the-president nuttiness that Fox Business put her show on indefinite hiatus. John Solomon, formerly of The Hill newspaper, was once considered a serious journalist. Now, he may be best remembered as a peddler of the Hunter Biden-Ukraine conspiracy.
Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - The European Council on Monday imposed targeted restrictive measures on two persons responsible for human rights abuses in Libya and three entities involved in violating the UN arms embargo in place for Libya
Former Made In Chelsea star Nicola Hughes looked utterly delighted as she enjoyed a romantic lunch with her new fiance Charlie Tupper.

The Irish beauty, 29, could not contain her glee as she dined out just days after revealing she is engaged to her boyfriend of three years.

Clearly still on cloud nine, the bride-to-be donned an elegant suit with an oversized blazer and crop top as she gazed upon her dazzling diamond ring.

This old thing? Former Made In Chelsea star Nicola Hughes looked utterly delighted as she enjoyed a romantic lunch with her new fiance Charlie Tupper

Nicola made the announcement on Instagram on Friday, sharing a sweet picture with her beau with the caption 'without a doubt' along with a ring emoji.

The pair were enjoying a loved-up couple's holiday in Ibiza when business owner Charlie popped the question. Charlie also shared the engagement snap on his social media with the caption 'You had me at hello'.

They were continuing the festivities over lunch, where Nicola could not resist planting kisses on her husband-to-be in a romantic gesture.

Nicola's reality star friends were quick to congratulate her on the exciting news with former cast member Tiffany Watson writing: 'SO happy! Best news!' under her post.

Come here your! The Irish beauty, 29, could not contain her glee as she dined out just days after revealing she is engaged to her boyfriend of three years

Exciting news: Nicola made the announcement on Instagram on Friday, sharing a sweet picture with her beau with the caption 'without a doubt' along with a ring emoji

Cosy! Despite being with pals, they were still getting up close and personal

Come on then... They were continuing the festivities over lunch, where Nicola could not resist planting kisses on her husband-to-be in a romantic gesture

Meanwhile Vicky Pattison commented 'Congrats you beautiful girl' while Lottie Tomlinson wrote 'Congratulations' along with a love heart.

Nicola quit Made In Chelsea at the end of 2016 after more than a year on the show, following the breakdown of her romance with Alex Mytton.

The former couple were an item for two years, after meeting in August 2014 while he was DJing in Ireland.

However, Nicola, who was once romantically linked to Cheryl's ex-husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, was left heartbroken when he ended their romance via text, while she was enjoying a family holiday in Florence, Italy.

The happy couple: Clearly still on cloud nine, the bride-to-be donned an elegant suit with an oversized blazer and crop top as she gazed upon her dazzling diamond ring

On the up: Speaking to Hot Press magazine in 2018, Nicola said of their split: 'He cheated on me and it all kind of went spiralling downwards. Oh, God, I was devastated. Absolutely. I've had counselling about it

Speaking to Hot Press magazine in 2018, Nicola said of their split: 'He cheated on me and it all kind of went spiralling downwards. Oh, God, I was devastated. Absolutely. I've had counselling about it.

'In extreme cases, when I broke up with my ex, I took tablets to calm me down. Or if I'm travelling I take some stuff to calm me down. I'm a really bad traveller  planes, tubes, sometimes in taxis. I don't like being in any confined space.

'I go to events regularly and they can make me panicky because I'm surrounded by loads of people. So, it's weird the job I do because I do suffer from that really badly.'

My guy: She looked elated as they walked down the street
Ashley Darby gave her husband Michael, 59, an ultimatum.

The 32-year-old star is seen telling her spouse of six years on Sunday's episode of Real Housewives Of Potomac that in the past they have had romances with other people but she doesn't want to do that anymore.

And she added that news of his recent strip club scandal has left her so shaken that if she finds out anything else about his dalliances, it would be 'catastrophic for our relationship.'

Putting her foot down: Ashley Darby gave her husband Michael, 59, an ultimatum on The Real Housewives Of Potomac on Sunday

She is ready to walk: The beauty says if she finds out anything else it would be 'catastrophic for our relationship,' handing her spouse an ultimatum. On a previous episode he was caught hitting a strip club

No more! The couple have a child together and are expecting a second; seen in 2018

'We're not gonna stay together just for Dean,' she told Michael. 'If I find out anything else, it will be catastrophic for our relationship.'

She also suggests they 'peacefully exit' the marriage if he cannot handle the change.

He looks unnerved as he asks a producer to cut the camera. 'It's a wrap,' he said obviously tense. He then says he has been accused of all kind of 'sh*t.'

Also on the episode, she confronted her husband about what she saw.

'I called my husband, and I said, "Get your ass home right now." He walks through the door, sits down on the couch, and he tells me what happened,' she said in an interview.

'I was very, very, very upset, and I realized that I don't want to be yelling with the baby being in the house. So that's why I wanted to sit down with him and really talk about it.'

No more games: 'We're not gonna stay together just for Dean,' she told Michael. 'If I find out anything else, it will be catastrophic for our relationship'

She gives him an out: She also suggests they 'peacefully exit' the marriage if he cannot handle the change

He told his wife that he and his friends had been talking to some women at a strip club. Then one of the ladies offered to go to a hotel with him.

'Michael said, "I was so drunk, I fell asleep, and when I woke up, she was laying in the bed next to me,"' Ashley said.

'Then when Michael gets out of bed to check the time, she snapped a picture of him from behind at the dresser and gave it to a blog.'

Michael then shared: 'I should have told you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you.'

Turn off the camera! He looks unnerved as he asks a producer to cut the camera. 'It's a wrap,' he said obviously tense. He then says he has been accused of all kind of 'sh*t'

He feels he has been put on the hot seat: He then tells one of the show's producers he has been accused of all kind of 'sh*t'

She struggles with the conversation: She is seen having a sip of her drink after laying down the law for Michael

He added, 'I worry what comes out without us discussing it, so I wanted to wait until you were back and talk about it.'

She then brings up their son, Dean. 'You did not think anything about me. I was so far from your mind in that moment. So far. And so was Dean,' she said. 'You weren't even considering either of us.'

He said he was being 'inconsiderate' then added that he felt he had lost his intimacy with Ashley.

Better now: Since this conversation, the two have announced they are expecting a second child

Ashley's mother Sheila gives her daughter some advice: 'Make sure this man knows there are consequences when you make these kind of mistakes'; her daughter then says she is 'not afraid to leave Michael.'

Then she drops: 'I've left him before.' Ashley had also admitted on the show that she and Michael have had threesomes.

Darby was involved in an incident at a strip club in which 'this one woman kept touching him,' it was shared in mid September.

'As far as I know, everything is well... that's why I'm shocked,' Ashley said of the occurrence, just days after sharing on Instagram that they're expecting another child.

Parenthood: The couple are parents to son Dean, one; seen here on Instagram

She opened up about a past occurrence that took place with Michael when he returned home from a strip club.

'One time, he did come home, smelling like perfume,' she said. 'I was upset and he was like, "I'm sorry I was at the strip club." I was pregnant and I was very sensitive.'

She said that after she asked him to do it again, she presumed he 'stopped going to strip clubs.'

Darby said that Michael told her 'he was at a strip club' in the incident, which took place when she and their one-year-old son Dean were at co-star Monique Samuels' house for a cast trip.

Another co-star, Candiace Dillard, later revealed to Ashley an image of Michael at the strip club.

They have been on and off: Ashley's mother Sheila gives her daughter some advice: 'Make sure this man knows there are consequences when you make these kind of mistakes'; her daughter then says she is ' not afraid to leave Michael.' Then she drops: 'I've left him before'

Ashley said that she and her spouse 'talked about the issue that Candiace brought up, and he told me he was at the strip club and this woman kept touching him.'

She said that tensions ran high and they slept in separate rooms, 'Michael slept in the baby's room and I slept in the bedroom.'

She said her husband 'regrets' his actions, which he didn't specify, and 'feels bad' about it.

Out and about: Ashley joined (L-R) Robyn Dixon, Wendy Osefo, Gizelle Bryant and Charrisse Jackson-Jordan for Bryant's birthday in Washington, DC

On the show, Dillard, 33, said she'd received pictures of Michael 'in his boxers' at a hotel. Bryant, 50, told Dillard, 'I'm minding my business and I had at least 40 DMs about Michael; this is the worst!'

Dillard said there was now 'photographic evidence of Michael at a hotel, Michael at the strip club and Michael at MGM.'

The show's Karen Huger said of the image, 'Michael doing something, but it don't look like it's Ashley.'

Samuels, 36, said that 'in the big scheme of it all, the only person that matters right now is baby Dean.'

Robyn Dixon suggested that Michael show better restraint and 'go home to [his] wife.'

Previously, a cameraman on their reality series publicly claimed in 2018 that Michael had groped him during filming.

Charges of felony assault and misdemeanor improper sexual conduct were filed against him but later dropped due to a lack of evidence.

The background: 'One time, he did come home, smelling like perfume,' she said. 'I was upset and he was like, "I'm sorry I was at the strip club." I was pregnant and I was very sensitive.' She said that after she asked him to do it again, she presumed he 'stopped going to strip clubs.' Seen with their son

'When I got the news, I just froze,' Ashley said on RHOP while delving into the matter. 'It was not real that something like this was happening to my husband and I. My heart was racing, I was getting light headed. Like, this just cant be my reality.'

Last year, Michael was alleged to have made a sexual comment about one of Housewives' husbands.

'After the night died down, Michael walked past us and said, "Yeah, I would suck his d***,''' Dixon told Ashley on the show. 'You were there. You all were walking past us.'

Despite one of her fellow Housewives claiming Michael said it, Ashley adamantly denied he'd made the comment.

The Real Housewives of Potomac can be seen on Bravo Sunday at 9/8c.
KITCHENER  Police say a traffic stop in Kitchener led to the discovery of stolen identification.

Officers stopped a rental truck in the area of Valleyview Road and Windale Crescent at 6:20 p.m. on Saturday for a seat belt offence. Waterloo Regional Police say the driver was using identification that had been reported stolen.

As a result of the investigation, a 36-year-old male is facing several charges, including possession of stolen property, obstructing police, driving disqualified, fraud and drug-related offences.
In 2010, agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation raided the Atlanta home and office of Joy Laskar, a professor of electrical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Accused of misusing more than $1 million in university funds as he built a private start-up, Dr. Laskar was later fired from his tenured position at Georgia Tech and indicted by a grand jury. But seven years after the raid, a judge dismissed the case before trial.

Now, a federal appeals court has ruled that Dr. Laskar can proceed with a lawsuit accusing university officials of malicious prosecution. The ruling marks another turn in the engineers decade-long effort to prove he was wrongfully attacked as he navigated the middle ground between academic research labs and the tech industry.

With his suit, Dr. Laskar claims that university officials attempted to influence a criminal investigation into his work by knowingly providing false, incomplete and misleading information to state prosecutors. Those named in the suit include Georgia Tech associate vice provost for research Jilda Garton; senior vice provost for research and innovation Mark Allen, chief auditor Phillip Hurd; and Patrick Jenkins, a member of the audit team.
Colonel Todd Benson, the US Air Force Central Command director of space forces, centre, leads airmen through their enlistment ceremony as they became members of the Space Force at Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar (Staff Sgt Kayla White/US Air Force via AP)

The newly formed US Space Force has deployed troops to a vast new frontier: the Arabian Peninsula.

Space Force now has a squadron of 20 airmen stationed at Qatars Al-Udeid Air Base in its first foreign deployment.

The force, pushed by President Donald Trump, represents the sixth branch of the US military and the first new military service since the creation of the Air Force in 1947.

It has provoked scepticism in Congress, satire on Netflix and, with its uncannily similar logo, Star Trek jokes about intergalactic battles.

Expand Close Airmen deployed to Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, during an enlistment ceremony as they transferred into the Space Force (Staff Sgt Kayla White/US Air Force via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Airmen deployed to Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, during an enlistment ceremony as they transferred into the Space Force (Staff Sgt Kayla White/US Air Force via AP)

Future wars may be waged in outer space, but the Arabian Desert has already seen what military experts dub the worlds first space war  the 1991 Desert Storm operation to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Today, the US faces new threats in the region from Irans missile programme and efforts to jam, hack and blind satellites.

Were starting to see other nations that are extremely aggressive in preparing to extend conflict into space, Colonel Todd Benson, director of Space Force troops at Al-Udeid, told the Associated Press.

We have to be able to compete and defend and protect all of our national interests.

In a swearing-in ceremony earlier this month at Al-Udeid, 20 Air Force troops, flanked by American flags and massive satellites, entered Space Force.

Soon several more will join the unit of core space operators who will run satellites, track enemy manoeuvres and try to avert conflicts in space.

Expand Close Colonel Todd Benson, the US Air Force Central Command director of space forces, at Al-Udeid Air Base (Staff Sgt Kayla White/US Air Force via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Colonel Todd Benson, the US Air Force Central Command director of space forces, at Al-Udeid Air Base (Staff Sgt Kayla White/US Air Force via AP)

The missions are not new and the people are not necessarily new, Col Benson said.

That troubles some American legislators who view the branch, with its projected force of 16,000 troops and 2021 budget of 15.4 billion dollars (12 billion), as a vanity project for Mr Trump ahead of the November presidential election.

Concerns over the weaponisation of outer space are decades old.

But as space becomes increasingly contested, military experts have cited the need for a space corps devoted to defending American interests.

Threats from global competitors have grown since the Persian Gulf War in 1991, when the US military first relied on GPS co-ordinates to tell troops where they were in the desert as they pushed Iraqi dictator Saddam Husseins forces out of Kuwait.

Col Benson declined to name the aggressive nations his airmen will monitor and potentially combat.

But the decision to deploy Space Force personnel at Al-Udeid follows months of escalating tensions between the US and Iran.

Hostilities between the two countries, ignited by Mr Trumps unilateral withdrawal of the US from Irans nuclear accord, came to a head in January when US forces killed a top Iranian general.

Expand Close Captain Ryan Vickers displays his new service tapes after transferring from the US Air Force to the US Space Force (Staff Sgt Kayla White/US Air Force via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Captain Ryan Vickers displays his new service tapes after transferring from the US Air Force to the US Space Force (Staff Sgt Kayla White/US Air Force via AP)

Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles at American soldiers in Iraq.

This spring, Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched its first satellite into space, revealing what experts describe as a secret military space programme.

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Irans space agency, accusing it of developing ballistic missiles under the cover of a civilian programme to set satellites into orbit.

World powers with more advanced space programmes, such as Russia and China, have made more threatening progress, US officials contend.

Last month, defence secretary Mark Esper warned that Russia and China were developing weapons that could knock out US satellites, potentially scattering dangerous debris across space and paralysing mobile phones and weather forecasts, as well as American drones, fighter jets, aircraft carriers and even nuclear weapon controllers.

The military is very reliant on satellite communications, navigation and global missile warning, said Captain Ryan Vickers, a newly inducted Space Force member at Al-Udeid.

American troops, he added, use GPS co-ordinates to track ships passing through strategic Gulf passageways to make sure theyre not running into international waters of other nations.

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the worlds oil flows, has been the scene of a series of tense encounters, with Iran seizing boats it claims had entered its waters.

Expand Close President Donald Trump walks past the US Space Force flag in the Oval Office of the White House (Alex Brandon/AP) / Facebook

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One disrupted signal or miscalculation could touch off a confrontation.

For years, Iran has allegedly jammed satellite and radio signals to block foreign-based Farsi media outlets from broadcasting into the Islamic Republic, where radio and television stations are state-controlled.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has warned that commercial aircraft cruising over the Persian Gulf could experience interference and communications jamming from Iran.

Ships in the region have also reported spoofed communications from unknown entities falsely claiming to be US or coalition warships, according to American authorities.

Its not that hard to do, but weve seen Iran and other countries become pretty darn efficient at doing it on a big scale, said Brian Weeden, an Air Force veteran and director of programme planning at the Secure World Foundation, which promotes peaceful uses of outer space.

Theres a concern Iran could interfere with military broadband communications.

Responding to questions from the AP, Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman at Irans mission to the United Nations, said Iran will not tolerate interference in our affairs, and in accordance with international law, will respond to any attacks against our sovereignty.

He added that Iran has faced numerous cyber attacks from the US and Israel.

Failing an international agreement that bars conventional arms, such as ballistic missiles, from shooting down space assets, the domain will only become more militarised, said Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association.

Russia and China have already created space force units and the Revolutionary Guards sudden interest in satellite launches has heightened US concerns.

Still, American officials insist the new Space Force deployment aims to secure US interests, not set off an extraterrestrial arms race.

The US military would like to see a peaceful space, Col Benson said.

Other folks behaviour is kind of driving us to this point.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said new guidance that warned about the dangers of coronavirus transmission via aerosols was posted by mistake and was still being assessed. (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

New federal guidelines that acknowledged the role of aerosols in the spread of COVID-19 were removed Monday from the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said they had been posted by mistake.

The updated information about coronavirus-laden aerosols, which came to the attention of independent scientists on Sunday, was "a draft version of proposed changes" that had been "posted in error to the agency's official website," according to a notice that was added to the CDC site.

New guidance that clarifies the risk posed by aerosols will be posted once the update process is completed, the notice said.

The reversal threatened to further undermine the CDC's credibility in the midst of a pandemic, and renews charges that the Trump administration is improperly meddling in the agency's scientific process.

A CDC spokesman said the site had been updated "without appropriate in-house technical review." The criteria for making such changes are now under review, he added.

For now, the CDC says the coronavirus mainly spreads from person to person via tiny respiratory droplets that are produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks. Those droplets may land in the noses and mouths of other people within about six feet, potentially seeding a new infection.

The draft guidance added that the virus could also spread through smaller airborne particles, and that these aerosols could travel farther than six feet in certain circumstances, including in restaurants, at gyms and during choir practices.

Generally no more than 100 microns in size  less than the average diameter of a human hair  aerosols are light enough to remain suspended in the air. That means it would be risky to spend time in indoor areas without proper ventilation, the draft said.

Although virus-laden droplets and aerosols could land on surfaces that are touched by others who then touch their own nose, mouth or eyes, this is not considered a primary way the virus spreads, according to the draft, which bore Friday's date.

Story continues

Independent researchers said Monday that they were confused by the sudden reversal.

"I don't know if it was an honest mistake or if it's political influence," said Linsey Marr, an environmental engineer at Virginia Tech and an expert on airborne transmission of viruses.

"I would like to see the website reflect the best available scientific evidence, which is that COVID-19 commonly spreads through inhalation of aerosols, and this means that we need to wear masks even when we're farther than six feet away from other people, and we need to ensure that our buildings have good ventilation," she said.

If approved, the draft guidelines would constitute a major shift in the CDC's understanding of the virus that has claimed almost 200,000 American lives, and how it spreads. It would also mean that the agency's current advice to stay six feet away from others and to wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth wouldn't be enough to stop the virus from spreading.

Marr and other researchers have tried for months to get the CDC and the World Health Organization to accept evidence that the coronavirus spreads through aerosols. In response to growing pressure, WHO officials revised their guidelines slightly July 9, granting that some outbreaks may have been caused by aerosols, but saying that airborne transmission had not been definitively demonstrated.

On Monday, WHO officials said they were checking with the CDC to better understand any changes in guidelines. Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO's health emergencies program, told reporters in Geneva that they were checking on "the exact nature of the change, if any" in the U.S. agency's stance concerning transmission via aerosols.

"Certainly we haven't seen any new evidence, and our position on this remains the same," Ryan said.

Scientists worldwide continue publishing new findings. A report last week in Annals of Internal Medicine said aerosolized coronavirus particles could remain infectious for up to three hours.

Jose-Luis Jimenez, a University of Colorado Boulder physicist and aerosol scientist, said Monday that he was surprised to see that the draft CDC guidance described the coronavirus as an "airborne virus." That term can be understood loosely to refer to a virus that spreads in the air, but is generally avoided because to medical professionals it denotes a category of highly contagious diseases such as measles that require extreme precautions.

"We're wondering whether some health authority saw that and talked to CDC and said, 'You can't call it airborne, it's not like measles,'" he said. "The word 'airborne' is etched in the minds of healthcare workers and brings fear of a certain category of diseases that is very difficult to protect against, which may be one reason for the resistance we've seen to the idea of the coronavirus spreading in the air."

Marr said she was surprised to see that the CDC guidance posted Sunday said that inhalation of droplets and aerosols are the main way the virus spreads.

"I don't know that I would agree with that, because while we have more evidence for aerosols than any other route, we don't know how important any particular route is," she said.

"People have been studying this for decades for flu, and we don't have any numbers for that either," she added.

The bottom line is that in addition to hand washing and social distancing, people should wear masks at all times when in indoor public settings, and do everything possible to ensure good ventilation and air filtration, she said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
SPRINGFIELD - The Western Massachusetts governors councilor has coined a phrase to urge regional parity on the Supreme Judicial Court, and Gov. Charlie Baker has something in common with John Hancock.

413 on the SJC, quipped Mary Hurley, a retired district court judge and member of the Massachusetts Governors Council, which confirms judicial nominations across the commonwealth.

Hurley joins a chorus of local attorneys and retired judges who have become weary of the Greater Boston-centric composition of the states highest court. They urge Baker to consider candidates from the western part of the state in the face of two openings on the seven-member court: a retiring associate justice plus late Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, who died Sept. 14 after undergoing surgery.

Courts across the state were closed on Sept. 18 for a day of remembrance to honor Gants.

Hurley noted that of 10 applicants vying to replace retiring Associate Justice Barbara A. Lenk, not one was from western Massachusetts.

Justice Lenks position was posted not once but twice, Hurley said. I beat my brains out doing serious recruiting ... calling judges and lawyers. There wasnt anyone who took the bait.

Hurley reasons that many jurists and attorneys from this part of the state assume they wont have a shot.

I think people here just are not as ambitious as you would find down in the Boston area, and really dont think they have a chance when they do, Hurley said.

Calls for regional parity on the SJC have been a recurring theme in this part of the state.

Retired Supreme Judicial Court Justice John Greaney, of Westfield, served on the high court for 20 years. He echoed the need for representation from this region. Greaney also noted that Baker will be the first since Hancock to appoint every single member of the court.

Baker has the opportunity to be the first governor after John Hancock to appoint all seven  after Hancock appointed then five in 1781, Greaney said.

He served on the high court along with Berkshire resident and retired Associate Justice Francics X. Spina. Although Associate Justice Kimberly S. Budd hails from Springfield, she lived and practiced in Greater Boston since graduating from Harvard Law School, according to her biography on the courts website. There is no one else on the court with Western Massachusetts ties, Greaney said.

Baker will have the rare opportunity to nominate an associate and chief justice essentially at once, Greaney observed. He also hopes to see some representation from the 413.

The lifestyle here is different compared to Boston and Cambridge and places like that, said Greaney, who is now in private practice. "If something comes from this area, the judge could say I know what this is about ... whether its a local company or an agricultural issue.

Greaney says it is also useful for regional members of the SJC to act as civic ambassadors on behalf of the court.

A lot of people dont even know what the SJC does, he said.

The Supreme Judicial Court considers all manner of constitutional issues and hears appeals in first-degree murder cases. Greaney himself ruled on same-sex marriage and the rights for members of the LGBTQ community to adopt children a decade before that.

He retired from the court in 2008.

Local attorney David P. Hoose, president of Hampden County Lawyers for Justice, said practicing lawyers from this region have also tired of the lopsided geographic composition of the courts justices.

We live in the state of Massachusetts, not the state of Boston. Frankly, its insulting to assume that people who choose to live and practice in this part of the state are not of the quality to serve on the Supreme Judicial Court, Hoose said.
A nyone in England who tests positive for coronavirus will be required to isolate by law from September 28, the Government has announced.

The new rules come as coronavirus continues to spike in the UK, with thousands of new infections each day and the country reaching "a critical point," according to top advisers.

The restrictions come with a hefty fine attached to stop people breaking them, in a bid to stop a brutal second wave of Covid-19.

Here's how the fines for breaking coronavirus rules work.

Coronavirus cases are spiking again in the UK / AFP via Getty Images

How much are the fines for breaking coronavirus rules?

Government advisers found that as few as 20 per cent of people who tested positive for coronavirus or were contacted by NHS track and trace were self-isolating for the full two-week period.

To prevent this, higher fines are to be imposed in England from September 28, with an initial 1,000 penalty levied for breaking the 14-day self-isolation period.

Fines will rise to a maximum of 10,000 for subsequent offences.

A previous penalty of 100 for breaking lockdown rules was set in May.

People enjoying the sunny weather in London / AFP via Getty Images

Ministers said that NHS track and trace workers will be in regular contact with people they have told to self-isolate to make sure they are following the rules.

Anyone found to be flouting the restrictions will be reported to the police.

What if I cannot afford to self-isolate?

People who prevent others from self-isolating when they should be staying at home, such as an employer, could also be hit with a fine, the Government said.

If you have to self-isolate and cannot work from home, the Government is offering a one-off payment of 500 to cover the 14-day period.

Commuting crowds in London / AFP via Getty Images

The payments will only come in from October 12, but anyone who has to self-isolate before then will be able to claim backdated pay.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Brits to keep "following the rules and self-isolating if they're at risk of passing on coronavirus".

He added: "We need to do all we can to control the spread of this virus, to prevent the most vulnerable people from becoming infected, and to protect the NHS and save lives."

Pedestrians and shoppers wear face masks in north-east England / AFP via Getty Images

But Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said that the opposition party had been calling for the new payments for some time.

"We welcome this belated introduction of extra support, but it shouldn't have taken months for the penny to finally drop that people on low incomes needed more help," she added.

"And with only a fraction of workers eligible for this payment, government must work urgently to fill any gaps."
Washington:

In a stern warning to China, the US has said it will protect its interests in the disputed South China Sea and defend international territories from being taken over by one country.



I think areas in the South China Sea that are part of international waters and international activities... I think the US is going to make sure that we protect our interests there, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters at his first news conference.



So its a question of if those islands are in fact in international waters and not part of China proper, then yes, were gonna make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country, Spicer said.



He was responding to a question related to a recent statement made by Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson that US would deny China access to these islands as they are in international waters.



China in a strongly worded statement had warned US of a war if it is denied the access.



The US President, Spicer said, understands that China is a big marketfor US goods and services.



When he met the head of Alibaba a couple of weeks ago, that was part of the point. Theres huge market issue there. But in many cases, its not a two-way street, he said.



There are so many Chinese businesses and individuals frankly, who can have ease of access in the United States to sell their goods or services, he added.



I think that whether or not youre talking about the financial services or the banking, you know, the other service industries, or our manufacturing goods and services, or some of the IP problems that we have with China, that it really is not a two-way street, Spicer said.



So he understands the market that China has and our desire to further penetrate that market.



But he also recognises, theres a lot of concerns with how we are treated entering into Chinas market, and we need to review that, he said in response to a question.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
She's due to become a mother in just a few weeks.

And on Sunday, Love Island's Camilla Thurlow, 31, shared a sweet snap of herself and boyfriend Jamie Jewitt as they eagerly await the birth of their first child.

The love between the pair was palpable, as Camilla's selfie showed the happy couple curled up together on a comfy orange sofa.

Happy Couple: Love Island's Camilla Thurlow has shared a loved-up snap of herself with Jamie Jewitt on Instagram as they await the birth of their first child

The former bomb disposal expert revealed in the caption just what the two Love Island 2017 stars have been up to as they await the big day.

She penned: '@jamiejewitt_ and I making the most of these last few weeks just the two of us by lying on the sofa all evening eating chocolate buttons and watching Married at First Sight Australia.'

To which Jamie replied in the comments: 'not long now '.

Camilla's post comes after she admitted there have been 'ups and downs' with her pregnancy, but that she's 'very happy' while talking to Andi Peters on Lorraine.

Due date: The former bomb disposal expert revealed in the caption just what the couple have been up to as they await the big day

New: Camilla has written a book called Not The Type: Finding My Place in the Real World - a memoir about finding courage at work and in her personal life. Pictured with Andi Peters

The star also discussed struggling to open up to people after working as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist in Afghanistan and Cambodia.

She said: 'The biggest part of it is about the work I did with the [charity] Halo Trust.

'Before Love Island that was the work I liked doing and I was lucky enough to travel to Afghanistan and Cambodia, and during that time I learned a huge amount.

Something for herself: Camilla was approached to go on Love Island at a time when she said she was 'struggling' after returning from Afghanistan

'As I travelled across several different countries, it changed in different places, but the work was majority in landmine clearance.

'You might clear land that can then be used for people to farm land for food for their family. Every country had different challenges, but it was an amazing experience.'

Camilla has written a book called Not The Type: Finding My Place in the Real World

The memoir is not just about finding the courage to go out and deal with lethal threats at work, but the courage to confront one's own fears and anxieties.
News

Minneapolis, Minnesota - Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers and U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald for the District of Minnesota Wednesday announced that Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, 23, of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, has been charged by indictment with providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Al-Madioum was detained overseas by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and recently transferred into FBI custody. Al-Madioum was returned to Minnesota where he made his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

According to the allegations in the indictment and a law enforcement affidavit, from July 8, 2015, through March 15, 2019, Al-Madioum knowingly provided material support and resources, including personnel (namely himself) and services to ISIS. On June 23, 2015, Al-Madioum, a native of Morocco and naturalized U.S. citizen, and his family traveled from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, to Casablanca, Morocco, to visit their extended family. On July 8, 2015, Al-Madioum left Morocco and traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, and then on to Iraq and Syria, where he joined ISIS. In March of 2019, Al-Madioum was captured and detained by the SDF.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Winter and Trial Attorneys Danielle S. Rosborough and David Cora of the National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Luxury car owners are desperately trying to dispose of their premium vehicles at a fraction of the purchase price as the pandemic and lockdowns impact businesses and jobs across India while causing uncertainty in key urban markets.

Over half a dozen luxury car dealerships in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai and Kochi said they are receiving an increasing number of requests from customers to find clients for their pre-owned vehicles at heavily discounted prices. Several banks have also placed similar requests, they said.

Luxury car owners looking to sell their prized possessions usually do not trust independent brokers. So, they reach out to organized channels, which include the existing dealership network. Once we have enough leads, we push advertisements locally to invite interest from potential customers," said a Mumbai-based dealer, seeking anonymity.

We help customers find clients not only to maintain our relationship but also because a good deal on used luxury cars offers good margins," said a Kochi-based dealer, seeking anonymity.

To be sure, prices of luxury cars depreciate the most compared to other passenger car categories in the pre-owned vehicle market. According to the people involved in the trade, a 3-4-year-old pre-owned luxury car can be bought for as low as 40% of its original purchase value.

While such bargains underscore the underlying distress, it also creates an opportunity for those who aspire to own a luxury vehicle.

Sumit Garg, co-founder of Delhi-based Luxury Ride India Pvt. Ltd, said while a pre-owned Audi A4 can be purchased for about 15 lakh, a used Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW X5 can be bought for 45 lakh and 40 lakh, respectively. The dealership price of a new Audi A4 is about 41 lakh, while Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW X5 cost 1.4 crore and above 75 lakh, respectively.

We plan to pick up 19 pre-owned cars from Jaguar Land Rover. This is more than what we bought from them in February-March," Garg said.

According to Amit Kumar, head at OLX Autos India, the number of listings for pre-owned luxury cars on the classified platform has risen sharply in the past few months.

On OLX, the supply of pre-owned luxury cars has gone up 82% in June-August, compared with MarchMay," Kumar said, adding that there is a surge in demand for these vehicles too.

Maharashtra, Delhi-NCR, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka are the top states where users sold their luxury cars," Kumar said, adding this trend coincides with the fact that India began unlocking in a phased manner from June.

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Thanks to Duolink SpeakerBuds offering those who crave better music experience with less gadgets their ultimate all-in-one device, the initial funding goal was reached just 11 hours after launch, before achieving a final funding total of four times the campaign's investment target.

In total, Duolink raised $223,580 and, following that success, Duolink Go is now set to launch an official distribution channel via its own website for consumers to secure their own SpeakerBuds for the price of just $149.

Duolink Go will soon be entering the Japanese market by launching its SpeakerBuds on Green Funding on September 24, while also exploring partnerships with local interior stores, appliance stores and e-commerce platforms. However, Duolink Go will maintain its US by expanding into the offline market through partnerships with local distributors.

For more information, and to buy Duolink SpeakerBuds, visit: https://duolinkgo.com/

ABOUT DUOLINK GO

Founded in 2018, Duolink Go designs adaptable audio devices for music lovers. Set up by Founder, Victor Liu, Duolink Go's team of top-notch acoustic engineers aim to bring joy of music to the world through constant innovation. SpeakerBuds were developed as its flagship debut for the world to play and enjoy music in more than one way.

SOURCE Duolink Go
Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Nurses, midwives, physician assistants and anaesthetists in public health facilities in Ghana on Monday began a strike to press demands for better working conditions
BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2020) Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic expressed hope on Monday that Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople would refuse to support the initiative of the North Macedonian authorities regarding the autocephaly of the breakaway Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC).

On Sunday, North Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski asked the Patriarch of Constantinople to recognize the MOC, which unilaterally declared its autocephaly and independence from the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) in 1967. The SOC, other local orthodox churches and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople did not recognize the move. The MOC is supported by the Macedonian government and is the only official orthodox community recognized by the country's authorities.

"We want an agreement to be reached, but the rules of the Orthodox Church must be observed. We expect that the Patriarch of Constantinople will take the same position as when he opposed the creation of the so-called Montenegrin Orthodox Church," Dacic told reporters.

In June 2019, Patriarch Bartholomew warned in a letter the Montenegrin president against supporting the non-canonical Montenegrin Orthodox Church and taking any steps to the detriment of the SOC, recalling that he warned the authorities of Montenegro about the inadmissibility of such actions back in 2000.
FATEHPUR : Kamlakant is a smallholder farmer in Daulatiyapur village of Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh. He is an enthusiastic vegetable cultivator and every season, he searches for answers to three basic questionswhat crop to sow, how to grow it, and where to sell it.

The nearest Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) is 50km away, and he is thus unable to travel that distance to access information. He is dependent on a local farm consultant who visits his farm every week and charges 100 per visit. Ever since covid hit, the consultant has stopped visiting. He began to rely on WhatsApp to seek advice throughout the lockdown, harvesting 6 tonnes of brinjal and 9 tonnes of cauliflower on one acre, earning 57,000. In a post-covid world, every farmer in India ought to be able to access information at his home like Kamlakant.

That basic right acquires even more urgency with the passage of two key farm bills by the parliament on Sunday. It is important to ask how much relief these farm reforms will bring to smallholders like Kamlakant? These reforms seek to increase the availability of buyers for farmers produce and motivate farmers to diversify crops by reducing existing restrictions on licenses and stock limits. The hope is that increased competition will result in better prices for farmers.

However, we know that for competition to create efficient outcomes, high information access and low (preferably zero) transaction costs are essential.

Across India, every Kamlakant is looking to pool their produce with other farmers in order to afford the transport costs to sell in more rewarding markets. Without internet connectivity and market intelligence, the transaction cost associated with selling in places outside the local market are higher than the value of the produce.

Aggregated platforms can help farmers consolidate farm produce in real-time and help them negotiate better deals with transporters. Further, access to data on growth in the demand for certain crops and changes in consumption and lifestyle patterns of consumers would greatly help farmers to pivot towards products that the market is willing to pay for. It is fair to say that the real benefits of reform would accrue to farmers only when the entire agricultural produce trade is digitized.

Currently, over 94% of Indias 138 million farm landholdings do not receive information through the agriculture extension system due to which smallholder farmers continue to be far less productive than whats possible.

To be specific, there are three infirmities in the current agriculture extension systeminsufficient knowledge creation, poor delivery of information, and an absent grassroots capability. We need to reimagine the agricultural R&D and the extension system by creating knowledge, disseminating personalized information through technology, and decentralizing knowledge delivery by empowering local channels. There are viable interventions on all these fronts which can make the reforms count.

Knowledge bonanza

Contract farming is a panacea for smallholders only when they can harvest high value produce that can compete in markets and consolidate produce to make large and regular supplies. Else, it benefits only bigger farmers. Without access to on-farm knowledge on how to grow high-value crops, smallholders will continue to carry on with low-value subsistence farming.

In the village, agricultural knowledge is gold. An extension officer visiting Kamlakants farm is often swiftly surrounded by a crowd of farmers waiting to get their query answered. To really address farmers knowledge gap, we have to create a knowledge bonanza.

With 77 state agriculture universities and 700 KVKs, India is sitting on a 39% vacancy in positions for extension officers due to which the average extension services reach only 6.8% of farmers. To build capabilities, agriculture universities and institutes need to create open access online agriculture courses (like courses on Udemy, a popular online learning platform) on horticulture, soil science, nutrient management, crop protection, greenhouse cultivation, post-harvest management and cold supply chain.

With cheaply available online courses, young graduates and even progressive farmers can self-train as extension officers and fuel on-farm innovation. As farming becomes more digitalized, information is not needed to be delivered on a two-wheeler and India needs to design powerful educational contentcustomized how-to-do videos and audios in vernacular languages.

By building a knowledge culture, we can empower farmers with information on the how to grow question. They will be able to experiment with different approaches to farming, often discovering solutions replicable in the local context. In our horticulture training experiments with Kamlakant and his fellow villagers in Daulatiyapur, we trained them in transplanting, farm preparation, nutrient management, and disease identification and provided them smartphones for advisory.

The knowledge stuck, and what used to be little known concepts then are now a part of the farmers vernacular and over 50 farmers in the village have diversified their farms, adopting unique intercropping patterns and increasing their income. It is unfortunate, however, that horticultural knowledge is scarce and concentrated in a few areas in the country. Organizations such as Kheyti in Telangana can lead in building the horticulture knowledge ecosystem.

A public-private tech platform that addresses the knowledge and marketing needs of farmers and creates farmer networks would be an ideal intervention. A helpful example is the Farmers Business Network (FBN) in the US. The FBN farmer-to-farmer model empowers farmers with impartial information through cloud-based analytics on seed performance, input price transparency, farm operations and yield forecasting.

Subsidize smartphones

In a post-covid world, extension officers cannot visit farms; farmers cannot move freely; and roughly 60% of farmers in India do not have smartphones to obtain personalized information through video calls or zoom webinars. Farmers are facing abject impoverishment right now, and an enabling digital instrument such as a smartphone can actually be their pathway out of poverty.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his recent Independence Day address announced that every village will be connected with optical fibre in 1000 days. The policy to connect Indias villages must be quickly reinforced with a grassroots momentum that would arise from a one smartphone per farm household through direct benefit transfer (DBT).

It would prove more valuable for farmers than the PM-KISAN aid, opening lucrative opportunities for diversification, access to credit, and increased savings on agri-inputs. Instead of waiting for the needle to move on digital penetration, it may be prudent to marshal the digital shift directly.

Smartphone for all can be a real gamechanger as it would solve for all the three questions that Kamlakant and his ilk usually have at the beginning of every cropping season. First, using cloud-based analytics farmers can know what crop to sowa critical question from a marketing standpoint. Once all farmers are connected to the digital system, we can track the data on sowing patterns from the day the farmer purchases seeds.

With real time seeds sale data (4 companies hold >50% market share) and prices across mandis, we can determine the potential acreage of a particular crop and farmers can be advised on what crop or variety to sow. Recently, during the lockdown, tomato prices plunged, causing tomato cultivation to decline. If Kamlakant can find out that there are fewer tomato growers in the same way Google Maps informs us about the route which has less traffic (past trends would indicate that less cultivation could result in a price rise 2 months down the line), he would plant tomatoes. Data can help farmers make safer bets and get better prices.

Second, smartphones provide technologies that train a farmer on how to grow a crop and make modern farming navigable and productive. For example, remote sensing provides nutrient and water stress analysis, image recognition informs farmers of pest management, input analytics bring transparency to crop protection methods. When every farmer uses a smartphone, it becomes easy to develop mass contact farmer-to-farmer data sharing as well as individual contact with farmers. Armed with individualized information, farmers make independent data-driven decisions and mitigate harmful herd behaviour.

The adjacent need for larger data collection is also pertinent. We know that unavailability of real-time farmer data makes impact measurement and evaluation impossible and we are never able to identify which interventions work and which dont. Smartphones help gather large amounts of data quickly, contributing to better policymaking.

Modern technologies are so rapidly evolving that even Kamlakants father (a low-skilled 80-year-old) can use a smartphone with ease. Unblocking the inertia of the middle-aged/elderly farmer is what will prove to be a route to increasing agricultural productivity. With covid forcing innovation on everyone, we can already see a 20% increase in digital payments since March 2020.

Every person in the rural household needs a smartphonethe child for her education, the unemployed youth for reskilling, and the farmer for agronomic and marketing information. The young and the old have greater facetime with each other now during covid than ever before, and it is the right time to distribute smartphones to multiply the rate of tech diffusion

BOOST entrepreneurship

Agriculture extension development (or agriculture advisory) continues to be heavily lopsided. Only 6% of landholdings in India fall within the recommended extension to farmer ratio of 1:750 and are concentrated in 10 states, of which only Haryana, Punjab and Jharkhand are primarily agrarian.

Even in terms of aid to improve farm productivity, over 54% of the centres aid between 2014-18 went to just 4 statesGujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, whereas, Odisha received only 1.2%.

As a remedy to this condition, the governments aspirational districts programme is an attempt at focusing development efforts where they are most needed.

Now, it is essential to develop an entrepreneurship ecosystem in these districts. Government and corporate social responsibility funds should be separately allocated to these districts to boost agri-entrepreneurs, who will build the grassroots capability to design innovative products and make them accessible in these regions. We need to invest in imaginative leaders who can mobilize farmers and show them that if a farmer in Israel can grow 70 tonnes of tomato per hectare, so can they.

Reducing dependence on the government is fundamental to building grassroots capabilities. It is important to visualize how much more quickly farmers can become capable if they are not at the mercy of a single entitys ability to deliver. This has become increasingly clear since covid. Humans are naturally innovative and it must be recognized. Innovation will not happen after infrastructure, rule of law, and capital are in orderinnovation is already shaping our societies.

The food and agriculture industry is nearly 9% of total global output, but draws less than 2% of total private equity (PE) investment, and India receives only 2.6% of total PE investment. Covid has reminded us of the growing fragility of our food and agriculture systema system that improves the well-being of plants, animals, and humans.

Agriculture today needs rapid tech diffusion and it is urgent for the government and the private sector to fund it. It is amply clear that investments towards digitalization will bring the greatest improvements in farm productivity. In his remarkable book Food Citizenship, Harvard University agribusiness professor Ray Goldberg reminds us that by neglecting the food system, we are threatening who we are and who we want to be. We have to act now.

Harshit Kohli is the founder and CEO of Swayam Farmer Foundation

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Students of the Ha Huy Tap Secondary School in Vinh city, the central province of Nghe An attend the new school year ceremony 2020-2021 (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - A new report by the World Bank Group pointed out that between 2010 and 2020, the Human Capital Index for Vietnam increased from 0.66 to 0.69.

This means a child born in Vietnam today will be 69 percent as productive when they grow up as they could have been if they enjoyed complete education and full health.

The score is well above the world's average of 0.56. It is higher than the average for East Asia and Pacific region, as well as for lower-middle-income countries.

An above average score has enabled Vietnam to reach 38th position among 174 economies in the 2020 Human Capital Index.

The indexs components include the probability of survival to age five, expected years of school, harmonised test scores, learning-adjusted years of school, adult survival rate and healthy growth (not stunted rate).

A breakdown of the index shows 98 out of 100 children born in Vietnam survive to age five; a Vietnamese boy or girl attending school at the age of 4 can complete 12.9 years of school, or high school, by the age of 18; and 76 percent of children are not stunted.

Vietnamese students received 519 points in Harmonized Test Scores (HTS), a level similar to countries like Sweden, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. HTS measures how much children learn in school based on countries' relative performance on international student achievement tests, where 625 represents advanced attainment and 300 represents minimum attainment.

Furthermore, 87 percent of 15-year-olds will likely live until the age of 60 in Vietnam.

According to the report, Vietnams Human Capital Index continues to be higher than the average for countries of the same income level despite the level of public spending on health, education and social assistance being lower than that of its peers.

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam ranked above Brunei (56th), Malaysia (62nd), Thailand (63rd), Indonesia (96th), the Philippines (103rd), Cambodia (118th), Myanmar (120th), Laos (126th) and Timor-Leste (128th).

The World Bank Groups 2020 Human Capital Index (HCI) includes health and education data for 174 countries  covering 98 percent of the worlds population  up to March 2020, providing a pre-pandemic baseline on the health and education of children.

The HCI, first launched in 2018, measures the amount of human capital a child born today can expect to attain by age 18.

It conveys the productivity of the next generation of workers compared to a benchmark of complete education and full health.
A father of five daughters allegedly slit open his pregnant wife's stomach to find out if she was bearing a son this time.

The husband - who has been named Pannalal - carried out the attack in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, on September 19.

He attacked his wife with a sharp-edged weapon and has been taken into custody according to Pravin Singh Chauhan, a senior police official.

A father of five daughters, named only as Pannalal, allegedly slit open his pregnant wife's stomach to find out if she was bearing a son this time

His wife, believed to be around 35, was seven-months pregnant according to police.

She is in a serious condition in a Bareilly hospital.

The family of the victim alleged that Pannalal wanted a son as he already had five daughters.

They suspect he committed the crime to know if the baby was male or female according to The Hindustan Times.

In India, the preference of sons still remains strong, with boys adding to the family wealth, while daughters drain it with dowries.

According to Newsweek 'sex selective abortions are widespread in India' where families would prefer to have sons.

The husband carried out the attack in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India (pictured) on September 19 and has been taken into custody

They said according to a 2007 report by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) son preference in the county is a 'well-documented phenomenon'.

This has implications for skewed sex ratios, female feticide and higher mortality rates for girls.
In context: Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass service has exploded in popularity since its launch three years ago. While it was initially exclusive to Xbox One players, the subscription-based gaming platform eventually made the jump to PC has contributed to significantly accelerated growth.

As of today, Xbox Game Pass across all platforms has managed to attract an astonishing 15 million subscribers in total. That's not bad for a platform that only recently came to a wider audience, but a significant chunk of those customers only signed up recently.

To be more specific, Xbox Game Pass accrued five million new subscribers in the past six months alone.

The Covid-19 pandemic is probably one of the primary reasons for that growth, though the service's increasingly-enticing selection of games has certainly factored in. In the past few months, highly-anticipated titles like Wasteland 3 and Crusader Kings 3 have made their way to the service on release day.

In addition to recent hits arriving on Game Pass, users have future content to look forward to. The platform will soon receive a slew of EA games, and once Microsoft's purchase of Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media, goes through, we can probably expect to see new and existing Elder Scrolls and Fallout games hit Game Pass as well.

Game Pass recently received a price bump, so if you want to sign up for the service, you'll need to shell out $9.99 a month. If that sounds like a worthwhile deal to you, you can sign up right here.
Coleman said shes looking forward to working on the topic so that generations to come will know what reparations mean, what the significance of Juneteenth and the other independence days and the days that we recognize, and really what that means to people of color, especially Black people, what it means of the history that has been lost, that our children have not been exposed to, Coleman said.
The World Socialist Web Site is publishing more messages of support for Dr. Joseph Scalice, who has come under attack from the Philippine Stalinists for his powerful lecture, First as Tragedy, Second as Farce: Marcos, Duterte and the Communist Parties of the Philippines. The lecture examined the support given by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and the various organizations that follow its political line, to authoritarian Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016.

Acutely sensitive to the criticism of the CPP, its founder Jose Maria Sison, without a shred of evidence, has denounced Dr. Scalice as a paid CIA agent and an informer for Duterte. Dr. Scalice, through the establishment of the historical record about the betrayals of the CPP, has done a service to the working class in the Philippines and internationally.

Dr. Joseph Scalice

We urge our readers to come to the defence of Dr. Scalice, including by sending statements of support to the WSWS opposing the slanderous attack on him by the CPP and sharing his lecture broadly.

Professor Michael Head, Western Sydney University:

The vicious and ludicrous slanders issued by Joma Sison, the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, against Dr. Joseph Scalice are, first of all, a serious attack on academic freedom. It is the right and responsibility of historians and other academics to research and publish, in the interests of historical truth, without being vilified by political partiesespecially those with a violent record like the CPP.

Second, Sisons accusations that Dr. Scalice is a CIA agent are chillingly reminiscent of Joseph Stalins slanderous denunciations of Leon Trotsky, the co-leader of the 1917 Soviet revolution, as a fascist for exposing the crimes and pro-capitalist policy of the Stalinist regime in the Soviet Union. Unable to answer Dr. Scalice, Sison has explicitly hailed Stalin, who ordered Trotskys assassination in 1940!

Third, Dr. Scalice has performed an invaluable service in not only exposing the CCPs enthusiastic support for the installation of the fascistic Rodrigo Duterte as Philippines president, but also in providing the explanation for that support: the Stalinist-Maoist doctrine of two-stage revolution. This doctrine, which has been the pretext for backing repressive capitalist regimes internationally since the 1920s, has been responsible for terrible betrayals and defeats inflicted on the working class, not least in the Philippines, China and Indonesia.

Statement in support of Dr. Joseph Scalice by Dr. Ludmilla K. Robinson, Barrister, Lecturer in Law, University of Western Sydney:

It is hard to believe that in the twenty-first century, those who seek to disseminate the truth in relation to dictators and false prophets are still being persecuted in the name of Communism. Shame on Jose Maria Sison for bringing into disrepute the ideals in which so many of us believeequality, truth, honesty and justice. Attacks like that of Sison on Dr. Joseph Scalice are reminiscent of the worst days of Stalins iniquitous regime: a time when those who dared to speak the truth were denounced and vilified.

Sisons defence of the Duterte regime highlights the extent to which such people will go to protect their flagrant self-interest and perpetrate intellectual terrorism. Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of a free society. It allows for open and respectful debate and strips away the cover from the hypocrites who would oppress and deceive. Suppression of free speech is the hallmark of dictators and their lackeys.

The treatment of Dr. Scalice has been abominable. The more virulent and unsubstantiated the attacks on him, the more credible his claims become. Dr. Scalice has dared to speak truth to power and is a true hero of our time.

Dr. Desmond Mallikarachchi, a former Department of Philosophy and Psychology senior professor at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka:

I oppose the reactionary response by the founder and ideological leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Jose Maria Sison, through various media, against the online lecture delivered by historian Joseph Scalice at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore on August 26, exposing the reactionary nature of Stalinism and Maoism.

The role played by the Maoist Communist Party, supporting the rule of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and especially of the murderous dictator Duterte, has been thoroughly exposed by the lecture of Dr. Scalice. I strongly denounce the brutal, amoral and anti-democratic response accusing Dr. Scalice as being a rabid anti-communist.

Piyasiri Jayathilake, painter and a sculptor:

The idea brought forward by the lecture of Dr. Joseph Scalice is the need for basing politics upon an international socialist perspective against Maoist-Stalinist politics, which have led the international working class to immense defeats. The attempt made by the lecture to powerfully expose the treacherous role of the Communist Party of the Philippines to bring to power Duterte, the current fascist dictator in the Philippines, and maintain his rule, must be appreciated. Sisons accusation that Dr. Scalice is a Trotskyite paid by the CIA is a resort to lies to cover up his own criminal politics. I highly appreciate this Trotskyist perspective, which provides the correct path for the international working class amidst the deep economic and political crisis confronting the imperialist ruling classes and their political agents.
Washington  Rep. Anthony Brindisi says Senate Republicans should follow their own precedent and hold off on considering a new Supreme Court justice until Americans choose their next president.

But his Republican opponent, Claudia Tenney, today urged the Senate to move forward without delay after President Donald Trump makes his pick to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday.

Brindisi, D-Utica, said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell changed the rules in March 2016, when he refused to consider President Barack Obamas nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.

McConnell said the 2016 nomination was too close to the presidential election.

If you follow the rules of Mitch McConnell, the Senate should wait until the election, Brindisi said today. We cant keep changing the rules based on who has power. We have to just do whats right for this country  thats what I try and focus on.

Tenney, of New Hartford, said Trump and the Senate have a duty to act quickly to fill the Supreme Court vacancy.

President Trump should appoint a fair-minded, Constitutionally-guided jurist to the highest court of the land as soon as reasonably possible, Tenney said in a statement.

President Trump and the Republican-led Senate were elected by the American people to govern and to do the peoples business, they should fulfill that obligation without delay, Tenney said.

Both Brindisi and Tenney are lawyers. Tenney served one term in Congress until Brindisi defeated her in the 2018 election in the 22nd Congressional District.

The district spans all of Madison, Oneida, Cortland and Chenango counties and portions of Oswego, Broome, Herkimer, and Tioga counties.

MORE ON THE 2020 ELECTION

John Katko: Supreme Court pick shouldnt wait until next president

Sick and tired of TV ads for Congress? Central New Yorkers see more than anyone in nation

GOP group doubles down on Claudia Tenney, plans to spend $5 million

Judge blocks Dana Balter from third-party ballot line in campaign for Congress

Joe Biden endorses Dana Balter while John Katko uses former VP against her

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
Indias cyber security monitoring agency Cert-In recorded 1.45 million incidents  events like breaches and hacks  in the period between 2015 and 2020, the ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) told parliament on Monday.

The ministry was responding to an unstarred question regarding cyber-attacks on Indian citizens and India-based commercial and legal entities.

The government countered allegations that this puts India among the top five countries that face the most cyber attacks. The ministry said that such vendor reports are not validated.

According to a NITI Aayog report by member VK Saraswat, India ranks 3rd in terms of the highest number of internet users in the world after USA and China, the number has grown 6-fold between 2012-2017 with a compound annual growth rate of 44%.

With proliferation in internet and mobile phone usage, there is a rise in number of cyber security incidents in the country as well as globally. Proactive tracking by CERT-In including its Cyber Swachhta Kendra and National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) and improved cyber security awareness among individuals and organisations across sectors has led to increased reporting of incidents, MeITY said in its response.

Government has initiated setting up of National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) to generate necessary situational awareness of existing and potential cyber security threats and enable timely information sharing for proactive, preventive and protective actions by individual entities. Phase-I of NCCC has been made operational, said the response adding that it was in the process of formulating a national cyber security policy.

According to Raman Jit Singh Chima, global cybersecurity lead and Asia Pacific Policy director at Access Now, the lack of clarity regarding who manages the cyber-security scenario of India has thrown up way lesser numbers than the actual cyber-attacks.

These are voluntarily reported incidents, said Chima. These include both state and non-state attacks that one govt agency - Cert-IN - is aware of. However, there is no legal requirement in India to declare a data breach. On an average, according to industry report, data breaches cost Indian firms an average of Rs 14 crore.

Chima added that the government needed to expedite the national security policy, explain their position on attributing state cyber attacks, and make it legally binding to report data breaches and cyber incidents in India.
Italy's left defeats far-right bid to take stronghold Tuscany Salvini's standing in opinion polls has fallen

The far-right conceded defeat Monday after a fierce battle in Italy's regional elections for the left-wing bastion of Tuscany, providing a major boost for the fragile national government.

"It's an extraordinary victory," the region's centre-left candidate Eugenio Giani said, as far-right chief Matteo Salvini admitted "we knew it would be an extremely difficult fight".

Experts had warned that a flurry of far-right victories in the elections in seven regions could further fracture the brittle national governing coalition of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and its ruling partner, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S).

The highest-profile battle was for Tuscany, ruled by the left for 50 years.

The left also quashed a bid by the coalition of Salvini's League, Giorgia Meloni's anti-immigration, anti-LGBT Brothers of Italy and Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia to snatch Puglia.

"What could have been elections that hammered the coalition government, that caused it to break apart, have transformed into elections that will allow it to survive and stay the course," the Corriere della Sera's editor in chief Luciano Fontana said.

- 'Stopped in his tracks' -

The two-day vote went ahead despite a threatened resurgence of the coronavirus in Italy, which is now registering more than 1,500 new cases daily.

Ballots were cast nationwide for a referendum on cutting parliament numbers, which passed easily.

But all eyes were on elections held at the same time in Campania, Liguria, Marche, Puglia, Tuscany, Valle d'Aosta and Veneto.

The PD only narrowly frustrated a League bid in January to take Emilia Romagna, one of its biggest strongholds.

A win in Tuscany would have bolstered the right's claim that the uneasy coalition -- not elected, but installed after the previous government collapsed -- was politically weak, and Italy's president should bring forward the 2023 national election.

Story continues

It would have lifted Salvini to stardom and silenced his rivals for the far-right crown.

His popularity soared when he served as interior minister and deputy prime minister in the last coalition government, pursuing hardline policies that were hostile to immigrants.

But with the collapse of that administration last year and the coronavirus crisis this year his profile -- and his standing in the opinion polls -- has fallen. And Monday's results looked unlikely to lift it again.

"Salvini has been stopped in his tracks. The Tuscans did not fall for his propaganda," Simona Bonafe, the PD's party leader in Tuscany where turnout was 62 percent, was quoted as saying by Florence-based newspaper La Nazione.

The left also easily held Campania in the south.

The right triumphed instead in its strongholds of Veneto and Liguria, as well as taking Marche.

- Government 'will survive' -

Giani's far-right rival in Tuscany, Susanna Ceccardi, was until recently known only to the inhabitants of Casina, a porticoed town near Pisa, which was the first to turn to the League when she was elected mayor four years ago.

Since then, Renaissance art cities from Pisa to Siena in Tuscany have flipped to the right.

But the region has no glaring problems to drive a protest vote -- the health system has performed well during the Covid-19 pandemic, immigrants are well integrated, and the quality of life is high, political journalist Raffaele Palumbo told AFP.

Roberto Bianchi, contemporary history professor at Florence University, said the right has long tried to woo Tuscany -- to little effect.

"In 2000, a frustrated Berlusconi even launched a campaign to 'de-Tuscanise Tuscany'. It was a disaster," he said.

ide/jj/mbx
By Brooke Sutherland

Industrial companies, theyre just like us! That is to say, theyre stuck between cautious optimism that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is behind us as far as the economy is concerned and a mountain of worry about the unpredictable future.

After a slew of updates in the past two weeks, its clear the manufacturing economy has stabilized. But the recovery is a game of inches, to borrow a favorite phrase from General Electric Co. CEO Larry Culp. U.S. factory output rose in August by less than economists had forecast and at a slower pace than the month before, data from the Federal Reserve showed this week. Total capacity utilization (including mines and utilities) is hovering around 71%, compared with a pre-pandemic range of about 77%, the data show. If manufacturers arent using all the factory equipment they already have, theyre unlikely to shell out precious capital for new investments.

Bumpy Road

Manufacturing activity has been volatile amid pandemic-linked factory shutdowns. A recovery is underway but seemingly slowing

At the company level, updates from 3M Co. and Caterpillar Inc. this week indicated sales trends for August were comparable to what those companies saw in July. Guidance for overall sales of $8.2 billion to $8.3 billion in the third quarter at 3M implies little improvement in September, either, although this could be conservative, says Barclays Plc analyst Julian Mitchell. There is still significant global economic uncertainty, given the pandemic, and so I would say its prudent for us to remain cautious, 3M CEO Mike Roman said this week in a presentation at a Morgan Stanley conference. Beyond some improvements in health care as people return to hospitals for non-Covid procedures and an uptick in consumer-facing products, we see our customers generally remaining cautious given that economic uncertainty, he said. Thats a lot of caution and uncertainty.

There are some inklings of hope elsewhere: Dover Corp. is sticking with its 2020 earnings guidance for now, but at an investor day this week, the company laid out why its now more confident in hitting the top end of the $5- to $5.25-a-share adjusted range. CEO Richard Tobin even hinted at a possible boost to the forecast once the company gets through the rest of the third quarter. Fortive Corp. raised its third-quarter sales outlook earlier this month, saying it now sees a possibility of flat revenue relative to the year-earlier period compared with a previous forecast for at least a 5% decline. Both companies are benefiting from healthy demand for fuel pumps as gas stations work to meet a mandate from the credit-card companies for chip-card compliant machines. (For Fortive, that business is part of the Vontier Corp. spinoff its planning to complete by Oct. 9.) But thats not the only driver of the rosier outlooks. Dover also highlighted robust demand for heat-exchangers, aerospace and defense and biopharmaceutical products, as well as constructive conditions in marking and coding, food retail and vehicle maintenance. At the Morgan Stanley conference this week, Fortive CEO Jim Lico called out improvements in sales for the companys Tektronix and Fluke instruments as well as the advanced sterilization products business it purchased last year from Johnson & Johnson.

Dancing to Their Own Beat

Industrial stocks continue to march higher on signs of a nascent -- if slow-- recovery

Emerson Electric Co. said this week that underlying orders are trending down 11% on average over the trailing three-month period through August. That compares with 15% down as of July and a decline of 19% as of June. Emerson characterized this showing as expected and said the numbers fit with the companys guidance for the quarter ending in September. There may be some room for an upside surprise through the commercial and residential division that houses a smorgasbord of products ranging from air-conditioner controls to professional tools and InSinkErator garbage disposals. The divisions trailing three-month average orders flipped to the positive as of August amid healthy spending on residential HVAC systems and the continuing boom in anything tied to home improvement. Robust demand for tools in North America is now spreading to Europe and emerging markets as well, Stanley Black & Decker Inc. CEO Jim Loree said at the Morgan Stanley conference. That was a big driver behind the companys decision last month to raise its guidance for second-half organic sales to low- to mid-single digit growth. Just a month earlier, Stanley had predicted sales in the latter part of the year would be flat at best and slump 7.5% at worst.

In general, the third quarter is unlikely to hold many surprises. Most manufacturers have been fairly diligent about updating investors on monthly trends since the last round of earnings calls in July. So the wild double-digit earnings beats relative to analysts estimates that were essentially just guesses are likely done for now. But that also means theres not a lot to get excited about in the near term. A recovery is clearly underway, but were still on the scenic route.

VINDICATION FOR FRED SMITH

It didnt have much competition amid a pandemic that's crushed most other industrial-linked businesses, but FedEx Corp. is the comeback story of 2020. The package delivery company reported record revenue for the quarter ending in August, and operating margins were up by more than a third in a sign that efforts to capitalize on the pandemic-fueled boom in e-commerce with higher prices are paying off. Free cash flow in the period also hit a record. It took a global pandemic, but all of a sudden years of heavy investment in automated equipment and weekend service and the endless just trust us defenses on the part of management finally led to a result that investors can cheer. The question now is how long founder Fred Smith continues to serve as CEO. The FedEx board has repeatedly adjusted the rules on age limits for directors to allow Smith to continue to serve. In an interview with Bloomberg News Thomas Black last December  just days after FedEx announced the latest in a string of earnings disappointments and guidance cuts  Smith said he wanted to put the company on a better path before retiring. Nearly one year later, FedEx is on much more solid footing and finally receiving the recognition from investors that Smith has long felt was deserved. Smith recommended Chief Operating Officer Raj Subramaniam to succeed him if he retires or is incapacitated but has said its up to the board to decide whether to keep the chairman and CEO roles combined.

Finally Paying Off

FedEx free cash flow has jumped in the two most recent quarters. The August quarter was a record in data going back to 1995.

DEALS, ACTIVISTS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Women in Rail. Last week we talked about how industrial companies  and specifically railroads  wanted to add more women to their ranks. Well, Warren Buffetts BNSF Railway Co. heard the call and then some. BNSF this week named Kathryn Farmer as CEO, becoming the first of the major North American railroads to tap a woman for the top job. Farmer, who has been at the railroad for nearly 30 years, will take over on Jan. 1; current CEO Carl Ice will remain on the board. Its unclear whether Farmer will bring a new perspective to the precision-scheduled railroading strategy thats taken the industry by storm. BNSF has been the lone holdout on conversion to the operating philosophy, which seeks to limit the cars, people and capital necessary to run a train. Buffett has in the past indicated thats actually been a competitive advantage for BNSF; precision-scheduled railroading forces the customer to make changes to its operations, too, and some have been turned off by service disruptions.

Bombardier Inc. agreed to shave $350 million off the price of its rail unit, preserving a deal with Alstom SA that will now close sooner than previously expected. Alstom and Bombardier now think they can wrap things up by the first quarter of 2021, pending regulatory approval, compared with a previous timeline for sometime in the first half of 2021. The lower price reflects a downshift in performance for the rail unit since the deal was first reached in February. While that means less cash for the companys sagging balance sheet, thats much better than the alternative of no deal at all. Bombardier bonds and shares both rallied on the news. In other deal renegotiations, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV agreed to shrink a dividend payout for its shareholders in the merger with PSA Group by 2.6 billion euros ($3.1 billion) to give the combined company more financial cushion to weather the coronavirus pandemic. To make up for the reduced dividend, Fiat holders will get a stake in French supplier Faurecia SE, and the boards will consider an additional payout down the road.

Delta Air Lines Inc. followed the example of United Airlines Holdings Inc. with a huge debt sale backed by its customer loyalty program. The company raised $9 billion this week in what Bloomberg News says is the airline industrys largest ever debt deal. Thanks to the fresh cash infusion, Delta says it will no longer need to take out a federal loan. Because so many employees took buyout options and reduced hours, the company says it will also be able to avoid involuntary cuts to its flight attendant and on-ground frontline staff. It will still have too many pilots, but Delta is working with the Air Line Pilots Association on a proposal that would delay furloughs until January and reduce the total number that are needed. In contrast, the layoffs just keep piling up on the manufacturing side of the aerospace world, with Raytheon Technologies Corp. saying this week that it would have to cut 15,000 jobs and rethink some high-cost factories.

Covestro AG has attracted the attention of buyout firm Apollo Global Management Inc., people familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg News. Those people said that Apollo had contacted the German plastics maker in recent weeks, but the company said Friday it wasnt in takeover talks with the private equity firm. Apollo has experience with plastics takeovers and reportedly considered a buyout of the Covestro business before Bayer AG spun it out in 2015. A deal, if it were to happen, would be one of the largest industrial and materials takeovers of the year. Covestro shares climbed 5% on Friday, giving the company a market value of 8.6 billion euros ($10.2 billion).

Navistar International Corp. rejected a $3.6 billion takeover offer from Volkswagen AGs heavy-truck business Traton SE as too low, but it left the door open to continuing talks. Tratons rebuffed $43-a-share offer was already a material increase from its last bid of $35, but Navistar has now agreed to let the would-be buyer do due diligence so that it can appreciate the true value of a potential combination. Traton already owns a nearly 17% stake in Navistar, falling just behind Carl Icahn on the shareholder register. Elsewhere in the logistics world, Uber Technologies Inc. has agreed to sell its European freight business to Berlin-based startup Sennder. The deal is reportedly valued at about 900 million euros ($1.1 billion), with Uber taking a minority stake in Sennder as part of the transaction. The two companies also agreed to a commercial partnership whereby Sennder will refer customers to Uber for North American service and Uber will do the same for Sennder in Europe.

: bloomber.com
Leh (Ladakh) [India], September 21 (ANI): The famed double-humped camels of Ladakh are soon going to be inducted in the Indian Army to help troops patrol the India-China border in Eastern Ladakh. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Leh has conducted research on the double hump or Bactrian camels which can carry load of 170 kilograms at an elevation of 17,000 feet height in the Eastern Ladakh region.

Speaking to ANI, DRDO scientist Prabhu Prasad Sarangi said, We have been doing research on double hump camels. They are local animals. We have researched on endurance and load-carrying capacity of these camels. We have conducted research in Eastern Ladakh area at 17,000 ft height near the China border and found they can carry a load of 170 kg and with this load they can patrol for 12 kms.

These local double hump camels were also compared to single hump camels which were brought in from Rajasthan to test them for endurance. These camels can survive on food and water scarcity for three days.

Also Read: With spike of over 86k cases, Indias Covid-19 tally breaches 54.8L mark

Also Read: 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards: Heres the complete list of winners

Now the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) is focusing on increasing the population of these double hump camels.

Trial has been conducted and these camels will soon be inducted into the Army. These animals have less population but after proper breeding once we reach the numbers then they will be inducted, Sarangi added.

Indian Army traditionally uses in the region mules and ponies which have the capacity to carry around 40 kgs of load. (ANI)

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Oak Brook, IL - The October edition of SLAS Discovery features the cover article, "A Critical and Concise Review of Mass Spectrometry Applied to Imaging in Drug Discovery" by Richard J. A. Goodwin Ph.D. (AstraZeneca), Zoltan Takats Ph.D. (Imperial College London), and Josephine Bunch, Ph.D. (National Physical Laboratory).

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has increasingly become a versatile methodology to support pharmaceutical research and development over the past decade. MSI efficiently provides data on drug delivery throughout the human body while simultaneously mapping endogenous metabolites, lipids and proteins on a molecular level, allowing researchers to make both pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic measurements at cellular resolution in tissue. The increasing development costs of new and emerging therapeutic modalities and the associated risks of late-stage program attrition are unique challenges associated with MSI, along with the increasing number of complex and challenging bioanalytical questions within drug discovery. The cover article by Goodwin, Takats and Bunch provides an updated concise review of the use of MSI for drug discovery, while critically considering what is required to immerse MSI into the greater pharmaceutical research and development industry. In addition to the cover article and 10 original research articles, the October issue features a technical brief entitled, "In Silico Selection of Gp120 ssDNA Aptamer to HIV-1."

Articles of Original Research include:

Direct Comparison of Label-Free Biosensor Binding Kinetics Obtained on the Biacore 8K and the Carterra LSA

A High-Throughput Cellular Screening Assay for Small-Molecule Inhibitors and Activators of Cytoplasmic Dynein-1-Based Cargo Transport

Z' Does Not Need to Be > 0.5

Controlling the Reproducibility of AC50 Estimation during Compound Profiling through Bayesian -Expectation Tolerance Intervals

High-Throughput Fluorescence-Based Activity Assay for Arginase-1

Identification of Novel Carbonic Anhydrase IX Inhibitors Using High-Throughput Screening of Pooled Compound Libraries by DNA-Linked Inhibitor Antibody Assay (DIANA)

A Robust and Cost-Effective Luminescent-Based High-Throughput Assay for Fructose-1,6-Bisphosphate Aldolase A

A Pilot Screen of a Novel Peptide Hormone Library Identified Candidate GPR83 Ligands

Development of a High-Throughput Screening Assay to Identify Inhibitors of the Major M17-Leucyl Aminopeptidase from Trypanosoma cruzi Using RapidFire Mass Spectrometry

Two Forms of Tyrosyl-tRNA Synthetase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Characterization and Discovery of Inhibitory Compounds

###

Access to October's SLAS Discovery issue is available at https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/jbxb/25/9 through November 20. For more information about SLAS and its journals, visit http://www.slas.org/journals.

Access a "behind the scenes" look at the latest issue with SLAS Discovery Author Insights podcast. Tune in by visiting https://www.buzzsprout.com/1099559.

SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening) is an international community of 16,000 professionals and students dedicated to life sciences discovery and technology. The SLAS mission is to bring together researchers in academia, industry and government to advance life sciences discovery and technology via education, knowledge exchange and global community building.

SLAS Discovery: Advancing the Science of Drug Discovery, 2019 Impact Factor 2.195. Editor-in-Chief Robert M. Campbell, Ph.D., Twentyeight-Seven Therapeutics, Boston, MA (USA).

SLAS Technology: Translating Life Sciences Innovation, 2019 Impact Factor 2.174. Editor-in-Chief Edward Kai-Hua Chow, Ph.D., National University of Singapore (Singapore).
Brenna Doherty sent her resume for a teaching position on a Saturday. By the following Monday, a week before the year began at Kings Highway Elementary School in Westport, she was hired as the new kindergarten teacher.

It went quick, Doherty said. It was in the span of a week that I got the job.

Doherty hadnt even thought of teaching so soon after graduating from Central Connecticut State University, which is known as a teaching school. She finished her undergraduate studies in the spring and had started working toward a masters.

But as schools reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, districts are rushing to fill the holes that teachers who chose not to return have left behind.

The gaps are statewide. The state Department of Education has identified certification shortages in everything from math and science teachers to school psychologists and special education professionals.

And according to Kelly Education, which helps supply substitute teachers to 50 of Connecticuts school districts, the need for substitutes has doubled during the pandemic.

CCSU Assistant Professor of Elementary Education Michael Bartone said that though CCSU always gets a steady stream of students who get jobs, the current hiring rate is unusual and will only persist.

There seems to be more of a filling of the positions because of the craziness, Bartone explained. [The number of requests for teachers and tutors] is not out of the norm, but I think it will be in the coming months and next year.

A mutual friend connected Doherty with Kings Highways vice principal, whod been asking around for qualified educators to hire before the year started. Now Doherty juggles teaching online all day with doing assignments at night for her masters in integrated technology.

Its crazy, but were making it work, Doherty said.

CCSU student-teachers are helping with the shortage as well. Michael Fiorillo, a CCSU student-teacher at John Barry Elementary School in Meriden, said that while hes currently assisting another teacher, hell be teaching on his own in October.

Im basically doing the same thing I would be doing as a teacher, Fiorillo said.

Fiorillo added that with the absurd number of job openings right now, he wishes he could get his certification earlier and work full-time, similar to how Gov. Ned Lamont and the Department of Public Health accelerated certifications for nurses in training in March.

Fiorillo said that despite the unknown being overwhelming and the school-work balance getting challenging at times, hes enjoying being a student-teacher.

Were going good on the fly, but no one really knows whats happening now, Fiorillo elaborated.

In addition to their health concerns, Fiorillo and Doherty both said theyve heard from veteran teachers that theyre leaving their posts because adjusting to online and hybrid instruction is taking a toll. Fiorillo said that even having to print out each students worksheets individually  theres no paper-passing anymore  can get taxing.

Dana Malave, a 2018 CCSU graduate teaching 4th grade at the Capitol Region Education Council, or CREC, magnet school in Rocky Hill, said the pressure teachers are constantly under might contribute to educators opting out this year. Shes in person in the classroom full-time and she is focused on bonding with her students and being mindful of whether they feel safe.

Sometimes I think the stress and the demands society and the government put on us is a lot. You really have to sacrifice your time at home and it sometimes becomes your number one thing in life, Malave said.

I think that we are definitely essential workers and we should be treated as [such], she continued.

Connecticuts government has tried to aid schools and appeal to teachers by routing $50 million from its CARES Act fund to help cover staffing costs. Moreover, the State Board of Education passed a proposal in August that gives schools more flexibility over hiring teachers.

The fact that fewer teachers than anticipated have retired has proven beneficial, too. The number of teachers who retired this summer reportedly went down 14 percent compared to last summer.

Sandy Fraioli, a veteran teacher of 30 years at New Britain High School, is one such teacher. She rescinded her resignation in April even though shed wanted to move on from the classroom to do something new in education.

I got my wish. Its definitely something different, Fraioli stated. Its a whole different world, but its okay. And sometimes I think something needed to shake up the education system. Certainly this is not something good, but its a sign of the times and we need to keep updated.

Fraioli still teaches at New Britain High, and is now working with the state Department of Education on Educators Rising, a program which promotes teaching to students. She said her alma mater, CCSU, is really on board with it and that shes optimistic about the future of teaching even if the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the classroom so much.

Back at Kings Highway Elementary School in Westport, Doherty said that in spite of the challenges, shes glad shes teaching during these unprecedented times.

Im happy I took the chance and didnt push it off because it is really rewarding, Doherty said. With teaching, you just kind of have to jump in headfirst, get wet as fast as possible and take it as it comes.
Graffiti in downtown Omaha, Neb., on May 31, 2020. (Anna Reed/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Nebraska Bar Owner Charged for Shooting Man That Attacked Him Commits Suicide

A Nebraska bar owner who shot a man that attacked him during rioting in Omaha over the summer committed suicide on Sept. 20, according to law enforcement officials and the mans lawyers.

Jake Gardner fatally shot James Scurlock, 22, on May 30, after Scurlock attacked him outside Gardners bar.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine found Gardners actions justified, telling reporters the next week that it was a clear case of self-defense.

If somebody is in fear for their own life or serious bodily injury and that they cant, they dont feel like they can retreat safely, the law says that even if theyre mistaken in their belief, if their belief has some reasonable basis, even if theyre mistaken, its still justifiable for that person to use deadly force, Kleine said.

But a special prosecutor appointed by a county judge convened a grand jury, which returned an indictment against Gardner on Sept. 15.

Its almost a slam dunk, special prosecutor Frederick Franklin said at a press conference announcing the indictment, citing evidence including video footage and witness statements.

While Kleine said the shooting was in justifiable self-defense, there is evidence that undermines that, he said.

Gardner faced charges including manslaughter and first-degree assault.

Gardner was on his way to Omaha to face the charges when he died at his own hand, his attorneys said.

Hillsboro, Oregon, police officials confirmed on Sept. 20 that Gardners body was found at 12:20 p.m. outside a medical clinic in Portland, Oregon.

The cause of death is under investigation, but officers are not seeking any suspects and there is no danger to the community, they wrote in a statement.

Stu Dornan, one of Gardners attorneys, told reporters at a press conference that his client was a veteran who served two tours in Iraq and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

He told us that he felt that he was in the war zone that night outside of his bar, with the violence, the tear gas, and the confusion, Dornan said, calling what unfolded a clear case of self-defense.

The grand jury indictment came as a shock to Gardner, his lawyers, and others, Dornan said.

Gardner had received death threats and feared for his safety, lawyer Tom Monaghan said.

I can tell you that Jake was worried that he was going to get shot on the way here, that some of those folks that gave him the death threats on his phoneand how they got his phone number, I dont knowwould in fact carry through with them, he said.

Scurlocks lawyer, Democratic Nebraska state Sen. Justin Wayne, and family havent commented on Gardners death.

An inquiry sent to Wayne wasnt immediately returned.
Cancel Culture Comes to Canadas Commons

Commentary

Shortly after the late summer conclusion of the Conservative Party leadership contest, a particularly egregious illustration of post-modern cancel culture crept into the halls of Canadas Parliament.

On Aug. 25, a member of Parliament posted a statement, on House of Commons letterhead, urging newly elected Opposition Leader Erin OToole to eject Derek Sloan, a duly elected MP, from his caucus. The MPs accusations of racism, misogyny, and bigotry made against a fellow member were subsequently posted on Twitter and became the subject of several news stories in the mainstream media.

Charges Against the Accused

The MPs accusing statement alleging racism pointed to comments made by Sloan regarding advice offered by Canadas Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam on the pandemic and Chinas handling of the crisis.

Sloan disapproved of what he thought was Tams inability to distinguish between disinformation coming from the Chinese Communist Party via the World Health Organization and clear evidence indicating that Beijing had knowingly allowed the COVID-19 virus to spread beyond Chinas borders.

For example, Tam was against shutting down travel from active hot spots as the pandemic was worsening, saying since Canada is a signatory to international health organizations itd be called to account if we do anything different than following the World Health Organizations advice, which was urging against any travel or trade bans on China. She also said the astoundingly rapid way that China handled the outbreak was very helpful. This is while a study from the University of Southampton in March said if China had responded to the outbreak three weeks earlier than it did, COVID-19 cases could have been reduced by 95 percent.

Taiwan also accuses WHO of ignoring its assertions as early as Dec. 31 about the possibility of human-to-human transmission of the virus. This culminated in a confrontation between the self-ruled island and WHOs director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in April, with Beijing coming to the defence of Tedros.

In a video calling for Tam to step down, Sloan asked acerbically: Does she work for Canada or China? But he later emphatically asserted that: My criticism has nothing to do with her race or gender, it has to do with decisions that she made.

For his accusers, the sharp disagreement between this particular MP and a Hong Kong-born Canadian public servant could only mean one thingthe man must be racist. It was tacitly implied that disagreement with a Canadian woman of Asian origin demonstrated bigotry toward all Asians and a misogynistic disrespect for women. Presumably, anyone who is suspicious of the Chinese regimes narrative on the outbreak of the pandemic might find themselves included in one or both of these heinous categories.

Sloans Position



The charges of misogyny and bigotry also appeared to be related to Sloans tough-minded fidelity to a traditional Christian worldview. As the press was eager to report, he is a practising Seventh Day Adventist, and in the minds of our wokest opinion leaders, questions of right and wrong are judged to be particularly obvious when one is dealing with a straight, white, male, church-going, anti-communist without a single intersectional factor that can be brought forward in his defence.

First, Sloans accusers were furious about his reference to the oft-cited contention that abortion and slave regimes are similar in their unwillingness to recognize the inherent rights and dignity of either the unborn child or the captive slave. Both, he contended, reduce individual lives to a sub-human status. This may be a troubling argument for pro-choice activists, but on logical grounds it is not without some merit. Not every pro-life Canadian is a misogynist.

Second, Sloan was said to be a proponent of what was referred to as the abhorrent practice of conversion therapy. His presumed overall view on this subject was extrapolated from the context of a parliamentary debate on Bill C-8 which proposes to criminalize several forms of explorative counselling that parents of minor children might seek in the course of their childs sexual development. Sloan contends that the legislation would favour premature medical interventions which could amount to writing child abuse into Canadian law.

He also said he supports all Canadians but feels he would be doing people a disservice to allow children with gender dysphoria to be limited to the option of proceeding with life-changing surgeries at an early age. He then went on to outline his position on these issues, including a proposal to ban gender-affirming surgerieswhat he called sex change operationsfor youth under the age of 18, and allow for counselling sanctioned by a minor childs parents.

According to Bardish Chagger, Liberal minister of diversity and inclusion and youth, Bill C-8 was tabled to combat the destructive practice of conversion therapy, but for Sloan it represents a draconian intervention of the state into the private affairs of the family and the parent-child relationship. Some readers will recall that former prime minister Pierre Trudeau reminded Canadians that the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. Sloan is contending that the state also has no business in the family homes of the nation.

His position has been roundly condemned by progressives on both sides of the aisle. A former Conservative leadership candidate and Harper-era cabinet minister described Sloans position as reprehensible. Forcing a child into conversion therapy is child abuse and it absolutely must be banned, he tweeted.

Sloans occasional sardonic tone sometimes gets in the way of his best arguments, but he is not the only one in the country with concerns about Bill C-8. In a public statement on the issue the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada said the following:

Coercive or involuntary efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity have no place in our communities. However, we have serious concerns with the legislation as worded. The EFC is seeking assurances that religious instruction, parental guidance and supportive services for individuals wishing to order their sexual lives in accordance with their religious conscience, faith identity and personal convictions will not be captured.

To many Canadians, outside the secular bubble that protects our progressive Laurentian consensus, the EFCs position may not sound as reprehensible as some might imagine. Does anyone really believe that Canadians who are troubled by the hyper-sexualization of impressionable children and the potential criminalization of parental intervention in their kids lives are all anti-gay bigots?

Cancel Culture in the House of Commons?

There are many reasons why progressives have led the way in damning Sloan as racist, bigoted, and homophobic. Yet, being woke is as much a religious phenomenon as being a Seventh Day Adventist. In the course of our present public discourseor lack thereofthe weight of sin becomes oppressive and people on both sides are inclined to look for scapegoats. Those who may have been censored in the past often go on to censor others when the power to do so falls into their hands.

The sin of racism has become a powerful explanation for feelings of guilt. Vilifying white privilege, especially the presumed privilege of straight white Christian males, allows the secular majority to offload its guilt by accusing others, or making ritual promises to do better. The charge of homophobia is uniquely effective in shutting down debate and opposition to the conventional wisdom.

These kinds of charges act as powerful cancelling devices and become important weapons in the hands of the progressive establishment. Today the state appears to be more ready than ever to wield political power over what would once have been considered intimate family matters.

To presume motive and charge a person with racism, misogyny, and bigotry is to seek their disqualification from any role in society. Is this really the kind of cancel culture that Canadians want to prevail in our House of Commons? We are likely to find out as the second session of Canadas 43rd Parliament reconvenes this week.

William Brooks is a writer and educator based in Montreal. He currently serves as editor of The Civil Conversation for Canadas Civitas Society and is an Epoch Times contributor.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A View of the Swamp: Foreign Impressions of Washington, D.C. from the Founding Era to the Civil War, edited with an introduction by Christopher Lee Philips, is an anthology of writings by foreign travelers who visited Washington, D.C. during its formative period from the 1790s to the 1860s.

A View of the Swamp: Foreign Impressions of Washington, D.C. from the Founding Era to the Civil War, Edited with an Introduction by Christopher Lee Philips Christopher Lee Philips

First impressions of the nation's capital were often critical, especially among the British, who had recently lost their American colonies to independence at the hands of a brilliant generation of upstart revolutionaries. Some visitors thought the city would never really amount to anything. "It can never become a town of any importance," wrote the Irish traveler Isaac Weld Jr. Frances Trollope observed that "it has been laughed at by foreigners." For Charles Augustus Murray, Washington, D.C. resembled "the bottom of an old lake." A generation after his mother's visit, the English novelist Anthony Trollope was blunt when reflecting on the War of 1812, stating simply, "we burnt it."

Early travelers to Washington, D.C. met with major challenges. Roads were poor to non-existent, comfortable hotels were few, and fine dining, where available, came at a premium. Some visitors were simply tourists. Others were scouts for investors or investors themselves. There were abolitionists, diplomats, feminists, members of the military and probably a few spies. Viewing a session of Congress was a mandatory accomplishment for many, who would consider their visit incomplete without observing the American political process. These intrepid early visitors to Washington, D.C. witnessed the growth and development of the new capital city and the new nation, and lived to tell about it.

Drain the swamp? A capital idea, indeed.

A View of the Swamp is available via Amazon. Kindle Edition: [ASIN: B08BJD71V2] $9.99.

Paperback Edition: [ISBN-10: 1096640716; ISBN-13: 978-1096640714] $19.95. A limited number of review copies are available.

Author Biography:

Christopher Lee Philips attended the Institute of Humanities at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. After moving to Washington, D.C., he worked briefly in the research department of the Washington Post and at United Press International. His writing has appeared in various publications including the Virginian-Pilot, Washingtonian and World War II magazine. A licensed tour guide in the nation's capital, he is also a member in good standing of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).

Media Contact:

Christopher Lee Philips

202-657-4436

[email protected]

SOURCE Cloud Light Publishing
The Bombay high court while asking the Medical Council of India on why it does not have any mechanism in place to verify whether students admitted to medical courses by private medical colleges are as per the state merit list, has said that it was not inclined to pass orders in favour of a student who did not secure an admission in a Pune-based private medical college. The student had claimed that while she had a better merit score, students with lesser merit or even those who were not eligible were admitted by the college and she was refused. The court observed that passing orders in favour of the student would mean displacing a student who had secured admission, but as those students were not a party to the petition it was not inclined to pass orders.

A division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice G S Kulkarni while hearing the petition filed by Sunita Pal through advocate Amogh Singh was informed that after the regular rounds of admission for the medical course had been completed, a mop round was conducted to fill up the remaining seats. Singh submitted that Pal had received a call from the private medical college at Pune on July 30 asking her to reach the college and secure her admission by July 31. Singh submitted that Pal who is based in Mumbai was unable to reach the college on the said date due to the lockdown.

Singh added that it was only later in August that Pal came to know that students who were much lower than her in the merit list or were not even eligible had secured admission. When she confronted the college, she was told said that as she had failed to reach on the given date she could not ask for a seat. Aggrieved by this arbitrariness of the college, Singh submitted that Pal approached the court on August 14.

On its part advocate, Ganesh Gole for the MCI submitted that as per admission rules if it was found that non-meritorious student/s were admitted than such admission would have to be cancelled or the seat would have to be surrendered.

However, after hearing the submissions, the court asked the college on the logic behind giving students only a days time to reach the college and take admission during the pandemic and lockdown situation. The court also questioned the state how it could allow the college to have such a system.

It seems that due to the pandemic only those students who were in and around Pune were granted admission even if they were less meritorious or not even eligible, said Datta. He further asked the MCI why it did not have any mechanism to check whether colleges were adhering to admission norms and were admitting only those students who were as per the state merit list.

The court while agreeing that the Pal had a valid point said that as she had not joined the less meritorious or ineligible students as a party in the petition who had secured admission in the private medical college it was not inclined to pass orders favouring her. Passing orders would imply displacing a student already admitted. You should study better and score better and seek admission next year, suggested Datta.

The court, however, directed Singh to inform the court as to what course of action his client (Pal) wanted to adopt in light of the observations and posted the matter for hearing on September 29.
Executives overseeing the development of a long-disputed copper and gold mine in Alaska were recorded saying they expected the project to become much bigger, and operate for much longer, than outlined in the proposal that is awaiting final approval by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The executives, who were recorded in remote meetings by members of an environmental advocacy group posing as potential investors, said the project, Pebble Mine, could potentially operate for 160 years or more beyond the current proposal of 20 years. And it could quickly double its output after the initial two decades, they said.

Once you have something like this in production why would you want to stop? Ronald W. Thiessen, chief executive of Northern Dynasty Minerals, the parent company of Pebble Limited Partnership, said in one of the recordings. Mr. Thiessen said local villages in the area would support extended operation of the mine because of the tax money they would receive. Its $10,000 per man, woman and child, he said. They want that to go away? No.

The Pebble project, a major open-pit mine that would be dug in a remote, sparsely populated part of Southwest Alaska, has been fought over for a decade and a half by those who say it will provide much-needed economic development and others who argue it will cause environmental harm, especially to salmon that are the basis for subsistence fishing by Alaska Natives and the wild salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, one of the worlds largest.
The high court granted Prajapati bail due to the threat of COVID and noted that doctors had advised him to get treatment at a super-specialty hospital

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the interim bail granted to former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati.

He was granted bail for two months on medical grounds by the Allahabad High Court, in a gang rape case.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on 3 September had granted the interim bail to Prajapati, who was a minister in the erstwhile Samajwadi Party government.

Despite the high court bail, Prajapati remained in judicial custody as a fresh case of fraud, forgery and criminal intimidation was registered against him.

A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah took note of the plea of the Uttar Pradesh government and stayed the high court's bail order and sought response of the accused leader on the petition.

The state government, in its appeal, said that the "High Court has erroneously granted a short-term bail of two months to the Respondent accused in a POCSO case solely on medical grounds ignoring that the accused has throughout been treated in premier national medical Institutes KGMC/SG-PGI, also specially when the regular bail application of the Respondent has already been fixed for hearing in the week commencing 28 September."

It said the accused was a "very prominent Minister in the erstwhile government and wielded considerable influence in the environs of powers".

The political position of the accused was so dominating that the FIR against him was registered only after the victim approached the Supreme Court, the Yogi Adityanath government said.

The high court, while granting the bail, had said the threat to the ex-minister from COVID-19 was real and imminent and noted that he has been asked by doctors to get treated at a super-specialty hospital as he was suffering from various diseases.

Prajapati is in jail since 15 March, 2017 and is currently undergoing treatment for various ailments at KGMU.

He, along with others, is accused of raping a woman and attempting to molest her minor daughter.

The gang rape case was lodged with Gautampalli police station in 2017 and later, Prajapati was arrested and sent to jail on 15 March, 2017.

He was earlier granted bail by a sessions court in the case but it was cancelled by the high court before his release from jail.
After eight years of fighting wildfires, Solize Ortiz has learned to work with the challenges and dangers of her profession.

The Oregon firefighter has been in smoke so thick its nearly impossible to breathe, and at times shes unable to make out the faces of others.

Sometimes you can only see silhouettes, Ortiz said. You start to recognize how people walk and their mannerisms. Thats usually the best way to identify people on your crew.

Shes learned to gauge danger -- like when a flaming tree is about to crash to the ground, and in which direction.

A tree makes a lot of noise when its about to fall, Ortiz said. You have to be aware of those sounds.

Ortizs colleague Fernando Hernandez knows what its like to be covered in dirt and soot for days on end with no shower in sight. The longest hes had to go without is 15 days.

Its a badge of honor, unfortunately, sometimes, said Hernandez, whos been battling season blazes for 20 years.

Ortiz and Hernandez are among more than 7,500 firefighters called on to battle Oregon wildfires in a season like theyve never seen before.

Fueled by a fierce and widespread windstorm that started on Labor Day, the fires have spread to scorch close to 1 million acres so far this year -- about double the average annual number for each of the past 10 years.

Nine people have died. Five are missing. More than 2,200 homes and 1,500 businesses, barns or other structures have been destroyed, but many thousands more have been saved thanks to the efforts of firefighters.

Those summoned to put out the blazes include year-round professionals who work for local fire departments or fire districts; federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management or Bureau of Indian Affairs; the Oregon National Guard, which was summoned this year at a moments notice; and even a few inmate crews.

A look at the line. Posted by Cedric Hayden on Monday, September 14, 2020

But most are wildland firefighters who work for private companies that contract with state and federal government agencies -- with some traveling from states as far off as Arkansas and North Dakota to help.

The Oregonian/OregonLive spoke to the owner of one of those companies, Salem-based Grizzly Firefighters, and two of the companys firefighters, Ortiz and Hernandez, during short breaks they received from their assignments last week.

Owner Teresa Ortiz, who is the mother of firefighter Solize Ortiz, said shes never seen a fire season like this in the 18 years since she founded her company. Some of her firefighters have had to evacuate their own homes  or have their families do so while theyre fighting blazes on the front lines.

Theres always a mental part of the job when youre trying to save peoples homes, Ortiz said. But this year is different knowing their own homes are at risk. Theyre worried about their families. Its like Ive never seen it before.

Despite all that, the firefighters out on the field are still laser-focused on the task at hand, Ortiz said.

Exhausted but still excellent. Busted their butts today. And still make me laugh. My crew. My guys. Posted by Theodore W Hiner on Monday, September 14, 2020

***

Among all public servants, firefighters perhaps more than any other are lauded as heroes -- garnering enormous and heartfelt praise for saving homes, businesses, human lives, pets and even wildlife.

Wildland firefighting, in particular, is considered a high-risk job -- with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 400 total on-duty deaths in the profession in the past 20 years. Against conventional wisdom, the leading causes of death are cardiac arrest, vehicle accidents and aircraft crashes -- with entrapment in fast-growing wildfires listed as the fourth most prevalent cause of fatalities.

Experts say the dangers have increased in recent decades as wildfires have grown in size, intensity and frequency due to climate change, forest management policies that have left the backcountry overloaded with fuels, and homes and businesses that have been built into the fire-prone wilderness.

Capt. Sam McCullough gave a big surprise to his 9-yr-old son last night (Sept. 13) after being away for a week fighting the #ClackamasWildfires. Back for one night & today (Sept. 14) he's in the field. @ClackCoSheriff @clackamascounty pic.twitter.com/dJQT9Nsr6z  Clackamas Fire (@clackamasfire) September 14, 2020

Can we give our firefighters a round of applause? #OregonFires2020 pic.twitter.com/8zXAIEh2IA  OregonOEM (@OregonOEM) September 14, 2020

Add onto that the COVID-19 pandemic this year, and firefighters' risks of leaving home to do their jobs have only grown.

Teresa Ortiz said the industry has faced personnel shortages because of the threat of COVID-19.

I have had people whove said, My family wont let me go, period, Teresa Ortiz said. The concern, she said, is real given the tendency in past years for other viruses to spread through crews that work in such close proximity to each other for days on end.

Its called camp crud and it spreads like wildfire, no pun intended, Ortiz said. The fear is COVID-19 is going to spread like wildfire.

Ortiz has enacted a list of precautions, including the use of hand sanitizer and temperature screenings, and shes stuck by her longstanding rule of only one firefighter per tent. She said none of the 120 firefighters she manages have tested positive. But even with strict measures out in the field, she said, the virus can spread and she knows of firefighters from other Oregon companies whove fallen ill.

The Oregon Health Authority doesnt make public the number of firefighters whove contracted COVID-19, and representatives from the Oregon Department of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service didnt respond to requests for this information.

But according to an NBC News report, eight members of a Bureau of Land Management crew based in Oregon tested positive for the virus days after arriving on duty in June. The report also found more than 220 federal firefighters across the country had contracted the virus as of late August.

Due to the shortage of firefighters, Teresa Ortiz said she and other wildland firefighting companies banded together last week to send a new class of recruits through a 40-hour training class. They could be working the front lines starting this week.

All recruits must be at least 18 years old and physically fit. One test requires prospective firefighters to walk three miles in fewer than 45 minutes while wearing a 45-pound vest.

Ortiz said this weeks 60-person class quickly filled to capacity, and Ortiz thinks that might be because recruits have seen the raging fires in the news and experienced the hazardous levels of smoke that had blanketed the state recently for days.

They just look out their windows and see the smoke, Ortiz said. People just want to help. Its an extremely rewarding business.

Grizzly Firefighters pays new firefighters $16.54 an hour. Meaning after 90- to 100-hour weeks and with overtime pay, a two-week paycheck can top $3,500 before taxes for newcomers.

***

Fernando Hernandez, wearing a gray helmet, is seen here with his crew at a recent assignment in California. Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020, they were fighting the Lionshead fire in Oregon. (Courtesy of Fernando Hernandez)

Hernandez and Solize Ortiz are both crew bosses, meaning they each lead a team of 20 firefighters who spend a large portion of their shifts dousing flames with water or clearing brush and trees away so the debris wont further fuel the fire.

The first time I did it, I didnt like it at all, Hernandez said of his initial three-day assignment 20 years ago. It was smoky and hard to breathe. Its hard work.

Others convinced him to give it another try and he grew to love it. He learned how fires behave and how to develop a good path of egress in case he needs to pull out at a moments notice. He also learned what gear to take to be comfortable -- and how to efficiently pack everything he needed, including his tent and sleeping bag, in the one duffel bag each crew member is allowed.

I like the adrenaline, said Hernandez, 53. I like it, too, because you can do good things. You can save forests. You can help people.

Firefighters on his crew this year are typically working 14 days straight, but their assignments can sometimes stretch to 21 days before they net a minimum two-day break. A work day can easily stretch 14 hours long.

Fernando Hernandez and his crew are fighting the Lionshead fire near Warm Springs, as seen in this photo dated Sat. Sept. 19, 2020. (Submitted photo)

Hernandezs family back in Salem -- his wife and four children ages 10 and under -- have gotten used to his long absences. But the job allows him to earn a lot of pay in a relatively short time because hes packing in the hours.

I think its hard for them, Hernandez said. When I have a good signal I call them every day.

When hes out in the backcountry, however, cell phone reception is non-existent and his wife knows not to depend on a call.

There are few creature comforts. Hernandez knows the monotony of downing so-called meals ready to eat, or MREs, sometimes for days on end before catered food arrives.

Breakfast MREs, lunch MREs, dinner MREs, Hernandez said. At least you have some food in your system.

In their quest for a freshly cooked hot meal, some firefighters have resorted to placing aluminum-wrapped food on hot engines or their trucks, or using their shovels as frying pans while holding them over smoldering tree trunks.

Hernandez is currently fighting the Lionshead fire near the Warm Springs reservation.

Solize Ortiz has just started a new 14-day assignment fighting the Riverside fire near Estacada.

I went out on my first fire when I was 18 years old. It was probably the scariest experience Ive ever had, said Ortiz, 26. But it was totally fulfilling.

Solize Ortiz, wearing a white helmet, is seen here with her crew on assignment. She said the enjoyment she gets from working with her crew is one of the reasons she continues to fight fires.

Like Hernandez, she has learned how fire behaves and has become more confident about managing its dangers. She is accustomed to seeing flames shooting 20 feet high in the air and the heat baking her face and entire body.

Up close, the smoke is far worse than the haze that has smothered much of the state for the past week.

A couple of days into a fire we have that gnarly smokers cough, Solize Ortiz said. Its like coughing up lungs.

Shes seen it all go up in flames -- trees, brush, structures, garbage and cars.

Tires stink, Ortiz said.

But Ortiz said the overall mission is worth putting up with the downsides of the job.

Theres nothing more rewarding than to walk off a fire line, and to see signs in a town that say, Thank you, firefighters! or to have a local come up to you and shake your hand or give you a hug in tears.

Wildfire tracker: See all fires in Oregon and across the nation

-- Aimee Green: agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee
A Securitas patrol officer who raped a woman while on duty in a deserted car park is facing years in jail.

Sola Warikwah, 39, attacked the victim in the back of his company car after she mistakenly got in thinking he was a taxi driver who had come to collect her in Londons West End.

The victim had been drinking in a nightclub in east London before heading to Belgravia where she was sexually assaulted by Warikwah in the early hours of Easter Monday, April 22, 2019.

Warikwah worked as a security patrol manager for contractor Securitas and was tasked with visiting sites and patrolling areas of central London between 7pm and 7am each day.

Sola Warikwah, 39, (pictured) attacked the victim in the back of his company car after she mistakenly got in thinking he was a taxi driver who had come to collect her in Londons West End

During the attack, the victim who was in her 20s, managed to send messages to a friend. She wrote: Ive been raped. I feel sick. This taxi wont take me home.

She later managed to get out of the car and took photographs of her assailant as he walked away.

Warikwah was arrested at his home address in Lewisham, southeast London, two days later.

He denied the offence but was convicted of rape following a week-long trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Nahid Mannan, from the CPS, said: This was an opportunistic sexual attack on a vulnerable victim who was trying to make her way home after a night out.

Warikwah had patrolled the car park where he raped the victim just hours before - no doubt taking note that it was virtually deserted.

Warikwah was arrested at his home address in Lewisham, southeast London, two days later. Pictured: Warikwah entering the car park

During the trial Warikwah claimed that the sexual activity had been consensual and that the victim had instigated it. Using witness testimony and CCTV evidence the prosecution was able to prove that he was lying.

Rape cases are some of the most complex and challenging offences to prosecute. I would like to pay tribute to the victim in this case who courageously supported the prosecution and gave evidence against her attacker.

Warikwah will now spend a significant time in prison where he will no longer be a threat to women.

He was remanded in custody ahead of sentence on 6 November.
By PTI

INDORE/BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Culture Minister Usha Thakur on Monday apologised after a controversy over her "anti-national" remarks against a tribal outfit that formed an alliance with the Congress in the last assembly polls and amid demand for her dismissal from the cabinet.

Thakur's remarks against the Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS) had invited strong condemnation from the opposition Congress which demanded the BJP minister's dismissal from the cabinet and also raised the issue in the assembly.

Speaking at an event in her constituency Mhow in Indore district on Saturday, she had said, "Despite many patriotic forest dwellers, why deshdrohi (anti-national) organisations like JAYS are thriving in the region? "Taking inspiration from the life of Tantya Bhil (a tribal leader of freedom struggle), we should take pledge that no anti-national organisation will flourish in this area and together we will uproot them."

JAYS and Congress leaders reacted sharply to Thakur's remarks, saying her utterances have hurt the sentiments of the tribal community.

The Congress vociferously raised the issue in the assembly which had its day-long session on Monday.

Facing a wave of criticism, the BJP minister clarified that her remarks were aimed at certain people who were trying to "vitiate atmosphere" in the Mhow area.

Thakur told reporters in Indore, "We are engaged in overall development of the tribal community in the Mhow region.

"But I saw that there are some people who are trying to convert them (to other religions) by misleading them and trying to wean them away from the national mainstream.

She said, "These people are also vitiating atmosphere in the Mhow area by demanding a separate religious code for tribals (by separating them from Hindus) in the next Census.

"I said that (controversial statements) for such an organisation. If someone felt hurt because of my statements, I apologise."

The JAYS, a socio-political organisation, had formed an alliance with the Congress in the 2018 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.

JAYS patron Hiralal Alawa was elected to the assembly from Manawar in tribal-dominated Dhar district on a Congress ticket.

Earlier in the day, a group of Congress legislators led by former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath staged a sit-in in the assembly complex in Bhopal demanding dismissal of Thakur from the cabinet.

The opposition MLAs protested near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the state assembly compound and criticised Thakur for her remarks.

Thakur has called an organisation working for tribals as "anti-national and Naxalite", the Congress alleged.

"They have this sort of mindset. What is in their hearts and minds slips out of their mouths," Nath told reporters after the protest.

"We oppose them strongly. I have spoken to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. We want him to take stern action on this issue.

"The minister should be sacked for her objectionable words," the Leader of the Opposition added.
House Democrats released a bill Monday to fund the government until Dec. 11, but Senate Republicans quickly criticized it, leaving the path to a deal to prevent a shutdown unclear.

The plan, which would stop funding from lapsing after the Sept. 30 deadline, did not include a White House request for farm aid or additional school lunch assistance, a Democratic priority. In a tweeted statement Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the proposal "shamefully leaves out key relief and support that American farmers need."

Democrats hope to vote on the bill as soon as this week. In a statement Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the plan would "avert a catastrophic shutdown in the middle of the ongoing pandemic," and called for lawmakers to resume talks toward coronavirus aid legislation.

The party and the Trump administration previously announced a tentative agreement to temporarily extend government funding without adding unrelated or potentially toxic provisions. The push to avoid a shutdown comes amid a protracted fight over how to structure a fifth pandemic relief package.

The parties aim to avoid letting funding lapse ahead of the November election. The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Republicans' move to try to quickly confirm her successor, has added even more tension in Congress in the weeks before the election.

Pelosi said Sunday that she would not try to leverage the shutdown deadline to slow a nomination to the country's top court.

"None of us has any interest in shutting down government," the California Democrat told the ABC program "This Week."

Asked before the bill's release about the White House stance on the plan, Trump administration economic advisor Larry Kudlow said "we do prefer additional farm aid" in the proposal. However, he did not say whether the White House would support or oppose the legislation.

Disclosure: Larry Kudlow is a former CNBC contributor.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.
A combination of existing and profitable production and significant exploration upside is the holy grail in the mining industry, at least as far as the junior and mid-tier companies are concerned.

Shanta Gold is a company that shows the way in this regard, with its high margin New Luika gold mine in Tanzania generating ample cash to acquire new properties and go out and explore them.

But it wasn't always thus.

'How far we've come in such a short amount of time,' muses Shanta chief executive Eric Zurrin.

Shanta's shares are currently priced at around 19p, up 500% compared to two years ago

Two years ago the Shanta share price was bumping along at ten year lows, as relations between the Tanzanian government and the mining industry soured.

The souring was nothing to do with Shanta, but it got swept up anyway in the backdraft of the self-destruction of the once mighty Acacia Mining.

It took the world's powerful gold mining executive, Mark Bristow of Barrick, to clear up that mess, but now, with Tanzania back on the world's hot list of gold mining destinations, Shanta once again has a clear run in a country that it has operated in on its own terms without difficulty for many a long year.

And while all that chaos was working its way through the system and out the other side the gold price soared. Shanta's share price has roared away in turn, to its current level of just below 19p.

That's a rise of nearly 500 per cent in the space of two years, and there's no sign that it is going to stop there.

In its last set of interims, for the six months to June 30, 2020, Shanta reported revenues of more than $70million, and net profits of $15million. That was a significant improvement on the losses booked in the corresponding period a year earlier, and helped the company pay off the last of its construction debt.

But what was really noticeable is that for almost all of that period the gold price was trading at less than $1,700 per ounce. Indeed, for much of it, the price was bumping along at $1,500.

Now, with gold fully consolidated above $1,900, margins look like even better for the current period, during which time Shanta reckons it can take overall production for the full year to between 80,000 and 85,000 ounces.

Yes, costs are up a bit, but you'd expect and perhaps even want that when the selling price is up by so much more.

All told, it's an admirable foundation from which to build up any company looking to move from junior to mid-tier status.

Which is where the second of Shanta's major undertakings, the 1,200 square kilometre West Kenya project, comes in.

West Kenya is relatively new to the company, born of an opportunity that arose out of the aforementioned self-destruction of Acacia Mining, which was unloading assets left right and centre in its last days, in a bid to secure value.

Zurrin and his team hadn't quite closed the acquisition when Acacia was finally put out of its misery and subsumed by Barrick, but they were so keen to get it done that they flew to Tanzania that same weekend and camped out in the office of the senior Barrick director responsible and re-pitched the deal personally.

'To their credit,' says Zurrin, 'they honoured the deal.'

And Shanta was now the proud owner of a district-scale parcel of land in Kenya which already boasted one established resource of 1.2million tonnes of ore grading 12.6 grams per tonne for just under 1.2million ounces of gold.

Tanzania is back on the world's hot list of gold mining destinations

The company expects to be able to put out a preliminary economic assessment on this resource imminently, and there can be no question that this represents the next big development project that Shanta will undertake.

In the meantime though, there's also the Singida project, which sits some way below both New Luika and West Kenya in terms of scale, but which should also end up delivering a significant contribution and take annual production to over 100,000 ounces.

Financing discussions around Singida are close to completion, according to Zurrin, and he expects it will start in production in 2022.

Even allowing that the development of Singida is likely to be funded from cashflow, there's also the distinct possibility that Shanta will shortly join that rare breed of junior miners that actually pays a dividend.

It all adds up to an enticing proposition in a market that has been very receptive to gold miners of late.

It's true that the market has to some extent recognised Shanta's success with the re-rating that began two years ago.

But on the other hand, there's still plenty of ground to be made up before the shares return to where they were at the time of the last bull market for gold.

And Shanta's a different company now  more secure in its production at New Luika, more outward looking in terms of expansion, ready to develop new projects, and much more comfortable in Tanzania itself, where its ESG programs are second to none.
While a row between the Centre and Opposition ensued over the sector reform Bills in the Upper House of the Parliament on Sunday, farmers in welcomed the new legislation and urged the government to think more of their community.

Farmers urged the government to take more steps to remove the middlemen from the marketing of agricultural produce so that the maximum benefits can be retained by them.

"We welcome the farm Bills but the Central government should think more about farmers. They should reduce the role of middlemen and take steps to ensure that farmers do not commit suicide," farmers told ANI here.

"The government should do something to exclude the middlemen, today the maximum profit from our produce goes to the middlemen. If such a condition persists, our next generation is not going to take up this profession," they added.

They further urged the Centre to take note of the financial distress of the farming community across the country and asked it to ensure that at least the entire input cost is repaid at the time of selling the produce.

Farmers also highlighted the claim that the minimum support price (MSP) being given to farmers is low and should be increased.

Earlier yesterday, amid a ruckus, the passed two bills: The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.

During the discussion of the Bills, the rule book of was torn.Some Opposition MPs were also removed from the well in the A few of them made an attempt to snatch the mike of Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh.

BJP President and Rajya Sabha member JP Nadda appealed for action against those members who violated the rules of the house.

Meanwhile, opposition parties moved a no-confidence motion against Deputy Chairman of the House Harivansh.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 permits the electronic trading of farmers' produce and allows the setting up transaction platforms for facilitating direct online buying and selling of farm products.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 provides for a farming agreement prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce.

(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.)
Seven years ago on September 21, on a bright and sunny Saturday morning, four men armed with automatic weapons and hand grenades stormed the Westgate shopping mall in the upmarket Westlands district of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Closed-circuit cameras within it captured them strolling through the mall, killing on sight. Within hours, they had murdered 68 men, women and children and injured many more. Then, in the early afternoon, just as the Kenyan security forces started to mount a chaotic response, they disappeared.

What happened next remains one of the Kenyan governments best-kept secrets. What is clear is that, at the end of three days of gunfire and explosions, the mall was empty, its shops looted, safes shot out, its bar littered with empty bottles. It looked more like the set of Project X than the aftermath of an epic confrontation with terrorists.

Through it all, Kenyans and the rest of the world were entranced by the running commentary of heroics and bravado provided by government agencies, peppered with contradictions and absurdities, and mindlessly regurgitated by the media.

The circus ended with a bang as the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) blew up a section of the mall and then blamed it on the terrorists burning mattresses. We have ashamed and defeated our attackers, President Uhuru Kenyatta would proclaim shortly after, noting that the security forces had killed five and captured 11 of the anti-bedding attackers.

The KDF would later tell Parliament that it had killed four terrorists and handed over their remains to the FBI, though the latter would only confirm receiving three sets of remains which, a Parliamentary Committee report said, were all most likely the remains of Kenyan soldiers. During the trial of four suspected accomplices of the attackers, DNA from one of the bodies claimed to be that of one of the attackers did not match his known relatives.

Unbelievable as all this might sound, it really did happen. And sadly, it is once again happening today.

As the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kenyan government and its top officials have once again spotted an opportunity to loot. With the disease spreading across the country and more Kenyans at risk, millions of shillings in health-related spending has been stolen and the government continues to give out conflicting signals.

Despite issuing a stern warning at the end of July that police would enforce physical distancing regulations against mass gatherings, President Kenyatta himself, as well as his deputy, William Ruto and erstwhile rival, Raila Odinga, have been prolific in breaking the same rules.

Meanwhile, the countrys doctors are warning that the state is lying about flattening the COVID-19 curve, noting that many people with pre-existing conditions such as hypertension and diabetes are dying before being tested. Mortuaries are abnormally full which means that the mortality rate has increased. But we are not getting the right statistics, an official from the doctors union recently told journalists.

At the same time, the government has drastically reduced the number of people it is testing and is using the subsequently lower number of positive results to claim the pandemic is under control. However, the WHO has expressed scepticism about the picture the Kenyan statistics are painting, noting the lower testing, minimal contact tracing and deviation from the national testing strategy, as only low-risk groups are being tested.

Just like with the Westgate attack, and the many other terrorist attacks that followed it, the political class has been loath to demand accountability, or even the truth. They have been content to go along with the states declarations of dubious victories rather than take action to defend and protect the lives and livelihoods of everyday Kenyans. Instead, the big political issue of the day is the attempt to change the constitution to increase the number of high-paying public jobs available for politicians in the already bloated state, and to extend President Kenyattas tenure beyond 2022. In this regard, the pandemic has been a godsend, allowing the government to clamp down on public protests in defence of the constitution, claiming to be enforcing physical distancing rules.

Never let a good crisis go to waste goes the adage and the Kenyan ruling classes have taken it to heart, finding ways to profit from widespread food shortages, terrorism and illness. Granted, it is entirely possible that the worst of the pandemic is past and that Kenya (and perhaps much of the rest of Africa) has escaped relatively unscathed. If this happy circumstance turns out to be a reality, that would be in spite of, rather than because of, her politicians.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territory - Palestinian security forces have detained dozens of supporters of a rival to President Mahmoud Abbas who is based in the United Arab Emirates, his political group said Monday.

Mohammed Dahlan, a former senior Palestinian official who was banished from the West Bank in 2010 after a falling-out with Abbas, has denied any role in the UAEs agreement to normalize ties with Israel, which most Palestinians view as a betrayal of their cause.

Dahlans political movement said in a statement that dozens of its members have been detained or summoned for questioning by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank in recent days, calling it a stark violation of the law.

Palestinian security officials declined to comment.

Dahlan, a former security chief in Gaza, has long been seen as a potential successor to the 84-year-old Abbas. In exile, Dahlan has cultivated close ties with Egypt and the UAE, where he is based.

His forces battled the Islamic militant group Hamas in the months before it seized power in Gaza in 2007, but in recent years he has worked with them to provide aid to the territory, which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since the takeover.

He has denied having any political aspirations, but the aid has helped him to develop a small base of support in Gaza. The UAE deal has stoked speculation he may stage a return to Palestinian politics.

The decision of the UAE and the small Gulf nation of Bahrain to normalize relations with Israel has upended the longstanding Arab consensus that recognition should only be granted in return for concessions in the peace process, leaving the Palestinians increasingly isolated.

Abbas has seen his popularity drop in recent years as he has failed to end the Israeli occupation, the blockade of Gaza or the internal political split with Hamas. His Palestinian Authority is widely seen as corrupt and dysfunctional. The Palestinians have not held elections since the split with Hamas, and Abbas has not named a successor.
The Nigerian Army has confirmed the death of a colonel after an ambush by Boko Haram terrorists.

The army described D.C. Bako as one of our gallant and finest war heroes.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the ambush, near Damboa, which led to the death of Mr Bako, a colonel who also commands an army brigade in Damboa.

Ado Isa, the spokesman of the Nigeria Armys Operation Lafiya Dole, in a press statement, confirmed the death.

He said Mr Bako was until his death the commander of 25 Task Force Brigade in Damboa.

Mr Isa said the colonel died in a military hospital where he was receiving treatment after the ambush.

The statement was silent on the fate of the soldiers who were with Mr Bako during the ambush with an army source telling PREMIUM TIMES that six other soldiers died in the ambush. That information was, however, not corroborated by other sources.

Read the full statement by Mr Isa, an army colonel, below.

Operation LAFIYA DOLE wishes to intimate the general public of the demise of one of our gallant and finest war heroes Col DC Bako. It could be recalled that the professional, gallant senior officer who always led from the front and a patriotic Nigerian, led a patrol to clear Boko Haram Terrorits from Sabon Gari-Wajiroko axis near Damboa when his patrol team entered an ambush at about 10 a.m Sunday 20 September 2020. Under his able leadership, the troops cleared the ambush resulting to the killing of scores of terrorists and recovery of weapons and equipment.

Sadly however, he was wounded in action and immediately evacuated by the Air Task Force Operation LAFIYA DOLE to the 7 Division Hospital at Maimalari Cantonment. The late senior officer was recuperating well after successful operation at the hospital, in good spirit and also said his prayers in the early hours of this morning before his sad passing at the hospital. May Almighty Allah grant his soul eternal rest. Ameen.

The Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen TY Buratai on behalf of himself, gallant troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE and indeed well meaning Nigerians hereby express his heartfelt condolences to his esteemed family. We are most grateful for his contributions and sacrifices to the motherland. May God grant eternal rest to the gentle soul of Col DC Bako and the souls of all Nigerian Army officers and soldiers who paid the supreme prize in the defence of our father land.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 14:37:26|Editor: huaxia

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CHANGSHA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Team members sit in the office and operate the remote control. A few kilometers away, an unmanned excavator is undergoing simulation tests. A large screen in the office shows the simulated operation from different angles.

This is a scene at a plant of Sunward Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., headquartered in central China's city of Changsha. Established in 1999, the company has grown into one of the world's top 50 construction machinery manufacturing enterprises, with its products exported to more than 100 countries and regions.

The combination of unmanned driving technology and excavators makes it possible to carry out construction work in more complex and dangerous environments, said Zhu Jianxin, vice general manager of Sunward.

"Electric, intelligent and energy-saving technologies are the goals we focus on," Zhu said, adding the company has developed a series of high-end equipment products with independent intellectual property rights and core competitiveness. In late August, it debuted an all-electric large excavator.

As China has shifted to a high-quality development model amid further opening up, intelligent manufacturing has been a key driver for achieving shared and sustainable growth.

In Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, more than 1,000 companies have participated in smart manufacturing transformation programs in recent years.

"We focus on smart equipment, vehicles and terminals as well as chips, strengthen digital empowerment, and promote cluster development," said Kang Xiaoping, director of the Changsha municipal industry and information technology bureau.

On Aug. 25, a ship-to-shore container crane of Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., a leading heavy equipment manufacturer in China, was inaugurated at the Freeport of Riga, Latvia.

Sany's high-end container equipment has significantly increased the capacity of the Baltic Container Terminal, which will actively participate in the Belt and Road construction and work with the Chinese side to jointly promote the development of the Freeport of Riga as a regional transit and logistics hub, according to Freeport of Riga CEO Ansis Zeltins.

In the first half of this year, Sany raked in an operating income of about 49.2 billion yuan (about 7.28 billion U.S. dollars), up 13.37 percent year on year, with better-than-expected overseas market performance. Net profit attributable to its shareholders hit 8.47 billion yuan, up 25.48 percent year on year, according to its financial report.

The value-added output of China's digital economy reached 35.8 trillion yuan in 2019, accounting for 36.2 percent of GDP, a report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed.

A raft of major international fairs held across China this month have also highlighted the latest developments and growing momentum of intelligent manufacturing.

Nearly 500 new technologies and products were displayed at the 22nd China International Industry Fair held from Sept. 15 to 19 in Shanghai, with the theme of "Intelligence & Interconnection, Empowering New Industrial Development."

Early this month, the Committee for the Promotion of Industrial Internet was established to promote the wider, deeper and higher-level integration of industries and information technology at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing.

At the 2020 Smart China Expo Online in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, which closed on Thursday, 71 projects with a total contracted investment of 271.2 billion yuan were signed at an online promotion event for key projects.

"Indeed, smart technologies are vital for the inclusive and sustainable future we want," said Liu Zhenmin, UN under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, while addressing the opening ceremony of the smart expo via video link.

"The era of intelligence belongs to the whole world," said Wang Zhijun, China's vice minister of industry and information technology, at the expo in Chongqing. "We welcome global smart enterprises to invest in China and share the world's largest consumer market and technology application market." Enditem
The United States Embassy in Bahrain on Monday warned American citizens in the Gulf kingdom of the "need for caution", days after Manama signed a US-backed deal with Israel.

"The Embassy encourages all US citizens to review their personal security plans, remain aware of their surroundings, including local events, and maintain a high level of vigilance," an embassy statement read.

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates last week signed deals to normalise ties with Israel at the White House, breaking with decades of Arab consensus that there would be no relations with Israel until it had made peace with the Palestinians.

Small sporadic protests took place in Bahrain on Friday against the deals, a rare display of dissent in the oil-rich island nation.

Since 2011, protests have been extremely rare in the kingdom and are met harshly by security forces.

The embassy encouraged citizens to "keep a low profile" and to "avoid crowds and demonstrations".

Bahrain is a key US ally in the Gulf and hosts the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet.

Bahrain's King, Sheikh Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa, said on Monday that the deal with Israel was "not directed against anyone", state media reported.

*The story was edited by Ahram Online.

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YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Director of the National Security Service of Armenia Argishti Kyaramyan assures that the NSS has very good relations with the special services of both Russia and other countries.

We highly value those relations, especially our traditional contacts with the Russian special services, but Armenias National Security Service is inclined to first of all protect the national security of Armenia, our people and our state, the NSS chief told reporters in the Yerablur Military Pantheon.

The top leadership of Armenia and Artsakh visited today the Yerablur ilitary Pantheon in Yerevan on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of Armenias Independence.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Gardai insisted they conducted high-profile patrols around the city over the weekend as Level 3 restrictions came into play. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Images of Dubliners partying and socialising in large numbers have sparked alarm as the number of new Covid-19 cases in the capital hit 241.

Gardai insisted they conducted high-profile patrols around the city over the weekend as Level 3 restrictions came into play.

However, a number of incidents have sparked serious concern as health officials again urged the public to slash their number of social contacts.

The most high-profile was an outdoor rave near the Oliver Bond flats in the inner city, with video showing up to 100 young people dancing to loud music without social distancing. There were also other images of crowds of revellers in city-centre streets late on Saturday night.

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Gardai were called to the incident near the Oliver Bond flats on Saturday night and said the crowd dispersed with "no breaches" detected.

Expand Close Briefing: Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin / Facebook

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Whatsapp Briefing: Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

However, there was an apparent contradiction as Dublin City Council last night said: "Yes, we have seen the video from social media.

"The activity showing on the video is clearly contrary to public guidelines and we will refer the matter to the gardai."

As part of the restrictions in Dublin, organised gatherings are permitted only for up to 15 people.

Of the 396 confirmed cases announced yesterday, more than half were in the capital.

Acting chief medical officer, Dr Ronan Glynn said: "The cases we are reporting today were seeded in the last week. This virus spreads from person to person. We now have a collective task across the country to break the chains of transmission and stop this virus from spreading further.

"Plan to see half the number of people this week that you saw last week."

Meanwhile, Dr Gabriel Scally made an appeal to young people - particularly in Dublin - to "do your bit, to keep the virus under control" as he warned of long-haul Covid being a threat to youths.

Dr Scally said: "If some people disregard the rules, it will undermine the whole effort, so it's really important everyone does their best to keep this virus under control.

"I've said it before and again, I will repeat it - alcohol is Covid's best friend. Large parties with alcohol are an invitation to spread the virus. Young people should not think they're immune: they're not."

When asked about the restrictions in Dublin, where only up to 15 diners can eat outside premises - Dr Scally said: "There's nothing fair about the virus - it kills and seriously damages people."

Fine Gael senator Mary Seery Kearney, who is based in south Dublin, said "such scenes are absolutely unacceptable" and called for more Garda intervention.

"We require more high-visibility Garda patrols in areas where required and prosecutions where warranted," Ms Seery Kearney said.

"The prevention of uncontrolled gatherings such as this event has to become a priority for authorities and Government if required."

Labour councillor Darragh Moriarty said images on social media were "concerning".

But he added: "Pitting communities against each other and demonising working-class communities will get us nowhere. Instead of pointing the finger at isolated social gatherings, we should be addressing systemic issues in our meat plants and on our construction sites."

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said community leaderships should take ownership of the problem and intervene to educate younger people of the dangers of their parties.

Politicians and people involved in sport and other community activities need to take responsibility for whats going on in their communities, Mr Gannon said.

The guards can only do so much in seeking out the ring leaders. But community leaders such as myself, and I should be doing more myself, cant absolve ourselves and blame the government, he added.

Green Party TD Patrick Costello said he would like to see community policing increased in inner city communities.

The community guards are well trained and very different from the public order unit, Mr Costello said.

They know everyone in the community and they know who to engage with when these incidents occur. You can be sure there are people in these complexes who werent happy with the parties taking place, he added.

Gardai said they had begun carrying out hundreds of additional checkpoints across Dublin and the surrounding counties. Extra gardai have been drafted into the city to help with the policing plan.
By PTI

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday met the family of a slain Kirti Chakra awardee soldier from Kangra district who reached Raj Bhavan here to return the gallantry award to the Governor as they blamed successive state governments for failing to honour his sacrifice.

Kirti Chakra is the second-highest peacetime military award given for gallantry.

Ashoka Chakra is the highest honour in the category.

The CM first met the family outside Raj Bhavan and later at his office and said his government was committed to provide full respect and honour to the fallen soldiers who had made supreme sacrifice for the cause of the nation.

He assured the jawan's mother that that he would look into the matter and appropriate action would be taken in this respect.

Talking to media before meeting Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, the soldier's mother Raj Kumari said her then 23-year-old son Anil Chauhan of the Army's 13 Grenadier had died in Assam against terrorists during Operation Rhino on 15 September, 2002.

He was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra in 2004 by the President.

A resident of Chambi village in Jaisinghpur area of Kangra district, Kumari said the state government failed to fulfil its promises including naming the local government high school in Haler after Chauhan and building a memorial in the village in his memory.

Fed up with the inaction shown by successive governments, she came along with other family members to return the award to the Governor as the promises have not been fulfilled even 18 years after her son's supreme sacrifice.

The CM came to know about the family's meeting and reached Raj Bhavan to meet her outside the premises.

Thakur assured her and the other family members of doing the best he can to get the demands fulfilled in this case.

Later, Kumari met the chief minister in his office, an official spokesman said.

She apprised him of the demands again.

The CM said the state government would ensure that promises made by the state government to the family of the slain soldier were fulfilled and honoured.
A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with a body found inside a burned car on the West Side, according to San Antonio police.

Police are not identifying the suspect because he is a juvenile. He turned himself in Thursday and has been charged with murder.
Apple announced four new devices this week - two watches and a tablet and yet it's the one that didn't announce on top of our trending chart

The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max might take another two months to hit the shelves, but people are already taking great interest in it.

The Poco X3 NFC is now down in second with the new iPad Air rounding up the top three. That's still an amazing achievement for a tablet, but then it's hardly a surprise that people want to check the first Apple A14 chipset device.

The Samsung Galaxy M51 follows, the two new Apple devices preventing it from repeating its second position finish.

Realme 7 Pro is now in fifth, ahead of the Redmi duo of Note 9 Pro and Note 9.

Samsung Galaxy A51 takes eight as the upcoming Realme C17 already cracked the top 10. It even outplaced the Sony Xperia 5 II, which just debuted the other day.

The Poco M2 misses out this time around, along with the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra and the Motorola Moto G9 Plus. Despite losing Motorola this is still one of the most diverse charts with 5 makers and six brands making it to the top 10.
Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media

WESTON  The entire Weston school district has switched to temporary remote learning mode for Monday after another suspected COVID-19 case has popped up among a student, the superintendent said.

In a letter to parents late Sunday night, school officials said they learned around 8:30 p.m. Sunday that there appears to be another positive case of the virus  this time with a Hurlbutt Elementary School student.
The man allegedly used his connections in the NYPD to provide information and spy on the New York Tibetan community.

A New York City police officer who also serves as a United States Army reservist has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the government of China, US federal prosecutors have said.

Baimadajie Angwang, 33, was arrested on Monday at his home on Long Island and was due in court in Brooklyn later in the day, the US Department of Justice said when announcing the charges.

A criminal complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court accuses Angwang of working as an agent for the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). It says he was secretly supervised by handlers from the Chinese consulate in New York.

Angwangs job was to locate potential intelligence sources and identify potential threats to the PRC in the New York metropolitan area, court papers say. He was also expected to provide consulate officials access to senior NYPD officials through invitations to official NYPD events, they add.

Protesters hold up signs and flags outside of the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas, on July 24, 2020, after the US Department of State ordered China to close it [Mark Felix/ AFP]

This is the definition of an insider threat  as alleged, Angwang operated on behalf of a foreign government; lied to gain his clearance, and used his position as an NYPD police officer to aid the Chinese governments subversive and illegal attempts to recruit intelligence sources, William Sweeney, assistant director in charge of the FBIs field office in New York, said in a statement.

Prosecutors say Angwang, a naturalised US citizen who was born in China, has acted as an agent of that countrys government since at least 2014. He was also charged with wire fraud and making false statements.

Angwang is accused in court documents of reporting to Chinese consulate officials about the activities of Chinese citizens in the New York City area and assessing potential intelligence sources within the local Tibetan community, court documents charge.

According to the criminal complaint, Angwang told his handler within the Chinese government that he wanted to get promoted within the NYPD so that he could assist the Peoples Republic of China and bring glory to China.

The identity of the lawyer representing Angwang was not immediately known.

The US has long accused China of espionage and the arrest and indictment are the latest in a string of similar accusations put forward by the Justice Department.

Others indicted include former a CIA agent and a researcher.
Qatar Airways resumed daily flights to Jordan last week. The Gulf airline that never stopped operating during the coronavirus pandemic is getting closer to its pre-crisis capacity.

Doha-based Qatar Airways resumed its Amman route on Sept. 15. In October, the airline will add a mix of weekly and daily flights to several European, African and Asian destinations, including Stockholm, Entebbe and Manila, Qatar Airways said in a press release Sept. 17.

The resumption of the important Amman route was made possible by Jordan reopening its airport to international flights in September. Jordan has instituted some of the harshest anti-virus restrictions in the region. The airport was originally reported to be opening in August. On Sept. 17, the Jordanian government announced that people entering the country by air will only need to quarantine for a week at home starting on Sept. 23, which is down from the current two weeks in a designated hotel.

Many Middle Eastern airlines, including Emirates and Turkish Airlines, stopped flying for a period of time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Qatar Airways never stopped regular flights, however. Qatars flagship airline also operated exemption flights to bring people to their home countries from places where travel bans were in place.

The number of destinations Qatar Airways offered has been as low as 30 in 2020. With the October additions, the number of destinations will be more than 90, the airline reported. Before the crisis, Qatar flew to more than 160 airports.

Gulf airlines have suffered setbacks as a result of the downturn in global travel. Qatar Airways cut jobs in May due to the revenue losses it has incurred. Emirates and Etihad in the United Arab Emirates have also cut jobs and offered employees unpaid leave.
Gabrielle Union and Sterling K. Brown will be there for you  even if it means only online.

The two are teaming up with fellow actors Ryan Bathe, Uzo Aduba, Aisha Hinds, Kendrick Sampson and Jeremy Pope to do an all-Black rendition of the classic NBC show Friends.

Phoebe will be played by Aduba, while Bathe will portray Rachel and Hinds will act as Monica. "This Is Us" star Brown will play Ross while Sampson will be Joey and Pope will fill the role of Chandler. Union will serve as host.

Uzo Aduba, Sterling K. Brown and Gabrielle Union are teaming up with other big names to do an all-Black rendition of the classic NBC show Friends. (Getty Images)

Theyre going to tackle the 1996 episode The One Where No Ones Ready  a classic from the third season that features the main characters getting ready (clearly unsuccessfully) to go to a function at Ross museum. Hummus is spilled, Joey couldnt BE wearing any more clothes, and Rachel cant pick a dress and eventually puts on sweatpants  a real quarantine mood, if you ask us.

The production, which will take place Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern time, is free but requires registration.

Friends (NBC via Getty Images)

The Friends episode is the second installment of Zoom Where It Happens, a live table-read series presented by Black women artists with a goal to mobilize voters.

This week's performance aims to connect viewers with When We All Vote, a nonpartisan voting initiative founded by former first lady Michelle Obama.

The first episode starred Tracee Ellis Ross, Sanaa Lathan, Alfre Woodard and Regina King doing a re-creation of a classic episode of The Golden Girls.

Watch TODAY All Day! Get the best news, information and inspiration from TODAY, all day long.

That episode  a table read of the 1986 episode appropriately titled Flu Attack aimed to raise awareness about the 2020 census and to connect people to the civil rights organization Color of Change.

Ross played Rose, Lathan portrayed Blanche, King was Dorothy and Woodard acted as Dorothys mother, Sophia. Filmmaker and actor Lena Waithe hosted the event, narrating the stage cues and occasionally playing minor roles, while Greys Anatomy actor Jesse Williams played all the male characters.

The Zoom Where It Happens series will continue with a rotating cast of actors every Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST until Election Day.
The first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic in California rank among the deadliest in state history, deadlier than any other consecutive five-month period in at least 20 years.

And the grim milestone encompasses thousands of "excess" deaths not accounted for in the state's official COVID death tally: a loss of life concentrated among Blacks, Asians and Latinos, afflicting people who experts say likely didnt get preventive medical care amid the far-reaching shutdowns or who were wrongly excluded from the coronavirus death count.

About 125,000 Californians died from March through July, up by 14,200, or 13%, from the average for the same five months during the prior three years, according to a review of data from the state Department of Public Health.

By the end of July, California had logged about 9,200 deaths officially attributed to COVID-19 in county death records. That left about 5,000 "excess" deaths for those months  meaning deaths above the norm not attributed to COVID-19. Deaths tend to increase from year to year as the population grows, but typically not by that much.

A closer look at California's excess deaths during the period reveal a disturbing racial and ethnic variance: All the excess deaths not officially linked to COVID infection were concentrated in minority communities. Latinos make up the vast majority, accounting for 3,350 of those excess deaths, followed by Asians (1,150), Blacks (860) and other Californians of color (350).

The overall number of excess deaths across all races and ethnicities was ultimately tempered because, compared with the three prior years, there were actually 383 fewer deaths among white Californians than would be expected in the absence of COVID-19. In addition, California Healthline adjusted the overall numbers to reflect more than 320 COVID deaths that could not be categorized by race or ethnicity because that information was missing from state records.

Several epidemiologists interviewed said they believe a sizable portion of the excess deaths among people of color did, in fact, stem from COVID infections but went undetected for a variety of reasons. Among them: a shortage of coronavirus tests in the early months of the pandemic; an uneven strategy for how and when to administer those tests, which persists; and inadequate access to health care providers in many low-income and immigrant communities.

Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California-San Francisco, is among those who suspect the excess deaths reflect a COVID undercount in minority communities. She noted that several chronic health conditions that disproportionately affect Blacks and Latinos  including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease  also place them at higher risk for severe complications from COVID-19.

In addition, Bibbins-Domingo said, the prolonged shutdown of medical offices in the early months of the pandemic  and with them non-urgent surgeries and routine medical care  likely accelerated death among people with those chronic conditions.

"Shutdowns always come at a cost," she said. "It is our most marginalized communities that experience the cost of a shutdown."

According to state Department of Public Health data, deaths in California attributed to diabetes rose 12% from March through July when compared with the average for the same period over the past three years. In addition, deaths attributed to Alzheimer's disease rose 11%.

"Dementia is also a disease where we have racial, ethnic minorities already at greater risk," said Andrea Polonijo, a medical sociologist at the University of California-Riverside. "Now that we have the pandemic, theyre more socially isolated. Social isolation we know can cause deeper cognitive decline."

It's hard to determine whether a death is due to COVID-19 if the victim never sought medical care, said Jeffrey Reynoso, executive director of the nonprofit Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. Latinos in California are less likely to have health insurance, he said. They may face language barriers if their medical provider  or contact tracer  does not speak Spanish. Latino immigrants working in the U.S. without authorization may hesitate to visit the doctor.

"Immigration is definitely a driver in creating a fear and a mistrust of systems, and that includes our health care system," Reynoso said.

Polonijo said the fact that Latinos make up the bulk of the excess deaths correlates with their dominant role in farming, meat processing, manufacturing and food service, jobs all deemed essential during the pandemic.

"This population is also more likely to live in more crowded conditions," she said. "So not only are they exposed at work, but they are bringing disease home and with it the possibility of spreading it to their family, bringing it to the community."

Bibbins-Domingo noted that, while a major portion of COVID deaths overall have occurred among seniors and nursing home residents, a disproportionate number of the state's excess deaths are of working-age adults.

"The excess deaths that were seeing in communities of color and in low-income communities are deaths that are occurring at younger ages," she said. "These are deaths that are occurring in these ages from 20 to 60, generally speaking  the ages when people would be out working."

Kathy Ko Chin, president of the Oakland-based Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, said Asian Americans also tend to be overrepresented in essential worker occupations, noting that a large proportion of the state's nurses are Filipino. In addition, she said, government officials have not done enough to translate COVID educational materials into the many languages spoken by California's Asian Americans. The Trump administration's rhetoric on immigration during the past four years, she added, has had a "chilling effect that has kept many foreign-born Asian Americans from visiting a doctor.

People were really, really scared, Chin said.

Counties in Southern California and the largely rural Central Valley  places with a high proportion of Latino residents  tended to have high rates of excess deaths from March to July. Among counties with at least 100,000 people, Kings County, an arid expanse north of Los Angeles that is home to industrial-scale agriculture, had the highest rate of excess deaths per capita.

Officials at the Kings County Department of Public Health did not return a message seeking comment.

Bibbins-Domingo and others said it is important for state and county health officials to take a hard look at their excess death numbers. Excess deaths matter, she said, because they expose shortcomings in health care delivery. In addition, local and state responses to COVID-19 are grounded in data; if that data is inaccurate, the responses may be misguided.

"Deaths are important because they also help us to understand how much severe COVID is there in the community that we have to worry about," Bibbins-Domingo said. "I think when we undercount that, we both fly blind for the overall pandemic management, and we might fly particularly blind in understanding the impact of the pandemic in particular communities."

Phillip Reese is a data reporting specialist and an assistant professor of journalism at California State University-Sacramento.

This KHN story first published on California Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation.
After the opposition protests over the suspension of eight lawmakers on Monday disrupted proceedings and led to several adjournments, its Chairman adjourned the House till Tuesday.

The was first adjourned till 10 am. When it reconvened, the opposition lawmakers suspended from the House refused to leave and indulged in sloganeering. This led to second adjournment till 10.36 am.

Disruption of proceedings continued thereafter, leading to another adjournment of the till 11.07 am. After the Rajya Sabha reconvened again, it saw another adjournment till noon.

At 12 pm, the Chair adjourned the House for the day till 9 am on Tuesday.

Bhubaneswar Kalita, who was in the Chair, repeatedly asked the suspended members to leave the House but his directions went unheeded.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad was not able to speak as the Chair said that until its earlier ruling was adhered to, he could not be allowed. The point was also raised by BJP's Bhupender Yadav.

In the morning, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu suspended eight MPs, minutes after the House reconvened. These lawmakers from Trinamool, the Congress, CPI-M and AAP were accused of creating ruckus in Parliament on Sunday.

The motion was moved by V Murlidharan, MoS for Parliamentary Affairs, following which the House suspended Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen of Trinamool Congress, Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora, and Syed Naseer Hussain of Congress, Sanjay Singh of Aam Aadmi Party and KK Ragesh and E Kareem of Communist Party of India-Marxist.

The opposition members indulged in sloganeering after the resolution was moved by voice vote.

Earlier, Naidu said that it was a "sad day for democracy" and "unfortunate" and "condemnable", as he rejected a no-confidence motion against Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh.

The Rajya Sabha witnessed bedlam on Sunday as the government sought to get cleared two of the three contentious farm Bills amid unrelenting opposition protests. MP Derek O'Brien allegedly tore a rule book while Rajeev Satav and Sanjay Singh climbed on a table in the House to protest.

--IANS

miz/tsb

(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.)
GREENWICH  Even as the coronavirus still poses a threat, the town of Greenwich must face another potentially deadly virus: the flu.

Town health officials have already begun urging residents to get their flu shots and will hold two clinics in October, with safety measures in place to protect against the coronavirus.

We are going to do it this year, but not in a traditional way because of COVID-19, town Director of Health Caroline Baisley said.

The town has been diligent about encouraging residents to wear face coverings, and Baisley and First Selectman Fred Camillo have said the practice of wearing masks may also help ward off the flu as well as the coronavirus.

This really helps with the reduction of transmission, Baisley said. If people are wearing masks when it starts to circulate, its not going to spread as much as it might. Influenza is actually a type of coronavirus.

The positive impact of masks can be seen on a global scale, she said, noting that flu season didnt look like much of anything in Australia in recent weeks and months.

In town, the first flu shot clinic will be held from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center in Old Greenwich. The second event will be a drive-through clinic from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 24 in the Island Beach Parking Lot downtown near Greenwich Harbor.

The town usually holds more than two clinics, but had to make changes this year due to COVID-19, Baisley said.

By having less clinics it will reduce the potential exposure to my staff, the nursing staff and everyone running the event, she said. It will also limit potential exposure to the medical volunteers that are helping the public.

With the restrictions for COVID-19 and the obvious issues with the transmission of the disease, we need to adhere to all of the restrictions both inside and out, Baisley said. You have to consider the likelihood of transmission with crowds.

The Oct. 14 clinic, open to those 18 and over, will take advantage of the space at the civic center to allow for social distancing. It will be organized in a way so residents will spend as little time there as possible, Baisley said, with a flow of people into and out of the building with few crowds.

The clinic will have a heavy emphasis on getting flu shots to senior citizens, she said.

Thats a very vulnerable population we need ... to make sure have access to flu shots, Baisley said. Were going to use all of the centers rooms. That means using the big gym and the little gym and the side room as well.

Attendees should fill out the registration forms ahead of time, and there will be limited seating, she said.

There will be several set-ups there so people can come in, give us their forms and get their shots pretty quickly, Baisley said.

The Oct. 24 event will be a drive-through clinic, and attendees will be required to reserve time slots in advance. They will drive in at the appointed time and get the shot, she said.

Online registration for that clinic will also be available starting next week. The town will accept United Health Care/Oxford insurance as well as Medicare Advantage and Traditional Medicare Part B. Aetna Medicare Advantage will not be accepted.

For those with no insurance coverage, there will be a $35 fee for the shot and $55 for the high dose vaccine for those 65 and older. Cash is preferred, but checks made out to the Town of Greenwich will be accepted. Credit cards will not be accepted.

Further information on the flu shot clinics, including the consent forms, will be posted online next week at the Department of Healths section at www.greenwichct.gov.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
With 93,356 COVID-19 patients being discharged in the last 24 hours, India recorded more than 90,000 recoveries for the third consecutive day on Monday

India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 54.88 lakh on Monday with 86,961 people testing positive in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry said.

The total number of recoveries rose to almost 44 lakh, pushing the recovery rate to 80.12 percent.

With 93,356 COVID-19 patients being discharged in the last 24 hours, India recorded more than 90,000 recoveries for the third consecutive day on Monday.

In a statement, the health ministry said that the country currently "tops the global figure" of total recoveries.

"India has crossed the significant landmark of more than 80 percent national recovery rate. On a continuous stretch of high recoveries, India has also reported more than 90,000 recoveries for the third day in succession," it added.

Twelve states and Union Territories have registered recovery rate of more than the national average, while 79 percent of the new recovered cases are from 10 states and UTs.

"The total recovered cases are close to 44 lakh (43,96,399) today. India tops the global figure of total recoveries. It accounts for more than 19 percent of the world total," the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the ministry also said that the COVID-19 case fatality rate has further declined to 1.6 percent.

Of the total cases (54,87,580), 10,03,299 are active cases. The active cases comprise 18.28 percent of the total caseload, the ministry data showed.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20 lakh mark on 7 August, 30 lakh on 23 August, 40 lakh on 5 September, and it went past 50 lakh on 16 September.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 6,43,92,594 samples have been tested so far, with 7,31,534 samples being tested on Sunday.

However, The Times of India reported that in view of the surge of coronavirus cases in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold review meetings with chief ministers on Wednesday.

Taj Mahal reopens after six months

The iconic Taj Mahal was opened to tourists on Monday, after a gap of more than six months since it was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Reports said that as a precautionary measure against the virus, the number of visitors being allowed access to the monument has been limited to 5,000 a day. The tourists will be allowed entry in two batches of 2,500, and tickets are being sold only online or via the app, Indian Express reported.

ANI quoted Archeological Survey of India president Sarvottam Singh as saying around 500 tourists visited the monument during the first shift on Monday. The Taj Mahal reportedly sees a footfall of 70 to 80 lakh visitors every year.

Schools in some states reopen

Schools in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh reopened on Monday for the first time after the lockdown was imposed in March. The state governments were given the authority to review the situation and take a decision on reopening schools as part of the Centre's 'Unlock 4' guidelines.

The states that decided to reopen schools on Monday, said the attendance of students was "voluntary" and also sought written consent from parents sending their children to school.

In Jammu and Kashmir, only a few students turned up to attend special classes on Monday as schools for higher classes reopened in the Union Territory.

Principal secretary, School Education and Skill Development, Asgar Hassan Samoon said the reopening of schools was not meant for regular classes.

"I was on a visit to Reasi district and only five to seven students were present in different schools and attending the special meetings with their teachers meant to clear their doubts," director, school education, Jammu, Anuradha Gupta told PTI.

She said the school management has been directed to devise a mechanism to ensure the students make the best of the opportunity and come out with a roster to fulfil the requirement of the students.

The decision of the government to reopen the schools came under sharp criticism from Opposition parties, including the National Conference and the Congress, who questioned the rationale behind the opening of school from classes 9 to 12 amid the pandemic.

"We have not opened the schools for regular classes. The partial reopening is to facilitate the students to clear their doubts in any subject in their classrooms while following all the precautionary measures to avoid COVID-19," Gupta said.

The school education department has worked out arrangements with the school management, which undertook fumigation and sanitisation and made available an adequate number of hand sanitisers and face masks to students.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government has allowed students of classes 9 to 12 to visit their schools in areas outside containment zones on voluntary basis.

However, this permission will be subject to written consent of parents/guardians from 21 September as per Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 8 September, the state government said in a statement.

The state home department has issued detailed instructions to also permit skill or entrepreneurship training in National Skill Training Institutes, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), short term training centres registered with the National Skill Development Corporation or State Skill Development Missions or other ministries of the Government of India or the state governments, the release said.

Likewise, activities of National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) and their training providers have also been allowed from 21 September subject to strict adherence of the said SOPs, it added.

On the other hand, states like Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, West Bengal announced schools will not reopen this week.

'30% of COVID patients from other states'

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Monday that said 30 percent of the COVID-19 patients admitted in city hospitals are from other states, and added that most of them have been occupying ICU beds at private facilities.

Amid a rise in the number of non-resident patients, the Delhi government has decided to collect data of their deaths separately, he said, adding that the National Capital has the "lowest death rate" in the country.

Based on data of the last 10 days, the death rate in Delhi stands at 0.77 percent. "Around 30 percent COVID-19 patients admitted to Delhi hospitals are from outside the city," he told reporters.

"People coming in from outside prefer private hospitals. They make up their mind in advance and directly go to these four-five hospitals they have heard of... such as Max, Apollo and Fortis. That's why ICU beds are full there," he said.

"Most of them have occupied ICU beds in private hospitals. There are 1,500 such patients admitted to Delhi hospitals," he said.

The minister, however, said there are around 1,000 ICU beds available in Delhi at present. Around 1,500 non-ICU beds and more than 500 ICU beds have been added over the last few days, he said.

"The number of vacant beds is available on Delhi Corona app... nothing is being concealed," he said.

Jain said data related to deaths of non-resident patients is now being collected separately.

State-wise COVID-19 deaths

Of the 1,130 fresh deaths, 455 were reported from Maharashtra, 101 from Karnataka, 94 from Uttar Pradesh, 61 from West Bengal, 60 from Tamil Nadu, 57 from Andhra Pradesh, 56 from Punjab, 27 from Madhya Pradesh, 37 from Delhi and 29 from Haryana.

Seventeen deaths took place in Gujarat, 16 in Kerala, 14 each in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Rajasthan, 13 each in Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh, 10 in Odisha.

Nine fatalities have been reported each in Telangana and Goa, six in Tripura, four each in Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh, three each in Bihar and Sikkim and two each in Manipur and Jharkhand.

Of the total 87,882 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 32,671, followed by 8,811 in Tamil Nadu, 8,023 in Karnataka, 5,359 in Andhra Pradesh, 4,982 in Delhi, 5,047 in Uttar Pradesh, 4,359 in West Bengal, 3,319 in Gujarat and 2,813 in Punjab.

So far, 1,970 people have died of COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,336 in Rajasthan, 1,149 in Haryana, 1,042 in Telangana, 1,001 in Jammu and Kashmir, 864 in Bihar, 701 in Odisha, 617 in Jharkhand, 677 in Chhattisgarh, 562 in Assam, 535 in Kerala and 491 in Uttarakhand.

Puducherry has registered 462 fatalities, Goa 351, Tripura 245, Chandigarh 123, Himachal Pradesh 120, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 52, Manipur 57, Ladakh 49, Meghalaya 36, Sikkim 28, Nagaland 15, Arunachal Pradesh 13, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two.

Week-long lockdown in Chhattisgarh from today

As Chhattisgarh's COVID-19 caseload rose by over 20,000 cases this week, authorities have announced a week-long "complete" lockdown in 10 districts effective from Monday, The Indian Express reported.

Raipur, the state's capital, has been declared a containment zone till 28 September, the report added.

"In view of the sharp rise in cases, collectors of Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Raigarh, and 6 other districts decided to impose a complete lockdown. Few districts like Janjgir-Champa have declared partial lockdowns," the report stated.

With inputs from agencies
Nobody is above the law  but the law might get applied differently, depending on where you live. Each of New York Citys five district attorneys are elected officials, representing boroughs with different crime rates and cultures, and answerable to different voters and stakeholders.

There are still major points of agreement among the citys five Democratic prosecutors who, along with their counterparts in Westchester and Nassau counties, wrote a joint New York Times op-ed earlier this year calling for a complete elimination of cash bail while allowing judges more discretion in jailing defendants awaiting trial. But the offices differ on how they handle other hot-button legal issues. Heres how they stack up  with the caveat that, with hundreds of lawyers working under them, district attorneys dont always live up to their promises.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark

lev radin/Shutterstock

Democrat, in office since 2016

FY 21 budget and headcount: $89 million, 1,064 employees

Major crimes: 19,422 recorded in 2018, or 13.2 per 1,000 residents

Criminal summonses: 23,074 recorded in 2018, or 15.7 per 1,000 residents

Marijuana prosecution: In February 2019, Clark said she would start declining prosecutions of marijuana possession cases when a defendant faces no other charges.

ICE in courthouses: Clark publicly supported the Protect Our Courts Act, a state legislative bill to block U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests in courthouses.

Police chokeholds: Clark said she would assess the New York City Councils bill on a case-by-case basis, and said she would recognize the difference between incidental contact with a defendants diaphragm and contact that might be worthy of a criminal charge.

Sex work: Clark has directed her office to presumptively decline to prosecute arrest for loitering for prostitution. Her office often allows sex workers to have their arrest record expunged if they complete mandated counseling and are not arrested again within six months.

Conviction review: The Bronx traditionally had one of the countrys highest exoneration rates, and Clark created a Conviction Integrity Unit after taking office, planning to mirror the unit in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez

Democrat, in office since 2016

FY 21 budget and headcount: $120 million, 1,094 employees

Major crimes: 27,999 recorded in 2018, or 10.6 per 1,000 residents

Criminal summonses: 22,918 recorded in 2018, or 8.7 per 1,000 residents

Marijuana prosecution: Gonzalezs office no longer prosecutes most possession cases. He erased dozens of past convictions and vacated at least 1,400 outstanding warrants stemming from marijuana possession cases.

ICE in courthouses: He publicly supported the Protect Our Courts Act and was a co-plaintiff in a lawsuit with the state attorney generals office that blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests in New York courthouses.

Police chokeholds: Gonzalez publicly supported the New York City Council bill criminalizing police chokeholds. Upon its passage, he said he would make charging decisions based on the facts and circumstances as with any other case, but that he was committed to holding police officers accountable whenever they break the law.

Sex work: Gonzalez supported decriminalizing some prostitution-related crimes and offering alternatives to court intervention in the prosecution of sex workers. He supported arresting those who purchase sex.

Conviction review: Gonzalezs office received a lot of attention for its Conviction Review Unit, which was created in 2014, thanks in part to its release of an extensive report detailing the 25 wrongful convictions it reversed. After public defenders said the unit had become ineffective, Gonzalez relaunched a larger Post-Conviction Justice Bureau, adding a parole and clemency unit and a unit dedicated to sealing criminal convictions.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.

a katz/Shutterstock

Democrat, in office since 2010

FY 21 budget and headcount: $124 million, 1,185 employees

Major crimes: 26,828 recorded in 2018, or 16.1 per 1,000 residents

Criminal summonses: 25,370 recorded in 2018, or 15.2 per 1,000 residents

Marijuana prosecution: As of August 2018, Cyrus Vance Jr.s office no longer prosecuted marijuana possession cases, except against certain sellers when there is a demonstrated public safety threat.

ICE in courthouses: Vance publicly supported the Protect Our Courts Act, a state legislative bill to block U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests in courthouses.

Police chokeholds: Vance expressed concern that the New York City Council bill criminalizing police chokeholds would not hold up in court, because of ambiguity and preemption by the state.

Sex work: Vance supported repealing the Walking While Trans law. His office has a policy of using prosecutorial discretion and community groups to keep sex workers from having criminal records.

Conviction review: Vance created a Conviction Integrity Program upon taking office in 2010  the first in the state. But critics said it has been much less productive than the similar unit in Brooklyn.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz

a katz/Shutterstock

Democrat, in office since 2020

FY 21 budget and headcount: $77 million, 723 employees

Major crimes: 18,935 recorded in 2018, or 8 per 1,000 residents

Criminal summonses: 14,692 recorded in 2018, or 6.2 per 1,000 residents

Marijuana prosecution: During her 2019 campaign, Katz promised to refuse to prosecute low-level marijuana arrests.

ICE in courthouses: Katz publicly supported the Protect Our Courts Act, a state legislative bill to block U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests in courthouses.

Police chokeholds: Katz publicly supported the New York City Council bill criminalizing police chokeholds, but now supports a bill that would criminalize only reckless and not incidental chokeholds. In June, Katz was the first district attorney to prosecute a police officer for using a chokehold during an arrest.

Sex work: Katz created a new Human Trafficking Bureau that will prosecute people who pay for sex while connecting sex workers with a path to freedom with services and programs.

Conviction review: Katz created a Conviction Integrity Unit upon taking office in 2020  a first for the borough. The office began reviewing 46 cases in its first four months.

Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon

William Alatriste/New York City Council

Democrat, in office since 2016

FY 21 budget and headcount: $18 million, 202 employees

Major crimes: 2,699 recorded in 2018, or 5.6 per 1,000 residents

Criminal summonses: 3,819 recorded in 2018, or 8 per 1,000 residents

Marijuana prosecution: Michael McMahon continues to prosecute marijuana possession charges to the extent the law allows, saying that he sees the drug as a driving force of crime.

ICE in courthouses: McMahon did not publicly support the Protect Our Courts Act, a state legislative bill to block U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests in courthouses.

Police chokeholds: McMahon called the New York City Council bill criminalizing police chokeholds reckless and said it was not necessary, and he would not prosecute some cases where it might apply.

Sex work: McMahon said he rarely prosecutes sex workers, but does not support decriminalizing prostitution because it makes it harder to prosecute pimps and human traffickers.

Conviction review:The office announced plans in 2017 to create a Conviction Integrity Unit, but the office said recent budget cuts made its continued operation difficult.

 With reporting by Emma Bolton
An elusive snow leopard cub has been filmed butting an intrusive camera trap in its remote habitat in the Altai Mountains of southern Russia.

The powerful animals are rarely seen - and the kitten apparently likes it this way.

The footage shows the mother, Guta, walking past the camera followed by two of her cubs.

However, one of the cubs approaches the camera, putting its face right up close to the lens.

A video of snow leopards in the Altai Mountains of southern Russia shows the mother, Guta, walking past a camera trap followed by two of her cubs (pictured)

The bold young leopard pokes its face into the camera, apparently disabling the prying lens.

The rare footage of the family is from the Chikhachev mountain ridge close to Russia's state border with Mongolia.

At least eight rare cats have been identified on this ridge, including the snow leopard patriarch of the area, a 13-year-old called Khorgai.

One brave cub approaches the camera, putting its face right up close to the lens, managing to disable the lens

The camera was set up by the World Wide Fund for Nature who are attempting to take a census of the rare species. A previous census in Russia counted 61 snow leopards

Experts from the World Wide Fund [WWF] for Nature are seeking to undertake a census of the species in this area.

'WWF Russia and WWF Mongolia have joined forces to establish the exact number of snow leopards in the frontier zone of the two countries,' said Alexander Karnaukhov, senior coordinator in the Altai-Sayan region.

It is unknown exactly how many snow leopards there are in Russia but a previous WWF census counted 61 snow leopards, including 23 cubs and 38 adult individuals.

Snow leopards are no longer classified as 'endangered' but their conservation status is now 'vulnerable', meaning they are still at risk of extinction.

Trail camera footage from the survey shows snow leopard kittens playing above the clouds on Russia's border with Mongolia

Scientists say the rare animals are threatened by poaching for their fur, illegal snares and even climate change.

There is a global population of at least 4,700 snow leopards in the wild and their habitat covers more than 600,000 square miles, across 12 countries.

Snow leopards have a gestation period of 90 to 100 days, with the cubs generally born in April to June.

The litter sizes vary from one to five cubs.
Charlotte Ritchie cant stop gazing at herself during our Zoom interview, so she chooses hide myself from the menu bar. Its not because she is trying to stop being vain, but because it's distracting. Thats better  now I can only see you, she says from her spare room in east London. The former Fresh Meat star, who is reprising her role in the hit BBC sitcom Ghosts as it returns for a second series tonight, has her hair tied back in a ponytail and is wearing a pink flowery T-shirt.

She plays Alison, a woman who inherits a haunted house that she wants to turn into a hotel with her partner Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) but has come to terms with the fact that she lives with a bunch of eccentric ghosts, including the straight-laced Lady Fanny Button, poet Thomas Thorne, and Georgian noblewoman Kitty, whom she can see and hear.

The show, from the team behind Horrible Histories, is daft; its reminiscent of the 1970s children's sitcom Rentaghost. I ask Ritchie if she has ever seen a ghost. Does she believe in the afterlife? Im sceptical, she says  despite being scared of the dark  which is embarrassing to admit at 30.

I think there are a lot of unexplained things. I think peoples brains are really powerful. I wont go into it as its unfounded but there is a lot of very energetic stuff that happens. People are connected and there are lots of reverberations of peoples energy that gets left behind. So it must be kind of possible for ghosts to exist, she says.

Ritchie talks about her privileged background: I know that my parents would have been able to help me out. I think that is the fundamental difference; a lot of people arent in that position. (BBC)

There is a serenity about Ritchie, who has just returned from doing a food bank delivery to the local elderly community on her bike. She ponders what she says carefully, and appears to be open but guarded at the same time.

Ritchie featured in four series of the BBCs ratings winner Call the Midwife, but for many she is still best known for her portrayal of the desperate-to-be-cool university student Oregon in Channel 4s Fresh Meat from 2011 to 2016, a part she landed two weeks before she graduated from Bristol University. Earlier this year she co-starred with the Canadian comic Mae Martin in her brilliant semi-autobiographical romcom Feel Good, also on Channel 4.

Ritchie has been lauded for her performance as the previously heterosexual George, who has a whirlwind romance with recovering addict Mae (played by Martin herself) but remains reluctant to tell her friends shes in a relationship with a woman.

The LGBTQ+ community deserve to have as complex narratives and explorations on-screen as heterosexual ones have had, Ritchie says.

It was her first major role as someone exploring their sexuality and one for which she has received a lot of fan mail from LGBT+ teens saying it helped them to come out to their parents.

Peoples sexuality is such a personal thing. The best thing is to play it as truthfully as possible, she says.

Ritchie as Alison and Kiell Smith-Bynoe as her partner Mike with a houseful of ghosts in the second series of Ghosts (BBC/Monumental Television/Steven Peskett)

The film made her look back at her childhood in the 1990s, and she realised how mainstream culture wasnt really challenging the status quo.

There were lads mags like Nuts and Playboy  it was still a kind of stereotypical existence  even though it looked like it was breaking down.

I think we have such a long way to go for people to feel free. It would be nice if there isnt even a question about it. That somebody is just in love with somebody. Thats all its ever been really. Its just that everyone adds very complicated labels to things.

She continues: But peoples identity as a result of it being so marginalised is also really important. I dont mean to say it should all be ditched.

Ritchie, 30, who grew-up in Clapham South and was privately educated at James Allens Girls School in Dulwich, says the role in Fresh Meat was life-changing.

But her experience as a student in the sitcom set at a fictional university in Manchester was more raucous than her actual university life.

As a member of the manufactured vocal harmony band All Angels from the age of 17, she had to miss out on the drunken antics of student life to protect her voice for touring.

The cast of Fresh Meat from left: Joe Thomas as Kingsley, Zawe Ashton as Vod, Kimberley Nixon as Josie, Greg McHugh as Howard, Ritchie as Oregon and Jack Whitehall as JP (Channel 4)

The band was signed to Universal Records and brought out three albums.

It was bizarre; our first concert was at the Royal Albert Hall, she recalls. It was so well marketed; it was just a huge money-making machine for them. We were marketed alongside luxury soaps. It was part of a relaxing package.

It allowed her to earn good money, though, she admits. Still, her mum Elsie, a temporary agency worker, paid her tuition fees at university, but it meant Ritchie could pay for anything else.

I dont think I had a lot of faith in acting as a full-time job. So in my head, I was like, I will apply for teaching training in a years time when I have had a year of having a go at this acting thing, she recalls.

Does she think the acting industry is dominated by privileged public school-educated actors, like herself?

Ritchie as the previously heterosexual George who falls for Mae played by Mae Martin in Channel 4s Feel Good (Matt Squire)

I think it is heavily weighted towards people who even if they werent privately educated, have money behind them that allows them to take creative risks, she says. I was lucky to do the jobs that I did and make the money that I did but I think had I not, I would probably fall into a bracket of a person who could take that creative risk. I know that my parents would have been able to help me out. I think that is the fundamental difference; a lot of people arent in that position.

Her character in Fresh Meat couldnt be less like her in terms of values, she says.

Oregon is deeply ambitious, really one-track minded, and self-aggrandising; in some ways, I was impressed by her. She has a very grand idea of who she should be and will stop at nothing to get that, says Ritchie. Whereas I dont. I dont have a five-year plan. Im much less courageous.

Shes had a run of great parts, most memorably she portrayed the earnest Nurse Barbara Gilbert in Call the Midwife. She left the role in 2018 after three years, giving the writing team plenty of notice (she gets killed off with septicaemia).

It just felt like the right time to leave really, she says. It was so sad, my character just basically died. It really was the end. There was no please come back whenever you like. It was like, You cant. I still get people messaging me saying they are in floods of tears over my death.

She has a touch of Katherine Parkinson in The IT Crowd about her as the self-interested Hannah in Siblings, as she tries to wing it at work and get her dim-witted brother Dan (Tom Stourton) out of a mess, in the BBC sitcom that ran in 2014 and 2016. But what made her want to act in the first place?

She played Nurse Barbara Gilbert in Call the Midwife, leaving the role in 2018 after four years (BBC)

I remember doing a short play about Toad of Toad Hall when I was about seven years old and making my friends granddad laugh so much that I thought he was going to have a heart attack, she says. I remember thinking this is an incredible feeling.

But despite having been warned by her mum and now retired dad Robin, who was in marketing, that acting was not a viable career, she couldnt shake off that feeling. She wanted to be in the limelight  just like those ghosts.

Ghosts returns on BBC One on Monday 21 September at 8.30pm
(TNS) - The Great Burn of 110 years ago saw 1,700 fires across Montana, Idaho and Washington combine into one catastrophe scorching more than 3 million acres. It destroyed whole towns and killed dozens of people.Last week, Americans saw it happen again. No ones given a name to the conflagration that incinerated almost 5 million acres of California, Oregon and Washington just in the last week, and filled Missoula skies with smoke.For fire scientists like Philip Higuera, this could be the new normal.Weve been spared one of these fire catastrophes so far, said Higuera, an associate professor of fire ecology at the University of Montana. But with climate change happening, priming all the vegetation for rapid burning, each summer were rolling the dice for the combination of events to have a true fire catastrophe.Last week, four West Coast cities ranked in the worlds top-10 for worst air pollution. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared summer 2020 the hottest on record for the Northern Hemisphere, and the whole year will likely rank in the top-five for high average temperature.Those general conditions have combined with some unusual ones. California is well-accustomed to the Santa Ana winds driving its fire season, but not this early in the year. And theyre usually negligible farther north, until last week when they contributed to the massive wildfire breakouts in Oregon and Washington. The turbulent skies prompted the U.S. Weather Service to issue its almost unheard-of fire tornado warning on Aug. 15 in Northern California.Across Oregon and Washington this year, 1.5 million acres burned, and about half of that came in the last week, Higuera said. The shocking part is, in comparison the whole 2017 season in Montana burned 1.4 million acres.And 2017 was a notably bad year for Montana. It included the 160,000-acre Rice Ridge fire that threatened Seeley Lake, and the Lolo Peak fire that ran seven miles in seven hours to the edge of Lolos townsite.The 1910 Great Burn has been widely credited with giving the U.S. Forest Service its identity and authority as manager and protector of Americas public forests. But the agencys 20th century attempts to save lives and trees misunderstood the role of fire on the western North American landscape.Americans are not alone. Similar climactic and management decisions in Australia have produced increasingly dramatic fire years, with July 2019-February 2020 seeing 13 million acres burn Down Under after record-breaking heatwaves. Mark Finney, a research forester at the Forest Service Fire Sciences Laboratory, said his colleagues around the world have been watching the trends with alarm.If COVID-19 hadnt happened, wed all be reflecting on the disaster in Australia, Finney said. The scary thing about that for me is, the same thing can happen here. Why? Because were doing the same things, and not doing the same things, in our approach to fire that the Australians are. We both have fire-dependent ecosystems, but our approach is reactive, waiting for fires to start and then doing something. We have very little invested in trying to preempt these disasters, even though we have tremendous science and potential to do that.During his stopover in California last week, President Donald Trump criticized California officials for poor forest management as he toured burned areas with Gov. Gavin Newsom. He ran into a storm of pushback from officials and scientists detailing the progressively hotter and drier climate conditions that have made fire seasons more destructive. Trump also overlooked the fact that the federal government has responsibility for 53 percent of Californias forests, while the state oversees just 3 percent. Human-caused climate change caused over half of the documented increases in fuel aridity since the 1970s, and doubled the cumulative forest fire area since 1984, according to a 2016 study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Thats not to say forest management doesnt play a role in protecting people from wildfire. Thinning forests by removing small-diameter, non-commercial trees can also reduce the chance a fire will grow to drastic size. But such wood doesnt pay its way out of the woods, as its too small to make lumber and the market for chips and pulp is limited.Commercial logging does pay for itself, and provides local jobs as well as road networks into forest areas that firefighters can use. However, research studies have shown logged areas and young forest plantation projects have little beneficial effect on wildfire spread and can actually aggravate fire growth in some cases. And while road access may help deliver firefighting resources to a site, the logging does not pay for long-term road maintenance and can contribute to environmental degradation that hurts hunting and fishing and habitat qualities. More roads also lead to more backcountry human fire-starts.At the most basic level, forest treatment means burning more acres of fire-prone landscape at times of the year when the burn isnt likely to get out of control or send up excessive amounts of smoke. While all fires smoke, a prescribed burn in spring or fall produces about a tenth as much toxic fumes as an out-of-control summer wildfire.Were not going to be able to use harvesting and other mechanical means without using fire, Finney said. If the collateral goal is fire protection, were going to have to use fire. Its the only thing that removes the fuel component that wildfires depend on.The question is, is it time for a real introspection of the way we manage fire or dont manage it, Finney said. Often it takes some kind of crisis or catastrophe to catalyze the discussion. These have been discussed perpetually by people in the fire business. These kinds of events havent been ignored.As he looks at the smoky Missoula sky, Higuera focuses on two horizons.On the longer time scale, he said, fires highlight the importance of addressing anthropogenic climate change. Thats the biggest contributing factor to the duration and frequency of droughts, which prime the landscape for rapid fire spread.But in the short term, the most immediate thing we can do is be extremely careful with ignitions, particularly during red flag warnings. Missoula is doing a lot of great things planning for wildfire. People know about firewise practices like taking care of the vegetation around your house and doing fuels-reduction treatments. But under the most extreme fire-weather wind events, we need to think on a different level. We need to think about things like  do we need to shut off power lines going across Mt. Sentinel and Mt. Jumbo?Look at California and Oregon  the communities experiencing things before us. Theyre shutting down the power grid. That comes with important impacts on humans. The hospital has to know about that. It can have a disproportional impact on people without economic means. We need to be thinking about ways we respond to events differently than we have in the past. The context is different.Last week, Montanas Republican Sen. Steve Daines teamed with California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein to push their Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act (S.4431). The bill calls for more prescribed burning and faster permitting of logging projects in Forest Service lands. But the Forest Service still faces an environment where it puts out 98% of its blazes on initial attack, but the remaining 2% turn into the catastrophic megafires that currently darken Missoulas skies.At the rate things are going, I dont think weve seen our worst fire season yet, unless we do something different, Finney said. The solution, for many people, is we need more fire in order to have less severe fire.When people hear they need more fire on landscape, that takes a shift in perspective, Finney added. It may take 10, 20 or more years to dig ourselves out of the hole weve dug ourselves into. You cant get there unless you start, and we havent started.2020 Missoulian, Mont.Visit Missoulian, Mont. at http://www.missoulian.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-02 23:55:29|Editor: huaxia

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Visual artists from the local College Of The Arts paint a mural in Namibian capital of Windhoek on Sept. 2, 2020. The mural illustrated Namibian people's fight against COVID-19. (Xinhua/Ndalimpinga Iita)



By Ndalimpinga Iita

WINDHOEK, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Visual artists in the Namibian capital Windhoek, the epicentre of COVID-19 pandemic, have painted a mural featuring the Namibian people's fight against COVID-19.

The mural illustrates the country's pandemic containment efforts, including locals' daily social patterns, economic challenges, frontline workers as well as observation of safety and hygiene measures such as wearing masks and sanitisation.

Esneya Zulu, a student at the College of Arts who is part of the project, said that the central aim is to communicate about COVID-19 and display its impact visually.

"The visual element of art has the ability to influence change in society; it is powerful," said Zulu on Wednesday.

For Jojo Strauss, painting the mural is part of her role in curbing the further spread of COVID-19 in Windhoek.

"The mural is not only along with one of the main roads in the central business district, but it is also across one of the main COVID-19 testing centres," Straus said.

Moreover, the mural is hoped to promote unity and commend international aid availed to Namibia by development agency and other countries, including China. Enditem
Neetu Chandra produced film, Mithila Makhaan, directed by Nitin Chandra has created history for being the first-ever Maithili language film, which is native to the state of Bihar, to win a National Award.

For this achievement, Hrithik Roshan, who played the role of a Bihari, math genius, Anand Kumar, in his film, Super 30, did not leave a chance to congratulate them for this big win.

As soon as he got to know about this, the actor took to his Twitter and shared the official trailer of the film and wrote, Taking a moment to congratulate Neetu & Nitin Chandra. The siblings who joined forces to back a film they believed in. And they made History! Here's the first ever Maithili film from Bihar to win the National Award. Keep up the good work 

Hrithik Roshan has never shied away from complimenting and supporting good content and talented people. And it is incredible for him to be one of the first superstars to come out and support this regional film.

The actor had completely transformed himself to play a Bihari in Super 30 and convincingly so. He was hugely applauded for his portrayal.

Taking a moment to congratulate Neetu & Nitin Chandra. The siblings who joined forces to back a film they believed in. And they made History! Here's the first ever Maithili film from Bihar to win the National Award. Keep up the good work  @Neetu_Chandra https://t.co/HjpdaPkW5F  Hrithik Roshan (@iHrithik) September 21, 2020

ALSO READ: Rakesh Roshan's Birthday Celebrations: Hrithik, Ex-Wife Sussanne And Family Make Memories With Love

ALSO READ: Hrithik Roshan To Essay Four Different Characters In Krrish 4? Details Inside!
Guns, drugs, cash and a boa constrictor were seized during raids targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs across the Sunshine Coast and Gympie, according to police.

An illegal boa constrictor was among items seized during the sweeping police raids. Credit:Queensland Police Service

Eleven people were charged with 60 offences off the back of the 14 search warrants executed between Thursday and Sunday by Taskforce Maxima and organised crime gang detectives.

Along with the snake, police alleged they seized about $30,000 in cash, two pistols, a sawn-off shotgun as well as cocaine, ice, cannabis, steroids and pharmaceutical drugs.

The snake was removed from the Rosemount property with the help of Biosecurity Queensland. Australian Border Force officers were also involved in the raids.
Dr Jason Leong. (PHOTO: Netflix)

Malaysian Dr Jason Leong, the medical practitioner turned stand-up comedian, is over the moon celebrating his first one-hour Netflix comedy show called Dr Jason Leong: Hashtag Blessed.

The comedian, who has collaborated with Yahoo Lifestyle SEA on a series of videos (watch below!) during the pandemic, tells us that he's always wanted to have his show on Netflix since 2018.

Before we dish further about the show, Leong shares that his performance is "80% new material, with some of my favourite blasts from the past. It's all good."

What we like: relatable humour

Hashtag Blessed elicits plenty of laughter as Leong focuses on his own experience with interracial relationships as he is married to his Malaysian-Indian wife Komella, who is also a doctor; recalling his medical practice and casual racism during travels; as well as debunking the existence of ghosts.

Another bold move made by the comedian is the subtle weaving in of political events in Malaysia, which you might find yourself laughing uncomfortably at due to the sorry state of the nation.

On stage, Leong coats stereotypes with honesty and bluntness such that you would even find yourself pausing for a moment and go, 'oh yeah!'

There are plenty of gold moments to be celebrated here, as he is poised with his storytelling flow; he shows that he is in control of the crowd and takes his time to drop the punchline or even emphasises certain choices of words with his tone and manner.

(PHOTO: Dr Jason Leong)

A surreal moment

Leong has many reasons to celebrate with this special; it will be made available in 190 countries, a fantastic feat for this medical doctor who took a chance with stand-up comedy as a full-time job: "It's a global release, like COVID-19. It's everywhere. I do feel like I've levelled up. But nowhere near my idols, of course."

The special means a lot to Leong too, because "it's a culmination of two years of perseverance and hard work. I could have easily given up any number of times in the last two years, but I kept my eye on the prize. And it's so surreal that what I envisioned, happened. When I taped my show, before I made any jokes I told the crowd that I was taping this show and hopefully will sell it to Netflix. And it came to be. That feeling cannot be described with mere words.

Story continues

As we tuck in at home in pyjamas (hashtag blessed) and watch this special during an unprecedented time, Leong isn't bent on stopping with just one show; he hints to us that hopefully, he will have more specials on Netflix. Only time will tell.

Watch Stay At Home with Dr Jason Leong videos:
Press Release

September 21, 2020 Gatchalian urges DepEd to use P4 billion under Bayanihan 2 to invest in technology Senator Win Gatchalian urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to utilize its P4 billion allocation under the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Republic Act 11494) or Bayanihan 2 to invest in technology for teachers' use. Under Bayanihan 2, the P4 billion allocation aims to assist DepEd in putting up information technology (IT) and digital infrastructure, the implementation of digital education, and the use of alternative learning modalities, including the printing and delivery of self-learning modules. In a Senate panel hearing on the preparations for the October 5 class opening, DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla explained that they are waiting for the Department of Budget and Management's (DBM) official communications on the availability of the P4 billion-fund before the department makes its implementation guidelines. The DepEd official also explained that considering the funds' limitation, the department has to decide on what items to prioritize, whether the funds will go to teachers' laptops, self-learning modules, or other items. "I would strongly suggest to allocate that (P4 billion) to our teachers, especially in technology that our teachers can use even after the COVID-19 pandemic," Gatchalian said during the hearing. The Bayanihan 2 also contains other provisions to support the implementation of the Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP). These include the provision of loan assistance, subsidies, discounts and grants for the purchase of distance learning tools, including computers, laptops, tablets and other information and communications technology (ICT) devices. The law also authorizes the utilization of a portion of the Special Education Fund (SEF) of local government units (LGUs) to support the use of alternative learning modalities, digital education, and digital infrastructure. Under Bayanihan 2, the SEF can also be used for safe schools infrastructure, equipment, and facilities, including handwashing stations. Public health supplies such as soap, alcohol, sanitizers, thermometers, face masks, face shields, and other disinfecting solutions can also be purchased under the SEF. "Ang modernisasyon sa ating sistema ng edukasyon, tulad ng mas malawak na paggamit ng teknolohiya para sa pagtuturo at sa pag-aaral, ay bahagi ng pagbangon ng ating mga paaralan mula sa pinsalang dulot ng COVID-19. Sa tulong ng Bayanihan 2, mapapaigting natin ang modernisasyon ng ating mga paaralan, maaabot natin ang mas maraming mag-aaral, at maipagpapatuloy natin ang edukasyon sa ligtas na paraan," Gatchalian added. Gatchalian is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture. ### Gatchalian: P4 bilyong pondo ng DepEd sa ilalim ng Bayanihan 2 gamitin sa teknolohiya Hinimok ni Senador Win Gatchalian ang Department of Education o DepEd na gamitin ang apat na bilyong pisong pondong nasa 'Bayanihan to Recover As One Act' o Bayanihan 2 para sa teknolohiyang magagamit ng mga guro. Sa ilalim kasi ng Bayanihan 2, ang naturang pondo ay inilaan para sa imprastraktura ng information and communications technology o ICT, pagpapatupad ng digital education, at iba't ibang alternative learning modalities para sa distance learning. Kabilang dito ang pag-imprenta at pagpapamahagi ng self-learning modules. Paliwanag ni DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla sa isang pandinig sa Senado, hinihintay ng DepEd ang pormal na komunikasyon mula sa Department of Budget and Management (DBM) upang linawin ang kahandaan ng pondo para sa distance learning. Dagdag pa ng opisyal, kailangang magpasya ang kagawaran kung alin ba ang bibigyan ng prayoridad sa paggamit ng pondo. "Ang aking mungkahi ay gamitin ang pondo para sa ating mga guro, lalo na sa teknolohiyang maaari nilang magamit ngayong may COVID-19 pandemic at kahit na matapos pa ito," pahayag ni Gatchalian. May iba pang probisyon ang Bayanihan 2 upang masuportahan ang pagpapatupad ng Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan o BE-LCP. Kabilang dito ang pagkakaroon ng loan assistance, ayuda, at mga discount para sa pagbili ng mga kagamitan para sa distance learning. Halimbawa ng mga ito ay computer o laptop, at mga tablet. Pinahihintulutan din ng Bayanihan 2 ang paggamit ng Special Education Fund o SEF ng mga lokal na pamahalaan para sa pagpapatupad ng distance learning. Maaari ring gamitin ang SEF para sa paglalagay ng mga handwashing stations at mga kagamitan para sa ligtas na pagbabalik-eskwela. Kabilang dito ang mga sabon, sanitizer, alcohol, thermometer, face masks, face shields at mga disinfectant. "Ang modernisasyon sa ating sistema ng edukasyon, tulad ng mas malawak na paggamit ng teknolohiya para sa pagtuturo at sa pag-aaral, ay bahagi ng pagbangon ng ating mga paaralan mula sa pinsalang dulot ng COVID-19. Sa tulong ng Bayanihan 2, mapapaigting natin ang modernisasyon ng ating mga paaralan, maaabot natin ang mas maraming mag-aaral, at maipagpapatuloy natin ang edukasyon sa ligtas na paraan," ani Gatchalian, ang Chairman ng Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture.
Awareness of erectile dysfunction (ED) is alarmingly low in men and women aged 20 to 70, a new survey commissioned by the European Association of Urology (EAU) has revealed. Majority of the respondents do not know what ED exactly entails, and one in four has never heard of any of the seven most common treatments for ED.

The survey examined the knowledge of and experience with ED of 3,032 men and women of different age groups between 20 and 70 years old in Spain, France, Germany, and the UK. ED is defined as the inability to get or keep an erection.

When asked what ED is, the majority of respondents either gave incorrect answers (34%) or stated they do not know what ED is (17%). Those who are single are the least likely to know the definition of ED. German respondents scored worst on this question; only 49% answered correctly, compared to Spain where a solid majority (78%) did.

"As ED is actually a common male medical condition, it is surprising that a majority does not know what ED is," comments Prof. Christopher Chapple, Secretary General of the EAU.

Indeed, the EAU Guidelines 2020 on Sexual and Reproductive Health state that "epidemiological data have shown a high prevalence and incidence of ED worldwide." The Guidelines mention, among others, a study that reports an overall ED prevalence of 52% in men aged 40-70 years. In the EAU survey, when asked what percentage of men in their country aged 50-80 suffer from ED, respondents most often selected "21-30%".

The risk of having ED increases with age, but it affects men of all ages and ethnicities.As a result, there should not be any taboo about it. Although I am happy to see that the majority of the respondents who have experience with ED say to talk about it, there is still room for improvement." Christopher Chapple, Professor and Secretary General, European Association of Urology

Of the 17% of the respondents who have or have a partner who has ever experienced ED, approximately one in four (26%) admitted to not talking about it with anyone. Worrisome is that of those in a relationship (those who live with a partner, are married, have a civil partnership, or are just in a relationship), an average of only 29% talk to each other about ED. German respondents most often gave "feeling uncomfortable to talk about ED" as their reason for not seeking professional help.

Communication is the key

"Clearly ED is a common medical condition. There's absolutely no need for shame," Prof. Chapple emphasises. "Talk about it with each other. This will provide relief and will take away some of the pressure. Communication is the key to breaking the taboo."

A small majority of 53% sought medical advice from a healthcare professional (a GP, urologist, sexologist, sexual therapist or psychologist). Interestingly, those aged 20-30 years old are the least likely to see a GP, but the most likely to see a sexual therapist or psychologist.

Respondents who didn't seek medical advice were most likely to have no reason for it. "This could mean that they are not aware they can seek professional help," Prof. Chapple says. "But ED is always treatable."

One in four respondents has never heard of any treatments for ED

He refers to another alarming outcome; one in four of the respondents (26%) has never heard of any of the treatments for ED listed in the survey: medication, sexual education and relationship therapy, a vacuum erection device, penile injections, penile implants, shockwave therapy, and topical therapies.

Knowledge about ED treatment is most limited in the UK; 31% have never heard of any of the treatments listed (compared to 18% in Spain) and only 50% think ED is treatable (whereas 68% in Spain believe so).

Prof. Chapple: "I understand that ED might feel like a private matter to you. But this should not prevent you from improving your quality of life. Please talk about it and seek help."

About the survey

The new survey was commissioned by the European Association of Urology (EAU) for its annual Urology Week (21-25 September 2020). Over 3,000 members of the public from Spain, France, Germany and the UK were asked about their knowledge of and experience with erectile dysfunction (ED). The survey was supported by an educational grant of Boston Scientific.

Breakdown of 3,032 respondents per country:

* Spain: 766

* France: 759

* Germany: 755

* UK: 752

The information was sourced in July 2020.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on September 21 endorsed U.S. President Donald Trump in his reelection bid, saying his rivals from the Democratic Party have forced "moral imperialism" on the world.

"We root for Donald Trump's victory, because we know well American Democratic governments' diplomacy, built on moral imperialism. We have been forced to sample it before, we did not like it, we do not want seconds," Orban wrote in an article published in the Magyar Nemzet daily.

Right-wing nationalist Orban faces parliamentary elections in early 2022 amid a steep challenge to his decade-long rule as Hungary braces for the economic and social impact of a second wave of coronavirus infections.

Orban wrote that the 2022 elections would be decisive as the international liberal elite was out to destroy Christian conservatives in Europe.

Hungary and other Central European countries would place economic efficiency over European Union policies such as "climate goals elevated to absurdity, a social Europe, a common tax code, and a multicultural society", he said.

EU member Hungarys democracy score has been on a steep decline in the past decade, according to Freedom House.

In its latest Nations In Transit report published in May, Freedom House singled out Hungary as having the largest drop ever recorded in the 25 years since the nonprofit organization, largely funded by the U.S. government, published its first assessment.

The report describes Orban as a leader who has "dropped any pretense of respecting democratic institutions."

Press freedoms in particular have been in decline in Hungary since Orban returned to power in 2010. In recent years, many independent news outlets have either gone out of business or have been bought up by Orban allies.

With reporting by Reuters
- By Nathan Parsh





For dividend growth investors, the ex-dividend date is just as important as the payment date. Investors need to own a stock prior to its ex-dividend date to be entitled to the dividend payment.

This article will explore four stocks that will begin trading ex-dividend this week.

American Tower Corporation

Warning! GuruFocus has detected 11 Warning Signs with AMT. Click here to check it out.

High Yield Dividend Stocks in Gurus' Portfolio

NYSE:AMT) is one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the world. The trust focuses on owning, operating and developing properties such as wireless telecommunications and broadcast towers. American Tower's revenue has totaled $7.7 billion over the last year. Shares of the trust have gained almost 7% this year, which is better than the 3.9% return for the S&P 500.

American Tower raised its dividend by 3.6% for the upcoming Oct. 16 payment. The ex-dividend date is Friday, Sept. 25. The trust's dividend growth streak now stands at 10 years. The dividend has a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 11.7% over the last five years.

The most recent dividend increase is below the annual rate, but this is a bit deceiving as the trust usually raises it dividend every quarter. Shareholders should receive at least $4.46 in dividends this year. This would be an 18% increase over last year's total.

American Tower is expected to produce funds from operation of $7.88 this year, according to analysts. This means that the projected payout ratio is 57%. For context, the average payout ratio since shareholders started receiving a dividend is 37%. The projected payout ratio is high relative to American Tower's historical average, but below that of most REITs.

The new annualized dividend of $4.56 results in a yield of 1.9% using Friday's closing price of $245.50. This is above the stock's average yield of 1.7% since 2012 and higher than the 1.8% average yield of the S&P 500.

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Using the current share price and expected FFO for the year, the stock a forward price-FFO ratio of 31.2. The average price-FFO ratio for American Tower since 2010 is 23.

American Tower is an interesting stock as it is different than your traditional REIT. It operates in a niche space and has a leadership position in its sector. The dividend streak is on the young side, but a dividend increase for every quarter has led to high rates of growth on a year-over-year basis. That said, the valuation is high, which means I am on the sidelines for now. This is one stock to keep an eye on at a better price.

International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) is a global leader in the manufacturing of flavor and fragrances. These products are then sold to consumer product manufacturers around the globe. Nearly two-thirds of sales come from the company's Taste segment, with Scent contributing the rest. Products are used in prepared foods, beverages, confectionery and tobacco products as well as perfumes, soaps and detergents. International Flavors & Fragrances trades with a market capitalization of $13.1 billion and produced revenue of $5.1 billion over the last 12 months. The stock has held up well in 2020, only losing 5% through Friday's close.

International Flavors & Fragrances raised its dividend by 2.7% for the payment scheduled for Oct. 5. The stock will trade ex-dividend on Wednesday, Sept. 23. This latest raise gives the company 18 consecutive years of dividend growth. The company has rewarded shareholders with a dividend raise to the tune of 11% annually since 2010. Growth has slowed somewhat in the past few years.

International Flavors & Fragrances should distribute $3.04 of dividends per share in 2020. Yahoo Finance tells us that analysts expect the company to produce $5.75 of earnings per share this year, which results in a projected payout ratio of 53%. The payout ratio has begun to climb in recent years as the 10-year average payout ratio is under 39%. This likely explains the lower than usual dividend growth. Still, the payout ratio remains quite manageable.

The new annualized dividend of $3.08 equates to a forward dividend yield of 2.5% using the most recent closing price of $122.54. Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances have not offered much in the way of income as the average yield is just 2% since 2010. The current yield, if averaged for an entire year, would be the highest average yield that International Flavors & Fragrances has offered in at least a decade.

Shares of International Flavors & Fragrances have a forward price-earnings ratio of 21.3. This is a premium to the stock's 10-year average price-earnings ratio of 19.3, but a discount to the five-year average price-earnings ratio of 22.3.

As with American Tower, International Flavors & Fragrances operates in a fairly niche industry, but maintains a leadership position. The stock's yield is superior to its long-term average and its dividend growth streak is solid. In addition, shares are somewhat undervalued compared to its short-term history. Investors who had been looking to buy the stock might find the current price an attractive entry point.

Medtronic PLC

Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) is a giant in the medical device industry as no other company in the world has a larger implantable biomedical device business. I've highlighted the name several times as I believe that the medical device sector will only continue to grow as populations age. Medtronic has a market capitalization of $114.6 billion and generated revenue of almost $28 billion over the last four quarters. Shares of the company are off by more than 5% for the year, but have gained almost 7% over the last month.

Investors wanting to receive the Oct. 16 payment will need to own the stock prior to Thursday, Sept. 24. Medtronic last raised its dividend for the distribution made on July 17. This raise was a 7.4% increase and gave the company its 43rd consecutive years of dividend growth. The company's dividend has compounded by 9.1% over the last decade, so the most recent increase is within shouting distance of the long-term average.

Medtronic should distribute a total of $2.28 this year. Wall Street analysts expect that the company will produce $4.04 of EPS in 2020, good for a projected payout ratio of 56%. This is a reasonable payout ratio, though it is elevated compared to the 10-year average payout ratio of 34% for Medtronic.

The annualized dividend of $2.32 results in a forward yield of 2.2% using the most recent close of $107.60. This matches the stock's decade-long average yield of 2.2%.

Medtronic's stock trades with a forward price-earnings ratio of 26.6. This is a significant premium to the 10-year average price-earnings ratio of 15.6. The five-year average multiple of 18.4 times earnings is still far below what the stock is currently valued at.

Medtronic's dividend growth streak is far and away the longest of the companies discussed in this article. The company's most recent increase is also in the same ballpark as its long-term average. While I continue to like the medical device industry, I don't like Medtronic's valuation as the stock sits just off of its 52-week high. At a lower price point, I would very much be interested in Medtronic.

Sempra Energy

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) is an electricity and gas utility operating in southern California. The company sells electricity mainly in San Diego County while providing gas to most of southern California. This gives Sempra Energy one of the largest utility customer bases in all of the U.S. The company also owns a majority stake in a transmission and distribution company in Texas and a nonutility subsidiary in Mexico. Sempra Energy had revenue in excess of $11 billion over the last year and has a market capitalization of nearly $35 billion. The stock has lost almost 21% during this year.

The company's next dividend payment will be made on Oct. 15 for those holding the stock prior to Thursday, Sept. 24. Sempra Energy typically raises its dividend for the first payment of the year. The most recent raise was 8%, which is close to the 10-year average raise of 9.5%. Sempra Energy has now raised its dividend for 17 years in a row.

Investors will likely receive $4.18 in dividends per share this year. Analysts expect EPS to be $7.59 for 2020, which results in a projected payout ratio of 55%. This is just below the 57% payout ratio that Sempra Energy has averaged since 2010.

Based off of Friday's close of $119.98, Sempra Energy has a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a higher level of income than its 10-year average yield of 3.1%. Sempra Energy's average dividend yield has only been above 3% once since 2014 (2018).

Using the expected EPS and current share price, Sempra Energy has a forward price-earnings ratio of 15.8. This is a discount to the stock's 10-year average price-earnings ratio of 19.2. The discount widens when looking at the five-year average multiple, which is 22.3 times earnings.

Sempra Energy is the lone stock on this list to trade at a price-earnings ratio below its 10-year average. The stock also offers a yield that is much higher than it usually is. Investors looking for a utility company trade below its average valuation while offering a solid yield should consider buying Sempra Energy, in my view.

Final thoughts

American Tower, International Flavors & Fragrances, Medtronic and Sempra Energy all will trade ex-dividend this week, meaning that investors wanting to own any of these names need to purchase the stock very soon to receive the next dividend. All of these companies have solid dividend growth streaks going, especially Medtronic. However, American Tower and Medtronic are expensive against the historical averages. International Flavors & Fragrances offers a decent discount to its short-term average valuation and a higher than usual yield, but my favorite name on this list is Sempra Energy due to its large customer base, high yield and low valuation.

Disclosure: Author disclosure: the author does not have a position in any stock named in this article and has no plans to initiate a position in the next 72 hours.

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PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, titled, "U.S. Patient Monitoring Systems Market by Component (Device, Service, and Connectivity Technology): Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202027". As per the report, the U.S. patient monitoring system industry was pegged at $12.20 billion in 2019, and is anticipated to garner $22.58 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2020 to 2027.

Drivers, restraints, and opportunities

Surge in prevalence of lifestyle diseases, increase in the geriatric populations, and rise in adoption of remote patient monitoring devices have boosted the growth of the U.S. patient monitoring systems market. However, reimbursement issues, government regulations, limited awareness, and high cost hamper the market. On the contrary, technological advancements would open new opportunities for the market players in the future.

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Covid-19 scenario:

The demand for remote continuous monitoring and interaction to support patients for a long period has increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, patient monitoring systems are vital to track heart conditions, temperature, and other parameters.

In addition, there is increased demand for remote patient monitoring systems to effectively collect data to take care of patients who are at home.

The device segment held the largest share

By service, the device segment dominated the market in 2019, accounting for more than four-fifths of the U.S. patient monitoring systems market, due to high demand for patient monitoring devices and surge in geriatric population. However, the connectivity technology segment is projected to portray the highest CAGR of 14.9% during the forecast, owing to increase in demand for connected patient monitoring systems.

The remote patient monitoring devices segment to manifest the highest CAGR through 2027

By device type, the remote patient monitoring devices segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 6.0% during the forecast period, due to ease of use and various technological advancements it offers. However, the cardiac monitoring devices segment held the largest share in 2019, contributing to more than one-fourth of the segment, owing to high prevalence of cardiac disorders and high demand for cardiac monitoring devices.

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Major market players

Biotronik SE & CO. KG

Abbott Laboratories

Medtronic, Inc.

Boston Scientific Corporation

GE Healthcare Ltd

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

Nihon Kohden Corporation

Masimo Corporation

Koninklijke Philips N.V.

OSI Systems, Inc. (Spacelabs Healthcare)

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The Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AFAW) has been notified of another case of witch killing in Malawi. A local newspaper reported this unfortunate incident. According to the report, a village mob lynched a 55-year old man, David Mkandawire. He was accused of bewitching the village head. The man temporarily fled the community but was lynched on his return to the community.

The police have yet to apprehend suspects. In August, AFAW was informed about a related incident, also in Malawi. In this case, a local mob destroyed houses and other belongings of suspected witches. Photos that were sent to AFAW showed a rampaging mob setting on firehouses of alleged witches in a rural village.

In a text message, an advocate in the area says: "There is pandemonium in Mbuta and Misi villages in Dowa district where villagers are setting houses on fire and killing livestock for individuals who allegedly practice witchcraft. The laws of Malawi do not recognize the existence of witchcraft".

Now, if the law of Malawi does not acknowledge the reality of witchcraft, what are the law enforcement agencies doing? In an effort to understand the context, I shared the newspaper cutting with advocates in Malawi and asked for their thoughts. One said: "This is becoming a sorry sight. Almost every day we have one person killed for witchcraft. Community-based interventions could be the key to ending these abuses".

Another advocate replied: "Terrible". Then he stated: "The fact that this story has been filed as a brief shows that the media and society look at these issues as normal". I asked him to clarify his point. And he noted: "I am saying that this is supposed to be a front-page story. It is a big story. But we have accepted such things as normal so we cannot give them a big space". I inquired to know what could be done to change the situation.

And he responded: "Raising awareness is the key. There are no serious programs in Malawi to address this. The only guy that has been fighting against this is George Thindwa. His mistake was that he launched a campaign arguing that there was no God. So when he started the anti-witchcraft campaign, he had already lost the plot".

Now I asked him what would be the best 'plot' to end this harmful practice. He said: "You can mobilize resources and launch programs here. I am sure even local sponsors can join if you do it well". His response did not address my question. So I asked him: "Should one lie about one's belief to get the campaign right?" And he said: "The point is when raising awareness, you need to consider sensitive issues. If you want to tackle witchcraft, you do not focus on the arguments that there is no God, considering that you are dealing with people who are so deep in religion". This advocate was not the first person to make this point- to fault the campaign by atheists to combat witchcraft allegations and witch persecution.

Indeed some have suggested that expressive atheism is a stopper, and is counterproductive in the campaign to eradicate witch persecution in the region. They advise that atheists should conceal or lie about their atheism when campaigning against witch persecution. I disagree. This proposition, which demonizes and de-legitimizes atheism has been part of the religious propaganda for ages. To wage a campaign that can stand the test of time, it is pertinent that such an initiative be fact and evidence-based. It is important that campaigners make clear their position on the existence of God when asked. While I understand the point in that suggestion, I think the proposition is mistaken. From my own experiences, atheism is a stopper for many people in persuading them to abandon the belief in witchcraft. But that does not diminish its campaign value or worth. Many witchcraft believers understand but may seem unpersuaded when anti-witchcraft campaigners state that they are atheists. They react out of cognitive dissonance. Witchcraft believers do not necessarily see atheistic viewpoints as invalid but as having some logical implications that conflict with what their religions teach them.

Look, many witchcraft believers think it is contradictory and religiously dishonest to claim to believe in God and not believe in witchcraft. When one tries to get into a conversation with a witch believer or tries to reason a person out of witchcraft belief, some of these questions usually follow: What is your religion? Which church do you go to? Do you believe in God? The way one answers these questions determines how the message is received. If one answers that he or she believes in God, has a religion, or goes to church and still does not believe in the reality of witches, the person is seen as a weak or dishonest believer and immediately get preached to. If one says that one is an atheist, the person is likely to get a reply such as "Nhhh No Wonder". Witch believers understand that it is expected that a disbeliever in a witch should be a disbeliever in a god. The witch believer may choose to listen cautiously and curiously, hoping to be persuaded. That is if the person is a bit open minded and liberal. Or the witch believer may decide to passively pay attention or may turn to the opposite direction shutting out this demonic talk.

Such reactions should not make campaigners water down the facts and evidence or lie about their belief or disbelief. In campaigning against witch persecution, non-belief in witches or by implication in God is an asset, not a liability. Those who think otherwise are greatly mistaken. Non-belief frees one from the crippling fears and anxieties that too often stop believers from waging an effective campaign against this dark and destructive phenomenon. Witch persecution persists in Malawi and other African countries due to lackluster awareness and intervention programs that do not compel or persuade believers to rethink the reality of witchcraft. This campaign status must change.

As the reports from Malawi show, witch persecution is ravaging many parts of Africa at an alarming rate. Witch imputation has created a situation of anomie and impunity. The situation needs urgent fact and science-based intervention. Africans must rally all resources in addressing this sociocultural disease.

Africans must wage an effective campaign that reorients the minds of the people. They should put in place community-based education programs that dispel the belief in witches and intervention mechanisms that will end these horrific abuses even if the logical next step for Africans is embracing atheism.
India has reopened the Taj Mahal after six months with new Covid-19 restriciton sin place and its capacity reduced from 70,000 to just 5,000 visitors a day

The first visitors trickled into the famous monument on Monday even as India looks set to overtake the US as the global leader in coronavirus infections, with authorities reporting 86,961 new coronavirus infections across the country and no signs of a peak yet.

The white marble tomb in the city of Agra, built by a 17th-century Mughal emperor for his wife, was opened to the public at sunrise, and a Chinese national and a visitor from Delhi were among the first to enter.

Tourists have their pictures taken at the Taj Mahal in Agra on September 21. The Taj Mahal reopened to visitors today in a symbolic business-as-usual gesture,

The white marble tomb in the city of Agra, built by a 17th-century Mughal emperor for his wife, was opened to the public at sunrise

Security personnel stand guard at the Taj Mahal on Monday. Daily visitor numbers have been capped at 5,000

Daily visitor numbers have been capped at 5,000, versus an average of 20,000 before the pandemic. Tickets are only being sold online, with fewer than 300 bought on the first day.

Visitors will have their temperatures taken and must adhere to advice to keep a safe distance from each other.

Special rules have been introduced, including no touching the white marble walls of the mausoleum built for a Mughal emperor's favourite wife.

Visitors can whip off their masks for a photo, but security personnel are quick to remind them to put them back on once the shutter has been pressed.

 Slide me  Daily visitor numbers have been capped at 5,000, versus an average of 20,000 before the pandemic. Left, Taj Mahal pictured today, and right, bustling with visitors in January before it was forced to close

 Slide me  The Taj Mahal pictured today at reduced capacity, left, and teaming with visitors before its closure in January, right

A notice is tied to a railing inside the premises of Taj Mahal after authorities reopened the monument for visitors

People are permitted to take selfies or solo photographs, but group photos are banned.

And the famous bench where people usually sit to have their picture taken has been laminated in plastic, to help cleaning between every photo op.

'We have all the safety measures in place,' said Vasant Swarnkar from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which oversees the UNESCO world heritage site in Agra south of New Delhi.

'We want to send out the message that things are not so bad and you will be safe if you follow the instructions.'

Aditya Diksha, one of the early visitors at the Taj, said he and his friends drove 12 hours from central India and stopped in Agra on their way to the mountains in the north.

A paramilitary soldier wearing a mask stands guard. Visitors can whip off their masks for a photo, but security personnel are quick to remind them to put them back on once the shutter has been pressed

Tourists visit the Taj Mahal in Agra on September 21. People are permitted to take selfies or solo photographs, but group photos are banned

A soldier wearing a facemask as a preventive measure against the Covid-19 coronavirus stands guard at Taj Mahal today

'It is the first time in six months we have been out, so it feels good,' he said.

Workers at the Taj were sanitising the handrails while paramilitary police shouted at tourists not to touch any of the surfaces.

'We are following all COVID-19 protocols,' said Swarnkar.

India's coronavirus tally of 5.49 million infections is second only to the United States with 6.79 million, a figure the South Asian nation could overtake in the next few weeks at its current rate of increase.

The death toll of 87,882 was up 1,130 from the previous day, health ministry figures showed.

But as a proportion of its population, India's toll is still small compared to countries such as the United States, Brazil and Britain.

Faced with the deepest economic contraction in decades, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing to free up virus curbs so that jobs and businesses can resume.

'We can survive for another four to six months: after that we will have to take some serious calls,' said Abid Naqvi, who saw bookings at his boutique hotel in Agra drop to zero overnight after India's abrupt lockdown in March.

Until then, the 13-room Ekaa Villa, which opened last year at a cost of almost $1 million, had been operating at close to capacity.

Tourists take pictures as they visit the Taj Mahal in Agra on September 21. India's coronavirus tally of 5.49 million infections is second only to the United States with 6.79 million

Tourists visit the Taj Mahal in Agra on September 21. Tourism contributed about $240 billion, or 9.2% of India's gross domestic product in 2018

Tourism contributed about $240 billion, or 9.2% of India's gross domestic product in 2018, employing more than 42 million people, World Travel and Tourism Council data show.

However, foreign tourists were unlikely to return until at least April, said Manu PV, secretary of the Association of Tourism Trade Organisations India, a month that traditionally signals the end of the tourist season.

And a confusing system of regional lockdowns and quarantine rules is deterring domestic tourists.

'People don't want to go on holiday,' Manu said. 'They are very worried. There is the fear factor.'
In total, 267 schoolchildren and 127 teachers tested positive for COVID-19 in the city for the time being.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko says five schools have been shut down, while 328 classes in 122 schools have been transferred to distance learning over COVID-19 cases there.

"As of today, five schools have been put in quarantine due to coronavirus cases among teachers, that is one school in Holosiyivsky, Darnytsky, Obolonsky, Pechersky, and Solomyansky districts each. A total of 328 classes with students who contracted the disease in 122 schools were self-isolated and transferred to distance learning," the mayor said at a briefing on September 21, as reported by an UNIAN correspondent.

According to Klitschko, 267 schoolchildren and 127 teachers tested positive for COVID-19 in the city for the time being.

Read alsoHealthcare spending to grow unprecedentedly in 2021  finance ministerMoreover, 15 groups were quarantined in Kyiv-based preschool educational facilities, while one kindergarten was shut down.

"Today, the occupancy rate in the kindergartens is about 50%," he added.

Klitschko assures that the city authorities are monitoring and checking the observance of regulations and implementation of anti-epidemic measures by educational institutions.

Quarantine in Ukraine: background
Jimmy Kimmel has been condemned for a controversial joke about the US immigration enforcement agency ICE at this years Emmys.

Kimmel, who hosted the award shows first virtual ceremony, made the joke after losing the award for Outstanding Talk Series to British comedian John Oliver, who presents the news satire Last Week Tonight.

Kimmel was instead awarded a participation Emmy, along with DVDs of the sitcom Young Sheldon.

Thats way better than a stupid Emmy, Kimmel said. Congratulations again to John Oliver, I will be reporting him to ICE tomorrow.

Kimmels joke earned a sour response from many viewers, with one condemning the talk show host for his white privilege.

The amount of white privilege it took for Jimmy Kimmel to get up on stage at a nationally televised event and make a joke about ICE and have no one tell him that that isnt okay, is absolutely astonishing to me, one person tweeted.

Another added: Jimmy Kimmel making an ICE joke in this political climate??? yeah he did not think this through.

Now why did Jimmy Kimmel make that horrendous ICE joke, wrote another.

Journalist and celebrity interviewer E Alex Jung also expressed unease with the gag. God that jimmy kimmel ICE joke, he tweeted, along with several vomit emojis.

Jimmy Kimmel makes a joke about ICE at last night's Emmys (ABC/Disney)

ICE and the poor conditions of immigration detention centres across the United States have come under repeated scrutiny during the Trump administration.

This years Emmys saw Succession, Schitts Creek and Watchmen dominate the winners categories. A full list of winners can be found here.
Lord mayor Sally Capp has announced that a unity ticket comprising Labor, Liberal and former Team Doyle members will form her leadership team for Melbourne Town Hall's election next month.

Cr Capp, a former Liberal Party member and Property Council chief, will run a joint ticket with former ALP state secretary Nicholas Reece, her pick for deputy lord mayor.

Cr Reece has worked as a lawyer, journalist and adviser to former prime minister Julia Gillard, before being elected as a City of Melbourne councillor in 2016.

Lord mayor Sally Capp has announced her Town Hall campaign team Credit:Arsineh Houspian

Number one on Cr Capp's councillor ticket is the well-connected Kevin Louey, who was former lord mayor John So's chief of staff and was elected as a councillor in 2008 on Labor Unity member Peter McMullin's ticket. In 2012, Cr Louey switched camps and was elected on former Liberal opposition leader and lord mayor Robert Doyle's ticket.
Doctors at the University of Michigan separated one-year-old conjoined twin sisters - born hugging each other - just 14 months after they were born.

Sarabeth and Amelia Irwin of Petersburg, Michigan, each had their own arms and legs and heart, but their livers were connected, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital said Friday.

The nearly 11-hour surgery to separate the identical twins was performed in August, about 14 months after their birth. They're now at home.

The surgery was originally planned for February but the twins developed pneumonia then the coronavirus pandemic hit.

One-year-old conjoined twins Sarabeth and Amelia are pictured with their parents, Alyson and Phil Irwin, following their August surgery separating the two children

The twins are pictured as they checked into Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital on August 5, before their surgery was performed that day

More than two dozen doctors, nurses and specialists were involved in the twins' surgery. A scene from the operating room that day is pictured here

'For everyone in the room, it was a very emotional and extraordinary moment when the last incision was made to separate these girls from one to two,' said Dr. George Mychaliska, who led the surgical team at Mott.

'I'm a father of twins and know twins are very close,' Mychaliska said. 'Sarabeth and Amelia will always share a really unique bond, and I think the future is bright for both of them.'

The parents, Alyson, 33, and Phil Irwin, learned about the conjoined twins during a pregnancy ultrasound in 2019, four months before the birth by cesarean section.

The couple had agreed that they were going to wait until the birth to learn the gender of their baby, leaving Alyson convinced she was having a 'big old boy' until their 20-week ultrasound.

Alyson said that the pregnancy felt different from the one she had had with their now-three-year-old daughter, Kennedy, so she assumed they were having a boy - and even prepared for it by buying baby boy items.

It came as a shock when the ultrasound revealed conjoined twins.

'It kind of felt like the worst news you could receive, you know?' Alyson told the Detroit Free Press. 'Especially because the statistics are not good.'

She added that her prenatal team had 'had never seen anything like that before. So they said their hearts were breaking for us  but there wasn't anything they could do.'

Twins Sarabeth and Amelia (pictured) were born hugging each other. They had their own sets of arms, legs and internal organs, but they did share a liver

Alyson and Phil Irwin (pictured with the twins and their toddler Kennedy) didn't know they were expecting twins - let alone conjoined ones - until their 20-week ultrasound

Pediatric heart surgeon Dr. Richard Ohye (right) speaks with Alyson (center) and Phil (left) Irwin as twins twins Sarabeth and Amelia Irwin await their surgery on August 5

The Irwins were then referred to a high-risk obstetrician, which led to their meeting with Michigan Medicines Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center director Dr. Marcie Treadwell, and the news that the twins had their own sets of arms and legs, but were conjoined at the chest and abdomen.

Prenatal imaging indicated that the girls had all separate organs, but shared a liver.

Mott's Mychaliska said that he told the Irwin's separating the twins would involve a lot of of planning and evaluation.

Although he said he 'didn't want to be too optimistic because this was (going to be) a really long journey for us,' he recalled 'being very hopeful with the family, that it's something that certainly was possible.'

To explain what the twins would look like to big sister Kennedy, doctors gave the toddler two dolls that had been sewn together in the middle, the way the twins were conjoined.

As a result, Kennedy 'understood it before we had them, and then it was never a big deal to her at all,' Alyson said.

Doctors saw that the babies were showing signs of distress at 34 weeks, due to a blood flow abnormality in the umbilical cord they shared, which lead to the need to perform a c-section before the planned 35 and 36 weeks gestation period.

The surgery (pictured) took nearly 11 hours to complete and involved giving the girls artificial sternums, Gore-Tex patches for their pericardiums and creating new belly buttons

On June 11, 2019, when doctors lifted the twins out of Alyson's womb, the two girls - each weighing 4.5 pounds - had their arms wrapped around each other.

The Irwins knew the girls might not survive long enough for surgery, but they did.

'I remember them briefly putting the girls on my chest. It was very sweet and special being able to hold them and see them for the first time,' Alyson told the newspaper.

The surgery to divide the twins had been planned for February, but the girls developed pneumonia and then the coronavirus pandemic followed.

The surgery was canceled and the twins were sent home to isolate following their recovery on March 17, shortly before Michigan's quarantine order came down.

The surgery was rescheduled for August 5, giving the twins time to continue using tissue expanders which would help create enough skin to cover the areas where they would be separated.

The surgery started at 11.19am and, by 1.11pm, the twins were separated and moved to opposite ends of the operating room table so that the surgeons could start to reconstruct their chests and abdomens.

More than two dozen doctors, nurses and specialists were involved in the procedures.

Among the things that had to be created for the girls were artificial sternums - they had shared one - made of titanium bars and Gore-Tex patches to replace holes in their pericardium, which they'd also shared. They also each got a belly buttons crafted for them.

Alyson and Phil weren't allowed into the hospital due to coronavirus restrictions and spent the nearly 11-hour surgery time waiting in their car outside the building.

Sarabeth came home in late August, followed by Amelia on September 5.

Although the girls may require future surgeries as their bodies develop and currently require physical and occupational therapy, doctors are optimistic that they'll grow up like children who hadn't been born the way they had.

'This has been a giant experiment in the power of positive and the power of prayer,' Phil said. 'You know, so positive news, people need that. People live on that.'

The twin girls are the first set of conjoined twins known to have been successfully separated in Michigan.

Only 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 250,000 pregnancies are said to result in conjoined twins.
At a status hearing in a murder case last Tuesday in Roanoke Circuit Court, the defendants upcoming jury trial was bumped from early next month into early next year, to the first week of February.

But when the prosecutor said the delay was necessary because due to the present situation, we are not there yet, the judge spoke up to confirm a point: that all parties were, in fact, fully prepared to proceed, but remain unable to because of the states current COVID-19-related prohibition on jury trials.

When the lawyers on both sides told him that was indeed accurate, the judge echoed their readiness, on behalf of the court itself, and clarified that for the record.

Roanoke City is ready, willing and able to begin. The Supreme Court will not allow us to do it, Judge Chris Clemens said, and offered an aside: We need to get it done.

The time frame for when that will happen, however, remains vague. Virginia just passed the six-month anniversary of its ongoing judicial emergency, which was prompted by the pandemic and which, for now, has punched the pause button on jury trials across all localities in the commonwealth, save five.

Inside that timeout, the state Supreme Court continues to grapple with the contradictory challenge of seeing justice move forward swiftly, while also addressing the potential health hazards that could arise from people gathering and interacting within the close confines of a courtroom.

The emergency status, extended nine times since March, is currently in place until Oct. 11. Speedy trial rights normally guarantee a five-month court deadline once a defendant is indicted on charges but, for now, those are on hold as well.

Extraordinary circumstances

Within the 23rd Judicial Circuit, which covers Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem, cases continue to accrue. It and the other circuits are seeing potential logjams on dockets for months to come.

Roanoke currently has 24 criminal cases awaiting a jury, most of which involve homicides or other violent offenses. Roanoke County has 27 potential jury trials on its dockets through December, according to the circuit clerks office, and Salem prosecutor Tom Bowers said his office now has 14 on deck.

Public defenders represent one-third of those accused in the two dozen criminal cases that are earmarked for a Roanoke jury.

Were always concerned about speedy trials, but on the other hand, these are some pretty extraordinary circumstances, attorney John Varney, who heads the city public defenders office, said Friday. Citing the active nature of those cases, he declined to discuss potential effects of delays, but offered: I dont know that anybodys been rushing or wanting to rush their trial at this point.

Roanoke Commonwealths Attorney Donald Caldwell said his office has waived its right to juries in the citys pending cases, as a means of facilitating the process during the pandemic, but those defendants have not followed suit  as is their constitutional right.

To request a jury trial is usually a strategic decision by either the defense or the prosecution, Caldwell wrote in an email last week. My suspicion is that the defense attorneys are waiting to see what the General Assembly does to the whole jury trial process as part of the criminal justice reform movement, which is probably wise on their part.

Complete tallies for the civil trials that remain hung up were not immediately available on Friday.

The task at hand

Over the summer, as a means of finding a way forward, the Virginia Supreme Court gave the chief judges in every circuit an Aug. 17 deadline to submit plans for how their facilities could safely hold jury trials.

At the end of that month, it was announced that just four courthouses, representatively diverse in both size and location  Alleghany, Henrico and Stafford counties and Norfolk  would be allowed to resume juries starting Sept. 14, presumably as a means to test the waters for the rest.

On Thursday, the high court tapped Fairfax County Circuit Court to begin hearing jury cases again, based on a revised proposal that was submitted Tuesday.

Its unclear when the Supreme Court plans to announce updates for other localities, but the addition of a fifth court suggests others could soon follow.

Judge David Carson, chief of the 23rd Circuit, said Thursday he submitted his initial proposal early, in July. Later that month, the Supreme Court issued a preliminary list of common shortcomings it was spotting in some of the incoming plans, mostly related to failure to address matters such as air handling and social distancing between jurors during bathroom breaks. Carson said that before the deadline elapsed, he submitted a revised plan, but the next notice he received simply announced word of the four courts that would reopen.

To date, we have heard nothing from the Court, but we remain ready, willing and able to resume trials ... in a manner that recognizes and protects the health and safety of our citizens while simultaneously affording all litigants their proverbial day in court, Carson said in an email earlier this month.

I think the best advice is screening, distancing and masking, he added Thursday.

Other points of the 23rd Circuits plan include portable plexiglass barriers, sterilization of the witness stand between testimony, mandatory breaks for jurors every 90 to 120 minutes, and limiting lavatory occupancy but also offering access to a larger than normal number of restrooms.

Another primary objective, Carson said, is to take enough precautions that jurors will not be distracted by fear.

Jurors who would otherwise be concerned can focus on the task at hand, he said.

Staying prepared

Despite the embargo, some Roanokers may be surprised to discover theyre still receiving questionnaires for jury duty.

Thats because the city sheriffs office, like most everyone else, has no idea when juries will start back up, so it must keep a pool of potential jurors at the ready. A sizable group of candidates cannot be assembled from scratch, but while those who receive mailers have to respond, they wont actually be required to make in-person appearances until jury trials resume.

I have not stopped doing everything I normally do, said Dean Thompson, who coordinates juries for the city sheriffs office, and other localities report similar efforts.

We send out 400 questionnaires every month. I have been acting like were going to have jury trials every single month, Thompson explained.

As a result, he said, he gets dozens and dozens of calls a day with questions, largely from recipients who are older.

The screening forms now being distributed also include a page with questions about COVID-19 and other medical issues, which are given added consideration.

Of all questionnaires that go out, Thompson said only about 150 respondents get follow-up subpoenas. Prior to the pandemic, pools of potential jurors measured around 50 people, but the office has shrunk that to closer to 35, a group that would ordinarily be whittled down during the jury selection process to 12 individuals, plus occasional alternates.

Keeping the jury duty process active during the down time also helps maintain preparedness for when the stoppage finally ends.

If they come in and say were starting next week, were ready, as far as the sheriffs office is concerned, Thompson said.

Points of progress

Late last week, in addition to Fairfaxs resumption of juries, two other points of progress were made as Virginia courts try to move forward. On Wednesday in Abingdon, a three-day jury trial went forward in U.S. District Court. As federal entities, Virginias district courts are not subject to the orders of the state Supreme Court, and they called to resume juries beginning Aug. 31.

District court clerk Julie Dudley said pools of potential jurors arrived in separate groups, one on Wednesday morning, another in the afternoon. A panel was assembled by 4:30 p.m. and opening statements began the following day.

In a pretrial order, U.S. District Judge James Jones dictated that arguments by attorneys and questions to witnesses would all be made from behind a lectern, while the masked jurors would be seated in the gallery, rather than the jury box, to allow for distancing. Paper exhibits were displayed electronically in court and in the jury room.

Spectators watched from a separate courtroom, via video conferencing. The case, which involved drug allegations, was resolved with multiple guilty verdicts by Friday, according to online court records.

Another federal criminal jury trial was set to start Sept. 30 in Roanoke but has been taken off the docket. It was not immediately clear why that occurred.

Also last week, Alleghany County Circuit Court took advantage of its newly restored abilities to move forward with a trial involving multiple felonies.

That got underway Friday morning in Covington. Jury selection was completed and opening arguments began, but an issue involving a member of the jury prompted a mistrial that officials said was not related to COVID-19 concerns.

This is the kind of thing that couldve happened anytime, assistant prosecutor Shaun Mabry said afterward.

Mabry said the courts enhanced precautions went smoothly. Potential jurors, in three groups, were summoned to arrive 10 minutes apart. He said jurors were selected in just over a half-hour and were then seated in the gallery to allow them to space out.

Alleghany has more jury trials in the coming weeks, on Sept. 30 and Oct. 5.

In addressing that push to go forward, Mabry could easily have been speaking for any number of other Virginia localities.

We have a substantial number of cases that are pending resolution because of the backlog, he said.

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(TNS) - With 2020 dominated by a deadly, unpredictable virus that no one had even heard of a year ago, most of us would rather look forward now than back. Forward to the day when all children can go back to school, all workers can commute without fear, all businesses can open without masks, gloves and temperature checks. In short, the day we go back to normal.But for at least the next half-year, experts agree, pandemic precautions will still be very much with us. To get expert perspectives on what lies ahead, Inquirer reporters spoke with:A Philadelphia surgeon who quickly saw that some of the citys most vulnerable residents could not get the coronavirus testing they needed, and did something about it.A scientist whose team hopes to soon find better therapeutics to help the most desperately ill COVID-19 patients.An intensive care physician who, having gotten the most desperately ill patients through the disease, now worries about the second wave.A nursing leader who led the fight for adequate protective gear for front-line workers.An environmental scientist who helped explain how the virus moves in the air  and who says what we all should be doing to protect ourselves.Like so many people, Ala Stanford is still amazed at how quickly life changed this year because of the coronavirus.In March, my twins just had a birthday. On March 10, they turned 10, we were going out to dinner, to celebrate, I was letting them buy what they wanted at GameStop. By March 13, everyone was out of school, she recalled."At first, they were saying this is only [spread] through person-to-person contact. You had to be in direct contact with someone from China, Germany, Italy, France. [Otherwise] you were fine, and it didnt affect you.A lot of folks, particularly African American folks, went on with their lives. This was something rich people got, who traveled overseas and took cruises. Then all of that changed.For Stanford, everything changed on April 3, when she read that there were more African Americans being diagnosed and dying in the city of Philadelphia than any other race."Thats when it, for me, when it struck me. Thats when it became personal. My friends were calling, and these are friends who are professionals, educators, doctors, even, that couldnt get a test. They had insurance, but they kept being turned away [at hospitals]. I reached out to my friends at hospitals, to say, Hey, what are you doing? Whats the deal? Stanfords response was to start the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, which provides free coronavirus clinics in some of the Black neighborhoods hit hardest by the virus.I had been operating as a pediatric surgeon, but all surgeries were canceled because they were only doing emergencies. There was nowhere I needed to be. Except testing. Except being out in the community.There was no need for her to explain how deadly this virus could be."Most people knew that, because it was their family members that were dying. They could literally be coming from a funeral, and then coming to get in line to get tested. We would go to the churches to test people, and we would start with a prayer or a moment of silence. Youd listen to the pastor say, Ive had a funeral every day. "As for the next six months, Stanford sees her mission growing only more complex."I think in six months, that I will still be right here, still testing for coronavirus. Well be at the end of flu season. Starting Oct. 13, were giving out flu vaccines  plus coronavirus testing, antibody testing, and voter registration.Well really have a good sense of people having the flu, coupled with coronavirus on top of it, and how it affected our morbidity and mortality. Were participating with delivering the flu vaccine in both Philadelphia and Montgomery County  were hitting all the high-risk populations. They notoriously have a hard time reaching the Black and Latinx population.As we wait for a COVID-19 vaccine, what would help, she said, is removing the barriers that keep people from getting tested.Anytime, 24 hours a day, day or night, any person should be able to walk into any hospital and get a COVID test. Regardless of your insurance, regardless of whether you have an appointment or not. And it needs to be widely known. Thats what needs to happen, and its not happening.The mission, she said, goes well beyond the pandemic.Im not just here for coronavirus. Im at this point committed that were going to work on the health outcomes to change the disparities that exist in the Black community in Philadelphia."We have to change the narrative that Black people are sicker, they die younger, theyre noncompliant [with medication], and they use the ER for primary care. All of that can and should be changed, and some of it is just not true.The idea that the reason why African Americans are more likely to die from coronavirus is because they dont take care of themselves or they have preexisting health conditions  it may be a factor, but its not the primary reason. Its the bias that exists in the health-care system, coupled with the lack of access, coupled with the lack of empathy. Someones poorly controlled hypertension isnt what prevented them from getting a COVID test. Aubrey WhelanResearch labs around the world have spent the last six months trying to identify existing drugs that could be repurposed to fight COVID-19.So far, only remdesivir  the antiviral that Gilead Sciences shelved after it failed to work against Ebola  has been a success story.University of Pennsylvania microbiologist Sara Cherry has hard-earned insights into why COVID-19 drug discovery has been so difficult, and why breakthroughs could be on the horizon.One challenge: safety. In labs like hers that are certified to work with very scary germs, scientists have to don double layers of gowns and gloves, plus a respirator resembling a big hat that lets you breathe through a vacuum cleaner on your back.Because doing experiments under those conditions can be difficult, researchers everywhere started out testing drug molecules on a particularly user-friendly line of monkey cells called VERO, Cherry explained. It was easy to infect VERO cells with the coronavirus, add a potential drug therapy, and measure the results.Thats how an old, inexpensive malaria drug called hydrochloroquine, or HQC, was discovered to block infection  or so it seemed.It would have been fantastic if it were true, Cherry said. But we are not VERO cells. We are humans. We were misled early on because we were using cell models that are different from what happens in the human body.A related obstacle: finding the right animal model to unravel the mysteries of the new virus.Early on, researchers figured out that the virus uses a cell surface protein called ACE2 to break into human cells and begin replicating. But it took longer to discover that the virus cannot use the ACE2 made by mice to infect the rodents' cells.The virus can infect hamsters, Cherry said, but hamster models dont have as much complementary analytical technology as mouse models. That has hampered efforts to understand how the coronavirus can cause life-threatening clotting problems and immune overreactions.More recently, genetically engineered mouse models with human versions of ACE2 have been created.These will really help us to understand how these more complex [complications] evolve in human infection, she said. I think we will find effective therapeutics in the next six months. Marie McCulloughAlarmed by the early reports of jammed hospitals in China and Italy last winter, U.S. hospital administrators took stock of their ventilators and counted how many specialists were available to operate them. Engineers even started to build makeshift devices as a backup, in one case using a lawn-sprinkler valve.Meghan Lane-Fall worried it would not be enough.A critical-care physician in the Penn Medicine system, she warned that in hard-hit areas, a shortage of the high-tech breathing machines might present physicians with an unthinkable choice: deciding who would live and who would die.That did not happen. In Philadelphia and beyond, hospitals generally have had enough ventilators for those who needed them, despite close to 400,000 hospitalizations nationwide. Lane-Fall credits the creative use of other breathing devices, social-distancing measures that prevented thousands of cases, and a better understanding of how to treat the disease.We ended up being OK, she said.That doesnt mean the projections were alarmist or wrong, said Lane-Fall, who works in the ICUs at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Hospitals had to be ready for the worst, doubly so with a virus that no one knew much about.And with flu season on the horizon, Lane-Fall worries that hospitals could face a renewed crunch in the fall and winter. Though there might be enough ventilators, some hospitals may have trouble finding room to keep contagious patients isolated. Back in the spring, hospitals in the Penn system set up tents to streamline patient intake, but that could be a tough sell during colder months. And space is needed for non-COVID-19 treatment as well, now that more patients are coming in for care that may have been delayed earlier in the pandemic, she said.As for treating severely ill COVID-19 patients, intensive-care nurses and doctors have made great strides since March, learning that many patients in respiratory distress can recover without a ventilator. Some get high-flow oxygen through a nasal cannula, a plastic tube that rests in the nostrils. At Penn, a few were fitted with astronaut-style breathing helmets, ordered by one of Lane-Falls colleagues who had contacts in Italy.But generally the sickest patients still need to go on vents  requiring that breathing tubes be threaded down their throats  and it remains unclear why some fare so poorly compared with patients with other respiratory diseases, Lane-Fall said.For some reason, the metabolism of these patients goes into overdrive  with grim consequences.Their bodies burn through more of the sedatives that are administered to keep ventilated patients calm, so they need higher doses. As a result, they stay motionless for longer periods, and their muscles atrophy.They lose a lot of weight, Lane-Fall said. Its almost like theyre using their own bodies for nutrition.Effective drugs remain elusive. Among the few proven to help are steroids, which tamp down harmful inflammation. But careful timing is key, as the drugs suppress the immune system.Im not looking for a silver bullet, Lane-Fall said. Im not expecting to see one. Tom AvrilThe regions nurses are not optimistic about the next half-year, says Maureen May, president of the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners.We all think of the next wave coming, said May, who represents 8,500 unionized nurses and health-care workers in the state.The first six months of the pandemic were traumatizing for people in her profession, said May, a nurse at Temple University Hospital. She has concerns that the psychological scars on fellow nurses may linger for years.Addressing the emotional and mental strain the pandemic has caused in health-care workers will be a priority in the months ahead. The union has created webinars for members about the challenges theyre facing, May said, but she also thinks that her members will know what to expect should the virus surge again.We didnt the last time, she said.What may be equally difficult, though, is addressing the tensions between hospital management and staff. As the virus first spread through the region, health-care workers said their concerns about not having enough protective equipment seemed to fall on deaf ears. Initially, some hospital managers even discouraged nurses from wearing their own protective gear, requiring them to wear hospital-issued equipment workers felt was inadequate.The disconnect between management and nurses led to retirements, May said.We as nurses and we as health-care professionals, we believe that were expendable in the eyes of corporate America, she said.Temple University Hospital, which serves some of Philadelphias poorest communities of color that have been especially hard hit by serious cases of COVID-19, was inundated with patients in the spring. Hospital staff was left dangerously understocked with masks, gowns, and gloves, she said. Tensions between workers and the hospital were exacerbated when Temple provided nurses with Chinese-made masks that didnt hold up under the rigors of patient care.Temple has replaced the faulty masks and secured reliable sources of medical supplies since then. How they manage their supply chain changed and with that we were able to experience better protection, May said.May is also hopeful the coming months will see progress on legislation to help health-care workers who contract the coronavirus. A bill from Republican State Reps. Frank Farry of Langhorne and Martina White of Philadelphia, under consideration in the legislature, would aid front-line health-care workers in disability claims resulting from COVID-19 infection by putting the burden on employers to demonstrate the worker didnt catch the illness through their jobs. Jason LaughlinCharles Haas, a professor of environmental engineering at Drexel University, was among 239 scientists who persuaded the World Health Organization to concede that the coronavirus may be transmitted in microscopically small droplets that are released into the air just by talking or breathing.Their July letter and the WHOs response heightened awareness of the challenges of curbing the pandemic. Now, many places are upgrading heating and cooling systems, installing powerful air filters, and experimenting with germicidal ultraviolet lights.But last week, Haas talked about the simple, low-tech measure that has been proven effective  one that will be needed even after vaccines and therapies now in development become available.Masks do work, said Haas. We should have a masking mandate. Its a darn shame its become so politicized.Six months ago, amid a dire shortage of medical-grade face masks, federal and state public health officials told Americans they didnt need to cover their noses and mouths when leaving their homes. That wisdom, the experts insisted, was based on scientific studies; masks were important only for front-line health-care workers.The advice soon changed to: Wear a mask so you dont infect those around you.Last week, Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told lawmakers he wears a mask to protect himself from others.I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against COVID than when I take a COVID vaccine, Redfield said.Haas believes these mixed messages have fueled resistance to mask-wearing.There was a lot of poor messaging by health departments that you wear a mask to protect others, Haas said. I think it was a mistake to not stress, at the outset, that you wear a mask primarily for your own good.Questions surrounding vaccines  how soon, how effective, how safe  have also become politicized, which could deter people from rolling up their sleeves, Haas said.A lot of work has to go into messaging so that people will comply, he said That means the message has to come from trusted messengers. And different communities will have different messengers that they trust.Because vaccine effectiveness and availability are expected to be limited at the outset, even those who get immunized must be urged to keep masking and physical distancing, especially indoors.We have to look at this as layers of protection," he said. "Heres an imperfect analogy: We didnt stop wearing seat belts when we got air bags. Marie McCullough2020 The Philadelphia InquirerVisit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.inquirer.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
British Fashion Council Chairman Stephanie Phair has told CNBC that the threat of job losses across the U.K. fashion industry in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is "incredibly concerning." The coronavirus crisis has hit fashion demand hard, with several retailers announcing large-scale job losses or going out of businesses altogether. Researchers at Oxford Economics have forecast that as many as 350,000 positions could be affected industry-wide. The forecasting company also said it anticipates the industry's contribution to U.K. GDP could fall to 26.2 billion ($33.9 billion) in 2020, down from 35 billion in 2019, while revenues could drop to 88 billion this year, from 118 billion in 2019. Speaking during London Fashion Week September 2020, Phair said the fashion industry was responsible for around 900,000 jobs.



"So, whether it's business rate relief, rent relief, funding and loans to help with cash flow issues, these are the sorts of things we're talking to the government (about) because it is a significant portion of the U.K.'s employed population," she said. However, despite Covid-19's "significant" impact on the industry, Phair believes there is now an opportunity to reset, and for "designer businesses to think about how do they rebuild on better foundations."

London Fashion Week

Although described as a digital-first event this year, London Fashion Week will see the first physical presentations since the coronavirus outbreak, held under strict Covid-19 government guidelines. When asked whether an expected drop in the number of international buyers could impact sales, Phair told CNBC that the British Fashion Council hoped technology would help "solve some of these gaps." "Typically, designers sell between 150 to 200 million in receipts at Fashion Week itself  so it will have an impact, but we're working with technology. We've partnered with a company  which allows orders to be placed online and we can do that through our Fashion Week hub," she said.

A model walks the runway during the Mark Fast show during LFW September 2020 at Hackney Depot on September 18, 2020 in London, England. Jeff Spicer | BFC | Getty Images

Phair, who is also chief customer officer at Farfetch, the luxury e-commerce platform, said Covid-19 had "accelerated a lot of the conversations" that had been happening in the industry before, including the debate on the need for bricks and mortar stores and the decline in footfall on the high street. "Both the designer sector and the high street will have to adapt to this new reality and be even more creative, which is something that I trust the British fashion industry to do. Creativity, innovation, resilience has always been one of the hallmarks of this industry, and now's the time to really show that," she said.

Sustainability, diversity issues

Phair said she believes there is a role for the high street and that "we need a fashion industry at all price points," but that sustainability is the key to reconnect with customers. "There's a whole sustainability angle to this, and if the high street can understand that you can create product at a good price point but with sustainability in mind, that will be the solution to get the consumer back and really get them on side again," she said. Phair, who became chairman of the British Fashion Council in 2018, says that although a lot has already been done, the fashion industry must "face up to the fact" that it is a "large contributor to carbon emissions," including on production, waste and transportation, which all still need to be addressed. The British Fashion Council says it will also continue to address issues regarding diversity and inclusion across the industry, including the recent appointment of four new non-executive board members. Although she believes the Council has made progress, Phair said there is "still a lot to do". She said it was "very sad" that it had taken a number of recent tragedies, including the death of George Floyd in the U.S., to make many businesses pay attention to the issues, but that they are now looking to the future and building upon that.

Brexit concerns
The two suspects arrested in connection with the Worcester killing of 25-year-old Quentin Jacobs-Hylton last month were both held without bail after they were arraigned in court.

Robert Dupuis Jr. and Malek Matos both left Massachusetts after the Aug. 16 shooting that left Jacobs-Hylton dead. Dupuis was picked up in Pinellas County, Florida while Matos was found in Goshen, New York, records show.

The two men were brought back to Worcester over the weekend. Matos, 34, and Dupuis, 30, were both booked at the Worcester police station and were arraigned Monday in Worcester District Court.

Authorities said both men were with Jacobs-Hylton the day the 25-year-old Worcester man was shot. The suspects, according to a prosecutor, held a gun to Jacobs-Hyltons head and assaulted him before the fatal shot was fired.

Neither man appeared on camera during their video arraignments after defense lawyers filed motions to keep their clients off camera.

Matos was arraigned on numerous firearms charges along with charges of assault and battery with a firearm, two counts of armed assault to rob and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury. Not guilty pleas were entered in the case.

Dupuis was also arraigned on numerous firearms charges along with charges of assault and battery with a firearm, two counts of armed assault to rob and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury. Not guilty pleas were also entered in his case.

Both men were held without bail until a dangerousness hearing is held. Matos has a hearing on Sept. 28 while Dupuis has his hearing on Oct. 2.

On Aug. 16, police received a call around 11:30 p.m. from a man who said he was shot in the hand. The man hung up and dispatchers could not reach him back, officials said.

Police officers drove to Cambridge Street, the area where the call originated and located Dupuis. He had a gunshot wound to the hand, court records show. Dupuis was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Dupuis claimed he met up with Red, which is a nickname for Jacobs-Hylton, and planned to smoke marijuana at his house, court records indicate.

According to Dupuis, another vehicle pulled up behind them and two men got out. The men tried to steal Dupuis' fanny pack and Dupuis ended up getting shot in the hand, he told police.

Police then received a call about a victim being brought to Saint Vincent Hospital with a gunshot wound. The victim, identified as Jacobs-Hylton, was pronounced dead at the hospital. He had been shot in the head, prosecutor Shayna Woodard said in court.

Authorities said Dupuis and Matos are the two people involved in the fatal shooting of Jacobs-Hylton.

Woodard said in court that Dupuis held a gun to Jacobs-Hyltons head while Matos assaulted the victim during a struggle.

The victim was shot in the head. He ultimately died of that gunshot wound to the head, Woodard said.

A witness told police that Jacobs-Hylton was called the night of the shooting by another man who wanted to buy cocaine from him. Jacobs-Hylton met up with two men on Stoneland Road, investigators wrote in court records.

The address for Matos and Dupuis is listed in the court logs as 1 Stoneland Road. Both Matos and Dupuis have past criminal cases including assault. Dupuis had bail revoked in a pending court case.

Jacobs-Hylton leaves a son, his fiancee, his parents, his biological parents, along with several brothers and sisters.

Quentin loved to spend time with his son, family and friends, his obituary said. He and Stephanie (his fiancee) loved to vacation, spend time by the water and enjoyed going out to eat and trying new restaurants.

Jacobs-Hylton had a passion for motorsports and enjoyed teaching his son how to ride and maintain his ATV, according to his obituary.
PSNI officers have been patrolling the student area of Belfast known as the Holyland (Liam McBurney/PA)

Police have issued 55 Covid notices, including 31 at one house alone, and eight prohibition notices after another night of disruption in the Holyland area of south Belfast.

Two arrests were made for drug possession and assault, while a passing police patrol gave first aid to a 20-year-old man who was drunk and unconscious. He was later brought to hospital by paramedics in an ambulance.

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Speaking on Monday, Chief Inspector Gavin Kirkpatrick said: "Some people are still failing to follow the very simple, clear and specific advice, guidance and warnings issued by police, the health minister, universities and others.



"Our robust policing operation will continue over the coming days with our partner agencies, including representatives from Belfast City Council and both universities.

"Over the weekend, one of the people arrested was 16 years of age, so I would also appeal directly to young people, unless you live in this area, do not come here in search of a party.



I also appeal to parents and guardians to speak with their young people, to ensure they know where they are, who they are with and what they are doing.



If you have moved to the Holyland area or are visiting the area, you must adhere to the Health Protection Regulations to protect yourselves and others from Covid19. You must also be good neighbours as the residents of this area should not be subjected or in fear of anti-social or criminal activity.

New legislation was introduced last week allowing police to crack down on huge crowds of young people gathering in the area ahead of the resumption of the new term.

Police issued 47 Covid-19 notices and nine prohibition notices over Friday and Saturday night. A 16-year-old male was also arrested for possession of Class B drugs with intent to supply during the same period.

The PSNI said it was diverting "substantial resources" to policing the area.

Justice Minister Naomi Long called on landlords to take action against tenants causing a nuisance.

Mrs Long said behaviour by some students had to be addressed.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, Mrs Long said landlords were failing to check the behaviour of tenants.

"I think that in any other circumstance if you had a tenant who was causing disruption and disturbance to neighbours, that would be an issue that you would end up having to deal with as a landlord," she said.

"Unfortunately what happens in the Holyland is that many of the landlords are detached from the residences that they own, detached from their tenants and as a result of that, the behaviour is never checked by the people who actually lease the properties."

The justice minister said landlords should use their rights to evict tenants if they are causing a nuisance to neighbours and causing a disruption in the area, blaming an increase in multi-occupancy housing for recent antisocial behaviour.

But she denied that she was seeking to undermine tenants rights.

"There is a balance in any tenancy agreement that you take," she said.

When asked should landlords evict tenants, she added: "I think that they should certainly consider taking action against their tenants where their tenants are becoming a statutory nuisance.

"I think the problem is that some students are going to wake up, not with a hangover but with a criminal record," she said.

"Police are using the legislation available to them," she added. "Not all of this is simply about social distancing, some of this involves quite serious criminal damage and assault.

"We need to draw a distinction between revelry and criminal behaviour."

Mrs Long's comments follow widespread condemnation last week of gatherings in the area amid tighter coronavirus restrictions in Belfast.

New regulations discourage the mixing of households and gatherings of more than six people in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Fixed-penalty notices of 60 have been issued, which are reduced to 30 if paid within 14 days, for breaking coronavirus regulations.

The penalty can be doubled each time a subsequent offence is detected, and if court proceedings are taken the fine available on summary conviction is up to 5,000.

Meanwhile, Ulster University and Queen's University Belfast's (QUB) students were warned they will face an automatic suspension if they break Covid-19 guidelines.

In a statement to students, QUB president Professor Ian Greer said the "minority" of students who break regulations risk "substantial penalties" for not playing their part in the fight against coronavirus.

"Students in professional subjects such as medicine and nursing should realise such breaches may trigger fitness to practice procedures for their future profession," he added.
A pain-free laser used for just five minutes could boost a woman's libido, scientists have discovered.

In a study, reported in the Journal of Lasers in Medical Sciences, scientists examined the effect of the fractional CO2 laser on a woman's sex drive.

Researchers found that the device, which creates small wounds inside the vagina, not only helped improved sexual function in menopausal women but also helped increase the number of orgasms they experienced.

A study, reported in the Journal of Lasers in Medical Sciences, found a laser could he;p boost a woman's sex drive. (Stock image)

The results of the study come just months after scientists found more than a third of women in the UK were not interested in having sex.

During the new study, scientists compared the effect of the machine to regular hormonal creams in 50 women who were going through the menopause

Scientists found the fractional CO2 laser boosted collagen production and increased blood flow by making microscopic wounds in the vaginal tissue.

They also found that when the laser was used libido rose by 45 per cent and arousal by 56 per cent while vaginal creams were only able to raise libido by 30 per cent.

London GP Dr Suren Naidoo, told The Sun: 'Menopausal women troubled by dry- ness are not always willing to take HRT. Finally we have a real solution.'

The laser machine helped improved sexual function in menopausal women by making microscopic wounds in the vaginal tissue

In January, researchers from the University of Glasgow conducted a survey of 12,132 women in Britain, asking them about their libido and attitudes towards sex.

Some 34 per cent of women admitted to not wanting sex, while the same was true for just 15 per cent of men.

Women also revealed they struggled to get aroused, had trouble having orgasms and found it difficult to enjoy sex.

During the study, participants were asked about their experience of STIs, unwanted pregnancy, being coerced into sex, their physical enjoyment of sex and their attitudes towards it.

Overall, 47.5 per cent of women were deemed to have 'poor sexual health', which included emotional experiences as well as physical problems or illness

In comparison, the rate was just 17 per cent among men. The research was published in the medical journal BMC Public Health.
US prohibits dealings with Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok

The United States today announced a prohibition on al dealings with Chinese mobile applications WeChat and TikTok by US citizens and entities, in what the government said, in the interest of protecting national security.

US Department of Commerce announced prohibitions on transactions relating to mobile applications (apps) WeChat and TikTok in response to President Trumps Executive Orders signed on 6 August.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has demonstrated the means and motives to use these apps to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the US. Todays announced prohibitions, when combined, protect users in the US by eliminating access to these applications and significantly reducing their functionality, the Commerce Department stated.

Todays actions prove once again that President Trump will do everything in his power to guarantee our national security and protect Americans from the threats of the Chinese Communist Party, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. At the Presidents direction, we have taken significant action to combat Chinas malicious collection of American citizens personal data, while promoting our national values, democratic rules-based norms, and aggressive enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations.

While the threats posed by WeChat and TikTok are not identical, they are similar. Each collects vast swaths of data from users, including network activity, location data, and browsing and search histories. Each is an active participant in Chinas civil-military fusion and is subject to mandatory cooperation with the intelligence services of the CCP. This combination results in the use of WeChat and TikTok creating unacceptable risks to our national security, it pointed out.

As of 20 September 2020, the following transactions are prohibited:

Any provision of service to distribute or maintain the WeChat or TikTok mobile applications, constituent code, or application updates through an online mobile application store in the US;

Any provision of services through the WeChat mobile application for the purpose of transferring funds or processing payments within the US.

As of 20 September 2020, for WeChat and as of 12 November 2020, for TikTok, the following transactions are prohibited:

Any provision of internet hosting services enabling the functioning or optimization of the mobile application in the US;

Any provision of content delivery network services enabling the functioning or optimization of the mobile application in the US;

Any provision directly contracted or arranged internet transit or peering services enabling the function or optimisation of the mobile application within the US;

Any utilisation of the mobile applications constituent code, functions, or services in the functioning of software or services developed and/or accessible within the US;

Any other prohibitive transaction relating to WeChat or TikTok may be identified at a future date. Should the US government determine that WeChats or TikToks illicit behavior is being replicated by another app somehow outside the scope of these executive orders, the President has the authority to consider whether additional orders may be appropriate to address such activities. The President has provided until 12 November for the national security concerns posed by TikTok to be resolved. If they are, the prohibitions in this order may be lifted.

Commerce Department said it would post notices for these actions on the Federal Register at approximately 8:45 AM EDT on Friday.
Actor turned Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Jahan Ruhi lodged a complaint with the Kolkata Police after her photo was used in a dating app allegedly without her consent.

The lawmaker wrote in her complaint that an advertisement was being circulated on a social networking site in the form of a sponsored post by a company named FancyU  Video Chat App using her pictures in an unauthorized manner without her consent.

Upon preliminary searching, I have been given to understand that this is a dating app, available on Google Play Store. The advertisement is malicious and erring in nature. It is completely unacceptable on my behalf, Jahan wrote in her complaint.

Sleuths of the Kolkata Polices cyber-crime cell swung into action soon after receiving the complaint on Monday from the lawmaker.

We have received a complaint. Necessary actions are being taken, said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.

Earlier in the day the MP tweeted, tagging the police commissioner: This is totally unacceptable - using pictures without consent. Would request the Cyber Cell of @KolkataPolice to kindly look into the same. I am ready to take this up legally. @CPKolkata.
The problem of squatters, people who break into someone else's property and refuse to leave, appears to be getting worse. According to the Ministry of the Interior, last year 350 cases of this type were reported to the police, and in the first six months of this year there were 170 cases in Malaga province and 1,183 in Andalucia as a whole. However, these figures only show part of the picture, because they are the cases reported to the Guardia Civil or National Police and do not include those which are resolved through direct negotiation or intermediaries, private court cases or those handled by the regional police.

In many cases, squatting has become a business, and a growing one at that: those who use this method of obtaining a roof over their head are sometimes advised by mafia groups who find and even break into the property for them.

Jose Maria Paez, a judge in Malaga, says these mafia groups often cheat people who are in real need of somewhere to live, by telling them a property belongs to a bank or has been abandoned when in fact it is owned by a private individual.

He also says there are manuals on the internet with advice not only on how to choose and break into a property, but what to say to the police or the court "and even what type of lawyer to choose to act on your behalf". These documents also explain what tactics to use if the situation ends up in court. At the very least, the squatters can use them to delay and prolong the legal proceedings.

"There are real 'underground' estate agencies," says Luis Quinones, a lawyer and founder of the Recupro (Recuperacion Profesional de Propiedades) company, which helps people to get their homes back from squatters. The mafias look out for empty properties, find people to move in to them, electricians and plumbers to carry out illegal connections and locksmiths to change the locks so the owners can't get in. They 'sell' the squatters the keys, usually for around 1,000 to 1,500 euros.

Under the existing law in Spain, if squatters move into your property it is often difficult to get them out, which is why many people, especially those abroad who have a second home here, are investing in reinforced doors, alarms and other security measures to try to protect their property during their absence.

In theory, if squatters move in to somebody's home the eviction process should be rapid, but lawyer Javier Morales, who often acts for people in this situation, admits that this is not always the case because the police cannot identify the person or people who have taken it over. The backlog of work at the courts doesn't help. An eviction should be carried out in a matter of days, but it can take weeks or even months, even if everything is straightfoward.

Recovery firms

So, what can people do if 'okupas', as they are called in Spanish, move into their home? Or how do they prevent them doing so? One option is to turn to what has also become a growing business as a result of the increase in squatting, and use a 'desokupacion' company.

There are half a dozen of these specialist firms in Malaga province, all working completely legally and with a double strategy: to control entry to the property, with a security guard and support staff, so that if someone is occupying it illegally they can't get back in when they have gone out anywhere, and to negotiate with the squatters so they move out quickly and as peacefully as possible. It costs around 2,000 to 3,000 euros to contract a service of this type, depending on the danger level and how many people are needed. These firms do not usually intervene if children are involved.

Companies such as Desokupa Expres, Evictions Staff and Recupro have now been joined by others such as Antiokupas Group, which was recently set up in Marbella in response to the increase in properties being illegally occupied by squatters. In just one month they have successfully resolved around a dozen cases in Malaga and Seville.

These companies work with lawyers to make sure they act legally at all times, and must have permission from communities of owners for a security guard to control who enters the building or urbanisation. Once the squatters have been persuaded to leave, they change the locks and often install an alarm.

Evictions Staff, which says its business has increased by 50 per cent recently, explains that professional squatters often blackmail owners by demanding money to leave. "We get them out but we know that the next day they'll just move in somewhere else. They make a good living out of it," he says.

Desokupa Expres says squatters should never be given money, because that just encourages them. It has also seen a big increase in business in recent months, especially in Malaga city, Marbella, Torremolinos and Benalmadena.
- By Tiziano Frateschi





According to the GuruFocus All-in-One Screener as of Sept. 21, the following guru-held companies have high dividend yields and are trading with low price-earnings ratios.

BHP

BHP Group PLC.'s (BBL) dividend yield is 5.28% and the payout ratio is 0.91. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock price has risen 7.40%. Shares are trading with a price-book ratio of 2.29 and a price-earnings ratio of 14.49. The company's average yield was 4.17% over the past 10 years.





The company, which supplies iron ore, copper, oil, gas and metallurgical coal, has a market cap of $115.28 billion. GuruFocus rated its profitability 8 out of 10. The return on equity of 16.52% and return on assets of 7.68% are outperforming 92% of companies in the metals and mining industry. The cash-debt ratio of 0.49 is few below the industry median of 16.83.

6 Cheap Stocks Paying a High Dividend Yield

Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's largest guru shareholder with 0.25% of outstanding shares, followed by NWQ Managers (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.01%.

GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline PLC's (GSK) dividend yield is 5.11% with a payout ratio of 0.60. The stock has lost 0.64% compared to a year ago. Shares are trading with a price-earnings ratio of 11.47 and a price-book ratio of 5.63. The company's average yield was 5.06% over the past 10 years.

The pharmaceutical company has a $98.49 billion market cap. GuruFocus rated its profitability 8 out of 10. The return on equity of 62.45% and return on assets of 8.44% are outperforming 80% of companies in the drug manufacturers industry. The cash-debt ratio of 0.26 is few below the industry median of 0.84.

6 Cheap Stocks Paying a High Dividend Yield

Dodge & Cox is the company's largest guru shareholder with 1.66% of outstanding shares, followed by Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)' Renaissance Technologies with 0.82% and Fisher with 0.63%.

Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto PLC's (RIO) dividend yield 5.93% with a payout ratio of 0.87. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has gained 22.10%. Shares are trading with a price-book ratio of 1.99 and a price-earnings ratio of 14.57.

Story continues

The company has a market cap of $80.31 billion. GuruFocus rated its profitability 8 out of 10. The return on equity of 18% and return on assets of 8.29% are outperforming 93% of competitors in the metals and mining industry. Its financial strength is rated 6 out of 10. The equity-asset ratio of 0.63 is far below the industry median of 16.83.

6 Cheap Stocks Paying a High Dividend Yield

With 0.92% of outstanding shares, Fisher is the company's largest guru shareholder, followed by Simons with 0.13%.

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley's (MS) dividend yield is 2.80% with a payout ratio of 0.25. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has increased 16.05% and shares are trading with a price-book ratio of 1.01 and a price-earnings ratio of 9.04. The company's average yield was 1.46% over the past 10 years.

The pharmaceutical firm has a market cap of $78.96 billion and a GuruFocus profitability rating of 5 out of 10. While the return on equity of 10.5% is outperforming the sector, return on assets of 1.01% is underperforming 51% of competitors in the capital markets industry. Its financial strength is rated 3 out of 10 with a cash-debt ratio of 0.52.

6 Cheap Stocks Paying a High Dividend Yield

ValueAct Holdings LP (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's largest guru shareholder with 0.90% of outstanding shares, followed by Fisher with 0.54%, Richard Pzena (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.47% and T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.42%.

Anthem

Anthem Inc.'s (ANTM) dividend yield is 1.38% and the payout ratio is 0.15. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has increased 6.37%. Shares are trading with a price-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a price-book ratio of 1.93. The company's average yield was 1.40% over the past 10 years.

The private health insurance organization has a market cap of $66.45 billion. GuruFocus rated its profitability 7 out of 10. The return on equity of 18.49% and return on assets of 7.37% are outperforming 57% of competitors. Its financial strength is rated 5 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 0.28 is below the industry median of 0.65.

6 Cheap Stocks Paying a High Dividend Yield

With 1.86% of outstanding shares, Vanguard Health Care Fund (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's largest guru shareholder, followed by First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.86% and HOTCHKIS & WILEY with 0.66%.

Disclosure: I do not own any stocks mentioned.

Read more here:

Insiders Roundup: ClearOne, Shrodinger

5 Cyclical Companies Trading With Low Price-Sales Ratios

5 Tech Companies Beating the S&P 500







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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


With the contracts covering 6,300 production and skilled-trades workers at Ford Canada set to expire tonight, both corporate management and Unifor have stressed their determination to reach an agreement tailored to the companys interests. Although Unifor President Jerry Dias has been forced to admit that the parties are far apart in talks, both Dias and Ford representatives have gone out of their way to praise their cooperation in the negotiations, which are emerging ever more clearly as a conspiracy against autoworkers.

Dias is hoping to trade off further concessions on work rules and, at best, meagre wage and benefit increases in exchange for the automaker giving a new product commitment for the threatened Oakville Assembly Plant. The company employs about 4,500 workers there, and an additional 1,600 workers at its two engine facilities in Windsor.

The cornerstone Oakville plant has already experienced almost 1,000 layoffs in just over a year, and is reported to be the Detroit Three plant in Canada most vulnerable to closure in the near future. Industry analysts citing multiple well-placed sources have placed a question mark over operations continuing past 2023, when scheduled production runs of the Ford Edge SUV and Lincoln Nautilus are slated to end.

Ford Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley, who will take over as CEO October 1, enthused that talks with Unifor are going great. Farley added, Ive talked with Mr. Dias and all the political leaders in Canada. Its a very important negotiation for Ford. Were working through it now.

These remarks must be taken as a warning by all autoworkers. Ford has made it absolutely clear that it will only accept a deal that ensures its global competitiveness. Under conditions in which all major automakers are laying off tens of thousands of workers internationally to boost corporate profitability and facilitate their transition to electric and autonomous vehicle production, the news that Farley is engaging with political leaders can only mean that Ford is in the advanced stages of securing state-backed subsidies to engineer a pro-corporate restructuring of Canadas auto sector at the expense of autoworkers.

In this, Unifor is a willing partner. Dias informed Ford workers in a recent bargaining update that he picked Ford as the target company in contract talks because it has a vision closely aligned with our own. The companys bargaining team, he gushed, has been incredibly professional. In the update, the union stated that negotiations have proceeded well since Labour Day, with early progress made at the local committee tables, sub-committee tables and master tables.

Unifor is in full agreement with management that the reactionary multi-tier wage system must continue to be enforced. Our union approaches the 2020 round of bargaining with a clear mandate from the members to carefully review, assess and further improve on the New Hire Program, says Unifors Bargaining Update #3. In other words, the New Hire Programwhich was agreed to in 2012 and enables the highly-profitable automakers to pay new hires substantially less for a decade or more for doing the same workis to remain in place.

A major factor in Unifors determination to impose concessions is its push for a three-year contract with Ford, which would synchronize with the next round of United Auto Worker (UAW) contract renewals with the Detroit Three in the United States in 2023. Since they split along national lines in 1985, both Unifor (the former Canadian Auto Workers) and the UAW have pitted workers against each other in a never-ending race to the bottom. They have worked with their own corporate managements to whip-saw jobs and wages back and forth across borders, while promoting, respectively, Canadian and American nationalism, thereby dividing autoworkers and blocking the emergence of a common struggle against all concessions, job cuts, and plant shutdowns.

Dias attempt to synchronize contract years is aimed at taking this fratricidal scramble of each against all to a new stage. Even the pro-company Center for Automotive Research think tank has written that the proposal is pregnant with possibilities for corporate whip-sawing. For his part, Ford executive Gary Johnson said that the company will be amenable to such a proposal depending on how it helps us.

Despite their close collaboration, the parties may fail to reach a deal by todays 11:59 PM deadline. In an Automotive News article published Thursday, Dias declared that the union and Ford are miles apart on wages, benefits, working conditions and job security. These remarks are no doubt in part meant for public consumption, so that Dias can later claim that union officials fought hard to secure the best deal possible.

If Unifor does decide to call a strike, it will not with the aim of mobilizing the power of autoworkers and working people more broadly. Instead, Unifor will use it allow workers to let off steam while it continues its backroom talks with Ford on how to impose further concessions and speed-up.

The last time a strike was called during a Detroit Three bargaining round in Canada was in 1996. On the likelihood of a strike, Fords head of manufacturing and labor affairs, Gary Johnson, told Automotive News, I wouldnt try to handicap it, but its the last thing we want to do. Were going to do whats fair to the company and fair to employees, but Im not expecting a strike. But you never know. Maybe things change and its something you do, but thats not the goal.

If a deal is reached, Unifor will undoubtedly move as swiftly as possible to have it ratified so that workers have no time to study its rotten contents. Due to social distancing protocols, the contract ratification process this year will be conducted online. The very fact that workers will be unable to meet en masse to discuss any tentative deal makes it all the more urgent that workers demand that any contract presented to them for ratification be made accessible in full at least one week before any vote takes place. Yet despite a petition launched by rank-and-file workers making this very demand (and to date signed by almost 1,800 autoworkers), Dias has refused to even address the issue.

Unifors contempt for the democratic rights of its members is in keeping with its hostility to all of their basic interests, including the defence of their wages, working conditions, and jobs. As the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter explained in a recent statement, The alternative is to mobilize autoworkers in Canada, the US, and Mexico in a joint counter-offensive to overturn all concessions and defend all jobs. Such a counter-offensive can be developed only through a political and organizational break with Unifor and the UAW.

There is an enormous well of rank-and-file anger against the auto bosses and their Unifor accomplices. But if workers are to prevent Unifor from once again running their struggle into the ground and corralling them into voting on a concessionary contract whose true details they have not been allowed to see, they must act now. They must take matters into their own hands by building a network of rank-and-file committees in all Detroit Three and auto industry plants.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: As many as 38,71,664 employees provident fund (EPF) withdrawal claims worth Rs 44,054.72 crore were settled since March 25, Parliament was informed on Monday.

The government had imposed the nationwide lockdown on March 25, 2020, to contain deadly coronavirus.

Total 38,71,664 EPF withdrawals claims from EPF accounts worth Rs 44,054.72 crore were settled till date since lockdown was imposed (March 25 this year), Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

These withdrawals also include COVID-19 claims, as per the reply.

The maximum amount of Rs 8,968.45 crore EPF withdrawals from March 25 to August 31 were recorded in Maharasthra against 7,23,986 claims, followed by Karanataka Rs 6,418.52 crore for 4,84,114 claims and Tamil Nadu (including Puducherry)  Rs 5,589.91 crore for 6,20,662 claims.

The total EPF withdrawals in Delhi during the period stood at Rs 3,308.57 crore for 3,16,671 claims.

A non-refundable COVID advance from the EPF by amending the EPF Scheme, 1952 was unveiled earlier.

As part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana announced by the government to address COVID-19 situation, the EPF scheme was amended to provide for a non-refundable advance from the provident fund account of a member not exceeding the basic wages and dearness allowances of that member for three months or up to 75 per cent of the amount standing to his credit in the EPF account, whichever is less.

In order to ameliorate hardship faced by the labourers due to economic disruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic, various initiatives have been taken by the Ministry of Labour and Employment as part of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

These include payment of 12 per cent employers' share and 12 per cent employees' share under employees' provident fund (EPF), totalling 24 per cent by the government for six wage months from March to August 2020 for all the establishments having up to 100 employees with 90 per cent of such employees earning less than Rs 15,000 monthly wage.

Besides, the government also reduced EPF contribution from 12 per cent to 10 per cent of wages for the wage months of May, June and July 2020.
In a highly-secretive joint NIA-RAW operation, two people, who were on the radar of top central security agencies in terrorism cases, were taken into custody from the Thiruvananthapuram airport as soon as they arrived on a flight from Riyadh on Monday evening.

The two were brought from Riyadh based on a look-out notice against them.

One of them was identified as Shuhaib, who hails from Kerala's Kannur, and was allegedly part of the team which engineered the 2008 Bengaluru bomb blast.

The other person is Mohammed Gul Nawaz, from Uttar Pradesh, and allegedly involved in a Delhi bomb blast case.

According to the NIA, Shuhaib will be taken to Bengaluru, while Nawaz would be taken to Delhi.
Since its inception in 2014, Wirex has become the go-to crypto-enabled payments solution for people seeking an alternative to conventional finance. Wirex's vision is for a digital economy accessible to everyone globally - empowering people to benefit from a world where all currencies are equal. The company provides a next-gen payments solution that gives users the ability to buy, exchange, hold and spend multiple traditional and cryptocurrencies using one intuitive, centralised app and the Wirex payment card.

Wirex is at the forefront of a rapidly developing industry. Cryptocurrency adoption rates have sky-rocketed in recent years - it's estimated that over 40 million people globally already use cryptocurrency, with a 240% increase in the number of blockchain wallet users over the past 3 years. This trend has only grown since the onset of COVID-19, demonstrating real-use cases for cryptocurrency in everyday life.

Wirex's unique and flexible business model allowed it to adapt to this demand and flourish, breaking records in a period of considerable uncertainty for many businesses. The business experienced a 100% increase in the volume of cryptocurrency transactions on the platform in March compared to February, as well as the highest volume of transactions in a single day in the APAC region. As the company's outstanding performance continues, they've decided that now is the time to offer investors a chance to be part of a company shaking up an advancing industry.

The company has already proven its incredible achievements with a series of world firsts, with many predicting a rapid sell-out as demand surges for this revolutionary product. In July 2020, Mastercard named Wirex as their first crypto-native principal member. Prior to this, Wirex was the first company to launch a contactless debit card enabling customers to spend cryptocurrency in-store, as well as the first cryptocurrency rewards scheme, Cryptoback. In 2019, Wirex launched their first native token, WXT, as an Initial Exchange Offering, which sold out in a matter of hours.

Recognised for its outstanding accomplishments in fintech, payments and cryptocurrency sectors, Wirex won the acclaimed Innovate Finance Pitch 360 challenge for 2020. They are one of the few crypto-friendly companies that is a UK regulated e-money institution, and with cryptocurrency becoming more widely accepted amongst regulators, it is projected that the company will grow exponentially in the coming years. With a company valuation of 125 million, Wirex announced that it turned profitable in 2019 - rare for a fintech business so young. Having recently reached the milestone of 3.1 million customers across 130 countries, they predict achieving an incredible 10 million customers by the end of 2021.

Plans are already underway to launch a number of pioneering product and service updates since the announcement of a revolutionary product overhaul. Following partnerships with financial services giant Mastercard and payments solution company LHV, this includes the gradual rollout of next-generation features in the coming months, including additional currencies, free international ATM withdrawals, sky-high limits and next-to-no fees, as well as an upgraded rewards program, setting Wirex apart from its competitors. Striving for global expansion, Wirex is actively seeking licences in new territories with a highly anticipated launch in both the US and Japan in the coming months.

CEO and Co-Founder of Wirex, Pavel Matveev, explains how this decision to crowdfund comes at a crucial period in Wirex's development. "Wirex has been making huge strides in changing the financial landscape, by making it easier for everyone to access cryptocurrency and spend it in the everyday. By offering a platform that bridges the traditional and digital economy, we are helping to encourage the mass adoption of cryptocurrency for future generations."

Matveev goes on to explain that "We have a lot of exciting projects and announcements already underway at Wirex as we endeavour to provide a cheaper, faster and safer platform, and crowdfunding will only fast-track our ambitious plans. We're proudly a hedgehog fintech - our journey to becoming a tech unicorn is built on managing and monetising growth sensibly. Millions of 'Wirexers' have supported our growth - this funding round is deliberately aimed at giving them an opportunity to own a share of the brand as we go to the next phase of our growth and scale-up."

Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, complemented this by stating: "Over the years fintech has proven to be our most popular sector for investment so I am excited to see Wirex, who is on a mission to take cryptocurrency into the mainstream, raise with Crowdcube. It's great that their loyal customer-base and fans will have the opportunity to buy a stake in this innovative company."

Want to hear more about Wirex and our crowdfund? Here's what you need to know , from the Wirex team!

Pre-registration for the exclusive private sale of the crowdfunding is now live on the Wirex website , with the private sale opening on the 28th September.

About Wirex

Wirex is a worldwide digital payment platform and regulated institution that has forged new rules in the digital payments space. In 2015, the firm developed the world's first contactless payment card that gives users the ability to seamlessly spend crypto and traditional currencies in real life.

Wirex was created in 2014 by CEOs and co-founders Pavel Mateev and Dmitry Lazarichev, who identified the need to open up the esoteric world of cryptocurrencies and make digital money accessible for everyone. With the core aim of making it as easy as possible to use digital assets in everyday life, Wirex provides a trusted and cost-effective service for crypto and traditional currency transactions by incorporating the next generation of payments infrastructure integrated with cryptocurrency blockchains.

With over three million customers across 130 countries, the company offers secure accounts that allow customers to easily store, buy and exchange multiple currencies instantly at the best live rates on one centralised mobile app. Quick and simple money transfer options are available, as well as the freedom to spend 150+ traditional and cryptocurrencies in more than 54 million locations around the world using the Wirex card.

Wirex continues to develop the product in line with market developments, whilst adhering to regional regulations and securing appropriate licencing where it exists. A proven industry pioneer, Wirex introduced the world's first bitcoin reward programme, Cryptoback, which earns cardholders up to 1.5% back in Bitcoin for every in-store transaction they make. They also launched their own native utility token, WXT, which entitles holders to rewards and incentives such as heavily-discounted fees and higher Cryptoback rewards.

Wirex is based in London with offices in Singapore, Kyiv, Tokyo, Toronto, Dallas, Dublin and Atlanta. With over $3bn worth of transactions processed already and rapid expansion into new territories, Wirex is uniquely placed to support and promote the mass adoption of a cashless society through creative solutions.

| wirexapp.com |

SOURCE Wirex

Related Links

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Share price of IT firm HCL Technologies gained over 4% in Monday's early session to hit a fresh high of Rs 849.7 on BSE after the firm said it would acquire Australian IT solutions firm DWS Ltd for $115.8 million.

The company said this move would help the Indian company strengthen its position in the Australia and New Zealand markets.

Following the news, HCL Technologies share price traded as the top gainer on both BSE and NSE, rising 4.76% to an intraday as well as a new high of Rs 849.7, against the last close of Rs 811.10.

The stock saw high volatility today and also touched an intraday low of Rs 794.05, falling 2.1% due to major trend reversal in broader markets today. HCL Technologies shares have fallen after 2 days of consecutive gain. The stock has risen 0.93% in one week, 13% in one month and 41% since the beginning of the year. HCL Technologies stock is trading higher than its 5, 20, 50, 100 and 200-day moving averages.

Market capitalisation of the firm stood at Rs 2,29,033 crore as of today's closing session.

HCL Technologies announced its intent to acquire DWS Limited, an Australian IT, business and management consulting group that has over 700 employees and offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Canberra.

DWS delivers business and technology innovation to large clients across a spectrum of verticals, the company said.

Michael Horton, Executive Vice President & Country Manager, Australia & New Zealand, HCL Technologies, said "We are excited for this expansion of HCL Technologies in Australia and New Zealand and are confident that our combined strengths will further accelerate the digital transformation journeys of our clients and innovations for their end customers. HCL has invested in the region for over 20 years and is committed to enabling digitalisation and growing the local ecosystem, he added.

Danny Wallis, CEO and Managing Director, DWS said, "We are delighted the DWS team is joining HCL. This acquisition represents an outstanding outcome for all DWS stakeholders: shareholders, employees, clients and other business partners."

On the development, Jyoti Roy, DVP- Equity Strategist, Angel Broking said, "We continue to maintain our positive outlook on HCL Tech as the announcement reflects the company's leadership position in the cloud migration space. We believe that HCL will be the biggest beneficiary of migration from public cloud to hybrid cloud driven by a strong presence in the Infrastructure management business."

Gold price falls to Rs 51,500, silver rates at Rs 67,500

Stocks in news: Route Mobile, RITES, DHFL, Future Enterprises, HCL Tech, Ajanta Pharma
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hailed the passage of the two contentious farm bills in the Rajya Sabha and congratulated all farmers. He was speaking at a virtual event after inaugurating Ghar Tak Fibre scheme and other development projects in Bihar.

Also read: PM Modi calls passage of farm bills watershed moment for agricultural sector

He said that the bills were the need of the 21st century and will help increase the farmers income.

These bills will empower farmers to freely trade their produce anywhere. I want to make it clear that these bills are not against the agriculture mandis. They were the need of the present hour and our government has brought this reform for the farmers. Farmers can sell their produce wherever they see more profit, said PM Modi.

The Prime Minister reiterated his assurance regarding the system of minimum selling price (MSP) and said that it will continue unhindered. I want to assure every farmer that the Minimum Support Price system will continue as before, he said.

Also read: Step towards making Indias villages self-reliant: PM Modi inaugurates highway projects, fibre scheme in Bihar

Eight opposition MPs -- Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek OBrien, the AAPs Sanjay Singh, Congress leaders Rajeev Satav, Syed Nasir Hussain and Ripun Borah, CPI(M)s KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem and Trinamools Dola Sen -- were suspended from the Rajya Sabha for a week under Rule 256(2) on Monday for their unruly behaviour a day earlier.
Terming the suspension of eight MPs from for one week as "unfortunate", West Bengal Chief Minister and founder Chairperson of Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday said that her party will fight against the "fascist" government in Parliament and on the streets.

"Suspension of the 8 MPs who fought to protect farmers interests is unfortunate & reflective of this autocratic Govt's mindset that doesn't respect democratic norms & principles. We won't bow down & we'll fight this fascist Govt in Parliament & on the streets. #BJPKilledDemocracy," Banerjee tweeted.

TMC accused the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) of murdering democracy by "ruthlessly silencing all the opposition leaders" in

"Absolutely unbelievable! @BJP4India MURDERED democracy by ruthlessly silencing all the opposition leaders in yesterday. Citizens of the nation, raise your voice before we're completely under @narendramodi ji's dictatorship! #BJPKilledDemocracy," TMC said in a tweet.

Lok Sabha MP and President of All India Trinamool Youth Congress, Abhishek Banerjee alleged that the centre is "taking away the right to vote upon" Bills.

"What happened in Rajya Sabha is an absolute contempt of Parliamentary proceedings. "Pro-farmer" ordinances by @narendramodi Ji's Govt are not just fundamentally flawed, but now the Centre is taking away the right to even vote upon them! All one can say is #BJPKilledDemocracy," he said in a tweet.

The reactions came after eight Opposition members were suspended on Monday from the Rajya Sabha for one week for creating a ruckus on Sunday during the discussion on agriculture reform Bills. There are two TMC MPs, Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, in the list of suspended members.

The other MPs who have been suspended are Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Sanjay Singh, Indian Congress' (INC) Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora and Syed Nasir Hussain, CPI(M)'s KK Ragesh and Elamaram Karim.

Rajya Sabha witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday as Opposition members stormed the well and reached the deputy chairman's seat to protest against the farm Bills debated and passed by the Upper House through voice vote.

(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 small plane made an emergency landing on the street in a Lackawanna County neighborhood Sunday night.

Only minor injuries were reported after the Piper Cherokee landed on a small stretch of road on Stone Street in Moosic around 8:45 p.m., WBRE/WYOU is reporting.

Aviation officials told WNEP the plane had taken off from Vermont and was heading towards the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport but never made it.

The guy drove right up the street, right up the street, which was crazy with an airplane, he clipped a couple poles, took them down," Dan Wayno, of Moosic, told WNEP. "Nobody died, he didnt hit a house, he didnt hurt anybody. He must have been a pretty good pilot.

Moosic police confirmed that calls of engine failure are what prompted the landing, WBRE reports.

According to reports, the pilot and a passenger were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The power was out for some time, and crews worked through the night to clean up spilled fuel, according to reports.
If you want to understand why conservatives have come to dominate the court in the early 21st century, its worth keeping in mind this history. In the simplest terms, conservatives have largely solved their 20th-century problem: Republican presidents now nominate only deeply conservative justices. Liberals, on the other hand, have not solved their problem.

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg  like Marshall, a civil rights giant, who demanded that the United States live up to its ideals  has created the fourth time in the last six decades that liberals may turn over a seat to conservatives. Aware of this possibility, some legal scholars and writers pleaded with Ginsburg to retire while Barack Obama was president and Democrats still controlled the Senate, but she wanted to remain on the court.

President Trump and a Republican-controlled Senate now have the opportunity to place a sixth conservative member on the nine-member court. The new justice would likely be a young one who could remain there for decades, potentially helping overturn Obamacare and Roe v. Wade, outlaw affirmative action and throw out climate legislation.

The bungled Supreme Court transitions by liberals obviously arent the only reason that conservatives control the court. The unpredictable timing of death plays a role. So did Senator Mitch McConnells unprecedented refusal to allow Obama to appoint a justice following the 2016 death of Antonin Scalia. The Electoral Colleges bias toward Republicans  allowing Trump and George W. Bush to become president despite losing the popular vote  matters, too.

Yet the flipping of seats from one ideology to another has been crucial. The effect of each instance can last for decades, well beyond any individual justices tenure, because each one can try to time his or her retirement to line up with the tenure of an ideologically similar president.
Thorn Law Group proudly presents a new ebook, A Rare Look Inside the IRS Tax Audit Process 2020 by former Internal Revenue Service tax attorney Kevin E. Thorn. In this tell-all publication Mr. Thorn discloses insights from the hundreds of businesses, individuals, trusts, and foundations that he has successfully helped through various IRS tax audits and state tax audits.

Not many taxpayers know what to expect when they receive a letter in the mail from the IRS, says Kevin E. Thorn, Managing Partner at Thorn Law Group,  With this ebook, my goal is to offer insight into the process and empower the taxpayer.

The 26-page, downloadable e-book provides answers to questions such as:



Who can assist me with an IRS tax audit?

Who gets audited by the IRS?

What types of information can the IRS legally request?

What are the potential consequences of an audit?

These questions and more are answered in this exclusive look of the entire tax audit process. Mr. Thorn details each step of the process, beginning with the IRS letter that initiates an audit to the benefits of working with a Boston IRS tax attorney who works against the IRS every day.

About Thorn Law Group

Thorn Law Group is a Boston-based tax litigation law firm offering professional tax advice and representation to businesses and individuals dealing with complex national and international tax law matters. Under the leadership of Kevin E. Thorn, the legal team of Thorn Law Group is well-recognized for their vast experience and ability to successfully represent taxpayers in sensitive federal tax disputes, tax controversies, and tax litigation problems.
South Africa: Protect children, urges Premier

Free State Premier Sefora Ntombela has made a plea to parents to ensure that children are safe at all times.

The Premiers plea follows disturbing reports of an attempt to abduct a child from school in Bloemfontein recently.

We must be vigilant at all times. I also wish to warn child abductors that the law will deal harshly with them because an attack on our children is an attack on all of us, Ntombela said.

The Premier said she is disturbed by reports of unknown individuals targeting children for what is believed to be child trafficking.

A suspect was arrested last week after he attempted to abduct a little girl at a restaurant in Florida, Gauteng.

I am extremely worried because defenceless children are at the mercy of heartless criminals. I am therefore asking parents to ensure that their children are safe at all times. These are worrying reports and must not be taken lightly.

We live in a world where horrific things are done to children, therefore, we must never let our guard down, the Premier said.

She said she will engage the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) responsible for Police, Roads and Transport, Sam Mashinini and senior members at the South African Police Service to discuss this matter.

The Premier also encouraged parents to accompany their children to school, keep an eye on them at all times, particularly in crowded areas.

She also urged youth to travel in groups.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A man has been charged with manslaughter after the car he was driving collided with a fun-loving, hardworking motorcyclist in the Bay of Plenty.

Grant Wilson, 33, died following the crash on White Pine Bush Rd near Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty about 6.20pm on June 6.

"It's just so hard still," Sheryl Wilson, 62, said of losing one of her three children. "I just can't seem to come out of the black."

Her words come as police confirmed on Monday theyd charged a 34-year-old man with manslaughter in connection with her sons death.

The man has also been charged with two counts of driving while disqualified, one charge of driving dangerously causing injury and a number of charges of perverting the course of justice.

A 22-year-old woman has been charged with perverting the course of justice.

The pair are scheduled to appear in Tauranga District Court on October 1

Born in Tokoroa, Grant Wilson was a fitter and maintenance operator by trade.

At the time of his death, he was living with his parents in Taneatua and worked for a neighbouring dairy farmer.

On the afternoon of June 6, Wilson was out "shooting the breeze" on his motorcycle as he often did, his mother said.

However, he did not return home before dark as he normally did.

"As soon as we saw the police officers standing at our glass door we knew something had gone wrong," Sheryl Wilson said.

"It's every parent's worst nightmare."

Wilson said she wanted "justice to be served because [our son] was totally innocent".

"He was out enjoying a lovely afternoon ride, she said.

-Stuff/Matt Shand and Blair Ensor.
Regina King, photographed at 1 Hotel West Hollywood, tied Alfre Woodard's Emmy record with her win for HBO's Watchmen." (ABC)

Watchmens Regina King made history at the 72nd Emmy Awards Sunday.

Kings win for lead actress in a limited series or movie for her portrayal of Angela Abar (a.k.a. Sister Night) in the HBO superhero drama is her fourth career Emmy. This ties the record held by Alfre Woodard for most acting Emmys won by a Black performer.

Created by David Lindelof, Watchmen is based on the acclaimed comic book series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons but is not a direct adaptation. It is more like a sequel that follows new characters such as Kings Sister Night.

This allowed me to tap into all those things I think are just wonderful about being a Black woman, King previously told The Times. [T]he blueprint that was the inspiration for Angela was probably every Black woman that ever was.

Regina King in a scene from "Watchmen." (Mark Hill / HBO)

In addition to being recognized for her performance in Watchmen, King has previously won the lead actress in a limited series or movie Emmy in 2018 for Seven Seconds. In 2015 and 2016 she won in the supporting actress in a limited series or movie category for her performances in American Crime (playing different characters each time). King has five career Emmy nominations so far.

Woodard, who has earned 17 Primetime Emmy nods, won in 1984, 1987, 1997 and 2003. These recognitions were in the supporting actress in a drama series category for Hill Street Blues, guest performer in a drama series (before there were gender-specific categories) for L.A. Law, lead actress in a miniseries or special for Miss Evers Boys and guest actress in a drama series for The Practice.

The other Black actors with four Emmy wins each are Chris Rock and Bill Cosby, but their awards include non-performance categories. Rock has won three Emmys in writing categories (1997, 1999 and 2009) in addition to his variety, music or comedy special win in 1997 for Chris Rock: Bring The Pain. Cosby, who is currently serving time after being convicted of sexual assault in 2018, won three consecutive lead drama series actor Emmys for I Spy (1966-1968) and in the variety or musical program category in 1969 for The Bill Cosby Special.

The overall record for performance Emmys by an individual actor is held by Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus with eight wins each.
Chinas ByteDance says TikToks global business will become its subsidiary, even as Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc said recently that they and United States-based investors would own the majority of the video app following a deal with US President Donald Trumps administration.

Trump signed an executive order on August 14 giving ByteDance 90 days to sell TikTok, citing concerns that the personal data of as many as 100 million Americans that use the app could be passed on to Chinas government. On Saturday, he said he supported in principle a deal that would allow TikTok to continue to operate in the US.

Accounts of the deal differ. ByteDance said on Monday that it will own 80 percent of TikTok Global, a newly created US company that will own most of the apps operations worldwide. Oracle and Walmart, which have agreed to take stakes in TikTok Global of 12.5 percent and 7.5 percent respectively, had said on Saturday that majority ownership of TikTok would be in American hands.

ByteDance said in its statement on Monday that it was a rumour that US investors would be TikTok Globals majority owners. Oracle declined to comment on ByteDances statement, while Walmart did not respond to a request for comment.

Some sources close to the deal have sought to reconcile the discrepancy by pointing out that 41 percent of ByteDance is owned by US investors, so by counting this indirect ownership, TikTok Global would be majority owned by US parties. One of the sources said the deal with Oracle and Walmart values TikTok Global at more than $50bn.

TikTok also confirmed plans for an initial public offering of TikTok Global. The Beijing-based firm said TikTok Globals board of directors will include ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming as well as Walmarts chief executive Doug McMillon and current directors of ByteDance.

The current plan for TikTok Global does not involve any transfer of algorithms or technologies, and Oracle will be able to inspect TikTok USs source code, ByteDance said. This is akin to US companies such as Microsoft Corp sharing their source code with Chinese technology experts, ByteDance added.

Under pressure

ByteDance also said a $5bn payment reportedly to be made to the US Treasury by TikTok Global is based on estimated income and other taxes the company will need to pay over the next few years and has nothing to do with the deal reached with Oracle and Walmart. Trump last week had said a $5bn US education fund would be created as part of the deal.

ByteDance was pressured into a deal to sell TikTok when Trump threatened to ban the app in the US over national security concerns. After Microsoft Corp made a proposal for a full buyout of the service, ByteDance instead turned to Oracles offering in which the Chinese parent will maintain a solid majority stake.

I approved the deal in concept, Trump told reporters Saturday as he left the White House for a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. If they get it done, thats great. If they dont, thats OK too.

TikTok has emerged as a top target in Trumps effort to crack down on China ahead of the November 3 US presidential election. Tensions between Washington and Beijing are escalating as the Trump administration wages a campaign to contain the countrys technology ascendancy that has also ensnared Tencent Holdings Ltd, whose WeChat social media app faces a ban in the US.

This is part of the broader technology decoupling of our two countries, said Melissa Hathaway, president of Hathaway Global Strategies and an adviser to the Obama and Bush administrations. Were using our different rules or policies or authorities within our countries to drive that wedge, and forcing choices between our companies and its overall customer base, unfortunately.
Matt Lucas admits he has the eating age of a nine-year-old in the trailer for the new series of The Great British Bake Off.

The Little Britain comedian has joined the show to replace Sandi Toksvig as the programmes co-host alongside Noel Fielding.

He can also be seen making one of the bakers laugh as he is told he is not meant to eat one of the elaborate cake decorations.

He replies: I know that now!

The clip opens with Fielding greeting the new batch of contestants, saying: Hello bakers, welcome to the tent.

He also tells one: They cant contain you, youre a maverick.

Judge Prue Leith can be seen tucking into some cake and saying: Im struggling not to eat a bit more, while fellow judge Paul Hollywood delivers the crushing verdict: Thats bone dry.

A sculptor, a pantomime producer and a university student are among the 12 amateur bakers taking part in this years contest.

Video of the Day

Among the hopefuls is Marc, a 51-year-old bronze resin sculptor who lives in Cornwall, who began baking after he lost his leg in a motorbike accident in 2016.

He started making bread as a form of therapy and later progressed to baking cakes and pastries.

Student Peter, 20, who was born in Edinburgh, was inspired by Bake Off to start cooking for himself.

The accounting and finance student, who has also represented his country at badminton, has been baking since he was 12 and has seen every series of the programme.

Pantomime producer Lottie, 31, from West Sussex, has labelled herself a perpetually frustrated perfectionist and has had a fascination with cooking since childhood.

Self-taught baker Makbul, 51, initially began cooking at home as a way of supporting his mother.

The accountant, who lives in Greater Manchester, also does beekeeping in his spare time and produces his own honey, which he uses in his bakes.

Other contestants include security guard Dave, accountant Hermine, digital manager Laura, and Linda, who is a retirement living team leader.

Diagnostic radiographer Loriea, project manager Mark, music teacher Rowan and pharmacy dispenser Sura are also taking part in the competition.

The new series will begin on Channel 4 on September 22 at 8pm.
Drilling is intended to upgrade K.Hill Project Resources to the Indicated Category

Figure 1

Giyani Metals K. Hill Manganese Project 2020 Drill Plan

Giyani Metals K. Hill Manganese Project 2020 Drill Plan

OAKVILLE, Ontario, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Giyani Metals Corp. (TSXV:EMM, GR:A2DUU8) ("Giyani" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of its Feasibility Study ("FS") field program ("2020 Field Program") for its K.Hill manganese project in Botswana, with the appointment of a drilling contractor, project management and geological services contractor and their imminent mobilisation. The 2020 Field Program follows Giyani's recent successful capital raising, which closed on September 18, 2020.



2020 Field Program Highlights:

Infill drilling program intended to upgrade existing resources to the Indicated category





Geotechnical study to determine geotechnical parameters for the open-pit mine design





Geophysical study to assist with greater definition of the resource estimation



Infill Drilling

The objective of the infill drilling program is to upgrade the current inferred mineral resources at K.Hill, into the indicated mineral resource category, from which a CIM Code compliant reserve could then be estimated. The program will consist of 90 holes and 2,700m of reverse circulation ("RC") drilling, as well as 9 holes and 250m of diamond core ("DC") drilling.

The contract was awarded to Stewardship Drilling ("Stewardship"), a well-established drilling contractor in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a vast portfolio of experience having worked with Rio Tinto, De Beers, and the Paladin Group. Stewardship is expected to have fully mobilised to site by mid October, subject to the current COVID-19 regulations being maintained in Botswana. The drilling contractor will be supported by the Companys project management and geological services consulting company, Lambda Tau.

The map provided below in Figure 1 (below) shows the planned locations of the twin verification holes in blue triangles, the 50x50m RC grid in green triangles, the DC drilling confirmation twin holes as red triangles and the location for the trenches and channel chip sampling along 50m trenches as the red lines. Samples from the RC drilling will be collected at 50cm downhole intervals. Appropriate sample sizes will be split and submitted for XRF analysis by Borate Fusion at SGS Laboratories in Johannesburg, South Africa. In addition, samples from the RC drilling as well as the core recovered from the DC drilling will be provided to Tetra Tech for hydrometallurgical and comminution lab testing.

Story continues

Geotechnical & Geophysical Stu dies

The geotechnical study will be led by SRK in Cardiff, UK. Geotechnical sample data will be collected from the drill core as well as outcrops of mineralisation. This data will assist the geotechnical modelling of the deposit, slope stability and the open pit mine design.

The geophysical study will use a low frequency ground penetrating radar (GPR) method. The survey aims to define with greater accuracy the resource estimation.

Shares for Drilling Services

Stewardship has entered into a drilling contract with Giyani under which Giyani will partly pay the drilling costs through the issue of common shares of the Company for 27% of the contract total value.

The deemed price per share at which Giyani will make the payment in shares will be at a discount of 25% to the last closing price of the Giyani shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") on the trading day immediately prior to Giyani's subsequent notification to the TSXV, which will occur following invoicing under the contract. The shares will only be issued following completion of the drilling contract.

The partial payment of shares remains subject to acceptance by the TSXV. Common shares issued in connection therewith will be subject to a statutory four-month hold period from the date of issue.

Robin Birchall, CEO of Giyani Metals Corp. commented:

"The next step with our FS is to conduct in-fill drilling in order to upgrade the current inferred mineral resource to an indicated mineral resource. We have designed an operational program that is both effective and economical, by taking advantage of RC drilling where possible. This data will strengthen our confidence of the optimum drilling interval across the K.Hill deposit and additional geotechnical work will enable us to produce an optimal pit-shell design.

I am very excited by the progress we are undertaking in Botswana, especially with moving forward rapidly with our operational program. With borders reopening in sub-Saharan Africa, we plan to announce the next phases of the 2020 Field Program in due course.

Figure 1 accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f423ed39-a740-4b0b-a078-4e80f683556e

About Giyani

Giyani Metals Corp. is a mineral resource company focused on the development of its K.Hill, Lobatse & Otse manganese oxide projects in the Kanye Basin, Botswana, Africa. The Company's flagship K.Hill project is a near-surface deposit currently going through a feasibility study to produce high-purity electrolytic manganese metal and manganese sulphate, both key cathode ingredients for batteries in the expanding electric vehicle (EV) market.

Additional information and corporate documents may be found on www.sedar.com and on Giyani Metals Corp. Website: https://giyanimetals.com/.

About Lambda Tau

Lambda Tau is a South African based consulting and contracting company offering geological services across Southern Africa.

NI 43-101 Disclosures

Mr. Michael John Beare, BEng, CEng, MIOM of SRK Consulting is the qualified person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, who has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical content contained in this press release. Mr. Beare is independent of the Company and visited the site in December 2019.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Giyani Metals Corp.

Robin Birchall, CEO

Contact:

Giyani Metals Corporation

Robin Birchall

CEO, Director

+447711313019

rbirchall@giyanimetals.com

Thomas Horton

VP, Business Development

+447866913207

thorton@giyanimetals.com

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 news release.

The securities described herein have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or "U.S. persons," as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act ("U.S. Persons"), except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's securities to, or for the account of benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. Persons.

Forward Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Giyani expects to occur, are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "does not expect", "plans", "anticipates", "does not anticipate", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "scheduled", "forecast", "budget" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. Specific forward-looking statements and forward-looking information herein includes completion of the 2020 field program, geotechnical study and geophysical study; upgrading of inferred resources to higher categories of confidence, and the completion of the FS.

All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of the relevant management as of the date such statements are made and are subject to certain assumptions, important risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Giyani's ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In the case of Giyani, these facts include their anticipated operations in future periods, planned exploration and development of its properties, and plans related to its business and other matters that may occur in the future. This information relates to analyses and other information that is based on expectations of future performance and planned work programs.

Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, including, without limitation: inherent exploration hazards and risks; risks related to exploration and development of natural resource properties; uncertainty in Giyani's ability to obtain funding; commodity price fluctuations; recent market events and conditions; risks related to the uncertainty of mineral resource calculations and the inclusion of inferred mineral resources in economic estimation; risks related to governmental regulations; risks related to obtaining necessary licenses and permits; risks related to their business being subject to environmental laws and regulations; risks related to their mineral properties being subject to prior unregistered agreements, transfers, or claims and other defects in title; risks relating to competition from larger companies with greater financial and technical resources; risks relating to the inability to meet financial obligations under agreements to which they are a party; ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel; and risks related to their directors and officers becoming associated with other natural resource companies which may give rise to conflicts of interests. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect Giyani's forward-looking information. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking information or statements.

Giyani's forward-looking information is based on the reasonable beliefs, expectations and opinions of their respective management on the date the statements are made, and Giyani does not assume any obligation to update forward looking information if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions change, except as required by law. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. For a complete discussion with respect to Giyani and risks associated with forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, please refer to Giyani's financial statements and related MD&A, all of which are filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

GIYANI METALS CORP.

1155 North Service Road West, Unit 11

Oakville, Ontario L6M 3E3

T: 289-291-4032

www.giyanimetals.com TSXV:EMM




A judge ordered another competency exam Monday for an 83-year-old man charged with killing a couple in a northeastern Wisconsin park in 1976.

An attorney for Raymand Vannieuwenhoven asked for a second opinion on the most recent psychiatric exam, which showed the defendant is competent to proceed with the case against him.

Vannieuwenhoven was arrested and charged last year in the long-unsolved fatal shootings of 25-year-old David Schuldes and 24-year-old Ellen Matheys in McClintock Park in Silver Cliff, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Milwaukee.

Marinette County Judge James Morrison ordered another exam, the results of which will be reviewed Oct. 12, WLUK-TV reported.

Vannieuwenhoven told the judge during a video appearance that he believes he is competent, online records indicate.

In March, Morrison ruled that Vannieuwenhoven did not understand the proceedings and could not assist in his own defense and ordered him to undergo inpatient treatment at Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison.

For decades, the widower and father of five children lived quietly among the 800 residents of Lakewood, a northeastern Wisconsin town surrounded by forests and small lakes.

Investigators didnt have any major leads until 2018, when a DNA lab in Virginia identified the genealogical background of the suspect. Investigators say tests of Vannieuwenhovens DNA from a licked envelope matched DNA collected at the crime scene.
PHOENIX  Maricopa County Sheriffs officials said Sunday that they are investigating the death of a man in custody that appears to be a suicide.

They said 62-year-old Scott McKay died Friday after he was found unresponsive in his holding cell at a substation in Cave Creek.

Sheriffs officials said McKay was arrested earlier in the day on suspicion of burglary and violating a restraining order.

He was taken to the substation and placed in a holding cell while deputies completed booking paperwork.

McKay was later found unconscious with an item of clothing around his neck and an apparent self-hanging.

Deputies attempted to perform lifesaving measures until paramedics arrived. McKay was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Sheriffs officials said they will conduct both criminal and administrative investigations of the in-custody death before the case is reviewed by the county Attorneys Office.
Spokesperson of Iran's Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh on Sunday urged the US to "return to the global community" and perform its duties.

"The world has reached nothing but insecurity, war and instability with US actions," Khatibzadeh said in his weekly press briefing, as quoted by official news agency IRNA.

He was commenting on remarks made by the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, who claimed that "the US is returning virtually all United Nations sanctions on Iran."

Khatibzadeh described Pompeo's position as "a world full of lies," and the only trace of the US actions in the world is "ruinous and ominous legacy," and Washington is now heading for "a new act of defiance".

Iran's message to Washington, he added, is that it should "return to the global community and to its duties."

Talking about the possibility that the US may try to force the unilateral inspection of Iranian ships and planes, Khatibzadeh responded "the fact that the US is so isolated."

He pointed out that the E-3 countries (Britain, France and Germany), "outright allies" of the US have issued a statement on Sunday denying Washington's right to impose sanctions on Iran and saying its actions have no legal effect.

"Any action that violates Iran's sovereignty and international regulations will be met severely and without a moment of hesitation," he warned.

The Iranian spokesperson said the US must "refrain from acts of piracy by land, air and sea because the era of piracy is over."

The global community, he added, must stand united against the United States so it will respect international laws and regulations and "stop its criminal activities."

-ANI

Also Read: TikTok confirms agreement with Oracle, Walmart; says Oracle will host all US user data
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ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Robert Pender and Michael Sabel, Founders, Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of Venture Global LNG, Inc. jointly announced today an upcoming change in corporate governance for the company. With the approval of the board of directors, effective October 1, 2020, Mr. Sabel will assume the role of CEO of the company and Mr. Pender will continue to serve the company as Executive Co-Chairman, a new officer position, supporting the company and the CEO on key strategic and financial matters. Mr. Pender will continue to serve on the company's board of directors, together with Mr. Sabel, both as Executive Co-Chairmen of the Board.

Mr. Pender stated, "It has been an exhilarating decade working with Mike to create Venture Global LNG and to help reshape the global LNG industry. In particular, through Venture Global, we are so proud that we have materially reduced the cost of LNG at a critical moment of transition for the world's energy needs. We have succeeded in large part because of the singular focus we have both personally fully invested, now I need to step back a bit. There is no person I trust more than Mike to lead this company we created together into the future. I remain fully committed to Mike, the company and its success, but in a different role where I can add the highest value and at a more balanced pace."

Mr. Sabel added: "Bob and I have worked together as partners for over 10 years, and more important than the milestones achieved have been the friendship and the time spent together grinding through challenges and building our team. The success we have achieved would not have been possible without Bob's leadership, guidance, intellect and energy. While roles are changing a little bit, the partnership, collaboration and intensity will continue for many years to come as we continue to grow our business."

About Venture Global LNG

Venture Global LNG is a long-term, low-cost provider of LNG to be supplied from resource rich North American natural gas basins and is currently constructing or developing 50 MTPA of production capacity in Louisiana. The 10 MTPA Venture Global Calcasieu Pass facility is under construction at the intersection of the Calcasieu Ship Channel and the Gulf of Mexico. The 20 MTPA Venture Global Plaquemines LNG facility is expected to commence construction this year and is located south of New Orleans on the Mississippi River. Venture Global LNG is also developing the 20 MTPA Venture Global Delta LNG facility, adjacent to Plaquemines. More can be found at www.venturegloballng.com.

SOURCE Venture Global LNG

Related Links

http://www.venturegloballng.com


DeWitt, N.Y.  Most Jamesville-DeWitt school district will be impacted by a boil water advisory when they return to school Monday.

The Onondaga County Health Department issued a boil water order Friday night for the town of DeWitt after test results from routine sampling found the presence of E. coli bacteria, department officials said.

In an email this weekend, J-D Superintendent Peter Smith said the boil water order impacts all Jamesville-DeWitt schools, except Jamesville Elementary. Extra precautions will be in place, as schools will remain open, he said.

Well, here is a new twist to school year 2020-21, Smith wrote in the email. ... After consulting with the Onondaga Health Department, we have made the decision that all J-D schools will remain open with additional precautions in place to prevent students from ingesting contaminated water.

Here are some of the steps school officials have put in place for the schools affected by the boil water order:

 Water fountains and bottle filling stations will not be used.

 Bottled water will be delivered to schools as soon as possible and will be available to students until the order is lifted.

 Food service will boil water before it is used for food preparation.

 Students will still be expected to wash their hands after using the bathroom, but will be instructed to use hand sanitizer, as well.

Jamesville-DeWitts superintendent also asked parents to send their children to school with a water bottle full of water safe to consume.

I remain hopeful that locusts are not next, he said.

Have a tip or a story idea? Contact Catie OToole: cotoole@syracuse.com | text/call 315-470-2134 | Twitter | Facebook
Neil Young will help fight off pandemic woes for his fans with box set due out this fall.

Archives Volume 2 a 10-disc release that features work from 1972 through 1976 will be available beginning Nov. 20 with pre-orders being accepted starting Oct. 16.

The package includes 12 songs that have never been released and 50 previously unreleased versions of songs. In all, there are 132 tracks. The final disc is a live recording Odeon Budokan from shows in London and Tokyo with his band Crazy Horse.

This is the second archival release from the Rock Hall of Fame artist, the first coming in 2009 and covering the beginning of his career in 1963 through the release of his 1972 album Harvest.

The prolific Young has been a major influence on several decades and genres, from his beginnings in the 60s with Buffalo Springfield to work with Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, to a resurgence in the 90s as the Godfather of Grunge and inspiring bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana.

Shop for concert tickets here: StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster.
The prime minister will deliver the national statement on 26 September through a pre-recorded video statement

New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the high-level meeting to mark 75 th anniversary of the United Nations and the General Debate next week and the vision he outlines will be "truly significant", especially on the eve of India entering the Security Council, according to India's envoy to the UN Ambassador TS Tirumurti.

The annual session of the UN General Assembly begins on 21 September with the high-level meeting to commemorate the 75 th anniversary of the United Nations.

To mark the historic occasion, the 193 UN member states will adopt a forward-looking political declaration, negotiated through an intergovernmental process, on the theme of 'The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism.'

"Prime Minister's address to the UN and the vision he outlines will be truly significant, especially on the eve of our entering the UN Security Council, Tirumurti told PTI.

Tirumurti said on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the UN, as a founding member of the UN, he recalls with pride the significant and, in many ways, the pioneering contribution of India to the success of UN's work and for peace and development across the world.

Modi will address this special event through a pre-recorded video statement. The General Debate will commence on 22 September and run through 29 September.

Modi will deliver the national statement on 26 September through a pre-recorded video statement.

The vision Modi outlines at these two high-level meetings will be closely watched as it comes ahead of India taking a seat at the powerful UN Security Council as an elected non-permanent member for a two-year term beginning 1 January, 2021.

An effective response to international terrorism, reforming multilateral systems, comprehensive approach to peace and security, technology with a human touch and inclusive solutions to foster development are India's priorities for its UNSC tenure and these are reflected in the declaration that the UN will adapt to mark 75 years of its founding.

Last year, Modi travelled to New York to attend the high-level annual General Assembly session after addressing a mega diaspora event 'Howdy, Modi!' held on 22 September. US President Donald Trump also addressed the gathering of over 50,000 Indian-Americans.

This year, for the first time in the UN's 75 year history, Heads of State and Government will not be arriving in New York for the General Assembly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have submitted pre-recorded video statements for the various summits and sessions that will be played in the iconic General Assembly hall.

Union minister Prakash Javadekar will address the UN Summit on Biodiversity, which will be convened by the President of the General Assembly on 30 September under the theme of Urgent action on biodiversity for sustainable development'.

In the course of the last decade, India has added around 3 million hectares of forest and tree cover, which has enhanced the combined forest and tree cover to 24.56 percent of the total geographical area of the country.

Going forward, India aims to restore 26 million hectares of degraded and deforested land and achieve land-degradation neutrality by 2030 and the country has set additional targets of eliminating single-use plastic by 2022 and installing 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani will address the High-level meeting on the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women - Beijing +25 on 1 October.

The theme of the event, coming in the 25th anniversary year of the historic world conference in Beijing on the advancement and equality of women, is Accelerating the realisation of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls'.

This week, in a significant victory, India got elected as Member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the principal global body focused on gender equality and women empowerment, beating China in a hotly-contested election in the year that marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing World Conference on Women.

A High-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons will be held on 2 October.

The landmark 75th anniversary of the UN comes amid the COVID-19 pandemic raging across the world that has in 2020 so far infected more than 30 million people and will soon reach a grim milestone of over a million deaths.
The COVID-19 pandemic has joined a long list of disasters that have struck the Southeast Texas economy and showed local leaders the importance of rebuilding stronger.

Nearly $1 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration through the CARES Act headed to the region will be used to pursue additional grant funding for various training programs, create an economic resiliency plan and work toward the nations largest government-led rural broadband network.

The Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission and Deep East Texas Council of Governments each recently were awarded $400,000 as a part of the program. The two regional planning agencies include, among others, Jefferson, Hardin, Orange, Jasper and Newton counties.

Both groups will use part of the funds to hire an economic recovery coordinator, who will work with local governments for at least two years to identify and apply for state and federal grants for various economic resiliency projects, such as new training programs at local institutions of higher education.

Related: Federal flooding dollars focus more on resiliency than recovery

The whole point of these grants is to try to increase the regions resiliency to hopefully not have to deal with any pandemic in the future, said Bob Dickinson, director of transportation and environmental resources for the regional planning commission.

That why we want to use these to improve and have a program that can help people get more sustainable jobs and bring more stability to the region.

SETRPC will use the other portion of its grant funding to hire an economic consultant to create a short- and long-term economic resiliency plan for the region, Dickinson said.

The process of creating the plan is expected to use community members feedback to create strategies that will increase the local economys stability in the midst of a disaster.

Strategies could include ways to diversify the local economy away from such a heavy reliance on the oil and gas sector.

Maybe there are some ways in the future to diversify the economy a bit so if something happens, there may not be as big of an impact on a particular region  it might result in less unemployment or lessen an economic slowdown, Dickinson said.

Top hits: Get Beaumont Enterprise stories sent directly to your inbox

The largest project the money will help fund is the Deep East Texas Council of Governments continued pursuit of a regional broadband program.

Executive Director Lonnie Hunt said a little more than half of the regions allocation will fund a broadband project manager, who will spearhead the program after nearly three years of work done under Hunts lead.

We really needed to figure out a way to hire someone that has some expertise putting together a rural broadband network and we can say, This is your job. This is your responsibility. Get it done, he said. This grant is going to allow us to hire that person.

After a feasibility study and market analysis conducted about a year and a half ago, this is the next big step in the projects push toward becoming a reality.

According to the study, the majority of the about 385,000 residents who live in the Deep East Texas region are still on DSL.

The cost for those residents to upgrade to high-speed internet service ranges from 390% to 430% more than what residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area pay.

Citing those and other factors, Hunt said its unlikely widespread, high-speed connectivity would be achieved without a public agency stepping in to help foot the bill.

Related: SETX unemployement falls, still third-largest in state

The need for such a service has been clear for some time, but the coronavirus outbreak underscored that need. That is particularly true in education and in health care, as well as for rural employees.

Some of the schools in our region tried to do remote learning, Hunt said. But the reality is  even if the school has all the latest technology and internet and broadband, if the teachers and students dont have it, you cant do it.

Some of our schools literally delivered packets of homework and everything along bus routes. The technology just wasnt there to support an online process.

The lack of connectivity also hurt rural residents ability to see a doctor. With new coronavirus-related regulations and an existing doctor shortage, internet service for telemedicine could have helped.

Many patients had to resort to talking to their doctor on the phone because internet speeds were not fast enough to support video connection, Hunt said.

At the same time, many businesses were forced to let employees work from home. But without internet connectivity, they were limited in how much they could do.

Related: Jasper Co. looks at faster internet speeds

Some people who could have continued to make a living at home just couldnt, Hunt said.

Looking to the future, as experts speculate that coronavirus will increase the number of people looking to permanently work from home, Hunt said communities such as Deep East Texas and northern Southeast Texas could look particularly attractive for entrepreneurs looking to relocate.

But they have to make a living, he said. Were projected to get 10,000 more jobs over 10 years in Deep East Texas. But weve got to get (the broadband) installed.

So, the working group is attempting to leverage its residents to make the installation of broadband feasible in a way it simply couldnt be for a private company simply looking to make a profit.

The recent grant from the Economic Development Administration, and resulting broadband coordinator position, is expected to light a fire under this some-$200 million project to continue moving it forward.

Ive said this from the start. Its still a very scary project and its out of our wheelhouse. We got into this because we want to bring all the right partners together to make this happen for our region.

Now we have someone hired by DETCOG to represent us and work with those partners, Hunt said.

Disasters are horrible things, he added. But they really shine a light on the need for better communication, technology and access for these rural residents.

Once complete, the project would be the largest government-led regional broadband project in the nation, Hunt said.

The Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission is working on a similar initiative, but it is not nearly as far along.

kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com

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All things being equal, most voters have consistently said they would prefer Biden to choose the next justice, not Trump. As Nate Cohn noted in an analysis this weekend, that pro-Biden tilt is reflected in a recent Fox News poll of likely voters nationwide, as well as in a range of New York Times /Siena College surveys conducted this month in battleground states. In those polls, Bidens advantage on trust to name a justice ran just ahead of his lead over Trump in the horse race, but the numbers were close.

In a national Marquette University Law School poll last year, Americans said by a margin of 56 percent to 32 percent that they had little confidence in Trump to pick the right kind of person to be the next justice.

Yet in a separate Marquette poll just days before Ginsburgs death, most respondents across political parties said that in a hypothetical situation, if a Supreme Court seat opened up this year and Trump nominated someone to fill it, the Senate should move ahead with confirmation hearings.

At the same time, liberal voters are likely to be fired up over the prospect of letting conservatives cement a court majority that could endure for decades to come. This months Marquette survey found that even before Ginsburgs death sent a wave of anxiety through the partys liberal base, Democratic voters were slightly more concerned about the Supreme Court than were Republicans. Among likely voters supporting Biden, roughly three in five said that the naming of the next justice would be a very important motivating factor in their vote, compared with just 51 percent of Trumps supporters.

That result was in line with other recent surveys from CNN and the Pew Research Center, both of which found that Democratic voters were more likely than Republican voters to say that nominations to the Supreme Court would be a highly important voting issue.

On our new podcast Sway, Kara Swisher interviews Nancy Pelosi.

If the election were held today, we would win it all, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, says in the premiere of Sway.
Of all the missed opportunities in mid-pandemic, none seems more inexcusable than failing to alert Canadians to the COVID Alert app.

We are engulfed in fear of the unknown, yet this simple app knows the enemy. We are awash in worry about an unseen virus, yet this app sees around corners.

Still, it has stalled  stymied by Canadians who would sooner point fingers than tap their touch screens to download it. Until this simple yet powerful app goes viral and achieves scale, it will fail  and the virus will surely prevail.

While we fret about losing ground to the dreaded second wave, we are stuck on second  having refused, at the first opportunity, to download the damned app. To date, barely 2 million Canadians have installed it, far below any expectations and explanations for a country of 38 million people.

COVID Alert is no panacea. But it is a powerful preventative weapon that people are foolishly and recklessly ignoring  out of personal ignorance and political indifference.

Given half a chance, the app could help track infected (especially asymptomatic) carriers at warp speed, before they unknowingly spread those infections  and long before any contact-tracing officials from public health units tell them to get tested and self-isolate.

This electronic alert should be as ubiquitous as masks, which are now mandatory (indoors) in major municipalities. But the app remains strictly voluntary  like a vaccine  thus giving COVID-19 that much more manoeuvring room to insinuate itself into a population that declines to defend itself to the fullest.

Gradually, belatedly, Canadians embraced face masks after politicians and public health experts exhorted them to cover up. Yet downloads of the app have languished because governments have orphaned COVID Alert.

Opting out of the app is the electronic equivalent of skipping a flu vaccine that both shields you from the effects of a virus while reducing the risk of community transmission. Once society achieves a herd effect, where a significant majority are vaccinated, there is safety in numbers.

The analogy applies to the app as it does to masks: As more of us are masked, and vaccinated, and armed with the app, the greater the benefit  collectively and individually.

Yet COVID Alert remains in a quintessentially Canadian limbo  mired by interprovincial rivalry, political inertia, media indifference and the publics paranoia about privacy. What we have here is a failure to communicate, because politicians and public-health leaders are failing to spread the word while the virus spreads with success.

Months after its soft launch this summer, the Canadian-designed app is still only available in a handful of provinces, as recalcitrant premiers make excuses. To his credit, Premier Doug Ford gave it a boost at the outset, publicly urging Quebecs Francois Legault to overcome resistance in his province, but it has fallen by the wayside.

Mired in parochialism, hit by the worst outbreak in Canada, Quebec continues to shun the app  supposedly over privacy concerns. But if the app were truly intrusive, it would not have received the blessings of privacy commissioners in both Ontario and Ottawa, and endorsements from technology experts everywhere.

In fact, it retains no identifying personal data, relying solely on anonymous pinging of nearby cellphones (anyone within two metres over a period of 15 minutes of proximity). Anyone who contracts COVID-19 inputs an anonymous code, triggering alerts to all those who came in contact with that person in recent days (the app relies on a phones low-energy Bluetooth function, consuming negligible battery power).

Canadians reflexively offer up their personal data to Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Amazon without a second thought. Yet their first instinct is to fret over misplaced privacy concerns that deter them from downloading this time-saving and life-saving app in the middle of a medical emergency.

Research by epidemiologists at Oxford University suggests digital contact tracing can play a vital role in controlling the pandemic. Modelling of similar technology in Washington state showed potential for reducing infections, hospitalizations, deaths and the number of people in quarantine.

COVID Alert cries out for a massive publicity push by all governments so that a majority of Canadians are armed with the app, in much the same way as they are masked. Our premier admonishes recalcitrant Ontarians daily to respect physical distancing  using colourful language  but he should be devoting at least as much time to explaining the vital role of the app in backstopping contact tracing.

Heres an easy way for Ford to make a splash: Suspend the province-wide ban on cellphones in classrooms announced by his governing Tories last year with great fanfare  but only if students can show they have the app downloaded (and encourage them to shame their parents into installing it).

Why havent Ottawa and the provinces launched major ad campaigns pointing people to free downloads with a click (Google Play or Apple Store)?

While it cannot confer immunity, it can offer connectivity and anonymity. To make COVID-19 go down, download COVID Alert  so that the app goes viral, not the virus.
(Newser)  Another Trump impeachment? Or one of William Barr? Nancy Pelosi refused to rule them out Sunday on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos should the Senate try to push through a Supreme Court nominee during the lame duck session. "Well, we have our options," Pelosi said. "We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now, but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country. This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election with statements that he and his henchmen have made." She added that "our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus."

story continues below

Pelosi also paid tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Supreme Court justice who died Friday at age 87 from pancreatic cancer complications. "Well, I'm so glad that the country is providing such an outpouring of love and support to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburgpetite, tiny in size, huge in impact, and powerful, brilliant brain on the court," Pelosi said. The White House reacted by slamming Pelosi's appearance: "The Speaker threatened to impeach the Presidentagainfor simply fulfilling his constitutional obligation," White House Deputy Press Secretary Brian Morgenstern told Fox News. He added that Democrats are "threatening to pack the court and say things like 'nothing is off the table,'" which he called "bizarre and dangerous power grabs." (Read more Nancy Pelosi stories.)
The Yankees are headed to the playoffs.

The club clinched its postseason spot when the San Diego Padres defeated the Seattle Mariners on Sunday night, hours after the Yankees missed out on earning the place themselves by falling to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Fans who want to celebrate the Yankees entrance into the playoffs can do so by getting some Yankees postseason gear at Fanatics with hats, hoodies and t-shirts. Interested fans can check out the options here.

Introducing Yankees Insider: Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text message directly with beat writers

The Yankees still have some work to do in the final week of the regular season.

Theyre probably not going to win the AL East  the Tampa Bay Rays lead by 3.5 games and hold the tie-breaker  but the Yankees loss has them tied with the Minnesota Twins in the race for the all-important No. 4 seed in the American League playoffs.

The three division winners plus the second-place team with the best record will get home-field advantage for all games in next weeks best-of-three Wild Card Series. The Yankees have locked up the tiebreaker with the Twins by being guaranteed to finish with a better division record, so they really are up a game on the Twins, who beat the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday night.

If the playoffs began Monday, the Yankees would play the Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium. Manager Aaron Boone wants the home-field advantage, of course, but ace Gerrit Cole and No. 2 starter Masahiro Tanaka are expected to have short outings or be skipped a turn next weekend so that they can start the first two Wild Card Series games on short rest.

Wed love to have those games at home, but not at the expense of anyone, Boone said. We obviously have to mix up our pitching rotation a little bit  thats going to change  but as far as our position players  were trying to win these games.

(NJ Advance Medias Randy Miller contributed to this report.)

Get Yankees text messages: Cut through the clutter of social media and text during games with beat writers and columnists. Plus, exclusive news and analysis every day. Sign up now.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.
WASHINGTON  The Justice Department on Monday singled out Portland, Oregon; New York City and Seattle as "anarchist jurisdictions"  cities that the Trump administration said have allowed violence to persist during months of civil demonstrations over racial injustice and police brutality and could lose federal funding.

The designation of the three cities  all led by Democrats  was in response to President Donald Trump's Sept. 2 executive order, which threatened to withhold federal funding from cities where the administration said state and local officials have cut police department funding, refused offers for help from the federal government and failed to rein in violence.

The Office of Management and Budget will send guidance on restricting the cities' eligibility for federal dollars.

"We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens," Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.

Attorney General William Barr stands by President Trump as he speaks to Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth and Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis Sept. 1, 2020 in Kenosha, Wis.

The mayors of Portland, Seattle and New York City criticized the move as a political stunt to punish Democratic cities beset by crisis amid a deadly pandemic and accused the Trump administration of attempting to distract from its inability to contain the spread of coronavirus, which has killed nearly 200,000 in the country.

Trump has been campaigning on a law-and-order message, casting urban cities as places of violence, as he seeks a second term.

Tension with Democratic mayors: Mayors see broken trust, political agenda in Trump's surge of federal officers to US cities

"This is thoroughly political and unconstitutional. The President is playing cheap political games with Congressionally directed funds," the three mayors said in a joint statement Monday. "What the Trump Administration is engaging in now is more of what we've seen all along: shirking responsibility and placing blame elsewhere to cover its failure."

Story continues

This is the latest in an escalation of tension between the Trump administration and cities led by Democratic mayors, as civil unrest over racial injustice, sparked by the death of George Floyd and other Black people at the hands of police, has stretched over several months.

New York Police Department officers watch demonstrators in Times Square on June 1 during a Black Lives Matter protest.

At a news conference Monday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he saw "anything but anarchy" as he greeted preschool children in Queens on their first day back in the classroom. The city's corporation counsel also said officials will sue the Trump administration if it withholds federal funding.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said threatening to withhold federal funding is a "gross misuse of federal power."

"Trump, the Department of Justice, and Barrs obsession with Seattle and me is irrational and, most importantly, a huge distraction," Durkan said Monday, alluding to a New York Times report last week that Barr had asked the agency's Civil Rights Division to explore whether to charge Durkan for allowing protesters to establish a police-free zone this past summer. The Justice Department denied that Barr directed prosecutors to do so.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, center, speaks during a July 13 news conference at City Hall in Seattle as Police Chief Carmen Best, left, and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins , right, look on.

In a joint statement following Trump's executive order this month, the mayors of Portland, Seattle, New York City and Washington, D.C., said withholding federal funding would be illegal. Trump's executive order also singled out Washington, D.C., although the Justice Department did not designate the district as an "anarchist jurisdiction." The department, however, said it is still identifying cities that meet the criteria set by the White House.

"We are confronting unprecedented challenges  fighting back a pandemic and economic devastation without another stimulus. Now, instead of leadership from the White House, we are faced with new attacks that are unlawful and will undoubtedly be defeated in court," the mayors said.

The Justice Department listed several reasons for choosing Portland, Seattle and New York City, one of which is the cities' decisions to eliminate positions and cut thousand of dollars from their police departments.

The department also specifically mentioned the so-called Capitol Hill Organized Protest area, or CHOP  several city blocks taken over by protesters following Floyd's death. Seattle police cleared the area in July.

What is CHOP? In Seattle's Capitol Hill autonomous protest zone, some Black leaders express doubt about white allies

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DOJ calls New York, Portland, Seattle 'anarchist,' may withhold funds
This week were toasting Monday with a single pot still whiskey from one of the great names in Irish whiskey, John Power & Sons.

In the days when there were only two distilleries in Ireland, Bushmills and Midleton, it used to be said that while Jameson was what they drank in Britain and America, the Irish kept the good stuff for themselves, Powers Gold Label. And even now with the range of Irish whiskey available expanding daily, its still an essential bottle.

The Powers story begins in 1791 with the establishment by James Power of a distillery in Thomas Street, Dublin. In 1822 the business, now called John Power & Sons, moved round the corner to Johns Lane. The city, as we have covered on the MoM blog before, was the world powerhouse (if youll excuse the pun) of whiskey at a time when commercial distilling in Scotland was still in its infancy. Demand was such that the distillery kept on expanding from 160,000 gallons produced in 1827 to 900,000 gallons by the 1880s. The site was so vast that it covered over six acres of the city and employed 300 people.

The style of whiskey made was what became known as single pot still, pot-distilled (probably twice rather than three times as is the norm now) from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley, and other cereals such as oats. This was originally a wheeze to get around the tax on malted barley and accidently created one of the worlds great whiskey styles. You can see the sort of monumentally large stills that were used at the time at the old Midleton Distillery near Cork, which is home to a vast non-working 19th century still.

Traditionally, Irish distillers didnt bottle their own whiskey. Instead they sold it to merchants, who would mature it under bond (ie. without having to pay duty) and bottle it under their own names. Brands like Green Spot, which was created by Dublin wine merchant Mitchells, has its origins in this time. But John Power and Sons were different. In 1886 the company began bottling its own whiskey with a gold label, hence the origins of the Powers Gold label.

Following the decline of Irish whiskey, the big firms, John Jameson & Sons, Powers, and Cork Distillers Company amalgamated to form Irish Distillers and moved to a purpose-built new distillery at Midleton. Powers Gold Label was reformulated as a blended whiskey, though still with a high ratio of pot to column still in the mix. It was thought that part of the Irish whiskeys problem was that it had too much character for the uninitiated and couldnt compete with easy-going Scotch whisky blends like Cutty Sark and J&B especially in the all important American market.

For a long time the only single pot still whisky on the market was Green Spot which was made in very small quantities. Writing in the 2010 edition of his book 101 Whiskies to Try Before you Die, Ian Buxton described it as the coelacanth of whisky  a dogged survivor of a virtually extinct race of giants.

The revival began with the launch of Redbreast in the 1990s by Irish distillers and then in 2011 with Powers Johns Lane, the first all pot still Powers since the 1970s. Theres some lively debate going on in Irish whiskey at the moment about the term single pot still. Up until the 1950s, mash bills were made up of malted and unmalted barley and around 20% oats and wheat but by the 1960s non-barley cereals had fallen out of use. When the current rules were formulated in 2014, the only company making the style was Irish Distillers using just malted and unmalted barley so the rules only allowed for 5% other cereals.

The Midleton distillery makes a variety of different weights of triple-distilled pot still spirits to go into its single pot still whiskeys like Redbreast or Green Spot, or blended with column still distillates for bestsellers like Jameson. Master distiller Kevin O Gorman wouldnt go into specifics about how the different whiskeys were made but would say that Redbreast has a completely different flavour profile to the Powers range thanks to the selection of a range of specific distillate styles and to the maturation techniques. At the top of the Powers tree is the fabulous 12 year old Johns Lane, a premium product with a premium price tag and worth every penny. Three Swallow is younger, theres no age statement, has less sherry cask influence, and offers that pure pot still magic at a price thats only a bit more expensive than Gold Label. If you like Irish whiskey, your cupboard should not be without a bottle.

Tasting note from The Chaps at Master of Malt:

Nose: Cinnamon and warming nutmeg, maple syrup, banana fritters and dried oak.

Palate: Roasted almonds, crunchy brown sugar, melted butter and a hint of toasted marshmallow.

Finish: Whispers of malt loaf and aromatic spices.

Powers Three Swallow is available now from Master of Malt.
New Coronavirus case confirmed

A new coronavirus case has been confirmed on the Isle of Man.

The latest individual remains in a period of self-isolation having returned from the United Kingdom.

The new case was identified after the person opted to pay 50 and have a test on the seventh day of their isolation.

They now have to spend another two weeks at home in quarantine.
This year, the exams were conducted in the assignment format due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Chhattisgarh Open School Result 2020: The CGSOS results for Class 10 and Class 12 2020 have been declared on cgsos.co.in. Students can check their subject-wise score from the official website.

Reports said that the exams were conducted in the assignment format this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was taken keeping in view the safety and health of the students.

Students were given assignments and they were asked to submit it for evaluation through email. The assignments were allotted on 22 July and students were asked to submit by 22 August.

A total of 69,599 students had taken the High School exam, while 72,302 wrote the Higher Secondary annual exam this year, The Times of India reported.

Steps to check CGSOS result 2020 online

Step 1: Log on to the website cgsos.co.in

Step 2: Opt for the link for High School and Higher Secondary Main results 2020 on the homepage

Step 3: Select between Class 10 and Class 12 exam results

Step 4: Key in your board examination roll number and press the search button

Step 5: Your scorecard will open on the web page. Save and take a print out

Here's the direct link to download the results.

In June, the Chhattisgarh Board announced Class 10 and 12 results. This year nearly 76.62 percent students cleared the Class 10 exam.

The pass percentage in the state board Class 12 exams this year was 78.59 percent.
He sent fans into a tailspin after he was reunited with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston.

And Brad Pitt's girlfriend Nicole Poturalski was proudly displaying her toned abs in a blue crop top as she shared a sexy video with her fans on Instagram Stories on Monday.

The model, 27, was clad in a blue knitted crop top and printed jeans for the sizzling post after Brad, 56, joined ex Jennifer, 51, for a risque table read of Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Ab-tastic: Brad Pitt's girlfriend Nicole Poturalski, 27, displayed her toned abs in a blue crop top as she shared a sexy video with her fans on Instagram Stories on Monday

Nicole showed off her tanned physique as she posed in front of her mirror for the brief video.

The brunette beauty slipped into the cropped polo neck blue ribbed jumper and funky printed jeans before heading out for the day.

Nicole's post comes after Brad's fans went wild last week after he reunited with Jennifer for an online table read.

Jaw-dropping: The model was clad in a blue knitted crop top and printed jeans for the sizzling post as she headed out for the day

Confident: Nicole completed her stylish look with dark-tinted sunglasses as she posed in her bedroom

It was the first time the former spouses have been seen together since they were spotting chatting backstage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January.

The former couple recreated one of Fast Times At Ridgemont High's most risque scenes, where Jennifer's character walks in on Brad's character 'daydreaming' about her topless in the bathroom as she looks for Q-tips.

The actor took on the role of Brad Hamilton, originally played by Judge Reinhold, 63, while his ex-wife Jennifer, 51, played high school 'sex queen' Linda Barrett, portrayed by Phoebe Cates, 57, in the coming-of-age teenage dramedy.

Back together! Nicole's post comes after Brad's fans went wild after he reunited with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston for a risque table read of Fast Times at Ridgemont High

It was the first time Jennifer and Brad, who split in 2005, have reunited on-screen for years, after he famously made a guest appearance on Friends in 2001.

Brad is currently dating model Nicole they were spotted last month arriving in the South of France on a private jet where they visited Chateau Miraval.

The trip coincided with what would have been his and Angelina's sixth wedding anniversary, they married at the chateau on August 24, 2014.

The former couple had purchased the estate including the Chateau and vineyard in 2011 for $60 million after leasing it for three years.

Throwback: It was the first time the pair were seen together since their friendly reunion backstage at the Screen Actor's Guild Awards in January (Brad left and Jennifer right)

It is believed that the pair may have been dating for the best part of a year, as they both attended a performance of Kanye West's opera Nebuchadnezzar at the Hollywood Bowl in November 2019.

Nicole, who has a son, is married to Berlin-based restaurateur Roland Mary, 68, with whom she's allegedly in an open relationship.

Earlier this week, Nicole hit back at trolls accusing her of of 'hating' Brad's ex-wife Angelina Jolie and said people should 'stay out' of her relationship after she shared a cryptic quote saying 'happy people don't hate'.

Brad and Nicole's visit to Chateau Miraval reportedly angered Angelina, with a source telling the Mirror: 'Angie is furious and utterly stunned Brad could stoop this low.'

Controversy: Earlier this week, Nicole hit back at trolls accusing her of of 'hating' Brad's ex-wife Angelina Jolie and said people should 'stay out' of her relationship

While last week, it was claimed that relations between the former couple, who share six children, have deteriorated to the point where they are no longer engaging in family therapy ahead of a custody trial slated for next month.

'Tensions have escalated between Brad and Angelina, with family therapy no longer taking place,' a source told Us Weekly.

The former couple had appeared to reach a cordial understanding about co-parenting their kids, with the Once upon A Time... In Hollywood actor spotted leaving the actress' LA home in June after spending time with the children.

However, UsWeekly claims they are now at odds again over how much time they each get with Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and 12-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

Eldest child Maddox, 19, is allowed to choose his own timetable and is reported to no longer have any contact with his father.
Ransomware has become the most chronic and common threat to digital networks. At a time when 41% of all cybersecurity insurance claims flow from ransomware attacks, its no surprise that ransomware is top of mind for leading security experts, government officials and law enforcement leaders.

I think ransomware is going to get worse and I hate to say it, but its almost the perfect crime, Mark Weatherford, chief strategy officer and board member of the non-profit National Cyber Security Center, told attendees at the third annual Hack the Capitol event. Its easy to pull off and its almost impossible to get caught.

While major ransomware events grab all the headlines, Weatherford worries about the smaller victims of ransomware attackers. Small- and medium-sized businesses simply dont have the resources or the technical acumen to understand the threat environment that they live in, he said.

Sometimes it can seem like a ransomware attack is inevitable. A lot of my friends in companies that I talk to on a regular basis literally are waiting for that shoe to drop when they are the victim of a big ransomware event, Weatherford said.

Ransomware is a big deal and getting worse

Ransomware is actually a big deal, Rex Booth, chief cyber threat analysis at the US Department of Homeland Securitys (DHSs) Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), said at CISAs annual Cybersummit. It may not be the most exciting kind of compromise; it may not always be the most sophisticated. Sometimes its honestly easily preventable, Booth said.

When youre suffering through a ransomware incident, none of that matters. Its a big deal. You cant access your data. You cant use your systems, and you dont know if youre going to get them back and youre upset. Youre freaking out.

Ransomware attacks are increasing in number, ferocity level and origin points, according to Jonathan Holmes of the FBIs Major Cyber Crimes Unit in Washington, DC. Over the last year or so, weve really seen an explosion in ransomware, he said at the DHS Summit. Weve seen numerous new ransomware groups victimizing individuals. Weve seen those ransom demands increasing from tens of thousands of dollars in 2015 to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Most recently weve seen ransom demands in the millions of dollars range.

The attackers are also changing their tactics, making it difficult to defend against them. Those tactics include things like not just encrypting victims computer networks but also exfiltrating data on those victim networks, Holmes said. Now when victims realize theyve become a victim of a ransomware attack; its not just that their data is encrypted. Its also that theyve lost all their  or much of their  information. The ransomware actors are holding that data at risk and telling victims if they dont pay the ransom, theyre going to leak that data to the public.

Ransomware actors are forming cartels

Perhaps not surprisingly, ransomware attackers are starting to band together, Holmes said. Weve seen some of these ransomware actors entering into a cartel with one another. Under this cartel model, theyll share information amongst the group members and share intelligence and share techniques. Its a bit concerning to us as well [because] it shows a major shift change among the ransomware actors.

The ransomware cartels are forming into business-like organizations with specialization of labor, Jason Conboy of DHSs Investigations division said. You have your malware office and they have effectively built skills to write that malware. Youve got your money mules. Youve got the ones that are going to communicate with the victim, try to negotiate a ransom payment. Then theyre going to have the job of moving the money for the bigger organization. Some ransomware organizations, he adds, have customer service members that help you work with the threat actor.

Global economic downturn could accelerate ransomware attacks

I just like ransomware so much because its just such a violent crime to the network, Mike Moran, who works in major case investigations at the US Secret Service said at the CISA Summit. Some people think its pretty simple, but its actually pretty sophisticated. Its kind of both. I guess the sophistication might be in its simplicity.

Like most other law enforcement specialists, Moran doesnt see an end to the growing ransomware epidemic. These trends are going to continue just like bank robberies are going to continue until theres no cash at the bank, he said. If people keep paying the ransomtheres profit to be had in this opportunity.

Even worse, the coronavirus pandemic could see a lot of non-criminals seeking to keep food on the table for their families start playing the ransomware game, Moran warned. If were really going to be going into a global economic downturn as a result of the coronavirus and all other geopolitical issues, people are going to get more desperate and theyre going to try to go where they can generate income.

Fueling this potential rise could be the advent of ransomware as a service (RaaS). You can actually even as a non-techie purchase ransomware as a service to then deploy on any existing computer networks that you might have access to. The elite level of sophistication needed to perpetuate a ransomware attack is almost not necessary, Moran said.

Finding ransomware actors a challenge for law enforcement

Trying to find these threat actors is a growing challenge for law enforcement. The tools and techniques that these actors are using are all supported by anonymization, the FBIs Holmes said. The ransomware actors are often using the anonymizing Tor network to communicate with one another and to communicate with victims. That creates problems for law enforcement to identify that infrastructure the bad guys are using.

Moreover, they use virtual currency such as Bitcoin to receive payments that can be very challenging to investigate, Holmes said. Sometimes they rely on email providers that dont keep logs that could otherwise help law enforcement can access to information about the accounts they use. It makes our ability to investigate those cases very, very difficult, Holmes said.

Despite these hurdles, victims should work with law enforcement if they come under a ransomware attack. Were putting the pieces together across our own agencies and reaching across to other agencies, Secret Services Moran said. We can sometimes, but not most of the time, provide decryption key from some of the earlier forms of ransomware and some of the less sophisticated forms.
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With the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns forcing teaching to go online, teachers have had to face instances of harassment over the course of the past several months but said that they are helpless, The Times of India reported.

According to the report, along with suggestive songs being played in background, allegedly by students, and lewd messages, teachers also complained of strangers popping up in the middle of classes and flashing.

According to Deepika Jain (name changed by the newspaper), a Math teacher in whose class the risque song was played, she could not identify the student who was playing the song, and warnings did not help. "The entire class was giggling," she said.

Gunjan Sharma (name changed by the newspaper), who teaches English at a private school in Uttar Pradesh, said that after a stranger flashed her in the middle of a class last month, classes had to be suspended for a week while each student was told to update their accounts with photos and full names.

Ever since classes went online, several teachers told the newspaper, they have faced online bullying and harassment, including anonymous ids sending them lewd chats.

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

"We are advising suspension of rowdy students, calling parents to school and reporting the matter to police," said R Kesarwani, who is the secretary of Confederation of Independent Schools, a body consisting of principals and management authorities. He added that awareness campaigns regarding this are also on.

Non-cooperative parents, teachers said, add to the problem, not to mention the anonymity of the online world, which makes it difficult to identify the culprits. Teachers have also said that parents tend to comment during online classes or keep approaching their children to feed them.

"When we began online classes, many of us were unfamiliar with video calling apps. Over time, we have learned how to make the online space safer for ourselves, such as muting rowdy students, disabling chats and allowing only verified accounts to join classes," a teacher from Gurugram told the newspaper.
White elephant schools reveal lack of progress

School that cannot be occupied by learners and teachers, and stand out as white elephants in the communities in which they have been built.

The media has reported on a public school in Midrand, worth R82 million and brand new, which has not opened for the past three years because the school was built on a wetland. According to reports, no approval to build the school, particularly given it is on a wetland, was sought from the City of Johannesburg. The school was built near the Mayibuye informal settlement for learners in the area.

This is another textbook case  pun intended  of the failure to improve infrastructure in the basic education system. Further, it is a failure that has occurred in other provinces, without so much attention, but with the same serious consequences. White elephant schools, as these unused schools are referred to, are some of the many elephants in the proverbial room of public-policy failures in the education system.

Since 1997, the department of basic education has had a schools-rationalisation policy in place. Its aim is to close unviable schools across the country. These schools are deemed unviable because they have too few learners, a lack of resources, are too far for learners to travel to, are very old or have unsafe infrastructure. Some of these unviable schools were built by communities in rural areas during apartheid. These communities wanted their children to have good learning opportunities at a time when the apartheid government spared few resources for non-white education.

Given this reality in South Africas generally fragmented and uneven basic education system, some of the objectives of the schools-rationalisation policy have been to close unviable schools and either merge small schools in the same area or build newer, safer, well-resourced schools to replace unviable schools that have been closed.

In some provinces, the schools-rationalisation policy has been under way since 2002. The implementation of this policy is usually undertaken by joint management teams, comprising education officials from both the national and provincial spheres of government. However, the slow pace of the closure of unviable schools and their replacement with new schools has resulted in challenges, leading to the white elephant schools phenomenon.

White elephant schools are unoccupied school buildings that have not been fully approved during the consultation and/or construction processes of schools rationalisation. As a result, the schools cannot be occupied by learners and teachers, and they stand out as white elephants in the communities in which they have been built.

The recent case of the white elephant school in Midrand demonstrates the financial wastage and community frustration that accrues in this situation. But it is not the first time that this phenomenon has appeared in local communities and in other provinces of South Africa.

One reason why there are a number of white elephant schools across the country is that the long implementation period of the schools rationalisation policy has made provincial education departments vulnerable to a changing political and administrative landscape. For instance, in one province, there have been numerous leadership and staff changes in the education department.

These political and administrative changes often displace schools rationalisation in the long list of education priorities in the province. As such, if a white elephant school has been built, the process for approving and opening the school is delayed because of other priorities in the provincial education department.

Another reason for white elephant schools is that there is a lack of understanding about the processes associated with school rationalisation.

A lack of clarity usually exists among national officials, staff in the relevant provincial education department, district officials, and other stakeholders, such as teachers unions and teachers.

Effectively, if either national, provincial or district officials interpret the policy  to the extent that one school is closed and a new school is built  without the buy-in of their fellow structures or other stakeholders, the school cannot be fully approved and become functional.

There may be legitimate concerns for not being able to occupy the school, such as lack of participation or consensus in the processes required to close unviable schools; and lack of consideration for the ability and willingness of teachers to move to a new school.

But these legitimate concerns are overshadowed and exacerbated by a schools-rationalisation programme that is now two decades overdue and inconsistently applied in different provinces.

Finally, white elephant schools remain unoccupied if there is no co-ordination between intergovernmental departments, such as provincial education departments, public works and transport. For example, the building of schools is carried out by the department of public works and its provincial offices and the department of transport has to assist with scholar transport in some provinces.

Even if a provincial education department opens a school, it relies on other government departments to fully open and operate the new school. This adds another set of institutional complexities and organisational dynamics to the schools-rationalisation process.

The basic education system in South Africa has a number of challenges that are almost unimaginable to those who are not directly affected by or involved in the public school system.

White elephant schools expose the magnitude of the amount of work that still needs to be done in this sector.

Dr Thokozani Chilenga-Butao is a lecturer in the political studies department at the University of the Witwatersrand and a research associate in the education programme at the Public Affairs Research Institute. This article was first published in the Mail & Guardian.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Saturday he cannot take any action on a U.S. declaration that all UN sanctions on Iran had been reimposed because "there would appear to be uncertainty" on the issue.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month that he triggered a 30-day process at the council leading to the return of UN sanctions on Iran on Saturday evening that would also stop a conventional arms embargo on Tehran from expiring on Oct. 18.

But 13 of the 15 Security Council members say Washington's move is void because Pompeo used a mechanism agreed under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which the United States quit in 2018.

"There would appear to be uncertainty whether or not the process... was indeed initiated and concomitantly whether or not the (sanctions) terminations... continue in effect," Guterres wrote in a letter to the council, seen by Reuters. "It is not for the Secretary-General to proceed as if no such uncertainty exists," he said.


Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 01:02:05|Editor: huaxia

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BAMAKO, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Former Malian Defense Minister and retired Colonel Bah N'Daw was appointed Mali's transitional president by a 17-member commission set up by the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) on Monday, CNSP's President Assimi Goita announced on national television.

The appointment of the transitional president and his vice-president came after deliberations of the special commission of which 7 of its 17 members are from the CNSP, said Goita, adding that he was nominated transitional vice-president.

The newly appointed transitional president's sworn-in ceremony will take place on Sept. 25, Goita announced.

Between May 2014 to January 2015, N'Daw was served as Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs under the presidency of former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who resigned after the mutiny on Aug. 18 this year.

According to the Transition Charter, which was adopted on Sept. 12 by some 500 participants from different forces of the nation after three days of consultations, the eventual transitional president will be either a military or a civilian, and the transition period would be 18 months.

In addition to the transitional president and his or her vice president, a government will be formed with a maximum of 25 members under the leadership of a prime minister who will be appointed by the transitional president in accordance with the current Constitution.

Also, during the period of transition, a National Council of 121 members composed of those from the political forces of Mali will be set up as the legislative body.

N'Daw's appointment came two days before the end of the ultimatum issued by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the CNSP at the end of the mini-summit held in Accra, Ghana, on September 15.

According to ECOWAS, Mali's political transition should be headed by a civilian, and the transitional vice-president shall not, under any circumstances, replace the transitional president.

ECOWAS also demanded that the CNSP should be dissolved immediately once the civilian transition is put in place.

Following a mutiny on Aug. 18 in the Soundiata Keita camp in Kati, near Bamako, former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his Prime Minister Boubou Cisse were brought to the camp by mutineers.

Keita announced his own resignation that evening, as well as his government and the dissolution of the National Assembly. Enditem
On 17 September 2020, Business and Arts South Africa (Basa) held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) online. The proceedings included the election of two new non-executive directors to the Basa board. Following a public call for nominations and a rigorous shortlisting process, Unathi Malunga and Makgati Molebatsi were elected by Basa members.

Left to right: Unathi Malunga, Makgati Molebatsi Image credit: Makgati shot by Anthony Kaminju

With a combination of legal acumen and academic training in the arts, Ms Malunga is a Fulbright scholar as well as an entertainment lawyer by training. Says Ms Malunga: My career as an entertainment lawyer has always been about the effective marriage between business and my passion for the arts and creative industries. And Basa represents precisely that! I am honoured to serve both sectors through the invaluable work that Basa performs. She is currently executive officer of the South African Screen Federation (Sasfed).Ms Molebatsi is no stranger to Basa, having worked closely with the organisation previously. My participation and relationship with Basa goes back a couple of years. With my accumulated years of corporate and business experience, as well as my continued passion for arts and culture, and networks in both, I look forward to effectively contributing towards Basas continued expansion. Ms Molebatsi is the founder and director of MakDct Art Advisory and Agency and also has a wealth of experience within the marketing, communications and advertising spaces, enhancing brand profiles into recognised and robust industry participants.Basa is constituted in terms of the Companies Act. Basa is registered as a public benefit organisation (PBO) and is accountable to its stakeholders. The Basa board of directors comprises chairman Charmaine Soobramoney, with deputy chair Mandie van der Spuy, and Kojo Baffoe, Kathy Berman, Devi Sankaree Govender, Ashraf Johaardien (CEO), Hilton Lawler, Khanyi Mamba, Unathi Malunga, Makgati Molebatsi, Zingisa Motloba, Dr Yacoob Abba Omar and Mirna Wessels.
The third series of Romanian language courses, taught as a foreign language, is organized exclusively online by the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR), through the Zoom or Google Meet platforms, the deadline for registration being September 30.

According to an ICR press release sent to AGERPRES on Monday, the level test will take place online, on October 1, at 12.00, using Zoom or Google Meet.

Those interested can opt for a Romanian language module, with a total duration of 40 hours, either in the morning (between 9.30-11.30) or in the evening (between 18.30-20.30), during the period 5 October - December 9 or October 6 - December 10.

The groups bring together between 6 and 12 students, the minimum number being six participants to form a group for each level.

The Romanian language courses will be held in this session by Enida Cincora (born in 1990), PhD in Philology, assistant professor at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest, where she teaches practical Romanian language courses as a foreign language Preparatory.

The registration fee for a 40-hour course module is 150 EUR or 740 RON, paid by bank transfer. This price includes the level test and the materials used.

Additional details and timetable are accessible by accessing the link: www.icr.ro/pagini/roman-ia-pe-scurt-cursuri-online-de-limba-romana-pentru-straini-inscrieri-pana-la-30- September 2020

With an experience of over 12 years in organizing Romanian language courses for foreigners in Bucharest, starting with March 2020 the Romanian Cultural Institute has adapted its educational offer to the conditions imposed by the regulations in force, offering online courses for all levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced).

AGERPRES .
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Here are some potential consequences, based on estimates by various groups.

133 MILLION

Americans with protected pre-existing conditions

As many as 133 million Americans  roughly half the population under the age of 65  have pre-existing medical conditions that could disqualify them from buying a health insurance policy or cause them to pay significantly higher premiums if the health law were overturned, according to a government analysis done in 2017. An existing medical condition includes such common ailments as high blood pressure or asthma, any of which could require those buying insurance on their own to pay much more for a policy, if they could get one at all.

The coronavirus, which has infected nearly seven million Americans to date and may have long-term health implications for many of those who become ill, could also become one of the many medical histories that would make it challenging for someone to find insurance.

Under the A.C.A., no one can be denied coverage under any circumstance, and insurance companies cannot retroactively cancel a policy unless they find evidence of fraud. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that 54 million people have conditions serious enough that insurers would outright deny them coverage if the A.C.A. were not in effect, according to an analysis it did in 2019. Its estimates are based on the guidelines insurers had in place about whom to cover before the law was enacted.

Most Americans would still be able to get coverage under a plan provided by an employer or under a federal program, as they did before the law was passed, but protections for pre-existing conditions are particularly important during an economic downturn or to those who want to start their own businesses or retire early. Before the A.C.A., employers would sometimes refuse to cover certain conditions. If the law went away, companies would have to decide if they would drop any of the conditions they are now required to cover.

The need to protect people with existing medical conditions from discrimination by insurers was a central theme in the 2018 midterm elections, and Democrats attributed much of their success in reclaiming control of the House of Representatives to voters desire to safeguard those protections. Mr. Trump and many Republicans promise to keep this provision of the law, but have not said how they would do that. Before the law, some individuals were sent to high-risk pools operated by states, but even that coverage was often inadequate.
(Newser)  Now that he's out of a coma and recovering, Alexei Navalny is back to making demands of Russia: This time, the opposition leader wants his clothes back. "Before they allowed for me to be taken to Germany, they took off all my clothes and sent me completely naked," Navalny wrote on his website, reports Reuters. Navalny says the clothes might be an important piece of evidence in proving he was poisoned. "I demand that my clothes be carefully packed in a plastic bag and returned to me," he wrote. The Kremlin continues to deny any involvement in Navalny's sickness.

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Meanwhile, a former Soviet scientist involved in the development of the nerve agent Novichokbelieved to have been used on Navalnyapologized for his role in developing the poison decades ago, reports Al Jazeera. "I offer my profound apologies to Navalny for the fact that I took part in this criminal business, developing this substance that he was poisoned with," chemist Vil Mirzayanov, who now lives in the US, told Russia's TV Rain. Mirzayanov's best guess, based on Navalny's symptoms, is that he ingested the toxin orally. He adds that Navalny should fully recover, though it could take a year. (Navalny might have been poisoned though a water bottle.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 02:01:46|Editor: huaxia

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ATHENS, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Greece's National Public Health Organization on Monday reported 453 new confirmed COVID-19 infections diagnosed within the past 24 hours. This was the largest daily spike since the first case was registered in the country in late February.

A total of 15,595 cases have been recorded in Greece to date, including 344 fatalities. Six patients have passed away since Sunday.

Currently, 79 are treated in intensive care units, the health organization said. The average age of people who have lost their lives in Greece since February is 78 years and 96.8 percent of them had underlying health problems and/or were aged above 70. The average age of all those infected stands at 39.

Monday's 184 new infections occurred among residents of the new temporary hosting facility for migrants and refugees at Kara Tepe on the island of Lesbos in the northeastern Aegean Sea.

National Public Health Organization teams have carried out 7,064 rapid tests for COVID-19 at Kara Tepe between Sept. 12 and Sept. 20 and so far 243 people have tested positive, the Greek national news agency AMNA reported on Monday citing local authorities.

The temporary reception center at Kara Tepe was created in the past 10 days after a series of fires destroyed Moria, the largest refugee and migrant camp nearby which hosted almost 13,000 people. Six foreign nationals have been arrested on arson charges.

The blazes broke out after a group of camp residents who had tested positive for COVID-19 did not comply with isolation measures, Greek officials have said.

Monday's new negative record comes as new restrictive measures have been introduced in Attica, the region hosting the bulk of Greece's population. Over the next two weeks, indoor and outdoor gatherings are limited to nine people, indoor and outdoor concerts are suspended, weddings and funerals may have a maximum of 20 people in attendance and 40 percent of private and public office employees must work from home.

The stricter measures had to be imposed as Attica now has the highest daily case number in Greece. On Monday, 174 of the new reported cases were identified in the Attica region.

The Greek government has gradually imposed curfews and various other restrictive measures in many regions across the country over the past few weeks to control the spread of the virus and to avoid a new nationwide lockdown like the one imposed in spring for over a month.

As the world is in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries across the globe -- including Germany, China, Russia, France and the U.S. -- are racing to find a vaccine. According to the website of the World Health Organization (WHO), as of Sept. 17, there were 182 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 36 of them were in clinical trials. Enditem
Dinh Vu Port in the northern province of Hai Phong. Dinh Vu Investment and Development JSC (DVP) reported net revenue of more than VND237 billion (US$10.2 million) in the first half of this year, down nearly 18 per cent, but post-tax profit reached more than VND139.4 billion, similar to the previous year (Photo dinhvuport.com.vn)

According to Sacombank Securities Joint Stock Company (SBS), due to the pandemic, port throughput has decreased in growth momentum compared to previous years as exports to Europe and the US fell sharply. Key products such as apparel and leather shoes witnessed orders fall more than 50 per cent.

However, in general, seaports were still among the least affected industries amid COVID-19, SBS said.

According to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, in the first eight months of this year, the total output of goods through Vietnam's seaports was estimated at nearly 485.3 million tonnes, the volume of container cargo reached more than 13.9 million Teus, up 6 per cent and 8 per cent respectively over the same period in 2019.

SBS said that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) taking effect would boost the development of the seaport and logistics industries in the long term.

The EVFTA would help Vietnam's exports increase by an average of 4-6 per cent per year within 10 years from the date of the entry into force of the agreement.

Dinh Vu Port Investment and Development JSC (DVP) reported net revenue of more than VND237 billion (US$10.2 million) in the first half of this year, down nearly 18 per cent, but post-tax profit reached more than VND139.4 billion, similar to the previous year.

Meanwhile, Tan Cang Logistic JSC (TCL) recorded revenue of over VND512.1 billion, post-tax profit reached more than VND42.1 billion, up 14 per cent and 5.5 per cent respectively compared to the first six months of 2019.

Danang Port Joint Stock Company (CDN) recorded revenue of over VND439.6 billion and after-tax profit of more than VND113 billion, up 17.5 per cent and 26.6 per cent respectively compared to 2019.

Other seaport enterprises such as Hai Phong Port JSC (PHP), Saigon Port JSC (SGP), Hai An Transport and Handling JSC (HAH), Southern Logistics JSC (STG) and Transimex Transportation JSC (TMS) also recorded positive business results in the first half of the year, SBS said.

SBS forecasts that the performance of this group of businesses will decline slightly in the second half of this year, especially for those businesses in the northern region due to increased competitive pressure.

The seaport industry had not been directly affected but would surely be impacted indirectly when the global economy enters a major recession, SBS said.

The appearance of a series of new ports on a large scale led to an oversupply, which would make competition stiffer, especially in key areas such as Hai Phong port cluster and Cai Mep-Thi Vai port cluster.

In Hai Phong, two new ports have come into operation including MIPEC port and Vinalines Dinh Vu port.

This means the revenue and profitability of businesses operating in these areas will continue to decline.

However, in general, seaport operators, cargo transportation and warehousing companies were less dependent on loans compared to other industries so they did not have to suffer as much pressure, said SBS.

This was a huge advantage compared to other industries in the current pandemic which is forecasted to last for a long time, SBS said.

In seaport industries, the listed enterprise with the largest debt to asset ratio is Transimex JSC (TMS) with only 25.2 per cent.

That ratio of Hai Phong Port JSC (PHP), Tan Cang Logistics JSC (TCL), Saigon Port JSC (SGP) are all lower than 15 per cent. Dinh Vu Port Investment and Development JSC (DVP) even reported no debt.

The large amount of cash can help these businesses quickly restore operations when the pandemic is controlled.

According to SBS, with less negative impact from disease, seaport stock prices remain more stable than the general market.

The plunge of the local stock market after the Tet holiday also affected this group but still much less than the decline of the VN-Index, SBS said.

Some stocks even recorded growth such as Vietnam Container Shipping Joint Stock Corporation (VSC), up nearly 26 per cent since the beginning of this year. Tan Cang Logistics JSC (TCL) rose by more than 37.2 per cent, Port of Hai Phong JSC (PHP) increased by over 13.8 per cent, Danang Port Joint Stock Company (CDN) grew by more than 18.1 per cent and Hanoi Construction Corporation  JSC (HAN) climbed by more than 8.4 per cent.

SBS said the current difficulties that the seaport industry was confronting were only temporary. Along with the forecast that countries will soon produce a COVID-19 vaccine next year, the industry's recovery is likely to begin in the second half of 2021, SBS said.
The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dramatically changed the election as both candidates headed to battleground states.

President Donald Trump said he will pick a replacement after Ginsburgs funeral, likely by Saturday.

Democratic candidate Joe Biden appealed to Republican Senators to delay a vote on Trumps pick.

Trump campaigned in Ohio, a state Bidens campaign has been increasingly eyeing.

Biden made his second trip to Wisconsin this month, underscoring the states electoral significance with 43 days until November 3.

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the US elections. This is Joseph Stepansky and William Roberts.

Here are the latest updates:

Monday, September 21

18:30 ET  Trump met with Supreme Court contender Amy Coney Barrett at the White House: aide

President Donald Trump has met with Amy Coney Barrett at the White House as he evaluates prospective nominees to succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, the Associated Press reported citing an unnamed source.

Later, Trump told reporters at the White House that he has been speaking with potential nominees over the last two days and held out the possibility of meeting with Barbara Lagoa when he travels to Florida this week.

Some aides have touted the political advantages of Lagoa being Hispanic and hailing from Florida.

Barrett, a devout Roman Catholic, is hailed by religious conservatives and others on the right as an ideological heir to conservative Antonin Scalia, the late Supreme Court justice for whom she clerked.

US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett met with President Trump at the White House on Monday. [File: Reuters]

18:00 ET  Trump says in Ohio rally hes looking at five candidates for Supreme Court

President Donald Trump said he will nominate a woman to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and is looking seriously at five candidates.

Now it will be a brilliant person. It will be. I have five that were vetted right now. Itll be a brilliant person. It will be a woman. It will be a woman and were looking forward to it, Trump said at a campaign rally near Dayton, Ohio.

Trump said he is likely to announce his nominee on Saturday. Its a big day for our country, he said.

President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Dayton International Airport on Monday, September 21, 2020 in Ohio. [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]

17:30 ET  Supreme Court fight could elevate Kamala Harris profile

Kamala Harris is poised to take a leading role in the Democratic fight against President Donald Trumps forthcoming Supreme Court pick as both a United States senator and the Democratic vice presidential nominee.

The California senator is Joe Bidens running mate and a member of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, which would hold high profile confirmation hearings on Trumps nominee.

Thus far, Harris has largely pitched the campaigns message to smaller audiences through virtual fundraisers and a handful of day trips to key states, according to the Associated Press news service.

A highly anticipated confirmation would give Harris a platform to demonstrate her political skills and articulate the campaigns message that Ginsburgs successor should not be chosen until after the election.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee which will hold the confirmation hearings for Trumps Supreme Court nominee. [Michael Perez/AP Photo]

17:00 ET  Federal judge extends deadline for Wisconsin ballots

A federal judge ruled Monday that absentee ballots in battleground Wisconsin can be counted up to six days after the November 3 presidential election as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.

The highly anticipated ruling, unless overturned, means that the outcome of the presidential race in Wisconsin likely will not be known for days after polls close. Under current law, the deadline for returning an absentee ballot in order to have it counted is 8pm on Election Day.

Democrats and their allies sued to extend the deadline in the key swing state.

US District Judge William Conley granted a large portion of their requests, issuing a preliminary injunction that was expected to be appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court.

Observers say mail voting policies in several key battleground states could affect the election outcome [File: Nati Harnik/The Associated Press]

16:45 ET  Poll: Biden leads Trump by five points in Wisconsin

Biden appears to be leading Trump among likely voters in Wisconsin, while the two are about even in Pennsylvania, according to Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls

Likely voters supported Biden 48 percent to Trumps 43 percent support, the poll found.

16:30 ET  Biden focuses on 200,000 coronavirus deaths in US

Biden, speaking at an aluminum foundry in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, sought to highlight that the US had passed the grim milestone of 200,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

What worries me now is weve been living with this pandemic for so long, or were risking becoming numb to the toll is taken on us, in our country in communities like this, cant lose the ability to feel the sorrow and loss and the anger for so many lives lost, Biden told workers in a speech that also focused on protecting union jobs and preventing companies from offshoring manufacturing.

You cant let the numbers become statistics and background noise. Just a blur we see in the nightly news, he said.

Due to Donald Trumps lies and incompetence in the past six months Ive seen one of the greatest losses of American life in history, Biden said. But sadly, its not over.





16:00 ET  McConnell, Schumer lay out arguments over Supreme Court confirmation

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer laid out arguments for and against confirming a Supreme Court justice before the election  positions that are likely to define the debate in coming weeks.

McConnell asserted there was enough time to confirm a new justice before the election, while contending precedent justified Republicans actions. He sought to dispel charges of hypocrisy rooted in Republican opposition to confirming an Obama nominee in 2016, saying: the American people are about to witness and astonishing parade of misrepresentations about the past, misstatements about the present, and more threats against our institutions.

Meanwhile, Schumer, charged that Republican brass have made a mockery of their previous position and asserted that voters should be able to choose who will nominate the next Supreme Court justice.

He added: They seem ready to show the world their word is simply no good. Its enough to make your head explode.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor on Monday to lay out arguments surrounding the Supreme Court confirmation [File: J Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press]

15:30 ET  Graham: Support of pre-election confirmation will help at the ballot box

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham says he believes his role in the confirmation process for a new Supreme Court justice will likely bolster his reelection bid.

At an event for a congressional candidate Monday, Graham said in North Charleston, South Carolina, that he feels his defense of Brett Kavanaugh during a contentious 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearing has given him conservative bona fides that will help boost him to reelection in a tight race with Democrat Jaime Harrison.

I dont know what it is about me and moments and lightning, but lightning has struck again, Graham said of the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the pivotal role that he will play in the process to replace her.

As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Graham will shepherd the confirmation process.In 2016, when Antonin Scalia died, Graham supported a move by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to refuse a confirmation hearing for President Barack Obamas nominee.





15:00 ET  Schiff slams Trump suggestion he fabricated RBGs dying wish

Ranking House Democrat Adam Schiff has slammed a suggestion that he, or other Democrats, fabricated a report that Justice Ginsburg had said her dying wish was that her replacement was not named until after the election.

I dont know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi, Trump said on Monday on the Fox & Friends programme. I would be more inclined to the second  But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or Shifty Schiff.

Mr President, this is low. Even for you, Schiff tweeted. No, I didnt write Ruth Bader Ginsburgs dying wish to a nation she served so well, and spent her whole life making a more perfect union. But I am going to fight like hell to make it come true.

Mr. President, this is low. Even for you. No, I didnt write Ruth Bader Ginsburgs dying wish to a nation she served so well, and spent her whole life making a more perfect union. But I am going to fight like hell to make it come true. No confirmation before inauguration. https://t.co/QgwPCUK5n7  Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) September 21, 2020

14:30 ET  Biden set to refocus attention on coronavirus

Biden, campaigning in Wisconsin, is set to refocus attention on the coronavirus as the US passes 200,000 deaths since the pandemic began.

Trump has repeatedly sought to turn public attention away from the virus, instead seeking to recast the election with law and order messaging and a focus on rebuilding the economy.

Biden will campaign in Manitowoc County, which Obama won by more than seven points in 2008. However, the county swung in 2016, with Trump winning more than 21 points against Hillary Clinton.

14:00 ET  Mitt Romney announcement on Supreme Court vote not imminent: Report

Senator Mitt Romney, one of a handful of Republican senators who are considered a possibility to break from party ranks, will not make an announcement on his plans until at least Tuesday, his spokeswoman told the Washington Post.

Romney was still conferring with members of his party, the spokeswoman said, and the earliest he would be willing to publicly discuss the issue would be after a Republican luncheon on Tuesday.

Romney was the only senator to break party ranks and vote to impeach Trump during the Senate trial in January. Two Republicans senators have so far publicly opposed moving forward with confirmation. At least four would need to break party ranks to stop a pre-election vote on a Trump nominee.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was the only Republican to vote to convict Trump during his Senate impeachment trial [File: Mike Segar/Reuters]

13:30 ET  Harvard poll projects highest level of youth turnout since 2008

A new poll by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School indicates 18 to 29-year-old voter turnout in this election may be its highest since 2008, when President Barack Obama beat Senator John McCain.

According to the poll, 63 percent of respondents said they would definitely be voting, thats compared to 47 percent who said the same in 2016.

The poll also found higher support for Biden than 2016 Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton. Among likely voters, 60 percent support Biden and 27 percent support Trump. In 2016, 49 percent of likely voters in the age group supported Clinton.

13:00 ET  Ginsburg to receive rare honour of lying in state at US Capitol

Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state at the US Capitol on Friday, becoming only the second Supreme Court Justice to receive the rare honour.

Prior to Ginsburg, only former President and Supreme Court Justice William Howard Taft laid in state at the Capitol, according to the House of Representatives. That was in 1930.

Most recently, Representatives John Lewis and Elijah Cummings, former President George HW Bush, and Senator John McCain were memorialised at the Capitol.

The casket of US Representative from Georgia John Lewis arrives during a ceremony preceding the lying in state in the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, DC [File: Shawn Thew/Reuters]

12:30 ET  Judge orders Postal Service to expedite election mail

A federal judge has ordered the US Postal Service to expedite all November election mail and to approve additional overtime for postal workers.

US District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan said the Postal Service must treat to the extent possible all election mail as first-class mail or priority mail express and shall pre-approve all overtime that has been or will be requested between October 26 and November 6.

Marreros opinion said that in prior elections, including 2018, the Postal Service typically treated election mail as first-class mail, even if it was sent at marketing mail rates.

Multiple managerial failures have undermined the postal employees ability to fulfill their vital mission, he wrote.





12:00 ET  Justice Dept threatens to revoke federal funding from Dem lead cities

The Justice Department threatened to revoke federal funding from three Democrat-lead cities, New York City, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, saying they were allowing anarchy and violence on their streets following months of racial justice protests that have at times turned violent.

We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance, Attorney General William Barr said in a statement on Monday.

The federal government has mounted a campaign to disperse the racial justice protests, which have continued since the police-involved death of George Floyd in May. Federal efforts have included sending federal agents into Portland and Seattle and encouraging federal prosecutors to bring charges.

Last week, the Justice Department urged federal prosecutors to consider sedition charges against protesters who have burned buildings and engaged in other violent activity. The Trump campaign, meanwhile, has used the protests to suggest that cities and suburbs are under threat, as part of a larger law and order platform.





11:30 ET  Justice Ginsburg to lie in repose at US Supreme Court, Capitol

The body of late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last week at 87, will lie in repose outside the US Supreme Court on Wednesday and Thursday of this week so members of the public can pay their respects, the court said in a statement.

A private ceremony will take place at the court on Wednesday morning attended by Ginsburgs family, friends and other Supreme Court justices, the statement said. Ginsburg will be interned at Arlington National Cemetery in a private ceremony next week, the statement added.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also announced that Ginsburg will lie in state in the Capitols Statuary Hall on Friday. That ceremony will be open only to invited guests, Pelosi said.

Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service, the court said.

People gather at the Supreme Court on the morning after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87 [J Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press]

11:00 ET  Biden heads to Wisconsin for second time this month

Biden is headed to Wisconsin for the second time this month in a sign of the states importance to the upcoming election.

In his last visit, Biden went to Kenosha and spoke with Jacob Blake, the Black man whose shooting by police prompted widespread unrest.

This time, Biden will visit largely white Manitowoc County, which supported the former vice president and President Barack Obama when they ran as the Democratic ticket in 2008. The county backed Trump in 2016, helping deliver the state to a Republican presidential candidate for the first time since 1984.

Bidens campaign has made targeting such flip voters a priority, and it also hopes Biden will deliver a larger share of white voters than Democrat Hillary Clinton did in 2016.

Biden spoke at Grace Lutheran Church during a visit to Kenosha in early September [File: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]

10:30 ET  Trump plans to emphasise jobs in Ohio

Trump will hold two events in Ohio on Monday, delivering remarks in Dayton before holding a rally at an airport in Swanton.

Trump is expected to speak about fighting for the American worker, with a focus on the economic themes that dominated his re-election pitch prior to Ginsburgs death, according to his campaign.

However, the events have the potential to take on dimensions of the Supreme Court confirmation battle, with supporters during a rally in North Carolina on Saturday adding a new chant to the election season: Fill that seat.

10:00 ET  Biden campaign announces advertisement buys in Georgia and Iowa

The Biden campaign has expanded its advertising push in states seen as critical to winning the Electoral College to include Georgia and Iowa.

Advertisements in Georgia will target Black voters, as part of the Shop Talk series, which features roundtable discussions on issues affecting Black men.

In Iowa, the campaign will run previously released advertisements that highlight Bidens message of unifying the country, his plan to respond to the coronavirus and rebuild the economy.

The advertisements come as Bidens campaign has looked to several states initially considered out of reach and following an August fundraising haul that outpaced Trump by a $140m cash-on-hand advantage.





09:30 ET  Trump says Supreme Court pick could come on Friday or Saturday

Trump has said he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday, after funeral services for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

He told the Fox & Friends programme on Monday he had a list of five finalists, probably four, and that he is pushing for a confirmation vote before Election Day.

Trump also disparaged reports that Ginsburg had told her granddaughter it was her wish that a replacement justice not be confirmed until the inauguration of a new president, saying he thought his Democratic political foes were behind the report, including Representative Adam Schiff, who led the House impeachment probe, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

I dont know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi, Trump said. I would be more inclined to the second  But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or Shifty Schiff.





09:00 ET  Weekend recap: Ginsburg vacancy shifts race dynamics

The death of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg has dramatically shifted the dynamics of the presidential race, which will play out over the appointment of her successor.

Senate Republican leaders quickly promised to vote on a Trump nominee before the election as they jockey to get a 6-3 conservative majority in the court. Trump said they should act without delay.

Amid outrage from Democrats, Biden called on a handful of senators to break party ranks and wait until after the election to vote on a Trump nominee.

To date, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins say they oppose moving forward with the nomination, while Senators Lyndsey Graham and Lamar Alexander, who were considered possible, if not likely, dissenters, have said they support moving ahead with the pre-election confirmation.





_______________________________________________________________

Read all the updates from Friday, September 18 here.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 22:08:19|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- A meeting was held on Monday in Beijing where youth representatives who had fought the COVID-19 epidemic on the front lines gave lectures and reports about their deeds.

A total of eight youth representatives from the front lines of the anti-epidemic battle told their stories during the event at the Great Hall of the People.

The speakers, selected from a group of young people with outstanding contributions to the COVID-19 response, included Wu Chao, one of the young Party members in the medical team sent by Peking University to assist medical efforts in the worst-hit Hubei Province.

Also speaking at the event were Xiao Shuai, head of the youth construction team of Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei, and Tu Keai, a police officer in Wuhan who returned to his post after recovering from COVID-19.

The meeting was jointly organized by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, and the Central Military Commission.

The youth representatives will hold similar events in other provinces in three groups, with a major event due to take place in Wuhan. Enditem
The leader of Italy's far-right League party Matteo Salvini gestures after casting his ballot on a referendum to sanction a proposed cut in the number of Italian parliamentarians - FLAVIO LO SCALZO /REUTERS

Italy's rightist bloc has won at least three of seven regions at stake in local elections, but League leader Matteo Salvini looked unlikely to end half a century of centre-left rule in Tuscany, exit polls said on Monday.

If confirmed, the result would represent something of a relief for the coalition Democratic Party (PD), which looks set to lose Marche, but had feared above all defeat in its traditional Tuscan stronghold.

In a national referendum held alongside the local ballots Italians voted in favour of cutting the number of lawmakers in the upper and lower houses of parliament to 600 from 945, an exit poll on state broadcaster RAI said.

The poll said 60-64% of people had supported the measure. Such a result would be a fillip for the co-ruling 5-Star Movement which has championed the reform, arguing that it would reduce costs and improve parliamentary efficiency.

Spreads in the Italian sovereign debt market narrowed after the exit polls were released, with investors apparently hoping the result would help bolster political stability at a time when the government faces a deep recession triggered by the coronavirus.

In the regional vote the right, including the League, kept control of both Veneto and Liguria, while the PD looked sure to retain Campania, the exit poll said.

In Puglia, the heel of Italy, the race between the right and the incumbent PD candidate was too close to call, while in Tuscany, the PD candidate was seen taking 43.5-47.5% against 40-42% for the League candidate.

The seventh regional vote is taking place in the tiny, French-speaking Valle D'Aosta, which has its own party system. A League-backed list was seen in front, the RAI exit poll said.
As companies sent their employees home to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, many faced the challenge of keeping track of what day - or month - it was.

Kelloggs Special K apparently understands.

Feeling like youve lost track of the days? Like its Blursday, the 47thof Augtember? Well, while we have all been navigating the new normal of each day merging into the next, the feel-good food experts at Kelloggs Special K, fueled by a love for real ingredients, figured out a deliciously simple way to beat that blurry feeling  the Special K Blursday Go-Away Kit, said Kelloggs in a news release.

Special K came up with a weekly calendar for its flavors:

Monday: Special K Chocolatey Delight

Tuesday: Special K Red Berries

Wednesday: Special K Blueberry with Lemon Clusters

Thursday: Special K Banana

Friday: Special K Raspberry

Saturday: Special K Fruit & Yogurt

Sunday: Special K Cinnamon Brown Sugar Crunch Protein

The cereal company created a Special K Blursday Go-Away Kit to help you keep track. The kit includes Flave-of-the-Day Socks, Flavors Youre Feeling Weekly Planner, and seven flavors of Special K cereal to help fuel you through the fog of even the blurriest, and busiest, of weeks.

Special K will randomly choose 700 people to receive a Blursday Go-Away Kit.

To enter, go to www.kfr.com/BlursdayGiveaway.

The deadline to enter is Oct. 4.

In order to enter, you must join the Kelloggs Family Rewards loyalty program.

Special K will give away 700 of its "Blursday Go-Away" kits that include days of the week socks and seven flavors of the cereal. (Provided by Kellogg's Special K)

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EDINBURGH, United Kingdom, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NuCana plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on significantly improving treatment outcomes for patients with cancer, announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 17,888,889 American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), at a public offering price of $4.50 per ADS, which includes 2,333,333 additional ADSs issued upon the exercise in full of the underwriters' option to purchase additional ADSs. The aggregate gross proceeds to NuCana from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses were $80.5 million. All of the ADSs in the offering were sold by NuCana.



Jefferies, Cowen, William Blair, and Truist Securities acted as joint book-running managers for the offering.

The securities were offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form F-3 which has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or Cowen and Company, LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, Attention: Prospectus Department, email: PostSaleManualRequests@broadridge.com , telephone: 1-833-297-2926, or William Blair & Company, L.L.C., Attention: Prospectus Department, 150 North Riverside Plaza, Chicago, IL 60606, by telephone at, or Truist Securities, Inc., 3333 Peachtree Road NE, 9th Floor, Atlanta, GA 30326, Attention: Prospectus Department; email: TruistSecurities.prospectus@Truist.com. For the avoidance of doubt, such prospectus does not constitute a "prospectus" for the purposes of the Prospectus Regulation (as defined below) and has not been reviewed by any competent authority in any EEA member state or the United Kingdom.

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 the registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction.

For readers in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom

In any EEA Member State and the United Kingdom (a "Relevant State"), this communication is only addressed to and directed at "qualified investors" in that Relevant State within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2017/1129) (the "Prospectus Regulation").

Further notice for readers in the United Kingdom

There will be no offer of ADSs to the public in the United Kingdom. This communication, in so far as it constitutes an invitation or inducement to enter into investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 as amended ("FSMA")) in connection with the securities which are the subject of the offering described in this press release or otherwise, is being directed only at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments who fall within Article 19(5) ("Investment professionals") of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) certain high value persons and entities who fall within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("High net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.") of the Order; or (iv) any other person to whom it may lawfully be communicated (all such persons in (i) to (iv) together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The ADSs are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such ADSs will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents. This communication does not contain an offer or constitute any part of an offer to the public within the meaning of ss. 85 and 102B of FSMA or otherwise.

About NuCana plc

NuCana is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on significantly improving treatment outcomes for cancer patients by applying our ProTide technology to transform some of the most widely prescribed chemotherapy agents, nucleoside analogs, into more effective and safer medicines. While these conventional agents remain part of the standard of care for the treatment of many solid and hematological tumors, their efficacy is limited by cancer cell resistance mechanisms and they are often poorly tolerated. Utilizing our proprietary technology, we are developing new medicines, ProTides, designed to overcome key cancer resistance mechanisms and generate much higher concentrations of anti-cancer metabolites in cancer cells. NuCana's robust pipeline includes three ProTides in clinical development. Acelarin and NUC-3373, are new chemical entities derived from the nucleoside analogs gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil, respectively, two widely used chemotherapy agents. Acelarin is currently being evaluated in four clinical studies, including a Phase III study for patients with biliary tract cancer, a Phase Ib study for patients with biliary tract cancer, a Phase II study for patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer and a Phase III study for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer for which enrollment has been suspended. NUC-3373 is currently in a Phase I study for the potential treatment of a wide range of advanced solid tumors and a Phase Ib study for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Our third ProTide, NUC-7738, is a transformation of a novel nucleoside analog (3'-deoxyadenosine) and is in a Phase I study for patients with advanced solid tumors.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on the beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management of NuCana plc (the "Company"). All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 10, 2020, subsequent reports that the Company files with the SEC and the final prospectus supplement related to this offering. Forward-looking statements represent the Company's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release to conform any of the forward-looking statements to actual results or to changes in its expectations.

For more information, please contact:

NuCana plc

Hugh S. Griffith

Chief Executive Officer

T: +44 131 357 1111

E: info@nucana.com

Westwicke, an ICR Company

Chris Brinzey

T: +1 339-970-2843

E: chris.brinzey@westwicke.com

RooneyPartners

Marion Janic

T: +1 212-223-4017

E: mjanic@rooneyco.com
- Angelica Panganiban was asked if she would be willing to give a piece of advice to the current partner of her ex-boyfriend

- The actress directly said that she would not and it is for the couple to figure out their problems

- The Kapamilya star is expected to launch her new online show called Ask Angelica

- It can be recalled that Angelicas ex-boyfriend, Carlo Aquino, recently announced that he is now a father

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

Angelica Panganiban got honest after she was asked if she could give a bit of advice to the current partner of her ex-boyfriend.

KAMI learned that Angelica will be having her own online show called Ask Angelica.

Photo from Angelica Panganiban's Instagram account

Source: Instagram

In a YouTube video uploaded by the ABS-CBN Star Cinema, Angelica had a virtual press conference for her new online show.

In the said video, Angelica was asked if she would give free advice for the current partner of her former partner.

Hindi no! Ano siya, sinusuwerte? Ayusin nila yun! Figure out niya kung paano. Kaniyang kanya na yon! she said.

Wag niyo akong isali, ang kakapal ng mukha! Ano to? she jokingly added.

The actress also recalled that there was a time that a partner of her ex approached her for an advice.

Hiwalay na sila. Parang tinanong lang ako kung paano ako naka-move on, Angelica said.

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Angelica Panganiban is a famous actress and endorser in the Philippines. Some of her famous films are That Thing Called Tadhana and Here Comes The Bride.

Earlier, Angelica explained that she has no plans in transferring to other TV networks yet. She said that she still has projects under ABS-CBN.

Angelica has also broken her silence after the news about her ex-boyfriend Carlo Aquino becoming a father broke out on social media.

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
Honduras plans to relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by the end of 2020, said President Juan Orlando Hernandez following a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.

"I have just talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu to strengthen our strategic alliance. We spoke to arrange the opening of the embassies in Tegucigalpa and Jerusalem, respectively," Hernandez tweeted Sunday. We hope to take this historic step before the end of the year, as long as the pandemic allows it, he added.

Israel doesnt have an embassy in the Central American nation but opened a diplomatic office in Tegucigalpa last month.

I look forward to working with you to strengthen the friendship between Israel and Honduras and to the opening of your embassy in Jerusalem and ours in Tegucigalpa, Netanyahu tweeted Monday.

The move is notable given Honduras Palestinian population, the second largest in Latin America after Chile. The country recognized Palestine in 2011 and established diplomatic ties in 2013.

But in a blow to the Palestinians, Honduras was one of just nine countries to vote against a United Nations resolution in December 2017 asking member states not to relocate their diplomatic missions to Jerusalem.

The vote came as US President Donald Trump formally recognized Israels capital as Jerusalem. In May 2018, the US Embassy was moved, and days later, Guatemala became the second country to relocate its embassy to the fiercely contested city.

In August 2019, Hernandez recognized Israels capital as Jerusalem and Honduras opened a commercial office in the city the following month that served as an extension of the embassy in Tel Aviv.

Jerusalem is sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 war, as the capital of their future independent state. Israel views the disputed city as its "undivided capital."

Earlier this month, Serbia and Kosovo announced they will open embassies in Jerusalem as part of talks brokered by the White House. Last week, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates formalized normalization agreements with Israel during a signing ceremony in Washington.
Many Texans have returned to work. Others, those deemed essential, never left.

Some workplaces may have fallen short of safety standards amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to complaints made to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

One report made to OSHA's hotline in August claimed that at least 60 employees tested positive for COVID-19 at the Walmart Distribution Center in New Braunfels.

The company had not disinfected the facility and was not enforcing the use of face masks, according to the report.

READ ALSO: Avoid haunted houses: Metro Health releases guidelines for a safe Halloween in San Antonio

Workers at San Antonio International Airport charged with emptying aircraft lavatories - potentially exposing them to human waste and "blue juice" - did not have access to hot water for handwashing.

Those allegations were found in complaints made to OSHA and assembled in a nationwide map by Strikewave. The data was last updated on Oct. 18.

The following complaints have since been closed by the agency.

Keep scrolling to see the COVID-19 complaints made to OSHA in the San Antonio area.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian received a congratulatory letter from First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on the occasion of the Armenian Independence Day, the Armenian Presidents Office told Armenpress.

Today your country is confidently moving on the path of building a stable and developed state from political and socio-economic terms. I address my warm wishes to Armenia led by you, wishing further dynamic development and prosperity.

I am specifically happy that Nur-Sultan and Yerevan develop productive cooperation based on friendship and mutual understanding. I am sure that in the future as well the bilateral partnership between our countries will continue strengthening.

I wish you good health and welfare, and to the people of Armenia  peace and prosperity.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Bir Lehlou, 21 September 2020 (SPS) - President of Republic, Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, H. E. Mr. Brahim Ghali, has sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister of Belize, H.E. Mr. Dean Barrow, on the occasion of the 39th anniversary of his countrys Independence Day.



On behalf of the Government and people of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, I would like to extend to your Excellency our most sincere congratulations and best wishes as you celebrate the 39th anniversary of your Independence Day, said the President of the Republic.



Belizehas been a staunch supporter and defender of the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence. We remain grateful for the principled position of support and solidarity that your brotherly country has consistently extended to our national liberation struggle in regional and international forums.



I would like to take this august occasion to renew to your Excellency our strong resolve to further consolidate and diversify the bonds of friendship and solidarity existing between our two nations, and to boost them to the highest possible level in the interests of our brotherly peoples, he added. (SPS)



062/SPS
State Senator Raumesh Abkari will be the keynote speaker for the Kefauver 2020 Virtual Gala to be held online on Oct. 1 at 8 p.m.

Hamilton Party Democratic Party Chair Rodney Strong said the COVID-19 situation is still dangerous and prompted HCDP to hold its annual fundraising event online for the health and safety of its participants.

HCDP has held this event for over 30 years as its major fundraiser. The event name honors the legacy of the late U.S. Senator from Tennessee, Estes Kefauver. This year, Annie Hall and Rep. Yusuf Hakeem are gala co-chairs.

Senator Akbari represents the 29th district in the Memphis area. She was recently selected to be the Democratic Caucus Chair in the Tennessee Senate. Her remarks were featured in the Democratic National Convention earlier this month.

In addition to Senator Akbari, the virtual gala will feature local Democrats who are seeking office in November: Meg Gorman (running for the 3rd Congressional District), Glenn Scruggs (candidate for Tennessee Senate District 10), Joan Farrell (running for Tennessee House District 26), and Joseph Udeaja (candidate for TN House 30). In addition, Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, who is running unopposed for reelection as the House Representative for District 28, and Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke will speak. There will be musical performances by Rhonda Catanzaro and Neshawn Calloway.

Mr. Strong said, This isnt our preference, but we believe that this virtual event will be a great way to safely gather our fellow Democrats and ramp up interest in getting people registered to vote and excited about voting for our candidates. This is unquestionably the most significant election in our history. We want Democrats to turn out in record numbers to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as well as our outstanding local candidates. The funds we raise from this event will make a difference for us in 2020 and help us build for the future.

General admission tickets for this online event are $50. Those who wish to support the Kefauver 2020 Virtual Gala as sponsors pay $500. Those who want to participate can go to www.hamcodems.com and use the Kefauver 2020 Virtual Gala button. Address any questions to hcdp.us@gmail.com or call 508-9814.


Pakistan's Opposition parties on Sunday announced that they will come together to form a new alliance called 'Pakistan Democratic Movement' with an aim to oust the Imran Khan-led government. A 26-point joint resolution was adopted by the All Parties Conference (APC) which was hosted by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and attended by Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) and several other parties.

'The joint Opposition will use all tactics'

Addressing a press briefing, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said the opposition is demanding the "immediate resignation of elected Prime Minister Imran Ahmed Niazi". Nationwide protests will be held from October and will include the participation of lawyers, traders, labourers, farmers and civil society.

"In the first phase, beginning October, rallies will be held in Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab. In the second phase, starting in December, huge demonstrations will take place country-wide. In the third phase, to begin in January next year, a long-march will move towards Islamabad," Rehman was quoted as saying by Geo News. "To oust the selected government, the joint opposition will use all tactics, including a vote of no confidence and resignations from the Parliament," he said.

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari asserted that the opposition is going ahead with its mission under the guidance and support of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former President Asif Ali Zardari. However, Bilawal said the leader of the movement is yet to be decided.

'Our struggle is not against Imran Khan'

Earlier, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed the multi-party conference through a video link and said that the struggle of the Opposition parties was not against Khan but against those who brought an "inefficient" man to power. Sharif, 70, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, has been living in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treatment.

READ | Pakistan's ex-PM Sharif mulling political comeback after year-long gap

READ | Sikh girl missing in Pakistan's Punjab province; police file case against 'unknown abductor'

"Our struggle is not against Imran Khan. Today, our struggle is against those who installed Imran Khan and who manipulated elections (of 2018) to bring an inefficient man like him into power and thus destroyed the country, he said. He asked the powerful Army to stay away from politics and follow the Constitution and vision of the country's father Quaid-e-Azam' Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The powerful Army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 70 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.

READ | BSF foils Pakistan's drug push into India; seizes shocking 'narcotics chain', arms & ammo

READ | Farooq Abdullah's 'talk to Pakistan also like China' logic in LS runs afoul of Athawale
Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putins fiercest critic, fell ill on a domestic flight to Moscow on Aug. 20, was brought to a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk and was transferred to Germany for treatment two days later. A German military lab later determined that the Russian politician was poisoned with Novichok, the same class of Soviet-era nerve agent that Britain said was used in 2018 on a former Russian spy and his daughter in England.
Nguyen Tuan Hung, Director of the VNAs Centre of Technology, is appointed to the post of VNA Deputy General Director. (Photo: VNA)

Nguyen Tuan Hung, Director of the VNAs Centre of Technology, was appointed to the post under Decision No. 1425/QD-TTg.

The VNA is a Governmental agency which is responsible for providing official information and documents of the Party and State, according to the Governments recently-released Decree No 118/2017/ND-CP.



The decree also regulates that the VNA provides information in service of the Party leadership and State management; and collect and provide news through various forms of press and multimedia for mass media agencies, the public and readers of all kinds at home and abroad.



Performing its function as a key national external news agency, the VNA collects, compiles and provides information about Vietnam in different languages for domestic agencies and organisations and foreign media outlets, as well as for foreigners and Vietnamese people abroad.



The VNA is also tasked with providing information and publishing news materials for ethnic minority people in their languages.



It is in charge of archiving information, building an information and data bank and managing national photo materials; and providing information and coordinating with relevant agencies to provide information in services of national security and defence.



The VNA General Director and Deputy General Directors are appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister in line with laws./.


Award shows seem like a thing of the past ever since the coronavirus pandemic took over the world, so it was clearly a big moment when the 72nd Emmy Awards, the first major Covid-era award show opened with host Jimmy Kimmel greeting an empty Los Angeles theatre, filled only with cardboard cutouts of celebrities. Jimmy welcomed everyone to the pand-Emmys, joking about no host at last years Emmys, he quipped, You cant have a virus without a host. While the glitz and the glamour of the past years may be missing, with no red carpet, celebrities accepting their awards virtually, with only a handful present at the venue, and none of the hordes that would usually crowding around the venue to catch a glimpse of their favourite celebrities, our inner fashion critics wont be left with nothing.

In this video grab captured on Sept. 20, 2020, courtesy of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and ABC Entertainment, host Jimmy Kimmel speaks surrounded by cardboard cutouts of actors in the audience during the 72nd Emmy Awards broadcast. (AP)

Despite beaming in virtually to the venue, the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, unlike us who wear a formal shirt with pajama bottoms for work Zoom calls, the celebrities brought their A-game dressing up to the nines as they made virtual appearances for Emmys 2020. Here are some of the looks from the virtual red carpet of the Emmys 2020:

ALSO SEE PHOTOS| Emmys 2020 amid coronavirus: Social distancing, cardboard celebrities and virtual speeches

Zendaya, who won the award for best lead actress in a drama for her role in Euphoria, wore a purple Christopher John Rogers outfit with a black bodice, plunging neckline and ballooned skirt. She teamed her outfit with jewellery by Bulgari and Christian Louboutin heels. While accepting her award Zendaya wore a stunning attached embellished bandeau with a billowing polka-dotted skirt by Giorgio Armani.

In this video grab captured on Sept. 20, 2020, courtesy of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and ABC Entertainment, Zendaya speaks during the 72nd Emmy Awards broadcast. (AP)

Jennifer Aniston, who was nominated for her role in The Morning Show, first shared photos of herself in her loungewear and facemask, as she sipped on bubbly. However, later the actor appeared in a video with host Jimmy Kimmel and was seen in a gorgeous slinky black number, with a delicate neckpiece and strappy heels.

This handout screen shot released courtesy of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. / ABC shows host Jimmy Kimmel and actress Jennifer Aniston disinfecting ballots during the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony held virtually on September 20, 2020. (AFP)

Actor and comedian Jameela Jamil took to her Instagram and posted that she would not be wearing any bra and heels, and instead was seen looking glam in her pajamas.

She posted a photo of herself lounging on the couch with the caption, No bra? No heels? NO PROBLEM. Wearing PJs to the 72nd Emmy awards (from my house) is my kind of vibes. Excited to see if we win any of the 7 awards we have been nominated for!!! I still did my make up and wore a sequin dressing gown, because... Its what Tahani would have wanted. And this is her day, not mine. The actor later posted a make-up tutorial for her Emmys look.

A cool thing about the #Emmys being virtual or whatever is that it enables celebrities to serve LEWKS without worrying about practicality. Absolutely delighted to see Regina King in this Schiaparelli gown!  pic.twitter.com/BVgr8lbYJo  Saeed Jones (@theferocity) September 20, 2020

Some celebrities also used the opportunity to highlight political issues like Black Lives Matter. Watchmen star Regina King wore fuchsia pink suit, inside which she wore a justice for Breonna Taylor T-shirt. She later shared pictures in a stunning blue Schiaparelli gown.

In this video grab captured on Sept. 20, 2020, courtesy of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and ABC Entertainment, Uzo Aduba accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie for "Mrs. America" during the 72nd Emmy Awards broadcast. (AP)

Orange is the New Black Uzo Aduba, who won the third Primetime Emmy Award of her career as she took home the trophy for her role as Shirley Chisholm for Mrs America in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, also wore a T-shirt that said Breonna Taylor.

Laverne Cox presents the award for outstanding directing for a drama series during the 72nd Emmy Awards broadcast. (AP)

Laverne Cox looked stunning a sheer, sparkly black number with strategic panelling and Egyptian symbols.

Blackish actor Tracee Ellis Ross entered the venue looking like a million bucks in her golden foil layered high-low gown by Alexandre Vauthier, along with a matching mask. The actor completed her look with Tiffany jewels and Jimmy Choos shoes. Posting pictures of herself, she wrote, How fun to get dressed up! Cant say I miss the frenetic energy of the red carpet or wearing high heels, but boy do I miss a pretty dress!

Tracee also posted a video of herself walking on the red carpet, a small carpet she placed in her backyard, with the caption, I made my own red carpet for the #Emmys, complete with some camera clicks. yes its a little janky, but heyit was fun!

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MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsins attorney general announced Monday that he has selected a former Madison police chief to serve as an independent consultant for prosecutors weighing whether to file charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake, a Black man who was left paralyzed from the waist down.

The shooting of Blake on Aug. 23 by a white Kenosha police officer made Wisconsin the epicenter of the nations ongoing debate over police violence and racial injustice. It came three months after the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Noble Wray, the expert who will review the file, is Black. Following his retirement as Madisons chief in 2013, Wray has become a national leader in working on police reform, fighting racism and educating about implicit bias. Wray was chief for nine years and worked 30 years as a police officer, experience that Attorney General Josh Kaul and Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Gravely said would be crucial when reviewing the file.

Gravely said he requested the consultant but that he asked the Department of Justice to choose.

Kaul said his departments investigation of the shooting is in its final stages. When its done, he will turn it over to Wray for review and an analysis. It will then be up to Gravely about whether to file charges. Gravely said Monday that he had not made any decision about filing charges yet.

Gravely said Wray would bring diverse and abundant perspectives to the case.

Wray said he will provide insight and perspective to the case but not prejudge it. Wray said he will complete his review as quickly as possible, but he has not been given a timeline once he receives the investigative file.

I have not prejudged the case, Wray said.

Blake was shot in the back seven times after walking away from the officer and two others who were trying to arrest him. The officer, Rusten Sheskey, shot Blake after Blake opened an SUVs driver-side door and leaned into the vehicle. Three of Blakes children were in the back seat. The shooting was captured on video and circulated quickly online, fueling protests hours later.

The state Justice Department has said a knife was recovered from Blakes vehicle, but it has not said whether he was holding it when officers tried to arrest him.

Blakes attorney, Ben Crump, has said that Blake was only trying to break up a domestic dispute and did nothing to provoke police. Crump has called for the arrest of Sheskey, the officer who shot Blake, and for the two other officers involved in the shooting to be fired.

Sheskey and the other officers who were at the scene  Vincent Arenas and Brittany Meronek  were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. None of them have been charged.

The Kenosha police union has said that officers were dispatched on Aug. 23 because of a complaint that Blake was attempting to steal the callers keys and vehicle. Union attorney Brendan Matthews said officers were aware that Blake had an open warrant for felony sexual assault before they arrived.

Blake pleaded not guilty on Sept. 4 to charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a woman in May. A trial date was set for Nov. 9.

Kenosha is a city of about 100,000 people on the shores of Lake Michigan midway between Milwaukee and Chicago.
South Africa: Back to school for all teachers working from home

All teachers granted permission to work from home due to COVID-19 have been instructed to go back to school from today, now that the country has moved to lockdown level 1.

According to the Department of Basic Education (DBE), more than 22 500 teachers were granted approval concession under level 3 and 2 of the National State of Disaster to work from home for fear of the deadly virus, as most have comorbidities.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the move to level 1 on Wednesday last week, as the number of new Coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalisations is dropping.

Since the country has gone down to level 1, the risk has been brought down to low, hence the risk for these teachers has reduced considerably.

The implication of the announcement by the President of moving the country to alert level 1 means the concession to work from home will no longer apply from midnight on Sunday, 20 September 2020, said the DBE.

However, those who are still not well have been advised to follow the normal sick leave protocols.

The provincial Departments of Education have been urged to honour contractual obligations by continuing to use the services of substitute teachers and employ ways to best utilise them.

School principals are requested to rework the timetable to accommodate all teachers returning to work as from Monday.

The DBE said School Management Teams and School Governing Bodies should adjust the learners' timetable to ensure there is social distancing.

School communities have been urged to familiarise themselves with DBE directions in Government Gazette 43715, published on 15 September; President Ramaphosas speech; Education Labour Relations Council agreement 1 of 2020, and the Revised Standard Operating Procedures.

The department continues to make safety as a priority in the sector, particularly under the COVID-19 conditions, said the DBE.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : Being a national capital, Delhi has been privileged with advanced medical treatment facilities and numerous hospitals. Thousands of patients come here with a hope for cure as such facilities are not available in their hometowns. However, their hopes were dashed after the Delhi government ordered 33 private hospitals to reserve 80 per cent ICU beds for Covid patients.

The order has imploded the misery of those non-Covid patients who are seriously ill. Many of them postponed their elective surgeries obliging to the advisory issued by the government when the Covid-19 arrived in India. If the fear of Covid was not enough already, these patients would also have to battle for the beds now.

68-year-old Bhuvneshawar Dayal from Deoria in eastern Uttar Pradesh is suffering from liver cirrhosis. He had recently decided to go for a transplant after waiting for months. He had even made an appointment at a leading private hospital in Delhi and reached before time only to be surprised that the hospital has been ordered to reserve 80 per cent ICU beds for Covid patients. "Kindly postpone your surgery," he said he was told by the hospital.

Same is the story of 38-year-old Anahita Tyagi, who is a breast cancer patient from Ghaziabad. She had completed three cycles of chemotherapy at the Max super-speciality hospital but now is sceptical of undergoing surgery. "I want to recover from cancer, but also don't wish to die from Covid," she said. She is currently looking for hospitals outside Delhi.

Doctors at the Fortis Vasant Kunj said that over 100 patients suffering from renal diseases visit their centre. Many of them require dialysis at least three times a week. However, they have started to discontinue after the order. "My father lives on dialysis, and he had a satisfactory experience here. However, I'm forced to look for other options because the hospital has reserved 80 per cent of its ICU beds. My father falls in a vulnerable group of patients and needs to stay away from any potential source of infection," said Bhawna Arora, daughter of a dialysis patient.

A senior oncologist from a leading private hospital told IANS that patients of cardiac, cancer, neuro and transplants do not come to the hospitals. "However, even if they come, we don't have beds for them now after the order by the Delhi government," she said.

She also said that the Delhi government's order would result in deaths far greater than the Covid numbers. "Early detection is the cure in such diseases, especially in cancer. The patients having the first stage of cancer are now coming with stage-3 as they could not avail diagnosis and treatment during the period of lockdown. In ovarian cancer, surgery is mandatory within four weeks of chemotherapy. Many patients had finished their chemotherapy but missed the surgeries as the Covid started. They lost time, and now they will lose their life," she said.

"Due to Covid, cancer patients have already lost the boat. They can't climb it now. Now the order of the Delhi government will result in thousands of more deaths," the oncologist added.

It's on record that the mortality in cancer is far greater than the Covid. Besides, cancer patients don't get much time to wait for diagnosis and treatment. A delay of two months could progress their diseases into the third stage from stage one.

Meanwhile, another doctor from a private hospital ordered to reserve ICU beds said the government should be far-sighted in assessing the effectiveness of their direction on non-Covid patients. "The government should be far-sighted, not short-sighted to assess the effect of blocking ICU beds for Covid patients only when a great number of the patients suffer from other serious illnesses. There won't be immediate deaths, but it could result in another epidemic of deaths caused due to cancer and other serious non-communicable diseases," he added.

The industry experts also said that the order of the Delhi government is particularly lethal for the non-Covid patients. Besides, it is not viable to sustain the operations of the hospitals.

"Lockdown restrictions and fear of contracting infection have resulted in lower footfalls at the hospitals and postponement of pre scheduled surgeries. Our healthcare system is facing serious challenges related to the skilled workforce while our frontline workers are going beyond their call of duty to serve the nation. The private healthcare sector must survive to serve the nation.

"Reserving beds is not a long term solution as it will jeopardise the operational sustainability of private hospitals. The government's support is critical, and we urge a collaborative and consultative approach, enabling the private healthcare institutions to function optimally. Moreover, the move will severely affect non-Covid patients as the disease burden for such ailments is increasing without being accounted for," said Dr. Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD & CEO, Fortis Healthcare Ltd.

"The mandate of allocating 80 per cent beds for Covid patients may impact the confidence of non-Covid patients, especially those who had been carrying illnesses within and waiting for the Covid situation to improve to be able to come back to hospitals for getting the treatments, and it's been six months now.

"In the last few weeks, hospitals had seen some confidence in these unfortunate patients coming back to visit hospitals for their illnesses. However, this allocation is going to push back their confidence on hospitals being Covid safe for non-covid patients, and the bed availability for them may also become an issue," said Dr. Kousar A. Shah, COO, Aakash Healthcare & Super Specialty Hospital, Dwarka.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
By Trend





The Collective Security Treaty Organization is not in favor of provocative actions by Armenia, or anybody else, former OSCE Minsk Group co-chair from the US Matthew Bryza told Trend.

As for the Collective Security Treaty Organization, I dont think it will have a role to play at all, in any scenario, unless Armenia was attacked. Because, we know that the Collective Security Treaty Organization is a defensive military alliance, in which each member state pledges to come to the help of any other member state who may be attacked. If Armenia initiates some sort of military action, the Collective Security Treaty Organization would not be involved. Russia, as well as other members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization is not in favor of provocative actions by Armenia, or anybody else. Armenia is on its own with no support, he said.

Bryza noted that indeed, the government of Armenia has been making very provocative statements not only about Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia, but also suggesting possible military actions against Azerbaijan.

Thats of course, completely against Armenias internationally accepted obligations in the context of the OSCE Minsk Group. It simply reflects some kind of desperation on the part of Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is maybe trying to deflect problems inside of Armenia that he was unable to fix, by playing to Armenian nationalism. Pashinyans provocative statements were answered by Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev in his speech on Saturday, which was a very hard-hitting speech. When Russian news media broadcast President Ilham Aliyevs remarks, they did not broadcast the response of the Armenian side, which is very unusual. It seems to me that Russia would agree of what I just said that these actions by Armenia are unacceptable and they are outside of the framework of the negotiations to date, he added.
How will Princeton, having admitted that damaging, systemic racism is embedded at the university, explain to the Department of Education that it was being truthful when it said Princeton does not discriminate on the basis of race? We can see the shape of a possible response in the statement Princeton issued upon receiving the Education Departments demand for an explanation.

Princeton seems to be saying that the systemic racism at Princeton is the continued effect[] of racial injustice and race-based inequities that persist throughout American society. In this account, Princetons letter acknowledging racism and discussing ways to combat it is an attempt at grappling honestly with the nations history and the current effects of systemic racism, not an admission of discrimination by Princeton itself.

Is this a satisfactory defense? I dont think so.

Suppose a manufacturer admitted that damaging systemic racism is embedded at its plant. It would not be much of a defense to say that the racism of the plant is a byproduct of racism that persists throughout society. An institution cannot duck responsibility that easily.

The same would be true of a manufacturer that admitted its factory is a hostile work environment for female employees. It would not be sufficient to blame the hostile treatment of women  in other words, the sexual harassment  on societal sexism in general or the long history of treating women as sex objects in particular.

This line of defense would be even less persuasive if, like Princetons president, the management team at the factory had been in place for years and had only now confessed to racism or sexism and implemented new measures to combat it.

If racism at Princeton consisted only of some students and professors holding racist views they kept to themselves, this would not mean that Princeton violated its duty under federal law not to discriminate. But Princeton confessed to much more than this. It admitted that the racism at Princeton does damage to people of color at the university.

When systemic, embedded racism does damage to members of a minority group, the damaged individuals are discriminated against. Princetons black students have the right to attend college without suffering damage due to their race  damage not inflicted on white students.

In reality, Princetons black students arent at a disadvantage compared to white students. In fact, they enjoy important advantages, including significantly lower admissions standards and a president who panders to many of their demands.

But thats not how Princetons president seems to view the situation, and its not what he told the Princeton community. Hes committed to the proposition that black students are suffering due to embedded racism at the university hes run for seven years.

I dont think that view can be squared with the non-discrimination representations Princeton has made to the Department of Education or to others. Shifting the blame to society and/or history isnt going to do the trick.

JOHN adds: My interpretation: Princeton knows the systemic racism nonsense it has been peddling is pure bulls**t, but didnt expect to get called on it.
If you follow Netflix India on Instagram, then you may know that they often participate in the caption this trend going around the Internet. The social media account usually features stills from beloved movies and shows with the text reading, caption this. The comment sections of such posts are frequently a giggle-fest. It looks like their new post is no different in that essence. However, they seem to have stepped it up a notch by posting a reel, instead of a picture this time.

This video was shared from Netflix Indias official Instagram account on September 20. The clip features a scene from the 2001 Bollywood film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. It shows Bollywood actor Kajol as Anjali Sharma. Words reading, caption this, are written in the frame.

Check out the post which has been shared along with three hashtags, #KabhiKhushiKabhieGham, #CaptionThis and #Kajol:

Netflix India took the first shot at captioning the post. They wrote, Well start: Every time we find out were working on a weekend. Other Instagram users soon followed suit.

One person said, When someone asks for your glasses and returns it by touching the lenses.

Another individual wrote, When you finally decide to buy your favourite dress, but it goes out of stock. When someone says that BTS will never come to India read one comment under the post.

What are your thoughts on this share? How would you caption this reel?

Also Read | Replies to Netflix Indias caption this Instagram post may leave you in fits. Seen them yet?

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Senior military commanders from India and China on Monday met in the eastern Ladakh sector in their latest attempt to break the logjam in talks to reduce tensions along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC), with a joint secretary from the Indian external affairs ministry taking part in the military dialogue for the first time, officials familiar with the developments said.

The military dialogue started at 9 am at Moldo on the Chinese side of the LAC in the Chushul sector and was on when this report was filed. The outcome of the talks was not immediately known.

Two Indian lieutenant generals were among the officers who took part in the talks --- Harinder Singh, who heads the Leh-based 14 Corps and his soon-to-be successor PGK Menon, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Menon is tipped to replace Singh in Leh after the latter completes his one-year term as corps commander next month. Menon attended Mondays talks --- the sixth between corps commander-ranked officers since June 6 --- as a representative of the army headquarters, the officials said.

A joint secretary-ranked diplomat was roped in for the dialogue as a step to ensure that the talks yield some headway, as reported by Hindustan Times on Monday. The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs --- the diplomatic dialogue between the two countries --- involves a representative of the Indian defence ministry.

Military tensions are high in the eastern Ladakh theatre where both armies have made arrangements for holding positions through the winter.

Mondays meeting between the Indian and Chinese corps commander-ranked officers was their first after the Indian Army swiftly moved and occupied a series of key heights to prevent the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) from grabbing Indian territory on the southern bank of Pangong Tso in a stealthy midnight move on August 29.

The Indian Army now controls ridgeline positions on the southern bank of Pangong Tso that allow it to completely dominate the sector and keep an eye on Chinese military activity, with the positions scattered across Rezang La, Reqin pass, Gurung Hill and Magar heights.

The Indian Army has also taken control of key heights overlooking the PLAs deployments on the Finger 4 ridgeline on the northern bank of Pangong Tso where rival soldiers are deployed barely a few hundred metres from each other, as reported by Hindustan Times on September 10.

The recent developments on both banks of Pangong Tso have increased Indias bargaining power as there will definitely be an element of quid pro quo in the talks, the officials said.

A high-powered panel on China reviewed the latest developments in the Ladakh sector last week, focussing on charting the course of future negotiations to restore status quo ante of mid-April on the disputed border. The agenda for Mondays talks was discussed at the high-level meeting, even as the situation in Ladakh remains tense after a series of recent manoeuvres by the two armies in the Pangong Tso area.

Last week, defence minister Rajnath Singh told lawmakers in Parliament that no force in the world can stop the Indian Army from patrolling the countrys borders in the Ladakh sector, signalling a strong resolve to regain access to several areas that are now difficult to reach due to actions by the Chinese army along the LAC.

In tensions that began in early May, Indian and Chinese troops have come face-to-face at multiple points along the LAC. In some of these areas, particularly the Finger Area and Depsang, Indian forces have been cut off from reaching forward areas they could previously patrol.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Two men from Australia and Britain who worked for an aid agency that helps to dispose of unexploded bombs were killed in a blast in Solomon Islands, their employer said on Monday.

It was not immediately clear if the employees of Norwegian People's Aid were trying to defuse live munitions at the time of the explosion in Honiara late on Sunday.

Police said the site had to be declared safe before investigators could determine what happened. Australian media reported that the explosion happened in a residential area.

Norwegian People's Aid works to locate unexploded bombs dropped during World War Two, when the Pacific nation was the scene of fierce battles between U.S. and Japanese forces.

The group said it had suspended its activities on Solomon Islands and was assisting with the investigation.

(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Lugano, Switzerland, 21 September 2020 - New data presented at ESMO 2020 have shown that immunotherapy is beneficial for patients with gastric and oesophageal cancers who currently have poor survival. (1-3)

Immune therapy would be a big change in treatment, since immune checkpoint inhibitors are not yet approved for early therapy in Western countries. Three studies provide evidence, based on different patient populations and different immune checkpoint inhibitors used as first-line therapy.

CheckMate 649

The CheckMate 649 trial (1) evaluated nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone as first-line treatment in patients with non-HER-2-positive advanced gastric cancer, gastro-oesophageal junction cancer, or oesophageal cancer - all with adenocarcinoma histology. The results show that nivolumab and chemotherapy improved overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) greater than or equal to 5 tumours. Improvements were also observed in patients with PD-L1 CPS greater than or equal to 1 tumours and in the overall patient population.

Additional analysis of subgroups and biomarkers (e.g. MSI-High) are planned to better characterise the efficacy benefit in patients across all CPS cutoffs.

Commenting on the new data, Prof Salah-Eddin Al-Batran, Director, Institute of Clinical Cancer Research and Director of GI Oncology, Krankenhaus Nordwest-University Cancer Centre, Frankfurt, Germany, ESMO 2020 upper GI track chair, said: "The results are clinically very relevant. Based on this trial, for patients with HER2-negative gastric adenocarcinoma, oesophageal adenocarcinoma, or gastro-oesophageal junctional adenocarcinoma with PD-L1 CPS greater than or equal to 5 tumours, the addition of nivolumab to chemotherapy will become the standard of care for first-line treatment. The open question is the effect in patients who have a PD-L1 CPS smaller than 5."

ATTRACTION 4

The ATTRACTION 4 trial (2) was similar to CheckMate 649 except for two important differences: it was performed only in Asian patients and the primary endpoints were designed for all-comers, rather than a specific CPS value. First-line treatment with nivolumab plus chemotherapy improved the co-primary progression-free survival endpoint, but not overall survival.

"The improvement in progression-free survival was clinically relevant and the trial strongly supports the results of CheckMate 649," said Al-Batran. "Overall survival was not improved, possibly because all-comers were treated or because patients in Asia receive more subsequent therapies than Western populations."

KEYNOTE 590

The KEYNOTE 590 trial (3) examined first-line chemotherapy, with or without pembrolizumab, in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus, adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus, or Siewert type 1 gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. It demonstrated that pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy improved overall survival in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus with PD-L1 CPS greater than or equal to 10 tumours, all squamous cell carcinomas, all patients with CPS greater than or equal to 10, and the study population as a whole. Progression-free survival was also improved.

Most oesophageal cancer patients in the trial had squamous cell carcinoma (73%) and those with adenocarcinoma were a small subgroup. The results in the subgroup of patients with adenocarcinoma were an experimental analysis, but in the adenocarcinoma subgroup, median overall survival (OS) was 11.6 months and 9.9 months (hazard ratio [HR]=0.74), and median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.3 months and 5.7 months (HR=0.63) in the Pembro+Chemo and Chemo group, respectively. The OS- and PFS-benefit observed in the adenocarcinoma subgroup was consistent with the benefit observed in the overall patient population.

Commenting on the findings, Al-Batran said: "I expect that KEYNOTE-590 will change practice for patients with metastatic squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus who have PD-L1 CPS greater than or equal to 10 tumours, for whom pembrolizumab added to chemotherapy will become the standard of care in the first-line."

Al-Batran concluded: "The results of these trials offer oncologists new treatment options. In the first-line setting, there is a clear change of our standard of care, in which patients with high PD-L1 expression will be candidates for immune checkpoint inhibitors plus chemotherapy. However, more data are needed on the subgroups who benefit from the treatment (e.g. PD-L1 CPS groups and MSI)."

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Notes to Editors

Please make sure to use the official name of the meeting in your reports: ESMO Virtual Congress 2020

Official Congress Hashtag: #ESMO20

Disclaimer

This press release contains information provided by the author of the highlighted abstracts and reflects the content of these abstracts. It does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of ESMO who cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the data. Commentators quoted in the press release are required to comply with the ESMO Declaration of Interests policy and the ESMO Code of Conduct.

References

(1) Abstract LBA6_PR 'Nivolumab (NIVO) plus chemotherapy (chemo) versus chemo as first-line (1l) treatment for advanced gastric cancer/gastroesophageal junction cancer (GC/GEJC)/esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC): First results of the CheckMate 649 study' will be presented by Markus Moehler during the Presidential Symposium III on Monday, 21 September, 18:30 - 20:10 CEST. Annals of Oncology, Volume 31 Supplement 4, September 2020.

(2) Abstract LBA7_PR 'Nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in patients with previously untreated advanced or recurrent gastric/gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer: ATTRACTION-4 (ONO-4538-37) study' will be presented by Narikazu Boku during the Presidential Symposium III on Monday, 21 September, 18:30 - 20:10 CEST. Annals of Oncology, Volume 31 Supplement 4, September 2020.

(3) Abstract LBA8_PR 'Pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy as first-line therapy in patients with advanced esophageal cancer: The phase 3 KEYNOTE-590 study' will be presented by Ken Kato during the Presidential Symposium III on Monday, 21 September, 18:30 - 20:10 CEST. Annals of Oncology, Volume 31 Supplement 4, September 2020.

About the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)

ESMO is the leading professional organisation for medical oncology. With more than 25,000 members representing oncology professionals from over 160 countries worldwide, ESMO is the society of reference for oncology education and information. ESMO is committed to offer the best care to people with cancer, through fostering integrated cancer care, supporting oncologists in their professional development, and advocating for sustainable cancer care worldwide. http://www.esmo.org

LBA6_PR - Nivolumab (NIVO) plus chemotherapy (chemo) versus chemo as first-line (1l) treatment for advanced gastric cancer/gastroesophageal junction cancer (GC/GEJC)/esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC): First results of the CheckMate 649 study

M. Moehler1, K. Shitara2, M. Garrido3, P. Salman4, L. Shen5, L. Wyrwicz6, K. Yamaguchi7, T. Skoczylas8, A. Campos Bragagnoli9, T. Liu10, M. Schenker11, P. Yanez12, M. Tehfe13, V. Poulart14, D. Cullen15, M. Lei16, K. Kondo17, M. Li18, J.A. Ajani19, Y.Y. Janjigian20

1Gastroenterology / Endosonography, Johannes-Gutenberg University Clinic, Mainz, Germany, 2Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan, 3Hemato-Oncology, Clinica San Carlos de Apoquindo, Pontificia Universidad Catolica, Santiago Rm, Chile, 4Medical Oncology, Fundacion Arturo Lopez Perez, Providencia, Santiago, Chile, 5Gastrointestinal Oncology, Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Beijing Cancer Hospital, Beijing, China, 6Klinika Onkologii i Radioterapii, Narodowy Instytut Onkologii, Warszawa, Poland, 7Gastroenterological Chemotherapy, Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR, Tokyo, Japan, 8II Klinika Chirurgii Ogolnej, Gastroenterologicznej i Nowotworow Ukladu Pokarmowego, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland, 9Medical Oncology, Fundacao Pio Xii Hosp Cancer De Barretos, Barretos, Sp, Brazil, 10Medical Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 11Medical Oncology, SF Nectarie Oncology Center, Craiova, Romania, 12Oncology, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile, 13Oncology Center, Centre Hospitalier de l'Universite de Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada, 14Biostats, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ, USA, 15Oncology Clinical Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ, USA, 16Clinical Pharmacology, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ, USA, 17Gastric and Esophageal Cancer, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ, USA, 18Oncology clinical research, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ, USA, 19Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA, 20Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weil Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA

Background: Standard 1L chemo options for advanced or metastatic HER2-negative GC/GEJC result in poor overall survival (OS; median < 1 year). CheckMate 649 is the largest randomized, global phase 3 study of programmed death (PD)-1 inhibitor-based therapies in 1L GC/GEJC/EAC. We report OS at a pre-specified interim analysis and progression-free survival (PFS) at final analysis from the NIVO + chemo vs chemo arms in patients (pts) whose tumors expressed PD-ligand 1 (L1) combined positive score (CPS) greater than or equal to 5.

Methods: Adults with previously untreated, unresectable advanced, or metastatic GC/GEJC/EAC were enrolled, regardless of PD-L1 expression. Pts with known HER2-positive status were excluded. Pts were randomized to receive NIVO (360 mg Q3W or 240 mg Q2W) + chemo (XELOX Q3W or FOLFOX Q2W), NIVO + ipilimumab, or chemo. Dual primary endpoints for NIVO + chemo vs chemo were OS and PFS by blinded independent central review, in pts whose tumors expressed PD-L1 CPS greater than or equal to 5.

Results: 1581 pts were concurrently randomized in nivo+chemo and chemo arms, including 955 pts (60%) with PD-L1 CPS greater than or equal to 5. With a minimum follow-up of 12 months (mo), NIVO + chemo showed a statistically significant improvement in OS and PFS vs chemo in pts whose tumors expressed PD-L1 CPS greater than or equal to 5 (OS, HR 0.71 [98.4% CI 0.59-0.86; P < 0.0001] and PFS, HR 0.68 [98% CI 0.56-0.81; P < 0.0001]). Statistically significant OS benefit was also observed in pts with PD-L1 CPS greater than or equal to 1 and the all-randomized population (Table). No new safety signals were identified. Safety results are described in the Table.

ABSTRACT TABLE GOES HERE

Conclusions: NIVO is the first PD-1 inhibitor to demonstrate superior OS and PFS in combination with chemo vs chemo alone in previously untreated pts with advanced GC/GEJC/EAC, with a manageable safety profile. NIVO + chemo represents a potential new standard 1L treatment option for these pts.

Clinical trial identification: NCT02872116

Editorial acknowledgement: Writing and editorial assistance was provided by Tanmayi Mankame, PhD, of Parexel International, funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Legal entity responsible for the study: Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Funding: Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Disclosure: M. Moehler: Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution), Travel/Accommodation/Expenses, Adboards: Bristol Myers Squibb. K. Shitara: Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Astellas Pharma; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Eli Lilly and Company; Advisory/Consultancy: Bristol Myers Squibb; Advisory/Consultancy: Takeda Pharmaceuticals; Advisory/Consultancy: Pfizer Inc; Advisory/Consultancy: Ono Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Novartis; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: AbbVie Inc; Honoraria (self): Yakult; Research grant/Funding (institution): Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma; Research grant/Funding (institution): Daiichi Sankyo; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Taiho Pharmaceutical; Research grant/Funding (institution): Chugai Pharma; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Merck Pharmaceutical; Research grant/Funding (institution): Medi Science; Advisory/Consultancy: GlaxoSmithKline. M. Garrido: Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Bristol Myers Squibb; Advisory/Consultancy: MSD; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Novartis; Advisory/Consultancy: Roche. K. Yamaguchi: Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Taiho; Advisory/Consultancy: Chugai; Research grant/Funding (institution): Sanofi; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Daiichi-Sankyo; Advisory/Consultancy: Lilly; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Ono; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Yakult Honsha; Advisory/Consultancy: Takeda; Advisory/Consultancy: Bristol Myers Squibb; Advisory/Consultancy: Merck Serono. M. Schenker: Research grant/Funding (self), fee for clinical research activity : Bristol Myers Squibb; Research grant/Funding (self), fee for clinical research activity : Roche; Research grant/Funding (self), fee for clinical research activity : Pfizer; Research grant/Funding (self), fee for clinical research activity : MSD; Research grant/Funding (self), fee for clinical research activity : Eli Lilly; Research grant/Funding (self), fee for clinical research activity : Novartis; Research grant/Funding (self), fee for clinical research activity : Astellas; Research grant/Funding (self), fee for clinical research activity : GSK; Research grant/Funding (self), fee for clinical research activity : Astra Zeneca; Research grant/Funding (self), fee for clinical research activity : Merck Serono; Research grant/Funding (self), fee for clinical research activity : Regeneron. M. Tehfe: Advisory/Consultancy: Bristol Myers Squibb. V. Poulart: Full/Part-time employment: Bristol Myers Squibb. D. Cullen: Travel/Accommodation/Expenses, Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options, Full/Part-time employment: Bristol Myers Squibb. M. Lei: Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options, Full/Part-time employment: Bristol Myers Squibb. K. Kondo: Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options, Full/Part-time employment: Bristol Myers Squibb.

M. Li: Full/Part-time employment: Bristol Myers Squibb. J.A. Ajani: Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Bristol Myers Squibb. Y.Y. Janjigian: Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Eli Lilly; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: ASCO; Advisory/Consultancy: Michael J. Hennessy Associates; Advisory/Consultancy: Paradigm Medical Communications, LLC; Advisory/Consultancy: Zymeworks Inc.; Advisory/Consultancy: Jounce Therapeutics; Advisory/Consultancy: Seattle Genetics; Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: Rgenix; Advisory/Consultancy: Astra Zeneca; Advisory/Consultancy: Daiichi Sankyo; Research grant/Funding (institution): ONO Pharma; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Merck & Co Inc.; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Bristol-Myers Squibb; Research grant/Funding (institution): Boehringer Ingelheim; Research grant/Funding (institution): Bayer; Research grant/Funding (institution): Genentech/Roche; Advisory/Consultancy: Merck Serono; Advisory/Consultancy: Pfizer; Advisory/Consultancy: Imugene. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

LBA7_PR - Nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in patients with previously untreated advanced or recurrent gastric/gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer: ATTRACTION-4 (ONO-4538-37) study

N. Boku1, M.H. Ryu2, D-Y. Oh3, S.C. Oh4, H.C. Chung5, K-W. Lee6, T. Omori7, K. Shitara8, S. Sakuramoto9, I.J. Chung10, K. Yamaguchi11, K. Kato12, S.J. Sym13, S. Kadowaki14, K. Tsuji15, J-S. Chen16, L-Y. Bai17, L-T. Chen18, Y-K. Kang19

1Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, 2Oncology Dept, Asan Medical Center - University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 3Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 4Dept of Medical Oncology, Korea University Guro Hospital, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 5Medical Oncology Dept, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 6Medical Oncology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, Korea, Republic of, 7Gastroenterological Surgery, Osaka International Cancer Institute, Osaka, Japan, 8Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan, 9Department of Gastroenterology, Saitama Medical University, International Cancer Center, Saitama, Japan, 10Internal medicine/Hemato-oncology, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun, Korea, Republic of, 11Department of Gastroenterological Chemotherapy, Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR, Tokyo, Japan, 12Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center Research Institute - Tsukiji Campus, Chuo-ku, Japan, 13Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Korea, Republic of, 14Department of Clinical Oncology, Aichi Cancer Center Hospital, Nagoya, Japan, 15Gastroenterology, Ishikawa Prefectural Central Hospital, Ishikawa, Japan, 16Division of Hematology-Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan City, Taiwan, 17Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, 18National Cheng Kung University Hospital, National Institute of Cancer Research, Tainan, Taiwan, 19Department of Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Songpa-gu, Korea, Republic of

Background: Nivolumab has a survival benefit for heavily pretreated patients with advanced or recurrent G/GEJ cancer. ATTRACTION-4 is a randomized, multicenter, phase 2/3 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nivolumab plus chemotherapy vs. chemotherapy as first-line treatment in patients with HER2-negative, advanced or recurrent G/GEJ cancer. Here we report the results of the double-blind phase 3 part.

Methods: Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive nivolumab plus chemotherapy (N+C, S-1 plus oxaliplatin or capecitabine plus oxaliplatin) or placebo plus chemotherapy (C). Nivolumab or placebo was intravenously administered every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Tumor assessment was performed every 6 weeks through week 54, then repeated every 12 weeks. The co-primary endpoints were centrally-assessed PFS and OS, and it was prespecified that the primary objective is deemed to be achieved if at least one of the null hypotheses of the primary endpoints is rejected.

Results: A total of 724 Asian patients were randomized to N+C (n=362) or C (n=362) between Mar 7, 2017, and May 10, 2018. At the interim analysis primary for PFS with the median follow-up period of 11.6 mo, PFS was significantly improved in N+C vs. C (HR 0.68; 98.51% CI 0.51-0.90; p=0.0007; median PFS, 10.5 vs. 8.3 mo), meeting the primary endpoint. At the final analysis primary for OS with the median follow-up period of 26.6 mo, there was no statistically significant difference (HR 0.90; 95% CI 0.75-1.08; p=0.257; median OS, 17.5 vs. 17.2 mo), while PFS was continuously longer in N+C than in C. ORR was higher in N+C than in C (57.5 vs. 47.8%; p=0.0088). The incidences of grade 3 to 5 treatment-related adverse events were 57.9% in N+C and 49.2% in C.

Conclusions: PFS was significantly improved in N+C vs. C, achieving the primary objective. The combination of nivolumab and chemotherapy, which demonstrated clinically meaningful efficacy in PFS and ORR with a manageable safety profile but not statistically significant improvement in OS, can be considered a new first-line treatment option in advanced or recurrent G/GEJ cancer.

Clinical trial identification: Trial protocol number: NCT02746796 Study Start Date: March 2016

Legal entity responsible for the study: Ono Pharmaceutical CO., Ltd.

Funding: Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Bristol-Myers Squibb

Disclosure: N. Boku: Honoraria (self): ONO; Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): BMS; Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): Taiho. M.H. Ryu: Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: ONO; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: BMS; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: MSD; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Eli Lilly; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Taiho; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Novartis; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Daehwa. D-Y. Oh: Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (self): AstraZeneca; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (self): Novartis; Advisory/Consultancy: Genentech; Advisory/Consultancy: Merck Serono; Advisory/Consultancy: Bayer; Advisory/Consultancy: Taiho; Advisory/Consultancy: ASLAN; Advisory/Consultancy: Halozyme; Advisory/Consultancy: Zymeworks; Advisory/Consultancy: Celgene; Research grant/Funding (self): Array; Research grant/Funding (self): Eli Lilly; Advisory/Consultancy: Roche. H.C. Chung: Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Merck-Serono; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Eli Lilly; Honoraria (self): Foundation Medicine; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Taiho; Advisory/Consultancy: Celltrion; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): MSD; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): BMS; Advisory/Consultancy: Gloria; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Beigene; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Amgen; Advisory/Consultancy: Zymework; Research grant/Funding (institution): GSK; Research grant/Funding (institution): Ono pharmaceutical. K-W. Lee: Honoraria (self): BMS; Honoraria (self): Eli Lilly; Honoraria (self): Genexine; Research grant/Funding (institution): Macrogenics; Research grant/Funding (institution): MSD; Research grant/Funding (institution): Ono pharmaceutical; Research grant/Funding (institution): Green Cross Corp.; Research grant/Funding (institution): ASLAN pharmaceuticals; Research grant/Funding (institution): AstraZeneca/MedImmune; Research grant/Funding (institution): Five Prime Therapeutics; Research grant/Funding (institution): LSK BioPharma; Research grant/Funding (institution): Merck KGaA; Research grant/Funding (institution): Array BioPharma; Research grant/Funding (institution): Pharmacyclics; Research grant/Funding (institution): Pfizer; Research grant/Funding (institution): ALX Oncology; Research grant/Funding (institution): Zymeworks; Research grant/Funding (institution): BeiGene; Research grant/Funding (institution): Daiichi Sankyo; Research grant/Funding (institution): Taiho Pharmaceutical. K. Shitara: Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Novartis; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: AbbVie; Honoraria (self): Yakult; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Astellas; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Eli Lilly; Advisory/Consultancy: BMS; Advisory/Consultancy: Takeda; Advisory/Consultancy: Pfizer; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Ono pharmaceutical; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): MSD; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Taiho; Advisory/Consultancy: GSK; Research grant/Funding (institution): Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma; Research grant/Funding (institution): Daiichi Sankyo; Research grant/Funding (institution): Chugai; Research grant/Funding (institution): Medi Science.

S. Sakuramoto: Research grant/Funding (institution): Ono pharmaceutical; Research grant/Funding (institution): Taiho; Research grant/Funding (institution): Kaken pharmaceutical; Research grant/Funding (institution): Chugai.

K. Yamaguchi: Honoraria (institution), Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Daiichi Sankyo; Honoraria (institution), Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Taiho; Honoraria (institution), Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Chugai; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: BMS; Honoraria (institution), Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: ONO pharmaceutical; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Takeda; Honoraria (institution), Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Eli Lilly; Honoraria (institution), Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Sanofi; Honoraria (institution): MSD oncology; Honoraria (institution): Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma; Honoraria (institution): Gilead Sciences; Honoraria (institution): Boehringer Ingelheim; Honoraria (institution): Eisai; Honoraria (institution): Yakult Honsya. K. Kato: Advisory/Consultancy, Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony, Research grant/Funding (institution): Ono pharmaceutical; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Beigene; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): MSD; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Taiho; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Eli Lilly; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony, Research grant/Funding (institution): BMS; Research grant/Funding (institution): Shionogi; Research grant/Funding (institution): Merck Bio; Research grant/Funding (institution): Chugai. S. Kadowaki: Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): Eli Lilly; Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): Taiho; Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): Ono pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): BMS; Honoraria (self): Yakult Honsya; Honoraria (self): Chugai; Honoraria (self): Bayer; Honoraria (self): Merck; Research grant/Funding (institution): MSD. J-S. Chen: Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Ono pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): TTY Biopharma; Honoraria (self): MSD oncology; Honoraria (self): Medimmune; Honoraria (self): Merck KGaA; Honoraria (self): Roche; Honoraria (self): AstraZeneca.

L-Y. Bai: Honoraria (self): AbbVie; Honoraria (self): Bayer; Honoraria (self): BMS; Honoraria (self): Johnson & Johnson; Honoraria (self): GSK; Honoraria (self): Eli Lilly; Honoraria (self): MSD; Honoraria (self): Novartis; Honoraria (self): Ono pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): Pfizer; Honoraria (self): PharmaEngine; Honoraria (self): Roche; Honoraria (self): SynCore Biotechnology; Honoraria (self): Takeda; Honoraria (self): TTY Biopharm. L-T. Chen: Honoraria (self): Ono pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): Eli Lilly; Honoraria (self): MSD; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: PharmaEngine; Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): TTY Biopharm; Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): SyncorePharm; Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): Novartis; Honoraria (self): AstraZeneca; Honoraria (self): Ipsen; Leadership role: National Institute of Cancer Research, Taiwan; Research grant/Funding (institution): Merck Serono; Research grant/Funding (institution): Polaris; Research grant/Funding (institution): Pfizer; Research grant/Funding (institution): BMS; Licensing/Royalties: ENO-1 mAb from HuniLife; Full/Part-time employment: National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan; Officer/Board of Directors: SinoPharm Taiwan, Ltd. Y-K. Kang: Advisory/Consultancy: ALX Oncology; Advisory/Consultancy: BMS; Advisory/Consultancy: Amgen; Advisory/Consultancy: Daehwa; Advisory/Consultancy: Macrogenics; Advisory/Consultancy: Novartis; Advisory/Consultancy: Surface Oncology; Advisory/Consultancy: Zymeworks.

All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

LBA8_PR - Pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy as first-line therapy in patients with advanced esophageal cancer: The phase 3 KEYNOTE-590 study

K. Kato1, J-M. Sun2, M.A. Shah3, P.C. Enzinger4, A. Adenis5, T. Doi6, T. Kojima7, J-P. Metges8, Z. Li9, S-B. Kim10, B.C. Chul Cho11, W. Mansoor12, S-H. Li13, P. Sunpaweravong14, M.A. Maqueda15, E. Goekkurt16, Q. Liu17, S. Shah17, P. Bhagia17, L. Shen18

1Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, 2Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 3Medical Oncology/Solid Tumor Program, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA, 4Medical Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA, 5Medical Oncology, IRCM, Inserm, Universite Montpellier, ICM, Montpellier, CEDEX, France, 6Experimental Therapeutics, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Chiba, Chiba, Japan, 7Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan, 8Cancer Institute, CHU Brest - Institut de Cancerologie et d'Hematologie, Brest, Cedex 2, France, 9Thoracic & Esophageal Surgery, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Esophageal Disease Center,, Shanghai, China, 10Oncology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 11Yonsei Cancer Center, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Health System, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, 12Medical Oncology, Christie Hospital NHS Trust, Manchester, UK, 13Oncology and Hematology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 14Medicine, Prince of Songkla University Hospital, Songkhla, Thailand, 15Medical Oncology, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain, 16Hematology-Oncology, Hematology Oncology Practice Eppendorf, and University Cancer Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, 17Medical Oncology, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA, 18Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China

Background: KEYNOTE-590 (NCT03189719) is a randomized, international, double-blind study of 1L pembrolizumab (pembro) + chemotherapy (chemo) vs chemo alone in patients (pts) with locally advanced/unresectable or metastatic adenocarcinoma or esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) or Siewert type 1 esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma (EGJ).

Methods: Eligible pts were randomized 1:1 to pembro 200 mg or placebo Q3W for up to 2 yr + chemo (cisplatin 80 mg/m2 Q3W [d1; 6 doses] + 5-FU 800 mg/m2 on d1-5 Q3W). Randomization was stratified by Asia vs Rest of World, adenocarcinoma vs ESCC, and ECOG PS 0 vs 1. Treatment continued until progression, unacceptable toxicity, or withdrawal, or 2 yr. No crossover was permitted. Primary end points were OS in pts with ESCC PD-L1 combined positive score (CPS) greater than or equal to 10 tumors, and OS and PFS (RECIST v1.1 ; by investigator) in ESCC, PD-L1 CPS greater than or equal to 10, and all pts. The secondary end point was ORR (RECIST v1.1; by investigator) in all pts. Data cutoff for interim OS/final PFS analysis was July 2, 2020.

Results: At data cutoff, 749 pts (83% male, 73% ESCC) were randomized (373 pembro + chemo; 376 chemo). Median follow-up was 10.8 mo. Pembro + chemo vs chemo was superior for OS in pts with ESCC CPS ?10 (median 13.9 vs 8.8 mo; HR 0.57; 95% CI, 0.43-0.75; P < 0.0001), ESCC (median 12.6 vs 9.8 mo; HR 0.72; 95% CI, 0.60-0.88; P = 0.0006), CPS greater than or equal to 10 (median 13.5 vs 9.4 mo; HR 0.62; 95% CI, 0.49-0.78; P < 0.0001), and all pts (median 12.4 vs 9.8 mo; HR, 0.73, 95% CI, 0.62-0.86; P < 0.0001). PFS was superior with pembro + chemo vs chemo in ESCC (median 6.3 vs 5.8 mo; HR 0.65; 95% CI, 0.54-0.78; P < 0.0001), CPS greater than or equal to 10 (median 7.5 vs 5.5 mo; HR 0.51; 95% CI, 0.41-0.65; P < 0.0001), and all pts (median 6.3 vs 5.8 mo; HR 0.65; 95% CI, 0.55-0.76; P < 0.0001). Confirmed ORR was 45.0% vs 29.3% (P < 0.0001) in all pts, with median DOR of 8.3 vs 6.0 mo. Grade 3-5 drug-related AE rates were 72% vs 68%. Discontinuation rates from drug-related AEs were 19% vs 12%.

Conclusions: Pembro + chemo provided superior OS, PFS, and ORR vs chemo, with a manageable safety profile in pts with untreated, advanced esophageal and EGJ cancer. These data demonstrate that 1L pembro + chemo is a new standard of care in this pt population.

Clinical trial identification: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT03189719

Editorial acknowledgement: Luana Atherly-Henderson of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA Legal entity responsible for the study: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA

Funding: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA

Disclosure: K. Kato: Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): BMS; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): MSD; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): ONO; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Beigene; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Taiho; Speaker Bureau/Expert testimony: Eli Lilly; Research grant/Funding (institution): Shionogi; Research grant/Funding (institution): Merck Bio; Research grant/Funding (institution): Chugai. J-M. Sun: Research grant/Funding (institution): AstraZeneca; Research grant/Funding (institution): Ono; Research grant/Funding (institution): MSD. M.A. Shah: Advisory/Consultancy: Daiichi; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.; Research grant/Funding (institution): Boston Biomedical; Research grant/Funding (institution): Roche; Research grant/Funding (institution): Oncolys. P.C. Enzinger: Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Astellas; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: AstraZeneca; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Celgene; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Daiichi-Sankyo; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Five-Prime; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Lilly; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Loxo; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Taiho; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Takeda; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Zymeworks. A. Adenis: Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution), Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Bayer; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution), Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Bristol Myers Squibb; Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): Sanofi; Advisory/Consultancy: Servier; Research grant/Funding (institution), Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.; Research grant/Funding (institution): Pfizer. T. Doi: Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): Bristol Myers Squibb; Honoraria (self): Ono Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Abbvie; Honoraria (self): Astellas Pharma; Honoraria (self): Oncolys BioPharma; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Taiho Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): Otsuka; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): MSD; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Daiichi Sankyo; Advisory/Consultancy: Amgen; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Sumitomo Dainippon; Advisory/Consultancy: Takeda; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Novartis; Advisory/Consultancy: Bayer; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Boehringer Ingelheim; Advisory/Consultancy: Rakuten Medical; Research grant/Funding (institution): Merck Serono; Research grant/Funding (institution): Pfizer; Research grant/Funding (institution): Lilly; Research grant/Funding (institution): Kyowa Hakko Kirin; Research grant/Funding (institution): Eisai; Research grant/Funding (institution): IQVIA.

T. Kojima: Honoraria (self), Research grant/Funding (institution): Ono Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): Oncolys BioPharma; Advisory/Consultancy: Astellas Pharma; Advisory/Consultancy: Bristol Myers Squibb; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): MSD; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Ono Pharmaceutical; Advisory/Consultancy: Merck; Research grant/Funding (institution): Astellas Amgen BioPharma; Research grant/Funding (institution): Taiho Pharmaceutical; Research grant/Funding (institution): Shionogi. J-P. Metges: Honoraria (self): MSD; Honoraria (self): Bayer; Honoraria (self): Bristol Myers Squibb.

S-B. Kim: Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (self): Novartis; Research grant/Funding (self): Sanofi-Aventis; Research grant/Funding (self): DongKook Pharma Co.; Advisory/Consultancy: AstraZeneca; Advisory/Consultancy: Lilly; Advisory/Consultancy: Enzychem; Advisory/Consultancy: Dae Hwa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd; Advisory/Consultancy: ISU Abxis; Advisory/Consultancy: Daiichi-Sankyo. B.C. Chul Cho: Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Novartis; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): AstraZeneca; Advisory/Consultancy: Boehringer Ingelheim; Advisory/Consultancy: Roche; Advisory/Consultancy: Bristol Myers Squibb; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Ono; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Yuhan; Advisory/Consultancy: Pfizer; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Eli Lilly; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Janssen; Advisory/Consultancy: Medpacto; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): Blueprint Medicines; Advisory/Consultancy, Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: KANAPH Therapeutic Inc.; Advisory/Consultancy, Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: Brigebio Therapeutics; Advisory/Consultancy, Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: Cyrus Therapeutics; Advisory/Consultancy: Guardant Health; Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options: TheraCanVac Inc; Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options, Officer/Board of Directors: Gencurix Inc; Research grant/Funding (institution), Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options, Officer/Board of Directors: Interpark Bio Convergence Corp; Research grant/Funding (institution): Bayer; Research grant/Funding (institution): MOGAM Institute; Research grant/Funding (institution): Dong-A ST; Research grant/Funding (institution), Licensing/Royalties: Champions Oncology; Research grant/Funding (institution): Dizal Pharma; Advisory/Consultancy, Research grant/Funding (institution): MSD; Research grant/Funding (institution): Abbvie; Research grant/Funding (institution): Medpacto; Research grant/Funding (institution): GIInnovation; Leadership role, founder: DAAN Biotherapeutics; Advisory/Consultancy: Takeda. S-H. Li: Research grant/Funding (institution): MSD.

M.A. Maqueda: Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy, Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Servier; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: Bristol Myers Squibb; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy: MSD; Honoraria (self), Advisory/Consultancy, Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Lilly; Honoraria (self), Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Roche; Honoraria (self), Travel/Accommodation/Expenses: Amgen. E. Goekkurt: Honoraria (self): MSD; Honoraria (self): Bristol Myers Squibb; Honoraria (self): Servier. Q. Liu: Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options, Full/Part-time employment: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.. S. Shah: Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options, Full/Part-time employment: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.. P. Bhagia: Shareholder/Stockholder/Stock options, Full/Part-time employment: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.. L. Shen: Advisory/Consultancy: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.; Advisory/Consultancy: Harbour; Research grant/Funding (self): Boehringer Ingelheim; Research grant/Funding (self): Beijing Xiantong Biomedical Technology; Research grant/Funding (self): Qilu Pharmaceutical; Research grant/Funding (self): Zaiding Pharmaceutical; Research grant/Funding (self): Jacobio Pharmaceuticals; Research grant/Funding (self): Beihai Kangcheng(Beijing)Medical Technology Co.,Ltd. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
The total number of confirmed cases grew to 178,353.

Ukraine said 2,675 new active COVID-19 cases had been confirmed across the country in the past 24 hours as of September 21, 2020.

The total number of confirmed cases grew to 178,353, as seen on the interactive map compiled by the National Security and Defense Council.

Read alsoFour Ukrainian regions ready for quarantine easing  health ministryAs many as 78,184 patients, including 672 in the past day, have recovered.

The death toll is 3,583 with 26 fatalities recorded in the past day.

There were 96,586 active cases as of September 21. In total, there have been 242,579 reports on suspected COVID-19 since the beginning of 2020.

The highest number of new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours was registered in the city of Kyiv (275), Kharkiv region (245 cases), Lviv region (201), Ternopil region (192), Khmelnytsky region (192).

The overall incidence per region is as follows:

19,758 (+275) in the city of Kyiv;

18,518 (+201) cases in Lviv region;

15,133 (+245) in Kharkiv region;

13,165 (+123) in Chernivtsi region;

12,538 (+156) in Ivano-Frankivsk region;

11,610 (+188) in Odesa region;

11,439 (+192) in Ternopil region;

11,242 (+118) in Rivne region;

9,189 (+35) in Zakarpattia region;

7,880 (+136) in Kyiv region;

6,936 (+80) in Volyn region;

5,322 (+54) in Vinnytsia region;

5,059 (+71) in Zhytomyr region;

4,823 (+192) in Khmelnytsky region;

4,118 (+136) in Dnipropetrovsk region;

3,341 (+78) in Chernihiv region;

3,096 (+61) in Cherkasy region;

3,117 (+94) in Sumy region;

2,394 (+55) in Zaporizhia region;

2,480 (+50) in Donetsk region (Ukrainian-controlled districts);

2,551 (+82) in Mykolaiv region;

1,534 (+35) in Poltava region;

993 (+8) in Kirovohrad region;

818 (+5) in Kherson region; and

759 (+5) in Luhansk region (Ukrainian-controlled districts).

Data from Russia-occupied areas  the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions  is not available.

Quarantine in Ukraine: background
New Delhi, Sep 21 : Dalmia-OCL Ltd, the refractory company of the Dalmia Bharat Group, on Monday launched a new refractory line for production of Magnesia Carbon (MgO-C) bricks, widely used in the steel industry, at its plant in Odisha's Rajgangpur.

The launch of the new refractory line is part of the company's strategic initiative on import substitution and aimed to support the government's call for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.

The new facility will have a capacity of 108,000 tonne and cater to the demand of domestic steel manufacturers. Once fully commissioned, it will be India's largest refractory line for production of Magnesia Carbon bricks and promises to cut the nation's import dependence by up to 50 per cent, a company statement said.

The refractory line, which has been set up under Dalmia-OCL's initiative of 'Bharat ki Factory mein Bharat ki Refractory', will come up in 3 phases of 36,000 tonne each. This product is widely consumed by the steel industry and most of the current demand (approximately 300,000 tonne annually) is met through imports.

The initiative aims to localise the production of most refractories and support key customers such as SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW Group, JSPL Group, AMNS etc.

With the launch of the new manufacturing line, the company aims to substitute imports with locally manufactured MgO-C bricks and expects to capture 25 per cent market share. Subsequently, the company plans to export these bricks to Europe and other key steel markets across the globe. The company has made a cumulative investment of Rs 50 crore in the past two years and expects its total refractory business to grow by 50 per cent in the next five years.

Dalmia-OCL also plans to make a cumulative investment of Rs 100 crore in the next five years to boost its domestic manufacturing capacity and align itself to India's vision to become a 300 million tonne steel manufacturing nation by the end of this decade.
(TNS)  When New Mexico Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena logs into virtual committee meetings from home, she knows she might only be able to stay on until 10 a.m.Thats because her children start their online classes then and her internet connection cant support all the activity. Her video cuts out repeatedly, and the legislator either keeps trying to sign back in or gives up completely.I live in Mesilla, 10 minutes outside our states second-biggest city, and the only internet I can get comes through a phone line, the Democrat said, referring to her town near Las Cruces. Theres no broadband, no fiber optics.Her struggles are just one example of the challenges legislators have faced as the abnormalities of life during the coronavirus pandemic in New Mexico have extended to lawmaking. This year, legislators have scheduled fewer interim committee meetings than normal and have held most virtually. They say both of those developments have made it more difficult to get their legislative work done ahead of next years session.There is no question that trying to prepare a legislative agenda when everyones meeting virtually and meeting less is hard, said Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth.In Lara Cadenas case, after 10 a.m. she often resorts to calling into her meetings by phone instead of watching through videoconference, but that makes it harder to engage with panelists and fellow legislators.During a recent meeting of the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee, she wanted to ask Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase a pressing question about Medicaid funding.But I couldnt see them, nor could they see me, she said later, which also meant when I did engage, I wasnt able to see any reaction or response from my colleagues.In a separate meeting of the Economic and Rural Development Committee, Lara Cadena wanted to ask panelists a question about the topic of broadband. But she wasnt able to pose her question.I wanted to talk about internet access, but I couldnt because I was on the phone only and the chair didnt know I wanted to speak, she said.In New Mexico, summer and fall are usually chock full of interim legislative meetings in which committees hear from state officials and experts as they begin crafting bills for the next session. Usually, the gatherings are held in different parts of the state, not just in Santa Fe.This year, legislators significantly pared back the frequency of interim meetings and nearly all of them have been held virtually or at the Capitol.Most committees are close to one-third [the frequency] of last year, said Raul Burciaga, director of the Legislative Council Service. No one has gone over half.Technical problems also have surfaced since early on in the pandemic, with some legislators struggling to use videoconference platforms or dealing with weak internet connections.During one of the first virtual committee meetings held in the spring, loud audio feedback occasionally drowned lawmakers voices. Some legislators had trouble unmuting themselves to vote, and they had to speak over the sounds of sneezing and barking dogs.Difficulties have continued off and on over the summer, as rarely a meeting goes by without at least one complaint about videoconferencing.In late August, the Cabinet secretary for the Department of Finance and Administration was only a few minutes into a presentation when a committee chairman interrupted her.Secretary, were getting complaints from the legislative members that are viewing this by video that the presentation is not showing up on the screen, Sen. John Arthur Smith told Debbie Romero, who was participating remotely. Is there anything you can do to assist them with that?Let me see, Romero responded, followed by several long pauses during the Legislative Finance Committee meeting.Hopefully that will work this time, Mr. Chair, she eventually said.No, it hasnt, Smith said, cutting her off.Perhaps legislative staff could help, Romero suggested, followed by another pause.We just need to go ahead, said Smith, a Democratic senator from Deming. It just reflects the flaws of totally relying on video.The complaints continued during other hearings the following day.Im having trouble today with these kinds of virtual meetings, Rep. Patty Lundstrom, D-Gallup, said while asking the states early childhood secretary a question. Theres been some disruption in our connectivity.The Legislative Council Service has offered one-on-one trainings with legislators to help them better navigate the various technologies.Even when there arent technical difficulties, legislators say the virtual nature of most meetings makes it tough to spark the same level of debate and exchange they usually have when meeting in person.Its just not the same interaction and personal time that you spend building legislation, working on things, said Wirth, D-Santa Fe. Thats the reality of legislating during COVID.The majority leader drew a contrast between the virtual interim meetings and Junes special session, when the Senate met in person. He said the physical proximity helped give form to the legislation that was ultimately passed.Theres lots of different moving pieces that you cant move when youre all looking at a screen, Wirth said.As far as the frequency of meetings, the change is notable.By this time last year, the Indian Affairs Committee already had met four times, touring numerous parts of the state from Mescalero to Acoma Pueblo to Shiprock. During the interim this year, theyve met only twice so far, both times at the Roundhouse with virtual access.The Investments and Pensions Oversight Committee had held three meetings by mid-September 2019; this year, its only had one.Having meetings over the internet instead of traveling to different parts of the state takes away from meeting constituents and seeing firsthand how theyre affected by various issues, legislators said.I feel the greatest downside is not being able to travel the state to witness firsthand the topics of discussion and to hear directly from those affected, said Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque.Some legislators do see upsides to the changes, noting they believe there were too many interim meetings in the past.Im a strong believer in reducing the number of interim committees to begin with, Smith said.Wirth also said he had a long-term goal of looking at which interim committees might be extraneous.We have such a large number of interim committees, and thats an issue thats been out there for a while, he said. Thats something we do need to look at.The decreased frequency of meetings also allows legislators to be more efficient with their time, Roybal Caballero said.If anything, having fewer meetings and holding them virtually has challenged us to be more succinct, clear, brief and prepared in the panel presentations and with our questions to allow everyone to have equal time and opportunity to be heard including, most importantly, the public, she said.Lara Cadena also noted that despite her connectivity challenges, it has been helpful not to have to drive several hours to Northern New Mexico from the Las Cruces area for a meeting, as she had to during last years interim period.The virtual environment sounds fantastic and can be because it takes out some of those driving times, she said.Wirth said a number of senators have told him they like being able to log in from home, too.But, he added, you lose a huge piece of the process by not being able to go visit and hear from constituents.
The COVID-19 outbreak is poised to cause major migration shifts across the U.S. According to a recent report by Pew Research Center, 22% of U.S. adults changed their residence or knew someone who did because of the pandemic. This represents a stark reversal from the longstanding trend of Americans staying put and could have far-reaching effects on local populations and economies.

Prior to COVID-19, geographic mobility in the U.S. reached historic lows. Data from the Census Bureau shows that between 2018 and 2019, only 9% of Americans changed their address. By contrast, the geographic mobility rate hovered around 20% throughout the 1950s and 1960s before beginning its decline. Among those who did move in 2019, roughly six in 10 people moved within the same county, with far fewer moving across county or state lines.

Despite the overall drop in mobility, people who moved in 2019 were more likely to do so for work-related reasons than in years past. For example, between 2018 and 2019, 12.1% of movers indicated that a new job or job transfer was their primary reason for moving, compared to 9.5% in 1999. Similarly, the percentage of people who moved in 2019 to reduce their commute was 6.2%, a rate two times higher than that reported 20 years ago.

These mobility trends are likely to reverse course sharply in the wake of COVID-19, especially as more companies allow for remote work. The new Pew Research data suggests that people have moved as much in 2020 already as all of 2019. Among those who moved, some of the main reasons were to reduce their risk of infection, to return home after college campuses closed, to be with family, and to cope with job loss and other financial problems.

A recent Harris poll found that because of the outbreak, 39% of urban dwellers are considering a permanent move to less crowded places, such as the suburbs or rural areas. The combination of lower population densities, lower living costs, and the shift to remote work is making less urbanized areas an increasingly attractive option.

As the need to live in close proximity to work has shifted for many Americans, more affordable housing is a particularly strong draw for residents looking to move. To find the most and least expensive locations to sign a new rental agreement, researchers at HireAHelper analyzed median rental prices and wage statistics across the United States. Using this data, HireAHelper calculated how many hours the typical renter would need to work to sign a new rental agreement. For this calculation, the researchers assumed that a renter would need to pay three months of rent up front (i.e., first months rent, last months rent, and a security deposit).

For example, the national median cost of a two-bedroom rental is $1,293 and the median wage is $19.14 per hour. This means that a typical renter would need to have $3,879 saved to sign the rental agreement, which would require 203 hours of work.

States in the Northeast and West Coast tend to require the greatest number of hours to sign a rental agreement, especially California (284 hours), Massachusetts (239 hours), and New York (236 hours). By contrast, states in the Midwest and Northwest require the fewest hours, like Wyoming (141 hours), Iowa (136 hours), and North Dakota (128 hours).

As with the state-level data, more densely populated metropolitan areas in the Northeast, the West Coast, and Florida tend to be the most expensive, while less densely populated areas in the Midwest tend to offer new residents more affordable housing options. Of the 15 most affordable metro areas for new renters, six were located in Ohio. Conversely, of the 15 most expensive locations, six were located in California and four in Florida. Notably, the average number of hours needed to sign a new rental agreement across the 15 most expensive metropolitan areas (284 hours) was approximately two times higher than the average among the 15 least expensive metros (143 hours).

Here are the 15 most and least expensive metros to sign a new rental agreement.

The most expensive metros for new renters



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

1. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 380

380 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $10,431

$10,431 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $3,477

$3,477 Median hourly wage: $27.42



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

2. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 324

324 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $6,321

$6,321 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $2,107

$2,107 Median hourly wage: $19.49



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 316

316 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $9,411

$9,411 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $3,137

$3,137 Median hourly wage: $29.80



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

4. Urban Honolulu, HI

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 315

315 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $6,945

$6,945 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $2,315

$2,315 Median hourly wage: $22.07



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

5. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 309

309 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $6,339

$6,339 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $2,113

$2,113 Median hourly wage: $20.52



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

6. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 299

299 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $6,483

$6,483 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $2,161

$2,161 Median hourly wage: $21.66



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

7. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 295

295 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $5,241

$5,241 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $1,747

$1,747 Median hourly wage: $17.76



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

8. Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 286

286 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $7,329

$7,329 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $2,443

$2,443 Median hourly wage: $25.62



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

9. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 273

273 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $6,402

$6,402 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $2,134

$2,134 Median hourly wage: $23.48



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

10. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 266

266 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $6,795

$6,795 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $2,265

$2,265 Median hourly wage: $25.50



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

11. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 262

262 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $6,729

$6,729 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $2,243

$2,243 Median hourly wage: $25.65



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

12. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 244

244 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $4,023

$4,023 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $1,341

$1,341 Median hourly wage: $16.50



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

13. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 234

234 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $3,531

$3,531 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $1,177

$1,177 Median hourly wage: $15.11



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

14. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 233

233 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $3,960

$3,960 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $1,320

$1,320 Median hourly wage: $17.00



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

15. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 230

230 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $4,182

$4,182 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $1,394

$1,394 Median hourly wage: $18.17

The least expensive metros for new renters



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

1. Dayton, OH

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 131

131 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,484

$2,484 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $828

$828 Median hourly wage: $19.01



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

2. Toledo, OH

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 136

136 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,448

$2,448 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $816

$816 Median hourly wage: $17.95



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

3. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 138

138 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,232

$2,232 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $744

$744 Median hourly wage: $16.18



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

4. Winston-Salem, NC

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 140

140 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,439

$2,439 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $813

$813 Median hourly wage: $17.38



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

5. Cleveland-Elyria, OH

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 140

140 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,730

$2,730 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $910

$910 Median hourly wage: $19.44



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

6. Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 141

141 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,673

$2,673 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $891

$891 Median hourly wage: $18.98



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

7. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 141

141 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,874

$2,874 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $958

$958 Median hourly wage: $20.37



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

8. Wichita, KS

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 147

147 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,613

$2,613 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $871

$871 Median hourly wage: $17.78



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

9. Akron, OH

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 147

147 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,736

$2,736 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $912

$912 Median hourly wage: $18.57



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

10. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 147

147 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,793

$2,793 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $931

$931 Median hourly wage: $19.05



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

11. Syracuse, NY

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 147

147 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,856

$2,856 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $952

$952 Median hourly wage: $19.48



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

12. Pittsburgh, PA

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 148

148 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,892

$2,892 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $964

$964 Median hourly wage: $19.50



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

13. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 149

149 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,556

$2,556 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $852

$852 Median hourly wage: $17.13



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

14. Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 149

149 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,565

$2,565 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $855

$855 Median hourly wage: $17.27



Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

15. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

Hours of work needed to sign a rental agreement: 149

149 First months rent + last months rent + security deposit: $2,925

$2,925 Median 2-bedroom monthly rent: $975

$975 Median hourly wage: $19.58

Methodology & detailed findings

The rental price data used in this report is from HUDs 50th Percentile Rent Estimates. State and national-level estimates were aggregated from county-level data. Median wage statistics are from BLSs Occupational Employment Statistics.

To find the number of work hours needed to sign a two-bedroom rental agreement in each location, researchers assumed that a renter would need to pay three months of rent upfront (i.e., first months rent, last months rent, and a security deposit). This total amount was then divided by the locations median hourly wage. Locations were ordered by the resulting statistic. In the event of a tie, median monthly rent was used. Only metropolitan areas with at least 500,000 residents were included in the analysis.

This article was first published on LatticePublishing.com.
NORWOOD, Mass., Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MariMed Inc. (MRMD:OTCQX) (the Company or MariMed), a leading multi-state cannabis and hemp operator focused on health and wellness, today announced it received an adult use license from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation for its third adult use dispensary in Illinois. The dispensary is in Mount Vernon, IL, and will be operated under the Thrive brand, open for business on September 21, 2020 with a grand opening ceremony on September 25, 2020.



Located in a newly remodeled 5,000-square foot building in a major retail area at the crossing of interstate highways US 64 and US 57, Thrive Mt. Vernon will market adult use cannabis and cannabis products in a previously underserved area. The location provides easy access to customers 21 years and older in the region as well as to those traveling into Illinois from Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri.

MariMed continues to achieve sales success in the Illinois market and we are proud to expand our presence with the opening of our third location, said Gorgi Naumovski, VP of MariMed Retail Operations. This facility in Mt Vernon will create approximately 25 local jobs while it contributes to MariMeds increasing revenue in Illinoiss lucrative adult use legal cannabis market."

The dispensary will offer a variety of cannabis products from flower, topicals, edibles and concentrates, across multiple brands and product sizes, flavors, and other options, sourced from a majority of the 21 cultivators in the state. Consumers will also have access to a large selection of ancillary products. Additionally, the dispensary will feature an education and training area where interested qualified customers may learn about the attributes of cannabis usage, the technologies involved in cultivation and production, and career opportunities in this emerging industry.

MariMed consolidated the Illinois cannabis licensed subsidiaries when the State of Illinois approved the transfer in October of 2019," said Jon Levine CFO. "The revenue from this new Mt. Vernon dispensary along with the revenue from our dispensaries in Harrisburg and Anna will increase our quarterly revenues as we continue to grow our core cannabis business.

MariMed plans to open a fourth dispensary for adult use sales in 2021, pending all necessary licensing approvals.

Consumers are invited to visit the Mt. Vernon dispensary at: 800 South 45th Street, Mt Vernon, IL 62864

To be added to the email distribution list, please email MRMD@kcsa.com with MRMD in the subject.

About MariMed:

MariMed Inc., a multi-state cannabis operator, is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of people through the use of cannabinoids and cannabis products. The Company develops, owns, and manages seed to sale state-licensed cannabis facilities, which are models of excellence in horticultural principles, cannabis cultivation, cannabis-infused products, and dispensary operations. MariMed has an experienced management team that has produced consistent growth and success for the Company and its managed business units. The Company is at the forefront of science and innovation through research developed by its lab technicians and medical advisors resulting in industry-leading products and brands, including "Betty's Eddies, Natures Heritage, Bourne Baking Co.", and Kalm Fusion. These precision dosed products are focused on specific symptoms and conditions and are licensed and distributed across the country.

For additional information, visit marimedinc.com.

Important Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This release contains certain forward-looking statements and information relating to MariMed Inc. that is based on the beliefs of MariMed Inc.'s management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events, including estimates and projections about its business based on certain assumptions of its management, including those described in this Release. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risk and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, including, among other factors, changes in demand for the Company's services and products, changes in the law and its enforcement and changes in the economic environment. Additional risk factors are included in the Company's public filings with the SEC. Should one or more of these underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as "hoped," "anticipated," "believed," "planned, "estimated," "preparing," "potential," "expected," "looks" or words of a similar nature. The Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. None of the content of any of the websites referred to herein (even if a link is provided for your convenience) is incorporated into this release and the Company assumes no responsibility for any of such content.

All trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Company Contact

Jon Levine, CFO

MariMed Inc.

Tel (781) 559-8713

Media Contact

Abigail Diehl

MariMed Inc.

adiehl@marimedinc.com

Annie Graf

KCSA Strategic Communications

agraf@kcsa.com
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Whether the prolific Filipino auteur Lav Diaz is the crown prince of slow cinema or not, his position and contribution remain inalienable.

Diazs black and white revenge drama Woman Who Left, clocking 228 minutes, took the top prize in Venice in 2016. This year, his latest oeuvre Genus Pan -- with a rather frugal running time of only 157 minutes -- bowed in the Orrizonti sidebar. Remaining faithful to his established auteur style, Diaz tackles a universal topic through a local social drama.

Genus Pan starts on a payday of miners; three of them will be the central focus of Diazs lens: Andres, Paulo, and Baldomero. The dialogue-based long scenes suggest a revolt may be on the horizon as some workers complain about the proliferating exploitation and greed.

The three workers are about to return home as the mining season wraps up. They are taking a hike through the lush jungle of Hugaw Island in the Philippine archipelago. The unforgiving jungle road trip starts to unearth old wounds, pitting the characters beliefs against each other.

The introductory scenes head in the direction of regular poverty social drama. Although as soon as the leading characters step into the wilderness, Genus Pan takes a grimmer and more primitive turn. The film morphs into an observational character study, which ultimately flourishes into a ripe allegory on the state of mankind.

The director attributes the title, referring to a great primate family, to a definition of man as an animal. The menagerie of vices including aggression, greed, opportunism, narcissism, egoism and other exotic qualities and idiosyncrasies of the human psyche, add blunt texture to the collective portrait Genus Pan turns into.

The homecoming trek resembling a survivalist rite of passage shifts into a cabin fever stand-off, agendas -- valiant or vile -- of the threesome of protagonists, their hopes and consciences start clashing and colliding. The dynamic escalates to a tipping point where the murder of a sleeping companion in cold blood is contemplated. Genus Pan peels off the thin layer of civilization that covers the basic instincts without heavy-handed moralization or melodramatic encounters.

Lav Diaz as a cinematographer stands afar and monitors characters in a detached manner. The interactions and outbursts of violence remain anti-climactic until the very last injustice inflicted. Supporting female characters in the hometown of Andres, Paulo and Baldomero are left to the mercy of local perverse opportunist for whom the life of his neighbors has absolutely no value. It almost appears that the inhabitants of the island belong to one of two groups, those trying to go on in life despite the lack of resources being crushed by the existential burden and sociopaths.

Genus Pan follows in the tradition of Shakespearean tragedy. Firstly, on the small scale within the single social circle of the central band of three coworkers defined clearly delineated character types - roles. Andres is the innocent one striving to help his sister who is ill, pious Paulo acts out his religious zeal but hides darker secret while Baldomero acts on every possible opportunistic and egotistical impulse despite the shared past with Paulo.

Each of the characters bears symbolic traits, Andres being one of the millions with a functioning moral compass attempting to be on the side of good, Paulo repenting for his past sins on a road from dark to light with Baldomero assuming the role dictator, a reference that wont go lost in the film. Diaz employs the subject of God, religion, and folklore to further developed the characters vis-a-vis the Filipino heritage and the history of colonization.

The youngest of them, Andres, doubts the existence of God as he does not see the justice on the island with having his brother murdered and attempting to find out the perpetrators. Paulo espouses Catholicism, an import from past colonizers and Baldomero remains locked in the more primal set-up of magical thinking believing in local superstitions and myths.

Once in a village, a different cult is attended by locals, though any way of belief in a higher power will be stacked against the counterpoint of senseless violence and ruthlessness carried out on the ordinary folks. As the second half of Genus Pan centers on the hometown of the three protagonists, the addressed acts of violence in their tightly-knit group translates into a more anonymous and rampaging plague knowing no borders - moral, ethical nor legal.

Casual, minimalist and austere in execution, Genus Pan employs local circumstances and customs from Filipino background to encapsulate the essence of humanity. Little compassion and solidarity are demonstrated in the portrait depicting "the hairless ape" or noble savage, while Genus Pan deliveries plenty of the latter, and a pinch of the former. Following in the legacy of the Darwinian maxim of "the survival of the fittest", Diaz stages the survival of the wickedest as the civilization comes slowly undone in Genus Pan.

The powerful-devouring-the-poor may elicit a political reading (and there are suitable moments in the film when such reading is advised), Genus Pan is less preoccupied with leftist ideology as Diaz cut deeper into a more primal setting. He burrows into the mindset that precedes ideologies and is informed and driven by rather primitive instincts.

Lav Diaz won the Best Director awards in the Orrizonti sidebar for Genus Pan.The film enjoyed its world premiere at the 2020 La Biennale di Venezia.
As the sounds of Christian worship echo in the empty pews of the churches, Pope Francis continues to stress a message of secularism. Might there be a connection between the two trends?

The Pontiffs message, very much of this world, wins effusive kudos from the secularists. But will his words win any points for the faith? Dwindling Christianity perhaps shouldnt bank on it.

His Holiness is hailed for preaching the gospel of Saint Albert the Great. No, not the Dominican bishop, the other Saint Albert the Great  Al Gore.

Francis maintains, as does Saint Al  the one from Tennessee, not the one from Bavaria  that Earth is going to hell in an emissions-emitting handbasket.

Sinners therefore must repent and get right not necessarily with God, but with the Paris Accords and the Kyoto Protocol.

This unavoidably will entail digging deep and shelling out more for gas and electricity, with the aim of reducing consumption of carbon fuels and  supposedly  of stopping global warming, or climate change, to use the term preferred nowadays.

And resisting climate change will further entail accepting the hardships of a faltering economy, along with likely brownouts and gasoline supply shortages in the bargain.

America, the Pope is suggesting, must forfeit its hard-won energy independence for the common good of the world. As opposed to sharing the wealth, this is a program for sharing the scarcity.

The sacrifices he urges are for a higher power. But no, not that one. For the other higher power. For governmental regulatory authority.

The Pope has returned repeatedly to his secularist message. Contrary to what you might expect, he urges that apocalyptic warnings be heeded, but not necessarily those of the scriptures  rather, those of science.

Christianity teaches that mankind has an obligation to exercise responsible stewardship of the environment, citing such scripture as Psalm 24:1, The earth is the Lords and everything in it.

To give the Pope the benefit of the doubt, maybe this is why he harps on climate change.

But crippling the world economy with stifling economic edicts is not synonymous with responsible stewardship. It is more likely synonymous with sanctimonious virtue-signaling.

The Pope is not saying, mind you, that all science should be heeded  just the alarmist part of science whose assessments are mingled with a transparent political agenda.

Virtually all discussion of climate change today is infected with an alarmism that follows the script of party talking points.

Meanwhile, though, some cool-headed science manages to go on outside the circus ring of politics.

There is, for example, a scientific focus today on the Pliocene Epoch, the span of time 5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago, Science News tells us. The interest in this period is that carbon dioxide levels then were similar to todays levels.

Need it be pointed out there were no SUVs, no coal-fired power plants and no ExxonMobil in those distant times?

While real science continues to research the complex dynamics of global climate trends and debates the implications of limited data, Francis recently issued his own unilateral decree on the matter.

It is evident that climate change not only upsets the balance of nature but causes poverty and hunger, affects our most vulnerable, and sometimes forces them to leave their lands, he pontificated.

It is, of course, part of the Pontiffs job description to pontificate  but on spiritual matters, not scientific ones.

In speaking of our most vulnerable, the Pope did not mention the worlds 1 billion unfortunates who have no access to electricity and therefore are deprived in this modern era of even the most basic of sanitation and health measures.

He leaves unsaid how these wretches are likely to fare in a world economy hobbled by wind turbines, solar panels and other green regimens that can supply only a fraction of current and projected energy needs.

The U.S. Dept. of Energy projects that even by 2050, non-carbon green energy sources will be capable of supplying only half of our electricity demands. And electricity demands account for only a third of total energy needs.

Alarmists of a progressive bent are forever hectoring us to heed the science. Yet they ignore the one certain fact science tells us about climate  that is, that climate has always changed, throughout the geologic eons. Even when there were no freeways, power plants, refineries or fracking.

Austrian scientist Gernot Patzelt, one of the worlds leading glaciologists  no flat-earther, he  tells us that over the past 10,000 years Earth was warmer than it is today 65 percent of the time.

Which is not to say that human emissions are having no effect on climate at all. It is only to say that precisely how much effect is hard to say, scientifically speaking.

And meanwhile there is no known, realistic, practical substitute for oil, gas and coal  other than, that is, nuclear, which the neo-Luddites of environmental activism strenuously, if not rabidly, oppose.

While the effect of human emissions on climate continues to be researched and debated, science does know for certain that various natural factors significantly impact climate.

These include solar activity, oceanic-atmospheric exchanges, volcanic activity, periodic fluctuations in the tilt of Earths orbit and Earths plant and animal respiration and decomposition.

There are certain strident, nagging political activists who insist, however, that satanically avaricious and indifferent titans of capitalism  evil, cackling, comic-book, mustache-twirling villains  are bent on warming up the planet to oven temperatures.

But widely accepted scientific estimates are that some 80 percent of carbon dioxide emissions stem from the energy demands of our own jobs, homes and cars.

Around 20 percent of greenhouse emissions are attributed to industry. But industry, of course, is not some dark, alien, sinister, outside force. It is a crucial category that provides paychecks and products we depend on.

On climate change, the Pope goes on echoing the un-thought-out, superficial blather of political sloganeering.

What, meanwhile, are the dwindling faithful to make of the old biblical stories?

When the Nile turned blood red and the Pharaoh was confronted with plagues of locusts, surely this must have been the result of mans degradation of the environment, not an indication of the might of the Lord.

Ditto, evidently, as regards, the afflictions Job suffered. The deaths of his children and cattle were not a test of his faith after all, apparently, but surely an indication of what happens when you fail to respect the political imperatives of environmentalism.

Just how far is Francis willing to go to ingratiate himself with the forces of progressive secularism?

Sooner or later, it seems likely, the secularists are going to demand that he acknowledge the environmental degradation they insist is attributable to over-population.

Theyre likely going to demand a papal endorsement of birth-control measures, including abortion.

That surely will infringe upon the Popes wheelhouse.

Sooner or later, it seems likely, the secularists are going to insist the Pope re-adjust his spiritual dogma to accommodate their worldly dogma.

Heres the big question: By then will it be too late for the Church, after its flirtations with the agenda of progressive secularism, to stand its own ground?
New bioarchaeology research from a University of Otago PhD candidate has shown how infectious diseases may have spread 4000 years ago, while highlighting the dangers of letting such diseases run rife.

Yaws - from the same bacteria species responsible for syphilis (Treponema pallidum) - is a childhood disease causing highly infectious skin lesions. It is spread via touch from person to person and, in advanced cases, can leave sufferers with severe bone disfigurement. While it is easily curable in its early stages, the bone disfigurements are irreversible.

The disease has been eradicated from much of the world but is still prevalent in the Western Pacific, affecting some 30,000 people. A previous global attempt to eradicate this tropical disease failed at the last hurdle in the 1950's and a new attempt was curtailed by the COVID-19 outbreak, University of Otago Department of Anatomy PhD candidate Melandri Vlok says.

Ms Vlok's PhD research uses archaeology to shed light on the spread of diseases when different human populations interact for the first time. Her specific interest is in what she calls the "friction zone", where ancient agricultural people met hunter gatherer people.

In 2018 she travelled to Vietnam to study skeletal remains from the Man Bac archaeological site. From the Ninh Binh Province in the north of the country, Man Bac was excavated in 2005 and 2007 and has delivered a treasure trove of information for archaeologists thanks to its role during the transition away from foraging to farming in Mainland Southeast Asia.

Now housed in Hanoi's Institute of Archaeology those remains are well-studied but had not been analysed for evidence of yaws, Ms Vlok says.

Her supervisor at Otago, renowned bioarchaeologist Professor Hallie Buckley, had seen what she thought might be yaws on a photograph of Man Bac remains. Professor Buckley travelled with Ms Vlok and together with a passionate team of experts from Vietnam they confirmed their suspicions, Ms Vlok says. Later, Ms Vlok found a second example of the disease.

This was significant, as the Man Bac site dates back 4000 years. Till now, there was no strong evidence for yaws in prehistoric Asia.

Ms Vlok's research suggests yaws was introduced to hunter-gathers in present-day Vietnam by an agricultural population moving south from modern-day China. These hunter-gathers descended from the first people out of Africa and into Asia who also eventually inhabited New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia.

The farmers had been in China for at least 9000 years but it wasn't until around 4000 years ago farming was introduced to Southeast Asia. It is possible this movement of people brought diseases, including yaws, at the same time.

Ms Vlok says the length of time the disease has existed in the region is relevant when addressing how hard it has been to eradicate.

"This matters, because knowing more about this disease and its evolution, it changes how we understand the relationship people have with it. It helps us understand why it's so difficult to eradicate. If it's been with us thousands of years it has probably developed to fit very well with humans."

This year's COVID-19 pandemic has focused people's attention on infectious diseases, and there are lessons to be learned from the past, Ms Vlok says.

"Archaeology like this is the only way to document how long a disease has been with us and been adapting to us. We understand with COVID-19 today how fantastic that disease is at adapting to humans. And Treponema has been with us for so much longer.

"So, this shows us what happens when we don't take action with these diseases. It's a lesson of what infectious diseases can do to a population if you let them spread widely. It highlights the need to intervene, because sometimes these diseases are so good at adapting to us, at spreading between us."

###

* Ms Vlok's research paper, published in the journal Bioarchaeology International, can be read here: https://doi.org/10.5744/bi.2020.1000

For more information, contact:

Ms Melandri Vlok

PhD candidate, Department of Anatomy

University of Otago

Mobile +64 22 486 7095

Email melandri.vlok@postgrad.otago.ac.nz

Craig Borley

Communications Adviser (Division of Health Sciences)

Mobile +64 21 279 4144

Email craig.borley@otago.ac.nz
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Two faculty members in Auburn Universitys School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences have received endowed professorships. Professors Becky Barlow and Scott Enebak are now the Harry E. Murphy Professor of Forest Measurements and Management and the Dwain G. Luce Professor of Plant Pathology, respectively.

The appointments take effect this semester and will continue for three years.

Barlow is an expert in the areas of forest measurements and management, agroforestry and small-woodlot management. She also is the coordinator for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System Forestry, Wildlife and Natural Resources team, or FWNR, at Auburn.

I am honored to be selected, and I will use this opportunity to continue my work in forest management extension while expanding the reach of the entire Forestry, Wildlife and Natural Resources team, Barlow said of the new professorship.

She plans to partner with the FWNR team members, Alabama Extension communicators and other natural resource professionals to investigate opportunities for alternative and improved approaches to content delivery.

Some specific ideas I would like to explore include the development of additional FWNR online extension courses and videos, the development of an FWNR Extension podcast and a study of how women and minority landowners respond to FWNR Extension program advertising, Barlow said.

Enebak, who also is the associate dean of academic affairs in the school, said that for him the new professorship is significant, both professionally and personally.

It is quite an honor to be named to the Luce Professorship, Enebak said. I knew Mr. Dwain Luce personally and professionally through his interactions with School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences before his passing in 2007. I even had the opportunity to instruct his granddaughter, Sarah, in a couple of courses at Auburn. She was just as passionate about learning as he was about undergraduate education.

With this endowed professorship, I will continue to demonstrate Mr. Luces strong commitment to students education in forestry and serve as a positive role model for their continued success, he added.

The Harry Murphy Deans Enhancement Fund for Excellence in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences is a permanent endowment that was established in the Auburn University Foundation by the estate of the late Harry Murphy.

Murphy was a forestry graduate from Pennsylvania State University and a World War II veteran who took his first job as a forester with the Tennessee Valley Authority in Sheffield, Alabama.

In 1952, he partnered with John Bradley, who owned a small forestry consulting firm. With Murphy as vice president and Bradley as president, that small firm would develop into Resource Management Services, or RMS, now an internationally known forestry consulting firm, one of the largest such firms in the U.S.

The company is an independent, employee-owned manager of forest investments and provides comprehensive timberland investment services to pension funds, endowments, foundations and family offices. It is established as an independent advocate for timberland owners.

Because RMS employs so many Auburn forestry graduates and uses research that is developed at the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, it was natural for the school to create this fund for excellence to honor both Murphy and his company.

The Dwain Luce Endowed Professorship of Forestry in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences also was also established in the Auburn University Foundation to provide a professorship within the school. Along with his wife, Margaret, Luce previously provided funds to endow an undergraduate scholarship and funded the Student Services Suite in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Building.

Luce, a Mobile native and a 1938 Auburn graduate, was a decorated World War II Normandy veteran who served in the 82nd Airborne Division; his wartime story was told in the Ken Burns documentary, The War.

After the war, Luce became a bank loan officer specializing in forestland purchases and eventually became a business leader, serving as founding director of First Mississippi Corporation and the Bank of Mobile, former director and president of the Mississippi Export Railroad, former president of First Alabama Bank Group Holdings and former senior executive vice president of First National Bank.

Luce was a member of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Advisory Council and Campaign Development Team. Because of his continuous support of the university, Luce was tapped for membership in Auburns 1856 Society.

To determine the recipients of both new professorships, a search committee of three endowed professors in the School of Forestry and Wildlife SciencesMark Smith, Tom Gallagher and Daowei Zhangrecommended Barlow and Enebak for the positions after reviewing numerous applications.

School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Dean Janaki Alavalapati accepted the committees recommendations and sent them to Auburn Provost Bill Hardgrave, who approved the appointments.

These two newly endowed professors are outstanding faculty members in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Alavalapati said. Drs. Barlow and Enebak were exemplary choices for these honors.

(Written by Teri Greene)
Maize can be intercropped with brachiaria ruziziensis in the second crop to improve the soil in the field. Intercropping means growing two different crops on the field at the same time. Credit: Luiz Gustavo Garbelini

The old adage "variety is the spice of life" can also be true on the farm. Planting the same crop over and over, year after year, can quickly deplete the soil of valuable nutrients. The crops eventually won't produce as much, and the farmer will lose profits.

Switching up the crops planted is a farming practice used in areas across the world. Researchers in Brazil wanted to test crop diversification practices to help their farmers produce more and grow their profits. Tiago Santos Telles, a scientist at the Instituto Agronomico do Parana (IAPAR) in Brazil, led the economic research.

In Brazil, the warmer weather allows for more than one harvest during the year. There is a summer crop, which is usually soybeans in Brazil. Then there is another crop grown in autumn-winter, commonly corn or wheat.

The researchers tested different autumn-winter crops over a period of six years. They took numerous measurements, such as crop yield, operating costs, and profit for each production model they tested.

"Soybean has been grown in crop systems with low crop diversity in Brazil," Santos Telles says. "However, these models are becoming less efficient and sustainable. Our study helped identify that more diverse crop systems can have better economic results than those with less diversity."

Their work found two options that could improve profits for farmers and also not require changes in machinery or labor by farmers. One option is replacing the second crop of corn with a grass called brachiaria ruziziensis every three years. Another is intercropping second crop corn with the grass. Intercropping is a practice of growing two crops in a field at the same time, usually alternating the rows.

The addition of this grass is essential to helping the health of the soil for many reasons. It does not compete with other crops. By covering the soil, the grass can reduce the growth of weeds, many of which are resistant to herbicides. It also prevents water from evaporating too quickly and soil and nutrients from running off the field.

Maize usually has smaller root systems that arent the most beneficial for the soil. When intercropped with brachiaria ruziziensis, there is better distribution, quantity and deepening of roots in the soil profile. Credit: Luiz Gustavo Garbelini

More moisture and better temperatures also make the soil a friendlier place for beneficial microorganisms to live. The large root systems of the grass help absorb nutrients in the field and improve the structure of the soil.

"Originating in Africa, the grass was introduced in Brazil for use in feeding livestock," explains Santos Telles. "It has high palatability and is recommended in the breeding and fattening phases of cattle. This grass is one of the most used species in no-tillage systems and is intercropped with other crops."

The researchers say their work is important because there is a lack of economic data on these types of cropping systems. It's these kinds of results that allow farmers to be able to compare the possible profits of crop systems. This helps them make the decision to diversify that is best for them.

They plan to continue this work to study yield and profitability in different production systems. In addition, they want to evaluate the use of the nitrogen, an essential crop nutrient, in these systems.

"It is possible that the benefits of crop diversity in crop production systems will increase even more over time," Santos Telles says. "This is especially true because of the improvement of soil quality that agricultural systems with this grass can provide."

Thanks to their research, Santos Telles and his team are able to formally recommend to Brazilian farmers that they should plant soybeans in the summer and grow more diverse species in the autumn-winter.

"We would like to highlight that soybean production with diversified crops in the autumn-winter is more profitable," he says. "This information can be useful in making farmers aware of the benefits of adopting these crop systems."

Explore further Choosing the right cover crop to protect the soil

More information: Luiz Gustavo Garbelini et al. Profitability of soybean production models with diversified crops in the autumnwinter, Agronomy Journal (2020). Journal information: Agronomy Journal Luiz Gustavo Garbelini et al. Profitability of soybean production models with diversified crops in the autumnwinter,(2020). DOI: 10.1002/agj2.20308
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

In early March, when the true scope of the coronavirus pandemic was still widely unknown to the public, misinformation was rampant on social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

A recent study examined two early pandemic myths. Researchers from three universities, including Joseph McGlynn, an assistant professor at the University of North Texas' Department of Communication Studies, studied how long it took before the myths were sufficiently debunked on the same social platform. In this case, Twitter.

McGlynn, along with researchers from the University of Texas and the University of Kentucky, examined two types of coronavirus myths: a diagnosis myth and a treatment myth.

The diagnosis myth asserted that if you could hold your breath for 10 seconds it was evidence you did not have COVID-19. The treatment myth asserted that an infected person could cure themselves of the coronavirus by gargling a hot liquid or bleach.

Tweets pushing both bogus ideas started ramping up on March 7, McGlynn said.

"They basically got off to a head start that gave misinformation momentum," McGlynn said. "It was a full week before the total amount of debunking responses matched the disinformation tweets. That delay in response allowed misinformation to circulate and spread."

At least one type of psychological phenomenon is at work when dealing with misinformation, disinformation and lies. The illusory truth effect, also referred to as the mere exposure effect, "occurs when repeating a statement increases the belief that it's true even when the statement is actually false," according to PsychologyToday.com.

This effect helps perpetuate falsehoods with the simple notion of repetition, as the saying "if you repeat a lie long enough ... " suggests. Repeated exposure "to both information and misinformation increases the sense that it's true, regardless of the source's credibility," as PsychologyToday.com reported.

McGlynn and the other researchers found that both myths they studied took off despite vague sources.

"The misinformation messages were much more likely to allude to a general, nonspecific authority source such as 'top medical officials,' or "a nurse friend,'" McGlynn said. "Essentially using our tendency to trust authority sources against us."

Oftentimes, McGlynn said, the goal of misinformation is not necessarily only about getting people to believe something wrong, but also to create confusion. This is especially true with the kind of social media tampering the Russian government was caught doing during the 2016 presidential election, according to the U.S. government.

The researchers chose the two myths because they were two of the first widely spread in the pandemic and were so "unequivocally false," McGlynn said.

"They were very prominent," he said. "The problem with a lot of misinformation after studying it is these false claims get embedded with accurate recommendations."

By offering the falsehood among other accurate information, the falsehood is given cover, which makes it easier to gain traction and more difficult for the reader to sort out fact from fiction. Hence, confusion.

"Once someone believes misinformation, it becomes very difficult to get them to change their mind," McGlynn said. "So it's really important to debunk these claims quickly and efficiently."

In March, these two myths had about a week's head start on reality. It took that long for the debunking tweets to measure up to the myth tweets, McGlynn said.

"At that inflection point around March 14, debunking took off and matched the levels of misinformation and misinformation receded," he said.

Without opposition, the misinformation was able to flourish.

"Once (the debunking message) got prominent enough, it's just such a harder place for misinformation to circulate," he said. "Because when there is no debunking it's a one-sided message. Once the debunking is out there and really prominent, then at least people are skeptical. Even if they hear the misinformation they're thinking, 'I think I heard that actually wasn't true.'"

The researchers hope organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, as well as state and local health officials, take a more offensive, vigilant tack with myth busting in the future. In the current climate, potential myths and misinformation about a COVID-19 vaccine are likely on the horizon.

McGlynn hopes such health officials are preparing adequately. Perhaps dedicating personnel to actively seeking out misinformation on social media and debunking it with an overwhelming onslaught of truth and fact. The actual number of messages is important, he said. Just as the repetition of a lie can help it gain traction, the same is true for the truth.

"Organizations should really be anticipating these false claims rather than be surprised by how many there are," he said. "Misinformation is offense, and debunking is defense. So it makes sense that there will be some delay, but it's really important for organizations to plan ahead."

As more became known about COVID-19, much of the public was better equipped to handle misinformation, although disinformation, of course, persists in certain corners of the Internet.

"When people have a lot of uncertainty, that's when they tend to look to authority cues to guide their behavior," McGlynn said. "That's why the use of the nonspecific authority sources was probably very effective for these misinformation campaigns. You take that void where people don't know what to think, don't know what to do, and misinformation steps right in. That's one reason why with COVID-19, the misinformation campaigns were so effective at creating confusion."

Explore further Seeing is believing: how media mythbusting can actually make false beliefs stronger

2020 Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Vietnamese pastor released after 4 years imprisonment over religious freedom advocacy

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A Vietnamese pastor imprisoned for advocating for religious freedom has finally been released after spending over four years in prison, drawing praise from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

On Sept. 18, USCIRF announced that A Dao, a pastor of the Montagnard Evangelical Church of Christ, had been released from prison. Dao was arrested in 2016 while on his way to visit some members of his church after attending a conference on religious freedom in East Timor.

In April 2017, a Vietnamese court tried and sentenced the pastor to five years imprisonment for allegedly helping individuals to escape abroad illegally under Article 275 of the countrys Penal Code. Dao was not expected to be released until Aug. 18, 2021.

USCIRF Commissioner James W. Carr, who advocated for Daos release through USCIRFs Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project, said he hopes the release is a sign that the Vietnamese government is serious about improving religious freedom conditions and will release other individuals detained for their religious freedom advocacy.

He also called on Vietnams government to take steps to ensure that local authorities respect A Daos freedom and safety should he choose to return to his home village.

Dao had for years advocated for his fellow church members to enjoy religious freedom in Vietnams Central Highlands. While in prison, the pastor was beaten and abused by prison guards, while his church experienced ongoing harassment from the authorities.



Representative Glenn Grothman, who adopted Dao through the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commissions Defending Freedoms Project, said the pastors release marked a hallmark day for both Pastor A Dao and Vietnam.

I hope that his release is a sign of Vietnam transitioning from an anti-God totalitarian state to a country in which religion in general and Christianity in particular can be openly practiced, he said, adding that the release shows the importance of American elected officials speaking out against oppression and promoting the importance of religious freedom throughout the world.

Religion should not be a tool to oppress any person nor a stain on their character, he said. I hope other American Congressmen familiarize themselves with the oppression that religious minorities, which in many parts of the world are Christians, have to deal with on a daily basis.

Under Vietnams constitution, citizens are allowed to follow any religion or follow none and the government is required to respect and protect freedom of religion. According to estimates, the majority of Vietnam's more than 94 million people practice Buddhism. More than 6 million Vietnamese are Catholic, more than 1 million practice the Cao Dai or Hoa Hao faiths, and approximately 1 to 2 million are Protestant.

However, the constitution permits authorities to override human rights, including religious freedom, for reasons of national security, social order and security, social morality, and community well-being.

Vietnams Communist government is particularly suspicious of Christianity, which it associates with former invaders, France and the U.S.

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF noted that Hmong and Montagnard Christians in Vietnams Northern and Central Highlands are regularly harassed, detained, or even banished because of their religious affiliation. Because of this, USCIRF has recommended that Vietnam be designated as a Country of Particular Concern every year since 2002.

Vietnam ranks as the 21st worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. According to the persecution watchdog, Christians in Vietnam are targeted by both government and tribal leaders.

In 2018, Vietnam sentenced and jailed a number of Catholic activists, bloggers and Protestant pastors. In August, a pastor, Le Dinh Luong, was sentenced to 20 years for an alleged attempt to overthrow the government.
KALAMAZOO, MI  Republican Shannon Bagley, a retired Kalamazoo Public Safety captain, is attempting to unseat Democrat Richard Fuller in this years race for Kalamazoo County Sheriff.

Fuller, who was first elected sheriff in Kalamazoo County in 2008, ran unopposed in Augusts Democratic primary. Bagley defeated Kalamazoo County Sheriffs Deputy Thomas Swafford in the Republican primary.

Fuller, 56, a three-term incumbent, has been with the Kalamazoo County Sheriffs Office since 1989. Prior to becoming the countys first Democratic sheriff in 78 years, he spent time on road patrol, as a detective, as a jail sergeant and working dispatch.

He has a bachelors degree in organizational management from Spring Arbor University, an associate degree in law enforcement from Kellogg Community College and is a graduate of the National Sheriffs Institute. For more about his experience and campaign, visit http://richardfuller.com.

Bagley, 51, works as a police officer at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. He previously served as a captain of Kalamazoo Public Safetys criminal investigation division, was a crime lab division commander and served on the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team.

He has a bachelors degree in organization and resource management from Spring Arbor University, as well as an associate degree in criminal justice from KVCC. For more about his experience and campaign, visit www.electbagleykzoosheriff.com.

MLive Media Group has again partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan Education Fund to provide candidate information and other voting resources to our readers.

Each candidate was asked to answer a series of questions about their policy stances. Their answers were not edited for grammar or spelling. Information on all state and federal races and many of Michigans county and local races will be available at Vote411.org.

What are your top three priorities for the office you seek? What do you hope to accomplish?

Fuller: The Sheriffs Office top priorities will require partnerships and community involvement. 1. To continue developing community trust through increased transparency and technology by adding all policies online, adding new body cameras for deputies, and working with citizen advisory boards to develop service models.

2. Increase staff diversity. I have been successful and will continue to recruit in our community so staff reflect those we serve.

3. Develop leaders. When hiring and promoting, I prioritize women and men who lead with integrity, honesty, and compassion. I offer staff opportunities to develop and enhance leadership skills.

Bagley: #1 Build strong partnership/relationship with communities #2 Embrace Technology to improve service #3 Reduce recidivism #4 School safety & youth initiatives #5 Fiscal responsibility.

The Kalamazoo community deserves leadership from the Sheriffs Office focused on service not politics. Law enforcements foundation is its relationship with the community. As your Sheriff I will work tirelessly to create, maintain and strengthen this bond. As we serve you can expect the organization to be professional, transparent and accountable.

The current pandemic illustrates the importance of preparing for unexpected events. Describe one type of unexpected event that would seriously disrupt Kalamazoo County government services. How would you prepare for it?

Fuller: The Coronavirus Pandemic has taught us two things. First, we can perform our governmental duties remotely through computers allowing us to flatten the curve regarding the virus. Essential government services continued.

Second, we need to prepare for the possibility that we could lose the internet due to a natural disaster or malicious intent. Daily business is conducted electronically, eliminating the need for paper copies and data is stored on external hard drives. Staff are developing methods to allow us to work without computers should the internet fail. The system designed will allow all of our partners to interact with one another.

Bagley: We are seeing a number of unexpected events impacting our community right now. First, the Covid-19 crisis. Second, another preventable/avoidable budget overrun by the Sheriffs Office. This time nearly $450,000. Third, the horrific and tragic death of Mr. George Floyd.

All of these events were preventable. All require leadership that identifies best practices, implements them and tests them regularly to ensure they are achieving desired outcomes. Leaders anticipate challenges and adjust their operations accordingly. Leaders think strategically, plan accordingly and hold people accountable. Leaders care about people!

Describe an example of how someone in the office you seek should work effectively with other governmental departments and officials. What skills and talents qualify you to be the best person to play such a role?

Fuller: As sheriff I have worked with multiple offices and agencies to solve problems. I have established relationships with FEMA and the EPA working on the Enbridge Oil Spill; the City of Kalamazoo Water Dept. on Parchments PFAS issue; the Kalamazoo County HCS during the Oil Spill, EEE, and current Pandemic; the County Road Commission on traffic issues; the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek Airport for security; and the county courts to develop plans for security and operations during the pandemic.

I facilitate monthly meetings with local law enforcement and bi-monthly with local fire agencies. Ive assigned liaison officers to every township we serve.

Bagley: To have meaningful impact in our community a leader must emphasize communication, collaboration and cooperation. The success of an organization in achieving goals and objectives while partnering with outside entities is determined through relationships. Relationships are successful (both internal and external) when the three Cs are the agencys priority.

I served in many different capacities during my 28 years as a peace officer for the Kalamazoo community. My experience, leadership and proven performance have prepared me to become your next Sheriff. Kalamazoo, Its Time to Expect Better!
As the talks to normalise relations between Israel and the UAE gather momentum, a group of private sector players from Israel, Emirates-Israel Investment Group is also expected in the country in search of mutually beneficial investment and trading opportunities.

Coming against the backdrop of the historic talks, a group of Israel investors under the auspices of the United Emirates-Israel Investment Group, have shown keen interest in developing partnerships in various sectors of the regional economy.

A organisation founded by a group of investors with vast experience in business all over the world, The Emirates-Israel fund specialise in different areas such as real estate, energy, artificial intelligence (AI), automotive, cyber security, agriculture and food industry.

The group has identified Dubai as the gateway to the regions vibrant market and their first visit to the UAE is seen as a launchpad for doing business in the wider GCC region.

Israel known as a 'start-up nation' is expected to bring innovative solutions in the energy, cyber security and communications industries.

With the right trading opportunities, the group says its exports to the UAE could jump to an annual $300-$500 million, said a top official.

"We are proud of the successful normalization talks between Israel and the UAE - two great nations that can achieve more in terms of economic growth following a strong annual bilateral trade," remarked Advocate Ofir Bar-Noy, the co-founder of the group and UAE-Israel owner of Bar-Noy and Co Lawyer office.

"As private sector players from Israel, we are also looking for investment opportunities in key areas such as cyber technology, biotech, green energy and food technology that can further strengthen this relationship," he added.

According to Ofir, the groups primary objective is to collaborate with UAE investors and to nurture trade opportunities as well as to establish solid foundations for long term business relationships.

The group also plans to tap into UAEs unique position as a regional business hub for world-class products and cutting-edge technology to grow a market for Israel products and services.
Body removed from Cancun lagoon with stab wounds

Cancun, Q.R.  Authorities have removed the body of a man who was found floating face down in a Cancun lagoon over the weekend. The young male was seen floating near the shore by passersby around 8:05 a.m. Sunday morning.

Police and medical personnel were called to the lagoon in the Santa Cecilia neighborhood to attend to the report of a drowned male, however, upon pulling the body from the water, authorities saw he had suffered stab wounds.

Investigators analyze that the body had wounds, apparently caused by a machete or a knife. Relatives of the now deceased arrived noting that the young man had consumed alcoholic beverages the night before. The Homicide Specialized Prosecutors Office continues to investigate.
The Youth Congress unit of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday staged a protest against the farm bills passed in the Parliament on Sunday, stating that the bills were against the farmers of the country.

Dozens of Youth Congress leaders and activists assembled at the Jammu Press Club while holding anti-BJP posters and raised slogans against the BJP-led Central government.

The protest was led by Uday Bhanu Chib, president J&K Youth Congress.

The protesters said that these laws were ill- conceived and the central government should take back the twin farm bills passed on Sunday since these are against the land owners of the nation.

Farm bills are against the federal cooperative spirit, the protesters said and questioned the need to bring these bills during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chib said that the bills have been brought with an intention to end the Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations and were against the economic interests of the farming sector.

The Youth Congress demanded the immediate roll back of the farm bills and threatened mass agitation across the union territory if the rollback demand is not met.

The Indian Youth Congress is also going to stage a Parliament Gherao for the rights of unemployed youth and farmers of the country on Tuesday under the leadership of IYC in-charge Krishna Allavaru and IYC president Srinivas BV.
(Natural News) Its becoming more obvious by the day that the Marxists who have hijacked the Democratic Party are fully aware that they have no chance of defeating President Trump with an elderly man whose mental faculties are fading fast.

Its obvious because of the scheming that is taking place overtly and behind the scenes to cause as much election day and post-election day chaos in America as possible  with the singular objective of taking Trumps victory away and depriving Americans of their duly elected president.

All while overthrowing our form of government and replacing it with an authoritarian model of the kind which turns free-thinking, liberty-minded people into slaves of the state.

And the man who is allegedly behind all of this has been identified: His name is Norm Eisen, a legal hatchet man who is leading a color revolution, according to Revolver.news.

Revolver News provides some exclusive details:

In our report on Never Trump State Department official George Kent, Revolver News first drew attention to the ominous similarities between the strategies and tactics the United States government employs in so-called Color Revolutions and the coordinated efforts of government bureaucrats, NGOs, and the media to oust President Trump.

Our recent follow-up to this initial report focused specifically on a shadowy, George Soros linked group called the Transition Integrity Project (TIP), which convened war games exercises suggesting the likelihood of a contested election scenario, and of ensuing chaos should President Trump refuse to leave office. We further showed how these contested election scenarios we are hearing so much about play perfectly into the Color Revolution framework sketched out Revolver News first installment in the Color Revolution series.

Describing Eisen as one quiet andmostly overlooked participant in the wrongly-named Transition Integrity Project war game exercise, Revolver News laid out exactly who (and what) he is and is capable of:

 He implemented the David Brock blueprint for suing Trump into paralysis and, hopefully, oblivion;

 He helped to amplify and then mainstream the fabricated Russian collusion hoax;

 He drafted 10 articles of impeachment weeks before the president even called the Ukraine president last year;

 He then served as special counsel for the Democrat-imposed impeachment;

 He developed a template for Internet censorship of global leaders;

 He devised a handbook of sorts for the mass mobilization of racial justice protesters so that democratic election results could be overturned.

In short, this is a man who is perhaps the most prepared to implement plans and strategies to take down a president whose biggest fault is that hes not a deep state stooge and really did run to improve our country for average Americans  something the establishment wings of both parties and the military industrial complex simply wont tolerate.

There is no purer embodiment of Revolvers thesis that the very same regime change professionals who run Color Revolutions on behalf of the US Government in order to undermine or overthrow alleged authoritarian governments overseas, are running the very same playbook to overturn Trumps 2016 victory and to preempt a repeat in 2020, Revolver News reported. (Related: You now have 49 days to get your rifles ready for self-defense, and theyre probably sighted in at the WRONG range see this important ballistics video from the Health Ranger.)

Translated, the same deep state apparatus employed and utilized to disrupt and destroy foreign governments is now being deployed against our very own president, in a continuation of the coup that began in the waning months of Barack Obamas regime.

And the treasonous so-and-so at the center of it, Eisen, actually used to be Obamas ethics czar  which helps explain how Obama got away with patently illegal acts like creating the DACA immigrant program out of thin air and spying on all Americans via the NSA (which Edward Snowden exposed).

What is a color revolution, exactly? Revolver News explains:

A Color Revolution in this context refers to a specific type of coordinated attack that the United States government has been known to deploy against foreign regimes, particularly in Eastern Europe deemed to be authoritarian and hostile to American interests. Rather than using a direct military intervention to effect regime change as in Iraq, Color Revolutions attack a foreign regime by contesting its electoral legitimacy, organizing mass protests and acts of civil disobedience, and leveraging media contacts to ensure favorable coverage to their agenda in the Western press.

Anyone whos been paying any attention at all to whats been going on in our country over the summer can relate to this activity. Naturally occurring events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd incident were readily exploited by Eisen and his cohorts to create as much angst and instability as possible leading up to the November elections.

The coup de grace is coming: Election chaos. Shutdowns and economic instability was part of the coronavirus exploitation, but pushing for (and getting, in many cases) widespread mail-in balloting is the exploitative icing on the cake.

Eisen and his deep state operatives know that voter registration lists are notoriously out-of-date, meaning scores of ballots are going to be mailed willy nilly to inaccurate lists that include people who have died or moved, only to be filled out by operatives claiming to be the recipients on the inaccurate lists. Why do you think the garbage media has been pushing back so hard against Trumps claims that mass mail-in balloting is going to be ripe for fraud? Because thats part of the Eisen Playbook  the manual on color revolutions that he wrote.

And there we have it, folksNorm Eisen, former Obama Ethics Czar, Ambassador to Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution, key counsel in impeachment effort against Trump, and participant in the ostensibly bi-partisan election war games predicting a contested election scenario unfavorable to Trumpjust happens to be a Color Revolution expert who literally wrote the modern Playbook in the explicitly acknowledged tradition of Color Revolution Godfather Gene Sharps From Dictatorship to Democracy, Revolver News reveals.

Whats happening here is a replay of the 1960s, only this time around, the deep state/military industrial complex cannot simply assassinate the president and those who support him: They have to take him down in a manner that looks legitimate, even though it has not even a thread of legitimacy.

The lines are drawn. The left-wing Marxist cabal running this operation believe now is the time. They know without any doubt there is no way to run a Democratic presidential candidate who can beat Trump. Hes got way too much backing around the country; far too much support.

So the plan is to depose him and make it look like its all on the level  like Biden won the vote (with phony ballots and lots of favorable media coverage claiming he won) all while painting Trump as the authoritarian who refuses to leave, just like they told us he wouldnt.

Youve been warned.

Sources include:

Revolver.News

NaturalNews.com
The draft law seeks to make it mandatory for officer-bearers of NGOS to provide Aadhar numbers at the time of registration and also to bar public servants from receiving foreign funds.

The Lok Sabha on Monday evening passed a bill amending the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) over the objections of Opposition members who accused the Centre of acting as 'Big Brother' and alleged that the proposed legislation was brought in to "target minorities".

The draft law seeks to make it mandatory for officer-bearers of NGOS to provide Aadhar numbers at the time of registration and to bar public servants from receiving foreign funds. The bill also empowers the Centre to allow an NGO or association to surrender its FCRA certificate.

The Centre, for its part, claimed that the bill is necessary in order to achieve an 'atmanirbhar Bharat'.

The bill now needs to be passed by the Upper House and then receive a nod from President Ram Nath Kovind.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha continued to be in an uproar for the second consecutive day following the row over two farm sector bills.

Chairman Venkaiah Naidu rejected a notice for no-confidence motion against Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, stating that it was not in the proper format.

Eight MPs, including TMC's Derek O'Brien and AAP's Sanjay Singh, were suspended for the remainder of the Monsoon Session over their "unruly behaviour" on Sunday.

Opposition members, objecting to the manner in which the farm bills were passed on Sunday had stormed the Well of the House, torn official papers, climbed on tables, shouted slogans, and threw the rule book at Harivansh after their demand for physical voting went unheeded.

'MHA acting as Big Brother'

During a discussion on the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2020, Congress MP Anto Antony called the bill "another exotic adventure" and warned that it would "kill NGOs".

Antony claimed that the bill was brought to target minorities. He said that all Christian charities were not indulging in conversion and added that these institutions have uplifted the poorest of poor.

TMC's Sougata Roy claimed that "high-handed Hindu revivalism" was the government's credo and asserted that there was no need for the bill.

Roy said the bill is another example of the home ministry acting as a 'Big Brother' and watching over the country to see who gets what money from where. "This bill is meant to tighten the screws on those organisations that receive funds from abroad," he said.

NCP MP Supriya Sule questioning the decision to make Aadhar mandatory for registration, stated that the Supreme Court has repeatedly said that Aadhar is not compulsory.

Sule also questioned the logic for creating an account in State Bank of India, Delhi."Are you trying to sow suspicion that other banks are not capable of opening an FCRA account?" Sule queried.

The bill stipulates that foreign contribution should only be received in an account designated as FCRA Account, which should be opened in a branch of the SBI at New Delhi specified by the Centre. But it allows the concerned organisations to transfer these funds to another account for utilisation.

"I request the Central government to stop bulldozing people who do good work," Sule said, adding that there may be a bad apple among the NGOs, but there were a hundred others doing good work.

According to Scroll, BSP MP Ritesh Pandey claimed that the government could curb dissent through the bill. He further said that the clause allowing the government to extend the suspension of registration for a year would mean more control for the MHA. TRS' Bhimrao Patil also alleged that the bill would concentrate "inordinate powers" in the hands of the Centre.

However, Shiv Sena's Shrirang Appa Barne supported the bill and said that there is a need to come out with a strict law to stop religious conversion.

Janata Dal (United) MP Kaushalendra Kumar said the bill would boost transparency while YSRCP's Bellana Chandra Sekhar called the bill "much needed".

BJP's Satya Pal Singh said many organisations receiving foreign contributions were not spending the money on the work it was meant for. Money received as foreign contribution cannot be spent on terrorist activities, he said.

According to The Hindu, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that there was a political agenda behind the bill, saying that on one hand the government invited foreign funds, but stopped such funds if they came for educational and charitable purposes.

'FCRA bill necessary for atmanirbhar Bharat'

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the legislation was not against any religion or NGO. Rai asserted the bill would help in curbing misuse of foreign funds and was necessary for an 'atmanirbhar Bharat'

"FCRA is a national and internal security law to ensure that foreign funds don't affect national interests. Here, transparency is the main aim," he said.

" If we do not freeze the bank accounts of those under investigation, how will we conduct the probe?" Rai asked.

Rai, justifying the step to cut foreign funds allowed for administrative expenses from 50 percent to 20 percent, alleged that many NGOs use public funds for their personal use.

The minister said that even though the apex court had said that Aadhar is not compulsory, it remains a significant proof of identification.

Lok Sabha passes IBC Amendment Bill

The Lower House also passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020, under which fresh insolvency proceedings will not be initiated at least for six months starting from 25 March.

Chowdhury lashed out at the "Ordinance-savvy" government, saying it was promulgating ordinances one after the other under the pretext of COVID-19. "I would suggest to the government that the promulgation of ordinances shouldn't be taken as a rule but considered as an exception," Congress MP said.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the bill has been brought in to provide "immediate relief" to companies and called it timely.

"We had to prevent any company, stressed because of COVID, from being pushed into insolvency," she said.

Late at night, the Lok Sabha also passed the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill by voice vote. The bill, which provides for up to five years in jail for those attacking healthcare workers fighting the coronavirus or during any situation akin to the current pandemic, has already cleared the Rajya Sabha.

The bill replaces an ordinance issued by the government in April. The Union Cabinet had promulgated the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, amending the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, to protect healthcare service personnel and property, including their living/working premises, against violence during epidemics.

The Lower House also passed The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and The Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

Rajya Sabha adjourned as MPs protest

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned on Monday without any business being transacted as the eight MPs suspended over the row in the House on Sunday refused to leave the House and sat in protest.

A motion for the suspension of the eight including Rajeev Satav, Syed Nasir Hussain and Ripun Bora (all Congress), Dola Sen (TMC), KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareen (all CPM) was moved by the government and approved by a voice vote in the House.

Naidu also dismissed a motion seeking removal of Harivansh as deputy chairman, stating that it was not in proper format and a 14-day notice period was not given.

Condemning the behaviour of the MPs during the passage of the bill, Naidu said it was "very unfortunate, unacceptable" and tarnished the image of the House.

Naidu said the Opposition, which wanted voting on a resolution to send the two bills to a select committee of the House, should have voted if they had the numbers.

Opposition attacks, PM defends

The suspensions of the MPs triggered a wave of protests outside Parliament. A senior TMC leader told PTI that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee spoke to the MPs and appreciated their efforts towards "upholding the values of Parliament".

Banerjee, who in the morning condemned the government for its action, also released an audio clip in which she strongly criticised the BJP and accused it of engaging in an "all-out effort to make states powerless and itself all-powerful."

Rahul Gandhi attacked the Centre, stating that its endless arrogance had brought economic disaster for the country.

Muting Of Democratic India continues: by initially silencing and later, suspending MPs in the Parliament & turning a blind eye to farmers concerns on the black agriculture laws. This omniscient Govts endless arrogance has brought economic disaster for the entire country.  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 21, 2020

One of the eight MPs, Elamaram Kareen, said suspension wouldn't silence them and reiterated the charge of throttling parliamentary procedures against Harivansh.

Suspension won't silence us. We will stand with farmers in their fight. Dy.Chairman throttled Parliamentary Procedures yesterday. Suspension of MPs exposed the coward face of BJP. People will see through the attempt to divert attention from their undemocratic actions.  Elamaram Kareem (@ElamaramKareem_) September 21, 2020

The suspended MPs sat in protest outside the Parliament till late in the evening.

Delhi: TMC's Derek O'Brien & Dola Sen, AAP's Sanjay Singh, INC's Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora & Syed Nasir Hussain, CPI(M)'s KK Ragesh & Elamaram Karim suspended for one week for unruly behaviour with the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman yesterday, protest in Parliament premises pic.twitter.com/kKJlaZDNpe  ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2020

During a separate event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended the bills, saying they were the need of 21st Century India and sought to assure farmers that the provisions for agriculture markets and Minimum Support Price (MSP) would continue as before.

The prime minister also accused the Opposition of misleading farmers as they feel "their control slipping away".

Meanwhile, Congress announced that it will launch a nationwide agitation against the farm bills and initiate a campaign to collect two crore signatures of farmers and the poor against the proposed legislations.

Leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), BJP's ally, met President Ram Nath Kovind and requested him to not grant assent to the proposed legislations, while leaders of various political parties including the Congress, the Left parties, NCP, DMK, SP, Trinamool Congress and the RJD submitted a memorandum to the president, seeking his intervention in the matter.

Centre hikes MSP of six rabi crops

In a related development, the government, seeking to send a strong message to protesting farmers, hiked the minimum price for six rabi crops, including wheat, by up to six percent.

Farmer groups in Punjab, Haryana and some other states are also protesting the two bills: The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.

The MSP of wheat, the biggest crop of rabi season, has been hiked by Rs 50 to Rs 1,975 per quintal, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in Lok Sabha. Besides, MSPs of lentil (masoor), gram, barley, safflower and mustard/ rapeseed have been increased, he added.

Tomar said the MSPs of six rabi crops were approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the prime minister on Monday, a move aimed at encouraging farmers ahead of the sowing operations of winter crops.

With inputs from PTI
The International House at 37th and Chestnut Streets, which was built as a home-away-from-home for foreign college students, has been acquired by investment group CSC Coliving. Read more

CSC Coliving, an investment group specializing in apartment projects with shared kitchens and bathrooms and other communal spaces, has acquired the International House Philadelphia dormitory and culture-center tower in University City.

CSC borrowed $33 million to buy and renovate the 14-story concrete landmark at 37th and Chestnut Streets and expand its interior into 400 apartment units, according to a release Monday from real estate services firm JLL, which helped broker the loan.

The buildings sale price was not disclosed. CSC and the nonprofit organization that previously owned and operated the building did not immediately respond to emails.

The International Houses nonprofit operator announced in April 2019 that it planned to sell the building, built about 1970 in the Brutalist style, to focus on its shifted mission as a hub for immigrant services and international business with much less of a real estate role.

Officials said at the time that the building had become expensive to maintain and faced tough competition from new housing options nearby for international students.

The cultural celebrations that were once International Houses specialty are also now held citywide, officials said.

The building currently has 346 dorm-type units, most arranged in 10-bedroom suites with shared bathrooms, kitchens, and lounges, and 33 apartment-style units.

CSC will increase that unit count by converting its second-story office space to apartments after their current occupants leave in 2028, JLL said. Its ground floor will be made available to office or retail tenants, the firm said.

Another section of the 1.3-acre property on which the tower stands could accommodate an additional 150,000 square feet of development without impacting the building, JLL said.

CSC, led by investors Sal and Alberto Smeke, focuses on projects in which residents live in near dorm-like conditions, with small bedrooms and shared bathrooms, cooking and dining spaces, and lounges.

Other companies that develop co-living projects in U.S. cities, such as Quarters and Common, also have a presence in Philadelphia.

Affiliates of CSCs principals operate in the United States and Mexico with investments in over 10,000 properties, according to the JLL.

Its loan for the International House was secured from Post Road Group of Stamford, Conn., through a team at JLLs capital markets group led by senior managing director Chad Orcutt and analyst Blaine Fleming.
Provision of eight visuals representing significant statistics from the conducted survey. Credit: EAU

Awareness of erectile dysfunction (ED) is alarmingly low in men and women aged 20 to 70, a new survey commissioned by the European Association of Urology (EAU) has revealed. The majority of the respondents do not know what ED exactly entails, and one in four has never heard of any of the seven most common treatments for ED.

The survey examined the knowledge of and experience with ED of 3,032 men and women of different age groups between 20 and 70 years old in Spain, France, Germany and the UK. ED is defined as the inability to get or keep an erection. When asked what ED is, the majority of respondents either gave incorrect answers (34%) or stated they do not know what ED is (17%). Those who are single are the least likely to know the definition of ED. German respondents scored worst on this question; only 49% answered correctly, compared to Spain where a solid majority (78%) did.

"As ED is actually a common male medical condition, it is surprising that a majority does not know what ED is," comments Prof. Christopher Chapple, Secretary General of the EAU.

Indeed, the EAU Guidelines 2020 on Sexual and Reproductive Health state that "epidemiological data have shown a high prevalence and incidence of ED worldwide." The guidelines cite a study that reports an overall ED prevalence of 52% in men aged 40-70 years. In the EAU survey, when asked what percentage of men in their country aged 50-80 suffer from ED, respondents most often selected 21-30%.

"The risk of having ED increases with age, but it affects men of all ages and ethnicities," Prof. Chapple continues. "As a result, there should not be any taboo about it. Although I am happy to see that the majority of the respondents who have experience with ED say to talk about it, there is still room for improvement."

Of the 17% of the respondents who have or have a partner who has ever experienced ED, approximately one in four (26%) admitted to not talking about it with anyone. Notably, of those in a relationship (those who live with a partner, are married, have a civil partnership, or are just in a relationship), an average of only 29% talk to each other about ED. German respondents most often cited "feeling uncomfortable to talk about ED" as their reason for not seeking professional help.

Communication is the key

"Clearly, ED is a common medical condition. There's absolutely no need for shame," Prof. Chapple says. "Talk about it with each other. This will provide relief and will take away some of the pressure. Communication is the key to breaking the taboo."

A small majority of 53% sought medical advice from a healthcare professional (a GP, urologist, sexologist, sexual therapist or psychologist). Interestingly, those aged 20-30 years old are the least likely to see a GP, but the most likely to see a sexual therapist or psychologist. Respondents who didn't seek medical advice were most likely to have no reason for it. "This could mean that they are not aware they can seek professional help," Prof. Chapple says. "But ED is always treatable."

One in four respondents has never heard of any treatments for ED

He refers to another alarming finding: One in four of the respondents (26%) has never heard of any of the treatments for ED listed in the survey: medication, sexual education and relationship therapy, a vacuum erection device, penile injections, penile implants, shockwave therapy, or topical therapies. Knowledge about ED treatment is most limited in the UK; 31% have never heard of any of the treatments listed (compared to 18% in Spain) and only 50% think ED is treatable (whereas 68% in Spain believe so).

Prof. Chapple says, "I understand that ED might feel like a private matter to you. But this should not prevent you from improving your quality of life. Please talk about it and seek help."

About the survey

The new survey was commissioned by the European Association of Urology (EAU) for its annual Urology Week (21-25 September 2020). Over 3,000 members of the public from Spain, France, Germany and the UK were asked about their knowledge of and experience with erectile dysfunction (ED). The survey was supported by an educational grant of Boston Scientific.

Breakdown of 3,032 respondents per country:

Spain: 766

France: 759

Germany: 755

UK: 752

The information was sourced in July 2020.

Explore further Alarmingly low awareness of urology across Europe

More information: EAU Guidelines 2020 on Sexual and Reproductive Health: EAU Guidelines 2020 on Sexual and Reproductive Health: uroweb.org/wp-content/uploads/  tive-Health-2020.pdf
Turkey closed its borders in November 2015 to the influx of Syrians fleeing the civil war and the forced displacement forced upon them by the Syrian regime. Others have fled the poor living conditions and services in the opposition-held areas  be it in Idlib, under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or in the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch areas under the control of Turkish-backed rebels.

Some fleeing Syrians pass through Turkey as a transit route to Europe, but most of them settle in Turkey in order to work and earn a living.

Despite Turkey tightening its borders with Syria, dozens of Syrians still attempt to illegally cross every day, most of whom are arrested by the Turkish border guards (Gendarmerie); the majority of them are beaten and sometimes killed, or imprisoned and suffer all kinds of humiliation. The United Nations Human Rights published its biannual report on Syria documenting abuses allegdely carried out by Turkey and Sunni-backed groups engaging in human rights violations.

Amin Mohammed, 23, from the southern countryside of Aleppo, who was shot by a Gendarmerie sniper a year ago, told Al-Monitor, After the Syrian army took control of my village in the southern countryside of Aleppo, I moved with my family to the Deir Hassan area near the Turkish border in Idlib countryside since it was far from the bombing of the Syrian regime army. I was the breadwinner in my family and we had no land or livestock left for us to live on, so I decided to go to Turkey to work and support my family. When I reached the border wall between Syria and Turkey and tried to cross it, I was shot near my rib cage. The bullet did not go all the way in, and I had to return to Syrian territory bleeding.

Despite this, Mohammed again tried to cross into Turkey on several occasions, and finally managed to settle there.

Khaled al-Ahmed, 41, told Al-Monitor, I tried to reach Turkey with a group of young Syrians [in December 2019], but before we could cross the barbed wire, we were arrested by the Gendarmerie, and they started beating us with rods on our faces and bodies. We do not speak Turkish, but we cried and begged in vain. They then started severely beating me with gunstocks, scarring my head. I was bleeding and they were laughing. They made me clean up the place and their dormitories, despite the state I was in. They then sent me back to Syria, and I immediately went to the hospital to seek treatment for my cuts and bruises.

Ahmed is now living in Harem city in Idlib, near the border with Turkey.

In this context, Housamedden Darwish, a Syrian researcher at Leipzig University, residing in Germany, told Al-Monitor, This treatment reflects the policy of the Turkish government in general and its disregard for the lives and dignity of Syrians, and its willingness to abandon the most basic principles of international law and human rights, whenever it needs to. This treatment further reflects the state of resentment some Turks have toward the Syrians. In any case, Syrians are treated this way because Turkish politics and laws allow this, or turn a blind eye to it, or even out of deliberate negligence.

He added, I believe that this shift [the border closure] took place after the Turkish government found that it is in its interest to stop receiving more Syrian refugees, and this happened during its negotiations with the European Union, when Turkey signed an agreement [in March 2016] obligating it not to allow Syrian refugees to cross into Greece. This decision came after Turkish popular and partisan tension escalated due to the large numbers of Syrian refugees in Turkish lands.

Turkey is currently hosting around 3.6 million refugees, according to the latest data by the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.

Darwish noted, I think that most Arab media outlets either exaggerate the news about the [Turkish abuses  referring to the Saudi, Emirati and Egyptian media], or try to ignore them or underestimate the extent of their negative aspects [in reference to the Qatari and Qatari-supported media] or even ignore them altogether because they are indifferent to them in general.

He added that Turkey treats the Syrians better than the Arab countries that have completely closed their doors to the Syrians. According to him, this is especially true if you compare the conditions in which Syrians in Turkey live to those living in Arab countries neighboring Syria, and Lebanon in particular.

Darwish stressed that the EUs priority is for Turkey to guard its borders with it and not allow the displaced Syrians residing in or coming to Turkey to cross those borders. But one should not deny that the EU pays Turkey billions of euros to do so and to spend it on refugees residing in its territory.

In March 2016, the EU and Turkey signed an agreement on the refugees, according to which Ankara would prevent refugees in its territory from heading to the Greek islands. In return, the EU has allocated to Turkey 6 billion euros (about $7.1 billion) disbursed until 2018 to improve the conditions of refugees present in its lands.

Ahmet Velioglu, a freelance journalist specialized in Turkish affairs and residing in Turkey, told Al-Monitor, The Gendarmeries treatment of Syrians on the borders with Syria is similar to its behavior on the Iranian, Iraqi and Greek borders, in reference to measures taken by Turkey to protect all its borders by preventing any illegal crossing into its territory.

He added, It is not logical that a country like Turkey is accused of killing and torture while it hosts over 3 million Syrians. Talking about killings and torture as if it were systematic, as the Syrian regime does with the Syrians, is a baseless statement. That being said, there are, indeed, some individual violations and certain cases of transgressions, and the perpetrators are held accountable.

Velioglu pointed out that any mistake that occurs in Turkey is investigated in-depth, and that neutral media is almost missing in the media arena. Thus, the fact that some organizations accuse Turkey of these transgressions is considered natural, he said, in reference to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

HRW has, in a series of reports, repeatedly criticized the behavior of the Gendarmerie toward the Syrians fleeing to Turkey.

According to a Sept. 3 report by the Violations Documentation Center in northern Syria, the number of Syrians killed by bullets from Turkish soldiers this year has reached 452, including 85 children under the age of 18 and 58 women. The number of injuries from a gunshot or assault reached 440 refugees who were trying to cross the borders to escape the war raging in Syria, the report added.
Photograph: Reuters

The United States Postal Service (USPS) saw a severe decline in the rate of on-time delivery of first-class mail after Louis DeJoy took over as postmaster general, according to new data obtained by the Guardian that provides some of the most detailed insight yet into widespread mail delays this summer.

Related: Trump doesnt seem to understand how voting works. Heres what you need to know

Shortly after taking the helm, DeJoy  a major Republican donor with no prior USPS experience  implemented operational changes he said were intended to make the financially beleaguered agency more efficient. Those changes included an effort to get USPS trucks to run on time and limiting extra trips to transport late mail, with the result that mail was often left behind.

Many critics have noted that DeJoy chose to make these changes at the worst possible time, in the midst of a pandemic and months ahead of a presidential election in which a record number of people are expected to vote by mail.

In late August, DeJoy announced he was putting the changes on hold until after the election, and last week a federal judge in Washington blocked USPS from implementing them. The changes were clearly aimed at voter disenfranchisement, given the increased role USPS will play in this years presidential election, the US district judge Stanley Bastian wrote in his ruling.

It is easy to conclude that the recent Postal Services changes is an intentional effort on the part the current Administration to disrupt and challenge the legitimacy of upcoming local, state, and federal elections, Bastian wrote.

Describing the data, Philip Rubio, a history professor at North Carolina A&T university who is also a former postal worker, said: This is a remarkable graphic illustration that reveals the decline of on-time first-class mail from the very first day after Postmaster General DeJoys policies were announced and implemented.

Story continues

Not only do we see the national picture for first-class mail delivery worsening over time after DeJoys policies become effective, but we also see locally conditions varying and even emerging for the worse.

Of note, some areas in key swing states saw significant declines in on-time delivery rates of first-class mail. In the postal district for northern Ohio, on-time delivery rates dropped as low as 63.60% in mid August. In the Detroit postal district, on-time delivery fell to 61.01% the same month.

USPS has pledged to facilitate timely delivery of mail-in ballots for the election and work closely with election officials to ensure that happens. But the relationship has been rocky recently; some election officials fumed when the agency sent out a mailing to every household with information about mail-in voting without thoroughly consulting with them. The generalized mailer was misleading for voters in the handful of US states that automatically mail all registered voters a ballot.

Although DeJoys changes have been paused until after the election, the new data shows that first class mail continued to be delivered late across the country after his reversal. In the Baltimore postal district, for example, the on-time delivery rate remained at less than 60% at the end of August.

Unfortunately, even though on-time performance improved after those changes were put on pause, delivery speed is still well below normal and far below the postal services own targets, said Steve Hutkins, a professor at New York University who runs Save The Post Office, a blog that monitors the agency.

The harms that were done have not yet been undone.

David Partenheimer, a USPS spokesman, declined to comment specifically on the data, citing ongoing litigation. USPS released a statement on Friday saying that on-time delivery for first class mail continued to improve in September and that on time departures for trucks continued to improve.

The improvements are a result of the Postmaster Generals commitment to drive operational discipline and improve efficiencies across processing, transportation and delivery, the agency said in its statement.
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The number of coronavirus cases across the United States have been rising for more than a week as about half of states see an uptick in infections but daily deaths continue to decline nationally.

The average number of COVID-19 cases per day was at just over 40,000 on Sunday.

Cases, on average, had been trending downwards nationally since July when about 70,000 infections were being reported daily.

The national infection rate started increasing just over a week ago and almost half of states are still seeing an uptick.

Deaths, however, have been trending downwards across the country with an average of 780 people currently dying per day.

On Sunday, 230 Americans died from COVID-19 - the lowest daily toll since July. There is often a lag in weekend coronavirus reporting.

It comes as the overall death toll neared 200,000 on Monday.

The average number of COVID-19 cases per day was at just over 40,000 on Sunday. Cases, on average, had been trending downwards nationally since July when about 70,000 infections were being reported daily

Deaths, however, have been trending downwards across the country with an average of 780 people currently dying per day. On Sunday, 230 Americans died from COVID-19 - the lowest daily toll since July. There is often a lag in weekend coronavirus reporting

Currently, more than 199,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and there have been more than 6.79 million confirmed cases.

The uptick in cases comes after health officials had warned there could be increases following the Labor Day weekend.

About 24 states have seen an increase in new cases in the past week.

North Dakota, Wisconsin, Utah, Arkansas and Montana have all reported record single-day spikes in cases in the last few days.

In North Dakota, cases surged by a record 507 infections on September 18 and now total more than 17,900.

Cases in Montana spiked by 292 on September 19, bringing the state's total to over 10,200.

Wisconsin has continued to have record daily cases with the highest being on September 18 when more than 2,500 were recorded. The state now has more than 107,000 cases in total.

Utah recorded a record daily surge of more than 1,000 cases on September 18, bringing the state's total to nearly 64,000.

In North Dakota, cases surged by a record 507 infections on September 18 and now total more than 17,900. Wisconsin has continued to have record daily cases with the highest being on September 18 when more than 2,500 were recorded. Utah recorded a record daily surge of more than 1,000 cases on September 18, bringing the state's total to nearly 64,000

Cases in Montana spiked by 292 on September 19, bringing the state's total to over 10,200. Cases in Oklahoma have been increase since mid-August. They were initially declining after peaking in late July. Iowa's cases have started rising against after peaking in early September

Infections in Arkansas spiked by 1,600 on Sunday, bringing the state's total to more than 75,700.

Prior to the Labor Day holiday weekend, health officials had warned that any potential increase would likely set the stage for what is to come in the fall.

While deaths are declining nationally, fatalities related to COVID-19 are a lagging indicator and can potentially rise several weeks after new cases.

The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is predicting that deaths will rise to more 378,000 by the end of the year.

The model forecasts that more than 114,000 lives could be saved if the majority of Americans wore masks but epidemiologists have already warned that mask-wearing is already declining across the country.

The death rate projected by the IHME model, which has been cited by the White House Coronavirus Task Force, would more than triple the current death rate of some 850 per day.

Health officials are still keeping tabs on any potential surges from the Labor Day holiday weekend.

South Dakota's cases are rising against after declining rapidly in early September. Cases spiked in mid-August. Nebraska's cases have been spiking to near-record levels throughout September. There has been an uptick of cases across Idaho after declining since mid-July

Cases in Missouri have been rising to near peak levels. There has been an uptick in cases in Texas after the hospot state saw a huge decline following the summer surge that, in part, drove the national trends upwards

Meanwhile, a Missouri biker festival that drew about 125,000 people over the weekend has sparked fears that the event may become a 'super spreader' for the coronavirus after photos showed many maskless participants.

The 14th Annual BikeFest Lake of the Ozarks took place from September 16-20.

According to the event's website, there were more than 300 bars and restaurants involved in the festivities.

Last week's biker festival comes just a month after the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally that was held in South Dakota.

As the push for a vaccine continues, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its guidance on Monday, warning that COVID-19 could spread through airborne particles that can remain suspended in the air and travel beyond six feet.

The agency previously said the virus mainly spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets when a sick person coughs, sneezes or talks.

The updated guidance, posted on the agency's website on Friday, also recommended that people use air purifiers to reduce airborne germs indoors to avoid the disease from spreading.
Critics of the Chicago Police Department have said they worry the new teams style of enforcement could mirror what some considered to be overly aggressive tactics of units like it that disbanded years ago. But unlike those similar units, police leaders have promised, the community safety team is working on community service projects to get to know the residents in the areas they serve.
As soon as Belarusian protesters wrap up their daily demonstrations on the streets, the movement goes online to assess tactics and to begin planning the next course of action.

"Observations from yesterday," a Telegram user going by the name Byternity wrote on September 21, following the latest weekend of postelection rallies and mass arrests. "At the opera house, a small number of people separated from the column, someone to rest, some were just going to leave, and at that time a lot of buses drove right behind the column. After that, the hunt for stragglers with symbols began."

The tip was from one of scores of digital "courtyard chats" that demonstrators are accessing on the encrypted Telegram messaging app to spread the word in cities, factories, and specific localities across Belarus.

And the chats are just one modern resource being tapped by protesters to show a united front against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, whom they believe stole the August 9 presidential election.

The risks are high, with opposition leaders such as Maryya Kalesnikava jailed after being accused of using media and the Internet to stage protests. But Belarusians are defying the authorities by going online to expose members of the security services cracking down on demonstrations, recruit volunteers, share news and information, and strategize methods of peaceful protest.

After several thousand women marching in Minsk on September 19 were met with violence and detentions by riot police, hackers responded by releasing the names and personal data of 1,000 police officers.

WATCH: Belarusian police detained hundreds of protesters in Minsk as several thousand women marched through the capital.

"As the arrests continue, we will continue to publish data on a massive scale," the hackers said in a statement on various Telegram channels including Nexta Live, a news outlet that has successfully used the service to circumvent Belarus's strictly controlled media environment.

The Interior Ministry countered by threatening that "the forces, means, and technologies at the disposal of the Interior Ministry bodies make it possible to identify and prosecute the overwhelming majority of those guilty of leaking personal data on the Internet."

But on September 21, following hundreds more detentions, the channel Black Book of Belarus was stocked with fresh images, home addresses, and telephone numbers of police and judges alleged to be complicit in the repression of protesters.

"Friends, today the punishers crossed the line again," read a message on the site at day's end. "They kidnapped people on the streets (even a pregnant girl), fired guns, sprayed tear gas."

The site, which describes itself as a base in Minsk and the surrounding region for "endangered species: riot police, traffic police, Interior Ministry troops and other security forces," provides links for readers in cities such as Minsk, Brest, Hrodna, Homel, Vitsebsk, and others to send information about alleged abusers.

"It is in the district and regional cities where we can return the rule of law in the near future," the post declared.

Online, In Plain Sight

Administrators of online forums are well-aware that demonstrators are not the only ones reading.

The header of Minsk Courtyard Chats, a shared Google document that provides links for chats catering to specific locales, warns contributors to count on Interior Ministry employees being present in any online discussion of more than 50 people.

"The main thing," it warns, is to "not violate the Criminal Code" and for users to stick to discussions of key issues "with activists you know personally and trust."

Fair game for discussion includes meeting places, efforts to honor slain protesters, what to wear during demonstrations, the situation of detainees, and alternative ways to show opposition to the authorities, such as refusing to pay local taxes.

In the case of Byternity, writing on the "Minsk: What kind of people, what kind of own" chat group, the advice for protesters to avoid being rounded up following a protest was to "hide everything" that might identify them as a demonstrator.

Another user suggests that demonstrators stick together. "A crowd of thousands of people with arms linked is a frightening thing," wrote the user, identified only as MG. "Yes, they will take someone, but it is much safer to stay in dense rows."

The Telegram channel Belarus of the Brain discusses the presence of provocateurs and how demonstrators might protect themselves in keeping with an overall opposition "Victory Plan."

According to one post on the opposition channel, Telegram users should remove telephone numbers and personal images, ideally new accounts should be set up using foreign SIM cards, and demonstrators should work with their housing administrators to secure their apartment buildings from members of the security services.

"It is necessary to make sure that no one except the residents of the entrance and their friends can gain entrance," the plan reads. "If the security forces still gain access, try replacing the intercom or code without giving it out to anyone other than the residents themselves."

If the housing administrators are unwilling to work with residents on this or other tactics such as installing surveillance cameras at entrances or even blocking them with junked cars, "this is another reason not to pay utility bills," the post adds.

There is safety in numbers, the channel says in advising demonstrators to stick to groups of at least 10 to 20 people, and to not carry out missions like removing the Belarusian flag from courtyards alone.

After all, it adds, when confronting Lukashenka "it is one for all and all for one!"
Rep. Choi Seung-jae, left, deputy floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party, and Rep. Bae Hyun-jin, the party's floor spokeswoman, submit a disciplinary action bill to the National Assembly Secretariat, Thursday, against lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, including Rep. Youn Mee-hyang. Youn has been accused of mismanagement of public donations and subsidies provided by the central government and local governments when she was heading a civic group supporting former sex slaves by Japan before and during World War II, before becoming a ruling party lawmaker. Yonhap



By Jung Da-min



Controversy is rising over the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) selective punishment of party lawmakers who have been embroiled in scandals over apparent unethical behavior and in some cases alleged illegal acts.



The party expelled one member for submitting a false report related to property ownership and another could be kicked out over allegations of mismanagement of his former company, but the DPK has remained silent over scandals related to another member indicted by the prosecution recently on much more serious allegations  fraud, embezzlement and breach of trust.



Last Friday, the DPK expelled Rep. Kim Hong-gul, the youngest son of late President Kim Dae-jung, over allegations that he had falsely reported the amount of property he owns, in violation of the election law.



Earlier this month, it was found that Kim did not report 1 billion won ($863,000) worth of real estate, one of the four properties he owned at the time, to the National Election Commission (NEC) during the election campaign period for this year's April election.



The DPK's ethics inspection body, launched Wednesday, looked into the allegations surrounding Kim in its first case and reached the decision to expel Kim two days later, which was approved by the party's Supreme Council later in the day.



The ethics inspection body is reviewing other lawmaker, Rep. Lee Sang-jik, a two-term lawmaker and founder of budget carrier Eastar Jet. The carrier recently announced massive layoffs amid the deteriorating air travel market situation and the company's financial problems, after a recent deal for the company to be acquired by Jeju Air fell through.



The company's problems included 25 billion won worth of unpaid wages for its employees, and as Lee is believed to be the de facto owner of the company with his family members involved in management, he has been criticized for evading responsibility for the layoffs and failure of the business.



It is widely expected that Lee will face severe disciplinary measures if he is not expelled from the party.



But the ruling party's "quick" decision on Kim and Lee is bringing its own controversy, as the party has yet to reach conclusion on how to deal with Rep. Youn Mee-hyang.



Youn, who led a civic group supporting victims of the Japanese military's sex slavery before and during World War II, has been accused of misusing of public donations and subsidies provided by the central and local governments, and the prosecution recently indicted her on over six charges including fraud, breach of trust and embezzlement.



For the case of Youn, the DPK said it did not see the need to launch a separate investigation by the ethics body as the prosecution has already investigated the case. It only decided to suspend Youn's rights as a party member until the allegations are cleared.



"The son of former President Kim Dae-jung was also expelled from the party only on suspicion, but why is the party keeping Youn Mee-hyang, who is even facing trial after her crimes were confirmed?" said Rep. Bae Hyun-jin, floor spokeswoman of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).



Kyungnam University professor Kim Keun-sik, who is heading the PPP's branch in Seoul's Songpa-gu, wrote on Facebook, Saturday, "Kim Hong-gul was yet to be investigated by the prosecution and there has been no indictment nor conviction yet  If the DPK applies such a strict standard, shouldn't Youn, who has been accused of fraud and embezzlement, and South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyung-soo, who has been arrested for a violation of election law, have been expelled more quickly?"



Political critic Chin Jung-kwon also criticized the DPK's recent dealing with its members embroiled in scandals over apparent moral failings, saying, that the DPK was trying to evade its greater responsibility for other cases by "sacrificing" Kim Hong-gul.


The health and safety of our campus community is paramount. In an effort to keep the Texas A&M-Kingsville community informed about the presence of COVID-19 positive cases on campus, we will provide weekly updated University case counts. The report will include only new positive cases for the week.

We remain committed to protecting the personal health information of our community and all information shared will adhere to those privacy standards. Individuals who have been in close contact with a positive case on campus will be contacted by a University representative.

According to Centers for Disease Control, close contact is defined as less than 6 feet between individuals for 15 minutes or more within two days of receiving a positive test result. All areas effected by a positive case will be sanitized.

Previous Weeks Case Count

Overall On-Campus Testing

*On campus testing data includes individuals who may be retesting after a recent COVID-19 positive test but who are no longer actively shedding the virus.

*Positivity (%) is the proportion of all positive test results from on-campus testing beginning May 31, 2021 and includes results from students, faculty and staff. Data does not reflect testing performed by clinical providers or testing sites outside of Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

Please see the Covid-19 dashboard archive for Aug 14, 2020 - June 15, 2021 data.
British-French actor Michael Lonsdale, who is widely recognised as the villain opposite James Bond in Moonraker, died on Monday. He was 89.

Lonsdale, who was bilingual, chalked up more than 200 roles over a six-decade career, equally at ease in experimental arthouse productions as in big-budget crowd-pleasers.

With his silky yet imposing voice and a distinctive goatee, Lonsdale often served up memorable performances that stuck with viewers even when only in minor roles.

His agent, Olivier Loiseau, said he had died at his home in Paris, the city where he was born on May 24, 1931, to an English military officer and a French mother.

Arguably the highlight of his career came when he played a Trappist monk in Of Gods and Men in 2010.

Based on true events, the film tells the story of seven French monks who were murdered after being kidnapped from their monastery in Algeria in 1996 during the countrys civil war.

For the role Lonsdale won his first and only Cesar award  Frances version of the Oscars  for best supporting actor in 2011.

Yet for millions of people he was the sadistic industrialist Hugo Drax in the 1979 Bond film Moonraker starring Roger Moore, with a plan to destroy Earths population with nerve gas while he escaped into space.

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Students of the Kindergarten block of St Josephs Senior Secondary School, Sector 44-D, Chandigarh, celebrated Grandparents Day to make the children recognise their grandparents value.

A formal invitation was sent to the grandparents of Nursery and LKG. They joined the virtual venue wherein all the teachers and children welcomed them. Students chanted mantras, sang songs and gave dance performances.

Grandparents shared their memories, experiences and sang melodies of their time. They played antakshari as well. Children pinned beautiful badges onto their grandmas and grandpas, which they had made with the help of their teachers.

Grandparents were shown a video, made and shared by the teachers, with collages of their pictures with their grandchildren. They also danced with their grandchildren.

KG students fed their grandparents their favourite dishes with their hands.

Kids dress as their favourite book characters

Students of Delhi Public School, Chandigarh, observed literary week from September 8 to 14 to mark the importance of reading and International Literacy Day celebrations.

Students of Class 1 dressed up as their favourite characters from storybooks and spoke about them.The students of Class 2 shared a review of the storybooks which they had read recently.

The activities were planned to hone the reading, speaking and listening skills and were thoroughly enjoyed by the children.

Green Grove kids learn about greener planet

The students of Green Grove Public School, Ludhiana observed World Ozone Day. The day is observed on 16 September every year to spread awareness among people about the depletion of the ozone layer.

Students presented speeches and Powerpoint presentations to encourage people to save the ozone layer by small but effective efforts.

President JPS Jolly said that this day reminds us that ozone is crucial for life and we must continue to protect it for future generations.

Grandparents Day celebrated online

Students of Delhi Public School, Jalandhar, took part in an online Grandparents Day celebration to honour their grandparents.

Grandparents of students of Classes 1 to 9 were invited for the virtual celebration. Students of Pre- primary section and Classes 10 to 12 uploaded their pictures and videos with their grandparents on the school website.

The grandparents were welcomed by the teachers. Various games such as Antakshri, Boojho Paheli, Tol Mol ke Bol and Guess the Song were organised for them.

Virtual fancy dress competition held

Under the aegis of founders and directors of Mount Carmel Ernest Charles Samuel and Annie Charles J Samuel, a virtual fancy dress competition was organised by the students of Class 5 of Mount Carmel School, Chandigarh.

Asmany as 24 students took part in the contest.

The students showcased their talents while enacting different characters.

Principal Parveena John stated that such activities give boost to the creative imagination and expression of the children.

She also congratulated the winners and lauded the efforts of the participants.

Bhavan Vidyalaya teachers honoured

Two teachers of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula, were felicitated with a national award each at a ceremony organised by IPN India Practically | INSPIRE AWARDS 2020  Global Honors for Teachers.

More than 1,200 teachers from all over India had participated in the event.

Teachers Sonia Arora, head, IT department, and Rachita Khurana have been awarded with e-certificates of achievement and CredEd 12 months exclusive subscriptions.

Sonia Arora made her mark in the Inspired Round the Clock Reassurer category and Rachita has emerged victor in the category Inspired Forerunner.

Principal Gulshan Kaur congratulated both the teachers.

Students celebrate Hindi Diwas

Students of The Sky School,Sector 21, Panchkula, celebrated Hindi Diwas. They took part in a variety of activities online. They recited poems, gave speeches to show their appreciation towards the official language. Teachers told them the importance of Hindi.The day is observed on September 14 every year.

Tiny tots make cards, recite poems

Children of Shemford Futuristic School, Pinjore, celebrated Grandparents Day virtually. To acknowledge their grandparents contribution in their lives, students made cards, recited poems, sang songs and gave dance performances. Director Bimla Arora congratulated all children for their presentations exhibiting their affection for their grandparents.
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden today announced the appointment of Shira Perlmutter, a veteran policy expert at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as the 14th U.S. register of copyrights. Perlmutter will assume her role sometime in late October, at which time Maria Strong, who has served as acting register since January 2020, will return to her role as associate register of copyrights for policy and international affairs.

Shira brings to this role a deep knowledge of domestic and international copyright law and policy and a background in negotiating international intellectual property agreements, Hayden said in a statement announcing the appointment. She has experience working with a wide range of stakeholders and finding common ground on complex issues.

Hayden also praised Strong for her work as Acting Register. I appreciate Maria for stepping into the role of acting Register and for providing excellent leadership to the U.S. Copyright Office, Hayden said.

Perlmutter brings a wealth of experience to her new role. She has served since 2012 as the USPTO's chief policy officer and director for international affairs, working in all areas of intellectual property, including copyright. In her work, Perlmutter served as lead author on significant Department of Commerce papers on copyright issues, the Library of Congress press release notes, and she co-led the U.S. delegations that negotiated two copyright treaties at the World Intellectual Property Organization, including the Marrakesh Treaty and the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performance. Prior to her work in government, Perlmutter previously served as v-p and associate general counsel for intellectual property policy at Time Warner.

Im honored to have the opportunity to lead the U.S. Copyright Office during its 150th year, Perlmutter said in a prepared comment. I look forward to working with Dr. Hayden and rejoining the dedicated staff of the Copyright Office on its mission of promoting the creation and dissemination of works of authorship, to the benefit of the American public.

Perlmutter replaces Karyn Temple, who announced her departure from the Copyright Office in December of 2019, just months after her permanent appointment, to become the global general counsel of the Motion Picture Association. Prior to her permanent appointment, Temple earned high marks for her work to modernize and upgrade the office while serving as register in an acting capacity since October of 2016, following Haydens abrupt and controversial removal of then-register Maria Pallante, who is now president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers.

In a statement, AAP president and CEO Maria Pallante praised Hayden's selection of Perlmutter. As an exceptional copyright lawyer and government executive, Shira is immeasurably qualified to both lead the agency and guide the significant law and policy developments that are the Registers statutory mandate," Pallante said. "Under Shiras leadership, we look forward to the Copyright Office continuing its long history of open dialogue with the private sector, and its proud tradition of providing impartial service to the many members of Congress, government leaders, and international policymakers who depend on the Register and her team for expertise and advice."

Motion Picture Association Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin also praised the appointment. We applaud Dr. Hayden on her selection," Rivkin said, adding that Perlmutter has demonstrated a "commitment to supporting the rights of creators for the ultimate public good."

The American Library Association (ALA) also approved of Hayden's selection. "Ms. Perlmutters work with the library community on the U.S. implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty demonstrated a commitment to improved access to information resources and reading materials for print disabled persons in the United States and around the world," said ALA President Julius C. Jefferson, Jr., in a statement. "As digital copyright policy and modernization of the Copyright Office are at a critical stage of formation, Ms. Perlmutters ability to collaborate with both users of information and rights holders has the potential to bring balance to the expanding ecosystem of creators, consumers and copyright holders.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : Designer Dolly J's latest couture collection celebrates body confidence and ethnicity. The designer launched her collection 'Gulenaar' on Day 3 of the first-ever digital edition of the India Couture Week (ICW), organised by the Fashion Design Council of India, on Sunday.

A short, musical video shot inside a palace, the designer showcased a line-up of ensembles for "functional bridal wear" comprising traditional red bridal lehengas, western gowns, drapes and sarees.

Image Source: IANS News

"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within; nothing is more impressive than a "Gulenaar" who does not seek validation as she is confident in the extraordinary way Universe has created her," says Dolly commenting on the idea behind the collection.

"This collection is for the confident woman who is happy in her shape, size and colour," reveals the designer. "It's a very exuberant collection. It is suspended between dream and reality."

Image Source: IANS News

Dolly has heavily used intricate handwork of silver and gold threads over the lehengas to maintain the mood of the fat Indian wedding. Fabrics like luxe silk organza, woven with jacquard have been used in a rich palette with a mix of pastels and jewel tones.

-- Syndicated from IANS
The eight-year project is aimed at helping restore Brazils Atlantic Forest, known as the other Brazilian rainforest, with the planting of one million native trees.

Tree planting can be a powerful tool for curbing climate change and preserving the variety of animals, plants and ecosystems we have on our planet, said Alison Martin, Zurichs CEO Europe, Middle East & Africa and Bank Distribution. Its not always about how many trees you plant, but about their quality and ability to support other forms of life. With this project, we are contributing to an aspect of climate change mitigation that is often overlooked: biodiversity.

Successful reforestation requires planning, management and engagement. Over the next eight years, we want to inspire colleagues, customers and local communities to further recognise the importance of biodiversity.

The insurer believes that the significance of the project has only been ramped up by the COVID-19 pandemic  noting that if ecosystems deteriorate further, the natural barriers between humans and potential reservoirs of disease begin to break down.

With just 7% of Brazils original Atlantic Forest remaining, Zurichs contribution to the reforestation project will put 80 to 120 different species of trees on 700 hectares of land, gradually increasing the forests biodiversity and capturing carbon from the atmosphere.
Russia needs Crimea only as a military bridgehead in the Mediterranean basin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's permanent envoy for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Anton Korinevych says the Russian Federation has been mustering its troops in occupied Crimea for two reasons.

"Firstly, this is done permanently since Russia does not need Crimeans. It needs Crimea only as a military bridgehead in the Mediterranean basin. That is why an extremely large number of the advanced weapons have been delivered there to probable storage sites of nuclear weapons," he told Ukraine 24 TV channel.

According to Korinevych, a scheduled military exercise is the other reason.

"And now we have the case of the Kavkaz 2020 (Caucasus 2020) drills, accordingly, Russian military personnel from absolutely different parts of Russia are also being pulled towards Crimea, i.e. this also means a COVID-19 threat," he said.

Read also Ukraine's Defense Council on Russian military threat in the south: "Everything well sealed" Russia's Caucasus 2020 military drills and Ukraine's response
Austin, Texas, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lightspeed Systems (Lightspeed), the leading K-12 online safety and analytics platform, announces an integration with Microsoft Teams for its safety monitoring solution, Lightspeed Safety Check. Safety Check is used to monitor online student activity on and off campus and uses AI to detect and report potential threats and harmful behavior.

Lightspeed Safety Checks integration with Teams allows officials to monitor activity within Teams chat and Teams meeting chat and provides real-time alerts of students exhibiting signs of crisis. Since its launch last year, Safety Check has reported over 84,000 cases of potentially concerning student behavior, such as self-harm or violence toward others, helping school staff provide timely intervention. The collaboration with Teams and its chat capabilities amplifies the effectiveness of the platform.

The unprecedented switch to remote learning took a toll on students, heightening the need for monitoring solutions like Safety Check to provide schools the visibility needed to help students struggling, especially during these uncertain times, said Mike Durando, Vice President - Strategic Alliances, Lightspeed Systems. Safety Checks integration with Microsoft Teams expands on the critical safety monitoring schools need to protect students and save lives, wherever they are learning.

Lightspeed Systems solutions are used in schools worldwide to protect students online. The platform offers web filtering, classroom management software, device management, and analytics for any device, anywhere, for a truly comprehensive solution.

For more information, visit lightspeedsystems.com.

###

About Lightspeed Systems

Headquartered in Austin, Texas (with offices in Portland and the U.K.), Lightspeed Systems is the leading online safety and analytics platform for schools. Lightspeed uses advanced AI to monitor and analyze activity across the web for signs of self-harm, suicide, cyberbullying, and other inappropriate behaviors. When a potential threat is spotted, real-time alerts are sent to designated personnel, providing screenshots and other important information to drive appropriate intervention. Lightspeed is dedicated to helping schools worldwide provide a safe, mobile and manageable learning environment. Lightspeed serves over 15 million students in 35 countries and 28,000 schools globally, including 6,500 school districts in the United States.

To learn more, visit lightspeedsystems.com.

Attachment
The last few weeks have seen the farmers of Punjab take up arms against three laws being passed by Parliament.

Originally styled as ordinances, these were the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. The distress is largely about the first piece of legislation.

The soul of India lives in her villages, as was declared by the Mahatma. So, when laws are passed affecting the underlying substratum of agrarian life, there is bound to be turmoil. While legally permissible, the fact that the government first tried to sneak in these laws through ordinances as opposed to a properly debated legislation weakened confidence in them. There was after all no emergency need for such legislation through an ordinance. The ordinance had stated that the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action. One wonders what these urgent circumstances might have been. The fact that these ordinances have then been subsequently legitimised through legislation has not cured the trust deficit into which they were born.

AGRICULTURE A STATE SUBJECT

Apart from being labelled anti-farmer, pro-big conglomerate, questionable price protection mechanisms, these laws throw up a gamut of issues from the legal perspective. Agriculture is purely a state subject; so says entry 14 of List II of the seventh schedule to the Constitution. As is fisheries at entry 21, trade and commerce within the state at entry 26 and markets at entry 28. Even the non-existent taxes on farm incomes at entry 46. Hence, Parliament possesses no legal competence to enact such law and this is strictly within the legislative dominion of the state governments.

Ironically, the legislation states that it is to provide the freedom of choice relating to sale and purchase of farm produce and inter-state and intra-state trade. This no doubt drags it under entry 42 of the Union List of matters in the Constitution for which Parliament can legislate. But this choice was always there. We did not need a new law to affirm this.

A farmer in Punjab was free to sell his produce in Haryana; as was a farmer from Himachal Pradesh free to trade in Punjab. And, they did so. The legislation first sets up a superfluous objective to justify itself, and then pretends to achieve it.

Even the body of the legislation betrays signs of having been stretched to, on the one hand, retrofit itself into legal parameters of Parliaments legislative competence and on the other hand achieve the intended aim of substituting the states power of regulation of agro markets and produce.

Since Parliaments limited concurrent power to legislate under entry 33 of List III is confined to inter-state trade of foodstuffs, the law through the definition of farmers produce includes foodstuffs such as wheat, rice, or other coarse grains, pulses.

FINANCIALLY CRIPPLING EFFECT

By creating the definition of scheduled farmed produce which covers produce which is otherwise regulated by the state Acts, it directly impinges on the states power to regulate such produce. The convoluted definition of trade area when distilled means that but for mandis and other private markets under the existing state Act, virtually any and every part of the state of Punjab is a trade area and governed by this Central legislation.

The financially crippling effect of this is achieved through Section 6 which prohibits the states from imposing any market fee on such a trade area, effectively saying that the state can no longer impose a market fee on trade conducted in the physical space of its own state. This is nothing short of a territorial invasion through legislative action. A veritable Trojan Act.

APMC HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME

Nor was any of this necessary. Punjab already has the Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961, (APMC), which has stood the test of time. Despite its rustic origins, the mandis governed by the Mandi Board have grown organically to take care of the needs of all concerned; a perfect marriage of free trade and regulation. The necessity of being licensed to trade (just as in any other regulated activity) creates an umbrella of oversight and accountability. This is gravely missing in the new law.

Dispute resolution being conducted by/through the market committees has the local persuasive value that may not be completely substitutable by another system. For a farmer who may not have the confidence of a city education or a distribution network, a familiar face is often the impetus for ease of trade. There are numerous safety checks in the state Act missing in the Central law.

The true mission of this legislation is to what any state would loath, the decimation of the local market system and the abolition of the state/district mandi boards. The true purpose of legislation should be either to protect its citizens rights or to govern more effectively. It should never be used as a medium of subterfuge much less as a political weapon. It is unfortunate that this weapon is being fired off the shoulders of those who are perhaps the most fragile class of all: Farmers. They deserve a better harvest than this. an@atulnanda.com

The writer is advocate general of Punjab

Atul Nanda is the advocate general of Punjab (HT Photo)
Belarusian police have detained more than 20 people at a potash mine for supporting a second worker who has refused to return to the surface in protest against the state company's management and President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's government.



"Now [the miners] are being dealt with. Maybe some will be released. It will take time to find out who participated in the action and who did not. It is also possible that not all the miners have been detained," Serhiy Chabatarov, a spokesman for the Minsk regional police, told RFE/RL.



The protesters were supporting Aleh Kudzyolka, who handed a protest note to his labor union co-workers at the Belaruskali mine at the end of his shift on September 21 saying he would remain hundreds of meters underground until his demands were met.

According to the miners' union, Kudzyolka's demands include the resignation of the companys director and the release of other miners who have been detained in recent weeks while joining the political protests that have roiled Belarus.

Kudzyolka also demanded that Belarusian security forces stop detaining and beating demonstrators who have marched in Minsk and elsewhere in nearly daily demonstrations against Lukashenka.

Kudzyolka was the second miner at the Belaruskali potash mine in Salihorsk, 130 kilometers south of Minsk, to have staged a strike in solidarity with protesters. The other miner, Yury Korzun, was forcibly removed on September 10 after he spent more than four hours chained to a piece of machinery in the mine.

State-owned Belaruskali is one of the world's largest producers of potash, used in fertilizer. The company employs around 16,000 people and is an important source of hard currency for the Belarusian government.

Employees at Belaruskali and other state enterprises have staged sporadic work outages, in support of the protests that erupted after the August 9 presidential election. Local prosecutors, meanwhile, have threatened criminal charges against strike organizers.

Lukashenka, who has ruled the country since 1994, was declared the winner of an August 9 presidential election; opposition groups say their candidate won and that the figures were falsified. He has refused to meet with the opposition or agree to call a new election.

With reporting by Current Time
Leo Guinan ("he/him") has bravely and smugly gone public with his decision to blackmail his father for being a Trump-supporter. Unless Daddy changes his ways, he'll never see his grandchildren again. Guinan oozes self-righteous hatred. The only good thing about his post is that people were appalled and contemptuous.

Guinan describes himself in glowing terms:

Trying to share my experiences in a way that might help others. I can change the world. I will change the world. Even if for a single person. He/Him.

This wonderful human being wrote a now-viral post entitled, "Today I Gave My Dad A Choice: Trump or His Grandkids and His Son." He explains that he was traumatized by finding a Trump sign in his father's yard. And so, "pissed" and tearful, he sent his parents this message:

Due to the signs in the yard, the kids and I will not be down. The current occupant of the White House is preaching hate and violence, endangering the lives and safety of many of my friends. This is not acceptable to me at all. There is a complete disregard for women, minorities, science, ethics, and morality. Please consider if you support Trump that much. Because I hate him that much. I wanted to be upfront and honest about my feelings.

Fortunately for Guinan's happiness, after contemplating his decision to cut his parents off because he disagreed with them politically, he concluded, "I agreed with the message."

The appalled responses, some of which received hundreds of "claps" (Medium's version of "likes), are epic. Here's just a sampling:

And this was written by someone that believes they're the ones fighting facism. The cognitive dissonance is amazing to behold. Imagine how miserable his children will be. *** I'm a lifelong Democrat and I personally think you're a horrible person, even more so you've decided to broadcast this on the internet. To do this to your own parents perfectly expresses how morally bankrupt you are and reinforces conservatives claims about how nasty Democrats can be. *** Man....I have 9 yr old nieces more mature than you. You look as spoiled as the rest of these kids who demand things or they'll burn it down. If I can't have what I want than neither can you attitude is exactly what is making this Republic ill, not the President. Grow the heck up Leo *** Thinking that politics (and yard signs) is literally all that matters in the world is one of the most upsetting things about the modern world. You've been radicalized and you don't see yourself as such. Maybe take some acid and ask yourself if this is all that matters. Maybe there's more to friendship and family than just political alliance. *** So. For clarity. You decided to write a column about just how truly horrible a human being you are? I mean, I guess that's helpful for anyone who sees it. It's always good to know if someone has become so politically deranged that they place their ideological needs over their family. It helps sane people avoid them like the plague. So. Um. Thanks?

I also recommend a comment from "The Director's Chair," which is too long to quote in this post. It covers cult indoctrination leading to a willingness (eventually) to kill and discusses the liberty alternative.

Incidentally, Guinan's post is not a hoax but seems consistent with the man's other works. On September 7, he published "An Open Letter to My Dad ahead of the November election." He kindly recognized that his father is victimized, "[a]long with a good percentage of the population." The problem, he says, isn't that his father is a conservative; it's that he's a Republican:

Right now, the Republican party is something I have never seen. The level of corruption and simply evil people in some very powerful positions is something that quite literally resembles pre-WWII Germany. I can help you find the historians who are quite clearly making these arguments.

Surprise! A member of the leftist, statist, racist party that is threatening to burn down cities is labeling as "fascist" people who want smaller government and greater individual liberty.

Guinan also admits that he's no longer a Christian, but his father would do well to look to Christ because "I think He had some very good points." How generous of him.

In another post, Guinan confesses that, like so many on the left, he has mental health problems. Then, as most college graduates are trained to do, he makes his white woke confession:

I want to acknowledge my privilege. I grew up in a fortunate situation. I am a cishet white male. I have had struggles of course, but not nearly the struggles of others.

Back in the 1980s, I first heard the expression that Republicans think Democrats are misguided; Democrats think Republicans are evil. Democrats haven't changed. However, seeing the hysterical, hate-filled self-righteousness on the left isn't going to engender love or even respect from those on the right.

Image: Leo Guinan's soulmate. Twitter screen grab.
Jasmine Santiago of Jo-Ann Fabrics assists a customer outside in a social distancing line May 29 in Yakima.
Immigrants, refugees and asylees  these groups are one of the worlds greatest challenges today and the Bible provides profound resources for a theology of compassion and justice. M. Daniel Carroll R.s newest book, the The Bible and Borders, sketches for all readers of the Bible an accessible approach to the major biblical themes and modern solutions.

For Christians to discuss current immigration and deportations without considering the Bibles wide ranging texts is a failure to let our story shape our life. Carroll points us in the right direction.

Some may not be convinced. Here is his wise starting point:

First,these biblical passages demonstrate how central migrations are to much of the Old Testament. This awareness should alert us to how universal this phenomenon is, and ir can impact our understanding of what these texts portray and teach us. Second, these accounts depict how migrant people responded to circumstances. atthat time. These responses are similar to what Hispanic (and all) immigrants go through today. The text, in other words, can make readers more sensitive to the immigrant population and the challenges they face.

I agree, so lets move on, and we can but dip into his chapter since it covers so much ground.

He examines hunger, forced exile, and life as foreigners  all these illustrate migrations and the experience of life beyong migration/immigration.

Hunger

Abraham was a sojourner (Gen 17:18; 20:1; 21:34; 23:4), so too Isaac (35:27), Jacob (28:4) and his sons (47:4). God tells Abraham that he will be a stranger for 400 years (15:13). So much is this the case that a common expression is that my father was a wandering Aramean (Deut 26:5).

We could go on but the famine led the children of Israel to Egypt (Gen 12:10-20). That Nile River made Egypt a breadbasket. Carroll suggests Abrams lie about Sarai may have hunger as a motivation, and he would not be alone in that surmise.

Isaac acts because of famine (Gen 26:1, 6).

So too Jacob (41:57-42:6).

Under Joseph the whole family escapes famine (47:10-13).

Forced Exile

I will use his example of Daniel here. Taken from homeland to Babylon: Dan 1:1, 3-4. He was to be nurtured into the ways of Babylon because he was talented.

Image: Cover Photo

Powerless people, accommodating people, faithful people. Thats the big idea complex in Daniel. They lost everything, including their names.

They are powerless so they use food as their form of resistance.

We find lots of this theme in the deportations of the Northern and Southern kingdoms to Assyria and Babylon and then under Persia the return of the Judeans.

Summary: during famine and under force Israelites over and over experienced migration, deportation and, in effect, immigration while they fought to sustain their identity as Gods people.

Life as Foreigners

Here is where the parallel with today becomes far more consistent.

In Egypt reduced to slavery, Israel finds creative ways to live and assimilate, survive, resist and all surrounded by prayers to their God for redemption and liberation.

It was not the same for all for the longer one lived in a foreign country the more the assimilation. So we look at suggestive patterns in Judean experience in Babylon

According to this perspective, successive generations of those in exile evaluated their circumstances differently and held dissimi-lar theological views. For example, a passage like Psalm 137 would reflect the visceral feelings of adults who went through the forced removal to Babylon after the conflicts of 597 and 586. The letter of Jeremiah 29, on the other hand, is said to be directed at what now wouJd be called the 1.5 generation-that is, adolescents who accompanied their parents on that journey but now were thinking of ways to flourish in their new land. This interpretation of exilic realities raises several interesting issues: How might those of the 597 displacement have interacted with those who arrived later-that is, the ones who lived through the horrors of a devastating war and the destruction of Jerusalem in 586? By that time, those who had come earlier and under very different circumstances may have already adjusted to the Babylonian context to some degree.Could they understand their countrymens trauma? How did the children and later descendants of each group engage one another? Did Jewish views on the exile and God shift over time? These are questions that we may never be able to answer. Attempts to connect passages with specific groups can be subjective, but these sorts of issues are common to migration in history.

What then can we learn?

The Bibles realism is our reality: famine, war, conflict, deportations.

Its realism about life in exile is ours too, as is the return to the homeland not unlike modern hope and reality.

They are vulnerable people, talented people, accommodating and surviving people. I have often learned of life like this from taxi drivers who in their homeland were engineers and doctors and professors but who, for various reasons, have escaped and come to the USA because of its freedom. I often have learned of the adaptibility as well as restrictions on such persons.

Theology is explored in all directions by these people in Bible times. Why is this happening? How can we sustain our hope? What theology do we need to cope and flourish?

Mission occurs as well. While there the exiled people  the immigrants  became a missional presence of their God. Think of Daniel. Joseph blessed Egypt.

Also, we might learn to see ourselves as exiles in a strange land in our world today as Christians. This is how Peter depicts his readers and it is how Hauerwas and Willimon have sketched our life today in their wonderful book Resident Aliens.

Assimilation is but one strategy for the immigrant, but expect such persons among us to want to preserve their culture and not simply learn our language and ways of life. We are a country that has historically welcomed others, and we as Christians are to be the vanguard because, like Israel, our people too were wandering Arameans.
Los Angeles:

E-cigarettes - thought to be responsible for a decline in youth cigarette smoking - are actually attracting a new population of adolescents who might not otherwise have smoked tobacco products, a new US study has warned.

Researchers at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) did not find any evidence that e-cigarettes have caused youth smoking to decline in the US.

In fact, combined e-cigarette and cigarette use among adolescents in 2014 was higher than total cigarette use in 2009, according to the study.

The researchers concluded that the low-risk youth in the study, who went on to smoke regular cigarettes, may not have used nicotine at all if e-cigarettes did not exist.

We did not find any evidence that e-cigarettes are causing youth smoking to decline, said Lauren Dutra, a former postdoctoral fellow at the UCSF Centre for Tobacco Control Research and Education.

While some of the kids using e-cigarettes were also smoking cigarettes, we found that kids who were at low risk of starting nicotine with cigarettes were using e-cigarettes, Dutra said.

Recent declines in youth smoking are likely due to tobacco control efforts, not to e-cigarettes, said Dutra.

The analysis builds on several previous studies that have reported that adolescents who start with e-cigarettes are more likely to subsequently smoke traditional cigarettes.

In the new study, the researchers examined survey data from more than 140,000 middle and high school students who completed the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)s National Youth Tobacco Survey between 2004 and 2014.

The researchers found that cigarette smoking among US adolescents declined during that decade, but did not decline faster after the advent of e-cigarettes in the US between 2007 and 2009.

The researchers also performed an in-depth analysis of the psychosocial characteristics of e-cigarette users.

Research has established that smokers tend to display certain characteristics that non-smokers are less likely to show, such as a tendency to live with a smoker or to wear clothing that displays a tobacco product logo.

The smokers in the national youth survey displayed these characteristics, but the adolescents who were only using e-cigarettes displayed few of these qualities.

E-cigarettes are encouraging - not discouraging - youth to smoke and to consume nicotine, and are expanding the tobacco market, said Stanton A Glantz, professor of medicine at UCSF.

The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.
After mortgage lender HDFC Ltd and private sector ICICI Bank, the People's Bank of China has now made equity investment in one of India's largest NBFCs, Bajaj Finance. In a paper on banking reforms, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and former RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya have explained why the Indian banking sector is in shambles currently. Defending the farm bills that were passed in the Rajya Sabha, PM Modi said that it will change the economic conditions of farmers. Read for more top stories from the world of business and economy:

1. After HDFC and ICICI Bank, the People's Bank of China now invests in Bajaj Finance

Chinese central bank's investment in Bajaj's financial services arm is less than 1.0 per cent, and hence not reflected in the shareholding pattern of the company filed with the stock exchanges.

2. 'Grand bargains' 50 years ago to lazy lending: Rajan, Acharya explain why Indian banking is in shambles

With limited lending options and country's need for infrastructure, PSBs are increasingly choosing to lend huge amounts to large projects, especially in infrastructure, said Rajan and Acharya.

3. E-healthcare platform Medtalks sees 10,000% growth in 6 months

The tech-driven platform that offers Continuous Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes for healthcare professionals, trained over 100,000 healthcare professionals over the last 6 months.

4. Logistics startups pin hopes on festive season; see COVD-19 vaccine delivery as opportunity

Badly hit by the coronavirus lockdown, multiple logistics startups are eagerly waiting for the festive season for demand revival.

5. PM Modi defends farm bills once again; says will change economic condition of farmers

Farm bills row: This change in farming sector is the need of the present hour and our government has brought this reform for farmers, said PM Modi.
Lionel Messi has bid an emotional farewell to Arturo Vidal, who has left Barcelona for Inter Milan. Vidal is set to be announced as ...

Lionel Messi has bid an emotional farewell to Arturo Vidal, who has left Barcelona for Inter Milan.

Vidal is set to be announced as a Nerazzurri player on Monday, after the Serie A club posted updates on his arrival last weekend.

The 33-year-old, who previously played in Italy for Juventus, is set for a 1million move after two years at Barca.

Vidal and Luis Suarez are Messis close friends in the Nou Camp dressing and they have both been reportedly told to leave by new manager, Ronald Koeman.

I only knew you from facing each other and you always seemed like a phenomenon to me, but later I was lucky to meet you personally and you surprised me even more.

They were two years sharing many things and you made yourself noticed. The dressing room is going to miss you.

I wish you all the best in this new stage at your new club. We will cross paths again, for sure, Messi wrote about Vidal on Instagram.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 11:48:48|Editor: huaxia

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by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Just two months before the tightest presidential race in recent memory, it remains unknown where the United States will stand on foreign relations after voters cast their ballots.

But experts said if challenger Joe Biden is elected, his foreign policy stance on such issues relating to multilateralism, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran will be different compared to that of the current administration.

RETURN TO MULTILATERALISM

"The biggest difference should be in Biden's preference for a return to multilateralism, versus Trump's emphasis on unilateralism," Douglas Paal, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Xinhua.

Paal said, however, that predicting how Biden will address the greatly changed circumstances of today's world requires a close look at the individual situations that Biden might be required to address, rather than predicting straight line continuity.

Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon told Xinhua that if elected, Biden "would seek to reinvigorate multilateral collaboration on climate, among other things."

LESS PERSONAL ON DPRK

Trump is the only sitting U.S. president ever to have stepped foot inside the DPRK.

The president believed early in his administration that a close, personal relationship with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un would form the basis of a change in policy.

Paal said Biden would likely be less personally involved in dealing with Pyongyang than was Trump, who aimed to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula by creating a personal relationship with Kim.

Many of Biden's advisers have argued for more concrete progress on the Korean Peninsula, and that would probably entail significant tactical difference, Paal said.

Troy Stangarone, senior director at the Washington-based non-profit Korea Economic Institute, had similar thoughts.

"The Trump administration's efforts have been personality-driven, but the summits in Hanoi and Singapore have demonstrated that personality cannot substitute for policy in negotiating with Pyongyang," Stangarone said, noting the 2018 and 2019 summits that ultimately ended in stalled negotiations.

Stangarone said a Biden administration would likely work to restore the foundations of U.S. policy and leverage in talks with the DPRK.

REVITALIZATION OF IRAN DEAL

Biden was part of the administration that inked the Iran nuclear deal, which the Trump administration later scrapped.

David Pollock, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Xinhua it is very likely that Biden would return to the deal, although the agreement would include some additions.

However, a Biden administration would not simply snap the deal back into place and drop all the sanctions, Pollock said, as Washington believes the nuclear deal fell short of addressing issues including terrorism, missiles and militias.

Dalia Dassa Kaye, director of the Center for Middle East Public Policy at the RAND Corporation, told Xinhua that a Biden administration would likely be staffed with key personnel who negotiated the Iran deal.

A Biden policy on Iran would likely entail a more serious and sustained commitment to renew diplomacy with Iran and revitalize the Iran nuclear agreement, Kaye said. Enditem
The slaying of a disabled mother and 11-year daughter in their home by two brothers has been given justice. Five years after the horrendous pair slew the family, they were arrested by the police and charged for homicide.

In Detroit, Michigan, the double slaying of a disabled mother and her 11-year-old daughter has been resolved with the arrest of the alleged killers. Identified as Henry Johnson, 35 years old, he was charged with murder on September 15. His arrest came after the apprehension of Tony Johnson, 40, on the same charges for double slaying, reported Meaww.

Both of the white victims, Tina and Kristina Geiger were killed in 2013, sustaining multiple stab wounds when they were assaulted in their apartment. The alleged murderers are Henry and Tony Johnson, who entered their unit and started their killing spree.

Sources say that the mother and daughter have developmental problems but are self-sufficient. They were checked on regularly by a social worker when the two have not been seen by the social worker. The immediate family was alarmed and requested authorities to check on them. Their corpses were found soon after, noted Fox2Detroit.

Henry Johnson was caught at his Detroit residence with two incidences of homicide for an open murder. This was the statement of the Clinton Township Police Department on September 16. Tony Johnson was caught in the dragnet with double homicide cases as well. His prints matched those in the crime scene, specifically a bloody handprint, reported the Free Press.

Investigators found out that Henry used to reside in the complex that the Geiger's lived and died in. Coincidentally, right after the Geiger double homicide, he chose to leave the complex. However, the Johnsons are not aware that the CCTV camera at a local 7-Eleven store had caught a footage of them near the two victims hours before the slaying happened.

Also read: Russian Ballerina Dismembered, Dissolved in Sulfuric Acid Amid Fears of Lewd Picture Leak

Investigators know the Johnsons killed the Geigers in cold blood but were not aware of the pair's cause of death. No forced entry was indicated in the Geiger's flat.

Attorney Sherriee Detzler, who defended Henry, said on the September 16 hearing that he is married and has six kids. He was asked to go back to his old job recently. His defender asked for a bond that will be fair to the defendant, and a GPS tether for him, adding that the seriousness of the charge is well understood. He also said that he has no felonies from early 2000 onwards.

Kristina Geiger went to the Glen H. Peters, a school that in the Macomb Intermediate School district, when she was killed violently by the Johnsons. Her school principal was saddened by Kristina's death, said Krissy (her nickname) had a nice smile, and worked hard as a cheerleader. He said that Tina was a good and attentive mother.

According to court records dated 2010, Tina was bipolar with slight mental retardation. As a single mom, she took care of Kristina and is well-liked. The motive of the crime is not yet known.

Related article: Pedophile Kills Divorcee Mother's Two Young Girls by Shredding Them Cruelly With a Knife

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The US Centers for Disease Control has admitted for the first time that coronavirus is airborne as it updated its guidelines on how the virus spreads.

The agency previously said the disease was spread via large droplets expelled when a patient coughs and sneezes, infecting people in close contact with them.

But the new guidelines, updated on Friday, acknowledge 'growing evidence' that the virus can be spread via very small droplets expelled when a patient breathes, can linger in the air, and travel further than six feet.

Airborne viruses 'are among the most contagious and easily spread', the CDC warns, while advising people to use air purifiers to clean the air in indoor spaces, in addition to wearing masks, washing hands, and isolating if you are sick.

The CDC has acknowledged 'growing evidence' that coronavirus is airborne, meaning the virus can linger in the air and infect people further than six feet from a sufferer (file image)

Previously, the CDC advice said that coronavirus is spread 'through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.'

HOW DOES COVID-19 SPREAD? The World Health Organization says the virus that causes Covid-19 is primarily transmitted between people through respiratory droplets, which come out of the airways when people breathe. Droplets, which contain saliva, mucous and other substances from the airways, including viruses, are larger than pure air particles. After being expelled from the body they travel short distances before falling to the floor, which is why social distancing is so crucial. The droplets, which can carry viruses, can land directly into another person's nose or mouth if not caught in a tissue. Or, they fall due to gravity and land on surfaces, where it can live for up to three days. If someone else touches that contaminated surface, the virus can transfer onto their hand and then enter the body and cause infection next time they touch their eyes, nose or mouth. The WHO says it is now looking at the evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is airborne. Airborne transmission is different from droplet transmission as it refers to the presence of microbes within droplet nuclei, which are generally considered to be particles less than 5m in diameter. They can remain in the air for long periods of time, meaning transmission can occur when the contagious person has left the room, and be transmitted to others over distances greater than one metre. Advertisement

But it now says the virus spreads 'through respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols, produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks or breathes'.

'There is growing evidence that droplets and airborne particles can remain suspended in the air and be breathed in by others,' the guidance says.

'[These particles] travel distances beyond 6 feet (for example, during choir practice, in restaurants, or in fitness classes).

'In general, indoor environments without good ventilation increase this risk.'

The move comes after the World Health Organization changed its own guidelines in July to acknowledge that it 'is possible' to become infected by airborne transmission.

However, both the CDC and WHO still say that close and prolonged contact with an infected person is the most common way that the disease spreads.

The changing advice means coronavirus is much more infectious than previously thought, and that measures including social distancing might not be enough to stop all infections from occurring - particularly in confined, poorly ventilated spaces.

If the virus is only spread only via cough or sneeze droplets, then proper social distancing should prevent nearly all infections, because these droplets sink quickly to the ground after a person coughs or sneezes.

If the droplets land on surfaces they may be picked up by a person who touches that surface, which is why hand washing was stressed as a preventative measure.

But a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that the virus can survive in the air on much smaller droplets that are expelled even when a person breathes.

Because the droplets are so small they do not fall to the floor right away, and instead linger in the air where they can be breathed in by others.

The fact that the droplets linger also means they can drift further than six feet away from an infected person, potentially passing the disease along to someone who was never in close contact with them.

Evidence that the virus is airborne will alarm world leaders who had based their prevention strategies on the assumption that the virus could not spread across large distances (pictured, reporters socially distance at a Joe Biden rally)

Measles and tuberculosis can be spread via aerosols, and are considered highly infectious.

Wearing masks helps to prevent against airborne diseases - with world governments now increasingly adopting such measures as the science changes.

The WHO changed its guidance after 239 scientists in 32 countries wrote to the UN agency asking it to acknowledge the growing evidence the virus is airborne.

One professor who signed the paper said there will be concern to label the virus airborne because it may cause panic.

Benedetta Allegranzi, the WHO's technical lead for infection prevention and control, acknowledged at the time that evidence of airborne transmission was emerging -but that it still needed to be carefully studied.

'The possibility of airborne transmission in public settings - especially in very specific conditions, crowded, closed, poorly ventilated settings that have been described, cannot be ruled out,' she said.

'However, the evidence needs to be gathered and interpreted, and we continue to support this.'

The CDC updated its advice to recommend the use of air purifiers in indoor spaces to filter out virus particles, having already advised people to use face masks (pictured, CDC Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield)

The novel coronavirus, or Covid-19, was first detected in Wuhan, China, at the end of last year when it caused a cluster of infections centered around a seafood market.

Since then it has spread rapidly to almost every country on earth, infecting more than 31million people, according to a WHO tally.

The US is the world's worst-hit country with 6.8million infections, though India - with 5.4million - has the world's fastest-growing outbreak and is due to overtake it in the coming weeks.

Almost 1million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to official counts, though this is widely believed to be an under-estimate.

Ongoing problems with testing even in developed countries means that, often, only patients with severe infections are able to have a diagnosis confirmed.

This is significant because many patients are thought to exhibit only mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.

This is thought to be a majority of cases, though evidence around asymptomatic infections remains unclear.

The US has also suffered almost 200,000 deaths from the virus which is by far the highest global total. The next-highest is Brazil, which has recorded 136,000.
With our mantra of, Speak Simply, Be Real, and Challenge the Audience, well address the most current, relevant and emerging Customer Success topics.

BIG RYG is the annual conference for Customer Success leaders and their teams that is taking place on Thursday, October 8, 2020. An acronym for Red, Yellow and Green, RYG represents the common indicators of customer health. This free half-day virtual event focuses on what it takes to deliver exceptional ongoing customer value at all levels of your organization.

With our mantra of, Speak Simply, Be Real, and Challenge the Audience, well address the most current, relevant and emerging Customer Success topics, says ChurnZero CEO & Founder, You Mon Tsang. We want to have fun but want to keep gimmicks to a minimum. BIG RYG will focus on the people and the content. And the content will not be about Silicon-Valley problems like how we grew easily to ten gazillion dollars or how I magically hired 100 people in a month after raising $100M dollars. It will be catered to those of us working hard to build growing, strong and sustainable businesses, however we measure it.

The BIG RYG virtual conference offers two tracks of Customer Success focused learning. The speaker lineup and conference program will include these among many other sessions:



Gainsight, G2 and Pendo CEOs Discuss the Future of the Customer, Moderated by ChurnZero (Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight; Godard Abel, CEO and Founder of G2; Todd Olson, CEO and Founder of Pendo)

Customer Success Should Own the Business Relationship: An Oxford-Style Debate (Kassie Anderson, Director of Client Success at GrubHub; Mike Davis, VP of Sales at TaskRay; Amanda Ingraham, Director of Customer Success at 15Five; Shawna Vandenheuvel, VP of Client Services at iContact)

Bridging the Gap Between Customer Success and Product (Erica Swint-Williams, Margarita Caraballo, and Margaret Heck from Mailchimp)

View of Customer Success and Customer Churn from the Board Room and VC / Investor Meetings (Joanna Arras, Principal at Baird; Julia Taxin, Partner at Grotech, Van Jones, Partner at Drive Capital and Jennifer Griffin, VP of CS at TrustRadius)

BIG RYG sponsors include ESG, The Success League, TaskRay, Sendoso, Higher Logic, ZoomInfo, Insided, Motiio and The Customer Success Association.

Register to attend for free at http://www.bigryg.com.

About ChurnZero:

ChurnZero helps subscription businesses fight customer churn. Its software solutions allow businesses to understand how their customers use their product, asses their health and their likelihood to renew, and give businesses the means to personalize the customer experience through timely and relevant touchpoints. ChurnZero is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and is backed by leading angles and venture capital firms such as Baird Capital, Grotech Ventures and Middleland Capital. For more information, visit https://www.churnzero.net.
- Teen actor Rahim Banda has shared a new photo with his girlfriend, Janiece

- The photo has Banda and Janiece rocking fine African dresses

- The young couple looked dazzling in their outfits

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana

Teen actor and Free SHS ambassador, Rahim Banda, has released a new stunning photo with his girlfriend, Janiece.

Banda and Janiece recently came up in the news after photos and videos of them spending time together popped up.

The videos and photos which were captured after the two went on couple-themed photoshoot at the beach won them admiration.

Photo source: Instagram/Rahim Banda

Source: Instagram

READ ALSO: Kumawood actress Sandra Sarfo Ababio drops 4 hot and spicy photos on her birthday

Just like those videos and photos which were first published by YEN.com.gh, the young couple's new photo is also very admirable.

The new photo has Banda and Janiece looking very dazzling and good together as they posed for the camera.

In the lovely photo sighted by YEN.com.gh, the young lovebirds are seen wearing African wear outfits.

While Banda wears blue-coloured kaftan-like outfit, Janiece rocks a blue-coloured dress made from Africa print.

The photo was shared on Instagram by Banda who had nothing to say but caption it with the hashtag #voltatourism.

READ ALSO: Greater Accra region's Naa wins Ghana's Most Beautiful 2020; beautiful photos drops

It is not known where this photo was taken or for what purpose it was taken but looking at the caption, the couple went on a tour or an official assignment.

The photo of Banda and his girlfriend got many of the actor's followers hailing and praising them as perfect for each.

The relationship of Banda and Janiece only surfaced on social media a few months ago.

As reported by YEN.com.gh, the actor shared the stunning images of Janiece on his Instagram Stories and indicated the crown fits her.

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Banda, a former school prefect at Ghana National College, had completed SHS and entered the University of Ghana.

Banda was appointed a Free SHS ambassador in 2018 while in secondary school at Ghana National College in Cape Coast.

A few weeks ago, the government of Ghana provided a brand new car to Rahim Banda to aid his duties as the Free SHS ambassador.

The Ghana Education Trust Fund gave a brand new pickup to Banda as he supports the governments flagship education programme.

Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition?

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page

Source: YEN.com.gh
New Delhi, Sep 21 : The AIIMS medical board will hold a meeting with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, on Tuesday to discuss the findings of the probe done by the agency and the CFSL teams that went to Mumbai, and then decide on the next course of action, sources said on Monday.

According to CBI sources, the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) forensic team will meet the agency's Special Investigation Team (SIT) team members at its headquarters in south Delhi's Lodhi road area.

The source said that after studying the report of the CFSL and the CBI's SIT, the AIIMS medical board will share its final conclusion on whether there was any foul play in the death of the late actor.

The source said that the agency will also share its findings with the AIIMS forensic team and then decide on the next course of action.

After taking over the case of Sushant's death on August 6, the CBI team had roped in the AIIMS forensic team for its assistance in studying the autopsy report prepared by the Cooper Hospital, the crime scene recreation and to guide the federal agency if there was any foul play in his death.

The AIIMS forensic team headed by Dr. Sudhir Gupta formed a medical board and the team also visited the Bandra flat of Sushant and recreated the crime scene.

The AIIMS team was also assisted by Sushant's sister Mitu Singh and late actor's flatmate Siddharth Pithani and personal staff Dipesh Sawant, Neeraj Singh and Keshav Bachne.

Earlier, AIIMS sources have said that the forensic team is in the process of perusal of case after due medical board meeting and subsequent meeting with the CBI.

The AIIMS source said a medical board opinion will be given to the CBI which will be totally "conclusive" without any confusion or doubts.

The AIIMS source also said that the CFSL findings and the CBI investigation findings have to be studied before giving a final medical opinion.

The CBI team had gone to Mumbai along with the forensic team on August 20, a day after the Supreme Court gave its nod to the CBI probe into the death of the late actor. The team has stayed in Mumbai for almost a month.

The CBI team during its stay in Mumbai recorded the statements of Sushant's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, father Indrajit, his house manager Samuel Miranda, flatmate Siddharth Pithani, former celebrity manager Shruti Modi, talent manager Jaya Saha, personal staff Neeraj Singh, Keshav Bachne, Dipesh Sawant and several others.

The CBI team also recorded the statement of Sushant's sister Mitu Singh in Mumbai, and his father K. K. Singh and elder sister Rani Singh in Delhi.

The CBI's SIT also visited Sushant Singh's flat and the Cooper Hospital several times. His autopsy was done in the Cooper Hospital.

The team also visited the Waterstone resort, where Sushant stayed for many months.

Besides CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) are also probing the death of Sushant.

The NCB has arrested Rhea, Showik, Miranda, Sawant and several others in the drug related case.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)

Latest updates on Sushant Singh Rajput Death Mystery

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New research points to a resilient European Tech growth engine, however limited exit options beyond IPO for European Unicorns

Today Finch Capital issued its annual State of European FinTech report for 2020. The report covers a range of topics impacting the FinTech industry: where we are today; the impact of CV-19; the M&A conundrum; and trends the Finch Capital team anticipates will shape FinTech in 2021. This follows an analytical report published in April of this year titled 'FinTech: The Future Post CV-19'.

"Although the 2020 situation looks good at first glance, European Governments have provided a huge amount of support for FinTech startups. This support offset the decline in institutional funding but this was a one off initiative. In the next six to 12 months, startups and scale-ups will face a harsher market test for raising additional funding due as the government funding slows and VCs funds get maxed out, consequently focusing remaining fund capacity on their winners," says Radboud Vlaar, Managing Partner at Finch Capital.

Key findings:

Overall, FinTech is a resilient European Tech growth engine for nowEuropean FinTech funding by VCs and PE firms in H1 2020 is reported to be down by around 10%, but when corrected for Government funding it is up 20%. This is because the funding databases only record publicly announced equity rounds, while most government funding went in as a convertible debt note and so was not disclosed.

Impact of the lockdown on the FinTech sectors was in line with our predictions, except for Payments and Mortgages that both went up, contrary to what we predicted. For payments, travel rebounded faster than expected and e-commerce skyrocketed 210% as brick and mortar shops closed and people were stuck at home. Challenger banks (less travel and FX) and Commercial Real Estate (drop in use of offices, shops etc). Trading firms benefited from the volatility, and InsurTech and Enabling FinTech (such as AI) performed as expected with continued strong demand for digital solutions.

Analysis of the top 50 European FinTech hiring and firing, showed startups took this chance to reevaluate cost inefficiencies. Coupled with government support programs, they reduced headcount on sales teams given limited in person sales meetings and increased customer support and lived to fight another day.

We expect the next 12 months to be dynamic as fundraising becomes more selective and drops in Q4 and 2021 which will be a harsh reality for the many shake out and down round candidates whose runway got extended into 2021.

European FinTech M&A Momentum hindered by lack of big bold buyers and fragmentation: Despite the M&A boom in the US, Europe lacks big ticket M&A buyers for FinTechs, and challenger banks in particular. As illustrated in our 2019 edition,we have seen no venture backed exits for FinTechs greater than EUR 0.5B in Europe in the last year. For scale-ups below EUR 0.5B, we expect to see massive consolidation by FinTechs (e.g. Like the recent acquisition of Vouch by Goodlord) and corporates with a strong focus on profitability to meet the needs of Private Equity firms as potential buyers.

Big trends that will shape 2021: From cracking the exit path of the challenger banks to the rise of global privacy and consolidation of fragmented players there will be a lot of opportunity in the sector with a new focus on profitability.

Vlaar continues: "A shakeout of the European FinTech is not necessarily bad. In the last five years Europe has seen 100,000s of new companies raise massive amounts of capital, build and start selling new products to meet a market need. Sometimes hundreds of companies are trying to solve a similar problem in different countries. This creates an opportunity for investors to consolidate and back winners at attractive prices and make profitable companies, these companies then can become acquisition targets for Private Equity firms and large industry incumbents."

About Finch Capital

Finch Capital is a venture capital firm that has been investing in software that transforms financial and enterprise technology sectors including Artificial Intelligence and IoT. It has a track-record of backing future industry champions in Europe and SouthEast Asia including Aylien, BUX, Brickblock, Brytlyt, Fixico, Fouthline, Goodlord, Grab, Hiber, Safened, Twisto and Trussle. Finch Capital consists of a team of 12 investment professionals with wide entrepreneurial experience (e.g. Adyen and Arista), prior investment experience (e.g. Accel, Atomico, Khazannah) and industry backgrounds (e.g. Facebook, Google and McKinsey), located across offices in Amsterdam, London and Jakarta. For more information see www.finchcapital.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200921005902/en/

Contacts:

If you have any questions regarding the report feel free to reach out to us:

Rebecca Geller

press@finchcapital.com
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez has rescinded his contract at Camp Nou and verbally agreed to join Atletico Madrid, according to several reports. Catalan media outlet Mundo Deportivo and national broadcaster Deportes Cuatro both state that Suarez has come to an arrangement with Barcelona to allow him to leave on a free transfer and has come to the decision to join Diego Simeone at the Metropolitano. Separately, Atletico are trying to arrange a loan deal for Alvaro Morata to return to Juventus after the Serie A giants ruled out a move for Suarez.

Luis Suarez offered two-year Atletico contract

MANU FERNANDEZ (AFP)

Atletico have reportedly offered the Uruguay forward a two-year contract to lure him to the capital after Ronald Koeman made it clear he is not part of his plans at Barcelona this season.

AS understands that Atletico are working on three scenarios: the arrival of Suarez and the departure of either Morata or Diego Costa. The most likely option as it stands is that Morata will return to Juventus, who are combing the market for a striker and would probably be keen on a loan for their former player.

Sky Sports Italia have suggested Juventus will be asked to hand over a 10m loan fee for Morata with an option to buy the Spain forward for 45m. At the moment, Atletico have received no firm offers for Costa.
Jodie Turner-Smith has said she would love to work with husband Joshua Jackson and spoke about how much she values him as a partner.

The Queen and Slim star and the Dawsons Creek actor, who welcomed their first child together in April during lockdown after a four-day labour, recently celebrated their two-year anniversary.

She told Porter magazine: Im really in love with my husband. That might be weird for people, but Im doing a pretty good job of not shouting that from the rooftops as much as I would like to.

Hes a really amazing dude. Todays actually our two-year anniversary. Its only gotten better and I feel so grateful for that.

Thats why I share it sometimes, because I love him, I think hes hot, I think hes smart and hes incredibly talented. I feel so lucky to be in a relationship with somebody who feels the same about me, who is not shy about telling me that or uplifting me.

Asked if they might ever work together, she said: I would love to work with him on stage. Im excited for what else hes going to do in his career.

This is kind of a new wave for him. Hes now a man in his forties whos been acting since he was a child. Hes become a new man, a husband and father.

Turner-Smith gave birth to her first child at home supported by her husband, a doula, her obstetrician, a midwife and mother and said: Right after I gave birth, my husband washed her, and the midwife and doula cleaned everything up.

Video of the Day

Then me, my husband and my daughter, we just slept for a good 12 hours. I needed that. We needed that.

She said she now feels she has a lot to be thankful for and look forward to, despite the events of this year, saying: Its a hopeful thing to decide to have a child. Its a hopeful thing to decide to love in this moment.

As much as I am exhausted, as much as I am heartbroken about things that are happening and continue to happen, at my essence I am hopeful, otherwise I wouldnt be here celebrating my two-year anniversary with my husband, who I love dearly, and our daughter, who we brought into the world just a little while ago.

She now feels optimistic about the change that lies ahead for opportunities for black creatives and said: Whatever it is that makes people want to open the door  whether its white guilt or a sincere desire for allyship  its happening.

Its creating more opportunities for us to tell more stories, and when those stories are told, its going to create an opportunity for the storytellers coming up behind.

The same thing happened with the #MeToo movement  suddenly all these female directors were getting opportunities, but no matter if its tokenism, were getting in the door.

She added: The fact that the door is even opening a crack The water rushes in and then the door gets pushed back a little, but the weight of that water is going to keep pushing the door open further.

What remains a fact is the resilience of black people; is the joy of black people; is the beauty of black people. Its great when we can get the mainstream to listen and to care about accolades for those stories, but whether or not its happening, were here, were not going anywhere and were going to tell our stories.
NSW is two weeks away from an open border with Queensland if no mystery cases are left untraced by October 6, as airlines announce they will add more flights to their schedules.

But Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged her Queensland counterpart to bring down the border now after NSW recorded zero new locally-acquired cases on Tuesday.

There were also just two cases among returned travellers in hotel quarantine detected in the 24-hours to 8pm on Monday.

The good news kept coming as South Australia announced it would reopen to NSW from Thursday and Queensland would extend its border community bubble to include five more areas in northern NSW.

From 1am on October 1, residents in Byron Bay, Ballina, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Glen Innes local government areas will be able to travel to Queensland after applying for a border pass - in effect opening the state to 41 NSW postcodes.

Queensland could reopen the border to all of NSW on October 6, if NSW Health authorities are able to trace every new COVID-19 case acquired in the meantime.

Read the full story here.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:12:24|Editor: huaxia

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MOGADISHU, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 Shabab militants were killed on Sunday in a military operation in the Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia, a military officer said on Monday.

Several Shabab extremists were also injured in the operation in Barire town, said Ahmed Hassan Siyad, 143 Section commander of the Somali National Army.

"We discovered the militants' presence in the area and launched an attack on them, killing 12 of their fighters," Siyad told the media.

The army also removed landmines placed by the militants in the neighborhood, he said.

Government forces have intensified operations against al-Shabab in the southern regions, where the militants are still hiding in the rural areas and conducting ambushes and planting landmines. Enditem
- The ancient walls of Benin have been said to be a strong pointer to the fact that Africans were advanced in knowledge before modern civilisation

- The walls all came down during the 1897 expedition sponsored by the British, a thing that almost erased that rich historical era

- However, there are still places in the Benin Kingdom like the house in Obasagbon, that has features of that ancient period

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Emerging facts by The African History have shown the Benin Kingdom, one of the oldest cities in Africa, as one of the wonders of the world before the modern age.

The same media said that the wall of the kingdom was razed during the 1897 expedition, adding that the act really affected the history of Benin and the proof that there were African civilisations before modernism.

Longer than China Wall

For more than four centuries, the walls were a fortress as it protected the people of Edo and their civilization. Quoting Fred Pearce of New Scientist, it said that the walls were four times longer than Chinas Great Wall.

In all, they are four times longer than Chinas Great Wall and have absorbed a hundred times more content than the Great Cheops Pyramid. It took an estimated 150 million hours of digging to create and is possibly the planets largest single archaeological phenomenon, he said.

Made it into Guinness Book of Records

Fred went ahead to say that the Guinness Book of Records (1974 edition) described the Benin walls as the largest earthworks in the world carried out before the mechanical age.

The captain of the Portuguese ship, Lourenco Pinto, in 1691 was also amazed by it all as he commended the height of the structure.

A collage of the pictures showing the wall. Photo source: The African History

Source: UGC

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They all came crumbling down

The loss of the history of the wall started in the 15th century, a thing that was made worse by border conflicts and the expedition in the 1980s by the British that completely ruined the city.

After that horrible incident, no effort was made towards restoring the walls of the city. An architecture that bears proof of the formidable wall is a house in Obasagbon bearing features of the ancient city.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that when it comes to culture and tradition in Nigeria, the Benin people and their institutions remain one of the best as the indigenes grow up knowing every 'commandment' whether written or handed down by elders.

The Benin monarch, being the chief custodian of the traditions, is also well-revered with most of his utterances seen and taken as law.

Gani Adams reveals truth about burning house with egg, admits to pressure as Aare Onakakanfo | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
Press Release

Nokia President and CEO, Pekka Lundmark signs a joint Statement that will be handed to the UN Secretary General General to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations

The Statement commits more than 1,000 leaders to: ethical leadership and good governance; invest in addressing inequalities and injustice; promote equality and respect human rights

21 September 2020

Espoo, Finland - Nokia President and CEO, Pekka Lundmark has signed a joint UN Statement, UNITED IN THE BUSINESS OF A BETTER WORLD which will be presented to the UN Secretary General as part of celebration of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.

The Statement, signed by more than 1,000 global CEOs, says that at time of unprecedented disruption and global transformation, international cooperation must be mobilized across borders, sectors and generations. CEOs signing the statement commit to ethical leadership and good governance, to invest in addressing inequalities and injustice, and to partner with the UN, Government and civil society to promote equality and respect human rights.

Pekka Lundmark, Nokia CEO said: "The world faces big challenges, such as COVID-19 and climate change, that cannot be solved without global co-operation. Nokia believes in a multilateral system where businesses, governments, organizations, and individuals all work together inclusively and transparently to find solutions and to build a more sustainable future for people and our planet. I am proud to be a signatory of this UN Global Compact statement. Nokia will play its part by ensuring our technology is designed to solve real societal issues and enable greater opportunity for all."

Nokia has been actively working towards supporting a more equal and sustainable future by building technology that improves lives and enables a healthier planet.

Radio networks provided by Nokia supported 6.4 billion subscriptions worldwide in 2019

In September 2019, at the United Nations climate summit, Nokia joined a group of 87 companies in committing to recalibrate its existing science-based climate targets in line with the latest science.

Nokia improved connectivity and coverage in emerging markets with new cooperation in Algeria, Aruba, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sudan, the Marianas, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Vietnam.

Nokia was named for the third consecutive year (2018-2020), and the fourth time overall as one of 2020 World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere.

Resources:

Website: Nokia People & Planet Report 2019 | Executive summary (https://www.nokia.com/sites/default/files/2020-05/Nokia_People_and_Planet_Report_Executive_summary_2019_final.pdf)

(https://www.nokia.com/sites/default/files/2020-05/Nokia_People_and_Planet_Report_Executive_summary_2019_final.pdf) Full UN Pledge:

UNITED IN THE BUSINESS OF A BETTER WORLD (https://ungc-communications-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/publications/UN75_UnitingBusinessStatement.pdf)

(https://ungc-communications-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/publications/UN75_UnitingBusinessStatement.pdf) Website: UN Goals Week (https://globalgoalsweek.org/)

About Nokia

We create the technology to connect the world. Only Nokia offers a comprehensive portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing opportunities across the globe. With our commitment to innovation, driven by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, we are a leader in the development and deployment of 5G networks.

Our communications service provider customers support more than 6.4 billion subscriptions with our radio networks, and our enterprise customers have deployed over 1,300 industrial networks worldwide. Adhering to the highest ethical standards, we transform how people live, work and communicate. For our latest updates, please visit us online www.nokia.com and follow us on Twitter @nokia.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said minimum support prices (MSP) for farm products will continue under the new legislations, allaying farmers concerns that the practice may come to an end following the passage of the bills.

"I assure every farmer of the country that the MSP system will continue to operate as before. Similarly, the way the campaign is run for government procurement every season, they will continue to run as before," Modi said while addressing the launch of optical fibre cable link in Bihar. He also laid the foundation stone for nine highway projects worth 14,258 crore in the poll-bound eastern state.

The central government has disbursed 1.13 trillion as MSP to farmers for rabi crops such as wheat, pulses and oilseeds this year, Modi said adding that the amount was 30% higher than the previous crop year.

It is the responsibility of the 21st century India to create new systems for farmers of the country with modern thinking. Our efforts will continue to make the country's farmer self-reliant in the country's farming," the Prime Minister said.

According to Modi, the new agricultural reforms allow farmers to sell their produce across the country. Now, if he (a farmer) gets more profit in a market, he will sell his crop there. If there is more profit than anywhere else in the market, then selling there will not be forbidden," he said.

On Sunday, the Rajya Sabha passed the two controversial farm bills  Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020--amid ruckus.

The bills have triggered farmers protest as they fear it will hurt MSPs, promote corporatization of the farm sector, among other concerns.

Last week, food processing industries minister and senior leader of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the post as a sign of protest against the decision of the central government to introduce three bills related to agriculture sector in the Parliament for its approval.





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COLUMBUS, Ga., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual open enrollment season is nearly underway, and U.S. employees will be making benefits decisions during an unprecedented and challenging time. To understand employees' and employers' feelings about this critical event, Aflac, a leading provider of supplemental insurance and products in the U.S., conducted a national online survey of 1,200 benefits decision-makers and 2,000 employees across the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 Aflac WorkForces Report provides insights into how the pandemic is influencing benefits research and selection in addition to consumer opinions on health insurance and financial security.

Pandemic Underscores Open Enrollment Decisions

According to the survey, nearly half (49%) of employees said the pandemic has been a wake-up call to invest more time researching and selecting the best coverage options for their situation. This represents a significant shift in employee behavior considering a vast majority of employees (92%) choose the same benefits year after year and on average spend 33 minutes on the task  statistics that haven't changed meaningfully over the years of the survey. However, in light of current events related to COVID-19, about half of employees said the pandemic was a wake-up call to invest more time researching and selecting the best coverage options for them and their families.

"Choosing benefits is one of the most important actions people take each year. And for the past 10 years, our survey found that employees are on autopilot when it comes to the choices they make," said Matthew Owenby, chief human resources officer at Aflac. "However, COVID-19 has inspired important conversations taking place about the current health care crisis and growing concerns about financial security."

In fact, one-third (33%) of employees either do not feel confident or are unsure if their health benefits will protect them or their family in the event they are affected by COVID-19. In addition, most employees' wallets have already been hit by COVID-19: Many (67%) agree they experienced at least a minor financial impact due to the pandemic, and a full third of workers say they experienced moderate to major impacts on their finances.

The most common of these financial impacts include:

Loss of funds due to canceled trips or events (42%).

Loss of a job or income (36%).

Unexpected costs related to caring for a family member (21%), deductibles (18%) and out-of-pocket health care costs (18%).

Challenges continue with health care costs and decisions

COVID-19 aside, employees continue to worry about their financial vulnerability to unexpected out-of-pocket medical costs. Six out of 10 employees believe their share of medical costs will increase next year, and 54% of employees say they experience anxiety about health care costs that are not covered by health insurance. That sentiment rang true for many: Among the roughly 1 in 5 employees (22%) who reported they or an immediate family member suffered a major health event or accident in the past year, 92% experienced at least one surprise cost.

Unexpected medical costs could weigh heavily on American employees who are not in a financial position to go beyond their current budget. Specifically, 48% of respondents admitted they couldn't pay $1,000 or more for out-of-pocket expenses without relying on debt or credit if a serious illness or accident occurred today. And those concerns go beyond finances: 46% of workers said they have delayed medical care because of cost concerns.

Expectations of Businesses High

For employers, these pandemic-related challenges will come to the forefront during open enrollment, as employees expect more from their benefits packages. A full 63% expect at least one expanded benefit, such as supplemental insurance or telemedicine, and 45% expressed great interest in insurance that helps offset financial costs related to COVID-19 or other pandemics.

"It's certainly an encouraging sign to see more than half of workers are expecting more from their benefits package than just health insurance, and employers would do well to listen to their concerns," said Owenby. "Our survey found that more than one-third (35%) of workers say improving their benefits package is the one thing their employer could do to keep them in their jobs  second only to increasing their pay. The one thing that human resources professionals should take from this information is that satisfying employees of the future will require sustained effort by employers to offer a variety of options that meet employee demand."

Visit AflacWorkForcesReport.com to learn more about the 2020 Aflac WorkForces Report.

About the 2020 Aflac WorkForces Report

The 2020-2021 Aflac WorkForces Report is the 10th annual Aflac employee study examining benefits trends and attitudes. The employer survey, conducted by Kantar on behalf of Aflac, took place online between June 12 and June 30, 2020. The survey captured responses from 1,200 employers across the United States in various industries. The employee survey, conducted by Kantar on behalf of Aflac, captured responses from 2,000 employees across various industries and business sizes between July 7 and July 21.

About Kantar

Kantar is the world's leading evidence-based insights and consulting company. We have a complete, unique and rounded understanding of how people think, feel and act; globally and locally in over 90 markets. By combining the deep expertise of our people, our data resources and benchmarks, our innovative analytics and technology, we help our clients understand people and inspire growth.

ABOUT AFLAC INCORPORATED

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is a Fortune 500 company, helping provide protection to more than 50 million people through its subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S., where it is a leading supplemental insurer by paying cash fast when policyholders get sick or injured. For more than six decades, insurance policies of Aflac Incorporated's subsidiaries have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance in Japan, where it insures 1 in 4 households. Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for 20 consecutive years. For 14 consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2020, Fortune included Aflac Incorporated on its list of World's Most Admired Companies for the 19th time, and Bloomberg added Aflac Incorporated to its Gender-Equality Index, which tracks the financial performance of public companies committed to supporting gender equality through policy development, representation and transparency. To learn how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover, get to know us at aflac.com.

Media contact  Darcy Brito, 706.505.9762 or [email protected]

Analyst and investor contact  David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or [email protected]

SOURCE Aflac

Related Links

http://www.aflac.com


Gabbard: Election Fraud a Serious Threat

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) has put forward a bipartisan bill aiming to improve the security of vote-by-mail. It proposes to incentivize states to ban ballot harvesting. Heres the latest on the 2020 U.S. presidential election coverage.
Hard skulls help protect our brains from physical injuries.

In addition to a tough outer shell, brains have internal defenses, including a powerful shield called the blood-brain barrier that defends brain cells from substances in the bloodstream that are toxic and dangerous to nerve cells. If the blood-brain barrier is breached, then health problems arise.

Now, in a study with potential impacts on a variety of neurological diseases, Virginia Tech researchers have provided the first experimental evidence from a living organism to show that an abundant, star-shaped brain cell known as an astrocyte is essential for blood-brain barrier health.

The research in today's (Monday, Sept. 21) online edition of the journal GLIA reassesses traditional claims about the role of astrocytes in the brain and confirms the long-held assumption -- although it had been recently disputed -- that astrocytes support the blood-brain barrier.

Furthermore, the finding gives scientists a path to understand diseases where frequent blood-brain barrier damage occurs, including traumatic brain injury, stroke, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease.

"Blood-brain barrier leakage is a problem in the aging brain as well as many different neurological diseases," said Stefanie Robel, an assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and the study's senior author. "Without astrocytes, the blood-brain barrier becomes leaky and ineffective, leaving brain tissue vulnerable to a variety of medical conditions. If we know what maintains the barrier in the healthy brain, we will be able to better understand what goes wrong in traumatic brain injury and in Alzheimer's disease -- all health problems with blood-brain barrier damage."

Generally, researchers suspect astrocytes support the blood-brain barrier by releasing factors helpful to maintaining tight connections between the cells in the barrier.

In the new study, scientists with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute genetically ablated a small number of astrocytes in adult mice to determine if the cells were necessary for blood-brain barrier health.

The researchers used small, intermediate-sized, and large molecular tracers to evaluate the permeability of the blood-brain barrier. All of the markers passed through the barrier in some areas, while in other areas only small tracers leaked, suggesting that leakages were happening at various sizes.

"We now have great tools to learn about what astrocytes really do in the adult brain," said Robel, who is also an assistant professor in Virginia Tech's School of Neuroscience. "It's possible that those leaks weren't detected in previous studies."

In recent years, contradictory studies have emerged in which scientists removed astrocytes in animal models with no indications of harm to the blood-brain barrier.

However, when Virginia Tech scientists used a mouse model to mimic the effect of the removal of astrocytes, varying degrees of permanent blood-brain barrier damage occurred, with the amount of damage possibly in proportion with the numbers of ablated astrocytes. In these scenarios, the scientists determined neighboring astrocytes do not rescue the blood-brain barrier when it is damaged.

The research began after the scientists challenged commonly accepted statements in neuroscience.

"I would read a review article that would say astrocytes maintain the blood-brain barrier in the adult healthy brain, but rarely was it followed by a citation that would show direct evidence of that fact," said Benjamin Heithoff, the first author of the study and a graduate student who conducts research in the Robel lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.

"That lack of evidence told me that the field hadn't quite teased apart this statement," Heithoff said. "Assumptions can be held for a long time, and it takes studies like ours, with more sensitive tools, to re-evaluate them. Now that we have reinforced this assumption with direct experimental data, we have positioned ourselves to identify how this vital function of astrocytes is impacted in disease and after injury."

Breakdown of the blood-brain barrier is correlated with neurodegenerative disease. In cases of traumatic brain injury or concussion, the blood-brain barrier breakdown that can occur is associated with higher risk for lifelong consequences, including cognitive decline and permanent motor deficits.

"When people sustain a concussion, we used to consider this a 'minor injury.' But our follow-up study shows that the blood-brain barrier leakage persists in areas where astrocytes are not functioning correctly, which suggests there is a long-term, lasting dysfunction in the barrier," said Heithoff, who is with the Department of Biological Sciences of the College of Science. "Understanding how that problem occurs and how it can be remedied are important public health questions. We have to know what makes this barrier functional in order to develop effective treatments when it becomes dysfunctional."

###

The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Amersham, United Kingdom  Mon, September 21, 2020 18:00 487 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4631ce7 2 Lifestyle Paria-Farzaneh,London-fashion-week Free

Young British designer Paria Farzaneh transported London Fashion Week to the English countryside on Sunday for a catwalk show inspired by the spirit of resistance.

The 26-year-old gathered her guests in the Chilterns Hills, northwest of the capital, where models advanced across a field through clouds of smoke, ready to face the elements in pocketed camouflage jackets and hoods.

It was one of only a few LFW shows this season with a real-life audience, thanks to coronavirus restrictions on mass gatherings, but its idyllic setting clashed with its defiant message.

"In the last few months, the world as we know it has seen great resistance, upset and realizations," the brand said in a statement, citing the "troubles" in the United States, including fires and anti-racism protests that directly affected two of its collaborators.

"As a brand and community, we have always believed in our world and its people.

"We cannot force people to change their mindset and their beliefs, but we can plant the seed for a new perspective; we can start the process, we can start the conversations."

Born to Iranian immigrant parents and raised in Yorkshire, in northern England, Farzaneh likes to surprise her audiences.

Last January in London, her catwalk show -- staged the day after the Iranian top commander General Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US air strike in Iraq -- mimicked a traditional Iranian wedding.

The women were asked to sit on one side, the men on another, to witness an exchange of vows by a young couple speaking Farsi.

But there was no formal attire for the models who instead showcased a streetwear collection with the elegant floral and Persian prints that the designer has become known for.

Her sense of theater and detail has put Farzaneh, who graduated from Ravensbourne University in London in 2016, on the fashion map.

She has already collaborated with major labels like Gore Tex and Converse and was a semi-finalist in the running for last year's prestigious LVMH prize.

Through her collections Farzaneh -- whose grandfather was a tailor in Iran -- explores her origins and celebrates multiculturalism.

Highly conscious of the environmental impact of the fashion industry, she has in the past used polyester and nylon made from recycled plastic bottles or fishing nets.
New Delhi:

Suspended JNU student Dileep Yadav who has been on hunger strike since three days was rushed to hospital by police on Monday even as students alleged that he has been abducted.

Yadav is among the nine students who were suspended by the university last month for allegedly disrupting an academic council meeting. He has been on hunger strike since three days demanding that the suspension of these students be revoked.

Students alleged that Kumar was abducted by police and JNU administration, a charge denied by both. A student who has been on a hunger strike for the last three days has been literally abducted from campus by the police and JNU admin. Repression is real. Where a fellow student, Najeeb disappears after being beaten up by ABVP activists, teachers are threatened, student activists punished and even democratic means of protest like hunger strikes are trampled upon, the JNU student union said.

According to a senior police official, The student was not taken forcefully. Seeing his critical health conditions, he was shifted to hospital in the universitys ambulance for emergency medical attention with local police assistance.
The government on September 21 hiked the minimum support price of wheat by Rs 50 per quintal to Rs 1,975 per quintal to encourage farmers to increase cultivation of the crop.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was announced by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in Lok Sabha.

The announcement comes in the backdrop of widespread protests by Opposition parties as also by farmer groups in Punjab, Haryana and some other states after Parliament passed two key farm bills on Sunday, which the government says will give farmers' marketing freedom and better price for their produce.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were passed by Parliament.

Tomar said that the CCEA has approved increasing MSP of six rabi crops. Wheat MSP has been increased by Rs 50 per quintal to Rs 1,975 per quintal. The minister said the government has always maintained that MSP and APMC mechanisms will continue as against a false propaganda spread by Opposition parties.

Some Congress MPs walked out of the House after Tomar made the announcement about MSPs.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

A high-level meeting to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations has today been held on the sidelines of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement Ilham Aliyev made a speech at the meeting in a video format.

Heads of state and government of 182 countries will make speeches at the meeting in a video format. President Aliyev was the sixth to speak. The fact that Azerbaijani president was the sixth speaker to have the floor among 182 countries around the world is undoubtedly a manifestation of the respect and trust shown to President Aliyev at the international level both as the president of Azerbaijan and the chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement.

The president made a speech in two parts- as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement and president of Azerbaijan.

"Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, the Republic of Azerbaijan was elected as a chair of the Non-Aligned Movement in 2016 with a unanimous decision of all 120 countries," the Azerbaijani president said. "In October 2019 Azerbaijan assumed the chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement during the 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Government held in Baku."

"I have the honor to make this statement on behalf of Member States of Non-Aligned Movement," President Aliyev said. "The Member States of Non-Aligned Movement highly appreciate the convening of this high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter."

"The United Nations, its Charter, and the international law remain indispensable tools and central in the preservation and maintenance of international peace and security and the strengthening of international cooperation," the Azerbaijani president said. "While acknowledging its limitations, the UN remains the central multilateral forum for addressing global issues and challenges presently being confronted by all States."

"The NAM affirms that many new areas of concern and challenges have emerged, which require the renewal of commitment by the international community to uphold and defend the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law," President Aliyev said.

"Armed conflicts, aggressive expansionist policies, terrorism, separatism, transnational organized crime and extremism coupled with human rights abuses, financial crises and environmental degradation continue to affect millions of people around the world," the Azerbaijani president said.

"The world today needs, more than ever, respect for international law and effective global institutions to ensure compliance with it," President Aliyev added. "The role of the Non-Aligned Movement in this regard is of utmost significance. Throughout its history the Movement has played a fundamental role in strengthening international peace and security and persistently called for strict adherence to the norms and principles of international law."

"The NAM attaches great importance to strengthening the role of the United Nations and stresses that efforts should be made to develop its full potential," the Azerbaijani president said.

"In its 75th anniversary we call for further strengthening and modernizing the United Nations, revitalizing the UN General Assembly and strengthening its authority as the most democratic, accountable, universal and representative body of the Organization, including in the area of international peace and security, and reforming the UN Security Council, in order to transform it into a more democratic, effective, efficient, transparent and representative body, and in line with contemporary geo-political realities," the Azerbaijani president said.

"The United Nations is the only global body with universal membership and is, therefore, well positioned to address global economic governance with the objective of reaching sustainable development," President Aliyev said. "The role of the UN in global economic governance should thus be strengthened. For the United Nations to fulfill its role in global economic governance, the political will of all Member States to commit to the UN processes and to multilateralism and its underlying values is critical."

"Ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated once again the significance of multilateralism," the Azerbaijani president said.

"The Movement reiterated its strong concern at the growing resort to unilateralism and unilaterally imposed measures that undermine the UN Charter and international law, and further reiterated its commitment to promoting, preserving, revitalizing, reforming and strengthening multilateralism and the multilateral decision making process through the UN, by strictly adhering to its Charter and international law, with the aim of creating a just and equitable world order and global democratic governance," President Aliyev said.

"This year is also remarkable for the NAM, since we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the adoption of Bandung Declaration which embraces the founding principles of the Movement," the Azerbaijani president said.

"Since their inception, the Bandung Principles have been navigating the countries that had expressed their adherence to them through the turbulences of the Cold War period," President Aliyev said. "Following the end of Cold War, the absence of two confronting blocs has in no way diminished the relevance and validity of the Bandung Principles. Quite contrary, in light of more complex challenges to peace and development they have become more important than ever."

"Both anniversaries will enable us to take stock of the progress made in achievement of the overarching goals enshrined at the UN Charter and Bandung Declaration, and reflect upon how we, the Member States of the United Nations, with shared vision and combined strength should respond to the multifaceted and emerging challenges that we continue to face," the Azerbaijani president said. "Thank you."

"Now I will make the statement in my national capacity. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General," President Aliyev said.

"Azerbaijan became a member of the United Nations on 2 March 1992 after the restoration of its independence," the Azerbaijani president said. "Independence is the highest value and the reflection of hope and aspiration of the Azerbaijani people who always wanted to live in a free and independent state. During almost 30 years of its independence, Azerbaijan has achieved a tremendous progress in different spheres."

"Under the UN Charter, all member states have accepted the obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state," the Azerbaijani president said. "However, Armenia brutally violated its obligations and used military force against Azerbaijan. Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other regions of Azerbaijan. Four UN Security Council resolutions adopted in 1993 demand immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from Azerbaijans occupied territories. Unfortunately, Armenia continues to ignore these resolutions."

"Armenia conducted ethnic cleansing against the Azerbaijani population in the occupied territories," President Aliyev said. "More than one million Azerbaijanis became refugees and IDPs. Armenia committed Khojaly genocide. More than ten countries have recognized the Khojaly genocide. In blatant violation of the international law norms, Armenia implements a policy of illegal settlement on the occupied territories. Armenia destroyed historical and religious monuments that belong to the Azerbaijani people in the occupied territories."

"Armenia deliberately targets civilian population and perpetrates provocations along the Line of Contact and Armenia-Azerbaijan border," the Azerbaijani president said. "The last such provocation was carried out this July, along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Our military servicemen and a civilian were killed due to the artillery bombardment of Azerbaijans Tovuz district, while extensive damage was inflicted to civilian infrastructure."

"Armenian sabotage group attempted to penetrate through the Line of Contact," President Aliyev said. "The head of this group was detained by Azerbaijani military servicemen on 23 August 2020. He confessed that the group was planning to commit terror acts against Azerbaijani military servicemen and civilians."

"The Prime Minister of Armenia deliberately undermines the format and substance of negotiation process under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs," President Aliyev said. "His statement that "Karabakh is Armenia" is a serious blow to negotiations. He puts groundless conditions to the negotiation process. His unacceptable so-called seven conditions to Azerbaijan have been rejected by us. We have only one condition to achieve the peace. The armed forces of Armenia must withdraw from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The entire world recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as integral part of Azerbaijan."

"The Armenian Prime Minister announced the establishment of civilian militia consisting of tens of thousands of civilians who will be forced to undertake military actions against Azerbaijan," the Azerbaijani president said. "This clearly demonstrates new aggressive intention of the Armenian leadership. The Armenian defense minister threatens Azerbaijan with so-called "new war for new territories" statements."

"The glorification of Nazism is the state policy in Armenia," the Azerbaijani president said. "Notorious Nazi general Garegin Nzhdeh has been turned into "national hero". The policy of "Azerbaijanophobia" is prevailing in Armenia. Hatred against Azerbaijani people is instilled in the young generation. Recently, Armenia has adopted its aggressive and offensive military doctrine and National Security Strategy. The National Security Strategy contains racist, chauvinistic and "Azerbaijanophobic" ideas."

"The aggressive rhetoric and provocations of Armenia show that Armenia is preparing for a new aggression against Azerbaijan," the Azerbaijani president said. "We call on the UN and international community to urge Armenia to refrain from another military aggression."

"All responsibility lies on the military-political leadership of Armenia for instigating provocations and escalation of tension," President Aliyev said.

"Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict must be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijans territorial integrity according to the UN Security Council Resolutions."

"Azerbaijan has built fruitful cooperation with the United Nations," the Azerbaijani president said. "Our country was elected to a non-permanent seat of the Security Council in 2012-2013 with the support of 155 states. Furthermore, Azerbaijan currently holds the chairmanship of the Non-Alignment Movement with the unanimous support of 120 NAM countries."

"Non-Aligned Movements online Summit in response to COVID-19, was held on our initiative in May 2020," the Azerbaijani president said. "During the Summit, I proposed, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, to convene a Special Session of the UN General Assembly in response to COVID-19 at the level of the heads of state and government. More than 130 countries supported this initiative."

"The 31st Special session of the UN General Assembly was convened on July 10, 2020," the Azerbaijani president said. "I believe the general debate of the Special Session at the level of heads of state and government will serve as a framework for a comprehensive evaluation of the pandemics impact on all affected spheres. It will also contribute to the efforts of eliminating its consequences."

"Thanks to undertaken measures, the situation with COVID-19 has remained under control in Azerbaijan," President Aliyev said. "The World Health Organization named Azerbaijan as exemplary country in the fight against the pandemic. We have made voluntary contributions to the World Health Organization in the amount of $10 million. During COVID pandemics Azerbaijan provided humanitarian and financial assistance to more than 30 countries."

"Azerbaijan plays an important role in the promotion of dialogue of cultures," President Aliyev said. "Azerbaijan is one of worlds recognized centers for multiculturalism. The "Baku Process" launched by Azerbaijan in 2008 aims to strengthen inter-cultural dialogue. The "Baku Process" brings together member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Council of Europe. The UN General Assembly's resolutions have recognized the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue held in Azerbaijan every two years as a "key global platform for promoting intercultural dialogue"."

"The 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations was held in Azerbaijan in 2016," President Aliyev said. "Furthermore, Azerbaijan hosted the first ever European Games and the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in 2015 and 2017 respectively. These sporting events have also made tangible contribution to intercultural dialogue."

"Azerbaijan is a stable, modern, democratic country," the Azerbaijani president said. "Development of democracy and human rights protection are among top priorities of our government. All fundamental freedoms are fully provided, including freedom of expression, media freedom, freedom of assembly, religious freedoms, as well as development of civil society. We launched broad political dialogue initiative several months ago. All major political parties supported this initiative. The political dialogue which successfully started will help to strengthen our political system and serve the cause of sustainable development of Azerbaijan."

"Azerbaijans economy has developed rapidly, and its GDP tripled in the last 17 years," the Azerbaijani president said. "As a country with significant progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, Azerbaijan has been one of the few states to submit voluntary national reviews to the UN twice. Azerbaijan ranks 54th among 166 countries in the Sustainable Development Goals Index, according to the "Sustainable Development Report 2020"."

"Mr. President, In the course of current discussions, I am confident that we will provide open and strong support to the UN  a symbol of multiculturalism and international cooperation," the Azerbaijani president said. "Azerbaijan is prepared to work jointly with other countries to strengthen the UN further and boost its relevance and prestige in international relations. Thank you for your attention."
Martin Luther King Jr. once shared a dream of his that his children would abide in a world where they would not be judged based upon the color of their skin, rather, the content of their character.

Character is unlike any other aspect of a person, for it is the core root of who they are. Circumstances may change monetarily, looks fade over time, but character is something that endures over a lifetime.

A woman of Godly character is something to aspire to grow into, and something to be praised.

The Bible shares famously in Proverbs 31 what a wife of noble character looks like, and many noble women of the Bible represent what it looks like to live out such a life.

From kindness to others to integrity for her family to wisdom to a heart for the Lord such a life is one to pray for daily. Beauty, charm, riches, and mystery are all things that for a time can appear to be wildly captivating, but over time they will wane and not endure the way rooted character in God does.

1. Courage and Kindness

In the movie, Cinderella, the on-going theme is to, have courage and be kind. Although Ellas story is not in the Bible, her actions are straight from the heart of God.

Proverbs 31:17-18 phrases it another way, She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household. A noble woman of God finds her courage in the Lord, not fearing what is to come, rather, holding fast onto hope in Christ.

She offers kindness to those around her, even if they are strangers. This is evident in the story of Isaacs wife, Rebekah. In Genesis 24 Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. The servant prays that the woman he is to bring back for a wife to Isaac would extend kindness to him in offering a drink of water.

In verse 15 this prayer is answered as Rebekah comes and not only offers water to the servant, but also goes above and beyond to assist his camels in a drink of water as well. Rebekah was chosen by God not because of her looks, her fathers wealth, or her skills, instead she was chosen from her kind heart. Kindness and the courage to live out kindness becomes a main facet of what it looks like to be a woman of Godly character.

It is also how we can extend the love of Christ to others, whether they be a stranger or a friend.

2. Hard Worker

Integrity in ones work is a telling sign of ones character, and a woman of Godly character takes pride in the work of her hands. Proverbs 31:13 shares, she works with eager hands and 1 Corinthians 10:31 shares, whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Work is not always pleasurable, but in whatever you do, do it as if you are doing it for the Lord Himself. This means not cutting corners or taking the easy way out, this means putting in the extra effort when no one is watching and there is no prize to be obtained at the end, and this means holding your position no matter how small with quality to do right by others. In the end, it does not matter what others think, rather what God thinks.

Working hard and giving your best work no matter the task is telling of moral fibers of the fabric of ones heart.

3. Loyalty

Loyalty in this day in age seems rare, but it is something to be honored and regarded highly. Loyalty is not just the act of being faithful to ones partner, but the act of being faithful regardless of the circumstances.

Ruth exhibited this greatly through her life. In the Book of Ruth, we are told that Ruth had been widowed, as had her sister-in-law. Their mother-in-law, Naomi, was grief stricken, but released the women to return to their fathers homes if they wished. Orpah decided to leave Naomi, but Ruth took a different approach.

She decided to remain loyal to her mother-in-law for she had made a commitment to the Lord and to Naomis family through marriage. This act of loyalty was reflective of Ruths moral fibers, but in time God rewarded her for her loyalty. What is key is how she was never promised a reward for such loyalty, but she carried it out because she knew it in her heart to be right.

In time Ruths loyalty is what captivates her future husband, Boaz. In Ruth 2:12 he beams, May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. Ruth and Boaz later marry and her life is blessed because she chose to be loyal to her God and to her word.

It was not the blessing of marriage or a child that was the blessing, rather, it was the blessing of coming to know Gods character of loyalty matching the action of Ruths loyalty to her. The greatest reward of her story is Gods kindness and faithfulness when we trust Him and live in an upright way.

Photo Credit: GettyImages-Rawpixel

4. Joy

The direct translation of Proverbs 31:25-26 is far more revealing of the true meaning than most translations, for it reveals, she is clothed with strength and dignity, she can rejoice in the future to come.

Often the word, laugh is in lieu of, rejoice and although they are synonyms, in this context so much more is revealed. Despite circumstances, a woman of Godly character can hold fast to her joy. For her joy is not rooted in her happiness from shifting shadows from day to day or season to season, rather her joy is rooted deeply within Christ Himself.

She abides by the call of Jesus in John 15 to find ourselves rooted in the vine that is God. Because of this she does not scoff or laugh at the future to come, rather she rejoices that she knows no matter what is beyond today the Lord will be with her and within her.

She knows that the promise of Romans 8:28 proves true that He works all things together for His glory and our benefit, so momentary troubles are but a sigh in comparison to the joy that is to come in the Lord this side of the veil or the next.

5. Wisdom

Wisdom often is spoken about in a feminine context. The entire book of Proverbs refers to wisdom as a woman, and though wisdom is not constrained to only be applicable to women, it is also no coincidence that wisdom is referred to in a feminine sense.

Perhaps it is to show that wisdom in itself is to be soft and graceful in approach. Proverbs 31:26 shares, she speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. A woman of Godly reputation is slow to speak, for she considers what she is to say before she says it.

This is evident of relying on the Holy Spirit for instruction before action. This is evident through Deborah in the Book of Judges. Deborah was called by God to be a judge for the nation of Israel and work on behalf of God. In every instance, she did not rely on her own strength, rather, on the instruction of God to carry out action. This is where true wisdom is rooted: in reliance, strength, and guidance from God through the Holy Spirit.

When we seek God for wisdom in every area of our lives, not just select areas, we will see transformation in our lives and within the people God is growing us to become. For it is His wisdom guidance and assuring us of the way to go, the path to take, even if we do not have all the answers or know the outcome.

A woman of great faith in the Lord is something to aspire to be. Women such as Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist was a woman of great faith. In Luke 1:45 she rejoices that, blessed is she who believed the Lord would fulfill His promise to her.

Elizabeth was well past the years that a woman typically could have a child, yet God granted her hearts desire and she became pregnant despite her old age. Though it is not explicitly expressed, one can gather from the verbiage of her cries of joy that she had been promised a son by the Lord. She believed in great faith despite her age, circumstances, or what she could see around her at the time and she was given a son.

Her faith in the Lord set a precedent for legacy, for her son would become a great man of honor in service to Jesus Himself on earth. A woman who holds faith in her Lord, who believes truly in His promises, and who waits upon the Lord is a woman of great character in God.

When a woman chooses to divert from the mainstream of what the world says is to be praised, and she indwells in what God regards as lovely her entire state of being and how she conducts her life will be radically changed. She will not stand in fear of what the world says or thinks, nor will she allow the current circumstances and opinions of others impress upon her heart what she knows to be true.

Instead, she will find herself grounded in what her God says of her, and follow where He leads her. All in all, a woman of Godly character is not just one to be praised, but one to aspire to truly in every filament of nature to become such a Light for the Lord in this world.

Photo Credit: GettyImages/monkeybusinessimages

Cally Logan is an author and US History teacher from Richmond, Virginia. In her free time, she enjoys mentoring youth and spending time in nature. Her book, Hang on in There, Girl! Will be available everywhere on April 1, 2022. Check her out on Instagram and Twitter, @CallyLogan and TikTok Cally_Logan.
Pres. Donald Trump sets up a $5 billion fund as he signed the business proposal between TikTok, Walmart, and Oracle. Pres. Trump asked the fund from the companies.

Pres. Donald Trump is taking all possible ways to fund sectors and groups who need financial support. This time, he asked the companies such as TikTok, Walmart, and Oracle to commit $5 billion to fund the country's education sector.

Pres. Trump asked the favor to create an education initiative that teaches children America's "real history," according to a published report in USA Today. He also made this action while waiting for the second round of stimulus payment that includes funding for schools.

Before Pres. Trump left the White House for a campaign rally in North Carolina on Saturday, he did first mention the funding. He said, "We're going to be setting up a very large fund for the education of American youth," and he also told the reporters how he conceptually signed the TikTok venture in the country.

He also asserted that he asked the companies to fund $5 billion that will be funded for education. "That'll be great. That's their contribution that I've been asking for," Trump added. The fund he asked the companies will help the education sector in the country amid the pandemic.

Meanwhile, there are no details yet how the $5 billion will be distributed, but for sure, part of it will protect the teachers and students against the infectious and deadly COVID-19. The fund will probably be used for additional Personal Protective Equipment and COVID-19 tests, aside from venturing into teaching the students about the country's real history.

Moreover, Pres. Trump shared later that evening and laid out more details surrounding how the proposed education commitment unfolded during his campaign speech in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Pres. Trump has been very vocal in showing interest in giving more relief aids.

In his campaign speech, he shared that he told the companies and said "do me a favor, could you put up $5 billion into a fund for education, so we can educate people as to the real history of our country. The real history, not fake history."

Moreover, the approval of Pres. Trump will not only fund the education sector in the country, but this will also help to employ more than 25,000 people. The President also said that the newly hired individuals are more likely to be headquartered in Texas.

Pres. Trump made the announcement abound the $5 billion funding for education centered on teaching real history to students after he slammed the New York Times Magazine's 1619 Project curriculum, which reframes the way American history and slavery is taught in schools.

He said, "The left has warped, distorted, and defiled the American story with deceptions, falsehoods, and lies. There is no better example than the New York Times' totally discredited 1619 Project," Pres. Trump added that the project rewrites "American history to teach our children that we were founded on the principle of oppression, not freedom."

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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at a discussion at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington on Feb. 10, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Statue of Late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Be Erected in New York City

New York will honor the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a statue in Brooklyn, where she was born, according to state officials.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Sept. 19 statement that he will appoint a commission to pick an artist and oversee the selection of a location.

The commission will be appointed in the coming days and, when formed, will provide recommendations to the Governor pertaining to the design, location and installation of the new memorial, Cuomo said.

Ginsburg, a member of the Supreme Courts liberal wing, died Sept. 18 at the age of 87 due to complications from pancreatic cancer.

While the family of New York mourns Justice Ginsburgs death, we remember proudly that she started her incredible journey right here in Brooklyn, Cuomo said in his remarks. Her legacy will live on in the progress she created for our society, and this statue will serve as a physical reminder of her many contributions to the America we know today and as an inspiration for those who will continue to build on her immense body of work for generations to come.

Cuomo also ordered state landmarks, including the One World Trade Center, the Grand Central Terminal, and Kosciuszko Bridge, lit in blue for the night on Sept. 19. Blue was reportedly Ginsburgs favorite color.

New Yorkers from all walks of life should reflect on the life of Justice Ginsburg and remember all that she did for our nation as we view these beautifully lit monuments tonight, Cuomo said in a separate statement.

In the months leading up to her death, Ginsburg dealt with a number of health issues and was hospitalized several times. She is survived by two children, Jane Carol Ginsburg and James Steven Ginsburg, as well as four grandchildren.

Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague, Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement. Today, we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew hera tireless and resolute champion of justice.

President Donald Trump, former presidents, governors, federal jurists, and lawmakers led tributes.

Trump issued a formal proclamation that honored Ginsburg as a trailblazer, not only in the field of law, but in the history of our country, and ordered flags flown at half-staff.

Renowned for her powerful dissents at the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg epitomized powerful yet respectful argument; that you can disagree with someone without being disagreeable to them, Trump wrote in the proclamation.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said in a statement on Twitter: Ruth Bader Ginsburg stood for all of us. She was an American hero, a giant of legal doctrine, and a relentless voice in the pursuit of that highest American ideal: Equal Justice Under Law.

Ginsburgs death has set up a fierce battle over nominating a replacement for the now-vacant Supreme Court seat, with Trump and his Republican supporters vowing to proceed with a nomination ahead of the Nov. 3 election, while Biden and Democrats call on the president to wait until after the presidential vote.
French operator group Iliad unveiled plans to acquire Polish operator Play in a 3.5 billion deal, to further expand its footprint in Europe.

In a statement, Iliad said it will launch a public tender for the operator for PLN 39 per share, with binding agreements struck with Plays two largest shareholders for the same price, to acquire their respective 40 per cent stakes. This will result in Iliad having the majority of seats on Plays board of directors.

Iliad noted Play had seen exceptional growth" over the past 15 years in the Polish market, amassing a base of 15 million subscribers and 29% share, making it the leading operator in the country.

In a note to investors, Iliad explained the venture into Poland presents an opportunity for growth as Poland is Europes sixth-largest market with GDP growing 6% on average year-on-year for the last 20 years.

Thomas Reynaud, Iliad CEO said: This excellent alliance constitutes a new growth driver for the Iliad Group and gives it access to one of Europes high-potential telecom markets. Pooling the expertise of Plays and Iliad's teams will reinforce the Iliad Groups fundamentals through a combination of growth and innovation. The transaction will make Iliad the sixth-largest telecom operator in Europe. Fully committed to implementing its Odyssey 2024 Plan, Iliad is a solid group that is pursuing its expansion with confidence.

Jean-Marc Harion, chairman of Plays Management Board, said: This alliance with the Iliad Group marks an important chapter in Plays history, as it will accelerate its business development in fixed services. Play and Iliad share the same values and overall corporate vision. Our Board of Directors has unanimously approved the deal, firmly convinced of its strategic fit and value creation potential for Plays shareholders.

The deal is subject to clearance from regulatory authorities such as the European Commission.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 00:42:04|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday urged Canada to immediately release Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou and let her return to China safely to bring bilateral relations back to the right track, according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

According to media reports, about 100 former Canadian diplomats recently sent a joint letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in which they called for the swap of Meng for two detained Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. They claimed that the dispute had not only harmed bilateral ties but also hurt Canada's ability to handle international affairs.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily news briefing that China's position on the Meng Wanzhou case is clear and firm. "Under the pretext of 'at the request of the United States,' Canada arbitrarily took compulsory measures on a Chinese citizen, which severely violated her legitimate rights and interests."

The nature of the Meng Wanzhou case is entirely different from that of the cases of the two Canadians, Wang said, noting that the Meng case is a serious political incident, while Kovrig and Spavor were suspected of conducting activities endangering China's national security.

"The Chinese judicial organs handle cases independently and the lawful rights of the two Canadians are guaranteed," he said.

Wang pointed out that it was precisely what Canada has done on the Meng case that caused the current difficulties in China-Canada relations. "We urge Canada to earnestly respect China's solemn position and concerns, release Meng at once and ensure her safe return to China, so as to create conditions for the bilateral relationship to get back on the right track." Enditem
Shark Tank recently announced its upcoming season 12 premiere scheduled for October 16. The main panel of Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, and Kevin OLeary have seen their share of deals since the reality show launched in 2009.

While the combined wealth of the investors is staggering, only one Shark falls under the umbrella of billionaire.

Shark Tank: (l-r) Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Kevin OLeary, and Robert Herjavec | Andrew Eccles/ABC via Getty Images

Season 12 of Shark Tank has a new setup

With the coronavirus crisis still looming, some staging needed to be revamped for season 12 in the Tank.

The set was redone, so it had social distancing, Cuban told Variety, saying their new setup is kind of curved  Were facing the entrepreneurs and have six feet  six and half feet, actually  between each of the Sharks.

As for the enthusiasm of the entrepreneurs pitching on the infamous Shark Tank carpet, Cuban revealed a new level of fervency this year.

RELATED: Shark Tanks Kevin OLeary Says This Money Habit Will Lead To Divorce

Literally, we had to quarantine, the entrepreneurs had to quarantine, Cuban explained. And so when the cameras started rolling, everybody was fired up and ready to go. There was a lot of pent-up energy from just sitting in our rooms basically doing nothing in between shoots. So the intensity was off the charts.

Each Shark Tank panelist has big bucks

The Shark Tank panelists have each built their businesses from the ground up. Corcoran took a $1,000 loan and turned it into The Corcoran Group, a real estate empire which she sold for $66 million in 2001, CNBC reported. Corcoran puts the most value on a business owner rather than the business itself, frequently investing in the entrepreneur who strikes her as a go-getter.

Greiner, also known as the Queen of QVC, started as an inventor and now has over 120 patents and 700 products in her portfolio. With established success through informercials and the televised shopping network, Greiner has invested in some of Shark Tanks most successful companies including Scrub Daddy, Simply Fit Board, and Squatty Potty.

John made millions when he created his clothing and accessory empire FUBU in the early 1990s. The Shark Tank star has written several books and was appointed as an Ambassador of Global Entrepreneurship by President Barack Obama.

RELATED: Shark Tank: Daymond John Names the Toughest Shark To Impress

Herjavecs affluence started accruing in 1990 when he launched the tech company Brak Systems, according to Fortune. Selling the company in 2000 for $30.2 million, he then created the cybersecurity firm the Herjavec Group, which continues to be a huge success.

Often going by the moniker Mr. Wonderful, OLeary formed the company Softkey Software Products from his basement in 1983 sold it in 1999 to Mattel Toy Company for $3.7 billion, according to Inc. His portfolio includes several Shark Tank investments as well as his name brands including OLeary Funds, OLeary Fine Wines, and the OLeary Financial Group.

Mark Cuban is the wealthiest Shark

While each Shark has achieved monumental wealth in the millions, Cuban is the only investor that hit billionaire status.

Cuban started on an entrepreneurial path at a young age when he sold garbage bags door-to-door. His drive for self-employment eventually led to creating Broadcast.com, which he sold to Yahoo! for $5.7 billion in 1999, as reported by Business Insider.

RELATED: Shark Tank: Daymond John Says Mark Cuban is Willing To Gamble on Deals

Between his myriad of tech companies, NBA basketball team the Dallas Mavericks, and Shark Tank investments, Cubans net worth is reported at $4.5 billion for 2020.
Leng Jiefu, professor and former director of the political department of Renmin University. (Provided to The Epoch Times by interviewee)

Beijing Has No Way Out of the Crises It Faces: Chinese Scholar

Nothing can help the Chinese communist regime as it battles with crises on multiple fronts, according to a Chinese scholar who earlier this year called on Chinese leader Xi Jinping to step down.

Leng Jiefu, a retired professor and former director of the politics faculty of Renmin University, a prestigious Chinese university, in April wrote a letter to Wang Yang, Chairman of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body, in which he suggested that Xi should resign in response to growing calls from the international community that the regime be held accountable for its role in causing the global spread of the CCP Virus.

He also urged the regime to adopt a democratic federal system, creating a United States of China to solve issues relating to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Uyghurs, and Tibetans.

The letter began circulating online in early September, attracting widespread attention among Chinese netizens.

Leng, in a recent interview with The Epoch Times, confirmed he sent the letter, but lamented that the recommendations were now out of date given a range of worrying developments in recent months.

Now its too late! Probably even federalism and Xis regime cant solve the issues, he told The Epoch Times in a phone interview.

Leng pointed to a series of crises resulting from the regimes aggressions in Hong Kong and Taiwan, its repression of ethnic minorities, and deteriorating relations with other countries.

In Hong Kong, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) imposed a national security law which took effect in July, prompting sweeping international condemnation, sanctions from the United States, and broad backlash from the citys residents, he said.

The Chinese regime has also ratcheted up military activity in the Taiwan strait, spurring increased U.S. naval moves in the region.

In Inner Mongolia, the CCP recently introduced a policy eliminating Mongolian language teaching in classrooms, sparking widespread boycotts among locals and angering ethnic Mongolians around the world.

Overseas, Leng said the regime has seen worsening relations with a range of Western countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, and the Czech Republic.

April Letter

In his April letter, Leng wrote about how the regime should respond to rising demands from around the world calling for billions in compensation for Beijings coverup of the CCP Virus resulting in its global spread.

How shall we deal with the compensation? Shall we fight all these countries? Leng said in the letter. [If we fight], we wont have any friends [in the world] but have a burdenNorth Korea.

The best strategy is to let Xi Jinping resign from all his positions  Then the pressure from the international community will be minimized  At that time, the new regime leader can handle the foreign affairs easily, Leng added.

Leng also addressed the Taiwan issue, saying, Its more and more impossible that we [mainland China] can unify Taiwan because Taiwan has the support from the United States.

The CCP sees Taiwan as part of its own territory, even though the democratic island is self-ruled with its own government, military, and currency.

Leng said the reason why the United States supports Taiwan is because it supports democracy. He then suggested: Adopting a democratic federal system is the best solution to solve Taiwan issue.

Such a federal system would see China divided into several regions, with each region governed by an autonomous regime. Each of these autonomous regimes would also fall under a federal administration in Beijing. By setting up a federal government, issues in Hong Kong and Xinjiang would be resolved, Leng said.

Granting Hongkongers autonomous rights can restore Hong Kongs status as a free port and develop its economy, Leng wrote. The federal system can solve Chinas ethnic conflicts because the ethnic conflicts only can be solved by conciliation, not by suppression.

In contrast with official Chinese positions opposing the United States, Leng considers the country as Chinas best friend.

It hasnt invaded any of our land. The support we have received from the U.S. is more and bigger than the support from any other country [in history], he wrote.

Leng also broached Chinas domestic issues, such as agriculture. In the last two decades, a growing number of Chinese farmers have become migrant workers flocking to the cities because Beijing didnt have policies to support farmers, he wrote.

Leng suggested that the regime create incentives to encourage farmers to stay in villages and spur agriculture.

This year, the CCP virus pandemic, flooding, droughts, and pests have devastated crops in the country. China is now grappling with food shortage and stepping up agriculture imports to feed people.
A retired Indian Navy official (55), who was into real estate business, was shot dead by a man following an altercation in the parking area on the ground floor of an apartment at Pochanpur in south-west Delhis Dwarka on Sunday night, the police said.

The victim, Balraj Deshwal, was shot in his face from a very close range and died on the spot.

The alleged accused, Pradeep Khokar, is absconding, said Santosh Kumar Meena, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (Dwarka), Delhi Police.

Gehlan Apartment, where the murder took place, was constructed by Deshwal and his three business partners. Khokar had purchased one of the flats and was staying in Gehlan Apartment. We have learnt that Khokar was to pay an outstanding amount of Rs 5 lakh to Deshwal. Its not yet clear whether the murder took place because of a dispute over the payment, said DCP Meena.

The crime occurred place at around 8:30 pm, when Deshwal and one of his business partners were sitting in the parking space on the ground floor of the building. Khokar entered building while having an argument with a person over the phone, one of Deshwals partners told the police in his statement.

One of Deshwals partners told us that Khokar looked angry and was abusing the person on the phone. Soon, Khokar disconnected the call and got into an altercation with Deshwal without any provocation. During the argument, he whipped out a pistol and fired at Deshwals face from a very close range. Deshwal died on the spot, said the DCP.

Khokar fled the crime scene and Deshwal was rushed to an adjacent hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. A case of murder has been registered and teams have been formed to arrest Khokar.

We have learnt that Khokar got a job as a teacher in Haryana. The information is being verified, added DCP Meena.
A group of elected officials say they want to be included in discussions about a controversial rockfall fence proposed for Interstate 80 in Warren County, near the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border.

The Bi-State Elected Officials United to Preserve the Gap is a newly formed group consisting of representatives from 14 municipalities from both states.
ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced it has received CE Mark for its fourth-generation MitraClip Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair System, the leading minimally invasive mitral valve repair device in the world. Known as MitraClip G4, the device is now approved for use in Europe and other countries that recognize CE Mark as a non-surgical option for the treatment of mitral regurgitation (MR), or a leaky heart valve. The device is already approved for use in the U.S.

The MitraClip G4 system provides physicians in Europe with enhancements to MitraClip's first-of-its-kind clip-based technology, building upon the device's proven delivery system. In addition to offering advanced steering during implantation, the new delivery system offers four clip sizes, including two wider clips, for doctors to have a greater variety of treatment options that can be tailored to a patients' unique mitral valve anatomy.1 The newest-generation device also offers independently controlled grippers, if needed, that allow physicians to grasp one or both mitral valve leaflets at a time during the MitraClip procedure.

MR is one of the most common heart conditions, affecting one in 10 adults age 75 and older.2,3 Patients with this progressive condition have a mitral valve that does not close completely, allowing blood to flow backward into the left atrium of the heart instead of forwards (out of the heart) and to the rest of the body. While medication can help people manage the symptoms of MR, it does not treat the leaky valve itself. Prior to MitraClip, open-heart surgery was the standard treatment for MR, however, not all patients are eligible or appropriate for open-heart surgery due to the potential risk of complications stemming from comorbidities, advanced age or other issues.

MitraClip is a first-of-its-kind minimally invasive transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr) therapy that can be a life-saving treatment option for select patients with primary or secondary MR.4 The small clip-based device is delivered to the heart through a vein in the leg and clips portions of the leaflets, or flaps, of the mitral valve together to reduce the backflow of blood. Once in place, MitraClip restores the proper functioning of the mitral valve and the heart's ability to pump oxygenated blood more efficiently.

"Despite being consistently recognized as a problem in patients around the world, MR cannot be treated through the conventional method of open-heart mitral valve surgery in more than half of the people who have this condition," said Ralph Stephan Von Bardeleben, head of the Heart Valve Center Mainz, Universitatsmedizin Mainz, Germany, who treated the first MitraClip G4 patients in the EU. "The newest MitraClip therapy offers physicians a reliable option when surgical treatment of MR isn't possible or appropriate, and MitraClip G4's enhancements allow further customization of the therapy to tailor treatment to individual patient needs."

MitraClip is backed by more than 16 years of clinical experience with proven safety, survival and durable clinical outcomes. Data presented at PCR e-Course this year from a real-world clinical study of over 1,000 MitraClip patients showed a high implant success rate (99%) and demonstrated MR reduction to the level of none or trace in patients with either primary MR (to 1+ in 87.1%) or secondary MR (to 1+ in 90.1%) at 30 days. This recent data confirms MitraClip's best-in-class MR reduction to date1 and adds to a body of evidence that demonstrates significant impact for patients, including improved clinical outcomes and quality of life.

"An enduring measure of our mission to help people live better lives through better health is our success in advancing new standards of care for the treatment of structural heart diseases," said Michael Dale, senior vice president of Abbott's structural heart business. "This CE Mark, along with other recent approvals and advancements for our MitraClip device, underscores the need for MitraClip's innovative therapy  which has become a preferred choice for the treatment of mitral regurgitation around the world."

The MitraClip system has been commercially available in the U.S. since 2013 and in Europe since 2008. Recent regulatory milestones for the device include the first-ever commercial introduction of MitraClip therapy to China and approval in Japan for the fourth generation of MitraClip, both in June of 2020. These milestones are of critical importance for the Asia-Pacific region where many people suffer from MR but may not have had a treatment option available to them. Since its initial approval, more than 100,000 people have been treated with MitraClip in all major regions around the world.

For U.S. important safety information on MitraClip visit http://abbo.tt/MitraClipG4ISI.

About Abbott:

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 107,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews and @AbbottGlobal.

1 Rottbauer W. D. Contemporary Clinical Outcomes with MitraClip (NTR/XTR) System: Core-lab Echo Results from +1000 Patient the Global EXPAND Study. Data presented at PCR 2020.

2 Lloyd-Jones D, Adams RJ, Brown TM, et al; American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics2010 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2010;121(7):e46-e215.

3 Nkomo VT, Gardin JM, Skelton TN, Gottdiener JS, Scott CG, Enriquez-Sarano M. Burden of valvular heart diseases: a population-based study. Lancet. 2006;368(9540):1005-1011.

4 Primary MR is caused by an anatomic defect of one or more of the structures of the mitral valve of the heart, while secondary MR occurs in patients with coronary disease, wherein the damage from the disease impairs the performance of a normal mitral valve.

SOURCE Abbott

Related Links

http://www.abbott.com


A bill that would make it easier for young people abused in residential facilities to hold those institutions accountable in court is one step closer to becoming law.

The U.S. House on Monday unanimously passed the Justice for Juveniles Act, which was inspired by The Inquirers investigation into decades of abuse at the Glen Mills Schools, said U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat from Delaware County who introduced the measure. Glen Mills, the nations oldest and most prestigious reform academy, is in Scanlons district.

We have an obligation to protect the well-being of all children, Scanlon said. With the passage of the bill, which will now move to the Senate, she said, we are one step closer to protecting children in corrections facilities."

The bill would eliminate obstacles for young abuse victims to file lawsuits while they are still detained in facilities by exempting people under the age of 22 from the requirements of the 1995 Prison Litigation Reform Act. That act intended to deter prisoners from filing frivolous lawsuits, Scanlon said, but does not take into consideration that incarcerated young people have a higher chance of being abused in facilities, or the difficulty youth face in navigating complex administrative requirements.

Currently, young people in residential facilities are required to file a grievance with the institution before filing a lawsuit, and are not permitted to file for emotional abuse unless they are also claiming physical injuries.

The Justice for Juveniles Act would also exempt young offenders from the PLRAs cap on attorneys fees.

Juvenile Law Center, a national childrens nonprofit organization, along with the Education Law Center, a state advocacy group, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Glen Mills Schools on behalf of former students. Scanlons legislation would allow children to more easily file lawsuits while they are being held at the facilities where they are experiencing abuse.

Young people in justice facilities face a grave risk of solitary confinement, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and exposure to COVID," said Jessica Feierman, senior managing director of the Juvenile Law Center. "Todays win protects vulnerable youth by making it easier for them to seek help from federal courts.

 READ MORE: Nobody listened: How Pa. failed to detect, stop abuse at Glen Mills and other schools

The bills passage is the latest response to The Inquirers reporting, which exposed a decades-long pattern of violent child abuse and cover-ups at Glen Mills. State officials closed the campus in April 2019, and months later, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered an overhaul of youth facilities across Pennsylvania. In June, a report from the state auditor general found that the school failed to comply with child-abuse laws while lacking policies and training related to reporting abuse.

Last week, former Glen Mills counselor Christopher Medina pleaded guilty to assaulting a teenage boy who was under his supervision at the school in 2018.
Angel Broking, one of the largest retail broking houses in India, will open its maiden public issue for subscription on September 22.

It would be eighth IPO this year to hit Dalal Street after SBI Card, Rossari Biotech, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, Happiest Minds Technologies, Route Mobile, Computer Age Management Services and Chemon Speciality Chemicals.

The public offer will close on September 24. Equity shares are proposed to be listed on BSE as well as National Stock Exchange.

ICICI Securities, Edelweiss Financial Services and SBI Capital Markets are the book running lead managers to the offer.

Here are 10 key things you should know before subscribing to the public issue:

1) About the Angel Broking IPO

The Rs 600-crore initial public offering consists of a fresh issue of Rs 300 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 300 crore.

The offer for sale comprises Rs 18.33 crore worth of shares selling by promoter Ashok D Thakkar, Rs 4.5 crore by another promoter Sunita A Magnani, Rs 120 crore by investor IFC and Rs 157.16 crore by an individual selling shareholder.

Bids can be made for a minimum of 49 equity shares and in multiples of 49 equity shares thereafter.

2) Angel Broking IPO Price Band

Company in consultation with merchant bankers has fixed issue price at Rs 305-306 per equity share.

3) Objects of Offer

Net proceeds from the fresh issue will be utilised for working capital requirements and general corporate purposes, while the company will not receive any proceeds from the offer for sale.

4) Company Profile

Company is one of the largest retail broking houses in India in terms of active clients on NSE as of June 2020 (Source: CRISIL Report). It is a technology-led financial services company providing broking and advisory services, margin funding, loans against shares (through one of the subsidiaries AFPL) and financial products distribution to clients under the brand Angel Broking.

The company provides broking and allied services through (i) online and digital platforms, and (ii) network of over 11,000 authorised persons as of June 2020. Company managed Rs 13,254 crore in client assets and over 21.5 lakh operational broking accounts as of June 2020.

The company grows its retail broking, margin funding and distribution businesses through online and digital platforms, Angel Broking Mobile App, trade.angelbroking.com, Angel SpeedPro, Angel BEE, which are powered by ARQ, a rule-based investment engine. Company is a member of BSE, NSE, MSEI, MCX and NCDEX.

Angel Broking has three group companies - Angel Insurance Brokers and Advisors, Jack & Jill Apparel and Nirwan Monetary Services.

The company has consistently paid a dividend during FY16 to FY20 and the latest in July 2020, it announced 12.10% dividend against face value of Rs 10.

5) Angel Broking Strengths

>> One of the largest retail broking houses with strong brand equity;>> Client acquisition through diversified digital platforms;>> Integrated, end-to-end, and advanced digital experience ensuring client satisfaction;>> Diversified product offering across segments at a competitive price;>> Robust business metrics building operating leverage;

>> Experienced management team with proven execution capabilities.

6) Business Strategies

>> Strengthen leadership position to become the largest retail broking business in India;>> Augment investment in the mobile platform, artificial intelligence, machine learning capabilities and newer technologies;>> Establish a leadership position in the investment advisory space to support our business;

>> Capitalisation of the growing investable wealth in India;

7) Financials and Peers

Angel Broking has reported a 3.6 percent fall in revenue at Rs 710.5 crore in FY20 compared to the previous year, and revenue in Q1FY21 stood at Rs 236.1 crore. Profit grew by 12.9 percent YoY to Rs 86.6 crore in FY20 and in Q1FY21, it was at Rs 38.2 crore.

In FY20, the company reported EBITDA of Rs 154 crore with margin at 22 percent due to healthy average daily turnover (ADTO) growth (led by flat brokerage) and controlled operating expenses.

Brokerage business accounted for 69.54 percent of the total revenue, while the balance 30.46 percent business to revenue contributed by lending activities, income from depository operations, portfolio management services, income from distribution, and other activities.

The company increased its client base by 36.81 percent CAGR from 10.6 lakh in FY18 to 21.5 lakh as on June 2020. In the three months period ending June 2020, company witnessed an average monthly client addition of approximately 1,15,565 clients, over a monthly average of 46,676 clients in FY20 representing a growth of 147.59 percent. Over the last year, it has more than doubled overall turnover market share in the retail broking space in India.

The number of operational accounts increased from 10.6 lakh in March 2018 to 21.5 lakh in June 2020. It witnessed a 151.91 percent CAGR from FY18 until the period ended June 2020 in average monthly net client addition run rate, against the broking industry growth of 43.63 percent CAGR. This led to a significant improvement in its market share in incremental demat accounts from FY18 (4.16 percent) until June 2020 (14.72 percent).

Company acquired 85.21 percent of clients digitally, of which, 53.31 percent are acquired through performance marketing, 20.72 percent through referrals from existing clients and approximately 11.18 percent through digital influencers. The remaining 14.79 percent of clients are acquired through network of authorised persons.

The company says ICICI Securities, Geojit Financial Services, IIFL Securities, Motilal Oswal Financial Services and JM Financial are its listed industry peers. It is the fourth largest broking house on the basis of active clients on the NSE, after Zerodha, ICICI Securities and RKSV.

8) Angel Broking Promoters

Dinesh D Thakkar, Ashok D Thakkar and Sunita A Magnani are the promoters of Angel Broking. As of September 15, promoters collectively held 2,07,18,725 equity shares, equivalent to 28.77 percent of the pre-offer paid-up equity capital of the company.

9) Management

Dinesh D Thakkar is the Chairman and Managing Director of the company, who has over 25 years of experience in the broking industry.

Vinay Agrawal is Whole Time Director and Chief Executive Officer. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He has over 18 years of experience in the broking industry.

Uday Sankar Roy, Kamalji Sahay and Anisha Motwani are Independent Directors, while Ketan Shah is the Non-Executive Director.

10) Shareholding

Promoters and promoter group held 55.20 percent equity stake in the company, including Dinesh D Thakkar's 23.29 percent stake, and the rest is held by the public as of September 15, the date of filing red herring prospectus with Sebi.

Equity shareholding of the 10 largest equity shareholders of the company:
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Editorial

Whats the end game?

When the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presents its throne speech on Wednesday, Canadians will want to hear more than a shopping list of new initiatives it hopes to introduce in the upcoming session of Parliament. They will want to know whether Mr. Trudeau has a plan to balance his aspirations with some semblance of fiscal reality.

To date, aspirations have taken precedence in that equation. That is not a criticism; along with the rest of the world, Canada is suffering through a global pandemic without the comfort of a playbook. COVID-19 has been an unprecedented seismic event that will change the world forever.

In the face of this crisis, the Trudeau government has performed admirably, with some exceptions. It expedited economic supports on a fail-fast basis, introducing programs and then amending them as necessary. Although there have been missteps, millions of Canadians can say without reservation that the government was there for them in their time of need.

But all that help has come with an enormous cost which, to date, has been absent of a plan to pay it off. The federal deficit is expected to soar to more than $340 billion. Even newly elected Conservative Leader Erin OToole has conceded it will take a decade to return the federal budget to balance.

At some point, Mr. Trudeau and newly appointed Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland are going to have to enunciate a plan to start moving the federal treasury back toward balance. The size of the challenge does not absolve the federal government from the obligation to plot a path back to fiscal stability.

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At some point, that will require the Liberals to identify their priorities: things that must be done now and things that can be deferred until the economy starts to grow again.

These will be difficult choices. Simply cutting spending would only make a bad economic situation even worse; whatever the government saves in direct costs would be offset by lower economic growth. Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Freeland will find more progress can be made by prioritizing current and future big-ticket initiatives.

Already, the prime minister has promised an "ambitious green agenda" in the throne speech that will seek to improve energy efficiency and wean the country off its reliance on the oil and gas sector. This is a worthy goal, but if the Liberal government is going to make this the cornerstone of its renewed agenda, then it will have to put off other initiatives. Its not clear Mr. Trudeau is ready to do that.

The traditional pre-speech leaks suggest the Liberals will promise to deliver enhanced support for child care and a national pharmacare program. As well, there has been some discussion about a basic-income program to replace existing social- and income-support programs. Meanwhile, the provinces are demanding huge increases in health-care transfers.

All are worthy causes, but the billions of additional dollars needed to bring these ideas to life may not be available as Ottawa struggles to provide basic economic supports to Canadians impacted by the pandemic.

The throne speech offers an excellent opportunity to lay out a governments ambitions for the future. In this speech, Mr. Trudeau needs to balance his ambitions with a small dose of fiscal reality, so he doesnt end up promising things for which he can never hope to pay.
Nearly two weeks after the Supreme Court (SC) stayed reservation to the Maratha community in jobs and education in Maharashtra, the state government filed an application seeking vacation of this order in the apex court on Monday. The state government has pleaded that the stay was unjust and that the state did not get a fair opportunity to argue the merits of the move.

The three-judge bench of the Apex court has, on September 9, stayed the reservation to Marathas in jobs and education for 2020-21 and transferred the case to a five-judge constitutional bench.

The Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018 gives the community reservation of 12% and 13% in employment and education, respectively. The stay has sparked unrest among the community members who have started protests across the state for the restoration of the reservation.

The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is now hoping for damage control to avoid the wrath of the influential community.

The state government counsel moved a request plea for the vacation of the interim stay which is expected to come before the five-judge constitutional bench by next week. The state has pleaded that the interim order given by the three-judge bench was unjust and should have been decided by the constitutional bench.

None of the earlier reservation-related petitions which were transferred to the constitutional bench under article 145(3) were stayed. There was no need for the stay while transferring the case to the larger bench. Secondly, the order talks about exceeding 50% reservation and lack of exceptional and extraordinary conditions in giving such reservation. In fact, the reservation given and later upheld by the Bombay high court is based on the Gaikwad Commissions report which has proved the situation. The three-judge bench had given us the direction to not argue on the merit of the case as our plea was for the transfer of the case to the larger bench. Despite this, the stay order talks about the merit. We have raised all these points in the plea, said an official from the law and judicial department.

The 35-page application filed by the state government has another 225-page annexure which include earlier orders and two chapters of the Gaikwad Commission that talks about the exceptional and extraordinary situation in which the reservation was given.

The officer said the application has also mentioned how the ongoing process of college admissions is being hampered and students are left in lurch owing to the order.

Meanwhile, public works minister and former chief minister Ashok Chavan, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on reservation, met National Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Monday to discuss the issue. He reportedly briefed Pawar about the stand taken by the state government. Pawar had suggested the option of an ordinance to safeguard the reservation in college admissions. Legal experts and the law and judiciary department of the government have, however, advised the government against it. According to them, the ordinance is not maintainable on legal grounds and was likely to be struck down by the court. The review petition, too, cannot be filed in an interim order. The plea for the vacation of the interim stay was the only valid way out and we have opted for it, said a minister requesting anonymity.

Chavan later said the state government will push for early decision on the reservation in the Apex court.

Meanwhile, Dhangar community, too, has started a state-wide protest for their inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe category. After their protest in Parbhani, Bharatiya Janata Party legislator and community leader Gopichand Padalkar said they would intensify the protest if the government does not start issuing them certificates under the ST category.

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Another smoky sky period is on the way for the skies over Michigan. Heres a look at how long the smoke-covered skies could last.

The upper-level winds are swinging to blowing out of the west and southwest. That wind direction is moving an area of wildfire smoke that almost covers the entire western half of the U.S.

The leading edge of the smoke is now moving into Michigan.

Light gray shading from the southwest U.S. to the Great Lakes is smoke from western wildfires.

The smoke plume is very large. It shows up as a fuzzy, light gray on the U.S. satellite map above. The smoke stretches from the southwest up through the central Rockies to northern Plains and the Great Lakes.

A better look at what is coming toward Michigan shows on a closer satellite sector. Its really clear on the image that the leading edge of smoke stretches from Saginaw to Grand Rapids.

Smoke clearly shows up in light gray across the northwest half of Lower Michigan.

The weather forecast for this week is for quite a bit of sunshine and fairly light winds. This means the large area of smoke wont be pushed out of the sky quickly.

A model shows the movement and amount of the smoke concentration for the next five days.

Forecast model of amount of smoke from Monday, September 21 to Friday, September 25.

Today, Tuesday and Wednesday look to have fairly thick smoke over Michigans sky. You might even smell smoke at times. The second half of the week will have less smoke in the air. This stretch of smoky sky wont end until the next weather system gets here, which will be next Sunday.

Get ready for more great sunrises and sunsets this week.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is close to securing enough GOP support to hold a vote on President Trump's third Supreme Court nominee before Election Day. (EPA)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is closing in on securing the votes needed to potentially confirm Donald Trumps third conservative Supreme Court nominee before Novembers election to decide which party control the White House and both chambers of Congress.

The president made clear Monday morning that he wants the upper chamber to vote before 3 November, telling Fox & Friends in another telephone interview that he thinks there is ample time to move his coming nominee through a process that typically includes meetings with each senator and public confirmation hears, followed by floor debate and a simple-majority vote.

That leaves Mr McConnell and his top lieutenants working behind the scenes to convince at least 50 of their 53-senator caucus to get on board with Mr Trumps desired timeline. The majority leader has already lost two GOP members, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. He can lose only one more.

Losing two more would leave Vice President Mike Pence, who can vote as president of the Senate under the Constitution, unable to cast the 51st and deciding vote in favor of a coming nominee Mr Trump said on Monday would be young and someone who abides by the Constitution.

The president and Mr McConnell moved closer Sunday evening to locking in enough votes for one of the speediest confirmation processes in US history when two GOP senators considered institutionalists announced they are fine with a pre-election vote.

No one should be surprised that a Republican Senate majority would vote on a Republican presidents Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year, retiring GOP Senator Lamar Alexander said in a statement. Senator McConnell is only doing what Democrat leaders have said they would do if the shoe were on the other foot.

Because he is not seeking re-election, some Senate watchers had opined that Mr Alexander might put maintaining whats left of the Senates decorum as well as allowing voters to weigh in above getting a sixth conservative on the high court. He chose the latter.

Story continues

So, too, did Ohio Senator Rob Portman, also fingered as an institutionalist and who hails from a swing state.

Leader McConnell has said that he will hold a vote on any nominee President Trump sends to the Senate, and I intend to fulfill my role as a U.S. Senator and judge that nominee based on his or her merits, Mr Portman said in a statement. "The president was elected in 2016, in part, based on a commitment to nominate men and women to the judiciary who would fairly and impartially apply the law and protect the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, not advance public policy goals by legislating from the bench.

Like several of his GOP colleagues did on the Sunday morning political talk shows, Mr Portman suggested centuries of history are on his partys side.

Since the 1880s, no Senate has confirmed an opposing-party presidents Supreme Court nominee in a presidential election year, he said. In contrast, when the presidency and the Senate are controlled by the same party, the precedent is for the presidents nominees to get confirmed. In the 19 occasions that a vacancy has occurred when the President and the Senate are of the same party, the Senate has confirmed the nominee and filled the seat in every instance but one.

To that end, Mr Trump claimed during his Fox call-in that, if Democrats controlled both the White House and Senate, they would also try filling the vacancy before Election Day.

Then-President Barack Obama tried just that in 2016, nominating Judge Merrick Garland to the high court during his final year. One difference: He did so with nearly a year until that presidential election. There are just 43 days left this time.

Mr Trump said Monday he intends to announce his nominee Friday or Saturday, after all services for the late Justice Ginsburg have concluded out of all due respect. If he waits until Saturday, there would be just 38 days for the Senate to look into his nominees background and legal cannon, prepare for and hold public confirmation hearings, then move to debate on the chamber floor and a final vote.

Mr Trump, far from an upper chamber expert, on Monday declared we have a lot of time before 3 November.

On Sunday, Ms Murkowski said otherwise.

"I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia, she said in a statement. We are now even closer to the 2020 election  less than two months out  and I believe the same standard must apply," she said in a statement.

She has bucked, and irked, the GOP president before. He issued a warning on Fox, saying he expects voters in Alaska will remember her decision on the SCOTUS vote timing.

Shes not up for two years, he said, referring to her next re-election race. I think it will follow her.

Read more

'Abuse of power': Biden hits out at Trump move to replace Ginsburg ahead of election

Trump to announce SCOTUS nominee by Saturday and has shortlist of five

Trump mocks RBGs dying wish and claims it was invented by Pelosi or Schumer

Trump dares Nancy Pelosi to impeach him again to delay Supreme Court process in Senate

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A pioneering justice and liberal icon
The Emmys lined up dozens of live feeds from nominees in locations all over the world, but it turns out the only one they needed was in Toronto: In its sixth and final season, Schitts Creek swept the comedy category on Sunday night, taking home seven wins at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. The show won a total of nine Emmys this year, the most ever for a comedy in a single year.

Catherine OHara kicked things off with the first acting Emmy win of her career for her role as the fan favorite, wig-obsessed diva Moira Rose.

This is so cool, OHara said as she accepted her statuette in a sequined black dress and matching mask from a Rose-filled party in Toronto. I will forever be grateful to Eugene and Daniel Levy for the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age  my age  who gets to fully be her ridiculous self.
The phase-III or the last stage of clinical trial of the Covid-19 vaccine 'Covishield' , being developed by Oxford University, and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), began today at the state-run Sassoon General Hospital in Pune, Maharashtra on Monday, a senior official said.

"We have started the phase-III trials of the vaccine candidate. We will administer dose to 150 to 200 volunteers," said Dr Muralidhar Tambe, Dean, Sassoon General Hospital, reported PTI.

"Those who are willing to volunteer for vaccination can contact on the following numbers--8550960196, 8104201267," a statement said.

The phase II trial of Covishield was conducted at Bharti Vidyapeeth Medical College and King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Pune.

The SII has partnered with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca for manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine candidate, being developed by the University of Oxford.

Earlier this month, the SII had paused the clinical trials of the vaccine candidate in the country.

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had on September 11 directed the SII to suspend any new recruitment in the phase-II and III clinical trial of the vaccine till further orders after AstraZeneca paused the trials in other countries because of "an unexplained illness" in a participant in the study.

However, on September 15, DCGI allowed the Serum Institute to restart its phase two and three clinical trials for the Covishield Vaccine after the pharma major submitted the recommendations of the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), UK and DSMB India and requested permission to restart enrolment in the subject clinical trial of the vaccine.

Moreover, Serum Institute of India will begin the trial of another Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by Novavax in next month. US drug developer Novavax Inc earlier announced that it has revised its deal with world's largest vaccine manufacturing company Serum Institute of India (SII) in order to produce 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines.

In August, Novavax signed a deal with Pune-based Serum Institute to produce a minimum of one billion doses of its vaccine candidate for low-and middle-income countries and India.

However, as a part of the expanded agreement, Serum Institute will also manufacture the antigen component of NVXCoV2373, Novavax COVID19 vaccine candidate.

With inputs from PTI

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NEW YORK - In a normal September, leaders of nations big and small would converge on New York this week, giving the United States largest city a chance to show itself off as a crossroads of the world.

But this year, the usual lineup of presidents, premiers, monarchs and other dignitaries wont be sweeping into the city for the U.N. General Assemblys annual top-level meeting and the conferences, high-stakes sit-downs and hobnobbing that surround it. The assembly has moved online because of the coronavirus, compounding the pandemics blows to the citys economy and worldly esprit.

We are a cosmopolitan city. You know, we are the melting pot of the world, And to not have the world come to us this way is chipping away at this beautiful city that we had pre-COVID, says restaurateur Philippe Massoud.

Ordinarily, he would be looking forward to one of the best weeks of the year at ilili, his Lebanese-Mediterranean restaurant. Its about a mile (1.6 km) from the U.N. and has drawn a number of prominent figures, particularly during the annual assembly summits, he says.

Were a great place for diplomatic first dates, Massoud explains. The eaterys mezze - small dishes meant for sharing  serve as icebreakers, he says: Mezze and diplomacy go hand-in-hand. Those tete-a-tetes arent on the menu during this assembly, which comes as ilili and other New York restaurants are already straining from a monthslong ban this spring on dining out, continuing limitations on table service, and worries about the citys overall path to recovery.

As the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak this spring, New York City has lost more than 23,000 residents to confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19. Thats more than the nationwide death tolls reported in most countries.

New York wrangled the virus down to fairly low, stable levels in late spring but remains wary. On top of U.S. restrictions on certain international travellers, New York requires visitors from most U.S. states to quarantine themselves on arrival, and big gatherings and even indoor restaurant dining are still banned.

The city says it appreciates that the U.N., which donated 250,000 much-needed surgical masks in late March, took the initiative to hold its signature big meeting by video for the first time in its 75 years.

From a city perspective, we have been very grateful for that, said Penny Abeywardena, New York Citys international affairs commissioner. Unfortunately, the economic impact is going to be significant.

Even in a city that has boasted of drawing 65 million visitors a year, the U.N. gathering is one of the most notable, and noticeable, annual events.

About 25,000 people entered the U.N. headquarters just on the first day of last years roughly weeklong meeting, according to the organization. The citys hotels  currently making only about 20% of their normal revenue  usually reap about $20 million from assembly attendees room rentals alone, said Vijay Dandapani, the CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, a trade group.

Police and federal authorities have mobilized massive efforts to protect General Assembly meetings, setting up such extensive roadblocks that the city declares gridlock alert days. Even pedestrians get screened at checkpoints blocks away from the UN complex. Police wouldnt discuss this years security plan.

As the U.N.s big week began Monday morning with a session marking the world bodys 75th anniversary, curbside police barricades lined the avenue outside but traffic flowed normally, with no police-escorted motorcades whizzing by. A smattering of news cameras stood in a usually jam-packed space outside the gate. In a nearby area often crowded with multiple groups of protesters, about a dozen demonstrators opposing Belarus authoritarian president had the place to themselves.

Local residents could go about their business as usual, though for many, security, blockades and protests are features that we just accept as part of living near the U.N., said Roland Peracca of Tudor City, an enclave overlooking the headquarters. I wish them well in their efforts to achieve world peace.

There was little of the usual hubbub at the Millennium Hilton across from the U.N., a favourite of leaders, including Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The hotel has been more oriented of late toward medical professionals, providing them a total of over 17,500 free nights earlier this year, the company said.

Two blocks away, Patsys, a pizza-and-pasta place, is usually packed with diplomats this week, Gus Manessis said.

We have people that we know them for years  every General Assembly, they come here. And this year, were going to miss em, he said. Its killing our business.

Beyond the diplomats and dignitaries, the assembly also brings aides, civil society activists and everyday citizens to New York, showcasing the city to the world, the hotel associations Dandapani said.

Just think about it  how many of those people, from 193 countries, get a chance to come here and report back on the citys diverse vibrancy, he mused.

There is no city like New York, he said, and there is no better message than the cultural message that is sent over by the kind of polyglot, polyethnic city that we are.

___

Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak and video journalist David R. Martin contributed. Follow Jennifer Peltz on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz
The chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) national caretaker committee, Mala Buni, and the chairman of the Edo State APC gubernatorial election campaign council, Abdullahi Ganduje, met with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday.

Although the meeting was held behind closed doors and the attendees did not disclose details of their discussion, the party officials are believed to have briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on the partys performance in the election.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the APC was defeated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Edo governorship election.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of PDP defeated Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC and 12 other candidates in the election.

Messrs Buni and Ganduje, governors of Yobe and Kano respectively, were seen departing the presidents office using a private route, ostensibly to avoid State House reporters.

President Muhammadu Buhari did not go to Edo to campaign for his partys candidate but pledged to ensure a free and fair election in the state.

Some APC officials in Edo have, however, accused the PDP of rigging the election. However, the APC has not said whether or not it would challenge the result of the election in court.
Selbyville, Delaware, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



According to latest report Micro Data Center Market by Component (Solution [Power, Networking, Cooling, Rack & Enclosure {Upto 24U, 24U to 40U, Above 40U}, DCIM], Service [Installation & Integration, Maintenance & Support, Consulting]), Application (BFSI, Colocation, Energy, Government, Healthcare, Industrial, IT & Telecom), Regional Outlook, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast 2026, by Global Market Insights, Inc., the market valuation of micro data centers will cross $15 billion by 2026. The demand for compact and portable infrastructure that ensures data security and efficient management will drive the market growth.

DCIM software enables businesses to monitor, measure, and manage data centers, covering both IT equipment and infrastructure such as cooling and power systems. It helps data center managers to achieve maximum energy efficiency and prevent system downtime. DCIM enables monitoring and automation of the power, environmental control, and security. It ensures that the data center is operating efficiently and provides user-configurable thresholds for alarms on physical devices including heat, ventilation, and air conditioning. Planning and implementation of software enable data center owners to make changes and deploy new equipment for improving efficiency and track assets.

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https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2762

The micro data center market will gain traction with the growing popularity of colocation services. High costs involved in the construction of a new data center will restrict several businesses from building their own data centers. Colocation services reduce the overall IT infrastructure costs and the additional expenses incurred for cooling and power equipment. Increasing the adoption of data center colocation services for convenience and efficient infrastructure management will fuel the demand for high-quality micro data centers. Several colocation providers are strengthening their offerings to enhance the market presence. Players, such as Eaton Corporation and Vertiv Group Corp., offer both micro data centers and colocation services in their portfolio to solidify their industry position.

The increasing industrial sector in the MEA coupled with the advent of digitalization will provide growth opportunities to the micro data center market. UAE Vision 2021 and Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 initiatives are directed toward building modern economies and establishing a globally integrated business environment. Rise in the number of businesses adopting digital techniques will encourage industry leaders to develop energy-efficient, cost-effective, and portable infrastructure that can be rapidly deployed with minimum space occupancy. In addition, the rising adoption of cloud computing and IoT in South Africa will boost the demand for edge computing for moving data centers close to the customers.

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Some major findings of the micro data center market report are:

Several IT trends including Content Distribution Networks (CDN) and IoT are propelling the need to reduce telecommunications latency and bandwidth costs. Construction of micro data centers closer to the points of utilization will reduce the latency and costs from the cloud or other remote data centers.

The rise of edge computing technologies is a major driving factor of the micro data center market. The distance of the end user from the data center will impact the delivery of digital services with increased bandwidth costs. Micro data centers enable the efficient deployment of edge computing.

Scalability, speed of deployment. and reliability offered by micro data center infrastructure will influence the industry growth. Integrated infrastructure in a micro data center ensures portability due to the compactness of the design.

will influence the industry growth. Integrated infrastructure in a micro data center ensures portability due to the compactness of the design. Increasing demand for efficient data centers from compute intensive applications, such as AI and IoT, will augment the market size. There will be a demand for highly integrated racks & enclosures and efficient power and cooling equipment for optimum functioning of data centers.

Table of Contents (ToC) of the report:

Chapter 3 Micro Data Center Market Insights

3.1 Industry segmentation

3.2 Impact of coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic

3.2.1 Global outlook

3.2.2 Regional impact

3.2.2.1 North America

3.2.2.2 Europe

3.2.2.3 Asia Pacific

3.2.2.4 South America

3.2.2.5 MEA

3.2.3 Industry value chain

3.2.3.1 Research and development

3.2.3.2 Manufacturing

3.2.3.3 Marketing

3.2.3.4 Supply

3.2.4 Competitive landscape

3.2.4.1 Strategy

3.2.4.2 Distribution network

3.2.4.3 Business growth

3.3 Industry ecosystem analysis

3.3.1 Distribution channel analysis

3.3.2 Vendor matrix

3.4 Technology & innovation landscape

3.4.1 Network Function Virtualization (NFV)

3.4.2 Software Defined Networking (SDN)

3.4.3 Edge computing

3.4.4 Impact of IoT

3.5 Regulatory landscape

3.6 Impact forces

3.6.1 Growth drivers

3.6.2 Industry pitfalls & challenges

3.7 Growth potential analysis

3.8 Porter's analysis

3.8.1 Supplier power

3.8.2 Buyer power

3.8.3 Threat of new entrants

3.8.4 Threat of substitutes

3.9 PESTEL analysis

3.9.1 Political

3.9.2 Economic

3.9.3 Social

3.9.4 Technological

3.9.5 Environmental

3.9.6 Legal

Browse Complete Table of Contents (ToC) @

https://www.gminsights.com/toc/detail/micro-data-center-market

About Global Market Insights, Inc.

Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology.
A suspect was arrested for allegedly "sending a suspicious letter" after law enforcement agents intercepted an envelope addressed to President Trump containing the poison ricin, the FBI confirmed in an emailed statement to Axios Sunday.

Details: The suspect, a woman, was arrested while trying to enter New York from Canada, law enforcement sources said.

The big picture: The FBI and Secret Service are investigating after two tests confirmed the presence of the toxin following the interception of the mail earlier this week, CNN first reported.

All mail addressed to the White House is sorted and screened at an offsite facility before reaching the White House.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement it was assisting in the investigation after receiving a "request for assistance from the FBI in connection with a suspicious letter sent to the White House."

What else they're saying: "The FBI and our U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service partners are investigating a suspicious letter received at a U.S. government mail facility. At this time, there is no known threat to public safety," the FBI said in an earlier statement.
A Sydney father who was arrested while taking his family on a holiday to Egypt in January is being held in prison for liking a Facebook post almost a decade ago.

Waled Youssef, 45, is a dual Australian and Egyptian citizen who runs a cement rendering business in Sydney after migrating to the country in his mid-twenties.

He has spent the past eight months locked up in a Cairo prison, labelled the worst in the Middle East, with more than a dozen cell mates as the deadly COVID pandemic rages through the facility.

Waled Youssef, 45, is a dual Australian and Egyptian citizen who runs a cement rendering business in Sydney after migrating to the country (pictured with wife Fadia)

They have two young boys who have returned to Australia with Mrs Youssef (pictured)

His lawyers, Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC and Jennifer Robinsony, have publicly called on Scott Morrison to abandon 'quiet diplomacy' and apply pressure for Mr Youssef's release.

'Mr Youssef is unlawfully detained in Tora Prison in a squalid cell he shares with 17 others,' his lawyers told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'Mr Youssef's detention is not only unlawful, but life-threatening. There have been numerous reports of COVID-19 deaths in Tora, including three prisoner deaths in the past fortnight, and the death of a prison officer,' they said.

The prison is where Australian journalist Peter Greste was held for more than a year before being released after international pressure.

Mr Youssef's wife Fadia and their two young sons were forced to return to Australia and have not been able to return to Egypt because of travel bans, leaving the family distraught. '

'My husband is in prison for allegedly liking an innocuous Facebook post years ago. He's done nothing wrong, but he is being kept in prison where people are dying of COVID. We are terrified he will get sick and not be able to come home.' Mrs Youssef said.

His lawyers say Egyptian authorities case on Mr Youssef is based on him liking a Facebook post by a former political candidate in 2012.

The former candidate has also been imprisoned by the Egyptian government in the years since his campaign.

Security officers patrol one of the gates of Cairo's notorious Tora Prison (pictured)

The detention, they claim, is a violation of international law and they have also called on United Nations special rapporteurs and a working group on arbitrary detention to take action.

An appeal to release Mr Youssef was denied in January and a second appeal in March postponed because of coronavirus.

His detention has been extended on six occasions without reasons given, his lawyers claim, with another hearing scheduled for October.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said they are aware of the case with the Australian Embassy actively working on the matter.

'Our embassy in Cairo is regularly engaging with Egyptian authorities, including to seek more regular consular access, and is continuing to follow the case very closely. Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment,' a spokeswoman said.
Los Angeles: TV presenters Giuliana Rancic and Vivica A Fox, who were scheduled to co-host 2020 Emmy Awards preshow, pulled out from the live event after they tested positive for coronavirus. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the duo were set to go live on channel E! from the Red Carpet for the Emmys".

Rancic joined the networks coverage via video stream to reveal her diagnosis. As I go into my 20th year on the E! red carpet I have to say I do not take missing an award show lightly, but unfortunately this year is just so different," she said.

She went on to say that because of E! and NBCUniversals very strict testing guidelines," she learned she tested positive for the virus. Now as much as I didnt want to hear that, Im very thankful I heard it before I travelled and possibly could have exposed other people," she added.

Rancic also revealed that her husband, entrepreneur Bill Rancic and son Duke Rancic also tested positive, but theyre all doing well and taking care of each other". Fox, in a statement released later on in the preshow, said she was giving this years ceremony a miss as she had contracted COVID-19.

During these unprecedented times, its more important than ever that we follow all safety and health rules and guidelines to protect ourselves and each other," she added. As Rancic and Fox were unable to headline the preshow, E! style correspondent Brad Goreski, E! News The Rundown" host Erin Lim, actor Laverne Cox and Nightly" Pop co-host Nina Parker filled in for them.

The 72nd edition of Emmys award ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
The gardai are appealing to students and young people to never allow other people to use their bank accounts, ATM cards, or pin numbers in case they become 'money mules'.

This comes after gardai revealed today that someone as young as 15 has been arrested for money muling.

Money muling occurs when stolen money is passed through another person's bank account.

The gardai say that young people are being targeted in secondary schools, colleges and online via social media, with most people being told they will receive a percentage of the money if they authorise the use of their account.

However, the gardai are warning that in many cases, the organised crime group will clear the person's account once the ATM card or pin number has been handed over, and there is no monetary gain for the money mule.

30 people have been arrested as part of Operation Ransom, the garda investigation into people allowing their bank accounts to be used by organised crime groups to withdraw and deposit money which was stolen from other bank accounts.

In total, 1.5 million has been stolen so far.

Of the 30 persons arrested, 18 are male, 12 are female and the people are located all over Ireland.

The youngest person was 15 and the oldest was 38. Over half (16) of the people arrested were juveniles.

Gardai say they are aware of hundreds of other incidents of young people acting as money mules in Ireland, and more arrests are expected.

The gardai are advising the public that there are serious consequences for people who act as a money mule for organised crime groups, including arrests, charges and convictions under the Money Laundering and Terrorism Act.

A conviction of this type carries a potential prison sentence of 14 years. It could also affect visa applications to work abroad, could place the person on terrorist watch lists, and could affect their ability to work in the financial sector, as well as affecting their credit rating and vetting applications.

The gardai added that the money mule is helping international organised criminal groups and enhancing their capability to make money, and said their actions are financing drug and people smuggling, terrorism and prostitution, "among many other offences."

Gardai are appealing to people to not allow their account to be used by anyone else.

"Do not give away your ATM card or your pin number and do not withdraw or transfer money that comes into your account."
Trump climate change wildfires

US President Donald Trump listens to California Governor Gavin Newsom at Sacramento McClellan Airport in McClellan Park, California on Sept. 14 Credit - Brendan SmialowskiAFP via Getty Images

For months, the Trump campaigns public statements and the Presidents prepared remarks have repeated a message on climate change carefully calibrated not to alienate Republicans worried about the health of the planet: regardless of the science, Democratic plans to address the issue are too expensive. Last week, President Trump disregarded his own campaigns meticulous messaging and offered an assessment of climate change so out of touch with most voters that it may have made even some of his loyalest supporters cringe.

During a stop in California to observe the destruction caused by the states wildfires, Trump called for better forest management to reduce the risk of fire. When pressed by a state official on the link between climate change and worsening wildfires, Trump spoke bluntly  and inaccurately. It will start getting cooler, he said, seemingly conflating the upcoming change of season with the long-term shifting climate. Challenged further, he replied, I dont think science knows actually.

The moment  and Trumps dismissal of climate change more broadly  indicates how disconnected Trump has grown from the popular understanding of the problem. Voters increasingly understand that climate change is happening, and Republicans, including in Trumps own campaign, are seeking to adjust their message on the issue to match public sentiment. Trump hasnt seemed to notice.

I would encourage the President to look at the science, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally who represents South Carolina, said at an event last year. Admit that climate change is real, and come up with solutions that do not destroy the economy like the Green New Deal.

Story continues

Understanding the Trump campaigns strategy on the issue requires looking back to last year, when the Democratic primary was heating up and the word coronavirus would have elicited blank stares in most circles. At the time, climate change seemed poised to be a major issue on in the 2020 race. Some polls showed the issue ranking neck-and-neck with health care as the top issue among Democratic primary voters, and most of the wide field of Democratic contenders scrambled to endorse proposals for a Green New Deal, a massive government spending program that paired emissions reduction with a focus on social justice issues.

But Democrats werent alone. Polling from the Pew Research Center found that 67% of all U.S. adults thought the federal government wasnt doing enough to address climate change. And these findings seem to match the Trump campaigns internal polls. John McLaughlin, one of Trumps top pollsters, said in an interview last year for the podcast Climate 2020 that the vast majority of Americans understand that climate change is happening, but that they remain receptive to arguments that proposed solutions are too costly. Voters are highly cynical, he said. They dont want to lose their jobs over this and they dont want to pay a lot of money.

The Trumps campaigns official message has played out along those lines. The campaign avoids questioning the science of climate change and instead offers exaggerated claims about the price tag of climate policy. In recent months, the Trump campaign has sent email blasts saying Biden has endorsed a job-killing war on energy and called his climate policy socialism. After Biden delivered a speech on climate change on Sept. 14, for example, the Trump campaign released a fact check that took issue with everything from Bidens claim that Trump didnt listen to experts regarding wildfires to Bidens promise of clean energy jobs. Notably absent was any skepticism about the fundamental fact that the Earth is warming and humans are to blame.

Knowing that an ever-increasing number of voters are concerned about these issues, Trumps aides have also sought to soften the Presidents environmental record of regulatory rollbacks and unilateralism with a more positive narrative. Last year, Trump hosted an event at the White House to highlight his environmental accomplishments, which he claimed included reducing carbon emissions and ensuring the cleanest air and crystal clean water. During a Sept. 8 event in Florida, a state already facing many climate-related challenges, Trump simultaneously endorsed a ban on offshore drilling in the state and claimed that he was number one since Teddy Roosevelt on environmental protection.

The ongoing efforts to paint Trump in a green light arent matched with substantive policy. Trumps environmental agenda has consisted largely of undoing rules and regulations created under President Barack Obama, from a rollback of vehicle emissions standards to a nixing of emissions rules for power plants to the departure from the Paris Agreement, the landmark global deal aimed at combating climate change. A Sept. 17 analysis from the Rhodium Group, an independent research that analyzes energy and climate data, found that Trumps climate rollbacks could add as much as 1.8 gigatons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2035. Thats about a third of the countrys emissions last year.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the message of Trump, as an individual candidate, has at times departed from the calibrated message constructed by his campaign. When left to improvise, Trump has made light of climate science and rejected the scientists responsible for producing it.

That messaging aligned with many Republicans a decade ago, but today most of the partys leaders either say they understand that man-made climate change is a reality or avoid talking about the issue entirely. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for example, said he accepted the scientific consensus on global warming last year as talk of the Green New Deal rippled across Capitol Hill. I do. The question is how do you address it, he said when asked whether he believed in man-made global warming. The way to do this consistent with American values and American capitalism is through technology and innovation.

McConnell hasnt offered anything in the way of substantive climate policy, but other Republicans have proposed piecemeal legislation, calling for measures to promote the planting of trees and funding for clean-energy innovation. The desire to promote climate-change credentials has been especially strong among vulnerable Republicans. Graham and Cory Gardner of Colorado, both GOP senators up for re-election in November, have both put their names on a handful of modest environment issues this year and last, including the formation of the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus last year.

This is a far cry from Trumps climate denial, but, in some ways, it is a distinction without a difference. Acknowledging that climate change is real does nothing if that admission isnt accompanied by meaningful policies to address it. And on that score, there isnt much to show.
Patna, Sep 21 : A Maoist extremist absconding for the past 30 years has been nabbed in a joint operation of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Gaya police on Monday.

Rajesh Kumar, the additional SP of Gaya (Operations) has confirmed the development.

The joint forces had prepared a plan to scour the forests in Gaya district near Sherghati subtown.

Without divulging the exact location of operation, the officer called the arrest of such a hardened Maoist 'a surprise catch.' Rahul alias Vikas, the most active member in regional committee of Maoist group was allegedly involved in a number of violent incidents.

"The interrogation of Rahul alias Vikas is currently underway. His claims will be further verified at the regional level where he committed the crimes," Kumar said.

"The CRPF received tip-off from local informers about Naxalites hiding in the forest area. Subsequently, a fool-proof plan was made under the leadership of CRPF DIG Om Prakash Yadav. The joint forces began a combing operation of the forest. When they narrow downed an area, the Maoists tried to escape. But the sleuths managed to catch one of them, who was later identified as Rahul," the officer added.
Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn says loan deferrals cannot last "indefinitely", but further four-month reprieves are available. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

"It is certainly not indefinitely," Mr Comyn said, "but the idea would be there is enough flexibility that we have within the financial system and with the regulators to at least provide up to another four months around repayment deferrals going into calendar 2021."

In a joint podcast for the Institute of Public Administration Australia with Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy, the chief executive of Commonwealth Bank, Matt Comyn, said loan deferrals could not last "indefinitely".

Almost one million loans to both households and small businesses have been granted repayment holidays during COVID-19, with initial six-month reprieves expiring at the end of this month.

"But we also have to realistically assess every customer at an individual level, and ensure that they will be in a position to restart, and if they are not, then there is no point in just kicking that can down the road."

Mr Comyn said Victorians accounted for more than 60 per cent of new requests for assistance, "which makes perfect sense".

Dr Kennedy urged Mr Comyn and other bank chiefs to show "forbearance" amid continued uncertainty about the economic outlook. "I think the banking sector is going to have to think very carefully about that, too, because some sectors may well be viable depending on how the health side of things unfold  Matt will have to be thinking about his customers in Victoria versus other states and how their circumstances unfold."

Treasury Secretary, Steven Kennedy, has urged banks to show "forbearance" in dealing with COVID-19 affected customers. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Dr Kennedy said the banking sector had "done a very good job" so far of contacting customers to restart payments, where possible. However, "for those sectors that remain very badly affected, it is going to have to be a very careful, careful adjustment, and almost some forbearance and a continued watching of circumstances," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 22:59:15|Editor: huaxia

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TAIPEI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan companies received export orders from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong worth of 12.88 billion U.S. dollars in August, up 21 percent year on year and 7.5 percent over July, the island's economic affairs department said Monday.

Orders for electronic products showed the greatest increase, growing by 43.7 percent year on year in August, followed by orders for basic metals and optical components, the department said in a press release.

Export orders from the United States, Europe and the Association of South East Asian Nations also increased year on year in August, while those from Japan dropped, the statement said.

Taiwan companies saw total export orders up 13.6 percent year on year to 45.49 billion dollars in August, but slightly down by 0.2 percent from that of July.

The department attributed the increase of export orders to the soaring demand for high-end semiconductors and long-distance communication products.

The statistics consist of export orders taken by Taiwan enterprises and produced both in and outside Taiwan. Enditem
Several months ago, Nancy and Jack Stegeman decided the time was right to move to Beaumont Commons, Dearborn from a senior living community in Florida.

My husband and I knew we needed more assistance, said Nancy Stegeman, who freely shared other benefits of the move. The campus is close to where their daughter Susan Pike, a speech pathologist, works. Because Pike is a Beaumont employee, her parents receive an independent living apartment discount.

While the Stegemans had planned to move from Florida in February, the COVID-19 pandemic required senior living communities in both states to close, following CDC and local guidelines.

The couple finally made their long-awaited trip to Michigan at the end of July. It didnt take us long to get settled, said Jack Stegeman. Flying up from Florida, we self-quarantined for 14 days to keep everyone safe.

No strangers to Michigan, the couple met in Detroit in 1955. Born in Pennsylvania, Nancy studied nursing at York Hospital in York, Pa., and moved to Michigan to work at Childrens Hospital in Detroit. A native of Muskegon, Jack attended Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

We met on a blind date, said Nancy, and Jack quickly added, I was an hour and a half late, so it took at least three dates for her to look my way.

Looking back over nearly 65 years of marriage, the couple raised five children and now have 17 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren, with more on the way.

Jack talks with pride about his wifes nursing career of more than 30 years and his own experience as a veterinarian, who chose to go back to school to become a science teacher at Rochester High School. He added, I made the change at the right time when Rochester had just built a new high school.

Upon retirement, the Stegemans explored islands in the Pacific Ocean known as the South Seas, enjoyed bus tours throughout Canada and the U.S., visited family working overseas and lived in Florida for the past five years before returning to Michigan.

Today, the couple enjoys reading and visiting the campus library. While getting settled in their new apartment, they have started attending chair exercises in the communitys Rotunda room.

An avid pinochle player, Nancy Stegeman looks forward to meeting other residents who enjoy playing.

While the communitys residents and staff continue to stay safe and socially distanced, the Stegemans know that patience is their strong suit.

They are a lovely couple and a wonderful addition to our campus family, said Diana Davidow, sales coordinator. Were delighted they were patient, persevered and chose to join us in Dearborn.
Donald Trump has blasted America's libel laws for preventing him from taking action against The Atlantic after they claimed he called dead troops 'suckers' and 'losers'.

The President, speaking to Fox News in an interview aired Sunday night, claimed the story was a 'lie' but there was nothing he could do about it.

He also ranted against John Bolton, calling him a 'very stupid person' as well as his opponent Joe Biden who he once again accused of being barely coherent.

Donald Trump has blasted America's libel laws for preventing him from taking action against The Atlantic after they claimed he called dead troops 'suckers' and 'losers'

The report in The Atlantic, published at the start of this month, quoted unnamed military sources claiming the president called US war heroes in a Paris cemetery 'losers' and said 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood were 'suckers' for getting killed.

But Trump said in his latest interview: 'It's all a lie. The worst lie of all is that I'm standing over the grave of soldiers from many years ago, warriors of many years ago, who I cherish, I'm very strong on the military, I love the military and I respect the military.

'They made up a lie that I called them suckers and losers. It was made up by this stupid magazine The Atlantic which I don't read obviously and most other people don't read it either.

'They picked that up and we disputed it and we have so far 27 people who said it never happened. They have no people, unsourced. They end up taking that and making a television commercial out of it.'

He also ranted against John Bolton, calling him a 'very stupid person' who wanted to take America into a new war

Donald Trump told Fox News' Mark Levin that Democrats did not want a quick COVID vaccine

He added: 'It's very sad to see when they can take something like that which is a total lie, which was very successfully disputed, they make a television commercial out of it and I can't do anything from the standpoint of libel.

'Our libel laws are so pathetic, the lawyers, good lawyers, they say "Sir, they'll throw it out, even though you have it 100 per cent, they'll throw it out".'

During the hour-long discussion, Trump also railed against John Bolton, who served as National Security Advisor from 2018 to 2019.

He recently published a best-selling book. The Room Where It Happened, which was critical of the Trump administration.

The President said: 'I will say this, John Bolton was a very stupid person. If I listened to John Bolton, we'd be in World War 5 right now.

'What he did I think was highly illegal, I mean his book is loaded up with confidential and classified information.'

His remarks came days after Bill Barr's Justice Department opened a grand jury probe into whether former National Security Advisor Bolton broke the law by disclosing classified national security information in his tell-all book.

Bolton's book offered his take on the president's interactions with Ukraine, which led to Trump's impeachment in Congress.

Bolton wrote that Democrats in Congress should have probed Trump's interference in DOJ probes to 'give personal favors to dictators he liked.'

The interview was recorded before Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death on Friday, and so host Mark Levin did not ask the president about the Supreme Court decision.

The president said Democrats worried that a vaccine would boost Trump's election chances

He opened his hour-long discussion with questions about coronavirus, as the United State edged towards the grim milestone of 200,000 dead.

Trump said he was confident the virus was going away, and was asked about Democrat attitudes towards a possible vaccine.

'They want to denigrate it, because they started hearing rumors about a vaccine in record time,' said Trump.

'The reason they are doing this is because they think I'll get credit if we get a vaccine before the election.'

Trump said that his government had taken unprecedented steps to work for the speedy development of a vaccine.

'If this was a typical administration we wouldn't have a vaccine for two to three years,' he said. 'But I have changed it, safely. We have many companies doing it, in phase three trial.

'Instead of saying wow, this is great news, they are saying oh, it's coming out too soon, it won't be safe. These are big companies - they won't do that, they'll have tremendous liability.'

Trump said that seniors will be vaccinated first, prioritizing those with heart and respiratory conditions.

Trump said he is hopeful of a vaccine being ready soon and rolled out swiftly

Trump also used his interview to once again mock Joe Biden.

He said the Democrat candidate 'barely knows he's alive', and was incapable of responding to events.

'He's losing the left now because he never mentions the words law and order,' said Trump.

'What we did in Minneapolis was incredible. National Guard - we sent them in - it was over in half an hour. Every one of these cities that has these problems is run by Democrats.'

Trump accused Biden of wanting to turn the United States into Venezuela, and said it would become 'Venezuela on steroids' if the Democrats win.

'And I used to say well be another Venezuela, but I never really...I dont know that I believed it fully,' he said.

'That wasnt too long ago. But I do.

'If that kind of stuff gets put in, we will be another Venezuela, except on major steroids, OK?'

The president was asked about his frequently-voiced concerns over mail-in voting.

Trump repeated in his Sunday interview his long-held concerns about mail-in ballots

He warned once again that there will be a 'tremendous disruption' on Election Day, because voters were confused by the options for casting their ballots, and because of the risks of fraud.

'Look, they know it doesn't work because there have been many races using this over the last 14, 15 months - and I heard there was one yesterday or the day before yesterday, the ballots are so mixed up,' he said.

Trump said he was concerned of reports of 'missing' or fraudulent ballots.

'Now they have a new thing where they don't want to verify signatures because that makes it easier, so you don't have to verify a signature,' he said.

The president also accused some Democratic governors of being 'partisan' and 'political hacks' who are trying to sway the election toward his opponent.

'It's a very tough situation,' he said.

'You look at these governors and you look at - I mean, I don't want to insult anybody, but take a look at some of these governors that are in charge of the ballots - beyond partisan - in many cases political hacks.'

Trump added that he has no issue with traditional absentee balloting, in that it is 'solicited,' but that many states like New Jersey and Nevada are mailing ballots out unsolicited.

'When they just dump millions of ballots all over the country, it's not going to work. It's going to be a disaster. And they know it,' he said.

'And we're talking about many millions of ballots. It's going to be mayhem. It's going to be bedlam, and this is what they want.'
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Everyday activities  how we work, how we study, how we play -- keep us connected not only to other people but also to ourselves. They keep us grounded. Without them, we may feel lost.

The coronavirus pandemic changed many of our daily activities.

In the United States, the health crisis started back in March. Today many Americans are still working from home and studying online. They are still keeping apart from friends and distant family members. Many fun activities no longer feel safe until people are protected from the virus.

But not all activities.

Today we meet a woman who is using a nature activity to stay grounded through the pandemic.

Marci LeFevre lives in the state of Maryland, close to Washington, D.C. I recently went to her home and spoke with her outside her house where she has two beehives. They provide shelter for about 120,000 bees.

So, what were going to do is were going to walk right through here  through that path. And then were going to go right on, like, we can even stand behind the hive, this one right here on the corner.

Spring is an important time for beekeepers. They must see if their bees survived the cold winter months. As temperatures rise, the insects emerge from the hives, looking for flowers.

But spring 2020 was not a normal spring.

Marcie LeFevre recalls that time as bittersweet, meaning it was both good and bad.

With COVID, the COVID pandemic, this spring having that connection to nature became even more important. With springs arrival this bittersweet experience of being so joyful to see spring, but also a sense of loss for what we werent able to do. And a loss for, you know, some people who were losing family members.

Lifelong nature lover

LeFevre describes herself as a lifelong nature lover. In 2014, she took her love of nature a step further. She decided to keep bees.



Ive grown up loving the outdoors. But I do believe that by being a beekeeper Ive become even more in tune seasonally to what is blooming, based on just the behavior the bees.

For Marcie LeFevre, her bees are great teachers. She says she learns something new each time she visits the beehives.

She watches her bees come back home covered in pollen from different flowers. The color of the pollen depends on what flowers are growing in her neighborhood.

On the backs of their legs you can see these brilliant colors. You can actually see the colors. There have been an indigo, blues, brilliant oranges, greens, and you just wonder, What are they getting into? Id love to have a Go-Pro on a bee to see 

The beekeeper says her bees ate well during the summer and are well fed. She knows this by the happy buzzing sound they make.

Through their buzzing, the bees tell her other things as well. One day while near the hives she heard a strange noise.

And it was like a sound Ive never heard before...it was like this meep peep.

She thought it was a child crying. Then she realized the sound was coming from inside the beehives. It was a new queen bee emerging. Queens make this sound to announce themselves.

Oh, it was just an amazing thing. And I think that, in some ways, really captures what I love about beekeeping is just being outside and forgetting about humanity and people and just being so in tune to the sounds of birds, bees, the behavior of the bees 

Seeing the constant lifecycle of the bees has given her a feeling of hope.

Being affected by COVID, I think, made us all in some ways have to find a way to ground ourselves. And for me to come out a couple of times a week to look at the bees and see a cycle of life that -- as it does every spring -- that is kind of starting anew was hopeful.

LeFevre says beekeeping has taught her something else -- the ability to look at the big picture.

 and (it was) helpful to see that life was going on and will go on independent of what we as humans are doing. And I think that bigger picture just really helped me get through this spring -- to know that there are things that have moved through life -- even with bees. Bees get sick. Bees have bad years diseases. And that over time things work out in the end.

LeFevre says the pandemic has affected many things. But she thinks it has slowed life down a little -- long enough for people to stop and listen.

You know, this is a gift for everybody -- to connect with nature because it finds a way when you least except it to heal us and ask nothing in return. As long as I can keep bees...its a gift. And its a gift every season and Im just happy to be able to share it. And the honey, of course. Yes! And the honey!

And thats the Health & Lifestyle report. Im Anna Matteo.

Anna Matteo reported this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Quiz - Bees Help Woman During Pandemic Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

beehive  n. a nest for bees

emerge  v. to come out or into view

joyful  adj. experiencing, causing, or showing joy

lifecycle  n. biology : the series of stages through which a living thing passes from the beginning of its life until its death

in tune  idiom in a state in which people agree with or understand one another

bloom  v. to produce flowers

pollen  n. the very fine usually yellow dust that is produced by a plant and that is carried to other plants of the same kind

brilliant  adj. very impressive or successful

amazing  adj. causing great surprise or wonder : causing amazement
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Monday that his country was going to hell if a government is not formed as French efforts to encourage the formation of a new cabinet falter.

Asked where Lebanon was headed if there was no agreement among its fractious leaders, Aoun responded: Of course  to hell.

As the positions have grown harder, there appears no solution on the horizon soon, he said in a televised address almost a week after the passing of the deadline agreed with France to name a cabinet.

Over the past year, Lebanon has been rocked by unprecedented protests calling for an overhaul of the political system, a deepening economic crisis, a surging coronavirus outbreak and a massive explosion that devastated the capital, Beirut.





Following the resignation of the government in the wake of the August 4 explosion, France has been pushing for the quick formation of a new cabinet and has offered to help provide Lebanon with vital aid if its politicians make good on long-overdue reforms.

But efforts to get Lebanons fractious leaders to agree on a new government by mid-September in order to start fixing the countrys problems have yet to bear fruit.

The cabinet formation process has hit a logjam over the demand of Lebanons two dominant Shia parties -the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement  to name Shia ministers in the cabinet including the finance minister.

In his speech, Aoun proposed annulling sectarian quotas in the main cabinet ministries. When asked whether there is no hope for a breakthrough, Aoun said there might be a miracle.

His remarks come shortly after the countrys Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib urged political forces in the crises-hit country to cooperate to facilitate the formation of a new government.

Lebanon doesnt have the luxury of wasting time amid the unprecedented crises that it is going through, Adib, a Sunni Muslim who is backed by former Lebanese prime ministers including Saad Hariri, said earlier on Monday.

Any additional delay would exacerbate the crises, he warned, and would push people towards poverty and the country towards more deficits.

Adib: cooperation of all parties needed to form a mission govt w/specific program that parties previously pledged to support; govt composed of experts must be capable of stopping collapse; crisis could deepen if further delay, it will push more into poverty #Lebanon https://t.co/RqiycCZj5h  Zeina Khodr (@ZeinakhodrAljaz) September 21, 2020

All parties should cooperate for the formation of a government of technocrats capable of halting the collapse and starting work to get the country out the crises, he said.

Adib said he would spare no effort to achieve this goal in cooperation with the president of the republic.

The delay comes as public anger continues to brew over the explosion at Beiruts port, which killed at least 191 people.

For many Lebanese, the disaster resulted from long-standing corruption and ineptitude among a political class that has failed to establish a functioning state or uphold the rule of law.

Adib has been seeking to appoint ministers so they can begin work on a French reform plan.

Reports say he has sought to switch control of ministries, many of which have been held by the same factions for years. But major Shia Muslim and Christian players in the confessional power-sharing system have complained that Adib has not been consulting them.

The French proposals set out milestones for a new government, ranging from resuming stalled talks with the International Monetary Fund to fixing the broken electricity system.
A recent report from Frost & Sullivan states that the need for telehealth technology will increase by 64.3 percent nationwide in 2020, as the coronavirus continues to spread. IDYA4 today released new telehealth technologies that bridge the gap between healthcare providers and patients. The product, LiveVisit, gives healthcare providers and public health and safety officials an integrated secure platform for telehealth and telemedicine through virtual visits.

IDYA4s launch of the LiveVisit will initially focus on the rural areas including tribes, correction facilities and small hospitals and clinics.

As part of our mission to help build safer and healthier communities, we are proud to announce the release of our LiveVisit platforms. As telehealth and telemedicine needs increase nationwide, IDYA4s new technologies will help rural and tribal communities, as well as public health and public safety professionals, to quickly respond to a health crises with access to a low cost effective platform thats easy to use and can be implemented within hours, said Ashwini Jarral, Chief Operations Officer at IDYA4.

IDYA4s LiveVisit technology, released in partnership with a North American healthcare company CloudMD, gives patients greater access to quality care through various mobile devices. Online journals, health trackers and calendars give patients a secure way to manage their health while giving the user control over his or her medical record viewing. LiveVisit technology also decreases wait times for patients through convenient virtual visits from anywhere with access to the internet via a mobile device or any location with a regular internet connection.

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Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort reopened on Monday for tourists after almost six months of closure due to Covid-19 triggered lockdown. Strict coronavirus safety measures will be taken to contain the spread of the virus, district authorities said.

As of now, only 5,000 visitors would be permitted at the Taj Mahal and only 2,500 would be allowed at Agra Fort. As per Covid-19 protocol- following social distancing and mask wearing will be followed at the monument, while tourists will be allowed to enter in shifts.

Apart from the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, the iconic Bada Imambara and Chhota Imambara in Lucknow have also been opened for tourists from today onwards. Following the regulations, guides and tourists will have to follow social distancing norms, face masks, and sanitization, etc before entering the monument.

Agra: Taj Mahal reopens for public from today as part of #Unlock4. pic.twitter.com/NhVkXMUiVV ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 21, 2020

The reopening of the monuments - which had been closed for the public since March 17 comes amid the process of Unlock 4 in Uttar Pradesh. Other historical monuments like Etmauddaulas tomb, Sikandra, and Fatehpur Sikri were reopened from September 1.

With the decision of reopening Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, the hospitality and tourism industry are hopeful that the looming economic crisis will be curtailed.

As per the unlock 4 guidelines, the Uttar Pradesh government allowed open-air theatres, sports, religious activities to be reopened while lockdown would continue in the containment zones and those violating the guidelines will face legal action.
Washington: US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has called for the postponement of the Senate vote to fill the Supreme Court vacancy until after the November election, following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg .

"Her (Ginsburg's) granddaughter (Clara Spera) said yesterday ... that her dying words were 'My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,'" Biden said in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, adding "as a nation, we should heed her final call."

Biden stressed that the American people have already started voting and appointing a new Supreme Court justice now will be an "abuse of power."

"Even if President (Donald) Trump wants to put forward a name, now, the Senate should not act until after the American people select their next president," he said.

Senator Susan Collins said on Saturday that Trump did have the constitutional authority to make a nomination to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, but because of the upcoming presidential election "the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3" and the Senate should not vote on the nominee prior to the election.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Trump said he was going to nominate a new Supreme Court justice next week and that he did not agree with Collins' stance on the issue.

"I totally disagree with her. We have an obligation, we won, and we have an obligation as the winners to pick who we want. That is not the next president," Trump said, adding "hopefully I will be the next president."

He explained that the obligation that he has concerns all US voters who support him.

The US President named Amy Coney Barrett of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees.

Later on Saturday, speaking at a campaign rally in North Carolina, Trump confirmed that he will announce his Supreme Court justice pick next week and it will be a woman.

"We are going to fill the seat," Trump said, stressing that "there have been 29 times of vacancy open during an election year or prior to it ... every single time the sitting president made a nomination."

"I will be putting forward the nominee next week, it will be a woman," he added.

On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer, at the age of 87, at her home in Washington.

Trump now has the opportunity to expand the Supreme Court's conservative majority to six (out of a total of nine) justices.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Friday that the Senate will vote on Trump's pick to replace Ginsburg despite the fact that it is an election year.

The Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the US Senate. (ANI/Sputnik)

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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The US government is wrong to charge WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with publishing unredacted classified documents because they had already appeared online, a court has heard.

Computer scientist Professor Christian Grothoff said the organisation was not the first to make public 251,000 diplomatic cables when they appeared on its website on September 2, 2011.

Assange, 49, is fighting extradition to the US, where he is facing an 18-count indictment alleging a plot to hack computers and conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.

He is wanted in the US for allegedly conspiring with army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to expose military secrets between January and May 2010.

Assange, 49, is fighting extradition to the US, where he is facing an 18-count indictment alleging a plot to hack computers and conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information

Prosecutors claim Assange put the lives of sources and informants around the world at risk by publishing their names.

Professor Grothoff said the cache of documents on the WikiLeaks site 'was encrypted' which made it useless to anybody who didn't know the encryption key, which was described as a strong password.

He told the Old Bailey the unredacted cables came into the public domain following the publication of a passcode in a book by Guardian journalist David Leigh in Februrary 2011.

Media organisations began leaking some of the 251,000 diplomatic cables in late 2010 following a stringent redaction process.

WikiLeaks then published the un-redacted version in September 2011, but the court heard this was only after they were in the public domain.

At the end of August, it was discovered the code could be used to decrypt a mirrored version of the WikiLeaks online encrypted store of cables.

Professor Gothroff told the Old Bailey the unredacted cables came into the public domain following the publication of a passcode in a book by Guardian journalist David Leigh (pictured) in Februrary 2011

The full cache - including classified documents - was made available through torrents and the Cryptome website on September 1, he said.

Professor Grothoff, of the Bern University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland, gave evidence by video link and told the court: 'It was actually available on the Internet in a way that would be virtually impossible to stop.'

Professor Grothoff said WikiLeaks could 'not really' take the files down when the password was in the public domain because 'the mirrors were not under WikiLeaks' control'.

He added: 'They would have alerted people to the sensitivity of the files and it could have propagated its spread rather than diminish it.'

The professor said WikiLeaks had encouraged its supporters to make copies - known as mirrors - of its website in order to save the files against future hacks.

A minority of mirrors, he explained, contained copies of the un-redacted files which could be opened using the password Leigh published his book, WikiLeaks, in February 2011.

Professor Grothoff said: 'Der Freitag, a German newspaper, published a story basically saying there was a sensitive password that had been leaked and this would lead to a file that would lead to the unredacted set of cables.

Someone who had read that book and [saw] there was a prominent password they could easily put two and two together.

But Professor Grothoff's impartiality was called into question by the US government when it emerged he had signed a 2017 letter to Donald Trump urging the president not to charge Assange or other WikiLeaks staff.

Professor Grothoff said he did not remember signing the letter but described Assange as a 'sympathetic character' because of his role in exposing 'war crimes'.

Joel Smith, for the US government, suggested: 'You are biased, you are partial?'

Professor Grothoff replied: 'No, I believe that looking at the indictment put forward, youre confusing actions WikiLeaks took to hide and obscure the documents with them publishing it.

'On the very specific technical point where you say WikiLeaks published those cables you are wrong, and you didnt properly do your homework to find who first published those cables.

'So I think its unfair for you to accuse Mr Assange of publishing those unredacted classified cables. The primary publisher of the unredacted cables wouldnt be WikiLeaks.'

Protesters stand opposite the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, in London today as the Julian Assange extradition hearing to the US continues

The Old Bailey heard that WikiLeaks held a Twitter poll to decide whether or not to leak classified information.

Professor Grothoff said that no one apart from David Leigh was aware of the full password and that he hasn't come across anything outside WikiLeaks which suggested anybody else was given access to the password.

Mark Summers QC, for Assange, said: 'Mr Assange wrote down on a scrap of paper part of the passcode and told Mr Leigh he had to add an extra word in when he typed it [and] told him he would be able to download the file from a temporary website.'

WikiLeaks then ran a Twitter poll to decide whether or not to leak classified information, the Old Bailey heard.

Blogger David Parry announced he had used Leighs password to crack the files at 10pm on August 31 - six months after the book was published.

WikiLeaks, having been alerted to the breach, then tried to decide whether to publish the information itself.

The hearing, which entered its third week on Monday, continues.
A man was hacked to death and two others were injured following a conflict early Sunday at an eatery in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to initial investigation, the 19-year-old victim P., a native of An Giang Province, was at a drinking party with his two friends around midnight on Sunday when a conflict broke out between his group and another in an eatery in Binh Hung Hoa Ward, Binh Tan District.

As the argument intensified, P. ran away and was chased after by the opposite group.

P. was hacked to death at a parking lot on Tan Thoi Nhat Road, District 12, where two unrelated people were injured since the attackers mistook them as P.s friends.

Police of District 12 are joining hands with relevant authorities for further investigation.

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Claiming to restore UN sanctions, the US announces new penalties on Iran as much of the global community disagrees.

Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Zarif has blasted the efforts of the United States government to reimpose sanctions during a digital address to the Council on Foreign Relations, calling the US an irresponsible actor.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has taken a hardline stance on Iran, pulling out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly called the Iran nuclear deal.

The deal between Iran and world powers saw Tehran agree to curb its nuclear programme and allowing for regular, international inspections of their nuclear facilities in exchange for the lifting of certain international sanctions. It was hailed as an achievement of diplomacy, but the US unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018.

In his address on Monday, Zarif said Iran took a great step to engage with the administration of former US President Barack Obama.

We did that with [Former State Secretary John Kerry]. It wasnt easy to start the negotiations, which resulted in JCPOA, those were extremely difficult negotiations, based on not mutual trust but mutual respect.





Zarif told the CFR Iran needs the US to offer concessions as a sign of good faith to renegotiate what has already been negotiated  And I think after these very difficult years of [US President Donald Trump], it is important for the United States to send the right signals to Iran, that it is willing to end this  policy of pressure.

Almost simultaneously as Zarif made the comments, Trump announced an executive order blocking access to financial assets of those who engage in arms trade or training with Tehran, which he claims is necessary to enforce the UN arms blockade set to expire in October under the JCPOA.

The United States has now restored UN sanctions on Iran, Trump said in a statement issued shortly after he signed an executive order spelling out how the US will enforce the snapback of the sanctions. My actions today send a clear message to the Iranian regime and those in the international community who refuse to stand up to Iran.

US alone

Though the US, which has reimposed some sanctions on Iran since leaving the JCPOA in 2018, is adamant about a broader reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran, they appear to be alone in their endeavour.

The US order is meant to enforce the snapback mechanism of the JCPOA, which resumes sanctions if Iran doesnt meet its end of the bargain.

But the US cannot enact the mechanism, according to the foreign ministries of Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

The E3  note that the US ceased to be a participant to the JCPoA following their withdrawal on 8 May, 2018. Consequently, the US attempt to initiate the snapback mechanism is incapable of having any legal effect. We remain committed to preserve the nuclear agreement. pic.twitter.com/N3LnmwRT5d  GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) September 20, 2020

Speaking to reporters with fellow Cabinet secretaries at the State Department, State Secretary Mike Pompeo announced the administration was hitting more than two dozen Iranian individuals and institutions with penalties.

No matter where you are in the world, you will risk sanctions, he said, warning foreign companies and officials not to do business with targeted Iranian entities.

Nearly all of them, however, including the Iranian defence ministry and its atomic energy agency, were already subject to US sanctions the administration had reimposed after it withdrew from the deal.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab at the State Department in Washington, DC, on September 16, 2020 [Nicholas Kamm/AFP]

Pompeo said the US was acting because the rest of the world is refusing to confront the Iranian threat.

A UN arms embargo on Iran is set to expire in October under the terms of the nuclear deal, but Pompeo and others insist the snapback has rescinded its termination.

The remaining world powers in the deal  France, Germany, the UK, China and Russia  have struggled to offset the sanctions the US reimposed on Iran after the Trump administration left the pact, which the president said was one-sided in favour of Tehran.

Few UN member states believe the US has the legal standing to restore the sanctions due to the 2018 withdrawal. The US argues it retains the right to do so as an original participant in the deal and a member of the council.

Disagreement over the accord and US legal standing could set the stage for a tense meeting at the UN General Assembly this week.
Cde Daniel TD Pongay writes.

Comrades and Compatriots, with unwavering gutsiness I induce with a compliment from the citadel of revolutionary consciousness. My advertence has been drawn to the shenanigans surrounding the National Elections Commission as it relates to the Voter's Roll Update( VRU) exercise. It's now time for all meaningful Liberians to stand up before it gets too late, our silence over the years has created a breeding ground for us to be oppressed by our oppressors.

It was Albert Einstein who said, The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything .

The National Elections Commission (NEC) is on the fringe of taking our country back to its darkest moments due to the influence of the CDC-led government in the current Voter's Roll Update exercise; such influence has created a fraudulent process with an intent of rigging the elections comes December.

I have noticed with shocking concern the wave of fraud, cheat and malpractices that have engulfed the Voters Roll Update (VRU ) exercise that is ongoing by the National Elections Commission ahead of the planned December 8, 2020 midterm special senatorial elections. It is disheartening to note that the National Elections Commission (NEC) has chosen to collide with the ruling CDC and has instituted a fraudulent voter's roll exercise with the sinister motive of stealing the elections.

This draconic action of the National Elections Commission(NEC) and the CDC- led government has the proclivity of undermining the Peace and Stability of our country. It is important that we retrospect on the crisis that our neighbors went through due to fraudulent elections. Nigeria (2007), Togo(2005), Guinea (2010), and Cote d'Ivoire( 2010-2011).

The National Elections Commission(NEC) needs a legal framework to ensures the integrity of the Voter's Roll Update(VRU) exercise, it's inconsequential to conduct an exercise where the trust of stakeholders is lacking. I expected the NEC as an integrity and independent institution to be transparent in the production and distribution of voters cards In order to mitigate the potential sources of conflict but it will interest you to note that the National Elections Commission has created a safe heaven for FRAUD.

I have seen multiple of Voters ID cards bearing the same identity, such action violates our electoral laws but is yet to be investigated by the National Elections Commission(NEC), in extension of my concerns, I have witnessed the trucking of people to various counties precisely Bomi county, the commercialization of our democracy is worrisome and it violates section 10.1a of the New Elections Law of Liberia. Voters Trucking is punishable by imprisonment but the National Elections Commission(NEC) seems to be recalcitrant to the many calls for justice. The refusal of the NEC to conduct a comprehensive investigation of these multiple concerns that have been raised by a cross-section of Liberians doubting the integrity of the process and the independence of the National Elections Commission(NEC) is a cleared manifestation that the National Elections Commission(NEC) is resolved to steal the elections in the favor of the degenerated CDC-led government.

This is a clarion call to the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) and other independent candidates to be very vigilant considering the current spike of concerns in the integrity of the upcoming senatorial elections. It has been proven beyond an apex that the National Elections Commission ( NEC) lacks integrity of conducting elections comes December, in order to avoid Post-Elections Violence it is important that the CPP and other stakeholders call on the Supreme Court to put a prohibition on the current Voter's Roll Update ( VRU) exercise until sanity can be restored. I strongly believe that silence at this time speaks volumes of cowardice, robust action is needed before it gets too late. The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe, you have to make it fall.

STRUGGLE OR PERISH, THERE IS NO THIRD WAY!

Aluta Continua!


Residents in a Pilbara town don't know if the dust blanketing their homes could harm them, two years after the government committed to testing the air for harmful particles.

Newman locals regularly wake up to dust-blanketed cars. Mine blasts nearby are so intense a mother said her child got so frightened they wet themselves.

Dust sweeps through a street in the Pilbara town of Newman.

The town's blue sky often has an orange tinge, with plumes of dust from mining operations and sudden dust storms that sweep through the streets covering everything with a thick layer of dirt.

Newman resident Angela Wilmot said she always thought dust was just a part of Pilbara town life, but she was becoming concerned about the impact it could have on her family's health.
Photo: The Canadian Press Dr. Jean Robert Ngola is shown in a handout photo. After months of harassment and racist remarks, the doctor at the centre of a COVID-19 controversy that rocked New Brunswick says his life has been changed entirely. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-, *MANDATORY CREDIT*

After months of harassment and racist remarks, the doctor at the centre of a COVID-19 controversy that rocked New Brunswick says his life has been changed entirely.

Dr. Jean Robert Ngola, a physician of Congolese descent, said in a recent interview the fallout from allegations he was "patient zero" responsible for an outbreak put him under an uncomfortable spotlight.

"Since May ... everything has changed in my life," Ngola said by phone.

And now he wants the province to investigate his case to ensure nobody else endures a similar fate.

On May 27, in the face of a growing outbreak in Campbellton, N.B., Premier Blaine Higgs referred to an "irresponsible" health-care worker and said the matter was being handled by the RCMP. The outbreak eventually affected 40 people and resulted in two deaths.

News got out that Ngola, a family doctor working in the northern New Brunswick town at the time, was the suspect in the RCMP's investigation after his positive COVID-19 status was leaked on social media.

Ngola says a deluge of harassment and racist taunts followed, both online and in person, as the investigation unfolded into an overnight trip he took to Quebec.

Before he tested positive, Ngola had driven to Montreal to pick up his daughter, because her mother was travelling to Africa to attend a funeral.

On his way back to New Brunswick, he met with two colleagues in the Trois-Rivieres, Que., area before completing his trip, according to his lawyer, Joel Etienne. He did not self-isolate for two weeks when he returned, as provincial health guidelines direct, but Ngola has said that was consistent with the practice of other physicians at his hospital.

After it was revealed that Ngola was the health worker being investigated, he was suspended from his job at the hospital in Campbellton. Ngola said he had to disconnect his phone because people were harassing him, telling him to "go back to Africa" and calling him a "refugee."

Although he had already been planning to move to Quebec, Ngola hastened his departure because he didn't feel safe in Campbellton, he said.

"I was one of the good physicians, I think, in this small city. Everybody knew me in Campbellton," he said. "But in my own city, I cannot work. Even now I cannot go to my house."

Recently, however, he has been heartened after receiving a letter of support from fellow doctors in Canada. It was a sign, he said, that he "wasn't alone" as he continued to deal with the allegations against him. Though the RCMP investigation was dropped, Ngola still faces a charge of violating the province's Emergency Measures Act and has a court date Oct. 26.

"It was so emotional," Ngola said of the letter. "My tears flowed."

The letter was the work of Danusha Foster, an Ontario family doctor who followed Ngola's case and felt he was "unfairly targeted."

She said in an interview from Guelph, Ont., that she used an online social network to enlist hundreds of other signatories from across the country. She said the effort was intended as a private show of support, and the other physicians have not agreed to have their names made public.

Now, Etienne and his associates are calling for a probe into the handling of Ngola's case. After his initial positive test, Ngola had three tests come back negative, possibly indicating a false positive, his team argues, which would make it impossible for him to have triggered the outbreak.

His lawyers say the province failed in its responsibilities to protect Ngola's privacy and perform proper contact tracing for the Campbellton outbreak.

Ngola said he thinks an inquiry is necessary to protect others who may find themselves in similar circumstances as the pandemic continues.

"We have to know what happened to prevent (this) for the future, because discrimination is not tolerable, not acceptable, in Canada," he said.

He is now practising in Louiseville in central Quebec, and the hostility he faced in Campbellton has been replaced by a warm embrace.

Yvon Deshaies, the town's mayor, says people in the community who've come across Ngola at the local emergency clinic are happy to have him in the area.

Deshaies says it's not always easy attracting doctors to smaller towns like his, so New Brunswick's loss is his region's gain.

"He came here, and I'm happy about it," Deshaies said. "People who've had a chance to meet with him are happy with Dr. Ngola."
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ruslan Khomchak, during a telephone conversation with Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, discussed the current security situation in Ukraine.

"It was noted that the armed aggression of Russia in Donbas is a threat not only to Ukraine, but also to the security and stability of all countries in Europe and the world," the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on the Facebook page.

During the conversation, the parties paid special attention to the further development of military cooperation between Ukraine and NATO.

"Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach thanked for the contribution of our state to NATO operations and pledged its dedication to partnership with Ukraine and commitment to deepening cooperation," the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.

In turn, Khomchak thanked for assistance in granting Ukraine the status of a member of the NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partnership.

"Today our cooperation is filled with practical content. As an example, today the active phase of the strategic command and staff exercise 'United Efforts 2020' with the support of Ukraine's partners has started," he said.

Khomchak said that the United Efforts 2020 exercise is unique in terms of its scope, composition of forces and means and the involvement of partner countries.

The interlocutors agreed to coordinate united efforts and contact on a regular basis in the future, "in particular, it was about a personal meeting."
WASHINGTON: The United States slapped additional sanctions on Iran on Monday after the Trump administrations unilateral weekend declaration that all United Nations penalties that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal had been restored,

The announcement comes in defiance of the world community, which has rejected U..S. legal standing to impose the international sanctions and sets the stage for an ugly showdown at the annual U.N. General Assembly this week.

The United States has now restored U.N. sanctions on Iran, President Donald Trump said in a statement issued shortly after he signed an executive order spelling out how the U.S. will enforce the snapback of the sanctions. My actions today send a clear message to the Iranian regime and those in the international community who refuse to stand up to Iran.

Speaking to reporters with fellow Cabinet secretaries at the State Department, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then announced the administration was hitting more than two dozen Iranian individuals and institutions with penalties. Nearly all of them, however, including the Iranian defense ministry and its atomic energy agency, were already subject to U.S. sanctions that the administration had re-imposed after Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018.

Trumps executive order mainly affects Iranian and foreign entities involved in conventional weapons and ballistic missile activity. A U.N. arms embargo on Iran is to expire in October under the terms of the nuclear deal, but Pompeo and others insist the snapback has rescinded its termination.

Accompanied by Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft and national security adviser Robert OBrien, Pompeo said the U.S. was acting because the rest of the world is refusing to confront the Iranian threat.

No matter where you are in the world, you will risk sanctions, he said, warning foreign companies and officials not to do business with targeted Iranian entities.

Craft said, As we have in the past, we will stand alone to protect peace and security."

The administration declared on Saturday that all U.N. sanctions against Iran had been restored because Tehran is violating parts of the nuclear deal in which it agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.

But few U.N. member states believe the U.S. has the legal standing to restore the sanctions because Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018. The U.S. argues it retains the right to do so as an original participant in the deal and a member of the council.

The remaining world powers in the deal France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia have been struggling to offset the sanctions that the U.S. re-imposed on Iran after the Trump administration left the pact, which the president said was one-sided in favor of Tehran.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Irans nuclear agency, said Monday that there is still a broad agreement among the international community that the nuclear pact should be preserved.

At a conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Salehi said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, has been caught in a quasi-stalemate situation since Trump pulled out.

While insisting it is not pursuing a nuclear weapon, Iran has been steadily breaking restrictions outlined in the deal on the amount of uranium it can enrich, the purity it can enrich it to, and other limitations. At the same time, Iran has far less enriched uranium and lower-purity uranium than it had before signing the deal, and it has continued to allow international inspectors into its nuclear facilities.

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
- William Ruto said Kenyans were now having the "conversation of their lifetime" by talking about hustler affairs

- Ruto has been using the hustler tag as his brand as he eyes to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022

- Raila Odinga said everyone has humbling beginnings including Kenya's founding president Jomo Kenyatta who was a meter reader

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Deputy President William Ruto has subtly congratulated ODM leader Raila Odinga for joining the hustler debate and accepting that every hardworking person has humble beginnings.

Ruto, who has been using the hustler tag to woo the ordinary mwananchi in his hustler movement, said the country was finally having the "conversation of its lifetime" (the hustler).

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Kenya records 152 more cases

Deputy President William Ruto. Photo: William Ruto.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: 15-year-old boy breaks internet with beautiful prototypes of buildings designed using cartons

Divisive agenda

According to the DP, leaders in Kenya had hinged their agenda on divisive politics of ethnicity and tribalism and forgotten about the plight of poor and jobless.

"Finally, we have the conversation of our lifetime: The hustler. Until now, our politics was hostage to the stupidity of ethnicity or our person.

Which is the reason why almost half of Kenyans live in poverty and 16 million are jobless. The tribeless hustler imperative is a revolution in our politics," the DP said.

READ ALSO: ASUS ZenBook Duo UX481 review: All you need to know about the KSh 235K touchscreen laptop

Eyes on 2022

With his eyes focussed on succeeding President Uhuru Kenyatta when his term expires in 2022, Ruto has been driving the hustler narrative to woo supporters to his hustler camp.

Recently, the DP has been donating goodies, for instance, water pumps, motorcycles and hairdressing equipment among others to help the youth, whom he has branded as hustlers to advance their economic ventures.

READ ALSO: Kidosho arushwa nje ya gari kupitia dirisha akirekodi video ya Snapchat

Glorifying poverty

The approach has, however, rubbed his opponents like Raila Odinga and COTU boss Francis Atwoli the wrong way. The duo has accused Ruto of "glorifying poverty" and trying to make his supporters believe that they are just hustlers.

"I do not support that. I want people who can teach people to think and provide solutions. People should go to school, get certificates, get a house allowance, a car loan and have a nice house.

You are not hustlers. We cannot have a nation of hustlers because it is a man eat man society," Atwoli recently said while criticising Ruto's hustler movement.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga. Photo: Raila Odinga.

Source: Facebook

While speaking in Bomet over the weekend, the opposition chief conceded to the fact that everyone's starts from humble beginnings citing Kenya's founding president Jomo Kenyatta who was a meter reader in Nairobi before he became a fulltime politician.

Raila has nonetheless, been criticising the DP for using his donations "as bait to ascend to power in 2022" insisting that Ruto needs to create sustainable opportunities for the youth and not offer handouts which are temporary.

"He is like a wolf pretending to be a sheep. You should be wary of his donations. This man (Ruto) is like a person who wants to make chicken soup. He comes with maize as a sign of generosity to dupe the bird while his main target is to capture it," Raila said.

READ ALSO: Pastor feeding over 1,000 children in Kayole receives donations from well-wishers

Support all hustlers

The DP has, however, maintained that not everyone was equal had the capacity of having big business investments thus the need for such people to be supported in whatever ventures they are engaged in.

"We must give everyone a chance to pursue whatever dream they have in life  whether big or small  by creating an enabling environment that will make their aspirations realised," Ruto said as he addressed trader in Gikomba market on Sunday, September 20.

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I was afraid my son would become a beggar-mumbi ndung'u | Tuko TV.

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El Aaiun (Saharawi Republic) 20 September 2020 (SPS)- The Constitutive Conference of the Saharawi Organ Against the Moroccan Occupation was held Today in the city of El Aaiun, the occupied capital of the Saharawi Republic, under the name "Conference of Martyr Mohamed Abdel Aziz", calling for a quick decolonisation of Western Sahara.

Held under the slogan "Unity, persistence and struggle, to resist the occupation", despite the usual Moroccan repression against any Saharawi initiative that defends Saharawi peoples fundamental rights, the founding conference was chaired by Sahrawi militant, Mohamed Salama Hamiya, who delivered an opening speech urging all Saharawis to join forces in order to confront the Moroccan occupation.

The works of the congress continued with the projection of a documentary about Martyr Mohamed Abdelaziz, followed by the discussion of the documents proposed by the preparing committee, mainly a guiding framework and a statute for the Organ, both approved by the participants.

The Conference elected its General Assembly, consisted of 33 members, in addition to the election of the Sahrawi human rights defender, Ms. Amintou Haidar, as President of the new Organ, along with the election of an Executive Bureau consisting of six members, while the militant Mohamed Salama Hamiya, was appointed by the participants as the Honorary Chairman of the Organ, for his steadfast struggle against the colonisation of his country since the seventies.

The Conference issued its Founding Communique, of which SPS received a copy, announcing the commitment of the participants to defending the Saharawi peoples rights to freedom, independence and dignity through legitimate non-violent means as stipulated in international frameworks and the African Charter for Human and Peoples Rights based on the protection of all civil, political, economical, social and cultural rights.

The participants also expressed their rejection of all dubious proposals by Morocco and other local and international parties, which do not ensure and guarantee the exercise by the Saharawi people of their inalienable, imprescriptible and ineluctable right to self-determination.

They further condemned the current continued stalemate given that the MINURSO is a United Nations mission with the mandate to finalize the decolonization of Western Sahara as Africas last colony, and should not turn into a protection platform for the occupation.

In this regards, they stressed the Saharawi peoples right to exercise sovereignty over all their homeland as enshrined in international and continental treaties and norms, in particular the relevant United Nations and African Unions resolutions and the 1975 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Western Sahara.

To this end, they called upon United Nations and the African Union to immediately intervene to halt the systematic and illegal exploitation of natural resources in Western Sahara by the occupying authorities, as well as multinational companies, countries and other entities responsible for the plunder with the Moroccan regime.

They also called upon the United Nations, the African and European Union, and other international and continental bodies, to maintain humanitarian aid to Saharawi refugees who have been suffering displacement and exile from their land since 1975 due to the crimes committed by the Moroccan occupation, as well as the United Nations failure to fulfil its promise and commitment to decolonize their occupied country. (SPS)

090/500/60 (SPS)
Millions Have Lost Health Insurance Coverage Amid Pandemic

While the pandemic has exacerbated health concerns for Americans across the country, a growing number find themselves facing these worries without health insurance.

Approximately 6.7 million people lost their health insurance coverage between February and September, according to a series of surveys conducted by data research firm Civis Analytics and global communications firm Finn Partners.

With Black Americans and young people disproportionately impacted, uncertainty around health insurance remains high as the country continues to battle the COVID-19 outbreak.

An uneven impact

Overall, 8% of Americans reported in September that they had lost their health insurance specifically due to the pandemic.

That figure was higher among Black Americans, with 10.4% reporting they had lost their health insurance because of the pandemic. Of that group, 23% said they were still uninsured when they were surveyed in September. In contrast, 6.8% of white Americans said in September they had lost their health insurance because of the coronavirus outbreak, and of that group, 8% remained uninsured.

The survey found similarly discrepancies when it comes to health insurance coverage overall:

Among Black Americans, 26% were uninsured in September, up from 17% in February and 21% in June

Among white Americans, 12% were uninsured in September, up from 11% in February and down slightly from 12.5% in June

Young people are also more likely to not have health insurance, the survey found. More than one-fourth  27%  of those between the ages of 18 to 26 reported having no health insurance in September, up from 17% in February. Meanwhile, 12% of adults between the ages of 50 to 65 said they did not have health insurance in September, a slight increase from 11% in February.

Confusion reigns supreme

Throughout the pandemic, consumers have had questions about health insurance. In fact, a previous ValuePenguin survey found that 56% of Americans had no idea whether their health insurance plan would even cover COVID-19.

Story continues

The Finn Partners-Civis Analytics survey found that some consumers are also uncertain about whether the pandemic has impacted their health insurance coverage. According to the survey, 3.5% of respondents said in September that they did not know whether they had lost health insurance coverage, up from 2.2% in February. While that percentage may appear low, it represents 3.2 million people who are not sure of the status of their health insurance coverage.

On top of that, many of those who have lost a job during the pandemic were uncertain about what health insurance options they might still qualify for. In June, when asked if they qualified for specific coverage options:

41.3% did not know if they qualified for coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), a law that gives workers the right to continue their group health insurance temporarily after employment ends

39.6% did not know if they qualified for the Affordable Care Act

33.7% did not know if they would be eligible for benefits under the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a program funded jointly by the federal government and state governments

33.3% did not now if they would be able to qualify for Medicaid

29.6% did not know if they would be able to join their spouses or partner's plan

26.3% did not know if they would be able to join their parents plan

Methodology: Civis Analytics conducted three surveys: In February 2020 they surveyed 6,402 adults; in June they surveyed 3,680 adults, and in September they surveyed 3,002 adults.
A child reads a book at the reading space. [China Daily/Wang Kaihao]

About 100 reading spaces have been established across Anhui's provincial capital.

For Hu Xunyou, 68-year-old resident of Luyang District, Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province, Xinghua Park was an ideal spot for him to have fun with his grandson.

However, as the child has grown and seems to have developed many more interests beyond walking in the park, the name of which means "apricot flowers", the senior Hu has found himself a new reason to remain a frequent visitor. In December 2018, the Apricot Flowers Academy opened in the park.

It's a bookstore, a library and a place for people to enjoy some downtime during the scorching summer afternoons of August.

"I always like to read," Hu says. "It's not particularly for any pragmatic purpose, and it's never too late to learn new things, especially in such a nice environment."

The two-floor building, with its lakeside view, was originally planned to be a private club, the construction of which was not finished. However, as China launched a national campaign in recent years demanding such places in shared spaces like parks be returned to public use, it was repurposed to cater to the wider public interest.

Since 2017, renovation has taken place on 92 idle buildings in Hefei, just like the one in Xinghua Park, and turned them into what are called urban reading spaces, according to Meng Xianlei, director of the public cultural service office of the city's culture and tourism bureau.

There are three provincial and city-level public libraries in Hefei, which has over 3 million residents in its city core, and several other smaller-scale district-level libraries.

"But they are unable to meet citizens' needs at a community level," Meng says. "That was why more spaces for reading have to be created."

In 2017, Hefei city government drafted a blueprint to set up 100 urban reading spaces like Apricot Flowers Academy by 2020, and has spent 200 million yuan ($29.6 million) from its budget on the program.

Despite the impact of COVID-19, which saw some construction postponed, Meng says the number of urban reading spaces will reach 113 by the end of this year, exceeding the expectations of the original plan.

The Apricot Flowers Academy, a bookstore and library, has become a popular hangout spot for students. [China Daily/Wang Kaihao]

However, the government budget only covers the cost of constructing the reading spaces, operators of the venues have to create their own income.

"For sustainable development in the long run, it's better to blend the government support with dynamic business models," Meng says.

The city government has waived the rental costs and charges for water and power at the reading spaces, and the money to buy new books for the libraries will also be covered by the public purse. However, other outgoings, like employee wages, have to be met by profit generated by the venue.

Consequently, operators of the reading spaces are encouraged to develop their own ways of attracting more visitors and making ends meet at the same time. Meng says seasonal evaluations involving 32 criteria have been done on the dozens of reading spaces, and bonuses will be granted to those displaying excellent performance. About 6 million yuan will be allocated this year.

Zheng Fangfang, the manager of Apricot Flowers Academy, understands the challenge. Every week, her team will buy about 100 new items for the bookstore, and rotate them weekly to introduce resources from the city-level libraries.

"We take the responsibility of making up the gaps in the public library system," she says. "But at the same time, we need to keep pace with the market."

Sales of cultural souvenirs, food and beverages, as well as holding paid-up training programs have helped Apricot Flowers Academy to blossom in the community. However, Zheng has a bigger ambition  to revive reading among the general public, whose time and attention has been seized by digital devices and social media.

"We have organized reading clubs," Zheng says. "People share the books they are reading in our WeChat group, and they are invited to attend in-person salons in our reading space. Sometimes, they talk about movies.

People read and study at the Apricot Flowers Academy, a reading space in Hefei, Anhui Province. [China Daily/Wang Kaihao]

"It's better to create an environment for people to share their knowledge and re-establish face-to-face interaction with real people," she adds.

As COVID-19 wanes in China, such events have gradually resumed. Zheng is now drafting a list of planned, long-awaited lectures to cater to eager local readers.

Zheng estimates that about 40 percent of readers at the Apricot Flowers Academy are elementary and high school students. The urban reading spaces seem to have become asylums for these regular denizens of cyberspaces to escape from their digital lives.

It takes 14-year-old junior high school student Sun Tengfei 20 minutes to travel to Xinghua Park via the subway, including the walk from the station. However, compared with home, this place offers a more immersive atmosphere for absorbing knowledge.

"My parents don't want me to spend too much time playing with my smartphone," he says. "But there are too many digital distractions at home, so I often come here during summer break to spend an afternoon reading several novels I like. It feels cozy."

And many more students treat the reading spaces as their study rooms. Sometimes, a spot will be reserved so they can have a quiet area in which to work.

However, it is difficult to cut ties with the digital world. After the outbreak of COVID-19, the reading space was temporarily closed, so an online bookstore was launched by Zheng's team to better serve the readers. It is now maintained to provide its patrons an extra option.

The second floor of the reading space is designed for hosting activities. [China Daily/Wang Kaihao]

Still, the reading spaces have proved that staring at their phones around the clock is not the only way for urban residents to spend their spare time. According to the statistics from the city government, Hefei's reading spaces jointly attracted a total of 8.73 million visits in 2019.

Despite a hiatus lasting months and the current restrictions on the numbers of readers allowed in the venues at any one time due to pandemic prevention protocols, there still have been more than 2 million visits as of July.

Hefei now boasts the highest number of these urban reading spaces among China's provincial capitals, and more are on the way to "enable any urban resident in Hefei to reach a reading space within 15 minutes", according to Meng.

He says more work needs to be done. For example, only 10 spaces, including Apricot Flowers Academy, are currently capable of earning over 50,000 yuan a month, and around 50 are still operating in the red.

"Nowadays, the operation of bookstores is a global challenge, let alone the reading spaces which also assume the duties of libraries," Meng says. "In the future, the government may pay them to provide more services, thus further facilitating residents' requirements."

As more functions like hacker spaces, small theaters and package collection stations are planned and blended into the mix of services offered by the reading spaces, there are even more reasons for people to visit.

(Source: China Daily)
I strongly support Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus justification for proroguing Parliament because COVID-19 has provided, in his words, our chance to build a more resilient Canada, a Canada that is healthier and safer, greener and more competitive, a Canada that is more welcoming and more fair. I urge you to use your voice in Cabinet to help fulfil this promise. Your governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic has already proven that Canada can respond quickly and aggressively to crises. A proper recovery plan from you will address several intersecting problems: creating more good jobs to drive an economic recovery, dramatically reducing the health problems and costs accompanying the burning of fossil fuels, and reducing societal inequalities including systemic racism.

Every serious plan proposed globally for an economic recovery from COVID-19, such as the European plan, the UK plan and Bidens plan, includes green job creation with the most important being energy retrofits for buildings and more renewable energy, with funding for the required training to upgrade marginally employed workers.

A recent study by Prof. Drew Shindell of Duke University (and a lead author on both recent IPCC reports) has shown that the health effects from air pollution from fossil fuels is much worse than we thought, but that the savings from health costs alone would pay for the transition away from fossil fuels. Similar results are expected for Canada. These health benefits are both local and immediate, which means that they do not depend on all countries being on board as with the reduction of carbon emissions. Strong incentives for purchase of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure are also essential to reduce harmful emissions.

This is one of the rare times that a country can win on all counts with an appropriate policy: an aggressive plan to move toward a green and just economy, with the transition being paid for by health savings. As Trudeau has said, This is our moment to change our future for the better. We can't afford to miss it, because this window of opportunity won't be open for long."
More recently, I noticed that Google Maps is occasionally becoming very slow on the Samsung Galaxy Note20, with the app requiring up to several seconds to update its location.What this means when driving is that Google Maps can easily miss a turn, which obviously more or less defeats its purpose, as the app should provide instant navigation directions according to your current position.While Im not sure whats causing this sudden drop in performance for Google Maps, Im seeing others complaining of similar problems, albeit some believe its tied to the carrier rather than to the app. This is highly unlikely though, especially because all the other apps that I use on my Note20 seem to run correctly with no data hiccup whatsoever.Whenever I use it, it takes like 30 seconds to update location at a time. Sometimes I'll be close to a turn and it didn't update so I wouldn't catch it, a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra owner explains on reddit It goes without saying that Google Maps becoming so painfully slow is quite an inconvenient at certain times, and this user has just the perfect example in this regard.I deliver food so I can't just stare at my phone the whole time to make sure I don't miss a turn, they say.At this point, its not yet clear if a workaround could bring things back to normal, but I downgraded to an earlier Google Maps version and the problem seems to go away. However, its worth keeping in mind that I encountered the whole thing only occasionally, so Im still not 100% sure that the latest Google Maps update is indeed the culprit for this annoying problem or not.
Boston Public Schools officials are still tracking down students in need of laptops as the first day of classes of the 2020-2021 academic year kicked off remotely Monday.

Since schools closed in March, when the coronavirus pandemic ramped up across the country, BPS has handed out more than 32,500 Chromebooks and provided roughly 2,600 free WiFi hotspots to families who need them, according to Boston Mayor Marty Walshs office.

We are continuing to provide these resources, as well as new technology for educators and students, and will offer technical assistance to anyone who needs it, Walsh and BPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said in a statement earlier this month. We will make sure all students, teachers and families are set up for success to learn remotely each and every day.

The city is one of many communities throughout the state that began the school year with remote learning. Worcester and Springfields public schools held their first day of virtual classes for most students on Sept. 15.

BPS, which postponed the first day of classes to Sept. 21, will transition to a hybrid model of in-person and remote instruction later this fall. Two cohorts of students prioritized for in-person learning, labeled groups A and B, will start coming into schools twice a week at the beginning of October.

This year will be unlike any other. As our city navigates the coronavirus pandemic, weve gotten creative, and weve reimagined what this school year will look like as well, Walsh said in a video to the BPS community. Weve spent the summer making our school buildings safe for everyone and revamping online learning, and were ready to have a successful year.

We are so excited to welcome our students back for the 2020-21 school year. This school year will be very different than any other, but we are #BPSReady. Just like the @BostonSchools and @CityOfBoston community always does, we will come together and get through this together! pic.twitter.com/UB5Dpaaxd7  BostonPublicSchools (@BostonSchools) September 21, 2020

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Six months after California temporarily relaxed its liquor laws to accommodate life under shelter-in-place, a new San Francisco venture has formed specifically around delivery cocktails. The owners of the San Francisco Cocktail Club say their drinks are more attractively packaged than the typical to-go fare, and, crucially, that their pricing is more humane to both the restaurant and the customer than other delivery apps.

The recently launched San Francisco Cocktail Club is offering a bottled, premixed drink from a local restaurant delivered to city residents doors. Every two weeks, it rotates to a new restaurant and drink. The initial tipple is the Negroni Nuevo, with mezcal, amaro and mole bitters, from Cole Valleys Padrecito. For $48, plus sales tax, you get four servings of the drink and a food item, in this case a gordita.

Cant you just order the Negroni Nuevo from Padrecito via Caviar or DoorDash? Yes, but co-founder David Covell says that his cocktail club is a better deal for all parties involved because it doesnt go through the traditional third-party apps, which take a larger cut of the restaurants share and charge the customer a hefty delivery fee. The club charges the same price per ounce as the restaurant does, but it ends up costing less than another third-party delivery would because its fees are lower, Covell says.

The drinks arrive in sleek bottles with printed-out instructions and neatly portioned garnishes. The packaging is the work of co-founder Britt Hull, who has designed some of the Bay Areas best-looking bars, including the Snug, Brewsters and Peacekeeper.

If Im gonna order a $14 cocktail I dont want it in a soup cup wrapped in Saran wrap, says Covell, referring to the packaging that some restaurants have adopted for their takeout cocktails lately. The people who create and make these drinks, they put so much time and energy into it, and it deserves to look good.

Covell and Hull each have day jobs  he in tech, she at her design firm  but have been launching side businesses together for the last several years under an umbrella company called Alembic Goods. They created a line of heated outdoor furniture called Hearth, attempted (and abandoned) a brand of fancy bar snacks and, in June, began planning out what would become the San Francisco Cocktail Club.

Californias Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control green-lighted takeout and delivery cocktails shortly after shelter-in-place regulations took effect in March. It was one of many temporary relief measures designed to help restaurants closed for in-person dining. Its not clear whether cocktail delivery will become a permanent fixture in the state, but during an interview in April, then-department director Jacob Appelsmith said of to-go cocktails: Theres lots of reasons why thats probably not a very good long-term public health policy. (A permanent allowance of to-go drinks, he added, would need to be legalized by lawmakers, not the department.)

If the regulations around delivery cocktails change, Covell says, the business is prepared to pivot. He says he hopes the club will endure post-pandemic, but it could take a different form, although he doesnt yet know what that would look like.

It began, like many quarantine projects, while they found themselves confined to their homes with lots of extra time on their hands. Covells wife, Susie McMullan, started mixing margaritas, putting them in little bottles and distributing them to friends and neighbors. They were a hit. We thought maybe other people would like this, too, Covell says. McMullan came up with the business plan.

The cocktail club contracts with independent drivers. Customers arent prompted to tip; Covell says their pay is competitive and factored into the $48 base price. Were committed to not squeezing the drivers, Covell says.

Customers must preorder at least 48 hours in advance, which is a way of making sure that the restaurant isnt overloaded with orders all at once, says Covell. A subscription is available so that someone could schedule delivery for the same day and time every other week, but its the same price as a onetime purchase. The delivery radius is limited to San Francisco.

Nate Valentine, who owns Padrecito, says he would make more money through takeout orders placed directly on the Padrecito website than through the cocktail club. Still, he makes more money there than through other third-party delivery services, and the business needs all the outlets it can get right now.

After supplying drinks for the friends and family rollout, Valentine says he received notes from cocktail recipients whod never eaten at Padrecito before and were now ordering full meals.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Right now restaurants and bars are doing everything they possibly can to survive, he says.

It does shake out as a superior value for the customer, too. Ordering one Negroni Nuevo plus a gordita from Padrecito via Caviar to my San Francisco apartment would cost $63.98, which includes a $2.99 delivery fee, $8.49 in taxes and service charges, and a suggested $9 tip for the driver. And that would get you less negroni than you get through the cocktail club, for a tax-inclusive $52.08: 8 ounces as opposed to 12 ounces.

The Negroni Nuevo is available through Saturday, Oct. 3, at which point the San Francisco Cocktail Club will rotate to another mezcal drink  the Prickly Pear, made with habanero, nopales and lime  from the Snug bar in Pacific Heights. Other restaurants, including Nopalito, will follow. Prices of various drinks will range from about $46 to $56 for 4 servings.

Of course, pouring a bottled cocktail at home wont re-create the experience of sidling up to a real bar, which now feels like a distant memory. But Covell hopes that it can be an improvement on the home cocktail experiences currently available. I want to feel closer to what life used to be like, he says. When I get a drink in a soup cup, thats not happening.

San Francisco Cocktail Club, www.sfcocktail.club

Note: This story has been updated.

Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine critic. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com
Scranton, PA (18503)

Today

Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 26F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy during the evening followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 16F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
BERLIN: Political pressure grew Monday in Europe for governments to tackle the rising number of coronavirus case without resorting to a spring-style lockdown that would hit the continents struggling economies.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez met Monday with the president of the Madrid region, Isabel Daz Ayuso, to coordinate a stronger response to the outbreaks as the country struggles to contain a second wave of the virus.

Police in the Spanish capital and its surrounding towns are stopping people coming in and out of working-class neighborhoods that have been partially locked down to combat Europes fastest coronavirus spread.

The measure has been met with protests from people who think the restrictions are stigmatizing the poor.

Some 860,000 residents are affected by the new heightened restrictions, having to justify their trips out of their neighborhoods for work, study or medical reasons. Parks are closed and shops and restaurants have to limit their occupancy to 50% in the affected zones.

The targeted locations have a 14-day rate of transmission above 1,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, some of the highest in Europe. COVID-19 has killed at least 30,000 people in Spain since the start of the outbreak, according to the countrys health ministry.

The police controls on Monday are for two days only for informational purposes, but authorities say that enforcement will be mandatory starting from Wednesday and that those not justifying their trips will face fines.

In the Czech Republic, Health Minister Adam Vojtech resigned Monday amid a record rise of coronavirus infections, saying his move should create space for a new approach to the pandemic.

The country coped well with the first wave of the infections in the spring but has been facing a record surge of the new confirmed cases. On Thursday, the Czech Republic recorded more than 3,000 new cases, a figure not seen since March.

The Czech Republic has had a total of 49,290 infected with 503 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Britains top medical and scientific advisers delivered a sobering assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic to the public on Monday, amid expectations the government is preparing to announce new measures to control rising infection rates.

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chief scientific officer Patrick Vallance warned that infection rates are going in the wrong direction and the U.K. faces a challenging winter.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson huddled with ministers over the weekend to discuss the governments reaction. Analysts expect the government to announce a slate of short-term restrictions that will act as a circuit breaker to slow the spread of the disease.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also met Monday with members of her coronavirus Cabinet to discuss measures aimed at preventing a second wave.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said he was concerned by the current momentum of the outbreak, particularly in neighboring countries such as France, Austria and the Netherlands.

All of these countries have several times (the number of cases per capita) than we do, significantly higher infection numbers and a momentum that in the case of Spain seems to have slipped away and is therefore out of control, Spahn told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

The governor of Bavaria, Markus Soeder, warned that conditions could worsen as temperatures drop in the coming weeks and people spend more time indoors.

I have to honestly say that this reminds me a bit of developments in March, when we initially thought is this going to affect us or not, he said. I would counsel caution, not to exaggerate but to be careful.

___

Aritz Parra in Madrid, Danica Kirka in London, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
In lieu of its annual awards banquet in Gatlinburg, the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) held a virtual awards banquet on Monday. During the event, Dr. Bryan Johnson of Hamilton County Schools, representing the Southeast region of Tennessee, was named as the 2021 Tennessee Superintendent of the Year.

Dr. Johnson was selected for this honor out of a distinguished group of eight Regional Superintendents of the Year, which also included Dr. Bruce Brochers (Oak Ridge City), East; Dr. Jeff Perry (Hamblen County), First; Kris McAskill (Houston County), Mid-Cumberland; Jonathan Criswell (Milan Special School District), Northwest; Michelle Gilbert (Hickman County), South Central; Jason Manuel (Germantown Municipal), Southwest; and Kurt Dronebarger (White County), Upper Cumberland Tennessee.

Dr. Johnson just completed his third school year as Superintendent of Schools in Hamilton County with student academic results showing historic levels of improvement. For the first time, the district's overall composite and each subject area measured achieved a Level 5  the highest level of academic growth on the latest state testing results  and 32 schools achieved Reward status  the top distinction a school can earn in Tennessee.

Under Dr. Johnsons leadership, Hamilton County Schools has launched Future Ready Institutes in high schools to help students become future-ready graduates prepared for success; ensured that middle and high schools are 1-to-1 technology schools, providing each student with an electronic learning device; and developed a comprehensive five-year action plan called Future Ready 2023 to provide a roadmap for continuous improvement efforts as staff and students work to become one of the best school districts in the state.

TOSS Executive Director Dr. Dale Lynch said, Congratulations to Dr. Johnson and all of the regional nominees. There is no doubt that Dr. Johnson is among the best of the best in educational leadership, not only in Tennessee but nationally. The support he has from his school board, his system, and his community is a testament to his success as a district leader. Dr. Johnson has built a culture in Hamilton County that is focused on doing what is best for students. Im honored to have the opportunity to work with him and to present him this award.

Dr. Johnson will now go on to represent Tennessee in the National Superintendent of the Year program sponsored by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) at its National Conference on Education.

In addition, TOSS gave the George "Kip" Reel Award for Leadership in Education in memory of Dr. Linda Gilbert. Dr. Gilbert was the director in Murfreesboro City Schools from 2010 until she passed away suddenly in May of this year. Her husband, Steve Gilbert, accepted the award on her behalf. The Friend of TOSS Award was given to State Representative Kirk Haston of Lobelville.
San Francisco public schools are facing a tumultuous future, with classrooms likely closed until at least January and a budget shortfall combined with declining enrollment that could force officials to eventually make significant cuts to programs and staffing.

Amid this uncertainty, 10 candidates are vying for four available seats on the school board, including two incumbents and eight challengers.

The seven-member board has tipped to the citys progressive left in recent years, aligning closely with the teachers union and causes that included a vote to destroy the New Deal mural at George Washington High School, followed by another vote to obscure it from view.

The top four vote-getters in the Nov. 3 election will join Gabriela Lopez, Alison Collins and Faauuga Moliga on the board. Board members Rachel Norton and Stevon Cook are not running for re-election.

The Chronicle asked the 10 candidates to identify their top priority for the district, what changes they would make to the student assignment system, which is undergoing review and expected to be revamped, and how they would address student needs if the pandemic continues to restrict in-person learning in 2021.

Here is what they said:

Michelle Parker, parent/nonprofit director

 Top priority: Get the district on firm financial footing. Parker said the district must focus on revenue generation through ballot measures and rental income from district property as well as advocacy for more state funding. She would also like to see an evaluation of spending to cut programs that arent effective.

 Assignment system: Simpler for families to understand and easier to participate in. Parker said she supports the creation of an attendance zone allowing for some choice, but with a focus on increasing diversity.

 Pandemic response: Parker wants to see a focus on instructional practices used in distance learning as well as a shift of resources to individualized outreach to support students. She would like to see more creativity and urgency to help working families.

Kevine Boggess, education policy director

 Top priority: Retention of teachers and families. Boggess said too many educators and students leave the district because of economic insecurity and an unwelcoming school culture. Solutions include more family support services, increased funding and a focus on making families and educators feel welcome.

 Assignment system: To fix the flawed and frustrating system, Boggess would modify the policy to prioritize equity and geographic balance and expanded access for specialty programs in more schools.

 Pandemic response: There is simply no substitute for in-person learning, Boggess said, but individual learning plans need to be in place to ensure students succeed during distance learning. He also called for access to technology and English-language learner support.

Andrew Douglas Alston, teacher

 Top priority: Providing equity to underserved groups and immediate assistance to vulnerable students and families during distance learning. Distance learning has been incredibly stressful and must be the top priority, Alston said.

 Assignment system: The current system breeds inequality and de facto segregation, Alston said. A district busing option to integrate schools is the most effective way to address the issues.

 Pandemic response: Alston said as a teacher he understands what students and families need. He would partner with tech companies, food banks and wellness services to address those needs.

Nick Rothman, teacher

 Top priority: To create a pathway for SFUSD students to enter the trades and seek employment in vocational careers such as plumber, electrician and auto mechanic, Rothman said. His background includes helping women become Muni mechanics.

 Assignment system: Rothman said he would work closely with administrators to examine the system and potential improvements.

 Pandemic response: Explore innovative ways to keep students engaged. Rothman said watching his own two high school children navigate distance learning left him concerned that protracted online education could leave many students disenfranchised.

Mark Sanchez, public school teacher

 Top priority: Lack of appropriate funding. Sanchez said since Prop. 13 passed in 1978, the state has faced a systemic, decades-long structural problem. Sanchez, one of the two incumbents, has fought for revenue sources, including local propositions. He is working with a parent and student coalition, the Second District PTA and the Student Advisory Council, to persuade the citys wealthiest to support public education.

 Assignment system: The current system is broken. He said he leans toward a system for up to four to six zones that incorporate choice.

 Pandemic response: Return to in-person instruction is dependent on science and logistics. Meanwhile, we must continue to provide the best quality education possible, which includes devices and Wi-Fi for students, as well as training and planning time for teachers and teachers aides.

Jenny Lam, member, Board of Education

 Top priority: To meet the educational, health and well-being for all students, staff and families. Lam said that the district must provide educational learning, resources and support during these uncertain times.

 Assignment system: Lam, one of the two incumbents, said her criteria for changes to the system include equity, diversity, proximity and predictability for families. Feedback from the community is critical for making policy decisions. A zone system, among the options under review by the district, should be strongly considered, she said.

 Pandemic response: Ensure students have access to opportunities to connect with their teachers, para-educators, and other school staff, as well as their peers. This is critical to both their academic learning as well as their social and emotional learning, she 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.

Alida Fisher, special education consultant

 Top priority: Implement a transparent, accountable and equitable budget. Fisher said budgets are value statements, that represent programs and initiatives that ensure every child has the support they need. One initiative would be to increase funding for restorative justice practices and reading interventions.

 Assignment system: A new system must address the current inequities in school programming, staffing and facilities, Fisher said. Providing access to language, science and technology programs, among others in high demand would encourage families to consider under-enrolled schools, she said.

 Pandemic response: Prioritize in-person learning for students with special needs, foster youth, English learners and those in preschool to second grade  the students struggling the most with distance learning, Fisher said. The pandemic has also highlighted the need for more mental health in schools.

Genevieve Lawrence, middle school teacher

 Top priority: Creating a more equitable school system has never been more urgent than now, she said. As a teacher, Lawrence said she has experience serving the highest needs students and her top priority will be ensuring schools, teachers and students have the support required to be successful.

 Assignment system: The system should more actively and directly reverse the trend of racial isolation, give priority to high-need students and be easier for families to understand and navigate. The challenge is to balance family choice and desegregation of schools, she said.

 Pandemic response: High-needs students require access to meals, technology assistance and more, Lawrence said. School sites should open safely while following health guidelines to provide those services to the most underserved students.

Matt Alexander, educator/organizer

 Top priority: My top priority for the district is increasing revenue and allocating more funds directly to schools and classrooms, Alexander said. We live in one of the wealthiest cities in the world, and we must do better if we want to keep our promise of an excellent education for all, he added.

 Assignment system: The current system is not sufficiently equitable and not producing integrated schools, he said. Most parents priority is a safe, high-quality elementary school near their home  and our job is to make sure that all of our schools meet this standard.

 Pandemic response: Invest in the public schools because they must lead the way with in-person learning for younger children, students with special needs and students in overcrowded living situations.

Paul Kangas, criminal defense investigator

This candidate did not respond to the questions.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
Just four months had passed since Ramon Ramirez buried his wife and now, here he was, hospitalized himself with COVID-19. The prognosis was dire, and the fate of his younger children consumed him. Before ending his final video call with his oldest, a 29-year-old single mother of two, he had one final request: Take care of your brothers.

Before long, he was added to the rolls of the pandemics dead, and his daughter, Marlene Torres, was handed the crushing task of making good on her promise. Overnight, her home ballooned, with her four siblings, ages 11 to 19, joining her own two children, 2 and 8.

The emotional and financial demands are so overwhelming that Torres finds herself pleading to the heavens. Please help me, she begs her parents. Guide me.

As the U.S. approaches the milestone of 200,000 pandemic deaths, the pain repeats: An Ohio boy, too young for words of his own, who plants a kiss on a photo of his dead mother. A New Jersey toddler, months ago the centre of a joyous, balloon-filled birthday, now in therapy over the loss of her father. Three siblings who lost both mom and dad, thrusting the oldest child, a 21 year old, into the role of parent to his sisters.

With eight in 10 American virus victims age 65 and older, its easy to view the young as having been spared its wrath. But among the dead are an untold number of parents whove left behind children that constitute another kind of victim.

Micah Terry, 11, of Clinton Township, Michigan, misses seeing his dad at his karate classes, stopping by his fathers workplace, and sneaking in chicken nuggets with him at the movies. At his saddest points, he talks about him all day. But his brother, 16-year-old Joshua, grows quiet when the grief hits, channeling his feelings through the piano, which he learned to play from his father.

My dad was my best friend, Joshua says about Marshall Terry III, who died in April. My goal is to make him proud while he watches from heaven.

In Waldwick, New Jersey, Pamela Addisons 10-month-old son Graeme is bubbly and doesnt seem to notice his father is missing, but its different for her daughter, Elsie. Addison sees the tots last truly happy day as her birthday in March, when Papa bought balloons and the virus seemed a distant threat.

Martin Addison was dead a month later at 44; today, Elsie, at the tender age of 2, is in grief counselling to handle it all.

Shes having a difficult time adjusting to the fact hes not coming home, Addison says.

Four-year-old Zavion and 2-year-old Jazzmyn have been taken in by siblings after the death of their mother, 50-year-old Lunisol Guzman of Newark, New Jersey, who had adopted them when she was in her 40s. The oldest of her other three children, Katherine and Jennifer Guzman, swiftly decided to seek guardianship.

These kids are our family, Katherine said. For us, it was a no-brainer.

She says that Zavion and Jazzmyn are mostly resilient, but occasionally utter the same simple, heartbreaking sentence: I miss mommy.

No authoritative count of parents of minors lost to the coronavirus has been tallied, but it appears certain to run into the thousands in the U.S. Some children are now landing in the homes of grandparents like Anadelia Diaz, whose 29-year-old daughter, a single mother of three, died of COVID-19.

I dont call it a burden, says Diaz, of Lake Worth, Florida. Its unconditional love.

Her 15-year-old grandson has long lived with her, but Diaz feels like a new mother again, aching from racing after two little ones  one 18 months old, another a year older  in a yard now dotted with a swing set and a kiddie pool.

She and her husband once dreamed of a vacation in Alaska; now shes had to stop working as a housekeeper and even a trip to the grocery store is an ordeal. The toddlers were used to sharing one room with their mother and, striving not to disrupt their routine even more, Diaz now sleeps in her den with them, where they wake each morning to a big picture of their mother on the wall.

Losing a daughter felt like losing part of herself. Her daughters memory is what keeps Diaz going. She turned 56 the day she buried Samantha, and she prayed she could survive to see the children through to adulthood.

All I ask God is for our health and for strength, nothing else, she says.

Stepping in for those whove died can be uncertain terrain.

After Ramath Mzpeh Warith and Sierra Warith married and had their first child, Ramath Jr., they settled on a division of labour: Mom would focus on classes to become an ophthalmologic assistant and handle most childcare responsibilities. Dad would work late as a Cleveland bus driver to support them.

As they awaited their second baby, though, both parents tested positive for the coronavirus and, while Ramath was mostly asymptomatic, Sierra grew sicker. After she was hospitalized, a baby boy named Zephiniah was born by C-section on May 14.

Sierra never would be well enough to hold him. She died a day before she would have turned 24.

Suddenly, he was mourning the love of his life and learning to take on all the things he relied on her to do. He took parenting classes at the hospital and his mother moved in upstairs so she could help. His 20-month-old, Junior, plants kisses on a picture of his mother and cries that hes no longer nursed to sleep or cuddling beside her in bed.

Warith, 38, knows he will one day have to sit his boys down and tell them about their mother. But for now, hes taking it day by day, trying to be the best father he can be in a forever-altered life.

They still need a parent, he says. They still need to be hugged and kissed and loved.

Its impossible not to think of how things were before the losses the pandemic wrought.

For Nashwan Ayram of Sterling Heights, Michigan, it was a life of staying up late and sleeping until noon, and afternoons enjoying his mothers cakes. He was used to being spoiled by his parents, used to carefree plans like a summer backpacking trip in Europe, used to a life with few responsibilities.

I used to wake up having a full tank of gas in my Camaro, he says, worrying about nothing.

Now, both of the 21-year-olds parents are dead of the virus, and hes left watching over two sisters he never felt particularly close to before. Hes teaching 18-year-old Nadeen to drive and helping 13-year-old Nanssy with school, all while attending to daily chores like grocery shopping and weeding through a mountain of paperwork to handle his parents affairs and become a legal guardian.

He feels anger at his parents for dying and robbing him of his carefree life. He also calls them heroes for being so brave to leave their native Iraq and build a new life in the U.S. In a weird way, he says, losing them both at once may have been easier than only losing one: Now, he knows, life can never get worse.

Ayram wishes he could return to a carefree life of partying and freedom, but knows what he must do to make his parents proud.

Its the only thing I can do, he says. Honestly, its just me living for my sisters.

___

Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ap.org and https://twitter.com/sedensky.
Gov. Phil Murphy slammed Republican lawmakers Monday for wanting to ram a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court through the process in the days after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg less than two months before the presidential election.

The governor accused of the lawmakers of rank hypocrisy by preparing for the nomination after they refused to offer ... even a hearing to a nominee former President Barack Obama announced eight months before President Donald Trump was elected.

'Let the people decide,' they screamed in 2016. But, today, theyre thumbing their noses at the people in the name of a narrow political ideology," Murphy said during his regular briefing on the coronavirus in Trenton.

How many Republicans will have the guts to stand up and demand that the process be put on hold until after the nation chooses its next president?" Murphy asked. Its a blatant power grab.

He praised Ginsburg as a forceful and thoughtful judge who was an icon in the legal field long before she became an icon in popular culture.

Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery, beside her husband Martin, in a private service, according to the U.S. Supreme Court said.

The justice died Friday at age 87 from pancreatic cancer. She served on the court for 27 years, appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton.

Trump has said hell name an appointment to the high court by the end of the week. GOP leadership in the U.S. Senate has already said they would hold a vote on the new appointee before Trump could take up a second term or be ousted by Democratic nominee former Vice President Joe Biden.

Democrats have called foul over Republicans' refusal to give Obamas nominee in 2016, Merrick Garland, a hearing after the former president named him as a replacement for former Justice Antonin Scalia, who died earlier in the year ahead of the last presidential election.

GOP lawmakers said at the time that the next president should decide who should succeed Scalia.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Murphy said Trump and GOP lawmakers should instead be focused on the pandemic.

Our attention  and the attention of the president and Congress  should be focused on the pressing issue of getting ahead of COVID-19, he said.

More than 200,000 people in the state have tested positive for the virus.

The state of 9 million people has reported 16,069 deaths related to the virus Sunday  14,278 lab-confirmed and 1,791 considered probable  in that time. Thats the second most in the U.S. after New York. New Jersey has the nations highest COVID-19 death rate per 100,000 residents.

Officials also continue to warn about rising cases among younger residents. They said Friday 33% of the states new cases in recent days have come from residents ages 18 to 29.

Because younger residents are less likely to suffer severe cases, officials said the increase in cases among young adults and adolescents is a part of the reason deaths and hospitalizations are staying stable. But officials warn young residents could still pass the virus to more vulnerable people.

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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
Protesters make noise outside the home of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in Washington on Sept. 21, 2020. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)

Protesters at Sen. Grahams House Urge Him Not to Consider Trumps Court Pick

Protesters on Monday gathered outside Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Grahams (D-S.C.) house in Washington, urging him not to consider President Donald Trumps soon-to-be-announced replacement for deceased Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Activists with Shut Down DC and Sunrise Movement DC were among those who gathered outside Grahams home before dawn.

The sun hasnt even risen yet outside the senators house this morning. We are taking his own advice: using his words against him. We wont let him replace #RBG!! Shut Down DC wrote on social media, sharing pictures of people outside the senators residence.

Video footage showed police officers escorting several people from Grahams property while others stood on the street and made loud noises with bells, megaphones, and other devices.

A spokesman for Graham didnt pick up the phone on Monday or return a voicemail.

A spokesman for the senator told the New York Post: Senator Graham was not in Washington this morning during the protest and regrets the disturbance caused to his neighbors.

Graham later released an ad that included clips of the crowd outside his house, calling for people to stand with me against the mob by donating to his campaign for reelection.

Demonstrators gather outside the home of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in Washington on Sept. 21, 2020. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)

A neighbor looks out their door at demonstrators outside the home of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in Washington on Sept. 21, 2020. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)

A Metropolitan Police Department inspector later told the group that the protest was in violation of the citys Residential Tranquility Act.

If youre targeting a residence, period, this is a residential street, from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., you cant do it, period. Even at 7 oclock in the morning, if you do not have a permit, you are in violation, inspector Robert Glover said, reported independent journalist Ford Fischer.

The group eventually left and no arrests were made.

Protesters went to the Supreme Court, where organizers read aloud the Virginia address of Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), suggesting Roberts or Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) be targeted next with pre-dawn protests.

According to Influence Watch, Shut Down DCs sponsor, which has rallies with members of the far-left Antifa network, participated in the protest. Sunrise is a group that endorses liberal and far-left Democratic Party candidates for public office and organizes alongside other activist organizations to support expansive and radical environmentalist legislation, according to the website.

Police escort a protester away from the residence of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in Washington on Sept. 21, 2020. (Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images)

Demonstrators gather outside the home of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in Washington on Sept. 21, 2020. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)

Shut Down DC describes itself as a group focused on ousting Trump from office. The Sunrise Movement describes itself as a youth movement to stop climate change and create millions of jobs in the process.

The Senate committee Graham heads vets Supreme Court nominees. If committee members approve of a nominee, the full Senate then holds a vote.

Graham signaled over the weekend that he would support considering Trumps nominee.

Harry Reid changed the rules to allow a simple majority vote for Circuit Court nominees dealing out the minority. Chuck Schumer and his friends in the liberal media conspired to destroy the life of Brett Kavanaugh and hold that Supreme Court seat open, he wrote on Twitter.

In light of these two events, I will support President @realDonaldTrump in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg smiles during a photo session with photographers at the Supreme Court in Washington on March 3, 2006. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), listens during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 16, 2020. (Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images)

Then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) changed Senate rules in 2013 to make most judicial confirmations require a simple majority, instead of the 60-vote threshold.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) extended the change to Supreme Court confirmations in 2017.

Graham said last year that if a vacancy on the Supreme Court arose, he would be hellbent to put a conservative on it as a replacement.

The lawmaker said what happened in 2016, when a GOP-controlled Senate refused to consider President Barack Obamas nominee, was different to now.

You had the president of one party nominating, and you had the Senate in the hands of the other party, he said during a recent television appearance.

Trump said Monday morning that hed announce his nominee on Friday or Saturday. He said he will nominate a woman from his expanded list of potential nominees.
The Ministry of Information, Ghana Health Service (GHS), and partners have organised a one-day capacity building workshop for the Central Regional House of Chiefs on COVID-19 and its associated stigma, safety protocols, and Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs).

The Capacity Building Workshop was held to sensitize the chiefs on the need to ensure their subjects adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols.

In his opening remarks, the Paramount Chief of Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area and the President of Central Regional House of Chiefs, Obrempong Nyankul Krampah XI commended President Nana Akufo-Addo for his proactive steps taken to contain the virus in Ghana.

Obrempong Nyankul Krampah XI advised chiefs and queen mothers to lead community-level education on COVID-19 to ensure their community members continue to adhere to the safety protocols.

He opined that to sustain the decreasing number of active cases, adherence to the safety protocols remains vital.

The training which was led by the Leader of National Risk Communication and Social Mobilization Committee for Ghana's COVID-19 Response Team and the Director of Health Promotion at Ghana Health Service, Dr Da costa Aboagye stressed the need to end stigma against persons infected and treated of COVID-19.

Dr Da Costa Aboagye argued that conditions such as hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and cancers have been identified among the top 4 causes of mortality, especially among the aged in Ghana.

According to Dr. Da Costa, the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and the Government will initiate a wellness program as one of the key methods to early detect NCDs with the aim of institutionalising prevention is better than cure approach to support curative health services.

This means to support the existing NHIS primary health care delivery in the country, the government will focus on health promotion and prevention from 2021, he noted.

Speaking to the press after the workshop, Dr Da Costa said: The current COVID-19 pandemic has provoked social stigma and discriminatory behaviours against infected persons and their families leading to people hiding their illnesses and not seeking health care early.

He further noted that "Majority of the COVID-19 deaths recorded in this country came from co-morbidities, such as hypertension, stroke, and diabetes. Thus a need to step up education on these non-communicable diseases."

He urge chiefs and opinion leaders to provide leadership towards the fight against stigma and assist individuals who have been abandoned because they contracted the virus.

Dr Da Costa Aboagye stressed that the media should help educate and encourage Ghanaians to adopt healthy behaviours such as regular exercising, eating our local foods as well as more fruits and vegetables, having enough rest, and avoiding stress.

He further advised the general public to continue adhering to the safety protocols by washing hands thoroughly with soap under running water, wearing of face mask, observing social distance, and also show love and support towards each other to help defeat this virus.

The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah acknowledged that Government appreciates the immeasurable partnership and role of traditional authorities in the national development agenda and particularly their support in the enforcement of the restrictions that were imposed during the lockdown period.

"We recognized for instance that the imposition of the restriction on mass gatherings such as funerals and festivals were largely successful because of the understanding and active support of our Chiefs and Queens," he emphasized.

He also noted that the stringent measures may have inconvenienced many but were necessary for the interest of public health.
One person has been reported killed while 20 others were injured during a violent clash over land between farmers and herders in Guri Local Government Area of Jigawa State on Monday, the police have said.

The police said the unrest happened at Madamuwa forest, a Fulani settlement and it was over a land ownership tussle between the warring groups.

Musa Mamman, aged about 55, died while receiving treatment after the clash, the police said.

The police spokesperson for the state, Audu Jinjiri, on Monday, said among those injured, six were rushed to Federal Medical Centre in neighbouring Yobe State.

He said security personnel have been mobilised to the troubled area.

Fourteen persons were rushed to Lafiya primary healthcare for treatment while six persons who were fatally shot with arrows were rushed to Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, Yobe, for treatment.

Two suspects, namely Ardo Barau, 45, and Buba Jumma, 23, all of Madamuwa Fulani Settlement were arrested following the conflict and preliminary investigation is on progress, the police said.

Guri in Jigawa is blessed with fertile land suitable for farming and grazing. Ownership of the lush land has led to bloody conflicts between the two groups over the years.
Manhattan's district attorney on Monday said the 'mountainous' allegations of misconduct linked to President Donald Trump and his businesses justified enforcing a subpoena for his tax returns and other financial records.

The district attorney's office also suggested for the first time Monday that Trump could be investigated for tax fraud, according to The New York Times.

Lawyers for District Attorney Cyrus Vance made the argument in a filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, four days before it considers Trump's request to block the August 2019 subpoena to his accounting firm Mazars USA.

Lawyers for Manhattan's District Attorney Cyrus Vance (pictured) pointed to the 'mountainous' allegations of misconduct as they argued to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals why a subpoena for President Donald Trump's tax returns should be enforced

The filing also suggested that President Donald Trump, photographed leaving the White House Monday, could be on the hook for tax fraud

Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Trump, declined to comment.

Trump, a Republican, has said the subpoena from Vance, a Democrat, for eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns in connection with a criminal probe into his businesses was 'wildly overbroad' and issued in bad faith to harass him.

The president made that argument after the U.S. Supreme Court in July rejected his earlier claim of immunity from criminal investigations while in the White House.

Trump is now appealing U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero's Aug. 20 ruling allowing the subpoena's enforcement.

But lawyers for Vance said Trump's arguments, including that the Mazars subpoena largely copied an earlier subpoena from Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, were 'recycled' from when he claimed immunity, and that he deserved no special treatment as president.

The lawyers called Marrero's review 'meticulous,' after Trump had accused the judge of dismissively rejecting his arguments as a 'back-door' means to immunity.

Vance's lawyers also justified the subpoena by pointing to 'numerous' reports of possible financial improprieties involving the Trump Organization and its affiliates.

These included New York Attorney General Letitia James' probe into whether the company overstated asset values to obtain loans and tax benefits, and the guilty plea of Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen to campaign finance and other charges.

'As the office represented to the Supreme Court, 'we would have been remiss not to follow up,'' Vance's lawyers wrote.

'A mountainous record of criminal convictions and public allegations of misconduct ... confirms the reasonableness of the Mazars subpoena's timeframe and its specific document requests,' they added.

Oral arguments are set for Sept. 25 before a panel of three judges, all appointed by Democratic presidents.

Though the appeal was fast-tracked, it is unlikely the public will know what's in Trump's tax returns before the Nov. 3 election.

Vance began his probe after news that Cohen made hush money payments before the 2016 election to keep two women quiet about claimed sexual encounters with Trump, which he denies.
"Currently, a phase 3 clinical study is underway in the United States, Germany, Argentina, Turkey and South Africa, in order to verify the effectiveness of the vaccine candidate", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

Sanofi and GSK will also endeavour to provide a significant portion of their vaccine supply through a collaboration with the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility - the vaccine pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator for lower and middle income countries - in a timely manner. This raised some safety concerns among the scientific community.

As of September 17, there were 182 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 36 of them were in clinical trials, according to the World Health Organization. But the Russian government said that Phase I and Phase II of clinical trials were completed before the vaccine approval was given.

Results from two earlyphase nonrandomised vaccine trials for Sputnik V in a total of 76 people found that two formulations of a twopart vaccine had a good safety profile with no serious adverse events detected over 42 days, and induce antibody responses in all participants within 21 days. It is also one of the largest donors to the World Health Organization for securing vaccines. "Those who are willing to volunteer for the vaccination should contact the hospital", Tambe encouraged.

The Sputnik V vaccine works on the "human adenoviral vector" technology, which modifies adenoviruses (that are responsible for causing illnesses like fevers, coughs, diarrhoea, etc in humans) so they do not replicate in the human body, and instead carry instructions to cells to produce spike protein of COVID-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus.

During a video conference of European Union health ministers on 4 September, the German government, which holds the European Union presidency for the second half of this year, estimated that an additional 750 million would be needed to develop existing vaccine candidates, according to minutes of the meeting seen by Reuters.

However, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) reiterated that the vaccine is safe. "Around 150 to 200 volunteers will be administered the vaccine candidate dose", Dean of the state-run Sassoon General Hospital Dr Muralidhar Tambe told PTI. The Indian Express reported that if it receives this go-ahead then the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine will also leapfrog Covidshield - the Coronavirus vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) - as the frontrunner in the efforts to produce a vaccine for India.

Earlier this month, the SII had paused the clinical trials of the vaccine candidate in the country.
Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Monday that the farm sector reform bills passed by Parliament were the need of 21st century India.

Noting that his government had brought farm ordinances, which these legislations will replace, in June, he said farmers are already getting a better price for their produce in several states.

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Narendra ModiFarmers will now have the freedom to sell their produce at a place and price of their choice, he said.

Modi made the comments at a virtual ceremony to lay foundation stones of nine highway projects in Bihar and to inaugurate optical fibre internet services through which the state's all 45,945 villages will be connected.

Narendra Modi

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Two key farm bills, dubbed as the biggest reform in agriculture by the government, were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha with voice vote. The two bills were earlier cleared by Lok Sabha.

No government has done as much to boost MSP and government procurement of farmers produce than his dispensation, the prime minister said.
Police in Florida are searching for a gunman who walked into a skating rink early Sunday morning and shot two teenagers in front of a large crowd.

The incident took place at 1am at the Galaxy Skateway & Play Zone on Aurora Road in Melbourne, where some 100 teenagers and young adults gathered for an event.

The Melbourne Police Department said the unnamed suspect walked into the venue and opened fire, shooting two teenagers.

A gunman walked into Galaxy Skateway & Play Zone in Melbourne, Florida, early Sunday morning and shot two teenagers in front of some 100 people attending an event

Lt Ryan Schorer, with the Melbourne police, told Florida Today the victims were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. No one else was harmed in the incident.

Police were reviewing surveillance video from the skating rink and believe the gunman purportedly targeted at least one of the victims.

According to investigators, the promoter of the event had at least one security guard at the scene at the time of the shooting.

'If theyre hosting a crowd, then theyre required to get a permit,' Schorer said. 'Were just glad there were no significant injuries.'

As of Monday morning, no arrests have been made in connection to the shooting.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

If Armenia does not give up their ugly plans, they will face very serious consequences, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview to Azerbaijan Television, Ictimai Television, and Real Television following a groundbreaking ceremony of the offshore operations of the Absheron field at the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deep Water Jackets Plant, Trend reports.

Armenia is an aggressive state. Their hatred for Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis is reflected in their ugly policies. I want to say again and warn them that if they do not give up their ugly plans, they will face very serious consequences, the head of state said.

President Ilham Aliyev said that they are preparing for a new war.

They are concentrating their forces near the line of contact. We see everything and we watch everything. We follow all of their actions. Of course, we will defend ourselves. Just as we defended ourselves in Tovuz, we will defend ourselves in all other directions. The events in Tovuz were yet another lesson for them. If they want to learn a new lesson, we are ready for it, the head of state said.
Nayana Jayarajan By

Recently, the World Health Organization declared the African continent free of wild poliovirus; Pakistan and Afghanistan are now the only two countries where wild polio is still endemic (although cases of vaccine-derived polio are on the rise worldwide, primarily due to falling rates of immunisation in children under five.) This is a cheering development, especially at a time when the world is struggling to contain another disease with global reach and dire consequences, Covid-19. Its also a timely reminder of why we need international organisations like the WHO, which can mobilise experts, civil society and volunteers nationally, regionally and globally, and which can ensure that scientific and medical breakthroughs, research and lessons learned can be transmitted between countries and communities.

It is also a reminder that, as we tackle Covid-19 and prepare for other pandemics that scientists assure us are in the making, we need to involve religious leaders and their institutions early and often in our efforts. Failure to do so has dire implications. In 2015, the WHO issued a stark warning of rising poliomyelitis cases in Somalia, Iraq and Syria. In each of those countries, the virus had previously been eradicated, and was reintroduced from countries where it was still endemic.

The role of religion in containing polio has been a complicated one. On the one hand, vaccine resistance by some religious institutions has been a recurrent challenge for scientists working to contain the disease. In one of the best-known examples, resistance to the vaccine by religious leaders and politicians in parts of northern Nigeria in 2003 led to a resurgence of the disease, which then took years to roll back. This resistance was occasioned by rumours that the vaccines had been deliberately contaminated with anti-fertility drugs and were harming children.

In many countries (including Pakistan, Afghanistan, the US and the Democratic Republic of Congo), religious leaders have often been conduits for misinformation about the potential impacts of vaccines, and have advised their communities and followers to avoid vaccinating their children. At the same time, however, religious leaders and their communities in many countries have been at the forefront of the anti-polio movement: In the Philippines, religious leaders joined civil society organisations and volunteers to organise vaccination drives, leading to thousands of children being protected from disease.

In India, too, religious communities were an integral part of the coalition that eradicated polio from the country, which had previously been one of the worst affected. In Afghanistan, UNICEF works together with interfaith activists and faith leaders to help them communicate effectively with their communities about the virus. When religious communities, especially women, are involved in vaccine drives, success rates increase.

One factor that complicates the relationship between religious institutions and public health initiatives, specifically vaccination drives, is the fact that regions in conflict are also typically the most underserved by public services and tend to be more deprived, which makes reaching those communities even more challenging. In areas where the manipulation of religion is a factor in conflict, for example in areas of Nigeria where Boko Haram is active, in Angola, Afghanistan and others, vaccination drives and other externally driven public health measures can quickly be weaponised to create further mistrust and anti-state paranoia in populations. In 2013, Boko Haram militants murdered nine young women working on polio vaccination programmes in northern Nigeria.

Ownership and trust are often mutually reinforcing: In India, the body responsible for community mobilisation for polio eradication, the Social Mobilization Network, quickly realised that in order to reach poorer communities, the participation of religious leaders was essential. They worked to include religious organisations in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the vaccination programmes, which helped build a sense of trust and ownership in those communities.

This was linked to greater rates of community adoption. Religious leaders are seen as cultural and moral authorities, whose words carry great weight with families considering vaccination. Up-to-the-moment scientific information and exchanges between medical professionals and religious leaders are key to ensuring that they are able to transmit accurate information to their followers. Interreligious action can help build community trust: In many cases, communities felt singled out or unfairly targeted by vaccination drives and other scientific studies, a fear that is not, unfortunately, entirely unfounded. In Pakistan, a CIA-funded fake vaccination drive had the unfortunate effect of leading to a marked rise in vaccine resistance. Ensuring visible and sustained interreligious cooperation around public health can help remove this fear.

As health professionals and governments around the world battle to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, stories are emerging of infection clusters around religious gatherings, for example in South Korea, Austria, India and other places. This has the knock-on effect of increasing hate speech and stigmatisation of religious communities, which then contributes to these communities reluctance to engage with state and official actors, building a cycle of mistrust and division. This welcome news from the WHO is a timely reminder that we need to break this cycle, that it takes continuous and intensive effort from all sides, but that it can be done.

Nayana Jayarajan

Vienna-based former journalist who now works on interreligious conflict resolution

(nayana.jayarajan@kaiciid.org)
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for over 11,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced Peak Positioning Technologies Inc (AIM: CALL;OTCQX: PKKFF), an innovative Fintech service provider to the Chinese commercial lending sector, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Peak Positioning Technologies Inc upgraded to OTCQX from the OTCQB Venture Market.

Peak Positioning Technologies Inc begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "PKKFF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.

"We are delighted to have reached this important step as part of our ongoing effort to connect with U.S. investors. We look forward to working with OTC Markets Group to help U.S. investors become more familiar with the Company," commented Peak CEO, Johnson Joseph.

About Peak Positioning Technologies Inc

Peak Positioning Technologies Inc. ("Peak") is the parent company of a group of innovative financial technology (Fintech) subsidiaries operating in China's commercial lending industry. Peak's subsidiaries use technology, analytics and artificial intelligence to create an ecosystem of lenders, borrowers and other participants in China's commercial lending space where lending operations are conducted rapidly, safely, efficiently and with the utmost transparency.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for 11,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.

To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are SEC regulated ATSs, operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.

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Although the company had to lay off 28 workers due to the coronavirus-related financial crisis in March, Texas Central Railroad had described the project as shovel ready and waiting for the federal governments approval.

This is the moment we have been working towards, said Carlos Aguilar, CEO of Texas Central Railroad in a statement. The release of the final (approvals) by the Federal Railroad Administration represents years of work by countless individuals, affirming a very thorough and careful federal regulatory process that will make the Texas Central Railroad the first high-speed rail system to be implemented in the United States.

The company estimates that the construction for the project will take up to six years, with a total cost of around $20 billion. The train will use the same technology as the Shinkansen bullet trains in Japan, which can reach speeds of more than 200 mph.
Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the court in 1993  the second female justice in U.S. history  and was an advocate for womens rights, gender equality and civil rights. But for as much as she was respected for her legal positions, many also were moved by her resilience in facing numerous health crises, battling various forms of cancer since 1999 but refusing to give up her seat as long as she could do the job full steam.
21 Sep 2020, 11:28 AM

Farm bills passed in Rajya Sabha amid protests by opposition MPs

The Rajya Sabha has passed the Farmers' and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, through voice vote amid protest by opposition MPs and farmers' protests across Punjab and Haryana. The bills were passed in the Lok Sabha last week.

Tata Consultancy Services sets up 11 COVID-19 isolation centres for staff, dependents

India's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has set up 11 first-line COVID-19 isolation centres within its premises in various cities in India, including Mumbai, Indore and Nagpur. These centres will provide medical support to associates and their dependents (spouse, children and parents/parents-in-law) who are asymptomatic or mildly COVID-19 positive with no other co-morbidities

Govt plans to let firms with 300 workers fire staff without its nod

Companies with not less than 300 workers will soon be allowed to hire and fire workers without seeking prior nod from the government. These changes have been proposed in The Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020, introduced in Lok Sabha Saturday. As of now, only those industrial establishments with less than 100 employees are permitted to hire and fire their staff without permission of the government.

DCGI nod to commercial launch of India's first low-cost COVID-19 test 'FELUDA'

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the commercial launch of India's first low-cost COVID test 'FELUDA' for commercial use. The Tata CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)- Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) have jointly developed the COVID-19 test.

COVID-19 vaccine: Serum Institute to begin final phase of trial from Monday

The final clinical trial of coronavirus vaccine by Oxford University and being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) will begin at the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune from Monday. Some volunteers have already come forward for the trial. Around 150 to 200 volunteers will be administered the vaccine candidate dose.

Rajya Sabha passes bill to punish those attacking healthcare workers

The Rajya Sabha on Saturday passed a legislation that provides for up to five years in jail for those attacking doctors and healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 outbreak or during any situation akin to the current pandemic. The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced by Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in the Upper House on Saturday to replace an ordinance issued by the government in April.

Fuel demand to tumble 11.5% in 2020: Fitch Solutions

Fitch Solutions has revised downward its forecast for fuel demand contraction in India to 11.5 per cent in 2020 in line with further deterioration in the country's economic outlook. Its economists forecast India's real GDP to contract by 8.6 per cent in the fiscal year 2020-21 (April 2020 to March 2021), down from -4.5 per cent previously. They have made a further downward revision to their India refined fuels demand forecast for 2020, from -9.4 per cent to -11.5 per cent, in line with further deterioration in the country's economic outlook.
ST. JOSEPH, MI  A southwest Michigan city wont have a Black Lives Matter street mural after officials turned down a request, The Associated Press reports.

Students in St. Joseph petitioned for a Black Lives Matter mural to be painted on a street near their high school, the report said. Advocates said it would send a welcoming message to neighboring Benton Harbor, which is 85% Black. St. Joseph is 87% white. Critics were concerned about possible violence and traffic problems, the report said.

Allowing a slogan to be painted on a city street would open the door to future requests, said Mayor Mike Garey. Commissioners are working with those who supported the mural to find another solution.

If you truly believe that Black lives matter, you would not be afraid to upset a few people, said St. Joseph student Caitlin Sullivan who was among those who worked on the petition.

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Tens of thousands of people calling for the authoritarian president of Belarus to resign have marched through the capital as the countrys wave of protests entered its seventh week.

Hundreds of soldiers blocked off the centre of Minsk, deploying water cannons and armoured personnel carriers and erecting barbed wire barriers. Protests also took place in several other cities, including Brest and Grodno.

The crowd in Minsk included about 100,000 people, said Ales Bialiatski, head of the Viasna human rights organisation. He said dozens of demonstrators were arrested in Minsk and Grodno.

Protests began on August 9 after an election that official results say gave President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office. Opponents and some poll workers say the results were manipulated.

Mr Lukashenko, who has repressed opposition and independent news media during 26 years in power, has rejected suggestions of dialogue with the protesters. Many members of the Coordination Council that was formed by the opposition to push for a transition of power have been arrested or have fled the country.

The Minsk demonstrators carried the red-and-white flags that were independent Belarus national standard before being replaced in 1995, early in Mr Lukashenkos tenure.

Although protests have taken place daily since the election, the Sunday gatherings in Minsk have been by far the largest, attracting crowds of as many as 200,000 people.

Every Sunday, you are showing yourselves and the world that the Belarusian people are the power, said Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was Mr Lukashenkos main election opponent. She released the statement in a video message from Lithuania, where she is in exile.

The marchers also carried portraits of Maria Kolsenikova, a top opposition figure who has been jailed for two weeks and is facing charges of undermining state security that could bring a five-year prison term. Ms Kolesnikova has said security forces drove her to the border with Ukraine to try to make her leave the country, but that she tore up her passport so she could not cross the border.

In a statement relayed by her lawyer, Ms Kolsenikova urged protesters to continue.

Freedom is worth fighting for. Do not be afraid to be free, she said. I do not regret anything and would do the same again.

Meanwhile, interior ministry spokeswoman Olga Chemodanova said an investigation has been opened into the release by hackers of the personal information of more than 1,000 employees of the ministry, which runs the nations police forces.
Kit Harington says that he doesnt want to play emotionally repressed, silent men in the future.

The actor, who rose to fame playing Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, discussed the idea of inherited male trauma and how it stops men from being honest about their feelings.

I feel that emotionally men have a problem, a blockage, and that blockage has come from the Second World War, passed down from grandfather to father to son, Harington told The Telegraph.

We do not speak about how we feel because it shows weakness, because it is not masculine.

After playing Jon, who is a member of military order the Nights Watch, on the HBO fantasy series for eight years, the 33-year-old said that he hoped the characters hed play in the future would be less heroic.

Harington as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones' (HBO)

Having portrayed a man who was silent, who was heroic, I feel going forward that is a role I dont want to play any more, he said. "It is not a masculine role that the world needs to see much more of.

During the interview, Harington also revealed that he was raised in a gender fluid way, with his mother encouraging him to play with toys other than those marketed at boys.

I asked for a Mighty Max and she bought me a Polly Pocket, he said. I asked for an Action Man and I got a doll  it was very gender fluid from the word go. And I went with it.

Harington currently stars in the second season of Criminal, which is available to stream on Netflix.
CHESTER  Stakeholders are not willing to let history repeat itself when it comes to economic downturns and redevelopment on the West End waterfront. Public and private officials unveiled the initial findings of the Riverfront Alliance of Delaware Countys Chester Master Waterfront Plan last week with a private media event at the Philadelphia Unions Subaru Park, followed by a public Zoom meeting.

Boston-based architectural firm NBBJ, in consultation with Chicago-based Hunden Straetgic Advisors, laid out the plan for the area bounded by Highland Avenue to Norris Street and the Delaware River to Route 291. Early actions will begin this month, with full build out estimated over 15 years.

With NBBJs contract let last October, the plans were crafted over the course of the COVID-19 lockdowns after late 2019 meeting with local residents, business owners and other stakeholders. Officials are confident the plan will not die out as did the prior decades redevelopment efforts, which saw only the Unions then-PPL Park come to fruition in the aftermath of the 2008 recession.

This isnt a plan that well allow to sit dormant. I know were going to put forth every effort to make sure we are able to develop our waterfront and complement the already brilliant entity that we have sitting on our waterfront, said City Councilman William Morgan during the public call.

We know that the plan is a living, breathing document and has to be flexible and accommodate the conditions on the ground. We have the plan as a starting guide and will move into implementation, Lisa Gaffney, RADC executive director and Chester Economic Development Authority executive director, said during the call.

The unveiling comes after Gov. Tom Wolf declared a fiscal emergency for the city in April, prompting the appointment of a state receiver after 25 years as a financially distressed municipality under Act 47. Receiver Michael Dowearys initial August reiterated the longtime call for shoring up the citys economic activity and tax base. The waterfront plan has brought together funding from RADCs member organizations and others to aid in economic redevelopment. Major sponsors joining city and RADC funding include PECO, the Philadelphia Union, M&T Bank and the state Department of Community & Economic Development (administrators of the Act 47 program).

Those on hand for Tuesdays unveiling included state Sen. Tom Killion, R-9 of Middletown, who championed the infrastructure projects waterfront tax credits. Its a regional gem, said Killion staffer John M. McNichol. Sen. Killion also presents Chester County as far as West Chester. You can get to West Chester from here in 25 minutes  it really is a regional opportunity.

The unveiled plans call for two phases of development in the area, bringing in pop-in and permanent retail, hotels and restaurants, indoor sporting and concert facilities, and expanded park and marina space. A series of infrastructure improvements  set to start next week with repaving the unit block of Engle Street  will serve as a preamble to the two phases.

We are designated by the state  as a waterfront organization so we were able to apply for Waterfront Development Tax Credits, Gaffney told the Times during the media event. Bryn Mawr Trust purchased $65,000 in credits and Power Home Remodeling purchased $150,000 to fund the repaving from Route 291 to the CSX railroad tracks. The project will install a sidewalk, curbs, and electrical conduit for eventual lighting. It is the first step in improving Engle, pegged as the primary entrance to the waterfront in NBBJs plans.

The improvements will remove some driveway space from early waterfront investor The Larimer Beer Company. We made accommodations to keep their business as active as possible with outdoor seating. It also wont be interfering with (Philadelphia Union) games, who are currently playing without spectators, said Gaffney. In a strange way its good timing because it wont be interfering with traffic.

RADC has applied for $570,000 in tax credits for Reaney Street improvements, the approval status of which are not yet known. Itll be narrowing (the paved street) and increasing the sidewalk width, because that street is a main entrance into the stadium, said Gaffney. The redesign is in line with NBBJs calls for easier foot- and bicycle traffic accessibility to the waterfront.

To further expand on that goal, RADC and elected officials have convened a Route 291 task force to address safety issues, traffic calming, and installing a center median. Crosswalk equipped intersections are planned for Highland Avenue and Jeffrey, Reaney, Flower and Norris streets.

The master plan initiative took shape in early 2019 when RADC issued a RFP to 23 architectural firms, resulting in five candidates evaluated during the summer.

About a year ago we came together and said We really need a vision for whats happening here,' said Philadelphia Union President Tim McDermott during Tuesdays media event. I feel like we finally have that  its great to have that north star of what were going towards, he said.

The Philadelphia Unions fans include a lot of business owners and CFOs, said Tom Shoemaker, RADC board chairman. At some point people start to say we ought to consider Chester for our next location for our business. We really think thats whats going to happen here.
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HAAH Automotive, a US-based automobile distributor, is proposing to invest $258 million into the troubled Korean carmaker SsangYong Motor Co to acquire Mahindra & Mahindras (M&M) significant stake in the company, an investment banking source told Korean Investors, a news agency.

Last week, HAAH Automotive submitted a proposal to M&M that it is willing to invest in Ssangyong if it means its stake is large enough to control the Korean maker of sport utility vehicles, the agency added.

M&M, the largest shareholder of Ssangyong with a 75 percent stake, is understood to be considering the offer. When contacted, M&M declined to comment on the story.

In the proposal, HAAH Automotive also presented some conditions for its investment, such as a deferral of Ssangyongs debt repayment to its creditors until the automaker is fully normalised, Korean Investors claimed quoting sources.

M&M has been looking for a partner for managing SsangYong since the beginning of 2020. In June, M&M said it was ready to cede control of SsangYong after it refused to pump in further investments into the cash strapped carmaker.

The Mumbai-based company had indicated at that time that it does not intend to exit SsangYong completely, but reduce its stake and become a minority investor.

In April, the M&M board declined to inject any more funds in to SsangYong after the Korean company sought an infusion of $406 million. Since then, SsangYong has liquidated some non-core assets to generate working capital while keep costs down.

HAAH Motors Holdings is a privately held company located in Irvine, California. Chinas Chery Automobile Co, has partnered HAAH to assemble and sell SUV in the US under the brand Vantas.
More than 1,000 people gathered at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on Sunday, converging from Catholic parishes throughout the city and then marching to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption on Gough Street in a protest that demanded the immediate reopening of indoor services.

Places of worship were closed in the city for almost six months after the mid-March shelter-in-place order. Even though the state has said San Francisco can reopen churches at 25% capacity, Mayor London Breed announced last week that one person would be allowed inside churches at a time for prayer.

Does that make sense to you: one person indoors at a time in a church? ... Is there a rational basis? Nobody has given me a rational basis for that, said Archbishop of San Francisco Salvatore J. Cordileone before leading a Eucharistic procession to City Hall and uphill to the cathedral. We can worship safely inside of church. We want to do it responsibly. We dont want to be reckless. Well follow safety protocols that work and are effective. We shouldnt be shut out of church. Its a natural right protected by the First Amendment.

The right to worship indoors has become a flashpoint between the church and the city, which has reprimanded the Archdiocese of San Francisco at least twice since the pandemic began for violating coronavirus health orders. In July, as The Chronicle previously reported, the SS Peter and Paul Church hosted an estimated 100 people for an attempted indoor wedding, but a city attorney representative arrived and the ceremony was moved out of doors, with fewer people in attendance. Both bride and groom, as well as multiple guests, later tested positive for the coronavirus.

Cordileone called for people to participate in Sundays demonstration during a Sept. 13 homily on the Cathedral Hill Plaza.

And they showed up in large numbers.

Fifty-person groups from St. Patrick Church on Mission Street and St. Dominics Catholic Church on Bush Street made it to Civic Center Plaza before 10 a.m., having navigated scaffolding and onlookers as they prayed aloud.

As the St. Patrick group approached City Hall, hymns could already be heard from three blocks away. The groups merged into a 500-person gathering that held signs saying We are essential. Free the Mass and filling the plaza more than halfway.

Another group marched from the Mission District behind a truck that blared the same message in English and Spanish. That group more than doubled the size of the crowd.

Cordileone prayed over the crowd and started walking toward the cathedral in a procession that needed police escorts as it shut down traffic due to its size. Mostly masked and somewhat distanced, the group prayed, sang and discussed their demands during the nearly mile-long hike.

Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

If we cant be inside the church, its just not the same. Theres no sense of being in a sacred place and sharing a community. The house of worship is irreplaceable, said Vincent Desbieys, who drove from Santa Clara to join the demonstration and has worshiped in the parking lot of Our Lady of Peace since June. Weve been very patient and civilized. But now, its time to open.

Among the groups gripes is that liquor stores have remained open during the pandemic and retail is now allowed to operate at 50% capacity. Breed is allowing outdoor religious services for 50 people and has said that the city hopes to allow indoor worship services of 25 people by Oct. 1.

Twenty-five people is less than 1% of St. Marys capacity, and the assembly there Sunday filled every plaza, veranda and courtyard before stretching across Geary Street.

Taking a moment to look at the crowd while standing in the middle of Geary Street, John Cigavic of San Francisco said: I think its obvious with this showing. People go to church for socialization, and they also go to church because thats where they send their kids to school. The kids need to go to school.

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.

Cigavic, whose children are enrolled at the St. Cecilia School, said going to church or school virtually shouldnt be confused with in-person socialization and fellowship.

What needs to happen is to respect everybodys views, and not just some, he said. If we can do that, and recognize that some people want to go to church and school and play sports, and take a reasonable approach to what needs to be done, then I think it would be acceptable. But whats potentially unreasonable are decisions that are not fair to the children or anyone.

A message requesting comment from Mayor London Breed or Director of Health Dr. Grant Colfax was not returned on Sunday.

Californias church service limits were challenged earlier this year by a Pentecostal church, which argued that houses of worship were being treated more strictly than secular operations.

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the state in a 5-4 decision. Chief Justice John Roberts said that the court shouldnt second-guess elected officials when it comes to public health decisions.

I dont know why were being picked on, Cordileone said. Were here serving our people. We want to be good neighbors and partners, so I dont understand why theyre imposing these restrictions on us.

Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rsimmons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Rusty_SFChron

Correction: An earlier version of this article gave an incorrect date for when Vincent Desbieys, who drove from Santa Clara to join the demonstration, began to worship in the parking lot of Our Lady of Peace. It was June.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities have decided to scale up its real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak as rapid antigen detection (RAD) test has proved to be less accurate.

RT-PCR test will be aggressively conducted in high-rise buildings, slum clusters and hospitals within the jurisdictions of the civic body.

Around 70% of the daily tests conducted in Mumbai are being done through the RT-PCR technique.

RAD test is less preferred because of its unreliability.

However, the BMC authorities recently procured an additional one lakh RAD test kits after they ran out of stock.

Also Read: Maharashtra Covid-19 mortality rate now higher than Gujarats

RAD tests are conducted on swabbed nasal samples that detect antigens that are found in the virus, Sars-Cov-2, which causes Covid-19.

Though the test results are available in less than 30 minutes, they are less sensitive, as compared to the RT-PCR technique.

According to the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW), every positive report from RAD test will be treated as true positive, while negative samples will have to be compulsorily retested by using the RT-PCR technique.

Also Read: Maharashtra teachers request education department for Covid-19 insurance

Civic officials said that RAD tests were introduced to balance out the inadequate supply of RT-PCR kits in the market and they are equally effective when their use is focused.

Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, BMC, said, We are scaling up the RT-PCR tests in high-rise buildings and slum clusters as our daily Covid-19 tests have crossed the 15, 000 mark. However, the RAD tests will be more focused. We will conduct RAD tests on civic workers, people living in containment zones and healthcare staff.

Mumbai crossed the 10-lakh mark of Covid-19 tests on Sunday. The total tally stands at 10.04 lakh and the positivity rate is 18.13%, which had risen to 23% in July.

So far, the city has reported 1.82 lakh Covid-19 cases.

Around 1.55 lakh RAD tests were conducted since the technique was introduced in July.

BMC data showed 10, 706 people have tested Covid-19 positive after undergoing RAD tests.
The United States welcomes Armenias continued commitment to strengthening the rule of law, establishing an independent judiciary, and increasing economic and investment opportunities, read a statement issued by Pompeo on the occasion.

We commend Armenias ongoing efforts to combat corruption through transparency, due process, and increased accountability to citizens, and we will continue to support you in these efforts, added the statement.

The U.S. increased its annual assistance to Armenia by 40 percent, to over $60 million, last year in a bid to support the implementation of the Armenian governments ambitious reform agenda. Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, stated last November that democracy in Armenia is stronger than ever now.

Both Pompeo and U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed on Monday Washingtons readiness to deepen ties with the South Caucasus nation.

We are prepared to continue cooperating in the areas of mutual interest, including the expansion of bilateral trade and investment exchanges, the furtherance of the rule of law, regional stability, and the strengthening of your countrys sovereignty, Trump said in a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

The Armenian and American peoples boast strong and enduring ties, be it in the face of a new global pandemic or in the side-by-side international peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan or Kosovo, he wrote.

Earlier this year, Washington provided Yerevan with at least $6.5 million in aid designed to help it cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Pashinian assured Trump in July that his government is committed to boosting Armenias friendly relations with the U.S. He also praised Washingtons policy on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Pompeo mentioned the conflict in his statement. He urged the conflicting parties to resume substantive peace talks as soon as possible.
Russia condemns economic sanctions and suggested assassination plots against Assad, the US bolsters troop number, and the UN urges investigations in the actions of Turkish backed groups. Catch up on everything that happened over the weekend.

1. Russia reaffirmed that unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on Syria are illegitimate, pointing out that they hinder a political solution to the crisis in the country. Russia Today website quoted the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, as saying in a speech delivered on Friday during a Security Council session, that the illegitimate unilateral sanctions are being used as a collective punishment tool and aim to inflame social discontent and impede the efforts exerted to realize peace in Syria.

2. Russias Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, responded to US President Donald Trumps revelation about wanting to assassinate Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad after Washington accused his government of carrying out a chemical weapons attack. We recently heard about plans to assassinate the president of a sovereign state, President Bashar al-Assad, Nebenzia said during the UN Security Council session on Friday, according to Al-Masdar. How is this not a policy of regime change?

3. The US has ramped up its military presence in Syria after a number of skirmishes with Russian forces intensified tensions in the country. NBC News reported that US officials said six Bradley Fighting Vehicles and about 100 troops were part of the deployment to northeastern Syria. Incidents between US and Russian forces that patrol that part of the country have escalated this year. US Navy Captain Bill Urban said the move would ensure the safety and security of Coalition forces.

4. The United Nations has urged Turkey to investigate possible war crimes and other rights violations it says were carried out by armed groups in the area of northern Syria it controls, Al-Jazeera reported. Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said violence and criminality was rife in those areas of Syria.

5.On Saturday, the Health Ministry announced that 34 new coronavirus cases were registered in the country and 14 cases have recovered while two have passed away. In statement to SANA, the Health Ministry indicated that the number of infections registered in Syria has reached to 3,765 so far, of which 932 cases have recovered and 170 have passed away.

6. Syrias northwest has more than 32 coronavirus cases, the Epidemiological Surveillance Laboratory said on Saturday, according to Alsouria Net, taking the total of infections to 496 in the last stronghold for the Syrian opposition. Reports from inside Syria are pointing to a much broader spread of COVID-19 than the number of confirmed cases  currently 3,765  suggests, the UNs top humanitarian official says.

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.
Press Release

September 21, 2020 Hontiveros calls on DFA : Send official 'thank you' to UK, France, Germany for rejecting China's WPS claims "Hindi nag-iisa ang Pilipinas sa pakikibaka laban sa pang-aangkin at pang-aabuso ng China sa ating teritoryo. We should fully express our gratitude to our friends in the international community who have joined us in opposing China's unlawful and destructive acts in the West Philippine Sea and the rest of the South China Sea." This according to Senator Risa Hontiveros, as she called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to officially thank the United Kingdom (UK), France and Germany for rejecting China's claims in the South China Sea and for supporting the arbitral award won by the Philippines in 2016. Hontiveros said the DFA should officially send the country's 'profound appreciation' to the three Western countries, who recently submitted a joint note verbale to the United Nations (UN) refuting China's historic claims over the entire South China Sea. The senator said that the three countries' statements "have effectively strengthened the Philippines' claims over the West Philippine Sea," through their support and recognition of the arbitral award in the 2016 case of Philippines vs. China. The landmark case, which was won by the Philippines, was cited in the said note verbale as proof that China's so-called historic rights and claims to the whole South China Sea have no basis under international law. "These declarations by the UK, France and Germany before the UN greatly elevate our country's position as we pursue our just and legal claims against China's misdeeds in the West Philippine Sea," Hontiveros said. "Although Malacanang has already issued a statement about this action by the UK, France and Germany, it would be more appropriate if the government, through the DFA, officially expresses the appreciation and solidarity of Filipinos with our European allies," she added. Hontiveros then said that government should urge more countries to follow the example of the UK, France, and Germany - as well as the United States and Australia - in rebuking China over her baseless claims over the South China Sea, and her continuing abuses against Filipinos in Philippine waters. "As they say, there is strength in numbers. Let's work with the international community and create a united front that can stand up to China's bullying in the West Philippine Sea, and in other parts of the South China Sea," she concluded.
Big number: 14, the average number of new COVID-19 cases reported by Toronto Public Health across a week in mid-August. Last week, the city averaged 109 cases reported per day, a sevenfold increase.

Remember August? August was good.

COVID-19 cases reported by Toronto Public Health had slowed to a trickle. Single-digit days were starting to become the glorious new norm. Between Aug. 9 and Aug. 15, the daily average was down to 14 new cases a day, with a low of just five new cases on Aug. 15.

Because it generally takes some time from transmission to people seeking and getting a positive test, the numbers at the time were still mostly reflecting the situation before Toronto entered Stage 3 of the reopening plan on July 31, but still, it looked like the city had an opportunity to beat this pandemic.

Now, though, it looks like we blew it. These days, it feels like were back in April. And not just because theres a chill in the air and Torontos daily new case numbers have trended back above the 100 mark. Its also because the public has been left with a lack of information about where the virus is spreading and how.

Listen to Ed Tubb discuss what COVID-19 data tells us

That was a reasonable part of our reality in the early days of the pandemic when public health experts were scrambling to learn about this new virus, but its real hard to accept now. After almost six months of observing how COVID-19 spreads and collecting data, governments should be able to tell us which activities are contributing to the spread and be announcing reasonable policy changes to stop it.

But instead, the response still seems haphazard. Last week, for instance, Premier Doug Ford announced new gathering restrictions, setting a maximum of 25 people at outdoor gatherings and 10 people indoors.

OK, except where do those numbers come from? Is the drop in the limit for outdoor gatherings because theres data showing a lot of outdoor transmission? And how are we supposed to untangle the inherent contradictions with the policy for indoor gatherings? Is the message that indoor gatherings are, per policy, incredibly dangerous, unless those gatherings take place in a bar, gym or movie theatre? Classrooms, I guess, have some sort of magical virus-repellent property?

Maybe theres data that makes sense of this, but the public doesnt have it. And thats the problem. Its been made worse because Ford and Mayor John Tory at times seem to be on different pages as to what kinds of restrictions should be in place, with Tory suggesting Toronto doesnt have the legal authority to implement certain policies hed like Ford to support, like forcing bars to close earlier.

Tory, and Toronto council, should be more aggressive. If a change made municipally is deemed an overreach by a judge, then Queens Park can step in. The success of flattening the curve in the summer showed that people are generally willing  even eager  to follow the rules, but the rules need to be clear, and people and businesses need to be confident governments will support them.

The second wave of this pandemic will be different than the first. While the initial spread of the virus was centred in Torontos inner suburbs, recent trends have seen more growth in the core of the city. The waterfront, the citys most populous neighbourhood with boundaries stretching from Bathurst Street to the Don River, has seen the most reported cases over the last three weeks, according to city data. The per-capita transmission rate has more than doubled from where it was in August.

The geographic shift reflects a demographic one  in recent weeks, almost 70 per cent of cases have been in people under 40. With a median age of 32, the waterfront neighbourhood is one of the youngest areas in the city.

So far, the government response to this youth movement has been to ramp up the rhetoric about the need for young people not to throw wild parties, with the implication that the increase is a result of personal choices and not policy choices.

But keggers aside, its hard to ignore that this is the age group also likely to be working many of the restaurant and service sector jobs that have returned since Toronto moved into Stage 3. In that light, its worth wondering what the numbers would look like had Toronto not pushed so aggressively toward reopening. Maybe it would still feel like August, and we wouldnt be dreading the fall.

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As Patrick Blanchards current six-year term winds down in October, the Board of Commissioners on Thursday is expected to reappoint him until 2022 in order to make time for a lengthy search for the countys next top watchdog, according to Blanchard and the boards agenda. Blanchard, whose exit was first reported by Crains Chicago Business, began his role in 2008 as the first in the county to assume such a position.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:12:35|Editor: huaxia

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RAMALLAH, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye on Monday accused the U.S. administration of preventing Arab states from supporting the Palestinian Authority to force it to barter its national rights for money.

During the weekly meeting of the PA cabinet, Ishtaye said that "U.S. President Donald Trump cut off aid to us and prevented some Arab states from fulfilling their obligations towards us to besiege the leadership and the Palestinian people politically, economically and financially."

"Our Palestinian people have the rights to establish their independent state on the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital," Ishtaye said.

Recently, the United States sponsored peace agreements between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel, which have sparked anger of the Palestinians. Enditem
At least 127 Covid patients in a hospital of Odishas Cuttack city had a narrow escape when a fire broke out in the ICU on the fourth floor this morning.

Fire officials said a short circuit in the ICU on the ground floor of Sadguru Covid hospital in Jagatpur area of Cuttack triggered a fire this morning. As smoke enveloped the ICU and other rooms, alert hospital staff members started evacuating the patients, some of whom reportedly became unconscious.

Chief fire officer Sukanta Sethi said no casualties have been reported and all the patients are being shifted to another Covid hospital by ambulances and buses.

Though the exact cause of fire is yet to be ascertained, it seems an electrical short circuit in the ICU was the trigger. Two fire tenders have brought the fire under control, he said.

No fire safety licence was issued to the hospital, said the chief fire officer.

Due to certain shortcomings, notice was issued to the hospital authorities and they were asked to comply. However, no fire safety certificate has been issued to Sadguru hospital till date, he said.

Sethi, however, said the existing fire sprinklers and fire detection system installed in the hospital worked which controlled the fire.

The Sadguru Covid hospital started operating a month ago with the provision of 150 general beds and 24 ICU beds. The fire is likely to make the availability of beds for Covid patients difficult in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack where ICU beds are almost exhausted due to a spike in Covid cases. Today, 4,242 new cases were recorded in the state.

On August 6, at least 8 Covid patients, including 3 women, in the ICU ward of a Covid hospital in Ahmedabad had died after a major fire broke out.

On August 9, ten people were killed in a major fire caused by a short circuit at a hotel which was being used as a coronavirus facility in Vijayawada city of Andhra Pradesh.

After the fire in Vijayawada and Ahmedabad, Odisha fire service officials had done a fire safety audit of all the Covid hospitals.

Fire safety in Odisha hospital has been a source of a major concern for the state government after a blaze in a leading private hospital in Bhubaneswar in October 2016 killed 26 people and injured over 100 people.

In SUM hospital of Bhubaneswar, a short circuit the dialysis unit spread to its ICU leading to carbon monoxide smoke spreading to ICU and other wards through ducts of air conditioning. All the deaths were due to asphyxiation, an inquiry report later found out. The state health minister had to resign following the accident.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern moved most of New Zealand to the lowest virus alert setting on Monday

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern moved most of New Zealand to the lowest virus alert setting Monday, saying the country was edging towards eliminating Covid-19.

Ardern announced New Zealand would from late Monday move down to virus level one in its four-tier alert system, except for Auckland, where the country's most recent outbreak emerged.

"Our actions collectively have managed to get the virus under control," said Ardern, whose government has been widely praised internationally for its coronavirus response.

The decision means that mass gatherings, such as the first Bledisloe Cup rugby Test between the All Blacks and Australia in Wellington on October 11, can proceed without restrictions.

New Zealand has recorded just 25 deaths in a population of five million, with no new cases reported on Monday.

The virus was believed to have been eradicated at one point, with the country enjoying 102 days without community transmission after a strict national lockdown that ran from late March to late May.

Ardern said elimination was still New Zealand's target.

"Analysis completed for the ministry of health suggests that by the end of this month, there is still a 50-50 chance of having eliminated Covid once again," she said.

But she said Auckland "needs more time" to eliminate a stubborn cluster of infections that was detected last month in the city of 1.5 million.

"This was the centre of the outbreak and that's why caution is required here," she said.

The origin of the Auckland cluster remains unknown, but health authorities say it is not the same strain of the virus experienced earlier this year.

Despite the mystery, Ardern said extensive testing and effective contract tracing were keeping it contained.

Auckland's alert will move down slightly from 2.5 to two on Wednesday, meaning the maximum number at social gatherings increases from 10 to 100.

The city's virus setting will be reviewed in two weeks, with the possibility it could join the rest of the country at level one on October 7.

ns/arb/am/mtp
A MAN sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries when he was attacked with a machete during a burglary in Waterford.

Gardai are investigating the circumstances of the aggravated burglarywhich occurred in the St Herblain Park area of Waterford around 3am today.

A man in his 30s was awoken by a repeated, loud knocking at the front door of his home.

The man was in the property at the time with a young woman.

When he opened the door, he was confronted by a man wielding a machete.

The armed man forced his way into the property and assaulted the householder in the process.

The man was said to have been in a very agitated state.

When he tried to attack the woman, who had emerged from a room to see what the noise was about, she was bravely protected by the young man living in the house.

The householder sustained multiple cuts to his leg and a facial injury.

A short time later, the assailant fled the scene on foot.

The shocked woman managed to raise the alarm and both Gardai and paramedics raced to the scene.

Paramedics brought the injured householder to University Hospital

Waterford (UHW) where he was treated for serious but non-life threatening injuries.

Garda technical experts began a painstaking examination of the scene.

Officers also commenced door-to-door inquiries to determine if anyone living locally had seen or heard anything suspicious.

Gardai have not made any arrest in relation to the matter but are hopeful of a breakthrough in the case after studying CCTV security camera footage.
The Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020 will help enable funds operating in Ireland to put money into "big projects that require the capital to be invested at different stages", according to Pat Lardner, CEO of Irish Funds.

Partnership structures are commonly used to provide financing for major long-term capital projects where the funding is drawn down over a long period. Currently none of this investment is taking place via Irish fund structures, according to Irish Funds, due to what it says is a lack of suitable investment fund structures in this investment space.

Mr Lardner said he hopes the update to the legislation will be completed shortly. When completed, it will modernise Ireland's legislation in this area of investing, according to the lobby group.

So far this year 57 investment companies have entered or expanded their presence in the Irish market, as the sector here benefits from the UK's approaching exit from the European Union.

These companies, along with the 500 other investment managers who have operations here, established 323 new investment funds during the first six months of 2020, according to figures from the Irish Funds.

Over 16,000 people are directly employed in the funds sector in Ireland, major players here include Northern Trust, State Street and Citadel.
BRIDGEPORT  A local man was arrested after police said he allegedly tried to snatch a toddler from the Trumbull shopping mall.

Alexie Garcia, 34, of Grand Street, was charged with risk of injury to a child, breach of peace and interfering with police.

This is one of the most disturbing things that could happen to a young child, said Assistant States Attorney Justina Moore during Garcias arraignment Monday morning.

This certainly is a bizarre and troubling fact pattern, agreed Superior Court Judge Tracy Lee Dayton as Garcia watched the proceeding on video from his jail cell.

The judge ordered Garcia held in lieu of $15,000 bond and ordered him to undergo a psychiatric examination. She continued the case to Dec. 9.

Trumbull police said on Aug. 8, officers were dispatched to the Westfield mall for a disturbance.

A local couple told officers they had been sitting in the food court with their two young children when a man, later identified as Garcia, approached their 18-month-old son, who was in a high chair, grabbed the toddler around the waist and tried to lift him from the high chair, police said.

Police said the mother screamed and Garcia let go of the child and ran off. The father pursued Garcia but lost him in the mall.

Police said the boy had red marks around his rib area.

Police said the parents were also concerned that Garcia had not been wearing a mask and could have exposed their child to COVID-19.

Police said they were able to identify Garcia from mall surveillance video. They said mall employees told them Garcia would frequently come to the mall and wander around the food court.

Mall spokeswoman Kate Sirignano declined comment.
Jameela Jamil opted for casual chic, wearing a rainbow sequined robe from Markarian NYC over an all-white pajama set. No bra? No heels? NO PROBLEM, Jamil wrote in an Instagram post featuring the outfit. Wearing PJs to the 72nd Emmy awards (from my house) is my kind of vibes. Jamil plays Tahani Al-Jamil on NBCs The Good Place, which is up for seven awards tonight.
Is this a good time to start a business? This question may have been asked many times over and over again, but at a time when the Coronavirus pandemic doesnt seem like its going anywhere, it has perhaps become the question no one wants to really ask.

Adeo Ressi, co-founder and CEO of Founder Institute, explains why this may indeed be a good time to start that business. In fact, Founder Institute, the worlds largest pre-seed incubator, was founded in 2009, during the global financial crisis. Back in India, as Ressi pointed out, that some of the most successful businesses- Zomato, Policy Bazaar and Icertis were also founded at the same time.

India was already facing an employment crisis. The pandemic has made it worse. The move to a digital space with little or no concept of office space coupled with increasing thrust on automation have also rendered many unemployable. Do you think jobs will be the biggest challenge for the youth? How do you think we can overcome the challenge of rising unemployment?

Employment in India remains a big challenge as the countrys economic growth continues to outpace job creation. I believe that India should tackle this problem on two fronts:

First, investing in education to prepare Indias youth for the new labor roles brought on by the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution. While India made huge strides to educate its population in order to keep up with demand from the IT sector, the nature of fast-evolving technologies means that not just India but the whole world will have to relearn and re-skill within the coming years. According to IBM, 120 million workers in the worlds largest economies will have to retrain/reskill for AI in the coming years.

Second, India should lower the barriers to entrepreneurship and incentivize small and medium businesses with growing teams. Studies show that by creating new products and increasing competition, entrepreneurs provide new job opportunities in the short and long term.

The latest figures from Startup India show that there were around 50,000 startups in the country in 2018  about 9,300 of these were technology-based startups, and according to NASSCOM, tech startups created 60,000 direct jobs in 2019.

In order for India to make a meaningful dent in unemployment figures, the country must drastically increase the amount of new companies being founded, especially SMBs that are hiring more than six employees. To do this, India must:

-Lower the barrier to entry by relaxing compliances and fiscal policy for startups. For example, the Indian governments recent move to remove the so-called angel tax burden from startups who received angel investment is a good start and should be built upon.

-Re-classify small and medium-sized businesses based on number of employees rather than on amount of investment and provide incentives for startups to sustainably grow their teams. Countries like the United States and United Kingdom classify small and medium-sized businesses by the number of people the business employs and revenue. In India, the classification of a companys size is defined in terms of investment in machinery or equipment. This classification is antiquated and can affect policy which could actually inhibit job growth. Startups in India should instead be incentivized to sustainably grow their teams and create more jobs.

-India should also facilitate procurement of Indian startups products and services domestically  perhaps via a marketplace like NASSCOM has suggested in the past  as well as creating a network to help Indian startups soft-land in foreign markets.

-And finally, India must take steps to continue to relax foreign direct investment restrictions to provide Indian startups with more funding and growth opportunities.

This must be a difficult time for startups. It may also be discouraging for young people to become entrepreneurs. How do we get young people to be entrepreneurs at a time when many young startups probably would have been at a loss during the pandemic?

Many people may be surprised to know that recessions are actually the best time to start companies. Macroeconomic trends actually have little to do with product-market fit, which is the most important thing new startups should be focusing on, along with electing the right founding team and solving a problem a customer will pay for.

If we look at some of the biggest companies today, many were started during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, including WhatsApp, Uber, Square and Slack. Going back further, companies like Microsoft, General Motors and Hewlett-Packard were all founded during recessions. In India, unicorns like Zomato, Policy Bazaar and Icertis were also founded during the 2008-2009 recession.

Startups actually have some advantages during economic downturns compared to larger corporations. Startups are lean and agile by nature and are better poised to navigate a rapidly changing economy and as unemployment rises, startups have access to more quality talent during a recession than they would during an upturn. And finally, when the recession ends, nothing is more attractive to an investor than a company who has bootstrapped and proven themselves during lean times because startups that achieve product-market fit during a recession are set up to take fuller advantage of growth opportunities as soon as the wider economy starts to rebound.

In India, the government is pushing for self-reliance. The current situation with China may have further implications for the economy. While there is much push for the government, but do you see it as enough for new startups? What should do the government ideally do to promote entrepreneurship?

India has made strides in cultivating its startup ecosystem over the last decade, and Startup Genome this year ranked Mumbai as the worlds top emerging startup ecosystem. However, India can go further to promote entrepreneurship and cultivate a strong startup ecosystem by modernizing compliance and fiscal policy for startups, relaxing foreign direct investment (FDI) policies, and helping startups connect with markets both foreign and domestic.
September 21, 2020





Over the last 20 years, the microfinance industry has made significant strides in the ongoing war against poverty. Key achievements include providing the poor with access to a broad range of financial services including credit (for micro-enterprise development, for basic housing, for childhood education), savings accounts, insurance facilities, remittance provisions, and business skills training. These services have empowered the poor to establish a credit history, become creditworthy, and to launch and grow small businesses to propel themselves economically upward. Importantly these services are delivered by local staff in a financially sustainable and scalable manner.







However, rather than resting on these laudable successes, microfinance experts such as Gregory Casagrande are calling for the industry to take the next big step  and eradiate global poverty once and for all  by scaling individual microfinance institutions and building new ones.

Reading about or talking about the impact of microfinance on the lives of individuals, families and communities is one thing, but actually seeing the radical life-changing differences for oneself is altogether more profound and inspiring, commented Gregory Casagrande, a serial social entrepreneur and founder of SPBD Microfinance Network, which is the leading microfinance institution in the South Pacific. Microfinance is not some abstract feel-good program with an idealistic vision. It is fundamentally pragmatic, because it incentivizes the poor to take ownership of their situation and connects them to the economic ladder so they can permanently lift themselves up and out of the cycle of poverty. It is a vivid demonstration of the adage that if you give a person a fish then you provide them with a meal, but if you teach them to fish then you provide them with a livelihood.

Gregory Casagrande further advises that in order for the microfinance industry to scale, then four battles need to be fought and won: the battle to establish a consistent and clear vision for the microfinance industry, the battle to build financially self-sufficient and scalable delivery channels, the battle to generate investor confidence at both the international and local levels, and the battle for human talent.

We must never lose sight that the relentless objective of scaling the microfinance industry is to eradicate poverty, commented Gregory Casagrande, who is also the founder of the microfinance acceleration fund MicroDreams, and of the microfinance advisory company Transformative Ventures LLC. In addition, we must build financially self-sufficient delivery channels that enable and support regulated microfinance institutions, bankable NGOs and down-scaled commercial banks to reach the massive numbers of poor. To generate investor confidence, we need to integrate rating agencies into the industry and to generate $100 billion in savings, credit and equity worldwide. And when it comes to human talent, the industry has to work hard to attract the best and brightest by giving them a career path that is both professionally and personally rewarding.

As for success metrics, Gregory Casagrande has also put together a list of criteria that will confirm whether these battles are being won or lost.

We will know that the battle to establish a consistent and clear vision is won when the men and women on the ground understand and embrace it, commented Gregory Casagrande, who has served as a director on several impact-industry boards including the International Association of Microfinance Investors (of NY), Microfinance Pasifika (of Fiji), Planet Finance (of Paris), and Plebys (of Irvine, CA (News - Alert)) a Base of the Pyramid investment fund. We will know that we are winning the battle to build financially self-sufficient delivery channels of microfinance services when there are more than 2,000 such providers around the globe. We will know that we are winning the battle to generate investor confidence at both the international and local levels when microfinance investment vehicles are recognized as separate asset classes. And finally, we will know that we are winning the battle for human talent when aspiring and established professionals enthusiastically choose to enter the microfinance industry, even though they are sought after by deep-pocketed enterprises like Google (News - Alert) and Goldman Sachs.
Prisoners sit with their children during an event to mark International Children's Day at Prey Sar Prison, in a file photo.

An activist with Cambodias banned opposition party who was released from prison last week after serving his year-long sentence for incitement and cursing public officials has called on the government to improve conditions in his former jail, saying guards routinely mistreat political prisoners.

Kea Visal, a member of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) who spent 12 months at notorious Prey Sar Prison in the capital Phnom Penh prior to his release on Sept. 18, told RFAs Khmer Service that he was routinely harassed by guards who stripped him naked on his arrival and placed him in solitary confinement for two weeks, during which they only provided him with gruel to eat.

He compared food at the prison to pig feed and suggested that guards there discriminated against political prisoners by denying them rights afforded other inmates, such as using cellphones, as part of a campaign of repression.

I urge the Minister of Interior to please pay attention to Prey Sar Prisondont turn this prison into something like S-21, where political prisoners are harassed, said Kea Visal, who maintains that he is innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted.

Please consider political prisoners rights and allow them freedoms [afforded to regular inmates].

S-21, or Tuol Sleng Prison, was run by Khmer Rouge prison chief and executioner Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, who oversaw the deaths, often after brutal torture, of more than 12,272 prisoners held by the communist regime during 1975-79. Duch, who was sentenced in 2012 to life imprisonment by a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal, died earlier this month at the age of 77.

Kea Visal told RFA that during the dry season, guards required prisoners at Prey Sar to pay for water and those who could not afford to do so were unable to bathe for weeks at a time, often resulting in skin diseases. He said prisoners without the means to buy water were not even able to flush their toilets.

While regular prisoners are allowed 30 minutes for visits, political prisoners were given less time and guards would listen in on their conversations.

They treated political activists worse than other criminals, he said. Guards took notes of our every move.

According to Kea Visal, Chinese prisoners were treated well because they have money to bribe the guards, often resulting in extra hours outside of their cells and what amounted to full freedom in jail.

Ny Sokha of local rights group Adhoc, who was held in pre-trial detention along with four other members of his group from April 2016 to June 2017 on what he says were politically motivated charges of bribery, told RFA that rights abuses against inmates have been occurring at least since the time of his incarceration.

He said Cambodian prisons cannot be classified as correction centers because they dont provide any form of rehabilitation. Instead, prisoners learn about how to commit crimes by sharing their experiences with one another, he said.

As of May this year, around 40,000 prisoners were being detained across Cambodia.

Prison Department Spokesman Nuth Savna told RFA that every prisoner is treated equally, regardless of their status or ethnicity, but vowed to have guards look into the issue.

He also denied claims that Chinese prisoners get better treatment in jail.

Chinese prisoners get along with others, he said, adding that special arrangements in jail are made for the sake of security.

We have internal regulations for implementation. Those who abuse them will be held accountable.

Wives of Cambodian opposition party members held in Prey Sar Prison leave the EU embassy in Phnom Penh after meeting with embassy officials, Aug. 10, 2020. RFA Relative summoned

Kea Visals claims come as the Phnom Penh Municipal Court prosecutor Suth Vannak on Monday summoned for questioning Sath Pa, the relative of one of 16 CNRP activists held in detention on charges of incitement to commit social unrest and military insubordination after they spoke critically of Prime Minister Hun Sens leadership.

Sath Pa, who was injured by police when they violently dispersed her and other relatives of the jailed activists during a July 31 protest demanding their released, told RFA that Suth Vannak repeatedly questioned her who was responsible for organizing the gathering.

I said we had no leaderwe did it individually and independently, she said.

They intended to accuse us of forming a group for the purpose of protesting, but we deny such claims.

Sath Pha also expressed frustration that the court had ignored a complaint she filed on Aug. 5 against the security forces who injured her left hand during the July protest when they dragged her down the street and threw her into a police vehicle.

RFA was unable to reach the Phnom Penh Municipal Courts spokesperson for comment on the summons.

Adhocs Ny Sokha told RFA the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters in July was unlawful and urged the court to seek justice for both sides.

The public saw and understood the incident as [violence on peaceful protesters,] so the court should seek justice for the people in order to avoid criticism, he said.

This is how the court should build public trust and demonstrate its independence in the case.

Protest restrictions

In past years, protesters in Cambodias capitalparticularly activists demonstrating over land disputeshave been given relatively free rein to air their grievances, in some cases even being permitted to hold gatherings demanding justice outside of the home of Hun Sen.

However, after the CNRP received more than 3 million votesaccounting for nearly half of the countrys registered votersand narrowly lost Cambodias 2013 general election to Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP), protesters took to the streets amid allegations of voter fraud, prompting more restrictive regulations in the name of maintaining public order.

The CNRP was disbanded by Cambodia's Supreme Court in November 2017 for its alleged role in a plot to overthrow the government.

The move to ban the CNRP was part of a wider crackdown by Hun Sen on the political opposition, NGOs, and the independent media that paved the way for the CPP to win all 125 seats in parliament in the countrys July 2018 general election.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun and Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 22:58:03|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force said on Monday that Iran is ready to export arms as soon as a UN embargo is terminated next month, Tasnim news agency reported.

The exports of Iranian military equipment would be facilitated after the termination of the arms embargo, said Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

"We do not rely on foreigners to supply our demand for arms," he added.

The lift of UN embargo would be also a political victory for Iran as the United States was unable to push the UN Security Council for its extension, Hajizadeh noted.

The IRGC senior commander also downplayed what he called U.S. rhetoric of military threats against Iran as "nonsensical."

On Aug. 15, the UN Security Council rejected a resolution proposed by Washington to extend the current arms embargo against Iran.

Under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, the arms embargo against Iran will expire on Oct. 18. Enditem
By Yimou Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan said on Monday its armed forces have the right to self-defence and counterattack amid "harassment and threats", in an apparent warning to China, which last week sent numerous jets across the mid-line of the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

Tensions have sharply spiked in recent months between Taipei and Beijing, which claims democratically-run Taiwan as its own territory, to be taken by force if needed.

Chinese aircraft crossed the mid-line to enter the island's air defence identification zone on Friday and Saturday, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets to intercept them, and President Tsai Ing-wen to call China a threat to the region.

Taiwan's defence ministry said it had "clearly defined" procedures for a first response amid "high frequency of harassment and threats from the enemy's warships and aircraft this year".

It said Taiwan had the right to "self-defence and to counterattack" and followed the guideline of "no escalation of conflict and no triggering incidents".

Taiwan would not provoke, but it was also "not afraid of the enemy", it added.

MID-LINE "DOES NOT EXIST"

Taiwanese and Chinese combat aircraft normally observe the mid-line of the Taiwan Strait and do not cross it, although there is no official agreement between Taipei and Beijing on doing so, and the rule is observed unofficially.

"Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing. "The so-called mid-line of the Strait does not exist."

Since 2016 Taiwan has reported only five Chinese incursions across the line, including the two last week.

Late on Monday, Taiwan's Defence Ministry reported two Chinese anti-submarine aircraft had flown into Taiwan's air defence identification zone - but not over the mid-line - to the island's southwest, and were warned away by Taiwanese fighters.

Story continues

The drills came as Beijing expressed anger at the visit of a senior U.S. official to Taipei.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday accused Beijing of bluster when asked about the Chinese activity.

A senior Trump administration official on Monday said the Chinese aircraft movements were "consistent with past Chinese behavior" during heightened tensions and appeared more a reaction to Taiwan domestic politics. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington did not believe China was seeking to escalate into a military confrontation.

On Monday, the official China Daily newspaper said the United States was trying to use Taiwan to contain China but nobody should underestimate its determination to assert its sovereignty over the island.

"The U.S. administration should not be blinkered in its desperation to contain the peaceful rise of China and indulge in the U.S. addiction to its hegemony," it said in an editorial.

China has been angered by stepped-up U.S. support for Taiwan, including two visits by top officials, one in August by Health Secretary Alex Azar and the other last week by Keith Krach, undersecretary of state for economic affairs.

The United States, which has no diplomatic ties with the island but is its strongest backer, also plans new arms sales to Taiwan.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard, Gabriel Crossly in Beijing, Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Robert Birsel, Clarence Fernandez and Gareth Jones)
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Chair of ECOWAS Monday tasked the President, Commissioners and Staff of the Commission to work to build a united, economically prosperous, politically stable, and secured Community that meets the aspirations of the citizens of the Community.



As we round off the implementation of ECOWAS Vision 2020, and finalise the development of Vision 2050, we should strive to make ECOWAS a Community in which our dreams of prosperity, peace, security, integration and development are realised for the well-being of its citizens.



The President made the call when he paid a working visit to the offices of the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja, Nigeria.



He was there to interact with the management and staff of Community Institutions on the collective agenda on integration and development of West Africa.



President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that community would overcome and address the challenges of democracy, health, security, economy, trade and currency, only "in a spirit of genuine cooperation and solidarity.

"I believe that, collectively, we can all make ECOWAS the most viable regional bloc in Africa, and realise the vision of transforming ECOWAS from a body of states to a community of peoples, he said.



President Akufo-Addo outlined his 5-point Agenda for the chairmanship of the Community, which include; the fight against terrorism; winning the fight against COVID-19; trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA); the issue of a monetary union in ECOWAS; and the consolidation of democratic governance in the Region.



He commended the Commission for the successes in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture and humanitarian assistance, and urged the acceleration of the implementation of infrastructure projects such as the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project, the Praia-Dakar-Abidjan Corridor Development Programme, and the Dakar-Bamako Railway Project.



The ECOWAS Chair also urged the Commission to resolve as soon as possible, the high cost telecommunications, particularly roaming services.



He was hopeful that the community would expedite action to guarantee food security within the bloc, as that was vital to the development of the Community.



On humanitarian assistance in the region, the President noted that the persistent terrorist attacks and issues of climate change, particularly in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, had caused significant internal displacements of people.



"The Commission should remain seized on these matters, and continue to provide assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons in the Region, he said.



President Akufo-Addo told the Commission that the present generation of Africans, are engineering the transformation of poor societies into prosperous ones on the basis of democratic values and principles.



European, American and Asian industrialization took place at times of limited franchises and authoritarian institutions.



"Ours is being done with full universal adult suffrage, in open societies. This is the magnitude of our challenge, and the nature of our prize. We should all be proud of being frontline actors in this great drama, he said.

Source: GNA









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Channel Nine has been urged to hire a psychologist for reality stars on shows like Married At First Sight and Love Island by a leading mental health expert.

Psychologist Dr Kate Baecher, who has worked on The Bachelor and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, made the recommendation in a report to the broadcaster.

She also criticised Nine for not having a risk management system or register, which she said should be implemented in addition to hiring a resident psychologist.

Channel Nine has been urged to hire a psychologist for reality stars on Married At First Sight and Love Island... after Natasha Spencer (pictured) had a 'breakdown' earlier this year

Dr Baecher's report recommended Nine only work with production companies who agree to high standards of mental health, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Married At First Sight is produced by Endemol Australia while Love Island is produced by ITV Studios Australia.

Despite the harsh criticisms, Dr Baecher said Channel Nine overall has a 'robust duty of care system'.

Nine 'has been proactive and forward thinking in its implementation of its duty of care responsibilities' and 'largely met the requirements of Workplace Health and Safety legislation', according to Dr Baecher's report.

Expert: Psychologist Dr Kate Baecher (pictured), who has worked on The Bachelor and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, recommended the broadcaster hire a psychologist and implement a risk management system or register

The recommendations come after MAFS star Natasha Spencer, 26, had a 'mental breakdown' and was rushed to hospital in April.

'I had anxiety a week leading up to it [the finale]. I was at home and had a breakdown. I got taken under a section 22, a medical hold,' Natasha told Daily Mail Australia at the time.

A hold or involuntary hospitalisation often occurs when patients need urgent medical care, or so that doctors can determine their mental state.

Natasha said the doctors 'thought I was a danger to myself' and evaluated her for two to three hours before discharging her.

She has since been very vocal advocate about mental health and posted a photo of her 'wedding' to Mikey Pembroke on MAFS earlier this month.

'Little did I know that the next five weeks would spiral me into the worst mental state that I had ever experienced and the public backlash that would be awaiting me would continue my downward spiral for months,' she captioned the post.

The human impact: MAFS star Natasha Spencer, 26, had a 'mental breakdown' and was rushed to hospital in April. She is pictured with her MAFS 'husband' Mikey Pembroke

At the time of Natasha's breakdown, Channel Nine told Daily Mail Australia that they take the health and well-being of MAFS stars 'extremely seriously.'

'Nine and Endemol Shine takes its obligations in respect to the health and well-being of the participants of this program extremely seriously. All participants have access to the show psychologist during filming, during broadcast and once the program has ended,' a spokesperson said.

'Nine also have an additional service for participants should they like or need further individual and confidential psychological support.

'This service gives participants access to psychologists who have been specifically engaged to support those involved in the program in relation to their experiences.'

'This service is available to all participants for as long as they need it, it does not end.'

Her lowest point: Natasha described her time on MAFS as 'the worst mental state that I had ever experienced'

The topic of the mental health of reality stars recently shot into the public consciousness after Love Island UK host Caroline Flack took her own life in February.

Caroline, 40, was found dead in her North East London apartment with a coroner's inquest concluding the cause of death was suicide in August.

She is the fourth person linked to Love Island to have killed themselves.
Later, she would attend Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., where she studied government and met Martin D. Ginsburg, whom she married shortly after graduation. He died in 2010.

Her old synagogue

At Friday nights Rosh Hashana service at her old synagogue, which was conducted on Zoom, news of her death reached the group just as the congregants were about to log off. I was choked up, Rabbi Cantor Sam Levine told Mr. Leland. People were crying.

The following day in his sermon, the rabbi read from an essay Ms. Ginsburg had written as a student at the synagogues Hebrew school in 1946, at age 13, arguing against complacency after World War II ended. He called her the Hebrew schools most famous alumna and said the congregation was still trying to process the loss.

Her memorials

Hundreds gathered Saturday night outside the courthouse in Foley Square in Manhattan, holding candles and singing. Handwritten signs in different parts of Brooklyn urged neighbors to honor her legacy by voting. In Midtown, an enterprising artist altered a subway mosaic at 50th Street to read RUth St.

At the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the display board posted her imprecation: Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.

Her legacy in the state

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the state would form a commission to select an artist to create a statue of Justice Ginsburg to be erected in Brooklyn.

Across the state, landmarks were lit up in blue, her favorite color, on Saturday.

While the family of New York mourns Justice Ginsburgs death, we remember proudly that she started her incredible journey right here in Brooklyn, Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. Her legacy will live on in the progress she created for our society, and this statue will serve as a physical reminder of her many contributions to the America we know today.
If President Donald Trump is looking for someone to help him responsibly end the longest of our endless wars, he could not send anyone better than William Ruger as his next ambassador to Afghanistan. Ruger is a warrior, a scholar, and a seasoned institution-builder who would bring vigor and a fresh perspective on Americas role in the world to our embassy in Kabul.

Ruger is among the leading proponents of restraint in American foreign policy. Restraint is not isolationism, as it is sometimes caricatured; it is a different form of internationalism that advocates prudent engagement with the rest of the world using less American hard power and more soft power, such as diplomacy, free trade, and the shining moral example of our way of life.

Make no mistake: Ruger is no dove. He is a U.S. Naval Reserve Intelligence Officer who served a tour as a dirt sailor in Afghanistan. He believes, like Teddy Roosevelt, that America should walk softly but carry a big stick. But unlike many other Republicans for whom the big stick is the tool of first resort for protecting Americas interests abroad, Ruger would also carry a bigger diplomatic toolbox with him abroad.

A heroic 19-year effort by our men and women in uniform, Ruger among them, has brought neither a stable peace nor an effective democratic government to Afghanistan. Recognizing that, the American public overwhelmingly supports the efforts of Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, to negotiate an exit agreement with the Taliban. The current administration hopes to foster a new period in which Afghans across the political spectrum will have to come together to sort out their differences and take the lead in setting their countrys future course.

Ruger would be a great American partner to help the Afghans forge their new political order. As a scholar and a former professor, he is well versed in the great works of military history and political theory, from Thucydides to Hayek. He would bring to the job a diplomatic style less that of a proconsul and more that of a tutor.

Story continues

As during the Vietnam era, we have over the least 20 years sent too many diplomats of the ugly American type abroad. With the best of intentions, but also a heavy hand, they have not won us as many friends as we need. In a land where the designs of the British and Soviet empires were foiled, Ruger would not stubbornly cling to failed policies simply because we lack the courage to find a better way. He would instead execute the full range of diplomatic strategies to protect American interests.

What would Rugers diplomacy look like? One clue comes from how he has marshaled the ample resources of the Charles Koch Foundation to help build a broad, bipartisan coalition in favor of a more restrained U.S. foreign policy. Unlike many right-of-center foundations that view the best way to advance American interests as to send in the troops first (with no clear plan for getting them out again), the Charles Koch Foundation has sought to broaden the debate about American internationalism and promote more effective ways to advance our interests.

I mean broaden in two senses: The range of instruments of American diplomacy is broader than we think; and making the case for better diplomacy can bring together a broader spectrum of American opinion behind it.

At a time of polarization and division in American politics, Ruger seeks to steer the conversation about American foreign policy toward restraint. He is not only a man with good ideas but one with a knack for bringing together a diverse group of people to implement them. In short, he possesses the essence of diplomatic skill.

Ruger believes deeply in both freedom and responsibility. At a time when many worry that freedom has come to mean simply the right to do your own thing, Ruger embodies the classical-liberal notion that with rights come obligations as well. The most important of these duties is to be a responsible citizen who in return for enjoying the blessings of liberty will also serve our country, whether in uniform protecting them, as an agent of philanthropy deepening them, or as a representative of the U.S. government exemplifying them to the rest of the world.

I have known Will Ruger a long time, not only as a colleague but also as a friend. I deeply admire his intellect, but even more I respect his integrity. I can think of no one better suited to be our next ambassador to Afghanistan. Americans could be proud to have our countrys interests represented so well.

More from National Review
Maharashtras case fatality rate (CFR) for Covid-19 infections overtook Gujarats on Sunday. It is now in second place in the national chart after Punjab. Maharashtras CFR increased to 2.7%, while Gujarat stood at 2.69%, and Punjab at 2.89%.

Maharashtras Covid-19 case tally reached 1,208,642 on Sunday while its death toll stood at 32,671. The state is battling to bring its CFR down at par with the national rate. A month ago on August 21, Maharashtras CFR stood at 3.32% and Gujarats at 3.43%, against the national rate of 1.89%. According to officials from the health department, a high CFR in some of the districts is leading to the high cumulative figure.

Also Read: Maharashtra teachers request education department for Covid-19 insurance

The CFR in Mumbai is 4.6%, followed by Solapur (3.3%), Parbhani (3.2%) and Akola (3.1%), which are the districts/cities with highest rate. However, these districts have seen an improvement in the CFR in the last few weeks, as it used to be over 5% till a few weeks ago. Maharashtras death rate for the month of September (until now) is around 1.94%, and we hope to bring it down further in the next few weeks, said an official of the health department.

Another official, however, said that the weaker health infrastructure in some of the districts and a lackluster approach of the machinery in tracing high- and low-risk contacts have proved to be impediments in the treatment of critical patients. The official said that the state governments My Family My Responsibility campaign launched last week will help state authorities identify patients with comorbidities and help bring them to health facilities fast.

Also Read: Amid Covid-19 pandemic, officials in Maharashtra adapt to new ways of governance

The state government has failed to address the issues of weak infrastructure over the last six months of the outbreak. We are still struggling with the shortage of oxygen, medicines, besides the failure of tracking vulnerable people. There is no proper monitoring of the people who have come into the contact with infected patients, said Dr Avinasht Bhondwe, Maharashtra president of Indian Medical Association.

Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer, said that the high rate of testing in Maharashtra is one of the reasons the high mortality rate has come to light. Our number of tests per million is much higher than Gujarats and the rest of the country. We have been maintaining transparency in every aspect. Our weekly CFR has been ranging between 1.75 and 1.94% over the last few weeks. With concentrated efforts, we will be able to bring the overall rate down, he said.

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The inquest into the deaths of John Edwards (pictured) and his two teenagers, Jack and Jennifer, heard retired financial planner demanded to join a pistol club

Sydney father John Edwards began his quest to own guns by demanding membership to an invite-only pistol club, an inquest has been told.

The inquest into the deaths of Edwards and the two children he murdered in July 2018 was told on Monday officials from two clubs stationed at Hornsby range all formed poor opinions of the recently retired financial planner in December 2016.

'Many times over, he stated ... "I have to become a member of Ku-Ring-Gai Pistol Club",' president Neville 'Drew' Thornton said.

'He was very demanding.'

State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan is examining the lead-up to Edwards' execution-style murders of his estranged teenagers, Jack and Jennifer Edwards, including the method in which the 67-year-old acquired weapons.

Despite a long history of domestic violence, Edwards was licensed to operate and possess rifles and pistols when he shot his kids.

KPC secretary David Dean said new members were usually excited about learning about the sport and the club processes but he became concerned Edwards was trying to 'railroad' them in the summer of 2016/17.

'He was just consumed with getting through the process, he wasn't interested in the process (or) the club,' he said.

Mr Dean couldn't recall another time when someone had tried to concurrently join both KPC and Hornsby RSL Rifle Club, which used the same range.

In an email to the club committee, Mr Dean described Edwards as a 'right PITA' (pain in the arse) and recommended the club refuse him membership.

Ku-Ring-Gai Pistol Club president Neville 'Drew' Thornton (pictured) told the inquest Edwards was 'very demanding' and stated many times he 'had to be a member'

After that refusal occurred in March 2017, Edwards arrived at the range, tracked the club president down and became 'extremely aggressive', the inquest heard.

''Why have you not allowed me to join your club?' and so on,' Mr Thornton said of Edwards' exclamations.

'It was just ridiculously stupid how he carried on.'

KPC took the unusual step of advising Hornsby RSL officials of the membership refusal, the inquest heard.

But the rifle club had already found Edwards was not a good fit for them and 'a bit pushy' about signing up.

Then-president Doug Caple also said he'd considered it 'a bit strange' how Edwards - on four occasions - stood alone at the back of the rifle range and engaged with no one.

'New people would mingle a bit better than what he did,' he said.

'He just stood back and observed.'

After that refusal occurred in March 2017, Edwards arrived at the range, tracked the club president down and became 'extremely aggressive' (stock picture)

State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan is examining the lead-up to Edwards' execution-style murders of his estranged teenagers, Jack and Jennifer Edwards (pictured), including the method in which the 67-year-old acquired weapons

Current club captain Heather Smith said she'd immediately thought Edwards wouldn't fit in with other members.

But Hornsby RSL never had to decide on Edwards' membership application as he was never seen after April 2017, when the club ticked off on his rifle training.

News of the rejected membership and adverse opinions never made it to St Marys Pistol Club, which Edwards approached in order to finish his pistol training.

The inquest heard the clubs weren't obliged to share concerns with each other.

Both KPC officials said they didn't believe he met the threshold of posing a threat to 'public safety' that would have forced them to report him to the Firearms Registry.

Ms Smith supported a proposal to allow clubs to notify the registry and other clubs of concerns, provided it wouldn't lead to blacklisting of people who had personality conflicts with officials.

The inquest is expected to hear from St Marys Pistol Club officials on Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks next to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, during a news conference to announce the Trump administration's restoration of sanctions on Iran, at the U.S. State Department in Washington, U.S., Sept. 21, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/Pool via Reuters)

US Announces New Sanctions on Irans Defense Ministry, Venezuelas Maduro

The United States on Sept. 21 placed new sanctions on the Iranian defense ministry and others involved in Irans nuclear and weapons programs, saying that virtually all United Nations sanctions against the regime in Tehran prior to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are now restored.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also announced sanctions against the previous president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro for cooperating with Iran to violate the arms embargo.

Major European allies, as well as U.S. adversaries such as Russia and China, disputed the legal effect of the sanctions.

As a result of the U.S. moves, all arms trade sanctions against Iran that were in effect before the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have been reinstated and the arms embargo on Iran that was set to expire in October was extended indefinitely, effective Sept. 19, the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

We dont need a cheering section to validate our moral compass, said U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft. We do not find comfort based solely on numbers, particularly when the majority has found themselves in an uncomfortable position of underwriting terrorism, chaos, and conflict. We refuse to be members of that club.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Sept. 21 that provides an authority to counter Irans conventional arms acquisitions, Irans indigenous manufacturing programs, and Irans ability to support paramilitary organizations with arms and materiel, the State Department said in a statement.

Iran has continued providing to its allies, including terrorist organizations, weapons that are used to fuel conflicts in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, officials said.

The Presidents Executive Order announced today gives us a new and powerful tool to enforce the U.N. arms embargo, and hold those who seek to evade U.S. sanctions accountable, Pompeo, joined by other Trump administration officials, said at a press conference.

The sanctions under Trumps order will target the Iranian Ministry of Defense, armed forces logistics, as well as Irans defense industries organization and its director, Pompeo said. Meanwhile, placing sanctions on Maduro should be understood as a warning worldwide, he added.

No matter who you are, if you violate the U.N. arms embargo on Iran, you risk sanctions.

The Trump administration unilaterally withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, saying that the pact had failed to prevent Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons and allowed the Iranian regime to support terrorist activities internationally.

After the withdrawal, the Trump administration began a maximum economic pressure campaign on Iran by cutting off its oil exports, with the goal of reducing its main revenue source to zero.

Our sanctions have saved countless Muslim, Jewish, and Christian lives by denying Tehran access to more than $70 billion, Pompeo said, while allowing for humanitarian trade and assistance.

The maximum pressure will be applied on Iran until the Iranian regime comes to the table and accepts a real deal for changing its behavior, Pompeo said.

Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview on Sept. 21 that his country wont renegotiate the provisions of the nuclear deal that would expire soon.

Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Because those were parts, part of the deal. The United States accepted those, Zarif said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin speaks during a news conference to announce the Trump administrations restoration of sanctions on Iran, at the U.S. State Department in Washington, on Sept. 21, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/Pool via Reuters)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced on Sept. 21 the sanctioning of entities and officials related to Irans nuclear and ballistic missile programs. In addition, any financial institutions that knowingly facilitate a significant transaction for these individuals or entities could be subject to U.S. sanctions, he said at the press conference.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the United States is prepared to respond to Iranian aggression.

Our commanders have the authorities and resources they need to protect their troops and to prepare for any contingencies, and we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies and partners to counter Irans destabilizing behavior, he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo listens as Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks during a news conference to announce the Trump administrations restoration of sanctions on Iran, at the U.S. State Department in Washington, on Sept. 21, 2020. (Patrick Semansky/Pool via Reuters)

Five Iranian scientists who played a critical role in the development of Iranian nuclear weapons also were sanctioned by the U.S. Commerce Department, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said.

The Iran nuclear deal brokered under the Obama administration was an enormous failure because it created a pathway for Iran to quickly generate material needed for nuclear weapons, Pompeo said.

When this deal was signed, Iran was at the breaking point, said national security adviser Robert OBrien, saying the deal took the pressure off Iran and gave it $150 billion in sanctions relief.

Iran also received $1.8 billion in a settlement that the United States was holding up, he noted. The regime in Tehran hasnt used the money for the benefit of its people, but financed terrorist proxy wars throughout the Middle East, OBrien said.

Other parties to the nuclear deal and most U.N. Security Council members have said they dont believe the United States has the right to reimpose the U.N. sanctions and that the U.S. move has no legal effect.

Petr Svab and Reuters contributed to this report.
Historians, conservation architects and other heritage lovers have heaved a sigh of relief and expressed happiness over the stay by the Supreme Court on the demolition of the centuries-old Patna Collectorate, with some saying it would send a strong message to the society on preserving our rich past indiscriminately.

Spread over 12 acres on the banks of Ganga, the iconic collectorate complex includes one of the last surviving signatures of Dutch architecture, especially the Record Room and the old District Engineers Office.

The top court had on Friday ordered status quo in the case, two days after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had laid the foundation stone for its new complex and a slew of other projects ahead of the Assembly polls.

Noted historian Irfan Habib said it is a great news for all those who care for built heritage, from conservationists to common man, fighting a battle every day to save heritage from the onslaught of modernity.

The stay on demolition, at a time when bulldozers were almost ready to roll in to bring down the historic structures of the collectorate, will also reaffirm peoples faith in judiciary when heritage is facing a losing battle in Patna and so many other old cities, he said.

The historian underlined that old buildings, especially of such significance as the Patna Collectorate, lend character to a city and the Bihar capital, being a historic city, these landmarks give a sense of continuity to multiple generations.

Erasing these landmarks will not only erase an important piece of history of Patna, it will erase the identity of the city of Patna, he said. The government should preserve and restore these buildings indiscriminately and not look at them through a colonial prism. Patna-based author Surendra Gopal who has been advocating preservation of the collectorate and other unprotected landmarks, hoped a brighter future awaits the neglected built heritage of his city.

The case, which began with two PILs filed in the Patna High Court by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in August 2019, had rallied heritage lovers from Patna to the US, with domain experts and common people alike appealing to the authorities to spare the demolition and instead connect it to the tourism circuit.

On September 1 this year, the high court disposed the case and allowed the government to take necessary consequential action after the newly-formed Bihar Urban Arts and Heritage Commission -- consisting only of government officials -- recommended demolition, claiming the structure had not much architectural, cultural or aesthetic values.

The Bihar government, which proposed the demolition in 2016, has been claiming that since the Dutch building of the collectorate was used as a warehouse to store opium and saltpetre a few centuries ago, it was not a heritage structure, drawing sharp reaction from historians, scholars and experts.

Architect and conservationist Yashaswini Sharma, who has been associated with the battle to save the iconic Asiatic Building in Bengaluru, was thrilled to know about the apex court stay after the INTACH filed a plea mid-September challenging the high court order.

A buildings heritage value is not lessened just because it was an opium warehouse at some point in history, Sharma said. It is the unique architecture, material heritage, the skills used in making the building that matters. And these were built by our labourers, making it even a more significant piece of heritage. The author of Bangalore: The Early City said to dismiss a building as not a heritage just because it stored opium once, was myopic and smacks of ignorance and coloured view of the policy makers. The high court should have weighed in the matter with deeper understanding of history and architectural heritage, which it seems it did not, so the INTACH appealed in the Supreme Court, she added.

In 2016, the then Dutch ambassador, Alphonsus Stoelinga, had written to the chief minister, appealing to preserve this shared heritage of the two countries and had it listed under the Archaeology Department.

The British-era structures in its complex include the DM Office Building and District Board Patna Building.

In 2016, a public movement named Save Historic Patna Collectorate, led by citizens from various walks of life, was launched to save the historic landmark from demolition.

Mumbai-based conservationist Kamalika Bose said the apex court relief was much-needed and it would send a very strong message to both the government and the society at large to preserve our past indiscriminately for the current and future generations. Bihar government has not been listening to peoples voices, and I hope now they will and save this landmark. The new collectorate can be built anywhere else on a fresh piece of land without harming heritage, she said.

The Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, has sought response from the Bihar government within two weeks on the plea filed by the INTACH.

High court lawyer and heritage activist Kumar Shanu alleged that in the name of opium warehouse, the government has attempted to delegitimise the historical value of the collectorate.

The Honble High Court of Patna has not acknowledged or even heeded to the complete facts of the case and principles developed by previous landmark cases on such a subject, he argued, adding: I am happy the apex court has given a relief for the time being.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text)

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Over the course of her investigation, the author reveals how these objects that remain and the stories that surround them enable forms of intimacy. In this way, she models for us a different kind of reckoning, where justice is an animating process of telling and holding.

The Objects That Remain is equal parts personal memoir and fascinating examination of the ways in which the material remains of violent crimes inform our experience of, and thinking about, trauma and loss. Considering artifacts in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and evidence in police storage facilities across the country, Lauras story moves between intimate trauma, the story of an unsolved rape, and genocide. Throughout, she asks what it might mean to do justice to these violent pasts outside the juridical system or through historical empiricism, which are the dominant ways in which we think about evidence from violent crimes and other highly traumatic events.

Decades later, Laura returns to these objects, viewing them not as clues that will lead to the identification of her assailant but rather as a means of engaging traumatic legacies writ large.

On a November evening in 1989, Laura Levitt was raped in her own bed. Her landlord heard the assault taking place and called 911, but the police arrived too late to apprehend Lauras attacker. When they left, investigators took items with thema pair of sweatpants, the bedclothesand a rape exam was performed at the hospital. However, this evidence was never processed.

Prelude

An Affection for Objects, a Memory of Blood

I have always liked things. I have a special fondness for shoes and clothing. As a child, I even talked to my shoes. I was especially attached to my school shoes in the days when we all had a special pair to be worn every day for the entire year. We would go shoe shopping every fall and I would get to pick them out. The hardest part was coming home and having to displace the prior years shoes. I felt sorry for them. It hurt to say goodbye.

I had strong feelings about other everyday pieces of clothing, especially my childhood undershirts, a white cotton sleeveless variety with a bow on the front. Inside the back was the tag. The bow made the front special and I felt sorry for the back. Not only did it never get to be in front, but it also had no adornment. As a very young child, I taught myself a trick to help make up for this discrepancy. I learned how to put my undershirts on inside out and upside down. This allowed the back to be in front at least once each day as I put the undershirt on. I still tend to put on tops in this manner, inside out and upside down, and I have been embarrassed when caught unconsciously doing this seemingly abnormal thing in a public place, like the locker room at the gym. In these awkward moments, I am often abruptly reminded that this is not the way most people put on their shirts.

When I was about four going on five, my family visited my grandmother in her Long Island home. My grandmother lived up a hill, and a very long, intricate cement staircase led up to the house, punctuated with rocks on the railings and turrets at the landings that made the whole property look like a castle. We had to walk down those stairs as we said goodbye and returned to our car. It was a long haul for my four-year-old legs and even longer for my little brother.

I was the big sister. My brother was eighteen months younger, and although I dont remember exactly what happened, as we descended the stairs that day, he fell. I may have pushed him. Or I may have wished that I had pushed him, but when it happened, I was completely unnerved, overcome with guilt for whatever ill wishes I may have harbored just moments before the fall.

He landed on his chin and had to be rushed to the hospital for stitches. That was the first of three falls he took on those steps, but this, the first, lingers in my memory. I could not forgive myself for what had happened and focused on all the blood. En route to the hospital, I said the word over and over, blood, blood, blood, blood. I said it so many times that I could no longer distinguish the meaning of the word from the sound of the letters as I enunciated them. I do not remember my brother covered in blood. I have no recollection of his stained clothing. I only remember repeating the word to myself over and over again. And, after he came home, I remember the big bandage on his chin. I recall that it scared the kids on our block. In the past, hed been known as a biter, and the wound served to call attention to his mouth once again.

Introduction

The Afterlife of Objects

It was early August when I took the Metro out to a suburban station to meet the chief conservator of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). She was taking me to the museums off-site storage facility. I would spend the day in this most unlikely space. As I entered the nondescript suburban buildingthe museums off-site repository had not yet moved into its new state-of-the art facilityI was struck by its bland character, a deliberate choice. This was my impression until I entered the first of many rooms and, eventually, the vast storage space that housed so much of the museums collection. As if I had entered into a folded Le Sac bag, it was hard to believe that the building could be so large.

In that first room, a conservation space, I watched a woman seated beside an ironing board, sewing intently. She was working on a damaged blue-and-white-striped prisoner uniform. Of course, I had never been this close to one of these iconic garments. I thought about the uniforms I had seen on display and those I had seen in photographs. This jacket was much more elaborate than any I had ever seen. It was carefully tailored with many seams and pockets, but it was also in terrible shape. There were huge holes and tears in it (why is this word the same as tears?). These wounds were the focus of the seamstresss careful attention. The room was electric with the energy that crackled from this fragile object, and I was deeply affected by the experience.

In my last book, I wrote about a different kind of Holocaust object, family photographs and the allure of those precious traces of life before. I wrote about holding and touching such photographs, the ways in which many people carried these images with them. I built on powerful scholarly works that described these attachments in terms of haptic cinema and photography, the touching of images, but now I find myself homing in to consider clothing and other material objects as much more intimate. These are objects that cover and hold our bodies. We wear these textiles. We live inside them. The longer we inhabit them, the more of us they contain. As Maggie Nelson suggests, millions of traces of our DNA, in skin cells, sweat, piss, blood, saliva, tears, permeate such garments. But clothing that is worn day in and day out for long periods of time is also marked in a different way. It is shaped by our bodies. Not only were these uniforms worn constantly, but because they were handed out haphazardly, they often did not fit and so were carefully tailored by the very prisoners who wore them, who used whatever was at hand to try to make them fit. The uniform jacket I saw being mended was unusual in its intricate tailoring. It was altered to fit a specific person.

The camp uniforms held in the USHMM collection are so fragile that careful efforts must be made simply to keep them from disintegrating. And because the bodies of those who inhabited these garments have been missing for so long, in order to preserve them, to keep them from falling apart, each uniform has its own body-shaped hanger. These effigies are custom fit. They are specially made for each jacket, shirt, or pair of pants. These stuffed, mannequin-like hanging figures help take the stress off fragile seams and frayed panels. The prisoners are gone but the hangers convey a semblance of their presence. In reverse logic, the bodies beneath the fabric protect the garment, not the other way around.

Because these pieces of clothing are also witnesses to the atrocities performed on those who wore them, they attest to those crimes. They constitute a form of criminal as well as historical evidence. Bound to those bodies and those legacies, they offer silent testimony, but their presence in the museum is not simply material.

An aura emanates from these intimate articles of clothing. Once an abiding presence in the lives of those who wore them, these garments carry the traces of those now absent bodies. Such haptic connections are what attract us to these tainted pieces of clothing. Not unlike religious relics whose proximity to the bodies of saints and martyrs makes them holy, these garments hold and embody the horrors they witnessed and the memory of the lives lost. They transmit a semblance of what happened to the now ghostly figures whose shapes come back to us in the form of hanging effigies. These modern relics carry a kind of living presence. They hold traces of the blood, the sweat, the tears of those whose lives were brutally violated. They continue to bristle with meaning.

The sacred status of these pieces of clothing is bound up in visceral bodily connections similar to those that inhere in other sacred objects, such as the contact relic, the cloth that touched the martyr, the clothing that revered figures wore when they were tortured or killed. And although this notion of the relic is bound to a profoundly Christian legacy of reverence for objects, its allure is more pervasive. In part, this book is about the lingering afterlives of Christian notions of the sanctity of such objects.

Let me elaborate on this strange connection. I recently stumbled onto a striking example of precisely this phenomenon. As I began reading Israeli photographer Miki Kratsmans The Resolution of the Suspect (2016), a book of haunting images about the horrors of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, I was struck by the ways in which Kratsman and his collaborator, the scholar of visual culture Ariella Azoulay, enact their engagement with this subject. Through photography, they show the compelling attraction of contemporary bloody garments in their attempt to address the violence of the occupation.

As I began looking through the pages of Kratsmans book, I was taken aback to find an image from another time and place, an image reframed by the photographer, Francois Auberts Shirt of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. This stark historical image depicts the shirt the emperor wore at his execution on June 19, 1867, in Queretaro, Mexico. What is striking is that this Christian-inflected image was so crucial to Kratsmans project.

In Kratsmans text, the Aubert image is part of a diptych that pairs two photographs of tainted shirts accompanied by bright red handwritten inscriptions. Each photograph is the trace of a dead martyr. Atop the historical image, the text reads all in capital letters: Although Aubert wasnt allowed to photograph the actual execution, he at least managed to document the scene of the crime afterwards. Running down the inner margin of the page, we read in the same shaky, bright red handwriting, In the tradition of Christian reverence for relics, Aubert placed the emperors shirt in the center of his composition (fig. 2).

It was startling to find this overt invocation of a Christian tradition used as the connecting tissue between the two portions of this diptych. Here was an aging relic of a politically problematic figure, an emperor no less, a colonizer, alongside another image of late photography, a portrait of the jacket of a contemporary Palestinian shahid , or martyr. Together, these images not only speak to the allure of bloody garments as contemporary relics; they overtly point to a Christian tradition of reverence for tainted objects as an ongoing and shared communal practice.

I am struck by the persistence of this overtly Catholic understanding of the bodily, the tactile relationship between such intimate objects and persons who suffer. Even in Kratsmans work about men whose politics and practices are far from innocent, such remains nevertheless reverberate. They hold these violent legacies, allowing us to imagine the people who wore them. In these ways, the objects become holy.

Like the woman mending the camp uniform in the museums storage facility, those who perform such rites assume a reverential attitude to their task. For these keepers of accounts, the work is a calling. Their jobs harken back to an earlier historical moment when conservation began. Once upon a time, the preservation of Christian relics, the soiled clothing of Christian saints and martyrs in late antique and medieval churches, was the work of conservators.

The trace. The relic. We often approach such objects with reverence. These remains are evidence of crimes both great and small. The striped uniform, the bloody hoody, each allows us to stitch connections between ourselves and these different violent legacies. Abiding affective engagements reside in these tattered objects.

Our tongues falter to explain how an event so expansive in scope as the genocide of the Holocaust shares features with an intimate and personal assault upon a single individual. The two things do not correlate. And yet these crimes stand next to each other; they touch precisely where the material artifacts mark us and enable us to retell these narratives.

The story before you is about trauma and loss and how material objects embody such suffering. It is also a tale of life after such violence and the things, the artifacts and the places, that make them manifest. Such objects keep the event tangible, suspended, and within our reach. This resonance between artifacts and their power to witness to the crimes against humanity, against individuals, and their ability to make holy the profane, is the essence of this volume.

Atlanta, November 1989

Early in the evening on the first Tuesday in November 1989, I was raped in my home in Atlanta, Georgia. As it turned out, this happened just as the Berlin Wall was about to fall. A strange man broke into my home, hid, and then attacked me. I screamed, and this only exacerbated his rage. He choked me. And then he raped me in my own bed. He threatened to kill me.

At the time, I was a graduate student at Emory completing my doctoral studies in religion. After the police finally arrived on the sceneitself a protracted and exasperating experiencethey began to ask questions and collect evidence. But I need to say that the police came late, too late to apprehend the suspect. Not only had I waited on hold with 911 until I finally got through to the police, but I later learned that my landlady, having heard my cries, had also called the police to no avail. She too could not get through to report the crime in process. This is a gap in time I still cannot fully fathom. By the time the police arrived, the man was long gone.

Before I was taken to Grady Hospital, a large urban public institution, the only hospital in the vicinity equipped to deal with rapeand, I should add, the only hospital in the region with an AIDS clinicI remember the police in my apartment. I was taken to Grady for a rape exam only after the Atlanta police had combed the scene for evidence. They attempted to take fingerprints from my refrigerator after I told them that the rapist had opened it. They also gathered other evidence. They took the comforter and some of the sheets that had been on my bed, and after the rape exam at the hospital, I believe, they also took possession of various pieces of my clothing, including my sweatpants and underwear.

But here my memory falters. I hardly remember the order of these events or what the police took. What I do know is that once they left, I threw away the rest of the clothing I had been wearing. I placed these items in a dumpster outside the hospital. At least this is how I remember it, although none of these items appear in any police documents. None of my possessions are listed in the inventory from the crime scene, for example, on the official police report. There are other discrepancies in the case file; one is my address at the time. The crime scene is listed incorrectly on the first page of this official document. The correct address does appear later in the report, but without comment. I only received a copy of this report in the fall of 2014, after I filed a request for information with the Atlanta police about my case and my evidence. To date, nothing has been found, neither the evidence procured from my rape kit nor any of the clothing or bedding taken from my home and my person that night. These items no longer appear to be accessible. I do not know what happened to any of them. Nor do I know whether my rape kit was ever processed. That information cannot be verified. I can only assume that it was not.

Nevertheless, even as I have learned that these possessions are no longer accessible, I am moved by my memory, by the imprint of these once tactile everyday objects on how I think about this past and the fact that I had for so many years forgotten all about them.

What I have learned is that these objects seem to have been lost in the confusion of various moves between storage facilities in and around Atlanta in the intervening thirty-something years since that November night.

Within days of my rape, I found myself staying in a renovated 1920s bungalow just a few blocks from my house, the home of the man I was falling in love with, a potter. It was there that I began to get used to my altered life. I had not awakened. Instead, I spent those first few days in the main room of the house, an oddly disco-like open glass enclosure. It was there that I watched the Berlin Wall come down. I saw it over and over again, reflected in all those panes of glass. Nightfall came early, so the television screen was all over those glass walls. My world had been shattered alongside this world-historic event. Nothing was the same. The whole world was off kilter. Even then, I struggled with how to navigate this new terrain.

Clothing taken. Relics, bloody garments, handmade earthenware bowls, loving gifts, and the places where they were givena first-floor apartment, a renovated house, city streets in a once divided landscapematter. Held in such material containers, the trauma is made concrete. These tangible objects testify to the fact that these events are not a figment of the imagination. They are one important way we know that these events actually happened, that this is not a dream.

Excerpt ends here.
A catholic priest who has been appointed as Justice of the High Court will no more perform his priestly duties in public, the Catholic Church has explained.



The Catholic Church has told state-owned Daily Graphic in an interview that Rev Fr Joseph Owusu-Agyemang can only celebrate sacraments privately.



Chancellor of the Kumasi Archdiocese of the Church, Rev. Fr. Peter Sarpong, told the newspaper that apart from political appointments, the church did not stop its priests from serving offices, including serving as lecturers, to the security doctors, among others.



Rev. Fr Joseph Owusu-Agyemang, a Catholic priest incardinated into the Catholic Archdiocese of Kumasi, was sworn in as a Justice of the High Court by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, becoming the first Catholic Priest in Ghana to assume the position of a Justice of the High Court.



Concerns have been raised as to whether the Priest-Judge can perform a dual role.



However, explaining the law which allowed Justice Owusu-Agyemang to accept the appointment, the Chancellor of the Kumasi Archdiocese said the church's law was epitomised by the last code that: "Salvation of souls is the supreme law of the church."



He said such appointments were only allowed by the Catholic Church provided that a Diocesan Bishop had judged that it contributed to their spiritual growth under the Canon Law.



The Canon Law of the Catholic Church is the system of laws and legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Catholic Church to regulate its external organisation and government and to order and direct the activities of Catholics towards the mission of the church.



Rev. Fr Sarpong urged Ghanaians to pray for the Priest-Judge to make a difference and be an evangelist in the Judiciary.



Justice Owusu Agyemang was among 16 individuals who were sworn in as justices of the High Court by President Akufo-Addo.

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
People in Northern Ireland are being used as a pawn in the ongoing stand off between the UK and EU over a Brexit trade deal, Michelle ONeill has warned.

Stormonts deputy First Minister said citizens and businesses needed an end to the uncertainty around what will face them next year.

The Sinn Fein vice president told the Assembly in Belfast that she and DUP First Minister Arlene Foster were committed to working together to achieve the best outcome for the region, despite their political differences over Brexit.

Ms ONeills comment come amid the recent controversy over the UK Governments bid to use domestic legislation to override elements of the Withdrawal Treaty, namely the Northern Ireland protocol on post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Its in all our interests to minimise disruption to trade, the deputy First Minister told MLAs.

We want to see frictionless trade north-south and east-west. We are in the middle of certainly, as a people, being used as a pawn in the middle of the Brexit debate right now. And thats not a good place for us to be.

Our people need certainty, our businesses need certainty and we will work to make sure that that happens.

Under the protocol, Northern Ireland will remain in the EU Single Market for goods and administer the EUs customs code at its ports.

The Internal Market Bill tabled by the UK Government at Westminster could override elements of the protocols operation, including around the application of EU state aid rules in Northern Ireland and on the requirement for exit summary declarations for goods moving from the region to Great Britain.

The laws, if enacted, are designed for use if a wider trade deal with the EU and UK does not materialise.

Ms ONeill was answering Assembly questions on a meeting of the ministers from the Stormont Executive and Irish Government at the end of July.

SDLP member Matthew OToole asked would she use the North South Ministerial Council to raise the issue of Northern Ireland being included in future EU trade deals once the transition period ends at the end of 2020.

Ms ONeill said she would be happy to raise the issue.

The deputy First Minister expressed hope that the impasse over the protocol could be ironed out through the joint EU UK committee set up to look at how it will operate.

We are clearly in politically volatile times in terms of Brexit and what that means, but what we hope is that there is an outcome through the joint committee, she said.

Asked by Alliances Stewart Dickson if her and Mrs Foster jointly shared the concerns raised by businesses, she said: I dont think its any secret to the member that myself and the First Minister have a different outlook in terms of Brexit but we have a commonality in terms of protecting our people and what we want to see is a minimisation of any disruption, she said.

So I hope that theres a political outcome achieved here over the course of the next number of weeks and certainly, Ill use my best endeavours to play my part in all of that.
In the last round of one-on-one exchanges between the two leading candidates in Saturdays Edo State governorship election, Governor Godwin Obaseki faced APCs Osagie Ize-Iyamu in a televised debate.

The debate organised by ChannelsTV saw the rivals slug over the funding history of past elections in the state, accusing each other of using state resources to corner political gains.

They also touched on why they became the candidates of the parties each opposed in the election four years ago, with Mr Obaseki saying he left the APC due to the godfatherism tendencies in the party and Mr Ize-Iyamu saying he is a foundation member of the APC so he only came back home.

Mr Ize-Iyamu would challenge his opponent to show evidence that he was qualified to be admitted to the University of Ibadan in 1976, having been disqualified on the same ground from contesting the APC primaries in June.

Mr Obaseki stood his ground on the issue, and both would later sign a peace pact and pledge to play by the books.

As the election set off on Saturday, residents had expressed mixed feelings ranging from hope to fear to apathy. In the mix of that, the PDP raised concerns saying some of its state governors in Edo to monitor the election were being hounded by security officials, a phalanx of whom were deployed to the state.

Eventually on Sunday, Mr Obaseki won reelection and has been congratulated by President Buhari, residents, as well as other stakeholders. While the outcome has been rejected by APC campaign council, some residents believe it is a defeat of the godfatherism tendency in the state.

Meanwhile, in the latest of his series of outburst on the state of the nation, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo said Nigeria was fast becoming a failed state, something he attributed to the inept leadership of the current administration.

The presidency fired back. Presidential publicist, Garba Shehu, said Mr Obasanjo acted unstatesmanlike, calling the latter the Divider-in-Chief.

Information minister Lai Muhammed also came out to defend the administration, saying, contrary to the allegation of nepotism in the Buhari administration, the president has done much to unite Nigerians.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) too jumped into the pool on the side of the government, saying Mr Obasanjo has no moral qualification to decry the countrys growing political and social decadence, because his administration midwifed and institutionalised the national rot, corruption, impunity and eroding of our value systems.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo could start with telling us where the electricity is despite the $16billion he spent on the power sector, the party said.

It called on the former president and his deputy, Atiku Abubakar, to account for Nigerias asset allegedly sold to friends of the PDP-led administration under its privatisation programme.

But the ethnic and regional groups during which meeting with Mr Obasanjo the former president made his controversial remarks, including Afenifere of the southwest and Ohaneze of the southeast, expectedly faulted the defence by the president. What was unexpected, however, was that Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, also backed Mr Obasanjos claim.

Earlier, President Buharis promised a fair election and the U.S. Department of State imposed visa ban on individuals who undermine(d) the Nigerian democratic process or for organising election-related violence in the last Kogi governorship election.

While the U.S. action was lauded by some, including Teejay Yusuf, a PDP Kogi lawmaker, who urged other foreign governments to follow suit, the Kogi State Government accused the U.S. of witch-hunting and partisanship.

The United Kingdom government later said electoral offenders in the Edo and Ondo elections risk visa ban into their country as well as asset forfeiture.

About the Ondo election, a clash between supporters of Rotimi Akeredolu of the APC and Eyitayo Jegede of the PDP led to eight persons being injured and vehicles burnt.

In the course of the week, INEC also said it had replaced the card readers burnt in its Ondo office the previous week by 6,000 others from Oyo.

Away from elections, the crisis rocking the University of Lagos continued to unfold with first, the visitation panel submitting its report to the federal government on Thursday.

Moments later, the pro-chancellor of the school, Wale Babalakin, resigned, faulting President Buharis action on the crisis and accusing the panel of being compromised.

Also, the Nigerian governments plans to establish the Proceeds of Crime Recovery and Management Agency, despite having two anti-graft agencies, was criticised by Nigerians.

Likewise, through a memo dated September 16 and addressed to the Clerk of the National Assembly, President Buhari announced his assent to the Nigeria Police Bill, 2020.

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The Act repeals the Police Act of 2004 and provides for a more effective and well organised police force, driven by the principles of transparency and accountability in its operations and management of its resources.
Press Release

September 21, 2020 Bong Go files enhanced version of bill creating Department of Overseas Filipinos; calls on government to assist Filipinos abroad in the wake of global COVID-19 pandemic Senator Christopher "Bong" Go lauded ongoing collaborative efforts between the executive and legislative branches of government to ensure the passage of a measure that would create a new department dedicated to handling the affairs of overseas Filipinos. This proposed legislation is the second iteration of Senate Bill No. 202, filed by Go last July 2019, which seeks to improve the delivery of government services to Filipinos abroad by bringing together and streamlining the relevant services scattered across various national agencies. It takes into consideration the inputs from the concerned executive agencies and has been endorsed by the Office of the Cabinet Secretary and Presidential Legislative Liaison Office to the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development. "Simula noong nakaraang taon pa, nanawagan na ako na sana'y mapadali ang pagbibigay ng serbisyo sa ating overseas Filipino workers sa pamamagitan ng pagtayo ng isang departamento na mamamahala sa pag-aalaga ng kanilang kapakanan," said Go. Recognizing the significant contribution of the overseas Filipinos to the country's economy and emphasizing the need to serve and protect them better, President Rodrigo Duterte has twice called on Congress to pass the priority measure during his 2019 and 2020 State of the Nation Addresses. "Mas lumala pa ngayon ang sitwasyon dahil sa hirap na dulot ng COVID-19 crisis. Kung mayroon pong [Department of Overseas Filipinos] at may iisang departamento na tututok sa mga pangangailangan nila, mas mapapadali sana ang koordinasyon ng mga ahensya," he stressed. The new version, SBN 1835, brings together under one department the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Commission on Overseas Filipinos, all Philippine Overseas Labor Offices under the Department of Labor and Employment, the International Labor Affairs Bureau under DOLE, and International Social Services Office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. In the new version of the bill, the DOOF will exercise administrative supervision over the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration which shall be attached to the envisioned department. Once established, the DOOF will protect the rights and promote the welfare of overseas Filipinos; formulate, plan, coordinate, promote, administer, and implement policies; and undertake systematic national development programs for managing and monitoring the overseas or foreign employment of Filipino workers, among others. "Importante klaro po ang mandato nito at 'di mag-overlap sa ibang ahensya, tulad ng DOLE at DFA," Go previously said. The measure proposes that the new Department will be led by a Secretary and four Undersecretaries who shall head the following offices: (1) Administration and Finance; (2) Foreign Employment; (3) Assistance to Overseas Filipinos in Distress; and (4) Policy, Treaties, International Agreements and Special Concerns. Under the measure, the Assistance-to-Nationals offices found in all foreign service posts will serve as the department's overseas operating arm. They will look after the welfare of Filipinos abroad and provide assistance with regard to problems, such as contract violations, poor employment conditions and exploitation in the work place, among others. In addition, distressed overseas Filipinos in need of temporary shelter, medical aid and other forms of assistance may find them in the Migrant Workers and other Overseas Filipinos Resource Centers that will be set up in every country of destination. The centers will be staffed with psychologists, social workers, and a Shari'a or human rights lawyer as well as case or public relations officers fluent in the local language, laws, customs and practices of the country. The bill also notably directs the establishment of Overseas Filipino Malasakit Centers in strategic locations throughout the country to serve as a one-stop shop for migrant Filipinos and their families requiring clearances and permits, validation of overseas job offers, reintegration services and pertinent seminars and workshops. To support the department's operations and activities, a computer-based management information system containing all the overseas Filipinos' relevant information will be created at the department and office level. "Alam ninyo bang mahigit 10 million ang populasyon ng ating OFW? Ibig sabihin, ten percent po yan ng buong populasyon. Napakalaki po nyan. Bigyan natin sila ng opisina at secretary-level para pag may problemang ganito, 'yun na po ang makikipag-coordinate sa lahat," said the Senator. "Huwag na natin hintayin na mabigla uli tayo. Bigyan natin ng importansya na magkaroon ng opisina para sa kanila, para may magtitimon sa kanila, magga-guide sa mga OFWs. Bigyan natin sila ng importansya, tawag natin sa kanila bagong bayani. Totohanin natin," he continued.
New Zealand fishers in two minds over Green Party fishing policy

September 21,2020 | Source: RNZ

Commercial and recreational fishers in New Zealand are welcoming some aspects of the Green Party marine policy, but say care must be taken and more data is needed on fishery stocks.



The Greens announced their 'Thriving Oceans Plan' at Orakei / Bastion Point yesterday, including expanding marine protection areas and sanctuaries to 30 percent of New Zealand's oceans by 2030, and putting a 10-year moratorium on seabed mining.



They also want a review of the quota management system, a $50m fund to help fishers transition to sustainable practices, and faster rollout of cameras on fishing boats.



NZ Fishing Industry Guild executive secretary Ian Mathieson said marine protected areas were important and New Zealand could certainly do with more, but 30 percent was "a large amount of ocean" and there would be an impact on local communities.



"Especially if you're talking about New Zealand's exclusive economic zone, that would be massive on the global scale ... there would need to be a lot of consultation before that could take place," he said.



"If they're looking at closing certain fisheries down or making certain fishing practices not legal, the impact on the industry and livelihoods of communities could be really significant.



"You've got to look closely at what it is and it's got to be based on science and observation and it can't be based on ideology."



He said he was not against the concept but it would have to be based on consultation.



"You do very much need to understand how it's impacting local communities and that's both from a recreational fishing, a customary Maori perspective and a commercial sector."



He was supportive of a review of quota management, saying many parts were no longer fit for modern times, but said cameras on fishing boats may not be worth the cost - particularly with the ongoing costs required for reviewing and collating the data.



"Depends where they want to spend the money ... cameras on fishing vessels are highly expensive.



Mathieson also said more accurate data was needed on fish stocks.



"They view a fish stock based on its original biomass and they make a baseline judgement ... it's a lot easier to manage them I guess scientifically and accurately if the biomass is kept at a more comfortable level.



"I don't think it's up to date enough ... I don't think you can make any decisions until you've got that data firmly nailed down and at the moment it's not."



Keith Ingram of the New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council said it was an old policy the Greens has regurgitated, but it did have its good points.



Part of the policy aims to begin on marine protection areas by spending $10m on restoring shellfish beds in Hauraki Gulf, and zone it for active protection and management of marine life by urgently phasing out practices such as bottom trawling, dredging and Danish seining.



Ingram supported protecting the Gulf.



"It has to be questioned whether - is this still appropriate for the Hauraki Gulf and particularly for the Hauraki Gulf maritime park ... where we have a number of endemic species, particularly the Brodie's whales."



However, he said the Greens were not being accurate about the amount of ocean already being protected - saying some were protected by default because of undersea cables, and others included things like protections for Maui dolphins.



"If you were to add all those areas up I think you'd be quite surprised at the amount of marine protection we have either by intention or by default in our 200-mile zone," he said.



He also supported a review of quota management, but again criticised plans for cameras on boats saying they would not do everything the party hoped they would.



"The cameras are designed to shine on the decks to make sure that the commercial industry is not throwing over high grading or throwing away good quota when they shouldn't be.



"To improve fishing behaviour we need to get rid of the commercial minimum legal size of the 11 fin fish species, so they land everything."



He said that would allow the cameras to identify when the rules were being broken, and New Zealanders would have to accept that smaller fish would be sold - but he was confident of a market for them.



He also said some of the government's moves to protect fishing stocks were simply not enough, and advocated for some fisheries to be shut down entirely to protect stocks.



"The fishery must come first. Close it. We supported closing cray 2 fishery to give the cray 2 fishery a chance to rebuild ... all pots, all divers out of the water. But government because of commercial pressure has taken a soft approach to it."



National party leader Judith Collins said she found it hard to take the party seriously after they did not vote for protection of the Kermadecs.



"I mean they had an opportunity to vote with National on protecting the Kermadecs and they failed to do so ... they gave into Labour and New Zealand First.



"We've made it very clear what we've said about cameras on boats and we've also said we back our recreational fishers as well as our commercial fishers.



"There's plenty for everybody but we also need to protect the environment and protect the stock."

 Copyright Radio New Zealand 2020

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
The Oregon Health Authority on Monday reported 201 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths, with newly released data again showing staggeringly low weekly testing numbers amid the states historic wildfires.

Just 18,840 Oregonians had test samples collected last week, according to preliminary data.

Thats a modest increase from the paltry 17,365 tests preliminarily reported from the previous week. But it remains well below the states average of roughly 35,000 tests a week through the summer.

To be sure, the latest numbers will rise as the state receives more test results. The previous weeks tally grew 28% from its preliminary figure and now totals 22,291. But even so, both weeks are likely to finish with the lowest numbers since early June.

Meanwhile, Oregons positivity rate for tests collected last week also jumped upward. Preliminary figures released Monday listed it at 6.2%, although thats likely to dip slightly as the state receives additional test results.

The state hasnt recorded a weekly positivity rate so high since late July, when 6.2% of screened Oregonians also tested positive for coronavirus.

Oregons current trajectory with COVID-19 remains murky. Highly caveated state modeling released last week suggested cases could decline. But the average number of newly identified cases, and the percentage of positive tests, have instead been climbing.

Where the new cases are by county: Benton (2), Clackamas (16), Clatsop (2), Columbia (2), Coos (4), Curry (3), Deschutes (8), Douglas (2), Hood River (1), Jackson (18), Josephine (3), Klamath (2), Lane (28), Lincoln (1), Linn (1), Malheur (12), Marion (18), Morrow (2), Multnomah (35), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (4), Wasco (10), Washington (25), and Yamhill (1).

New fatalities: Oregons 527th death linked to coronavirus is an 80-year-old Multnomah County man with underlying health conditions. He tested positive Aug. 21 and died Sept. 6 at his residence.

The 528th fatality is a 54-year-old Multnomah County woman with underlying medical conditions. She tested positive Sept. 16 and died Sept. 20 at Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center.

Oregons 529th death is a 73-year-old Multnomah County man. He tested positive Sept. 18 and died Sept. 19 at OHSU Hospital. State officials are confirming if he had underlying health conditions.

The prevalence of infections: State officials had not disclosed detailed data since Friday. Since then, officials reported 610 new confirmed infections out of 9,333 people tested, equaling a 6.5% positivity rate.

Who got infected: State officials had not disclosed detailed data since Friday. New confirmed or presumed infections grew among the following age groups: 0-9 (40); 10-19 (105); 20-29 (129); 30-39 (103); 40-49 (95); 50-59 (92); 60-69 (38); 70-79 (31); 80 and older (20).

Whos in the hospital: The state Monday reported 112 Oregonians with confirmed coronavirus infections are currently in the hospital, up six from Friday. Oregon remains well below its capacity, with hundreds of hospital beds and ventilators available.

Since it began: Oregon has reported 30,995 confirmed or presumed infections and 529 deaths, among the lowest totals in the nation. To date, 637,284 Oregonians have been tested.

-- Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt
A team of carpenters are using 800-year-old techniques to painstakingly rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral.

The team raised a three-ton oak truss  by hand  in front of the famous landmark in Paris on September 19.

The wooden structures are a replica of those consumed in the devastating fire in April 2019.

A team of carpenters used an 800-year-old technique to painstakingly rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral by raising a three-ton oak truss in front of the landmark on September 19

Medieval techniques were used by the carpenters to build the triangular frames in the central part of the church according to AP.

It comes after a decision to replicate the cathedral in it's original form.

General Jean-Louis Georgelin, head of the reconstruction, said it was the 'right choice' to build the carpentry identically.

The spire was also toppled in the blaze, and there were debates on whether the new spire should be futuristic or made of fireproof cement.

A decision was made in July to respect the original design and material of the cathedral.

A total of 25 trusses are to be installed in the cathedral nave, with President Emmanuel Macron wanting it reopened in time for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

The wooden structures are a replica of those consumed in the devastating fire in April 2019 and decisions were made to replicate the cathedral in it's original form

With rope cables and a rustic pulley system, the carpenters slowly pulled the truss they built in July from the ground where it was laid out.

Once the truss replica was raised on high, a carpenter shinnied up the wooden beams to tie an oak branch to the top of the triangular structure.

This is a symbol of prosperity and a salute to the workers, a tradition still honoured in numerous European countries.
A Sydney mayor has accused the local government watchdog of trying to remove him from public office over his criticism of the state government's handling of community grants.

In his opening statement to a parliamentary inquiry, Inner West Council Labor mayor Darcy Byrne said Office of Local Government chief executive Tim Hurst wrote to him days before he was due to give testimony to affirm he was referring him to a tribunal over misconduct allegations.

Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne has given evidence before a parliamentary inquiry into state government grants. Credit:Edwina Pickles

"It's no coincidence that the Office of Local Government has began seeking my removal from public office following the discovery of a secret slush fund overseen by the OLG, and our ongoing advocacy to bring the facts about this rort out into the light," Cr Byrne said on Monday.

"Mr Hurst's referral is quite clearly an attempt to intimidate and prevent me from giving evidence here today."
The modern one-bedroom Dublin apartment featured an open-plan living space, a sun-soaked balcony, solar panels, ample storage space and parking for two cars. The location was ideal, as was the price: about $1,800 a month  $300 less than the previous tenant had paid.

In a city where lines to view rental properties have regularly trailed around the block, the new tenants could hardly believe their luck.

We were not going to get this place, Aoife Brannigan, 25, said of the months of fruitless searching that she and her partner, Shaun Gribben, 25, had undertaken before landing the apartment. I couldnt see it happening had this not happened. We 100 percent benefited from this.

The this she was referring to was the coronavirus, which has sent a chill through Irelands once-frenzied housing market, particularly Airbnb listings, which have been hit by a collapse in tourism. That drop, along with an exodus of people from overseas leaving Dublin because of the pandemic, has created a surge in available rental properties in the Irish capital  a shift that underscores how Airbnbs presence continues to influence housing prices in popular cities.
A woman wearing a mask writes a message in chalk in front of a painting of the late Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 19 in New York City. Ginsburg died on Sept. 18.

A woman wearing a mask writes a message in chalk in front of a painting of the late Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 19 in New York City. Ginsburg died on Sept. 18. Credit - Alexi RosenfeldGetty Images

Health care was already a major focus in this falls election, but the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday adds a new layer of urgency to the issue: the Supreme Court is set to hear a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Nov. 10, exactly one week after Election Day.

Ginsburg voted to uphold the law in the past, along with the Courts other liberal justices and Chief Justice John Roberts. With all of those justices still in place before Friday, most in Washington had assumed that this latest case would end the same way, with a split vote preserving Obamacare. But now that Ginsburgs seat is vacant, the future of the ACAand the health coverage it provides millions of Americansis suddenly in question.

Before Justice Ginsburg died, this lawsuit had almost no chance of going anywhere, says Nicholas Bagley, a law professor at the University of Michigan who specializes in health law. And after she died, the odds of the Affordable Care Act getting struck down are much higher than they were.

But, Bagley and other experts caution, its hardly a done deal. While Ginsburgs absence tilts the Supreme Court toward the conservative majority, the case against the ACA is legally questionable. Its possible that at least two conservative justices could vote to protect the law; its also possible that SCOTUS delays the case until it can be heard by nine justices.

A more immediate question, political strategists say, is how this new threat to the ACA shapes the outcome of the Nov. 3 election. After all, the possibility of the Court overturning the ACA could have catastrophic consequences for tens of millions of Americans. The insurance marketplaces would be eliminated; the expansion of Medicaid in 38 states and D.C. would be voided; and the laws most popular provisions, including those protecting people with pre-existing conditions from being denied insurance or charged higher rates, would disappear. Estimates indicate that between 53.8 million and 133 millionor 51 percent of all Americanshave a pre-existing condition that could make them uninsurable if the ACA were no longer the law of the land.

Story continues

That threat already appears to be motivating Democrats and reshaping the presidential race with a renewed focus on the future of American health care.

What the lawsuit is about

The case before the Supreme Court in November, California v. Texas, was initiated by a group of Republican state attorneys general and is backed by the Trump Administrations Justice Department. It alleges that when the Republican-controlled Congress in 2017 zeroed out the tax penalty for people who dont buy health insurance, that rendered unconstitutional the ACA, in its entirety.

The legal reasoning draws from a previous, 2012 case against Obamacare, in which the Supreme Court upheld most of the law on the grounds that the tax penalty, known as the individual mandate, was a constitutionally sound tax. Now that the penalty is at zero, the new lawsuit argues, its not actually a tax, which means its not constitutional and the whole law should be thrown out. Many legal scholars believe this argument will not hold up in front of the high court.

Its galactically stupid, says Bagley in a phone call with TIME.

Thats not a partisan opinion: legal scholars on both sides of the aisle have cast doubt on every part of this case from its inception. Jonathan Adler, a libertarian law professor at Case Western Reserve University who was a driving force behind the 2015 challenge to the ACA, has called the case absurd, and told TIME on Sunday that he expects several of the conservative justices to disagree with the Republican state officials.

This case, unlike in prior ACA cases, is not grounded in jurisprudential concerns that have traditionally motivated conservatives, Adler says. I did not think that this suit would be ultimately successful in the Supreme Court before Justice Ginsburgs passing and I still dont think it will be.

What the Supreme Court could do

Despite scholars believing the case is legally weak, it worked for conservative federal district court judge, Reed OConnor, who ruled in December of 2018 that the whole ACA is unconstitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit then agreed that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, but sent the case back to OConnor to examine whether other parts of the law could stay or be severed.

Now that the case is at the Supreme Court, there are still a number of possible outcomes.

Trump has said he will nominate a new judge to replace Ginsburg this week, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to hold a vote on the nominee. Oral arguments for the ACA case are scheduled for Nov. 10, and while the Senate could theoretically hold hearings and confirm a new justice by then, thats a rapid timeline.

If the Court hears the ACA case with just eight justices, the three liberal justices who are expected to uphold the law will need to find two more to join them since they will not have Ginsburgs vote on their side. Most experts think Roberts will likely vote to uphold the ACA as well since he has opted not to strike it down in the past when cases brought stronger legal arguments. And if other conservative justices agree the case is weak, they could uphold the law, too.

Another way that the ACA remains intact is if the Court agrees with the Republican states that the individual mandate should go, but rules that the rest of the ACA can stay. That would preserve the status quo, including protections for people with pre-existing conditions, the health insurance marketplaces and subsidies, and Medicaid expansion.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Trumps last appointee, may embrace this approach, experts say. He has a history of making arguments in favor of a legal concept called severability, which means that even if one part of a law is invalid, other portions can still stand. As recently as this summer, he authored an opinion, joined by Roberts and conservative Justice Samuel Alito, that said the Court presumes that an unconstitutional provision in a law is severable from the remainder of the law or statute.

Roberts has also supported severability in the past, and Adler says its not clear that even Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Clarence Thomas would disagree on that principle.

Some experts see another clue in Kavanaughs time on the D.C. Circuit Court. In 2011, he heard a case challenging the ACAs individual mandate and, at the time, he argued that the court had no right to decide the case due to his interpretation of an 1867 tax law. He did not take the opportunity to cast a vote against the Affordable Care Acts constitutionality, Bagley says. Although he is very conservative, he may not be a fire breather in the way that some of his colleagues are.

Still, predicting what any justice will do is difficult. If Roberts sides with the liberal justices, but no other conservatives move, the Court could end up with a 4-4 tie. That would mean the 5th Circuit ruling stands, and the case would ultimately go back to OConnor, the district judge who ruled the law unconstitutional, to decide which parts of the law can remain. There would likely be more appeals and the case could wind up back at the Supreme Court months or even years down the line.

To avoid that possibility, Roberts could push back the hearing or even call for a rehearing when nine justices will be on the bench.

What this means for the election

In the meantime, with the ACA ruling looming, Democrats have sprung into action. In the 24-hours after Ginsburgs death on Friday, Democrats raised more than $71 million as politicians, activists and voters pledged to redouble their efforts to get rid of Trump on Election Day. Vice President Joe Biden, who has already been campaigning on expanding access to health care and controlling the coronavirus pandemic, also focused his attention on the ACA in appearances over the weekend.

In the middle of the worst global health crisis in living memory, Donald Trump is before the Supreme Court trying to strip health care coverage away from tens of millions of families, to strip away the peace of mind of more than 100 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, Biden said in a speech on Sunday.

And while court battles have traditionally been seen as bigger motivators for Republican voters than for Democrats, party leaders say the ACAand the issue of health care, which tends to affect people personallymay change that. Guy Cecil, who leads one of the largest Democratic super PACs, Priorities USA, tweeted that internal polling showed the Supreme Court was the second most motivating issue only after defeating Trump.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has internal polling showing that voters in both conservative and liberal Congressional districts find health care one of the top convincing messages from Democratic candidates. The party successfully campaigned on the idea of preserving health care in the 2018 midterms, and while the Supreme Court shakeup changes the specifics, they are again hoping to capitalize on an issue they know works.

A lot of the campaigns were already debating health care. But the risks of peoples healthcare just went from a policy concern in a think tank to a clear and present danger for families across the country, Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson said. Its no longer theoretical. Its now an actual threat.

 With reporting by Alana Abramson
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Jammu, Sep 21 : After violating the ceasefire on the Line of Control in Poonch district, Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling on Monday in J&K's Rajouri district as well.

Pakistan violated the ceasefire in Shahpur, Kirni and Qasba sectors of the LoC in Poonch district around 2.30 p.m. and at about 5 p.m. Pakistan used small arms and mortars to target Indian positions on the LoC in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district, said Colonel Devender Anand, defence ministry spokesman.

"At all these places, the Indian Army is retaliating befittingly," the spokesman said.

Pakistan has been violating the bilateral ceasefire agreement with impunity since the beginning of this year.

24 civilians have been killed and over 100 injured in more than 3,186 ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the LoC in J&K since January this year.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse)  Mon, September 21, 2020 07:10 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c460f700 2 Art & Culture Takashi-Murakami,Perrier,bottled-water,artist,Japan Free

Stop what you're doing!

Takashi Murakami is offering us a little piece of his art for the price of a bottle of Perrier.

The ultra-popular Japanese artist has agreed to recreate his famous flower motifs on the brand's bottles of sparkling water. And given the size of Murakami's following, this collaboration is likely to generate a buzz when it's released next month.

This may just be the trendiest collaboration of this fall. And fans of Japanese culture will no doubt be pleased to discover that it is Takashi Murakami who will be getting all the attention.

The Japanese artist is famous worldwide for his rich imagination, which takes the form of patchworks of floral sketches and characters whose faces mirror the roundness and precision of manga.

His pencil strokes will soon no longer be accessible simply for the small circle of contemporary art collectors and will soon land in the public space in a new format.

Read also: Takashi Murakami to offer limited-edition prints in support of Black Lives Matter

Murakami has indeed agreed to bring his unique style to Perrier-brand bottles.

The French water brand, which is owned by Nestle Waters, is already known for collaborating with renowned artists, including Andy Warhol and Salvatore Dali. But this new marketing coup will inevitably have a special flavor with the Murakami style, given the popularity of Japanese pop art.

And of course, the artist did not shy away from drawing his signature mascots on the glass and cans of the range.

KaiKai and Kiki are two rabbit-like creatures who have already had the privilege of being transformed into sculptures, paintings and even characters in animated films.

The very first examples of this collection will be glass bottles, expected in October. It will be necessary to wait until 2021 to complete the range with plastic bottles and cans.
Indian Railways will run 40 pairs of new special trains or 'clone' trains from Monday (September 21) for which the reservations started on September 10. This will be the first time that the Indian Railways will run 40 clone or duplicate trains on high-demand routes and the advance reservation period for these trains is 10 days.

Notably, these trains will be in addition to the 310 special trains which are already in operation. These trains will be run one or two hours ahead of the departure of already operating special trains. However, the travel time and the stoppages will be limited to operational halts, the Indian Railways had said.

While the tickets for 19 pairs of these trains will be charged at the Humsafar Express rates, it will be at par with the Janshatabdi Express rates for the clone train between Lucknow and Delhi.

According to Indian Railways, 10 trains (5 pairs) will operate between Bihar and Delhi under the East Central Railways. These trains will originate and terminate at Bihar's Saharsa, Rajendra Nagar, Rajgir, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur.

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The two trains operating under the Northeast Frontier Railway are also from Bihar: Katihar to Delhi and back.

The Northern Railway will also run 10 trains (5 pairs) which will operate between Delhi and Bihar and back, West Bengal to Delhi, Punjab to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh to Delhi among others.

The South Central Railway will operate two trains between Danapur (Bihar) to Secunderabad and back. The South Western Railway will operate 6 trains (3 pairs) between Goa and Delhi, Karnataka-Bihar and Karnataka-Delhi.

The Western Railway will run 10 trains (5 pairs) between Bihar (Darbhanga)-Gujarat(Ahmedabad), Delhi-Gujarat, Bihar (Chhapra) to Gujarat (Surat), Mumbai-Punjab, Gujarat(Ahmedabad)-Bihar (Patna).
New Delhi: Markets ended in red for the second consecutive session on Friday led by losses in banking, financials amid mixed global cues.

The BSE Sensex closed at 38,845.82, down 134.03 points or 0.34 per cent. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 11.15 points or 0.10 per cent to finish at 11,504.95.

Here are Stocks in focus on September 21, 2020

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RITES

Transport Infrastructure Consultancy and Engineering firm RITES Ltd on Friday said its board has approved buyback of 96.98 lakh shares with repurchase amount not exceeding Rs 257 crore. The company was listed in July 2018, and at present 72.02 per cent shares are held by the Government of India and the balance is with the public and financial institutions. The company said the board has fixed September 30, 2020 as record date for the purpose of ascertaining the eligibility of shareholders for the buyback.

Route Mobile Listing

Route Mobile shares will be listed on the bourses today. The IPO was subscribed 73 times on the last day of bidding. The Rs 600-crore public offer of Route Mobile, a cloud communications service provider, received bids for over 89 crore shares as against the total issue size of 1.21 crore shares. Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 91 times, non-institutional investors category 195.61 times and retail individual investors portion was subscribed 12.85 times, according to merchant bankers. The IPO comprises of fresh issue of Rs 240 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 360 crore. Price range for the offer was Rs 345-350 per share.

IRCTC

The Indian Railways will run 40 pairs of new special trains. It has also decided to run 20 pair of 'clone' trains along with the special trains, booking for which began on September 19, 2020.

HSIL

The meeting of the board is scheduled today to consider the proposal of buyback of the fully paid-up equity shares of the company.
Former Bachelor in Paradise star Jamie Doran has officially lodged legal claims against Warner Bros. International, the company that produces the dating franchise.

Jamie first announced his intention to sue in July, claiming his case against Warner Bros. went far beyond his 'bad edit' on Paradise earlier this year.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the 40-year-old reality star has hired a high-powered Sydney lawyer to represent him in court.

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He wasn't bluffing: Bachelor in Paradise star Jamie Doran has officially launched his legal battle against Warner Bros. International, the company that produces the dating franchise

While it has been two months since Jamie announced his lawsuit, his decision to appoint a lawyer proves he wasn't bluffing.

Lawyer Keith Radenbach, of Radenbach Legal, confirmed on Monday that Jamie was going ahead with his lawsuit.

'He's lodged claims formally and we're progressing further claims,' Mr Radenbach said, choosing not to elaborate on the nature of Jamie's claims.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Warner Bros., Mr Radenbach and Jamie Doran's management for comment.

He's serious! According to The Daily Telegraph, the 40-year-old reality star has hired a high-powered Sydney lawyer to represent him in court. Pictured with Brittney Weldon on Paradise

Early days: Jamie's lawyer Keith Radenbach said on Monday: 'He's lodged claims formally and we're progressing further claims'

On July 29, Jamie announced he would be taking legal action against Channel 10 and Warner Bros. over his portrayal on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise.

'Don't assume that my legal case against Channel 10 and Warner Bros is built around an "edit". It's a lot more in-depth and there's a lot more in play here,' Jamie later said on social media in August.

However, since making these claims, Jamie has only lodged official claims against Warner Bros., and not Channel 10.

Bombshell announcement: The firefighter-turned-FIFO worker's initial Instagram statement, shared in July, explained why he had decided to call in his lawyers

Update: In August, Jamie gave further details on his legal case, claiming it would be 'more in-depth' than the media had been speculating

Change of mind: Despite originally threatening Channel 10 with legal action, Jamie has only lodged official claims against Warner Bros.

In the firefighter-turned-FIFO worker's initial statement posted to Instagram, he explained why he had decided to call in his lawyers.

He wrote: 'This is not the news I wanted to post, but I feel I owe this to at least my family, friends, and also fans of The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise.

'A "bad edit" should be the least of their problems moving forward.'

Legal: In July, Jamie announced he was taking legal action against Channel 10 and Warner Bros. over his negative portrayal on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise

'I'm not going to comment on this any further for the time being and would appreciate it if people would respect my privacy.'

In response to Jamie's legal threat, a network spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on July 29: 'Channel 10 has not received any papers regarding this claim.'

Jamie was portrayed as a 'stage-five clinger' on Bachelor in Paradise this season, and received a similar edit on The Bachelorette last year.
Two Cat Linh-Ha Dong trains leave the station in Hanoi during a trial run in September 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

Authorities in Hanoi have submitted a proposal to the government to invest over VND65.4 trillion ($2.8 billion) in a 39-kilometer-long metro line.

This is one of eight metro projects approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc with a vision toward 2030 to improve the city's public transportation system and ease traffic congestion in the capital, home to 7.5 million people.

Metro line No. 5 will connect Van Cao Street in downtown Ba Dinh District and the suburban area of Hoa Lac in western Thach That District, home to Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park, Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board (MRB) stated.

There will be 21 stations, six underground and 15 elevated. After passing underground through Van Cao, Lieu Giai, Nguyen Chi Thanh, Tran Duy Hung and Ring Road 3, it would run along the elevated section from Thang Long Boulevard.

Hanoi authorities expect to deploy 25 to 40 trains of four to six carriages each. These could run at speeds of 120 kph above ground and 90 kph underground.

Construction on the metro line is scheduled to start in 2022, and the line be put into operation in 2026.

Hanoi plans to build eight urban railway lines with a combined length of 305 km, including three monorail segments, to reduce frequent traffic congestion.

However, only the Cat Linh-Ha Dong line and Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station are near complete. The Cat LinhHa Dong route is in the final stage of safety evaluation, though a deadline for commercial operation has not been set, with test runs for the second metro line scheduled for the end of the year.

However, travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have hindered foreign experts from entering Vietnam, affecting the progress of both metro line projects.
Gordon Ramsay has been savaged online over his Sunday lunch, with diners branding it a 'child's portion' and questioning where the rest of the trimmings are.

The British chef took to his Instagram page over the weekend to share a snap of his roast, which he serves at his Savoy Grill restaurant in London, as part of a two-course 40 set menu.

But while Gordon, 53, labelled the 'sirloin of beef with all the trimmings' 'absolutely stunning', several of his 9.8million followers were left unimpressed by the three baby carrots and roast potatoes offered - with one person asking: 'Where's the rest of it?'

It's the third time this month that the celebrity TV chef's portions have been slammed - with both his 19 Full English Breakfast at the Savoy Grill and the 'tiny' 23 steak and over-salted chips at his York & Albany eatery in Camden, being criticised.

Gordon Ramsay has been savaged online over his Sunday lunch (pictured), with diners branding it a 'child's portion' and questioning where the rest of the trimmings are

The British chef (pictured in 2019) took to his Instagram page over the weekend to share a snap of his roast, which he serves at his Savoy Grill restaurant in London, as part of a two-course 40 set menu

But while Gordon, 53, labelled the 'sirloin of beef with all the trimmings' 'absolutely stunning' (above), several of his 9.8million followers were left unimpressed by the three baby carrots and roast potatoes offered - with one person asking: 'Where's the rest of it?'

Gordon shared a photograph of his Sunday lunch at the Savoy Grill in London on Instagram, yesterday, writing: Sundays at @SavoyGrillGordonRamsay roast sirloin of beef with all the trimmings... absolutely stunning!

The meal involved a single slice of beef, three roast potatoes, three carrots, plus broccoli and a Yorkshire pudding.

But some social media users were left disappointed with the portions, and asked: Is that a childs portion?

A second wrote: Error 404. Trimmings not found, while a third added: How is three potatoes, three micro-carrots a smidge of broccoli and a slice of roast enough? Just really am curious.

The restaurant offers a set menu - with two courses coasting 40 and three courses costing 45 - with dishes including lobster cocktail, smoked salmon or omelet for starters.

Reaction: Some social media users were left disappointed with the portions, and asked: Is that a childs portion?

Diners are told online: Our chefs insistence on prime local produce and precise culinary technique means guests revel in the delights of roast sirloin of beef, seasonal vegetables and Yorkshire pudding, followed by a classic Savoy dessert - Baked Alaska.

Topped off with your choice of a Bloody Mary or fruit cocktail, this two-course experience is a luxurious roast you'll remember!

MailOnline has contacted Gordon Ramsay's representative for comment.

It comes after Gordon was slammed online by a diner who recently visited one of his London restaurants and was left disappointed after being served a tiny steak and over-salted chips, costing 23.

Posting on Tripadvisor, Guillaume R left one star for the British chef's York & Albany eatery in Camden, last week, alongside a scathing review.

Titled 'Gordon is not Heston', referring to fellow celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, the post suggested Gordon was treating his customers as a 'joke'.

Elsewhere, Gordon was savaged online by a diner who recently visited one of his London restaurants and was left disappointed with the small steak and chips (pictured), costing 23

Posting on Tripadvisor, Guillaume R left one star for the British chef's York & Albany eatery in Camden, last week, alongside a scathing review (above)

'When one masters and creates molecular cuisine the other has come up with homeopathic cuisine,' the diner wrote.

'Gordon isn't Heston but Gordon is Jesus. He multiples the steaks. Give him a regular sized one portion steak in any restaurant and this is what he comes up with.

'Five slices of meat over-salted fries. 23...,' the customer added, alongside a photograph of the meal.

'Gordon you made a name giving advice on how to run a restaurant. Let me give you my advice. This is COVID time. Hospitality sector is in bad shape.

'Blatantly joking at your customers won't help your business,' the diner continued, before offering two stars for the 'polite staff'.

Titled 'Gordon is not Heston', referring to fellow celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, the post suggested the portions were a 'joke' and the fries were 'over salted'. Pictured, Gordon in 2019

The diner's meal is labelled 'Steak frites' on York & Albany's (pictured) menu, costing 23, while a number of sides are available at the added price of 5.50

The diner's meal is labelled 'Steak frites' on York & Albany's menu, costing 23, while a number of sides are available at the added price of 5.50.

Side dishes offered include triple cooked chips, heritage tomato salad with pickled onion, creamed potato with garlic butter and grilled broccoli with crispy shallots.

The review comes after Gordon was mocked on Twitter earlier this month for the Full English breakfast served at his Savoy Grill restaurant.

He posted a picture of the dish to his social media account to explain that it will be available at his London restaurant from September 21.

The review comes after Gordon, 53, was mocked on Twitter earlier this month for the Full English breakfast served at his Savoy Grill restaurant (above)

Many people questioned 'where's the rest of it? - with one person even sharing a snap of a large traditional Full English made up of six slices of bacon, three sausages, two fried eggs and a large hash brown. But the photograph appeared to be too much for Gordon, who unleashed his well-known 'idiot sandwich' phrase on the Twitter user (above)

But social media users were left gobsmacked after discovering the meal - which includes two eggs, one sausage, a few strips of bacon, one tomato and one mushroom - cost 19.

Many people criticised the steep price, while others questioned 'where's the rest of it? - with one person even sharing a snap of a large traditional Full English made up of six slices of bacon, three sausages, two fried eggs and a large hash brown.

But the photograph appeared to be too much for Gordon, who unleashed his well-known 'idiot sandwich' phrase on the Twitter user.

The chef replied to the snap: 'Thats called a Full English Classic Heart Attack you idiot sandwich,' using the saying which he coined in a parody of his show Hell's Kitchen in 2015.
The Department of Justice has designated New York City, Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington as anarchist jurisdictions, according to a list released Monday.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump instructed Attorney General William Barr to identify jurisdictions that have permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract these criminal activities."

Such areas have now been designated anarchist jurisdictions," and those three cities are the first to receive the label, although the DOJ said it is working to identify other cities that may meet Trumps criteria.

The designation means that these cities are at risk of losing federal funding and grants. The New York Post reports that White House budget director Russ Vought is set to issue guidance to federal agencies on withdrawing funds from the cities in less than two weeks.

We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance, Barr said in a statement. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.

It is not clear how much money would be withdrawn from these cities, or if such a move would be legal. It will likely be challenged in courts.

The statement set out specific criteria for designating an anarchist jurisdiction, including:

Whether a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction.

Whether a jurisdiction has withdrawn law enforcement protection from a geographical area or structure that law enforcement officers are lawfully entitled to access but have been officially prevented from accessing or permitted to access only in exceptional circumstances, except when law enforcement officers are briefly withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing unlawful incident posing an imminent threat to the safety of individuals or law enforcement officers.

Whether a jurisdiction disempowers or defunds police departments.

Whether a jurisdiction unreasonably refuses to accept offers of law enforcement assistance from the Federal Government.

Any other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate.

Specifically, in NYC, the DOJ listed the following reasons for its designation:

Shootings in New York City have been on the rise since looting and protests began on or about May 28, 2020. For July 2020, shootings increased from 88 to 244, an increase of 177% over July 2019. In August 2020, shootings increased from 91 to 242, a 166% increase over August 2019.

While the city faced increased unrest, gun violence, and property damage, the New York City Council cut $1 billion from NYPDs FY21 budget.

The budget resulted in the cancellation of the new police recruiting class, cuts to overtime spending, and the transfer of certain police functions, including school safety, out of the NYPD.

Meanwhile, the Manhattan and Brooklyn District Attorneys have declined to prosecute charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly arising from the protests, and the District Attorneys in Queens and the Bronx have declined to prosecute other protest-related charges.

Both Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo have forcefully rejected federal law enforcement support.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the move another attempt to kill New York City," in a press conference earlier this month, adding Trump better have an army if he wants to walk down the streets in New York City.

Cuomo and other Democratic mayors and governors in impacted cities say it is illegal for the executive branch to unilaterally withhold funding from their jurisdictions.

I understand the politics, but when you try to manipulate and distort government agencies to play politics, which is what the Trump administration has done from day one  this is more of the same, Cuomo told NBC 4 New York in response to Mondays announcement.

The president cant supersede the law and say Im going to make those funds basically discretionary funds, which is what he would have to do," he said, adding, if they actually do this, we will challenge it legally, and they will lose once again.
WATERLOO  No one was injured after a vehicle struck an Ion train in Uptown Waterloo Monday morning.

Waterloo Regional Police say the Ion train was southbound and entering the intersection of Caroline Street and William Street West when a vehicle struck the trains door.

A 40-year-old Kitchener woman has been charged with not turning safely under the Highway Traffic Act.
As negotiators for the U.S.-backed Afghan government and the Taliban militants hold historic peace talks in Qatar, few are expecting a deal to be easy or even successful.

The two sides -- who have been at war for nearly two decades and continue to kill each other even during the Doha negotiations -- are far apart on key issues like women's rights and the implementation of Shari'a law as they seek to reach a power-sharing agreement and permanent cease-fire.

But those difficulties are not preventing President Donald Trump from pushing for the removal of more U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the November 3 election as he seeks to end the United States' longest war.

With just weeks to go in a tight reelection bid against Democratic candidate Joe Biden, Trump is seeking to score points by fulfilling -- though not entirely -- a campaign promise to bring U.S. troops home from the "endless wars" in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Some military officials, members of Congress, and analysts have expressed concern that a quick withdrawal of U.S. soldiers could lead to the collapse of the Afghan government and hand control of the South Asian country back to the Taliban that U.S.-led forces overthrew in 2001.

"We're going down to 4,000 [troops], we're negotiating right now," Trump said in an interview with Axios on July 28 that was aired on August 3. He added that the total number of troops would be between 4,000 and 5,000 by Election Day.

The president had reportedly told aides last year he wanted all troops out by Election Day and the Pentagon even prepared such an option.

The Trump administration made concessions in order to strike an often vaguely worded political deal with the Taliban in February that paved the road for the current peace talks between the militants and the Afghan government. That agreement included a reduction in the number of U.S. troops to 8,500 by summer and full withdrawal by May 2021 if the Taliban keeps its part of the bargain.

Part of the deal for the Taliban that would trigger additional U.S. troop departures includes counterterrorism guarantees such as preventing terrorist groups from using Afghan territory for attacks.

"There is very little faith that this American administration is following and implementing the February deal for any reasons other than domestic political concerns," Andrew Watkins, a senior analyst for Afghanistan at the International Crisis Group, told RFE/RL.

During his 2016 presidential run, Trump repeatedly criticized previous U.S. administrations for getting the country involved in expensive, far-off wars. That campaign message still appears to suit many U.S. voters in 2020, where thousands of votes could be decisive in determining the winner in several key states where the presidential race is expected to be particularly close.

A poll of 2,000 U.S. adults conducted by the libertarian Charles Koch Institute in late July indicated that three-quarters of Americans support bringing troops home from Afghanistan.

But Trump hasn't done that yet, making his proposed cut by November 3 necessary for him to say he kept his campaign promise to reduce troops in Afghanistan. The United States currently has about as many troops in the country -- 8,500 -- as it did when Trump took office in January 2017.

However, some analysts have downplayed the importance that the withdrawal of U.S. troops has with voters. "There is no intensity around this issue. You don't see million-person marches on the Mall [in Washington] over this," said Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, during an online discussion about Afghanistan hosted by the Washington-based think tank in August.

O'Hanlon is among those who have cautioned Washington against rushing to withdraw all U.S. troops from the country, saying it would endanger the Afghan government.

U.S.-Taliban Agreement

Trump initially moved in the opposite direction after taking office, sending some 4,000 troops to Afghanistan to step up the fight against the Taliban in 2017. His administration raised aerial bombings to record levels against the militants -- who currently control about half the country's territory -- to try to bring them to the negotiating table.

Unlike his predecessor, Barack Obama, Trump agreed to hold direct negotiations with the Taliban in an effort to secure the peace talks. Led by Zalmay Khalilzad -- the Afghan-born U.S. envoy to the South Asian country -- a deal was reached with the militant group in February after 18 months of turbulent negotiations.

Under the deal, the United States agreed to withdraw its roughly 12,000 troops in several phases by May 2021 if the Taliban did "not allow any of its members, other individuals or groups, including [Al-Qaeda], to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten" U.S. troops and its allies. The Taliban must also hold talks with the Afghan government on a power-sharing agreement.

An exchange of captured Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces was also part of the deal and its completion was contingent upon the start of the peace talks.

With U.S. forces trimmed to 8,500 and the prisoner swap completed, the intra-Afghan talks began on September 12.

Though the Trump administration might be pushing for progress on the peace talks before the U.S. election, it will be an uphill battle due to the sharp differences between the two parties, analysts say. "This is not a particularly promising peace negotiation," Andrew Cordesman, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who was a consultant on Afghanistan to the Pentagon and the State Department, told RFE/RL. "I think it is very clear that this president simply wants out."

"Afghanistan -- unless you believe it seriously presents more of a threat [with] terrorists than many other countries that have similar movements -- is of no strategic importance to the U.S. at all," Cordesman added.

U.S. Invasion

Washington launched the war in Afghanistan after Al-Qaeda, under the protection of the Taliban, carried out terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, that killed more than 3,000 people. The United States went into Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group known for its human rights abuses, and has since helped lead an effort to establish a secure, democratic country.

But that endeavor has been plagued by widespread corruption, political infighting, severely flawed elections, and nonstop attacks by Taliban militants and other Islamist groups, keeping U.S. troops bogged down in the country for 19 years -- the longest war in U.S. history.

Washington has poured more than $2 trillion into the war in Afghanistan and lost more than 2,300 soldiers in nearly two decades of fighting. Trump has railed against U.S. involvement in the country long before he announced his intention to run for office. "When will we stop wasting our money on rebuilding Afghanistan? We must rebuild our country first," he said in an October 2011 tweet.

Trump's February deal with the Taliban, a step toward ending the war, has angered many in Kabul who see it as a betrayal, the International Crisis Group's Watkins said. Now some advisers near President Ashraf Ghani are hoping a Biden victory in November would delay the implementation of the deal, he added.

But Biden's past comments on Afghanistan don't necessarily support the optimism around such an action.

Biden Policy

Unlike many foreign-policy issues confronting the United States -- such as Iran's nuclear program, U.S.-Chinese trade, and Russian relations -- Biden and Trump largely agree on the policy to stop the "endless wars" and withdraw U.S. troops.

During the Obama administration, Biden strongly argued against an increase in U.S. troop deployment to Afghanistan that eventually led to about 100,000 soldiers being there in the early 2010s. He still has strong feelings against having too many "boots on the ground" in the country.

"The first thing I would do as president of the United States is to make sure that we brought all combat troops home and entered into a negotiation with the Taliban, but I would leave behind special forces in small numbers to deal with a potential threat," he said in a Democratic primary debate in December 2019.

He has repeated that view several times, saying in February that a special-forces contingent was needed "to make it impossible" for terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda "to reestablish a foothold there."

During a September 10 interview with the U.S. military news site Stars and Stripes, Biden put the number of special-forces troops he would keep stationed in Afghanistan at about 1,500 to 2,000.

But Jarrett Blanc, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Obama administration, cautioned against overstating the policy similarities between Trump and Biden.

Blanc said the next president will have to make an assessment by May 2021 -- when the agreement calls for the last U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan -- about whether the Taliban has fulfilled its part of the deal and U.S. security interests are protected. "You can probably expect that a President Trump or a President Biden will go about making that determination in a pretty different way," he told RFE/RL.

Blanc said the withdrawal of troops could also have consequences for continued U.S. funding of Afghanistan. Foreign funding accounts for a large portion of the Kabul government's budget. "Those are going to be politically challenging appropriations, to be blunt," Blanc said about U.S. budget discussions on Afghanistan. "It is a truism that the money follows the troops."

Blanc said the view of the next administration will be an important voice in those budgetary discussions and, while he believes Biden would support them, it is harder to predict what Trump would decide.
AGRO Merchants Group, a global leader in cold storage and logistics solutions, announced plans to open a Border Inspection Point (BIP) at its Valencia coldstore. This represents a significant enhancement to AGROs service offerings in Iberia, and a large capital investment to develop dedicated infrastructure with laboratories and offices at the Valencia site. The BIP has cleared all regulatory approvals and will be fully operational in mid-October.

This is a significant achievement for AGRO that involved the contributions of many individuals throughout the organization, said Raul Fores Valles, Managing Director of AGRO Merchants Iberia. I am proud that our team achieved this important milestone for the business. We also appreciate the cooperation of the Customs Authorities, Port Authorities, Health Ministry, Agricultural Ministry, Commerce Ministry and other public sectors who were essential for us to get this important project off the ground.

Juan Jose Tobarra, General Manager of AGRO Merchants Valencia, commented, This project presents great new opportunities for our Valencia operations. We are now in a unique position to support our customers to improve their supply chain by reducing handling and overall lead times.

AGRO has an unrivalled presence in the Iberian region. The company operates four facilities in Spain (Algeciras, Valencia and two cold stores in Barcelona) and four facilities in Portugal (Lisbon, Porto, Leixoes and Sines). In addition to multi-temperature storage and transportation, the company also provides value-added services such as order picking, repacking and a variety of import and export services.

About AGRO Merchants Group

AGRO Merchants Group is the 4th largest and most international cold storage operator in the world, with 66 facilities in 11 countries across Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific. AGRO is dedicated to delivering superior fresh and frozen food handling solutions through our international facility network using local market knowledge with a focus on customer care and sustainability. AGROs vision is to be the leading partner in temperature-controlled logistics for the global food industry, recognized for innovative thinking, commodity expertise and ability to integrate businesses, driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and respect for its rich heritage.

For additional information, please visit AGROs website at http://www.agromerchants.com.
COVID-19 disinfectants, wildfire smoke and mold endanger chemically susceptible individuals; new brief inventory can help identify those at risk

Intolerances to chemicals, foods and drugs impact 8%-33% of individuals, studies suggest, yet few people are screened for it at their doctors offices.

To address this and increase awareness of chemical intolerance, researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) developed and validated a three-question, yes-or-no survey that primary care providers, allergists, dermatologists and other specialists can incorporate into patient visits. The survey, called the Brief Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory, or BREESI, can also be used by researchers and patient groups, and for epidemiological studies in exposed populations.

Sept. 16 in the journal PLOS ONE, the researchers reported that the BREESI accurately predicts scores on a comprehensive 50-question survey called the Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (QEESI). The QEESI, which the UT Health San Antonio group introduced online in 2014, is available at no charge to patients and clinicians. Researchers worldwide are using it, making it the new standard for measuring chemical intolerance.

People who become ill from exposures to chemicals, such as bleach, disinfectants, pesticides, mold, combustion products or volatile organic compounds (VOCs), have higher scores on the QEESI, said Claudia S. Miller, MD, MS, professor emeritus in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. But the QEESI is a little long for rapid screening.

Carlos Jaen, MD, PhD, professor and chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the university, suggested that the team develop and test a brief screening questionnaire.

Predictive value

The BREESI focuses on three different exposure categories: chemical inhalants, drugs/medications and foods/food additives. The research team enrolled 293 volunteers from a university-based primary care clinic and online to complete the BREESI and QEESI.

The BREESI showed high sensitivity and specificity, according to the authors.

Of respondents who said yes to all three BREESI questions, 90% had scores very suggestive of chemical intolerance.

Of those who said no to all three BREESI questions, 95% had scores not suggestive of chemical intolerance.

Ray Palmer, PhD, professor of family and community medicine at UT Health San Antonio, said the team is currently validating the BREESI in larger, population-based studies in the U.S. and internationally.

Only a minute or two is required to administer the BREESI, making routine evaluation of chemical intolerance feasible for medical and surgical workups, epidemiological investigations, and before-and-after studies of environmental exposure events such as the Gulf War burn pits or 9/11, Dr. Miller said.

California wildfires

Currently, Dr. Miller is concerned that misuse of disinfectants to combat COVID-19 may be endangering susceptible individuals. Combustion products from the California wildfires are another concern. Outgassing of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) from new construction, remodeling and sick buildings frequently triggers chemically intolerant individuals symptoms.

Quick screening questionnaires are used routinely in clinics today, e.g., for quality of life or substance abuse, or reactions to antibiotics or latex, and we believe chemical intolerance also needs to be assessed routinely, given its high prevalence, Dr. Palmer said.

Pregnancy and chemicals

It is especially important for expectant mothers to know whether they are chemically intolerant, so that they can work with their physicians and families to eliminate exposures that may affect them and their babies, Dr. Palmer said.

We encourage physicians to use the BREESI to identify chemically intolerant mothers whose children may be at increased risk for ADHD and autism, Dr. Palmer said. ADHD is short for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The Marilyn Brachman Hoffman Foundation, for which Dr. Miller is environmental medicine consultant, funded the research. Our goal is to improve everyones understanding of chemical intolerance through research, education, and outreach, Dr. Miller said. Educating health care workers is a top priority. We have now given them a useful tool.

Both the BREESI and the QEESI are available online at no charge. Researchers should contact the TILT Research Program for permission to use these surveys in their studies. TILT is short for Toxicant-Induced Loss of Tolerance.

Three questions for identifying chemically intolerant individuals in clinical and epidemiological populations: The Brief Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (BREESI)

Raymond F. Palmer, Carlos R. Jaen, Roger B. Perales, Rodolfo Rincon, Jacqueline N. Forster, Claudia S. Miller

First published: Sept. 16, 2020, PLOS ONE

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238296

# # #

The Long School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is named for Texas philanthropists Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long. The school is the largest educator of physicians in South Texas, many of whom remain in San Antonio and the region to practice medicine. The school teaches more than 900 students and trains 800 residents each year. As a beacon of multicultural sensitivity, the school annually exceeds the national medical school average of Hispanic students enrolled. The schools clinical practice is the largest multidisciplinary medical group in South Texas with 850 physicians in more than 100 specialties. The school has a highly productive research enterprise where world leaders in Alzheimers disease, diabetes, cancer, aging, heart disease, kidney disease and many other fields are translating molecular discoveries into new therapies. The Long School of Medicine is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center known for prolific clinical trials and drug development programs, as well as a world-renowned center for aging and related diseases.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, also referred to as UT Health San Antonio, is one of the countrys leading health sciences universities and is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. With missions of teaching, research, patient care and community engagement, its schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have graduated more than 37,000 alumni who are leading change, advancing their fields, and renewing hope for patients and their families throughout South Texas and the world. To learn about the many ways We make lives better, visit www.uthscsa.edu.
LAFAYETTE, Ind., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- William McBride, Ph.D., is being recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Prominent Educator for his remarkable contributions to the field of Education and in recognition of his role as an Arthur G. Hansen Distinguished Professor at Purdue University.

Garnering over fifty years of experience in the field of education, Dr. William McBride has led an impressive career. Throughout his acclaimed career, Dr. McBride has gained extensive expertise in the areas of Social and Political Philosophy, Legal Philosophy, and Continental European Philosophy. In his previous years, Dr. McBride taught at Yale University for nearly a decade and has lectured at Northwestern University, Sofia University in Bulgaria, and the Korcula Summer School.

Encountering people with a different professional orientation that they have thought superior to all others, Dr. McBride distinguishes this crucial factor as one of the prime challenges he has faced throughout his career. When asked his advice to newcomers in the industry, Dr. McBride notes the importance of retaining a commitment to the truth as he or she sees it, and not be daunted by initial setbacks, if such there are, in seeking employment.

An academic scholar, Dr. McBride earned an AB from Georgetown University. Thereafter, Dr. McBride attended the University of Lille from 1959 to 1960, where he was a Fulbright Fellow. Later, Dr. McBride attended Yale University where he obtained his Master of Arts degree as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in 1962. He then went on to receive his Ph.D. at Yale in 1964 and was awarded a Social Science Research Council Fellowship.

Remaining abreast of the latest industry developments, Dr. McBride is an active member of several international and national scholarly organizations including the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP), of which he was President from 2008-2013; the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences; and the North American Society for Social Philosophy, of which he is past President.

In light of his professional achievements, Dr. McBride has been recognized by several elite organizations for his exemplary work in the field including Who's Who in America; Who's Who in America Education; Who's Who in the Midwest; Who's Who in the World. He served as the first American Secretary-General and then President of the International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP), and gained an immense amount of international connections that led to these positions. Dr. McBride has established himself as a prominent figure in professional philosophy.

A respected voice in his field, Dr. McBride is well-known for sharing his breadth of expertise. He is the author of several written works including "From Yugoslav Praxis to Global Pathos," "Social and Political Philosophy," and "Social Theory at a Crossroads."

In his spare time, Dr. McBride enjoys traveling and considers himself a news bluff.

In looking to the future, Dr. McBride hopes to publish at least one more book, preferably more, while continuing professional involvement globally.

Dr. McBride dedicates this recognition to Gerard F. Yates.

For further information, please visit https://www.purdue.edu/

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


Official Whte House Photo by Joyce N. BoghosianBy BILL HUTCHINSON, ABC News



(LOS ANGELES) -- A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy who was targeted in an ambush-style shooting this month along with her partner was able to take a phone call from President Donald Trump over the weekend, according to photos released by the law enforcement agency.



The 31-year-old deputy, the mother of a 6-year-old boy, was unable to speak to the president because she was shot in the jaw but did write messages to him that were conveyed to Trump by a sheriff's sergeant who was next to her hospital bed, sheriff's department officials said.



Photos released by the agency show the wounded deputy writing notes that were relayed to Trump. The contents of the notes were not released.



The images show the deputy sitting up in bed with splints on both of her arms. The photos also show the deputy's husband, standing in the room at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynnwood, California, when Trump called.



The president also called the deputy's 24-year-old partner, who was released from the same hospital last week, according to a sheriff's department statement that accompanied the photos posted on Twitter and Facebook.



Trump phoned the deputies on Saturday "to check on their spirits, wish them a speedy recovery and remind them that the #American people are behind them and that the coward that harmed them will be brought to #justice!! according to the sheriff's department's online post.



A massive search for the gunman went into its 10th day on Monday and a reward for information leading to the capture of the perpetrator has soared to more than $675,000, with donations pouring in from people from across the county, the sheriff's department said.



While some media outlets have published the female deputy's name, a sheriff's spokesperson told ABC News on Monday that the identities of both deputies have not been released by the agency due to security concerns. The sheriff's department released the photos of the female deputy blurred out to protect her identity.



The two deputies were sitting in their patrol vehicle on Sept. 12 outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Transit Center in Compton when the gunman, dressed in dark clothes, approached them and opened fire without warning through the passenger-side window.



The shooting was captured on surveillance video that was released by the sheriff's department and shows the gunman firing multiple shots before running away.



Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told ABC News last week that despite being shot four or five times, including once in the jaw, the female deputy walked around the patrol vehicle to help her partner, who suffered gunshot wounds to his forehead, arms and a hand.



She goes around the car, applies a tourniquet to him to stop the bleeding. She gets on the radio and shes calling for help and shes having a hard time because she cant speak very well," Villanueva said.



In a recording of the female deputy's desperate radio call for assistance, she is heard saying, "I've been shot. Send help."



The wounded deputies were rushed to St. Francis Medical Center, both initially in critical condition, and immediately underwent surgery, officials said.



Villanueva said both officers have a long road to recovery ahead of them.



A GoFundMe page established by colleagues of the wounded deputies to raise money to pay for their medical expenses had grown to more than $700,000 on Monday.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
"Michaela is known as a talented attorney whose sophisticated, business-minded approach gets to the root of what distressed companies need. She has a great deal of experience and is an excellent addition to our team," said John Sieger, chair of Katten's Insolvency and Restructuring practice.

Crocker regularly represents debtors, creditors, Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 trustees, and creditors' committees with a range of insolvency matters. She is particularly skilled at advising clients in the retail, telecommunications and energy sectors and has managed plan negotiations, asset sales, debtor-in-possession financing, leases and executory contracts, preference and fraudulent transfer matters, and bankruptcy appeals.

More specifically, Crocker has represented, among many others, the debtors in the liquidation of one of the largest retail furniture chains in the state of Texas; and the Chapter 11 trustee of a holding company that owed non-debtor operating subsidiaries engaged in telecommunications and media businesses in the United States, Virgin Islands, Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Crocker formerly was of counsel in the Business Restructuring & Reorganization practice at Jones Day. Prior to that, she served as career law clerk to the chief bankruptcy judge for the Northern District of Texas, where she worked closely with bankruptcy judges nationally. Earlier in her career, Crocker spent 12 years at Vinson & Elkins LLP.

Earlier this month, John Mitchell, formerly with Akerman LLP, and Terence Banich, formerly co-chair of the Bankruptcy Litigation practice group at Fox Rothschild LLP, joined Katten's Insolvency and Restructuring practice in Dallas and Chicago respectively.

Katten's Insolvency and Restructuring practice was much more in demand during the first half of 2020 than during the same period in 2019 as the practice continues to take on key roles in some of the most noted bankruptcy cases. The practice generally represents debtors, independent directors, key creditor constituencies and stakeholders in major Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 cases throughout the country.

Katten is a full-service law firm with nearly 700 attorneys in locations across the United States and in London and Shanghai. Clients seeking sophisticated, high-value legal services turn to Katten for counsel locally, nationally and internationally. The firm's core areas of practice include commercial finance, corporate, financial markets and funds, insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, structured finance and securitization, transactional tax planning, and trusts and estates. Katten represents public and private companies in numerous industries, as well as a number of government and nonprofit organizations and individuals. For more information, visit katten.com.

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Linkedin Ardila Syakriah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21, 2020 08:15 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c46118ed 1 National Luhut-Binsar-Pandjaitan,COVID-19,TNI,Indonesian-Military,National-Police Free

The government has increased the deployment of police and military personnel to improve compliance with health protocols as the nation struggles to control the rising number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the Indonesian Military and the National Police were joining forces to "get people to wear masks and maintain their distance", saying that higher compliance with health protocols would curb virus transmission.

Luhut is among the officials tasked by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo with bringing down infections in nine of the countrys hardest-hit provinces. The President announced the plan after Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan reimposed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in the capital city on Sept. 14.

Other officials include Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto and National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Doni Monardo, who, like Luhut, are all active or retired military personnel.

"Each military command is tasked with [providing] guidance to neighborhood units using assertive messages and health protocols, Luhut said during a teleconference on Friday.

The militarys expanded role in the governments COVID-19 response began in August when the President issued Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 6/2020, ordering the military to provide support to local leaders by monitoring public compliance with health protocols along with the police.

Jokowi also appointed Army chief of staff Gen. Andika Perkasa and National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Gatot Eddy Pramono the deputy heads of the COVID-19 handling and national economic recovery committee.

Read also: Fears of repression as police move to repurpose civil security apparatus

The joint team conducted raids between Sept. 14 and 17 and dealt with over 450,000 cases of health violations in 30,000 locations.

Gatot said in the same teleconference that around 50,000 police personnel were deployed in the operation, which issued verbal warnings to over 379,000 violators, written warnings to over 56,000 violators and fines totaling Rp 399 million to over 16,000 violators. The team has shuttered 63 businesses that have failed to comply with health protocols.

"We are also mobile [...] through teams that hunt down violators. The targets are places where there are crowds, food spots and places where regional regulations are enforced," he said.

While many experts deem the police and military's involvement as necessary to a degree, they also believe that the government has yet to deal with the root cause of the public's low compliance with health protocols, which is ineffective public communication.

"Misinformation about COVID-19 spreads more rapidly than the right information on COVID-19," Masdalina Pane of the Indonesian Epidemiologists Association (PAEI) said.

Airlangga University epidemiology lecturer Laura Navika Yamani said that synchronizing policies and the enforcement of protocols remained unfinished business for the government. She warned about the risk of crowds becoming infection clusters during the upcoming regional elections.

"Personnel in the field should also have the same understanding of the policies [and the nature of virus transmission], instead of just acting as enforcers. Recent cases of people being punished for not wearing masks properly while in their car alone is an extreme example of this," Laura said, adding that monitoring should be prioritized in crowded places, especially those indoors.

Read also: Too close for comfort? BNPT wary of militarys proposed counterterrorism role

Civil society organizations grouped under the Civil Society Coalition have criticized the militarys involvement in the enforcement of health protocols, saying the military were acting beyond "their role and expertise". They also urged the government to allow experts to take the lead on health measures and emphasized the use of persuasion in spreading awareness on health protocols.

"We demand that the military chief return the military to their role as the country's defense institution by not meddling with non-defense affairs such as the pandemic response, except with limitations in sectors as regulated in Article 7 of the [2004] Indonesian Military Law," the coalition said in a statement.

However, Andika said that the military, since it first started "disciplining" in March, made an effort to respect boundaries.

"We're trying to help as much as we can, without taking a frontline position because this falls under the auspices of our fellow police officers," he said.

The police and the military will continue with their respective roles when the country rolls out its mass vaccination in December, according to Luhut.

He did not disclose which vaccine he was referring to, as the Sinovac vaccine candidate is still in its trial phase, with interim analysis of the results expected in early 2021.
At age 15, Weillison Hsu has already learned the importance of volunteering. The pianist and violinist began giving his time in 2015, bringing joy to the elderly at Houston-area senior living homes with his music.

With community service ingrained in his young life, Hsu is taking on a new endeavor. He recently helped found Teaching to Give, a free online tutoring service for students in kindergarten through 8th grade.

Ive been volunteering since I was in the 5th grade. I am passionate about helping others, said Hsu, a sophomore at Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Hsu is coming to the aid students across the city, with the help of some of his peers.

Teaching to Give's seven-person board includes Hsu, who serves as president, along with fellow 15-year-olds Hayden Miller, Lina Wu, Amy Park, Fiona Condron, Rushil Chetty and Ashley Chu. All are enrolled at various local high schools.

CY-FAIR: Teachers to protest district's reopening plans amid COVID-19 at Monday board meeting

Teaching to Give, which officially launched on Sept. 9, provides virtual tutoring lessons for academic subjects, along with foreign language and the arts.

Hsu said the inspiration behind the website is two-fold. Last winter break, one of our teachers fell sick with cancer. It caused a huge learning gap as we had substitute teachers for the entire semester. Thankfully, he is now in full remission."

Yet another barrier to learning occurred amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

When online learning started during COVID-19, we experienced an even bigger learning gap," said Hsu. "We knew that other students from other schools were also experiencing this.

Signing up for Teaching to Gives is simple. After filling out a brief online form, clients are matched with a tutor from a roster of 28 volunteer high school students.

We all take advanced classes and are qualified to teach middle and elementary school students at a high level," said Miller. "We adapt to what the clients are learning or what they want to learn.

There is no charge for the service and, since sessions are via Zoom, both the pupils and their tutors can be located anywhere in the city.

Kevin Li, an 8th grader at T.H. Rogers School, gets help with the violin. It is helpful that my tutor is closer in age and learned the same thing recently, he said.

THE EMMYS, LIVE AND VIRTUAL: 'What could possibly go wrong?'

Deepshikha Aroras son, Aditya Arora, 7, also attends T.H. Rogers School. He is tutored in math, art, piano and Spanish.

I am excited to have something that engages my child during COVID-19, said Deepshikha Arora. The high schoolers listen and come to the level of the child they are teaching. He looks forward to it."

Deepshikha Arora initially went a more traditional route, working with an adult tutor.

We tried formal tutoring where the teachers were grownups, but Aditya was shy. With the high school students, he is at ease," she said. He is improving academically and it also satisfies his curiosity."

Although website fees are Teaching to Give's only expense, the group is open to receiving donations.

We have been planning on finding sponsors, said Hsu. Right now, all the money comes out of pocket from the board members.

Contributions also help the group go beyond tutoring, including starting a new venture called "Project Pencil" to collect supplies for the arts program at Gregory-Lincoln Education Center in Fourth Ward.

Before, we were focused on getting our tutoring platform off the ground and ready. Now that we are on our feet with that, we are excited to incorporate our project, said Miller.

In the future, Hsu said they'd like to host book drives as well as a fundraiser to buy drumsticks and small instruments for music programs.

We know how mind- and eye-opening the arts can be and how many paths it can open for your future, said Hsu. "Educational supplies are pretty expensive. We want to help with these needs.
London: Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain plans to impose new restrictions on nightlife, including the forced early closure of pubs and restaurants in England, as he ramps up the country's efforts to curb a rising tide of coronavirus infections.

Pubs and restaurants will be restricted by law to offering table service only and must close at 10pm, beginning on Thursday, Downing Street said late on Monday; ordinarily, there is no mandatory closing time, though many close at 11 pm. The new rules are the most stringent since restaurants, pubs and many other businesses were allowed to emerge from full lockdown in July.

Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Almost two million people in north-east England are banned from mixing with other households and pubs are closing early as coronavirus cases rise. Credit:Getty

Johnson was scheduled to officially announce his latest move in Parliament on Tuesday, local time, before making a broadcast address in the evening. The intervention comes after days of speculation that Britons could face tougher enforcement of existing rules, new curbs on different households meeting up with each other and shorter opening hours for pubs and restaurants.

Tighter restrictions are already in place in some parts of the country, and the virus alert rating was raised on Monday to level four, signifying that it is in general circulation, with transmission high or rising exponentially.
Tech in Motion named Aptitive a 2020 finalist for Best Tech Work Culture in the 6th annual Timmy Awards, which recognizes great workplaces for tech professionals. For Aptitive, putting our people first means offering a work-life balance, growing employees personally and professionally, as well as having fun together at work and outside of the typical 9-5.

Chicagos community can vote through September 30th for who will represent them as the Regional Winner at the national round, judged by tech company culture experts from companies like Netflix. The winner will be announced at the Timmys first virtual ceremony in October.

Aptitive is a Chicago-based Data and Analytics consulting firm that focuses on creating innovative technology solutions while enabling their consultants to have a rewarding and fulfilling job with a work life balance.

As a technologist at heart, being surrounded by a team of brilliant and technically curious individuals gives me a daily sense of pride and joy, knowing that we can all count on one another to come up with a brilliant solution, or jump in with a creative design to a problem. Aptitives success is a direct result of the culture, drive, and empathy brought by the entire team.

The 2020 Timmy Awards Ceremony will be a special, entirely digital experience honoring this years best tech startups, managers and employers, as well as those using technology for good. On Thursday, Oct. 29, all Regional Finalists, Regional Winners and the Tech in Motion network are invited to virtually join the celebration, complete with words from this years host and expert judges, 2020 National Timmy Award announcements, and more. Interested in learning more or attending? Visit the Timmy Awards website.

About Aptitive

Aptitive is a Chicago-based IT consulting firm with solutions focusing on the management, design, and development of data-centric projects. Our consultants hold a multitude of certifications across a variety of platforms and offer technology agnostic solutions that are tailored to each clients unique business problems.

About Tech in Motion Events

Tech in Motion is an international events series that brings local tech community professionals together to connect, learn, and innovate. What started as a collaborative project in 2011, by the IT recruiting organization Motion Recruitment, grew into an organization of over 250,000 members across 14 chapters in North America including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia, DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, LA, Orange County and Toronto. Please visit techinmotionevents.com for more information about notable speakers, sponsors and events.
Mumbai: HDFC Bank Ltd on Monday said it is aware of a complaint filed against the bank and its three employees in the United States recently, but denies the allegations and intends to defend itself vigorously".

The bank expects its response to the lawsuit to be due in early 2021, it said in a regulatory filing.

The lawsuit, which was filed by a single small security holder who seeks to represent a class of the banks security holders, is based on allegations that the security holder claims caused a temporary decline in the banks ADR stock price in July 2020," the bank said.

A person aware of the development said that Mondays disclosure is related to a lawsuit filed by Pomerantz LLP and the petition by Rosen Law Firm is yet to be filed.

Mint reported on 17 September that Rosen Law Firms complaint against HDFC Bank pertains to losses suffered by some investors because of alleged false and misleading statements by the lender. The case concerns reports that HDFC Bank car loan customers were forced to buy vehicle tracking devices from 2015 to 2019.

Pomerantz has filed the suit against HDFC Bank, outgoing managing director Aditya Puri, chief executive officer-designate Sashidhar Jagdishan and company secretary Santosh Haldankar. It has put up the complaint on its website.

The lawsuit, filed in the court for the eastern district of New York, alleged that the defendants engaged in a plan, scheme, conspiracy and course of conduct, pursuant to which they knowingly or recklessly engaged in acts...which operated as a fraud and deceit upon the plaintiff and other members of the class".

On 13 July, Bloomberg first reported that HDFC Bank was looking into alleged improper lending practices in its vehicle financing arm involving the then business head Ashok Khanna. The allegation was that the bank had forced its car loan customers to purchase a vehicle tracking device.

Following the news, HDFC Banks American depository share price fell $1.37 per share, or 2.83%, to close at $47.02 per share on 13 July.

The lawsuit alleged that the bank failed to disclose it had inadequate disclosure controls and, as a result, maintained improper lending practices in its vehicle-financing operations.

Since the lawsuit is at a premature stage, there is no matter at this point of time which requires disclosure as per Regulation 30 of Sebi (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015," the bank said on Monday.

Shares of the lender closed 0.8% lower at 1,048.70 on the BSE today.

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DUBLIN, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Nanocopper Oxide Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by End User; and Geography" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global nanocopper oxide market was valued at US$ 75,937.5 thousand in 2018 and is projected to reach US$ 251,148.8 thousandby2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.4% from 2019 to 2027.

Nanocopper oxide is defined as a red or brown-black colored nanomaterial which is available in various forms and is used to meet the needs of the diversified application-base. These nanoparticles are known to possess several chemical and physical features which include antimicrobial and antibiocide properties, coupled with photovoltaic properties, relatively stability, and superconductivity. These nanomaterials are generally used in small quantity to boost the performance of the end-product and are considered to be advanced cost-efficient solutions. Thus, these are used to manufacture batteries, semiconductor devices and equipment, gas sensors, microelectronics, and other equipment. Through extensive research and development activities, these nanoparticles have found applications in biomedical, agricultural, textile, and other relevant industries.

Based on end user, the nanocopper oxide market is segmented into electrical and electronics, paints and coatings, catalysts, energy storage, and others. In 2018, the electrical and electronics segment dominated the nanocopper oxide market; however, the paints and coatings segment is expected to grow at a rapid pace during forecast period. The nanoparticles of copper oxide uniquely possess catalytic, optical, mechanical, and electrical characteristic features which make them ideal material to be used across electronic and electrical applications. Moreover, they also exhibit photovoltaic and photoconductive properties, which have led to an increase in demand across electrical and electronic applications. With the rapid industrialization and increase in demand for advanced technologies, the demand for nanocopper oxide is expected to rise.

Impact assessment of COVID-19

COVID-19outbreak first began in Wuhan (China) in December 2019 and since then it has spread at a fast pace across the globe. As of March 2020, China, Italy, Iran, Spain, republic of Korea, France, Germany, and the US are some of the worst affected countries in terms of positive cases and reported deaths. According to the latest WHO figures, as updated on May 18, 2020, there are 4,589,526 confirmed cases and 310,391 total deaths globally. The COVID-19 outbreak has been affecting economies and industries in various countries due to lockdowns, travel bans, and business shutdowns. The global chemical and materials industry is one of the major industries that are facing serious disruptions such as supply chain breaks, technology events cancellations, office shutdowns etc. as a result of this outbreak.

Geographically, the nanocopper oxide market is broadly segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), South America (SAM), and Middle East &Africa (MEA). In 2018, North America held the largest share of the global nanocopper oxide market, followed by Asia Pacific. This dominance is attributable to rising adoption of advanced material and technology across the various end use industries. North America region is considered to be an established industrial sector wherein strong investment are being made in research and development activities to develop improved products. Further, the region is considered to be manufacturing hub for leading players of nanocopper oxide market. These manufacturers include American Element, nanoComposix, SkySpringNanomaterials Inc., Strem Chemicals, Inc. and many others who are influencing the growth of the market.

American Elements, Hongwu International Group Ltd, Inframat Corporation, nanoComposix, Nanoshel LLC, Nanostructured & Amorphous Materials, Inc., PlasmaChem GmbH, SkySpring Nanomaterials Inc., Strem Chemicals Inc. and US Research Nanomaterials, In care among the players present in the global nanocopper oxide market.

Overall size of the global nanocopper oxide market has been derived using primary and secondary sources. The research process begins with exhaustive secondary research using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the global nanocopper oxide market. Also, multiple primary interviews were conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate and analyze the data. The participants who take part in such a process include industry expert such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers, and external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders specializing in the nanocopper oxide market.

Reasons to Buy:

Highlights key business priorities to assist companies realign their business strategies.

Features key findings and crucial progressive industry trends in the global nanocopper oxide market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long-term strategies.

Develops/modifies business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering from developed and emerging markets.

Scrutinizes in-depth market trends as well as key market drivers and restraints.

Enhances the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation, and industry verticals.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction

1.1 Study Scope

1.2 Report Guidance

1.3 Market Segmentation



2. Key Takeaways



3. Research Methodology

3.1 Scope of the Study

3.2 Research Methodology

3.2.1 Data Collection:

3.2.2 Primary Interviews:

3.2.3 Hypothesis formulation:

3.2.4 Macro-economic factor analysis:

3.2.5 Developing base number:

3.2.6 Data Triangulation:

3.2.7 Country level data:



4. Nanocopper Oxide Market Landscape

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 PEST Analysis

4.2.1 North America

4.2.2 Europe

4.2.3 APAC

4.2.4 MEA

4.2.5 SAM

4.3 Expert Opinion



5. Nanocopper Oxide Market - Key Market Dynamics

5.1 Market Drivers

5.1.1 Increasing Demand for Electronic Equipment

5.1.2 Adoption of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles in Paints & Coatings Applications

5.2 Market Restraints

5.2.1 High Level of Toxicity Associated with Nano copper Oxide

5.3 Market Opportunities:

5.3.1 Continuous R&D Initiatives

5.4 Future Trends:

5.4.1 Use of Nanocopper Oxide in Biomedical Applications

5.5 Impact Analysis



6. Nanocopper Oxide- Global Market Analysis

6.1 Nanocopper Oxide Market Overview

6.2 Nanocopper Oxide Market-Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Thousand)

6.3 Market Positioning - Global Market Players



7. Nanocopper Oxide Market Analysis - By End User

7.1 Overview

7.2 Nanocopper Oxide Market, By End User (2018 and 2027)

7.3 Electricals And Electronics

7.3.1 Overview

7.3.2 Electricals and Electronics: Nanocopper Oxide Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Thousand)

7.4 Paints and Coatings

7.4.1 Overview

7.4.2 Paints and Coatings: Nanocopper Oxide Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Thousand)

7.5 Catalysts

7.5.1 Overview

7.5.2 Catalysis: Nanocopper Oxide Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Thousand)

7.6 Energy Storage

7.6.1 Overview

7.6.2 Energy Storage: Nanocopper Oxide Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Thousand)

7.7 Others

7.7.1 Overview

7.7.2 Others: Nanocopper Oxide Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Thousand)



8. Nanocopper Oxide Market - Geographic Analysis

8.1 Overview

8.2 North America: Nanocopper Oxide Market

8.3 Europe: Nanocopper Oxide Market

8.4 Asia Pacific: Nanocopper Oxide Market

8.5 MEA: Nanocopper Oxide Market

8.6 South America: Nanocopper Oxide Market



9. Overview- Impact of Coronavirus outbreak

9.1 Overview

9.2 North America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

9.3 Europe: Impact assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

9.4 Asia-Pacific: Impact assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

9.5 Middle East and Africa: Impact assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

9.6 South America: Impact assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic



10. Company Profiles

10.1 American Elements

10.1.1 Key Facts

10.1.2 Business Description

10.1.3 Products and Services

10.1.4 Financial Overview

10.1.5 SWOT Analysis

10.2 Hongwu International Group Ltd

10.2.1 Key Facts

10.2.2 Business Description

10.2.3 Products and Services

10.2.4 Financial Overview

10.2.5 SWOT Analysis

10.3 nanoComposix

10.3.1 Key Facts

10.3.2 Business Description

10.3.3 Products And Services

10.3.4 Financial Overview

10.3.5 SWOT Analysis

10.4 Inframat Corporation

10.4.1 Key Facts

10.4.2 Business Description

10.4.3 Products and Services

10.4.4 Financial Overview

10.4.5 SWOT Analysis

10.5 Nanoshel LLC

10.5.1 Key Facts

10.5.2 Business Description

10.5.3 Products and Services

10.5.4 Financial Overview

10.5.5 SWOT Analysis

10.6 Nanostructured & Amorphous Materials, Inc.

10.6.1 Key Facts

10.6.2 Business Description

10.6.3 Products and Services

10.6.4 Financial Overview

10.6.5 SWOT Analysis

10.7 Plasmachem Gmbh

10.7.1 Key Facts

10.7.2 Business Description

10.7.3 Products and Services

10.7.4 Financial Overview

10.7.5 SWOT Analysis

10.8 SkySpringNanomaterials Inc.

10.8.1 Key Facts

10.8.2 Business Description

10.8.3 Products and Services

10.8.4 Financial Overview

10.8.5 SWOT Analysis

10.9 Strem Chemicals Inc.

10.9.1 Key Facts

10.9.2 Business Description

10.9.3 Products and Services

10.9.4 Financial Overview

10.9.5 SWOT Analysis

10.10 US Research Nanomaterials, Inc.

10.10.1 Key Facts

10.10.2 Business Description

10.10.3 Products and Services

10.10.4 Financial Overview

10.10.5 SWOT Analysis



11. Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/9yff99

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

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BRADY ANDERSON, Chariho, Wrestling, Sophomore; Anderson finished first in the 152-pound weight class at the Griswold Midseason Invitational tournament. Anderson went 3-0 in the tournament, pinning all of his opponents in the first period. Anderson is 10-4.

LYDIA LASKEY, Stonington, Gymnastics, Senior; Laskey finished first in all four events in meets against NFA and Westerly. Laskey had an all-around score of 33.75 against NFA and 34.60 against Westerly.

RILEY PELOQUIN, Westerly, Girls Basketball, Sophomore; Peloquin scored 22 points and had 19 rebounds in two games. Peloquin is averaging 7.6 points and 7.5 rebounds a game for the Bulldogs.

DEONDRE BRANSFORD, Wheeler, Boys Basketball, Sophomore; Bransford scored 25 points and had 28 rebounds in a pair of Wheeler victories. Bransford is averaging 10.6 points and 12.1 rebounds per contest for the Lions.

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About 250 people gathered at Tiguex Park Sunday evening to honor the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whom the crowd remembered as a feminist icon and voice for the voiceless.

Ginsburg died Friday from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Im here in order to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Albuquerque resident Sally New told the Journal. I think she was a fantastic, great woman. I keep reading new things about her, and each time I read something new, Im amazed.

The memorial, which was organized by progressive group Progress Now New Mexico, included several speakers from advocacy groups around the state, including El Centro de Igualidad y Derechos, Equality New Mexico and Common Cause New Mexico.

I will always remember where I was when I found out that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has left us, Michaela Gallegos with the New Mexico Working Families Party told the crowd. In my mind, RBG was immortal. She was going to be with us forever. She was going to be on the bench when my daughter graduated high school.

The event was not only a memorial for Ginsburg, but also a call to protect reproductive rights, a central issue during recent Supreme Court appointments.

Today we fight for reproductive justice, which includes not only access to abortion, but the right for families, especially families of color, to live in peace and determine what is best for them, Progress Now New Mexico Deputy Director Marianna Anaya said.

Only one protester showed up to the event: a man who shouted Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a baby killer and Lets kill our babies as some of the first speakers were talking. He eventually left the area after people started crowding around him and clapping over him.

Ginsburg had spent a lot of time in the Land of Enchantment. A Los Angeles Times article published on Friday said Ginsburg and her husband spent summers in Santa Fe starting in the 1980s, and she was a regular at the Santa Fe Opera.

Rest in peace, beloved opera fan and friend to the #santafeopera #RIPRBG, the Santa Fe Opera tweeted Friday.

In August 2016 she read to children in the United Way of Santa Fe Countys early childhood education and care programs. Later that week she delivered the keynote address at the New Mexico Bar Associations annual meeting at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino in Pojoaque.
Upping the ante on the farm bills issue, the Congress on Monday announced a massive people's movement which would include protest marches, agitations and collecting two crore farmers' signatures for a memorandum against the legislations to be submitted to President Ram Nath Kovind.

IMAGE: Police use water cannon to disperse Youth Congress workers and farmers protesting over farm bills, in Ambala. Photograph: ANI Photo

This was decided at a meeting of Congress general secretaries and state in-charges, the first physical meeting held by the party at its 24 Akbar Road headquarters in New Delhi since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A resolution hitting out at the three farm bills -- the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, -- was also passed at the meeting.

The meeting, called on the directions of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi, was attended by the general secretaries and state in-charges of the party and was supervised by the members of the special committee assisting Sonia Gandhi in organisational and operational matters.

A K Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni, K C Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik and Randeep Surjewala are members of the special committee.

Rahul Gandhi is accompanying his mother Sonia Gandhi to the United States for her medical check-up.

Most leaders were present physically but some such as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jitin Prasada attended the meeting through video conferencing.

At a press conference after the meeting, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said the opposition party will take the farm bills issue to the people not only at the state level, but at the district and village level.

"We discussed the political situation of the country especially the farmers' agitation. The way the government of India is bulldozing anti-farmers' laws in Parliament, it is totally unacceptable to the country and the people of India," said Venugopal, flanked by Patel, Antony and Surjewala at the press conference.

"What we had witnessed in Rajya Sabha yesterday and today, we did not expect this type of attitude from a democratic government," he said, referring to the commotion in Rajya Sabha on Sunday and the suspension of eight MPs of the Upper House on Monday.

Venugopal alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was 'misleading the country' by making allegations against the Opposition.

Surjewala also hit out at the government, alleging that the livelihoods of farmers and labourers was 'being ended'.

"First this government did 'notebandi', then with GST brought 'vyaparbandi', then with lockdown did 'deshbandi' and is now planning 'khetbandi'," Surjewala alleged.

In the next 72 hours, Congress general secretaries, state in-charges and senior leaders will hold press conferences at state headquarters against these farm bills, the Congress' chief spokesperson said.

Then in the next four days till September 28, Congress chief ministers, Pradesh Congress Committee presidents, Congress legislative party leaders along with MPs, MLAs and senior leaders will walk from the PCC office or a prominent place like Mahatma Gandhi statue to the Raj Bhavan and submit a memorandum to the Governor, addressed to the President of India, seeking withdrawal of these farm bills, Surjewala said.

A press statement by the party said the marches to submit the memorandum to the Governors will be held on September 28.

"On October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, we will observe 'Save farmers and farm labourers day'. We will hold dharnas and marches in every state and district headquarters across India against the agriculture bills, asking for their immediate withdrawal," Venugopal said.

On October 10, all state units will organise 'kisaan sammelans' so that voices of farmers can be heard, he said.

Surjewala said from October 2-31, Congress workers will go to villages and collect signatures from farmers and the poor against the three agriculture-related bills.

Two crore signatures will be collected and the memorandum against the bills will be submitted to the President on Jawaharlal Nehru's birth anniversary on November 14 by the Congress chief, he said.

Surjewala asked how the farmers will get MSP once 'the APMC or the farmers markets are abolished'.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic Rs 1,13,000 crore was given as MSP to farmers in Rabi for wheat, 'dhan', 'dalhan' and 'tilhan', Surjewala claimed the prime minister 'does not even know' that 'dhan' and 'arhar' (dalhan) are kharif crops and not rabi.

However, the crops the PM talked about are grown in Rabi season in some parts of the country, according to agriculture experts.

The Congress also accused Shiromani Akali Dal of indulging in double-speak and of being dishonest on the farm bills and asked why they have not left the ruling National Democratic Alliance.

The resolution passed at the meeting alleged that the Modi government has got the farm bills passed by violating the federal structure, crushing the constitution, bypassing the parliamentary system, on the basis of majority.

The Congress stands shoulder to shoulder with the farmers and farm labourers of the country and the party workers as well as leaders will strongly oppose these anti-agriculture 'black laws' all over the country, the resolution said.

This was the first meeting after the Congress' organisational rejig in which several new general secretaries and in-charges were appointed.

Protesting Delhi Cong leaders detained during march towards Parliament

Dozens of Delhi Congress leaders and workers marching towards Parliament on Monday to protest against the new farm Bills were detained by the police.

Led by Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar, the protesters were marching towards the Parliament building but were stopped on R P Road and detained, the party said.

The police took the protesters to the Mandir Marg police station here, Congress leader Parvez Alam said.

A senior police officer said 41 protesters were detained and released later.

Kumar alleged, "The Modi Government was foisting anti-farmer Bills on the farmers who were already reeling under tremendous financial stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bills will destroy the farmers in the country."

The Delhi Congress will continue to forcefully raise the voice of the farmers till the proposed anti-farmer legislations are withdrawn, he asserted.
As President Donald Trump prepares to nominate a successor to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this week, Republican leaders moved urgently Sunday to make the political and procedural case for bucking recent precedent and filling the vacancy before the next presidential term.

Democratic leaders, including presidential nominee Joe Biden, accused Republicans of political opportunism and hypocrisy, and they vowed to fight any effort to rush confirmation of a Trump nominee in the GOP-controlled Senate. With the election 44 days away, Democrats said it would be a grave injustice and a violation of conscience to advance a Trump nominee before the voters render judgment on the president.

Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said over the weekend that whoever is elected president in November should nominate Ginsburg's replacement. But it would take four Republican senators, joining with all 47 Democrats and independents who caucus with Democrats, to block consideration of a Trump nominee.

It was not publicly known Sunday whether any other Republicans would join Collins and Murkowski, though Trump advisers saw Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, as a possible third defection, according to someone involved in White House deliberations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter. The Senate GOP dynamics should come into clearer focus when lawmakers return to Washington this week and are able to strategize together, including at their regular Tuesday lunch.

Republican leaders said Sunday that they were pressing ahead to seize a monumental chance to solidify the court's rightward ideological shift by replacing Ginsburg, a liberal icon, with a conservative jurist.

"I can tell you what's going to happen," Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "The president is going to make a nomination. I believe it's going to be this week. And Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, will hold hearings. And there will be a vote on the floor of the United States Senate this year."

Democratic congressional leaders warned this weekend of consequences. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said that if Republicans act on the court before the election or during the lame-duck session before the 2021 inauguration, if Biden were to assume office, then Senate Democrats would retaliate in the new year.

Although the House has no role in judicial appointments, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., threatened that her chamber, too, could take steps to thwart Republican action. Asked on ABC's "This Week" about the possibility of again impeaching Trump or impeaching Attorney General William Barr as a stall tactic, Pelosi responded, "Well, we have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now."

Trump said Saturday night that he would nominate a woman, and people involved in the deliberations said the two leading contenders were Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa, both federal judges.

The president spent the weekend quizzing advisers and allies about the backgrounds of both women and gaming out the political fallout of either nomination. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows are leading the search process, with Cipollone overseeing the legal review and vetting of candidates and Meadows focusing on the political calculations and the state of play in the Senate.

Barrett was a finalist for the last Supreme Court vacancy, in 2018, which was filled by Justice Brett Kavanaugh. She met personally with Trump for about 30 minutes during that time.

Barrett, 48, an appeals court judge for the Seventh Circuit who lives in South Bend, Ind., is a favorite of social conservatives and well known by people in Trump's orbit. She was one of the late justice Antonin Scalia's favorite law clerks.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has spoken with Trump twice about the opening, has told others that he would support Barrett and that Republican senators know the most about her and would be comfortable with her, according to two people who have discussed the matter with McConnell.

Lagoa has a lower profile, but her stock has been rising rapidly. She has never had a private meeting with Trump, but one adviser who knows her predicted that her personality would click well with the president's because the jurist is "feisty and an engaging conversationalist."

Lagoa, 52, is an appeals court judge for the 11th Circuit who lives in Miami. The daughter of Cuban exiles, she would become the second Latina on the Supreme Court, and has the enthusiastic backing of a number of Trump allies in Florida.

A number of Trump allies have argued that Lagoa's biography would be compelling nationally and boost the president's election chances in Florida, arguably the most critical battleground state for Trump and one in which high turnout among Cuban Americans is essential for any Republican victory.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Trump has been taken by her Ivy League credentials  she graduated from Columbia University's law school  and believes that nominating a Latina could accrue to his political benefit, according to another person familiar with internal discussions.

The president has been asking about Lagoa and whether there is anything negative in her background, after hearing a chorus of positive comments about her, according to one Trump adviser involved in those discussions.

White House aides have been calling people in Florida to try to learn more about Lagoa and her judicial philosophy.

"Twenty four hours ago, Amy Coney Barrett was the favorite. I am not sure that's true anymore," said this adviser who, like some others interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity to depict the sensitive discussions.

A second Trump adviser said the president, Cipollone, Meadows and others are "trying to get up to speed on Lagoa very quickly because they like the idea of picking her." This adviser added, "They know Amy. She's been through the process before. She's been fully vetted. They know who she is."

Trump is making his selection against a ferocious political backdrop. Voting has begun in some states, the first presidential debate is Sept. 29, the coronavirus pandemic is raging coast-to-coast and has killed nearly 200,000 people in the United States, the economy is sputtering with tens of millions of Americans receiving unemployment benefits, and a reckoning on racial injustice continues to convulse cities and towns across the country.

Into that maelstrom now begins a Supreme Court confirmation fight. Biden pleaded with Republican senators in an address Sunday to delay voting on Trump's expected nominee until after the election.

"We need to de-escalate, not escalate," Biden said in remarks at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. "That's why I appeal to those few Senate Republicans  the handful who really will decide what happens  please, follow your conscience. Don't vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and Senator McConnell have created. Don't go there. Uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience. Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have been engulfing our country."

Biden and other Democrats sought to cast confirmation of a Trump nominee as a direct threat to the Affordable Care Act, which many Americans rely upon for health coverage during the pandemic and otherwise. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on the law known as Obamacare later this fall.

"In the middle of the worst global health crisis in living memory, Donald Trump is at the Supreme Court trying to strip health coverage away from tens of millions of families and to strip away the peace of mind from more than 100 million people with pre-existing conditions," Biden said.
While the Emmys may not have been as grand an affair as they are every year given the health and safety regulations on account of the coronavirus pandemic, celebrities still put their best food forward as they dolled up for the event virtually The 72nd Emmy Awards, at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles may have opened to an empty stadium, occupied by host Jimmy Kimmel along with cardboard cutouts of celebrities and a handful present at the venue, but several celebrities took to their personal social media accounts to share glimpses of them getting all dressed up for the first ever major award show after the coronavirus pandemic took over the world. Comedian and actor, Jameela Jamil, who plays Tahani Al Jamil in The Good Place, took to her Instagram to post about getting ready for the Emmy Awards. Sharing an image of herself fresh out of the shower, the actor wrote, Getting ready for the Emmys later on, doing some make up, wearing some stuff.

ALSO SEE PHOTOS| Emmys 2020 amid coronavirus: Social distancing, cardboard celebrities and virtual speeches

In another post the actor divulged that she would be without bra and heels and instead be sporting pajamas for the Emmys that she would be attending from her home. Sharing another image, she wrote, No bra? No heels? NO PROBLEM. Wearing PJs to the 72nd Emmy awards (from my house) is my kind of vibes. Excited to see if we win any of the 7 awards we have been nominated for!!!! I still did my make up and wore a sequin dressing gown, because... Its what Tahani would have wanted. And this is her day, not mine. (sic)

She then shared her red carpet cheat, sharing a video of herself doing her makeup, the actor posted, I did my make up for the Emmys because thats what Tahani would want, and as we are nominated for the good place, it was only fair I honoured her glamorous wish. I just wanted to show you my actual routine so that you can see how chill it is, and how fast you can fake red carpet ready it doesnt have to be a whole big affair!

In the video Jameela joked that given how slothful the lockdown had been, she has taken the opportunity to bathe for the Emmys. She went on to say how she always did her makeup, whether it was for billboards, her character in The Good Place, mostly because she wants it to be quick but also because she says it helps her emotional well-being and self esteem, given all her self loathing issues. Jameela shared that it bothered her if she had to be in hair and makeup for a long time, as that made her feel that without that much effort she wouldnt even look presentable, she went on, And I dont have time for that. Got to fight the patriarchy!

She also added that she would possibly step out of the house without underwear or her mobile phone but not her winged eyeliner as winged eyeliner made her happy, she also mentioned the products she used in the video which were the Cheek Heat Gel Cream Blush - rose vibrant, TattooStudio Liquid Ink Liner  ink black, Nudes of New York Eyeshadow Palette - fighter, Color Strike Cream-to-Powder Eyeshadow - spark, Falsies Lash Lift Mascara.

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By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijans State Agency for Compulsory Health Insurance has signed an agreement with Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization on the countrys purchase of COVID-19 vaccine.

Under the agreement, Azerbaijan will be provided with a COVID-19 vaccine - approved by the World Health Organization and meeting all necessary requirements - after it has been produced.

It should be noted that there are no measures of systemic struggle against COVID-19. Unlike other viruses, SARS-CoV-2 actively mutates and a range of distribution is growing rapidly, which makes experts believe that the most effective way to control the situation is to vaccinate vulnerable groups.

However it is too early to judge the effectiveness and safety of vaccines.

Azerbaijan has been among leading countries taking active measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic since its outbreak in Marc. The country has so far made individual donations to the World Health Organization in the amount of $10 million, and humanitarian assistance to 29 WHO member countries, including $5 million to Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Azerbaijani government has also provided lump-sum payments of AZN 250 ($147) to business entities working in economic spheres affected by the COVID-19, and AZN 190 ($111.7) to unemployed people.

Moreover, taxpayers whose businesses have been affected by COVID-19 are completely exempt from property and land taxes, and have been given tax breaks of 75 percent of their income. In addition, legal entities and individual entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan operating in the spheres negatively affected by the COVID-19 will be exempted from rental payment for the period of nine months.

Earlier, it was reported that Azerbaijan is planning to allocate additional AZN 843.6 million ($496.2M) to support healthcare system, businesses and state companies during the coronavirus pandemic. Of these, AZN 369 million ($217M) will be directed to healthcare, AZN 238 million ($139.9M) to social protection of population, AZN 136.6 million ($80.3M) to support state companies, and AZN 100 million ($58.8M) to support business.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Jeffrey Epstein's flight logs on his aircraft, including his 'Lolita Express' jet, have been subpoenaed, sparking fear among the rich and famous who partied with the pedophile.

The Attorney General in the US Virgin Islands, where the billionaire had a home and is said to have carried out many of his horrific crimes, has demanded to see the logs which document the passengers on his aircraft.

The logs on his four helicopters and three planes span from 1998 until his suicide in prison last year.

Jeffrey Epstein's flight logs on his aircraft, including his 'Lolita Express' jet, have been subpoenaed, sparking fear among the rich and famous who partied with the pedophile

Pressure has been piled on to Prince Andrew (pictured at Windsor Castle today) to speak to the FBI

Attorney General Denise George has filed a lawsuit against his estate alleging 22 accounts including human trafficking, aggravated rape, child abuse, neglect, forced labour and prostitution, The Mirror reported.

Ms George is also requesting to see any 'complaints or reports of potentially suspicious conduct' as well as personal notes made by the pilots.

The subpoena demands the names and details of anyone who worked for the pilots, interacted with Epstein and passengers who travelled with him.

The Attorney General in the US Virgin Islands (pictured), where the billionaire had a home and is said to have carried out many of his horrific crimes, has demanded to see the logs

Ghislaine Maxwell is awaiting trial in the US after being charged with procuring teenage girls for Epstein to abuse. She denies this.

Pilot David Rodgers has previously revealed logs from 2009 which showed Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey and Naomi Campbell were among those who flew on his jet.

It is not suggested they were aware of any wrongdoing by Epstein.

A source said: 'The records that have been subpoenaed will make the ones Rodgers provided look like a Post-It note.

'There is panic among many of the rich and famous.'

Lawyers for the victims said the logs released in 2009 did not include the flights of chief pilot Larry Visoki who had flown Epstein for more than 25 years.

The subpoena demands the names and details of anyone who worked for the pilots, interacted with Epstein and passengers who travelled with him on the infamous 'Lolita Express' (pictured)

It comes as a celebrity chef has been quizzed by detectives 20 years after he worked for Epstein - prompting renewed calls for Prince Andrew to speak to the FBI.

Adam Perry Lang, 51, opened the Barbecoa restaurant with Jamie Oliver in London in 2010 - and worked for Jeffrey Epstein between 1999 and 2003.

He is now 'fully cooperating' with the FBI investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by depraved billionaire Epstein, reported the Daily Mirror.

Attorney Arick Fudali, representing the victims, heaped pressure on Prince Andrew - who has been accused of stonewalling detectives.

Prince Andrew is pictured checking his rear view mirror as he drives from Windsor Castle on Saturday

Adam Perry Lang (pictured in 2015), 51, opened the Barbecoa restaurant with Jamie Oliver in London in 2010 - and worked for Jeffrey Epstein between 1999 and 2003

Mr Fudali said: 'We certainly hope that this may inspire other witnesses to come forward and help shed some light on Epstein's dark scheme.'

American Mr Perry Lang catered for the Duke of York, 60, and flew with him in a private jet on two occasions - once in February 1999 and in May 2000.

Sources told the newspaper: 'Perry Lang holds information on what took place. They will get as much detail as possible that will shape any interview they may one day have with the duke.'

Attorney Arick Fudali, representing the victims, heaped pressure on Prince Andrew (pictured last year) - who has been accused of stonewalling detectives

Mr Perry Lang, who has been described as a decent man by victims, came forward after Virginia Giuffre, 37, wrote to ask him to be the 'hero'.

His lawyer Lawrence Lustberg confirmed the chef was helping the FBI. Mr Perry Lang himself added: 'We have absolutely always been available to the attorneys representing the victims.'

He previously denied being aware of any 'depraved behaviour' during his four-year term as Epstein's chef.

Epstein, 66, killed himself while awaiting trial in a cell for underage sex trafficking last year.

Last month, Virginia Giuffre claimed Prince Andrew played a 'guessing game,' with British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell about her age before comparing her to his daughters.

Mr Perry Lang (pictured in 2016) is now 'fully cooperating' with the FBI investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by depraved billionaire Epstein

The accuser spoke out in a documentary series, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, claiming she met the royal in London, describing him as an 'abuser,' and 'not the prince from the fairy tale stories you read'.

Ms Giuffre, who says she was trafficked by pedophile financier Epstein, alleges the duke had sex with her on three separate occasions, including when she was 17, still a minor under US law.

Andrew has categorically denied he has had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Ms Giuffre.

Maxwell is awaiting trial in the US after being charged with procuring teenage girls for Epstein to abuse. She denies this.

Earlier this year Prince Andrew said he was 'angry and bewildered' as he denied reports he was contacted about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

He said he would be 'more than happy to talk'.

MailOnline has contacted Prince Andrew for comment.
European Commission announces its new climate plans with a proposal to increase its climate ambition to a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030. The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise welcomes the latest discussions on a more ambitious 2030 target.



The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise remains dedicated to participating constructively, and stands ready to engage in any discussions on how to best shape the EUs climate policy for the coming years.

The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise remains dedicated to participating constructively, and stands ready to engage in any discussions on how to best shape the EUs climate policy for the coming years.

European Commission announces its new climate plans with a proposal to increase its climate ambition to a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030.

The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise remains dedicated to participating constructively, and stands ready to engage in any discussions on how to best shape the EUs climate policy for the coming years.

We are committed to ensuring that the EU eliminates all net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 and we are open to discussing a more ambitious 2030 target.

Tackling global warming requires global action, something that must be reflected in the EUs climate policy. However, it is important that while reducing our own emissions, we ensure that we increase the competitiveness of our own European businesses. Decreasing emissions must be combined with growth if we are to become a true role model that the rest of the world will seek to follow.

When decreasing our emissions, it is essential to ensure that all sectors and all Member States carry their fair share of the burden. Given the limited timeframe to 2030, it will be hard for the EU Emissions Trading System to adapt to any major changes, since investments require a longer time frame.

The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise welcomes the latest discussions on a more ambitious 2030 target. The goal must be to pave the way for an EU that is both climate neutral and competitive by 2050.

Please read Swedish Enterprise's position paper on the European Climate Law, attached below.
Before 1970, women serving in the military were discharged for becoming mothers. This meant that pregnant women in uniform were forced to make a choice: Leave the military to become mothers or risk an illegal (and then-dangerous) abortion.

Air Force Capt. Susan Struck, a nurse serving in Vietnam, decided to fight the rule. Her attorney in the case was Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Although the Supreme Court ultimately declined to hear Struck v. Secretary of Defense, Ginsburg's legal wrangling led to the Air Force's decision to reverse its policy.

Struck's pregnancy resulted in her being transferred to a base in Washington, the only state where abortion was legal in 1970. In writing the facts of the case, Niel Siegel of Duke University's School of Law notes that Struck intended to give the child up for adoption and had 60 days of accrued leave for recovery time. Despite this, a disposition board gave her a choice: Have an abortion on base or leave the military.

The career officer was a devout Catholic, and her religious views would not allow for an abortion. Nor was she going to accept the end of her military career. Struck opted instead to sue the Department of Defense over its policy; the American Civil Liberties Union sent her representation -- a future member of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ginsburg won a stay for Struck's discharge, arguing that the only conspicuous difference between men and women was that "only women become pregnant; and if you subject a woman to disadvantageous treatment on the basis of her pregnant status ... you would be denying her equal treatment under the law."

She also argued that no other temporarily disabling physical conditions (such as a broken bone) resulted in a military discharge and that male officers were not discharged upon becoming parents. These were violations of Struck's constitutional rights of equal protection, right

to privacy and her free exercise of religion, Ginsburg said.

Both the district court and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found these arguments "constitutionally irrelevant." When the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, the Solicitor General of the United States, Erwin Griswold, convinced the Air Force to abandon the policy. When it did so, the court dropped the case and remanded it to the Ninth Circuit Court.

The Struck case has gone largely unremembered by history because the Supreme Court never heard oral arguments. Three years later, the case would be overshadowed by a much larger case with far-reaching consequences, Roe v. Wade.

Later, as a Supreme Court Justice, Ginsburg would often remark that she wished Struck had been the first reproductive rights case the Supreme Court heard, rather than Roe v. Wade. The Roe case legalized abortion procedures based on the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. A decision in Struck would have provided for reproductive rights based on the Air Force officer's rights to equal protection under the law, her right to privacy and her right to free exercise of religion.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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Update: Route 31 reopened at noon, according to a state DOT alert.

Bridgeport, N.Y.  Emergency crews have shut down state Route 31 near a structure fire Monday morning in Bridgeport, officials said.

At about 8:30 a.m., multiple police and fire departments from Madison and Onondaga counties were called to a large fire at 8960 Green Road, just south of Bridgeport Elementary School and just north of Point Place Casino in Madison County, near the Onondaga County line.

Bridgeport, Cicero, Minoa, South Bay, Fayetteville, East Syracuse, Kirkville, North Chittenango and Chittenango volunteer fire departments, American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance, Madison County sheriffs deputies and Cicero police are among the agencies that have responded to the fire.

Firefighters reported heavy smoke and flames, with the fire spreading to a house behind the structure that caught fire. Firefighters were continuing to battle the blaze 40 minutes after someone reported the fire, according to police dispatches.

The building is a two-story, multi-family home, according to Madison County records.

The American Red Cross is also responding to the scene.

Cicero police turned to social media Monday morning to let residents know Route 31 in Bridgeport is closed.

Route 31 in Bridgeport is shut down going east into Madison County due to a structure fire, the post says. No traffic is being allowed to go east on Route 31 past the traffic circle.

Check back for updates.

Have a tip or a story idea? Contact Catie OToole: cotoole@syracuse.com | text/call 315-470-2134 | Twitter | Facebook
A white bar owner charged with fatally shooting an unarmed Black man in May during protests in Omaha, Nebraska died by suicide in Oregon on Sunday, according to Gardner's attorneys.

"The family of Jake Gardner has asked Tom Monaghan and myself to share the news of his death today, at his own hand," attorney Stu Dornan said at a press conference Sunday.

The Hillsboro Police Department in Oregon is conducting an investigation into a cause of death after finding Gardner's body outside a medical clinic, according to a news release.

Dornan said Gardner, 38, was scheduled to return to Omaha on Sunday night to face charges in the death of 22-year-old James Scurlock on May 30. A grand jury charged Gardner on Tuesday with manslaughter, attempted assault, making terroristic threats and using a gun to commit a felony.

"Unfortunately, there are two men who have died in a terrible tragedy," Dornan said. "It's a terrible tragedy for the Omaha community, it's a terrible tragedy for James Scurlock and his family, it's a terrible tragedy for the Gardner family."

'It's nothing but pain': The latest on the cases of violence against Black people that sparked America's racial reckoning

Marchers rally in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 7 to remember James Scurlock, a Black man who was fatally shot by white bar owner Jake Gardner amid protests over George Floyd's death. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Gardner's death comes two days after Douglas County District Judge James Gleason approved an arrest warrant but only signed the affidavit portion, the Omaha World-Herald reported. Gleason did not sign an actual warrant, the newspaper reported.

Dornan said Gardner left Omaha after the May 30 shooting due to "great risks," such as death threats.

Gardner shot and killed Scurlock outside his bar in downtown Omaha as protests erupted across the country following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

The shooting was reviewed by a grand jury after Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine initially declined to file charges, believing that Gardner had acted in self-defense after reviewing video and witness statements. Kleine later requested the review after his decision was criticized to ensure people kept faith in the justice system.

Story continues

Surveillance video seemed to show words exchanged between Gardner, his father and protesters before Gardner, flashing a gun, backed away. Gardner was shoved to the ground by two people before he fired two shots, sending people scrambling. Scurlock then jumped on Gardner's back and was shot by Gardner.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jake Gardner, charged in James Scurlock death, kills himself: attorney
A view from Kingsessing Avenue of the Mount Moriah Cemetery in Southwest Philadelphia on April 26, 2020. Read more

A 48-year-old Delaware County man has been charged with the murder of a Drexel Hill man whose body was found  with a rope tied around his neck  in a Mount Moriah Cemetery crypt this year.

Michael Dimauro of Secane is also charged with conspiracy, gun offenses, and abuse of corpse in the death of David Rossillo, 33, who disappeared in December 2017.

Rossillos body was one of two found in a crypt in the closed Southwest Philadelphia cemetery when police went there April 3 to search for Keith Palumbo, 36, a Drexel Hill musician who had been reported missing in February.

An autopsy conducted by the Philadelphia Medical Examiners Office showed that Rossillo died from homicidal violence in conjunction with multiple gunshot wounds, according to the affidavit of probable cause in Dimauros arrest last week.

A witness who was not identified in the affidavit told police that Dimauro shot Rossillo in the cemetery, then disposed of Rossillos body in the grave by tying a rope around the neck of the victim and dragging him over to the open grave, the affidavit says.

Philadelphia police and the District Attorneys Office did not respond to questions Monday about Dimauros arrest.

Rossillo was not positively identified as the second body in the crypt until late August, when DNA results from a bone sample confirmed the remains were his.

Dimauro remains in custody in a Philadelphia jail. His attorney did not return a call Monday. Rossillos family declined to comment.

Dimauro is at least the fourth person charged in the case. Michael DeLuca, an alleged member of the Warlocks Motorcycle Club and a childhood friend of Palumbos from Drexel Hill, is accused of fatally shooting Palumbo in DeLucas Southwest Philadelphia apartment in February. DeLuca, 39, is awaiting extradition to Philadelphia to face murder charges after court proceedings conclude in Cheyenne, Wyo., where he was arrested April 2 on charges of possessing an illegal handgun.

Three others with connections to the Warlocks  Buck Evans, 46, of Drexel Hill; Billy Gibson, 47, also of Drexel Hill, and Donna Morelli, 48, of Southwest Philadelphia  have been charged with abuse of corpse and related offenses in the disposal of Palumbos body.

Rossillo also knew some people that were associated with the Warlocks, Anthony Voci, homicide chief of the District Attorneys Office, previously said.

The affidavit in Dimauros arrest does not specify the witness who talked to detectives. But court documents for Morellis arrest in the other case indicate she spoke to detectives on April 7, the same day the witness in the Dimauro investigation spoke to police.

Morelli lives across from the cemetery. Her attorney declined to comment Monday.

The unnamed witness told police that in December 2017, Rossillo and Dimauro went to the witness' home, and all three then walked into the cemetery. Dimauro told the witness to go back and get something.

The witness said that while at home, he/she heard several gunshots coming from inside of the cemetery," the affidavit says. Shortly afterward, Dimauro returned to the house and said he needed help opening a grave.

The witness and another person, who also was not identified, then took tools from the home and went into the cemetery with Dimauro. While opening the grave, the witness asked Dimauro where Rossillo was, and Dimauro pointed to a dark grassy area, the affidavit says.

The witness told police that after opening the crypt, the witness returned home with the other person, a man. A short time later, Dimauro arrived and said that he had disposed of Rossillos body by dragging it to the grave with the rope.
A State Supreme Court judge has rejected a request to consider a reduced sentence for a woman convicted in a 1989 homicide.

Wendy Bummer-Smythe, who was convicted  along with her husband  of killing her ex-boyfriend, made the request earlier this year under the state's Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act. The law, passed last year, allows incarcerated people to request a new sentence if the defendant at the time of the offense was a victim of domestic violence who was subjected to substantial physical, sexual or psychological abuse and such abuse was a significant contributing factor to their behavior.

Justice Christopher J. Burns on Thursday found Bummer-Smythe was a victim of domestic violence inflicted by her husband, but ruled such abuse did not meet the standard in the law, according to the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

Bummer-Smythe, who had been serving a sentence of 25 years to life in prison, was released on parole on Sept. 2 from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester County. If Burns granted her request, he could have reduced the amount of time she will remain on parole, the District Attorney's Office said.
The Covid-19 pandemic has taught residents a new way of living. Things which were the usual norm earlier have to be discarded now, including the overcrowded daily vegetable markets set up across the city serving residents with fresh produce. Norms of social distancing, sanitiser stands and wearing of masks have made setting up or restarting such local markets a dangerous proposition as it could lead to spreading of the Covid-19 infection.

A similar situation has presented itself at the 40-year-old Khadda market of Pune Cantonment near Pul Gate. The market served at least a thousand residents living in the area before the pandemic started. The market stands empty currently owing to the lockdown enforced by the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB). However, residents now do not want the market to restart in the area and demand its relocation as they fear that restarting the market will lead to the spread of Covid-19. The market sees as many as 400 fruit and vegetable sellers operating there on a daily basis. Following the closure, the vegetable sellers have started occupying the entire road stretch outside the market leading to congestion in the area.

A spot visit conducted by HT on Friday and Saturday revealed that the vendors, both vegetable and fruit sellers, were operating without any fear of the cantonment authorities and most of them were not wearing masks. Similarly, buyers were seen crowding the area and social distancing regulations were being violated.

Shopkeeper Nilesh Kanse, who stays in the immediate vicinity of the market, said, The rules which are applicable to Market Yard must also be applied here. Covid-19 will spread faster in the area if the market reopens as social distancing norms are not being maintained. We have petitioned the PCB seeking relocation of the market.

Parvez Qureshi, another resident of the area, said, The market traders dont operate by rules and regulations. There is no timing discipline and they are currently even dumping garbage in the area. We have informed the PCB administration and have asked the board administration to relocate them as they are a source of nuisance to us. Now, they are occupying roads and are not wearing masks and violating social distancing rules.

PCB vice-president Vivek Yadav, said, The vegetable and fruit sellers have been selling their goods there since the past 40 years and due to the Covid crisis their livelihood has been affected. We will soon take a decision of either relocating them or restarting the market as they have been suffering huge financial losses over the past six months. A decision will be taken with due consultation of MLA Sunil Kamble and the board administration.

Someshwar Kale, a fruit seller, said, We have been given legal rights by the board to operate at the Khadda market since the past four decades. Now, they are indulging in politics and our right to livelihood is being denied. We want the market to open so that we can feed our families. Currently with no income, we are starving and have no option but to occupy the roadside. Some vested interests, including area residents, are filing false complaints about violation of social distancing and not wearing masks. The area comes under CCTV surveillance and nobody is violating the rules. We are being targeted by the vested interests who want to start a parking lot in the area. Our union is planning to consider legal option to fight for our rights.

PCB chief executive officer Amit Kumar, said, We have received petitions from both the sides. Residents dont want the market to open, but the traders want it to restart. The market was closed due to Covid-19 regulations related to health and hygiene. The decision was supposed to be reviewed after August 31, however, residents opposed the reopening on grounds of the Covid crisis. A decision will be taken keeping both the options on the table. Earlier, we had thought about relocating it to Golibar Maidan, but it is not feasible option. Currently, the entire area is functioning properly and there has been no increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the area. The matter is before the board and it will take a final call on the issue soon.

Area resident Rajshekhar Angre, said, The Khadda market was shut down due to Covid-19 crisis and we dont want the market to reopen as it might jeopardise our health. The PCB must look at other options. The public toilet is also currently not useable as traders are occupying the footpath there.

Though the area is near Bhavani peth, which has been a Covid-19 hotspot, currently there is no containment zone operational here.
We know, not just from Bob Woodwards book Rage, but from tapes of interviews by President Donald Trump himself that even as he knew from science briefings how serious COVID-19 could wreak havoc on the U.S. economy and kill many people, he chose to publicly dismiss the threat, claiming he didnt want anyone to panic over a deadly virus spreading through the US.

Amazingly, Trump has decided that hes a lot more like British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. ""[W]ere doing very well. As the British government advised the British people in the face of World War II, Keep calm and carry on. Thats what I did.... We have to be calm. We dont want it to be crazed lunatics. We have to lead. When Hitler was bombing -- I dont know if you know this -- when Hitler was bombing London, Churchill, great leader, would oftentimes go to a roof in London and speak and he always spoke with calmness. He said, We have to show calmness." But theres a calm from false reassurance, and a calm from telling the truth.

Before he became Prime Minister in 1940, Winston Churchill warned anyone who would listen that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were threats to the U.K. But the British people were reassured by their Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, the Conservative Party leader in the late 1930s. Chamberlain chose to go to Munich to sign a deal with Hitler that Nazi Germany would get the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, in exchange for not taking any more territory.

While Chamberlain boasted before crowds that his Munich Pact was peace for our time, Churchill denounced the pact. But Churchill and his allies were drowned out by Chamberlain, and even the royal family. Nobody wanted an alarmist like Winston Churchill!

When Hitler proceeded to take all of Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain gave a response described as feeble. He also said little about Kristallnacht calling for more peace with Hitler, while British started to become alarmed by Nazi tactics. Chamberlain chose not to prepare the British industry for war because he didnt want Hitler to think the United Kingdom was breaking the Munich Pact deal. His response to Hitlers invasion of Poland was an ineffective blockade.

You probably know the rest of the story. Hitler invaded Norway, and Chamberlain resigned, replaced by Churchill. Nearly every country in Europe was attacked and absorbed into the Nazi regime. The British army barely escaped Dunkirk, and the UK barely survived the London Blitz.

Rather than reassure people that there was no danger, as Chamberlain did, Churchill told the truth that there was a threat, and developed a plan to win. Keep Calm and Carry On is very different from hiding your head in the sand, denying the danger of Hitler and Nazis.

Sadly, our current president is a conservative in the mold of Chamberlain. He publicly downplayed the threat. He didnt put in travel restrictions from China until the end of January, after most airlines already suspended flights. His ban only included China nationals, not all people coming from China (leaving open asymptomatic foreign nationals to come to the U.S.). Budgets abandoned health programs set up under Obama to combat such lethal viruses abroad. Trump refused to implement a similar European ban until mid-March, even as cases poured into the United States earlier than that, falsely claiming he had shut down the virus from China.

Trumps greatest damage came from telling Americans there was no threat. Now we have legions of Americans who deny the existence of COVID-19, helping spread the lethal virus, hampering our economic recovery, because their president told them there was no problem. We clearly dont have a Winston Churchill in the White House. But we could sure use one.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His Twitter account is JohnTures2.
A section of the North-South highway in the northern province of Ninh Binh (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi  Ministers and leaders of Peoples Committees of cities and provinces nationwide are required to remove difficulties and promote the disbursement of public investment as well as production, business and consumption.

Strict punishment will be given to violations and delays causing trouble for businesses and people.

These requirements are part of a recent document released by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, requesting ministries, sectors and localities to implement tasks and solutions to realise the Governments dual goals, including preventing COVID-19 and ensuring socio-economic recovery, focusing on solving problems and supporting businesses facing difficulties, ensuring social security and people's lives.

The Government leader urged ministries and localities to solve problems hampering the disbursement of public investment, especially ODA, creating a driving force for economic growth and jobs following the directions of the Party, National Assembly, Government, and Prime Minister.

Each ministry, branch and locality should focus on reviewing the list of public investment projects, grasping the implementation of each project to take concrete measures to speed up the progress.

In the document sent to relevant sectors, PM Phuc said the world and region were facing unprecedented difficulties and challenges due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All countries and our major partners have been heavily affected by the pandemic. Being a deeply integrated and open economy, many branches and fields of our economy are greatly impacted, especially in industry, trade, service and tourism, he said in the document, adding the tasks set out from now to the end of 2020 and early 2021 are very challenging.

In order to achieve targets in 2020 and create a favourable premise for 2021, he required ministers and leaders of cities and provinces to solve difficulties and promote production and business in every area and every enterprise, facilitating and reducing costs for people and businesses.

He wanted the ministers and leaders to review mechanisms, policies and legal provisions, revising them if necessary. In case of exceeding authority, they shall promptly report to the Government or the Prime Minister for direction.

Leaders of ministries and localities have to provide specific solutions to help enterprises of all economic sectors, including State-owned enterprises, private enterprises, foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses, cooperatives and individual business households. They need to focus on enhancing investment projects and production and business development, paying attention to reviewing and creating favourable conditions in terms of land, credit, administrative procedures, human resources and related issues.

They also need to promote consumption, with special attention paid to the domestic market of nearly 100 million people and taking appropriate and effective measures to maintain and develop export markets.

Ministries and localities have to step up the application of information technology and develop e-commerce and new business models suitable to the situation and development requirements of each branch, field or locality.
Indianapolis, Ind., Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To meet the growing need for autism services across the country, Hopebridge Autism Therapy Centers, one of the largest autism therapy networks in the nation, is expanding its innovative interdisciplinary care into Colorado with six new Denver area locations starting in October 2020.

By blending evidence-backed interventions like ABA therapy with other essential services in a center-based atmosphere, Hopebridge is able to provide a wide range of benefits to Colorados families living with autism.

Hopebridges individualized center-based care offers:

Diagnostic and ABA evaluations  now scheduling!

State-of-the-art facilities designed specifically to enhance pediatric therapy for a spectrum of functioning levels

Socialization with peers to target specific social and pragmatic goals

Interdisciplinary collaboration between ABA, occupational and speech therapists

A full-service insurance support team to help families navigate coverage options

Parent training and education to maximize the effects of therapy outside center walls

In an effort to reduce wait times, Hopebridge is currently scheduling diagnostic assessments for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy evaluations for all six locations.

According to research conducted by Hopebridge, many of Colorados children are older than five years old before they are diagnosed with autism, which is older than the national average of four years old. In addition, more than 33% of Colorado children with autism had to wait longer than six months to get their diagnosis. Hopebridge can reduce this wait to as little as 45 days with in-house clinical diagnostic assessments.

Every child with autism deserves to receive the care they need to live their best life, said Hopebridge CEO Dennis May. At Hopebridge, our goal is to make it easier and faster to receive that care. Hopebridge services have provided hope for thousands of children across the country, and we are thrilled to make it accessible to more families in Colorado.

These six Hopebridge Colorado centers will ultimately create more than 325 new jobs throughout the state to ensure every child with autism receives one-on-one, personalized therapy. The coordinated, complementary teams will consist of top Board Certified Behavioral Analysts (BCBA), registered behavior technicians (RBT), clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists and other industry professionals. This is all part of Hopebridges unique, multidisciplinary approach, Hopebridge360TM.

Abby Trotz, a BCBA at the University Hills Hopebridge center, has been working in early development her entire career. I met with a lot of families throughout my time working in ABA therapy in Colorado and so many of their children have had to wait up to a year or more for therapy after they receive an autism diagnosis, said Abby. Hopebridge aims to change this from the start. I am excited to work with Hopebridge to get these kids the services they need to live a more independent life.

Opening October 2020:

Opening by February 2021:

To schedule a diagnostic appointment or a private tour of a Hopebridge center, please visit hopebridge.com/contact.

To apply for a full-time or part time position at one of our Hopebridge centers, please visit hopebridge.com/jobs.

For a complete list of Hopebridge centers and services, visit hopebridge.com/centers.

About Hopebridge

Hopebridge was founded in 2005 to serve the growing need for autism treatment services and to improve the lives of affected children and families. Hopebridge is committed to providing personalized outpatient ABA, occupational, speech and feeding therapies for children touched by autism spectrum disorder and behavioral, physical, social, communication and sensory challenges. Hopebridge provides a trusted place where they can receive the care, support and hope they deserve.

More than a decade later, Hopebridge continues to open state-of-the-art autism therapy centers in new communities to reach patients and families who need services. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Hopebridge operates in six states: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

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Attachment
New Delhi, Sep 21 : In the Sudarshan News controversy, the Centre has reiterated that there is no need for the Supreme Court to embark on an exercise to lay down guidelines for print and electronic media in the backdrop of the existing codes and their self-regulatory mechanism, instead it should begin the exercise on issues in the context of digital media.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in an affidavit that if the apex court considers it necessary to lay down the guidelines for electronic and print media, which is not required, the court should begin the exercise first with digital media.

The Centre told the apex court that digital media is "completely uncontrolled".

The affidavit said: "There is absolutely no check on web-based digital media. Apart from spreading venomous hatred to not only cause violence, but even terrorism, it is also capable of indulging in tarnishing the image of institutions and individuals. The said practice is, in fact, rampant." The government's response has come on a query put up by the apex court on the need to regulate electronic media, following the Sudarshan News controversy, where the top court had stayed the broadcast of five episodes its programme titled "UPSC Jihad".

"In case this court desires to travel into the wider issues, it is absolutely inevitable to start with digital media," said the affidavit.

The Centre said that it is in the interest of justice that either this court may leave wider issues to be considered and decided by the Central government and the competent legislature or start with the exercise with an examination of the very same issues in the context of digital media.

"By its very nature, the web-based digital media, by and large, remains unregulated", said the affidavit.

The affidavit further contended that the broadcaster and publisher, when they have come to know that they are under the radar for certain content, may start using digital media to publish the same thing, as it has no regulations.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Trump (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

President Donald Trump has mocked the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs dying wish that she not be replaced until a new president can be installed, falsely suggesting the quote was created by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders.

Asked about justice Ginsburgs statement that was dictated to her granddaughter and later reported by NPR, the president told Fox News on Monday morning: I dont know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and [Chuck] Schumer and Pelosi?

He added: I would be more inclined to the second.

Justice Ginsburg, a liberal stalwart and one of the most consequential judges in US history, told her granddaughter just days before she died of complications resulting from metastatic pancreatic cancer at the age of 87: My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

The comments came as the president revealed his plans to announce a nominee to replace justice Ginsburg as early as Friday, telling the conservative network he has a short list of five candidates he was considering for his third pick on the Supreme Court.

Mr Trump was expected to replace the late justice with a conservative nominee just weeks before the November election, a move that would almost certainly cause the confirmation process to be even more contentious than it had become in recent years.

Democrats have rallied against the idea of replacing justice Ginsburg ahead of the election while condemning Republicans for attempting to conduct the process so close to a national election after the party refused to hold confirmation hearings for former President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in 2016.

After it was reported justice Ginsburg passed on Friday, the president released a statement saying he would move forward with selecting a nominee.

We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the statement read, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices.

Story continues

Mr Trumps nomination to the Supreme Court only requires a 51-count majority in the US Senate after its procedures were changed in 2017.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has meanwhile spoken out against the presidents attempts to replace the late justice just weeks before voters cast their ballots.

There is no doubt, let me be clear, that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider, he said.

Former President Barack Obama also weighed in on the issue, releasing a statement that suggested US democracy could be at risk if Republicans moved forward with plans to replace the justice after refusing his nominee a confirmation hearing.

A basic principle of the law  and of everyday fairness  is that we apply rules with consistency, and not based on whats convenient or advantageous in the moment, the statement read. The rule of law, the legitimacy of our courts, the fundamental workings of our democracy all depend on that basic principle.

Read more

Trump seizes chance to reshape America following death of Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Four prominent political commentators will participate in a panel discussion of Promise of a Just America at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 14). The panel discussion is part of the Pursuing Racial Justice Together series by Purdue Universitys Division of Diversity and Inclusion.

The panel, moderated by Juan Williams of Fox News, will include Ana Navarro, Amy Holmes and Michael Steele.

Navarro, a political strategist and commentator, serves as a weekly guest on ABCs The View. She has advised politicians such as Jeb Bush, John McCain and John Huntsman.

Holmes, a journalist and political commentator, serves as a co-host of PBS In Principle and writes for the conservative Swiss publication, Die Weltwoche. She is a former senior speech writer for former Senate majority leader Bill Frist (R-Tennessee).

Steele is the former chair of the Republican National Committee and former lieutenant governor of Maryland. During his time as lieutenant governor, he worked on issues of expanding minority-owned businesses and addressed issues of racial disparities in health care, education and employment.

Williams is a journalist and political analyst with Fox News. He is an author who writes about the absence of truth-telling and honest debate in contemporary political discourse in books such as Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate.

Those interested may visit the programs website and register for virtual tickets and admission instructions. Deadline for registration is 3 p.m. the day of the event.

Writer, Media contact: Matthew Oates, 765-586-7496 (cell), oatesw@purdue.edu, @mo_oates

Sources: John Gates, jfgates@purdue.edu

Kate Walker, katewalker@purdue.edu

Journalists visiting campus : Journalists should follow Protect Purdue protocols and the following guidelines:
Mitch McConnell has locked down the key swing vote of GOP Senator Lamar Alexander for his Supreme Court fight, after two Republicans said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should not be replaced before the election.

The Tennessee Senator threw his support behind McConnell in a statement Sunday, saying 'no one should be surprised' by a new appointment in an election year and that voters 'expect it'.

The news is a blow to the Democrats, as the retiring Senator was viewed as a potential swing vote against McConnell and Trump's plans to rush the court appointment.

Donald Trump on Saturday urged the GOP-run Senate to consider 'without delay' his upcoming nomination to fill Ginsburg's seat, who died Friday after a battle with cancer.

The move comes just six weeks before the election and has sparked fierce debate, with many Democrats - as well as some Republicans - insisting the seat must not be filled until after the election.

The crux of the debate centers around the move made by Republicans back in 2016 - and led by McConnell - to block then-President Barack Obama from appointing a new justice to the court nine months before the election.

Their argument at the time was that the position should not be filled until a new president was elected by the American people - a standard set by the Republicans that the Democrats now argue the party must continue to honor.

Four GOP senators need to join the Democrats to stop a Supreme Court nomination going forward.

Mitch McConnell has locked down the key swing vote of GOP Representative Lamar Alexander (pictured) for his Supreme Court fight

'No one should be surprised that a Republican Senate majority would vote on a Republican president's Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year,' Alexander said in a statement.

'The Constitution gives senators the power to do it. The voters who elected them expect it.'

Alexander, who is retiring at the end of his current term, went on to say that Democrats would also rush to fill the seat 'if the shoe were on the other foot'.

'Senator McConnell is only doing what Democrat leaders have said they would do if the shoe were on the other foot,' he said.

'I have voted to confirm Justices [John] Roberts, [Samuel] Alito, [Sonia] Sotomayor, [Neil] Gorsuch and [Brett] Kavanaugh based upon their intelligence, character and temperament.

'I will apply the same standard when I consider President Trump's nomination to replace Justice Ginsburg.'

The senator has a history of bipartisanship, having worked closely with Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in the past on making it easier for the Senate to confirm presidential nominees.

He had also been eyed by Democrats as a swing vote during Trump's impeachment trial, one of a handful of GOP senators that hinted they could vote to hear from witnesses with knowledge of Trump's conduct toward Ukraine.

However Alexander disappointed Democrats in this instance too, deciding against the calling of witnesses and calling the trial a 'partisan impeachment.'

The Tennessee Senator threw his support behind McConnell (pictured) in a statement Sunday, saying 'no one should be surprised' by a new appointment in an election year and that voters 'expect it'

Two GOP senators - Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins - have already dissented on the Supreme Court vote, vowing to derail Trump's nomination plans until after the November 3 election.

Murkowski became the second Republican senator Sunday to say the chamber should not take up the president's nominee before the American people vote for their next president, hours after Trump threw shade at her publicly and after her colleague and frequent collaborator Collins made her own opposition to a quick vote known.

'For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election,' the Alaska senator said.

'Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed,' she continued.

'I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia.

'We are now even closer to the 2020 election  less than two months out  and I believe the same standard must apply.'

Murkowski in her statement was referencing the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland, which never got a hearing despite Barack Obama nominating Garland nine months before the 2016 elections.

Two GOP senators - Lisa Murkowski (left) and Susan Collins (right) - have already dissented, vowing to derail Trump's nomination plans until after the November 3 election

WHO'S WHO ON TRUMP'S SUPREME COURT SHORTLIST REPUBLICAN SENATORS Ted Cruz, Texas. 49 Josh Hawley, Missouri. 40 Tom Cotton, Arkansas. 43 JUDGES Bridget Bade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 54 Stuart Kyle Duncan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 48 James Ho, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 47 Gregory Katsas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 56 Barbara Lagoa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. 52 Carlos Muniz, Supreme Court of Florida. 51 Martha Pacold, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 41 Peter Phipps, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 47 Sarah Pitlyk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. 43 Allison Jones Rushing, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 38 Lawrence VanDyke, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 47 CURRENT AND FORMER REPUBLICAN OFFICIALS Daniel Cameron, Kentucky Attorney General. 34 Paul Clement, partner with Kirkland & Ellis, former solicitor general. 54 Steven Engel, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. 46 Noel Francisco, former U.S. solicitor general. 51 Christopher Landau, U.S. ambassador to Mexico. 56 Kate Todd, deputy White House counsel. 45 Advertisement

Trump took a slap at Murkowski hours before she released the statement Sunday morning, as he kept up his pressure campaign on his own party and prepared to nominate a Supreme Court Justice in an upended election.

The president kept his comments brief, penning a simple 'No thanks!' as he retweeted a promotion by the Alaska Chamber of Commerce speech by Murkowski for Tuesday.

Murkowski voted against Trump's last Supreme Court pick  Justice Brett Kavanaugh. More critically for the current scramble underway, were statements she said shortly before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death.

'I would not vote to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. We are 50 some days away from an election,' she said, Alaska Public Radio reported.

She referenced Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision not to grant a hearing to Garland in 2016 nearly nine months before the election.

'That was too close to an election, and that the people needed to decide,' Murkowski said.

'That the closer you get to an election, that argument becomes even more important.'

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine  with whom Murkowski often votes when diverging from party orthodoxy  came out with her own statement Saturday.

'In fairness to the American people, who will either be re-electing the President or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd,' Collins, facing a tough re-election race herself, said on Twitter.

Collins is up for reelection in a close race.

The two dissenters have left Democrats still shy of the count of four needed to derail a nomination, but points to the possibility they could prevent it by winning over an additional pair of Republicans.

With Alexander no longer a possible dissenter, the focus has shifted to Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who votes with conservatives but also voted for an impeachment article against Trump and has called him out occasionally in public.

Democrats have put several other options forward to stall or counteract Trump rushing through the appointment for Ginsburg's replacement.

Several including Rep. Joe Kennedy III have threatened to pack the Supreme Court if they capture the Senate in November and Republicans have already pushed through a conservative successor to Ginsburg.

President Trump said Saturday his Supreme Court nominee is most likely to be a woman. On Sunday he tweeted about Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski

President Donald Trump tweeted a dig at GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who said before Ginsburg's death that she would not vote for a replacement close to the election

What is court packing? Court packing is the move to appoint extra justices to the Supreme Court. It is a move several Democrats have proposed if the party takes control of the Senate in order to increase the presence of liberal justices on the bench. Franklin D. Roosevelt made attempts to pack the court back in 1937 when the Republican president wanted to pass his New Deal laws and needed more conservative justices in the court to vote in favor of them. Roosevelt's attempts failed and he was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans for the move. However Democrats argue court packing will be necessary to rebalance the court if President Trump does not wait until after the presidential inauguration to appoint Justice Ginsburg's replacement. The issue in contention is that Republicans barred President Obama from appointing a justice in the election year in 2016. Many Democrats say this meant the seat - finally filled by a Trump nominee after he entered the White house - was 'stolen' by Republicans and that if Republicans now do the very same thing they banned Democrats from doing in 2016 by rushing through an appointment, Democrats will then be within their rights to rebalance the court. Advertisement

Joe Kennedy III, who represents Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District and is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, tweeted Sunday: 'If he holds a vote in 2020, we pack the court in 2021. It's that simple.'

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler wrote on Twitter: 'If Sen. McConnell and @SenateGOP were to force through a nominee during the lame-duck session -- before a new Senate and President can take office - then the incoming Senate should immediately move to expand the Supreme Court.'

Court packing is a controversial move, however Democrats argue it will be necessary to rebalance the court if Trump does not wait until after the presidential inauguration to appoint Ginsburg's replacement.

Other options on the table are the pursuit of impeachment charges, something House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would not rule out in an interview Saturday.

'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country,' she told ABC's 'This Week' when asked about the prospect.

'This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election,' Pelosi continued.

'Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus.'

AOC echoed the possibility of pursuing impeachment charges at a joint press conference with Schumer Sunday saying there has been 'an enormous amount of lawbreaking' under Trump's watch and branding Barr 'unfit for office'.

'I believe that certainly there has been an enormous amount of lawbreaking in the Trump administration,' she said, when asked about impeachment.

'I believe Attorney General Bill Barr is unfit for office and that he has pursued potentially law-breaking behaviors.'

She said America must 'use every tool at our disposal' and turn to 'unprecedented ways' to stall the appointment and that means putting all options 'on the table'.

'I believe that also we must consider again all the tools available to our disposal and all these options should be entertained and on the table,' she said.

Two other senior Republicans, Roy Blunt of Missouri and Rob Portman of Ohio, backed McConnell in public statements Sunday.

Conservative Trump loyalist Sen. Tom Cotton told 'Fox News Sunday' the president should act 'without delay.'

'The Senate will exercise our constitutional duty,' he said. 'We will move forward without delay.'

Trump's public pressure comes hours after he said at a campaign rally he will act swiftly to make a nomination.

'I will be putting forth a nominee this week,' he said at a campaign rally in North Carolina

'It will be a woman,' Trump added.

The nomination would fail if Republicans were to lose four members from their 53-vote majority.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz on Sunday pushed the Senate to vote on a nomination before the election, but would say his party has the votes.

'I don't know the answer to that. I believe we will' he said.

Before he left the White House for the rally, Trump had named two conservative women who he has elevated to federal appeals courts as contenders, a move that would tip the court further to the right.

Trump, who now has a chance to nominate a third justice to a lifetime appointment on the court, named Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees.

He praised Lagoa, in particular, as an 'extraordinary person'.

Who is Amy Coney Barrett? On Saturday afternoon, Trump named Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees. Emerging as the favorite is Barrett, 48, a mother of seven children, including two adopted from Haiti and one with special needs. Her involvement in a cult-like Catholic group where members are assigned a 'handmaiden' has caused concern in Barret's nomination to other courts and is set to come under fierce review again if she is Trump's pick. The group was the one which helped inspire 'The Handmaids Tale', book's author Margaret Atwood has said. Barrett emerges now as a front runner after she was already shortlisted for the nomination in 2018 which eventually went to Brett Kavanaugh. Trump called the federal appellate court judge 'very highly respected' when questioned about her Saturday. Born in New Orleans in 1972, she was the first and only woman to occupy an Indiana seat on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Married to Jesse M. Barrett, a partner at SouthBank Legal in South Bend and former Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, the couple have five biological and two adopted children. Their youngest biological child has Down Syndrome. Friends say she is a devoted mother - and say with just an hour to go until she was voted into the 7th District Court of Appeals by the U.S. Senate in 2017, Barrett was outside trick-or-treating with her kids. Barrett's strong Christian ideology makes her a favorite of the right but her involvement in a religious group sometimes branded as a 'cult' is set to be harshly criticized. In 2017, her affiliation to the small, tightly knit Christian group called People of Praise caused concern while she was a nominee for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The New York Times reported that the practices of the group would surprise even other Catholics with members of the group swearing a lifelong oath of loyalty, called a covenant, to one another. They are also assigned and held accountable to a personal adviser, known until recently as a 'head' for men and a 'handmaid' for women and believe in prophecy, speaking in tongues and divine healings. Members are also encouraged to confess personal sins, financial information and other sensitive disclosures to these advisors. Advisors are allowed to report these admissions to group leadership if necessary, according to an account of one former member. The organization itself says that the term 'handmaid' was a reference to Jesus's mother Mary's description of herself as a 'handmaid of the Lord.' They said they recently stopped using the term due to cultural shifts and now use the name 'women leaders.' The group deems that husbands are the heads of their wives and should take authority over the family while 'the heads and handmaids give direction on important decisions, including whom to date or marry, where to live, whether to take a job or buy a home, and how to raise children,' the Times reported. Unmarried members are placed living with married couples members often look to buy or rent homes near other members. Founded in 1971, People of Praise was part of the era's 'great emergence of lay ministries and lay movements in the Catholic Church,' founder Bishop Peter Smith told the Catholic News Agency. Beginning with just 29 members, it now has an estimated 2,000. According to CNA, some former members of the People of Praise allege that leaders exerted undue influence over family decision-making, or pressured the children of members to commit to the group. At least 10 members of Barrett's family, not including their children, also belong to the group. Barrett's father, Mike Coney, serves on the People of Praise's powerful 11-member board of governors, described as the group's 'highest authority.' Her mother Linda served as a handmaiden. The group's ultra-conservative religious tenets helped spur author Margaret Atwood to publish The Handmaid's Tale, a story about a religious takeover of the U.S. government, according to a 1986 interview with the writer. The book has since been made into a hit TV series. According to legal experts, loyalty oaths such at the one Barrett would have taken to People of Praise could raise legitimate questions about a judicial nominee's independence and impartiality. 'These groups can become so absorbing that it's difficult for a person to retain individual judgment,' said Sarah Barringer Gordon, a professor of constitutional law and history at the University of Pennsylvania. 'I don't think it's discriminatory or hostile to religion to want to learn more' about her relationship with the group. 'We don't try to control people,' said Craig S. Lent. 'And there's never any guarantee that the leader is always right. You have to discern and act in the Lord. 'If and when members hold political offices, or judicial offices, or administrative offices, we would certainly not tell them how to discharge their responsibilities.' During her professional career, Barrett spent two decades as a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, from which she holds her bachelor's and law degrees. She was named 'Distinguished Professor of the Year' three separate years, a title decided by students. A former clerk for late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, she was nominated by Trump to serve on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017 and confirmed in a 55-43 vote by the Senate later that year. At the time, three Democratic senators supported her nomination: Joe Donnelly (Ind.), who subsequently lost his 2018 reelection bid, Tim Kaine (Va.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.), according to the Hill. She was backed by every GOP senator at the time, but she did not disclose her relationship with People of Praise which led to later criticism of her appointment. Barret is well-regarded by the religious right because of this devout faith. Yet these beliefs are certain to cause problems with her conformation and stand in opposition to the beliefs of Ginsburg, who she would be replacing. Axios reported in 2019 that Trump told aides he was 'saving' Barrett to replace Ginsburg. Her deep Catholic faith was cited by Democrats as a large disadvantage during her 2017 confirmation hearing for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. 'If you're asking whether I take my faith seriously and I'm a faithful Catholic, I am,' Barrett responded during that hearing, 'although I would stress that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge.' Republicans now believe that she performed well in her defense during this hearing, leaving her potentially capable of doing the same if facing the Senate Judiciary Committee. She is a former member of the Notre Dame's 'Faculty for Life' and in 2015 signed a letter to the Catholic Church affirming the 'teachings of the Church as truth.' Among those teachings were the 'value of human life from conception to natural death' and marriage-family values 'founded on the indissoluble commitment of a man and a woman'. She has previously written that Supreme Court precedents are not sacrosanct. Liberals have taken these comments as a threat to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide. Barrett wrote that she agrees 'with those who say that a justice's duty is to the Constitution and that it is thus more legitimate for her to enforce her best understanding of the Constitution rather than a precedent she thinks clearly in conflict with it'. Among the other statements that have cause concern for liberal are her declaration that ObamaCare's birth control mandate is 'grave violation of religious freedom.' LGBTQ organizations also voiced their concern about her when she was first named on the shortlist. She has also sided with Trump on immigration. In a case from June 2020, IndyStar reports that she was the sole voice on a three-judge panel that supported allowing federal enforcement of Trump's public charge immigration law in Illinois, The law would have prevented immigrants from getting legal residency in the United States if they rely on public benefits like food stamps or housing vouchers. Advertisement

Who is Barbara Lagoa? Barbara Lagoa , 52, was named by Trump as one of his potential nominees to the Supreme Court. A Cuban American who parents fled to the U.S., Lagoa was born in Miami in 1967. She grew up in the largely Cuban American city of Hialeah. According to the Tampa Bay Times, her parents fled Cuba over five decades ago when Fidel Castro's Communist dictatorship took over. During the 2019 news conference in Miami announcing her appointment to the Supreme Court, she told the crowd that her father had to give up his 'dream of becoming a lawyer' because of Castro. If nominated to the nation's high court by Trump and confirmed by the Senate, the mother of three daughters would be the second Latino justice to ever serve. She served on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for less than a year after being appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate on an 80-15 vote Prior to that she also spent less than a year in her previous position as the first Latina and Cuban American to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. Lagoa is considered a protege of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a close Trump ally. Her position in crucial swing state Florida could help Trump politically. Last week, she voted in the majority in a ruling that barred hundreds of thousands of Florida felons who have served their time from voting unless they pay fees and fines owed to the state. This decision could have a major impact on the presidential race as Florida is often won by a candidate by only razor-thin margins. 'Florida's felon re-enfranchisement scheme is constitutional,' Lagoa wrote in a 20-page concurrence, according to USA Today. 'It falls to the citizens of the state of Florida and their elected state legislators, not to federal judges, to make any additional changes to it.' In 2000 Lagoa was one of a dozen mostly pro bono lawyers who represented the Miami family of Elian Gonzalez, a Cuban citizen who became embroiled in a heated international custody and immigration controversy. In 2016 while in the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, she wrote an opinion reversing the conviction of Adonis Losada, a former Univision comic actor sentenced to 153 years in prison for collecting child porn. She ruled that a Miami-Dade judge erred in not allowing Losada to defend himself at trial. That same month she became unpopular with free press advocates when she was one of three judges who allowed a Miami judge to close a courtroom to the public for a key hearing in a high-profile murder case. They ruled that publicity surrounding the machete murder of a student in Homestead might unfairly sway jurors at a future trial. Lagoa is a graduate of Florida International University and Columbia University Law. She is is a member of the conservative Federalist Society, which stresses that judges should 'say what the law is, not what it should be.' She is married to lawyer Paul C. Huck Jr., and her father-in-law is United States District Judge Paul Huck. Advertisement

All eyes on Arizona Senate race that could give Democrats the extra vote they need in the Supreme Court fight

If Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly wins a seat in the U.S. Senate, he could take office as early as November 20, shrinking the GOP's Senate majority at a crucial moment and complicating the path to confirmation for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee.

Kelly has maintained a consistent polling lead over Republican Senator Martha McSally, who was appointed to the seat held by John McCain, who died in 2018.

In a recent poll by The New York Times/Sienna College Research Institute, Kelly had secured 50 per cent of likely votes and McSally weighed in at 42 per cent.

If Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly (left) wins a seat in the U.S. Senate, he could take office as early as November 20, shrinking the GOP's Senate majority at a crucial moment and complicating the path to confirmation for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee. Republican Senator Martha McSally (right) is Kelly's rival for the seat

Because the contest is a special election to finish McCain's term, the winner could be sworn in as soon as the results are officially certified. Other winners in the November election won't take office until January.

If Kelly wins, the timing when he formally takes office could be crucial in determining who replaces Ginsburg. It could eliminate a Republican vote in favor of Trump's nominee  the GOP currently has 53 seats in the 100-member chamber  or require McConnell to speed up the nomination process.

With McSally in the Senate, four GOP defections could defeat a nomination, while a tie vote could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence.

McSally quickly laid down a marker, declaring on Twitter within hours of the announcement of Ginsberg's death that 'this U.S. Senate should vote on President Trump's next nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.'

She has not elaborated on whether the confirmation vote should come before or after the election. But she highlighted the renewed stakes of her race in a fundraising pitch on Saturday.

'If Mark Kelly comes out on top, HE could block President Trump's Supreme Court Nominee from being confirmed,' she wrote.

Democrats in 2018 found success in Arizona, a state long dominated by the GOP, by appealing to Republicans and independent voters disaffected with Trump.

The Supreme Court vacancy could shake up the race and boost McSally's lagging campaign by keeping those voters in her camp.

Kelly has maintained a consistent polling lead over Republican Senator Martha McSally (pictured), who was appointed to the seat held by John McCain, who died in 2018

Kelly said late Saturday that 'the people elected to the presidency and Senate in November should fill this vacancy.'

'When it comes to making a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, Washington shouldn't rush that process for political purposes,' Kelly said in a statement.

Republican and Democratic election lawyers agreed that Arizona law is clear: If Kelly wins, he will take office once the results are official.

Arizona Supreme Court precedent favors putting elected officials in elected positions as soon as possible, said the Tim LaSota, the former lawyer for the Arizona Republican Party and a McSally supporter.

'Somebody who has only been appointed does not have the imprimatur of the electorate,' LaSota said. 'It's sort of intuitive that the law should favor somebody who has won an election as opposed to someone who's just been appointed.'

Arizona law requires election results to be officially certified on the fourth Monday after the election, which falls this year on November 30. The certification could be delayed up to three days if the state has not received election results from any of the 15 counties.

Mark Kelly (pictured): 'When it comes to making a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, Washington shouldn't rush that process for political purposes'

Mary O'Grady, a Democratic lawyer with expertise in election law, said the deadlines are firm and there's little room for delay.

'I don't see ambiguity here,' said O'Grady, who was Arizona's solicitor general under two Democratic attorneys general.

Arizona law allows recounts and election challenges only under very limited circumstances, she said.

'Usually, the Secretary of the Senate's office goes out of its way to accommodate the new senators coming in,' former Senate Historian Don Ritchie told The Arizona Republic, which first reported on the prospect for Kelly taking office early a day before Ginsburg's death.

'The old senator is out of their office there. I mean, they actually literally put a lock on the door so their staff cant go in.'

Still, GOP leaders are optimistic they can pull it off. In the turbulent Trump era, nothing has motivated the Republican Party's disparate factions to come home quite like the prospect of a lifetime appointment to the nation's highest court.

'This can be an important galvanizing force for President Trump,' said Leonard Leo, co-chairman of the conservative Federalist Society who has advised the Trump administration on its first two confirmations - for Neil Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.

GOP Sen. Tom Tillis (center) holds a sign as President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, September 19 in Fayetteville, North Carolina

Lest there be any questions about the political implications, Trump is expected to make his choice in a matter of days. Those close to the president are encouraging him to announce his pick before the first presidential debate against Democratic challenger Joe Biden on September 29.

Biden said the winner of the November election should choose the next justice. Biden's team is skeptical that the Supreme Court clash will fundamentally change the contours of a race Trump was trailing so close to Election Day. Indeed, five states are already voting.

In fact, Democrats say it could motivate voters to fight harder against Trump and Republicans as the Senate breaks the norms with an unprecedented confirmation at a time when Americans are deciding crucial elections.

'Everything Americans value is at stake,' Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told fellow Democratic senators on a conference call Saturday, according to a person who was not authorized to publicly discuss the private call and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biden is not planning to release a full list of potential court nominees, according to a top aide, because it would further politicize the process. The aide was not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biden's team suggests that the court fight will heighten the focus on issues that were already at stake in the election: health care, environmental protections, gender equity and abortion.

Health care, in particular, has been a top voter concern this pandemic-year election, Democrats say.

They will argue that protections for Americans with preexisting conditions are essentially on the ballot as the Supreme Court will hear the administration's argument to strike down President Barack Obama's health law shortly after the election. The Affordable Care Act includes such protections and the court is expected to render a verdict next year.

'Make it real,' said Hillary Clinton, urging Democrats to take the fight to the polls, in an interview on MSNBC.

Republicans say voters, particularly those the party needs to win back, are motivated by the chance to name a conservative judge - so much so that it could take some states off the map for Democrats.

The focus on the nomination fight could help unify such voters around a common issue in an election season with so many distractions, said Leo of the Federalist Society.

'Going as far back as 2000, poll after poll shows that the Supreme Court is an issue that resonates strongly with Republican and conservative voters, and importantly even with low-propensity voters from those groups,' he said.

Republicans were especially optimistic that the court battle would boost their chances of holding the Senate, particularly in Republican-leaning states such as Montana, Iowa, Kansas, Georgia and South Carolina where GOP candidates are at risk. Democrats need to pick up three seats to claim the Senate majority if Biden wins and four if he doesn't.

Two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine (left) and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska (right), spoke out after Ginsburgs death to object to the speedy pace, saying the Senate should not vote before the election so the candidate elected on Nov. 3 can decide

Key GOP senators who face tough reelection contests in such states where Trump is popular quickly linked themselves to his push for a swift vote, embracing the prospect of another conservative on the bench. Among them: McSally in Arizona, Thom Tillis in North Carolina and Lindsey Graham in South Carolina.

Yet other Republicans in more contested battleground states, including Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado, held back, heeding McConnells advice to keep their 'powder dry.'

Two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, spoke out after Ginsburgs death to object to the speedy pace, saying the Senate should not vote before the election so the candidate elected on Nov. 3 can decide.

As he left the White House for Saturday evening's rally in North Carolina, Trump signaled his displeasure with Collins - and a potential warning to other wayward Republicans: 'I totally disagree with her,' he said.

Democratic challengers and outside allies seized on what they called 'hypocrisy' of Republicans refusing to consider Obama's nominee before the 2016 election, unearthing past statements from many of the same senators now pushing ahead for Trump.

The Democrats raised more than $71 million in the hours after Ginsburgs death.

Many Republicans are hopeful the Supreme Court fight will supersede many conservative voters' concerns about Trump's inconsistent leadership and divisive rhetoric. But voters in key states are already dealing with unprecedented hardships that will not simply disappear in the coming weeks.

Conservative activist Tim Phillips, president of the group Americans for Prosperity, is doubtful that the court fight will change many votes. He spent much of Saturday canvassing suburban neighborhoods around Kansas City as part of his organization's massive push to boost down-ballot Republicans in November.

People gather at the Supreme Court on the morning after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87, Saturday in Washington D.C.

When conservative activists gathered in the morning, the Supreme Court was a prime topic of conversation that 'strengthened their resolve to get out and work,' Phillips said. But once they started knocking on voters' doors, 'it didn't even come up.'

'I just think given the magnitude of the crises - plural - facing swing voters, this is just not going to be a crucial factor in their final decision,' Phillips said.

At the Cambria County Republican Party headquarters in western Pennsylvania, the vacancy wasn't a major topic of conversation as people swung by on Saturday to pick up yard signs and campaign swag.

Lisa Holgash, a 49-year-old Trump supporter, said she would 'love it' if Trump were able to appoint another Supreme Court Justice. But she said she was concerned about the idea of Republicans pushing through a nominee so quickly ahead of the election, especially after Republicans denied Obama a final pick in his last year.

'Its not that far now to the election,' she said. 'I dont think it should be rushed.'
Ho Chi Minh Citys District 1 and District 5 are home to the citys vibrant Chinese-Vietnamese community, boasting several guildhalls which form a unique and charming area of attractions for tourists visiting the southern metropolis.

The Chinese-Vietnamese population has been present in the two districts for generations.

District 5 and neighboring areas in District 6 and District 11 are collectively known as Cho Lon  home to the largest community of Chinese Vietnamese in the southern metropolis.

Despite having settled down many years ago, people of Chinese descent living in the southern metropolis attach great importance to preserving their traditions, culture, and religious beliefs.

Part of upholding such traditions has meant building several guildhalls to serve the needs of the local community.

These guildhalls serve commercial, social, and spiritual functions, acting as business associations, philanthropic organizations, meeting spaces, and halls of worship.

The main hall for worship at Minh Huong Gia Thanh guildhall in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City is seen in this undated file photo. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Minh Huong Gia Thanh guildhall

Minh Huong Gia Thanh guildhall, also known as Minh Huong communal house, founded by Chinas Ming dynasty loyalists in 1789, was the first Chinese guildhall built in Ho Chi Minh Citys so-called China Town.

The guildhall is located at 380 Tran Hung Dao Street, Ward 11, in District 5.

Minh Huong is literally translated as Ming Peoples Village, while Gia Thanh was given by King Gia Long of Vietnams Nguyen dynasty.

Minh Huong communal house was built in the style of Cantonese architecture, with brick walls and a tile roof.

The roof is decorated with a relief of two dragons fighting for a pearl and other reliefs of ceramic statues designed in the style of the famous Dong Hoa - Cay Mai pottery in southern Vietnam in 1901.

Each of the ceramic statues represents a character or the whole story of an ancient Chinese tale.

The hall for displaying horizontal lacquered boards at Minh Huong Gia Thanh guildhall in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City is seen in this undated file photo. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Unlike the popular architecture of other Chinese guildhalls in Ho Chi Minh City, which usually include halls in the front, in the center and in the back, Minh Huong consists of a place for displaying horizontal lacquered boards, a main hall for worship, and a reception area.

The most notable horizontal lacquered board at the communal house is likely the one granted by King Tu Duc of the Nguyen dynasty in 1863.

In addition, the guildhall also preserves 25 other horizontal lacquered boards and 29 pairs of wood panels.

Minh Huong Gia Thanh was recognized as a national architectural and artistic relic in 1993.

Nghia An guildhall

Nghia An guildhall, located at 678 Nguyen Trai Street in District 5, dates back to the 19th century and was built by people from Chaozhou City in the Chinese province of Guangdong.

The guildhall derives its name from a very old term for Chaozhou, one that dates back to the 5th century.

As with several of the other Chinese guildhalls in Ho Chi Minh Citys District 1 and District 5, Nghia An has a rectangular architecture with perpendicular halls.

Nghia An guildhall in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City is seen in this undated file photo. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The architecture, interior, and exterior of the guildhall clearly characterizes those of Chaozhou.

The roof is divided into three parts, with the middle being higher than the two sides.

A crockery statue of two dragons fighting for a pearl sits atop the roof.

Statues are placed atop the roof of Nghia An guildhall in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City is seen in this undated file photo. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The guildhall includes a lobby, a courtyard, a hall for incense ceremonies, a main hall, and offices lining its sides.

It is famous for its gorgeous woodcarvings and is dedicated to Guan Yu, not only a god of war but also trade and commerce.

In 1993, Nghia An was recognized by the Ministry of Culture as a national architectural and artistic relic.

A special art form is placed atop the door of Nghia An guildhall in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City in this undated file photo. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Quang Trieu guildhall (Thien Hau Temple)

Located at 122 Vo Van Kiet Street in Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, District 1, Quang Trieu guildhall was once a meeting space, a place to manage Chinese immigrants from Guangzhou and Zhaoqing Cities in Guangdong, and a place of worship for Thien Hau Thanh Mau (the Empress of Heaven)  a Chinese goddess of the sea and protector of seafarers and fishermen.

The guildhall is thus also known as Thien Hau Temple, which characterizes Guangdongs architecture, featuring mini statues and patterns that depict the classic tales of China.

Quang Trieu guildhall in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City is seen in this undated file photo. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Particularly, the relief on the guildhalls courtyard was made from a famous type of Chinese sculpture technique using chisels and wooden hammers to carve figures and scenes on bricks to decorate the interior and exterior.

Another relief hung above the entrance to the guildhall was made of intricately carved wood, symbolizing the boats saved by Thien Hau Thanh Mau.

Statues depicting an ancient Chinese tale are placed atop the roof of Quang Trieu guildhall in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City in this undated file photo. Photo: Tuoi Tre

An altar of Thien Hau Thanh Mau is located in the center of the main hall, while altars of other gods and goddesses are erected on the two sides.

The guildhall has been recognized as a national architectural and artistic monument since 1993.

Inside Quang Trieu guildhall in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City in this undated file photo. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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Palestinian security forces have detained dozens of supporters of a rival to President Mahmoud Abbas who is based in the United Arab Emirates, his political group said Monday.

Mohammed Dahlan, a former senior Palestinian official who was banished from the West Bank in 2010 after a falling-out with Abbas, has denied any role in the UAE's agreement to normalize ties with Israel, which most Palestinians view as a betrayal of their cause.

Dahlan's political movement said in a statement that dozens of its members have been detained or summoned for questioning by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank in recent days, calling it a stark violation of the law.

Palestinian security officials declined to comment.

Dahlan, a former security chief in Gaza, has long been seen as a potential successor to the 84-year-old Abbas. In exile, Dahlan has cultivated close ties with Egypt and the UAE, where he is based.

His forces battled the Islamic militant group Hamas in the months before it seized power in Gaza in 2007, but in recent years he has worked with them to provide aid to the territory, which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since the takeover.

He has denied having any political aspirations, but the aid has helped him to develop a small base of support in Gaza. The UAE deal has stoked speculation he may stage a return to Palestinian politics.

The decision of the UAE and the small Gulf nation of Bahrain to normalize relations with Israel has upended the longstanding Arab consensus that recognition should only be granted in return for concessions in the peace process, leaving the Palestinians increasingly isolated.

Abbas has seen his popularity drop in recent years as he has failed to end the Israeli occupation, the blockade of Gaza or the internal political split with Hamas. His Palestinian Authority is widely seen as corrupt and dysfunctional. The Palestinians have not held elections since the split with Hamas, and Abbas has not named a successor.
Sixty years since independence, Mali, once again, stands at a crossroads.

The new military rulers who last month overthrew embattled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita named on Monday former Defence Minister Bah Ndaw president of a transitional government, tasking him with leading the country to elections. Colonel Assimi Goita, head of the group of soldiers behind the August 18 coup, was appointed vice president.

The announcement, made on state television on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the proclamation of the independent Republic of Mali, marked the latest twist in a deepening saga with major implications for a fragile country at the heart of the battle against armed groups in the wider Sahel region.

It was not immediately clear whether the appointment of the 70-year-old Ndaw would please the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc, which for weeks now has been pushing for a transition to civilian rule. Fearing that the unconstitutional transfer of power may set an example domestically and compromise international efforts to contain the worsening security crisis that has spread beyond Malis borders, regional leaders have sought to pressure the military government by cutting off money flows and imposed sanctions.

Yvan Guichaoua, a Sahel expert at the University of Kents Brussels School of International Studies, said Ndaws appointment was good news as political heavyweights with electoral ambitions appeared unwilling to step forward due to a ban on transitional leaders that prevents them from running in the next polls.

Describing him as a lesser-known figure with a reputation of decency, Guichaoua said his profile looks acceptable by the domestic political forces and the international community.

The ECOWAS wanted a civilian president and Ndaw meets this criterion, even though he is retired military, he added. Were now getting closer to having a functional institutional architecture able to govern Mali, in which the junta will, in any case, remain highly influential.

Colonel Assimi Goita was named vice president [File: Moussa Kalapo/Reuters]

Andrew Lebovich, a policy fellow with the European Council for Foreign Relations, said that while NDaw is generally seen as a well-respected figure, it may be too soon to determine if his nomination is a positive development.

Naming the transitional president is just one step in a long process of necessary reforms and government actions that have not yet been taken, Lebovich said.

We also dont know yet what his priorities may be as transitional president, and given that the CNSP leader Col. Assimi Goita will be Vice President of the transitional government, its clear the junta will maintain an active presence within the transitional government.

France, the former colonial power which has for years spearheaded international military efforts against armed groups in the region, had also called for a swift handover. But it had also had to tread a careful path, condemning the coup while at the same time tempering its criticism of the military officers who removed 75-year-old Keita  a leader who appeared to be on a good footing with Paris but faced growing opposition at home due to the countrys persistent economic malaise and spiralling security crisis.

Having been seen as supporters of Keita, their (Frances) position is weakened in Mali, said Jean-Yves Haine, a professor at the Sorbonne Nouvelle university and ILERI school in Paris.

There was no immediate reaction by France to the announcement about the new government, which is to be inaugurated on September 25.

Tumultuous history

A French colony since the late 19th century, Mali achieved independence in 1960, first in a federation alongside Senegal on June 20, 1960, and then becoming a country in its own right on September 22 of that year following the secession of its neighbour the month before.

Since then, the West African country has retained strong relations with France as it experienced alternate cycles of political stability and instability, punctuated by rebellions, financials woes and military coups -several of them.

Its very first president, Modibo Keita, was overthrown in 1968 by Moussa Traore, a young army lieutenant who met the same fate nearly a quarter of a century later. Buoyed by widespread anger at the government, Lieutenant Colonel Amadou Toumani Toure in 1991 led a coup against Traore. But unlike Traore, Toure quickly withdrew from public life  auguring the countrys longest period of democratic governance  only to return some 10 years later to successfully run for the presidency.

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With a month left to his second term in office, however, Toure himself was toppled in 2012 amid dissatisfaction about the governments response to a surge in rebel activity in the countrys north. The overthrow and killing of Libyas Muammar Gaddafi the previous year led many Tuareg rebels who had headed to the neighbouring country to fight on the side of its longtime ruler to cross the Sahara and return to Mali, bringing them with an ample stock of weapons and military trucks.

Taking advantage of the political turmoil in the capital, Bamako, the battle-hardened separatists from the marginalised Tuareg community, allied with an al-Qaeda offshoot, quickly overran much of the countrys north. But the rebellion was quickly hijacked by armed groups, which seized control of major northern cities.

With the fighters advancing towards the south, the alarmed the interim authorities in the capital, Bamako, appealed to France for help.

They (armed groups) are seeking to deal a fatal blow to the very existence of Mali, then-French President Francis Hollande said in January 2013 as he announced the launch of Operation Serval to beat back the fighters. France, as is the case with its African partners and all of the international community, cannot accept this, he added.

The French-led military operation helped dislodge the al-Qaeda-linked fighters, paving the way for elections in 2013 which brought Keita  also known by his initials, IBK  to power.

Violence, however, severely escalated during Keitas seven years in office, with large parts of Mali still remaining beyond government control.

Malian troops and French soldiers during a 2017 joint patrol in Inaloglog [File: Benoit Tessier/Reuters]

Original sin

Despite a multitude of regional and international forces active in the Sahel  including Frances Operation Barkhane, whose roughly 5,000 troops are mostly based in the north and east of Mali  the armed groups have managed to proliferate and strengthen their foothold across the semi-arid region south of the Sahara.

Attacks have jumped fivefold since 2016, with thousands of people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced amid a drastically devolving situation in Malis volatile central region.

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The failure to restore stability after years of military efforts has fed into a growing anti-French sentiment in Mali, with critics denouncing the military presence of the former colonial power in the country and growing suspicious of its role in the wider region.

In Bamako, [anti-French sentiment] emanates from sections of the political landscape most attached to Malis sovereignty, which wont accept French interference in Malian affairs, said Guichaoua.

They accuse France of having stopped the return of the Malian forces in Kidal in 2013, when France drove out the jihadi coalition that had occupied northern Mali in 2012, in order to let the separatists regain their stronghold.

Describing it as a domestic issue, France did not take on the Tuareg, who remained in control of their bastion of Kidal, a Sahara outpost near Malis border with Algeria.

Guichaoua said that, while this could be considered the original sin of the French in the eyes of some sections of Malis population, those in Kidal also contested Frances presence on account of the war and the way it is being waged.





Late last year, a series of anti-France protests prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to call on countries in the region to express public support for Pariss expensive operation, threatening to withdraw its 4,500 troops, before changing tack and committing an additional 600 soldiers.

Following last months coup, France, as well as the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, have declared they will continue operations in the country during the transitional period.

And while Malis new kingmakers might still align with the French militarily, it remains to be seen whether Paris will still be able to influence political developments.

The junta is not aligned with the M5-RFP, the anti-IBK coalition which has in its midst some vocal anti-French figures, said Guichaoua, referring to the opposition alliance that led weeks of relentless street protests calling for the resignation of the former president.

The junta is made of pragmatic leaders, whose stance towards the French is open but might also depend on the ability of the M5-RFP to push its agenda.

For Haine, this is where the crux of the problem lies. He said progress on the political and economic fronts must be made if the military intervention is to produce any positive result.

Military solutions to fight terrorism are only part of a larger strategy. Political stabilisation, public support, institutional strength and above all, socioeconomic conditions are key elements for an external intervention to succeed.
Five teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of the rape of a 19-year-old woman in a late-night attack.

The incident happened as the woman walked in Lake Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, at about 1am on Sunday.

A Hampshire Police spokesman appealed for witnesses, saying that the woman had been approached by two men, neither of whom were known to her.

The attack happened as the woman walked along Lake Road in Portsmouth, pictured, at 1am

Detective Inspector Emma Crute said: 'This has been a very distressing incident for the victim and I want to urge anyone who may be able to assist our inquiries to get in contact with us as soon as possible.'

The spokesman added that the victim was being supported by specialist officers.

Police have arrested three 18-year-old men, a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy, all from Portsmouth, on suspicion of rape and they all remain in custody for questioning.
San Antonio firefighters rescued an elderly man from a burning Northeast Side apartment that caught fire while he was smoking a cigarette, the San Antonio Fire Department said.

The man was smoking just before 3 a.m. at his residence in the 100 block of Andrews Street while using his oxygen tank, which ignited the fire, officials at the scene said.
Calcutta high court chief justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan has constituted a two-judge bench that will exclusively hear chit fund or Ponzi scam cases every Friday starting September 25.

The chief justice has also formed a two-judge bench and a single-judge bench that will hear all pending criminal cases involving sitting and former members of the state legislature and Parliament. These two benches became operational on Monday.

Formation of a separate bench for Ponzi scam cases is being viewed in political circles as a significant development since several prominent leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) figure among the accused. No TMC leader, however, has commented on this.

With over six months left for the West Bengal assembly elections, heightened activity by Central probe agencies since August has prompted the TMC to allege political vendetta by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

On August 24, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sent notices to five TMC leaders in connection with the 2014 Narada News sting operation, the videos of which were made public before the 2016 Bengal assembly polls, seeking details of their family property. The videos purportedly showed high-profile TMC MLAs and MPs receiving money to help a fictitious company.

On August 26 and 27, the Kolkata office of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the Narada case as well as the Saradha, Rose Valley and MPS Group Ponzi fund scams involving thousands of crores of rupees, revamped its economic offence wing. Two officers of the rank of superintendent of police flew down from Delhi to join duty.

The CBI is trying to wrap up the probe in the Saradha Ponzi fund case involving an estimated 2,460 crore that was raised from around 1.8 million depositors from West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. Sudipta Sen, who owned the group, is in jail. TMCs former Rajya Sabha member Kunal Ghosh spent over two years in jail in this case.

The Rose Valley scam, involving around 17,000 core, is the biggest Ponzi scam in Bengal in terms of money involved. In 2014, the Supreme Court asked the CBI to investigate the scams and the role of influentials in money laundering. The ED is conducting a parallel probe.

In the Narada case, the CBI filed the FIR in March 2017, acting on a Calcutta high court order that was upheld by the Supreme Court. However, the trial in this case is yet to start.

We welcome the formation of the new benches. Court proceedings got delayed because of the Covid-19 lockdown. A separate bench for Ponzi scams will help common people who lost their money, said BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha.

The Calcutta high court is overseeing the probes into the Ponzi scams as well as refund of money to investors, around 200 of whom have died by suicide. Thousands of depositors have been waiting for refunds since 2013-14. Faster hearings will help them, said lawyer Arindam Das who represents the cheated investors of Saradha, Rose Valley and MPS groups.

The official notification (No 3477-RG), announcing formation of the three benches was issued by Rai Chattopadhyay, the high court registrar general, on Saturday.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi and justice Suvra Ghosh will hear all pending criminal cases involving sitting or former lawmakers. The single bench in this matter will be headed by justice Bibek Chaudhuri.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi and justice Jay Sengupta will take up Ponzi scheme cases.

On August 26, while hearing a bail petition filed by MPS Group owner Pramathanath Manna, who is in jail for six years, the division bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Suvra Ghosh expressed displeasure and asked the CBI why the trial has not started yet.

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By Express News Service

T'PURAM: The central investigation agencies on Monday arrested two persons from Trivandrum International Airport for their suspected links with terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and involvement in the 2008 Bengaluru blast case.

The arrested persons have been identified as Gul Nawaz, a native of Uttar Pradesh, and Shoaib alias Fazil, a native of Kondat near Pappinissery, Kannur.

Gul Nawaz was accused of raising funds for the LeT through hawala channels to sponsor terrorist activities in the country, while Shoaib was accused in the 2008 Bengaluru blast case, sources said.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is in charge of the LeT hawala money transaction case, the Anti-Terror Cell of the Bengaluru Police is investigating the 2008 blasts in the southern city.

Sources said both the terror accused were deported from the Gulf and arrested when they landed at the Trivandrum airport. With this, a total of five persons have been arrested for terror suspected cases from Kerala within the last three days.

On Saturday, the NIA had picked three persons from the migrant workers' settlement in Kochi.

A team of officers from the investigation agencies reached the airport premise in the evening and took the accused into the custody when the Air India Express repatriation flight (1532) from Riyad landed in the airport by 6.13 pm. It is learnt that the duo were deported to the country.

Soon after they were taken into the custody, the slueths have questioned them for about 2.30 hours inside the airport. Later they were taken to Kochi for detailed interrogation. It is expected that they would be taken to Delhi and Bangalore after obtaining transit remand on Tuesday.

Nawaz was accused of raising fund for the proscribed LeT from Saudi in a case registered in 2017. The NIA had earlier arrested other accused in the case for their role in funding LeT operative Sheikh Abdul Nayeem alias Sohel Khan who was arrested and chargesheeted earlier for criminal conspiracy to carry out subversive activities in the country.

Shoaib is said to be the Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative and accused in Bangalore blast.
Turkeys Travel Agencies Union (TURSAB) and the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) joined forces on Monday to make the nation's historical city an even better tourism destination, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

According to a statement by TURSAB, their cooperation aims to increase the number of visitors to Istanbul each year.

TURSAB President Firuz B. Baglkaya and ITO chief Sekib Avdagic evaluated projects that will be realized through the joint work of both organizations.

The meeting was also attended by numerous officials from both groups as Avdagic reiterated that ITO stands by TURSAB regarding transportation to, from and within the city.

In the meeting, a report titled The Effects of COVID-19 on Tourism and the Future of Istanbul Tourism was presented to Avdagic. It was also decided that ITOs Information Commercialization Center, which supports start-up projects, will back ventures prepared by members of TURSAB.

The organizations also decided that ITOs Istanbul Commerce University and TURSAB Academy will conduct joint activities for tourism certification issues.
New Jersey officials reported 396 new coronavirus cases and two deaths on Monday as the rate of transmission held steady for the second day and remains its been in seven weeks.

The latest rate of transmission increased to 1.12 on Sunday and remained the same Monday after gradually increasing last week. Thats the highest since Aug. 7 when it was 1.15. Any number above 1 means each newly infected person, on average, is spreading the virus to at least one other person and the outbreak is expanding. The transmission rate has been above 1 since Sept. 4, the day New Jersey reopened to indoor dining with capacity limits.

New Jersey has had 200,154 residents test positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak began in early March and 16,069 people have died - 14,278 confirmed cases and 1,791 considered probable coronavirus fatalities. The state has had 3.4 million coronavirus tests administered to date.

Some of that is due to big testing capacity, Gov. Phil Murphy said during a 1 p.m. briefing in Trenton. Some of this is also community spread. Were challenged right now in Monmouth and Ocean counties. We must remain vigilant.

The state has continued to push forward with elements of its Stage 3 coronavirus recovery plan with the reopening of gyms, indoor dining and theaters, all with capacity limits, but the state officials remains in Stage 2. New Jerseys schools reopened this month with a mix of in-person classes, remote learning and hybrid plans, though more than a dozen have had to alter reopening plans due to COVID-19 cases among staff and students.

New Jersey's rate of transmission is 1.12 for the second consecutive day.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

HOSPITALIZATIONS

There were 349 coronavirus patients - 185 confirmed and 164 pending test results - across New Jerseys 71 hospitals Sunday night. Thats 31 fewer patients than the night before.

The latest hospitalizations include 87 patients in critical or intensive care (four fewer than the day before), including 32 on ventilators (seven fewer than the day before).

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY NUMBERS (sorted by new cases)

Ocean County: 12,317 positive tests (77 new), 977 confirmed deaths (65 probable)

Monmouth County: 11,544 positive tests (46 new), 773 confirmed deaths (92 probable)

Bergen County: 22,197 positive tests (38 new), 1,801 confirmed deaths (243 probable)

Middlesex County: 19,116 positive tests (29 new), 1,223 confirmed deaths (202 probable)

Essex County: 20,854 positive tests (24 new), 1,896 confirmed deaths (229 probable)

Camden County: 9,729 positive tests (22 new), 552 confirmed deaths (53 probable)

Union County: 17,466 positive tests (21 new), 1,191 confirmed deaths (166 probable)

Morris County: 7,763 positive tests (19 new), 686 confirmed deaths (145 probable)

Burlington County: 6,946 positive tests (18 new), 452 confirmed deaths (39 probable)

Hudson County: 20,506 positive tests (18 new), 1,353 confirmed deaths (160 probable)

Passaic County: 18,832 positive tests (16 new), 1,108 confirmed deaths (143 probable)

Somerset County: 5,703 positive tests (12 new), 495 confirmed deaths (74 probable)

Cumberland County: 3,744 positive tests (8 new), 149 confirmed deaths (8 probable)

Gloucester County: 4,330 positive tests (8 new), 217 confirmed deaths (7 probable)

Atlantic County: 3,971 positive tests (7 new), 245 confirmed deaths (11 probable)

Mercer County: 8,576 positive tests (7 new), 600 confirmed deaths (36 probable)

Warren County: 1,433 positive tests (5 new), 158 confirmed deaths (13 probable)

Hunterdon County: 1,288 positive tests (4 new), 71 confirmed deaths (54 probable)

Salem County: 1,047 positive tests (3 new), 83 confirmed deaths (6 probable)

Cape May County: 999 positive tests (2 new), 87 confirmed deaths (8 probable)

Sussex County: 1,453 positive tests (2 new), 161 confirmed deaths (37 probable)

AGE BREAKDOWN

Broken down by age, those 30 to 49 years old make up the largest percentage of New Jersey residents that have caught the virus (31%), followed by those 50-64 (26.6%), 18-29 (16.1%), 65-79 (13.3%), 80 and older (9.2%), 5-17 (3%), and 0-4 (0.6%).

On average, the virus has been more deadly for older residents, especially those with pre-existing conditions. Nearly half the states COVID-19 deaths have been of residents 80 and older (47.8%), followed by those 65-79 (31.5%), 50-64 (15.8%), 30-49 (4.3%), 18-25 (0.39%), 5-17 (0%), and 0-4 (0.02%).

At least 7,141 of the states COVID-19 deaths have been of residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

GLOBAL NUMBERS

As of Monday, there have been more than 31 million positive COVID-19 tests across the world, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. More than 961,300 people have died, while more than 21.4 million people have recovered.

The United States is nearing 200,000 deaths from the virus with 6.8 million total cases, both the most in the world, according to Johns Hopkins.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
Checkmate.

Less than two weeks after the Los Angeles auto shows move from November to May upset the balance of power among the auto industrys top events for unveiling new vehicles, the Detroit show just snatched the big prize  the sole available time slot for a major show in the fall, the heart of new-vehicle intro season.

The 2021 Detroit auto show, formally known as the North American International Auto Show or NAIAS, will take place Sept. 24-Oct. 9.

Vehicles are shown on the floor of the AutoMobility LA Auto Show on Nov. 21, 2019, in Los Angeles.

The more we talked to automakers and our other partners, we quickly realized this time of year is the sweet spot, NAIAS Chairman Doug North said.

A lot of new models are introduced in the fall. Theres a need for a leading auto show then, maybe even a greater need than in summer. The move met universal approval.

The shows organizers, the City of Detroit and TCF Center management leapt into action when the LA show announced it would move from this November to May 19-31. The new spring dates were uncomfortably close to the other top shows long-announced schedules: New York, March 31-April 11, and Detroit, June 11-26.

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But LAs move also created the prime opening NAIAS just seized. The coup by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, which sponsors the Detroit show, has the full support of leading automakers, DADA Executive Director Rod Alberts said. Thats vital, because automakers like Ford, GM, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda and Fiat Chrysler can make or break a show by deciding to unveil exciting new vehicles there  or not.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E electric SUV introduction was a coup for the 2019 Los Angeles auto show in fall 2019.

For the past decade, the LA show had dibs on vehicles being introduced in the fall and winter. The 2019 LA show chalked up a big win last fall when Ford picked it to debut the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV. The chance for a first look at the Mach-E drew visitors from far away and journalists from around the world.

LA forfeited that prime-time slot by moving to May.

Story continues

More: These 20 classic cars are valued at $149M  but no one can find them

When word gets out, the organizers of the LA show are gonna say, How the hell did we let this happen?  said Larry Alexander, president of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau and chairman of the Detroit Regional Convention Center Authority, which runs TCF Center, where the show takes place. This is a great move for our city and region."

The Detroit show long benefited from being the first major auto show of the calendar year in January. In 2019, organizers decided to move to June to take advantage of TCF Centers riverfront location for outdoor events, test drives and tech demos, which automakers increasingly want to offer.

That carefully laid plan did not survive COVID-19, when the Army Corps of Engineers converted TCF Center to an emergency field hospital. In March, NAIAS announced it would skip 2020 and resume with a June show in 2021.

Gallery: 10 car models with the most speeding tickets

The new fall dates may serve both NAIAS purposes better. Late September and early October promise even better weather for outdoor events than storm-prone June  and the show is positioned to attract vehicle debuts in the auto industrys busiest season for launches: the fall.

2021 Detroit auto show dates

Motor Bella: Sept. 24-26

The Gallery: Sept. 26

Press Preview: Sept. 28-29

AutoMobili-D: Sept. 28-30

Industry Preview: Sept. 29-30

Charity Preview: Oct. 1

Public Show: Oct. 2-9

'A brilliant move'

In addition, October is traditionally a slow time for conferences and trade shows downtown, Alexander said.

This is a guaranteed piece of gigantic business for the city. We can easily fill the dates in June" with other conventions and shows. Its a brilliant move for hotels, restaurants and the hospitality business.

The future of auto shows is anything but assured as automakers experiment with other ways to unveil new models, but moving to fall leaves Detroits signature show uniquely well-positioned in a period when many new vehicles go on sale  and puts several months between NAIAS and its top competitors.

In fact, October was some insiders preferred time in 2019, when the show studied alternatives to January.

Associated events, including a preshow display of vehicles from Britain and Italy, and an invitation-only high rollers show of exotic and luxury cars, will fill downtown Detroit Sept. 24-26. News conferences will reveal new vehicles Sept. 28-29, followed by AutoMobili-Ds tech and startup show and industry days. The Charity preview is set for Oct. 1. The show will be open to the public Oct. 2-9.

September and October in Michigan are spectacular, North said. "We have wonderful days and cool evenings. It will be perfect for outdoor activities.

The goal is to turn Detroits riverfront and downtown into a two-week celebration of automotive design, engineering and innovation. Expect everything from food trucks to self-driving vehicles and rugged purpose-built courses for off-roaders.

This gives us a huge leg up on other auto shows, Alexander said. Everyone will want to be here.

Follow Mark Phelan on Twitter: @mark_phelan.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit auto show (NAIAS) will take place Sept. 24-Oct. 9


An IAF chopper flies over Ladakh region amid border tension with China, in Leh, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. A PTI Photo

NEW DELHI (PTI): The sixth round of Corps Commander talks between the armies of India and China is scheduled to be held today with a sole focus on the implementation of a five-point agreement reached between the two countries on disengagement of troops and de-escalation of the volatile situation in Eastern Ladakh, government sources said on Sunday.



The talks are set to start at 9 AM at Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, they said.



For the first time, a joint secretary-level officer from the Ministry of External Affairs is expected to be part of the Indian delegation, the sources said, adding India is looking for some concrete outcome from the dialogue.



Both sides reached the agreement to resolve the border row at a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Moscow on September 10.



The agreement included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the LAC.



The Indian delegation at the talks is set to be led by Lt Gen Harinder Singh, the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps of the Indian Army, while the Chinese side is likely to be headed by Major General Liu Lin, the commander of the South Xinjiang military region.



"In the talks, India will insist on complete disengagement of Chinese troops from the friction points at the earliest," said a source.



Even as both sides are holding another round of talks, India further bolstered its dominance in over 20 mountain heights around the friction points near the Pangong lake, the sources said.



They also said that the IAF is set to use the newly-inducted Rafale jets to carry out sorties in Ladakh as part of the overall boosting of combat readiness in view of "provocative actions" by Chinese troops including the three incidents of shots being fired in the air in the last three weeks.



The sources said the Indian Army also strengthened its dominance in over 20 strategic mountain heights around the Northern and Southern banks of Pangong Lake as well as in the extended general area of Chushul in the last few days even as freezing conditions are gripping the area, the sources said.



The deployment of French-made Rafale jets in Ladakh came less than 10 days after they were formally inducted into the IAF.



At a ceremony in Ambala on September 10 where five Rafale jets were inducted into the IAF, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the induction of the fleet was crucial considering the atmosphere being created along the frontier and that it is a "big and stern" message to those eyeing India's sovereignty.



Speaking on the occasion, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria had said the induction of Rafale jets could not have happened at a more opportune time considering the security scenario. The Rafale fleet is stationed in Ambala air force station.



The multirole Rafale jets, built by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, are known for air-superiority and precision strikes.



"The Rafale jets are flying around Ladakh," said a source without elaborating.



The IAF has deployed almost all its frontline fighter jets like Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft in the key frontier air bases in Eastern Ladakh and elsewhere along the LAC. The IAF is also carrying out night time combat air patrols in the Eastern Ladakh region.



The IAF has also deployed Apache attack choppers as well as Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to transport troops to various forward locations in Eastern Ladakh.



The sources said the Army has made elaborate arrangements to maintain the current level of troops and weapons in all forward areas in Eastern Ladakh and other sensitive high-altitude sectors in the harsh winter months when the temperature drops up to minus 25 degrees Celsius.



They said the situation remained tense in both Southern and Northern banks of the Pangong lake areas as well as in other friction points.



There have been at least three attempts by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) to "intimidate" Indian troops along the Northern and Southern bank of Pangong lake area in the last three weeks where even shots were fired in the air for the first time at the LAC in 45 years.



The situation in Eastern Ladakh deteriorated after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the Southern bank of Pangong Lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30.



On September 7, Chinese troops unsuccessfully attempted to close in on the Indian position and even fired shots in the air in the Mukhpari area of Rezang-La ridgeline on the southern bank of Pangong lake.



As Jaishankar and Wang were to hold talks in Moscow, the Chinese military resorted to firing a barrage of "warning shots" into the air on the North Bank of Pangong lake to "intimidate" the Indian troops, Army sources had said.



India occupied a number of strategic heights on the Southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions. China has been occupying the areas between Finger 4 and Finger 8. The mountain spurs in the area are called Fingers.



China has strongly objected to India's move. However, India has maintained that the heights are on its side of the LAC.


A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy who was targeted in an ambush-style shooting this month along with her partner has been released from the hospital, officials said.

The 31-year-old deputy, the mother of a 6-year-old boy who was shot multiple times in the surprise attack, was discharged on Monday evening from St. Francis Medical Center in Lynnwood, California, according to the sheriff's department.

The deputy went home five days after her 25-year-old partner, who was also shot multiple times, was discharged from the same hospital.

"Great News... both of our Deputies from the #ComptonAmbush have been discharged from the hospital and are resting. They both have a long road to recovery and #LASD appreciates your continued prayers and all the support. #LASDStrong," the sheriff's department said in a tweet Monday night.

PHOTO: Sgt. Frederickson, from the Los Angeles County sheriff's office, visits a female deputy who was shot during an ambush as seen in photo posted in the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station Facebook account. The injured deputy's husband is also pictured. (LostHillsSheriffsStation/Facebook)

The news came after President Donald Trump phoned both deputies over the weekend "to check on their spirits," sheriff's department officials said.

The female deputy was unable to speak to the president because she was shot in the jaw but did write messages to him that were conveyed to Trump by a sheriff's sergeant who was next to her hospital bed, sheriff's department officials said.

Photos released by the agency show the wounded deputy writing notes that were relayed to Trump. The contents of the notes were not released.

The images show the deputy sitting up in bed with splints on both of her arms. The photos also show the deputy's husband, standing in the room at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynnwood, California, when Trump called.

The president also called the deputy's partner, according to a sheriff's department statement that accompanied the photos posted on Twitter and Facebook.

Trump phoned the deputies on Saturday to "wish them a speedy recovery and remind them that the #American people are behind them and that the coward that harmed them will be brought to #justice!! according to the sheriff's department's online post.

Story continues

A massive search for the gunman went into its 11th day on Tuesday and a reward for information leading to the capture of the perpetrator has soared to more than $675,000, with donations pouring in from people from across the county, the sheriff's department said.

PHOTO: A Los Angeles County female deputy who was shot during an ambush has been hospitalized as seen in photo posted in the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station Facebook account. (LostHillsSheriffsStation/Facebook)

While some media outlets have published the female deputy's name, a sheriff's spokesperson told ABC News that the identities of both deputies have not been released by the agency due to security concerns. The sheriff's department released the photos of the female deputy blurred out to protect her identity.

The two deputies were sitting in their patrol vehicle on Sept. 12 outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Transit Center in Compton when the gunman, dressed in dark clothes, approached them and opened fire without warning through the passenger-side window.

The shooting was captured on surveillance video that was released by the sheriff's department and shows the gunman firing multiple shots before running away.

MORE: Reward for wanted gunman who shot 2 Los Angeles sheriff's deputies grows to $675,000

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told ABC News last week that despite being shot four or five times, including once in the jaw, the female deputy walked around the patrol vehicle to help her partner, who suffered gunshot wounds to his forehead, arms and a hand.

PHOTO: Sgt. Frederickson, from the Los Angeles County sheriff's office, visits a female deputy who was shot during an ambush as seen in photo posted in the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station Facebook account. (LostHillsSheriffsStation/Facebook)

She goes around the car, applies a tourniquet to him to stop the bleeding. She gets on the radio and shes calling for help and shes having a hard time because she cant speak very well," Villanueva said.

MORE: $100,000 reward offered in brazen ambush shooting of 2 Los Angeles sheriff's deputies

In a recording of the female deputy's desperate radio call for assistance, she is heard saying, "I've been shot. Send help."

The wounded deputies were rushed to St. Francis Medical Center, both initially in critical condition, and immediately underwent surgery, officials said.

Villanueva said both officers have a long road to recovery ahead of them.

MORE: Los Angeles County Sheriff tells deputies to watch each other's back as search goes on for shooter

A GoFundMe page established by colleagues of the wounded deputies to raise money to pay for their medical expenses had grown to more than $700,000.

Los Angeles sheriff's deputy ambushed by gunman released from hospital originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Check out the latest coronavirus updates, read more about Space Forces first foreign deployment and predictions for more tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico, and see more stories trending online today.

Top stories

Biden implores Senate GOP to wait on Ginsburg vacancy until after election: Dont go there (ABC)

Tropical Storm Beta nearing Texas coast with threats of flooding rain, storm surge and gusty winds (The Weather Channel)

California fire activity slowly picking up again, air quality worsens (SF Chronicle)

Pelosi says Democrats have our options when asked about impeaching Trump if he replaces Ginsburg (USA Today)

U.S. Space Force deploys troops to the Arabian Desert (Yahoo)

Woman suspected of sending poisoned letter to Trump arrested (CNN)

New York AG announces body camera reforms in response to Daniel Prudes death (ABC News)

Actress Tracee Ellis Ross gets a coronavirus test as she arrives for the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards at Staples Center, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Coronavirus news

U.S. Covid-19 death toll surpasses 200,000 (NBC News)

Updated CDC guidance acknowledges coronavirus can spread through the air (CNN)

Bill Gates: Trumps partial travel ban made coronavirus pandemic worse (MarketWatch)

Giuliana Rancic, Vivica A. Fox miss Emmys pre-show after testing positive for COVID-19 (UPI)

Woman spread coronavirus to 15 people on international flight (NY Post)

Coronavirus found on imported squid packaging in China (Reuters)

Candy makers get creative to save Halloween (CNBC)

Reopening the art world in a time of COVID (CBS)

Read complete prior coronavirus coverage.

Other trending headlines

Egypt tomb: Sarcophagi buried for 2,500 years unearthed in Saqqara (BBC)

March of 100,000 Marks Seventh Week of Belarus Protests (AP)

Emmys 2020: The best moments from the (mostly) virtual ceremony (NBC)

Hundreds of whales stranded on sandbar off Australian island (CBS)

First trailer for Marvels WandaVision shows off the scope of Disney Plus series (Polygon)
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2020) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Mongolian counterpart, Nyamtseren Enkhtaivan, will meet on Monday in Moscow to discuss bilateral cooperation and interactions on the international and regional platforms.

The parties are expected to discuss the progress in the implementation of high-level agreements on cooperation in trade, economic, transport, infrastructure, energy and humanitarian spheres.

Moreover, the ministers will exchange views on preparations to joint events marking the upcoming celebration of the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Mongolia in 2021.
So much. Theres the whole being-Black-in-America thing, and then theres also being a person of color in the theater, which is its own thing. You dont understand it until youve lived through it  what its like to walk into an audition room and have someone ask you to basically Black it up, or to hear a creative tell you that you might not be Latinx enough, or you might not be Black enough. And here I am, sitting in this crossroads, and where do I lie? Cause Im just me.

Youve now played Jesus twice, in Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell. How has that affected you?

Being a person of color, and then standing center stage, the most powerful place in the world, and telling these stories to a mostly white audience, and they listen to me  I didnt realize how powerful that was. And now, more than ever, I know that its important that you use your voice.

Why do you think Godspell has lasted for 50 years?

The music, obviously. And yes, this show is 50 years old, but damn, it still hits. I think Godspell always works because whenever theres something going on in the world  recession, wildfires, terrorism, pandemic  this show brings hope to people.

You got to meet Yo-Yo Ma, and Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Stephen Schwartz. I imagine thats not what you expected from a summer show.

Yo-Yo Ma played for us in the parking lot, and it was just crazy. And then Brian Stokes Mitchell was absolutely unreal  Ive looked up to him my entire life; I always was like, I want to be him when I grow up. The next day, he called me and we talked for almost an hour about life, theater, the pandemic, Black Lives Matter. And he said, If you ever need anything, you call me, or text me. I was crying. And Stephen Schwartz  that was amazing. He was so chill. He was so emotional. The whole time, in the back of my mind, Im like, Please like our show! I was just so glad that he was moved by it.

What are you going to do once youre back in New York?

I want to hug my mom. I want to see my friends, now that New York is becoming safer. Im going to get back to my Twitch community, where I stream video games and sometimes I play music on there. I want to keep writing my music  I started releasing my original songs, acoustically, on Instagram. And Im getting a puppy.
New Addington, Croydon lifestyle brand Ellesu has launched virtual cookery classes covering Nigerian cuisine, in addition to an online shop stocking healthy West African-inspired dishes

NEW ADDINGTON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2020 / Croydon-based healthy eating and lifestyle platform Ellesu has launched online cooking classes in the form of EllesuTeach, in addition to EllesuEats, an online food shop stocking traditional Nigerian dishes.

More information is available at https://ellesu.com/shop.

Founder Olive Onyi is an expert in Nigerian cuisine and created Ellesu to share her knowledge about healthy eating and a balanced lifestyle. Ellesu's company vision is to make cooking easy and accessible to everyone, while promoting healthy lifestyles through traditional and inspired West African dishes.

Onyi's newly launched EllesuTeach offers a range of African cookery classes, covering dishes from smokey jollof rice to okra soup. These new virtual cook-along classes can be enjoyed from home and take place on Saturdays. In addition to dish-specific classes, the personalised 1-2-1 classes cover traditional meals selected at random and can be purchased with or without the required, pre-prepared ingredients.

Moreover, the newly launched EllesuEats offers Owambe, Mmemme, Abacha, and Nkwobi platters to satisfy cravings for traditional West African food, while promoting healthy lifestyle choices. Alongside Ellesu's virtual class launch, EllesuEats is a brand-new online shop, offering one-off meals party platters that have been carefully developed to balance health and traditional flavour.

The Owambe platter reflects a traditional Yoruba feast and contains spiced peppered chicken, stick meat, jollof rice, fried, rice, coleslaw, fried plantain, and puff puff.

EllesuEats also offers individual meals designed to support weight loss and a healthy lifestyle, such as the FourOneNine meal plan which has been formulated to support people switching to a keto lifestyle. These ready-made dishes can be purchased online and can be delivered or picked-up locally.

Story continues

A spokesperson for the company said "Ellesu heavily promotes Culture and Tradition, in our pursuit to integrate globally our Core functions should not be missed. Ellesu aims to preserve Culture as well as promote traditions with our approach to food. Also, we aim to make cooking an experience and enjoyable by easing the processes."

More information is available at https://ellesu.com/product-category/services, or by calling +44-7946-878254.

Contact Info:

Name: Onyinye Nwosu

Email: Send Email

Organization: Ellesu

Address: 147 Uvedale Cres, New Addington, England CR0 0BW, United Kingdom

Website: https://ellesu.com

SOURCE: Ellesu





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/606969/Croydon-UK-Nigerian-Healthy-Food-Platter-Shop-And-Virtual-Cookery-Classes-Launch




Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 21, 2020) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Yinghang "James" Yang, a senior index manager at a globally recognized index provider, and his friend Yuanbiao Chen, a manager at a sushi restaurant, with perpetrating an insider-trading scheme that generated more than $900,000 in illegal profits.

The SEC's complaint alleges that between June and October of 2019, Yang and Chen repeatedly purchased call or put options of publicly traded companies hours before public announcements that those companies would be added to or removed from a popular stock market index that Yang helped his employer manage. When the options increased in value after the announcements, Yang and Chen allegedly liquidated their options positions for a substantial profit. As alleged in the complaint, the defendants conducted all of the illegal trading in Chen's brokerage account, which allowed Yang to conceal his trading from his employer. The complaint alleges, for example, that a number of purchase orders were entered in Chen's brokerage account immediately following logins from IP addresses assigned to Yang's home address.

"Financial professionals and other employees entrusted with confidential, market-moving information are prohibited from using that information for personal gain," said Richard R. Best, Director of the SEC's New York Regional Office. "As alleged in our complaint, Yang abused that trust when he used the information to enrich himself and Chen. Their attempts to disguise the unlawful trades by using Chen's account did not prevent the SEC from uncovering their scheme."

The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, charges Yang and Chen with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctions and civil monetary penalties.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Yang.

The SEC's investigation has been conducted by Tian Wen, Melissa Coppola, and Sheldon Pollock of the New York Regional Office, and the litigation will be led by Alexander Vasilescu and Ms. Wen. The case is being supervised by Sanjay Wadhwa. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
At least 10 people were killed and several injured after a decades-old three-storey residential building collapsed in Maharashtras Bhiwandi early on Monday even as 19 people were rescued from the rubble.

A four-year-old boy was pulled alive by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which is carrying out rescue efforts. Officials of NDRF said 29 people were pulled out from the debris and that 10 among them were dead and 19 alive.

The building collapsed in the Patel Compound area of the city. The injured have been rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his condolence to the families of the victims of Bhiwandi building collapse and assured that all necessary help was being given to the affected.

Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected, PM Modi tweeted.

The President Ram Nath Kovind also expressed grief over incident.

The loss of lives in the building collapse at Bhiwandi, Maharashtra is quite distressing. In this hour of grief, my thoughts and prayers are with the accident victims. I wish speedy recovery of the injured. Local authorities are coordinating rescue and relief efforts, said the President on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the Director-General (DG), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said that one more individual, a 19-year-old youth, has been rescued alive from the site of the collapse and that the operations will continue as it is likely that more people are still trapped in the debris.

A team of police and NDRF search for trapped persons under the debris. (Praful Gangurde/ HT photo)

The building collapsed at around 3:40 am. (Praful Gangurde/ HT photo)

The 43-year-old Jhilani Building collapsed at around 3:40am on Monday. It had 40 flats and housed around 150 people.

The teams were using a canine squad to search persons trapped in the debris, PTI reported NDRF director general SN Pradhan as saying.

A team of fire brigade and police are also working at the spot.

As a precautionary measure, power supply to the area has been snapped, PTI reported quoting an official.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has expressed his anguish and offered condolences to families bereaved in Mondays building collapse incident in Maharashtras Bhiwandi.

Anguished to learn about the tragic collapse of a building in Bhiwandi, Thane (Maharashtra). @NDRFHQ is already on the ground and is assisting with the rescue operations. My deepest condolences are with the bereaved families, praying for the speedy recovery of those injured, Amit Shah said in a tweet today.
Investigations into the drug angle in film actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death has led the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to large drug organisations and entities in Amritsar and Pakistan supplying cocaine and other hard drugs to Mumbai, and to Bollywood. While the NCB is working on tracing the backtrail from consumer to peddler to supplier to those controlling the trade, the emerging picture is one that threatens to roil Bollywood with past and present A-listers and others showing up on the radar of the agency.

We have a fair idea as to who is involved in the Bollywood drug scene and (who the) Mumbai suppliers (are). The evidence is being collected before the consumers of hard drugs including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine and their suppliers are charged, said a senior NCB official who is familiar with the investigations in the Sushant Singh Rajput case. The official spoke on the conduct that he is not named.

While a key Amritsar link who is central to the investigation is expected to be summoned this week by NCB, the agency has sought the help of the US, UK, Canada and Australian drug enforcement agencies to unearth suppliers of cocaine to Mumbai. According to information shared by associate agencies, at least 1,200 kilograms of cocaine landed in India in 2018, with 300 kilograms landing in Mumbai alone. The number was discovered by a detailed investigation into a seizure of 55 kg of cocaine in Australia in June 2019; the same organization was behind both. NCB has already registered a case on the basis of the Australian report.

ALSO WATCH | Sushant case not suicide: BJPs Rupa Ganguly protests against Bollywood

According to NCB officials, the majority of cocaine lands in India through the Columbia-Brazil-Mozambique route, while other African destinations and the Dubai area are sometimes used as an alternative route. Given that India is the largest producer of potassium permanganate, which is used in processing cocaine, there were even plans by some organizations to set up a cocaine processing unit in the country, these officials added.

With India consuming nearly one ton of heroin every day, associate agencies have also alerted NCB to the possibility of a processing unit in India for Afghan heroin coming through Punjab (from Pakistan) or through the sea route from Gujarat. Pakistans deep state has always used drug money for terrorist funding.

While NCB is conducting an intensive investigation into the drug angle of the Sushant Singh Rajput case, the matter needs to be handled carefully, the NCB official cited in the first instance said, with names of drug dealers linked with Maharashtra politicians and companies managing film actors and actresses also coming under the scanner.

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Security experts have dismissed privacy and spying concerns related to the COVID-19 Alert SA app, saying it gathers no information which can identify you or your location.

On 16 September, President Cyril Ramaphosa urged South Africans with smartphones to download the COVID Alert mobile app.

He said the app has been zero-rated by mobile networks to remove data costs and is completely anonymous.

It does not gather any personal information, nor does it track anybodys location, Ramaphosa said.

In simple terms, the app lets people know when they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

The COVID-19 Alert SA app has been built using Apple and Googles exposure notification framework.

Instead of using a persons location, the app uses Bluetooth signals to exchange random codes with other COVID Alert SA app users.

This happens when their smartphones are within two metres of each other for more than 15 minutes.

The codes that are exchanged are then stored in a log on each phone for two weeks.

When an app user tests positive for COVID-19, they can report this information on the app anonymously.

Their device then uploads all of the random codes that it has on record for the past two weeks to the exposure notification server.

The server sends these codes to the other users of the app, and if there is a match, the user who has been in contact with the person who has tested positive for COVID-19 is notified.

Users who receive this notification will also be informed on how to self-quarantine, and how to remain healthy.

Security concerns dismissed

Shortly after the COVID-19 Alert SA app was launched, messages started to circulate that the government is using the app to spy on people.

Some of the concerns include that the app identifies people and tracks their movement through location services.

Concerns were also raised about the permissions asked by the app, which include pairing with Bluetooth devices and running at startup.

Security experts dismissed these concerns, explaining the app is completely anonymous and does not use location services.

Mobile app expert Alastair Hendricks said Apple and Google collaborated to create a secure, privacy-preserving way to log exposures between devices using Bluetooth.

He explained the implementation uses random IDs that cant be used to identify a user or their location.

Instead, your phone periodically checks all the random IDs associated with positive COVID-19 cases on a server against its own list.

If you test positive for COVID-19, you would log this in the app and it would upload your random IDs, he said.

This app does not allow for anyone to track your movements and goes through stringent review with Apple and Google.

Commenting on why the app launches at startup, he said its much more effective if its always logging possible exposures.

He added that the app is incredibly privacy-focused and does not include any third-party tracking libraries.

Sensepost CEO Dominic White echoed Hendrickss views, saying the COVID-19 Alert SA app asks for far fewer permission than what other apps like Facebook require.

The COVID-19 Alert SA app doesnt track you in any usable way. Facebook, Instagram, and Takealot are significantly more invasive as apps, he said.

Alastair Hendricks comments

Ive received a few messages asking me to clarify some misconceptions out there about South Africas Covid Alert App. Heres a  answering the most asked questions.  Alastair Hendricks (@ali_hen) September 19, 2020

Dominic White comments

Hey, South Africans, I just got forwarded a misinformation video from someone named Daniel who claims to be an app developer warning you not to install the COVID Alert South Africa app (https://t.co/ChlzTKpNAu) because of the permissions it requests. Which are: pic.twitter.com/tFAl2WvuLk  Dominic White  (@singe) September 18, 2020

Jan Vermeulen interview
TOKYO, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump via phone on Sunday night, which was their first conversation since Suga took office last week.

In the talks that lasted about 20 minutes, the two leaders affirmed the importance of Japan-U.S. alliance and discussed the situation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as COVID-19 response, according to local media.

Suga, the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was chosen as Japan's new prime minister to succeed Shinzo Abe in an extraordinary parliamentary session Wednesday.

The election was triggered by Abe's abrupt announcement late last month that he was stepping down due to a recurrent health issue.

Local observers said among the diplomatic challenges Suga inherited from his predecessor is Trump's claim that Japan is not contributing enough to the Japan-U.S. alliance.

According to the prime minister's office, Suga's national security adviser Shigeru Kitamura will visit Washington next week to meet with his counterpart Robert O'Brien.

Before the talks with Trump, Suga also held a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier in the day.
Pep Guardiola labelled Phil Foden as "incredible" after Manchester City survived a scare to start their Premier League title challenge with a 3-1 win against Wolves on Monday.

City's delayed start to the campaign -- due to their involvement in last season's Champions League -- had allowed Liverpool to build a six-point lead over them before they had even kicked a ball.

Guardiola's side could not afford to slip up at Molineux if they wanted to keep pace with the champions and they raced into a two-goal lead before half-time thanks to Kevin De Bruyne's penalty and Foden's cool finish.

City's swaggering first half gave way to an anxious spell as Wolves dominated after the interval and they had to cling on afer Raul Jimenez got one back before Gabriel Jesus sealed the points in stoppage time.

Foden's goal was a welcome morale boost in his first match since the midfielder was sent home in disgrace, along with Manchester United's Mason Greenwood, after the pair invited local women into the England team's hotel.

The breach of coronavirus protocols after England's Nations League match in Iceland was publicly condemned by City, but the 20-year-old retains Guardiola's trust.

"For the goal and in the second half Foden played incredibly well, he helped us keep the ball," Guardiola said.

While City equalled Aston Villa's record of winning 10 consecutive opening fixtures to a top-flight season, there is little doubt Liverpool remain the Premier League's preeminent force for now.

But Guardiola was delighted to open with a victory given the shorter than usual pre-season.

"We could not run much because we are tired in our legs but in general we did a good game," he said.

"The period that we are in, the situation that we had this last two weeks, I expected some moments where we suffer but in general we controlled it well.

"It was a good performance. We know how difficult it is in this stadium.

Story continues

"Sometimes we need more time to get to our best condition but it was a good start to come here and win."

It feels like a crucial season for City and Guardiola as they look to regain the title they won in 2018 and 2019.

Guardiola says he needs to "deserve" an extension to his City contract rather than just be handed one as he enters the final year of his current deal.

After finishing 18 points behind Liverpool and suffering a shock Champions League quarter-final defeat against Lyon, City need to push the champions harder this term and the early signs were encouraging.

- Tense finale -

It was De Bruyne, showing no signs of relaxing after being voted PFA Player of the Year last season, who took the responsibility of driving City forward and in the 20th minute he prised open the Wolves defence.

The Belgium midfielder's burst into the Wolves area drew a rash lunge from Romain Saiss and referee Andre Marriner awarded a penalty that De Bruyne converted with ease.

City were beaten by Wolves twice last season, but this was Guardiola's team at their imperious best and they struck again with a slick move in the 32nd minute.

Gabriel Jesus laid off to De Bruyne and his perfectly-weighted pass found Sterling, whose precise cutback teed up Foden to slot home from 12 yards.

De Bruyne had a chance to make it three from Jesus's pass, but for once he couldn't apply the finishing touch as Rui Patricio saved well.

Totally out-classed in the first half, Wolves were much improved after the break and there were worrying side for Guardiola as he surveyed his creaking defence.

Daniel Podence turned to fire just wide and he threatened again with a chip over City keeper Ederson that just cleared the crossbar.

Jimenez set up a tense finale when he met Podence's cross with a powerful header in the 78th minute, but Jesus netted deep into stoppage-time as his shot deflected in off Conor Coady.

smg/td
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High around 35F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. Snow showers developing after midnight. Low 24F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Chinese authorities have said that they found the coronavirus on the packaging of imported squid, urging anyone who may have bought the product to get themselves tested for the contagion.

One of the packages that had arrived in the city of Fuyu in China's northeastern Jilin province from Russia tested positive for the disease, local health authorities said on Sunday.

Officials asked people who had bought and eaten imported squid at the local Sanjia Deda frozen seafood wholesale shop between August 24 to 31 to report to their local communities and receive a COVID-19 test.

Chinese authorities have said that they found the coronavirus on the packaging of imported squid, urging anyone who may have bought the product to get themselves tested for the contagion. In this file photo, a worker collects a swab from frozen fish in Guizhou on July 1

Mainland China has recently reported very few infections with the virus which emerged in Wuhan late last year, with just 10 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday. A seafood vendor is pictured waiting for customers at a wet market in Shanghai on August 25

The Changchun COVID-19 prevention office said the squid had been imported from Russia by a company in Hunchun city and brought to the provincial capital.

Chinese customs said on Friday they would suspend imports from companies for a week if frozen food products tested positive for coronavirus and for a month if a supplier's products tested positive for a third time or more.

The news comes after China has suspended an Indonesian supplier last week after claiming to have found the virus on the packaging of frozen beltfish, the customs office said.

Chinese authorities have claimed that they detected the coronavirus on frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil. The file picture shows a woman looking at frozen products in Beijing

China has previously banned imports of products including frozen meat, Ecuadorian shrimps and Brazilian chicken wings following positive tests. This file photo taken on September 4 shows a man wearing face mask shopping for fresh fish at a market in Wuhan, Hubei

In August, local authorities in two Chinese cities said they had found traces of the virus on cargoes of imported frozen food.

The World Health Organization said then it saw no evidence of COVID-19 being spread by food or packaging.

Mainland China has recently reported very few infections with the virus which emerged in Wuhan late last year, with just 10 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday.

It says most recent cases come from people entering China from elsewhere.
ITS the unfinished Michelangelo masterpiece that experts reckon may be worth up to 100million.

But the Royal Academy may have to sell its prized marble sculpture as 150 gallery staff face redundancy, it is claimed.

The 515-year-old sculpture, known as the Taddei Tondo, was given to the London gallery in 1829 to inspire the academys schools after the death of owner Lady Margaret Beaumont.

Like many arts institutions, the Royal Academy has seen its finances badly hit by the pandemic and has been forced to consider lay-offs.

Masterpiece: A gallery staff member with the Michelangelo Taddei Tondo

As a result, a group of Royal Academicians could argue that instead of cutting jobs, the institution should consider selling the Tondo  the only marble sculpture by Michelangelo in the UK.

One anonymous Academician told The Observer: The sale of the Tondo has already been discussed.

It is worth so much, it could save jobs and get the RA out of the financial mess they have got themselves into.

The sculptures value remains a closely guarded secret but in 2017 The Art Newspaper claimed that it would fetch at least 100million if sold.

It has been reported that those at the Royal Academy who support the controversial rescue suggestion have called for a special meeting.

But, it is said, they have been met with resistance from president Rebecca Salter, and from the executive, apparently horrified by the idea of selling something so iconic.

It is hoped by some Academicians that the suggested sale will be discussed at a virtual annual general meeting of members due this week.

But a spokesman for the RA told The Observer it has no intention of selling any works in its collection.

The Taddei Tondo, featuring the infant St John the Baptist, and the infant Christ with the Virgin Mary, was carved between 1504 and 1505.
- By Joy Hu





According to GuruFocus, these stocks have reached their 52-week lows.

Molson Coors

The price of Molson Coors Beverage Co. (NYSE:TAP) shares has declined to close to the 52-week low of $34.31, which is 46.4% off the 52-week high of $61.94. The company has a market cap of $7.48 billion.

52-Week Company Lows





Its shares traded with a price-sales ratio of 0.75 as of Sept. 18. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 4.98%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 7.70% over the past 10 years.

Molson Coors is the fifth-largest beer producer globally, boasting top-two positioning in the U.S., Canada and many Central European markets. It brews and markets a slew of company-owned brands, including Blue Moon, Coors, Miller Lite, Carling and Staropramen. It also sells various partner brands in certain locales such as Amstel and Dos Equis in Canada (through an exclusive import/license arrangement with Heineken) and Corona in Central Europe (through an agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD)).

Net income for the second quarter of 2020 was $195.0 million, compared to $329.4 million for the prior-year period.

Director Louis Vachon bought 3,000 shares on Sept. 14 at a price of $35.28. The stock has decreased by 2.75% since then.

Albertsons Companies

The price of Albertsons Companies Inc. (NYSE:ACI) shares has declined to close to the 52-week low of $13.06, which is 21.8% off the 52-week high of $16.50. The company has a market cap of $6.26 billion.

Its shares traded with a price-sales ratio of 0.11 as of Sept. 18.

Albertsons is a food and drug retailer that offers grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharmacy, fuel and other items and services in the United States, with local presence and national scale.

Net income was $586.2 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to net income of $49.0 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2019.

Story continues

Hawaiian Electric Industries

The price of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. (NYSE:HE) shares has declined to close to the 52-week low of $32.68, which is 40.9% off the 52-week high of $55.15. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion.

Its shares traded with a price-earnings ratio of 16.93 and a price-sales ratio of 1.28 as of Sept. 18. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 4.01%. The forward dividend yield is 4.04%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 3.20% over the past 10 years.

Hawaiian Electric Industries is the parent company of three Hawaii-based regulated utilities and Hawaii's third-largest financial institution, American Savings Bank. The utilities provide electricity to 95% of the state on the five islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Molokai and Lanai. Although the majority of electricity is produced by oil-fired power plants, over 25% of electricity in its service territory comes from renewable energy; this portion is growing rapidly as the state has set a goal of 100% by 2045.

The company's net income for the second quarter of 2020 was $42.3 million, compared to $32.6 million in the second quarter of 2019.

Ormat Technologies

The price of Ormat Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ORA) shares has declined to close to the 52-week low of $55.38, which is 38.6% off the 52-week high of $87.07. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion.

Its traded with a price-earnings ratio of 36.87 and a price-sales ratio of 3.90 as of Sept. 18 shares. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 0.79%. The forward dividend yield is 0.79%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 3.90% over the past five years.

Ormat Technologies derives approximately 80% of its revenue from building and operating geothermal plants and the rest from manufacturing geothermal and recovered energy equipment. Nearly two-thirds of its capacity is in the United States, with the remainder in Africa and Central America. Nearly all the plants have long-term contracts with local utilities.

Net income for the second quarter of 2020 was $25.3 million compared to $36.2 million for the second quarter of 2019.

Executive Vice President of Business Development, Sales and Marketing Ofer Benyosef bought 511 shares on Sept. 15 at a price of $58. Since then, the share price has declined 4.52%.

Spire

The price of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) shares has declined to close to the 52-week low of $52.16, which is 41.4% off the 52-week high of $88. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion.

52-Week Company Lows

Its shares traded with a price-earnings ratio of 45.08 and a price-sales ratio of 1.46 as of Sept. 18. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 4.77%. The forward dividend yield is 4.77%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 4.70% over the past 10 years.

Spire is a public utility holding company with two key business segments: Gas Utility and Gas Marketing. The Gas Utility segment includes the regulated operations of Laclede Gas, Alabama Gas Corp. (Alagasco) and EnergySouth Inc. The Utilities businesses operations include the purchase, retail, distribution and sale of natural gas in Missouri, Alabama and Mississippi. The Gas Utility segment generates a majority of the company's revenue but is subject to seasonal fluctuations.

The fiscal third-quarter 2020 net loss was $92.3 million, compared to a loss of $3.0 million for the third quarter of 2019.

Tootsie Roll Industries

The price of Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. (NYSE:TR) shares has declined to close to the 52-week low of $30.21, which is 23.3% off the 52-week high of $38.92. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion.

Its shares traded with a price-earnings ratio of 31.73 and a price-sales ratio of 4.03 as of Sept. 18. The trailing 12-month dividend yield is 1.17%. The forward dividend yield is 1.19%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 3.50% over the past 10 years.

Tootsie Roll Industries manufactures and sells candy products. Notable varieties include Tootsie Roll and Tootsie Pops, Charms, Blow-Pops, Dots, Junior Mints, Sugar Daddy and Sugar Babies, Andes, Dubble Bubble and Razzles. The company sells its products to wholesale distributors and directly to retail stores. Geographically, it generates a majority of its revenue from the United States.

For the quarter ended June 30, net earnings were $7.38 million, compared to $11.54 million in the comparable period a year ago.

Go here for the complete list of 52-week lows.

Disclosure: I do not own stock in any of the companies mentioned in the article.

Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


- Diego Loyzaga took his three half-sisters  Isabelle, Samantha Angeline and Angel Francheska  to a fancy trip to the beach

- He posted a photo of him with his siblings at the beach that caught the attention of the girls mother, Sunshine Cruz

- The celebrity mom asked Diego in jest if he got a headache looking after his younger half-sisters.

- He replied to Sunshine that his siblings Isabelle, Samantha Angeline at Angel Francheska were not difficult to take care of

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Photo from Sunshine Cruz's Instagram account

Source: Instagram

Diego Loyzaga had a pleasant and heartwarming surprise for his fans and followers on social media.

KAMI learned that Diego took his three half-sisters  Isabelle, Samantha Angeline and Angel Francheska  to a fancy trip to the beach.

Diego and the three ladies have the same father  Cesar Montano  but different mothers.

The actor, whose mother is actress Teresa Loyzaga, posted a photo of him with his siblings at the beach that caught the attention of the girls celebrity mom, Sunshine Cruz.

Sunshine asked Diego in jest if he got a headache looking after his younger half-sisters.

Hindi ba pinasakit ang ulo mo Diegs?! Ha ha? Sunshine asked.

According to the actor, his siblings Isabelle, Samantha Angeline at Angel Francheska were not difficult to take care of.

@sunshinecruz718 no tita!! Sobrang hindi, Diego replied.

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Sunshine Cruz is a famous actress in the Philippines. She married actor Cesar Montano in 2000 but their annulment was granted in 2018. They have three children together. Sunshine is now dating Macky Mathay.

The veteran star made the news last Fathers Day, as she thanked Macky for loving her and her three daughters as well. She said that he has the best father figure for her children.

She also went viral after opening up about the changes that happened between her and ex-husband Cesar this 2020. Sunshine Cruz revealed that Cesar is now communicating more with their daughters.

Please like and share our amazing Facebook posts to support the KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinions about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts and views on different matters!

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" " A stroll through a forest in the fall shows a variety of colors in the leaves. But why is that? Jacobs Stock Photography Ltd/Getty Images

Enthusiastic snowball fights in winter or lazy summer days at the beach notwithstanding, autumn might be the most beloved season of them all. Every year, people watch in awe as the trees begin their magical transformation from green powerhouses to veritable smorgasbords of color. In the northeastern United States, millions of "leaf peepers" come from all over the world to observe nature's fine art gallery [source: Haberman].

New England doesn't have a monopoly on the color-changing business, and those leaf peepers are far from alone in their wonderment. From Europe to Alaska, people revel in nature's annual opportunity to mix up the palette. Pity those who live in areas that get cheated out of these glorious displays of color; the lucky ones are left debating which hue they most favor -- brilliant yellows, fiery oranges or vibrant reds?

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If you're partial to crimson, you might wonder why nature seems to go overboard with the red some years and forget it entirely during others. Native American lore explained the appearance of the magnificent colors as coming from above: After hunters killed the Great Bear in the sky, the story goes, its blood splashed down and turned the leaves red. And the yellow leaves? They get their tint from the bear's fat splashing out of the pot that it was being cooked in.

If this explanation doesn't quite satisfy your puzzlement of why leaves change color, scientists have one of their own. Instead of hunters, bears and lard, theirs involves photosynthesis, pigments and sunlight. To fully understand the chemistry behind the color show, we'll need to revisit first-grade science class.
Police in Ndia, Kirinyaga are holding a woman accused of stabbing another woman to death during a fight over a man.

According to reports, Purity Ngatha, 36, fatally stabbed Faith Wanja, 36, in the head with a broken beer bottle at Kairini shopping centre on Saturday.

Confirming the incident, Ndia sub-county Police Commander Joseph Mwika said the man in question was also arrested to help police officers with investigations.

The two ladies were fighting because of him, thats why we have arrested him, and hes helping us with investigations, Mwika said.

Kairini villagers said the man has been having an affair with the two women without their knowledge.

On Saturday evening, however, they reportedly found out and tore into each other.

The body of the deceased was taken to the Karatina General Hospital Mortuary while the suspects were detained at the Baricho Police station as investigations
Fasten your seatbelt, because Tuesday is Teslas Battery Day, and some investors expect chief executive Elon Musks pitch on the electric car makers energy storage advances to re-energize its rally following a recent 21% stock slump.

Teslas stock has risen in recent sessions ahead of the event scheduled for Tuesday after the close of trading. Many analysts expect Musk to unveil battery improvements extending the Palo Alto, California automakers lead over General Motors, Volkswagen and other rivals.

Tesla options are pricing in a stock move of around 17% - up or down - by Friday, said Christopher Murphy, co-head of derivatives strategy at Susquehanna Financial Group.

Teslas stock has more than made up for a historic slump on Sept. 8 after it was unexpectedly left out of a group companies joining the S&P 500, and it has surged over 400% year to date. Still, Tesla remains below its Aug. 31 record high close.

Analysts, including those with neutral ratings on Teslas stock, expect major advances from Musk.

We (and the market) expect the announcements to be significant, cementing Teslas cost and technology lead for several more years, UBS analyst Patrick Hummel wrote in a client note on Sept. 11, adding he expects a new dry electrode cell technology to help speed manufacturing and lower costs.

Batteries make electric cars cost more than gasoline-powered ones, so the ability to produce low-cost, long-lasting batteries could put Tesla cars on a more equal footing and help usher in mainstream acceptance.

Musk in August suggested on Twitter that Tesla may be able to mass produce batteries with 50% more energy density in three to four years, which could even enable electric airplanes.

A much hyped Autonomy Investor Day in April last year failed to stop a five-month decline in the companys stock. At that 2019 event, Musk said that Tesla robotaxis with no human drivers would be available in some U.S. markets in 2020, continuing a habit of making bold pronouncements and setting deadlines Tesla does not meet.

Even if Tesla provides overly ambitious aspirations at Battery Day, we nevertheless expect the event to reinforce Teslas long-term growth narrative  central to the stock, while also reinforcing investor perception that Tesla is ahead of other automakers, wrote Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy in a Sept. 16 research note.

New battery cell designs, chemistries and manufacturing processes are just some developments that would allow Tesla to reduce its reliance on its long-time battery partner, Japans Panasonic.

Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne said in a recent client note he expects Tesla to announce it is bringing battery cell production in-house, and for Musk to focus on work done on million mile batteries.

Eight Wall Street analysts recommend buying Teslas stock, while 10 recommend selling and another 15 are neutral. The median average price target is $305, which is 31% below Fridays close.

Underscoring many investors concerns that Teslas stock has become overvalued, it is trading at about 150 times expected earnings over the next 12 months, about double its five year average, according to Refinitiv.
President Moon Jae-in on Saturday staged a lonely celebration of his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has broken off all contact with the South.

"Our will for peace is strong," Moon told reporters. "The inter-Korean agreement of 2018 should be implemented under any circumstances."

On Sunday, Moon shared a video of the four seasons in Goseong, Gangwon Province, which has been demilitarized under an inter-Korean military agreement of 2018.

North Korea seized to occasion for some hysterical invective but made no direct reference to the anniversary. State media accused the South Korean Foreign Ministry of pushing for a Seoul-Washington consultative body that will be a "snare trap for subordination and subservience."

Moon also posted messages on Facebook in Korean and English. He recalled his speech to an audience of 150,000 North Koreans and his declaration with Kim Jong-un of denuclearization and peace in a Pyongyang stadium two years ago.

Both sides reached a "detailed and substantial" agreement in the military sector, Moon claimed. "No single skirmish has taken place between the two Koreas. It's very precious progress."

He omitted a series of North Korean violations of another agreement, struck at their first summit in April 2018 and the inter-Korean military agreement. They include the North's artillery firing drills just north of the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea in November 2019, North Korean border guards firing at a South Korean guard post in the demilitarized zone in May this year, and the spectacular blowing up of the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong in June this year.


She was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Miriam Maisel in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

And Rachel Brosnahan kept things casual for this year's Emmy Awards as she dressed in her pajamas to watch the awards show from home amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The actress, 30, looked radiant as she posed for a series of snaps alongside her husband Jason Ralph and their pet pooches.

Comfy: Rachel Brosnahan, 30, kept things casual for this year's Emmy Awards as she dressed in her pajamas to watch the awards show from home

The TV star donned navy and purple pajamas and a pair of black slippers while she sipped on a martini to watch the show.

Rachel styled her brunette locks into loose waves for the evening as she struck a series of playful poses with her other half.

Alongside the post, the Change In The Air star wrote: 'Pajamas but make it fashion'.

Rachel was nominated alongside Linda Cardellini, Christina Applegate, Catherine O'Hara, Issa Rae and Tracee Ellis Ross.

Couple: The actress looked radiant as she posed for a series of snaps alongside her husband Jason Ralph and their pet pooches

The award went to Catherine for her role in hit comedy Schitt's Creek, with all four of the show's main stars taking home gongs for their work.

It comes after the announcement that Rachel will headline life-swap comedy The Switch for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners.

Announcing the news on Instagram, she wrote: 'Ive been trying not to spill the beans about this and can finally say...I cant wait to (someday soon I hope!) get cracking on #TheSwitch. Also, look mum! Finally get to use that British accent!'

Rachel's mother Carol was born in the UK and her dad Earl is an American of Irish descent. She was born in Wisconsin and raised in Illinois.

Pose: The TV star donned navy and purple pajamas and a pair of black slippers while she sipped on a martini to watch the show

The Switch will be an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Beth O'Leary.

Set in the UK, it's the story of what happens when a 29-year-old consultant in London swaps lives with her 79-year-old grandmother who lives in Yorkshire in the north of England.

The consultant finds herself plunged into the life of a small village where she walks dogs and participates in neighbourhood watch.

Her grandmother, meanwhile, has to adapt to a tiny flat, dating apps and starting up a social club for lonely Londoners.

In an official news release from the studio, Rachel said she 'was utterly charmed and deeply moved' by the novel and added she 'can't wait' to share the story with everyone.'

The actress first got noticed for her roles in The Blacklist and House of Cards.

But her career really took off with the Amazon Original Series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in which she plays a late 1950's New York housewife with a bent for stand-up comedy.
Despite being spied on and having their privacy invaded by the UC Global firm that targeted Assange, reporters from major US news outlets have said nothing in protest. Meanwhile, new evidence of that firms CIA links has emerged.

A Spanish security firm apparently contracted by US intelligence to carry out a campaign of black operations against Julian Assange and his associates spied on several US reporters including Ellen Nakashima, the top national security reporter of the Washington Post, and Lowell Bergman, a New York Times and PBS veteran.

To date, Nakashima and her employers at the Washington Post have said nothing about the flagrant assault on their constitutional rights by UC Global, the security company in charge of Ecuadorian embassy in London, which seemingly operated under the watch of the CIAs then-director, Mike Pompeo. PBS, the New York Times, and other mainstream US outlets have also remained silent about the US government intrusion into reporters personal devices and private records.

The Grayzone has learned that several correspondents from a major US newspaper rebuffed appeals by Wikileaks to report on the illegal spying campaign by UC Global, privately justifying the contractors actions on national security grounds.

UC Global spied on numerous journalists with the aim of sending their information to US intelligence through an FTP server placed at the company headquarters and through hand-delivered hard drives.

Nearly all of those reporters have so far ignored or refused invitations to join a criminal complaint to be filed in Spanish court by Stefania Maurizi, an Italian journalist whose devices were invaded and compromised during a visit to Assange.

Proof of UC Globals illegal spying campaign and the firms relationship with the CIA emerged following the September 2019 arrest of the companys CEO, David Morales. Spanish police had enacted a secret operation called Operation Tabanco under a criminal case managed by the same National Court that orchestrated the arrest of former Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet years before.

Morales was charged in October 2019 by the Spanish court with violating the privacy of Assange and abusing his attorney-client privileges, as well as money laundering and bribery. A mercenary former Spanish special forces officer, Morales also stood accused of illegal weapons possession after two guns with the serial numbers filed off were found during a search of his property.

The documents and testimony revealed in court have exposed shocking details of UC Globals campaign against Assange, his lawyers, friends, and reporters. Evidence of crimes ranging from spying to robberies to kidnapping and even a proposed plot to eliminate Assange by poisoning has emerged from the ongoing trial.

In an investigation for The Grayzone this May, this reporter detailed how the Las Vegas Sands corporation of Trump mega-donor Sheldon Adelson functioned as an apparent liaison between UC Global and Pompeos CIA, presumably contracting the former on behalf of the latter. It was the second time Adelsons company had been identified as a CIA asset. (The first was in 2010, when a private intelligence report sponsored by gambling competitors alleged that his casino in Macau was sending footage of Chinese officials gambling so they could be blackmailed into serving as CIA informants).

The story placed the Trump organization at the center of a global campaign of surveillance and sabotage that ruthlessly targeted journalists, including Assange and virtually every reporter he came into contact with since 2017.

For the past four years, the Washington press corps has howled about Trumps angry browbeating of the White House press pool, treating his resentful outbursts as a grave threat to press freedom. At the same time, it has reacted with a collective shrug to revelations that a firm that was, by all indications, contracted by the Trump administrations CIA to destroy Assange had spied on prominent American national security reporters.

More revealingly, some of the reporters who had their personal information and notes stolen by UC Global, the apparent CIA contractor, have not said a word about it.

Maurizi, the Italian reporter who is filing a lawsuit against UC Global and serving as a witness in the current case before the Spanish judge, told this reporter she was stunned by the mainstream US medias passive attitude. Imagine if Putin had done anything like this. Just imagine what a scandal this would be, she remarked to the Grayzone. It would be a giant scandal all around the world. But instead, [US media] is saying nothing.

Randy Credico, a comedian, social justice activist, and longtime advocate for Assanges freedom, also attempted to generate media interest in the spying scandal when he learned that UC Global had snooped on him in the embassy. I went to everybody, I went to MSNBC, to the Wall Street Journal, CNN, to journalists I knew, and I couldnt get anyone interested, Credico complained to The Grayzone.

The agency of the stars and stripes wants to see us

In his first public address as CIA director, Mike Pompeo branded Assanges Wikileaks as a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia and outlined a long term campaign of counter-measures against the crusading media organization. At the time, Assange was trapped in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and hosting regular visits there from his legal team, friends, and an array of reporters.

Throughout 2017, UC Globals Morales traveled frequently from Spain to the US to orchestrate the campaign against Assange. At several points, he issued spying directives from inside the Venetian hotel belonging to Adelsons Sands. He boasted to his employees that he was working for the dark side, and referred to the forces that had contracted his services as his American friends.

Sometimes, when I insistently asked him who his American friends were, on some occasions David Morales answered that they were the US intelligence,' a former UC Global business partner testified before the Spanish court.

During a January 2017 visit to Adelsons Las Vegas-based Venetian hotel, Morales and an employee exchanged several texts on Telegram about an important trial run for UC Globals new client. I want you to be alert because according to what they tell me they may be controlling us so that everything that is confidential so make it encrypted, Morales said.

Everything is related to the London issue he continued, making reference to the Ecuadorian embassy that housed Assange. Those who control [it] are the friends of the USA.

In May 2017, Telegram messages by Morales show him making further references to his apparent work for the US government: I am on a subject in which I foresee that they are going to start monitoring us he remarked to an employee. How are we protected for that? After his worker outlined UC Globals systems, Morales replied that he did not expect any problems for those who want to see us.

We can do that if the agency of the stars and stripes wants to see us, the UC Global CEO continued.

I imagined I was going to go there, the employee replied.

That July, Morales was in Miami, on a mission to provide the agency of the stars and stripes with a budget for the hidden microphones UC Global planned to place inside the CCTV system at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

In his Telegram chats, Morales responded with Trump badges to several messages from a UC Global employee  a seeming reference to the US administration that had contracted his services. As this reporter revealed in May, Morales not only oversaw the secret installation of microphones in the embassys CCTV system and hidden microphones under a fire extinguisher in its conference room, he attempted to establish a feed to a separate, exterior storage server managed from the US, doing his best to keep the operation hidden from Ecuadors intelligence services. He referred to the entity on the receiving end of the CCTV footage and audio as the American client.

In a December 2017 email sent from Adelsons Venetian hotel, Morales ordered his employees at the embassy to inform him if any visitors carry mobile phones, pen drives, computers, or any electronic equipment, and to make sure the protocol is maintained and they leave their electronics at the entrance.

By this point, UC Globals spying dragnet had ensnared practicaly everyone who entered the embassy to visit Assange. Among the most prominent victims was then-US Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who was allegedly dispatched by Trump in August 2017 to offer a presidential pardon in exchange for Assange providing concrete evidence the Russian government did not hack the DNCs email server. Assange, who has never revealed a source, refused the offer.

Defense witness @suigenerisjen #AssangeCase: 'Rohrabacher proposed a 'win-win' situation, Assange can get 'get on with his life'  a pardon in exchange for information about the source' 'Information from Mr Assange about the source of the DNC leaks would be of value to Mr Trump'. pic.twitter.com/6yjSow50XU  WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) September 18, 2020

Pamela Anderson, the Canadian-American actress and close friend of Assange, had her email hacked into by UC Global when a guard took advantage of a moment when she left the room to photograph a Gmail password she had written on a notepad. UC Global not only spied on Assanges legal team, violating attorney-client privilege, it hounded Stella Morris, a member of the Wikileaks legal team who became Assanges romantic partner, hatching a failed plot to steal her infant sons diapers from a trash bin in a bid to obtain his DNA and prove his genetic link to Assange.

In December 2017, UC Global learned that Assange and his legal team were formulating a plan for him to exit the embassy under the protections granted to diplomats under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Morales ordered his employees to act aggressively to sabotage it, demanding copies of all video recordings, presumably for delivery to US intelligence.

Ellen Nakashima, a national security reporter for the Washington Post, visited the Ecuadorian embassy to interview Assange on December 15. According to notes by a UC Global guard named Jose Antonio Torre, Nakashima arrived with Souad Mekhennet, a colleague at the Post who was not allowed inside because she did not have her passport. The two reporters were working on a profile of Andy Muller-Maguhn, a German cyber expert and one of Assanges closest confidants, who escorted them to London. (UC Global employees photographed the contents of Muller-Maguhns backpack and the secret number inside his encrypted phone.)

When Nakashima entered the meeting with Assange, Torre held her voice recorder and cellphone. He recounted in notes to Morales how he removed the battery from the phone, then photographed her device.

Those notes contained a remarkable admission: as Nakashima left the embassy, Torre said, I tried to keep her tape recorder but the woman remembered it at the exit.

In her January 17, 2018 report on her visit to the embassy, Nakashima made reference to a warning by Assange about spy cameras and his use of a white noise machine to foil hidden surveillance devices like the hidden microphone that was later revealed under the fire extinguisher in the room. The Washington Post reporter made no mention, however, of the UC Global guards attempt to pocket her voice recorder.

Nakashima did not respond to a request for comment sent to her publicly listed Washington Post email by The Grayzone.

She was not the only reporter illegally snooped on by UC Global spies posing as embassy guards. Lowell Bergman, the award-winning investigative reporter and New York Times and PBS veteran, had his phone opened and SIM card removed without his permission by a UC Global employee when he met with Assange on October 6, 2017.

The Grayzone obtained footage and audio of Bergmans meeting with Assange that was captured by UC Globals spy cameras and likely delivered to the CIA.

Intercept senior correspondent Glenn Greenwald and his husband, David Miranda, were secretly videotaped by UC Global spies, during a September 16, 2017 meeting with Assange.

While Greenwald was in the conference room with Assange, a UC Global employee opened his passport and photographed a visa showing he had visited Russia, a flagrant violation of his privacy carried out under orders from Morales. (The Grayzone has viewed a UC Global photograph taken of Greenwalds visa that was sent to company headquarters).

Over two years later, when Greenwald learned of the violation of his constitutional rights, he protested on Twitter, This is the US Government/CIA spying on its own citizens, including our phones, with no warrants.

Unlike Greenwald, Bergman has said nothing in public about being spied on by an alleged CIA contractor. However, he has agreed to serve as a witness in the trial of UC Globals Morales, according to a member of Wikileaks legal team. He did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

US reporters justify CIA spying on Assange

Throughout 2019 and during the first several months of this year, Wikileaks and its allies worked phone lines and raced across timezones to generate media interest in the CIA spying scandal they had uncovered through the Spanish prosecution of UC Globals Morales.

Correspondents from a major US newspaper were presented with detailed evidence of UC Global spying on Assange and his associates, and documentation of the firms relationship with the CIA and Sheldon Adelson, a Wikileaks source told The Grayzone.

Not only were the reporters initially uninterested in the spying scandal, the Wikileaks source said one correspondent justified the CIAs surveillance on national security grounds. He said, well, thats what an intelligence service is supposed to, the source recalled, describing the experience as crazy.

In December 2019, the New York Times covered the CIA operation against Assange in a single article by Raphael Minder. Framing the case in terms of conflicting interpretations, Minder claimed it remains unclear whether it was the Americans who were behind bugging the embassy.

Omitted in Minders article were all the obvious signs of UC Globals collaboration with US intelligence, from Morales comment that the agency of the stars and stripes will see us to witness testimony that explicitly stated the company had been contracted by the CIA.

The New York Times was basically saying there was no evidence that US intelligence was involved, Maurizi commented to The Grayzone. What do they want? A text message from the CIA saying, we did it?'

One reporters lonely fight for justice

Maurizi was among the reporters who produced the most critical coverage of the political persecution of Assange and Wikileaks over the years. While reporting for Italys La RepuBblica, Maurizi visited Assange frequently at the Ecuadorian embassy. When she met him there in December 2017, UC Global guards invaded her personal devices after seizing them at the entrance of the diplomatic facility.

They took my two telephones, one which was encrypted; my iPod, and many USB sticks, Maurizi told The Grayzone this May. There was no way to get my backpack back. The guard told me, Dont worry, everything will be fine, no one will access your materials or open your backpack. I was very suspicious. I wasnt even allowed to bring a pen inside to take notes.

The reporter learned later that UC Global employees photographed the unique International Mobile Equipment Identity number and the SIM card number inside the her phone. This seemed to be what they needed to hack into the device.

Maurizi later found that calls, emails, and texts from her editors, then at the Italian daily La Repubblica, were failing to go through. No one could explain this disruption, Maurizi said. I wonder if it had anything to do with these espionage activities. To this day I cannot say.

Maurizi plans to file a criminal complaint against UC Global in Spains National Court this October on behalf of journalists victimized by the security firm. So far, she has been unable to find any reporters willing to sign on to her complaint.

She said she asked the Washington Posts Nakashima to join, but never received a reply. Bergman, for his part, told her he was not interested in participating.

I couldnt get anybody interested in the CIA spying on US journalists

Like Maurizi, Randy Credico was spied on by UC Global during a visit to Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy. When he learned his meeting had been secretly videotaped, he embarked on a frenetic campaign to generate media coverage of the violation of his constitutional rights by the CIA.

Credico is a comedian, award-winning criminal justice reformer, and advocate for Assanges freedom who emerged as a player in the Russiagate saga when Robert Muellers investigative team called him as a witness.

After being falsely accused of serving as a backchannel between Wikileaks and former Trump advisor Roger Stone, Credico made numerous high-profile appearances on MSNBC and CNN, and rubbed shoulders with Beltway media honchos as a guest at the White House Press Correspondents Dinner.

Credico told The Grayzone he attempted to convince his contacts in mainstream media to cover the UC Global-CIA spying scandal. But in every instance, he was met with a cold shoulder.

I went to everybody, he recalled. I went to MSNBC, to the Wall Street Journal, CNN, to journalists I knew, and I couldnt get anyone interested. I mean, all these reporters hate Trump, and here you had Pompeo and Sheldon Adelson, the guy who finances Trump, breaking the law. You would think this would be a big deal to these lean forward progressives. And they havent said shit. Its appalling that they havent come forward and said something about this.

To be sure, CNN Espanol published a lengthy December 2019 report on the UC Global spying ring. But it relied heavily on the perspective of the firms disgraced former CEO, Morales. No, I am not a double agent and it is absurd [to say] that I traveled to the US to personally hand over information to the CIA, Morales claimed to CNN.

The article was co-authored by Arturo Torres, a right-wing Ecuadorian journalist who was hostile to both Assange and his countrys leftist former president, Raphael Correa. His work has been sponsored by Transparency International, a supposed anti-corruption NGO funded by the US State Department and British government.

Months earlier, in June 2019, CNNs Torres used material illegally gathered by UC Global to publish a malicious attack on Assange asserting that there was no doubt that there is evidence that Assange had ties to Russian intelligence agencies.

The article provided no such evidence, however, while falsely claiming that UC Globals surveillance reports were compiled for the Ecuadorian government  not the CIA.

In reality, UC Globals Morales was desperate to elude Ecuadors SENAIN intelligence agency, instructing his employees in an email from Adelsons Venetian hotel, Nobody can know about my trips, mainly my trips to the USA, because SENAIN is onto us.

Washington Post owners look forward to a successful relationship with the CIA

The hysteria triggered by Trumps victory in 2016 goes a long way toward explaining US mainstream medias hostility towards Assange. Immediately after conceding defeat, Hillary Clinton blamed Russian Wikileaks, deepening the hostility among partisan Democrats toward a dissident journalist then-Vice President Joseph Biden had already branded as a high-tech terrorist. Mainstream US media followed in lockstep.

On April 11, 2019, the day Assange was arrested by British police in the Ecuadorian embassy, the New York Times editorial board celebrated with two cheers: The [Trump] administration has begun well by charging Mr. Assange with an indisputable crime.

The Washington Post editorial board was more enthused by the publishers arrest, proclaiming, Mr. Assanges case could conclude as a victory for the rule of law, not the defeat for civil liberties of which his defenders mistakenly warn. The Post even demanded Assanges extradition to the US, hoping that he could be coerced into becoming a cooperating witness and potentially provide information about Russian intelligences efforts to undermine democracy in the West.

While the loathing of Assange in Trump-era Washington helps explain mainstream medias shunning of the jailed journalist, the increasingly cozy relationship papers like the New York Times and Washington Post enjoy with the US intelligence apparatus offers a more substantial basis for understanding the medias silence on the UC Global scandal.

Throughout the Trump-Russia investigation and the various intrigues that comprised Russiagate, the legacy publications of US media fed audiences with an endless stream of stories based on high confidence assessments and often dubious narratives furnished by anonymous US intelligence agents. In the Trump era, the corporate news media became a de facto bulletin board for the intelligence apparatus. The New York Times even admitted it sent a June 2019 story on US cyber-attacks against Russias electric grid to the government for approval before publishing.

The Washington Post, where Nakashima covers national security issues, is owned by the big tech corporation, Amazon. In 2014, Amazon signed a $600 million contract with the CIA to host its cloud server. We look forward to a successful relationship with the CIA, Amazon declared in an official statement. Four years later, Amazon was awarded a $10 billion contract from the Pentagon to oversee its Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program.

Notably, when Nakashima sought a meeting inside the Ecuadorian embassy in 2017, her request form listed her company not as the Washington Post, but as Amazon.

While Assanges lawyers fought his extradition in a London courtroom this September 15, Nakashima was live-tweeting coverage of ThreatCon 2020, a conference of top US intelligence officials and private spies gathered on a private island off the coast of Georgia. Her colleague, Washington Post assistant editor David Ignatius, and New York Times national security correspondent David Sanger, participated directly in the exclusive spook-fest. Among the sponsors of the conference was InQTel, the CIA-sponsored research and development firm.

The NY Times' top national security reporter, David Sanger, and WaPo columnist David Ignatius, are on a private island hobnobbing with the leading spooks of the US & UK, at the #ThreatCon2020 conference sponsored by private spies & the CIA's InQTel https://t.co/Sahun3Xsiw pic.twitter.com/o4uAZCmgYI  Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) September 15, 2020

This September, the US Department of Justice issued a letter to the Spanish judge overseeing the UC Global trial that obstructed any possibility of cooperation. Like much of the US media, the government in Washington wants nothing to do with the devastating evidence tumbling out of a courtroom in Madrid.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan does everything to disrupt the negotiation process, and he does it in front of the OSCE Minsk Group, Azerbaijani MP Elshan Musayev told Trend.

Pashinyan understands that he has lost. He is in panic and makes one irresponsible statement after another. Armenia and its leadership still cannot accept reality, do not intend to abandon their provocative actions, and continue their occupation policy, said the MP.

"By its actions, the Armenian leadership is currently trying to divert attention from the internal collapse, clumsy and aimless policies of Pashinyan. However, it will not work. These attempts will also fail. The Azerbaijani army is capable of repelling all provocations of Armenia and liberating our lands, stressed Musayev.

Pashinyan's statements are absurd and senseless. The occupying country, whose prime minister he is, ignores all the basic principles of international law, UN resolutions. The whole world says that Karabakh is Azerbaijan. Except for Pashinyan. However, he himself understands that this cannot continue. Pathos, cliches, and inappropriate threats will not get you very far. Recent events and fighting on the front lines have shown that weakness of Armenia's own military power. Without outside support, Armenia will not be strong enough to hold out for long, the MP emphasized.
Nothing sets up disappointment as surely as high expectations. And thus, before even one minute of the 2020 Emmys had aired, they were in a relatively strong position: No one could possibly have had any expectations for them at all. Taking place, as they did, amid a series of global and national catastrophesthe viral of which had turned the annual soiree into a remote experimentthe Emmys were about as wanted as a plantar wart, as timely as a calendar from 1996, as necessary as a fanny pack on a kangaroo. They had to clear a bar so low it might as well have been buried in the ground. Nevertheless: They did it. By the end of the night, the weirdest thing about the Pandemic Emmys was how normal they felt.

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The show started like nothing was up. Using audience footage from years past as his laugh track, host Jimmy Kimmel began the show, the Pandemmies, with what seemed like a standard, jokey monologue. (It worked for me, easing us into the weirdness of it all. Or maybe what worked for me is thinking about what all his jokes would have sounded like without a piped-in response, which was what happened for much of the rest of the night.) The jig was up when Kimmel spotted himself in his own audience, and he revealed he was all alone on the stage at the Staples Center. Why would you have an awards show in the middle of a pandemic? No seriously, Im asking, he said, before answering his own question. Yes, the Emmys may seem even more frivolous and unnecessary this year than they do every other year, but we need funmy God, do we need fun. Moreover, he said, we need TV. In these trying times, Kimmel explained, we have all found a friend: our old pal television. It wouldnt be the Emmys if it wasnt also an advertisement.

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The first third of the show seemed designed to support Kimmels point. Schitts Creek, a lovely and cozy series that many people have discovered during the pandemic, had a historic sweep, winning every major comedy category. If ever a show were a friend, this one is it. In recent years, the academy has restructured the ceremony so that all of the comedy awards come at the same time, which meant it got a little exhausting to return to the same Toronto event space where the cast was cleaning up. But its hard to begrudge Catherine OHara and Eugene Levy recognition, though I do suspect that Schitts Creeks squishy feel-goodness and Canadian-ness kept the night less political than it otherwise might have been. Its a feel-good show, for an awards show that was trying to make you feel good.

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These were Emmys voted on by binge-watchers; they went wide, not deep.

With the comedy awards, the show established its M.O., a mixture of civilian presenters with Zoomed-in winners, fleeting glances at the losers you wish you could see more of, some good sight gags, some solid pre-taped bitsfamous people presenting the nominees for Best Comedy was so charming, why didnt they do it for the other Best categories?and a bunch of messaging on both COVID and diversity that ran throughout the broadcast without ever quite dominating its narrative. Jason Sudeikis took a COVID test on screen, not particularly as a joke: just to demystify it and show it was something you could do while, well, presenting an award. Essential workers, mostly womena teacher, truck driver, farmer, nurse, doctor, and so onpresented some of the awards, and did so at a much faster clip than the famous people.

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Interspersed throughout were three videos, one featuring Issa Rae, another Lena Waithe, another America Ferrera, in which they talked about their experiences in the industry. Rae talked about a terrible pitch meeting that must have happened in the early aughts, when a white executive insisted he knew what Black people wanted to watch more than she did. Ferrera recalled being asked to sound more Latina. Waithe remembered what it felt like to watch A Different World and see a character, played by Jada Pinkett Smith, with her name, and feel seen. In other words, it was a trio of videos meant to show how far the industry has come, in which women of color spoke honest about how bad the industry was very recently. Talking openly about this at the industrys biggest celebration is a sign of progress, but maybe not as much progress as the Emmys would have us believe.

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The whole night had a bit of this feel: a pat on the back for not being as bad as they used to be. Anthony Anderson gave a speech about how this would have been the Blackest in -person Emmys everand a record number of Black performers did winthat ended with him having Jimmy Kimmel chant Black Lives Matter along with him, though I couldnt tell if Kimmel was being awkward about it because he felt awkward, just always seems awkward, or was intentionally trying to seem aloof, distanced. For as much as the show thought about diversity in terms of content and talent, as Vanity Fair critic Sonia Saraiya pointed out, the nights winners were pretty much entitled white family, lots of black people we felt we should mention, entitled white family, in that order.

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The middle group described the limited series categories, in which Watchmen dominated.* Winner Regina King, wearing a Breonna Taylor T-shirt (Mrs. Americas Uzo Aduba did, too), talked about voting and mentioned Ruth Bader Ginsburg.* Cord Jefferson, who won a writing Emmy with Damon Lindelof, dedicated the award to the victims and survivors of the Tulsa massacre. Mark Ruffalo gave an impassioned speech about needing to be a country of love, and not division and hatred, without ever mentioning Trumps name.

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And then the show moved to the drama categories and, largely, Succession. In a show that was supposed to be about how television is our friend, how its the thing weve all been doing during quarantine, in a show rife with advertisements for streaming services demonstrating just how much TV is out there, you could watch the Emmys and think, theres not that much TV out there. Even with surprise winners, like Zendaya for Euphoria, and even with Succession not quite dominating as it had been predicted to (The Morning Shows Billy Crudup snuck off with a best supporting actor Emmy, at the expense of three Succession actors; Julia Garner snuck off with another, at the expense of Shiv Roy), these Emmys looked like theyd been voted on by binge-watchersgoing deep, but not wide. TV may be our friend, but its less and less something we share with our actual friendsor anyone else for that matter. By the end of the night, something I would have thought at the beginning was nearly impossible had happened: The show had been so proficient and technically successful, had so skillfully averted disaster, that it had raised its own bar. I wanted more, and a little better. So in that way, it really was like every other Emmys.

Read more about the Emmys in Slate.
A five-phase equilibrium with at the top a gas phase with unaligned rods (isotropic phase), then a liquid phase with rods pointing in about the same direction (nematic liquid crystal), subsequently a liquid phase with rods lying in different layers (smectic liquid crystal), and two solid phases at the bottom. Credit: ICMS animation studio

Frozen water can take on up to three forms at the same time when it melts: liquid, ice and gas. This principle, which states that many substances can occur in up to three phases simultaneously, was explained 150 years ago by the Gibbs phase rule. Today, researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology and University Paris-Saclay are defying this classical theory, with proof of a five-phase equilibrium, something that many scholars considered impossible. This new knowledge yields useful insights for industries that work with complex mixtures, such as in the production of mayonnaise, paint or LCDs. The researchers have published their results in the journal Physical Review Letters.

The founder of contemporary thermodynamics and physical chemistry is the American physicist Josiah Willard Gibbs. In the 1870s, he derived the phase rule, which describes the maximum number of different phases a substance or mixture of substances can assume simultaneously. For pure substances, the Gibbs Phase Rule predicts a maximum of three phases.

Professor Remco Tuinier, of the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, says, "At the time, Einstein called Gibbs' thermodynamics the only theory he really trusted. If we take water as an example, there is one point, with a specific temperature and pressure, where water occurs as gas, liquid and ice at the same time, the so-called triple point."

Assistant professor Mark Vis, from the same research group as Tuinier, says, "This classic Gibbs phase rule is as solid as a rock and has never been defied."

SHAPE MATTERS

According to this phase rule, the mixture studied by the researchers would also exhibit a maximum of three phases at one specific point at the same time. But Tuinier and his colleagues now show that in this mixture, there is a whole series of circumstances in which four phases exist at the same time. There is even one point at which there are five coexisting phasestwo too many, according to Gibbs. At that specific point, also called a five-phase equilibrium, a gas phase, two liquid crystal phases, and two solid phases with 'ordinary' crystals exist simultaneously. And that has never been seen before. "This is the first time that the famous Gibbs rule has been broken," Vis says.

The crux lies in the shape of the particles in the mixture. Gibbs did not take this into consideration, but the Eindhoven scientists now show that it is precisely the specific length and diameter of the particles that play a major role. Tuinier says, "In addition to the known variables of temperature and pressure, you get two additional variables: the length of the particle in relation to its diameter, and the diameter of the particle in relation to the diameter of other particles in the solution."

Ranked rods

In their theoretical models, the researchers worked with a mixture of two substances in a background solvent: rods and polymers. This is also called a colloidal system, in which the particles are solid and the medium is liquid. Because the particles cannot occupy exactly the same space, they interact with each other. "This is also called the excluded volume effect; it causes the rods to want to sit together. They are, as it were, pushed toward each other by the polymer chains. In this way, you get a region in the mixture that mainly contains rods, and an area that is rich in polymers," explains Tuinier. "The rods then sink to the bottom, because they're usually heavier. That's the beginning of segregation, creating phases."

The lower part, which mainly contains rods, will eventually become so crowded that the rods will interfere with each other. They then take up a preferential position, so that they are less in each other's way.

The rods are situated in a neat arrangement next to each other. Eventually, they exhibit five different phases: a gas phase with unaligned rods at the top (an isotropic phase), a liquid phase with rods pointing in about the same direction (nematic liquid crystal), a liquid phase with rods lying in different layers (smectic liquid crystal), and two solid phases at the bottom.

Mayonnaise and monitors

Vis: "Our research contributes to the fundamental knowledge about this kind of phase transition and helps to understand and predict more precisely when these kinds of transition occur." The finding is useful in many areas. Think of pumping complex mixtures in industrial reactors, making complex products like colloidal mixtures such as mayonnaise and paint, or ice that forms on car windows and black ice on roads.

Even in liquid crystals in monitors, these processes play a role. "Most industries choose to work with a single-phase system, where there is no segregation. But if the exact transitions are clearly described, then the industry can actually use those different phases instead of avoiding them," says Vis.

It was more or less chance that the researchers arrived at an equilibrium of more than three phases. When simulating and programming plate-shaped particles and polymers, Ph.D. students Alvaro Gonzalez Garcia and Vincent Peters from Tuinier's group saw a four-phase equilibrium. Tuinier says, "Alvaro came to me one day and asked me what had gone wrong. Because four phases just couldn't be right."

Then the researchers tried out multiple shapes, such as cubes and also rods. Tuinier says, "With the rods, most phases turned out to be possible, we even found a five-phase equilibrium. That could also mean that even more complicated equilibria are possible, as long as you search long enough for complex different particle shapes."

Explore further A way to intentionally change the curvature of bent molecules using a polymer and ultraviolet light

More information: V. F. D. Peters et al, Defying the Gibbs Phase Rule: Evidence for an Entropy-Driven Quintuple Point in Colloid-Polymer Mixtures, Physical Review Letters (2020). Journal information: Physical Review Letters V. F. D. Peters et al, Defying the Gibbs Phase Rule: Evidence for an Entropy-Driven Quintuple Point in Colloid-Polymer Mixtures,(2020). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.127803
Daydream about being rich? Kick yourself for not buying shares of Tesla or Facebook or Zoom or Beyond Meat when they first started selling stock to the public? Youre not alone.

No doubt, betting on the right stock when it first trades as a publicly traded company can be immensely profitable. Despite doubters, for example, Tesla shares have skyrocketed 2,100% in the decade since it went public. Zoom has zoomed nearly 1,000% higher since its April 2019 IPO. Facebook, despite stumbling out of the gate, has gained more than 600% since its May 2012 debut. Beyond Meat soared 163% on its first day in May 2019.

Aah, if investing in initial public offerings  better known as IPOs  were only that easy. Sadly, rearview-mirror investing is more about woulda, coulda, shoulda than enjoying the ka-ching, ka-ching sound of profits.

For all the eventual IPO winners that make people rich, there are gargantuan flops in the often-risky IPO arena that evaporate peoples wealth. The most famous IPO flameout arguably was Pets.com, the money-losing online pet retailer that went public in 2000 during the dot-com stock boom only to fold nine months later. A more recent disappointment is ride-hailing service Uber, which fell 7% on its first day of trading in May 2019 and remains 20% below its offering price.

So while many IPOs come with great hype, investors must exercise caution and do their homework before buying.

Heres a primer on what you need to know about investing in IPOs:

What is an IPO?

IPO stands for initial public offering.

It is the process of a company going from privately held to publicly traded by offering stock to the public for the first time, says Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird Private Wealth Management.

IPOs are a way for a company to raise capital to grow their business, pay down debt, or make strategic acquisitions.

What do you need to know before investing in an IPO?

The first thing you need to do is find out everything you can about the new stock.

Story continues

Due diligence is crucial when investing in an IPO," says Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors. That means reading the detailed prospectus (SEC Form S-1) the company files with the Security and Exchange Commission.

Youll want to find out how the company plans to use the money raised in the IPO. Will it be to fund capital expenditures? Hire more workers? Pay for acquisitions? Another key is analyzing the companys financial condition. Does it make money? Is it mired in debt? What are its sales projections and key areas of growth?

Google Meet and Zoom are two popular video conferencing platforms that are fairly similar, however, there are some key differences that set them apart.

Its also prudent to determine if the offering price  which is set by the underwriters  is reasonable or inflated. Understand the current market conditions, how the company is being valued, and what future growth looks like, Horneman says. Is there competition that could impact the future price?

And be aware that you likely wont be able to buy the stock at the offering price, adds Mayfield. Youll likely have to buy shares when they begin trading, which means you could pay more if the IPO pops on its first trade.

The underwriter usually only sells shares at the listed offering price you may see in the news or financial documents to large, institutional buyers (mutual funds, insurance companies, etc.) and a handful of individuals, Mayfield explains. However, most investors do not get access to IPOs until shares hit the open stock market, where normal buying and selling forces determine the price.

Uber fell 7% on its first day of trading in May 2019 and remains 20% below its offering price.

What are some risks of investing in an IPO?

You risk buying high if the IPO offering price is set too high or the stock price jumps sharply once it starts trading. Thats especially true if the stock is over-hyped, overvalued or if its business prospects arent as rosy as the stock price suggests.

Highly anticipated IPOs can attract high levels of interest and see their price bid up rapidly in early trading, often well above reasonable levels, says Mayfield.

Whats more, many IPOs are upstart companies, which come with more risks than established corporations, Horneman says. Newly public companies dont have trading histories or a lot of regulatory filings or earnings reports to pore over.

Oftentimes, an IPO is a smaller company that may hold inherent risks that include, small consumer base, emerging product lines, inexperienced management teams, Horneman says.

Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group, offers another potential downside risk that IPOs face: the so-called lock-up period. This rule typically restricts early, pre-IPO investors from selling stock until 90 to 180 days after the IPO.

Insiders have a lock-up period that expires several months after the offering, which could end up causing share prices to fall as those insiders sell shares, Cox says.

Given that many companies are staying private longer, it means they are going public at a higher market value than they might have in the past, notes Eric Knauss, CEO of Proteus. So, there often isnt much room for upside, he says.

Theres also no guarantee that your IPO investment is a sure thing, Knauss adds.

Not all companies that IPO see a rise in their stock price, says Knauss. Some go up a little, some go down a lot. The lack of transparent information is a huge risk. If youre interested in a company that is going public because of its long-term prospects, there can be advantages to waiting six to nine months, when more information is available, and you can evaluate the opportunity more thoroughly.

What are the benefits of IPO investing?

The most obvious is getting in on the ground floor of the next Amazon or Tesla.

The main benefit of buying an IPO is the opportunity to invest in a high-growth company potentially early in its life cycle, says Mayfield. Though this has its risks, IPOs can offer a tremendous upside for investors.

Can you invest in IPOs via funds or ETFs?

Yes.

Typically, IPOs are distributed to institutions and mutual funds that have direct relationships with the underwriter to get access to IPO, says Horneman.

There are a few exchange-traded funds that invest primarily in IPOs, such as the Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO) and The First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (formerly First Trust US IPO Index Fund). Some mutual funds also focus on IPOs. Nearly half (46%) of the portfolio of Federated Hermes Kaufmann Small Cap Fund (FKASX), for example, was made up of companies bought at IPO, data through June 30 show.

Mayfield says both ETFs and mutual funds focus on IPOs, either exclusively or as a part of a broader strategy. These funds can offer a more diversified approach to IPO investing, he says.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: IPOs: Risk and rewards of investing in the next Amazon, Tesla, or Apple
In Labour Day, the Conservative Partys new leader, Erin OToole, released a video touting his new Canada First economic strategy.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

In Labour Day, the Conservative Partys new leader, Erin OToole, released a video touting his new "Canada First" economic strategy.

In it, he blames big government, corporate elites and bad trade deals for Canadas ailing manufacturing and forestry sectors, and offers his Canada First economic strategy as the path towards higher wages and prosperity.

OToole singles out China, in particular, as a threat to Canadian jobs. He also touts the importance of ramping up domestic production of key consumer goods.

OTooles messaging sounds eerily similar to U.S. President Donald Trumps controversial America First policy of isolation and protectionism.

A page from Trumps playbook?

Trumps economic nationalist message in the 2016 presidential election clearly resonated with white, working-class communities in the American Rust Belt states hit hard by de-industrialization and free trade.

Drawing from Trumps xenophobic election playbook, OTooles Canada First strategy is designed to whip up nationalist sentiment in an effort to attract working-class votes from union strongholds in manufacturing and forestry.

Canadian workers in the private sector are roughly three times as likely to be unionized than their American counterparts, making them an important constituency to be courted for votes. However, voters in union households are far less likely to vote Conservative than their non-union counterparts, and their unions have spent millions to help defeat Conservatives in recent federal and provincial elections.

In adopting economic nationalist rhetoric, OToole is trying to bypass union leadership entirely and appeal to private sector union members directly by stoking resentment and tapping into their sense of economic insecurity.

Successful for Trump, so why not O'Toole?

That strategy largely worked in U.S. Rust Belt states stretching from Pennsylvania to the Midwest. Thats because Trumps America First message seemingly dovetailed perfectly with private sector unions own longstanding "Buy American" campaigns which, to some degree, demonized Asian countries and Mexico as a threat to jobs and economic security.

After being mobilized by their own unions over the course of several decades by nationalist arguments, is it really surprising that Trumps America First policy found a sympathetic ear among private sector union members? Trumps message wasnt all that new, after all; many union members had heard it first at their union halls.

While the dynamics are a little different in Canada, OToole and the Conservatives are betting that there are enough similarities to successfully tap into new private sector union voters negatively impacted by trade deals.

Unifor, Canadas largest private sector union, has been employing Canada First rhetoric for some time in an effort to protect the jobs of its members.

As recently as 2019, in response to General Motors decision to close its Oshawa assembly plant, Unifor spent millions on a nationalist ad campaign attacking the company and calling for a boycott of GM vehicles made in Mexico.

"GM continues to expand in Mexico, leaving workers out in the cold, a move thats as un-Canadian as the vehicles they now want to sell us," the ad said.

While Unifors leadership insisted the boycott was not designed to demonize Mexican autoworkers, some on the left criticized the campaign for playing into the hands of "the racism and xenophobia of the right."

O'Toole attempts to bypass union leadership

There is certainly no guarantee OTooles sudden embrace of economic nationalism will pay off at the ballot box. In fact, it may alienate elements of the Conservatives free trade-loving big business base.

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.

And Unifor and other private sector unions are unlikely to cede the terrain of economic nationalism to OToole and the Conservatives. The union leadership will undoubtedly work to defeat OToole and the anti-union elements of the Conservative Party in the next federal election, just as they did with Stephen Harper in 2015 and Andrew Scheer in 2019.

But paradoxically, while union leaders set out to defeat OToole, his Conservative Party will be trying to undermine that effort by playing to the very economic nationalist fears, angers and resentments that some union leaders have been stirring for decades.

Whether that strategy will pay off remains to be seen. But it may force private sector unions to confront the uncomfortable realization that campaigns to defend jobs and working-class communities dont have to vilify working-class communities in Mexico, China or anywhere else in the world.

Instead, by mounting proactive campaigns that combat racism and xenophobia and foster solidarity among workers in Canada and around the world, unions can begin to weaken, rather than strengthen, the populist conservative political forces that organized labour aims to defeat.

Larry Savage is a professor of labour studies and Simon Black is an assistant professor of labour studies at Brock University.

This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca.
VANCOUVER, Washington, Sept. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CytoDyn Inc. (OTC.QB: CYDY), (CytoDyn or the Company"), a late-stage biotechnology company developing leronlimab (PRO 140), a CCR5 antagonist with the potential for multiple therapeutic indications, announced today Nader Pourhassan, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer and Scott A. Kelly, M.D., Chairman, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Business Development, of CytoDyn will be interviewed on the DrBeen webcast hosted by Mobeen Syed, M.D., M.S. on Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at 6:00 pm PT.



Topics to be covered:

1) CD10: Mild-to-moderate COVID-19 results (U.K., U.S., Philippines, Canada)

2) CD12: Upcoming interim analysis

3) COVID-19: Upcoming trial in long-haulers

4) COVID-19: Phase 3 trial in Moderate

5) HIV BLA submission to U.K. and U.S.

6) Leronlimab for stroke victims (blood brain barrier)

7) Upcoming NASH trial and timelines

8) Future of cancer trials with leronlimab

The interview will be available simultaneously on two channels:

YouTube: DrBeen Medical Lectures

Link: https://www.youtube.com/c/USMLEOnline

Facebook: DrBeen Medical

Link: https://m.facebook.com/drbeenmedical

Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Time: 6:00 pm PT

About Coronavirus Disease 2019

CytoDyn completed its Phase 2 clinical trial (CD10) for COVID-19, a double-blinded, randomized clinical trial for mild-to-moderate patients in the U.S. which produced statistically significant results for NEWS2. Enrollment continues in its Phase 3 randomized clinical trial for the severe-to-critically ill COVID-19 population in several hospitals throughout the U.S.; an interim analysis on the first 195 patients will be announced by mid-October.

About Leronlimab (PRO 140)

The FDA has granted a Fast Track designation to CytoDyn for two potential indications of leronlimab for critical illnesses. The first indication is a combination therapy with HAART for HIV-infected patients and the second is for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Leronlimab is an investigational humanized IgG4 mAb that blocks CCR5, a cellular receptor that is important in HIV infection, tumor metastases, and other diseases, including NASH. Leronlimab has completed nine clinical trials in over 800 people and met its primary endpoints in a pivotal Phase 3 trial (leronlimab in combination with standard antiretroviral therapies in HIV-infected treatment-experienced patients).

In the setting of HIV/AIDS, leronlimab is a viral-entry inhibitor; it masks CCR5, thus protecting healthy T cells from viral infection by blocking the predominant HIV (R5) subtype from entering those cells. Leronlimab has been the subject of nine clinical trials, each of which demonstrated that leronlimab could significantly reduce or control HIV viral load in humans. The leronlimab antibody appears to be a powerful antiviral agent leading to potentially fewer side effects and less frequent dosing requirements compared with daily drug therapies currently in use.

In the setting of cancer, research has shown that CCR5 may play a role in tumor invasion, metastases, and tumor microenvironment control. Increased CCR5 expression is an indicator of disease status in several cancers. Published studies have shown that blocking CCR5 can reduce tumor metastases in laboratory and animal models of aggressive breast and prostate cancer. Leronlimab reduced human breast cancer metastasis by more than 98% in a murine xenograft model. CytoDyn is, therefore, conducting a Phase 1b/2 human clinical trial in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer and was granted Fast Track designation in May 2019.

The CCR5 receptor appears to play a central role in modulating immune cell trafficking to sites of inflammation. It may be crucial in the development of acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and other inflammatory conditions. Clinical studies by others further support the concept that blocking CCR5 using a chemical inhibitor can reduce the clinical impact of acute GvHD without significantly affecting the engraftment of transplanted bone marrow stem cells. CytoDyn is currently conducting a Phase 2 clinical study with leronlimab to support further the concept that the CCR5 receptor on engrafted cells is critical for the development of acute GvHD, blocking the CCR5 receptor from recognizing specific immune signaling molecules is a viable approach to mitigating acute GvHD. The FDA has granted orphan drug designation to leronlimab for the prevention of GvHD.

About CytoDyn

CytoDyn is a late-stage biotechnology company developing innovative treatments for multiple therapeutic indications based on leronlimab, a novel humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the CCR5 receptor. CCR5 appears to play a critical role in the ability of HIV to enter and infect healthy T-cells. The CCR5 receptor also appears to be implicated in tumor metastasis and immune-mediated illnesses, such as GvHD and NASH.

CytoDyn has successfully completed a Phase 3 pivotal trial with leronlimab in combination with standard antiretroviral therapies in HIV-infected treatment-experienced patients. The FDA met telephonically with Company key personnel and its clinical research organization and provided written responses to the Companys questions concerning its recent Biologics License Application (BLA) for this HIV combination therapy in order to expedite the resubmission of its BLA filing for this indication.

CytoDyn has completed a Phase 3 investigative trial with leronlimab as a once-weekly monotherapy for HIV-infected patients. CytoDyn plans to initiate a registration-directed study of leronlimab monotherapy indication. If successful, it could support a label extension. Clinical results to date from multiple trials have shown that leronlimab can significantly reduce viral burden in people infected with HIV. No drug-related serious site injection reactions reported in about 800 patients treated with leronlimab and no drug-related SAEs reported in patients treated with 700 mg dose of leronlimab. Moreover, a Phase 2b clinical trial demonstrated that leronlimab monotherapy can prevent viral escape in HIV-infected patients; some patients on leronlimab monotherapy have remained virally suppressed for more than six years.

CytoDyn is also conducting a Phase 2 trial to evaluate leronlimab for the prevention of GvHD and a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial with leronlimab in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. More information is at www.cytodyn.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Words and expressions reflecting optimism, satisfaction or disappointment with current prospects, as well as words such as "believes," "hopes," "intends," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "plans," "anticipates" and variations thereof, or the use of future tense, identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements specifically include statements about leronlimab, its ability to have positive health outcomes, the possible results of clinical trials, studies or other programs or ability to continue those programs, the ability to obtain regulatory approval for commercial sales, and the market for actual commercial sales. The Company's forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and actual results could vary materially from those contained in or expressed by such statements due to risks and uncertainties including: (i) the sufficiency of the Company's cash position, (ii) the Company's ability to raise additional capital to fund its operations, (iii) the Company's ability to meet its debt obligations, if any, (iv) the Company's ability to enter into partnership or licensing arrangements with third parties, (v) the Company's ability to identify patients to enroll in its clinical trials in a timely fashion, (vi) the Company's ability to achieve approval of a marketable product, (vii) the design, implementation and conduct of the Company's clinical trials, (viii) the results of the Company's clinical trials, including the possibility of unfavorable clinical trial results, (ix) the market for, and marketability of, any product that is approved, (x) the existence or development of vaccines, drugs, or other treatments that are viewed by medical professionals or patients as superior to the Company's products, (xi) regulatory initiatives, compliance with governmental regulations and the regulatory approval process, (xii) general economic and business conditions, (xiii) changes in foreign, political, and social conditions, and (xiv) various other matters, many of which are beyond the Company's control. The Company urges investors to consider specifically the various risk factors identified in its most recent Form 10-K, and any risk factors or cautionary statements included in any subsequent Form 10-Q or Form 8-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any responsibility to update any forward-looking statements to take into account events or circumstances that occur after the date of this press release.

CYTODYN CONTACTS

Investors:

Michael Mulholland

Office: 360.980.8524, ext. 102

mmulholland@cytodyn.com
As oil prices plunge and concerns about climate change grow, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and other European energy companies are selling off oil fields, planning a sharp reduction in emissions and investing billions in renewable energy.

The American oil giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil are going in a far different direction. They are doubling down on oil and natural gas and investing what amounts to pocket change in innovative climate-oriented efforts like small nuclear power plants and devices that suck carbon out of the air.

The results of the 2020 US election will further shape how oil giants plan for the future. Credit:AP

The disparity reflects the vast differences in how Europe and the United States are approaching climate change, a global threat that many scientists say is increasing the frequency and severity of disasters like wildfires and hurricanes. European leaders have made tackling climate change a top priority while President Donald Trump has called it a "hoax" and has dismantled environmental regulations to encourage the exploitation of fossil fuels.

As world leaders struggle to adopt coordinated and effective climate policies, the choices made by oil companies, with their deep pockets, science prowess, experience in managing big engineering projects and lobbying muscle may be critical. What they do could help determine whether the world can meet the goals of the Paris agreement to limit the increase of global temperatures to below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels.
Table 1

Table 1: Summary of Phase 1 Drill Program (To Date)

Table 1: Summary of Phase 1 Drill Program (To Date)

Summary Map of Phase 1 Drill Program

Figure 1: Summary Map of Phase 1 Drill Program (To Date)

Figure 1: Summary Map of Phase 1 Drill Program (To Date)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ValOre Metals Corp. (ValOre; the Company; TSXV: VO; OTC: KVLQF; Frankfurt: KEQ0) today announced the addition of a second drill rig to accelerate Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the 2020 core drill program on the Companys 100%-owned Pedra Branca Platinum Group Element (PGE) Project in northeastern Brazil. ValOre has also augmented the on-site technical team to help execute its newly expanded exploration program. With a CAD $500,000 increase to the existing unsecured revolving credit facility, ValOre is completely funded to finish both Phase 1 and Phase 2 drill programs at Pedra Branca.



Pedra Branca Exploration Highlights:

Phase 1 drill program has tested six targets with 21 diamond drill holes (DDH) to date, totaling 2,210 metres (m) of 2,875 m planned. See Table 1 below for details;

Significant potential for expansion of current NI 43-101 resources has been corroborated by Phase 1 drilling at the Trapia 1 target;

Five new drill holes are planned to follow-up on DD20TU13 that yielded a 61.85 m PGE intercept, including 9.49 g/t 2PGE+Au (Palladium, Platinum and Gold; Pd, Pt+Au) over 2.45 m, adding another 985 m of drilling in September at Trapia 1. The additional drill holes at Trapia 1 will step out along strike of the 1 kilometre (km) long magnetic inversion feature located immediately south of the existing NI 43-101 resource;

Prospective ultramafic (UM) rocks were intercepted in all three holes at C-04, both holes at Golden Goat, four of five holes at Cana Brava, three of four holes at Cedro and one of three holes at Esbarro East (see Tables 1 and 2 below);

1,062 samples have been sent to SGS Vespasiano, with results from five holes (444 samples) at Trapia released (see releases dated August 25 and 31, 2020). Assays are pending from Cedro, Golden Goat, Esbarro East, Cana Brava, and C-04 targets;

Phase 2 drill program (3,035 m) is fully-funded with the second drill rig arriving in early October to facilitate follow-up drilling of high-priority targets;

Phase 2 completion will be accelerated by at least two months with a reduction in costs due to efficiencies and economies of scale;

Additions to geological team to boost property wide exploration and discovery program include:

 Three new experienced Brazilian geologists and one Brazilian mining technician;

 Focused on property wide discovery pipeline, the bolstered team will execute soil sampling, prospecting, and mapping campaigns at Trapia, Mendes North, and Santo Amaro and trenching select areas near existing resource zones;

Metallurgical test work continues at SGS Lakefield and timing of results will be staged throughout Q4, 2020.



Story continues

Phase 1 drilling at Pedra Branca has successfully demonstrated the potential to expand the currently defined Trapia 1 resource area and assays are still pending from drilling at five additional target zones, stated ValOres Chairman and CEO, Jim Paterson. With Phase 2 fully-funded and now benefiting from the addition of new team members and a second drill rig, our productivity should increase dramatically and the receipt of assay results and related news flow will be greatly accelerated. We look forward to sharing further exploration successes from the project with our shareholders and we are proud to note the continued high levels of vigilance maintained by our employees and contractors to keep everyone safe in Capitao Mor and the communities surrounding the Pedra Branca project.

Table 1: Summary of Phase 1 Drill Program (To Date) is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/18165cc4-76d6-4e1b-8d94-767ea287896f

Trapia and Cedro represent two of the five currently known PGE deposit areas which host NI 43-101 resources at Pedra Branca. ValOre reported a NI 43-101 inferred resource estimate for Pedra Branca in August, 2019, which totaled 1,067,000 ounces 2PGE+Au contained in 27.2 million tonnes grading 1.22 g/t 2PGE+Au. PGE mineralization for all five of the resource deposit areas outcrops at surface, making these inferred resources prospective for open pit mining. Figure 1 shows the location of the five NI 43-101 deposit areas, ValOres proposed 2020 drill holes, and the Phase 1 drill totals (to date).

Figure 1: Summary Map of Phase 1 Drill Program (To Date) is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e4ffa91e-51fa-46cc-83a1-83b0b220e25c

Pedra Branca 2020 Drill Program

Please see ValOres news release from August 25, 2020 for detailed information regarding:

Pedra Branca 2020 Drill Program (Phase 1 and Phase 2)

Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QA/QC) and Grade Interval Reporting

Analytical Procedures, SGS Geosol

About Servitec Foraco Sondagem SA

ValOre and Servitec Foraco COVID-19 Protocols



http://valoremetals.com/news-media/news-releases/2020/

Increase and Extension to Financing

As announced April 27, 2020, ValOre entered into an unsecured revolving credit facility, allowing the Company to borrow up to CAD $1.2 million from Jim Paterson, ValOres Chairman and CEO. Mr. Paterson has now agreed to advance an additional CAD $500,000 to ValOre on similar terms, and ValOre has agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to complete an equity financing prior to March 31, 2021 (vs December 31, 2020 as previously agreed) in an amount sufficient to repay amounts borrowed under the loan facility.

About ValOre Metals Corp.

ValOre Metals Corp. (TSXV: VO) is a Canadian company with a portfolio of highquality exploration projects. ValOres team aims to deploy capital and knowledge on projects which benefit from substantial prior investment by previous owners, existence of high-value mineralization on a large scale, and the possibility of adding tangible value through exploration, process improvement, and innovation.

In May 2019, ValOre announced the acquisition of the Pedra Branca Platinum Group Elements (PGE) property, in Brazil, to bolster its existing Angilak uranium, Genesis/Hatchet uranium and Baffin gold projects in Canada.

The Pedra Branca PGE Project comprises 38 exploration licenses covering a total area of 38,940 hectares (96,223 acres) in northeastern Brazil. At Pedra Branca, five distinct 2PGE+Au deposit areas host, in aggregate, a NI 43-101 Inferred Resource of 1,067,000 ounces 2PGE+ Au contained in 27.2 million tonnes grading 1.22 g 2PGE+Au/t (see ValOres July 23, 2019 news release). PGE mineralization outcrops at surface and all of the currently known inferred resources are potentially open pittable.

Comprehensive exploration programs have demonstrated the District Scale potential of ValOres Angilak Property in Nunavut Territory, Canada that hosts the Lac 50 Trend NI 43101 Inferred Resource of 2,831,000 tonnes grading 0.69% U 3 O 8 , totaling 43.3 million pounds U 3 O 8 . For disclosure related to the inferred resource for the Lac 50 Trend uranium deposits, please refer to ValOres news release of March 1, 2013.

ValOres team has forged strong relationships with sophisticated resource sector investors and partner Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) on both the Angilak and Baffin Gold Properties. ValOre was the first company to sign a comprehensive agreement to explore for uranium on Inuit Owned Lands in Nunavut Territory and is committed to building shareholder value while adhering to high levels of environmental and safety standards and proactive local community engagement.

The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and reviewed and approved by Colin Smith, P.Geo., who oversees New Project Review for ValOre.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Jim Paterson"

James R. Paterson, Chairman and CEO

ValOre Metals Corp.

For further information about, ValOre Metals Corp. or this news release, please visit our website at valoremetals.com or contact Investor Relations toll free at 1.888.331.2269, at 604.646.4527, or by email at contact@valoremetals.com.

ValOre Metals Corp. is a proud member of Discovery Group. For more information please visit: discoverygroup.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Although ValOre believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements have been based on factors and assumptions concerning future events that may prove to be inaccurate. These factors and assumptions are based upon currently available information to ValOre. Such statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could influence actual results or events and cause actual results or events to differ materially from those stated, anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. A number of important factors including those set forth in other public filings could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the future operations of the Company and economic factors. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release and, except as required by applicable law, ValOre does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. ValOre undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of ValOre, or its financial or operating results or (as applicable), their securities.








A U.S. media report highlights the emergence of Canada as a hot spot for global tech talent.

Canadian immigration options for tech talent A U.S. media report highlights the emergence of Canada as a hot spot for global tech talent.

Canadian immigration options for tech talent A U.S. media report highlights the emergence of Canada as a hot spot for global tech talent.

Canadian immigration options for tech talent A U.S. media report highlights the emergence of Canada as a hot spot for global tech talent. Kareem El-Assal Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Canada is open to tech talent.

A recent U.S. media report by CGTN America sheds light on Canadas emergence as a destination of choice for tech workers from around the world amid immigration restrictions imposed by the U.S. government.

Indeed, Canada has made a concerted effort to attract more workers to its shores to feed the need of its flourishing tech industry. As such, there are over 100 different options for tech workers who either want to obtain permanent residence or a work permit in Canada.

Canada opens doors to tech talent from the U.S. as Trump limits visas Silicon Valley is often viewed as the tech capital of the world, attracting some of the brightest minds from around the world. But for foreign workers on vis

Immigration pathways for tech talent

Canada has over 100 skilled worker pathways for individuals who want to obtain permanent residence.

Express Entry

Express Entry is the main way for such individuals to apply for Canadian immigration. Candidates submit their profile on the website of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for free. IRCC awards them a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score based on their human capital criteria. This criteria includes the candidates age, education, language skills, and work experience.

Every two weeks, IRCC holds Express Entry draws inviting the candidates with the highest CRS scores to apply for permanent residence.

Express Entry draws have remained a constant fixture throughout the pandemic as Canada is sticking to its Immigration Levels Plan 2020-2022 despite the coronavirus.

Express Entry draw sizes have increased and IRCC has recently held its second-largest Express Entry draws ever.

Candidates from outside of Canada are still succeeding under Express Entry despite the pandemic as IRCC aims to facilitate their immigration to Canada once the global crisis begins to subside.

Given Canadas strong need for tech workers, as well as the high CRS scores that tech workers tend to obtain, tech workers are the leading source of successful candidates under Express Entry.

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

The second biggest option for tech workers who want to immigrate to Canada is the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

Provinces and territories across Canada have the Constitutional authority to select immigrants that meet their local economic needs.

Individuals can apply to a PNP stream directly, or they can be invited to apply to a PNP by submitting an Express Entry profile to IRCC. Obtaining an invitation from a province guarantees an individual they will get an Express Entry invitation to apply for permanent residence.

Numerous provinces have PNP streams dedicated to tech workers. Saskatchewan recently held a draw inviting tech workers, while the likes of British Columbia and Ontario have held numerous tech draws since the start of the pandemic.

Start-up Visa

IRCC also operates the Start-up Visa program.

The SUV is a pathway for innovative entrepreneurs who want to start a business in Canada. It largely attracts tech talent and has grown in prominence in recent years. Successful candidates need to be endorsed by an angel investor, venture capital firm, or business incubator that has been designated by IRCC. Once an endorsement letter has been obtained, the successful candidate can go ahead and submit their permanent residence application.

Get a free Canadian immigration assessment

Work permit options

Canada also offers dozens of pathways for tech talent who need a work visa.

Temporary foreign workers are exempt from Canadas coronavirus travel restrictions for the most part.

The Global Talent Stream has become a leading option for tech workers in recent years.

It expedites the processing time of obtaining a work permit to about four weeks in total.

Canada makes it considerably easier for Canadian employers to recruit highly skilled talent through the Global Talent Stream.

Since launching in 2017, the Global Talent Stream has helped to facilitate the arrival of an additional 40,000 tech workers to Canada.

One of the benefits of coming to Canada through a work visa pathway is it can help to increase the odds of individuals who eventually want Canadian permanent residence. Obtaining work experience in Canada gives immigration candidates extra points and more options under Express Entry and the PNP.

Contact a lawyer who can help with Canadian work permits

 2020 CIC News All Rights Reserved
Donald Trump said the GOP would 'win the entire election' if House Democrats impeach him to slow his coming Supreme Court nominee's confirmation process. (Getty)

Donald Trump on Monday responded to Speaker Nancy Pelosis refusal to rule out a second impeachment to trigger a Senate trial that would delay its confirmation process of his coming Supreme Court pick to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg by essentially daring her to do so.

So theyre impeaching me because Im doing constitutionally what Im supposed to do, the president told Fox News in a morning telephone interview. If they do, I think my numbers will go up.

The GOP president predicted, should House Democrats gain impeach him as a stalling tactic, well win the entire election.

The president repeated his dare in a tweet less than an hour after he appeared on the Fox News Channels morning show: Crazy Nancy Pelosi wants to Impeach me if I fulfill my Constitutional Obligation to put forth a Nominee for the vacated seat on the United States Supreme Court. This would be a FIRST, even crazier than being Impeached for making a PERFECT phone call to Ukrainian Pres. He tagged the Senate Republicans official Twitter account to drive home his call for a speedy process.

In a bold claim that defies most political analysts assessment of the 2020 House map, he said I think well win back the House and keep the Senate.

We were put into this position by voters, Mr Trump said, part of his and most Senate Republicans contention that voters handed them the White House in 2016 and kept the Senate in its control before expanding that upper chamber majority two years later.

Democrats are accusing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans of hypocrisy because in 2016 when they blocked former President Barack Obamas final high court pick they argued a vacancy should not be filled in an election year.

With full-on political warfare breaking out, Ms Pelosi on Sunday declined to rule out a second impeachment of the president or one of Attorney General William Barr as a delaying tactic. A positive impeachment vote in the House would trigger a constitutionally required Senate trial that would essentially leave it unable to handle complicated matters like a SCOTUS nomination.

Story continues

We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that Im not about to discuss, the California Democrat said on ABCs This Week program when asked about impeaching the president or Attorney General William Barr.

But the fact is, we have a big challenge in our country, Ms Pelosi said. "This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election with statements that he and his henchmen have made. So right now, our main goal  would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the American people from the coronavirus.

The move would be an unprecedented one for Ms Pelosi and Democrats, but in the extreme year that is 2020 and with Americas politics so divided, just about no one in Washington is ruling out anything as Republicans try to install a 6-3 conservative lean on the highest court in the land.

Ms Pelosi appears to be mulling the move because Senate Democrats have too few procedural options to delay it on their own. The speaker might have to decide her next move soon, as Mr Trump signaled Monday morning he wants a swift process that culminates with a floor vote before 3 November.

We have a lot of time before, he said of the election. I think it should go before.

Two Senate Republicans, Maines Susan Collins and Alaskas Lisa Murkowski, say they oppose a pre-election vote. Two more defections would mean Mr McConnell and Mr Trump would lack the 50 votes to move to a simple majority floor vote with Vice President Mike Pence, president of the Senate under the Constitution, casting the decisive 51st vote.

Read more

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Logan Castello was born to be a soldier. At age 7, he wore an army camouflage outfit for Halloween and from that day on he would hardly take it off, his mother recalls.

He never had plans other than to join the military. Disappointed that he narrowly missed out on a place at the Naval Academy, he set his eyes on the Army and enrolled after a brief spell in college.

And basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, was everything young Logan had expected. 'Every time we spoke, he was happy and accomplished. He was in a leadership position in his unit and he was excited,' mom Patty Troyan told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.

But then Castello was transferred to Fort Hood, the troubled Texas base that has been rocked by more than two dozen deaths over the past year.

Within two months Logan Castello, 21, was one of those dead. He committed suicide by hanging himself with the leash he had bought for Ham, the golden retriever puppy he and his new wife Kayla had gotten just a month earlier.

'I don't know what happened at Fort Hood, but it broke him,' said his mother. 'He left home excited, positive, motivated. He was proud to be going to Fort Hood and starting his career.'

Logan Castello (pictured with his mother Patty) was a soldier at Fort Hood before taking his own life in November 2019. He committed suicide by hanging himself with the leash he had bought for Ham, the golden retriever puppy he and his new wife Kayla had gotten just a month earlier

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Castello's mother Patty Troyan said, 'I don't know what happened at Fort Hood, but it broke him'

Castello had always wanted to be a soldier and at age 7 (left) he wore an army camouflage outfit for Halloween and from that day on he would hardly take it off, his mother tells DailyMail.com

Castello's widow Kayla said: 'Demons took over my husband's head, and as sad as it is, no one has an answer for it or ever will'

Now, 10 months after her son's death, Troyan is left waiting for answers as to what went so tragically wrong. She has still not received the autopsy report, nor any explanation as to why he had been seeing an army psychiatrist in the days leading up to his death.

'The base cares more about its equipment than its soldiers,' Kayla Castello said of Fort Hood

'We found in his belongings a prescription for Vistaril (a sedative used to treat anxiety) and a prescription for a beta blocker,' said Troyan, 46, who lives in St. Clairsville, Ohio, close to the West Virginia border. 'I am not sure how many times, but I know he had been seeing a psychiatrist. We cannot get the records.

'He did not have any mental health history at all,' added Troyan, a prison social worker. 'There was nothing to indicate what was going to happen.'

Castello's widow Kayla added: 'Demons took over my husband's head, and as sad as it is, no-one has an answer for it or ever will.'

She said just four days earlier they had gone to see a concert by Illenium, a favorite artist. 'It was one of the happiest I had ever seen him,' she told DailyMail.com.

'And the night before he took his life we took our dogs to the lake and we talked about how perfect it was and how happy we were. It was impossible seeing him ever doing such a thing.

'I definitely believe Fort Hood could have done more for him. If you're a healthcare professional and your patient tells you they are having suicidal thoughts, you don't just pat them on the back and send them off for the day.

'The base cares more about its equipment than its soldiers,' she said.

But she said she does not specifically blame the Army for her husband's death. 'I could go on about the many problems of Fort Hood but no, a military base cannot cause someone to do that to themselves.'

Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, has been plagued by a string of tragedies and suspicious deaths with a total of 28 soldiers dead and foul play is suspected in at least five of the deaths

Kayla Castello, 22, went to high school with Logan. They married in September 2019, two and a half months before he killed himself. She has moved back to Ohio since her husband's death

'And the night before he took his life we took our dogs to the lake and we talked about how perfect it was and how happy we were. It was impossible seeing him ever doing such a thing,' Kayla told DailyMail.com. Logan is pictured walking his dog Ham

The problems at Fort Hood  which houses some 50,000 solders  have been in the national spotlight since Private First Class Vanessa Guillen, 20, went missing in April. Her bludgeoned body was found in July. Aaron Robinson, also 20, a soldier suspected of her murder, shot himself dead when police tried to take him into custody.

'Every time we spoke, he was happy and accomplished. He was in a leadership position in his unit and he was excited,' Castello's mother said of her son

Commanding officer Maj. Gen. Scott Effland was removed from his post three weeks ago after complaints that he had not been transparent about the Guillen investigation.

But still the troubles continue. Just on Friday a soldier was arrested at Fort Hood for making 'homicidal threats' to his leadership.

Eight Democratic members of Congress last week toured the base  nicknamed 'The Great Place.' They said they found poor living conditions in barracks and base housing and a culture of fear and low morale.

'I'm deeply concerned about the soldiers here and their families,' said Rep. Jackie Spieir of California, chair of the military personnel sub panel of the Armed Forces Committee, who led the delegation.

Former Army Ranger Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado said the barracks were among the worst he had ever seen. He said he photographed wasp nests in the stairwells, sagging blinds in nearly every room that had them and a basement classroom that had chairs missing legs.

'In the military, the small things are big,' Crow said. 'The command has a big job in front of it. They've got to get in front of units and fix this stuff quickly.'

Patty Troyan agrees. 'It is appalling that so many kids have died,' she told DailyMail.com. 'Obviously the base is mismanaged and needs restructure from the top down and there needs to be a lot of reform to protect the soldiers.

'But I am not confident that there will be reforms.'

Vanessa Guillen, 20, vanished from the base after telling her family she was being sexually harassed. Her body was discovered in July

Corlton Chee (left) died on August 30 after a training exercise. In May of this year the body of Army Pfc. Brandon S. Rosecrans (right) was discovered with gunshot wounds and his Jeep was found three miles away engulfed in flames

Pvt. Mejhor Morta, 26, of Pensacola, Florida was found dead July 17 in the vicinity of Stillhouse Hollow Lake, around 15 miles from the Fort Hood base

Te body of Sgt. Elder Fernandes, 23, (left) was discovered after he went missing back on August 17. Fort Hood soldier, Pfc. Gregory Morales (right) was reported missing from the base a year ago on August 20, 2019. The 24-year-old's remains were found on June 21 in a field in Killeen

The body of Spc. Francisco Gilberto Hernandezvargas, 24, left, was recovered from Stillhouse Hollow Lake following a boating incident. Shelby Tyler Jones, right, was shot dead at a convenience store in Killeen in March

Fort Hood did not respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. After the congressional delegation's visit, acting commanding officer Maj. Gen. John Richardson issued a statement, Military.com reported.

'The past several months have been difficult and challenging at Fort Hood,' Richardson said. 'We will work collectively with our communities, Fort Hood units, U.S. Army Forces Command, the Department of the Army and our elected officials to address these complex and challenging issues.'

Guillen and Castello are only two of nearly 30 Fort Hood soldiers to die in the past 12 months. There have been five homicides in 2020 alone, as well as six suicides, five accidental deaths, one killed in combat and eight from illness or undetermined causes.

2020 FORT HOOD DEATHS BY CAUSE: Accidents - 8 Suicide - 6 Homicides - 5 Undetermined - 6 Illness - 2 In combat - 1 Advertisement

Most recently Private Corlton Chee, 25, died on August 30, two days after collapsing during training. His family have alleged foul play saying his body was found with bruises and scratches. Five days earlier Sgt. Elder Fernandes, 23, hanged himself from a tree after claiming he had been sexually abused by a senior officer.

'The soldiers who took their own lives deserve the same recognition as those who were murdered,' Patty Troyan told DailyMail.com.

'Just because they weren't found in a shallow grave doesn't mean their deaths weren't just as impacting.'

Logan Castello died on November 20 last year. Troyan and her ex-husband, Logan's father Ken Castello, were due to join him for Thanksgiving at the apartment he shared with his wife in Killeen, the Texas town that hosts Fort Hood.

'I spoke to him two days before he died,' said Troyan. 'We were talking about the Thanksgiving plans and he said he was inviting guys who didn't have leave and weren't going home and he said 'Mom, this is going to be the best Thanksgiving ever.'

'That was the last time I ever spoke to him.'

Instead of a family celebration in Texas, Troyan got to visit Fort Hood for her son's memorial in December. 'Everybody was very gracious to us,' she said. 'The service was beautiful.

'If they had taken as much effort with him when he was alive as they did after he was dead, then we wouldn't have needed the memorial.

Troyan said she had noticed subtle changes in her son during phone calls after he went to Fort Hood. 'He was kind of shying away from career military and said he might just finish his four-year contract.

'I definitely noticed there was a change in his attitude, but he assured me that he was fine, that he felt Fort Hood was mismanaged and it wasn't exactly what he had expected. But he never sounded depressed.

Kayla said she too noticed changes after her husband joined the military. 'I guess that's what they do to them,' she said. 'But in the last few weeks there was nothing out of the ordinary.

'Of course, he had his not-so-good days, we all do. But most days he was okay  or portrayed to be okay.'

Kayla said she noticed changes after her husband joined the military. 'I guess that's what they do to them,' she said. 'But in the last few weeks there was nothing out of the ordinary'

Kayla said just four days before his death they had gone to see a concert by Illenium, a favorite artist. 'It was one of the happiest I had ever seen him,' she told DailyMail.com

Kayla Castello, 22, went to high school with Logan. They married in September 2019, two and a half months before he killed himself. She has moved back to Ohio since her husband's death.

Troyan says Castello was removed from his unit's training rotation and he missed a trip to California for field training.

'He was ineligible for deployment for one year because he sought mental health treatment and he was placed on isolated job duties,' she said.

'I spoke to him one day and he was sitting in a car watching a parking lot and he had to do that for 24 hours alone. He said it was just in case anything happened in the parking lot. I don't know why he was there. This was after he sought help.'

'He should have been hospitalized. If someone reports suicidal ideation to a professional, in my experience, they are obligated to protect them from themselves.

'Part of my job responsibilities in the prison is doing assessments for suicidal risk. If an inmate reports thoughts of any type of self-harm, the standard protocol is to place them on watch status in our medical building where they are monitored. They are evaluated every day, they are provided coping mechanisms, evaluated by a doctor and every precaution is taken to stabilize them and keep them safe. They have very limited property.

'I absolutely think that should have happened to my son. He should have been hospitalized.'

As the first anniversary of her son's death grows close, Patty Troyan says her immediate goal is to go through a week without crying in her office. 'I haven't done it yet,' she said.

'I cry every day. When he left for Fort Hood and I was hugging him on the front porch and I started to cry, he said: ''Mom, why are you crying?'' He said: ''I'm gonna be fine. This is exciting. I can't wait to start my life.'' I told him this was the first time in his life that I didn't know exactly when I would see him again.

'I never saw him alive again.'

But she says she wills herself to go on for the sake of Logan's younger brother who is now 11. 'He saves my life every day. I have to take care of him and he needs me. Logan was his hero.

Troyan supported her elder son in his ambition to join the armed forces. 'I wanted him to do whatever it was he wanted to do. I wanted him to take his own path.'

But she is adamant she does not want his brother to follow in his footsteps. 'I would do everything I could to dissuade him,' she said.

'I'm not even going to encourage him to go very far away. He needs to be close enough that I can get to him if something is wrong, because I won't go to another child's funeral.

'He told me he might go to Belmont College, a community college just up the road.

'I told him that's a fabulous idea, it's practically Ivy League, you don't need to look any further.'

For confidential support call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255
A new paper published today in Nature Energy reveals how a collaborative team of researchers have been able to fully identify the nature of oxidised oxygen in the important battery material - Li-rich NMC - using RIXS (Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering) at Diamond Light Source. This compound is being closely considered for implementation in next generation Li-ion batteries because it can deliver a higher energy density than the current state-of-the-art materials, which could translate to longer driving ranges for electric vehicles. They expect that their work will enable scientists to tackle issues like battery longevity and voltage fade with Li-rich materials.

The paper, "First cycle voltage hysteresis in Li-rich 3d cathodes associated with molecular O2 trapped in the bulk" by a joint team from the University of Oxford, the Henry Royce and Faraday Institutions and Diamond Light Source, the UK's national synchrotron examines the results of their investigations to better understand the important compound known in the battery industry as Li-rich NMC (or Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2).

Principal Beamline Scientist on I21 RIXS at Diamond, Kejin Zhou, explains: "Our work is much about understanding the mysterious first cycle voltage hysteresis in which the O-redox process cannot be fully recovered resulting in the loss of the voltage hence the energy density."

A previous study (Nature 577, 502-508 (2020)) into this process made by the same research team, at the I21 beamline at Diamond, reported that, in Na-ion battery cathodes, the voltage hysteresis is related to the formation of molecular O2 trapped inside of the particles due to the migration of transition metal ions during the charging process.

He adds: "Our current work, focuses on the Li-rich material Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2. The key findings as before show the formation of free O2 molecules inside the materials, which has not been appreciated before in the community. This is a very important discovery as the material has higher TM-O covalency which was thought to suppress formation of molecular O2. I believe our work will have huge impact in future battery cathodes designs to minimise the unstable honeycomb structure. Our work also has important consequences for tackling other issues associated with Li-rich NMC, such as voltage fade, which hinder their commercialisation and ultimately discovering new materials which may be able to harness O-redox more reversibly."

Li-rich cathode materials are one of the very few options available to increase the energy density of Li-ion batteries. Almost all of the lithium in these structures can be removed, compensated first by oxidation of the transition metal (TM) ions and subsequently the oxide ions. However, the high voltage associated with this O-redox process on charge is not recovered on discharge leading to so called voltage hysteresis and a substantial loss of energy density. This represents one of the key challenges that has inhibited exploiting the full potential of these materials and the understanding of this phenomenon remains incomplete.

"In our study, we used HR RIXS - High Resolution- Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering spectroscopy at beamline I21 at Diamond to investigate the O-redox process. This is how the material stores charge on the oxide ions, which make up part of its structure. However, this process has proved very difficult for researchers to understand fully. The material undergoes complicated structural changes during the first charge resulting in large voltage hysteresis, and the mechanism by which oxide ions store energy was unclear," explains lead author, Dr Rob House, University of Oxford, Department of Materials. He also adds:

"The data we achieved allowed us to assign mysterious spectroscopic features that had previously been detected by the RIXS technique , but could not be fully identified. We were able to resolve fine structure arising from the vibrations of O2 molecules allowing us to assign the RIXS features obtained in this important class of battery material. These O2 molecules are trapped within the bulk of the cathode material and can be reformed back into oxide ions during discharge, but at a lower voltage than on the initial charge. This provides a new mechanism for explaining the O-redox process and represents an important step forward for battery materials."

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For further media information: please contact Diamond Communications: Lorna Campbell +44 7836 625999 or Isabelle Boscaro-Clarke +44 1235 778130

Editors Notes:

"First cycle voltage hysteresis in Li-rich 3d cathodes associated with molecular O2 trapped in the bulk." The DOI number for this paper is 10.1038/s41560-020-00697-2. Once published online, it will be available at the following URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-00697-2

Authors: Robert A. House1,2,3,4, Gregory J. Rees1,2,3,4, Miguel A. Perez-Osorio1,2,3,4, John-Joseph Marie1,2,3,4, Edouard Boivin1,2,3, Alex W. Robertson1,2,3, Abhishek Nag5, Mirian Garcia-Fernandez5, Ke-Jin Zhou5 and Peter G. Bruce1,2,3,4,*

1. Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX3 1PH, U.K. 2. Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QZ, U.K. 3. The Henry Royce Institute, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PH, U.K. 4. The Faraday Institution, Quad One, Becquerel Avenue, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0RA, U.K. 5. Diamond Light Source, Harwell, U.K.

Li-rich cathode materials are potential candidates for next generation Li-ion batteries. However, they exhibit large voltage hysteresis on the 1st charge/discharge cycle involving a substantial (up to 1V) loss of voltage and therefore energy density. For Na cathodes, e.g. Na0.75[Li0.25Mn0.75]O2, voltage hysteresis can be explained by formation of molecular O2 trapped in voids within the particles. Here we show that this is also the case for Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2. RIXS and 17O MAS NMR show that molecular O2, rather than O22-, forms within the particles on oxidation of O2- at 4.6 V vs Li+/Li on charge. These O2 molecules are reduced back to O2- on discharge but at the lower voltage of 3.75 V explaining the voltage hysteresis in Li-rich cathodes. 17O MAS NMR indicates a quantity of bulk O2 consistent with the O-redox charge capacity minus the small quantity of O2 loss from the surface. The implication is that O2, trapped in the bulk and lost from the surface, can explain O-redox.

Li-rich cathode materials, such as Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2 where Li:TM>1, are one of the very few options available to increase the energy density of Li-ion batteries.1-3 Almost all of the lithium in these structures can be removed, compensated first by oxidation of the transition metal (TM) ions and subsequently the oxide ions, the latter at a constant potential of 4.6 V vs Li+/Li.4-10 However, the high voltage associated with this O-redox process on charge is not recovered on discharge leading to so called voltage hysteresis and a substantial loss of energy density. This represents one of the key challenges that has inhibited exploiting the full potential of these materials and the understanding of this phenomenon remains incomplete.

About Diamond Light Source: http://www.diamond.ac.uk Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron, providing industrial and academic user communities with access to state-of-the-art analytical tools to enable world-changing science. Shaped like a huge ring, it works like a giant microscope, accelerating electrons to near light speeds, to produce a light 10 billion times brighter than the Sun, which is then directed off into 33 laboratories known as 'beamlines'. In addition to these, Diamond offer access to several integrated laboratories including the Electron Bio-imaging Centre (eBIC) and the Electron Physical Science Imaging Centre (ePSIC).

Diamond serves as an agent of change, addressing 21st century challenges such as disease, clean energy, food security and more. Since operations started, more than 14,000 researchers from both academia and industry have used Diamond to conduct experiments, with the support of approximately 700 world-class staff. More than 8,000 scientific articles have been published by our users and scientists.

Funded by the UK Government through the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and by the Wellcome Trust, Diamond is one of the most advanced scientific facilities in the world, and its pioneering capabilities are helping to keep the UK at the forefront of scientific research.
Editor : Daisy

Source : Xinhua

Once living in poor conditions, the family of quadruplet girls now shakes off poverty in E China's Jiangxi.

GANZHOU, Sept. 20 (Xinhua)  Wu Nianyou, a farmer in Shangbao Village of Ganzhou City, and his wife saw their quadruplet daughters come to the world on a morning in September 2010. They named their daughters Wu Mengling, Wu Mengting, Wu Mengyun and Wu Mengqin, who became their worry to raise up with little income only from the fields.

Being premature babies, the girls were in poor health conditions which needed lots of money to treat. With the help of the local government and society, the family overcame their difficulties in the hardest two years of their life.

Basic living allowances were given to the girls and the couple were offered jobs near their home. Henhouse, duck shed and fish pool were built near their house by the local government as ways to increase their income, and a three-layer house was built in 2016 in the help of local policy.

On Jan. 1, 2019, the family shook off poverty and now live a better life.

(Source: Xinhua)
When she was working as a cashier this summer at a Walmart store in Northeast Philadelphia, a 20-year-old woman said she would see customers wearing their masks under their chins or not wearing one at all, but "it didnt make sense to make a whole big scene, especially if the line at her register was long. She worried that her manager would get mad at her if she slowed down the line while dealing with maskless customers.

At a Philadelphia Rite Aid, a worker in her 60s was instructed to alert her manager if a customer was refusing to put on a mask. But managers, she said, usually dont want to get involved.

And at a Rittenhouse Square Starbucks, a 24-year-old barista said that sometimes customers get belligerent when she asks them to put on a mask. They ask for her name and say theyll file a complaint with corporate, before storming out. Add that to the list of other inconsiderate things customers do, she said, like stick their heads around the acrylic glass barrier thats meant to protect both workers and customers.

People act like our safety doesnt matter, said the barista, who, like most of the workers interviewed for this story, asked that her name not be used out of fear of retaliation at work.

As shutdown orders lift and businesses slowly reopen, low-wage service workers are once again at high risk of exposure to COVID-19  and they have to deal with a whole range of customers, including those who believe its their constitutional right not to wear a mask. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says wearing one properly limits the spread of the virus.

 READ MORE: Less than half of Philadelphians are wearing masks properly, study finds

Workers say their employers have largely left them to fend for themselves. While most representatives from big-box chains interviewed for this story agreed that masks must be worn in their stores and that worker and customer safety was of the highest importance, none shared a plan that outlined enforcement of mask policy.

If a customer doesnt want to wear a face covering, our health ambassadors notify a member of management, who will talk to the customer and try to find a solution, Walmart spokesperson Casey Staheli said.

 READ MORE: Philadelphia set to be first U.S. city to protect workers against retaliation for calling out coronavirus conditions

Starbucks spokesperson Ana Rigby said, For customers who are not wearing facial coverings, our partners have received guidance to offer alternative options for customers to order their Starbucks."

And at Rite Aid, if a customer doesnt have a face covering," spokesperson Christopher Savarese said, Rite Aid has masks available free of charge.

Corporations unwillingness to take a hard-line stance on masks is unacceptable, said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the New York City-based Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, which represents 100,000 workers around the country.

The employer needs to make sure people are wearing masks just like they make sure people are wearing shoes and shirts," he said, adding that masks are a safety issue and its the employers responsibility to ensure a safe working environment.

Appelbaum said his union, which represents workers at such employers as Macys and Bloomingdales, negotiated provisions in reopening agreements that said workers had the right to refuse to serve a customer without a mask.

As for workers being expected to enforce mask-wearing?

Thats not part of their job," he said. Thats not what they signed up for. Thats not what theyre compensated for.

The employer needs to make sure people are wearing masks just like they make sure people are wearing shoes and shirts. Stuart Appelbaum, president of Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union

Employers' refusal to enforce mask-wearing and social-distancing  or their decision to add enforcement to a list of responsibilities for low-wage security guards or retail workers  is yet another workplace safety issue for workers during the pandemic, and one thats become deadly.

In Flint, Mich., a Family Dollar security guard was fatally shot in May after he refused entrance to a customer without a mask. Last month, at a Wawa in Philadelphias Juniata Park neighborhood, an off-duty security guard was shot when he intervened in a social-distancing dispute.

And in April, a worker at the Fresh Grocer on North Broad Street who was in charge of managing the number of customers in the store and making sure customers were masked was beaten and stabbed after an altercation with a customer, said Wendell Young, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1776, which represents workers at grocery stores such as Acme, ShopRite, and Fresh Grocer. A spokesperson for Fresh Grocer denied this, saying the company had no violent incidents in response to mask mandates.

Mask enforcement when the customer is always right

The power dynamics between service workers and customers are already complicated: Many workers rely on tips. Others, like the former Walmart cashier, fear customers acting out could mean getting their hours cut or losing their jobs.

At Rivers Casino in Fishtown, workers said customers often ignored mask policy, and some supervisors just let it go.

The supervisors are afraid of the players," a worker told The Inquirer. "They havent been trained properly, and theyre afraid to say something.

Gregorio Garcia, a bartender at restaurants at Philadelphia International Airport run by OTG, said he was never given any directives on how to deal with customers who dont wear masks and didnt have faith that his employer would have his back on the issue regardless.

Even if you were in the right, if [the customer] started cursing you out, I think theyd take the customers side," Garcia, 29, said. "Its the restaurant industry.

OTG spokesperson Lisa Rigney said that within our establishments, like inside a market or restaurant, our crew members would be responsible for asking someone to put on a mask. But, she said, if people are walking around without masks at the gates or in the walkways, that would be enforced by the airline or an airport official.

 READ MORE: Workers at Rivers Casino Philadelphia complain of coronavirus secrecy and lax safety

Garcia said its not that straightforward. OTG workers serve customers at the gates, since they can order food and drinks from iPads there, and when servers do take food to the gates, other passengers walk up to them to place an order or ask a question.

Airport spokesperson Florence Brown said that the airlines mask policy can be enforced by any Philadelphia Police Department officer or Division of Aviation employee and that airlines and other organizations can and have refused service to those who do not follow the rules.

 ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters.

But Garcia said no one appears to be enforcing guidelines at the gates, and he doesnt feel equipped to.

Im not TSA, he said. Im a bartender.
A direct cargo ferry service between India and Maldives was launched on Monday, establishing the first such shipping line connecting the two Indian Ocean neighbours.

The ferry service, which was first announced by PM Narendra Modi in June 2019 during his visit to the Maldives, was launched in an e-flag off ceremony jointly by MOS (Independent Charge) Ministry of Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation of Maldives Aishath Nahula.

The commencement of the service was announced by the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his virtual meeting with his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid on August 13 this year.

During its maiden voyage, a vessel with a capacity of 200 TEU and 3000 MT of breakbulk cargo will sail from Tuticorin to Kochi from where it will make a stop at Kulhudhuffushi port in North Maldives, before it reaches Male on September 29. This ferry service, being operated by the Shipping Corporation of India, will run twice a month and will provide a cost-effective, direct, and alternate means of transportation of goods between India and Maldives, the MEA said.

A new chapter added in India-Maldives relationship today.



Flagged off direct cargo shipping service between Tuticorin-Kochi-Kulhudhuffushi-Male.



It ensures alternate & less expensive mode of transport along with promoting economic, social and cultural ties between  &  pic.twitter.com/ytrUkQCACL  Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) September 21, 2020

READ | Centre: 'No Deterioration Of Bilateral Relations With Neighbours, India An Active Partner'

READ | Big Blow To Beijing; US-Maldives Ink Key Defence Pact To Circle China In Indian Ocean

More trade, more projects

It is expected that the ferry service will herald direct connectivity for movement of cargo between India and Maldives and thereby give a boost to bilateral trade. Despite geographical proximity, India is currently only the 4th largest trade partner of Maldives, behind China. Indias bilateral trade has hovered around USD 280 million annually for some years now and stood at USD 286.85 million in 2019.

The ferry has a cold storage facility, which will also allow more exports from the Maldives of tuna fish and other marine food items which are a specialty of Maldives.

A number of bilateral projects are in the pipeline, owing to which export of construction material and other commodities from India to the Maldives is bound to rise in the coming months. This includes the Greater Male Connectivity Project (under USD 400 million line of credit and USD 100 million grant), projects under the USD 800 million LOC.

  Direct Cargo Ferry Service was jointly launched today by Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation @aishath_nahula & Minister of Shipping @mansukhmandviya. A key instrument to upgrade our trade partnership,the Ferry Service will also support eco. dvpt. of northern Maldives. pic.twitter.com/gsNBgOD1xX  India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) September 21, 2020

READ | 'India Proved COVID Will Not Let It Close Its Heart To Us': Maldives FM Over $250 MN Aid

READ | India, Maldives Will Support Each Other In Fight Against Health, Economic Impact Of COVID-19: Modi
A tabloid has recently published an article about the weight of actress Angelina Jolie. According to the tabloid, National Enquirer, the actress is doing a hunger strike over her ongoing divorce proceedings with ex-husband Brad Pitt.

Angelina Jolie down to 99 pounds?

According to the National Enquirer, the actress is intentionally starving herself to force Brad Pitt to cave to her child custody demands.

The actress is said to be refusing food in a self-imposed pity party and is allegedly only eating handfuls of grains and nuts. The tabloid claims she is hoping Pitt will cave when he sees how unhealthy she is.

The tabloid also claims that they spoke to a nutrition expert who allegedly said that Jolie's weight is dangerously low and explained why it could be a bad thing for the actress.

The article goes on to rehash the state of the divorce case and adds that the actress is also down in the dumps after Pitt was spotted with model Nicole Poturalaski.

The tabloid finishes the article by quoting a "longevity expert" who says that losing weight could hurt her immune system and increasing her chance of "developing COVID-19."

Also Read: Craziest 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' PR Stunts

The truth

The article about Jolie's weight is not true. National Enquirer says that the doctors quoted in the article have not treated the actress. However, doctors who have not treated a patient are not qualified to talk about the health of the patient.

Attached to the controversial article is an unflattering picture of a skinny-looking Jolie. The photograph is from the premiere of "First They Killed My Father" back in 2017.

The use of the outdated photo makes the tabloid more unreliable since they are supposedly reporting what is happening to the actress right now.

There is no other news site or gossip site that reported about Jolie's alleged hunger strike. National Enquirer is the only one who published about the actress's current weight of "99 pounds" and how she's doing it to pressure ex-husband Brad Pitt into giving her full custody of their children.

The site Gossip Cop busted the story and pointed out that fake tabloids always attack Jolie for her weight. Tabloids published articles about her alleged eating disorder, her health crisis over Pitt, and starvation.

The story is harmful and sexist in the sense that it downplays eating disorders, which is a serious condition, and that it insists that Jolie will go to that length just for Pitt.

The divorce proceedings of the two A-list Hollywood stars led to a lot of fake stories from tabloids. National Enquirer claimed in the past that the actress was trying to prevent Pitt from seeing his children by manufacturing scheduling conflicts.

The divorce apparently caused Jolie to swear off men. The tabloid also claimed that Jolie is fueled to win the custody battle, not because she wants to raise their children but because she wants to get revenge.

Another story stated that the actress went on a hunger strike when Pitt allegedly met with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, making her play the jealous and petty ex-wife, an archetype that is sexist.

Related Article: Famous Hollywood Celebrities Who Went Broke

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YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is introducing Armenias transformation strategy  the pan-Armenian agenda directed for Armenias development by 2050.

The PM is presenting the strategy in the Matenadaran on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of Armenias Independence.

Firstly, Pashinyan proposed to look at todays reality through the eyes of 30 years ago. Did we then have an idea how we would imagine Armenia in 2020? Unfortunately, I must record that no such strategy existed in our reality, at least at the state level, he said. The 30 years strategy of Armenias transformation is very important for us, in order to understand what we want, where we move on and how we imagine our Armenia in 2050.

He highlighted the fact that the strategy must have a practical significance.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Sony has apologised for the apparent mess created with the premature opening of pre-orders for its PlayStation 5 console last week.

Lets be honest: PS5 preorders could have been a lot smoother. We truly apologize for that, Sony said on the official PlayStation Twitter account on Saturday.

The company said promised it will release more PlayStation 5 consoles for pre-order over the next few days, for which retailers would share more details.

The apology follows multiple international online stores opening pre-orders for the console on Wednesday 16 September, a day earlier than the availability date announced by Sony during its PlayStation 5 showcase.

Those planning for pre-orders to open on 17 September were caught off guard and had to scramble to get their hands on the console, leaving many disappointed.

South African retailers sold out

Multiple South African ecommerce stores also quickly ran out of stock after pre-orders were first opened on Thursday morning.

Barely 24 hours later, searching for the console on BT Games, Takealot, and Koodoo yielded no positive results.

On Takealot, navigating to the link which previously allowed South Africans to buy the 1TB Glacier White version of the PlayStation 5 displayed the following message:

Oops! It looks like this product is no longer available.

BT Games website displays a 404 error when navigating to its PlayStation 5 webpage, while Koodoos page continues to show the PlayStation 5 consoles, but marks them as sold out.

Xbox Series X pre-orders

Microsoft has provided a more detailed region-by-region rollout schedule for pre-orders for its PlayStation 5 rivals  the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles.

For South Africa, pre-orders are slated to open 9:00 AM on Tuesday 22 September, as confirmed by BT Games.

Game Awards producer Geoff Keighley has explained that Xbox is taking steps to avoid similar pre-order chaos as with the PlayStation 5.

Ive heard that Xbox will be penalizing retailers by lowering allocations if they break these embargoes, so hopefully these times will hold, Keighley said.

Now read: The cheapest 4K TVs and monitors to buy for your PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday thanked Colombian President Ivan Duque for his stance against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and pledged continued assistance to help fight drug trafficking.

In the fourth stop on his tour of South America, Pompeo said the partnership between Colombia and the United States was a force for good in the region.

"Your support for interim (Venezuelan) president Juan Guaido and the democratic transition for a sovereign Venezuela free of malign influence ... is incredibly valued," Pompeo told Duque in a joint press conference in Bogota.

Pompeo has used the tour to increase pressure on Maduro, who has overseen a six-year economic collapse and has been indicted in the United States on narcoterrorism charges, to resign.

A report this week by United Nations investigators found Maduro's government has committed systematic human rights violations including killings and torture amounting to crimes against humanity.

"The international community has to act to bring this situation to an end," said Duque, who calls Maduro a dictator and often accuses him of sheltering and supporting members of Colombian rebel groups.

The Colombian government is among more than 50 countries which consider Venezuela's opposition leader Guaido to be the country's interim president.

Pompeo said the United States will continue to provide expertise and resources to help Colombia fight drug trafficking.

Colombia faces constant pressure from the United States, a major destination for cocaine, to reduce the size of crops of coca, the drug's chief ingredient.

Duque has set a target to destroy 130,000 hectares (321,237 acres) of coca this year, up from 100,000 hectares last year, and has signaled aerial spraying of the herbicide glyphosate could restart.
Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers (ANL) over the publication in the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline of a private and confidential letter sent to Thomas Markle in August 2018.

Markle, 39, claims the February 2019 publication of parts of the handwritten letter to Mr Markle, 76, was a misuse of her private information and breached the Data Protection Act, as well as a breach of her copyright.

At the latest preliminary hearing in London on Monday, ANL argued that Meghan wrote the letter to Mr Markle with a view to it being read by third parties and/or disclosed to the public, or knowing that this was very likely.

Alexandra Marzec, representing ANL, told the court the duchess was using her friends as, effectively, PR agents to influence the media in the months before the letter was sent to Mr Markle in 2018.

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Ms Marzec said Meghan had spoken to her friend Jessica Mulroney and asked her to intervene to attempt to influence what her former commercial adviser Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne said to the press.

The publisher is seeking to amend its written defence to Meghans claim to argue that a recent book about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, was published with their extensive co-operation.

Antony White QC, also representing ANL, said in written submissions: The book sets out in great detail the claimants feelings on a variety of personal matters, relationships and events, and attributes multiple quotes to her about her feelings.

He added: It also sets out in great detail accounts of events at which it is reasonable to infer that only the claimant and her husband, and/or possibly a third party who would not have spoken to the authors (eg the Queen), were present.

Mr White told the court that there are only three possible ways to account for the inclusion of this information in the book.

He argued that either Meghan gave or allowed others to give this information to the authors, that she gave the information to her friends in confidence who provided it to the authors despite her wishes, or the information is the product of invention by the authors and/or the authors sources.

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Mr White said that, if the information was invented by the authors or their sources, it is inevitable that the claimant would have complained to and most likely issued legal proceedings against the authors.



The claimant and her husband did not collaborate with the authors on the book, nor were they interviewed for it, nor did they provide photographs to the authors for the book

The barrister added that Mr Scobie had provided a witness statement to the court, which he said seems to confirm that people working on behalf of the claimant co-operated with the authors and gave them the names of people close to the claimant who would help, and that the authors spoke to such people and received information from them.

But Meghans lawyers argued that references in the book to her letter to Mr Markle were simply extracts from the letter lifted from the defendants own articles.

In written submissions, Justin Rushbrooke QC said: The claimant and her husband did not collaborate with the authors on the book, nor were they interviewed for it, nor did they provide photographs to the authors for the book.

He added that neither Meghan nor Harry to spoke to Mr Scobie or Ms Durand, who he said were not given the impression that the claimant wanted the contents of the letter to be reproduced in the book.

The court also heard that the total legal costs of both sides are estimated to be around 3 million, up to and including the trial.

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In documents before the court, Jessie Bowhill  who also represents the duchess  said: The overall total costs figures are 1,798,043.57 for the claimant and 1,230,425 for the defendant.

She added: At the broad brush level, 1.8 million is a reasonable and proportionate amount for a seven to 10-day trial in the High Court in a case concerning private information, personal data and intellectual property rights of a high-profile individual.

Last month, the duchess won the most recent tussle in the legal action after Mr Justice Warby ruled in her favour over protecting the identities of five friends who gave an anonymous interview to a US magazine.

Meghans lawyers had applied for the five friends who gave an interview to People magazine, speaking out against the bullying the duchess said she has faced, to remain anonymous in reports of the proceedings.

The duchess is suing ANL over five articles in total, two in the Mail on Sunday and three on MailOnline, which were published in February 2019.

The headline of the first Mail on Sunday article read: Revealed: The letter showing true tragedy of Meghans rift with a father she says has broken her heart into a million pieces.

Mondays hearing before Judge Francesca Kaye will also deal with applications for further disclosure and directions towards a trial, which is due to begin in January.

It is not clear if the judge will give a ruling on ANLs application to amend its defence on Monday, or reserve it to a later date.
At the meeting (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi  Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong has urged Hanoi to make greater efforts in Party building, personnel development and rule building, in order to deserve its position as the national centre of politics and culture.

Hanoi must set an example in all fields, the top leader said during a meeting between the Politburo and the citys Party Committees Standing Board on September 19.

He asked the capital city to extend its relations with foreign counterparts and bring into full play the support of the central government and coordinate with other localities in development.

Regarding the upcoming 17th Party Congress of Hanoi (2020-2025 term), the Politburo lauded the Hanoi Party Committees thorough, serious and scientific preparations, in terms of both documents and personnel.

However, the Politburo said, the draft political report should make deeper analysis and comparison between Hanoi and regions and the country, as well as between tenures.

It was reported that during the previous term, Hanoi has completed all of the 16 criteria set at the 16th Party Congress of the city, with its economic growth higher than the national average and improved growth quality.

In 2020, the citys gross regional domestic product (GRDP) is expected to exceed 1 quadrillion VND (45 billion USD) and its GRDP per capita at some 5,420 USD, a rise of 1.5 times from 2015 and 1.8 times higher than the national average.

Hanois budget collection reached nearly 1.2 trillion VND in 2016-2020, a nearly 1.64-fold increase as compared with the 2011-2015 period.

Outstanding achievements have been made in attracting foreign investment that hit 25 billion USD in 2016-2020, 3.9 times higher than the previous tenure, the report said.

The capital city accounts for over 16 percent of national GDP and 18.5 percent of the countrys budget collection.

At the meeting, the Politburo suggested Hanoi adjust its economic targets to match the latest situation, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and supplement sustainable development criteria such as human development and life expectancy indexes, along with those on the environment.

Hanoi should gear towards regional and international development standards, and work to promote its locomotive role as well as its position as an international gateway of the country, the Politburo said.
The Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has charged students from public schools who sat for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to venture out and select top tier Senior High Schools in Ghana, ahead of their entry into second cycle institutions.



The assertion of Dr. Osei Adutwum follows, a new government policy, which has to apportion 30% of the spaces in top schools such as Wesley Girls, Aburi Girls, St Louis, Yaa Asantewaa, and other high ranking schools have been reserved for students who went to public school.



According to Dr. Adutwum, many years ago, if you were a student from public school, your chances of going to a top school were limited. However, it is no longer the case. He has, therefore, urged final year students to apply to Grade A school because the status quo has changed.



He noted that the majority of final year students from public schools do not apply to the school for fear that you wont be accepted by top tier schools.



He made these calls when he paid a working visit to some selected BECE centers in the Ashanti region namely: Achina SHS, ST Georges SHS, and Mighty JAPASS during the last day of the BECE.



Addressing BECE final year students at Achina SHS, Dr. Yaw Adutwum, who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe, told the student: There are a number of schools that are waiting for. The new government policy says that 30% of the spaces in our top schools like Wesley Girls, Aburi Girls, St Louis, Yaa Asantewaa, and a number of schools have been reserved for students, who went to public school.



This, he continued, if one applies and the student is not accepted, he or she still has a second choice and a third choice to apply for a school, so they should not be afraid and venture out and thereby try top tier schools.



He stated:  If you are a young man, do not be afraid of applying to Prempeh College or Opoku Ware. Achina SHS too is a great school you can apply too. I want you to know that you have other options and choices, so do not limit yourself.



Ahead of their last paper which was Social Studies, Osei Adutwun implored them to feel relaxed and Take your time in answering the questions, emphasising them not, take too much time because it is a timed test.



Dr. Adutwum said:  Make sure you read the questions carefully. Comprehend and then make sure you answer it right.



According to him, the Ministry of Education is waiting for the BECE candidates at the senior level, stressing that opportunities come and not many people get the opportunity.



He revealed to the students that they are going to be the fourth batch of Junior High Graduates who are going to enjoy FSHS in the annals of Ghana.



He told the BECE candidates: There are people behind you five years back who missed it, but you did not miss it , you have it. Today, as you write your final paper , I want you to just feel relaxed ;do not be anxious ,do not be afraid ;understand that in the same way that you have done the previous test ,you are going to do well today.

The Bosomtwe legislature further admonished them to be mindful of the fact that during the time that time at home, and do all the right things ,adding that they should not do things that can put their lives in danger .Continue to recognize the protocols that you recognize whilst you are in school .



In a remark, he told the students not to throw their books away as they go home, but get a book and read.



On his part , the incoming Member of Parliament for Ejisu Constituencyin the Ashanti region , appealed to the invigilators not to do anything that will destablise the students.



Kumah assured the students that Free SHS is waiting for them ,adding that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has prepared a free table waiting for them to continue their education

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

Featured Video
The new Apple Watch's biggest feature is not, for the most part, visible to anyone who is wearing it. Every so often, in the dark, your wrist might glow red, reflecting a light shining out of the Watch that is measuring your blood.

The Watch uses that glow to measure the amount of oxygen in your blood. And, Apple hopes, that measurement could provide entirely new ways of understanding your own wellbeing.

That red glow comes from LEDs on the back of the watch, which shine out, through your skin and into the blood. A sensor made up of photodiodes, in the same panel, can measure the amount of light that's reflected back  the brighter the blood, the more oxygen it is carrying  feeding those measurements into algorithms that provide an estimate of blood oxygen.

When you head to Apple's page for its new Watch, it's not the speed of the processors or the brightness of the screen that it tries to sell you on. Instead, there's that same red glow, and the promise that "the future of health is on your wrist".

Apple hasn't always talked about its Watch this way. When it first arrived, in 2015, it wasn't necessarily particularly health-focused at all.

Early marketing focused on three main features: its function as a way of telling the time, its various communication features, and its role as a "comprehensive health and fitness device". But that was weighted much more towards fitness than it was health, and the heart rate monitor that was included on its back was put there primarily as a way of ensuring that it could get an effective measurement of calories, rather than offering any view of the heart itself.

Over time, that changed. With the introduction of the Series 4 in 2018, Apple added the ability to collect an electrocardiogram or ECG, a graph showing the precise workings of a person's heart. It received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration  the first time a smartwatch had done so  and Apple stressed that while many people might never require the feature, it could be vital for those who do.

Over time, Apple highlighted some of those: its keynotes began to feature messages from people who had been alerted by the heart rate monitor to unusual readings, whose Watches had detected a fall and allowed them to call for help, whose ECGs had shown irregularities. Those features  largely living in the background, and focused on people's wellbeing  became a key part of Apple's presentations. Measurements of the speed of a processor or battery life being displaced by measurements of heart rate and cardiovascular health.

Tim Cook said in 2019 that  when people look back from an imagined future at the work his company did  he believed Apple's greatest contribution to mankind would be "about health". It was a bold claim for a company that prides itself on fundamentally having changed the way people communicate with the iPhone, and other advances, but if nothing else it was an indication of where Mr Cook's priorities are.

The new Series 6 is surely the most clear example of that yet. While the Watch does have other advances and new features that are of the kind you would normally expect from a technology company  a faster processor, a brighter screen  it's the blood oxygen sensor that dominated the introduction, and which is the new feature that Apple has spent the most time talking about.

It's a change that has happened gradually over the now relatively long life of the Apple Watch. But the company is aware of its particularly topical nature at the moment, as the entire world grapples with a health crisis unprecedented in living memory.

"Were living in a time with a constant reminder that there's nothing more important than your health," says Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer. "At Apple, our health journey happened organically. It happened as we pulled on threads at different points.

"We have an opportunity and a huge responsibility as a matter of fact to help people and empower them with more information about their health.

Other companies have added blood oxygen sensors before: Garmin, for instance, has incorporated it in many of its high-end watches and uses it to inform indications of whether its wearer has adjusted to changes in altitude and how much that might affect their exercise.

But the metric has never enjoyed quite such a mainstream presence, being promoted by the biggest company in the world on the biggest watch in the world.

For now, the uses of the blood oxygen sensor are somewhat limited. There's not all that much a person can do about the amount of oxygen in their blood, and so it is better described as a measure of a person's wellbeing than a target to improve like some of the other metrics that come out of the watch.

"Blood oxygen saturation reflects both the environment youre in - whether youre at high altitude for example - and how well your body is able to take oxygen in and deliver it through the blood," says Williams. "It is a powerful signal about you and your wellbeing."

But pulse oximetry is an investment for the future. As a measure of how well the blood is doing its job, it could be a key metric for predicting, sensing and living with a variety of medical issues.

Those people who buy the new Apple Watch are participating in work that is heading towards that. During the reveal of the watch, Sumbul Desai, Apple's vice president of health, announced that the company was not only integrating the blood oxygen sensor but launching three new studies to understand how it might be used.

"It is meant for fitness and wellness purposes," says Desai. "We're doing research to learn more. And backing what we can do with science is really important which is why we take the approach of research and want to go on this journey together with both our users and the medical community.

That research includes an asthma study working with University of California, Irvine, and Anthem and another looking at the relationship between metrics including blood oxygen and heart failure, working with the University Health Network and the University of Toronto. But perhaps most exciting for the future  and certainly most topical  is a study working with the Seattle Flu Study and the University of Washington School of Medicine to see whether heart rate and blood oxygen can be used to spot respiratory conditions including flu and covid-19.

There have already been indications that pulse oximetry could be used to spot such diseases, and a range of technology companies are working to understand whether their blood oxygen sensors might have any role in the fight against covid-19. But again Apple's scope  of its products, the number of its users and its ambitions  could rapidly accelerate that research, meaning that the sensor that is used for wellness today could one day become even more, precisely as a result of you buying and wearing it.

Blood oxygen isn't the only new feature that aims to bring what has historically been a specialised and medicalised measurement onto the watch. With new updates, Apple has added the ability to measure VO2 max in a lower range, which it says will be useful for those people who are using their watch to bring their fitness up from a lower level.

VO2 max is a fairly specialised metric: in its strictest sense, it measures the maximum amount of oxygen that a person is able to take in. But it has also been used a test of a person's cardiovascular fitness, and it's that more general indication of health that the Apple Watch aims to recreate.

Historically, the VO2 max test was a fairly gruelling endeavour: a participant straps on a mask that monitors their breathing while they undertake intense exercise such a running or moving on an exercise bike. The Apple Watch has been able to recreate that by watching its wearer's heart rate as they exercise, inferring their fitness by measuring how much a given activity requires of their cardiovascular system.

"The thing that's really powerful about VO2 Max is that you traditionally have to go into a clinic," says Desai. "It's a really uncomfortable test to do. Now to be able to measure that with watch will be really powerful.

Now the Watch will be able to expand that metric, giving it to even more people. And the utility of the readings is that  perhaps unlike blood oxygen  people can very much do something about this, since improving their fitness will improve the measurement, and what they do will be reflected in that reading over time.

"Apple did a huge body of work to measure lower VO2 max range," says Williams. "Now its easily available, I see a future where this is a much more common and meaningful metric of health. And the great news about this one is that you can actually take action and improve it. Its not just a signal that youre in a low range, you can change the trajectory of.
A man in his 40s has died following a two-car collision in Sligo.

The collision occurred on the N15 near Rathcormack at around 11.50am this morning.

The man was the driver of one of the cars in the collision and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The passenger in that car was treated at the scene.

The driver of the second car, a woman in her 30s, was taken to University Hospital Galway by air ambulance where her condition is described as serious.

Gardai said that both passengers of the second car were also removed to hospital with serious injuries.

The road is currently closed as the scene is being examined by Forensic Collision Investigators. Local diversions are in place.

Gardai are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision, or who may have any information in relation to the collision, to come forward.

They are appealing to any road users who were travelling on the N15 between Sligo and Rathcormack between 11.30am and 12.15pm this morning to contact them.

Anyone who may have camera footage, including dash-cam, should make it available Gardai.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Sligo Garda Station on 071 915 7000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
McConnell has vowed that Trumps nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate but has been careful about not saying when that will happen. Democrats say the Republicans vow to move forward is "hypocrisy" after McConnell refused to consider President Barack Obamas nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, several months before the 2016 election. They have vowed to fight Trump and McConnell to keep the seat open but have not made clear how they will do so. What does it take to confirm a nominee? Only a majority. Republicans control the Senate by a 53-47 margin, meaning they could lose up to three votes and still confirm a justice with the vice-president breaking a tie.

Supreme Court nominations used to need 60 votes for confirmation if any senator objected, but McConnell changed Senate rules in 2017 to allow the confirmation of justices with 51 votes. He did so as Democrats threatened to filibuster Trumps first nominee, Neil Gorsuch. Does McConnell have the votes to fill the seat before the election? Thats not yet clear. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and so far Republican senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have both said they wont support a confirmation vote before election day. That means McConnell can only afford to lose one more senator in his caucus. If the vote were 50-50, Vice-President Mike Pence could break the tie on a confirmation vote. Who are the senators to watch?

All eyes are on Mitt Romney of Utah, who has been critical of Trump and protective of the institution of the Senate. Another senator to watch is Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He said this summer that if he still chaired the committee and a vacancy occurred, I would not have a hearing on it because thats what I promised the people in 2016. All eyes are on Senator Mitt Romney. Credit:AP Those facing close reelection contests in their states, including Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, will surely face pressure not to vote ahead of the election or in its immediate aftermath, especially if they were to lose their seats. Several other key GOP senators up for reelection  including Martha McSally in Arizona, Kelly Loeffler in Georgia and Thom Tillis in North Carolina  have already linked themselves to Trump, calling for swift voting. Collins is also in a competitive race. What does the White House say? Marc Short, the chief of staff to Pence, said on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday that a vote before November 3 is possible because Ginsburg was confirmed within 43 days and the election is 44 days away. But Short said the White House is leaving the confirmation timetable up to McConnell.

Asked whether Trump considered Ginsburgs dying wish for her replacement to be named by the winner of the November presidential election, Short said the White House and nation mourn her loss but the decision of when to nominate does not lie with her. Can the Senate realistically fill the seat before the election? Yes, but it would require a breakneck pace. Supreme Court nominations have taken around 70 days to move through the Senate, and the last, for Brett Kavanaugh, took longer. Some nominations, like Ginsburgs, have moved more quickly. There are no set rules for how long the process should take once Trump announces his pick. Could the Senate fill the vacancy after the election?

Yes. Republicans could vote on Trumps nominee in whats known as the lame-duck session that takes place after the November election and before the next Congress takes office on January 3. No matter what happens in this years election, Republicans are still expected be in charge of the Senate during that period. The Senate would have until January 20, the date of the presidential inauguration, to act on Trumps nominee. If Trump were re-elected and his pick had not been confirmed by the inauguration, he could renominate his pick as soon as his second term began. What do Democrats say? Democrats made a moral argument to their Republican colleagues to resist replacing Ginsburg until the next president is inaugurated, arguing that senators should follow the precedent they set in 2016. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Sunday that the Senate shouldnt act until there is a new president. If Donald Trump wins the election, then the Senate should move on his selection and weigh the nominee he chooses fairly, Biden said.

But if I win this election, President Trumps nominee should be withdrawn. And as the new president I should be the one who nominates Justice Ginsburgs successor. Senate Democrats under Senate procedure will have tools to slow down the nomination, but cannot block it on their own. How does the process work? It is up to the Senate Judiciary Committee to vet the nominee and hold confirmation hearings. Once the committee approves the nomination, it goes to the Senate floor for a final vote. This process passes through several time-consuming steps, including meetings with individual senators. The committee chairman, GOP Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who faces his own tough reelection contest, has said he will support Trump "in any effort to move forward." His committee could begin working on the nomination immediately after it is announced and even hold confirmation hearings in October, regardless of when the final vote happens.

Didnt McConnell say in 2016 that the Senate shouldnt hold Supreme Court votes in an election year? He did. McConnell stunned Washington in the hours after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016 when he announced the Senate would not vote on Obamas potential nominee because the voters should have their say by electing the next president. McConnells strategy paid off, royally, for his party. Obama nominated Garland to fill the seat, but he never received a hearing or a vote. Soon after his inauguration, Trump nominated Gorsuch to fill Scalias seat. Four years later, McConnell says the Senate will vote on Trumps nominee, even though its weeks, not months, before an election.
With international travel in much of the world still disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, some airlines are resorting to "flights to nowhere" that target passengers who long for air travel - and some are willing to shell out plenty of money for the tickets.

Qantas, among the latest to advertise a flight that departs and arrives at the same airport, told Reuters that the trip sold out less than 10 minutes after going on sale on Thursday.

"It's probably the fastest-selling flight in Qantas history," a spokeswoman for the airline said.

The Australian carrier is following other Asian airlines that have offered similar options. Such flights have already taken place in Taiwan and Japan, while Singapore's national carrier said Sunday it was considering one, as well.

The seven-hour Qantas flight will depart Sydney on Oct. 10 and return on the same day, with no stops along the way, to comply with restrictions on interstate travel. Passengers have been promised views of the Great Barrier Reef, the Uluru monolith and the Australian outback as the plane flies over the country at low altitudes.

The 134 available seats on offer quickly vanished at prices that ranged from $787 to $3,787 in Australian dollars, the equivalent of 484 and 2,331, according to Reuters. "If the demand is there, we'll definitely look at doing more of these scenic flights while we all wait for borders to open," the spokeswoman told the news agency.

Airlines have suffered badly during the pandemic, with industry groups suggesting that overall revenue may fall by 50 percent in 2020 after governments shut down borders and passengers cancel planned travel.

Last month, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said that the coronavirus pandemic had led to the worst financial climate in the company's 100-year history and that international flights were unlikely to resume before summer 2021.

The airline lost roughly $2.9 billion during fiscal year 2020.

On Thursday, the airline took out full-page advertisements in several newspapers that called for the reopening of domestic borders. The advertising space for the campaign was donated by Australian media companies, the Guardian reported.

Though flights to nowhere come with significant costs for the airline, industry experts have said they are likely to break even on them, if not make a small profit, though they are unlikely to create any fundamental change to the bottom line for the struggling industry.

"It certainly doesn't hurt to do these flights, but I wouldn't expect a big impact in terms of revenue or reduced losses during these challenging times," Brendan Sobie, an aviation analyst with Sobie Aviation, told the Strait Times after Singapore Airlines suggested it may start flights to nowhere next month.

Environmental groups have raised concerns about the trend, pointing out that carbon emissions from air travel are a major contributing factor to the worsening climate crisis. Qantas has promised to pay for carbon offsets to alleviate the impact of the seven-hour flight, according to Reuters.

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 Washington Post
Memphis, TN, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Keepers of 306, an action initiative of the National Civil Rights Museum that engages civic-minded young leaders, will host a live-streamed town hall entitled Where Do We Go from Here? Economic Justice. It will broadcast on the museums website and Facebook Live on Tuesday, September 29, at 6:30pm CT.

The goal of the virtual forum is to raise awareness of the economic inequities facing our nation and the measures every Memphian and American can take to mobilize change. A panel of national and local leaders will discuss topics including creating economic impact for communities of color through workforce development, community development, entrepreneurship, ownership, policy change, and voting.

As we again examine the question asked by Dr. King, Where do we go from here?, the issue of economic justice remains front and center, said Terri Freeman, President of the National Civil Rights Museum. This year we've seen the disproportionate effects of an economic downturn on Black and Brown people. We know the wealth gap between Whites and Blacks has continued to grow. How do we address this today to have a real impact on people's lives? This is why today's conversation is so important.

Septembers virtual town hall marks the second of this series, prompted by the museums mission to be a source for education and action during these unprecedented times. The first virtual town hall, which discussed the value of voting in the 2020 elections with national voices including CNN commentator Bakari Sellers and Tennessee State Senator Raumesh Akbari, received over 10,000 views.

The goal of Where do we go from here: to the polls! was to implore our viewers to become civicly engaged and activate change, said Trevia Chatman, Chair of Keepers of 306. Voting is our power and our voice. While voting is detrimental and necessary, it is not the only tool to overcome years of intentional oppression. In this second town hall, we will expose the systemic economic injustice of poverty that continuously plagues communities of color and discuss the impact necessary to create economic justice. It is time to organize and dismantle the intentional creation of generational poverty like never before.

The museums Dr. Noelle Trent, Director of Interpretation, Collections & Education, will give historical context to economic disenfranchisement of the black community and specific instances of resistance to that disenfranchisement.

A panel of educators, community activists and representatives will be moderated by Tracie Potts, senior Washington correspondent for NBC News Channel. Potts has reported for NBC for over 20 years covering politics, medical research and health policy.

Panelists include:

Dr. Andre M. Perry , Author & National Commentator on race, structural inequality, and education ;

, ; Dr. Rashawn Ray , Professor of Sociology and Executive Director of the Lab for Applied Social Science Research (LASSR) at the University of Maryland, College Park ;

, ; Rev. Dr. Stacy Spencer , Senior Pastor of New Direction Christian Church, Chair of MICAH (Memphis Interfaith Coalition of Action and Hope) ; and

, ; and Stefanie Brown James, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Collective.

For more details and RSVP information, visit the museums website.

About the National Civil Rights Museum

The NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM, located at the historic Lorraine Motel where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, gives a comprehensive overview of the American Civil Rights Movement from slavery to the present. Since the Museum opened in 1991, millions of visitors from around the world have come, including more than 90,000 student visits annually. The Museum is steadfast in its mission to chronicle the American civil rights movement and tell the story of the ongoing struggle for human rights. It educates and serves as a catalyst to inspire action to create positive social change.

A Smithsonian Affiliate and an internationally acclaimed cultural institution, the Museum is recognized as a 2019 National Medal Award recipient by the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), the top national honor for museums and libraries. It is a TripAdvisor Travelers Choice Top 5% U.S. Museum, USA Today's Top 10 Best American Iconic Attractions; Top 10 Best Historical Spots in the U.S. by TLC's Family Travel; Must See by the Age of 15 by Budget Travel and Kids; Top 10, American Treasures by USA Today; and Best Memphis Attraction by The Commercial Appeal and the Memphis Business Journal.

About Keepers of 306

The Keepers of 306 is an action initiative of the National Civil Rights Museum to engage civic-minded young leaders who are passionate about preserving the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and activating the next generation of socially conscious change agents. For more information, visit http://civilrightsmuseum.org/keepers-of-306.
SHARON SPRINGS, N.Y.  A little town in the middle of nowhere named after water, a boutique shop run by a gay couple that cares about local artisans, a mayor who works in a motel, a quirky cafe where run-ins with a man with dramatically bushy eyebrows are part of the experience.

There's a surprising amount of similarities between Schitt's Creek and Sharon Springs, reports the New York State Team, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.

One exists solely in the fictional world of television as "Schitt's Creek," an Emmy award-winning Canadian sitcom created by father-and-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy about a family that loses their fortune and ends up relocating to a dumpy-but-lovable town. The series swept the 2020 Emmys, including every acting category and best comedy series.

The other is a very real place: Sharon Springs, a small hillside town in Schoharie County with all the charm and all the characters that make Schitt's Creek so lovable.

Last month, Sharon Spring's chic Beekman 1802 Mercantile store partnered with Schitt's Creek to pull off an epic transformation.

By making a few changes to the building's facade and rearranging some products inside the store  as well as placing a few Easter eggs for keen-eyed fans  Beekman 1802's staff turned the shop into a real-life Rose Apothecary, the boutique store opened by character David Rose in the POP and CBC show's third season.

The Beekman 1802 Mercantile in Sharon Springs, Schoharie County, partnered with Canadian sitcom "Schitt's Creek" to temporarily transform the store into Rose Apothecary, a fictional shop opened by character David Rose in the show. The Rose Apothecary takeover will be in place through the end of February 2020.

While the popup shop has put Sharon Springs on the map, the folks who live and work in Sharon Springs argue that the similarities run much deeper  and make a visit to the town all the more worthwhile.

"The similarities are uncanny," said Tony Daou, who lives in Sharon Springs and looks very similar to the show's patriarch, Johnny Rose (played by showrunner Eugene Levy).

Daou owns the Black Cat Cafe, just three doors down from the Beekman 1802 store, and he said he's become well aware of the resemblance (though he hasn't transformed his eatery into Cafe Tropical  yet).

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Visitors who have made the trip to Sharon Springs to see the popup store will stop in and ask him to take selfies with him (a request he obliges), and he made sure to get his bushy eyebrows trimmed by his hairdresser a couple of weeks ago.

He's also started to tell customers he'll respond to either "Tony" or "Johnny" if they need to ask for something during their meal.

"People just are drawn here," Daou said on Thursday afternoon, walking away mid-sentence to greet two new customers. "There's something like magic up here."

The Rose Apothecary takeover

Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge founded Beekman 1802 in 2008 after they purchased a farmhouse in Sharon Springs and started creating goat milk soaps from the animals that live on the farm.

In 2013, they opened the Beekman 1802 Mercantile store at 187 Main St. in Sharon Springs. In the last few months, Beekman 1802's employees started noticing parallels between Schitt's Creek's Rose Apothecary and the Beekman 1802 store, which they frequently refer to as the "Merc."

Caitlin Scott, Beekman 1802's visual merchandising manager, said the takeover had an organic process. About a year ago, Ridge encouraged her to watch the show, and then they soon reached out to the show's producers to talk about a collaboration.

"It's very similar," Scott said. "It's about a family who really lost everything and ... without their neighbors, they really couldn't become who they were. They create this world where everybody helps each other, and that's kind of (true) with Beekman too."

The Merc received the go-ahead and started using the same package design and storefront signage to create a real-life Rose Apothecary in early January.

Rose Apothecary soaps, perfumes, lip balms, body creams and candles now sit on the shelves, and the store's interior has been rearranged to incorporate elements seen in the show.

Things like white pedestal bowls, ladders with green plants stacked on top, vertical scarf displays and ceramic crows now fill the store's shelves and walls. There's even a few plungers right at the front of the store.

"We just went through each part of the store to try and look those subtle moments that really made sense with our store," Scott said. "We just tried to look at those little details ... and just tried to match that."

The Rose Apothecary installation will remain in place through the end of February, Scott said. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.

Schitt's Creek fans flock to Sharon Springs

An overwhelming number of fans have traveled to the store. More than 500 people visited the store last Saturday, and another 300 stopped in on Sunday, Scott said.

One woman flew out from Phoenix on an early-morning flight, drove from Albany to visit the Rose Apothecary popup shop and flew back home later that evening.

And with every fresh snowfall, Scott said, a new path appears from the sidewalk to the front of the store  tracks left from people walking through snow to take photos in front of the Rose Apothecary sign.

"We've seen people drive down the road and turn around and come back to take a photo of the exterior," Scott said. "Just seeing the reaction of people who really only may have known just the show and not necessarily Beekman  it's great to have them come in here and learn the Beekman story."

The Beekman 1802 Mercantile in Sharon Springs, Schoharie County, has been temporarily transformed into the Rose Apothecary from Canadian sitcom Schitt's Creek. Beekman 1802 partnered with the show to bring character David Rose's Rose Apothecary shop to life in upstate New York.

On Thursday, Trevor Strader and Kelly Casey stopped at the store on their way to Glens Falls from New York City. They walked in the store, and their eyes lit up at the Rose Apothecary display by the register.

Then, Strader went into the restroom to change. He emerged wearing a black turtleneck sweater and pulled a neon pink wig and plastic gold sunglasses out of a canvas tote bag.

Doing his best to channel Moira Rose, he stood behind the built-in cabinets at the front of the store for a few moments as Casey and a few of the store's employees gathered on the other side and waited.

So lucky that #moirarose had time to shoot her wine commercial AT the @Beekman1802Boys Rose Apothecary. Youll remember the experience, and youll remember the name... @SchittsCreek @danjlevy pic.twitter.com/amzOya1N6f  Trevor Strader (@tstrader4) February 6, 2020

He counted down and then walked out from behind the built-ins, reciting character Moira Rose's nonsensical lines from the fruit wine commercial she shot in the show's first season.

"In the lee of a picturesque ridge lies a small, unpretentious winery," Strader began, his audience stifling laughter and pulling out their phones to record the performance.

"One that pampers its fruit like its own bebes," he continued on, mimicking Moira Rose's unmistakable accent and mannerisms as he finished the lines.

Strader's not the first one to come in and perform "the wine commercial," said store manager Emily Weise. She knows he won't be the last, either.

Tony Daou, owner of the Black Cat Cafe in Sharon Springs, knows he has an uncanny resemblance to Schitt's Creek character Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy). People who come to town to see the Rose Apothecary store often will ask him to take selfies with them when they stop in his cafe for lunch.

Showrunner Eugene Levy, at left, also plays patriarch Johnny Rose in the series. In this screen capture from an episode of Schitt's Creek, Johnny Rose reacts to zany Schitt's Creek Mayor Roland Schitt.

Tony Daou has seen his fair share of Moira Rose lookalikes come through the Black Cat Cafe in the last few week, too. He's seen a few people dressed as Alexis Rose, but said he's yet to see a Johnny Rose.

"There's nobody who dresses up as Eugene Levy, but I guess that's probably my job," he said.

Aside from stopping to take selfies with fans of the show, he's also had to stop serving them food.

Two weeks ago, they ran out of half of their menu items on Saturday. Wait times have gone up, and there's no such thing as an empty chair in the cafe on the weekends now.

But, thankfully, that hasn't changed people's positive attitudes about visiting Sharon Springs, he said.

"We had people sitting outside  in January," Daou said, excitedly slapping his hand on the counter so hard the call bell dinged. "The Schitt's Creek fans, they're the nicest people."

Sharon Springs finding popularity again

For centuries, Sharon Springs has enjoyed on-again, off-again blips in the national spotlight as it reinvents itself.

In the 1800s, the town served as an oasis for wealthy families from places like New York City, Boston and Connecticut, Daou said. The nearby waters were known for their natural sulfur and magnesium springs, and Sharon Springs became a hub for spas as a result.

Some of Beekman 1802's products have been temporarily rebranded as Rose Apothecary goods, and are available for a limited time at the Beekman 1802 Mercantile shop in Sharon Springs, Schoharie County. Beekman 1802 partnered with the Canandian sitcom Schitt's Creek to bring character David Rose's Rose Apothecary shop to life in upstate New York.

At the time of the 2000 census, less than 600 people lived in Sharon Springs. But Daou thinks his special town is on the brink of another renaissance.

Ten years ago, Daou published a book titled "Sharon Springs Guide 2010: A Celebration of and a Guide to Sharon Springs, NY."

The purpose, he said, was to document not Sharon Springs' history but instead what it looked like in 2010. At the time, the physical Beekman 1802 Mercantile didn't exist, and the company was still in its infancy.

A second Sharon Springs guide is coming soon, Daou said. Ten years later, a lot has changed  especially when it comes to Beekman 1802.

"Josh and Brent walked into something that completely fit their mindset and took it to the next level," Daou said. "We've gone through iterations of being a household name in this country, and here we go again."

GSILVAROLE@Gannett.com

Georgie Silvarole is a backpack reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK New York State Team. You can email her at gsilvarole@gannett.com, or follow her on Twitter @gsilvarole.

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This article originally appeared on New York State Team: Schitt's Creek is a real place, and you can visit it in upstate NY
Laois is not listed on the stand out counties in new cases on Monday but more cases emerged in the county at the weekend, according to the latest official figures from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).

NPHET does not give figures for Laois in its Monday press release for Sunday which says that 188 cases are spread across 19 counties. Half those identified are in Dublin which has been subject to tighter restrictions since Saturday.

However, the county-by-county figures confirm that four new figures emerged at the weekend bringing to 433 the total confirmed since February.

The statement says Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC) has today, September 21, been informed that no more people with COVID-19 have died in Ireland.

There has now been a total of 1,792 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Sunday, September 20, the HPSC has been notified of 188 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There has now been a total of 33,121 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today;

76 cases are in Dublin, 25 in Cork, 21 in Donegal, 16 in Kildare, 13 in Galway, 7 in Roscommon and 7 in Waterford

The remaining 23 cases are spread across 12 counties.

The remaining

96 are men / 90 are women

71% are under 45 years of age

36% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case

19 cases have been identified as community transmission

Dr Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: The spirit of the response to COVID-19 since the outset of this pandemic has been solidarity and cooperation. While this pandemic is a uniquely challenging time for everyone, we can and will support one another in getting through this.

Encourage your family and friends to heed the public health advice. Now more than ever, we need to work collectively. Our individual actions count on a population level.

Every one of us doing our bit in our daily lives - halving our social contacts, working from home, keeping our distance, wearing a face covering, washing our hands - matters a great deal. These small, positive steps taken together amount to our best and strongest defence against the virus, he said.

The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

The county by county breakdown published on Friday is two days behind the figures released today.

It shows the following for Laois and neighbouring counties for Saturday, September 19:

Laois 433 - up 4.

Offaly 694 - up 6.

Kildare 2,452 - up 11

Carlow 275 - up 1

Kilkenny 438 - up 1

Tipperary 759 - up 2

Dublin 15,646 - up 241

Other notables

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.

It shows that there are now .. people in hospital with .. in ICU. More than ,000 tests have been carried out in the past seven days and over 1,500 in the past 24 hours.
Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., gestures while speaking during a Bloomberg Television interview at the JPMorgan Global Markets Conference in Paris, France, on Thursday, March 14, 2019.

Check out the companies making headlines midday Monday:

Nikola, General Motors  Nokola tanked more than 20% after announcing its founder Trevor Milton is voluntarily resigning. Earlier this month, the electric carmaker was accused by Hindenburg Research of making false statements about Nikola's technology in order to grow and secure partnerships with auto companies, including General Motors. GM announced earlier this month that it's taking an 11% stake in Nikola worth about $2 billion. Shares of GM lost more than 6%.

Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase Deutsche Bank dropped more than 7%, while JPMorgan Chase fell over 4%, leading the declines in the financial sector after a new report found that several global banks allegedly moved illicit funds over the past two decades. Citing confidential documents submitted by banks to the U.S. government, BuzzFeed and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported the banks' internal compliance officers flagged a total of more than $2 trillion in transactions between 1999 and 2017 as possible money laundering or other criminal activity.

Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Alphabet  Shares of mega-cap technology companies fell broadly on Monday, continuing their spiral that started in early September. Microsoft and Apple lost 1% and Amazon fell nearly 2%. Facebook dipped 2.3% and Alphabet lost fell 2.5%.

Oracle, Walmart  Oracle and Walmart shares rose 1.9% and 0.7%, respectively after President Donald Trump said over the weekend he approved a deal in which the two companies would partner with social video app TikTok in the U.S. "I approved the deal in concept," Trump said Saturday.

Roku  The streaming video stock jumped nearly 15% after Roku struck a deal with NBCUniversal, CNBC's parent company. The deal will make NBC's Peacock streaming service available on Roku devices. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said last week that the new streaming service has 15 million sign-ups.

Illumina  Shares of the biotech company fell more than 8% after the company announced an $8 billion deal for Grail, a cancer screening company. Illumina founded Grail in 2016 before later spinning it off. Grail shareholders will get a mix of stock and cash at the close of the deal and future payments tied to Grail's revenue, according to a news release.

Norwegian Cruise Line  The cruise operator slipped more than 8%, as did shares of Royal Caribbean, on the back of rising coronavirus numbers. The two companies submitted a report to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention providing a set of health and safety protocols, aimed at allowing their return to sea, according to Reuters. Carnival Corporation slid more than 7%.

Delta Air Lines  The airline company's stock slid more than 9% amid broad weakness in the sector as Covid-19 cases climb. United Airlines was also down 9%, while JetBlue shed 8%. Southwest fell 7%, while American slid more than 6%.

CNBC's Yun Li, Maggie Fitzgerald, Pippa Stevens and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.
Six months after they were forced to shut down because of coronavirus, filming is set to resume for Baz Luhrmann and wife Catherine Martin's Elvis biopic.

And on Monday, it was back to business for Catherine, who was spotted on the Gold Coast set of the film.

As always, the 55-year-old multiple Academy-award winning costume designer stood out in a matching animal print ensemble.

Back to work! Catherine Martin was back on the Gold Coast set of the Elvis biopic on Monday, after production was forced to shut down six months ago because of coronavirus

Although she wasn't wearing it, Catherine had a surgical mask ready to go, on a chain that was also wrapped around her neck.

She looked chic in a casual leopard print T-shirt and denim jeans.

The mother-of-two also wore animal print sneakers and a matching jacket which she carried around the open film set.

Stylish: The 55-year-old multiple Academy-award winning costume designer stood out on set in a matching animal print ensemble

At one point Catherine was seen making her way over to several crew members.

In a statement to the media last Thursday, it was announced the star-studded production would resume filming on September 23.

The musical drama details the life of legendary rockstar Elvis Presley, with American actor Austin Butler set to star as the icon.

Action: In a statement to the media last Thursday, it was announced the star-studded production would resume filming on September 23. Pictured, filmmaker Baz Luhrmann on the film's set

Tom Hanks will star as Elvis' notorious manager, Colonel Tom Parker, while Australian actress Olivia DeJonge will feature as Priscilla Presley.

Production was forced to close back in March, after Tom, 64, and his wife of 32 years, Rita Wilson, both contracted coronavirus.

In a statement last Thursday, Baz, 57, said he was looking forward to finally getting back to work on the blockbuster.

Hitting the right notes: The musical drama details the life of legendary rockstar Elvis Presley, with American actor Austin Butler (pictured) set to star as the icon

'We're back to, as Elvis liked to say, "taking care of business!"' he began.

'It is a real privilege in this unprecedented global moment that Tom Hanks has been able to return to Australia to join Austin Butler and all of our extraordinary cast and crew to commence production on "Elvis".

'I cannot emphasise enough how lucky we feel in the current climate that the state of Queensland, and Queenslanders in general, have been so supportive of this film.'

Baz is the director, a writer and a producer on the film, while Catherine also acts as one of the producers.
DENVER, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, but it is easily treated when caught early - the problem is that too often it is not. Recent studies state that an estimated 23,000 men may experience delayed diagnosis of the disease due to fewer doctor visits and reduced testing. That is why the Prostate Conditions Education Council (PCEC)  a national organization committed to men's health and a leader in prostate cancer screening  is providing free prostate cancer testing to men across the country.

Committed to encouraging men to take a more proactive role in protecting their health, PCEC has coordinated free screening programs for over 30 years and recommends that men should have a baseline screening at age 40 and then work with their physicians to determine what the appropriate interval is for repeat testing. Additionally, PCEC has aligned with at-home digital screening provider imaware to promote testing so that men can take assess their prostate cancer risk.

"Our commitment to prostate health education and providing free prostate cancer screening has been steadfast for 30 years. This year, with the pandemic, we have had to take a completely new and innovative approach to providing services to men, but we will not rest or step aside while the need to provide early detection greater than it has been in many years," said Wendy Poage, President of PCEC.

"imaware is committed to offering fast and accurate home-based screenings to help men stop the progression of prostate cancer and take control of their health," said imaware Cofounder Jani Tuomi. "We are donating tests to the PCEC in hopes that more men will be able to proactively assess their personal risk."

Men and their families can find information on free educational programming and sign up for the free prostate cancer screening by visiting www.prostateevents.org or calling 866-4PROST8.

PCEC's new program allows for men to gain access to a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test by visiting a national network for laboratories for the simple blood test and those who are unable to visit a laboratory or have extenuating circumstances, a limited supply of in home finger prick test, donated from imaware, are available. The free testing program will take place during September - for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and will continue throughout the fall season until the resources for the program are depleted.

"What many men do not realize is that an early diagnosis of prostate cancer provides men with the most treatment options and the greatest chance for survival. We are dedicated to providing tests to as many men as possible and expect nearly 5,000 men to participate in the new testing system and many more to participate in the live programs that are occurring in some markets," stated Renee Savickas, Vice President and Director of Early Detection and Awareness Programs at PCEC.

Men are encouraged to contact PCEC at www.prostateevents.org or 1-866-4PROST8 as supplies and quantities are limited.

About the Prostate Conditions Education Council

A national organization committed to men's health, the PCEC is the nation's leading resource for information on prostate health. The PCEC is dedicated to saving lives through awareness and the education of men, their loved ones and the medical community about prostate cancer prevalence, the importance of early detection and available treatment options, as well as other men's health issues. The Council, comprised of a consortium of leading physicians, health educators, scientists and prostate cancer advocates, aims to conduct nationwide screenings for men and perform research that will aid in the detection and treatment of prostate conditions. More information is available at prostateconditions.org.

About imaware

imaware, is a Houston, Texas based digital health platform, offering access to advanced and precise testing that empowers individuals with remote screening and monitoring of their health. Imaware has provided an essential healthcare service to thousands of Americans for conditions such as COVID-19, cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer, and autoimmune disorders. Learn more at www.imaware.health .

SOURCE Prostate Conditions Education Council

Related Links

https://www.prostateconditions.org/


The author is a guest contributor working as a graduate immunobiology researcher in Germany.

Devastating wildfires that have broken out across the western United States, particularly in California, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, which at latest count have claimed 33 lives and 4.6 million acres of land, are increasingly creating the potential for three major crises to collide: wildfires, air pollution and the coronavirus pandemic.

Air quality indexes, measures of the amount of particulate present in the air, in Portland and Seattle are currently being recorded as the worst in the world due to particulates emitted from the ongoing wildfires nearby. The scientific data suggest that residents of these cities (and much of the Pacific coast of the United States as well as British Columbia, which all currently are experiencing incredibly poor air quality) will simultaneously be facing an increased risk of developing COVID-19 as well as an increased risk of severe disease if infected.

Meanwhile, corporations nationwide have been given the green light by the current administration to emit as many air pollutants as they see fit, only further escalating the assault on the environment and the blatant disregard for the health and safety of working people across the country.

While seemingly disparate crises, the wildfires driven by climate change, the corporate attack on American citizens for the sake of profit, and the COVID-19 pandemic all have effects that intertwine with one another.

The effect of corporate practices that shirk environmental regulations, along with politicians from both major parties passing regulations that are far too lax in the first place, is well documented in regard to climate change. Climate change in turn has exacerbated the wildfires across the West Coast.

What is less well documented in the media is the effect of air pollutants, due to both corporate emissions and particulate matter released by the massive wildfires, on the risk of infection and the risk of death due to COVID-19.

Air pollution caused by the wildfires will exacerbate the COVID-19 crisis due to both immunological and sociological factors. Research has suggested that particulate matter in the air, due to industrial pollution, the burning of fossil fuels, and now the fires on the West Coast, increases the likelihood of infection by COVID-19 and the likelihood for severe disease. Meanwhile, the fires themselves are forcing mass evacuations of individuals, creating de facto climate crisis refugees, putting them into close contact with other individuals and creating a veritable breeding ground for COVID-19 transmission.

From an immunological standpoint, two factors are at play in regard to the effects of the air pollution and COVID-19: increases in likelihood for infection and increases in severity among individuals who are infected.

In April, data from a large cross-sectional study was released as a preprint by researchers at Harvard using county-level data of nearly every county in the US. This study accounted for more than 20 other variables, and then compared COVID-19 deaths and long-term air quality data in each county. The results were striking. It was determined that just 1 microgram per cubic meter of PM2.5 (particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns in size, small enough to be inhaled deeply into the lung) was associated with an 8 percent increase in COVID-19 fatalities.

Since then, a similar analysis was conducted using data from the Netherlands, which found that the same increase in PM2.5 levels, 1 microgram per cubic meter, increased the number of cases of COVID-19 by 7.2 percent, and an increase in COVID-19 fatalities of between 9.4 percent and 15.1 percent.

For comparison sake, Portlands PM2.5 level at the time of writing is over 400 micrograms per cubic meter, whereas on Thursday, September 3, the PM2.5 level during the day in the city was 5 micrograms per cubic meter. The higher figure represents an increase of 395 times the difference cited in the studies above.

It has been known for quite some time that air pollution, particularly airborne particulate matter, is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular pathology, being responsible for 5 million deaths in 2017 alone, and being linked to death in individuals with heart or lung disease, heart attacks, aggravated asthma, decreased lung function, and respiratory inflammation.

These pathologies have been linked directly to increased severity of COVID-19 infections, and increased risk of death due to COVID-19. Other studies have since found increases in COVID-19 infections and deaths in areas with higher airborne particulate levels in the UK and an increase in deaths in some regions in Italy .

The immunological reason why airborne particulate matter increases the likelihood of infection and death due to COVID-19 is increasingly becoming understood. The ACE2 receptor on the surface of human cells acts as the main entry point for SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, to enter the cell by binding with the spike protein of the virus.

It is currently hypothesized by scientists that increased expression of ACE2 on the cell surface will increase the severity of COVID-19 infections by allowing for more points of viral entry, though the data on this front is not quite clear, as ACE2 also has anti-inflammatory effects that may be beneficial in late-stage infection.

A study published in 2018 showed that exposing mice to PM2.5 particles for both two days and five days significantly increased the expression of ACE2 on the lung cells of the mice. If this finding in mice also holds true in humans, it could provide some evidence as to why regions with more air pollution, even when controlling for all other confounding factors, record more cases and more deaths due to COVID-19 than areas with lower air pollution levels.

Essentially, higher air pollution would increase the ACE2 expression on the lung cells of individuals living in those areas, allowing for increased viral entry to the cells, and more infections and more severe disease among infected individuals.

In addition to potentially allowing more viral entry to cells via increased ACE2 expression, airborne particulate matter, when in the lungs, induces inflammation of the lung cells. The most severe damage in COVID-19 infections is actually caused by an overreaction by the innate immune cells, and this overreaction is driven by proinflammatory cytokines, the same signalling markers that are present at increased quantity in lungs exposed to high levels of airborne particulate matter.

The chronic inflammatory state of individuals in areas with very poor air quality would increase the likelihood for what is known as a cytokine storm, where massive amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines are released by the innate immune system, and which is likely responsible for the severity of the most severe cases of COVID-19.

Furthermore, data suggest that exposure to higher levels of airborne particulate matter is associated with changes in blood coagulation, tending towards hypercoagulability. This may also play some role in the severity of COVID-19 infections of individuals in areas with poor air quality, as coagulopathy has been noted as one of the more severe outcomes associated with COVID-19 infection. These immunological effects of airborne particulate matter all could play major roles in the risk of infection and severity of infection by COVID-19.

The wildfires on the West Coast are not simply increasing the likelihood for infection from an immunological standpoint, however. The wildfires are currently forcing hundreds of thousands of individuals to evacuate, oftentimes to high schools where social distancing would be much more difficult to achieve than at their own homes.

In Oregon alone, over 500,000 residents are under varying levels of evacuation orders, many of whom will soon be forced to live in close proximity to others. This intermingling of individuals dramatically increases the likelihood of transmission of COVID-19, as the closer the contact between individuals, the higher the probability of infection occurring if any individuals being forced together are infected.

To compound problems nationwide, the EPA drastically relaxed environmental regulations on March 26, including emissions regulations, due to the pandemic. This relaxing of regulations will allow corporations to emit as much air pollutants as they want, as long as they claim they are acting responsibly.

The inevitable increase in air pollutants due to this decision by the EPA will only exacerbate the COVID-19 crisis in communities where the majority of the emissions are taking place. Through this action, air quality levels will be expected to deteriorate wherever major corporations operate.

This means that not only are individuals suffering through air quality issues due to the wildfires on the West Coast at risk for the immunological impacts of airborne particulate matter for COVID-19, but individuals nationwide will be forced to suffer more severely due to the never-ending search for more profits by the corporations, irrespective of any impacts on public health.

The disregard for the working class by the government and big business interests over the course of decades has laid the groundwork for the convergence of these crises, and until the working class stands up and demands that their health take priority over profits, it should be expected that these crises will continue unabated.
The Deputy Communications Director of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mame Yaa Aboagye has asked Ghanaians to disregard the one million jobs promise by NDC flagbearer, John Mahama, who seeks re-election in the December 7 elections.



According to Mame Yaa, Ghanaians shouldnt fall for Mr. Mahamas job creation fallacy because he has nothing good to offer the citizenry.



She stated that, in 2008, the NDC promised to create jobs to better the lives of every Ghanaian but the latter rather took the country to IMF and later rendered graduates jobless.



Through their reckless and abysmal ruling, we had graduate unemployed association. All the effort of former President Kufuor eight years ruling in health, education was just mismanaged under the NDC and John Mahamas regime, she said.



As for NPP, when we promise we deliver...President Akufo-Addo promised Ghanaian youth jobs and he has delivered with NABCO, IDIF, Planting for food and jobs among others. I can boldly say on authority that NDC has nothing to offer. Their numerous promises are just born out of desperation and frustration; beware of their deceit, she asserted.





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
Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses a high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations via video on Sept. 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed a high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations via video on Monday, below is the full text of the president's speech.

Mr. President,

Colleagues,

Seventy-five years ago, the people of the world, with strenuous struggle and tremendous sacrifice, won the great victory in the World Anti-Fascist War. It was indeed a victory for justice and a victory for the people.

Through the first half of the last century, mankind had suffered the scourge of two devastating wars that brought untold sufferings to the world. It was against such a backdrop that the United Nations (UN) came into being. Over the ensuing 75 years, this Organization has traveled an extraordinary journey. A new chapter has thus opened for peace and development in the world.

 The 75 years since the founding of the UN has seen dramatic progress in human society. We have experienced significant and across-the-board progress in science and technology and in industrial revolution. We are now embracing a new round of even more extensive and substantial scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. Globally, social productivity has been unprecedentedly unleashed and boosted. Mankind has never been so powerfully capable to overcome the difficulties we face and change the world we live in.

 The 75 years since the founding of the UN has witnessed profound changes in the international situation. A great many developing countries have gained national liberation and independence. Over a billion people have walked out of poverty. And a population of several billion have embarked on a path toward modernization. These achievements have considerably strengthened the force for peace and development in the world and transformed the international landscape in a most far-reaching way.

 The 75 years since the founding of the UN has been a period of rapid development of multilateralism. Problems facing the world are big and many, and global challenges are on the increase. They should and can only be resolved through dialogue and cooperation. International affairs ought to be addressed through consultation among us all. The understanding that we are all in the same boat is now a popular consensus in the global community.

After the storm comes the rainbow. The UN has stood one test after another and emerged with renewed vigor and vitality. The UN embodies the aspiration of the over seven billion people for a better life, and the UN Charter remains an important guarantee for world peace and development.

Mr. President,

Major changes unseen in a century are taking place in our world. The sudden attack of COVID-19 is a grave test for the entire world. Mankind has entered a new era of interconnectedness, with countries sharing intertwined interests and their future closely linked together. Global threats and global challenges require strong, global responses.

In the face of new realities and challenges, we must do some serious thinking: What kind of UN is needed for the world? How should the Organization play its role in the post-COVID era? Let me share some of my thoughts with you.

First, the UN must stand firm for justice. Mutual respect and equality among all countries, big or small, represents the progress of our times and is the foremost principle of the UN Charter. No country has the right to dominate global affairs, control the destiny of others, or keep advantages in development all to itself. Even less should one be allowed to do whatever it likes and be the hegemon, bully or boss of the world. Unilateralism is a dead end. All need to follow the approach of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. All need to come together to uphold universal security, share the fruits of development, and jointly decide on the future of the world. It is imperative that the representation and voice of developing countries be increased so that the UN could be more balanced in reflecting the interests and wishes of the majority of countries in the world.

Second, the UN must uphold the rule of law. The purposes and principles of the UN Charter are the fundamental guidelines for handling international relations. They constitute a cornerstone of stable international order and must be unswervingly kept and upheld. Relations among countries and coordination of their interests must only be based on rules and institutions; they must not be lorded over by those who wave a strong fist at others. Big countries should lead by example in advocating and upholding the international rule of law and in honoring their commitments. There must be no practice of exceptionalism or double standards. Nor should international law be distorted and used as a pretext to undermine other countries legitimate rights and interests or world peace and stability.

Third, the UN must promote cooperation. To promote cooperation among countries is a founding mission of the UN and an important purpose spelt out in the UN Charter. Cold War mentality, ideological lines or zero-sum game are no solution to a countrys own problem, still less an answer to mankinds common challenges. What we need to do is to replace conflict with dialogue, coercion with consultation and zero-sum with win-win. We need to pursue the common interests of all as we each work to safeguard our own interests. We need to expand the converging interests of all and build a big global family of harmony and cooperation.

Fourth, the UN must focus on real action. To put into practice the principle of multilateralism, we must act, not just talk. There must be a cure, not just a therapy. The UN should aim at problem solving and move toward tangible outcomes as it advances security, development and human rights in parallel. In particular, as the UN advances its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, priority should be given to addressing non-traditional security challenges such as public health; the issue of development should be highlighted in the global macro framework; and there should be a greater emphasis on the promotion and protection of the rights to subsistence and development.

China was the first to sign on the Charter of the United Nations. It is a founding member of the UN and the only developing country that takes a permanent seat on the Security Council. China will continue to be a true follower of multilateralism. It will stay actively engaged in reforming and developing the global governance system. It will firmly uphold the UN-centered international system, firmly uphold the international order underpinned by international law, and firmly defend the UNs central role in international affairs.

Mr. President,

The world now stands at a new historical starting point. Let us renew our firm commitment to multilateralism, work to promote a community with a shared future for mankind, and rally behind the banner of the UN to pursue greater unity and progress.

I thank you.




The Manga Station of CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) under the Innovation Lab for Legume Systems Research (ILLSR) project invited 124 participants made of Women Farmers, Youth in agriculture, traders, processors, consumers and young MPhil and PhD students.

The Host Country - Principal Investigator (HC-PI) of the project, Dr Francis Kusi, a Senior Research Scientist at Manga Station of CSIR-SARI in welcoming the participants indicated that it is the projects objective to empower women, youth, young scientist and students with the requisite knowledge, skills and support to take agriculture and for that matter cowpea production as income generation venture to improve their livelihood and to contribute to food and nutrition security in Ghana and beyond. Dr. Kusi, added that he invited the participants under the ILLSR project for two purposes.

To afford the participate opportunity to select their preferred genotypes out of 69 multiple resistance cowpea genotypes as cowpea producers, traders, consumers and processors.To introduce them to the field performances of two cowpea varieties that have gained nation recognition (Wag Kae and Kirkhouse Benga) and to train them on good cowpea production practices.

He added that the two varieties have been selected among the only three cowpea varieties (Wand Kae, Kirkhouse Benga and Padi Tuya) to be supplied nationwide under the Governments flagship Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme.

The farmers were told that the 69 genotypes of cowpea were selected after several years of collaborative research under two expired projects (the Feed the Future Legume Innovation Lab and Innovation Lab for Climate-Resilient Cowpea) involving CSIR-SARI, University of California Riverside, INERA in Burkina Faso, ISRA in Senegal and IITA - Nigeria.

The 69 genotypes currently being evaluated under the ILLSR, therefore, represent the promising genotypes selected across these partner countries. Dr. Kusi mentioned that the 69 were selected from populations developed using molecular breeding method on the SNPPs platform which aimed at introgression of mu and Striga. In addition to these, the genotypes also combine traits like extra early to early maturity, large seed size, white seed coat colour, fast cooking and sweet taste.

To enable the farmers to select their preferred genotypes based on every aspect of the genotypes, seed album of each genotype was placed by each plot. This enabled the farmers to make informed selection based on the seed quality and the field performance of the genotypes in terms of earliness, pod load, pod length, biomass yield, dual-purpose (grain + biomass yield), pest and diseases resistance, seeds per pod, seed colour, size and other features.

After the inspection and selection, the participants were asked to fill a questionnaire to express their views about the work done by the project team and whether the genotypes presented to them met their expectations. In their interaction with the media, the participants were impressed about the quality of work done by CSIR-SARI and partners over the years and expressed their satisfaction about the field performance of the genotypes and seed quality.

Although each participant was asked to select their best 5 genotypes, yet many of them said besides the 5, they still have other promising genotypes that equally meet their preferred traits. The traits that were of interest to most of the participants were earliness, high grain and biomass yield as well as their resistance to pests and diseases, attractive large seed size and colour. Dr. Kusi promised them that they will be involved in on-form evaluation of the genotypes they have selected and also invite them to come and have a taste of different cowpea genotypes in different cowpea food types such as red red, gonya, tubani, koose, and waakye.

On the seed fields of Wang Kae and Kirkhouse Benga, Dr. Kusi was very grateful to the Minister of Food and Agriculture and his team of experts on the PFJ programme for selecting the two varieties under the PFJ programme. He was equally grateful to the collaborators of CSIR-SARI over the pass 3 years to promote farmer access to the seeds of the two varieties.

These include the District and regional Directorate of Department of Agriculture, regional and national Directorate of seed inspection division, SEEDPAG, NASTAG, the media, FBOs, and other projects. Dr. Kusi informed the participants that CSIR-SARI has strategized to ensure that early generation seeds of these varieties are produced and made available to the certified seed growers in the right quantities at the right time to production and supply to farmers under the PFJ programme across the nation.

He took the participants, some of whom are out growers of CSIR-SARI through production practices to ensure quality seeds production. He stressed on the practices he and his team have developed to cut down the cost of cowpea production to increase the profit margin of cowpea farming. He added that CSIR-SARI in its next cowpea varietal release under the ILLSR project is to present to the farmers' cowpea varieties that has 90% to 100% of its pods maturing at the same time.

This will mean that the harvesting of such varieties can be mechanized, and this will serve as further cut in cost of production of cowpea. Because the cost of labour in picking dried pods of cowpea constitute the most difficult and labour-intensive task in cowpea production. He indicated that most of the current released varieties flower continuously so long as there is good moisture and the flowers are protected.

This implies engaging labour at high cost in picking the pods one by one as they dry over a period of time which eventually increase the cost of production. Dr. Kusi and his team of young scientist under the ILLSR project at CSIR-SARI are at it again, as usual, they are doing their best to put smiles on the faces of smallholder women and youth in agriculture to increase cowpea productivity and production for wealth creation and to increase food and nutrition security.

Story by : Emmanuel Akayeti

Img 20200911 122844

Education Of Participants On The 69 Genotypes

Participants On Inspection
New Delhi:

After being censured by the Election Commission for asking voters in Goa to accept bribe from other parties but vote for AAP, a defiant Arvind Kejriwal demanded on Monday that the poll panel should him to repeat his comments as those were aimed at checking graft. The Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor also suggested that he be made the EC's "brand ambassador" for his efforts to check bribery in polls.

"By stopping me to say what I am saying, the Election Commission is not stopping corruption, but encouraging it. I hope you (the EC) will re-examine this."Through this comment, I am trying to stop bribery. In fact, the Election Commission should make me its brand ambassador," Kejriwal said in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi.

"I hope you (the EC) will review the issue and will allow me repeat my comments," he said, two days after he was censured by the Commission, which warned of strong action, including derecognition of AAP, if the Delhi chief minister repeated his comments.BJP reacted strongly to Kejriwal's letter to the EC, saying it "denigrated" the poll watchdog and the entire election process.

"Kejriwal, a self-proclaimed Chief Justice of Indian politics who also has a constitution bench of corrupt ministers, has again and again repeated his bribery remarks. By doing this he is not only denigrating the credibility of Election Commission but also the entire voting process," BJP spokesman Sambit Patra said.

By asking voters to accept bribe, Kejriwal is instigating the people to engage in corruption, against which his entire politics is based, Patra told reporters.

The EC, while censuring Kejriwal had said his statement amounted to "abetting and promoting electoral offence of bribery"."Kejriwal wants to be Delhi Chief Minister on odd days, Punjab Chief Minister on even days and Goa Chief Minister on holidays. But, now when his desire to become chief minister of three states at the same time has shattered, he is frustrated and saying all this," Patra said, using Delhi government's road rationing scheme to target him over AAP's ambitious electoral campaign in Punjab and Goa.

The EC's censure, however, failed to rein in Kejriwal, who claimed he was trying to end corruption through his remarks and that the EC can publicise his statement to deal with bribery and corruption during elections."We have shown this in Delhi election. People took money from BJP and Congress, but voted for us. If the Election Commission uses my statement and propagates it, then in two years, the political parties will stop distributing notes," Kejriwal said.

He also said the EC has not been able to stop corruption in the last 70 years and if his remarks were used for anti-bribery propaganda during polls, the menace can be ended in two years."A court in Delhi had ruled that a similar statement I made earlier does not amount to bribery," he said in the letter.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The NYPD is seeking the publics help in locating a missing 15-year-old girl from Elm Park who was last seen on Friday.

Desiree Warders, a resident of the 2200 block of Richmond Terrace, was last seen inside her home at around 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, according to a statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Police describe Warders as a Hispanic female standing at 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighing about 120 pounds.

She was last seen wearing a multi-colored shirt, black pants and red sneakers, according to police.

Anyone with information 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.
One of the world's most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons is up for sale.

IMAGE: Stan, one of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil discovered, is going up for auction at Christie's in New York, and is expected to fetch between $6 and $8 million. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The 67-million-year-old specimen, named Stan, will be auctioned off by Christies on October 6 with an estimate of $6 million-$8 million (Rs 44 crore -- Rs 58 crore) and will be on display in the windows of Christies Rockefeller Center starting Wednesday.

Standing 13 feet high and 40 feet long, including its tail, Stan is made up of 188 bones, making it one of the largest and most complete T-rex skeletons in the world.

The first of its bones was found in the Hell Creek Formation that spans parts of Montana, North and South Dakota and Wyoming in 1987 by Stan Sacrison, an amateur paleontologist.

IMAGE: Discovered in 1987 near Buffalo, South Dakota, the 188-bone skeleton took more than three years to excavate and reconstruct by paleontologists. The skeleton will be on display in a window at Christie's headquarters in New York City from Wednesday until October 21. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

Initially misidentified as Triceratops bones, they lay undisturbed until 1992, when visiting paleontologists realised their true origin.

It then took more than 30,000 hours of manual labour to excavate and restore the skeleton. Researchers have since found that Stan survived a broken neck during his lifetime, after which two of his vertebrae fused together.

IMAGE: Stan is 40 feet long and 13 feet high, Christie's said. He is also notable for two fused vertebrae scientists have identified in his neck, suggesting the dinosaur broke his neck and survived during his lifetime. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

"We are honoured to be bringing Stan to auction and to have been entrusted with the stewardship of such an iconic and important T. rex," said James Hyslop, head of scientific instruments, globes and natural history at Christie's, adding that Stan will be visible 24 hours a day through the windows at Christie's Rockefeller Center.

The last time an auction house carried out a sale of these prehistoric proportions was in 1997, when Sothebys sold T-rex skeleton Sue to the Chicago Field Museum for a record $8.3 million. Riley Black

reported for National Geographic in 2013 that paleontologists have excavated about 50 T. rex skeletons to date.

IMAGE: The T-rex is named after the amateur paleontologist Stan Sacrison responsible for his initial discovery in 1987. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

It remains to be seen who, whether an individual or an institution, will take the bait in October and bid on Stan. Hyslop calls the opportunity a once in a generation chance.
By AFP

LOS ANGELES: Here is a list of the winners in key categories for the 72nd Emmy Awards, which were handed out in Los Angeles on Sunday. HBO's "Watchmen" led the way with a total of 11 wins, including the prize for best limited series.

ALSO READ| Emmy Awards 2020: With seven big wins, Schitt's Creek bags all major comedy sections

Cult favorite "Schitt's Creek" cleaned up in the comedy awards, taking home a total of nine prizes, including four for creator and star Daniel Levy. And among the dramas, "Succession" took home top honors for best series, best lead actor, best writing and best directing.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES: "Succession" OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES: "Schitt's Creek" LEAD ACTOR (DRAMA): Jeremy Stron for "Succession" LEAD ACTRESS (DRAMA): Zendaya for "Euphoria" SUPPORTING ACTOR (DRAMA): Billy Crudup for "The Morning Show" SUPPORTING ACTRESS (DRAMA): Julia Garner for "Ozark" LEAD ACTOR (COMEDY): Eugene Levy for "Schitt's Creek" LEAD ACTRESS (COMEDY): Catherine O'Hara for "Schitt's Creek" SUPPORTING ACTOR (COMEDY): Daniel Levy for "Schitt's Creek" SUPPORTING ACTRESS (COMEDY): Annie Murphy for "Schitt's Creek" OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES: "Watchmen" LEAD ACTOR (LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE): Mark Ruffalo for "I Know This Much Is True" LEAD ACTRESS (LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE): Regina King for "Watchmen" SUPPORTING ACTOR (LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE): Yahya Abdul-Mateen II for "Watchmen" SUPPORTING ACTRESS (LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE): Uzo Aduba for "Mrs America" OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE: "Bad Education"

ALSO READ| 72nd Emmy Awards: Zendaya makes history as youngest drama-actress winner

Programs with most overall wins:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed on the Senate floor Monday to plow ahead with President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee as he accused Democrats of 'dirty tricks' to try to stop the Brett Kavanaugh nomination.

'Were going to vote on this nomination on this floor,' McConnell said Monday in a floor speech after eulogizing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

McConnell addressed weekend arguments by Democrats that the move was an exercise in 'raw power' after he orchestrated a delay of nearly nine months of President Barack Obama's nominee to fill a seat on the high court.

'If our Democratic colleagues want to claim they are outraged they can only be outraged at the plain facts of American history,' said McConnell, who mustered arguments about prior court fights.

He also pointed to the 2018 elections, when Republicans picked up two seats  although only a third of the chamber was up for reelection and Democrats enjoyed gains in the House.

'This Senate will vote on this nomination this year,' McConnell said.

McConnell's counterpart, Sen. Charles Schumer, fired back that whoever fills the justice will soon rule on a Trump administration suit seeking to throw out Obamacare.

'He will nominate a justice that will ensure that result in a Supreme Court case that will be argued only a few weeks after election day,' Schumer said.

He referenced comments Ginsburg dictated to her granddaughter before she died. 'That was justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs dying wish. Her most fervent wish that she should not be replaced until a new president was installed,' said Schumer.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) (L) wears a protective mask as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol on September 21, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., departs the chamber after speaking about the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Sept. 21, 2020

He accused Mcconnell of being 'defensive' after saying the American people 'should have a voice' while stalling the Garland nomination.

'Now these words dont apply?' Schumer asked. He said it 'doesnt pass the smell test in any way. No wonder leader McConnell was so defensive in his comments,' Schumer added.

McConnell and Republicans have brought up Schumer's words about a hypothetical vacancy in 1992 when he said a nominee shouldn't be considered except in exceptional circumstances.

Schumer ripped South Carolina Lindsey Graham for his flip-flop. Graham told people to 'use those words against me' when he said he would oppose taking up a nomination an election year the next time around.

'Its enough to make your head explode,' said Schumer.

'Theres no shaping the cravenness of this position,' he said. 'It is utterly craven, an exercise in raw political power.'

President Trump's arguments were less tied to nuanced and decades-old precedents of the chamber. He said flat-out that the difference between now and 2016 is that Republicans control the Senate and the White House.

McConnell spoke from the floor as his leadership team prepared to meet Monday

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has yet to say if he favors a vote on a nominee before the election

'I think Merrick Garland is an outstanding judge,' said Trump. 'But the only problem was, and this is up to the Senate, the only problem was President Obama did not have the Senate ... He didn't get a lot of judges through, because you know why? He didn't have the Senate.'

Trump continued: 'That's an election fo a different kind. We had the Senate. And the Senate didn't want to do that, and Mitch didn't want to do that. So there's a difference: when you have the Senate, when you have the votes, you can sort of do what you want as long as you have it.'

McConnell has lost just two Republican senators on the matter of voting on a Supreme Court nomination before the election: Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins.

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who voted for an impeachment article against Trump, has yet to make a statement on process.
Well, it seems like there is no stopping Samsung at the moment. After releasing a bunch of phones back in August, Samsung is all set to release Galaxy S20 FE Fan Edition device soon.

Moreover, the device recently appeared in a promo video, showcasing the features of the device. The promo can be treated as Samsungs answer to why a user should consider purchasing Galaxy S20 FE.

The promo is exactly 1 minute long. And has emerged on Twitter several days before the official announcement of the device. Notably, the phone is set to unveil on September 23, 2020.

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The first thing that the promo shows is the camera capabilities of the Galaxy S20 FE  Fan Edition. The leaked video confirms a triple-camera setup at the rear.

Besides, the Galaxy S20 FE will come with a 30x zoom, ditching the 100x or the 50x recently seen on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. However, the video suggests that it will be a hybrid solution.

Meaning that the actual zooming capability of the Galaxy S20 FE is limited to 3x. Quite similar to the Galaxy S20+, released earlier this year.

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The Galaxy S20 FE Fan Edition will be launched in multiple colors in the upcoming Unpacked event scheduled on September 23, 2020. So, we are not that far away from official specs to unveil.

The promo shows the improved Single Take feature on Galaxy S20 FE

Single Take has been one of the most talked-about and improved camera features that have made its way to the Samsung phones. Besides, the OEM is equipping more phones with this AI feature.

In fact, the Single Take AI is now an integral part of the camera features of the Galaxy S20 FE. Night mode is also there for improved low-light photography.

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Another thing that is similar to the Galaxy S20+ would be the battery on the phone. Galaxy S20 FE will house a 4,500 mAh battery. Additionally, it will come with a MicroSD slot.

Overall, the company has projected the Galaxy S20 FE 5G that it gives you more for less. There is still not much clarity on how much less we will see in the Galaxy S20 FE.

However, previous reports claim that the Galaxy S20 FE will be priced two-thirds of the Galaxy S20+. The upcoming Unpacked event will be the platform where we will see the device in its full glory.

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The event will give all the color variants, the official specs, and by less what exactly Samsung means. We will keep an eye out for any further developments in this regard before the official release.
Matty and Sarah Marie Fahd recently announced that their first child, 10-month-old son Malik, will appear on the new season of Gogglebox.

And now, Sarah Marie has revealed which reality television show will be off limits for their little boy.

Speaking to TV Week this week, the 31-year-old explained controversial dating show Married At First Sight won't be switched on in their household.

'This is not reality!': Gogglebox's Matty and Sarah Marie Fahd have revealed the one television show they've banned baby Malik from watching. (Pictured together)

'Oh, my sweet mercy - can you imagine? I think that's going to be one of the show's that's banned in this house when he gets old enough,' she said.

'We'll be like, "No, no, this is not how you want to live your life! This is not reality!"'

And it appears Sarah isn't the only Gogglebox star to share the same views.

Off limits! Speaking to TV Week this week, Sarah Marie explained controversial dating show Married At First Sight won't be on in their household

'Oh, my sweet mercy - can you imagine? I think that's going to be one of the show's that's banned in this house when he gets old enough,' she said

Matty, 33, recently said that he wasn't a fan of 'trash reality shows'.

Speaking to WHO Magazine in August, he said: 'My favourite thing to watch is David Attenborough. I'm a massive animal lover so I love getting to watch shows like that.'

Jad Nehmetallah, who also appears on the couch alongside the couple, also admitted he didn't like dating shows.

And it appears Sarah isn't the only star to share the same views. Matty, 33, (right) recently said that he wasn't a fan of 'trash reality shows'. Pictured with co-star Jad Nehmetallah

'I have no time for The Bachelor or Married at First Sight,' he told Lifestyle.

Sarah Marie and Matty, who married in 2018 after four years of dating, welcomed their first child son named Malik, in November last year.

The adorable youngster appears alongside him and his wife in the latest season of Gogglebox Australia.
Albany, N.Y.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants school districts across the state to come up with a plan for reopening and then stick to it.

Parents plan their lives around their children, he said today during a conference call with reporters. The changes are not helpful.

Cuomo spoke after being asked about New York Citys recent decision to delay in-person instruction. Many criticized the move as too last-minute.

School reopening plans should be stable and predictable, Cuomo said. Its too difficult for parents, students and teachers to respond to rapid, unexpected changes.

I dont think its helpful when they change dates and they change the plan because then theres just a ripple effect, Cuomo said.

He also said again the state plans to launch a dashboard allowing the public to monitor testing and virus data in districts across the state.

Were going to be prudent and cautious with the health of our children, he said. "Well know. We wont have to guess.

Youll see if the plan is being implemented as proposed.

Supreme Court

A rushed process to name a successor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court would be the worst thing for the nation right now, Cuomo said.

It stresses the division, he said. It further polarizes. It further politicizes. Youre talking about just destroying the credibility of fundamental democratic institutions, which is the last thing this nation needs at this precarious time.

Cuomo said the state is planning a statue in honor of Ginsburg in Brooklyn, where she was born and raised. One possible site is the Brooklyn Bridge Park at a spot overlooking the Statue of Liberty.

Ginsburg died Friday at age 87.

Thats a tremendous loss for the nation, Cuomo said. She was a generational role model and champion.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

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Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
Defendant Nguyen Thanh Tai, former Vice Chairman of the HCM City Peoples Committee, at the trial (Photo: VNA)

HCM City  Nguyen Thanh Tai, former Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee, on September 20 was sentenced to eight years in prison for violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness.

The verdict for Tai and four accomplices was announced by the municipal Peoples Court.

According to the jury, the land plot at No. 8-12 Le Duan Street in District 1, covering a total area of over 4,800 sq. m., is owned by the State and assigned to the HCM City Housing Management and Trading Company for management and leased out to four companies subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. On November 20, 2007, the municipal Peoples Committee approved the construction of a hotel and part of a commercial centre there.

The HCM City Housing Management and Trading Company, with the currently wanted Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy being the director, proposed the municipal Peoples Committee permit it to set up a new legal entity in the form of a joint stock company and to mobilise other capital sources to implement the project. This proposal was accepted by Tai as a Vice Chairman of the committee.

Taking advantage of her personal relationship with Tai, Le Thi Thanh Thuy, who was then Chairwoman of the Hoa Thang Nam One-Member Limited Company, suggested the HCM City Housing Management and Trading Company allow her business to take part in this project.

After that, Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy signed a document introducing the Hoa Thang Nam company to the project, which was approved by Tai without assigning a specialised agency to verify this firms experience and financial capacity.

The four companies under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which were renting land at the plot, agreed with the Kinh Do Investment Co. Ltd to establish a new legal entity which was the Lavenue Investment JSC and let Le Thi Thanh Thuy act as Chairwoman of its board of directors.

Later, those companies transferred their shares, putting the land plot into private ownership, thus causing a loss of over 1.927 trillion VND (83.1 million USD at the current exchange rate) to the State.

The jury concluded that Le Thi Thanh Thuy incited Tai so as to profit from the documents signed by him. Meanwhile, Dao Anh Kiet (former Director of the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment), Nguyen Hoai Nam (former Secretary of the Party Committee of District 2), and Truong Van Ut (former deputy head of the land management section at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment) knew that the projects dossier was insufficient and hadnt been approved or verified but still proposed the approval of decisions that ran counter to legal regulations.

At the trial, Le Thi Thanh Thuy was given a five-year jail term, Kiet five years (total penalty is 11 years and six months, including the sentence in a previous case), Nam four years, and Ut three years (total penalty is eight years, including the sentence in a previous case) also for violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness.

Besides, the jury assigned the HCM City Peoples Committee to revoke all the land use right certificates and other papers related to the land plot previously granted to the Lavenue company.

It also decided that the five defendants have to compensate over 4.7 billion VND for the loss. The money the Hoa Thang Nam company used to make capital contribution to the Lavenue company will also be confiscated.
Sham doctor sentenced to 4.5 years in jail for illegal abortions

 pixabay.com

15:06 21/09/2020

MOSCOW, September 21 (RAPSI)  Moscows Tverskoy District Court on Monday sentenced Natalya Stolbovskoya, who had casted herself as gynecology doctor, to 4.5 years in penal colony for illegal abortions and substandard services, the courts press service told RAPSI.

Dzhamalutdin Aydemirov, the director of a clinic where Stolbovskaya worked, received 3.5 years in jail for substandard services.

According to the court findings, Stolbovskaya was not an experienced doctor but gave patients medicamental abortion recommendations and arranged appointment of special drugs.

The clinic had a medical license but had no experienced medical employees; therefore the organization could not provide high-quality services, the court held.

Three women were recognized as victims in the case; one of them was a minor when the crimes were committed.




The Congress on Monday decided to hit the streets across the country from September 24 to protest against what it described as anti-farmer and anti-poor bills passed in Parliament by the government. The party will also launch a campaign to collect 20 million signatures from protesting farmers against the proposed laws.

The two agricultural reform bills  the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020  were cleared by voice vote in Parliament on Sunday.

Opposition members stormed the well of the House, insisting on a division of votes and demanding that the proposed laws be sent to a select committee for greater scrutiny.

The authorities called in marshals to form a double-layered barricade to protect Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh and remove an MP, muted live telecast of the proceedings, and refused to accept the Oppositions demand for a division (voting through paper ballots) on the legislation.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has described the two farm bills passed by Parliament on Sunday to liberalise the agriculture sector as historic, but farmers groups and activists opposing them allege that the legislation will create a system lacking adequate oversight and make cultivators vulnerable to exploitation.

The nationwide agitation will continue till the government repeals the black laws, senior Congress leader AK Antony told reporters after a meeting of general secretaries and in-charge of states at the party headquarters in Delhi.

A resolution condemning the bills was also passed at the meeting, which was attended by all the office bearers except Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jitin Prasada who joined it virtually. Jharkhand in-charge RPN Singh could not attend because he was out of Delhi for personal reasons.

By announcing a nearly two-month-long protest calendar, the principal opposition party is seeking to regain some of the political space it has lost over the years by tapping the 146 million farmers who have operational land holdings, according to the agriculture census of 2015-16.

The Congress is also seeing the issue as a potential replay of the 2015 moment when party chief Sonia Gandhi played a key role in bringing 14 opposition parties together against the proposed land acquisition bill that forced the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government to withdraw a controversial ordinance and shelve the idea of bringing a new legislation to replace a 2013 law.

Senior leader Ahmed Patel said the meeting was held under the directions of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who are in the US for a medical checkup of the Congresss interim chief . It is going to be a peoples movement against this government, he added.

The six-member special committee formed by the Congress president to help her in organisational and operational matters chaired the meeting in her absence.

Besides Antony and Patel, the other members of the special committee are Ambika Soni, KC Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, and Randeep Singh Surjewala

Venugoipal, who is the Congress general secretary in-charge of organisation, said the party will organise a series of programmes across the country in support of farmers.

Apart from a chain of press conferences across the country starting from September 24, Venugopal said senior leaders from states will on September 28 walk to the respective Raj Bhavans and submit a memorandum on the farms bills to Governors to be handed over to President Ram Nath Kovind.

On October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, the Congress will observe a Kisan-Mazdoor Bachao Divas (Save Farmers and Farm Labourers Day).

There will be protests and demonstrations in every district across the country demanding immediate withdrawal of agriculture bills, he added.

On October 10, Surjewala said state level conferences will be held and from October 2 to October 31, the party will collect signatures from 20 million farmers across all parts of the country. On November 14, the birth anniversary of Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, a memorandum with signatures of 20 million farmers will be submitted to the President.

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The scene before a Trump campaign rally in New Hampshire on Nov. 7, 2016, the day before the election. (Associated Press)

One of the biggest stories of the 2016 presidential election was the support Donald Trump received from non-college-educated white women. Exit polls showed that 52% of them voted for Trump, enough to secure his victory in the electoral college even with a popular vote loss. Following the election, Trump repeatedly bragged about having won women. The reality was, of course, more complicated. Democratic women  including the huge majorities of women of color who voted for Hillary Clinton  felt betrayed.

New polling shows that the same trend could play out again in 2020.

Earlier this month, an in-depth poll of women voters found non-college-educated white women strongly behind Trump, even though every other subset of women voters breaks firmly for Democratic nominee Joe Biden. The research was conducted by the nonpartisan civic education organization I lead, All In Together, along with Lake Research Partners and Emerson College in Boston. A random sampling of more than 1,270 registered voters nationwide was polled on Aug. 30 and Sept. 1. Nearly 670 of the women were in battleground states.

Overall, 59% of non-college-educated white women said they support Trump this year, as opposed to 38% who support Biden. This could be significant in key battleground states where these women make up a larger share of the electorate and Republicans have concentrated recent voter registration efforts.

As our poll makes clear, women voters are not a monolith, and they certainly dont all agree. Trump has repelled a majority of women yet maintained a core base of women who have not wavered in their support of him.

In 2016, the support for Trump among white women created huge social and cultural rifts. For Clinton voters, especially women of color, the fact that so many white women voted for Trump reinforced their worst fears about underlying racism in the country. Many just couldnt fathom why women would seem to vote against their own interests. Op-eds carried headlines such as White women sold out the sisterhood.

Story continues

Could our poll results be a bellwether for a 2016 repeat? It depends.

The influence of non-college-educated white women in the last presidential election was amplified because turnout of other women voters, particularly minority and younger women, was lower in critical states than it had been in previous election years. In states such as Wisconsin and Michigan, where the margins of victory for Trump were incredibly small, non-college-educated women had an outsize impact.

This changed in the 2018 midterm election, when suburban women, independent women and women of color came together to vote in record numbers and fuel the blue wave that delivered the House of Representatives to the Democrats.

The 2020 election may very well hinge on whether the suburban women, women of color and women under 30 in key states such as Wisconsin and Michigan turn out in large enough numbers to outweigh the voting by Trumps female base in those critical electoral states.

Of course, this underscores the many flaws of our electoral college system.

Biden, like Clinton, enjoys wide support among a significant majority of women voters, and yet a smaller minority of women could still sway the election.

Our polling indicates that Biden should have enough support among Democratic, independent and swing-voting women to overcome Trumps base. Women voters favor Biden by 11 points, while male voters prefer Trump by a 7-point margin, for a gender gap of 18 points.

In fact, women in our poll favor Biden over Trump on every major issue surveyed. Biden has 20-plus-point advantages when women are asked whom they trust more on race relations, the pandemic and school reopening. Even in areas where Trump has historically led, such as law and order and economic recovery, Biden has a clear advantage.

On these same issues and so many others, non-college-educated white women in our poll continue to favor Trump. For instance, law and order has been front and center since the police killing of George Floyd and the ensuing protests. On this issue, women as a group favor Biden 55% to 41%. Yet, white non-college-educated women trust Trump to handle the issue over Biden by a 21-point margin.

The reality of our political system is that if Biden fails to mobilize the numerical majority of Democratic, independent, suburban and minority female voters who support him, Trump could again pull off an electoral college victory on the strength of his powerful, loyal minority of women in his corner.

In 2020, women voters will once again decide the election outcome. It remains to be seen, however, if those deciders will speak for the majority.

Lauren Leader is co-founder and CEO of All In Together, a nonpartisan, nonprofit womens civic education organization.




NCUA awarded $3.7 million in grants and no-interest loans to 162 low-income credit unions, helping them provide affordable financial services to their members and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In April, the agency committed the majority of its 2020 Community Development Revolving Loan Fund allocation to COVID-19 assistance. The grants and loans went to low-income credit unions in 40 states and the District of Columbia.

NCUA awarded 153 grants totaling nearly $1.5 million. Of those, 32 credit unions were first-time grant recipients. Forty-eight credit unions were minority depository institutions. Grant awards ranged from $900 to $10,000. The agency also approved nine no-interest loans of $250,000 each.

The grants and loans fell into four categories:
Former Alliance Party deputy leader, David Sommerville Cook, who in 1978 became Lord Mayor of Belfast, believed in bringing a voice of the middle ground of politics.

Born in England on January 25 1944, he moved to Northern Ireland with his parents and sisters after his father was appointed headmaster of Campbell College in Belfast in 1954.

His political career began in his 20s when he was a founder member of the Alliance Party in 1970. It was eight years later in two nights of high drama in Belfast City Council when he wrote his name indelibly in the political history of that institution.

Two Faulknerite unionists held the balance of power and their votes were enough to give victory to Mr Cook by the narrowest of margins, 26-25. The following month when the council met to ratify his appointment  which normally went through on the nod  the unionist block called for a recorded vote. A member of the nationalist side of the chamber was missing and it took a lengthy filibuster by SDLP leader Gerry Fitt to ensure the vote was delayed until the missing member entered the chamber and restored Mr Cooks majority. It was a victory which even made the pages of the New York Times.

A solicitor by profession, he rose to become a senior partner in his 30s of the firm Sheldon and Stewart in Belfast where he practiced for 49 years.

He put his legal expertise to use when he brought proceedings against Belfast City Council and other councils in 1986 and 1987 following their unlawful protests against the Anglo-Irish Agreement and obtained High Court orders compelling them to perform their statutory duties.

He also brought a libel case after he and journalist Chris Ryder were sacked by the then Secretary of State after losing votes of no confidence in the Police Authority, where he served as chairman from 1994 to 1996. The split with the Authority came after debate about the pace and manner of change in police reform.

He was deputy leader of Alliance from 1980 to 1984 and fought a number of elections in the South Belfast constituency.

Mr Cook believed the middle ground must have a political voice even in the worst of times in the 1970s and 80s. He stood in the February 1974 general election, taking just under 10% of the vote.

He was able to improve to 27% of the vote at the 1982 South Belfast by-election. Following this, he won a seat on the Northern Ireland Assembly representing South Belfast. In the 1983 general election, 1986 by-election and 1987 general election, he won over 20% of the votes cast in the constituency.

He also stood in the 1984 European Parliament election, but took only 4% of the vote as the larger parties took the three seats.

Away from politics he was founder and long time thair of the NI Voluntary Trust, now known as the Community Foundation for NI and spent long periods fundraising for the organisation which helped hundreds of community organisations. He also served two terms as chairman of Craigavon and Banbridge community health and social care trust.

He was also a member of the Valance Marie Trust for 30 years for his old Cambridge college, Pembroke.

In his private life he enjoyed countryside pursuits including hunting with the West Down Beagles. Donegal was a favourite holiday destination and he was an avid reader with a special interest in history.

He died from Covid-19 on Saturday at Craigavon Area Hospital. He had suffered a stroke two years previously.

He is survived by his wife Fionnuala, children Barbary, John, Patrick, Julius and Dominic and granddaughters Romy and Imogen and sisters Alison and Nora.
* Canadian dollar weakens 0.4% against the greenback * Loonie touches its weakest since Aug. 14 at 1.3264 * Canadian new house prices rise 2.1% year-over-year in August * Canadian bond yields ease across a flatter curve TORONTO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened to a five-week low against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as rising coronavirus infections weighed on investor sentiment, while domestic data showed new house prices increasing at the fastest annual rate in more than two years. Global shares fell as renewed lockdown measures in some countries due to the spread of the virus cast doubt over economic recovery. Canada runs a current account deficit and is a major producer of commodities, including oil, so the loonie tends to be sensitive to the global flow of trade and capital. U.S. crude prices were down 2.4% at $40.12 a barrel, pressured by the possible return of Libyan production and as rising COVID-19 cases stoked worries about global demand. The Canadian dollar was trading 0.4% lower at 1.3254 to the greenback, or 75.45 U.S. cents. The currency touched its weakest intraday level since Aug. 14 at 1.3264. Canada has also seen a rise in coronavirus infections. On Saturday, Ontario, the country's most-populous province, cracked down on private social gatherings. Still, speculators have cut their bearish bets on the Canadian dollar for the fourth straight week, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday. As of Sept. 15, net short positions had fallen to 16,943 contracts from 17,355 in the prior week. Canadian new house prices rose 2.1% year-over-year in August, which was the largest increase since March 2018, Statistics Canada said. Canadian government bond yields were lower across a flatter curve in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries on Monday. The 10-year fell 3.7 basis points to 0.544%. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to unveil on Wednesday what he says is a bold far-reaching plan to help Canada recover from the coronavirus pandemic. (Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Will Dunham)
CANCER sufferers have told how they felt abandoned by the NHS as it turned its focus to coronavirus.

Patients had vital operations cancelled and missed out on potentially life- saving treatments because tackling Covid-19 had become the sole focus of the health service.

In one shocking case, a rectal cancer sufferer was told their operation was being cancelled and all they could do was to pay 25,000 to have it carried out privately.

The patients plight has emerged in a dossier of complaints to hospitals obtained by the Daily Mail and revealed today. Documents show how critically ill cancer patients complained of being denied vital information, refused tests and put to the back of the queue for treatment, leaving them angry and scared and potentially with less time to live.

Cancer sufferers have told how they felt abandoned by the NHS as it turned its focus to coronavirus

Experts fear the number of people dying as a result of delays triggered by the treatment of Covid patients could end up being responsible for as many deaths as the pandemic itself.

Last month Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted that with most urgent hospital procedures cancelled at the start of lockdown, the number of cancer patients waiting longer than the target of 62 days from an urgent GP referral to start hospital treatment had increased substantially. This newspaper has told how admissions for seven deadly conditions  including heart attacks, strokes and diabetes as well as cancer  plummeted by 173,000 between March and June.

And almost 2.5million patients missed out on cancer screening, referrals or treatment such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy at the height of lockdown.

Now health service records obtained by the Mail show the anguished response of those denied care because of coronavirus.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, all hospital trusts in England were asked for details of complaints about the impact of the pandemic on cancer treatment and testing. In total, those that replied revealed there were almost 200 complaints lodged between March and July  but as several trusts failed to provide a response the true number is likely to be much higher. In most cases the trusts did not give the patients genders. One skin cancer patient contacted the University of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust because they were due to attend hospital for a second operation on their nose, but it was cancelled during lockdown. Their anxiety grew because they could see the cancer growing on their face as the days ticked by, but were told to email in a photo of the problem, and were unable to find anybody to tell them what treatment they needed.

And a desperate relative whose father was dying of stomach cancer emailed the same trust to ask: Can you assure me he hasnt just been cast aside because of Covid-19?

London North West University NHS Trust had a case where a rectal cancer patient needed a vital operation but was told it could not be carried out because all the beds were occupied by coronavirus patients. They were reportedly told the only option if they wanted the operation quickly was to pay 25,000 to have it done privately.

One of the complaints told how a patient with cancer of the oesophagus had undergone weeks of treatment prior to lockdown in preparation for a vital operation that was then put on hold.

He wrote to University of Leicester Hospitals NHS Trust, asking: Am I to become a statistic and die of my condition due to virus patients taking ICU beds? Surely we cancer patients cant be left in this situation. I hope you can assist, not just for me but all others expecting major surgery.

University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust had a patient whose critical operation on his prostate cancer was cancelled twice. He wrote to the trust saying: I want my cancer treated as soon as possible.

My cancer was diagnosed nearly nine months ago and although the doctor has said that it is very treatable, I also know that if it spreads it will change my life for ever or maybe end it.

Stockport NHS Trust had a formal complaint from a cancer patient whose operation was cancelled on the day the procedure was due to take place. The trust apologised and said there had been a lack of beds on the day, partly due to an influx of patients suffering from Covid-19.

Drug cuts breast tumour risk by 25%

A NEW treatment for patients with a common type of breast cancer has cut the risk of recurrence by a quarter, a study has shown.

Patients with hormone receptor positive (HR+) early stage breast cancer at a high risk of recurrence were recruited to the global study led by the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London.

The treatment involves patients taking the drug abemaciclib along with hormone therapy following treatments such as chemotherapy, surgery and/or radiotherapy. The study, among 5,637 patients in 38 countries, assessed how it would cut the risk of recurrence compared with the standard hormone treatment alone.

Over two years, it found a 25 per cent reduction in recurrence of cancer when abemaciclib was added to the standard hormone therapy compared with hormone therapy alone. The Royal Marsden described the findings as one of the most promising breakthroughs for patients with this type of breast cancer in the last 20 years.
California Stuck in Vicious Cycle of Wildfires, Policy Expert Says

Commentary

California is on track for its worst fire season in recorded history, and it could have been prevented by proper state budgeting and forest maintenance policy, says Lawrence McQuillan, a senior fellow at the Independent Institute, an Oakland-based think tank.

Were living with a legacy of 100 years of government mismanagement of California forest land, McQuillan told The Epoch Times.

McQuillan has helped form the Independent Institutes policy recommendations regarding Californias wildfires. He explained that the state is trapped in a vicious cycle: Resources are used up in the suppression of fires, leaving almost nothing for fire prevention.

Prevention Over Suppression

McQuillan said that both federal and state governments are locked in a policy of rapid suppression of fires.

So what weve seen now in the last 10 years, I think, is just the legacy of this policy of putting out fires quickly, or not allowing fires to do what naturally fire does, which is clear out the undergrowth and rejuvenate forest land, McQuillan said.

CalFire, the primary firefighting agency in California, has a $2 billion annual budget. Unfortunately, what weve seen in recent years is, because the fires have been so prolific  this budget is eaten through very quickly. Sometimes, a few months into the year, the money is already gone. So they appropriate more money for suppression, but as a result, theres no money left over for prevention, he said.

Prevention is not done, so the fires in the future are worse, which eats up the prevention money even quicker, because its being diverted to suppression.

A Change of Pace

McQuillan said that county governments and landowners should be more involved in fire management, because they are the most affected by wildfires.

Its not some bureaucrat in the Interior Department in Washington, D.C., who suffers, that has to breathe this air or lose a loved one, McQuillan said. Its people in California.

My recommendation would be to delegate the authority to county governments, to contract with private companies to go in there and do the work. And I think thered be a much greater urgency if county governments had that authority, he said.

Causes of Wildfires

The leading causes of these wildfires, according to McQuillan, are the dead trees, down limbs, thick brush, [and] heavy vegetation building up in Californias forests.

Theres 150 million dead trees in California. All of this is fuel, and it just takes, you know, a spark, as weve seen recently, MQuillan said. Its a tinderbox just waiting to explode.

In the 1800s, California had about 50 trees per acre, and today California has upwards of 500 trees per acre. So weve seen an explosion of trees and vegetation. A lot of these trees are very weak because theyre not getting the water, the nutrients, sunlight that they need to be healthy. So theyre very susceptible to disease and overcrowding, he said.

He gave the example of Paradise Lake, California, to show the effectiveness of preventative measures.

Ninety percent of all the structures in Paradise were destroyed by the Camp Fire. But just outside of Paradise, in Paradise Lake, Calfire had removed underbrush and excessive growth.

They did three treatments of this Paradise Lake area over five years, and as a result, that area was largely spared any damage from the Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, he said.

By removing the dead trees and taking out the timber in a process called salvage logging, not only is the risk of wildfires reduced, but the timber can also be used for beneficial purposes, such as to make chipboard, McQuillan said.

Prescribed Burns

All of the excess growth in areas prone to wildfires should have either been thinned or allowed to burn, either naturally or through prescribed burns, he said.

A prescribed burn is a low-intensity fire that prevents mega fires from starting. So, in my opinion and estimation, it would be far better to do a lot of these small burns, rather than not do them and then allow a mega fire to develop. Thats far worse for the air quality, for pollution, for peoples health than these smaller controlled burns would be, McQuillan said.

Prescribed burns are much more surgical than wildfires, McQuillan said.

Barriers to Prevention

As to the 40 percent of California land that is privately owned, McQuillan said its still essentially controlled by the state government. Because there are so many rules and regulations that govern how private landowners can maintain their land, theyre not really free to do the thinning.

To do a significant thinning on your own land, you would first need to apply for a permit from the State of California, and that can take weeks or months to get, he said.

But even after obtaining a permit, that still doesnt guarantee you can go ahead with it. Because the State of California has these regional air quality districts that determine when its okay to do burns and when its not. And as a result, you can have a permit for four years and never be able to use it, just because the regional air quality districts wont let you do the burn, McQuillan said.

Recommendations for Homeowners

McQuillian recommends that homeowners check with their insurance companies to see if they get a discount for doing preventive work.

Most homes that burn in wildfires are never directly in contact with flames. They burn down because embers flyin some cases miles away from the source of the fireand land on roofs, or land on gutters, and start the home on fire.

So, one thing you could do is install gutter guards, which keep embers out of your gutters, and theres also fire-resilient roofing with that same effect, McQuillan said.

Clearing back vegetation 10 to 30 feet from your home will also provide a defensible space from wildfires.

In addition, installing external sprinklers on your house can also prevent embers from catching the home on fire by creating a high humidity-like bubble effect around your home that can actually push a fire away from your property.

California Insider is an Epoch Times show available on YouTube.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:48:17|Editor: huaxia

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TRIPOLI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan Coast Guard rescued 88 illegal immigrants off the western coast, the country's anti-illegal immigration department said Monday.

The 88 illegal immigrants of different Arab and African nationalities were rescued "on their way to the European Continent illegally," the department said in a statement, adding humanitarian assistance were provided for them.

Following the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya has been plagued by a state of insecurity and chaos that prompts thousands of illegal immigrants to attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea toward Europe.

According to the International Organization for Migration, thousands of illegal migrants have been rescued and returned to Libya in 2020.

Many illegal immigrants, who were either rescued at sea or arrested by authorities, have remained detained in overcrowded centers in Libya despite repeated international calls to close these centers. Enditem
President Donald Trump said as long as Republicans hold the Senate they can do what they want on voting for a replacement for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

He said the vote on his nominee to replace the beloved liberal icon should come before the November 3 election. He also claimed the process will help Republican senators facing tough re-election bids this fall.

'When you have the Senate, when you have the votes, you can do what you want as long as you have it,' he told 'Fox & Friends' on Monday morning.

President Donald Trump said as long as Republicans hold the Senate they can do what they want on voting for a replacement for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham is a vulnerable Republican up for re-election this November; he will oversee the confirmation process for President Trump's Supreme Court pick

Activists protest outside Senator Lindsey Graham's Washington D.C. house on Monday morning

Graham is under fire for supporting President Trump to appoint a new justice - a contradiction to what he said in 2016 about the Supreme Court nominees

He dismissed those who argued Ginsburg's replacement should be decided by who wins in November - the argument Republicans used in 2016 when they held up then-President Barack Obama's nominee to the high court.

'We have the presidency and we have the Senate, and we have every right to do it, and we have plenty of time,' he said.

'I think the final vote should be taken, frankly, before the election. We have plenty of time for that,' he added.

Trump is pushing for a vote before November 3 amid concern Democrats could peel off enough support to keep the president's nominee from being confirmed. Already two Republican senators have said the nomination should wait until after the election, which means Democrats need only two more votes.

Additionally, if Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly wins that state's Senate seat, he could take office as early as November 20, shrinking the GOP's Senate majority even further.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said if he wins in November he should get the appointment.

'To jam this nomination through the Senate is just an exercise in raw political power, and I don't believe the people of this nation will stand for it,' Biden said.

'Even if President Trump wants to put forward a name now, the Senate should not act until after the American people select their next president, their next Congress, their next Senate,' he said in a speech on Sunday.

Ginsburg, the justice beloved of the left who became famous for her fiery dissents, died on Friday at the age of 87 due to complications from her ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer.

Her passing immediately became a political fire storm, with Democrats demanding her seat by filled by the winner of the upcoming general election and Trump vowing to move ahead with a nominee.

He is expected to name a conservative to fill the liberal's shoes, moving the balance of the court further to the right. He has said he will name a woman to the position.

Trump and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell - who have spoken often in the past few days - are facing criticism from Democrats, who say since McConnell held up Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to the high court in 2016 until the election was decided, the same standard should apply this year.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (pictured) on Friday died surrounded by her family in her Washington D.C. home after a long battle with pancreatic cancer

But the president said the difference was Obama and the Democrats didn't have control of the Senate, while he does.

'The only problem was, and this is up to the Senate, the only problem was President Obama did not have the Senate,' Trump said. 'We had the Senate. And the Senate didn't want to do that. And Mitch didn't want to do that. So there's a difference.'

He also argued the nomination process - which is expected to be controversial, combative and heavily protested - will help vulnerable Republican senators who will face voters on Election Day.

Those senators include Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Martha McSally of Arizona, and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia - all of whom are supporting the president's plan to move ahead will filling Ginsburg's seat.

But the most vulnerable Republican senator this year is Cory Gardner of Colorado, who has yet to say if he would support voting on a nominee ahead of the election.

His statement after Ginsburg died merely said that 'out of decency and respect for this country, we need to make sure that we are giving time for personal reflection on this loss of an American icon.'

President Trump, however, argued the process would help senators like Gardner and McConnell, who is also on the ballot this year but is favored to win re-election.

'I think it's going to help Cory, by the way, I really do. He's a great guy, very, very loyal to the party and to his state. I know that for a fact. I think it's going to help Mitch, I think it's going to help everybody if they do it. If they do it, if they do it as they should be doing, it's going to help everybody. I think it's going to help our country, if you want to know the truth, if we we do it,' he said.

In a sign of the confirmation battle to come, a group of protesters gathered outside of Graham's Washington D.C. home in the early morning hours on Monday.

They waved signs that read 'We can't sleep so neither should Lindsey,' and later marched from his Capitol Hill home to the steps of the Supreme Court.

U.S. Capitol Police were on hand at Graham's home as protesters rang bells and sounded whistles.

Graham came under fire for saying he would support President Trump moving ahead with a nominee contradicting comments he made in 2016 and 2018 that a nominee should not be considered in an election year.

After the failed Garland nomination, Graham said: 'If theres a Republican president (elected) in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said, "Lets let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination."' And he said people were free to 'use my words against me.'

Activists marched from Senator Lindsey Graham's home on Capitol Hill to the Supreme Court

Trump has said vulnerable Republican senators will benefit from voting for his Supreme Court nominee - Senators Martha McSally (top left), Kelly Loeffler (top right), and Thom Tillis (bottom left) have all said they will support his pick while Senator Cory Gardner (bottom right) has remained mum on the issue

Tillis is also on the Judiciary Committee, meaning he'll have a high-profile role in the confirmation process.

Neither Gardner, McSally nor Loeffler sit on the Judiciary panel.

McSally and Loeffler were appointed to their seats and are in their first re-election battle. McSally previously ran in 2018 but lost and is now in a tough contest against Democrat Mark Kelly. Loeffler's biggest competition is in the Republican primary, where she faces GOP Rep. Doug Collins.

And Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who is probably the most endangered senator after Gardner, went against the president this weekend, saying a vote on a Supreme Court nominee should take place after the election.

'In fairness to the American people, who will either be re-electing the President or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd,' Collins said on Twitter.

Then Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska became the second Republican senator Sunday to say a nomination vote should wait. She is not up for re-election until 2022.

'For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election,' she said.

'Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed,' she continued.

'I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia,' she said in reference to Garland's failed nomination in the Obama years.

'We are now even closer to the 2020 election  less than two months out  and I believe the same standard must apply,' she added.

Trump slammed both women for their announcements.

'I think Susan Collins is very badly hurt by her statement yesterday, and I think Murkowski is very badly hurt, and she doesn't run for two years,' he told 'Fox & Friends' on Monday.

Two GOP senators - Lisa Murkowski (left) and Susan Collins (right) - have already dissented, vowing to derail Trump's nomination plans until after the November 3 election

Murkowski voted against Trump's last Supreme Court pick  Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The two Republican dissenters have left Democrats still shy of the count of four needed to derail a nomination, but points to the possibility they could prevent it by winning over an additional pair of Republicans.

The focus has shifted to Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who votes with conservatives but also voted for an impeachment article against Trump and has called him out occasionally in public.

Also being watched is Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, who sits on the Judiciary panel.

He hasn't made a statement since Ginsburg died but told reporters this summer: 'If I were chairman of the committee and this vacancy occurred, I would not have a hearing on it because thats what I promised the people in 2016.'

President Trump said since Republicans won the last presidential election, he gets to nominate Ginsburg's replacement.

And, he said, he needed to nominate a new judge because there could be legal proceedings following the election.

With many states and voters using mail-in ballots, both parties are preparing to file legal cases on any voting irregularities.

'Look, the bottom line is we won the election. We have an obligation to do what's right and act as quickly as possible. We should act quickly because we're going to have probably election things involved here, you know,' he told 'Fox & Friends.'

Trump argued it was important to have a full court of nine justices in case of legal issues so a 4-4 tie would be avoided. However, if the Supreme Court had only eight justices, a tie decision on the high court would mean the lower court decision would stand.

'Well, we don't want of to have a tie, no, we don't, and we want to have nine justices,' he said.

'We won the election, and elections have consequences,' he said.

The president has already appointed two members of the Supreme Court, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, in moves that pushes the court increasingly to the right and maintained its 5-4 conservative majority.

Trump said he would nominate Ginsburg's replacement on Friday or Saturday  after funeral services have concluded for the late justice.

'I think it'll be on Friday or Saturday,' he said. 'And we want to pay respect. We, it looks like, it looks like we will have probably services on Thursday or Friday, as I understand it.'

President Donald Trump told 'Fox & Friends' he would name Justice Ginsburg's replacement on Friday or Saturday

Trump, who now has a chance to nominate a third justice to a lifetime appointment on the court, named Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees.

But he told 'Fox & Friends' on Monday morning he was seriously looking at four or five possible nominees.

'I'm looking at five, probably four, but I'm looking at five very seriously,' Trump said.
NORWALK  After 16 years of searching, police have found and arrested a 55-year-old man suspected of raping a 14-year-old girl.

Donald Charles, 55, of the Bronx, N.Y., was arrested on Friday for a sexual assault that allegedly occurred back in May 2004.

Police said the victim was in her room when Charles entered and asked to have sex with her. The victim declined, but Charles restrained her and forcibly had sex with the victim, Lt. Jared Zwickler said.

Norwalks Special Victim Unit recently learned that Charles was staying in New York City with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service. On Friday, he was taken into custody and brought back to Connecticut.

Charles was charged with first-degree sexual assault and risk injury to a minor. He was given a court date on Sept. 30.
Taiwan said today it has the 'right to self-defence and to counter-attack' after China flew nearly 40 warplanes over the Taiwan Strait in a show of force.

The island's defence ministry said it was facing a 'high frequency of harassment and threat from the enemy's warships and aircraft' amid high tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own renegade territory.

China's People's Liberation Army flew 18 warplanes over the mid-line of the Strait on Friday, followed by another 19 on Saturday, while US envoy Keith Krach was visiting the island.

Beijing also ramped up its rhetoric today by warning the US against helping Taiwan and saying that support for its independence was 'doomed to fail'.

A Chinese air force Yun-8 transport plane flies over Taiwan's Air Defence Identification Zone on Saturday in the second show of military force by Beijing in two days

A map released by Taiwanese officials showing the routes of Chinese PLA (People's Liberation Army) aircraft which crossed into the air defence zone that surrounds the island

Taiwan's air force scrambled their own jets and deployed an air defence missile system after the Chinese warplanes were spotted on Taiwan's side of the line.

The Chinese planes included four bombers as well as fighter jets from the country's Eastern Theatre Command.

Taiwan's defence ministry said today it had 'clearly defined' procedures for the island's first response amid the 'high frequency of harassment and threats'.

It said Taiwan had the right to 'self-defence and to counter attack' and that it followed the guideline of 'no escalation of conflict and no triggering incidents'.

Taiwan would not provoke but is also was 'not afraid of the enemy', it added.

Beijing this month held rare large-scale drills near Taiwan, which Taipei called serious provocation but China said was necessary to protect its sovereignty.

The island is a flashpoint with Washington, which promises military support to the elected government and has sent two envoys to Taipei in as many months.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin described the US envoys' visits as a 'political provocation' and threatened retaliation.

US envoy Keith Krach (at the front of the line, wearing a mask) arrives at the Sungshan airport in Taipei on Thursday

'China will take appropriate countermeasures, including targeting relevant individuals,' said Wang, without elaborating.

He warned that the US actions will 'further damage the cooperation' between the US and China.

Wang added that any support for Taiwan's independence is a 'dead end... doomed to fail'.

Taiwan has been ruled separately from China since the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers the island part of its territory awaiting reunification.

Beijing rejects any recognition of Taiwan and has mounted a decades-long policy of marginalising the democratic island.

Washington's increased outreach is a catalogue of sore points with Beijing as the countries clash over issues including trade, security and the coronavirus pandemic.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China of 'military blustering'.

Keith Krach, the undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, wrapped up his trip at the weekend following a trip by US health chief Alex Azar in August.
Three Texas A&M International University students are the newest recipients of the Oscar M. Laurel Endowed Scholarship.

Mavelin Adriana Aguilar, Danna Michelle Moreno Ibarra and Mariela Itzel Trevino, all graduates of the Hector J. Garcia Early College High School, were named Oscar M. Laurel Scholars by scholarship donors Rebecca and Oscar Laurel, Jr., and Elsa Laurel Nicholson.

The Oscar M. Laurel Endowed Scholarship has been awarded since 2010 to rst generation college students and provides recipients tuition for four years at TAMIU and a laptop computer. A total of 40 students have been named Oscar M. Laurel Scholars to date. With this years awards, the scholarship has awarded over $775,000 in scholarships.

Oscar Laurel Jr., family spokesperson, said, We are delighted to welcome Danna, Mariela, and Mavelin to our Scholars family. Their high school careers and community involvement were characterized by hard work and a commitment to excellence, and they clearly stood out among a very qualified group of applicants. So, we are very proud to support these outstanding young women and know they are each a great addition to our beloved TAMIU student body.

Trevino, a nursing major, expressed her gratitude to the Laurel family for their support in helping her become a future registered nurse.

Growing up with my sister and my mother, who was a single mom, the idea of attending a university was always shut down due to our financial status. This scholarship helps motivate me to keep learning and striving for what once seemed impossible, Trevino said.

Aguilar, a business administration major who someday hopes to become a marketing manager, conveyed a similar sentiment of thanks.

This scholarship will help me focus on what I want to do in my future and put me one step closer to achieving my academic goals at TAMIU. Thank you to everyone involved in this Endowment for bringing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to students like me, Aguilar said.
Patna, Sep 21: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching nine important highway projects in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has emphasised on the need to extend the Purvanchal Expressway from Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur to Buxar.

The Purvanchal Expressway connects Ghazipur district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh with state capital Lucknow.

Kumar said that the extension of the road for another 17 kilometres will help Bihar connect directly with New Delhi.

The Agra Lucknow Taj Expressway and the Greater Noida-Agra Yamuna expressway are already operational.

The extension of Purvanchal expressway will also boost trade and the agriculture sector, said the CM. "Transportation between Delhi and Bihar by road will become easier. We already have a good road between Buxar and Patna and the widening of four-lanes is underway," added Kumar.

Kumar also said that the announcement of nine highway projects will help enormously in the context of Bihar's development.

The proposal of four-lane road connectivity between Ara to Mohania will also help give another option for direct connectivity from Patna to Delhi.

Patna, the capital of Bihar, is one of the most congested cities in the country. Now, the Centre has proposed 39-km ring road comprising six lanes to ease pressure on roads inside the city.

Besides, the PM also laid down the foundation of a four-lane bridge parallel to the Mahatma Gandhi Setu between Patna and Hajipur, the Vikramshila Setu in Bhagalpur and the Kosi Mahasetu in Madhubani and Araria districts.

On the occasion, Union law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said 6 lakh villages across the country will be connected through optical fibre.

"The idea is to provide high-speed internet connectivity to villages for overall development of the country," Prasad said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Oil declined the most in almost two weeks as U.S. equities slid on mounting worries over prolonged coronavirus restrictions, while the prospect of Libya resuming exports added to supply concerns.

Crude futures in New York fell 4.4%. At the same time, the S&P 500 slumped to the lowest intraday level since July. Libya is moving closer to reopening its battered oil industry after it told companies to resume production at some fields that are free of foreign mercenaries and fighters. This will add to already rising supply from OPEC+ nations.

West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 3.6% to $39.64 a barrel.

There was a dramatic selloff in equity markets and other commodity markets, and petroleum markets took part in it, said Andrew Lebow, senior partner at Commodity Research Group.

U.S. benchmark prices jumped 10% last week after Saudi Arabia, the most influential member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, sought to defend the market. But a troubling demand picture continues to weigh on the market. China National Petroleum Corp. -- the countrys biggest oil company -- see demand for refined petroleum products peaking around 2025. BP Plc last week became the first supermajor to call the end of the era of oil-demand growth.

PREVIOUSLY: Oil has best week since June after Saudis defend recovery

As U.S. deaths related to Covid-19 approached 200,000, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he expects the nation to experience at least one more cycle of the virus in the fall and winter.

There are legitimate demand concerns, said Peter McNally, global head for industrials, materials and energy at Third Bridge. If we go into another lockdown, we are going to see inventories build.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Gulf Coast is preparing for another storm, with companies shutting production or evacuating staff at some platforms and the Houston Ship Channel closing due to Tropical Storm Beta. The storm has unleashed flooding on southeastern Texas and will hammer the Gulf Coast into eastern Louisiana with heavy rain, even as the storm loses power on its approach to shore.

Libyas National Oil Corp. is ending force majeure -- a legal status protecting a party that cant fulfill a contract for reasons beyond its control -- at secure facilities in the conflict-ridden nation and has told companies to resume production. The countrys overall oil production is set to reach 310,000 barrels a day in a few days from the current 90,000 a day, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
In a broad daylight robbery, four armed men barged into a polythene factory at Shimlapuri and opened fire at the owner before fleeing with Rs 4.43 lakh on Monday afternoon.

There were around 10 workers in the factory at the time of the incident.

The owner, identified as Rakesh Kumar, managed to escape unhurt. He said that the men fired three rounds but the bullets missed him. Police have recovered the bullet shells from the spot.

The factory owner told the police that he suspects the hand of Gaggu, a criminal lodged in Ludhiana central jail, who nurses a grudge against him. He also identified three of the miscreants as Aman Donkey, Gagandeep and Deep, all residents of Barota road.

Shimlapuri station house officer inspector Varunjit Singh said that an FIR has been lodged on the complaint of the victim. The police will be bringing Gaggu on production warrant from the jail.

The accused Gagandeep and Aman Donkey are already facing trial in various criminal cases, police said.

It is learnt that gangster Sonu Kancha, along with his accomplices, had hacked one of his rivals Ramandeep to death with a sharp-edged weapon and injured Gagandeep at Matharu Chowk, Shimlapuri, on June 2. Gagandeep had suffered severe injuries in the incident and had been hospitalised. After recovering from the injuries, he took to crime again.
At the time, OConnor was talking publicly about her regrets about the conservative turn the court began to take after her departure. OConnor decided to leave the court when she was 75 because her husband was sick with Alzheimers. But soon after she left the bench, his illness progressed to the point that he could no longer recognize her. She told her biographer, Evan Thomas, that retiring was the biggest mistake, the dumbest thing I ever did. I think OConnors departure served as something of a cautionary tale for Justice Ginsburg, remembers David Newman, one of Ginsburgs clerks in 2010-11 and now a lawyer at the firm Morrison & Foerster. She still had a lot she wanted to see accomplished.

It was important to Ginsburg to be on the court to welcome Sotomayor and, a year later, Justice Elena Kagan. She had a lot to give them as new justices, her friend Judith Resnik, a Yale law professor, told me over the weekend. She understood completely the centrality of critical mass.

In 2010, Ginsburgs husband, Martin Ginsburg, died after his own battle with cancer, and her focus on her work at the court became even more consuming. Her life revolved around love of her work, Newman remembers. If you had a camera trained on her 24/7 the year I was a clerk, you would have seen her during almost all her waking hours reading, writing, editing, giving speeches  immersed in the law and the craft of judging.

A few years later, when Ginsburg was in her early 80s and President Barack Obama was in his second term, calls for her to retire sounded mostly from male academics and writers. But Ginsburg by then had new celebrity status as the Notorious R.B.G.; in 2013, Shana Knizhnik, then a law student, started a Tumblr by that name to honor Ginsburgs memorable dissent in the voting-rights case Shelby County v. Holder. In that case, Ginsburg compared the majoritys decision to stop requiring states and counties with a history of racial discrimination to get the approval of the Department of Justice before changing local voting rules, for example by closing polling places, to throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.

She was a great framer of the issue in dispute, and she only became better at it over time, says Goodwin Liu, another former clerk and a justice on the California Supreme Court. The Shelby County dissent is the best version of that. Ginsburg was suddenly the courts chief popularizer, the role model for little girls that she never had for herself, a character on Saturday Night Live, the face on boxes of Judgmints and T-shirts (which she sometimes gave as gifts). She had more freedom to craft her message because of her public status, Liu says.

After interviewing people who knew Ginsburg, I wrote an article for Slate in late 2013 arguing that the public calls for her to retire then, however sensible (and now prescient), wouldnt work. She was the senior member of the courts liberal bloc, with the power to assign and more often write important dissents. She reached the pinnacle of her profession by refusing to let other people tell her what she could do. The impression I got from her was that it was presumptuous for someone else to decide how and when you should end your judicial career, says Margaret McKeown, a friend and a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. That is such a personal decision. And when you have a mind as sharp as hers, why wouldnt you continue?

To some liberals, the answer seemed straightforward. Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law school at the University of California at Berkeley, wrote an op-ed for The Los Angeles Times in March 2014 urging Ginsburg to step down. I feared the Republicans would retake the Senate in November 2014, and it seemed so unknown what would happen with the presidential election in 2016, he told me recently. If she wanted someone with her values to fill her seat, the best assurance was to leave when there was a Democratic president and Senate. Obama could have gotten anyone he wanted confirmed at that point. Ginsburgs decision to stay was a gamble.
In brief: Oppo has already released one of the most interesting Wear OS watches this year. The Chinese company wants to one up other brands with a new Oppo Watch that will sport electrocardiogram (ECG) functionality, which would make it the first Wear OS watch to do so.

Back in March, Oppo unveiled the Oppo Watch, which is the latest Apple Watch clone with a slim profile, an AMOLED display with a resolution of 402 by 476 and a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits, aluminum/stainless steel frame, and a ceramic backplate. It's been available internationally (except for the US) since August, and is one of the few worthwhile Wear OS smartwatches that's held back only by its starting price of $300.

Most of the other Wear OS smartwatches are produced by Fossil, despite Google's efforts to reinvent the ecosystem. They're also extremely generic in that they come with the same health and activity tracking features, as well as support for Google Pay, Google Fit, and Google Assistant.

The Oppo Watch comes with a "3D curved" screen akin to that found in the company's smartphones, and is powered by a dual-chip solution that combines the performance of Snapdragon Wear 3100 and the power efficiency of an Ambiq Apollo 3 co-processor. These two alone are great differentiators, as is the integration of SuperVOOC fast charging tech which can fully charge the battery in 75 minutes.

The company isn't content with just imitating the general look and feel of the Apple Watch, and is working to release a new variant of the Oppo Watch that will also include "professional-grade" ECG functionality. The feature has been teased for months, but it likely didn't get approved by health authorities in time for the official launch.

According to a teaser on Oppo's Weibo page, the new Oppo Watch will arrive on September 24. It's reportedly pending US FDA approval as a Class II medical device, which would make it the third US smartwatch to support ECG along Apple Watch and Fitbit Sense. In terms of pricing, we can expect it to cost slightly more than the stainless steel version, which has a price tag of $369.
Malka Leifer, a former educator accused of sexually abusing female students, has been fighting extradition since 2014.

An Israeli court has ruled that an ultra-conservative Jewish former school principal suspected of sexually abusing her female pupils in Australia can be extradited, paving the way for her to stand trial after a six-year legal battle.

The Jerusalem district court, which in May had determined Malka Leifer mentally fit to stand trial, said in its ruling on Monday the defendant can be extradited to Australia for the crimes attributed to her in the extradition request.

The court gave the former educator 30 days to lodge an appeal with Israels Supreme Court, and Leifers lawyers said a challenge against extradition would be mounted there.

If returned to Australia, Leifer will stand trial for 74 counts of sexually abusing children.

Leifer maintains her innocence and the battle surrounding her extradition has strained relations between Israel and Australia.

Those who think that this process is now a closed chapter  Im afraid will be disappointed, Nick Kaufman, one of Leifers lawyers, told reporters.

There is a long way to go until Mrs Leifer will be surrendered to Australia, if at all.

Earlier this year, an Israeli psychiatric panel determined Leifer had lied about suffering a mental condition that made her unfit to stand trial.

As a result of the findings, Israels Justice Ministry said it would move to expedite her extradition.

Victory for justice

Critics, including Leifers alleged victims, have accused the Israeli authorities of dragging out the case for far too long.

One of Leifers former pupils and alleged victims, Dassi Erlich, called the ruling a victory for justice for all survivors.

Today our hearts are smiling! she wrote on her Twitter account.

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Three of Leifers former students, who are also sisters, have accused her of abusing them while they were students at a Melbourne ultra-Orthodox school.

As accusations surfaced in 2008, Israeli-born Leifer left the school and returned to an illegal Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, where she has lived since.

Manny Waks, the head of Kol vOz, a Jewish group that combats sexual abuse of children and that has been representing the three sisters, said Mondays ruling marked a great day for justice.

It is a day which at times seemed like it would never arrive, but we are thrilled that it is finally here, Waks said. It has taken 71 court hearings to get to this point. It has been Israels shame.
Op-Ed by Gerard Kiely, Head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland

When European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her first State of the Union address to the European Parliament on Wednesday, it is no exaggeration to say that Ireland was at the heart of this important speech, which outlines the EUs vision and political priorities for the coming year.

Citing inspirational examples of political wisdom and humanity from the late John Hume and the heart-warming story of Suaad Alshleh, who arrived in Ireland as a refugee from Syria and received a prestigious scholarship to study medicine in

Dublin, the President clearly appreciates Irelands positive contribution to advancing the values of the European Union.

President von der Leyen placed many of Irelands priorities at the top of Europes political agenda. She stressed the importance of reinforcing Europe's social market economy to protect workers and businesses. President von der Leyen announced that the Commission will present a European anti-racism action plan and a strategy to strengthen LGBTQI rights. LGBTQI-free zones are humanity free zones. And they have no place in our Union she declared.

To help tackle the Covid pandemic in the coming year, the Commission will focus on building a European Health Union, with stronger agencies and enhanced capacity to respond to cross-border threats. The President called for a common plan for a digital Europe, with clearly defined goals for 2030, such as for connectivity, skills and digital public services.

On climate change, the European Commission proposes to increase the 2030 target for emissions reduction from 40% to 55%. This will put the EU on track for climate neutrality by 2050.

Meeting this new target will reduce our energy import dependency, create millions of extra jobs and more than halve air pollution, Von der Leyen said.

The President further announced that 30% of the 750 billion #NextGenerationEU budget  a plan to ensure Europes recovery is sustainable and fair  will be raised through green bonds. And 37% of funding will be invested in European Green Deal

objectives, including lighthouse' European projects  hydrogen, green building and one million electric charging points.

As part of the Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy proposes a transformation of the food system right across the supply chain. Given Irelands strong agricultural tradition, we need to work together to ensure that Irish farmers are financially

supported when developing more sustainable practices.

The European Commissions support for Ireland on Brexit remains unwavering: President von der Leyen stated once again that the EU would never backtrack on its support for the Good Friday agreement and peace on the island of Ireland.

Certainly, this brave political agenda for Europe and Ireland will meet many challenges, but as President von der Leyen put it: Europe will be what we want it to be. So let us stop talking it down. And let's get to work for it.
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Jaipur, Sep 21 : The Rajasthan government has suddenly decided on a new uniform for students in government schools even as these are shut due to Covid-19, just because the earlier one was similar to that of members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Speaking to IANS, Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara confirmed that the new uniform for government school students will be adopted by the start of the next academic session.

He did not give any reason for the change in uniform, maintaining that these will be known soon. "Basically, we are changing the uniform on the recommendation of a six-member committee," he added.

The decision is likely to affect around 75 lakh students enrolled in government schools as many people are still struggling to cope up with the financial crisis due to the pandemic. Purchasing new dresses for the next academic session would put an extra burden on the parents.

State BJP President Satish Poonia said that the Congress is "playing an agenda-based politics" to please one family in the country. "They have to present a report card to this family, which is running on a political legacy in India. The said initiative shall put additional financial burden on the parents, many of whom are struggling to find jobs," he said, adding that even those earlier donating uniforms to the poor kids have stopped doing so owing to financial constraints.

Former Education Minister Vasudev Devnani said that the BJP government had three years ago changed the uniform to instil confidence in government schools' students and help them be proud as their counterparts in private schools were.

"It's shameful that the Congress is politicising education too. The decision to change the school uniform holds no logic, that too amid the pandemic. We will take up the issue once schools reopen for the new academic session," he said.

BJP MLA Madan Dilawar said that this is an "atrocity" committed on the poor and hence the party was against this decision. As per the norm, the uniform cannot be changed within five years, he claimed.

Poonia said that the Congress is simply playing vendetta politics. The BJP government, in its last term had started free distribution of bicycles among schoolgirls. A lot of those bicycles were not used by the Congress government as these were painted in orange colour.

Even Bhamashah cards launched by the BJP government were scrapped by the Congress government, which resulted in a huge loss to the state exchequer, he added.

Since 1997, the school uniform in Rajasthan government schools was blue shirt and khaki shorts or trousers for boys and a blue kurta and white salwar or skirt for the girls. In 2017, it was changed to light-brown shirt and brown trouser or shorts for boys and light-brown kurta or shirt with brown salwar or skirt for girls.

A government official said that the Congress decision to change the uniform came as it was similar to the RSS uniform introduced in 2016. With this change in uniform, the total additional burden on all parents will be around Rs 450 crore, he added.

Meanwhile, an RSS worker said: "The school uniform's colour is quite different from that of the RSS dress but still the Congress is taking this step amid tough times. Our question is -- how will they remove saffron colour that is found in nature, literature, and diverse aspects of our lives."
By PTI

NEW DELHI: A 55-year-old retired navy personnel was shot dead allegedly by a man during a scuffle in west Delhi's Dwarka area, police said on Monday.

The incident took place in the Sector 23 area of Dwarka Sunday night, they said.

The victim has been identified Balraj Deshwal, a retired navy personnel, police said.

The accused, Pradeep Khokar, parked his car outside a building and went to its parking area in ground-floor where Deshwal was sitting with his friend, a senior police officer said.

"Khokar began an altercation with Deshwal, which led to a scuffle and later he fired at the victim," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Santosh Kumar Meena said.

A bullet hit Deshwal's mouth and he was declared brought dead at a hospital, police said.

Police said that the accused owed around Rs 5 lakh to Deshwal who was involved in real estate business.

Khokar is absconding and police are on the job to nab him, the DCP said.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump said Monday he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday, after funeral services for Ruth Bader Ginsburg and just days before the first presidential election debate.

Ginsburgs casket will be on public view Wednesday and Thursday at the iconic steps outside the court building to allow for public mourning during the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, Ginsburg will lie in state in the Capitols Statuary Hall in a ceremony open only to invited guests, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

The court said Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service.

Trump told Fox & Friends that he had a list of five finalists, probably four, and that he is pushing for a confirmation vote before Election Day. Democrats vigorously oppose that, pointing to the hypocrisy of Republicans for rushing through a pick so close to the election after refusing to do so months earlier for President Barack Obama in 2016.

Graphic shows process for confirming Supreme Court justices.;AP

Dismissing that argument, Trump said of a rapid nomination and confirmation, I think that would be good for the Republican Party, and I think it would be good for everybody to get it over with.

The impending clash over the vacant seat  when to fill it and with whom  has scrambled the stretch run of the presidential race for a nation already reeling from the pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people, left millions unemployed and heightened partisan tensions and anger. Democratic nominee Joe Biden has urged a delay in a nomination, declaring that the next president should fill the seat.

Ginsburg, 87, died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Trump disparaged reports that Ginsburg had told her granddaughter it was her wish that a replacement justice not be confirmed until the inauguration of a new president. Trump floated a far-flung theory that he thought his Democratic political foes were behind the report, including Rep. Adam Schiff, who led the House impeachment probe, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. Schiffs office said Monday it had no immediate comment.

The president and his fellow Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who will control the timing of the confirmation hearings and vote, have pushed back against the 2016 comparison, noting that Trump could win again and saying that, unlike four years ago, the same party controlled both the White House and the Senate.

We have the presidency and the Senate and we have plenty of time, Trump said.

Trump allowed that he would accept a vote in the lame duck period after Election Day but made clear his preference would be that it occur by Nov. 3.

People gather at the Supreme Court to honor the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)AP

The president criticized Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for opposing a vote before elections, warning they would be very badly hurt by voters.

McConnell and his Senate GOP leadership team were to meet Monday behind closed doors as they assess next steps.

Announcing a nominee on Friday or Saturday would leave less than 40 days for the Senate to hold a confirmation vote before the election. No nominee has won confirmation that quickly since Sandra Day OConnor became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court in 1981. OConnor was confirmed 99-0 just over a month after she was nominated by President Ronald Reagan.

The president confirmed Monday that among the top contenders are Indianas Amy Coney Barrett and Floridas Barbara Lagoa, both appellate court judges he appointed. Barrett has long been a favorite among conservative while Lagoa has been pushed by some aides who tout her political advantages of being Hispanic and hailing from the key battleground state of Florida.

Trump also indicated that Allison Jones Rushing, a 38-year-old appellate judge from North Carolina, is on his short list. He has promised to nominate a woman for the high court, adding that his preference is for someone younger who could hold her seat for decades.

As the Senate returned to Washington on Monday, attention focused on Republicans Mitt Romney of Utah and Chuck Grassley of Iowa for clues to whether Trump and McConnell will be able to confirm Ginsburgs replacement anytime soon.

A day earlier, Biden had urged Republicans to join Murkowski and Collins in opposing a confirmation vote before the Nov. 3 election. It takes four GOP senators breaking ranks to keep Trumps nominee off the court.

Uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience, said Biden, speaking in Philadelphia on Sunday. Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have engulfed our country.

Jamming the nomination through, Biden said, would amount to an abuse of power.

The sudden vacancy is reshaping the presidential race, which to this point has been largely a referendum how Trump had managed the COVID-19 pandemic.

It seems certain to electrify both sides: Democrats were breaking fundraising records while a packed Trump crowd in North Carolina Saturday loudly chanted Fill that seat. But it remains unclear if the high bench vacancy  which could impact everything from abortion rights to legal challenges to the 2020 election  would persuade disenchanted Republicans to return to Trump or fire up women or suburban voters to break for Biden.

Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate. If there were a 50-50 tie, it could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence.

There is another potential wrinkle: Because Arizonas Senate race is a special election, that seat could be filled as early as Nov. 30. If Democrat Mark Kelly wins and is seated, that would narrow the window for McConnell.

Most Republicans concurred on the need for speed and one named a practical reason: The nine-member court, argued Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, must be full if called upon to decide the outcome of a disputed presidential election.

But Biden and other Democrats said voters should choose the next president, who should, in turn, pick Ginsburgs successor. Health care, abortion rights and religious freedom are on the line, they said.

Biden, who has run on uniting the country after Trumps divisive tenure, warned against more upheaval.

The last thing we need is a constitutional crisis that plunges us deeper into the abyss and deeper into the darkness, he said.

He acknowledged that if Trump wins, his pick should be approved. But Biden added, If I win this election, President Trumps nominee should be withdrawn and as the new president I should be the one to nominate Justice Ginsburgs successor.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Next time when you see an advertisement online with the photo of a beautiful woman offering escort services, think before you click.

For the folly of clicking on the ad, you may end up losing a lot of money. Ever since the country started unlocking from the COVID-induced lockdown, several such escort sites have cropped up across the internet. They offer services of men and women escorts to customers from Bengaluru, Mysuru and other parts of the state.

Once a customer clicks the ad, he is asked to register himself at the escort club by calling a number and transferring some money. The website then sends the customer several photos of women and assures him that the woman he chooses will be sent to a safe location in his city.

In most cases, that will be the last communication the customer will likely have with the escort club and he will have to forget his money. That is if he is lucky. There are several websites that go a step further and start blackmailing and extorting money from their customers, threatening to go public with the communication.

Chasing this story, a correspondent from The New Indian Express contacted a number, 99*****301, posing as a client and a woman responded, listing the requirements and assuring him of providing the escort service at a service apartment, but only after a minimum amount is transferred to their account for membership.

After the money was transferred, the correspondent was asked to go to a location. When he reached there, he got a call saying he needed to remit another Rs 30,000 as a security deposit to avail of the service the first time. When he asked why this was not revealed earlier, a woman at the other end said that she would try to make an arrangement without a deposit.

express illustration

When the correspondent insisted that the initial deposit should be returned, the website handlers started threatening him, saying they would share his voice records with his friends on social media platforms.

Sources said that though the first seven months of this year, from January till July, have seen a dip in offline crime cases, cybercrimes have shot up and 6,082 cases have been reported across the state.

A senior IPS officer, attached to the cybercrime cell, said that though most cybercrime cases are related to phishing, a significant number is also related to men being cheated by such escort websites. But majority of these cases go unreported because of social stigma, he added.

Most of these fraudsters operate from remote villages in North Indian states, like Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. Our teams have visited these states to investigate, but we have not been successful, he said.

Karnataka ADGP, Parashiva Murthy said that the police are creating awareness on online frauds and are also training the staff at the cyber cell to investigate the cases effectively. He said that they are keeping a track of such websites, but refused to reveal details.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday condemned the suspension of eight MPs who fought to protect the interests of farmers in Parliament, dubbing the move as "unfortunate".

Banerjee also came down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre protesting its "undemocratic norms and principles" of functioning.

"Suspension of the eight MPs who fought to protect farmers' interests is unfortunate and reflective of this autocratic Government's mindset that doesn't respect democratic norms and principles," Banerjee tweeted.

Eight opposition members, including Trinamool Congress' Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien, were suspended from the Rajya Sabha this morning for the rest of the session over unprecedented chaos in the Upper House during the passing of controversial farm bills on Sunday.

Besides O'Brien, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s Sanjay Singh, Congress's Rajeev Satav and CPI-M's KK Ragesh, were told they had displayed "unruly behaviour especially with the Chair and gross disorderly conduct".

"We won't bow down and we will fight this fascist Government in Parliament and on the streets," the Trinamool supremo added in her tweet, accusing the BJP of killing democracy in the country.
Washington, Sep 21 : Lisa Murkowski became the second US Republican Senator to oppose voting on a nominee to replace late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the November 3 presidential election.

"For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election," the Alaska Senator said in a statement on Sunday.

"Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed," Xinhua news agency quoted Murkowski as saying.

The Senator said she did not support a Senate vote on then-President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, to replace late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a Republican appointee, months before the 2016 election.

"We are now even closer to the 2020 election - less than two months out - and I believe the same standard must apply." Prior to Murkowski, Susan Collins, Republican senator of Maine, said on Saturday that given the proximity of the presidential election and due to concerns over "fairness for the American people", she believed the Senate should not vote on a nominee before the election.

"The decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd," Collins added.

Senate Republicans, who hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber, can only afford a total of three defections within their party for a Trump nominee to be approved.

Following the passing of Ginsburg on September 18 due to pancreatic cancer, Democrats maintained that a nominee be tapped by the next president, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said a justice nominated by President Donald Trump will get a vote in the Senate.

The day after her death, Trump urged Republicans in a tweet to confirm his nomination "without delay", later telling reporters that he will "most likely" announce a female nominee "next week".

Also on Sunday, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden slammed Trump's remarks, saying the move to pick a new Justice before the election was an "abuse of power".

During a speech at the Constitutional Center in Philadelphia on Sunday, Biden said the President had "made clear this is about power, pure and simple", the BBC reported.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has threatened to unleash the Zimbabwe AntiCorruption Commission (Zacc) to sniff out corrupt elements in all councils led by Nelson Chamisa's MDC Alliance.

But critics said the clampdown was targeted at Chamisa, who has refused to recognise Mnangagwa's presidency since the July 2018 disputed poll.

Mnangagwa on Friday told the central committee of his ruling Zanu-PF party that he would soon order "a clean-up" of all corrupt elements in the MDC Alliance dominated local authorities.

This comes as most MDC Alliance-controlled councils have been paralysed following the recall of party councillors by the rival MDC-T faction led by Thokozani Khupe.

Heads have already started rolling at Harare City Council, where Zacc has arrested former mayor Herbert Gomba, several other councillors and managers over illegal land deals.

On Wednesday, the anti-graft body descended on Bulawayo to conduct a similar probe.

"If you look at the City of Harare, the rot is so deep, corruption is so deep and as I have said, the second republic is resolute in fighting corruption," Mnangagwa said.

"Currently, the rot coming out of Harare is going to be cleaned up. All institutions in the country must remain upright and those who fail to do so, the hand of Zacc will catch up with you."

He added: "These cities have their own councils running them. They are under the MDC Alliance and they are supposed to be providing service delivery. People are suffering and the people who are suffering are Zimbabweans, the people who are suffering are ZanuPF."

Mnangagwa said the ruling party was treating the forthcoming by-elections as a rehearsal ahead of the 2023 elections, which he said would be won by his party against the disjointed opposition.

"We have many by-elections that were just created while we were not expecting them. We were just quiet as Zanu-PF minding our own business and they (the MDCs) did what they did, leading to the by-elections. We must now work and participate in the by-elections and grab all the seats," he said.

The Khupe-led party has recalled 21 MPs and more than 84 councillors aligned to Chamisa and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has already called for by-elections. Newsday
University of Michigan economists say there two main factors will influence the rate at which Oakland Countys economy recovers from the historic COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, U-M economists Dr. Gabriel Ehrlich and Donald Grimes released their annual three-year Oakland County Economic Outlook (2020-2022), something delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report is usually released in the spring. They were both joined by Oakland County Executive David Coulter for the virtual reveal of the report.

Ehrlich said the two most important, and unknown, factors that will influence the rate at which the county recovers will be the overall course of the pandemic and whether the county will receive more coronavirus relief dollars from the federal government. In April, the county received $219 million in CARES Act dollars.

To be really clear, we are looking at a really difficult situation if we dont have more federal support for state and local governments, he said. We are looking to Congress to extend additional relief. In our forecast, we have assumed some additional federal stimulus forthcoming, but were getting into the second half of September and we dont have a deal.

According to the report, Oakland County is forecast to see a 9.1 percent decrease in the number of total jobs in 2020 compared to 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (678,026 vs. 746,103), but has seen an impressive rebound by historical standards.

The countys job losses in the second quarter of 2020 totaled nearly the same number of jobs the county lost in the entirety of the 2000s (2000-2009).

Even with these negative job losses, economists are expecting the countys jobs market to recover faster than Michigan overall, recovering an additional 39,100 jobs in 2021 and 14,300 jobs in 2022. Average annual employment in Oakland County in 2022 is still forecast to remain 14,700 jobs, or 2.0 percent, short of 2019 levels.

Ehrlich said there continues to be substantial uncertainty surrounding the nations economic prospects, and the outlook for Oakland County is no different.

We have had to make several strong assumptions about the future course of the pandemic and the federal economic policy response to produce the forecast in this report, read the report. If those assumptions turn out to be incorrect, Oakland Countys economy is likely to evolve differently than we have forecast.

Lower wage sectors hit hardest

According to the forecast, county jobs in lower wage sectors have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic with recovery expected to take longer. Job losses in the lower-wage industries are concentrated in retail trade (-4,600) and leisure and hospitality services (-9,200).

Lower-wage industries, which include retail trade, nursing and residential care, social assistance, leisure and hospitality, make up 27 percent of the countys wage and salary employment in 2019.

Although the lower-wage service industries experience high growth in the recovery period, those industries also saw the greatest decline this year from the pandemic, especially in the retail trade and leisure and hospitality sectors, said Grimes. We forecast that by 2022, the lower-wage services industries will have 11,400 fewer jobs than in 2019.

Blue-collar industries are forecast to bounce back best to include manufacturing, construction, natural resources and mining, and transportation and warehousing, which made up 15 percent of the countys wage and salary employment in 2019. Construction and transportation and warehousing industries will lead the job growth between 2019 and 2022, with job gains of 2,500 and 1,200, respectively.

The high- and middle-wage industries, which include government, wholesale trade, utilities, information, financial activities, business and professional services, education, ambulatory health services, hospitals, and the unallocated services industries, accounted for 58 percent of the countys wage and salary employment in 2019.

Between 2019 and 2022, job losses in the high- and middle-wage service industries are concentrated in administrative support services (-5,800 jobs total) and government (-2,600 jobs total). Economists are expecting modest job growth in most high- and middle-wage service industries.

We forecast that by 2022, employment in the high- and middle-wage service industries will be 5,100 lower, and jobs in blue-collar industries will actually be 1,900 higher than in 2019, said Grimes.

As employers look to bounce back from the pandemic, economists say, in the years ahead, serious and major problems will include too many unemployed workers, continued weakness in labor force growth, and employer ability to find available and qualified workers.

Between 2021 and 2022, Grimes and Ehrlich are expecting that the countys unemployment rate will average 7.2 percent and 6 percent.

COVID-19 provides uncertain future

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the uncertainty surrounding its future, has proved to be a unique challenge to economists ability to create economic forecasts.

Ehrlich said economists like himself have had to play the role of being an immature epidemiologist in creating this years economic outlook report with COVID-19 being the biggest obstacle to the county, state, and countrys overall economic recovery. He added it remains to be seen how the virus could impact the countys economy as more economic activity begins to move indoors with the colder months approaching.

I think there are real questions about what is going to happen, he said. We would be the first to admit that we dont know. We really wanted to be upfront about what are the assumptions that we used to put this forecast together. Were hoping that as testing capacity increases and as people take more precautions, that will prevent a more generalized outbreak of what we saw in the spring.

According to the report, improvements in COVID-19 testing, tracing, and treatment will allow Oaklands economy to operate with roughly the same level of precautions it currently has in place until a vaccine becomes widely available, which economists hope will occur by mid-2021.

Even though Ehrlich and Grimes arent assuming another large-scale outbreak and uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 next spring, that doest mean there wont be continued impacts on economic activity. U.S. Real GDP is forecast to hit pre-pandemic levels sometime in mid-2022, says Ehrlich.
Rumours about the OnePlus 8T have been gaining strength in the past couple of weeks, with the latest leak suggesting that the device could launch as early as October 14. Now, OnePlus has confirmed that the phone will be called the OnePlus 8T 5G.



We're just getting started | OnePlus 8T | Coming Soon

Get notified - https://t.co/CCkKEWf7J2 pic.twitter.com/mosaCsWr43

 OnePlus India (@OnePlus_IN) September 19, 2020

The company posted a tweet confirming that the OnePlus 8T 5G will be arriving soon. A listing for the phone has also popped up on Amazon India , suggesting that the OnePlus 8T will launch sometime next month.

It is worth noting that there is no mention of a OnePlus 8T Pro, suggesting that the company will only launch a standard 8T. Additionally, OnePlus has also not utilized the series moniker for the OnePlus 8T. This suggests that we will only see a OnePlus 8T 5G, without a Pro variant, in line with the leaks.

OnePlus 8T Expected Specifications

The OnePlus 8T will likely be powered by the Snapdragon 865+ SoC. To recall, the OnePlus 7T series also upgraded to the 'Plus' variant of the flagship Snapdragon series chipset at the time. Apart from the chipset, there are two more possible updates coming to the OnePlus 8T 5G.

Firstly, the panel on the OnePlus 8T is expected to be upgraded and will likely feature a 120Hz refresh rate. The resolution will remain the same as the standard OnePlus 8. Additionally, the OnePlus 8T 5G is also expected to get super-fast 65W fast charging support, similar to that of the Realme X50 Pro and Oppo Find X2 Pro. OnePlus will likely reveal more details about the OnePlus 8T 5G in the coming weeks.
At least nine Afghan soldiers were killed in an attack late on September 20 despite ongoing negotiations between the Taliban and the Kabul government.

Taliban militants killed the nine soldiers during the night in the northern province of Takhar, security officials said.

The attack took place in the Naw Abad village of the Dasht-e-Qala district, a source told Tolo news agency.

The clashes ended after an hour and the Taliban has also suffered casualties in the clashes but there is no exact information yet, the source said.

The attack came as both sides are holding peace talks in the Gulf state of Qatar.

The talks, part of a February agreement between the Taliban and Washington, began on September 12 following a lengthy dispute over prisoner swaps.

Negotiators are due to discuss the cease-fire, the rights of women and minorities, and the disarming of tens of thousands of Taliban fighters and militias loyal to warlords, some of them aligned with the government.

Despite the talks, attacks have continued on a regular basis, claiming numerous victims, including civilians, as the militants have refused to declare a cease-fire.

The U.S. envoy for Afghan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, who orchestrated the talks, called the escalation regrettable.

Over the last few days, there has been a clear rise in violence in Afghanistan, Khalilzad tweeted.

The Chairman of Afghanistans High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, called on the Taliban to accept a cease-fire.

Our homeland has been burning in war and conflict for more than 40 years and many lives have been lost in this endless war, Abdullah said in a statement.

Based on reporting by dpa and tolonews.com
Later this week, EU leaders will meet to discuss their recovery plan. They will spend a few minutes on Brexit. EU heads of government look with disbelief at Boris Johnsons announcement that he will break international law to appease the Brexit obsessives in his party.

But there is nothing Europe can do to cure Britains Brexit virus.

Russia is back on the agenda with the confirmation of the attempted murder via poison of Putins chief opponent, Alexei Navalny. And across the frontier, the democratic uprising in Belarus will get an airing.

But today, by far the biggest threat to Europe  in terms of a foreign power that is threatening EU territory and almost everything Europe says it seeks to project as its values  comes from Turkey.

Speaking in Athens last week, the former French president, Francois Hollande, laid out his concerns about Turkey.

For Hollande, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, now known in diplomatic circles as The Sultan, was a threat to Europe. He has led Turkey to economic ruin and now has to beat the nationalist drum, urging the restoration of Ottoman empire glory, in order to divert peoples attention from rising economic problems.

Hollandes charge sheet includes multiple accusations: Erdogan is seeking to militarise the eastern Mediterranean; he has breached Nato obligations by buying Russian missiles; he has imprisoned hundreds of journalists and political opponents; he is obsessed with Islamism, promoting Islam in Europe and has converted two of the finest Byzantine Christian cathedrals in Istanbul into mosques; he flagrantly interferes in the politics of European countries including France and Germany, holding giant political rallies and insisting that Turkish EU citizens owe loyalty only to Turkey; his adventurism in Syria and his war on the Kurds are dangerous; his alliance with Libya was an act of aggression.

Hollandes line was music to the ears of Greek ministers attending the conference. Nikos Dendias, the Greek foreign minister, insisted that Greece wanted to work with Erdogan, but only once the threat to the territorial integrity of the island nations of Greece was lifted.

Greece and Cyprus have been trying to get more support from the EU. Britain, with its pro-Turkish prime minister, is no longer a player, to the disappointment of British Hellenophiles.

The main problem for Greece is the refusal of Germany to take a clear line. Speaking after Hollande, the former Social Democratic Party leader, Sigmar Gabriel, who was German foreign minister from 2017 to 2018, took a completely different line. Gabriel insisted that if Turkey was sanctioned for buying Russian S-400 air defence missiles in clear violation of Nato obligations or was made to leave Nato, Turkey would quickly become a nuclear power.

He added that if the EU showed solidarity with Greece and took any measures against Erdogan, Europe would have to build new walls on all its frontiers including internal ones in countries like Hungary, as Erdogan would send a million or more refugees into the EU.

For Gabriel, the main problem was that the United States was not ready to sanction Turkey, and given US sway over Nato, there would be no clear line on Turkish militarisation of the east Mediterranean.

For Gabriel, the answer was strategic patience which also should be the policy towards Putin even after the attempt to murder Navalny.

As Gabriel sarcastically put it: If the EUs foreign policy is now vegetarian, German foreign policy is vegan.

German and EU hand-wringing on Turkey was confirmed in an interview with the main Greek paper Kathimerini when the director of the German Council on Foreign Relations, Daniela Schwarzer, also special adviser to the EU foreign policy supreme, Josep Borrell, said proposals to put pressure or sanctions on Erdogan were complex in a number of ways: whether they should be imposed, to what extent, under what terms  and under what terms they should be lifted. She added: We have not yet reached the point of broad and deep sanctions.

Recommended Angela Merkel ponders sanctions on Russian gas pipeline project following Navalny poisoning

That is precisely the foreign policy veganism from Berlin and Brussels that Sigmar Gabriel mocked. In many EU capitals, the Greece-Turkey dispute is complicated, arcane and lost in every sense in many mists of history.

Recently, Maltas foreign minister suggested that it was just a matter of talking it all through.

If a power the size of Turkey were threatening to take over Maltas little island of Gozo, he would be the first to demand solidarity and support from the EU.

On Tuesday, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the EU Council president, Charles Michel, and Erdogan have a scheduled Zoom discussion ahead of the councils meeting later this week. Greece is the main talking point. Will the EU foreign policy vegetarians and vegans let the carnivorous Erdogan help himself to a slice of the Aegean?

Denis MacShane is the UKs former minister for Europe
From the passenger seat of a Mercedes-Benz idling in the heart of Americas Cuban exile community, George Marrero explained Saturday why he would not vote again for President Donald Trump.

This country has been abused for the last four years, the retired Coral Gables police officer said while waiting for the start of a Cubanos con Biden caravan in the majority-Cuban city of Hialeah. [Democratic presidential nominee] Joe Biden is going to bring back  like hes said  the soul of America. Its been lost.

Amid evidence that Trump has significantly expanded his support among Miami-Dades traditionally conservative Cuban exile community, a counter-movement is afoot to show that there are thousands of Cuban-Americans in Florida who believe the president does not have their best interests at heart.

Prominent exiles like former Republican Party of Florida chairman Al Cardenas have criticized Trumps authoritarian streak. Last week, Luis Santeiro, the Cuban-American head writer of the ground-breaking 1970s Spanglish TV sitcom Que Pasa, USA? warned in a Miami Herald opinion piece that when we label someone we disagree with a communist, a fidelista or a reactionary, we only echo the intransigence of the regime we fled.

And while Republican Cubans continue to maintain the strongest presence in Miamis influential Spanish-language media and its political hierarchy, Democratic activists are organizing events like Saturdays pro-Biden caravan from Hialeah to Little Havana to give a voice to those whose views differ from the majority.

Traditionally, the Cuban community has gone Republican. And hats off to the Trump campaign, theyve done a great job stoking the fears of socialism and communism in our community, Mike Rivero, one of the organizers of Saturdays caravan, said in an interview. Enough is enough. Were not gonna be manipulated.

Matthew Hill, 10, participates in a Cubans Con Biden caravan at Bright Park in Hialeah, Florida, on Saturday, September 19, 2020.

Saturdays gathering, which the 30-year-old Rivero said drew about 200 vehicles, was among several pro-Biden events in Miami this weekend. Other caravans  the mass political gathering of choice amid the coronavirus pandemic  showcased Bidens support from Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Puerto Ricans, all crucial segments of the non-Cuban Hispanic voter coalition Biden needs to build to beat Trump in Florida.

Story continues

Trump registered his trademark in Cuba in 2008 to build hotels, casinos and golf courses

Trumps support among Cuban-Americans is bigger and more vocal. Massive pro-Trump political parades began months ago and continued Sunday with another caravan, also in Hialeah. Trump has also repeatedly made overtures to Miamis exile communities, visiting often to talk about squashing socialism and to bash the Obama-Biden administrations Cuba policies. Currently, the president is considering Cuban American judge Barbara Lagoa as his nominee to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

But while few expect Biden to win the Cuban vote in Florida, strategists believe he must compete with Trump to win over more Cuban-Americans like Marrero, who told the Miami Herald he registered as a Democrat for the first time this year after previously registering Republican or without party affiliation.

Theres a mentality that all Cubans or Latins are Republican. But theres a lot who are not, said the retired cop, riding in a sedan festooned with Biden placards and a sign in memory of Ginsburg. I voted for Trump in 16 because I didnt like Hillary Clinton and the policies that were there. Shortly after this guy got into office, his true self came out.

Around Marrero, as the caravan prepared to roll, drivers laid on their horns. Someone banged an egg beater against a plastic jar, mimicking the unmistakable sound of spoons banging against pots and pans, a familiar form of celebration in Hispanic communities. Daniela Ferrera, a 22-year-old activist and political organizer, nodded approvingly at the size of a pro-Biden event in the heart of what is supposedly a ruby red Republican town.

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Hialeah is a Republican bastion where more than half of the 240,000 residents are Cuban. It is a place where Democrats have repeatedly fallen well short of challenging conservative politicians and home to Miami-Dade Commissioner Steve Bovo, a pro-Trump county mayoral candidate whose father served in the unsuccessful CIA-backed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion that attempted to topple Fidel Castros new Cuban government.

But Democrats sense an opening. The city has been among the worst hit in Florida by the coronavirus pandemic. Overhead shots of long lines formed in the city by out-of-work residents seeking unemployment benefits have made it into Biden campaign commercials. And the top five ZIP codes in the country for enrollment in the Obamacare marketplace are all located in western and northwestern Miami-Dade, including Hialeah.

Across from Bright Park, Yudisleidy Dominguez, Ofelia Iglesias and Geidy Montes de Oca ran outside a magenta house when they heard someone blaring music from a speaker mounted to the tailgate of a red SUV and shouted and waved their arms as if in support of the pro-Biden parade. But when all the cars had moved on, they told the Miami Herald theyre wary of Biden and the Democrats, even if theyre not completely sold on Trump.

Were not in favor of everything Trumps done, said Montes de Oca, 33, who came to the U.S. from Cuba four years ago. But many, many things are good.

Yoandry Mora, 22, hangs flags from his car before the start of a Cubans Con Biden caravan at Bright Park in Hialeah, Florida, on Saturday, September 19, 2020.

Bidens ability to win Florida could hinge on his ability to win over more Cuban-American voters across the spectrum, including newer arrivals and Cuban Americans born in the U.S. Campaign strategists say older exiles who came to the U.S. decades ago are less likely to vote Democrat.

But even they were represented Saturday at Bright Park.

Sofia Venero, 78, said shes supporting Biden because of Trumps racist policies. She said she doesnt buy into Trumps socialism rhetoric about Biden even though three years before she came to the U.S. in 1965 government soldiers shot her boyfriend publicl in Matanzas. Asked if shes registered to a political party, she quickly stated: Democrata, hasta la muerte  Democrat until death.

A few cars over, Rosa Arias, a 63-year-old Cuba-born Biden supporter, said she hopes Biden will stabilize the economy and fix Americas healthcare system. She said shes been without employer-provided healthcare since leaving her position with a bank three years ago, and has been unable to afford Obamacare deductibles. But foremost on her mind, she said, is getting Trump out of office.

I used to be middle class. Now Im down at the bottom, she said. I was born in Cuba under Castro, so I know what a dictator looks like. Donald Trump is on his way, and we have to stop him. 
More than 80,000 employers have returned around 215million to the Government in furlough payments they either no longer needed or received in error.

According to figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), so far 80,433 employers have returned money that they were given to cover the salaries of their workers.

The companies and other bodies have returned 215,756,121 as of September 15, according to data obtained by the PA news agency through a freedom of information request.

Some of the money was returned, while other companies simply claimed smaller payouts the next time they were given furlough cash.

The Government's furlough scheme, announced by Rishi Sunak in March, has issued 35.4bn, but thousands of firms have returned around 215million they either did not need, or received in error

It is a tiny part of the overall 35.4 billion that has been claimed as part of the coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS), according to the latest statistics from August 16. New data is due to be published next Tuesday.

It is also only a fraction of the up to 3.5 billion that officials believe may have been paid out in error or to fraudsters under the scheme.

HMRC said: 'HMRC welcomes those employers who have voluntarily returned CJRS grants to HMRC because they no longer need the grant, or have realised they've made errors and followed our guidance on putting things right.'

The programme was set up in April this year in a bid to help support businesses which could not operate, or had to reduce staff levels, during lockdown.

Employees who stayed at home were paid 80% of their salary, with the Government sending the money to businesses.

However, some firms that initially submitted a furlough claim later decided they did not need the money.

Housebuilders Redrow, Barratt and Taylor Wimpey have both said they returned all the furlough money they had claimed.

They were joined by Bunzl, Ikea and many others.

Primark has said it will refuse the 30million it could have claimed for bringing back staff under the Jobs Retention Bonus

Meanwhile retailer Primark has said it will refuse the 30 million it could have claimed for bringing back staff under the Jobs Retention Bonus - a 1,000 per employee payment that companies get for bringing staff off furlough and keeping them employed until the end of January.

HMRC said it did not know how many employees' salaries have been returned as the money was 'not broken down to reflect individual salaries'.

A spokesperson added: 'To tackle the impact the pandemic had on people's jobs, businesses and livelihoods, the government introduced one of the most generous and comprehensive packages of support in the world, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

'So far, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has helped 1.2 million employers across the UK furlough 9.6 million jobs, protecting people's livelihoods.'
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on September 21, 2020

2020/09/21

CCTV: According to reports, during US Under Secretary of State Krach's visit to Taiwan from September 17 to 19, he met with the region's leadership including Tsai Ing-wen, and attended a memorial service of Lee Teng-hui. This is another visit to Taiwan by a senior US official following HHS Secretary Azar in August. What's China's comment on this?

Wang Wenbin: China firmly opposes any kind of official ties between the US and the Taiwan region. By insistently sending HHS Secretary Azar and Under Secretary Krach to visit the region, the US has seriously violated the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques. It is a political provocation that emboldens "Taiwan independence" separatists and undermines China-US relations as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns it. We will take countermeasures, including against relevant individuals. The US acts will have further negative consequences on China-US coordination and cooperation on major regional and international issues, for which it bears full responsibility.

China is determined to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity, oppose external interference, and realize the reunification across the Taiwan Strait. We solemnly inform the US side that "Taiwan independence" only leads to a dead end, and efforts to condone and support "Taiwan independence" are doomed to fail. Any attempt to hurt China's core interests and interfere in China's internal affairs will be met with strong reactions. The historical trend of China's reunification won't be stopped by any force. China urges the US to correct its mistakes, fulfill its commitments in the three joint communiques, stop its official exchange and military ties with Taiwan, and stop its interference in China's internal affairs as well as words and deeds that undermine China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Global Times: We noted that the foreign ministry website just released China's position paper for the UN Summit on Biodiversity entitled "Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth: China in Action". Could you offer more information about it?

Wang Wenbin: As the UN Summit on Biodiversity is to be held on September 30, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly released on September 21 China's position paper "Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth: China in Action", elaborating on China's experience, progress, position and propositions on biodiversity conservation from the perspectives of philosophy of ecological civilization, domestic policy measures, promoting sustainable development, engagement of the entire society, global biodiversity governance, international exchanges and cooperation.

As stated in the position paper, China will remain committed to pursuing ecological protection and green development. China stands for multilateralism and is committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind. China will actively participate in global biodiversity governance and contribute to global ecological civilization and to a shared future for all life on Earth. As the host of the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), China will make good preparations for it and stands ready to work together with other countries for an ambitious, balanced and realistic framework and a clean, beautiful world thriving with life.

Reuters: The People's Liberation Army air force released a video showing its bombers carrying out a simulated attack on what appears to be Andersen Air Force Base on the U.S. Pacific island of Guam. Why did China use Guam in this video? Is the video intended as a threat to the US?

Wang Wenbin: I'm not aware of what you said. Please consult the relevant authority.

CRI: The US unilaterally announced on September 19 that all UN Security Council sanctions against Iran had been restored, as the US invoked the "snapback" on August 20. What is your comment?

Wang Wenbin: We have been reiterating China's position on how the Iranian nuclear issue may be approached at the Security Council. The US is no longer a party to the JCPOA. Its letter to the Security Council on August 20 has no legal validity, nor does the US have any right to demand that the Security Council invoke a snapback. The Security Council President concluded that he would take no further action on the US request and the Security Council has not taken any action on triggering the snapback. Therefore, the Security Council, pursuant to Resolution 2231, will continue with its ways with regards to the sanctions on Iran. Over the past weekend, parties to the JCPOA, including China, Russia, France, the UK and Germany, sent letters respectively to the Security Council President to make clear their opposition to the US unilateral announcement on restoring sanctions. The European Union also put out a statement. All these reflect the shared position and consensus of the international community.

The US side is cherry-picking on international law-obeying or flouting it according to its own whim. It is not only breaking the law, but also threatening to use illegal unilateral sanctions to coerce other countries. This outrageous and unreasonable approach has been widely frowned upon and opposed by the international community. We hereby advise the US side not to go further down the road of unilateralism.

China has noted the concerns of relevant countries over the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has put forward the proposal that, under the premise of safeguarding JCPOA, efforts be made to seek out an additional platform for dialogue among regional countries to promote the formation of new consensus on safeguarding regional peace and stability. We are ready to work with relevant parties to continue to push for the political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.

Bloomberg: Regarding the US government's recent move against Chinese tech companies, some observers say that Bytedance got its way retaining control of TikTok and its own algorithms, while avoiding a ban. Meanwhile, Tencent's WeChat users also managed to win a court injunction suspending the executive order. What's the foreign ministry's view of these developments? What does it tell us about China-US business ties?

Wang Wenbin: We don't comment on the specific business behaviors of companies. As a principle, I'd like to reiterate that China urges the US to respect the principles of market economy and fair competition, observe international trade rules, stop politicizing normal trade and economic cooperation, and foster an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for foreign companies operating and investing in the US.

China Daily: Many senior US officials have criticized the Chinese government on several occasions with regards to the issue of forced labor in Xinjiang. The US administration also rolled out sanction measures on Xinjiang companies. What is your comment?

Wang Wenbin: Some people in the US deliberately choose to ignore the enormous efforts Xinjiang has taken to protect human rights but wantonly hype up the so-called "forced labor" issue in Xinjiang and slander Xinjiang's efforts to take good care of the workforce. Their groundless and untenable accusations exemplify disinformation and fake news. The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China just released a white paper titled "Employment and Labor Rights in Xinjiang". If those people in the US truly care about the employment situation in Xinjiang, I suggest they give a good read to this white paper.

The white paper started by saying that "Work creates the means of existence and is an essential human activity". It creates a better life and enables all-round human development and the progress of civilization. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China provides that all citizens have the right and obligation to work. To protect the right to work is to safeguard human dignity and human rights. Workers' job preferences have always served as an important reference for the local government of Xinjiang in expanding employment channels and organizing vocational training sessions. In accordance with law, Xinjiang guarantees workers' equal right to employment, remuneration, rest and leisure, occupational safety, social insurance and freedom of religious belief. In accordance with the principle of equal protection of civil rights, Xinjiang ensures that there is no discrimination against workers on the basis of ethnicity, region, gender, or religious belief, and that no individuals' rights are restricted because of their urban or rural status, profession or position. The minimum salary in Xinjiang was raised by 19.74 percent from RMB1,520 per month in 2013 to RMB1,820 per month in 2018, which was at a high level in the country. Workers are guaranteed the right to time off on weekends and statutory holidays including the Spring Festival, Roza Festival (Eid al-Fitr) and Corban Festival (Eid al-Adha), and they can choose which languages to use for communication.

Xinjiang has been firm in preventing and punishing any incidents of forced labor. The following actions are strictly forbidden and will lead to administrative punishments: forcing a person to work by means of violence, threat, or illegal limitation of personal freedom; or affronting, physically punishing, beating, illegally searching or detaining an employee. Should it be established that a crime has taken place, the perpetrator will be subjected to a criminal investigation. Xinjiang strictly observes 26 international labor conventions, including Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention and the other three of the ILO's fundamental conventions and a host of UN conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to effectively safeguard workers' rights and oppose forced labor.

With the implementation of a series of employment policies and measures, Xinjiang has seen a notable improvement in living standards for all ethnic groups. The annual per capita income of workers from Xinjiang who are working in other provinces is about RMB40,000, and the local people who left their home to work elsewhere in Xinjiang have an annual per capita income of RMB30,000, much higher than earnings from farming. From 2013 to the end of 2019, the poverty incidence dropped from 19.4 percent to 1.24 percent. From 2014 to the end of 2019, a total of 2.92 million people shook off poverty.

Respecting and protecting human rights are principles enshrined in the Constitution of China. The CPC and the Chinese government have always prioritized the protection of the citizens' rights to work and employment. We have taken a resolute stance against forced labor and eradicated it in any form. Xinjiang's policies and practices concerning employment and job security comply with China's Constitution and relevant laws and conform to international labor and human rights standards. For those who accuse Xinjiang of forced labor, they are either ignorant or have an ulterior motive to serve. We urge these people to respect basic facts, stop smearing Xinjiang's human rights record, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, and stop messing up with Xinjiang's stability and prosperity.

AFP: Could you give us any indication if China will approve the TikTok deal with Oracle and Walmart?

Wang Wenbin: I answered a similar question earlier. I don't think I need to repeat it.

South China Morning Post: First question, according to Indian media reports, the Indian police recently detained three persons suspected of providing intelligence to China, including one Chinese national. What's China's comment? Second, Indian media reports say China and India will soon hold another round of commander-level talks, can you confirm that and tell us the latest developments? Third, China announced last week that President Xi will attend via videolink the high-level meetings to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the UN. Can you give us more details on that?

Wang Wenbin: On your first question, I'm not aware of that.

On your second question, China and India have been in close communication with each other through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the current border situation. As I know, the sixth round of commander-level talks is taking place as we speak. The Chinese side will release relevant information in a timely manner if there's any.

On your third question, President Xi Jinping will attend and address virtually a series of high-level meetings to mark the 75th anniversary of the UN, including the high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the UN, the General Debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, the UN Summit on Biodiversity, and the UNGA High-level Meeting to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Beijing Women's Conference. We've already released information on this.

President Xi will elaborate China's proposals and propositions at these events on major issues of common concern to people of the whole world such as international relations, economic globalization, ecological conservation, global governance, and the global women's cause, and call for support for multilateralism, UN's authority and roles, the UN-centered international system, the international order based on international law, and a community with a shared future for mankind. Please stay tuned for more information.

AFP: Do you have any response to the BBC report that a British man Fraser Cameron has been suspected of passing on sensitive information to Chinese spies?

Wang Wenbin: I'm not aware of that. The ridiculous claim of "threats from Chinese spies" is nothing new; it is brought up every now and then but always proven to be false. China develops foreign relations based on principles including mutual respect and non-interference. We hope the relevant sides, including the media, can view and report related matters in an objective and rational manner.

Beijing Youth Daily: According to reports, China provided a batch of non-emergency humanitarian supplies to the Afghan government at a hand-over ceremony held in Kabul on September 20. I wonder if you could provide more details on Chinese assistance to Afghanistan?

Wang Wenbin: After COVID-19 broke out, China feels deeply for the difficulties of the Afghan people. The Chinese government has provided the Afghan side with assistance including anti-epidemic supplies. The supplies handed over at the ceremony included tents, blankets and daily necessities. The Afghan side thanked the Chinese government and people for their continued donations and promised to distribute the supplies among those in need in all provinces as soon as possible. It is hoped that the supplies will improve the disaster emergency response capacity of the Afghan government, and provide safe shelter for those affected.

As good neighbors, friends and partners, China and Afghanistan have always lived side by side with friendship and mutual assistance. Since the beginning of this year, the Chinese government and military have successively provided batches of anti-epidemic supplies to the Afghan side including masks, protective gowns, testing reagents, protective goggles, surgical gloves and thermometer guns to meet immediate needs. China will continue to contribute to Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction and economic development and promote practical cooperation on BRI and in other areas to deliver more benefits to the two peoples.

China News Service: Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David R. Stilwell and other US State Department officials said in their testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations that China is the number one foreign policy challenge of the US and the Department of State has asked all US posts around the world to be "sufficiently focused and coordinated" on the challenge posed by China. Do you have a response?

Wang Wenbin: I noted reports on that. The remarks by certain US State Department officials disregard facts, distort facts and are loaded with ideological bias and Cold War mentality. Senior US officials lately have been busy cooking a mishmash of political lies on a series of issues relating to China. The remarks you mentioned serve as a case in point. The international community can see through this.

I already stated China's solemn position on this at our press conference last week. Now I will stress again that China is committed to an independent foreign policy of peace, the path of peaceful development, a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind. China does not pose a threat to any country and it will never seek development at the expense of other countries. Attempts by the US to vilify and alienate China from other countries will not succeed.

We urge certain US officials to respect facts, stop smearing China with ulterior motives and stop the anti-China rattle to avoid further damage to bilateral relations.

Bloomberg: Taiwan newspaper reported that PLA pilots flew across the so-called median line on September 17. What's China's position on the "median line" issue?

Wang Wenbin: The Taiwan region is an inalienable part of China's territory. The so-called "median line" is non-existent.

Shenzhen TV: Gar Pardy, who once served as the Canadian foreign ministry's director-general of consular affairs, helped organize a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau co-signed by over 100 former diplomats, calling for the swap of Meng Wanzhou for Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. He said the disputes between China and Canada not only affected bilateral relations, but also undermined Canada's capacity of handling international affairs. What's your comment?

Wang Wenbin: We noticed the reports. Previously, 19 former Canadian politicians including former justice minister and former foreign minister wrote a joint letter to Prime Minister Trudeau asking for the release of Meng Wanzhou. China's position on the Meng Wanzhou case is clear and firm. Under the pretext of "at the request of the US", Canada arbitrarily took compulsory measures on a Chinese citizen, which severely violated her legitimate rights and interests. The nature of the Meng Wanzhou case is entirely different from that of the cases of the two Canadians. The Meng case is a serious political incident, while Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were suspected of conducting activities endangering China's national security. The Chinese judicial organs handle cases independently and the lawful rights of the two Canadians are guaranteed.

I'd like to stress that it is precisely what Canada has done on the Meng case that caused the current difficulties in China-Canada relations. We urge Canada to earnestly respect China's solemn position and concerns, release Ms. Meng at once and ensure her safe return to China, so as to create conditions for the bilateral relationship to get back on the right track.

AFP: US President Trump spoke on the phone with the new Japanese Prime Minister Suga, and they discussed how the two countries will pursue a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Do you have any comment on the call?

Wang Wenbin: China has no objection to the development of normal relations between other countries. In the meantime, it is our position that such exchange and cooperation should be conducive to mutual trust between regional countries and peace, stability and prosperity of the region.
TORONTO - The fish-out-of-water Canadian sitcom "Schitt's Creek" made history for its swan song season at the Emmy Awards Sunday night, nabbing all seven categories in which it was nominated, including best comedy series.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/9/2020 (488 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Catherine O'Hara arrives on the red carpet at the Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto on Sunday, March 11, 2018. Canadian "Schitt's Creek" star Catherine O'Hara has won an Emmy Award for lead actress in a comedy series. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO - The fish-out-of-water Canadian sitcom "Schitt's Creek" made history for its swan song season at the Emmy Awards Sunday night, nabbing all seven categories in which it was nominated, including best comedy series.

In posts on Twitter, the CBC and Pop TV said it's the first time a comedy or drama has swept all four acting categories, while the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences declared it's the first time a series has won all seven comedy categories.

It's also the first time a Canadian show has won an Emmy for best comedy series, beating out heavyweights including "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Insecure," and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

All four key cast members also snagged acting trophies, including Hamilton-born Eugene Levy and Toronto-born Catherine O'Hara. They play Johnny and Moira Rose, the parents of a formerly wealthy family adjusting to a humble life in a small town the father once bought as a joke.

Toronto-raised Daniel Levy and Ottawa-born Annie Murphy both got supporting actor nods for playing their children, David and Alexis.

Daniel Levy, who is Eugene's son, also won a writing award and a directing trophy he shares with filmmaker Andrew Cividino for the Ontario-shot show, which ended its sixth and final season in April.

Eugene Levy, from left, Annie Murphy, Daniel Levy and Catherine O'Hara cast members in the Pop TV series "Schitt's Creek" pose for a portrait during the 2018 Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour at the Langham Huntington hotel on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in Pasadena, Calif. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Willy Sanjuan - Invision

"We're all just walking around in a daze," Daniel Levy said in a phone interview after "Schitt's Creek" steamrolled through the pandemic-adjusted virtual Emmys, snagging the first seven honours, which were handed to the winners by Emmys representatives in hazmat suits.

"It's absolutely unbelievable, and I am thrilled to have represented Canada tonight."

The father-and-son Levys co-created the show, which also got two Emmys earlier this week, for costuming and casting.

The two announced last year they would make this past season the final one, wanting to go out on a high note with international accolades for the story's joyful spirit and positive LGBTQ representation through David, who identifies as pansexual (someone who is open to all sexual orientations or gender identities).

"Our show at its core is about the transformational effects of love and acceptance and that is something that we need more of now than we've ever needed before," Daniel Levy said in accepting the best comedy series trophy at a private party at Casa Loma in Toronto, where the cast had gathered sitting apart and wearing masks, adhering to COVID-19 safety guidelines.

"I just wanted to say for any of you who have not registered to vote please do so, and then go out and vote because that is the only way that we are going to have some love and acceptance out there. Please do that. I'm so sorry for making this political but I had to. Dad, do the rest of the fun stuff."

Eugene Levy then thanked a slew of supporters, including the CBC and Daniel for taking their story about the Rose family and transforming it "into a celebration of inclusivity, a castigation of homophobia and a declaration of the power of love."

The cast of "Schitt's Creek" Eugene Levy, left to right, Catherine O'Hara, Daniel Levy and Annie Murphy pose at their Emmy Awards celebration party in Toronto on Sunday, September 22, 2020 in this handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Ana Sorys *MANDATORY CREDIT*

"Schitt's Creek" was up for a total of 15 Emmys this year. Last year it had four Emmy nominations but didn't win any.

"It's actually kind of unimaginable, this experience," Levy said in Sunday's interview with The Canadian Press.

"I thought at best we would be justly rewarded if Catherine won, if my dad won. I had no expectation for anything else. Obviously, you certainly hope for the best. But I'm an incredibly pragmatic and rational thinker, and the idea of truly believing that we have what it takes to win all major categories was unbelievable."

The half-hour program was considered a hidden gem until about two years ago, when it became a cultural phenomenon as the Roses shed their superficiality and accepted their new lifestyle in the town run by Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott).

Johnny, a former video store magnate, became co-manager of the motel they lived in. Moira, a former soap star, reignited her acting career. Alexis went from apathetic to ambitious, starting up a public relations career. And David opened a successful boutique shop with his eventual husband, played by Noah Reid.

Critics and audiences alike praised the Roses' quirky and amusing ways  from Alexis's catchphrase "Ew, David" to Moira's dramatic elocution and beloved wigs.

"I will forever be grateful to Eugene and Daniel Levy for bestowing upon me the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age  my age  who gets to fully be her ridiculous self," O'Hara, 66, said Sunday in her acceptance speech.

"They gathered the most beautiful, fun-loving people in Toronto  cast and crew  and then, by example, led us all to be the best we could be for each other."

Murphy called her time on the show the best six years of her life.

"I am so proud of the cast and the crew and the writers, and I can't believe Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara are my friends," she said in her acceptance speech.

"I'm so proud to be a part of a show that stands for love and kindness and inclusivity and acceptance, because those four things are things we need more than ever right now."

The Los Angeles-based Jimmy Kimmel hosted the live Emmys, which aired on ABC and CTV from a near-empty theatre as winners spoke from their respective locations.

Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

"You're witnessing a Schitts-krieg," he quipped as the "Schitt's" wins rolled in.

Eugene Levy and O'Hara have won Emmys together before, for writing on the sketch comedy series "SCTV Network" in the early 1980s.

Levy told The Canadian Press he hoped Sunday's wins will help "open the door a little bit further for other Canadian shows to be seen and respected and recognized on the world stage."

The wins add to the pressure the Levys are now facing to one day bring the Roses back, perhaps in film form, he added with a laugh.

"At this point, the idea better be a damn good one if we're going to top this experience."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2020.
Imagine if there was a test for COVID-19 that could be done in 15 minutes, costs only $5 and didnt require a laboratory. Such a test was recently approved for use in the States  and its raising hopes that soon airlines will be able test passengers, theatres could test guests, and restaurants and retailers could regularly test employees, even customers.

Rapid testing would be a game-changer for struggling businesses, but while such tests have been given fast-tracked approval in the United States, Canada has yet to do the same. Experts say its time for Canada to get moving on rapid testing, especially as cases start to rise and fears mount that businesses could be forced to close again.

David Naylor, co-chair of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, said in an email that such rapid tests could be used for air travel and would help avoid contagion in any setting where remote work isnt feasible.

Rapid testing could really help to avoid clusters of COVID-19 cases such as weve seen in sites like food processing plants or long-term-care facilities, he said.

However, at this point Ontarios public health authority is only looking at evaluating a rapid test by U.S.-based Abbott, called Panbio, which is currently under evaluation by Health Canada alongside other similar tests. The test uses a deep-nostril nasopharyngeal swab.

Meanwhile, another test by Abbott already received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late August. Its the first FDA-approved test that doesnt require specialty equipment for analysis and it uses a shallower nasal swab, making it easier to administer. Abbott promises a 15-minute turnaround and a (U.S.) $5 cost.

Air Canada is already exploring rapid testing with multiple companies, and is currently part of a project at Torontos Pearson airport performing regular tests on arriving travellers. An Air Canada spokesperson said that the company believes rapid testing has potential to add another level of protection to the layered approach we are already taking to biosafety.

Meanwhile, WestJet has partnered with Vancouver International Airport on a similar project that will test passengers on some departing flights (the type of test has yet to be determined). A WestJet spokesperson said that the company continues to advocate for the introduction of testing to offer our guests additional layers of safety during their journey.

David Lefebvre, vice-president of Restaurants Canada, said rapid testing could provide a boost for the hard-hit sector, as people may be more willing to dine out once testing is widespread. Rapid testing will improve contact tracing too, he said.

It will also help restaurants and their employers, Lefebvre said  if an employee has COVID-19 symptoms, they wont need to take a week off work before getting their test results.

David Juncker, a professor of biomedical engineering at McGill University, said he doesnt think Canada is moving fast enough. He thinks the effort to test and deploy rapid testing needs to be more concerted, similar to the creation of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force  he wants to see a task force for deploying rapid testing.

The technology is getting there. We just need to streamline and marshal all these energies, he said.

A rapid-testing device could be approved in Canada any week now, Juncker added, but he cautioned that the tests wont be perfect at first.

Perhaps the most important aspect of rapid tests, other than their speed, is their sensitivity, he said. Theyre not as sensitive as the current testing method  but that could be a good thing. The current tests often catch people who are no longer contagious, and contagion is the most important thing to curb, said Juncker.

Theres a trade off between being super sensitive, catching all the positive cases ... and then balancing that out so that you dont have too many false positives.

But Naylor says we need to balance speed with efficacy. He said that while the FDA is ahead of Canada in approving COVID-19 tests, their decision-making has been subject to political pressure, and some of the tests that received fast-track approvals turned out to be inaccurate.

Overall, Canada tends to be more cautious than the United States about new medical technologies, he said, which is generally the best way to go  but too much caution could be slowing us down unduly.

Naylor does think its time for Canada to get moving on rapid tests, even though the tests are not without their critics.

Its suboptimal for Canada to be heading into the fall without a suite of rapid-test options, and without clarity about use of test substrates other than nasal swabs, he said.

Though the costs of widespread rapid testing may be high, Naylor said its clear this is the best way forward.

The price of wilful ignorance in human lives and suffering, and from a social and economic standpoint, is much higher than the cost of getting some rapid-testing systems in place as soon as possible.

With files from Kate Allen

Editors note  Sept. 22, 2020: This article was edited to the remove the reference to the Panbio rapid test by U.S.-based Abbott as older generation.

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By ANI

MUMBAI: Actor Payal Ghosh, who has accused filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment, said that she will file an FIR against him at Oshiwara Police Station by today evening.

The 'Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi' actor said that her advocate Nitin Satpute will also be writing to Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh to provide security, as there is a threat to her life.

Ghosh also talked about her meeting with the 'Gangs of Wasseypur filmmaker' and said, "I don't know whether Anurag Kashyap consumes drugs or not but when the incident took place, he was smoking something but it was definitely not a cigarette."

Talking about the filmmaker getting support from actors, she said, "There are many people who have supported Anurag Kashyap because of their bread and butter and their family-run because of him so they will definitely talk in support of him."

ALSO READ | Former wife Aarti Bajaj, industry friends support Anurag Kashyap against #MeToo allegation by Payal Ghosh

Earlier in the day Kashyap's lawyer rejected "the false allegations of sexual misconduct" levied against his client, terming it "completely false, malicious and dishonest".

The statement from Kashyap's lawyer, Priyanka Khimani, came after Ghosh's lawyer of, who had accused the Bollywood director of sexual harassment, said that an FIR would file an against him at the Oshiwara police station today.

On Saturday, Ghosh accused Kashyap of sexual harassment. Speaking to ANI, she said, "Five years ago I met Anurag Kashyap regarding work. He called me to his house. When I went there, he took me to a separate room and tried to sexually assault me. He forced himself on me."

ALSO READ| Will pursue legal route: Anurag Kashyap denies sexual misconduct allegations

"I request the authorities to kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. I am seeking action against him," said Ghosh. Post the allegations, Kashyap responded on Twitter in which he denied the allegations, claiming that they were 'baseless'. "I neither behave like this nor do I ever tolerate this at any price," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 00:26:05|Editor: huaxia

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ANKARA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The agreements between Turkey and Libya's internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) will remain in place despite the desire of the GNA head to resign, Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Monday.

"These agreements will not be affected by this political process, because these are decisions of the government, not the decisions of the individuals," Kalin told Demiroren News Agency in an interview.

Turkish officials may visit Libya's capital Tripoli in the upcoming days to discuss the recent developments, he said, noting Ankara will continue to support the GNA.

Last week, Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj expressed his intention to step down by the end of October in favor of a new executive authority determined by peace talks in Morocco.

In 2019, Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding for maritime delimitation with the GNA led by Serraj and launched drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean upon the deal.

After sealing a military cooperation deal with the GNA, Turkey also sent security officials to Libya to support the UN-backed government.

Since the uprising in 2011, which killed former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, Libya has been divided between the GNA and the east-based Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar. Enditem
New Delhi, Sep 22 : At least 20 opposition MPs on Monday wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him not to grant assent to the controversial Agriculture Bills, alleging that the way they were passed without any debate was a "murder of democracy".

"We, belonging to diverse political parties cutting across India's political and geographical spectrum, bring this representation to you to respectfully draw your urgent attention to the absolute and total murder of democracy, ironically in the most hallowed temple of democracy, parliament," read the letter signed by leaders of the Congress, the Left, the NCP, the DMK, the Samajwadi Party, the Shiv Sena, the Janat Dal-Secular, the Trinamool Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, among others.

The Opposition MPs said that the issue raised is, however, of much wider importance.

"We are concerned with something which affects the very backbone of the Indian Republic viz its 'annadata', the community of farmers," they said.

It said that on issue like this, "majoritarian, insensitive and uncaring" governance has no role and all stakeholders have to listen, absorb, imbibe and thereafter act with humility. There is no place for the politics of 'zid' (stubbornness) and arrogance. Instead the voice of those speaking for the farmers was sought to be stifled.

"Most unfortunately, the latter was in full force in government instructions to all, given with the brazen object of ramming legislation down the throat of disagreeing Parliamentarians without allowing it to be tested freely and fairly by vote by division," it said.

It further said that the Bills were purportedly treated as passed though were never voted upon.

"Division, asked not by one but innumerable Members, was denied," it alleged, adding that motions and statutory resolutions, including for amendments were not even looked at, much less considered.

"No attempt was made to even try for a sense of the House or a consensus as to whether the House should sit beyond the strictly prescribed 1 p.m. or continue the next day. September 20, most inexplicably and mysteriously, was treated as if it was the last day of the Session and as if heavens would fall if voting with division was heald on September 21," it said.

It further said that massive show of force was exerted by security personnel invited inside the House in numbers exceeding those of the MPs present.

"Almost half the Rajya Sabha was seated in the LOk Sabha chamber and the chair neither looked towards them; large parts of the proceedings in the RS chamber were not even audible to those of the RS in the LS chamber. It further said that the egregious and brazen acts of the government, in clear collusion with the legislative organ of our Republic, is also proof positive of the lack of numbers and lack of support with the government qua passage of these Bills.

"It is clear that the government was fully aware that the Bills could not and would not be passed due to wide opposition, cutting across political lines, including strong opposition from several NDA allies and supporters and consequently tactics were adopted to supposedly pass the Bills in a tyrannical manner unknown to our Constitution," it alleged.

"We pray that you return the bills and do not append your signature," it said.

In the morning, Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu suspended eight MPs, minutes after the House reconvened. These lawmakers from the Trinamool Congress, the Congress, the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Aam Aadmi Party were accused of creating ruckus in Parliament on Sunday.

The motion was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V. Muraleedharan, following which the House suspended Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen of the Trinamool, Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora, and Syed Naseer Hussain of the Congress, Sanjay Singh of the AAP and K.K. Ragesh and E Kareem of the CPI-M.

The opposition members indulged in sloganeering after the resolution was moved by voice vote.

Earlier, Naidu said that it was a "sad day for democracy" and "unfortunate" and "condemnable", as he rejected a no-confidence motion against Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh.

The Rajya Sabha witnessed bedlam on Sunday as the government sought to get cleared two of the three contentious farm Bills amid unrelenting opposition protests. O'Brien allegedly tore a rule book while Satav and Sanjay Singh climbed on a table in the House to protest.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
A team of scientists discovered the Carnian Pluvial Episode, the major extinction of life event which occurred 233 millions of years ago that triggered the age when dinosaurs dominated the world.

The researchers, an international team from the China University of Geosciences at Wuhan and the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences, published their findings in Science Advances on September 16. Prof. Jacopo Dal Carso leads the study team.

READ: Origin of the Swiss Alps and Molasse Plateau Basin Reexamined Due to New Evidence



Carnian Pluvial Episode

The event was most likely triggered by massive eruptions in the Wrangellia Province of western Canada. Meanwhile, on the west coast of North America, it rained of lava, leading to a thick layer of basalt.

The volcano eruptions were so massive that it prompted a release of vast amounts of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. It also triggered global warming.

The climate change also had increased rainfall, prompting a humid period that lasted for one million years.

The rainy period was discovered in the 1980s by Mike Simms and Alastair Ruffell, giving the phenomenon a name.

Albeit only a short period, the Carnian Pluvial Episode significantly impacted Earth's living conditions. Climate change caused massive biodiversity loss on land and ocean and new plants, animals, and marine life.

READ MORE: Unearthed in China: New "Eternal Sleeper" Dinosaur Fossil



The Proliferation of Dinosaurs and the Birth of New Plants, Animals, and Marine Life

After the Carnian Pluvial Episode, researchers said the arid conditions returned. New groups took over after the extinction event, which prompted the formation of more modern-like ecosystems.

The change in climate also fostered the development of new plant life and the proliferation of the modern conifer forests.

According to a member of the study team, Professor Mike Benson from the University of Bristol's School of Earth Science, "the new floras probably provided slim pickings for the surviving herbivorous reptiles."

Benson also noted that dinosaurs already existed 20 million years before the event but were rare until the Carnian Pluvial Episode. The arid conditions after the humid episode seemed a favorable condition for the dinosaurs.

Carnian Pluvial Episode was also significant as it was the period where numerous groups of plants and animals: the first of turtles, crocodiles, lizards, and mammals appeared.

More than the land-based flora and fauna, marine life such as modern-style coral reefs, several modern groups of plankton, and significant ocean chemistry and carbonate cycle changes commenced from this event.



Origins of the Modern Ecosystem

So far, five major mass extinctions have been identified in the past 500 million years. The discovered extinctions had a considerable impact on the Earth's evolution.

Jacopo Dal Corso said the newly discovered extinction event played a significant role in "helping to reset life on land and in the oceans, marking the origins of modern ecosystems.

The "explosion" among many groups and the transition towards modern-style ecosystems was impressive, the researchers note. Although there are many things unknown about the Carnian Pluvial Episode, Prof. Dal Carso hopes that more researches in the future will provide more details about the extinction and radiation of species that followed.

RARE EVENT: Hurricane-Like Storm in the Mediterranean Makes Landfall in Greece

Check out more news and information on Dinosaurs on Nature World News.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Sunday said it seized 2.7 kilogram of curated (refined quality) marijuana, which was sourced from the US, from Delhi and arrested a 21-year-old son of a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) official from his residence in Lucknows Gomti Nagar area in this connection on September 18.

NCB officials in Lucknow, who are privy to the matter, said the marijuana was concealed in an air compressor. They said it was to be collected by Cherish Gidwani, son of the senior IRS official, who was arrested.

A senior NCB official said the consignee made the payment through bitcoins and came in contact with the US-based consignor through an Instagram account.

He said the agency claimed that the man admitted that he used to import such parcels on a regular basis for the last one-and-a-half years for himself and his friends.

Also read: Taj Mahal re-opens for public after six months, visitors to be divided into two slots

He said the accused, an engineering graduate, had been trying for jobs for the past few months but failed in his attempt due to sudden recession following Covid-19 outbreak.

The official further said the accused used to order drugs from the US through Instagram or Wickr (an instant messenger application of an American software company of the same name) and the payments were made through bitcoins.

He said a total of 2.7 kilograms of bud was seized and the best quality of this marijuana was sold at the rate of about Rs 5,000 per gram. He said the accused also revealed that he used to get charas and marijuana from Delhi and Bengaluru-based suppliers.

He said the recent seizures of curated marijuana show that the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the chemical responsible for most of marijuanas psychological effects, content in these contrabands is higher than those seized (Indian grown weeds) earlier.
Ramy Youssef did not win his first Emmy for the Hulu series Ramy."

But he did show everyone what losing could look like.

And for that, we are presenting him with an honorary Emmy of our own design.

Youssef, 29, who grew up in Rutherford, shared a video of a person in a head-to-toe hazmat suit holding his would-be Emmy outside his home and waving, as if to say goodbye." The fully protected Emmys representative was part of the virtual awards show, which saw actors and talent accept (and lose) awards from home.

When you lose the Emmy, Youssef said, posting the clip on Twitter.

Youssef was nominated for best actor in a comedy series for Ramy." He was also nominated for best directing in a comedy series for Miakhalifa.mov, an episode of the show featuring Mia Khalifa, a former adult film star. While he didnt win in those categories, he did win the Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy series in January.

Youssef, an actor, writer and stand-up comedian, was nominated for an Emmy for playing Ramy Hassan, a Muslim American millennial living in North Jersey in Ramy.

when you lose the emmy pic.twitter.com/ECkbGcoHBA  ramy youssef (@ramy) September 21, 2020

Schitts Creek star Eugene Levy won the Emmy for best actor in a comedy series. His award was part of a sweep for the Canadian comedy.

Youssef is a co-creator of Ramy and writes for the show. The groundbreaking Hulu series stars Hasan and his Egyptian American family.

Part of my desire to make this show was a lack of seeing anything that felt like it, Youssef told NJ Advance Media ahead of the shows 2018 premiere.

The series, which was renewed for a third season, won a Peabody Award in June.

I probably have just as hard of a time defending New Jersey as I do defending Muslims, Youssef said in the 2018 interview. They are two very misunderstood groups, and to kind of pair them together is just a very natural fit and I think its important for the show.

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

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com.
Dr. Rana Dajani had recently returned to her home country of Jordan in 2006 after five years abroad, when she was struck by an observation that sparked her irrepressible curiosity: why did so few Jordanian children read for pleasure?

While most would have briefly pondered the question before carrying on with their lives, Dajanis inquiring mind was unable to let it go. As an accomplished molecular biologist who has studied and worked at some of the worlds leading academic institutions, including Harvard and Yale, she began to research the issue more closely.

I started asking questions, making observations, digging through the literature, said Dajani, who is currently in the United States of America where she was teaching when Jordans airports closed in March due to COVID-19, leaving her unable to return home.

Speaking quickly, as if her words sometimes struggled to keep up with her train of thought, Dajani added: I realized that the way for a child to fall in love with reading is by having a role model, a parent who's reading aloud to the child.

"I couldn't sleep. I had to do something."

Armed with this insight, she said it was the values of her Muslim upbringing that forced her to act on what she had learnt  not just for the benefit of her own children, but as many children as she could reach.

I felt this huge responsibility, that I had to do something for the children around me. And I felt if I didn't, then this would be on me because I had the solution. I couldn't sleep. I had to do something.

That was how the We Love Reading project was born, which today is active in 56 countries worldwide, has trained over 7,000  mostly women  volunteer readers, and has brought the joy of reading to nearly half a million children, including tens of thousands of young refugees in Jordan and beyond.

For her work in promoting reading and education among refugees, host communities and others, Dajani has been chosen as the regional winner for the Middle East and North Africa for UNHCRs Nansen Refugee Award, a prestigious annual prize that honours those who have gone to extraordinary lengths to help forcibly displaced and stateless people.

The as-yet-undisclosed global laureate of the award will be announced on 1 October. The prize itself will be presented by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in a virtual ceremony on 5 October.

Eight-year-old Syrian refugee Rama Al-Lemoni is photographed after being read a story by a We Love Reading ambassador in Amman.  UNHCR/Moises Saman

We Love Reading ambassador Latifa Al-Laham, 55, reads to a group of young fellow Syrian refugees in an apartment in Amman, Jordan.  UNHCR/Moises Saman

Having avoided books and reading for most of her adult life, Latifa says she has become an avid reader after joining the scheme.  UNHCR/Moises Saman

Rana Dajani climbs a tree near the house in Richmond, Virginia, where she was staying while Jordan's airport remained closed due to COVID-19.  UNHCR/Evelyn Hockstein

Back in 2006, We Love Reading began with a single weekly session at which Dajani read aloud to the neighbourhood children at her local mosque. But all the while, she was thinking of ways to expand the initiative to every neighbourhood in the country.

After three years of tinkering  I had reduced the programme to the most simple formula where it was still effective and still impactful, Dajani said. We Love Reading became a training programme, where we would train adults and youth from age 16 to 100 years old.

We train them how to read aloud as an art, because most of them have never been read aloud to, so they don't know how to do it to make it fun, she continued. And we train them also on how to start a reading aloud session in their neighborhood.

Those that receive the training are known as reading ambassadors, who are then encouraged to establish reading sessions in their own neighbourhoods on a purely voluntary basis and promote the scheme by word of mouth.

In this way, Dajani says, the programme has become a grassroots movement in which participants feel a sense of ownership and empowerment, with more than 4,400 sessions currently being held worldwide.

"They run it. They own it."

They are responsible for it. They run it. They own it, Dajani explained. That's the secret sauce of We Love Reading: how people take up the programme and run with it wherever they are.

The scheme has proved particularly effective in refugee settings in Jordan, which currently hosts more than 658,000 registered Syrian refugees, having a positive impact on both refugee children and adult volunteers. Following this success, the model has been replicated at Kule refugee camp in Ethiopia.

Most refugees dont know whats going to happen in the future  and this impacts their mental health, Dajani said. We Love Reading gives them a purpose, something that is tangible and  a sense of agency. The sense of control is so important for building resilience and improving the positive mentality.

That was the case for Latifa Al-Laham, a 55-year-old Syrian refugee from Damascus who fled the conflict to Jordan in 2013. Having left school after sixth grade, she had avoided books and reading most of her adult life. But after completing the training in January, not only has she begun regularly reading to her own grandchildren and her neighbours kids, she has also become an avid reader herself.

"We need to believe in ourselves, because nothing is impossible."

Reading has made the kids love me more, and I also set aside special time to read for myself before sunset once Ive finished cooking, Latifa said. Im a different person after the training. It gave me the power and confidence to become someone different. Even at my age, you can change your life.

While Dajani admits that she is surprised by the global popularity of We Love Reading, she said its success is driving her to work even harder to bring the benefits of a love of reading to more children.

I never really believed it would reach where it is today, but I dreamt it. And this is a testament that we need to dream and  we need to believe in ourselves, because nothing is impossible, she said.

The Nansen Refugee Award is named in honour of Norwegian explorer and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen, the first High Commissioner for Refugees and Nobel Prize winner, who was appointed by the League of Nations in 1921. It aims to showcase his values of perseverance and commitment in the face of adversity.

You can read about the other regional winners of the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award here.

Additional reporting by Charlie Dunmore and Lilly Carlisle in Amman, Jordan.
China will stay actively engaged in reforming and developing the global governance system, President Xi Jinping said on Monday while addressing a high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th UN anniversary via video.

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The city will soon get a 500-acre mangrove area across the Manori-Gorai belt declared as reserved forest, the state environment and tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray said on Monday. Two years after the Bombay high court (HC) directed various state agencies to handover mangrove areas to the forest department for better protection, the Maharashtra Tourism and Development Corporation (MTDC) became the first state agency to commence the transfer process.

The decision was taken during a meeting held by the state tourism department with the forest department and mangrove cell on Monday to discuss the process of handing over mangrove areas under MTDCs jurisdiction falling in close proximity to their resort areas.

The survey has begun to identify and come up with the exact area that can be handed over. The total area is approximately over 800 acres and it is with MTDC as of now. Of this, some have been declared reserved forest already. However, there are still about 500 acres which would be declared as reserved forest after being handed over, said Thackeray adding that such zones would have adequate protection and biodiversity conservation once under the forest departments jurisdiction. The land cannot be used, and should not be used either. Not all such areas need human interference. So we would rather hand it over to the forest department according it the status and protection it requires, said Thackeray.

According to MTDC, of a total area of 1,074.05 acre across Manori and Gorai, 73.19 acre in Manori and 128.33 acre in Gorai have been reserved for playgrounds, tourist amenities and parking while 872.53 acre (612.33 acre in Manori and 260.2 acre in Gorai) has been demarcated entirely as mangroves.

Some of this mangrove area is partly notified by the forest department, but based on site verification to determine the exact area, we have decided to hand over at least 500 acre located along creek edges both at Gorai and Manori to the forest department ensuring it is free from encroachments and other threats, said Ashutosh Salil, managing director, MTDC.

He explained that following ground verification, the proposal to handover the land would be placed before MTDC board and then the tourism department, which would write to the revenue department for final handover to forest department. We expect all formalities from MTDCs side to be completed by October-end, said Salil.

In September 2018, the HC passed its final order directing all mangroves in Maharashtra, including land belonging to government agencies, to be declared as protected or reserved forests. It is a welcome move that a large portion of mangroves will now be protected in Mumbai, and MTDC is the first government body to initiate this process, said Virendra Tiwari, additional principal chief conservator of forest (Mangrove Cell).

The Maharashtra government has decided to declare a total of 1,100 acre reserved forest area with the announcement of 600 acres at Aarey Colony, Goregaon followed by 500 acre in the western suburbs.

MANGROVE AREA IN MUMBAI

Mumbai currently has over 6,600 hectare (ha) mangrove area, according to the Forest Survey of India. Of this, 276 ha are in Mumbai city limits, which have been notified as reserved forest and handed over to the forest department. In Mumbai suburbs, 3,948.4 ha have been notified as reserved forest while 3,706.4 ha have been handed over the forest department.

The mangrove cell identified that remaining 242 ha belongs to various state agencies, such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada), and need to be handed over to the forest department.

However, the latest decision by MTDC to hand over 500 acre was not included in the Mangrove Cells assessment, and will be declared as additional reserved forest area for Mumbai.

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Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley joined in mourning the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose landmark rulings and lifetime of advocacy for gender equality had a major impact on the military.

Under the heading "Equal Justice Under the Law," the phrase engraved at the entrance to the Supreme Court, Milley said on Twitter that Ginsburg's death Friday at age 87 was a "great loss for the country" and for the "scores of people she taught and inspired."

Read Next: Military Retirees and Families Are Getting an Extension on ID Card Renewals

"She was an exceptional legal scholar, a selfless public servant and a role model," he said in a Twitter post put out by the Joint Staff shortly after Ginsburg's death.

In her most recent vote on the court with implications for the military, Ginsburg in June joined with the majority in a 6-3 ruling that a 1964 statute against workplace sex discrimination also applies to transgender rights.

The majority opinion -- written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a nominee of President Donald Trump, and joined by Chief Justice John Roberts -- gave support to lawsuits seeking to overturn the military's current restrictions on transgender service, according to advocacy groups.

The ruling "has great significance for the ban" on transgender military service ordered by Trump, said Jennifer Levi, of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD).

Ginsburg's first arguments for gender equality in the ranks came in 1971 as a lawyer representing the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Air Force Capt. Susan Struck in the case of Struck v Secretary of Defense.

At her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in 1993 for nomination to the Supreme Court, Ginsburg testified that she "first thought long and hard" about abortion rights in advocating for Struck, who learned that she was pregnant while serving as a nurse in Vietnam.

Ginsburg told the committee that the Air Force's move to discharge Struck for being pregnant was unconstitutional.

She said the Air Force's position that "if you are pregnant, you are out unless you have an abortion, violated the equal protection principle, for no man was ordered out of service because he had been the partner in a conception, no man was ordered out of service because he was about to become a father."

Struck eventually had the child, and the Supreme Court put her case on its docket for 1972. However, the case became moot when the Air Force reversed course on the discharge and allowed her to continue to serve.

In what was, perhaps, Ginsburg's best known and most important ruling from the bench on the military and women's rights, she wrote the majority opinion in 1998 striking down the Virginia Military Institute's long-standing all-male tradition.

In her opinion, Ginsburg demonstrated the ability to cut through legal smokescreens with a simple statement that went to the heart of the case.

She wrote that VMI was state-funded and, while Virginia "serves the state's sons, it makes no provision whatever for her daughters. That is not equal protection [under the law]."

In 2017, Ginsburg gave an address at VMI, which by then included 194 women cadets in the student body of 1,700.

She noted that the ruling in the VMI case was 7-1, with the lone dissent coming from Justice Antonin Scalia, the strict constructionist who was close friends with Ginsburg despite their differences on the law.

There probably would have been two dissents in the VMI case, but Justice Clarence Thomas, who had a son at VMI at the time of the ruling, recused himself.

The somewhat "odd couple" relationship of Ginsburg and Scalia possibly had its roots in that they were both New Yorkers.

Ginsburg was from Brooklyn and a graduate of James Madison High School; Scalia was from Queens and a graduate of Xavier High School, a Jesuit-run military school. They bonded over their love of opera and often attended performances together.

In her remarks at VMI, Ginsburg couldn't resist telling how she put one over on her friend in the VMI case.

As she was drafting her majority opinion before the ruling, Ginsburg said Scalia dropped by her chambers to show her a draft of his dissent to give her time to respond.

"The ultimate opinion was much better than the first draft because he picked up on all of the soft spots and enabled me to make it even stronger than it would have been absent his attention-grabbing dissent," she said to laughter from the cadets.

On a Saturday campaign swing in North Carolina, Trump said that he would likely announce the nomination of a candidate to succeed Ginsburg this week, adding that his choice will be a woman.

His decision to move quickly on the nomination is certain to have a major impact on the November elections.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Related: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies at 87
I want to assure every farmer that the system of providing (MSP) will continue as earlier, said Prime Minister on Monday.

The Prime Minister said this after inaugurating nine infrastructure development projects for Bihar, apart from the launch of "Ghar Tak Fibre" project which aims to provide internet connectivity to villages across the country through optical fibres, through video conferencing.

"I want to assure every farmer that the system of MSP will continue as it used to happen in the past. Likewise, as in every season, a campaign is run for buying produce by the government, that too will continue to run," he said.

"The biggest proof of it is the figures for purchases made by the government during the past five years and the purchases made prior to five years before 2014. If I only talk about the oilseeds and pulses then the purchases by the government have increased by 24 per cent," he added.

The Prime Minister further said that even during the coronavirus pandemic phase there was record purchase made by the government.

"For this year's Rabi produce, including wheat, rice, oilseeds and pulses, the farmers were paid Rs 1 lakh 13 thousand crores in MSP. This figure is thirty per cent more than last year's," he pointed out.

The Prime Minister also spoke about how over the years a nexus had formed in the country which was reaping benefits from the hard work of farmers and was now trying to instigate them against the new reforms introduced by the Centre.

He also assured that these policies were not anti-Mandis and stated that his government was committed to their modernisation.

"The new agriculture reforms has given freedom to every farmer in the country to sell their produce anywhere. If he gets more profits in the mandi, he will sell it there. If apart from this he gets more profit anywhere else then he is not obstructed from selling them there too," Modi said.

"The earlier system of selling the produce, the laws which existed, had kept the farmers' hands tied. Acting under the garb of these laws such powerful groups had formed in the country which have benefitted from farmers' misery. How long should have this allowed to go on ?" he added.

Prime Minister inaugurated nine infrastructure development projects, worth Rs 14,000 crores for Bihar.

He also inaugurated the Ghar Tak Fibre Project under which all 45,945 villages of Bihar will be connected through optical fibre internet service.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, and Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Raj Kumar Singh, along with other officials also participated in the meeting through video conferencing.

Meanwhile, speaking during the programme, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi had objected to the behaviour of Opposition MPs against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh a day ago.

"Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Ji is respected in Bihar and all over the country. The uncalled for incident which occurred with him in Parliament yesterday has hurt the people of Bihar. The people of Bihar will give a suitable answer to the Opposition," he said.

The Upper House witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday as Opposition members stormed the well and reached the deputy chairman's seat to protest against the farm Bills debated and passed by the Upper House through voice vote.

(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.)
Bunker, tunnel discovered under suspect's house in Murshidabad

A day after arresting the nine Al-Qaeda members from West Bengal and Kerala for their alleged terror plot nationwide, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has zeroed in on their connection with an Indian affiliate of the global terror group after detecting their contacts and communication through social networking platforms.

Scanning the cellphones of the nine accused, the NIA found that they were members of a WhatsApp group, titled Ghazwat-ul-Hind, which had around 22 members altogether, official sources told this newspaper. Surprisingly, all the conversations were deleted before September 19, sources added.

Ghazwat-ul-Hind is an Indian affiliate of terror group: Al-Qaeda and it has been found by the central intelligence agencies active in Jammu and Kashmir in the past two-three years, a senior NIA officer disclosed on anonymity.

The central agency also blew the lid of the terror module's another internet communication channel: Dark Web which were used by two of the accused: Murshid Hasan and Mosharaf Hossen to maintain contacts with their handlers in Pakistan, sources added.

Meanwhile the NIA has unearthed a long tunnel during a search at the residence of Abu Sufiyan, one of the accused, in Murshidabad of West Bengal. The concrete tunnel was found at backyard of his home at Kalinagar village in Rainagar of the district from where he was caught early Saturday during a raid.

The NIA suspects that the tunnel was built to stockpile arms, ammunition and explosives. It has also learnt that the 44-year-old tailor, who also used to work as a lathe machine operator for extra income, planned to escape after anticipating his arrest. He had called up some of his aides for help in the days leading to September 19, according to sources.

The NIA, which is interrogating the six arrested from the state at its office in Salt Lake, is now trying to trace the calls from his cellphone which was seized. In a startling revelation, another accused: Najmus Sakib spoke about his contacts with some people in Jammu and Kashmir to the investigators, sources claimed adding that why and how he developed contacts in the valley is under the probe.

The 20-year-old is a second-year student of computer science at Basantapur Engineering College in Domkol. The NIA is planning to take the nine accused, in its custody on a transit remand till September 24, to New Delhi for their further interrogation.
Who would have thought that during a global pandemic, people would find comfort in retail-therapy? aLL, Indias foremost plus size brand, found a way to keep their audience engaged and feeling loved during this time. The plus size fashion brand changed its communication and decided it was time to connect with its followers by providing them with relatable and comforting content, starting in April 2020 and all the way up till the EOSS, that ended in the first week of September, 2020.

With over 60% of the countrys population swiping, liking and tapping away its time. aLL used this insight to build conversations around fashion, positivity and staying safe on its social media handles. The brand decided to change gears  instead of focusing on product they decided to host a Saturday night F.R.I.E.N.D.S party, and also started Game Nights, playing Bingo and dumb- charades with their followers. The purpose of this was two-fold: keep the conversations rolling and let the styles do the cheering up!

This social media strategy for aLLs communication was put together by the brands creative agency, Brandmovers India. Speaking about aLL and their collaboration over the years, Yashtika Vaswani, Sr.Manager Client Relations & Operations at Brandmovers, said, aLL has always had a set of loyal followers and we realised that this was our chance to interact and engage with them more. Moreover, we thought that we would switch it up. From talking about just our products, we could participate in a larger conversation and actually be a whole lot more relatable.

Arijita Das, Creative Director at Brandmovers, said, Everybody was spending so much time on their phones; we wanted to give them something fun to do, something that could distract them from the general distress. Positive messages, answering questions and even playing fun games: the whole idea was to keep the conversation going yet solidify that essence of fashion that everyone loves!

With a whopping EOSS 100% + growth, the brand saw a sharp spike in their social media as well; with a 30% rise in follower growth and over 9 Lacs worth of engagement.

Suvajyoti Ghosh, Founder & Managing Director, Brandmovers said, We have had such a long association with aLL and I have only seen the brand grow leaps & bounds. It was quite interesting to observe how an absolute sale-oriented brand changed its entire conversation and adapted it to be in line with the new normal.

The brands online presence has since then only been growing and it has achieved a massive hit status among plus-size bloggers and influencers alike.

Aarti Samant, - Lead digital at aLL Online Fashion Store said: In the times of pandemic and morose atmosphere we decided to flip the story and celebrate guiltfree fashion experience along with Brand Movers India and social media had a huge role to play. Its a great partnership when the entire team comes together with one central vision and thats when magic happens.

Pawan Sarda  CMO Future Group Said: Weve successfully created a legacy brand online when it comes to plus size fashion on digital and Pandemic was the moment of truth. This customer is truly special for us and therefore we carefully curate fashion to cater to our customers fashion moments. Brand Movers India had a huge role to play in being our partners in crime.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and US President Donald Trump have agreed to further strengthen the Japan-US alliance.

Suga talked with Trump by telephone for about 25 minutes on Sunday night in their first phone call since Suga took office on September 16.

After the talks, Suga told reporters that President Trump assured him they would work together to further develop the alliance, which they consider the foundation for regional peace and stability.

Suga asked Trump for full US support in resolving the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea. The president responded he would work closely with Japan on the issue.

The leaders agreed the two allies will cooperate on the development and distribution of a vaccine and treatment for COVID-19.

They also confirmed close cooperation to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Trump told Suga to call anytime 24 hours a day in the event of a contingency.

The prime minister told reporters that he is willing to hold telephone talks with other world leaders to deepen bilateral relations.
This year has been a bizarre and challenging one. Life as we know it has come to a grinding halt as a result of COVID-19. Events at the start of the year now seem, to some, like long-lost memories.

But for one Australian family, January 2020 will never be forgotten. The Youssef family were spending the school holidays in Egypt when Waled Youssef was questioned and imprisoned for taking a photograph on a sightseeing trip. The months since then have been a horrendous blur for his wife, Fadia, and his two children, who had to return to Sydney without him and cannot return to Egypt because of the COVID-19 travel ban.

Waled Youssef and his family.

Youssef remained in prison while the Egyptian authorities went through his social media accounts and it now seems that prosecutors are holding him for pressing the "like" button on an innocuous Facebook post almost a decade ago (although, as his international lawyers, we are yet to see evidence of this).

For Youssef and his family, this is a grotesque and surreal experience. He is an ordinary family man, who runs a cement rendering business in Sydney. The Egyptian authorities have a long history of misusing the law to target those perceived to be critics of the regime: activists, human rights defenders, journalists. But Youssef's case is even more extreme: there is no basis whatsoever for considering him to be a critic who should be silenced. He has no political affiliations and is not an activist.
Bangladesh: Integrated policy approach needed for management of Barak-Meghna River Basin

September 21,2020 | Source: Dhaka Tribune

Experts at a webinar have shared their views on implementing governance instruments to build trust and cooperation between India and Bangladesh to benefit all stakeholders in the Meghna Basin. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Asian Confluence co-hosted the webinar on Bringing People and Institutions Together for a Living Meghna River, the final instalment of the Meghna Conversations series. Meghalaya is the source of many transboundary tributaries of Barak-Meghna river system, such as the Umngot and the Myntdu, flowing from Jaintia hills into Bangladesh.



Although the Indian state of Meghalaya receives the highest rainfall in the world, more than 50% of villages are experiencing water scarcity during the dry season. Recognising the interconnectedness of water and the need to strengthen community engagement in integrated water resource management, the state government created the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority, said Sampath Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Meghalaya River Basin Development Authority, Shillong, India.



He said the authority aims to coordinate the actions of different agencies to support local livelihoods. "The MBDA has initiated several community-based livelihoods programmes. It aims to engage communities in the management of forests and other landscape based natural resources within the state. The webinar presented a comparative review of natural resource management policies in Bangladesh and India, in the Barak-Meghna Basin, facilitated by IUCN and Indian Environment Law Organization (IELO), Delhi. The Meghna Basin has more than 60 different policy instruments for the management of natural resources, including water, biodiversity, fisheries and forests, said Shawahiq Siddiqui, Partner, (IELO), (Delhi) and Supreme Court Lawyer.



The review of policies indicates in both Bangladesh and India, there is a need for a more coordinated approach to policy and planning. "Often, different sectors tend to work in silo, not communicating with others working on similar issues, thus preventing the development of a cohesive strategy at the basin or national levels,said Siddiqui. In terms of development of water policies and institutions, the state of Meghalaya is the most evolved among all the northeastern states of India. Meghalaya has created Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) with a mandate to facilitate inter-agency cooperation for management of water resources.



Downstream, in Bangladesh, the policies are more evolved, compared to India, and are supported by detailed action plans and institutional setup for its implementation, the example being the Haor Development Plan. On the Indian side, however, most states are in the process of setting up institutions to implement their water policies, and states such asAssam and Tripura have yet to adopt a state water policy. There is a need to harmonise the natural resources policies, developed by various government agencies working independently of one another. Harmonized regional policies can also strengthen the ecological resilience of the river.



Mahbooba Panna, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Government of Bangladesh, Dhaka,highlighted the role of the Meghna in supporting the hilsa fishery, the source of livelihoods for millions and important for the food security throughout Bangladesh. In 2012, Bangladesh was not able to meet their own demand for the hilsa fish. However, the implementation of ban during breeding season and conservation projects implemented with community engagement has led to a rebound in hilsa population, and earlier this year, the country began again to export hilsa, said Panna. Hilsa is an endemic fish species and a staple food in Bangladesh and eastern parts of India.



River governance should be guided by an approach centered on conserving the ecosystems rather than the current anthropocentric approach, suggested Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Chief Executive, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, Dhaka. On expanding the scope of transboundary cooperation in the Meghan basin, she stressed, Bangladesh and India Joint River Commission has mainly representation from the engineering sector, there is a need to revise the composition to include a broader range of experts from other sectors such as from the civil society.



Dr. Alejandro Iza, Director, Environmental Law Centre, IUCN Bonn, further underscored the importance of expanding political will to achieve conservation outcomes. Sharing experiences from the shared river basin from South America,he mentioned that often, central governments are unwilling to engage in transboundary cooperation.



To achieve this in the context of Meghna Basin between India in Bangladesh, there is an opportunity to engage non-traditional partners, such as local authorities and municipalities. He suggested that changes can be enacted when you enhance the technical capacities of people, including the ability to engage meaningfully in a dialogue. "There is a need to promote inclusive participation and engagement of stakeholders. People are essential to the solution. The webinar series is part of the BRIDGE GBM project, facilitated by IUCN, and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) through the Oxfam Transboundary Rivers of South Asia (TROSA) programme, aims to build the water governance capacity of a network of CSOs in the GBM River Basin. Its focus is to strengthen CSO engagement in transboundary water management issues.
Lloyd Davis, right, owner of the tasting room Corner 103, in Sonoma, Calif., on Sept. 3, 2020. Washington Post photo by Melina Mara Read more

In the Sonoma Valley, home to 60,000 acres of grapes and 400 wineries, the pandemic has disrupted a 150-year-old supply chain.

Grape growers that once focused on selling to high-end wineries are lowering their prices and supplying cheaper brands. Wineries that can no longer count on tourist visits are replacing in-person events with online campaigns. Restaurants that boasted expansive wine lists now tout their to-go cups.

The industry is doing whatever [it] can over the last five months to really look at and examine their business model to figure out how they can sustain themselves, said Maureen Cottingham, executive director of the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance. Of course, there are some businesses that will not be able to sustain themselves, and unfortunately that will close.

Its the biggest challenge to Sonoma Valley since three wildfires in 2017 destroyed thousands of acres in the region and comes as devastating fires are once again raging across California. To recover this time, the industry says it must adopt the types of changes it has long resisted. Here are the stories of four companies along a single supply chain in Sonoma Valley.

Vineyard

Even before the pandemic started, Ned Hill, the owner of La Prenda Vineyards Management, was worried. The demand for the grapes he grows on more than 1,000 acres in Northern California terrain has been sluggish for years. He was tightening the companys financial belt when the pandemic upended his plans.

We knew immediately that the supply chain was broken, Hill said.

Hill decided it was time to change his business model. For years, he had sold largely to established high-end wineries even as the industry moved increasingly toward cheaper options. But now Hill sees no choice. Its not feasible, he says, to sell only to high-end brands.

La Prenda also jumped into a new business: Instead of just providing grapes in bulk, Hill also offered them crushed, making it easier for wineries to process them. That could be his saving grace, Hill says.

Winemaker

Before the pandemic, Ron Goss was planning a major expansion for his winemaking business, Sonoma Valley Custom Wine. He had just purchased new equipment and a new warehouse, doubling the footprint. The company already made wine for 30 to 35 wineries, but hoped to reach a bigger audience, he said.

Expanding during a pandemic isnt always probably the smartest thing to do, Goss said.

Like many in the industry, Goss panicked as the coronavirus spread and the economy began to shut down. But customers didnt dry up as expected. Instead, cheaper wine brands were growing, he said. Online wine sales are up 4.7% so far this year, according to research firm Nielsen, with value brands, priced between $11 to $24.99 a bottle, seeing the biggest increase.

The pandemic is forcing industry changes that were resisted after other disasters, including when wildfires caused billions in damage in recent years, he says.

Tasting room

For years, Lloyd Davis, owner of Corner 103, has relied on Sonoma Valley tourist foot traffic to support his wine tasting room. The pandemic, he says, forced him online.

He launched a new website and began selling directly to members of his wine club. He has held dozens of virtual wine tastings.

That campaign saved him, Davis said. Revenue in his tasting room has fallen 49% compared with last year, but his online revenue has grown 200%.

Many in the local wine industry are rushing to bolster their digital presence, said Cottingham of the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance. The things that our wineries have had to do [will] set them up for great success post-pandemic, she said.

Davis, a former banker, was introduced to Sonoma Valley through a bad investment. He had tried to turn around a struggling winery, but failed. But during repeated trips to the region, Davis said, he fell in love with the region and opened Corner 103, one of the few Black-owned wineries in the region, in 2015.

My goal in opening up Corner was to help my guests understand that they are a wine expert, he says.

The company received a boost as social unrest spread throughout the country in late May, sparking campaigns encouraging people to buy from Black-owned companies. Customers posted virtual hugs on his new website, and a few said they specifically came to the tasting room in a show of support, he said.

Less than 1% of U.S. wineries are Black-owned or have Black winemakers, according to the Association of African American Vintners.

Starting even a small winery from scratch can cost $5 million to $12 million, Davis said, and is nearly impossible, particularly for minorities.

Restaurant

Sondra Bernstein, owner of the girl & the fig, has seen her businesses collapse before. There was the bed-and-breakfast that didnt go as planned. The deli that was destroyed by a drunk driver. An Italian restaurant closed after the property owner sold the land. But keeping her restaurant, the girl & the fig, open during a pandemic may be her biggest business challenge.

The restaurants extensive wine list, including a $455 2016 Sine Qua Non Ratsel, has long been a central part of its attraction. Customers spent $30,000 on wine in the week before the girl & the fig was initially forced to close in March, and Bernstein says she had purchased more than $100,000 in wine a few weeks before then to bolster her inventory.

The restaurant reopened in April, but only for online orders. In May, Bernstein briefly operated a food truck, but says she has since sold it. The restaurant began offering outdoor service in June and is now selling some of its house wine online for the first time  at a 20% discount.

That has helped keep the restaurant afloat, but, Bernstein says, a harsh reality is coming. The tourist season typically ends next month, and she has nearly exhausted a $1 million Paycheck Protection Program loan that she used to rehire most of her 100 full-time employees. Soon, the girl & the fig could be forced to lay off employees again, she said.
The deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana in recent months has been linked to toxins produced by cyanobacteria in water, officials have said.

The government said in July it had launched an investigation into the strange deaths of the mammals. The southern African country is home to about a third of the continents dwindling elephant population.

Our latest tests have detected cyanobacterial neurotoxins to be the cause of deaths. These are bacteria found in water, Mmadi Reuben, principal veterinary officer at the Botswana department of wildlife and national parks, announced at a press conference on Monday.

However we have many questions still to be answered such as why the elephants only [died] and why that area only, Mr Reuben added. We have a number of hypotheses we are investigating.

The number of dead elephants has risen to 330, from 281 in July, the director of the department told the news conference.

The slew of deaths caused concern among conservationists, who alerted authorities in early May after counting 169 dead elephants during a three-hour flight over the delta. As the animals were found with their tusks intact, ivory poaching was quickly ruled out.

Some 70 per cent of the animals had died near water holes, an aerial survey showed.

Dr Niall McCann of the UK-based charity National Park Rescue described the spate of deaths as extraordinary, saying in July: This is totally unprecedented in terms of numbers of elephants dying in a single event unrelated to drought  It is only the elephants that are dying and nothing else. If it was cyanide used by poachers, you would expect to see other deaths.

The announcement follows the discovery of more than 20 elephant carcasses in a game park in neighbouring Zimbabwe in September. Authorities believe they died of a bacterial infection.

Botswana is home to the worlds largest elephant population, estimated at 130,000.
Toilets close for refurbishment

A set of toilets in Onchan Park will be closed from today for refurbishment.

Onchan District Commissioners have apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

The disabled facility will remain in operation for use by all members of the public throughout the refurbishment works.
Press Release

September 21, 2020 Bong Go recommends expanding task force investigation beyond PhilHealth; expresses support for harsher punishment for plunder, corruption, other crimes During a radio interview, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go said that he recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte to expand the scope of the investigation conducted by Task Force - PhilHealth to include other national agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned and controlled corporations, that are fraught with allegations of mismanagement and corruption. "Sabi ko nga kay Pangulong Duterte, huwag nating limitahan 'yung task force po sa PhilHealth. Kung saka-sakali pong kakailanganin ay ibang ahensya naman po ang gawan natin ng task force para mapabilis at makasuhan at pwedeng mai-tap o pakiusapan ang [Office of the Ombudsman] at ang [Commission on Audit] at [Civil Service Commission] na magsuspinde, mag-lifestyle check, mag-audit, mag-imbestiga, makasuhan at makulong ang dapat makulong," said Go. Last September 14, the multi-agency task force, led by the Department of Justice, submitted its initial report to the Office of the President where it recommended that criminal and administrative charges be filed against some senior officials of PhilHealth. "Hindi lang po 'yon, dapat po ma-lifestyle check rin po itong mga nauulat na korapsyon sa gobyerno para matingnan po kung saan nila kinukuha ang kanilang pera.... Dapat silipin 'yan, kasuhan, preventive suspension para hindi po makagalaw, pilayan kaagad para hindi maka-impluwensya sa opisina nila at hindi matago 'yung mga ebidensya, at kasuhan po," continued Go When asked about accusations against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Go reiterates that the President continues to have faith in him. "Desisyon po iyun ng ating Pangulo ay respetuhin na lang po natin sa ngayon. Kung ang Pangulo na po ang walang tiwala ay ibang usapan na po. Habang nandidiyan po ang tiwala ng Pangulo sa kanya ay respetuhin na lang po natin si Pangulong Duterte sa bagay na 'yan," he said. Go, however, clarified that the investigation will still continue in order to find more evidence against other individuals involved in corruption. The Senator went on to disclose that they had also discussed the need to review existing laws to increase the penalties for crimes related to corruption and illegal drugs, when leaders of Congress met with the President last Wednesday, September 16. "We need harsher penalties to serve as more effective deterrent to crimes. While we consistently avoid harsher penalties to uphold human rights, we also need to protect the rights of every Filipino to live a life that is free from fear of corruption, criminality and illegal drugs," Go stressed in the interview. "(We need to) work together towards the same goal of providing a comfortable life for all Filipinos, specifically... the need to review and strengthen the laws and punishment against crime, particularly those related to corruption and illegal drugs," he added. The Senate and House leaders in attendance expressed their agreement with the President's recommendation to further exercise the oversight function of the legislative branch in order to better aid the Duterte Administration in its campaign against corruption. Duterte, himself, is also very willing to participate in legislative hearings when necessary to help institutionalize reforms in government. "Willing siyang magsalita kung ano po 'yung problema talaga na dapat ayusin at sa nalalabing one year and nine months ng Pangulo, sabi niya, 'tulungan n'yo naman ako na sugpuin ito, hindi pwedeng lumabas ako rito na hindi natin totally nasugpo'," Go further explained. When asked about death penalty, Go admitted that it was not discussed during the meeting. However, he reiterated his support for its reimposition for criminals who commit heinous crimes involving plunder and dangerous drugs. Go disclosed that the President is also open to the possibility of abolishing or privatizing PhilHealth if systemic corruption in the agency is not resolved. Previously, Go, as chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, issued a challenge to PhilHealth chief Dante Gierran to immediately cleanse the ranks of the agency of corruption while ensuring it continues to provide the best services possible to the Filipino people. He warned that should the new PhilHealth leadership fail in its efforts to crack down on corruption, he would support an organizational overhaul of the agency or even its abolition if necessary, as mentioned by the President. Go, however, said that he remains primarily committed to pushing for the implementation of the major reforms to the health care system introduced under the Universal Health Care Act. The act, signed into law on February 2019, automatically enrolls all Filipinos into PhilHealth's National Health Insurance Program. The law also guarantees them access to preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care for medical, dental, mental and emergency health services while providing them protection from high out-of-pocket financial burdens. "I have reminded time and again that we need to ensure the proper implementation of the Universal Health Care Act. Napaka-importante po niyan at lalo na sa kinakaharap nating krisis ngayon," Go said previously.
An aged care facility in Melbourne has been blasted after footage emerged of nurses without masks or gloves Bollywood dancing with elderly patients.

The video was taken on Wednesday at AdventCare Whitehorse in Nunawading in Melbourne's east for a staff member's birthday.

Footage of the party at the nursing home shows women dressed in long colourful skirts and Bollywood dancing as patients watch on.

Footage of the party at the aged care home shows women women dressed in long colourful skirts Bollywood dancing as patients watch on

The video was taken on Wednesday at AdventCare Whitehorse in Nunawading in Melbourne's east for a staff member's birthday

Dancers are seen mingling with the residents, holding their hands and getting close to them with no face masks, gloves or protective equipment.

The video was posted to TikTok with the caption: 'Would have been great if we weren't in Stage Four lockdown. There was no social distancing at all and hardly anyone wore face masks'.

The party was held for a staff member's birthday and workers were allegedly told not to post anything on social media.

'One resident was sad because they can't see their families at all and this happened,' the caption read.

'Residents there are already at high risk. This isn't fair for the families of the residents.'

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth said the footage was 'troubling' but said staff were likely trying to give residents 'a bit of respite'.

'We can't have any exceptions to the rules, particularly in aged-care and PPE - it absolutely has to be used,' he told The Today Show.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth said the footage was 'troubling' but said staff were likely trying to give residents 'a bit of respite'

'The masks have to be used during all interactions. That's the Health Department guidelines and that is protect the residents from staff bringing the virus in.'

Dr Coatsworth said the virus usually gets into aged-care facilities from staff.

'I'm sure there will be appropriate reflection on whether that was the right thing to do and management will be looking closely at that,' he said.

AdventCare CEO David Reece said everyone in the video was a staff member or a resident and no external performers were let in.

Mr Reece acknowledged that no one was wearing personal protective equipment but insisted it was put on immediately after the video was taken.

He said he was comfortable with how the party was 'managed'.

Dancers are seen mingling with the residents, holding their hands and getting close to them with no face masks, gloves or any protective equipment

Premier Daniel Andrews commented on the incident during his press conference on Monday morning.

'I am not here to quarrel with the CEO of that facility but I have seen comments from him talking about the fact that it was a closed event and only people who lived there and work there will involved,' Mr Andrews said.

'Frankly staff do not live there, they live in the community and we have community transmission so I do not know that is the best rebuttal or defence.

'We all have to be vigilant and aged care is and will remain for the forseeable future a high risk environment.'

Victoria reported five new coronavirus deaths linked to aged care facilities on Sunday, bringing the state death toll to 761.

There have been 603 deaths in aged care facilities across Victoria since January 22.

The state recorded just 11 new infections on Monday and two deaths, the lowest number in three months.

Victoria Police said no complaints have been lodged so no investigation is underway.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted AdventCare CEO David Reece for comment.
Data on migrant workers, who had lost their lives while trying to reach their respective native places during the 68-day nationwide lockdown restrictions that were enforced from March 25 in a bid to contain the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, are being collected from states and union territories (UTs), the Centre told Parliament on Monday.

On September 14, the first day of the 18-day uninterrupted monsoon session of Parliament, the Union ministry of labour and employment had stated that no data was available on migrant workers deaths.

The disclosure was made on Monday by Union minister for labour and employment Santosh Gangwar in a response to a question in the Rajya Sabha by Trinamool Congresss (TMC) member Derek OBrien.

OBrien had sought to know the number of migrant labourers who had travelled inter-state on foot to reach their respective native places during the lockdown and how many had lost their lives.

Also Read: 12,000-15,000 persons tested at Thane station for Covid, causes chaos

Gangwar said: Data are being collected from the states and UTs.

At least 10 million migrant workers had left cities and returned to their village homes to states such as West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh (UP) during the lockdown.

The Union ministry of labour and employment said that Indian Railways operated 4,611 Shramik Special trains and ferried 6.3 million migrants to destinations such as UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and other states.

The global spread of Covid-19 followed by lockdown has caused economic disruptions across the globe, including India. Covid-19 has also resulted in migration of large numbers of workers from destination states to their home states. As per the data received from the states, over 1.06 crore migrant workers, including those who had travelled on foot during the lockdown, returned to their home states, Gangwar had said.

Now, with the process of unlocking, many migrant workers have started returning to their workplaces in destination states from states and UTs, he added.

The railways ministry on Saturday said that 97 people died while travelling on board the Shramik Special trains that were operated to repatriate domestic migrant workers.

Also Read: Centre sets up an online database to monitor, facilitate workers journey

This was the first official confirmation of the fatalities that prompted questions over how the lockdown was planned and about the measures adopted to help vulnerable, urban workers, who were rendered jobless and faced an acute cash crunch amid their bid to return to their respective native places.

The data accounted for deaths until September 9.

On May 30, HT had reported that between May 9 and 27, around 80 deaths took place on board the Shramik Special trains, according to the data accessed from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) authorities.
Divide and conquer.

MPPs from all political parties are dividing into cohorts in a bid to conquer the spread of COVID-19.

With new infections on the rise in Ontario, the caucuses in the legislature have decided to separate into different groups to keep each other safe.

We are trying to avoid a Zoom parliament, government house leader Paul Calandra said in an interview Monday.

To that end, there will be two isolated caucuses of about 35 Progressive Conservative MPPs that will be kept separate from one another.

One cohort will be in the house for the next three weeks followed by the second cohort. There will be no physical contact among the two groups.

Only Calandra, Premier Doug Ford, Health Minister Christine Elliott, Education Minister Stephen Lecce, and Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton will be allowed in both cohorts.

Thats because those key cabinet members must be available to the legislature at all times.

There will be about 14 New Democrats in each of that partys cohorts with the Liberal, Green, and Independent members also participating in the change.

We will also be authorizing parliamentary assistants to answer questions (during the daily questoon period), said Calandra.

One cabinet minister will be isolating at all times  spending time with their family bubble of 10 people only while working remotely  in order to ensure the government can continue to function in the event of the virus spreading.

That minister will isolate for six weeks at a time and not be permitted any physical contact with anyone in cabinet or to attend announcements in person.

We want to keep the cohorts healthy, emphasized Calandra.

In order to assure the opposition parties that the government will not try to rule by fiat, the house will be given 48-hours notice on major votes.

Unlike the Commons in Ottawa, Queens Park has held in-person sessions for much of the pandemic.

The cohort plan is similar to one that is now familiar to hundreds of thousands of Ontario high school students who have been divided into separate groups at their schools.

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By Azernews





By Akbar Mammadov

Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Oleg Tulea has thanked Azerbaijan for supporting his country over COVID-19 pandemic.

Tulea made the remarks during the meeting with his Azerbaijani Counterpart Ceyhun Bayramov via the phone on September 21.

At the meeting, the sides emphasized the importance of international solidarity and cooperation in combating the global health crisis.

Furthermore, the ministers discussed the expansion of relations in political, economic, trade and other fields. The sides agreed to hold political consultations in the form of a video conference soon. The ministers also stressed the importance of further development of economic and trade cooperation between Azerbaijan and Moldova and the full use of the existing potential.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan was also high on the agenda of the meeting during the phone conversation initiated by Moldova.

Minister Bayramov briefed his counterpart on Armenia's recent provocative activities in the region, including provocative statements and actions of the Armenian leadership, noting that such actions undermine the settlement of the conflict through negotiations.

Stating that an Azerbaijani serviceman was killed on September 21 as a result of fire opened by Armenian armed forces on the border between the two countries, the minister emphasized that all the responsibility for this crime fell on the Armenian military-political leadership.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan has so far made individual donations to the World Health Organization in the amount of $10 million, and humanitarian assistance to 29 WHO member countries, including $5 million to Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Armenia has stepped up its military provocation recently, staging sabotage both on the border and on the line of contact. On July 12, Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijan's positions in Tovuz, Azerbaijan's strategically-important district. The attack killed 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, as well as a 76-year-old civilian. Armenian forces retreated after suffering losses in Azerbaijan's retaliation.






By Anna J. Park



Since LG Chem announced its plan to spin off its lucrative battery unit by December this year, its stock price has continued to fall. The company's shares finished at 627,000 won ($541) at Monday's closing, which is a 5.86 percent drop from last Friday's closing price.



After LG's announcement last Wednesday of the battery business separation plan, LG Chem shares immediately fell, closing at 687,000 won the same day, a drop of 5.37 percent from the previous day's figure of 726,000 won.



The firm tried to assuage angry investors stressing that it would retain 70 percent of the newly created battery affiliate, named "LG Energy Solution"  yet the explanation fell short of persuading investors to lock in the shares. So far, the company's shares have plunged by 13.39 percent in just four trading sessions since the news broke out.



Some disappointed retail investors filed petitions on the official website of Cheong Wa Dae.



"Most retail investors in Korea purchased LG Chem shares on the grounds of the company's main business in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, which is part of a key focus of the Moon administration's Korean New Deal initiative," the petition stated.



"With the company's spinoff, it has turned out that we made an investment into a chemical company, which is not at all why we purchased the shares. The losses we have faced cannot be compensated anywhere."



Conflicting actions of securities firms



Since the spinoff news broke, many securities firms raised LG Chem's target price, with Shinhan Financial Investment and Yuanta Securities & Investment increasing the price to 950,000 won per ordinary share and Mirae Asset Daewoo raising it as high as 1,050,000 won. Of 22 reports published recently by securities firms, 16 suggested an 'overweight' view of LG Chem stocks.



"LG Chem announced that by the spinoff, it aims to build a more efficient management system for battery units, as well as to expand focused businesses on the chemical, advanced materials and bio sectors," a recent report by Shinyoung Securities stated. "The corporate value will likely increase further even after the IPO of LG Energy Solution."



However, contrary to such reports, most institutional investors including securities firms and asset managers net sold some 265,000 shares of LG Chem, which were kept as the financial firms' own assets, during the three trading sessions from last Wednesday to Friday. The transactional amount exceeded 20.4 billion won, which turned out to be the fourth-biggest net-sold stock by local financial institutions during the period, excluding ETFs.



"If the spinoff is such a boon for the company's long-term values as the reports wrote, why don't they net-buy the shares?" a retail investor critically wrote in an online bulletin board.



Regarding such criticisms, market insiders say it is still hard for stock analysts to publish completely free opinions about the nation's major conglomerates due to their corporate relationships with them.



LG Chem competitor's stock price surges



Meanwhile, the company's main competitor SK Innovation, another high-end global battery supplier headquartered in Korea, is enjoying an increase in its stock prices. On Monday, its stocks rose to 157,500 won, a 2.94 percent jump from Friday's closing.



The two battery manufacturers have been mired in a series of intellectual property infringement lawsuits in both Korea and in the U.S. The first trial in Korea ended with a win for LG Chem late last month, yet it is expected that the two firms will soon reach a deal outside the court to save on trial fees as well as to allow LG Chem to focus on its slated spin-off.



Market analysts attribute the stock's upward trend to positive expectations of the possible resolution of legal disputes as well as its shares' relative undervalued position among the country's major battery companies.



"SK Innovation is considered a latecomer among the nation's main battery manufacturers, yet it plans to aggressively expand its battery production to 20 GWh by 2020, 70 GWh by 2023 and 100 GWh by 2025," said Han Sang-won, a battery analyst at Daishin Securities. "The stock is currently undervalued due to general distrust about latecomers and uncertainties about the legal disputes. Yet if such uncertainties are solved, investors could expect to see a jump in stock prices."


The Justice Department declared New York City, Portland and Seattle as 'anarchist jurisdictions Monday that can have federal funding ripped away for failing to clamp down on violence according to its criteria.

It listed the three cities as among those 'that have permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activity.'

Attorney General Bill Barr's Justice Department is calling out New York, Portland, and Seattle as 'anarchist jurisdictions' with billions in federal funding at stake

The designation comes with billions of dollars in federal funding at stake, following President Donald Trump's order to make the designations amid violence and property damage that occurred during a summer of protests over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police during his arrest.

The agency made the designation in a document it titled: 'Memorandum on Reviewing Funding to State and Local Government Recipients That Are Permitting Anarchy, Violence, and Destruction in American Cities.'

It comes weeks before Election Day while President Trump campaigns across the country on 'law and order.'

The White House Office of Management and Budget is to make further determinations in the coming month.

The financial stakes for a city of New York's size are huge. Federal funding accounts for $7 billion in funding as it faces shortfalls amid the coronavirus, NBC New York reported.

Protests turn into looting and destruction in Manhattan before first curfew imposed. Firefighter extinguished fire set by protesters while looting before curfew begins in NYC, New York, New York, 01 Jun 2020

Mayhem and chaos in the CHAD/CHAZ zone of Seattle, at midnight of the day that police took back their precinct and arrested over 40 protestors who were occupying the Capitol Hill area, following the first set of riotous protests following the murder of George Floyd

The decision was accompanied by a statement from Trump loyalist Attorney General Bill Barr, who recently visited Chicago, another city Trump and the White House repeatedly single out for being saddled with violent crime.

'When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,' Barr said.

'We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.'

In the case of New York, DOJ cites a 177 per cent jump in shootings in July compared to the prior year.

'While the city faced increased unrest, gun violence, and property damage, the New York City Council cut $1 billion from NYPD's FY21 budget,' it noted.

It called out DAs in Manhattan and Brooklyn who have 'declined to prosecute charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly arising from the protests.'

It also called out Portland for the way it handled 100 nights of consecutive protests, and Seattle for allowing protesters to set up and maintain the 'Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone' (CHAZ) downtown.

None of the three cities rank near the top of cities nationwide for violent crime. The designations notably do not name Minneapolis, Minnesota or Kenosha, Wisconsin  each located in key swing states.

The release states that they have 'permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities.'

Trump has regularly gone after New York City and his surrogates tore into Mayor Bill DeBlasio at the Republican National Convention. DeBlasio and local officials painted 'Black Lives Matter' on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower in July following protests.

DeBlasio fired back at both the designation and the move to strip away funding a press conference Monday.

'It's just another of president Trump's games. It's not based on facts and it's insulting to the people of New York City,' he said.

'Its all about race and its all about attempts to divide and to enthrall his base by attacking the other. Its the only trick in his book. Youve got to go back to the 1980s when he called for the execution of the Central Park Five,' DeBlasio said.

'Remember who taught him; Roy Cohn, Joe McCarthys right hand man. Weve just got to get real about this guy. It is always divide and create hatred and move people to voter based on that hatred. He turns his attention to urban areas that he wants to associate with people of color, in another way he wants to associate with Democrats and progressives. He treats them as the other, he tries to convince people in the country that we are the problem and he will save his voters from all of us. There has been no president in history that has been this irresponsible and divisive. But its the only trick he knows,' he said.

Protesters use umbrellas to block less lethal rounds fired by federal officers during a dispersal at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Portland

'He has been threatening to take away our funding more times than I can count. We beat him in court every time or they just go away because they dont have a leg to stand on.'

New York State Attorney General Letitia James also blasted the move  and indicated an imminent lawsuit.

'This designation is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to scare Americans into voting for a commander-in-chief who is actually incapable of commanding our nation. President Trump failed to listen to scientists, failed to steer our economy through this pandemic, and has repeatedly failed to bring our nation together. The president should be prepared to defend this illegal order in court, which hypocritically lays the groundwork to defund New York and the very types of law enforcement President Trump pretends to care about. We have beat the president and the illegal actions of his DOJ in court before and have no doubt we will beat them again,' she said.

The move follows a directive by President Trump for the agency to designate 'anarchist jurisdictions.'

It was not immediately clear what federal funds the feds would hold up.

New York is a top recipient of counterterrorism funding for high-threat urban areas. It also receives funding for child welfare, food assistance, HIV, and other benefits. The state has long chafed at being among the top 'donor' states  those that pay out much more in taxes than it receives in benefits on a per capita basis as an economic powerhouse.

The move to have DOJ call out local police forces for changes to their police budgets comes after the Republican Party spent decades building the brand as the party of federalism and local control.

'For the past few months, several state and local governments have contributed to the violence and destruction in their jurisdictions by failing to enforce the law, disempowering and significantly defunding their police departments, and refusing to accept offers of federal law enforcement assistance,' Trump said earlier this month announcing the program.

'To ensure that Federal funds are neither unduly wasted nor spent in a manner that directly violates our Government's promise to protect life, liberty, and property, it is imperative that the Federal Government review the use of Federal funds by jurisdictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruction in America's cities,' said.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, and de Blasio said in a joint statement: 'The President is playing cheap political games with Congressionally directed funds.'

'Our cities are bringing communities together; our cities are pushing forward after fighting back a pandemic and facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, all despite recklessness and partisanship from the White House. What the Trump Administration is engaging in now is more of what we've seen all along: shirking responsibility and placing blame elsewhere to cover its failure.'
Ryanair has taken a series of thinly veiled shots at the Government with an actual job ad listed on the company's website that people can apply for.

The job ad is for a Junior Cert/Transition Year Student who will have 'sole responsibility for compiling Ireland's Green list on a weekly basis'.

The ad says, with tongue in cheek and claws firmly out, that Ryanair has been 'exclusively retained by the Irish Government' to fill the job.

The sarcasm bites even deeper with the list of job responsibilities which is compile Ireland's Green list based on the following games:

Bingo

The Lotto (Euro Millions)

Pin the donkey to the tail (in this case the country)

Scrabble

Darts (each number represents a country and you only have 6 darts each week)

Snap

Charades

Another responsibility is ensuring that the Dail Bar is sufficiently stocked with Guinness (Beamish) nuts and it is kept clean and tidy.

The job ad ends with two more open thinly disguised criticisms of the Government.

It states.

"This is a fantastic opportunity to join a organisation where you will be given responsibility from day one and your actions will have a big influence on travel for our citizens and the wider economy.

"No prior experience is required and preference will be given to applicants who have attention to detail and are very good at analysing data, this is something we are lacking in the team at the moment."

Ryanair have even gone to the lengths of actually making the job open to applications. Closing date, for what it's worth, is Friday, September. You can see more here
Republican and Democratic activists would probably argue that all this talk about norms is sentimental rubbish. They might respond that the stakes are too high for unilateral self-restraint, which is really ideological surrender. But some things that they disdain  including prudence and honoring the dignity of the legislative minority  are what allow institutions to persist through time. Such traditions can appear like ornamental filigree on the building. In removing it, we find it plays a structural role.
LONDON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FundApps, the leading cloud-based provider of regulatory compliance monitoring and reporting services, announces the launch of Room-In-A-Name, part of the FundApps Position Limits service, to help bridge the gap between Compliance teams and Traders.

Room-In-A-Name (RIAN), showing how much can be traded ("Room") in a contract ("Name") before reaching the position limit imposed by the exchange.

At the start of the day before trading begins, Portfolio Managers (PMs) analyse the room available for derivatives across their portfolio. This critical check helps each PM gain understanding of their market positions, develop their trading strategy and set a focus for the day. Despite being a near universal task, this fundamental bearing is often missing an accurate and timely input from the Compliance team due to the different inputs required and the complexity of portfolios that hold positions traded on various exchanges around the globe.

FundApps' Position Limits service helps clients seamlessly bridge this gap by automating the feed of information between Compliance Managers and Traders with Room-In-A-Name (RIAN), showing how much can be traded ("Room") in a contract ("Name") before reaching the position limit imposed by the exchange.

With the data available in the service, FundApps provides clients daily insight into current positions, upcoming exchange limits, contract months and a full breakdown at an individual instrument level. Even in complex cases where there may be two or more different instruments (e.g. a mini and a full-sized future) that are aggregated together in the result, users do not need to spend hours undertaking disaggregation calculations.

Carol Cardoso, Product Manager for FundApps Position Limits, commented: "This powerful new feature, which connects Portfolio Managers with Compliance teams, is surprisingly unique on the market when it comes to Position Limit monitoring solutions. Our report will not only speed up daily processes for our clients but will give your front office powerful information to start off the day. As the Rolling Stones once famously quipped, 'you can't always get what you want; but if you try sometimes, you just might find; you get what you need'."

About FundApps: Since 2010, FundApps has been committed to making compliance simple by providing a client-focused service to automate monitoring of regulatory requirements. With offices in London, New York and Singapore, the company monitors over USD 12 trillion in client assets with 1000+ users from compliance teams at asset managers, hedge funds, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and banks around the world.

FundApps' services automate the most difficult tasks in financial compliance, enabling compliance teams at top-tier financial services organisations to get more done in less time. An industry expert with a vast rule library and a dedicated in-house legal & regulatory team, FundApps enables compliance teams to respond more efficiently to regulatory change, increase certainty and reduce complexity in the compliance process.

www.fundapps.co

Press Contact:

Name: Arianne Rosmolen, Marketing Manager

Email: [email protected]

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FundApps Position Limits new feature

Room-In-A-Name (RIAN), showing how much can be traded ("Room") in a contract ("Name") before reaching the position limit imposed by the exchange.

SOURCE FundApps
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a private meeting with President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan at the government, the PMs Office told Armenpress.

Dear President of the Republic of Artsakh,

I am glad to receive you in Yerevan, on the 29th anniversary of the independence of Armenia. This event has a special place in our history, and our task is to make the statehood, created by the united will of our people in 1992, a lasting factor. I think its obvious for all of us that we can guarantee the development of our people with the presence of a statehood only.

Of course, Artsakh is one of the most important issues of the pan-national agenda today, and I am happy that we, both in the past, today and in the future as well, will unite our efforts for fulfilling our role of a guarantor of stability and peace in the region, for ensuring the normal development of Artsakh and Armenia. I congratulate all of us and I am happy to again welcome you here, Pashinyan said in his welcoming remarks.

Thank you Mr. Prime Minister. By using this chance I also congratulate all of us on this occasion. I am convinced that yes, the future of the Armenian world  Armenia and Artsakh, is not only guaranteed, but also we are going to have such development dynamics that it will become the country of our dreams.

I also want to thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for this meeting. This is the evidence that we treat the fate of our homeland with the highest responsibility, especially when all our meetings are mainly focused on our security, the numerous social and economic projects of Armenia and Artsakh. But we understand that today, at this difficult period, we are obliged to do the utmost for todays stable peace to last long, the Artsakh President said.

The Armenian PM and the Artsakh President discussed a number of issues relating to the development of the bilateral cooperation.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 02:31:59|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Monday announced fresh sanctions and measures against entities and individuals related to Iranian nuclear and conventional weapons programs, a move to support its self-claimed UN snapback sanctions widely ignored by the international community.

President Donald Trump said that he had issued an executive order to impose sanctions and export controls on more than two dozen entities and individuals "that support Iran's nuclear, missile, and conventional arms-related activities."

"The Executive Order I am issuing today blocks the property, and interests in property, in the United States of those who contribute to the supply, sale, or transfer of conventional arms to or from Iran, as well as those who provide technical training, financial support and services, and other assistance related to these arms," Trump said in a White House statement.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, standing with other senior U.S. officials in a press conference, said that the United States had also designated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for his alleged ties with Tehran on conventional arms-related activities.

Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, Iran's Defense Industries Organization and its director, as well as individuals and entities associated with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, are also on the sanction list.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Monday dismissed U.S. sanctions as "nothing new," U.S. media reported.

"The United States has exerted all the pressure it could on Iran. It had hoped that these sanctions will bring our population to their knees. It didn't," Zarif said during a think tank event.

This latest move came shortly after the Trump administration's Saturday claim that all pre-2015 UN sanctions against Iran had been restored according to the "snapback" mechanism under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The United States unilaterally invoked the "snapback" on Aug. 20 after its failed and isolated attempt in the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo against Tehran that expires next month.

The overwhelming majority of Security Council members, however, asserted that the United States has no right to invoke the "snapback" mechanism as the country is no longer a participant following its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, on Sunday wrote a letter to the president of the Security Council and UN secretary-general, expressing opposition to the U.S. unilateral announcement on the return of the UN sanctions on Iran on Saturday.

In his letter, Zhang said that the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, and is no longer a JCPOA participant. Therefore, it is illegitimate for the United States to demand the Security Council invoke the snapback mechanism.

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell denied on Sunday the unilateral announcement made by the United States to resume UN sanctions on Iran.

Borrell said the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and therefore "cannot initiate the process of reinstating UN sanctions under the UN Security Council resolution 2231."

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday that to claim that UN sanctions against Iran have been restored is "wishful thinking," urging the U.S. side to "have the courage to finally face the truth and stop speaking on behalf of the UN Security Council." Enditem
A few weeks ago, in a speech to the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin asked a loaded question: "Do we want to be a country  where tens of thousands of people die from a virus  or where the American Dream lives?" I know the answer to that one, but it's setting the bar a bit low. Of course we all want to escape the ravages of the coronavirus, but once we've done that, does it make any sense to say we've achieved the American Dream? The more you think about that assertion, the sillier it is.The following week, however, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California ventured quite a bit further. "As Republicans," he told the GOP convention, "it's our mission to renew the American dream  restore our way of life."Political leaders like to talk in these grandiose terms, especially to partisan audiences, but this year we seem to be suffering from an outbreak of American Dream fever. It's hard to tune in to any political gathering without hearing the magic words.Sometimes it reminds me of idle talk about the Great American Novel. Has there ever been one that critics could agree on? Will there ever be one? No. Will we ever stop pontificating about it? Of course not. But it's a pretty harmless form of blather.I don't think I can say the same thing about the invocation of the American Dream in politics. When office-holders and candidates keep bringing it up, they are instilling in gullible minds the notion that there is something government can do to fulfill our deepest-held wishes for satisfaction. We'd all be better off if we stopped pretending that. Neither federal nor state nor local government can wave a wand (or pass a law or issue a proclamation) that will reward us with the American Dream.must date back to the founding of the Republic, but in fact they are a modern conceit. The phrase "American Dream" was first used in 1931 by the historian James Truslow Adams in his book. It meant, he wrote, "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone." Better and richer and fuller in what way? He didn't say. Maybe in the middle of the Depression it seemed obvious. It doesn't seem quite so obvious now.What's clearly true is that the American Dream has meant vastly different things to people in different times and places  if it has any sort of genuine meaning at all.It's interesting that when ordinary Americans are asked if they feel the Dream has somehow been lost, it is the more recent immigrants who say it hasn't. This could be because they believe they had never attained it to begin with, but I don't think that's the explanation. I think they consider their arrival and continued presence in this country to be the realization of a dream in itself.That's been the case with previous generations. A couple of decades ago, I spent some time talking to second-generation immigrant families who were able to afford small but neat bungalows on Chicago's Southwest Side. These were people who had spent the Depression and war years in cold-water tenement flats a short distance away. Those two-bedroom brick bungalows were the American Dream for them. But not forever. By the early 1960s, many of them had bought bigger ranch houses with back yards in suburbs south of the city limits. A house with a yard, and a job that supported the mortgage payment, were their new incarnation of the American Dream.I came away from those conversations convinced that whatever the American Dream might be at a given time, real estate had something to do with it. And I still tend to believe that. There are a lot of people right now with lower-middle-class service jobs in Chicago or San Francisco or Seattle for whom a small affordable apartment convenient to work would be more than dream enough. Maybe that's one piece of the American Dream we could actually work on.But better housing isn't the only thing Americans like to fantasize about. Millions of them have been persuaded that the core of the Dream for an ordinary family is the assurance that their children will live a better (or at least more affluent) life than they have been able to live. I don't know how this became conventional wisdom, but when you think about it, it doesn't make much sense. Generational prosperity is cyclical, not linear. There are no guarantees, and never have been. If you graduated from high school or college in 1930, you faced far bleaker economic prospects than if you had graduated in 1910. By 1950, things were looking up again. In 2010, opportunity was curtailed by another stagnation. To take it as a given that your children should out-achieve you is to swallow a proposition that ends up causing much of the American public needless feelings of anxiety and nights of insomnia.rhapsodize these days about the American Dream, they are usually talking about an image of the postwar years. It is an image that is based largely on homogeneity. Suppose that in the 1950s you were a decently paid industrial worker in Wisconsin or Iowa, for example, and that you lived in a small town where nearly everyone behaved like you, thought like you and very likely even looked like you. It was a comfortable and reassuring existence. Elite opinion now inveighs against homogeneity and preaches the virtues of diverse communities. But the hard reality is that most people tend to be happier in homogeneous surroundings. Decades of reliable research have proved this to be true, though it may be an uncomfortable fact.And suppose that, at this point in the 21st century, this same town has been heavily impacted by the disappearance of steady factory work and the arrival of a large cohort of immigrants who speak little English, eat unfamiliar kinds of food, and do the low-paid service work or grubby blue-collar tasks that now dominate the local economy. There is no legitimate reason to resent or dislike these people. But it is not surprising that the old-timers would feel something precious has been taken away from them  that they have lost the American Dream.It's worth pointing out, though, that as the postwar middle-class Americans of midwestern towns thrived on their version of the American Dream, millions of young people who rejected that world had a safety valve that allowed them to escape from it. For the youthful malcontents of small-town America in the 1950s, the dream to be pursued was a move to New York or Chicago or Boston or San Francisco. It was a job in the arts, or journalism, or in the academy. These were the dissidents who believed in Scott Fitzgerald's dictum that the American Dream was discovery and individualism.Today, in a new century, the safety valve scarcely exists. There are no cheap apartments available to young people in the hot cities of 2020, and very few appealing starter jobs for them to claim. This is yet another version of the American Dream that can be said to have eroded.began a project that involved interviewing 170 ordinary people and asking them what they thought the American Dream might be. He spent more than a decade at the task, and he learned a great deal. His conclusions are documented in an excellent recent book,Brown discovered that in Red State America, respondents tend to couch the American Dream in terms of personal liberty  often the liberty to carry a gun. Perhaps the current equivalent would be the freedom not to wear a mask in the middle of a pandemic. A man in Utah said the American Dream was simply having a refuge, a place where he could be free from the indignities of oppressive government.For Blue State America, the dream more often had to do with safety and personal security. Sometimes it was very specific. A woman who had lost a child at Sandy Hook told Brown that her American Dream was "to have a country where no child ever experiences the devastation of school shootings." A young African American living in a dangerous neighborhood said his American Dream was simply survival  "to grow up to be a black man."Ian Brown learned, after years of diligent inquiry, that the American Dream is in the mind of the dreamer. It is not a fixed ideal that anyone in politics or government can credibly promise to uphold or restore.Brown did, however, evoke one graceful vision that seems to me both compelling and almost universally meaningful. It came from Jordyn Taylor, a young woman in Cleveland, Ohio. "My dream," Taylor told him, "is to have a dream worth dreaming." I think we can all aspire to that.
Hey West Coast beer lovers, its pronounced YING-ling.

D.G. Yuengling and Son, Americas oldest operating brewer, is sending some cold ones your way for the first time since it began making beer in 1829.

The brewery, about two hours northwest of Philadelphia, announced a joint venture with Molson Coors on Sept. 15 to break out beyond its traditional 22-state distribution area in the East.

Raising beers to toast the new partnership with the Pennsylvania brewer, Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley said, Were going to make a whole lot of Yuengling fans out West really happy.

The family-owned brewery known for its cheap German-style lager will remain independent. A six-member board of directorsthree from Yuengling and three from Molson Coors Beverage Co.will oversee Yuenglings expansion starting in the second half of 2021.

Yuengling has two breweries in Pennsylvania and one in Florida. Molson Coors, the nations second-largest brewer, has seven primary breweries and six craft breweries.

The partnership gives Molson Coors a popular brand at a time when beer sales have gone flat. Beer sales fell 2 percent in the U.S. last year, with canned cocktails and hard seltzers gaining popularity, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group.

The companies said they will announce in a few months which western states will get Yuengling first.

Jennifer Yuengling, vice president of operations and a sixth generation brewer, said the companies have talked of partnering for some time, and the time is right.

By Dee-Ann Durbin
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance has been updated to inform the public that coronavirus can spread through the air.

As per the updated CDC guidance, coronavirus can spread "through respiratory droplets or small particles." An example of these small particles is aerosols, which can be produced "even when a person breathes."

"Airborne viruses, including COVID-19, are among the most contagious and easily spread," the CDC said.

Prior to the changes, the CDC noted that the coronavirus could be spread mainly between people in close contact, as per CNN. It restricted the spread of respiratory droplets "when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks."

The guidance, which can be seen on CDC's website, was updated on Friday. It still says coronavirus mostly spreads between people who are in close contact with each other. But it added that the virus is also known to spread through respiratory droplets or small particles "produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks or breathes."

The guidance said these particles could cause infection "when inhaled into the nose, mouth, airways, and lungs." The CDC noted that respiratory particles are "thought to be the main way the virus spreads."

The updated guidelines also cited the growing evidence that the droplets can stay in the air and be breathed in by others.

It also recognized that the droplets can still travel distances higher than six feet. Some examples that the CDC listed were during choir practice, restaurants, and fitness classes.

"In general, indoor environments without good ventilation increase this risk," it read.

CDC Added Safety Measures

The CDC also added new safety measured to protect people from COVID-19.

Previously, it suggested keeping a "good social distance" of about six feet. It also suggested washing hands, routing cleaning of surfaces and covering the mouth, and nose with a mask when with others.

Now, it says people have to "stay at least six feet away from others, whenever possible." It also continues to direct others to do the other disinfecting measures.

It also now says that people have to stay at home and be isolated if they are sick. They also advised people to "use air purifiers to help reduce airborne germs in indoor spaces."

The CDC further stressed in its guidelines that masks should not replace other prevention measures.

The update also changed its views about asymptomatic transmission. From saying "some people without symptoms may be able to spread the virus," it now says, "people who are infected but do not show symptoms can spread the virus to others."

Scientists Pushed for Notice on Airborne Transmission

For months, experts have pushed health agencies to acknowledge the likelihood of COVID-19 spreading through the air.

In July, 239 scientists published a letter urging the World Health Organization (WHO) and other public health organizations to recognize this. The letter was also published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

"The current guidance from numerous international and national bodies focuses on hand washing, maintaining social distancing, and droplet precautions," they wrote in the letter.

They said that washing hands and social distancing are indeed needed but not enough to protect people from respiratory microdroplets in the air.

After the letter was published, the WHO released a report detailing the spread of COVID-19 from one person to another. It noted that coronavirus could spread through the air during certain medical procedures and in crowded indoor spaces.

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Seoul, Sep 21 : Six more American soldiers and their families in South Korea have tested positive for the novel coronavirus concerns of a resurgence in the Asian country, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said on Monday.

In a statement, it said that six USFK affiliated individuals were infected after arriving in South Korea between September 4-17, reports Xinhua news agency.

Two service members arrived at Osan Air Base on US government-chartered flights on September 4 and 7.

The Osan Air Base is located in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul.

A service member, one civilian and two dependents arrived at Incheon International Airport on commercial flights from the US on September 13, 15 and 17.

The confirmed patients have been transferred to designated isolation facilities at Camp Humphreys or the Osan Air Base, both in Pyeongtaek.

The total number of infections among the USFK-affiliated personnel rose to 193, according to Yonhap news agency.

Worry remained here over the recent surge in locally confirmed cases.

On Monday, South Korea reported 70 new cases, raising the overall tally to 23,045.

The daily caseload hovered below 100 for two straight days, after having stayed in triple digits for 37 days in a row.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
FOSTER CITY (BCN)

One motorcyclist was killed and two others seriously injured Sunday morning when two motorcycles struck a disabled car in the slow lane on the high-rise portion of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, the California Highway Patrol reported.

A BMW car was stopped, disabled, in the slow lane of westbound state Highway 92 on the high-rise section of the bridge off Foster City shortly before 10 a.m. when a group of motorcyclists came upon the BMW, CHP Officer Art Montiel said. While most of the motorcycles changed lanes and went around the disabled vehicle, two struck the car from the rear. The rider of one motorcycle was thrown off into San Francisco Bay, Montiel said; the body was later recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard, Montiel said.

The motorcyclist who died was identified as 34-year-old Kyle Davis of Sacramento, the San Mateo County Coroner's Office said Sunday night.

The driver and passenger of the second motorcycle were taken to Stanford Medical Center for treatment of major injuries.

The driver and passenger of the BMW had previously left their vehicle, walking west on the bridge, the CHP said.

It was unknown Sunday night whether drugs or alcohol were a factor in this collision, Montiel said. Witnesses are asked to contact CHP Officer David Tran at (650) 369-6261.

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Washington D.C. has always been a club, with decorum and strict membership rules. Most of us are not in this club and would have no desire to join if offered membership based on our morals, ethics, and a desire to look at ourselves in the mirror every day without being disgusted.

George Carlin said it best, Its a big club, and you aint in it. The club goes by many names  deep state, swamp, uniparty  and the club charter is quite clear, outlined ironically by someone not in the club, blackballed by the membership committee. President Trump, before the 2016 election described the club as follows and offered an alternative for the deplorables not in the big club,

Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American People. There is nothing the political establishment will not do, and no lie they will not tell, to hold on to their prestige and power at your expense. The Washington establishment, and the financial and media corporations that fund it, exists for only one reason: to protect and enrich itself.

NeverTrumpers represent the Republican side of the uniparty. They opposed Trumps candidacy, presidency, and upcoming reelection. As the 2020 election approaches, their derangement is ratcheting up. Any pretense of conservatism being tossed out the window to disparage Trump and prevent his reelection. The passing of Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg will increase their caterwauling by an order of magnitude.

So-called NeverTrumpers are anything but Republican. Trump is implementing everything Republicans have advocated in their columns, books, newsletters, think tanks, and blogs. He cut taxes and took a machete to onerous regulations. He has been staunchly pro-life and nominated two constitutional conservatives to the high court, with an unexpected chance for a hat trick before the November election.

Trump is bringing peace to the Middle East, something every past president in recent memory has tried to accomplish and failed. He has built up the military and reduced overseas military excursions while not starting a single war. Yet despite implementing the most conservative agenda since, and perhaps exceeding, Ronald Reagan, NeverTrumpers act as though they believe Trump is Stalin and now ironically support a Democrat candidate whose policies and base supporters really are Stalinesque.

Jennifer Rubin is a Washington Post columnist, a token conservative at an otherwise far-left newspaper. Formerly describing herself as a conservative opinion writer, her new and woke self-description is, NeverTrump, pro-democracy opinion writer and she supports Joe Biden.

YouTube screen grab

She writes,

While I continue to believe that decent, honorable conservatives such as George H.W. Bush, John McCain and, yes, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) were or are sincere patriots, I am forced to concede the racist, xenophobic and anti-intellectual element in the party was far more pronounced than I was willing to admit.

She is out on a limb using the terms decent and honorable with the above three individuals, but as two of them are deceased, Ill not say more to avoid disparaging the dead. Rubin forgets the history in her own lifetime of Republicans advocating civil rights legislation in the 1960s, opposed by Democrats, the party of segregation and the KKK. Instead she hitches her wagon to the party of Marxist Black Lives Matter and Antifa.

Pro-democracy, in her mind, means attacking the Bill of Rights and enacting such liberty enhancing legislation as the Green New Deal and Medicare For All. Nothing is more pro-Democracy than weaponizing the government against political enemies as Biden and Obama did in spygate. Wait until she weighs in on Ginsburgs replacement.

Then there is the Lincoln Project, formed by notable NeverTrumpers like George (Mr. Kellyanne) Conway, Steve Schmidt, and Rick Wilson. These so-called conservatives, like Ms. Rubin, advised notable failed presidential candidates John McCain and Evan McMullin.

Pouting like teenage girls not invited to the prom, their goal is to Defeat President Trump and Trumpism by Electing Democrats who support the Constitution over Republicans who do not. I am not aware of any leading Democrats who support the Constitution, in reality quite the opposite. Banning guns and threatening to eliminate the electoral college and litigate the upcoming election dont seem terribly supportive of the Constitution.

Their noses are out of joint since Trump, neither as a candidate nor as president, sought their advice or guidance. In fact, he ignored them. They tried to defeat him in 2016 but Republican voters ignored them just as they are doing now. And they cant stand it.

If NeverTrumpers think they are irrelevant now, pouty children told they cant go out and play, wait until a Biden presidency. Do NeverTrumpers realize they and their movement would quickly become irrelevant if Biden won the election with Kamala Harris, the most liberal U.S. senator, becoming the de facto president?

If Basement Biden somehow wins, either through real votes, cheating, or a court decision, there is a good chance Democrats will keep the House and gain a majority in the Senate. By eliminating the filibuster, which they promise, Democrats will have a genie in a bottle with unlimited wishes.

Say hello to amnesty for every illegal, permanent mail-in ballots, nationwide ballot-harvesting, an end to the electoral college, a bailout for Democrat-run cities that did nothing while rioters destroyed their cities. That will be day one. Day two will see the Green New Deal and Medicare For All passed into law and signed by Biden, assuming he hasnt resigned yet. Day three will see statehood for Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., meaning 4 more Democrat senators, and an expanded Supreme Court with far-left justices quickly confirmed without hearings or discussion.

Amnesty will turn Texas and Florida blue, ending any electoral college hopes of a Republican ever winning the White House. Mail-in ballots will take care of the remaining swing states. Every election will be a Democrat landslide.

The media will cheer this power grab while Democrats create a one-party country, with Republicans as irrelevant as the Green Party. NeverTrumpers will whine and complain, like they are doing now against Trump who is the only bulwark against turning America into California.

NeverTrumpers will trumpet their policies to those foolish enough to pay for their cruises and newsletters, promising to place their ideas on the ballot for 2024. But 2024, 2028, or any future election wont matter. The election will be for show only, as it was in Saddams Iraq. California and similar deep blue states have one party rule with no change in sight as the elections are permanently rigged for the Democrats. Republicans will never win national election again, certainly not in our lifetimes.

After decades, Venezuela and Cuba are still communist, despite assurances that communism doesnt work and the people will eventually rebel. Once these leftists gain power, they will never let it go.

NeverTrumpers will be left barking at the moon, wishing for something that will not happen in their lifetimes. The Republican party will cease to exist, and NeverTrump irrelevance will be cemented for decades. Yet they are doubling down on stupid, cutting off their Trumpian noses to spite their pouting faces. They will get what they deserve, but why should the rest of us suffer their foolishness?

Brian C. Joondeph, M.D., is a Denver-based physician and freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in American Thinker, Daily Caller, Rasmussen Reports, and other publications. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Parler, and QuodVerum.
A woman lost her unborn child after her husband allegedly slit open her stomach with a sharp edged weapon in Uttar Pradeshs Badaun, the womans relatives said Monday.

The woman is still in a serious condition in a hospital in Delhi, they said.

According to police officials, the accused, on Saturday attacked his wife, who was seven-months pregnant with their sixth child, with a sharp edged weapon, in an attempt to find out the gender of the foetus.

The couple has six daughters together.

Following the attack, the locals rushed the woman to the district hospital from where she was sent to the Bareilly hospital.

The doctors in Bareilly asked us to take her to Delhi because her condition was turning critical, one of the womans relatives said. The doctors in Delhi were able to save her, but the attack led to the death of the child. The doctors told us that it was a male child, he said.

In their police complaint, the family of the woman has alleged that her husband wanted a son and committed the crime to know if it was male or female foetus.

The accused was arrested on the basis of the complaint on Sunday, officials said.
In a heartwarming incident an elderly Chinese couple finally reunited with their son after he was abducted as a toddler nearly four decades ago.

The 70-year-old man Su Bingde and his wife Huang Renxiu had spent 38 years looking their long-lost son.

Mail Online

According to Mail Online, the family was reunited after police tracked him down with the help of a national DNA database.

The family from a remote village in northwestern Chinese province Shaanxi had lived a simple and happy life before it was all shattered in the wee hours of May 12, 1982.

Also Read: 48-Year-Old Who Left His Home 20 Years Ago Reunited With Family After Circulation Of WhatsApp Message

The boy was snatched from his home aged two while he was sleeping in the night.

Mail Online

Su Bingde had left to visit a relative on that day, positive that he would return that evening. He felt there was no need to lock his house. However, the father was unable to come home that night and the wife Huang Renxiu, tucked the two kids into bed, according to a local media report.

Also Read: 93-YO Grandmother Who Lost Her Way 40 Years Ago, Reunited With Family, Thanks To The Internet!

The parents refused to give up on finding their son and began a decade long journey in search of their son.





The father travelled on foot to nearby towns and cities in the hope that he would find information about his sons whereabouts however the local police were unable to solve the case due to the remote location and the limited information available about the toddler's disappearance.

After comparing DNA samples in a national database, the officers located Jin Shui, who is now a 40-year-old man, known by the name Li Guolin.

Also Read: Mother Reunited With Son After 4 Years Thanks To Andhra Pradesh's Special COVID Screening Drive



Mr Li now has a family of his own with a wife and two sons. They live in Hebei province, 1,104 kilometres (686 miles) away from his birth parents.
Investigators say they have been getting tips about the sexual assault of a woman in Trenton this past summer, but they need more information about the perpetrator.

We are getting calls to the tip line telling us there are people who know who did it. They are giving us drips and drabs and word on the street, but we need more, Mercer County Prosecutors Special Victims Unit Sgt. Joe Paglione said recently of the July 23 crime off South Broad Street in Trenton. We just need that last piece of information to take a dangerous man off of the street and stop this from happening to the next victim.

The attacker approached the victim on South Broad Street and Chestnut Avenue early on July 23 as the 29-year-old woman walked to work. The man forced the woman into a nearby alley and sexually assaulted her, police have said.

The prosecutors office and city police publicized images from a security camera depicting the man on a street for a second time hoping to identify him.

Law enforcement can perform its job so much more effectively when the public and media help, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri stated. Just recently, following the publication of an article and photo on the arrest of Eridson Rodriguez for sexually assaulting women at two separate gatherings at his apartment, more victims came forward. He now faces charges for assaulting three more victims, and we have information that there are many more out there.

This is what can happen when we all work together for justice, the prosecutor said.

Anyone with information about the identity of the man in the July 23 assault is asked to contact Paglione at 609-273-0065 or Trenton police SVU Sgt. Lisette Rios at 609-989-4155.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.
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The key coronavirus warnings from Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty Coronavirus infection rates are currently doubling in the UK roughly every seven days.

If the spread of coronavirus continues at its current pace then the UK could have 50,000 new daily cases by the middle of October.

In that scenario there would likely be more than 200 coronavirus deaths recorded every day by November.

Coronavirus infections are increasing in every age group across the UK.

The 'vast majority' of the people in the UK remain 'susceptible' to Covid-19 because the number of people with antibodies is still low.

Latest estimates suggest about three million people may have been infected in UK and may have antibodies - about eight per cent of the population.

But a ntibody prevalence in city populations is a 'little higher' and that as many as 17 per cent of people in London could have them.

Mortality rates from Covid-19 are 'significantly greater' than seasonal flu, which killed around 7,000 annually or 20,000 in a bad year. Advertisement

Boris Johnson faced a mounting Tory rebellion tonight over plans to retighten the lockdown screw on hard-pressed Britons - including a curfew for pubs - amid serious questions over the figures used to justify new restrictions on freedom.

The Prime Minister will convene an emergency Cobra committee meeting tomorrow before revealing his new lockdown plans to MPs after the Government's two top scientists warned there will be more than 200 deaths a day by November if the UK fails to slow the spread of coronavirus.

His plans are believed to include a new 10pm curfew for the nation's drinking holes, but the plans faced a furious pushback from MPs.

It came as Britain's coronavirus alert level was raised to four tonight, meaning meaning transmission of the virus is 'high or rising exponentially'.

But there was also criticism of the country's top scientists, with questions being asked over their doomsday scenario picture of the next few months.

Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance warned this morning that without action there will be 50,000 new daily cases of coronavirus by the middle of October.

And Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said the UK has 'in a bad sense literally turned a corner' with rising rates of infection and that the nation needs to view the fight against the virus as a 'six month problem' before science eventually can 'ride to our rescue'.

Professor Karol Sikora, a cancer doctor and former World Health Organization director, told MailOnline today: 'They're so negative. The graph for the worst case scenario, for 50,000 cases a day by next month, it's just scaring people.'

Professor David Paton, an industrial economist at the University of Nottingham, also hit out at the 50,000 per day prediction.

He pointed out on Twitter that France and Spain, to which the UK was compared, are seeing cases double every three weeks, not every one, which he said would put Britain at more like 7,000 to 8,000 per day by mid-October.

He told MailOnline: 'It seems a very strange scenario to present, it's not, as far as I can tell, based on any particular modelling.

'If you look at the past few days, cases have been going down rather than going up, doesn't seem to be any basis to select this doubling 'every seven days'.

'It [also] seems odd, to me, to choose to compare against France and Spain. There are other countries they could have looked at, where cases have been doubling every three weeks. Nobody knows what will happen to cases in the UK.

'Do they really think we'll have five to six times more cases than France?'

Senior Conservative MPs warned this afternoon that the UK 'clearly cannot afford a full lockdown like we had in March' and argued that the case for further national measures has not yet been made.

The PM was urged to remember we 'live in a democracy not a dictatorship' during a debate in the Commons this afternoon.

The Prime Minister (right) will convene an emergency Cobra committee meeting tomorrow before revealing his new lockdown plans to MPs after the Government's two top scientists warned there will be more than 200 deaths a day by November if the UK fails to slow the spread of coronavirus. Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty (left) warned this morning that without action there will be 50,000 new daily cases of coronavirus by the middle of October

Official Downing Street slides showed that if the current rate of infection continues there could be 50,000 coronavirus cases every day by the middle of October and that could lead to 200 plus deaths a day by the middle of November

The number of new Covid-19 being admitted to hospitals in England has been increasing significantly since the start of September

Boris Johnson, pictured running this morning, is widely expected to announce new coronavirus rules this week

Pubs in the firing line as scientists attempt to break 'unnecessary links between households' Pubs, restaurants and other social settings look to be in the firing line as scientists and ministers plot a smart lockdown to beat the second wave of coronavirus. Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty today warned the UK faces 50,000 new daily cases of coronavirus by the middle of October and more than 200 deaths everyday by November if the disease is not brought under control as Boris Johnson prepares a fresh crackdown on freedoms. But rather than a total shutdown, they and ministers are plotting a more targeted approach based on the settings of most concern. Here is what they said: 'We have to break unnecessary links between households because that is the way in which this virus is transmitted. And this means reducing social contacts whether they are at work, and this is where we have enormous gratitude to all the businesses for example who have worked so hard to make their environments Covid-secure to reduce the risk, and also in social environments.' - Chris Whitty This suggests workplaces will remain open as much as possible instead of a blanket return to home working. Many offices and other workplaces have already taken steps to be as 'covid secure' as possible via changed work practices, distancing, screens etc, But some have been able to take more steps than others so it would appear that those with the most difficult settings may be forced to close or run at lower capacity. But the focus also on 'social environments' will also send a cold chill through the UK hospitality industry. Those pubs and restaurants that have opened re-opened were been among the worst hit of businesses by the first lockdown. Rishi Sunak's 'eat out to help out' scheme in August helped fill coffers, but with the furlough scheme due to end next month any new shutdown will have business owners on red alert. 'Ministers making decisions - and all of society - have to walk this very difficult balance. If we do too little, this virus will go out of control and you will get significant numbers of increased direct and indirect deaths. But if we go too far the other way, then we can cause damage to the economy which can feed through to unemployment, to poverty, to deprivation - all of which have long-term health effects so we need always to keep these two sides in mind.' - Chris Whitty This comment may well help placate some businesses that their struggles are not being ignored. It also suggests that schools will also remain open, something that has previously been pledged by ministers. Advertisement

The burgeoning political row came as:

Sage expert Professor Susan Michie warned the Government's plans to fine people up to 10,000 for failing to self-isolate could prove counter-productive and lead to 'resentment'.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps defended the way ministers have imposed measures without votes in the Commons as he said the 'need for speed' was required to tackle the threat posed by the virus.

Scotland's Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said six months is a 'more realistic' time frame for any new Covid-19 restrictions to be in place.

Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in health protection at the University of East Anglia, suggested a 'circuit break' new lockdown would only halt the Covid-19 surge temporarily.

Downing Street said the delayed NHS Covid-19 app being launched in England and Wales on Thursday will not provide the automatic contact-tracing ability that was first promised before the Department of Health insisted it will.

A further 10 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 29,757, NHS England said.

Mr Johnson is said to be meeting with senior ministers this afternoon to thrash out the details of his proposals amid claims they will include an enforcement blitz on pubs and restaurants which allow customers to flout the rule of six.

A Government source told The Sun that police and councils will be told to 'act immediately when they see rules being broken' and that could mean shutting premises which refuse to comply.

Mr Johnson is widely expected to unveil his new crackdown in a statement to MPs in the House of Commons tomorrow lunchtime.

The grim numbers and comments from the pair suggest Britons are about to be hit with new restrictions on their daily lives in order to stop the growth of the disease in the coming winter months.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock today insisted that any new lockdown measures 'will be different to last time' but he refused to guarantee that pubs will still be allowed to open this weekend as he said it is socialising which is mainly driving the spike in cases.

Mr Johnson is facing major divisions within his own Cabinet about what to do next amid a tug of war between ministers over protecting the economy.

Mr Hancock and Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove are said to want the PM to take decisive action now while Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Priti Patel are reportedly advocating a more cautious approach, according to The Times.

Any move to reimpose more stringent restrictions is likely to spark a Tory rebellion after Sir Graham Brady this morning accused Mr Johnson of 'ruling by decree' as he demanded MPs get a vote in the House of Commons on any new measures.

As Health Secretary Matt Hancock gave a statement this afternoon, Tory MP Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) said: 'Could I remind the Secretary of State, I think he'll be going to a Cobra meeting tomorrow, could he explain to the Prime Minister that we actually live in a democracy not a dictatorship and we would like a debate in this House?'

Fellow Tory Michael Fabricant added: 'It is clear that a substantial minority of individuals are not prepared to abide by the current rules.

Sir Graham Brady accuses PM of 'ruling by decree' during coronavirus crisis Sir Graham Brady today accused Boris Johnson of 'ruling by decree' during the coronavirus crisis as Tory MPs demanded any move to reimpose lockdown is put to a vote in the House of Commons. The chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbench MPs suggested the Government has been treating people 'as children' during the pandemic. He is tabling an amendment which would require the Government to put any new lockdown measures to a vote of MPs. There is growing anger among Tory figures about the way in which the Government has imposed measures over the last six months without first consulting Parliament amid fears new rules will be rolled out in the coming weeks to tackle a surge in cases. Sir Graham's intervention came after the Supreme Court's first female president said Parliament had 'surrendered' powers to the Government during the pandemic. Baroness Brenda Hale, who served as president at the UK's highest court from 2017- 2020, criticised the draconian measures and 'sweeping' powers being imposed on the British public without the say of MPs. Sir Graham told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme: 'I think what we have also seen over the last six months is the Government has got into the habit of, in respect to the coronavirus issue, ruling by decree without usual debate and discussion and votes in Parliament that we would expect on any other matter.' He added: 'The British people aren't used to being treated as children.' Advertisement

'So, the Government is clearly going to have to implement something that affects businesses to prevent greater human interaction.

'We clearly cannot afford a full lockdown like we had in March but there will have to be some measure that is taken.'

A senior Government figure said the 'next six months are very difficult and there is an awful lot to consider'. Another source insisted the Cabinet row 'isn't combative' and it is not 'anti-lockdown versus pro-lockdown'.

Nicola Sturgeon today admitted the virus is spreading again in Scotland and warned that 'doing nothing in the face of this rapid spread is not an option'.

She said that 'further and urgent action will now be needed to stop the increase in the number of cases' and that the Scottish government is 'very close to a point of decision' on what the next steps will be.

Mr Johnson had phone calls this afternoon with the leaders of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolved governments when he discussed the current situation.

Meanwhile, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is urging ministers to extend curfew restrictions on bars and restaurants which have been imposed in hotspots in the north east and north west of England to the capital after a rise in cases.

Mr Khan is due to meet with council leaders today to discuss what is happening in London after new data showed infection rates in 20 boroughs are now higher than areas of England already hit by local lockdowns.

The Mayor is also said to be pushing for a return to more working from home in a move which will spark fears for the future of the economy.

The prospect of fresh restrictions has sparked anger in the hospitality and retail sectors, with experts warning that pubs, shops, hotels and travel companies could all be placed in jeopardy if socialising is cracked down on.



Some 140 pubs have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister warning of 'thousands of job cuts' if there is a second lockdown.

Mr Johnson held talks with Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick yesterday as he draws up a virus battle plan that could see the country face more draconian restrictions for as long as six months.

Thirty-two academics urge Boris Johnson to think twice about plunging Britain into a second lockdown A group of scientists and doctors have written to the Prime Minister urging him not to opt for a second lockdown and to stop presenting Covid-19 as a mortal danger. Thirty-two top academics have called on Boris Johnson and his scientific and medical advisers to avoid a knee-jerk reaction to rising cases and hospitalisations. They said the debate about coronavirus is 'unhelpful' because it is divided between people who want total lockdowns and people who want no restrictions at all. Calling for decision-makers to 'step back' and think carefully about what to do next, the researchers said there had not yet been any 'readily observable pattern' between tight social distancing rules and the numbers of people dying of coronavirus. The open letter was written by Oxford's Professor Sunetra Gupta and Professor Carl Heneghan, by the University of Buckingham's Professor Karol Sikora, and by Sam Williams, director of the consultancy firm Economic Insight. Tweeting the letter today, Professor Sikora said: 'We desperately need a rethink to find a better balance'. The Prime Minister is expected to hold a public briefing again tomorrow when he is set to lay out tougher social distancing measures for the whole of England. Advertisement

Speaking in Downing Street, Sir Patrick said the spread of coronavirus is doubling roughly every week as he warned allowing that to continue would have major consequences.

He said: 'The epidemic is doubling roughly every seven days if, and that is quite a big if, but if that continues unabated and this grows doubling every seven days then what you see of course, let's say there were 5,000 today, it would be 10,000 next week, 20,000 the week after, 40,000 the week after.

'You can see that by mid-October if that continued you would end up with something like 50,000 cases in the middle of October per day.

'50,000 cases per day would be expected to lead a month later, so the middle of November say, to 200 plus deaths per day.'

In mid-September, around 3,000 new cases were recorded everyday in the UK.

Prof Whitty said coronavirus was now spreading 'across the great majority of the country' and that only a collective effort will defeat the disease.

'What we have found is that as we go through in time anywhere which was falling is now moving over to beginning to rise and then the rate of rise continues in an upward direction so this is not someone else's problem, this is all of our problem,' he said.

Prof Whitty said the UK needed to focus on restricting the virus over the next six months as he said science will eventually reduce the need for draconian restrictions.

'You can quickly move from really quite small numbers to really very large numbers because of that exponential process,' he said.

'We have in a bad sense literally turned a corner although only relatively recently.

'I think everybody will realise that at this point the seasons are against us. We are now going into the seasons, late autumn and winter which benefit respiratory viruses and it is very likely they will benefit Covid as they do for example flu.

'So we should see this as a six month problem that we have to deal with collectively. It is not indefinite science will in due course ride to our rescue but in this period of the next six months I think we have to realise that we have to take this collectively very seriously.'

Prof Whitty hinted at curbs to social lives being needed to prevent coronavirus spiralling out of control.

FTSE 100 suffers worst plunge since June amid dire warnings of more coronavirus restrictions from Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance Fears of a second coronavirus lockdown have knocked market confidence and put the FTSE 100 on course for its worst day in three months. London's blue-chip stock exchange slumped 3.56 per cent to a two-week low of 5,812 this morning as the public were warned about the accelerating spread of Covid-19. The government's top two scientists, Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, today said the UK faces 50,000 new daily cases by the middle of October if the disease is not brought under control. Their intervention sets the stage for another round of restrictions when Boris Johnson is expected to address the nation as early as tomorrow. But ministers have been warned that the re-imposition of draconian curbs will be a hammer blow for businesses already in 'survival mode' from the first wave. Retail, travel and hospitality firms which bore the brunt of the economic hits from the initial lockdown face administration. Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics, told MailOnline: 'A second wave is going to be disastrous for the retail sector. 'One of the most important points is that retailers are trying to recover from the first lockdown. 'Many are still in survival mode and are trying to cut costs, and are getting help from the government. If we have another wave it's inevitable some retailers will fall into administration.' Advertisement

'You cannot in an epidemic just take your own risk, unfortunately you're taking a risk on behalf of everybody else. It's important that we see this as something we have to do collectively,' he said.

He said the four things to do are reducing individual risk by washing hands and using masks, quarantine measures, and investing in vaccines and drugs.

'The third one, and in many ways the most difficult, is that we have to break unnecessary links between households because that is the way in which this virus is transmitted,' he said.

'And this means reducing social contacts whether they are at work, and this is where we have enormous gratitude to all the businesses for example who have worked so hard to make their environments Covid-secure to reduce the risk, and also in social environments.

'We all know we cannot do this without some significant downsides.

'This is a balance of risk between if we don't do enough the virus will take off  and at the moment that is the path we're clearly on  and if we do not change course we are going to find ourselves in a very difficult problem.'

Earlier today Mr Hancock had warned the UK is facing a 'difficult moment'.

He said: 'If we do have to take action it will be different to last time. We have learnt a huge amount about how to tackle the virus.

'But the number one thing for everybody is if everybody follows the existing rules, the vast majority of people are, but if everybody does then that will help us to control it.'

Asked how lockdown measures will be different for the second wave, Mr Hancock said: 'The main thing in terms of what we have learnt is where people catch the disease tends to be in social settings: People coming round to your house or you going socialising essentially.

'We have seen relatively few cases caught through schools and relatively few through people at work.'

Mr Hancock refused to be drawn when he was asked whether pubs will still be open at the weekend.

He said: 'We will be absolutely clear about the changes we need to make in the very, very near future.'

Pushed on the issue, he said: 'It's not a no and it is not a yes. We have been working on this all weekend, we haven't taken the final decisions about what we need to do in response to the surge that we have seen in the last few weeks.'

Meanwhile, on whether the rule of six could be eased at Christmas, Mr Hancock said: 'I want Christmas to be as normal as possible and the more that we can control the virus now and stop the spread now the easier it is going to be to have a christmas that is as close to normal as possible.'

Downing Street last night warned the country is 'in the last chance saloon' with the prospect of more restrictive national measures, such as curfews, being imposed within days if people do not start following the rules.

Possible measures include forcing bars and restaurants to shut at 10pm each night, as has already happened in places such as Bolton and Newcastle. There may also be a ban on socialising with people from other households.

The Government is preparing to launch a major offensive to enforce the rules that are currently in place in a bid to minimise the need for further restrictions.

The map of the UK on the left shows spikes in cases in the north west of England but cases are increasing almost across the board

Matt Hancock admits Christmas WON'T be normal as he confirms vaccine roll-out is unlikely before early 2021 Matt Hancock today conceded that a completely normal Christmas is impossible this year. The Health Secretary admitted it was unlikely a Covid vaccine would be rolled out before early next year as he said that 'as close to normal as possible' was the best that could be hoped for during the festive period. And he used a grilling by Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on This Morning to warn even that would be dependent on rules being followed now to crush an up-spike in coronavirus cases. Asked by Ms Willoughby whether people would be able to 'hug grandma this Christmas', he said: 'I want Christmas to be as normal as possible. The more that we can control the virus now to stop the spread now, the easier it is going to be to have a Christmas that is as close to normal as possible. 'I know that is what so many people are looking forward to. It is what I hope for, for my family, and I just hope that we can get there. It means taking decisions now.' And he added: 'If this runs out of control now we will have to take heavier measures in the future.' On the possibility of a vaccine, Mr Hancock said: 'For the mass rollout we're talking about the first bit of next year, if all goes well. 'Hopefully in the first few months - there's still a chance of it coming on stream before Christmas, but we've then got to roll it out and the first people who will get it are the people who are most vulnerable - people in care homes, older people. 'There's a series of different vaccines, but we are talking about - essentially, for it to have an impact on how we live our lives - we're talking about the start of next year.' Advertisement

Do Whitty and Vallance's numbers add up? Advisers claimed Britain is on course to follow French and Spanish trajectories but NEITHER country is showing cases doubling every week like they warned for UK

Experts today poured scorn over questionable claims the UK's Covid-19 outbreak is doubling in size every seven days, after the nation's two top experts warned Britain may be facing 50,000 new cases of the disease every day by mid-October unless it is brought under control.

Critics accused Number 10 of trying to 'scare' people, after Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty were wheeled out today to 'roll the pitch' ahead of Boris Johnson's grand unveiling of tougher Covid-controlling policies tomorrow.

Sir Patrick and Professor Whitty claimed new cases could rise exponentially to 50,000 per day within a month if nothing is done, that infections are surging across the country and that resurgences in France and Spain could be what is in store for the UK.

But scientists today pointed out that the claim of 50,000 cases a day by October 13 is based on the assumption of cases doubling every seven days. Neither Spain, France or the UK itself has witnessed such a worrying trend, with one of the government's own advisors admitting it is an 'implausible scenario'.

Data shows Spain is recording an average of just 14,740 new infections daily, up from 13,470 last week. Its rate has doubled in the past five weeks, from 5,690 on August 14. France's rolling average of daily cases has doubled in the space of three weeks, rising from 5,167 at the end of August to 10,381 yesterday.

And Department of Health data shows 3,929 new infections are being recorded each day in Britain, on average  up from 2,998 last Monday and 2,032 the week before that. It means the government's own data shows confirmed cases are doubling every fortnight, suggesting Britain is not hurtling towards 50,000 by mid-October.

Separate figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which tracks the size of the outbreak in England by carrying out thousands of swab tests, last Friday revealed cases almost doubled between September 3 and 10 from 3,200 a day to 6,000. But that rate of growth may have slowed since the introduction of the Rule of Six on September 14.

Here, MailOnline breaks down the numbers behind the official graphs:

The chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance (left), and chief medical officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty (right) this morning warned that Britain is heading for a surge in hospital cases and deaths caused by Covid-19 if it doesn't change course

Disaster scenario of 50,000 cases per day by mid-October is 'very unlikely'

The boldest claim of this morning's briefing was that Britain could be facing 50,000 new cases of coronavirus per day by mid-October if no action is taken.

Sir Patrick made the warning based on the current epidemic doubling time of eight days, as revealed in Imperial College London's official REACT study this month, which looked at mass testing results up to September 7.

And the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which tracks the spread of the disease through random swab tests, says the number of cases almost doubled in England between September 3 and 10, jumping from 3,200 new infections a day to 6,000.

However, official numbers of cases found in positive tests have taken two weeks to double  from a daily average of 1,812 on Sunday, September 6, to 3,679 yesterday, September 20.

Sir Patrick said: 'If that continues unabated and this grows, doubling every seven days, then what you see, of course, let's say there were 5,000 today, it would be 10,000 next week, 20,000 the week after, 40,000 the week after, and you can see that by mid-October, if that continued, you would end up with something like 50,000 cases in the middle of October, per day.'

He said the 50,000 cases per day could be expected to lead a month later  the middle of November  to 200 or more deaths per day.

However, 50,000 cases per day, which Sir Patrick framed as a possibility and not a prediction, would still likely be fewer than half as many infections as Britain saw in March and April.

Scientists predict that more than 100,000 people were getting newly infected each day during the peak of the crisis, but not enough testing was done to prove this.

Professor Karol Sikora, a cancer doctor and former World Health Organization director, told MailOnline today: 'Theyre so negative. The graph for the worst case scenario, for 50,000 cases a day by next month, its just scaring people.'

Professor David Paton, an industrial economist at the University of Nottingham, also hit out at the 50,000 per day prediction.

He pointed out on Twitter that France and Spain, to which the UK was compared, are seeing cases double every three weeks, not every one, which he said would put Britain at more like 7,000 to 8,000 per day by mid-October.

He said the 50,000 per day would be a rate at least three times higher than currently being seen in Spain or France.

Professor Paton told MailOnline: 'It seems a very strange scenario to present, its not, as far as I can tell, based on any particular modelling.

'If you look at the past few days, cases have been going down rather than going up, doesnt seem to be any basis to select this doubling 'every seven days'.

'It [also] seems odd, to me, to choose to compare against France and Spain. There are other countries they could have looked at, where cases have been doubling every three weeks. Nobody knows what will happen to cases in the UK.

'Do they really think well have five to six times more cases than France?'

Dr Michael Head, from the University of Southampton, added: 'It is important to note the Chief Medical Officer did say the potential for 50,000 cases a day is a "worst case scenario".

'Modelling has to calculate best, worst, and likely scenarios to allow different plans to be put in place.

'We are very unlikely to see cases at that level because interventions will be rolled out that restrict the spread of the virus, such as regional lockdowns. However, it is a timely reminder that the pandemic is accelerating both globally and also here in the UK.'

And Professor Mark Woolhouse, an infectious disease expert at the University of Edinburgh who sits on a group that feeds into SAGE, said: 'Only three countries in the world  India, US and Brazil  have ever reported more than 50,000 new cases per day (though in the early stages of the pandemic there will have been substantial under-reporting)...

'Many observers may consider this an implausible scenario. Presumably the UK government intends it to illustrate the consequences of sustained exponential growth.'

Warning UK will follow the same trajectory as France and Spain  or worse

Sir Patrick's first point of warning came with the spectre of cases, hospitalisations and deaths rising in France and Spain.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned at the end of July that he was afraid a 'second wave rolling across Europe' would arrive in the UK.

In France and Spain, Sir Patrick said today: 'We've seen an increase in the numbers of cases that started with younger people in their 20s and spread gradually to older ages as well.

'That increase in case number has translated into an increase in hospitalisations. As the hospitalisations have increased... you will see that very sadly, but not unexpectedly, deaths are also increasing.'

French hospital cases have risen by 28 per cent in a month, with 5,800 people currently being treated, while Spanish hospitals have admitted 10,800 people since August 20 - more than the 7,000 in the previous three months combined.

At the height of the crisis in the spring there were up to 23,000 people being admitted every week in Spain, with hundreds dying every day.

But across France and Spain as a whole, hospital capacity is far higher than it was in the spring - with Madrid's virus patients filling up 22 per cent of hospital beds, compared to 100 per cent in early April, while France has thousands of free intensive care beds and only a fifth as many hospital patients as it did in April.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS: France and Spain have both seen rises in hospital cases, with older people especially affected, but the numbers are nowhere near the levels of March and April

ICU ADMISSIONS: While intensive care wards are reaching crisis levels in hotspots such as Madrid and Marseille, both countries as a whole have far more capacity than in the spring

And while both countries have seen their death tolls increase, there has been no return so far to the hundreds of daily deaths that became the norm six months ago.

During the peak in late March and early April, Spain regularly recorded between 600 and 1,000 deaths per day, while there were more than 1,000 on multiple occasions in France.

Now, in comparison, daily deaths have risen above 200 only once in Spain since June and above 100 only once in France in the past three months, according to statistics from Our World in Data.

Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist and oncologist at the University of Warwick, told MailOnline earlier this month that although cases are on an upward trajectory, 'it is becoming increasingly clear that people are less likely to die if they get Covid-19 now compared with earlier in the pandemic, at least in Europe'.

He said: 'Possible explanations include that a larger number of younger people - 15-44 year olds - are now being infected compared to the first peak in cases in April and this group are less likely to get severe disease.

'Two; there is now more effective treatment for patients with Covid-19 with far fewer needing mechanical ventilation; and three; less aggressive variants of SARS-CoV-2, particularly the D614G variant, are more prevalent  these remain very infectious but are less likely to cause severe disease.'

Government officials claim Britain is around six weeks behind the rest of Europe and could face a similar situation of rising deaths in the wake of its current rise in cases.

A senior government source told The Times: 'The Prime Minister has a very difficult challenge. At the moment we are on the same trajectory of Spain and France.

'Spain on Thursday clocked 240 deaths  they are six weeks ahead of us so it is now being translated from cases to deaths.'

But in Sweden and the US, which have both seen case numbers increase again after the initial surge, death rates have not kept pace with infections.

In Sweden, the death rate has been falling steadily since April despite a peak of cases in the summer - with the country's top epidemiologist saying that deaths can be kept low without drastic lockdown measures.

In the United States, cases surged to record levels in July and August after the first wave had receded - but death rates in summer hotspots such as Texas and Florida were well below those in New York City where the virus hit hardest in the spring.

Only 11 new deaths were announced last week in Sweden, down from a peak of 752 fatalities in seven days in mid-April.

Cases reached their height in the Scandinavian nation in the second half of June, when some days saw more than 1,000 infections - but the death toll continued to fall regardless.

Sweden's state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who has become the face of the no-lockdown strategy, said in a recent interview that voluntary hygiene measures had been 'just as effective' as complete shutdowns.

There are fears that the UK will experience a rise in the number of people dying of coronavirus as a direct result of cases surging. But data shows otherwise  the US has almost completely avoided a second wave in Covid-19 deaths despite seeing a huge increase in the number of people infected since June

Despite seeing a new surge in coronavirus infections, Sweden has recorded a continuing fall in fatalities since the start of May

'The rapidly declining cases we see in Sweden right now is another indication that you can get the number of cases down quite a lot in a country without having a complete lockdown,' he told Unherd.

Tegnell added that 'deaths are not so closely connected to the amount of cases you have in a country', saying the death rate was more closely linked to whether older people are being infected and how well the health system can cope.

'Those things will influence mortality a lot more, I think, than the actual spread of the disease,' he said.

Infections rising across all age groups in England

Sir Patrick warned that cases of coronavirus are now increasing in all age groups, with 20 to 29-year-olds the most likely people to get sick.

Rates of illness had remained flat throughout the summer but in July pubs, restaurants and sports clubs reopened and Chancellor Rishi Sunak's 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme encouraged millions of people to spend summer evenings going out.

People have also returned to offices and now children to schools, vastly increasing social contact on commutes, in classrooms and in busier shops and streets.

'What you can see is there's been an increase in cases across all age groups,' Sir Patrick said.

'The lowest increase has been in children and in the population aged 70-79 but in every age group we've seen an increase.

'Could that increase be due to increased testing? The answer is no. We see an increase in positivity of the tests done  so we see the proportion of people testing positive has increased, even if testing stays flat.'

The graph used in the briefing, however, does not line up with data published by Public Health England on Friday, September 18.

PHE's data from its weekly surveillance report showed that the infection rate for 20 to 29-year-olds was 51.8 per 100,000 in the week ending September 13, whereas it appears to have risen above 60 in the official graph.

The infection rate had actually fallen for the first time in 10 weeks for that age group, from 55.9 a week earlier, PHE's report showed, although it still remained the highest.

The over-80s age group also saw its infection rate fall, among whom it dropped from 20.6 to 19.8, but this appears to rise again in the chief scientists' graph.

Infection rates presented in the official graph all appear higher than the Public Health England report which follows the same measure, and which is quoted as the source.

The line for the 30-39 age group clearly hits 45 in the official graph for the most recent week, while PHE's report puts it at 37.5 per 100,000.

Likewise, the 40-49 and 10-19 age groups' rates appear to be in the high 30s, while publicly released data for the same date puts them at 30.7 and 29.8, respectively.

Public Health England said the data had been taken more recently than that in PHE's report, but was unable to provide a copy of it.

A change in the ages of people getting infected may have a positive knock-on effect on bringing down the death rate of the virus.

Most cases are now among young people  20 to 29-year-olds are the worst affected, with a rate of around 52 cases per 100,000, which has risen from a previous peak of 47.1 in the spring.

Young people are significantly less likely to die and, some experts say, the average risk of death for under-45s has not been increased at all because of the pandemic.

Among the elderly, however, the infection rate has plummeted by more than 90 per cent. For over-80s, there are now some 19.8 cases per 100,000 people.

This is down from a dizzying peak of 232.2 cases per 100,000 at the height of the crisis, driven largely by care homes.

The shift from most cases among the old to most cases among the young could mean that the fatality rate of the virus is considerably lower than it was in April.

Hospitalisations on the rise and could lead to an increase in deaths

Professor Whitty warned that the rising number of people going into hospital would lead to an increase in deaths which could multiply quickly.

He said that inpatient cases are doubling at around the same rate as infections  every seven to eight days.

Professor Whitty said: 'Now what that tells us is that if this carried on unabated, these numbers are relatively small, we're talking about around 200 at the moment - but if this continued along the path that Patrick laid out, the number of deaths directly from Covid... will continue to rise, potentially on an exponential curve, that means doubling and doubling and doubling again.

'And you can quickly move from really quite small numbers to really very large numbers because of that exponential process.

'So we have, in a bad sense literally turned a corner, although only relatively recently.'

There are reasons to believe that fewer people admitted to hospital now will die of Covid-19.

Reports from the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC) shows that survival rates for the sickest Covid-19 patients in England have improved by 10 per cent.

ICU mortality rates for Covid-19 patients dropped from 44 per cent to 34 per cent between March and July

Analysis suggests, at the current trend, it would take little more than three weeks for daily admissions to top 2,000

Its most recent analysis of NHS records shows that, in July, 34 per cent of ICU patients with Covid-19 were dying. This was a considerably higher 44 per cent in March.

Experts believe the finding shows doctors are getting better at treating the disease, and note medics are less keen on putting patients on ventilators amid concerns they could make the illness worse.

It's hoped survival rates will improve further still after a number of cheap steroids, including dexamethasone and hydrocortisone, were proven to treat severe Covid.

Hospitals are also far less busy than they were in April and May, meaning doctors and nurses can spend more time with virus patients. Staff sickness rates are also lower.

Data does show, however, that hospitalisations are rising dramatically, which is cause for concern.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock last week said he was worried because hospitalisations were doubling every eight days and there was an 'acceleration' in cases.

Government data shows 205 newly-infected Covid-19 patients were admitted to hospitals in England on Friday, compared to just 84 ten days earlier. It means 178 patients are needing NHS care each day, on average  triple the figure of 59 on September 4.

More than 3,000 people each day were being admitted to NHS hospitals during the peak of the first wave in April. Analysis suggests, at the current trend, it would take little more than three weeks for daily admissions to top the 2,000 mark.

But experts insist a second wave of Covid-19 in Britain would not be nearly as fatal as the first because doctors have got better at treating the disease, thanks to scientific breakthroughs.

Vast majority of people 'unprotected' by herd immunity and still susceptible

Sir Patrick warned that the 'vast majority' of Britain is still susceptible to catching Covid-19 because immunity is so low.

Government advisors believe that no more than 8 per cent of the population have developed neutralizing antibodies against the coronavirus.

Neutralising antibodies are substances created by the immune system to remember how to fight off a particular illness. But Sir Patrick warned that not everyone will develop antibodies.

Eight per cent of Britain  home to around 66.65million people  equates to around 5.3million people but Sir Patrick said the figure was closer to 3million.

It means between 61 and 63million people are still vulnerable to the disease, which poses a much graver threat to the elderly and obese.

And he admitted the rate could actually be even higher in London and other cities, saying as many as 17 per cent of people living in the capital may have already had the illness. Sir Patrick said these higher rates could mean the disease spreads slower in highly-populated areas in a second wave.

In a stark warning, Sir Patrick said: 'It means the vast majority of us are not protected in any way and are susceptible to this disease.'

And he urged caution over the numbers, however, insisting that antibodies are not an 'absolute protection' with levels of the disease-fighting substances fading over time.

For example, research by King's College London in July found immunity to Covid-19 might be lost within months, sparking fears it could infect people on an annual basis like the common cold and flu.

Sir Patrick also said there may be 'other forms of protection', meaning the 8 per cent figure is an underestimate.

Other studies have offered hope of long-lasting immunity, with survivors of SARS  a closely-related coronavirus  still having crucial T cells 17 years after they were first infected.

The crucial white blood cells  which can't be detected by the 'have you had it' antibody tests  are also made in response to the infection.

Other scientific studies have shown people who have had a common cold in the past two years have T cells that show 'cross-reactive protection' against Covid-19.

It means the true proportion of the population who is protected against the disease is a mystery.

Scientific consensus says herd immunity  when a disease can no longer spread because enough of the population has been exposed to it  will kick in when around 60 to 70 per cent have had the virus, scientifically called SARS-CoV-2.

But some research has suggested this rate could actually be as low as 10 per cent, if it spreads more rampantly among the most socially active. This is because they are into contact with others more regularly and are, therefore, more likely to spread the illness.

If a vaccine was developed it would need 60-70 per cent coverage to work  but this threshold could be significantly lower for natural immunity.

Coronavirus 'is not weaker or less deadly than it was in March'

Professor Whitty today insisted that the virus is not milder than it was during the first wave, despite claims it may have weakened.

Doctors in Italy and the US have claimed SARS-CoV-2 is appearing to be become less potent over time, saying viral loads have reduced in size over time.

Viruses are known to change over time because they are subject to random genetic mutations in the same way that all living things are.

Some of the mutations may turn out to be advantageous to the virus, and get carried forward into future generations. For example, if a virus becomes less dangerous to its host - that is, it causes fewer symptoms or less death - it may find that it is able to live longer and reproduce more.

But dismissing the claims in a clear message to the nation today, Professor Whitty said: 'I'm afraid, although it would be great if it were true, but we see no evidence that this is the case.'

He also revealed cases initially started to spike in young adults, who are the group 'least likely to end up in hospital'.

Imperial College London academics have previously claimed fewer than 1 per cent of people under 30 will get hospitalised with Covid-19, and those who are admitted for care will often have underlying illnesses that leave them more prone to the disease.

But the rate is dramatically higher among the over-80s, and could be around one in five.

Professor Whitty added: 'For many people, this remains a mild infection. As we move up the ages, then mortality rises to quite significantly rates.

'What we've seen in other countries, and clearly seeing here, is they're not staying in younger age groups.'

He accepted that mortality rates would be 'similar to what we saw previously', with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating it kills around 0.6 per cent of all patients in total. But the rate is as high as 18 per cent for over-75s but less than seasonal flu  which kills around 0.1 per cent of patients  for under 45s.

The current case-fatality rate, which works out how many patients die for confirmed cases  not just everyone who gets infected, stands at around 10.5 per cent. But this will eventually drop with more testing.

Professor Whitty warned that Covid-19 is more virulent than flu, saying that influenza kills around 7,000 patients in a usual winter. For reference, more than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths were registered on nine different days during the first wave.

He did, however, admit that treatment has got better, saying there was 'no doubt about that'. Professor Whitty said: 'Doctors and nurses have learnt to treat this more effectively.'

He added: 'And we have new drugs such as dexamethasone, these will reduce the mortality rate but definitely will not eliminate or take it right down to trivial levels.'

Dexamethasone was the first drug proven to cut the risk of dying from Covid-19. In the world's biggest drug trial in June, Oxford University researchers concluded the 5 steroid could save up to 35 per cent of patients relying on ventilators - the most dangerously ill.

And the cheap steroid hydrocortisone can cut Covid-19 deaths by almost a third in the sickest patients, research found earlier this month.

But other promising drugs, such as the Donald Trump-backed hydroxychloroquine, have had disappointing results.

Covid-19 cases are 'rising significantly in the vast majority of areas'

Professor Whitty, presenting a heat map of the UK, warned that coronavirus cases are now rising all over the UK and not just in a handful of areas.

'This is not someone else's problem, this is all of our problem,' the chief medical officer warned.

He explained: 'What we've seen is a progression where... first we saw very small outbreaks, maybe associated with a workplace or another environment, then we've seen more localised outbreaks which have got larger over time, particularity in the cities.

'And now what we're seeing is a rate of increase across the great majority of the country. It is going at different rates but it is now increasing.'

Public Health England's data from Friday shows that infections were actually falling or stagnant in 43 out of 149 areas  29 per cent.

And 66 areas have an infection rate below 20 cases per 100,000, meaning just 0.02 per cent of the population there  only one in 5,000 people  are carrying the illness.

A further six areas have between 20 and 21 per 100,000. 20 per 100,000 is the threshold at which the UK Government considers quarantine for international travellers.

Only 40 areas out of the 149 have an infection rate higher than England's average, of 33.8 per 100,000, meaning three quarters of places have below-average infection rates.

Critics have warned that national restrictions applied to the whole country unfairly tar the country with a 'broad brush'.

People in low or no-Covid areas will be affected by any national restrictions even though they are not at significant risk of the virus, simply because some areas have been unable to control infection rates.

A Conservative former Minister criticised the measures as a 'very broad brush' and said that something 'more concentrated' would have been better.

David Jones MP told MailOnline earlier this month: 'I can understand that the Government has to do something, because there is certainly an uptick.

'But it is not an uptick across the country as a whole. There are some parts of the country such as Devon, Dorset where there is very little virus activity at all.

'So it does seem to be very broad brush... I would have thought something more concentrated would be better.'
Jake Gardner, the man accused of manslaughter in the death of 22-year-old James Scurlock, has died by suicide.

Gardner's attorney confirmed the news to sister station KETV on Sunday. His defense team said Gardner's body was found around Portland, Oregon, and that he did not leave a note.

Police in Oregon released the following information:

"At about 12:20 p.m., Hillsboro Police Department officers responded to the 300 block of Southeast Ninth Avenue after a body was found outside a medical clinic. They discovered 38-year-old Jacob Gardner of Omaha, Nebraska, dead."

Gardner's attorney, Stu Dornan, said Gardner was scheduled to return to Omaha Sunday evening.

"The family of Jake Gardner has asked Tom Monaghan and myself to share the news of his death today, at his own hand," he said.

Dornan said Gardner was a decorated veteran of multiple tours in Iraq, saying he suffered two traumatic brain injuries. Gardner said he felt like he was in a war zone the night of Scurlock's death, Dornan said.

"I want to make it very clear that this was a clear case of self-defense," Dornan said, describing Gardner as cooperative with police.

Dornan said that Gardner left Omaha following Scurlock's death amid death threats and went to California.

"The grand jury indictment was a shock to him," he said. "He was really shook up."

He said Gardner was difficult to reach due to the fires in California, but that he did intend to return to Omaha. He was going to be accompanied back to Omaha by a fellow veteran, Dornan said.

Attorney Tom Monaghan said that social media convicted Gardner before the grand jury indicted him.

"There's no way to defend the lies on social media. When you respond, you only make it worse," he said. "We have to stop the lies."

He said Gardner was afraid of returning to Omaha and that he had hired a bodyguard.

"Jake was worried he was going to get shot on the way here, that some of those folks would gave him death threats...would carry through with them," Monaghan said.

Dornan said "who can blame" Gardner for not believing he would get a fair trial. He said he was frustrated that he did not have the opportunity to prove Gardner's innocence.

"I'm angry he didn't have the opportunity for a fair trial, for a fair hearing," Dornan said.

Dornan and Monaghan also revealed new evidence in the case, saying "Gardner was inside his bar on May 30 when he heard what he thought was a bullet coming through the front window of his business."

It was later identified as a pole that had shattered the glass. Dornan said people began climbing into Gardner's bar, so he pulled the fire alarm, called police, and went out front.

That's where the altercation between his father and another protester began, and where Scurlock and Gardner's struggle ensued.

Gardner was indicted last week on the following counts: manslaughter, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, attempted first-degree assault and terroristic threats.

Shortly before the indictment was announced, Jake Gardner sister station KETV: "Its stressful. Im more anxious now than when I was flying to Iraq. I was in from the end of 2000 til the end of 2004. All trained up by 9/11. I was there in 2003 during the invasion and in Haiti in 2004 to break up the civil unrest.

Gardner fatally shot Scurlock on May 30 outside Gardner's Hive Bar. The shooting took place amid protests in the Old Market.

"I hope he turns himself in and we can start this process of seeking justice but if not, I hope OPD or the sheriff's office treats him like everybody else. If they have to fly or drive to go get him, that's what they do," Scurlock family attorney, Justin Wayne, had said.

The Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine determined Gardner acted in self-defense and did not file charges in the case, but a grand jury determined that indictments were warranted.

Special Prosecutor Frederick Franklin had said he would be in touch with Gardner's attorney to determine if Gardner will turn himself in or if he wants to be the object of the execution of an arrest warrant.

"Two days ago, I was pretty upset they didn't arrest him yet but the more I keep thinking about it, I can't ask the family who has been through so much to have faith in the process and me, as their attorney and officer of the court, to not have the same faith," Wayne said.




New Delhi, Sep 21 : An outspoken critic of the NDA government, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has launched an attack on the policies of the government highlighting the "still-born effort to reform public sector banks" and "the failure of the Gyan Sangam", a conclave held on the banking sector in 2015.

These points have been brought forth by Rajan in a paper co-authored with former RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya, also seen as a government critic who had resigned from his post.

While giving a number of suggestions on banking reforms in the paper, including winding up of the Department of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry and reducing government stake below 50 per cent, Rajan said many of these have been discussed in the past which concern public sector banks and their governance.

"Is there any reason to be more confident that they will be implemented now," Rajan asked.

"One salutary warning should be the NDA government's still-born effort to reform public sector banks," Rajan and Acharya said in the paper.

Following the PJ Nayak Committee report of 2014, the government brought a variety of key players together to the Gyan Sangam in early 2015, which recommended the setting up of a Bank Board Bureau to make public sector bank appointments, and the creation of strong empowered bank boards that would allow banks to have differentiated strategies.

One complaint heard there was that every public sector bank branch looked similar, no matter which bank it belonged to and no matter where it was located.

"These ideas were supported by the Prime Minister," the paper said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had presided over the conclave while Rajan was the RBI Governor then.

"Yet five years later, it appears that little has changed. The government still appoint bank CEOs; instead of the earlier practice of appointing a nomination committee dominated by government bureaucrats and regulators (with a couple of academics and retired bankers to ensure an outside opinion), that same committee is lodged within the Bank Board Bureau," the paper said.

"The final decision as well as allocation of selected CEOs to banks is still with the government. The Department of Financial Services still appoints bank board members and decides on important strategies such as mergers," it added.

"The failure of the Gyan Sangam suggests that any change has to have steady political support (rather than a one-off ceremony) and will have to be forced on a bureaucracy, notably the Department of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry, that has little incentive to change. Yet it is probably unfair to blame just the bureaucracy -- the government in power has little incentive to loosen its grip on public sector banks. Why," Rajan and Acharya asked.

The paper argues that the government obtains enormous power from directing bank lending. "Sometimes this power is exercised to advance public goals such as financial inclusion or infrastructure finance, sometimes it is used to offer patronage to, or exercise control over, industrialists," it said.

"The government also has potential access to an enormous amount of sensitive information through its state ownership. For instance, the identity of purchasers of electoral bonds is known only to the State Bank of India," the paper said.

"The government can oblige party members by appointing favourites to positions in public sector banks, including on their boards, and once there, some of these appointees use their influence to direct bank loans to favoured parties.

"Parliamentarians of all parties are not immune to the lure of public sector banks, the banks are often asked to arrange the logistics for their fact-finding committee meetings in enjoyable locales across the country. And Finance Ministry bureaucrats are reluctant to let go of the power that allows a young joint secretary to order the chairpersons of national banks around," the paper noted.

Change is necessary, and perhaps it may be forced by the pandemic, Rajan and Acharya argued.

The costs of the system, as reflected in the huge loan losses it generates, may soon be greater than what the government can afford to pay. With government deficits and debt levels reaching enormous levels, there are simply not enough budgetary resources to recapitalise banks, they said.

"An encumbered, under-capitalised public sector banking system will not lend well, which will be a huge tax on growth, as it has been for the last six years. More worrisome, without reform the banks will cumulate further losses," the paper said.
(Reuters) - Shares of the biggest global banks dropped on Monday after news reports said they allowed large sums of allegedly illicit funds to move through the financial system, despite red flags about the origins of the money.

Britain-based HSBC Holdings PLC <HSBA.L> and Standard Chartered PLC <STAN.L> fell to 25-year lows, while U.S. banks JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> and Bank of New York Mellon Corp <BK.N> were down 4.1% and 4.7%, respectively.

These lenders were named in recent articles by BuzzFeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, based on leaked documents, known as the FinCEN Files.

Here are the key takeaways from the reports:

1. What are the FinCEN Files?

The investigative series is named after the U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, which receives alerts from banks and other financial firms about transactions that appear to be questionable. Those alerts are called suspicious activity reports, or SARs.

Financial institutions filed SARs for more than $2 trillion worth of transactions between 1999 and 2017, according to the reports.

The leaked files pertained to roughly 2,100 SARs filed with FinCEN between 2011 and 2017, representing less than 0.02% of the more than 12 million SARs during that time.

Among the types of transactions highlighted by the report: funds processed by JPMorgan for potentially corrupt individuals and companies in Venezuela, Ukraine and Malaysia; money from a Ponzi scheme moving through HSBC; and money linked to a Ukrainian billionaire processed by Deutsche Bank AG <DBKGn.DE>.

2. Why would a transaction be deemed "suspicious"?

U.S. federal laws require certain financial institutions to file SARs if there are signs of money laundering, insider trading, cyber attacks or various types of fraud. The existence of a report does not confirm wrongdoing, but alerts regulators to possible criminal activity.

Story continues

Banks, money exchanges, securities brokers, insurance companies, casinos and other financial institutions are required to file SARs within 60 days of detection, according to the Treasury Department.

3. What went wrong?

U.S. agencies tasked with enforcing money-laundering laws rarely took any action after receiving SARs, nor did big banks after filing them, according to the FinCEN Files.

As a result, the millions of suspicious activity reports had little-to-no effect on policing the global financial system, the articles said.

4. What does it mean for banks?

It is not entirely clear what negative consequences, if any, banks highlighted in the FinCen Files stories may face.

Analysts on Monday said the revelations were unlikely to lead to additional regulatory penalties or fines, because the behavior detailed in the articles showed that the system is flawed, but did not make clear that the banks had broken any rules or laws.

It is possible that some banks with dated technology may have to spend more money improving compliance systems, and that politicians who typically criticize the industry will scrutinize the matter further, but there was no immediate sign that was happening yet.

"Unless there are more substantive allegations of fact, we expect that (these articles) will not have lasting impacts on the industry or stock prices," Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski wrote in a note to clients.

(Reporting by C Nivedita and Abhishek Manikandan in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)
The Bachelor's Bella Varelis seems determined to twist the knife into her love rival Irena Srbinovska as the dating show heads into its final week.

As Locky Gilbert's top four contestants do the media rounds ahead of the last two episodes, Bella made a rather cutting remark to TV Week on Monday.

The 25-year-old marketing consultant gleefully told the magazine that she and Locky, 31, had said 'I love you' to each other during lockdown.

Given her fierce rivalry with Irena, it's likely this admission was directed at the 31-year-old nurse - who told Locky on the show last week she was 'completely in love' with him, but he couldn't say 'I love you' in return.

He's mine! The Bachelor's Bella Varelis (right, with Locky Gilbert) seems determined to twist the knife into her love rival Irena Srbinovska as the dating show heads into its final week

For context, on-site production of The Bachelor was suspended from mid-March until the first week of July, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

During this three-and-a-half-month period, Locky kept in touch with the women via Zoom, text messaging and FaceTime - and it was about this time that Bella and Locky supposedly said they loved each other 'in texts'.

However, Bella hastened to add they did so using emojis, not actual words.

Bombshell: As Locky Gilbert's top four contestants do the media rounds ahead of the last two episodes, Bella made a rather cutting remark to TV Week on Monday. She gleefully told the magazine that she and Locky, 31, had said 'I love you' to each other during lockdown

Cruel: Given their fierce rivalry, it's likely this admission was directed at 31-year-old nurse Irena (pictured), who told Locky on the show last week she was 'completely in love' with him - but he couldn't say 'I love you' in return

She explained: 'We've both said, "*love heart emoji" you" in texts, but not the full sentence yet. Those three words mean a lot to me and Locky knows that, so it's not something I take lightly.'

Bella added: 'There were months between filming, and Locky and I would FaceTime for hours a day. We just enjoyed each other's virtual company.'

Bella's boastful interview comes after Irena told Locky on Wednesday's episode that she had 'fallen completely in love with' him.

Humble brag: 'We've both said, "*love heart emoji" you" in texts, but not the full sentence yet. Those three words mean a lot to me and Locky knows that,' Bella told TV Week

But the former Australian Survivor star, 31, was unable to say 'I love you' in return - because Bachelors are banned from doing so until the finale.

He did kiss her and offer her a rose, however.

In light of this, Bella's revelation that she and Locky exchanged 'I love you's' privately during lockdown will no doubt cut deep.

As of Tuesday, Irena is the bookies' favourite to win ($1.27), Bella is tipped for runner-up ($3.50) and intruder Bec Cvilikas is expected to place third ($7.50)

The Bachelor finale week begins Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 10

Romantic moment: Bella's boastful interview comes after Irena told Locky on Wednesday's episode that she had 'fallen completely in love with' him

Gagging order: The former Australian Survivor star, 31, was unable to say 'I love you' in return, however, because Bachelors are banned from doing so until the finale
Ira Johnson is an 18-year-old explorer living in missouri who made an astonishing find while walking along the Grand River  he discovered a fossilized mastodon tooth.

Johnson noticed a 'big rock' near the water that seemed to be out of the ordinary and when he took it home, he realized it was an ancient tooth.

Researchers who analyzed the remains say it once belonged to an American mastodon that lived during the Pleistocene Epoch some 10,000 years ago.

Mastodons are ancient relatives of the elephants and mammoths that were thought to have been destroyed by humans, but recent DNA testing shows they went extinct long before.

Scroll down for video

Ira Johnson is an 18-year-old explorer living in Missouri who made an astonishing find while walking along the Grand River  he discovered a fossilized mastodon tooth

Johnson shares the love of treasure hunting with his father and has been exploring rivers since he was about 5 years old.

'I usually find silver-plated spoons or just a bunch of junk really,' Johnson told FOX2now.com.

'When I was in there looking and I walked over to the water's edge and I saw the tooth and I didn't really think much about it because it looked just like a normal rock.'

Johnson spotted the tooth, thinking it was just a rock, and brought it home to show his father whose 'face brightened.'

The tooth is about the same size as a human hand and was confirmed to have belonged to an American mastodon by researchers at the University of Iowa

Mastodons are ancient relatives of the elephants and mammoths that were thought to have been destroyed by humans, but recent DNA testing shows they went extinct long before

The tooth is about the same size as a human hand and was confirmed to have belonged to an American mastodon by researchers at the University of Iowa.

Another young explorer found a jaw of a mastodon on a farm in southern Iowa last year.

Ira Johnson shares the love of treasure hunting with his father and has been exploring rivers since he was about 5 years old

The bone still has a row of teeth attached and is the second fossil to have been discovered on the farm in the last 30 years.

It is thought to have belonged to a young member of the prehistoric animal that may have stood up to seven foot tall and lived in ancient Iowa around 34,000 years ago.

This is the second Mastodon fossils in 30 years onsite, with the last discovered by the couple who own the farm while fishing on the property.

They have handed over the new bones to the University of Iowa (UI) and has asked to stay anonymous so fossil hunters do not visit their property.

Another young explorer found a jaw of a mastodon on a farm in southern Iowa last year. The bone still has a row of teeth attached and is the second fossil to have been discovered on the farm in the last 30 years

The remains are now kept in a cupboard at the Trowbridge Hall at the University of Iowa.

Tiffany Adrain, collections manager at the UI's Palaeontology Repository, said these remains are somewhat common, particularly along waterways in Iowa.

'We were notified a couple of weeks ago that somebody had found a fossil in the middle of a small river on the property.

It is thought to have belonged to a young member of the prehistoric animal that may have stood up to seven foot tall and lived in ancient Iowa around 34,000 years ago

'It was actually a high school student who had found the object, and the landowners contacted us and notified us [and] sent us photographs.

'Now we could tell right away it was a jaw bone of a mastodon,' she added.

These discoveries are more common than people think, said Ms Adrian.

'I think people are finding stuff all the time,' she said.

'Maybe they are out canoeing or fishing on a bank. Farmers, in particular, on the land can spot things pretty easily.'

UI's Palaeontology Repository has a number of prehistoric fossils from Iowa, many of which are large mammals that lived in the last 150,000 years.

These include sloths, beavers, short-faced bears, bisons as well as camels.

While it was traditionally thought that mastodons roamed areas in the Arctic and Subarctic when it was covered with ice caps, scientists now think that that the area was only temporarily home to the animals when the climate was warm.

The massive animals' preferred habitat of forests and wetlands abundant with leafy food.

They also disappeared before humans colonized the region according to radiocarbon dating of fossils from the mammal.

The findings indicated that mastodons suffered local extinction several tens of millennia before either human colonization - the earliest estimate of which is between 13,000 and 14,000 years ago.

They also hinted that the creatures died out before the onset of climate changes at the end of the ice age about 10,000 years ago, when they were among 70 species of mammals to disappear completely in North America.
By PTI

PUNE: Five people were killed when the car in which they were travelling rammed into a stationary container truck on Pune-Solapur highway in the early hours of Monday, police said.

The accident took place near Yavat in Daund tehsil here in Maharashtra at 3.30 am, they said.

The car was heading towards Pune when it hit the stationary truck from behind, an official from Yavat police station said.

"All five occupants of the car died on the spot," the official said.

It seems the car driver could not see the container truck in front and rammed his vehicle into it, he said.

The official further said a case would be registered against the truck driver for halting his vehicle on the highway in a negligent manner.
Older racial and ethnic minority residents and their caregivers bear the severest brunt from COVID-19 across the entire spectrum of US nursing homes and assisted living communities, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers report in two groundbreaking studies in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

For example, nursing homes with disproportionately higher numbers of racial and ethnic minority residents reported two to four times as many new COVID-19 cases and deaths per facility than other nursing homes for the week of May 25, according to a study led by Yue Li, Ph.D., professor of public health sciences.

The findings -- the first to be reported based on newly mandated, weekly data reported from 15,587 US nursing homes to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) - are also the first to document the disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities in nursing homes across all states.

Disparities of this magnitude, Li says, suggest that longstanding, fundamental inequalities in nursing homes resulting from segregated facilities with limited resources and poorest quality of care are being "exacerbated by the pandemic."

A first-ever empirical study involving the incidence of COVID-19 in US assisted living communities showed a four-fold higher case fatality in these communities, compared to the counties in which they are located. The study was led by Helena Temkin-Greener, Ph.D., M.S., professor of public health sciences.

"As in the nursing home study, we also see that assisted living communities with more minority residents have more cases, and we confirm that communities with a higher proportion of residents with dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and obesity, experienced more COVID-19 cases," Temkin-Greener says.

The findings are based on data from seven of 13 states that publicly reported COVID-19 data from nursing homes and residential care settings through May 29, 2020.

Assisted living communities need 'same attention' as nursing homes

Unlike nursing homes, assisted living communities are not subject to federal regulation; they are regulated by the states "with varying degrees of rigor," Temkin-Greener says.

Several factors leave them "ill prepared" to deal with a pandemic, the study reports. For example, assisted living communities are often financially challenged, care for increasingly sicker residents, operate under limited oversight, and experience staff and PPE shortages. The workers providing daily care are often personal care aides rather than certified nursing assistants or registered nurses, and receive little if any training in the use of PPE.

Moreover, "unlike nursing homes, which have recently been mandated to collect and report data on COVID-19 --including cases and deaths--to the CMS, there's no system at all to report such data for assisted living communities," Temkin-Greener says.

Hence the lack of previous studies. Temkin-Greener and her collaborators were able to combine state-reported data for 4,685 assisting living communities in Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina with a 2019 national inventory of assisted living communities and Medicare beneficiary data for residents of those communities, which the researchers had prepared as part of another project.

They found that:

Whereas the percentage of COVID deaths ranged from 3.32 percent of the overall number of cases in North Carolina to 9.26 percent in Connecticut, the percentage of COVID deaths in assisted living communities in those states ranged from 12.89 percent to 31.59 percent - even though fewer than 10 percent of assisted living communities reported being affected by the pandemic.

Assisted living communities with higher proportions of Black and Hispanic residents had more COVID-19 cases - but not more deaths.

Assisted living communities with a greater proportion of residents with dementia, COPD, and obesity had significantly more cases and deaths related to COVID-19.

And yet, assisted living communities have been relatively overlooked by the federal response to COVID-19 compared to nursing homes, the researchers note. For example, the federal government has allocated more than $10 billion to specifically assist nursing homes with the pandemic, including support for testing, PPE, and staff shortages. However, federal assistance to ALs has been limited to those communities serving Medicaid eligible residents, or only about 16% of assisted living communities, even though they care for very similar populations and share many of the same pandemic-related challenges as nursing homes.

"Relying on AL communities to muster a rigorous response to the COVID-19 pandemic largely on their own is clearly unrealistic," the researchers conclude. "Assisted living communities and their residents urgently need local, state, and the federal governments to pay at least the same level of attention as that given to nursing homes.'

'Systemic inequalities' fuel higher nursing home toll among minorities

By July 30, 362,000 people in virtually every US nursing home were infected with the virus, representing about 8% of all cases in the country. At least 62,000 nursing home residents died of COVID-19, representing 41% of all COVID-19 deaths nationally.

The CMS Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File used by Li's team includes weekly counts of cases and deaths among nursing home residents and staff, as well as facility capacity, staff, and supplies of PPE, as reported by individual nursing homes to the Centers for Disease Control. The researchers used the first available weekly count (May 25-31) and compared it to several other databases.

Of the 12,576 nursing homes whose data passed CMS quality assurance checks, those with higher proportions of racial/ethnic minority residents tended to be larger for-profit facilities affiliated with a chain, had more Medicaid residents and lower RN and total nurse staffing hours, and were located in counties with more COVID-19 cases and deaths as of May 31, with lower socio-economic status, and with higher competition for nursing home care.

The number of weekly new COVID-19 confirmed cases among residents increased from an average of 0.4 cases per facility among nursing homes with a low proportion of racial/ethnic minority residents to 1.5 cases per facility for the highest proportion homes.

The predicted counts of cases and deaths per facility were two to four times higher in nursing homes with the highest proportions of racial/ethnic minority residents.

These disparities in rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths mirror pre-pandemic studies showing that nursing homes with lower resources and higher concentrations of racial/ethnic minorities have poorer outcomes, Li's team reports. In addition, nursing home literature for several decades has indicated that nursing homes remain highly segregated, and that racial/ethnic minority residents tend to be cared for in a small number of facilities located in communities of color with poorest quality of care and highly restricted resources.

Nursing home staff from these communities--especially staff of color who make up over 50 percent of nursing home direct care workforces--are more likely to live in crowded households and neighborhoods, travel to and from work by public transportation, and be low paid with few or no benefits such as paid sick leave, "all placing them at higher risks of COVID-19 infection as well as inadvertent cross-infection with patients," the researchers report.

Thus, "immediate actions are needed to ensure that as the pandemic continues to evolve, racial/ethnic minority nursing home residents, and the frontline workers caring for them, do not bear an additional later or sufferings due to systemic inequalities."

Although 22 percent of all nursing homes reported shortages of staff, and 25 percent reported shortages of PPE for the reporting week, "we did not find evidence of dramatic disparities in these self-reported shortages across nursing homes," Li's team notes. However, "it is likely that nursing homes predominated by racial/ethnic minority residents face more of other institution-wide issues, such as poor testing capacity, and inadequate staff knowledge and training in infection control and prevention."

They recommend that CMS' weekly reports be expanded to include data collection for these "additional and more nuanced items."

###

Other collaborators on the assisted living study included Li; Xueya Cai, a research associate professor in biostatistics and computational biology; and Wenhan Guo and Yunjiao Mao, Ph.D. students in health services research and policy. Temkin-Greener, Cai and Xi Cen '19, former PhD student, now a research associate and health economist at IMPAQ International collaborated on the nursing home study.

The nursing home study was supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The assisted living community study was also supported with funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New Yorkers are now able to see the number of confirmed positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in their childs school using the states online portal.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced earlier this month that the state would release a dashboard, called the COVID-19 Report Card, showing the number of people who tested positive for the coronavirus in each school in New York.

The Advance/SILive.com reported last Tuesday that the tool was delayed and not available, despite the dashboard being slated to launch Sept. 8. However, as of Monday it is up and running.

Now, families across the state -- and on Staten Island -- can check their schools coronavirus numbers.

All school districts in the state are required to send daily data on the number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in each school to the Department of Health (DOH). The dashboard collects data from each individual school, including public, charter, and private schools, as well as higher education institutions and State Universities of New York (SUNYs).

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

Heres how you can look for your schools coronavirus dashboard data.

Visit the states COVID-19 Report card website at schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov Choose your school type -- whether its a public, charter, or private school, or a higher education institution or SUNY. Catholic schools are considered private schools in the states dashboard. Begin typing your schools full name, and a list of school names will appear. For public schools -- like PS 22 or IS 61 -- dont use periods. For schools like St. Joseph by-the-Sea or St. Charles School, you need to type it out the full word saint" instead of st. Staten Islands colleges are also available to search, including City University of New York College of Staten Island, St. Johns University and Wagner College. Choose your school from the list to view the data. The dashboard includes information on: the total number of on-site people who tested positive; the teaching model offered; the total on-site people testing positive by students, teachers and staff; the last seven days of test and positive results of individuals within school facilities, and enrollment and employment data.

The city Department of Education (DOE) has released updates on the number of confirmed cases in city public schools. To date, the city has had nearly 19,000 teachers participate in prioritized testing, and 61 are positive -- meaning the infection rate is 0.33%.

Six Staten Island public schools have had at least one staff member test positive for the coronavirus from Sept. 8 (the day staff returned to school buildings) through Monday, Sept. 14: PS 78, Stapleton; PS 58, New Springville; New Dorp High School; Tottenville High School; PS 62, Rossville; and PS 13, Rosebank.

One Staten Island public school, PS 59 in New Brighton, had a staff member test positive for the coronavirus during the Sept. 15 through Sept. 17 period -- but the individual did not report to the school building, and there was no need for further action.

Zion Lutheran Preschool in Willowbrook shut down its programs temporarily after a confirmed coronavirus case among one of its students. And a letter sent to St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School students, staff, parents and guardians on Friday informed them that a member of their community self-reported a positive coronavirus test result.

Monday marked the first day of school for New York City public school students. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that the city would phase-in the start of the school year for blended learners, with 3-K, pre-K and District 75 students reporting in-person beginning this week.

Students in K-5 and K-8 schools will begin reporting on Tuesday, Sept. 29, and middle and high school students will begin returning on Thursday, Oct. 1.

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If you've ever taken a stroll through San Francisco's Chinatown, you've no doubt noticed its aged denizens, sporting an array of jaunty hats and toting their pink plastic shopping bagsthank you, have a nice day!

Now, a pair of San Franciscans is paying tribute to the style and wisdom of those neighborhood sages in a delightful new book, Chinatown Pretty: Fashion and Wisdom from Chinatown's Most Stylish Seniors.

Dropping this week from Chronicle Books, the tome features photographs and interviews with octogenarians and nonagenarians living in six Chinatowns from SF and Oakland to Vancouver and New York, and reveals the experiences of immigrants in America through both their fashion choices and singular advice.

'Chinatown Pretty' (September 2020, Chronicle Books) (Andria Lo / Chinatown Pretty)

Authors Andria Lo and Valerie Luu first met in 2009 through the SF food community: Lo was photographing the street food scene; Luu was starting a Vietnamese pop-up restaurant. Inspired by the distinct cultural style of Chinatown where the senior citizens seemed to embrace a particular aestheticlayers of modern and vintage, a mix of fast fashion and high-end brands, bold patterns, and plenty of colorthey teamed up for a visual project that would celebrate "this overlooked community, for both their fashion blog-worthy outfits and their active and independent lifestyles."



Their chronicle has garnered nearly 30,000 followers on Instagram, where posts feature a breadth of different personalities: women voguing in pink paisley jackets and leopard print pants, men in fedoras and statement jewelry, couples twinning with sock-feet in sandals; and ladies in pom-poms and dots.

The images and interviews also provide a window into the life experiences of Chinese immigrants, many of whom live in SROs. They weave outfits together from gifts and hand-me-downs, homemade threads, and vintage and custom clothes procured from Hong Kong.

And along with their singular layered styles, they have words of wisdom to share. Just ask Charlie, of Los Angeles' Chinatown, the key to longevity: "Don't smoke. Don't drink whiskey. And don't have too many wives."

Whether you come for the fashion or the advice, Chinatown Pretty will charm you and likely inspire you to shop your closet for some innovative pattern mixing. After all, layers are always in style in San Francisco.

// Chinatown Pretty ($25, Chronicle Books) is available Sept. 22; purchase at bookshop.org.
A controversy boiling over in the Esplanade neighbourhood over a new respite site is the latest flare-up in tensions the city is grappling with as it tries to social distance homeless people in Torontos shelter system.

A new interim 24-hour respite site for 28 homeless males that opened in June on the Esplanade near Church Street has nearby residents, particularly seniors, upset and calling for its removal.

Im not a person who gets scared, but its the first time in 23 years that I dont feel secure in my neighbourhood, said Joyce Barnes, 76, who teaches meditation and lives next door to the site.

Things are getting worse by the day.

Barnes said the site has become a gathering place for other homeless people, and that she was recently followed home from her local drug store by a homeless man, who kept within about 5 cm of her. When someone else approached, the man crossed the street and left, she added.

Local community members have also complained to the Star that the Esplanade site has led to open drug dealing and discarded needles, public intoxication and other incidents, including the stabbing of a homeless man in a bus shelter.

The concerns are similar to those that have divided the Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood, which has been at odds this summer over two interim homeless shelters  one has since closed because the building is being demolished  the city opened to create more physical distancing space in its shelters.

The situation highlights how the city is caught between a rock and a hard place.

On the one hand, it faces a deadly pandemic that spreads easily in congregate settings like a homeless shelter. In fact, its being sued by a coalition of public interest groups for allegedly failing to keep to the terms of an earlier court agreement forged to ensure physical distancing standards in the shelters. The city denies the allegations and a hearing is set for early October.

At the same time, the city is also under pressure from city residents about homeless encampments that have been springing up in more visible locations and interim shelters that are being set up by the city in communities that have never had them before.

Mary-Anne Bedard, general manager of Torontos Shelter Support and Housing Administration, said the city had to move quickly to save lives in March in response to COVID-19 by getting people out of the crowded shelter system and outdoor encampments.

Public health requirements for physical distancing meant the city had to move almost 50 per cent of its shelter beds into new locations.

The city has since opened 25 interim sites for the homeless, 17 of them in hotels and others in spaces in the city, including the Esplanade site, a travellers hostel and a location that once served as a religious mission.

The need to open so many new locations in such a short period of time  going into neighbourhoods that weve never been in before  its a new phenomenon for some communities, so there is a heightened level of concern, Bedard said.

However, I very much believe there is no wrong neighbourhood for a homeless shelter. Its a community service  there are no communities that shouldnt have this service, said Bedard. The same way that theres no community that shouldnt have a library or shouldnt have a community centre.

Nevertheless, the city is trying to balance concerns over increased street homelessness with concerns about new shelter sites, Bedard said.

Homelessness is impacting almost every community in Toronto one way or another, she said. When people are sheltered, the city is better positioned to support them and mitigate community concerns.

Part of the reason for the increase in complaints about the homeless may be because they have become more visible during COVID-19.

Bedard pointed out that homeless people have become a lot more open about where they are pitching their tents, compared to before when the tents were more out of sight, in ravines, under bridges and other secluded areas.

Some homeless people have said they prefer staying in the outdoor tents because they feel safer and less susceptible to the coronavirus.

Since March, the city says it has helped move about 810 people out of 54 outdoor encampments and into indoor spaces. The city continues to track just under 350 tents, which represents about 400 people still sleeping outside at night.

The citys latest 2017 Street Needs Assessment estimated there are about 530 people sleeping outside on any given night in Toronto. About 6,860 people a night are in the shelter system.

The city estimates its 25 new interim sites will cost about $169 million by the end of the year or about $215 million for a full year. The city is getting some money from the province and federal governments, including a social services refund expected to be in the neighbourhood of $118 million  one-time funding that must be spent by March 31.

Its hard to come up with long-term solutions with short-term funding, said Bedard. I think we know that physical distancing requirements will remain in effect until a vaccine is broadly available to the public, probably this time next year.

When it came to choosing locations for the interim sites, the citys Master Plan lists shelters as an approved use in any area of the city that is zoned for mixed or commercial/residential use, Bedard explained.

The only areas where we cannot open a shelter is on employment/industrial land, she added.

If a location is zoned for municipal shelter use, the city can use that site without going to the committee of adjustment or holding a public hearing.

I think thats where a lot of concern comes up  the feeling that weve done something we shouldnt have done  but in fact the location is already zoned appropriate for a shelter, said Bedard.

If the zoning is there, the citys shelter and housing department proceeds to the next phase of its due diligence  asking questions such as how much the building costs to take over, and whether the structure is appropriate.

The leases for the new interim sites for the homeless range from six months to two years.

At the respite on the Esplanade, the lease extension for the 6,800-square-foot site, formerly a fitness centre, lasts until the end of January.

But Barnes has serious doubts that deadline will be enforced.

Do you really think theyll put the (homeless men) out in the middle of the winter? she said.

Property owner Timbercreek Asset Management is providing the Esplanade space to the city for zero dollars rent, while the city is paying operating costs, including heat and hydro.

Timbercreek offered the space after an outreach from the city.

The city was in a desperate situation with COVID-19  the overcrowding in shelters and the need for safe social distancing, said Colleen Krempulec, a senior spokesperson for Timbercreek. At the end of the day, we just felt it was the right thing to do.

Krempulec said that the end of January date for the lease expiry is firm, but she also added that were in an evolving situation, due to the coronavirus.

Erik Haites, 77, a semi-retired consultant who has lived since 1986 in a condo building attached to the respite site on the Esplanade, believes little is being done to support the homeless men using the facility.

No efforts are being made to address their needs. Theyre getting no help with their mental health, alcohol or drug addictions, or job training to help these people get out of their homelessness.

He later went on to say: just plunking people down in inappropriate (locations), then doing nothing is not the solution.

But St. Felix Centre, which delivers programming and operates the respite, said its residents have daily access to its casework team. Through the team, they can get help with housing supports, referrals to primary health care, psychiatry, substance use counselling and support, and other forms of assistance.

In terms of safety issues, St. Felix created a liaison committee, which includes members of the community, city officials, representatives of the local councillors and a community engagement coordinator.

Our community engagement coordinator is in constant communication with different community stakeholders, the BIA, community police officers and the city to keep the centres senior leadership team informed of any possible challenges, said St. Felix spokesperson Enrique Cochegrus in a statement.

We also have our community safety team that monitors the immediate off-site area and conducts rounds in a designated area near the program to assist people experiencing crisis, de-escalate situations, do clean-ups, and support community members.

Local city councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam said COVID-19 has made homelessness more visible, leading to tensions with local residents.

Many service organizations have had to temporarily halt or restrict services, which combined with an increase in encampments, has pushed more vulnerable residents onto our sidewalks and into our park system, creating more conflicts over the use of space, said Wong-Tam in a statement.

Combined with fewer residents who have the fortune to have their own home  it is understandable that people feel less safe downtown as the balance of users has dramatically shifted.
An online survey conducted by a community social media platform found that over 32 per cent of the respondents said that they had to use connections and clout to get a Covid-19 ICU bed while only five per cent of the respondents said that they got a bed through the routine process.

Pune has reported multiple cases wherein people had to struggle to get an ICU or a ventilator on time because of which some lives were lost.

The survey had 653 responses from people living in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Of these, 32 per cent said that they had to use connections and clout to get an ICU bed, 10 per cent had to follow up aggressively and one per cent even used social media to draw the attention of the administration to get a bed.

While 44 per cent said that they had to use all the former options to get an ICU bed. Three per cent also said that they had to pay a bribe to get an ICU bed. Only five per cent said that they got it through a routine process while the remaining five per cent said that they did not get it.

Among the questions, the survey asked people to also include whether hospitals should mandatorily display real-time ICU bed availability on websites and building entrances. Of the 504 people who responded, 88 per cent said that it should be made mandatory while 10 per cent said no. The remaining 2 per cent replied as cant say.

Local circles is a community a social media platform that enables citizens and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions and enables the government to make policies that are citizen and small business-centric.

Sachin Taparia, founder of Local Circles which conducted this survey said, We received many complaints from citizens from across the country about their family, friends or associates not being able to find an ICU bed at a government or a private hospital. We received about over 17,000 responses from citizens located in over 211 districts of the country.

He further said that among the total responses over 55 per cent said that they did not have any person in their network that needed a Covid-19 ICU bed. Pune received 1,157 responses but only those who did report any such experience were included and the rest were taken out of the sample.

A senior doctor from Sassoon hospital requesting anonymity said, I have at least five letters from MLAs, MPs and local politicians recommending patients who need either an ICU bed or ventilators.

Rajesh tope, health minister who was in Pune on Sunday inspected Sassoon hospital and also addressed the issue of bed shortage in the city.

He said, I will be in the city for two days now and will be visiting various facilities. I will also take a meeting with the owners of trust hospitals. All private hospitals with huge capacity will be there in the meeting. We will also increase the beds in Sassoon and recruit more doctors.

There have been multiple incidents which have been reported by Hindustan Times earlier too, that while the Covid-19 dashboard made for Pune division did reflect vacant ICU beds and ventilators in some hospitals, citizens often returned empty-handed because the hospital said they did not have any beds at the moment.

As of Sunday evening, the Covid centre dashboard stated that there were only 16 ICU beds without ventilators and only one ventilator available in the entire city while PCMC showed 88 vacant beds for ICU without a ventilator and 14 vacant ICU beds with a ventilator.
India's #MeToo movement saw many high profile names tagged as sexual predators and offenders, including industry veterans like Nana Patekar to Alok Nath being alleged of sexual misconduct. Needless to say, while a lot of allegations were proven to be genuine, some were born out of vested interests.

Nonetheless, the latest person to be accused of sexual misconduct is Anurag Kashyap. Model-turned-actor Payal Ghosh tweeted, @anuragkashyap72 has forced himself on me and extremely badly. @PMOIndia @narendramodi Ji, kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. Pls, help!

@anuragkashyap72 has forced himself on me and extremely badly. @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji, kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. Pls help! https://t.co/1q6BYsZpyx  Payal Ghosh (@iampayalghosh) September 19, 2020

Anurag denied all the allegations in a series of tweets. He said that he is not this type of man who would stoop down to this level:

                                        ,                   Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) September 19, 2020

    ,                      ,            ,          ,      /  Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) September 19, 2020

Recalling the incident, Payal told IANS, First, I went to meet him in his office at Yari Road. He was talking to somebody else and asked me to sit in front of him. He was busy talking to somebody else and that's why I left."

"Next day, he called me asking me not to wear anything glamorous that would suggest that I am an actress. He said wear something simple'. So, I went to meet him in salwar kameez. He cooked for me and picked my plates as well. I left after some time but he messaged again, asking me to come. I refused since it was late. He even enquired about who lives with me," Payal added.

She continued, He called me over to his home, and I went. I sat while he smoked. After some time, he took me to another room, where there were many shoes of his then-wife Kalki Koechlin. He showed me her shoes and said my wife has gone to the US. She is angry with me. I used to cook for her too, but don't cook anymore. She is angry with me'."

Adding more to it, she said, Anurag also said that girls were ready to sleep with him just to do one film with Ranbir Kapoor'. At that time, he was working on Bombay Velvet. I got scared at that moment. That room had many cassettes, books, and a sofa. It seemed like a library. After that, he suddenly got naked in front of me, and asked me to remove my clothes, to which I said Sir, I am not comfortable. He said, all the actresses I have worked with are ready to come to me at just one call'. Again, I said that I am not comfortable. After some time, I said Sir, I am really feeling uncomfortable and unwell', and just escaped from the place. I didn't meet him ever after that incident.

These explosive statements have created a stir in the industry, following which, last night Anurag also shared his lawyers statement. The statement read, "My client, Anurag Kashyap, has been deeply pained by the false allegations of sexual misconduct that have recently surfaced against him. These allegations are completely false, malicious, and dishonest. It is sad that a social movement as important as the #metoo movement has been co-opted by vested interests and reduced to a mere tool for character assassination. Fictitious allegations of this nature seriously undermine the movement and seek to unconscionably trade upon the pain and trauma of actual victims of sexual harassment and abuse. My client has been fully advised of his rights and remedies in law and intends to pursue them to the fullest extent - Priyanka Khimani. (sic)."

And here is the statement from my lawyer @PriyankaKhimani .. on my behalf .. thank You pic.twitter.com/0eXwNnK5ZI  Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) September 20, 2020

If you are wondering whos Payal Ghosh, here are a few things we could dig up about her:

1. She was born on November 13, 1989, in Kolkata. She pursued Political Science Honours from the Scottish Church College, Kolkata.

2. She bagged her first role in the acting world in Sean Bean starrer TV movie Sharpes Peril.

3. She has also been a part of the popular daily soap Saath Nibhana Saathiya, playing the role of Radhika.

4. She made her Bollywood debut with Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi, which also starred Rishi Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Vir Das, and Prem Chopra.

5. She has also featured in various Telugu and Kannada films including Prayanam, Varshadhaare, and Mr. Rascal.

Meanwhile, Anurags ex-wives have given their statements on social media and are supporting the director.

His first wife, Aarti Bajaj, wrote, "First wife here.. You are a rockstar @anuragkashyap10. Keep empowering women as you do and the safest place you create for all of them. I see it first hand with our daughter. There is no integrity left and the world is full of losers and no brains baying for the blood of anyone who has a voice. If everybody spends that energy which they use in hating others constructively this world will be a better place .Cheapest stunt I have seen till now. First, it made me angry then I laughed so hard as it cannot come more framed than this. I am sorry that you have to go through this. Thats the level of them. You stay HIGH and keep using your voice. We love you (sic)."

Just a while back, Kalki Koelchin also shared her statement on Instagram and wrote, Dear Anurag, don't let this social media circus get to you, you have fought for the freedom of women in your scripts, you've defended their integrity in your professional space as well as in your personal life. I have been witness to it, in the personal and professional space you have always seen me as your equal, you have stood up for my integrity even after our divorce, and you have supported me when I felt unsafe in a work environment even before we got together. This strange time where everyone gets to abuse one another and make false claims without any repercussions is a dangerous and repulsive one. It is destroying families, friends, and countries. But there is a place of dignity that exists beyond this virtual blood bath, a place of paying attention to the needs of those around you, a place of being kind even when no one is looking, and I know you are very familiar with that place. Hang on to that dignity, stay strong, and keep doing the work you do. Love from an ex-wife (sic)."

What do you have to say about this episode? Let us know in the comments section below.
The filing cites reporting by The Washington Post about Trump allegedly inflating the value of his properties to lenders and investors. It also noted reporting by the New York Times and public statements made by Trumps former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who admitted to orchestrating the payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. The women claimed they had affairs with Trump, which he has denied.
Zhang Dingyu, head of Wuhans designated coronavirus-treating Jinyintan Hospital, was awarded the Peoples Hero, a national honorary title, for his extraordinary contributions in the fight against COVID-19 on Sept. 8.

Zhang Dingyu, Cheng Lin and their daughter take a photo at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing. (Photo/Changjiang Daily)

At the awarding ceremony, tears welled up in his wife Cheng Lins eyes. Behind the honorary title, their love story has warmed the hearts of many people.

In 1987, Cheng, at 18 years old, became a nurse at Wuhan No.4 Hospital after graduating from nursing school, while Zhang, at 24 years old, was working as a resident doctor at the anesthesiology department of the hospital for one year.

Zhang Dingyu, Cheng Lin and their daughter take a photo before Zhang leaves for Algeria. (Photo/Changjiang Daily)

After meeting for the first time at the end of that year when Cheng rotated into Zhangs department, they soon fell in love with each other. He was especially fond of studying. He went home by bike to have dinner every day and then went back to the hospital to study late into the night, Cheng recalled, noting that she felt her heart flip at the first sight of Zhang.

Since Cheng had to work late at night, Zhang would usually deliver meals to her for dinner and escort her home.

Cheng recalled that Zhang gave her an unforgettable surprise on her first birthday after the start of their relationship by presenting her with a bundle of flowers at a time when there were few flower shops in Wuhan. Followed by an even bigger surprise, they enjoyed Western food for dinner that night. He is romantic, Cheng said, adding that they would often attend vocal concerts.

Zhang puts this photo of Cheng on his desk in Algeria. (Photo/Changjiang Daily)

After marrying Zhang at 23 years old, Cheng has always offered unconditional support to her husband, who has stood on the frontlines over the past several years.

In December 1997, Zhang, 34 years old at the time, became a member of a Chinese medical aid team in Algeria. During his two years in Algeria, Zhang often wrote letters to reassure his wife and to express his love to her. During that period, they had more than 120 correspondences. When I felt lonely, I would read her letters over and over again, Cheng said.

In 2008, after the devastating Wenchuan earthquake, Zhang led a medical team from Hubei province to help victims in southwest Chinas Sichuan province.

Zhang sends this photo he took in Algeria to Cheng, with a note on the back telling her Algerians wrap newborns in exactly the same way with Chinese. (Photo/Changjiang Daily)

From the end of 2010 to early 2011, he took part in an international rescue in Pakistan for three months and became the first doctor from Hubei Province to join the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders.

In October 2017, Zhang was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable progressive neurological disorder which results in weakened muscles that will cause him to progressively lose muscle strength. Since then, Cheng has always taken care of him.

Cheng Lin donates 400ml of blood plasma on Feb. 18 after recovering from the novel coronavirus.

As this hero doctor continues to struggle in the fight against this disease day and night, Chengs heart broke after noticing her husbands health has worsened since the outbreak of the epidemic.

I cant share his pain. I can only spend more time accompanying him and taking good care of him. When he comes home, I will always be there, Cheng said.
Aragon said she was not naive. She knows the walk on its own wont change anything. But they were there to show support and share resources with those who needed them. It was also a call for more resources such as mental health services, social services, school programs and jobs. The community has to work together to make those changes, she said.
Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other updates from Hindustan Times.

Rift in top army ranks comes to light, Gen Naravane steps in

Differences between a top army commander and his second-in-command came to light on Monday, with army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane nominating a senior lieutenant general to iron out the rift between the two senior officers, people familiar with the developments said, on condition of anonymity.

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Crores of farmers will benefit, tweets PM Modi as govt hikes MSP of wheat, five other rabi crops

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated the farmers over the governments decision to hike the Minimum Support Price of wheat and five other rabi crops.

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Sushant Singh Rajput death: NCB probe leads to Pak and drug cartels; Bollywood A-listers under scanner

Investigations into the drug angle in film actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death has led the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to large drug organisations and entities in Amritsar and Pakistan supplying cocaine and other hard drugs to Mumbai, and to Bollywood.

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Lok Sabha passes amendments to FCRA that seek to make Aadhaar mandatory for NGOs to receive foreign funds

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the amendments to Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 that seek to make Aadhaar mandatory for NGOs to receive foreign funds.

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Harsh Goenka tweets mantras for being happy. Tweeple agree, add suggestions

This tweet by business tycoon Harsh Goenka will not only remind one of those crucial things that need ones focus but also act as advice that may help one feel better.

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Tata Sky Binge+ set-top-box price in India drops to 2,999 for new customers

Tata Sky on Monday announced it is offering its latest Tata Sky Binge+ for 2,999 to new customers. Existing customers opting for an upgrade or secondary multi-TV connection can get the smart set-top-box for 2,499. The device was earlier available for 3,999. The new prices have already come into effect.

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Richa Chadha gives update on legal notice, Payal Ghosh says go and ask Anurag Kashyap why did he take her name

Richa Chadha has sent a legal notice to Payal Ghosh for falsely (dragging) her name into her allegations of sexual assault against Anurag Kashyap. Richa said that she sent Payal a soft copy of the notice, after an attempt to deliver a hard copy to her residence failed.

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Sukhbir Badal: Voice vote shows govt unwilling to listen, inside or outside Parliament

On Sept 20, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had urged the President not to sign the farm Bills and also requested him that they be returned to Parliament for reconsideration. Ahead of his meeting with the President, Badal spoke to Hindustan Times Sunetra Choudhury on the latest episode of On The Record.

Read more.
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Monday expanded the Amma mobile fair price shop scheme across the state, rolling out over 3000 such units to benefit more than 5.37 lakh ration cardholders.

Presently, 48 such mobile units were serving people in remote and hilly areas in Nilgiris, Namakkal, and Salem among others, where essential commodities are being delivered at people's places of stay. The scheme was launched by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2014, an official release said.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami had announced in the state Assembly in March, expanding the scheme across the state following requests from various quarters.

Live TV

Accordingly, the government expanded the scheme by adding another 3501 mobile fair price shops at a cost of Rsn9.66 crore to benefit a little over 5.37 lakh ration card holders in all 37 districts of the state, it said.

Palaniswami flagged off seven mobile fair price shops on Monday to mark the symbolic rollout of the scheme, wherein a salesperson from the parent ration shop will visit designated areas once in a month to distribute the essential commodities at places convenient to the people, the release said.

Further, the chief minister launched a pilot project of providing fortified rice for ration cardholders in the Tiruchirappalli district.

The fortified rice will contain iron, folic acid, and Vitamin B12, the release said, adding, it will benefit women, children, and the elderly.
Team Assistant, Seibersdorf, Austria

Organization: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Country: Austria

Field location: Seibersdorf, Austria

Office: IAEA in Seibersdorf

Closing date: Friday, 9 October 2020

Team Assistant(G4)

( 2020/0422 (006169) )

Organization: MTGS-Seibersdorf Laboratories Services Section

Primary Location: Austria-Lower Austria-Seibersdorf-IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf

Job Posting: 2020-09-11, 12:13:18 PM

Contract Type : Fixed Term

Regular

Probation Period : 1 Year

Organizational Setting

The Department of Managements Division of General Services (MTGS) provides support functions to the IAEA through its five Sections, namely the Archives and Records Section (ARMS), the Commissary Management Section (CMS), the Facilities Management Section (FMS), the Transport and General Support Section (TGSS), and the Seibersdorf Laboratories Services Section (SLSS).

Among the five Sections, the Seibersdorf Laboratories Services Section (SLSS) provides site operation technical and administrative services to the work of the IAEAs laboratories. SLSS services include facilities, technical, engineering, property and transport management, and site security through its management of the Seibersdorf Protective Force (SPF). The Section has a diverse complement of 35 staff, including technicians, drivers, procurement assistants and IT support. The armed SPF provides around-the-clock security for the site.

Main Purpose

Reporting to a Section/Unit Head/Supervisor and providing support to a group of Professionals, the Team Assistant contributes to the efficient operation of the office by providing assistance and advice on the administrative practices and procedures.

Functions / Key Results Expected

Correspondence and Records Management

Draft standard correspondence according to corporate communication guidelines. Format letters, reports, technical documents, manuscripts, newsletters and other material in accordance with standard operating procedures. On the basis of general instructions, search office files and records and select information for use by the supervisor(s) in preparing correspondence, reports, project or programme plans.

Prepare graphs, charts and other visual aids for use by the supervisor(s) or experts in seminars, meetings, workshops and presentations. May prepare and format documents for Internet publication.

Responsible for the work units Records Office in terms of: maintaining file lists, finding aids, paper and electronic files according to corporate standards, liaising with ARMS (Archives and Records Management Section) staff on records management issues, providing information to colleagues on records management standards and practices, facilitating paper file transfers and retrievals, and ensuring the proper handling of records of separating staff members.

Meetings and logistics

Make arrangements for internal/external meetings, seminars and other events. This may require such activities as the implementation of logistics, preparation of invitation letters and the typing, compilation and distribution of working documents and other material. Take and prepare minutes and/or notes of internal meetings.

Make travel and hotel arrangements, prepare travel authorizations/claims for the supervisor(s) and/or participants and compile, calculate and prepare cost estimates.

Administrative activities

Input, retrieve and assemble information into/from databases using commercial or IAEA specific software applications.

May calculate and prepare standard limited components of the programme and budget (e.g. printing requirements, consultancies) and the financial plan for the Unit/Section and may keep track of the financial budget/expenditure of the Unit/Section.

Update and maintain information databases, such as mailing lists, document tracking systems and management reporting systems on the status and completion of work plans.

On behalf of the supervisor, may distribute work among the other support staff of the Section, explaining work methods, assisting with routine problems and checking work in progress to ensure compliance with administrative rules and regulations.

Provide required support and/or backup to staff in executive offices.

Competencies and Expertise

Core Competencies

NameDefinition

Planning and Organizing

Plans and organizes his/her own work in support of achieving the team or Sections priorities. Takes into account potential changes and proposes contingency plans.

Communication

Communicates orally and in writing in a clear, concise and impartial manner. Takes time to listen to and understand the perspectives of others and proposes solutions.

Achieving Results

Takes initiative in defining realistic outputs and clarifying roles, responsibilities and expected results in the context of the Department/Divisions programme. Evaluates his/her results realistically, drawing conclusions from lessons learned.

Teamwork

Actively contributes to achieving team results. Supports team decisions.

Functional Competencies

NameDefinition

Analytical thinking

Gathers and analyses information, identifying critical relationships and patterns among data and proposes workable solutions.

Client orientation

Establishes effective relationships with clients to understand and meet or exceed their needs. Finds ways to ensure client satisfaction.

Judgement/decision making

Consults with supervisor/manager and makes decisions in full compliance with the Agencys regulations and rules.

Knowledge sharing and learning

Actively seeks opportunities to learn by formal and informal means; learns from others, adopting and sharing best practice.

Resilience

Able to remain calm in emotionally charged situations. Accepts constructive feedback in a positive manner and is able to cope with setbacks.

Required Expertise

FunctionNameExpertise Description

Administrative Support

Correspondence and Written Communication

Ability to draft routine correspondence and correct documents in accordance with established standards and requirements

Administrative Support

Guidance and Training

Ability to provide training and guidance to newly recruited office support staff, advising them on the administrative practices and procedures

Administrative Support

MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)

Proficiency in MS Office and the ability to use databases

Qualifications, Experience and Language skills

Completed secondary education.

Minimum of four years of general office support experience, some of which in an international environment.

Tags civil servants facilities management knowledge sharing logistics mailing lists procurement procurement assistant records management typing

Good oral and written command of English. Knowledge of other official IAEA languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is an asset.

English language test (Level 2) to IAEA standard.

Remuneration

The IAEA offers an attractive remuneration package including a tax-free annual net base salary starting at EUR 40992 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance), 6 weeks annual vacation, pension plan and health insurance

Appointment is subject to a satisfactory medical report. Recruitment will be on a LOCAL BASIS only. Outside applicants are required to supply to the IAEA or to authorize it to seek all information relevant to their suitability for employment by the IAEA. Testing may be part of the recruitment process.

Applicants should be aware that IAEA staff members are international civil servants and may not accept instructions from any other authority. The IAEA is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. As part of the United Nations common system, the IAEA subscribes to the following core ethical standards (or values): Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for diversity. Staff members may be assigned to any location. The IAEA retains the discretion not to make any appointment to this vacancy, to make an appointment at a lower grade or with a different contract type, or to make an appointment with a modified job description or for shorter duration than indicated above.
(Natural News) In a recent report, Washington-based consumer watchdog group Public Citizen accused major e-commerce platform Amazon of price gouging  the practice of raising prices of basic necessities during disasters  amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to Mint Press News.

The report itself featured a long list of essential products that were being sold at inflated prices. For instance, a box of 50 disposable face masks listed on the platforms own essentials line now retails for $39.99, a 1,000 percent increase from its designated price in 2019.

Corn starch, another household essential, saw a 1,010 percent increase in price, the highest among the listed essential products on the report. Sugar and toilet paper were being sold at a 520 percent markup while sanitizing products, such as soap and disinfectants, saw an almost 500 percent increase in price.

In a statement, Public Citizens competition policy advocate Alex Harman said that Amazon has fundamentally misled the public, law enforcement and policymakers about price increases during the pandemic. Harman, who also authored the report, added that his findings indicate a need for a federal law on price gouging.

But Harmans damning report isnt one that the e-commerce giant hasnt heard before. In fact, the accusations of price gouging began in March when thousands of sellers engaging in the said practice flooded the platform with high-priced listings.

This prompted Amazon to release an official statement, declaring that it committed itself to ensure fair pricing and hold price gougers accountable. Following through on these promises, the e-commerce platform removed 530,000 offers from the marketplace and suspended more than 2,500 seller accounts in its US marketplace.

However, Amazon was still engaged in price gouging on products it sold through its essentials line. Thanks to the increased profits from these marked-up products, Amazon founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Jeff Bezos has seen his net worth jump from $113 billion in March 2020 to $206 billion this month.

The rich get richer

Charging exorbitant prices for basic necessities amid crises do far worse than just cheat consumers of products that could mean life or death. With Amazon racking up unprecedented increases in profits thanks to their markups on essential products, Bezos has almost doubled his wealth during the pandemic.

Yet even as he becomes the first individual to reach a net worth of $200 billion, workers at Amazon and staff at Bezos-owned Whole Foods Market Inc. face the constant threats of hunger and homelessness. (Related: Jeff Bezos wants to eliminate all humans, including his own workers at Whole Foods.)

In fact, as per the e-commerce platforms own data, an overwhelming number of their workers nationwide use food stamps to eat. Whole Foods workers have also been demanding better wages as far back as March, as well as guaranteed paid leaves, protective equipment and better working conditions amid the pandemic.

Rather than acquiesce to these demands, Bezos instead started a charitable foundation for them and asked the public to donate. Far from adequate wages, more than 90,000 Whole Foods workers nationwide also received new uniforms that sported the words hero on the front and hardcore on the back.

The dubious defense for price gouging

Price gouging is illegal in 35 states. In most of these states, price gouging during crises is considered a violation of deceptive trade practices laws. Most of these laws provide for civil penalties, while some state laws also enforce criminal penalties. However, there is no federal law protecting consumers from the said practice.

But even in the absence of comprehensive policies against price gouging, it isnt difficult to understand its unethical nature and implications. Nonetheless, there are some economics professors and columnists who are willing to defend price gouging. But whether or not their arguments are convincing is another topic altogether.

Lili Carneglia, for instance, an economics professor at Valencia College in Orlando, Florida, wrote an article in libertarian think tank Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in defense of price gouging. Carneglia argued that a neighborhood 7-Eleven charging $20 for a case of water after a hurricane is a good thing.

Moreover, laws designed to protect consumers from price gouging often just lead to food shortages during crises, she added. This happens because low prices push consumers to hoard. But despite her convictions, Carneglia herself admitted that she is unable to convince most of her students to share her perspective.

Meanwhile, The Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby said that far from ensuring supplies remain available at affordable prices, laws against price gouging encourage anti-social behavior, guarantee food shortages and contribute to suffering during natural disasters.

Public Citizen is far from sharing the same sentiments. In his report, Harman concluded that price gouging exploits the most vulnerable. During emergencies, people are scared, desperate and in need. Therefore, there is no excuse for successful corporations taking advantage of consumers through price gouging.

For more related news on Jeff Bezos and the Amazon monopoly, check out JeffBezosWatch.com.

Sources include:

MintPressNews.com 1

MintPressNews.com 2

Citizen.org

FoxBusiness.com

ConsumerFindLaw.com

FEE.org

BostonGlobe.com
A day after arresting the nine Al-Qaeda members from West Bengal and Kerala for their alleged terror plot nationwide, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has zeroed in on their connection with an Indian affiliate of the global terror group after detecting their contacts and communication through social networking platforms.

Scanning the cellphones of the nine accused, the NIA found that they were members of a WhatsApp group, titled Ghazwat-ul-Hind, which had around 22 members altogether, official sources told this newspaper. Surprisingly, all the conversations were deleted before September 19, sources added.

Ghazwat-ul-Hind is an Indian affiliate of terror group: Al-Qaeda and it has been found by the central intelligence agencies active in Jammu and Kashmir in the past two-three years, a senior NIA officer disclosed on anonymity.

The central agency also blew the lid of the terror module's another internet communication channel: Dark Web which were used by two of the accused: Murshid Hasan and Mosharaf Hossen to maintain contacts with their handlers in Pakistan, sources added.

Meanwhile the NIA has unearthed a long tunnel during a search at the residence of Abu Sufiyan, one of the accused, in Murshidabad of West Bengal. The concrete tunnel was found at backyard of his home at Kalinagar village in Rainagar of the district from where he was caught early Saturday during a raid.

The NIA suspects that the tunnel was built to stockpile arms, ammunition and explosives. It has also learnt that the 44-year-old tailor, who also used to work as a lathe machine operator for extra income, planned to escape after anticipating his arrest. He had called up some of his aides for help in the days leading to September 19, according to sources.

The NIA, which is interrogating the six arrested from the state at its office in Salt Lake, is now trying to trace the calls from his cellphone which was seized. In a startling revelation, another accused: Najmus Sakib spoke about his contacts with some people in Jammu and Kashmir to the investigators, sources claimed adding that why and how he developed contacts in the valley is under the probe.

The 20-year-old is a second-year student of computer science at Basantapur Engineering College in Domkol. The NIA is planning to take the nine accused, in its custody on a transit remand till September 24, to New Delhi for their further interrogation.
T heresa May has insisted that she will not vote for the UK Internal Market Bill - a controversial Brexit legislation which could see the country break international law.

The Conservative former prime minister on Monday accused the Government of acting recklessly and irresponsibly without thinking of the long-term consequences.

Mrs May warned that breaching international law will cause untold damage to the United Kingdom and threaten the future of the Union.

She signalled her grave reservations over sections of the bill linked to the Northern Ireland Protocol, which seek to override the Brexit divorce deal.

Theresa May (file photo) / REUTERS

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has argued the changes are required to protect the relationship between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Bill also sets out the way that trade within the UK will work once outside the EUs single market and customs union, amid concerns in Westminster that Brussels could seek to disrupt food goods travelling from Britain to Northern Ireland as part of trade talks.

But Mrs May launched a stinging rebuke of Mr Johnsons actions, and questioned if the Government had understood what it was signing up to when consenting to the Withdrawal Agreement.

She added an arbitration process would be available, meaning the Governments controversial additions have no place in this Bill.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a debate on the Internal Market Bill / via REUTERS

Mrs May told the Commons: I cannot emphasise how concerned I am that a Conservative Government is willing to go back on its word, to break an international agreement signed in good faith and to break international law.

As Conservative Sir Bill Cash sought to intervene, Mrs May joked: I wish I had 10 for every time Ive given way to him in a debate or statement in the last few years.

Sir Bill, chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, argued the EU and other states have persistently broken international law  including the UK.

Mrs May shot back: He seems to be saying if somebody does something wrong, its OK for us to do something wrong? Im sorry I do not agree with him on that point.

Ursula von der Leyen: Brexit Withdrawal Agreement cannot be undone

The Tory MP for Maidenhead said she recognised her party colleague Sir Bob Neill has made every effort to deal with the impact of clauses 41 to 45 and come to a compromise with the Government on when the powers can be used.

Mrs May went on: Frankly, my view is to the outside world it makes no difference as to whether a decision to break international law is taken by a minister or by this Parliament  it is still a decision to break international law.

This can only weaken the UK in the eyes of the world.

One of the great strengths we have as a country is our commitment to the rule of law and this will have been damaged.

MPs approve giving Brexit Bill a second reading

Our reputation as a country that stands by its word will have been tarnished.

And the willingness of other countries to trust the United Kingdom and its values will have been reduced.

So much for global Britain.

Mrs May highlighted international efforts led by the UK to expel Russian agents following the Salisbury novichok attack, adding: We were able to do that as those countries had trust in the United Kingdom.

Where will that trust be in future if they see a United Kingdom willing to break its word and break international law?

If we pass this Bill with clauses 41 to 45, and in so doing accede to the Governments wish to break international law, I believe it will have a detrimental effect on peoples trust in the United Kingdom.

Mrs May said it would also have an impact on the UKs trade talks, adding: This is a country that upholds the rule of law  its one of the things that makes us great, its one of our characteristics, we uphold the rule of law around the world.

The Conservative Party upholds the rule of law, its one of our values, one of our characteristics, yet were being asked to tear up that principle and throw away that value.

And why? I can only see on the face of it its because the Government didnt really understand what it was signing up to when it signed the Withdrawal Agreement.

She concluded: I consider that by introducing clauses 41 to 45 the Government is acting recklessly and irresponsibly with no thought for the long-term impact on the standing of the United Kingdom in the world.

This will lead to untold damage to the United Kingdoms reputation, it puts the future of the United Kingdom at risk and as a result, with regret, I have to tell the minister I cannot support this Bill.
KGF Chapter 2 is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated films of the year. The makers of the film had earlier announced the theatrical release of the film on October 23. With the current circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and a spike in positive cases in the state, there are high chances that the film might not release on the expected day.

Well now, it is said that the makers do not want to disappoint the fans and followers of Rocky Bhai aka Yash, as they are planning to drop the highly-awaited teaser of the film. If reports are to be believed, the team will unveil the teaser of the magnum opus on October 25 i.e., on Dussehra. With the rumour doing the rounds on social media, fans are expecting a never-seen-before visual treat in the coming days.

On a related note, the shooting of the film was resumed recently after a six-month COVID-19 break. The director of the film Prashanth Neel had announced the inclusion of Prakash Raj in the sequel to the 2018 magnum opus recently. According to sources, Yash is currently moulding himself to get back into shape to essay his character Rocky Bhai, and will soon get back to the sets. The actor will reportedly start shooting in mid-October. In an earlier interview with a media channel, Prashanth Neel had revealed that the film is left with 25 days of shoot and will call it a wrap next month.

Sanjay Dutt who is essaying the antagonist in KGF Chapter 2 is currently undergoing treatment for lung cancer and has taken a break from work. Well, the high-octane sequence requiring Yash and Sanju which is yet to be shot, will reportedly be filmed with a duplicate of the Bollywood actor.

The action-thriller bankrolled by Vijay Kiragandur under Hombale Films banner also features Srinidhi Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Balakrishna, Anant Nag, Saran Shakthi and Achyuth Kumar.

KGF Chapter 2: Yash Starrer's Remaining Portion To Be Shot Without Sanjay Dutt?

KGF Chapter 2: Yash Gets Back To Gym To Mould Into Rocky Bhai's Avatar!
The growing demand for customized agitators is set to drive the Industrial Agitator Market. The global industrial agitator market size is projected to grow from USD 2. 2 billion in 2020 to USD 2. 7 billion by 2025; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.

New York, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Industrial Agitators Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis by Mounting, Model, Component, Form, Industry And Region - Global Forecast to 2025" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p04655409/?utm_source=GNW

1% during the forecast period. The growing demand for customized agitators and the increasing need for energy efficiency, flow maximization, rapid mixing, and other advancements are the major drivers for the industrial agitators market. The rising demand for high-performance mixing devices, and growing manufacturing sector and process industries are also driving the market. On the other hand, the high maintenance cost of industrial agitators is a major restraining factor for this market.



The pharmaceutical industry segment of the market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2020 to 2025.

The pharmaceutical industry is a growing market for industrial agitators owing to the increasing awareness regarding healthcare products and medical technologies.The pharmaceutical industry follows rigid specifications for accuracy and cleanliness to ensure the production of safe and high-quality products.



Industrial agitators help in complex operationscarrying out chemical reactions, manipulating rheology, dissolving components, and facilitating heat transferwhich is achievable using different types of mixers to process the raw ingredients and handle intermediates.



The liquid-liquid mixture segment is projected to hold the largest size of the Industrial Agitator market during the forecast period.

The increasing use of agitators for mixing liquids with liquids in the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors is largely responsible for driving the growth of the liquid-liquid mixture segment.This mixing technique is also being used extensively in food & beverages, cosmetics, wastewater treatment, petrochemicals, and chemicals industries.



The customized agitators used for liquid-liquid mixing are also gaining traction, as agitation devices are selected depending on the properties of the fluids to be mixed, and the type of emulsion required.



The APAC region is the largest and the fastest-growing region during the forecast period.

The APAC Industrial Agitator market is driven mainly by the high economic growth witnessed by the major countries in this region.The key countries in the APAC region include Japan, China, and India.



The growth of various end-user industries and rapid modernization in APAC are some of the key growth drivers for the industrial agitators market in the region. China, Japan, and India are some of the major countries driving the growth of the industrial agitators market in APAC, since these countries are the developing economies, and there are high investments for industrial developments and advancements.



Breakdown of profiles of primary participants:

 By Company Type: Tier 1  50%, Tier 2  30%, and Tier 3  20%

 By Designation: C-level Executives  45%, Directors  35%, and Others  20%

 By Region: Americas  40%, Europe  30%, Asia Pacific (APAC) 20%, and the Rest of the World (RoW)  10%



Key players in the Industrial Agitator market include Ekato Group (Germany), SPX Flow, Inc. (US), Sulzer Ltd. (Switzerland), Xylem Inc. (US), Philadelphia Mixing Solutions, Ltd (US), Alfa Laval Inc. (Sweden), Chemineer (US) and others.



Research Coverage:

The Industrial Agitator market has been segmented based on model, form, mounting, component, industry, and region. It also provides a detailed view of the market across four main regions: North America, Europe, APAC, and RoW.



Key Benefits of Buying the Report:

 This report includes statistics pertaining to the Industrial Agitator market based on model, form, mounting, component, industry, and region.

 The report includes analyses of Covid-19 Impact on the market.

 This report includes detailed information on major drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges pertaining to the Industrial Agitator market.

 The report includes illustrative segmentation, analysis, and forecast for the Industrial Agitator market based on its segments and subsegments.



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p04655409/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:12:03|Editor: huaxia

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HANOI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam reported no new case of COVID-19 infection on Monday, with its total confirmed cases standing at 1,068 with 35 deaths from the disease so far, according to its Ministry of Health.

Five more patients have been given all-clear, raising the total cured cases in the country to 947 as of Monday, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, over 24,600 people are being quarantined and monitored in the country, the ministry said.

Vietnam has gone through 19 straight days without any new COVID-19 case in the community, according to the ministry. Enditem
As dedicated Danbury educators, our top priority is always the safety and well-being of our students. Whether the issue is how and when to reopen schools during the COVID-19 pandemic or charter schools trying to siphon students and funding from the district, further segregating Danbury schools  we will always advocate for what is in the best interest of our students and their families, public education, and our community.

Thats why we stand strongly against the proposal to bring the Prospect Charter School, run by a charter management organization out of New York, into our Danbury community. The charter school organization wants you to believe it will fill a need in our city, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Charter schools were authorized by the state based on their potential to innovate and share best practices with the traditional public school sector. Unfortunately, many are used to profit from public tax dollars while operating outside of public accountability. Unlike public schools, charters are not accountable to a Board of Education elected by local residents. Public dollars are left in the hands of outsiders who, in several cases in Connecticut and beyond, have sought to wring a profit from the public funds intended for our childrens education. In fact, a 2017 audit of the Brooklyn Prospect Charter Schools revealed that 20 percent of revenues went to unnecessary, non-education expenses for management, fundraising, and profit (i.e., unspent revenues) that would otherwise not be allowed with a Danbury public school.

Danburys local tax dollars should stay in our public schools. If approved, the corporate-managed Danbury Prospect Charter School would drain much-needed funding and resources from our already struggling school system.

Danbury is one of a handful of Connecticut cities and towns with an increasing population, including a growing number of students attending public school. We need to address the growing student population, many of whom are English learners (ELs) and students with special needs. Though Danbury Prospect School is proposed to focus on ELs, in 2018-29 the groups Brooklyn Prospect Schools ELs made up about 1 percent of the total enrolled student population. Charter schools like Prospect will not address the challenges of a growing population as they tend to only recruit and cherry-pick the top performing students. In addition, they unfairly send students who misbehave or exhibit special needs back to the local public schools that faithfully serve all students across a spectrum of needs, test scores, and other challenges. This cherry-picking results in a concentration of children in traditional schools who have high needs and require expensive services, while depriving them of the benefits of learning along with higher-performing student peers.

Our state tax dollars should also remain in our local public schools. Danbury would lose over $3,100 for each student who would attend the privately operated Prospect school. Thats over $2.4 million per year of our state tax dollars being taken away from Danbury schools. Worse yet, the state would then be required to send $11,250 per student to the Prospect school for a total of $8.7 million per year for 770 students. Thats an additional $6.3 million of our state tax dollars being sent to this private operator.

In addition to draining public resources, charters frequently dont live up to their academic promises. Research shows that charters, despite drawing a more advantaged population than served by neighborhood public schools, perform the same or worse. And some charters, with zero-tolerance discipline and no excuses policies, are plagued by high suspension rates and lasting emotional and academic scars on their students.

In response to the many problems that have grown out of the charter movement, the NAACP issued a recommendation to put a halt to funding the expansion of charters as a result of many of these problems, as well as documented cases of discriminatory practices, worsening school segregation, unproven records of success, and a lack of accountability and transparency. Connecticut would be wise to follow suit.

We do not need a charter school. Instead, our community should focus our collective effort and resources toward the recently proposed Danbury Career Academy. The Danbury Career Academy would provide students with real-world career opportunities, offering students internships and hands-on job training with local companies. This concept-based school would alleviate many of the issues that face the Danbury Public Schools and would provide a true public school option. The Danbury Career Academy is a creative and innovative option that could provide families with an alternative choice from traditionally structured schools. While unique in concept, this school would still maintain all the critical elements of public education  transparency, accountability and elected community members to assure input and oversight in decision making and best instructional practices. That is not what we will receive from charter management organizations like Prospect.

We as a community must put students ahead of politics and reject the proposed Danbury Prospect Charter School. The future of our students depend on it.

Erin Daly, President; Tom Ross, Vice President; Melinda Scott, Secretary; and Josh Richter, Treasurer; of NEA Danbury.
Over the weekend, Jennifer Aniston made headlines for having a flirtatious and "erotic" reunion with her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, during the virtual table read of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

Now, the Hollywood A-lister is once again sending the internet into a total frenzy after she totally steals the show for this year's 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. Despite losing to Zendaya on the Lead Actress for Drama Series nomination, the 51-year-old actress still proves no trophy is required to make some Emmy's noise.

During the award ceremony on Sunday, Jennifer Aniston first made noise when she graced the audience-less Emmys 2020 ceremony with Jimmy Kimmel. Jennifer went to the Staples Center to present the Outstanding Lead Actress In a Comedy Series Award while wearing a little black dress; who could go wrong with an LBD, right?

The ageless actress kept her look simple but hot by pairing the sophisticated LBD with loose waves, a silver statement necklace, and a matching bracelet.

After introducing her as a presenter, Jennifer had an awkward banter with Jimmy Kimmel as they need to stay feet away from each other to observe coronavirus social distancing protocols. Jennifer then went on to present the nominees for the said category.

But Jennifer Aniston's hotness was taken into the next level when the stage literally went on fire. Before "The Morning Show" star received the envelope to read the winner, the host, Jimmy Kimmel, took extra COVID-19 measures and sanitized the envelope.

The 52-year-old host showered the envelope with tons of Lysol and eventually threw it in a bucket and lit with fire for further "disinfection."

The "Friends" alum turned into an instant firefighter when she grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the fire like a pro. Only "the" Jennifer Aniston could do such an act while all glammed up.

Mini Friends Reunion

After his presenter stint, Jennifer rushed back home to tune in via Zoom for her own nomination for her Apple TV series. When it is time for Jennifer's nomination, the host checked on the actress to see if she's already home.

Donning a rose floral robe, Jennifer faced Zoom and talk to Kimmel. But in true Jennifer Aniston fashion, she is up for more surprises, and one of her longtime pals appeared on screen with her.

Apparently, her fellow "Friends" star joined her at home to witness the ceremony. The Monica Geller portrayer even joked about living with Aniston since the 1990s, as if pertaining to their famous New York apartment on the hit 90s sitcom.

"Of course I'm here, we live together," the 56-year-old Courteney Cox said.

After a few seconds, another familiar face joined the Zoom call; it was no other than Liza Kudrow, a.k.a Phoebe Buffay.

"I don't know, with your family, maybe?" Kimmel asked Kudrow, to which the 57-year-old actress responded: "Yeah, like people live with their families. That's funny."

The brief mini-Friends reunion sent Twitter into a total frenzy, but not until actor Jason Batemen joined the iconic trio.

READ MORE: Emmys 2020 Fail: Virtual Ceremony Announced the Wrong Winner for Guest Actor Award
Leader of Congress in on Monday urged the government to give Bengali language the status of a "classical language" in the country.

"Bengali literature is one of the most enriched bodies of literature in modern India and Bangladesh. I propose that the Bengali language should be given the recognition of a classical language. This is my request to the government. I don't have any different opinion about the recognition of six languages (already classified) as classical languages," Chowdhury said in the Lower House.

"There is no specific eligibility of how a classical language is determined. Bengali language with all its heritage should be included as a classical language," he said.

Tamil was the first language in India to be accorded the classical language status in 2004. Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia are the other languages that have been declared as classical languages in India by the government.

(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.)
China distracted the world from Ladakh by opening up three fronts in South China Sea

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 21: The People's Liberation Army has mobilised four of the five of its military theatre commands.

Reports have suggested that live-firing drills and exercises from the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea were a diversion for its aggression in Ladakh. A report in the Nikkei Asian Review said that the PLA mobilised its Southern Theatre Command, which oversees the South China Sea, Northern Theatre Command, which oversees the Korean Peninsula and the Eastern Theatre Command, which oversees Japan and Taiwan.

The present mobilisation was a distraction for a real stand-off in the Karakoram-Zanskar ranges of Himalayas. The report also said just like the Chinese annexed Tibet in the 1950s against the backdrop of its intervention in the Korean War, the current mobilisation was a distraction for a real stand-off.

Taiwan alarm and Indonesia standoff at South China Sea

The PLA's wester theatre command has been fully mobilised with military districts of Xinjiang and Tibet fully involved in the aggression for the Ladakh operations, the report also noted. It may be recalled that the Korean War in the 1950s was a distraction for the Jawahar Lal Nehru government. The Indian diplomacy got involved in sorting out the North Korea issue and in the bargain left their flanks in the western and eastern sector open to Chinese Military in 1962. Further the PLA chose to attack India in 1962 when the whole world was diverted towards the Cuban missile crisis.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on the India-China military commander level talks. The sixth round of the talks are being held in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control. The commanders are sitting across the table after a gap of one and half months to discuss the situation at the border. The talks are being held to explore ways to defuse tensions in eastern Ladakh.

Meanwhile, the IAF is set to use the newly-inducted Rafale jets to carry out sorties in Ladakh as part of the overall boosting of combat readiness in view of "provocative actions" by Chinese troops including the three incidents of shots being fired in the air in the last three weeks.

The main focus of the meeting is on the implementation of a five-point agreement reached between the two countries.

Both sides reached the agreement to resolve the border row at a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) meet in Moscow on September 10.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

The agreement included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
New South Wales has recorded just four new COVID-19 cases on Monday, with 7,765 tests conducted across the state.

Three of the new cases are returned travellers in hotel quarantine while the other is a contact of a previously reported case linked to the cluster at the Concord Hospital in Western Sydney.

The dwindling numbers have enticed South Australian Premier Steven Marshall to push to open his state's border with NSW.

'We're hoping that we can get the border open with NSW this week,' Mr Marshall told ABC Radio Adelaide.

NSW recorded four new coronavirus cases on Monday. Pictured: Apple store customer and staff members in the Sydney store wear face masks on Friday

A social distancing notice is seen displayed on a shopping centre floor in Sydney on Sunday

The SA government's coronavirus transition committee will meet on Tuesday to discuss NSW residents entering the state without needing to quarantine for two weeks.

Mr Marshall said he was mostly concerned about community transmission rates, after a COVID-positive taxi driver worked for eight days while infectious in Sydney.

A major contact tracing operation is underway after the driver worked for more than a week and visited venues in Sydney and the South Coast.

Mr Marshall said the driver's case was 'slightly worrying'.

'But [SA's Chief Public Health Officer] Nicola Spurrier and the transition committee will look at that very closely,' he said.

A coronavirus-infected taxi driver drove around Sydney for eight days spreading the virus

ISOLATE AND GET TESTED: Campbelltown Golf Club, Glen Alpine - September 16 from 2pm-4.30pm in the TAB area Milton Ulladulla Ex Servos Club - September 12 from 2pm-6.15pm Carlo's Italian Restaurante Bar & Seafood, Ulladulla - September 12 from 8pm-9.30pm Bannisters Pavilion Rooftop Bar & Grill, Mollymook  September 13 from 12.30pm-2.15pm Mama Wok, MacArthur Square Campbelltown - September 9 from 1.30pm-2.30pm Anyone who attended these venues for a least one hour during the times mentioned is considered to be a close contact of the taxi driver and is being directed to get tested and isolate for 14 days. Advertisement

Where the Taxi driver worked: Moorebank Bankstown Chipping Norton Liverpool Lidcombe Warwick Farm Milperra Anyone who caught a Taxi in these areas on September 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 is being urged to monitor their health. Advertisement

Monitor your health: Picnic Point Bowling Club - September 18, from 3pm-6pm Campbelltown Golf Club course, Glen Alpine - September 16, from 9.30am-2pm Wray St Oyster Shed, Batemans Bay - September 12 from 12:00pm-1:00pm Anyone who attended these venues at the times mentioned is also considered a casual contact and must monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they develop symptoms. Source: NSW Health Advertisement

If a decision is made to relax border controls, Mr Marshall said it would likely be implemented the same day for the convenience of families.

'You see families completely dislocated  parents not being able to see their children or grandparents not being able to see grandchildren  so there's a lot of reasons we want this to happen but we can't do it until it's safe to do so, but there's certainly some very good signs this week at this stage,' he said.

Test numbers in NSW dropped by nearly 6,000 from 13,635 in the previous 24-hour testing period, which is not uncommon for a weekend.

NSW Health would like to see levels above 20,000, particularly in South Western Sydney.

Chief Medical Officer Kerry Chant said NSW was at a critical phase in the response to the pandemic.

South Australia Premier Steven Marshall (pictured) said his border could open to NSW residents this week

'We are trying to identify any undetected chains of transmission in the community to drive it down towards no community transmission,' she said.

'That will put us in the best position ahead of the school holidays where we know people will be out and about travelling across the state.'

NSW Health is urgently attempting to contact anyone who took trips with the taxi driver who tested positive on Saturday.

Anyone who entered his vehicle between September 8 and 18 should monitor for symptoms.

'We have managed to use a variety of different mechanisms to identify a large number of people that shared a ride with that taxi,' Dr Chant said.
A 'heartbroken' family have told of their 'shock' after a 14-year-old schoolgirl died after being hit by a car on Saturday night.

Courtney Ellis was hit by a car in St Helens, Merseyside, at around 9.50pm on Saturday and died shortly after being rushed to hospital.

The schoolgirl's aunt Joanne Schofield, 50, has told of their 'heartbreak' in an emotional statement shared on behalf of the entire family, the Sun reported.

Courtney Ellis, 14, (pictured) died after being hit by a car on Blackbrook Road in St Helens, Merseyside, at around 9.50pm on Saturday

The schoolgirl's aunt Joanne Schofield, 50, has shared an emotional statement on behalf of the 'heartbroken' family

It read: 'All Courtney's family are seriously heartbroken. It's a shock. It was sudden and you don't expect it for a girl just starting out in her life to be killed.

'Her sister is devastated and her mum and dad are devastated. All the rest of the family are in shock. She will be severely missed. The family are getting lots of support from friends, neighbours and the police.'

Ms Schofield said that her school uniform was hung up 'ready for the morning', adding that Courtney's family was going through an 'awful time'.

She said: 'It was only a few days ago that one of her teachers rang up and said how well she was doing. Her school uniform was hung up last night ready for the morning and it's devastating. It's absolutely tragic.'

Courtney's upset school friends and their parents have been in touch with the family following the devastating news.

Merseyside Police said two men, aged 18 and 19, were arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. They are being questioned and remain in custody

Courtney's aunt Joanne Schofield said that the schoolgirl's upset friends and parents have been in contact with the family, adding that they are still 'in shock'

Merseyside Police previously said two men, aged 18 and 19, were arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after the crash on Blackbrook Road.

A force spokesman said: 'Emergency services attended and the pedestrian, a 14-year-old girl, was taken to hospital where she sadly died.

'Her family have been informed and are being supported at this time.'

The two men are being questioned by police and remain in custody.

Officers urged anyone who witnessed the incident or had any information, CCTV or dashcam footage to contact police on 101 quoting ref 20000569277, call the Roads Policing Unit on 0151 777 5747 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
(Bloomberg) -- Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. plan an minority investment in TikTok Global, giving companies that have little experience in social media a stake in a fast growing music and video-sharing app that became the focal point of a trade standoff between the U.S. and China.

Oracle and Walmart together could end up with as much as 20% of the entity, purchased in a round of financing that would precede an initial public offering, the companies said Saturday. Sequoia Capital and General Altantic, current investors in TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd., could also pursue stakes in the fundraising round, a person with knowledge of the matter said. ByteDance will retain majority control.

ByteDance commenced a search for investors in TikToks U.S. operations after Trump proclaimed that TikTok was a threat to U.S. national security, and ordered the app be sold to an American business or shut down by Sept. 20. The president said Saturday that he gave his blessing to the concept of the deal, even though ByteDance will retain such a large stake.

For Oracle, the partnership fits with a plan to become a provider of a broad range of computing services delivered via remote server farms, rivaling leaders Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. The strategy, announced with fanfare half a decade ago, had mixed success. As of last year, Oracle had grabbed such a small share of the cloud computing and storage market that research firm Gartner Inc. didnt even tabulate the figure. In 2018 Gartner classified Oracle as a niche player.

TikToks decision to pick Oracle was influenced by another company, Zoom Video Communications Inc., which recently moved some of its videoconferencing capacity to Oracles cloud business, Redwood City, California-based Oracle said Saturday in a statement.

Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison said in a statement that TikTok chose Oracle because its much faster, more reliable, and more secure than the first generation technology currently offered by all the other major cloud providers.

Story continues

Walmart said that while terms arent final, it has tentatively agreed to buy 7.5% of TikTok Global and that it would provide services including payments, e-commerce and order fulfillment to the new company. Walmart Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon will also serve as one of five board members of TikTok Global.

This partnership will provide Walmart with an important way for us to expand our reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace, fulfillment and advertising businesses, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart said in a statement.

The move is part of a broader long-term play to bring more shoppers, advertisers and vendors into its camp as the lines between content and commerce continue to blur. The arrangement could also enhance its soon-to-launch delivery subscription service, making it a more credible threat to rival Amazons Prime offering. TikTok could become a platform to sell Walmarts products, catapulting the 58-year-old Arkansas retailer into the emerging realm of social commerce against Facebook and its Instagram platform.

The new minority owners have pledged to create 25,000 jobs through the new company.

(Adds details on Walmarts plans throughout)

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Route Mobile, the cloud communication services provider, listed with a massive 102.3 percent premium on September 21 after having strong response to the public issue.

The stock started off the first session at Rs 708 , against issue price of Rs 350 per share, which was ahead of street expectations. On the National Stock Exchange, it opened at Rs 717, a massive 104.9 percent premium over IPO price.

On the BSE, at 10:01 hours IST, it was trading at Rs 716.85, up 104.81 percent with 8.03 lakh volumes, while on the NSE, it traded with 108 percent gains at Rs 728.15 and the volume was 61.06 lakh shares.

Analysts had expected Route Mobile to list with a premium of around 60 percent over IPO price given the experienced management, strong financials, deepened relations with mobile network operators (MNOs) and increased digitalisation.

Route Mobile raised Rs 600 crore via public issue during September 9-11, which had comprised a fresh issue of Rs 240 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 360 crore by promoters.

Company is going to utilise net fresh issue proceeds for repayment of certain loans, acquisitions and other strategic initiatives, purchase of office premises in the Mumbai region and general corporate purposes.

Route Mobile enjoys leadership position in the Cloud communication service. It provides services to enterprises, over-the-top (OTT) players and mobile network operators (MNOs). Its enterprise segment provides a cloud-based communication platform to enterprises, while mobile operations segment include services such as SMS analytics, firewall, filtering, monetisation and CPaaS (cloud-communication platform as a service) and hubbing solutions.

It has deepened relations with MNOs and has broadened product and service portfolio over the years through strategic acquisitions.

"Considering the growth prospects of the company (revenue growth CAGR at 37.61 percent), strong access to more than 800 networks across the world and rising work from home culture makes stock well positioned for future growth," Manali Bhatia, Head-Research at Rudra Shares & Stock Brokers told Moneycontrol.

Globally Route Mobile has 9 direct and 12 step-down subsidiaries serving its clients through 18 locations across Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and North America. Company generates over 80 percent of its revenue in foreign currency.

As of June 2020, Route Mobile had served more than 30,150 clients since its inception. The company has direct relationships with over 240 mobile network operators (MNOs).

With growing internet penetration, business models are evolving and cloud communication services are being used by enterprises for streamlining back-end operations as well as for engaging with customers and employees. Company has already evolved itself with number of acquisitions; management believes it would further continue to evaluate inorganic growth opportunities to diversify service offerings and geographic presence. Company also says it does not have any listed peers.

Company commands impressive return on net worth (RoNW) at 25.58 percent and has a positive operating cash flow over FY18-20.
Just days after protests resumed on the streets of Portland, Oregon, video has emerged of a black man hitting out at demonstrators, telling them: You ain't from here!

Footage uploaded to Twitter on Sunday night - which has since gone viral - appears to show the man, who says he is from the city, remonstrating with the protesters, some of whom are white.

The man, dressed in a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and a cap, accused the group of not being from Portland, which has been at the centre of demonstrations following the death George Floyd, a black man who was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis in May.

"I got something to say, I got something to say...what do you represent?" the man could be heard yelling, as he approached the group after abandoning his vehicle in the road.

"What do you represent?" he repeated. "You don't represent this motherf*****!"

The man, who appears to be in his 50s, then pointed to a number of properties on the street, before shouting at the protesters: "You don't know whose house that was, whose house that was... you don't know cause you ain't from here.

You don't know cause you ain't from here, motherf*****s but you come here and you got a motherf******g little situation for us, how we're supposed to be."

He added: "You got a situation for us, huh? How you want us to be." "You ain't from this motherf*****! You don't know what we went through motherf*****!" the man added, after one of the group attempts to explain why they are protesting in the city.

One of the protesters then told the man the group is from Portland, to which he replies: "Why are all these motherf*****s that ain't from here, they don't look like us, why are they from here?[sic]".

A protester then appears to name a high school in the area, but the man continues to shout profanities at the group, before the video ends. It is unclear if any complaints were made to police; The Independent has contacted the Portland Police Bureau for comment.

Demonstrators took to the streets in Portland again over the weekend, following a dayslong pause largely due to poor air quality from wildfires on the West Coast.

Police declared an unlawful assembly Friday night in a neighbour near a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building where protesters had marched, according to a police statement.

Protesters participated in criminal activity and threw items at officers, police said, leading to 11 arrests.

Less than two weeks ago the mayor of Portland ordered police to stop using tear gas for crowd control during the frequently violent protests that racked the city for more than three months after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Demonstrators had not gathered in the city since at least 9 September, when police and protesters clashed near City Hall. Wildfires have spewed dangerously dirty air across Oregon, California and Washington state, and sent haze across the country.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers on Monday morning staged an agitation over their demand to resume the operations of suburban trains --- the lifeline of Mumbai  for the public amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

MNS workers boarded trains at five railway stations in a bid to defy the travel ban imposed by the Maharashtra government because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Police stopped agitators in places like Dombivli and Thane.

MNS leader Avinash Jadhav and his supporters were stopped at the entrance of the Thane station and later taken to the Naupada police station.

MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande, who travelled by a train, said its high time the state government resumed the suburban rail operations for the public.

Also Read: Amid Covid-19 pandemic, officials in Maharashtra adapt to new ways of governance

The local trains are the lifeline of Mumbai. The government must allow the public to travel by suburban trains. This trip was an attempt to send this message to the government, said Deshpande. When the buses have started operating in full capacity, it makes no sense to restrict travel by trains. People are spending hours by travelling in buses, he added.

The railways said train services were not affected due to the agitation by MNS workers.

No overcrowding has been reported at stations. Trains are running as per schedule, said the Central railway in a statement.

Also Read: Maharashtra teachers request education department for Covid-19 insurance

The MNS had announced last week to hold an agitation on Monday morning.

On Sunday, Railway Protection Force (RPF) had sent notices to the MNS to desist from holding the agitation.

Mumbais suburban local railway network has been suspended for the public since March 22 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On June 15, a limited number of local train services resumed for employees working in essential services.

The ruling Shiv Sena said it is adopting a cautious approach to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.

We are unlocking in phases. The viral infection will spread rapidly if the suburban train services are thrown open for the public, said Anil Parab, Maharashtra transport minister and a Sena leader.
While lead is often used in hunting and fishing activities, it remains a very polluting metal, state deputies of the Green Party.

Luxembourg's Environment Minister Carole Dieschbourg, took stock of its use after a parliamentary question from Francois Benoy and Stephanie Empain.

In Luxembourg, a grand-ducal regulation prohibits "the use of lead shot within 30 metres from marshes, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, rivers and canals". In contradiction, lead is a frequent component of most bullets used for hunting: "The quantity of lead introduced into the environment during hunting is estimated at around 550 kilos per year," writes Carole Dieschbourg. A quantity which "has only slightly increased in recent years".

As for its environmental impact, it is more difficult to assess because "it is a point source of contamination". An analysis carried out each year on domestic and wild animals have shown "no abnormal trend" in relation to lead. In short, however, Dieschbourg argues that "lead bullets are very questionable from an ecotoxicological point of view."

There could be an alternative: The Nature and Forests Administration has noted that non-toxic based bullets perform just as well as lead ammunition, and that in the end their performance is based on the hunter's skill. Overall, then, they could be a great alternative, says the minister.

For fishing, lead balls in the form of ballast are not prohibited in Luxembourg. There is little data available on metal in the aquatic ecosystem, admits Dieschbourg, despite the Water Management Authority carrying out monitoring programmes.

The authorities write: "The rate of lead poisoning in fishing equipment has not been evaluated or documented in the context of a study or scientific research in Luxembourg. It is therefore difficult to determine the impact of lead originating from fishing tackle on aquatic flora and fauna organisms in general."

In 2018, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) estimated "that more than 14,000 tonnes of lead are dispersed each year in the European Union's land environment through munitions, as well as 2,000 to 6,000 tonnes through lead weightings for fishing lines." In addition, 5,000 tonnes of lead are reportedly released into EU wetlands each year as part of hunting and outdoor shooting sports, write the Green deputies.

And humans can also be collateral victims: "Ingestion of lead residues in game killed with lead ammunition can also affect human health."
Hitachi ABB Power Grids has launched the TXpert Ecosystem for digitalization of transformers. The ecosystem is designed to drive data-driven intelligence and decision making in the operations and maintenance of transformers and power grids.

It is a complete suite of products, software, services and solutions that work together and have the capability to integrate with new and existing digital equipment from other manufacturers, said the company.

Building on deep experience, we have pioneered the scalable TXpert Ecosystem to bring together customers, partners and industry peers on an open platform developed on strict cybersecurity standards, enabling simple steps in their digitalization journey, said Dr Mostafa AlGuezeri, Managing Director of Hitachi ABB Power Grids in the UAE, Gulf, Near East and Pakistan. By giving transformers the knowledge and intelligence derived from designing and servicing thousands of transformers it will help to reduce costs and risks, optimize operations, extend life-expectancy and enhance environmental performance, enabling a sustainable energy future.

Powering informed decisions and saving millions

As per a recent CIGRE report, the top three locations of faults in transformers are its windings, tap-changers and bushings. The TXpert Ecosystem provides options to mitigate all of these. For example, failure of bushings can lead to transformer tank rupture and explosions, resulting in millions of dollars in repairs and settlement costs for a utility, while the cost of replacing a high-voltage bushing would be a few percentage points of this. Using TXpert Ecosystem solutions for digital asset management of bushings, the real-time status of the bushing health can be monitored and corrective action taken before failure probability becomes high.

At the heart of the ecosystem is the TXpert Hub from Hitachi ABB Power Grids  a data monitoring and diagnostics device that also provides connectivity. Designed as an open platform, it is capable of integrating multiple sets of data from TXpert Ready sensors from diverse manufacturers, simplifying the digitalization of transformers in compliance with modern communication and stringent cybersecurity standards. Data and intelligence from the TXpert Hub can be accessed locally and if required from cloud-based solutions.

TXpert Enabled transformers can be augmented with Asset Performance Management (APM) solutions from Hitachi ABB Power Grids. As an enterprise level software solution, the APM can be used for individual, multiple or large fleets of transformers.

Supporting customers putting the data generated from TXpert for smart decision making, associated remote and advanced services can provide virtual site management, life assessments, robotic inspections and transformer care service agreements.

Customers can flexibly deploy the ecosystem in new transformers or in transformers of their existing fleet from Hitachi ABB Power Grids and other manufacturers, with customised TXpert solutions as per their specific requirements, the company said.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids supports the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the TXpert Ecosystem will contribute to facilitating access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, it said.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids has been pioneering transformer technology for over a century, collaborating with global committees in setting technology standards and protocols. Enhanced by Hitachis proven record in advanced digital technologies, Hitachi ABB Power Grids is creating customer value through intelligent solutions for electricity networks, the company said.  TradeArabia News Service
The logo of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) is placed on a surveillance camera near Ground Zero during the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"These are not the actions of an individual who fears torture or persecution at the hands of the PRC, thus showing that his U.S. citizenship was secured through false pretenses," the memo said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, in a detention memo, said that despite Angwang's claims, an investigation found that "Angwang has traveled back to the PRC on numerous occasion since his asylum application was granted."

But after overstaying a second visa he "eventually sought asylum in the United States on the basis that he had allegedly been arrested and tortured in the [People's Republic of China] due partly to this Tibetan ethnicity," the complaint said.

Authorities noted in a criminal complaint that Angwang, who currently works for the New York Police Department's community affairs unit in the 111th precinct in Queens, "initially traveled to the United States on a cultural exchange visa."

Angwang, after appearing remotely in federal court in New York via teleconference, was ordered by a judge to be detained without bond after prosecutors said he "presents a serious risk of flight" to avoid the criminal charges. Angwang's lawyer reserved his right to argue for bail at a later date.

The 33-year-old cop, Baimadajie Angwang, who was born in the region of Tibet in China, allegedly reported to officials at the Chinese consulate in New York on the activities of other Tibetans in the New York area.

A New York City police officer who also serves in the U.S. Army Reserve was arrested Monday on federal charges that accuse him of spying on fellow ethnic Tibetans while acting as an illegal agent for China.

The criminal complaint said that beginning as early as 2014, Angwan maintained a relationship with one Chinese official at the consulate, and then in 2018 developed a relationship with a second official there, who was his handler and whom he called "Boss."

The second official is believed to have been assigned to a department responsible for neutralizing sources of potential opposition to the PRC

Tibet, which China occupied in 1951, is seen as a threat to the stability of the communist regime because of calls for the region's independence, particularly by Tibetans at home and overseas who consider the self-exiled Dalai Lama, a Buddhist leader, their spiritual guide.

The complaint says that Angwang texted or called the consulate officials more than 100 times since 2014. The complaint also contains transcripts of some of those calls, during which Angwang proposes his handler attend Tibetan events in Queens, and asked whether that official "wanted to attend NYPD events 'to raise our country's soft power.' "

According to court filings, Angwang "currently holds the rank of Staff Sergeant" in the Army Reserve, "and is stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey in an Airborne Civil Affairs battalion."

He previously served on active duty in the U.S. Marines from 2009 to 2014, and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013 through 2014, according to the Army, which did not comment on his arrest.

The criminal complaint said that Angwang, "while acting at the direction and control of PRC officials, has, among other things ... reported on the activities of ethnic Tibetans, and others, in the New York metropolitan area to the Consulate" of China.

He also allegedly "spotted and assessed potential ethnic Tibetan intelligence sources in the New York metropolitan area and beyond," the complaint said.

And Angwang "used his official position in the NYPD to provide Consulate officials access to senior NYPD officials through invitations to official NYPD events," the complaint said.

Angwang is charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the U.S. attorney general, wire fraud, making false statements and obstruction of an official proceeding.

Angwang works as a civil affairs specialist for the Army Reserve. As part of his job there, he holds "Secret" level security clearance.

Authorities said that Angwang's father is a retired member of China's army, and a member of the nation's Communist Party, while his mother is both a Communist Party member and a retired Chinese government official. His parents live in China, as does his brother, who is a reservist in the People's Liberation Army.

According to the complaint, Angwang in 2016 wired a total of $150,000 to accounts in China controlled by his brother and another individual.

"Angwang has also received multiple substantial wire transfers from the PRC," the complaint said.

"State and local officials should be aware that they are not immune to the threat of Chinese espionage," said John Demers, the U.S. assistant attorney general for national security, in a prepared statement.

"According to the allegations, the Chinese government recruited and directed a U.S. citizen and member of our nation's largest law enforcement department to further its intelligence gathering and repression of Chinese abroad."

New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, in a statement said, "As alleged in this federal complaint, Baimadajie Angwang violated every oath he took in this country."

"One to the United States, another to the U.S. Army, and a third to this Police Department," said Shea. "From the earliest stages of this investigation, the NYPD's Intelligence and Internal Affairs bureaus worked closely with the FBI's Counterintelligence Division to make sure this individual would be brought to justice."

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry on Tuesday called the accusations against Angwan "pure fabricaion."

"The [criminal complaint] is full of hedging terms such as 'seems' and 'possibly,' indicating the falsehood of the accusations," the spokesman said. "The U.S. won't succeed in its smears against Chinese consulates and personnel in the U.S."

The New York Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents patrol officers such as Angwang, last November posted on Facebook a photo from a delegates meeting at which Angwang presented the American flag.

The post said that Angwang, while serving with the U.S. military, had served one tour in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan. That claim conflicts with the Army's statement about Angwang's service, which says he only did the tour in Afghanistan.

The PBA's post was removed by the PBA after Angwang's arrest became public.

A PBA spokesman said the union is not representing Angwang in the criminal case.
Chennai: The DMK and its alliance parties will launch a statewide protest on September 28 against the Farmers Bill, upping the ante against the BJP-led government at the Centre against its legislation making alterations to market dynamics determinng prices for farmers, procurement and other agri-related rules.

The decision follows a meeting of the opposition parties at the DMK headquarters in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. At the all party meeting, leaders decided to hold demonstrations across district headquarters of the alliance parties.

We condemn the Farmers Bill and we have planned a protest across districts and towns next Monday against the issue. Agriculture is a state subject which has been trespassed by the Centre but the AIADMK government doesnt open its mouth on the issue, said KS Alagiri, Tamil Nadu Congress President.

The Farmers Bill has turned out to be another politically polarising issue in Tamil Nadu: the ruling AIADMK has come out in support of the legislation. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday said the three Bills on agricultural reforms would protect the farmers in the event of an unforeseen price fall. Palaniswami added that being a farmer himself, he very well understands the Farm Bills.

However, reacting to Palaniswamis statement, DMK President MK Stalin said the chief minister owed an apology to the people for supporting the Bills and claim that they protect the corporate. The DMK said history will not forgive the AIADMK for supporting the BJP-led government at the Centre.

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) staged a protest on Monday in Chennai against the controversial Bill. Party cadre tried to march towards the state secretariat, but they were stopped and detained by the police.
UC San Francisco has a well-deserved reputation of excellence in research, teaching and health care delivery. Thats the medical side; but the developer side is seeking to strangle the Parnassus Heights neighborhood by proposing an additional 2.4 million square feet of new development  the equivalent of the Salesforce Tower and Transamerica Pyramid buildings combined  to the existing campus.

UCSF aims to squeeze almost 8,000 more people onto campus, in addition to the 17,500 who already go there daily. All this despite promising for 45 years that it would never again expand its boundaries or facilities at this already overbuilt site.

In 1976, the UC Board of Regents signed an official resolution establishing a permanent limit on expansion of the UCSF Parnassus campus. UCSF has used this permanent limit to justify expansion elsewhere in the city, including the Mission Bay campus.

The most significant building of the plan is a 16-story hospital, which at nearly 300 feet tall will be the tallest building on the entire west side of San Francisco. It will cross current boundaries into public greenspace, reducing the historic Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve.

UC has excellent options without breaking its promises and altering the character of our city.

In 1989, I was asked by UCSF Chancellor Krevans for space in the newly emerging Mission Bay project. Instead, I offered 400 acres for a new campus in the Hunters Point Shipyard. My idea was rejected because the faculty committee said the shipyard was too remote.

Not today. The shipyard is convenient to UCSFs Mission Bay campus. There are hundreds of acres available for development. The hospital and supporting buildings would increase economic development and workforce housing for the entire southeast area, while allowing the Parnassus campus to retain the facilities essential to its mission including the ER.

Other unstudied alternatives are Mount Zion and Mission Bay. In addition, UCSFs current 2014 Long Range Development Plan, adopted only six years ago would modernize and update the campus, uphold the space ceiling, and have a much better environmental impact.

The draft environmental impact report for the project received many responses from civic groups and individuals pointing out serious consequences of the expansion plan:

 Enormous pressure on housing and tenant displacement requiring an estimated 4,000 more units of housing. UCSF has proposed adding 1,000, with only 134 in the near term;

 UCSFs 2019 commitment to advance health equity by increasing its capacity to train, lure, and promote San Franciscans for new campus jobs has been ignored even though it would lessen transportation and housing impacts;

 Impacts on air quality that will not meet current state or federal standards and cannot be mitigated. This is especially ironic considering that UCSF is at the forefront of research and advocacy on the impact of poor air quality on health. The EIR also shows significant increase in cancer risk as the result of toxic emissions, with inadequate mitigation plans.

 The new hospital will cut into public open space, and substantially increase bird fatalities resulting from collisions with the new hospital. Public views from popular hiking trails and from Golden Gate Park will be obstructed.

 UCSF projects a daily population of about 25,000. The housing shortfall and lack of adequate public transportation options for that many people will force many more to commute by automobile, making quick access to the emergency rooms problematic.

UCSFs plan for the expansion of its Parnassus campus is expensive, deeply flawed, and again violates its long-standing promises not to expand its Parnassus campus. Our city deserves the same kind of superb caring attention always provided by the medical side of UCSF.

Art Agnos is a former mayor of San Francisco.
September 21, 2020 / 11:34 AM IST

Rajya Sabha by voice vote on September 20. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 is listed to be taken up in the Upper House on September 21 (today). The bills are facing staunch opposition from farmer bodies, especially in Punjab and Haryana, as well as from within the ruling NDA coalition.

Farmers Protest LIVE Updates: Farmers are protesting against the three farm bills brought by the Centre, which aimed at allowing farmers to sell their produce directly to food processors and retailers. The Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were passed by
The Upper East Regional branch of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has urged managers of public health care facilities in the Region to direct their attacks to the employer and not its members.



The leadership of the Association in the Region said We are also picking signals that some managers are beginning to send intimidating messages to nurses and midwives in respect of the strike action. In this light, we urge all managers to direct their attacks to the employer and not our members.



The GRNMA is demanding better conditions of services from the Government and hopes the strike action would send the message and trigger an immediate response.



It described its decision to embark on the strike action as painful, but, we collectively resolve to take this difficult decision at this trying moment in our chosen profession, but united we stand, divided we fall.



The GRNMA made the call on Managers in a letter jointly signed by Mr Thomas Lambon, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the Association and its Regional Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Panzin Tibil.



The letter referenced a press statement issued on September 17, and jointly signed by Presidents of the GRNMA, the Ghana Physician Assistants Association, and the Ghana Association of Registered Anaesthetists.



The Regional leadership stated that The Regional Executive Council wishes to state emphatically that the region fully supports the action taken by the National Council to serve the interest of every nurse and midwives in the country.



The letter further reminded members of the GRNMA that the Association was the sole mouthpiece of all nurses and midwives in Ghana, and held the collective bargaining power to negotiate for conditions of service for its members and allied Associations.



Sadly as it appears, there is a press release purported to be speaking for a section of midwives, urging them to dissociate themselves from the worthy course charted by the GRNMA to salvage our members.



The Regional branch of the Association urged all nurses and midwives in the Region to remain resolute and comply with the directive of the press statement jointly issued by the leadership of the three Associations.



When the GNA contacted Mr Lambon on the intended strike action, he said the Regional branch of the Association had not received any formal communication from the national leadership of the GRNMA to call off their intended strike action tomorrow, September 21, saying until we get any communications, we are going by our national leaders.



Several allied Associations of the GRNMA including the Nurses and Midwives Specialists Society of Ghana (NMSSG) had also declared support for the intended strike action.



Mr Mark Anthony Azongo, the National President of the NMSSG, and Mr Raphael Edem Kudzo Korkortsi, the National Secretary, in a letter dated September 18, said: We recognise the good efforts of the mother Association, GRNMA, in the fight for the condition of service and their contributions in promoting nurses and midwives Specialists training in Ghana.



The NMSSG leadership urged its members to abide by the directive of the GRNMA on the strike action and called on the government to re-engage leadership of the GRNMA and agree on allowances that meet the economic needs of all nurses and midwives.

Source: GNA









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PITTSBURGH, Sept. 21. 2020 - Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering have created a machine-learning algorithm that can detect subtle signs of osteoarthritis--too abstract to register in the eye of a trained radiologist--on an MRI scan taken years before symptoms even begin. These results will publish this week in PNAS.

With this predictive approach, patients could one day be treated with preventative drugs rather than undergoing joint replacement surgery.

"The gold standard for diagnosing arthritis is x-ray. As the cartilage deteriorates, the space between the bones decreases," said study co-author Kenneth Urish, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at Pitt and associate medical director of the bone and joint center at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. "The problem is, when you see arthritis on x-rays, the damage has already been done. It's much easier to prevent cartilage from falling apart than trying to get it to grow again."

Right now, the primary treatment for osteoarthritis is joint replacement. And the condition is so prevalent that knee replacement is the most common surgery in the U.S. for people over age 45.

For this study, the researchers looked at knee MRIs from the Osteoarthritis Initiative, which followed thousands of people for seven years to see how osteoarthritis of the knee develops. They focused on a subset of patients who had little evidence of cartilage damage at the beginning of the study.

In retrospect, we now know which of these participants went on to develop arthritis and which didn't, and the computer can use that information to learn subtle patterns on the MRI scans of presymptomatic people that are predictive of their future osteoarthritis risk.

"When doctors look at these images of the cartilage, there isn't a pattern that jumps out to the naked eye, but that doesn't mean there's not a pattern there. It just means you can't see it using conventional tools," said lead author Shinjini Kundu, M.D., Ph.D., who completed this project as part of her graduate training in the Pitt Medical Scientist Training Program and Carnegie Mellon Department of Biomedical Engineering.

To validate this approach, Kundu, who now is a resident physician and medical researcher at the Johns Hopkins Department of Radiology, trained the model on a subset of the knee MRI data and then tested it on patients it had never seen before. Kundu did this dozens of times, with different participants withheld each time, to test the algorithm on all the data.

Overall, the algorithm predicted osteoarthritis with 78% accuracy from MRIs performed three years before symptom onset.

Currently, there are no drugs that prevent presymptomatic osteoarthritis from developing into full-blown joint deterioration, though there are a few highly effective drugs that can prevent patients from developing a related condition--rheumatoid arthritis.

The goal is to develop the same types of drugs for osteoarthritis. Several candidates already are in the preclinical pipeline.

"Instead of recruiting 10,000 people and following them for 10 years, we can just enroll 50 people who we know are going to be getting osteoarthritis in two or five years," Urish said. "Then we can give them the experimental drug and see whether it stops the disease from developing."

###

Funding for this study was provided by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (grant K08-AR071494).

Additional authors include Beth Ashinsky of Drexel University; Mustapha Bouhrara, Ph.D., and Richard Spencer, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Institute on Aging; Erik Dam, Ph.D., of the University of Copenhagen; Shadpour Demehri, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University; and Mohammad Shifat-E-Rabbi and Gustavo Rohde, Ph.D., of the University of Virginia.

To read this release online or share it, visit https://www.upmc.com/media/news/092120-Kundu-Urish-OA [when embargo lifts].

About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

As one of the nation's leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1998. In rankings recently released by the National Science Foundation, Pitt ranked fifth among all American universities in total federal science and engineering research and development support.

Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region's economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see http://www.medschool.pitt.edu.

About Carnegie Mellon Engineering

The College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University is a top-ranked engineering college that is known for our intentional focus on cross-disciplinary collaboration in research. The College is well-known for working on problems of both scientific and practical importance. Our "maker" culture is ingrained in all that we do, leading to novel approaches and transformative results. Our acclaimed faculty have a focus on innovation management and engineering to yield transformative results that will drive the intellectual and economic vitality of our community, nation and world.

http://www.upmc.com/media

Contact: Erin Hare

Mobile: 412-738-1097

E-mail: HareE@upmc.edu

Contact: Amy Charley

Mobile: 412-738-3511

E-mail: CharleyA@upmc.edu
New research presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held online this year, suggests regular heat exposure through a hot bath is associated with a beneficial effect on risk factors for type 2 diabetes, including glycated haemoglobin |(HbA1c), a measure of blood sugar control. The study is by Dr Hisayuki Katsuyama, Kohnodai Hospital, Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan, and colleagues.

Previous studies have suggested that heat therapy, such as use of saunas and hot-tub bathing, improved blood sugar control and body fat percentage, and thus could be a therapeutic tool in the daily life for patients type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, there have been no studies to date using a large number of patients that have examined effects of hot-tub bathing on metabolic parameters in patients with T2D in a real-world setting.

In Japan, most residences are fitted with a bath/hot-tub and bathing is a traditional and common life habit. Thus, the authors studied the effect of bathing in Japanese patients with T2D.

They obtained the information on the habits of bathing by using a questionnaire from 1,297 patients with type 2 diabetes, who regularly visited the outpatient unit of Kohnodai Hospital between October 2018 and March 2019, and studied the association of frequency of bathing with anthropometric measurements and blood test results. The patients were divided into three groups according to the frequency of bathing as follows; group 1: 4 or more baths per week; group 2: between 1 and 4 baths per week; group 3: less than 1 bath per week.

After various statistical analyses, the data showed the mean frequency of bathing was 4.2 times a week and the mean duration of bathing was 16 minutes. Decreased body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure and glycated haemoglobin were associated with increased bathing frequency (see table in abstract).

Further statistical analysis identified the frequency of bathing as a significant determinant of glycated haemoglobin after adjusting by age, sex, BMI, insulin use and the number of oral diabetes drugs, with significant differences between the groups. Group 1 (with the highest bathing) had a mean HbA1c of 7.10%, group 2 7.20% and group 3 7.36%.

The frequency of hot-tub bathing was also an independent determinant of BMI after adjusting sex and age, with group 1 having the lowest mean BMI (25.5kg/m2) followed by group 2 (26.0) and group 3 (26.7). Reductions in diastolic blood pressure were also associated with increased bathing frequency after adjusting for age, sex and the number of blood pressure drugs.

The authors conclude: "Our results indicate that daily heat exposure through hot-tub bathing has beneficial influences on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes."

###
The Rs 318-crore public issue of Chemcon Speciality Chemicals, the specialised chemicals manufacturer, opens for subscription on September 21 with a price band at Rs 338-340 per share.

The public offer consists of a fresh issue of Rs 165 crore and an offer for sale of 45 lakh equity shares (Rs 153 crore at upper price band) by promoters Kamalkumar Rajendra Aggarwal and Naresh Vijaykumar Goyal.

The fresh issue proceeds will be utilised largely for expansion of manufacturing facility and working capital requirements.

All brokerage houses advised subscribing to the issue citing company's consistent financial performance, leading position in pharma chemicals globally, longstanding relationships with customers, healthy balance sheet and improving outlook for the sector.

Chemcon issue is trading at around 65-70 percent premium over IPO price in grey market.

Also read: Chemcon Speciality Chemicals garners Rs 95 crore from 13 anchor investors ahead of IPO

"At the upper price band of Rs 340, Chemcon is available at P/E of 25.5x on FY20, which is attractive when compared to peers. Considering healthy business performance, regular capacity expansions, strong customer base, expanding margin profile and improving outlook for the sector, we have a subscribe rating on this IPO," Geojit Financial Services said.

Its peers Aarti Industries, Vinati Organics, Atul and Paushak are available at P/E of 36.9x, 41.5x, 30.8x and 41.5x respectively, the brokerage added.

Incorporated in 1988, Vadodara-based Chemcon Speciality Chemicals (CSCL) is a leading manufacturer of specialised chemicals such as HMDS (Hexamethyldisilane) & CMIC (Chloromethyl isopropyl carbonate) which are predominantly used in pharmaceutical industry (pharmaceuticals chemicals) and inorganic bromides, predominantly used as completion fluids in the oilfields industry (Oilwell completion chemicals).

CSCL is the only manufacturer of HMDS in India and 3rd largest manufacturer of HMDS worldwide (as per Frost & Sullivan report) in terms of CY19 production with an opportunity to grow at CAGR of 15-20 percent over FY19-FY23. It is also the only manufacturer of zinc bromide and the largest manufacturer of calcium bromide in India in terms of production in CY19.

Also read: Chemcon Speciality Chemicals IPO to open on Sept 21; 10 key things to know

Frost & Sullivan estimates that the company is well positioned to substitute the imports from China and has an opportunity to grow total revenue at a CAGR of more than 25 percent between FY19-FY23.

Geojit said strong customer base & long standing relationship with customers has supported CSCL in retaining market share, increasing product base and reaching out to new customers.

"Company has shown consistent financial performance with a strong financial position. Also, the specialty chemicals industry in which company operate has high entry barriers Therefore, looking after all, we recommend subscribe the issue both for short & long term horizon," said Hem Securities.

The specialty chemicals industry in India has high entry barriers due to the involvement of complex chemistry in the manufacture of products, which is difficult to commercialize on a large scale and a long gestation period to be enlisted as a supplier with the customers. Moreover, some of the raw materials that company use such as bromine, MCF and TMCS are highly corrosive and toxic chemicals. Therefore, handling these chemicals requires a high degree of technical skill and expertise, and operations.

Chemcon's revenue grew at a CAGR of 29 percent during FY18-FY20, EBITDA nearly 25 percent and profit 36 percent. It has healthy balance sheet with stable cash flows, net debt is Rs 44 crore with D/E ratio of 0.3 in FY20.

In FY20, pharmaceutical chemicals segment collectively contributed Rs 167.05 crore, amounting to 63.75 percent of total revenue, and oilwell completion chemicals segment contributed Rs 87.72 crore, amounting to 33.47 percent of revenue.

Exports accounted for 39.78 percent to revenue in FY20, which have grown at a CAGR of 17.57 percent during FY18-FY20. In FY20, company supplied the oilwell completion chemicals largely to customers in India, the Middle East, Serbia and Russia. Now, aiming to expand oilwell sales in existing and new geographies including Nigeria, Malaysia, China and Ghana.

"The company's expansion plans to set up two new plants and one laboratory with a total volumetric reactor capacity of 251.00KL, at existing manufacturing facility Manjusar, Vadodara, would significantly increase the capacity by 60 percent, total volumetric reactor at 625.85 KL. Also, it would enable to benefit from economies of scale in next few years. Fundamentally too, company looks sound with impressive ROCE & ROE at 37.92 percent & 34.23 percent for FY20, favourable debt-equity ratio and stable PAT & EBITDA margins," said Rudra Shares while recommending to subscribe the IPO for listing as well as long term gains.

Choice Broking also advised investors to subscribe the issue given the attractive valuations and positive fundamentals, but the promoter & promoter group's corporate governance issue is making the brokerage cautious.

"The management has indicated that the company will not be impacted by any means, if outcome of the appeal is not favourable. Also the specialty chemical sector got re-rated in the last 5-6 months. Before re-rating, the above peers were available at lower valuations. Thus considering the above observations, we assign an subscribe with caution rating for the issue," it explained.

While subscribing the issue, investors have to consider some risk factors like outbreak of coronavirus; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; political, social, legal and economic changes; increase in raw material prices; geopolitical tension in the Asia region; delay in demand revival of oilwell completion chemicals as around 30-35 percent of revenue comes from oilwell chemicals; and around 59 percent of revenue (FY20) was derived from top 5 customers.

: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Trump says "most likely" choose a woman "next week" to replace late Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday he expected a nominee to replace late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be announced "next week," and that it will "most likely" be a woman.

The president made the remarks to reporters as he walked out from the White House South Portico to depart for a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

"I could see most likely it would be a woman ... If somebody were to ask me now, I would say that a woman would be in first place," Trump said of his nominee. "I think the choice will be next week," he added.

Ginsburg, the second female Supreme Court justice in U.S. history and a renowned jurist who championed for gender equality, died Friday evening of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, maintained that a nominee should be tapped by the new president chosen by voters in the Nov. 3 election. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Trump's nominee will get a vote in the Senate.

Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine tweeted Saturday that given the proximity to the election, the Senate should not vote on the nominee prior to the election.

"I totally disagree with her," Trump said, referring to Collins's statement. "That's not the next president - hopefully I'll be the next president ... We have an obligation to the voters ... and it's a very simple thing."

Trump also called his shortlist of possible nominees "the greatest list ever assembled."

Amy Coney Barrett, a federal appellate court judge, reportedly has been a front-runner to fill the vacancy. "She's very highly respected, I can say that," Trump said in response to a question related to Barrett.

The death of Ginsburg, the leader of the liberal wing on the Supreme Court, reduced the number of liberal justices to three.

If a Trump nominee, his third during the presidency, is seated, it will swing the nine-member bench further to the conservative side, resulting in a 6-3 GOP majority.
The veteran British-French actor Michael Lonsdale has died in Paris, aged 89. Known for his role in "The Day of the Jackal" and as James Bond villain Hugo Drax and Lonsdale appeared in more than 200 films during a career that spanned six decades and saw him work with some of film and theatre world's most illustrious directors and stars.

Born on 24 May, 1931, in Paris to an English military officer father and a French mother, he caught the acting bug in his mid-teens just after the second world war.

After taking a theatre course, his screen break came during the Nouvelle Vague of French cinema.

He appeared as Clement Morane in Francois Truffaut's 1968 film La Mariee etait en noir which also starred Jeanne Moreau and Michel Bouquet.

He also featured in Baisers voles, the second instalment of Truffaut's films following the adventures of Antoine Doinel.

Highlights

His Hollywood apogee came in 1979 as the sadistic industrialist Hugo Drax in the James Bond blockbuster Moonraker.

His performance in The Day of the Jackal earned him a supporting actor BAFTA nomination.

But arguably the highlight of his career arrived 30 years later when he played a Trappist monk in Of Gods and Men.

Based on true events, Xavier Beauvois' film recounts the story of seven French monks who were murdered after being kidnapped from their monastery in Algeria in 1996 during the country's civil war.

Lonsdale won his first and only Cesar award - the French equivalent of an Oscar - for best supporting actor in 2011.

In his 2016 book Le Dictionnaire de ma vie, he addressed the question as to why he never married. "I experienced a great heartache and my life was very affected by it," he wrote.

"The person I loved was not free...I could never love anyone else. It was her or nothing and that's why, at 85, I'm still single! Her name was Delphine Seyrig."
Submission based on efficacy and safety data from LOTIS 2 clinical trial

ADC Therapeutics SA (NYSE: ADCT), a late clinical-stage oncology-focused biotechnology company pioneering the development and commercialization of highly potent and targeted antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) for patients with hematological malignancies and solid tumors, today announced the submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for loncastuximab tesirine (Lonca) for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

"The completion of our first BLA submission to the FDA is a significant milestone for ADC Therapeutics and takes us one step further in our evolution toward becoming a commercial-stage organization," said Chris Martin, Chief Executive Officer of ADC Therapeutics. "We are grateful to the trial participants and investigators and to all our employees for their commitment to this clinical program, and we look forward to working with the FDA to bring Lonca to patients as quickly as possible."

The BLA submission is based on data from LOTIS 2, the pivotal Phase 2 multi-center, open-label, single-arm clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Lonca in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL following =2 lines of prior systemic therapy. In June 2020, the company presented maturing data from LOTIS 2 at the virtual 25th Congress of the European Hematology Association. As of the April 6, 2020 data cut-off date, 145 patients were enrolled in the trial and patients had received a median of 3 prior lines of therapy. Lonca demonstrated an overall response rate of 48.3% (70/145 patients) and a complete response rate of 24.1% (35/145 patients). The tolerability profile was generally manageable, with the most common grade =3 treatment-emergent adverse events in =10% of patients being: neutropenia (25.5%) with low incidence of febrile neutropenia (3.4%), thrombocytopenia (17.9%), GGT increased (16.6%) and anaemia (10.3%).

"A critical unmet need remains for heavily pretreated patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL, including those with a poor prognosis, those who never responded to prior therapy and those who received prior stem cell transplant," said Jay Feingold, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of ADC Therapeutics. "Based on the anti-tumor activity, durability and generally manageable tolerability Lonca has demonstrated in LOTIS 2, we believe Lonca has the potential to fill this need."

The company has also initiated LOTIS 5, a Phase 3 confirmatory clinical trial of Lonca in combination with rituximab, which is intended to support a supplemental BLA for Lonca to be used as a second-line therapy for the treatment of relapsed or refractory DLBCL.

About Loncastuximab Tesirine (Lonca)

Loncastuximab tesirine (Lonca, formerly ADCT-402) is an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) composed of a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against human CD19 and conjugated through a linker to a pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) dimer cytotoxin. Once bound to a CD19-expressing cell, Lonca is designed to be internalized by the cell, following which the warhead is released. The warhead is designed to bind irreversibly to DNA to create highly potent interstrand cross-links that block DNA strand separation, thus disrupting essential DNA metabolic processes such as replication and ultimately resulting in cell death. CD19 is a clinically validated target for the treatment of B-cell malignancies.

Lonca is being evaluated in LOTIS 2, a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), LOTIS 3, a Phase 1/2 trial in combination with ibrutinib in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL or mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and LOTIS 5, a Phase 3 confirmatory clinical trial in combination with rituximab in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL.

About ADC Therapeutics

ADC Therapeutics SA (NYSE:ADCT) is a late clinical-stage oncology-focused biotechnology company pioneering the development and commercialization of highly potent and targeted antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) for patients with hematological malignancies and solid tumors. The Company develops ADCs by applying its decades of experience in this field and using next-generation pyrrolobenzodiazepine (PBD) technology to which ADC Therapeutics has proprietary rights for its targets. Strategic target selection for PBD-based ADCs and substantial investment in early clinical development have enabled ADC Therapeutics to build a deep clinical and research pipeline of therapies for the treatment of hematological and solid tumor cancers. The Company has multiple PBD-based ADCs in ongoing clinical trials, ranging from first in human to pivotal Phase 2 clinical trials, in the USA and Europe, and numerous preclinical ADCs in development.

Loncastuximab tesirine (Lonca, formerly ADCT-402), the Company's lead product candidate, has been evaluated in a 145-patient pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) that showed a 48.3% overall response rate (ORR), which exceeded the target primary endpoint. Camidanlumab tesirine (Cami, formerly ADCT-301), the Company's second lead product candidate, is being evaluated in a 100-patient pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) after having shown an 86.5% ORR in HL patients in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The Company is also evaluating Cami as a novel immuno-oncology approach for the treatment of various advanced solid tumors.

ADC Therapeutics is based in Lausanne (Biopole), Switzerland and has operations in London, the San Francisco Bay Area and New Jersey. For more information, please visit https://adctherapeutics.com/ and follow the Company on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, product candidates, research pipeline, ongoing and planned preclinical studies and clinical trials, regulatory submissions and approvals, research and development costs, timing and likelihood of success, as well as plans and objectives of management for future operations are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on our management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including those described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements contained in this document speak only as of the date of this press release. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update these forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which such statements are based unless required to do so by applicable law. No representations or warranties (expressed or implied) are made about the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200921005826/en/

Contacts:

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ADC Therapeutics

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Tel.: +1 917-288-7023

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Alexandre Muller

Dynamics Group

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Tel: +41 (0) 43 268 3231

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Tel.: +1 973-415-8838
Gold is a gold mine for Canada

In the recent article the Bank of Canadas ability to lower the national debt by printing paper money was seen as a solution. Yes, but you might think that printing more paper money would lead to devaluation of the Canadian dollar. Not necessarily as Canada is a rich nation in resources and by mining for gold, the standard for currency, and stocking our reserves to back up the paper money printed would keep the Canadian dollar steady at approximately $0.75 US.

Why you might ask is Canada not increasing the value of the Canadian dollar to say $1.00 US? Because in our global village, trade with Canada would become very difficult and expensive for other countries so mining for gold has to be just enough to keep the value of the Canadian dollar at $0.75 US.

With no disruption in trade, Canada can continue to work in the World Trade Organization for the benefit of itself and other countries. So Justin Trudeau, your generous payments to distressed Canadians, Easterners and Westerners can be backed up by an increase in gold mining to back the printed dollar.

Richard T. Dudzinski, Hamilton

BLAST can be LRT or BRT

In response to Councillor Judi Partridges opinion piece Aug. 26 and to the three rebuttals to her valid comments, I suggest the Spec should inform their subscribers about the BLAST network referred to by the councillor.

In short it is a rapid transit network that connects all areas of the city with a BRT (bus rapid transit) and on two lines the option of a BRT or LRT.

Ms Partridge, contrary to her critics, is proposing we take another look at options that benefit the whole city. An option that connects all parts of the city to the downtown core. With an LRT on the B line who is the beneficiary? Many of us question the need for an LRT that is inaccessible to the majority of our residents. So we get new infrastructure and construction jobs in the name of a transit system?

Sharon Suter, Ward 2, Hamilton

Same old LRT arguments

Hearkening back to the day Caroline Mulroney pulled the plug on the impending LRT I was ecstatic but at the same time cautious. Thats because Im a firm believer in it aint over til its over. And now here we are again, listening to the same old arguments about how its all for the greater good, everyone will benefit, it will stimulate the economy, and every other city in the country has one.

Well the thing about that is that Hamilton isnt like other cities due to our two main arteries traversing the entire city, and will be of no use at all for Mountain residents. Now this is where the Aberdeen Ave. argument comes in. Weve heard many times about rat running, drivers getting off a main road to cut through neighbourhoods to save some time. By eliminating traffic along King, west of Wellington, and creating fourteen kilometres of dead end streets where do you think all the traffic will go? Theres already backlash about trucks on Cannon. So it, along with Delaware, Maple, Cumberland, and any other east/west route will be a nightmare. The one thing the anti LRT crowd has going for it is that some city councillors who supported it before wont now. The seriousness of this billion dollar boondoggle cannot be stressed enough when you consider that by the time its completed it will already be obsolete. Heck of a way to run a railroad, as it were.

Carl W. Ambridge, Hamilton

Cormorants were likely shocked not shot

I would like to fact check a recent letter to the editor Sept. 2, titled Cormorant killing is already underway.

Firstly, it is illegal to discharge a firearm in that area of Hamilton in which author was referring to. While some are quick to blame hunters, the real answer might be a bit more shocking. The reason this individual has seen so many dead birds could be because of high voltage power lines directly overhead.

According to G.C. Barret in 2003 it was found in a survey that there were quite a number of birds found dead under the power lines at Hamilton beach with double crested cormorants and ring-billed gulls being killed the most numerous dead birds under those high voltage lines. While the merits and drawbacks of a wildlife cull are certainly debatable, this incorrect accusation of hunters is not.

Taylor Iseppon, Hamilton

Bike lanes on the wrong roads

Why were bike lanes put on main streets like Bay and Cannon Street in the first place. One street west of Bay Street is Caroline Street. Why was Caroline not used? Instead of using Cannon why was Wilson not used?

Once again our city council, the people that we mistakenly elected, messed up. Tim Hortons field is still not finished. But they did save lots of money by using no union works. Where did that get them? I am sure that our city council will do a better job for 2026.

Paul Elcome, Ancaster

Note to Americans living in Canada

How fortunate are you to live in this (my) country with one of the best health care plans in the world. One of the most peaceful nations on earth. Acceptance. For the over half a million Americans living in our country: How lucky are you to be here in Canada at this desperate time in the USA. If you care about your new home and the world you cant possibly vote for Donald Trump and his reprobates.

Jann Hanson. Hamilton

Ford berated unions, not teachers

In a recent letter, the authorsd hatred for Doug Ford showed through. The letter stated that The old Doug Ford is back and went on to state that Ford berated teachers. Wrong. Doug Ford actually praised teachers. He berated their union leaders. The leaders who have fought with every Ontario government for decades, not just the Ford government.
The impassioned battle over moving the massive but crumbling Alamo Cenotaph is reaching a climax this week that could give new life to the $450 million Alamo overhaul project  or kill it.

The Texas Historical Commission is expected to vote Tuesday on a permit to move the 80-year-old monument a few hundred feet south of its present location.

Its a debate that has raged for years now.

Billy Calzada, Staff / Billy Calzada

Leaders of the public-private overhaul plan, which would close Alamo Plaza to traffic, expand pedestrian space and build a new museum, warn that the project is destined to fail if the commission doesnt approve the permit.

But fierce opponents of the plan, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, believe the Alamo project still could continue if the Cenotaph is repaired in its current location at the north end of the plaza. They have carried signs at demonstrations in the plaza and gathered at meetings shouting, Not One Inch!

On ExpressNews.com: As Cenotaph ages, its location becomes subject of debate

The monument features the figures of Alamo defenders and symbolic imagery in a work titled The Spirit of Sacrifice by sculptor Pompeo Coppini.

The commission will meet via Zoom videoconference; its open to the public. For details, go to thc.texas.gov, click on news & events and click on calendar.

Agency staff has reviewed the permit application filed by the city and its consultants and has found it to be sufficiently complete, including the process of dismantling and restoring the Cenotaph within a reasonable construction time frame.

Billy Calzada, Staff / Billy Calzada

A staff memo offers three options: issue the relocation permit, deny the permit or issue a permit to restore the Cenotaph at its current site.

Officials of the Alamo project, having survived several bills seeking to stop the relocation that stalled last year in the Legislature, won approval for the move in December from the citys Historic and Design Review Commission as part of a $15 million, city-funded overhaul of the south area of the plaza.

Engineers say the monument is at risk of cracking and breaking apart because of damage caused by rainwater penetration that has corroded aluminum binders in its frame.

Project officials have engaged top-of-the-line consultants to delicately deconstruct, clean and repair the Cenotaphs marble exterior and rebuild it on a new frame, turning it 180 degrees to face the fort, with new interpretive signs to add some of the Alamo defenders names that are omitted or misspelled.

Photos by Billy Calzada /Staff photographer

The monument, now in a traffic island, would be illuminated at night in a pedestrian plaza, surrounded by outdoor seating, in front of the Menger Hotel and in direct line of sight of the iconic Alamo church facade.

But the issue has languished with the historical commission, which considered the matter in January, requesting more information about alternative sites for the Cenotaph.

Clark/Guido Construction, a joint venture, prepared the area for construction, erecting barriers and removing two 1970s structures: the plaza bandstand and Lady Bird Johnson Fountain.

Little work has occurred since then. Officials of the project, which began with formation of a citizen advisory committee six years ago, have grown restless.

Councilman Roberto Trevino, who leads a six-member management panel guiding the project, has said hes disappointed with the place which the Alamo project is currently stalled.

Failure to relocate the Cenotaph spells the end of the project, he said.

On ExpressNews.com: Alamo Cenotaph marked with graffiti

Amid the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest over statues and monuments, the debate over the Cenotaph has shifted to a larger battlefield that puts the entire project at stake. To shore up momentum, the nonprofit Alamo Endowment, with subsidiaries to run the site and raise funds for a museum through agreements with the Texas General Land Office, is calling on Texans, through email blasts and social media, to register their approval at supportthealamoplan.com.

Billy Calzada /Billy Calzada

This project is our moment in history to remember the Alamo, Alamo CEO Douglass W. McDonald said in an online letter last week. The Alamo plan will take desperately needed action to repair the Alamo Church and Long Barrack, reclaim the historic battlefield, repair and relocate the Cenotaph, and build a world-class visitor center and museum to help visitors understand the significance of the Alamo as a mission, a fortress and beyond.

Texas Historical Commission virtual meeting What: Joint meeting of the commission and Antiquities Advisory Board When: 9 a.m. Tuesday Zoom meeting registration link:zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TRZIHMTMRMGzRQoK_2pAmQ Audio access via telephone: 346-248-7799; Webinar ID: 931 8548 5524 Public comment registration (deadline 8 p.m. Monday):bit.ly/3ifeEjU See More Collapse

Theres a timeline at stake, too.

British rock star Phil Collins, former Genesis drummer known for hits such as Easy Lover and In the Air Tonight, donated 400-plus artifacts to the Alamo, with a legal caveat that a permanent museum and visitor center be in a schematic phase of build out by October 2021. All items in the $15.5 million collection would be publicly exhibited as the Phil Collins Texana Collection.

The endowment announced last week that former Texas Land Commissioners Garry Mauro, a Democrat, and David Dewhurst, a Republican, are lending bipartisan support for the plan, backing the current land commissioner, Republican George P. Bush.

But former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, Bushs predecessor, who attempted to win his seat back in 2018 and lost in the Republican primary, opposes moving the Cenotaph.

Patterson says it should, by principle, remain within the geographic footprint of the Alamo mission-fort, especially because the Alamo plan envisions guardrails around that portion of the plaza that would help protect the memorial from vandalism.

Cindy Gaskill, a descendant of Alamo defender Andrew Kent, created a website, spiritofsacrifice.com, on the Cenotaph. She believes it has its own significance and belongs in the center of the battlefield, as artist Coppini and officials overseeing its placement had desired.

This is an integral part of the Cenotaph history which should not be ignored, Gaskill said.

On ExpressNews.com: Alamo church reopens to visitors with timed-ticket process

Douglass McDonald did say on several occasions if the Cenotaph is not moved, the entire plan would fail. Why? Why cant Texans have a compromise? The museum could absolutely go ahead as planned. I do think a museum is very much needed to display the vast collection of relics that belong to the DRT and the GLO, Gaskill said, referring to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and the Texas General Land Office.

Filmmaker Gary Foreman, an advocate for changes at the Alamo, appears in a new eight-minute YouTube video posted on social media: Supporting the Alamo Plan: Its Time to Move the Cenotaph.

He argues that the short-distance relocation keeps the monument on the Alamo battlefield while freeing up space in the historic plaza to function as an outdoor museum. He said the issue has been clouded by folk legend that many Texian and Tejano defenders died on the spot where the monument stands. Historians have said many were killed fighting in the Long Barrack or were dispatched by Mexican cavalry troops as they fled south in the early morning battle of March 6, 1836.

Because the Alamo church was declared the states battle shrine in 1905, the Cenotaph, built for the 1936 Texas centennial, is a redundant monument to a monument, Foreman said.

In the video, he and military historian Alan Huffines traced the idea of moving the 56-foot-tall monument back to the 1970s. But they said the current proposal is the most respectful treatment ever envisioned for the Cenotaph.

Itll finally be a complete and well-interpreted memorial and will be just as sanctified as it is in any other place, Huffines said.

On ExpressNews.com: Global advocate supports preserving Woolworth Building

The Alamo Endowment unleashed a new weapon last month in its arsenal to win support for the plan: new renderings that show what the plaza someday could look like, with temporary replications or full reconstructions of 1836 features that no longer exist.

Illustrations posted on the Alamo Facebook page have shown representations of a second story on the Long Barrack; wooden palisades by the church where David Crockett and his Tennessee volunteers kept watch; the Low Barracks and main gate on the south wall; the Losoya House and southwest corner cannon battery, where the forts largest gun was fired; and the Trevino House, headquarters of Alamo commander William Barret Travis  now the location of Ripleys Haunted Adventure.

Yet the plan has not won the support of two major, long-running heritage groups: the Conservation Society of San Antonio and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

The conservation society, which led a nine-year effort to secure the 2015 designation of the five San Antonio missions as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been fighting for preservation of the facade of the 1921 Woolworth Building. The building is one of three state-owned historic structures that would be at least partially demolished or incorporated into the new museum.

The Woolworth Building and 1912 Hotel Gibbs directly across from it on Houston Street housed two of seven downtown lunch counters that voluntarily desegregated in 1960, putting San Antonio briefly in a national spotlight when a refusal to serve Black customers was at the forefront of the civil rights movement.

The museum design, not yet released, is one of several parts of the plan that critics say are missing before full support can be accorded to the project.

On ExpressNews.com: Alamo looks for new leader as CEO opts not to renew contract

Patti Zaiontz, conservation society president, said the new renderings reveal nothing about the new museum but generate other concerns about reconstruction of 1836 features. Under UNESCO standards, reconstruction efforts are justifiable only in exceptional circumstances and must be based on complete and detailed documentation and to no extent on conjecture.

We seek reassurance that any decision to undertake reconstruction will meet this high standard in order to maintain the sites World Heritage status, Zaiontz said.

She suggested the Alamo use digital tools such as augmented reality to reconstruct historic elements without physically altering an existing site.

The 21st-century tourist expects to be able to participate in the re-creation of historic events through such tools, which are more cost-effective than construction and can be updated with new information at any time, Zaiontz said.

The complexities of interpreting Alamo Plaza  mission, burial ground, battlefield and civil rights site  require the inclusion of best practices in heritage conservation, local community input and interpretive innovation to achieve a truly transformational project, she added.

The society also shares the concerns of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation and other lineage groups about the location and designation of cemeteries within the plaza, Zaiontz said.

The Alamo has formed an advisory panel composed of Native Americans from federally recognized tribes to give guidance on the handling of human bones, including at least four partially intact sets of remains recently found in the church, which in June was declared a verified cemetery by the historical commission.

McDonald, the Alamo CEO whose contract expires Sept. 30, has said its unlikely human remains will be found in the plaza makeover.

On ExpressNews.com: New rendering shows vision for Alamo Plaza makeover

But THC Commissioner Jim Bruseth, an Austin archaeologist, has said the state agency soon could be revisiting the issue of a cemetery at the Alamo, outside the church, as work for the Alamo overall project continues.

Tap Pilam has a federal lawsuit pending against McDonald and Bush, seeking to be included in decisions regarding the treatment of human remains.

Meanwhile, the DRT, the Alamos custodian from 1905 to 2011, is staying neutral on the Alamo plan and Cenotaph relocation.

Starting with the actions in 1903 of Clara Driscoll and Adina De Zavala to save the Long Barrack from a hotel development, the Daughters are recognized for rescuing what remains today of the Alamo, transforming its ruins into the states most visited historic site, seen by 1.6 million people annually.

In a letter last week, DRT President General Carolyn Raney invited members to form their own opinions.

While many of us now support the Alamo plan, believing in totality it is a step forward for telling the history of the Alamo, there are also some members of the DRT who strongly oppose the Alamo plan and in particular the relocation of the Alamo Cenotaph, Raney said.

Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. To read more from Scott, become a subscriber. shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
A driver being chased by police slammed into a rideshare vehicle Saturday night, killing two passengers in the backseat, Texas police say.

Police tried to a pull over a white Acura RDX driven by Brian Tatum, 45, after they say he ran a red light in Houston, KTRK reported. Tatum didnt stop and sped away, leading police on a chase, according to the outlet.

Tatums car was going more than 100 mph when it slammed into a rideshare vehicle, per KPRC. The outlet reports that the vehicle was an Uber.

Caught them on the back end of the vehicle, pretty much severed the back end of the car in half, Cmdr. Kevin Deese, with the Houston Police Department vehicular crimes division, told KHOU.

A driver fleeing police crashed into a rideshare vehicle in Houston, killing two passengers in the backseat, police say.

Officials said the chase lasted about a minute, according to the outlet. The two women in the backseat were pronounced dead at the scene.

Both the rideshare driver and Tatum were injured, KTRK reported. A passenger in Tatums vehicle also suffered minor injuries, according to the outlet.

Tatum was arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail. Tatum faces two murder charges, and his bond was set at $150,000, jail records indicate.

Hes due in court on Tuesday.
BJP leader Rakesh Sinha lashed out at the Opposition for creating a ruckus in the Parliament during the passage of Agriculture Bills on Sunday. In a massive uproar, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O Brien tore the rule book in front of the Deputy Chairman after the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 was passed in the Upper House on Sunday.

Reacting to the shocking behaviour of the TMC MP, Sinha said such chaos has taken place for the first time in Rajya Sabha with several members of the Opposition using aggressive behaviour to disrupt the house. The BJP MP said it seemed like the Opposition had planned to create a ruckus in the Parliament as they were greatly outnumbered during the passage of Agriculture bills.

READ | Derek O'Brien Physically Heckles Rajya Sabha Chair; Rips Rulebook As Farm Bills Get Passed

Such drama was never expected in the house of elders. Some members of the Opposition parties including the Congress, CP(I)M and TMC used violent means to disrupt the house. This is most unfortunate and undemocratic. I think they planned to disrupt the house as they were outnumbered in terms of votes, Rakesh Sinha told Republic TV in a telephonic conversation.

The BJP leader further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a wise decision which was in the favour of farmers, but the Opposition was trying to send across a wrong message to the country.

READ | 'Can Govt Assure No Farmer Suicides After Passage Of Agriculture Bills?' Asks Sanjay Raut

Chaos over farm bills in Parliament

During the voice vote, many MPs attempted to storm the well and heckle the Chair. In the midst of this, TMC MP Derek O Brien tore some documents in front of the Deputy Chairman alongside trying to heckle him and snatch away his microphone.

The Opposition also took to sloganeering as the Bill was passed. The bill allows intra-state and inter-state trade of farmers produce beyond the physical premises of APMC markets.

Earlier, the house had witnessed a heated debate that on many occasions threatened to spill over, including during Derek O'Brien's own statement that the PM's target of doubling farmers' income would take till at least 2028 and not 2022 as envisioned. On the other hand, Congress was up in arms over being called a 'party of dalals', with Anand Sharma demanding an apology from YSRCP MP VV Reddy who had backed the bill and said that there was no reason for Congress to oppose it.

READ | Landmark Agri Reform Bills To Free Farmers From Clutches Of Middlemen: Shah

However, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar defended the Bills in Rajya Sabha and asserted that MSP mechanism will continue and will not be impacted by the two legislations. Tomar during his Lok Sabha address had also assured that these new legislations would not encroach upon the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Acts of the states.

These two bills will ensure that farmers get better prices for their produce. They will not be subject to the regulations of mandis and they will be free to sell their produce to anyone. They will also not have to pay any taxes," Tomar said.

"These bills will increase competition and promote private investment which will help in the development of farm infrastructure and generate employment," Tomar added.

READ | Delhi Police On High Alert At Haryana Border Amid Farmers' Protests On Agriculture Bills
A group of scientists and doctors have written to the Prime Minister urging him not to opt for a second lockdown and to stop presenting Covid-19 as a mortal danger.

Thirty-two top academics have called on Boris Johnson and his scientific and medical advisers to avoid a knee-jerk reaction to rising cases and hospitalisations.

They said the debate about coronavirus is 'unhelpful' because it is divided between people who want total lockdowns and people who want no restrictions at all.

Calling for decision-makers to 'step back' and think carefully about what to do next, the researchers said there had not yet been any 'readily observable pattern' between tight social distancing rules and the numbers of people dying of coronavirus.

The open letter was written by Oxford's Professor Sunetra Gupta and Professor Carl Heneghan, by the University of Buckingham's Professor Karol Sikora, and by Sam Williams, director of the consultancy firm Economic Insight.

Tweeting a copy of the letter today, cancer doctor Professor Sikora pleaded: 'We desperately need a rethink to find a better balance'.

It comes amid fierce criticism from experts of the Government's top scientists after they presented a 'doomsday' scenario of 50,000 daily coronavirus cases within a month - which appeared not to be backed by data from France and Spain.

The Prime Minister is expected to hold a public briefing again tomorrow when he is set to lay out tougher social distancing measures for the whole of England.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to hold a public briefing tomorrow when he is likely to lay out tougher social distancing rules for the entire country

It comes amid fierce criticism from experts of the Government's top scientists, England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty (left) and the UK's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance (right), after they presented a 'doomsday' scenario of 50,000 daily coronavirus cases within a month - which appeared not to be backed by data from France and Spain

Professor Sikora told MailOnline: 'The worst case scenario is a lockdown  like a two week 'circuit break'. The problem is that wouldn't be two weeks  it can't be. As soon as you're out of the lockdown you're back to square one.

'We have adapted, people are going back to a rudimental social life, back to work and travelling on trains and buses. You can't tell people to go back to 'stay at home, save lives'; it's not feasible.

'I think the only options are imposing rules like the rule of six, or say no visiting people socially, like in April. We put the letter together on Friday. The idea is just to reconsider  don't rush into anything.

WHO SIGNED THE LETTER? Professor Sunetra Gupta (Oxford)

Professor Carl Heneghan (Oxford)

Professor Karol Sikora (U. of Buckingham)

Sam Williams (Economic Insight)

Professor Louise Allan (Exeter)

Professor Francois Balloux (UCL)

Professor Sucharit Bhakdi (JG University of Main)

Dr Julii Brainard (U. of East Anglia)

Professor Anthony Brookes (Leicester)

Professor Nick Colegrave (Edinburgh)

Dr Ron Daniels (UK Sepsis Trust)

Professor Robert Dingwall (Nottingham Trent)

Professor Fionn Dunne (Imperial Coll.)

Professor Kim Fox (Imperial Coll.)

Professor Anthony Glass (Sheffield)

Dr Andy Gaya (Consultant oncologist)

Dr Peter Grove (Former Dept Health)

Professor Matt Hickman (Bristol)

Professor Elizabeth Hughes (Leeds)

Dr Tom Jefferson (Oxford)

Professor Syma Khalid (Southampton)

Professor David Miles (Imperial Coll.)

Professor Paul Ormerod (UCL)

Professor Andrew Oswald (Warwick)

Professor David Paton (Nottingham)

Professor Hugh Pennington (Aberdeen)

Professor Barbara Pierscionek (Staffordshire)

Professor Eve Roman (York)

Professor Justin Stebbing (Imperial)

Professor Ellen Townsend (Nottingham)

Steve Westaby (Retired heart surgeon)

Professor Simon Wood (Edinburgh) Advertisement

'It's important we take things seriously, but what worries me is they will rush into a two-week lockdown... it does not move us forward.'

The letter accuses the Government of not having a clear strategy for living with Covid-19.

It said no policies will make sense, or work long-term, if officials are not certain about what they want to achieve by doing them.

They appreciated that the initial lockdown was framed by the need to 'flatten the curve'  to bring the out-of-control outbreak back under wraps.

But they said: 'For some time, however, there has been an absence of a similarly clearly articulated objective'.

And the Government must focus not only on Covid-19 but on the impact that lockdown measures have as a whole, because these could be just as important. There must be a limit, they said, to the sacrifices that can be made to slow the virus.

The letter said measures should be focused on protecting vulnerable people rather than everybody.

Elderly people and those with serious medical conditions are most at risk, the researchers said, and policies could be tailored to protect them better.

'Our view is that the existing policy path is inconsistent with the known risk-profile and should be reconsidered,' they said.

'The unstated objective currently appears to be one of suppression of the virus, until such a time that a vaccine can be deployed.

'This objective is increasing unfeasible... and is leading to significant harm across all age groups, which likely offsets any benefits.

'Instead, more targeted measures that protect the most vulnerable from Covid, whilst not adversely impacting those not at risk, are more supportable.

'Given the high proportion of Covid deaths in care homes, these should be a priority. Such targeted measures should be explored as a matter of urgency, as the logical cornerstone of our future strategy.'

A Government spokesman told MailOnline: 'This is a new virus and at every stage, we have been guided by the advice of experts from SAGE.

'Our response ensured the NHS was not overwhelmed even at the virus' peak, so that everyone has always been able to get the best possible care.

'As the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Advisor have outlined, we are a critical point which is why we must take action as a society now to reverse these trends and save lives while protecting education and the economy.

'For everyone, this means washing hands, wearing a face covering, practicing social distancing and self-isolating if you may have been in contact with the virus.'

New rules to try and slow the spread of the coronavirus in England are expected to be announced tomorrow by Boris Johnson, but will not be welcomed.

The PM faces a mounting Tory rebellion tonight over plans to retighten the lockdown screw on hard-pressed Britons - including a curfew for pubs - amid serious questions over the figures used to justify new restrictions on freedom.

A group of scientists and doctors have written to the Prime Minister urging him not to opt for a second lockdown and to stop presenting Covid-19 as a mortal danger

The Prime Minister will convene an emergency Cobra committee meeting tomorrow before revealing his new lockdown plans to MPs.

It comes after the Government's two top scientists warned there will be more than 200 deaths a day by November if the UK fails to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Sadiq Khan says he wants facemasks worn in ALL London's public spaces as part of 15-point Covid crackdown - as it's revealed infection rates in 20 boroughs are HIGHER than areas of England already hit by restrictions Sadiq Khan today said he wants face masks worn in all London's public spaces in a 15-point coronavirus crackdown he thrashed out with council leaders. The Mayor of London has urged ministers to impose a 10pm curfew on all pubs and restaurants throughout the capital in a bid to 'reduce the amount of hours people spend with each other inadvertently passing the virus on'. He blamed young people socialising in August for an 'exponential' increase in coronavirus cases after the Government's top scientists today claimed there could be 50,000 daily infections within a month unless draconian action is taken. Speaking on Sky News today, Mr Khan also hinted at further restrictions on people's lives in his 15-point plan, including curbs at funerals and weddings, as he claimed the Rule of Six 'isn't by itself sufficiently slowing down the virus spreading'. The mayor threatened to take 'additional measures' to suppress coronavirus as he called on Londoners to avoid public transport and work from home 'where possible'. It comes as new data reveal that coronavirus infection rates in 20 London boroughs are higher than areas of England already hit by restrictions. Public Health England's most recent watchlist shows the authority in England with the lowest case rate considered an 'area of intervention' - the highest degree of concern - is Ribble Valley, with 18.3 cases per 100,000. But Kensington and Chelsea, Enfield and Southwark, among others, have infection rates higher than that. Redbridge (34.2), Hounslow (32.5) and Barking and Dagenham (29.3) are the three worst-hit parts of the capital. Advertisement

His plans are believed to include a new 10pm curfew for the nation's drinking holes, but the plans faced a furious pushback from MPs.

It came as Britain's coronavirus alert level was raised to four tonight, meaning meaning transmission of the virus is 'high or rising exponentially'.

But there was also criticism of the country's top scientists, with questions being asked over their doomsday scenario picture of the next few months.

Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance warned this morning that without action there will be 50,000 new daily cases of coronavirus by the middle of October.

And Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said the UK has 'in a bad sense literally turned a corner' with rising rates of infection and that the nation needs to view the fight against the virus as a 'six month problem' before science eventually can 'ride to our rescue'.

Professor David Paton, an industrial economist at the University of Nottingham, also hit out at the 50,000 per day prediction.

He pointed out on Twitter that France and Spain, to which the UK was compared, are seeing cases double every three weeks, not every one, which he said would put Britain at more like 7,000 to 8,000 per day by mid-October.

He told MailOnline: 'It seems a very strange scenario to present, it's not, as far as I can tell, based on any particular modelling.

'If you look at the past few days, cases have been going down rather than going up, doesn't seem to be any basis to select this doubling 'every seven days'.

'It [also] seems odd, to me, to choose to compare against France and Spain. There are other countries they could have looked at, where cases have been doubling every three weeks. Nobody knows what will happen to cases in the UK.

'Do they really think we'll have five to six times more cases than France?'

Senior Conservative MPs warned this afternoon that the UK 'clearly cannot afford a full lockdown like we had in March' and argued that the case for further national measures has not yet been made.

The PM was urged to remember we 'live in a democracy not a dictatorship' during a debate in the Commons this afternoon.

Critics accused No 10 of trying to 'scare' people, after Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty were wheeled out today to 'roll the pitch' ahead of Mr Johnson's grand unveiling of tougher Covid-controlling policies tomorrow.

But scientists today pointed out that the claim of 50,000 cases a day by October 13 is based on the assumption of cases doubling every seven days. Neither Spain, France or the UK itself has witnessed such a worrying trend, with one of the government's own advisors admitting it is an 'implausible scenario'.

Data shows Spain is recording an average of just 14,740 new infections daily, up from 13,470 last week. Its rate has doubled in the past five weeks, from 5,690 on August 14. France's rolling average of daily cases has doubled in the space of three weeks, rising from 5,167 at the end of August to 10,381 yesterday.

And Department of Health data shows 3,929 new infections are being recorded each day in Britain, on average - up from 2,998 last Monday and 2,032 the week before that. It means the government's own data shows confirmed cases are doubling every fortnight, suggesting Britain is not hurtling towards 50,000 by mid-October.

Here, MailOnline breaks down the numbers behind the official graphs:

The chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance (left), and chief medical officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty (right) this morning warned that Britain is heading for a surge in hospital cases and deaths caused by Covid-19 if it doesn't change course

Disaster scenario of 50,000 cases per day by mid-October is 'very unlikely'

The boldest claim of this morning's briefing was that Britain could be facing 50,000 new cases of coronavirus per day by mid-October if no action is taken.

Sir Patrick made the warning based on the current epidemic doubling time of eight days, as revealed in Imperial College London's official REACT study this month, which looked at mass testing results up to September 7.

And the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which tracks the spread of the disease through random swab tests, says the number of cases almost doubled in England between September 3 and 10, jumping from 3,200 new infections a day to 6,000.

However, official numbers of cases found in positive tests have taken two weeks to double  from a daily average of 1,812 on Sunday, September 6, to 3,679 yesterday, September 20.

Sir Patrick said: 'If that continues unabated and this grows, doubling every seven days, then what you see, of course, let's say there were 5,000 today, it would be 10,000 next week, 20,000 the week after, 40,000 the week after, and you can see that by mid-October, if that continued, you would end up with something like 50,000 cases in the middle of October, per day.'

He said the 50,000 cases per day could be expected to lead a month later  the middle of November  to 200 or more deaths per day.

However, 50,000 cases per day, which Sir Patrick framed as a possibility and not a prediction, would still likely be fewer than half as many infections as Britain saw in March and April.

Scientists predict that more than 100,000 people were getting newly infected each day during the peak of the crisis, but not enough testing was done to prove this.

Professor Karol Sikora, a cancer doctor and former World Health Organization director, told MailOnline today: 'They're so negative. The graph for the worst case scenario, for 50,000 cases a day by next month, it's just scaring people.

'It seems unlikely to me we will have 50,000 infections by mid-October. The other possibility is there will be only 5,000 cases a day. Do we really need a two week lockdown to prevent that? I don't think we do.

'If we continue exactly as we are, I think we are doing better than France. I think we'll get out of this without a huge number of people being ill. France are already coming out the peak and they are two to three weeks ahead of us...

'It's important we take things seriously, but what worries me is they will rush into a two-week lockdown, mainly because it does not move us forward.'

Professor David Paton, an industrial economist at the University of Nottingham, also hit out at the 50,000 per day prediction.

He pointed out on Twitter that France and Spain, to which the UK was compared, are seeing cases double every three weeks, not every one, which he said would put Britain at more like 7,000 to 8,000 per day by mid-October.

He said the 50,000 per day would be a rate at least three times higher than currently being seen in Spain or France.

Professor Paton told MailOnline: 'It seems a very strange scenario to present, it's not, as far as I can tell, based on any particular modelling.

'If you look at the past few days, cases have been going down rather than going up, doesn't seem to be any basis to select this doubling 'every seven days'.

'It [also] seems odd, to me, to choose to compare against France and Spain. There are other countries they could have looked at, where cases have been doubling every three weeks. Nobody knows what will happen to cases in the UK.

'Do they really think we'll have five to six times more cases than France?'

Dr Michael Head, from the University of Southampton, added: 'It is important to note the Chief Medical Officer did say the potential for 50,000 cases a day is a 'worst case scenario'.

'Modelling has to calculate best, worst, and likely scenarios to allow different plans to be put in place.

'We are very unlikely to see cases at that level because interventions will be rolled out that restrict the spread of the virus, such as regional lockdowns. However, it is a timely reminder that the pandemic is accelerating both globally and also here in the UK.'

And Professor Mark Woolhouse, an infectious disease expert at the University of Edinburgh who sits on a group that feeds into SAGE, said: 'Only three countries in the world  India, US and Brazil  have ever reported more than 50,000 new cases per day (though in the early stages of the pandemic there will have been substantial under-reporting)...

'Many observers may consider this an implausible scenario. Presumably the UK government intends it to illustrate the consequences of sustained exponential growth.'

There are also concerns that the rise in cases is not a second wave heading in the same direction as the first, but simply a rise because lockdown has been lifted. Experts fear the Government could over-react.

Professor Robert Dingwall, from Nottingham Trent University, said: 'I think there is a great deal of uncertainty about whether what we are seeing at the moment is a genuine pick up, or the sort of thing we saw after an earlier round of easing restrictions where they pick up a bit and then settle down on a plateau.

'I don't think many would be surprised, as people went back to work and children to schools, and there is much more social interaction. Maybe the cases are just going up and finding a new level.'

Warning UK will follow the same trajectory as France and Spain  or worse

Sir Patrick's first point of warning came with the spectre of cases, hospitalisations and deaths rising in France and Spain.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned at the end of July that he was afraid a 'second wave rolling across Europe' would arrive in the UK.

In France and Spain, Sir Patrick said today: 'We've seen an increase in the numbers of cases that started with younger people in their 20s and spread gradually to older ages as well.

'That increase in case number has translated into an increase in hospitalisations. As the hospitalisations have increased... you will see that very sadly, but not unexpectedly, deaths are also increasing.'

French hospital cases have risen by 28 per cent in a month, with 5,800 people currently being treated, while Spanish hospitals have admitted 10,800 people since August 20 - more than the 7,000 in the previous three months combined.

At the height of the crisis in the spring there were up to 23,000 people being admitted every week in Spain, with hundreds dying every day.

But across France and Spain as a whole, hospital capacity is far higher than it was in the spring - with Madrid's virus patients filling up 22 per cent of hospital beds, compared to 100 per cent in early April, while France has thousands of free intensive care beds and only a fifth as many hospital patients as it did in April.

And while both countries have seen their death tolls increase, there has been no return so far to the hundreds of daily deaths that became the norm six months ago.

During the peak in late March and early April, Spain regularly recorded between 600 and 1,000 deaths per day, while there were more than 1,000 on multiple occasions in France.

Now, in comparison, daily deaths have risen above 200 only once in Spain since June and above 100 only once in France in the past three months, according to statistics from Our World in Data.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS: France and Spain have both seen rises in hospital cases, with older people especially affected, but the numbers are nowhere near the levels of March and April

ICU ADMISSIONS: While intensive care wards are reaching crisis levels in hotspots such as Madrid and Marseille, both countries as a whole have far more capacity than in the spring

Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist and oncologist at the University of Warwick, told MailOnline earlier this month that although cases are on an upward trajectory, 'it is becoming increasingly clear that people are less likely to die if they get Covid-19 now compared with earlier in the pandemic, at least in Europe'.

He said: 'Possible explanations include that a larger number of younger people - 15-44 year olds - are now being infected compared to the first peak in cases in April and this group are less likely to get severe disease.

'Two; there is now more effective treatment for patients with Covid-19 with far fewer needing mechanical ventilation; and three; less aggressive variants of SARS-CoV-2, particularly the D614G variant, are more prevalent  these remain very infectious but are less likely to cause severe disease.'

Government officials claim Britain is around six weeks behind the rest of Europe and could face a similar situation of rising deaths in the wake of its current rise in cases.

A senior government source told The Times: 'The Prime Minister has a very difficult challenge. At the moment we are on the same trajectory of Spain and France.

'Spain on Thursday clocked 240 deaths  they are six weeks ahead of us so it is now being translated from cases to deaths.'

But in Sweden and the US, which have both seen case numbers increase again after the initial surge, death rates have not kept pace with infections.

In Sweden, the death rate has been falling steadily since April despite a peak of cases in the summer - with the country's top epidemiologist saying that deaths can be kept low without drastic lockdown measures.

In the United States, cases surged to record levels in July and August after the first wave had receded - but death rates in summer hotspots such as Texas and Florida were well below those in New York City where the virus hit hardest in the spring.

Only 11 new deaths were announced last week in Sweden, down from a peak of 752 fatalities in seven days in mid-April.

Cases reached their height in the Scandinavian nation in the second half of June, when some days saw more than 1,000 infections - but the death toll continued to fall regardless.

Sweden's state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who has become the face of the no-lockdown strategy, said in a recent interview that voluntary hygiene measures had been 'just as effective' as complete shutdowns.

There are fears that the UK will experience a rise in the number of people dying of coronavirus as a direct result of cases surging. But data shows otherwise  the US has almost completely avoided a second wave in Covid-19 deaths despite seeing a huge increase in the number of people infected since June

Despite seeing a new surge in coronavirus infections, Sweden has recorded a continuing fall in fatalities since the start of May

'The rapidly declining cases we see in Sweden right now is another indication that you can get the number of cases down quite a lot in a country without having a complete lockdown,' he told Unherd.

Tegnell added that 'deaths are not so closely connected to the amount of cases you have in a country', saying the death rate was more closely linked to whether older people are being infected and how well the health system can cope.

'Those things will influence mortality a lot more, I think, than the actual spread of the disease,' he said.

Professor Robert Dingwall, from Nottingham Trent University, told MailOnline: '[In France] people who are going into hospitals are also coming out a lot more quickly. You have to understand that, any kind of trend data, it's not just about the people who are ill but how the health system is organised.

'It's the problem with all these international comparisons; it can be very misleading if you don't know how these health systems work. That makes me suspicious about the interpretation of the data from France or any other European country.

'The French hospital is much more focused around hospital care - the GP side is not as strong, which is different to Britain. So you've got a lot of people going in to hospital [which would show in the hospital data] but they do come out again.'

Infections rising across all age groups in England

Sir Patrick warned that cases of coronavirus are now increasing in all age groups, with 20 to 29-year-olds the most likely people to get sick.

Rates of illness had remained flat throughout the summer but in July pubs, restaurants and sports clubs reopened and Chancellor Rishi Sunak's 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme encouraged millions of people to spend summer evenings going out.

People have also returned to offices and now children to schools, vastly increasing social contact on commutes, in classrooms and in busier shops and streets.

'What you can see is there's been an increase in cases across all age groups,' Sir Patrick said.

'The lowest increase has been in children and in the population aged 70-79 but in every age group we've seen an increase.

'Could that increase be due to increased testing? The answer is no. We see an increase in positivity of the tests done  so we see the proportion of people testing positive has increased, even if testing stays flat.'

The graph used in the briefing, however, does not line up with data published by Public Health England on Friday, September 18.

PHE's data from its weekly surveillance report showed that the infection rate for 20 to 29-year-olds was 51.8 per 100,000 in the week ending September 13, whereas it appears to have risen above 60 in the official graph.

The infection rate had actually fallen for the first time in 10 weeks for that age group, from 55.9 a week earlier, PHE's report showed, although it still remained the highest.

The over-80s age group also saw its infection rate fall, among whom it dropped from 20.6 to 19.8, but this appears to rise again in the chief scientists' graph.

Infection rates presented in the official graph all appear higher than the Public Health England report which follows the same measure, and which is quoted as the source.

The line for the 30-39 age group clearly hits 45 in the official graph for the most recent week, while PHE's report puts it at 37.5 per 100,000.

Likewise, the 40-49 and 10-19 age groups' rates appear to be in the high 30s, while publicly released data for the same date puts them at 30.7 and 29.8, respectively.

Public Health England said the data had been taken more recently than that in PHE's report, but was unable to provide a copy of it.

A change in the ages of people getting infected may have a positive knock-on effect on bringing down the death rate of the virus.

Most cases are now among young people  20 to 29-year-olds are the worst affected, with a rate of around 52 cases per 100,000, which has risen from a previous peak of 47.1 in the spring.

Young people are significantly less likely to die and, some experts say, the average risk of death for under-45s has not been increased at all because of the pandemic.

Among the elderly, however, the infection rate has plummeted by more than 90 per cent. For over-80s, there are now some 19.8 cases per 100,000 people.

This is down from a dizzying peak of 232.2 cases per 100,000 at the height of the crisis, driven largely by care homes.

The shift from most cases among the old to most cases among the young could mean that the fatality rate of the virus is considerably lower than it was in April.

Hospitalisations on the rise and could lead to an increase in deaths

Professor Whitty warned that the rising number of people going into hospital would lead to an increase in deaths which could multiply quickly.

He said that inpatient cases are doubling at around the same rate as infections  every seven to eight days.

Professor Whitty said: 'Now what that tells us is that if this carried on unabated, these numbers are relatively small, we're talking about around 200 at the moment - but if this continued along the path that Patrick laid out, the number of deaths directly from Covid... will continue to rise, potentially on an exponential curve, that means doubling and doubling and doubling again.

'And you can quickly move from really quite small numbers to really very large numbers because of that exponential process.

'So we have, in a bad sense literally turned a corner, although only relatively recently.'

There are reasons to believe that fewer people admitted to hospital now will die of Covid-19.

Reports from the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC) shows that survival rates for the sickest Covid-19 patients in England have improved by 10 per cent.

ICU mortality rates for Covid-19 patients dropped from 44 per cent to 34 per cent between March and July

Analysis suggests, at the current trend, it would take little more than three weeks for daily admissions to top 2,000

Its most recent analysis of NHS records shows that, in July, 34 per cent of ICU patients with Covid-19 were dying. This was a considerably higher 44 per cent in March.

Experts believe the finding shows doctors are getting better at treating the disease, and note medics are less keen on putting patients on ventilators amid concerns they could make the illness worse.

It's hoped survival rates will improve further still after a number of cheap steroids, including dexamethasone and hydrocortisone, were proven to treat severe Covid.

Hospitals are also far less busy than they were in April and May, meaning doctors and nurses can spend more time with virus patients. Staff sickness rates are also lower.

Data does show, however, that hospitalisations are rising dramatically, which is cause for concern.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock last week said he was worried because hospitalisations were doubling every eight days and there was an 'acceleration' in cases.

Government data shows 205 newly-infected Covid-19 patients were admitted to hospitals in England on Friday, compared to just 84 ten days earlier. It means 178 patients are needing NHS care each day, on average  triple the figure of 59 on September 4.

More than 3,000 people each day were being admitted to NHS hospitals during the peak of the first wave in April. Analysis suggests, at the current trend, it would take little more than three weeks for daily admissions to top the 2,000 mark.

But experts insist a second wave of Covid-19 in Britain would not be nearly as fatal as the first because doctors have got better at treating the disease, thanks to scientific breakthroughs.

Vast majority of people 'unprotected' by herd immunity and still susceptible

Sir Patrick warned that the 'vast majority' of Britain is still susceptible to catching Covid-19 because immunity is so low.

Government advisors believe that no more than 8 per cent of the population have developed neutralizing antibodies against the coronavirus.

Neutralising antibodies are substances created by the immune system to remember how to fight off a particular illness. But Sir Patrick warned that not everyone will develop antibodies.

Eight per cent of Britain  home to around 66.65million people  equates to around 5.3million people but Sir Patrick said the figure was closer to 3million.

It means between 61 and 63million people are still vulnerable to the disease, which poses a much graver threat to the elderly and obese.

And he admitted the rate could actually be even higher in London and other cities, saying as many as 17 per cent of people living in the capital may have already had the illness. Sir Patrick said these higher rates could mean the disease spreads slower in highly-populated areas in a second wave.

In a stark warning, Sir Patrick said: 'It means the vast majority of us are not protected in any way and are susceptible to this disease.'

And he urged caution over the numbers, however, insisting that antibodies are not an 'absolute protection' with levels of the disease-fighting substances fading over time.

For example, research by King's College London in July found immunity to Covid-19 might be lost within months, sparking fears it could infect people on an annual basis like the common cold and flu.

Sir Patrick also said there may be 'other forms of protection', meaning the 8 per cent figure is an underestimate.

Other studies have offered hope of long-lasting immunity, with survivors of SARS  a closely-related coronavirus  still having crucial T cells 17 years after they were first infected.

The crucial white blood cells  which can't be detected by the 'have you had it' antibody tests  are also made in response to the infection.

Other scientific studies have shown people who have had a common cold in the past two years have T cells that show 'cross-reactive protection' against Covid-19.

It means the true proportion of the population who is protected against the disease is a mystery.

Scientific consensus says herd immunity  when a disease can no longer spread because enough of the population has been exposed to it  will kick in when around 60 to 70 per cent have had the virus, scientifically called SARS-CoV-2.

But some research has suggested this rate could actually be as low as 10 per cent, if it spreads more rampantly among the most socially active. This is because they are into contact with others more regularly and are, therefore, more likely to spread the illness.

If a vaccine was developed it would need 60-70 per cent coverage to work  but this threshold could be significantly lower for natural immunity.

Coronavirus 'is not weaker or less deadly than it was in March'

Professor Whitty today insisted that the virus is not milder than it was during the first wave, despite claims it may have weakened.

Doctors in Italy and the US have claimed SARS-CoV-2 is appearing to be become less potent over time, saying viral loads have reduced in size over time.

Viruses are known to change over time because they are subject to random genetic mutations in the same way that all living things are.

Some of the mutations may turn out to be advantageous to the virus, and get carried forward into future generations. For example, if a virus becomes less dangerous to its host - that is, it causes fewer symptoms or less death - it may find that it is able to live longer and reproduce more.

But dismissing the claims in a clear message to the nation today, Professor Whitty said: 'I'm afraid, although it would be great if it were true, but we see no evidence that this is the case.'

He also revealed cases initially started to spike in young adults, who are the group 'least likely to end up in hospital'.

Imperial College London academics have previously claimed fewer than 1 per cent of people under 30 will get hospitalised with Covid-19, and those who are admitted for care will often have underlying illnesses that leave them more prone to the disease.

But the rate is dramatically higher among the over-80s, and could be around one in five.

Professor Whitty added: 'For many people, this remains a mild infection. As we move up the ages, then mortality rises to quite significantly rates.

'What we've seen in other countries, and clearly seeing here, is they're not staying in younger age groups.'

He accepted that mortality rates would be 'similar to what we saw previously', with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating it kills around 0.6 per cent of all patients in total. But the rate is as high as 18 per cent for over-75s but less than seasonal flu  which kills around 0.1 per cent of patients  for under 45s.

The current case-fatality rate, which works out how many patients die for confirmed cases  not just everyone who gets infected, stands at around 10.5 per cent. But this will eventually drop with more testing.

Professor Whitty warned that Covid-19 is more virulent than flu, saying that influenza kills around 7,000 patients in a usual winter. For reference, more than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths were registered on nine different days during the first wave.

He did, however, admit that treatment has got better, saying there was 'no doubt about that'. Professor Whitty said: 'Doctors and nurses have learnt to treat this more effectively.'

He added: 'And we have new drugs such as dexamethasone, these will reduce the mortality rate but definitely will not eliminate or take it right down to trivial levels.'

Dexamethasone was the first drug proven to cut the risk of dying from Covid-19. In the world's biggest drug trial in June, Oxford University researchers concluded the 5 steroid could save up to 35 per cent of patients relying on ventilators - the most dangerously ill.

And the cheap steroid hydrocortisone can cut Covid-19 deaths by almost a third in the sickest patients, research found earlier this month.

But other promising drugs, such as the Donald Trump-backed hydroxychloroquine, have had disappointing results.

Covid-19 cases are 'rising significantly in the vast majority of areas'

Professor Whitty, presenting a heat map of the UK, warned that coronavirus cases are now rising all over the UK and not just in a handful of areas.

'This is not someone else's problem, this is all of our problem,' the chief medical officer warned.

He explained: 'What we've seen is a progression where... first we saw very small outbreaks, maybe associated with a workplace or another environment, then we've seen more localised outbreaks which have got larger over time, particularity in the cities.

'And now what we're seeing is a rate of increase across the great majority of the country. It is going at different rates but it is now increasing.'

Public Health England's data from Friday shows that infections were actually falling or stagnant in 43 out of 149 areas  29 per cent.

And 66 areas have an infection rate below 20 cases per 100,000, meaning just 0.02 per cent of the population there  only one in 5,000 people  are carrying the illness.

A further six areas have between 20 and 21 per 100,000. 20 per 100,000 is the threshold at which the UK Government considers quarantine for international travellers.

Only 40 areas out of the 149 have an infection rate higher than England's average, of 33.8 per 100,000, meaning three quarters of places have below-average infection rates.

Critics have warned that national restrictions applied to the whole country unfairly tar the country with a 'broad brush'.

People in low or no-Covid areas will be affected by any national restrictions even though they are not at significant risk of the virus, simply because some areas have been unable to control infection rates.

A Conservative former Minister criticised the measures as a 'very broad brush' and said that something 'more concentrated' would have been better.

David Jones MP told MailOnline earlier this month: 'I can understand that the Government has to do something, because there is certainly an uptick.

'But it is not an uptick across the country as a whole. There are some parts of the country such as Devon, Dorset where there is very little virus activity at all.

'So it does seem to be very broad brush... I would have thought something more concentrated would be better.'
Cloud communication services provider Route Mobile witnessed strong buying demand as the stock listed with much higher-than-expected premium on September 21.

The stock after opening at Rs 708 on the BSE touched an intraday high of Rs 735, rising 110 percent over the issue price of Rs 350 per share. The trading volumes on both exchanges stood at 2.81 crore equity shares at the time of witing this copy, which was much higher than its total issue size of 1.71 crore equity shares.

Given the leadership position in cloud communication service, deepened relations with mobile network operators (MNOs), broadened product and service portfolio over the years through strategic acquisitions and being the only listed peer in this space, all experts advised staying invested in the company with a long-term horizon.

"The sector is very promising. With growing technology and almost every industry becoming an IT-enabled enterprise, there is good potential for this stock as the sector has not yet saturated and is still in a growing stage. Thus a great potential for growth can be harnessed," Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research told Moneycontrol.

Chemcon Speciality Chemicals IPO opens today: Should you subscribe?

Keshav Lahoti - Associate Equity Analyst at Angel Broking also recommended staying invested in the company for the long-term.

"We are positive on the future outlook for the industry as well as the company. Route Mobile has a robust business model and consistent financial track record. It also has a diversified and global client base across industries which provides us further comfort on its business. Unlike many other businesses, COVID-19 has led to better growth prospects for the company given increased adoption of digital technologies," he reasoned.

Incorporated in 2004, Mumbai-headquartered Route Mobile is the leading cloudcommunication platform provider, catering to enterprises, over-the-top (OTT) players and mobile network operators (MNOs). Its product portfolio includes smart solutions in messaging, voice, email and SMS filtering, analytics and monetization.

CAMS IPO issue opens today: Should you subscribe?

It is also one of the most prominent and largest CPaaS (cloud communication platform as a service) players in the world, especially in Asia, Africa & the Middle East. The company has served over 30,150 clients, since inception and has access to over 800 networks across the globe, over 255 direct connections to telecom operators and over 3,000 active monthly billable clients.

For FY18-20, revenue has grown at a CAGR of 38 percent thanks to its association with marquee clients.

85 percent of the revenue is generated from export markets like Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America. The company uses a prepaid business model where the client pays upfront, which helps in reducing overall working capital cycle.

"I would suggest holding on to the stock on the listing day even after considering a healthy listing premium. Route Mobile being a market leader in cloud-communication is expected to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the increasing digitalisation drive in India post-COVID," Prashanth Tapse, AVP Research at Mehta Equities said.

Route Mobile does not have a directly comparable listed peer in India. "The company will become the second only firm in the larger mobile communication services after Affle India which trades at PE 100x. With growing internet penetration and business models adopting a digital platform with cloud services being the need of the hour, we believe investors should tap this opportunity and hold for a multibagger story for 2-3 years," Tapse added.

Want to Buy stock on Listing Day?

If someone is interested to buy the stock on listing day itself, he/she should buy the stock only below Rs 500 levels given the expected growth in the sector and the company, experts feel.

"Adding on the listing day would be suggested only if the listing premium is below 50 percent to allotment price i.e. below Rs 500 per share," said Tapse.

Manali Bhatia, Head-Research at Rudra Shares & Stock Brokers also feels if someone wants to buy on listing day then fresh buying at the levels of Rs 450-500 is suggested for long-term.

"Buying can be done if stock is available at 40-50 percent above issue price as company's established presence in all major geographies provides it an opportunity to leverage the growth in the cloud communications space," said Astha Jain, Senior Research Analyst at Hem Securities who believes that one should hold partial quantity for the long-term and book profits partially.

Outlook on the stock and sector

"Route Mobile provides a communication channel to enable two-factor authentication. Thus, as the digital transactions would grow, the two-factor authentication would become stronger. It has marquee customers, the largest being Google and FB the second largest. Moreover, it has healthy financials, negligible debt, impressive ratios & RONW at 25.58 percent and positive operating cash flow over FY18-20. Though the valuations are decent at current levels, its presence in niche IT segment along with clients across different sectors (such as social media, banking and financial services, retail, logistics) makes investing in stock worthy for long term," Manali Bhatia said.

Astha Jain said, "With company intending to capitalise on the growth opportunity in cloud communications space and endeavour to become a one-stop communications solution provider to enterprise clients and MNOs, the future prospects of the company look strong."

: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
WASHINGTON  The Trump administration on Monday announced a slew of fresh sanctions and additional measures in support of Washington's maximum pressure campaign against Iran. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, flanked by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, said the administration would sanction Iran's Ministry of Defense and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro for his role in aiding Tehran's weapons programs. "No matter who you are, if you violate the U.N. arms embargo on Iran, you risk sanctions," Pompeo said. "Our actions today are a warning that should be heard worldwide," he added. Mnuchin and Ross announced sanctions on six individuals and three entities associated with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and three individuals and four entities associated with Iran's liquid propellant ballistic missile organization, the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group. "The efforts today are to continue to reduce that risk that they [the Iranian regime] will have the wealth and resources to foment terror throughout the region and indeed throughout the world," Pompeo said. Esper said the Department of Defense was "ready to respond to future Iranian aggression" and called on Tehran to "act like a normal country." "We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies and partners to counter Iran's destabilizing behavior. In doing so, we will protect our people and our interests and maintain the security of like-minded nations across the region," Esper added.

Hassan Rouhani, Iran's president, pauses whilst speaking during a news conference in Tehran, Iran, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2019. Bloomberg | Getty Images

On Saturday, the United States unilaterally reimposed U.N. sanctions on Tehran through a snapback process, which other U.N. Security Council members have previously said Washington does not have the authority to execute. "If U.N. member states fail to fulfill their obligations to implement these sanctions, the United States is prepared to use our domestic authorities to impose consequences for those failures and ensure that Iran does not reap the benefits of U.N.-prohibited activity," Pompeo said in a Saturday evening statement. "Our maximum pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will continue until Iran reaches a comprehensive agreement with us to rein in its proliferation threats and stops spreading chaos, violence, and bloodshed," Pompeo said, adding that in the coming days the Trump administration "will announce a range of additional measures to strengthen the implementation of U.N. sanctions and hold violators accountable." The U.S. special envoy for Venezuela and Iran, Elliott Abrams, told reporters last week that it "remains to be seen" whether U.N. member states will enforce the reimposed sanctions. "We will have some announcements over the weekend and more announcements on Monday, and then subsequent days next week as to exactly how we are planning to enforce these returned U.N. sanctions," Abrams said. Last month, Pompeo addressed the 15 member nations of the U.N. Security Council and reiterated that the Trump administration will continue its maximum pressure campaign in order to rein in Tehran's missile and nuclear programs. He asserted on Aug. 20 that the U.S. would enforce sweeping sanctions on Iran, even though the United Nations Security Council voted to not extend a crucial arms embargo on the rogue regime. "I have not had a single world leader or one of my counterparts tell me that they think it makes any sense at all for the Iranians to be able to purchase and sell high-end weapons systems, which is what will happen on Oct. 18 of this year, absent the actions that we took at the United Nations yesterday," Pompeo told CNBC a day later. "We're not going to let them have a nuclear weapon, we're not going to let them have hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth from selling weapons systems. Every leader around the world knows it's a bad idea," he said, calling Iran "the world's largest state sponsor of terror."
A Facebook co-host for Alex Kuzmenkos first rally, Bonnie Isbill Dodson, said she had never met Kuzmenko or attended any of his rallies, including the one she co-hosted. The Meridian resident said she had been scrolling through items on Facebook Marketplace when she came across the invitation for the July rally in Boise and was alarmed by a string of offensive comments. When she contacted Kuzmenko, he asked her to monitor the posts. The next thing she knew, she said, she was listed as a co-organizer on the event page.
LONDON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, Caribbean Airlines launched its first flight between the Commonwealth of Dominica and Barbados. Available on Saturdays and Sundays in the initial phase, the 1-hour flight will gradually expand its frequency to four times weekly by October 28th. As one of the world's least affected countries by COVID-19, Dominica reopened its borders for tourists on August 7th, following strict travel protocols.

Known as the Nature Isle of the Caribbean, Dominica has a thriving ecotourism sector. Several world-branded and boutique eco-luxury resorts opened in recent years, built thanks to foreign investors who also wanted to become citizens of Dominica. Through a special Programme, called Citizenship by Investment (CBI), the government collaborated with hoteliers and investors to transform Dominica into a 5-star destination. According to a report published yearly by the Financial Times' PWM magazine, Dominica is the best country for CBI  a position it has retained over the past four years.

Carefully vetted investors can obtain Dominica's citizenship via two routes: making a one-off minimum contribution of US$100,000 to a government fund, or investing at least US$200,000 in pre-approved hotels and resorts. The government pledged to prioritise building Dominica's first international airport this fiscal year, after saving US$5 million monthly for this from the CBI Programme.

Dominica's Tourism Minister, Ms Denise Charles, said during the inauguration ceremony on Sunday that the new flight "has opened up a new gateway for us in Dominica to access Latin American countries and other international destinations." Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit commented during a programme on Sunday: "We look forward to a very strong partnership with Caribbean Airlines as we seek to improve on air access into Dominica, in the medium term, as we work towards the construction of our international airport."

In December last year, experts at the Financial Times predicted that Dominica would become one of the top 20 tourism destinations of the future. Since its niche is eco-luxury, wellness, nature immersion and intimacy, Dominica is one of the safest holiday destinations in current times. Families who wish to invest in Dominica and obtain its citizenship can apply jointly and benefit from the recent expansion of dependant eligibility.

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POLITICS

Rage

Bob Woodward

Simon & Schuster, $49.99

Two years ago, Bob Woodward captured President Donald Trump revelling in a paroxysm of fear. Real power is  I dont even want to use the word  fear, and that became the title of Woodwards epic account of the first years of Trumps presidency.

In all the battles over policy and politics, all the unprecedented revolving-door chaos of serial chiefs of staff, Cabinet secretaries, national security advisers, all driven by the inexhaustible primal urges of Trump  what Woodward presented was an indelible picture of a presidency polluted, a constitutional office defiled, the American republic seized by a clear and present danger.

Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Minnesota last week. He gave 17 taped interviews to Bob Woodward. Credit:AP

The grandmaster of Washington journalism has checkmated Trump again, in this most unvarnished presentation ever of a president at work. With Richard Nixon, it was always a question of forcible access to the secret Watergate tapes that led to his resignation. With Trump, the tapes are not hidden  hes making them with Woodward. Seventeen of them. In the belief they will help his re-election. All the crimes are in broad daylight.
Many people know Desi Arnaz as Ricky Ricardo in I Love Lucy, where he starred opposite his then-wife, Lucille Ball. But who was Arnaz before he got to Hollywood? According to his daughter, Lucie Arnaz, he had a very different life back in Cuba, and his journey to get to Hollywood came with many twists and turns.

Desi Arnaz | CBS via Getty Images

Desi Arnazs life in Cuba

In an interview with the Television Academy Foundation, Lucie Arnaz spoke about her fathers childhood and upbringing in Santiago de Cuba.

My dad was born in Santiago, Cuba in 1917, she began. And his father was the mayor of the town. His uncle was the chief of police. His mothers family were the early founders of the Bacardi Rum Company. So hed say, They had that town pretty well wrapped up.'

But everything changed when the Batista revolution occurred.

The Batista revolution came in and overthrew the Machado administration, which his father was in, she said. They lost everything. They lost their homes, their livestock was killed, their pets were slaughtered, they crushed and burned the piano and all the family photos.

RELATED: Lucille Balls Mother-in-Law Told Her To Convert To Catholicism After Losing Two BabiesFive Months Later I Was Pregnant

As a result, young Desi and his family were forced to go into hiding or move away.

My grandmother, his mother, hid with relatives, said Lucie. And my dad and his father escaped, with nothing, to Miami, where they had to start over again basically from scratch. And he lived in Miami in a warehouse with Grandpa. And he killed rats with a bat, he said. It was rough. And he cleaned canary cages there for a while for a living.

After cleaning canary cages for a time, Desis father told him he should go try and make some money as a musician.

Eventually, Grandpa said, OK, OK, OK, I know you play the guitar I wanted you to be a doctor, lawyer, somebody who could fend for himself, but I guess youre going to have to go get a job as a musician. So Dad got a musicians job in a local band.

Desi Arnazs big break

Thats when things started looking up. After Desi joined a local band, he was discovered by Xavier Cugat.

They flew him to New York, and then he left Cugat and got a small band of his own down in Miami and actually introduced the conga dance to the United States out of desperation one night, said Lucie. That really was his ticket. He became quite famous for that and playing the conga drum and doing this conga dance, the conga line.

By the time Desi got back to New York, there was a club named after the dance hed introduced.

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz | Archive Photos/Getty Images

RELATED: I Love Lucy: Lucie Arnaz Says Her Mother, Lucille Ball, Wasnt Anything Like Her Beloved Character at Home

They named a club, La Conga, after him. And he was playing at La Conga in New York when Rodgers and Hart discovered him, and George Abbott asked him to be in a Broadway show called Too Many Girls, which ended up being the story of his life I think later on, Lucie said with a laugh. And it opened at the Imperial Theatre in New York in 1939.

After the Broadway rendition of Too Many Girls, the show went to Hollywood to be made into a film. Thats where Desi met Lucille Ball.

It was in Hollywood where he met my mother who was cast to play the ingenue in the movie, said Lucie.

And the rest, as they say, is history.
The Convention People's Party (CPP) says it still recognizes 21st September as Founders day after the Akufo-Addo government renamed it.

21st September was initially celebrated as Founders day in honour of Ghanas first President, Kwame Nkrumah , who is credited as leading the country to independence.

President Akufo-Addo, however, renamed 21st September as Nkrumah Memorial Day.

The government had argued that celebrating the day as Founder's day, with Ghana's independence achievement credited solely to Nkrumah was wrong as others including the Dr J.B. Danquah also played key roles in the country's independence struggle.

National Organizer for the CPP, Moses Yirimambo Ambing, however, told Citi News the party still regards Kwame Nkrumah as the only founder of Ghana.

He said the party will embark on some activities to commemorate the day.

Today signifies the day that the greatest African was born and we still regard the day as the Founders day despite the government scrapping it or watering it down into the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial day.

We still acknowledge that Kwame Nkrumah is the sole founder of modern Ghana so for us the day is significant to us. We are going to commemorate the day by going to the Museum then we have a solemn procession to the partys headquarters where we are going to address the nation.

In renaming 21st September, the Presidency's statement at the time said August 4, is obviously the most appropriate day to signify our recognition and appreciation of the collective efforts of our forebears towards the founding of a free, independent Ghana.

The shift was met by criticism from across the political divide, especially groups with Nkrumaist ties.

The NDC, known for its support for Nkrumaist ideals, said the move was an attempt to distort Ghana's history by enforcing the idea that Ghana had multiple founders.

---citinewsroom
(Natural News) As wildfires continue to rage in California and rolling blackouts plague its residents, Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris pledges to convert every states power grids to be like Californias.

California is currently experiencing some of the worst wildfires in its history. For the first time since 2001, the current rolling blackouts in the state are due to a lack of power, not because of the raging infernos. In fact, the states lack of energy would be a lot worse if not for the gas and coal energy being imported by Canada from other states in the western United States.

If President Donald Trump loses the upcoming election, every American can expect similarly drastic power shortages as Harris and former vice president Joe Biden export Californias energy policies nationwide by destroying the countrys ability to generate a lot of cheap gas and coal power in favor of unreliable wind and solar energy.

The only way Biden and Harris renewable energy plan would work is if they fill up hundreds of thousands of acres with solar panels and massive wind turbines and store some of the excess energy they produce in hundreds of millions of pounds of lithium-ion batteries. All of this would cost trillions in taxpayer dollars.

Around 33 percent of Californias energy comes from renewable sources. It plans to make it to 44 percent renewable by 2024. By law, the state is required to generate 60 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, with an ultimate goal of having all of their power needs generated by renewable energy by the year 2045.

Despite the states commitment to producing renewable energy, it has not committed itself from not importing energy from other states and from Canada and Mexico. In 2018, around a third of the retail electricity used by California came from other states, which produced it using more reliable energy generation methods like coal, gas and even nuclear power  which the state explicitly prohibits under law, despite it being a safe and renewable form of energy.

In order for California to store enough energy for just 24 hours, it needs to invest in over $300 billion worth of battery storage. If Biden and Harris energy plan pushes through, the whole country will need to cough up $4.5 trillion just for a days worth of battery storage. (Related: Kamala Harris shamed Brett Kavanaugh over made-up sexual assault claims, now praising Jacob Blake for raping ex-girlfriend.)

Summer heat making the blackouts feel worse for Californians

Unfortunately, the lights arent the only thing affected by the blackouts  heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems also require a lot of electricity. When a blackout comes during the summer, the health of Californians is jeopardized as they can become affected by the high temperatures.

As Charlotte Whelan of Townhall pointed out, all of this was caused by the states overly-aggressive push to quickly convert all of its energy to renewable, despite not having the required technology that will make renewable energy systems more reliable than coal or gas power.

The blackouts are the result of a difficult-to-manage power grid. In the evening, as the heat peaks and people come home from work, people turn on their air conditioning and other devices. Throughout the state, electricity demand surges just in time for the sun to set and solar power to stop, reducing the amount of state-generated energy available This is an extreme example of the difficulties posed by the intermittent nature of many renewable energy sources.

While this usually doesnt become a problem since California can easily import extra energy, the heatwave is making the states that California relies on have less excess power available to support it. As the state converts more of its infrastructure to produce renewable energy, these blackouts will be more likely to happen.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, and find out why, in the face of several ongoing crises like the pandemic, the engineered anti-police movement, the extremely high taxes and the exceptionally disastrous governance, liberal cities across the United States, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento, are collapsing.

Harris has history of promoting California-style power grids

Sen. Harris has a long history of upholding and supporting the exportation of Californias disastrous energy policies nationwide. In 2016, she tweeted about how California ensures that a third of electricity is from renewable sources. Heres how we can make it a model nationwide, followed by a link to a statement on environmental justice from Biden.

In 2017, she followed up on this with another tweet about how California is on track to get around 50 percent of its energy from renewable sources by the end of 2020.

California is on track to get 50% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2020, a decade ahead of schedule. We will continue to lead even when this Administration wont. https://t.co/4gPBO6sHJ3  Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 16, 2017

During her tenure as the District Attorney for San Francisco, Harris created an environmental justice unit that supposedly brought lawsuits to protect low-income residents from environmental crimes.

Back in September 2019, when Harris was still running her failed campaign to be the Democratic Partys nominee for president, she released a climate plan that supported ending fossil fuel extraction, fossil fuel subsidies and moving towards making more of the country rely on renewable energy.

If Kamala Harris becomes vice president, theres no doubt that she will try her best to get the rest of the country to follow Californias current disastrous renewable energy model. Learn more about the senator and vice-presidential candidate by reading the articles at KamalaHarris.news.

Sources include:

BigLeaguePolitics.com

FoxBusiness.com

PV-Magazine-USA.com

Townhall.com

GreenTechMedia.com




Haiti - Agriculture : Towards a significant drop in the price of fertilizers for farmers?





With the aim of lowering the price of fertilizer on the local market, Patrix Severe, the Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development held a meeting at the Ministry with officials of agricultural cooperatives.



During this meeting, Minister Severe discussed the price of fertilizer on the local market and pleaded in favor of a significant drop in the price of these fertilizers so that the farmers could buy them at 1,000 gourdes per bag. Stressing that there was already a stock of fertilizer currently flowing on the market at this price while in some places the farmers still buy the bag of fertilizer up to 3,600 gourdes.



For their part, the leaders of the agricultural cooperatives expressed their concern fearing with such a low price, to suffer a considerable loss of their income and to run out of business. Faced with this eventuality, they asked to be assured of the support of the Ministry of Agriculture.



In addition to the Ministers desire to allow farmers access to fertilizers at a relatively low price, Severe also makes the quality of fertilizer a priority and a requirement.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 19:54:50|Editor: huaxia

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VALLETTA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The China Cultural Center in Malta is offering new opportunities for locals to study the Chinese language and experience traditional culture.

People at different levels of Chinese language proficiency could take lessons at the centre and participate in a variety of cultural and creative activities.

"Once locals have succeeded in speaking or reading a few sentences in Chinese, they will be encouraged to continue their journey towards fluency," Yang Xiaolong, director of the Centre, told Xinhua.

He added that studying Chinese will also lead them to discover the beauty and warmth of Chinese culture.

Language courses for students of differing levels will begin in October.

The Centre started to offer language courses as early as 2004. In recent years, it has been collaborating with the Confucius Institute of the University of Malta in teaching local learners Chinese.

According to Yang, the Centre will also offer classes on calligraphy, the Erhu, otherwise known as the Chinese violin, Chinese painting, square dancing, the Chinese strategy board game Go, Chinese handicrafts, Tai Chi, martial arts and Chinese cooking.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily limiting events such as exhibitions and shows, the centre continues to flourish and has focused on expanding and improving online services and activities for local people, including language teaching, skills training and martial arts, Yang said.

Meanwhile, the centre has also gradually recovered certain offline cultural activities under the requirements set by the Maltese government. Enditem
Explosives used in illegal fishing seized in N. Samar island town in the Philippines

by Marie Tonette Marticio

September 21,2020 | Source: Manila Bulletin

At least P3.5-million worth of explosives, believed used in illegal fishing, has been recovered by the Northern Samar Police Provincial Office (PPO) Sunday, September 20, in the island town of San Antonio, Northern Samar in the Philippines.



Northern Samar PPO Director Col. Arnel Apud said the explosives and raw materials were being made into improvised dynamites that would be used for illegal fishing.



The seized items in Barangay Burabod are composed of 34 kgs. of tri-nitro toluene, 25,000 pieces of blasting caps, and 3.5 meters of detonating cord.



He added the confiscation of the contraband was the result of follow-up operations on an incident that happened last September 17, when an explosion hurt a still unidentified man and some explosives were also recovered also in the same barangay.



Initial investigation disclosed that the place where the said seized items were recovered on the coconut land allegedly owned by a certain Maria Aleganza, Col. Apud shared.



He added that they were still conducting follow-up investigation in the area. He also assured that those who were found liable will face criminal charges.



The seized items will be brought to the Northern Samar PPO headquarters in Catarman town for documentation, and will later be turned over to the Explosive Ordnance Division for safekeeping and proper disposition.

Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods.
Mohanlal is expected to join the crew of Drishyam 2: The Resumption from 26 September.

The shooting of Drishyam 2, starring Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, has begun. The actor tweeted images from the mahurat pooja.

Here is the tweet

Glad to share that we have started the #shooting of #Drishyam2 today. Here are some of the Pooja Pics.#Drishyam pic.twitter.com/GF5B5k4SpH  Mohanlal (@Mohanlal) September 21, 2020

DNA says the shooting of Drishyam 2 was to commence from 17 August, but was delayed due to unforeseeable situations. Mohanlal is expected to join the crew from 26 September.

India Today says the cast and crew have been asked to take COVID-19 tests on a regular basis post shoot and everyone will have to abide by the government guidelines. The actors who are part of the film will not be allowed to travel till the complete shooting of their character is over. The film will likely be shot in Kochi and Thodupuzha.

On his 60th birthday on 21 May, Mohanlal announced Drishyam 2: The Resumption. The 22-second clip shared by the actor starts with a book flipping open and shut to reveal the film's title and a pencil sketch of a faceless man holding what looks like a shovel. A glimpse of his character Georgekutty concludes the brief video.

Drishyam 2, directed by Jeethu Joseph, will follow the events that took place seven years after the first film. The 2013 film was based on a story of a father who went to great lengths to cover-up the murder committed by his wife and older daughter.

The storyline of the film had inspired remakes in several Indian languages. In the Tamil version of the film, Kamal Haasan played the lead role, while the Hindi adaptation Ajay Devgn play the protagonist.
Beware! As fairies turn into your worst nightmare, this October. With 2020 being a window for many firsts, &pictures, India's premium movie channel, takes a refreshing step in setting a benchmark in the broadcast space to maximize the movie viewing experience with a TV first initiative. Footfairy, an &pictures original film is all set to send chills down your spine with its release this October on &pictures. This murder mystery explores the dark side of how far an absurd obsession can make you go.

Set against the backdrop of Mumbai, the edge of the seat psychological crime thriller is an intriguing cat and mouse chase between a CBI officer and a mysterious serial killer with an absurd fetish. Written and directed by Kanishk Varma, this edgy and gripping movie features the versatile actor Gulshan Devaiah (seen in Commando 3, Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota Hain, Afsos and Shaitan) and the beautiful Sagarika Ghatge (Chak De India fame) in lead roles.



Speaking about this new offering, Ruchir Tiwari, Business Head - Zee Hindi Movies Cluster, said, "As a brand, we have always kept innovation at the forefront to ensure a maximized movie viewing experience for the audience. Back in 1993, ZEE started the trend with the movie Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee, a direct to TV release. And, now after 27 years, &pictures is launching its first TV initiative - Footfairy, an &pictures original film, which is another step in that direction. While new movies are skipping theatres and hitting OTT platforms this year, &pictures with the launch of Footfairy is geared up to set new benchmarks in the Indian television space with a TV first release."

Ruchir further said, "Television is a powerful medium to reach out to a vast base of audience at one go. It reaches out to 835 Mn audiences across India which is unmatched compared to any other medium. And, the current subscribers of &pictures will be able to watch this TV first release at no extra cost. Produced in collaboration with Odd Ball Motion Pictures, Footfairy is a dark, twisted story in the universe of the young and restless urban India that will keep the audiences engaged."

Actor Gulshan Devaiah said, "The script of Footfairy had me going right from the start, I was really hooked to it. A lot of preparation went into making this psychological crime thriller. We spent about 2 months researching and preparing for this role to ensure we get the nuances right. I had an absolute rollercoaster of a time working with a meticulous and well-prepared director like Kanishk Varma and his team. In the movie, I am essaying the role of a CBI officer which is a first for me. In the given scenario it will be great to take our film to a wide audience through a tv first release. Can't wait to see how the audience react to it."

"Psychological thrillers have always fascinated me because of its immersive experience which keeps you hooked and at the same time leaves you wanting for more. And, you're secretly trying to solve the mystery in your head which makes you feel like a part of the process. With a gripping narrative, Footfairy delivers the perfect amount of thrill, mystery, and intrigue that will surely keep you at the edge of your seats," added Sagarika Ghatge.

Speaking about Footfairy, the writer and director of the movie Kanishk Varma said, "Crime thrillers have always intrigued me, the whole suspense, mystery and the chase involved just blows my mind. I have been a huge fan of the book Mind Hunter and that's something that inspired me to create Footfairy. Audiences today have been exposed and are now more accepting towards edgier content. Footfairy with its bold and all new perspective is a perfect film for those who love to explore and experiment. The movie touches upon subjects that exist but are not openly spoken about like fetish or obsession. I enjoyed working with a very committed team and together have passionately created an edge of your seat adventure that you are sure to enjoy."

ALSO READ: Palak Tiwari And Vivek Anand Oberoi's First Look From Rosie The Saffron Chapter Gets Unveiled

ALSO READ: Exclusive: Akshay Kumar's Laxmmi Bomb Sold For Rs 145 Crore To Disney Plus Hotstar!
After months of harassment and racist remarks, the doctor at the centre of a COVID-19 controversy that rocked New Brunswick says his life has been changed entirely.

Dr. Jean Robert Ngola, a physician of Congolese descent, said in a recent interview the fallout from allegations he was patient zero responsible for an outbreak put him under an uncomfortable spotlight.

Since May ... everything has changed in my life, Ngola said by phone.

And now he wants the province to investigate his case to ensure nobody else endures a similar fate.

On May 27, in the face of a growing outbreak in Campbellton, N.B., Premier Blaine Higgs referred to an irresponsible health-care worker and said the matter was being handled by the RCMP. The outbreak eventually affected 40 people and resulted in two deaths.

News got out that Ngola, a family doctor working in the northern New Brunswick town at the time, was the suspect in the RCMPs investigation after his positive COVID-19 status was leaked on social media.

Ngola says a deluge of harassment and racist taunts followed, both online and in person, as the investigation unfolded into an overnight trip he took to Quebec.

Before he tested positive, Ngola had driven to Montreal to pick up his daughter, because her mother was travelling to Africa to attend a funeral.

On his way back to New Brunswick, he met with two colleagues in the Trois-Rivieres, Que., area before completing his trip, according to his lawyer, Joel Etienne. He did not self-isolate for two weeks when he returned, as provincial health guidelines direct, but Ngola has said that was consistent with the practice of other physicians at his hospital.

After it was revealed that Ngola was the health worker being investigated, he was suspended from his job at the hospital in Campbellton. Ngola said he had to disconnect his phone because people were harassing him, telling him to go back to Africa and calling him a refugee.

Although he had already been planning to move to Quebec, Ngola hastened his departure because he didnt feel safe in Campbellton, he said.

I was one of the good physicians, I think, in this small city. Everybody knew me in Campbellton, he said. But in my own city, I cannot work. Even now I cannot go to my house.

Recently, however, he has been heartened after receiving a letter of support from fellow doctors in Canada. It was a sign, he said, that he wasnt alone as he continued to deal with the allegations against him. Though the RCMP investigation was dropped, Ngola still faces a charge of violating the provinces Emergency Measures Act and has a court date Oct. 26.

It was so emotional, Ngola said of the letter. My tears flowed.

The letter was the work of Danusha Foster, an Ontario family doctor who followed Ngolas case and felt he was unfairly targeted.

She said in an interview from Guelph, Ont., that she used an online social network to enlist hundreds of other signatories from across the country. She said the effort was intended as a private show of support, and the other physicians have not agreed to have their names made public.

Now, Etienne and his associates are calling for a probe into the handling of Ngolas case. After his initial positive test, Ngola had three tests come back negative, possibly indicating a false positive, his team argues, which would make it impossible for him to have triggered the outbreak.

His lawyers say the province failed in its responsibilities to protect Ngolas privacy and perform proper contact tracing for the Campbellton outbreak.

Ngola said he thinks an inquiry is necessary to protect others who may find themselves in similar circumstances as the pandemic continues.

We have to know what happened to prevent (this) for the future, because discrimination is not tolerable, not acceptable, in Canada, he said.

He is now practising in Louiseville in central Quebec, and the hostility he faced in Campbellton has been replaced by a warm embrace.

Yvon Deshaies, the towns mayor, says people in the community whove come across Ngola at the local emergency clinic are happy to have him in the area.

Deshaies says its not always easy attracting doctors to smaller towns like his, so New Brunswicks loss is his regions gain.

He came here, and Im happy about it, Deshaies said. People whove had a chance to meet with him are happy with Dr. Ngola.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

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As the devastating impact of COVID-19 continues to affect the country it has never been more important to improve the experience provided to millions of older adults in senior living and long-term care. Social isolation has proven to be as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and can increase a persons chance of developing dementia such as Alzheimer's disease by 20%. From a May 2020 Linked Senior study, data shows that the burden of work experienced by activity and life enrichment staff has doubled with no sign of a hiring increase for the rest of 2020 according to the National Association of Activity Professionals. This has led to a reduction in meaningful engagement for older adults in senior living communities which can negatively impact their quality of life. As the country reopens the economy, the senior living industry must come together to rebuild its resident engagement standards and strategy.

To address this challenge, two leaders in the resident engagement industry have partnered to empower senior living staff with an evidence-based platform to engage all residents in a meaningful way. This unique partnership will allow Activity Connection users exclusive access and preferential pricing to the Linked Senior Celo application offering expanded programming tools to further enhance the Activity Connection experience and overall resident engagement efforts.

Charles de Vilmorin, CEO and Co-founder of Linked Senior, shared that, "Activity Connection is by far the most successful company in the resident engagement field by its experience, longstanding commitment to quality engagement of older adults and commercial success. We are extremely excited to partner on this meaningful and extremely timely initiative to help the senior living industry empower their staff to use their passion to fight COVID-19 related isolation."

Since joining Activity Connection in 2018, Mathew Guilfoyle has been very busy retooling the organization internally and was recently promoted to President in July, 2020. He offered a candid assessment of the partnership as well: Better together. Thats what its all about, really. Each time we discussed the potential value and new opportunities for exceptional, personalized resident engagement that we would be able to extend to Activity Connection subscribers by offering exclusive access and discounted pricing to the Linked Senior Celo Basic app, it just made more sense. No matter which angle we looked at this project from, it boiled down to Activity Connection and Linked Senior, theyre better together, and if we are able to make this overall solution much more affordable to our subscribers to help them enrich the lives of seniors in new ways, were all for it.

Linked Senior is an evidence-based resident engagement platform for senior living. The platform optimizes the person-centered experience for residents by empowering staff with digital tools to assess, plan, implement and evaluate engagement for the entire resident population.

Activity Connection was founded in 1999 as an online community and resource for activity professionals. Over the years it has evolved into the website that you see today. They are headquartered in Portland, Oregon and their founders, partners, staff and freelance contributors are located throughout the country.
Award show to recognise televisions best was scaled down because of COVID-19, with some stars joining from their sofas.

Quirky comedy Schitts Creek, media family saga Succession and dystopian drama Watchmen dominated the Emmy Awards on Sunday in a show where the coronavirus pandemic meant most celebrities across the world took part from their sofas or small events of their own.

Hello, and welcome to the PandEmmys!, said Jimmy Kimmel, as he opened the show, peppering the event with multiple skits and jokes about life under lockdown.

HBOs Succession, the tale of a powerful, backstabbing media family, was named best drama series, while Jeremy Strong won best actor for his role as a downtrodden son. Succession also won for writing and directing.

The biggest shock of the night came when former Disney Channel actress Zendaya, 24, was named best actress in a drama for playing a teen drug addict in HBOs Euphoria, beating front-runners Laura Linney (Ozark) and Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show).

Emmys were delivered to the winners in a number of ways in the virtual ceremony. Catherine OHara was handed the Emmy for best comedy actress for her part in Schitts Creek from someone dressed in a hazmat suit [American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. via AFP]

Schitts Creek, a sleeper hit about a wealthy family forced to live in a rundown motel that got attention when it was picked up by Netflix, won all seven comedy awards, including best series.

HBOs Watchmen, a superhero series tackling racism in the United States, won for best limited series, wth stars Regina King and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II picking up acting awards. Watchmens Cord Jefferson and Damon Lindelof also won for best writing in a limited series.

Fight together

Creator Damon Lindelof dedicated the Emmy to the victims and survivors of the 1921 massacre of a Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which partly inspired the series.

The only way to put the fires out is to fight them together, Lindelof said.

History is mystery  its broken into a million puzzle pieces. We know finding them will hurt. Sometimes we caused that hurt, maybe we even benefitted from it, added Lindelof, who is white.

There was no escaping the pandemic with host Jimmy Kimmel and actress Jennifer Aniston disinfecting ballots during the awards ceremony [American Broadcasting Companies, Inc via AFP]

The series, which made its debut last year, depicts white supremacists, police brutality and rows about mask-wearing  all subjects of intensely polarised debate as the US gears up for Novembers presidential election.

Have a voting plan, said King, as she collected her award.

The coronavirus pandemic meant no red carpet and no physical audience for the show, which was broadcast live on ABC from the empty Staples Center theatre in Los Angeles.

Producers sent camera kits and microphones to the nominees, scattered in 125 places around the world, who chose how and where they wanted to be seen.

Talk show host John Oliver won the Emmy for his show, receiving his award from what he described as a decapitated hand [American Broadcasting Companies, Inc via AFP]

The winners were handed trophies in a variety of ways  deliverymen knocking on front doors, a decapitated hand emerging from a mysterious box, as winner John Oliver called it  while presenters included everyday heroes such as a medical worker, a teacher and even an astronaut.
This is the first look inside a disused barracks that will house asylum seekers for up to a year while they await a decision of their asylum applications.

Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent has been turned into an 'assessment and dispersal facility' for around 400 people.

The asylum seekers are expected from today and on a daily basis thereafter, according to Folkestone and Hythe District Council.

The Home Office is also planning to open a similar facility in the Penally Army centre near Tenby, Wales.

Staff in Folkestone were seen today walking around the disused military base surveying the large open facility and its multiple accommodation buildings.

A member of staff wearing a Hi Vis jacket was seen pointing out where a shower block is going to be installed in the outside space between the housing blocks.

Staff at Napier Barracks outside Folkestone in Kent, have started preparing for the arrival of asylum seekers

Military personnel arriving from the nearby barracks as preparations take place to receive migrants at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent

A row of beds at the former disused barracks in Folkestone, Kent, that will now house asylum seekers

A view of Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, where migrants who have crossed the Channel in small boats are to be housed

Contractors swept up leaves from the kerb and heaved away black bin bags full of foliage from the concrete pavement.

Others piled hundreds of pink fire panel sheets to be installed inside the numbered dormitories.

Behind the turquoise fire doors was a metal structure setting out at least seven single beds on either side. Fresh bedding was placed upon each blue mattress.

One security guard wearing a Hi Vis jacket and face mask manned the entrance to the barracks while another man patrolled the perimeter of the barb wired fence.

A number of lorries entered and left the park during the afternoon including logistics, recycling and land management.

Council leader David Monk initially expressed 'great concerns' in a co-signed letter with local MP Damian Collins and Sandgate Parish Council leader Cllr Tim Prater.

They asked Home Secretary Priti Patel to halt the plans after blasting 'exceptionally poor communication,' claiming to have been given 'very little notice of this decision and it's one we cannot support'.

Police officers are escorted around Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, where migrants who have crossed the Channel in small boats are expected to be housed in the military barracks from this week

Electrical equipment, including vacuum cleaners, are unloaded at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, where migrants who have crossed the Channel in small boats are expected to be housed in the military barracks from this week

A security guard patrols the facility at Folkestone, Kent, today as it prepares to welcome a group of asylum seekers

A police van arrives at Napier Barracks as prepares to welcome migrants in Folkestone, Kent

The letter read: 'We have great concerns about the impact this large open camp will have on the welfare of the local residential community and also those people in the asylum system who will be placed in the barracks itself.'

But Mr Monk later backtracked and said: 'It was never a question of this council being against the principle of asylum seekers living in our community.

'Our concern was that as we had not been consulted we had no way of being able to allay the fears and address the questions raised by our residents.'

Minister for Immigration Compliance and the Courts Chris Philp MP offered reassurances in a written reply on Friday about the temporary accommodation expected to be in place for 12 months.

He said the Government is making use of Section 9 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to provide safe accommodation for people who have claimed asylum who would otherwise be destitute, whilst the merits of their asylum claims are being considered.

Covid-19 has a 'major impact' on the asylum support system, according to Mr Philp, and Napier Barracks was identified among a range of options to ease the pressure.

Members of staff and police officers patrolling the new facility for asylum seekers in Folkestone, Kent, today

Britain's Home Secretary Priti Patel arrives for a cabinet meeting at the Foreign and Commonwealth office on September 15

Workers are on site today making finishing touches to the facility in Folkestone, Kent, before

An aerial view of Penally Army Training camp (left) in Penally, Wales

Equipment was installed during the final preparations over the weekend at the site which will be run by a UK based 'experienced accommodation and support provider'.

Those coming to the former military base will have spent a quarantine period elsewhere with personal welfare and security checks undertaken.

A spokesman for Folkestone and Hythe District Council said: 'The focus will be on the welfare of those based at the accommodation, the provision of wraparound services and wider considerations relating to the local area and its residents.

'There will be on-site security and, in order to reduce any additional pressure on local health services, on-site medical services will also be provided.

'Particular attention will be paid to safeguarding and any concerns addressed by the contractor with input from the Home Office safeguarding team.

The first arrivals are expected from today and on a daily basis thereafter, according to Folkestone and Hythe District Council

Staff are seen at the Penally Training Camp which was transformed to a temporary camp for asylum seekers arriving in the UK, outside the village of Penally near Tenby, Wales

Staff are seen at the Penally Training Camp which was transformed to a temporary camp for asylum seekers arriving in the UK, outside the village of Penally near Tenby, Wales

'We understand that every effort is being made for the facility to be COVID-19 secure and Public Health England is closely involved with the operational plan to ensure the safety of its users and local residents.'

A multi-agency task force has been meeting to ensure appropriate support measures are in place at the barracks.

The council is expected to announce volunteering opportunities in the near future after receiving offers for help from local residents and councillors.

The Government said they were exploring opportunities for further accommodation with a range of partners and other government departments.

They added that following the submission of request, the MOD and the Army have been fully supportive in trying to reach a workable solution.

A spokesman said: 'During these unprecedented times the government is working with a range of partners and across departments to secure further accommodation and the MOD has offered use of some of its sites.

'When using contingency accommodation we work closely with organisations, including local authorities and law enforcement, throughout the process to ensure value for money and that vulnerable asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute, have suitable accommodation while their claims are processed.'
The sit-in protest by eight suspended MPs at Parliament premises that carried on late into the night on Monday showed no signs of ending with senior Opposition leaders coming in hordes to support them including National Conference leader Faroukh Abdullah, Janata Dal-Secular's Deve Gowda, Samajwadi Party's Jaya Bachchan, Congress' Ahmed Patel and Nationalist Congress Party's Praful Patel.

IMAGE: Senior Congress MPs Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge meet suspended Rajya Sabha members in a protest over their suspension, during ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, on Monday. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh sat with the protesting parliamentarians for almost four hours, one of the suspended MPs told PTI as they sang patriotic songs, surrounded by placards hanging on strings with slogans in support of farmers.

One of the main concerns for the MPs was the health of two senior leaders who are diabetic -- Congress' Ripun Boren and Communist Party of India-Marxist's Elamaram Kareem, who are both over 65 years of age.

"We are making sure that we are all hydrated and we have enough water," Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'brien said.

"Refreshments are also coming in from the homes of Opposition MPs at regular intervals to ensure that their sugar levels don't drop. It's a wonderful team effort and we are not going to stop," another senior leader said.

An ambulance is also on standby for emergency use in case any of the protestors fall ill.

The MPs will be able to use the Rajya Sabha toilets as long as the Lok Sabha proceedings are underway, but after that they will have to use the toilets at the reception, another MP said.

IMAGE: Derek O'Brien of TMC and other opposition parties members stage a protest over suspension of 8 Rajya Sabha members, farmers problems and other issues. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo

The protesting MPs are carrying not just their beddings with pillows and blankets but mosquito repellents as well to shield themselves from the vectors.

"We would like the government to know that this is an indefinite protest," O'Brien said.

AAP's Sanjay Singh said, "We will continue protesting against the farmer bills until the Modi government provides a rationale behind passing these bills without having the required votes".

Earlier in the day, the government moved a motion seeking the suspension of Derek O'Brien (TMC), Sanjay Singh (Aam Aadmi Party), Rajeev Satav (Congress), K K Ragesh (CPI-M), Syed Nazir Hussain (Congress), Ripun Boren (Congress), Dola Sen (TMC) and Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M).

The motion was adopted by voice vote amid protests.

During the day, the protests saw MPs from various parties like Congress, CPI-M, Shiv Sena, JD-S, TMC, CPI and the Samajwadi Party joining in.

In the evening, many Lok Sabha MPs trickled in to show their support to the suspended MPs who were sitting in protest.

Other leaders who came by include Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, NCP's Supriya Sule, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's Kanimozhi and Tiruchi Siva, who carried hot idlis for the protestors from his residence.

Monday was Congress MP Rajeev Satav's birthday and his wife and daughter came especially to Delhi to celebrate it. However, he was at the protest site since morning.

The protest by the MPs is being held at a time when around 30 parliamentarians have tested positive for the coronavirus disease.
'You just make the bureaucracy honest and make them function with integrity.'

'Everything will be taken care of after that.'

'But this Mission Karmayogi does not even mention these two words -- honesty and integrity.'

Reform is the new catchword for the Modi government. And it is the bureaucracy in India that is getting 'reformed' next, under the catchphrase Mission Karmayogi.

According to the government, Mission Karmayogi is to 'prepare Indian civil servants for the future by making them more creative, constructive, imaginative, innovative, proactive, professional, progressive, energetic, enabling, transparent and technology-enabled.'

In an interview to Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com, former Indian Administrative Service officer M G Devasahayam discussed this new project of the Modi government.

Before joining the IAS in 1968, Devasahayam, an economist by education, was commissioned in the Indian Army in 1964 and had participated in the 1965 War and the counter-insurgency operations in Nagaland in 1967-1968.

The first part of a two-part informative interview:

Your first thoughts on Mission Karmayogi, which according to the Union Cabinet is the biggest bureaucratic reform initiative to make government employees more creative, proactive, professional and technology enabled.

As if they are not now!

Civil servants are being condemned by not making any distinction between them and government employees.

By over-hyping Mission Karmayogi, it is being made into a jumla!

Civil servants in India's context are those of the IAS and allied services, who are the higher echelons of bureaucracy. Others are called government servants.

Here, they are mixing up both and calling everybody a civil servant.

According to them, attendants and clerks are also civil servants, and this is not the way it is perceived.

Civil servants are the higher echelons of government, and they are the administrative leaders.

Here, they are talking about 46 lakh central government employees. You can't have such a massive number of civil servants in central government. That is why I call it jumla.

When you talk to any entrepreneur or an economist or even an ordinary citizen, he describes the bureaucracy as the biggest hurdle to development...

The question is, what kind of development?

Unfortunately, the country has been segregated. While the richest 10% of Indians own 77.4% of the country's wealth, with the super-rich 1% share at 51.5%, the bottom 60% own just 4.7% and are out of the mainstream economy.

With an increasing number of millionaires and billionaires by the day, this divide is widening fast.

The IAS and allied services were created to build an equitable economy and an equitable society. But it is the government's policy that is building an inequitable economy, and not the civil service.

It all started in 1991 with liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation (LPG). From then on, the inequality has become very sharp.

India has virtually become an apartheid economy. I know apartheid is a very harsh word, but it is indeed true.

The fact is, 60% of India is outside the mainstream economy, and are suppressed. After COVID-19, poverty and penury have only increased.

The main task of the IAS and the allied services is to uplift these people.

IAS officers can only advise the council of ministers who are the actual policy makers.

From the LPG era, all the policy/decision making has been in favour of the rich, and people with wealth.

The poor get only the crumps left behind by these people.

In the last six years, the situation has gone from bad to worse.

You see complete crony capitalism everywhere.

From the beginning, India has been a welfare State. Now the policies that are being pursued are morphing India from welfare State to corporate State.

So, you are saying it is the political class that is responsible and not the bureaucracy...

Yes, the political policy making and the implementation of these policies is responsible.

Some of the bureaucracy has become over-friendly towards corporates, but the bulk of the IAS, the real civil service and the allied services, are committed to Constitutional values. They find it difficult to be blatantly corporate friendly.

It is not the small business that are complaining, but the big corporates...

Actually, when one talks to the MSMEs, they complain that it is the bureaucracy and red-tapism that affects them more.

The bureaucracy they are talking about is the lower level bureaucracy; the file-pushing bureaucracy and not the decision-making bureaucracy.

I am talking about the decision-making bureaucracy.

I entirely agree with you. What you are talking about is a very cumbersome routine bureaucracy. That is because of the culture of corruption that has set in.

Everyone wants to make money as they see corruption all around them.

When political leaders are winning elections through corruption and they have made corruption as culture, the lower level bureaucracy also wants a cut.

The process that you are talking about happens at the lower and middle level of the bureaucracy.

Rules and regulations are there for their interpretation.

Corruption has been so embedded in the entire governmental system that it has creeped into even issuing e-passes and Covid testing!

When the political class is making hundreds of crores, some civil servants and many in the lower bureaucracy think why not I also make a few lakhs.

Hence, the harassment of small business and entrepreneurs to extort some money.

You mean it all starts with the political class?

Yes, it starts with the political class. They are making money and getting away with it.

You don't really need any Mission Karmayogi or hype like that.

You just make the bureaucracy honest and make them function with integrity. Everything will be taken care of after that.

But this Mission Karmayogi does not even mention these two words -- honesty and integrity.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 03:43:28|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations official said Monday the COVID-19 pandemic has starkly revealed the reality of inequality among and within nations, with the poorest suffering the most.

"The richer countries have mobilized $11 trillion. While the developing countries are struggling to find even a small fraction of the resources they need," Munir Akram, president of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), made the remarks at a high-level meeting to commemorate the UN's 75th anniversary.

The meeting was opened by the new president of the 193-member UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir of Turkey, and followed by remarks from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other UN officials and representatives. The theme of the meeting is "The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism."

"We are confronted with a triple challenge: recovering from COVID, realizing the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and avoiding the looming climate catastrophe," said Akram, who also serves as permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations.

Noting that the response to these challenges must be collective, Akram said a vaccine against COVID-19 once developed "must be available to everyone everywhere at affordable prices, without discrimination."

This will require "unprecedented" level of international cooperation, said the UN official. "Such cooperation cannot be promoted anywhere except within the United Nations and its family of organizations," he added.

During its presidency of the ECOSOC this year, Akram said Pakistan will focus on practical steps and concrete actions to overcome the triple challenge, including mobilizing requisite finances, expanding investment in sustainable infrastructure, and applying and absorbing new technologies.

"The United Nations cannot be made fit for purpose if the Security Council is paralyzed and if the General Assembly and ECOSOC are marginalized," Akram said. "The United Nations cannot be effective if unilateral actions are preferred over multilateral solutions."

The UN official noted that the course upon which the world is drifting threatens to erode the structures that have been built to preserve peace and promote prosperity, including the erosion of the UN, urging all parties to commit themselves through the 75th anniversary declaration to "reverse the course."

According to a newly adopted declaration, the world's challenges are interconnected and can only be addressed through reinvigorated multilateralism, which is a necessity as the world has been striving to "build back better for a more equal, more resilient and more sustainable world." Enditem
FinCEN files reveal $2.7 trillion global bank rort. Source: Getty

Major banks across the globe have reportedly been knowingly facilitating criminal activity, in some cases even allowing fraudsters to launder millions of dollars through their systems, leaked bank documents reveal.

BuzzFeed News obtained the records, and shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the team also responsible for the major 2016 investigation that uncovered the Panama Papers.

A 16-month investigation into the secret government documents from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in the US, dubbed the FinCEN files, revealed major global banks profited from drug kingpins and terrorists, and that the safeguards intended to stop these criminals from exploiting banks actually allowed them to succeed.

This investigation found banks like JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Bank of New York Mellon and more profited from dirty money transactions.

Its alleged that BNY Mellon, for example, moved more than US$1 billion for the financier behind Malaysias 1MDB political scandal, and JPMorgan processed more than US$50 million for Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for President Donald Trump.

Manafort is currently serving a prison sentence after he was convicted of tax fraud, bank fraud and failing to declare a foreign bank account in 2019.

How does this happen?

Banks are required to file a notice, called a suspicious activity report (SAR), if they think it might be facilitating criminal activity.

The FinCEN files comprise of 2,657 documents, of which 2,100 are SARs. The SARs arent evidence of criminal conduct or wrongdoing - they are simply notices that reflect the concerns of bank watchdogs.

FinCEN is the agency within the US Treasury Department which is tasked with stopping money laundering and financial crimes. It collects these SARs, and makes them available to other law enforcement agencies, but the buck essentially stops there, the investigation found.

The government rarely penalises banks for their involvement in financial crime, and when it does, it will offer deferred prosecution agreements and affordable fines. Even after some banks were prosecuted or fined though, the FinCEN files found the major banks continued to move dirty money.

Story continues

All in all, the leaked SARs identified around US$2 trillion (AU$2.7 trillion) worth of suspicious transactions between 2000 and 2017.

One of the UKs biggest banks, HSBC, allegedly allowed Ponzi schemers to transfer US$80 million around the world, even after it learned of the scam.

The files reveal the scam actually started after the bank was fined US$1.9 billion in the US over money laundering, and promised to stop these practices.

The banks continue to move the money because its profitable, the ICIJ said. The investigation revealed JPMorgan received around US$500 million in fees by serving as the chief banker to Bernie Madoff, a convicted fraudster serving a 150-year prison term for offences related to a Ponzi scheme.

But tax crime is not victimless. Former suspicious transactions investigator for Wachovia, Martin Woods, told BuzzFeed: Some of these people in those crisp white shirts in their sharp suits are feeding off the tragedy of people dying all over the world.

The embattled banks have since responded to the investigation.

Are you a millennial or Gen Z-er interested in joining a community where you can learn how to take control of your money? Join us at The Broke Millennials Club on Facebook!
IONIA COUNTY, MI  A 27-year-old man is accused of killing his girlfriends 2-year-old child.

The victim, Colton Sceviour, died of head injuries, police said.

The suspects name has not been released pending arraignment Monday, Sept. 21, in Ionia County District Court.

He is charged with felony murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole upon conviction, and first-degree child abuse, punishable by up to life in prison.

Rescuers responded Friday, Sept. 18, to a home in the 200 block of West Ferney Street in the Village of Clarksville on a report of a child not breathing. They were told that the child was choking on his breakfast, Ionia County sheriffs detective Sgt. Phillip Hesche said in a statement.

Clarksville firefighters and Life EMS paramedics were able to resuscitate the child who was taken by ambulance to Helen DeVos Childrens Hospital. Later that day, hospital staff contacted Ionia County sheriffs detectives to report that the child had died.

Hospital workers were concerned the child had been abused based on bruises and marks on his body. They found no evidence that the boy had been choking.

At autopsy, the Kent County Medical Examiners Office determined that the child died of cranial-cerebral trauma. The death was ruled a homicide.

After the examination, sheriffs deputies and detectives met with those involved in the case and arrested the suspect, who was living with his girlfriend and her son, police said.

Read more:

7-year-old boy dies in multi-vehicle crash after driver runs stop sign, police say

Woman charged in fire that killed 3: I hope your mom likes being burned alive

Grand Rapids adds drive-up drop boxes for absentee ballots
Supporting change

The Lynchburg Academy of Medicine is a nonprofit organization of physicians founded in 1893.

Throughout its rich, 125-year history in Lynchburg and the surrounding areas, the Academy has supported the interests of patients and physicians throughout Central Virginia and coordinates care for all patient populations in our community.

As healthcare professionals, we strive to make life better for our neighbors, friends, family members and the greater community. This effort extends well beyond the walls of the facilities where we work.

As our country continues to undergo evolutionary change because of an ongoing pandemic and increasing social awareness, the Academy of Medicine, too, has continued to evolve since its inception.

The Lynchburg Academy of Medicine is a multi-gendered, multi-ethnic group of physicians supporting the needs of central Virginia. The Lynchburg Academy of Medicine affirms all life is to be valued and we are committed to providing the highest quality healthcare to all citizens of Central Virginia.

The Academy recognizes matters of healthcare disparities and the inequities created by systemically biased social policies, which have affected the well-being of disadvantaged communities.

We must not remain silent on issues of social justice, criminal justice, educational inequality and economic disparity. These factors continue to disproportionately impact the physical, psychological and social well-being of minority communities.

The Board of the Lynchburg Academy of Medicine supports the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

As we continue to work towards a common goal, let us not forget we are all part of the human race.

CLINTON S. BEVERLY, MD, FACS, CPE

President, Lynchburg Academy of Medicine, Lynchburg
CRIME FICTION

Troubled Blood

Robert Galbraith

Sphere, $32.99

Whatever you may have heard to the contrary, thanks to one British newspaper, this fifth novel in the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith, the crime-writing alias of J.K. Rowling, is not about a ''transvestite serial killer''.

Within the cast of hundreds, there is a relatively minor character called Creed whose modus operandi is sometimes, not always, to wear womens clothes as a disguise in stalking victims. Creed appears in person once in the whole 927 pages, and is named and described only briefly and intermittently otherwise. Matters transgender are not mentioned at all.

Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger as Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott in the small-screen adaptation of Robert Galbraith's crime novels. Credit:

This fact is relevant to a review of the book in only two ways. The first is that any comment, much less judgment, that you make about a book is worthless unless you have read that book yourself. The second is that if we are to condemn J.K. Rowling for using such a common and time-honoured storytelling trope as cross-dressing for the purpose of harming women, then we must also wipe from the canon such classics as The Silence of the Lambs, Psycho, and the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

3D Optical Metrology Market Research Report by Type (3D Automated Optical Inspection System, Coordinate Measuring Machine, Laser Scanning, and Optical Digitizer), by Component (Hardware and Software), by Industry, by Application - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05951065/?utm_source=PRN







The Global 3D Optical Metrology Market is expected to grow from USD 2,493.72 Million in 2019 to USD 4,252.91 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.30%.



Market Segmentation & Coverage:

This research report categorizes the 3D Optical Metrology to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:



Based on Type, the 3D Optical Metrology Market studied across 3D Automated Optical Inspection System, Coordinate Measuring Machine, Laser Scanning, and Optical Digitizer.



Based on Component, the 3D Optical Metrology Market studied across Hardware and Software.



Based on Industry, the 3D Optical Metrology Market studied across Aerospace & Defense, Architecture & Construction, Automotive & Transportation, Energy & Utilities, Manufacturing, Medical & Pharmaceuticals, and Semiconductor & Electronics.



Based on Application, the 3D Optical Metrology Market studied across Quality Control, Rapid Prototyping, Reverse Engineering, and Virtual Assembly.



Based on Geography, the 3D Optical Metrology Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.



Company Usability Profiles:

The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global 3D Optical Metrology Market including 3D Systems, Inc., AEP Technology, Inc., Alicona Imaging GmbH, AMETEK, Inc., Bruker Corporation, Carl Zeiss AG, FARO Technologies, Inc., Filmetrics, Inc., Hexagon AB, Mitutoyo Corporation, Nikon Corporation, Olympus Corporation, Renishaw plc, Sensofar LLC, and Zeta Instruments, Inc..



FPNV Positioning Matrix:

The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the 3D Optical Metrology Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.



Competitive Strategic Window:

The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.



Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:

COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.



The report provides insights on the following pointers:

1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players

2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets

3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments

4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players

5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments



The report answers questions such as:

1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global 3D Optical Metrology Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global 3D Optical Metrology Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global 3D Optical Metrology Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global 3D Optical Metrology Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global 3D Optical Metrology Market?

6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global 3D Optical Metrology Market?



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05951065/?utm_source=PRN



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ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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Virtual town-hall will feature celebrities, educators and more to address education inequality and student mental health

What you need to know:

Citizen Verizon Assembly: Education is Not Up for Debate brings together Yara Shahidi, Gabrielle Union, Soledad OBrien, professors, politicians and business leaders for an urgent debate on todays education system, with a look to the future

Verizon Innovative Learning has expanded VIL school data plans to 30GB

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Wednesday, September 23, Verizon will host the second Citizen Verizon Assembly, Education is Not Up for Debate , for a timely discussion about the education system, covering remote learning, inequality and mental health as Verizon continues to convene advocates, activists, and nonprofit and business leaders to address the most pressing global economic, environmental and social issues. The event can be watched LIVE at 6PM ET on Yahoo Life , Yahoo Home and @Verizon on Twitter.

The hour-long virtual event will include keynotes and discussions with leaders from around the globe, including mental health activist Catie Cole, actress, producer and change agent Yara Shahidi, and actress, entrepreneur and activist Gabrielle Union, among others.

After an introduction from Shahidi, and remarks from Verizons Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, Rose Stuckey Kirk, the event will open with a debate moderated by award-winning journalist Soledad OBrien. Focusing on the current issues facing students and teachers, and how we can build a public education system for the future, debate participants include:

Anthony Jack , Author and Assistant Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education;

, Author and Assistant Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; Michelle Udall , Republican member of the Arizona House of Representative; and

, Republican member of the Arizona House of Representative; and Jordan Shapiro, Assistant Professor at Temple University.



Students, teachers and parents are in the midst of another school year of remote or hybrid learning in most classrooms across the country. Following the debate, Soledad OBrien will moderate a mental health fireside chat that brings together leaders and activists to discuss the best ways for both students and parents to cope with the new normal in education:

Catie Cole , co-founder of The Mental Health Coalition and creator of How Are You Really?;

, co-founder of The Mental Health Coalition and creator of How Are You Really?; Gabrielle Union , actress, entrepreneur and activist; and

, actress, entrepreneur and activist; and Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, President, Medical Director of Child Mind Institute.



Verizon has a history of supporting education and have bolstered their efforts this year by:

Tripling data plans from 10GB to 30GB a month for students and teachers in Verizon Innovative Learning schools;

Expanding the Verizon Innovative Learning program to include high schools for the first time;

Creating digital resources to help with distance learning available to parents and teachers across the nation;

Providing over 38 million students in 40 states and DC with connectivity for distance learning.

Verizon is helping bridge the digital divide through Citizen Verizon, the companys responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement. Citizen Verizon aims to help more students than ever stay connected and thrive in today's virtual learning environment by providing 10 million young people with the digital skills training necessary for them to thrive in a modern economy.

To learn more about Citizen Verizon and the companys Digital Inclusion efforts, visit CitizenVerizon.com .



Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is celebrating its 20th year as one of the worlds leading providers of technology, communications, information and entertainment products and services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $131.9 billion in 2019. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

VERIZONS ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at www.verizon.com/about/news/. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

Media contact:

Bernadette Brijlall

bernadette.brijlall@verizon.com






The kingdom has seen near-daily protests for the past two months led by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former army chief who masterminded the 2014 coup

A plaque installed on the weekend by activists in Bangkok declaring Thailand "belongs to the people" had been removed Monday, after a show of force by pro-democracy protesters calling for the royal family to stay out of the country's politics.

The kingdom has seen near-daily protests for the past two months led by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former army chief who masterminded the 2014 coup.

Some 30,000 demonstrators rallied Saturday close to Bangkok's Grand Palace -- where organisers took a stronger line on monarchical reform -- before installing a commemorative "People's Plaque" the morning after.

But by Monday, the plaque had vanished.

"I heard it's missing and we're investigating the case," Bangkok's deputy police chief Piya Tawichai told AFP.

AFP journalists confirmed the removal.

The almost-immediate removal of the plaque "reflects the fact that arch-royalists are not only incensed by demands for monarchical reform but are not going to put up with any symbols that even reflect opposition to the palace," said Paul Chambers of Naresuan University.

The plaque, placed in the historic Sanam Luang field, had read: "The people have expressed the intention that this country belongs to the people, and not the king."

At its installation during Saturday's protest, prominent activist Parit Chiwarak shouted "Down with feudalism, long live the people," as the crowd cheered.

The new medallion referenced the original brass one embedded for decades in the grounds of Bangkok's Royal Plaza.

It commemorated the end of royal absolutism in 1932 after a revolution that transitioned the kingdom into a constitutional monarchy.

But it mysteriously disappeared in 2017 -- after King Maha Vajiralongkorn took power following the death of his father -- replaced with one bearing a reminder for Thais to remain loyal to the "nation, religion, king".

The largely leaderless youth-organised movement, partly inspired by Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests, is calling for Prayut's government to be dissolved, a rewrite of the 2017 military-scripted constitution, and for authorities to stop "harassing" political opponents.

Some factions within the movement -- including the organisers of the weekend demonstrations -- have also called for frank discussions on the monarchy, a once-taboo topic due to tough royal defamation laws.

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New Delhi: India on Monday pressed for an early and complete disengagement of Chinese troops from friction points in eastern Ladakh as their senior army commanders held a sixth round of talks that primarily focused on implementing a five-point bilateral agreement to ease the prolonged border standoff, government sources said.

The latest round of Corps commander-level talks that began at around 9 am in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) across Indias Chushul sector in eastern Ladakh went on for over 12 hours and was still underway at 9 pm, the sources said.

It is learnt that the Indian delegation insisted on a time-bound implementation of the agreement finalised during the extensive talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow on September 10 on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) meet.

The Indian delegation is headed by Lt Gen Harinder Singh, the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps of the Indian Army. For the first time, the Indian team for the military talks also included a senior official from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

MEA Joint Secretary Naveen Srivastava, who has been engaged in diplomatic talks with China on the border row under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs, was part of the delegation. The team also comprised Lt Gen PGK Menon, who is expected to succeed Singh as the commander of the 14 Corps next month, the sources said.

The sources said the Indian team insisted on an early and complete disengagement of troops by Chinese Peoples Liberation Army(PLA) to end the four-and-a-half-month standoff, adding the agenda for the talks was to chart a specific timeline for implementation of the five-point agreement. The agreement aimed at ending the tense standoff included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the LAC.

At the previous five rounds of Corps commander-level talks, the Indian side has insisted on complete disengagement of Chinese troops at the earliest, and immediate restoration of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to April. The face-off had begun on May 5. The fifth round of Corps commander talks on August 2 lasted for nearly 11 hours while the fourth round went on for nearly 15 hours on July 14.

Military sources, meanwhile, said the newly-inducted Rafale jets started carrying out sorties in various forward areas in eastern Ladakh as part of measures to give a boost to the overall combat readiness in view of the provocative actions" by Chinese troops in the last three weeks. The deployment of French-made Rafale jets in Ladakh came less than 10 days after they were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force(IAF).

At a ceremony in Ambala on September 10 where five Rafale jets were inducted into the IAF, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said this was crucial considering the atmosphere being created along the frontier and was also a big and stern" message to those eyeing Indias sovereignty. The sources said the Indian Army has made elaborate arrangements to maintain the current level of troop and weapons deployment in all forward areas in eastern Ladakh and other sensitive high-altitude sectors in the harsh winter months when the temperature drops up to minus 25 degree Celsius.

They said the situation remained tense at both the southern and northern bank of the Pangong lake area as well as in other friction points. There have been at least three attempts by the soldiers of the PLA to intimidate" Indian troops along the northern and southern bank of Pangong lake area in the last three weeks where even shots were fired in the air for the first time at the LAC in 45 years.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the southern bank of Pangong Lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30. On September 7, the Chinese troops again made an unsuccessful bid to close in on the Indian position and even fired shots in the air in the Mukhpari area of Rezang-La ridgeline on the southern bank of Pangong lake.

As Jaishankar and Wang were set to hold talks in Moscow, Chinese soldiers fired a barrage of warning shots" in the air on the North Bank of Pangong lake to intimidate" the Indian troops, Indian Army sources had said. India occupied a number of strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions.

China has been occupying the areas between Finger 4 and Finger 8. The mountain spurs in the area are called Fingers.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:52:05|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) will be held virtually from Nov. 10 to Nov. 16 to push national exports amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said on Monday.

The virtual TEI was expected to open a new era in organizing an exhibition in an effort to augment the incomes of entrepreneurs and exporters by making business matching and other programs during the event, the minister told a virtual press conference.

Suparmanto said the exhibition to be inaugurated by Indonesian President Joko Widodo was expected to attract more participants with bigger transaction values than those in the 2019 event which was attended by about 33,330 partakers with transaction values of 10.96 billion U.S. dollars.

The Tarde Ministry's Director-General for National Export Development Kasan said the ministry's team has informed about the upcoming exhibition to a number of countries including embassies in 132 nations.

Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rosan Perkasa Roeslani said the forthcoming TEI was the long-awaited event by the business communities both at home and abroad.

"Amid the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to move forward, make innovations and be creative in support of the long-awaited event," Roeslani said.

He hoped Indonesian products could penetrate non-traditional markets in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America through the exhibition. Enditem
The room at Shangri-La Hotel on Ashoka Road-Janpath roundabout, where a 27-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by five men in the presence of another woman on Friday, was booked in the names of the two businessmen who are yet to be arrested, police said on Monday, after arresting two more suspects in the case.

With this, three suspects have been arrested so far while the two businessmen and the woman remain at large.

Those arrested on Monday were identified as Sanjay Chaudhary,46, a bailiff in Saket Court, and Jagdeep Singh,60, a businessman, said deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Eish Singhal.

The alleged prime accused, Manoj Sharma,48, a building contractor, was the first to be arrested on Sunday, a day after a case under Sections 376D (gang-rape) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code based on the rape survivors complaint.

The rape survivor has alleged that the woman who was in the room had instigated and provoked the five men to sexually assault her, police said.

There were unconfirmed reports that the room was booked and paid by the personal staff of a politician. The police, however, said the booking and payment were done online by one of the two businessmen.

At this stage of the investigation, all we can say is that the room was booked in the name of the two businessmen whose political links have not emerged so far in our probe. Further facts will be known only when we arrest and question the two businessmen, an officer associated with the probe said, on condition of anonymity. The officer added that the names of the businessmen will be shared only after arresting them and verifying their role.

An email with queries about the booking was on Monday sent to the spokesperson of Shangri-La Hotel who said, The Delhi Police is currently looking into an incident which allegedly took place at our hotel. We are unable to provide any details as this is an ongoing investigation. The hotel is extending its full support to the authorities.

On Monday, the investigating team took the detailed statement of the rape survivor to ascertain the exact sequence of events. The woman told the police that she was introduced to Sharma by a woman friend. She had first met Sharma in the first week of September to seek a personal loan of 18 lakh from him, the police said.

The rape survivor, the first officer said, told the investigating team that she contacted Sharma on Friday for the purpose of getting the loan. Sharma allegedly told her meet him outside the Shangri-La Hotel and that he will issue a cheque to her for 18 lakh.

Sharma was with a woman at the meeting point and they both took her to a room in the hotel where four men were already present, the officer said, quoting the rape survivors statement.

The analysis of the hotels CCTV cameras shows that the complainant remained in the hotel for nearly two and a half hours. She left with Sharma who later dropped her home. She approached the police and filed the gang-rape complaint on Saturday night, a day after the crime. Her statement before the magistrate will be recorded on Tuesday, the officer said.
Alessandro Souza is a gold hunter. He chases it deep into protected indigenous lands in the Amazon rainforest, travelling days by foot and canoe, and doesnt emerge until his pockets are full. Sometimes hes gone two months. Sometimes six. The only certainty is that hell be back, because hunting gold is his business, and business is booming.

Todays market quote, Souza messages his WhatsApp group, Goldminers Without Borders: Gold is going for nearly $1,800 an ounce. Souza posts an arrow pointing skywards.

The coronavirus has devastated Brazil, infecting more than 4 million people and killing more than 130,000. Its also fuelling the largest gold rush in the Amazon in years  with the potential for long-lasting consequences to the rainforest.

Driven by the skyrocketing gold prices, surging unemployment and lax enforcement by a distracted government, people are travelling from all over the country to hundreds of illegal mining sites, invading protected indigenous lands, stripping swathes of forest bare, poisoning rivers with mercury and laundering illegal gold through mineral shops. And theyre largely getting away with it.

Deforestation associated with mining on indigenous lands, where such activity is illegal, has reached record highs

Much of the activity is concentrated in the vast and underpoliced state of Para, where Souza lives in the remote mining hub of Itaituba, and where gold exports have risen sharply this year. As Brazil shifted its attention to the pandemic, exports have more than quadrupled, rising to $245m during the first six months of this year.

In interviews, law enforcement officials, indigenous leaders, federal inspectors and even gold miners say the administration of Jair Bolsonaro has neglected its responsibility as a steward of the Amazon.

At a time when scientists say the forest is being dangerously destabilised by deforestation, President Bolsonaro has pushed to scale back enforcement and legalise mining on indigenous land.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has used the military to crack down on environmental destruction, but it has been ineffective. The governments chief environmental enforcement agency, Ibama, has been constrained by budget cuts, unfilled vacancies and Bolsonaros criticism.

A miner washes a carpet used to trap gold fragments (AP)

It has scaled back the destruction of mining equipment found at illegal gold digs  a tactic advocates say is a key deterrent  and reduced operations to curb criminality in the Amazon.

This moment is different, says Sergio Leitao, the executive director of the Choices Institute, an environmental organisation tracking gold mining during the pandemic.

The valuation of gold, the amount of manual labour that will work for almost nothing, the reduction in enforcement, and a government that is supporting the legalisation of more gold mining. This is a perfect storm.

Bolsonaros office declined requests for comment. Environment minister Ricardo Salles initially agreed to be interviewed, but then cancelled. The defence ministry defended the governments response.

The country is unjustly accused of not taking care of the region, the ministry said in a statement. It cited its recent enforcement operations and stressed the complexities in patrolling a forest of continental proportions.

Mercury is an essential tool in the process: maritime ecologies have collapsed. Indigenous communities have been poisoned. Years after mining, the earth remains barren and lifeless

Few know better than Souza. He has scoured for gold all over the Amazon, unlicensed and on protected land. Poverty and bureaucracy, he says, has left him without a choice: We dont have other options.

So he does his best to avoid getting caught. This next dig will be so deep into indigenous forest  six days by canoe and foot  that he doesnt expect to run into anyone else. Just forest and gold.

Illegal gold mining accounts for only a small fraction of deforestation in the Amazon  far less than agricultural practices  but its effect is more insidious. Mercury is an essential tool in the process, used to collect and purify gold traces found in the soil.

Its toxicity seeps into the soil, air and water. Maritime ecologies have collapsed. Indigenous communities have been poisoned. Years after mining, the earth remains barren and lifeless.

It ends up killing nature, says Marilene Nascimento, a cook at illegal gold mining sites outside of Itaituba. The rivers arent the same. The fish die. For years and years, they dont come back to normal.

Gold sits in a pan moments after being torched to eliminate any mercury left (AP)

After years working on digs, Nascimento has grown ambivalent about her work. She cant forget the environmental devastation she has seen, and last year she swore she wouldnt go back. But then the pandemic hit, other work opportunities dried up, and a friend was calling, asking if she wanted to make some good money. Nascimento would get 30 grams of gold for one month of working as a mining cook.

Recommended Brazil sends thousands of troops to protect Amazon rainforest amid concerns about surge in deforestation

She did a quick calculation using that days gold prices, and was stunned. Shed make more than $1,200. Far more than last year. And 10 times more than she could earn in the city.

Its hard to see nature being destroyed, Nascimento says. But you make so much money.

The forest has long been a safety net for Brazilians. During the economic downturn in the 1980s, as many as 100,000 people descended on the mine known as Serra Pelada.

Another wave followed during the global financial crisis in 2009. And again in 2013. The gold miner became a Brazilian archetype: he wandered into the forest with little more than a hammock and hope.

A worker melts gold at a shop in Itaituba (The Washington Post/Jabin Botsford)

But thats not todays miner. In the past decade, the enterprise has been industrialised and professionalised. Well-financed networks equip miners with expensive, heavy construction equipment like bulldozers and construction trucks.

Remote digs have wifi, cable television and gas stoves. Even some indigenous people, lured by the technology, have taken it up.

Bolsonaro, who was elected in 2018, has promised to expand mining even further. The son of a Serra Pelada miner, he says they arent criminals, but workers struggling to survive. He has welcomed them into meetings and criticised Ibama for destroying their equipment.

Last year the agency burnt only 72 heavy mining machines  around a third of the number destroyed in 2015. Officials who oversaw one operation were fired. The military cancelled another, blocking Ibama from using its helicopters.

Senior Ibama inspectors, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, said Bolsonaros rhetoric and policies have emboldened gold miners and made their own work all but impossible.

When investigators are allowed to go out, they say, illegal miners mock them. They say nothing will stop them. That the gold is coming out of the forest, one way or another. That Bolsonaro is on their side.

Were getting so much political pressure, one of the officials said. Its practically impossible to head out into the field. Were being assailed constantly. People arent being punished.

Thats common knowledge in Itaituba, a mining town of 100,000 residents deep in the Amazon, where gold is so omnipresent that its used as currency. Businesses along Rua do Ouro  Gold Street  buy illegally mined gold, authorities say, then launder it into export markets.

Gold is weighed at a shop in Itaituba (The Washington Post/Jabin Botsford)

The mayor, a miner himself, recently erected a monument to gold mining. Local journalists dont even pretend to be objective. More than 70 per cent of the mining is illegal, says Mauro Torres, the editor of a local news site. But Im on the side of the gold miner.

With every video of Bolsonaro, Im more proud of my vote, reads a typical tribute.

Many miners see Bolsonaro as their champion. He has defended them from environmentalists, nongovernment organisations, indigenous advocates, pressure from foreign leaders and the government itself.

For years, they say, Brazilian authorities encouraged mining in the forest. The right to mine is enshrined in the constitution. But then the government made registration so arduous, and protected so much territory, miners say, that honest workers were made into environmental criminals.

Theres no poverty in Itaituba, says Jose Antunes, a prominent local lawyer who represents miners. There never was. People come here to escape poverty.

That is the hope of Ronaldo dos Santos, 30, who has travelled 1,000 miles from Lago das Pedras, in the state of Maranhao, to reach the gold mines of Itaituba. It was either that, he says, or watch his four children go hungry in Brazils poorest state. Now he says he could make thousands of dollars per month, mining gold by day, sleeping in a forest hammock by night.

He doesnt worry much  not about environmental damage, the law or invading indigenous land. In fact, he says, mining there is better. Indigenous land is where you get the good gold, dos Santos says. Easier to find.

That is where Souza is heading. He isnt looking forward to it. He hates being away from his children and wife for months. But he says he has little choice.

If I stayed in the city to try to find work, I wouldnt be able to put my kids through school, he says. Theres no work. He wishes he could tell his family how long hell be away. The miner knows that he is leaving, Souza says. He doesnt know when hell return.

 The Washington Post
More than one in 10 research positions at Australian universities are predicted to disappear by 2024 as revenue from overseas students dries up, and prestigious Group of Eight institutions are tipped to lose the most resources.

Some smaller universities, including Deakin University in Geelong, face an "extremely high" risk of recent strong research capacity gains unravelling as COVID-19 wipes out billions in revenue from fee-paying international students.

Students in Deakin University's Waurn Ponds campus library.

Fees from overseas students cross-subsidise just over half the research work in Australian universities. However, the pandemic will cost the higher education sector about $16 billion in the next few years, according to sector body Universities Australia.

New modelling by the University of Melbournes Centre for the Study of Higher Education predicts universities will collectively lose between $6.4 billion and $7.6 billion in research income between this year and 2024.
India on Monday pressed for an early and complete disengagement of Chinese troops from friction points in eastern Ladakh as their senior army commanders held a sixth round of talks that primarily focused on implementing a five-point bilateral agreement to ease the prolonged border standoff, government sources said.

The latest round of Corps commander-level talks that began at around 9 am in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) across Indias Chushul sector in eastern Ladakh went on for over 12 hours and was still underway at 9 pm, the sources said.

It is learnt that the Indian delegation insisted on a time-bound implementation of the agreement finalised during the extensive talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow on September 10 on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) meet.

The Indian delegation is headed by Lt Gen Harinder Singh, the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps of the Indian Army.

For the first time, the Indian team for the military talks also included a senior official from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

MEA Joint Secretary Naveen Srivastava, who has been engaged in diplomatic talks with China on the border row under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs, was part of the delegation.

The team also comprised Lt Gen PGK Menon, who is expected to succeed Singh as the commander of the 14 Corps next month, the sources said.

The sources said the Indian team insisted on an early and complete disengagement of troops by Chinese Peoples Liberation Army(PLA) to end the four-and-a-half-month standoff, adding the agenda for the talks was to chart a specific timeline for implementation of the five-point agreement.

The agreement aimed at ending the tense standoff included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the LAC.

At the previous five rounds of Corps commander-level talks, the Indian side has insisted on complete disengagement of Chinese troops at the earliest, and immediate restoration of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to April.

The face-off had begun on May 5. At the previous five rounds of Corps commander-level talks, the Indian side has insisted on complete disengagement of Chinese troops at the earliest, and immediate restoration of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to April.

The fifth round of Corps commander talks on August 2 lasted for nearly 11 hours while the fourth round went on for nearly 15 hours on July 14.

Military sources, meanwhile, said the newly-inducted Rafale jets started carrying out sorties in various forward areas in eastern Ladakh as part of measures to give a boost to the overall combat readiness in view of the "provocative actions" by Chinese troops in the last three weeks.

The deployment of French-made Rafale jets in Ladakh came less than 10 days after they were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF).

At a ceremony in Ambala on September 10 where five Rafale jets were inducted into the IAF, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said this was crucial considering the atmosphere being created along the frontier and was also a "big and stern" message to those eyeing Indias sovereignty.

The sources said the Indian Army has made elaborate arrangements to maintain the current level of troop and weapons deployment in all forward areas in eastern Ladakh and other sensitive high-altitude sectors in the harsh winter months when the temperature drops up to minus 25 degree Celsius.

They said the situation remained tense at both the southern and northern bank of the Pangong lake area as well as in other friction points.

There have been at least three attempts by the soldiers of the PLA to intimidate Indian troops along the northern and southern bank of Pangong lake area in the last three weeks where even shots were fired in the air for the first time at the LAC in 45 years.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the southern bank of Pangong Lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30.

On September 7, the Chinese troops again made an unsuccessful bid to close in on the Indian position and even fired shots in the air in the Mukhpari area of Rezang-La ridgeline on the southern bank of Pangong lake.

As Jaishankar and Wang were set to hold talks in Moscow, Chinese soldiers fired a barrage of warning shots in the air on the North Bank of Pangong lake to intimidate the Indian troops, Indian Army sources had said.

India occupied a number of strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions.

China has been occupying the areas between Finger 4 and Finger 8. The mountain spurs in the area are called Fingers.
Gov. Phil Murphy will host Dr. Anthony Fauci to talk about New Jerseys response to the coronavirus pandemic during a Facebook live chat on Thursday, the governors office announced Monday.

Fauci, the nations lead infectious diseases expert and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is slated to join Murphy for the event at 11:15 a.m., according to the governors office.

The event will be streamed on the governors Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/governorphilmurphy/

New Jersey, an early coronavirus hotspot, has reported nearly 200,000 COVID-19 cases out of more than 3.35 million tests administered in the nearly seven months since the outbreak here started in early March. The state has reported 16,067 deaths related to the virus  14,276 lab-confirmed and 1,791 considered probable.

Thats the second most in the U.S. after New York. New Jersey has the nations highest COVID-19 death rate per 100,000 residents.

Fauci quickly gained national prominence as an expert on how to react to the pandemic at the start of the outbreak in the nation.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

More recently, hes said he doesnt expect the crisis to end and life return to the way it was before the pandemic until late 2021, presuming theres an effective vaccine rolled out in the near future.

New Jersey has begun allowing some of the businesses listed in Stage 3 of its recovery plan to reopen with restrictions  including gyms, movie theaters, and indoor dining. Murphy has said he could tighten guidelines if there are sustained increases or if businesses and patrons dont comply with the rules.

Fauci, meanwhile, has warned as recently as late last week that bars and restaurants should remain closed to indoor dining.

When you have restaurants, indoors, in a situation where you have a high degree of infection in the community, youre not wearing masks, thats a problem, Fauci said on MSNBC Friday. Bars are a really important place of spreading infection, theres not doubt about that.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
Thailands student-led protest movement spread to wider layers of the population, when a large demonstration on Saturday night, at Thammasat University in Bangkok, drew tens of thousands of people from around the country.

The protest is thought to be the countrys largest, since the most recent US-backed military coup in 2014, far outdoing the last mass rally on August 16.

The gathering started late on Saturday and continued through the night, into Sunday morning. Organisers estimated the turnout at over 100,000 people, while security forces put the figure at 50,000.

Bangkoks police department offered a much lower estimate of 18,000 protesters. But police mobilised 10,000 officers to monitor and contain the protest, a sign of escalating social tensions and the looming threat of state repression.

Mass protest on Saturday at Sanam Luang, Bangkok (Credit: @arulprk)

For over two months, university and high school students have staged growing protests against the government of Prayuth Chan-ocha.

The movements leaders, including Free Youth and other student groups, have demanded that Prayuth resign and parliament be dissolved, as well as a new constitution and an end to the persecution of government critics.

Prayuth, a former general, orchestrated the 2014 coup and ruled as head of a military junta before becoming Prime Minister in last years rigged election.

Protest leaders have also called for reform of the monarchy. Since his ascension to the throne in 2016, King Maha Vajiralongkorn has consolidated control over crown assets and the military.

The United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, a student group that organised the Saturday protest, has previously issued 10 demands to curb the kings constitutional powers.

Some have called for the abolition of Thailands lese majeste law, which subjects anyone perceived to have insulted the king to a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

The king was not in Thailand on Saturday night and has spent much of his time in Europe, since taking the throne from his late father in 2016.

For weeks in advance, the protest was widely anticipated to draw a large crowd. The date, September 19, was chosen specially to commemorate an earlier military-backed 2006 coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire populist who is now in exile.

Among the protesters were many of Thaksins red shirt followers, who clashed with pro-royal establishment yellow shirts a decade ago, before being brutally suppressed by the army, which killed more than 80 people.

The event began when protesters burst through the locked gates of Thammasat University, a historical hotbed of student opposition to the Thai military. The university had earlier refused student leaders permission to hold the rally on campus grounds, announcing the cancellation of all classes and closure of the campus. The nearby Silpakorn University was also closed, due to the rally.

The growing crowd moved to a neighbouring open field, called Sanam Luang, or the Royal Ground, where demonstrators listened to speeches for many hours and stayed overnight, despite rain. The field, located in front of Bangkoks Grand Palace, is traditionally used for royal cremation ceremonies. Protesters declared they would instead name it the Peoples Ground.

Early Sunday morning, a brass memorial plaque was cemented in the ground, engraved with the words: At this place, the people have expressed their will: that this country belongs to the people and is not the property of the monarch as has been falsely claimed. Cheers erupted as the plaque was installed, with people chanting: Down with feudalism, long live the people.

The plaque was intended to replace another, which disappeared in 2017, marking the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, in 1932, by the Khana Ratsadon, a coalition of civil and military officers. Student leaders declared that this protest signalled the creation of a new Khana Ratsadon, or Peoples Party.

The crowd then marched toward Government House, in order to deliver a letter outlining the 10 points for monarchy reform, but were blocked by police-manned control barriers. They turned instead to the Supreme Court, where the letter was submitted to the Privy Council. Police chief Phukphong Phongpetra said on a video broadcast that police would decide how to proceed with the letter.

Parit Chiwarak, a leader of the movement, told crowds: Today is a historic moment. No matter what happens, I can confirm that Thailand will never be the same again tomorrow.

Parit encouraged Thai workers to join a general strike, planned for October 14, the anniversary of a mass student-led uprising in 1973 that toppled the military dictatorship of Thanom Kittikachorn.

The working class is becoming increasingly involved in the protest movement. In addition to workers in Bangkok, busloads of protesters arrived from provinces across the countrys north and northeast, particularly Khon Kaen.

Discontent among the urban and rural masses of Thailand has been exacerbated by the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Widespread job lay-offs, a lack of sufficient financial aid, and delayed pension payments for the elderly, have all contributed to the countrys ever-widening social inequality.

Parit also called for people to withdraw their money from the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), of which the king is the largest shareholder, with a 22 percent stake. Get all your money out and burn your bank book, he added. Support for Parits demands erupted on Twitter, with the hashtag #SCB (Ban SCB) gaining more than 347,000 tweets by Sunday evening.

The military-dominated governments fear of the growing movement is expressed in its relentless efforts, over recent weeks, to intimidate protesters. At least 61 people have been charged for various offences after taking part in the rallies. Authorities have charged 28 leaders with sedition, while ordering Facebook to block people in Thailand from viewing content that is critical of the monarchy.

On Saturday morning, before the protest, police confiscated 50,000 booklets from student group leaders, containing the monarchy reform demands, reportedly because they wanted to determine if the leaflets contained illegal content. Students had intended to distribute the booklets at the rally.

There have been reports of protesters traveling to Bangkok from northern provinces, such as Lamphun and Phayao, being stopped at police checkpoints on Friday night and having their ID cards photographed by officers.

Parit posted on his Facebook account that musicians from Chiang Mai, who planned to perform at the Bangkok protest, were visited at their homes by police, who told them not to attend.

The next scheduled protest will be held on Thursday in front of Parliament House, to press the demand for amending the current constitution, which was drafted by the military junta.
The Justice Department is following through on president Donald Trumps threat to withhold federal funding from three Democrat-run cities, labelling them anarchist jurisdictions.

In a press release on Monday, attorney general William Barr singled out New York City, Seattle, and Portland as jurisdictions permitting violence and the destruction of property.

"We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance," AG Barr said.

The list of three cities was published in response to the presidents 2 September memorandum calling for a review of funding to state and local governments that are permitting, anarchy, violence, and destruction.

The criteria laid out in the presidential memo for a city to be labelled as an anarchist jurisdiction includes fordding police intervention, withdrawing law enforcement from a geographic area, defunding police departments, and refusing to accept offers of law enforcement assistance from the federal government.

Criticism of the memo was focussed on the fact that the criteria also included: any other related factors the attorney general deems appropriate.

Mondays press release also said that the department will continue to identify other jurisdictions to add to the list.

The statement also acts as a final warning. The Trump memorandum gives the Office of Management and Budget 30 days to issue guidance to federal agencies about cutting funding to the cities.

Mr Barr said that he hoped the cities would reverse course.

For New York City that would mean losing more than $7bn in grants for 2021, or 7.5 per cent of the citys total revenue.

The city and the state of New York have said they will sue the federal government over the designation as New York attorney general Letitia James confirmed in a tweet, pointing out that defunding the city would hit law enforcement.

City Council speaker Corey Johnson said on Monday: The federal government must serve the people of this country  including New Yorkers. Cutting funding to New York City, one of the nation's most vital economic engines, is dumb as it is cruel. We must fight this misguided attack from the Trump administration.

At his daily press briefing Mayor Bill de Blasio said that this morning he saw peace and tranquility, anything but anarchy calling the announcement another one of president Trumps games.

Its insulting to the people of New York City and his effort to withhold our funding is unconstitutional, the mayor added.

Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters on a conference call that the president has tried to manipulate and distort government agencies to play politics from day one.

The president cant supersede the law and say Im going to make those funds basically discretionary funds, which is what he would have to do, the governor said. If they actually do this, we will challenge it legally, and they will lose once again.

Earlier in the month Cuomo said: You can't bully New Yorkers. We just don't get bullied.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 09:14:53|Editor: huaxia

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by Xinhua writer Shi Xiaomeng

BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- "The greatest ideal is to create a world truly shared by all," Chinese President Xi Jinping said five years ago in his debut at the solemn UN General Assembly Hall, citing an ancient adage that reflects the defining world view ingrained in China's millennia-old civilization.

Upholding that ideal, Xi expounded his concept of and approach to building a community with a shared future for mankind, his flagship vision on how to guide humanity through the various common challenges toward a better future.

Five years later, Xi's vision is gaining more relevance and importance. As the United Nations celebrates its 75th anniversary, the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, with COVID-19, the gravest global public health crisis since the 1918 influenza pandemic, having intensified both centrifugal undercurrents that are pulling the world apart and centripetal forces that are strengthening global solidarity and cohesion.

At such a momentous juncture, Xi is to appear once again on the most prestigious international platform, attending a series of virtual UN high-level meetings in the coming days and presenting China's answers to the fundamental questions hanging over the world.

COMMON VALUES

When he visited the UN headquarters in the fall of 2015, Xi brought a gift for the United Nations' 70th birthday -- "Zun of Peace," a red bronze bottle decorated by traditional Chinese auspicious patterns.

It shows the aspiration and faith of the Chinese people in seeking peace, development, cooperation and win-win results, which are also spirits of the UN Charter, Xi explained.

"The Zun of Peace embodies the close relations and shared values of China and the United Nations," said then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon when receiving the gift on behalf of the world body.

The great importance Xi attaches to the United Nations has been consistently demonstrated in practice. Over the years, he has visited the UN Office at Geneva and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris, and met on various occasions with UN leaders. In May, he addressed the World Health Assembly via video link. Many of his important thoughts on global governance were delivered through these UN rostrums.

"Peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom are common values of all mankind and the lofty goals of the United Nations," Xi said under the dome of the General Assembly Hall in 2015.

Hanging high behind him was a huge golden UN emblem showing a world map inscribed in a wreath consisting of crossed olive branches, which carries the organization's vision for a world free of war, hunger or injustice.

"Yet these goals are far from being achieved; therefore we must continue our endeavors," he told the 193-member General Assembly.

MULTILATERAL COMMITMENT

The United Nations' 75th anniversary is celebrated when the world is reeling from the still raging COVID-19 pandemic, the most serious global public health emergency since the 1918 influenza pandemic.

The pandemic exposes a lack of leadership and unity in the international system. Moreover, the United Nations and multilateralism it represents are facing unprecedented challenges with the rise of unilateralism and protectionism. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation as a "1945 moment."

The more complex and grim the situation is, the more important it is to manifest the authority and role of the United Nations, Xi told Guterres when they met in April 2019 in Beijing on the sidelines of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

China firmly upholds multilateralism, the international system with the United Nations at its core, and the international order based on international law, and promotes the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Xi added.

These words are never empty talk. China is currently working to set up a global humanitarian response depot and hub in China to ensure operation of supply chains amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also working to implement the UN Sustainable Development agenda with stronger actions in eliminating extreme poverty and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Over the past five years, the concrete commitments Xi made in 2015 have been implemented in tandem. A 10-year, 1-billion-U.S.-dollar China-UN peace and development fund was inaugurated in 2016 in support of the UN peacekeeping operations as well as social, economic and environmental projects. China has also completed the registration of a UN peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops.

China's support is crucial to multilateralism, Guterres told Xi during a phone conversation in March.

"No matter how the international situation changes, China will take the side of multilateralism and adhere to the global governance concept of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits," Xi has vowed.

SHARED FUTURE

Building a community with a shared future for mankind "to me is the only future for humanity on this planet," said Peter Thomson, president of the 71st Session of the General Assembly, after meeting with Xi in 2017 in Geneva.

Pondering on the fundamental challenges confronting the world and the path for the entire humanity to march ahead, Xi has proposed building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

As BRI cooperation is yielding tangible results one after another, including Greece's Piraeus port, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China-Europe freight trains, Xi has promised that China will continue to pursue a win-win strategy of opening-up, and share development opportunities with other countries.

"Welcome them aboard the fast train of China's development," Xi has proclaimed.

The theme of this year's UN high-level sessions is "The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming Our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism." It echoes with Xi's consistent call to build a community with a shared future for mankind, which was the theme of his landmark 2015 speech at the UN General Assembly.

In that address, Xi set forth a five-point proposal on how to build a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation and create a community with a shared future for mankind, with partnership, security, development, culture and ecology being the key aspects.

Recalling the scene five years ago, Christian Landrein, a retired UN interpreter for French language who translated Xi's speech on site, said it was applauded for multiple times, and "the atmosphere was electric."

"We only have one planet, which is our shared home," said Landrein. "All countries must collaborate to protect it and ensure sustainable development, to guarantee a prosperous future for all nations." Enditem
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus A.Guryanov meets the Ambassador of Uzbekistan

On September 14, 2020 the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Guryanov, met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Uzbekistan, Nasirjan Yusupov.

During the meeting, the sides discussed prospects for development of bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas, as well as Belarus-Uzbekistan cooperation within international organizations. The parties reviewed the schedule of official events for the current year and discussed the implementation of joint projects in the field of industrial cooperation



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Pedestrians wear protective face masks while passing stores and cafes on Rue Montorgueil in Paris, France, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

LONDON  European countries are likely to impose more restrictions on public life in the coming days as the number of daily coronavirus infections rises rapidly, analysts said. France reported 10,569 new cases Sunday (down from more than 13,000 new cases reported the day before), Reuters reported, while the U.K., reported almost 4,000 new cases on Sunday. Italy saw close to 1,000 new infections and Germany reported 1,345 new cases Sunday, and a further 922 cases Monday. Spain has yet to post its weekend case tallies, but reported almost 4,700 new cases Friday. On Monday, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said rising coronavirus infection numbers in countries like France, Austria and the Netherlands were "worrying" and that Germany would sooner or later import cases from there, Reuters reported. He added that countries like Spain had infection dynamics "that are likely out of control." "Expect lots more restrictions over the days and weeks ahead, especially in Europe," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note Monday. "The fact that the virus is already spreading quite rapidly is a big worry." Coronavirus cases are rising so rapidly in Europe that the World Health Organization warned last week that there was a "very serious situation" unfolding in the region, calling the resurgence in infections a "wake up call." Local restrictions have been imposed in various parts of Europe to quell outbreaks of infection, with parts of northern England in lockdown, for example, as well as areas of Spain's capital, Madrid.

As cases rise, however, more drastic measures are being considered, with the U.K. among those mulling whether to introduce a second, "mini" national lockdown to act as what has been described as a "circuit breaker" to stop the virus spreading. The country's government is also considering more restrictive measures such as a 10 p.m. curfew that would force cafes, bars and restaurants to close early. It comes as the U.K.'s chief medical officer and chief scientific advisor warned on Monday that if the current trend in rising cases continued, doubling every seven days, and no action were taken, the country could expect to see almost 50,000 new cases per day in mid-October.

Economic hopes fading

Thankfully, the tally of fatalities caused by the virus are lower so far, and there is hope that a second wave of the virus will not see as large a spike in deaths as the first outbreak in spring, Deutsche Bank analysts led by Jim Reid said. However, hopes that Europe's economy could bounce back, with the recovery taking a "V" form, are looking increasingly unlikely. "It doesn't feel like fatalities are going to be as big as an issue as they were in the first wave but it really is hard to understand what the strategies of (European) governments are at the moment," the analysts said. "They pretty much all don't want a further wide scale lockdown but they also don't want the virus to spread. It's not going to be easy to solve for both and as such it's going to be a pretty difficult few months ahead if September is seeing numbers as high as they are already." The coronavirus developments have impacted European markets, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index down 2% in early trade Monday. Rabobank strategists agreed that hopes of an economic rebound were fading fast.
South Africa: President outlines SA's agenda for UN General Assembly

South Africa will this week advocate for Africa to have permanent representation on the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

This will be among a broad range of issues thrust into the spotlight when President Cyril Ramaphosa participates in this weeks UN General Assembly, in which world leaders will virtually converge for the 75th session to seek collective solutions to global challenges.

Writing in his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa said while the UN is leading efforts to ensure that the world that emerges from COVID-19 is better, fairer and more peaceful, the organisation has also enabled countries to focus on the work that needs to be done.

This is not only to rebuild economies, but to do so in a manner that advances the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The UN has played a vital role in supporting cooperation among countries and international organisations like the World Health Organisation, as they have worked to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic.

It has focused attention on the most vulnerable countries and those parts of society most badly affected by the pandemic, said President Ramaphosa on Monday.

To resolve global challenges  be they health emergencies, transnational crime, conflict and war, climate change, migration or natural disasters  countries must work together.

It is only through multilateralism that we can forge common strategies for the benefit of all. We therefore need to strengthen bodies like the UN ensure they are properly resourced and that they are representative.

We must use this anniversary to push ahead with the reform of the UN, particularly its Security Council, which does not give equal voice to the different regions of the world, said President Ramaphosa.

Building an inclusive world



South Africa, he said, recognises that global peace is not just about a world free of conflict, but one free of poverty, inequality and underdevelopment.

It is a world of inclusive economic growth and shared prosperity. By providing all the worlds people with the means to live secure and productive lives, we are laying the best foundation for peace and stability.

One of the greatest challenges to the achievement of this goal is the continued exclusion of half of the worlds population through discrimination and marginalisation, the President said.



Empowering women



The year 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Conference on Women, which placed the emancipation of women firmly on the global agenda.

The President said it is a valuable opportunity to not only review the progress made over the last quarter century, but most importantly, to clearly outline the actions that must now be taken to ensure that women occupy their rightful place as equals in all areas of life in all societies.



For Africa, this means, among other things, we must intensify measures to empower women economically.

This is in line with the African Union decision to dedicate this decade to the financial inclusion of women. We therefore welcome the opportunity later this week to take part in a panel of G7 and African countries on womens digital financial inclusion in Africa.

It will look at how women can take advantage of technological advances to start businesses, trade and find meaningful employment, President Ramaphosa said.



There is much that can be achieved by ensuring that women have greater access to affordable financial services and education. This, the President said, should take place alongside other measures being pursued on the continent, such as efforts to increase the portion of public procurement set aside for women-owned businesses.



Our message is that unless women are brought into the mainstream of the economy, they will continue to bear the brunt of exclusion and be vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

Our message is that a world that empowers women is a prosperous and sustainable world.

Addressing climate change, global order



President Ramaphosa said the sitting of the UN General Assembly must address the climate change crisis.

As the world rebuilds in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic, we have an opportunity to place the global economy on a low-carbon, climate resilient path.

We should be building green economies, not just for the sake of environmental sustainability but because of the opportunities for job creation and growth, he said.



The President said the pandemic has presented the world with a choice between the global cooperation envisaged in the UN Charter, and the pursuit of narrow self-interest.

It is a choice between prosperity for all or for a just a few.

At the 75th UN General Assembly, the leaders of the world have an opportunity to begin rebuilding a new global order based on justice and equality.

By drawing on the spirit of solidarity, friendship and unity of purpose that has long defined the United Nations, we will set a clear path towards lasting peace and sustainable development, said President Ramaphosa.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-09-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Uttar Pradeshs chief minister Yogi Adityanath spoke to Sunita Aron about the states rise in the ease of business rankings, steps being taken to attract investments, and development areas that still need work, among other things. Edited excerpts:

After a leap from 12th to second spot in the national ease of business rankings, are you aiming for the first position next year?

Why not?. We should make every effort to get the top position. The state has the potential, and we know how to work hard. Our ranking stood at 16th in 2016. We have reached the second position, and we will strive for the top position next year. UP has displayed that it is the new destination for business. The government of India has already provided a list of total 301 reforms to be implemented before the end of this year, and we are working on them. I have already conducted a review meeting with all departments concerned at my level and have given clear directions. For this year, our target is to 100% implement all the prescribed reforms vis-a-vis constantly reaching out to the beneficiaries from time to time. We plan to establish a dedicated feedback call centre at Invest UP level which shall reach out to our entrepreneurs to seek their feedback as well as redress their grievances.

Some states are still raising questions on the methodology adopted this year in the rankings.

The Business Reform Action Plan (Brap) had listed 187 reforms and we, in one year, implemented 186 of them, spread across multiple areas such as labour, land allotment, registration, environment clearances etc. However, our online single window portal, Nivesh Mitra, became a game-changer. From submission of applications and fee, the entrepreneur could download digitally signed approvals/NOCs {no objection certificates} and licences. It also helped in ensuring transparent licencing system. Moreover, in 65 of the 75 districts, widespread reforms took place. The satisfaction level of entrepreneurs was also 75%. Lot of groundwork has been done in past three years to transform the investment climate in the state

But this is not the first time we are hearing about a single window system. Successive governments had announced this. How is it different?

We worked on ground implementation of the reforms, with focus on Brap 19. The evaluation has also been done on user feedback. We received 2.3 lakh NOC applications out of which 2.2 lakh were efficiently disposed of. This was possible as about 20 departments were integrated with the online single window portal. This is how 186 key reforms across 20 departments were done in the last one year.

What about the poor law-and-order, and the bureaucratic red-tapism that UP is infamous for?

Where is the red-tapism now? No one is complaining. Besides reforms, we are improving air connectivity, constructing expressways and ensuring timebound disposal of complaints and grievances. The number of sanctions too have been reduced from 55 to 35 as compared to 38 in Andhra Pradesh and 49 in Telangana, the states that won first and third position, respectively. The entrepreneurs often faced problems in environmental clearances and labour. These issues, too, have been addressed. As for law-and-order, the government has taken several steps for its overall improvement. The police response has drastically improved .The data shows that majority of the crime cases that are happening are because of personal enmity or family feuds. I can only say that the entrepreneurs never felt as secure as they do today.

The opposition parties are still critical of the government. They dub it as just branding and marketing.

The Opposition is not aware about the ground realities, and they do not want to accept the fact that UP has done it. But the reality cannot be disputed as the [Brap] ranking has been done on the basis of independent feedback. While some investors have experienced the post-reforms efficiency of the system, it has raised the curiosity of others. After investment summits, ground breaking ceremony and defence expo, entrepreneurs have now understood the states potential.

Which regulations were changed that made the environment conducive for business?

We gave clear timelines through the Public Service Delivery Guarantee Act for approval of complete application. We have done away with the practice of inspection prior to registration under the Shops and Establishment Act. The registration is granted within one day from the date of application. Such instructions were also given for labour, land and other clearances.

You have been meeting entrepreneurs, big and small. Are they satisfied with the reforms undertaken by the state government?

We have great feedback. Their confidence is high as my officers are in regular contact with the investors. We have created a dedicated help desk to handhold the investment leads generated, particularly those relocating from foreign countries. As a result, we have more than 50 investment intents that have been received from around 10 countries, including Japan, US, UK, Canada, Germany, South Korea, etc. worth around Rs 7,000 crore. These include Ikea, Yazaki, Miyachi Corp, AB Maurie, Britannia, etc.

Often MoUs get signed at investment summits; they rarely start rolling.

Out of 1,045 MoUs signed during the UP Investors Summit, 152 MoUs (with investment intent of Rs.49,147 crore) have started commercial operations and 175 MoUs (with investment intent of Rs.55,055 crore) are at various phases of active implementation. Four hundred and sixty-one MoUs (with investment intent of Rs.93,474 crore) have been in active follow-up position at various UP departments.

You think the government still needs to be more proactive in ensuring timebound clearances?

Time bound delivery of licences/NOCs is the most critical step for ease of doing business. Understanding this criticality, we have taken several initiatives in this regard, including clearly telling departments to raise only one-time query on submitted applications from entrepreneurs within seven days of application received.

You want to make Uttar Pradesh a trillion-dollar economy in the next five years. How do you propose to go about it?

The state government is emphasising on Industry 4.0 and rejuvenating its investment promotion strategy. For this, over and above the traditional sectors such as food processing, dairy, textile, ESDM & IT {electronics system design & manufacturing and information technology}, the state has identified new focus sectors such as pharma, with renewed focus on bulk drug and medical device manufacturing, electric vehicle mobility to push EV demand in the state, warehousing & logistics, defence and aerospace manufacturing, data centre, etc. Also, rapid extension of world-class infrastructure through expressways  Poorvanchal/ Bundelkhand, new industrial parks are on the anvil.

According to you, which are the weak areas that demand attention and focus?

The major challenges for rapid industrialisation are creation of land bank and adapting to modern techniques for good governance. All the available industrial land of all industrial authorities have been updated on the GIS {Geographic Information System} portal and is available on the single window portal Nivesh Mitra. Other reforms include FAR {floor area ratio} increased up to 3.5 for industrial use, which is one of the highest in India, allowing agricultural land leasing for solar energy projects, fast track land allotment within 15 days for mega investments, allowing mix land use for development of Integrated Industrial Townships etc. Through Invest UP, now we are prepared to provide complete investment life cycle support to the investors.

Covid-19 has had adverse impact on the states finances. What is your action plan to mobilise funds to take the state back to the path of development?

Since, the state government has resorted to generate fresh leads post Covid-19, not only the scope of investment facilitation has broadened, but also the focus on faster investment implementation has gained importance. The state government is now promoting rapid investment implementation in the state.
Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd.



(Falcon)

Beetaloo Operational Update

21 September 2020 - Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. (TSXV: FO, AIM: FOG) (Falcon) provides the following operational update on the Beetaloo project in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Kyalla liquids-rich gas play

Operations have recommenced at Kyalla 117 N2-1H ST2 (Kyalla 117 well) with the fracture stimulation of the well, extended production testing to follow. Initial production test results are expected during Q4 2020 with final results expected by the end of Q1 2021. These results will inform the decision to either further evaluate this liquids-rich gas play or commence activities in the Velkerri liquids-rich gas play.

Philip OQuigley (CEO of Falcon) commented:

We look forward to the next phase of operations with the production testing of the Kyalla 117 well and will update the market as results become available.

Ends.

CONTACT DETAILS:

Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. +353 1 676 8702 Philip O'Quigley, CEO +353 87 814 7042 Anne Flynn, CFO +353 1 676 9162 Cenkos Securities plc (NOMAD & Broker) Neil McDonald / Derrick Lee +44 131 220 9771

This announcement has been reviewed by Dr. Gabor Bada, Falcon Oil & Gas Ltds Head of Technical Operations. Dr. Bada obtained his geology degree at the Eotvos L. University in Budapest, Hungary and his PhD at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He is a member of AAPG.

About Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd.

Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd is an international oil & gas company engaged in the exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas assets, with the current portfolio focused in Australia, South Africa and Hungary. Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd is incorporated in British Columbia, Canada and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with a technical team based in Budapest, Hungary.

Falcon Oil & Gas Australia Limited is a c. 98% subsidiary of Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. Falcon Oil & Gas Australia Limited and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Origin Energy Limited (ASX: ORG) (Origin Energy) are joint venture partners in respect of the Beetaloo project.

About Origin Energy

Origin Energy is a leading Australian integrated energy company. Origin is a leading energy retailer with approximately 4.2 million customer accounts, has approximately 7,500 MW of power generation and storage capacity and is a large natural gas supplier. Origin is also the upstream operator of Australia Pacific LNG, which supplies natural gas to Australian domestic markets and exports LNG under long term contracts.

www.originenergy.com.au

Glossary of terms

LNG Liquefied natural gas

MW Megawatt

Advisory regarding forward looking statements

Certain information in this press release may constitute forward-looking information. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information typically contains statements with words such as may, will, should, expect, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, projects, dependent, potential, scheduled, forecast, outlook, budget, hope, support or the negative of those terms or similar words suggesting future outcomes. This information is based on current expectations that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Such information may include, but is not limited to, comments made with respect to the type, number, schedule, stimulating, testing and objectives of the wells to be drilled in the Beetaloo Sub-basin Australia, the prospectivity of the Velkerri and Kyalla plays and the prospect of the exploration programme being brought to commerciality, risks associated with fluctuations in market prices for shale gas; risks related to the exploration, development and production of shale gas reserves; general economic, market and business conditions; substantial capital requirements; uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of reserves and resources; extent of, and cost of compliance with, government laws and regulations and the effect of changes in such laws and regulations; the need to obtain regulatory approvals before development commences; environmental risks and hazards and the cost of compliance with environmental regulations; aboriginal claims; inherent risks and hazards with operations such as mechanical or pipe failure, cratering and other dangerous conditions; potential cost overruns, drilling wells is speculative, often involving significant costs that may be more than estimated and may not result in any discoveries; variations in foreign exchange rates; competition for capital, equipment, new leases, pipeline capacity and skilled personnel; the failure of the holder of licenses, leases and permits to meet requirements of such; changes in royalty regimes; failure to accurately estimate abandonment and reclamation costs; inaccurate estimates and assumptions by management and their joint venture partners; effectiveness of internal controls; the potential lack of available drilling equipment; failure to obtain or keep key personnel; title deficiencies; geo-political risks; and risk of litigation.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive and that these factors and risks are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. Falcon assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward looking-statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to Falcon. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in Falcons filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com , including under "Risk Factors" in the Annual Information Form.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.21

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The Collective Security Treaty Organization is not in favor of provocative actions by Armenia, or anybody else, former OSCE Minsk Group co-chair from the US Matthew Bryza told Trend.

As for the Collective Security Treaty Organization, I dont think it will have a role to play at all, in any scenario, unless Armenia was attacked. Because, we know that the Collective Security Treaty Organization is a defensive military alliance, in which each member state pledges to come to the help of any other member state who may be attacked. If Armenia initiates some sort of military action, the Collective Security Treaty Organization would not be involved. Russia, as well as other members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization is not in favor of provocative actions by Armenia, or anybody else. Armenia is on its own with no support, he said.

Bryza noted that indeed, the government of Armenia has been making very provocative statements not only about Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia, but also suggesting possible military actions against Azerbaijan.

Thats of course, completely against Armenias internationally accepted obligations in the context of the OSCE Minsk Group. It simply reflects some kind of desperation on the part of Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is maybe trying to deflect problems inside of Armenia that he was unable to fix, by playing to Armenian nationalism. Pashinyans provocative statements were answered by Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev in his speech on Saturday, which was a very hard-hitting speech. When Russian news media broadcast President Ilham Aliyevs remarks, they did not broadcast the response of the Armenian side, which is very unusual. It seems to me that Russia would agree of what I just said that these actions by Armenia are unacceptable and they are outside of the framework of the negotiations to date, he added.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Albany, N.Y.  The percentage of people testing positive for the coronavirus in Central New York was 1.2% on Sunday, unchanged from the previous day.

The positive rate in the region was 0.5% on Friday. It reached as high as 2% earlier in September.

Statewide, the positive test rate was 0.98% on Sunday.

Just one person in New York died due to the virus yesterday, which brings the statewide death toll to 25,428.

We wont stop until that number is zero, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today during a conference call with reporters. The health that youre protecting is not just yours and your familys, youre protecting all New Yorkers' health.

A total of 468 people in the state were hospitalized due to the virus on Sunday, unchanged from the day before. A total of 134 people were in intensive care units, up two, and 66 people were intubated, up six.

Another 38 people in the state were newly admitted to hospitals with the virus yesterday.

The state conducted another 58,319 tests for the virus on Sunday and confirmed 573 new cases. New York now has 450,473 confirmed cases of the virus.

Evictions

Cuomo has extended an executive order halting commercial evictions in New York.

Cuomo issued an order halting the evictions earlier in the pandemic and has extended it several times. The order now runs until Oct. 20, Cuomo said today during a conference call with reporters.

The move prevents tenants from being evicted if they cant pay due to the pandemic, Cuomo said.

Residential evictions have also been halted and wont begin again until after the coronavirus crisis passes, he added.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Promising young doctor from CNY who was fighting for her life against coronavirus dies

Coronavirus at SUNY Oswego: 223 confirmed cases so far this semester

State yanks licenses of two CNY bars for egregious coronavirus violations

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
New Delhi, Sep 21 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the convocation of IIT, Guwahati on Tuesday through video-conferencing.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, his deputy Sanjay Dhotre among others will also join in.

As many as 1,803 students including 687 B.Tech and 637 M.Tech students will be obtaining degrees.
[September 21, 2020] Global Technologies, Ltd Update on Corporate Operations Company Fully Reporting with Securities and Exchange Commission

ST. PETERSBURG, FL, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Technologies, Ltd (OTC Pink: GTLL), a holding corporation, which through its subsidiaries, has operations engaged in the online sales of CBD and hemp related products, the acquisition of intellectual property in the safety and security space and as a portal for entrepreneurs to provide immediate access to live shopping, e-commerce, product placement in brick and mortar retail outlets and logistics is pleased to update shareholders on the Companys current operations. Upon the filing of its Registration Statement on Form 10-12/G, the Company has returned to a fully reporting status with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Companys Quarterly, Annual and Current Reports filed with the SEC can be found on the Companys website at, https://globaltechnologiesltd.info/filings.html . The Companys operations through its wholly owned subsidiaries consist of: About TCBM Holdings, LLC TCBM Holdings, LLC (TCBM) was formed as a Delaware limited liability company on August 10, 2017. TCBM is a holding corporation, which operated through its two wholly owned subsidiaries, HMNRTH, LLC and 911 Help Now, LLC. About HMNRTH, LLC HMNRTH, LLC (HMN) was formed as a Delaware limited liability company on July 30, 2019. HMNRTH operates as an online store selling a variety of hemp and CBD related products. The Companys business model is to bridge the gap between the lifestyle and knowledge components within the cannabis industry. The Companys goal is to educate every consumer while cultivating an experience by providing quality products, branded cutting-edge content, and diversified product lines for any purpose. Most importantly, we want our clients to discover their inner HMN, redefine their inner HMN and Empower their inner HMN. In September 2019, the Company entered into a Quality Agreement with Nutralife Biosciences for the development and production of its CBD line of products. The Companys product line includes hemp derived, full spectrum cannabidiol tinctures and reams in varying sizes. The Companys ecommerce website can be found at www.hmnrth.com/ . About 911 Help Now, LLC 911 Help Now, LLC (911) was formed as a Delaware limited liability company on February 2, 2018. 911 was a holding company of intellectual property in the safety and security space. At present, we own no intellectual property within our 911 subsidiary, but continue to seek to identify opportunistic acquisitions. About Markets on Main, LLC Markets on Main, LLC (MOM) was formed as a Florida limited liability company on April 2, 2020. MOM is A full service, sales and distribution, third-party logistics provider and portal to multi-channel sales opportunities. MOMs focus is on bringing small businesses and entrepreneurs to large opportunities and distribution. MOM will provide the following services to its clients: inventory management, brand management, fulfillment and drop-ship capabilities, retail distribution and customer service. MOMs website can be found at www.marketsonmain.com/ . The company also wishes to remind all shareholders and persons of interest that Global Technologies, Ltd will be making announcements and updates via social media. Updates can be found at our social media channel on Twitter at: https://www.twitter.com/GlobalTechGTLL . About Global Technologies, Ltd: Global Technologies, Ltd, based in St. Petersburg, FL, was a technology portfolio company that acquired nascent technology and related innovations, inventions and IP assets to enhance their growth and development. The Companys previous business model built revenues and asset value through a model of continuous growth, income from or sale of its portfolio holdings, and technology licensing or distribution agreements. The Company is currently seeking a merger candidate. For further information, please visit the Companys website at https://globaltechnologiesltd.info/ . Forward Looking Statements and Disclaimer

Statements made in this press release that express the Company or management's intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or predictions of future events, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "will" and similar expressions are intended to further identify such forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Those statements are based on many assumptions and are subject to many known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company's actual activities, results or performance to differ materially from those anticipated or projected in such forward-looking statements. The Company cannot guarantee future financial results; levels of activity, performance or achievements and investors should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. No information contained in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future financial performance, future revenues or its future stock price. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of the Company as of the date of this press release, and the Company expressly disclaims any intent, obligation or undertaking to update or revise such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. No information in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future revenues or results of operations. Contact: Global Technologies, Ltd

(727) 482-1505

[email protected]

[ Back To www.mobilitytechzone.com/wimax's Homepage ]
Angels, spiritual beings, appear in the Bible more than 200 times. They have aided prophets, saints, and Gods people through the Old and New Testament and throughout the history of the church. They have been known to praise God (Luke 2:13-14), fight spiritual battles (Daniel 10:13), and deliver Gods messages to humankind (Luke 2:10). But do these beings have free will?

Do angels and fallen angels (demons) have a will to choose to follow God and carry out His commands? Or do they have no choice whatsoever?

What Is Free Will?

Free will, in essence, allows for a being to make choices without being coerced or forced to do so. If a being does not have free will, an outside force controls his or her actions.

Free will makes us accountable to what we say, do, and think. If, for instance, we did something that would be considered morally wrong, but we had no jurisdiction over our actions, no one could fault us. But if we possess free will, our wrong actions count against us. No one can sin without free will. But without free will, no one can truly experience the love of God. Love requires the choice to love, after all.

Scripture makes it clear that humans have free will. John 7:17 indicates we can choose to do the will of God. We can decide who we will place our trust or who (or what) we will worship every day (Joshua 24:15).

Therefore, whatever actions we choose to do will affect our lives now and throughout eternity.

But does this apply to angels? Do they have the ability to choose to serve God?

What Does the Bible Say about Angels?

The Bible has a great deal to say about angels. Aside from the items mentioned above, angels appear several times throughout Scripture, in each case, carrying out the will of God in some way.

Angels praise God. The four living creatures mentioned in Revelation praise God without ceasing (Revelation 4:8). Scripture commands us to praise God (1 Chronicles 16:28), so they appear to obey this.

Angels deliver Gods messages. God commanded prophets such as Jeremiah to deliver messages to the people of Israel (Jeremiah 1:17), and angels such as Gabriel do the same when speaking to Daniel and Mary the mother of Jesus.

Angels follow Gods commands. They seem to follow similar commands issued from God to His people. They fight spiritual battles, glorify God, and spread His good news to whomever they encounter. But do they do this by choice?

To answer that question, we have to look at what happens when angels do not decide to follow God. We have to look at Satan himself.

Did Satan and the Fallen Angels Have Free Will?

We learn about the most famous fallen angel through two separate accounts: Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14:12-14.

Satan, originally called Lucifer, was anointed as a guardian cherub in Eden (Ezekiel 28:14). Precious stones adorned him, and he seemed to take notice of his beauty (Ezekiel 28:17). He swelled up with pride and, seeing his loveliness, sought to replace God on His throne (Isaiah 14:13).

Overtaken by sin, Satan swayed some of the other angels to follow in his footsteps and refuse to worship God. Often, people point to Revelation 12:4 to indicated that a third of the stars (an image often used in Scripture to indicate the angels) fell away from the presence of God when they chose to no longer obey Him. This means one-third of the angels decided to sin and became fallen angels (demons).

This indicates that angels have free will. Given the choice to serve God or follow Lucifer, one out of every three willingly chose the latter. They sinned and will face a dire fate as a consequence of their actions (Matthew 25:41).

Can Angels Sin Now?

Does this mean that even a great angel such as Michael can sin today and face a terrible fate?

Scripture does call the angels holy (Psalm 89:5). Whenever Scripture calls something holy, it indicates they are without fault and sinless.

Although angels do have free will, that does not mean they will choose to sin now. Scripture calls Jesus holy (Acts 4:27) after all, and although He encountered temptations of every kind, He did not sin. The angels, holy by nature, will not choose to fall away now.

Even though some angels did have a probation period where they chose to disobey God, it does not appear in Scripture that that probation period lasted into the Old and New Testaments and afterward.

Hope Bolinger is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and a recent graduate of Taylor University's professional writing program. More than 300 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 column "Hope's Hacks," tips and tricks to avoid writer's block, reaches 2,700+ readers weekly and is featured monthly on Cyle Young's blog, which receives 63,000+ monthly hits. Her modern-day Daniel, Blaze, (Illuminate YA) comes out June 3, and is up for preorder now. Find out more about her here.

Photo Credit: Pexels/Rakicevic Nenad
The Motorola One 5G is a next-generation mobile device poised to take its place near the top of the pile in the mid-range smartphone world. And thats not just because of the pricing either, at well under $500. There are a few caveats at its price, of course. But the Motorola One 5G is a phone that can and does do just about everything very well, under review.

Whether I needed to snap a quick photo or wanted to play a game, and even if I wanted to do some fairly extensive photo editing, this phone just performs. And the hardware powering that is coupled with a great display panel that sticks it out at a 90Hz refresh rate. All of that, so that it can take on its competition in the often-overcrowded mid-range without backing down.

Lets take a closer look at how this phone performs in real-world use.

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The hardware here is heavier than expected but pretty

Now, the Motorola One 5G is a gorgeous-looking smartphone. In Oxford Blue, the handset has a cross-hatch-like pattern when viewed up-close. But that ultimately only serves to inject different hues under different lighting, as shown in the images above and below.

Of course, this smartphone feels great in-hand, if a bit heavier and bulkier than might be desired if this were a top-tier handset. But its aesthetics really speak for themselves, even in images. And the plastics used in the body and frame are grippier than glass but still have a glass-like smoothness.

The biggest drawback to the materials used, though, is how staticky this device can be. By that, I mean it attracts dust and other particulates like nobodys business. Although the glass does seem to get dirty more often than other phones too.

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Small touches in the design from this device are nice too. Such as the use of a dual-LED-fueled lightbar for the rear flash, a ring LED around the macro camera, and a power-button-embedded fingerprint scanner. None of the ports are wobbly or loose. And each button has a more solid click-through than might be expected.

The above-mentioned fingerprint scanner is among the quickest Ive had the pleasure to use, as well.

In terms of hardware quality and looks, aside from its ability to gather unwanted motes that make it look less-than-pristine, the Motorola One 5G is a great phone.

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The display with Motorola One 5G is very good for the price

The bezels surrounding the display on the Motorola One 5G were a frequent annoyance during my review. They arent necessarily overly large. And they arent placed in such a way as to result in accidental taps. They fall somewhere between a budget device and a bezel-free flagship. And the two moderately-sized camera punch-holes arent necessarily bad either.

No. The problem with the bezels on this phone is that they feel mismatched with the display itself. They serve as a near-constant reminder that this isnt a flagship phone. More succinctly, thats because the display itself doesnt look or feel like a budget-minded mid-ranger at all.

Although  like the rest of the phone  the display attracts dust and smudges like a magnet, the display technology is top-notch.

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That, in itself, is an anomaly. The Motorola One 5G only packs a 6.7-inch Full HD+ panel. And thats an LCD screen with a cinematic-friendly 21:9 aspect ratio. Despite all of that, the screen is bright and crisp, looking as close as is possible for an LCD panel to look to an AMOLED panel. And the 90Hz refresh rate doesnt hurt either since thats significantly better than what most mid-range and budget smartphones ship with.

In terms of responsiveness, I didnt notice any input latency at all with this panel.

So hows the battery life?

As well discuss momentarily, using the Motorola One 5G during this review meant using a device that was constantly looking for a signal. Thats not necessarily bad since its circumstantial. But it does mean this battery test cant be taken at anything like face value.

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In fact, the battery life I experienced because of that was much worse than what most users should see. Especially since I kept the display brightness maxed out and volume up. But, again, it may not be better at all, even if you turn on battery saving measures. Other 5G devices Ive tested have drained much more quickly than might be expected. At least when connected to 5G.

Setting all of that aside, I saw a fairly staggering 8-hours and 25-minutes of screen-on time from the Motorola One 5G during my review. That was predominantly utilized for movie and music streaming or playback  for downloads, on the latter. But that was also around 2-hours of browsing, emails, and chatting. And just short of 2-hours for dedicated gaming. With 20-minutes set aside for taking photos.

The charging side is not so great. This phone only took around 45-minutes to reach half-filled. But it takes over 2-hours to fill completely from drained. Thats despite that Motorola includes 15W charging for the 5,000mAh battery.

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Audio quality stands apart but not by much

Those who love audio are going to love the Motorola One 5G. Not only does this phone pack Bluetooth 5.1 for those who dont use wired headphones. This Motorola still comes with a 3.5mm audio jack.

Audio through those works as would be expected but is made even better by Moto Audio  found in the Settings app under Sound.

With Moto Audio, users can fine-tune their listening experience with presets. Both for their headphones and their smartphones speaker. The equalization for each can also be fine-tuned at an entirely another level. That includes bass boosting as well as boosting for treble, vocals, or a flat tuning. The automatic setting will work best for most users. But the options are there for those who want them too.

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With regard to the built-in speakers, audio via the earpiece speaker is clear. So my app-based web calls came through great, at any rate. However, that speaker is only used for those applications rather than in stereo with the bottom-firing speaker.

As a result, anybody could be forgiven for thinking the audio experience here is going to be awful. Most smartphones are, and that only gets worse with single-speaker arrangements. But that isnt the case at all here.

The speaker in the Motorola One 5G performs on a single output component as well as almost every flagship Ive ever tested. And thats saying quite a lot. Sound is balanced with bass being well-represented  if not pounding because that just doesnt happen with smartphones. This phone leaves tinny audio behind for the majority of its competitors to deal with.

Of course, its also possible to adjust volumes across individual apps or synchronize vibrations with the ringtones. And audio out through the Motorola One 5G mics for this review was on-point.

Performance from Motorola One 5G is exactly what you want

The hardware packed inside the Motorola One 5G is some of the most powerful around. In fact, its only a step or two down  compared to newer chipsets  being a flagship. So it should come as no surprise that I didnt experience any latency or lag at all in apps while reviewing the Motorola One 5G.

In fact, the one area where some issues could potentially crop up is in multitasking. Especially with less RAM here than is found in a majority of competitors in the price bracket. But I never found that to be the case during my tests.

The sole area of contention appeared when I used some of the most intensive apps around  for photo editing. And that was just a longer wait between finalization and image processing. Otherwise, this phone is going to perform as well as any other counterpart that isnt a flagship. Particularly for users who are fed up paying almost or over $1000 for a smartphone.

This one is going to come very close to matching the top-level standards on performance those phones can deliver.

Cameras are something Motorola has always done well and this is no exception

One area where Motorola smartphones have almost always excelled is on the camera front. The Motorola One 5G proved, under a thorough review of its shooting modes, that its no exception to that rule. Motorola is still on top of its game on this front.

That is, with one noteworthy exception highlighted in our Motorola One 5G Flickr album. That is, of course, night mode. For whatever reason, this phone has a night mode but that only appears to work under lighting conditions where the naked eye can make out details. In darker conditions, pixelation and other problems become a problem. Blurring, in particular. And even more so when a tripod isnt used.

When a tripod is used, night shots are as crisp as any other phone Ive put through a review. Up to a point. Taking shots of the night sky with this phone, even under decent twilight lighting, is not great by any stretch of the imagination.

Zoom shots fall into a similar category, becoming too easily blurred with pixelation starting at just 2-times zoom.

But elsewhere, the Flickr gallery speaks for itself, highlighting the great hardware Motorola packed into this phone  led by a 48-megapixel snapper. Selfies arent half-bad either, thanks to the quad pixel tech utilized in the dual 16-megapixel front snapper.

Connections are unfortunately limited with Motorola One 5G

Now, this particular phone isnt necessarily unique in the Motorola line-up. In fact, its very nearly the same gadget as the Motorola Moto G 5G+. One key difference here, however, is just how limited this particular handset is. In fact, the model of Motorola One 5G under review here is only available with one carrier. Thats AT&T. Theres no unlocked variant.

Other carriers will have their own model. There will even be a Verizon-specific UW model to catch the fastest 5G in the nation. But that also marks the return of a trend toward carrier-specific devices. And thats really no good for anybody who needs a device in the price bracket.

Not only does it cause quite a bit of confusion for buyers. It means I wasnt able to actually test the 5G on this handset. The carrier I utilize for testing is Google Fi. It has access to T-Mobile and US Cellular bands. But not to AT&T, leaving me with only WiFi for this review.

Setting aside that connectivity caveat for this series  and its one that prevented a top rating here  the connections here should work just fine.

Dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth 5.1 worked like a charm. So, if 5G is as well-thought-out as those, this phone is going to be one of the best next-gen networking handsets around. Or at least thats locked to a carrier with no option to bypass that restriction.

Bloatware is unusual on a Motorola but not the One 5G, unfortunately

There is at least one other major Motorola One 5G issue I noticed during this review. Or at least one other that related to connectivity. And thats bloatware stemming chiefly from this phones position as an AT&T carrier device.

Summarily, Motorola traditionally installs a minimal number of apps on its handsets at any price. But this device is one of the few exceptions to that. Not only does it come with standard Moto fare, which isnt more than a couple of apps. It also packs in a ton of AT&T-specific and -partner services.

A total of 24 extra apps are in the box ranging from Panera Bread to AT&T-associated news and theater apps.

Most of those can be uninstalled right out-of-the-box. But its unappealing, to say the least, anytime a carrier forces partner apps onto a phone that would typically be closer to an Android One Program device.

In terms of software features, what users get at the system-level is near-stock Android 10. Complete with dark mode, Digital Wellbeing, and gestures. All of that, and Motorolas gaming and driving modes, work smoothly and without lag. So, generally, its a great experience aside from the extras that almost no user actually wants on their mobile device.

The included extras such as double-tap features on the power button, theming, and adaptive performance enhancements help offset that. But not by a whole lot.

You probably wont regret buying this phone

Motorola One 5G is a smartphone that really only falls short of an Editors Choice award in three key areas. First, its a carrier-specific device. That means its going to be limiting in terms of who can use it, to begin with. But it also means that there are potentially going to be big software and subsequently performance differences between carrier versions.

The second area it falls just short in is the materials used. Although it feels great in-hand, the Motorola One 5G simply got too dirty and smudgy too quickly under review. That made taking photos a real pain but, more importantly, is going to mar the beauty of the device for anybody who cares about that. And the design here is actually very good. So thats a bigger deal than it might be with some other devices.

Finally, Motorola utterly misses the mark when it comes to the Night Mode on the camera. Although the feature works extremely well on a tripod  at least for shots that are partially lit  that falls apart in darker shots. And it seems to not work at all for taking pictures of darker scenes such as the sky or a night landscape. Low-light shots were just too pixelated when taken by hand too, and probably will be for all but the steadiest hands.

In other words, this phone comes close to nailing down and cementing a position as a top-ten mid-ranger. And it misses the mark on just a very few points. So it seems incredibly unlikely this phone will disappoint anybody who might be considering it for their next smartphone.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius offered congratulations on the 29th anniversary of Armenias Independence.

Long Live free, democratic and European Armenia. Our peoples know the real value of freedom and democracy. Looking forward to further expand the ties between our countries in the future, the FM said on Twitter.

The Lithuanian FM made his Twitter post in Armenian.

Today, on September 21, the Third Republic of Armenia is celebrating its 29th anniversary of Independence.

29 years ago the Armenian people said its decisive yes through a referendum to declare independence. 99,5% of voters voted in favor of Armenia being a democratic independent state outside the USSR. Two days later, on September 23rd, the Supreme Council declared Armenia an independent, sovereign republic.

The declaration of the newly independent Armenia gave the start of the Third Republic of Armenias history.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Representative Ilhan Omar responded to Donald Trump's criticism on Saturday (Getty Images)

US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar hit back at Donald Trump for a rant in which he attacked refugees and her personally at a rally in her home state of Minnesota.

One of the most vital issues in this election is the subject of refugees, you know it, you know it, perhaps better than anybody than almost anybody, Mr Trump told a crowd of supporters on Friday night.

He then pivoted to attack Ms Omar, who was forced to flee war in Somalia as a child and spent four years in a refugee camp before emigrating to America with her family.

[Are] you having a good time with your refugees?" he went on. "Thats good. Omar...thats a beauty. How the hell did she win? How did she win?

He then made an unsubstantiated claim that the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, would "turn Minnesota into a refugee camp".

In a Twitter post on Saturday night, the 37-year-old responded to presidents taunts, writing: This refugee is going to have a good time voting you out of office.

Many have tried and failed miserably to divide Minnesotans, we are greater than fear, added the squad member  who is widely known as belonging to a group of four progressive Democratic women elected to Congress in 2018.

"Are you having a good time with your refugees?" -- Trump immediately pivots to full blown racism pic.twitter.com/ds9UEpLf9v  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 18, 2020

While bragging about deporting Somali nationals, the president claimed to be a wall between the American dream and chaos," in comments that were widely seen as stoking racial tension.

Mr Trump last year called for Ms Omar and other high-profile Democratic women to "go back" to "the totally broken and crime-infested infested places from which they came."

In a recent interview with The Independent, Ms Omar said the president had weaponised minority identities to fire up his base.

Story continues

I happen to embody multiple marginal identities. Im a woman, Im black, Im a refugee, an immigrant, a Muslim and I wear a hijab. And all of those are identities that have been vilified by the right... and weaponised by Donald Trump, she said.

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Ilhan Omar interview: Trump is a racist tyrant  but America is strong enough to survive his presidency
Boris Johnson looked 'haunted and troubled' without his fiancee Carrie Symonds by his side at the weekend while the 'tired' PM's 'cockiness' is now 'invisible', a body language expert has claimed.

The prime minister, 56, cut a lone figure yesterday as he attended a memorial service in Westminster Abbey marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

While Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was accompanied by his wife Lady Victoria, Boris' partner Carrie Symonds - who gave birth to their son Wilfred in April - was absent.

This morning Piers Morgan branded the PM a 'broken guy' on Good Morning Britain, adding: 'He is lonely, he is ill... It would not surprise me if Boris quit, there is no win for him here, everything is a loss and it's piling up.'

Boris Johnson (pictured yesterday at a memorial service for the Battle of Britain) looked 'haunted and troubled' without his fiancee Carrie Symonds by his side at the weekend while the 'tired' PM's 'cockiness' is now 'invisible', a body language expert has claimed

His remarks following a scathing report in The Times on Saturday which claimed Mr Johnson seemed 'unusually serious  even sombre' during his public appearances last week.

Body language guru Judi James told FEMAIL: 'Once the king of splayed legs and arms, Boriss cockiness is now invisible.

'His legs at the Battle of Britain service were less apart than as usual and, with his hands clasped in the fig-leaf position, he looked as though he was protection himself from possible criticism or attack.

'He performed a truncated self-comfort ritual on arrival, placing one hand in his pocket before removing it in a look of discomfort.

'With his crumpled shirt, curled tie collar and wonky tie he looked in complete contrast to the bandbox-fresh Kier Starmer, who walked into the venue next to his wife with an air of energy and determination.

Yesterday the prime minister, 56, cut a lone figure as he attended a memorial service in Westminster Abbey marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain

Body language guru Judi James told FEMAIL that the PM's 'crumpled shirt, curled tie collar and wonky tie' looked in complete contrast to 'the bandbox-fresh Kier Starmer (right with his wife Lady Victoria), who walked into the venue next to his wife with an air of energy and determination'

'Without Carrie by his side though, Boriss eye expression above the mask looked haunted and his frown looked troubled.'

While Piers made a call for strong leadership with 'over-congruent' gesticulation, Judi claimed Boris has become 'a very different type of charismatic leader'.

'Having suffered illness himself, at the same time as balancing a marital split and a new baby, Boriss signals are suggesting some kind of a epiphany,' she deduced.

'The man whose signature facial expression was a naughty smile and a twinkling eye and who bathed in his high levels of fame and popularity and traded on being liked is now looking like a haunted man.

'The new look might not suit Piers Morgan but this new body language "honesty" does at least suggest levels of empathy and a realisation of the responsibilities he is now facing.'

September 9: Boris Johnson speaks during a virtual press conference at Downing Street in central London following an announcement of further restrictions on social gatherings in England due to an uptick in cases of the novel coronavirus

September 14: Boris Johnson, pictured in the Commons last week, was accused of 'not enjoying being at the helm in rough seas' by a senior Tory in a report in the The Times on Saturday

September 15: Boris Johnson holds a cabinet meeting at the Foreign Office in London, after which an attendee told The Times the PM seemed 'subdued' and 'engaged' but 'certainly wasnt as lively as youd expect'

September 18: The prime minister on a visit to the construction site of the new dedicated Vaccines Manufacturing Innovation Centre in Didcot

Judi added that while it would be 'inappropriate and unacceptable' for Boris to be sporting 'his usual smug smile or naughty facial expression', what we have in their place is 'a look of loneliness and self-protection'.

'Boris has been gravely ill and the effects could still be ongoing,' she went on.

'Without Carrie by his side or a wing-man to chat to, some of the very natural emotions of the crisis appear to be showing.

'Of course he looks tired and less cocky. The question is, will he or should he decide to re-adopt the kind of alpha-swagger and sense of fun that is visible in Donald Trump's demeanor, or should he show signs of accepting the gravity of the situation he is trying to handle?'

A senior Conservative who regularly meets with the prime minister told The Times that the PM 'doesn't seem to be enjoying being at the helm in rough seas', adding: 'This is all weighing very heavily on him. I think you can see it even in some of his public appearances  the sort of misery etched on his face.'

September 20: According to Judi, 'without Carrie by his side though, Boriss eye expression above the mask looked haunted and his frown looked troubled'

Meanwhile a source told the publication that Mr Johnson is missing his ex-wife Marina Wheeler, who was his 'intellectual match' and 'instrumental in the organisation of his life from an intellectual standpoint'.

'I dont think it is quite the same relationship with Carrie,' the source claimed. 'Carrie does genuinely love him and he loves her. But thats very different from what came before and the pressures of living in Downing Street with a young baby and partner, however accommodating she might be. Its still bloody difficult.

As well as being left 'exhausted' by his bout with Covid-19 and recently becoming a father again, friends and colleagues have reportedly expressed concern that Mr Johnson is 'worried about money'.

Mr Johnson has been through an expensive divorce, still supports four out of six of his children, and saw his earnings drop from around 350,000 to 150,000 after he was forced to drop his newspaper column and public speaking engagements when he became PM.

Carrie reportedly began an affair with Johnson while he was foreign secretary in 2018 while he was married to Marina - his second wife.

As well as being left 'exhausted' by his bout with Covid-19 and recently becoming a father again, friends and colleagues have reportedly expressed concern that Mr Johnson is 'worried about money'. Pictured with Carrie in March

She gave birth to their son in London on April 29 with the Prime Minister at her side, days after he himself had been released from medical care following a lengthy battle with coronavirus.

In a heart-warming Instagram post revealing the boy's name, Carrie said that the middle name Nicholas was a tribute to two NHS doctors, Dr Nick Price and Dr Nick Hart, who 'saved Boris' life last month' following his battle with coronavirus.

The first name is a tribute to the PM's paternal grandfather, Osman Wilfred Kemal, and Lawrie a reference to Carrie's grandfather.

Last week Ms Symonds revealed she will be judging a virtual lip sync battle hosted by the Conservatives LGBT+ wing.

She said she was 'looking forward' to judging the event, which is part of party's conference, which will take place online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In lab studies of wildfire, nitrous acid seems like a minor actor, often underrepresented in atmospheric models. But in the real-world atmosphere, during wildfires, the chemical plays a leading role--spiking to levels significantly higher than scientists expected, driving increased ozone pollution and harming air quality, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder and the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy.

"We found nitrous acid levels in wildfire plumes worldwide are two to four times higher than expected," said Rainer Volkamer, CIRES Fellow, professor of chemistry at CU Boulder and co-lead author on the Nature Geoscience study. "The chemical can ultimately drive the formation of lung- and crop-damaging ozone pollution downwind of fires."

Nitrous acid in wildfire smoke is accelerating the formation of an oxidant, the hydroxyl radical or OH. Unexpectedly, nitrous acid was responsible for around 60 percent of OH production in the smoke plumes worldwide, the team estimated--it is by far the main precursor of OH in fresh fire plumes. The hydroxyl radical, then, can degrade greenhouse gases, and it can also accelerate the chemical production of ozone pollution--by as much as 7 parts per billion in some places. That's enough to push ozone levels over regulated levels (eg, 70 ppb in the United States).

"Fire size and burn conditions in the real world show higher nitrous acid than can currently be explained based on laboratory data, and this added nitrous acid drives faster chemistry to form ozone, oxidants and modifies aerosols in wildfire smoke," Volkamer said.

Nitrous acid, while abundant after wildfire, degrades quickly in sunlight, and is thus exceedingly difficult to study globally. So the CU Boulder team worked with European colleagues to combine two sets of data: 1) global measurements from a satellite instrument TROPOMI observed nitrous acid in wildfire plumes around the world, and 2) custom instruments flown on aircraft during a 2018 wildfire study in the Pacific Northwest during the BB-FLUX campaign. Remarkably, the team was able to compare near-simultaneous measurements made within minutes by the satellite looking down on a plume, and the aircraft-based instrument looking up into the same plume from below.

"Kudos to the pilots and the entire team for dealing actively with this fundamental sampling challenge," Volkamer said. "Simultaneous measurements conducted at different temporal and spatial scales helped us to understand and use what are the first global measurements of nitrous acid by our Belgium colleagues." With the new comparison in hand, Volkamer and his colleagues--including Nicolas Theys, the study's lead author from BIRA--could then scrutinize satellite data from a large number of wildfires in all major ecosystems across the planet to assess nitrous acid emissions.

The chemical is consistently higher than expected everywhere, but levels differ depending on the landscape. "Nitrous acid emissions relative to other gases involved in ozone formation varied by ecosystem, with the lowest in savannas and grasslands and highest in extratropical evergreen forests," said Kyle Zarzana, chemistry postdoctoral scientist at CU Boulder who led instrument deployment for the aircraft measurements, and coauthor on the new paper.

"Wildfire smoke contains many trace gases and aerosols that adversely affect visibility and public health over large distances, as we are recently witnessing from fires raging in the Western United States that affect air quality on the East Coast," said Volkamer. "Our findings reveal a chemically very active ingredient of this smoke, and help us to better keep track as photochemistry rapidly modifies emissions downwind."

###
Hyundai Thanh Cong 2 automobile plant breaks ground in Ninh Binh. (Photo: VNA)

Ninh Binh  Thanh Cong Group and Hyundai Motor co-held a ground-breaking ceremony for an automobile manufacturing facility which has designed capacity of 100,000 units per year, in the northern province of Ninh Binh on September 20.

The new Hyundai Thanh Cong 2 plant (HTMV 2) will raise Hyundais total automobile output in Vietnam to 170,000 units per year once it is put into operation.

The facility is constructed on a ground of 50 hectares at Gian Kham Industrial Park in Gia Vien district at an estimated cost of 3.2 trillion VND (over 138 million USD).

The first phase of the project is expected to complete in June 2022, and the second in June 2025.

The factory will use green energy as well as environmentally-friendly technology for auto manufacturing that allows its products to reach European emission standards Euro 5.0 and Euro 6.0.

Speaking at the event, Director-General of Thanh Cong Group Le Ngoc Duc said Hyundai Thanh Cong 2 is expected to help boost Ninh Binhs socio-economic growth and strongly develop the countrys automotive industry.

Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Dinh Van Dien, meanwhile, pledged to provide all possible conditions for the group to complete the project.
Tesla held preliminary talks with Karnataka government officals on September 10, for possible investments in a research facility in Bengaluru, according to a report in The Economic Times.

A follow-up meeting is likely expected to be held later this month in which officials will draw up a plan for the Tesla executives, the report said.

"Tesla has shown initial interest to invest in a research and innovation centre in Karnataka and talks are at a preliminary stage," a source told the publication. In July, CEO Elon Musk had hinted that the luxury car company will "hopefully" come to India soon.

Also Read: Six giant Tesla batteries keep British lights on for first time

If the talks come to fruition, India will be the second country outside of US to have a Tesla research centre, the first being China.

Karnataka is also the first state to launch an electric vehicle policy, and has a slew of promising startups such as OLA Electric, Sun Mobility and Ather. The policy hopes to generate investments of 31,000 crore in EV R&D and manufacturing.

Following Karanataka's lead, 11 states including Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have launched similar policies.

In January, Tesla which overtook Toyota to become the most valuable carmaker in the world, opened a Gigafactory in Shanghai. Later in the year, Musk tweeted that the company will look at another Gigafactory in Asia, outside of China.
The chief of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Monday warned against increased tensions between Lebanon and Israel amid Israeli warplanes' continuous violations against Lebanon's airspace, the National News Agency reported.

"In recent days, UNIFIL has recorded a large number of air violations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)," said Stefano Del Col.

Asking IDF to stop violating Lebanon's airspace, he noted such violations escalate tensions and could trigger incidents endangering the cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel.

These violations contradict UNIFIL's objectives and undermine the agency's efforts to reduce tensions and establish a stable security environment in southern Lebanon, Del Col added.

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Going on a 15-minute 'awe walk' each week, where we stop to appreciate the world around us, can help boost positive emotions and reduce stress, a new study shows.

It's well-known that getting out of the house to take a short walk every day can dramatically improve our mood.

But US scientists say walking boosts our frame of mind even more if we make a note to soak up the beauty of all that is around us.

These 'awe walks', where we soak up nature, architecture and more, can boost healthy 'pro-social' emotions such as compassion and gratitude.

After analysing selfies taken during walks these walks over the course of eight weeks, the US experts found that 'awe walks' can make us smile more too.

A regular dose of awe is a simple way to boost healthy 'pro-social' emotions such as compassion and gratitude - achieved by soaking up nature, for example

'What we show here is that a very simple intervention,' said Professor Virginia Sturm at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

'Essentially a reminder to occasionally shift our energy and attention outward instead of inward can lead to significant improvements in emotional well-being.

WALKING AND MENTAL HEALTH Walking improves well being and helps fight stress and depression - Walking, like other physical activities, releases endorphins which improve mood and reduce stress and anxiety - Feeling fitter and controlling weight helps improve your body image and confidence - Active people have a reduced risk of suffering clinical depression - Walking in a group is a sociable activity that can help improve mental health and overcome feelings of isolation - Spending time in the outdoors and in contact with the natural environment  for example by walking in parks, woodland and green spaces  can have a positive effect on mental health Source: The Ramblers Advertisement

'Experiencing awe is such a simple practice  just taking a moment to look out the window or pausing to consider the technological marvels that surround us  and we now show it can have measurable effects on our emotional well-being.

'A little more joy and a little more connectedness with the world around us is something all of us could use these days.'

The study was inspired by a call from the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) for research proposals on ways to identify simple, low-cost interventions to improve brain health.

Professor Sturm partnered with psychologist Dacher Keltner, an expert in emotion at the University of California, Berkeley, to develop a simple intervention.

Its concept was simple  to try to replicate the feeling of awe by drawing on external cues.

'Awe is a positive emotion triggered by awareness of something vastly larger than the self and not immediately understandable  such as nature, art, music, or being caught up in a collective act such as a ceremony, concert or political march,' Keltner said.

'Experiencing awe can contribute to a host of benefits including an expanded sense of time and enhanced feelings of generosity, well-being and humility.'

The team recruited 52 healthy older adults from the UCSF's long-running Hilblom Healthy Aging Study programme.

They asked each of these participants to take at least one 15-minute walk each week for eight weeks.

Half of the participants in the study were asked to replicate the emotion of awe and during their walks  the rest, in the 'control group', weren't.

'In general, we encouraged awe by asking people to attend to the details of the world around them and to tap into their sense of wonder,' Professor Sturm told MailOnline.

A reminder to shift our energy and attention outward instead of inward can lead to significant improvements in emotional well-being. This can be done on our daily walk - by concentrating on the things we see during the walk, rather than the problems that may await us back home

After each walk, participants filled out brief surveys, detailing characteristics of the walk and the emotions they had experienced, including questions intended to 'assess their experience of awe'.

People in the 'awe group' reported increasing experience of awe on their walks as the study went on, the experts found.

In the 'awe walk' group, answers to some of the open-ended survey questions reflected their 'growing sense of wonder and appreciation for the details of the world around them'.

For example, one participant reflected on 'the beautiful fall colours and the absence of them amidst the evergreen forest' and 'how the leaves were no longer crunchy underfoot because of rain'.

In contrast, participants from the control group tended to be more inwardly focused when answering the questions about their thoughts and feelings.

For example, one control participant said: 'I thought about our vacation in Hawaii coming up this next Thursday [and] all the things I had to do before we leave.'

Another reflected on 'what a beautiful day it was and that later I was going to go see my great granddaughter'.

The researchers also asked participants to take selfies at the beginning, middle and end of each walk.

Analysis of the selfies in both sets of participants revealed a noticeable difference in how they portrayed themselves.

People in the awe group increasingly made themselves smaller in their photos over the course of the study, preferring to feature the landscapes around them, compared to the control group.

At the same time, the smiles on the faces of awe group participants grew more intense as the study went on throughout the eight-week period.

Participants asked to 'attend to the details of the world around them and to tap into their sense of wonder' had bigger smiles after eight weeks - and tended to make natural wonders a more prominent part of their selfies

'One of the key features of awe is that it promotes what we call "small self"  a healthy sense of proportion between your own self and the bigger picture of the world around you,' said Professor Sturm.

'To be honest, we had decided to do this particular analysis of participants' selfies on a lark  I never really expected we'd be able to document awe's ability to create an emotionally healthy small self literally on camera!'

Participants also completed daily surveys throughout the eight-week study to assess their day-by-day emotional state.

Those in the awe group experienced big boosts in their daily experience of positive pro-social emotions such as compassion and gratitude over the course of the study.

Interestingly, participants in the control group actually took more frequent walks during the study, the researchers found  likely because some of them suspected that the study was focused on exercise.

However, this did not result in significant shifts in emotional well-being  or in their selfies.

The effects were relatively moderate but were easy to evoke and grew stronger over time, suggesting the benefits could continue to grow with longer practice.

'I find it remarkable that the simplest intervention in the world  just a three-minute conversation at the beginning of the study suggesting that participants practice feeling awe on their weekly walks  was able to drive significant shifts in their daily emotional experience,' Professor Sturm said.

'This suggests promoting the experience of awe could be an extremely low-cost tool for improving the emotional health of older adults through a simple shift in mindset.'

The study has been published in the journal Emotion.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 03:28:03|Editor: huaxia

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GAZA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- An Islamic Hamas movement militant was killed on Sunday after a tunnel collapsed in the north of the Gaza Strip, the group and medical sources said.

Medical sources said that Khalil Lubbad, 27, from Jabalia refugee camp, was brought dead to the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza Strip, as well as three others wounded in the same place, without elaboration.

Hamas armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said in a press statement that the group mourns its member Lubbad, "who died during a military mission into one of the tunnels of resistance."

Hamas movement, which has been ruling the Gaza Strip since 2007, uses tunnels underneath Gaza as a strategic weapon either to store arms or to carry out attacks using the tunnels into Israel.

Over the past few years, dozens of militants died in tunnel collapse, according to Gaza rights groups. Enditem
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/21/2020 -- The global marine mining market is expected to witness robust growth, thanks to rising demand for copper, which currently stands at near 24 million metric tons. The rising demand for minerals and increased technological advancement making seabed mining operations more effective will likely help the market achieve robust growth in the near future. It is estimated that more than 1.5 million square kilometres of the international seabed will likely undergo exploration in the near future, thanks to rising exploration activity.



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Rising demand for copper, due to growth of the electronics industry will drive robust growth for the global marine mining market. The rising demand for consumer electronics like cell phones, which use metals like zinc and manganese, and rare earth materials like cobalt, will promise lucrative opportunities in the near future. Moreover, the limited exploration opportunities on land will likely divert substantial capital investments towards marine mining in the near future.



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Among regions, the Asia Pacific region is expected to witness robust exploration activity in the near future. The region is witnessing major demand for electronics, and shipping activities between countries like Korea, Japan, contribute towards the largest trade of metals, and minerals. The growing demand for zinc, lithium, cobalt, and manganese in the region, and increased interest in the region will drive more opportunities for growth in the global marine mining market in the near future.



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Automobile Manufacturing to Boost Marine Mining Market



The rise in interest in next-gen vehicles like electric cars, and automated cars will open new opportunities for players in the global marine mining market. In countries like Germany, the US, and Japan, the demand for industrial metal like platinum, nickel, and copper remains extremely high, thanks to rising production for automobiles. Moreover, depletion of terrestrial deposits, and rise in population is expected to drive more investments towards seabed exploration. The established framework for exploring seabed mining operations, and growing activity towards exploring the deep-end of the ocean will create more opportunities in the near future.



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Advanced IoT monitoring solutions are expected to open new opportunities in the market as 24/7 surveillance, data management technique open up new avenues for growth. The growing reliance on data analytics for maintaining and repairing mining equipment also promises substantial cost-savings, and additional safety.



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The technological advancements also make it easier to engage in underwater exploration activity with unmanned vehicles with improving flight durations. The increasing efficiency and reliability of these machines will create new opportunities for growth for the global marine mining market. The advanced analytic solutions and introduction of Internet of Things or IoT promises new opportunities for growth in the global marine mining market.
Owner of China-Listed Finance Company Indicted for Organized Crime

Several major news websites in mainland China reported on Sept. 17 that the China-listed investment holding company China Create Capital Limited announced its owner, Zhang Wei, has been indicted on 11 counts of heading a mafia-style gang and illegally raising public funds.

As previously reported by the Chinese language Epoch Times, Zhang and 43 of his colleagues were arrested in April last year for what the government said was criminal activities.

Chinas state media said that the mafia-style criminal group China Create Capital Limited had been charged with illegally raising public funds for non-existent investment projects through its online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform 88 Wealth Network. Zhang and his accomplices got rich from the P2P scheme by lending the investment funds out as high-interest loans, and then using violent means if necessary to recover interest payments from borrowers.

From November 2004, Zhang established China Create Technology Co. Ltd. and other China Create companies, such as China Create Capital Ltd. and China Create Financial Holdings Group Co. Ltd. Through a series of operations, the scale of assets under Zhangs China Create empire exceeded 30 billion yuan ($4.4 billion).

It was in October 2013 that China Create entered the internet finance industry and launched the online loan P2P platform 88 Wealth Network. The platform was even invited to participate in Chinas Boao Forum for Asia and the APEC Business Leaders Summit. At its peak, renowned Chinese pianist Lang Lang signed up to be its spokesperson. By 2015, the cumulative transaction volume of the platform exceeded 3 billion yuan ($441.2 million).

Zhangs companies also became involved in online real estate, wealth management, mergers, acquisitions, and other fields. Meanwhile, Zhang took on political positions, serving as a Shenzhen delegate to Beijings rubber stamp legislature, the National Peoples Congress (NPC), as well as deputy chairman of Shenzhens Chamber of Commerce.

However, the good times did not last long.

In February 2017, 88 Wealth Network was shut down amidst the wave of P2P collapses in mainland China. According to the official website of 88 Wealth Network, the accumulated investments as of December 2018 stood at around 8.494 billion yuan ($1.3 billion), while the accumulated payments to the lenders stood at around 4.94 billion yuan ($726.6 million).

After Zhangs arrest, China Creates businesses plummeted, with a net loss of nearly 1.2 billion yuan ($176.5 million) in 2019.

According to public data, Zhang, 47, was a former Peoples Liberation Army soldier and worked as a security guard. He was later favored by a senior Communist Party official in Shenzhen after which he began to develop his business. He quickly built a tens of billions of dollar business empire.

According to Chinas finance media outlet Caixin, Zhang had a good personal relationship with Li Huananthe former deputy secretary of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) Shenzhen Municipal Committee and secretary of the Shenzhen Political and Legal Committeewho was removed and arrested for corruption and other crimes in October 2018.

Caixin reported that Lis son was involved in the investment business in Shenzhen, and may have partnered with Zhang. The two had illicit transactions, amounting to tens of millions of yuan.

Li is named on the investigation list published by the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong for his active involvement in the CCPs persecution of the Chinese spiritual practice.
Tens of thousands of people marched through Minsk yesterday chanting "go away" on the sixth straight weekend of protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, keeping up the pressure on the veteran leader to quit.

At least 10 people were detained, Russia's Tass news agency quoted police as saying. Videos shared by local media outlets showed security forces in helmets or masks hauling protesters off the streets.

In tandem with the protests, anonymous hackers leaked the personal data of 1,000 police officers in retaliation for a crackdown in which thousands of people have been detained, many complaining of beatings and torture in jail.

The government has denied abusing detainees.

The loyalty of the security forces is crucial to Mr Lukashenko's ability to cling on to power. Their faces are often obscured by masks, balaclavas or riot helmets. Some protesters have physically torn off the masks of some officers.

"As the arrests continue, we will continue to publish data on a massive scale," said a statement that was distributed by the opposition news channel Nexta Live on the messaging app Telegram. "No one will remain anonymous, even under a balaclava."

The government said it would punish those responsible for leaking the data.

"The forces, means and technologies at the disposal of the internal affairs bodies make it possible to identify and prosecute the overwhelming majority of those guilty of leaking personal data on the Internet," said Olga Chemodanova, the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Minsk has reacted angrily to reports that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leading opposition candidate in last month's election, could soon meet EU foreign ministers. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also criticised the EU for inviting Ms Tsikhanouskaya to the meeting, as well as for considering sanctions against Minsk, saying Brussels was trying to "rock the boat" in Belarus.

The eastern European country was plunged into turmoil following a presidential election last month that Mr Lukashenko says he won by a landslide but the opposition says was rigged.

In power for 26 years, the former Soviet collective-farm manager has shown scant inclination to resign, buoyed by support from Russia.

The European Union vowed to impose sanctions on Minsk for alleged election fraud and human rights abuses, but is likely to miss its own Monday deadline for action.
By Akbar Mammadov

Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Oleg Tulea has thanked Azerbaijan for supporting his country over COVID-19 pandemic.

Tulea made the remarks during the meeting with his Azerbaijani Counterpart Ceyhun Bayramov via the phone on September 21.

At the meeting, the sides emphasized the importance of international solidarity and cooperation in combating the global health crisis.

Furthermore, the ministers discussed the expansion of relations in political, economic, trade and other fields. The sides agreed to hold political consultations in the form of a video conference soon. The ministers also stressed the importance of further development of economic and trade cooperation between Azerbaijan and Moldova and the full use of the existing potential.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan was also high on the agenda of the meeting during the phone conversation initiated by Moldova.

Minister Bayramov briefed his counterpart on Armenia's recent provocative activities in the region, including provocative statements and actions of the Armenian leadership, noting that such actions undermine the settlement of the conflict through negotiations.

Stating that an Azerbaijani serviceman was killed on September 21 as a result of fire opened by Armenian armed forces on the border between the two countries, the minister emphasized that all the responsibility for this crime fell on the Armenian military-political leadership.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan has so far made individual donations to the World Health Organization in the amount of $10 million, and humanitarian assistance to 29 WHO member countries, including $5 million to Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Armenia has stepped up its military provocation recently, staging sabotage both on the border and on the line of contact. On July 12, Armenian forces shelled Azerbaijan's positions in Tovuz, Azerbaijan's strategically-important district. The attack killed 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, as well as a 76-year-old civilian. Armenian forces retreated after suffering losses in Azerbaijan's retaliation.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Agra: India's star tourist attraction, the 17th-century monument of love, the Taj Mahal, and the Agra Fort, are all set to reopen from Monday, after an unprecedented closure of six months, due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Amar Nath Gupta, caretaker of the Taj Mahal, said: "Sanitisation at the Eastern and the Western gates, thermal screening, painting of circles for social distancing, etc., are in place. Only 2,500 visitors will be permitted inside the mausoleum in one shift and this will only be possible through online booking. Foreigners will need to buy Rs 1,100 entrance tickets and domestic visitors will be able to enter paying Rs 50 per ticket. Rs 200 ticket is additional to enter the main platform for a view of the graves of Emperor Shah Jahan and his beloved consort Mumtaz Mahal.

Meanwhile, the health department reported 105 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. The total number is now 4,706, of which 3,727 have recovered. The number of active cases is 862. So far, there have been 117 deaths.

Meanwhile, the Agra University late on Saturday evening announced postponement of MBBS exams scheduled from Monday after 25 medicos tested positive. They have been admitted to the isolation ward. University officials said the new dates will be announced after consultation with S.N. Medical College authorities.
The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry has lambasted the Netherlands for their use of the International Court of Justice, while also funding armed groups writes SANA.

The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said that the government of the Netherlands, which was content to play the role of the low subordinate to the US, persists to use the International Court of Justice in The Hague to serve the agendas of its American political master and use it as a platform to exceed the UN and international law.

The government of the Netherlands is the last one who has the right to talk about the human rights and the protection of civilians after its big scandal, before public opinion and the tax-payers, as it supports and finances armed organizations in Syria which are classified by the Netherlands Public Prosecution as terrorist organizations, an official source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said on Saturday.

The source added that the stance of the Netherlands is nothing but a maneuver to camouflage the scandals of that regime and a desperate attempt to get what it couldnt through its support for terrorist organizations in Syria.

The source added that government of the Syrian Arab Republic reserves the right to bring to justice everyone who has been involved in supporting terrorism in Syria and holds countries partner in the shedding of Syrian blood, both governments and individuals, fully responsible for the blood of the civilians and the destruction of infrastructure in addition to the looting of the resources of the Syrian people.

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.
Washington:

The US Senate has confirmed former Congressman Mike Pompeo as CIA director while Rex Tillersons nomination to be the Secretary of State moved a step closer to approval as Donald Trumps Cabinet takes shape.



Pompeo, who was confirmed by the Senate by 66-32 votes, replaces John Brennan, a political appointee, whose term ended on January 20 with that of Barack Obama as the US President.



Later, Pompeo was sworn in last night as CIA director.



You are stepping up to lead the finest intelligence-gathering operation the world has ever seen, Vice President Mike Pence said during the swearing-in ceremony.



The men and women serving under your command give true meaning to the word courage, he said.



Significantly, Trump, who succeeded Obama as the 45th President of the US, made his first visit to a federal agency to CIA headquarters in Langley.



Pompeo, 53, is only the third member of Trumps cabinet to take his post after Secretary of Defence James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly were sworn in Friday.



On Pompeos conformation, Senator John McCain, in a statement, said the new Director of the CIA must focus on uncovering facts about the many complex national security threats confronting the nation.



Now is the time to turn the page on our discussions of old programmes and activities, which we have thoroughly reviewed and addressed, he said.



Congressman Davin Nunes, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Pompeo with his deep background in intelligence and military affairs, he is confident will serve the intelligence community well and make vital contributions to national security.



At a time when Americans face escalating threats from both terror groups and state entities, its reassuring that someone with as much experience and knowledge as Mike will be leading one of the nations premier intelligence agencies, he said.



Meanwhile, a key Senate panel approved the nomination of Tillerson as the Secretary of State.



This has paved the way for the Senate to formally vote on his nomination following which Tillerson would occupy the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department as the top American diplomat.



The position has been vacant since January 20 when John Kerrys term demitted office with outgoing president Obama.



Even as Trump had nominated Tillerson as his Secretary of State much in advance, the Senate has not been able to confirm him because of some reservations by a few lawmakers, including from Trumps own Republican party.



The approval by Senate Foreign relations Committee came after Senator McCain and Senator Marco Rubioboth of the Republican partyannounced that they will support his nomination.

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With many students going back to school in Massachusetts through remote or hybrid learning, this school year is much trickier than usual for students and families.

If youre feeling overwhelmed, hesitant or at a complete loss at what to do, youre not alone. College Nannies, Sitters and Tutors says their phones have been ringing off the hook with requests from parents.

MassLive reporter Heather Adams is talking live with Delilah Atkinson from College Nannies, Sitters and Tutors in Boston to help answer your questions about virtual learning. The discussion will be on MassLives Facebook page on Tuesday at 1 p.m.

College Nannies, Sitters and Tutors is the the largest employer of nannies, sitters and tutors in the U.S. and helped provide 2.3 million hours of in-home care in 2019.

At the start of the pandemic, the company saw an increase in demand both nationally and in Massachusetts for babysitters and nannies.

This is really unprecedented. Its an overused word  but accurate nevertheless, said Atkinson.

It also began offering its tutor service virtually and gave out tips for kids, such as teaching children how to wash their hands correctly using glitter.

Now a big focus is on education.

More than 70% of Massachusetts school districts planned on hybrid or fully in-person learning, while 30% said they planned on a fully remote operation. Springfield, Worcester and Boston all started the year remote.

Parents are having to find supplemental classes or tutors to help their children stay on track, with places such as libraries, churches and skating rinks helping to fill some of these gaps.

Families are also having to balance work and remote learning, sometimes bringing kids to work with them.

Families are learning to be flexible amid the pandemic as some schools that started off with the hybrid model has to switch to fully remote due to positive cases in the schools or involving students.

Its not easy, and thats why we want to help answer your questions. Please send your questions about virtual learning to hadams@masslive.com or comment on Facebook.

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The eight suspended Rajya Sabha MPs had misbehaved, it was a type of "goondaism" and they have no trust in democracy, said Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday.

New Delhi [India], September 21 (ANI): The eight suspended Rajya Sabha MPs had misbehaved, it was a type of goondaism and they have no trust in democracy, said Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday.



When the Chairman names a member then that member has to leave the House. Never before a member defied the orders of the Chair. Eight suspended MPs had misbehaved, it was a type of goondaism. They have proved that they have no trust in democracy, Joshi said during a press conference at the Parliament premises. The Opposition MPs threw paper at Deputy Speaker Harivansh even when he agreed for a division of votes. They abused him. It was shameful behaviour, he added.



Meanwhile, MPs of opposition parties, including the suspended MPs, held a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Parliament premises, against the suspension of eight MPs by Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.



Also read: Day after unruly scenes in Parliament, RS chairman cracks the whip, suspends 8 RS MPs

Also read: 10 dead, many fear trapped after 3-storey building collapses in Maharashtras Bhiwandi

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu announced the one-week suspension of Trinamool Congress (TMC) Derek OBrien and Dola Sen, Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) Sanjay Singh, Indian National Congress (INC) Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora and Syed Nasir Hussain, CPI(M)s KK Ragesh and Elamaram Karim for unruly behaviour with the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman yesterday.



Naidu had also rejected the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against Deputy Chairman Harivansh saying that it is not admissible under the rules.



Rajya Sabha witnessed unruly scenes on Sunday as the Opposition members stormed the well and reached the deputy chairmans seat to protest against the farm Bills debated and passed by the Upper House through voice vote. (ANI)

Also read: With spike of over 86k cases, Indias Covid-19 tally breaches 54.8L mark
HARDIN  The Calhoun County Clerks Office has completed proofing the specimen ballot.

According to Calhoun County Clerk Rita Hagen, ballots will be mailed out and available for early voting later in September.

Along with the presidential and U.S. Senate races, Calhoun County voters will cast ballots in the Nov. 3 race between incumbent U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, a Republican, and his challenger, Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan. In the 100th Illinois Legislative District, incumbent Republican Christopher C.D. Davidsmeyer is challenged by Democrat Brandon Adams and Pro-Gun and Life Party Candidate Ralph Sides.

Three Calhoun County incumbents, all Democrats, have no opposition for their countywide races. Yvonne M. Macauley is unopposed for circuit clerk. Richard J. Ringhausen is unopposed for states attorney. And Anna D. Kronable is unopposed for supervisor of assessments.

For county commissioner, Democrat Paul T. Snow Herkert is challenged by Republican Kimberly R. Klaas and Independent Deann Koster-Fester.

In judicial races, Republican Tad Brenner is unopposed to fill the seat previously held by Mark A. Drummond. Two judges are also up for judicial retention, Mike Atterberry and Charles H.W. Burch.

Illinois voters also will decide whether to change how the state income tax is applied to resident. The amendment is explained this way on the ballot:

The proposed amendment grants the State authority to impose higher income tax rates on higher income levels, which is how the federal government and a majority of other states do it. The amendment would remove the portion of the Revenue Article of the Illinois Constitution that is sometimes referred to as the flat tax, that requires all taxes on income to be at the same rate. The amendment does not itself change tax rates. It gives the State the ability to impose higher tax rates on those with higher income levels and lower income tax rates on those with middle or lower income levels. You are asked to decide whether the proposed amendment should become a part of the Illinois Constitution.

According to the ballot instructions, failure to vote on the issue may be counted as a no vote.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 22:55:59|Editor: huaxia

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BANGKOK, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Ministry of Public Health on Monday said it will be deploying 1.2 million public health volunteers across the country to stem and prepare for a possible second wave of COVID-19 infections.

The move came after reports of continuous illegal crossings of migrant workers into the Thai soil from Myanmar.

Thailand had imposed stringent measures including sealing all borders with Myanmar as the latter is experiencing a huge surge in infections.

The Thai health authorities said on Monday that the deployment of health volunteers is necessary across the country as anti-government protestor clusters spread across the country in defiance of the state of emergency.

"However, we are more worried about illegal migrants sneaking into Thai soil rather than the Thai protestors' clusters," said Thanitpol Jayanandana, advisor to the Ministry of Public Health.

Thanitpol said the risks of imported infections are concerning, adding that local infections are rare, with only one local case in 100 days.

"We are concerned especially in the lower northern province of Tak," he said.

Tak province shares a 560-km border with Myanmar, with most of the natural border area porous jungles, an easy escape for Myanmar nationals into Thailand.

Thanitpol also said the health volunteers recruited to combat COVID-19 are qualified as they have had experience in combatting mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue fever and malaria.

"These volunteers are important to our efforts as they already know how to prevent diseases and monitor health in these border communities," Thanitpol said, before stressing the fact that Tak province has yet discovered any new local infection yet, despite the surge in cases in Myanmar.

"There are currently two confirmed cases in Myawaddy in Myanmar, very close to Thailand. If the situation gets out of control, we are at high risk," he said.

Thanitpol said all hospitals in the area have been told to be ready for an outbreak, saying supplies of both equipment and medicine are adequate. Enditem
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21)  The much-awaited reopening of the summer capital to tourists will be delayed by at least a week after Baguio City recorded its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases.

The city was supposed to reopen its "travel bubble" to tourists from Ilocos Region beginning Tuesday. Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Monday, however, said while the launching will proceed as scheduled, the opening will be postponed as the city recorded 43 new COVID-19 cases on September 20.

"Actual execution will probably happen next week kasi may inaayos pa ang ibang provinces sa sistema. At the same time, sa Baguio may outbreak dito sa 2 barangays," he said in a media briefing.

[Translation: Execution will probably happen next week because some areas are finalizing their system. It's also because there is an outbreak in two of Baguio's barangays.]

The city listed 43 new COVID-19 cases, forcing Magalong to place barangay Lourdes Subdivision Extension and Ferdinand under a 14-day hard lockdown. Magalong, who also serves as the country's tracing czar, said the cases stemmed after reported mass gatherings.

Meanwhile, Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday said the Health department is monitoring Baguio's use of antigen tests to determine if the COVID-19 testing tool can be adopted for official use following the World Health Organization's recommendation to use this for border travel.
In the week before NEET was conducted, four youngsters in Tamil Nadu died by suicide, allegedly due to fear of how they would perform in the test. The exam has become an emotive issue related to social justice in the state from the very beginning. A statement issued by an actor in this context, however, set off an unexpectedand unnecessarylegal storm that concluded on Friday in a 29-page order written by the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

The court which, fearing for its life due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is hearing cases via video conferencing, orders students to fearlessly face the exams, the actor wrote. This is a reference to the Supreme Court dismissing pleas to defer the exams and then dismissing a review petition on the same issue. Aggrieved, a Madras HC judge urged the Chief Justice to initiate suo motu criminal contempt proceedings against the actor.

A section of advocates too backed the call for contempt proceedings while several othersand six former HC judgesargued that the matter should be dropped. In the wake of the Prashant Bhushan case, the courts decision on the matter was closely watched. ...it is not the job of a constitutional Court to use a sledgehammer for avoidance of something which can be perceived to be not capable of even being propped up as a contempt, much less debated to the level of a criminal contempt, the court finally acknowledged in its order.

Yet, despite the actors comment being a factual reference to the Supreme Court, the HC in its mediation on free speech, criticism and justice, still declared it as absolutely unnecessary or even unwarranted, for being ignorant of the manner in which the entire judiciary of this state has served the interest of its citizens during this pandemic That the court decided against initiating contempt proceedings is a relief to those who cherish free speech and democratic values.

However, the entire affair has also created unease given how so often the process can itself become a punishment. Rather than displaying such sensitivity to stray comments, it is imperative that the higher judiciary be more sensitive to the great power it represents and wields.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : In a landmark development, a direct cargo ferry service between India and Maldives commenced on Monday. This is the first time that a direct cargo shipping line is connecting the two neighbouring countries.

The ferry service, which was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2019 during his visit to Maldives, was launched in an e-flag off ceremony hosted jointly by Minister of State (independent charge) for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya and Aishath Nahula, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Maldives .

Commencement of a cargo ferry service between India and Maldives was announced by the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during his virtual meeting with the Foreign Minister of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid, on August 13.

The ferry service will run twice a month. It will be operated by the Shipping Corporation of India on a vessel with a capacity of 380 TEUs.

The ferry will herald direct connectivity for movement of cargo between India and Maldives, giving a boost to bilateral trade.

Despite geographical proximity, India is currently only the 4th largest trade partner of Maldives. Maldives imports more from the UAE, China and Singapore, implying that bilateral trade with India is not commensurate with it's potential.

India's bilateral trade has hovered at around $280 million annually for some years now and stood at $286.85 million in 2019.

Direct ferry will reduce transportation cost, provide a timely, short and cost-effective means of transportation for goods from India to Maldives and thereby incentivise more trade between the two countries.

The ferry has cold storage facility, which will also allow more exports from Maldives of tuna fish and other marine food items which are specialties of Maldives.

In March-April this year, FICCI's Kerala state council conducted a study on the viability of a ferry service between India and Maldives. The study found that for 27 principal import items of Maldives, India's share of imports is well below their potential.

Currently, maximum imports to Male originate from Dubai, China, Singapore and Colombo, while Dubai, Singapore and Colombo are mostly transhipment ports. A direct and reliable service will provide an alternate and cost effective way of transportation of goods from India to Maldives.

Since Maldives is a 100 per cent import dependent country, improved connectivity between India and Maldives will help boost bilateral trade and help economic acitivity in Maldives, already reeling under the disruption brought about by Covid-19.

The Covid-19 crisis has, drawn the attention of the world towards resilient supply chains. In May-June this year, while Maldivian imports have fallen by 50 per cent, India has become the second largest exporter to Maldives. India has, therefore, proven that it can provide supply side security to the Maldives during such uncertain times.

A number of bilateral projects are in the pipeline, owing to which export of construction material and other commodities from India to Maldives is bound to rise in the coming months. This includes the Greater Male Connectivity Project (under $400 million LOC and $100 million grant), and projects under the $800 million Line of Credit.

There is great enthusiasm on both the sides for the launch of this service. FICCI organised three virtual roadshows in Tuticorin, Kochi and Mumbai to publicise this service. The response from exporters has been positive.

During its maiden journey, the ferry will make a stop at Kulhudhuffushi port in North Maldives before it reaches Male on September 29.

The Maldives government is making concerted efforts to revitalise the economy of Northern Maldives. It is understood that in order to give financial incentives, the Maldives Majlis has approved 50 per cent reduction in custom duties for import items cleared at the Kulhudhuffushi port. India has also been assisting the Maldives government in developing its Northern region through a number of bilateral projects/ initiatives.

This service will improve regional connectivity. The government has been working to promote a number of initiatives and projects in order to increase regional connectivity in the Indian Ocean region.
The Lt. Governors Challenge is an opportunity for Delawareans to make their family, neighborhood, workplace, community or school healthier and stronger

The 2020 Lt. Governor's Wellness Leadership Challenge has announced seven award winners in four categories for this years awards, Delaware Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long announced Thursday.

Lt. Governor Hall-Long launched the Challenge in 2018 as part of her mission to make Delaware a stronger and healthier state. The Challenge is an opportunity for Delawareans to be drivers of change in their own neighborhoods, workplaces, community groups and schools by addressing the policies and systems that create equitable health opportunities for all - and in doing so, encourage fellow Delawareans to take steps toward healthier living.

The winning submissions came from individuals, organizations and institutions across Delaware who made a commitment to enacting better health and wellness for their communities, ultimately helping to elevate the well-being, productivity, and prosperity of the State of Delaware.

The Lt. Governors Challenge is an opportunity for Delawareans to make their family, neighborhood, workplace, community or school healthier and stronger, said Hall-Long, who is also a nurse and professor. Our health involves so much more than just access to medical care. This years winners have come up with outstanding ideas to make individuals and communities physically and emotionally healthier in many different ways.

The 2020 Winners

The seven honorees are:



The Delaware Department of Correction  for its initiative to improve staff emotional well-being

Polytech School District  for its young adult tobacco prevention and vaping awareness education programs in partnership with the Department of Education, Department of Health & Social Services, American Lung Association and Delaware State Police

Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy  for policy recommendations addressing the availability of healthy food

Khayree Bee  for mindfulness strategies for schools in the Colonial School District

Christiana Care Project Connect  for a partnership between a health system and the Delaware state QuitLine

Compassionate Schools Team from Academia Antonia Alonso  for providing guidance and direction when dealing with behaviors and trauma of students

Delaware Health and Social Services  for a policy to promote an overall healthy lifestyle for DHSS employees

The Selection Process

All Challenge nominees completed an extensive application process with a requirement to feature an initiative that met the following criteria:



SUSTAINABILITY: The initiative should provide ongoing opportunity for healthier living, instead of being a one-off activity.

REACH: The initiative should seek to demonstrate improvements in the capacity to address the health needs of a community or a target population.

OUTCOME/IMPACT: The initiative should demonstrate improved access and/or increased opportunities for improving behavioral and physical health in the state.

Making a Difference in Delaware

By engaging businesses, local organizations and individuals to be change-makers for health in their communities, the Lt. Governors Challenge spotlights and applauds those implementing solutions to create environments that support and sustain overall good health in the state.

The group of seven award recipients will be recognized for their achievements by the Lt. Governor at a live virtual event on October 13, 2020. Participation invitations will be sent directly to each honoree for them to share with their respective teams, friends and family.
Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has expressed hopes for improved relations in a letter to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Moon's office said on Monday, amid strained ties over history and trade.

Feuds dating back to Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea continue to dog bilateral relations, including the issues of Korean labourers forced to work at Japanese firms and women at military brothels during World War II.

The ties further soured after South Korea's Supreme Court ordered a Japanese steelmaker to pay compensation for forced labour in 2018, which prompted Tokyo to impose export curbs on some key high-tech materials.

Also Read: Trump and new Japan PM Suga discuss 'free and open Indo-Pacific': US

In a letter delivered to Moon on Saturday, Suga underscored the need for cooperation between the two neighbours, Moon's spokesman Kang Min-seok said.

"Prime Minister Suga in particular said he hoped the two countries overcome difficult issues and build a forward-looking relationship," Kang told a briefing.

Moon also sent a congratulatory letter to Suga last week, saying he was willing to sit down anytime to improve relations and foster diplomatic, economic and people-to-people exchanges.
Hours after reports emerged that a Sikh girl was abducted from Panja Sahib region of Punjab in Pakistan, India on Monday formally raised the matter. India summoned senior Pakistani diplomat of the Pakistan High Commission and issued a demarche.

In yet another case of atrocity on Sikhs in Pakistan, a 17-year-old girl named Bulbul Kaur, who is the daughter of Granthi of Gurdwara Panja Sahib Preetam Singh, was abducted 15 days ago by two Muslim men in Panja Sahib. There is no news of Bulbul since then and her family is worried thinking that she may also be forced like Jagjit Kaur to convert into Islam and get married to a Muslim man.

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"We are meeting JP Singh, Joint Secretary, Foreign Affairs, Incharge Pakistan Desk to urge them to raise this issue and seek justice," said Bulbul's family. In a video sent to Bulbul's father, she has expressed fear of being killed if she came back to her parents.

His father Pritam Singh has also filed a complaint to the deputy commissioner of Attock in Pakistan in connection with this matter. As per Bulbul's father, she had gone to dump garbage in the street at 10 pm on August 31 and had not returned to home since then. He added when the family couldnt find her, they lodged a police complaint and the police zeroed in on one Imran Masih, who was allowed to go after initial investigations. According to Bulbul's father, she called him on September 15 and said she was in a madrassa.

Members of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on Monday gathered near the Pakistan High Commission to protest the alleged abduction of a Sikh girl in the neighbouring country, as reported by news agency PTI. DSGMC chairman Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that the daughter of the head Granthi of Gurdwara Panja Sahib was abducted recently.

The Delhi Police said around 40 to 50 people staged a protest near the Chanakyapuri police station. "The protesters were requested to vacate the area following which they left. No one was either detained or arrested," a senior police officer said.

Sirsa said on September 20, a delegation of DSGMC had met an official of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), demanding that the central government raise the issue of the alleged abduction of Sikh girls in Pakistan.
Ericssons purchase of wireless WAN vendor Cradlepoint means that the Sweden-based networking powerhouse is targeting growth in the 5G and edge markets, according to experts.

The deal, valued at $1.1 billion, will see Cradlepoint become a fully owned subsidiary of Ericsson, part of the larger companys Business Area Technologies and New Business division

Cradlepoint was founded in 2006 in Boise, Idaho, and has roughly 700 employees and more than 20,000 customers, according to a deal report from 451 Research. The companys main line of business is selling 3G/4G/LTE routers and modems to service providers and directly to enterprises that want to use that type of connectivity in private networks.

Cradlepoint has a large and varied enterprise-customer base ranging from law enforcement to smart cities to transportation, and has close relationships with carrier equipment manufacturers like Ericsson, whose business has also included wireless gear, but hasnt overlapped with Cradlepoints. Ericssons main business is selling equipment to carriers, not enterprises.

While Ericsson trumpeted its intent to play a major role in the deployment of 5G in its announcement Cradlepoint is expected to play a large role in private 5G networks in the U.S.  specific technologies are likely side issues next to the broader notion of expanding the companys market share, according to Farpoint Group principal Craig Mathias.

5G will clearly play a role, but I believe the motivator is to broaden Ericsson's base, expanding into the enterprise along with the opportunity for both an immediate return as well as an evolutionary path to 5G, he said. But at present, the former is more important than the latter.

Its possible to characterize the Cradlepoint acquisition as another attempt to make headway in the enterprise private networking market, according to the 451 report on the deal--but that isnt quite whats going on here. Ericsson has made attempts to do that in the past, which were met with disfavor among the companys telecom customers. Per 451, Ericsson has downplayed that aspect of the deal, but it could still strengthen the companys hand if it ultimately decides that a renewed push on direct-to-enterprise sales is warranted.

Cradlepoint doesnt generate positive operating income yet, but the impact of the company on new parent Ericssons own books is expected to be minimal  around a 1% hit to operating margin for the next two fiscal years.
As the nation prepares for an eventual coronavirus vaccine, Gov. Ned Lamont on Monday appointed a new commission to plan for inoculating Connecticut residents when such a vaccine is safe and available.

Speaking in a news conference after a call with Vice President Mike Pences White House coronavirus task force, Lamont said the new state group, which will include representatives from the General Assembly, has a mid-October deadline, as pharmaceutical companies continue two-tier trials on about 30,000 people.

His direction to all the governors was very clear, Lamont said. Get a plan ready for distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. Its about outreach. So when we have the wide distribution of the vaccine readily available, we have people confident that they can take it, they can take it safely and itll make a difference.

Pence didnt think a vaccine will be available until the end of the year at the earliest, said Lamont, noting that the political aspects of the pandemic and the imminent presidential election have complicated the vaccine issues. The governor said that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that there will be a good supply of a vaccine by next April.

We have to build up confidence so people who are vaccine-shy, have some confidence that when we do this were doing it in an appropriate, safe and effective way, he said, stressing that Connecticut still has a 90-day stockpile of personal protective equipment, including masks, gowns and other gear. Pences group wants states to have 60-day supplies.

The governors new advisory group, which will meet in sessions available to the public, will establish priorities for handling and distributing a vaccine, including ways to communicate to residents who typically get flu vaccinations at an annual rate of about 50 percent.

Were going to do this only when its safe and and when its effective, Lamont told reporters. He announced that over the weekend three more fatalities occurred in the pandemic, bringing the total dead statewide to 4,495, as the nation closed in on 200,000 people who have died. Connecticut net hospitalizations totaled 68, declining by nine since Friday.

Lamont was encouraged that the state infection rate remains at about 1.1 percent of those tested, and hopes that the state will continue on its current path, including a variety of educational tactics for in-school and distance learning.

The new commission, which will meet in early October, will be led by Dr. Deidre Gifford, acting commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, along with Dr. Reggie Eadie, president and CEO of Trinity Health of New England and St. Francis Hospital in Hartford.

Now the work continues, Eadie said, adding that when talking with Gifford, they agree that biggest challenge when a vaccine becomes widely available is to assure the public it is safe and effective. We want to address any insecurities that exist in the community, Eadie said. We promise to be transparent with the work that were doing. These are unprecedented times, in any form of the imagination.

Eadie hopes for a target of 70-percent participation in a vaccination program.

Not everyone will be able to access a vaccine on day one, Gifford said, noting that there are some parallels to the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009. Making clear how that process will happen is one of the major tasks that he has charged the advisory group with.

Lamont noted the irony in being ordered by the White House to make plans for distributing a vaccine that isnt ready, months after the administration had consistently downplayed the effects of the virus.

Im afraid thats the inevitable truth, Lamont said. If we had gotten more direction in terms of wearing the mask, how serious that is. If we had a better stockpile in terms of masks and availability there. If we had just taken this, all of us, seriously. We took it seriously as states, I think we really took the lead on this. But lives could have been saved if everything had gotten going sooner. Lives were lost unnecessarily.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed a congratulatory message on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of Armenias Independence, the PMs Office told Armenpress.

The message reads:

Dear people, proud citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

Proud citizens of the Republic of Artsakh,

Proud Armenians of the Diaspora,

I congratulate all of us on Armenias Independence Day.

Through the referendum held 29 years ago on this day our people unanimously declared the independence of Armenia. The September 21, 1991 referendum is one of the most important events in the history of our people, which began in 1988 with the Artsakh movement.

The results of the referendum signaled to the whole world the free will of the Armenian people to have an independent and democratic state.

During the past 29 years we faced many difficulties  war, socio-economic hardships, emigration, election frauds, October 27, political repressions, March 1, crisis situations and despair.

However, all these difficulties could not break the Armenian people. The 2018 Peaceful, Velvet and Peoples Revolution became a strong expression of state optimism, civil determination, which proved that the Armenian peoples will to have a sovereign, free, powerful and happy state is strong than ever. The sovereign and free state, the eternity of that state is at the core of the national agenda of the Armenian people, and we need to focus all our forces on the daily servicing of this agenda.

Dear compatriots,

Today I will publish Armenias 2050 transformation strategy, which is not a rigid document, but a mechanism to discuss our visions, goals on 2050 Armenia, the ways on achieving that goals, making decisions on their implementation and controlling the implementation process.

I believe that with this we are entering into a new stage of our state life, when we are governing the state with the strategic logic, when every decision made today not only has ongoing, but also 10,20, 30 years of strategic targets and goals.

This is a mechanism which should make the discussions about future, the future planning an integral part of our daily work.

In 1991 we didnt know how Armenia would be in 2020, and due to many objective and subjective reasons we didnt spend time on forming our visions for today and making their implementation a daily action.

But the time inevitably puts us before such a problem. We cannot wait for the 2050 or 2100 arrival to see how Armenia will look like. We should plan that Armenia, build it starting today. Therefore, among numerous issues we should give priority to those ones which connect us with Armenia of 2050, 2100.

The citizen of Armenia celebrating the 100th anniversary of Independence must see that we have thought not only about ourselves, but also himself, should feel our tenderness and responsibility towards Armenias future, in other words his present, should see our dreams of today already fulfilled.

I am sure we have enough will, skills, unity and wisdom to fill our daily agenda with such a work and provide institutional conditions for the eternity of Armenia and its people.

This is the key mission of our generation, and we will implement that mission together.

Long Live Freedom,

Long Live the Republic of Armenia,

Long Live us and our children who live and will live in Free and Happy Armenia!




Seoul:

Samsung Electronics reported a 50 per cent jump in fourth-quarter profits on Tuesday despite the humiliating Galaxy Note 7 recall that hammered the reputation of the worlds largest smartphone maker.

The South Korean tech giant took another blow when prosecutors began investigating its involvement in a corruption scandal that has seen the countrys president impeached, and sought the arrest of the firms de facto leader Lee Jae-Yong.

In a statement, the groups flagship subsidiary Samsung Electronics said it posted operating profits of 9.22 trillion won (USD7.9 billion) during the October to December period.

Earnings were driven by the components businesses, mainly the memory business and the display panel segment, it said, with the stronger US dollar also boosting profits.

Revenues were largely unchanged at 53.3 trillion won for the three months, the South Korean tech giant said.

For the full year, the firm said in a statement, Samsung achieved solid results despite the Note 7 discontinuation in the second halfthe only reference to the debacle that saw the company withdraw its much-publicised device.

Operating profits for 2016 reached 29.2 trillion won, up 10.7 percent year-on-year, it said, even though revenues were almost flat at 201.9 trillion won, up 0.6 percent.

Analysts anticipate the trend will continue into 2017.

We are expecting Samsung to post record-high profits

this year on the back of rising chip prices, Greg Roh, an analyst at HMC Investment Securities, told AFP.

Separately, Samsung said in a statement it will buy back 9.3 trillion won worth of its own shares.

Samsung was forced to discontinue the Galaxy Note 7, originally intended to compete with Apples iPhone, in October after a chaotic recall that saw replacement devices also catching fire.

In total 3.1 million smartphones were recalled as authorities in the US and elsewhere banned them from use on planes and even from being placed in checked luggage.

Earlier this week Samsung blamed faulty batteries from two different suppliers for the incidents, which the firm previously estimated would cost it $5.3 billion.

Samsung has also come up with elaborate step-by-step safety verification procedures for future products to prevent similar disasters, although some analysts remained sceptical.

The findings suggested a lack of attention to product testing and a tendency to rush to market for competitive reasons at the expense of quality control, said Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research.

I have confidence that Samsung will make big process changes going forward, but less confidence that the culture that led to these problems will change in the same way, he told AFP.
High Court orders removal of Birla Corp director

21 September 2020

Indias Calcutta High Court has restricted Harsh Vardhan Lodha from holding any position in MP Birla Group companies with immediate effect. As a result, he will no longer be the chairman of Birla Corp Ltd.

The decision will reportedly be appealed by the company, according to the Business Standard.

"Shareholders elected Harsh Varshan Lodha as a director of Birla Corp with an overwhelming majority of 98 per cent. Mr Lodha being otherwise not disqualified from holding the office of director, there is no reason why the verdict of shareholders will not be respected," said a spokesperson for the company.

The APL Committee, which had been appointed by the high court in 2012 to administer and manage the estate of Priyamvada Birla, has reportedly opposed Mr Lodhas reappointment in Birla Group companies for the past year.

Published under
A pilot was killed when his trainer aircraft crashed near Kushwapurawa village under Saraimeer police station area of Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday at around 11am, police said.

A senior police officer said people in Kushapurwa village told the police that the aircraft appeared to have lost height all of a sudden. It broke into several pieces when it crashed on the ground, he said.

The police reached the spot soon after receiving information from the locals, said the officer. With their help, debris was removed and a body was taken out of it.

More information about the incident is being gathered, said the officer.

Sub divisional magistrate Vagish Shukla said that the village head informed about the crashing of the aircraft and death of one person in the incident.
President Trump vowed that he would appoint a woman to fill the vacancy left by late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. There are now two conservative female judges that are at the top of President Trump's list of nominees.

Women in the Supreme Court

In a phone call with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, President Trump named Amy Coney Barrett of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago and Barbara Lagoa of the 11th Circuit in Atlanta as his possible choices, according to The New York Times.

The president stated on September 19 that he would nominate a candidate to the Supreme Court, which would boost the conservative majority on the bench. The Democrats say that the nomination should not happen until voters have picked a president in the November election.

President Trump promised that he would nominate a woman to replace the late Ginsburg, who was an icon renowned for landmark cases on gender equality.

Both Lagoa and Barrett have conservative track records, which means it is possible that they would take the court in a different direction from Ginsburg's values.

Also Read: President Trump Reveals Supreme Court Nominees If He Wins Reelection

The nominees

Barrett is viewed as an anti-abortion judge; she once said that life begins at conception, according to Politico. However, she's also questioned whether the decision to legalize abortion can be overturned and focus the funding for the procedure instead, according to Bloomberg Law.

In 2013, Barrett said that the fundamental element, that the woman has a right to choose abortion, will stand. She added that the controversy is about funding, it is a question of whether abortion will be publicly or privately funded.

Barrett is a former clerk to late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, which is said to have appealed to President Trump. The president described her as highly respected, according to the Times. Barrett is 48-years-old and was born and raised in New Orleans.

Meanwhile, Lagoa started her career by working as an unpaid attorney for the family of Elian Gonzalez, the Cuba-born boy whose custody case was embroiled in heated international and immigration controversy.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush nominated her to an appeals court, and current Governor Ron DeSantis chose her for the state's Supreme Court, making her the first Hispanic woman in that role, according to Politico.

Lagoa is 52-years-old, and her conservative credentials include membership in the influential Federalist Society. If President Trump nominates Lagoa, it could boost his odds in Florida.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was expected to start readying for the confirmation process on September 21.

Currently, there are 51 Republicans in the Senate, which is the exact number of votes needed to confirm the nominee of the president for the Supreme Court.

However, President Trump's goal to replace Ginsburg as soon as possible suffered a setback on September 20 when Sen. Lisa Murkoswki of Alaska became the second Republican senator to say that she opposes filling the Supreme Court vacancy before the presidential election.

The senator said that she would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy so close to the election.

Related Article: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Death: Trump to Possibly Choose a 'Very Talented Woman' to Replace RBG

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The current political situation and continuing protests in Belarus are making it likely that the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on Donbas would relocate its talks to Austria, head of the TCG's Ukrainian delegation, Leonid Kravchuk, said.

"It is a good proposal. Currently, the political situation in Belarus is unfavorable for our work in Minsk. The people have risen against [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko, and all signs are that protests will continue. It is very difficult to work under such conditions," Kravchuk told the news website Strana.ua on Saturday.

If nothing changes, the TCG will have to look elsewhere for a venue, he said.

Whether or not to relocate will be decided by the moderator, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, he said. "We are talking about an international venue and so the decision will also be made at the international level," he said.

During talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this week, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that Vienna was ready to host TCG talks on Donbas.

Zelensky said it was premature, in his view, to discuss possible relocation and suggested waiting until further developments in Belarus.

"Today, because of COVID-19, it doesn't matter where people meet, as long as there's a result. Today, we work by video link. Despite Austria being very supportive of us on this issue and on this sanctions issue, it is too early to discuss matters such as the relocation [of TCG meetings], because we expect the situation, a very difficult one, that is taking place in Minsk, to stabilize," Zelensky said at a joint press briefing with Kurz in Vienna on Tuesday.
A Long March-4B rocket, carrying the Haiyang-2C (HY-2C) satellite, is launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Sept. 21, 2020. The country's third ocean dynamic environment satellite, the HY-2C, will form a network with the previous HY-2B and subsequent HY-2D to carry out high-precision maritime environment monitoring. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

JIUQUAN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday sent a new ocean-monitoring satellite into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

A Long March-4B rocket carrying the Haiyang-2C (HY-2C) satellite took off at 1:40 p.m. (Beijing Time), according to the launch center.

The HY-2C, the country's third ocean dynamic environment satellite, can provide all-weather and round-the-clock observation of wave height, sea surface height, wind and temperature.

Onboard equipment enables the new satellite to provide information on the identification of vessels, and to receive, store and transmit buoy measurement data in China's offshore and other marine areas.

Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the HY-2C will form a network with the previous HY-2B and subsequent HY-2D, scheduled for launch next year, to carry out high-precision maritime environment monitoring.

The planned satellite network will be capable of carrying out 80 percent of the world's sea surface wind monitoring within six hours, said sources with the China National Space Administration.

Unlike the previous satellites HY-2A and HY-2B -- the HY-2C will be placed in an orbit with a 66-degree inclination, which will enhance its capability to revisit wind fields rapidly, according to the administration.

As of August, China has independently developed and launched seven Haiyang satellites, named after the Chinese word for "ocean" and given the "HY" designation for short. The country launched its first ocean monitoring satellite, the HY-1A, on May 15, 2002.

In 2019, China's gross marine products accounted for 9 percent of its GDP. The follow-up network of HY-2 satellites will provide data support for marine disaster relief, meteorology, transportation and scientific applications, and help further enhance the country's marine monitoring capabilities, generating more sustainable, predictable benefits, the satellite developer said.

Monday's launch was the 347th by the Long March rocket series.
The Volvo VNR Electric trucks join NFI's fleet of more than 4,500 heavy-duty tractors that support its dedicated transportation and port drayage services for customers spanning from manufacturing to retail. The pilot trucks will be based out of one of NFI's warehouse facilities in Southern California that serves as a central distribution center for the region.

"As the future of goods movement in the U.S. changes from more of a long-haul operation to regional and hub and spoke models, not only is that NFI's wheelhouse, it's an ideal scenario to immerse electrification into our regional hauling strategy," said Jim O'Leary, vice president, Assets/Fleet Services, NFI Industries. "Our executive team is excited to collaborate with the Volvo LIGHTS team to accelerate our transition to a zero-emission fleet, so that we can lower our carbon footprint, reduce our operating costs and provide a better work environment for our drivers."

Recognized as a four-time award-winning, EPA SmartWay Partner, NFI continues to implement a variety of clean vehicles and equipment to reduce its overall emissions, including electric heavy-duty trucks, near-zero emission natural gas vehicles and battery-electric warehouse equipment. Volvo's VNR Electric trucks support both NFI and its customers on their journey in meeting ambitious sustainability goals.

"By participating in the Volvo LIGHTS project, NFI is helping to prove that Volvo's VNR Electric trucks can handle the daily rigors of freight movement. NFI continues to be a leader in sustainability and it comes across in everything they do," said Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America. "NFI is realizing the immediate value the electric VNR providesnot just by eliminating emissions but creating an enthusiastic workforce complimenting the experience of driving these electric truck models. We are proud to continue to partner with NFIa leader of fleet innovation and a fellow champion of sustainable transport solutions."

Volvo's VNR Electric trucks produce zero emissions and significantly reduce heat, noise and vibrations allowing for the cleanest and most comfortable experience for drivers. "It's very quiet," said Karl Williams, a driver for NFI. "You come home feeling a lot calmer and a lot more relaxed at the end of the day."

The Volvo VNR Electric heavy-duty trucks provide excellent responsiveness, torque and performance, especially in the heavy-idling, stop-and-go nature of urban goods movement which is particularly taxing for diesel trucks.

"When I accelerate the Volvo VNR Electric truck, I can feel the power," said Francisco Delgado, an NFI driver with more than 20 years of experience operating heavy-duty trucks. "It's fast, and it's very smooth. I'm very excited to drive it."

The Volvo LIGHTS pilot project will run through 2021, enabling Volvo Trucks North America to gather real-world operational data critical to the successful commercial scaling of these vehicles.

"These types of zero-emission trucks are exactly what we need to help us achieve our clean air goals," said Wayne Nastri, South Coast AQMD's executive officer. "We are pleased with the progress made through the Volvo LIGHTS program and look forward to similar deployments throughout Southern California."

"We are excited to see another deployment of Volvo Trucks' cutting-edge, zero-emission vehicles being put into service," said Sydney Vergis, assistant chief of CARB's Mobile Source Division. "This deployment is a culmination of countless hours of collaboration. The Volvo LIGHTS partners are continuing to lead with innovation and ingenuity, charting an actionable, zero-emission path forward for others to follow."

Brett Pope, director of electric vehicles at Volvo Trucks North America, will share the latest updates on the Volvo LIGHTS project during a virtual tech update, "Charging Forward with Sustainable Transport Solutions," on Tuesday, September 22nd from 11:50 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. PT as part of the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Virtual online event series. Fleets and government agency representatives can sign up for the ACT Virtual series and participate in the tech update for free at www.act-virtual.com.

Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environmentparticularly in disadvantaged communities.

To learn more about the Volvo LIGHTS project, visit www.lightsproject.com.

Volvo Trucks provides complete transport solutions for professional and demanding customers, offering a full range of medium to heavy duty trucks. Customer support is secured via a global network of dealers with 2,100 service points in more than 130 countries. Volvo trucks are assembled in 14 countries across the globe. In 2019, approximately 131,000 Volvo trucks were delivered worldwide. Volvo Trucks is part of Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. The Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. Volvo Trucks work is based on the core values of quality, safety and environmental care.

For further information, please contact Jennifer Edwards, Volvo Trucks, phone 336-392-9396, email [email protected]

www.volvotrucks.us www.volvotrucks.ca www.volvotrucks.mx

SOURCE Volvo Trucks North America

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http://www.volvotrucks.us


Dr Kafeel Khan, suspended pediatrician of Gorakhpurs Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College who met Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in New Delhi on Monday, dismissed the likelihood of joining the grand old party.

But despite his denial, speculation is rife the Congress plans to project him as the partys Muslim face in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly election.

The party will decide at the appropriate time, said a Congress leader.

For his part, Kafeel refuted reports that he was joining the Congress.

I, along with family members, met Priyanka Gandhi to thank her for the support during incarceration in Mathura jail. The Congress not only launched a movement to put pressure on the state government for my release, but was also in contact with my family members residing in Gorakhpur, he said.

There was no talk with Priyanka about politics nor there was any indication from the Congress leadership about joining the party, he said.

Kafeel is currently staying in Jaipur. He decided to move to the Rajasthan state capital after his release from Mathura jail on September 2 on the orders of Allahabad high court.

The court had set aside his detention under the National Security Act, saying that the February 13 order against Khan by the Aligarh district magistrate was illegal.

A day after his release, he had demanded reinstatement to the post of lecturer in BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur. He was arrested in connection with his speech in the backdrop of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi, who is the Congress partys in-charge of UP, interacted via video conferencing with candidates, who appeared for the examinations for the posts of police sub-inspector (S-I) and village development officer (VDO). She has been interacting with the youths preparing for competitive examinations through video conferencing of late.

Had interaction with candidates for recruitment to posts of SI, UP (police). Its common that there is neither a clear communication nor any deadline. Somehow, the recruitment gets stuck up or obstacles are put up in the process. Government should give right to employment to the youth, instead of giving them tension about when will they get the rightful post, she tweeted.

In another tweet, she wrote about how the youth who appeared in the village development officers examination in 2018 were yet to get appointment. She said the government was not saying anything on why the appointments had not been made.
United States Postal workers in Chicago threatened to stop their delivery services after a mail carrier was shot in the city's South Side earlier this month.

Some of the postal workers deliver mail in areas in Chicago that are reportedly more violent neighborhoods.

The shot carrier was a 24-year-old woman, who was left critically and injured after being shot multiple times at 91st Street and Ellis Avenue.

The victim was said to be delivering mail on Sept. 10. The postal worker did not appear to be the target. She had been shot four times.

She was reportedly to had been caught in the crossfire during a drive-by, according to a report.

Reports further noted that she was the second mail carrier wounded by gunfire doing rounds.

Another mail carrier was also affected by a gunfire. The postal worker was shot in March while on the job and survived.

Another postal worker was shot in the South Side of Chicago after a day the second worker was shot.

On Friday, Chicago postal workers rallied to demand the city officials to address the treat to the workers' safety while doing their jobs.

Mack Julion, president of the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Letter Carriers, urged workers to stop delivering mails where they feel unsafe.

"Any letter carrier who does not feel safe in any one of these communities then they are not to deliver mail and customers have to pick up their mail. We are not going to have another situation where the letter carrier is shot down," Julion said.

The 24-year-old postal worker that was shot while on the job is still in the hospital.

The Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Service Inspection is offering a reward worth $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. Spencer Block, with the US Postal Inspection Service in Chicago, said that it is devastating to hear.

Block added that they have been working around the clock to solve the shooting investigation.

Meanwhile, other states have been seeing shootings that affect postal workers too. A postal worker in Virginia was also reportedly shot and left with serious injuries.

Reports said that the shooting incident occurred in Woodbridge at the 3500 block of Buffalo Court. The postal worker had "serious" but non-life-threatening injuries.

Prince William County Police said that the suspect was a Black male who wore a light-colored shirt, dark pants, and no shoes.

One postal worker said he is terrified after he thought he had been shot just blocks away from where one of his colleagues was shot. The incident happened last Friday in the Burnside neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.

A postal worker thought he had been shot when a car pulled up and started firing in his direction. However, he found that he was hit with paintballs. The paintball assault occurred after 24 hours of the 24-year-old female postal worker shooting.

Postal workers and neighbors held a vigil on Thursday night for the latest postal worker who was shot in Chicago.

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Guwahati/Shillong/Aizawl, Sep 21 : Educational institutions in four -- Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland -- of the eight northeastern states partially re-opened on Monday after a gap of six months with strict Covid-19 guidelines, officials said.

Many schools in the four states witnessed low attendance on the first day of reopening while some students were sent back for coming without consent letters of the parents or face masks.

Officials in Guwahati said that thousands of schools re-opened across Assam for students of classes 9 to 12 with a maximum attendance of 20 students per class.

"The students carried no objection certificates from their guardians for attending classes. Only 50 per cent of teachers and non-teaching staff are allowed to attend schools," the officials said.

According to the officials, students of classes 9 and 12 would attend classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while the rest 3 days are reserved for class 10 and 11 students.

Thermal screening of students and staff was being done while social distancing norms are being maintained.

In Meghalaya, after months of closure due to the pandemic, educational institutions partially reopened too with voices of students again echoing in a number of schools and the teachers clearing their doubts on Covid-19 related issues.

"Schools in Meghalaya partially opened for students of class 9 to 12 to interact with the teachers to clear their doubts and queries but there would be no regular classes and no classroom sessions," an Education Department official told the media in Shillong.

The Nagaland government also partially allowed reopening schools from Monday for students of Class 9 to 12, on a "voluntary basis", to seek academic guidance from the teachers.

In an order, Chief Secretary Temjen Toy said that up to 50 per cent of teaching and non-teaching staff, residing outside containment zones, were allowed to attend the schools at a time.

"Students of classes 9 to 12 allowed to attend their schools, in areas outside the containment zones only, on voluntary basis, for taking guidance from their teachers subject to written consent of their parents or guardians and strict adherence to all the provisions in the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)," an Education Department official said.

Reopening of schools, Industrial Training Institutes and skill development centres was allowed by the Mizoram government from Monday for students of Class 9 to 12 outside the containment zones.

The Union Home Ministry's Unlock-4 guidelines allowed students of classes 9 to 12 to visit schools on a "voluntary basis" from September 21 for academic help.

With schools across the country closed since March. classes are conducted online, and links to online study material are sent via WhatsApp, emails and SMS.

The partial reopening will also be allowed for skill or entrepreneurship training institutions.
A Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) member works on the move from the State Correctional Institution Graterford to nearby SCI Phoenix, in a photograph published by the prison's public information office. Many prisoners later accused CERT officers of vandalizing their property with racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic words and symbols. Read more

On July 28, after staff searched their dorm at State Correctional Institution Houtzdale, Aaron Tyson and his cellmates were left to sort through the disordered rubble of their property.

Tyson spotted something unfamiliar peeking out of a pile on his bunk: The frayed end of a string made from a torn sheet. He pulled it free and held it up to show the others, asking them what it was.

That looks like a noose, he said one told him.

Tyson and two other men who witnessed his discovery say the noose was left by a Correctional Emergency Response Team  colloquially a CERT team, a black-clad, SWAT-like group of state prison staff that does not wear badges or name tags as it conducts searches and other special operations. The team was called into SCI Houtzdale for searches the same week a guard there was charged with trafficking drugs into the prison.

In at least four state prisons over the last two years, including SCI Phoenix in Montgomery County, prisoners have accused CERT teams of actions including destroying legal documents, smearing food or detergent into paperwork or clothing, or explicitly invoking hate symbols, such as hand-drawn swastikas or lewd, racist and homophobic epithets scrawled across family photos and clipped obituaries.

A Department of Corrections spokesperson, Susan McNaughton, said an investigation into the Houtzdale allegation was completed and it had been determined staff did not make a noose. She did not respond to follow-up questions to confirm whether the noose existed or where it came from. No staffer was disciplined as a result of the allegations at Phoenix.

But, McNaughton said in an email, Every CERT member is expected to demonstrate a high level of professionalism. ... I cannot legitimize these claims, but I can tell you that the department takes these claims seriously and will investigate.

Tyson, a 45-year-old Black man from Philadelphia, said he would not normally speak out  not about the destruction of his property, not even the photos of his sister and mother in their coffins being torn up and tossed on the floor by a toilet. But the noose, he said, amounted to some emotional or psychological terrorism. It seemed like an allusion to lynching, he said: If they can do that, tie a noose, they might even try to hang somebody. I dont know.

Robert Brookins and Barshay Dunbar said they saw Tyson find the noose. All three said they filed grievances that were quickly denied.

In late August, the Abolitionist Law Center (ALC) organized a call-in day about the incident. ALCs Bret Grote said that only then were the prisoners interviewed.

In his view, its part of a pattern. Clearly this is not the first time weve seen allegations of overt racism amounting to a level of dehumanization," he said.

CERT teams are not new to the Department of Corrections. Each state prison has a 25-person team, which receives specialized gear and training on topics like weapons handling, chemical munitions, search procedures, riot baton, and building entry. Those teams are part of three regional teams that come together for twice-yearly training.

Teams can be deployed to quell disturbances that may develop within a DOC facility. Teams are also used to conduct large-scale search operations. ... CERT is activated when a higher level of security is required to accomplish the mission, McNaughton said.

On some occasions, CERT members from multiple institutions are called in for those special operations  and prisoners say its those traveling CERT teams that have left a path of destruction and hate symbols.

Angus Love, a longtime prisoners' rights lawyer, said CERT teams' most notable turn in the news came in 1989, after prisoners were transported out of SCI Camp Hill during a riot at that prison to the now-closed Graterford Prison in Montgomery County. The CERT team was all pumped up and made the inmates walk a gauntlet of CERT team members, and as they walked, they were shocked with stun guns, kicked, punched, etc., and many ended up in the hospital. Thirteen CERT members were charged in federal court; some pleaded guilty, while the rest were largely acquitted.

More recently, he pointed to the 2018 mass transfer of prisoners from Graterford, which was being decommissioned, to Phoenix.

They feared too many of the Graterford guards were African American guys from the same neighborhoods as the inmates and they were too friendly, so they brought in CERT teams from upstate, Love said.

Scores of prisoners complained that their possessions were vandalized or stolen by the CERT teams, or smeared with food or detergent.

In federal lawsuits and a private criminal complaint in Montgomery County Court, they disclosed photocopies of family photos covered in swastikas, or defaced with drawings of penises scrawled near the mouths of young children. Several provided copies of photographs of loved ones in coffins that were torn up, sliced up or defaced. A prisoner who alleged his Native American spiritual objects had been stolen or damaged said in a federal lawsuit that the loss was so painful, he had attempted suicide and been hospitalized.

The DOC ended up paying out at least $70,000 of taxpayers' money to compensate prisoners at Phoenix.

 READ MORE: What happened in the rush to open Pennsylvanias biggest, most expensive prison? (from 2019)

The dynamic of these teams is complicated, said Cynthia Link, a corrections consultant and a former superintendent of Graterford, who for a brief time served on a CERT team.

The teams are self-contained. They pick their members. They work out together. They socialize together. Theyre a tight team," she said. They develop a culture, often rooted in the culture of their home prison  but amplified by the high-stress, emotionally taxing, and isolating job of being a prison emergency responder, wearing riot gear, wielding a baton or rifle.

Some people, when they get that sense of power and authority, it makes them feel big and it makes them get dangerous. It makes them think, I can do anything I want," she said. "Somehow that gets fueled because they are really very special. The other half of this is, I need some of these guys. I need what you do as a superintendent ... to keep everyone safe.

Since the incident at Phoenix, similar claims have emerged.

Shamone Woods, then a prisoner at SCI Greene, alleged in a federal lawsuit that a CERT team in 2018 trashed all his personal property, including photos and legal paperwork for his case.

And in January, at SCI Mahanoy, Russell Showers described a scene almost identical to what happened at Phoenix.

A CERT team searched his dorm, he said, acting like teenagers on mischief night." Just like at Phoenix, he found peanut butter smeared on clothing, personal items taped to windows, eyeglasses broken, toilet paper and laundry detergent strewn everywhere.

Most disturbing was the vandalism he said was done to his family photos. He provided photocopies: penises and vulgar, racial comments drawn on pictures of his 8-year-old granddaughter; homophobic slurs on photos of his teenage nephew and an uncle; and a swastika drawn on a picture of Showers himself with the words white power fag.

Given that he will soon be considered for parole, he said, he was wary of speaking out. A lot of people here are afraid to voice anything, stand up for anything," he said in a letter.

He said he filed a grievance, but had not received a response.

Link said the investigations into such incidents are done in earnest. But hard proof is required, otherwise attempts to discipline staff are overturned on appeal.

It cant be circumstantial, she said. There would have to be some kind of corroborating witness, because nobody is going to believe an inmate.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21)  Infrastructure conglomerate Megawide is taking on another big-ticket project as it bagged the contract for the construction of part of the Malolos-Clark Railway with two Korean companies.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, Megawide said it had been awarded the contract for the Malolos-Clark Railway Project (MCRP) Package 1 with partners Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (Hyundai E&C) and Dong-ah Geological Engineering Company Ltd. (Dong-ah).

The notification of award was issued to the consortium on September 18, added Megawide.

Megawide, Hyundai E&C and Dong-ah shall provide construction and engineering works for some 17 kilometers of viaduct structure for the MCRP, costing around 28 billion, or over half the conglomerate's current 48-billion order book.

Megawide said the project is expected to boost the company's construction revenue in the coming three to four years.

"We are honored to be working with the Philippine Government on the MCRP," said Megawide chairman and CEO Edgar Saavedra. "Not only will this project, once totally completed, spur growth in Central Luzon, it will also increase connectivity and unlock exciting commercial opportunities between Metro Manila and Clark."

In July last year, the Asian Development Bank signed a $2.75-billion loan with the Philippines to help fund the construction of the 53-kilometer Malolos-Clark Railway. The stretch is part of the 163-km North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), a project of the Transportation Department.

The NSCR, meanwhile, is co-financed by the ADB with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which had pledged $2 billion in funding.

The MCRP Package 1 is Megawide's second flagship infrastructure project this year, coming a few months after the conglomerate bagged the original proponent status for the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport with Indian company GMA Infrastructure Limited.

The tandem is also known for having developed the Clark and Mactan-Cebu international airports.
Costco branch in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul





By Kim Jae-heun







The government implemented a law in 2014 mandating local retail giants to get consent from small traders at nearby traditional markets when opening a supermarket in the area.







The purpose of the law was to create an ecosystem promoting win-win business between small dealers and large retailers.







However, it turned out that Costco was not much affected by the regulation.







In April last year, the American multinational retailer opened its new branch in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, despite the government's request to postpone it.







One thousand small traders from Deokpung Traditional Market opposed the opening of Costco's new outlet in the town and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups had held arbitrations between the two parties four times already.







Costco was fined 40 million won for ignoring the government's request.







It did exactly the same three years ago, when the American retailer opened a branch in Songdo, Incheon. It paid a penalty then too.







In the end, Costco was able to continue its skyrocketing sales growth in Korea.







Its revenue jumped to 4.17 trillion won last year from 2.86 trillion won six years ago, when the restriction was adopted.







In the case of Lotte Shopping, which runs Lotte Group's supermarkets and department stores in the country, it has failed to win approval from Seoul City to break ground on a new building.







Local retailers have to get permission from the local government to start construction but the Seoul Metropolitan Government has not authorized Lotte Shopping to do so. Costco obtained approval from Gyeonggi Province and Incheon Metropolitan City to begin construction.







For seven years, Lotte Shopping has left a 20,000-square-meter site in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, untouched. It spent 197.2 billion won to purchase the land to build a shopping mall there.







However, one of the 17 traditional markets in the vicinity did not agree to the opening of Lotte Group's shopping mall.







Lotte Shopping said it cannot defy the government like Costco did because Lotte is a Korean firm.







"The cases are different for us and Costco. However, I can say that we are in a different position when it comes to deciding whether to respect the local government or government's request or not," a Lotte Shopping official said.







The startups ministry said local governments had already authorized opening of Costco's branches in Songdo and Hanam and all it could do was impose a 40 million won fine.







"Instead, we ordered preventive actions against Costco's two branches like restricting sales of certain items and providing free services. This is to make sure that small traders in the nearby traditional markets are not financially damaged by the American retailer," a ministry official said.


The Abraham Accords may herald new security structures for the Middle East By Amb. Dore Gold



President Donald J. Trump, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Foreign Affairs for the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan participate in the signing of the Abraham Accords Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, on the South Lawn of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead) The Abraham Accords are a turning point in the Middle East. The UAE has become an important power not just in the Persian Gulf, but around the Horn of Africa. Israel touches on the same geographic region, creating many areas for cooperation. Both countries can use their alliance with the United States to shape responses to the Iranian threat. The Emiratis are very enthusiastic about the breakthrough, which Israel can surely appreciate as previous peace partners did not feel the same way. In turn, Israel will advocate for their peace partners in Washington, as they did with the Jordanians. The Abraham Accords create new possible security structures for the Middle East in the future. Israel is currently in a position similar to that of Europe at the end of World War II, when the United States was planning to pull out and Russia would fill the vacuum. In response, the United States created NATO. Security structures are very important in light of changes in the region, and partners can help design a different Middle East based on stable players. Israel has a legitimate argument about its qualitative military edge, but it is not against the Emiratis. If Israel suddenly decides to go easy on qualitative military edge (QME), the ultimate effect will be on other Arab states who are not at peace with Israel and would try to exploit such a QME pullback. In terms of the Palestinians, the key is whether they are ready to consider reasonable proposals. President Mahmoud Abbas was not ripe for a deal toward the end of the Obama years, and the same situation holds today. Since the time of Israeli strategist Yigal Allon, it has been widely accepted that certain portions of the West Bank would be retained by Israel and certain territories would be returned. When Israel accepted the Trump peace plan, it accepted the territorial divisions in the proposal as being relevant for the future. Israel has the opportunity to work with Arab state partners on how to use normalization to impact the territorial configuration in a peace settlement with the Palestinians. For instance, Palestinians need an arrangement to increase their gross national product; perhaps the new regional partnerships could facilitate routes for trucking and trains from Haifa to the West Bank to Jordan to the Gulf. The Palestinians would financially benefit as conduits for trade. It is important to consider how peace between Israel and Arab states can interact to create better outcomes for the region. Ambassador Dore Gold has served as President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs since 2000. From June 2015 until October 2016 he served as Director-General of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Previously he served as Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels Ambassador to the UN (1997-1999), and as an advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Home
Polands LGBT-free zones are causing uproar with the EUs president saying they have no place in Europe.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in her first State of the Union address, said that LGBT-free zones, are humanity-free zones.

They have no place in our Union, von der Leyen said, adding that the commission would soon put forward a strategy to strengthen LGBT rights in Europe.

She did not mention Poland by name, but did not need to.

People take part in the 'March of Normality' against LGBT 'propaganda' in Poland on Sunday. Source: AAP

About one-third of Poles now live in communities that have passed resolutions declaring their opposition to the promotion of LGBT rights.

The resolutions carry no binding legal powers, but they are seen by critics as discriminatory. Most were approved in the conservative eastern and southern areas of Poland.

In one such example, a resolution passed last year by the legislature of Malopolska, the region surrounding the Polish city of Krakow, expressed firm opposition to the emerging public activities aimed at promoting the ideology of LGBT movements.

Polish residents take part in the Equality Parade in Katowice earlier this month. Source: AAP

The resolution said such activities interfere with the social order and were oriented at the annihilation of values shaped by the centuries-old heritage of Christianity.

Similar assertions are often expressed at the highest levels of government in Poland and by the powerful Catholic church.

Jarosaw Kaczynski, the leader of the right-wing Law and Justice party that has governed Poland since 2015, recently called the LGBT rights movement a threat to the very foundations of our civilisation.

People pray in front of St Mary's Basilica during an anti-LGBT gathering at the Main Square in Krakow, Poland last year. Source: Getty Images

Polish President Andrzej Duda won reelection in July after a campaign in which he called the LGBT movement an ideology more dangerous than communism.

In her European Parliament address on Wednesday, von der Leyen countered such rhetoric.

I will not rest when it comes to building a union of equality, Ms von der Leyen said.

A Union where you can be who you are and love who you want  without fear of recrimination or discrimination.

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She added being yourself is not your ideology.

Its your identity and no one can ever take it away, she said.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
The Dearborn Police Department is investigating the shooting death of a 26-year-old resident.

Police were called to the 2700 block of Holly at about 6 p.m. Sunday on reports of a man with a gunshot wound.

Police and fire officials responded and gave first aid on the man.

The wound proved to be too much for the man, who died at an area hospital shortly after arriving there.

His name has not been released.

This is a tragic situation and our condolences go out to the family of the victim, Police Chief Ronald Haddad said. The Dearborn Police Department will use all available resources to apprehend the person(s) involved. We are urging the public to come forward with information regarding this crime.

While the investigation is ongoing, police have said they dont believe the shooting was random. It is being investigated as a homicide.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Dearborn Police Department at 313-943-2241.
Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star via Getty Images

Aaliyah* faced a lot of pressure and professional oversight working in an Extendicare long-term care home in the Toronto area over the past two years, but what she saw during the COVID-19 pandemic couldnt compare. Amidst growing COVID-19 cases in April, she describes a lack of communication from management, inadequate training for frontline workers, some isolated patients missing meals, and slings being used across bedroom doors to prevent patients from wandering  there were even talks of sedating patients to control their movements.

One moment stood out to her as being particularly disturbing. We were at our peak and didnt want any more positive [COVID-19] results coming up, because once that positive comes up, youre in outbreak for another two weeks, Aaliyah told Yahoo Finance Canada. A doctor ordered a nurse to swab patients and send them to the lab. But then the administrator found out and said, dont send them. Aaliyah warned the doctors that the administrative team was trying to stop the swabs from getting out. This eventually led to a back-and-forth argument between the doctor and administrative team until the doctor said Im ordering the swabs and Im done.

After the swabs were tested for COVID-19, Aaliyah says, one test came back positive.

The Long-Term Care Problem in Ontario

The COVID-19 pandemic called the state of for-profit long-term care homes in Canada into question. In Ontario, 57 per cent of nursing homes are for-profit, followed by private non-profits, which account for 26 per cent, and municipal homes which make up 16 per cent. As of late June, the private for-profit homes reported the highest mortality rate at nine per cent, versus non-profit homes (5.25 per cent) and publicly-operated municipal homes (3.62 per cent), according to the Ontario Health Coalition.

In Ontario, for-profit long-term care homes held the majority of COVID-19 fatalities and have the highest rate of mortality during the pandemic than other care home types. This data is based on figures collected in June and assumes an average between the minimum and maximum number of fatalities in homes reporting

The higher mortality rate from patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 doesnt surprise Amit Arya, a palliative care physician with a special interest in long-term care, holding joint faculty appointments in the Division of Palliative Care at McMaster University and the University of Toronto.

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"It is about prioritizing profit over people. That's the whole principle when we're running any sector like a business, he told Yahoo Finance Canada in an interview. What will happen is that any extra money that's in the system will not be reinvested into the care of the people, and also the well-being and safety of the health workers."

Arya added that for-profit homes tend to lag non-profit and municipal homes in safety upgrades. Upgrading these homes, Arya says, would avoid crowding issues in senior homes where three or four residents can be assigned to a single room, increasing the likelihood of virus transmission.

From over-crowding to under-staffing and a lack of equipment, a report by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) regarding its intervention in care homes exposed many shortcomings. Among them was the Altamont Care Community owned by Sienna Senior Living, where families of residents launched a class action lawsuit against the company.

Yahoo Finance Canada compiled a breakdown of the COVID-19 fatalities in long-term care homes in Ontario as of June 25. Of the four major operators, Sienna and Revera held the most fatalities with 14 and 11 per cent of the total 2,079 recorded deaths, respectively. Other for-profit homes held about 40 per cent of resident deaths.

Canadas major senior care and retirement operators, including Chartwell, Revera, Extendicare and Sienna, each suffered resident fatalities from the pandemic. Yahoo Finance Canada compiled the long-term care case data across for-profit homes under these operators, which run between 80 to over 200 homes** each across the country and have over 10,000 employees each, finding that the distribution of deaths has largely been balanced across the companies. They held a combined 34 per cent of all deaths reported in long-term care homes by late June while holding approximately 41 per cent of all Ontario residents in its homes. Other for-profit homes in the province took up 40 per cent of the COVID-19 deaths, held largely by residences like Orchard Villa (with 78 resident deaths as of June), Eatonville Care Centre (42 resident deaths) and Hawthorne Place (42 deaths) - all of which were named in the CAF report.

Public alarm over the deaths prompted companies like Sienna and Revera to write messages to stakeholders.

The Business of For-Profit LTC Operators

At the head of investment decisions, the boards across major operators in Ontario include few directors with backgrounds in medical or senior care. Major operators like Chartwell, Revera, and Sienna are led by boards heavily weighted with real estate, investment and business professionals. Directors and managers with a medical or senior care background make up a small portion. The for-profit operator Extendicare has a board with a larger proportion of directors who have experience in nursing and medicine, and have more members who formerly served on medical boards.

Arya says the lack of medical expertise on boards of long-term care homes is a problem. On these boards  or the people in administration in these long-term care facilities  should not only have healthcare experience, but they should have healthcare experience in the needs of seniors and people with disabilities." Arya went further to add that these boards should have representation from actual residents or family caregivers with ground-level experience of what these homes need.

Arya says the focus on profit-making in real estate is setting up a problem for Canadas senior healthcare sector. "A nursing home is not a real estate investment, Arya said. It shouldn't be."

For Aaliyah, walking the floors of Extendicare in the peak of the pandemic highlighted conflicting priorities. "I'm not surprised that the board of directors [dont have] a health background. Like my administrator, for example, she doesn't, said Aaliyah. A lot of people say she saves a lot of money, but my question is, at whose expense, she added. I see that a lot in our home. The profit is always coming before the care and particularly when I have conversations with my administrator."

Despite the pandemic, Chartwell reported 1.2 per cent growth in total resident revenue of $2.6 million, and a net loss of $1.9 million (compared to $1.6 million in 2019) according to second quarter results released on August 6. Chartwell also reported a decline in quarterly EBITDA with $65.9 million in Q2 2020 compared to the $76.1 million in Q1 2020. Despite declining occupancy from May to July, the companys dividend stayed the same as the previous quarter.

Chartwell has focused on developing new properties and property acquisitions to boost its top-line growth. The pandemic strained the companys income, with a lower occupancy across its property portfolio while taking on the expenses of developing and acquiring other properties.

Extendicare also maintained its dividend and in its second quarter results reported an adjusted EBITDA of approximately $11 million, as well as a 4.7 per cent increase in revenue to $281.9 million over last year which was driven by COVID-19 funding, LTC funding enhancements and growth in retirement living and other operations. A spokesperson from Extendicare explained that COVID-19 funding refers to support received from the provinces to address pandemic-related expenses, including pandemic pay for frontline and homecare workers, bringing on additional staff and increasing supply needs.

In this same release, the operator stated it received $21 million under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). The statement explained that the funding would be used to maintain staffing levels and the company anticipates seeking additional funding in the upcoming weeks.

Sienna suffered a drop in EBITDA in 2020 to $54.4 million, compared with $66.1 million in 2019. Last year, the company announced an increase in its quarterly payout by two per cent and has since maintained its dividend.

In a conference call discussing Q2 results, recently appointed CEO Vlad Volodarski explained the companys post-pandemic goals. As provincial economies begin to gradually re-open and numerous restrictions are being lifted, we are resuming our leasing activities, including virtual and traditional personalized tours for our prospective residents.

British Columbias Government-Involved Solution

Long-term care homes in British Columbia reported fewer outbreaks and fatalities related to COVID-19 patients, including in for-profit homes, reaching 121 deaths in late June.

Dr. Jennifer Baumbusch, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia School of Nursing, says the government deserves the praise for the low virus impact. I think it was definitely more on the government's part, and on SafeCare BC [that the spread was mitigated], Baumbusch told Yahoo Finance Canada. I think that without the government support, we would have seen this spread happen much more rapidly across our care homes.

The B.C. government guaranteed increased salaries for frontline healthcare workers to prevent the need for them to work shifts at multiple homes which could widen the spread of the virus, and ensured there was an adequate supply of personal protective equipment. This support was available for all care homes, whether they were publicly-funded, non-profit or for-profit.

Non-profit homes spent $10,000 (or 24 per cent) more per resident per year than for-profit homes despite receiving the same amount of public funding, according to a report by the Office of the Seniors Advocate. As far as publicly funded hours that residents spend with hands-on direct care workers, the for-profit sector was short of the target by 207,000 funded hours, whereas non-profits exceeded the amount of direct care hours they were publicly funded to deliver by 80,000 hours.

So, definitely that creates differences in quality and the amount of staff time with each resident and all of that is going to play out in terms of the risk that they're taking if something like a virus or a pandemic situation occurs, Baumbusch explained.

Quebec

In Quebec, the COVID-19 outbreak reporting between non-profit and for-profit homes was less consistent than British Columbia and Ontario. Government health sites categorize these homes between residential and long-term care centers (CHSLD) and private seniors residences (RPA) homes. CHSLD homes house residents with a significant loss of autonomy who require more hands-on care. RPA homes allow residents to have more independence, but still have on-site staff. By late July, the Government of Quebec reported 5,714 deaths across all homes, the majority of which were reported in CHSLD homes at 69 per cent. RPA homes reported 17 per cent of deaths in long-term care homes across the province in comparison.

Quebec health authorities compiled data on the COVID-19 cases and deaths, finding that CHSLD homes held the majority of deaths at 69 per cent of the total reported deaths.

Company Responses

Chartwell shared a statement with Yahoo Finance Canada about the companys response to the COVID-19 crisis, saying that while some homes in its portfolio have had outbreaks, the majority remained COVID-19 free. The statement addressed the companys for-profit revenue model, saying Revenue in LTC is 100% controlled by the government. No profit can be generated from government funding for resident care and services. What is not spent on care and services is returned to government.

Arya says statements like these are misleading, explaining that public funding isnt used for profit; its used for fixed operating expenses.

It is important to note that not-for-profit and municipal homes will spend all envelope funding on resident care, Arya explained. Any left over money will be reinvested into the care of the residents, rather than siphoning it away. For-profit homes will minimize the cost of front-line care, and avoid other important needs such as building improvements, creating a reserve fund etc. to ensure that shareholders have the highest return on their investment.

Regarding the quality of care in for-profit homes Chartwell said that 38 per cent of Ontarios 626 long-term care homes have been built to 1970s standards, which include many three to four-bedroom ward rooms where distancing has been a challenge. The company stated that 83 per cent of these older homes are privately owned by for-profit operators.

Extendicare told Yahoo Finance Canadas that the difficulty of containing the virus came from the fact that many symptoms were not immediately visible, but says it is testing its staff members.

We categorically disagree with the oversimplified assertion that a homes ability to manage a COVID-19 outbreak comes down to ownership model. Rather, its a complex mix of a number of factors, the statement said, citing older homes and the unknown traits of the COVID-19 virus.

Arya argues that the funding is there to redevelop these homes, though for-profit industry has been taking away billions of dollars of money to pay their shareholders. Arya added few non-profit homes had homes with old design standards. These homes have found the money to re-develop beds without the money that for-profit homes are asking for.

Cost efficiency gave way to maximizing profit, according to Arya, giving for-profit homes less capital to work with once a crisis like a pandemic hits.

The Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) told Yahoo Finance Canada that a number of longstanding and systemic issues left long-term care homes facing a perfect storm of conditions, which the organization outlined in a report released this year. The concerns included cohorting residents, lack of staffing, and a lack of funding.

The OLTCA is a provincially-registered group that represents 70 per cent of Ontarios long-term care homes of all ownership types, including for-profit, non-profit and municipal. A spokesperson explained that its funding comes from membership dues. The board of directors includes long-term care industry leaders, including executives from Sienna, Revera, Chartwell and Extendicare.

When asked about the lack of medical representation on the boards of long-term care homes, Sienna pointed to its recent appointment of Joseph Mapa, the former Sinai Health System chief executive officer, amongst other medical professionals and advisors who will help guide the companys policies during the pandemic.

For Aaliyah the connection between medical expertise and quality care is clear when you have a frontline seat in a pandemic. "Leadership, management, the director of care, were not walking the floors, because they themselves were afraid. They didnt see what was happening, she said. By the time we got in specialized support and other infection control specialists, we were at our peak. If we would have been prepared beforehand with that kind of expertise, a lot of the stuff could have been prevented."

*Yahoo Finance Canada has agreed to use a pseudonym for the Extendicare worker who spoke to us, as she was not authorized to describe operations within the home where she is employed.
Captain Brendan OShannassy is the founder of KATANA MARITIME, providing independent advice to Yacht Owners and their representatives. He began seafaring at 17 with a maritime cadetship with the Royal Australian Navy. He then served at sea with the Royal Australian Navy before undergoing commercial training and working in harbour tug, barge and offshore support in Northern Australia and South East Asia. He first entered yachting in the mid-90s via Ocean racing and after completing all commercial studies returned in 2001. Brendan has worked with some of the industrys most reputable yachts including captaincy of Princess Mariana, Octopus, Vava II, Amadea and Ulysses/ Andromeda. Brendan is a licensed marine pilot, ISM auditor and conducted postgraduate studies in Maritime Law and accountancy. The Family wishes to buy a yacht! What does this mean to the Family Office? Too often the thoughts and stories include: I. Cost Over-runs, II. Crew Issues, and III. Endless complexity This does not need be the case and yacht ownership can be a wonderful experience for the guests and a manageable asset from the perspective of the family office. At the same time, the family and the key decision makers should also know that a lot can go wrong when buying a (super) yacht, and spending up to nine digit amounts or even more will not necessarily mean youll end up with the right yacht for you. To begin it is worth defining what the yachting industry is. In 2018 there were 4,802 superyachts in operation recorded in the world (30m+). Of these 84% were motor yachts and 16% were sailing yachts. Since 2013 annual growth in Yacht numbers has been 12.2%. The main yacht owning nations are listed below. This list is accurate by number but there is no further breakdown by size of yachts against owning nationality. This would further adjust the list if it were possible to overlay. 1. 23.6% USA

2. 9.9% Russia

3. 6.8% Greece

4. 5.6% Italy

5. 5.3% UK

6. 5.0% Turkey

7. 3.7% UAE

8. 3.6% Saudi Arabia

9. 3.5% Germany

10. 2.1% Australia Given the significant investment in capital and operating costs there is a question that is often at the forefront of the Family Office team. Is Yacht Ownership and Yacht use really worth it? A yachting experience is like no other. The guests are moved seamlessly through all stages of their travel to and from the yacht, there are no lines and crew handle all luggage and paperwork wherever possible. On boarding the yacht, the Captain will introduce the crew, there will be specialists to look after the guests, these will include but not be limited to: I. Nurse

II. Swim Instructor (children)

III. Yoga (Vinyasa / Hatha / Relaxation)

IV. Personal Trainer

V. Spa

VI. Massage (Hot stone, Aromatherapy, Deep Tissue, Traditional Swedish, Balinese VII. Make-up

VIII. Beauty & hair styling

IX. Watersports  instructors for all equipment. These crew are for the guests sole benefit, there is no booking or wondering who else, within the limitations of rest they are available for the guests. They will have access to a wide array of equipment, again this list is only a start, there is likely to be more: JET SKIS - STAND UP JET SKIS WAKEBOARD - WAKE-SURF - WATER-SKI  KNEEBOARD

JETSURF

FLYBOARD

E-FOIL BOARD

SEA-BOB WATER SCOOTER SNORKELLING

SCUBA DIVING





Each day the yacht moves to a new destination, these are discussed with the Captain and will be optimised for both the weather and the uniqueness of the experience each location provides. It is private, the pace slows down to a yachting day where meals, swimming and relaxation guide the time. Really, nothing else compares to this personalised experience. Dont enter the race to purchase The Yacht Ownership journey is best represented as a cycle. Too often there is a race to purchase but there are steps before this that are critical to a successful ownership. In many client meetings the conversation races very quickly, within the first 15 minutes, to questions such as: What size? Who should design it? Where should I build? And, If it is an existing yacht, whats available? It moves to how much? And, as they hold up a glossy brochure, what do you think about this yacht? All exciting and understandable, but these are limiting questions and are the outputs of a process and not the foundation. The foundation is the needs analysis which can be easily described as the Vision of the Yacht Owner and it is essential. This is where with an independent advisor the future owner defines the priorities, these may include; I. an exclusive destination to entertain key business relationships,

II. a platform to explore the most remote areas of the world,

III. a private area for an extended family to spend time together,

IV. a watersports and sun platform,

Do you want to have the family and grandchildren or is it just a couple enjoying their peace? Are you lovers of the seagoing voyage and want to roam far and wide, or just appreciate the privacy and peace that a yacht offers in an anchorage with only small moves? Also, important, the number of guests 12 or less or, greater than 12, and speed vs. stability  there is always a trade-off. Recently, more owners are focusing on how do you feel about the environmental impact and how much are you willing to invest in balancing this? Overlaid are such personal preferences such as stylish and intricate or relaxed and homestyle. Important sensitivities are of course Privacy and Security. I have advised yacht owners at both ends of the above process and can say with 100% accuracy that the more time spent on the why; the better the what, how and where become. A cautionary tale from wonderful yacht owners who bought a yacht that was very fast but rolled terribly, had enormous sun decks and small tenders for a large yacht that were stylish but uncovered. What they actually wanted was a stable yacht, with shaded areas, and covered tenders to get to shore without the weather interfering with them. These are the headlines they felt, but what was more significant over time was the fuel consumption and that the ships waste management had not been updated and so they were restricted on entering many of their favourite areas. How did this happen? The would-be Yacht Owners went straight to asking a broker what was available and did not understand how the yacht that needed to be sold did or did not meet their needs. This is not a negative comment on the Yacht Brokerage community, rather the yacht owners were not able to communicate their vision to an extent that the broker could support them. This situation would have been avoided if these yacht owners had have been counselled and distilled their vision into an Ownership Proposition. With this they would have been informed and able to filter any yachts that did not meet their clearly defined wishes. The next step is finally to look at real yachts and begin market research. This remains a challenging process and requires guidance. This can be done directly, through an independent advisor or with help of a reputable broking agency. There is a note of caution at this point as if the family office chooses to liaise directly there are some risks, so many websites list all major yachts on the market. Who is really the sales agent? I would recommend finding an established and referred brokerage firm to work with that have direct contact to sellers. I speak only with respect for the leading yacht brokers. Any successful broker has gained and held the trust of many High Net Worth clients. They will not waste this currency on one poor deal. At this point and prior to commitment it is wise to have the costs modelled. A five-year budget model is appropriate as this will capture a paint cycle and full survey including dry docking. It may be galling but at this point you will see just how much the crew costs. Salary, insurance, food, uniform, repatriation flights. Annual maintenance may look reasonable but overlay a full paint and the reasonable wear and tear over a 5-year cycle it will look significantly different. It is beyond the scope of this article to go into more detail on operating budgets, but if there is one thing only that I implore a yacht-purchaser is to gain this model from an informed and unbiased advisor who has taken the time to develop the model based on your yacht and how you intend to use it. After this model process is the acquisition phase. There is always excitement and time pressure as the new yacht owner wishes to make their dream a reality. Challenging as it may seem, this is a very dangerous time to rush as the basic surveys do not tell you the yacht is truly in order; they just tell you it is maintained and safe to go to sea. Compliance surveys do not look at crew turnover, documentation, efficiency of administration and the existing management structure. Without these being inspected the chances of a negative experience escalate. Again, the successful owner and family office seeks guidance by an independent specialist in these areas. The risk of this was brought to me on taking over Captaincy of a +100m yacht on behalf of the new yacht owner. I was not involved in the purchase and beyond what was available in the public domain had no knowledge of the yacht. I joined and realized that the crew had been given mixed stories during the sale and over 80% were in the last stages of departure. One had departed after poor treatment from previous management and had cleared the yachts servers of essential information. The certificates were in order but there was no maintenance standards, service and housekeeping procedures or guest training. It took 12 months to turn this around and I still wonder what remained missing that we did not find? A knowledgeable inspection prior to purchase would have learnt this and removed many of the problems. Following the steps described, this situation can be avoided and the Yacht Owner can begin an enjoyable yacht ownership experience and the family office can relax in at least knowing the first stage is complete. The family has the correct yacht and the family office can return to the to their normal work.
Keith Lindsay, an elephant biologist with 40 years of experience, including five in the Wildlife Ministry before Masisi came to power, said he still believed that the elephants in the Okavango had been targeted and claimed that the tests did not rule out other neurotoxins available to farmers. He also called on the government to release the full test results to the public.
After finishing her rounds one morning in late July, a nurse at a major Wuhan hospital plummeted to her death from the 13th floor of the internal medicine building.

While the circumstances remain unclear, police later said Zhang Yanwans death required evaluation by specialized public mental health departments  a strong indication that the married mother-of-one likely killed herself, in a country where suicide rulings are rare.

The 28-year-olds death shocked her family, friends and colleagues, many of whom believe the months she spent fighting the central Chinese citys devastating coronavirus outbreak and arguing with hospital managers over working conditions played a part in her demise. Her former employer, Wuhan Union Hospital, has said little publicly about what happened.

The incident has also brought to boil a simmering debate about the plight of Chinas underpaid, overworked nurses, some of whom are now grappling with the psychological fallout of the Covid-19 epidemic, which has exacerbated the effect of years of high stress and exhaustion.

But those debates are scant consolation to a bereft family searching for answers after the sudden loss of their daughter. Zhangs father, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation from the authorities, told Caixin he cannot bear to live among his daughters possessions and has moved out of the family home to a hotel opposite the hospital.

Im so sad, no matter where I go or what I do, he said.

Outspoken streak

Interviewed by Caixin, several of Zhangs friends and relatives described her death as unexpected and hard to understand.

She was a cheerful, outgoing person, a loving parent to a one-year-old son and a devoted nurse, her father said.

But colleagues at Wuhan Union, where Zhang worked for five years, said she also had an outspoken streak that grated on hospital management earlier this year.

Zhang was one of the hospitals frontline Covid-19 responders when the citys deadly outbreak took hold in January. As a key medical facility located a few miles from the food market at the center of the epidemic, Wuhan Union was rapidly overwhelmed with hundreds of patients.

Amid chronic shortages of personal protective equipment, staff at the hospital soon started getting sick. Health officials first reported Covid-19 cases among Wuhan Union employees on Jan. 20, and by the end of the outbreak some 174 workers had caught the disease, accounting for more than one-quarter of all infections among medical staff in the surrounding district.

Zhangs father said the hospitals failure to protect staff left his daughter feeling dissatisfied. In late January, Zhang posted two messages on social media calling on her colleagues to resign if the hospitals director of nursing stayed in her post.

Im willing to be a martyr constantly struggling on the front lines, Zhang wrote. But Id prefer to be a martyr with bullets in my gun and body armor, not a human shield!

Zhang tendered her resignation days later, but hospital officials refused to accept it owing to special circumstances and disciplined her for the posts, her father said.

Departments grudge

What happened in the months between the outbreak and Zhangs death remains uncertain.

After Wuhans crisis eased in March, Zhang returned to her previous duties on Wuhan Unions cardiology ward. On the surface, she seemed well: The hospital honored her for her frontline work, and she appeared happy and sunny when she chatted with her parents on the social app WeChat two days before she died, her father said.

But there were also signs Zhang was under strain. Her father alleges she was bullied by her head nurse, who summarily reassigned her to the intensive care unit for training purposes and ordered her to write repeated self-criticisms in which she made groveling apologies to the nursing department for her social media posts.

One of Zhangs ward colleagues said conflict existed between Zhang and the nursing department, but declined to comment further.

Zhang died on July 29. Police ruled out foul play, but an investigation is ongoing.

Wuhan Union made one short public statement in response to Zhangs death, saying it was actively cooperating with the family and the relevant authorities to handle the aftermath of this incident. Multiple interview requests by Caixin to senior hospital officials went unanswered.

Hospital staff on duty at the time of Zhangs death mostly refused Caixins interview requests out of fear of repercussions from their employer. Those who spoke to us did so on condition of anonymity.

Zhangs family told Caixin they have been denied extensive meetings with hospital officials about their daughters death. They continue to push for the truth to come to light.

Overworked, underpaid, quitting

Zhangs death refocused attention on Chinas understaffed, overworked nursing sector.

Despite government efforts to recruit more and higher-educated nurses, the country suffers from persistent shortages. In 2018, the country counted 2.94 nurses per 1,000 people, significantly below its 2020 aim of 3.14 per 1,000 and only around a third of the ratio in the European Union. Chinas proportion of nurses to doctors also remains lower than targeted.

Many nurses in China complain of low pay. According to a national survey conducted by the government-linked China Social Welfare Foundation, more than three-quarters of nurses earn less than 5,000 yuan ($738) per month. For some, contractual arrangements that partly distribute pay according to performance force real salaries even lower.

Long hours are part of the job. According to another national survey published in 2016, half of Chinas nurses work longer than eight hours per day, 24% more than in 2010. Just under half work more than seven night shifts per month, an increase of 13% over the same period.

Many nurses say they are given excessive clerical or administrative tasks, such as writing incident reports, which add to their workloads and distract them from caring for patients. Since my first day on the job, Ive never, on any shift, eaten a full meal or gone to the toilet during work hours, out of fear something will happen to my patients, said one nurse at Wuhan Union.

Consequently, nurses are leaving the industry in droves. The outflow, combined with many hospitals reluctance to spend money on nursing, heightens the burden on those who stay.

Chinese nursing desperately needs excellent people with rich, specialist knowledge who can make clinical decisions about complex acute and chronic health issues and combine their education, research and individual nursing skills to address them, wrote Jiang Yan, the head of nursing at Sichuan University West China Hospital, in an article published in January in the industry journal Chinese Nursing Management.

Systemic burnout

Chinese nurses commonly report work-related mental health complaints including high stress, low mood and exhaustion.

Some experience verbal or physical confrontations with patients, a relatively common occurrence in Chinas health care sector.

A number of studies with limited sample sizes indicate that mental health issues may be rife in Chinas nursing sector. In January, an industry magazine published a survey in which 31% of nurses at eight hospitals in Beijing said they suffered moderate psychological abuse at work, most commonly verbal bullying or teasing from more senior colleagues.

Occupational burnout is another problem. In a 2018 study, nearly 3,500 nurses at six large hospitals in eastern Chinas Anhui province said they mainly experienced emotional distress due to exhaustion at work.

The Covid-19 epidemic exacerbated many of these issues. A study published earlier this year by the peer-reviewed American Journal of Psychiatry found that nearly half of more than 2,000 frontline and non-frontline medical workers at key hospitals in Wuhan experienced depression during the peak of the epidemic, while 41% experienced anxiety and 62% felt elevated stress.

Experts told Caixin there was a danger that some nurses may continue to experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress long after the outbreak had eased.

Despite calls in recent years for the government to speed up health care reform and expand legislation to better support nursing, many nurses interviewed by Caixin said little had changed in their hospitals.

Pressure to please too many high-status groups, like doctors and emergency room staff, means hospitals often push nurses concerns to the back of the line, said Liao Xinbo, the former head of the health bureau of South Chinas Guangdong province, adding that China should research how to provide more personalized management and address the power wielded by more specialized groups of medical workers.

They endure extremely high stress both professionally and psychologically, Liao said.

Contact reporter Matthew Walsh (matthewwalsh@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)

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The failure by state police to read him a rights form could hamstring the prosecution of a truck driver for a crash on Interstate 81 at Carlisle that fatally injured a firefighter who was changing a tire on the berm.

Police claim Robert Runyon, 49, of Newville, was intoxicated on April 13, 2018 when his tanker truck veered off the highway and struck 57-year-old Robert A. Marshall of West Virginia. Marshall, a Washington, D.C., firefighter, died eight days later. Troopers charged Runyon with multiple alcohol-related offenses including homicide by vehicle while DUI.

However, a new ruling by a state Superior Court panel has shoved the homicide by vehicle by DUI and the related alcohol-based charges against Runyon off the table.

That panel decided prosecutors cant use the results of a blood-alcohol test against Runyon because police didnt first read him a form seeking his consent to submit to that test. The decision upholds an earlier ruling by county Judge Albert H. Masland that the district attorneys office appealed to the state court.

The blood-alcohol test results are vital to the case because prosecutors claim they showed Runyons alcohol level was 0.225 percent at the time of that crash. That is well above the legal limit for a commercial driver or even for a non-commercial motorist.

Maslands refusal to allow prosecutors to use the blood-alcohol test results was based on a Superior Court ruling in another case, Commonwealth vs Krenzel, that determined the reading of the consent form is legally required before police can seek a blood sample from a motorist suspected of being intoxicated. The state Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the Krenzel decision last December.

In the Superior Court ruling in the Runyon case, Judge Mary P. Murray rejected the DAs challenge to the Krenzel ruling and its application to Runyons case. She found prosecutors hadnt preserved the right to argue that the Krenzel decision shouldnt apply to commercial drivers.

The DA could appeal the Superior Court ruling in the Runyon case to the state Supreme Court.
Senior leaders and office bearers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) met for the first time on Monday at its party headquarters since August 5, 2019, as the leaders were allowed to step out of their residences.

The meeting was presided by former minister and PDPs senior vice president Abdul Rehman Veeri and attended by 21 senior leaders including former ministers and legislators.

Party spokesman Suhail Bukhari said that in the meeting it was observed that while on one hand, the internal situation of the state is very precarious, the situation along the Line of Control (LOC) and the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is also on the boil.

It was resolved that the party would continue to fight for resolution of the basic issue and advocate dialogue and reconciliation with all the stakeholders, as envisaged in the roadmap of our party which has become even more relevant today than ever before, the PDP said in a statement.

At the meeting, the party observed that post August 5, 2019, a false semblance of normalcy is being created which in fact resembles the peace of the graveyard.

People are still shell shocked and unable to come to terms with what has happened. The situation has created a kind of a stalemate where nothing except all kinds of anti-Kashmiri steps like domicile laws etc are being pushed in a hurry, the statement said.

The spokesman said that party leaders demanded the immediate release of all political detainees irrespective of their political ideology, whether lodged in Kashmir or outside.

In the meeting leaders also expressed deep anguish over the recent spree of the killing of innocent people from Shopian, Sopore and Battamalloo and demanded that perpetrators be brought to book and families be given justice.

On September 16 for the first time after revocation of Article 370, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) youth leaders had met to deliberate on several issues at party headquarters in Srinagar.

Senior PDP leaders were earlier not allowed to hold meetings at the party office and were not allowed by the police to leave their homes. Currently almost all the PDP leaders other than party president Mehbooba Mufti have been set free. Mufti is still detained under the Public Safety Act.

The meetings of the PDP and its youth wing indicate that the government has allowed the party to resume its political activities.

The National Conference (NC) has already held a series of meetings in Srinagar and Jammu.
An elderly woman was beaten to death Monday and the suspect, her brother, was found covered in blood, just yards away from the home, hiding in a cactus bush, police said.

The ordeal began just after 8:30 a.m. when a family member called Birminghams 911 center to report a domestic disturbance inside the home at 1633 Brookfield Lane. Family. When calling 911, the family member told police the womans brother, had fled the residence.

"He was covered in blood,'' Sgt. Rod Mauldin said.

Mauldin said police arrived to find the victim unresponsive inside the residence. She was pronounced dead on the scene. Mauldin said she had been brutally assaulted.

Both the victim and the suspect are in their 80s.

Police immediately launched a search for the suspect. Crime scene tape was set up and detectives were on the scene.

Sometime later, officers suddenly noticed the suspect on the ground and concealed in the cactus bush. It appeared he was passed out. When officers rushed to him, however, he lifted up his head. Mauldin said he appeared somewhat disoriented.

It wasnt immediately clear whether he had been in the bush, just yards from the home, the entire time or if he circled back around to the scene and took cover. "He was trying to hide,'' Mauldin said. With him being in his 80s, we knew he couldnt have made it far.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service responded to the scene and treated the suspect. He was then taken into custody by officials and taken by ambulance to an undisclosed hospital. A police officer followed the transport.

Mauldin said they arent sure what led to the deadly assault and if there had been prior disturbances. Neighbors said the man at one time had lived in his own home but later moved in with his sister. The womans daughter was on the scene, as were other family members. They all declined to comment.

Three people have died in homicides in Birmingham in a span of approximately 30 hours. Melvin Earl Nelson, 59, was shot to death in the 300 block of 72nd Street North around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday, Fannie Stevenson Carter, 66, was killed in a shooting that also wounded a teen male and a man in his 70s. That shooting, in the citys Elyton Village public housing community, were linked to an altercation the previous night at the Alabama State Fair. Police said Carter and the male senior citizen were innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.

The woman killed in this mornings homicide is Birminghams 89th homicide so far this year. Of those, 14 have been ruled justifiable and once accident and therefore arent deemed criminal. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 128 homicides including the 89 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham police at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Film agencies in Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced an agreement Monday to collaborate on television production, the latest development to follow a U.S.-brokered deal between the countries to normalize relations.

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This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Film agencies in Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced an agreement Monday to collaborate on television production, the latest development to follow a U.S.-brokered deal between the countries to normalize relations.

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The Abu Dhabi Film Commission, an Emirati government agency, said it reached an understanding with the Israeli Film Fund and a Jerusalem film school seeking to strengthen commercial ties through training programs for film and television co-production and joint film festivals.

As part of the agreement, Emirati students will be flown to Jerusalem to study at Israels Sam Spiegel Film and Television School.

The film agencies hailed the agreement as a way to deepen cultural understanding between the countries.

The United Arab Emirates, along with Bahrain, signed historic agreements to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel at a White House ceremony last week.

The UAE's move to take long-covert economic ties with Israel public has already generated a dizzying series of commitments to co-operate in numerous fields.

The deals reflect a changing Middle East in which shared concerns about archenemy Iran have overtaken traditional Arab support for the Palestinians, who fiercely oppose normalization amid their efforts to have their own independent state.
The nation and the church must see the global pandemic as a call for renewed commitment to new teachings, intensified prayers and extended compassion at individual and corporate levels.



Rt Reverend Paa Solomon Grant Essilfie, Presiding Bishop of the Winneba Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana, made the call at the 59th Annual Synod held at Winneba.



It was on the theme Discipleship: teaching everyone to live like Jesus Christ, and essentially sequel to the churchs theme from last year which was Intensifying our teaching ministry towards disciple making.



The Coronavirus presents a golden opportunity for everyone to give attention to serious study of the word to help curb the influence of false teachings and practices on the air waves and social media that had bedeviled contemporary Christianity and the development of the country at large.



Bishop Essilfie said, the Gospel was evident that Jesus model of discipleship required teachers who are equipped to effectively teach both by word and deed and the Winneba Diocese has sought to do this through diverse discipleship training programmes.



The main goal of organizing such programmes is to further equip the frontline Clergy and Laity of the church to facilitate effective teaching in and outside the church and more so, we also require enthusiastic disciples who are committed to becoming like Jesus.



This is because, we ought to envisage the possibility of becoming like Jesus Christ and zealously striving to attain this as Gods expectation and motive for our Christian lives as people and also as a church.



According to the Bishop, another vital aspect of Jesus Discipleship model is the show of compassion and with regard, the COVID-19 pandemic calls for an increase demonstration of practical Christian Compassion to stem stigmatization.



He said members have been encouraged to strictly adhere to all the protocols to help keep themselves and others safe from contracting the virus.



He also called on all Methodists in the dioceses and all Ghanaians to intercede for peaceful elections in December.



On behalf of the Diocese, he commended the Churchs Ministers and Leaders who in various ways continued to get in touch with members during the ban on public gathering, which affected the Churchs Ministry in general.



He praised individuals and groups that extended a helping hand to the vulnerable and the needy and urged them to maintain such patriotism and compassionate spirit as the example Jesus Christ left for mankind to emulate for a holistic discipleship.

Source: GNA









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Islamabad, Sep 20 (UNI) In a bid to dethrone Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan's opposition parties on Sunday convened an All Parties Conference (APC) which was virtually attended by main top opposition party leaders including Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif.

"The main reason for holding the All Parties Conference(APC) was to join hands against an "incompetent' govt of people who promised building a new Pakistan but betrayed our great nation!", former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said.

Mr Sharif gave a call to the opposition to unite in their efforts against the current dispensation "Its time for the opposition to come up with a new, grand strategy to tackle the current crises in Pakistan", he asserted.

Sharif traded his guns against the influential Pakistan Army saying that their struggle is not against Imran Khan. "Today, our struggle is against those who installed Imran Khan and who manipulated elections to bring an inefficient man like him into power and thus destroyed the country" he said.

He added that the country should be run by those, who are authorised by the people through majority vote.

UNI XC RKM JAL 1612
It is not a huge surprise that actor Nicola Coughlan turns out to be a chatty and engaging interviewee. In her breakout role as the kind-hearted goody-two-shoes Clare Devlin in the television series Derry Girls, she is a luminous and compelling presence. However, so convincing is she in the part that it is quite the shock to hear her talking in a lilting Galway accent.

We have two real Derry Girls and two fakers  Im one of the fakers, she laughs. People are massively surprised when I open my mouth. I think it is disappointing for people when they realise that Im not Clare.

Fans of Derry Girls will probably get an even bigger surprise when they see Coughlan in her next role, as an English debutante in the period drama Bridgerton, slated for release on Netflix later this year.

It used to shock people [on set] when I would start talking in my English accent, then the Galway would come out and they would be even more shocked, she says.

Nicola Coughlan, second from left, with her Derry Girls colleagues Louisa Harland, Saoirse Monica-Jackson, Dylan Llewellyn and Jamie-Lee ODonnell.

Coughlan plays Penelope Featherington in the drama, which is overseen by Shondaland, the production vehicle of TV powerhouse Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grays Anatomy and Scandal.

To be working with Shonda Rhimes is mind-blowing because she is one of the most powerful women in television. Bridgerton is such a different beast from anything people will have seen before. It is super colourful, fast-paced, funny, very dramatic. It is going to be a real relief of a show for people to watch after the year weve had. It feels like escapism, it is very joyful.

Coughlan is speaking from Galway, where she is shooting a campaign for Coca-Cola. Spending time in the city has allowed her to reflect on the journey she has been on since Derry Girls became an instant phenomenon when it screened on Channel 4 at the start of 2018.

It has been crazy. Its funny being back here in Galway shooting this for Coke because I was thinking only four years ago, I was working here in an opticians here two days a week, hoping that by some magic I might get an audition or something. To think about how much my life has changed in that space of time is crazy. Getting the news about Derry Girls felt life-changing for me but I didnt know what a big deal it would be, I had no clue what it would turn into.

Coughlan grew up in Oranmore and spent lockdown there after returning from London in March.

I finished filming Bridgerton at the end of February and then my family were like, we think you should come home. I have just been trying to make the most of it. I have been spending lots of time with my nieces and nephews, which has been really nice. My mum loves it  she has me cooking, doing DIY, painting walls, picking out carpets, hanging curtains. I am definitely kept busy. This is not a holiday for me at all. I am acquiring new skills all the time. Derry Girls, with its top-notch writing and expertly pitched blend of humour and pathos, has built up an even bigger fan base since season one aired on Netflix, attracting some high-profile viewers.

When people I really admire like Lin Manuel Miranda were watching the show, that blew my mind. Shonda Rhimes had seen Derry Girls prior to casting me. I was offered Bridgerton after one audition which I thought was insane, and then they were like were big fans of Derry Girls. Considering I was working in retail not so long ago, its crazy. Im very lucky.

Coughlan also has a large following on social media, through which she connected with Queer Eye star and now BFF Jonathan Van Ness, who also played a part in helping her get through lockdown.

It is so hilarious. Jonathan is one of the people I have spoken to most over lockdown. We did a weekly Zoom quiz with some of my closest friends, my sister, and him, his best friend and his auntie. We had a theme every week. His week was very much ice-skating themed and I dont think he realised that not everyone knows as much about ice-skating as he does. Jonathan is exactly as youd imagine, only better. And much naughtier. He came to my birthday party in London in January.

It is further testament to Coughlans acting skills that the birthday in question was her 33rd. Im the oldest schoolgirl in the world, she laughs.

While working with a hugely talented ensemble cast on Derry Girls has been a rewarding experience for Coughlan, she says it does require some stamina.

It is very fun to make but it is super full-on in a way people probably dont realise. The days are very long  you could start at four in the morning and not finish until 8pm. Then theres new lines to learn for the next day. Even though it has a quick run time, Lisas scripts are very densely packed, there is a lot of dialogue to memorise in them. But thats what makes them so good and so truly Derry because they speak a mile a minute and they are so sharp and witty.

Nicola Coughlan was back in her home county of Galway shooting a commercial campaign for Coca-Cola.

Despite the quickfire strongly-accented dialogue, Derry Girls has translated well across the water, much like its Cork-based counterpart Young Offenders. Coughlan is a huge fan of that show, especially as she has a link with star Hilary Rose, who grew up in Oranmore.

Hilary was a really good friend of my sister growing up. I remember when I was a struggling actor all through my 20s and I would message Hilary for advice, and she was so kind and lovely. She brought us to the premiere of the Young Offenders film years ago. I am delighted to see it do so well because I think Cork humour is such a distinctive thing.

While Young Offenders was able to wrap its most recent series before Covid hit, Derry Girls wasnt so lucky. The pandemic has meant that filming on series three of the show has had to be delayed. Given the nature of its scenes, it is a particularly hard show to film in terms of social distancing.

It is hugely difficult. We were meant to film initially in May, then we had a second date set for August. The thing is, with the protocols, it would have meant really compromising on the vision of the show. They love to cram the five of us onto tiny pieces of furniture altogether, so theres no social distancing there. Essentially, Lisa [McGee], who created and writes the show, spoke to us about it and we are all in agreement that we want to wait until we can make the best version of series three. It is very important to us all so we dont want to a compromised version. I am waiting every day to hear news and I cant wait until we are all back together to make it.

Nicola Coughlan has joined Coca-Cola to launch This Coke Is On Us. To enjoy a free Coke until Oct 18, people can register and download a coupon from Coke's website and present it to a member of staff at one of the participating outlets.
A YOUTH was armed with a length of wood with nails when he attacked and threatened to kill a care worker in a childrens home, a court has heard.

The boy, 17, pleaded guilty to the assault at a residential care home in Dublin on Dec. 15, 2018.

Garda Rachel Byrne told the Dublin Childrens Court on Monday that the boy, then aged 15, pushed the care worker against a wall with both hands against her chest.

He kicked her knee to get her onto the ground and punched her to her head and chest, and also attempted to head butt the care worker.

Judge Treasa Kelly was told the boy spat in the staff member's face.

He also broke three door frames in the care home.

He produced a piece of wood with nails and said he would kill the injured party, said Garda Byrne, adding that he began swinging it.

The woman was thrown against a wall.

The boy, who was accompanied to court by his mother, did not address the court.

His solicitor Aonghus McCarthy confirmed the youth was entering a guilty plea.

Judge Kelly adjourned sentencing the boy who is already serving a sentence for other offences.

She said a probation report on the teen needed to be obtained.

The case resumes in October.

He cannot be named because he is a minor.
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- StonePoint Materials LLC ("StonePoint") today announced the acquisition of River Aggregates, LLC ("River"). River operates two sand and gravel facilities serving Houston and Beaumont Texas. River will complement StonePoint's subsidiary Southern Aggregates, the largest sand and gravel producer in Louisiana.

StonePoint Materials StonePoint Materials

Founded in 2011, River has quickly grown to be one of the largest independent sand and gravel producers in the Houston market. Led by industry veterans Rob Van Til and Carl Davis, who will join the StonePoint team, River provides StonePoint an attractive new Texas platform.

"River provides an excellent starting point for StonePoint's westward expansion into Texas," said Colin Oerton, Chief Executive Officer of StonePoint. "Having known Rob and Carl for many years, given their strong operational experience, customer and market knowledge we are excited to have them join our team as we continue growth."

Rob Van Til remarked, "Based on customer service, employee satisfaction, industry reputation and the adjoining Southern Aggregates markets, we considered StonePoint to be a perfect fit for River Aggregates. Carl and I are excited to join StonePoint and look forward to pursuing further market opportunities in Texas."

About StonePoint Materials

StonePoint Materials is a leading producer of crushed stone, sand and gravel serving diverse end markets including infrastructure, commercial and residential construction, and energy. Operating across ten states, StonePoint has approximately 10 million tons of annual aggregates production and offers complementary asphalt production and paving services in Tennessee and Kentucky. StonePoint operates several subsidiaries including Laurel Aggregates, Winn Materials, Southern Aggregates, McIntosh Construction, Road Builders, and River Aggregates. For more information on StonePoint, please visit our website at www.stonepointmaterials.com or contact Nicholas Coder, VP Business Development at (215) 645-4379 or [email protected].

Media Contact:

Colin Oerton

215-874-0609

[email protected]

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The country's largest lender State Bank of India on Monday said it has raised Rs 7,000 crore by issuing compliant bonds.

"The Committee of Directors for Capital Raising at its meeting of held today on September 21, 2020 accorded its approval to allot 70,000 compliant non-convertible, taxable, redeemable...debt instruments in the nature of debentures aggregating to Rs 7,000 crore, to bond subscribers," said in a regulatory filing.

The allotment of bonds to the subscribers took place on the same date i.e. September 21, 2020, it added.

The bonds qualify as tier II capital of the bank, and has face value of Rs 10 lakh each, bearing coupon rate of 6.24 per cent per annum payable annually for a tenor of 10 years, it said.

There is call option after 5 years and on anniversary thereafter, it added.

Call option means the issuer of the bonds can call back the bonds before the maturity date by paying back the principal amount to investors.

A month back, had raised Rs 8,931 crore by allotting 89,310 Basel III-compliant debt instruments to bond subscribers.

Under the globally accepted Basel-III capital regulations, need to improve and strengthen their capital planning processes.

norms are being implemented in phases since 2013 by to mitigate concerns on potential stresses on asset quality and consequential impact on performance and profitability of The banks have to comply with these regulations by end of September 2020.

stock closed at Rs 185.80 apiece on BSE, down 3.53 per cent from previous close.

(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 eight members of Parliament (MPs), who were suspended by the Rajya Sabha Chairman, have refused to leave the premises and started a protest.

These MPs - TMCs Derek OBrien and Dola Sen, Sanjay Singh of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress leaders Rajeev Satav, Ripun Bora and Syed Nasir Hussain and KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem of the CPI(M) - are holding placards and pamphlets which say we will fight for farmers.

Some MPs of Opposition parties also held protest in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament premises against the suspension of the eight members.

I condemn this kind of expulsion of the members of Rajya Sabha in such a brazen and undemocratic manner. We will protest to restore the status quo ante of our members in Rajya Sabha, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.

These eight MPs were suspended a day after ruckus in the upper house of Parliament during the passage of the farm bills. The behaviour of these parliamentarians were criticised by the ruling party leaders and the government.

Chairman of the House, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, had termed the behaviour of members unfortunate, unacceptable and condemnable and one that has tarnished the image of Parliament, particularly the House of Elders.

Two key farm bills were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha with voice vote amid unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting Opposition members who were demanding that the proposed legislation be referred to a House panel for greater scrutiny.

After the bills were passed, the Opposition called it a black day, while the ruling party members sought action against the MPs responsible for the ruckus. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, at a press conference on Sunday evening, said the behavious has tarnished the image of Parliament.

On Monday, when the proceedings began, the government moved a motion seeking suspension of eight MPs.

Amid opposition, the motion was adopted by voice vote and Chairman Naidu asked them to leave the House but they remained present and protested against the ruling.

When the Chairman names a member then that member has to leave the House. Never before a member defied the orders of the Chair. Eight suspended MPs had misbehaved, it was a type of goondaism. Theyve proved that they have no trust in democracy, Union parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said.

As the protests continued, Naidu adjourned the proceedings for 20 minutes. The House saw three more adjournments as the suspended members remained present in the House and Opposition parties protested against the decision before the proceedings werre adjourned for the day.
21.09.2020 LISTEN

His Spiritual Eminence Sheikh Mohammed Salis, the Grand Khadim and Khalifa of Sheikh Ibrahim Niass for Ghana Togo and Benin, who was the intermediary between Ghana's first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah and Sheikh Ibrahim Niass when the latter was invited in the 1960s to provide spiritual interventions for the successful construction of Akosombo Dam and formation of Organization of African Unity amongst others.

The role of the intermediary meant that Sheikh Salis Shaban was the confidant between these two high profile personalities and will have access to their inner circles. Dr Nkrumah had instructed all the security protocols at the flagstaff house to immediately open the gate without any further interrogation whenever the name Shaban was mentioned. He the young Shaban is my special messenger, Nkrumah told them. And Sheikh Salis Shaban whenever he finally arrives in front of Dr Nkrumah, he directs him to a dedicated place to keep whatever Niass had sent him with.

According to Sheikh Salis Shaban, on one particular moment, when he came to Dr Kwame at the Flagstaff, he noticed at the corner of his office a nice traditional Muslim prayer mat laid with the tasbih on it. According to Sheikh Salis Shaban, that was a great indication that Nkrumah's relationship with Sheikh Ibrahim Niass had deep impacts on his Spiritual life. '' As far i am concerned, and base on what i witnessed and heard from Sheikh Ibrahim Niass, Nkrumah had a very deep love for Islam and Muslims'' She Salis Shaban added.

This rare account of Sheikh Salis Shaban makes it unsurprising in corroborating the claim and news by many including Nkrumah's Son, Dr Gamel Nkrumah that Dr Nkrumah had accepted Islam in his latter days in Guinea Conakry and died as a Muslim

His Spiritual Eminence, Sheikh Salis Shaban recounted this on 28th May 2020 when he and the executives of Faidhatu-Tijaniyya Ibrahimiyya Council of Ghana visited Chief Umar Baba Issah, the National P. R. O of Council of National Zongo Chiefs.

By Abdulsalam Mohammed Daaru

[email protected]

0242755537
The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) filed cybersecurity charges against a title insurance provider for exposing millions of documents containing consumers personal information.

The charges are the first to be filed under DFS cybersecurity regulation, Part 500 of Title 23 of the New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations, which went into effect in March 2017 and was implemented under a phased two-year timeline.

In public comments, [DFS]Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell has repeatedly said, Cybersecurity is the biggest threat to government and industry bar none,' said a spokeswoman for Lacewell in an emailed statement. The Superintendent has emphasized the DFS cybersecurity regulation will be enforced.

In its first enforcement action under the cybersecurity reg, DFS alleged that First American Title Insurance Company exposed hundreds of millions of documents, millions of which contained consumers sensitive personal information including bank account numbers, mortgage and tax records, Social Security numbers, wire transaction receipts and drivers license images.

First American is a Nebraska-based stock insurance company and a licensee authorized to write title insurance in New York. In 2019, it wrote more than 50,000 policies in New York state, according to a DFS press release announcing the charges. As a result, First American is considered a covered entity subject to the requirements of New Yorks cyber regulation.

DFS notice of charges against First American stated that from at least October 2014 through May 2019, a known vulnerability on First Americans public-facing website made customers personal data available to anyone with a web browser.

This comes after the vulnerability was first introduced in May 2014 during a software update for EaglePro, the web-based title document delivery system that First American created and maintains on its network. The system allows title agents and other First American employees to share any document in its main document repository, known as FAST, with outside parties.

The vulnerability went undetected for years, the notice of charges alleged, adding that even after it was discovered by a penetration test in December 2018, First American allowed access to the personal and financial data of millions of its customers for six more months until the breach and its ramifications were publicized. In its notice of charges, DFS pointed to an April 2018 presentation by senior members of First Americans IT and information security management teams to its board of directors. The presentation demonstrated that within a random sample of 1,000 documents stored in FAST, 30% of those documents contained NPI but were not tagged that way.

At this error rate, potentially hundreds of millions of documents containing NPI were not designated properly, the notice of charges stated, adding that to this day, the sole control preventing EaglePro from being used to transmit NPI is merely an instruction to users not to send NPI.

First American strongly disagrees with DFS charges, the company said in a prepared media statement.

As we reported in July 2019, our investigation into the incident, conducted with an outside forensics firm, identified a very limited number of consumers whose non-public personal information likely was accessed without authorization and otherwise found no evidence of misuse of any non-public personal information, according to the statement. None of these identified consumers were New York residents.

A source familiar with the matter said First Americans investigation into the cybersecurity incident identified 32 consumers, none of whom were residents of New York, whose NPI likely was accessed without authorization. Otherwise, no evidence of misuse of NPI was found, according to the source.

In March, the Nebraska Department of Insurance (DOI), the primary regulator of First Americans title insurance company, led an examination of First Americans information security program as of June 30, 2019, and its response to the information security incident. First American alleged in its media statement that the resulting DOI report found that First Americans IT general controls environment was operating effectively and the company adequately identified and responded to the cybersecurity incident. First American also contended that the DOI examination report found the company to be in compliance with New Yorks cybersecurity requirements for financial services companies.

At First American, security, privacy and confidentiality are of the highest priority, First American said in its media statement.

First American was found to be in violation of six provisions of New Yorks cybersecurity regulation, according to DFS notice of charges. Any violation with respect to a financial product or service, which includes title insurance, carries penalties of up to $1,000 per violation. DFS contends that every instance of NPI included in the charges against First American constitutes a separate violation.

A hearing will be held at DFS offices in New York City on Oct. 26, 2020.

Topics Cyber Legislation Abuse Molestation New York
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is drawing up a package of bills on the so-called "transitional period" for the return of temporarily occupied territories, including bills on transitional justice.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said this live on the Ukraine 24 television channel.

"We are currently preparing a package of bills on the transitional period, which I will ask the parliament to adopt in advance. It will also include bills on transitional justice," he said.

According to him, these bills will give an answer to ordinary citizens living in the temporarily occupied territories, "that they should not be afraid of the return of Ukraine to these territories."

"Only those who are traitors, who have committed war crimes, genocide against humanity - of course, they should better flee, because they will be punished not only in accordance with Ukrainian law, but also in accordance with all international conventions," Reznikov said.

He also said that it was not necessary to fear the word "amnesty."

"There should be amnesty. The amnesty is constantly applied. We are studying 260 conflicts that took place on the planet Earth, and each time an official government granted amnesty. But, of course, it does not apply to war criminals, looters, psychopaths and so on," Reznikov added.

op
Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity Raffling Off Shed

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity is raffling off an 8 by 10-foot shed to raise funds toward building its next affordable home.

The shed is now built and can be seen at 762 Main St..

Tickets can be purchased online or at the Habitat office at 61 Main St., North Adams, Suite 246, from Monday through Friday, 9 to noon.

Prices are one ticket for $10, five tickets for $25, and 10 tickets for $40. Tickets will be on sale until Oct. 26. The drawing will be on Thursday, Oct. 29.
The percentage of positive coronavirus tests dropped in Pennsylvania over the past week, but Gov. Tom Wolfs administration said 10 counties bear watching due to COVID-19 cases.

The Wolf administration said 3.8% of those tested for COVID-19 in Pennsylvania were positive over the past week, down from 4.2% the previous week.

Wolfs administration said a number of counties, including some in central Pennsylvania, are being monitored because at least 5% of those tested are positive for the virus. Each week, the state updates the list of counties being tracked for higher rates of positive results.

The Wolf administration identified these counties that are being monitored: Centre (12.1%), Indiana (11.6%), York (7.8%), Juniata (7.7%), Mercer (6.7%), Lebanon (6.1%), Berks (6.0%), Chester (5.5%), Crawford (5.5%), and Bedford (5.3%).

Last week, the states online dashboard indicated 17 counties were being monitored for a higher percentage of positive cases.

The state based its assessments on cases and test results for the week of Sept. 11-17, in comparison to the previous 7-day period (Sept. 4-10).

Overall, the state reported 5,519 new COVID-19 cases from Sept. 11-17, an increase of 526 cases over the previous week. The state administered more tests, so even though there was a higher number of new cases, the percentage of positive cases declined.

Our percent positivity decreased significantly this week, showing that we continue to offer COVID-19 testing across the state to everyone who needs it, Wolf said in a statement.

At the same time, the incidence rate increased, showing that the virus continues to affect Pennsylvanians," Wolf said. "We must continue our focus on taking actions to protect ourselves and others, such as wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, washing our hands and avoiding large gatherings. Together, Pennsylvanians can be united to work to prevent the spread of the virus.

Wolf and health officials have been concerned about the uptick of infections among young people, including those on college campuses.

Centre County, which had the highest percentage of positive tests over the past week, is home to Penn State Universitys main campus. Penn State has reported more than 1,300 students at the University Park campus have tested positive, but many have recovered and university officials feel they have the virus under control. On Friday, Penn State President Eric Barron said only one student was being treated in a hospital off campus.

Level of transmission

The state also updated the level of coronavirus transmission in each county, a benchmark schools are asked to guide their response plans if students or staff are infected. Depending on the risk assessment, school districts are advised to close buildings for longer periods if they have students or staff test positive.

Two counties - Centre and Indiana - are listed as having a substantial risk of transmission. In addition, 46 counties are listed as having a moderate risk of transmission, while 19 counties are listed in the low level of transmission, the Wolf administration said.

Moderate: Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Chester, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Fayette, Franklin, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Schuylkill, Snyder, Union, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland and York.

Low: Cameron, Carbon, Clarion, Elk, Forest, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Jefferson, McKean, Montour, Potter, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Venango, Warren and Wyoming.

Travel restrictions

The state has added Nebraska and Wisconsin to the list of travel restrictions. Those visiting those states are asked to quarantine for 14 days after they return to Pennsylvania.

The state also removed Nevada from the list of travel restrictions, which is good news for those planning to visit Las Vegas.

Cases top 150,000

Statewide, more than 150,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus virus. The state passed that milestone Monday.

More than 8,000 deaths have now been tied to COVID-19, according to the health department. More than two-thirds of those deaths have occurred in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

Fewer people are being treated in hospitals for the coronavirus. The state reports 418 patients are hospitalized due to the coronavirus. In late July, more than 700 were being treated in hospitals. At the peak in the spring, nearly 2,800 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals.

More than 80% of those who have contracted the virus have recovered, the health department said. The department considers patients to have recovered when they are 30 days past the date of infection or the onset of symptoms.

On Monday, the Wolf administration raised the seating limits for restaurants and bars to 50% of indoor capacity. In July, Wolf reduced the limits to 25% of indoor seating occupancy, saying it was necessary to curb the spread of the virus.

More from PennLive

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An inquest into the death of a man with special needs who was shot in 1974 will be fair, a coroner in Northern Ireland said (Liam McBurney/PA)

An inquest into the death of a man with special needs who was shot in 1974 will be fair, a coroner in Northern Ireland said.

Patrick McElhone, from Pomeroy in Co Tyrone, died in the area following an encounter with soldiers.

His inquest is due to be held in November and a preliminary hearing took place remotely on Monday.

Coroner Justice Siobhan Keegan said: I am going ahead with this process but I am receptive and understanding of the nuances and sensitivities of evidence-gathering, but I want it done within the next four weeks for everyone.

She added: The MoD talk about openness to help.

That is what I want, within a fair structure.

Joseph Aiken QC represents some of the military witnesses.

He said: One things my clients are anxious about is that the engagement is done sensitively, given that these are people who perhaps left the Army many years ago and are now in their seventies, and that they understand there is support available to them and that they are entitled to legal advice.

The judge said she hoped many of the issues around witness appearances which had bedevilled the Ballymurphy inquest may not arise in this one and the numbers involved were much smaller.

She said the inquest would be heard in the local area and added she intended to use technology such as video link appearances to push ahead with proceedings despite the pandemic.

The MoD was ordered to disclose four pages of sensitive material within a week.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) is drawing up a document after considering legal issues and has a fortnight to submit it.

The Northern Ireland Office and Department of Foreign Affairs have been given two weeks to address their own legal issues.

Some consideration was given to what a ballistics expert would be doing as well as the calling of a specialist engineer to give evidence.

The family of the dead man was represented by Des Fahy QC.

He said there could be evidence which would assist the coroner in determining the relative position of a lance corporal and the deceased that was relevant to the questions to be answered by the inquest.

He added it was arguable that his position relative to the deceased was closer than may have been the determination of previous legal proceedings and has sought a preliminary opinion from another expert.

He said: I wanted to be candid about that and to give you all the information, primarily in relation to the position of the spent cartridge relative to the suggested firing position and the point of the entrance wound, what they tell you about the relative firing positions.
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 21 : After the Kerala high court last week came down heavily on the police for failing to tackle the protests near the state Secretariat despite Covid directives, the police registered cases against 3,000 people, which is said to be a record of sorts.

The Cantonment Police station, housed at a stone's throw from the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in the state capital has entered into the state record books with this.

It is this police station that looks after the security of the State Secretariat -- the seat of power -- which for the past eight days has been taken over by the protesters. The protesters include people from all the opposition parties, who are demanding the resignation of State Higher Education Minister K. T.Jaleel.

Jaleel has also entered into the state record books, as he became the first Kerala Minister to be questioned by the NIA and the Enforcement Directorate. He has been questioned for his role in distributing the Holy Quran that was given to him by the UAE Consulate and also the Ramzan kits, which included dates.

This came after it surfaced that all this was happening in the name of the UAE Consulate here and various Central agencies have by now arrested several people including Swapna Suresh and P. S.Sarith, two former employees of the UAE Consulate, after it was found out that gold was being smuggled.

The high court, ever since the Covid spread increased in the state, on two occasions had ordered that there should be no protests as it violated the directives of the Covid protocols.

After finding the directives getting ignored, the court again got into the act and last week reiterated that at no cost should the law be broken.

Following this, the Cantonment Police station registered 25 FIR's against 3,000 people, including 100 women for taking part in protests that were held in front of the Secretariat.

In the past eight days, the police recorded the arrest of around 500 protesters also.

The maximum cases have been registered against the various wings of the BJP, including the Mahila Morcha, followed by the activists of the various wings of the Congress party.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
A black bear can be seen bathing in a Pennsylvania family's brand new koi pond in a viral video. Many were thrilled to see the animal took an interest in the pond's rubber duckies.

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According to Viral Hog, the incident happened on July 24, 2020, in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. As shown in the clip, the bear popped into the koi pond to chill from a 90-degree day.

"We just finished building our koi pond in June and we've seen a few bears walk around it but never went in before," the description of the video reads.

A black bear walking in the forest. | Photo: Pexels

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The description added that it was more than 90 degrees on top of the mountain, so the koi pond was the ideal spot for the bear to cool off amid the sweltering heat.

While the bear enthusiastically played with the rubber duckies on the pond, the creature did not disturb any of the fish, crayfish, or frogs living in the pond, according to the video's description.

Another bear went viral after being filmed coolly eating from a garbage can outside a store.

Screenshot from the video posted by Viral Hog on September 6, 2020. | Photo: YouTube/Viral Hog

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In the comment section, one person said that although she knows the bear did some damage to the pond, that was still an incredible encounter, adding: "I especially loved when the duck 'attacked.'" Another user commented that the bear acted just like most people in public.

As reported by PEOPLE, no animals or humans were harmed during the charming bear's moment of unwinding. According to the outlet, the owner admitted that the bear did leave a few holes in the pond's liner, but that those holes could be fixed easily.

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Meanwhile, in Kings Beach, California, another bear went viral after being filmed coolly eating from a garbage can outside a store. Clearly, the animal was starving.

After that, the bear walked around the store, searching for a less trashy snack. The animal at that point noticed the chips displayed inside the store and went for them.

Screenshot from the video posted by WBFF FOX 45 on August 21, 2020. | Photo: Facebook/WBFF FOX 45

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The bear was also captured leaving through the store's automatic doors with a bag of Tostitos. In an interview, Adina Baido, who filmed the video, shared about her run-in with the animal.

According to her, the experience was frightening. However, she also admitted that it was one of the most memorable experiences she's ever had. She said it was "the coolest story I get to tell."

As reported by CBC News, animals worldwide are making their presence known on the streets and waterways as people stay in their houses in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Israel, two boars were captured going across a street in a residential area after the government required residents to remain at home in an effort to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus disease.
Former trade secretary Liam Fox is vying to be the next director general of the WTO (Jonathan Brady/PA)

UK World Trade Organisation nominee Liam Fox is hoping to snare further European Union votes as the bloc showed signs of a split over who should be the next director general.

The ex-international trade secretary successfully navigated the first round of voting last week as the list for the trade body top job was whittled down from eight to five.

According to reports, the EU  currently embroiled in tense trade negotiations with the UK  had voted as a bloc during the first round to prevent Dr Foxs progression.

But on Sunday, Hungary became the first member state to break ranks, confirming it would be voting for Dr Fox in round two.

In the second round of voting, we will support two of my former colleagues Amina Mohamed former Kenyan foreign minister and Liam Fox, former British trade minister Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian foreign minister

In a statement on Facebook, Hungarian foreign affairs minister Peter Szijjarto said his administration, following a phone call with Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday, would be supporting the candidacies of both Dr Fox and former Kenyan foreign minister Amina Mohamed.

Dr Fox is now touting for further European support as he looks to replace Brazils Roberto Azevedo, who made a surprise announcement in May that he would step down as WTO chief a year early.

In a briefing with reporters on Monday, the senior Conservative confirmed he had visited France, Germany and Poland, as well as Hungarys capital Budapest, in the run-up to the first round and that he hoped for further European backing in the next.

He said: I hope that we will get support from the European Union, not because Britain is a European country, not because Britain is a developed country  which you might think would be two of the reasons the EU might want to support the UK  but because we have an agenda which is beneficial to most of those European economies.

Hamarosan uj foigazgatot valaszt a Kereskedelmi Vilagszervezet, a WTO. Az uj vilaggazdasagi, vilagkereskedelmi... Posted by Szijjarto Peter on Sunday, September 20, 2020

The North Somerset MP, an ardent supporter of the UKs exit from the EU, was sacked from the Cabinet by Mr Johnson on his arrival in Downing Street last year but was handed the UKs WTO nomination in July.

The Scot set out his reform agenda for the organisation during the briefing, including policies which include speeding up how long it takes for the WTO to rule on trade disputes between its 164 members while also broaching the possibility of reforming the slightly opaque way of electing its director general.

The current process sees three rounds of confessions, with a five-person panel holding individual meetings with the permanent representatives of each member where the officials rank the candidates in order each time.

The behind-closed-doors system takes close to three months to complete, with campaigning kicking off in August and a winner not expected to be confirmed until early November.

Answering a question from the PA news agency, Dr Fox said: Would it be nice to have a quicker system? Yes.

Congratulations to @LiamFox for reaching the second round.



With a wealth of experience of institutional reform, and as a passionate advocate for international cooperation and free trade, the WTO would be in excellent hands under his leadership.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) September 18, 2020

Is it possible to guarantee it can be reformed? No, its not. But would it be a useful conversation to be having over the next four years? Undoubtedly.

Former director general Mr Azevedos seven-year tenure was marked by intense pressure from US President Donald Trump, who repeatedly accused the WTO of unfair treatment of the US and started a trade war with China in defiance of the WTO system.

Dr Fox stressed that any rule changes would require consensus but said he thought the speed at which judgments and dispute resolution is arrived at needed to be quicker in a bid to make the organisation more agile.

He said: Weve had cases taking years to resolve, which cannot be in the spirit of the organisation.

As well as Dr Fox and Ms Mohamed, the other three contestants in the race are Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an ex-finance minister in Nigeria who spent 25 years at the World Bank; Yoo Myung-hee of South Korea, a minister for trade, and Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri, a Saudi former economy minister and longtime banker.
Sept 21 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- A federal judge in California temporarily blocked the Trump administration's executive order curbing Americans' use of WeChat, upholding a motion from users of the popular Chinese-owned messaging and e-commerce app. https://on.wsj.com/2FZGGl1

- Auto-parts manufacturer Garrett Motion Inc filed for bankruptcy over a pandemic-driven sales drop and a dispute with Honeywell International Inc, proposing a $2.1 billion sale of the business to private-equity firm KPS Capital Partners LP. https://on.wsj.com/32NAzJG

- Donald Kendall, who built PepsiCo Inc into a snack-and-beverage juggernaut, died on Saturday. https://on.wsj.com/2ZUe6Ja

- A woman suspected of sending an envelope containing the poison ricin to the White House was arrested on Sunday soon after crossing the Canadian border, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. https://on.wsj.com/360MllM

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)
The Australian insurance sector has also started assessing its risks  with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) joining forces with the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) to initiate a test case in the NSW Supreme Court.

The test case, which will be heard on October 02, involves Hollard Insurance and a caravan park operator in NSW. However, it only aims to test the strength of particular exclusions.

AFCA clarified that it is an independent external dispute resolution body rather than a regulator. Therefore, unlike the FCA, it cannot initiate a test case or pay the legal costs incurred in a test case.

Once agreed, AFCA does not have any direct involvement in the running of the test case, the AFCA told the Australian Financial Review.

The FCA could shape the scope and nature of any such action and was a party to the proceedings. But under the AFCA rules, other than in the case of superannuation disputes, a financial firm must request AFCAs consent to have the complaint treated as a test case.

The Australian Financial Review reported obtaining a series of small business insurance policies from the likes of Steadfast, QBE, Aon Australia, Hollard and CGU. It stated that the policy wordings could save thousands of businesses from collapse if insurers pay out, noting the critical section is how they refer to threat of damage to property or persons  with the word persons potentially suggesting it could respond to COVID-19.

It speculates that Australian insurers could be on the hook for more than AU$1 billion if enough businesses challenge policies and precedents are subsequently established.
New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), the countrys largest fuel retailer, on Monday said petrol sales were up by 1% in September as compared to the corresponding period last year, on account of increasing preference for personal mobility, as lockdown restrictions eased.

This assumes importance as the Indian economy has been severely hit by the covid-19 pandemic. Energy consumption, especially electricity and refinery products, is usually linked to overall demand in the economy. Indias lockdown, the worlds largest and strictest, was the focal point of Indias strategy to contain the virus that originated in Wuhan, China.

For the first fortnight of September 2020, Indian Oils diesel sales rose 22% month-on-month, but was down 9% year-on-year whereas petrol sales is up 9% month-on-month and registered growth of 1% vis-a-vis Sept., 2019," said Indian Oil chairman, S.M. Vaidya while addressing reporters on Monday after the state-run firms annual general meeting.

This comes in the backdrop of Indias largest refiners clocking an average refinery run of 70% during AprilAugust period. This capacity utilization had increased to around 93% in the first week of July, but later come down to 75% as many state governments reimposed lockdowns. This has now marginally improved during the first fortnight of September.

Mint reported on 25 August about anonymized location data collected by Google from millions of cellphones suggesting that Indians are still wary of going out. India began gradually unlocking its economy in phases on 8 June, allowing more economic activities as part of a plan to revive growth. Mobility was severely restricted after the country imposed the worlds strictest lockdown from 25 March, bringing the economy to a near standstill.

Vaidya said that while the domestic cooking gas sales were up 10.5% as compared to the last year, the aviation turbine fuel (ATF) sales were down 56.4% as compared to last year.

Indian airlines operated a third of their scheduled domestic flights in August and ferried more passengers than previous months, but continued to witness muted demand compared to pre-covid days. Indian carriers flew 2.83 million passengers in August, down from 11.79 million in the year-ago period. Around 40.12 million passengers were carried by domestic airlines during January-August, against 94.36 million during the corresponding period of the previous year.

LPG is up 10.5% year-on-year and 14% month-on-month; Jet fuel sales is up 27.8% month-on-month but down 56.4% year-on-year," Vaidya added.

Capacity utilization of IOC, the countrys largest oil refiner, had shrunk to around 35% at the beginning of the lockdown, due to Indias petroleum product demand nosediving on account of the restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

I strongly believe that Indias energy demand is poised for robust growth in the long-term. And that disruptions like Covid-19 will only change the form in which the energy demand manifests itself," Vaidya said.

The gross refining margin the difference between the cost of processing crude and the revenue earned from the sale of finished productsthat was (-) 1.78 per barrel for the quarter ended 30 June 2020 has considerably improved. The core GRM for August20 was $10.9 per barrel, Vaidya said on Monday.

The cost of the Indian basket of crude, which comprises Oman, Dubai and Brent crude, averaged $56.43 and $69.88 per barrel in FY18 and FY19, respectively. It was $19.90 in April, $30.60 in May, $40.63 in June, $43.35 in July and $44.19 a barrel in August respectively, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. The price was $42.88 a barrel on 18 September.

Vaidya had earlier said the company doesn't expect capacity utilization to be back to pre-covid levels in the near future.

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Fight for the things that you care about, said the late, great Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.

I thought of this quote as I observed the shockingly unedifying reaction to her death, which has swiftly become the most outrageously hypocritical hyper-partisan unprincipled sh*tshow in modern US political history  and the bar for that accolade was exceptionally high.

The stakes are incredibly high.

If President Trump can force through Ginsburgs replacement before the November election, it will be the third Supreme Court appointee hell have successfully got approved in his first term  an unprecedented triple whammy for the Republicans in such a short space of time.

That would skew the Supreme Court heavily 6-3 conservative majority, which is why Democrats are so determined not to let it happen.

Fight for the things that you care about, said the late, great Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you

If President Trump can force through Ginsburgs replacement before the November election, it will be the third Supreme Court appointee hell have successfully got approved in his first term

Of course, weve been on this exact same rodeo before, just four years ago in fact.

When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, then-President Barack Obama nominated a judge named Merrick Garland to replace him.

He was seen by impartial observers as a very sound choice; a brilliantly clever man noted for his moderate and neutral judgement and someone who avoided unnecessary, sweeping pronouncements. His opinions rarely drew dissent.

But the Republican-majority Senate refused to hold a hearing or vote on the nomination because it was election year and Republicans insisted whoever won the election should get to choose the nominee.

It was an unprecedented refusal and Democrats were understandably enraged, stating correctly that it was the constitutional duty of any President to nominate a Supreme Court Justice regardless of when a vacancy occurred.

The Republicans held firm amid hugely rancorous debate, and they won.

After 293 days, Merrick Garlands nomination expired on January 3, 2017, and new President Trumps nominee Neil Gorsuch was appointed to the Supreme Court instead.

Now, the situation is reversed.

Following Justice Ginsburgs death, Republicans are demanding the right to nominate her replacement before the election  so, they are demanding the very right they refused Democrats in 2016.

When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (left) died in February 2016, then-President Barack Obama nominated a judge named Merrick Garland (right) to replace him

The Republican-majority Senate refused to hold a hearing or vote on the nomination because it was election year and Republicans insisted whoever won the election should get to choose the nominee. After 293 days, Merrick Garlands nomination expired on January 3, 2017, and new President Trumps nominee Neil Gorsuch (pictured) was appointed to the Supreme Court instead

Conversely, the Democrats are demanding whoever wins the 2020 election should have the right to nominate the replacement  so, they are demanding the very right they argued Republicans should not have in 2016.

The brazen hypocrisy on both sides is almost beyond parody.

And frankly, it makes me vomit.

Chief Hypocrite is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who led the block on Merrick Garland in 2016 by saying: The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.

On Friday, McConnell announced: Once again, we will keep our promise. President Trumps nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.

He was only rivaled in shamelessness by Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the GOPs grandees.

In March 2016, Graham was absolutely emphatic that Scalias replacement should be decided by whoever won that years election.

I want you to use my words against me, he said. If there's a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said, Let's let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.

He couldnt have been clearer, right?

Yet on Saturday, before even 24 hours had elapsed since Justice Ginsburg died, the same Lindsey Graham tweeted: I will support President @realDonaldTrump in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg.

Other Republicans have been just as two-faced.

Senator Tom Cotton, opposing the nomination of Merrick Garland, said on the Senate floor in 2016: Why would we squelch the voice of the people? Why would we deny the voters a chance to weigh in on the makeup of the Supreme Court?

Chief Hypocrite is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (pictured) who led the block on Merrick Garland in 2016 by saying: The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president. On Friday, McConnell announced: Once again, we will keep our promise. President Trumps nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate

He was only rivaled in shamelessness by Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the GOPs grandees. In March 2016, Graham was absolutely emphatic that Scalias replacement should be decided by whoever won that years election. Yet on Saturday, before even 24 hours had elapsed since Justice Ginsburg died, the same Lindsey Graham tweeted: I will support President @realDonaldTrump in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg

The same Senator Cotton told Fox News yesterday: We are going to move forward without delay, and there will be a vote on this nominee.

Of course, this is all utterly repellent, reflecting a cavernous hole inside the soul of most Republican politicians these days that is encouraged from the top by Trump who as a presidential candidate said there should be delay, delay, delay over Garland, but who as President now says no delay! over his own nominated choice.

However, the Democrats are just as nauseating.

Senate Minority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer stated in 2007, 15 months before the 2008 election, that Senate Democrats then holding the majority would oppose filling that President George Bushs lame-duck Republican presidents Supreme Court nominee, if a vacancy were to occur.

Then, in 2016, he said the complete opposite about Merrick Garland.

And now hes back to his 2007 position and insisting the American people should have their say on who replaces Justice Ginsburg.

For bare-faced cheek, Schumer is right up there with any Republican in this farce.

Not least because it was the Democrats in 2013, led by then-Majority Leader Harry Reid, who abolished the filibuster for nominations, which directly led to the current situation in which Senate Republicans need only a basic majority to confirm Justice Ginsburgs successor.

As todays Washington Post said: Cries of fear over a rapidly spreading fire dont count for much when its the arsonists doing the screaming.

But that hasnt stopped the Democrats threatening to incinerate the current Supreme Court if they win back power - and expand it from nine Justices to 15 so they can pack it with liberals.

This ludicrous act of petulance would simply provoke the Republicans into increasing it even further when they regained power, and so the merry-go-round of self-interested partisan bullsh*t would continue.

Senate Minority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer stated in 2007, 15 months before the 2008 election, that Senate Democrats then holding the majority would oppose filling that President George Bushs lame-duck Republican presidents Supreme Court nominee, if a vacancy were to occur. Then, in 2016, he said the complete opposite about Merrick Garland. And now hes back to his 2007 position and insisting the American people should have their say on who replaces Justice Ginsburg

The reaction from liberals to Justice Ginsburgs death, and the Republican move to swiftly replace her, has been typically vile and hysterical.

Theyve held vigils threatening civil war, threatened to kill Mitch McConnell on Twitter, and vowed to burn down the White House to the f*cking ground.

Over our dead bodies. Literally. tweeted former CNN pundit Reza Aslan.

You dare try and replace her right now and there will be a war,' tweeted Hollywood actor Russ Tamblyn.

If McConnell jams someone through, which he will, there will be riots, warned Washington Post freelancer Laura Bassett, more, bigger riots.

Let this moment radicalize you, snarled Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, I need you to be ready . . . We can and must fight.

Sadly, Ruth Bader Ginsburg herself cant be excused of some culpability for all this mayhem.

We were told very soon after her passing that she had made one final deathbed statement saying: My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.

I bow to nobody in my admiration of this extraordinary crusader, campaigner, champion of the underdog and fearless, fabulous Badass of a woman.

But when she left that message to the world, she must have known the firestorm it would fuel?

An interior view of the Supreme Court shows the bench draped with black bunting in honor of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

And had she stepped down from the Supreme Court during Obamas second term, this whole crisis might have been averted. Instead, she gambled on Hillary Clinton winning the last election, and lost.

Brilliant though she was, and I say this respectfully about one of Americas greatest icons, its not Ruth Bader Ginsburgs right to decide who succeeds her.

Thats always been the constitutional right of the President of the United States.

But its a right thats been tossed onto the bonfire of pathetic partisan warring by a shabby bunch of disingenuous, insincere, integrity-devoid charlatans  on both sides of the aisle.

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said that Republicans would be the the greatest hypocrites in American history if they push ahead with President Trumps nominee to a Supreme Court vote before the election.

Unusually, I think my former co-worker is wrong.

The Democrats are engaging in just as big an act of sickening hypocrisy.

And the intellectual dishonesty in Congress right now stinks like a rotten lobster.

A stain on both their ghastly houses.
In January, members of the Texas Legislature will gather for their biennial session, expecting to confront the challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the slowdown in the oil and gas economy.

This will be my fourth session. Its four months out, and I can say will be far most challenging Ive ever been part of, state Rep. Brooks Landgraf said during the weekly Oilfield Strong webinar presented by OTA Compression, OTA Environmental, Kimark and the Permian Basin Petroleum Association.

We are not going to have much money; there will probably be less revenue coming in as we write the state budget, and we are going to have redistricting because of census data, the Odessa Republican said. Were obligated to redraw districts for the House and Senate as well as the congressional delegation. It can be acrimonious as well; things are highly politicized. The partisan divide may come a bit closer. It looks like the perfect storm -- a confluence of events that will make for a difficult and challenging session for those reasons and probably more that will materialize before then.

Langraf said legislators need to set priorities.

We know we wont snap our fingers and at the end of the session make Texas look how we want. We need to focus on whats important and ensure we spend the money we do have in smart ways, invest in long-term things that are important -- transportation infrastructure and education. Take care of first things first and set up for future success later on.

When it comes to energy policy, he said, I believe Texas does it better than anywhere else in the country. Its the Legislature but also great leadership at the Railroad Commission. I hope we maintain that strong leadership on the commission, the knowledge, experience and expertise at the commission and the legacy of good oil and gas policies from the Legislature. We have that down pretty well. Were mindful of the changes or proposed changes and try to be prepared for those.

Part of my job, and of others that represent energy-producing areas is to ensure our colleagues from other parts of the state understand the industry and the people who work in the industry and their importance to the entire state, Landgraf said.

Out of 150 members in the House, he said only 16 represent areas west of Interstate 35 and they have to make the case to their colleagues that what happens in the Permian Basin can affect, for example, the petrochemical and refining complexes along the Gulf Coast. Thats why Landgraf said its important to press for investment in Permian Basin needs, such as strong road infrastructure, housing, education and health care. The current downturn is a wonderful time to make those investments, before the industry comes back.

One way is Grow Texas Fund, which Tom Craddick -- the dean of not just the Permian Basin delegation but the House -- and I worked on last session. Its something were looking to do this next session.

The Grow Texas Fund would redirect state revenues back to energy-producing areas, investing in roads, public safety and education needs.

We want to make sure whatever is proposed, were successful with whatever we do. But generally speaking, the idea is not to raise taxes, Landgraf said. I believe we have the resources available; we always have. Its prioritizing how we actually distribute the benefits the oil and gas industry produces. The oil and gas industry produces and has produced billions and billions in tax revenues for the state, specifically the severance tax the state has levied on oil and gas production for decades now.

Landgraf said that money is spent on the highway fund, the school fund and the Economic Stabilization Fund, or the rainy day fund, which he called very robust piggy bank for Texas.

Its funded entirely through oil and gas severance taxes. That money is entirely thanks to the oil and gas industry. he said. It in various ways has helped the entire state of Texas, and thats good; thats its primary purpose. But when normal times resume and things economically get back to where they were, if the rainy day fund has a sufficient balance to maintain a high bond rating, which we typically have, and the needs in state are met, rather than add and add to the fund, which doesnt bear interest, we can be smarter and more strategic about using it.

He suggested dedicating a portion of the severance taxes toward something that would have a more immediate impact on Texas residents.

Take a modest percentage of severance tax revenues and reinvest in producing areas of the state to ensure there are no shortcomings in infrastructure in the oil patch so theres enough education opportunities, workforce training, health care opportunities and, yes, broadband, Landgraf said.

So, yes, its a good place to produce oil but also a good place to live, work and raise a family. If that happens in places like the Permian or Eagle Ford, any place that produces oil and gas, if you want to keep fueling the Texas miracle, producing areas have to be safe places to do that and places conducive to having all thats needed to produce oil and gas.

Landgraf said that at the beginning of the year, Permian Basin unemployment hovered around 3.4 percent. Now, as recently as July it was 12.6 percent, down slightly from the peak of 14 percent reached in April.

This has been a tough time for industry, a tough time for people in Permian Basin. Its almost a tougher time for us in the oil patch than elsewhere in the country, he said. Were all experiencing challenges, but if anyone is built to withstand those challenges, its the people of the Permian Basin. We have experience weathering these types of storms; maybe not this complexion, but we know how to hunker down, weather the storm. In talking with industry and people in the Permian Basin, activity just below surface taking place will allow us to emerge as strong as ever when the time is right.
(Natural News) Since 2001, the modern combatant has endured numerous deployments overseas to Afghanistan and Iraq after a decade of relative peace following the Persian Gulf War in 1990. Across all services, members have engaged in traumatic combat situations with enemy, friendly, and civilian casualties resulting in 13% of veterans diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). [Citations referenced in this article are contained in the full report.]

(Article by Pam Long republished from ChildrensHealthDefense.org)

Military personnel have returned from dangerous deployments to face both public scrutiny about disputed wars and personal struggles with recollections of harrowing ordeals. Military encounter barriers to therapeutic interventions, with a priority given to drug therapy. US military members are routinely taking up to 19 prescription medications to enhance performance and reduce stress.The collateral damage is that, when current active duty, reserve members, and the National Guard are included, 20 veterans die by suicide every day in the US.

Suicide Stats

The 2018 Department of Defense Suicide Report (DoDSER 2018) details 325 active duty suicides with an additional 1,375 suicide attempts by 1,219 unique individuals. The reserve component reported 81 suicides and the National Guard reported 135 suicides. The 2019 National Veterans Suicide Prevention Annual Report summarizes 6,139 veteran suicides in 2019. Veteran suicides have been increasing annually since 2006. The number of veteran suicides has exceeded 6,000 annually from 2008 to 2017. Military members and veterans have a higher risk of suicide than their civilian counterparts. Veterans ages 18-34 having the highest suicide rate among all military subgroups with an increase of 76% from 2005 to 2017.

The two aforementioned reports have detailed the frequency, demographics, event characteristics, basic health information, contextual factors or stressors with each military suicide. These reports are intended for surveillance only and do not provide any analysis of causation.

Table 1. Population by Rate of Suicide Population Rate of Suicide US Active Duty Military 24.8 per 100,000 (2018) US Reserve Military 22.9 per 100,000 (2018) US National Guard 30.6 per 100,000 (2018) US Civilians age 17-59 18.2 per 100,000 (2018) US Veterans 27.7 per 100,000 (2017) US Veterans age 18-34 44.5 per 100,000 (2017)

Behind the Numbers

Surprisingly, DoDSER 2018 reports that 47% of active duty suicides had zero deployments. The 2019 Veterans Suicide Prevention Annual Report indicates that 919 suicides were from never federally activated reserve units and National Guard. Hazardous duty is a co-factor in PTSD and suicides, but this high rate of military members who have never deployed indicates other potentially non-trauma factors are contributing to the suicide rate. What else is going on behind the numbers?

The goal, a participant in crafting the policy said, was to give SSRIs a green light without saying so.

Age Risk & Suspect SSRIs

Veterans age 18-34 have the highest suicide rates at 45 per 100,000, while veterans age 55-74 had the lowest suicide rate at 27 per 100,000. Because younger veterans have a greater risk, other exposures should be investigated that older veterans do not have. One possibility is the increasing trend of military suicides in the US began in 2006 and is temporally correlated with the Pentagons 2006 policy that permitted and encouraged SSRI medications, discussed in Americas Medicated Army:

It wasnt until November 2006 that the Pentagon set a uniform policy for all the services. But the curious thing about it was that it didnt mention the new antidepressants. Instead, it simply barred troops from taking older drugs, including lithium, anticonvulsants and antipsychotics. The goal, a participant in crafting the policy said, was to give SSRIs a green light without saying so. Last July, a paper published by three military psychiatrists in Military Medicine, the independent journal of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, urged military doctors headed for Afghanistan and Iraq to request a considerable quantity of the SSRI they are most comfortable prescribing for the treatment of new-onset depressive disorders once in the war zones. The medications, the doctors concluded, help to conserve the fighting strength, the motto of the Army Medical Corps.

Total Load of Prescription Drugs

A Veteran Affairs study of 157 veterans with PTSD reported an average use of 6.4  3.8 prescribed drugs with a maximum of 19 prescribed drugs. These drugs were from the following 17 categories: anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, anxiolytics, hypnotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, anti-cholinergics, anti-convulsants, anti-hypertensives, diuretics, cardiovascular drugs, diabetes drugs, dyslipidemia drugs, analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs, gastrointestinal drugs, and narcotics.

Military members are at risk of cascading prescriptions due to treatment from numerous doctors over their careers. They are not likely to have one primary doctor reviewing their medical file for drug interaction or cumulative effect. Veterans are especially at risk of cascading prescriptions because as people get older, they become more sensitive to drugs. This is because medications stay in the body longer due to less muscle tissue and the liver and kidney do not process medications as effectively so medications become more concentrated.

Our findings suggest that stimulants may be a contributing factor for incident PTSD.

Risks of Stimulants in PTSD

Prescription Stimulants and PTSD Among U.S. Military Service Members reported the risk of PTSD was significantly higher in military personnel who were prescribed stimulants than those who did not. The risk of PTSD was significantly higher as the number of prescription stimulants increased and the cumulative days of use increased. Among 25,971 military personnel, with incident PTSD defined as those who did not have a history of PTSD at baseline and developed new-onset PTSD, stimulants contribute to new-onset PTSD:

We found an association between prescription stimulant use and incident PTSD. Even though only a small percentage of our sample were prescribed stimulants, our findings suggest that stimulants may be a contributing factor for incident PTSD. The use of stimulants is known to increase norepinephrine levels in the brain and previous research has demonstrated that increased noradrenergic levels at the time of a traumatic event create more vivid, long-lasting memories and fear of the event, which increase the risk of developing PTSD (Debiec et al., 2011).

Mulitiple Meds & Suicide Risks

Blanchfield Army Community Hospital (BACH) Polypharmacy Clinic reports: The increased use of central nervous system depressants (CNSD) and psychotropics are one of the many factors that contribute to suicidal behavior in soldiers. Fort Campbell reported polypharmacy (chronic use of 5 or more drugs) ranged from 2.2% to 7.6% of soldiers for each brigade, after screening out soldiers using polypharmacy short-term for surgery medications:

A pharmacy-led team established the Polypharmacy Clinic (PC) at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital. Of the 3,999 soldiers assigned, 540 (13.5%) met the initial screening criteria. Success of the pilot program led to the mandatory screening of all other Fort Campbell, Kentucky, brigades. During the first 12 months, 895 soldiers were seen by a clinical pharmacist, and 1,574 interventions were documented. Significant interventions included medication added (121), medication changed (258), medication stopped (164), lab monitoring recommended (172), adverse reaction mitigated (41), therapeutic duplication prevented (61), and drug-drug interaction identified (93). Additionally, 55 soldiers were recommended for temporary duty profiles based on their adverse drug effects. Ten soldiers were recommended for enhanced controlled substance monitoring.

895 soldiers were potentially saved from polypharmacy adverse reactions. Despite the Office of the Surgeon General directing this unprecedented polypharmacy screening pilot program at Fort Campbell, the extent to which this successful program was adopted by all military duty stations or continued beyond 2013 is unknown. The 2018 VA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Guidebook does not list polypharmacy screening as an intervention. The VA only targets one prescription drug, opioids, in the Substance Abuse Disorder program. The VA assisted 10,500 veterans in 2017 with opioid substitution.

Pain Meds & PTSD Risk

The Armys Health Promotion, Risk Reduction, and Suicide Prevention Report (2010) reports that 14% of the force is taking an opiate medication, often in addition to prescriptions for depression and anxiety. Research of pain medication and PTSD has found Those with PTSD had significantly higher use of analgesic medication (both opiate and non-opiate), as compared with non-PTSD patients. PTSD symptoms, as measured by the Posttraumatic Symptom Scale, were significantly higher in subjects who were prescribed analgesics. Among veterans, suicide rates were highest in VHA patients diagnosed with opioid use disorder.

Physical Health as a Signal

48% of active duty soldiers had visited a Medical Treatment Facility in the 90 days prior to death for general health, not mental health and not substance abuse. Physical health deteriorates with PTSD and should be included as a signal for suicide risk screening. [Link to PDF -See the full report for research details.]

In conclusion, Military personnel are routinely prescribed numerous medications with Black Box warnings for suicidal ideation, mania, psychosis, violent behavior, delusions, hallucinations, and psychotic behaviors. Many of these drugs are addictive and prescribed without a plan to wean off dependency. Instead the needed therapeutic dose will increase over time. New soldiers anecdotally report being prescribed medications for the expected stress of Basic Training, which will begin the cascading prescriptions for deployment induced trauma and pain from injuries, and will cumulate with additional prescriptions later, for deteriorating physical health associated with unresolved PTSD symptoms. The total pharmaceutical load on the modern US soldier will continue to result in over 6,000 veteran suicides per year until polypharmacy screening and mitigation is implemented and prioritized at every Veterans Health Administration program.

[CHD Note: In Part 2 of this series, Pam Long will detail various treatments for PTSD, both how current treatments are working and risks of service inherent in the current medication-heavy approach. View the full report with citations and research details.]

Read more at: ChildrensHealthDefense.org
HARVESTPLUS VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

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POSITION: BREEDER

LOCATION: INERAKINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC)

SUPERVISED BY: PROJECT MANAGER

POSTING DATE: September 16, 2020

CLOSING DATE: September 23, 2020

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Background

HarvestPlus improves nutrition and public health by developing and promoting biofortified food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals and providing global leadership on biofortification evidence and technology. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for

Nutrition and Health (A4NH). CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by its 15 research centers in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. HarvestPlus is based at the International Food Policy Research Institute

(IFPRI) and collaborates with multiple CGIAR centers and partner organizations. This position will be based in DRC and recruited through the CGIAR Bioversity and CIAT Alliance.

Position Summary

HarvestPlus is seeking a Breeder for an anticipated World Bank Multisectoral Child Nutrition and Health Project (PMNS) project in DRC. The recruitment of this position is contingent on the award of the project.

HarvestPlus seeks a highly motivated plant breeder to join DRC team. The position is responsible for achieving key breeding objectives for biofortified crops under the PMNS program. He/she will part of the HarvestPlus Crop Improvement Alliance in in coordinating and actively engaging in all activities related to product-oriented crop improvement and variety development. Breeding profiles for DRC in developing competitive profitable biofortified crops with attributes that trigger adoption by farmers embrace the range of productivity-, biotic-, abiotic- and end-use quality traits. The position has a strong training and capacity-building component.

HarvestPlus has established a global crop development research network for the worlds major staples. CGIAR centers form the nexus of development of biofortified crops, and with public/private sector NARES, civil societies and research institutions make up a research alliance that conducts tactical and strategic breeding and performance testing in target countries, related plant science/agronomy research, the development of enabling technologies, and training and capacity building. To date, 300 micronutrient dense varieties of eleven crops have been released in more than 30 countries; over 10 million farmers are growing biofortified crops and providing access to biofortified food for 50 million farming household members.

Under a World Bank loan to the Ministry of Health, HarvestPlus will be providing technical assistance services to the government of DRC.

Deliverables range from building capacity and integrating biofortification into government agricultural breeding programs, the development of quality seed markets and dissemination to farmers, creating demand for and promotion of biofortified crops and their nutritional benefits via food processors, markets, and community promoters to training of value chain partners

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Specific duties include but are not limited to:

Jointly with partners development of the biofortified crop breeding strategies for relevant profiles

Assess resource requirements to assure critical/operational program size

Lead in the identification of the critical constraints to biofortified crop production in DRC and develop new germplasm withresistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, working in close collaboration with INERA.

Lead the acquisition and increase germplasm exchange between different CGIAR centers and INERA for incorporation into local INERA nurseries.

Lead and direct in the identification of genetic resources to be used for potential parents

In close collaboration with INERA, lead and implement the following breeding activities: hybridization and selection of desired progenies; selection of early, intermediate and final germplasm products; conduct preliminary to secondary yield trials of the advanced lines; conduct advanced line adaptive research trials for; assess adaptive pattern and yield stability via multi-location trials

Support the INERA breeding teams at all levels by enhancing their capacity and supporting them to contribute breeding of biofortified crops

Establish productive and synergistic working relationships with INERA and CGIAR partners and strengthen multidisciplinary research (plant pathology, entomology, plant nutrition, and biofortification).

Represent HarvestPlus at meetings of all levels, providing updated information or presentations on biofortification breeding activities in DRC and provide regular communication and reports for donors, INERA and other stakeholders.

Required Qualifications:

Minimum of 5 years working experience: in developing countries and track-record in crop product development

Track record in product-oriented breeding; experience in beans, cassava or maize breeding would be an advantage.

Knowledge/experience in the application of novel technologies and molecular tools Experimental design and statistical analysis,

including multivariate statistical analysis.

A post graduate degree in Agriculture with specialization in plant breeding/plant sciences or related discipline

Data analysis and management.

Strong communication skills - both written and oral, in English and French.

A team player, collaborative, selfmotivated and able to work well with multicultural and multidisciplinary teams.

Must be able to work independently with minimal supervision, but also participate as a team member in accomplishment of duties.

Possess excellent leadership, advocacy, client management, and social skills

Good training, facilitation, and presentation skills.

Ability to multi-task, take initiative and work under pressure.

Strong ability to coordinate, prioritize and organize workload.

Ability to travel extensively within the project target areas.

TO APPLY

Please email a cover letter and updated resume/CV by September 23, 2020 to: HarvestPlusCV@cgiar.org. HarvestPlus will contact finalists
The monsoon session of the Karnataka assembly began on Monday amid protests by farmer organisations and the state government reaching out to opposition to cut short the session as some 50-60 MLAs are Covid-19 positive or in home isolation. The Congress, however, is in no mood to relent.

A number of farmer organisations are staging a protest march in Bengaluru against what they say are anti-farmer bills passed by the Centre and the state. Karnataka had passed a law to allow non-agriculturists to buy farmland which they could not do so till recently. In May, the state amended the APMC act which allows farmers to directly sell to private players circumventing the 160 APMCs in the state. This had attracted the ire of some farmer organisations.

Large parts of the state are also undergoing heavy rains and the farmer organisations want adequate compensation to be given to those who have suffered due to the recent floods.

The state government wants the session, which is currently scheduled for 10 days - till September 30, to be shortened to three days.

Nearly 10 members of the BS Yediyurappa cabinet - deputy CM CN Ashwath Narayan, home minister Basvaraj Bommai, among others - have tested Covid-19 positive or are under isolation. Several opposition leaders too, including former minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge, have tested positive for coronavirus and are in isolation.

Chief minister Yediyurappa tried to reach out to Congress leader Siddaramiah and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy to see whether the Business Advisory Committee could agree to shorten the session. However, till now the opposition has not agreed to cut short the session. CM Yediyurappa said he would want the opposition parties cooperation to shorten the session given the ongoing pandemic as nearly 55-60 MLAs are unable to attend the session.

While administration officials said that extraordinary precaution has been taken to ensure safety measures are in place, KPCC president DK Shivakumar, speaking to the media on Monday, said that there were more than 78 bills that the government was trying to pass which required detailed discussion. We want answers for the more than 1,600 questions we have submitted in both Houses. We want to highlight the corruption in the government while purchasing Covid care equipment. There is no question of us agreeing to shorten the session.

On the Karnataka cabinet expansion, CM Yediyurapa had said that he is awaiting directions from the party high command.
AIPA 41 contributed to implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and post-2025 development orientation, Photo: Tuan Anh

In addition to the 53rd ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting and related meetings considering proposals to forge more partnerships last week, the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA 41), which is the most important external event for Vietnams 14th National Assembly, also saw the inking, approval, and recognition of around 40 documents related to various sectors affecting the performance of ASEAN as a whole.

One of the common points of the documents is that they are ultimately aimed to foster the development of the bloc, which is currently being damaged by COVID-19. The Asian Development Bank projects that the blocs growth will decline from 4.4 per cent in 2019 to only -2.7 per cent for 2020, before bouncing back to 5.2 per cent next year.

Among the documents, a resolution on the role of parliaments in boosting the connectivity and economic recovery in ASEAN in the post-pandemic period was approved, paving the way for regional nations to design effective solutions to lift them out of difficulties and attract more investment as well.

Economic cooperation in AIPA is one of the key issues, profoundly influencing other cooperation areas in the region, stated Phung Quoc Hien, Deputy Chairman of Vietnams National Assembly (NA). The ASEAN Community aims to create a single market and manufacturing base covering the free flow of goods, services, investment, capital, and skilled labour. This will help improve the effectiveness and competitiveness of the ASEAN market, and boost the attraction of investment into the region, creating shared prosperity for the whole region.

We feel happy that, since the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) was established in 2015, we have reaped numerous achievements in economic cooperation, and hopefully bigger achievements will be harvested in the time to come, Hien added. This will also contribute to our efforts to realise the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 (ACV 2025).

ASEAN Community Vision 2025

Member states are envisioning a peaceful, stable, and resilient community with enhanced capacity to respond effectively to challenges, and ASEAN as an outward-looking region within a global community of nations while maintaining centrality.

We also envision vibrant, sustainable, and highly integrated economies, and enhanced ASEAN connectivity as well as strengthened efforts in narrowing the development gap, including through the Initiative for ASEAN Integration. We further envision an ASEAN empowered with capabilities, to seize opportunities and address challenges in the coming decade, read a statement on ACV 2025.

Our AEC by 2025 shall be highly integrated and cohesive; competitive, innovative and dynamic; with enhanced connectivity and sectoral cooperation; and a more resilient, inclusive, and people-oriented, people-centred community, integrated with the global economy to drive the regional economy forward, it said.

The states undertake to achieve a highly integrated and cohesive regional economy that supports sustained high economic growth by increasing trade, investment, and job creation; improving regional capacity to respond to global challenges and megatrends; advancing a single market agenda through enhanced commitments in trade in goods and an effective resolution of non-tariff barriers; deeper integration in trade in services; and a more seamless movement of investment, skilled labour, businesspeople, and capital.

ASEAN member states also aim to achieve a competitive, innovative, and dynamic community which fosters robust productivity growth including through the creation and practical application of knowledge; supportive policies towards innovation; a science-based approach to green technology and development; embracing evolving digital technology; promotion of good governance, transparency, and responsive regulations; effective dispute resolution; and a view towards enhanced participation in global value chains.

Nguyen Phu Trong - Party General Secretary, State President The wider world and Southeast Asia are undergoing rapid, unheard-of, and deep changes, especially under the negative impacts of COVID-19 and of strategic collisions among major nations. Globalisation, and international connectivity and integration, are facing numerous difficulties and need adjustments to be suitable to the new situation. The strong development of science, technology, and digital transformation on a global scale has posed both opportunities and challenges for all nations. In this context, the ASEAN Community in general and AIPA in particular need to foster close links and their strengths in order to adapt to the new circumstances and meet the increasing expectations of the public, businesses, and international friends. With its open foreign policy of diversification, multilateralisation of international relations, and for the sake of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development, Vietnam retains close relations with ASEAN. A strong ASEAN with a central role as an impetus for regional and international cooperation will be both the mainstay and purpose of Vietnam. Whether the ASEAN Community will become successful or not chiefly depends on how it can serve and meet the practical benefits and aspirations of the public. Lawmakers and members of parliaments are important representatives of the people as they, as the bridge, help reflect peoples voices and aspirations, and at the same time help pervading the values and benefits of the ASEAN Community to people and businesses. Over the past 43 years, AIPA has enhanced its role well, while accompanying and making practical contributions to ASEANs development. More than ever, now is the time for AIPA to continue contributing to fostering ASEANs central role in the evolving regional structure  boosting multilateralism, international connectivity and cooperation, and respecting law for the sake of peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and the wider world. AIPA 41 is of great importance, contributing to successfully implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and post-2025 development orientation, effectively responding to complicated developments in the international environment and unprecedented challenges caused by COVID-19. Nguyen Xuan Phuc - Prime Minister, ASEAN 2020 chair AIPA is a crucial organisation of legislative bodies in ASEAN. Over the past decades, AIPA parliamentary cooperation has always played an important role, combining with governments of ASEAN member states to keep peace, security, stability, cooperation and development, and strengthen the bonds among regional people. In Vietnam, the government and the National Assembly have close cooperation with mutual supplementation in performing legislative and executive tasks for a target of rapid and sustainable development, and deploying tasks of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025. The ASEAN executive and legislative channels must continue to closely combine in order to boost the successful implementation of master plans in three key pillars, namely politics-security, economy, and culture-society, and the materialisation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025. They must also pay more attention to economic connectivity and development gaps, while intermingling and harmonising ASEAN policies with national development programmes. Next, we wish that members of parliament and AIPA member parliaments will muster the aspirations and will of people, and advance proposals, together with ASEAN governments, in policies on ASEAN development orientations, and form the post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision with people placed in the centre of development. Further, AIPA member parliaments must join hands with ASEAN governments to build the ASEAN Community based on rules, respect for the law, equality, mutual respect, and settlement of all disputes and differences in a peaceful manner and with respect for international law. It is also necessary to expand relations with partners, in which ASEAN must always firmly keep its regional central role. Finally, I would like to highlight dialogues and the valued voices of National Assembly members and AIPA parliamentary members and governments that are to boost solidarity among people, contributing to further sharpening cultural values and colours, for an ASEAN community full of solidarity and mutual affection. The ASEAN-AIPA high-level dialogue at the 36th ASEAN Summit is quite effective and needs promoting. It has helped governments to deploy many policies on improving peoples livelihoods and social security, and also pervade actions and doings of governments for people. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan - National Assembly Chairwoman, AIPA 41 chair For the first time in the 43-year history of AIPA, the AIPA General Assembly has been organised online. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic having serious impacts on political, economic, and social activities of all nations worldwide, our AIPA 41 organisation demonstrates strong determination and efforts of parliaments in accompanying governments to weather all difficulties, pushing back the pandemic, and driving forwards for the prosperity and happiness of all people, and for the cooperation and development of the ASEAN Community. This is the third time that the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) has had the great honour of undertaking the important job of AIPA chair and host the AIPA General Assembly. This event underlines the role and responsibility of the Vietnamese NA and AIPAs international mission in multilateral cooperation mechanisms. It is testimony to the spirit of solidarity, cooperation, and responsibility of NA deputies who are working for the benefits of people. In this spirit, the theme of Parliamentary diplomacy for a cohesive and responsive ASEAN community, together with the theme of ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020, manifests the consensus and timely response of AIPA and its member parliaments to ASEAN governments and people in overcoming all difficulties, beefing up solidarity and cooperation, for the ASEAN Community with prosperity and sustainable development. In the AIPA Chairmanship Year 2020, the Vietnamese NA has timely, actively, and closely combined with ASEAN parliaments in organising many activities that contribute to promoting the roles of AIPA and its parliaments in the process of building up the ASEAN Community in all three pillars. Moreover, the Vietnamese NA has also actively expanded relations between AIPA and the Inter-Parliament Union, and actively contributed to the shared efforts of nations in addressing global issues. We strongly believe that with increased bonds that we are together building up, AIPA as legislative bodies of member nations will support ASEAN in enhancing the blocs central role in the regional structure, taking the initiative in responding to all opportunities and challenges, therefore contributing to maintaining peace, security and stability, with shared actions taken to protect the common benefits of the ASEAN Community from any difficulties and challenges.

Momentum for realisation

In order to materialise the AEC by 2025, the blocs member states have vowed to create a more favourable business and investment climate in favour of businesses and investors. Investment will help their economies expand exports, create employment, and ensuring social security for all people.

One of the key priorities of Vietnam as ASEAN chair for the region is boosting economic connectivity and comprehensive links within the bloc and with partners via improving the regional investment climate to attract intra-bloc and non-ASEAN funding based on the regional shared spirit of constructing a single market and a shared production base.

This year Vietnam will complete removal of almost all import tariffs imposed on goods imported from ASEAN member states, making it completely favourable for enterprises to do business in the country, especially those investing in Vietnam and then exporting products to regional markets. Notably, since the AEC was established at the end of 2015 and through tariff cuts under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, Vietnam has been attracting a great deal of regional investment while its trade ties with regional members have also improved.

Statistics from Vietnams Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that in the first eight months of 2020, Vietnam swelled investment to a number of regional markets such as Cambodia ($15.7 million), Laos ($24.7 million), Myanmar ($38.3 million), and Singapore ($19 million).

As of August 20, Vietnam wooed $90.74 billion from ASEAN member economies including Singapore ($55 billion), Thailand ($12.4 billion), Malaysia ($12.8 billion), Indonesia ($590.6 million), and the Philippines ($265.3 million).

The first eight months of 2020 witnessed Singapore making the largest investment in Vietnam with $6.54 billion registered for 153 newly-licensed projects, and Thailand with 22 newly-licensed projects registered at $1.62 billion.

According to Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade, Southeast Asia is Vietnams fourth-largest export market after the United States, the European Union, and China. Vietnams export turnover to the region surged from under $1 billion in 1995 to $18.23 billion in 2015, and $17.45 billion in 2016.

However, the figure climbed to $21.7 billion in 2017, $24.7 billion in 2018, and $25.3 billion last year, up 1.9 per cent on-year. In the first eight months of 2020, the figure hit $15 billion, down 13.6 per cent on-year.

Meanwhile, Southeast Asia is also Vietnams third-largest import market. The countrys import turnover from other member states totalled $23.7 billion in 2016, $28 billion in 2017, $32 billion in 2018 and $32.1 billion last year. The figure touched $16.7 billion in the first seven months of 2020, down 11.3 per cent on-year.

Ensuring safety for all

Tong Thi Phong, Deputy Chairwoman of Vietnams NA, stated that in order to ensure safety for individuals, businesses, and investors, as well as to contribute to ensuring the realisation of the ACV 2025, the legislature has and will continue to ensure an effective legal framework for implementing anti-pandemic activities, including social distancing, and 14-day isolation of patients and immigrants.

The NA has approved a state budget package worth VND62 trillion ($2.7 billion) so as to support the livelihoods of poor people and enterprises hit by COVID-19, while supervising activities and revising state coffers to boost public investment and economic recovery. Moreover, the NA has also enacted resolutions to help ease difficulties for businesses, Phong said.

Currently, Vietnam has spent about $708.2 million fighting COVID-19  considered a huge success, especially when comparing population size, proximity to China, and the amount spent by other nations, which in many cases has surged to billions of US dollars.

At the AIPA 41, all member states also said their nations have also issued packages worth billions of US dollars each to help enterprises and people out of difficulties caused by COVID-19. They have also agreed to boost the implementation of initiatives and priorities for the ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020, with a focus laid on responding to COVID-19 and preparing for a comprehensive recovery plan for ASEAN after the pandemic, as well as contributing to realising the ACV 2025.

The global impact of the pandemic on health, education and the economy has fundamentally changed the way in which we lead our daily lives, stated Pehin Dato Abdul Rahman Taib, representative of Bruneis Parliament. It is necessary that AIPA member parliaments maintain a forward-looking approach and carefully adapt to ensure the continuity of AIPAs work by upholding the true ASEAN spirit of Unity in Diversity.

Parliamentary representatives from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore also underlined the need to ensure safety for all ASEAN people and businesses, as this will help the bloc attract more investment and ensure trade flows more favourably.

Puan Maharani, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Indonesia conveyed her utmost appreciation to Vietnams NA for hosting AIPA 41. She emphasised on the important role of parliaments in encouraging ASEAN member states to deliver adequate policy to curb the spread of COVID-19, reduce greater economic impact and ensuring social welfare as well as performing legislative duty through passing bills related to fiscal stimulus or strengthening social safety net.

Meanwhile, Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of Singapores Parliament, underlined the need to cooperate in areas of common interest including cybersecurity, development of smart cities, and regional economic integration and transboundary challenges such as climate change, transboundary haze pollution and transboundary crime for the post-COVID-19 normal.

This would ensure that ASEAN remains resilient and relevant in the decades to come, he said.
President Donald Trump recently announced that ByteDance, TikTok apps parent company, has received "a tentative approval" for a deal with the U.S. Government. Per the agreement, Oracle ORCL and Walmart WMT will invest to acquire 12.5% and 7.5%, respectively, of the newly formed TikTok Global business.



TikTok is now devising a new company, TikTok Global, through which all TikTok services will be offered to users in the United States and most of the users in the rest of the world.



Moreover, Oracle will become TikToks secure cloud provider, which will intensify competition in the cloud space. This deal will aid Oracle to take the fight to Amazons AMZN Amazon Web Services (AWS), the dominant cloud provider, and Microsofts MSFT cloud computing arm, Azure, which only trails AWS in the cloud market.



Following the development, shares of Oracle are up more than 3.5% in the pre-market trading on Sep 21. Meanwhile, shares of Microsoft and Amazon are down around 2% in the pre-market.

Year-to-Date Price Performance

TikTok Global Set for an IPO

Per the agreement, TikTok Global will have an IPO within a years time and be listed on a U.S. Exchange, post which its U.S. ownership is projected to grow over time.



This will enable TikTok Global to continue providing its American users (over a hundred million) access to TikTok, and rev up competition in the social networking market. Per a Bloomberg article, ByteDance is pursuing a valuation of $60 billion for TikTok, citing a person familiar with the matter.



It remains to be seen on how terms evolve in the days ahead and become clearer. TikTok Global is anticipated to create more than 25,000 new jobs in the United States and pay more than 5 billion in new tax dollars to the U.S. Treasury.



Notably, TikTok Global will be majority owned by American investors, which includes both Oracle and Walmart. Further, it will operate as an independent U.S. company with headquarters in the country, and Americans making up four out of the five board of directors.



It must also be noted that all the TikTok technology will be in possession of TikTok Global and comply with U.S. laws and privacy regulations.

Story continues

Oracles Autonomous Database Strength to Boost Cloud Push

TikToks unparalleled strength in user base and the resultant huge database is a key catalyst and the latest deal raises the odds in favor of Oracle to prosper in the cloud market.



The popular app, which allows people to record and edit short videos witnessed rapid momentum during the pandemic, driven by shelter-in-place guidelines and stay-at-home wave.



As mentioned, the app boasts an estimated 100 million users in the United States alone. Moreover, per data analytics firm Sensor Tower report, TikTok stood out as the most downloaded non-gaming app globally for August 2020 with more than 63.3 million installations, up 1.6% year over year.



China-owned music-video app is looking for survival amid backlash from the United States, India, Japan, the European Union, and Australia.



Oracles deal win and confirmation from President Trump reflects the trust it has earned, on both sides, from perspective of ByteDance and the U.S. Government.



Oracle, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), is making every effort to enhance functionalities of cloud-based applications, which is encouraging adoption. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



These initiatives are also expected to provide the company an edge in the Database-as-a-Service market and reinforce its competitive position against AWS.



Moreover, the next-generation autonomous database launched by Oracle, supported by ML, is gaining traction. In first-quarter fiscal 2021, Oracle added new Autonomous Database cloud customers. New product introductions are likely to bolster growth in this category. Markedly, autonomous database in Gen2 public cloud infrastructure is witnessing rapid adoption.



Oracles latest Exadata Cloud@Customer service offering is also gaining traction among on-premise customers.



Noteworthy deal wins of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) services and autonomous database include Xactly, United Breweries of India, Safaricom PLC, Schneider Electric, McDonalds, Rinna, Polycab India, Arterra Wines Canada, and Lahore University of Management Sciences.



Management remains optimistic that Zoom Video Communications ZM and 8x8 EGHT are utilizing OCI services to enhance video meeting solutions in a secure manner amid explosive growth in user base.



Markedly, autonomous database consumption revenues improved 64% and annualized consumption revenues for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) services soared 130% during fiscal first quarter.

Competitive Scenario

Amazon, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3, is the leading provider of cloud infrastructure as a service to enterprise customers. The expanding customer base of AWS driven by its strengthening cloud offerings will continue to aid Amazon's dominance in the global cloud space.



Even more encouraging is the fact that AWS generates much stronger margins than the traditional retail business, which should remain a positive for the companys profitability as it continues to grow in the mix.



Microsoft is benefiting from momentum in Azure, and impressive growth in clientele triggered by coronavirus crisis led work-from-home, online learning wave and tele healthcare trends. Furthermore, it is well poised to expand the total addressable market through acquisition of GitHub.



Also, Azures increased availability in 58 regions globally, is expected to strengthen Microsoft's competitive position in the cloud computing market. Microsoft currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.



Per a Canalys report, Microsofts market share in the cloud services space increased to 20% in second-quarter 2020 from 18% in the prior-year quarter. AWS market share remained unchanged at 31% for second-quarter 2020 on a year-over-year basis.



Notably, per Synergy Research Groups data on second-quarter 2020, Oracles market share of 2% in cloud infrastructure services market, trails Amazons 33%, Microsofts 18%, Googles 9%, Alibabas 6%, IBMs 5%, and salesforces CRM 3%.



Nevertheless, Oracles 12.5% stake in TikTok Global business, is likely to be a game changer. It positions the company well to rev up competition in the cloud domain and ensnare more market share, in the days ahead.

Zacks Single Best Pick to Double

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each picked their favorite to gain +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Zacks Director of Research, Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.



With users in 180 countries and soaring revenues, its set to thrive on remote working long after the pandemic ends. No wonder it recently offered a stunning $600 million stock buy-back plan.



The skys the limit for this emerging tech giant. And the earlier you get in, the greater your potential gain.



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Click to get this free report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Walmart Inc. (WMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Oracle Corporation (ORCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report salesforce.com, inc. (CRM) : Free Stock Analysis Report 8x8 Inc (EGHT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (ZM) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research
Country and citizens pay tribute to memories of war and those who laid down their lives in the bloody 1980-88 conflict.

Tehran, Iran  From many friends perishing in front of his eyes to gruesome physical injuries, some might think he has lost too much to the horrors of war.

But 60-year-old Asghar Bakhtiari, who spent 48 gruelling months on a variety of battlefields in the Iran-Iraq War, says now his only regret is not being able to be in that atmosphere more and learn more from it.

There was a love in my body that made me go back again and again. I had a duty to my country and a duty to transfer my hard-earned knowledge of combat to young warriors, he told Al Jazeera.

Bakhtiari, now a father of two and a pensioner of the National Iranian Gas Company, was only 20 when the eight-year war started after dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Iran on September 22, 1980. The conflict killed an estimated 500,000 people before a UN-brokered ceasefire ended it on August 20, 1988.

After getting his high school diploma, he joined the local Basij paramilitary force, where he and other young men received training from a commando from Khorramshahr, a city in southwestern Iran bordering Iraq that was later captured and whose liberation in 1982 signalled a turning point in the war.

A Revolutionary Guard behind a sandbag post in Khorramshahr after UN Security Council Resolution 598 brought a ceasefire in 1988 [Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images]

In early 1981, a short time after the war started, he signed up for military service and was deployed into combat in two months.

I joined the reconnaissance unit with a friend of mine and we were deployed to a small village that was located merely a few hundred metres away from the Iraqis position, Bakhtiari remembers.

Throughout the years, he was on many fronts, and even behind enemy lines, and sustained many wounds.

First, he took a bullet in his right kneecap, which made him come back to Tehran to receive medical treatment.

But he voluntarily returned twice more, before taking two more rounds in his right leg and one to his stomach.

Bakhtiari remembers the agonising circumstances of his rescue back from the front lines.

Actually, a few captured Iraqi soldiers dragged me back on a stretcher. It was pitch dark but we were lit up by flares. I hadnt even realised I was shot in the stomach at first.

Pile of people

Back behind the trenches, he was not put on the first ambulance carrying the wounded because a captured Iraqi soldier was in dire condition and needed to be transported. This led to some Iranian soldiers to protest, but the commander did not budge. The next ambulance was so crowded that Bakhtiari said the wounded just piled on his shattered leg.

I would scream at the top of my lungs when the truck hit bumps in the road, but the driver said he needs to deliver the wounded and he could drop me off if Im in too much pain, after which I stopped.

But even after that experience, he went back three more times.

I remember there was a family gathering but I just packed up and said, My friends need me on the front lines, I have to go. Its interesting because when I was on the front lines I wanted to go back to Tehran to my family, but after a while, I couldnt stay in Tehran because it felt as if I had lost something, I had left something there. I belonged there.

Iranian troops on the front near Ahvaz in April 1982 [Francoise de Mulder/Roger Viollet via Getty Images]

Bakhtiari, now with a 45 percent disability to his body, eventually found his fellow soldiers after days of searching. He describes how, one day, in a massive empty plain with no place to hide, they took cover under a truckload of ammunition just to avoid the burning sun.

From the heat to being away from family to shortages of food, clothing and ammunition, it was a very difficult time, he says. It wasnt that people in charge wouldnt give it to us, there was none to give.

We were sanctioned by superpowers from the West and the East. We were not making war, we were just defending ourselves.

Iran commemorates war sacrifices

Irans state-run television and different social media platforms were littered with tributes to memories of the war on Monday and those who laid down their lives.

Virtually all TV channels ran special programmes to mark the occasion, including images, video, interviews and documentaries depicting the war while featuring veterans.

On Monday morning, a live televised programme was organised to commemorate those who fought. It was attended by a plethora of army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, government officials, and parliament members, among others.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards ride an armoured carrier after a victory over Iraqi troops near the Iraqi city of Basra in 1987 [Eric Feferberg/AFP]

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered the keynote speech via video conference.

On social media, one user tweeted a picture of five Iranian soldiers heading towards the Iraqi army on a bridge in Khorramshahr, one day before the city fell. It captures their courage, she said, as they head towards the unknown maybe just to repel Iraqi forces by one step.

The same user also posted another heart-wrenching image, this time of a wounded soldier, wearing cheap sneakers instead of boots, who is lying next to the body of a fellow soldier while holding a hand up to indicate he is alive.

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Veteran Morteza Moradian, a diplomat and former Iranian ambassador to North Korea and Denmark, posted a photo of himself and fellow soldiers from 1983, saying only two others aside from him are alive today.

Another user posted a picture of his father at the start of the war, saying when the war finished, he didnt look like this anymore.

On Sunday, a gripping story about an Armenian Iranian soldier who went missing in action 33 years ago circulated in Iranian media.

Harach Hacoupian died in a military operation in western Iran, but his body was only discovered eight years ago. The body could not be fully identified and he was laid to rest one year later in Zahedan. After so many years, a DNA test finally confirmed it was him for his grieving parents.
5.30am

My working day starts. Winter is creeping in and my role as influenza lead, which is to promote the uptake of the flu vaccine, is in full swing. Flu is a highly infectious acute respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus which can affect people of any age.

7.30am

Check-in and manage any issues in the Covid-19 swabbing clinic for patients and staff in St Marys Health Campus where I have been redeployed since March. Similar to Covid-19, you can pass the flu virus to somebody you care for even before you know that you are sick. Vaccination is the best protection against flu.

9.30am

Planning meeting in Cork University Hospital with the Influenza Vaccine Planning Group. Managing vaccination clinics this year is proving more challenging due to social distancing. However it is still vitally important for healthcare staff to receive the vaccine to stop the spread of flu, particularly as some at-risk groups can develop severe complications from the virus. Healthcare workers can help prevent the spread and save lives by getting the flu vaccine.

11am

A teleconference with Cork/Kerry Community Healthcare planning for the upcoming season across all healthcare sectors. As at least 20% of healthcare workers are infected with flu every year, it is essential that staff are vaccinated. This is achieved through occupational health and peer vaccination programmes whereby nurses and midwives vaccinate their colleagues at accessible dates, times and locations.

2pm

Meeting my colleagues in South East Community Healthcare to ensure plans are in place for all healthcare staff to have access to the vaccine.

The best way to protect you, your patients and your family is to get this years vaccine.

6pm

Head home to my husband Denis and daughters Emily (21), Fiona (17) and Jane (14). I get the flu vaccine every year as I do not want to put my family at risk. Many people who get flu might only have mild symptoms and continue to work thus exposing others to the virus. That is why I am a peer vaccinator to help protect myself and those around me and to support others to do the same.
Residents in Hudson County struggling to pay their rents because of coronavirus financial strains have received an $8 million boost from the federal government.

The county and five of its municipalities will share in nearly $8 million in CARES Act funding through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Developments Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The funding is for municipalities, among other things, to provide temporary financial assistance to meet rental obligations for up to six months, HUD officials said.

The funding can also be used to help small businesses and to support computer learning.

Hudsons funding is a portion of nearly $76 million that went to municipalities across the state. HUD officials said the allocation of funding focused on communities hit the hardest by the coronavirus shutdown and those with concentrations of those most at risk for transmission and risk of eviction.

To date, HUD has provided nearly $5 billion in CDBG funding nationwide to help communities combat the coronavirus and alleviate economic hardship.

The allocations are: Jersey City $3,136,493, Union City $1,001,732, North Bergen $689,357, Bayonne $654,379, Hoboken $591,382 and Hudson County $1,804,701. The total is $7,878,044.

The Trump Administration has maintained that no one should risk losing their home due to the coronavirus, HUD Secretary Ben Carson said in a statement. These funds can help households struggling to meet their rental or mortgage obligations to stay afloat as our nation continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Lynne Patton, HUD Regional Administrator for New York and New Jersey said that more than $306 million has been made available to New Jersey to ensure cities "are able to combat the coronavirus.

For more information on HUDs response to the novel coronavirus pandemic and the actions the Department has taken, please visit HUD.gov/coronavirus.

Editors note: It was initially incorrectly reported here that the funding would go to local housing authorities.
Advertisement

Photographers captured scenes of serenity from around the globe as part of a contest to mark the International Day of Peace.

The competition, organised by photo app Agora, challenged photographers to submit an image illustrating what 'peace' means to them.

More than 11.000 photos capturing peace were sent from all over the globe, with snapper Rashid Ibrahim, 23, from Kenya being the winner.

His powerful shot 'A peaceful world is a fruitful one' gathered the most votes from the Agora global community, making him the #Peace2020 Hero and winning him the top prize of $1,000.

The beautiful photo, captured in Nairobi, shows a man in army fatigues holding up a white flag and there are five other young men looking at the soldier, who is offering peace.

Other entries that made it in the top five were the meditating young boy in Myanmar, a diver exploring the sea in Menorca, Spain, a young woman enjoying the nature in Dolomites, Italy and a woman praying Kraton Kasunanan Surakarta, Indonesia.

'THE WINNER 'A peaceful world is a fruitful one' - A man in army fatigues holds up a white flag while five other young men are looking at the soldier, who is offering peace, in Nairobi, Kenya

'Lanterns of peace' - Hundreds of lanterns light up the beautiful night sky as standbyers watch mesmerised in the Borobudur temple, Indonesia

'Religious' -A young monk meditating alongside many others, in Myanmar

A baby babboon lying peacefully in its mother's arms in Bogor, Indonesia (left) and a diver exploring the wonders of the sea in Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain

A couple sharing a special kiss in the snowy Vassdalstinden, Norway, as the sun sets

A woman is enjoying the morning sun in Tegalalang village, Bali, Indonesia(left) while an early riser opted for an early canoe ride in a lake in Banyuwangi, Indonesia (right)

A master monk finds peace in an ancient meditating chamber in Myanmar

A breath-taking shot of a lake at dusk in Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands (left) and a group of dolphins Mikurajima island, Japan (right)

A woman admiring the view after a hike in Tre Cime Di Lavaredo , Italy (left) and the unique Northern lights in Jokulsarlon lagoon, Iceland

'Armonia'- A woman lying peacefully on the water in Valencia, Spain

Two monks crossing a bridge at sunset, in U Bein Bridge, Myanmar

'I Know a Place' - A man holding up an umbrella while gazing the view from a hill in Bhutan

'In the middle of the saxony' - A hiker in Germany (left) and a sew turtle swimming away in Gili Meno, Indonesia (right)

A diver exploring the sea in Madeira Island, Portugal (left) and The starry sky in Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK

A couple of deers enjoying a morning stroll in Bristol, United Kingdom (left) and a stunning shot of a woman going into the water at Cook Islands (right)

A woman praying with gratitude in Kraton Kasunanan Surakarta, Indonesia (left) and a young woman admiring the nature in Dolomites, Italy (right)

This young man finds his inner peace by looking at a flower in Vietnam

.
As the United Nations turns 75 this year, the world body keeps churning out increasingly grim reports on the global threats it was created to ameliorate.

Biodiversity is being destroyed, climate change is accelerating, war and famine are creating more refugees than ever in human history, the world body warns. And now the covid-19 pandemic is pushing hundreds of millions back into poverty as renewed lockdowns loom.

Deepening the gloom enveloping the world body, its annual UN General Assembly that usually brings about 10,000 diplomats to Manhattan is being held virtually this week, precluding the personal encounters among world leaders that sometimes offer glimmers of progress to seemingly intractable crises.

"It's one of the most challenging periods the UN has ever seen, whether you look at climate change, a socioeconomic meltdown due to the pandemic or global conflicts," said Jan Egeland, a former head of humanitarian affairs at the UN who now runs the Norwegian Refugee Council. "But we are seeing a gigantic clash between the ideals the UN stands for and the nationalism that is spreading like wildfire across many of its member states."

Each fall, the General Assembly becomes center stage for leaders to make their views heard across the world. Speeches run the gamut from fulminations against colonialism -- Cuba's Fidel Castro holds the UN record with a four-hour tirade in 1960 -- to the use of attention-grabbing props, such as the cartoon drawing of a bomb with a lit fuse that Israeli's Benjamin Netanyahu held up in 2012 to warn against Iran's nuclear ambitions.

This week, leaders will be sending videos to an empty hall instead. For Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is organizing a virtual roundtable with climate leaders from government, business, and civil society on Thursday, it will be a missed opportunity.

"Diplomacy, to be effective, requires personal contact," he said at a news conference. "I'm very sorry that we are not going to have the opportunity to bring together leaders of countries involved in conflicts like the Libya conflict or like the Yemeni conflict or any other one, or leaders that have an important initiative in key areas, be it in relation to climate change, fighting against racism, in relation to gender equality, that we are not able to bring them together."

One bonus of the virtual format: UN officials expect leaders who usually send underlings to the General Assembly, including China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin, to join in with remarks by video.

The speeches are likely to underscore a deepening contrast in visions. Leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are expected to urge joint action to tackle urgent global problems.

"The UNGA high-level week will be an opportunity to reflect on the current covid-19 crisis, and to reaffirm the crucial role of the United Nations and of multilateral cooperation, which are badly needed in these times," French Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere told reporters.

But the first two speakers scheduled on Tuesday, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro and U.S. President Donald Trump, are likely to use the platform to highlight their nationalist approaches. For Trump, the opportunity comes exactly six weeks before the election in the U.S. as he trails he Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, in polls.

"Wise leaders always put the good of their own people and their own country first," Trump told the General Assembly last year. "The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots."

The meeting comes as the U.S., the UN's largest donor, is increasingly clashing with the organization, most recently announcing a departure from the World Health Organization and angering Security Council members with its move to kill what remains of the multinational Iran nuclear accord. While Guterres has managed to maintain a cordial relationship with Trump, the president's advisers have urged him to reduce U.S. backing for the global body as a frequent impediment to U.S. interests.

"There's always been a U.S. ambivalence at the UN, but this is the first administration that really treats the UN with a degree of antipathy that we've never seen before," said Stewart Patrick, senior fellow on Global Governance and Multilateralism at the Council on Foreign Relations. "Other presidents have bemoaned the fact that the UN wasn't living up to its promise, but they've generally seen the UN as a beneficial organization. That's not clear anymore with this administration."

In addition to the online speeches, the General Assembly will feature a climate summit, a conference on Libya, a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the World Conference of Women, and a biodiversity forum -- all of them virtual.
While the number of SARs reviewed by the journalists dwarfs any previous access to these confidential documents, theyre still just a tiny fraction  0.02%  of the 12 million or so SARs that were probably filed during the period in question, mostly 2011 through 2017. Also, the sample isnt representative of overall banking activity. Some records stem from the U.S. congressional investigation into interference with the 2016 presidential election. Almost half of the SARs came from Deutsche Bank AG.
Bloomington, Ind., Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Solution Tree, a leading educational publisher and professional development provider, announced today the hiring of Dr. Treena Casey as vice president of international business development. Dr. Caseys executive responsibilities include overseeing the international promotion of the Solution Tree brand and its core offerings, including print and online resources, educator events and on-site and virtual professional development.

We are thrilled to welcome Treena to Solution Tree, said Solution Tree CEO Jeffrey C. Jones. She shares our passion for making a real difference in the lives of students and educators. And with her nearly three decades of experience in education, we are confident that she will advance us toward our vision of transforming education worldwide to ensure learning for all.

Caseys hiring coincides with the 2020 opening of Solution Tree offices in Arkansas, Texas and Washington, which are overseen by state office executive directors Susan McNully, Darren Grissom and Lucy Waltermeyer, respectively. The hiring of Dr. Casey, as well as the opening of three state-level offices, play an integral role in Solution Trees plan for strategic growth as the company continues to expand its reach both nationally and internationally.

Prior to joining Solution Tree, Dr. Casey held key positions at Singapore American School, including executive director for professional learning, executive director for teaching and learning and director of curriculum. She also previously served as the assistant director for curriculum and instruction at Shekou International School in China and as a teacher and teacher leader at Nagoya International School and International School Bangkok. She began her education career in New Zealand, teaching in both urban and rural schools.

I am excited to lead and support the work of Solution Tree throughout the global community, said Dr. Casey. During my time at Singapore American School, I saw firsthand just how powerful Solution Trees professional learning can be. I look forward to building enduring relationships with international schools and connecting them with the support they need to navigate the myriad challenges they are currently facing.

###

About Solution Tree

Since 1998, Solution Tree has worked to transform education worldwide by empowering educators to raise student achievement. With more than 48,962 educators attending professional learning events and more than 5,500 professional development days in schools each year, Solution Tree helps teachers and administrators confront essential challenges. Solution Tree has a catalog of more than 500 titles, hundreds of videos and online courses and is the creator of Global PD, an online tool that facilitates the work of professional learning communities for more than 20,000 educators. No other professional learning company provides Solution Trees unique blend of research-based, results-driven services that improve learning outcomes for students. Follow @SolutionTree on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.




A 'mummy portrait' was found fixed on an ancient Egyptian casket that belonged to a young boy who died between 50 BC and 100 AD - and researchers set out to see how accurate it is to his real face.

Using a CT scanner, the team uploaded a virtual construction of the child's skull, still inside the burial, to create a 3D digital reconstruction of his face.

The facial reconstruction image is fairly accurate to the original, but researchers note the painting makes the child look much older than his three or four-year-old self.

Other differences included the width of the nasal bridge and the size of the mouth opening with both being more slender and 'narrow' in the portrait than the virtual reconstruction.

A 'mummy portrait' was found fixed on an ancient Egyptian casket that belonged to a young boy who died between 50 BC and 100 AD - and researchers set out to see how accurate it is

Mummy portraits were a common practice among some Egyptians during the Greco-Roman times, LiveScience reported.

The picture was placed over the embalmed face, a Roman tradition, while the rest of the body was wrapped in linen bandages that aligns with traditional ancient Egyptian burial ritual.

The study, published in PLOS ONE, notes that more than 1,000 mummy portraits have been uncovered since they first discovered in 1887.

The boy was uncovered in the 1880s in a cemetery close to the pyramid of Hawara in Lower Egypt, near the Fayum region, which is well known to have harbored numerous Roman period settlements with related cemeteries.

The boy was uncovered in the 1880s in a cemetery close to the pyramid of Hawara in Lower Egypt, near the Fayum region, which is well known to have harbored numerous Roman period settlements with related cemeteries

Using a CT scanner, the team uploaded a virtual construction of the child's skull, still inside the burial, to create a 3D digital reconstruction of his face

The portrait shows the young boy with curly hair that has been braided into two strands that run along the edge of his forehead and back behind the ears.

His eyes were brown and he had a long, thin nose and small mouth of full lips.

The painting also shows him wearing a necklace with a medallion.

At Egyptian Museum Munich, where the mummy resides, the used a CT scanner to create a digital image of the boy's skull.

They were able to determine the boy's age at death after analyzing the bones and tooth inside the bandages, along with cause of death.

At Egyptian Museum Munich, where the mummy resides, the used a CT scanner to create a digital image of the boy's skull

They were able to determine the boy's age at death after analyzing the bones and tooth inside the bandages, along with cause of death - the team suspects he died of pnemonia

The team speculates he died of pneumonia after spotting 'residues of condensed lung tissue' on the CT scan, study lead researcher Andreas Nerlich, the director of the Institute of Pathology at the Academic Clinic Munich-Bogenhausen in Germany, told Live Science in an email.

Nerlich and the other researchers started with the child's eyes and reconstructed them based on a mean eyeball diameter of 22 mm, adjusted to take into account the age of the individual.

They were then fitted in the sockets of the 3D skull.

'The nose was reconstructed according to the Lebedinskaya method, where the piriform aperture is mirrored externally,' according to the study, and researchers used the position of the child's canine teeth to determine the width of the nose opening.

Nerlich and the other researchers started with the child's eyes and reconstructed them based on a mean eyeball diameter of 22 mm, adjusted to take into account the age of the individual. They were then fitted in the sockets of the 3D skull

Using ultrasound scans of soft tissue in living individuals close to the boy's age, about three to eight years old, the team was able to reconstruct the look of his face

Using ultrasound scans of soft tissue in living individuals close to the boy's age, about three to eight years old, the team was able to reconstruct the look of his face.

Nerlich notes that much of the reconstruction was done based on the mummy's skull and teeth and used the painting to fill in pigment, eye and hair color.

The facial reconstruction was 'very similar' to the portrait, as the dimensions of the forehead to the eye line, and the distance from the nose to the mouth 'were exactly the same between portrait and reconstruction,' the researchers wrote in the study.

'However, differences existed between the width of the nasal bridge and the size of the mouth opening, with both being more slender and 'narrow' in the portrait than the virtual reconstruction.'

Because the original and 3D reconstruction are similar, Nerlich believes the portrait was created 'briefly before or after his death.'
The California Employment Development Department (EDD) said it would not accept new unemployment claims for the next two weeks.

California is currently working on preventing fraud and reducing backlogs in existing unemployment claims as more than two million people are out of work statewide. Officials said late Saturday that they would use the next two weeks to focus on these issues.

Nearly 600,000 people in California are part of the backlog. Their unemployment claims have not been processed by the EDD for more than 21 days, the state said in a news release.

According to Associated Press, there are also one million cases where people are still waiting a resolution to their modified claims.

Throughout the pandemic, the EDD has been hampered as they struggle to work with outdated technology. The unexpected wave of unemployment claims in California also added to the pressure.

ABC 10 said in a report the EDD will be updating its systems to process claims faster.

The EDD Strike Team also said in their report on Saturday that the department will update its systems. It seeks to have more modern systems that can improve response times.

EDD Director Sharon Hilliard said she agrees with the recommendations of the strike team. She added that the department has already implemented some of them.

"The strike teams' recommendations provide an opportunity to pivot and improve our systems," Hilliard said.

The reset started on September 19 and will go on until October 4.

Changes with EDD Reset

The department clarified that the only people who will be affected by reset are those applying for claims for the first time.

Californians who already have existing claims will still be able to use their accounts. They will also have no interruptions in their payments during the two-week period.

Hilliard added that the EDD improvement will expand document upload feature for mobile users.

This will allow people to give wage information and file military and federal employee claims online. It will also implement new measures to track claims processing work daily.

Anyone who files new claims until October 5 will be asked to give contact information so the EDD can reach out after two weeks.

So far, the state has 1.6 million pending unemployment claims. These claims still need eligibility verification, said the Sacramento Bee.

The department estimated about 2.1 million residents were out of work statewide last month. But this is still an improvement as the unemployment rate in the state fell to 11.4 percent in August, from 13.5 percent in July.

To potentially reduce suspected fraud, the state plans to implement a new online identity verification tool during the two-week period. This will also reduce the number of claims needed to be processed by hand.

"New claimants should not see a delay in benefit payments," Hilliard wrote in a letter to state Governor Gavin Newsom. "[In] fact many of them will actually get their payments faster as they avoid the older time-intensive ID Verification process."

The EDD Strike team was appointed by Newsom in July. He wanted the team to address the current unemployment issues from the pandemic. He also wanted the team to consider long-term solutions to get the department ready for future economic shutdowns.

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A woman hurled abuse and physically attacked Native Americans protesting at the construction of the border wall between the US and Mexico (Sin Hwaa @kumeyaaydefenseagainstthewall / Instagram)

Video taken this past weekend shows a woman attacking members of a Native American tribe protesting against president Donald Trumps border wall.

The Instagram post shows the woman grappling with protesters and slapping two of them while hurling obscenities.

The footage was taken in San Diego County, California, where a small indigeous initiative that is rooted in prayer is defending the lands of the Kumeyaay people.

The maskless woman repeatedly tells the group to Get the f*** out of here, declares that she is a protester too and that this is her community. She yells "you guys are disturbing the job of the construction of the border wall.

The protesters attempted to restrain her and did not fight back. When the non-violent group begins singing and chanting, the woman then appears to mock them.

The caption of the Instagram post reads: Tonight we experienced a violent woman who tried to tear our tents down. We de-escalated and stayed non-violent. We used songs and prayers again just like how we non violently stop desecration to the land.

After asking for help and prayers, the caption continues: Say a prayer for these folks who are disconnected to themselves. Make space for those who are so hurt they act violently. The reason why these incidents happen is because we are so dehumanized in their eyes. And its been happening since the beginning of invasion. We stay non violent. We stay in prayer.

In a separate video the woman returns in the morning and calls a protester a coward saying that he should take off his mask.

She continues to taunt the group before a man arrives from the direction of the construction site and escorts her away. She then slaps the phone out the hand of the man videoing her.

Story continues

On Monday the Bureau of Land Management served the group with an Emergency Closure Order.

Kumeyaay land straddles the border between San Diego and Baja California in Mexico.

Read more

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Native American tribes blocked from receiving data on spread of coronavirus that is freely given to states
The "Destiny Feast" (Svetkovina Sudbina), a theater festival, kicked off on Friday, bringing an interesting reflection on some landmarks of Chinese culture.

The second edition of the festival was opened at Kosmodrom, an independent theater in downtown Belgrade under the slogan "10,000 Li," or 5,000 kilometers, which is a reference to the length of China's Great Wall.

The opening play "Art of War," a namesake of Sun Tzu's work, is directed by Filip Gajic, who wants to bring out the ancient Chinese military strategist's wisdom through "exciting" play.

Gajic, who is also the founder of the Kosmodrom and the organizer of the "Destiny Feast" theater festival, explained that "Sun Tzu made a famous suggestion that concubines should be turned into warriors, and on that lead, we made an exciting and dynamic theater play."

The repertoire includes three more plays: "Harmony of Death" based on a work by Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher, and directed by Stevan Serbedzija; "Splendor of Love" by Marija Mladenovic, based on a novel attributed to Li Yu, a well-known writer who lived in the 17th Century; and the "Golden Life" by David Alic which deals with a famous story by Zhuangzi, another ancient Chinese philosopher.

Gajic told Xinhua that the first edition of the festival in 2019 was based on Serbian epic poetry, while the second, taking place from Sept. 18 to 27, is dedicated to Chinese culture.

He pointed out that the festival aims to provide audiences with contents outside of cultural patterns of the West, and offer a look into the cultures of the East.

He noted that Serbia-China ties are getting stronger, which opens space for wider cultural exchange.

Gajic reminded that the festival was supposed to be held in June, with a visiting Chinese theater group and traditional music performers, but the situation with the coronavirus pandemic got it postponed and reshaped.

"It's important that we didn't give up, and succeeded to produce four plays in these modest circumstances, by myself and three excellent directors. It will be a truly interesting and unusual contact with the Chinese culture, both for us and the audience," he concluded.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - With counting slated to end on September 30, Governor Doug Ducey, joined by members of the U.S. Census Bureau and local leaders, Thursday urged all Arizonas who have not completed their census to do so immediately.

Governor Ducey launched the AZ Census 2020 campaign in January with a focus on reaching traditionally undercounted communities through community-based initiatives, a paid media effort and educational outreach. Counting began in March.

Today, Governor Ducey and members of the Arizona Complete Count Committee met with U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham at the Capitol to discuss Arizonas efforts to ensure a full and accurate count.



Our message today to Arizonans is simple: you matter, and you deserve to be counted, said Governor Ducey. Responding to the census is safe and easy  and its our civic responsibility. Arizona has seen nation-leading growth over the last five years. We want to maximize the opportunities that come with that. To any Arizonan who hasnt responded to the census yet, you still have time. Complete your census today by phone, mail or online.



Census data impacts the distribution of more than $675 billion dollars to states annually for services like healthcare, education, public safety and more. Arizonas accurate count in the census ensures the state receives its fair share of resources to adequately serve residents. Even a one-percent undercount would represent a loss of $62 million per year for a decade  a total loss of at least $620 million.



"Our mission for the 2020 Census is to count everyone once, only once and in the right place. And with committed partners like Governor Ducey and the Arizona Complete Count Committee, I'm confident we'll achieve a complete and an accurate count across the state, said U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham. I'm here to encourage Arizonans to not to wait for a census taker to visit their home and respond online, by phone or mail. It's easy, fast and completely confidential.



Governor Ducey and Director Dillingham discussed the states 2020 Census outreach efforts, including the work of the Arizona Complete Count Committee established by Governor Ducey last year. The committees statewide grassroots and paid media campaign has supported the Census Bureau in promoting participation, with a focus on reaching traditionally undercounted communities in the state, such as American Indian, low-income and Spanish-speaking populations.



For the past year, we have been working to let every Arizonan know that the census is safe, easy and important through our grassroots and paid media campaign, said Debbie Johnson, Chair of the Arizona Complete Count Committee. Our committee has continued sharing this message statewide with a focus on reaching traditionally undercounted communities. In the final days of the count, were calling on every Arizonan to respond and remind friends, family and neighbors to be counted.



Arizonans can respond to the 2020 Census through September 30 online at my2020census.gov, by phone at 844-330-2020 or by returning their completed paper form by mail. Once a response is recorded for a household, it is removed from the list for a visit from a census taker for an in-person count.



For more information on how the 2020 Census impacts Arizona, visit azcensus2020.gov.
Data breaches were rampant in 2019, occurring at an unprecedented pace. However, the first half of this year has seen a reduction in the number of reported events. Reported being the operative word.

In the first six months of 2019, more than four billion records were exposed in 3,800 publicly disclosed breaches, according to cybersecurity firm NortonLifeLock.

A publicly reported data breach is one required by state law and reported by a government official; part of a public regulatory filing such as an SEC filing; listed on a company website, social media, news release or breach notice letter or published in an accredited media publication, or disclosed by a recognized cybersecurity researcher or firm, explained James E. Lee, Chief Operating Officer at the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC).

The Center is a non-profit organization established to support identity theft victims in resolving their cases and to educate the public and make it aware of identity theft and associated issues such as data breaches, cyber security, scams, fraud and privacy issues.

Breaches in 2019 included:

Bank holding company Capital One, in March: 106 million records;

Social-planning website Evite, in August: 100 million records; and

American Medical Collection Agency: more than 20 million records breached, which led to the firms filing for bankruptcy.

In all, more than 15 billion records were exposed in nearly 7,100 data breaches throughout calendar 2019.

Breaches Subside in 2020

This year however, the number of publicly reported data breaches has fallen.

During this period, we saw less activity from many threat actors who would normally be making all kinds of havoc, Adam Kujawa, director of Malwarebytes Labs, told TechNewsWorld. Malwarebytes Labs is the intelligence arm of antimalware software firm Malwarebytes.

The ITRC says the number of data breaches between January and June fell by 33 percent year over year.

During that period, a little more than 163 million individuals were affected by breaches  66 percent less than in January to June 2019.

Risk Based Security says publicly reported breaches in the first half of this year fell to a five-year low, but still showed a total of 2,037. It said more than 27 billion records were exposed during that period  12 billion more than were exposed throughout the whole of 2019.

So what gives? Why this huge discrepancy in the numbers?

Differences in methodology, ITRCs Lee told TechNewsWorld. Risk Based Security includes information from outside the United States, while the ITRCs data is based only on events in the U.S.

Also, as a national non-profit that provides free services to victims of identity crimes or compromises, our focus is on the number of people impacted, not the number of records exposed, Lee noted.

In mass data breaches or exposures there are multiple records per person, which always means the number of records exposed will almost always be an order of magnitude higher than the number of people impacted, he said. There is no one-to-one correlation between people and records.

The Reported vs. Reality Gap

Whatever methodology is used, getting the full picture of the threat from data breaches will be difficult because not all breaches are counted.

Both the ITRC and Risk Based Security count only publicly disclosed databases.

Its safe to assume theres a gap between the total number of data breaches that have actually occurred and whats publicly reported, ITRCs Lee said.

Further, there is less coverage per event, and delayed reporting from some sources, he pointed out. Clearly, there is less information being disclosed.

Each state in the U.S. has a unique definition of what is reportable, Lee explained. Theres a variety of regulations at both the state and federal levels governing when a security or data breach is reportable, so its virtually impossible to project how large the gap is between reported events and unreported or under-reported data compromises.

Some organizations may hesitate to report breaches because theyre afraid this will damage their reputation or make them a target for future attacks, Malwarebytes Labs Kujawa suggested.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

There may also be a delay in reporting because Im sure there are thousands of breaches that companies dont even realize have happened for a few months, said Kujawa. Sometimes new corporate customers run a massive scan on their network after signing up with Malwarebytes and find a huge spike in some detections well after they had occurred, so we have to modify our own stats to remove these outliers or we arent getting the whole story.

The move toward working from home as a result of the pandemic, and a lack of processes for dealing with a breach, may also have slowed the reporting of data breaches, Kujawa noted.

Cybercriminals Switch Tactics

Delays in reporting are one possible reason for the reduction in the number of data breaches publicly reported; another could be that cybercriminals are now focused on leveraging the data stolen in previous breaches rather than going out and getting some more, according to ITRCs Lee.

The significant rise in credential stuffing attacks driving unemployment fraud  as much as US$26 billion according to the Department of Labor; data-driven phishing attacks, and ransomware attacks where data is not exfiltrated demonstrate the consumption-to-acquisition ratio has favored consumption so far this year, Lee observed.

Malwarebytes found a surge in phishing emails using COVID-19 as a cover for malicious activity that contains commercial malware such as AveMaria and Backdoor.NetwiredRC.

These are Remote Access Trojans (RAT) programs that let a hacker gain unauthorized access to a victims PC to monitor user behavior, change computer settings, browse and copy files and use the PCs Internet access for criminal activity. AveMaria targets large enterprises, while Backdoor.NetwiredRC is aimed at SMBs.

Other phishing attacks are hidden in messaging, including fake bank alerts, package delivery notifications, and eBay bids.

Cybersecurity firm Agari reported in July that a Russian criminal organization it calls Cosmic Lynx targets senior-level executives at large multinational organizations, mainly Fortune 500 or Global 2000 companies.

The criminals send targeted victims a faked letter from their companys CEO instructing them to work with external legal counsel to coordinate payments needed to close the acquisition of another company. Then they send a faked letter from a real lawyer at a UK-based firm giving instructions about how to make the payments, which are funneled to mule accounts that Cosmic Lynx controls.

Cosmic Lynx asks for an average payment of about $1.3 million compared to the $55,000 most other business email compromise (BEC) attackers demand

Respite or Pattern?

One of the most high-profile phishing attacks was the Twitter breach in July, where hackers gained access to Twitters internal software tools and took over the accounts of President Obama, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and presidential candidate and former VP Joe Biden, as well as corporate accounts for Apple, Bloomberg, and Squares CashApp.

Tweets were sent from the accounts of 45 victims to promote a Bitcoin scam that garnered 383 transactions worth about $117,000. Three people have been charged in connection with the Twitter hack, including the alleged mastermind who is a 17-year-old in Tampa, Fla.

The dip in data breach statistics may be a temporary condition, ITRCs Lee noted. At some point, data thieves will return to a more traditional pattern, he predicted.
Twain Harte School District Logo View Photo

Twain Harte, CA  The Twain Harte School District sent a letter to families yesterday stating that a staff member has tested positive for COVID-19.

The letter states that the Tuolumne County Public Health Department has isolated the individual, noting that the virus was acquired outside the school, and there were no close contacts between staff or students. The area where the staff member works has been disinfected. The letter also notes that public health officials are not requiring a school closure or any quarantine measures in response to the case.

The letter, from Superintendent Rick Henness and Principal Gabe Wingo, can be found here.

The Tuolumne County Public Health Department is anticipated to release an update on the number of new COVID-19 cases from the weekend later today.
US President on Monday restored the UN arms embargo on Iran and imposed sweeping new sanctions against Tehran, targeting Iran-related conventional arms transfers, several high-profile individuals and government bodies.

"Today, I am taking new actions to restrict Iran's nuclear, ballistic missile, and conventional weapons pursuits. My Administration will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, nor will we allow Iran to endanger the rest of the world with a fresh supply of ballistic missiles and conventional arms, Trump said in a statement.

Trump said he has issued a new Executive Order, restoring United Nations sanctions on Iran, and imposing new sanctions and export controls on more than two dozen entities and individuals that support Iran's nuclear, missile, and conventional arms-related activities.

The executive order blocks the property, and interests in property, in the US of those who contribute to the supply, sale, or transfer of conventional arms to or from Iran, as well as those who provide technical training, financial support and services, and other assistance related to these arms.

Noting that this executive order is critical to enforcing the UN arms embargo on Iran, Trump said that this order will greatly diminish the Iranian regime's capacity to export arms to terrorists and dangerous actors throughout the region, as well as its ability to acquire weapons to build up its own forces.

Trump said that his administration is also imposing new sanctions and export control measures on 27 entities and individuals connected to Iran's proliferation networks.

These actions target the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran for its role in Iran's nuclear escalation, the Iranian missile organisation Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group for facilitating ballistic missile development, and two Iranian entities for their involvement in the transfer and acquisition of conventional arms, he said.

Trump said that the Iranian regime has repeatedly lied about its secret nuclear weapons archive and denied access to inspectors, further exposing the deep flaws of the last administration's failed nuclear deal from which he withdrew the United States.

The world cannot afford to sit idly by as Iran builds a nuclear weapon. My Administration is restoring these sanctions as part of our efforts to ensure that never happens, he said, asserting that his actions send a clear message to the Iranian regime and those in the community who refuse to stand up to Iran.

"The United States will not allow the Iranian regime to further advance capabilities to directly threaten and terrorise the rest of the world, he said.

Trump said the Iranian "regime must change its behaviour if it hopes to provide what the Iranian people so desperately want and deserve: a thriving and prosperous Iran."



At a press conference, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that he has sanctioned the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, an Iran's defense industries organization and its director.

"We (are) also sanctioning the previous President Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. For nearly 2 years corrupt officials in Tehran have worked with the illegitimate regime in Venezuela to flout the UN arms embargo. Our actions today are a warning they should be heard worldwide. No matter who you are if you violate the UN arms embargo on Iran you risk sanctions, he said.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that his department has designated entities that support Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and senior officials overseeing Iran's nuclear power ballistic missile development.

"A number of our targets today are affiliated with the atomic energy organization of Iran, which has operational and regulatory control over the nuclear program and bears responsibility for nuclear research and development, he said.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters that over the past two years, Tehran has carried out attacks on shipping, regional infrastructure, and on US and partner nation forces.

Moreover, Iran has violated UN Security Council resolutions for years by proliferating advanced conventional weapons to nonstate actors such as Hezbollah and the Houthis, who use them to threaten civilian population centers, he alleged.

"We stand ready to respond to future Iranian aggression, and we remain committed to doing our part in the administration's maximum pressure campaign, he said.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that his department is adding five Iranian scientists to the entity list for enabling or assisting Iran's nuclear development program. These five individuals played a critical role in Iran's nuclear weapons development program and continue to work for the Iranian regime, he said.

US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said that the president has taken decisive action to restrict Iran's access to nuclear technology, ballistic missile technology, and conventional weapons because UN Security Council has sadly failed in its mission to promote international peace and security by not extending the conventional arms embargo on Iran.

Iran should join its neighbours who are embracing a better future based on progress, shared interest, and shared goals. The president has made it clear that if Iran is willing to choose the path of peace, America will walk beside it, he said, referring to the Abraham accord - a peace agreement inked between Israel and two Arab states, Bahrain and the UAE.

(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 Delhi, Sep 21 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday interact with fitness influencers and citizens during a nation-wide online Fit India Dialogue which is being organised to celebrate the first anniversary of the Fit India Movement.

The online interaction will see participants sharing anecdotes and tips of their own fitness journey while drawing out guidance from the prime minister on his thoughts about fitness and good health. Among those who will participate range from Virat Kohli to Milind Soman to Rujuta Diwekar in addition to other fitness influencers, stated a PIB media release.

"In times of Covid-19 pandemic, fitness has become an even more important aspect of life. The dialogue will see a timely and fruitful conversation on nutrition, wellness and various other aspects on fitness." Envisioned by Prime Minister Modi as a people's movement, the Fit India Dialogue is yet another endeavour to involve citizens of the country to draw out a plan to make India a fit nation, it added.
By Ayya Lmahamad

Germany is interested in developing relations with Azerbaijan, Ambassador Wolfgang Manig said during the meeting with Azerbaijan Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov.

During the meeting, Economy Minister stressed that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to development of cooperation with EU countries, especially with Germany.

He noted that the effective work on German-Azerbaijani high-level working group on trade and investment and the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce is important for the development of relations, adding that the next meeting of the working group at the end of this year can contribute to the expansion of cooperation.

Moreover, it was noted that the vocational education center was recently opened in Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park with the use of German experience. In addition, it was noted that German companies can benefit from Azerbaijans favorable investment and business environment, transport and transit opportunities.

Likewise, Jabbarov informed about the measures taken during the pandemic, current economic situation, reforms, establishment of Azerbaijan Investment Holding and Economic Council, as well as directions of economic development in the post-pandemic period.

Additionally, sides exchanged views on the development of relations, continued participation of managers in advanced training courses in Germany, and on the cooperation between the Federal Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of Germany and the Small and Medium Business Development Agency of Azerbaijan.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wears a protective mask as he walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol on September 21, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday that the Senate has more than enough time to confirm President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick before the end of the year, or even before Election Day.

"As of today there are 43 days before Nov. 3 and 104 days before the end of this Congress," the Kentucky Republican said on the Senate floor. "The Senate has more than sufficient time to process a nomination. History and precedent make that perfectly clear."

McConnell's comments come just three days after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday from complications due to pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg sat on the Supreme Court for 27 years.

The fight over the nomination has consumed Washington with just over six weeks to go until Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden face off at the polls. Recalling the bitter fight over Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, McConnell suggested an "even more appalling sequel" would be in store.

A confirmation could secure Trump his third justice on the nine-member panel, solidifying a 6-3 conservative majority, with dramatic implications on issues such as health care, guns, voting rights and the power of government regulators.

Democrats, still energized by McConnell's refusal to hold a vote on former President Barack Obama's nominee in 2016, have likened the battle to an existential fight.

McConnell pledged within hours of the announcement of Ginsburg's death to hold a vote on her successor, and Trump is expected to name the person by the end of the week. Trump has repeatedly said his preference is for a confirmation vote before the election.

McConnell did not pledge to hold a vote before Election Day, though he said it could be done. He did commit to hold a vote by the end of the year.

"There was clear precedent behind the predictable outcome that came out of 2016," he said, referring to his refusal to hold hearings for Obama's nominee that year, Merrick Garland. "And there's even more overwhelming precedent behind the fact that this Senate will vote on this nomination this year."

If Trump names his nominee on Friday or Saturday, as he said he would do on Monday morning, a confirmation vote by the end of the year is well within the typical time frame for Supreme Court confirmations. But a confirmation before the election would be historically quick.

Going back to the 1970s, the average amount of time it takes between a nomination and a final confirmation vote is about 70 days, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Ginsburg's own confirmation was on the speedier end, at 42 days. McConnell noted that Ginsburg could have been confirmed twice between Monday and the end of the year.

The 19-day confirmation process for Justice John Paul Stevens, who served between 1975 and 2010, "could have been played out twice between now and Nov. 3, with time to spare," McConnell said.

McConnell, though, faces unique problems corralling a vote on a nominee before Election Day. Two Republican senators, moderates Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said over the weekend that they opposed such a plan. With 53 seats in the Senate, McConnell can only afford one more defection.

Another element is that Ginsburg herself expressed her wish not to be replaced before the election in a dying statement.

"My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed," Ginsburg told her granddaughter, according to NPR.

Democrats have seized on Ginsburg's statement as they have pressed the case to delay a nomination vote.

During an address in Philadelphia over the weekend, Biden called on Republicans in the Senate to "heed her final call to us, not as a personal service to her, but as a service to the country, our country, at a crossroads."
Contract: The lab is responsible for a quarter of all UK community tests

Northern Ireland-based biotech firm Randox has described criticism of its Covid-19 testing programme as "a gross misrepresentation of the facts".

Reports emerged over the weekend that the Co Antrim firm's testing lab has been prioritising Premiership rugby stars and travellers to Dubai.

According to a Sunday Times article, which refers to leaked documents as its source, Randox also regularly fails to provide test results within 24 hours to members of the public.

The lab is responsible for a quarter of all community tests across the UK after winning a 133m contract in March.

The Sunday Times article said that Randox completed fewer than one in 10 tests on time on one given day and has also been forced to throw away more tests than any other lab due to human error.

However, a spokesman from the company last night rejected the claims and said: "This is a gross mis-representation of the facts on the ground with regard to its processes.

"We reiterate that Randox does not prioritise private samples over comparable samples from the national testing programme.

"Once processed into Randox's laboratories the vast majority of all samples are reported on within 24 hours. It is inaccurate and unreliable to claim that Randox has completed fewer than one in 10 tests on time.

"In fact Randox is successfully meeting and exceeding the capacity requirements agreed with Government and fulfilling its contractual obligations. Moreover Randox is successfully reporting above our commitment to Government for the national testing programme."

The spokesman said the average Randox rate is comparable across the programme and that the reason for voiding frequently lies outside the lab.

"Randox does not prioritise commercial work ahead of other work streams," he continued.

Randox staff have been extraordinary in their commitment and dedication in meeting unparalled need at a time of national crisis, often in the face of ill-informed and misplaced criticism. We salute our staff."
The body of late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last week at age 87, will lie in repose outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday and Thursday so members of the public can pay their respects before she lies in state at the US Capitol on Friday.

There has been an outpouring of public mourning for the iconic liberal justice, who became a pop culture icon in recent years, even as President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans who control the Senate seek to replace her with a conservative justice before the November 3 presidential election.

Crowds have gathered outside the court building, leaving flowers and other items in tribute, ever since her death on Friday from complications of pancreatic cancer.

A private ceremony will take place at the court on Wednesday morning, attended by Ginsburg's family, friends and other Supreme Court justices, a court statement said on Monday. Some of Ginsburg's former law clerks will serve as pallbearers and will be lined up on the court's steps when the casket arrives.

Ginsburg's casket will be placed outside, under the court's portico, in a break from tradition prompted by coronavirus-related health concerns. Usually the casket of a dead justice is placed in the court's Great Hall, where the public can view it.

On Friday, the casket will be placed in the National Statuary Hall in the Capitol, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a separate statement. A private ceremony will be held, Pelosi added.

Ginsburg will be interned at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia in a private ceremony next week, the court statement said.

Trump said on Monday he will announce his pick to replace Ginsburg on the high court by the end of the week. If the Senate confirms his nominee, it would leave the court with a solid 6-3 conservative majority ahead of his November 3 re-election bid.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo addressed a congratulatory message on Armenias Independence Day, Armenpress reports citing the State Department.

The message reads:

On behalf of the United States of America, I congratulate the people of Armenia as you celebrate Independence Day, in commemoration of your declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. The United States is committed to continuing to build our bilateral partnership as we strengthen the ties between our people based on shared democratic values and a desire for peace and prosperity.

The United States welcomes Armenias continued commitment to strengthening the rule of law, establishing an independent judiciary, and increasing economic and investment opportunities. We commend Armenias ongoing efforts to combat corruption through transparency, due process, and increased accountability to citizens, and we will continue to support you in these efforts.

We also remain committed to helping to find a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and urge the sides to resume substantive negotiations under the auspices of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs as soon as possible.

Although COVID-19 has brought the world unique challenges this year, we are proud that our close cooperation in combating the pandemic has further strengthened the partnership between our peoples.

I wish the Armenian people a year of peace, freedom, and prosperity.
As vigils honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court justice who died on Friday, continued throughout the United States on Sunday, television stars gathered virtually for the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, one of the first major awards shows to take place during the pandemic.

The loss wasnt explicitly mentioned until over an hour into the show, when Regina King said, Rest in power, R.B.G., while accepting her acting Emmy for Watchmen and wearing a shirt bearing Breonna Taylors likeness. But calls to vote were plentiful  perhaps not surprisingly, with the battle to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ginsburg already in full swing in Washington.

More surprising, perhaps, was how some winners and presenters stressed the more practical aspects of voting. As James Poniewozik, the chief television critic for The New York Times, put it on Sunday night: Its not super unusual for recipients to make political statements at awards shows. But Im struck by how many are emphasizing how to vote  as in logistically  which honestly is a political statement in itself in this election.

Youve got to vote, King said. I would be remiss not to mention that, being a part of a show as prescient as Watchmen. Have a voting plan, go to Ballotpedia.com. Vote up the ballot please. Go to Ballotpedia.com and find out who youre voting in your municipal elections. It is very important. Be a good human.
As we began to learn more about how the mail operates, we discovered that there were whole companies that do just this  that track the mail, on a vastly larger scale than we were able to on our own. Many companies that mail out bills, advertisements and political fliers send thousands of pieces of mail a day. And other companies exist to help them track what happens to that mail.

We reached out to several such companies. And one of them, SnailWorks, offered to work with us, sharing data from some of its largest clients. (To protect the privacy of those clients, we never learned which companies were sending the mail we were tracking.)

Dave Lewis, the president of SnailWorks, explained that each letter sent by a commercial mailer gets a bar code. The Postal Service then allows commercial mailers to track those bar codes every time they are scanned through the mail sorting and processing chain, until the mail reaches the hands of a mail carrier. Election officials can also subscribe to such a service to track mailed ballots.

This bar code tracking produces reams of data every day. And it was this data that Mr. Lewis shared with us, covering about 54,000 pieces of mail a day, originating in four cities and destined for ZIP codes all across the country. This data allowed us to see, for example, how long it took on average each week for first-class mail to travel from Milwaukee to Los Angeles, or from Miami to Missouri.
"To hold the Canton Fair online is conducive to further playing its role as an all-round open platform for foreign trade, promoting the stable and healthy development of foreign trade in a time of normalized epidemic prevention and control, and to ensuring an unimpeded foreign trade industry chain and supply chain. We will work hard to provide better and more convenient services for the exhibitors and buyers. Chinese and foreign enterprises and buyers are welcome to actively participate in the exhibition and do business," said Gao Feng, the spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce.

The 128th virtual Canton Fair will set up 50 exhibition zones featuring 16 product categories with a cross-border e-commerce zone dedicated to promoting the integrated pilot zones to expand cooperation across B2B cross-border e-commerce platforms.

The digital platform of the virtual trade fair comes with enhanced functions and an optimized registration process for global buyers. This newly improved website enables easier webpage navigation to boost efficiency for both buyers and sellers though more comprehensive search features and a more intuitive interface. Innovative cloud-based technology, online tools for services such as live-streaming product demonstration, instant communication tools, business meeting appointment and trade matching will also be provided to facilitate business processes.

Promoting Global Trade through New Channels

The Canton Fair is an example of China's latest innovative contribution to stabilize global industry and supply chains. With China's import and export continuing to show a strong momentum of recovery, the Fair is poised to promote global trade by opening up new channels to strengthen international economic and trade cooperation.

With the new consumption trend led by the stay-at-home practices, the Canton Fair will help companies adjust to a new economic normal through building a platform to debut their high-quality household products including home appliances, kitchenware and portable indoor exercise equipment.

The Canton Fair 2020 autumn session will also feature "Promotion on Cloud" events, develop new global partners, and launch supporting programs designed to help buyers better adapt to the online exhibition.

https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/

SOURCE Canton Fair

Related Links

https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/


LG Chem's spinoff battery unit should mark first step



LG Chem decided to spin off its battery business in a board meeting last Thursday. The world's largest battery maker will seek to win approval of its plan at an extraordinary shareholders meeting in late October, and formally launch the tentatively named LG Energy Solution in December. LG Chem will wholly own the new company through a physical division, sparking an outcry among small individual investors.



These investors posted a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website opposing the spinoff. However, some stock analysts say it will prove to be a market booster in the long run, citing LG Chem's high corporate value. Assuaging and persuading small shareholders to go along with the plan will likely be as important as the spinoff itself, however.



Often called the "second semiconductor" in Korea, electric vehicle (EV) batteries have emerged as the hottest industry in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. According to IHS Markit, the global battery market is estimated to grow 25 percent a year to exceed 180 trillion won ($155 billion) in 2025, surpassing the memory chip market at 150 trillion won.



LG Chem currently stands at the top of this astonishingly expanding market. The company accounted for 25.1 percent of accumulated worldwide sales of EV batteries in the first five months of the year, beating out China's CATL that has a market share of 23.8 percent. LG Chem also turned around in the second quarter, following a 131 percent jump in its operating profit from a year ago. The spinoff decision reflects the company's confidence based on such an improved performance.



To meet surging orders from global clients such as GM, Ford, Volkswagen and Renault, the company direly needs to invest into facilities and technology. The spun off company needs to prepare for the future with fresh funds to be secured by its initial public offering. Korea's battery industry has carved out a 35 percent global market share, laying the foundation to make the country a global battery powerhouse. However, it can ill afford to remain complacent because of the rapidly chasing Chinese makers that have government support. We want to cheer Corporate Korea's efforts to overcome such challenges.


Syria is crucial to Russia for three key reasons. First, it is currently the principal Western point of the Shia crescent of power that stretches from Syria and Lebanon through Iraq and Iran and then south into Yemen that Moscow has been cultivating for years as a counterpoint to the U.S.s own sphere of influence centred on Saudi Arabia. Second, it offers a long Mediterranean coastline from which it can send oil and gas products (its own or those of its allies, notably Iran) for export either into major oil and gas hubs in Greece and Italy or into northern, western and eastern Africa. Third, it is a vital military hub, with one major naval port (Tartus), one major air force base (Latakia) and one major listening station (just outside Latakia). Syria also has significant oil and gas resources that can be used by the Kremlin to offset part of the costs it has incurred as part of its geopolitical manoeuvring and Russia is moving forward on 40 principal projects in these sectors right now. According to Russias Deputy Prime Minister, Yuri Borisov, Moscow is now working to restore at least 40 energy facilities in Syria as part of a wider development aimed at bringing back the full oil and gas potential of the country as it was before July 2011 when defectors from the Syrian army formed the Free Syrian Army and began armed conflict across the country. Prior to that point, Syria was an oil and gas producer of some significance, producing around 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil from proved reserves of 2.5 billion barrels. Before the recovery rate had begun to drop off due to a lack of enhanced oil recovery techniques being employed at the major fields (mostly located east near the border with Iraq and east of the city of Homs) it had been producing nearly 600,000 bpd. When the largest producing fields - including those in the Deir-ez-Zour region, such as Omar  were under the control of Daesh, crude oil and condensates production fell to about 25,000 bpd, but this has now improved to an average of 35-40,000 bpd, according to the EIA.

Europe imported at least US$3 billion worth of oil per year from Syria up to the beginning of 2011, according to the European Commission, and much of the key infrastructure to handle oil from Syria remains in place. Many European refineries were configured to process the heavy, sour Souedie crude oil that makes up much of Syrias output, with the remainder being the sweet and lighter Syrian Light grade. Most of this  some 150,000 bpd combined  went to Germany, Italy, and France, from one of Syrias three Mediterranean export terminals:; Banias, Tartus, and Latakia. As an adjunct to this, a multitude of international oil companies were operating in Syrias energy sector, including Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell, Frances Total, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Indias Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Canadas Suncor Energy, Britains Petrofac and Gulfsands Petroleum, and Russian oil company Tatneft and engineering firm Stroytransgaz.

Related: Oil Prices Slide As Libya Restarts Production

Syrias gas sector was at least as vibrant as its oil sector, and less of that has been damaged in recent conflicts. With proved reserves of 8.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, the full year 2010  the last under normal operating conditions  saw Syria produce just over 316 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of dry natural gas. The build out of the South Central Gas Area - built by Stroytransgaz  had started up by the end of 2009 and had boosted Syrias natural gas production by about 40 per cent by the beginning of 2011. Syrias combined oil and gas exports at that point generated a quarter of government revenues and made it the eastern Mediterraneans leading oil and gas producer. After the onset of the domestic armed uprising in July 2011, and then Daesh moving west from Iraq into Syria in September 2014, gas production fell off to around 130 bcf/d but this has now recovered to around 170 bcf/d, OilPrice.com understands from Russian oil and gas sources in Moscow.

The energy plan to which Deputy Prime Minister Borisov referred in the last week is a re-working of the memorandum of understanding signed between Syria and Russia in the middle of November 2017, encompassing not just 40 energy projects but a lot more as well. For a start, focus will turn to expanding the power sector, following on from the original 2017 plan signed between Syrias then-Electricity Minister, Mohammad Zuhair Kharboutli, and Russias Minister of Energy, Alexander Novak. The deal covered the full reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Aleppo thermal plant, the installation of the Deir Ezzor power plant, and the expansion of capacity of the Mharda and Tishreen plants, with a view to re-energising Syrias power grid and restoring the main control centre for the grid back to Damascus. This accords with comments as early as the middle of December 2017 (by then-Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, after holding talks in Syria with President Bashar al-Assad) that: Russia will be the only country to take part in rebuilding Syrian energy facilities. Related: Oil Prices Slide As Libya Restarts Production

In tandem with this, the priority infrastructure project is the complete repair and capacity-boosting upgrading of the Homs oil refinery (Syrias other is in Banias), which was damaged in an attack last December. The practical project work was led by Irans Mapna and various Russia companies, with the initial target capacity being 140,000 bpd, Phase 2s being 240,000 bpd, and Phase 3s being 360,000 bpd, according to a source who works closely with Irans Petroleum Ministry spoken to exclusively by OilPrice.com at the time. The intention was that it could also be used to refine Iranian oil coming through Iraq if needed, before onward shipment into southern Europe, the source added.

Russia intends Syria to act as a natural conduit for oil and gas shipments into Europe once the conflict has been subdued further. In the post-conflict planning by the U.S., Europe, and Russia, there were three options for Syria on the table, the Iran source told OilPrice.com. The U.S.-led option involved moving gas from Qatar through Saudi Arabia and Jordan, then through Syria whereupon it would flow into Turkey and onwards to the rest of Europe, thereby reducing Europes dependence on Russian gas supplies. The European-favoured option involved UN peace-keeping monitors on the ground in Syria, bringing in hydrocarbons industry experts from the UN Security Council member states, and letting both pipelines (Qatar-Syria-Turkey, and Iran-Iraq-Syria- Turkey) develop organically over time. This would allow the European Union to re-calibrate its energy sources gradually, in line with its strategy of reducing its dependence on Russia directly.

The Russian option  the only one left on the table - involves fully resuscitating the notion of the Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline, moving Iranian, and later Iraqi, gas from South Pars to Syria and then into Europe. Such an option would also likely encourage closer co-operation in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum [GECF] but this option is opposed by the U.S./Saudi bloc and Europe, as the GECF comprises 11 of the worlds leading natural gas producers [Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad & Tobago, and Venezuela], said the Iran source. Aside from the fact that the core members of the organisation are Russia, Iran, and Qatar, and that it also has some of the U.S.s other rogue states on the list  notably Libya and Venezuela - GECF members together control over 70 per cent of the worlds natural gas reserves, 38 per cent of the pipeline trade, and 85 per cent of the LNG [liquefied natural gas] production., which truly makes a Gas OPEC plus plus, which would pose a real threat to the U.S. and to Europe, he concluded.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Virtual panel to discuss diverse career opportunities in agriculture

by Jason Franchuk

CARBONDALE, Ill.  A virtual panel discussion this week hosted by Southern Illinois University Carbondales College of Agricultural, Life and Physical Sciences will explore the diverse career opportunities available within the farming industry for women.

The conversation, via Zoom, is set for noon, Friday, Sept. 25, and will focus on the varying agriculture-related careers. The discussion will include Erin Perry, an associate professor in the Department of Animal Science, Food and Nutrition.

The meeting is free and open to the public. To participate, click on the Zoom link. The meeting ID is 954 9813 8374 and call-in number is 312/626-6799, 95498138374#.

Other panelists will include:

Susan Graham, assistant to the Dean, College of Agriculture, Life and Physical Sciences.

Miriam Hoffman, a junior studying agribusiness economics from Earlville, Illinois.

Sarah Dintelmann, a 2020 SIU Carbondale graduate in agricultural business and agronomy who is now working with Bayer Crop Science.

Perry said her goal is to help young women understand the vast diversity of available opportunities within the industry. The discussion will feature SIU faculty, students and alumni.

Agriculture is a huge field that encompasses veterinary medicine, cutting-edge plant science research, and everything in between, she said. I think the most important thing to know is that women in agriculture are more than farmers. They are scientists, veterinarians, statisticians, crop specialists, journalists, marketing specialists, photographers, and so much more.

The virtual meeting is sponsored by the southern region of Illinois Agri-Women.
With Assembly polls round the corner, the BJP in Bihar launched a toll-free number on Sunday, soliciting people's views and suggestions for preparing its poll manifesto.

The party's national president, J P Nadda, during his two-day Bihar visit earlier this month, had flagged off 'chariots', also to seek views of voters in different districts of the state, and find out about their expectations from the state government.

The saffron party will bear the views and suggestions in mind while preparing its poll manifesto, Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal said at a press meet here.

"A toll-free number 6357171717' has been launched to solicit views of people from all sections of the society. People can simply give a missed call and wait for a call back. On getting the call, they can air their views on the current state of affairs and what all they think should be incorporated in the saffron party's manifesto, he said.

Shortly after the call, a form will be forwarded to the person over phone, which then they can fill up and send it back to the number from which the text came from.

The party has already flagged off 'raths' (chariots) to solicit people's suggestions before preparing the Today, it launched a toll free number, too, for the purpose, he said.

The BJP would ideally want people from all walks of life to provide suggestions, Jaiswal said.

The party, after coming to power, would translate them into reality, he added.

State agriculture minister and the BJP's manifesto committee's convenor Prem Kumar were among others who were present at the press meet.

Assembly in Bihar are slated to be held in October-November this year.

(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.)
SO far, so good. Thats the situation at three Manitoba Christian universities and colleges after almost two weeks of in-person classes.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SO far, so good. Thats the situation at three Manitoba Christian universities and colleges after almost two weeks of in-person classes.

The Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Providence University College in Otterburne and Steinbach Bible College invited students back to campus for the 2020-21 academic year in addition to offering online classes.

Booth University College in Winnipeg decided to offer only online instruction.

At CMU, "its been a really positive start," said Terry Schellenberg, vice-president external.

Enrolment is down 1.9 per cent, with 617 students at its Shaftesbury Boulevard campus. There are 152 students living in on-campus apartments and dormitories in single-occupant rooms.

While all classes are held in-person, including some that are being conducted outdoors as long as the weather holds, about eight per cent of students have elected to attend classes online only.

"I am struck by how badly students wanted to be back in classes," Schellenberg said. "There is a real yearning for connection."

There has been "good buy-in for following safety protocols" by students, he said, noting that masks are mandatory in public spaces on campus.

"Ive yet to see a student not wearing a mask," he said.

The campus is closed to the public; the only places they can go are the Folio cafe and bookstore. There is no public access to the library.

While having taken every precaution on campus, he acknowledges the school cant control what students do off campus.

At the same time, "I sense a real respect and sensitivity for the moment we are in from students," he said.

With 445 students in undergraduate and seminary programs, enrolment at Providence University College is up slightly over last year, said Cameron McKenzie, vice-president and provost.

About 20 per cent of undergraduates have chosen online classes only, while about 70 per cent of seminary students are doing the same. There are 115 students in residence in single-occupancy rooms.

Masks are mandatory in public spaces, and students were asked to sign an agreement to follow health and safety guidelines.

"Student behaviour has been all positive so far," he said, adding "we have promoted (the safety protocols) as caring for one another. By and large, students are doing that."

The public is allowed on campus, but visitors have to register and answer questions about their health and exposure to the virus.

Rob Reimer, president of SBC, also feels positive.

"Considering the doom and gloom forecast for schools back in April and May, we feel very fortunate," he said.

Enrolment at the school is up a bit from last year, with 110 students taking classes. One of the drivers for the better-than-expected numbers is the high number of returning students  the most Reimer has seen in his 14 years at the college.

"Many came back because they didnt like the way the year ended last year, with the sudden closing," he said. "They want to finish well what they started."

Fifty-seven students are in residence, almost all in single rooms.

SBC is offering a hybrid model; all classes can be live-streamed or viewed later.

As at the other schools, masks are mandatory in all public areas. Students have been asked to abide by safety and health protocols. "So far, there have been no issues," Reimer said.

Over at Booth, "I think we made the right decision to go virtual," said Michael Boyce, vice-president academic and dean.

Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Enrolment is down seven per cent, he said, with a total of 240 students.

Faculty members have been given freedom to teach their classes from home or at the downtown campus; some professors "prefer the classroom because they like the feel of it," Boyce said.

There are few students in residence and everyone who is on campus must wear a mask in public places.

Leaders at all four schools stressed that while things are going well, that could change.

"It is simply way too early to make any judgments about how this will go," said Schellenberg. "There are simply way too many changing variables, externally and internally, to predict with confidence whether a good start will really extend itself."

faith@freepress.mb.ca
ZAMBOANGA CITY  Eight villages in the southern Philippine province of Sulu are now free from the influence of the pro-ISIS group Abu Sayyaf...
Food Forever is an awareness-raising campaign supporting the UNs Sustainable Development Goal Target 2.5, which calls on chefs to advocate for the wealth of diversity within our food system

On September 25th, Pocono Organics will host the Food Forever Experience Pocono. Food Forever is an awareness-raising campaign to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 2.5, which calls on the global community to safeguard the diversity of our foods. The experience calls on chefs and all stakeholders in food and agriculture to advocate for the wealth of diversity within our food systems and put it to use in their kitchens. By building more diverse food systems we are contributing to a more sustainable and resilient future for all.

On the UN Global Day of Action, the Food Forever Experience Pocono will present a glimpse into the future of food by showcasing the amazing potential of some of the lesser-known foods in our food systems. COVID-19 has placed extreme pressure on our food systems, making agrobiodiversity more important than ever. Pocono Organics is spearheading the effort by dedicating an entire greenhouse to growing more diverse crops including ulluco, oca, brown speckled tepary beans and more. People from all over the world will be able to tune in to the digital Food Forever Experience Pocono to hear world-class chefs, farmers, seed savers, educators, and policymakers speak on the importance of agrobiodiversity. Due to restrictions resulting from COVID-19 and fully compliant with state and federal regulations, the in-person experience has been scaled down to a limited number of in-region attendees.

Pocono Organics, is one of the largest public-facing regenerative organic farms in North America. As one of Rodale Institutes largest satellite farms it serves as a global center for research, education, and discovery for regenerative organic agricultural practices that brings guests back to the roots of how and where their food is grown.

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"I attended the first Food Forever Experience in New York and I was immediately inspired to take action," said Ashley Walsh, Founder and President of Pocono Organics. "I wanted to grow these forgotten ingredients at our farm to make them more accessible and get them back on our plates. We all have a chance to make a difference - whether as consumers every time we eat, as chefs preparing their menus or farmers choosing what crops to grow. We are so happy to be hosting the Food Forever Experience Pocono to inspire others to take action on this vital initiative of safeguarding crop agrobiodiversity."

Notable chefs, including Michael Stebner, Ange Brancaand Marcie Turney, will conceive and prepare inventive dishes, to be streamed online, using a range of curious and rediscovered ingredients. These chefs will be joined by renowned food advocates, including Erik Oberholtzer, Judy Wicks and Jeff Moyer, who will share their insight on the power of diverse crops such as Faro, Oca, Sunchokes, Finger Millet, and more. The Experience will also feature inspiring online talks by Chef Dan Barber, author of The Third Plate co-owner of Blue Hill in Manhattan, Zach Bush MD renowned, multi-disciplinary physician of internal medicine, Birgit Cameron of Patagonia Provisions and Tom Newmark Chairman, The Carbon Underground and co-owner of Finca Luna Nueva Lodge in Costa Rica, and Stefan Schmitz, Crop Trust Executive Director. The chefs will prepare videos and recipes to demonstrate how we can all recreate the Experience in our own kitchens during these unprecedented times.

"As a chef I have always celebrated the best local ingredients available at the peak of their season, says Food Forever Champion Chef Erik Oberholtzer. The Food Forever Experience has opened my mind to a diverse universe of ingredients I would likely have overlooked had I not joined this initiative. Whether digging deep into the diversity of a single ingredient like heirloom tomatoes or wide across the global spectrum of crops on the edge of our food system such as oca, we have an endless range of magic to cook with. Preserving this diversity is not only imperative to the future of our planet but key to a future of deliciousness."

Rodale Institute will also debut a white paper with new research findings surrounding how Regenerative Agriculture could potentially reduce emissions and maximize carbon sequestration in soils, as one solution to the climate crisis. The paper helps close out 2020 as the year of soil health. The Food Forever Experience will discuss how agrobiodiversity can contribute to greater resilience in our food systems, particularly in light of COVID and the pressure its placing on food systems.

About Pocono Organics.

Pocono Organics, awarded the 2019 Environmental Innovator of the Year by the Green Sports Alliance, was founded in 2015 and is one of the largest regenerative organic farms in North America. Located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono Organics has more than 381 acres of farmland and, at full build out, will have 120,000 square feet of greenhouse space. Pocono Organics has a strategic partnership with Rodale Institute, the global leaders in Regenerative Organic Agriculture practices and research. Sustainability is a hallmark of Pocono Organics which will draw power from a 3MW, 25-acre solar farm and reclaim rainwater from its greenhouse roofs for irrigation. Pocono Organics also serves the local community through its Clean Food, Dirty Hands school education and Veteran Farmer Training programs. In addition, the property includes an organic farmers market and cafe, and with a 56-room adjoining hotel, is an agritourism destination, hosting wellness and education events as well as annual festivals. Click here to learn more about Pocono Organics mission and work.

About Food Forever

The Food Forever Initiative works to highlight the urgency of safeguarding and using crop and livestock diversity in support of Target 2.5 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on Zero Hunger. As an awareness-raising campaign, Food Forever relies on partners and high-level Champions from politics, Academia, business and civil society to promote the importance of agrobiodiversity within their own spheres of influence and networks. The initiative hopes to rally enough support to implement Target 2.5 by the end of 2020. www.food4ever.org

About Rodale Institute

Rodale Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to pioneering organic farming through research and outreach. For more than 70 years, the Institute has been putting science behind best practices in organic agriculture, sharing its findings with farmers and scientists throughout the world, advocating for policies that support farmers, and educating consumers about how going organic is the healthiest option for people and the planet. Learn more at www.RodaleInstitute.org.

Media Resources:

###

Contact Details

Wendy Gordon

+1 202-412-6268

wendy@flashprdc.com

Company Website

https://www.poconoorganics.com/

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/pocono-organics-hosts-food-forever-experience-on-the-uns-global-day-of-action-396246859.html
Photo credit: Rachel Malehorn - Wikimedia Commons

From Esquire

During Trumps rally in North Carolina on Saturday night, the president declared that his next Supreme Court nominee will be a very talented, very brave woman. Speaking over chants of Fill that seat! from the crowd, Trump spoke about his obligation to nominate someone without delay. According to multiple reports , Trumps nomination could come as soon as next week.

Assuming he keeps his word and nominates a woman, the nominee will likely be either Amy Coney Barrett or Barbara Lagoa. Both women appear on Trumps now famous list of potential Supreme Court nominees .

Heres a brief look at each woman and the effects their nomination may have on a few of the most critical issues cropping up in the courts today.

Amy Coney Barrett

Judge Barrett serves as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, IL. Trump appointed her to that position in 2017. A devout Roman Catholic, she was previously a professor of constitutional law at her alma mater Notre Dame. Before that, she served as a clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia. According to the New York Times , during her confirmation hearing, Judge Barrett was questioned about her faith by Senate Democrats. The dogma lives loudly within you, said Senator Diane Fienstein, prompting accusations of religious bigotry from Senate Republicans, particularly Senator Orrin Hatch.

At the time, three democrats joined Republicans in voting to confirm Judge Barrett  Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and former Senator of Indiana, Joe Donnelly.

Judge Barrett is known widely for her pro-life stance, but according to an article in Notre Dames student newspaper, at a 2013 Notre Dame event entitled Roe at 40: The Supreme Court, Abortion and the Culture War that Followed, she characterized the landmark case as a settled decision.

I think it is very unlikely at this point that the court is going to overturn Roe [v. Wade], or Roe [v.Wade] as curbed by [Planned Parenthood v.] Casey. The fundamental element, that the woman has a right to choose abortion, will probably stand, she said. The controversy right now is about funding. Its a question of whether abortions will be publicly or privately funded.

Story continues

Since joining the 7th circuit though, Judge Barrett has either written or signed on to many opinions that limit womens access to abortions. According to the IndyStar , Barrett called for the re-hearing of a case that struck down former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's 2016 abortion law, which prohibited abortions if the fetus was disabled.

Barbara Lagoa

Photo credit: Joe Raedle - Getty Images





Barbara Lagoa is a Cuban American judge who currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, GA. She was nominated by President Trump in 2019 and confirmed by the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. Prior to her appointment, Lagoa was the first Hispanic woman on the Supreme Court of Florida. She attended Columbia University for law school and served as an associate editor of the Columbia Law Review.

Lagoa is well known for being part of the legal team that represented the Miami relatives of Elian Gonzalez. Gonzalez was six years old when he was found floating in an inner tube off the coast of Florida in 1999. According to the New York Times, Lagoa and her colleagues argued that Elian Gonzalez had been denied the due process granted to all other aliens who come to this country seeking asylum

More recently, Judge Lagoa sided with a 6-to-4 majority on the 11th Circuit that decided a Florida law requiring former felons to pay court fees before they can vote is constitutional. Multiple outlets have described the decision as being harmful to voters rights initiatives.

When asked about Lagoa on Saturday night, Trump said, Shes an extraordinary person. Ive heard incredible things about her. I dont know her. Shes Hispanic and highly respected.

According to the Miami Herald , Lagoa is the daughter of exiled Cubans who fled soon after Fidel Castro came into power. Trump has been actively courting Cuban American voters throughout the 2020 presidential campaign season, and a Lagoa nomination could benefit him by giving him a boost in the key state of Florida.

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Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a 2,000-year-old bronze pot that contains over three litres of what they believed to be medicinal wine.

The intricate swan-shaped pot attracted national attention after it was discovered with mysterious brew inside a tomb in the city of Sanmenxia of Chinas central province Henan earlier this year.

It was revealed on Thursday by experts that the unknown liquid was alcohol dating to the early Western Han dynasty (206 BC-24 AD).

The intricate swan-shaped pot attracted national attention after it was discovered with mysterious brew inside a tomb in the city of Sanmenxia of Chinas central province Henan

It was revealed on Thursday by experts that the unknown liquid was alcohol dating to the early Western Han dynasty (206 BC-24 AD). The picture shows a researcher holding the wine

The medicinal wine was found as part of an excavation of an ancient tomb when the archaeologists were examining the site of a local redevelopment project in May, reported state media Xinhua.

A bronze pot with a curved neck in the shape of a swan was uncovered from the burial site.

The pottery had contained over three litres of unknown liquid with a yellowish-brown colour. It was also said to be the first pot of its kind to be unearthed in the region.

The mysterious brew drew national interest as samples of the liquid sent to a laboratory in Beijing to determine exactly what it is, and hopefully whether or not its safe to drink.

The mystery was finally solved on Thursday as researchers confirmed it to be alcohol, reported Chinese media.

The alcohol was similar to the medicinal liquor recorded in an ancient medical book discovered in the Mawangdui Tombs of the Han Dynasty in Changsha, central Chinas Hunan province.

The medicinal wine was used to stop bleeding and reduce inflammation, according to the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Sanmenxia.

The pottery (pictured) had contained over three litres of unknown liquid with a yellowish-brown colour. It was also said to be the first pot of its kind to be unearthed in the region

The test report of the liquid shows the pot could be a drinking vessel, and the liquor can be poured from a small hole on the top, Li Yongtao, a local archaeologist, told CCTV

The medicinal wine was found as part of an excavation of an ancient tomb when the archaeologists were examining the site of a local redevelopment project in May, reported state media Xinhua. A collection of the uncovered items from the tomb is pictured being displayed

The test report of the liquid shows the pot could be a drinking vessel, and the liquor can be poured from a small hole on the top, Li Yongtao, a local archaeologist, told state broadcaster CCTV.

He added that more tests are underway in a bid to unravel more information about the ancient wine - what substances it consisted and how it was produced, for example.

Experts also said that the liquor was able to be preserved for 2,000 years due to the unique design of the pot and its location.

Yan Fei, a director at the Sanmenxia institute, told CCTV: 'First of all, the burial location is about four metres (13 feet) deep underground. Current human activities barely disrupted the tomb.

'...the most important thing is the pot's special design of curved neck that prevented the liquid from evaporating and preserved it till now,' he said.

In addition to the swan pot, a bronze helmet, basin and swords made of jade and iron had also been uncovered from the tomb.

The wine was found in a tomb in the city of Sanmenxia of Chinas central province Henan earlier this year when the archaeologists were examining the site of a redevelopment project

The owner of the tomb is believed to be a male warrior and about 1.8 metres (5ft9) tall, according to the experts.

'There were also bronze mirrors and bronze accessories unearthed and they were discovered ,' said Mr Li.

'It shows that the tomb owner was conscious about his appearance and he cared about the quality of life.'

The man's age and cause of death remain unknown due to the poor preservation of the human bones, reports say.

Last year, Chinese archaeologists said a fabled 'Elixir of immortality' mentioned throughout ancient Chinese texts was discovered in a bronze pot hidden inside in a 2,000-year-old burial tomb.

The container was unearthed in March 2019 in the tomb of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-8 AD) noble family and contains six pints (3.5 litres) of the concoction.

China's rich and powerful searched for a magical potion over thousands of years that would bring them external life.

The mythical quest for the non-existent cure was inevitably unsuccessful and instead yielded a drink which is thought to have spelled like alcohol.
A 'swimming' robotic device has been developed to safely sample grain bulks at various depths as part of a solution to tackle post-harvest storage losses.

Each one of the robotic devices, called the 'Crover', is expected to be able to save a total of 380 tonnes of grain - wheat and barley - every year.

Poor autumn planting conditions, a spring drought and the recent heavy rains have led to a difficult UK harvest for farmers and growers.

The challenges dont end once grain is in store  uncontrolled temperature and moisture levels can lead to pests and mould which, due to the difficult task of monitoring, contribute to global post-harvest grain losses of more than 20%.

Now a new Innovate UK-funded project is tackling the problem. Tech start-up Crover Ltd, Agri-EPI Centre and East of Scotland Farmers have developed the first robotic device to ease the issue, where existing methods cannot.

Over the next 18 months, the Crover will be trialled at the East of Scotland Farmers co-operative in Perth and Kinross, at a farm in Northumberland and within Agri-EPIs network of partner farms.

Lorenzo Conti, Crovers MD, said post-harvest losses had 'serious financial impacts' for cereal storage sites such as farms, grain merchants, millers and breweries.

"They also have significant social and environmental consequences, which are becoming ever more even more pressing due to threats such as increasing global food demand, intense price volatility, and harvest unpredictability due to climate change.

Over the next 18 months, the Crover will be trialled at numerous farms across the UK

"Four and a half billion people per year are exposed to dangerous mycotoxins from grain moulds which contaminate 25% of the world's food supply.

"The carbon footprint from cereal storage losses equates to 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions from food waste."

Mr Conti said his company's aim was to improve grain storage systems, helping to build the resilience of the grain supply chain and the wider global food system.

The patented technology behind the Crover robot allows it to fluently 'swim' through bulk solids, like cereals and grains.

While doing this, the device monitors the grains' condition while still in storage, and without leaving any grain unchecked.

Current grain solutions can only reach near the surface, posing a safety hazard to operators collecting the samples. But Crover's remote probing device will be able to autonomously collect samples throughout the whole silo/shed.

This gives early detection of potential spoilage allowing steps to be taken to reduce losses and maintain quality.

Robin Barron, General Manager of East of Scotland Farmers said: We have a special interest in obtaining representative samples from silos and stores full of malting barley, so that we can accurately assess their recovery from dormancy before being dispatched to maltster customers.

The project is being supported with 250,000 of Innovate UK funding.
Based on current data measured in the energy, industry, and mobility sectors, restrictions of social life during the corona pandemic can be predicted to lead to a reduction of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions by up to eight percent in 2020. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), cumulative reductions of about this magnitude would be required every year to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement by 2030. Recent measurements by researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) revealed that concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has not yet changed due to the estimated emission reductions. The results are reported in Remote Sensing (DOI: 10.3390/rs12152387).

The corona pandemic has changed both our working and our private lives. People increasingly work from home, have video conferences instead of business trips, and spend their holidays in their home country. The lower traffic volume also reduces CO2 emissions. Reductions of up to eight percent are estimated for 2020. "In spite of the reduced emissions, our measurements show that CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has not yet decreased," says Ralf Sussmann from the Atmospheric Environmental Research Division of KIT's Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-IFU), KIT's Campus Alpine, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. "To reduce CO2 concentration in the atmosphere in the long run, restrictions imposed during the corona pandemic would have to be continued for decades. But even this would be far from being sufficient."

To prove this, researchers additionally studied a long-term scenario that can be controlled well with atmospheric measurements: The goal of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius can only be reached by an immediate significant reduction of CO2 emissions and a further decrease down to zero by 2055. "The restrictions imposed during the corona crisis, however, are far from being sufficient. They have just resulted in a one-time reduction by eight percent. To reach zero emissions in the coming decades, cumulative reductions of the same magnitude would be required every year, i.e. 16 percent in 2021, 24 percent in 2022, and so on. For this, political measures have to be taken to directly initiate fundamental technological changes in the energy and transport sectors," Sussmann says.

For the study, the team used data from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). It measured the concentrations in different layers of the atmosphere above Garmisch-Partenkirchen and at other places around the globe. "High-tech infrared spectrometers are applied, which use the sun as a light source. The measurement method is highly precise, uncertainties are in the range of a few thousandths," Sussmann adds.

Long Life of CO2 Prevents Early Detection

According to the researchers, the long life of CO2 and the high background concentrations that have accumulated since the start of industrialization prevent the changes in the atmosphere from being detected. "But also natural impacts make early detection difficult: Anthropogenic emissions, the main cause of the long-term increase in atmospheric CO2, are superposed by annual fluctuations of the growth rate due to natural climate variabilities of ocean sinks and land vegetation," Sussmann says. Successful emission reduction, hence, is hard to detect by atmosphere measurements.

For their study, the researchers compared the TCCON measurements with the prognoses of the atmospheric growth rate for 2020 - with and without corona restrictions. "Precision analysis of atmosphere measurements revealed that the impacts of COVID-19 measures on the atmosphere might be measured after little more than six months, if the reference state without COVID-19 would be predicted precisely," the climate researcher explains. "In any case, we would be able to find out within presumably two and half years, whether global political and social measures will help us find viable alternatives of fossil fuels and reach the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement."

###

Original Publication:

Sussmann, R., and Rettinger, M.: Can We Measure a COVID-19-Related Slowdown in Atmospheric CO2 Growth? Sensitivity of Total Carbon Column Observations, Remote Sens., 12, 2387, 2020. doi:10.3390/rs12152387

More about the KIT Climate and Environment Center: http://www.klima-umwelt.kit.edu/english

Contact for this press release: Martin Heidelberger, Editor/Press Officer, Phone: +49 721 608-41169, martin.heidelberger@kit.edu

Being "The Research University in the Helmholtz Association", KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,300 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 24,400 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.
AMHERST  The Planning Board last week voted to keep out of their meeting minutes concerns voiced by board member Janet McGowan referencing the body may have violated the open meeting law on Aug. 5.

The board discussed disbanding the Planning Boards Zoning Subcommittee during the meeting.

McGowan had objected, saying that was not an agenda item.

She had also objected to a proposal by then board Chair Christine Gray-Mullen to appoint a new chair, at the Aug. 5 meeting, since she would no longer be on the board.

McGowan said there was no agenda item for election of officers on the Aug. 5 agenda.

She said discussing and taking action on those items could be an open meeting law violation, as that was not on the published meeting agenda.

No action was taken on naming a new chair nor disbanding the zoning subcommittee on Aug. 5 -- only discussions.

Public boards and committees in Massachusetts are required by law to take minutes of their meetings and are expected to approve meeting minutes within a reasonable time, doing so by voting to approve them.

Sometimes corrections, additions, deletions are made to meeting minutes to ensure they are accurate and reflect what happened at a meeting.

During discussion on Sept. 16 -- of the Aug. 5 Amherst Planning Board meeting minutes  Chair Jack Jemsek moved to approve the August minutes without reference to McGowans OML concerns.

But McGowan wanted the Aug. 5 minutes to reflect concerns she had stated related to whether the body might have violated open meeting law -- by discussing things that had not been posted on that meetings agenda.

Jemsek objected to including that reference.

What is on page 15 proposed by McGowan bothers me, he said.

Theres some discussion that happens within the planning board; and I dont know that that detail needs to end up in the minutes, the chair said. I dont think we need to go into that level of detail. Im a little upset about the change that was proposed  particularly page 15, with regard to someone violating the open meeting law.

I dont think we need to have that presented within our minutes, Jemsak added. I think that is not appropriate. . . I dont want to make a written record of what someone said in that fashion; it just doesnt sit well with me.

I move that we approve the original minutes without Janets changes, he said.

At that point planning director Christine Brestrup said she had forwarded McGowans proposed amendment to the draft minutes only to Jemsek and McGowan, prior to the meeting.

Changes McGowan sought were made available at the Sept. 16 meeting to all seven board members, when they had opportunity to review McGowans addition to the minutes.

The approved minutes for the Aug. 5 meeting say: Ms. McGowan shared her objection to a formal vote because the item is not on the agenda. Ms. McGowan suggested making this discussion an agenda item in September.

The board voted 3-1 against including reference that McGowan raised the issue of an Open Meeting Law violation to be part of those meeting minutes.

It actually happened that way, and these are the things I did say, McGowan said prior to the Sept. 16 vote.

If you are uncomfortable with what happened at that meeting, it shouldnt be because Im talking about it, she said, adding: it was quite disturbing to me. . . I hope we never do that again; I have nothing else to say.

New board members Thom Long, Andrew MacDougall and Johanna Neumann abstained from voting; the trio did not join planning board until this month.

Jemsek, Vice Chair Douglas Marshall and Maria Chao voted in favor; McGowan voted against approving the minutes absent the changes.
As the temperature starts to drop, its time to roll up a sleeve and get your annual flu shot.

The protection of the vaccine will also help health care workers who will have to determine whether someone who has upper respiratory symptoms has the flu or COVID-19, which may be gearing up for a cold-weather spike.

Infectious disease doctors say its not too soon for a flu shot, but the ideal time is in October, so that the six months of protection against influenza will last through April. Thats because there are more cases of flu in the spring than in early fall.

We want people to get their shots early enough so they are fully immunized and protected before flu starts to circulate in the community, said Dr. Richard Martinello, medical director for infection prevention for the Yale New Haven Health System.

He said people 6 months old and older should get their shots, or the nasal spray version of the vaccine, now through the end of October. It takes one to two weeks to build up immunity against the flu virus.

Its especially important this year to get vaccinated so flu and COVID-19 cases dont overwhelm the health care system. Also, Martinello said, One of our real concerns with this upcoming flu season is that any time somebody comes to us and they have cough, fever, we have to assume they have COVID.

But Martinello and others are hopeful that the safeguards people have used against the coronavirus  mask wearing, social distancing and hand-washing  will mean a milder-than-normal flu season.

We certainly hope that turns out to be the case, Martinello said. One thing were finding out is COVID, as bad as it is, is forcing us to realize that there were other things we could be doing to prevent the flu.

Martinello said reports from the Southern Hemisphere, where the flu season starts in May and June, are really encouraging that we will be spared a serious flu season.

The experience in the Southern Hemisphere is that they saw very little flu, he said. But he added, Flu is very unpredictable. The only thing predictable is that well have it each year.

Dr. Asha Shah, associate director of infectious diseases at Stamford Hospital, said it could be a more confusing respiratory virus season than usual because of COVID. Our recommendation is to try to get vaccinated as close to October as possible.

The flu season doesnt end until at least April. Because we see less flu on this side of October  there is an advantage of waiting to October because the vaccine will last a long period of time, Shah said.

Yale New Haven is providing immunizations to its employees starting in October; Stamford Health is offering them at the end of this month.

Its not wrong to get your vaccine early. Its just that we feel its best to get it in the month of October if possible, Shah said. You dont want to go too much beyond October because you want to protect yourself.

Once Thanksgiving rolls around, its really hard to get people vaccinated because they are very focused on school and home things related to the holidays, Martinello said. However, its better to get vaccinated later than not at all.

Preliminary estimates for the 2019-20 flu season total 39 million to 56 million cases nationally and 24,000 to 62,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This year, a quadrivalent vaccine will be readily available, protecting against four strains: two A viruses, H1N1 and H3N2, and two B viruses. The high-dose vaccine offered to people 65 and older will be quadrivalent this year, Martinello said.

The symptoms of flu are cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, usually, but not always, fever, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting, according to the CDC.

While COVID didnt act like the flu and go away in the spring and summer, it could get worse in the winter, when people are indoors more, unless they keep up with the precautions of wearing masks, physical distancing and hand-washing, health experts said.

I think it is likely that COVID will increase, Martinello said. As the weather cools down and as people are spending more time indoors and therefore in closer contact, it is expected that we will see more people coming down with COVID because of that close contact.

He said children wanting to play with friends and grandparents wanting to see their families are a risk, and that playing outdoors and staying apart are important.

What you should avoid doing is going to other peoples houses, he said.

We were disappointed that COVID didnt take a deeper dip in the summertime, said Dean Sten Vermund of the Yale School of Public Health. Usually the cooler, drier air is friendlier to respiratory pathogens and warmer air is less friendly.

He said there are a lot of unknowns about whether COVID will surge during flu season, but it did rise in the South and West during the hot months, when people are staying inside with air conditioning. in some ways youre mimicking what the north does in the wintertime, he said.

There are these mysteries. If anything, you could say that this has thrived in diverse environments  hot and dry in Arizona, hot and humid in the Southeast, he said. Its also thrived in the New England and Middle Atlantic spring weather, as well as in India, Brazil and Spain in March.

I dont think coronavirus has been as temperature-humidity sensitive as we hoped, Vermund said. But he said people practicing physical distancing and more working at home may help hold down a surge.

Vermund also said that, rather than putting up lawn signs, the biggest thank you to health care workers is to get a flu shot. ... Flu shots do a great job keeping you healthier. Even if you do get flu, you have a much milder case than if you hadnt gotten the flu shot, he said.

As for COVID, Vermund said, We need to tide ourselves over past flu season and into the vaccine and treatment era.

He said treatments for coronavirus, similar to Tamiflu, to lessen symptoms of COVID, may be available in six to 12 months and that a vaccine may be available within a year.

Before that, he said, crowds who are not wearing masks are risking spreading COVID like a wildfire. The tinder is ready to burn, he said.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
An expansion of cross border health provision could help to reduce Northern Irelands dire waiting lists, Michelle ONeill has said.

The deputy First Minister also called for a ramping up of co-operation between the Stormont executive and Irish government in the Covid-19 fight.

She urged an expansion of the remit currently covered by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by health departments north and south earlier in the pandemic.

Ms ONeill told the Assembly that while she supported a Fortress Ireland approach to dealing with the pandemic, she also said it would be beneficial to treat the UK and Ireland as one unit on certain issues, such as travel restrictions.

The deputy First Minister was answering questions on Julys meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in Dublin.

I'm quite sure there are avenues for us to be able to work across the island to be able to provide people the opportunity to get the medical attention which they obviously will require Michelle O'Neill

She said a sectoral NSMC meeting with the health ministers of the two jurisdictions would take place at the end of next week.

The Sinn Fein vice president was asked by Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw on the prospect of patients on waiting lists in Northern Ireland receiving treatment in the Irish Republic.

Ms ONeill said the issue was the responsibility of Stormont health minister Robin Swann, but she added: Certainly there are opportunities for us to work across this island.

Our waiting lists were already in a dire situation before Covid and obviously a lot of things have been put on hold just as we tried to respond to the pandemic.

Were going to have to find ways to make sure that we look after peoples health outside of the Covid situation.

And for those people who have been waiting a long time, Im quite sure there are avenues for us to be able to work across the island to be able to provide people the opportunity to get the medical attention which they obviously will require.

There have been over 3,000 new COVID19 cases & 17 COVID19 deaths on island of Ireland this week



The virus is spreading rapidly within communities & claiming lives - this is the reality



COVID19 denial & complacency will result in more deaths



We must work together to save lives  Michelle ONeill (@moneillsf) September 20, 2020

So I think theres going to be a need for us all to work really hard to actually try and address the waiting lists because we know theyre dire.

They were before Covid and they certainly will be in an even worse state on the other side of this.

On the cross-border approach to tackling Covid-19, Ms ONeill told the Assembly the signing of the MoU was crucially important.

But I think we could do more, she added.

I think we could do an awful lot more. And I hope that at the sectoral meeting on October 2 the two health ministers and the chief medical officers in response to the current situation of Covid will be able to bring forward maybe additionality to that Memorandum of Understanding on what else can we do to work together to get us through the winter months, which we all acknowledge readily are going to be very, very challenging.

She added: As we face into the winter months, we need to seriously really ramp that up and work collectively across the island.

We live in a very small island and you know changes and differences in approaches actually confuses the public, particularly in border constituencies.

So I think that we have to have a very eagle eye to all of that and the restrictions that are in place and work in tandem as best as we can.

During the summer, Ms ONeill and First Minister Arlene Foster wrote to the UK and Irish governments to convene a British Irish Council (BIC) to allow ministers from across the islands to discuss travel restrictions and explore opportunities for a joined-up approach.

The meeting has not yet materialised.

Weve asked for it and pushed for it on a number of occasions, Ms ONeill said when asked about the BIC meeting on Monday.

I think that that meeting should happen as a matter of urgency.

SDLP MLA Justin McNulty asked about the plight of cross border workers who live in Northern Ireland but work in the Irish Republic and who are ineligible for Irish government Covid-19 support measures.

I have raised that issue on numerous occasions and I have written to the Irish government on the issue, replied Ms ONeill.

I think that is a disgrace that those workers have been left behind. So I think that there needs to be a resolution to it and its in the Irish governments hands to find a resolution to it, to make sure that those workers do receive the payment which they are entitled.
LONGMONT, Colo., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of diverse athletes both able-bodied and adaptive from across the United States and Ecuador will join forces on September 25-27 on behalf of the non-profit Range of Motion Project (ROMP) to provide prosthetic care to amputees who do not have access. While the team's original goal was to summit Ecuador's 19,347-foot Cotopaxi volcano, the trip was postponed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As they await their opportunity to climb Cotopaxi, the group has teamed up to collectively climb a total of 19,347 vertical feet in seven locations during a 48-hour climb-a-thon September 25-27.

"We are in a unique position to leverage our own mobility to help amputees receive prosthetic treatment and technology that they need to redefine their potential," said Founder and Executive Director Dave Krupa. "Even though our Cotopaxi climb is not happening this year, we still climb and will continue to climb for our patients. This is our mission."

Kyoto Botanicals is committed to making an impact and supporting this event to help increase access to devices that enable personal empowerment and hemp-based CBD products that help bring balance and harmony to body and mind. From September 25 to September 27, 2020, Kyoto Botanicals will donate 50% of net proceeds from sales at https://kyotobotanicals.com to ROMP to support their mission during this difficult year. With a goal of raising $19,347 for ROMP over the course of the weekend, Kyoto Botanicals looks to make a big impact in 2020 to help amputees without access to proper medical care unlock their potential.

"We are excited to combine our belief that nature provides us what we need to help live happy, healthy lives with ROMP's mission to increase the mobility, visibility, and dignity of those marginalized by lack of access to rehabilitative technology," said CEO Ron Morrow. "With this event, we will help people confront, cope with, and overcome the physical and mental barriers created by the loss of a limb."

About KYOTO BOTANICALS

KYOTO BOTANICALS delivers high quality CBD products to help bring harmony and balance to people's lives and positively affect the world around them. We believe in giving back to the community and are dedicated to building a brand that can impact local and global needs. Through our line of innovative hemp-based products, KYOTO BOTANICALS thoughtfully combines the finest ingredients in nature to deliver quality, consistency, and results from batch to batch. https://kyotobotanicals.com/

About ROMP

ROMP is a technology-based, nonprofit organization, which provides high quality prosthetic care in underserved populations, thus enhancing mobility and unlocking human potential. ROMP believes that prosthetic limbs are not simply medical devices, but instruments of personal empowerment. ROMP recognizes the dual hardships of living in poverty with a disability and stands in solidarity with those who are made to suffer from an unequal distribution of care. www.rompglobal.org

Media contact:

Mark GIllilan

[email protected]

720-235-7755

SOURCE Kyoto Botanicals

Related Links

http://www.kyotobotanicals.com


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New Delhi, Sep 21 : Country's largest oil marketing company Indian Oil Corporation proposes to leverage its growing petrochemical operations to expand textile business as it looks to diversify operations and offset risks associated with oil operations.

At a recent Asia Pacific oil summit IOC chairman S.M. Vaidya reportedly said that petrochemical expansion is being targeted by the company as it gives the company ability to de-risk from lower refining margins.

The chairman said that the petrochemical expansion would look into entering niche areas with a possibility of forward integration into textile business.

Petrochemical presents big opportunity in India as the per capita consumption still remains very low. This is expected pick up pace in coming years and IOC wants to capture most of emerging market.

IOC is expanding its petrochemical capacity by more than 70 per cent from its current 3.2 million tonnes a year. It is also on new technologies that reduces the cost of producing petrochemicals.
Bombshell revelations that a corrupt, money-laundering culture lies at the core of Britain's biggest bank HSBC are a devastating reminder that the nation's lenders have learnt nothing since the financial crisis of 2008 to 2009.

Back then, the banks took us to the financial abyss by selling bad debt in vast quantities around the world, having packaged it up and disguised it to make it look like a good investment.

When the ruse was rumbled and markets collapsed, the British taxpayer came to the rescue with billions of pounds worth of bail-outs.

And how have the banks repaid us? Not by cleaning up their act and focusing on improving services to personal customers and law-abiding companies.

HSBC in particular is reaping a bitter harvest as a result of the news on dirty money. Pictured: A HSBC branch in London

Instead, firms such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, Barclays and Germany's Deutsche (Donald Trump's bankers!) allegedly opened their doors to oligarchs, drug dealers and tax cheats.

In its frantic effort to rebuild the income, capital and executive bonuses that had been wiped out by the financial crash, they behaved like the mafia. HSBC even allowed its branches to service Mexico's notorious drug cartels.

HSBC in particular is reaping a bitter harvest as a result of the news on dirty money. Shares have plummeted to their lowest level for a quarter of a century  leaving its senior management with an all-but insurmount- able challenge.

Trust

The revelations of dirty dealings at the banks are contained in a cache of leaked internal documents known as the 'FinCEN' files, which detail more than 2,000 suspicious activity reports  covering a staggering 1.5 trillion ($2 trillion) worth of transactions  lodged with the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Despite fines and threats of prosecutions, the leaks suggest the banks have been filing suspicious activity reports and continuing to take dirty money from mobsters, fraudsters and drug lords.

Among other things, HSBC allegedly allowed criminals involved in 61.5 million worth of fraud to transfer funds  and only acted when alerted by American investigators.

The news comes as the need for trust in Britain's bankers has never been greater.

The pandemic has meant tens of millions of people have not been able to visit branches.

Covid has also provided huge money-making opportunity for scammers  the Government admits it might alone have been cheated out of 3.5 billion as result of fraudulent claims under the furlough scheme.

It will be terrifying for ordinary citizens to learn the very banks which plaster their websites with fraud warnings have been facilitating criminal masterminds and global tax cheats.

Both HSBC and Standard Chartered have a recent history of finding themselves on the wrong side of the law and have paid large fines to the American authorities.

The revelations of dirty dealings at the banks are contained in a cache of leaked internal documents known as the 'FinCEN' files. (Stock image)

Standard Chartered owned up to sanctions-busting in the Middle East and, in 2012, after a huge investigation by a Congressional committee and the U.S. Justice Department, HSBC admitted acting as a conduit for murderous Mexican drug cartels.

Evidence was heard about how drug bandits would arrive at branches in Mexico with sack loads of $100 bills which would be transferred into U.S. branches. After lengthy negotiations, HSBC agreed to pay a fine of 1.5 billion.

Critically, at the same time it was put on notice that if it did not clean up its act, its New York banking licence could be revoked.

The licence is critical for HSBC  the biggest Western bank in Hong Kong and China  as the main conduit for U.S. financiers investing in China and vice-versa.

As if this were not bad enough, HSBC Private Bank based in Geneva was unmasked in 2015 as being at the centre of a massive tax evasion scheme.

An astonishing 138 billion in funds for 100,000 clients, including former African heads of state, were passed through some 20,000 offshore accounts, meaning they could not be traced for tax purposes.

Among the more astonishing disclosures  uncovered by a former HSBC software engineer, Herve Falciani  was that HSBC's former chief executive Stuart Gulliver, when head of the HSBC's investment bank, funnelled his own salary through Geneva and Panama to hide how well he was paid.

In the wake of this unholy catalogue of scandals, is it any surprise our faith in bankers has been shattered almost beyond redemption?

HSBC decided too late that it needed to clean up its act if its global credibility was not to be undermined.

It embarked on a large recruitment drive of 'compliance officers'  the internal police forces who monitor every transaction, every foreign exchange deal and the opening of every bank account to try to make sure complex laws and regulations are not breached.

HSBC now employs as many as 24,300 people worldwide to try to keep the bank free from fraudsters, terrorists and the like and is spending several billion a year on the clean-up.

Naive

In defending itself against the latest disclosures, HSBC points out that the new cache of documents, unmasked by the International of Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the BBC's Panorama programme, pre-date this crackdown on fraudulent activity.

It argues the bank is a much 'safer' institution than it was in the swashbuckling years before and immediately after the financial crisis.

However, the 2,100 leaked suspicious activity reports cover the period from 2009 to as recently as 2017, which suggests the new procedures are hardly as watertight as HSBC would like to think in spite of enormous sums spent.

It is one thing toughening up supervision  but quite another preventing rogue employees from ignoring them.

If HSBC is naive enough to think the revelations will not attract the attention of New York bank enforcers and the U.S. Justice Department  irrespective of when the offences occurred  it is living in cloud cuckoo land.

The 'protectionist' U.S. authorities never miss an opportunity to come down heavily on overseas banks deemed to have breached tough money-laundering laws.

Disdain

Meanwhile, the banking industry body UK Finance reports that economic crime including fraud in Britain amounts to 7 billion a year and affects every citizen and every business across the nation.

It's true there has been a push for more transparency and in recent years thousands of dodgy clients have been kicked out by banks.

But it is plain the global banks have still to clear the decks of wrongdoers. Given the dramatic fall in share price, investors obviously do not believe this will be the end of the matter. Sharp-eyed American prosecutors are certain to want their say.

Customers are appalled. Their demands are simple: they want branches which are convenient to use, their money to be secure, and fair overdraft charges.

They do not expect a bank to cater for the world's criminals, oligarchs and autocratic regimes or to turn a blind eye to dirty money even as it is warning of the dangers of fraud.

The hypocrisy and disdain for clients by the nation's overpaid bankers is breathtaking. We thought they were beyond the pale when we bailed them out after the financial crash. Their behaviour since has been simply unconscionable.
Bengaluru, Sep 21 : A garment firm in the city filed a complaint with the cyber crime wing of the Karnataka Crime Investigation Department (CID) against a US-based firm for allegedly cheating it of Rs 1.23 crore by failing to deliver N95 masks it ordered in July, police said on Monday.

"On a complaint from Nakshatra Creations executive T. Manjunath on Saturday, we have filed an FIR (first information report) against the US-based Mediapharma for collecting Rs 1.23 crore as advance for delivering the masks, but did not yet," CID Superintendent of Police M. D.Sharat told IANS here.

To cash-in on the huge demand for face masks in the pandemic times, the company placed an order online with Mediapharma to deliver four lakh of them and paid $1,65,000 (Rs 1.23 crore) on July 23 through net banking as 25 per cent advance for delivering them in installments.

"As the investigation is underway, we cannot disclose more details to ensure due process of the law and not hamper the case," said Sharat.

According to Manjunath, the cyber wing has mailed the FIR to Mediapharma chief executive George Huang, its sales manager John Wung and their agent Ryan Philip Nguse and its counterparts in the US and Hong Kong where it has a subsidiary for shipping the masks to firms placing orders.

"We placed an order for four lakh masks after the company agreed to sell them for Rs 4.95 crore ($660,000) at $1.65 per piece. I transferred 25 per cent of the amount (Rs 1.23 crore/$165,000) as advance to a bank account given by the company," Manjunath told IANS here.

Admitting that due diligence was not done before placing the order and remitting the advanced amount, Manjunath said his company was in hurry to import the masks at the earliest to meet the growing demand, as wearing the mask has become mandatory with the rise in the Covid cases.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- World Alzheimer's Day - As populations continue to age globally, life insurance companies and their customers have been increasingly affected by the rising numbers of Alzheimer's disease. To prepare for future aging populations and how to best serve them, insurers are investing for the first time in digital assessment technologies that will enable policyholders to manage and track their cognitive health. An announcement today by Neurotrack , a digital health company, and Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America (Hannover Re US), a member of Hannover Re Group, the third largest reinsurance group in the world, signals how the industry is turning to digital technology to benefit insurers and policyholders by changing the future of aging.

Neurotrack is announcing a partnership with Hannover Re US to offer Neurotrack's clinically-validated cognitive health program to the life insurance market for use by their policyholders. The partnership between Neurotrack and Hannover Re US is the first of its kind in the United States, following Neurotrack's successful rollout with Japanese life insurers SOMPO Himawari Life and Dai-ichi Life , which offer Neurotrack's digital cognitive assessment to policyholders as part of their new dementia insurance offering.

The announcement  coinciding with World Alzheimer's Day  supports the insurance industry's movement towards serving the whole person  from heart disease and diabetes prevention to stress management, and, now, cognitive health. Early assessment, detection and lifestyle interventions have reduced the risk of Alzheimer's for patients by as much as 33% in numerous studies, beginning with the groundbreaking FINGER study in 2015 and now being further developed in multiple world-wide studies. An August 2020 report in the Lancet identifies the 12 modifiable risk factors that could be addressed to reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's by 40%.

"Hannover Re has officially collaborated with Neurotrack, who has spent the last eight years solving one of the more pressing hurdles in insurance: how to accurately administer a cognitive assessment and help individuals monitor and manage their cognitive health," said Kevin Oldani, SVP and chief underwriter, Hannover Re US. "In a world that has become almost entirely digital, insurance underwriting still heavily relies on paper and pencil processes that take the average applicant 12 weeks to apply. Insurance companies that are dynamic enough to improve their customer experience by digitizing assessments that streamline the underwriting process will ultimately win."

The commercialization of Neurotrack's cognitive health program has been in place since 2018 in Japan, which, as the oldest average-age population in the industrialized world, has the highest rate of Alzheimer's cases and is facing the challenge of caring for a nation of "superagers." The results of early detection and intervention there were documented in a 2019 pilot. Those results have now been expanded with new data . Early findings show that the highest rate of participation in Neurotrack's digital cognitive assessment was with policyholders in their 40s, decades younger than the average age of people with Alzheimers. In fact, more policyholders ages 20-49 took Neurotrack's "brain check-up" than did policyholders ages 50 and older. The data suggests that given an accessible and accurate method of testing, younger people are keenly interested in understanding and maintaining their cognitive health.

"Until recently, the idea of preventing dementia wasn't widely understood as a possibility, and the rising incidence in Japan has become a situation of national concern," said Yuko Nakagawa, executive officer and general manager of Business Planning at SOMPO Himawari Life. "We established 'Insurhealth' to integrate insurance and health services. Since the partnership with Neurotrack began in 2018, we have been introducing their technology to our dementia insurance policyholders to help them become more active in assessing and strengthening their cognitive health. The engagement from younger policyholders has been impressive and supports our mission to use this innovative approach to reduce dementia in Japan, improving the health of the population and decreasing the costs caused by the illness."

"Digital testing for dementias like Alzheimer's disease has been guided by the belief that technology can be the innovation that makes accessible, affordable, accurate measurement for cognitive health as beneficial as regular screenings have been for physical health," said Elli Kaplan, co-founder and CEO of Neurotrack. "The promise of digital testing is real. Making this available to millions of policyholders represents how insurers are turning to technology to benefit the long-term health of their policyholders as they age. Insurers are in a perfect position to help their customers better understand their brain health, as well as providing the tools to do so."

The advances of digital assessment enable individuals to test themselves regularly from home, monitoring their cognitive health over time. Insurers, who are often relied upon in some of the most difficult moments of life, can now offer a valuable digital resource to deepen and expand those relationships, becoming active partners in maintaining their policyholders' cognitive health.

"Leveraging a tool like Neurotrack will ensure that new policies continue to be processed during the COVID-19 pandemic," said Oldani. "In addition, using Neurotrack will continue to benefit life insurance carriers well into the future by expediting the underwriting process and giving individuals the ability to measure and manage their own cognitive health."

About Hannover Re

Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America (Hannover Re US), which is licensed and/or accredited in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, is one of the North American life and health reinsurance subsidiaries of the Hannover Re Group. Hannover Re Group, with gross premium of more than EUR 22 billion, is the third-largest reinsurer in the world. It transacts all lines of property & casualty and life & health reinsurance and is present on all continents with more than 3,000 staff and a network of more than 150 subsidiaries, branches and representative offices. The rating agencies most relevant to the insurance industry have awarded Hannover Re very strong insurer financial strength ratings (Standard & Poor's AA- "Very Strong" and A.M. Best A+ "Superior"). For more information, visit www.hannover-re.com .

About SOMPO Himawari Life

SOMPO Group is one of the biggest insurance groups in Japan. SOMPO Himawari Life is responsible for Japan's domestic life insurance business. SOMPO Himawari Life aims to transform into a total health support enterpriseit provides Insurhealth, a new initiative which combines the primary function of insurance (Insurance), with health support functions (Healthcare).

For more information, visit https://www.himawari-life.co.jp/

About Neurotrack

Neurotrack is a digital health company on a mission to transform the diagnosis and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. The company develops clinically-validated digital cognitive assessments, using eye-tracking technology, to measure and monitor the state of one's cognition. The company also develops a comprehensive cognitive health program that enables individuals to make lifestyle changes to strengthen their cognitive health as they age. Neurotrack has published 9 peer-reviewed papers and has been granted research awards from the National Institute of Aging and Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation. Through our research and commercial partners, over 50,000 cognitive assessments have been completed on the Neurotrack platform. Our academic research partners include Emory University's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Brown University, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Stanford University and Weill Cornell Medical Center. Neurotrack was co-founded in 2012 by CEO Elli Kaplan and leading neuroscientists and researchers Stuart Zola, PhD, Elizabeth Buffalo, PhD and Cecelia Manzanares. The company is based in Redwood City, CA. For more information visit www.neurotrack.com and/or follow Neurotrack on LinkedIn and on Twitter .

Media contact

Audrey Mann Cronin

[email protected]

914-260-9651

SOURCE Neurotrack

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GALVESTON  A wooden platform from a damaged fishing pier washed up on a Galveston beach on Monday, an early warning sign from Tropical Storm Beta, which is slowly approaching the southeast Texas coast.

The platform was part of the 61st Street Pier, a popular island fishing spot, that was previously damaged by the rough waters of Hurricane Laura several weeks ago. News reports broadcasted footage of the pier breaking off into the Gulf of Mexico late Sunday night, after parts of it were cut into sections by the pier owner and his crew in order to prevent further damage from the choppy surf.

Now Playing: As bands from Tropical Storm Beta rolled in Monday, the Houston Chronicle staff shot footage in Galveston, Surfside Beach and Kemah. In Galveston, a part of the 61st Street Pier washed onto the beach. In Brazoria County, Beta brought rising tides and some property damage to Surfside Beach. (Videos: Brett Coomer, Godofredo Vasquez, Steve Gonzales) Video: Houston Chronicle

The owner made some cuts to help it break off, said Zach Davidson, a Galveston County spokesman.

Besides the pier damage, early signs of Beta, which is expected to make landfall near Matagorda Bay on Monday evening, were visible in the low-lying sections of the island. The Strand Historic District, which sits on the bay side of the island, began to flood early this morning after high tide and many blocks are still inundated.

Some roads on the West End of the island and Jamaica Beach are impassable, and parts of State Highway 87 are flooding between Port Arthur and Sabine Pass, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Tides are receding, which is allowing TxDOT road and bridge crews to clear debris off of Highway 87, although the Galveston-Bolivar Peninsula ferry remains out of service.

Davidson said one of the main concerns from Beta is storm surge, particularly since much of the dune line on Bolivar Peninsula and the West End of Galveston was degraded by Hurricane Laura.

Other low-lying and coastal areas in the county had begun to see flooding from the combination of elevated water levels and high tide Monday morning, including the San Leon and Bacliff region on Galveston Bay, as well as parts of Hitchcock and League City.

The state has positioned highwater rescue teams throughout Galveston County, from San Leon to Hitchcock and Santa Fe, as well as at the countys Office of Emergency Management headquarters in Dickinson.

Rainfall forecasts from Beta project to be in the 5-10 inch in the Houston-Galveston region, which will likely cause signifcant street flooding on the coast.

Our big message to people is never drive into floodwaters, you dont know how deep that water is going to be or how fast its moving, Davidson said.

nick.powell@chron.com
U.S. park officials have failed to show enough was done to keep the public updated as a deadly wildfire spread from Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2016, a judge ruled.

The decision earlier this month by U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer in Knoxville keeps lawsuits by survivors of the blaze on track for a potential trial, though the U.S. Justice Department can still appeal.

Greer denied the governments motion to dismiss the case, writing that officials didnt provide sufficient evidence to show they met the notification obligations under their own fire management plan. The fire killed 14 people and caused an estimated $2 billion in losses, including about 2,500 buildings that were damaged or destroyed.

Earlier, a different judge declined an initial motion to dismiss the case after the Justice Department argued that citizens dont have the legal right to challenge how government workers chose to handle the fire, because those decisions are discretionary. That judge ruled the National Park Services own plan made warning residents and leaders mandatory, not discretionary.

The case was reassigned to Greer, who then considered the governments argument that even if the parks plan included required actions, park officials met those requirements, and the case should be dismissed.

Greer, in turn, ruled the government has not entered into the record any evidence that could satisfy the requirement to notify Park Neighbors, Park visitors, and local residents of `all planned and unplanned fire management activities that have the potential to impact them.

The decision drew praise from a lead attorney in the lawsuit.

We are very pleased with the Courts decision, plaintiffs attorney Ted Leopold said in a statement. We can now focus on moving forward in this important litigation and working hard to bring justice to the Gatlinburg community.

The judge wrote that though officials cited the news releases and an e-blast they distributed, they didnt say where exactly those notices were sent. The judge also said the park didnt meet the standard by posting information on websites and social media accounts. And finally, the judge wrote that testimony is lacking from the people involved in communications cited between the parks leadership and city of Gatlinburg officials.

The fire began as less than half an acre in a remote section of the park. Ultimately, hurricane-force winds blew embers from the park into Gatlinburg and the gusts downed power lines, sparking more fires.

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

Topics Lawsuits Catastrophe Natural Disasters Legislation USA Wildfire
With Opposition MPs continuing their sit-in protest near the Gandhi statue at the time of going to print, protests in Parliament saw its first-ever night shift on Monday, adding to the several new normal unveiled in the monsoon session.

Initially, the MPs refused to leave the House after being suspended by Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu for gross disorderly conduct. After the House was adjourned for the day, the MPs shifted base to near the Gandhi statuethe favourite spot for protests inside the Parliament complex.

It was a long haul but they didnt look tired. They received a regular supply of snacks, packed juices and cold drinks as well as a steady stream of supportive leaders: Ahmed Patel, Gaurav Gogoi of Congress, Manoj Jha of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and several Trinamool Congress leaders joined the protesting MPs to express solidarity.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee called up and spoke to the MPs staging the agitation. She also tweeted, Suspension of the 8 MPs who fought to protect farmers interests is unfortunate & reflective of this autocratic Govts mindset that doesnt respect democratic norms & principles. We wont bow down & well fight this fascist Govt in Parliament & on the streets.

Colourful bed sheets were hurriedly brought from an MPs flats from South Avenue. The aides also ensured enough supply of food for the MPs to sustain them. In the evening, Communist Party of India (Marxist)s KK Ragesh told others that his wife was preparing idlis at home. He was asked to bring them after 7pm. Aam Aadmi Partys Sanjay Singh spent time giving interviews, Trinamools Dola Sen started singing songs and protestors held placards screaming We will fight for farmers, democracy murdered and parliament assassinated.

Apart from packed thalis, boxful of snacks were also supplied. Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek OBrien, one of the eight suspended MPs, announced, We will continue to sit in protest overnight. Our protest will not end soon.

Indian Parliament is no stranger to unique protests. In the 70s, Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived in Parliament in a bullock cart to oppose the hike in fuel by the Indira Gandhi government. Last year, when the government was celebrating Constitution Day, Congress and other Opposition parties gathered near BR Ambedkars statue in the Parliament lawn and read out different articles of the Constitution.

Later in the day, leaders of 18 political parties, including the Congress, Left parties, Nationalist Congress Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena and the RJD, submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind, seeking his intervention in the matter.

The leaders urged the President to not grant his assent to the proposed legislations and expressed concern over the way farm bills were passed in the Rajya Sabha.

We, belonging to diverse political parties cutting across Indias political and geographical spectrum, bring this representation to you to respectfully draw your urgent attention to the absolute and total murder of democracy, ironically in the most hallowed temple of democracy, Parliament, read the memorandum.

We pray that you return the bills and do not append your signature, it added.
(Newser)  A new Hollywood-style video from China's armed forces showing a simulation of an attack on a US military base maybe got a little too Hollywood. Entitled "The god of war H-6K goes on the attack!," the two-minute-plus footage released on Chinese social media by the People's Liberation Army's air force shows nuke-capable H-6 bombers ambushing what appears to be Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, Reuters reports. "We are the defenders of the motherland's aerial security," the air force declared in its description accompanying the video. "We have the confidence and ability to always defend the security of the motherland's skies." They also apparently have no qualms about possible copyright violations: Per the South China Morning Post, it looks like scenes from the 2008 film The Hurt Locker, as well as from 1996's The Rock, were incorporated into the video.

story continues below

A source said to be close to the Chinese military explains it's not unusual for the armed forces' PR staff to lift clips from major studio productions, noting, "Almost all of the officers in the department grew up watching Hollywood movies, so in their minds, American war films have the coolest images." The video is likely a warning shot to let the US know that "even supposedly safe, rearward positions such as Guam may come under threat when conflicts over regional flashpoints, be it Taiwan or South China Sea, erupt," an expert at Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies tells Reuters. As for a potential intellectual-property dustup over the Hurt Locker and Rock footage, the source who spoke to the SCMP doesn't think anything will come of it, "as only a few seconds of footage was used and the PLA film is not for commercial release." (Read more China stories.)
Biologists have long considered the origins and continued coexistence of the immense diversity of species found in our environment. How can we explain the fact that no single species predominates? A generally accepted hypothesis is that there are trade-offs, which means that no organism can do best in all conditions. One trade-off that is commonly assumed is that between gleaner organisms --which are able to acquire and consume more food than other species when resources are scarce-- and exploiters, which rapidly consume large quantities of the same resources when they are in abundance. However, when scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) analysed the consumption of food resources of over 500 terrestrial and aquatic species, they showed that organisms that are efficient when there are low quantities of food, are also best when food resources are abundant. Consequently, biodiversity cannot be explained as a trade-off between gleaners and exploiters. Instead, the idea of risk taking to obtain food needs to be considered, as explained in this PNAS publication.

Dealing with trade-offs is one of the challenges organisms faces when they have to gain the energy needed to grow, defend themselves and reproduce. "If there were no trade-offs, the species that is the most effective in all conditions would come out on top," begins Mridul Thomas, senior research and teaching assistant in the Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences in UNIGE's Faculty of Sciences and the study's second author. "These trade-offs--and variations in environmental conditions--help explain why species are different and why we have diversity. No species can be best in all conditions."

Indeed, there is wide agreement in the scientific community that biodiversity can be explained partly through the gleaner-exploiter trade-off, which arises from the need to invest in both acquiring food and in quickly extracting energy and nutrients from it. Scientists expect organisms living in low-food environments to be gleaners that can quickly search for resources over large areas. Conversely, organisms living in food-rich environments are exploiters that consume resources in abundance and at great speed. Both these strategies can result in success depending on the environmental conditions encountered. And if the food availability changes through time or across space, it can allow competing gleaners and exploiters to co-exist, leading to diversity.

No gleaner-exploiter trade-off in nature

"Although it's taught commonly and is found in text books, there's little experimental evidence for the gleaner-exploiter trade-off," says Mridul. This is exactly the subject that Thomas Kirboe, professor at the National Institute of Aquatic Resources at DTU--and first author of the study--decided to investigate. In an attempt to provide an answer, Professor Kirboe has been collecting data found in the scientific literature on the food consumption of hundreds of species, derived from estimates from organisms ranging from single cells to large mammals living both in terrestrial and aquatic environments.

This immense collection of data has made it possible to analyse the speed at which over 500 species acquire and consume food. "For each species, such as a spider, scientists measured how fast it was able to capture and eat food, and they did this when food was abundant and when it was rare. Thanks to this valuable work by many scientists for hundreds of species, we were able to compare this across many organisms," continues Mridul. Curves of the speed of consumption as a function of the abundance of food are derived from this data, making it possible to describe the performance of the organisms in both low and high food conditions. "A negative correlation is expected from the gleaner-exploiter trade-off, but our results show a positive relationship", a clear indication, according to the biologist, that the gleaner-exploiter trade-off does not exist. Kirboe and Mridul have demonstrated that species that perform well in an environment where energy resources are scarce are also the best in a rich environment.

Unexplained biodiversity

However, the researchers' interpretation does not call the concept of trade-offs into question. "Without trade-offs, it is very hard to maintain diversity. Our research does not explain biodiversity, but it does overturn an existing theory about precisely why we have biodiversity," says Mridul. Accordingly, there should be another trade-off: "A trade-off about risk-taking to access food is more likely, and would be consistent with our results. For instance, an organism may be better at getting food whether food is scarce or abundant because it takes more risks. Getting more food is generally good because it helps organisms grow and reproduce. But if in searching for food the organism gets eaten itself, it cannot reproduce. So it can sometimes be good to avoid taking these risks even if it means getting less food --which would explain why we see in our study that some species seem very good at getting food and some very bad at it." Whatever this other trade-off is, the Danish-Swiss study fundamentally changes an important idea about why we have biodiversity that is still being taught and has been taken for granted. It follows that our understanding of ecosystems must be revisited, since this knowledge is essential in the face of the environmental upheavals we are witnessing today.

###
China's seventh national population census will begin on Nov. 1 this year with about 7 million staff to visit homes for registration work, an official said Sunday.

A good census can give a full picture of the population size, structure and distribution, and the trend of the demographic change, providing support for mapping national development strategies, said Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, at a ceremony held in Beijing to promote the national census.

Residents will be encouraged to use mobile terminals such as cell phones to declare personal and family information, he said.

The census will collect data including name, ID number, gender, marital details, education, profession and other information about Chinese citizens.

China conducts a national population census every 10 years. The last census in the world's most populous country found its population had increased to 1.37 billion. Enditem




SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GreenGeeks, the world's leading eco-friendly green web hosting provider, is excited to announce the opening of their Canadian & European datacenter locations for its Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting service line. This is highly anticipated news, as customers throughout Canada and Europe will now have access to its Managed VPS Hosting service.

GreenGeeks

"After much demand, It's exciting to be able to bring our managed VPS hosting service to customers in Canada and Europe," said Kaumil Patel, COO of GreenGeeks. Until now, customers looking to use a GreenGeeks VPS would be limited to the United States. "Our customers can now provision our full suite of services, in any of our active datacenters," he added.

GreenGeeks is continuing to invest heavily in its web hosting platform, bringing more features and datacenter locations to help its customer base get online quickly and grow. The company stated that its Canadian datacenter will be located in Montreal, Quebec and its European datacenter will be located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

About GreenGeeks

GreenGeeks, established in 2008 has been the industry's leading eco-friendly green web hosting provider putting back 3 times the power consumed by its operations into the grid in the form of renewable energy. Their web hosting platform is built for speed, security, scalability while being environmentally friendly. Based out of Los Angeles, California with a global workforce that aims to provide a better web hosting experience to individuals, bloggers, small businesses and web designers/developers from over 150 countries. To learn more, visit https://www.greengeeks.com

PR Contact:

Anna Gargioni

[email protected]

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BOCA RATON, FL / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2020 / Universal Media Group Inc. (OTC PINK:UMGP) www.umediagroupinc.com is a digital media company that focuses on user-generated content through its brands "High School Icon" and television program "Before the Fame". UMGP focuses on engagement through original content in music, sports and entertainment and delivery of content through cutting edge technology and platforms.

UMGP is proud to announce a non-exclusive International Distribution Agreement for the "Before the Fame" TV series. It will now be available video-on-demand "VOD" in Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam and South Africa in September. Episodes will be featured on Future Today's flagship Movies & TV channel - Fawesome and also Msasa Movies VOD platform.

Fawesome has a premium catalog of movies, TV and lifestyle shows, and is available for streaming across Connected TV and Smart TV devices like Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Comcast Xfinity and more in these growing markets.

Msasa Movies is a global VOD platform featuring premium films across all genres. Msasa Movies content library is unique in that they have Fashion and Celebrity news to enhance the family viewing pleasure. Both of these agreements start in September 2020.

International exposure is a key component for Universal Media Group Inc. as their weekly documentary TV series "Before The fame" continues to grow and produce episodes on the biggest names in sports, music and entertainment,

About Universal Media Group Inc.

Universal Media Group Inc. is a media company whose focus is the implementation of celebrity-based programming, social media, and interactive TV. UMGP employs cutting edge technology through music, sports and entertainment targeting the millennial and Z generations. For more information visit our website at: www.umediagroupinc.com.

About Fawesome.tv

Fawesome TV is a Super Channel that links to a host of other channels from the same developer, most of which are already standalone Roku channels. These channels are categorized under 22 categories. The Fawesome.tv channel provides a convenient location to find them - or customers can install the standalone channels and group them according to their own scheme in the Roku menu. https://fawesome.tv/.

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About MSASA

MSASA is a video streaming service that offers great free entertainment in genres including action, thriller, drama, kids, celebrity, fashion TV, and more. www.msasa.tv.

Forward Looking Statements and Disclaimer

Statements made in this press release that express the Company or management's intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or predictions of future events, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "will" and similar expressions are intended to further identify such forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Those statements are based on many assumptions and are subject to many known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company's actual activities, results or performance to differ materially from those anticipated or projected in such forward-looking statements. The Company cannot guarantee future financial results; levels of activity, performance or achievements and investors should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. No information contained in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future financial performance, future revenues or its future stock price. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of the Company as of the date of this press release, and the Company expressly disclaims any intent, obligation or undertaking to update or revise such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. No information in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future revenues or results of operations.

Contact:

Universal Media Group Inc.

Michael Sherman

ms@umediagroupinc.com

561-908-3333

SOURCE: Universal Media Group Inc.





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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the farm sector reform bills passed by Parliament were the need of 21st century India.

Addressing a virtual ceremony to lay foundation stones of nine highway projects in Bihar, the prime minister also took a dig at the Opposition saying some people are trying to mislead the farmers because they are losing the control of the agricultural sector.

After these historical changes in the agricultural sector, some people are losing their control of it. So now these people are trying to mislead farmers on MSP (minimum support price). They are the same people who sat for years on the recommendations of the Swaminathan committee on MSP, PM Modi said.

He said a clique of people exploited farmers for long as they remained in shackles of rules regulating the sale of their produce and stated that this needed to change, which his government has done.

The prime minister described the legislations as very historic, and said that if people say that government-regulated agriculture markets will be finished after these reforms, then they are blatantly lying.

Seeking to dispel concerns among a section of farmers, PM Modi said he wanted to make it clear that the bills are not against mandis (agricultural markets) and they will continue like they always have. No government has done as much to boost MSP and government procurement of farmers produce than his dispensation, the prime minister said.

The bills were passed by the Upper House of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) amid ruckus. The Opposition members who were against the legislations wanted them to be sent to a parliamentary panel for greater scrutiny.

The bills were passed through voice vote, after which the Opposition called it a black day.

Meawhile, PM Modi inaugurated nine infrastructure development projects worth Rs 14,000 crores for Bihar through video conferencing on Monday.

He also inaugurated the Ghar Tak Fibre Project under which all 45,945 villages of Bihar will be connected through optical fibre internet service.
Fraser Seitel

The single most astonishing revelation of Bob Woodwards published Rage against Donald Trump is that nobody much cared.

After three-and-a-half years as President, most Americans arent at all surprised to learn that Trump: lies; bullies; is a narcissist; cares, above all else, about the welfare of himself and his family; refuses to listen to anyone else; is often infernally stupid, as exemplified by choosing to talk to a duplicitous snake-like Woodward in the first place. (Despite his after-the-fact protestations, Woodwards calculated decision to withhold, until book publication, Trumps true beliefs about the dangers of COVID are all you need to know about the authors own moral compass.)

So, while journalists breathlessly hailed the latest Woodward hatchet job as a bombshell, most Americans received it as just another ho-hum example of Trump being Trump.

The fact is that a bit more than half of all Americans despise Trump and a bit less than half accept him; no matter what Bob Woodward or anyone else tells them. Any attempt to change the minds of these polarized opposites is futile.

Which brings us to the November election and the incumbents uphill, last-ditch climb to erase the sticky seven-point poll lead that Joe Biden has hung onto for months. Trumps only chance to win is convincing swing voters in five statesMichigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Floridathat his unique brand of administrative lunacy deserves another four years.

With a little more than a month to go, its unlikely that Trump can pull it off. But its not impossible.

For one thing, Trumps opponent is a pitifully weak candidate, whose adviserslike Trumps get apoplectic every time he ventures off-script.

Biden, at 77, has lost more than a step. His factual recall is limited. He tends to speak in vague generalities and gets confused with specifics. And his obvious antipathy to his opponent is so severeand so sincerethat the frequently flappable Biden may flap even moreto his detrimentif goaded by Trump.

So, even though Trump himself isnt terribly articulate or knowledgeable and is also prone to fly off the handle at the slightest slight, his best chance to run roughshod over his feeble challenger may lie in the three scheduled debates over the next three weeks.

Biden will be particularly challenged in the first debate, moderated by Fox News Chris Wallace, who will pepper the former Vice President on all matter of embarrassing questions: from his alleged use of a teleprompter during interviews to his sons unchallenged windfall for a do-nothing job in Ukraine. Trump, on the other hand, just conducted a White House interview with Wallace, so hes more experienced in handling the Fox reporters take-no-prisoners persistence.

Trumps greatest debate challenge will be the last of the three, moderated by Kristen Welker of NBC, who has proudly carried her networks anti-Trump banner as White House correspondent for the past several years. Trump will likely use the debate forum to spar with Welker and challenge her motives, as he has done regularly at White House COVID briefings.

And this techniqueof challenging a hostile mediamay provide an additional route to help the incumbent eke out another improbable victory.

First, the nations trust in the media has steadily eroded during the Trump presidency. According to the 2020 Knight Foundation-Gallup survey, a whopping 86 percent of Americans detect either a great deal or a fair amount of political bias in news coverage.

Second, as the presidential campaign has worn on, an increasing number of once-respected media outletsparticularly CNN and The New York Timeshave surrendered any pretense of objectivity as far as Trump is concerned.

The Times rotating cadre of daily anti-Trump beat reporters regularly quotes anonymous presidential advisers who bemoan their candidates dimming prospects. Meanwhile, Biden is hailed for delivering high energy performances defined by withering criticism of Mr. Trump and palpable enthusiasm for connecting with voters.

Meanwhile, CNN convenes daily panels of its homegrown stable of dour Trump hatersJim Acosta, Gloria Borger, Jake Tapper, et alto pick over, ad nauseum, the Presidents personal problems and lack of qualifications to remain in office.

So, third, if the Knight-Gallup findings are to be believed, and 80 percent of Americans perceive inaccurate news to be intentional, then its entirely likely that swing voters in these crucial swing states may resent that outlets like the Times and CNN so blatantly bias their coverage to defeat Trump. And its certainly possible, therefore, that these key voters will express their displeasure by casting their ballots for Trump.

Again, with the clock winding down, the smart money is still on Biden to end Americas most chaotic Presidency; especially with the potential prospect of a fall coronavirus resurgence and an incumbent so eminently capable of saying or tweeting something stupid in the final days to ensure disaster.

Nonetheless, because Biden is so fundamentally weak, the election promises to be close. And if Trump can trip up the challenger in the debates, and if swing state fence-sitters find an increasingly-biased media intolerableadmittedly, two big ifsthen dont count out another Donald Trump election surprise in November.

***

Fraser P. Seitel has been a communications consultant, author and teacher for 40 years. He is author of the Pearson text The Practice of Public Relations, now in its 14th edition, and co-author of Rethinking Reputation" and "Idea Wise. He may be reached directly at yusake@aol.com.
Go ahead and roll your eyes, but then applaud Mayor Curtis McCall Jr. of Cahokia near St. Louis, who declares that residents really would benefit if his village along the Mississippi River combined with two nearby communities. I would have to step down from my position as a mayor, and that wasnt an easy choice to make because I love serving the citizens in the village of Cahokia, he said, according to the Belleville News-Democrat. It wasnt an easy decision to make, but it was a necessary decision to make.
The Orioles announced Monday that right-hander Cody Carroll has cleared waivers and been outrighted off the 40-man roster. Hes still with the club at its alternate training site.

Carroll, 27, was acquired from the Yankees alongside Dillon Tate and Josh Rogers in 2018s Zack Britton trade. He made a brief debut with the Os that same season but was tagged for 17 runs in 17 innings of work. Carrolls 2020 results were even more alarming, as he pitched just two innings with the Os but was hammered for a dozen runs on nine hits and five walks with three strikeouts. Overall, hes sitting on a 13.74 career ERA.

Though hes never been considered a premium prospect, struggles of this magnitude are still surprising for Carroll, given his strong minor league track record. Carroll hasnt simply held his own in the minors but has pitched quite well. In parts of five minor league campaigns, hes worked to a 2.71 ERA with 10.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 0.31 HR/9 and a 47.3 percent ground-ball rate. Hes given up nearly as many home runs (six) in 19 Major League innings as he has in 232 2/3 minor league frames (eight).

Carroll underwent back surgery in 2018  a procedure that kept him out for nearly all of the 2019 season. He pitched just one inning in Rookie ball last year but did toss 8 2/3 innings in the Arizona Fall League, yielding only a pair of runs on seven hits and seven walks with 11 punchouts. The lack of a minor league season surely didnt do Carroll any favors in returning to MLB readiness, and hell now look for an opportunity in the future to pitch his way back onto the 40-man roster.

Baltimores 40-man roster is down to 37 players, and the club has 59 players in its 60-player pool.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. President of Italy Sergio Mattarella congratulated Armenias President Armen Sarkissian on the Independence Day, the Armenian Presidents Office told Armenpress.

The congratulatory message reads:

Mr. President,

On the occasion of the National Day I offer my warmest congratulations on behalf of all Italy and myself personally.

The relations between Yerevan and Rome are old and deep, but at the same time they are directed to the future. They are reflected in our productive cooperation from which our countries are obliged to take important opportunities.

In this regard solidarity remains a priority. Under the conditions of difficult challenges, such as the pandemic which also forced to postpone your visit, Armenia and Italy managed to resist the emergency situation and establish a positive partnership and an exchange of experience in the healthcare sector. I hope it would be possible to look at the future and the development path with a new confidence also thanks to the EUs support where Italy as well has its investment.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Willis High School was put under a shelter in place order Monday after a bomb threat was called into the school alleging that an explosive device was located in the schools back parking lot. The school and parking lot were declared safe by 9:30 a.m. and students returned to their regular schedules.

After the threat was called in and students were ordered to shelter in place, Conroe Police Department, Precinct 1 Constables Office, and the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office, the Montgomery County Fire Marshals Office and Conroe ISD Police Department all assisted in the situation.

We are extremely grateful for the outstanding work by (all agencies), said Superintendent Tim Harkrider. Their response was incredible and we are lucky to have them.

Willis ISD Director of Communications Jamie Fails said the campus was checked by both law enforcement officers with bomb dogs.

Bomb dogs were called in and responded and checked the parking lot extremely thoroughly, we got the update at 9:30 a.m. that the parking lot was clear, Fails said. In the meantime, they had been able to speak with the individual and ping a cellphone location, and SWAT responded to that location and was able to apprehend two suspects.

One thing Fails made clear is there was never any explicit threat of shooting made. The suspect allegedly posted a photo of a gun on social media early this morning and when this information was shared parents started asking about the possibility of a active shooter situation. There was never a gun or a shooter on campus.

The picture of the gun, we dont know how related that is or isnt, it was just a random post that the person had made, Fails said. That did not have a threat with it that specified anything related to the school or the gun, it was just a photo.

Parents of students at Turner Elementary School, next door to Willis High School, were also kept appraised of the situation, and some parents opted to keep their students home to do remote instruction.

Once the bomb threat was cleared the shelter in place was lifted and students returned to class.

To her knowledge, Fails said the threat was not made by a current student. It is still unknown why the school was targeted.

Catherine Dominguez contributed to this report.

jamie.swinnerton@chron.com
Saudi Arabia is estimated to contribute $10.7 billion or 24% towards Menas $44 billion pharma market by 2023, notes Informa Markets, the organisers of the leading regional pharmaceutical event, CPhI Middle East & Africa.

So, clearly, there will be a wealth of business opportunities during the next edition of CPhI Middle East & Africa, the leading regional pharma show, which will take place alongside the Global Health Exhibition in Riyadh from September 26 to 28, 2021, said Sherma Ellis, Brand Manager, CPhI Middle East & Africa.

In recent years, a range of healthcare reforms has taken place in Saudi Arabia to support and incentivise pharma manufacturers. These include 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) into the sector, efforts to increase the total local pharmaceutical production by 20% by the end of 2020, the launch of e-visas to make the country more accessible, as well as opportunities for business expansion, due to the countrys reliance on imported pharmaceuticals.

Furthermore, socioeconomic factors, including increased medical insurance coverage, a growing population, higher living standards, and the incidence of non-communicable diseases are all driving additional demand for pharmaceuticals within the kingdom.

CPhI MEA is an umbrella brand, with tracks covering five main verticals in the pharmaceutical sector - CPhI for ingredients, FDF for finished dosage forms, ICSE for drug development and contract services, P-MEC for machinery, and InnoPack for packaging. Adopting an exhibition format, with a strong focus on government engagement, educational content, networking, and matchmaking, CPhI MEAs proposition aims to bring a regional mix of 70% visitors and exhibitors from KSA and 30% from outside the kingdom.

It is the only pharma event in the region covering pharma manufacturing, bringing together nearly 4,000 key pharma suppliers and buyers, connecting local, regional, and international professionals from across the entire pharma supply chain, from ingredients to finished product distribution.

Under the patronage of Dr Tawfiq Al Rabiah, Saudi Arabias Minister of Health, the move to Saudi Arabia and taking place in conjunction with GHE, will create a larger platform for the regional pharma community and underscores the commitment of the country to the global pharmaceutical industry, Informa Markets said.

Ellis said: CPhI Middle East & Africa aims to provide the regional pharma community with the optimum platform to grow and do business. After discussions at the highest levels, both internally and externally with our key partners and stakeholders, CPhI Middle East & Africa will now take place in September, alongside GHE and under the patronage of Saudi Arabias Ministry of Health.

We believe this decision will offer all participants the highest value and maximise their return on investment, while also providing more networking opportunities and educational content to facilitate growth in the region.

It also underscores the importance of the pharma market in the region by highlighting Saudi Arabias commitment to healthcare in the country, and its ambition to become a regional hub for multinational pharma companies, she added.

GHE, the premier healthcare trade platform in Saudi Arabia for medical manufacturers, dealers & distributors, hospitals, and general healthcare service providers, attracts over 15,000 attendees, creating the ideal platform to do business with the global healthcare industry.

The GHE is an ideal healthcare platform and provides perfect synergy with CPhI MEA. Bringing two successful brands together, we can empower the regional pharma market growth and better meet the pharma community's requirements. It also allows us to highlight innovation, content, and networking to its highest level, said Ellis.

As part of Informas commitment to participants' safety at all events and exhibitions, the company has launched Informa AllSecure.

The detailed set of enhanced measures, which includes ten priority commitments followed by all Informa events around the world, will provide the highest hygiene and safety levels to ensure the safety of attendees and staff. -- Tradearabia News Service
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins said on Saturday the U.S. Senate should not fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court until after the Nov. 3 presidential election, and the winner of that race should pick the nominee.

Collins, who is in a tough re-election battle in Maine, said in a statement that "in fairness to the American people, who will either be re-electing the president or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the president who is elected on November 3."

Collins is the first Republican senator to suggest the nomination should be tied to who wins the White House.

Republicans control the Senate with a 53-47 majority.

Senator Lisa Murkowsi, an Alaska Republican, told Alaska Public Radio in an interview shortly before the announcement of Ginsburg's death that she would not vote to confirm a nominee before the election. Murkowski's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

About seven Republican incumbents and two Democrats face a chance of losing their seats in November's election, according to nonpartisan election trackers.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Daniel Wallis)
Morning walkers on the beach of Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia via Shutterstock*

Port Macquarie MP Now a NSW Liberal

NSW MP Leslie Williams says she is now a member of the Liberal Party after quitting the Nationals over the recent drama surrounding the states koala protection policy.

I was advised late last night that I am now a member of the Liberal Party, the Port Macquarie MP told ABC News Breakfast on Sept 21.

Ive had many welcoming texts  and I can assure my community that nothing is going to change. Im going to continue to work hard and continue to make sure that they get what they deserve.

Williams said people in her north coast electorate were very angry about Nationals leader John Barilaros recent threat to the Berejiklian government to take his MPs to the cross bench over changes to the states koala protection laws, which he described as a nail in the coffin for farmers.

Port Macquarie has a koala hospital that treats hundreds of koalas every year and also is a big tourist attraction.

I made it very clear to the deputy premier that I would not be supporting that action because I didnt think that it was going to achieve anything, and I think what weve seen over the past few weeks, in fact, that it has achieved nothing.

What it has done is really put in jeopardy our relationship with our Liberal Party colleagues, she said.

She said other National MPs were unhappy about the public brawl.

I can assure you that I know that there are some others, both members of the party and colleagues, who are feeling disappointed about what weve seen happen over the last couple of weeks, she said.

Barilaro went on mental health leave on Friday following the torrid fortnight and Williams wished him all the very best.

Obviously, its been a challenging time for all of us, she said.

Barilaro backed away from leaving the coalition when Premier Gladys Berejiklian gave him an ultimatum that either the Nationals MPs support the government or its ministers would be sacked from cabinet.

Maureen Dettre in Sydney
Sana Shakil By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Violence in Jammu and Kashmir reduced significantly after August 5, 2019 post abrogation of Article 370 that gave special autonomy to the erstwhile state, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.

According to the data shared by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, said terrorist incidents registered a decrease of 53 per cent and stone-pelting cases dipped by 56 per cent during the 393 days between abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019 and August 31, 2020, as compared to the same period spanning from July 7, 2018 to August 4, 2019.

The minister also shared statistics on killings of civilians and security personnel which showed there were more killings during pre-scrapping of Article 370 days as compared to the period after scrapping of Article 370.

ALSO READ | 288 people died cleaning sewers, septic tanks in last three years: Centre tells Rajya Sabha

In response to questions posed by Shiv Sena MP Anil Desai, Reddy said, After 5th August, 2019, the number of terrorist incidents, stone pelting cases registered, civilians killed and security force personnel martyred in terrorist incidents in Jammu and Kashmir have reduced significantly.

The minister said 206 terrorist incidents were recorded and 310 stone pelting cases registered in J-K between August 5, 2019 and August 31, 2020, down from 443 terrorist incidents and 703 stone pelting cases between July 7, 2018 and August 4, 2019.

ALSO READ | 94 per cent NSA detainees in 2017, 2018 were from MP and UP: Centre

Civilians and security forces personnel killed in terrorist incidents across J-K came down to 45 from 54 and to 49 from 125, respectively, in the 393 days after abrogation as against the period of 393 days between August 5, 2019 -August 31, 2020 when Article 370 and Article 35A were in force.

Reddy also cited measures taken by the government to bring down incidents of terrorism and said the government has a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism.

While keeping a close watch on persons who attempt to provide support to terrorists and initiating action against them, other steps by law enforcing agencies include enhanced interaction between police and public at various levels, sharing of intelligence inputs on real time basis amongst all security forces operating in Jammu and Kashmir, intensified area domination of militancy affected areas by deployment of additional Nakas and patrolling by security forces etc, Reddy said, in a written reply.

ALSO WATCH:
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would start contacting the nine million individuals who might qualify for a $1,200 stimulus check this week.

The stimulus checks to be distributed by the IRS to the nine million possible eligible individuals were authorized under the CARES Act. However, those nine million that IRS will contact have not yet received any stimulus checks.

The people who will receive the checks include the group of nonfilers who are not required to file federal tax returns for the past two years, but they are not aware that they needed to complete the IRS online form to claim their money.

As of August, there are at least 160 million payments sent by the IRS through mailed checks, direct deposit, and prepaid EIP debit cards.

The agency is now working on contacting those who may still owe a payment that includes Americans with dependents that receive a missing portion of their check and have until September 30 to file their situation.

According to CNET, the nine million beneficiaries might still own relief money, which the IRS is mailing guidelines in notification letters this week. The second stimulus check payment is separate from the $1,200 stimulus checks that the IRS is informing the people.

The next round of stimulus checks is currently on the tables and being discussed in Washington as part of a greater COVID-19 relief package.

Those who used the non-filers tool need to request their payment until October 15. After the said date, only through filing a federal income tax return could you claim the payment. It is the only way to get the payment when the deadline lapsed.

The IRS will send IRS Notice 1444-A to those who might be eligible for the $1,200 stimulus checks, which will start on September 24.

From an IRS address, the letter will be mailed, said the agency. You can see a copy of the letter here (PDF File) written in English and Spanish.

How to claim your payment?

The letter directs you to utilize the IRS Non-filers tool if you are not required to file a federal tax return. The tool will allow you to provide the necessary information to claim your stimulus payment.

On the other hand, the letter will direct you to electronically file your 2019 tax return immediately if you were required to file your federal taxes, but you are not able to do it. Then, you can use the IRS' Get My Payment to check the status of your money.

Check these out:

New Stimulus Checks: How the Supreme Court Vacancy Affect Negotiations

More Stimulus Is Needed to Recover From COVID-19 Recession, Bank of America CEO Says

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Death: How's the Operations in Supreme Court with Only 8 Justices
WASHINGTON  The National Institutes of Health said on Monday that one of its public affairs officers would retire after he was revealed to be surreptitiously attacking his employer and one of its directors, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, in pseudonymous posts on Twitter and the right-wing website RedState.

The official, William B. Crews, worked for and promoted the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases while simultaneously denouncing the agencys work and its director, Dr. Fauci, dismissing their research and public health advice in wild and conspiratorial terms under the pen name Streiff.

His work was exposed on Monday by The Daily Beast.

Were at the point where it is safe to say that the entire Wuhan virus scare was nothing more or less than a massive fraud perpetrated upon the American people by experts who were determined to fundamentally change the way the country lives and is organized and governed, Streiff wrote on RedState in June.

In another post late last month, he wrote, If you need a mask to make it through the day without wetting yourself, well, by all means wear it, adding, Just dont expect me to go along with your fantasy.
East Belfast UVF leaders have distanced themselves from two brothers named in court as being part of a crime gang linked to the sale of drugs.

Until recently Darren (31) and Daniel Baine (33) would have regularly been seen in the company of senior figures from the loyalist grouping.

When the pair appeared in court last year charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine, the Paramilitary Crime Taskforce (PCT) said it was a result of a major operation targeting the East Belfast UVF.

But the organisation has moved to dissociate itself from the brothers, with senior sources telling Sunday Life: "Darren and Daniel Baine have no links whatsoever to the UVF."

The statement follows a lengthy UVF investigation which identified several criminals operating in east Belfast who claimed to have the support of the terror gang.

Among them is major drug dealer and a man cleared of a brutal sex attack on appeal.

The latter individual was responsible for two east Belfast arson attacks in April when fires were set at homes on Knocknagoney Park and Strathearn Park.

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A UVF source said: "The houses were targeted by a crime gang who claimed the occupants owed them money. These same individuals were threatening people telling them that they were members of East Belfast UVF.

"We want to make it clear that they are not. The organisation mounted an investigation into allegations of drug dealing, intimidation, bullying and arson.

"We now know this was carried out by a small gang of criminals who had recruited a network of low-level drug dealers unbeknown to the leadership."

Our source added: "There is a strong suspicion that a hidden hand is at play seeking to constantly divert East Belfast from engaging in positive transition. The leadership is committed to transition and the steps taken to clean things up is clear evidence of that."

The East Belfast UVF remains a key target for the PSNI's elite Paramilitary Crime Taskforce with 10 people, including Darren and Daniel Baine, before the courts on drug dealing charges following raids last year.

When Darren Baine appeared in court a prosecutor said the organisation is linked to the "wholesale" distribution of drugs across parts of Belfast and north Down.

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Despite being unemployed it was revealed that Baine was not on benefits and lived off savings. The prosecutor accused the defendant of "selling cocaine and living off the profits" - a claim his solicitor strenuously denied.

Older brother Daniel Baine appeared in court two weeks later also charged with being concerned in the supply of cocaine. He was arrested by the PCT during the same raids as his sibling.

It was after the January 2019 murder of loyalist Ian Ogle (above) by members of the paramilitary gang that PSNI bosses set up a specialist unit to dismantle its crime network.

In recent months several individuals have been charged with drug dealing following PCT raids against what it said was the East Belfast UVF.

These include Gerard Matthew Taylor (48) who is facing charges of cocaine dealing.

He denies any connection to the East Belfast UVF as do senior figures in the paramilitary grouping, who have linked the finds to a former member.

The 50-year-old loyalist, who moved to Spain earlier this year, was in the organisation a decade ago but these ties were severed when he was jailed for possessing 250,000 of cocaine with intent to supply.
Washington, Sep 21 : US President Donald Trump's move to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the presidential election is an "abuse of power", his Democratic rival Joe Biden has said.

Trump has said he will next week nominate a woman to replace the longstanding liberal justice. Biden has urged Senate Republicans to delay a confirmation vote.

During a speech at the Constitutional Center in Philadelphia on Sunday, Biden said the president had "made clear this is about power, pure and simple", the BBC reported.

Ginsburg, a liberal icon and feminist standard-bearer, died on Friday aged 87. Democrats fear Republicans will vote to lock in a decades-long conservative majority on the country's highest court.

The ideological balance of the nine-member court is crucial to its rulings on the most important issues in US law.

"The United States constitution allows Americans the chance to be heard - and their voice should be heard... they should make it clear, they will not stand for this abuse of power," Biden said.

"I appeal to those Senate Republicans - please follow your conscience, let the people speak, cool the flames that have been engulfing our country," he said.

"Don't vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and Senator McConnell created. Don't go there." Two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, have both backed a delay in the vote until after November's presidential election.

If they are joined by two more Republican senators, they could block or at least delay a confirmation vote, as the Republicans have a majority of only six in the Senate.

In the event that the vote is a tie, the US constitution allows Vice-President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote.

Biden said that if he won the presidential election, Trump's nominee should be withdrawn. He said he would then consult senators from both parties before putting forward his choice.

He added that it would be wrong to release his list of potential Supreme Court nominees now, as this could expose some judges to political attacks.

But he said his first choice for the supreme court "will make history as the first African American woman on the court".

Trump has vowed to swear in Ginsburg's successor "without delay".

"I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men," he said at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Oman Airs plans to return to scheduled service from October 1 includes two flights per week connecting Muscat and London, Frankfurt and Istanbul.

The airline plans to resume services to 17 cities in 12 countries.

Flights to and from London will depart on Sundays and Wednesday. Flights to and from Frankfurt will depart on Mondays and Saturdays. Flights to Istanbul will depart from Muscat on Wednesdays and Sundays, with return flights on Mondays and Thursdays.

These schedules are valid from October 1 to October 24, 2020, the airline said.

Oman Air will maintain its comprehensive safety programme throughout all elements of the travel journey to ensure that guests fly confidently.

Masks are required when guests are on board the aircraft and in Oman's airports. Distancing is maintained while guests board and exit the aircraft, which are carefully cleaned after each flight and at the end of every day. Cabin crew all wear a full set of personal protective equipment, meal service has been modified to further ensure safety and a number of other steps have been taken to ensure that the airline's guests and crew are safe at all times, it said.

Guests who are planning to depart from Oman should ensure that they are aware of all pre-departure requirements, which are provided at omanair.com, as well as the requirements at their destinations.

Guests planning to travel to Oman should ensure they are aware of all requirements, which are posted at the Civil Aviation Authority website, paca.gov.om , it said. - TradeArabia News Service
Ji Chang Wook and Kim Ji Won shared their thoughts on their upcoming project together. The two are slated to star in a new romantic drama to air on Kakao TV.

Kakao TV's original drama, titled "City Couple's Way of Love" (also called "Love Laws of City Men and Women"), is scheduled to broadcast in the second half of the year. Starring Ji Chang Wook and Kim Ji Won, the two will star in a romantic drama nestled in a busy city life.

The new drama depicts a real love story of young people, living and working in a crowded city. It will offer the viewers a new kind of love in a fast and new landscape of urban life.

RELATED: Ji Chang Wook and Kim Ji Won to Star in New Romance Drama "Love Laws of City Men and Women"

Director Park Shin Woo, who helmed the hit drama "It's Okay To Not Be Okay", joins forces with scriptwriter Jung Hyun Jung, who wrote "Romance is a Bonus Book", "I Need Romance", and many more. Both are famous in making successful romantic stories on small screens. They will create heart-melting stories in digital drama with 30 minutes of air time.

Park Jae Won, played by Ji Chang Wook, is an honest and passionate architect. He loves the urban life. He is hot, good looking, and romantic in many ways.

Ji Chang Wook shared his excitement, "I look forward to working with writer Jung Hyun Jung and director Park Shin Woo. I am excited about a new love story and preparing to work on it."

Kim Ji Won, on the other hand, will play the character of Eun Oh Lee, an ordinary woman working as a freelance marketer. Eun Oh Lee's life will change after meeting Park Jae Won in a story about love and the fast-changing life in the city.

Kim Ji Won mentioned, "I am grateful to be in this project and perform with a good writer, director, and actors in the drama. I will do my best to give you love and fun in the drama."

The production team is preparing for filming and set to air before the year ends.

Are you excited to see Ji Chang Wook and Kim Ji Won together? Share your thoughts with us below!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: These Are The Nicknames Your Favorite Korean Stars Got From Their Dramas
T he former president of the Supreme Court has accused Parliament of surrendering control to the Government over draconian coronavirus laws.

Last September, Baroness Hale led a panel of 11 justices who ruled unanimously that the Prime Ministers advice to the Queen to prorogue Parliament was unlawful.

She received widespread press attention after she wore a spider brooch while delivering the Supreme Court's judgment.

In an essay seen by The Guardian on Monday, Baroness Hale called for the return of a properly functioning constitution as soon as we possibly can.

The retired judge suggested Parliament had allowed the Government to act without proper scrutiny.

Baroness Hale suggested Parliament had allowed the Government to act without proper scrutiny / PA

The Coronavirus Act 2020, passed in March, gave the Government sweeping powers alongside other draconian regulations, and it is not surprising the police were as confused as the public as to what was law and what was not, she wrote.

She said that Parliament has now resumed much of its work but it did surrender control to the government at a crucial time.

Maybe the lockdown and its severe consequences were inevitable or at least the best solution that could be devised in the circumstances, she said.

My plea is that we get back to a properly functioning constitution as soon as we possibly can.

Baroness Hale received widespread press attention after she wore a spider brooch while delivering the Supreme Court's judgment / AFP/Getty Images

Baroness Hale also referred to the row over Mr Johnsons aide Dominic Cummings decision to drive from London to County Durham to self-isolate with his family.

Others might have also felt that they had a reasonable excuse for doing something like he did. But they did not do it, either because they did not know the law and just abided by what they were told or because they felt they were not safe.

Hence the outcry that there was one law for those in power and another law for the rest of us. There isnt. But thats how it felt to many.




"The payment agreement has already been concluded. We had until September 15 to sign the payment commitment and that's what we did. I have signed the agreement myself, and the payment is in process," the government official stated.





"The vaccine has been guaranteed, as well as the purchase of the Pfizer vaccine. With these first two purchases, we have secured the supply of 11 million doses, and agreements with other pharmaceutical firms are on their way," he added.





Suarez estimates that the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines (the one developed by Pfizer) will arrive by the end of December or early January. They will be administered to healthcare workers first.





The Health Ministry's plan is to prioritize the saving of lives and, then, avoid contagion. In this sense, healthcare workers will be vaccinated first, followed by patients with comorbidities and people aged over 65 years.





COVAX Facility





The goal of the COVAX Facility is to ensure equitable access to all economies and ensure that income is not a barrier to access.





The COVAX Facility serves as an invaluable insurance policy for participants to secure access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines through its actively managed portfolio of vaccine candidates across a broad range of technologies.





The Facility provides all participants access to the same vaccine candidates, on the same accelerated timeline in an effort to end the COVID-19 pandemic as quickly as possible.





(END) NDP/RRC/RMB





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Peru has signed a deal to access the COVID-19 vaccines developed within the framework of COVAX Facility, a global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, Deputy Public Health Minister Luis Suarez affirmed on Monday.Publicado: 21/9/2020
Around the world, at least 73 countries are seeing surges in newly detected cases.

In India, more than 90,000 new cases are now being detected daily, sending the countrys total cases soaring past five million.

In Europe, after lockdowns helped smother the crisis in the spring, the virus once again is burning its way across the continent.

Israel, with nearly 1,200 deaths attributed to the virus, imposed a second lockdown last week, one of the few nations to do so.

When the first wave of infections spread around the world, governments imposed sweeping restrictions: More than four billion people were under some sort of stay-at-home order at one point. Now, many countries are desperately trying to avoid such intense measures.

We have a very serious situation unfolding before us, Hans Kluge, the World Health Organizations regional director for Europe, said last week. Weekly cases have now exceeded those reported when the pandemic first peaked in Europe in March.

Deaths in the United States from the virus neared 200,000 as of Monday morning. It was only four months ago, in late May, that the nations death roll reached 100,000. Even the current tally may be a significant undercount of the toll, analyses suggest.

Dr. Tom Inglesby, the director of the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said it was conceivable that the death toll in the United States could reach 300,000 if the public lets down its guard.
An Australian chemical weapons expert and his British colleague have been killed in a bomb blast in the Solomon Islands.

Australian Trent Lee and Briton Luke Atkinson, 57, died when an explosion ripped through a residential street in Honiora, the nation's capital, between 7.30pm and 8pm on Sunday, their aid agency confirmed.

Mr Lee, believed to be in his 40s, was a bomb specialist working for Non-Government Organisation Norwegian Peoples Aid.

The men had been performing sweeps for unexploded World War II explosives when the blast occurred.

An Australian chemical weapons expert and his British colleague who were working to identify unexploded World War II bombs in the Solomon Islands have been killed in a blast

Following the explosion, residents rushed to the scene to find the men seriously injured, the Solomons Star newspaper reported.

They were taken to Honiara's National Referral Hospital. One of the men died at the scene while the other was confirmed dead at the hospital.

Mr Lee took to Facebook to talk about how dangerous his line of work was just a month before the fatal explosion.

'Pretty much the most dangerous WW2 ammunition we find...it's cocked and ready to fire...one bump and it's all over,' he wrote on August 13.

The evening bomb blast could be heard up to five kilometres away.

Local police have sealed off the blast area and launched an investigation.

A police statement said officers of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team and Forensics Department were at the scene.

The two men were conducting a non-technical survey on the contamination of unexploded ordnances in the Solomons, the police media statement said.

Australian Trent Lee and Briton Luke Atkinson, 57, died in a rented apartment in Honiora, the nation's capital, between 7.30pm and 8pm on Sunday night

Inspector Clifford Tunuki said police spent the night clearing the explosion site.

'Explosives ordinance disposal officers will have to render the scene safe before forensics and other investigators access the scene to find out what happened,' Inspector Tunuki told media.

The US State Department funds the project, which works to remove undetonated explosives all over the world.

The Solomon Islands are littered with unexploded material from World War II, according to NPA.

NPA deputy secretary-general Per Nergaard confirmed in a statement that Mr Lee and Mr Atkinson had died in the blast.

Trent Lee posted about the dangers of working with live bombs just a month before the fatal explosion (pictured, images from his Facebook page)

The Solomon Islands (pictured) are littered with unexploded material from World War II, according to NPA

'This is a tragic accident. So far, we know that there has been an explosion with fatal consequences,' he said.

'Our main priority now is to offer assistance to relatives and colleagues and to clarify what has happened.'

'The safety and security of our staff is our highest priority.'

NPA secretary-general Henriette Killi Westhrin said the organisation was devastated by the loss of two good colleagues.

'Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to their families, relatives and staff.'

The NPA has 1850 deminers working in 19 countries worldwide.
(Natural News) Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren apparently saw the videos of Black Lives Matter mobs attacking diners at a local restaurant on Friday and rioting in the streets and figured the proper response is to give the rioters human shields to protect them from police.

(Article by Chris Menahan republished from InformationLiberation.com)

Our elders will stand as the buffer between the protesters and our police department, Warren said Sunday after a community meeting between protesters and police.

Our elders will stand as the buffer between the protesters and our police department. Rochester Mayor @lovelyawarren announces a community meeting between protesters and law enforcement following recent protests over the death of Daniel Prude pic.twitter.com/esEQwidenK  Bloomberg QuickTake (@QuickTake) September 6, 2020

Thats precisely what they did:

Rochester is planning to use elders as human shields tonight. Theres no depth of insanity they wont stoop too. pic.twitter.com/iHIP88NCp3  CIA-Simulation Warlord  (@zerosum24) September 7, 2020

https://twitter.com/zerosum24/status/1302783449737109504

Elders have linked arms. Noting now that many dont seem to have helmets or goggles. Organizer stopping to tell us that this is the spot where many were tear gassed last night. pic.twitter.com/LC0g3HNiJy  adria r. walker (@adriawalkr) September 7, 2020

White shields were told to go to the front.

White shields

City Hall  Rochester, NY pic.twitter.com/Zfcp21W8GI  Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) September 6, 2020

Im assuming these Church elders are a lot like the Portland Moms.

I recognize a lot of the so-called moms as the same antifa women who dressed in black as recent as a couple days ago. They just put on a yellow shirt now for optics. Most of these people arent mothers & many dont even identify as female. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/UPffcao0fv  Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) July 22, 2020

The rioters were filmed training with crowdfunded riot gear to take on the police:

Protesters in Rochester have become organized within just a few days. Here they practice with their shields before approaching the police barricade. #rochester #rochesterprotests #DanielPrude pic.twitter.com/MfjANM0FUZ  Maranie R. Staab (@MaranieRae) September 7, 2020

Portland tonight? Nope. Rochester, NY. @elaadeliahu is out covering the BLM-antifa mass gathering. It has been violent there in the past few days and thats likely to continue. They crowdfund to buy riot gear. #AntifaRiots #BLM pic.twitter.com/4rAHQOrtiU  Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) September 7, 2020

No this isnt Portland, this is Rochester. We are learning. pic.twitter.com/oXrlAF1sVU  Vitalist International (@VitalistInt) September 6, 2020

They mob went on to attack a reporter and his security guard after accusing them of being undercover cops.

Two men were discovered to have infiltrated the group during tonights march in#rochester NY. They were suspected please officers, but that is not confirmed. The two men fled when confronted.#rochesterprotests#rocpic.twitter.com/kKFQsyEwyt  Maranie R. Staab (@MaranieRae) September 7, 2020

Demonstrators now attacking us outside the public safety building. pic.twitter.com/VqQybiNskn  Charles Molineaux (@WHEC_cmolineaux) September 7, 2020

Read more at: InformationLiberation.com
An elementary school on the southern Oregon coast will close Monday after at least one person who tested positive for COVID-19 interacted with others on campus, school officials said.

In a letter Sunday to Brookings-Harbor School District families and staff, Superintendent David Marshall said the district was told earlier in the day by Curry County health officials that people at Kalmiopsis Elementary School in Brookings were exposed to the virus by individuals. He did not say if the person or people who tested positive were students, staff or parents.

Marshall said areas of the school will be sanitized. Virtual classes for kindergarten through third grade will begin by Tuesday, and people determined to have had direct exposure to the virus will be notified by health department or school district representatives and will need to quarantine for two weeks.

Curry County Emergency Management announced Sunday evening that an adult and child who live in the same home in the county both tested positive for COVID-19 and that health staff were working with the school on contact tracing. Curry County said they were first notified of the cases through Del Norte County Public Health in California.

The adult and child are home, self-isolating and monitoring their symptoms, the county emergency management said.

The Oregon Health Authority hasnt disclosed any outbreaks at schools. The agency has said it would only disclose outbreaks involving five or more cases in schools with enrollment of at least 30 students.

Kalmiopsis Elementary School has students from kindergarten to fifth grade. In-person classes began Sept. 11 for students at the school up to third grade. Fourth and fifth grade students were planned to solely attend virtual classes until at least Oct. 9, according to the school district.

The county reports having 28 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Sunday, and all but four have recovered from the illness.

Oregon has 30,801 confirmed or presumptive COVID-19 cases as of Sunday, and 526 people have died from it.

Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter

-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
New Jersey has fined a dozen companies for price gouging, false advertising and other coronavirus-related violations, the state attorney generals office announced Monday.

Officials levied more than $30,000 in fines overall, and the consumer affairs division says it has sent more than 1,880 cease-and-desist letters and issued 110 subpoenas demanding more information since the pandemic triggered an unprecedented number of consumer complaints."

Most businesses are following the law, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. "For those that are not, these actions are a reminder that the penalties for violations are significant.

Performance Supply LLC was hit with the largest fine of $12,500, officials said.

In March, the Manalapan-based company offered to sell 3M N95 masks to the New York City Office of Citywide Procurement for more than $6 each, according to the violation notice. But the group was not an authorized 3M dealer, and the prices were up to a 500% increase above the listed price.

State law says prices generally cannot increase more than 10% during a state of emergency.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

The violation was sent to Ronald Romano, the companys registered agent. When reached by phone, Romano said, I dont know what youre talking about, and hung up. Romano did not immediately return a follow-up call.

3M also sued the company in April for trademark infringement, according to court records.

Romanos company should not be confused with the similarly named Performance Screen Supply, also in Manalapan, which was not cited Monday but whose owner has reportedly received death threats over the mistake.

The head of another company fined $3,000 for false advertising apologized for an honest mistake.

Hudson Drug of Cresskill advertised and sold antibody tests that were not for home use, according to the violation.

We didnt know these tests werent allowed to be used at home, President Shreyas Shah told NJ Advance Media. Its upsetting that we had to find out the hard way, but he said they had no intention of misleading customers.

Retro Fitness of Rockaway was fined $2,000 for a similar violation. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Other companies were fined for allegedly price gouging bottled water, disinfectant spray and other essential items.

Residents can report violations online.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Blake Nelson can be reached at bnelson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BCunninghamN.

Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips.
Election 2020 Second Unexploded Hand Grenade Found at Residence of Election Official in Myanmars Capital

Two unexploded hand grenades found at the Naypyitaw UEC chief's residence. / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYITAWPolice and explosive ordnance disposal officers found a second unexploded hand grenade at the residence of Naypyitaw Election Sub-Commission Chairman U Thein Htwe in Dekkina Thiri Township at noon on Sunday, following the discovery of a first grenade late Saturday night. Both devices were reportedly thrown into the compound from the street.

The attack came after Myanmar Union Election Commission Chairman U Hla Thein said on Saturday that the 2020 general election scheduled for Nov. 8 would not be postponed, despite some political parties request for a delay due to the coronavirus epidemic raging across the country.

Military spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy that the second grenade was found in the compound after a thorough review of CCTV footage of the residence on Sunday.

They are real [grenades]. They have detonators. The reason they didnt explode may be due to some problems with the detonators, the spokesperson said.

The major general said military experts and local police at the scene had determined the grenades were made in a neighboring country. He did not say which country, adding that security personnel were investigating the incident.

U Thein Htwe declined to comment for the time being. Naypyitaws UEC Secretary U Aung Soe Win confirmed the discovery of the second unexploded grenade but said officials were still investigating and he could not provide any additional details.

Prior to the discovery of the second grenade, Police Colonel Kyaw Thiha of the Myanmar Police Force said the first hand grenade was thrown into the residence of U Thein Htwe at about 10 p.m. on Saturday and that police were investigating.

U Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer from nearby Pyinmana Township, condemned the incident as anti-democratic and an act of political violence.

It is not good. We are against such acts and we have to prevent them from happening in the future. This will not convince the government to delay the election. We cannot accept such intimidation, he said.

A total of 76 candidates representing 12 political parties will contest for two Upper House seats and eight Lower House seats in the Naypyitaw Union Territory, which comprises Pyinmana, Leiwei, Tat Kone, Zabu Thiri, Zayyar Thiri, Pobba Thiri, Dekkina Thiri and Ottara Thiri townships.

Naypyitaw is home to around 860,000 eligible voters among more than 1 million residents of the capital, including locals, civil servants and military personnel, according to UEC figures released in August.

You may also like these stories:

Carter Center Launches Election Monitoring Mission in Myanmar

Myanmars NLD Says Postponing November Election Would Lead to Chaos

Peoples Pioneer Party Stands by Nationalist Candidate in Myanmars Election
by Shafique Khokhar

The 25-year-old was arrested for possession and sale of drugs. In reality, the police want to eliminate him because he witnessed two murders committed by a group of policemen. The perpetrators of the killers also tried to bribe him by offering him a large sum. The Human Rights Focus Pakistan organization is defending it.

Toba Tek Singh (AsiaNews) - Waqar Masih, 25 (photo 1), is a Christian from a poor background who is in prison accused of selling drugs. But the charges are false. In reality he was framed by the police because he is asking for justice for his father, Younas Masih, 48 (photo 2), killed by some policemen a few months ago, and because Waqar is a witness to the murder, also by policemen, of the young Christian man Khurram Masih.

On June 22, police officer Arif Jutt, along with some of his colleagues, entered Younas Masih's home in a village in Gojra, Toba Tek Singh district and tortured him together with his wife Tahira Bibi and his children. Arslan Masih and Karaf Masih. The policemen were looking for the other son, Waqar, who was not at home at the time. As a result of the torture, Younas Masih suffered many injuries. Before leaving the house, the police arrested the two young men, Arslan and Karaf. But on their first night in prison, they heard the news of their father's death. The police then immediately released the two young men.

A group linked to Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), meanwhile, has collected evidence by visiting the victims at home, interviewing families and neighbors, including Muhammad Awais and Muhammad Usama (eyewitnesses to the police attack on Younas Masih and his family) .

Arslan Masih told HRFP that his brother Waqar Masih is a very helpful young man for all local Christians. He is an eyewitness to the murder of the young Khurram Masih, whose case is being handled by the Gojra police station and also involves some Gojra policemen. The police have tried to pressure Waqar not to testify. One of the accused in Khurrams death is the police officer Arif Jutt who, faced with Waqars refusal, attacked his family and caused the death of Younas Masih by torture.

At first, the police refused to accept a complaint about the death of Younas Masih, against Arif Jutt and his colleagues. Only after Waqar took his father's body to a nearby street did the police accept the complaint. Meanwhile, Arif Jutt and all the officers involved fled and went into hiding, with the help of their department.

On July 15, the police asked the village magistrate, Aurang Zaib Jutt, to persuade Waqar to reach an agreement with Arif Jutt. Aurang Zaib pointed out to Waqar that as he is part of a weaker (Christian) minority in the village, he must try not to challenge the Muslims. Thus, Waqar was offered a large sum of money to withdraw his testimony. But he did not accept because "my faith forbids me," he said.

Arif Jutt then thought of taking revenge, framing Waqar Masih with false accusations, to set an example for other Christians on how he believes they should behave with regards Muslims and the police of the department.

On August 16, Waqar Masih was stopped as he sat on the scooter of his friend, Muhammad Usama (also an eyewitness to the attack on Younas Masih). The Anti-Narcotics Force, (ANF) arrested him on charges of possessing and selling 4,800 kilos of marijuana, and also because he is in possession of two illegal guns.

Waqar is now in prison and the HRFP is following his story, also helping his family who are under threat.

Naveed Walter, president of the HRFP, says that the case and the accusations against Waqar Masih are another example of the true face of the police and the way in which they influence the trials. Waqar's relatives complain that there is such a lack of justice: "It seems that the power of the institution are uniting against Christians, including the police, local religious and political authorities".Toba Tek Singh (AsiaNews) - Waqar Masih, 25 (photo 1), is a Christian from a poor background who is in prison accused of selling drugs. But the charges are false. In reality he was framed by the police because he is asking for justice for his father, Younas Masih, 48 (photo 2), killed by some policemen a few months ago, and because Waqar is a witness to the murder, also by policemen, of the young Christian man Khurram Masih.

On June 22, police officer Arif Jutt, along with some of his colleagues, entered Younas Masih's home in a village in Gojra, Toba Tek Singh district and tortured him together with his wife Tahira Bibi and his children. Arslan Masih and Karaf Masih. The policemen were looking for the other son, Waqar, who was not at home at the time. As a result of the torture, Younas Masih suffered many injuries. Before leaving the house, the police arrested the two young men, Arslan and Karaf. But on their first night in prison, they heard the news of their father's death. The police then immediately released the two young men.

A group linked to Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), meanwhile, has collected evidence by visiting the victims at home, interviewing families and neighbors, including Muhammad Awais and Muhammad Usama (eyewitnesses to the police attack on Younas Masih and his family) .

Arslan Masih told HRFP that his brother Waqar Masih is a very helpful young man for all local Christians. He is an eyewitness to the murder of the young Khurram Masih, whose case is being handled by the Gojra police station and also involves some Gojra policemen. The police have tried to pressure Waqar not to testify. One of the accused in Khurrams death is the police officer Arif Jutt who, faced with Waqars refusal, attacked his family and caused the death of Younas Masih by torture.

At first, the police refused to accept a complaint about the death of Younas Masih, against Arif Jutt and his colleagues. Only after Waqar took his father's body to a nearby street did the police accept the complaint. Meanwhile, Arif Jutt and all the officers involved fled and went into hiding, with the help of their department.

On July 15, the police asked the village magistrate, Aurang Zaib Jutt, to persuade Waqar to reach an agreement with Arif Jutt. Aurang Zaib pointed out to Waqar that as he is part of a weaker (Christian) minority in the village, he must try not to challenge the Muslims. Thus, Waqar was offered a large sum of money to withdraw his testimony. But he did not accept because "my faith forbids me," he said.

Arif Jutt then thought of taking revenge, framing Waqar Masih with false accusations, to set an example for other Christians on how he believes they should behave with regards Muslims and the police of the department.

On August 16, Waqar Masih was stopped as he sat on the scooter of his friend, Muhammad Usama (also an eyewitness to the attack on Younas Masih). The Anti-Narcotics Force, (ANF) arrested him on charges of possessing and selling 4,800 kilos of marijuana, and also because he is in possession of two illegal guns.

Waqar is now in prison and the HRFP is following his story, also helping his family who are under threat.

Naveed Walter, president of the HRFP, says that the case and the accusations against Waqar Masih are another example of the true face of the police and the way in which they influence the trials. Waqar's relatives complain that there is such a lack of justice: "It seems that the power of the institution are uniting against Christians, including the police, local religious and political authorities".
 Flash

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told Xinhua he believes that the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need to strengthen multilateralism, while also expressing hope to continue to work closely with China to address the common challenges facing the world.



"Looking at today's global landscape, it is clear that the common good is best served through more international cooperation, not less," the UN chief said on Friday.

"The UN's 75th anniversary, now more than ever, reminds us that multilateralism, consensus and cooperation must be instrumental in maintaining and safeguarding the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter," the secretary-general said.

Guterres reiterated his stance on multilateralism under the current situation, noting it must be both "networked" and "inclusive."

"We need a networked multilateralism, in which the United Nations and its agencies, the international financial institutions, regional organizations and others work together more effectively with stronger institutional links," he said.

"And we need an inclusive multilateralism, drawing on the critical contributions of civil society, business, foundations, the research community, local authorities, cities and regional governments," the secretary-general elaborated.

Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic, Guterres said "the virus is the number one global security threat in our world today and we need international solidarity to defeat it."

"We need to massively expand new and existing tools that can respond to new cases and provide vital treatment to suppress transmission and save lives," he said.

The secretary-general spoke highly of China's contribution to addressing global challenges and its success in poverty reduction.

Calling it "a pillar of multilateralism," the UN chief said China has been playing an increasingly bigger role in regional and world affairs, adding that the UN's close cooperation with China also extends to peace and security issues around the globe, including in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

"The United Nations and China enjoy a high level of cooperation," he said. "I welcome China's comprehensive position on a wide number of topics of common interest, ranging from climate change to peacekeeping, and sustainable development."

"I hope that China will continue its proactive policies to strengthen the UN's global work on maintaining peace and security and encouraging sustainable development," the secretary-general added.

The UN chief also called China's achievements in poverty reduction "very strong."

China is in the final stage of eliminating absolute poverty, he said. At the end of 2019, the number of impoverished people in China's rural areas declined to 5.51 million from 98.99 million at the end of 2012, with the poverty headcount ratio dropping to 0.6 percent from 10.2 percent during the same period.

The secretary-general said China is "emerging as a key player within the UN system."

China is the second largest contributor to the UN's regular budget, a major contributor to UN peacekeeping, and the second-largest financial contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget, he said.

Currently, China contributes a total of over 2,500 uniformed peacekeepers, who showed "consistently high quality and professionalism" in their service with UN peacekeeping operations, he said.

Guterres said that the UN is "proud of the strong presence of the United Nations family in China."

"Last year, we marked the 40th anniversary of the UN working in China, which coincided with the period of China's transformation through its reform and opening-up policy," he said.

"The United Nations has supported and witnessed China's remarkable development achievements during this period and is committed to further strengthening our partnership in all pillars of the organization's work, including development, peace and security and human rights," he added.

He said he trusts that China will continue playing an important role in supporting multilateral efforts in building more equal and inclusive societies that are more resilient towards unprecedented global challenges.
YEREVAN.  Independence starts from the human soul, not only from the border. Republic of Armenia (RA) Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan noted this Monday morning in a conversation with journalists at Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan.

"The guarantor of independence is not only the army, but also the people, and the RA Armed Forces born of its bosom," he said.

Asked how he would comment on Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev's statement that the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) negotiations had failed, the minister said: "Well, if he does not negotiate, negotiations do not exist for him. Well, he will not blame himself. In fact, he has to blame himself, [but] he blames the Armenian side."

Also, Tonoyan urged not to worry. "Do not worry. We are strong, resilient, and we will only have victories. I wish our people strength and resilience to overcome all the trials that are possible. I am confident that our people will only achieve victories because what we wish is righteous," he said.

And to the remark that he had announced in the National Assembly that he was going to retaliate against Azerbaijan and whether he had already done that, the Armenian defense minister responded: "Everything in its time."
MBABANE - Back to square one. Bidders will have another chance to bid for the construction of the Eswatini Communications Commission (ESCCOM) offices. This follows the nullification of the initial tender process.

In accordance with Article 40 of the Eswatini Public Procurement Regulatory Agency Circular 1/2016, the communications industry regulator, in a statement, confirmed the nullification of the tender for the proposed construction of its head office in Ezulwini.

The compelling reason for the nullification was the scope of works of the project, as presented in the request for tender, had been increased beyond what was approved by the ESCCOM Board of Directors for procurement.

Circumstances

This resulted in the new estimated costs of the project escalating beyond the approved budget and as such to continue with the project, under the circumstances, would be delinquent and acting beyond the scope approved by the Board, reads a statement from ESCCOM.

ESCCOM did not disclose the figures involved in the project but it was gathered during the turning of the sod that building offices was estimated at over E150 million.

Following the latest developments, the Commission shall start the tendering process afresh. The public and prospective bidders will be alerted on when to submit their tender documents.

Following the unforeseen circumstances, ESCCOM promised to refund all cash deposits made for the purchase of this tender.

Notably, by last month the Commission had already called for suitably sub-contractors to bid for several services related to the main tender. They include the installation of access control, audio visual and closed circuit television (CCTV) systems. Also invited to tender were sub-contractors for the installation of a fire evacuation system as well as structured cabling, electrical system and elevators in the building.

In a bid to serve the public well, the Commission wants to establish a permanent office that has the requisite facilities and space that would allow regular engagement with the licensees and the public.

ESCCOM is a relatively new and growing regulatory authority. By May this year, had a staff complement of about 40 employees.

Decisions

The full staff complement is projected to be between 60 and 70 employees in the next three to five years.

During the course of 2013/2014 the Board took a conscious decision to acquire land for purposes of building ESCCOM offices.

The Board specified that the land to be acquired should be easily accessible to all ESCCOM stakeholders, which include the consumers of electronic services, the public at large and the licensees. Subsequently, this site was identified and found to be ideal for the purposes. This site is a 1-hectare sized plot which the Board is confident will be accessible to all who need services of the Commission.

The decision to acquire and build offices was informed by the escalating costs of renting premises.

After a careful cost analysis, he said, the Board considered that the cost of building ESCCOM offices outweighed the cost of renting.

For example, the projected costs of the building are far less than the amount of rental the Commission would have paid within a 10 year period. Moreover, the Board envisaged that the building will have lettable floors and thus the Commission would re-coup some funds from rentals.

Out of the total office space available, 1 426 square metres (over two floors of the building) is available as lettable office space. The offices will provide the Commission with a modern office structure that supports a conducive working environment, Thembumkhululi Khumalo, who chairs the ESCCOM Board, was quoted saying earlier this year.

Regulators

The building is expected to be completed in December 2022.

ESCCOM was formed after the need for the existence of an independent regulator for the sector was envisaged by government in 2005, through the National Information and Communications Infrastructure Policy (NICI Policy 2005).

The Eswatini Communications Commission was then established in 2013, through the Eswatini Communications Commission Act, 2013, to regulate the electronic communications, postal services, broadcasting services, data protection and e-commerce and ensure universal service and access to these services.

The Electronic Communications Act specifies that in the regulation of electronic communications, the Commission shall ensure the provision of a wide range of public communications networks and services.






Read more: Direct Insurance Group makes permanent work from home switch

The range of COVID-led initiatives DILM crafted actually kicked off before the lockdown, he said, with a 20,000 investment into laptops to allow staff to work from home about a week before the lockdown became official. Having piloted how this remote working would look, when the shutdown became official the team was already accustomed to working in this manner.

Its strange times for everybody, he said, so if there was anything that we could do to make your home working environment more comfortable, staff could just ask. For instance, one guy had blinds fitted in his window because the sun was in his eyes and he couldnt work effectively. People were equipped with chairs, desks, new monitors, really anything they needed to help them through this.

Another good thing was that the executive committee and the board of the business kept us all up to date through weekly updates on business performance and the impact of COVID and always with that reminder  do you need anything, is there anything we can do?

From home deliveries of baked goods to adapting a pre-existing staff benefits package to allow people to use time out of work to take part in online Zoom personal training sessions, to holding nutrition and mental wellbeing seminars, there were a variety of support initiatives which DILM was proud to be able to offer its colleagues. An early Zoom quiz had a particularly positive response, Field said, and this was followed up by a second quiz, hosted by the comedian Lee Nelson who provided some substantiative energy to the evening by finding great mileage in ribbing the businesss board members.

Read more: Nicolas Aubert discusses "the new normal"

We had a record April and May, Field said, so, at the end of May, the board decided to make a permanent switch to completely flexible working. This was not a knee jerk reaction but very much made with the longer-term focus in mind that this was clearly working. Of course, the key thing is people - no two peoples situations are the same - [DILM] wants to make sure that those who want to go back into the office can return to a safe environment and that those who want to work at home, and are actually benefiting from not having that hour-long commute each side of the day, can continue to work at home.

Some want to balance the two, he noted, and combine time in the office with time at home and this has also been supported. The crisis has really highlighted the diversity innate to DILM, he said, which encompasses a team which includes people of every age from a huge variety of locations. When Field first joined just over four years ago the company was a 30 million business in terms of GWP with maybe 30 staff and since then teams have been recruited on a global scale, with offices now located in New Jersey, Texas, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Brussels, as well as London.

We have such a range of people coming into the business, he said. From school leavers, right the way through to people who are more at the tail end of their career, there is something here for everyone and all [our initiatives] have been very inclusive and offered to everyone.

With so much uncertainty in the world at the moment, and given the amount of time people spend at work, he said, it is essential that people feel comfortable in their working environments. Field feels very strongly that the support he has been offered has directly fed into his willingness to work hard and to keep pushing. These initiatives have created a huge amount of goodwill across all the teams and they have been driven by DILMs management team, who are leading by example.

If we can create a culture that this business is seen and felt by the staff within it as one that is standing by them during a difficult period, then I think thats a huge achievement, he said. And for me, making sure that we have a sharing culture that gives the staff visibility on how the teams performing and also checks on them individually is key I think this has made us all a little more caring about looking after individuals, as well as looking after the business.

When something closer to business as usual returns, Field is looking forward to getting back out and spending time with both customers and his colleagues. As the lockdown eases, and as it becomes safe to do so, he said, it will be great to get back into bigger groups and spend time face to face with people because thats what I miss the most.
TORRINGTON - Personnel from St. John Paul the Great Academy aimed thermometers through car windows Sept. 8, ensuring that 131 students were healthy enough to return to brick-and-mortar classrooms after four months.

Edward Goad, the new principal of the pre-k through eighth grade school on Prospect Street, said, The decision to open school this year was one which we did not take lightly. The health and well-being of our students is of the utmost priority.
California police have released bodycam footage that shows a Black Lives Matter protester being shot in the groin with a foam bullet during a march in Los Angeles.

The video shows 28-year-old photographer Ben Montemayor being shot by a 40mm foam pellet gun along Hollywood Boulevard on June 20.

Montemayor has already announced his intention to sue the LAPD, saying he required emergency surgery when one of his testicles swelled to twice its normal size after he was shot.

Police subsequently announced their own investigation into the shooting.

Bodycam footage taken at a Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles on June 20 showed the moment a police officer fired a foam bullet into an activist's groin

The bodycam footage was released Friday, as part of the police probe.

The footage shows a group of officers who were sent to tackle protesters who were gathering on part of Hollywood Boulevard on June 20.

In the video, officers run towards a junction of Hollywood Boulevard and another street as bottles are thrown at them, and attempt to clear the activists away.

Two protesters can be seen standing on the crosswalk holding a banner, one of whom has his hands raised in the air.

Officers take the banner away and push the man with his hands up away from the crossing. He takes a single step towards the officers, and is shot in the groin.

Montemayor told the LA Times that he was trying to help up a friend who had been pushed to the ground when he was shot.

He said fellow protesters helped him away from the scene, and that afterwards he went to hospital when one of his testicles swelled to twice its normal size.

Footage shows the man - who later identified himself as Ben Montemayor - standing in the middle of a crosswalk with his arms raised in the air

Police take his banner and push him out of the road, before opening fire as he takes a step towards them - which he said was to help a friend who was pushed over

He was taken in for emergency surgery which lasted around three hours in an attempt to preserve his ability to have children.

Montemayor has said he intends to file a lawsuit, and referred all questions to attorney Dan Stormer.

He described the shooting as a 'brutal assault' and said the video shows that 'in some ways, it's even worse than we thought.'

Dismissing the police investigation, he said the department were simply covering their own backs 'to protect themselves from the lawsuit that is coming'.

LAPD policy states that crowd-control weapons, such as foam bullets, should only be used on people that are more than five feet away.

Montemayor (obscured right, behind the officer's arm) has since announced he will sue the LAPD, which the department has launched its own investigation

California has seen near-continuous protests against inequality and police brutality that began in May after the death of George Floyd (pictured, marchers in LA the day before the shooting)

The shooting took place on June 20, a day after demonstrators took to the streets across the US for Juneteenth - marking the day the last Confederate slaves learned of their freedom

The weapons cannot be blindly fired into crowds, must be used against people who present a 'clear and immediate threat', and cannot be used to retaliate against verbal threats or because of 'noncompliance'.

California has seen near-continuous protests over racial inequality and police brutality that began in May in response to the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis.

Protesters gathered in cities across the state on Saturday, June 20 - the date of the shooting - to call for greater equality across the country.

The day fell after Juneteenth, the anniversary of the day on which the last slaves of the Confederacy learned of their freedom.
Whether theyre fermenting and distilling molasses from scratch, adding spices or botanicals to imported distillates, or blending and bottling ready-to-drink rums from overseas, Britains diverse, dedicated and highly experimental rum brands are carving their own niche. Keen to find out what the future holds for the burgeoning British rum category, we spoke with distillers, blenders, spicers and bottlers from across the UK

While Britain has a long (often very dark) tradition of importing rum, because the UKs temperate climate is inhospitable to sugar cane, few have attempted to make it from scratch. The first British distiller to make rum on a commercial scale was English Spirit Distillery back in 2011. From its Essex base, the team produces the widest variety of spirits and liqueurs in the UK  all under one roof, all distilled using raw ingredients under the trained hand of head distiller Dr John Walters.

When the distillery first opened, Dr Walters started making a whole slew of spirits at once, explains general manager James Lawrence. He dived in headfirst to see what kind of vodka he could make, what kind of malt he could make and so on, and realised nobody had commercially produced rum in the UK before  everything before that was imported from elsewhere. At the time, all the well-known famous brands  Pussers, Lambs, all the ones with the Union Jacks on  consisted of rums sourced from the Caribbean and other rum-making, which were transported to the UK and blended together, sometimes with spices added.

English Spirit has released three rums since  Old Salt Rum, English Spiced Rum, and St. Pirans Cornish Rum  all distilled from 100% sugar cane molasses from across the globe. A lot of the larger commercial rum distilleries will use sugar cane juice or sugar cane syrup, which is a lot easier to work with, cheaper, and less messy, says Lawrence. But using pure molasses gives a Golden Syrup-y, treacly consistency that makes a really great base for rum. After a long fermentation  around two to three weeks  and a triple distillation in copper pot alembic stills, around 200 litres of molasses wash has been transformed into approximately 20 litres of rum.

Despite pioneering rum distilling in the UK almost a decade ago, English Spirit remains the exception rather than the rule, illustrating just how time-consuming and expensive the process is, and the difficulties in sourcing and transporting the raw ingredients. Just a handful of distillers have followed in their footsteps  including Dark Matter, a Scottish distillery that makes spiced rum; BrewDog Distilling Company, which last year released botanical rum Five Hundred Cuts; and unaged rum SeaWolf, created by bar owners Mike Aikman, Jason Scott and Craig Harper and made at Ogilvy Spirits distillery.

Of course, thats not to say blended rums are any less authentic. In the south west of England at Devon Rum Company, founder Dave Seear worked closely with a Caribbean rum blender and importer to create his take on a premium English style spiced rum. English style rum is categorised by heavy and powerful rum types  mostly pot and column-distilled from molasses and sourced from previous British colonies of Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana, Jamaica and St Lucia, he says.

Devon Rum Company Spiced Rum combines two pot-stilled Jamaican rums  a column-still rum and a pot-still rum from Guyana  which are imported at 80% ABV. Once landed in the UK, we infuse the base Caribbean rum in vats with natural Devon spring water to reduce the ABV to 40%, Seear explains. The rum is then steeped in a secret blend of spices and citrus zest, with the latter being sourced from local businesses. Unlike many alternative spiced rums, we add no vanilla, sugar or colouring and have concentrated on the quality of our base rum, our carefully crafted recipe and sourcing quality natural ingredients, he adds.

Rather than masking low-quality spirit with punchy spices, todays spiced rum producers seek to create harmony between the base liquid and botanicals. [Our founders] were frustrated by the lack of respect for the base spirit exhibited by established spiced rum brands, where spices were dumped into poor quality base spirits, says Hannah Burden-Teh, brand manager at Kents Rumbullion. To create their small batch spiced rum, the team layers carefully blended natural spice tinctures of Madagascan vanilla, orange peel, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom into their top quality Caribbean rum. Although some of the process finishes in Kent, we want to champion our original locale where the sugar cane grows and is fermented, she adds.

Honouring the base components is an ethos shared by Devon-based independent blender Hattiers. To create his flagship sipping rum bottling  Hattiers Premium Reserve Rum  founder takes a blend of eight-year-old double retort pot and twin-column coffey still rums distilled from sugar cane molasses in Barbados and combines them with pot still rums from Guatemala, Panama and The Dominican Republic before adding water drawn from a well in the nearby village of Beesands.

We typically blend at 62% to 70% ABV, then marry with our local Devon water to bring each blend down to bottling strength, says Everett-Lyons, who explains that traceability is paramount. We are completely transparent on all components, which are stated on the label along with full details including still type, maturation, location and cask, he continues. We only blend rums with no additives or colourants and choose not to spice or use botanicals in our blends. In our opinion, the quality of the rum shouldnt be overshadowed by these things.

Some distillers take this approach further still by bottling single estate rums  East London Liquor Company, for example, which made its first foray into rum with the release of Demerara Rum from Guyana. What youre drinking at your local in Bethnal Green is exactly what the locals in Georgetown are appreciating half a world away, says founder Alex Wolpert, delicious molasses-based rum made from sugar cane grown along the Demerara River, distilled in the worlds last working wooden Coffey still, aged in ex-bourbon barrels until you get notes of caramel, baking spices and toffee. Basically, perfection. And were not about to mess with perfection, so other than proofing the rum down to 40% ABV, we havent touched it.

Their latest release East London Rum from Jamaica is similarly unadulterated. Weve developed a blend of three of the most famous rum distilleries in Jamaica to come up with a funky, ester-led white rum that is my new favourite in Daiquiris, Wolpert says  an 80:20 blend of medium to high-ester rums, with 80% coming from column and pot distillation, and 20% from funky Jamaican pot still. As a huge rum fan, Im loath to mess with a good thing, he continues. And as a distillery, we understand the amount of thought and hard work that goes into making these distillates, and trust that we cant make them better than they already are.

Industry folks regularly refer to the runaway success of the gin category when forecasting the burgeoning interest in rum. Will rum be the next gin? The answer might be less about the liquid, and more to do with the practicalities of production  especially if, like English Spirit Distillery, you have designs on making the liquid from scratch. Everyone in the UK was able to pile into making gin quite quickly as opposed to importing it, says Lawrence. Whereas with rum, theres such a massive capital investment needed. You need a lot more room, a lot more experience. You need more time to perfect your product before its ready to sell. There is a completely understandable reticence to completely investing, finding a distiller whos willing to put in the work, and affording someone the time to practise over and over again, as we know full well that you have to do to make a decent rum.

That British rum consists primarily of independent spicers and blenders is a trend thats set to continue, at least in the short term. But regardless of whether brands import rum or raw molasses, future-proofing the sector, as Everett-Lyons, points out, brings benefits for everyone. We believe that there is absolutely room for all, and that either adopting an international definition of rum classification or developing a British standard on labelling would be the next step, he says. As other rum-producing nations seek to adopt their own guidelines, now would be a great time to mirror the Scotch Whisky Association and bring some accountability and compliance to our trade. For this to happen, the industry would need to tread ensuring not to ostracise but instead to unite all sub-sectors of British rum.

Itll also support the immense creativity already bubbling away within the category. There are so many different directions you can take rum in, as Lawrence rightly points out, by playing with botanicals, barrel-ageing, and even the distillation process. When English Spirit Distillery produced Sir Ranulph Fiennes Great British Rum, they added three wood varieties  date palm, pine, and sequoia  to the still, which pulled all that really interesting wood complexity into the spirit without the need for maturation. A dark rum called Daymark 1683, produced for a company based on the Isles of Scilly, is infused with hand-picked samphire and Cornish sea salt. The British rum revolution really has only just begun. Give it a few years, theres going to be some absolutely amazing rums out there, says Lawrence. Its really exciting.
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, says records show that 10 per cent of all positive COVID-19 cases treated are below the age of 19 years.

Mr Ehanire made this disclosure at the daily briefing of the PTF on COVID-19 on Monday in Abuja.

According to him, with regard to COVID-19 and growing complacency, even though adults, especially those 60 years and above are more vulnerable, complications do occur in all age groups.

Records show that 10 per cent of all positive cases we have treated are below the age of 19 years.

They are also the same mobile group that can be without symptoms, but can easily spread the disease.

Therefore, as schools begin to reopen in some areas, I urge caution and adherence to the protocols and advisories for reopening schools, to prevent COVID-19 surge, he said.

Testing

The minister noted that it was important for the country to generate national and international confidence in the nations data by conducting more targeted testing before conclusions were drawn.

It means that all states and local government areas must cooperate with NCDC by raising sample collection rate, using criteria listed, to increase testing to a desired rate and to report promptly; as we are still far from the target of two million tests.

In this regard, we can support states with community volunteers for contact tracing, case finding and investigation.

While stepping up surveillance and case finding, states can also ensure that suspected symptomatic COVID cases are sent for treatment in time or supported before then with medical oxygen, to save lives and reduce fatalities.

The recommended criteria for testing are: persons who have been in contact with a COVID positive patient or are associated with a cluster of persons of interest, those who have any of the four classical symptoms of fever, persistent cough, loss of sense of taste or smell and breathlessness; anyone facing surgery, as well as for any other compelling reason. Testing for travel is assigned to private laboratories.

He also stated that the distribution of oxygen concentrators and ventilators to various health institutions commenced with training of about 176 intensive care specialists, and biomedical engineers, who would use or maintain them in the hospitals.

Mr Ehanire disclosed that the ventilators and training were courtesy of the United States government and it shall complement what they have at the ICUs.

The minister also commended health workers in JOHESU for putting an end to their industrial action, adding that it was his desire to work with them to resolve issues of concern.

(NAN)
After Anurag Kashyap, Richa Chadha via her lawyer, released a statement against Payal Ghoshs allegations. In her #MeToo allegations against the filmmaker, Payal reportedly also mentioned the names of Huma Qureshi, Richa Chadha and Mahie Gill. Responding to the same, Richa via her lawyer Saveena Bedi Sachar, released a statement condemning Payal for unnecessarily and falsely" dragging her name in a defamatory manner into controversies". Richa issued the statement on her official Twitter account.

Our Client Ms. Richa Chadda, condemns the act of her name being unnecessarily and falsely dragged in a defamatory manner into controversies and allegations being recently raised by third parties.

Though our Client believes that genuinely wronged women should get justice at all costs, there are legislations that are intended to ensure that women have an equal standing in their workplace and to ensure that they have a cordial workplace in which their dignity and self-respect is protected.

No woman can be allowed to misuse their liberties to harass other women with unsubstantiated or non-existent, false and baseless allegations.

Our Client has initiated appropriate legal action and shall further pursue her legal rights and remedies in law as may be advised in her best interest," the statement reads.

View this post on Instagram  A post shared by Richa Chadha (@therichachadha) on Sep 20, 2020 at 3:42pm PDT

Anurag Kashyap, too, released an official statement through his lawyer on his official Twitter account. These allegations are completely false, malicious and dishonest. It is sad that a social movement as important as the #metoo movement has been co-opted by vested interests and reduced to a mere tool for character assassination. Fictitious allegations of this nature seriously undermine the movement and seek to unconscionably trade upon the pain and trauma of actual victims of sexual harassment and abuse. My client has been fully advised of his rights and remedies in law and intends to pursue them to the fullest extent," the statement read.

And here is the statement from my lawyer @PriyankaKhimani .. on my behalf .. thank You pic.twitter.com/0eXwNnK5ZI Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) September 20, 2020

For the uninitiated, last week on Saturday evening, Payal took to her verified Twitter account and accused filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of sexual harassment. She tagged the office of the Prime Minister of India in her tweet.

@anuragkashyap72 has forced himself on me and extremely badly. @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji, kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. Pls help! https://t.co/1q6BYsZpyx Payal Ghosh (@iampayalghosh) September 19, 2020

@anuragkashyap72 has forced himself on me and extremely badly. @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji, kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk. Pls help!," Payal had tweeted.
For India to be atmanirbhar, domestic manufacturers cannot remain merely assemblers of imported parts. Manufacturing in India cannot survive on support of imports forever.

Turning down the demand of domestic TV manufacturers, the Centre has decided to reimpose 5 per cent Customs duty on open cells, a key component for television manufacturing, from October 1.

The Rs 25,000 crore TV industry said the move is expected to lead to price hikes across the market and put additional burden on TV makers in the country that are already struggling with inadequate supply.

However, the government sources did not agree with the possibility of any major price hike.

The 5 per cent customs duty exemption for import of the component was given for a year till September 30.

This exemption was given to the industry as it had sought time to build domestic capacity for open cell, said a finance ministry source.

He was responding to a query on whether television sets are going to cost more from October.

This move is elemental to the phased manufacturing plan (PMP) of television sets and components to bring the television industry out of the crutch-walking, said a top government source, who did not wish to be named.

He added,For how long can such import duty sops continue? The TV industry is well aware of the basic tenets of phased manufacturing.

"The sop was offered for a limited period of one year in anticipation that the industry would build capacity for manufacturing critical components in India.

For India to be atmanirbhar, domestic manufacturers cannot remain merely assemblers of imported parts, the source said.

Manufacturing in India cannot survive on support of imports forever, he added.

Another source, in the know of the matter, said televisions worth Rs 7,000 crore were imported last year.

Industry players, however, are less enthusiastic.

Kamal Nandi, president of the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), and business head & EVP, Godrej Appliances, said, The resumption of customs duty on open cells will put added pressure on the TV industry which is already reeling under stress due to Covid.

"This may make the domestic manufacturing uncompetitive and expensive.

"Open cell panels form nearly 65 per cent of the total production cost of television and the imposition of duty may have an impact on the overall pricing of TVs.

According to Arjun Bajaj, director at Videotex International, prices of open cell panels have already surged by over 100 per cent since June.

Supply of panels is falling well short of the current demand and this has led to doubling of open cell prices for the most sold 32 inch models.

"We are effecting price hikes already and are placing orders to suppliers only for the necessary demand, he said.

For the second most popular size 40-43 inch, the rise in price of open cell so far has been more than 50 per cent.

This, industry executives say, has led them to hike prices by 30-40 per cent for the range.

Increasing import duty on TV panels has been the bone of contention between manufacturers and the government for the past few years.

In fact, import restrictions on larger panels (more than 55 inches), recently led top brands like Samsung, LG & Sony, among others, to make representations to officials.

At 16 million units a year, India is the fourth largest TV market in the world and growing much faster than other major markets.

According to Avneet Singh Marwah, chief executive officer (CEO) of ODM Superplastronics, rapid shift towards online education and OTT content in recent times is fueling growth further.

But since no one makes panels locally, Indias dependence on imports will continue for some time.

We are totally in favour of local production but the shift should happen gradual, he said.

The government has supported the television industry through the customs duty structure.

A customs duty of 20 per cent has been imposed on imported finished TV sets since December 2017.

This high protection benefitted all domestic TV manufacturers.

For TV makers that are already under pressure, customs duty hike would lead to an additional price increase of close to four per cent.

Prices may go up by a minimum of Rs 600 for a 32-inch television set, Rs 1200-1500 for a 42-inch TV set and even higher for a large screen models.

Open cell panel is the most crucial component for flat panel TVs and forms over 65 per cent of their total cost of materials.

To this, the government source rejected it as misleading and exaggerated argument, stating that these leading brands are importing open cell for a basic price of Rs 2,700 for a 32 inch TV and about Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500 for a 42 inch television.

The impact of 5 per cent duty on open cell would, thus, not be more than Rs 150-Rs 250 for a television, he said.

Television import has also been put on the restricted category with effect from the end of July this year.

Thus, television manufacturers are enjoying full reasonable protection from imports, he added.

When asked why the manufacturing capacity for the cell has still not come in India, the source said, Newly imposed restriction puts a curb on import of TVs.

"This market would now be available to domestic manufacturers. This seems to be the reason for domestic manufacturers trying to resort to price increase.

Explaining the rationale for imposing the duty, the source said that critical items will start being manufactured in India.

No real manufacturing growth of television could happen unless an open cell is domestically made.

"The present activity carried out by the industry is only the assembly of television after importing most of the parts.

"This cannot go on for long as assembly of television does not entail any significant value addition, he said.

Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
By Tim McNutt

Throughout this summer Ive been noticing various social media posts that attempt to describe Jesus as transcending all nationalities and ethnicities. Im guessing the point of these posts is that Jesus ought to be acknowledged as above our current racial tensions. In these posts, Jesus is defined as a pan-global figure and therefore beyond any debatable skin color. Any emphasis on nationality and ethnicity ought to be removed because Jesus is to be interpreted as a one savior fits everyone.

However, theres something about these posts that misses the mark. Its a realization that compared with the scriptural record even these types of posts are still inherently racist. These posts may sound great, but whats often left unsaid exposes the authors need to remake Jesus from their own so-called color-free perspective.

These authors are missing the biblical narrative. It seems unfathomable to them that their neutral Jesus arose out of the lineage of one man (Abraham) and one nation (Israel). (Sorry, but God did choose one nation above all others for the salvation of the world, and it wasnt America.) Israel was the Lords preference as his chosen people and granted them blessings that have never been granted to any other nation (Romans 9.4-5). It was only according to the flesh of Israel that Jesus became Messiah King over all peoples.

Following Jesus does not begin with the New Testament. Instead, Gods gospel narrative began in Genesis. Meaning, when we recreate a Jesus who is somehow beyond all ethnicities and nations, were effectively erasing Gods salvation history in the Old Testament. The eventual arrival of Jesus was not a salvation back up plan, but always part of Gods promises to his chosen people Israel. I wonder if the social media creators/authors would be willing to meet these Middle Easterners called by God as the singular source of salvation for the entire world?

Jesus specifically came into this world as part of a Jewish, Middle Eastern background as part of Gods plan. His entire life was spent traveling through areas that would make many extremely uncomfortable. Even more specifically, Jesus said that he came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel before the rest of the gentile nations (Matt. 10.5-6; 15.24). Why? Because of Gods choice to first awaken the hearts of his people Israel and then have the Jews share the good news with the rest of the nations. It may not fit with those who claim nationalities or ethnicities dont matter, but the Lord used one nation to bring about his global salvation plan.

The resurrection of Jesus did not change his ethnic features either. From the gospel records we know that the disciples continued to recognize Jesus. No matter how his resurrected body appeared, Jesus was still recognized as the Middle Eastern man that he was before the crucifixion. Meaning, even via resurrection and ascension, Jesus still carried his Middle Eastern features. There was no post-resurrection neutralizing transformation in order to make Jesus more globally acceptable. Such imaginative thinking misses Gods point that it was a chosen Jew who was used to bring renewal to a chosen nation (Israel) and only then would the world be saved. Yes, God so loved the world that he gave us his son, but never forget that son was born from a despised Jewish family.

Youve probably seen the same social media posts  Jesus wasnt Black, Asian, Latinx, or White! Almost conveniently, the lists almost always forget to mention Middle Easterners or more specifically, Jewish. But Jesus was. And that makes the still recognizable and yet resurrected Jesus different than most who claim him as their own. We may all be one in Christ Jesus, but that never negates who we are or where we came from in this world. Instead the hostilities are meant to be broken and peoples of every nation and tribe are to come together to worship the resurrected Jesus.

When we try to come up with a bland, homogenized image of Jesus were missing the point that its Gods narrative not ours. Parts of his narrative should make us uncomfortable because God often chooses the weak and least likely rather those attempting to control the world. We can argue all we want, but Jesus was first born in a specific time, place, and culture in history to be there for the rest of the worlds salvation. Gods plan, not ours. If you want to tell a story, mind Gods narrative first.

Tim is a pastor, a teacher, a DMin student at Northern Seminary
Libyas National Oil Corporation (NOC) lifted its force majeure on certain oil facilities this weekend after eastern Libyas Gen. Khalifa Hifter said on Friday his forces would temporarily lift their months-long blockade on petroleum exports.

The Tripoli-based NOC announced on Saturday it was lifting the force majeure for oilfields and ports where militia fighters and Russias Wagner Group paramilitary units were not present.

"Our main concern is to start production and exports, taking into account the safety of workers and operations as well as preventing any attempts to politicize the national oil sector," NOC chairman Mustafa Sanallah said in the statement.

Hifter said the blockade would pause for one month, but not say whether military forces aligned with his side would leave the facilities they occcupy.

Why it matters: The move is a small but potentially significant step toward eventually resolving Libyas conflict.

Last week the deputy prime minister of western Libyas Tripoli-based government, Ahmed Maiteeq, struck a deal with Hifters son in Sochi, Russia, to reopen the countrys oil exports and share revenues between the two sides.

The NOC, which has worked with the United States and United Nations on efforts to restore Libyas oil production, initially blasted Maiteeqs move as unauthorized.

The agreement came roughly a week after the US Embassy in Libya said Hifter had committed to lift his sides blockade on oil production and exports, in place since January that cost the country billions in lost revenue.

Moscow, which along with the United Arab Emirates backs Hifter militarily and financially, praised the agreement in Sochi. OPEC member Libya put out more than 1.2 billion barrels per day until Hifter shut down most of the countrys production early this year, according to Bloomberg.

Whats next: Sharing oil revenues again through the Tripoli-based NOC is seen as a key trust-building measure that could potentially lead to future joint security arrangements in contested areas like the coastal city of Sirte.

But theres a catch: Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj of the Tripoli-based parliament has rejected Maiteeqs agreement in Sochi.

"Decisions concerning the Libyan wealth must be in the hands of the legitimate authorities and not others," Tripolis House of Representatives reiterated on Monday, according to The Libya Observer.

Moreover, the NOC says it will not lift the force majeure on facilities occupied by Russias Wagner Group paramilitary fighters, and so far Russia has made no public indication it would leave the fields. Russia denies it has fighters in Libya at all.

Know more: With Tripolis counteroffensive against Hifter stalled, Libya appears to be at yet another turning point.

In addition to Hifters lifting of the blockade, the NOCs relief of the force majeure, and a cease-fire that the US military recently said still holds, both Sarraj and eastern Libyas Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani have declared their intent to resign following popular protests on both sides, Al-Monitors Diego Cupolo reports.
Top U.S. officials insisted that international sanctions on Iran are back in force and announced new measures were being put in place even as most nations reject the U.S. effort as invalid.

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said Monday that all UN members are expected to enforce sanctions that were suspended as part of a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. He added that the U.S. is also sanctioning Iran's ministry of defense and its armed forces as well as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who has continued to buy gasoline from Tehran despite U.S. sanctions.

National security adviser Robert O'Brien added that President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at preventing the sale or transfer of arms to Iran.

The announcements on Iran came a day after the U.S. said "snap back" sanctions on Iran were again in force, invoking what it said was U.S. authorities under UN resolutions. Pompeo was joined by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Pentagon chief Mark Esper and Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft.

Yet the U.S. bid to restore all UN sanctions on Iran widens a divide between the U.S. and most other nations. Even European allies say the U.S. has no right to invoke the accord's "snap back" provision because Trump quit the multinational deal to restrain Iran's nuclear program two years ago.

As of the weekend, 13 of 15 Security Council members had said they don't consider the U.S. move valid.

UN envoys from Germany, France and the U.K. said Friday in a letter to the president of the Security Council that the U.S. initiative "is incapable of having legal effect" and said they will work "tirelessly to preserve the nuclear agreement."

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also weighed in on the disagreement on Saturday, noting in a letter that he couldn't proceed in acting upon the U.S. snapback because of the "uncertainty over whether or not the process" was "indeed initiated."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, at a cabinet meeting on Sunday shown on state television news, called the U.S. move a sign of "certain failure," which only demonstrates that President Donald Trump's strategy has resulted in "maximum isolation" for Washington.

On Saturday, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened Iran would set U.S. military outposts in the Persian Gulf "on fire at once" if its adversary tried to start a war.

To enforce those measures, if countries such as Russia and China disregard them, the U.S. could use tools such as secondary sanctions on shippers, insurers and banks. It could even threaten interdictions of ships at sea.

The Iranian rial hit a low on the unregulated open market on Sunday, weakening 4.6% compared with last week and briefly breaching 280,000 per U.S. dollar, according to two currency trading channels on the Telegram messaging app.
Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses a high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations via video on Sept. 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday shared his thoughts on the role of the United Nations (UN) in the post-COVID era, opposing unilateralism, bullying or any country acting like "boss of the world."

Xi made the comments at a high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the UN.

Stressing that the UN must stand firm for justice, Xi said no country has the right to dominate global affairs, control the destiny of others, or keep advantages in development all to itself.

"Even less should one be allowed to do whatever it likes and be the hegemon, bully or boss of the world," Xi said.

He said it is imperative that the representation and voice of developing countries be increased so that the UN could be more balanced in reflecting the interests and wishes of the majority of countries in the world.

Stressing that the UN must uphold the rule of law, Xi said relations among countries and coordination of their interests must only be based on rules and institutions.

"They must not be lorded over by those who wave a strong fist at others," Xi said.

Big countries should lead by example in advocating and upholding the international rule of law and in honoring their commitments, he added.

"There must be no practice of exceptionalism or double standards. Nor should international law be distorted and used as a pretext to undermine other countries' legitimate rights and interests or world peace and stability," Xi said.

The Chinese president said the UN must promote cooperation, noting that "Cold War mentality, ideological lines or zero-sum game are no solution to a country's own problems, still less an answer to mankind's common challenges."

"What we need to do is to replace conflict with dialogue, coercion with consultation and zero-sum with win-win," he added.

The Chinese president also said that the UN must focus on real action.

"To put into practice the principle of multilateralism, we must act, not just talk," Xi said. "There must be a cure, not just a therapy."

The UN should aim at problem solving and move toward tangible outcomes as it advances security, development and human rights in parallel, he added.

In particular, he said priority should be given to addressing non-traditional security challenges such as public health.

At the meeting, Xi lauded UN's role in 75 years, saying the organization has traveled an extraordinary journey.

He said the 75 years has seen dramatic progress in human society and profound changes in the international situation, and has been a period of rapid development of multilateralism.

Xi said China firmly defends the central role of the UN in international affairs.

China firmly upholds the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, he said.

"Let us renew our firm commitment to multilateralism, work to promote a community with a shared future for mankind," Xi said before concluding his remarks.
Vineet Upadhyay By

Around eight years back, Rakesh Pawar, 36, was bedridden for a whole year in Munich city of Germany, where he was admitted for treatment of his intestine cancer. His battle with the disease continued for the next six years. At the end, he realised he was more humble and more grateful, and that it was time to give back to society. I decided to dedicate my life to people who have no one to turn to, says Pawar who works as a chef in Weinheim town in Germany. Orphaned at the age of 10 months, Pawar was adopted by his aunts family. He started his initiative titled Jeevan Katha in 2018.

His team in India, consisting of volunteers from remote areas of Uttarakhand hills, locates people who cannot afford food and other necessities of life. Pooja Kopliyal, 24, is such a volunteer and visits families staring at despair with no one to help them. She delivers the essentials, including ration, food, clothes and other items of daily use which can sustain the family for at least a month. We come across many people whose lives have been torn apart for various reasons. When I started with Jeevan Katha, I did not know how life can throw anyone in such a state of helplessness.

Rakesh Pawar with a family member

We try to help people who we think are last in the line, says Kopliyal. Pawar, fondly known as Rocky among his peers, visits his home in Jhald village in Tehri district of Uttarakhand and appeals to people to donate through which they provide for individuals and families. I came to know about his work through social media and decided to help. It is a noble cause, says Kshama Pal, who donated for Jeevan Katha. Pawars team has also financed the repairing of at least three houses in the hill villages.

Pawars childhood was full of struggles, devoid of simple pleasures such as getting a bunch of toys or favourite sweets. A family in the hills needs at least `1,500 per month for ration and items of basic use. If we all save this much amount, we can save a family from starvation.

Every single penny counts a lot to those who have none, says Pawar. He conducts sessions on social media appealing to people for help after sharing the details through videos and pictures. Over 90 families are being provided for by Pawar and his team. Families and individuals adopted by Pawars group range from a 100-year-old woman from Bhaiskot village to those who are Divyang, the elderly, besides a 6-year-old child. These people dont have even distant relatives to help them.
Eight suspended Rajya Sabha MPs will be spending Monday night in the Parliament in an unprecedented sit-in protest against the way the government got two contentious farm sector bills.

Earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha adopted a motion suspending Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O'Brien, his AAP counterpart Sanjay Singh, CPI(M) leader Elamaram Kareem, Trinamool's Dola Sen, CPI(M)'s KK Ragesh and Congress' Rajeev Satav, Syed Nasir Hussain and Ripun Bora in connection with the incidents on Sunday during the passage of the bills.

Also Read | Derek O'Brien, 7 other Rajya Sabha MPs suspended for remainder of Monsoon Session over uproar on Farm Bills

The MPs had refused to leave the House after the adoption of the motion leading to multiple adjournments. The House was eventually adjourned for the day at 12:07 PM.

Soon after the adjournment, the MPs came to Gandhi Statue in Parliament House where they started a sit-in protest. Several Opposition MPs also joined the protest.

Follow live updates on the Parliament's Monsoon Session here

"Suspension won't silence us. We will stand with farmers in their fight. Deputy Chairman throttled Parliamentary Procedures yesterday. The suspension of MPs exposed the cowardly face of BJP. People will see through the attempt to divert attention from their undemocratic actions," Kareem tweeted.

"We will continue our fight until the voice of farmers is heard by this Government. The undemocratic behavior & anti-people policies of the Modi Government will be exposed in public," he added.

Also Read | Disruptions in Parliament: A case of dissent or rebellion?

As the day progressed, fans were brought to the protest site while the MPs announced that they were not leaving the premises. Senior MPs like Congress' Ahmed Patel and RJD's Manoj K Jha were with the MPs late in the evening.

The protest also had some uniqueness: it would be for the first time that the Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) would be protesting together, especially on an indefinite sit-in. Incidentally, it was on his birthday that Congress MP Satav was suspended and sat in protest.

Opposition sources said that they are waiting to see what happens in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The Opposition would be demanding revocation of suspension of the MPs when the House assembles at 9 am tomorrow.
When COVID-19 came in like a tidal wave of panic in March of this year, schools around the world closed for what they thought would be for a few weeks, and those weeks turned into the remainder of the school year. In fact, UNESCO estimated that nearly 92 percent of students around the world who were enrolled in schools were suddenly in the position of learning from home.

Equity became one of the most used words in our vernacular at the time, and still now, because the responses to remote learning were textbook examples of schools that had resources and those that did not. Parents from wealthier schools struggled with what to do with too many resources (i.e., technology tools, websites, etc), and they even began creating learning pods for their children . However, students in high-poverty schools had to balance between becoming essential workers, taking care of their younger siblings, at the same time they had to work through learning paper packets.

And who can forget the memes?

Parents, some of whom were celebrities, created hilarious memes that were also shoutouts to teachers, focusing on how their children already hated being home schooled after two minutes. Those of us who were teachers or are currently teaching and leading in schools felt a sigh of relief that the public, who often criticized us for not being good enough, seemed to finally understand teaching as the rewarding challenge that it is every day. There were even celebrities calling for teachers to make seven-figure salaries.

Apparently, all of those memes were offering short-lived support.

Why? Here we are a few months later, still living through COVID with most children back in schools for a hybrid or remote experience (UNESCO reports around 50 percent of students living in countries with partial or full closures). Instead of those seven-figure salaries that people said teachers should be given, there are many teachers being given pink slips. In fact, Michael Griffith from the Learning Policy Institute finds that, A 15 percent reduction in state education funding could lead to the loss of more than 300,000 teaching positions, according to an analysis from the Learning Policy Institute.

Same Old Story. Different Year.

Once again, public schools find themselves dealing with budget cuts. Some districts are telling 10 to 20 of their teachers they may be losing their jobs, and other larger districts are getting pink slips ready for hundreds of their teachers and leaders. Teachers and leaders who scrambled to become remote teachers with very little training in March; who were being thanked on social media by parents and countless celebrities who said that they were worth millions of dollars for doing the job of teaching every day. They, after all of their hard work and dedication, are looking at unemployment.

This is not new news, and it certainly isnt fake news, either. In this article A Punishing Decade for School Funding (written in 2017), Leachman et. al wrote,

Public investment in K-12 schoolscrucial for communities to thrive and the U.S. economy to offer broad opportunityhas declined dramatically in a number of states over the last decade. Worse, some of the deepest-cutting states have also cut income tax rates, weakening their main revenue source for supporting schools.

Leachman et. al went on to write,

Most states cut school funding after the recession hit, and it took years for states to restore their funding to pre-recession levels. In 2015, the latest year for which comprehensive spending data are available from the U.S. Census Bureau, 29 states were still providing less total school funding per student than they were in 2008.

And although funding for schools began to rise again, we are now in a position where more and more states are warning that they will be cutting 10 percent or 20 percent from funding for schools. Sadly, schools with predominantly Black and Brown students experience more budget cuts than those with their white peers. In fact, in this Education Week guest post, Brookings Institutes Andre Perry writes, schools predominated by students of color receive an annual $23 billion less than majority-white institutions.

Why Dont We Value Schools?

I began teaching in 1995, and as I made my way through teaching in mostly higher-poverty schools, the budget vote in the spring was always a nerve-wracking time, especially as a new teacher. A vote of No on a budget ensured that there would be a loss of teaching jobs for the fall of the next school year. You never really felt safe.

As a school principal, I worked in a district that dealt with millions of dollars of budget cuts over several years, which resulted in a cut to programs, the laying off of teachers, and the closure of schools. Through each of those years, whether I was a teacher or a principal, it was often said that taxpayers do not often get a chance to vote something down, because they are often voting between what they may see as a lesser of two evils in political elections, but a school budget vote was a place where they could flat out say no. After all, with the way that schools are funded, it falls on the backs of taxpayers, and they let schools know their opinion every spring.

During COVID, and when the debates on whether students needed to go back to school in person rather than remote seemed to never end, the public outcry was that children needed to go back to school. It was said that teachers, leaders. and schools were the backbone of getting the economy up and running again, and that our children need to learn because they will not be ready for university or life. And then as soon as students went back to school, the conversation again focused on how much funding could be cut to schools and that teachers and leaders make too much money.

What an epic change in dialogue from the spring.

In the End

The United States is one of the richest countries in the world, and yet year after year, while corporate executives get multimillion-dollar bonuses (read more about that here in Reuters and here in the NY Times ), many public schools beg for scraps. Public schools feel the pressure of taking students in no matter the circumstances and ability level because its their job, at the same time they get all of the criticisms if students are not prepared.

Most countries that do well internationally also happen to get full funding, and they most certainly get public support during non-COVID and COVID times. Its hard for teachers and leaders to always focus on student learning at the same time they have to constantly worry about having proper resources and whether the teacher in the room next to us will continue to have a job. Schools are the backbone of our society, and for that reason alone, they should not have to fight for funding every single year.

Where are all of those supportive and funny memes now?

Peter DeWitt, Ed.D., is an independent consultant and the author of several books including his newest release Instructional Leadership: Creating Practice Out Of Theory (2020). Connect with him on Twitter or through his YouTube channel . He is the moderator of Education Weeks A Seat At the Table .

Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
US President Donald Trump has recently been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Norwegian parliamentarian for his role in helping to broker a Israel-UAE peace deal.

If Trump wins, he will follow the footsteps of Barack Obama, his predecessor and political foe. If being the keyword here. But the US President appears to be under the impression that he has already won the prize.

Trump, at an election rally in North Carolina falsely implied that him and his supporters are being honored" with the prize.

You love your president, and your president gets honored, Trump told the crowd in Fayetteville. Im not being honored, youre being honored, with the Nobel Peace Prize for Israel, what we did with Israel, he is heading saying in a video clip posted on Twitter.

"Your love your president, and your president gets honored  because I'm being not honored, you are being honored  with the Nobel Peace Prize"  Trump is now talking as though he has actually won a Nobel and not merely been nominated pic.twitter.com/dOCrg3uwJK Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 19, 2020

At one point, he also called it the Nobel Preace Prize.

Trumps nomination also comes just ahead of US presidential polls and crushing coronavirus crisis that has USA topping the list of worst-hit countries.

The Israel-UAE peace deal was announced on August 13 by the White House after 18 months of talks. With the deal, the Gulf state agreed to normal relations with Israel, while Israel agreed to continue with plans to suspend its annexation of the West Bank.

Trump proposed a peace plan in January that heavily favored the Israelis, but it has not advanced in any significant way. Trump on September 15 will hold a signing ceremony for a groundbreaking Middle East agreement normalizing relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Also Read: Donald Trump is in Race for Nobel Peace Prize, but Hes Still Asking Reporters to Remove Mask

In February 2019, Trump had said that he deserves to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on North Korea and Syria, but complained he probably would never get the honour.
BROOKLYN, N.Y., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Brooklyn Law School has announced the creation of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Chair to honor the life and legacy of the Supreme Court Justice, who died Sept. 18. Professor Susan N. Herman, president of the American Civil Liberties Union, will be the inaugural Ruth Bader Ginsburg Professor of Law. The new faculty chair was announced by Michael T. Cahill, President, Joseph Crea Dean, and Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, Sept. 20, at a remembrance event at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, was a native of Brooklyn, as is Herman. Prior to her illustrious judicial career, she was well-established in academia and in litigation and advocacy. She was the second woman on the faculty at Rutgers Law School and the first woman to receive tenure at Columbia Law School. In 1972, Ginsburg co-founded and became the first director of the ACLU's Women's Rights Project, where her groundbreaking work led to the end of gender discrimination in numerous areas. Ginsburg received an honorary degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1987. In November 2000, she returned to the Law School to present the inaugural Ira M. Belfer '33 Lecture about the need for the private bar to rededicate itself to pro bono work.

"Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the most important woman lawyer in the history of America and one of the most eminent jurists ever to sit on the United States Supreme Court," said Francis J. Aquila '83, chairman of Brooklyn Law School's Board of Trustees and partner at Sullivan & Cromwell. "Moreover, she came from Brooklyn, and never forgot it. We can think of no more fitting individual than Susan Herman to be the inaugural Ruth Bader Ginsburg Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School."

"Susan Herman exemplifies and carries forward Justice Ginsburg's powerful legacy: a contemplative and circumspect scholarly mind combined with a passion to achieve fairness and equality for all," said Cahill. "As a Brooklyn-born, lifelong champion of civil liberties, and a highly respected educator, she brings distinction to this chair named for one of our greatest legal trailblazers."

"I am thrilled to be named the first occupant of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Chair at Brooklyn Law School," said Herman. "RBG has been an inspiration and role model to me, another girl born in Brooklyn who followed her in the ACLU and in law teaching. She taught the world that no path should be closed to anyone on the basis of sex and so many other lessons in law and equality I hope to carry on."

Herman was elected President of the ACLU in 2008 after having served on the ACLU National Board of Directors, as a member of the Executive Committee, and as General Counsel. At the Law School, she teaches courses in Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure and is affiliated with the Center for Law, Language & Cognition and the Edward V. Sparer Public Interest Law Fellowship program. In June 2017 and 2019, Crain's New York Business named her to its list of "50 Most Powerful Women in New York," and in October 2019, Trinity College Dublin Law Society honored her with its Praeses Elit Award. A highly regarded authority on constitutional and criminal procedure topics, she is a prolific author in these areas. Herman has discussed constitutional law issues on radio and television, and her opinions are also regularly published in leading print media. She has also participated in Supreme Court litigation, writing and collaborating on Supreme Court amicus curiae briefs for the ACLU on a range of constitutional criminal procedure issues.

About Brooklyn Law School

Founded in 1901, Brooklyn Law School offers a vibrant intellectual community emphasizing teaching excellence, leading-edge scholarship, and an innovative academic program designed to prepare students for public service, business, and private practice, nationwide and across the globe. It is an independent institution, unaffiliated with any university or college, and the only law school in Brooklyn. The Law School offers J.D. and LL.M. degree programs. Visit Brooklyn Law School at www.brooklaw.edu.

SOURCE Brooklyn Law School

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  It was back to the books as the first day of school unfolded for New York City public school students on Monday and, for some, it was the first day back to campus since schools were shuttered in March in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Were so glad to have our students back, said Lorrie Brown, principal of PS 68 in Port Richmond.

Across New York City, students are returning to school buildings part-time under a blended learning model, or they are learning at home remotely full-time for the 2020-2021 academic year. Those participating in the blended learning model will go to school two to three days a week and learning remotely on the other days.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that the city would phase-in the start of the school year for blended learners, with 3-K, pre-K and District 75 students reporting in-person beginning Monday.

Students in K-5 and K-8 schools will begin reporting on Tuesday, Sept. 29, and middle and high school students will begin returning on Thursday, Oct. 1.

But all students started classes on Monday, either in-person or virtually. So we asked readers to submit photos to mark the beginning of one of the most distinct school years in the history of the city. Scroll through the images below -- which also include some pictures of Catholic school students, who started their school year earlier this month.

Julianna, Valentina and Victoria Minucci look ready to tackle the 2020-2021 school year. (Courtesy of the Minucci family)

Giovanni Tarsio looks comfortable as he readies to start his first day of remote learning of the 2020-2021 school year. Giovanni is a fourth- grader at PS 56. (Courtesy of the Tarsio family)

Amelia Cerda and her brother, John, look sharp as they head to school at Our Lady Queen of Peace. (Courtesy of the Cerda family)

Kira Zheng gives the signal that she's ready for pre-k 3 at St. Charles School. (Courtesy of the Zheng family)

Sophia Wilson poses for the camera on her first day of virtual Pre-K. (Courtesy of the Wilson family)

Olivia DiStefano is ready for Pre-K at Staten Island Children's Academy. (Courtesy of the DiStefano family)

John DiStefano looks ready to learn 2020-style! He's starting second grade at PS 36. (Courtesy of the DiStefano family)

Christopher Leckow looks ready to start first grade. (Courtesy of the Leckow family)

Isadora starts first grade at Hellenic Classical Charter School. Sept. 21, 2020.

Jaxon Krauss started pre-k 3 at PS 25 on the first day of school for New York City. Sept. 21, 2020. (Courtesy/Krauss family)
The apex health research body is actively exploring the saliva test method and is expected to make a recommendation as soon as reliable options are available.

The ICMR is actively exploring saliva-based test for detection of COVID-19, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday and asserted that no significant or drastic mutation in strains of SARS-CoV-2 has been found in India till now.

During an interaction with his social media followers, Vardhan informed them the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been conducting large-scale sequencing of nationally representative strains of SARS-CoV-2 virus collected for several months over different time-points.

Detailed results on mutations and evolution of the virus will be available in early October, he said.

Replying to queries during the 'Sunday Samvad' platform, Vardhan further said enough oxygen is being produced in the country and the health ministry is closely monitoring the situation.

According to a health ministry statement, he reminded everyone that the ministry had dispatched oxygen concentrators to rural parts of the country, to avert the logistic issues that have come to light.

About saliva-based test for COVID-19, Vardhan noted that the ICMR has validated a few tests, but no reliable test has been found and companies with tests approved by US-FDA have still not approached the Government of India.

He added that the country's apex health research body is actively exploring this test method and will inform as soon as reliable options are available.

Regarding the Centre's achievement of engineering polio eradication in India, he reminded the audience that coronavirus is a novel pathogen and unlike polio, literature for it is absent.

India's handling of disease outbreaks in the past such as SARS, Ebola and plague will play a major role in containing coronavirus, Vardhan said.

"The minister assured another (social media) follower that no significant or drastic mutations have been found in strains of SARS-CoV-2 in India (available in GISAID, global database), till now," according to the health ministry statement.

Vardhan said 155 families of COVID Warriors have claimed relief under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19. These include 64 doctors, 32 auxiliary nurse midwives and multipurpose healthcare workers, 14 ASHA workers and 45 other frontline workers who lost their lives.

He also noted that it would take a substantive amount of time for developing herd immunity to be able to cover about 70 per cent of the population. Hence the focus of the government is primarily towards putting together a strategy that combines containment and hospital management, the minister said.

Being a doctor himself, Vardhan answered questions on the clinical management of COVID-19 in great detail dispelling myths surrounding the use of hydroxychloroquine and plasma therapy in treating coronavirus patients. He also explained to his audience how coronavirus becomes fatal for the elderly and those with comorbidity.

He also sought to dispel fears caused by the suspension of trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, saying vaccine development is a complex process and trials have restarted only after an independent investigative expert committee permitted them to proceed.

"He explained the difference between various vaccines under clinical trial in India and that since formulations, doses, route of administration are different for the vaccines, their mechanisms of action are also different.

"However, the desirable outcome of each vaccine is much the same, that is ensuring healthy individuals with immunity against the novel coronavirus," the statement said.

During the 'Sunday Samvad', he shared several tips for the mental wellbeing of senior citizens.

About concrete measures planned to handle public health emergencies in the future, Vardhan said, the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' will strengthen the nation to an extent where "we will be able to overcome any eventuality including another pandemic".

The health minister said 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' underlines the government's commitment towards increased investments in public health and other health reforms to prepare India for future pandemics.

A major proposal under consideration at the Expenditure Finance Committee level includes strengthening surveillance of infectious diseases and outbreak response including that for points of entry, the establishment of dedicated infectious disease management hospital blocks in district hospitals and Integrated Public Health Laboratories, he added.

Vardhan also spoke on the role of traditional medicine in the present context and informed those who attended the 'Samvad' event that the AYUSH Ministry has developed research protocols for validating claims of various Ayush practitioners for COVID-19 solutions although no formulation has been validated as a specific drug.

Vardhan also answered queries regarding India's plan to divert human resources to science and the role of government policy in achieving a clean environment witnessed during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
Forum: John Boyle of the INTO cited concerns over the speed of testing

A union representing post-primary teachers has issued a warning to the Government saying it will not let its members be put in harm's way during the Covid-19 crisis.

A spokesman for the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) told the Irish Independent it "will not allow the health and safety of our members to be put at risk".

"We have made clear at all points that in situations where there is not compliance with public health advice in schools, we will take immediate action locally," he said.

It comes after the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) signalled its intentions to ballot members for industrial action over a range of school reopening issues.

These include concerns over high-risk staff members, pay issues, turnaround times for Covid-19 testing and physical distancing in schools.

However, it has not yet decided what form of industrial action may be taken, pending the outcome of the ballot.

Echoing the ASTI's comments, the TUI said it also has a number of concerns in the wake of schools re-opening. It said it is in "constant consultation" with members and is addressing issues as soon as they arise with the Department of Education.

It wants teachers to have access to a test on the first day they experience symptoms of the virus "with a guarantee of a result within 24-hours". Failure to do this will result in severe disruption in schools in the coming months, the spokesman added.

He also welcomed that the ASTI's ballot will address difficulties facing teachers who are enduring unequal pay.

He said the TUI already has a strong mandate for industrial action on the "unacceptable" two-tier pay system after a previous ballot of members saw 19,000 of them taking strike action last February.

Meanwhile, the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) said it will "continue to stand up for our members and demand any additional resources which may be needed".

INTO general secretary John Boyle also cited concerns over the speed of test results and contact tracing.

It represents over 40,000 primary school teachers and has demanded that a full review of the adequacy of supports for primary and special schools be initiated before the end of the month.

This is to ensure that any additional resources required to ensure safety in schools is factored into plans for October's Budget.

Mr Boyle said he also wants to see Budget 2021 delivering a reduction in class sizes.

"Ireland's super-sized classrooms are the largest in the EU, with one in five pupils learning in a class of 30 or more," he said.

He said the union has secured a weekly forum with the department which it is using "to resolve all issues relating to the safety of our members".

Moving to allay concerns, the Department of Education insisted it is constantly engaging with the public health authorities to ensure schools can remain open safely.

The Schools Pathway Protocol sets out guidelines where there has been a confirmed case or a potential outbreak in a school.

"To date, where confirmed cases have arisen, schools have co-operated with public health to minimise any further risk to the school community," said a spokesperson.

An "enhanced occupational healthcare service" has also been put in place to categorise staff into one of three Covid-19 categories.
On March 4, Launch Coworking cut the ribbon on 6,400 square-feet of office space on the fifth floor of the Grain Exchange Building on Lombard Street.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On March 4, Launch Coworking cut the ribbon on 6,400 square-feet of office space on the fifth floor of the Grain Exchange Building on Lombard Street.

It was a major move that was years in the making for the company, which since 2017 had operated a co-working space  a shared workplace that hosts multiple entrepreneurs, organizations, or independent workers who pay flexible, tiered fees to use the facility as much or as little as they want  on Chevrier Boulevard. With 150 members, it was time to expand, said founder Jason Abbott.

Ten days later, the pandemic struck, and thousands of workers in Winnipeg were sent home from their respective offices. "I think any business owner looks at the long- and short-term," Abbott said. "The short-term was, How long is this going to last, and how many members are going to cancel their membership?"

It turned out Abbotts worries were a bit backward: the number of cancellations was soon dwarfed by people asking to sign up. Launch now has 200 members, and last week opened a third outpost on Scott Street in Osborne Village, with communal workspaces along with individual and executive offices; companies including Lululemon and Total Metabolic Solutions have already moved local operations there.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Community leader Caitlyn Dueck and Abbott at Launch on Scott.

While the pandemic trends of working from home and flexible work have been a tough pill to swallow for office traditionalists, those concepts have proven popular for many workers balancing the risks of returning to cubicles and the challenges of at-home productivity.

For some employers not eager to pay a premium for office ghost-towns or be locked into long-term lease agreements amid a pandemic, eschewing tradition for co-working space is no longer quite as taboo.

"I think its being seen as a new way to work," said Andrea Tiopo, the co-founder of Osborne Village co-working space TableSpace, which has had steady interest since reopening in May, with many first-time users converting to full-time members.

Over the last decade, the concept of co-working and flexible work grew from a niche idea for freelancers to one employed or considered by major tech startups or financial institutions, said Chanel Dehond, who works in corporate workplace strategy for international firm HLW and teaches interior design at New Yorks Parsons School of Design.

Dehond said COVID-19 could be a "black swan" event for how businesses and organizations view their office needs, giving mobile work and co-working a jolt of new interest.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Work pods at Launch Coworking on Lombard.

The traditional office wont disappear, Dehond said, but ideas like spending less time there and working remotely, in places such as co-working spaces, are being entertained or embraced by more companies than before the pandemic.

For one thing, Dehond said, workers  particularly millennials and baby boomers  appear to appreciate the options flexibility allows.

Cost is another major factor, especially in the Big Apple, and prior to the pandemic, companies were already looking to densify their operations to limit real estate and equipment spending, she said.

That was the thinking for a few new Launch members, including the Certified Technicians & Technologists Association of Manitoba (CTTAM), which signed up in July. Since 1995, the non-profit was working out of an office at 1600 Portage Ave., but CEO and registrar Robert Okabe said Launch provided an opportunity to streamline operations and cut costs significantly.

For the Portage office, CTTAM was spending $4,500 per month on rent, and were locked into three-plus years more on their lease. At Launch, the organization spends $1,000 per month with access to all three locations and a fixed desk for Okabe. On an annual basis, thats $54,000 as opposed to $12,000, plus savings on phone, internet and insurance. The leftover cash will likely be used to heavily or fully subsidize training opportunities for the organizations 3,200 members, Okabe said.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Founder and CEO Jason Abbott shows off the kitchen at 130 Scott St.

"(Co-working) is something new to us, but once you see you have the flexibility of working from home or meeting in person with clients, its easy enough," he said.

Tech Manitoba moved to Launchs Exchange location in August, and CEO Kay Gardner said the change was less about financial savings than it was about the access to different locations and proximity to the tech community. Even before the pandemic, co-working was something staff preferred, Gardner said.

While COVID-19 has improved the fortunes of some local co-working companies, it has had some negative impacts on the industry as a whole thus far.

A Research and Markets report said the co-working market is expected to decline to $8.24 billion in 2020 from $9.27 billion in 2019. (The market is expected to grow to more than $11 billion by 2023). Earlier this month, IWG, which owns leading on-demand office companies Regus and Spaces, filed for creditor protection in Canada.

There are also, of course, added health concerns that werent pressing before the pandemic that the spaces must address: TableSpace and Launch both implemented safety measures like reduced capacity and increased spacing and sanitation.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Open space and the central kitchen at Launchs Lombard location.

Those measures are also in place at Launchs Osborne spot, which is 4,500 square feet and was already an office space before the company moved in.

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The highest membership cost at any Launch location starts at a baseline of $399 per month, with added costs for certain perks like a dedicated desk ($99), a mailing and shipping address ($29) or coffee and tea ($19).

So far, the company has grown as more employees and independent workers see their jobs shaken up, and as companies see the merit in co-work.

He said a lot is to be determined in the next six to 12 months, but the company has fielded inquiries from major companies and received interest in expanding out of Winnipeg into Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Kenora, or smaller, growing Manitoba cities like Brandon and Dauphin.

He also isnt ruling out growing into west and northeast Winnipeg.

"From Day 1, Ive had a vision of Launch being the preferred co-working supplier on the Prairies, and I think theres an opportunity for us to do that," Abbott said. "I think theres going to be a wave."

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
As the largest financial market in the world, the Forex Market has seen an influx in traders from around the globe in the past few months, especially from African traders.

There are numerous reasons for this influx, with the predominant reason surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, economic situations in African countries, and the fact that more global brokers are opening their doors to African traders. The Covid-19 pandemic, and lockdown measures imposed to curb the spread of the virus, have been the driving forces behind more African traders taking to the Forex Market says CEO Louis Schoeman From SA Shares

With lockdown measures easing in Africa and economic activity returning, a lot of traders are reluctant to give up their trading and the benefits that it holds in making profits over the long run.

 Connecting Africa to global markets

Internet service providers have increased their efforts to connect more countries to the internet as lockdown measures confined more people to their homes.

It is imperative for traders to have a stable internet connection to execute trades and trade in global markets. This is one of the reasons why Forex trading in Africa is set to increase even post-Covid-19 as people have more access to the Forex Market.

Even as a side-hustle, people are not limited to trading only from home, but they can make use of their mobile devices and various trading apps to execute trades while on the move.

 Brokers are more accommodating

More brokers are competing in offering their services to African traders. African traders have various brokers to choose from depending on their trading needs and objectives. Even when trading to secure an additional income, there are numerous brokers that support a variety of trading styles and strategies to support traders who are not trading fulltime but merely as a side-hustle.

 Support for beginners

African traders who are just beginning to trade have a world of information at their fingertips when starting to trade. From internet sources to education offered by brokers, African traders can learn to trade more easily.

 Flexibility in trading Forex

The Forex Market is open 24/5 and traders have more options in trading other than sitting in front of their terminals at home. Trading can occur from anywhere in the world at any time using mobile applications. Traders can make use of automated trading, Forex trading robots, or Expert Advisors that trade around the clock when traders cannot manually execute trades  giving traders freedom to carry on with their daily lives while they make profit.

 Start-up capital and using leverage

Anyone can start trading as a lot of brokers require small minimum deposits to register a live account. African traders have made great use of cent accounts offered by numerous brokers to get them started in Forex trading.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of the reason for trading, African traders have made great use of the opportunities in Forex trading to gain profits in an uncertain and economically unstable world. While a lot of Africans are returning to work, or seeking employment opportunities, they are still indulging in Forex trading to offer some income on the side while conditions around the world stabilize as Covid-19s presence recedes.






Newsfrom Japan

Tokyo, Sept. 21 (Jiji Press)--Criminal justice system reform has been promoted in Japan in the past decade since the arrests of three senior prosecutors over an alteration of evidence seized during an investigation into a high-profile postage scandal.

Audio and video recording of interrogations by law-enforcement authorities and a Japanese version of plea bargaining have been launched as part of the reform, but there are issues that remain to be tackled in the criminal justice system.

Monday marked the 10th anniversary of the arrest of the first of the three prosecutors on suspicion of tampering with evidence related to the abuse of a postage discount system for organizations serving the disabled. All the three prosecutors were found guilty, while a then senior welfare ministry bureaucrat was acquitted.

Recording of interrogations became mandatory in 2019 for cases dealt with exclusively by prosecutors and those handled by the lay judge system.

Taping has also increased for other cases on a trial basis. According to the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, the number of such other cases for which interrogations were fully recorded by prosecutors' offices across Japan rose from about 30,000 in fiscal 2015 to some 90,000 in fiscal 2019.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
SAO PAULO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm General Atlantic LLC and Japan's SoftBank Group Corp are leading a 580 million reais ($107.25 million) funding round in Brazilian facial biometrics and digital admission company Acesso Digital, it said in a statement on Monday.

Both General Atlantic and SoftBank will hold a minority stake in Acesso Digital after the investment.

Founded in 2007, Acesso Digital announced its first funding round in January, when it raised 40 million reais with Igah Venture, formerly e.Bricks Ventures.

Acesso Digital founder and CEO Diego Martins said in an interview that demand for the companies' services has doubled since the beginning of the pandemic, as use of contactless identification has surged in an attempt to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Martins said the company will use the proceeds of the funding round to expand the business, including via acquisitions.

($1 = 5.4079 reais) (Reporting by Aluisio Alves, writing by Carolina Mandl; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed anguish at the loss of lives in a building collapse at Bhiwandi in Maharashtra. Seven children were among ten people killed and 11 others rescued after a three-storeyed building collapsed in Bhiwandi town on Monday, police said.

"Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected," Modi said.





Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected. a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 21, 2020

Also read: Bhiwandi building collapse: 8 dead, many trapped; rescue operations underway
Parents were given advance warnings that there would be outbreaks of the virus in schools but there hasn't been much talk about how they will cope financially if their child is sent home.

Am I entitled to sick pay if I stay at home to mind my child?

No. You cannot claim sick pay unless you are unwell.

So I won't be paid?

Perhaps not. If you employer's business is on the brink or they are depending on supports like the wage subsidy scheme, they may refuse to pay unless you are available for work.

However, many employers are likely to examine other options.

Employees who are already working from home may reach agreement that they combine caring for their children with working.

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection said many employers can, and do, agree compassionate-leave arrangements with staff, and it has requested that they are as flexible as possible with parents and those with childcare responsibilities.

It said this could include altering shifts "so that employees can co-ordinate caring between themselves and partners or another person".

Are there many options if the employer will not make compassionate leave arrangements?

Workers can fall back on statutory entitlements other than annual leave - but these can have serious limitations.

Force majeure leave is available for a family crisis. But parents can only apply for a maximum of three days in a 12-month period. It would not cover 14 days at home.

Parental leave has been increased to 26 weeks up to a child's 12th birthday, but unlike paternity leave, for which there is a social welfare payment, it is unpaid.

Parents are also expected to give employers at least six weeks' notice under legislation.

Would the parents of schoolchildren who are sent home qualify for the State's enhanced illness benefit?

It does not appear that they can. When asked, the Department did not give a yes or no answer. It said the payment is available to those diagnosed with the virus or someone who is a "probable source of infection of Covid-19 and is self-isolating".

However, the HSE indicated that parents are not required to self-isolate when their children are sent home from school due to Covid-19.

The department said any person experiencing financial hardship may be eligible for other supports including a means-tested supplementary welfare allowance scheme. This includes an urgent-needs payment.

Will this be a problem?

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan called on the Government to extend the enhanced illness payment to parents whose children are sent home from school due to the virus.

"A parent of a child who has been diagnosed with Covid-19 will probably get social welfare as they may come under the category of a probable risk, but the problem is the parent of the child in the pod who is sent home for 14 days," he said.

He added: "There is little support for the parent who has to go out to work, and getting the grandparents to mind the children is not an option. Many employers can't afford to pay for 14 days, especially if some schools may have multiple cases."

How much is the enhanced illness benefit worth?

It is a State benefit worth 350 a week and all workers and self-employed people can apply. Those who are a "probable source of infection" can receive the payment for up to two weeks. Those diagnosed with Covid-19 can receive the payment for up to 10 weeks "subject to ongoing certification and eligibility".

The Government has extended the scheme until March 31 next year.
Sir Keir Starmer

Labour will make national security a key priority, Sir Keir Starmer will say on Tuesday, as he seeks to draw a line under Jeremy Corbyns leadership and convince voters that the party deserves a second chance.

In his first conference speech as Labour leader, Sir Keir will declare his love for Britain and urge traditional party supporters who defected to the Conservatives last year to look again at Labour.

Having unveiled a new party slogan - A New Leadership - he will tell members that its time to get serious about winning power again and to start taking the job seriously.

Signalling a clear break from the Corbyn era, he will insist that Labour can be trusted with the defence of the realm while also providing security at home by clamping down on crime and protecting peoples livelihoods.

It comes after Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, told members on Monday that his role was to convince people that Labour will keep you, your family and your community safe.

Meanwhile, Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor, vowed to restore trust with businesses, adding that she would ensure that public money was always spent wisely rather than splurged.

Addressing this years virtual event, Sir Keir will also draw on his own background as the son of a nurse and toolmaker, before going on to say: My vision for Britain is simple: I want this to be the best country to grow up in and the best country to grow old in.

A country in which we put family first. A country that embodies the values I hold dear. Decency, fairness, opportunity, compassion and security. Security for our nation, our families and all of our communities.

So, to those people in Doncaster and Deeside, in Glasgow and Grimsby, in Stoke and in Stevenage to those who have turned away from Labour, I say this: we hear you.

I ask you: take another look at Labour. Were under new leadership. We love this country as you do.

Story continues

The speech is the latest attempt by Sir Keir to recast Labour as a patriotic party, amid concern that Mr Corbyns long-standing opposition to Nato, military intervention and past association with IRA members proved toxic in former Labour strongholds in the North and Midlands known as the redwall.

In recent months, Labour has launched a new friends of the forces programme designed to rebuild bridges with veterans, while also taking a firmer stance on Russia in the wake of the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader.

The backlash over Mr Corbyns failure to unequivocally condemn Moscow in the wake of the Salisbury attack has been widely cited by party moderates as a key factor in last years crushing election defeat.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, a Labour source said Sir Keir was also making a direct pitch to those who had never voted for the party, adding that he believed the party could not go into the next election not being trusted on national security.

Hes a former director of public prosecutions and national security has always been a priority of his, the source added.

If you look back broadly at the history of the Labour Party, the best leaders had a patriotic and positive view of this country. That is exactly where Keir is. This is the stuff that Keir got into politics to deliver.

However, having faced criticism from trade unions and the partys hard Left for failing to talk up Mr Corbyns radical policy agenda, Sir Keir will also pledge to bring about properly-funded public services and a greener, cleaner and fairer society.

He will reiterate his commitment to working hand-in-hand with the unions to create high-quality jobs, as well calling on Boriss Johnson to bring forward a national strategy to close the educational gap which has widened over the course of the pandemic.
FINDLAY, Ohio, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) today launched a binding open season to assess shipper interest in firm priority capacity on the SLC Core Pipeline System, located in Wyoming, to transport crude oil from Fort Laramie Station, Wyoming, to Wahsatch Station, Utah. From Wahsatch Station, crude transportation service is available on a third-party system for ultimate delivery to refineries in the Salt Lake City, Utah, area.

The binding open season will commence on Sept. 21, 2020 and will end at noon CDT on Oct. 23, 2020.

About the SLC Core Expansion

The proposed SLC Core Pipeline System capacity expansion would provide shippers access to the Guernsey crude oil market hub and access to additional crude oil grades for refiners in the Salt Lake City area. The expansion would provide incremental pipeline capacity of approximately 11,000 barrels per day (bpd), reinstating origin service from Fort Laramie, Wyoming. This expansion would bring total capacity on the SLC Core Pipeline to approximately 56,000 bpd and is expected to begin service in the first quarter of 2022.

About the SLC Core Pipeline System

The SLC Core Pipeline System, owned by Tesoro Logistics Northwest Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of MPLX, is a common carrier system transporting crude oil from various points in Wyoming to Wahsatch Station, Utah, with a connection to a third-party pipeline at Wahsatch Station for further transportation to refineries in the Salt Lake City area, with approximate total delivery capacity of 45,000 bpd.

Open Season Process

Documents and further details related to the binding open season will be made available upon completion of a Confidentiality Agreement, available at: www.MPLX.com

All interested shippers should submit an executed Confidentiality Agreement to:



Martin Marz

Attorney

19100 Ridgewood Parkway

San Antonio, TX 78259

Telephone: 210-626-6517

Email: [email protected]

About MPLX LP

MPLX is a diversified, large-cap master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and provides fuels distribution services. MPLX's assets include a network of crude oil and refined product pipelines; an inland marine business; light-product terminals; storage caverns; refinery tanks, docks, loading racks, and associated piping; and crude and light-product marine terminals. The company also owns crude oil and natural gas gathering systems and pipelines as well as natural gas and NGL processing and fractionation facilities in key U.S. supply basins. More information is available at www.MPLX.com.

Investor Relations Contacts: (419) 421-2071

Kristina Kazarian, Vice President, Investor Relations

Evan Barbosa, Manager, Investor Relations

Jim Mallamaci, Manager, Investor Relations

Media Contacts:

Hamish Banks, Vice President, Corporate Communications (419) 421-2521

Jamal Kheiry, Manager, Corporate Communications (419) 421-3312

Commercial Contacts:

Greg Henderson (210) 626-4585

Ryan Robins (210) 626-4971

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, statements with respect to forecasts regarding the need for additional pipeline capacity. You can identify forward-looking statements by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "design," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "guidance," "imply," "intend," "objective," "opportunity," "outlook," "plan," "position," "pursue," "prospective," "predict," "project," "potential," "seek," "strategy," "target," "could," "may," "should," "would," "will" or other similar expressions that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond the control of the companies and are difficult to predict. Factors that could impact the opportunities described above are: the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices and demand for crude oil, refined products, feedstocks or other hydrocarbon-based products; continued/further volatility in and/or degradation of market and industry conditions; changes to the expected construction costs and timing of projects; completion of pipeline capacity by competitors; the ability to obtain required regulatory approvals on a timely basis; the occurrence of an operational hazard or unforeseen interruption; and the factors set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in MPLX's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2019, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In addition, the forward-looking statements included herein could be affected by general domestic and international economic and political conditions. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed here or in MPLX's Forms 10-K and 10-Q could also have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements. Copies of MPLX's Forms 10-K and 10-Q are available on the SEC's website, MPLX's website at http://ir.mplx.com or by contacting MPLX's Investor Relations office.

SOURCE MPLX LP
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 21:02:23|Editor: huaxia

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GABORONE, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cyanobacteria in water resulted in the mysterious death of hundreds of elephants around the Okavango Delta in earlier this year, Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) senior officials said on Monday.

Principal veterinary officer in the DWNP Mmadi Reuben said neurotoxin producing cyanobacteria species was responsible for the deaths of some 330 of jumbos. When this occurred tests were conducted at specialist laboratories in neighbouring South Africa, Zimbabwe, the U.S. and Canada.

"The deaths were caused by poisoning due to cyanobacteria which was growing in pans," Reuben said. He also said mortality stopped towards the end of June 2020, coinciding with the drying of pans.

Botswana's elephant population is estimated at around 130,000.

Deputy director of DWNP Cyril Taolo said anthrax and human involvement were ruled out. "We cannot talk about human involvement in these cases," said Taolo.

Meanwhile, Botswana will continue to study the occurrence of the bacteria. Enditem
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21)  There is no need to file diplomatic protests against other claimants in the South China Sea that don't have an active conflict with the Philippines, Foreign Affairs Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin Jr. said Monday.

Locsin was asked during a House budget hearing by Deputy Speaker Luis Raymond LRay Villafuerte if -- just like what the Department of Foreign Affairs did with China -- he plans to file a diplomatic protest against Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia for occupying maritime features in the South China Sea.

I dont think we have active conflicts with Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. So, theres no need for diplomatic protest, Locsin said.

The Philippines last month filed a diplomatic protest against China after the Chinese Coast Guard's "illegal" confiscation in May of fish aggregating devices from Filipino fishermen near Bajo de Masinloc. Also known as Scarborough Shoal, the area is located some 120 nautical miles off Zambales, and is claimed by the Philippines to be within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

Since China claims all of the South China Sea with the nine-dash line, and they move around with their vessels. So, from time to time, when they break into our territory, we shoot a diplomatic protest, Locsin said.

According to the secretary, 54 diplomatic protests have been filed against China and 42 have already been answered.

Aside from the Philippines and China, the other claimants in the South China Sea are Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague largely favored the Philippines in its case against China, invalidating Beijing's sweeping claims in the South China Sea based on its nine-dash line stake. China has ignored the ruling.
The Lowry in Salford will work with the Ministry of Justice to set up a temporary court, entitled The Nightingale.

The venue is the first in the country to amend its space, providing income to safeguard jobs while the majority of performances remain financially unviable. Cases will be heard from 28 September.

Julia Fawcett OBE, chief executive of The Lowry, said: "Like arts venues up and down the country, we simply cannot operate our building as normal in the current climate. And with no regular source of income since March, this partnership provides vital funds to enable us to relaunch our programme.

"This includes online, open-air and community performances by some of the UK's most creative dance, circus and theatre companies as well as creative engagement activities that will improve the mental health & life chances of more than 2,000 young people in Salford.

"Furthermore, we hope to spread the benefit of this partnership across Greater Manchester by commissioning new work from local artists specifically designed for the post-COVID audience environment."

The Nightingale Court will hear civil, family and tribunal work as well as criminal cases. The Queens of Six will be making their home at the Lowry this winter with a socially distanced run.
Dorothy DyeFebruary 19, 1942 - September 19, 2020"Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her...." ~Prover
Google Pay adds support for Tap-to-pay feature for Axis and SBI Card on Visa payments network.

Google on Monday announced the roll-out of Google Pay tokenisation which aims to make it easier for users to pay using their cards. Users can use the Tap-to-pay feature on NFC-enabled POS terminals and online merchants to make the payment.

Google has teamed up with Visa to roll out the feature for Google Pay users. At the moment, the feature is available to Axis and SBI card users. Kotak and more banks are expected to follow suit very soon.

Were committed to offer the most secure payments experience to our growing base of users, and tokenization helps to replace sensitive data such as credit and debit card numbers with tokens, eliminating any chances of fraud. We are hopeful that the tokenisation feature will further encourage users to transact securely and safely in the current times, and expand merchant transactions both online and offline, Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head: Google Pay and NBU  India said in a release.

ALSO READ: Paytm fires back at Google for yanking the apps off the Play Store

How Google Pay tokenisation works

Google Pays tokenisation feature allows Android users to use their debit or credit card to make payments via a secure digital token attached to their handset. This helps do away with the need to physically share credit or debit card details.

The feature also works with online merchants, delivering more native and seamless OTP experiences without any redirects to 3D Secure sites, said Google in a post.

With tokenisation, Google Pay will enable safe and secure omnichannel experiences to help consumers, it added.

Google says the feature enables Near-field communication (NFC) capable Android devices/ phones to make contactless payments at over 2.5 million Visa merchant locations. This also supports scan and pay at more than 1.5 million Bharat QR enabled merchants. Users can also pay bills and recharges from within their Google Pay app using their cards.

ALSO READ: Google Pay does not access Aadhaar database, Google tells Delhi HC

How to set it up

To enable the tap and pay feature using the smartphone phone, Google Pay users will need to do a one-time set up by entering their card details. To do so, Tap Settings > Payment methods > Add card.

Then, users need to enter the OTP they get from the bank to activate their card on the Google Pay app. Once the registration is complete, you can use the feature can be used to make payments at NFC-enabled terminals.
Those of us who cant tolerate the thought of another four years of this administration are extremely grateful to Michael Bloomberg for his commitment to spend at least $100 million, primarily on television and digital ads, to increase voter turnout in Florida.

But an even more politically effective, and charitable, use of those dollars might be to help pay off the debts of Floridians who have financial obligations related to a felony conviction  as LeBron James and the group behind More Than a Vote did this summer. Because of an 11th Circuit appeals court ruling on Sept. 11, an estimated 774,000 Floridians who have already served their time in jail or prison are not eligible to vote in the 2020 election until they pay the fines and fees associated with their sentences.

The ACLU and others have argued that the fines and fees are unconstitutional in the first place; after all, the Supreme Courts 1983 decision in Bearden v. Georgia requires courts to assess a defendants ability to pay before charging unaffordable penalties. But without some sort of intervention, the impact of the recent appeals court decision could easily cost Democrats the election.

In 2000, George W. Bush won Floridas 25 Electoral College votes at the time because he captured 537 more popular votes of almost 6 million cast. Floridas tough felon voting restrictions then disenfranchised an estimated 500,000 people.
Protesters have begun gathering in the Thai capital Bangkok, in what organisers hope will be the largest anti-government demonstration so far.

The city has seen weeks of almost-daily rallies calling for the prime minister's resignation.



Some are also urging reforms to the monarchy, despite the risk from the country's strict royal defamation laws.



Tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out for Saturday's student-led protests.



The demonstrators plan a symbolic occupation of a park next to a grand palace used for royal ceremonies



A previous protest in August drew around 10,000 protesters, according to Thai police.



However, organisers expect a higher turnout this weekend and police say 5,000 people have already gathered, according to Reuters news agency.



The movement is demanding that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha - who took power in a 2014 coup and won disputed elections last year - stand down.



The calls for royal reform are particularly sensitive, with criticism of the Thai monarchy punishable by long prison sentences.



The BBC's correspondent in Bangkok Jonathan Head says a series of political scandals and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic have led to growing discontent in the country.



Why are there protests?



Thailand has a long history of political unrest and protest, but a new wave began in February after a court ordered a fledgling pro-democracy opposition party to dissolve.



The Future Forward Party (FFP) had proved particularly popular with young, first-time voters and garnered the third-largest share of parliamentary seats in the March 2019 election, which was won by the incumbent military leadership.



Protests were re-energised in June when prominent pro-democracy activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit went missing in Cambodia, where he had been in exile since the 2014 military coup.



His whereabouts remain unknown and protesters accuse the Thai state of orchestrating his kidnapping - something the police and government have denied.



Since July there have been regular student-led street protests.

















Source: BBC









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

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The U.S. flag flies at half-staff outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in memory of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in Washington on Sept. 19, 2020. (Jose Luis Magana/AFP via Getty Images)

Trumps List of Supreme Court Nominees Down to 12 Women

News Analysis

President Donald Trump pared his sizable list of possible Supreme Court nominees on the weekend by indicating he intends in the coming week to name a woman to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died at 87 on Sept. 18.

There are now 12 women on the list, topped by two Trump lower court nominees, the frequently mentioned Amy Coney Barrett, a judge on the Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Barbara Lagoa, a judge on the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit.

The prospect of Trump replacing the left-leaning Ginsburg with a conservative justice has generated apoplexy on the activist left, with some public figures angrily calling for pushback against the Trump administration. They claim it was unfair for Senate Republicans to block then-President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland after conservative Justice Antonin Scalia unexpectedly died in 2016.

Democrats dont want a new high court nomination to move forward until after the next presidential inauguration, claiming the blocking of Garland set a precedent of sorts, but after the harsh way Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump nominee, was treated by Democrats during the confirmation process, Republicans dont appear to be in a forgiving mood. Republicans hold a 5347 majority in the U.S. Senate.

Ginsburg, who served for 27 years on the court and became a figure in popular culture, had reportedly been so devoted to her judicial duties that she participated in the consideration of cases before the court during her repeated stays in the hospital.

Trump vowed Sept. 19 to nominate a woman to replace Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, a move that, in theory, would have six ideological conservatives on the nine-member court, instead of the current five.

I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman, Trump said in North Carolina. I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men.

It will be a womana very talented, very brilliant woman, Trump said. We havent chosen yet, but we have numerous women on the list.

Trump said its a presidents constitutional right to name a new justice and that he planned to do so, even though the Nov. 3 presidential election, in which he is seeking a second term, is just weeks away.

We have plenty of time. Youre talking about January 20, Trump said, referencing the date of the next inauguration.

Barrett, a Roman Catholic and mother of seven, has the backing of many conservative activists, in part for her perceived hostility to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal in all 50 states. The legal scholar also came under fire from the left for resurrecting a lawsuit from a male Purdue University student who faced what critics called a kangaroo court on campus that convicted him of sexual improprieties, The Epoch Times previously reported.

The accusations warranted relatively formal procedures, yet Purdues process fell short of what even a high school must provide to a student facing a days-long suspension, Barrett noted in the opinion she wrote in Doe v. Purdue University in June 2019.

Her 2017 confirmation battle for the seat on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals generated headlines while it won her conservative supporters. The Senate confirmed her 5543.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and others attacked her perceived religiosity.

The dogma lives loudly within you, the senator said, a comment that prompted accusations of religious bigotry from Republican lawmakers.

Lagoa, now in her first year on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, was previously a judge on the Florida Supreme Court and on an intermediate appeals court. She was confirmed to the circuit court by the Senate on an 8015 vote.

Of Cuban ancestry, she worked pro bono as a lawyer for the family of Elian Gonzalez, the young Cuban boy who escaped to freedom in the United States, only to eventually be returned to the communist Caribbean state.

When nominating her to serve on the Florida Supreme Court, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican said, She has been the essence of what a judge should be.

Judge Bridget Bade of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is another possibility. The Trump nominee was confirmed for her post by a vote of 7821. Bade was a trial lawyer in the Environmental Torts Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Judge Martha Pacold of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois was confirmed by the Senate 873. She was deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 2017 to 2019.

Judge Sarah Pitlyk of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri was confirmed 4944. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was the only Republican to vote against her nomination.

I have concluded that she does not have sufficient experience to receive a federal district court appointment, Collins said of Pitlyk, who worked as a special counsel at the conservative Thomas More Society.

Confirmed 5344 by the Senate, Allison Jones Rushing is a judge on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. She once interned at the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom.

Kate Todd isnt a judge, but served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She is currently deputy assistant to the president and deputy counsel to the president.

Allison Eid is a judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. She was confirmed 5641. Supporters praise her for her support for school choice reform and limited government.

Britt Grant, a judge on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, was confirmed 5246. The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights opposed her nomination at the time because as Solicitor General of Georgia, her work sought to diminish civil and human rights in America. The group claimed she was hostile to voting rights and LGBT equality.

Joan Larsen, a judge on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, was confirmed 6038. Involved in Republican politics at one point, she donated to Mitt Romneys presidential campaign in 2012.

Margaret Ryan, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces whose term expires next year, was nominated to that post by former President George W. Bush.

Diane Sykes, a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, also was nominated by Bush. Shes a former journalist.
The nervous system comprises neurons and glial cells (glia signifies "glue"). Astrocytes are the most abundant among the glial cells. Among many other functions they undertake to capture glucose from the blood stream to provide energy and allow the necessary neuronal activity to take place, and thus ensure that cognitive functions are performed correctly. Neurons for their part control astrocyte activity by means of molecules present in the astrocytes, which include type 1 (CB1) cannabinoid receptors. However, these receptors, which also modulate communication between the astrocytes and the neurons, constitute the main target of the psychoactive component of cannabis, known as THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol).

What happens when THC acts on the astrocytes? The research, in which Dr Pedro Grandes' group participated, concludes that the activation of CB1 cannabinoid receptors in the mitochondria (cell organelles responsible for producing energy) of mice astrocytes hampers the metabolism of glucose and the production of lactate in the brain; this alters neuronal function and leads to a deterioration in social interaction behaviours. Specifically, according to Dr Grandes, "the activation of these receptors causes the astrocytes to generate fewer reactive oxygen species, which has a negative effect on glucose production from lactate leading to neuronal stress and a lack of social interaction. What makes this research significant is not only the identification of this deficiency, which can be reversed through genetic and pharmacological manipulation of these molecular and biochemical changes brought about by cannabinoid treatment, but also its contribution to knowledge relating to the changes caused by cannabis in the brain".

The following people have participated in this study: Nagore Puente and Itziar Bonilla, Svein Achicallende and Pedro Grandes of the Department of Neurosciences of the Faculty of Medicine and Nursing at the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country and from the Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience; they worked alongside an international multidisciplinary team led by the researchers Juan P. Bolanos (University of Salamanca) and Giovanni Marsicano (NeuroCentre Magendie de Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux) with researchers from the Complutense University of Madrid, University of Poitiers and University Paris-Saclay (France), Universite de Moncton and University of Victoria (Canada), University of Lausanne (Switzerland) and the University Medical Center, Mainz (Germany), among other centres and hospitals.

The collaboration between Dr Pedro Grandes' research group and the team led by Dr Giovanni Marsicano of the University of Bordeaux turned out to be crucial in demonstrating, for the first time, the presence of CB1 receptors in neuron mitochondria, whose activation reduces mitochondrial activity leading to memory loss. The results of these studies were published in 2012 in Nature Neuroscience and in 2016 in Nature. However, "what remains to be done is to find out the function of the CB1 receptors located in the astrocyte mitochondria, and therein lies the significance of this new finding, which also constitutes continuity in the cross-border line of research and co-operation", explained Dr Grandes.

###
Whoever pens Wednesdays speech from the throne has no shortage of topics and suggestions to choose from. Pundits on both the left and the right have not been shy about sharing their favourite ideas.

For some, it is finally time to enact national programs like pharmacare; others plead for a sober approach to post-pandemic spending that will keep the country out of bankruptcy.

But what do Canadians want?

A new Environics Institute survey of 3,000 people across the country confirms that, by a wide margin, Canadians want change. Rather than trying to get back to the way things were, they are looking for an economic recovery that will bring us closer to a society that reduces inequality, takes care of the sick and vulnerable, and protects the environment.

It starts with the economy: most Canadians want to change how it works, with many saying that change should be fundamental. Only one in twenty thinks the economy works just fine the way it is. The reason most often cited by those wanting fundamental change is the need to reduce inequality. Strikingly, this is a priority shared by the higher and lower income alike  yet another indication that Canadians are bucking the trend towards polarization that is overtaking other democracies.

Most Canadians have also moved past the belief that kick-starting the economy has to come at the expense of the environment. In fact, a majority believe that investing more in clean energy technologies and environmentally friendly businesses can make it possible to combine a faster economic recovery with action on climate change. And the green recovery is not all up to the government: four in five Canadians say that corporations should also put in place programs and policies to protect the environment.

Public support is just as widespread across a range of other reforms. Large majorities of Canadians say they want to live in a society that provides quality long-term care for the elderly, that covers all essential medicines through public drug plans, that makes sure employees can take paid sick days when they need to, and that makes affordable and high-quality daycare for young children available to all parents who need it.

But if the survey results paint a picture of a public that is in an activist mood, it also shows that this is not because we have suddenly succumbed to despair or even panic. Despite the scale of the pandemics disruption to work and family life, Canadians self-confidence and sense of optimism made it through the summer more or less unscathed. And we are feeling less  not more  pessimistic about our jobs and our incomes today than in the past. These findings are, at least in part, a testament to the effectiveness of the range of emergency measures put in place by governments across the country to help Canadians weather the storm of the economic shut-down.

There has also been no dramatic upheaval in many of our long-standing beliefs about the role of government or business in our society, which means that the publics appetite for change can hardly be dismissed as a momentary and uncharacteristic reaction to crisis. It is rooted in Canadian values and long-standing policy priorities, and it is unlikely to subside, even once the number of new COVID-19 cases finally starts to dwindle.

We all want to get back to work and school, to return to restaurants, concerts and live sports, to hug our friends and loved ones. But we want more than that. The country has weathered previous crises, including depressions and world wars  but not by simply waiting them out. Innovative solutions were found to ensure that the sacrifices Canadians were asked to make held the promise of something better to come. There is no question that Canadians are once more looking for something better to come out of this pandemic crisis. The only question is how long they will have to wait.
Isolation facility not mandatory for flyers testing positive on arrival from at-risk countries: Check guidelin

Development trajectory: PM to interact with DMs of various districts today

Offering free tickets on Vande Bharat flights would have further affected airlines' finances: Puri

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Sep 21: Offering tickets free of cost on flights under the Vande Bharat mission would have further affected the finances of Indian airlines including Air India, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday.

The finances of airlines have been hugely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Puri said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented impact on the entire global civil aviation sector. In view of stoppage/restrictions in both domestic/international flights, Air India and other Indian carriers are also in a financially distressed condition."

"If tickets would have been offered free of cost, it would have further affected the finances and viability of Air India and other Indian carriers," the minister noted.

Kerala Plane Crash: Puri slams 'speculations' on AI crash, says report will be made public

The Central government had started the Vande Bharat mission on May 6 to help stranded people reach their destinations through special international flights on payment basis. Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

Between May 6 and August 31, a total of 5,817 inbound flights have been operated under the Vande Bharat mission from various countries, Puri said.
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Six Afghan army soldiers and three police officers were killed and four security force members wounded in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan's northern Takhar province during Sunday night, a provincial government spokesman confirmed on Monday.

"Militants initially attacked a security checkpoint in Nawabad locality of Dasht-i-Qala district at mid-night. They also laid an ambush against a responding security forces' motorcade, triggering clashes along a road that left the above casualties," spokesman Jawad Hejri told Xinhua.

No details were immediately available about clashes in the security checkpoint in the region, 245 km north of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan.

Several militants were also killed and wounded during the fighting, he said. Several security forces and militants were also killed and wounded during clashes in Nawabad last week.

Such attacks had frequently happened when Taliban targeted responding security forces by roadside bombs or ambushes.

Violence lingers in the war-torn country even as peace talks between an Afghan government delegation and Taliban representatives are being held in Doha, capital of Gulf state of Qatar.

More than 130 people have been killed and over 100 wounded across the mountainous country over the weekend.
Palestinian PM accused the US administration of preventing Arab states from supporting the Palestinian Authority to besiege the leadership and the Palestinian people politically, economically and financially

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye on Monday accused the US administration of preventing Arab states from supporting the Palestinian Authority to force it to barter its national rights for money.

During the weekly meeting of the PA cabinet, Ishtaye said that " US President Donald Trump cut off aid to us and prevented some Arab states from fulfilling their obligations towards us to besiege the leadership and the Palestinian people politically, economically and financially."

"Our Palestinian people have the rights to establish their independent state on the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital," Ishtaye said.

Recently, the United States sponsored peace agreements between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel, which have sparked anger of the Palestinians.

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Jakhar said that the bills will result in a trickle-down model, which will only benefit large companies, not farmers or small traders

The possibility of the minimum support price system being dismantled and corporatisation of agriculture are the main concerns of farmers protesting the governments proposed legal changes, agriculture expert Ajay Vir Jakhar told Firstpost.

Jakhar, who is himself a farmer based in Punjabs Fazilka district, is the chairman of farmers association Bharat Krishak Samaj.

He expressed his concerns through the interview on a day that the Rajya Sabha passed two of the three crucial agriculture-related bills amidst a chorus of protests both inside the House and outside it.

The two Bills that have now been passed by the Parliament are the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. While the first bill allows farmers to sell their produce outside the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), the second one provides a framework allowing farmers to enter into contract farming.

Farmers protesting the bills on Sunday blocked multiple highways in Haryana, and agitations on the issue have also been planned in several other places in the upcoming days. The government, on other hand, claims that the proposed laws will help cultivators get better prices for their produce and end the role of middlemen.

Responding to these claims, Jakhar said that the bills will result in a trickle-down model, which will only create large monopolies and not help farmers.

Edited excerpts follow:

According to you, what are the biggest fears of the protesting farmers right now?

There is a historical background which needs to be kept in mind to understand why farmers are presently fearful. First of all, there was a report of the Shanta Kumar Committee, which opposed several aspects of the Public Distribution System (PDS), the Food Corporation of India, Minimum Support Prices, etc. (The report, submitted in January 2015, was on reorienting the role and restructuring of Food Corporation of India). Shanta Kumar is a BJP leader and is the former chief minister of Himachal Pradesh.

Further, the tendency of the present government is to favour cash transfers rather than giving goods and services  whether for the PM-KISAN scheme or gas cylinder subsidies or the suchlike. Last year, the CACP (Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices) had also raised concerns in a report about open-ended procurement. (The system of open-ended procurement is one in which government agencies buy whatever quantity of foodgrains is offered by farmers at the MSP, subject to some conditions of time and quality). Even this year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said in a report that open-ended procurement and minimum support prices create problems. Lastly, (Union minister) Nitin Gadkari is also reported to have said that minimum support prices are higher than domestic market prices and international markets, and that we need to look for alternatives. All of these things point towards the possibility that the minimum support price regime could be dismantled.

But the government has specifically assured that the minimum support price regime will remain. How do you view this assurance?

It is true that the government, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has said that the minimum support price (MSP) will remain. However, farmers find this statement to be deceptive. Even at present, there are MSPs for about 25 crops, but government agencies do not actually procure most of them. A possibility is that in the future as well, MSPs will be announced but they will not give any actual benefit to farmers.. Further, there is a fear that in the future, if the PDS system is rolled back, the government will not need to procure anything. There is also the question of whether the Food Corporation of India has the infrastructure to store the grain that is procured by government agencies.

Let us take the examples of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the state governments do not engage in open-ended procurement. Generally, only five acres worth of produce is procured. Cultivators in Punjab and Haryana fear that this will happen to them.

Recently, you had said that Punjab has a successful agricultural mandi model, which should be replicated elsewhere as well. Could you elaborate on why it is so?

Amidst the COVID-19 lockdown, there were about 3,000 procurement centres in Punjab. This network was the reason why procurement at the minimum support could happen to an extent in the state.

Some experts such as Ashok Gulati have argued that the proposed laws will benefit the farmers by ensuring more competition and better prices. How would you respond to these views?

I fail to see how that will turn out to be true. The government seems to be saying that it will give loans to industries and industries will invest in procuring farm produce. This is a trickle-down model, which will not work for farmers. There are other concerns as well. For example, the government has recently banned the export of onions, which has effectively put a cap on the prices of the commodity. This is hardly an enabling environment for traders to invest in agricultural procurement. And even if traders invest, there is no certainty that farmers will benefit. What is more likely to happen is that there will be large monopolies, and small traders will get wiped out.

The government has also claimed that the bills will end the role of middlemen, which is also a far-fetched claim. My position has always been that middlemen can never be finished off and anyone who makes such a claim is living in a daydream.

Do you believe that concerns about the bills are largely restricted to Punjab and Haryana, or do you think that farmers in other states also have reasons to worry?

There are two broad areas of concerns. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are particularly concerned about MSPs, but they gain more from the system as compared to other parts of India. At the same time, in other parts of the country as well, farmers fear corporatisation of agriculture and larger monopolies. They are concerned that they may get an even worse deal than earlier.

What would be the best way for the government to reassure the agitating farmers?

The government should clearly state that open-ended procurement of paddy and wheat in Punjab and Haryana will not stop. However, unfortunately, it is not making such a statement as of now, and the reason for not making such a statement could be that it does intend to stop this system. The government must clarify on this if it wants to assuage the concerns of the farmers.
https://www.aish.com/h/hh/gar/atonement/King-David-Four-Relevant-Takeaways-for-Today.html

As Yom Kippur approaches, here are inspiring lessons from this seminal figure.

King David is the most famous king of Israel. As a child he was ostracized by his family, and yet he was anointed king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. He valiantly defeated the giant Philistine Goliath, only to find himself being hunted by King Saul, who saw David as a threat to his kingdom. He finally became king and successfully fought many wars against Israels enemies.

Despite his success, he was plagued by tragedies, in particular the rebellion of his own son, Absalom. At the end of his life he initiated the building of the holy temple which was to be completed by his son and successor, Solomon.

What lessons can we learn from this seminal historical figure?

1. Humility

David enjoyed great success in life but he remained the epitome of humility, recognizing that all his achievements were ultimately from God. When he asked King Saul to allow him to fight Goliath who was blaspheming God and insulting the Jewish people, David explained that he had already defeated lions and bears in battle but he didn't ascribe his success to himself. He declared, "God, Who saved me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, will save me from this Philistine.1

With this attitude, David was able to defeat his fearsome adversary, Goliath, because he knew that God would not tolerate Goliaths blasphemy or his insults. We tend to think of humility as a trait that is accompanied by passivity and timidity, but that was not the case with David. Rabbi Noah Weinberg explains that when a person recognizes that all his success comes from God, then he can achieve absolutely anything, if it is in line with Gods will because with his ego out the way he becomes a channel for God's power. David serves as the example par excellence of this concept.

2. Using Your Traits for the Good

David was an incredibly righteous man, but he was not born this way. He had a natural leaning to certain negative traits, which was indicated by his resemblance to the evil Esau, the older brother of Jacob. Both are uniquely described as reddish  symbolizing a hot-blooded propensity that can express itself through violent behavior. When God instructed the prophet Samuel to anoint David as the next king, Samuel hesitated because he saw the similarity to the Esau, who was a violent criminal and feared that David would follow in Esaus ways. God explained to Samuel that David did indeed have a tendency to violence but that he would direct it in the correct fashion, channeling it towards fighting Israels enemies and standing up for God.

David teaches us that an individual can utilize even seemingly negative tendencies for good and thereby achieve his personal potential.

3. Seeing God's Hand at All Times

David faced many enemies in his life, but he was extremely forgiving toward them. His son Absalom rebelled against him and threatened his life, yet David remained devoted to his son, and instructed his men to leave him unharmed.2

How was he able to avoid the desire to take revenge? Because he recognized that everything that happens to a person is sent as a message from God, and therefore there is no benefit in getting angry with any individual who merely serves as the messenger.

At the height of Absaloms rebellion against David, when he was at his lowest ebb, his enemy Shimi ben Geira cursed him publicly. Davids men wanted to kill Shimi for rebelling against the king, a capital offense, but David instructed them not to harm him because he saw the curse as a message from God. David realized that God wanted him to endure this suffering and that Shimi was merely an instrument of God.3

We learn from David that it is fruitless to get upset with people; instead, we should try to discern how God is communicating to us.

4. Admitting one's mistakes

David did not live a life of perfection; he sinned on more than one occasion, but it is his reaction to his mistakes that sets him apart. After he committed a particular transgression4, the prophet harshly rebuked him, and warned him of severe punishments. David had ample justification for his actions, but he immediately admitted his mistake, saying, I have sinned to God.5

The sages note that Davids predecessor, King Saul, sinned less than David, but when he was rebuked, he answered with rationalizations of his actions. Consequently, he was stripped of his kingdom, whereas David was forgiven.6

The prerequisite of repentance is admitting ones mistakes and not blaming other people or circumstances. David serves as a prime example of what it means to do teshuva, repent by owning up to his mistakes, learning from them and vowing not to repeat them.

Adapted from Rabbi Gefen's new book, King David and the Kings of Israel.

What was the role of the king of the Jewish people? Why were some kings so righteous and others so evil? What can we learn from King Davids life?

Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen addresses these and many other questions in his new book, delving deeply into the characters of great kings of Israel. Click here to order.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal, whose wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned as the food processing industries minister to protest contentious farm bills, speaks to Sunetra Choudhury about SADs resistance to the bill. Edited excerpts:

You are about to go and see the President to request him not sign the farm bills. Isnt it a bit late now?

We have to try our best to stop it. The bill doesnt become an Act till the President signs it. We are representing the farmers and on their behalf we are requesting the President, please reconsider signing the bill. Please send it back to Parliament and let it be properly debated there... There was no voting, it was just bulldozing of the bills taking place over there [in Rajya Sabha].

Weve seen some extraordinary scenes in parliament this morning too. What do you make of it?

I feel that the government should talk to the farmers. Theres no point of putting ministers on TV giving clarifications. The same ministers should be deputed to meet the farmers and listen to them...

Do you think there is a problem with the bills or is there just a lack of communicating the benefits of the legislation, which is cutting out the middleman?

Whether you make it private or not, middlemen will stay. You think {Mukesh} Ambani or {Gautam} Adani will go directly to the farms and buy it {farm produce}? Obviously they will have their layer of middlemen. Secondly, the mandi system as it exists is such that anyone can come and buy from there... Farmers feel that big corporate houses will take them over. They {government} say farmers can take legal recourse...You cant make a farmer fight a big corporate house... They are poor people who want a sense of security which they get from the government mandi system...I feel the arguments are being made without consulting stakeholders. We are part of the NDA, they could have at least consulted us.

They didnt consult you?

We were never told. We got to know about the ordinance when it came to the cabinet. There itself she {Harsimrat Kaur Badal} said, please do not pass it as from the look of it, they {farmers} are going to have issues with it. But they passed it, saying weve got three months till the Act comes, we will talk to them...

So when the govt said MSPs will remain and that APMCs will continue, isnt the assurance satisfactory?

They have curtailed government APMCs jurisdiction to 5-7 acres. They said parallel to the APMC, private people can open the mandis on their own, they will not have to pay tax. Government mandis charge 7-8% tax ... Basically, they {corporate houses} have been given tax-free incentives to buy.

What about the way the bills were passed by a voice vote?

Outside {Parliament}, rights of farmers {are} being bulldozed, inside rights of MPs {are} being bulldozed.
The Jamstik Studio MIDI Guitar is, as the name implies a guitar. But to be clear, if youre just looking to buy a guitar, there is no reason to get one. Its serviceable, but nothing special. The mahogany body and rosewood fretboard feel decent enough. And the humbuckers, with their ability to be split and used as single coils, deliver a decent range of tones. But its definitely not $800 worth of pure guitar. No, what sets the instrument apart is the hex pickup mounted at the bridge and Jamsticks onboard processing algorithms that turn this kind of pedestrian, rebadged travel guitar into a MPE MIDI monster.

Now, Ive covered the challenges facing guitar-style MIDI controllers before. The subtle variations in pitch and velocity, plus the unique playing techniques like hammer-ons, slides and bends of a fretted instrument just arent easy to convert to a series of ones and zeros. Its much simpler to make a keyboard play nice with a synth.

Jamstik Studio MIDI Guitar SCORE 79 Engadget 79 Critics - Not yet scored N/A Users - Not yet scored N/A Buy Now Pros Fast and accurate pitch recognition

Excellent hammer-on and bend response

Multiple output options

Is an actual guitar not just a gadget Cons Pricey

MIDI wasnt designed with guitars in mind

For all its faults the Jammy did make some strides in this area, and Fishmans TriplePlay Connect pickup isnt half bad. But, I have to hand it to Jamstik for creating the smoothest experience Ive ever had converting my pentatonic noodleings into viable synth tracks. Thats not to say there wasnt a learning curve, but the journey from unboxing to trying out a (very bad) finger tapping solo in Arturias Analog Lab was pretty short. (For the record: It didnt really work.)

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

All I did was plug the included USB-C cord into my laptop and I immediately was able to start plucking away in Ableton Live. Jamstik is even kind enough to include a TRS to five-pin MIDI adapter in the box. So within minutes I was able to strum a few pads on the MicroFreak.

Honestly, it took me longer to tune the Studio MIDI Guitar than it did to get it set up in my DAW. If I had to pick a least favorite feature here it would be the tuners. Since its meant to be a travel instrument, theres no headstock. Instead you tune the strings at the bridge with a small tuning key. Theres a magnetic notch in the bridge to store it when not in use. But the key is quite tiny, and I can easily see myself losing this under my desk or, worse, a hotel-room bed.

I dont know if its just the factory strings or the tuners themselves, but it doesnt stay in tune particularly well. I havent bothered to restring it during my month of testing, but I cant say Im looking forward to it. The process looks slightly convoluted and involves an allen wrench in addition to the tuning key.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

The other obstacle I encountered early on was easily remedied by changing the settings, but it did take me a full day to figure out what was wrong. While everything seemed to work just fine in Ableton, the MicroFreak and Pigments (when running in standalone mode) never seemed to be in tune with the guitar or itself. Turns out the default bend ranges didnt play nice with the micromovements of a guitar being fretted, and each synth had its own ideal setting. Learn something new every day, I suppose.

In general the Jamstik seemed to like soft synths better than hardware instruments, but I had little issue getting it to work with my Volca FM or Volca Keys. I even found a few patches on the FM that took on a new life when played like a guitar. Because theres a 1/4 inch instrument jack, a TRS MIDI connector and a USB-C port on the Studio MIDI Guitar, you can actually play multiple instruments at once. Just for fun I fired up the beta of the Jamstik Creator app, connected the Volca FM and plugged into my guitar amp all at the same time. I wont pretend the noise I made was truly musical, but it was fun to have the arpeggios ringing out of the FM while my computer tried to follow the bass notes as I strummed chords through a distortion pedal.

For this demo audio and MIDI data were recorded in Ableton using a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 interface. The guitars audio signal was sent through one of Abletons builtin amp simulators. No additional processing was done to the MIDI, it was immediately captured as audio from a softsynth as it was being played. The samples crossfade between the raw guitar and the resulting synth track to show it was translated in real time  warts and all. Engadget  Live Guitar To MIDI using Jamstik Studio MIDI Guitar

The Jamstik Creator plugin is one of the features the company is pushing pretty hard. It does double duty as both a virtual instrument and configuration utility. The app isnt expected to leave beta until sometime in October, but even in its unfinished state its still basically a must-have. This is where youll adjust string sensitivity, turn MPE on and off, assign MIDI channels and youll even find a tuner here.

The instrument portion of it is decent enough. Youll find some really solid sounds in there, like the ambient piano preset and some fairly convincing bass. The interface can be a little confusing at first glance, but once you figure out its quirks its easy to start designing your own sounds.

There are, however, some features I wish were included, like the ability to assign MIDI channels or disable MIDI entirely for individual strings. This would make the whole controlling multiple instruments thing a lot more useful. Then you send just the root notes to your bass synth and the high strings to plucky lead synth while strumming a chord progression. This is something you can do with the Fishman app, for example.

All these complaints are relatively minor, though, considering this is easily the best performing MIDI guitar Ive used. The hex pickup at the bridge is fast and accurate when it comes to pitch tracking. Even hammer-ons, bends and slides are recognized with ease and rendered as faithfully as possible. It simply blows the Jammy out of the water on that front.

Hammer-ons and bends (at least once youve dialed in the right range) are particularly impressive here. You can play a VST of a guitar with this MIDI guitar and the results are surprisingly convincing. Slides can be a little messy. I tend to just avoid them, but with some practice and patience you can get usable results.

One thing to keep in mind: A synth is not a guitar. And the guitar was not designed with MIDI in mind. So keep your expectations in check. Massive X isnt going to suddenly react like a guitar to your playing. And you should expect the occasional ghost note to be detected, especially if your playing is as sloppy as mine. And super fast picking doesnt translate well, so you wont be playing synthesized Slayer riffs. That being said, Black Sabbath is fair game. And I wont lie: Playing Supernaut on a Moog put a ridiculously huge smile on my face.

For slowly played pads and simple melody lines the new Jamstik is not just usable, but actually pretty great. And, while I might not trust it to play a live gig (not that I did that even in the pre-COVID days), it's definitely serviceable as a primary MIDI controller in a studio. You just might need to do a little tidying in post. (That said, turning down the string sensitivity in the Creator app did help clean up my MIDI data somewhat.)

The one thing it really cant handle is drums. Now, you can play drums on the Jamstik. I just do not recommend it. At all. Its a nightmare. MIDI guitars are pretty unforgiving if youre sloppy. (Hello again :wave:) And sloppy playing cant be easily covered up on a drum track. You could turn on some pretty aggressive quantization, but at that point you might as well program your drums manually. Honestly, you should probably just save yourself the hassle and get a pad controller.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

So no, Im not ditching my Push or my MPK Mini. But despite my initial skepticism I came away impressed. Where other guitar-style controllers feel like gimmicks that will inevitably end up collecting dust in a corner, I could actually see myself keeping the Jamstik Studio MIDI Guitar in easy reach. Heck, I might even consider taking it on vacation since it covers both my MIDI and guitar playing needs.

But -- and this is a big but -- justifying spending $800 on this is hard. If youve already got a guitar laying around that you dont mind making minor and temporary modifications to, the Fishman TriplePlay Connect will turn any guitar into a MIDI controller for $230. If youd rather not risk leaving any adhesive residue on your precious instruments, and you absolutely must have a guitar MIDI controller, then this might be worth it.
The Catholic archbishop of San Francisco led a protest on Sunday criticizing the city's restrictions on reopening churches during the coronavirus pandemic.

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone delivered an impassioned sermon at an outdoor mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption after a march through the streets, calling for the right to worship indoors.

Cordileone condemned city leaders for allowing retail to operate indoors before houses of worship.

"The City continues to place unrealistic and suffocating restrictions on our natural and constitutional right to worship. This willful discrimination is affecting us all," Cordileone said in his remarks posted by the church online. "Yes, discrimination, because there is no other word for it. We ask: why can people shop at Nordstroms at 25% capacity but only one of you at a time is allowed to pray inside of this great Cathedral, your Cathedral? Is this equality?"

The march started at three separate parish locations around the city, with the groups convening at the City Hall where they were greeted by the archbishop. They then walked en masse to the cathedral.

The city's current health order allows outdoor services with a maximum of 50 people or one person to be in a church at a time.

In reference to the rules, Cordileone said: "One person at a time in this great Cathedral to pray? What an insult. This is a mockery. They are mocking you, and even worse, they are mocking God."

The archbishop has hosted masses at the St. Mary's Church courtyard with worshippers wearing masks and social distancing, but he believes people can also safely worship indoors.

"It's not that we want to be reckless," he told ABC 7 News. "We don't want to endanger public health. We can do it safely and we just want to be unimpeded from doing so."

Mayor London Breed's office told ABC indoor worship services may be permitted by the end of the month with 25% capacity.

"We need to continue to follow the guidance of Public Health, but with every step of reopening, we need to remember that the virus is still very much present and we have to move forward safely," the mayor's statement read.

Correction: A photo and caption unrelated to this story was mistakenly posted in the original version and has since been deleted.

Amy Graff is the News Editor for SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.
Two female Uber passengers in Houston have died, after a driver leading a pursuit with police crashed into their ride-share vehicle over the weekend.

On Saturday, Brian Tatum, who is suspected of being involved in a street race, crashed into the Uber while driving at speeds of more than 100mph, according to The Daily Mail.

The 51-year-old has subsequently been arrested on two felony murder charges following the crash on Saturday, according to a statement from the Harris County Sheriffs Office.

The authorities said that deputies attempted to pull Mr Tatum over at around 11:30pm on Saturday, as he ran several red lights while racing another vehicle in the area of Jensen Drive in the city.

The other vehicle stopped for the police, but Mr Tatum reportedly sped off at excessive speeds, while deputies followed behind, the departments statement read.

Recommended US officers force open rear door of Chinese consulate in Houston following closure order

The deputies pursued Mr Tatum for around a mile, before he crashed into the Uber, causing significant damage to the ride-share vehicle.

Sean Teare, head of the Harris County District Attorneys Office Vehicular Crimes Division, told the Houston Chronicle that Mr Tatum basically cut the car in two.

The two women riding in the back of the Uber were ejected from the vehicle at impact, and were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Both the Uber driver and Mr Tatum survived the crash and were treated for injuries at Ben Taub Hospital, but the latter has already been discharged and transferred to the county jail.

The department confirmed that in a search of Mr Tatums vehicle, officials found open containers of alcohol and drugs, including marijuana.

The authorities revealed that Mr Tatum has extensive criminal records in Texas and California that span more than 20 years.
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Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung  Mon, September 21, 2020 13:46 488 e22cd4161040e111d73a5626c4625306 1 National COVID-19,#COVID19,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,Bandung-West-Java,ridwan-kamil,West-Java,West-Java-Governor-Ridwan-Kamil,PCR-test,coronavirus Free

The West Java administration has asked the central government for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to increase the provinces COVID-19 testing capacity.



Governor Ridwan Kamil said the administration sought to increase West Java's testing ratio to a minimum of 1 percent  500,000 tests out of the provinces 50 million people  in accordance with World Health Organization recommendations.

"Weve managed to test 50,000 samples per week, but we're supposed to double that number. Therefore, weve asked for help from the central government," Ridwan said on Thursday.



The West Java COVID-19 task force, he said, had been urging the central government to help the province increase its testing capacity since August.

Read also: Indonesias COVID-19 testing positivity remains far above WHO standard for new normal



The task force requested 250,000 PCR test kits from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in early September and asked for permission to allow private laboratories to run the tests.



Ridwan said West Java had the second-highest PCR testing rate in the country, after Jakarta.



However, the province's testing rate has been fluctuating.



According to Health Ministry data, as of Sept. 7, West Java had only tested 301 people per 1 million, far below other provinces such as Jakarta (3,048 tests per million people), East Kalimantan (2,517 tests per million), Yogyakarta (1,198 tests per million) and South Kalimantan (1,128 tests per million).



According to the administration's Information and Coordination Center (Pikobar), West Java managed to test 50,000 samples in the week of Sept. 1 to Sept. 7.



In the second week of September, only 25,686 samples were tested. (nal)
Police have fined two Brisbane venues for breaching COVID requirements as the state edges closer to the target of 14 days without community transmission.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said Queensland recorded one new COVID-19 case overnight, with a female teenager testing positive in hotel quarantine after returning from overseas.

The Royal George Hotel has been fined. Credit:Harrison Saragossi

There were 17 active cases remaining on Monday, all clustered around Ipswich and Brisbanes southside. Since late January, 1153 people have tested positive for the virus in Queensland.

Monday marked the 11th consecutive day without community transmission in Queensland and, if all continues on the right track, Thursday will mark two weeks.
CINDY SCHULTZ/DG

President Donald Trump says that he is pro-life and pro-guns so, according to him, Catholics should support him. However, he isnt being honest because he ignores that the Catholic Church condemns greed, the exploitation of the poor and degrading of God's creation. He seems to think that his support of the Second Amendment should make him appealing to Catholics, but hes wrong. I'm a lifetime, practicing Catholic, and he doesnt impress me.

It is clear as day that Trumps actions arent sincere, and his policies do not reflect what he says; his actions do not show Christian values at all nor do they show a hint of American ideals either. Trump was always in favor of abortion, but he publicly changed his views to get votes before the 2106 presidential election.
The Prince of Wales has warned that we will need 'four planets like earth to survive or provide enough for everybody'.

Speaking today for Climate Week 2020, His Royal Highness urged companies to focus on 'the green recovery' following coronavirus, adding that 'there is a better world out there'.

Prince Charles said: 'We've so degraded natural systems, eco-systems, biodiversity, that it's becoming increasingly impossible for nature to sustain us.

'At the moment it's all take, take. Now we've reached the situation where we really need four planets like earth to survive or provide enough for everybody.

Scroll down for video

Climate activist Prince Charles (pictured) spoke out for a second time on Monday to launch Climate Week 2020. The royal warned that earth had sustained long lasting damage

'And there is a better world out there. We can operate our industries far better'

He added that he was aware many industries were already dealing with strained operations from the coronavirus pandemic, but due to the 'challenges' such as these 'hitting us in the face' he had noticed an renewed interest in issues affecting the planet that sustains us.

Prince Charles, who spoke via a recorded message from Balmoral, Aberdeenshire, said: 'Industries have obviously had to focus on dealing with the immediate impact of this horrendous pandemic, but the fascinating thing is I think a lot of people have still wanted fortunately to focus on the green recovery.'

In a speech opening Climate Week earlier today the Prince of Wales also called for global commitments to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 to be brought forward by two decades  because the current target 'suggests we have room to delay'.

Throughout his career Prince Charles (pictured) has highlighted environmental issues, now the royal calls for government targets to be brought forward

Charles' comment, made in a speech to launch Climate Week, is at odds with the government's plan to cut carbon emissions to net zero within 30 years.

The heir to the throne, who has been an environmental campaigner since the early 1970s, said: 'With the planetary emergency so critical  with the permafrost melting in Siberia for instance, producing dire effects on global warming, and with the Pantanal in Brazil being consumed by unprecedented numbers of fires  we can no longer go on like this, as if there was no tomorrow and no ultimate reckoning for our abuse of nature.

'So what do we do? Without doubt we must now put ourselves on a war-like footing, approaching our action from the perspective of a military-style campaign. That way, working together, we can combat this most grave and urgent challenge.

'If we have the resolve to shift our trajectory, we must start now by bringing forward our net zero target  I am afraid 2050 simply suggests we have room to delay.'

Today's launch of sustainable video platform RE:TV is hoped to champion climate solutions

Today's launch of sustainable video platform RE:TV is hoped to champion inspiring solutions from around the world.

Content on the site, curated by The Prince of Wales, will fall into five defined sub-channels: Re:Imagine, Re:Design, Re:Balance, Re:Invigorate, and Re:Invest - hoped to showcase solutions to accelerating a more sustainable future.

Speaking about the launch of RE:TV, Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Markets Initiative said: 'We support His Royal Highness's vital work in the sustainable markets initiative because the private sector can best create the conditions to align the flow of capital and other resources needed to address the longterm goals of society as defined by the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Earlier on Monday, Prince Charles (pictured) gave an opening speech for Climate Week 2020, stating the ambitious target of 2030 for nations to cut emissions

'That is the goal of the Sustainable Markets Initiative: To harness the creativity, the innovation, the balance sheets and the efforts of organizations committed to Stakeholder Capitalism, and alignment to the SDGs, to bring to life The Prince of Wales' vision.'

The heir to the throne gave the ambitious target of 2030 for nations to cut emissions, which he said is needed 'given the enormity of the problem we face'.

The prince also called for a financial recovery package, like the Marshall Plan that rebuilt post-war Europe, to help 'nature, people and planet'.
The Assembly was



on Monday adjourned sine die after passing the Finance Bill, 2020 and conducting some other important legislative works.

While 78 MLAs were present in the House during the one-day session, 23 attended it virtually, an official said. All those came to the House were subjected to thermo and pulse meter checks for coronavirus infection, he said.

The session lasted for one-and-a-half hours during which the Finance Bill, that allows the state government to carry out its expenses, was passed.

The Moneylender Amendment Bill, 2020, the Municipal Law Amendment Bill, 2020 and the Madhya Pradesh VAT Amendment Bill, 2020, among others, were also passed.

In the absence of state Finance Minister Jagdish Devda, Parliamentary Affairs Narottam Mishra presented the Finance Bill-2020 in the House.

After the passage of the bills, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in his statement said Madhya Pradesh tackled the COVID-19 situation better than other states.

He said better arrangements have been made for the treatment of COVID-19 in the state.

Intervening in Chouhans statement, Leader of Opposition Kamal Nath highlighted problems being faced by COVID-19 patients, like non-availability of oxygen and ventilators, among others, and demanded setting up of an open inquiry into it.

The senior Congress leader also demanded a complaint centre where public can register their grievances.

After Chouhan's speech, Protem Speaker Rameshwar Sharma adjourned the House sine die (with no appointed date for resumption).

Earlier, the House paid tributes to 21 prominent leaders who recently died, including former president Pranab Mukherjee, former Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon, Chhattisgarh's former chief minister Ajit Jogi and former Union minister Hansraj Bharadwaj.

The protem speaker also mentioned about the Indian soldiers martyred in the border clash at Galwan Valley in Ladakh, the Baramulla terror attack and those who fell prey to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Members observed a two-minute silence as a mark of respect for the departed souls.
When Visions of Prosperity turn into reality By Gamini Weerakoon Doublespeak View(s): View(s):

Visions of Prosperity and Splendour is what Gotabaya Rajapaksa called his election manifesto in his bid for the Sri Lankan presidency. As stated clearly it is his vision for his paradisiacal dream and is far from being achieved. It is quite apparent that he is going through the initial exercises.

The daily barrage of his many visions in the Lankan media, particularly in the state media, may have made some of his devoted supporters to believe that some of these visions have already become real. It is a well-known maxim in advertising and propaganda that constant repetition of a statement  true or false  comes to be believed by non-discriminating masses as being true.

The believers can be pardoned because some visions envisaged in the manifesto are stupendous in magnitude and pace of development of most development projects of the past in Lanka.

These include: 70 percent of electricity consumption to be generated from renewable sources of energy by 2030; Sri Lanka to become a key maritime hub with development of Colombo, Galle, Trincomalee, Kankesanthurai and Oluvil harbours. Making Colombo into a transit harbour, with new bunkering facilities at Ratmalana, Veyangoda, Peliyagoda; Five new Export Processing Zones to be established in the next two years.

These also include: A Pharma Zone to be set up with 25 investors (not named) pumping US$ 300 million  50 percent of the of pharmaceuticals required to be produced locally saving Rs 60 billion annually; an Investment Zone of 400 acres in the Hambantota Industrial Zone for manufacturing medicine targeting the global market; completion of 100,000 Km of road construction by 2024, renovation to 5,000 irrigation tanks using modern and ancient technologies immediately.

Ministers have promised their contributions off their own bat. Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila has pledged that extraction of oil and gas will begin before he contests the next parliamentary election. A political wag says Gammanpila is being too modest, having found oil in the seas off Lanka days after his appointment as Minister of Energy. An oil slick has been found off the East coast of Sri Lanka near a burning oil tanker containing about 2 million barrels of oil!

Minister Bandula Gunawardene promises to establish university campuses in towns where he addressed election rallies ten (or more?)

A retired professor says Gunawardena must be under the delusion that establishing a university campus is as simple as establishing tutories in shacks which the minister should be very familiar with.

All Sri Lankans will hope President Rajapaksas Visions of Prosperity and Splendour come true but wishes, hopes, a two-thirds majority and even a new constitution will not be enough. He needs finance which he sorely lacks.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa told parliament while speaking on Vote on Account debate that the World Bank had predicted a negative growth rate for Lanka by the end of the year (-3.2 percent) while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had predicted a negative growth (- 6.1 percent.)

Another opposition member, former minister and ex-banker Eran Wickremaratne speaking in Parliament warned the Government to be prepared for the worst budget deficit in 35 years.

He said: Expenditure increases during a health crisis but that is not what happened. Capital expenditure came down during his period. The crisis occurred due to the collapse in government revenue. The previous government kept the budget deficit at 5.3 percent of the GDP. This, however, began to deteriorate by the end of 2019 because of the Governments irresponsible statements in the run up to the election on taxes and while the fiscal position has deteriorated, the situation has got progressively worse in 2020.

Wickremaratne pointed out: Government revenue had declined by 28 percent compared to 2019. Recurrent expenditure increased by 10 per cent and the budget deficit increased by 41 percent. Government debt had increased by Rs 1,020 billion to over 14,000 billion from January to June in 2020.

His gloomy picture continued: Despite reduction and exemption in some taxes, there had been no benefit felt by the people and the prices of essentials have increased.

These were statistics coming out of government departments, he claimed.

On External debt he said: By the middle of 2019, the Government reserves had been US$ 8.59 billion. In June 2020 they were US$ 6.7 billion. Therefore there were major debt repayments.

The countrys debt was about 87 percent of the GDP of which 57 percent was foreign debt.

This damning criticism we expected would be rebutted by the usual defence: This was because of the debt legacy you left us which would have been responded to with the query of the original debtor. But Prime Minister Rajapaksa, who also holds the portfolio of finance, has not responded as yet.

Rajapaksa is playing politics instead of economics. He has come out with a political ace: Banning slaughter of cattle. This has the Sinhala-Buddhist lobby which enabled their party to a two-thirds majority cheering wildly.

While playing politics can be indulged in joyfully, not so with economics where comes the critical point: the collapse of the economy followed by devastating political consequences.

President Rajapaksa needs a massive influx of financial assistance in grants, loans or direct foreign investments to make his visions come true. Armchair foreign policy analysts may wax eloquently about morality and national sovereignty but all that cannot take Sri Lanka to paradise. The hope lies in the two power blocs wanting entry in Lankas ports and airports. The quadrilateral alliance of the United States, India, Japan and Australia can help but with the Covid 19 pandemic having their economies in a top spin it is unlikely to play the role of Good Samaritans helping Third World countries in distress.

China can and may help and it holds the whip hand on debt repayment.

Meanwhile, the Rajapaksa cheering squads can be happy thinking that the Visions of Prosperity and Splendour are indeed real.

(Gamini Weerakoon is a former editor of The Sunday Island, The Island and Consulting Editor of the Sunday Leader.)
Miriam OCallaghan has urged parents to talk to children about scam

Broadcaster Miriam O'Callaghan has warned young people not to get sucked into being used as money mules by criminals.

New research shows young people are being used as mules by criminals to help launder stolen or illegal money using their bank account.

The young people are often dragged into these illegal operations unwittingly, according to the banks.

The research shows that there have been 1,000 incidents of money mule transactions this year so far - the vast majority involving those between the ages of 18 and 24.

These transactions had a total value of more than 12m, the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said.

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RTE broadcaster Miriam O'Callaghan and Union of Students in Ireland (USI) members and social media influencers Miriam Mullins and Darragh Taheny, have been drafted in by the banking lobby group to support a campaign to warn people of the dangers.

The 'Don't be a mule' campaign is also advising parents and children on the warning signs and red flags to watch for to avoid the activity.

Money muling involves criminals recruiting young people to help launder stolen or illegal money using their bank account .

The week-long FraudSmart campaign comes in advance of Europol's annual global money mule campaign involving up to 30 countries and over 600 banks. It involves cracking down on money mule schemes both operationally and via a large-scale awareness drive.

Research conducted for the BPFI shows younger people are highly susceptible to being used as money mules.

Carried out by Coyne Research, the study found that a third of 18 to 24-year-olds are likely to lodge or transfer money on behalf of someone else using their own bank account in exchange for keeping some of the money.

Over a quarter of 18 to 24- year-olds claim to know someone who was approached to act as a money mule.

Large numbers were not even aware of the term money mule.

Small numbers of parents of teenagers surveyed said they had discussed the issue of money mules and the risks with their teen children.

Acting as a money mule means participating in money laundering which is a criminal offence and is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

Broadcaster and parent Miriam O'Callaghan said: "This is such a worrying trend among young people.

"As a mum with teenagers, I was only delighted to lend my voice to this campaign to try and highlight the importance of sitting down with our children and educating them about the dangers of money muling."

She said anyone's child could become a vulnerable victim of money muling, so it's important to have these conversations with them, so they know the dangers of getting involved in this type of criminal offence.

BPFI's Olivia Buckley said criminals are relentless in their pursuit of money mules as they seek to move stolen money.

She said they often present themselves online as prospective employers who can help young people make money through the use of their bank account.

"We're encouraging parents and children to have this important conversation and to be on heightened alert, especially as young people make their way back to college," she said.

USI President, Lorna Fitzpatrick said: "In partnership with FraudSmart, the USI urges students and young people to be extra vigilant when dealing with people who may be criminals posing as potential employers seeking to launder illegal or stolen money in their bank accounts."

She said that money muling might initially appear to be desirable as an easy fix for money worries to those who are struggling financially.

"However, there are serious repercussions for the crime of money laundering.

Activity

"We want to ensure students are informed of the penalties to prevent students from finding themselves in a troublesome situation.

"If anyone is concerned with falling victim to a scam or money mulling, they should contact the gardai immediately."

This year's Fraud Awareness Week campaign, which runs this week, includes a range of activity outreaching to young people and their parents.

A host of material including information leaflets for young people and parents can be found at fraudsmart.ie.

The week will also see the rollout of a radio and social media campaign in addition to support by FraudSmart members banks and institutions through a range of channels online and in branch.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21

Trend:

As reported earlier, on September 19, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the Absheron field offshore operations at the Heydar Aliyev Baku Deep Water Jackets Plant.

After the ceremony, the president gave an interview to Azerbaijan Television, Public Television, and Real Television.

Trend is publishing some excerpts from the interview of President Aliyev:

The prime minister of Armenia puts forward seven conditions to us. First of all, who are you to speak to us in the language of conditions? If we wanted to talk to him in the language of conditions, his political life would not last long. I have said that we are rejecting these nonsensical conditions. We have one condition  they must leave our lands unconditionally and completely. This is reflected in UN Security Council resolutions. There are staging some comedy-like training there. In other words, every single step is an open provocation against us, the head of state said.

The July provocation is already an armed provocation, and it is no secret to anyone that it was instigated by Armenia. A high-ranking official of one of the Minsk Group co-chairs has openly confirmed that. I said back then and am saying today that we have no military targets in Armenia. If we wanted to, we could have moved into Armenia and had full military capabilities to do that. We did not do that. Because this is not part of our military concept  unless we are seriously provoked. If they do, then there will be no limits for us. Let everyone know that there will be no limits. If they are flouting international law, why should we abide by it?! We will flout it too, but the end will be bitter for them, the Azerbaijani president said.

After the July provocation came the August provocation. Acts of terror against our civilians, a sabotage group was sent to commit military provocations against our servicemen, and the leader of that sabotage group was arrested. He gave evidence, made a confession, mentioned names of those who sent them, and how. In other words, he is not a shepherd or a child who lost his way. Otherwise, they call all their spies herders and madmen. We already have five or six of them. Are they all herders or madmen? It turns out that the majority of people in Armenia are either herders or madmen. They wanted to call this one a herder too, but they can no longer do that. Who committed this provocation? Did we send a sabotage group? No, they did! Did we commit the July events? They did! Did we kill their citizens? No, they did! There were no civilian casualties on the Armenian side but our 76-year-old elder was killed and many homes were destroyed. Therefore, these provocations are in fact the logical result of that policy. The goal is to disrupt the talks, then blame us and make the status quo unchanged. This is their goal. This is why they think they can do it. I think they are wrong. The sooner they understand this, the better it will be for them, the head of state said.
BERLIN and LONDON, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- LINUS Capital continues its growth trajectory by establishing a presence in the United Kingdom (UK). The Berlin-based investment company finances real estate projects with debt and mezzanine capital through its self-managed 320 million debt fund. LINUS gives experienced private and institutional investors the opportunity to participate in these investments while always acting as an anchor investor contributing at least 25% of the investment volume from its debt fund. Driven by its success in Germany - LINUS has financed more than 40 real estate projects with capital in excess of 450 million in only four years - the company is now exporting its unique business model to the UK. The new office of Linus Capital will be based in London Mayfair and led by the two Managing Directors Lukas Endl and Lee Abdul Sow.

LINUS fills a gap in the UK market

LINUS Capital will focus on investment opportunities of 5 - 50 million in Greater London and other major UK cities. "The small to mid-market segment offers great opportunities for us and our co-investors, as we are filling a significant gap in the market. As established real estate financiers have paused lending activities in the UK due to Covid-19 and Brexit fears, there is a unique window of opportunity to scale our operations quickly", explains Lee Sow. "Our entrepreneurial approach combined with the ability to provide higher gearing than most other lenders gives us an edge in the market", adds Lukas Endl.

The two Managing Directors have extensive experience in the real estate and alternative investments sector and have already built up a broad network in the UK. Lukas Endl studied Real Estate Finance at Cambridge University and has implemented projects in the sector for McKinsey. Before joining LINUS, Lee Sow worked for the financial sponsors team of Credit Suisse and for the high-yield credit team of Oaktree in London and is therefore well acquainted with the credit market.

100 million investments in 2020

For LINUS CEO David Neuhoff, the UK market offers many opportunities: "Despite Brexit, London is still the number one capital market in Europe and one of the most important real estate markets globally. The city continues to attract substantial capital from investors across the globe. Even though the market is highly competitive, we see immense potential here. By leveraging the extensive on-site experience of our team, our lean structure and fast decision-making processes, we are able to provide financing within a very short time frame  this is our key competitive advantage." In 2020 LINUS Capital plans to invest up to 100m in the UK.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1276954/LINUS_Logo.jpg

Press Contact:

Jens Secker

BrunoMedia GmbH

Mail: secker@brunomedia.de

Phone: +49 6131 930 28 33

SOURCE LINUS Capital
Defence lawyers Yehuda Fried, Tal Gabbai and Nick Kaufman. The latest court decision, as well as the ministry approval, can and will be appealed by the defence to the Supreme Court. The former principal of Melbourne's ultra-orthodox Adass Israel all-girls school in Elsternwick in the city's inner south-east faces 74 charges of rape and child sexual assault of three former students. Dassi Erlich, one of Leifer's alleged victims along with her sisters Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper, said it was a "historic moment". "We've been non-stop smiling since we heard the news," she told The Age on Monday.

"We've been waiting for nine years and we didn't realise how long we'd have to wait. "It's still surreal for us." Elly Sapper, Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer accuse Malka Leifer of abusing them at an Orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne. Credit:Jason South Five years ago, Ms Erlich was awarded $1.27 million in damages against the Adass Israel school and her sisters also received out-of-court settlements from the school. Victim advocate Manny Waks, who predicted that Leifer would appeal against the decision, said it was a "great day for justice".

"It has taken 71 court hearings to get to this point. It has been Israel's shame," he said. "But today is finally about a just outcome. Thanks to the incredible courage of three sisters - Nicole, Dassi and Elly - who have fought a fight for 10 years..." Labor MP Josh Burns, whose electorate takes in the Adass Israel School, said the fight for Leifer's extradition had taken far too long, but her alleged victims never relented. "They have never given up," he said. "We have been standing behind them, proudly and defiantly.

"Justice has taken far too long. But finally, justice has won the day." Loading Mr Burns said while there might be further appeals, the Israeli judicial system should deal with them as quickly as possible and called on the Justice Minister to give the extradition the final sign off without any further delays. Liberal MP Dave Sharma, Australia's former ambassador to Israel, said it was a "welcome victory for justice and the victims of abuse worldwide". "Israel's Ministry of Justice deserves full credit for their relentless and unstinting pursuit of this case, despite many setbacks. I welcome the resolution of what had become a point of tension in Australia's otherwise strong bilateral relationship with Israel," he said.

"To see this day come, after being the ambassador to first hand over the extradition request to Israel six years ago, is immensely satisfying. For me, this was unfinished business from my term. Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper deserve huge credit for their bravery and persistence. We would not have achieved this without them." Former Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu, who has supported the family, said the outcome was "another very big step on a still very big staircase". Mr Baillieu said he expected Leifer to appeal again "given her track record", but was confident the appeal would be "quickly dispensed with" as the last appeal had been. The Zionist Federation of Australia welcomed the decision saying in a statement that it was "long overdue". "Leifer ought to accept this decision without further needless appeals and face her accusers in an Australian court. It is well past time to bring Leifer home. The survivors deserve justice. We commend the bravery of the survivors who have never wavered in their determination and commitment to bring Leifer back to Australia to face justice," Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler said.

The National Council of Jewish Women of Australia's Melinda Jones said it was a "travesty that Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper are still waiting for their day in court". "Now that it has been agreed Leifer can be extradited, the Israeli and Australian governments must work together to expedite her extradition so they do not have to wait any longer," she said. Leifer was first arrested in Israel in 2014 after Australia lodged a request for her extradition, however, the proceedings were initially dismissed in 2016 as she was deemed mentally unfit to stand trial for extradition. The former principal was rearrested in 2018 and extradition proceedings were reignited following surveillance and wiretapping carried out by the police, after suspicions arose that Leifer was faking her inability to function. She was observed undertaking day-to-day activities such as talking on the phone, shopping, and travelling unsupervised to other cities outside of her remote West Bank settlement home.
The head of Canadas largest manufacturer of tissue products says hes concerned about the industrys supply of paper towel ahead of a potential second wave of COVID-19.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A passerby walks down an aisle with empty shelves where paper towels are normally on display at a grocery store, Thursday, March 26, 2020, in Quincy, Mass. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Steven Senne)

The head of Canadas largest manufacturer of tissue products says hes concerned about the industrys supply of paper towel ahead of a potential second wave of COVID-19.

Kruger Products CEO Dino Bianco said demand for paper towel has soared as people stay at home and clean more frequently.

Toilet paper was the highlight of the COVID stay-at-home mandates but now were seeing the big use of paper towels, he said in an interview.

COVID doesn't make you go to the bathroom more, but it does make you clean more.

Bianco said the industrys paper towel inventory is very tight across North America, despite efforts to build up supply.

Paper towel is the big watch out for us, he added. We're trying to build our inventory but we're very tight.

Kruger, which makes SpongeTowels paper towels, isnt the only tissue manufacturer seeing continued strong paper towel sales.

Geraldine Huse, president of Procter & Gamble Canada, said demand for the companys tissue products, including Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels, increased significantly in mid-March.

But while toilet paper consumption has returned to normal levels, she said paper towel sales continue to outpace pre-COVID levels.

Consumer demand for paper towels remains high across Canada as consumers are staying at home more and their cleaning and hygiene habits have increased, Huse said in an emailed statement.

She said the company expects strong sales of cleaning products, including its paper towel, home cleaners and dishwashing liquid, to continue in the coming months and that P&G is producing and shipping 24/7 to meet demands.

Tim Baade, senior vice-president and general manager of Irving Consumer Products, agreed that demand for toilet paper has started to level off while paper towel usage remains strong.

Demand for our towel has remained high, he said in an emailed statement. Bath demand is still up from pre-COVID-19 levels, but lower than its peak earlier this year.

Baade said the company, which makes Royale paper towel and other brands under store "house brands" and private labels, continues to maximize its production to help mitigate any supply gaps.

Meanwhile, Kruger is pushing to open its new plant in Sherbrooke, Que., to add more capacity in Canada, Bianco said.

Initially slated to open in February 2021, he said the company is trying to get the factory up and running faster. Some machines started over the summer, while more are set to come online next month.

Bianco said the plant will increase the company's paper towel and toilet paper manufacturing capacity by 20 per cent.

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For now, Kruger has cut back on its stock keeping units  or SKUs  to maximize its production of key products.

At the height of the pandemic, the company slashed the number of products it makes in half to about 90, down from 180 key products. The company is back up to about 110 items, Bianco said.

There will be plenty of the companys Cashmere brand toilet paper, for example, but the recycled sub-brand EnviroCare will be harder to come by.

Thats in part because its less popular, he said, but also because of issues with the supply of the raw product  recycled paper.

We use recycled paper that comes from white paper used in offices, Bianco said. That market has dried up because people arent in offices printing, so its hard to get the recycled fibers used to produced recycled tissue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2020.
Oscar Silva helps teachers, parents connect

Oscar Silva wanted to honor one of Humble ISDs many exceptional teachers with an Amazon gift card. With three of his own children in Humble ISD schools, and a fourth who graduated from Atascocita High, he knows first-hand how outstanding Humble ISDs teachers are.

He put together what he terms  a little giveaway  and asked parents to nominate a teacher they thought was awesome.

Silva has a unique platform. The Atascocita resident is one of three administrators for the Humble ISD Parents Page, a virtual group of more than 12,000 on Facebook, Where parents and teachers can easily connect. An invaluable tool of crowdsourced information for parents and a great way for teachers and staff to keep a pulse on parent concerns.

Some of the stories people posted were absolutely amazing, he said. The idea caught on and, thanks to parents, staff, our friends at The Tribune and another local business, weve now given away a total of $750 in Amazon gift cards among 10 different teachers.

Quite a feat for a page organized and managed by volunteers.

The group was started in May 2016 by my good friend, Mia Hoyt, said Silva, and, like many Facebook groups, was started around a specific cause. I thought the group had some good things happening and parents enjoyed connecting. I asked if I could help out and Mia allowed me to become an administrator.

Humble ISD Parents now has three administrators, Silva, Hoyt and Kate Brown.

Mia, Kate and I created the rules and make group-wide changes, Silva explained. Along with several volunteer moderators, we moderate the content and approve posts and group membership requests.

The eight rules governing the page are simple, straight forward and an effort to serve the most parents and teachers in the best way possible. Members are removed if they repeatedly break these rules: Be respectful; Do not get personal; Threats will get a member removed; Agree to disagree; Be accurate; No promotions or spam; No profanity; and Respect everyones privacy.

Being a part of our group requires mutual trust. Authentic, expressive discussion makes groups great but may also be sensitive and private, Silva said. Whats shared in the group should stay in the group. My role right now is to emphasize that we are all neighbors with the same goal, the safety and success of our children. Empathy can be a lost art and I try to be intentional about bringing it back.

As for compliments about the page, Silva especially likes recognition that the administrators are trying to stay unbiased.

Teachers seem to point that out more than parents, he said, but it is something I am very intentional about, so I really appreciate when it is acknowledged.

Silva grew up in Harlingen in the Rio Grande Valley. He is the eldest of five, is a graduate of Harlingen High and moved to Atascocita in 2012. He has been married to Melissa for almost eight years and they are parents of  four amazing children.

When he is not peering at his laptop, he reads constantly, loves spending time with Melissa and the kids, spends time serving at his church, is trying to become an expert at smoking brisket, and is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan.

This is a good time to mention the disclaimer that, as an administrator of the page, I am not representing any employer, he said. I worked as a teaching assistant in a preschool program for children with disabilities, then managed RadioShack stores for several years, and now work for a bank.

Silva has never logged the amount of time he spends as administrator but estimates he spends at least two hours throughout the day.

The issues we deal with differ from season to season but, right now, it is getting kids and parents back to school safely amid the pandemic, he said. There is a pretty strong divide among parents regarding kids and teachers going back. One segment is concerned about COVID-19 and sincerely believes we should not have kids return at all. The other side considers the risks of not going back, which is multi-faceted and greater than the risk COVID presents to children. Of course, by the time you read this, the issue could be recovery from a hurricane.

In a group of 12,000-plus, there are different world views and perspectives that clash but, with all those sometimes conflicting perspectives, Silva is so impressed by how many parents and teachers are willing to take time out of their day to help out their neighbors.

He has seen questions answered. People helping with tech support. Donations  like his Amazon gift card giveaway. People connecting with each another.

In a large group that is a microcosm of the community, its beautiful to see, he said.

Silva, however, doesnt envy the tough position Humble ISD trustees are in.

From an outside perspective, it looks like theyre trying to make sure parents on both sides are taken care of and have the freedom to choose whats best, he said. I dont know if I could ask for anything better given the circumstances. Ive been incredibly impressed by Dr. Fagen and the trustees and even more impressed by the school administrators doing their absolute best to take care of their students and teachers.

As for the future of the page, Silva says the administrators are just trying to stay flexible and go where the group goes rather than controlling the agenda. As for his future,  A few people have approached me about running for a school board position, and it is something Ive considered, he admitted, but I really enjoy what Im doing now and would rather support people much more capable than I am.

Silva said the administrators  try to limit membership to parents of Humble ISD students and Humble ISD staff. To join, search for the Humble ISD Parents group on Facebook and request to become a member.
Former RBI Governor on Monday suggested the government to privatise select public sector banks, set up a bad bank to deal with and dilute the role of Department of Financial Services.

The reforms are necessary to ensure growth of the banking government without the periodic boom-bust cycles, said a paper titled 'Indian Banks: A Time to Reform?' co-authored by Rajan and former Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Viral Acharya.

"Re-privatization of select PSBs can then be undertaken as part of a carefully calibrated strategy, bringing in private investors who have both financial expertise as well as technological expertise; corporate houses must be kept from acquiring significant stakes, given their natural conflicts of interest," the paper said.

Noting that the government obtains enormous power from directing bank lending, it said sometimes this power is exercised to advance public goals such as financial inclusion or infrastructure finance, sometimes it is used to offer patronage to, or exercise control over, industrialists.

"Winding down Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of is essential, both as an affirmative signal of the intent to grant bank boards and management independence and as a commitment not to engage in 'mission creep' when compulsions arise to use for serving costly social or political objectives," the paper noted.

According to the paper, private asset management and national asset management 'bad banks' should be encouraged in parallel to the online platform for distressed loan sales.

"The national public sector 'bad bank' could serve as a vehicle to aggregate loans, create management teams for distressed firms, and possibly buy and hold distressed assets in a sector like power till demand returns.

"It could provide fall-back prices for loans sold by PSBs," the paper suggested.

It also argued that state-linked can be a first step in altering the ownership structure of some (PSBs), where the government brings down its stakes to below 50 per cent, creating distance from operations of banks, and improving governance along the way.

"Apart from regulatory and market reforms, we propose reforms to bank governance and ownership, especially for With the current enormous strains on government finances, there may be a window of opportunity in which these reforms may be possible since the status quo is untenable," the paper said.

On dealing with bad loans, the paper said out-of-court restructuring frameworks can be designed for time-bound negotiations between creditors of a stressed firm, failing which the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) filing should apply.

The two need to work in tandem as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Court's (IBC) procedural threat serves as the fall-back, facilitating meaningful negotiation out of court, it added.

On bank licencing norms, the paper pitched for on-tap licencing of banks to be kept open at all time.

"On-tap licensing for banks can be kept open at all times with an annual invitation for applications to create more vibrant banking with entry of better players, especially allowing high-performing micro-credit institutions to become small banks, and similarly, high-performing small banks to become universal banks.

"Conversely, poorly performing universal banks can be relegated to small finance bank status," it suggested.

The paper also stressed on the need of allowing PSBs to recruit laterally while retaining the talent they have.

"Incentive structures for management need to be strengthened with longer terms for senior management, better assessment of performance, performance-based promotions and extensions, as well as some reliance on lateral hiring, which would also bring in state-of-the-art banking ideas and practices," it said.
After 75 Years, UN claims 50:50 gender parity, but falls short of its ultimate goals By Thalif Deen View(s): View(s):

UNITED NATIONS (IPS)  When the UN was dominated by men, holding some of the highest positions in the staff hierarchy, the overwhelming majority of women staffers were administrative secretaries pounding on their typewriters seated outside their bosses office cubicles with name signs emblazoned outside the door.

A legendary story circulating at the UN for ages recounts the plight of a woman candidate being interviewed for a job. She had superlative credentials, including work experience as a political analyst and was armed with a post-graduate degree from a prestigious Ivy League university in the US.

The male UN staffer from human resources, who interviewed her, had one parting, male-chauvinistic question: But can you type?

Mercifully, that was a bygone era. But since then, the UN has made significant progress trying to conform to an age-old General Assembly resolution calling for gender parity system-wide.

As Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted last week: The #COVID19 pandemic is demonstrating what we all know: millennia of patriarchy have resulted in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture which damages everyone  women, men, girls & boys.

And it also fits in perfectly with the longstanding culture at the United Nations.

As the UN commemorates its 75th anniversary, the world body claims it has achieved 50:50 gender parity in the higher ranks of its administrative hierarchy.

But still falls short of reaching full parity at all levels of the Organisation targeted for 2028 while two recent staff surveys in New York and Geneva raised several lingering questions, including the lack of diversity, the notable absence of women of color system-wide, and the lack of equitable geographical representation of staffers from the developing world.

In a letter to staffers on September 2, Guterres points out the efforts made shortly after he took office: Nearly four years into this effort, I can report that we have come a long way.

In 2019, for the first time in United Nations history, he said; we reached parity in the Senior Management Group and among Resident Coordinators. On January 1, 2020, and well ahead of schedule, we attained this milestone by reaching parity among all full-time senior leaders, comprising 90 women and 90 men at the level of Assistant and Under-Secretaries-General.

In addition to the commitment to reach parity and diversify in our senior leadership by 2021, I have committed to achieving parity at all levels of the Organization by 2028.

We are on track to meet this target, but progress is uneven and inconsistent. Our greatest challenge is in field missions, where the gap is the largest and the rate of change is slowest, he added.

Asked for her comments, Prisca Chaoui, Executive Secretary of the 3,500-strong Staff Coordinating Council of the UN Office in Geneva (UNOG), told IPS that in the past, despite the existence of competent women in the UN, it has largely been the reality that when women do achieve career progression, it tends to be mostly women belonging to certain geographical groups or regions.

There are concerns that implementation of the UNs Gender Parity Strategy may follow a similar pattern. It is crucial that this important initiative ensures a diverse gender parity that includes women from the global South, women of colour, and women from developing and underrepresented countries, she noted.

The Organisation can do better at bringing the valuable and creative talents of diverse women together to help bridge the gender gap. This can only help the UN better deliver on its mandate  especially in these challenging times.

Gender and geographic diversity should not be mutually exclusive. We can implement the Gender Parity Strategy while ensuring improved geographical representation and diversity, Chaoui declared.

Meanwhile, the lack of geographical diversity is reflected in the absence of staffers from some 21 member states, according to the latest December 2017 figures released in a report to the UNs Administrative and Budgetary Committee.

The 21 unrepresented countries, mostly in the developing world, include Afghanistan, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic Saint Lucia, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines., Angola, Marshall Islands, Sao Tome and Principe, Belize, Monaco, Timor-Leste, Equatorial Guinea, Nauru, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Palau United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Vanuatu.

Ian Richards, former President of the Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations, and an economist at the Geneva-based UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), told IPS that last year Guterres asked the UNs member states at the General Assembly to let him change the staff regulations to allow the quotas and promotion and recruitment bans based on gender that he had been seeking for a while. But they refused his request.

It seems they felt it went against Article 8 of the UN Charter on non-discrimination and Article 101 on merit.

However, this year, while the pandemic and COVID-19 recovery efforts drew attention elsewhere, it seems he made the changes anyway, albeit through a type of executive order called an administrative instruction, said Richards.

Two questions arise. Is the executive order legal if it contradicts the staff regulations? he asked.

Lawyers have apparently been looking at this. And is it wise to provoke our member states by disregarding their instructions at a time when some are trying to cut our funding? There seems to be some disquiet, he added.

We all want to advance gender balance and we are all impatient. But I hope our efforts to do so dont backfire because of this. A further question is why General Service staff werent included. They are staff like everyone else and form the backbone of our organization, asked Richards.
Syria: tension rising in Idlib after months of truce-sources Between government forces and militants supported by Turkey

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, 21 SET - After months of relative calm, tension is rising again in northwestern Syria along the line of the front between government forces, backed by Russia, and armed militants supported by Turkey, sources on the ground said, confirming reports by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.



The area experienced a diminution in violence after a military truce was reached by Russia and Turkey last March.



The sources added that over the past 48 hours several air raids and artillery fire, attributed to Russian and Syrian forces, were reported in the central areas of the Idlib region and in the southeastern area of the region of Aleppo.



The areas are under the control of anti-regime militants backed by the Turkish armed forces. More Syrian government air raids were registered in the northeastern region of Latakia at the border with Turkey. (ANSAmed).




KYODO NEWS - Sep 21, 2020 - 20:45 | World, Coronavirus, All

India's famed Taj Mahal reopened on Monday after being closed for tourists for over six months due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to local media.

With strict measures in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus, a maximum of 5,000 people per day are allowed to visit the historical monument in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Visitors must have their temperatures checked, wear masks, practice social distancing and sanitize their hands, while entry tickets are being sold online rather than over the counter.

As one of the world's wonders, the Taj Mahal normally attracts about 7 million visitors each year with a large number of foreign tourists, according to local media.

Related coverage:

At least 10 dead in building collapse near Mumbai

The 17th century monument was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.

India now has 5.4 million total confirmed coronavirus cases, with 87,882 deaths to date, according to the data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.

The government imposed a nationwide lockdown from late March to the end of May and has been easing restrictions in stages since June.
Rome police fine tourist at fountain in Piazza Venezia.

A 26-year-old tourist from the Netherlands has been fined 300 for washing her feet in a fountain at the Altare della Patria in Piazza Venezia, according to local media.

The incident occurred on the afternoon of 20 September at the Fontana del Tirreno, reports Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

"I didn't think it was such a serious thing", the tourist told carabinieri who handed her the 300 fine before ordering her to put her shoes back on and leave the area.

The news coincides with reports of an Irish tourist who was caught carving his initials into the Colosseum over the weekend.

File photo: credit Lineadiretta24
A woman in her early 30s and her 7-year-old daughter are receiving treatment at the Iten County Referral Hospital after they survived being killed by their loved one on Wednesday night. The incident happened at the deceaseds Kapterik Village home in Keiyo North, Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya.

The womans husband, who suspected his partner was unfaithful, hit the mother-and-daughters heads with a huge stone, causing them serious injuries.

The man, identified as Samuel Barasa, also attacked his two other children, a 2-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son, who succumbed to their injuries.

The suspect, thereafter, committed suicide by hanging.

On Thursday 11am, youth, who had reported for Kazi Mtaani duties, found his body hanging from a rope tied to a tree near his homestead.

The youth, who positively identified the deceased, thereafter rushed to his home, where they found Barasas wife, Joyce Jerotich, and their three children lying in pools of blood.

Two of Barazas children were pronounced dead on arrival at the Iten County Referral Hospital, whereas his eldest child and wife, who were still alive, were admitted to critical care ward.

Keiyo North Deputy County Commissioner Julius Maiyo confirmed the incident to K24 Digital.

Bodies of the three family members were taken to Iten County Referral Hospital morgue.

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-- The COVID-19 hit China's catering industry hard as the epidemic forced the temporary closure of many restaurants and saw cautious customers stay home rather than dine out.

-- As the epidemic has been generally contained, China's catering industry is seeing clear signs of recovery.

-- Experts say the catering consumption is expected to return to the pre-epidemic level by the end of the year.

CHANGSHA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- As dinnertime approached, food aficionados began to form a long line at the entrance of a popular crayfish restaurant in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province.

After the resumption of dine-in service on March 16, Wenhoyo Superb, also began accepting online reservations. However, many diners still line up at the gate.

"Our business began to gradually recover after the resumption of work. The online booking service helps a lot to prevent long queues and attract more customers," said Li Mingyue, a staffer with the brand.

The COVID-19 epidemic hit the Chinese catering industry hard as the epidemic forced the temporary closure of many restaurants and saw cautious customers stay home rather than dine out.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's catering revenue was 1.46 trillion yuan (about 216 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of this year, down 32.8 percent year on year.

Customers dine at a restaurant in the Quantang community of Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Sept. 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)

As the epidemic has been generally contained, China's catering industry is seeing clear signs of recovery. The catering revenue decline narrowed to 11 percent year on year in July, and to 7 percent in August, new data showed.

"The catering consumption is expected to return to the pre-epidemic level by the end of the year," said Liu Yan, an expert with the China Hospitality Association.

FOOD AND CATERING EXPO

With the theme of "innovative integration, quality consumption," the 2020 China International Food &Catering Expo was held in Changsha from Friday to Sunday.

More than 2,000 companies from home and abroad participated in the expo, aiming to seek potential cooperation partners, promote products and services, and revive their business.

Given the epidemic's impact, the expo this year served as a crucial platform to stabilize the market and boost the orders of domestic food and catering enterprises.

A customer (R) buys dry goods at the China International Food &Catering Expo in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Sept. 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)

It is an excellent platform to promote Sino-British trade and exchange of the food and catering industry, and also brings opportunities for British companies to explore the Chinese mainland market, said Tom Simpson, managing director of the China operations of the China-Britain Business Council, at the event's opening ceremony.

INNOVATION AND RECOVERY

The epidemic has forced the catering sector to innovate, said Zhao Jingqiao, a researcher of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, at the expo.

Zhao said development trends including market integration, industry digitalization and capitalization, as well as internationalization and specialization of the division of labor will bring more opportunities to the catering sector.

Wenhoyo Superb has set up booths for other popular local food and beverage brands. While energizing other brands, the move helps attract more consumers and enrich the dining experience, said Li.

Food deliveryman He Xingwen picks up customer orders at a restaurant in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Yang Zongyou)

Meituan Dianping, a major e-commerce platform for services, launched a program in September to facilitate the digital transformation of the catering industry after the epidemic, which is expected to benefit about 1 million merchants within one year.

"Online catering platforms will help consumers make inquiries and reservations, and more accurately match supply and demand between consumers and catering enterprises," said Jiao Weiming, director of Meituan's consumption promotion center.

NEW TREND

As the nationwide "Clear your plate" campaign is gaining steam in China, many restaurants on Meituan have joined the movement and introduced "small-plate meals" to reduce food waste and lower prices.

Four associations in related sectors, including the China Cuisine Association, have recently issued a joint proposal with Meituan, calling on catering firms to promote thrift and combat food waste throughout the catering sector.

A restaurant staff member packs up leftover food for takeaway in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Aug. 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)

At the same time, a Meituan system is helping restaurants forecast their daily turnover, monitor their inventory in real time, and estimate their purchase quantity, all in a bid to reduce food waste.

Meituan will provide more guidance for restaurant owners so that they can continue to share the dividends brought by the digital process and be properly equipped to face the challenges of online operations, said Wang Xing, CEO of Meituan.
Prince Joachim of Denmark has started his job in Paris after suffering from a blood clot this summer.

The Danish royal, 51, was able to start his new position as a defense attache at the Danish Embassy to France following his health scare in July.

The father-of-four was rushed to hospital for emergency brain surgery during a family holiday in the Chateau de Cayx in Cahors after he contracted a blood clot.

He spent most of August recuperating from the ordeal with his family, who have celebrated his return to work by sharing pictures on Instagram.

His wife Princess Marie, 44, also resumed her royal engagements and opened an exhibition on Danish Art at the Petit Palais in the French capital.

Prince Joachim of Denmark has started his job in Paris after undergoing emergency brain surgery this summer. The Danish royal, 51, was able to start his new position as a defense attache at the Danish Embassy to France in Paris after his health scare in July

In one photograph, Joachim can be seen looking relaxed and smiling at his desk at the embassy.

Wearing a crisp white shirt and a pair of glasses hanging from his collar, the Danish royal appears to have hit the ground running as a defense attache for Denmark.

The caption alongside the image read: 'I am adjusting to my new job as a defense attache and here in my office at the Danish Embassy in Paris.'

'I feel ready for the post after finishing a demanding year of study at the Center des Hautes Etudes Militaires in June. A lot of exciting tasks lie ahead for the Armed Forces and for Denmark.'

The Prince (pictured) was rushed to hospital in late July for emergency brain surgery after contracting a blood clot

Speaking to journalists on his first day back, Joachim said he was 'fine' and told how he had lived through a 'non-summer' due to the health issues he underwent in late July - before spending most of August recuperating.

Joachim was meant to start his new job on September 1, however this was postponed due to his condition.

Earlier last week the Danish royal palace also shared a picture of Prince Joachim and his wife Marie both sporting masks while enjoying the Parisian sun.

The royal gave the Danish royal family a scare in late July when he was rushed to the Toulouse University Hospital in France, where he was immediately operated on.

A statement by the Danish royal court said at the time: 'His Royal Highness Prince Joachim was admitted to the University Hospital of Toulouse, France, late last night.

'The prince was operated on immediately afterwards for a blood clot in the brain and the operation was successful. The condition of His Royal Highness is stable.'

The court communicated that his doctors were confident he would suffer no effects as a result of the blood clot.

The couple shared a selfie where they could be seen wearing masks in the French capital before Joachim took his new position at the Danish embassy

He was eventually allowed to return home to his family last week after two weeks in care.

'Prince Joachim and Princess Marie would like to take this opportunity to thank the hospital staff involved,' a statement from the royal family read at the time.

Lene Balleby, a spokeswoman for the royal household, said: 'The blood clot in the brain was due to a sudden dissection of an artery, and the hospital's medical team assesses that the risk of recurrence is very small when the artery has healed.'

'The Royal House has no further information at this point in time, but it is the wish of Her Majesty The Queen that the public respects the privacy of the family during the hospitalisation.'

The sudden medical emergency struck as the Prince was vacationing with his wife and their four children. They had just celebrated the 18th birthday of his second eldest son Prince Felix, who hit the milestone on July 22.

Princess Marie, 44, opened an exhibition on Danish art art the Petit Palais in the French capital last week

Joachim had marked the event alongside the teenager's mother and his ex-wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg.

The parents were joined by their eldest son Prince Nikolai, 20, and Joachim's current wife Princess Marie and their two children Prince Henrik, 11, and Princess Athena, eight.

Prince Joachim of Denmark and his ex-wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg divorced in 2004 after 10 years together - they were Denmark's first royal split in nearly 160 years.

The prince, who is the second son of Margrethe and Prince Consort Henrik, is sixth in line to the throne after his elder brother Crown Prince Frederik and his four children with Australian-born Crown Princess Mary.

He has since remarried Paris-born Marie Cavallier, now Princess Marie and the couple have two children together Prince Henrik, 11, and Princess Athena, eight.
"The polling places are going to be safe and secure for early voting and on Election Day," said Jeremy Zellner, Mohr's Democratic counterpart, adding that the board has seen a surge in interest in volunteers who want to serve as poll workers. "People should not think twice about coming to vote in person."

What's more complicated

All those voting options make this an inevitably more complicated election, especially for those voting absentee for the first time.

Mohr and Zellner agreed that the best way to make sure your absentee ballot counts is to send it in early. They both advise voters to apply for an absentee ballot as soon as possible, although the deadline for applying is not until Oct. 27, a week before the election. Once voters receive their absentee ballots, they should fill out the ballot and mail it in immediately, they added.

Ballots have to be mailed no later than Election Day to be counted, but those who wait that long will be cutting it close. Some mailed ballots never get postmarked, and under a revision to state law, only those ballots without a postmark that arrive at the Board of Elections by the day after the election will be counted.
Ishmail Hamed, a self-described business guru, a student of life, a player in the American money game, an entrepreneur, and a published author, has published his new book The Art of Making Money: a message to inspire a new generation of capitalists in America and around the world.

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In this book, The Art of Making Money, I will lay it all out for you and put in plain words a program that will help show you how to create your own personal million-dollar platinum plan for what I call making your magazine dream come true to life! The magazine dream is the new American dream! It is the universal dream that many Americans share today of becoming rich, powerful, and famous where basically in your life you rise up, shine hard, and accumulate riches in large amounts! The magazine dream is a dream that can splash your face across the cover of popular magazines such as People, Time, Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, Ebony, Essence, Cosmopolitan, Forbes, or Fortune. We hold this dream today because we live in a fast-paced, high-tech world where we see people becoming millionaires in record numbers! And we want in on all the big money that we see flowing around us!

Published by Page Publishing, Ishmail Hameds engrossing book is a high-energy, interactive self-help guide for readers seeking to build wealth and financial stability.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase The Art of Making Money 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.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is partnering with the Grundy Electric Cooperative on a project to benefit wildlife habitat and reduce power line right-of-way maintenance costs.

Private property owners are also a voluntary partner. MDCs Wires Over Wildlife (WOW) program provides expertise and cost-share money for converting overgrown brush and trees under electrical distribution lines into more productive wildlife habitat, such as food plots or native wildflowers that benefit pollinators and wildlife.

One of the benefits I see is that the right-of-ways can provide connectivity for wildlife between habitats, said Jason Jensen, MDC community and private Land conservation chief.

The co-op is developing a pilot project in Grundy County southwest of Trenton with the help of Scott Roy, MDC private land conservationist. Grundy Electric Cooperative primarily serves Grundy, Mercer, and Harrison counties, but the co-op also has members in portions of nine other counties and maintains more than 2,200 miles of distribution lines.

This gives us an alternative way to maintaining right-of-way, said Scott Wilson, co-op general manager. We can turn a right-of-way into a pollinator plot or a food plot that a landowner maintains, which keeps us from having to clear brush under the lines in the future.

Missouris rural electric cooperatives must keep trees out of distribution lines that carry electricity from substations to homes and businesses. Under the voluntary WOW program, a landowner with distribution lines crossing or bordering their property will be able to request that right-of-way vegetation be converted to wildlife friendly habitat. Native wildflowers and grasses add beauty, and they provide food and shelter for deer, turkeys, rabbits, butterflies, and songbirds.

MDC will provide expertise and plans for projects. The co-op will provide cost-share funds. Landowners will also contribute to the cost-share project, including annual maintenance such as mowing or light disking.

Cattle grazing may also be a management option. Well-managed grazing by cattle reduces vegetation density and adds openness, which greatly benefits ground-nesting grassland birds such as bobwhite quail.

The WOW program can provide more wildlife for property owners while reducing co-op maintenance costs. Also, after major storms with severe winds, openness under the lines makes it easier for co-op crews to reach the lines needing repair. The WOW program is also an option for other electric cooperatives in the state.

I think any time the co-ops can work with anyone to help our members it is a good thing, said Caleb Jones, CEO for the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. Not only will this help us save money, it will also help wildlife. Were proud to be a partner with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Members of the Grundy Electric Cooperative interested in the WOW program can contact the co-op at 1-800-279-2249. Landowners in the service area can also contact Scott Roy at Scott.Roy@mdc.mo.gov. Missouri electric co-op managers interested in WOW can contact Jason Jensen at Jason.Jensen@mdc.mo.gov.

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Noon.com, a leading digital marketplace in the region, will celebrate Saudi Arabias 90th National Day (September 23) with a series of activities commemorating the culture, values, and people of the region.

Saudi Arabia is home to noon. Since launch on December 12, 2017, it has since enjoyed an incredible support from the people of the region, the company said.

Noon has partnered with Al Rajhi Bank to offer customers 90 percent off on all noon express items for one day only. Launching at 12 am on September 23, until 11.59 pm the same day, Al Rajhi Bank and noons mega sale will be valid once per user and for Al Rajhi Bank cardholders only. Discount will be auto-applied at checkout with a maximum discount allowance of SAR90.

Noon also showcases The Stories that Made Me, a video celebrating the rich heritage of Saudi Arabia and noons investment in youth across the region. The film features Meshal Alshalhoub, a local seller who joined the noon Mahali program to sell his products. The video takes the audience from the early days of trade in the Kingdom to the present day where Meshal, the latest iteration in the string of many generations of Saudi entrepreneurs, has successfully expanded his business to digital using noon as his selling platform.

A proud extension of this long selling history, this video perfectly illustrates noons vision to become the digital flagbearer and local digital champion of the region - to be the present and future of the Kingdoms trade and economy.

Noura Alandas of noon said: As our home, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a very special place in our hearts. We are so grateful for the opportunity to serve its people and businesses - a duty we take very seriously. The Kingdom has a great wealth of talent, including many young people who are ambitious and hungry, ready to reach their full potential, and, at noon, we are proud to offer them the support and tools they need to achieve their goals.  TradeArabia News Service
According to Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India's COVID-19 case tally crossed 54-lakh mark with a spike of 92,605 new cases and 1,133 deaths.

With a spike of 86,961 new cases and 1,130 deaths in the last 24 hours, Indias COVID-19 count reached 54,87,581 on Monday. According to the Union Health Ministry, the count includes 10,03,299 active cases, and 43,96,399 cured and discharged or migrated patients. The spike of 1,130 deaths has also led to the toll rising to 87,882 in the country.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected State in the country with 2,97,866 active cases and 8,57,933 cured and discharged patients. The toll due to the disease stands at 32,216. Karnataka is the second-most affected by the disease currently with 98,583 active cases in the State. Over four lakh people have been cured and discharged in the State apart from 7,922 deaths owing to the disease.

Andhra Pradesh with 81,763 active and 5,30,711 cured patients is also severely affected. 5,302 people have lost their lives due to the disease so far in the state. Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday said that the number of total samples tested in the country up to September 20th is 6,43,92,594 including 7,31,534 samples tested yesterday.

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In a development, India has reported high COVID recoveries of over 43 lakh (43,03,043) till September 20. According to the government, at least 94,612 people have recovered from the coronavirus infection in the last 24 hours, resulting in the Recovery Rate touching 79.68 per cent.

A total of 92,605 new confirmed cases (active cases) have been reported in the last 24 hours in the country, taking the cumulative cases to over 54 lakh so far. The Central government also informed that about 52 per cent of the new cases (active cases) are concentrated in five states, but these are also the states contributing maximum to the new recoveries.

In another development for the first time, India conducted over 12 lakhs COVID-19 tests in 24 hours, amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.

According to the Central government, India has performed remarkably on fulfilling the World Health Organisations advice of 140 tests/day/million population. As many as 4,330 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Odisha, taking the states coronavirus count to 1,79,880, informed Information and Public Relations Department, Odisha on Sunday.

As many as 30 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Mizoram on Sunday, taking the States count of coronavirus cases to 1,578. Delhi reported 3,812 new COVID-19 cases, 37 deaths and 3742 recovered/discharged/migrated today. The total cases in the national capital rose to 2,46,711, including 4,982 deaths and 2,09,632 recovered/discharged/migrated cases, said Government of Delhi.

As many as 11,322 RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests and 41,083 Rapid antigen tests have been conducted today. 25,55,007 tests done so far, the Government of Delhi informed. Kerala reported 4,696 fresh COVID-19 cases today, taking the total number of active cases till date to 39,415. The number of recovered cases so far is 95,702, according to the Kerala State Government.

Jammu and Kashmir reported 1,457 new COVID-19 cases, 692 recoveries and 14 deaths, taking total cases to 63,990 including 40,957 recoveries, 1,001 deaths and 22,032 active cases, according to the Jammu and Kashmir administration.

Uttar Pradesh reported 5,809 new COVID-19 cases, 6,584 discharges and 94 deaths, taking active cases to 65,954, discharges to 2,83,274 and death toll to 5,047, according to the State Health Department. As many as 198 police personnel tested positive for COVID-19 in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, taking total infections in the police to 21,152 including 17,295 recoveries and 217 deaths, said Police.

Karnataka reports 8,191 new coronavirus cases, 8,611 discharges and 101 deaths, taking total cases to 5,19,537 including 4,13,452 discharges, 8,023 deaths and 98,043 active cases, said State Health Department.

Uttarakhand reported 878 new COVID-19 cases and 855 cured cases today. Total cases in the state rose to 40,963, including 27,828 recoveries and 491 deaths, according to the State Control Room.

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By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan Cultural Ministry has been invited art lovers to share an exciting history of museum exhibits.

The art contest is aimed at discovering young talents and the promotion of the country's rich cultural heritage.

The project participants shared the story of fourteen exhibits stored at National Art Museum and the National Carpet Museum.

Colorful carpets, works of fine and decorative arts were displayed on Museum.az.

The competition was held in four categories - Grand Prix (three winners), "Best story written in a foreign language" (four winners), "Best schoolboy story" (three winners) and "Best story" (9 winners). In general, the jury selected 19 winners.

The awarding ceremony at the National Art Museum. Five winners of two main categories (Grand Prix, Best Student Story) were invited to take part in the ceremony.

The other winners will also receive diplomas and gifts in near future. Moreover, the stories will be published and presented to the public.

Speaking at the event, First Deputy Minister of Culture, Acting Minister Anar Karimov stressed that people around the world are now spending more time on social networks amid coronavirus pandemic.

In this regard, the Ministry of Culture holds a number of virtual projects, including the art contest.

Karimov emphasized the irreplaceable role of museums in promoting Azerbaijan's cultural heritage. He pointed out that the state creates all the necessary conditions for organizing the work of museums in accordance with modern requirements.

Furthermore, Anar Karimov got acquainted with the works submitted for the competition and viewed the exposition. The museum director, Honored Art Worker Chingiz Farzaliyev spoke about the exhibits.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Dealz has confirmed it is opening its new store in Kildare town on Saturday, October 10.

The Dealz name and logo has gone over the premises in recent days.

Up to 30 full-time and part-time workers will be employed in the store in the former Lidl building on Hospital Street.

The retailer said the store will feature a PEP&CO shop-in-shop, which features its PEP&CO home range which launched in August earlier this year.

The 6,000 sq ft store will complement other existing Dealz stores in Naas, Newbridge, and Athy.

Major investment

The new store is part of a major investment in Ireland by Dealz with more stores to open around the country in the coming weeks and months including in Roscommon and Mitchelstown.

Dealz retail country manager, Olivia McLoughlin said: We are delighted to be launching our new stores in Roscommon, Mitchelstown and Kildare over the coming month  its a sign of our ambition to grow the Dealz offering in Ireland.

Job creation

Additional job creation and investment in these new stores is part of our renewed commitment to Ireland and the communities we serve.

We look forward to welcoming shoppers from the local communities into the store over the coming months ahead.

Since opening its first store in 2011, Dealz has built a network of 72 stores across Ireland.
On the occasion of the 29th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has received congratulatory messages from the leaders of several foreign countries and international organizations.

The congratulatory message of Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov reads as follows:

Bulgaria highly appreciates the excellent dialogue and effective cooperation with Armenia and resolutely supports Armenias rapprochement with the European Union and the governments reforms for the strengthening of democracy and rule of law. Allow me to take the opportunity and express my satisfaction with our meeting held on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February. I hope you will have the opportunity to pay an official visit to Bulgaria after the end of the coronavirus pandemic; the visit will serve as an additional impetus for development of relations in all sectors.

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has sent the following congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan:

The major reforms you are implementing are laying a strong foundation for Armenias future development and advancement and are creating new opportunities for fruitful cooperation between our countries. I am certain that the relations hinged on centuries-old friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation will be further strengthened bilaterally and within the scope of economic integration in the Eurasian region.

In his congratulatory message addressed to Nikol Pashinyan, First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev particularly stated the following:

Every year, your country becomes more and more reputable in terms of strengthening of statehood, socio-economic development and increase of reputation in the Eurasian Economic Union. I wish the friendly Armenia dynamic growth and prosperity in the future. I am glad that the cooperation between Kazakhstan and Armenia is growing on the basis of mutual understanding, and I am certain that the bilateral cooperation will grow in the future as well.

Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt Mustafa Madbuli stated the following in his message:

I hope the traditional and excellent relations between our countries grow and are advanced for the benefit of our peoples. Taking the opportunity, I wish Your Excellency more success, and I wish the people of Armenia progress and welfare.

On the occasion of Independence Day, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon stated the following in his message:

I hope the Tajik-Armenian interstate dialogue hinged on mutual respect and trust will continue to develop in all sectors of mutual interest. I wish you good health, happiness and success, and I wish the friendly people of Armenia peace, welfare and prosperity.

In their messages, Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan stated the following:

I wish Your Excellency good health and happiness, and I wish the government and friendly people of Armenia progress and prosperity.

Head of the Council of Ministers of Iraq Mustafa Al-Kazemi stated the following in his congratulatory message:

We convey to you our cordial congratulatory remarks on the occasion of Independence Day and affirm the multi-sector cooperation and friendly relations hinged on mutual interests of the two friendly countries. We wish you good health and happiness, and we wish your country welfare and prosperity.

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguli Berdimuhamedov stated the following in his message addressed to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

I am certain that the high level of cooperation between our friendly countries and mutual understanding will serve as a strong basis for further development and strengthening of the bilateral ties between Turkmenistan and Armenia for the benefit of our peoples.

On the occasion of Independence Day, Prime Minister of Moldova stated the following in his congratulatory message:

On this significant day, I would like to wish the Armenian people peace, all the best and more achievements on the path to development and prosperity. Stating the constructive dialogue between Moldova and Armenia in sectors of mutual interest, I affirm the willingness of the Government of Moldova to continue the joint efforts by using the whole potential for mutually beneficial cooperation and for the benefit of our countries.

In his congratulatory message, President of Indonesia Joco Vidodo stated the following:

Currently, the relations between Indonesia and Armenia are growing, hinged on mutual respect and trust. Both countries have promoted cooperation in the sectors of trade and investments, social and cultural sectors, science and technologies, higher education and humanitarian sector.

The last framework agreement on cooperation that we signed in June 2019 in Yerevan concern science, technopark and a technological incubator.

In 2019, the Government of Armenia released the book Armenia, Land of Legends along with Antara news agency. The weight of trade in our economic relations is growing day after day. Over the past five years, trade turnover has grown by 1.37%. Nevertheless, there are and there will be rather wide opportunities during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since this year we are also marking the 28th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, I am certain that the close friendship and cooperation will continue to be expanded and strengthened in the years to come.

Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Stanislav Zas stated the following in his congratulatory message:

The Government of the Republic of Armenia, under your leadership, is consistently and unwaveringly working on the solution to scaled issues that are targeted at further democratization of political life, consolidation of society, accelerated socio-economic development and strengthening of positions in the international arena.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization highly appreciates the constructive contribution of Armenia to the daily activities and comprehensive improvement of the Organization.

On this memorable day, I would like to wish you good health, welfare and great success, and I would like to wish the people of Armenia welfare.

In his message, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Mikhail Myasnikovich stated the following:

Accept my congratulatory remarks on the occasion of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia.

This major milestone in the history of Armenia serves as a good opportunity to talk not only about your major role in the creation of a legal and truly free Armenian society, but also your personal contribution to the development of the Eurasian Economic Union.

It is mostly thanks to you that the relations between Armenian and other Eurasian peoples continue to be built on the traditions of friendship and mutual respect. I am certain that the future constructive economic cooperation meets our general interests and contributes to the strengthening of stability and security in the region.

I wish you good health and longstanding welfare, and I wish the Republic of Armenia peace and prosperity.
ARLINGTON, Virginia, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Robert Pender and Michael Sabel, Founders, Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of Venture Global LNG, Inc. jointly announced today an upcoming change in corporate governance for the company. With the approval of the board of directors, effective October 1, 2020, Mr. Sabel will assume the role of CEO of the company and Mr. Pender will continue to serve the company as Executive Co-Chairman, a new officer position, supporting the company and the CEO on key strategic and financial matters. Mr. Pender will continue to serve on the company's board of directors, together with Mr. Sabel, both as Executive Co-Chairmen of the Board.

Mr. Pender stated, "It has been an exhilarating decade working with Mike to create Venture Global LNG and to help reshape the global LNG industry. In particular, through Venture Global, we are so proud that we have materially reduced the cost of LNG at a critical moment of transition for the world's energy needs. We have succeeded in large part because of the singular focus we have both personally fully invested, now I need to step back a bit. There is no person I trust more than Mike to lead this company we created together into the future. I remain fully committed to Mike, the company and its success, but in a different role where I can add the highest value and at a more balanced pace."

Mr. Sabel added: "Bob and I have worked together as partners for over 10 years, and more important than the milestones achieved have been the friendship and the time spent together grinding through challenges and building our team. The success we have achieved would not have been possible without Bob's leadership, guidance, intellect and energy. While roles are changing a little bit, the partnership, collaboration and intensity will continue for many years to come as we continue to grow our business."

About Venture Global LNG

Venture Global LNG is a long-term, low-cost provider of LNG to be supplied from resource rich North American natural gas basins and is currently constructing or developing 50 MTPA of production capacity in Louisiana. The 10 MTPA Venture Global Calcasieu Pass facility is under construction at the intersection of the Calcasieu Ship Channel and the Gulf of Mexico. The 20 MTPA Venture Global Plaquemines LNG facility is expected to commence construction this year and is located south of New Orleans on the Mississippi River. Venture Global LNG is also developing the 20 MTPA Venture Global Delta LNG facility, adjacent to Plaquemines. More can be found at www.venturegloballng.com.

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Koreatown Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Coercing Girls He Met Online into Sending Him Sexually Explicit Images

Los Angeles, California - A Koreatown man was sentenced Tuesday to 210 months in federal prison for posing online as a teenager and targeting girls for sexual exploitation.

Francisco Sanchez, 31, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee. Sanchez pleaded guilty on May 20 to two counts of production of child pornography.

Sanchez used websites and computer applications to meet minor girls. From 2014 to September 2016, Sanchez used the pseudonym Eddie Nash to pose as a teenage boy and develop online romantic relationships with his victims so that he could obtain sexually explicit images and videos from them.

In some cases, Sanchez convinced his victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct during video chats, which allowed him to take pornographic screen shots of the minors. In other cases, Sanchez threatened to commit suicide to coerce the victims into sending him pictures or videos.

After obtaining sexually explicit images from the girls, Sanchez threatened to publish or otherwise expose the victims if they did not send additional images or videos.

While Sanchez pleaded guilty to two counts  related to victims who were 13 and 14  he admitted in his plea agreement that he victimized another five teenage girls.

Sanchez further admitted that he cyberstalked two victims  which included threatening to make one girl internet famous by publishing child pornography depicting her  and that he distributed child pornography on a peer-to-peer file-sharing network.

(Sanchez) victimized real children  manipulated and exploited them for his sexual pleasure  with total disregard for the consequences and effects upon them, prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum.

After he is released from federal prison, Sanchez will be required to register as a sex offender and must serve a lifetime period of supervised release.

The FBI and the Los Angeles Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated this matter.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Julia S. Choe of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section, and Damaris Diaz of the Violent and Organized Crime Section.
In the days leading up to the 2020 Emmy Awards, the big concern was how the producers and host Jimmy Kimmel were going to pull off a virtual ceremony. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Kimmel would be at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Most nominees would be home or wherever they chose to be, and would be connecting remotely. The possibility of technological foul-ups and other potential disasters loomed large.

As it turned out, though, the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards show on Sunday came off with only a few technical glitches. After a fairly numbing first hour, in which all the comedy categories were lumped together, and Schitts Creek kept winning in all those categories, the show perked up. While some bits fell flat, by the time it was over, this unconventional Emmy show ultimately felt lighter and more down to earth than the traditional extravaganza.

(Want to catch up with the 2020 Emmy Awards show? Stream it on Hulu)

Its become a regular occurrence for awards show nominees to use their platform to address issues they feel strongly about. And this years Emmy winners had plenty to talk about, with the pandemic, protests for racial justice and the upcoming election weighing heavily on everyones minds. Watchmen, the HBO limited series that tackled Americas history of violence against Black people, police brutality, white supremacy and more, unsurprisingly won as best limited series, and took home three more awards.

Some winners gave passionate speeches, as when Mark Ruffalo, who won for his dual role as twin brothers in HBOs I Know This Much is True, said Americans have to decide whether were going to be a country of hatred and division, and only for a certain kind of people.

(Complete list of 2020 Emmy Awards nominees and winners)

Like Ruffalo, other winners encouraged Americans to make their voices heard at the polls. Regina King, who won for her role as a police officer/superhero in Watchmen, reminded viewers to vote, and paid tribute to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, saying, Rest in power.

Here are highlights, and some lowlights, from Sundays Emmy Awards show:

Historic wins: After six seasons, the Canadian-made comedy Schitts Creek became an Emmy darling, as it swept all seven comedy categories, the first time thats happened. Among the winners were stars Eugene Levy, Catherine OHara, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy.

The 24-year-old Zendaya also made history as the youngest actress to win an Emmy as lead actress in a drama series, for her role in HBOs Euphoria, a dark drama about teenagers struggling with identity, drugs, sex and more.

Comedy flubs: Kimmel started the show with a pretty good monologue, in which he stood onstage, and delivered jokes as we saw laughing celebrities in the crowd. The host soon pivoted to the fact that he was alone, in an empty space. As with sporting events, Kimmel said, they had cardboard cutouts of nominees in the seats. The camera panned down, until it came to Jason Bateman, who was actually there. What could have been funny didnt quite land, as Kimmel told Bateman he could stay if he promised to laugh at Kimmels jokes. Bateman rose and left, and it landed with a bit of thud.

But that was comedy gold compared to the misfire  pun intended  that happened when Jennifer Aniston joined Kimmel, who was no longer onstage but in a room somewhere in the Staples Center, where the host, and occasional presenters, stood to announce nominees.

In one of several bits acknowledging coronavirus safety protocols, a rubber glove-wearing Kimmel laboriously sprayed Lysol on an envelope containing a winners name, then set it on fire in a wastepaper basket, presumably to burn off any germs. Aniston took a fire extinguisher to put out the fire, but the flames jumped up again, to the obvious surprise of both Aniston and Kimmel. Aniston gave more blasts from the fire extinguisher, until the blaze was finally out.

Politics, in T-shirts and comments: Some winners and presenters made statements not just through their words, but also by what they wore. Regina King and Uzo Aduba, who won a supporting actress in a limited series Emmy for Mrs. America, both wore shirts that paid tribute to Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was shot and killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky, after officers forced their way into her apartment.

Regina King with her 2020 Emmy for best lead actress in a limited series, awarded for her work in "Watchmen." (Photo: ABC) ABC

Damon Lindelof, who adapted the graphic novel Watchmen for HBO, accepted awards for the limited series as he wore a shirt that said, Remember Tulsa 21, a reference to the historical event depicted at the beginning of Watchmen. The shows recreation of the 1921 massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during which a white mob attacked a predominantly Black neighborhood, helped bring attention to a too-little known episode of racial violence.

And finally, Sterling K. Brown wore a T-shirt with the initials BLM, for Black Lives Matter, as he presented the best drama series Emmy.

Essential workers: TV creators werent the only ones to get some of the Emmy spotlight during Sundays ceremony. In several taped segments, people who work in what have been considered essential jobs during the pandemic spoke, and presented awards.

David Letterman presents an award, from a country road somewhere: Appropriately, David Letterman presented the outstanding variety talk series Emmy. The joke was that Letterman was stranded out on a country road after he exited a vehicle, following a fight with his Uber driver. That was kind of silly, but it was good to see Dave, Old Testament beard and all, tell some jokes, and take a moment to remember the late TV legend Regis Philbin: By the way, Regis  I checked, youre in the montage, buddy.

The In Memoriam montage: For once, an awards show segment honoring those who died in the past year was done with care and sensitivity. The 2020 Emmys montage was edited to match names with images of TV locations, scenes or show titles, to make clear what the person was remembered for. Adding to the emotional impact was a touching performance of the Prince song, Nothing Compares 2 U, by H.E.R.

More politics: In one of the more pointed speeches of the night, Jesse Armstrong, creator of the best drama series Emmy winner Succession, addressed both current events, and his shows depiction of a media mogul who evokes Rupert Murdoch, owner of such conservative outlets as Fox News.

Despite a phone ringing (room service, he suggested) as he talked, Armstrong continued, taking this opportunity to deliver not thank yous, but un-thank yous.

Un-thank you to the virus, for keeping us all apart this year, Armstrong said. Un-thank you to President Trump, for his crummy and uncoordinated response. Un-thank you to Boris Johnson, and his government, for doing the same in my country. Unthank you to all the nationalist and sort of quasi-nationalist governments in the world who are exactly the opposite of what we need right now. And un-thank you to the media moguls who do so much to keep them in power.

More of our coverage:

2020 Emmys: Who will win, who should win, and why a virtual ceremony may be an improvement

Emmy nominations 2020: What voters got right, maddening snubs, and weird surprises

Subscribe to our What to Watch newsletter. Email:



-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist
Jerusalem, Sep 21 : Israel has urged European powers to recognise US unilateral announcement over the resumption of the United Nations Security Council's sanctions against Iran.

In a statement issued on Sunday by his office, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi called on Israel's allies, known as E-3 countries, namely France, Britain, and Germany, "to retreat from their opposition and work towards rigorously implementing the sanctions", Xinhua news agency reported.

He urged them to reimpose the sanctions on the national level, as well as on the EU level and through the UN mechanisms.

His call came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that all pre-2015 sanctions against Iran had been reimposed.

However, most of the member states of the UN Security Council said that Pompeo's move is based on a mechanism that is part of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers, meaning that his announcement was not valid.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government considers Iran its arch-foe and has long called the international community to impose sanctions on the Islamic republic.
A general view shows the courtroom at the Specialised Criminal Court in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sept. 21, 2020 (Stoyan Nenov/REUTERS)

Bulgarian Court Jails Two Terrorists for Life for 2012 Bus Bombing

SOFIAA Bulgarian court jailed two men of Lebanese origin for life on Monday over a 2012 bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian driver, and has been blamed by Bulgarian authorities on Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.

The two men were tried in absentia over the July 18, 2012 attack at Burgas airport on the Black Sea, and their whereabouts is not known. They are not entitled to parole.

A general view shows the courtroom at the Specialised Criminal Court in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sept. 21, 2020 (Stoyan Nenov/Reuters)

The Specialized Criminal Court found Meliad Farah, 39, an Australian citizen, and Hassan El Hajj Hassan, 32, a Canadian citizen, guilty of being accomplices and ordered them to pay compensation to families of the victims and the injured.

A third man, of dual Lebanese-French citizenship, was killed in the attack when he blew up a bomb in a backpack he was carrying close to a bus at the airport.

Hezbollah has denied involvement in the attack, which also injured more than 35 Israeli tourists.

A five-member panel ruled that the two men had helped in the attack, which was aimed at causing confusion and fear among the peoples of Bulgaria and Israel. The verdict can be appealed within 15 days.

A red notice that calls on authorities to arrest a wanted person has been issued by Interpol for Farah and Hassan.

The courts sentence reflects the punishment we asked for and is adequate to the committed crimes. Whether it will be served or not will be a result of the search of the wanted persons, which is ongoing, Prosecutor Evgeniya Shtarkelova told reporters.

The judge made no mention on Monday of Hezbollah, but the prosecutors office said in a statement that evidence showed that the two defendants  had links to the radical wing of Shiite group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is designated a terrorist organization by Washington, and the European Union put the armed wing of Hezbollah on its terrorism blacklist after the Burgas attack.

Shtarkelova has said the men had used fake driving licences printed in Lebanon, that the attackers had family links to Hezbollah and that the use in the bomb of ammonium nitrate, an industrial chemical used in fertilizer, pointed to the group.

Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev said last month evidence also showed Hezbollah provided financial and logistical backing for the attack.

By Tsvetelia Tsolova
A seasoned police officer who failed to provide medical help for an Indigenous woman following a deadly drug overdose will be spending the next 12 months in jail, a southern Ontario judge ruled Monday.

The sentence against Const. Nicholas Doering comes nearly a year after he was deemed responsible for the death of Debra Chrisjohn, who died while in the London, Ont., police officers custody in September 2016.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance convicted Doering of failing to provide the necessaries of life and criminal negligence causing death, saying at the time he was partially influenced by stereotypes about drug users when he failed to summon medical help for Chrisjohn and lied to fellow officers about her condition.

In handing down her sentence on Monday, Pomerance said she strove to strike a balance between the non-custodial sentence sought by Doerings defence lawyer and the crowns request that the nine-year veteran of the citys police force spend up to two years in jail.

She said that while she had to account for what she described as Doerings evident remorse, his mental health and the increased restrictions he would face as an inmate due to COVID-19, time in custody was the only appropriate punishment for Chrisjohns death.

This case calls for a sentence of real jail, Pomerance wrote in her decision. Nothing short of that can reflect the gravity of the offences in this case. The sentence imposed by court must denounce, in the strongest terms, the conduct of the offender, and the resulting harm. It must reinforce the societal values that were breached: the sanctity of human life, the right of all persons to a minimum standard of care, and the duty of police to treat all persons in their custody with respect and humanity.

Details of Chrisjohns life and final hours emerged during Doerings October 2019 trial.

Court heard Doering and another London police officer crossed paths with Chrisjohn in September 2016 after receiving numerous reports that an agitated woman was trying to enter cars and wandering into traffic.

While arresting Chrisjohn and communicating with fellow officers, Doering realized that the 39-year-old was wanted on an outstanding warrant issued by the Ontario Provincial Police.

Pomerance said officers from both forces agreed to meet to transfer Chrisjohn into OPP custody, and Doering was assigned to drive her to a rendezvous with provincial officers.

Court heard Chrisjohn was alert and conscious when Doering put her in the back of his cruiser. Before Doering drove off, court heard a paramedic observed Chrisjohn through the cruiser window but said any checks of her vital signs would likely be skewed due to the fact that she was high on methamphetamine.

Over the next 45 minutes, court heard that Chrisjohns condition deteriorated significantly. She went from sitting upright and talking to lying on her side while moaning and shaking.

In summarizing Doerings testimony, Pomerance said the officer stopped the cruiser once, but only to ensure that Chrisjohn had not slipped out of her handcuffs.

The gravity of Chrisjohns condition became evident in a video prosecutors presented at trial, Pomerance wrote. She summarized the video as showing a limp, motionless Chrisjohn being dragged into the cells at an OPP detention centre.

She was eventually taken to a hospital in St. Thomas for treatment, but pronounced dead that evening. Court heard her death was caused by a heart attack related to a methamphetamine overdose.

Pomerance ruled that more prompt medical attention could have saved Chrisjohns life, and said Doering should have tried to obtain it for her.

Const. Doering had pre-conceived notions about drug users and he held fast to those notions when dealing with Ms. Chrisjohn, she wrote when handing down her verdict, noting Indigenous women are particularly vulnerable to such stereotyping.

Doerings lawyer, Lucas OHara, argued the officer has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from Chrisjohns death and the ensuing trial. He contended jail time would take too much of a toll on Doerings mental health and he should face a conditional sentence instead.

While Pomerance described the public condemnation Doering has faced as a mitigating factor, she said his reckless disregard for Chrisjohns well-being demanded a harsher sentence.

The essence of culpability lies in Const. Doerings devaluation of Ms. Chrisjohns life, she wrote. The sentence must convey the irrefutable message that Ms. Chrisjohns life was valued and valuable.

A statement issued by Doerings legal team announced he had launched an appeal of his convictions and laid out one of the issues it intends to raise when challenging his guilty verdict.

It will be impossible to find a one-size fits all solution to the problem of engaging police officers in the assessment of the changing medical risks posed by intoxicated persons, it read. Best efforts to replace the discretion exercised by officers with an objective matrix of observations to direct their response will still suffer from a material risk of failure.

London police Chief Steve Williams said in a statement that Doering will be suspended with pay.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 10:26:33|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the annual high-level general debate of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Sept. 28, 2015. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

by Xinhua writer Shi Xiaomeng

BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- "The greatest ideal is to create a world truly shared by all," Chinese President Xi Jinping said five years ago in his debut at the solemn UN General Assembly Hall, citing an ancient adage that reflects the defining world view ingrained in China's millennia-old civilization.

Upholding that ideal, Xi expounded his concept of and approach to building a community with a shared future for mankind, his flagship vision on how to guide humanity through the various common challenges toward a better future.

Five years later, Xi's vision is gaining more relevance and importance. As the United Nations celebrates its 75th anniversary, the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, with COVID-19, the gravest global public health crisis since the 1918 influenza pandemic, having intensified both centrifugal undercurrents that are pulling the world apart and centripetal forces that are strengthening global solidarity and cohesion.

At such a momentous juncture, Xi is to appear once again on the most prestigious international platform, attending a series of virtual UN high-level meetings in the coming days and presenting China's answers to the fundamental questions hanging over the world.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) attends a presentation ceremony on which the Chinese government gives the "Zun of Peace", an ancient Chinese-styled wine container, to the United Nations (UN) as a gift in New York, the United States, Sept. 27, 2015. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also attended the ceremony. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

COMMON VALUES

When he visited the UN headquarters in the fall of 2015, Xi brought a gift for the United Nations' 70th birthday -- "Zun of Peace," a red bronze bottle decorated by traditional Chinese auspicious patterns.

It shows the aspiration and faith of the Chinese people in seeking peace, development, cooperation and win-win results, which are also spirits of the UN Charter, Xi explained.

"The Zun of Peace embodies the close relations and shared values of China and the United Nations," said then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon when receiving the gift on behalf of the world body.

The great importance Xi attaches to the United Nations has been consistently demonstrated in practice. Over the years, he has visited the UN Office at Geneva and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris, and met on various occasions with UN leaders. In May, he addressed the World Health Assembly via video link. Many of his important thoughts on global governance were delivered through these UN rostrums.

"Peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom are common values of all mankind and the lofty goals of the United Nations," Xi said under the dome of the General Assembly Hall in 2015.

Hanging high behind him was a huge golden UN emblem showing a world map inscribed in a wreath consisting of crossed olive branches, which carries the organization's vision for a world free of war, hunger or injustice.

"Yet these goals are far from being achieved; therefore we must continue our endeavors," he told the 193-member General Assembly.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is attending the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, in Beijing, capital of China, April 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

MULTILATERAL COMMITMENT

The United Nations' 75th anniversary is celebrated when the world is reeling from the still raging COVID-19 pandemic, the most serious global public health emergency since the 1918 influenza pandemic.

The pandemic exposes a lack of leadership and unity in the international system. Moreover, the United Nations and multilateralism it represents are facing unprecedented challenges with the rise of unilateralism and protectionism. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation as a "1945 moment."

The more complex and grim the situation is, the more important it is to manifest the authority and role of the United Nations, Xi told Guterres when they met in April 2019 in Beijing on the sidelines of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

China firmly upholds multilateralism, the international system with the United Nations at its core, and the international order based on international law, and promotes the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Xi added.

These words are never empty talk. China is currently working to set up a global humanitarian response depot and hub in China to ensure operation of supply chains amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also working to implement the UN Sustainable Development agenda with stronger actions in eliminating extreme poverty and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Over the past five years, the concrete commitments Xi made in 2015 have been implemented in tandem. A 10-year, 1-billion-U.S.-dollar China-UN peace and development fund was inaugurated in 2016 in support of the UN peacekeeping operations as well as social, economic and environmental projects. China has also completed the registration of a UN peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops.

China's support is crucial to multilateralism, Guterres told Xi during a phone conversation in March.

"No matter how the international situation changes, China will take the side of multilateralism and adhere to the global governance concept of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits," Xi has vowed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) meets with Peter Thomson (L), president of the 71st session of United Nations General Assembly, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

SHARED FUTURE

Building a community with a shared future for mankind "to me is the only future for humanity on this planet," said Peter Thomson, president of the 71st Session of the General Assembly, after meeting with Xi in 2017 in Geneva.

Pondering on the fundamental challenges confronting the world and the path for the entire humanity to march ahead, Xi has proposed building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

As BRI cooperation is yielding tangible results one after another, including Greece's Piraeus port, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China-Europe freight trains, Xi has promised that China will continue to pursue a win-win strategy of opening-up, and share development opportunities with other countries.

"Welcome them aboard the fast train of China's development," Xi has proclaimed.

The theme of this year's UN high-level sessions is "The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming Our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism." It echoes with Xi's consistent call to build a community with a shared future for mankind, which was the theme of his landmark 2015 speech at the UN General Assembly.

In that address, Xi set forth a five-point proposal on how to build a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation and create a community with a shared future for mankind, with partnership, security, development, culture and ecology being the key aspects.

Recalling the scene five years ago, Christian Landrein, a retired UN interpreter for French language who translated Xi's speech on site, said it was applauded for multiple times, and "the atmosphere was electric."

"We only have one planet, which is our shared home," said Landrein. "All countries must collaborate to protect it and ensure sustainable development, to guarantee a prosperous future for all nations." 
1. Yes. Too many kids are staying home. They need a virtual learning option to keep up.

2. Yes. Teachers are out sick and subs cant handle the load. Online learning is needed.

3. No. Its too late in the school year to make a wholesale switch in teaching platforms.

4.No. Many parents arent in a position to stay home while their kids learn virtually.

5. Unsure. It may seem like a good idea from a health standpoint, but it has shortcomings.

Vote

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21)  President Rodrigo Duterte has allowed health workers with complete employment documents as of August 31 to leave and work abroad, his spokesman Harry Roque said Monday.

The Presidential spokesman said Duterte is now letting healthcare professionals work overseas, provided that they have perfected contracts and a visa as of end-August.

The policy will benefit 1,500 nurses, who have long lamented the policy of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Duterte said the government is still calibrating the rules to allow those not covered by the specified period to leave the country. Despite this, he appealed to medical professionals to choose to serve the Philippines first.

"Those who want to go out, puwede na ho. Pero naiwan naman, sana tagal-tagalan na lang muna ninyo until after this COVID-19 will pass... Sana yung iba naman will have the spirit and the fervor to serve the Filipino people because we also need help and we have a crisis also to deal with," he said in his address to the nation on Monday.

[Translation: Those who want to leave, you can leave. But those who are staying, I hope you stay here longer, at least until after the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope some of you will have the spirit and the fervor to serve the Filipino people because we also need help and we have a crisis also to deal with.]

The President's decision is a reversal of the IATF's rule that only allowed healthcare professionals to leave if they have completed requirements to work abroad as of March 8, hoping to keep them in the country to boost the local fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

READ: How the Philippines became the biggest supplier of nurses worldwide

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr. has also advocated to allow more healthcare workers to get jobs overseas again, saying it was unconstitutional to keep them from traveling and earning a living abroad. Nurses also aired their own appeal to lift the measure.

READ: Locsin pushes IATF to lift deployment ban on nurses or 'pay big money'
It may have been an underwhelming season opener for Real Madrid, but Los Blancos' goalless draw with Real Sociedad won't be forgotten in a long time for Marvin Park, as the youngster made his Madrid debut.

The 20-year-old academy product came off the bench to replace Rodrygo with 20 minutes remaining as Zinedine Zidane's side looked to break the deadlock at the Reale Seguros Stadium.

Park's senior appearance caps a remarkable journey in which the Spanish youngster came through the ranks of a number of clubs before finding a home at Real Madrid, including Tranmere Rovers.

Former Tranmere Rovers academy player Marvin Park (R) has made his debut for Real Madrid

The 20-year-old Spaniard was introduced by Zinedine Zidane with 20 minutes remaining

The midfielder joined Rovers' youth academy as a nine-year-old in 2009, and spent three years in the North West before returning to Spain and playing for Ciutat de Palma.

He then went onto develop at La Salle and Jonquet Penya Arrabal before Madrid snapped up the youngster in 2016, and Park has flourished at Los Blancos ever since.

Park, who has represented Spain at U19 level, was born in Spain to a Nigerian father and South Korean mother, and barring his stint in England with Tranmere, has spent his life in Spain.

The 20-year-old was unable to make the difference for Zidane's side, though, with Madrid's title defence getting off to a steady start with a point at Sociedad.

Los Blancos had a mixed 2019-20 campaign, winning LaLiga ahead of arch rivals Barcelona, but they crashed out of the Champions League to Manchester City in the Round of 16.
Learn from the past -- Industry's message to South Africa govt.

September 21,2020 | Source: FiskerForum

According to industry body SADSTIA, the South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association, the 2016 allocation of rights to the hake inshore trawl fishery was a costly policy and administrative mistake that should not be repeated when rights are allocated to twelve other commercial fisheries in 2021.



SADSTIA has published the findings of an analysis of the allocation of rights to the hake inshore trawl fishery, an industrial fishery that targets hake and Agulhas sole on the Cape south coast. Since 2016, the allocation of rights to the hake inshore trawl fishery has been reviewed by the High Court no less than eight times, and 30% of rights in the fishery remain disputed and subject to an appeal process



The protracted rights allocation process has introduced considerable uncertainty into an already high-risk industry, said Felix Ratheb, chairman of SADSTIA and chief executive of Sea Harvest.



The key finding of SADSTIAs analysis is that the allocation of many rights of small value to a large number of new entrant companies has compromised the stability and competitiveness of the hake inshore trawl fishery. The economic and environmental impacts will be felt for years to come.



The National Development Plan (NDP), compiled over a period of two years by the National Planning Commission, made two clear recommendations for the allocation of fishing rights to the industrial fisheries. These were to allocate economically viable fishing rights and to ensure that the allocation of rights maximises employment.



SADSTIAs position is that the allocation of rights to the hake inshore trawl fishery in 2016 did not follow the recommendations of the NDP.



The Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries (DEFF) dramatically increased the number of right holders in the fishery  from 16 to 37  and reduced the share of the allowable catch allocated to established companies by 30%. This resulted in large losses for the companies with the investments and experience to add value to the catch and maximise employment. These companies are substantially transformed; in 2016 their average black ownership was estimated to be 82%. It is currently 85.6%.



SADSTIAs analysis shows that the allocation of rights to the hake inshore trawl fishery achieved an increase of 3.5% in the black ownership of rights holders, but this was attained at considerable economic cost.



One of the biggest problems with allocating rights to a large number of new entrants is that individual rights are very small. This means that new entrants are unlikely to secure the finance necessary to invest in a vessel, build factories or participate in the fishery in a meaningful way. Instead, they rent their quotas to established companies, pushing up the cost of raw material and compromising the business models of the processing factories, Felix Ratheb explained.



The loss of quota by the established companies, which own the processing facilities, drives up costs, affects the international competitiveness of the fishing industry and ultimately has an adverse impact on the number and quality of jobs it can support.



SADSTIAs analysis suggests that if the DEFF had comprehensively evaluated Governments success in transforming the hake inshore trawl fishery, and properly assessed the investments and jobs supported by the established companies, it might have re-evaluated its administrative decision to fundamentally restructure the fishery.

 FiskerForum.com

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
As the cameras panned over an edited-in sea of Hollywoods most recognizable faces, host Jimmy Kimmel welcomed them to this years Pandemmys. Then, he saw his own.

Wait. If Im down there, how am I up here? he asked just before the audience vanished altogether and an eerily empty auditorium took its place. That would mean that Im up here all alone. Just like prom night.

While the 72nd annual Emmy Awards were nothing close to normal, they embraced all of the quirks of a socially distanced ceremony they could muster, cracking jokes about cardboard cutout crowds and interrupting hosts with mock COVID tests.

These are the most memorable moments of this years virtual awards.

'Schitts Creek' sweep

Though Watchmen led the evenings competition with a staggering 26 nominations  and received the most accolades with eleven wins in total  Netflix' sitcom Schitts Creek made history, sweeping the Emmy comedy categories and winning seven statuettes in total.

AFP

Bay Area stars shine

The evening also marked a breakthrough achievement for Oakland-born actress Zendaya, who became the youngest nominee to win an award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama at 24 years old. She won for her portrayal of Rue in the gritty HBO coming-of-age drama Euphoria, which follows one high school students struggles with drug addiction as her classmates grapple with sexual identity, violence, love and friendship.

I know this feels like a really weird time to be celebrating, but I just want to say there is hope in the young people out there, she said in her teary-eyed acceptance speech. I know that our TV show doesn't always feel like a great example of that, but there is hope in the young people. And, um, I just want to say to all my peers out there doing the work in the streets: I see you, I admire you. Thank you so, so much."

MORE: Oakland actress Zendaya fights back tears, makes history as youngest Emmy winner in her category

Also raised in Oakland, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II picked up an award for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Cal Abar, the human identity of Dr. Manhattan in the Watchmen series.

I want to give a big shout-out to all of West Oakland, all of New Orleans, the Magnolia projects," he said in his own acceptance speech. "Theres a lot of people where Im from making a lot of noise right now and I love you all so much.

Associated Press

Tribute to RBG

Airing just two days after the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died at the age of 87, the Emmys honored the Supreme Court justice with a performance from H.E.R., who played a cover of Sinead O'Connor's Nobody Compares 2 U.

We lost many beloved luminaries this year, said Kimmel just prior to the ceremonys In Memoriam segment.

Actress Regina King also paid tribute to Ginsburg during her acceptance speech: Rest in power, RBG, she said.

Associated Press

High fashion prevails

Though tonights stars were expected to don styles both comfortable and chic, some still decided to go all out as they would for any other awards show. Notably, Tracee Ellis Ross, nominated for the ABC sitcom Black-ish, wore a shimmering, layered golden gown by designer Alexander Vauthier -- and even strutted on a DIY red carpet in her own backyard. Meanwhile, Vallejo native and R&B singer H.E.R. rocked a pink Asian-influenced dress adorned with flowers by Vera Wang. Pajamas were still popular: Samira Wiley showed off her own zebra-print set accessorized with high-end jewelry.

See more of the looks at the 2020 Emmy Awards here.

Jennifer Aniston wields a fire extinguisher

In perhaps one of the most unforgettable speeches of the evening, Jennifer Aniston had to put out a fire.

No, really.

The actress, nominated for her role in the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show, extinguished a small fire in a garbage can as she and Kimmel prepared to announce the winner for Outstanding Lead Actress. In a COVID-themed gag, Kimmel doused the award envelope with a generous amount of antiseptic spray and lit it on fire with the aim of warding off the virus.

Aniston then began to extinguish the blaze so they could read the results, but the flames persisted a bit longer than expected, causing viewers at home to wonder if the growing blaze was an accident. In the end, she successfully smothered the fire, and the award went to Schitts Creek star Catherine OHara.

An alpaca takes the stage

Randall Park thought he would be joined by Al Pacino in presenting this years award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series. Instead, he got an alpaca  wearing a bow tie, no less.

Thankfully, the actor said he had learned the COVID transmission rate between humans and alpacas is very low.

Tuxedo hazmat suits

For the first time ever, Emmy winners received their awards from the comfort of their own homes -- courtesy of an intern shrouded inside what could only be described as apocalyptic formalwear.



Designed and created by executive producer Guy Carrington and costume designer Katja Cahill, the tuxedo hazmat suits were created to "ensure the health and safety of all of our winners and the presenter by following all of the health and safety protocols  with a twist, according to a news release shared by Entertainment Weekly just ahead of the ceremony.

During the Emmys, they popped up in a series of oddly comedic appearances  but the most memorable may not have been during the ceremony itself. A behind-the-scenes video shared by actor Ramy Youssef shows one of the couriers arriving at his doorstep, holding one of the statuettes. Then, they appear to sadly wave and walk away  a display of pity that is met with hysterical laughter.

When u lose the emmy, Youssef, who was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, wrote in the caption of the video. It seems unlikely that the courier showed up just to tell him that he had lost, but entirely possible, given the dysfunctional nature of this years awards. At any rate, the hilarious video amassed over 170,000 views, and has already appeared in a handful of memes.

Amanda Bartlett is an SFGATE culture reporter. Email: amanda.bartlett@sfgate.com | Twitter: @byabartlett
The scientists found that patients with SUD have compromised lungs and cardiovascular system which increases their susceptibility to COVID-19 infection.

COVID-19 is still a relatively new infection for both doctors and scientists. New discoveries about the virus are being made every day. Initially, the high-risk groups for COVID-19 disease consisted of the elderly, those with low immunity and those who had pre-existing medical conditions. Gradually, supported by new findings, more groups, like pregnant women and smokers, were found to be at a high risk of severe COVID-19.

Now, recent research published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry has shown that people diagnosed with substance use disorders (commonly known as drug addiction) are also more likely to experience hospitalization and death due to COVID-19 infection.

Substance use disorder

Substance abuse disorder, also known as substance use disorder (SUD), occurs when a person continues to use harmful psychoactive substances, such as alcohol and illicit drugs, despite experiencing significant problems related to its use. It may result in dangerous pathological changes in the body as well as the brain.

Drug addiction and COVID-19

A study conducted by Dr Volkow from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, US and Dr Rong Xu from the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio included the analysis of the electronic health records of more than 73 million patients from 360 hospitals.

The scientists examined specific types of substance abuse disorder in these patients which included alcohol use disorder (AUD), opioid use disorder (OUD), tobacco use disorder (TUD), cannabis use disorder (CUD) and cocaine use disorder (Cocaine-UD).

Out of all the patients over 7.5 million were diagnosed with a substance use disorder once in their lifetime. Amongst all these patients, 1.2 million patients had AUD, more than 2.2 lakhs patients had Cocaine-UD, 4.9 lakh patients had CUD, 6.4 lakh patients had TUD and 4.7 lakh patients had OUD.

Furthermore, it was seen that around 1,880 patients had both SUD and COVID-19 infection.

Results of the study

The results of the study showed that COVID-19 patients with SUD showed increased health complications as compared to those without drug addiction. The results of the study showed that 41% of patients with SUD needed hospitalisation due to complications and around 9.6 percent of patients with SUD died. While the rate of hospitalisation and death in COVID-19 patients with no SUD was 30.1 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively.

The scientists found that patients with SUD have compromised lungs and cardiovascular system which increases their susceptibility to COVID-19 infection.

They concluded that doctors may need to screen and treat substance use disorder in COVID-19 patients to prevent complications that can be caused by the infection. They further stated that additional research needs to be done to understand the best way to treat those with SUD and COVID-19.

For more information, read our article on Drug abuse.

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.
OTTAWAThe federal government has accepted Premier Doug Fords carbon pricing scheme for heavy industry, even though Ottawa thinks the made-in-Ontario scheme is too weak.

The decision amounts to a de-escalation  for the time being, at least  of the pitched jurisdictional fight over the Liberal governments national carbon pricing law, which culminates in a Supreme Court challenge that will be heard this week. It was also denounced by environmental groups that want stronger action on climate change.

In a statement to the Star on Monday, federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Ontarios system to discourage greenhouse-gas emissions from heavy industry meets the minimum requirements set out by the federal carbon price.

But he added that the proposed Ontario system is clearly weaker than the federal governments industrial carbon pricing scheme.

It is therefore not consistent with a long-term climate plan aimed at significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, he said.

Wilkinson said he has told Ontario officials the federal government wants to work together to strengthen the system, as Ottawa intends to review the minimum national carbon price before 2022. The price is currently pegged at $30 per tonne of emissions, and set to rise to $50 per tonne over the next two years.

Ontario Environment Minister Jeff Yurek applauded the decision and defended the provincial emissions performance standard system in his own statement Monday morning. He said the provinces system gets more stringent over time, saving Ontario industries the initial shock that is present in the federal plan, and that emissions standards will ensure large industrial emitters pay if they pollute too much.

It is a more tailored program for Ontarios environment and economy because it helps us achieve emission reductions from big polluters and achieve our share of Canadas 2030 emissions reduction target without driving away business and job creators, Yurek said.

In 2018, the federal government passed a law to create a national minimum carbon price that would be imposed in provinces that failed to meet the federal standard. The federal standard has two components: a fuel tax and rebate scheme  that Ford and other Conservative politicians have labelled a job-killing taxand an output-based pricing system for heavy industries.

The fuel tax and rebates  which Ford has attacked with a campaign of gas station stickers  will remain in place in Ontario after the decision to recognize the provinces pricing scheme for heavy industry.

When the federal carbon price came into effect in 2019, a number of provinces refused to make their own pricing systems and had Ottawas system imposed on them in whole or in part. That included Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and, later, Alberta, after Premier Jason Kenney scrapped the previous NDP governments provincial tax on fuel.

The discord gave rise to the legal challenges against the federal law that will be heard at the countrys highest court this week. The provinces argue the federal government does not have the authority to impose the policy in their jurisdictions, while Ottawa says action to fight climate change by reducing emissions is a matter of national concern.

Since then, however, Ottawa has accepted some provincial pricing systems to replace the federal one in their jurisdictions. In December, the federal government green-lit Kenneys pricing system for heavy industry in Alberta, and days later accepted New Brunswicks own carbon tax on consumer fuels.

On Monday, a government source speaking on background said the federal government is begrudgingly accepting Ontarios carbon price for heavy emitters. Ontario was able to meet the minimum legal requirements of the federal law, and the provincial system is not expected to be as stringent as the federal system at least over the next few years, the source said.

We really had no choice from a legal perspective, the source said. This is not something we want to do.

Wilkinson wrote to Yurek to inform him of the decision on Sunday. In his letter, which was obtained by the Star, Wilkinson tells his Ontario counterpart the provincial system is significantly weaker than the federal scheme, and that will achieve substantially fewer (emissions) reductions, according to modelling from his department.

Ontarios auditor general determined last year that the provinces carbon price for heavy industry would reduce greenhouse gas emission by one megatonne in 2030  a tally that represents about 1.5 per cent of the provinces total emissions in 2017.

In his letter, Wilkinson also pointed out that the Ford government had previously dismantled the provinces cap-and-trade system, which will result in a projected increase of 25 to 30 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Wilkinsons department estimated in 2018 that Canadas minimum pricing system  imposed across the country  would slash emissions by 50 to 60 megatonnes in 2022.

Canadas total emissions in 2018 increased about two per cent to 729 megatonnes, according to the countrys latest submission to the United Nations. Ontario, Canadas largest province by population, was responsible for about 165 megatonnes that year.

This is concerning to me, and likely also concerning to many Ontarians who support strong action to fight climate change, Wilkinson wrote.

Environmental groups slammed Ottawas decision on Monday. Sarah Buchanan, clean economy program manager for Environmental Defence, said in a statement that it is extremely disappointing for Ottawa to accept Ontarios pricing scheme.

Implementing a weaker carbon pricing system for industry is another step backwards in fighting climate change, she said.

Keith Stewart, a senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada, said the decision shows Ottawa is caving to the Ford government on climate action.

This is Ottawa saying Ontario doesnt have to pull its weight in the fight against climate change, he said. I would prefer to see them to hold their ground ... They shouldnt be giving Ontario a free pass.

Federal scientists have concluded Canada is warming at twice the global average, while the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned time is running out to prevent catastrophic global warming this century.

The Liberal government has promised to exceed the countrys commitment under the international Paris Agreement to slash emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and hit net zero by 2050.

According to Ottawas most recent projections, Canada is on track to miss the 2030 target  as it has missed every greenhouse gas emissions target the government has ever set  and will need to go beyond policies currently planned and in place to achieve it.

Read more about:
A rag picker from Tamil Nadus Salem district has spent all his life savings to erect a lief-statue of himself on a plot of land he recently bought.

Always wanting to make a name for himself, A. Nallathambi of Atthanurpatty village, earns his living by picking discarded bottles from the street. Recently he spent Rs 10 lac to buy a plot of land, to build his own statue on it.

When I was young, I wanted to make a name for myself. I wanted a statue of my own. I have fulfilled my dream now, he said to Times of India.

Nallathambi, who was a mason in his former years, gave up the work after it became too demanding. Eventually he also had a fall out with his family and left Anaimedu village to start looking out for himself.

He then took up the task of a rag picker and at present earns between Rs 200- Rs 300 for a living by collecting plastic bottles and other recyclable products.

With all the money he had saved right from his days of masonry, Nallathambi purchased two plots of land, each of 1200 sqkm on Vazhapadi-Belur village road. He then paid another sum of Rs 1 lac to a local sculptor to create his life-statue.

Nallathambi, who severed all ties with his family 20 years ago, didnt want to share his wealth with anyone. Hence, he spent all that amount in fulfilling his lifelong dreams.

The statue, that has been erected on a pedestal and with a rooftop, reportedly resembles that of a medieval Tamil chieftain.

Nallathambi now plans to have a grand unveiling of his own statute amid curious onlookers already gathering around the sculptor.

Few day back, a 74-year-old business from Tamil Nadus Madurai has installed a life-size statue of his late wife at his home to not miss the feeling of her constant presence.

Earlier to it, a Karnataka man hosted a housewarming ceremony in his newly-constructed home. Among the many near and dear ones who graced the occasion was the statue of Srinivas Murthys wife. Decked in a pink saree and gold jewellery, Madhavi sat atop a sofa, with a smile on her face.
A five-year-old girl has been praised for calling for help after her father experienced a serious seizure.

Sam Suriakumar, 34, experienced a seizure brought on by a brain tumour, which he was diagnosed with in February, in his home in the Worcester Park area of Sutton.

Avaana Samuel took her three-year-old sister Arya into another room and called GP mother Sindhu and other relatives, who dialled 999. She then followed the emergency services instructions and moved her father into a safe position.

Mr Suriakumar praised his daughters quick thinking, adding: I am so proud of my girls, particularly Avaana, who literally saved my life.

She was protective of her little sister and then called for help. Somehow she managed to remain calm and did everything she was told.

Avaana has been awarded a golden door award for bravery by her school since her calm response to her fathers medical emergency.

I was unconscious for around five minutes and, when I came to, I was very confused and disorientated. It wasnt really until I was in the hospital that I realised how serious it had been, Mr Suriakumar said.

I was very touched when the paramedics who had been at the house came to see me in A&E  it was very emotional to hear them say how amazed they were by how Avaana remained calm and responded in the way she did when it must have been so frightening for her.

Although I have been told it looks as if there is swelling around the tumour, the tumour itself doesnt appear to have changed, which is good news.

The family has raised almost 8,000 for Brain Tumour Research, the only national charity in the UK singularly focused on finding a cure for brain tumours.

My diagnosis turned our world upside down and changed things forever, Mr Suriakumar said.

My biggest fear when I was told I had a brain tumour was that I would not get time to spend with my wife and our two precious daughters; they are my whole world.

Making the most of our time is the most important thing for me.

To see Mr Suriakumars fundraiser for Brain Tumour Research, visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/samuel-suriakumar
HARRISBURG  Pennsylvanias Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, who endorsed waiting eight months until after the 2016 election to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, has not said whether he will support Senate consideration of a nominee in the weeks before Novembers election.

Toomey remained silent Monday.

President Donald Trump said he is obligated to pick a nominee as soon as possible to replace the liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday, barely 40 days before voters pick between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, is pushing ahead with plans to begin the confirmation process, while Biden is appealing to GOP senators to delay the vote until after the election.

In a statement, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania cited McConnells stance in 2016, saying Ginsburgs seat should not be filled until the presidential election concludes and the winner is sworn in to office.

In 2016, Toomey supported the decision to put off consideration of President Barack Obamas nominee, Merrick Garland, nominated in March to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

At the time, Toomey said, with the U.S. Supreme Courts balance at stake, and with the presidential election fewer than eight months away, it is wise to give the American people a more direct voice in the selection and confirmation of the next justice.

As a result, Trump made the pick.
PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Management Decision Market by Component (Software and Services), Deployment Model (On-premise and Cloud), Function (Credit Risk Management, Customer Experience Management, Compliance Management & Fraud Detection, Pricing Optimization, and Others), Organization Size (Small & Medium Sized Enterprises and Large Enterprises), and Industry Vertical (BFSI, IT and Telecom, Retail and E-commerce, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Energy and Utilities, Government, Automotive, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202027." According to the report, the global management decision market garnered $4.13 billion in 2019, and is estimated to reach $11.64 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 13.7% from 2020 to 2027.

Drivers, restraints, and opportunities

Rapidly changing government and industry regulations across countries, rise in demand of decision management solutions, and growing requirement to automate high-volume decisions across the enterprises drive the growth of the global management decision market. However, lack of availability of skilled personnel with sufficient knowledge hinders the market growth. On the other hand, ongoing partnership & product launches as well as increase in spending on analytics are anticipated to offer new opportunities in the coming years.

Download Report Sample (150 Pages PDF with Insights) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/5992

Covid-19 Scenario

The demand for the management decision making software has been increased due to consistently changing working strategies during COVID 19 outbreak. .

In addition, the market has witnessed increase demand due to surge in the requirement to automate high-volume decisions across the enterprises to improve consistency, and accuracy during remote working.

The software segment to maintain its lead status

Based on component, the software segment accounted for more than three-fifths of the global management decision market in 2019, and is expected to maintain its lead status in terms of revenue throughout the forecast period. This is due to increase in integration of decision-making software among the organizations, which deals with banking, financial services, & insurance into their business process systems. However, the services segment is estimated to portray the highest CAGR of 15.4% from 2020 to 2027. Growing demand for training & consulting services by considering the necessity of low investment and increase in the demand for expertise to improve decision management capabilities drives the growth of the segment.

Get detailed COVID-19 impact analysis on the management decision market: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/5992

The on-premise segment to maintain its leadership position

Based on deployment model, the on-premise segment contributed to the highest market share with nearly three-fifths of the global management decision market in 2019, and is estimated to maintain its leadership position during the forecast period. This is attributed to high adoption of on-premise management decision software among the heavily regulated industries. However, the cloud-based segment is estimated to generate the fastest CAGR of 14.6% from 2020 to 2027. This is attributed to growing investment in cloud applications.

North America is anticipated to dominate the market by 2027

Based on region, North America accounted for the highest share based on revenue, holding for nearly two-fifths of the global management decision market in 2019, and is projected to maintain its dominant position throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to rapid adoption of latest technologies in countries such as the U.S. and Canada and surge in investment in the emerging technologies such as big data, analytics, and cloud platforms. However, Asia-Pacific is estimated to generate the fastest CAGR of 17.0% from 2020 to 2027. This is due to rise in commercial investments by several companies in the developing countries such as China and India

For Purchase Inquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/5992

Leading market players

Tibco Software

Fair Isaac Corporation

Salesforce.com, Inc.

IBM Corporation

SAS Institute Inc.

Oracle Corporation

Manthan Software Services Pvt. Ltd.

Sapiens International

ACTICO GmbH.

Experian Information Solutions, Inc.

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Similar Reports:

5G Monetization Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202027

Artificial Intelligence Software Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202027

Cloud Analytics Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202027

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Visionary: founding member of the Alliance Party David Cook who has passed away

Alliance leader Naomi Long has led tributes to a founder member of the party who died after he was diagnosed with Covid-19.

David Cook, who became Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1978, passed away aged 76 on Saturday evening at Craigavon Area Hospital.

It is not known where he caught the virus, although he spent time in both Craigavon Area and Daisy Hill hospitals in recent weeks, where he was initially receiving treatment for a separate condition.

Mr Cook passed away just a day after the Southern Trust said five more patients had died as a result of Covid-19 outbreaks at the hospitals.

A high level investigation is under way to establish the source of the infections.

Read More

Last night Mr Cooks family described him as a committed fundraiser and said he had devoted his life to finding understanding between the communities in Northern Ireland.

They also expressed their gratitude to staff at the hospitals where the father-of-five received treatment after suffering a stroke two years ago and subsequently as he battled Covid-19.

Mrs Long, the Alliance leader, led tributes to Mr Cook, who had two grandchildren.

It is solely because of the vision of people like David Cook and all those who came together to form the Alliance Party that todays society is able to opt for political representation genuinely focused on working for everyone, she said.

We are proud of their hard work, their desire to see a better way forward for Northern Ireland and their determination to make it happen.

David was not only a leader within Alliance, as a member of our first Executive and later as deputy leader between 1980 and 84, but also broke the mould in Belfast when he became the first non-unionist to be elected Lord Mayor in 1978.

His loss in this our 50th year is all the more poignant as we never got to celebrate that anniversary together as a result of Covid-19, to which he ultimately and tragically succumbed.

My thoughts and those of the Alliance family are with Fionnuala and his wider family circle as they mourn his passing at this sad time.

Meanwhile, John Cushnahan, who led the Alliance Party for several years in the 1980s, described Mr Cook  who also founded the Northern Ireland Voluntary Trust, now known as the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, as a very skilled and courageous politician.

He continued: He was undoubtedly one of the best Lord Mayors ever to hold office.

During all my time in political office in Northern Ireland he was a loyal and faithful friend who provided great and unstinting support during very difficult and challenging times.

He had an infectious sense of humour and was great company who always lifted your spirit during very dark times.
Spencer Platt/Getty

A New York City police officer was arrested Monday by federal authorities, who say the cop has been secretly working as an agent of the Chinese government for the past six years.

The accused officer, Baimadajie Angwang, 33, is a community affairs liaison at the 111th Precinct in Queens. He is a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, and now serves as a civil affairs specialist in the Army Reserve, according to prosecutors. Angwan served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and holds a secret-level security clearance.

Angwang has maintained a relationship with at least two PRC officials stationed at the [Chinese] Consulate in New York City, says a complaint unsealed Monday in Brooklyn federal court. One is reportedly assigned to the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture, a division of the countrys United Front Work Department. Angwang referred to this man as boss and big brother, according to the complaint, and allegedly offered to provide the consulate with inside information about the NYPD.

This Department is responsible for, among other things, neutralizing sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of the PRC, the filing explains.

China Steals Hurt Locker Footage for Unhinged Propaganda Film Simulating Attack on U.S. Base

Angwang, who is ethnically Tibetan, allegedly began communicating with his handler in 2014, according to court filings. The FBI says it has documented more than 100 conversations between Angwang and his Chinese government contacts during that time.

The investigation has revealed that ANGWANG, while acting at the direction and control of PRC officials, has, among other things, (1) reported on the activities of ethnic Tibetans, and others, in the New York metropolitan area to the Consulate, (2) spotted and assessed potential ethnic Tibetan intelligence sources in the New York metropolitan area and beyond, and (3) used his official position in the NYPD to provide Consulate officials access to senior NYPD officials through invitations to official NYPD events, says the complaint, which dryly points out that none of these activities fall within Angwangs official law enforcement responsibilities.

Story continues

Angwang is a naturalized U.S. citizen, having first come to America on a cultural exchange visa. After receivingand overstayinga second visa, Angwang was granted asylum for the persecution and torture he claimed to have endured at the hands of the Chinese government due partly to this Tibetan ethnicity, says the complaint.

As an agent, he was allegedly tasked with locating and recruiting potential intelligence assets among the Tibetan community in New York. And even though the family is Tibetan, a minority group long oppressed by Beijing, the FBI says Angwangs ties to the Chinese government run deep. His father is a retired member of the Peoples Liberation Army, where his brother currently serves as a reservist. Angwangs mother is a retired government official and a member of the Chinese Communist Party, according to the complaint.

Investigators also tracked Angwangs finances, zeroing in on large transfers he made between the U.S. and China. In 2016, Angwangwho makes about $50,000 a yearwired $100,000 to his brothers account in China. The following month, Angwang wired $50,000 to another account in China, held in someone elses name.

In a statement, the International Campaign for Tibet, a Washington, D.C., human-rights NGO, said, If confirmed by the courts, the alleged spying operation established at the direction of the Chinese government against the Tibetan American community in New York shows that the Chinese Communist Party is engaged in malign operations to suppress dissent, not only in Tibet, where Tibetans are oppressed and denied all freedoms, but any place in the world where Tibetans are free to express themselves, starting with the United States of America. By strictly limiting access to Tibet for the Tibetan American community, the Chinese government tries to create an atmosphere of suspicion among the members of the community and tries to exploit it to its advantage.

Angwangs detention hearing was held Monday afternoon. After about an hours delay, during which court staff struggled to dial into the remote hearing, the proceeding got underway. Still, it wasnt without hitches. U.S. Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann had a problem with her devices camera: She could see Angwang, but he could not see her from the courts holding cell.

Angwang confirmed that he understood the charges against him and consented to being detained without prejudice, meaning he retains the right to apply for bail in the future.

John Carman, Angwangs lawyer, declined to comment.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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An international team of researchers has now found that computerised training can support preterm children's academic success. In their randomised controlled study "Fit for School", the researchers compared two learning apps. The project at the University Hospital Essen and at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum was funded by Mercator Research Center Ruhr (Mercur) with approximately 300,000 Euros for four years. Results have been published online as unedited manuscript in the journal Pediatric Research on 12 September 2020.

Every 11. baby is born too early in Germany, over 15 million globally each year. Although survival rates have increased, long-term development has not improved much. At school age, children born preterm often struggle with attention and complex tasks, such as math.

"Preemies need special support," says neonatologist Dr. Britta Huning of the Clinic for Pediatrics I, University Hospital Essen. Together with psychologist Dr. Julia Jaekel from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, previously at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, she was part of a multidisciplinary team that led the study with Professor Ursula Felderhoff-Muser, Director of the Clinic for Pediatrics I. Their findings are promising and novel, as few intervention studies have ever shown academic improvements for school-aged preterm children.

Two learning apps tested

The study included 65 first graders, born between five and twelve weeks preterm in the Ruhr Region. They practiced daily for five weeks, using the software app Xtramath or Cogmed. Teachers rated their academic progress in math, attention, reading and writing through first and second grade.

The final results: parents and children liked both apps. "The different trainings supported long-term school success to a similar degree," says Julia Jaekel. "However, Xtramath received more positive ratings and led to better short-term academic progress."

In times of increasing remote and online instruction for all children, apps with documented effectiveness are scarce. Parents and teachers may turn to adaptive apps such as Xtramath for learning at home.

###
War, War until victory was a popular slogan chanted by revolutionaries in Tehran amid the bloody Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). But after years of fighting with no victory in sight, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founding father of the Islamic Republic, was forced to settle for a UNSC sponsored ceasefire resolution which he compared to drinking from a poisoned chalice. Seldom has revolutionary Iran done such a 180-degree shift on a high profile foreign and security policy matter. Accordingly, it has direct relevance to Washingtons current Maximum Pressure approach.

This September 22, Tehran will mark 40 years since the start of that war, which officials style the imposed war or the sacred defense. More so than the Islamic Revolution, the war produced the Islamic Republic that we know today, including the cadre of elites that currently hold power. While a full accounting of this monumental conflict  the longest conventional war in the 20th century  and all its twists, turns, and intrigues remains outside the scope of this article, a short chronology is in order.

Initially on the defensive for the first two years of the war, Iran shifted to Iraqi territory for a near six-year offensive in a bid to decapitate Iraqs Baathist regime. During this period, the conflict escalated with new weaponry and geography. And for Iran, it internationalized significantly, dragging the U.S. navy into numerous naval engagements in the Persian Gulf. In the closing months of the conflict, a cocktail of factors, including but not limited to a growing perception of American resolve to prevent an Iranian victory, significant regional and battlefield setbacks, economic deprivation, and the potential for mass social unrest, all helped facilitate the conclusion of the war which Khomeinie to bargaining away his dignity with God.

Having failed to export its revolution to Iraq, since the war ended, Tehran moved to romanticize the endeavor, with officials framing it as a divine promise and even something that kept their homeland safe from future wars. Lest we forget, at the time, the conflict allowed revolutionaries to purge domestic political opponents, consolidate the nascent Islamist regime, establish and support foreign military proxies, re-start its nuclear program, procure projectiles and associated technology to stand-up its missile program, and even take-on the United States. But given the high-cost and outsized impact of the war, a new conflict commenced once the shooting stopped. This new struggle featured factional infighting, finger pointing, secrets, conflicting narratives, and memoirs, all over how the war was prosecuted, and who to blame for its lackluster end.

Outside a recent rising tide of interest in this conflict by academics, Washington-audiences have only occasionally noted the wars implications for the present. As I wrote in 2014, the conflict is the best international case study for both war-making and peacemaking with the Islamic Republic. This observation was true then, and rings even more true today.

In fact, four times in 2019, which is one year after the restoration of American sanctions previously waived by the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Iranian officials drew comparisons to the challenges of the present versus those of the war-era. After Washington cancelled waivers for the purchase of Iranian oil last May, no less than Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, During the war we did not have a problem with our banks, oil sales or imports and exports. He went on to claim that, The pressures by enemies is a war unprecedented in the history of our Islamic revolution.

Echoing the challenge of oil sales and financial sanctions was Irans Minister of Oil Bijan Namdar-Zanganeh, who reportedly drew on the war as an analogy in his commentary three times last year. In February 2019 he claimed, I was also in war and I understood war, but these conditions are harder than war. In June, he took that one-step further, noting, The difference between the current-era and the war-era is that if Saddam didnt bomb us, we could, at any rate, sell the oil we want but now, the sale of oil, supply of ships, the moving of money, and even the buying of many goods has its own conditions. He also warned, We must know what a fierce war we are involved in. If this intensity is not understood  which I do not think some people understand or feel  we will suffer due to incorrect assessments. And in September, he confessed, The economic situation in the country today is even more difficult than during the war, and, If we were victorious during the Sacred Defense, it was because of [our] spirit, faith, and belief, and today we must proceed in the same way.

Such statements are not to be taken lightly. The Iran-Iraq War represents the quintessence of sacrifice for the ruling regime. While the war is a common reference point, no earthly challenge to the Islamic Republic is framed as being more intense or defining for Iran, which endured chemical weapons use on the battlefield and ballistic missile attacks against population centers amid the conflict.

Therefore, the above proclamations constitute a rare signal amid the noise generated by Iranian officials about the efficacy of Washingtons current pressure policy. Moreover, any Iranian admission that a unilateral sanctions regime implemented for less than two years can be more challenging or at least on par with a conflict that was once called world war three is a qualitative data-point about sanctions that ought not to be ignored.

To translate this economic success into the stated policy goals of the Trump administration, which is a genuinely comprehensive and improved accord with Iran, Washington must not take its foot off the gas pedal and continue to pressure Tehran until it is forced to accept a sub-optimal solution in its foreign and security policy. Put differently, it should replicate the conditions that led to the wars conclusion.

None of this is to mean that if Washington wants a broader deal with Iran, it will need to launch a war with the same devastating implications for human life that the Iran-Iraq War wrought. Quite the contrary. Nor does it seek to minimize Irans ability to prosecute a conflict or resist foreign pressure even under duress. Moreover, it does not aim to downplay the various other factors that contributed to the wars end; although on objective assessment would surely note that Iranian street protests from 2017-present, the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, and a wave of regional normalization agreements with Israel are proof that they are again rearing their head today.

Rather, it is to appreciate what peaceful uses of coercive economic measures can achieve as a national security tool. After all, almost every mainstream account of the conflict notes that the inability of Tehran to fund the war effort  and in particular, to procure material on a controversial shopping list prepared by the then-head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which included atomic weapons  impacted the wars conclusion.

Four decades since the start of the Iran-Iraq War and forty-one years since the inception of the Islamic Republic, it is painfully apparent that not all men have their price. But all causes do. Washington must continue escalating economic pressure on Tehran until Khomeinis successor and current Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, decides to reach for his own poisoned chalice.

The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Radio Farda.
Chemcon Speciality Chemicals launched its initial public offering (IPO) today. The specialised chemical products manufacturer is offering 93.52 lakh shares of Rs 10 each. The share sale will end on September 23. Of these, 48.52 lakh shares will be issued fresh and 45 lakh shares will be part of offer for sale (OFS). Shares are available in a price band of Rs 338 to Rs 340 per share.

One can bid for the stock in a lot size of 44 shares amounting to Rs 14,960. A maximum 13 lots comprising 572 shares worth Rs 1,94,480 can be applied by an individual. Ambit Private Limited and Intensive Fiscal Services Private Limited are lead managers to the issue. Link Intime India is the registrar to the issue.

Chemcon is planning to raise around Rs 350-400 crore through the IPO. The firm plans to utilise fresh issue proceeds for expansion of manufacturing facility, working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.

Geojit Research

Geojit Research has given a subscribe rating to the IPO.

"At the upper price band of Rs 340, Chemcon Speciality Chemicals is available at P/E of 25.5 times on FY20, which is attractive when compared to peers. Considering healthy business performance, regular capacity expansions, strong customer base, expanding margin profile and improving outlook for the sector, we have a 'SUBSCRIBE' rating on this IPO."

Hetero Labs Limited, Laurus Labs Ltd, Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, Lantech Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Macleods Pharma Ltd are the key customers of the firm's pharma chemical business. Apart from domestic market, the company exports its products to USA, China, Japan, UAE, Serbia, Russia, Malaysia, and Azerbaijan. It has a manufacturing plant at Manjusar near Vadodara in Gujarat, 5 operational plants, 3 warehouses, and 2 leased warehouses.

Hem Securities

"Company has shown consistent financial performance with a strong financial position. Also, the specialty chemicals industry in which company operate has high entry barriers Therefore, looking after all, we recommend subscribe the issue both for short & long term horizon," said Hem Securities. By Aseem Thapliyal
Aliyev accused Yerevan of disrupting the negotiating process and preparing for war in televised remarks aired over the weekend.

I have said before that we will not take part in negotiations for the sake of their imitation, he said. It doesnt mean that we wont take part in negotiations. It means that we wont be joining in Armenias cunning policy.

Aliyev said that Yerevan provocative actions and statements make further peace talks on resolving the Karabakh conflict meaningless.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry deplored these baseless and false claims on Sunday. They highlight the neighboring countrys leaders inability to perceive the existing reality and his role in the emergence of that reality soberly and without painful emotions, said Anna Naghdalian, the ministry spokeswoman.

Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian called Aliyevs claims very emotional on Monday. He said the Armenian side is ready to unconditionally restart peace talks with Baku as soon as possible.

For his part, Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan accused Aliyev of putting insurmountable obstacles to the resumption of the peace process spearheaded by the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. In terms of disrupting [the process] he probably referred to himself, Tonoyan told journalists.

The three mediators met in Paris and spoke by phone with the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers from the French capital on September 14. In a joint statement, they said they invited the ministers to meet individually with the Co-Chairs in person in the coming weeks to further clarify their respective positions, with the aim of resuming serious substantive negotiations without preconditions.

Aliyev already threatened to pull out of meaningless negotiations with Armenia in early July. A few days later heavy fighting broke out at a western section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. It lasted for about a week, leaving at least 17 soldiers from both sides dead. The international community expressed serious concern over the clashes that involved artillery and attack drones.

The conflicting parties have reported renewed ceasefire violations at the volatile border section in recent days. The Armenian Defense Ministry said last week that its troops deployed in northern Tavush province are countering Azerbaijani attempts to build new border fortifications dangerously close to their positions.

The Azerbaijani military said one of its soldiers was killed by Armenian forces on Monday morning.

An Armenian soldier serving in the same area was shot dead on September 16. Tonoyan said afterwards that the Armenian army will take appropriate actions in retaliation for his death.
Shoppers wearing face masks in Staines-Upon-Thames, Surrey, on Sunday. (Getty Images)

The government could face resistance from its own backbenchers if it tries to force through a second lockdown, a senior Tory has warned.

Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady indicated ministers could have a revolt on their hands if they try to introduce new lockdown measures without proper scrutiny in Parliament.

Boris Johnson spent the weekend considering whether to introduce a second coronavirus lockdown in England.

He is reportedly considering a two-week mini lockdown, according to the BBC.

On Monday morning, the governments two chief scientists will make a TV appeal and say the UK is at a critical point in the coronavirus pandemic.

On Sunday, there was a backlash following reports the government will lift the rule of six for 24 hours on Christmas Day to allow families to see each other.

Health secretary Matt Hancock has said he would report a neighbour to police for breaking COVID-19 self-isolation rules.

Sir Graham said ministers had got into the habit of ruling by decree.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: The British people are not used to being treated like children.

Sir Graham, the chairman of the powerful Tory backbench 1922 Committee, is tabling an amendment that would require the government to put any new measures to a vote of MPs.

Read more: Expert says UK must build immunity instead of going into second lockdown

He said more scrutiny of the so-called rule of six would have enabled MPs to question why the limit was put at six and not eight or ten and why children were included in England and not in Wales or Scotland.

He denied that greater scrutiny would prevent ministers from acting swiftly to deal with the pandemic.

Governments find it entirely possible to put things to Parliament very quickly when they choose to do so, said Sir Graham.

England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty (left) and the government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance say the UK is at a 'critical point'. (AP Photo)

At 11am on Monday, Professor Chris Whitty, Englands chief medical officer, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the governments chief scientific adviser, will warn that the coronavirus trend is heading in the wrong direction.

Story continues

Prof Whitty is expected to say: "The trend in the UK is heading in the wrong direction and we are at a critical point in the pandemic.

We are looking at the data to see how to manage the spread of the virus ahead of a very challenging winter period.

On Sunday, another 3,899 daily coronavirus cases and 18 deaths were reported in the UK.

Watch the video below

On Monday, transport secretary Grant Shapps said an increase in deaths from coronavirus will follow in the UK as it has in Spain and other nations.

Shapps told Sky News: Were seeing the hospital admissions creeping up, albeit deaths havent followed as yet. What we do know, looking at places like Spain, that will follow.

He said the UK is in a critical moment and warned if people do not follow the rules were going to end up back in situations we dont want to be in.

He added: It is clear were just a few weeks behind what were seeing elsewhere in Europe.

You only have to look at whats happening in France, particularly in Spain, and you can see that things have taken off there, including, Im afraid, deaths. So it is very important that we do everything we can to bear down on this.

Coronavirus: what happened today

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After six months, the Taj Mahal opened to visitors on Monday even as the country recorded close to 87,000 new covid-19 cases. Tickets are being sold online only, but just 300 people bought them on the first day. Before the pandemic, about 20,000 people visited the 17th century monument every day. Daily visitors have been capped at 5,000, and temperature checks, masks, distancing and sanitization are all mandatory. A Chinese woman and a visitor from Delhi were the first through the gates when the monument re-opened, 188 days after it was shut on 17 March. For the rest of the news, heres Mint Lite.

Everyones waiting for Battery Day

View Full Image Annual meetings in the auto industry are usually boring, but Elon Musk manages to make an event of them

Annual meetings in the auto industry are usually boring, but Elon Musk manages to make an event of them. Teslas first Battery Day today will be livestreamed. Analysts predictions of what Musk will unveil range from cheaper batteries to flying cars. Investors anticipate technology updates on battery power to keep the electric carmaker ahead of rivals. The tiniest improvement in the battery can have a huge impact as it is an electric cars most expensive part. If Tesla announces battery costs have dropped to under $100-kilowatt per hour, it could put electric car prices in line with those powered by internal combustion engines. Another update could relate to dry-electrode technology that simplifies manufacturing processes and could eliminate cobalt, which is both expensive and mined in ethically questionable conditions. A million-mile battery" announcement could mean powering logistics or taxi fleets.

75th UN Assembly goes virtual too

View Full Image Besides, the speeches, the General Assembly will feature a climate summit, a conference on Libya, and a biodiversity forum, all of them virtual.

The 75th UN General Assembly began on Monday in New York. The annual summit usually brings over 10,000 diplomats to the UN building in Manhattan, but its been closed since March due to covid-19, and leaders of the 193 member nations will address the general assembly from Tuesday via video-conference. What diplomats will miss is the behind-the-scenes chats and chance encounters that lead to deeper cooperation. The challenges to be addressed at this virtual session are many: covid-19 is pushing millions into poverty and nations into recession, multilateralism is under threat as countries look increasingly inward in a time of crisis, war and conflict are escalating, climate change is accelerating, and the refugee crisis is deepening. Besides, the speeches, the General Assembly will feature a climate summit, a conference on Libya, and a biodiversity forum, all of them virtual.

1 in 2 girls at risk of quitting school

View Full Image Female enrolment in secondary education in Asia is likely to be hit by the pandemic.

Schools are still closed in most of Asia, but the pandemic has hit incomes, and among the cutbacks poorer families are considering is education of girls. Female enrolment in secondary education in Asia (see chart) is likely to be hit by the pandemic. Room to Read, a non-profit that works on literacy, conducted a survey of 28,000 girls in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Vietnam and found that one in two girls is at risk of dropping out. Lack of access to education hinders women workforce participation. An extra year of secondary school edu-cation for girls can increase their future earnings by as much as 20%. For countries, the opportunity cost of girls not completing 12 years of schooling is as much as $30 trillion in lost lifetime productivity and earnings.

Putting everything on show

View Full Image On Friday, Rotterdams Boijmans museum will open its Depot, a huge new warehouse to display the 170-year-old institutions entire collection

On Friday, Rotterdams Boijmans museum will open its Depot, a huge new warehouse to display the 170-year-old institutions entire collection. Its the first time a museum is putting every item it owns on show, and is an experiment in new ways of curation as visitor tastes evolve. Boijmans built an open storage facility" to display over 150,000 objects, artefacts and paintings at a cost of 55 million. Most museums lock away 95% of their collections because they dont have display space. The other problem is the cost of creating larger, newer buildings. Then there is the worry that visitors may not have the energy and inclination to walk miles to see every object. Open shows may be the way forward to draw younger visitors: Amsterdams Rijksmuseum has been restoring Rembrandts most famous painting, The Night Watch, in a giant glass box so visitors can see conservators work live or follow progress online.

Emmys tackled covid-19, politics

View Full Image The Emmy Awards 2020 celebrated the art of creating art using the lens of the current pandemic

The Emmy Awards 2020 celebrated the art of creating art using the lens of the current pandemic. Held live on Sunday, the show was like a giant videoconference call, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting it to an empty hall at Los Angeles Staples Center and actors joining from their homes, or in small gatherings. While the trophies were presented to winners by interns in hazmat-style suits, Jennifer Aniston unexpectedly became a firefighter in couture at the Center when Kimmel took every precaution to sanitize the envelope with the winners name for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. It was won by Catherine OHara of Schitts Creek, which made history by sweeping all the comedy categories. The show was also high on political statement, with winners like Regina King and Uzo Aduba paying tribute to Breonna Taylor, the US medical worker who was fatally shot by police.

Curated by Shalini Umachandran and Pooja Singh. Have something to share with us? Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com or tweet to @shalinimb

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The free online event takes place on the weekend of October 3 and 4.

The event, hosted by Dublin City Council, will be streamed on the Busker Fleadh Facebook page and YouTube channel because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Now in its fifth year, the event will feature a diverse line-up of bands and solo acts playing both well-known hits and original compositions.

Viewers will also have the opportunity to vote for their favourite performance online during the fleadh.

Music industry judges will also be present on the day to choose their favourite buskers, one group and one solo act.

The winner will receive a free recording session with a professional sound engineer valued at 1,000 euro in Windmill Lane Recording Studios, a digital copy of their recordings, and a new model Hudson Guitar valued at 300 euro from Gandharva Loka and Hudson Guitar Company.

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Lord mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu said: This has been a tough few months for those involved in the performing arts, so its a great opportunity for buskers to get out and share their talents safely, in line with current Covid-19 safety guidelines.

The Busker Fleadh is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate Dublins vibrant music scene, the diverse range of talented performers and the importance of busking and music culture to our city.



Busking culture is an important part of Dublins vibrant music scene and the Busker Fleadh is a great opportunity to celebrate this

Kathryn Byrne, Busker Fleadh organiser, said: Were delighted to see so much interest in the Busker Fleadh and are excited to have such a diverse and exciting line-up planned.

We were worried that this years event would not be possible due to Covid-19, so we are thrilled that this years Fleadh can go ahead, albeit in a slightly different format.

Busking culture is an important part of Dublins vibrant music scene and the Busker Fleadh is a great opportunity to celebrate this.
Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Monday dismissed the no-confidence motion moved by opposition parties against deputy chairman Harivansh Singh as it was not in the proper format.

Naidu, who rebuked the opposition parties for their conduct while opposing the contentious farm bills, said he received letter of no-confidence against the deputy chairman from 47 members, but it was not admissible under the rules. The motion is not in a proper format. It requires notice of 14 days, the Vice President said.

A no-confidence motion against the deputy chairman was a first in parliament. Twelve opposition parties had given notice for a no-confidence motion against Singh on Sunday, accusing him of violating the parliamentary procedures in trying to pass the farm sector Bills in haste, circumventing all demands for proper voting. Singh was re-elected for the second time to the post only six days back.

The no-confidence resolution was signed by MPs from the Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, RJD, TRS, NCP, AAP, CPI, CPI (M), JD (S), IUML and Kerala Congress (Mani).

When the agitated members, on being denied the right for a division on this crucial bill protested strongly pointing out how gravely the bill is against the farmers interest, the Deputy Chairperson packed the house with security personnel deliberately designed to overawe and outnumber the members of the opposition, the resolution read.

The opposition members were up in arms on Sunday after Singh moved to pass the two farm sector Bills by voice vote despite a demand for division by DMK MP Siva from his seat. The opposition had demanded a physical voting where members who sat in the Lok Sabha could also vote, pointing out that they were sitting in parliament.

When the Chair refused, they rushed to the Well of the House, tried to tear up the rule book to underscore their allegations, and tried to snatch off the Deputy Chairmans microphone.

Naidu said the scenes that unfolded in the House marked a bad day, and suspended eight MPs from opposition parties. They snatched mikes, they abused the deputy chairman. The rule book was thrown at him. You have no right to upset the chairman. Some members accepted outside that they did it, Naidu said on Monday.

He said the deputy chairman was physically threatened and wondered what would have happened if the marshals were not called. This is unfortunate and unacceptable. It tarnishes the image of parliament, he said, asking some members to introspect their actions.
A Donald Trump supporter who allegedly struck a 13-year-old girl with a flagpole during a rally has been arrested.

Norbert Logsdon, 67, has been charged with child abuse after the attack on Wednesday, in Orange Park, Florida.

The violent scenes were captured on video by the girl's mother Crystal Ledoux who was driving past the rally.

Norbert Logsdon, 67, has been charged with child abuse after allegedly charging at a girl with a flagpole and hitting her in the face and chest

She said: 'My daughter and I were on our way to grab a bite to eat and passed a rally of Trump supporters on the corner of Blanding Blvd and Loch Rane.

'There was a man shouting and flipping passing cars by, so we reciprocated. Then the man charged at my daughter and I with his flagpole striking my daughter in the face and chest.

'We couldn't believe the look of anger and rage as he attacked my daughter.

'We felt trapped because I couldn't move forward with a car already in front of me. My daughter is still shook up over what happened.'

The violent scenes were captured on video by the girl's mother Crystal Ledoux who was driving past the rally

Logsdon, who has been released on bail, is seen in the video rushing towards the car after Ledoux swore at him.

He then shoves the pole, which had a flag attached bearing the phrase 'Trump 2020 no more bulls***', through the car window.

It reportedly struck the young teenager in the face and chest and a voice can be heard saying 'he just hit me' in the video.

Ledoux noted his license plate and alerted police who tracked down the Trump supporter and arrested him.

Logsdon, who has been released on bail, is seen in the video rushing towards the car after Ledoux swore at him

She says she has now learned her lesson and will not be driving near political rallies in the future.

She told KBMT: 'I'm not going anywhere near protesters to be honest with you because it scared us so bad someone reacted like that.

'I did see on social media that people are taking this to extremes  as far as the Trump and the Bidens' supporters because that isn't the only incident where I've heard of injuries.

'It's crazy the way the election is turning this year to be honest with you.'
By PTI

KOLKATA: The TMC on Monday denounced the suspension of eight Rajya Sabha MPs, with its leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee calling the action reflective of the "autocratic mindset" of the government.

Accusing the BJP of killing democracy, the Trinamool Congress chief declared she will fight the "Fascist" government in Parliament and on streets.

"Suspension of the 8 MPs who fought to protect farmers interests is unfortunate & reflective of this autocratic Govts mindset that doesnt respect democratic norms & principles.

ALSO READ | Rajya Sabha suspends 8 MPs over unruly behaviour; Naidu rejects motion of no confidence against Harivansh

We won't bow down & we'll fight this fascist Govt in Parliament & on the streets. #BJPKilledDemocracy," she tweeted.

The party termed the decision to suspend the MPs, including the TMC leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien, as "undemocratic" and assereted, "Parliament cannot be allowed to turn into a lawless jungle" by the ruling BJP.

TMC chief whip in Rajya Sabha Sukhendu Sekhar Roy deplored the way the Upper House was being run.

"Without considering this illegality committed yesterday giving birth to strong protests from the opposition, their voices have further been throttled when some of them have been suspended today for the remaining period of the current session," Ray said in a statement.

He said if constitutional authorities violate rules, then it would be detrimental for Indian democracy.

"If constitutional authorities, in this case, the Deputy Chairman of the Upper House of Parliament, act as per their whims and fancies in blatant violation of rules and detriment to the laid down procedures of the parliamentary democratic system, the country is destined to fall prey to majoritarianism, if not fascism," he said.

Ray said all sections of people must condemn such developments in the "temple of democracy".

The House had witnessed unruly scenes by opposition members during the passage of two farm bills.

Senior TMC leaders and Lok Sabha MPs Mahua Moitra and Saugata Roy too condemned the suspension and said the decision was "undemocratic and in violation of laid down procedures".

"Farm Bills bulldozed in RS via voice vote with NO respect for parliamentary rules and procedures.

BJP did NOT have the numbers - why was opposition denied a division? Indians need to wake up to this - Parliament cannot become a lawless jungle!" Moitra tweeted.

"After suspending democracy & the rule of law @ BJP is suspending opposition from parliament!" she further said.

Roy said the opposition voices in Parliament were being "muzzled".

Two key farm bills, dubbed by the government as the biggest reform in agriculture, were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha by a voice vote amid chaotic scenes by opposition members who demanded that they be referred to a House panel for greater scrutiny.
Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Monday that the United States was waging a war against Iran by imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic's crude exports.

"Today Iran is still fighting a war. America has waged a war against Iran with no blood," Zanganeh was quoted as saying by the oil ministrys news agency SHANA.

On Sunday, Zanganeh called on OPEC members to "denounce the use of oil as a political tool for imposition of sanctions and pressures on oil producing nations."
Mumbai, Sep 21 : Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is deeply pained by the false allegations of sexual misconduct that have surfaced against him, says his lawyer Priyanka Khimani, who feels that the MeToo movement has been reduced to a mere tool for character assassination.

On Saturday, actress Payal Ghosh alleged that Kashyap tried to molest her in 2014. Kashyap called the charge baseless.

On Monday, Kashyap tweeted a statement from his lawyer that reads: "My client, Anurag Kashyap, has been deeply pained by the false allegations of sexual misconduct that have recently surfaced against him. These allegations are completely false, malicious and dishonest." "It is sad that a social movement as important as the #MeToo movement has been co-opted by vested interests and reduced to a mere tool for character assassination. Fictious allegations of this nature seriously undermine the movement and seek to unconscionably trade upon the pain and trauma of the actual victims of sexual harassment and abuse. My client has been fully advised of his rights and remedies in law and intends to pursue them to the fullest extent." Along with the statement, Kashyap wrote: "And here is the statement from my lawyer @PriyankaKhimani .. on my behalf .. thank You." Ever since Payal levelled the charges, Kashyap has received support from several other Bollywood colleagues including filmmakers Anubhav Sinha, Hansal Mehta, Ram Gopal Varma, and Vasan Bala. His ex-wives Aarti Bajaj and Kalki Koechlin have stood by him as have actresses Taapsee Pannu, Tisca Chopra, Surveen Chawla, and Mahie Gill among others.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Raviji, the same thing just happened to me: Shashi Tharoor to seek explanation from Twitter

What is itat e-dwar the new e-filing portal of the IT appellate tribunal

Social media companies free to do business, but should be accountable to Indian laws: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Big step towards transparency: Prasad on first compliance report by Google, FB under new IT rules

Ashwini Vaishnaw gets thumbs-up from Ravi Shankar Prasad on IT rules

If over 45 countries use Pegasus, why target just India?, asks Ravi Shankar Prasad

Shameful day in Parliament history: Prasad slams opposition leaders for RS ruckus

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Sep 21: The government on Monday accused opposition leaders of irresponsible conduct in the Rajya Sabha during the passage of the farm bills and said they violated rules by not vacating the House despite being suspended.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the conduct of opposition leaders in the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday was "shameful" and "irresponsible".

He was addressing a press conference with fellow Union ministers Prahlad Joshi and Piyush Goyal on the pandemonium in the Upper House on Sunday and Monday.

Opposition Rajya Sabha members despite being suspended did not leave the House on Monday which was an open violation of the rules, Prasad said.

Congress to launch nationwide protest against farm bills from Sept 24

"We had a clear majority in Rajya Sabha on farm bills," he said, adding that 110 members supported the bills and a little over 70 opposed it.

On the issue of certain opposition members standing on the table in the Upper House, he said people of Bihar are pained at the treatment given in Rajya Sabha to its Deputy Chairman Harivansh on Sunday.

Farm bills: SAD team meets President Kovind, requests him not to sign farm bills | Oneindia News

Citing Congress'' election manifesto and statements by chief ministers of the states ruled by it, he accused the opposition party of double standards on issues including contract farming and agriculture produce marketing committees.
President Trump says he had given "preliminary" approval for Oracle's partnership with ByteDance and Walmart to operate TikTok, adding that he was in talks with the partners to fund a $5-billion "patriotic" education venture. (Getty Images)

President Trump has given his blessing to Oracles partnership with ByteDance to operate TikTok, but his claim that the companies would finance a $5-billion patriotic education fund has raised questions about the deal to allow the app to operate in the U.S.

The president said he had given preliminary approval for the deal that Oracle and ByteDance, the Chinese owner of the short-video app, proposed to alleviate concerns about protecting U.S. national security.

But in a new twist in the more than week-long negotiations between the companies and his administration, Trump said his team was talking to them about funding a venture that would teach American children about the real history of our country.

We have a deal worked out, Trump told supporters in North Carolina on Saturday. They are going to pay $5 billion into a fund for education so we can educate people as to the real history of our country. We are getting very close to that deal.

However, ByteDance said in a statement Sunday that it had first heard about the $5-billion education fund from media reports.

The move was a last minute decision to allow Trump to claim he had won a victory by backing a deal that some critics say would allow China too much influence over TikTok, according to one person with direct knowledge of the matter.

ByteDance, Oracle and Walmart, which is part of the TikTok deal, agreed to create an initiative after Trump made the last-minute request. But they have had no discussions about a $5-billion commitment or any other amount, according to people familiar with the situation.

ByteDance and its new partners will not create an education program that seeks to teach American history in a manner that is tailored to any specific bias, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

On Saturday, Oracle said it and the other TikTok investors would create an educational initiative to develop and deliver an AI-driven online video curriculum to teach children from inner cities to the suburbs, adding that the courses would range from basic reading and math to science, history and computer engineering.

Story continues

The lack of certainty raises questions about the timing of any final approval for the deal. The Commerce Department on Friday told Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores on Sunday. It later extended the deadline by one week to give the companies time to work out the final details with the administration  and pave the way for the order to remove the apps to be reversed.

In his remarks in North Carolina, Trump did not provide any detail about the $5-billion fund. But last week he said he would create a patriotic education initiative named the 1776 Commission, in a reference to the year that the U.S. declared independence.

The move appeared to be a response to the New York Times, which published its 1619 Project to trace the history of the U.S. from the arrival of slaves. Some conservatives have railed against the project, which has become part of a broad debate about race after the death of George Floyd, and a series of cases where Black people have been subject to police brutality by white police officers.

Trump has the power to approve or reject the deal on national security grounds. But it remained unclear under what legal authority he could urge the companies to fund the initiative. It was also unclear what mechanism would be used to create such a fund. The White House refused to comment and Treasury did not respond.

Last month, when Microsoft was negotiating with ByteDance over TikTok, Trump claimed that the companies would have to provide a payment to Treasury in order to win his approval. That demand stunned lawyers inside and outside the government, and eventually his own legal team told him that such a payment would not be lawful.

Amazingly, I find that youre not allowed to do that . . . How foolish can we be? Trump said last week.

Oracle said TikTok would pay more than $5 billion to the Treasury in new taxes, although much of that will depend on the profitability of the social media group. ByteDance, which in addition to TikTok also runs very popular apps in China, reported $3 billion of net profit in 2019.

Additional reporting by Kiran Stacey in Washington.

 The Financial Times Ltd. 2020. All rights reserved. FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd. Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The right to protest in public place should be balanced with the right of the general public to move freely without hindrance, the Supreme Court observed on Monday, reserving its verdict on a batch of petitions over the road blockade at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi by protestors opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act , or CAA.

While the issue pertaining to Shaheen Bagh itself was rendered infructuous (pointless) since the protests ended after the Covid-19 pandemic broke out and a lockdown was imposed on March 25, the court heard the parties on the larger issue of the right to stage protests in public places and to what extent it can be regulated.

The right to protests should be balanced with the right to movement of public. In a parliamentary democracy, there is a right to protest. But can a public road be blocked for a long time? When and where can protests be held? We will think about how it can be balanced, the bench headed by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul remarked.

The protestors in Shaheen Bagh were opposing the CAA, which was passed on December 12, 2019. The CAA sought to fast-track the grant of Indian citizenship to religious minorities, including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, from the Muslim-majority countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The exclusion of the Muslim community led to widespread protests across the country, as did the linking of citizenship with religion.

Shaheen Bagh was the epicentre of such protests in the national capital. The protests in Shaheen Bagh started on December 15, 2019 and continued for more than three months.

Advocate Amit Sahni and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nand Kishore Garg had moved the Supreme Court in February, seeking the lifting of the road blockade in the Shaheen Bagh  Kalindi Kunj stretch.

Sahni, in his plea, stated that the road closure in Shaheen Bagh had caused great inconvenience to the public at large. The road closure and the consequent traffic diversion led to a wastage of precious time and energy besides congesting other routes, he claimed.

Sahni stated that while people had the right to protest, the right is subject to reasonable restrictions and protestors cannot be allowed to occupy public roads indefinitely.

The Supreme Court had tasked senior advocate Sanjay Hegde and advocate Sadhana Ramachandran, on February 17, to mediate with the protestors and come to a constructive solution to resolve the issue but no solution could be arrived at.

During the hearing on Monday, advocate Sahni said that while there is a right to protests, it should not inconvenience public at large. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, representing the central government, said the right to protest cannot be absolute and is subject to reasonable restrictions.

Every right is qualified, he said.
Children in northern Syria are being forced to work and make money to support their families, forgoing an education reports North Press.

In Syrias Turkish-held northern town of Azaz, 13-year-old Ahmed Husseini sells biscuit to feed his sick mother and little brothers and sisters.

Husseini was displaced from the town of Misraba in Eastern Ghouta near Damascus six years ago after his school was bombarded in airstrikes by Syrian government and Russian warplanes.

Many teachers in my school were killed and many children were saved because they were not attending schools at that time fearing airstrikes, he said.

Husseini with thousands of children were displaced from Damascus and Idleb and found themselves in camps in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

Husseini said he and many children who are living in camps and villages dont go to school and sell biscuit and tissues to feed their families.

I dont know how to write my name and I have forgotten the alphabet I learned about six years ago, he said.

Every morning, Husseini and dozens of his friends travel from camps and the countryside to Azazs markets and streets to earn some money and buy food for their families.

Husseini is the only breadwinner in his family after the death of his father in an airstrike.

Child labor has become something normal in Azaz and other Syrian cities, as a result of the deteriorating living situation, and lack of interest in the education sector as a result of the war.

Hassan Hamish, an 11-year-old child, displaced from south of Hama, works with his father in a motorcycle repair shop, in Azaz city.

I cant spell my name, said Hassan sadly, as he helped his father repair a motorcycle.

Raged Mazloum, a teacher, said poverty was the main reason for child labor.

Making a child a source of income is unacceptable and will have disastrous results when they grow up, she said.

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.
Amaravati/New Delhi, Sep 21 : The Andhra Pradesh government has moved the Supreme Court against the state high court's gag order on media as well as the stalling of investigation in an Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) case involving a former advocate general (AG) and others.

"The AP government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the AP High Court order barring media from reporting on an FIR filed by the state's ACB against a former AG and 12 others," said a statement.

Hours after several media reports were published last Tuesday about an alleged Amaravati real estate scandal of more than 4,000 acres, involving some influential people amassing lands in the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) during the erstwhile Telugu Desam Party (TDP) regime, the high court issued the gag orders.

The high court order said that no media house, including social media users, should publish anything about the ACB FIR which incriminated 13 people.

Apart from the gag order, the ACB was restrained from proceeding with the investigation.

According to the official statement, legal experts have raised nine questions over the high court's gag order and stalling of investigation.

Some of the legal questions include whether an accused person has the right of hearing even before the registration of an FIR under the provisions of the CrPc? "Can the investigation process against any person be stayed when there are prima facie allegations against him in an FIR," said the statement.

Other questions include whether protection orders can be granted to such an accused person who has not even approached the court of law? Also, whether the Advocates Act, 1961 offers any protection to an advocate accused of committing cognizable offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The Andhra Pradesh government prayed to the apex court to quash the gag order and also the stay, explaining its perspective in detail.

"It is settled law that even if a complaint is politically motivated, it cannot be quashed if it is otherwise maintainable. The high court grossly erred in not even referring to the contents of the FIR," said the statement.

According to the state government, the high court entertained the petition even before the registration of an FIR in the Amaravati land scam case.

"Investigation is the domain of the probe agencies and the courts should not interfere until the investigation is complete. However, the high court has proceeded to issue a slew of directions without even examining the contents of the FIR, which on bare perusal reflect that a massive scam has taken place," the statement claimed.

In the particular ACB case, the government told the apex court that a writ petition was filed in anticipation of an FIR.

"Such a petition was completely unprecedented and not maintainable and ought to have been dismissed. However, as mentioned above, the petition was entertained and a slew of directions were passed," the statement said.

On the barring of investigation in the case, the state government referred to the Imtiyaz Ahmed vs State of Uttar Pradesh case (2012).

"The power to grant stay of investigation and trial is a very extraordinary power given to the high courts and the same power is to be exercised sparingly only to prevent an abuse of the process and to promote the ends of justice," it said.

The statement further stated that the Andhra Pradesh government approached the Supreme Court against the unprecedented high court order after major sections of the legal and media fraternities questioned the legitimacy of the gag order and the stalling of investigation.
Chennai, Sep 21 : Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK on Monday dismissed its Tuticorin party functionary A. Thirumanavel for acting in a manner that brought disrepute to the party.

In a joint statement, party Coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and Joint Coordinator and Chief Minister K. Palaniswami announced Thirumanavel's dismissal and asked other party cadres not to have any truck with him.

On Monday, Thirumanavel, who was AIADMK's Tuticorin South District Traders Wing Secretary, and another person had surrendered before the local court here in connection with the kidnap and murder case of youth Selvan in the district.

Earlier DMK President M.K.Stalin wondered whether the Tuticorin district is under the police control or under the control of some ruling AIADMK and local police officials.

Condemning the attack on party lawmaker Anitha Radhakrishnan, he said that those who had expressed support to Selvan's family are being threatened to close the murder case.

Noting Harikrishnan, the police official charged in the murder, is yet to be arrested, Stalin demanded that the case be transferred to Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department (CBCID) and those who had attacked Radhakrishnan be arrested.

Last week, Selvan, who was riding a two-wheeler, was knocked down by a car, and then abducted in it. Later, his body was found.

Selvan's mother S. Elizabeth lodged a complaint and accused policeman Harikrishnan, Thirumanavel and others of the murder.

Following a probe, Thisaiyanvilai police registered a case against Thattarmadam station Inspector Harikrishnan, Thirumanavel and others for kidnap and murder.

The police probe revealed there was a land dispute between Selvan and Thirumanavel. It is alleged Thirumanavel had encroached the land measuring 1.75 acres of Selvan's family.

Selvan's mother had alleged that at Thirumanavel's insistence Harikrishnan registered cases against Selvan and his brothers Panguraj and Peter Raja, and they were beaten up in the police station several times.

According to Elizabeth, a complaint was lodged with the State Human Rights Commission against the police torture. Then, Selvan approached the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court to complain.

She alleged that angered by this, Harikrishnan planned Selvan's murder with Thirumanavel's help.

Tamil Nadu Police have suspended Harikrishnan and ordered a CB-CID probe.
Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria, Monday, 21st Sept 2020: The popular and credible outcome of the just conducted and concluded Governorship Election in Edo State, South-South Nigeria is not as a result of change of heart or repentance by the countrys doyens of election rigging but the international entry visa denial or threat of same by the Governments of the United States and United Kingdom and their allies; targeting the countrys malevolent political leaders and actors.

But for the announcement and enforcement of same and its targeted persons, the Nigerias doyens of election rigging would have declared the Edo Governorship Poll inconclusive on account of violence or canceled results that sufficiently affected the validated results and number of registered voters in some polling booths or electoral wards. This would have further been followed by militarized fresh polls in the affected areas with predetermined outcome in favor of their preferred candidate.

But in the Edo State Governorship Poll, the hands of the poll rigging doyens were tied especially when their attempts to use compromised and asymmetrically composed security agencies in the country to intimidate and scare away independent voters failed woefully. With US and UK entry visa ban starring on their faces like Trojan Virus, they were forced to yield and in the end, it was 307, 995 living votes for Godwin Obaseki and 223,619 votes for Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

This has become possible because the greatest crime anybody or group can perpetrate against Nigerias malevolent political leaders and actors including doyens of election rigging and their parastatal, security and judicial establishment counterparts is to ban or stop them and their families from traveling overseas particularly to the western capitals and cities-the paradise capital of Nigerian looters and butchers.

The western capitals and cities are not only the looters and butchers paradises on earth, but also safe haven for stockpiling stolen and misappropriated public funds including locally and internationally borrowed but diverted or misapplied or misappropriated or stolen public funds. The social services and amenities denied Nigerians back home are also enjoyed in quantum by the referenced with public funds stolen and stashed in the vaults and infrastructures of the western capitals and cities.

Therefore, while commending the present Governments of the United States and the United States and their allies for this bold step in the right direction, they should further beam their searchlights on members of the Edo State 2020 Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Appeals Tribunal; drawn from serving Judges of State and Federal High Courts as well as the Court of Appeal of the Federation. Such searchlight shall importantly and forensically be extended to the President of the Court of Appeal, who constitutionally is their appointing authority of the Polls Tribunal and Appeals Tribunal. To be carefully watched too are the Justices of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

This is because the matter finally terminates at the Supreme Court of Nigeria. It is also owing to the fact that Nigerias doyens of election rigging are infamously noted to have many tricks including court-room rigging formula, per Imo State Governorship summersault of Jan 2020 and may most likely have relocated to the court-room, with prophets of doom already lined up to strike when ignited. Intl Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law, therefore, strongly calls on the present Governments of US and UK to take firm notice of the referenced so as to put the named Judges and Justices and their heads in their watch lists.

As we congratulate the winner and the loser of the 2020 Edo State Governorship Poll, it is also our call on the present US and UK authorities to pay same attention to the 2021 Governorship Election in Anambra State and ensure that what has just taken place in Edo State is fully replicated. Having actively monitored democratic or electoral processes in the State since 1999 using various rights and democracy joint platforms including CLO, CODDEG, Intersociety and SBCHROs, etc, we shall soon be speaking boldly and intelligently on the state of governance and incoming electoral process in the State. Our areas of focus shall include existing charter of equity or gubernatorial rotation among the States three Senatorial Districts of Anambra Central, Anambra North and Anambra South.

For: Intl Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law

 Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chair of the Board

 Chinwe Umeche, Esq.

Head, Democracy & Good Governance Program

 Contacts:

Mobile/Whatsapp Line: +2348174090052

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.intersociety-ng.org


California companies must warn their workers of any potential exposure to the coronavirus and must pay their employees workers compensation benefits if they get sick with the disease under two laws that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last week.

Newsom, a Democrat, signed the laws over the objections of business groups, who have said they are unworkable.

One of the laws makes people who have the coronavirus eligible for workers compensation benefits. It takes effect immediately and applies to all workers in the state, but it treats first responders and health care workers differently than other employees.

Police officers, firefighters and health care workers  including janitors who are in contact with COVID-19 patients  are eligible if they get infected while on the job.

All other workers are eligible only if their workplaces experience an outbreak. For companies with between five and 100 employees, the law defines an outbreak as four or more infected workers who work at the same location within a two-week period.

For companies with more than 100 employees, outbreaks are defined as at least 4% of workers working in the same location being infected during a two week period.

The rules for first responders and health care workers are permanent. The rules for everyone else expire on Jan. 1, 2023.

Workers dont have to prove they were infected on the job to get benefits because the law assumes they got it while working. Instead, employers must prove that their workers did not get the virus while on the job to deny coverage.

In a letter to the state Legislature last month, business groups said they supported that for first responders and other groups at high risk of contracting the disease. But they said it wasnt fair to do that for other occupations with a lower risk of infection. They called the law unworkable for employers.

Newsom signed the law, authored by Democratic state Sen. Jerry Hill, during a Zoom call with supporters, including labor union leaders and members.

Monique Hernandez, a nurse, said nine of her fellow nurses were infected, though she works in an area called a clean unit where she does not have contact with coronavirus patients.

There is no such thing as a clean unit when it comes to COVID-19, she said. I took that very personal.

The second law that Newsom signed mandates that companies tell employees if they have been exposed to someone who has either tested positive, been ordered to isolate or died because of the virus. That law, authored by Democratic Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes, takes effect Jan. 1.

Companies must do so within one business day of learning of the exposures or they can face fines issued by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Business groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, opposed the bill because they said the law is vague and will be difficult for businesses to comply with, resulting in good employers facing hefty fines.

Newsom countered that the two laws prioritize our workforce, including front line workers he said politicians pay a lot of lip service to, but often we dont back up.

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

Topics California COVID-19 Workers' Compensation
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become $13 billion richer in just a week as Tesla stocks rise to 19 percent from September 11 to 18.

This was a sharp recovery from September 8's 21 percent stocks that plunged when Tesla was unexpectedly not included in the S&P 500 index.

The marked rise in Tesla stocks came just a few days ahead of "Battery Day" slated for September 22, wherein Elon Musk will be announcing Tesla's newest innovations.

According to an article on Forbes, Musk announced on September 11 via social media that many exciting things will be revealed during the Battery Day.

Musk's post had the analysts speculating what these "many exciting things" could be, with Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, saying that an announcement of things like a million-mile battery or a big jump in battery production capability could change the narrative for Tesla.

Latin Post had written that fellow billionaire Bill Gates had cast doubts on the viability of electric trucks in his blog last month. Gates explained that he is dubious about electric vehicles' potential as long-haul vehicles and pointed to the batteries as being the problem.

Gates' opinion prompted Elon Musk to call him clueless.Daniel Ives, a Wedbush analyst, said that Tesla would be able to get more profits if it would bring its cost of production below a threshold of $100 per kilowatt-hour.

Aside from battery manufacturing, Ives said that stronger sales in China could be an area of growth for the automaker. Ives added that Chinese consumers could become 40 percent of Tesla's market by the start of 2022.

Becoming $13 billion richer is perhaps an ordinary week for the Tesla CEO as his other inventions also continue to progress.

Last week, Elon Musk's Neuralink idea got a boost when a Kaspersky study showed that 63 percent of Europeans would consider participating in the trial for augmenting their bodies, according to a report on the Tech Times.

Neuralink, co-founded by Musk, aims to enhance human capability and abilities through medicine and technology. Its goal is to implant a wireless-brain computer interface to help cure neurological conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's.

The concept also includes healing spinal cord injuries and ultimately fusing humankind with artificial intelligence.

On a webcast, Musk said that an implantable device could solve problems like memory loss, insomnia, depression, and hearing loss. He described the wireless-brain computer interface as a chip that is shaped like a coin and fits like a "Fitbit" in the skull.

Last August 28, Neuralink, led by Musk, presented a video of a pig named Gertrude, which was implanted with the Neuralink chip. Gertrude had the chip implanted in the part of the brain that controls the snout.

Elon Musk coaxed Gertrude to appear on the camera eating and sniffling straw that triggered spikes on a graph tracking Gertrude's neural activity.

Musk, however, did not confirm if the human trials for the chip would go as scheduled. He had earlier said that it would begin by the end of this year.

Check these out:

Elon Musk Calls Bill Gates 'Clueless' Following His Comments on Electric Trucks

Trump Approves TikTok-Oracle Deal

Android Users, Here's The App That Will Replace Dark Sky
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Centre are working on a way to allow non-bank entities to conduct digital authentication of customers. At present, only banks are allowed to conduct customer identification using Aadhaar.

Allowing more entities to do so would help reach a wider population, sources told The Economic Times. But the Centre has been hesitant to give non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) access to UIDAIs Aadhaar database due to prior complaints of misuse.

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

One of the sources said that providing access through a third-party like the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) could help prevent misuse and money laundering.

Notably, the Supreme Court had barred NBFCs from using Aadhaar for customer authentication purpose. This move would thus be significant as the COVID-29 pandemic has forced businesses online and social distancing norms are likely to be in place for the foreseeable future.

P Satish, Executive Director of Sa-Dhan, which is a microfinance institution (MFI), told the paper they requested that Section 11A of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) be invoked as it permits NBFCs the access to Aadhaar for authentication purposes since lack of e-KYC could adversely affect clients and MFIs.

As NBFC-MFIs and MFIs were disallowed from using e-KYC, the microfinance sector and its clients have been facing a lot of issues. The RBIs response has been positive. It is understood that they are already in touch with the government on this matter," he said.
Calculated positions and orbits of the moons. The left side of the orbital plane is pointing towards us. The size of the objects is not shown to scale. Right: False-colour map of the infrared brightness at a wavelength of 70 m after removal of the signal from the planet Uranus, measured with the PACS instrument of the Herschel Space Observatory. The characteristic shape of the signals, which resembles a three-leaf clover, is an artifact generated by the telescope. [less] Image: T. Muller (HdA)/O. H. Detre et al./MPIA

More than 230 years ago astronomer William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus and two of its moons.

Using the Herschel Space Observatory, a group of astronomers led by Ors H. Detre of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy now has succeeded in determining physical properties of the five main moons of Uranus. The measured infrared radiation, which is generated by the Sun heating their surfaces, suggests that these moons resemble dwarf planets like Pluto. The team developed a new analysis technique that extracted the faint signals from the moons next to Uranus, which is more than a thousand times brighter. The study was published today in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

To explore the outer regions of the Solar System, space probes such as Voyager 1 and 2, Cassini-Huygens and New Horizons were sent on long expeditions. Now a German-Hungarian research group, led by Ors H. Detre of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg, shows that with the appropriate technology and ingenuity, interesting results can also be achieved with observations from far away.

The scientists used data from the Herschel Space Observatory, which was deployed between 2009 and 2013 and in whose development and operation MPIA was also significantly involved. Compared to its predecessors that covered a similar spectral range, the observations of this telescope were significantly sharper. It was named after the astronomer William Herschel, who found infrared radiation in 1800. A few years earlier, he also discovered the planet Uranus and two of its moons (Titania and Oberon), which now have been explored in greater detail along with three other moons (Miranda, Ariel and Umbriel).

The discovery of the moons in the Herschel data was a coincidence

"Actually, we carried out the observations to measure the influence of very bright infrared sources such as Uranus on the camera detector," explains co-author Ulrich Klaas, who headed the working group of the PACS camera of the Herschel Space Observatory at MPIA with which the images were taken. "We discovered the moons only by chance as additional nodes in the planet's extremely bright signal." The PACS camera, which was developed under the leadership of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching, was sensitive to wavelengths between 70 and 160 m. This is more than a hundred times greater than the wavelength of visible light. As a result, the images from the similarly sized Hubble Space Telescope are about a hundred times sharper.

Cold objects radiate very brightly in this spectral range, such as Uranus and its five main moons, which - warmed by the Sun - reach temperatures between about 60 and 80 K (-213 to -193 C).

"The timing of the observation was also a stroke of luck," explains Thomas Muller from MPE. The rotational axis of Uranus, and thus also the orbital plane of the moons, is unusually inclined towards their orbit around the Sun. While Uranus orbits the Sun for several decades, it is mainly either the northern or the southern hemisphere that is illuminated by the Sun. "During the observations, however, the position was so favourable that the equatorial regions benefited from the solar irradiation. This enabled us to measure how well the heat is retained in a surface as it moves to the night side due to the rotation of the moon. This taught us a lot about the nature of the material," explains Muller, who calculated the models for this study. From this he derived thermal and physical properties of the moons.

When the space probe Voyager 2 passed Uranus in 1986, the constellation was much less favourable. The scientific instruments could only capture the south pole regions of Uranus and the moons.

The moons resemble the dwarf planets at the edge of the Solar System

Muller found that these surfaces store heat unexpectedly well and cool down comparatively slowly. Astronomers know this behaviour from compact objects with a rough, icy surface. That is why the scientists assume that these moons are celestial bodies similar to the dwarf planets at the edge of the Solar System, such as Pluto or Haumea. Independent studies of some of the outer, irregular Uranian moons, which are also based on observations with PACS/Herschel, indicate that they have different thermal properties. These moons show characteristics of the smaller and loosely bound Transneptunian Objects, which are located in a zone beyond the planet Neptune. "This would also fit with the speculations about the origin of the irregular moons," adds Muller. "Because of their chaotic orbits, it is assumed that they were captured by the Uranian system only at a later date."

However, the five main moons were almost overlooked. In particular, very bright objects such as Uranus generate strong artifacts in the PACS/Herschel data, which cause some of the infrared light in the images to be distributed over large areas. This is hardly noticeable when observing faint celestial objects. With Uranus, however, it is even more pronounced. "The moons, which are between 500 and 7400 times fainter, are at such a small distance from Uranus that they merge with the similarly bright artifacts. Only the brightest moons, Titania and Oberon, stand out a little from the surrounding glare," co-author Gabor Marton from Konkoly Observatory in Budapest describes the challenge.

Sophisticated data processing makes the initially invisible visible

This accidental discovery spurred Ors H. Detre to make the moons more visible so that their brightness could be reliably measured. "In similar cases, such as the search for exoplanets, we use coronagraphs to mask their bright central star," Detre explains. "Herschel did not have such a device. Instead, we took advantage of the outstanding photometric stability of the PACS instrument." Based on this stability and after calculating the exact positions of the moons at the time of the observations, he developed a method that allowed him to remove Uranus from the data. "We were all surprised when four moons clearly appeared on the images, and we could even detect Miranda, the smallest and innermost of the five largest Uranian moons," Detre concludes.

"The result demonstrates that we don't always need elaborate planetary space missions to gain new insights into the Solar System," co-author Hendrik Linz from MPIA points out. "In addition, the new algorithm could be applied to further observations which have been collected in large numbers in the electronic data archive of the European Space Agency ESA. Who knows what surprise is still waiting for us there?"

Background information

Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Knights of Columbus has donated $10,000 to Our Lady of Solace Church in Brooklyn to help the parish recover from vandalism that occurred earlier this month.

K of C Supreme Knight Carl Anderson directed the gift in solidarity with the Brooklyn church after parishioners were stunned by the desecration of a beloved statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

"The desecration of our Catholic statues and churches is a grievous crime against all people who value religious freedom," Anderson said. "Together with Pope Francis, our bishops and faithful everywhere, we stand against violence, hatred and bigotry."

The Rev. Javier Flores, the parish administrator, described the Knights' gift as "overwhelming," and said the goal is to have a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe in place by her feast day on Dec. 12.

A security camera captured the Sept. 11 assault on the statue at Our Lady of Solace in Brooklyn's Coney Island. The base of the statue was damaged along with the face, hands and veil on the figure of the Virgin Mary. The New York City Police Department is offering a reward of $2,500 for any information about the culprit.

About the Knights of Columbus

The Knights of Columbus is one of the world's leading fraternal and service organizations with 2 million members in more than 16,000 parish-based councils. During the past year, Knights around the world donated more than 77 million service hours and $187 million for worthy causes in their communities. The organization also offers extensive life insurance services to members and their families, resulting in more than $114 billion of life insurance in force. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors offers investment services to individuals and institutions in accord with Catholic social teachings. From helping children in need, to providing wheelchairs for the disabled, to helping stock food banks, to offering top-rated and affordable insurance products to its members, the Knights of Columbus has supported families and communities for more than 138 years. www.kofc.org

SOURCE Knights of Columbus

Related Links

www.kofc.org


Prableen Bajpai

Serving to ferry the goods and chattels, the trunks bearing the black paint symbolize a constant in the lives of defence personnel. The only thing that changes on these trunks with each posting is the information printed on them, which reads, from Silchur to Mamum, Phaileng (Mizoram) to Ambala Cantonment, Pune to Leh, and so on. During my school years, I felt both excited, and a bit sad, when my dads posting orders would come. The orders to move meant a complete reshuffle of our world. Although peppered with unwitting eagerness regarding the possible adventures that lay ahead, leaving behind friends and starting from the scratch each time was hardly easy. Despite the hardships, I didn't want to leave this world and I married someone who adorns the olive green. My journey with the black boxes began again. Over the years, I have seen the brighter side of army life and its adversities.

Money matters on the backburner

The amazing life that the armed forces offer comes with unique its own challenges. The absence of permanency in many spheres of life puts many things in the backburner, financial management and planning being one of them. Here are two steps which should be followed to set the basics right.

During the entire service period, there are many years of separation from ones family. While families are not allowed during field postings, many times, they are unable to join because the location is far-flung and/or lacking in good schooling facilities. Not staying together as a family poses a different type of money management challenge. On the other hand, a posting to a family station comes with its own challenges. At a new location, one usually settles in the mess or a week or ten days before being allotted a temporary house or taking a house on rent. The wait for the permanent house (as per entitlement) can take even a year. All of these factors result in multiple leaks from ones corpus.

A close friend, also an army persons wife, shared her thoughts with me: Postings result in a lot of money outgo  while all moves are reimbursed (defence personnel gets a composite transfer grant), the amount of damage to your belongings (loss in many cases) over the years does have an impact. With each move, the school hunt starts and the subsequent admission is a huge money drainer. At the present location, we have changed the house twice. Its a good life, but has its unique struggles.

The importance of liquidity

Thus, one crucial component is to have liquid cash up your sleeve. While CDA (Controller of Defence Accounts) is pretty punctual with its salary crediting mechanism on the last day of each month, its still important to keep aside a minimum of six months expenses (including any EMI and investment amount). Park this sum as a sweep in a fixed deposit, or a liquid mutual fund and keep adding a small amount to this fund each month. This can come handy for heads such as bigger household purchases, travel expenses, and admission expenses. This ensures that ones long-term investments are not touched along the way.

While writing this article, I asked one of my classmates, now commanding a unit in the North East, to list a few challenges related to money management. Like a true fauji, he said roger and sent me a list of points, which Im quoting here:

-Lack of awareness due to being out of the mainstream;

-No access to relevant info in real-time due to being out of network/TV zone;

-Easy targets for unscrupulous agents and finance managers due to constant moves.

I felt bad on reading his third point. Sadly, it is a reality. My next point highlights his third.

Unsuitable products

Don't buy insurance-plus-investment products. The AGIF (Army Group Insurance Fund) subscription under the head of debit of the payslip is what army personnel are contributing towards insurance. Depending upon the rank, insurance covers are for around 5075 lakhs. Since there is a provision of family pension, the need for insurance cover is comparatively limited.

The insurance cover provided by AGIF can be complemented with a pure term plan depending upon the liabilities (such as a home loan) and ones situationwhether the spouse is working or not, kids are settled or still in school, and financial independence of parents, among other factors.

Defence personnel may want to buy an additional life insurance cover if they are the sole breadwinners of large dependant families that may also have many liabilities or even a home loan.

Whatever be the case, dont buy insurance and investment bundled togetherthese products do not serve any purpose. The insurance you get from such products is mostly 10 times the premium amount, so even a 50,000 yearly premium will only give a 500,000 cover. Thus, if you feel that additional insurance is needed, then it must be a term plan.

To be continued in part II.

(The writer is founder, FinFix)
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - As wildfires endanger lives and property in places like California, Oregon and Washington, Arizona is stepping up to send help. State agencies including the Arizona National Guard and the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, along with local and federal response teams based in Arizona, are sending assets and manpower to aid in fire suppression efforts.

Here are some ways Arizona has responded:



Arizona National Guard

The Arizona National Guard last week mobilized approximately 30 citizen-soldiers to California from the 98th Aviation Troop Command in response to a request for wildfire fighting assistance. The Guards initial support will span approximately two weeks and includes three UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters equipped with wildfire suppression capabilities and specially trained air crews certified in wildfire response.

Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management

The Department of Forestry and Fire Management has sent 36 engines, six water tenders and two hand crews to California, Oregon and Colorado to assist on various incidents. In total, 227 personnel from Arizona are assigned on fires throughout the three states.



Due to the extreme demand for wildland firefighting resources throughout the west, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management also sent two agency Battalion Chiefs to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington to train some of their military personnel in wildfire suppression. Upon the trainings completion, the Department assigned the military members into two hand crews and mobilized them to California for fire assignments.



In addition to state assets, hotshot crews from the U.S. Forest Services also have mobilized in support of operations throughout the west and northwest.
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks tumbled on Monday as daily Covid-19 cases in the European Union and United Kingdom reached record highs of more than 45,000 on a 14-day notification rate. There is a growing realization that it could take many years to manufacture enough of a coronavirus vaccine to immunize the entire world population. Top scientists don't expect a working vaccine to be completed before next year at the earliest. The benchmark CAC 40 tumbled 134 points, or 2.7 percent, to 4,844 after declining 1.2 percent on Friday. LVMH shares fell 2.3 percent. The luxury goods giant said it has submitted its $16.2 billion takeover deal for Tiffany & Co for an EU antitrust review. Banks were coming under selling pressure after reports that several big global banks have moved staggering sums of illicit cash for shadowy characters and criminal networks over nearly two decades. BNP Paribas dropped 4.3 percent, Credit Agricole gave up 4 percent and Societe Generale fell nearly 5 percent. Travel-related stocks were also moving down, with Air France KLM losing 4.5 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Cult leader Keith Raniere before he was taken into custody. He is awaiting sentencing on sex trafficking charges among other crimes

NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere's lawyers have claimed in court papers that he didn't need to enslave women to have sex because 'many' were already interested in him.

Raniere is awaiting sentencing on charges including sex trafficking of children, conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit forced labor. He ran the NXIVM sex cult, enticing a collection of women including some famous actresses and heiresses, who he branded and manipulated.

He maintains his innocence and said in his court records last week that he stood by everything he has ever done which he thinks includes helping people achieve 'happiness'.

Among the other comments from his lawyers in their 86-page memorandum is that he did not need to recruit women for sex or to manipulate them because he attracted so many other women on his own.

'Raniere had been in intimate relationships with six of the eight first-line DOS members, many of them for many years.

'As his personal history to this point made clear, there were many women who took an interest in Raniere in various ways, including wanting to pursue an intimate relationship.

'He certainly did not need DOS to have sex partners,' they said, using the alternative name for the cult.

They also claim that it is not true women were branded against their will and that they 'absolutely' knew they were going to be brandished and wanted to be.

'He remains proud to have played a role in helping people achieve greater happiness and better lives.

NXIVM cult victims were brandished with this symbol. Raniere said those who got it did so of their own volition

Among the women involved was actress Allison Mack

'He remains proud to have been permitted to play a part in helping citizens and residents of Mexico strive to bring peace to a country beset by violent gangs, kidnappings and murders, a struggle that continues to the present and that will continue into the future.

'He also remains proud that he and others helped people with Tourettes syndrome to be able to minimize or eliminate the symptoms of this difficult condition.

'Simply put, he remains proud of his lifes work.

'He also remains determined to fight this case, which he views as a terrible injustice and, respectfully, an affront to what should be one of the great systems of Justice to ever exist,' his lawyers wrote.

Raniere's attorneys are asking that he be sentenced to 15 years behind bars.

Prosecutors want to see him jailed for life and say that it is worrying he has still not shown any remorse for his actions.
Local politicians across the spectrum have come out to urge Louth people to play their part in reducing the worrying rise in Covid-19 cases in the county in recent weeks.

Fianna Fail Senator for Louth Erin McGreehan called for community unity and responsibility in the days ahead.

New figures show a further rise in the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in hospitals and intensive care units.

Senator McGreehan said: We must all play our part as a community and country and try to reduce to rising cases of COVID-19. This means that we must follow the public help guidance at present and try to limit the number of people we are visiting.

Dublin has seen restrictions implemented for three weeks which is very tough on the businesses which have had to close their doors again. I am asking the people of Louth to work hard at limiting interaction between households to reduce cases.

Anyone who is using public transport must adhere to wearing a face covering. Co Louth has seen 120 cases in last two weeks compared to 18 in previous two weeks. We must all work together again to try and lower the transmission rates, concluded Senator McGreehan.

Fine Gael TD, Fergus ODowd, called on local communities to "rally together by staying apart" in order to combat the Covid-19 virus in Louth and East Meath.

ODowd said: The incidence level in Louth per 100k of the population is far too high. The 14 day incidence was 53 per 100,000 on Sunday 13th September and had climbed to 102 per 100,000 yesterday evening. We have had 131 cases in the last fortnight.

Communities have already flattened the curve in County Louth and we can do it again by working together and following the most important public health advice.

Dr Glynn has reminded us that we must avoid crowds. It is helpful to work on the basis that we, or those we meet could be infectious and behave accordingly.

Businesses have worked relentlessly to stay open during the pandemic and many are reopening this week following lengthy closures.

The last thing we need now is for level 3 restrictions to be imposed causing further unquantifiable economic consequences, but be in no doubt that this will be the outcome if we do not break the chain of transmission.

That is why Im calling on everyone in Louth to redouble the efforts made to date."
Tesla Inc. will provide a highly anticipated technology update on Tuesday when Elon Musk takes center stage at an event the chief executive officer has dropped hints about for months  and which has helped propel the companys sky-high valuation.

The Battery Day presentation, which follows the annual shareholders meeting, is expected to showcase innovations designed to keep the companys lead in electric cars as rivals flood the market with new battery-powered vehicles over the next couple of years.

If history is any guide, Musk could talk about demand for Teslas vehicles at the shareholder meeting, or give updates about new factories in Berlin and Austin, Texas. Shares of the company rose as much as 2.8% in premarket trading Monday after Musk indicated Tesla may be in line for a record quarter in an internal email to staff.

But the first-ever Battery Day, where Tesla will stake out its technology road map, is of keen interest to investors. The tiniest improvement in batteries can have a huge impact, because they are an electric cars most-expensive part.

Will Musk and Chief Technology Officer Drew Baglino go super deep with a highly technical presentation on battery chemistry and improvements made since Tesla acquired Maxwell Technologies in 2019? Is Musk  who just last year vowed that 2020 would be the year of the robotaxi  going to promise flying cars? Or will he tout improved range for Teslas existing vehicles and pledge to add a more budget-friendly car to Teslas lineup?

A lot of the stuff that Tesla has been working on is about making the battery manufacturing cheaper, not a new recipe for a battery or a completely new revolutionary structure, said Sam Jaffe, managing director of Cairn ERA in Boulder, Colorado. But when they institute all of these advances, they will be able to make a $25,000 car.

The shareholder meeting gets underway at 1:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday in Fremont, California. Musk likes to keep his fans and rivals guessing, but here are seven educated guesses about what he may unveil.

1. Cost Parity?

About a decade ago, the U.S. Department of Energy set a target to bring the cost of battery packs down to $100 per kilowatt-hour from an average of more than $1,000. It predicted when this milestone is reached, electric cars will achieve cost parity with those powered by internal combustion engines, eliminating the EV premium for buyers. Tesla is likely to announce its battery costs have dropped to less than $100 per kilowatt-hour, according to Venkat Viswanathan, a battery expert at Carnegie Mellon University. Teslas cost could fall further to $80 per kilowatt-hour by 2025, said James Frith, head of energy storage at BloombergNEF.

2. Destination Density

One reason Tesla can make cheaper batteries is because it packs more energy in less material and volume. This matters because the size of a vehicle wont change much, but the amount of energy stored in its batteries goes up  allowing electric cars to go further on a single charge. The high-end Model S boasts a range of about 400 miles per charge, the longest of any car now on the market. Currently, the most advanced batteries found in a Tesla Model 3 have an energy density of about 250 watt-hours per kilogram, according to BloombergNEFs Frith. By 2025, that could rise to as much as 400 watt-hours per kg, he said.

3. Electrode Innovation

Batteries have three major components: two electrodes  anode and cathode  and an electrolyte that helps shuttle the charge between them. The materials used to make them determine how much energy batteries store and at what cost.

Teslas acquisiton of Maxwell Technologies gives it the ability to use dry-electrode technology, said Colin Rusch, a senior analyst at Oppenheimer. That can help lower the amount of energy needed for the manufacturing process. Even if Musk doesnt mention Maxwell by name, theres a good chance Tesla has adopted dry-electrode technology in some form.

Wet vs. Dry Electrodes: To ready the components of a battery, energy-storing chemicals are mixed in a solvent. That process helps the mixture to have a pancake-mixture type consistency, which can then be coated on aluminum or copper sheets. Once the coating is done, the sheets are passed through hot ovens to dry out the solvent before the electrodes can be packed into a battery. Dry-electrode technology does away with the use of solvents altogether by adding so-called binder chemicals, which when heated become sticky enough to hold the powdered mixture tightly onto the metal sheeting. The upshot is that dry-electrode technology can help lower the amount of energy needed for the manufacturing process and reduce the use of equipment and space on the factory floor  all ways to shave costs.

In 2019, Tesla also acquired Hibar Systems Ltd., a Canadian equipment manufacturer. Theres a small chance Musk may announce that Tesla is making its own batteries, according to analyst Jeff Osborne of Cowen & Co., in addition to using batteries from Panasonic Corp., Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. and LG Chem Ltd. While getting into manufacturing is capital intensive and thus risky, it could pay dividends in the long term.

4. Cobalt-Free?

Tesla is on a mission to reduce the use of cobalt in its batteries, and Musk might have news to share about progress on that front. The reason: Cobalt is expensive, and most of it comes from mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo that are known to employ children and disregard environmental norms. Panasonic, which supplies NCA (nickel cobalt aluminum) cells to Tesla, has said it plans to commercialize a cobalt-free version in two to three years. Meanwhile, CATL provides Tesla with lower-cost lithium-ion-phosphate batteries that dont contain any cobalt but are less energy-dense than NCA batteries. Musk has said Tesla also is looking for cheaper and greener supplies of nickel.

5. Spiked With Silicon

Musk has said in the past that Tesla dopes anodes that contain graphite with a little bit of silicon. This helps because silicon has a much higher affinity for lithium, so the more silicon there is in the anode, the higher the energy density of the battery. Its possible Musk will announce Tesla has found a way to increase the amount of silicon loading in graphite anodes, Frith said, but the CEO probably wont announce Tesla has all-silicon anodes, which are still a few years away from commercial use in EVs.

6. Million-Mile Battery

Tesla may follow CATL in announcing it now offers a million-mile battery, or one with as many as 20,000 charge-discharge cycles. Currently Tesla has a 150,000-mile or 8-year warranty, whichever comes first. A million-mile battery probably wont extend the warranty seven-fold, because other components of the car probably will wear out sooner. But it could allow Tesla to make fleet vehicles, such as the long-promised autonomous taxis, that rack up mileage much more quickly than privately owned cars. Cowens Osborne also said this could allow Tesla cars to connect with the electric grid and provide services to utilities, such as absorbing excess renewable energy or reducing demands on transmission infrastructure.

7. Partnership Shift?

Teslas most longstanding partner on batteries has been Osaka-based Panasonic. The two companies jointly operate the massive battery plant outside of Reno, Nevada: Panasonic makes the cells, and Tesla strings thousands of cells into the massive battery packs for each car. But Musk has never been keen about depending on one supplier, and Tesla does have smaller-scale agreements with CATL in Chinas Fujian province and LG Chem in Seoul. As Tesla builds additional plants in Berlin and Austin, Texas, who will supply the batteries for them? Tesla also sells stationary batteries, which it calls the Megapack, to utility companies that need battery storage for the electric grid.

Will one supplier emerge as dominant for Teslas auto business, while another focuses on the utility market?

We expect an update on its relationships with cell partners like Panasonic and CATL, said Rusch of Oppenheimer. Given the scale of the opportunity in both vehicle and stationary power, we expect TSLA to continue working closely with a few battery suppliers to scale production with key steps remaining in TSLA facilities.
A man fills his car at a Shell garage in Glasgow. Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Reuters

Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB.L) is looking to cut up to 40% off its costs related to producing oil and gas as it focuses on the renewable energy and power markets.

Thats according to a source who spoke exclusively to Reuters.

The project is known internally as Project Reshape and is expected to be completed by the end of this year, said Mondays report. There will be three main divisions of the business that are impacted by the cuts and they will reportedly be in addition to a $4bn (3.1bn) target set in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

Royal Dutch Shell shares were trading lower on Monday at around 2:30pm London time. They are down 1.9%, falling to annual lows amid the wider market slump.

The business is looking to revamp its strategy with more of a green energy focus. Chart: Yahoo Finance

Shells strategic move comes in the wake of similar ones by its peers, including BP (BP) and Total (TOT), which have also been battling for a greater share of the renewable energy market. Shells cost cuts key are key for it to transition into the renewables market as margins in it are relatively low.

We had a great model but is it right for the future? There will be differences, this is not just about structure but culture and about the type of company we want to be, a senior Shell source, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

The business is exploring ways to reduce spending on oil and gas production in its largest division, known as upstream, according to two sources who spoke to Reuters. Roughly 30% to 40% of those cuts will be in operating costs and capital spending on new projects.

Shell also will refocus its oil and gas production on a few key hubs, including the Gulf of Mexico, Nigeria and the North Sea, the sources said.

Last year, Shells overall operating costs came to $38bn and capital spending totalled $24bn.

READ MORE: Oil slides as Libya production resumes and fears grow over COVID-19 hit to demand
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-19 01:08:51|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The relations between China and the European Union (EU) have gone through ups and downs in the past decades and yet cooperation has remained the mainstay, Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, has said.

According to the updates of the mission's website on Friday, Zhang made the remarks while delivering a keynote speech at a webinar organized by the European Policy Center on Thursday.

Zhang said China views the EU as a comprehensive strategic partner, and develops relations with the EU with the utmost goodwill and in good faith.

"We hope that the EU could look at China's development in an objective, rational and open way, not view China-EU interactions through ideological or geopolitical lens, still less misinterpret China's strategic intention," he said.

"There are no two identical leaves in the world. Given the breadth and depth of China-EU relations, it is inevitable for us to have different views or even divergences. We should not shy away from these differences," said the envoy.

He said that some issues may not be resolved in the short term as culture, social system and stage of development of both sides vary greatly.

"What matters is to seek common ground while reserving differences, not to lose sight of the consensus just because of certain differences, and not to let differences in specific areas hamper cooperation on a broader scale," Zhang noted.

"Otherwise, it would be like picking up a sesame seed only to lose a watermelon as an old Chinese saying goes," he said. Enditem
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.28

By Nargiz Ismayilova  Trend:

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement related to the 28th anniversary of the Balligaya massacre, Trend reports on August 28.

"Today marks 28 years since the massacre committed by the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia against peaceful Azerbaijanis in the village of Balligaya, Goranboy region of the Republic of Azerbaijan. As a result of the massacre in Balligaya on August 28, 1992, 24 Azerbaijani civilians including 6 minors, as well as a 6-month-old baby and a 93-year-old woman were brutally killed, the statement reads.

The bodies of some of the victims, most of them being children, women, and the elderly were burned. As a result of the massacre, 3 minors lost both parents. The Balligaya massacre is one of the series of massacres committed by the Armenian armed forces in Garadagli village of Khojavend region, Khojaly city, and Agdaban village of Kalbajar region in order to destroy the Azerbaijani population of Karabakh," the statement further says.

"The acts of war, as well as crimes against humanity and genocide acts committed by Armenia against the backdrop of the ongoing aggression against the Republic of Azerbaijan, are a gross violation of human rights and international humanitarian law, in particular, the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms," the Azerbaijani MFA said.

"We remind that in addition to the responsibilities of the Republic of Armenia for its activities contrary to the international law, certain acts committed in the context of armed conflict are considered international criminal acts in accordance with the customs and treaty norms of international criminal law, and therefore the persons involved in commissioning of these acts, and those who associated with them and assisted them, are also individually responsible," the statement said.

"We strongly condemn Armenia's purposeful and ongoing policy based on genocide, a crime against humanity, racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing against the Azerbaijani people, and declare that, in order to achieve peace and reconciliation in the context of resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, it is extremely important to put an end to impunity for all war crimes and crimes against humanity, including acts of ethnic cleansing and genocide perpetrated during the Armenian military aggression against the Republic of Azerbaijan, and to restore justice to the victims of those crimes," Azerbaijani MFA said.

"The Republic of Azerbaijan will continue to take the necessary steps, using all opportunities and national mechanisms established by national legislation and international law, to provide an adequate legal assessment of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against its civilian population, and bring the perpetrators to justice," the statement said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs honors the memory of the victims of the crime against humanity committed in the village of Balligaya.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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She is currently enjoying some well-earned time off in Turks and Caicos.

And Jennifer Lopez appeared to making the most of her exotic getaway in the luxury resort as she soaked up the sun on the beach with her fiance Alex Rodriguez on Monday afternoon.

The actress and singer, 51, put her killer curves on display in a neon pink bikini for a fun day beside the beach with her former baseball star beau, as they appeared to enjoy a romantic day without their kids.

Beach babe: Jennifer Lopez appeared to be enjoying some well-earned time off as she soaked up the sun on the beach in Turks and Caicos

JLo's triangle top by White Fox Swim left little to the imagination with its skimpy style and featured ribbons of fabric tied across her shoulder and around her back.

A pair of cheeky matching ribbed bottoms rested across her hips and showcased her enviable abs as she frolicked along the shore.

Her incredible physique and golden tan was on full display in the two-piece number.

Turks and Caicos is a celeb-favorite destination east of the Bahamas, and is known for its crystal clear waters and pristine sandy beaches.

Swimsuit: A pair of cheeky bottoms rested across her hips and showcased her enviable abs as she frolicked along the shore

She must work out: Her incredible physique and golden tan was on full display in the two-piece number by White Fox Swim

Just the two of us: Lopez put her killer curves on display in an electric pink bikini for a fun day on the sand with her fiance, Alex Rodriguez

Lopez added a golden touch to her beach attire with a selection of necklaces and a pair of her signature hoop earrings.

After cooling off in the water, she slicked back her shoulder-length hair and wore a pair of over-sized sunglasses.

Back on the sand, the Academy Award nominated star wrapped up in a plush white towel.

Fitness: Lopez is known for spending hours in the gym each week to sculpt her body

Back on land: ARod waited for his fiancee on the sand

Easy: After cooling off in the water, she slicked back her shoulder-length hair and wore a pair of over-sized sunglasses

Rodriguez seemed to mix business with pleasure as he was glued to his iPhone while lounging outside.

The former New York Yankee star sported a pair of black swim trunks and worked on his tan, meanwhile JLo wrapped her arms around her beau while the couple played in the water before taking a break on shore.

A-Rod proposed to Lopez in March 2019 after the couple had been dating for nearly two years.

Drying off: Back on the sand, the Academy Award nominated star wrapped up in a plush white towel

Busy guy: Rodriguez seemed to mix business with pleasure as he was glued to his iPhone while lounging outside

Cooling off: The former New York Yankee star sported a pair of black swim trunks and worked on his tan

Loved up: JLo wrapped her arms around her beau while the couple played in the water before taking a break on shore

The happy couple were supposed to say 'I do' this year, but the global pandemic and staying in quarantine put a halt to their wedding planning.

'It did affect it a little bit,' Lopez told Ellen DeGeneres in April. 'So we'll see what happens now. I really don't know what's gonna happen now as far as dates or anything like that.

'We are just kind of in a holding pattern like the rest of the world. So, again, it's just something we have to wait and see in a few months how this all pans out.'

Later that month, Alex told Jimmy Fallon that everything was a little more 'fluid' when it comes to planning their big day.

'We have to go with the flow now,' he said. 'Everything is fluid, everything's on just a pause. Obviously this is an unprecedented time, and for us, we just want to make sure that we think safety first and make sure that all the little ones are in a good place.'

Loving life: ARod proposed to Lopez in March 2019 after the couple had been dating for nearly two years

Pause: The happy couple were supposed to say 'I do' this year, but the global pandemic and staying in quarantine put a halt to their wedding planning

'It did affect it a little bit,' Lopez told Ellen DeGeneres in April. 'So we'll see what happens now. I really don't know what's gonna happen now as far as dates or anything like that'
DETROIT  A Detroit rapper was found dead inside a playground slide outside a holistic center on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Julian Max Julian Anderson, 40, was found upside-down in a tube slide outside The Psychedelic Healing Shack, Art Space and Vegan Restaurant on Woodward Avenue near 7 Mile Road in Detroit, FOX 2 Detroit reports. Police suspect the death was an overdose; they didnt find any signs of foul play, the report said.

Robert Dr. Rob Pizzimenti, the man who runs the Healing Shack, is now accused by protesters of using Andersons death to promote the business, the report said. Protesters are calling for the business to be investigated in relation to the death.

Pizzimenti went live on Facebook as EMTs removed Andersons body from the slide, the report said. Anderson was a regular customer there.

That boy is cold, I dont think hes coming back, Pizzimenti said in the video. He went on to say that there would be live music that night.

Pizzimenti has since apologized for the video, the report said.

READ MORE:

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Victorian women are seeking mental health support at record levels as the coronavirus pandemic drives up stress, anxiety and depression among those bearing the brunt of caring responsibilities.

Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, who runs The Alfred hospital women's mental health clinic, said: "We have been absolutely flooded with cases of women seeking support.

Professor Jayashri Kulkarni says women of all ages are "struggling more with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder" during the pandemic. Credit:Justin McManus

"We have never had so many referrals. The data strongly shows that women of all ages  middle aged, older, younger women  are struggling more with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder due to the impacts of COVID-19."

The professor of psychiatry at Monash University said the clinic was also treating a growing number of patients with self-harm injuries and an increasing cohort of women who had not experienced mental health issues before the COVID-19 pandemic.
An important and timely book. Elaina George, MD, author of Big Medicine

Early Arrival Press announces the release of Dr. Paul Penders new book Rebuilding Trust in Healthcare: A Doctors Prescription for a Post-Pandemic America. In this non-fiction narrative, Dr. Pender describes how trust develops between doctors and their patients and how internal and external factors contributed to distrust.

The coronavirus pandemic has underscored erosion of trust in healthcare that has been present long before the onset of COVID-19. Penders analysis of the myriad problems confronting our healthcare system is captured in a case-presentation format. Dr. Pender describes his assessment and plan for rebuilding trust in clear language for patients, healthcare providers and policy makers.

Dr. Pender effectively argues in Rebuilding Trust in Healthcare that the patient-physician relationship should be the fundamental building block for any proposal for healthcare reform. Pender states, I consider the relationship between the individual patient and physician a sacred pactan expression of mutual trust dating back to the time of the ancient Greeks. When I became a physician, I took the Hippocratic oath, an expression of altruism toward my fellow human beings. However, working in the world of modern medical care, doctors face challenges for living up to the tenets of the oath. Advocating for patients and for physicians has been a passion of Penders throughout a medical career spanning four decades.

Barbara L. McAneny, MD, American Medical Association Past President, praised Penders book. The cornerstone of healthcare, the relationship between a doctor and a patient, is under attack. Hospitals want patients to self identify as being a patient of the hospital and insurance companies want patients to identify with them. But neither hospitals nor health insurers actually care for patients: doctors care for patients. Fortunately for American patients, people like Dr. Paul Pender are fighting back. Using his experience of a long and satisfying career, and a light and humorous touch, Dr. Pender outlines the consequences of losing that crucial, therapeutic relationship. Both doctors and patients become marginalized in the pursuit of profits and consolidation. There are solutions, and Dr. Pender suggests a good place to start.

About the Author

Dr. Pender practiced clinical ophthalmology for 38 years, specializing in the medical and surgical treatment of eye diseases. He completed his residency at the world-renowned Wills Eye Hospital. Honors include a lecture series in his name by the New England Ophthalmological Society and the Secretariat Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology for his work on webinars for clinicians.

Dr. Pender blogs regularly on timely medical issues. He is available for Zoom presentations, podcast interviews, and any conversation about Americas healthcare system. He serves as an advisor to Vxtra Health, a company committed to collaborating with physicians to earn trust and manage healthcare costs. For more information visit: http://www.PaulPenderMD.com

Rebuilding Trust in Healthcare: A Doctors Prescription for a Post-Pandemic America (Early Arrival Press, Fall 2020); ISBN 978-0-578-75596-0. $25.00 paperback, $14.99 eBook; https://www.amazon.com/Rebuilding-Trust-Healthcare-Prescription-Post-Pandemic/dp/0578755963

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rebuilding-trust-in-healthcare-paul-pender/1137592642
Key equity benchmarks continued trading near the flat line in early afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading below the 11,500 mark. Pharma, metal, auto and FMCG shares declined.

At 12:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 7.01 points or 0.02% at 38,852.83. The Nifty 50 index lost 10.10 points or 0.09% at 11,494.85.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.64% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.50%.

Sellers outpaced buyers. On the BSE, 958 shares rose and 1533 shares fell. A total of 172 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 31,028,757 with 960,698 deaths. India reported 10,03,299 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 87,882 deaths while 43,96,399 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.39% to 20.125. The Nifty September 2020 futures were trading at 11,493, at a discount of 1.85 points compared with the spot at 11,494.85.

The Nifty option chain for 24 September 2020 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 46.88 lakh contracts at the 11,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 42.66 lakh contracts was seen at 11,500 strike price.

India-China standoff:

Sixth round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China on border stand-off will be held from Monday (21 September) at Moldo. The talks will include the implementation of a five-point agreement reached between the two Foreign Ministers at the SCO summit in Moscow on disengagement of troops and de-escalation of the situation in eastern Ladakh.

Parliament passes two Farm Bills:

Parliament passed two bills aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers' incomes. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 which were passed by Lok Sabha on 17 September 2020, were passed by the Rajya Sabha on 20 September.

The new legislation will create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce. It will also promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets notified under State Agricultural Produce Marketing legislations. The farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce and will not have to bear transport costs.

The Bill also proposes an electronic trading in transaction platform for ensuring a seamless trade electronically. In addition to mandis, farmers will get freedom to do trading at farmgate, cold storage, warehouse, processing units, etc. Farmers will be able to engage in direct marketing thereby eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realization of price.

Farmers in Punjab, Haryana and several others states have been protesting against the new legislations ever since the bills cleared Lok Sabha earlier last week.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index fell 1.49% to 8,040.15. The index rose 0.41% in the previous session.

Tata Motors (down 3.31%), Maruti Suzuki (down 2.57%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.42%), Hero MotoCorp (down 0.97%) and Ashok Leyland (down 0.94%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Steel Strips Wheels added 2.53% to Rs 462.30. The company announced export orders of nearly 10,000 wheels worth $133,000 for US caravan trailer market, to be executed in October 2020 from its Chennai plant.

IRCTC rose 0.72% to Rs 1414. Considering the huge demand for travel on specific routes, Ministry of Railways has decided to run 20 pairs of clone special trains from 21 September 2020. These clone trains will run on notified timings and will be fully reserved trains. The stoppages shall be limited to operational halts.

GOCL Corporation soared 10.49% to Rs 205.90 after the company said its UK subsidiary will garner about Rs 257 crore by paring stake in Quaker Houghton.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks on the coronavirus public health emergency during a news conference at the Hotel Du Pont, in Wilmington, Del. Read more

The 2020 presidential election could come down to envelopes.

The state Supreme Court in Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state thats seen as increasingly likely to determine who wins the White House, last week ordered officials to throw out naked ballots  mail ballots that arrive without inner secrecy envelopes. Pennsylvania uses a two-envelope mail ballot system: A completed ballot goes into a secrecy envelope that has no identifying information, and then into a larger mailing envelope that the voter signs.

Its unclear how many naked ballots there will be, because this is the first year any Pennsylvania voter can vote by mail, and most counties counted them in the June primary without tracking how many there were.

But Philadelphias top elections official warned Monday that the courts ruling is going to cause electoral chaos, lead to tens of thousands of votes being thrown out, and put the state at the center of significant postelection legal controversy, the likes of which we have not seen since Florida in 2000.

The decision ordering them thrown out was part of a trio of rulings Thursday that, among other things, extended the deadline for voters to send mail ballots back, permitted the use of drop boxes for voters to return them, and removed the Green Partys presidential ticket from the ballot.

Taken together, those rulings were seen as likely to give Democratic presidential nominee Joe Bidens campaign a boost, since Democrats are expected to vote by mail in far greater number than Republicans this year.

But throwing out naked ballots could be costly for Biden, in a state President Donald Trump won by only about 44,000 votes in 2016, or less than 1%.

While everyone is talking about the significance of extending the mail-ballot deadline, it is the naked ballot ruling that is going to cause electoral chaos, Lisa Deeley, chair of the Philadelphia city commissioners, wrote in a letter to state legislative leaders urging them to change the law to allow the ballots to be counted.

Deeley warned there will likely be tens of thousands thrown out  maybe more than 100,000.

As public servants, we owe it to all citizens to avoid this situation, and the likely chaos that would come with it, Deeley wrote to Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson) and House Speaker Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster).

The concern over naked ballots is just the latest point of confusion and contention in an campaign season filled with lawsuits and legislative wrangling, which have left the basic rules of the election up in the air even as counties begin to send voters mail ballots.

Heres what you need to know.

What are naked ballots?

When counting mail ballots, elections officials first check the information on the mailing envelope to confirm the validity of the vote. Then the outer envelope is opened and the secrecy envelope containing the ballot is set aside.

From that point forward, the vote is anonymous.

Naked ballots are ones without those secrecy envelopes. Nothing else is necessarily improper with the ballots themselves or the mailing envelopes.

What was the court ruling?

The Trump campaign and other Republicans sued Pennsylvania in federal court over several election rules, including arguing that naked ballots should not be counted. The state Democratic Party filed a countersuit in state court.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled they should be thrown out under state law.

It is clear that the legislature believed that an orderly canvass of mail-in ballots required the completion of two discrete steps before critical identifying information on the ballot could be revealed. The omission of a secrecy envelope defeats this intention, wrote Justice Max Baer, a Democrat.

Thus, Baer wrote for the court, we hold that the secrecy provision  is mandatory and the mail-in electors failure to comply with such requisite by enclosing the ballot in the secrecy envelope renders the ballot invalid.

How many naked ballots will be thrown out in 2020?

Its hard to say.

The Pennsylvania Department of State advised counties to accept naked ballots as valid and count them in this years June primary. Most counties did so without tracking them. So theres no statewide estimate for how many naked ballots there were.

And before this year, Pennsylvania had a more restrictive absentee voting system: Only about 5% of votes were even cast by mail in previous elections. Its hard to extrapolate from those elections to this year, when mail ballots may make up about half of the total votes cast. And many counties in the past simply accepted naked ballots, so they dont show up in rejected ballot tallies.

Its hard to say how big a problem this is, because Pennsylvanias public accounting for rejected ballots is pretty limited, said Charles Stewart III, a political science professor at MIT who studies election administration and quantitative measures of election performance.

Pennsylvanias overall rejection rate of mail ballots was less than 1% in 2016, which is actually pretty low for a state in which voters must provide a reason for voting by mail, Stewart said in an email. (No reason is needed starting this year).

Therefore, its hard to believe that this is the type of issue that would loom large in the vote count, Stewart said. But, of course, I could be wrong, since we just dont have the data to tell for sure.

What is clear is that some number of voters will return their ballots without secrecy envelopes, and those ballots will be thrown out.

There is no question this is going to happen, and its going to happen with a decent number of ballots, but I cant tell you if its going to be a number of ballots that exceeds the margins or not, said David Becker, head of the Center for Election Innovation and Research. Were all extrapolating based on no data, but this will happen, and it could happen to a significant percentage. Thats all we can really say.

In last Novembers municipal election  under the old absentee system  197 out of 3,086 absentee ballots in Philadelphia lacked secrecy envelopes. Thats 6.4%, and Deeley said that number will be even higher this year. People who voted absentee under the old system  in a municipal general election in deeply Democratic Philadelphia  are more likely to be highly engaged voters. And people are more likely to make mistakes when using a voting method for the first time.

For a lot of people, this is going to be their first experience voting by mail, said Delaware County Councilwoman Christine Reuther. They didnt vote absentee, they didnt vote in the primary, and this whole thing is going to seem really strange to them.

About 5% of mail ballots returned in Mercer County, north of Pittsburgh, were thrown out in the primary for not having a secrecy envelope. Almost half of total rejected votes were naked ballots, making it the single largest reason for discounting votes.

Its a significant number based on the recent history of the closeness of elections in Pennsylvania, said Jeff Greenburg, who stepped down as Mercer Countys elections director at the end of July to join the National Vote at Home Institute.

What happens next?

Now that the state Supreme Court has ruled against counting naked ballots, changing that would be up to the state legislature. Thats why Deeley wrote her letter to Harrisburg Republicans.

Kate Flessner, a spokesperson for Scarnati, said the GOP Senate leader continues to work with his legislative colleagues to ensure the voting process in Pennsylvania complies with the law, and is fair, transparent and timely.

A spokesperson for the Department of State said Gov. Tom Wolfs administration would support legislation requiring counties to count naked ballots, under the principle of protecting the right to vote.

But the Republican-controlled legislature may have little interest in allowing naked ballots, and its unclear that Wolf, a Democrat, will be able to reach an agreement with Republican lawmakers.

The Department of State will greatly increase its voter education campaigning around using both envelopes, a spokesperson said, including on its website, on social media, in emails to voters, and through direct postal mailers in paid advertising campaigns.

The General Assembly could fix it, Greenburg said. But until that happens, elections officials and advocates will have to make naked ballots a central focus of voter education.

At this point, Pennsylvania has to raise its game in voter outreach on that issue, Greenburg said. Just that issue alone is huge.

Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA and staff writer Jonathan Tamari contributed to this article.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 00:36:28|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Sept. 21, 2020 shows the Buyukcekmece lake with exposed lake bed in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey's giant metropolis Istanbul has been trying to cope with water shortage fueled by inefficient rainfalls and a dry summer season. The water level in nine different dams that have been supplying the city's needs has dropped to 40 percent as of Monday, down from 52 percent over the same period last year. (Photo by Osman Orsal/Xinhua)

ISTANBUL, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's giant metropolis Istanbul has been trying to cope with water shortage fueled by inefficient rainfalls and a dry summer season.

The water level in nine different dams that have been supplying the city's needs has dropped to 40 percent as of Monday, down from 52 percent over the same period last year.

Having a population of over 16 million, Istanbul spreads over the Asian and European continents, which are divided by the 30-km-long waterway Bosphorus Strait, connecting the Marmara Sea in the south and the Black Sea in the north.

However, despite being surrounded by waters, local officials and related institutions have been grappling against a severe risk of water shortage this year as the long-expected abundant precipitation has not yet arrived in.

"We are currently trying to transfer water from the Asian side to the European part by establishing additional pumps as 65 percent of the entire water resources of the city is located on Asia," Raif Mermutlu, general manager of the Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI), told Xinhua.

Drawing the attention to the reverse correlation between the water resources in the two parts of the city and their population rate, Mermutlu said 65 percent of the Istanbul residents live in the European part.

"Therefore, we have to carry as much as water possible through the existing four pipelines from Asia to Europe to meet the high demand in the latter one," he said.

Additionally, the recent precipitation in the European part was significantly incompetent to fill the dams, according to Mermutlu.

Meanwhile, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu pointed out that the main focus of the city's water problem is the Melen Dam project, which has not become operational due to several setbacks since the construction began in 2012.

The project was launched to bring water from the Melen stream in the Sakarya province to Istanbul through pipelines.

"The dam will be finished in February 2023 at best," Imamoglu recently said, noting that it would further last two years to fill it with water. "So, if everything goes well, it will have about five years for the dam to be fully functional."

Mermutlu stated that Melen's annual capacity is 1.07 billion cubic meters, equivalent to the annual water consumption of Istanbul.

Due to the incomplete project, the ISKI was able to get only 50 percent of that capacity last year through the help of its own transmission means and pumps, he noted.

Meanwhile, Adil Tek, head of the Bogazici University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute Meteorology Laboratory, said the climate models showed that October and November would be dry as well in the region.

"We will see the rainfall in the form of floods, which would flow away from the surface without blending with the soil and feeding water resources," he said, according to press reports.

"If proper water policies are not implemented, serious problems will occur within a few years," Tek noted.

Orhan Sen, an academic at the Istanbul Technical University Meteorological Engineering department, said since the water catchment basins of Istanbul have been opened to urban construction projects, the rains could not interfere with the soil anymore.

"There is no green space left in the city. Therefore, rainwater runoffs to the seas or the sewer system," Sen was recently quoted as saying by the Milliyet daily.

"The unofficial population of the city is 20 million, and in fact, we need twice as much water than the current potential," Sen said, warning that if the drought continues, water levels will plummet even further next summer.

According to the latest data of the ISKI released on Monday, the water level in the Buyucekmece dam dropped to 19.83 percent and 11.64 percent in the Sazlidere dam both located on the European side of the city. Enditem
Grant Denyer quit his job at Sunrise live on air in 2013.

At the time, he blamed exhaustion for the exit, but on his podcast with wife Chezzi Denyer, It's All True?, the 43-year-old revealed there was more to the story.

The TV personality confessed this week that he is an 'empath' - which the dictionary defines as 'a person with the paranormal ability to perceive the mental or emotional state of another individual'.

Struggle: Grant Denyer (pictured) quit Sunrise in 2013. At the time, he blamed exhaustion for the exit, but on his podcast with wife Chezzi Denyer, It's All True?, he revealed there was more to the story, revealing he's an 'empath' and struggled to cover devastating events

That sensitivity made him vulnerable to covering devastating events like natural disasters, such as the Queensland floods in 2010 and 2011 and the Christchurch earthquake in 2011.

Explaining that both he and his wife Chezzi are empaths, Grant referred to the coverage as 'a very heavy toll'.

'You are there telling human stories but people are hurting and we are both empaths so... you just get really weighed down with it. It was a hectic period and I was like, I don't think I can do this anymore. I was wiped,' he said.

Difficult: That sensitivity made him vulnerable to covering natural disasters, such as the Queensland floods in 2010 and the Christchurch earthquake in 2011. 'I'm seeing bits of body and a headless torso sitting in the driver's seat. I wasn't equipped to see that s**t,' he said

Hard: Explaining that both he and his wife Chezzi (left) are empaths, Grant referred to the coverage as 'a very heavy toll'. 'You are there telling human stories but people are hurting and we are both empaths so... you just get really weighed down with it. I was wiped,' he said

The Family Feud host explained that the graphic scenes he encountered left him traumatised.

'I'm there and I'm seeing bits of body and a headless torso sitting in the driver's seat. I wasn't equipped to see that s**t. There was bits of brain everywhere. You go from a decapitation to a cat up a tree,' he said on the podcast.

Grant spent time at a Thai health facility in 2013, with his manager Titus Day saying the host was being treated in Thailand for an 'ongoing unknown stomach illness'.

Recovery: In 2013, Grant spent time at a Thai health facility, which specialises in the treatment of PTSD, with his manager Titus Day saying the host was being treated in Thailand for an 'ongoing unknown stomach illness'. Pictured on Sunrise

Hard days: In the lead up to his time at the facility, Grant had been displaying what some described as 'erratic behavior' on Sunrise. Grant is pictured with the former Sunrise team

'The wellness centre they attended in Thailand specialises in the treatment of PTSD [post traumatic stress disorder] and exhaustion and they spent four weeks there to finally address these ongoing health concerns,' he said.

In the lead up to his time at the facility, Grant had been displaying what some described as 'erratic behavior' on Sunrise.

A disturbing clip aired on Sunrise in early 2013 shows the embattled weatherman fainting live on air during a segment in which he rides in a stunt plane.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph following the incident, the Family Feud host explained: 'My whole body just started to feel all warm and cosy to be honest.'

Worrying: A disturbing clip, which aired on Sunrise in early 2013, shows Grant fainting during a stunt plane segment

Shocking: Following the incident, the Family Feud host explained, 'I had no idea I passed out. But I was out for about six or seven seconds.' Pictured left: Mel Doyle in the studio

Out: In March 2013, Grant resigned from Sunrise live on air while speaking about the difficulties of travelling constantly for the job. Throughout the broadcast, Grant appeared distracted, swinging erratically from side to side, looking off camera and up to the sky

He added: 'I had no idea I passed out. But I was out for about six or seven seconds.'

In March 2013, Grant resigned from Sunrise live on air while speaking about the difficulties of travelling constantly for the job.

Throughout the broadcast, Grant appeared distracted, swinging erratically from side to side and constantly looking off camera and up to the sky.

While collecting his Gold Logie in 2018, Grant referenced his stint in the Thai health facility in 2013 and admitted he'd been 'very unwell' at the time.
NIA arrests 9 Al-Qaeda terrorists in multiple raids in Kerala, Bengal

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has busted a terror module involving Pakistan-sponsored Al Qadea terrorists in multiple raids carried out in Kerala and West Bengal and arrested nine terrorists in the morning. NIA said the raids were carried out in Peumbavoor in Keralas Ernakulam district and in Murshidabad in West Bengal.

"NIA had learnt about an inter-state module of Al-Qaeda operatives at various locations in India, including West-Bengal and Kerala. The group was planning to undertake terrorist attacks at vital installations in India with an aim to kill innocent people and strike terror," an official statement by the probe agency read.

While six terrorists were arrested from Bengal, three terrorists were arrested from Kerala in the early morning raids, it added.

The arrested terrorists were identified as Murshid Hasan, Iyakub Biswas and Mosaraf Hossen, all residents of Perumbavoor in Ernakulam, Kerala; Najmus Sakib, Abu Sufiyan, Mainul Mondal, Leu Yean Ahmed, Al Mamun Kamal and Atitur Rehman, all residents of Murshidabad, in West Bengal.

The nine terrorists will be produced before the concerned courts in Kerala and West Bengal for police custody and further investigation.

"Large quantity of incriminating materials including digital devices, documents, jihadi literature, sharp weapons, country-made firearms, a locally fabricated body armour, articles and literature used for making home-made explosive devices have been seized from their possession," the NIA said, adding that "these individuals were radicalised by Pakistan-based Al-Qaeda terrorists on social media and were motivated to undertake attacks at multiple places," including Delhi-NCR.

The module was "actively indulging in fund-raising and a few members of gang were planning to travel to Delhi to procure arms and ammunition," as per the initial investigation.

As per the preliminary investigation, the nine arrested accused were radicalised by Pakistan-based Al-Qaeda terrorists on social media and motivated to undertake attacks at multiple places, including Delhi National Capital Region.

For this purpose, the module led by Murshidabad resident Abu Sufiyan, who is among the 9 arrested, was actively involved in fundraising. While investigations are continuing, NIA said these arrests have pre-empted the immediate possibility of terrorist attacks in various parts of the country.
Key energy assistance deadlines nearing as home heating season approaches; learn ways to help keep winter utility bills manageable

Key energy assistance deadlines nearing as home heating season approaches; learn ways to help keep winter utility bills manageable

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 21, 2020

Media Contact: Matt Helms 517-284-8300

Customer Assistance: 800-292-9555

Michigan.gov/MPSC

Twitter

With temperatures getting cooler and residents still being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Michigan Public Service Commission is reminding Michiganders to plan ahead to help manage utility bills as home heating season nears.

Two important deadlines for energy assistance are fast approaching:

Apply by Sept. 30 for the Home Heating Credit using Michigan tax form MI-1040CR-7.

Utility customers who already have received State Emergency Relief (SER) or Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP) may also be eligible for additional assistance because of increased cap amounts. The deadline to apply for the additional assistance is Sept. 30; after that, assistance levels return to their lower amounts. You can apply or find out more about SER and MEAP through MI Bridges at www.michigan.gov/mibridges. If you need help applying, call 211 and ask for a MEAP grantee near you for help. Current grantee information also is available here.

We want to make sure that Michiganders who need help keeping warm this winter know what resources are available, said MPSC Chair Dan Scripps. Its important not to miss the deadlines, because the Home Heating Credit and increased funding for energy assistance can provide significant help for families struggling to afford their energy bills. Dont wait to seek the help you need.

There are several energy assistance programs and shutoff protections available that, while not relieving utility customers of their responsibility to pay for their energy use, will help customers obtain or maintain utility service, especially during winter:

The Winter Protection Plan protects both seniors and low-income customers of MPSC-regulated natural gas and electric companies. Customers may find relief from electric or natural gas service shutoff and high utility payments between Nov. 1 and March 31.

Seniors 65 or older worried about their energy service should contact their utility. The MPSC and state law require all regulated gas and electric companies, and municipal electric utilities, to provide shutoff protection for seniors 65 and older during the heating season, Nov. 1 through March 31.

Through medical emergency shutoff protection, eligible customers may receive a medical hold preventing service from being disconnected for nonpayment on natural gas and/or electric bills for up to 21 days if a customer or a member of the customers household has an existing medical condition that would be aggravated by the lack of utility service.

Through critical care shutoff protection, a customer or household can receive protection from disconnection or have services restored due to inability to pay if there is an identified critical care customer in the home and interruption of service would be immediately life threatening.

Active duty customers or the spouses of those called to full-time active military duty during a time of declared national or state emergency or war may apply for shutoff protection for electric or natural gas service for up to 90 days, with the option to reapply for extensions. Additionally, families of veterans and active duty military personnel can receive emergency financial assistance to pay electric, oil, gas, and other heating fuels. Contact the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Contact the Michigan Department of Treasury or the federal Internal Revenue Service about the Earned Income Tax Credit, which could offset some living expenses for qualified households by helping pay utility bills.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the MPSC has worked with other state agencies to prioritize and streamline the availability of energy assistance, said Orlene Hawks, Director of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. I am proud of the Commissions hard work to help protect our states most vulnerable populations, especially now as colder weather is starting to set in.

Space heating in homes takes up more than half a households energy use annually in Michigan, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. Here are ways you can prepare for winter bills:

Contact a certified professional and schedule a furnace tune-up so it runs more efficiently. Replace filters regularly; clogged filters make a furnace work harder. If replacing the furnace, look for the ENERGY STAR logo, which indicates a high-efficiency product.

Discuss with your utility provider programs that can help to manage costs. Ask about or sign up for demand response or time-of-use programs, a budget plan, low-income assistance, active duty military shutoff protection or a winter protection plan.

Research options before signing up with a propane provider. Locking in a contract now can mean lower prices. More than 8 percent of Michigan households use propane as their primary heating fuel, and the state leads the nation in total residential consumption.

Nows a great time to tackle home improvements that reduce energy waste. Seal cracks around windows and doors to keep heat from escaping. Check air ducts and seal openings against leaks. Insulate attics and crawl spaces. Install a programmable thermostat, which can save an estimated 10 percent a year on heating and cooling. Familiarize yourself with how to safely operate supplemental heating sources for your home, and portable generators should you lose power.

If youre considering purchasing your natural gas through an alternative gas supplier, be sure to shop around. Browse the MPSCs CompareMIGas website to compare the rates of suppliers serving in your utility service area, but be sure you understand the terms and conditions before signing a contract.

For information about the MPSC, visit www.michigan.gov/mpsc, sign up for one of its listservs, or follow the Commission on Twitter. To watch a livestream of the MPSCs meetings, click here.

# # #
She was recently hailed as an 'inspiration' by her colleague Susanna Reid for how she has handled her husband Derek Draper's COVID-19 battle.

And Kate Garraway looked radiant as ever as she arrived to present her show on Smooth Radio on Monday.

The Good Morning Britain presenter, 53, showcased her sense of style in lemon shirt which she paired with a pastel yellow skirt with a leaf print.

Back to work: Kate Garraway, 53, looked radiant as ever as she arrived to present her show on Smooth Radio on Monday

The broadcaster also sported a black leather jacket for the day and added to her outfit with a brown handbag.

Also sporting a matching pair of boots, Kate let her blonde locks hang loose down her shoulders for the day.

The mother-of-two put safety first on her way to work as she wore a face mask.

It comes after fellow Good Morning Britain star Susanna praised Kate for how she has handled her husband Derek's ongoing battle with coronavirus.

Relationship: The presenter had taken time off work to spend time with her children and husband Derek Draper who remains in intensive care amid his battle with COVID-19

Outfit: The Good Morning Britain presenter showcased her sense of style in lemon shirt which she paired with a pastel yellow skirt with a leaf print

Kate's husband remains in hospital where he has spent the last six months fighting for his life, including three months in a coma.

Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph's Stella magazine, Susanna said: 'It has been a nightmare that has knocked all of us for six, but Kate is living through it every day.

'To watch her put on a brave face and carry on has been an utter inspiration for all of us who work on the show, and I also know she's an inspiration to everyone who watches it.

'I don't want to speak on her behalf, but we are a very tight team and this has been the foremost of our thoughts.'

Friend: Kate was recently hailed as an 'inspiration' by her GMB colleague Susanna Reid for how she has handled her husband Derek's diagnosis

Style: The broadcaster also sported a black leather jacket for the day and added to her outfit with a brown handbag

Earlier this month, Kate confirmed she would be returning to work on Smooth Radio so Derek 'can hear my voice as well as many of the songs we both love.'

The presenter had taken time off work to spend time with her children and Derek who remains in intensive care.

As she announced her return to the airwaves, Kate acknowledged the frightening circumstances she currently faces, but hopes work will provide a welcome distraction for both herself and her husband.

She said to The Sun: 'Im delighted to be returning to my morning show on Smooth and to my Global family who have been a big support to me.

Out and about: Also sporting a matching pair of boots, Kate let her blonde locks hang loose down her shoulders for the day

'Things are still hugely challenging and a long way from being normal, but Id like to think that this will give Derek yet another opportunity to hear my voice as well as many of the songs we both love.

'My heartfelt thanks go to Myleene Klass who has been brilliantly caretaking the show for me and to all my regular listeners for their messages of support.'

She admitted there couldn't be a more relaxing job to ease her back into a stable work routine.

In the midst of Derek's health battle, Kate has focused on looking after their children, Billy, 11, and Darcy, 14.

Voice: Earlier this month, Kate confirmed she would be returning to work on Smooth Radio so Derek 'can hear my voice as well as many of the songs we both love'

She announced her departure from Good Morning Britain in August so she could help her children prepare for their return to school, after returning for a few weeks earlier in the summer.

She told viewers: 'Im actually not here next week. Im taking a bit of time off, to help Billy get ready for secondary school, and my other children.

'And also Derek, look after that. I just want to say thank you to all of you for absolutely being brilliant since Ive come back through troubling times.'

She revealed her partner has lost a whopping eight stone over the past six months and was placed in a medically-induced coma to aid his recovery.

He is now out of his coma but still remains in intensive care.

In a moving interview in Saturday's You magazine, Kate said: 'We hope and believe he will come out of it but we just don't know.

'The heart of the family has been ripped out and we don't know if we will ever get it back.'
Donald Trump has accused Democrats of not wanting a vaccine against COVID-19 before the election, because they fear that it will boost the president's chances of winning a second term.

Speaking to Fox News in an interview aired Sunday night, Trump discussed the fight against coronavirus, concerns over mail-in voting, and accused his opponent Joe Biden once again of being barely coherent.

The interview was recorded before Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death on Friday, and so host Mark Levin did not ask the president about the Supreme Court decision.

He opened his hour-long discussion with questions about coronavirus, as the United State edged towards the grim milestone of 200,000 dead.

Trump said he was confident the virus was going away, and was asked about Democrat attitudes towards a possible vaccine.

'They want to denigrate it, because they started hearing rumors about a vaccine in record time,' said Trump.

Donald Trump told Fox News' Mark Levin that Democrats did not want a quick COVID vaccine

The president said Democrats worried that a vaccine would boost Trump's election chances

'The reason they are doing this is because they think I'll get credit if we get a vaccine before the election.'

Trump said that his government had taken unprecedented steps to work for the speedy development of a vaccine.

'If this was a typical administration we wouldn't have a vaccine for two to three years,' he said. 'But I have changed it, safely. We have many companies doing it, in phase three trial.

'Instead of saying wow, this is great news, they are saying oh, it's coming out too soon, it won't be safe. These are big companies - they won't do that, they'll have tremendous liability.'

Trump said that seniors will be vaccinated first, prioritizing those with heart and respiratory conditions.

Trump said he is hopeful of a vaccine being ready soon and rolled out swiftly

Trump also used his interview to once again mock Joe Biden.

He said the Democrat candidate 'barely knows he's alive', and was incapable of responding to events.

'He's losing the left now because he never mentions the words law and order,' said Trump.

'What we did in Minneapolis was incredible. National Guard - we sent them in - it was over in half an hour. Every one of these cities that has these problems is run by Democrats.'

Trump accused Biden of wanting to turn the United States into Venezuela, and said it would become 'Venezuela on steroids' if the Democrats win.

'And I used to say well be another Venezuela, but I never really...I dont know that I believed it fully,' he said.

'That wasnt too long ago. But I do.

'If that kind of stuff gets put in, we will be another Venezuela, except on major steroids, OK?'

The president was asked about his frequently-voiced concerns over mail-in voting.

Trump repeated in his Sunday interview his long-held concerns about mail-in ballots

He warned once again that there will be a 'tremendous disruption' on Election Day, because voters were confused by the options for casting their ballots, and because of the risks of fraud.

'Look, they know it doesn't work because there have been many races using this over the last 14, 15 months - and I heard there was one yesterday or the day before yesterday, the ballots are so mixed up,' he said.

Trump said he was concerned of reports of 'missing' or fraudulent ballots.

'Now they have a new thing where they don't want to verify signatures because that makes it easier, so you don't have to verify a signature,' he said.

The president also accused some Democratic governors of being 'partisan' and 'political hacks' who are trying to sway the election toward his opponent.

'It's a very tough situation,' he said.

'You look at these governors and you look at - I mean, I don't want to insult anybody, but take a look at some of these governors that are in charge of the ballots - beyond partisan - in many cases political hacks.'

Trump added that he has no issue with traditional absentee balloting, in that it is 'solicited,' but that many states like New Jersey and Nevada are mailing ballots out unsolicited.

'When they just dump millions of ballots all over the country, it's not going to work. It's going to be a disaster. And they know it,' he said.

'And we're talking about many millions of ballots. It's going to be mayhem. It's going to be bedlam, and this is what they want.'

The president used the interview to vent against John Bolton, describing him as 'a very stupid person' who wanted to take America into a new war.

His remarks came days after Bill Barr's Justice Department opened a grand jury probe into whether former National Security Advisor Bolton broke the law by disclosing classified national security information in his tell-all book.

Bolton's book, 'The Room Where it Happened,' offered his take on the president's interactions with Ukraine, which led to Trump's impeachment in Congress. Bolton wrote that Democrats in Congress should have probed Trump's interference in DOJ probes to 'give personal favors to dictators he liked.'

Trump also said late Republican senator John McCain, who died two years ago, was a warmonger.

'If we listened to John McCain it would be World War Five now,' he said.

The president boasted about having 'rebuilt our military', adding that he was confident that Russian president Vladimir Putin had a new-found respect for the U.S.

'Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have,' he said. 'I guarantee you Putin says that behind closed doors too.'
There are no plans to postpone next year's census in Northern Ireland due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials have said. (PA)

There are no plans to postpone next year's census in Northern Ireland due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials have said.

South of the border, the national population survey has been put back 12 months until 2022.

However, delaying the count in Northern Ireland, which comes on the centenary of the founding of the state, is currently not under consideration.

The census, carried out by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra), collects information every 10 years about people and households here.

The data is used by central and local government, health authorities and other organisations to plan and provide future services.

The last census was held on March 27, 2011. The next will be a digital-first census and is due to take place on March 21, 2021.

The digital-first approach reflects the changing preferences of Northern Ireland's population and will make it easier for people to complete their census return at a time that suits them.

People will be encouraged to fill out their questionnaire online.

Paper questionnaires and support will be available for those who need it.

A Nisra spokesperson said: "The 2021 census will be a digital-first census with the public being encouraged to fill out the census form online.

"A full census rehearsal was successfully held last autumn and, as set out in recent census legislation, officials continue to work to deliver the census next March.

"In doing so we will continue to be guided by the latest evidence and advice from within government and from public health experts."

The Republic's census, which is conducted by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), was due to take place on April 18, 2021.

Last Tuesday, the Irish Government decided to postpone the census by a year, until April 2022, due to safety fears around Covid-19.

The 2011 census in Northern Ireland revealed 48% of the resident population were either Protestant or brought up Protestant - a drop of 5% from the 2001 census. Some 45% of the resident population were Catholic or brought up Catholic - up by 1%. The remaining 7% say they either belonged to another religion or none.

A further narrowing of the community divide could trigger fresh calls for a border poll.
On Friday Sept. 18 Black Star News columnist and book author Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was arrested by Ugandan dictator Gen. Yoweri Musevenis secret police called the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) who are infamous for torturing their captives. Rukirabashaija has written a new book called Banana Republic, Where Writing Is Treasonous, which Black Star News has just started serializing today.

Its an account of the torture the writer endured over a three-week period when the dictators CMI first arrested him on April 13, 2020. He describes gruesome beatings including being punched with fists and being kicked until he loses consciousness; being ordered to eat his own feces; being water boarded; being made to stand up all night with his feet shackled to the floor and his upraised hands chained to a pipe above him, with his feet dangling; and, being made to kneel on stones for hours until hed lose his ability to walk and so hed have to crawl back to his cell. This is Rukirabashaija's introduction to his new book: This is a narration of the excruciating torture I went through in a Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) dungeon as a result of my published novel, The Greedy Barbarian, which is a political fiction that mirrors gerontocratic, kleptocratic, nepotistic and murderous African regimes.

This is what a young writer, 34, endures for daring to write a satirical novel in Gen. Musevenis Ugandaa regime sustained by $1 billion annually in U.S. taxpayers money. The Greedy Barbarian, the novel that led to Rukirabashaijas April arrest describes a greedy dictator who converts the national treasury of a fictitious country into his personal ATM machine. Gen. Museveni, who has lorded over Uganda for 34 years, may have seen the character as bearing too much resemblance to himself.

These words are taken from the very end of Rukirabashaijas new book, Banana Republic: Writing a work of political fiction that portrays a government led by old, greedy thieves who unleash a pogrom on the population, loot the countrys resources, rig the votes, suffocate multiparty democracy, bribe Parliament to pass laws in favor of a dictatorship, weaken government institutions by appointing incompetent or political rejects or loyal cadres to lead them, practice egregious tribalism and cronyism  among other vices  does not, by any stretch of the imagination, justify picking up the author with the express purpose to torture him and subject him to trial by a kangaroo court. That kind of behavior is incontrovertible evidence that the leaders of the country called Uganda are wracked by a guilty conscience and are cowardly and, as a result, engage in acts that are not in sync with the current times, mood and trends. Those who sell arms, weapons, teargas, handcuffs and such other things as a business are as culpable as the Ugandan government that uses them to dehumanize Ugandans.

Describing Rukirabashaijas Sept. 18 arrest in a Facebook posting, his lawyer Eron Kiiza said, The CMI operatives had the audacity of telling his wife and area LC 1 Chairperson they were arresting him over his continued writing of literature critical of President Yoweri Museveni Kaguta, Ugandas over 34 years military leader. Rukirabashaija had just started writing a weekly political column for Black Star News. His arrest Friday may also have something to do with his arrest. In one column, he describes how Gen. Museveni engineered a campaign to discredit one of his presidential challengers Bobi Wine by claiming that he lied that hes 38 years old when he was allegedly 40. The irony isnt lost on the dictator whos believed to be 80 years old. In another column, based on tips from disenchanted government officials, Rukirabashaija describes how the dictator plans to rig next years presidential election by illegally providing Ugandan national ID cards to hundreds of thousands of refugees to vote for him.

Black Star News calls for Rukirabashaija's immediate release. Since the U.S. provides the dictatorship with $1 billion annually in financial and military aid, we also call on Washington to exert its leverage.

When Rukirabashaija was arrested in April, Pen International, and Amnesty International called for his release and for charges to be dropped. At that time, Amnesty also urged the public to write to Gen. Museveni and demand for Rukirabashaijas release. We echo that call today and ask people to write to Museveni via [email protected]
"[Zaborac] is very dedicated, hardworking and eager to learn. I am excited that she will be expanding her wound care knowledge." -- Dr. Christopher Dickinson, Wound Physician

Vohra Wound Physicians, the nations most trusted wound care solution, is pleased to announce that Rachelle Zaborac, Infection Control Nurse at Farmington Country Manor in Illinois, is the first-ever recipient of the Vohra Wound Care Scholarship for Nursing Education and Nursing Certifications.

Ms. Zaborac will receive a $1,000 cash scholarship, plus free tuition for Vohras Wound Care Certification course (a $650 value), for a total value of $1,650. Vohra congratulates Ms. Zaborac on her prize-winning application, especially in light of the overwhelming number of submissions received for this first-time scholarship opportunity.

Ms. Zaboracs colleague at Farmington Manor, Dr. Christopher Dickinson, has high praise for Ms. Zaborac: "She is very dedicated, hardworking and eager to learn. I am excited that she will be expanding her wound care knowledge. Farmington Country Manor is a small-town facility where the residents are treated like family. Its one of those places you just expect everyone to have a good outcome. Her dedication to excellent wound care sure helps."

Now more than ever, Vohra recognizes that nurses and healthcare professionals need personal and professional support to develop the skills required to excel. Due to an overwhelmingly positive response throughout the scholarship process, Vohra has announced the upcoming Vohra Wound Care Scholarship for Nursing Education and Nursing Certifications. The deadline for the upcoming opportunity is 12/17/2020 at 11:59PM EST. All medical professionals practicing nursing and/or attending nursing school are eligible to apply for the scholarship; however, those with the following credentials may benefit most: Registered Nurse (RN), Nurse Practitioner (NP), Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), Physician Assistant (PA), or Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). The winner will be announced on 12/31/2020.

The certification includes 13 comprehensive modules, lifetime access to learning materials, up to 28 ANCC CNE credits, and the Vohra Wound Certified Nurse (VWCN) distinction upon successful completion of a final exam.

Since launching in 2015, more than 7,000 nurses and nursing students have completed Vohras Wound Care Certification program. The program has expanded to include international students, educational materials in Spanish, and programs for both facility-based and home health-based nursing professionals. In addition, Vohra has been recognized as a wound care educational partner with grants from federal and state programs including California, Texas, and several others.

About Vohra Wound Physicians:

Vohra Wound Physicians is the nations most trusted wound care solution. Founded in 2000, the company works with nearly 3,000 skilled nursing facilities, educates thousands of medical professionals each year, and uses proven, proprietary technologies to provide superior wound care to patients at healthcare facilities and in their homes.

Vohra delivers comprehensive wound care to hundreds of thousands of patients annually through bedside and telemedicine clinical services, wound dressings, education and wound care certification, and predictive, augmented intelligence driven decision tools. Supported by proprietary technologies and extensive, ongoing physician training, Vohra delivers results including a 21-day improvement in healing time and an 88% reduction in wound-related hospitalizations. For more information, visit VohraWoundCare.com or call 305-866-7123.
Smoke warnings have been issued to people living near the Bulla tip after a fire broke out in a huge pile of household, building rubbish and tyres, sending thick black smoke over Melbourne's north-west.

The alarm was raised about 6.15am on Tuesday and the Country Fire Authority issued smoke warnings for the suburbs of Bulla, Diggers Rest, Greenvale, Keilor North, Melbourne Airport, Oaklands Junction, Sunbury and Wildwood.

The fire appeared to be contained to industrial rubbish in stockpiles outside the main "cells" where materials are buried, including asbestos.

Fire crews battled the blaze for more than five hours, working with the tip operators to pull apart the pile of rubbish using an excavator. The blaze was under control about 11.30am but firefighters will remain at the tip to check for hot spots and ensure there are no further flare ups.
Durga puja, the greatest Hindu festival

Ishan Biswas

In the critical session of corona pandemic plague where the world is under the paw of deadly covid 19 the Bengali Hindu people's devotion towards the deity of Goddess Durga is unabated.

The festive mood of Durga Pura has prevailed every where in Tripura and the adoration will be held of course in different parts of the state with great enthusiasm through the sufficient precautionary measures. Every year the Bengali people observe this festival with great enthusiasm and devotion. Durga Puja also called Durgotsava is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess, Durga. It is particularly popular in the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Tripura, and Odisha, the country of Bangladesh, and the diaspora from this region, and also in Nepal, where it is celebrated as Dashain. The festival is observed in the Indian calendar month of Ashwin, which corresponds to the months of September-October in the Gregorian calendar,[4][5] and is a ten-day festival of which the last five are of significance. The puja is performed in homes and in the public, the latter featuring temporary stage and structural decorations (known as pandals). The festival is also marked by scripture recitations, performance arts, revelry, gift giving, family visits, feasting, and public processions. Durga puja is an important festival in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism.

Durga Puja Observed by Bengali, Odia, Maithils and Assamese communities as a socio-cultural and religious festival. Type Hindu Celebrations

Worshipping Hindu deities, family and other social gatherings, shopping and gift-giving, feasting, pandal visiting, and cultural events

Observances Ceremonial worship of goddess Durga Begins on the sixth day of Ashwin shukla paksha.

As per mythology, the festival marks the victory of goddess Durga in her battle against the shape-shifting asura, Mahishasura. Thus, the festival epitomises the victory of good over evil, though it is also in part a harvest festival celebrating the goddess as the motherly power behind all of life and creation. Durga puja coincides with Navaratri and Dussehra celebrations observed by other traditions of Hinduism, in which the Ram lila dance-drama is enacted, celebrating the victory of Rama against Ravana, and effigies of Ravana are burnt.

Though the primary goddess revered during Durga puja is Durga, the celebrations also include other major deities of Hinduism such as Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth, prosperity), Saraswati (the goddess of knowledge and music), Ganesha (the god of good beginnings), and Kartikeya (the god of war). In Bengali traditions, these deities are considered to be Durga's children and Durga puja is believed to commemorate Durga's visit to her natal home with her children. The festival is preceded by Mahalaya, which is believed to mark the start of Durga's journey to her natal home. Primary celebrations begin on the sixth day (Shasthi), on which the goddess is welcomed with rituals. The festival ends on the tenth day (Vijaya dashami), when devotees embark on a procession carrying the worshipped clay sculpture-idols to a river, or other water body, and immerse them, symbolic of her return to the divine cosmos and her marital home with Shiva in Kailash. Regional and community variations in celebration of the festival and rituals observed exist.

Durga puja is an old tradition of Hinduism, though its exact origins are unclear. Surviving manuscripts from the 14thcentury provide guidelines for Durga puja, while historical records suggest that the royalty and wealthy families were sponsoring major Durga puja festivities since at least the 16th-century. The prominence of Durga puja increased during the British Raj in the provinces of Bengal and Assam. In today's time, the importance of Durga puja is as much as a social and cultural festival as a religious one, wherever it is observed.
Rochester

Rochester police dispersed demonstrators from in front of City Hall on Wednesday morning as protests over the suffocation death of Daniel Prude continued.

Protesters who gathered outside the downtown building Tuesday had said that they would remain there until police officers involved in Prude's detainment in March were arrested and fired.

A line of helmeted officers swept through the area around City Hall at about 8 a.m. Dozens of chanting protesters remained on the scene for several hours. Police said 16 people had been arrested and cited for disorderly conduct.

The city has been roiled by protests since police body camera videos were made public by Prude's family earlier this month. The videos show Prude handcuffed and naked with a spit hood over his head as an officer pushes his face against the ground, while another officer presses a knee to his back. The officers held him down for about two minutes until he stopped breathing. He was taken off life support a week later.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Police commanders this summer urged city officials to hold off on publicly releasing the footage because they feared it could incite violence if it came out during nationwide protests over George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Mayor Lovely Warren on Monday fired Police Chief La'Ron Singletary and suspended two top city officials without pay for 30 days amid continuing fallout from Prude's death. Protesters have called for Warren to resign.
'The Indian Navy has sufficient combat power in areas of interest to India that can quickly scale up operations if the need arises.'

'This includes all the choke points leading into the Indian Ocean as also areas within.'

IMAGE: The Indian and Russian navies on September 5, 2020 carried out a range of complex maritime operations as part of a mega military exercise in the Bay of Bengal to further enhance their operational convergence.

Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta was commissioned into the Indian Navy in December 1984 and is a product of the National Defence Academy.

He is a specialist in navigation and direction and has commanded frontline ships of the Indian Navy: The Missile Corvettes INS Nishank and the INS Karmuk, the Stealth Frigate INS Tabar and the Aircraft Carrier INS Viraat.

Besides serving as the Naval Assistant to the then Chief of Naval Staff, the admiral has held many operational and training assignments in his 35 year career at sea.

A graduate of the Command and Staff College Bangladesh, the Army War College at MHOW and the National Defence College, Admiral Dasgupta was awarded the coveted Yudh Seva Medal for his role in coordinating the evacuation operations from Yemen in 2015 under Operation Raahat.

Admiral Dasgupta is currently posted as the Chief of Staff of the Eastern Naval Command based at Vishakapatnam.

"We are inducting many cutting edge and disruptive technologies onboard our platforms to equip our personnel adequately for future operations. These will help our personnel operate in the increasingly complex maritime domain with even greater confidence", Admiral Dasgupta tells Senior Rediff.com Contributor Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) in the second of an exclusive two-part interview.

IMAGE: MiG-29K aircraft parked on the deck of the INS Vikramaditya, the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier, anchored in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Mumbai. Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters

What about the Tejas requirement of the Navy?

I believe you are looking for a twin-engine configuration for safety requirement of flying over sea.

HAL obviously will take time to get you such indigenous aircraft.

Any plans of new acquisitions in the interim?

The LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) Navy project is not being pursued by the Indian Navy as it does not meet our requirements.

ADA Bangalore is developing a twin-engine deck-based fighter in lieu of the LCA MK II, the first flight of which is expected by the middle of this decade or thereabouts.

The Indian Navy is also actively looking at acquiring a multi-role carrier-based fighter in the interim.

We are currently operating the MiG-29K, which has performed quite satisfactorily.

We are inducting many cutting edge and disruptive technologies onboard our platforms to equip our personnel adequately for future operations.

These will help our personnel operate in the increasingly complex maritime domain with even greater confidence.

As part of joint operations, a lot of intelligence gathering has been carried out by naval aeroplanes in the past.

What was their role in the recent stand-off with the Chinese?

There has been talk about deploying the MiG-29K to bolster our air fighting capability up north.

India, like every other nation, employs its forces to undertake operations to safeguard its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The Indian armed forces have always operated seamlessly, whenever the situation demanded.

The constitution of the CDS (chief of the defence staff) has only bolstered it further and there is no looking back on the future of more effective jointness.

Weapons and sensors, when inducted, undergo rigorous testing in varied terrains and conditions, and therefore, can be deployed across theatres as necessary.

There is no doubt that we will use all our capabilities to best effect to further our national aims.

This is a given in peacetime as well as during heightened tensions in any sector/theatre.

IMAGE: On board the INS Jalashwa, the Indian Navy commences the next phase of Samudra Setu, May 30 2020. Photograph: Indian Navy/ANI Photo

Naval sailors have to stay in close contact with each other whilst on ship mostly due to paucity of space.

How has the navy battled the ongoing pandemic and has it had any effect on the operational efficiency?

Has the navy also helped the civil administration in battling the pandemic through the shore-based units and formations?

The Indian Navy, as you have rightly pointed out, operates in challenging living and operating conditions onboard its ships and submarines.

Close proximity is unavoidable in the constrained confines of ships, submarines and aircraft.

As COVID-19 started unfolding, the Indian Navy put protocols in place to ensure minimum impact on its operational and administrative taskings.

The proof of this is in the fact that we have successfully completed Operation Samudra Setu to evacuate our nationals from many countries in the Indian Ocean Region, whilst concurrently providing relief material to many and continuing with our mission-based deployments.

On the administrative front, we have lent a helping hand to the civil authorities by providing ingenious solutions to address the increasing complexity of COVID-19 by developing and providing both hardware and software.

These have been deployed by the civil administration to enhance their response mechanisms in these trying times.

Our main objective has been to minimise the effect of COVID-19 on our fighting units so that they remain deployable and combat-ready at all times.

IMAGE: Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command. Photograph: Kind courtesy Indian Navy IMAGE: Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command.

There has been a lot of talk on the requirement to speed up 'jointmanship' between the fighting forces.

What has been achieved in this area and what lies in the immediate future?

Will formation of joint command structures help in achieving the same?

The creation, initially, of Headquarters integrated Defence Staff close to two decades ago, helped the Services understand the varied nuances of joint operations and put structures in place to enhance their effectiveness.

The Andaman and Nicobar Command became a Tri-service command in 2001.

Tri-service agencies in a few functional areas are also in place.

The recent creation of the CDS and Department of Military Affairs is aimed at speedy implementation of further jointness and integration.

However, we need to understand that joint operations are complex and whilst putting appropriate structures in place is one aspect, achieving seamless operations is the final objective.

As all operations, since the Kargil War in 1999 have adequately demonstrated, jointmanship is the only way ahead and I am certain the Services will adopt and adapt to it in quick time.

Serious work is underway on the formation of Joint Theatre and Functional Commands.

I am sure the details will be made public as soon as the proposals are finalised and approved by the Government of India.

What is the Indian Navy doing to ease the pressure on our forces involved in the north during the stand-off with the Chinese?

How will the navy do so in future if we have a limited involvement in the north?

The Indian Navy, a few years ago, identified the necessity to be poised for operations rapidly due to the changing paradigm of maritime operations.

This was the foundation for formulation of the navy's Mission Based Deployment philosophy.

These Mission Based Deployments have ensured that the Indian Navy has sufficient combat power in areas of interest to India that can quickly scale up operations if the need arises.

This includes all the choke points leading into the Indian Ocean as also areas within.

The navy's nimbleness and flexibility coupled with excellent Maritime Domain Awareness and the ability to deploy in all three dimensions giving us the capability and confidence to influence the IOR in several ways.

There is also tremendous potential for joint operations in the maritime theatre, which we practice regularly.

We are confident of rising to any challenge whether independently or in support of our sister services.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/ Rediff.com
Baton Rouge  Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded more than $7.5 million to develop technology-enhanced learning centers at five Vernon Parish schools that serve thousands of families supported by the U.S. Armys Fort Polk.

A pilot program, the Defense Community Infrastructure Program addresses quality of life enhancements in military communities. More than 2,000 Fort Polk military children attend Vernon Parish schools and make up nearly a quarter of district enrollment. The Campus Connections and Learning Spaces project will provide children of military and civilian families with state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor learning environments that feature state-of-the-art wireless communications, digital displays and interactive learning tools.

We are grateful for this Department of Defense investment in the future of all children in the Leesville and Vernon Parish community that is home to Fort Polk, Gov. Edwards said. This elite Army training post has an annual economic impact in Louisiana of over $1.8 billion and directly employs more than 20,000 people. Through investments in infrastructure and education, the State of Louisiana will continue to commit our resources and deliver the quality of life that the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk truly deserve.

Louisiana Economic Development will provide a 10 percent match for the Department of Defense award, which will enhance Leesville High, Leesville Junior High, Pickering High, Pickering Elementary and Vernon Middle schools.

The Vernon Parish School System is very excited and grateful to be the recipient of the DCIP grant to enhance education for our families, Superintendent James Williams said. This grant money will be a valuable asset to improve our academic facilities and our technology capabilities. Were very thankful to the Department of Defense, the Governors Office, LED, our state representatives, school board, and partners at Fort Polk for making this happen. This will be a truly positive impact for the educational enhancement of our students and quality of life for our families.

In addition to supporting the DCIP grant, Gov. Edwards has committed $800,000 to replace the heating and air conditioning system at North Polk Elementary, located on Fort Polk and part of the Vernon Parish district.

Im excited to see this first grant approval from the Defense Community Infrastructure Program, said Leesville Mayor Rick Allen, who also serves as Fort Polk Progress chairman. We have been working with other defense communities around the country through the Association of Defense Communities for many years to establish this grant program, which creates an opportunity to improve the quality of life for our military families. I am incredibly thankful to Governor Edwards and LED Secretary Don Pierson for providing the matching dollars to make this investment in education possible.

The $7.5 million Campus Connections and Learning Project is the most significant Fort Polk education investment since the establishment of Parkway Elementary. That $20 million school replaced South Polk Elementary and opened in 2016 following a $16 million commitment by the Defense Departments Office of Economic Adjustment, a $3 million match from the Vernon Parish School Board and $1 million from the State of Louisiana.

One of the greatest responsibilities of a military community is to provide quality education for our military families, said District 30 state Sen. Mike Reese, founder and former chairman of Fort Polk Progress. This DCIP grant will allow us to focus on STEAM learning centers (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) that are important to our military partners. This is a great example of what we can accomplish through partnership. With the support of Governor Edwards, our Congressional Delegation and many others, we are improving opportunities for our countrys heroes stationed at Fort Polk.

The State of Louisiana also is approaching completion of more than $25 million in highway, sewer and water improvements connecting University Parkway near Fort Polk with La. Highway 468. Initial capital outlay funds are committed for an eventual $6 million Fort Polk Entrance Road project with similar infrastructure upgrades. These investments are focused on spurring private development of workforce housing and commercial and retail amenities to enhance quality of life for Fort Polk and the Leesville area.
The union home ministry informed Parliament that a gathering of the Tablighi Jamaat in March in Delhi, despite orders issued by various authorities after the outbreak of coronavirus, also led to the spread of the virus among many persons.

To a question on whether the gathering was a major reason for the spread of coronavirus in Delhi and other states, minister of state for home, G Kishan Reddy informed the Rajya Sabha through a written reply that the spread was also because of the gathering.

As reported by Delhi Police, despite guidelines/orders issued by various authorities in pursuance of the outbreak of Covid-19 a huge gathering assembled inside a closed premise over a protracted period of time, without any semblance of social distancing or provision of masks and sanitisers. This also caused the spread of Coronavirus infection amongst many persons, the reply said.

Many foreigners and Indian nationals tested positive for the virus after they had either attended the religious gathering organised by the Tablighi Jamaat in Delhis Nizamuddin or come in contact with those who were present at the gathering.

The ministry also said that as many 2,361 persons of Tablighi Jamaat were evacuated by the Delhi Police on March 29 and 233 persons were arrested. It said an investigation against Jamaat chief Maulana Mohd. Saad is underway.

In August, the Bombay high courts Aurangabad bench struck down criminal cases registered against 34 people, including 28 foreign Tablighi Jamaat members, in Maharashtras Ahmednagar district, saying foreign nationals were virtually persecuted.

A political Government tries to find scapegoat when there is pandemic or calamity, and the circumstances show that there is probability that these foreigners were chosen to make them scapegoats, said a bench of justice TV Nalawade and justice MG Sewlikar. The material of the present matter shows that the propaganda against the so-called religious activity was unwarranted.

The Jamaat, which has followers in over 80 countries, maintained many visitors at its headquarters were stranded after the government declared a lockdown to check the pandemic spread. The Centre blacklisted around 1,500 foreign Tablighi members for violating their visa norms and multiple cases were registered against them across the country.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, September 21 2020

Djoko Soegiharto Tjandra, a graft convict and former fugitive in the high-profile Bank Bali corruption case, allegedly planned to bribe officials at the Supreme Court and the Attorney Generals Office (AGO) to help him secure an acquittal in the case.

AGO spokesperson Hari Setiyono said the figure was estimated to be around US$10 million.

Djoko, along with prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari and NasDem politician Andi Irfan Jaya, agreed to provide $10 million to be handed to some officials at the Supreme Court and the AGO for securing the acquittal, Hari said on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com.

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People gather in front of the Supreme Court following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in Washington on Sept. 18, 2020. (Al Drago/Reuters)

Democrats Want to Change the Number of Supreme Court Justices Against Ginsburgs Advice: Sen. Barrasso

Republican Senate Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) supports immediately nominating a Supreme Court justice to replace Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg, saying that if Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Democrats gain control in 2021, they will change the rules.

The Wyoming senator told Fox News: If the Democrats win the White House and the Senate and have the House, they will change the rules, they will blow up the Senate, they have an entire war room working on this.

Also pictured from left to right: Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.). (Ron Sachs/Getty Images)

They will expand the number of members of the Supreme Court, regardless of what the Republicans and President Trump do.  This is a pure power grab and then they want to stack the Senate as well by expanding the number of states to include DC statehood, with two new Democrat senators, Barrasso added.

When addressing the topic of expanding the number of Supreme Court justices during an NPR interview in 2019, Ginsburg said they shouldnt expand the court as it would make it too political.

Nine seems to be a good number. Its been that way for a long time, she told NPR. I have heard that there are some people on the Democratic side who would like to increase the number of judges. I think it was a bad idea when President Franklin Roosevelt tried to pack the court, Ginsburg said.

Ginsburg said she was not in favor of such a change.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the 2020 DVF Awards in Washington on Feb. 19, 2020. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for DVF)

If anything would make the court look partisan, she told NPR. It would be thatone side saying, When were in power, were going to enlarge the number of judges, so we would have more people who would vote the way we want them to.'

Democrats are criticizing Republicans for moving forward with a nomination now, but not when President Barack Obama wanted to nominate a justice during an election year.

Barrasso addressed the issue of the Supreme Court vacancy during Obamas last year in office, when D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick B. Garland was nominated but not voted on by the Senate because of what Barrasso called, the Biden Rule.

In 1992, then-Senator from Delaware, Joe Biden, said to the Democratic-controlled Senate they should not hold any potential hearings for nominees offered by then-President George H.W. Bush.

Barrasso argued the Biden rule does not hold this time because both the president and the Senate are of the same party.

Barrasso also called the democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) the de facto speaker of the House, saying that Ocasio-Cortezs presence at Schumers press conference this weekend was proof she has a very influential role in the party.

Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez held a press conference and spoke on Sept. 19 at James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York, about protecting the rights of the LGBTQ community and reproductive rights.

Today, a Reuters poll came out and said 62 percent of Americans agree with her. Schumer said, referring to Ginsburgs apparent wish to have the new Supreme Court justice be nominated after the 2020 elections.

Ocasio-Cortez, a freshman congresswoman, said people must not allow Republicans to nominate a new Supreme Court justice until after the elections.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) speaks as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) listens during a press conference in the Corona neighborhood of Queens in New York City, N.Y., on April 14, 2020. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)

Ocasio-Cortez stressed that all people who care about pro-choice issues, gay marriage, and unionizing, should call their senators, especially Republican senators and senators in swing states, to make sure that they hold this vacancy open. And we must also commit to using every procedural tool available to us to ensure that we buy ourselves the time necessary.

Since 1900, about 70 percent of all Supreme Court nominees were confirmed within 45 days and 13 of them were confirmed in a week or less.

Republicans argue that if the roles were reversed, Democrats would do the same thing, nominating their pick for Supreme Court justice before an election.
WASHINGTON  As President Donald Trump prepares to swiftly name a Supreme Court nominee in hopes of having Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs replacement approved by the election, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and other Republicans are saying theres no need to rush.

But Cornyn was clear: The Senate should move to fill the high court vacancy before the end of the year, whether or not Trump and the GOP Senate majority  including Cornyn himself  will be returning to Washington in 2021.

Just as the Senate has always done, we will thoroughly review the qualifications. We should not rush that process. It should be conducted carefully and consistently with how the Senate has previously handled Supreme Court nominations, Cornyn, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said during a speech on the Senate floor on Monday. The Senate will vote on that nominee sometime this year.

Cornyns comments came as Trump said that he will name Ginsburgs replacement Friday or Saturday  before Ginsburg, who died Friday after serving 27 years on the high court, is buried.

The presidents push, with the support of the Republican-led Senate, has launched a monumental confirmation fight ahead of the November election, one that is not likely to be resolved by Election Day, Nov. 3.

The issue is reshaping the presidential race, which to this point has been largely a referendum on how Trump managed the COVID-19 pandemic.

It seems certain to electrify both sides: Democrats were breaking fundraising records while a packed Trump crowd in North Carolina Saturday loudly chanted Fill that seat. But it remains unclear if the high bench vacancy  which could impact everything from abortion rights to legal challenges of the 2020 election  would persuade disenchanted Republicans to return to Trump or fire up women or suburban voters to break for Biden.

Democrats, led by presidential nominee Joe Biden, are protesting, saying voters should speak first and the winner of the White House should fill the vacancy. Theyre also calling GOP lawmakers hypocrites for being on the other side of the same issue when they blocked then-President Obamas appointment of Merrick Garland to the high court in early 2016.

NOMINATION IS WHY DONALD TRUMP WAS ELECTED: Cruz urges swift action to fill Supreme Court vacancy

On the other hand, some Republicans including Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, have agreed with Trump on the need to move quickly, precisely because of the rapidly approaching election.

We cannot have Election Day come and go with a four-four court, Cruz said in an interview with Fox News Sean Hannity on Friday. A four-four court that is equally divided cannot decide anything. And I think we risk a constitutional crisis if we do not have a nine-justice Supreme Court, particularly when there is such a risk of a contested election.

Announcing a nominee on Friday or Saturday would leave less than 40 days for the Senate to hold a confirmation vote before the election. No nominee has won confirmation that quickly since Sandra Day OConnor became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court in 1981.

The contours of the confirmation debate were already taking shape on Monday.

All eyes on Romney, Grassley

So far two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have said they will not support a replacement before the election, as did the one Democrat who voted for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Trumps last high court nominee. Two more Republican defections could halt the confirmation  attention has focused on Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who are seen as two possibilities.

CRUZ WAS ON TRUMPS LIST: The Texas senator explains why he doesnt want to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court

Democrats, meanwhile, are blasting the Republicans for denying even a hearing for Garland, whom Obama nominated to fill a vacancy left by Antonin Scalia after he died on a ranch in West Texas in February 2016. Obama nominated Garland in March, months before the 2016 election.

Early voting already has begun in several states in this years election and begins in Texas on Oct. 13.

By flagrantly violating precedent they themselves championed when it served their agenda, Senator Cornyn, Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell are showing the American people once again that they lack the integrity to act in the best interests of our country, said former Air Force pilot MJ Hegar, the Democrat running against Cornyn.

The American voters know the Supreme Court is on the ballot, Hegar said. We will determine who we are as a country on November 3rd, and it should be the President and Senate we elect who select a qualified individual to serve a lifetime appointment.

Republicans say 2016 was different. Obama was barred from running again as he finished his second term, and the Senate was controlled by a different party than the White House. It has been more than a century since the Senate confirmed an election-year nominee by a president from a different party.

Do you think wed be hearing the same arguments from our friends across the aisle if Hillary Clinton were president? Cornyn said. If the American people had elected a Democratic president and a Democratic majority, I have no doubt that [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer would act on that nomination, as well.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Trump confirmed Monday that among the top contenders are Indianas Amy Coney Barrett and Floridas Barbara Lagoa, both appellate court judges he appointed.

Barrett has long been a favorite among conservatives while Lagoa has been pushed by some aides who tout her political advantages of being Hispanic and hailing from the key battleground state of Florida.

Trump also indicated that Allison Jones Rushing, a 38-year-old appellate judge from North Carolina, is on his short list. He has promised to nominate a woman for the high court, adding that his preference is for someone younger who could hold her seat for decades.

The president, meanwhile, went so far as to disparage reports that Ginsburg had told her granddaughter it was her wish that a replacement justice not be confirmed until the inauguration of a new president. Providing no evidence, Trump suggested that Democratic political foes were behind the report, including Rep. Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chairman who led the chambers impeachment probe.

Schiff said Trump sank to a new low with that comment. He denied any involvement in Ginsburgs dying wish but said he would fight like hell to make it come true.

Ginsbergs casket is to be on view mid-week on the iconic steps outside the court and later at the Capitol. She is to be buried next week in a private service at Arlington National Cemetery.

This article contains material from the Associated Press.

ben.wermund@chron.com
Without naming them, the cardinal attacks the groups that block the formation of the new executive by demanding certain ministries. He recalls Article 95 of the Constitution which establishes equality between Christians and Muslims, but "does not assign a ministry to a certain sect". Shiite Superior Council responds: "confessional provocations" from a highlevel religious leader.

Beirut (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A new chapter in the clash between the Maronite patriarch, Card Beshara Rai, and the two main Shiite factions Hezbollah and Amal, supported by the Shiite High Council, took place yesterday in Lebanon.

In his Sunday homily the cardinal, without naming them, attacked the two groups that are blocking the formation of the new government by demanding the finance portfolio for them. He addressed the Prime Minister in charge Moustapha Adib urging him to continue the consultations for a limited executive of independent politicians "and let the parliamentary process take its course" in accordance with the Constitution.

In the function celebrated at the church of Notre-Dame d'Ilij in Mayfouk (diocese of Jbeil), Card Beshara Rai criticised the two Shiite movements without naming them openly. At the same time, the cardinal left open the possibility - for the future - of a "revision of the Lebanese system, and of the division of prerogatives and roles".

The Shiite community has been lobbying for this debate, but the Maronite patriarch has laid down two conditions which both Amal and Hezbollah object to: to consecrate Lebanon's neutrality; state centralization of the use of the port and of weapons.

In the mass, dedicated to the memory of the "martyrs of the Lebanese resistance", Card Rai recalled the centrality of art. 95 of the Constitution, which "does not assign a ministry to a certain sect".

He pondered whether a new amendment can be "imposed by force" just as the two Shiite factions are trying to do. The cardinal explained that the article "only provides for equality between Christians and Muslims for leading administrative positions".

Has this article - he added - been changed secretly or must the will of some be imposed by force? This is unacceptable in our Lebanese system.

Finally, the head of the Maronite Church specifies that he does not want to take sides and does not want to attack any community, but to fight in the defence of the inspiring principles and values of the State.

His battle of principle is directed against those who attack the rules and the legality itself of the nation and the collaboration between different entities and groups. The primary objective is to block the hegemony of a party that wants to assert its power, undermining the authority of a state deprived of its decision-making power and sovereignty itself.

Amal and Hezbollah did not reply directly to the words of the Maronite patriarch, but the Shiite Superior Council, the highest religious authority of the community, intervened in their support, which limited itself to criticizing the references to the Ministry of Finance. In a note released yesterday afternoon, the CSS criticizes the words of "a great religious authority" against the Shiite faction and "the deterioration of his speech, impregnated with confessional provocations and distorting the truth".

They claim the cardinal would have "bowed" to the dictates from abroad and would end up being "harmful to the country". "If we ask that the Shiite community maintain the Ministry of Finance, it is to preserve the national partnership" in the executive.

The document concludes with a call to citizenship and the end of sectarianism: "We have asked and we ask the abolition of political confessionalism and the approval of citizenship as a standard in political action, within a just state based on equal rights and duties and that it is independent of sectarian privileges ".
The recent deal between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, cleverly marketed as the Abraham Accords, aims to normalize relations between the two countries  from business and tourism to official diplomatic ties and regional security. After decades of secretive relations between Israel and the UAE, the deal is being applauded by Canadian politicians. Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne welcomed it, taking to Twitter to show his support. Yet there is little to celebrate or support.

The deal has its vocal supporters, notably President Donald Trump, who touted a Deal of the Century earlier in the year  one that ostensibly gave Israel security guarantees while offering Palestinians the state they needed and deserved. On closer inspection, the deal left Palestinians without proper sovereignty, surrounded by Israel, and haphazardly threaded between illegal Israeli settlements which would gain formal recognition.

With the failure of that deal, the U.S. leveraged its influence in the Gulf to push for Israels interests. Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have always had behind-the-scene relations with Israel; however, none ever ignored the plight of the Palestinians, their sufferings, right to self-determination, and basic freedoms.

The goal for Canadian foreign policy in the Middle East should indeed be peace and stability. But not peace at any cost, and certainly not peace by condoning violations of international law and sanctioning occupation.

That is essentially what the Israel-UAE treaty does. While it was sold as a historic deal that suspends Israels plans to annex the West Bank, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that is still on the table, posing a threat to a two-state solution.

The treaty is clearly a continuation of Trumps deal where Israels interests are foregrounded, Palestinians voices are muted and the Israeli occupation of their land is upheld. The real drivers of the treaty are American and Israeli interests, rather than Palestinian interests. Former Canadian Ambassador to Israel Jon Allen described it as a deal of winners and losers and highlighted the gains the U.S. and Israel stand to make in sales of weapons and security services to the UAE, notably American-made F-35 jets and Israeli-made anti-surveillance and anti-missile technology.

Stability in the Middle East is not a zero-sum equation. In the absence of a comprehensive peace agreement that resolves Palestinian grievances while meeting Israels needs for security, other policy options are possible. Qatars relationship with Israel, for instance, has pushed for stability in the broader region, while amplifying Palestinian rights at the geopolitical table.

Despite the ongoing embargo on Qatar due to its divergent regional policies, Qatar has facilitated assistance to Gaza during the siege imposed on it by Israel. The Qatari government has also provided humanitarian aid, including building the Hamad Bin Khalifa hospital there  all with tacit Israeli approval, proof that relations with Israel need not impede upon ones ethical obligations to Palestinians. Qatar has used its ties with Israel to improve the conditions of the Palestinians and push forward the Palestinian humanitarian needs in such conversations.

While Canadas policy has been ostensibly based on a two-state solution (including opposition to the settlements, occupation and annexations of the Golan Heights and Jerusalem), for too long Canada has not been as outspoken on Israels encroachment on Palestinian lands and their rights as we should be. Instead, our political leadership has tacitly supported Israels annexations and contradicted our past record on both Palestine and human rights issues more broadly on a global scale.

Canada has voted against UN resolutions that document Israeli violations, even while calling for peace and intervention in other nations with similar track records. Canada has even campaigned against the International Criminal Courts investigation of war crimes by Israel. This is not a foreign policy in line with international law, human rights for all, and fairness.

We need a foreign policy that is principle-based and clear-eyed, not one that responds to hype and marketing stunts. Ottawa should condition our relationship with Israel on the latter meeting its obligations under International law. We should support international treaties and policies that can advance true and comprehensive peace between Israel and Palestinians, but in the meantime support Palestinians basic human rights and humanitarian needs.

Yasser M. Dhouib is a political and human rights activist. He is president of the CCRG (Canadian Centre of Research and Arab-Persian Gulf Studies) and is a volunteer VP of the Canadian Qatari Friendship Association.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 01:43:06|Editor: huaxia

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BEIRUT, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Newly appointed Lebanese Prime Minister Mustafa Adib urged on Monday all political parties to facilitate the government formation amid economic, social and health crises, the National News Agency reported.

"The pain experienced by all the Lebanese under such circumstances requires the cooperation of all parties to facilitate the formation of a government comprised of specialists dedicated to the implementation of a specific program aimed at stopping economic collapse while restoring confidence in the country and its institutions," Adib said in a statement.

He affirmed that he will spare no efforts to achieve this goal in cooperation with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, while calling on everyone to work for the success of the French initiative without further delay in a bid to stop rapid deterioration in the country. Enditem
WATERBURY  A city man, who fled to the Dominican Republic while out on bond on federal charges, will serve five years in prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy dating back to 2018, according to federal authorities.

A judge sentenced Joevanny Vicente, 34, last week to 60 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release.

In 2018, law enforcement identified Vicente as a broker of kilogram-quantity cocaine transactions, a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham said.

Vicente was arrested on Sept. 10, 2018, after authorities say he delivered 2 kilograms of cocaine to another person in Waterbury.

After a grand jury indictment on the case, Vicente was released on a $100,000 bond on Nov. 13, 2018.

The bond was co-signed by two individuals and secured by a residential property on York Street that Vicente owned.

Vicente subsequently fled to the Dominican Republic, authorities said.

He was arrested in Puerto Rico on March 5, 2019, after he traveled there to visit his son, according to authorities. He has been detained since his arrest.

On Feb. 1, 2019, a federal judge ordered Vicentes bond and his York Street property forfeited.

Vicente pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, 500 grams or more of cocaine.
Last week, the Union government moved ahead to productionize its plans, announced in May, for creating a One Nation, One Market for agricultural produce. Accordingly, it moved bills in the ongoing Monsoon session of the Parliament to replace the ordinances. It is positioned as a fresh burst of reforms in agriculture, which will dismantle laws, in vogue for decades, binding harvest, storage and sale of crops. In short, it is to set in motion an audacious plan to take the market to the farmer.

But now, this plan has run foul of a section of farmerslargely wealthy farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana. The thing is that they also pack considerable political cloutevidenced in the resignation of Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the Punjab MP representing the Shiromani Akali Dal, from the Union cabinet, and the activist campaign launched by the Congress chief minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh.

This is exactly the political economy of this policy change. It was designed to alter status quo, to replace the current trading system controlled by a clutch of people with a market-based system. Any change will create winners and losers.

Remember three out of four cultivators in India fall in the category of the small farmer. This, in turn, means accessing the mandi or the market for selling their harvest is a mini-project in itself; not to speak of the added cost burden of transport and pay-offs to middlemen. For them, the new regime offers hope. Just like it spells despair for the rich farmer.

The seeds of the challenge of the rich farmers of Punjab can be traced back to the green revolution initiated in the late 1960s. In a short period of time, it transformed Punjab and Haryana into the foodgrain bowl of the country; naturally the farmers, too, gained.

Subsequently, by the late 1970s, this economic power had translated into political clout with the rise of powerful farmer politicians, such as Charan Singh and Devi Lal, with a national footprint.

And, as Himanshu, associate professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, points out, this trend got a fillip with a fundamental shift in public policy towards agriculture.

Till the beginning of the 1980s, the approach was focused on public investment in agriculturelike in irrigation works.

Thereafter, it shifted focus to the idea of agricultural subsidies with its inexorable link to the minimum support price (MSP)the basic minimum guaranteed on key crops like wheat and paddyand an annual commitment to procure foodgrain.

Significantly, about 80% of the annual procurement comes from the states of Punjab and Haryana. The fear is that the new regime would endanger this arrangement.

It is true, the earlier system had its flaws. But let us not forget that it also helped mitigate risks to the farmer. By assuring a floor pricebased on the cost of cultivationthe government was effectively underwriting the risk in the event of a disaster (like for example if the country missed its annual tryst with the monsoon).

Seen another way, a weakening of the existing regime will diminish this risk cover. The current agitation has got legs precisely because clever politicians have played on these fears of farmers to convince them that the market-based reform would eventually nix the MSP.

Given its role in risk mitigation, the farmers are naturally vulnerable to such a sotto voce campaign.

The problem is that after the 2008 global financial crisis, the demand for foodgrain contracted and so did the prices. In the Indian context, the monsoon, too, became unpredictable even as the traditional crop mix was undergoing a shift towards riskier but high value-added produce like horticulture.

The combination is what led to the phenomenon of rural distress and farm suicides. At present, the farm gate prices are either barely below or at the level of the Support Priceso even a whisper about eliminating MSP will set off alarm bells in the minds of the farmer.

Politics is always as important as economics. The agitation has put the spotlight on the risks underlying farmingan issue rarely discussed, leave alone addressed. The solution therefore is to address risk mitigation and not stoke chaos for short-term political gains.

Food for thought?

Anil Padmanabhan is managing editor of Mint and writes every week on the intersection of politics and economics.

Comments are welcome at anil.p@livemint.com

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
President Donald Trump gave preliminary approval on Saturday to a proposal by Oracle and Walmart, along with a group of private equity and venture capital investors, to take over the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok and create a new US corporation.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, I have given the deal my blessing. If they get it done thats great, if they dont thats fine too.

An official statement from the Department of Treasury later said the transaction is subject to a closing with Oracle and Walmart and necessary documentation and conditions to be approved by the Committee of Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS).

A smartphone with Tik Tok and WeChat apps. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

The three-sentence Treasury Department statement by spokesperson Monica Crowley also confirmed that the deal involved the creation of a new entity called TikTok Global. The statement also said that Oracle will be responsible for key technology and security responsibilities to protect all US user data.

As has been clear since Trump first issued two executive orders on August 6 outlining plans to ban the social media apps TikTok and WeChat, the White House campaign of imperialist bullying, anti-Chinese propaganda and online censorship has nothing to do with protecting US user data.

CFIUS has been involved in negotiations with US companies for the takeover of TikTok for months including an earlier offer by Microsoft which was eventually rejected. The new announcement by the Trump administration has not included any reference to how much money is being offered for the ownership of TikTok or if anything is being paid for it at all.

As further details of the US government-brokered deal emerge, it is becoming clearer that the White House is engineering the theft of the massively popular video-sharing app from ByteDance Ltd., the Beijing-based owner of TikTok, by US corporate interests.

A report in the New York Times, based on two anonymous sources familiar with the details of the negotiations, said, ByteDance and its investors, which include the U.S.-based General Atlantic, Coatue Management and Sequoia Capital, would transfer some of their equity control into TikTok Global.

The Times report also said that the new firm TikTok Global would have 53 percent American investors including 20 percent held by Oracle and Walmart and existing American investments in ByteDance. Another group of ByteDance investors from Europe will control 11 percent of the company. The remaining 36 percent will be held by Chinese investors, primarily ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming and its employees.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Oracle would have 12.5 percent and Walmart 7.5 percent ownership in the new TikTok Global.

Reviewing this divvying up between the new owners of TikTokwhich has been valued at $50 billion or moreone is reminded of the multi-billion dollar contracts signed with ExxonMobil, British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and seizure of the countrys oil resources.

The participation of Walmart in the dealthe retail monopoly that has struggled to develop an e-commerce presence that can compete with Amazonis a noteworthy example of the blatant criminality behind the White House-sponsored TikTok deal.

While Walmart remains that largest US corporation by sales revenuemore than $500 billion annuallyit is number 11 on Wall Street with a market value of $383 billion, far behind rival Amazon, with a market value four times that of Walmart at $1.48 trillion.

According to a statement from the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer, This partnership will provide Walmart with an important way for us to expand our reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace, fulfillment and advertising businesses.

The Walmart statement also revealed that the board of directors of TikTok Global would have five members, four of them being from the US and the fifth presumably being Yiming of ByteDance. The Walmart statement also said, In addition, we would work toward an initial public offering of the company in the United States within the next year to bring even more ownership to American citizens.

The emergence of Oracle as the lead US corporate hustler of TikTok is entirely based upon the political connections and personal relationship of the companys billionaire Executive Chairman Larry Ellison with President Trump. The New York Times reported that Oracles top executives worked on the Trump transition team in 201617 and supported his policy initiatives and have donated more than $150,000 to his re-election campaign.

Both Ellison and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon were on the phone with Trump twice on Friday to work out specifics of the deal. Oracles chief executive, Safra Catz, said the company was 100 percent confident that the new TikTok Global would deliver a highly secure environment and ensure data privacy to TikToks American users and users throughout the world.

Given Ellisons public endorsement of illegal US government spying on the public as essential, no confidence can be placed in the empty promises from Oracle about how the new US-based TikTok entity is going to protect user privacy. Not one shred of evidence was ever presented to prove the claims by US officials that the Chinese government was monitoring or being given access to TikTok user data.

In another significant aspect of the imperialist raiding of TikTok, President Trump announced on Saturday evening that the deal involves about a $5 billion contribution toward education. Without going into specifics of where the money would come from or how it would be spent, Trump said, Were going to be setting up a very large fund for the education of American youths, and that will be great, thats their contribution that Ive been asking for.

The preliminary approval of the TikTok deal prevented a ban on US downloads of the app on Apple and Android app stores as of 11:59 p.m. on Sunday night. That deadline has been pushed back to September 27 in the event that the Oracle-Walmart plan falls apart.

The Chinese-owned social media platform WeChat was also scheduled to be banned on Sunday evening according to the Commerce Departments announcement on Friday morning. WeChat has 20 million active US users, many of whom are Chinese and Southeast Asian immigrants using the app as their primary means of communicating with family members, friends and business associates.

US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler entered an order on Sunday halting the banning of WeChat and upholding a motion by a group of users opposing the Trump administrations policy. Judge Beeler blocked the WeChat ban on First Amendment and free speech grounds. She wrote that there are no viable substitute platforms or apps for the Chinese-speaking and Chinese-American community.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated the farmers over the governments decision to hike the Minimum Support Price of wheat and five other rabi crops.

It is our great privilege to work for the welfare of our farmers. In line with our ethos of taking farmer-friendly measures, the Cabinet has taken another historic decision to raise MSP. Crores of farmers will benefit from this, PM Modi said in a tweet.

PM Modi said that the higher MSP will empower farmers and contribute to doubling their income. Increased MSP, along with the series of agriculture reforms passed by Parliament will ensure dignity and prosperity of farmers. Jai Kisan! PM Modi said.

The prime ministers tweet comes after the government hiked the minimum support price of wheat by Rs 50 per quintal to Rs 1,975 per quintal to encourage farmers to increase cultivation of the crop.

According to the revised price card, lentil has seen the highest increase in MSP at Rs 300 per quintal, followed by gram, rapeseed and mustard at Rs 225 per quintal each, safflower at Rs 112 per quintal. The minimum support price for barley and wheat has been fixed at Rs 75 per quintal and Rs 50 per quintal.

The hike in MSP comes a day after Parliament approved two agriculture sector-reform bills which have been bitterly opposed by the opposition parties like Congress and TMC as well as from within ruling NDA alliance over apprehension that the new legislations might virtually end MSP-based procurement by the government.

(With inputs from PTI)
Syracuse, N.Y.  For decades, every time a Syracuse police officer was accused of misconduct, the investigator would write the officers name and a case number into a logbook. By hand.

Even after the police department acquired software to track misconduct cases, the logbook remained the first step in an investigation, according to police officials. If it wasnt in the book, it didnt exist.

So Lt. Susan Izzo didnt know what to do this spring when, a few months into her job in charge of the departments internal affairs unit, she got a list of cases that werent in the logbook. A month later, she got another list of more cases.

In total, Izzo learned of 48 citizen complaints about officers since 2017 that internal affairs never investigated.

Because of the foulup, first revealed by Syracuse.com, the unit blew the 18-month deadline for action required under state law. If the cops deserved discipline, now its too late.

Its the most recent problem in rocky history of internal affairs.

Chief Kenton Buckner, who took over in December 2018, has tapped Izzo to help clean up this mess. There wasnt a lot of competition, she said.

Izzo and Buckner talked to Syracuse.com about the lost cases, the past problems and the plans to improve the office charged with enforcing accountability of the department.

The two police leaders, attorneys and civilian watchdogs say the unit (officially the Office of Professional Standards) has historically been understaffed and hadnt done enough to police the police.

Its failures have cost taxpayers money in civil lawsuits and undermined trust in the department amid ongoing protests calling for police accountability.

Buckner said hes added staff, swapped out the lieutenant in charge, isolated the office away from the rest of the officers and required more training. He has also disciplined more cops.

He said the failure to ensure all cases were investigated demonstrates broader problems with internal affairs, which he said he is still trying to get to the bottom of.

Common sense (would) tell you that, what else is wrong if you cant find cases that you should have on your registry? Buckner said. Obviously, you know, other things are probably wrong if something like that is out of place.

Also, the department is finally getting rid of that paper logbook, replacing it with an Excel spreadsheet and better using specialized software, Izzo said.

The lost cases

The Citizen Review Board, which reviews complaints against police, collected information on the 48 lost complaints and sent them to police. CRB officials have suggested the department deliberately slow-walked them to avoid officer discipline.

Some of the cases are the most egregious that administrator Ranette Releford has seen, she has said. She intends to refer at least two cases to the Onondaga County District Attorneys Office, she said, which has only happened a handful of times in the CRBs recent history.

Police officials dispute that, saying nothing deceptive happened and that the cases might have been put on the backburner in favor of more serious cases.

Izzo, who has reviewed the cases, said that seems to be the situation but the cases still should have been logged.

I think some of these things just got tabled or shelved or put somewhere else. Maybe most of these cases werent considered a hot item or an important enough item, she said. They should have been logged in and taken care of. And they werent.

One case that stood out to her was something we needed to give attention to right away, Izzo said. She declined to say more.

Former Chief Frank Fowler, the chief when about 29 of the 48 complaints were made, declined to comment. Lt. David Brown, a previous lieutenant in charge of internal affairs, could not be reached for comment.

Lt. Russ Gates, the lieutenant before Izzo, said in a brief phone conversation that the CRB sometimes sent over cases that were not in the units jurisdiction but declined to comment further.

However, Izzo did release new details about the cases. Among the allegations in the 48 cases are:

10 of excessive force

10 of false arrest

9 of failure to act

6 of unlawful search

6 of poor demeanor

5 of harassment

One alleges property damage after a drug search warrant was executed, and the other disputes an officers finding in a traffic report. In the traffic case, the complainant was correct, Izzo said, so the department is working to fix the issue more than 18 months after the complaint was filed.

Actually, he was right, Izzo said of the complainant. So, we gotta fix that.

Seventeen of the cases are from 2017, 12 are from 2018 and 19 are from 2019, according to Izzo.

The logbooks are black with maroon trim. Izzo displayed one from the 1990s that was falling apart, its pages falling off the binding.

Lt. Susan Izzo flips through paper logbooks that the unit has used to track cases since at least the 1990s. The outdated system helps explain how the police lost civilian complaints in recent years.

The Citizen Review Board and the police are meeting regularly to figure out exactly how the cases might have been overlooked.

Buckner said he accepts that there were problems with organization in internal affairs.

These are mammoth organizations with many layers. I will be learning about Syracuse and Syracuse Police Department until the day that I walk out of here, he said.  What in government is simple? What in government is fast?

The department is now investigating all 48 cases, even if no discipline is possible, according to Buckner, and he committed in an interview to not allowing any case to lapse past the 18-month deadline as long hes chief.

One way hes doing that is by making changes at the office.

Personnel changes

Izzo has been at the department for 29 years. She became a police officer when she saw layoffs happening around her at her job as a technician at an engineering firm.

She spent years as a narcotics detective and a traffic officer until being assigned to help with medical billing in human resources. Along the way, she won several awards for bravery and her detective work.

Buckner approached her late last year and asked if shed take over internal affairs, she said. Hed had trouble finding applicants for the job, which requires investigating fellow officers accused of misconduct.

Its not something that I ever intended on doing. Its not a popular position, she said. But Im down with doing what the chief needs done.

Izzo sees the new role as crucial to improve trust in the police. She witnessed protests in Syracuse and elsewhere demanding transparency and assurance that cops who perform badly will be punished.

When the trust goes downhill for whatever reason, maybe not reasons because of our own but because of what happens elsewhere in the country, its important that we at least try to show them that that sort of atmosphere doesnt exist here, she said. And that we are transparent about everything and were going to do the best job we can in terms of complaints about abuse by the police.

Buckner said Izzo was highly qualified and experienced with personnel matters. Izzo said she accepted because she respects Buckner.

The chief has also added two more sergeants and hopes to hire a civilian to help with clerical work at the office.

I wanted new eyes, new energy, a fresh perspective to take a look at these issues, to see how we can improve without pointing the finger at any of my predecessors, Buckner said.

That means the office now has four sworn employees  one lieutenant and three sergeants. Before, two employees investigated more than 100 cases a year.

That was insane, Buckner said.

The additions bring the office closer to its peers Upstate. It still has the lowest number of staffers per officer of the departments contacted by Syracuse.com.

The Albany Police Department has one officer in its internal affairs department for every 68 sworn officers; Buffalo has one per 77 officers; and Rochester has one per 92 officers.

When SPD had just two sworn employees, it had one officer in OPS for 200 officers. With Buckners changes, it now has about one employee per 100 officers.

The shakeup appears to be the largest in decades at the office.

Capt. Thomas Galvin was the lieutenant in charge of the office between 1989 and 2015, when he retired. For most of his career, it was just him and a lieutenant, he said.

Near the end of his career, several high-profile federal lawsuits called out problems with internal affairs investigations and also the police chiefs disciplinary decisions.

For example, Galvin testified in three cases involving incidents in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Two alleged excessive force and one sexual misconduct, and the city paid a combined $4 million in settlements and a jury verdict. A common allegation, according to attorneys for plaintiffs, was that the police chief routinely exonerated officers despite what the evidence showed and that the office closed cases too quickly, often by not questioning witnesses thoroughly or reviewing all the evidence.

They also argued that the office should have detected patterns in misconduct like excessive force, pointing out the Citizen Review Board was regularly finding the officers had committed misconduct and also making recommendations to reduce that misconduct.

In the 2015 case, Maleatra Montanez accused Chester Thompson of using his police position to coerce her into oral sex. Thompson later pleaded guilty to official misconduct and got probation.

The lawsuit the woman filed focused on the similar allegations that had come across Galvins desk previously, including one the year before. In that case, Galvin never contacted the alleged victim. Instead, he called her mother, who told him her daughter would not participate in the investigation.

Montanez and the city settled the case for $500,000.

In two excessive force cases, civilians accused the police of closing cases too quickly without a thorough or impartial investigation.

A man sued the police department after officers fired a Taser at him in 2013 for refusing to get off a Centro bus. Galvin investigated and found the use-of-force force justified, including the conduct of his nephew, an officer. Investigators also did not interview witnesses. The city settled that lawsuit for $1.5 million.

And another case originated from a 2014 alleged beating by police of a man who called 911 for help with a family dispute. The mans attorneys pointed to a sergeants use-of-force report and an internal affairs investigation that were completed within days. Internal affairs again interviewed no witnesses. And Chief Fowler accepted the offices findings that no excessive force was used.

A jury awarded the plaintiff $1.5 million, though the jury declined to hold the city liable for claims by the mans attorneys that the department was too permissive of excessive force or lax with discipline.

Galvin, in a recent interview, defended his record and said two people in charge of the unit was sufficient.

I didnt need more help. I had resources if I needed it, he said. If I needed a platoon commander assisting me in obtaining reports or whatever, I could reach out to them without a problem.

He also said hed done his best to get witnesses and to thoroughly investigate.

Ill tell you, its very difficult to convince people to talk to the police, he said. They were very reluctant to talk to police.

Current and former members of the CRB who reviewed internal affairs investigations said they didnt notice major problems in how thoroughly investigations were conducted. The major issues, they said, came when police leadership made a decision on discipline.

They didnt really, in my mind, meet an impartial standard, said David Chaplin, CRB administrator from May to December 2016. I will say that in terms of investigations and talking to everybody and getting all the surveillance footage, getting body cams and cops cams, all that was taken care of in a pretty timely fashion.

Discipline

The number of officers being disciplined has increased since Buckner took over, which he points to as another example of the fresh look hes taken.

Buckner, who was previously chief in Little Rock, Ark., was selected in a national search and sees his job as an outside chief to bring reform. The status quo is over, he said.

In the three years before he took over, 2016 to 2018, officers were given an average of 15 written reprimands or counselings a year, according to the departments annual report.

In 2019, Buckners first full year as chief, he approved 48 written reprimands.

Also, hes imposed seven suspensions, doubling the average over the last three years, and approved a loss of furlough days 21 times  more than the last three years combined. Two officers have resigned and one was fired as part of the disciplinary process, which appears never to have occurred in the previous three years under Fowler, according to the annual reports.

You can look at a shift and see, when there was discipline, what was it? Buckner said. You can look very clearly, and its distinct. Its different.

Izzo said shes seen an increase in proactive discipline by the chief. The number of cases has increased sharply since Buckner took over.

I dont think hes doing anything extra or going above and beyond to go out of his way to discipline people, Izzo said. I think its just something that probably should have been in place a long time ago and hasnt been until he got here.

Cases can originate from a citizen alleging misconduct or department officials investigating possible misconduct within their department. In 2017, there were 118 cases; in 2018, there were 109; and in 2019, there were 172 cases.

Of the 172 cases in 2019, 82 originated within the department, Izzo said, which she said is an increase from previous years. The rest were citizen complaints. Many of the cases from within the department had to do with car crashes, she said.

The chiefs approach to discipline has raised the ire of the police union, which is appealing to an arbitrator six of those suspensions against four officers.

Peter McCarthy, chairman of the CRB, said hes seen a shift in attitude since Buckner took over, but meaningful changes will take time.

The chief re-established a committee of police department and CRB members, and hes begun meeting with Releford, the CRB administrator, once a month.

Based on the tone and tenor of the relationship with OPS, theyre starting to do a better job, McCarthy said.

Reporter Chris Libonati contributed to this report.

Reporter Patrick Lohmann can be reached at (315)766-6670 or PLohmann@Syracuse.com.
New Fairfield Volunteer Fire Department

NEW FAIRFIELD  Enforcement action is pending against a local man who crashed into a utility pole Friday night, state police said.

First responders were called to the area of 95 Gillotti Road around 7:50 p.m. and found a mangled 2000 Volkswagen Jetta and damaged utility pole at the scene.
Dubbed Mopars5150, the team loves to track down standout examples of famous classic muscle monsters and we can safely say they've hit the mark with this one.To start with, we're dealing with the 440 six-pack, so, thanks to three two-barrel Holley carburetors, the 7.2-liter V8 was rated at 390 hp and 490 lb-ft of twist. And yes, the motor works with a four-speed manual for the example we have here!Do the numbers match? The title already gave this detail away, but the story of the vehicle is a bit more complex.Until recently, Sue, whom you can check out in one of the Instagram posts below, has been the only owner of this Super Bee. And while she was considerate enough to keep the Mopar machine indoors, that 440 was no longer under the hood when the saviors arrived. Nevertheless, the motor was retrieved from a different location, so we can now talk about an all-original toy. Oh, and the enthusiast did keep the license plate of the machine.Of course, as you can easily notice in the post showcasing the V8, this will need quite a bit of work, but that's not the kind of detail that sets the team back.And while the Sublime Green paint of the vehicle easily catches the eye, stepping into the car means another detail grabs the attention. That would be the odometer, which shows 51,066 miles (82182 km).Speaking of which, the cabin seems to need some serious attention too. Then again, isn't this the beauty of the restoration process?
Hugh Jackman has long been considered the 'Nicest Guy in Hollywood'.

And the 51-year-old Australian actor lived up to his reputation on Sunday, during the first-ever virtual Emmy Awards ceremony.

In a live stream from his New York home, Hugh pumped his fist in the air and cheered on Mark Ruffalo, after losing out to the American actor in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Category.

Emmy Awards 2020: 'The Nicest Guy in Hollywood' Hugh Jackman (pictured with wife Deborra-Lee Furness) was gracious in defeat as he lost to Mark Ruffalo for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Category on Sunday

Hugh, who appeared on screen alongside wife Deborra-Lee Furness, was nominated for his role as a corrupt school superintendent in HBO's drama Bad Education.

As it was announced Mark, 52, had won the category for his portrayal of brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in TV mini-series I Know This Much Is True, Hugh was gracious in defeat.

Sporting a crisp white dress shirt, a beaming Hugh cheered on Mark, pumping his fist in the air.

Winner: As it was announced Mark (pictured with wife Sunrise Coigney), 52, had won the category for his portrayal of brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey in TV mini-series I Know This Much Is True, Hugh was gracious in defeat

What a gentleman: Sporting a crisp white dress shirt, a beaming Hugh, 51, cheered on Mark, pumping his fist in the air

Hugh plays Frank Tassone in the HBO drama Bad Education, which also airs on Foxtel in Australia.

Frank hoodwinked Long Island's Roslyn High School, conning his way to millions to fund his extravagant lifestyle, before being sent to prison in 2006 for larceny.

Hugh's performance quickly received rave reviews, with USA TODAY branding it 'great acting', while Decider called it an 'Oscar-worthy role'.

Unique times: The Greatest Showman star watched the first-ever virtual Emmy Awards ceremony from his New York home (pictured)

Nominated role: Hugh plays Frank Tassone, a corrupt superintendent who hoodwinked Long Island's Roslyn High School, before being sent to prison in 2006 for larceny

In an interview with Variety in April, Hugh described the opportunity to portray the real-life school superintendent as 'fascinating'.

'The role itself was something different from what I've done. I liked the idea of someone who is super successful, very, very good at what he did, beloved by the community - and fell down this slippery path,' he said.

Hugh also described playing the villain as 'delicious' in an interview with Collider.

'As an actor, it just had so much to play with, and so many things that I've never really had the opportunity to play with. He's seemingly very charming, but also just a viper... Those things, I just found really exciting to play,' he said.
The team has shown results in treating rabbits & is exploring funding opportunities for applications in humans

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) researchers have developed nano-coated magnesium (Mg) alloys that can repair bone defects in rabbits.

Encouraged by these results, the research team, which is partnering with several other institutions, is planning to study medical applications of nano-coated magnesium alloys in other animals and repairing human bones.

Alloys of magnesium are being considered as a good option for orthopaedic applications as magnesium is biocompatible, biodegradable and has other important mechanical properties. Magnesium is the fourth abundant metal in the body and is known to accelerate the healing of bones.

However, the use of magnesium alloys in bone repair is restricted due to few issues. These issues have given a major push to the field of synthetic bone biomaterials where materials such as hydroxyapatite, calcium phosphate, and titanium, among others, are being used for filling the bone gaps.

The research was led by Prof. Mukesh Doble, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, and comprised of Dr. Govindaraj Perumal, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, IIT Madras, Dr. Boopalan Ramasamy, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Dr. A Maya Nandkumar, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Dr. D. Sivaraman, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai and Dr. R Selvaraj from Bioscience Research Foundation, Chennai.

For this study, the researchers deployed AZ31 alloy of magnesium and used it for developing magnesium mesh cage implants. Further, they coated these implants with polycaprolactone and nano-hydroxyapatite by dipping and electrospinning. This nano-coated magnesium mesh was then used to heal the bone defect in femur of rabbits.

The researchers found that the rabbit femur implanted with the coated magnesium alloy showed bone formation and also bridged the defect region. The team emphasizes that this was possible due to the biocompatible nature of polycaprolactone and nano-hydroxyapatite which ensured good recovery without any adverse reactions such as fibrosis.

The team is exploring funding opportunities to further test this newly-developed nano-coated magnesium alloy in repairing bone defects in large animals such as goat or sheep to demonstrate the efficacy of the product and show clinical significance of this research.
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday (September 21) condemned the suspension of eight MPs who fought to protect the interests of farmers in Parliament, dubbing the move as 'unfortunate'.

She came down heavily on the BJP-led government at the Centre protesting its 'undemocratic norms and principles' of functioning.

"Suspension of the 8 MPs who fought to protect farmers' interests is unfortunate and reflective of this autocratic Govt's mindset that doesn't respect democratic norms and principles. We won't bow down & we'll fight this fascist Govt in Parliament & on the streets," Mamata said in a tweet.

Eight opposition members, including Trinamool Congress' Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien, were suspended from the Rajya Sabha on Monday (Sept 21) morning for the rest of the session over unprecedented chaos in the Upper House during the passing of controversial farm bills on Sunday.

Besides O'Brien, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, Congress leader Rajeev Satav and CPI(M)'s KK Ragesh, were told they had displayed 'unruly behaviour especially with the Chair and gross disorderly conduct'.

Chairman Venkaiah Naidu condemned the action of these MPs and said that it was bad day for Rajya Sabha. "They abused Deputy Chairperson. Rules book was thrown on Deputy Chaiman, but no MP can obstruct Chairman. You obstructed the House and tarnished the image of the Parliament. Is it a Parliamentary standard? Please do a Instrospection Derek O'Brien, Please go Out," Naidu said.

"We won't bow down and we will fight this fascist government in Parliament and on the streets," the Trinamool supremo added in her tweet, accusing the BJP of killing democracy in the country.

On Sunday, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had called the ruckus in Rajya Sabha as unfortunate, shameful.

"What happened in Rajya Sabha today was saddening, unfortunate and shameful. It is the responsibility of the ruling side to enable discussions in the House but it is also the duty of the Opposition to maintain decorum. There are some political reasons behind every such decision. I don't want to comment on why did she take this decision," Singh said.
When restaurateur Erik Joyal got a call from his insurance broker, he couldnt quite believe his ears.

He said Ive got some bad news. Your policy wasnt renewed. And the best I could find was three times what youve been paying, said Joyal, managing partner at Ascari Hospitality Group, which owns several restaurants and bars in Toronto.

The price tag for insuring Ascaris Hi-Lo Bar had suddenly risen from $9,000 per year to almost $30,000 with a different insurer, at a time when restaurants and bars are already struggling because of restrictions and closures thanks to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Weve never had any claims at all. Weve never missed a payment, even during COVID when weve basically had no revenue. I couldnt believe it. I havent gotten a clear explanation why, said Joyal. Honestly, if I had to close this place down, it would be disappointing, but not a disaster. But the other places we have are much bigger spaces, and it would be real trouble.

Ascari is far from alone. Across the Greater Toronto Area, restaurants, bars, retailers and landscapers are seeing their insurance premiums skyrocket, during the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, if they can find any coverage at all. Insurance industry representatives point to weather calamities caused by climate change as the biggest cause of the price rise, and say fewer companies are issuing commercial policies. Theres also potential liability if a customer catches COVID, and  some experts say  the potential for payouts for business-interruption insurance.

Theres been a big increase in weather-related claims because of climate change. There are hailstorms, theres an increase in wildfires, theres an increase in flooding, said Pete Karageorgos, director of consumer and industry relations at the Insurance Bureau of Canada. In the last ten years, the annual amount of weather-related insurance payouts in Canada has jumped from $400 million to roughly $1 billion, Karageorgos said.

Weve already had one storm alone this year in Alberta that cost $2 billion in claims, Karageorgos said.

Some existing policies could mean insurers would need to pay out if a COVID-stricken customer proves they were infected at a given business, Karageorgos said. And so premiums go up, even for businesses which havent made any claims or missed any payments, he said.

If the risk goes up, the price goes up, Karageorgos said. Its a much harder market. Youre seeing companies pulling back because of that increased risk.

Business-interruption insurance  which typically covers closures due to physical damage such as a fire or flood  hasnt typically paid off for businesses temporarily closed because of COVID. That, however, could be changing thanks to an early-September U.K. court ruling in favour of policy holders. Bond rating executive Marcos Alvarez wrote recently that the ruling could set a precedent for lawsuits in other countries.

In DBRS Morningstars view, the implication of the High Court decision could extend beyond the British insurance industry given the level of integration between insurers and reinsurers on a global scale, the relevance of the London Market, and the common-law precedent that could be used in other jurisdictions, wrote Alvarez, DBRS Morningstar senior vice president.

Some business owners are already getting timid about putting in claims on existing policies, for fear of not getting renewed. Arron Barberian, owner of Toronto meat and wine-lovers institution Barberians Steak House, says his restaurant was broken into recently. He decided not to make a claim.

There was probably about $30,000 worth of booze missing and damage. I thought to myself Arron, dont you dare claim this, because youll get non-renewed. To not claim money that the insurance company owes you, after years of paying in? Its unbelievably frustrating, said Barberian, who admits his outlook was coloured by what he went through earlier this year when his Etobicoke-based sister restaurant Harrys Steak House suddenly found itself not getting coverage renewed.

After getting two and a half weeks notice before Harrys insurance lapsed, Barberian managed to press his insurance broker to get coverage from another company. While it was admittedly cheaper than the previous policy ($7,500 per year compared to the previous $15,000), it was for just a fraction of the coverage Harrys previously had, Barberian said.

Im still not completely sure Ive got alcohol liability coverage at Harrys right now, to be honest. And not everyone can lean on their broker like that. Im fortunate, because weve got other businesses and properties, said Barberian.

At Canadas biggest small business association, the phones have practically been ringing off the hook with owners worried about finding insurance. Its been going on since before COVID, but the concerns have become more pronounced lately, said Ryan Mallough, Ontario regional director for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Normally, the biggest frustrations CFIB members deal with are red tape, taxes or utility prices. But a recent survey of members vaulted insurance costs to the top of the list, Mallough said, with 54 per cent citing it as their top concern.

The jump in costs  if any coverage can be found  is especially painful for small businesses struggling to deal with a lack of revenue during the pandemic, he said.

Its difficult at the best of times to be a small-business owner. And now is not the best of times. Insurance is not really something you cant have, said Mallough.

For Joyal, the rising cost of insurance is just another bit of trouble in a struggling hospitality industry.

Come October and November, were going to see a lot of places closing down, and this will be the last straw for a lot of them, said Joyal.

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Netflix has chosen not to renew its fantasy series The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance after a single season.

The series served as a prequel to Jim Henson's 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal, which has become a cult classic among fantasy fans in recent years.

The streaming service and the Jim Henson Company CEO and Executive Producer Lisa Henson initially announced the information to io9.

Axed: Netflix's fantasy prequel The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance has been canceled by the streaming service after one season

Henson, the daughter of legendary Muppets creator Jim Henson, issued a statement thanking fans for supporting the series and suggesting the company might pursue other ways to continue the story.

'We can confirm that there will not be an additional season of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. We know fans are eager to learn how this chapter of The Dark Crystal saga concludes and well look for ways to tell that story in the future,' she wrote.

'Our company has a legacy of creating rich and complex worlds that require technical innovation, artistic excellence, and masterful storytelling. Our history also includes productions that are enduring, often finding and growing their audience over time and proving again and again that fantasy and science fiction genres reflect eternal messages and truths that are always relevant,' she continued.

Henson concluded her statement by thanking Netflix and noting that Age Of Resistance won the Emmy award for Outstanding Children's Program at the 72nd Primetime Emmys.

Saying goodbye: Lisa Henson, CEO of the Jim Henson Company and Executive Producer on the series, confirmed the cancellation along with Netflix

In the beginning: The series served as a prequel to Jim Henson's cult-classic 1982 film The Dark Crystal

Netflix shared its own statement thanking everyone involved with Age Of Resistance's production.

'We are grateful to the master artists at the Jim Henson Company for bringing The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance to life for fans around the world. Were thankful to the executive producers Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford, and Louis Leterrier, who also directed all episodes, as well as the writers, cast and crew for their outstanding work and thrilled they were recognized with the Emmy this weekend.'

Age Of Resistance debuted on Netflix in August 2019 with an impressive voice cast featuring Taron Egerton, Split's Anya Taylor-Joy, Game Of Throne's Nathalie Emmanuel, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Caitriona Balfe, Jason Isaacs and Mark Hamill, among many others.

The series also featured state-of-the-art puppetry that continued the Henson Company's history of innovation in the art form.

Stacked cast: Age Of Resistance debuted on Netflix in August 2019 with an impressive cast featuring Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nathalie Emmanuel, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Caitriona Balfe, Jason Isaacs and Mark Hamill, among many others; Egerton shown in February

Fans of the series will likely be disappointed in the surprise cancellation, as the first season ended on a cliffhanger.

Earlier this month, The Hollywood Reporter noted that Age Of Resistance was considered an 'expensive disappointment' by top executives at Netflix.

The films alleged lack of viewers and large productions costs were cited as potential reasons for the ouster of Netflix TV executive Cindy Holland, who had been with the streaming service for 20 years.
Tucked inside the New Jersey Pine Barrens in the Wharton State Forest is a colonial village that time seemed to forget.

It sprung up around the Batsto Iron Works in the late 1700 and was built to last.
B usiness leaders today ramped up pressure on the Government to create an air bridge between the UK and US amid fears the lack of a plane route is preventing deals.

Chief executives want ministers to run trials of a coronavirus testing system on long-haul routes from London to New York to reduce the damage from travel restrictions.

Airlines are calling for a system which tests passengers on departure or arrival, and again five days later. If they test negative twice, they would not be required to quarantine for two weeks.

A report today estimates the collapse in air travel between the UK and the worlds largest economy will cost 11 billion this year. The Airlines UK report, commissioned by Heathrow airport and British Airways owner IAG, claims 3.5 billion could be lost from a lack of US tourists and business travellers alone.

Advertising tycoon Sir Martin Sorrell, who runs S4 Capital, said an air bridge with New York is a good idea, and Los Angeles and San Francisco should also be included. He said: It would be very useful, particularly for bankers with so much M&A and IPOs taking place.

I think people will understand that business needs to carry on and business people need to travel. Sorrell said smaller deals could be agree over video calls. But for the big deals with so much at stake I think you have to meet and look people in the eye, he said.

Simon Carter, incoming chief executive of London offices giant British Land, said: This makes a lot of sense and feels like the right time to me. Anything that starts the flow of international travel between big cities and London has to be done.

London has always benefited from tourists and business workers  its really important to help our theatres, shops and hospitality industries.

Travelsafe Systems, which has developed a rapid Covid testing system, won praise from former Prime Minister Theresa May as she urged testing on arrival earlier this month.

Sir Martin Sorrell has backed calls for an air bridge / REUTERS

Travelsafes chief executive Nicholas Lambe said: We have potential customers in airports on both sides of the Atlantic who are wanting to open up safe tested air travel by testing on departure and if necessary again on arrival.

This is a major frustration to many leaders both inside the air transport sector and in business in general as all it would take is agreement from the governments to recognise test results as a way to avoid quarantine.

Ed Lascelles of tech investor AlbionVC added: London is one of the top three tech hubs in the world but if we cant easily fly to New York or California, then that position is threatened.

Alex Stewart, who runs London based luggage brand OneNine5, says: "Until we can travel to New York, we're unable to expand our direct-to-consumer start-up to the US. We can't open a US bank account remotely and need to be there in-person.

We really hope the government will consider an air bridge soon to kickstart our recovery after a year of stifled growth and uncertainty."

Sadie Restorick, chief executive of training specialist We Work Well, said: "The restrictions have had a huge impact, with 70% of our business coming to a standstill or being lost to more local providers.

This transatlantic bridge will enable us to reconnect with our clients and establish new partnerships within this area. Providing the right safety protocols and testing measures are put in place, this move will be a huge boost to our business.

Michael McFadgen, partner at fintech investor Element Ventures, said: It is logical that the opening of an air bridge will facilitate increased innovation and capital flow, as well as significant commercial opportunities on either side of the Atlantic.

Heathrow has set up a testing facility capable of conducting 13,000 tests a day and insists that the system would not use the same laboratories as the NHS, easing worries the UKs stretched testing regime could be overloaded.

The Department for Transport has reportedly discussed the plan with its American counterpart but signs of a second wave of Covid have dampened talks.

Bosses also noted that New York had been particularly hard hit by the virus.
Daytime soap opera fans are some of televisions fiercest enthusiasts and harshest critics. General Hospital is one of daytime televisions longest-running shows too. The storylines are dramatic, the characters are loveable, and situations keep viewers on the edge of their seats. More recently, with the introduction of one character, in particular, General Hospital fans are taking to social media with predictions, support, and critiques.

Cyrus Renault is making moves as one of General Hospitals latest Port Charles threats. The mobster villain is sending chills down the spines of many on the show, from Sonny Corinthos to Laura Collins. And fans are weighing in on a recent episodes chain of events. Following the Twitter feed responses, its clear there are two camps: team Sonny and team Cyrus.

(L-R) Maurice Benard as Sonny Corinthos and Jeff Kober as Cyrus Renault on General Hospital | Nick Agro/Getty Images

A little history about Cyrus Renault

Laura wants control of Port Charles back in the Mayor's office. Will Sonny back down from his war with Cyrus Renault?

An all-new #GH starts RIGHT NOW on ABC! @GenieFrancis pic.twitter.com/CXHSyrdD7D  General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) March 2, 2020

Cyrus Renault is a Pentonville prison inmate, with no fear and dangerous ties. He poses a serious threat and challenge to Sonny Corinthos and the authority he already enjoys in Port Charles. Renault is a drug-running villain whos operated things from his prison cell for nearly a decade, according to Soaps In Depth. Corinthos may not have taken Renault seriously enough, though, and left Jason Morgan in charge of discovering who was behind the gunman and shooting at the Corinthos Coffee warehouse.

Cyrus Renault is entangled with a host of characters right now

Cyrus Renault is a free man and he's anxious to make a good first impression to the residents of Port Charles.

Tune into a tense, new #GH  STARTING NOW on ABC! @lldubs @1SteveBurton pic.twitter.com/ACaexsMjc8  General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) April 7, 2020

RELATED: General Hospital Fans Want to See Epiphany in More Than Just the Nurses Ball

Cyrus Renault may be gearing up for war with Sonny Corinthos, but there are other characters entangled in his web, too. The drug-running mobster is also believed to have played a part in the mysterious deaths of Marcus Taggert and Jordan Ashfords fellow officers. Cyrus Renault is also behind the kidnapping of Taggerts daughter, Trina Robinson, and Cameron Webber. It was during their rescue Taggert was shot. Cyrus Renault also has had run-ins with Laura Collins, the mayor of Port Charles, who had Renault put in solitary confinement to stop his prison-based business operations. Add a little blackmail with Jordan Ashford, and now Cyrus Renault is free on an overturned conviction.

Fans are split over what to think

Is Cyrus Renault ready for war, West Coast? Sonny won't tolerate much more from Port Charles' newest "businessman."

An exciting, new #GH starts RIGHT NOW on ABC! @jeffkober pic.twitter.com/Cx7inlYfcc  General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) September 3, 2020

Fans are lighting up the Twitter feeds with their thoughts on the latest episode, and its clear theyre split into two camps. Some are thrilled that General Hospital has a scary and worthy villain. Others are claiming the mob storyline has run its course. With tweets in support of Cyrus, and others rooting for team Sonny, the on-screen war feels like its transcending into a rivalry among viewers too.

Where have you seen the actor before?

Whether youre rooting for Sonny Corinthos or Cyrus Renault, most can agree that the actor behind Renault is top-notch. And he may look familiar to you. Jeff Kober has an impressive resume of acting in film and television, reports Soap Hub. And hes no stranger to portraying a bad guy either. You may remember him in various roles from NCIS: Los Angeles, Sons of Anarchy, China Beach, and Falcon Crest. Kober was originally planned to make his General Hospital debut at the end of January this year. But a few preemptions pushed things back, and he officially appeared on February 6, 2020.

The stage is set, and tension mounts for what some fans consider the ultimate rivalry. The war between Sonny Corinthos and Cyrus Renault continues to escalate. Some fans are elated at the prospect of a strong villain behind the desk, pulling the strings. Others are chiming in with exaggerated yawns, citing no one is bigger than the legendary Sonny Corinthos. Both teams will have to stay tuned to find out what happens next and see just how dangerous Cyrus Renault ends up being for the residents of Port Charles.
Imposing fines of up to 10,000 on people who fail to self-isolate could be counterproductive and increase 'resentment', one of the Government's scientific advisers has said.

Professor Susan Michie, who is a member of the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said the new fining regime risks 'alienating people'.

She said the fines could also undermine trust in NHS Test and Trace because they could deter people from getting tested or prompt them to try to conceal symptoms.

The new fining regime will come into force in England from September 28 with penalties starting at 1,000 and rising to up to 10,000.

Professor Susan Michie has warned the Government's new coronavirus fines risk 'alienating' people

There are growing fears that the fines will hit people on lower incomes the hardest because one of the main reasons for failing to comply with quarantine rules is a need to go to work.

The Government is bringing forward a system of payments worth 500 for people on low incomes who have to self-isolate but critics believe that will not be enough to persuade some to stay at home.

Prof Michie argued that better support for people in self-isolation is the way to increase compliance rather than the threat of massive fines.

She told The Telegraph: 'It will set up resentment and divisions. If things are perceived not to be fair, then this undermines trust, in turn undermines adherence.

'The fines could actually be counterproductive by alienating people.'

She said experts have long been urging ministers to boost support for people who have been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace.

'None of these things have been done by the Government in the way we have advised over literally months,' she added.

MPs have also expressed concerns that the fines could be prove counter-productive.

Tory MP Andrew Brigden said: 'People just won't come forward for testing. That is the probable unintended consequence of that rule.'

Fines will initially start at 1,000 rising to 10,000 for repeat offenders and for 'the most egregious breaches' including those who stop others from self-isolating, like an employer who asks a staff member to come into work in violation of an order.

The penalties are in line with those for people who fail to quarantine for 14 days after returning to the UK from a country not on the list of low-risk nations.

The new regulations will come into force in England on September 28, although ministers are discussing with the devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland about extending them UK-wide.

The heavy penalty is the latest in a series of financial punishments introduced by authorities aimed at deterring would-be rule-flouters amid a recent sharp upsurge in coronavirus infections.

Another 3,899 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK were announced yesterday while a further 18 people died within 28 days of testing positive, bringing the UK total to 41,777.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there is a danger the infection rate could 'shoot through the roof' if people did not follow the the Government's rules.

'We have seen in the data that some people who need to self-isolate are not doing so,' he told Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme.

'If you have been asked to self-isolate then you either definitely have the coronavirus or you are highly likely to have coronavirus, and so it is mission critical that you isolate.

'I am very worried about this second wave. We have seen in other countries around Europe how it can absolutely shoot through the roof.'
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Oregon State Troopers and Portland police advance through tear gas while confronting rioters in Portland, Ore., on Sept. 5, 2020. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

DOJ Labels Portland, Seattle, NYC as Jurisdictions That Permit Anarchy, Violence, Property Destruction

Officials in New York City, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon, permitted violence and destruction of property and have failed to undertake measures to counteract criminal activities, the Department of Justice said on Sept. 21.

Continuing unrest in the cities since late May has led to deaths, looting, and the burning of buildings.

When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest, Attorney General William Barr said in a statement.

We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.

In a joint statement, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, all Democrats, called the effort to strip federal funding thoroughly political and unconstitutional.

The President is playing cheap political games with Congressionally directed funds. Our cities are bringing communities together; our cities are pushing forward after fighting back a pandemic and facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, all despite recklessness and partisanship from the White House. What the Trump Administration is engaging in now is more of what weve seen all along: shirking responsibility and placing blame elsewhere to cover its failure, they said.

Durkan said in a separate statement sent to The Epoch Times that the Trump administrations efforts to defund the cities is a gross misuse of federal power.

Trump, the Department of Justice, and Barrs obsession with Seattle and me is irrational and most importantly, a huge distraction, she said, adding: In Seattle, well remain focused on addressing the four crises in front of us: the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented economic downturn, the greatest civil rights reckoning in decades, and the continued threat of climate change.

TJ Jenkins and Derel Jenkins pay their respects at a memorial near the site of where their cousin, Lorenzo Anderson, was shot dead, in the so-called CHOP area in Seattle, on June 20, 2020. (David Ryder/Getty Images)

De Blasio told reporters during a press conference that he visited the borough of Queens on Sept. 21 and saw anything but anarchy.

The cities were identified in a process triggered by President Donald Trumps Sept. 2 memo directing his administration to review federal funds sent to cities that have failed to quell rioting in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.

Criteria for evaluating whether cities have permitted anarchy and destruction include seeing whether jurisdictions forbid police officers from intervening to restore order, whether jurisdictions slash funding to police departments, and whether jurisdictions refuse offers of assistance from the federal government.

All three cities have seen skyrocketing violent crime in recent months and cut funding to their police departments.

In Portland, near-nightly riots have taken place since May 28, apart from an approximately two-week break as wildfires burned nearby. On a number of nights, police made no arrests despite crimes being committed.

Wheeler, who also serves as the citys police commissioner, has repeatedly rejected offers of federal help in quelling the unrest, as has Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat.

In Seattle, city officials permitted the creation and sustainment of a so-called autonomous zone that sprawled across six square blocks until several deadly shootings took place.

Durkan and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, rebuffed offers of federal help to deal with the crime taking place in Seattle.

Police gather at the scene where two New York City officers were shot in a confrontation, in New York on June 3, 2020. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

In New York City, shootings jumped in July and August to more than 200 each month as the City Council slashed some $1 billion from the police departments Fiscal Year 2021 budget.

Meanwhile, the Manhattan and Brooklyn District Attorneys have declined to prosecute charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly arising from the protests, and the District Attorneys in Queens and the Bronx have declined to prosecute other protest-related charges, the Department of Justice stated.

Both de Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, have rejected offers of federal assistance.

After the White House released Trumps memo earlier this month, mayors promised to take Trump to court.

The president of the United States, a New Yorker by birth, threatening to take away federal funding from this city, while were still in the grips of this crisis. It just makes no sense, de Blasio told reporters at a press conference.

The mayors of Portland, Seattle, Washington, and New York City issued a joint statement saying their residents are not President Trumps political pawns.

We are confronting unprecedented challengesfighting back a pandemic and economic devastation without another stimulus. Now, instead of leadership from the White House, we are faced with new attacks that are unlawful, unconstitutional, and will be undoubtedly defeated in court, Wheeler, Durkan, Muriel Bowser, and de Blasio wrote.
WandaVision (Credit: Marvel/Disney)

If you were hoping that the trailer for the so-called 'Marvel sitcom' WandaVision would clear up a few nagging questions, then you may find yourself disappointed.

But not necessarily in a bad way.

Read more: Filming resumes on Falcon and The Winter Soldier

The upcoming series for Disney+ finds Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen reprising their roles as sentient android Vision and Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch, but transplanted to a most peculiar setting.

Watch: Elizabeth Olsen Can't Wait For Fans To Learn About Scarlet Witch In "WandaVision"

The series takes place in what appears to be  on the surface at least  a hokey, 50s-style US sitcom, a la Bewitched, complete with canned laughter.

Vision and Wanda are an all-American, recently married couple moving into a new suburban neighbourhood, and hoping to 'fit in'.

But something appears to be a little off in this version of the American Dream.

An unsettling dinner party situation and some strange behaviour from Kathryn Hahn's character hint at much weirdness to come.

Watch: The official WandaVision trailer below...

Also, Hahn's character is still being called 'Nosy Neighbor' by Disney, which suggests her identity is more important than theyre letting on.

Could they be in another dimension? Have they gone back in time?

As we say, this trailer raises far more questions than answers.

We do know some other characters will be involved, however, with Teyonah Parris playing Monic Rambeau, the daughter of Maria Rambeau, best chum to Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel.

WandaVision (Credit: Marvel/Disney)

Read more: Johansson joins viral stunt fight video

Meanwhile, Kat Dennings will be reprising her role as Darcy Lewis, chum of Thor from both the first Thor movie and Thor: The Dark World, as will Randall Park, playing FBI agent Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and the Wasp.

So, in short, there's plenty of Marvel cross pollination here, meaning that the path of WandaVision will link in somehow to the wider MCU story, being the first series in the forthcoming 'phase four'.

The first six episodes will air from December on Disney+.
The Election Commission of India is gearing up for the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar by expanding resources for polling, keeping the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) disease outbreak in consideration. The Commission will boost resources deployed on ground to ensure lesser gathering and maximum following of Covid-19 safety protocols.

The Commission will also decide on visiting Bihar within the next two to three days, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said on Monday. Arora was addressing an international webinar on hosted by ECI on issues, challenges and protocols for conducting elections during Covid-19.

Stating total number of electors in Bihar  72.9 million, Arora said conducting polls in India pose formidable challenges, given the vast electorate, geographical and linguistic diversity.

The term of the 243-member Bihar assembly ends on November 29 and elections are likely to be held sometime in October-November.

The Commission has reworked the guidelines to conduct the polls in Bihar by reducing the number of electors per polling station from 1,500 to 1,000 and increasing the number of polling stations by 40 per cent from 65,000 to 1 lakh, Arora said, adding that these changes entail huge logistics and manpower implications.

The CEC added that the poll body will work on extending facilities to senior citizens, women, persons with disabilities to make the exercise more people-friendly. In a bid to include people infected by the viral contagion, Arora said the facility of postal ballot facility will be extended to Covid-19 patients who are in quarantine or are hospitalised.

Several states of India like West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu will witness polls in the first half of the year 2021.
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During a speech Monday in Wisconsin, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden implored Americans to resist the urge to become numb to COVID-19s escalating death toll, and once again blamed President Trumps lies and incompetence for the devastation caused by the disease.

What worries me now is weve been living with this pandemic for so long, were at risk of becoming numb to the toll its taken on us and our country, said Biden in Manitowoc. You cant lose the ability to feel the sorrow and the loss and the anger for so many lives lost. You cant let the numbers become just statistics, background noise, just a blur.

The coronavirus has now killed almost 200,000 Americans, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In late March, Trump said that if deaths from the virus stayed under 200,000, his administration would have done a very good job at curtailing its spread.

Due to Donald Trumps lies and incompetence over the last six months we have seen one of the greatest losses in American history, Biden said. He said Trump panicked and froze as the pandemic spiraled out of control, and that the virus was just too big for him.

Bidens Monday remarks are the latest addition to his string of speeches that criticize the Trump administrations pandemic response. The former vice president has sharpened his attacks in recent weeks, becoming visibly angered by Trumps alleged disparagement of fallen U.S. soldiers and the presidents interviews with veteran journalist Bob Woodward, in which he admitted to downplaying the severity of COVID-19.

He loves his rallies. The next time he holds one, look closely. Trump keeps his distance from anyone at the rally. The folks who come are packed in tight as they can be, risking disease, mostly without masks, but not Trump. He safely keeps his distance, Biden said.

In keeping with his other recent speeches, Biden cast the upcoming election as a fight between Scranton, his middle-class Pennsylvania hometown, and Park Avenue, an upper-class stretch of Manhattan. The phrasing is part of Bidens attempt to reframe the election along populist lines, with Democrats fighting for everyday people against wealthy Republican interests.

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Joe Biden in Manitowoc, Wis., on Monday. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

The Biden campaign hopes the message will prove attractive to Republican-leaning suburban and rural voters who may have soured on Trump.

I want to spend just a few moments talking to those who voted for Donald Trump last time, Biden said Monday. I know many of you were frustrated. Angry. You believed you werent being seen or respected or heard. I get it. It has to change. I promise you this: It will change with me.

Biden also portrayed Trump as a wealthy elitist who is out of touch with the concerns of working Americans.

Frankly, Ive dealt with guys like Trump my whole life. Guys who look down on you because theyve got a lot of money. Guys who think theyre better than you. Guys who inherited everything they ever got in life. And then squandered it.

Joe Bidens teleprompter refers to the U.S. coronavirus death toll as he speaks at a campaign event Monday. (Mark Makela/Reuters)

Biden made no mention of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday at age 87. Democrats are looking to do anything they can to prevent Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate from nominating and confirming a conservative justice before Inauguration Day.

Instead, Biden kept his remarks mostly focused on swaying Trump voters. Trump won Wisconsin by less than 1 percentage point in 2016, and the state is one of the Biden campaigns top targets this time around.

The simple truth is that Donald Trump ran for office saying he would represent the forgotten men and women of this country  and then once in office, he forgot us, said Biden.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
J oe Biden has accused Donald Trump of an abuse of power over moves to replace the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last week, before the US election.

The Democratic presidential nominee appealed to Republicans in the Senate not to jam through Mr Trumps choice ahead of Novembers vote.

The President has said he intends to name a woman to succeed the liberal icon, who died on Friday aged 87, within days, with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell vowing to call an early confirmation vote.

That has prompted fears among Democrats that Republicans will lock in a Conservative majority on the nine-member court for decades to come. They are arguing that former vice president Mr Biden should be allowed to nominate Mrs Ginsburgs replacement should he win the election on November 3.

The row has become a flashpoint in an already bitter election campaign that has exposed deep divisions over the handling of the coronavirus and the response to racial unrest sweeping cities the country. During a speech in Philadelphia last night, Mr Biden said the President had made clear this is about power  pure and simple.

The United States constitution allows Americans the chance to be heard  and their voice should be heard ... they should make it clear, they will not stand for this abuse of power, he said.

He urged Senate Republicans to follow your conscience. Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have engulfed our country.

Dont vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and Senator McConnell created. Dont go there.

Mr McConnell has vowed to call a vote for Mr Trumps nominee, but Mr Biden added: If I win this election, President Trumps nominee should be withdrawn and as the new president I should be the one to nominate Justice Ginsburgs successor.

Two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, have backed delaying a confirmation vote until after the election. With Republicans holding a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, it will take two more Republican senators to break ranks for Mr Trumps selection attempt to fail.

To the chants of fill that seat, Mr Trump told supporters at a campaign event on Saturday night in North Carolina that he would nominate a woman as soon as this week.

We win an election and those are the consequences, the President added.
What next? Will Trump declare a trans-Pacific alliance between Tonga and the US to contain China?

by Eric S. Margolis

The Trump administration, desperate for some good news, just manufactured its own news by confecting a peace deal between Israel and a bunch of pipsqueak Arab monarchies - just in time for November US elections.

Trump in Israel



The Gulf monarchies  the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain - that signed this agreement are so frightened of neighboring Iran that they would happily have opted for Israeli rule rather than welcome the angry, unforgiving Iranians, who call the Gulf Arabs traitors, cowards and backstabbers, a sentiment shared by much of the Arab world.

Few Americans could find these little sheikdoms on a map. But many evangelical voters, who have a comic-book view of the Mideast, will think the Trump administration has achieved a major feat by supposedly bringing peace to the Holy Land. Cynics, among them many Israelis, will likely scoff at such falafel in the sky thinking. Oman is expected to sign the new accord.

Israel remains intent on expanding its borders to gobble up all of what was historic Palestine and its water resources. Five million Palestinians will remain stateless. Israel also has its eye on fertile parts of Syria and Lebanon.

As I suggested in my book on Mideast strategy, American Raj, the key beneficiaries of any Arab-Israeli peace deal would be Israels bankers, businessmen and arms makers. If a decent peace deal can be made with the Palestinians, the doors of the entire Muslim world (a fifth of humanity) will be opened to Israels commerce and finance. This will be a huge bonanza worth orders of magnitude more than the West Banks scrubby slopes.

But to do so, Israels hard right and religious extremists will have to lessen their demands for Arab land and water  that is, what they term, Greater Israel. Just as difficult and obdurate will be Trumps evangelical core voters who want to see a mythical Biblical Israel recreated, paving the way for the return of the Messiah and earths fiery destruction.

The United Arab Emirates, population just under 10 million, is only 10% Arab. The rest of its people are mainly Indians and Pakistani coolies, giving rise to the old bon mot that Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the worlds best Indian-run cities.

Non-Arab members of the UAE are treated like slaves. They are paid a pittance, poorly fed, and live in squalor. Non-Arabs have no rights. Arab citizens dont have any rights either, just a better standard of living.

I remember these tiny city states from the early 1970s when I worked for a leading US firm that smuggled high-end cosmetics and perfumes into India, Pakistan and the USSR via Dubais busy port.

Back in the day, Britains intelligence agency, MI6, controlled Oman and its royal rulers. Similarly, the CIA today exercises great influence over Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, not to mention Egypt and Morocco. Tiny Qatar maintains a degree of independence in the face of Saudi threats and efforts by the Trump people to crush it.

The big Mideast deal ballyhooed by Trump and Co. is in reality a phony peace between secretly allied Gulf States and Israel. They have been playing footsie for over a decade. It is not primarily about peace but about Iran and arms sales to the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia that they have no idea how to use. Weapons sales are a protection payoff to Washington, which has important bases in Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

What next? Will Trump declare a trans-Pacific alliance between Tonga and the US to contain China?

As for peace in the Mideast, recall the biting words of Roman historian Tacitus, where they make a desert they call it peace. That is what awaits over five million Palestinian refugees, not a new dawn promised by the Trump administration.

Copyright Eric S. Margolis 2020
The Justice Department identified New York City, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle as three cities that could have federal funding slashed under a memorandum by President Donald Trump that sought to identify localities that permit anarchy, violence and destruction in American cities.

The designation, which could open the door for the federal government to cut off some funding to the cities, drew immediate criticism from local elected officials. It comes as Trump throughout the summer has cast American cities run by Democratic mayors as under siege by violence and lawlessness, despite the fact that most of the demonstrations against racial injustice have been largely peaceful.

An attempt to cut off federal funding to the cities would likely be met with immediate legal challenges and several federal judges ruled in favor of municipalities over similar attempts to withhold funding tied to immigration policies.

The Justice Department said the three cities were designated because they meet four main criteria, including whether a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction and whether the city disempowers or defunds police departments.

In Seattle, officials pointed to the occupied protest zone, also known as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone, or CHOP, which emerged during nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, though Seattle police officers wearing helmets and wielding batons and rifles, cleared the area by force on July 1. In Portland, they pointed to 100 consecutive nights of protests marred by vandalism, chaos, and even killing and in New York City, the Justice Department pointed to a skyrocketing number of shootings throughout the five boroughs.

It is not the first time the Justice Department has attempted to take action against city officials for the violent demonstrations.

The department also explored whether it could pursue either criminal or civil rights charges against city officials in Portland after clashes erupted there night after night between law enforcement and demonstrators. For weeks, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the federal courthouse in Portland, some throwing bricks, rocks and other projectiles at officers, leading officers to fire volleys of tear gas and pepper balls at the crowd.

When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest, Attorney General William Barr said in a statement. We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance.

Barr said he hoped the designation would convince the cities to reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.

The attorney generals statement drew immediate condemnation from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo, both Democrats, who accused the Trump administration of politicization of law enforcement.

This is just another one of President Trumps games, de Blasio said.

Trump has heaped blame for the unrest on Democrats, who are leading the cities where violence has occurred, and tried to focus squarely on pockets of protest-related violence instead of the larger point of the racial injustice movement.

In a joint statement, de Blasio, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan decried the designation as thoroughly political and unconstitutional.

"The President is playing cheap political games with Congressionally directed funds. Our cities are bringing communities together; our cities are pushing forward after fighting back a pandemic and facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, all despite recklessness and partisanship from the White House, the statement said.

In a separate statement, Durkan said the threats to defund the cities were are a gross misuse of federal power and blatantly unlawful.

Trump, the Department of Justice, and Barrs obsession with Seattle and me is irrational and most importantly, a huge distraction, she said.

A number of cities, including New York, sued the U.S. government after the Justice Department announced in 2017 that it would withhold grant money from cities and states until they gave federal immigration authorities access to jails and provide advance notice when someone in the country illegally is about to be released. Federal appeals courts in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco have ruled against the federal government by upholding lower-court injunctions placed on the enforcement of some or all of the challenged conditions, though in February the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned a lower courts decision ordering the administration to release funding to New York City and seven states

Just like with sanctuary cities when he did that a couple of years ago and lost, if he actually does this, we will sue and he will lose once again, Cuomo said.

___

Associated Press writers Karen Matthews in New York and Eugene Johnson in Seattle contributed to this report.




By Baek Byung-yeul







Large conglomerates are rapidly restructuring their businesses in an effort to help cushion the negative impact caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.







As corporations are struggling with looming challenges from the global recession induced by the virus pandemic, they are selling not only cash-strapped units but also cash-generative businesses to secure liquidity.







The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said mergers and acquisitions (M&As) rose sharply in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2019.







The FTC said the combined value of M&As, which involved local companies and that were approved by the antitrust regulator from January to June, was 18.8 trillion won ($16.2 billion), a 48.1-percent increase from the 12.7 trillion won recorded in the same period in 2019. Also, the number of M&A cases increased to 356 from 270 from a year earlier.







The increased number of M&As means that corporations are actively restructuring their business models amid the COVID-19 crisis. Due to the restructuring, conglomerates think they will be able to have new business opportunities in the post-COVID-19 era," an industry official said.







SK Group recently sold its cosmetics material arm SK Bioland to Hyundai Department Group for 120.5 billion won. With this deal, Hyundai Department Group has gained a foothold to extend its scope into the beauty and healthcare business, while SK Group can secure liquidity to focus more on its future growth items such as mobility and semiconductors.







With more consumers buying goods online, retail companies are also downsizing their operations. Lotte Mart already announced it would close 50 stores nationwide within five years. To slash expenses, Lotte Group's restaurant service firm Lotte GRS is reportedly seeking to unload its business of running restaurant chain TGI Friday's.







Shipbuilding and steel production industries are also undergoing business restructuring. Hyundai Heavy Industries Group announced last month that it decided to sell its energy equipment unit Hyundai Heavy Industries Power Systems, which produces industrial boilers. Steel giant POSCO also sold its Chinese affiliate POSCO-CDPPC in June to improve its liquidity ratio.







The aviation industry, hit hardest by the pandemic, is still in a long and dark tunnel. Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, it appears inevitable that the aviation industry will undertake a hard restructuring processes.







Korean Air, the top full-service carrier, sold its in-flight catering and duty free business to private equity fund Hahn & Co for 990 billion won last month in an effort to secure liquidity.







However, Asiana Airlines, the country's No.2 full-service airline, failed to find a new owner as local property developer HDC Hyundai Development Company scrapped its plans to acquire the cash-strapped airline.







Things are much more difficult for low-cost carriers. Compared with Korean Air, which could post operating profit thanks to strong cargo demand, the low-cost carriers are struggling with high debt ratios.







Jeju Air's debt-equity ratio in the first half of this year was 869 percent, almost double the figure in the same period in 2019, which was at 353 percent. Jin Air also posted a debt ratio of 592 percent while it was 267 percent in the first half of 2019.







Due to the shrinking profitability, conglomerates are also reducing recruitment. According to a recent survey by the Korea Economic Research Institute, 74.2 percent of the country's top 500 companies answered they won't post job openings or didn't set up recruitment plans for the second half of this year.







"Given 32.5 percent of them said they didn't draw up employment plans and 8.8 percent of them answered they will recruit zero in the first half of this year according to our February survey, concerns are rising that the job market is expected to be aggravated," the institution said.


Jason Bateman in the midst of a comedy bit during the 72nd Emmy Awards. (ABC)

Good or bad, there was no way the 72nd Emmy Awards, which went on Sunday from the Staples Center in Los Angeles and living rooms around the country and beyond, wasn't going to be interesting.

And it was good, by and large an elegant, intelligent solution to making ceremonial television in light of Our Great Shared Obstacle. That isn't to say that every joke worked, and latency does make shtick difficult to do remotely, but the telecast, which mixed live and recorded pieces, felt solid enough to accommodate the occasional technical difficulty. Because most every moment was unprecedented, not merely a slight variation of something we'd seen before, it was minute for minute more interesting than these long nights of self-celebration usually are.

The evening began with a sort of feint, with host Jimmy Kimmel coming on to canned applause and delivering jokes to star-studded reaction shots flown in from Emmy broadcasts of years past. What seemed like a very bad idea was eventually flipped when he spotted himself in one of these shots, and the veil of unreality gave way to the strangely more comforting view of a great empty space. ("Of course I'm here all alone, of course we don't have an audience. This isn't a MAGA rally.") A nice bit with Jason Bateman sneaking into the arena by impersonating his own cardboard cutout followed. ("I want to be here.  It's ritzy.  I want to eat shrimp with the cast of 'The Crown,' I want Mario Lopez to ask me about my pants.")

Siblings Kevin and Karen Tsai were among the pandemic workers who presented some of the Emmys categories during the telecast Sunday. (ABC/Walt Disney Television)

In most years, the host comes on at the beginning of the show, delivers a monologue (some of which addresses the celebrities arrayed before him  and it is usually a him) and then returns a few times throughout the evening to let you know he exists. Much of the evening is run by disembodied announcers. This year, Kimmel, who has twice before hosted the old-world Emmys (and twice hosted the Oscars), was a presence from first to last, assisted by DJ D-Nice, who was both the band and the evening's other consistent voice.

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Kimmel announced some awards himself, doing a little scripted banter with presenters, who came alone and not in pairs. Jennifer Aniston, nominated for "The Morning Show," joined him in presenting the evening's first award  for comedy actress, won by Catherine O'Hara, beginning the "Schitt's Creek" sweep of the first hour. Kimmel and Aniston's routine about sanitizing the envelope ended with fire, perhaps more than was planned. Later, she appeared remotely, via video, alongside Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow in a we-share-an-apartment joke. (See: latency, above.)

It is unusual, of course, to be doing these things to an empty space, but not as strange as it once was. One can wonder whether the slight, polite laughter that greets a poor joke is is better than no laughter at all. Kimmel and other late-night hosts have been playing in that reaction-free space for months now; indeed, it feels more normal than not. He was the right guy for the job, in any case  a walking dose of normality.

Cameras had been distributed to nominees to participate remotely from wherever, and once again we were on strangely intimate terms with famous strangers. Most nominees dressed up a little, and some a lot. Many with family, or colleagues; sometimes masked, a little alarming when not. (The distressed viewer tells himself all tested negative two weeks before.)

Mark Ruffalo gives a stirring acceptance speech after his Emmy win for "This Much I Know Is True" with wife Sunrise Coigney by his side. (ABC)

The group reactions around the winners (and even the losers), whose loved ones sometimes remained by their side through a speech, was reliably delightful to behold. Most Hollywood awards are about mystification, the fog of glamour that a joke might skewer but that the enterprise as a whole wants to maintain. Sunday's felt sufficiently glossy. The set, a video-screen-filled cylinder with a big Emmy statue at the center, both contained and outward looking  pretty much a metaphor for all our lives. It was rendered in the mothership-blue that characterizes such sets. Most everyone who appeared at Staples was dressed to the nines.

Given the world we're living in and the circumstances of the ceremony, there was a political tone to the evening, though in some ways subtler than one might have expected  possibly because people were speaking to cameras a few feet away and not into the space of a big theater, and possibly for reasons of positivity. (I caught Trump's name only once  by "Succession" creator Jesse Armstrong, who spoke from London and "unthanked" the president along with the coronavirus, Boris Johnson, nationalist governments and "the media moguls who do so much to keep them in power.")

But there was no shying away from that reality. The evening's best innovation was to turn ordinary essential workers into presenters, in filmed segments that brought the world into Hollywood, not (merely) to braise it, but to be praised. It was the inversion the year required.
(Bloomberg) -- ByteDance Ltd. emphasized it will remain in control of a hived-off TikTok Global business, appearing to contradict President Donald Trumps statements about how the new entity will be directed by Americans and pay an unusual $5 billion fee to the U.S. government.

The worlds most valuable startup sought to play down speculation its giving up control of valuable Chinese technology and assets after striking a deal with Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. to create TikTok Global. ByteDance will retain full control of its prized social media algorithms and allow Oracle only limited access to view source code for safety purposes, the company said in a statement posted to its domestic news service Toutiao Monday.

Walmart Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon will join TikToks board. But ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming and the Chinese companys current directors -- which include Sequoia Chinas Neil Shen and General Atlantics William Ford -- will reprise their roles. The statement made no mention of Oracle getting a seat, even though ByteDance said Larry Ellisons company is slated to own 12.5% after a round of funding before TikTok Global goes public within a year. Walmart and Oracle have said American citizens will take up four of the five board seats for TikTok Global.

In a blog post entitled clarifying groundless rumors about TikTok, ByteDance contested Trumps assertions his government will get $5 billion as part of the deal. It said that figure was just an estimate of the amount of taxes TikTok Global would pay over several years if the business proved successful.

TikTok has emerged as a top target in Trumps effort to crack down on China ahead of the November U.S. elections. Tensions between Washington and Beijing are escalating as his administration wages a campaign thats also ensnared Tencent Holdings Ltd., whose WeChat app faces a similar ban.

ByteDances statement raises more questions over an arrangement cobbled together over just a few weeks to prevent the banning of the popular social video platform, which the White House accuses of spying on Americans and potentially influencing the elections. The Chinese company is seeking a valuation of $60 billion for TikTok Global, in which ByteDance may end up owning as much as 80% after Oracle and Walmart invest.

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Trump has previously said the White House deserves a cut of the deal for making it possible. On Saturday, he said the companies agreed to pay $5 billion to bankroll an education fund that would teach American children the real history of our country. TikTok will pay more than $5 billion in new tax dollars to the U.S. Treasury and develop an AI-driven online video curriculum, according to a joint announcement from Oracle and Walmart.

But ByteDance said the promised tax payment had nothing to do with the deal.

As for the so-called $5 billion tax to the U.S. Treasury, that refers to an estimate of the corporate income tax and other taxes TikTok will have to pay in coming years as part of its business development, ByteDance added. TikTok is confident in its future but the actual tax amount will have to be determined in accordance with the actual state of the business and American tax structures.

While Trump is portraying the agreement as a victory, the business remains under Chinese control. ByteDance said Monday Oracle -- which won the right as part of the transaction to review TikToks source code for security threats -- will only review the software in a controlled environment. ByteDance cited past examples such as Microsoft Corp.s transparency center in China, which lets experts review code in a designated location only.

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A lot stands in the way for that to happen, says Sarah Cucinelli, an adviser to wealthy art collectors. Statues often have complex ownership and are subject to convoluted laws prescribing what can be done with them. The cost for a hulking monument  like Richmonds Robert E. Lee sculpture, which weighs 13 tons  to be disassembled, stored, shipped and reassembled would be astronomical. Monuments are also designed to be elevated on pedestals and viewed from below, with postures that assert dominance over a public space and make people feel small. That is not going to be an enjoyable experience for a collector in a smaller environment, Cucinelli says. And because there havent been known sales of these statues, collectors wouldnt be able to tell what one is worth, so investing would be a gamble. She doesnt know of any market for removed statues and doesnt think one will emerge.
Egypt's National Railway Authority announced Sept. 14 it would eliminate rail fares for military and police personnel effective mid-September. The move has raised questions about preferential treatment for the country's security forces. All railway stations have been notified that uniformed security personnel and those who present their National ID cards to the fare inspector are exempt from paying for train rides.

The decision came on the heels of a viral video showing a uniformed army conscript being reprimanded by a train conductor after he refuses to pay. As the argument heats up, a female passenger offers to pay for the conscript's far of less than $2. "I have sons your age at home," she tells him.

The woman, referred to as "the train lady" on social media, was later identified as Saffia Abu El-Azm, a schoolteacher from the Nile Delta governorate of Menoufia. She became an instant celebrity after Egypt's largely pro-government media branded her a national hero on talk shows and in news articles.

Both she and the conscript were honored by Minister of Defense and Military Production Mohamed Zaki at a Sept. 13 ceremony to pay tribute to retired army officers. Handing Abu El-Azm the Shield of the Armed Forces, Zaki said, "Her act reflects the virtues of the authentic Egyptian woman. No reward can do her justice, for the Egyptian mother is the symbol of kindness and compassion." He also praised the conscript for his "discipline" and "self-restraint. "

Egypt's National Council for Women also paid tribute to Abu El-Azm, awarding her the Council's Shield of Appreciation and appointing her a council member in Gharbia, a governorate north of Cairo. The Ministry of Transport presented her with a travel card to be renewed annually throughout her lifetime in recognition of her "noble deed."

Both the train inspector and the conductor were punished by the Ministry of Transport with deductions from their wages for both "inappropriate behavior" and failure to abide by the Railway Authority's requirement of surgical masks on board. Both were reportedly transferred from passenger to freight service despite the conductor's public apology for his "mistake" in having publicly humiliated the conscript by asking him to remove the insignia from his uniform.

The state's reaction and the media hype have raised eyebrows on social media, where some observers like Hossam El Sokkari, the former head of the BBC's Arabic Network, described the extreme response to the incident as "irrational and populist."

"The decision to give the men in uniform preferential treatment is unprecedented," he told Al-Monitor. "It can only fuel tensions and create daily conflicts with civilian passengers who have already booked their seats," he said.

Some skeptics have suggested that the incident was a "charade," while others said it was meant to deflect attention from daily frustrations and recent online calls for protests against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Suspicious that the entire episode was staged, some social media users alleged that the man who captured the dispute between the train conductor and the conscript on camera, Shady Mahmoud Bilal, self-identifies on Facebook as a member of the pro-Sisi Future of The Nation Party.

In a telephone interview broadcast live on the privately owned Sada El Ballad channel, Bilal, who was introduced by the interviewer as a geologist, denied that the incident had been pre-planned.

"What happened was inappropriate, as the conscript represents the armed forces. By insulting him, the train conductor insulted the military, the political leadership and the whole country," he said.

Many social media users expressed gratitude to the "train lady," hailing her as a "great Egyptian mother" and a "real Egyptian." But the train incident also evoked memories of a similar episode last year that did not end well. In late October 2019, two street vendors who had boarded a Luxor-bound train from Alexandria without tickets jumped off the moving train after the conductor threatened to turn them in. One of them died while the other reportedly lost a leg.

"You either pay, get off the train immediately or face arrest," the conductor had told the pair after they had admitted they had no money to pay the fine of 70 Egyptian pounds (approximately $5) for traveling without tickets. The conductor rejected offers from other passengers to pay their fare.

In videos that went viral, passengers alleged that the conductor had forced the men off the train while it was still moving. The videos provoked an outcry on social media with some activists demanding that Minister of Transport Kamel El Wazir resign his post.

El Wazir, a former head of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority, had been nominated for the cabinet post by Sisi seven months earlier, following the resignation of previous Transport Minister Hisham Arafat over a deadly train crash. Seeking to deflect responsibility for the young man's death, El Wazir said the dead man was "not a child" and should have known better than to board the train without a ticket. While the ministry did pay compensation to the two men's families, El Wazir's seeming apathy toward the death caused an uproar.

Drawing a comparison between the state's response to the two incidents, one Twitter user posted two images side by side: one of the deceased street vendor, who has since come to be known on social media as the "ticket martyr," and of the conscript helped by the "train lady."

"This is Egypt's story in pictures," she tweeted. "Neither of the men had tickets; the civilian was killed and the conscript was honored."

The government raised metro fares in mid-August, the second such hike since July 2019. The move further squeezed low-income Egyptians who rely on the metro as their main mode of transportation and were already struggling with the effects of biting austerity measures introduced in 2016. Up until mid-September 2018, various segments of the population including the police, the military, the judiciary and the press had been offered discounted fares for metro rides but the government cancelled the program.

Commenting on the recent train incident, Timothy Kaldas, an analyst and non-resident fellow at The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, told Al-Monitor, "It is not unheard of for governments to give discounts to state employees on public transportation. The fact, however, that a conscript could not afford the train fare and required the assistance of the 'train lady' reflects the rapidly rising cost of public transportation in Egypt as well as the extremely low pay given to conscripts."

The decision to waive train fares for the army and police has riled average Egyptians impacted by the slashing of fuel subsidies and the rising prices of commodities.

The army and police have seen their salaries and pensions increased multiple times since Sisi took office and men in uniform have taken key positions in state institutions.

A raft of constitutional amendments approved in a 2019 referendum has allowed the military to extend its role beyond national defense to "protecting the constitution" and even "protecting democracy."

The militarization of the economy worries some analysts who blame it for contraction in private sector activity. Exemption from taxes and customs duties and access to cheap labor (by poorly paid conscripts) are just some of the benefits that have given military companies a competitive advantage over the private sector, particularly in infrastructure and housing projects managed by the military and acquired through no-bid contracts. From factories producing food supplies, medical products and, more recently, solar panels, the military has both expanded and diversified its role in the economy in a trend that some analysts warn is unsustainable.

"By involving the army in all sectors and threatening to deploy troops to villages to demolish people's homes, Sisi is pitting the army against the Egyptian people. This is dangerous and risks undermining his and the military's popularity," an Uber driver asking to be identified only by his first name, Islam, told Al-Monitor.

"Exempting security personnel from train fares would have been OK if it didn't affect us, but it will. It is us ordinary citizens who will foot the bill through additional taxes, perhaps. That can only widen the rift between the people and the men in uniform running the country," he lamented.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaking with attendees at the 2015 Iowa Growth & Opportunity Party at the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, on Oct. 31, 2015. (Gage Skidmore/[CC BY-SA-2.0 (ept.ms/2utDIe9)])

GOP Rejects Allegations of Hypocrisy in Supreme Court Fight

Several top Republicans in the Senate dismissed Democratic criticism of hypocrisy as they attempt to vote on nominating a new Supreme Court justice in the wake of Ruth Bader Ginsburgs death last week.

Democrats over the weekend frequently asserted that the GOP would be hypocritical for confirming a nominee from President Donald Trump after the Republican-led Senate refused to hold a hearing for Judge Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obamas nominee, after Justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) argued that a Republican president is in the White House, and Republicans hold the Senate. He said that it was appropriate to block Garlands nomination because his party held the Senate while Obama, a Democrat, was in the White House.

Some Republicans on Saturday and Sunday pushed back against the Democrats, with some even saying that they would do the same thing if given the opportunity.

Being lectured by Democrats about how to handle judicial nominations is like an arsonist advising the fire department, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wrote Sunday. He also said Democrats battle over Justice Brett Kavanaughs confirmation merits payback.

Democrats chose to set in motion rules changes to stack the court at the Circuit level and they chose to try to destroy Brett Kavanaughs life to keep the Supreme Court seat open. You reap what you sow, he wrote.

Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, listens during a hearing in Washington on June 30, 2020. (Al Drago/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said he would vote to confirm a Trump-appointed justice, saying that Democrats would do the same.

No one should be surprised that a Republican Senate majority would vote on a Republican presidents Supreme Court nomination, even during a presidential election year. The Constitution gives senators the power to do it. The voters who elected them expect it, he said in a statement on Sunday.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of the Republican leadership, also backed the majority leader.

This should take as long as it needs to take, but no longer, Blunt told CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday. There is plenty of time to get this done. But to get it done before Election Day, everything has to work, I think, pretty precisely, Blunt said.

If a conservative-appointed judge is appointed, it would give them a 6-3 advantage and could have significant implications for issues including abortion, health care, gun control, and religious freedom initiatives.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have said there should not be a Supreme Court nomination vote close to an election.
Older racial and ethnic minority residents and their caregivers bear the severest brunt from COVID-19 across the entire spectrum of US nursing homes and assisted living communities, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers report in two groundbreaking studies in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

For example, nursing homes with disproportionately higher numbers of racial and ethnic minority residents reported two to four times as many new COVID-19 cases and deaths per facility than other nursing homes for the week of May 25, according to a study led by Yue Li, Ph.D., professor of public health sciences.

The findings -- the first to be reported based on newly mandated, weekly data reported from 15,587 US nursing homes to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) - are also the first to document the disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities in nursing homes across all states.

Disparities of this magnitude, Li says, suggest that longstanding, fundamental inequalities in nursing homes resulting from segregated facilities with limited resources and poorest quality of care are being "exacerbated by the pandemic."

A first-ever empirical study involving the incidence of COVID-19 in US assisted living communities showed a four-fold higher case fatality in these communities, compared to the counties in which they are located. The study was led by Helena Temkin-Greener, Ph.D., M.S., professor of public health sciences.

As in the nursing home study, we also see that assisted living communities with more minority residents have more cases, and we confirm that communities with a higher proportion of residents with dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and obesity, experienced more COVID-19 cases." Helena Temkin-Greener, Ph.D, M.S, Professor of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester

The findings are based on data from seven of 13 states that publicly reported COVID-19 data from nursing homes and residential care settings through May 29, 2020.

Assisted living communities need 'same attention' as nursing homes

Unlike nursing homes, assisted living communities are not subject to federal regulation; they are regulated by the states "with varying degrees of rigor," Temkin-Greener says.

Several factors leave them "ill prepared" to deal with a pandemic, the study reports. For example, assisted living communities are often financially challenged, care for increasingly sicker residents, operate under limited oversight, and experience staff and PPE shortages.

The workers providing daily care are often personal care aides rather than certified nursing assistants or registered nurses, and receive little if any training in the use of PPE.

Moreover, "unlike nursing homes, which have recently been mandated to collect and report data on COVID-19 --including cases and deaths--to the CMS, there's no system at all to report such data for assisted living communities," Temkin-Greener says.

Hence the lack of previous studies. Temkin-Greener and her collaborators were able to combine state-reported data for 4,685 assisting living communities in Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina with a 2019 national inventory of assisted living communities and Medicare beneficiary data for residents of those communities, which the researchers had prepared as part of another project.

They found that:

Whereas the percentage of COVID deaths ranged from 3.32 percent of the overall number of cases in North Carolina to 9.26 percent in Connecticut, the percentage of COVID deaths in assisted living communities in those states ranged from 12.89 percent to 31.59 percent - even though fewer than 10 percent of assisted living communities reported being affected by the pandemic.

Assisted living communities with higher proportions of Black and Hispanic residents had more COVID-19 cases - but not more deaths.

Assisted living communities with a greater proportion of residents with dementia, COPD, and obesity had significantly more cases and deaths related to COVID-19.

And yet, assisted living communities have been relatively overlooked by the federal response to COVID-19 compared to nursing homes, the researchers note. For example, the federal government has allocated more than $10 billion to specifically assist nursing homes with the pandemic, including support for testing, PPE, and staff shortages.

However, federal assistance to ALs has been limited to those communities serving Medicaid eligible residents, or only about 16% of assisted living communities, even though they care for very similar populations and share many of the same pandemic-related challenges as nursing homes.

"Relying on AL communities to muster a rigorous response to the COVID-19 pandemic largely on their own is clearly unrealistic," the researchers conclude. "Assisted living communities and their residents urgently need local, state, and the federal governments to pay at least the same level of attention as that given to nursing homes.'

'Systemic inequalities' fuel higher nursing home toll among minorities

By July 30, 362,000 people in virtually every US nursing home were infected with the virus, representing about 8% of all cases in the country. At least 62,000 nursing home residents died of COVID-19, representing 41% of all COVID-19 deaths nationally.

The CMS Nursing Home COVID-19 Public File used by Li's team includes weekly counts of cases and deaths among nursing home residents and staff, as well as facility capacity, staff, and supplies of PPE, as reported by individual nursing homes to the Centers for Disease Control.

The researchers used the first available weekly count (May 25-31) and compared it to several other databases.

Of the 12,576 nursing homes whose data passed CMS quality assurance checks, those with higher proportions of racial/ethnic minority residents tended to be larger for-profit facilities affiliated with a chain, had more Medicaid residents and lower RN and total nurse staffing hours, and were located in counties with more COVID-19 cases and deaths as of May 31, with lower socio-economic status, and with higher competition for nursing home care.

The number of weekly new COVID-19 confirmed cases among residents increased from an average of 0.4 cases per facility among nursing homes with a low proportion of racial/ethnic minority residents to 1.5 cases per facility for the highest proportion homes.

The predicted counts of cases and deaths per facility were two to four times higher in nursing homes with the highest proportions of racial/ethnic minority residents.

These disparities in rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths mirror pre-pandemic studies showing that nursing homes with lower resources and higher concentrations of racial/ethnic minorities have poorer outcomes, Li's team reports.

In addition, nursing home literature for several decades has indicated that nursing homes remain highly segregated, and that racial/ethnic minority residents tend to be cared for in a small number of facilities located in communities of color with poorest quality of care and highly restricted resources.

Nursing home staff from these communities--especially staff of color who make up over 50 percent of nursing home direct care workforces--are more likely to live in crowded households and neighborhoods, travel to and from work by public transportation, and be low paid with few or no benefits such as paid sick leave, "all placing them at higher risks of COVID-19 infection as well as inadvertent cross-infection with patients," the researchers report.

Thus, "immediate actions are needed to ensure that as the pandemic continues to evolve, racial/ethnic minority nursing home residents, and the frontline workers caring for them, do not bear an additional later or sufferings due to systemic inequalities."

Although 22 percent of all nursing homes reported shortages of staff, and 25 percent reported shortages of PPE for the reporting week, "we did not find evidence of dramatic disparities in these self-reported shortages across nursing homes," Li's team notes.

However, "it is likely that nursing homes predominated by racial/ethnic minority residents face more of other institution-wide issues, such as poor testing capacity, and inadequate staff knowledge and training in infection control and prevention."

They recommend that CMS' weekly reports be expanded to include data collection for these "additional and more nuanced items."
Goats such as these could be a valuable tool in preventing wildfires, a town in Oregon believes - PA

An Oregon town has recruited a herd of goats to head off the risk of another wildfire.

According to the latest estimate, more than 938,000 acres of land were destroyed by the blazes which swept through the state in the north-west of the US.

Forest City, a town with around 25,000 inhabitants 25 miles west of Portland, is taking drastic measures to ensure it does not suffer the same fate as other parts of the state.

The 230 goats are set to start work this week, chomping through the vegetation in a 14-acre grove which has been earmarked for use as a city park.

They have been hired from a company called Healing Hooves, based in Washington State which rents out its goats to landowners in the region.

Renting the goats costs around $800 (489) a day, not counting the costs of transportation. The animals are corralled by an electric fence.

The goats are marshalled by Craig Madsen, who has been doing the work for more than 18 years.

As fires raged across California and Oregon, Donald Trump said poor land management by local authorities was to blame for the spread of the flames.

Ecologists believe removing excess vegetation, especially near power lines and timber, is one way of minimising the risk of a catastrophic wildfire.

Mr Madsen believes his herd of goats can clear an acre of brush in about a day and a half.

The terrain at Forest City is ideal for his team.

Some of the grove backs onto peoples yards. Its pretty steep, but goats dont mind fences and slopes, Mr Madsen told the Telegraph.

They chew up the undergrowth and if its a fire that is creeping slowly they create a fire break.

The ideal terrain for them is somewhere they have to climb. Their hooves grow fast so rocks can help trim them.

They are pretty agile and they are great for this kind of terrain. Goats have their preferences. They like to browse and prefer blackberries, brush and broad-leaved plants.

People say that goats will eat anything, but actually they are pretty picky.
Sanofi SNY and GlaxoSmithKline GSK announced a confirmed agreement with the European Union to supply up to 300 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that the companies are developing together, if approved.

Sanofis recombinant protein-based technology is being combined with Glaxos pandemic adjuvant technology to develop an adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine. In July, the companies had announced that they are in advanced talks with the European Union for the advanced purchase agreement.

The antigen and final vaccine doses will be manufactured at the companies manufacturing facilities in the European countries of Belgium, Italy, Germany and France. The EU will provide funding support for the same.

Earlier this month, Sanofi and Glaxo initiated a phase I/II clinical study on their COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which will enroll 440 healthy adult participants. Data from the pre-clinical studies showed promising safety and immunogenicity of the candidate.

Data from the phase I/II study are expected in December. If this data is positive, then the companies plan to start a phase III study by the end of year and file for regulatory approval in the first half of 2021. The companies plan to produce 1 billion doses of the adjuvant vaccine in 2021.

Glaxo and Sanofi already have an advanced purchase agreement for 100 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine with the U.S. government, which will provide funding of $2.1 billion for the development and manufacturing of the initial 100 million doses. The U.S. government also has an option to purchase an additional 500 million doses.

They also have an agreement with the U.K. government to supply up to 60 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

So far this year, Glaxos shares have declined 16.4% while Sanofis shares rose 4.5%. The industry has risen 1.8% in the said time frame.

Both Sanofi and Glaxo are making rigorous effort to make treatments/vaccines for treating COVID-19.

Story continues

Sanofi has a separate a collaboration with Translate Bio TBIO to jointly develop a novel messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine for COVID-19. A phase I/II study is expected to start in November.

Similar to the deal with Sanofi, Glaxo has also formed several similar collaborations to make its pandemic adjuvant technology available to partners who are making adjuvanted COVID -19 vaccine candidates. The pandemic adjuvant can reduce the amount of vaccine protein required per dose, which, in turn, will allow more vaccine doses to be produced. It can also increase the immune response of the vaccines, thereby providing better immunity.

Glaxo also has a collaboration agreement with Vir Biotechnology VIR to develop antibody treatments for COVID-19. Last month, a phase II/III study was initiated on their monoclonal antibody, VIR-7831 to prevent hospitalization due to COVID-19.

Both Sanofi and Glaxo currently have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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CALGARY - The long-standing chief executive of TC Energy Corp. is set to retire having overseen a corporate name change and dramatic growth and stock price appreciation, but without achieving completion of the contentious Keystone XL pipeline project.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TransCanada president and CEO Russ Girling addresses the company's annual meeting in Calgary, Friday, May 3, 2019. TC Energy Corp. says Girling will retire at the end of the year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY - The long-standing chief executive of TC Energy Corp. is set to retire having overseen a corporate name change and dramatic growth and stock price appreciation, but without achieving completion of the contentious Keystone XL pipeline project.

The Calgary-based pipeline, utility and power generation company has announced that Russ Girling will retire at the end of this year after 10 years as president and CEO, also giving up his seat on the board of directors.

He is to be replaced as director and CEO by chief operating officer Francois Poirier, who is also president for power and storage and Mexican operations.

Girling said in a statement it has been a "privilege and honour" to lead TC Energy.

With the wisdom and guidance of the board and the skills and tenacity of our dedicated employees, we have accomplished many things, delivered the energy critical to millions of people safely and reliably every day, and created significant shareholder value," he said.

"I am grateful for the opportunity and confident in how the company is positioned to prosper as global demand for energy."

Girling's age was listed as 57 in the company's management information circular in February.

The timing is a surprise but the replacement isn't, said analyst Ian Gillies of Stifel FirstEnergy in a report.

He pointed out that the company's stock has increased by more than 68 per cent since Girling was named CEO on July 1, 2010, and the company has paid out about $23.84 per share in cumulative dividends.

In Toronto, the stock fell by as much as $2.19 or 3.6 per cent to $58.28 in morning trading.

The Keystone XL pipeline expansion has been the most-watched TC project during Girling's tenure although it was first proposed before he became CEO, in 2008, when George W. Bush was U.S. president.

In March, the company approved construction of the US$8-billion project to transport up to 830,000 barrels per day of oil from Alberta to Nebraska after the provincial government agreed to invest about US$1.1 billion (C$1.5 billion) as equity and guarantee a US$4.2-billion project loan.

Its future is still in doubt, however, as Democratic candidate Joe Biden has said he would cancel the vital Keystone XL presidential permit if he is elected president in November.

The growing difficulty of getting cross-border pipelines built was cited by analysts as part of the strategy when TC Energy changed its name from TransCanada Corp. in May 2019.

The company, however, maintained it was due to its growing presence in the United States through deals like its US$13-billion purchase of U.S. natural gas transporter Columbia Pipeline Group, along with its growing roster of natural gas pipelines in Mexico.

Girling has led the company through a "period of unprecedented growth and transformation" said TC chairman Siim Vanaselja in a statement.

"His discipline, integrity and strategic leadership have been instrumental in the success our company has enjoyed," he said.

TC said Girling and Poirier were not available for interviews on Monday.

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Girling joined TransCanada in 1994 after holding marketing and management positions at Suncor Energy Inc., Northridge Petroleum Marketing and Dome Petroleum.

He held positions including chief operating officer, pipelines president, chief financial officer and executive vice-president, power, before becoming CEO.

Poirier joined the company in 2014 as president, Energy East Pipeline (a project cancelled in 2017), after about 25 years in investment banking.

Girling is expected to help Poirier with the transition through Feb. 28.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP, TSX:SU)
Stephen Dunford, right, fired a shotgun from the passenger seat of a car as it drove past the boy. Brandon Bailey, left, was also found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm. (PA)

A gang member who wrote a rap in prison about shooting a 12-year-old boy has been found guilty of attempted murder.

Stephen Dunford, 25, fired a shotgun from the passenger seat of a car as it drove past the boy and his friends on Northern Avenue in Arbourthorne, Sheffield, in January.

The boy, who was not the intended target, was hit in the leg  and doctors have since been unable to remove the bullet lodged in his thigh, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

South Yorkshire Police said a second child in the group had a miraculous escape, as a bullet passed through the hood of his jacket, narrowly missing his head and neck.

Dunford, from Sheffield, was heard to say we got one after multiple shots were fired at the group, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

He went on to write a rap, while he was on remand in prison, containing the lyric a youth was hit by a stray, which detectives said was a reference to a bullet and his involvement in the shooting.

Dunford recited the rap during a prison phone call which was recorded and then shared on social media.

Dunford was found guilty of attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life on Monday after a six-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court. (PA)

On 12 January, the 12-year-old boy was standing with a group of friends outside a sandwich shop on Northern Avenue.

The group had intended to visit the cinema that afternoon, but at around 3.45pm, the attack happened.

Emergency services rushed to the scene and transported the boy to hospital, where he had surgery for leg injuries before he was discharged.

Read more: Gang jailed for 240,000 online dating scam which saw them clean out victims' savings

Dunford was arrested two days later and charged, despite claiming he had been at his grandparents for Sunday dinner on the afternoon of the shooting, the court was told.

He was found guilty of attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life on Monday after a six-week trial.

He was also convicted of an additional count of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, in connection to an unrelated shooting two days earlier on Northcote Avenue in the city.

Story continues

Brandon Bailey, 26, of Manor Park Way, Sheffield, was also found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life. (PA)

A second man, Brandon Bailey, 26, of Manor Park Way, Sheffield, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life.

He had pleaded guilty to possession of criminal property.

Detective Chief Inspector Jade Brice, of South Yorkshire Police, said: This was an atrocious act, which resulted in the shooting of a young, innocent boy.

The victim that day was not Dunfords intended target but the incident has had a profound impact on him and his family.

Read more: Woman speaks out after friend poisoned her by lacing her coffee with drugs

CCTV footage from that afternoon shows a white car drive past the group and witnesses described shots being fired. The boys immediately ran away from the car, clearly terrified.

One of the boys, 12 years of age at the time, was shot in the leg. He bravely managed to run home, where his father, understandably traumatised, called emergency services to the scene.

A second boy had a miraculous escape as one of the bullets struck the hood of his jacket, narrowly missing his neck and head.

Northern Avenue in Arbourthorne, Sheffield, where the drive-by shooting took place. (Google Maps)

Julian Briggs, from the CPS, said: It is only by great good fortune that Dunfords actions did not result in the tragic death of the 12-year-old child. The second child also narrowly escaped serious injury or death.

Read more: Met police commander defends officers who arrested 12-year-old boy over toy gun

Dunford is a highly dangerous individual and he is now facing a long jail sentence.

A third defendant, Devon Gregory, 23, of Heeley Green, Sheffield, was found not guilty of attempted murder and conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Dunford and Bailey will be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on October 2.
Press Release

September 21, 2020 Win Sponsorship Speech | SBN 1789 / CRN 106 Waste-To-Energy Mr. President, esteemed peers, As Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, my legislative agenda has consistently focused on achieving energy security, sustainability, and savings - I call this the 3S of energy. This includes studying the evolving technologies in the energy industry, and crafting legislation that lays down the framework for these technologies to be harnessed in the country while ensuring strict safeguards for public health and the environment and unnecessary rate increases for consumers. One of the technologies with great potential that we have yet to fully tap is the use of waste as a feedstock for energy generation through waste-to-energy facilities. From my travels and research, I have seen how waste-to-energy facilities have helped countries around the world  especially developed countries  minimize the volume of garbage for final disposal in landfills, while at the same time diversifying their respective energy mixes. This anecdotal evidence is back up by global data. Allow me to expound. Currently, there are about 2,070 waste-to-energy plants in over 53 countries worldwide. 36 of these plants opened sometime during the past two years in China, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Belgium As of April 2020 there are 1,601 waste-to-energy plants in 14 developed countries throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. This means there are More than three-fourths of waste-to- energy plants situated in developed or high-income countries. Among developed countries, Japan has the highest share of total waste-to-energy plants in operation with 849. After Japan is France, with 132 WTE plants in operation, followed by the United States with 88 plants, South Korea with 65, and the United Kingdom with 57. Overall, the two-thousand-plus waste-to-energy plants currently in operation process close to 400 million metric tons of waste per year, generating over 15.5 million megawatt hours of electricity. That is enough electricity to power almost one million homes worldwide based on average global per capita electricity consumption figures. In addition, these plants also produce over 31.4 million megawatt thermal of heat every year.1 For a striking waste-to-energy success story, we can look to our ASEAN ally, Singapore. This world-class city-state has four WTE plants, with one located less than 23 kilometers away from the famous Orchard Road tourist area. For comparison, this is the distance between Valenzuela and Makati in Metro Manila. These plants processed 8,044 tons per day in waste-to-energy plants last 2018. That is 38% of the total waste generated in the country. From this, 2,437 MWh per day or an annual total of 889,505 MWh was produced, and 269 tons of metal per day or a total of 98,185 tons in that year were recovered. This reduced the residue that ended up in the landfill to only 1,463 tons per day. All in all, waste-to-energy technology empowered Singapore reduce the volume of waste that ended up in its landfills by 80% while also generating enough electricity to serve over 20,000 Singaporean homes in 2018.2 Another waste-to-energy success story is the Ruhleben plant in Berlin, which processes over 500,000 tons of waste per year. The Ruhleben plant converts a portion of this waste into 190 gigawatt hours of electricity, which is enough to power 5,402 German homes throughout the entire year. Meanwhile, waste processed by the plants is also converted into 650 gigawatt hours of district heating, and 110,000 tons of slag used as building materials. The Ruhleben plant is also a shining example of the environmental sustainability of waste-to-energy plants, when they are developed correctly. The sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and mercury emissions produced by the plant's waste-to-energy systems are well below tthe emissions caps provided under the Philippine Clean Air Act.3 As a matter of fact, the Ruhleben plant is located less than 14 kilometers away from the city center of Berlin  roughly the distance between Manila City Hall and Quezon City Hall. Despite its proximity, however, the Ruhleben plant has not caused environmental or public health issues in the heart of one of Europe's most beautiful capital cities. The Berlin and Singapore examples drive home the point that despite popular misconception, waste-to-energy plants can operate efficiently and cleanly in urban areas without having an adverse impact on the ecology and health within their host communities. Based on the foregoing discussion, it is clear that countries all over the world have greatly benefitted from integrating waste-to- energy plants in their respective energy generation and solid waste management policies. But what about the Philippines? A review of our existing laws, Mr. President, shows us that waste-to-energy is a concept recognized under Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and Republic Act No. 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008. Yet, ten to twenty years since their passage, there are only 12 waste-to- energy plants utilizing municipal solid waste in the country, with only 51.41 megawatts of installed capacity and 700 metric tons of fuel. On top of this, there is an additional total potential capacity of 304.34 megawatts from 5,554,205 metric tons of biodegradable and residual waste per year equivalent to 7,776 Olympic-sized pools or 33 Philippine arenas.4 The additional potential capacity is enough energy to satisfy the power requirements of all 315,086 consumers serviced under the Batangas II Electric Cooperative franchise.5 This is exactly what I was referring to in my earlier speech on the garbage crisis when I highlighted the need to diversify the solid waste management treatment facilities utilized by our local government units. As I said before, waste-to-energy facilities can significantly contribute in solving the garbage crisis by answeringthe question of what to do with the 18% of municipal solid waste leftover as residuals. Based on all available data and research, the answer to this question is clear. We can use waste-to-energy technology to practice the 5th R, Recovery. The construction of more waste-to- energy plants in the Philippines would minimize the alarming volume of residual waste piling up in landfills and illegal dumps across the country while at the same time contribute to Philippine energy security by connecting more waste-to-energy plants to the grid. Despite the great potential of waste-to-energy plants as hybrid solid waste management treatment and energy generation facilities, there are several hurdles in the way of these facilities in the Philippines. Principal among these hurdles are (1) insufficient safeguards against potential environmental and health concerns surrounding waste-to-energy; (2) ambiguities in the roles of government agencies and inefficiencies in carrying out these roles; and (3) a lack of investor confidence in funding these capital- intensive energy infrastructure projects. Thanks to the hard work of our esteemed committee members, as well as the many experts and stakeholders, who shared their knowledge with us, I am now ready to sponsor Senate Bill No. 1789 under Committee Report No. 106  the Waste-to- Energy Act. The Waste-to-Energy Act seeks to remove these challenges, empower a greater number of LGUs to include waste- to-energy facilities in their solid waste management regimes, and establish a national waste-to-energy framework that will be truly effective in harnessing the technology's vast untapped potential for energy generation and solid waste recovery. Allow me to briefly discuss some of the salient points of the measure. To address the first and second identified challenges, the bill enumerates the powers and responsibilities of key government agencies in the whole-of-government waste-to-energy framework. Foremost among the agencies is the Department of Energy, which is now made a member of the National Solid Waste Management Commission or NSWMC. DOE determines the criteria and requirements for each type of WTE facility based on the energy output. It is also mandated to include a WTE strategy in the Philippine Energy Plan, taking into consideration the National Solid Waste Management Framework. Next to DOE we have the NSWMC, which will serve as the government's primary standard setter for all matters related to WTE. The bill provides that along with standards for operational concerns such as composition of the feedstock as well as quality control and operational controls, the NSWMC will also set standards for pollution abatement, emissions monitoring, environmental monitoring, and public health and safety monitoring in relation to WTE facilities. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Health will monitor and enforce the environmental and public health standards set by the NSWMC. Specifically, DENR is mandated to exercise visitorial and enforcement powers under this Act and existing laws such as the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Act, and Philippine Clean Water Act of 1994 to ensure compliance with strict environmental standards. Heeding the feedback from the University of the Philippines College of Public Health and No Burn Pilipinas on safeguarding against possible effects on the public's health, the Committee Report introduces additional responsibilities for DOH. These include a Health Impact Assessment of each proposed WTE facility to gauge the project's potential impact on the health of the surrounding community, and regular analysis of the effects of WTE facilities and disposal sites on public health. Moving on to the third challenge, Mr. President, this measure includes a few key provisions to boost investor interest and confidence in developing WTE facilities here in the Philippines. First, this bill empowers local government units to enter into clustering agreements with nearby LGUs, long-term contracts, and even public-private partnerships for the construction and operation of common WTE facilities. Allowing these arrangements will produce economies of scale for interested developers but will also lead to lower processing fees for the LGUs. Second, the bill mandates NSWMC to determine the standards for a fair, equitable, and reasonable processing fee for the use of a waste-to-energy facility. The determination of the processing fee shall be made in consultation with relevant government agencies, experts, and stakeholders, taking into account the cost of construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility as well as the potential revenue from the sale of energy output. This is crucial to ensure a fair and reasonable return for WTE developers, and a fair and reasonable processing fee for LGUs. Mr. President, I would like to point out that these provisions geared towards certainty of investment are extremely advantageous to government from a financial standpoint. As things stand now, it is usually the government that shoulders the financial burden of constructing solid waste management facilities such as MRFs and landfills. However, the new framework established by the bill would transfer the financial burden for constructing solid waste management treatment facilities in the form of WTE plants to the private sector. This would be a game-changer for LGUs that lack solid waste management infrastructure because they could not afford to build them in the past. But just to be clear, Mr. President, this bill does not mandate LGUs to establish waste-to-energy plants against their will. No one will stop LGUs from continuing on with MRFs and sanitary landfills as their solid waste management treatment facilities of choice. The Waste-to-Energy Act merely empowers LGUs to adopt WTE, if and only if it is feasible, as one of several solid waste management treatment options, as long as they comply with strict environmental and public health standards to ensure the well-being of host communities. Before I close Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the DOE, NSWMC, DENR, DOH, DILG, UP College of Public Health, UP College of Engineering, No Burn Pilipinas and all our other stakeholders for actively participating in the 2 hearings and 5 technical working groups of the Committee on this legislation. It is through their hard work and comments that we were able to craft this Committee Report. I would also like to thank the other authors of this measure, Senator Francis "Tol" Tolentino and Senator Nancy Binay, for the significant contributions they have made in crafting this legislation. In closing, Mr. President, I would like to remind the body how high the stakes are with the garbage crisis. If we do not act now, the Philippine garbage crisis is poised to do irreparable damage to the environment and to the health of current and future generations of Filipinos to come. We need to attack this crisis from all sides, using all 5 Rs. As such, I join my co-authors and co-sponsors in soliciting your support for the swift passage of this legislation.
A mother-of-two has been shot dead in what police believe was a murder-suicide by her husband who then turned the gun on himself.

Mikki Starr, 27, was found dead at her home in Lima, Ohio, on Wednesday afternoon last week by police alongside the body of husband Zachary, 29.

Officers were called after family members noticed that Zachary had posted some 'alarming' messages on social media.

Mikki Starr, 27, with her husband Zachary Starr, 29, and their two children - a son aged seven, and their daughter who is aged just 18 months

Mikki and Zachary Starr who were found dead from gunshot wounds at their Lima home

A preliminary investigation concluded that Zachary had killed Mikki before turning the weapon on himself.

Detective Sergeant Jason Garlock, who is leading the investigation, said: 'We had information from family members that there were some social media messages that gave us the indication thats what were probably looking at right now.'

Mikki had graduated from Elida High School in 2012 and then from Rhodes State College in 2019.

She had owned the house on Ford Avenue since March 2017. The young mother had been an endoscopy technician at Mercy Health-St. Ritas Medical Center since August 2019.

Mikki and Zachary had met in 2012 and then married in 2017, according to social media

She and Zachary first met in May 2012 and they married on June 24, 2017.

They had a son, Ryker Starr, in July 2013 and a daughter Ryah Starr, in March 2019.

They also had a stillborn child, Greyson Starr, in July 2016.

Tributes have been paid to Mikki on the Facebook page of her cousin - Tracey Anne Davis.

Ms Davis wrote 'This is heartbreaking I cannot believe this.

'My heart is breaking. This is my cousin Mikki Starr and I am asking for everyone to keep my family in your prayers TIA my poor auntie.'

Police officers outside the couple's home on West Ford Avenue, Lima, after the shooting

Officers were called to the home (pictured) by family members who noticed 'alarming' posts on Zachary's social media pages

Jessica Lynn Davis added 'So sorry my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time.

While Jennifer Neal said 'Such a tragedy. Praying for you and your family.'

Mikki's death is the seventh homicide from a shooting or a stabbing investigated this year in Lima.

There was ten murders in the city in the whole of last year, which was a ten year high.

Both bodies were sent to the Lucas County Coroners Office for autopsies.

Mikki's funeral is on Wednesday from 1pm at Chiles-Laman Funeral & Cremation Services, Shawnee Chapel. The burial will follow at Pike Run Cemetery.
A Bronx man has been charged with criminal mischief after metal clamps were thrown on to New York subway tracks, causing a train to derail leaving injuring three people.

Demetrius Harvard, 30, from the Bronx, was arrested immediately after the uptown A train was forced from the tracks as it arrived at Manhattan's 14th St - Eighth Avenue station.

The train pulled into the station at 8:17 am, and hit metal clamps which had been placed on the rails.

Police believe the suspect found a pile of tie plates, which are normally used to secure the train tracks to the foundations, on a pile of construction materials at the 14th St. station.

Harvard allegedly tried twice to throw the plates onto the tracks, sources told the New York Post.

Demetrius Harvard, 30, from the Bronx, was arrested in connection with Sunday's incident

Harvard was immediately taken into custody by transit police in New York City

Harvard has been charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, assault and criminal trespass

The first time the debris was thrown onto the tracks, a good Samaritan went down and retrieved them, the Post reports.

But Harvard allegedly put the plates on the tracks a second time, just before the train came into the station.

When the train pulled in, three of the subway cars derailed - and Harvard was allegedly seen laughing as the train swerved.

'The investigation revealed that a 30-year-old male was seen throwing construction debris onto the northbound A-Train track which caused the first car on a subway train to derail upon entering the station,' NYPD said in a statement.

Harvard has been charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, assault and criminal trespass.

Harvard was previously arrested on September 5 on charges of criminal mischief after allegedly hurling a metal bench through a bus window, according to the Post.

The uptown A train derailed in the West Village on Sunday morning

Subway service in Manhattan was severely impacted by the Sunday morning crash

About 30 people were evacuated from the train, and they helped detain Harvard - who was allegedly spotted celebrating his accomplishment.

Three passengers suffered minor injuries.

One refused medical attention. Another was treated at the scene while the third was taken to Bellevue Hospital for further treatment, officials said.

The wheels on one of the derailed train cars were destroyed in the crash, and a third rail in the station collapsed upon impact, knocking out power to all four tracks in the station. Other rails were also badly damaged.

The power outage affected other trains on the line, with an A train becoming stuck in a tunnel beneath 34th Street.

All uptown A, C, D, E and F trains were being rerouted, causing extensive delays in Manhattan.

Emergency services had to rescue people trapped in a tunnel beneath 34th Street
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has congratulated the Nigerian-born scientist Councillor Ernest Ezeajughi who was elected to serve a second one-year term as the mayor of Brent.

The congratulatory message is contained in a statement by NIDCOM Head of Media and Public Relations, Abdur-Rahman Balogun in Abuja on Monday.

Dabiri-Erewa said the re-election of Councillor Ezeajughi was a testimony to his outstanding performance during his first term which earned him the respect of the people.

She advised him to continue to impact positively on the people, especially those who gave him the mandate, by living up to the expectations.

The NIDCOM boss urged other Nigerians living abroad to emulate the friendly disposition of Councillor Ezeajughi that endeared him to the people outside the shores of Nigeria.

The re-election followed the first-ever virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the council.

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The Hungarian Medical Association (Magyar Orvosi Kamara/MOK) published four shocking photos on its Facebook page on Friday. Under the photos was the following brief explanation: Covid center, resting place and bathroom for the doctors. Our colleagues persevere even under these circumstances.

In no time, hundreds of comments appeared, beginning with a gentleman who called on the person responsible for the photos to report the case to the military commander the Orban government placed at the head of the hospitals because unfortunately many hospital directors are totally unfit to run their own institutions.



Of course, a lot of people attested to the generally rundown state of Hungarian hospitals, but the government also had numerous defenders who claimed that Orban and company are not responsible for the neglected state of the facilities.



A few people were even convinced that the photos were the vile forgeries of a lunatic or, if real, most likely were taken in Romania or Albania.



The early commenters all agreed that MOK made a mistake by not revealing the name of the hospital where these unspeakable conditions exist. At that point MOK explained its reasons for keeping the name of the hospital secret: the wind is fierce in the healthcare industry and the colleagues are afraid of their superiors.



I assume the wind refers to the generally fearful atmosphere that exists in the sector. And those who took the photos and who work with honor in the care of COVID patients were afraid to be identified.



So, those who took the photographs were not the patients or visitors to the hospital but the staff itself, and they must be sheltered. MOK does hope that the person who is responsible for the maintenance of the hospital will recognize the hidden corners of his own institution and will remedy the situation.



MOK reassured people that the photos are genuine and disclosed that they were taken in one of the cities with county rights. That doesnt tell us much because, all told, 23 cities are designated as county centers.



MOKs explanation for its decision to keep the location of this disgusting bathroom a secret didnt impress devoted Fidesz supporters, who look upon the new leadership of the medical association as a gathering place of communist snitches inherited from the Gyurcsany era.



Pro-government commenters are certain that checking of the facilities is done regularly. In any case, who would believe that a hospital in that state would be allowed to operate?



Even if such an abominable state of affairs exists, it shouldnt be used in the interest of sly criminals. I guess the sly criminals are the new leaders of the Hungarian Medical Association.



One female commenter proudly announced that in the last three years she visited three hospitals both as a patient and as a visitor. In all three places, the bathrooms were in perfect order. MOKs photos are not realistic. It must be an old bathroom that hasnt been used for years.



The bathroom pictured is a stage set that is supposed to create a public circus. A doctor claimed that the hospitals where he works as an attending physician have separate resting rooms with television and computers. They look like 5-star hotels.



Among the many unknown real or fictitious names in the comment section, I found one that many people are familiar with: Csaba Bojte from Transylvania, who is a great favorite of the Orban regime.



Bojte is a Franciscan monk and the director and founder of the Saint Francis Foundation of Deva, Romania. His foundation provides food, housing, and education to homeless orphans and children living in extreme poverty. Currently, 2,500 children are living in the homes and shelters of the foundation.



Father Bojtes solution to the problem of the hospitals is simple. If a priest doesnt keep order in his parish, the bishop would send him packing. It is not the bishop who needs to put things in order, but the one who lives and works there!!



The hospital director should also be sacked if his hospital looks like this. It is not the shame of the state, but of those who work there! Bojte of course ignores the serious underfinancing and understaffing of the Hungarian healthcare system.



Here and there one can find voices of sanity. A woman reported from one of these squalid hospitals where she is being quarantined that from the inside it seems that renovating this building would require at least as much money as building, lets say, a stadium.



Some commenters, as opposed to the timid MOK, are quite ready to point to conditions in specific hospitals as horrific examples of neglect. Peterfy Hospital, which we are familiar with from Reporters description, is one of the examples cited. According to a woman, in the internal medicine section of the hospital one can flush the toilet only by pulling a lever in the water tank.



Soon enough the blame was shifted to the government for spending money on the Romanians, on stadiums, building hospitals abroad, and giving billions to churches.



As I indicated yesterday, resentment is rising over the Orban governments spending sizable sums on improving the lot of the Hungarian minorities in the neighboring countries, which in many cases is expressed as money spent on the Romanians.



A commenter quipped that the Orban government renovated 3,000 churches in the Carpathian Basin to provide places of worship for those who are afraid of dying of COVID-19.



All told, about 15,000 people viewed MOKs photos and about 500 comments appeared. The pro-Fidesz contingent was large. The opposition is certain that Fidesz activists pay special attention to sites like that of MOK, which is currently considered to be a government-critical organization.



The two political sides leveled the same criticism against MOK  that the medical association should have named the hospital where the photos were taken. I would go even further.



MOK should have collected photos from many of those hospitals where patients and visitors complain about the sanitary condition of the facilities.



Yes, I know it is forbidden to take photos in the hospitals, but, in reality, who could prevent people from taking them? There is strength in numbers.



Photos from one hospital can get one hospital director into trouble, but photos from 10 or 15 hospitals would carry more weight and would make it clear that it is not just negligence that is responsible for the sorry state of Hungarian healthcare.



This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of XpatLoop.com or the publisher. Your opinions are welcome too - for editorial review before possible publication online.

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After a tweet about a members racist blog post went viral, the Gamma Sigma Sigma sorority fractured. Many general members of the chapter and all but one member of the chapters executive board resigned. A group of departing members has since founded a separate service society.




Winners of the 2019 ASEAN-Korea Academic Essay Contest pose during a workshop hosted by the ASEAN-Korea Centre in Hanoi, Vietnam, in this Jan. 7 file photo. / Courtesy of ASEAN-Korea Centre



By Yi Whan-woo



The COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly changing communication methods worldwide, with more people relying on digital technology amid lockdowns and social distancing measures.



Korea and the young populations of ASEAN nations, in accordance with people-to-people exchanges underlined by the two sides, will need to keep up with emerging trends in digital cooperation. This is what the ASEAN-Korea Centre wants to discuss in its annual essay contest open to undergraduate and graduate students.



A Seoul-based international organization tasked with ASEAN cooperation, the center is co-organizer of the 5th ASEAN-Korea Academic Essay Contest along with the Center for ASEAN and Indian Studies at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Indonesia (CSIS Indonesia).





The 2020 ASEAN-Korea Essay Contest is receiving entries until Nov. 8, under the theme "ASEAN-Korea Digital Partnership in the Post-COVID19 Era." / Courtesy of ASEAN-Korea Centre
(Natural News) Americans of all ages have been forced to adjust to a new way of life because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. From lockdowns to social distancing, people have had to stay inside their homes for extended periods of time to prevent the spread of the infectious disease.

However, parents have expressed their worry for children who seem to be struggling with distance learning models. In fact, parents in California are suing Gov. Gavin Newsom over the states pandemic-related restrictions on in-person educational instruction.

Distance learning is harming the mental health of students, claim parents

Parents in California worried about the mental well-being of their children are suing Newsom over the ban on in-person classes. The lawsuit, cited Looney v. Newsom, was filed in the Shasta County Office of the Superior Court of the State of California.

Shasta County is located north of Sacramento, the state capital.

The parents filing the lawsuit say that Newsoms policies unjustifiably prevent schools in Shasta County from fully reopening. They added that students are unable to proceed with their education because they need access to services and resources that cant be provided remotely.

Parents in California say that the states response to COVID-19 are giving students, particularly those from disadvantaged families, from accessing a quality education. Because of the ban, students in California are being denied their constitutional right to a quality education as enshrined in the California Constitution.

These policies prevent students from learning skills and acquiring the knowledge theyll need to succeed in Americas competitive economy. In the long run, remote learning can even hinder these students from becoming informed citizens and productive members of society, claimed the concerned parents.

Students are frustrated and anxious

Beth Watt, a parent and plaintiff in the lawsuit, detailed her concerns in a statement from the Freedom Foundation, a group representing the parents.

Formerly called the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, the Freedom Foundation is a non-profit think and action tank. The group has offices in several states like California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington.

Freedom Foundation aims to reverse the stranglehold government unions have on both state and local policymaking.

According to Watt, her three children are all struggling with the current distance learning model mandated by local schools. Before the pandemic, all her children were straight-A students.

But this spring, Watts children received a P for all subjects, which made them lose all motivation to excel in school. P indicates a Pass in a Pass-Fail grading system. She added that there are times when her kids would cry tears of frustration because of the lack of instruction.

Since classes are held online, Watts children have also had to deal with poor connectivity as they work their way through their assigned online curriculum.

Watts son is on anxiety medication for the first time, emphasizing the fact that online education is linked to mental health issues. Distance learning is also causing an academic crisis that students in many states find themselves in.

Watts concluded, Our children deserve better than this; our tax-funded education system is failing students. (Related: Los Angeles and San Diego school districts will not reopen schools in the fall, while children pay the price.)

Students need to be in school

Attorney Mariah Gondeiro, who is acting in the case, backs the parents of California. While Newsom insists that residents should trust the science, Gondeiro believes it is time for the governor to take to his own advice.

Health experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics echo the concern of parents and thousands of educators: Students should go back to school.

This isnt the first time that parents have spoken up about mandated distance learning models.

On May 4, Newsom issued Executive Order N-60-20, which required all residents of California to obey all state and local public health directives and orders, including the California Department of Public Healths guidance for schools.

After that, Newsom announced a framework for when and how schools should reopen for in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic on July 17. He explained that in the state, experts refer to health data to determine when a school can be physically open and when it should close.

Newsom insisted that learning should never stop and that parents, students and staff would want to resume in-classroom instruction, but only if it can be done safely.

All private and public schools in counties with increasing numbers of coronavirus cases are forbidden from resuming in-person classes. The counties must also meet strict criteria before being allowed to reopen. California has at least 6.7 million students in its 1,000 school districts.

Newsoms office didnt immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit from parents in California.

This isnt the only lawsuit that has been filed against the governor because of the policy. Brach v. Newsom was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California last July 29.

Jesse Petrilla, a father of two boys and a plaintiff in the suit, believes the cons of keeping schools closed far outweigh the risks of opening them.

After schools closed in March, Petrilla noticed a significant decline in engagement and motivation and enthusiasm for learning in his sons. Both he and his wife were concerned about the psychological long-term effects of having students follow distance learning models.

While students from affluent and working-class families are affected differently by mandated remote learning, a lot of financially struggling families often rely on school lunches. Petrilla concluded that parents, teachers and districts should all have a choice and that Newsom is trying to take away that freedom with this order.

Studies show that students suffer academically because of distance learning

Recent studies have found that by September, the majority of students will struggle to keep up with their peers if they had stayed in classrooms. Some students could even lose the equivalent of a full school years worth of academic gains.

Experts added that racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps may continue to widen because not all students have access to computers, home internet connections and direct instruction from their teachers.

According to a working paper from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a nonprofit organization, and researchers from Brown University and the University of Virginia, the average student could begin the next school year having lost as much as one-third of the expected progress from the previous year in reading and 50 percent of the expected progress in math.

Extended distance learning mandates can affect more than a students mental health. If schools continue to teach fully or partly online during fall or if they reopen with significant budget cuts because of the pandemic-related economic downturn, high school dropout rates could increase.

Meanwhile, younger students may miss out on foundational concepts in phonics and fractions that will help prepare them for school or work.

Under normal circumstances, students with learning disabilities and behavioral disorders already struggle with their schooling. Now, teachers are worried that these students will continue to face more challenges with distance learning models.

Visit Pandemic.news to read more articles about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives and overall well-being of students in America.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NBCNews.com

NYTimes.com
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21) Police and local officials should have implemented additional health and safety protocols ahead of the public viewing of the new white beach in Manila Bay, the Interior Department said Monday.

Speaking to CNN Philippines, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano admitted he observed the lack of preparation on the side of the enforcers, as crowds flocked to Roxas Boulevard over the weekend despite concerns about COVID-19 distancing measures.

Sa tingin ko, kulang yung preparations para ma-enforce natin yung minimum health standards, Ano said in an interview with The Source. Sana napaghandaan nang husto.

Ang pinaka-immediate kasi dapat na magpe-prepare diyan, yung Philippine National Police, being the frontliners, and the enforcers the Philippine National Police should have prepared for that, he added.

[Translation: In my opinion, we lacked preparations to enforce the minimum health standards. We should have prepared better. The PNP, being the frontliners and enforcers, are the ones who should have immediately prepared for that.]

The DILG chief said the PNP should have deployed additional personnel in the area. More barriers should have also been placed around the site, he added.

Aside from the police, Ano likewise noted that the Manila City government should have prepared better for the sites temporary opening. He added he will be talking to the Environment Department to discuss other courses of action or sanctions for parties that need to be held accountable.

The commander of the Ermita Police Station has since been relieved from his post for failure to enforce strict health and security measures to control the crowds.

Dangerous situation

The weekend viewing of the new white beach in Manila Bay drew flak from netizens, who expressed concern over the safety of the visiting crowds amid the coronavirus pandemic. Images showed crowds of people standing close to each other while taking photographs of the new white sand.

The Health Department also expressed alarm over the dangerous event, saying that minimum health standards should remain a priority due to the threat of virus transmission.

Kailangan lang po mapaalalahanan ang ating mga kababayan na ito po ay isang delikadong sitwasyon dahil maaaring magkaroon ng hawa-hawa ang mga kababayan nating nagpupunta diyan nang hindi masusunod ang minimum health standards, Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media forum.

[Translation: We just need to remind the citizens that this is a dangerous situation, because virus transmission is still possible if they dont practice minimum health standards.]

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said separately that people should still observe social distancing in the area, adding that only up to 50 visitors should be allowed at a time for a maximum 5-minute stay.

"Nananawagan din po kami sa kapulisan na sana ipatupad po ang social distancing," he said during his media briefing. "Sapat na po 'yan (5 minutes) para singhutin ang hangin at magpicture-picture. 'Wag na kayong mag-bathing suit diyan dahil baka lalong matagalan ang mga tao diyan."

[Translation: We appeal to the police to enforce social distancing... The 5 minutes should be enough to smell the air and take pictures. Don't wear bathing suits anymore because people may stay longer.]

A netizen turned up on the beach wearing a red swimsuit on Sunday, which went viral on social media.

Roque said the huge turnout proved that the DENR and the city of Manila made the right decision to take the Manila Bay rehabilitation project a step further by using crushed dolomite boulders as 'white sand' to enhance the area's aesthetics.

Ano meanwhile said he expected the new attraction to draw crowds, as he acknowledged that residents of Manila and nearby areas were perhaps excited to head out after months of quarantine.

However, he also urged the public to still follow minimum health standards when going out.

The overlaying of the sand with crushed dolomite boulders along an area on the baywalk has ignited public interest and controversy. Environment advocates have strongly opposed the beautification project, noting that it may not only destroy the natural ecosystem in Manila Bay but the source of the dolomite as well.

The DENR earlier argued authorities have studied the project thoroughly before pursuing it.

The Manila Bay white beach will again be closed until yearend for the next phase of its development and rehabilitation, Ano said.
Montana mines are producing less coal during the pandemic as declining energy consumption, both in the U.S. and abroad, wears on an already shrinking market.

Through the first seven months of the year, Montana mines produced 15.1 million tons of coal. Thats down 21% for the same period of 2019, according to the Montana Coal Council. The mine industry group reports Montana production is on track with 2016, which was a significantly low-demand year.

As COVID-19 has lowered the energy demand of major industries and driven up the number of people working from home, coal-fired power plants have burned less in the United States, where plant retirements have also been consistent. But same trend is occurring in countries namely in the Asian Pacific that buy Montana coal.

Its a mix. In a worldwide pandemic, were seeing it across the board, lower energy use, said Molly Schwend, Montana Coal Council executive director.

Export markets have been a stabilizing force for Montana coal production because thermal coal mines like Spring Creek, Decker and Signal Peak are closer to the Pacific Northwest coal ports than mines in Wyoming. South Korea and Japan are consumers of Montana coal, though theres competition from Australia and Indonesia for the market. Mines in those countries are closer, which makes it easier for them to compete in the Asian Pacific when prices are low, whereas shipping costs put U.S. coal at a disadvantage.

Earlier this year, as Spring Creek Mine owner Navajo Transitional Energy Company responded to the slow down in coal demand, there were furloughs at its mines in Montana and Wyoming. But Spring Creek Mine, where 73 workers were laid off in April, hired miners back in late July. In Wyoming, the company laid off 80 miners at its Antelope mine on Aug. 28. At the same Wyoming mine in May, 93 workers were furloughed.

NTEC had accepted $5 million to $10 million from the federal Paycheck Protection Program on May 8 to keep at least 75% of its miners working, according to federal data. The program known as PPP was a key part of the early federal response to the pandemic and offered loan forgiveness provided the money was properly spent.

The PPP loans ended Aug. 8 and there hasnt been a replacement as Congress is in a stalemate over the terms of a new pandemic response bill.

Decker Mine, a short walk from Spring Creek Mine and not far from the Wyoming community of Sheridan, announced last week that it was furloughing 73 workers, this after furloughing 98 in early May but eventually recalling them.

The production year 2020 resembles most in Montana currently is 2016, Schwend said. Four years ago, cheap natural gas prices put coal in a tough spot as gas became the dominant source for electricity generation in the United States. At the same time, cheap coal prices in export markets idled shipments of Montana coal through Westshore Terminals in British Columbia.

Coal production in 2016 was 32.4 million tons, a steep drop from the 44.5 million tons mined in 2015. Since that 2016 low, coal exports have moderated, increasing to 38.5 million tons in 2018 before falling to 34.8 million last year, according to Montana Coal Council.

Coal power had slipped from 40% of U.S. electricity production in 2012 to 29% in 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. EIA estimates that coal will account for 20% of U.S. electricity in 2020.

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SpiceJet's announcement of its new service connecting Darbhanga with metros such Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru has been cheered by up customers and residents of the city in north Bihar.

It's not just because the state is heading towards an election later this year, and the new service will help the ruling government score some brownie points, but the move, say industry executives, addresses a need of smaller cities and towns for better access to air travel.

This is the first time that air services are being launched in Darbhanga.

SpiceJet had won the rights to operate flights to Darbhanga during the auction under UDAN, the regional connectivity scheme. The airline will operate daily direct flights on the Delhi-Darbhanga, Bengaluru-Darbhanga and Mumbai-Darbhanga sectors starting November 8.

The airline will deploy its Boeing 737-800 on all these routes, and is offering all-inclusive introductory one-way promotional fare starting at Rs 3,799 on all routes.

Last mile connectivity

"SpiceJet's last mile connection will help travel and trade as people don't want to split their travel between air/rail/bus," Nishant Pitti, CEO, EaseMyTrip.com, said.

He pointed out that Patna was the nearest airport to Darbangha, which is almost 100 km away from the Bihar capital. "Any customer needs to get a car or bus for the three-hour journey to reach Patna. The same customer is ready to pay extra to cut this travel time. This is also the safest, given the COVID-19 sensitivities," Pitti added.

Interestingly, the Delhi-Patna route was among the busiest, when domestic flights resumed on May 25, after lockdown restrictions were relaxed, partially, for the aviation sector. The government has also capped the fares, which range from Rs 2,000 to Rs 18,600, depending on the flying time. Fares on Delhi-Mumbai route range from Rs 3,500 to Rs 10,000.

Right from the first day itself, on May 25, Delhi-Patna was the busiest route and remained among the most sought after in the following months too.

SpiceJet will be pleased with the timing of the new launch. Our latest addition couldnt have come at a more opportune time for Bihar when thousands travel back home for Diwali and Chhath Puja," said SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh, in a statement.

The new service also coincides with the state elections, which may be held around the same time. The ruling government, consisting of allies JD (U) and BJP, will sure use the new airport, and the flight services to highlight its report card.

Darbhanga airport

The Darbhanga airport has been in the making for a while, and a demand to launch it even led to a campaign on Twitter.

The airport, which will help 22 districts in north Bihar to access air travel, is the third one in the state, after Patna and Gaya. Both these airports are situated south of the Ganges, leaving the northern part of the state without any aviation infrastructure.

Earlier this month, Union Ministry for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri had inspected the upcoming airport. He commented that most of the work at the airport has been completed and services will begin in November.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.21

Trend:

Azerbaijani Community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan has issued a statement in connection with the International Day of Peace marked every year on September 21, Trend reports referring to the community.

According to the statement, despite the appeal by the UN Secretary-General for a global cease-fire, urging warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons and together battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, Armenia, ignoring this appeal, continues attempts to realize its plans of occupation.

As a result of Armenian aggression, one-fifth of Azerbaijani territories remain under occupation, making impossible the return of nearly a million expelled Azerbaijanis back to their homes, the statement reads.

To consolidate on the occupied territories, the aggressor Armenia has been building illegal settlements and even began moving there Armenian families from Lebanon, misusing recent horrific explosion in Port of Beirut as an opportunity, the statement further says.

Anna Hakobyan, the wife of Armenias Prime Minister, on the one hand, hypocritically makes calls for peace, and on the other - stages a military training for Armenian women in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, the statement also reads. This begs the question, what is the peace-loving wife of the peace-loving Prime Minister of Armenia doing in the territory of another country in a military uniform aiming a weapon at the people of that country? Unfortunately, the calls of our community for a constructive dialogue to settle the conflict have always been met with ethnic hatred, acrimony, and denialism by the Armenian side.

While declaring our belief in the possibility of peaceful co-existence, we call on the international community to urge Armenia to withdraw its occupying Armed Forces and allow us to return to our lands. Realization of this call would allow us to feel the genuine meaning of the International Peace Day which we sadly celebrate without peace," the statement concludes.

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.
MIAMI, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New recommendations from a panel of globally recognized medical and scientific experts say that by relentlessly focusing on prevention and other measures  including the testing of guests and crew members  public health risks associated with the pandemic can be mitigated in a cruise ship environment.

Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8644151-royal-caribbean-group-norwegian-cruise-line-healthy-sail-panel/

The Healthy Sail Panel, a group of globally recognized experts assembled by Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., has concluded cruising can be safer in the current health environment with a robust set of science-backed protocols. Take a look at the focus areas that guided the group's more than 70 recommendations made in collaboration with co-chairs Governor Mike Leavitt, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. The Healthy Sail Panel, a team of cross-disciplinary experts assembled by Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., has concluded cruising can be safer in the current health environment with a robust set of science-backed protocols. In the next major step toward a healthy return to sailing, the group has outlined more than 70 recommendations across five focus areas.

The Healthy Sail Panel submitted its recommendations today to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in response to a CDC request for public comment that will be used to inform future public health guidance and preventative measures relating to travel on cruise ships. The Panel was formed in June by Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH).

The Panel comprises globally recognized experts in medical practice and research, public health, infectious diseases, biosecurity, hospitality and maritime operations that have applied the best available public health, science and engineering insights to their recommendations.

The Healthy Sail Panel's 65-plus-page report includes 74 detailed best practices to protect the public health and safety of guests, crew and the communities where cruise ships call. Recommendations include testing, the use of face coverings, and enhanced sanitation procedures on ships and in terminals. The Panel is chaired by Governor Mike Leavitt, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"The Healthy Sail Panel spent the last four months studying how to better protect the health and safety of guests and crew aboard cruise ships," said Dr. Gottlieb. "Taken as a comprehensive approach, we believe the Panel's robust public health recommendations will help inform strategies for a safe resumption of sailing."

Gov. Leavitt said: "This Panel undertook an ambitious, cross-disciplinary, public health examination to develop standards and guidelines that create the highest level of safety in the complex environment of a cruise ship. We studied the industry's experiences combating the pandemic  and we then incorporated the many lessons learned and advances made by medicine and science over the past six months. The Panel's recommendations are grounded in the best scientific and medical information available and are intended to meaningfully mitigate public health risks to those who sail."

"We understand our responsibility to act aggressively to protect the health and safety of our guests and crew, as well as the communities where we sail, and we asked the Panel to help us learn how to best live up to that responsibility," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. "We were inspired by the depth of the Panel's work and their determination to help us establish the strongest protocols in the travel industry."

"The Healthy Sail Panel's recommendations are robust and comprehensive, and they reflect the intense focus the panelists brought to their work," said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. "We know that both authorities around the globe and consumers expect cruise lines to provide the safest, healthiest vacations we can, and this work demonstrates our commitment to doing just that."

Fain and Del Rio said each company will use the Panel's recommendations to inform the development of new, detailed operating protocols, which will be submitted to the CDC and other authorities around the globe for review and approval an important milestone in the process of resuming sailing around the world. The Panel's work is open sourced for others to incorporate in their protocols as well; Governor Leavitt and Dr. Gottlieb expressed appreciation that authorities and other cruise companies had already engaged in the Panel's work as observers.

The Healthy Sail Panel identified five areas of focus every cruise operator should address to improve health and safety for guests and crew, and reduce the risk of infection and spread of COVID-19 on cruise ships:

Testing, Screening and Exposure Reduction Sanitation and Ventilation Response, Contingency Planning and Execution Destination and Excursion Planning Mitigating Risks for Crew Members

In each category, the Healthy Sail Panel created practical and actionable recommendations to address specific safety concerns. Among the recommendations are key strategies such as:

Taking aggressive measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 from entering a ship through robust education, screening and testing of both crew and guests prior to embarkation

Reducing transmission via air management strategies and enhanced sanitation practices

Implementing detailed plans to address positive infection on board, including contingencies for onboard treatment, isolation and rapid evacuation and repatriation

Closely controlling shore excursions

Enhanced protection for crew members

The full Healthy Sail Panel report can be found here: Royal Caribbean Group or Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained in this release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this release, including, without limitation, those regarding business strategies, plans, and objectives for future operations (including those regarding efforts made by the panel and future health and safety protocols and mitigation efforts) are forward-looking statements and we cannot guarantee that our protocols and mitigation efforts will be successful. Many, but not all, of these statements can be found by looking for words like "expect," "plan," "will," "may," and similar words. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance and may involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to the impact of: the spread of epidemics, pandemics and viral outbreaks and specifically, the COVID-19 outbreak, including its effect on the ability or desire of people to travel (including on cruises); the ability to develop strategies to enhance health and safety protocols to adapt to the current pandemic environment's unique challenges once operations resume and to otherwise safely resume operations when conditions allow; coordination and cooperation with the CDC, the federal government and global public health authorities to take precautions to protect the health, safety and security of guests, crew and the communities visited and the implementation of any such precautions; and other factors set forth under "Risk Factors" in each respective company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. While we believe that the recommendations of the panel will make cruise vacations safer, we cannot guarantee or assure that our protocols and mitigation efforts will effectively eliminate the risk of contracting COVID-19. There may be additional risks that are considered immaterial or which are unknown. The above examples are not exhaustive and new risks emerge from time to time. Such forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which we expect to operate in the future. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change of events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement was based.

SOURCE Royal Caribbean Group; Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Related Links

https://www.royalcaribbeangroup.com


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Rosh Hashanah service celebrating the Jewish New Year gathered nearly 100 Staten Islanders in Clove Lakes Park Sunday afternoon amid coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions that have upended the traditional way the High Holy Days have been commemorated in years past.

Rabbi Mendy Katzman of Chabad Staten Island said the goal of this years service was to create a safe environment that would allow congregants to bring in a fresh start to the year.
MORE than 10,000 has been raised in memory of a man who was found dead after he went missing in Sonning.

Alexander Stern, 36, from London, was last seen alive near the Bull pub on January 11 and his body was found in the River Thames in Charvil on April 3.

Friends of Mr Stern will be running from Sonning to Chelsea on October 10 to raise money for Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue, which searched for him.

The 50-mile route will start at the point where Mr Stern was last seen and endsat one of his favourite pubs.

The fundraising page reads: Through the long and painful months after Alexs disappearance, BLSAR worked tirelessly in their quest to find Alex, searching the river despite incredibly difficult conditions with almost continual flooding.

This was a major operation over hundreds of man-hours with helicopters, drones, sonar, dogs and divers scouring the river in Sonning where Alex was last seen alive.

We want to recognise their fantastic work and give something back to allow them to continue to help find other missing people.

Were doing this in Alexs memory and we wanted a way to celebrate his life and bring his family and friends together in a way that, unfortunately, wasnt possible when he was found.

To make a donation, visit localgiving.org/fundraising/

stern50/
Joe Bidens running mate is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would hold a hearing on Trumps nominee.

Kamala Harris is poised to become a leading figure in the Democratic opposition to United States President Donald Trumps Supreme Court pick, with her status as both a lawmaker and vice-presidential nominee putting her in the centre of the fight.

The California senator is in a unique role following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday. She is Joe Bidens running mate and a member of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, which would hold a hearing on Trumps nominee.

Since Biden selected Harris as his running mate in August, she has largely pitched the campaigns message to smaller audiences through virtual fundraisers and a handful of day trips to key states.

A highly anticipated confirmation hearing would almost certainly change that, giving Harris a massive platform to demonstrate her political skills and articulate the campaigns message that Ginsburgs successor should not be chosen until after the election.

Just in the discussion about what should happen, her role on Judiciary I think gives her an elevated profile, said Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee. And people will listen to her a little more intently knowing that shes a Judiciary Committee member.

Harris only recently began travelling to swing states to campaign [Mark Makela/Getty Images/AFP]

A trained prosecutor, Harris has had breakout moments during previous confirmation hearings. She was widely praised by Democrats for her questioning of Brett Kavanaugh during the last Supreme Court confirmation fight. In a memorable exchange intended to spotlight the stakes of the nomination for abortion rights, she asked Kavanaugh whether he knew of any laws that allowed the government to control mens bodies. He did not.

Trump regularly highlights that hearing in riffs criticising Harris. The president, who could announce his pick later this week, is likely to keep up the criticism as he seeks to motivate Republican voters, including those beyond his core base, with the spectre of winning another court seat.

Nobody ever suffered like Justice Kavanaugh suffered in the hands and the mouths of those horrible people, Trump told a North Carolina audience on Saturday, the day after Ginsburg died. They made him suffer, and the leader of the pack, I would say, was Kamala.

Harris has pledged to honour Ginsburgs wish to not be replaced until a new president is elected [File: Charles Dharapak/AP Photo]

Biden and Harris are expected to make Americans access to healthcare a central theme of their campaign messaging around the importance of the court seat, with the justices set to hear a case seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act shortly after the November election. Conservatives would hold a 6-3 majority if Trump is successful in appointing a nominee.

Harris pledged to honour Ginsburgs wish to not be replaced until a new president is elected, and on Saturday, she tweeted a photo of herself standing outside looking at the court chambers with her husband.

The stakes of this election couldnt be higher, she wrote. Millions of Americans are counting on us to win and protect the Supreme Court  for their health, for their families, and for their rights.

Separately, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee said considering a nominee before the next inauguration would be wholly inappropriate. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Harriss California colleague, is the top Democrat on that committee.

The timing of any Senate hearings could put Harris before a national audience more regularly than she has been since joining the Democratic ticket. She just recently began travelling to swing states to campaign, though the coronavirus pandemic has drastically altered what such events look like.

She does regular digital fundraisers and interviews with local television stations in swing states, but she has given just one speech aimed at a national audience beyond her convention remarks. Her largest fundraiser was a digital one with Hillary Clinton that drew more than 100,000 people.

Harris accepted the nomination at the largely digital Democratic National Convention last month [Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]

A child of immigrants and the first Black woman on a major partys presidential ticket, Harris can speak more personally than Biden, who is 77 years old and white, to some of the most polarising issues the court has decided in recent years.

Voting rights are a key piece of her campaign messaging. She has been a staunch defender of the rights of young immigrants to stay in the country even if they were brought illegally as children, for same-sex marriage and for abortion rights.

The potential to overturn the 1973 decision of Roe v Wade that protects a womans right to an abortion has long been a priority for Republican voters. Democrats hope keeping the law may be an equally motivating factor for their voters, particularly young people.

I have a lot of confidence in this moment that Senator Harris really understands that, that shes going to fight like hell to prevent the seat from being filled, said Alexis McGill Johnson, the president of Planned Parenthood.

Harriss gift is in her ability to ask questions that make a point that is powerful to the general public, said Nathan Barankin, a longtime aide who was her chief of staff during the Kavanaugh hearings. Beyond her questioning of Kavanaugh, he pointed to her 2017 questioning of then-Senator Jeff Sessions as Trumps first attorney general. When Harris pressed Sessions on whether he spoke with any Russian nationals during the 2016 campaign, he said her rapid questioning makes me nervous.

Every member of the Senate is conscious of the fact that Kamala Harris, when she has an opportunity to question witnesses, will elicit new and different information, Barankin added.

Its not yet clear if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will try to begin proceedings before the November 3 election or, if Trump loses, try to rush a nominee through before Bidens inauguration in January.

In 2016, McConnell scheduled minimal Senate work leading up to Election Day, leaving Kaine, a Virginia senator, with few conflicts between his official and campaign duties. Its unclear whether pandemic-induced digital campaigning is as effective as in-person efforts, Kaine said, but it could give Harris an opportunity to keep hitting key events even if shes stuck in Washington for hearings.

That would give her the flexibility to be able to be in DC, maybe a little bit more than during a traditional presidential campaign closing stretch, he said.
NEW YORK - Mondays return to New York City schools wasnt the one anyone planned for. For most, it wasnt a return at all.

Only pre-kindergarten and some special education students ended a six-month absence from school buildings after a last-minute decision to postpone, for the second time, plans to be among the first big districts to resume in-person instruction after the coronavirus forced students and staff home.

Mayor Bill de Blasio greeted pre-K students at a school in Queens and praised the air of energy and spirit among teachers and pupils. To see those children so engaged, so happy to be there, it was truly inspiring, de Blasio said.

In Manhattan, Alexandra Safir greeted her daughter, Harper, after the first day of in-school pre-K at P.S. 33. The first day went really well today so Im happy, Safir said. Three-year-old Harper said she had a good first day but naptime presented one problem: I couldnt sleep with my mask on.

Schoolchildren in kindergarten through 12th grade also started the new school year Monday, but fully remotely, the same way students in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and many of New Yorks other urban districts have.

After a fidgety spring of online pre-K, Jessica DAmatos 5-year-old son has been so excited about going back to in-person school that he keeps asking: When am I going to kindergarten?

First the answer was Sept. 10. Then it was Monday. Now its Sept. 29, much to the familys frustration. High school students return Oct. 1.

I think that all the students are really, really at a disservice right now  because of the uncertainty, because of the lack of in-person instruction, said DAmato, 35, a public relations manager who lives in Brooklyn.

She wondered why the city is still grappling with the staffing shortages cited for the latest delay after having months to plan, and how likely it is that the extra days will solve the problem.

I cant see how theyre going to fix the issue in a week, and Ill be very upset if then they push it again, she said, because this kid needs to be in school already.

De Blasio announced the new timeline Thursday alongside leaders of the citys teachers union, who had sounded alarms that schools could not open safely.

De Blasio said Monday he was confident the new dates would stick.

The majority of the more than 1 million public school students will be in the classroom one to three days a week and learning remotely the rest of the time.

Before the latest delay, teacher Chloe Davis had spent last week bracing to welcome her fourth-grade class at P.S. 536, reassured on one level upon seeing the newly cleaned and painted building but so anxious at times she broke down crying. Chief among her worries is keeping her students from picking up the virus and bringing it home to their families.

Four or five months ago, thousands of people were dying, said Davis, who takes the subway to her school in the Bronx, and the pandemic is still around. The virus is still there and were still in the midst of a pandemic.

The rate of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations plunged after an April peak and has largely flattened this summer across the state: New York has seen an average of 1% of daily tests coming up positive since June.

Still, New York City has seen a slight tick up in hospitalizations and infections this month.

An average of 223 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in New York City over the week ending Wednesday, up from 195 in the same time period two weeks earlier.

And New York City has seen an average of 289 new infections over the past week, up from a seven-day average of 262 three weeks earlier.

The city reported another 4,400 positive COVID-19 tests so far this month, on top of another 9,000 in August.

Daniel Leviatin, a fourth grade teacher and school librarian at P.S. 59 in the Bronx, sees no reason to push students back into buildings and believes the city squandered the chance to address technology issues and improve distance learning over the summer.

Every single moment of the planning of this and the way its been unrolled, is a mess, Leviatin said.

He and Davis said they know other large districts will be watching to see what happens when the students finally return.

You know how at hospitals and things, theyll do research and theyll pay the participants? Davis said. I feel like Im like part of that, but I didnt sign up for it.

___

Associated Press writers Marina Villeneuve in Albany and Karen Matthews in New York City contributed to this report.
Masks for Everyone by Dony

So far, the garment factory has supplied its reusable safety mask and its medical protective clothing to more than 50 countries across the world including the US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.

So far, the garment factory has supplied its reusable safety mask and its medical protective clothing to more than 50 countries across the world including the US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.

Dony Compression Suit

DONY currently offers protective face masks and surgical protective COVID clothing or medical clothing that is disposable. The masks are antibacterial and made of cloth that is washable and reusable. The masks fulfill all necessary standards to provide customers with good quality. DONY's masks can also be produced for wholesale or bulk and can be branded with custom logos.

DONY currently offers protective face masks and surgical protective COVID clothing or medical clothing that is disposable. The masks are antibacterial and made of cloth that is washable and reusable. The masks fulfill all necessary standards to provide customers with good quality. DONY's masks can also be produced for wholesale or bulk and can be branded with custom logos.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The ongoing pandemic confronts the world with two different kinds of fights. Firstly, we have to fight a virus and secondly, we have to protect our economy from drowning. As we have not vaccine currently, the only way to stop the virus from spreading is by making use of measures such as social distancing and  just as important  wearing face masks.

Scientific studies have shown that wearing a face mask significantly reduces the number of droplets that reach the air while we speak. By wearing a face mask we can make sure that in case we are Covid-19 positive, we don't infect as easily as we do if we don't wear a mask. Thereby we increase safety for the people around us.

Another advantage: The lower the infection rates are better for our economy as the past lockdown measures have been damaging to a high number of businesses.

However, some companies have come up with clever ways to help businesses as well as the health and social welfare sector by providing good, reliable safety products.

The company DONY Garment is constantly working on effective measures to prevent the disease from spreading and to protect everyone's health. The products have gone through a lot of tests and the high quality has been acknowledged by numerous clients.

Story continues

So far, the garment factory has supplied its reusable safety mask and its medical protective clothing to more than 50 countries across the world including the US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.

Being based in Vietnam, the company has provided six continents with protection garments for Corona and has become a big player on the global market.

"There are many mask manufacturers in Vietnam but not all the factories follow international standards. The reason why we chose Dony mask is that they fulfill Japan's market needs and their manufacturing system meets our standard," said Nicolas Jo, Founder, and CEO of JJFT, a fashion, and textile group.

With numerous companies offering products that do not fulfill the safety requirements it is of high importance to make sure the safety products are tested efficiently. DONY's products have received quality and safety certificates from various nations such as Vietnam, France, Germany, the US, and many more.

The safety masks meet the necessary standards of the REACH Certificate of Compliance in Germany, which proves that the products are compliant with the EU REACH regulations. Moreover, the masks meet the standards for protecting public health from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA). The products are CE certified, cheap, and easy to transport to other countries.

DONY currently offers protective face masks and surgical protective COVID clothing or medical clothing that is disposable. The masks are antibacterial and made of cloth that is washable and reusable. The masks fulfill all necessary standards to provide customers with good quality. DONY's masks can also be produced for wholesale or bulk and can be branded with custom logos.

In addition to the masks, DONY also produces personal protective equipment (PPE) that protects from microbial infection, diseases, chemicals, or heat while being ventilated and comfortable. The gowns are designed in a way that makes them easy to wear while offering safety and protection for health workers. There are two types of protective clothing: A simple isolation gown and the protective coverall, which comes with a hood and protection cover for the shoes.

On the evening of 5th June 2020, Dony Garment Company and other Vietnamese enterprises have donated medical supplies to the USs people.

At the Ceremony of Offering Medical Materials to the United States, Dony presented 100,000 antibacterial gauze masks worth more than VND 10.5 billion. Overcoming many businesses that have signed up to give antibacterial masks, through testing, only Dony Mask has met the quality standards for use in the US.

It's a big honor for Dony. Dony Mask is the only available reusable face mask that successfully passes through multiple quality checks, to be accepted for use in the U.S finally.

We are inviting BSCI (social responsibility assessment organization) experts to assist in getting international certification. This is the talisman for Dony to step out into the world, reach high-end customers. Having more works, workers' life will be more secure - said Mr. Pham Quang Anh, CEO of Dony Garment Company.



More information about Dony Garment at http://garment.dony.vn/

Contact: Henry Pham +84985310123

News via: Brand Story by Kisspr.com Press Release

Attachments




HONG KONG, SHANGHAI and LUXEMBOURG, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter "Ping An" or the "Group", HKEX: 2318; SSE: 601318) is pleased to announce that its offshore investment platform, Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. ("PAAMC HK" or the "Company"), has launched its first UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) umbrella fund.

Ping An of China Asset Management Fund (the "Fund")[1], together with its four key Sub-Funds, are domiciled in Luxembourg. It plans to apply for mutual recognition by Securities and Futures Commission for public offering in Hong Kong.

The Fund's investment strategy builds on Ping An's 20+-year track record of successful investment in China equity and fixed income markets. The Fund uses PAAMC HK's systematic, quantitative and scientific investment methodologies to offer global investors a wide range of investment opportunities in China with flexibility and efficiency.

Each of the four Sub-Funds managed by PAAMC HK has a unique investment objective and strategy:

China A-Shares AI Multi-Factor Fund

This Sub-Fund employs multi-factor models to construct a well-diversified equity portfolio. It uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for stock selection and portfolio optimization. It aims to achieve stable excess returns above the benchmark China Securities Index (CSI) 300 Total Return Index. In addition to applying common factors in the market, Ping An's AI quantitative researchers have developed proprietary factors to enhance its performance and to reduce correlations with other quantitative funds.

China Green Bond Fund

This Sub-Fund mainly invests in China and emerging markets green bonds that are aligned with international standards to promote green financing and to advance environmentally friendly investments and social awareness in China and other emerging countries. Bolstered by strong domestic economic recovery and policy support, China green bonds not only help investors capture China's green opportunities, but also mitigate risk due to its low correlations to other major asset classes.

China High-Yield Private Strategy Bond Fund

This Sub-Fund aims to achieve absolute return from investment income and long-term capital appreciation, primarily investing in high-yield corporate bonds and debt securities. It may also invest in debt securities issued by sovereign, government agencies and/or companies having main operations in mainland China.

Emerging Market Income Fund

This Sub-Fund is designed to achieve absolute return from income and long-term capital appreciation by investing at least 60% of its net assets in debt securities issued by sovereign, government agencies and/or companies having main operations in emerging market countries.

Hoi Tung, Ping An Group Investment Committee Member and Chairman & CEO of Ping An Overseas Holdings, said, "Leveraging the strength of Ping An's investment expertise in China, this new UCITS vehicle provides global investors the opportunity to invest in China's equity and fixed income markets. We look forward to launching more products and services that meet global investor demands."

Chi Kit Chai, Head of Capital Markets and Chief Investment Officer, Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong), said, "Capitalizing on the geographic advantage of Hong Kong, PAAMC HK connects mainland China with the rest of the world. We are committed to help our onshore Chinese clients to invest globally and our global clients to invest in China. Currently, we are seeing strong growth in demand for Chinese assets, as China can provide both pickup in yields and portfolio diversification. We are very excited to broaden our offering to include our first UCITS fund, which provides our global clients access to opportunities to invest in China."

[1] The Fund is not authorized by the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong. It is not publicly offered in Hong Kong.

About Ping An Group

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. ("Ping An") is a world-leading technology-powered retail financial services group. With over 210 million retail customers and 560 million Internet users, Ping An is one of the largest financial services companies in the world.

Ping An has two over-arching strategies, "pan financial assets" and "pan health care", which focus on the provision of financial and healthcare services through our integrated financial services platform and our five ecosystems of financial services, health care, auto services, real estate services and smart city services. Our "finance + technology" and "finance + ecosystem" strategies aim to provide customers and internet users with innovative and simple products and services using technology. As China's first joint stock insurance company, Ping An is committed to upholding the highest standards of corporate reporting and corporate governance. The Group is listed on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

In 2020, Ping An ranked 7th in the Forbes Global 2000 list and ranked 21st in the Fortune Global 500 list. Ping An also ranked 38th in the 2020 WPP Kantar Millward Brown BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list. For more information, please visit www.pingan.cn.

About Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong)

Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. was established in 2006. It is a direct subsidiary of China Ping An Insurance Overseas (Holdings) Limited and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (2318.HK and 601318.SH). It is licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong to conduct Type 1 (Dealing in Securities), Type 4 (Securities Consultation) and Type 9 (Asset Management) regulated activities. With strong capabilities in investment research and asset management, PAAMC HK is a leading provider of global investment management solutions in equities, fixed income, ETFs, structured products and alternative assets. For more information, please visit asset.pingan.com.hk.

SOURCE Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

Related Links

www.pingan.cn


Fifty-six former prime ministers, presidents, foreign ministers and defense ministers from 20 NATO countries, plus Japan and South Korea, released an open letter Sunday imploring their current leaders to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the pact negotiated in 2017 that is now just six ratifications shy of the 50 needed to take effect.

The letter, released on the eve of the United Nations 75th anniversary commemoration at the annual General Assembly, asserted that the risks of nuclear-weapons use have escalated in recent years whether by accident, miscalculation or design.

Pointing to the coronavirus pandemic  which U.N. officials have called the greatest challenge in the organizations history  the letter writers said, We must not sleepwalk into a crisis of even greater proportions than the one we have experienced this year.

The signers included former prime ministers of Canada, Japan, Italy and Poland; former presidents of Albania, Poland and Slovenia; more than two dozen former foreign ministers; and more than a dozen former defense ministers. Two of the signers are former secretaries-general of NATO: Javier Solana of Spain and Willy Claes of Belgium. Ban Ki-moon, the former secretary-general of the United Nations and a former foreign minister of South Korea, also signed.
Senator Kelly Loeffler, a Georgia Republican in a tough fight to win the seat to which she was appointed in 2019, raced after Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburgs death on Friday to declare that she would back President Trump in filling the Supreme Court seat just weeks before Americans went to the polls. And she wanted voters to know that she didnt hesitate.

As the first U.S. senator to call for a nomination, I look forward to supporting a strict constructionist who will protect the right to life, defend the Second Amendment, fight for religious freedom and safeguard our values, Ms. Loeffler wrote in a fund-raising message sent to her supporters on Friday night.

Ms. Loeffler might have been the first endangered Republican to embrace Mr. Trumps nomination in the hopes that it could bolster a struggling campaign  but she certainly wasnt the last. Senators Martha McSally of Arizona and Thom Tillis of North Carolina quickly followed suit, in an indication of just how profoundly the coming Supreme Court confirmation fight could scramble an already intense battle for control of the Senate.

The intensifying struggle over replacing Justice Ginsburg has thrown a volatile new element into the already intense battle for the Senate, increasing uncertainty about the outcome. Though it is hard to predict exactly how the fight will play out in the dozen or so races that will determine who holds the Senate majority, both sides are intent on using the process to their advantage.
/NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT./

This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus for the purposes of the Prospectus Regulation Rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") or otherwise and is not an offer of securities for sale in any jurisdiction, including in or into Canada, the United States, Australia, Japan or South Africa.

Neither this announcement, nor anything contained herein, shall form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any offer or commitment whatsoever in any jurisdiction. Investors should not purchase any common shares (the "Shares") referred to in this announcement except solely on the basis of information in a prospectus in its final form (the "Prospectus"), including the risk factors set out therein, that may be published by Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (the "Company", and together with its subsidiaries, "Wheaton"), in due course in connection with the proposed listing of its Shares on the standard listing segment of the Official List of the FCA and admission to trading on the main market for listed securities of London Stock Exchange plc ("LSE"). A copy of any Prospectus published by the Company will, if approved and published, be available for inspection on Wheaton's website at www.wheatonpm.com subject to certain access restrictions.

TSX: WPM

NYSE: WPM

DESIGNATED NEWS RELEASE

VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. ("Wheaton" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its intention to seek the listing of its Shares on the standard listing segment of the Official List of the FCA and admission to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange ("Admission"). This secondary listing is part of Wheaton's growth strategy and brings one of the world's largest precious metal streaming companies to the London Stock Exchange ("LSE"). Subject to required regulatory approvals from the FCA and the LSE, including publication of a Prospectus, the Company intends to seek Admission during Q4 2020.

"As a leader in the precious metals sector, Wheaton is excited to take our place amongst the largest mining companies globally on the London Stock Exchange. Wheaton is one of the world's largest precious metals streaming companies, providing investors a unique and sustainable proposition with some of the highest margins in the mining industry and exposure to a high-quality portfolio of assets. As a result, the Company has consistently outperformed gold and silver historically, as well as most other traditional mining investments," said Randy Smallwood, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wheaton.

"We have a strong track record of distributing a large portion of our earnings as dividends while retaining the financial firepower to sustainably grow the Company through accretive acquisitions. The listing will complement our existing North American stock exchange listings, which have served us well over the years and supported our growth."

The Company is not intending to raise capital in conjunction with Admission and will be retaining its primary listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") and dual listing on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"), where it continues to trade under the ticker "WPM".

Reasons for the LSE Listing

Wheaton considers that Admission to trading on the main market of the LSE, in addition to the Company's current TSX and NYSE listings, will enhance the Company's access to the pools of equity capital available in the United Kingdom and key financial centres in the EMEA region.

This proposed listing will support the Company's plans for growth and brings the first senior precious metal streaming company to the LSE.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

Wheaton is a streaming company, which generates its revenue primarily from the sale of precious metals. The Company enters into precious metal purchase agreements to purchase all, or a portion, of the precious metals production from mines located around the world for an upfront payment and an additional payment upon the delivery of the precious metal.

The Company's business model offers investors commodity price leverage and exploration upside but with a much lower risk profile than a traditional mining company. Wheaton delivers amongst the highest cash operating margins in the mining industry, allowing it to pay a competitive dividend and continue to grow through accretive acquisitions.

Key Company Highlights:

Wheaton provides investors with the upside associated with mining companies but with a much lower risk profile, more comparable to owning bullion or ETFs directly.

Wheaton has consistently outperformed gold and silver, as well as other mining investments. 1

As of today, the Company has entered into 23 long-term purchase agreements with 17 different mining companies for the purchase of precious metals and cobalt relating to 20 mining assets which are currently operating, and nine which are at various stages of development, as well as one in care and maintenance, located across 11 countries.

Wheaton acquires metal production from the counterparties for an initial upfront payment plus an additional cash payment for each ounce or pound delivered which is fixed by contract, generally at or below the prevailing market price.

In 2019, 73% of Wheaton's production came from assets that fall in the lowest cost quartile. 2

The Company recently reported record half year results for the six month period ended June 30, 2020 , which included:

, which included: record revenues of over US$500 million ;

;

nearly US$330 million in operating cash flow;

in operating cash flow;

a record 322,000 gold equivalent ounces sold 3 ;

;

average cash costs in the period were US$418 per gold equivalent ounce, resulting in a cash operating margin of US$1,170 per gold equivalent ounce sold 3 .

per gold equivalent ounce, resulting in a cash operating margin of per gold equivalent ounce sold . Wheaton is a leader in sustainability amongst the streaming and royalty companies having joined the UN Global Compact in 2019 and maintaining a dedicated support program for local communities around the mines from which the Company receives metals.

For further information on Wheaton and precious metal streaming, refer to the Company's corporate presentation at www.wheatonpm.com

Appointment of Corporate Brokers, Public Relations and Legal Advisors

Wheaton has retained Tavistock Communications Ltd. to provide public relations services in the UK. The Company has engaged Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG and Peel Hunt LLP as joint UK corporate brokers and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP as its legal advisors.

For further information, please contact:



Patrick Drouin

Senior Vice President, Investor Relations

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.

Tel: 1-844-288-9878

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.wheatonpm.com



UK PUBLIC RELATIONS



Tavistock +44 (0) 207 920 3150 / +44 778 597 4264

Jos Simson [email protected]

Gareth Tredway

Annabel de Morgan



UK CORPORATE BROKERS



Berenberg +44 (0) 203 207 7800

Matthew Armitt

Jennifer Wyllie

Detlir Elezi



Peel Hunt +44 (0) 207 418 8900

Ross Allister

Alexander Allen

David McKeown



CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING-STATEMENTS

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation concerning the business, operations and financial performance of Wheaton and, in some instances, the business, mining operations and performance of Wheaton's precious metal purchase agreements counterparties. Forward-looking statements, which are all statements other than statements of historical fact, include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the intention to publish a Prospectus and pursue admission to the Official List (Standard Segment) of the FCA and on the LSE's Main Market . Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "projects", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", "potential", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Wheaton to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to risks associated with publishing a Prospectus and a successful admission to the Official List (Standard Segment) of the FCA and listing on the LSE's Main Market, and other risks discussed in the section entitled "Description of the Business  Risk Factors" in Wheaton's Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, Wheaton's Form 40-F for the year ended December 31, 2019 and Form 6-K filed March 11, 2020 both on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. and Wheaton's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2020 available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and Form 6-K filed May 7, 2020 (the "Disclosure"). Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management currently believes to be reasonable, , of the FCA and including (without limitation): subject to regulatory approvals, the publication and approval of a Prospectus, successful admission to the Official List of the FCA (Standard Segment) and listing on LSE's Main Market , and such other assumptions and factors as set out in the Disclosure. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and even if events or results described in the forward-looking statements are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Wheaton. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and are cautioned that actual outcomes may vary. The forward-looking statements included herein are for the purpose of providing readers with information to assist them in understanding Wheaton's expected financial and operational performance and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, reflects Wheaton's management's current beliefs based on current information and will not be updated except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Although Wheaton has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in forwardlooking statements, there may be other factors that cause results, level of activity, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance.

End Notes __________________________________ 1 Wheaton Precious Metals' Total Return from 2005 to September 3, 2020, averaged over various time horizons versus gold, silver, the Philadelphia gold and silver index (XAU) and the Van Eck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) over the same period. Data from Factset includes dividend payment. 2 Company reports & Wood Mackenzie est. of 2019 byproduct cost curves for gold, zinc/lead, copper, PGM, nickel & silver mines. Production assume Gold $1600/oz, Silver $18/oz, Palladium $2000/oz and Cobalt $16/lb. 3 Gold equivalent ounces for actual production and sales are calculated by converting silver and palladium to a gold equivalent using the following commodity prices: Gold $1600/oz, Silver $18/oz, Palladium $2000/oz and Cobalt $16/lb.

SOURCE Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.

Related Links

http://www.silverwheaton.com/


A former Victorian minister in Daniel Andrews' government has claimed his former boss imposed a curfew because he didn't understand working class voters.

Adem Somyurek has spoken out for the first time since he was sacked in June as the minister for local government and small business, following a 60 Minutes expose on his alleged Labor branch stacking.

The Turkish-born former Right faction party powerbroker compared the Premier to China's Communist Party and said Mr Andrews didn't understand how working class people often went outside after dark - despite being the leader of the Labor Party.

'To Andrews the curfew was a trifling thing: "Why would anyone want to go out after 8pm  you can't go to Coles or a jog so what is the problem?" He could not understand the fuss,' Mr Somyurek said in an opinion piece for The Australian.

A former Victorian minister in Daniel Andrews' government has claimed his former boss imposed a curfew because he doesn't understand working class voters. Pictured is South Yarra during the curfew

Adem Somyurek has spoken out for the first time since he was sacked in June as the minister for local government and small business, following a 60 Minutes expose on alleged Labor branch stacking. He is pictured outside his Melbourne house in June

'In Andrews' world of middle-class suburban domestic bliss by 8pm everyone should be tucked up in bed.'

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

Melbourne's five million residents have since August 2 been subjected to an 8pm to 5am curfew with fines of $1,652 if they are outside during those hours, in a bid to reduce active COVID-19 cases.

Victoria's Chief Medical Officer Brett Sutton earlier this month revealed the curfew wasn't his idea while the state's Police Commissioner Shane Patton admitted his force was only given a 'couple of hours' notice of the policy.

Mr Somyurek said Mr Andrews, after the hotel quarantining fiasco, became a more authoritarian leader who sidelined his ministers, including those with 'intimate knowledge of their portfolios'.

'Decision-making was centralised around the Premier, his private office and his department; department secretaries began reporting directly to the Premier as ministers were sidelined and the government began to operate in silos,' Mr Somyurek said.

Mr Somyurek said Mr Andrews, who hails from Labor's Socialist Left faction, had little regard for the economic cost of his Stage Four lockdowns.

'The loss of civil rights and economic damage are just collateral damage,' he said.

'The government has encroached on our lives in ways unimaginable only a few months ago.'

Mr Somyurek even said Mr Andrews was verging on emulating the Chinese Communist Party's draconian approach to tackling coronavirus in Wuhan.

'If Andrews removes his rose-coloured glasses to look at China, he will see what contempt for civil liberties looks like,' he said.

The Turkish-born former Right-faction powerbroker said Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) didn't understand how working class people often went outside after dark - despite being the leader of the Labor Party

The Institute of Public Affairs, a free market think tank, estimated the Stage Four lockdowns would cost the Victorian economy $3.17billion a week.

By that calculation, six weeks of lockdown would cost the equivalent of Victoria's $17.7billion annual commonwealth allocation from the Goods and Services Tax proceeds.

Mr Somyurek said Mr Andrews was an initially a consultative minister during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That changed in June after the decision to use private security firms to guard quarantine hotels resulted in new outbreaks of the virus in the city's north and west.

This led to the Premier centralising power and decision-making in his office rather than debating the proposal Stage Four lockdowns with his cabinet ministers.

Victoria's 761 deaths from coronavirus comprise 89.63 per cent of Australia's 849 fatalities.

Mr Somyurek said the Premier did not understand how anyone would want to go to Coles after 8pm. Pictured is a Coles supermarket at Chadstone in Melbourne's south-east

The state's 20,042 cases also make up almost three quarters, or 74.5 per cent, of the total national case numbers of 26,898.

Mr Andrews' Labor government won a landslide re-election victory in November 2018, picking up wealthy electorates in Melbourne's south-east that had traditionally voted Liberal, including the seats of Burwood and Hawthorn previously held by Coalition premiers Jeff Kennett and Ted Baillieu.

A Roy Morgan published last week showed a 5.8 per cent, two-party preferred swing away from the Labor Party, which would nonetheless see the government re-elected for a third consecutive term with a reduced majority.

ALP support stood at 51.5 per cent compared with 48.5 per cent for the Opposition, an SMS poll of 1,147 Victorians found.
Now more than ever, it is vital to support and promote American businesses, American workers, and American-made products. The President is looking forward to welcoming these great Patriots to the White House.

On Monday, October 5, 2020, Cruise Customs Flags will participate in the fourth annual Made in America Product Showcase at the White House. Over the past four years, President Trump has proudly championed products made right here in the USA, Special Assistant to the President John Horstman said. Now more than ever, it is vital to support and promote American businesses, American workers, and American-made products. The President is looking forward to welcoming these great Patriots to the White House.

Beginning with a passion for the American flag and all that it symbolizes, Cruise Customs Flags uses repurposed Kentucky bourbon barrels to create custom flags. While many of the products at Cruise Customs are repurposed, ALL the products are hand-crafted by veterans from the military. U.S. Military veteran and Co-owner Chris Cruise and wife Amber give the team members a new purpose, just as the bourbon barrels find new purpose in their products.

Established in 2017, Chris Cruise understands the value of patriotism. Combining his wifes Kentucky roots and his own veteran background, the company was conceived when Chris was inspired to build a flag for their own home. As they gifted flags to close friends and family, the company continued to gain media attention in 2018. Rapidly expanding over the past two years, Cruise Customs Flags now includes apparel and accessories as part of their product line, in addition to their popular bourbon barrel flags.

Part of the mission at Cruise Customs Flags is giving back to the community. In an effort to make their own backyard a better place, Cruise has partnered with Norton Childrens Hospital Cancer Institutes Young Adults and Adolescent art therapy class. Also, they recently raised $70,000 for medical frontline heroes at Norton Healthcare and U of L Health during the COVID-19 pandemic, using profits from the America  One Heartbeat flag, as seen on Fox and Friends in late August.

Businesses from each of the 50 states have been invited to display their American-made products at the White House in Washington, D.C. Cruise Customs Flags plans to showcase their Veteran Hand-Crafted Bourbon Barrel American Flags, Apparel, & Accessories during the event.
Harvard Business School graduates

Harvard MBA Explains How To Make A Career Switch

An MBA, for many, can act as a ticket to a new career.

Career switchers often pursue an MBA degree in order to switch industries or disciplines.

I think the MBA is a great way to get an introduction generally to business, Idie Kesner, Dean of the Kelley School of Business, tells P&Q. You get a chance to explore a variety of different functional areas, sometimes without the deep dive that you would necessarily get in an MS program, a customized or specialized MS program. And when youre changing your career, you need that breadth of perspective.

A former engineering manager at Etsy, Adam Palay, wholl be earning his MBA from Harvard Business School in 2021, recently offered a few pieces of advice for career switchers pursuing an MBA in a blog post for Harvard Business Schools MBA Voices.

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Palay, who joined the MS/MBA Engineering Sciences Program, wanted to learn about how entrepreneurs and investors are coming up with solutions to climate change.

Yet, Palay recalls not having much experience or knowledge of climate change. He tells MBA Voices that he was a career-switcher coming in from scratch; I didnt know the industry terminology or how the energy grid worked, let alone the organizations and roles I should target.

So Palay did his research and attended Career & Professional Development (CPD) industry education programs, company presentations, and company conversation events in pursuit of the right internship for his goals.

Hearing what companies had to say about their business and their impact gave me a sense of what I could learn in an internship, Adam tells MBA Voices. Those observations helped me focus my internship interests and inform my search strategy.

Palay ultimately landed an internship in VC as a Portfolio Greenhouse Gas Impact Analysis Intern at Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV).

UTILIZE SCHOOL RESOURCES & NETWORK

Story continues

Palay also highlights how helpful the resources and wider alumni network at HBS were in helping him career switch.

Through the Schools Business & Environment Initiative, which runs a mentorship program connecting students with alumni, I was able to speak to alumni in venture and at technology start-ups that have an environmental impact, Palay tells MBA Voices. Those conversations shed light on the different career paths in venture and cleantech, which proved valuable as I prepared to discuss my transferable skillset in interviews.

Ultimately, Palay says, the MBA path is a journey that can open doors to new paths, careers, and findings.

When I came to business school and this journey started, I didnt know exactly what I wanted to do, and that is completely okay, he tells MBA Voices. I knew HBS would open a lot of doors, but I didnt know just how many different doors there were out there; Im glad I took the time to figure things out.

Sources: HBS MBA Voices, P&Q

How COVID Is Impacting The Big 4 Firms

An estimated 42% of workers who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 will not return to their previous jobs. Additionally, according to a recent study, for every 10 COVID layoffs, only three new jobs are created in place.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly every organization, including the Big 4 firms: Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young, and KPMG.

Samantha Stokes, of Business Insider, recently spoke to experts on why the Big 4 might be hiring fewer MBAs and why networking will be critical to landing a full-time job.

COVID Job Market

At the start of the pandemic in March, we reported how big MBA recruiters such as Adobe, Visa and Wipro had announced hiring freezes.

Most recently, according to the Wall Street Journal, PwC announced that it would be pausing some its fall recruiting efforts.

A study by RelishCareers found that 36% of 2021 MBA candidates have had job offers and internships rescinded or changed due to the pandemic.

Experts say that with fewer Big 4 employees leaving firms on their own, the Big 4 will have two options: lay people off or hire less.

Theres a chance the Big 4 wont need to hire as much next year due to attrition, Jeramy Kaiman, head of western US recruiting at the Adecco Group and Accounting Principals, tells Business Insider. If students have some apprehension about finding a job they want in the coming year, it may make sense to extend their time in school to make them more marketable not just at the entry-level, but also as they ascent through their careers.

NETWORKING

Experts stress the increased importance of networking to make connections and, ultimately, land a full-time job.

Heather Byrne, managing director of the career development office at the University of Michigans Ross School of Business, compares todays COVID market to that of the financial crisis.

During the financial crisis, some firms realized they were left with not enough talent when the market got better, so we are seeing firms be cautious but also being ready to pivot when they need to, Byrne tells Business Insider. We are encouraging students to keep networking, so they, too, will be ready for the rebound and be able to quickly pick up with existing relationships.

Sources: Business Insider, La Salle University, P&Q, Wall Street Journal, P&Q

Cartoon image of a man wearing a suit looking up at a stack of resumes that is taller than he is.

Tips For MBA Resumes

The MBA resume is a critical. In the application, it acts as a summary of your work, volunteer experience, and education.

Your MBA resume is also usually the first thing the admissions committee will look at, and serves as an introduction to you; so its imperative to make a lasting, positive impression, Linda Abraham, founder of Accepted Admissions Consulting, writes for P&Q.

But what exactly makes for a good MBA resume? Stacy Blackman, of Stacy Blackman Consulting, recently outlined a few critical elements applicants should include in their MBA resumes.

CAREER PROGRESSION

Blackman stresses the importance of showing career progression in your MBA resume by highlighting promotions or demonstrating how youve grown your skillset in a new job.

For example, if you have worked for the same company for five years but received two promotions, you should highlight all three job titles, with separate dates of employment and descriptions, Blackman writes. Those descriptions should reflect increasing levels of responsibility.

LEADERSHIP

A foundation of leadership is important to MBA admissions officers. Blackman recommends applicants to highlight examples of times when they demonstrated leadership in their MBA resume.

Show when you united people behind a common goal, made use of others talents and abilities, instilled a vision, challenged the status quo, identified a new problem, or prioritized the needs of the organization above personal needs, Blackman writes.

QUANTIFY RESULTS

To make your experiences even more compelling, Blackman recommends that applicants quantify results whenever possible.

By giving the reader a number, you provide them with the chance to see just what kind of leader you were and will be, Blackman writes.

Sources: Stacy Blackman Consulting, P&Q

The post Harvard MBA Explains How To Make A Career Switch appeared first on Poets&Quants.
The Monday stayed former minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati's interim bail, granted for two months on medical grounds by the Allahabad High Court, in a case.

The Lucknow bench of the on September 3 had granted the interim bail to Prajapati who was a minister in the erstwhile Samajwadi Party government.

Despite the high court bail, Prajapati remained in judicial custody as a fresh case of fraud, forgery and criminal intimidation was registered against him.

A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah took note of the plea of the government and stayed the high court's bail order and sought response of the accused leader on the petition.

The state government, in its appeal, said that the "High Court has erroneously granted a short-term bail of two months to the Respondent accused in a POCSO case solely on medical grounds ignoring that the accused has throughout been treated in premier medical Institutes KGMC / SG-PGI, also specially when the regular bail application of the Respondent has already been fixed for hearing in the week commencing September 28".

It said the accused was a "very prominent Minister in the erstwhile government and wielded considerable influence in the environs of powers".

The political position of the accused was so dominating that the FIR against him was registered only after the victim approached the Supreme Court, the UP government said.

The high court, while granting the bail, had said the threat to the ex-minister from COVID-19 was real and imminent and he has been asked by doctors to get treated at a super-specialty hospital as he was suffering from various diseases.

Prajapati is in jail since March 15, 2017 and is currently undergoing treatment for various ailments at KGMU.

He, along with others, is accused of raping a woman and attempting to molest her minor daughter



The case was lodged with Gautampalli police station in 2017 and later, Prajapati was arrested and sent to jail on March 15, 2017.

He was earlier granted bail by a sessions court in the case but it was cancelled by the high court before his release from jail.

(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.)
Terrorist activities, as well as stone pelting cases, have reduced significantly in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) said on Monday. It also said that killing of civilians in terror-related incidents and deaths of security personnel have also gone down in the same period.

In reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for home affairs G Kishan Reddy said that the government has shown a zero tolerance policy towards terrorism and resorted to strengthening security apparatus. Reddy said that the government has ensured strict enforcement of law against anti-national elements, and increased cordon and search operations to combat challenges from terrorist organisations.

According to the data shared by the minister, the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir saw 206 incidents of terrorism from August 5 last year (when Article 370 was abrogated) to August 31 this year - in contrast with 443 such incidents recorded from July 2018 to August 2019.

During the same period in the last one year, the MHA said 310 stone pelting incidents were recorded, as opposed to 703 such incidents between 2018 and 2019.

While civilians killed in terror-related incidents have not seen a significant reduction, the ministry also shared data showing slump in casualties among security forces in terrorist incidents.

It said that 49 security personnel were killed in 2019-2020 as opposed to 125 security personnel a year before.

Also, in the 2018-2019 period, 54 civilians were killed in Jammu and Kashmir in terrorist incidents. The number came down to 45 in 2019-2020, said the Union minister.

Reddy also listed measures taken by the government to bring down incidents of terrorism. While keeping a close watch on persons who attempt to provide support to terrorists and initiating action against them, other steps by Law enforcing agencies include enhanced interaction between police and public at various levels, sharing of intelligence inputs on real time basis amongst all security forces operating in Jammu and Kashmir, intensified area domination of militancy affected areas by deployment of additional Nakas and patrolling by security forces etc, he said.
To fill your homes with blueberries, sunflowers and almonds, farmers rent honeybees. When all goes well, the bees pollinate the flowers, resulting in ample yields. But sometimes the rental bees buzz off and pollinate wildflowers instead.

The problem is a matter of timing. For a hive to pollinate crops well, it needs to be settled and happy in its environment. That means it should be placed on a farm before the crop blooms. But when crops flower later than farmers expect them to, rental bees may develop a predilection for nectar from wildflowers near the fields  and ignore the crops.

Walter M. Farina, a biologist at the University of Buenos Aires, and his colleagues have figured out a solution to this problem involving scent, which they reported on Thursday in the journal Current Biology.

Dr. Farina knew from previous work that hives remember the scents of food collected in the past. Most importantly, he knew that these memories could bias where bees forage.
The musket fire echoed across the rolling hills of northern Berks County on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 20, in tribute to patriots who supported the American Revolution.

Wearing blue coats, white breeches and tri-cornered hats, a Sons of the American Revolution color guard fired three volleys over 18th century gravestones in the cemetery at Salem Bellemans Church in Centre Township.

At least 19 who fought in the Revolution are buried in the cemetery atop a bluff along Bellemans Church Road.

Eric Troutman, past president of the Gov. Joseph Hiester SAR Chapter in Berks, recalled the service and sacrifice of those who fought in or supported the cause of the rebellious colonists.

If they hadnt stuck their necks out in the 1770s, he said, we wouldnt be free of the yoke of the King of England.

The Allegiance Sunday ceremony marked the memory of German colonists in Berks County in 1778 who signed an oath of allegiance to the fledgling government.

Special tribute was paid to Valentin (Valentine) Himmelberger, a German immigrant who signed the oath.

Peter Himmelberger, who is a grandson of Valentin five generations removed, laid red-white-and-blue wreaths and unveiled a SAR Patriot marker on the grave.

Himmelberger, a resident of Fairfax, Va., organized the tribute to his ancestor.

He spent about 30 years researching the familys history, but the location of Valentins grave had eluded him. In 2012, Berks County photographer Fred Paul found Valentins grave marker half submerged in the graveyard.

Valentin had nine children, most of whom stayed in this area, said Himmelberger, who grew up in Hereford Township. The clan is pretty well established here.

Himmelberger is a member of the Fairfax Resolves, a Virginia SAR chapter, which had several members in the color guard.

More than 100 people, many of them descendants of American Revolution patriots, gathered in the cemetery.

Charles Himmelberger of Tilden Township, also a descendant of Valentin Himmelberger, marveled at how the family stayed close to its Berks County roots for three centuries.

I wonder if they settled here because it reminded them of their home in Germany, said Himmelberger, 71, a retired electrical engineer.

Charles Himmelbergers sons, Jason and Joshua, accompanied him to the service.

We didnt move very far. Were still here, said Jason, 49, a Bucks County banker. Home has a strong pull.

Linda Hess Swearingen and her husband, Donald, drove 14 hours from western Kentucky to attend the service. She brought her mother, Daisy Loose Hess, a former Berks County resident now living in Lancaster County.

We were married in Bellemans Church in 1974, said Swearingen, dressed in a Polonaise outfit typical of the late 1770s.

If it werent for these patriots, we wouldnt be here, she said. Were all standing on these fellows shoulders.

David T. Shultz, secretary of the Gov. Hiester chapter, led the assembly in a recessional psalm.

Amid gravestones of immigrants who carved a life out of a Berks County wilderness, they recited, Let us remember our obligations to our forefathers, who gave us our Constitution, Bill of Rights, an independent Supreme Court and a nation of free people.
India and the Maldives on Monday launched a cargo ferry service connecting Tuticorin and Cochin ports with Male with the aim of cutting costs and time taken to transport goods between the two countries.

The launch of the ferry service came a day after India provided a 10-year soft loan of $250 million to the government of the Maldives as budgetary support to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. India will subsidise the ferry service in its initial stage with $3 million, officials said.

The maiden voyage of the ferry service was launched during a virtual ceremony by Indias minister of state for shipping Mansukh Mandaviya and the Maldives minister of transport and civil aviation Aishath Nahula. The ceremony was joined by representatives of Tuticorin and Cochin ports and officials of the Maldives Ports Limited and the foreign ministry of the Maldives.

The cargo vessel MCP Linz, operated by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), will travel from Tuticorin to Cochin and then to Kulhudhuhfushi port in the north of the Indian Ocean archipelago on September 26 before making its way to Male on September 28.

The vessel can carry 380 TEUs and 3,000 metric tonnes on bulk cargo. The turnaround time for voyages will be 10 to 12 days and the service will operate twice a month. This vessel provides direct cargo connectivity between India and the Maldives on a predictable and affordable basis for the first time, and will lower costs and times for traders in both countries, the Indian mission in Male said in a statement.

Officials said the ferry service is aimed at upgrading the trade partnership and improving logistics on both sides. Though the two sides have traded for centuries, India is currently only the fourth largest trading partner of the Maldives, after the UAE, China and Singapore.

Alongside the expansion of Hanimaadhoo airport through an Indian line of credit, connectivity to the northern port of Kulhudhuhfushi through the cargo ferry service will underpin the economic development of northern Maldives and facilitate investments in tourism and other sectors, said an official who declined to be named.

Besides expanding the markets of medium and small-sized enterprises in India, the ferry service will give an opportunity to Maldivian exporters of tuna and other marine products to enter the Indian market and explore the possibility of sending their goods to Europe via Cochin and Tuticorin ports, officials said.

The two sides had signed a memorandum of understanding on the ferry service during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the Maldives in June 2019. In his address to the Majlis or Parliament during that visit, Modi had announced Indias commitment to start the ferry service.

A team from SCI visited the Maldives in July last year for preliminary studies and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) carried out a feasibility study on the cargo ferry service during March-April, which found Indias share of the 27 principal items imported by the Maldives was well below the potential.

The decision to launch the cargo ferry service between the two sides was announced during a virtual meeting between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and foreign minister Abdulla Shahid on August 13

The cargo ferry service also reflects the synergies between the neighbourhood first policy of the Indian government and the India first policy of the Maldives under the leadership of President Ibrahim Solih, the officials said.

Addressing the launch ceremony, Mandaviya said the ferry service will boost bilateral trade, provide a cost-effective alternate means for transporting goods, and help in ensuring food security in the Maldives. Nahula said the ferry service will decentralise economy activity and open a new corridor for commerce, development and tourism.
On top of its horrific record as the worlds largest state sponsor of terrorism, Iran has a lamentable history of providing only grudging, dilatory, and incomplete cooperation, if at all, with the IAEA. Iran must do more, much more, to ensure both timely and complete compliance with the safeguards obligations, he said.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

San Francisco police are investigating a series of sexual battery incidents that have occurred in recent months in the city's Sea Cliff neighborhood.

While investigators are actively working to identify the suspect and place him under arrest, police patrols have been increased in the area, said San Francisco Police Sgt. Shawn Mendez, a special victims investigator.
LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio  Voters in Lorain County will be voting on two out of three county commissioners, a prosecuting attorney and county recorder on November 3.

County Commissioners:

Two county commissioners are elected at the time of the presidential election and one at the time of the gubernatorial election, each serving four year terms, according to county election information.

The three individual commissioners serve the county at large.

Commissioners have responsibilities that include hearing and ruling on annexations, approving drainage improvements through the ditch petition process, establishing water and sewer districts and making improvements and providing for the disposal of solid waste.

Democrat incumbent Lori Kokoski, current president of the board of commissioners, is seeking re-election against Republican Michelle Hung.

Kokoski served for three consecutive terms as 8th ward councilwoman Lorain before being elected to county commissioner. Michelle Hung, Republican challenger for the commissioners seat, is an at-large council member.

Prosecuting attorney:

Incumbent Robert Gargasz, a Republican, will be facing Democrat J.D. Tomlinson for prosecuting attorney.

Gargasz was legal counsel for the Lorain Port Authority providing legal assistance and services to the executive director, board and staff.

From 1991 to present, he has been president and attorney-at-law for his own practice in Lorain.

Challenger, Democrat J.D. Tomlinson, graduated from Case Western Reserve University and opened his law practice as a trial lawyer. His interests as a prosecuting attorney include violent criminals, opioid dealers and their victims as well as wanting to reduce crime.

County Recorder:

Republican Mike Doran of North Ridgeville will face incumbent Democrat Judy Nedwick of Elyria. The county recorder is responsible for maintaining real property records in Lorain County. Documents recorded at the Lorain County Recorders Office include deeds, mortgages, liens, and land contracts among others.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Monday that the farm sector reform bills passed by Parliament were the need of 21st century India and again reassured farmers that the government purchase of their produce coupled with the minimum support price mechanism will continue.

With opposition parties vehemently criticising the legislations as "anti-farmers" and protests continuing in states like Punjab and Haryana, Modi again mounted a strong defence of these measures, saying farmers will now have the freedom to sell their produce at a place and price of their choice.

Attacking critics, he said a "clique" of people exploited farmers for long as they remained in shackles of rules regulating the sale of their produce and stated that this needed to change, which his government has done.

"After these historical changes in the agricultural sector, some people are losing their control of it. So now these people are trying to mislead farmers on MSP (minimum support price). They are the same people who sat for years on the recommendations of the Swaminathan committee on MSP," Modi said, in an apparent swipe at the Congress.

Describing the legislations as "very historic", the prime minister said if somebody says that government-regulated agriculture markets will be finished after these reforms, then he is "blatantly lying".

Noting that his government had brought the farm ordinances, which these legislations will replace, in June, he said farmers are already getting a better price for their produce in several states.

Modi made the comments at a virtual ceremony to lay foundation stones of nine highway projects in Bihar and to inaugurate optical fibre internet services through which all 45,945 villages in the state will be connected.

Seeking to dispel concerns among a section of farmers, he said he wanted to make it clear that the bills are not against agriculture 'mandis' (agricultural markets) and they will continue like they always have.

No government has done as much to boost MSP and government procurement of farmers' produce than his dispensation, the prime minister said.

During the coronavirus pandemic, a record purchase of wheat was made from farmers during the Rabi season, he said, adding that farmers were paid Rs 1.13 lakh crore at MSP for wheat, paddy, pulses and oilseeds.

The money is 30 per cent more than the last year, Modi said, asserting that the government lifted a record amount of grains amid the pandemic and also made a record payment to farmers.

Highlighting his government's efforts to boost MSP and the purchase of farm produce, he said their quantity in the last five years and the five years before 2014, when he first came to power, are a testimony to this.

"If I talk about pulses and oilseeds, then government procurement of pulses and oilseeds has been increased almost 24 times more than before," he said.

Two key farm bills, dubbed as the biggest reform in agriculture by the government, were on Sunday passed by Rajya Sabha with voice vote. The two bills were earlier cleared by Lok Sabha.

Modi likened the proposed changes in the farm sector to dairy business, saying as dairies help people rearing cattle to sell milk and take care of their interests, similar changes will happen in agriculture.

Noting that a majority of farmers have small landholdings, he said the changes will help them organise and get a better price of their produce.
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh called on Republicans to skip a confirmation hearing for whoever Donald Trump nominates to fill the Supreme Court Justice seat left open following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The long-time radio host called for the move during his show on Monday.

"I want the Judiciary Committee - that could be great if [the confirmation hearing] was skipped," he said. "We don't need to open that up for whatever length of time, so that whoever this nominee is can be Kavanaugh'd or Borked or Thomas'd. Because that's what it's going to be, especially when it's not even required."

Mr Limbaugh's arguments are rooted in fear that the Democrats will do everything in their power to undermine the character and qualifications of a Supreme Court Justice nominee picked by a Republican president.

He referenced the controversial confirmations of Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas, both conservative in ideology, and both who fought accusations of sexual misconduct during their hearings. Robert Bork was another conservative pick for the court, but was ultimately not confirmed.

The US Constitution does not call for public committee hearings as part of the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominees. The first confirmation hearing took place in 1925 when Justice Harlan Fiske Stone appeared before a committee to address details of a political scandal.

Confirmation hearings occurred a few more times in the early 20th century. Then, in 1955, the nomination of John Marshall Harlan marked the start of the confirmation hearing as Americans might recognise it today.

Donald Trump said he planned to nominate a new justice on Friday or Saturday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would move to quickly consider Mr Trump's nominee.

Donald Trump said he planned to nominate a new justice on Friday or Saturday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would move to quickly consider Mr Trump's nominee.

Democrats have called out Mr McConnell for his hypocrisy, as he was a driving force in the 2016 effort by Republicans to obstruct the nomination process of former-president Barack Obama's pick for the Supreme Court.

Following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Mr Obama selected Merrick Garland to take his place. Mr McConnell and Senate Republicans refused to consent to any Supreme Court Justice selected by Mr Obama, holding the position in limbo for 11 months until the end of Mr Obama's term as president.

Now, Mr McConnell aims to fast track the selection and confirmation of a new justice despite the 2020 US election being less than two months away.

Thus far, at least two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have said they do not believe the selection should take place until after the election. At least four Republicans would have to vote against Mr McConnell to stall the selection.
The Ukrainian government ombudsman for the rights of people with disabilities Tetiana Barantsova received the Nansen Prize of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the European Region in 2020, said Noel Kalhoun, Deputy Representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

"In 2020, the regional winner of this award is Mrs. Tetyana Barantsova [...] She worked in Luhansk region, in the east of Ukraine, where she was a co-founder of the Ami-Vostok organization dedicated to protecting the rights of people with disabilities in Ukraine," she said at the online awards ceremony on Monday.

According to Kalhoun, in 2014, after the outbreak of the conflict, Barantsova had to move with her family from the East.

"As soon as she arrived here, she immediately began to receive calls from people who also tried to get out of there, she organized a hotline in order to identify those who need help. As a result, thousands of people were saved, they got to safe places, and, once there, a new stage, no less difficult, began - to find a new life, a new job, schools for children, to get new documents. Mrs. Barantsova, together with her team, helped thousands of people to resume their lives after moving out of the conflict zone," she said.

Norwegian Ambassador to Ukraine Erik Svedahl said that Barantsova, like no one else, deserves to receive this award.

"Mrs. Barantsova is receiving our prize in the European region this year. She and her family have suffered from the conflict in Eastern Europe. And her civic organization is committed to protecting the rights of internally displaced persons and children and youth with special needs. [.. ] Her activism, her active civic position, her devotion, her courage and, of course, we note her sympathy, her willingness to help. Mrs. Barantsova, like no one else, deserves to receive this award," the ambassador said.

The Nansen Prize is an annual Human Rights Award from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, awarded for achievements in the protection of refugee rights.

  
Is it really this hard to have your boarding pass ready when you get to the gate? You know theyre going to ask you for it. So inconsiderate.Are you really going to stand there and argue with the cashier about whether or not you can use that two month old coupon? There are people waiting, you idiot.What in the world are they thinking letting their kids throw that kind of temper tantrum in public? They shouldnt have brought their kids if they were going to act like that! They have no respect for other people!Express lane means 10 items or less. Your cart has way more than 10. Stop being so selfish!Are you really going to hold up traffic like this because you want to make a left turn from two lanes over? Go forward and then turn around you jerk!Do any of these sound familiar? The odds are you have thought something similar about the man with a stack of coupons, a woman who has a thousand questions for the waiter when you need your check or that person who cut you off in traffic and then proceeded to ride their brakes for three miles. You may never say a word about the other person to anyone. You just grind your teeth and grumble silently, but when you do this, you are judging the other person.When most people think of judgements, they think about those who sneer at a woman who is overweight or a man who is so whipped by his high-strung girlfriend. They think of obvious, openly cruel comments like those found in a movie about high school. In reality, however, many people make judgements that they never voice. Those judgements, however, are no less real simply because they stay locked behind a persons teeth.Judging other people is never a good thing. You probably learned in pre-school if you cant say something nice, dont say anything at all, and you probably got a crash course in middle or high school about how much judgments hurt by being on the receiving end of classmates judgments.You know that you should not judge. You do not know what is happening in the other persons life. Maybe that person who did not have their boarding pass ready at the gate is a first time flyer. Perhaps the children throwing a temper tantrum are normally wonderfully well behaved, and the parents are baffled at this turn of events. The person who cut you off in traffic only to drive slowly might have thought their turn was right around the corner, only to change lanes right before Holland Road instead of Holland Parkway. They were not being rude. They were lost.Most people know that judging others is foolish since they, by definition, do not have all the information. Most people also know that they should not voice those judgements. What most people do not know is that the judgments they make say a great deal more about themselves than those judgements do about other people.Judgements often indicate insecurity of some sort. If you judge a person for being overweight, you probably have some insecurities of your own about your body. You likely watch your own weight very carefully and feel uncomfortable or unhappy when it fluctuates. If you judge another person for having a thousand questions for the waiter about their meal, you probably worry about being seen as wishy-washy or finicky yourself. You might end up ordering a meal that you are unsure if you will like to avoid giving off the impression of being high-maintenance, or you may try to ask what you feel are more intelligent or less obvious questions.Your judgements could also be driven by jealousy, which itself may be driven by insecurity. You sneer at a fit person who wants to lose five pounds. You decide that they are vain or a narcissist or obsessed with their body image when the reality is that you would give a great deal to look like they do now. You are jealous. You might scoff at how many questions a coworker has for the visiting board members when really you wish that you could ask such insightful questions or that you were brave enough to speak up in a room full of important people. You envy your coworkers curiosity and courage.You might also be judging someone else because they actually exhibit behaviors you see as flaws in yourself. You might judge the person who is flirting with everyone at the bar as desperate even though you come on far more strongly. You might see the person who dominates a conversation as rude, even though you consistently interrupt others and take control of the conversation. You are irritated by the other persons behavior because, subconsciously, you realize you have the same problem and need to fix it.You could also simply be judging someone because their behavior is different than yours. If you are an introvert, you may see someone who is extroverted as an attention hog or a show off. If you wear your heart on your sleeve, you may see someone who is more private as closed off and cold. The person you are judging may not be any of the things you assume they are, but you assume the worst because their behavior is so different from how you act.You might also apply your own motivation or reasoning to their actions. If you wear your heart on your sleeve, you might keep your emotions in check only when you want to give someone the cold shoulder. So, you assume the person who is simply more private is trying to keep you at arms length. If you are introverted, you may only be the center of attention when you actively seek it and want to show off. As such, you see the person who is simply more naturally extroverted as an attention hog.The compulsion to judge others, in and of itself, is almost impossible to purge. What you can do is recognize that those judgements come from your subconscious and are saying something important about yourself. Use judgements not to tear others down but as a way to reflect on your own behavior and thoughts. Remind yourself that you have no idea what is going on in the life of the person you are judging and, if all else fails, stick to the say nothing at all option when you have judgements sitting on your tongue.
The team will be one of the first to investigate exactly how age factors into risk and progression of the disease

MINNEAPOLIS, MN- September 21, 2020 - A collaborative team between the University of Minnesota Medical School and Van Andel Institute (VAI) will soon begin a $6.2 million study that seeks to define the molecular linkages between aging and Parkinson's disease -- an approach for new treatment targets not yet explored by many researchers. The group recently earned a three-year grant from the Aligning Science Across Parkinson's initiative, an international collaborative research effort partnering with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research to implement its funding.

The study will combine four labs -- two Medical School faculty labs led by Michael Lee, PhD, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience, and Laura Niedernhofer, PhD, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics; and two VAI Center for Neurodegenerative Science faculty labs led by Darren Moore, PhD, professor, and Jose Bras, PhD, associate professor. Lee, who is also with U of M Institute of Translational Neuroscience, is an expert in the cellular mechanisms of Parkinson's disease, which is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder that affects more than six million people worldwide.

"There are currently no treatments that can slow or stop the progression of the disease, but if you read the background on Parkinson's disease and risk factors, you will see that aging is the greatest risk factor, yet no one knows why," Lee said. "For the next three years, we will be studying cellular senescence to see whether or not it is participating in the neurodegeneration seen in the Parkinson's disease models."

Senescence, or the gradual deterioration of the body's functional characteristics over time, is the expertise of Niedernhofer, who is the director of the U of M Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism.

"The National Institute on Aging has championed the geroscience idea that if old age is the number one risk factor for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer and other diseases, let's make drugs that target aging and not the individual diseases," Niedernhofer said. "Senescent cells are one of those aging targets that is quite druggable, and it offers a brand-new approach in treating Parkinson's disease that no one has tried before."

The team's preclinical studies will investigate three genes associated with late-onset Parkinson's disease -- LRRK2, VPS35 and -synuclein, or SNCA -- to determine if increased senescence is associated with the disease and whether decreasing senescence can slow or stop the disease.

"Genetic predisposition is critical to defining a person's overall risk for Parkinson's, particularly when combined with other factors, such as age," Moore said. "SNCA, LRRK2 and VPS35 have demonstrated genetic links to Parkinson's, particularly later in life, and as such, offer promising opportunities for the development of new treatments designed to target the root causes of the disease."

Bras will perform single-cell RNA sequencing to determine whether or not senescence occurs in human Parkinson's cases and if Parkinson's disease-associated genes impact senescence at a molecular level. This will help the team identify stronger mechanistic connections between their animal models of the disease and human Parkinson's.

"Although senescence has been investigated in various contexts for many years, few studies have looked at this event in Parkinson's disease," Bras said. "This collaborative project will be the first time that we will be able to take a comprehensive view of the role of senescence in Parkinson's using state-of-the-art approaches and integrating troves of genomic data from models and humans."

If the team discovers that senescence is linked to the progression of Parkinson's disease, their findings could lead to an immediate clinical trial using senolytics as a form of treatment for the disease. These drugs, already under study in many other Phase II clinical trials, are used to clear aging cells, and in preclinical studies, have proven effective in delaying, preventing or alleviating frailty and many other aging-related diseases.

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About the University of Minnesota Medical School

The University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. Visit med.umn.edu to learn how the University of Minnesota is innovating all aspects of medicine.

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.
NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP >> Newtown Township will be applying for federal funding to bolster its career firefighting force. And its crossing its fingers and hoping the third times a charm. At its Jan. 12 meeting, the board of supervisors voted unanimously to resubmit its SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to...
RABAT - Tourism operators in Marrakech have decided to open the doors of Marrakech in order to attract tourists during the fall-winter season to save a year that was deeply affected by the coronavirus emergency.



Operators of the public and private sectors have unanimously agreed to act together for a ''responsible reopening'' after meetings during the weekend.



The plan is to reopen, relaunch and renew. ''We return to live with the virus, an imperative to give new impulse to the system while respecting health protocols; it is necessary to act with international partners to reconquer the confidence of markets and clients'', participants said.



A comforting sign comes from the air transport sector with 27 weekly connections and easier rules for tourists, including the suppression of a mandatory serological and Pcr tests which will be valid for 72 rather than the current 48 hours.



Large hotels are in favor of the protocol of agreement, beside the thousands of small riads, the characteristic local tourist facilities. Mamounia is reopening its historic doors on October 16 after a global restoration during its mandatory closure. The Royal Mansour, 15 and Four Seasons on the first day of the month.



Restaurants have already obtained the authorization to close at 11 pm instead of 10 pm over the past weeks. The Jardin Majorelle, the heart of the city's museums, will open to visitors on October 1 with special tariffs for residents.
After almost 3 months of bringing relief to many patients who are in financial distress in some medical facilities nationwide, Vodafone Ghana Foundation has climaxed its three-phased Homecoming initiative at the Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua.



At the launch of the 3rd and final phase of the Homecoming initiative saw a total of 101 patients discharged to reunite with their families. The number adds up to a total of 300 beneficiaries in this years Vodafone Homecoming Initiative.

Speaking during the third phase of the Southern Belt launch at the Eastern Regional Hospital, Head of Vodafone Ghana Foundation, Amaris Nana A. Perbi, said, the exercise is significant to World Patience Day.



It is gratifying for us that the many Ghanaians whose lives were transformed with Vodafones Homecoming and Healthline initiatives are back to their lives and livelihoods, contributing to the economic growth of the country. This final phase will ensure patients go home to celebrate the Founders day. What makes this day even more remarkable for us is the fact that we join many other countries who are members of the United Nations to celebrate World Patients Safety Day, today, he said.



Also, to ensure the sustainability of the project, all our beneficiaries will also receive new or renewed National Health Insurance Scheme cards as well as nose masks, face shields and hand sanitizers to be protected against the ongoing pandemic. Whilst selected patients will also be given seed capital to assist with their endeavours once they are discharged from the hospital, he added.



Mr. Perbi said the 101 beneficiaries from the Southern Belt out of the total 300 nationwide beneficiaries, comprised eight patients from the LeKMA Hospital, and 30 from the Eastern Regional Hospital.



The rest were one patient from the St Joseph Hospital, Koforidua, 38 from Cape Coast Regional Hospital, eight from Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, 11 from Ho Teaching Hospital and five from the Jasikan District Hospital.

He said the discharges made were not particular in terms of gender, age, or medical condition, but simply aimed to touch as many lives in need.



He further commended the board of Vodafone Foundation and all who made the initiative successful. We are glad to end this years Homecoming initiative with over 300 lives touched. We know these are not just numbers, but lives restored, livelihoods rekindled and families brought back together and we all grateful to all of us, the Vodafone Ghana Foundation Board, our partner hospitals, social workers etc, who have contributed to making this possible.



For his part, Clinical Director at the Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua, Dr. Foster Amponsah-Manu expressed appreciation to Vodafone Ghana Foundation.



With this exercise, Vodafone Ghana Foundation has come to relief both the hospital and the patients of a great bill. Some of these patients have been here for a long time awaiting how they can clear the bills. That is why we feel this is a commendable exercise. I want to say a big thank you to Vodafone Ghana. And we will appeal to Vodafone Ghana that they continue with this exercise as many people cannot afford hospital bills. I am also encouraging patients to get insured as it takes away some of the burden off hospital bills.



Earlier, Mr Samuel Kumah, a 52-year old man and a beneficiary said: I had a sore on my testicles and it was gradually getting swollen, so I had to undergo a surgery to correct it. After the surgery, though I have been discharged, I have been in the hospital for an additional six months because I havent been able to settle my bills.

With this support, I cant wait to visit my mother at home and visit my friends to share the good news with them. Vodafone Ghana Foundation would never be forgotten by my family, he added.



Vodafone Homecoming is an annual charity activity of Vodafone Ghana Foundation. Since its inception in 2011, the initiative has helped to pay the medical bills and other auxiliary medical costs for some vulnerable patients. Unlike other years, the 2020 edition was rolled out in 3 phases across the northern, middle and southern belts respectively between July and September.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices fell sharply on Monday as worries about outlook for energy demand amid rising coronavirus cases in Europe. Reports about possible resumption of oil production in Libya further raised concerns about oversupply in the market. Markets ignored a likely disruption Tropical Storm Beta could cause to oil output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. According to reports, coroanvirus cases are on the rise in Europe, forcing fresh lockdown measures at several places, and raising uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October shed $1.80 or about 4.4% to settle at $39.31 a barrel. Brent crude futures were down by about $2 or 4.6% at $41.15 a barrel. The World Health Organization has warned that weekly Covid-19 infections in Europe now are higher than the continent's first coronavirus peak in March. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country is experiencing the start of a second wave of Covid-19 and stricter lockdown measures will be introduced across the country. Several other countries in Europe, including France, saw a sharp surge in new cases over the weekend. 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.
Fourteen years after Bihar became the first state in India to abolish the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Act in 2006, enabling private companies to buy directly from farmers, the results have been a mixed bag.

The agriculture markets have been replaced by roadside wholesale markets that have come up in every part of the state , and where farmers sell their produce without any regulatory protection -- but to anyone they want unlike in the APMC system, where they were bound to commission agents.

The local municipal bodies, which have set up these markets, charge 1% of the selling price each from the farmer and the buyer as a facilitation fee.

Government should abolish municipal tax from small vegetable farmers and allow them to sell produce for free in municipal areas, said Bijay Kushwaha from Parhuti village of Bihars Kaimur district.

He said that under the APMC Act, also farmers had to pay 1% tax. When asked what has changed since the APMC law was abolished, he said farmers can now bargain with the buyers without having to go through a commission agent. We dont feel cheated.

Anil Kumar from Sakra village of Muzaffarpur district in the eastern part of the state said that farmers are free to sell -- although this doesnt guarantee cartelization by the buyers.

Earlier, commission agents used to control the price. Now, traders from other states do. Nothing has changed since the Act was repealed. Farmers fight their own battle and there is no government protection, said Shekhar Mehta, a farmer from Navhatta in Saharsa district.

The passage of two farm reform bills by Parliament on Sunday has brought the focus on Bihar. A third bill is awaiting clearance by the Rajya Sabha. One of the bills allows farmers to operate outside the purview of APMC. And another allows them to strike contract farming deals with businesses.

Bihar was the first state to repeal the law even though it meant an annual loss of Rs 70 crore. But it brought an end to exploitation of farmers and corruption at mandis. This helped in farmers getting a better price and brought freedom from commission agents, said Bihars deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday.

A study by Jaipur-based National Institute of Agriculture Marketing in 2011-12 said that despite repealing of the APMC law the states agriculture infrastructure had not developed in the absence of private firms.

The study recommended markets to be developed in the public-private partnership mode through a regulation to be enacted by the state government. The private sector will operate and maintain the market. The user charge may be levied for the services provided in the market, the study said.

It also said that the market information system had been dismantled with abolition of APMC Act, which is effective in the rest of the country because of the mandi system. The study also suggested formation of farmers associations for better marketing of the produce.

This agricultural season has also seen a lower volume of grains being procured by the government at the Minimum Support Price.

According to the Food Corporation Of India website, only 0.05 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat was procured from Bihar in 2020-21 against the revised target of 7 LMT. In 2019-20, the state agencies procured 0.03 LMT of wheat.

Bihar co-operative minister Rana Randhir Singh claimed that procurement of wheat was low as market price was better than the MSP (of Rs 1,925 per quintal). Many buyers like those from biscuit and flour industry are buying wheat directly from farmers, the minister said.

Farmers are not getting remunerative price for their produce. This year farmers sold grains (wheat and maize) at much less than MSP whereas farmers in Punjab and Haryana got MSP for wheat, countered Kaimur District Kisan Majdoor Sangh president Vijay Bahadur Singh.

This is primarily because the number of procurement centres had reduced from about 9,000 in 2015-16 to 1,619 in 2019-20, and the farmers are dependent on buyers from other states. About 80% of the foodgrains disbursed under the Public Distribution System in Bihar is procured from other states.

Former agriculture secretary Siraj Hussain said the state government had not done enough to ensure that farmers are able to sell their produce at MSP. While several eastern states have geared up their procurement machinery, Bihar has unfortunately not been able to develop its cooperatives which are primarily responsible for procurement in the state.

It is (through a) direct marketing module approach that ITC, makers of Ashirwad flour, is procuring 2-3 lakh metric tonnes of wheat yearly directly from farmers, Sushil Modi said. Agriculture minister Prem Kumar added that Bihar farmers were getting good price and with the new farm reform law, they will get a better price.

The opposition feels otherwise. It (APMC Act abolition) has hardly helped in improving the farmers condition. Instead, it has led to a continuous rise in prices and consumers are still facing its impact. Farmers are not getting any benefit too, said senior Congress leader, H P Verma.

(With inputs from Prasun K Mishra and Aditya Nath Jha)

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New Delhi:

The Samajwadi Party on Monday released fourth list of candidates for Uttar Pradesh Assembly election. As per reports, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to contest from Mubarakpur and Aparna Yadav to contest from Lucknow Cantt.

Earlier on Sunday, Samajwadi Party released the list of candidates for 77 seats in UP Assembly election.

Samajwadi Party is contesting UP Assembly polls in alliance with Indian National Congress. Congress had agreed on 105 seats whereas SP is fighting elections on 298 seats.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Foreign ministers from the EU signed off on the measures, which freeze any bloc assets held by the companies as well as cutting them off from EU finance markets

The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on three companies -- one Turkish, one Kazakh and one Jordanian -- for breaching the UN arms embargo on Libya, diplomatic sources told AFP.

Foreign ministers from the bloc signed off on the measures, which freeze any EU assets held by the companies as well as cutting them off from EU finance markets and barring them from doing business with anyone in the bloc, at a regular meeting in Brussels.

The EU has a naval mission operating in waters off Libya which is tasked with policing the embargo and collecting intelligence on violators, but Monday's measures are the bloc's first independent sanctions related to the conflict.

Libya has endured almost a decade of violent chaos since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

The country is divided between the Government of National Accord in the capital Tripoli in the west and Libya's Parliament in the east.

But there have been signs of progress, with representatives from the two sides meeting for peace talks in Morocco after last month announcing a surprise ceasefire and pledging national elections.

"After many months I see a reason for cautious optimism. There is a positive momentum, there is a ceasefire and we need to use it," EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell said as he arrived for the foreign ministers' talks.

But the targeting of a Turkish company risks inflaming already tense relations between Ankara and the EU following a recent flare-up in the eastern Mediterranean over oil and gas reserves.

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Chinese social media and websites have lately been peppered with news articles and analyses on how well-prepared the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is to take on the Indian Army, referencing the 1962 India-China war as a precedent.

Amid the ongoing India-China border tension, several articles on the October-November one-month war in1962 are being shared on Chinese social media where the PLA is being depicted as a superior, peace-loving armed force, always ready to treat enemy soldiers humanely.

The write-ups in Mandarin portray India as the aggressor and China being forced to counterattack.

Many among those who are sharing the write-ups on social media are military enthusiasts, Shanghai-based military expert Ni Lexiong told HT, and most use aliases.

Given the Chinese governments tight online censorship, the propaganda clearly has Beijings backing.

Its a mix of new analysis and old articles being republished - clearly with Chinas millions of online domestic audience as focus. Black-and-white photos from the war and prisoner-of-war (POW) camps accompany the write-ups.

A latest example is an account of the 1962 war written by a PLA Hindi translator. The translator Yang Zhifangs account has been published before in Chinese military blogs, but the PLAs psyops department seemed to have found it to be an opportune moment to publicise it - seemingly as an example of the PLAs compassion.

Published and circulated on the social media platform WeChat, Yangs account talks about how the PLA had deployed a team of Hindi, Urdu, Nepalese and English language experts among regular Chinese troops in Xinjiang to talk to Indian troops during the 1962 war.

Yang graduated from Beijings Peking University with a major in Hindi in the department of oriental languages in 1961.

Unfortunately, before October 1962, I was the only professionally trained Hindi (translator) in the western section of the border, wrote Yang.

Yangs specific task at the time was to translate certain Chinese sentences or slogans as he called them - into Hindi.

The content of the slogans was issued by the superiors, mainly: Hand in the gun and not kill, Raise your hand, Come out, We treat captives with mercy, Dont move, Follow me. Six sentences, translated into Hindi and English by us.

Yang then goes on to give an account of how well the PLA treated Indian POWs, including showing them popular Indian movies like Awaara and Do Bigha Zameen.

Analytical articles online are giving examples of the 1962 war as a warning for India.

Besides India, self-ruled Taiwan has been at the receiving end of such military posturing with academics laying down the detailed sequence of how the PLA could overrun the island and take control.

In one analysis published on an academic website, the author, who goes by the Chinese name that translates into A Green Tree, argued - with the 1962 war as background - that because the Qinghai-Tibet plateau belongs to China, it can never lose a war with India.

The author wrote earlier this September that China, for example, is now much better prepared logistically compared to 1962 to replenish its troops near the Arunachal Pradesh border.

In 1962, it was very difficult for China to maintain the normal supply for tens of thousands of troops stationed in Tibet The strength of material delivery capabilities directly determines the strength of the PLAs combat on the Sino-Indian border, the author wrote, indicating that Chinese areas bordering the Indian state are now fully, and more easily, accessible by the Tibet military command.

Li Guangman, a senior researcher with the Beijing-based Kunlun Strategy Research Institute, wrote in his blog that neither India nor China are what they were during the 1962 war, but that Indias aggression is unacceptable.

In 1962 the two superpowers, the US, and the Soviet Union, both threatened China militarily, rushing to support India by providing amounts of weapons and equipment. It was also the time that China had just had three years of serious natural disasters, but it did not compromise with India, Li wrote.

Instead, China resolutely launched a self-defence counterattack, frustrated Indias swelling ambitions heavily, and got decades of peace on its western border.
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Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano and Ardila Syakriah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, September 22 2020

The government is facing mounting pressure to postpone the regional elections this December amid concerns about greater COVID-19 transmission across the country, as officials prepare even stricter curbs.

Indonesia saw another daily high for new COVID-19 infections on Monday, with the 4,176 new cases recorded adding urgency to calls to postpone the elections to prevent the virus from spreading further among the population.

The two largest grassroots Islamic organizations in the country, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, are among the latest civil society groups to call for a delay to the simultaneous elections, in order to minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission.

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SALEM, Ore.  Dennis Schlies worked the Sept. 7 night shift for METCOM 911, the dispatch center that handles emergency calls for the Santiam Canyon in Oregon. So he knew.

He knew before his boss delivered the news by phone, and before a colleague's husband snapped nothing-but-rubble photographs.

He knew when he took one of the first calls about a fast-spreading fire sparked by downed power lines near an elementary school, the site of an incident command post for the Beachie Creek Fire.

The house he and his wife Denise have shared for nearly 20 years stood less than two miles from the school.

He could live without it, but not without her.

Dennis and Denise Schlies pose for a portrait with their dog Guni, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020 at a hotel in Salem, Oregon. Dennis Schlies is a 911 dispatcher known by many as the "Voice of the Canyon." Schlies was taking calls the night the wildfires exploded, all while his very own home in Gates, Oregon was burning down.

Dennis didn't know her whereabouts. But he still managed to calmly direct resources to multiple new fires and advise his neighbors in the canyon how to get out alive.

He could only hope his wife had time to evacuate.

Fellow dispatchers couldn't imagine being in his position while maintaining focus during a 12-hour shift, especially one so grueling.

Then again, they expected nothing less from the man they know as the "voice of the canyon."

A survivor's story: He survived an Oregon wildfire by perching on a rock in a river, fending off embers with a chair

Appreciating what they have

Dennis has been a dedicated dispatcher in the area for 41 years. He's an anomaly in a profession where burnout contributes to high turnover.

Listening to the worst moments of people's lives can be stressful. And for Dennis, it can get personal.

There are times he recognizes the voice on the other end of the call.

Dennis is a lifelong resident of the canyon, a region where widespread disasters are rare. A tornado ripped through 10 years ago this December, damaging 50 homes, but no one lost their lives.

Four people have been confirmed dead in the Beachie Creek Fire and an estimated 470 homes destroyed.

Dennis and Denise lost everything but are thankful for a roof over their heads, even though a small room on a bustling floor of a hotel is a far cry from their five-bedroom, 4,168-square-foot house on 23 tranquil acres.

Story continues

"You can't be depressed about it. Life goes on," Dennis said over breakfast at Elmer's, turning to his wife and tearing up. "We're alive. We've got our animals."

Dennis Schlies holds his dog Guni, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020 at a hotel in Salem, Oregon. The Schlies made it out of their home in Gates, Oregon with their dog and cat and a few other personal items.

They've been married for more than 33 years and are adorable with their matching monikers and shirts. Matching shirts is their thing  for no reason, just because  and they had about 40 in all colors and styles.

They met in December 1986. Dennis's mother had been trying to set them up. Denise was her hairdresser. When her son needed a haircut, she recommended he go to Denise.

He did, and they instantly clicked, although he did rush out before she could finish the cut because he was called out to a fire. He was a longtime volunteer firefighter.

The subject of marriage came up on their first date. They were both divorced.

Less than two months later, on Valentine's Day, they were married in Reno, Nevada, by an Elvis impersonator in a glittery white jumpsuit.

Their $259 wedding package included a room and video, which they haven't dusted off for years. They wish they could watch it now, but it's most likely melted in the rubble.

"Oh, well," Dennis said, "at least we've got the memories."

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Handling 423% more calls

Dennis will never forget that Monday night shift at METCOM. He's seen and heard some crazy things in his career, but nothing could have prepared him for that night.

With hurricane-force winds in the forecast, the center planned for an uptick in calls.

METCOM's service area includes 36 rural communities in Oregon's Marion County and portions of Linn and Clackamas counties. The call center provides dispatch services to seven law enforcement agencies, 17 fire districts and two private ambulance districts.

Seven dispatchers clocked in at 7 p.m. instead of the usual three or four. Executive director Mark Spross later said even if he had 10 more dispatchers working, they couldn't have kept up with the call volume  423% higher than normal.

Maybe an hour into the shift, Dennis took that call from someone reporting a brush and grass fire in Mehama. Multiple calls for the same incident came in at the same time.

"You always know when something bad is happening," he said, describing how the red dots light up on the phone-mapping screen of the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system.

It was considered a high-risk grass fire, with homes and businesses at risk, so several units were dispatched. It was just the beginning of what would turn into a raging inferno that nearly wiped out entire communities.

The Gates home of Dennis and Denise Schlies was destroyed by the wildfires.

Evacuating Beachie Fire camp

Earlier that Labor Day, before he went to work, Dennis and his wife talked about how they needed to get go-bags ready.

He wished they had followed through, especially after he started receiving calls about a fire at the base of Potato Hill, not far from the road to their house.

Dennis soon was on the radio with one of the assistant fire chiefs who reported no homes or structures threatened. But within a matter of minutes, they all were.

Additional units were dispatched to assist at each location. Trucks began screaming through the canyon.

Dennis and Denise Schlies, and Shirley Hoover pose for a portrait with their pets Guni the dog and Savannah the cat on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020 at a hotel in Salem, Oregon. The family lost their home during the wildfire in Gates, Oregon.

Losing contact with Detroit

Back at METCOM, where dispatchers sit in front of a minimum of six monitors, Dennis and his colleagues scrambled to field the onslaught of calls.

His work station lit up as he'd never seen before. There was so much going on and so few resources. They bumped resources from one incident to the next.

The direness of the situation escalated when the 911 call center, which is located in Woodburn, lost contact with its channel in Detroit, Oregon. The Lionshead Fire was raging there at the same time.

"There was so much going on. There was so much fire, and there were so little resources," Dennis said.

Scrambling to get out

The power went out at Dennis and Denise's house at about 8 p.m., which isn't a big deal because they have battery backups for lights.

Denise and Shirley Hoover, who stays at their house as part of an adult foster program, had dinner and went to bed, only to be awakened by a Marion County Sheriff's Office deputy banging on the back door.

The deputy told her she needed to evacuate now. While she got ready, he went outside to clear the driveway so she'd be able to get out.

Denise helped Shirley get dressed first, then focused on their two rescue animals. She coerced Savannah, a calico cat, into a carrier. She put Guni, a five-pound Pomeranian missing his right front leg, in a large shoulder bag.

She grabbed her purse, then put it down to gather medications. They locked up, piled in the minivan and headed down the 125-foot driveway behind the deputy's patrol car.

Denise immediately wished she would have grabbed more clothes, not to mention her wedding ring sitting on the dresser. She was mad when she realized she'd left her purse on the bedroom floor, although not overly concerned.

"My mind was saying, 'You'll be back in a couple of hours.' "

The drive out of the canyon was relatively uneventful, but she'll never forget having to slow down in Mills City behind two pick-ups. The occupants were running their horses alongside their trucks.

She wished she could have lent them their horse trailer.

Trying to save lives, homes

As he frantically worked the phones, Dennis had a sinking feeling about Denise and Shirley. But he had a job to do, one that could help save other lives.

"I didn't really have time to think," he said.

Denise tried calling his cell phone when she made it as far as Stayton. She had to borrow a phone. Hers had been in her purse.

Dennis couldn't answer. It was too busy. There wasn't even time between calls to go to the bathroom.

When he did get a free moment, he tried calling her  over and over.

Technically, he's not allowed to make personal calls while working. Given the circumstances, he did it anyway. He alternated calling their home and her cell.

Without her purse or any money, Denise drove to METCOM to wait for Dennis in the parking lot. Unbeknownst to her, she parked just out of view of the center's security cameras. A couple of spaces over, and it would have saved Dennis some anguish.

He didn't know she was sitting out there, safe and sound, for more than 2 hours.

A police officer finally approached her as he headed out on a call. He knew her husband and said Dennis would be relieved to know she was here. The officer eventually passed on the information to another dispatcher, who told Dennis.

But that wasn't until nearly 4 a.m.

Coronavirus updates: CDC walks back guidance on breath droplets; some NYC students back in class

Contemplating retirement  again

When Dennis's shift ended three hours later and he'd finally connected with Denise and Shirley, they called his brother, hoping they could stay with him. But he evacuated from the outskirts of Sweet Home, which was impacted by the Holiday Farm Fire.

They called several hotels in Salem, finally finding a pet-friendly one.

Later that morning, they heard from his boss and a colleague's husband who both confirmed their house was gone. Photographs show all that's standing are two chimneys. Their mailbox looks unscathed.

The Gates home of Dennis and Denise Schlies was destroyed by the wildfires.

They saw the devastation first-hand on Thursday afternoon, escorted by a sheriff's deputy. It was just as bad as they imagined, but there was one bright spot.

"There sat my tractor in pristine condition," Dennis said.

Denise wanted desperately to look for her ring, but their insurance adjustor instructed them to wait until he was on site.

The loss of their home could push Dennis closer to retirement, although his wife highly doubts it.

He was going to retire last year after celebrating his 40th anniversary, but there's a national shortage of dispatchers and METCOM is understaffed. So he stayed on.

Dennis returned to work for his regular shifts just four nights after losing his house. His boss and supervisor told him they would cover his shifts. But Dennis wanted to be there  almost needed to be.

"The first night back was very weird. It was still busy with spot fires and flare-ups," he said. "But it was normal for me. We were still sending people out and taking care of the community."

Follow Capi Lynn on Twitter: @CapiLynn

Federal funding at risk: DOJ names New York City, Portland, Seattle 'anarchist jurisdictions'

SCOTUS: Biden hits back on calls for his list of Supreme Court nominees, gives 3 reasons candidates shouldn't do it

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Santiam Canyon 911 dispatcher on duty as his own Oregon house burns
With the addition of nine new indictments, 28 people now have been charged in a federal probe into the staging of automobile accidents in Louisiana, according to U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser.

The nine defendants were charged in a seven-count federal indictment with one (1) count of Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371 and six (6) counts of Mail Fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341.

The indictment alleges that the defendants intentionally used vehicles to cause staged motor vehicle accidents with commercial carriers in order to defraud these carriers and their insurance companies.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of five (5) years for Count 1 and twenty (20) years as to Counts 2-7. Upon their release from prison, each defendant can be placed on a term of supervised release for up to five (5) years and fined up to $250,000.00 per count or twice the gross gain to the defendant of twice the gross loss to the victim.

The current indictment involves two separate incidents in which the victim trucking, bus and insurance companies paid out approximately $707,500.00 for these two fraudulent claims

U.S. Attorney Strasser reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The U.S. Attorneys Office would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louisiana State Police, and the Metropolitan Crime Commission with this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba, Supervisor of the Financial Crimes Unit; Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Rivera; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Carboni.

Source: U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Topics Auto Louisiana USA
Bhiwandi: In a tragic incident in Maharashtra's Bhiwandi a three-storey building collapsed on Monday (September 21) taking away life of at least 10 people and several were feared trapped, said Thane Municipal Corporation PRO.

According to the information, the building was in a dilapidated condition. The incident took place at 3.45 am when people were fast asleep. The NDRF team was immediately rushed to the spot.

Live TV

The NDRF team rescued a child who was stuck under the debris at the site of building collapse in Bhiwandi. As per initial information, the locals have rescued 20 people and around 25 people are feared trapped.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident. Taking to Twitter he said, ''Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected.''

Saddened by the building collapse in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra. Condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for a quick recovery of those injured. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being provided to the affected.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 21, 2020

Expressing sadness over the incident, Home Minister Amit Shah said, ''Anguished to learn about the tragic collapse of a building in Bhiwandi, Thane (Maharashtra). NDRF is already on the ground and is assisting with the rescue operations. My deepest condolences are with the bereaved families, praying for the speedy recovery of those injured.''

Anguished to learn about the tragic collapse of a building in Bhiwandi, Thane (Maharashtra). @NDRFHQ is already on the ground and is assisting with the rescue operations. My deepest condolences are with the bereaved families, praying for the speedy recovery of those injured.  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 21, 2020

Maharashtra Minister Eknath Shinde visited the site of incident on Monday.
The two out of three farm reform bills passed by parliament has created perplexity all over the nation, especially in Punjab and Haryana. The bills passed suggests promotion and facilitation (Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce Bill), Empower and protection (Farmers Agreement on Price Assurance), and Amendment (Farm Service Bill and Essential Commodities Bill). However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that these changes would bring in various benefits to the farmers. He tweeted "A watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture! Congratulations to our hardworking farmers on the passage of key bills in Parliament, which will ensure a complete transformation of the agriculture sector as well as empower crores of farmers."

What Do the Bills Claim

The first one-Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce Bill has been passed to promote and facilitate farmers would enable the farmers to sell their harvest at places other than the government regulated mandis. However, this idea does not intend to close the mandis but to provide farmers a proliferated choices. Thus, if a farmer feels he is getting a better deal from the private buyers then he can opt to sell them instead of the mandi.

The Farm Service and Essential Commodities Bill have been proposed to permit economic agents to stock up their commodities without the tension of it being prosecuted for hoarding. While the third one- the Farmers Agreement on Price Assurance Bill would offer a framework for farmers to venture into contract farming. This Bill ensures a healthy remuneration, as the farmers could sign a contract with a company to produce the harvest of the company's choice.

Hence, it is believed that three Bills would liberate the farming market and also aid in making this system more efficient and make way for a better price for all concerns especially the farmers. Nonetheless, the central focus is to improvise the country's farming and elevate its remunerative from its present state.

Protester's Viewpoint

Though the Bills claim to transform the lives of the farmers and others involved in farming, the Bills passed brought in an uproar across the country especially in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharastra, and some parts of South India. As they believe that the Bills are ploy created by the government to eliminate the traditional procedures that guarantee minimum support prices (MSPs). Precisely, the MSPs work on the government regulated mandis and not on private companies.

These MSPs are more prominently applied in Haryana and Punjab thus, farmers of these regions riot against the newly passed bills. As they believe these move would hinder their remuneration and suspect whether the big companies would do justice to their hard work. Farmers have the potential to influence through their electoral process but, this is would not work with the corporates and they may not bargain effectively. They feel that the Bill would limit the effectiveness of the mandis and give a free hand to the big companies.

Although, the protestors also believe that the move would weaken the farmer's negotiation especially the uneducated farmers during their negotiation with the big corporates. In addition to this, the Bill for stocking up the commodities would enable the corporates to have the upper hand in dictating the price of the commodity to the farmers.
Job Title: IT

Associate

Organisation: United

Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Duty Station: Uganda

Vacancy Notice: Internal/ External Vacancy notice no. 014/2020

Position Number: 10026406

Position Grade: GS-6

About US:

The Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14,

1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. UNHCRs mandate under the Statute

of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is to lead

and co-ordinate action for international protection to refugees; seek permanent

solutions for the problems of refugees and safeguard refugee rights and

well-being. UNHCR has an additional mandate concerning issues of statelessness,

as it is given a designated role under Article 11 of the 1961 Convention on the

Reduction of Statelessness.

Job Summary: The IT Associate

provides reliable and timely IT services on the application and infrastructure

of UNHCR standard IT services in the Area of Responsibility (AoR). S/he

normally receives technical guidance from a (Senior) IT Officer for the

Telecom/IT infrastructure in the region in which the field or emergency

operation exists. In offices where there is no IT Officer, direct supervision

may be exercised by the (Snr) Admin Officer as applicable in the duty station.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:



of UNHCR Telecommunications and IT equipment. Assist in on-site needs assessment and installation and maintenanceof UNHCR Telecommunications and IT equipment.



in field operations, considering the overall IT and Telecom strategy of

the region, the operational needs and the security constraints. In consultation with the supervisor, establish the IT requirementsin field operations, considering the overall IT and Telecom strategy ofthe region, the operational needs and the security constraints.



Telecommunications systems (HF, VHF, UHF, Microwave Links, Telephony, and

satellite systems) to meet the field and emergency operations immediate IT

needs. Install and configure the most appropriate type of UNHCR IT andTelecommunications systems (HF, VHF, UHF, Microwave Links, Telephony, andsatellite systems) to meet the field and emergency operations immediate ITneeds.



working condition, by inspecting regularly the hardware and installations.

If required, arrange promptly repairs or replacement as necessary

according to established procedures. Ensure that the equipment under his/her responsibility is in goodworking condition, by inspecting regularly the hardware and installations.If required, arrange promptly repairs or replacement as necessaryaccording to established procedures.



and keep the supervisor fully informed on the status of the equipment. Maintain records of the installations and repairs/replacements doneand keep the supervisor fully informed on the status of the equipment.



information for their asset management records. Provide each office, where equipment is installed, with fullinformation for their asset management records.



return spare parts for repair/replacement. If applicable, keep a proper inventory level of all sites spares andreturn spare parts for repair/replacement.



Hubs, Patch pane, etc. to prevent faults occurring. Monitor and maintain the LAN, Network Servers, Printers, LAN points,Hubs, Patch pane, etc. to prevent faults occurring.

Add or remove users from the Network.



the Network. Assist in the maintenance of accurate records of users and usage ofthe Network.

Carry out minor hardware maintenance.



resources and users, including IPs, ensuring that they are able to

maintain/use the equipment. Provide Technical Briefing/Training on the equipment to local ITresources and users, including IPs, ensuring that they are able tomaintain/use the equipment.



Equipment/Kits used in field operations and emergencies. Assist in the development and configuration of IT and TelecomEquipment/Kits used in field operations and emergencies.

Decide on appropriate resolution to incidents / problems.



resolved with scope of responsibility. Escalate issues to supervisor if incident / problem cannot beresolved with scope of responsibility.

Perform other related duties as required.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:



placement should hold a High school diploma. Required. The ideal candidate for the United Nations UNHCR IT Associate jobplacement should hold a High school diploma. Required.

At least three years of relevant work experience is required.



or IT systems, PAMA satellite systems, PABX, Cisco routers and satellite

modems is required. Experience relevant to the function or particularly on HF/VHF radioor IT systems, PAMA satellite systems, PABX, Cisco routers and satellitemodems is required.

Knowledge of English is required.

Certificate in Information Technology or related field is desirable.



generators, lightning protection an asset and previous experience in

Emergencies is desirable. Hands-on experience with wireless and VoIP systems, electricity,generators, lightning protection an asset and previous experience inEmergencies is desirable.

Analytical Thinking

Innovation and Creativity

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How to Apply:

All interested

Ugandan nationals who wish to join the United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees (UNHCR) in the aforementioned capacity are encouraged to click on the

link below and follow the application instructions after reviewing the job

details.

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Deadline: 21st September 2020

For more of the

latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com

or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline


John Mahama's campaign team has described as inaccurate and misleading claims that former President John Mahama has promised to construct more mortuaries for the Zongo community.



A statement signed by campaign spokesman, James Agyenim Boateng said: "The attention of the JOHN MAHAMA 2020 Campaign has been drawn to a false, misleading and inaccurate claims in publications carried by sections of the online media titiled 2020

elections: Mahama promises more mortuaries for Zongo communities"



"For the avoidance of doubt, the said publication is mishcievous, deliberately distorted and calculated to whip up anti-Muslim sentiments against the NDC and the JOHN MAHAMA 2020 Campaign" the statement added.



Read full statement below



REJOINDER: 2020 ELECTIONS: MAHAMA PROMISES MORE MORTUARIES FOR ZONGO COMMUNITIES



The attention of the JOHN MAHAMA 2020 Campaign has been drawn to a false, misleading and inaccurate claims in publications carried by sections of the online media titiled 2020 elections: Mahama promises more mortuaries for Zongo communities.



For the records, the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Dramani Mahama, during a live interview with TV XYZ and WoezorTV, took the opportunity to highlight his partys proposed interventions in the Peoples Manifesto for Zongos and Deprived Urban Settlements.



Reading from page 82 of the NDCs 2020 manifesto, Mr Mahama mentioned a number of interventions aimed at addressing the historical inequalities between Zongo, Deprived Urban Settlements and other communities, including the negative effects of the Alien

Compliance Order implemented by the Danquah-Busia tradition on Zongos.



Acknowledging the concerns of Muslims about how traditional mortuaries handle their beloved ones when they pass on, Mr Mahama quoted the specific section of the Peoples Manifesto which addresses the issue and aims at lessening the burden of bereaved Muslims by treating their deceased loved ones in line with accepted practices of the Islamic faith.



So a lot of the Muslim communities have not been happy. And so we say we will facilitate the establishment of mortuaries in accordance with Islamic custom and practices and collaborate with the Ministry of Health to set up focal teams responsible for procedures that are compliant with Islamic custom and practice at all public mortuaries , he quoted.



For the avoidance of doubt, the said publication is mishcievous, deliberately distorted and calculated to whip up anti-Muslim sentiments against the NDC and the JOHN MAHAMA 2020 Campaign.



Muslims, in particular, and the general public are therefore entreated to disregard that offensive publication by treating it with the contempt it deserves.



***END***



JAMES AGYENIM-BOATENG

CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON

MONDAY, 21ST SEPTEMBER 2020

TECHIMAN

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
(Natural News) A Rochester man is livid after his business was targeted by protesters ostensibly outraged over the death of Daniel Prude, a black man who died about a week after an interaction with the Rochester Police Department (RPD) back in March.

(Article by Amanda Prestigiacomo republished from DailyWire.com)

As more violent rioting took place Saturday night, lasting into early Sunday morning, protesters torched a store that encompasses a U-Haul service  a store owned by a black man  leaving at least three of the vehicles destroyed by the alleged arson.

WHEC News 10 journalist Charles Molineaux captured photos of the destruction and the business owner, Jesse Barksdale.

According to the photos, it appears Mr. Barksdale placed a Proud to be Black Owned sign outside the business, which was clearly ignored by rioters allegedly protesting racial injustice.

Multiple trucks on fire at U-Haul on State Street at Brown. Rochester fire just arriving now, Molineaux reported early Sunday morning.

Multiple trucks on fire at U-Haul on State Street at Brown.

Rochester fire just arriving now. pic.twitter.com/J7VnqflbYR  Charles Molineaux (@WHEC_cmolineaux) September 6, 2020

Police, and fire now responding to the scene in U haul lot. pic.twitter.com/DZlz9b5vp4  Charles Molineaux (@WHEC_cmolineaux) September 6, 2020

Three U-Haul trucks destroyed at J-Ribs on State Street, the reported said. (JRibs also provides U-Haul services.)

Owner Jesse Barksdale says he was bounced out of bed to respond, Molineaux reported. Livid over the destruction of his business.

Three U-Haul trucks destroyed at J-Ribs on State Street.

Owner Jesse Barksdale says he was bounced out of bed to respond.

Livid over the destruction of his business. pic.twitter.com/7FKPtD6mmS  Charles Molineaux (@WHEC_cmolineaux) September 6, 2020

Some of the estimated 1,500 protesters that took to the streets over Prudes death shot fireworks at officers, threw rocks, and apparently engaged in arson.

An autopsy report from the Monroe County Medical Examiners Office, according to WXXI News, listed the cause of Prudes death as complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint due to excited delirium due to acute phencyclidine intoxication, an indication that Prude might have been high on PCP.

As highlighted by WXXI News, police reports indicate Prude had apparently gone on a destructive tear, smashing out the windows of several storefronts, and ranting about having the coronavirus before police came in contact with him.

The Daily Wire reported Friday on the interaction with Prude and law enforcement from March:

Back in March, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Daniel Prude, a black male, interacted with officers from the Rochester Police Department (RPD) in New York after at least two people called 911 about Prudes behavior and welfare, included Prudes own brother, Joe Prude. Police reports indicate Prude was restrained by officers while waiting for the ambulance the cops summoned  video (below) suggests this was done soon after Prude told officers, Give me your gun, I need it. As noted by Forbes, Prude had been taken to the local hospital for suicidal thoughts about eight hours before his encounter with police on March 22. As cops were physically restraining the man for about two minutes, body camera footage (which can be viewed below) and media reports suggest the 41-year-old threw up and loss consciousness. He was reportedly resuscitated on the way to the hospital but likely suffered severe brain damage and was pulled from life support about a week later by his family. Notably, Prude has a mesh-like hood placed over his head, dubbed a spit hood. The device is used to protect officers from saliva. Prude was repeatedly spitting and reportedly telling people he had COVID. (The interaction with police was in March, at the height of the novel coronavirus pandemic.)

Read more at: DailyWire.com
It was Oktoberfest, 10 years ago.

A 23-year-old woman and her male friend were leaving a festival event at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex. They saw Hayan Yassin sitting in his car and offered him $5 to drive them to King Street.

Yassin started making sexually explicit remarks to the woman. The couple asked to be let out of the car. But Yassin pushed the man out, then drove away with the woman to an isolated area in Puslinch Township, east of Cambridge.

He raped her repeatedly in the back seat of the car, punching and slapping her, holding her down by her neck and slamming her head against the window.

At one point the woman, thinking she was going to die, asked if she could call her father and speak to him one last time.

She survived by pretending to pass out. He threw her out of the car. She crawled away and asked for help at a nearby house.

Six weeks later, Yassin raped another woman.

This time, he followed a 19-year-old woman who was out for a walk near her home on Hazel Street in Waterloo.

He put his hand over her mouth from behind and forced her into a driveway. He pressed an object to her neck. He told the terrified woman that if she tried to escape, I will cut your throat with this knife, and Im not afraid to do it.

He then repeatedly raped and sodomized her against a pickup truck and in a backyard.

Then, strangely, he helped her get dressed, held her hand and took her out for hot chocolate. He told her to clean up in the washroom of the coffee shop. He asked to spend the night with her.

She escaped only after taking him to a friends house instead of her own. She managed to lock him out and call police.

Yassin was caught with the help of surveillance video at the coffee shop. DNA evidence linked him to the crimes.

For these unspeakably violent acts, Yassin, then 26, was sentenced in 2011 to 10 years in jail.

The judge at the time, Justice David Carr, hoped Yassin could be rehabilitated, in part because he was so young. He recommended that Yassin get help in prison.

But after May 2018, when he was released on parole, Yassins behaviour showed that whatever help he might have received was not enough.

He failed to follow the conditions of his parole, including not to have sexually explicit material and not to initiate friendships with women.

But despite this, he registered with a dating app, had photos of women in minimal clothing on his cellphone, and frequented the University Avenue neighbourhood.

For this, the parole board sent Yassin back to prison.

"Your willingness and ability to deceive and manipulate is of great concern and in the boards view elevates your risk to the point of being undue," it said.

But no prison term lasts forever. Eventually, most offenders return to society. Now, Yassin is out of jail and back in this community.

He must obey a long list of conditions, including staying away from the university neighbourhood in Waterloo where the crimes occurred.

He is still on parole, continuing to serve his time, but that will likely not last much longer. He received his 10-year sentence in 2011. Its almost over.

Meanwhile, in a rare public statement, the Waterloo Regional Police has warned us about him. A press release says police believe he poses a high risk of reoffending.

The police also cited a law that allows for disclosure of personal information about an individual if it is reasonably believed that the individual poses a significant risk of harm to other persons or property, and believes that such disclosure would reduce that risk.

This has caused extreme anxiety for women.

Why oh why is a sexual predator of university students allowed to live in a town with two universities and a college? Hes a ticking time bomb, said Karen McKerlie Savage of Waterloo, on Twitter.

Others were concerned that, although his photograph was widely shared, it would be difficult to recognize him when we are all wearing masks. And still others asked why he had been let out of jail if he was still thought to be a risk.

That last question cuts at the heart of this issue.

We live in a liberal society with a high regard for individual rights. Our justice system is carefully calibrated to presume innocence of accused people, and give them the fairest possible trial. When people are convicted, we trust the judge to issue a sentence that balances the safety of the population with the offender's chance for rehabilitation. Rehabilitation implies a second chance. We rarely lock up people for the rest of their lives.

It's a legal system rooted in our society's Western, humanistic tradition. Most of us accept it, most of the time.

But now, some of us are paying an agonizingly high price for that system and that tradition. Women here are paying that price with their fear and their compromised safety, while Yassin walks free. Lets not forget that.
Election: While some experts say the Supreme Court pick may nudge fence-riding Republicans to vote in November  the motivator being the lifetime appointment of a conservative to the nations highest courts, as the AP points out  The New York Times also reports some White House officials worry that Judge Barretts positions might galvanize not just Democrats but also suburban women and independent voters who would favor a more mainstream pick, and her nomination is hardly certain. Mr. Trump and his advisers may have to weigh how much support they would gain from those voters if he selected another nominee versus the risk of alienating parts of their base if they shy away from Judge Barretts abortion record.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21)  Vice President Leni Robredo, who defeated the former strongman's son Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr during the 2016 vice presidential elections, on the 48th anniversary of the declaration of martial law on Monday said it is important to look back at history so Filipinos are not fooled by the historical revisionism perpetrated by several groups.

The Marcos clan has been facing accusations of historical revisionism after Bongbong previously called for a revision of educational textbooks that depict "political propaganda" against his father's over 20-year regime.

The Vice President said that regardless of political color, there is no argument on the scores of human rights atrocities and economic turmoil during the military rule of former strongman Ferdinand Marcos, who was in power for over 20 years.

Marcos, who first took office in December 30, 1965, signed Proclamation No. 1081, placing the Philippines under martial law on September 21, 1972. He made the public announcement two days later. He lifted martial law in 1981 but his one-man rule is said to have effectively continued for 14 years until the "people power" revolt forced him to flee into exile in Hawaii on February 25, 1986, shortly before mobs stormed Malacanang.

"Maraming pinahirapan, naglaho, at pinatay noong Martial Law; lumobo ang utang ng bayan na binabayaran natin hanggang sa ngayon; lumalim at lumawak ang kahirapan. Dinurog ang mga institusyong haligi ng lipunan. Naging bahagi ng diwa ng pamamahala ang korupsyon at pang-aabuso," she said in a statement.

[Translation: Many were tortured, many disappeared, and many were killed during martial law. Our country's debts ballooned during this time and we are still paying for it. It bred abuse and corruption in the government.]

"Those who attempt to tell us otherwise are not only merely telling a supposed version of the story: They are lying to our faces, stealing our truths from us, stealing our stories... Our task is to push back against these lies at every instant. To tell the stories of Martial Law and dictatorship over and over," she added.

Around 70,000 people were imprisoned, 30,000 tortured, more than 3,000 killed, and hundreds disappeared during the martial law era, according to international human rights group Amnesty International.

The national government released funds until December 2019 from the recovered Marcos ill-gotten wealth to human rights victims during Martial Law. Aside from this, the family is accused of plundering billions of dollars from government coffers, including through dummy foundations in Swiss bank accounts.
By PTI

KOLKATA: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has arrested six al-Qaeda terrorists from Murshidabad distrct of West Bengal, has found that more people in the state are working for the terror outfit, an official of the investigating agency said.

On interrogating the six arrested from Murshidabad on Saturday, the NIA sleuths have unearthed the identities of two persons from Malda working in tandem with them, he said.

"There are more members spread in other districts of West Bengal as well as other states having links to al-Qaeda. In fact, the two from Malda were present at a meeting at the Murshidabad house on Thursday night. They had left the place early on Friday morning and the six were arrested by the NIA on Saturday."

"The two are now on the run and a search for them has started ," the official told PTI on Monday.

According to the NIA sources out of the six arrested, two are students having close links to some persons in Kashmir.

A few SIM cards which were seized from their possession, the laptop and the mobile phones used by these two students, revealed their link to "unknown" persons in Kashmir.

ALSO READ | Main accused in Al-Qaeda terror plot had travelled to many places in South, East India: NIA

"One of the two is a second year undergraduate student of computer science at Basantapur Engineering College in Domkal, while another is a first year student in a college in Karimpur. The laptop and the mobile phones which these two were using showed several contacts in Kashmir, Kerala and other states. They were using several SIM cards. Several WhatsApp chats and video conferences were held using these numbers."

"There are several groups created on WhatsApp (by them). Several communicating apps were also used. We are questioning them," he said.

The NIA sleuths on Sunday night conducted a raid at the house of Abu Sufiyan, one of the six arrested from Murshidabad, and questioned his family members, the officer said.

They seized electrical circuits and other devices from a concrete-bunker found inside Sufiyan's residence, he added.

The NIA had on Saturday arrested nine terrorists associated with a Pakistan-sponsored module of al-Qaeda, the transnational terror outfit, after conducting simultaneous raids at several locations in Kerala and West Bengal.

The raids were conducted on Saturday at Ernakulam in Kerala and Murshidabad in West Bengal.

The NIA has learnt about an inter-state module of al- Qaeda operatives at various locations in India, including West Bengal and Kerala.

Meanwhile, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday slammed the director general of police for his "don't-care attitude" and "ostrich stance" on the law and order situation in the state, which has turned into a "safe haven" to terror and crime.

Dhankhar said he was surprised at the DGP's "two- sentence" response to his confidential communication, and asked the state police chief to meet him by September 26 to impart details of the "alarming decline in law and order" and the steps required to tone it up.

The governor said there can just be no takers of the DGP's assertion that "West Bengal Police firmly adheres to the path laid down by law. There is no discrimination for or against anyone in an extra legal sense".

Nothing can be farther from the grim reality and truth, Dhankhar asserted.

ALSO READ | Secret chamber found at house of suspected al-Qaeda terrorist in Murshidabad: Police

"Anguished at DGP West Bengal Police 'don't care' ostrich stance on law and order. The state is safe haven to terror, crime, flourishing illegal bomb making, corruption resulting in atrocious violation of human rights and oppressive quelling of all opposition."

"All elements antithetical to rule of law are amply reflected day in and day out," Dhankhar, who has been at loggerheads with state government over a host of issues, said.

He alleged it is an open secret that the West Bengal government is functioning on "police crutches", and the police, "ever in political readiness", is abandoning its lawful public duty.

"Such 'capitulation' benumbs rule of law and saps essence and spirit of the Supreme Court judgement that affords him (DGP) fixed two-year tenure, so that he may act as per law and independently," the governor said.

Instead of being the protector of human rights, Dhankhar said, the police in the state "is turning out as severe threat to such rights".

"All these sinister developments are expectedly in the know of the DGP. He must know a day of reckoning, and not far enough, awaits all such transgressions that as constitutional head I cannot and will not overlook," he said.
SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Seoul-based digital marketing experts InterAd have provided insight into the future of mobile advertising in Asia - and how Western companies can be part of the next big advertising boom.

The SEO and SEM specialists have revealed that mobile advertising is growing at a greater rate in Asia than anywhere else in the world, and is set to continue to explode over the next five years.

Mobile ad spend in Asia is expected to grow 88% over the next few years

Asia is the world 's fastest-growing i nternet region, where mobile users on average watch more weekly online video than they do the US, Canada or Europe, and while Korea, Indonesia and Singapore all lead the surge in mobile engagement in Asian countries, India in particular is proving itself a powerful emerging mobile market, with a huge 425% growth in mobile ad requests - far ahead of the USA's steady 170% increase.

Meanwhile eCPM growth is being led by Singapore (154%), Japan (125%), and Australia (111%) Compare that to the eCPM growth in the US of 79%, and it's clear that while the industry is growing everywhere, it's Asia where it is exploding.

This exponential growth is expected to continue over the next five years. Mobile ad spend in Asia is expected to grow 88% over the next few years - that's a higher rate than that of North America and Europe - and the digital economy in Asia as a whole, meanwhile, is projected to reach $200 billion by 2025.

All that unrivalled mobile engagement means Western companies should be looking to Asia to market themselves, say the experts.

"This is the perfect moment for western companies to increase their digital presence and efforts in Asia," commented Stanley Chang, CEO of InterAd, the digital creative consultancy which helps companies localise their business to Asia.

"The vast growth of mobile advertising in Asia in recent years is astounding, but not surprising," adds Chang, who has more than 18 years of experience in developing digital strategies, and maximizing the online presence of businesses, "Asian consumers are increasingly mobile-first, and the rising rates of mobile engagement reflect that."

"Western companies can be part of the boom too," advises Chang, "by applying an effective SEO and SEM strategy, and combining that with our local knowledge of the market."

"Coming from the SEO industry, I've seen huge increases in mobile engagement over the years," said Chang, "But this boom in Asia rivals anything I've seen before. It's extraordinary. To see it happening in my home continent - and to be leading the charge in making it happen with digital marketing - is incredibly exciting to be part of."

"To help other businesses be part of it too? That's the most exciting part of all," he adds.

Discover how to localise your business to Asia using digital strategy at InterAd.com/en .

Media Contacts:

InterAd

Marivi Cervi, SEO Strategist

[email protected]

[02-3454-1513]

Information for editors:

Website: https://www.interad.com/en

About: InterAd helps western companies to reach their goals in the Asian market, through SEO, SEM, Social Media Marketing and Online Public Relations. The consultancy creates innovative and tailored strategies to connect your brand with your target audience. InterAd has almost 20 years of experience crafting Digital Marketing Strategies to help businesses to penetrate various Asian Markets in a hassle-free, profitable way.

InterAd, Inc. social:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/interad

SOURCE InterAd Inc.

Related Links

https://www.interad.com/en


On Wednesday, Sept. 23, Yahoo Life and Verizon will host the second Citizen Verizon Assembly, Education Is Not Up for Debate, for a timely discussion about the education system, covering remote learning, inequality and mental health as Verizon continues to convene advocates, activists, and nonprofit and business leaders to address the most pressing global economic, environmental and social issues. The event can be watched live at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT in the player above.

The hour-long virtual event will include keynotes and discussions with leaders from around the globe, including mental health activist Catie Cole, actress, producer and change agent Yara Shahidi, and actress, entrepreneur and activist Gabrielle Union, among others.

After an introduction from Shahidi, and remarks from Verizons Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer Rose Stuckey Kirk, the event will open with a debate moderated by award-winning journalist Soledad OBrien. Focusing on the current issues facing students and teachers, and how we can build a public education system for the future, debate participants include:

Anthony Jack, author and assistant professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education;

Michelle Udall, Republican member of the Arizona House of Representative; and

Jordan Shapiro, assistant professor at Temple University.

Students, teachers and parents are in the midst of another school year of remote or hybrid learning in most classrooms across the country. Following the debate, Soledad OBrien will moderate a mental health fireside chat that brings together leaders and activists to discuss the best ways for both students and parents to cope with the new normal in education:

Catie Cole, co-founder of The Mental Health Coalition and creator of How Are You Really?;

Gabrielle Union, actress, entrepreneur and activist; and

Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, President, Medical Director of Child Mind Institute.

To learn more about Citizen Verizon and the companys digital inclusion efforts, visit CitizenVerizon.com.

Story continues

Citizen Verizon Assembly: Education Is Not Up for Debate brings together Yara Shahidi, Gabrielle Union, Soledad OBrien, professors, politicians and business leaders for an urgent debate on todays education system, with a look to the future. (Verizon/Yahoo)

Yahoo is a division of Verizon Media Group.

Read more from Yahoo Life:
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Lindsey Graham may be the most misunderstood figure in Donald Trumps Washington. For the #Resistance, the Republican senator from South Carolina is the lickspittle who abandoned his principles for access to a dangerous populist. For the populists, Graham is an interloper, worming his way into the presidents inner circle and persuading him to keep fighting the endless wars Trump campaigned against.

Neither version, however, quite captures the role that Graham plays in Trumps chaotic presidency. He is neither a Svengali nor a suck-up. Rather, he is an honest friend, willing to do something few others in Trumps inner circle will do: Tell him when he is wrong.

That is the Graham that emerges from Bob Woodwards new book, Rage. In scene after scene, Graham is depicted as the Trump confidante urging him to step back from the ledge.

Take Trumps response to former FBI director Robert Muellers investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 election. As Muellers final report makes clear, Trump tried many times to have him fired, but his staff never complied. Graham also pleaded with the president to back off.

Woodward reports that also Graham confronted Trump at the beginning of the Russia investigation, telling the president that there was only one thing that would turn me against you, and that is if you actually worked with the Russians. Trump insisted that he didnt. I believe you, Graham said. Graham then told Trump the truth: Mueller is the only person who can clear you.

It appears that Grahams counsel was effective. Trump didnt fire Mueller. And although his final report found examples of attempted obstruction of his investigation and contacts between his campaign and Russia, Mueller also stated that he found no evidence of a conspiracy between the presidents campaign and the Russian interference operation.

Grahams approach with Trump stands in sharp relief with the presidents first director of national intelligence, former Indiana Senator Dan Coats. Coats pushed back against Trump on specific policy issues such as his effort to withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria. But Woodward does not report that Coats ever confronted Trump directly about whether he colluded with Moscow.

Story continues

Woodward does report that Coats and his staff perused the most classified intelligence on Trumps possible ties to Russia and found no proof of collusion. Nonetheless, Woodward says, Coatss doubts continued, never fully dissipating. Coats has not gone on the record to either dispute or affirm this account. When Trump asked him in 2019, before Mueller released his report, to state publicly that he found no proof of collusion, Coats demurred, stressing that the FBI still had an ongoing criminal investigation.

Graham today leads the Senates investigation into the FBIs probe of Trump and Russia. The presidents opponents dismiss Grahams efforts as an attempt to curry favor with Trump. They shouldnt. When Mueller was named special prosecutor in 2017, Graham introduced legislation to prevent the president from firing him. He counseled the president to allow Mueller to finish his work. When Trump pressed him in 2019 to issue a subpoena of former president, Barack Obama, Graham publicly said it was a bad idea, leading Trump to temporarily break contact.

Just as Graham is not the sycophant the left paints him to be, he also defies the warmonger caricature forwarded by populists such as Tucker Carlson of Fox News.

Woodward reveals that Graham repeatedly counseled Trump against the drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Graham warned him that Iran would retaliate and that Trump could find himself launching an attack inside Iranian territory, risking a major war. Trump responded, He deserves it, noting intelligence reporting that Soleimani was planning major attacks.

Graham also emerged as an honest friend this summer following the police killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd. Privately, Graham worried that Trumps response to the protests and riots that followed Floyds killing was in the style of the infamous segregationist Governor George Wallace of Alabama.

In a series of phone calls in June, Woodward reports, Graham bluntly told the president that if the election were held today, he would lose. He urged the president instead to take a three-pronged approach to his campaign: Issue an executive order on police reform; propose a massive infrastructure bill, and support legislation to protect some 700,000 undocumented young adults who had been brought to the country as children. Trump didnt take Grahams advice.

That is often the way it goes with Trump. As the tell-all books published in 2020 document, the president believes that he is his own best counsel. Nonetheless, its worth asking: Would the republic be in better shape if Graham had chosen to appease Trumps resistance, and said publicly the kinds of things he told him in private?

I am not sure it would. Trump won the 2016 election. If he were removed from office through a flawed and abusive FBI investigation, millions of Americans would have viewed their votes as nullified. Graham, who campaigned bitterly against Trump during the primaries, understood this too.

Had Graham followed the lead of his late friend, John McCain, maybe there would have been one more Republican vote for Trumps impeachment. But it would not have been enough to remove him from office. Instead, Graham made a choice: He is trying to work with the president we have to persuade him to be the president we need.

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

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

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

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Synagro Technologies, Inc., one of the largest private composters in the United States, will be one of only two sponsors supporting the 2020 Kern County Fair Livestock Show  a first-ever virtual event  September 23 to October 4, 2020.

The fair will post videos of traditional fair performers on its website and social media, adding interactive activities in which the public can participate. Ever wonder how to make funnel cake at home? This could be the year to learn, as the fair plans to post on a variety of topics each day to keep Kern County residents engaged in something thats become a cherished tradition.

Synagro will highlight its AllGro compost  a nutrient-rich source of organic matter that brings agronomic value to almost any application  during the online livestock show. Made from carbon-rich feedstocks, AllGro compost is the result of a natural, controlled, biological process. The end result is a high-quality soil amendment used by professionals in agriculture, horticulture and landscape maintenance.

We are especially pleased to be sponsoring the 2020 Kern County Fair Livestock Show as it has been reformatted as virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Mike Kotelec, regional vice president, West, Synagro. Its important to us to support the event and give the children and teenagers of Kern County who raised their animals to compete in this event.

Those who compete will have raised their animals as usual and filmed 60-second videos to be distributed to judges. After the winners have been announced, the animals will be sold in an eBay-like forum before being shipped to processors.

Were also excited to be showcasing AllGro compost during the online event, added Robert Ford, business development manager, Synagro. When used in accordance with sound agronomic principles, AllGro compost provides both immediate and long-lasting benefits by replenishing organic matter; providing slow-release plant nutrients, reducing need for chemical fertilizers; enhancing soil structure and porosity which improves soil moisture holding capacity; and helping build more friable soil which can improve tillage in compacted soils.

Last year Synagro distributed more than 300,000 tons of compost produced at its six facilities nationwide.

About Synagro

Founded in 1986, Synagro Technologies, Inc. works to turn waste into worth by helping more than 800 municipal and industrial water and wastewater facilities in North America move toward safer, cleaner and more environmentally beneficial practices. For some, its simply cleaning the water supply. For others, its much more  we partner with them to process their waste for compost or energy pellets, creating healthy soil and sequestering carbon in the process. As the largest recycler of organic by-products in North America, were trusted because we remove risks while keeping the logistics clean. Because we have the most experienced team in the industry, we can offer tailored solutions that ensure no waste goes to waste. Much of our work isnt pretty. But its a greener world emerging from a cleaner one  worth coming from waste  and we think thats pretty beautiful. Visit synagro.com to learn more.

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I have often complained that business laptops make me overcome with a sense of dread and despair. They are incredibly boring, generally, as black slabs masquerading as (very capable, mind you) computing devices for equally boring people who have no sense of style. Driven by IT departments in companies who really dont have any sense of style either. There are very few exceptions to the rule. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the HP Elite Dragonfly, being the two laptops that buck this sorry trend. There is now another one joining this rather small list of exceptions. And what an aggressive entry into the commercial laptops space by Asus, it has to be said. The Asus ExpertBook B9, or the Asus ExpertBook B9450 as it is also called, is mind bogglingly beautiful. And it just builds from there in such a fantastic manner, it defies belief.

The Asus ExpertBook B9450 is priced at Rs 1,02,228 onwards in India, while the spec that we are reviewing here is priced at Rs 1,59,294 at this time. If you are considering this (or vice-versa), you would also probably be weighing up the HP Elite Dragonfly and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon. Both of which are considerably more expensive. The impressive basic specs of the Asus ExpertBook B9450 read as followsIntel Core i7 10510U processor, 16GB RAM, a 14-inch Full HD display, fingerprint sensor and all this in an incredibly slim design that even integrates an Amazon Alexa notification bar.

The Asus ExpertBook B9 Has Very Powerful Yet More Expensive Rivals

The HP Elite Dragonfly is available in one variant in India right now. It is powered by the Intel Core i7-8565 vPro processor. Before you scoff looking at this and claim that this is just an 8th generation Intel Core processor, remember that there is a very good reason why the HP Elite Dragonfly (2020) runs the 8th generation Intel Core i7-8565 vPro processor. That is because the 10th generation Comet Lake vPro family wasnt available on laptops when the Elite Dragonfly was launched earlier this summer. They are now though, and that complicates things. The rest of the spec sheet includes 16GB of RAM and a very fast 1TB SSD as well as Windows 10 Pro 64. All this style, substance and brilliance will cost you Rs 2,19,518.

And very much within the realms of the competition is the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 8), that offers the customization option for the 10th generation Intel Core vPro processors. By default, the Intel Corei5-10210U processor powers the ThinkPad X1 Carbon with 16GB RAM, 256GB storage and you need to choose between Windows 10 Home 64 and Windows 10 Pro 64 additionally. Nothing customized and with no Windows 10, prices start Rs 1,41,550. So, we go around with a bit of customization to get the X1 Carbon up to spec with the HP Elite Dragonfly, albeit the different processor generations. So, with the Intel Core i7-10610U vPro processor (that costs an additional Rs 37,500), Windows 10 Pro 64 (that adds Rs 16,000 more) and a 1TB SSD (thats Rs 16,300 more), a similarly spec-ed Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 8 comes out to Rs 2,24,900.

All That Glitters Is Not Gold, But Something Even More Beautiful

What does one say? The Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptop is everything that I could have wanted in a business laptop, to make things more sensible and stylish in that boring world. It is not even your regular metal mix that makes this laptop tick. It is not the magnesium aluminum alloy that laptops use. In fact, this is a magnesium-lithium alloy that is much lighter too. All that means is this 14-inch laptop weighs an incredible 995 grams. That is lighter than the similarly cool HP Elite Dragonfly (around 1.25kg). That is lighter than the latest generation Apple MacBook Air (around 1.29kg). That is also lighter than the Dell XPS 14, which we are led to believe does everything including being a laptop for home use, business use, style, substance and whatnot, and weighs 1.2kg onwards.

The drastic weight reduction isnt the only highlight of the Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptops design. It is just 14.9mm thick, which really is ultrathin, by all stretches of the imagination. It is so compact that you will really be able to drop this in your backpack or handbag and it will just sit there not taking any more space than a couple of magazines or a folder holding important documents. Toi be honest, it just doesnt feel like a 14-inch laptop. It is much smaller and lighter than 14-inch laptops we have known so far, even the ones that have claimed a lot of weight reduction.

Then there is the colour. It really is hard to tell what it is. Sometimes it looks a very subtle shade of blue (midnight blue?), and when light reflects off it at different angles, it keeps switching between dark grey, black and even a subtle shade of graphite. And it glitters, because there are sparkles embedded in this finish that really light up, albeit very subtly in a way that warms the heart, when you switch on your workstation lamp. Even the pickiest among the business users may get a light smile seeing this.

There really are no bezels so to speak off around the display of the Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptop. That has also helped tremendously in reducing the footprint. The ErgoLift Hinge makes its presence felt as you open this laptop up, because the keyboard deck lifts ever so slightly near the display itself, giving a nice angle for you as you type. And all this weight reduction doesnt mean this is compromising on features.

There is a fingerprint sensor and even an Amazon Alexa notification lightnow that is perhaps a first in laptops, because I havent seen that in any computing devices yet.

No shortage of ports either. There are two USB-C ports, a full USB port, HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack and a RJ-45 Ethernet Port that requires a dongle which Asus has bundled with the ExpertBook B9450 laptop. Also, and this is a very nice touchthe Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptop comes with a very classy leather laptop sleeve as part of the box pack.

This Screen Is All About The Hidden Smartness

In case you still dont believe it (I say because it took me some time), this is a 14-inch display. It is Full HD, doesnt mess around with trying to integrate touch and offers an almost bezel-less viewing experience. And experience is where this screen delivers, on all fronts. Since this is a business laptop meant to mostly be used under ill-thought-out overhead lighting in offices, this is matter by default. That is great, nothing reflects off it and back into your eyes.

This is a very bright screen too, so much so that I really never had to go beyond the 50% brightness level even on the brightest summer afternoon with the sunlight really making its presence felt through the windows. That is great news, particularly for those who may be traveling a lot and may end up using this either during a commute or in a brightly lit conference room.

The display also has something known as PSR, which is a shorter form for Panel Self Refresh Technology. The Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptop takes advantage of sorcery that reduces the screens power consumption, depending on what is being displayed on the screen. For instance, it clocks down power usage if what you are seeing is static text or still images. Asus says the consumption can go as low as 1-watt, which really resets the goalposts for rivals.

Unlike other business laptops that disappoint with the overall viewing experience, the Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptop isnt just meant to keep you feeling all dreary in the world of Microsoft Excel. This does colours also very well, so much so that web pages, videos and photos have a sense of life to them.

You Cannot Keep Up With This, At All

The Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptop that Im reviewing here is powered by the Intel Core i7-10510U processor with 16GB RAM. One can perhaps argue that Asus could have instead plonked in the vPro series Core i7 in this laptop, but that would purely be nitpicking. There is no trade-off in terms of performance, compared with the likes of the latest edition of the Dell XPS 13, for instanceat least as far as the real-world usage is concerned. And that is really what you should be considering, and not synthetic benchmark tests that have no bearing on how youd use a laptop daily.

Alongside this powerful combination sits a very fast 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD which really boosts the overall app performance. Asus rates the read and write speeds for this at 3500MB/s but while that may be the best case scenario in the real world, you will still get read and write speeds upwards of 800MB/s for most intents and purposes, and that pegs it close to, if not the very top, of the performance ladder.

There was a time when all-day battery life was considered fantastic in laptops. And if a laptop really got past the 12-hour mark for a single charge, that was considered ideal for travelers and businessmen. The thing is, that benchmark is being changed significantly by the Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptop. When used as a regular work machine, with liberal number of Microsoft Edge tabs, multiple Microsoft Word documents, Spotify streaming music and a few other apps being opened and closed alongside all this, the Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptop lasted 17.5 hours on a single charge. This with brightness all through at 50%. This is by far the best battery experience I have logged on an Intel Core i7 processor powered laptop on Windows 10 laptopsand only the Apple MacBook Pro line comes close with around 14 hours.

Not to forget, the Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptop gets the fast charge feature which juices up the 66 Wh battery, from 0% to 60% in 39 minutes.

That being said, it is important to note that even though Asus claims this is a 720p front facing camera, it really doesnt set any experiential benchmarks. What you need is good lighting on your face for this to be detailed in any way, and if that is not the case, there will be that smudgy reproduction of you in the Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams video meetings and video calls that surely are a part of your daily workflow.

The Highlight Is The Very Cool Numberpad

There is one big issue with the Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptops keyboard which I must point out right at the startwhere you would expect the Delete key to be sits the Power button instead. Which means, as you are furiously trying to meet a deadline, you may press it hard enough without realizing and end up actually putting the laptop into Sleep. It is best to keep the power key separate from the rest of the keyboard layout, and this is something you will have to be very careful of.

That out of the way, it has to be said that the keyboard itself is very good. Its laid out well, the key spacing is quite good and the key travel is sharp enough for you to get the hang of soon enough. It is not exactly the Apple MacBook Pro 13 sharp, but youll be able to type fast enough as you get the hang of it. Somehow, the font size of the labeling of each key seems a tad larger than it should be (or perhaps what I am used to), and that can be a bit disconcerting initially.

It is the touchpad which will really get your attention. This is one of those rare instances where the LED illuminated number pad is built into the touchpad. And on that front, the Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptop really takes the style aspect up another notch. It is very useful, you can choose between two brightness levels and despite the occasional need to press hard on the icon on the top right of the touchpad to illuminate this, it works well. It really doesnt change the functionality of either the touchpad or how you use the number keys in any way, except this is quite stylish for anyone looking at it from side on.

The Last Word: The Asus ExpertBook B9 Adds Style To Drab Business Meetings

The thing is, Asus have come very close to perfectionism with the ExpertBook B9450 laptop. No one can deny the absolutely fantastic battery life, the uncompromising performance, technology that gives the display additional smartness and drop-dead gorgeous looks. Add in the number pad integration on the touchpad, and you genuinely have a laptop that looks futuristic tooat least in the world of dreary business laptops. However, very minor things keep this from achieving perfection, such as the sub-par webcam and the placement of the power key in the larger scheme of the keyboard layout. Mind you, both of these foibles really shouldnt weigh on your mind as a consumer, all things considered. If nothing else, the Asus ExpertBook B9450 laptop must give the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the HP Elite Dragonfly some sleepless nights. Asus has drawn on all its experience with premium laptops in the ZenBook range, and it shows. I still cannot get over how compact the footprint is. And comparatively how much more affordable it is. And that is priceless.
In terms of pure melodrama, the just concluded Gubernatorial elections in Edo State of Nigeria is nearly unsurpassable. It had a little of everything odious and putrid about Nigerian politics, bar the murderous violence.

There was the typical game of musical chairs and political carpet-crossing, demonstrative of politics without governing ideology or principles.

Recall that both primary contestants were contesting the same elections for the second time against each other, having reciprocally swapped the political parties under which they previously contested in 2016.

There was the surreal moment when Adams Oshiomhole, Governor-emeritus of Edo State and presumptive political Godfather knelt down to beg Benin Palace Chiefs to support his preferred candidate Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

There was also the moment when Oshiomholes rebellious and obviously panicked former God-son and incumbent Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki sought audience with the presumed Godfather of Godfathers, Chief Bola Tinubu in Lagos. He was haughtily rebuffed.

There was the moment when Adams Oshiomhole was allegedly caught on video at Aso Rock the presidential villa, purportedly pleading with the Chief of Staff to the President to guarantee the issuance of a secret presidential directive to return Osagie Ize-Iyamu as Governor at all costs.

There was the moment when Chief Bola Tinubu in a manner more befitting of a potentate addressing his subjects, advised or rather commanded the people of Edo State in a pre-recorded video broadcast to vote for Osagie Ize-Iyamu and not for Godwin Obaseki.

And much, much more.

In the end, by all public indications available to us at this present time, the elections which were held on September 19, 2020 were conducted peacefully, almost without incident and violence.

The results were quickly announced within 24 hours of the close of the vote and the incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki was officially declared the winner of the elections.

Now it must be stressed that the primary challenger, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who I reveal for reasons of full disclosure, was a high school classmate of mine at Edo College, Benin-City from 1973 to 1978, and who I regard highly, is yet to issue his official reaction to the election.

I concede that Ize-Iyamus perception of the just concluded elections based on a direct participants drone-viewpoint may be radically different from mine, being privy to facts and data beyond the purview of the general public.

In that eventuality of course, it lies perfectly within Ize-Iyamus legal rights and civic responsibilities, to explore all remedies available to him under the law, including contesting the conduct and outcome of the elections at the Gubernatorial elections tribunal right up to the Supreme Court.

That being said however, the first impressions of many observers is that the just concluded Edo State Gubernatorial elections is the fairest ever held under the present leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as under the incumbent Muhammadu Buhari Administration.

So, what happened?

Why did Nigerias notoriously biased INEC suddenly become an efficient, professional electoral umpire?

The answer to that poser lies in the seeming presidential indifference and reluctance to interfere in the outcome of the Edo State elections at the Aso Rock presidential villa rather than letting it be decided by voters at the polling booths.

That the Nigerian Presidency was neutral and did not employ its so-called Federal might in influencing the outcome of the Edo State Gubernatorial elections was confirmed by no other than the declared winner Governor Godwin Obaseki.

In a most revealing testimony, Governor Obaseki was quoted Sunday September 20, 2020 as commending President Buhari in his own words for allowing the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, conduct free and fair elections. (Emphasis mine).

What could be more revealing than that?

This is a direct confirmation by Governor Obaseki that his victory under the banner of his new party, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could not have been possible without at least the neutrality, or even perhaps the support of the President.

The inference of course is that the failure of Osagie Ize-Iyamu to win the Gubernatorial elections under the same PDP in 2016 was mainly because the President did not allow it back then.

To corroborate this assertion, many observers believe that despite his proven political pedigree and prowess, this was the major reason why Ize-Iyamu decamped from the PDP and joined the ruling All Progressives Congress party APC with the incumbent Obaseki moving in the opposite direction.

Ize-Iyamu apparently thought that joining the Presidents party and becoming the APCs flagbearer would guarantee Federal might backing to his ambition this time around.

Unfortunately as events later turned out, Ize-Iyamu was grossly mistaken. His close association with a budding Godfather frustrated by Obaseki in the person of Oshiomhole as well as with the Godfather of Godfathers in the person of Bola Tinubu was a strategic blunder.

It cost him very dearly.

For one it antagonized the proud electorate of Edo State who pride themselves as being the heart-beat of the nation.

But more insidiously, it simultaneously cost him the most sought after Federal might because he was completely oblivious of the fact that for reasons of presidential succession, there was a presidential interest in clipping the political wings of Bola Tinubu indirectly as well as his protege Adams Oshiomhole directly.

It is instructive that in his first post-election results-announcement reaction issued, Ize-Iyamu said the following and I quote verbatim.

I thank and appreciate my supporters, who had to endure many evils including being prevented from voting , for their support and determination during the election. I assure you all that I am studying the results along with other party members and will announce my next move soon. (Emphasis mine).

Who in their right minds would dare prevent the ruling APC members from voting in an election organized and superintended by INEC which although nominally independent, operates completely under the thumb of the Presidency?

It is either that Ize-Iyamu is frivolously phishing for a scape-goat upon which to hang his electoral failure or he is genuinely expressing his frustration and shock at what transpired on Election Day.

The Ize-Iyamu I knew and grew up with at school for five years was not a frivolous or daft person. I would be shocked and surprised if he has changed.

If he needed to proffer an excuse for his failure, he could have easily blamed the outcome on election rigging or vote buying by the PDP.

My reading and understanding of the last Edo State Gubernatorial elections is that its outcome is proof that there is a vicious internecine and intramural war, not unconnected with presidential succession plans, afoot in the ruling APC.

Bola Tinubu and Adams Oshiomhole who fought tooth and nail to return Muhammadu Buhari as President in the 2019 General Elections are being systematically demolished by the Fulani led presidency.

Osagie Ize-Iyamus political ambition was merely the cannon-fodder for the trashing of supposedly useful idiots who may have outlived their usefulness to their controllers.

Expect other useful idiots to be propped up as replacements with the 2023 presidency as bait. The presidential interest of Presidency occupants as well as aspirants alike is the bane of Nigeria.

Quote me and take it to the bank that if any problem such as electoral malfeasance or Fulani expansionism proves intractable in Nigeria, presidential interest lies behind its sustenance.

Anthony Chuka Konwea, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, MNSE, FNIStructE, MNICE.
Nine jurors will be seated in the jury box and another three, as well as two alternates, will be placed in the gallery to maintain social distancing, Bradford said. Spectator seats will be limited to two members of the media and one representative from each of the victims' families and Kerners family.
Genuine Health Group, the fast-growing healthcare company that contracts with physicians to help them deliver better care while reducing unnecessary expenses, announced its accountable care organization, Genuine Health ACO, saved the Medicare system $4 million in 2019. The multi-million-dollar savings, confirmed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), demonstrates the companys success in delivering superior health outcomes, at a much lower cost than outdated, fee-for-service models of care.

Genuine Health ACOs $4 million in savings is based on how much Medicare anticipated spending on total healthcare costs for the population of beneficiaries Genuine Healths doctors take care of. It is adjusted for these patients ages and health circumstances, including the high cost of managing chronic diseases. In order to meet the criteria set by CMS, Genuine Health has to do more than just reduce expenses. The evaluation requires high quality scores for patient satisfaction, timely care delivery, and low hospital readmission rates. In short, Genuine Health ACO kept its beneficiaries healthy at a lower cost than similar populations enrolled in traditional Medicare.

Since 2016, Genuine Health Group has built an innovative approach to advance value-based care, said Joe Caruncho, CEO of Genuine Health Group. We have built a network of likeminded, high-performing doctors who are improving overall care and moving our industry forward. And the proof is in the numbers  nearly $4 million in savings and $2 million for our company, much of which will go directly into the pockets of our participating physicians.

In 2019, as confirmed by CMS, Genuine Health ACO moved the needle on its quality score to 99.19%. Because Genuine operates under the Medicare Shared Savings Program, CMS will reward the company by returning half the savings, or approximately $1.9 million, to Genuine Health Group. The ACO will then distribute much of the performance payment to its participating doctors.

We believe that the most cost-effective care is high-quality care. Saving millions of dollars while achieving a near-perfect 99.19% quality score proves that our model works, said Dr. Orlando Lopez-Fernandez, Jr., chief medical officer for Genuine Health Group. Our physicians invest the necessary time, and Genuine Health provides advanced technology, innovative programs like home health visits for patients transitioning from the hospital, and intense monitoring and care for patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, COPD, and congestive heart failure.

Genuine Health Group has agreements with more than 200 doctors and also operates several other business lines, such as Genuine Health Management and Genuine Health At Home. Genuine was recently named one of the fastest growing companies in South Florida, ranking in the top five among companies with revenue over $25 million.

For more information about Genuine Health Group, or to inquire about joining the Genuine Health ACO, please contact Meieli Sawyer at msawyer@weinbachgroup.com or visit the companys recruitment page.

About Genuine Health Group

Genuine Health Group is an analytics-driven healthcare company that assists physicians and health plans in successfully transitioning to value-based payment models.
New Delhi, Sep 21 : Sona College of Technology has won the top prize in a challenge by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to help combat Covid-19.

The college created a platform called 'VeeTrace' to help with contact tracing of Covid-19 cases in four districts of Tamil Nadu.

The app tracks Covid-19 infected individuals and notifies when these individuals are within 10 metres, 100 metres and one-km distance.

'VeeTrace' requires only the name and contact number of the users who download this app. When a higher number of people use it, the app makes it easy to prevent community spread.

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank virtually conferred the second 'Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Award' to the institute.

The teams at Sona College of Technology have developed products in the past that could solve some of the problems posed by the pandemic situation.

For instance, they developed bio chambers, automatic hand sanitisers and masks, among other things.

The students also develop Android applications integrating advanced technologies like IoT, AI and Blockchain.

The 'Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Award' is designed to motivate, recognise and honour the AICTE-approved institutions that raise their performance in the specific domain leading to significant contribution for the growth and development of the society," the university said in a statement.

Sona College of Technology's entry was chosen for first prize for 'providing institutional support to combat Covid-19 out of over 900 entries.

Finally, 35 institutions presented their work to the AICTE expert panel members and Sona grabbed top honours in "providing institutional support to combat Covid" category.
By Trend

Azerbaijani energy resources play a significant role in the global market, MP in the Georgian Parliament, Mahir Darziyev, told Trend.

The construction of Azerbaijani oil and gas pipelines through Georgia has also contributed to the country's economy. Currently, the Georgian society also benefits from these projects, said Darziyev.

The friendship between Azerbaijan and Georgia is a friendship that can serve as an example for the whole world. Azerbaijan and Georgia are friendly and strategic allies. Relations between these countries are developing in all directions. The projects implemented in recent periods are a clear example of this, the MP noted.

An exact example is the transportation of Azerbaijani energy resources through Georgia. Currently, the entire world is facing the problem of the security of energy carriers. The entry of Azerbaijan's energy resources to the world, including the European market, has significantly reduced the dependence of these countries on Russian energy resources. Certainly, this issue is also political independence for these countries. Therefore, it became a contribution to the independence of these countries, Darziyev said.

Stressing that the development of Azerbaijans economy is obvious, the MP said that this became possible due to the entry of Azerbaijani gas to the global market.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Recommendations

Regarding Overhaul DHS, (A19, Sept. 14): The Houston Chronicle is right to call for a closer look at the Department of Homeland Security. But the better solution is not to break up DHS or create new cabinet departments.

On Sept. 9, the Atlantic Council released the first comprehensive study of DHS since 2004, with input from a hundred top homeland and national security experts, including five former Secretaries and Acting Secretaries of Homeland Security under Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump. We recommended DHS needs to focus more on fighting COVID-19, which hit Texas hard; dealing with the effects on critical infrastructure of climate change or extreme weather like Hurricanes Hanna and Laura; and protecting American democracy against threats from Russia, China and Iran. And none of DHSs current missions are going away.

DHS should lead the defense of the nation against non-military threats. DHS should update its approach to the private sector and fix DHSs management problems. But our experts strongly recommend no re-organization for at least a year. Moving boxes on an organization chart will not solve DHSs problems.

The problem with oversight of DHS isnt that DHS is too large or diffuse. The problem is that more than 90 Congressional committees or subcommittees oversee some part of DHS. Streamlining Congressional oversight of homeland security has been recommended by Democratic, Republican and nonpartisan experts. Its the last recommendation of the 9/11 Commission that hasnt been implemented.

Thomas Warrick, former Department of Homeland Securitys deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism policy, Washington, D.C.

Voting

Today my husbands application for ballot by mail arrived. There is just one problem, he has been deceased for more than five years. After his death when absentee ballots continued to arrive, I returned them to the Harris County Clerks Office apprising them of his death. The ballots stopped briefly, but now my husband is back on their lists. What an unnecessary expense and an opportunity or temptation for voter fraud if the county is blanketed with unrequested applications for absentee ballots.

Elizabeth Meredith, Houston

I want to thank you for the time and real research on candidates for 2020. I rely on your excellent background work on each person and their viewpoints. Good journalism is vital for a well-informed public. Second, thanks so much for the puzzle books! Third, Alison Cook dining at Whataburger and eating Ritz crackers . . . OMG, it is 2020!

Nancy Bohnstedt, Cypress
Eric Gonzalez is a lifer. He has spent his entire career at the same office, and he still lives in the neighborhood where he grew up. Brooklyns first Latino district attorney assumed the post after the 2016 death of Ken Thompson, who three years earlier had become the first African American elected to the office. Gonzalez had served as chief assistant district attorney to Thompson, whose widow supported Gonzalez as the acting replacement.

Gonzalez had an 11-month runway to prepare for the 2017 Democratic district attorney primary; and for a career prosecutor with no experience in politics, he showed good instincts from the jump. He hired a strong team including Lis Smith, who ran Pete Buttigiegs presidential campaign. The acting district attorney raised money, checked in with key stakeholders and began rolling out support.

Sean Pressley Any given district leader would have known a number of the candidates better than Eric Gonzalez, and in politics that almost always plays, but he did a great job of establishing very quickly in everyones mind on the inside that he was the guy, recalled Nick Rizzo, a former district leader from North Brooklyn and co-director of the Better Prosecutors PAC.

By 2017, the politics of criminal justice in the heavily Democratic borough had turned leftward, and traditional law-and-order rhetoric was notably absent from the race. In a six-candidate field, Gonzalez secured more than half the vote.

During that campaign, Gonzalez pledged to expand the reform agenda laid out by Thompson, who at the age of 47 unseated Charles Hynes, a six-term incumbent, by running a message of change. Although Hynes had earned plaudits from the left earlier in his tenure for his Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison program, the longtime Democratic incumbent would later take heat for possible wrongful convictions that occurred under his watch, including a number of cases involving a detective, Louis Scarcella, who was accused of strong-arming suspects into providing confessions. Thompson, moreover, assailed the incumbent for taking passive stances on controversial NYPD tactics, such as stop and frisk, which disproportionately affected communities of color.

Though his term was tragically curtailedby cancer, Thompson forged a reform legacy as the first district attorney in New York Cityto cease prosecuting many low-level marijuana offenses, a change of course that helped build momentum for subsequent reforms in Brooklyn and the other boroughs. He set up a Conviction Review Unit for overturning wrongful convictions  which Gonzalez continued, in addition to rolling out a slew of his own reforms, including a policy requiringprosecutors to consider immigration consequences when reaching dispositions. In 2018, Gonzalezopened a dedicated Hate Crimes Bureau, and this year he won a lawsuit to prevent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making civil arrests in Brooklyn courthouses.

In March 2019, Gonzalez unveiledhis signature reform package Justice 2020, which he hailed as a new national model of a progressive prosecutors office. Among the programs 17 initiatives: considering nonjail resolutions at every juncture of a criminal case, establishing early release as the default position in the majority of parole proceedings, creating more alternatives to incarceration through community-based organizations and establishing new protocols for investigating police misconduct.

It was a good time to be a progressive reformer. And then 2020 happened.

I think, in general, Brooklyn has had more progressive DAs, and I think DA Gonzalez has honestly taken that to the next level in ways that I dont think were seeing in other boroughs, said Linda Hoff, deputy managing director of the criminal practice at Brooklyn Defender Services.

In an interview with City & State, Gonzalez said, Ive tried to redefine the role of a prosecutor, and Ive tried to have cultural change in the district attorneys office.

In just a few years, Gonzalez has made a name for himself as a reformer. The New York City Council and state Legislature, meanwhile, advanced other police and criminal justice reforms, including changes to bail and discovery rules. Crime had fallen so far from its early 1990s peak that New York City had begun to fancy itself Americas Safest Big City. It was, overall, a good time to be a progressive reformer.

And then 2020 happened.

Aside from his college and law school years, Gonzalez, who is from a Puerto Rican family, has always lived within two miles of where he was born and grew up, which was in the Bushwick and East New York neighborhoods of the borough. Gonzalez, now 51, attended I.S. 318 on the border of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Williamsburg, and then John Dewey High School in Gravesend before enrolling in Cornell University.

After graduating from University of Michigan Law School in 1995, Gonzalez joined the Brooklyn district attorneys office as a junior prosecutor when the city was still wracked with more than 1,000 murders per year. Under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, harsh sentencing laws and aggressive policing of minor offenses were still in vogue.

But as crime started dropping, progressive counties across America began to reevaluate the role of a prosecutor. In 2017  the same year that Gonzalez won his Brooklyn race  Larry Krasner, a public defender, was elected as Philadelphias district attorney. Last year, two public defenders ran high-profile district attorney campaigns: Tiffany Caban came up just short in Queens, and Chesa Boudin pulled off a surprising victory in San Francisco.

While the goal of maintaining public safety hasnt changed, Gonzalez told City & State that he has met with people to determine what safety and justice means and then how to hold people accountable for the harm they caused. Thats what truly makes victims feel safe and gives them a sense of justice, and hopefully it will give them a sense of healing from being victimized, Gonzalez said.

People in Brooklyn want fundamental fairness in their justice system, and policing that treats them with dignity ... but they do want these shooters off the street.  DA Eric Gonzalez

Though progressive prosecutors differ in some areas of emphasis, David Dorfman, a professor of law at Pace University, said they all embrace community engagement and restorative justice, which focuses on repairing the harm done by a crime rather than punishing the offender.

Gonzalez has obviously very self-consciously associated himself with a national trend towards what they call progressive prosecutors, Dorfman said. Whereas I think DA Gonzalez is innovative and different in some ways, most of the things that he has been proposing and pushing  especially in the Justice 2020 action plan  very much follow patterns youre seeing elsewhere.

These progressive prosecutors have also sought to move away from utilizing cash bail and prison as the default approach.

The Memorial Day killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis galvanized a new generation of activists, which has added to the pressure on prosecutors to come up with less punitive methods. The Overton window has really, really shifted every year since Gonzalez was elected, Rizzo said, referring to the leftward tack of mainstream discourse. First, it was Larry Krasner in 2018, then Tiffany Caban in 2019  and now George Floyd.

Indeed, there were some on the left who dismissed Gonzalezs agenda as incremental rather than transformative change. The slate of reforms that he has introduced, they say, does too little to challenge the existing structures in the system.

I think what were seeing across the country, and certainly in New York City, is a demand to reconsider or reimagine how we address public safety as a society, said Nick Encalada-Malinowski, the civil rights campaign director at VOCAL-NY, a progressive grassroots organization. Gonzalez is not advocating to change the nature of prosecutions in Brooklyn or across the country or to change the role that a prosecutor plays in the community. Hes not advocating, for example, for his office to get fewer resources and for more of those resources to be put into community programs.

This new generation of activists that introduced defunding and abolishing the police into the national dialogue similarly called for divestment from district attorney offices. As long as the DAs office exists, it will continue to harm individuals, families and communities, argued Zoe Adel, advocacy and communications manager at Brooklyn Community Bail Fund.

Those who want to completely disband the police dont speak for communities of color.  Both extremes do not speak for the average person in Brooklyn.  DA Eric Gonzalez

Between 2016, when Gonzalez assumed the office on an interim basis, and 2019, arrests made in Brooklyn dropped by one-third, while the number of murders committed in the borough fell to a record low. But months of Black Lives Matter demonstrations and the harsh responses from police officers has fueled considerable backlash against the police, just as citywide crime began to rise.

In Brooklyn, shootings have jumped by 50% this year, according to the district attorneys office. Right now, about half of the shootings in New York City  are coming out of Brooklyn, and thats a big problem, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said on Aug. 18.

And as those on the far left continue to question his commitment to transformative reform, Gonzalez came under fire from law-and-order champions on the right as well. Months of social unrest amid the pandemic and the subsequent economic downturn have laid bare wide chasms in society, while the increase in crime has stoked fears that New York City is on the brink of reversing decades of economic and public safety gains.

According to the New York Post, only 15% of shootings in Brooklyn have resulted in arrests during the recent rash of gun violence. Some experts attribute the spike in violence to the coronavirus pandemic or to the shifting of law enforcement resources to respond to the protests. But others maintain that anti-police rhetoric  and a lack of support for the NYPD from elected officials  has had an effect. The people that are pulling the trigger are doing so with the certain knowledge in their minds that there are no consequences, that nobody is looking to apprehend them, and if they are apprehended, there is no real victim advocate now, so that the advocacy will be on their behalf, said Eugene ODonnell, a former NYPD officer and prosecutor who now teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Now we have, of course, had the complete paralysis of the NYPD, and none of this is going to be easily reversed, ODonnell added. I dont think cops are ever going to go back to chasing people  they cant do it  so we needed to really have a serious conversation about public safety and we got extremist advocacy instead.

Sean Pressley How should the top law enforcement official in New Yorks most populous borough balance the concerns of reform-oriented constituents with the safety of others? Even some Democrats who support reform fear that abandoning proactive policing altogether  especially after the disbanding of the NYPDs plainclothes anti-crime unit in June  would encourage violent criminals.

The one thing that all criminologists agree with is that swift and certain punishment is what deters crime, said Sal Albanese, a Democrat who represented a southern Brooklyn district based in Bay Ridge for three terms in the City Council. I think that some of the DAs in the past were too harsh, but now the pendulum might be swinging the other way, and I think its going to impact public safety.

In an age of deep polarization, the challenge for a progressive district attorney like Gonzalez is to remain in sync with his activist base while at the same time encouraging the police to interrupt cycles of violence.

In Brooklyn, Black Lives Matter signs adorn many windows, but Gonzalez said that he has not seen widespread demonstrations in the parts of the borough  such as Brownsville and East New York  that have been most impacted by crime.

People in Brooklyn want fundamental fairness in their justice system, and policing that treats them with dignity and has their best interest at heart, but they do want these shooters off the street, so those who want to completely disband the police dont speak for communities of color, Gonzalez said. As a prosecutor, its my responsibility to keep my ear on the ground to listen to what people are asking for, but to also acknowledge that both extremes do not speak for the average person in Brooklyn.

But now that the reformer district attorney is facing his first crime wave, his ability to work with the police will come under increased scrutiny. Its not uncommon, even in quieter times, for friction to arise between reform prosecutors and the police.

If a DA has a policy of declining prosecution or diverting cases after the police have made arrests and come to the complaint room and put some work in, I can see where over time that creates mistrust and anger, Dorfman said.

In Philadelphia, Krasners tenure has been marked by an acrimonious relationship between his office and the police, but Gonzalez believes his pedigree as a prosecutor is an asset when it comes to working with local law enforcement.

You dont need simply to be a public defender to come in to make necessary reforms  it can happen from within a DAs office and it can happen from people who have been prosecutors, Gonzalez said. In fact, having the ability to talk to  our police department and others who you have known for a long time matters. They may not agree with every decision that I make and I may not agree with every decision they make, but we can continue to work with each other, and I think you have seen in other places that relationship has completely broken down between some of these other offices and their local law enforcement.

During his tenure, Gonzalez has taken critical positions toward the police on a number of occasions. Last year,he made public a list of police officers who were deemed unreliable by his office. Their witness testimony would no longer be accepted in court, effectively barring them from carrying out investigations or arrests in the borough. In May, Gonzalezlaunched a probe into NYPD officers over allegations that they used excessive force in policing social distancing violations. A month later,he brought charges against an NYPD officer for shoving a demonstrator to the ground. In August, he joined 45 other prosecutors in pledging to reject campaign donations from police unions.

Despite their disagreements, Gonzalez said he regularly speaks with NYPD leadership. There is no daylight between us on our commitment to promote public safety, he said. On Aug. 19, Gonzalez opened a unit dedicated to cracking down on gun violence.

I grew up witnessing a lot of crime, so public safety is very important to me, but I also grew up as a person of color in the city, understanding that our justice system needed more fairness, Gonzalez said. The Brooklyn streets of his youth had a lot more gang activity and police killings than today, but as crime plummeted, the borough transformed into a choice destination for young professionals, and in the years since the 2007-2008 financial crisis, its economic growth has outpaced the rest of the city.

The Brooklyn we know today, Gonzalez said, would not exist if people were afraid to walk to the train station or get on a bus or walk to the grocery store.

I am committed to making sure that (Brooklyn) does not revert back to the old days, but Im also committed to forging ahead with the appropriate reforms, he added. The dialogue that we are kind of getting from the left and right  they are at the extremes.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Lis Smith led Eric Gonzalez's 2017 campaign. She was a consultant for the campaign.
Google has officially rolled out support for card-based payments with its tokenization feature on Google Pay. The search engine giant has worked with Visa and banking partners like Axis Bank, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, etc, to allow users to safely transact with their cards and use Tap-to-pay feature on NFC-enabled POS terminals and online merchants.

Through tokenization, Google Pay Android users can use their debit or credit card to make payments through a secure digital token attached to their phone without having to physically share their credit or debit card details. The feature also works with online merchants, delivering more native and seamless OTP experiences without being redirected to 3D Secure sites.

The feature is currently available to all users of Axis Bank and SBI Card, with Kotak and more banks expected to follow suit very soon.



Use Near-field communication (NFC) capable Android devices/ phones to make contactless payments at over 2.5 million Visa merchant locations



Scan and pay at more than 1.5 million Bharat QR enabled merchants



Pay bills and recharges from within their Google Pay app using their card.



What is tokenization on Google Pay and how does it work? With tokenization, Google Pay will enable safe and secure omni-channel experiences to help consumers:

To enable the tap and pay feature using the smartphone phone, users will have to do a one-time set up by entering their card details and follow it by entering the OTP they get from the bank to add their card to the Google Pay app. After the registration, the feature can be used to make payments at NFC-enabled terminals.

Were committed to offer the most secure payments experience to our growing base of users, and tokenization helps to replace sensitive data such as credit and debit card numbers with tokens, eliminating any chances of fraud. We are hopeful that the tokenisation feature will further encourage users to transact securely and safely in the current times, and expand merchant transactions both online and offline, Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head: Google Pay and NBU - India, said.
Faith vs safety in burials: COVID-19 remains in dead bodies for 9 days says Centre

How did TV channels air shows on Hindu Terror asks Sudarshan TV chief

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 21: Sudarshan TV's editor-in-chief, Suresh Chavhanke has asked the Supreme Court as to how the show on Hindu terror with the most sacred symbols were allowed to air in other channels.

"The deponent was shocked and pained when on September 17, 2008 NDTV (English News Channel) had broadcast a programme anchored by Barkha Dutt titled as "'Hindu' Terror: Myth or fact?" In this programme just adjacent to the programme caption i.e.

"'Hindu' Terror: Myth or fact?", a Hindu Saint was shown with 'Tilak' and 'Chillam' and also a 'Trishul,' he said.

Sudarshan TV case: On terror funding allegation, SC seeks response from Zakat Foundation

He said that NDTV had on August 26 2010 aired a programme titled, 'is saffron terror real.' In the programme a Hindu cultural gathering was shown in saffron colour clothes, he also said.

Last week, the Supreme Court sought the response from the Zakat Foundation, an NGO that trains students for civil services. The response was based on the allegations made by Sudarshan TV that it receives foreign funding from terror linked organisations.

Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, who appeared on behalf of Zakat Foundation , said the NGO was a charitable organisation that carried out a social service, and only paid the fees of IAS classes.

Bangalore National Law School's separate entrance exam cancelled | Oneindia News

Sudarshan TV Editor, Suresh Chavhanke field an affidavit in the Supreme Court in connection with the case against his channel's programme, Bindas Bol. Chavhanke stated that his show used the words "UPSC Jihad" because "it has come to the knowledge through various sources that Zakat Foundation has received funds from various terror-linked organisations."

TV programme vilifying minorities halted by Supreme Court

It is not that all contributors to the Zakat Foundation are terror-linked. However, some of the contributors are linked to organisations or are organisations that fund extremist groups. The funds received by the Zakat Foundation, in turn, are used to support aspirants for IAS, IPS or UPSC," the affidavit also said.

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Story first published: Monday, September 21, 2020, 8:30 [IST]
Condemning the opposition's conduct during the passage of the farm bills on Sunday as 'shameful', the government on Monday said Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh was 'nearly assaulted' by opposition members even when he was ready to take up their motion to move the bills to the select committee.

Eight members -- distributed among the Congress, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party -- were suspended earlier in the day for the remainder of the Monsoon session over their 'unruly behaviour' during the passage of farm bills in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.

"The conduct of opposition leaders in the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday was shameful, irresponsible and utter disrespect to parliamentary rules and dignity," Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

He was addressing a press conference along with his cabinet colleagues Pralhad Joshi and Piyush Goyal on the pandemonium in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday and Monday.

Suspended members not leaving the House on Monday in spite of declaration of suspension by the Chairperson was "patently illegal and further aggravates their conduct as far as violating the norms are concerned," Prasad said.

He asserted that the government had clear majority during the passage of the farm bills. It had 110 members in support of the legislation as against 72 opposed to it, he said.

Hailing Harivansh's behaviour as 'exemplary', Prasad said the Deputy Chairperson of the Upper House was ready to take up the opposition's motion for sending the bills to the select committee and was urging them to go to their seats so that House could be in order.

"..it is matter of record 13 times, honourable Deputy Chairman requested opposition members to go back on their seats so that he can take up the opposition members' motion for sending the bill to the select committee," Prasad said, adding that they rather stood on the table and destroyed the mike in front of him.

"It was most shameful day in the history of parliament, mike was destroyed and the rule book was torn. There is enough visual evidence available that if martials would not have protected the Deputy Chairman Harivanshji would have been nearly physically assaulted as to what was happening just by his side at the podium," Prasad said.

Describing Harviansh as a respected Indian from Bihar, the Union Ministers said people from the state were hurt by the opposition's behaviour and will give a reply to them.

"An eminent Indian who hails from Bihar who has made a mark not in the country but in globe was humiliated and Congress and RJD were encouraging it in most abashed manner," he said.

Harivansh is Bharatiya Janata Party ally Janata Dal-United's MP from poll-bound Bihar.

Citing Congress' election manifesto and statements made by the chief ministers of the states ruled by it, Prasad accused the opposition party of double standards on issues including contract farming and agriculture produce marketing committees.

According to sources in the government, there have been 10 instances when members have been suspended from the Rajya Sabha during the tenure of Congress governments.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi who was also present at the press conference said the proposal to curtail the session came from the opposition.
Press Release

September 21, 2020 De Lima laments plight of unpaid contract tracers, urges DOH to pay them Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima bewailed the government's reported failure to give the salaries of contract tracers hired by the Department of Health (DOH) three to four months ago under the COVID-19 Surveillance and Quick Action Unit of the Epidemiology Bureau. De Lima, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, said contract tracers should not be undervalued, much less mistreated, considering the risks they go through in the performance of their duties during this time of crisis. "Hindi ito makatarungan! Hindi ito katanggap-tanggap! Sa kabila ng mga sakripisyo ng ating mga frontliners, lalo pang bumibigat ang kanilang mga pasanin sa di-pagbibigay ng agarang kompensasyon at kaukulang suporta," she said. "Paano epektibong matutugunan ang pandemya kung ang kasalukuyang gobyerno ay hindi man lang magawang arugain at protektahan ang mga bayani nating humaharap sa panganib upang maiwasan ang pagkalat ng sakit?" she added. Based on reports, contact tracers have not been receiving their salaries since they were hired, with some of them having contracts that are set to expire at the end of September. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire admitted the said delay in paying contract tracers and stated that it was due to their incomplete requirements. Contrary to Vergeire's statement, however, it was reported that some of the employees have long submitted the needed documents but still remained unpaid. The Lady Senator from Bicol urged the DOH to stop giving excuses for their failure to compensate contract tracers and instead focus on guaranteeing the speedy release of their salaries. "Their invaluable service should not be disregarded by the government by ensuring that they receive the right salaries due to them. They are not asking anything for free, they are merely asking to receive what they should have already received in the first place," she said. Last April, De Lima filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 1439 seeking to grant basic hazard allowances for essential workers for both public and private sectors, as well as an additional hazard pay for all public health workers.
A visitor touches a 220kg gold bar at Jinguashi Gold Ecological Park, Taiwan. Photo: Pichi Chuang/Reuters

Canadas Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) has announced plans to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) as demand for precious metals from investors has been surging amid turbulence in equity markets of late.

Wheaton, one of the worlds largest companies involved in buying gold and silver, has a market capitalisation of about $23bn (17.6bn), and is listed in Toronto and New York. On those indices, its shares have risen more than 70% this year.

Gold prices have risen this year by roughly 28% and hit a record high of above $2,000 an ounce in August. Silver has also been gaining, up 50% to $27 an ounce.

The precious metal's value has been up this year amid investor fears in the equities market. Chart: Yahoo Finance

News that Canadas Wheaton Precious Metals is looking to list in London gives fans of gold and silver another investment option to consider, especially as the firm is not a miner, said Russ Mould, AJ Bell investment director.

Instead, it specialises in royalty streams from mines, as it acquires the right to buy metal from producers in the future in return for cash payments upfront and on delivery.

Mould stressed that investors must do their research before they consider whether to put capital at risk, just as they would for any other security.

Wheaton is not planning on raising any money alongside the listing, and is instead applying for a standard rather than a premium listing. By doing so, it will be required to uphold basic listing standards for international issuers and not be included in the prestigious UK FTSE Index Series.

READ MORE: London-listed stocks plunge as UK's top scientists say COVID cases hit 6,000

Still, by joining the LSE, it will be an unique investment option for investors looking to take advantage of strong precious metal prices.

Other than Russia-focused Polymetal, there are few options for investors on the FTSE for large gold mining stocks since the acquisition of Africa-focused gold miner Randgold by Canadas Barrick Gold last year.

There is a bit of a void on the mining side in London and we think the streaming business model is a much better way of investing in precious metals, Randy Smallwood, chief executive of Wheaton, told the Financial Times.
She's set to strip off on Seven's The All New Monty: Guys and Gals next weekend.

And on Sunday, comedian Fiona O'Loughlin went topless at the beach for a worthy cause.

Sharing a photo to Instagram, the 57-year-old used the opportunity to raise awareness for breast cancer, and to remind women to regularly check their breasts.

Baring all! Comedian Fiona O'Loughlin (pictured), 57, went TOPLESS at the beach for a worthy cause in a photo shared to Instagram on Sunday, ahead of stripping down for The All New Monty: Guys and Gals

In the image, Fiona showed off her newly died short blonde locks, and used her hands to cover her bare chest.

She concealed her gaze behind dark sunglasses, and beamed for the shot, looking completely in her element.

'Just wanted to show you my new hair,' she hilariously captioned the post, alongside numerous hashtags including 'check your boobs' and 'raise awareness'.

Earlier this month, Fiona revealed what it really feels like to be baring all for breast cancer awareness.

Baring all! Earlier this month, Fiona told The Advertiser that she didn't hesitate when she was asked to be involved on The All New Monty: Guys & Gals

Speaking to The Advertiser, the TV star admitted she didn't hesitate when she was asked to be involved.

'I'd stripped on stage before in one of my shows, On a Wing and a Prayer,' Fiona said.

'I thought to myself everybody (in The All New Monty: Guys & Gals) is doing it, so I didn't have much anxiety about it and the costumes were just amazing.'

Fiona told the publication that the show's live audience was 'so pumped' for her and her co-stars, including Home and Away's Sam Frost, to take to the stage.

'It was an exciting, joyful night,' she added.

No hesitation: 'I thought to myself everybody [on the show] is doing it, so I didn't have much anxiety about it  and the costumes were just amazing,' she told the publication

The funnywoman was crowned Queen of the jungle back in 2018, after winning the Australian version of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

Fiona will do the burlesque show alongside the likes of actress Sam Frost, entertainer Patti Newton, Russell Crowe's ex wife Danielle Spencer and Olympian Leisel Jones.

The All New Monty: Guys & Gals continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Seven
A proposed law giving the UK Government the power to override parts of the Brexit agreement with the EU "jeopardises" the Good Friday Agreement, civil society leaders have claimed.

The Internal Markets Bill - which MPs have backed - would break international law "in a very specific and limited way", Secretary of State Brandon Lewis has previously admitted.

Now representatives of civil society groups have said that the actions of the Government are "jeopardising" the Good Friday Agreement and the functioning of the devolved administration at Stormont.

The groups, which include the Human Rights Consortium, Equality Coalition and Unison, have described the actions of the Government as "contravening" international law and "undermining" the provisions of the Protocol in terms relating to the non-diminution of rights and equality protections.

"This Bill fetters the ability of our devolved government to continue to take the progressive actions required to protect rights and standards in Northern Ireland, if the UK Government disagrees," the groups said in a joint statement.

"We condemned these actions in the strongest possible terms and we demanded that the UK Government withdraw the Internal Market Bill and unequivocally commit itself to the European Convention on Human Rights."

The groups met with Government officials last week to share their concerns, and expressed disappointment that ministers did not attend the meeting.

"We have insisted that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland engage with civil society fully. We will be writing to the Secretary of State to demand that he do so as a matter of urgency," they said.

"The Protocol does not just deal with tariffs and trade, though avoidance of a hard land border is vital.

"Its full implementation is also fundamental to the protection of equality and human rights which form the bedrock of the Good Friday Agreement."

A UK Government spokesperson said yesterday: "The UK Government's top priority is to protect the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and gains of the peace process. Our approach is at all times guided by these priorities."
Hospital wards are filling up with coronavirus patients in French and Spanish hotspots where intensive care units could be 'saturated' within weeks - but hospital cases nationwide are nowhere near the disastrous levels of March and April.

French hospital cases have risen by 28 per cent in a month, with 5,800 people currently being treated, while Spanish hospitals have admitted 10,800 people in four weeks - more than in the previous three months combined.

Older people remain the most vulnerable, with over-60s accounting for a majority of recent admissions in Spain and more than three-quarters of current hospital patients in France.

In crisis areas such as Madrid, Marseille and Bordeaux, some intensive care wards are at full capacity and emergency facilities are starting to spring up again as medics prepare for the second wave of cases.

Madrid called in the army today as parts of the city went into lockdown, while France's scientific council has warned of 'tough decisions' within days as the two governments wrestle with the new outbreak.

Britain's own rebound in cases has sparked fears that the UK is heading in a similar direction, with ministers being warned that Britain may be around six weeks behind Spain.

But across France and Spain as a whole, hospital capacity is far higher than in the spring - with Madrid's virus patients filling up 22 per cent of hospital beds, compared to 100 per cent in early April, while France has thousands of free intensive care beds and only a fifth as many hospital patients as it did in April.

And while both countries have seen their death tolls increase, there has been no return so far to the hundreds of daily deaths that became the norm six months ago.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS: France and Spain have both seen rises in hospital cases, with older people especially affected, but the numbers are nowhere near the levels of March and April

ICU ADMISSIONS: While intensive care wards are reaching crisis levels in hotspots such as Madrid and Marseille, both countries as a whole have far more capacity than in the spring

In Spain, at least 10,800 people have been admitted to hospital since August 20, compared to 7,000 in the previous three months combined.

However, at the height of the crisis in the spring there were up to 23,000 people being admitted every week, with hundreds dying every day.

In early April, Covid patients were filling up 100 per cent of Madrid's hospital beds, with temporary facilities set up in corridors, libraries and gyms outside the main wards.

Now, only 22 per cent of the capital's hospital beds are occupied by coronavirus patients - although the number has nearly doubled from 10 per cent a month ago.

In Spain as a whole, the situation is somewhat better with 8.7 per cent of beds now taken by Covid patients, compared to 4.4 per cent in mid-August.

The story is similar in intensive care units, with 875 people admitted across Spain in the last month compared to 477 between May and August.

But the numbers are still significantly lower than the 1,520 people who were in intensive care on the worst day of the crisis on April 5.

Hospitals in Madrid are treating nearly 400 people in intensive care units, filling more than 40 per cent of Madrid's ICU beds.

'In a way, it's like the situation in March but in slow motion,' said Dr Carlos Velayos, an ICU doctor at a hospital in a Madrid suburb.

Velayos said that prediction models were telling hospital administrators in Madrid that some ICU wards could reach peak capacity before the end of September.

'In March, it was like a nuclear bomb that brought the health system as a whole to a collapse in a matter of weeks,' Velayos said.

'We might not be there yet, but that's not a reason not to be worried. We have allowed the outbreaks to reach a level of being uncontrollable.'

The regional chief of Madrid today requested help from the Spanish military to fight the surge in the capital.

'We need help from the army for disinfection... and to strengthen local police and law enforcement,' Isabel Diaz Ayuso told a news conference.

Britain's own rebound in cases has sparked fears that the UK is heading in a similar direction to Spain, with ministers being warned that Britain may be around six weeks behind

Spain's death rate is currently the worst in Western Europe, prompting fears that the UK's could also increase if there is a similar rise in cases

SPAIN CASES: A rebound in infections and an increased testing programme have led to a huge rise in confirmed cases in Spain, reaching higher levels than in the spring

Spain's death toll has edged up in recent weeks with more than 100 new fatalities on some days, but the levels are still well below those in March and April

Madrid's R rate is thought to be about 1.08, compared to 0.97 for Spain as a whole, and the region is piling up thousands of cases per day by itself.

A partial lockdown is beginning in some of Madrid's poorer districts this week, affecting around 850,000 people.

Access to parks and public areas will be restricted, gatherings will be limited to six people and commercial establishments will have to close by 10pm.

The new measures sparked an outbreak of protests on Sunday, with people holding signs saying 'no to a class-based lockdown'.

'We think that they are laughing at us a little bit,' said nurse Bethania Perez, as hundreds protested against the measure.

Spain imposed one of the world's toughest lockdowns in the spring and the economy is expected to contract by around 10 to 12 per cent this year.

Velayos's hospital is expanding its ICU capacity from 12 to 24 beds by the end of September, because all of them are currently filling up with coronavirus patients.

Operating rooms have been turned into ICUs and surgeries have been postponed, while hospitals compete to hire medics exhausted by the first wave of the crisis.

Regional authorities say that the health system still has room to manage the incoming flow of patients and that medical workers are better prepared.

The Madrid government is spending 50million to build a massive new 'epidemics hospital' with more than 1,000 beds by the end of October.

Meanwhile, health officials in Zaragoza have started putting up field hospitals in a grim echo of the worst days of the pandemic.

Spain has also seen its death rate rise somewhat, although again the figures are still far lower than in the spring.

The death toll rose by 748 last week, compared to 329 in the previous week and 407 in the seven days before that.

The country saw its worst week of deaths in late March and early April when 6,077 people died in the space of seven days.

Older people are continuing to prove the most vulnerable in Spain: patients aged 80 or above account for more than a quarter of the recent hospital admissions.

More than 6,000 over-60s have been admitted to hospital with coronavirus since August 20, compared to only 1,500 people aged under 40.

A majority of people admitted to ICU in the last month are in their 50s or 60s, with another 23 per cent in their 70s.

The proportion of ICU patients under 40 has fallen from 17 per cent between May and August to eight per cent in the last month.

SPAIN AGE GROUPS: More than a quarter of recent hospital admissions in Spain are people over 80, with over-60s accounting for more than half the total

MADRID: Protesters wearing masks walk the streets during a demonstration on Sunday against lockdown measures coming into effect in some neighbourhoods this week

In France, around 5,800 people are currently in hospital with Covid-19 - a rise of more than a quarter from the 4,500 patients in late August.

But while the numbers have risen conspicuously, they are still nowhere near the peak in mid-April when up to 32,000 people were in hospital with the virus.

The same is true of ICU units, which are currently treating 800 people - up from fewer than 400 last month but well below the peak of more than 7,000 in the spring.

Some days are seeing more than 100 new patients admitted to ICU, compared to only a trickle over the summer.

As a result, hotspots such as Marseille and Bordeaux have seen their hospitals fill up alarmingly in recent weeks.

Marseille's hospitals have been put back on a crisis footing with intensive care beds filling up in the city and surrounding Bouches-du-Rhone region.

In Paris too, doctors are returning to the dilemma of whether to postpone other surgery and treatment in favour of helping coronavirus patients.

Francois Braun, head of a French emergency services union, warned that hospitals could be 'saturated' within three weeks, according to BFM TV.

At the Laveran Military Training Hospital in Marseille, every bed was occupied last week and one medic said the same was happening elsewhere.

Since virus patients have outgrown Covid-specific ICU wards, medics have been putting people in units meant for non-virus patients instead.

'The beginning of summer was relatively calm but in the past few weeks there is a new rise,' said the Laveran hospital's chief doctor.

'In March, April and May we were able to absorb the epidemic wave by abandoning other hospital care activities, and today what is at stake is being able to continue treating every other patient while being able to face the epidemic.'

Among the new virus patients, he said, 'some are older but not all. There are also adults of 50 to 60 years old with risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity, all factors that we saw already during the first wave.'

FRANCE CASES: The country has seen record numbers of infections in recent days, but this has not been reflected in the hospitalisation count

FRANCE DEATHS: Although higher than in the summer, the number of people dying of coronavirus in France is still far lower than it was in April

FRANCE AGE GROUPS: Older people remain the most vulnerable to the disease, with over-80s accounting for nearly a quarter of hospitalised virus patients in France - a phenomenon which has not changed significantly since the coming of the second wave

More than half - 58 per cent - of the patients currently in French hospitals are aged 70 or older, compared to only seven per cent under 40.

The largest single group is people aged 80 to 89, of whom 1,300 are currently receiving hospital treatment after contracting Covid-19.

In addition, 86 per cent of those who have died in French hospitals in the last month are people aged 70 or over, with only seven victims aged under 40.

As in Spain, France's overall death toll has crept up from the very low levels of the summer - with an average of 46 hospital deaths per day in the last week.

But the figures are still far below the levels in early April, when hundreds of people were dying every day.

French authorities say they are better prepared than in the spring, with mass testing now being carried out.

France's ICU capacity has risen from around 5,000 to 10,000 since the start of the pandemic, French media says.

Still, the country's scientific council warned last week that the government may have to take multiple unpopular decisions within days to counter the outbreak.

Council head Jean-Francois Delfraissy told reporters that current infection rates were 'worrying'.

The fact that new cases had not yet swamped the health system might have created 'a false sense of security', Delfraissy said.

There was the danger of a 'very rapid, exponential rise' in some places, he said, singling out the French Riviera and Provence region.

The government may have to take 'a certain number of tough decisions' he said, probably within 10 days.

Foreign travel restrictions over the summer meant that many French people took their holidays at home, helping to revive the economy.

As a result, the French economy could return to its pre-crisis levels by early 2022, instead of later that year as the Bank of France had first expected.

But unemployment is expected to keep climbing, despite the government's financing of salaries for employees who have been laid off or forced to reduce their hours.

Unemployment, set to reach 9.5 percent by the end of this year, could rise to 11.1 percent in 2021, the Bank of France said.
Syracuse, NY  Family Court Judge Michael Hanuszczak kissed two employees against their will, asked them out for secret dates, discussed his marital problems and tried to convince one to serve on a political campaign, a judicial watchdog has found.

He then lied about some of his behavior to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, destroying his credibility, the commission found.

Hanuszczaks response to the allegations did not deny misconduct, but instead argued that his actions werent as bad as the employees were making them, the commission noted.

An Onondaga County judge for two decades, Hanuszczak, 64, of Camillus, retired suddenly, effective Monday, on the day his misconduct was revealed.

RELATED: In unusual move, Judge Hanuszczak retires 3 months before the end of his term

Had the judge not retired, the judicial watchdog said, it would have sought his removal from office.

The relationship between judge and court staff is not equal. The power inherent in judicial office must not be exploited for personal purposes," administrator Robert Tembeckjian said in a news release. "Obviously, a judge should not initiate unwelcome kissing of court staff or propose discreet dating to a subordinate. Had he not resigned, my office would have recommended Judge Hanuszczaks removal for such disreputable behavior.

Hanuszczak has not responded to requests for comment. But his lawyer, Robert Julian, issued a statement saying that the judge regretted his mistakes.

Judge Hanuszczak had a nearly 20-year career on the bench in which nearly 50 of decisions were published, Julian said. "He presided with success over two specialty courts and he has worked vigorously to achieve justice as a jurist.

He regrets the mistakes that he has made and his resignation/retirement is offered in that spirit, Julian wrote.

While the judge sent in a one-sentence resignation letter (required to leave office before the end of a term), he also retired in the eyes of the state pension system. That allows him to collect a pension as a retiree. Hanuszczak made roughly $200,000 a year as judge; the state is still computing his pension amount.

The judges downfall came after two employees alleged inappropriate conduct spanning six years, from 2011 to 2017. Hanuszczak has been under investigation since March 2019.

One employee said that his inappropriate behavior increased until the day she was reassigned from his court office. Thats when Hanuszczak admits that he leaned in, without her consent, and kissed her on the cheek. The clerk told the commission that she thought he was going for her lips when she turned her head to the side, so his kiss landed on her cheek.

We were standing near the door. He was right in front of me ... the employee testified. He put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me toward him and then came in toward my face ... He leaned his head into my space like he was leaning in to kiss me. So I turned my head and he got my cheek area right next to my lip ... He put his lips on me ... It was his lips on me with his hands pulling me toward him ... I was angry. I was disgusted. I pushed him away.

During the interaction, the judge also made an inappropriate comment to his departing employee, the commission found.

No one knows me like you do, not even my wife  you anticipate my every need, the employee testified that he told her.

That employee also said that the judge took her out for coffee and pressured her into working on his campaign for another elected judicial post, while simultaneously noting that her husband was out of town and asking for dinner.

In regards to the second employee, the judge admitted making numerous references to dating her. In one, the employee recalled the judge asking for a date, but saying theyd have to keep it a secret.

Im sure you know Im still attracted to you, the judge told her on a business trip, according to the employee. If you have any interest in dating me, thats something we can discuss. We would have to be quiet about it because we wouldnt want, you know ... we would have to be quiet or private about it.

The employee said she was taken aback and didnt know how to respond.

We were just driving to this meeting, about to have a meeting to talk about (drug) treatment options, and it just kind of like came out of the blue, she testified.

The judge acknowledged that he should not have had such a discussion with a court employee.

Hanuszczak said he didnt remember kissing the second employee. But the commission found that, given his admitted untruthfulness in another regard, that his response lacked credibility.

The judge had denied seeking a romantic relationship with the second employee, when later, in fact, he admitted doing so.

It should be noted that (Hanuszczaks) admitted deceit during an investigation undermined his credibility and account of the factual incidents supporting the charges, allowing inferences against his account of events where factual nuances were in dispute," commission referee Linda Clark noted.

The judge also displayed juvenile behavior, the first employee testified. In one case, Hanuszczak laughed and giggled in reference to a sexual innuendo involving a three-way court conference call, the employee said.

The referee said that, even if unintentional, Hanuszczaks behavior demonstrated an insensitivity and lack of concern or self-awareness regarding courtroom demeanor that is telling and relevant in the context of this case.

The first employee also recalled the judge discussing his marital problems with her, making her uncomfortable. Later, when turning him down for dinner, the employee told him that shed been married for thirty-plus years and she did not think it was appropriate to be having dinner with someone, a man, the Commission noted.

Before becoming judge, Hanuszczak served as a Republican Onondaga County legislator from 1991 to 1995, representing the West Side of Syracuse. He went on to take a supervising role in the state Attorney Generals Office. He was elected Family Court judge in 2000.

Hanuszczak graduated Syracuse Universitys Maxwell School in 1980 and received his law degree from the State University at Buffalo. He began at a local law firm in 1985 and worked in private practice until his election to the county legislature.

Hanuszczak made roughly $200,000 a year as a Family Court Judge. He was also appointed an acting state Supreme Court Justice in 2004, giving him expanded powers over other types of cases.

Hanuszczaks seat is one of two open Family Court openings in this falls election. Running for the two seats are Democrats Julie Cerio and Christie DeJoseph and Republicans Paula Engel and Salvatore Pavone.

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.
Here's more data which suggests the promise of the so-called "Downtown Renaissance" was really just a cruel joke on cowtown taxpayers.

Money line . . .



"The percentage of Americans saying they want to live in cities dropped 55 percent in just two years, down to barely 13 percent. Rather than the much ballyhooed back to the city movement, we are entering what Zillow describes as a great reshuffling to suburbs, smaller cities, and less expensive states."



Read more and remember that "Three Light" is now mostly a rumor among jealous hipsters:




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Julia Roberts' new San Francisco home is near completion  and neighbors say the star and her family will fit in perfectly.

The Oscar winner, 52, and her husband Danny Moder, 51, bought the home in the city's upmarket Presidio Heights neighborhood for $8.3million in January last year.

Work is still going on to renovate the stunning century-old Victorian property but appears to be winding down, as exclusive DailyMail.com photos show.

Residents in the area - which is favored by wealthy Silicon Valley businessmen - said they are excited to welcome Hollywood royalty and her brood of two sons and a daughter to the neighborhood.

Julia Roberts, 52, and her husband Danny Moder, 51, bought the home in San Francisco's Presidio Heights neighborhood for $8.3 million in January last year

Work is still going on to renovate the stunning century-old Victorian property but appears to be winding down, exclusive DailyMail.com photos can reveal

Residents in the area - which is favored by wealthy Silicon Valley businessmen - said they are excited to welcome Roberts, her husband and their three children

The home features an office, wet bar, wood-paneled wine cellar, remodeled kitchen and bathrooms, a carpeted grand staircase and stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge

'The street is chock full of successful people from the worlds of finance and tech, CEOs and owners of massive companies who have houses in Napa and Sonoma and Europe but this is where their kids go to school,' one neighbor said

One next-door neighbor who gave her name as Marty said: 'This is the kind of place where Julia will fit in and be comfortable.

'I think that's why she's invested here, it's a place where she can be a person, a mom, a wife.

'It's a beautiful house with great views but it's modest, it's perfect for people who want to just blend in and have a quiet life to raise three children.

'The street is chock full of successful people from the worlds of finance and tech, CEOs and owners of massive companies who have houses in Napa and Sonoma and Europe but this is where their kids go to school.

'The places to hang out are the Presidio, which is great for hiking, and Sacramento Street, our little shopping street.

'There are no bars but lots of restaurants, clothing shops, art shops, designer shops.

'She will be able to go there without being bothered.'

Roberts and her husband, cinematographer Danny Moder, 51, purchased the property in January 2019 and is expected to relocate full-time to the Golden Gate City in the near future

'It's a beautiful house with great views but it's modest, it's perfect for people who want to just blend in and have a quiet life to raise three children,' a neighbor said

The rest of Pretty Woman actress' property portfolio includes homes in Malibu, Manhattan, Hawaii and a massive ranch in Taos, New Mexico

Another neighbor living opposite, who gave his name as Pat, said: 'We've just moved so this is the first I'm hearing about it.

'That's really cool that she'll be across the street.

'Do you think she's going to be excited about being neighbors with me?

'It's a lot of dough that she spent buying the place although maybe not so much for her.

'It's probably like 15 minutes of a movie for her.'

The 6,245 squat feet home has a painted shingled facade and comes with five bedrooms and four and one half bathrooms spread across five floors.

It also features an office, wet bar, wood-paneled wine cellar, remodeled kitchen and bathrooms, a carpeted grand staircase and stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rest of Pretty Woman actress Julia's property portfolio includes homes in Malibu, Manhattan, Hawaii and a massive ranch in Taos, New Mexico.
 Flash

A small plane crashed in U.S. state of Texas on Sunday, killing four people on board, according to media reports.

Local media quoted an official from Texas Department of Public Safety as saying that two men and two women were killed when their plane crashed shortly before 11 a.m. near Hilltop Lakes Airport, about 200 kilometers northwest of Houston.

All four people on board were pronounced dead at the scene, said the official.

The local official said the pilot was attempting to make an emergency landing and was in radio contact with the Federal Aviation Administration when the crash happened.

According to a flight schedule, the plane took off at Horseshoe Bay, Texas, just before 10 a.m. and was headed to Natchitoches, Louisiana.
KPS TO PARTICIPATE IN COMPANY'S DIP FINANCING TO SUPPORT OPERATIONS

KPS HAS OBTAINED COMMITTED EXIT FINANCING

NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") announced today that, through a newly formed affiliate, it has entered into a stock and asset purchase agreement with Garrett Motion Inc. (NYSE: GTX) ("Garrett" or the "Company"), under which KPS will acquire substantially all of the assets of Garrett for approximately $2.1 billion.

Garrett will file a motion with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York today seeking the designation of KPS as the "stalking horse bidder" in a bidding procedures motion in connection with the Company's filing of voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. KPS was selected by Garrett after a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives by the Company's Board of Directors. To facilitate the sale process, Garrett has begun a process in the United States to financially restructure through a voluntary Chapter 11 proceeding. The completion of the sale is subject to court approval, among other customary conditions. KPS currently expects the sale process to be completed in early 2021.

KPS, through an affiliate, has also agreed to participate in Garrett's Debtor in Possession ("DIP") financing to support the Company's operations. Following court approval, the DIP facility will ensure that Garrett has sufficient liquidity to continue normal operations and continue to meet its financial obligations during the Chapter 11 process, including the timely payment of employee wages and benefits, continued servicing of customer orders and shipments, and other obligations.

A syndicate of banks including Citi, UBS Investment Bank, Credit Suisse and BNP PARIBAS, have committed to provide exit financing to the KPS stalking horse acquisition vehicle to acquire Garrett. The exit financing is subject to completion of the acquisition and customary closing conditions.

Raquel Vargas Palmer, Managing Partner of KPS, said, "We proceed with great conviction and enthusiasm to acquire Garrett, a global leader in turbocharger and electrification technologies, serving nearly every major automotive and commercial vehicle OEM in the world. Garrett enjoys a leading market position, scale, world class research and development sites, and state-of-the-art manufacturing and engineering facilities strategically located around the globe. We look forward to working with the Company's leadership team and employees to accelerate its many attractive growth opportunities as well as increase its already substantial investment in research and development, technology and new product development.

"KPS has invested an enormous amount of effort, resources and capital to acquire Garrett. We are committed to the expeditious acquisition of Garrett to provide certainty of outcome and confidence in the new Company's future for all of its stakeholders, including customers, employees and suppliers. The Company and its stakeholders will benefit from KPS' demonstrated track record and decades long history of successfully investing in the automotive and transportation industries globally, commitment to manufacturing excellence, continuous improvement and access to our significant financial resources. The new Garrett will be conservatively capitalized and not encumbered by its predecessor's significant liabilities."

UBS Investment Bank and Credit Suisse are acting as financial advisors, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is acting as legal counsel to KPS with respect to the transaction.

About Garrett Motion Inc.

Garrett, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland, is a differentiated technology leader, serving customers worldwide for more than 65 years with passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle, aftermarket replacement and performance enhancement solutions. Garrett's cutting-edge technology enables vehicles to become safer, and more connected, efficient and environmentally friendly. Our portfolio of turbocharging, electric boosting and automotive software solutions empowers the transportation industry to redefine and further advance motion. For additional information, please visit www.garrettmotion.com

About KPS Capital Partners, LP

KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with over $11.5 billion of assets under management (as of June 30, 2020). For over two decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds' portfolio companies have aggregate annual revenues of approximately $7.7 billion, operate 146 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and have approximately 26,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide. The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.

SOURCE KPS Capital Partners, LP

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Time finally caught up with John Turner over the weekend. But he gave it a heck of a run.

Over his entire career in Canadian politics, time  or timing  was the greatest nemesis for this political statesman. Throughout his 91 years, Turner was always racing time; either slightly ahead or slightly behind, but always running.

The fight of his life, as he called it, was Canadas great free trade election of 1988 and, while his side did not prevail, Turners misgivings of that period could well be viewed today as a preview for the doubts that have fuelled this centurys backlash to global trade deals. Turner was also the justice minister who decriminalized homosexuality in this country, a crucial step in Canada's long and ongoing reckoning with tolerance of all kinds.

Yet so many of the tributes and obituaries after his death this weekend make mention of Turners old-fashioned ideas about politics as it was practised when he returned to it in the 1980s; how out of step he was with the transformations, good and bad, in the political culture.

My first glimpse of Turner was at the 1984 convention where he won the Liberal leadership; the first I ever attended. But it would be another four years before I came to Ottawa to cover Turner as an opposition leader and by then, he had been wounded by internal party strife and the reputation, then all but sealed, that he was a politician better suited to another era.

It was still a time when women reporters, especially young woman reporters, were the exception on Parliament Hill and I was prepared for Turner to be patronizing or even crude, as so many of the past-their-prime politicians were in those days.

Turner was not. He was direct, respectful and unfailingly polite, even when the questions were hard. He had surrounded himself with strong women, not least of them his wife, Geills, and daughter, Elizabeth, and while he seemed to miss the clubby politics of bygone times he also always welcomed new members to the club.

The enduring picture of him is his stoic posture during that momentous 1988 election, which also included an incredible coup attempt against his leadership. Debilitated by agonizing back pain throughout the campaign, Turner was the physical manifestation of the strain he was enduring, not to mention the stakes for his career and the country. He walked into each event with great effort, sometimes wincing, but never flinching.

I have been thinking that Turner and Brian Mulroney, the prime minister with whom he sparred at the time, were the last leaders permitted to show the wounds their opposition inflicted upon them. Both men, who liked and respected each other, could certainly take criticism and dish it out, but they were both openly hurt by it too, and it showed.

It was Jean Chretien, successor to both of them, who paved the way for a different type of political leaders response to criticism; an impervious defiance, which others who have followed him  particularly Stephen Harper  tried to emulate. Even this current prime minister, Justin Trudeau, is of the never-let-them-see-you-sweat school of weathering political attacks.

John Turner always wore his political laments on his sleeve. He despaired of the degeneration in tone and civility. But he never stopped believing things could be better and he never complained.

He stayed in occasional touch after he left politics in 1993, showing up at Liberal gatherings and sending the odd note here and there. My first day at the Toronto Star, in 2003, I found a cream-coloured envelope waiting for me on my chair; a courtly, handwritten note from Mr. Turner (as we always called him), congratulating me and saying he expected much. Of course he did.

His 90th birthday last year, at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building, was a reunion and a revival meeting for the type of politics he loved, filled with affectionate tributes from friends and former rivals. As one of his long-time staff members and friends, Lisa Haley, told me this weekend, it was the last time that eight prime ministers were gathered for any event, and Turner sat there beaming through it all. The old sparkle was still in those piercing blue eyes of his.

Among the group of us who were here in Ottawa back in those days, John Turner impersonations are still very much enjoyed. His staccato bursts of outrage or passion are kept in a kind of verbal scrapbook, hauled out with nostalgia and wistful affection.

Theres a huge temptation to see Turner as a tragic figure from Canadas political past. But that doesnt quite capture him, because what he embodied wasnt a failure.

Time was his biggest running rival but, in the end, like all his opponents, it will treat him with immense respect. With his passing, it has finally become his friend.

Susan Delacourt is an Ottawa-based columnist covering national politics for the Star. Reach her via email: sdelacourt@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @susandelacourt

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Jennifer Aniston has shared her Emmys preparation  showing off her face mask and champagne (Ian West/PA)

Jennifer Aniston has shared her Emmys preparation  relaxing in her pyjamas with a glass of champagne and face mask.

Aniston is nominated for outstanding lead drama actress for her role as a TV anchor in Apple TV+ series The Morning Show.

The nod comes 18 years after she won an Emmy for playing Rachel in Friends.

While usually Hollywoods biggest names would be dressed head-to-toe in designer clothes for the Emmys, this years ceremony was turned into a virtual affair due to the pandemic.

Aniston made the most of being able to stay at home for Sundays ceremony, sharing a picture of her preparations with fans on Instagram.

Emmys prep in my other mask, she wrote alongside the snap showing her skincare mask.



Congratulations to the nominees and all of the amazing performances weve seen this year.

This years Emmys were scheduled to be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, but with nominees remaining off-site due to the coronavirus pandemic. Winners were to appear via video feed in accepting their awards.
LONDON  More than 160 current and former world leaders, lawmakers and diplomats have endorsed a call for the U.K. to free WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and stop his extradition to the U.S.

The signatories of the open letter, addressed to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several government ministers, included the president of Argentina and two former presidents of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Assange, 49, is currently fighting extradition to the U.S. where he faces up to 175 years in prison on espionage charges over WikiLeaks' release of confidential diplomatic cables in 2010 and 2011. The letter was first written by the group Lawyers for Assange in August, and then received the support of the international signatories whose names were released on Monday.

It laid out several legal reasons why Assange shouldnt be extradited, including the claim that he wouldnt face a fair trial in the U.S., and that he would be exposed to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

His extradition would gravely endanger freedom of the press, the letter said.

This demonstrates the growing opposition around the world to U.S. efforts to extradite and prosecute Assange, and the political nature of this case, Assange's lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, told NBC News.

Many of the letters signatories, which also include Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and former Ecuadoran leader Rafael Correa, are fierce critics of the U.S. and have previously spoken out against American foreign policy.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

Last week, Robinson told a London court that Assange was offered a presidential pardon in 2017 by then-Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Trump associate Charles Johnson if he helped to resolve the "ongoing speculation about Russian involvement" in the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails leaked during the 2016 U.S. election campaign.

Story continues

Image: A protester stands opposite London's Old Bailey court on Monday as the Julian Assange extradition hearing to the U.S. continued. (Frank Augstein / AP)

At the hearing in London on Friday, James Lewis, prosecutor for the U.S. government, said: "The position of the government is we don't contest these things were said. We obviously do not accept the truth of what was said by others."

Assange has been in a British prison since his ejection from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in April 2019. He was granted asylum by Ecuador in 2012 over fears he would face possible extradition to the U.S. related to his work with WikiLeaks.

Prosecutors in the U.S. say Assange conspired with U.S. army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and military files.

His supporters say the leaked documents exposed U.S. military wrongdoing, and argue he was acting as a journalist.

Among the files published by WikiLeaks in 2010 was a video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.

The extradition hearing, which began in February but was postponed in April because of the pandemic, is due to last until early October.
Imogen Anthony was downsizing her wardrobe on Monday, and she certainly dressed up for the occasion.

The 29-year-old shared a photo to Instagram in which she was wearing a revealing lingerie ensemble.

The look matched a pair of skimpy red satin panties with thigh-high, lace top stockings in white, which showcased her trim pins.

Looking good: Imogen Anthony (pictured) was downsizing her wardrobe on Monday, and she certainly dressed up for the occasion. The 29-year-old shared this photo to Instagram in which she was wearing a revealing lingerie ensemble

She added a micro crop-top with long sleeves in a shimmering pearl fabric, the short cut showing off her toned stomach.

Giving the ensemble a cheeky quality, Imogen put her caramel locks in pig tails, and opted for a peach-toned makeup palette with dramatic winged eyeliner.

In the photo, the Instagram model stood in front a rack of her designer clothing and explained she was downsizing and sending garments off to charity shops.

Old duds: The influencer explained she was downsizing and sending garments off to charity shops. 'Keeping myself busy organising the archives. But the downside to having so many clothes, is having too many f***ing clothes. Let the donations begin,' she wrote

The influencer, who is known for her fashion-forward looks, wrote in the caption: 'Keeping myself busy organising the archives.

'But the downside to having so many clothes, is having too many f***ing clothes. Let the donations begin.'

Last month, the beauty got a brand new space-themed tattoo and couldn't help but show it off.

Designer duds! Imogen is known for her fashion-forward looks and love of high-end garments

Edgy! The model also loves wearing cutting-edge designers and cult brands

She shared a number of photos as well as a video clip to Instagram, giving fans a close-up view of the ink, and flashing her bottom in the process.

'It's just a representation of the Universe, Golden Plaque from the Voyager (google search, pretty amazing) nature and animals, mother nature being destroyed, religion, aliens, all that kinda weird stuff,' she said of the new tattoo.

'Also about religion shooting down any ideas of other life in the Universe. I'm weird.'
After Pakistan's opposition party called for the anti-government protest, thousands of people took to the streets of Pakistan shouting slogans against the government and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The massive protest was an outcome of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) move to launch a wave of rallies and protests, against the Imran Khan-led government. The opposition parties of Pakistan held a day-long multi-party meeting to plan the countrywide protest which was attended by some prominent leaders like Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Soon after the meeting, the opposition leaders announced that they would use all political and democratic options, including no-confidence motions and en mass resignations from Parliament, to seek "the selected Prime Minister`s resignation and an end to the role of the establishment in politics".

As per IANS report, the JUI-F chief also read out a 26-point declaration in the form of a resolution containing various demands, including "end of establishment`s interference in politics, new free and fair elections after formulation of election reforms with no role of armed forces and intelligence agencies, release of political prisoners, withdrawal of cases against journalists, implementation of the National Action Plan against terrorism, speeding up of the projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and across the board accountability under a new accountability law".

Further, the opposition party through the resolution also demanded sacking of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information retired Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa and a transparent investigation into the media report about his offshore businesses and properties, said IANS.

Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Pakistan democratic movement is an important step towards a democratic Pakistan. He said, '' Like the MRD & ARD movements resisting dictatorships, PDM has united all democratic forces. It has a clear, concrete plan of action to restore freedom & dignity of our people, parliament, democracy.''

Pakistan democratic movement is an important step towards a democratic Pakistan. Like the MRD & ARD movements resisting dictatorships, #PDM has united all democratic forces. It has a clear, concrete plan of action to restore freedom & dignity of our people, parliament, democracy.  BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) September 20, 2020

Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif also lashed out at the Imran Khan government and said that under his governance the army has gone from a 'state within a state' to a 'state above the state.'

Currently, Pakistan is dealing with the possible regrouping of the Pakistani Taliban in some regions.
Could in-person council meetings be a thing of the past in NSW?

Councillors could be allowed to "attend" official meetings online after coronavirus restrictions are eased, under a NSW government bid partly aimed at increasing the number of women who serve on councils across the state.

The federal member for Eden-Monaro, Kristy McBain, started her political career in local government. She is pictured giving her first speech in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The government is extending the provision for councillors to hold meetings electronically, rather than in person, that was brought in six months ago to reduce the risk of transmission among councillors, staff and ratepayers.

Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock said virtual meetings had helped ensure the states 128 councils functioned during the past six months.
With 2020 dominated by a deadly, unpredictable virus that no one had even heard of a year ago, most of us would rather look forward now than back. Forward to the day when all children can go back to school, all workers can commute without fear, all businesses can open without masks, gloves and temperature checks. In short, the day we go back to normal.

But for at least the next half-year, experts agree, pandemic precautions will still be very much with us. To get expert perspectives on what lies ahead, Inquirer reporters spoke with:

A Philadelphia surgeon who quickly saw that some of the citys most vulnerable residents could not get the coronavirus testing they needed, and did something about it.

A scientist whose team hopes to soon find better therapeutics to help the most desperately ill COVID-19 patients.

An intensive care physician who, having gotten the most desperately ill patients through the disease, now worries about the second wave.

A nursing leader who led the fight for adequate protective gear for front-line workers.

An environmental scientist who helped explain how the virus moves in the air  and who says what we all should be doing to protect ourselves.

Ala Stanford, pediatric surgeon and founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium

Like so many people, Ala Stanford is still amazed at how quickly life changed this year because of the coronavirus.

In March, my twins just had a birthday. On March 10, they turned 10, we were going out to dinner, to celebrate, I was letting them buy what they wanted at GameStop. By March 13, everyone was out of school, she recalled.

"At first, they were saying this is only [spread] through person-to-person contact. You had to be in direct contact with someone from China, Germany, Italy, France. [Otherwise] you were fine, and it didnt affect you.

A lot of folks, particularly African American folks, went on with their lives. This was something rich people got, who traveled overseas and took cruises. Then all of that changed.

For Stanford, everything changed on April 3, when she read that there were more African Americans being diagnosed and dying in the city of Philadelphia than any other race.

"Thats when it, for me, when it struck me. Thats when it became personal. My friends were calling, and these are friends who are professionals, educators, doctors, even, that couldnt get a test. They had insurance, but they kept being turned away [at hospitals]. I reached out to my friends at hospitals, to say, Hey, what are you doing? Whats the deal? 

Stanfords response was to start the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, which provides free coronavirus clinics in some of the Black neighborhoods hit hardest by the virus.

I had been operating as a pediatric surgeon, but all surgeries were canceled because they were only doing emergencies. There was nowhere I needed to be. Except testing. Except being out in the community.

There was no need for her to explain how deadly this virus could be.

"Most people knew that, because it was their family members that were dying. They could literally be coming from a funeral, and then coming to get in line to get tested. We would go to the churches to test people, and we would start with a prayer or a moment of silence. Youd listen to the pastor say, Ive had a funeral every day. "

As for the next six months, Stanford sees her mission growing only more complex.

"I think in six months, that I will still be right here, still testing for coronavirus. Well be at the end of flu season. Starting Oct. 13, were giving out flu vaccines  plus coronavirus testing, antibody testing, and voter registration.

Well really have a good sense of people having the flu, coupled with coronavirus on top of it, and how it affected our morbidity and mortality. Were participating with delivering the flu vaccine in both Philadelphia and Montgomery County  were hitting all the high-risk populations. They notoriously have a hard time reaching the Black and Latinx population.

As we wait for a COVID-19 vaccine, what would help, she said, is removing the barriers that keep people from getting tested.

Anytime, 24 hours a day, day or night, any person should be able to walk into any hospital and get a COVID test. Regardless of your insurance, regardless of whether you have an appointment or not. And it needs to be widely known. Thats what needs to happen, and its not happening.

The mission, she said, goes well beyond the pandemic.

Im not just here for coronavirus. Im at this point committed that were going to work on the health outcomes to change the disparities that exist in the Black community in Philadelphia.

"We have to change the narrative that Black people are sicker, they die younger, theyre noncompliant [with medication], and they use the ER for primary care. All of that can and should be changed, and some of it is just not true.

The idea that the reason why African Americans are more likely to die from coronavirus is because they dont take care of themselves or they have preexisting health conditions  it may be a factor, but its not the primary reason. Its the bias that exists in the health-care system, coupled with the lack of access, coupled with the lack of empathy. Someones poorly controlled hypertension isnt what prevented them from getting a COVID test.

 Aubrey Whelan

 READ MORE: Six months of COVID-19, light-years from normal: Read our timeline

Sara Cherry, Penn professor of pathology, laboratory medicine, and microbiology

Research labs around the world have spent the last six months trying to identify existing drugs that could be repurposed to fight COVID-19.

So far, only remdesivir  the antiviral that Gilead Sciences shelved after it failed to work against Ebola  has been a success story.

University of Pennsylvania microbiologist Sara Cherry has hard-earned insights into why COVID-19 drug discovery has been so difficult, and why breakthroughs could be on the horizon.

One challenge: safety. In labs like hers that are certified to work with very scary germs, scientists have to don double layers of gowns and gloves, plus a respirator resembling a big hat that lets you breathe through a vacuum cleaner on your back.

Because doing experiments under those conditions can be difficult, researchers everywhere started out testing drug molecules on a particularly user-friendly line of monkey cells called VERO, Cherry explained. It was easy to infect VERO cells with the coronavirus, add a potential drug therapy, and measure the results.

Thats how an old, inexpensive malaria drug called hydrochloroquine, or HQC, was discovered to block infection  or so it seemed.

It would have been fantastic if it were true, Cherry said. But we are not VERO cells. We are humans. We were misled early on because we were using cell models that are different from what happens in the human body.

A related obstacle: finding the right animal model to unravel the mysteries of the new virus.

Early on, researchers figured out that the virus uses a cell surface protein called ACE2 to break into human cells and begin replicating. But it took longer to discover that the virus cannot use the ACE2 made by mice to infect the rodents' cells.

The virus can infect hamsters, Cherry said, but hamster models dont have as much complementary analytical technology as mouse models. That has hampered efforts to understand how the coronavirus can cause life-threatening clotting problems and immune overreactions.

More recently, genetically engineered mouse models with human versions of ACE2 have been created.

These will really help us to understand how these more complex [complications] evolve in human infection, she said. I think we will find effective therapeutics in the next six months.

 Marie McCullough

 READ MORE: Six Philadelphians share how the pandemic put their lives on hold

Meghan Lane-Fall, Penn ICU physician

Alarmed by the early reports of jammed hospitals in China and Italy last winter, U.S. hospital administrators took stock of their ventilators and counted how many specialists were available to operate them. Engineers even started to build makeshift devices as a backup, in one case using a lawn-sprinkler valve.

Meghan Lane-Fall worried it would not be enough.

A critical-care physician in the Penn Medicine system, she warned that in hard-hit areas, a shortage of the high-tech breathing machines might present physicians with an unthinkable choice: deciding who would live and who would die.

That did not happen. In Philadelphia and beyond, hospitals generally have had enough ventilators for those who needed them, despite close to 400,000 hospitalizations nationwide. Lane-Fall credits the creative use of other breathing devices, social-distancing measures that prevented thousands of cases, and a better understanding of how to treat the disease.

We ended up being OK, she said.

That doesnt mean the projections were alarmist or wrong, said Lane-Fall, who works in the ICUs at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Hospitals had to be ready for the worst, doubly so with a virus that no one knew much about.

And with flu season on the horizon, Lane-Fall worries that hospitals could face a renewed crunch in the fall and winter. Though there might be enough ventilators, some hospitals may have trouble finding room to keep contagious patients isolated. Back in the spring, hospitals in the Penn system set up tents to streamline patient intake, but that could be a tough sell during colder months. And space is needed for non-COVID-19 treatment as well, now that more patients are coming in for care that may have been delayed earlier in the pandemic, she said.

 READ MORE: Symptoms of COVID-19, flu, common cold, and allergies can overlap. How to tell the difference.

As for treating severely ill COVID-19 patients, intensive-care nurses and doctors have made great strides since March, learning that many patients in respiratory distress can recover without a ventilator. Some get high-flow oxygen through a nasal cannula, a plastic tube that rests in the nostrils. At Penn, a few were fitted with astronaut-style breathing helmets, ordered by one of Lane-Falls colleagues who had contacts in Italy.

But generally the sickest patients still need to go on vents  requiring that breathing tubes be threaded down their throats  and it remains unclear why some fare so poorly compared with patients with other respiratory diseases, Lane-Fall said.

For some reason, the metabolism of these patients goes into overdrive  with grim consequences.

Their bodies burn through more of the sedatives that are administered to keep ventilated patients calm, so they need higher doses. As a result, they stay motionless for longer periods, and their muscles atrophy.

They lose a lot of weight, Lane-Fall said. Its almost like theyre using their own bodies for nutrition.

Effective drugs remain elusive. Among the few proven to help are steroids, which tamp down harmful inflammation. But careful timing is key, as the drugs suppress the immune system.

Im not looking for a silver bullet, Lane-Fall said. Im not expecting to see one.

 Tom Avril

Maureen May, nurse at Temple University Hospital and president of PASNAP

The regions nurses are not optimistic about the next half-year, says Maureen May, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals.

We all think of the next wave coming, said May, who represents 8,500 unionized nurses and health-care workers in the state.

The first six months of the pandemic were traumatizing for people in her profession, said May, a nurse at Temple University Hospital. She has concerns that the psychological scars on fellow nurses may linger for years.

Addressing the emotional and mental strain the pandemic has caused in health-care workers will be a priority in the months ahead. The union has created webinars for members about the challenges theyre facing, May said, but she also thinks that her members will know what to expect should the virus surge again.

We didnt the last time, she said.

What may be equally difficult, though, is addressing the tensions between hospital management and staff. As the virus first spread through the region, health-care workers said their concerns about not having enough protective equipment seemed to fall on deaf ears. Initially, some hospital managers even discouraged nurses from wearing their own protective gear, requiring them to wear hospital-issued equipment workers felt was inadequate.

The disconnect between management and nurses led to retirements, May said.

We as nurses and we as health-care professionals, we believe that were expendable in the eyes of corporate America, she said.

Temple University Hospital, which serves some of Philadelphias poorest communities of color that have been especially hard hit by serious cases of COVID-19, was inundated with patients in the spring. Hospital staff was left dangerously understocked with masks, gowns, and gloves, she said. Tensions between workers and the hospital were exacerbated when Temple provided nurses with Chinese-made masks that didnt hold up under the rigors of patient care.

Temple has replaced the faulty masks and secured reliable sources of medical supplies since then. How they manage their supply chain changed and with that we were able to experience better protection, May said.

May is also hopeful the coming months will see progress on legislation to help health-care workers who contract the coronavirus. A bill from Republican State Reps. Frank Farry of Langhorne and Martina White of Philadelphia, under consideration in the legislature, would aid front-line health-care workers in disability claims resulting from COVID-19 infection by putting the burden on employers to demonstrate the worker didnt catch the illness through their jobs.

 Jason Laughlin

 ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters.

Charles Haas, Drexel environmental engineer

Charles Haas, a professor of environmental engineering at Drexel University, was among 239 scientists who persuaded the World Health Organization to concede that the coronavirus may be transmitted in microscopically small droplets that are released into the air just by talking or breathing.

Their July letter and the WHOs response heightened awareness of the challenges of curbing the pandemic. Now, many places are upgrading heating and cooling systems, installing powerful air filters, and experimenting with germicidal ultraviolet lights.

But last week, Haas talked about the simple, low-tech measure that has been proven effective  one that will be needed even after vaccines and therapies now in development become available.

Masks do work, said Haas. We should have a masking mandate. Its a darn shame its become so politicized.

Six months ago, amid a dire shortage of medical-grade face masks, federal and state public health officials told Americans they didnt need to cover their noses and mouths when leaving their homes. That wisdom, the experts insisted, was based on scientific studies; masks were important only for front-line health-care workers.

The advice soon changed to: Wear a mask so you dont infect those around you.

Last week, Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told lawmakers he wears a mask to protect himself from others.

I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against COVID than when I take a COVID vaccine, Redfield said.

Haas believes these mixed messages have fueled resistance to mask-wearing.

There was a lot of poor messaging by health departments that you wear a mask to protect others, Haas said. I think it was a mistake to not stress, at the outset, that you wear a mask primarily for your own good.

Questions surrounding vaccines  how soon, how effective, how safe  have also become politicized, which could deter people from rolling up their sleeves, Haas said.

A lot of work has to go into messaging so that people will comply, he said That means the message has to come from trusted messengers. And different communities will have different messengers that they trust.

Because vaccine effectiveness and availability are expected to be limited at the outset, even those who get immunized must be urged to keep masking and physical distancing, especially indoors.

We have to look at this as layers of protection," he said. "Heres an imperfect analogy: We didnt stop wearing seat belts when we got air bags.

 Marie McCullough

Clearing the record: This story has been updated with the correct name of the organization Maureen May leads.
The brewery which served San Antonio the beer that was an ode to Big Red is bringing back "Concha La Flor," a stout made with vanilla, coffee and real pan dulce.

Islla St. Brewing is eyeing Oct. 2 as the date for when a presale link will go live for the beer. The brewery says "Concha La Flor" and two other concha-based beers will be available in their new 22-ounce bottle format for $20 each.

RELATED: You can get these 'gourmet' pumpkin conchas with pie, empanada fillings in San Antonio

Co-owner Josh Pena says the beer was one of the first he and his brother JD Pena launched when opening Islla St. Brewing in January 2019. The brewing brothers credit "Concha La Flor" for helping the team introduce more "Hispanic-centric" concepts, like Wild Rojo, to San Antonio.

Their brewery name and the Bidi Bidi Bom Bom-esque beer is a kind of ode to their Corpus Christi neighborhood, where Selena also grew up.

"The Mexican Breakfast stout brewed and finished with real Conchas, a special coffee blend from Longroad Coffee and a touch of vanilla to make it reminiscent of Sunday mornings with Grandpa with all its South Texas Vibes," Islla St. Brewing says. "'Concha La Flor' pays homage to our family's Corpus roots and is a nod to La Reina."

Josh Pena says Concha La Flor has only been released one other time and the reaction was a two-hour line. With COVID-19 considerations in mind, the brewery is utilizing the online preorder system, but the beer is expected to go quickly.

"It just seemed like an ideal beer for us to brew as a homage to South Texas Mexican culture," Josh Pena said.

Islla St. Brewing will be releasing two other concha craft beers, in collaboration with San Antonio-based Concha Culture, as well. Information on how to order each of the beers will be promoted on the brewery's Instagram page.

"This beer helped to create a voice for Mexican heritage brew with its blend of culture and craft and was named one of the Most Important Beers of 2019 by Texas monthly, come see why," Islla St. Brewing says.

Islla St. Brewing is located at 11911 Crosswinds Way.

Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @maddyskye
Escaping to the woods, Robyn encounters a feral cave-dwelling girl named Mebh, whose shape-shifting powers cue the films shift into fable. In a spin on the old legend of the werewolves of Ossory, Mebh is revealed to be a Wolfwalker  she assumes the form of a wolf when asleep, thus embodying the essential bond between humans and nature. The scene is set for a clash between the army and forest folk, and between two outlooks on nature: as something to cherish or as something to tame.

The production design revels in this opposition. The austere grey-brown palettes and angular woodcut lines of the city give way to autumnal hues, painterly textures, curved forms, and sketchy linework in the forest. This approach extends to the characters. Robyn has the pointed features of a young Saoirse Ronan, and the spiky-faced urchins of Kilkenny could be in a Jamie Hewlett comic; meanwhile, Mebh shares the round, organic shape of the cave she lives in.

The films world is revealed in daring layouts  a hallmark of the studios films  that deploy non-linear perspective to striking effect. Thus, from the forests fringes, the distant town of Kilkenny appears to loom ominously out of the sky. The film is relentlessly inventive with composition. Case in point: a shot in which Cromwell looks through the visor of his helmet, which cuts up the frame like crosshairs while also evoking the crucifix (the symbol at the heart of his crusade).

Cromwell is one of the great villains of Irish history, and its understandable that hes presented here as a bloodthirsty despot. But his characterization sets the tone for the story, in which the contrast between city and nature is sometimes overplayed. Pitted against Cromwells tyrannical forces, the wolves are cuddly innocents, their woods a bucolic wonderland. This portrait doesnt entirely do justice to the beauty of nature, which is rooted also in awe, even fear.

The boundary between good and evil is drawn as thickly as Kilkennys woodcut outlines. The most ambiguous character is Bill Goodfellowe, whos at once a hunter for Cromwell and a loving father to Robyn. Yet, almost from the start, he performs his duties to Cromwell with sad resignation, leaving us in little doubt about his eventual redemption. Compare with the nuanced characters that populate the eco-epics of Hayao Miyazaki, one of Cartoon Saloons creative lodestars: they often act unpredictably, their motives not immediately clear.

Will Collinss polished script keeps the plot moving fast, as war clouds gather and Robyns loyalties are torn between father and forest. The Wolfwalkers magic powers become increasingly central to things, in ways that feel exhilarating at times and arbitrary at others. In a bold stylistic device, were shown the wolves perspective as they run through their environments, which are rendered in expressionistic streaks. Coming amid the films stylized flatness, these 3d-assisted scenes, created with Irish animator Eimhin McNamara, startle us with their sudden movement into depth.

And then, at moments, the grand canvas of history recedes, the action lets up, and the film lingers on a tender exchange between Robyn and Mebh. The girls have pain in common: they have both lost one parent and watched the other suffer indignities. Yet their friendship is forged through shared joys, as they play with each others hair or gambol in the forest at night. These scenes are beautifully observed; for all the films high drama and fantastical set-pieces, they are what will stay with me.

Wolfwalkers premiered last week at the Toronto International Film Festival. It will be released on Apple TV+ later this year, after a theatrical run.

Directors: Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart

Writer: Will Collins

Producers: Paul Young, Nora Twomey, Tomm Moore, Stephan Roelants

Production studios: Cartoon Saloon, Melusine Productions

Cast: Honor Kneafsey, Eva Whittaker, Sean Bean, Simon McBurney, Tommy Tiernan, Jon Kenny, John Morton, Maria Doyle Kennedy
News

Topeka, Kansas - A resident of Topeka, Kansas, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas on federal child pornography charges, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt of the Justice Departments Criminal Division announced Wednesday.

The three-count indictment charged Jeffrey Pierce with producing and possessing child pornography. Pierce is alleged to have solicited sexually explicit images and videos from minor victims.

This case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
BATON ROUGE  Raising Canes Chicken Fingers will host a fundraiser on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to support local Communities across Louisiana and Texas impacted by Hurricane Laura. With help from its loyal Caniacs, Raising Canes hopes to raise at least $100,000.

From open to close, participating Raising Canes Restaurants across Louisiana and Southeastern Texas will donate 15% of the days sales to local American Red Cross chapters and SBP, a Louisiana-based disaster resilience and recovery organization whose mission is to shrink the time between disaster and recovery.

I opened our first Restaurant in Louisiana, so we know firsthand how devastating a hurricane can be and how long it takes for a Community to get back on its feet, said Raising Canes Founder & Co-CEO Todd Graves. At Raising Canes, we arent just a Restaurant, we are a part of each of the Communities we serve. Part of that commitment is to be actively engaged, however possible, and this is one of those times. To make sure our fundraiser makes a difference in these Communities, we are raising funds for the American Red Cross and SBP. Both of these organizations are doing great work to aid these Communities and we are proud to support their efforts.

Tuesdays hurricane relief fundraiser is the most recent way Raising Canes is actively supporting its Crew, Customers and Communities. As the nation has battled the COVID-19 crisis, the company has donated thousands of chicken finger meals to frontline healthcare workers and raised more than $500,000 for local healthcare organizations.

I couldnt be more proud to tell people I work at Raising Canes in Sulphur, Louisiana, said Restaurant Partner Jerry Goza. At Canes its not talk, we actively support our Communities and partner to be there in good times and the bad. My hometown and many others have been devastated by Hurricane Laura, but well come back stronger. Its awesome to work for a company that truly cares and is there for us.

More information is available at raisingcanes.com.
US-FIRES

A chicken wanders through charred remains from the Beachie Creek Fire in Lyons, Oregon on Sep. 13, 2020. Credit - Rob SchumacherAFP/Getty Images

Pigs arent meant to be hoisted overhead by teenage girls and goats arent meant to be shoved through open windows, but when fires eating its way out of the woodlands into pastures and beasts balk at the barn door, proper loading protocol be damned. You get them into that horse trailer by any means necessary.

My neighbors and I wrangled livestock under a blood-red sky for four days and nights, skin glowing orange as sweaty shirtsleeves got shoved up after chasing down herds of horses, cattle and sheep that resisted containment. The rescue crew I ran with was a makeshift band of girlfriends-turned-cowgirls who hitched up trailers and raced into fire zones when the first plea for help came from a friend of a friend.

The four-day stretch of frantic statewide evacuations began late on Monday night, September 7, when an uncommon summer wind drove 50 mph gusts through forests baking in 90-degree heat, forests where for decades aggressive fire-suppression techniques had saved houses but left underbrush unburnt. Kindling awaiting a match.

James Conrad picks up his turkey "Momma Turkey" from the farm of Whitney Heros, who took in 55 rescued animals, in West Linn, Oregon. Courtesy of Whitney Heros

On the mountaintop where I live a blaze sparked when the gale toppled a tree into a transformer that exploded in a fizzling, crackling spectacle. In the wee hours of morning, carrying flashlights and screaming instructions over the howling wind, my daughter and I assembled kennels in our barn: this one for the rabbits, this one for the chickens. As a neighborhood scout texted an update  Tree down across the road east, head west if necessary  I grabbed a can of spray paint to counter the deadly math: with only a single two-horse trailer, Id never get all our big animals out. No farm could; no one was equipped to flee with whole barnyards simultaneously. If the evacuation order came and I had to abandon my beloved donkeys and llamas, I would paint my phone number on the animals backs, open the gates and chase them out in the hope that theyd keep running and I might find them later.

Story continues

But Tuesday morning dawned lucky for our neighborhood, our relatively small conflagration one of the few firefighters managed to fully suppress. We were safe; we could stay put. Yet the tower of smoke whirling over towns in the valley portended disaster for too many others. In an emergency, churches and shelters open doors to people but not to household pets, and certainly not to livestock. Only we whose farms had been spared could provide for other evacuees both passage and pasture to keep their animals safe.

That is why we raced not from the flames but toward them, two neighbors per vehicle, one driving, one manning phones from the passenger seat: fielding calls for help, passing information to others gathered around kitchen tables outside the evacuation zone, using social media and an ad hoc dispatch system to connect volunteers with endangered farms, the horse trailer I wound up not needing transformed into the rescue transport someone else prayed for. All told, thousands of Oregonians, from grade-schoolers to grandmas, joined together to rescue an estimated 20,000 animals.

Guy Urbani, Ellen Urbani's father, feeding the visiting draft horses on her farm in in West Linn, Oregon, on Sep. 10. Courtesy of Ellen Urbani

I dont know the names of the people I toiled alongside: The man who wrestled a frightened horse into a trailer, walked away with a broken nose and a cracked tooth and responded, Sh-t happens. Horse got loaded and no one else got hurt, before asking where he was needed next. The single mother of four who agreed to take in 13 dogs and put their owner up in the travel trailer in her driveway. The man who spent two sleepless days and nights rescuing animals before going home to find his own house ablaze, who in an effort not to feel sorry for myself got back in his truck and started delivering donated hay to the folks sheltering the animals hed saved. And the legions of anonymous people  many of whom had squared off against each other nightly for months in Portlands ongoing protests  all driving toward danger because strangers needed help.

It is the most desperate our communities have ever been, and the most kind. There are 69 extra animals now grazing in my smoky pasture, a dozen volunteers tending to them, households along my road collecting donations for their owners, and construction workers and farmers already coordinating to raise for them new houses and barns. We have witnessed a munificence in the face of tragedy that borders on holy. From these ashes, beauty also rises.

Correction, Sept. 22 A caption in the original version of this story misspelled Whitney Heros last name. It is Heros, not Heroes.
America's most recent submarine fleet acquisitions and submarine command for drills is near the East Coast. According to the navy force commander, they are now facing the threat of Russian subs in near U.S. waters.

Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, commander of the second fleet said that the Atlantic and the Russian submarine fleet will be where it will compete with the U.S. Navy.

Vice Adm. Daryl Caudle, remarked that America is not as safe as it was and not a sanctuary. In a press brief, he told reporters that these drills need to be done in local waters. This will be just as intense as those held in foreign waters. He views that readiness should be developed in both local and international waters, reported Breaking D.

The Navy is acquiring more systems, including robotic ships, swift frigates, with a new base in Norway, that will all meet the challenge of improved Russian and Sino fleets that are moving in the Arctic. It is alarming that the U.S. coast is not as immune as before to their incursions.

Analysts are still figuring out if Moscow is keen on penetrating U.S. coasts. The Russian sub-force is centered on protecting key assets and preserving its ICBM subs for a second-strike deterrent. Their command is not interested in long-range patrols closed to American territory. A limited fleet limits their options that affect their assets.

Michael Kofman, of the Center for Naval Analysis, mentioned that the 2nd Fleet prefers to be close to the USA, citing the subs of Moscow's 10th Department which works independently as a separate unit, composed of huge nuclear-powered subs conducting operations from the rest of the Russian navy.

Also read: US Submarines Get Improved Arctic Port to Dock Courtesy of Norway

The Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research has equipped several ballistic missile submarines into mother ships as docking platforms. Acting as support units for special deep dive stations for subs and robotic submersibles. One capability of this fleet is to use mechanical and retractable arms for objects on the ocean floor.

Normal subs are not a concern, but the second navy is specialized for other underwater operations. This concerns the U.S. as the threat requires different responses, like dealing with subs that can affect its physical environment, unlike conventional subs.

Taking part in the Black widow exercise that began Monday involving several vessels, they are the amphibious assault ship Wasp, P-8 surveillance planes, helicopters, two fast-attack submarines, destroyers USS Arleigh Burke and McFaul.

The objectives of the exercise are to fine-tune the chain of command and control between the new submarine command and the second fleet. The intention is to links the two commands into a cohesive force to benefit future operations.

A Russian sub was detected close to Alaska and in international waters, which was unexpected according to the Northern Command. Its sudden appearance and avoiding detection point to more silent subs that can penetrate American undersea defenses.

Before the Russian incursion, the USS Seawolf (a sub killer and offensive weapon again surface vessels) surfaced in Tromso, Norway. Experts say that it has been in the Arctic for some time and replenished at Tromso Coast.

The establishment of the Tromso port will mean increased American presence in the soon-to-be busy artic region. But hunting Russian and Chinese subs will be more crucial for the Naval leadership.

Related exercise: One of the Most Advanced Attack US Navy Submarines Sighted in Troms

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While flight shaming and the coronavirus pandemic have spurred airlines to hasten the retirement of their oldest, fuel-guzzling aircraft, not all those planes end up in boneyards in the desert. Many find a second life in the fleets of Amazon.com Inc. and other cargo carriers.

Amazon has been among the biggest lessors of converted Boeing Co. 767s in the last five years as demand for online shopping has soaredmore so since Covid-19 struck. A limited choice of converted planes and efforts to cap costs have left the online retailer with some of the freight sectors oldest ...
Pro-Life Group 40 Days for Life Moves Headquarters Into Former Planned Parenthood Abortion Center Where 6,400 Children Died

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Pro-life group 40 Days for Life, which seeks to end abortion through 40 days of prayer, fasting, peaceful vigil and community outreach announced Thursday that it's moving its headquarters into the former Planned Parenthood abortion center in Bryan/College Station, Texas, where 6,400 children died.

The move is particularly significant for the organization because it was outside this same facility where the international 40 Days for Life movement began 10 years ago.

"More than 6,400 children lost their lives in this building, but God is making 'all things new.' What was once a place of death and despair is now going to be a place of life and hope. We are excited to start using this location to aid the rapid worldwide growth of 40 Days for Life, and to help other cities become abortion-free," said the movement's campaign director, Shawn Carney, in a release Thursday. "This news shows what God can accomplish when His people pray."

The release noted that a memorial service will be held for the children aborted inside the building, and the property's black iron perimeter fence is expected to be torn down as part of renovations.

Along with using the facility to help stop abortions in more communities, the 40 Days for Life building will house Hope Pregnancy Center, which is an affiliate of CareNet.

"The partnership between the two organizations demonstrates the close relationship between 40 Days for Life and life-saving pregnancy resource centers," explained Carney.

Since the group's inception in 2004, 40 Days for Life is now in 559 cities across all 50 states. It's also active in 27 nations and pulls on the collective power of more than 625,000 volunteers.
A new poll suggests the race for the White House between Democratic nominee Joe Biden and President Donald Trump is getting closer in the battleground state of Florida with just a 2 point gap between the two candidates.

Biden has the edge of Trump, 48 percent to 46 percent according to a new poll by CBS News that was published on Sunday.

But the Democrat's lead has been slashed, after a similar poll in July showed him to be 6 points in front.

The latest survey, conducted between September 15th and 18th, asked 1,200 voters who they would be voting for.

Florida remains a close battleground state in the presidential election with the current margin between Trump and Biden just 2 percentage points

There is currently just 2 percentage points between Trump and Biden in a new CBS News poll

Trump narrowly won Florida by just over 100,000 votes in 2016 against Hillary Clinton and will almost certainly need it this time around too

The poll has a 3.7 percent margin of error, while around five per cent of voters say they are still 'not sure' who they wish to vote for.

In terms of demographics, Trump is leading among white people likely to vote in Florida, with 59 percent saying they will vote for the president.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads Trump up by 2 points in the Sunshine State

However, Biden appears to have a lead among Hispanic voters, by a similar margin - 56 percent compared to Trump's 36 percent.

Trump narrowly carried the state in 2016 with 49% of the vote to Hillary Clinton's 47%.

The state is likely to be just as crucial this time around if the Democrats are to be successful at voting Trump out of office.

The economy appears to be one of the most important issues for voters with many of those surveyed saying Trump's policies are aiding a recovery.

Potential voters said they feel the president's economic policies would better help their family's financial situation than Biden's proposals.

Also, despite coronavirus cases still rising, Florida voters appear to feel more positive about efforts to combat the virus than efforts earlier in the summer, although largely along party lines.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday, after funeral services for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

He told Fox & Friends on Monday that he had a list of five finalists, probably four, and that he is pushing for a confirmation vote before Election Day.

Trump disparaged reports that Ginsburg had told her granddaughter it was her wish that a replacement justice not be confirmed until the inauguration of a new president. Trump said he thought his Democratic political foes were behind the report, including Rep. Adam Schiff, who led the House impeachment probe, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer..

I dont know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi, Trump said. I would be more inclined to the second ... But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or Shifty Schiff. his nickname for the California congressman.,
Adds Approximately $2 Million in Sales

PHOENIX, AZ, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Taronis Fuels, Inc., (Taronis or the Company) (OTCQB: TRNF), a global producer of renewable and socially responsible fuel products, today announced the expansion of its existing wholesale industrial gas operations into the Northern California market. This is the second significant geographic expansion of this business segment in the past two months.

The Company acquired a large, regional industrial gas wholesale distributor in May of 2020. This distributor historically operated primarily in the Atlanta, Dallas, Orlando and Tampa metropolitan markets. In late August, the Company expanded this business into the Houston market, adding $1 million in new sales. On October 1st, the Company will launch its newest operations, serving the Sacramento, San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland markets.

This geographic expansion represents the largest single organic expansion initiative in Taronis Fuels history. Historically, the Company has driven most of its rapid growth through acquisitions. Due to the accelerated pace of these acquisitions, organic growth was a relatively small component of the Companys overall growth. With the acquisition of TGS in May, the Company has now shifted to a more balanced emphasis on leveraging its existing scale, depth of management and access to proprietary renewable fuel products to drive organic revenue growth.

This expansion in Northern California is expected to add approximately $2 million annually in highly profitable industrial gas sales, representing a 25% increase in sales for this business segment. When the $1 million in new business from Houston is included, the Company will have already grown its wholesale industrial gas segment 38% on an annualized basis in less than four months. As previously disclosed, the Company has identified more than twenty new markets for expansion of the wholesale industrial gas business, which is a 100% organic growth driver for the Company.

We are excited to share this expansion announcement, commented Scott Mahoney, CEO of Taronis Fuels. Our unique HVAC-centric industrial gas business model presents a compelling opportunity to accelerate our organic growth for multiple years to come.

This business model enables rapid geographic expansion with a very high degree of revenue and profit visibility prior to any given new market launch. Through long-standing strategic client relationships, we knew we could launch the Northern California market, with a clear path to immediate, scaled profitability well before a single dollar of capital was invested in this expansion.

As a credit to our highly experienced team, we are able to launch an entirely new market with very limited capital expenditures, and a very limited number of additions to payroll. As a result, much of the gross income from this growth can immediately impact overall profitability, enabling the Company to quickly self-fund further growth elsewhere within our overall business model.

I believe that when we look back in 12 months, and again in 24 months, this business model will have been an outsized catalyst for our financial success across our US operations, concluded Mr. Mahoney.

About Taronis Fuels, Inc.

Taronis Fuels, Inc. is a global producer of renewable and socially responsible fuel products. Our goal is to deliver environmentally sustainable, technology driven alternatives to traditional fossil fuel and carbon-based economy products. We believe our products offer a vastly cleaner solution to legacy acetylene and propane alternatives.

Taronis is also dedicated to providing fundamentally safer solutions to meet the industrial, commercial and residential needs of tomorrows global economy. Our products have been rigorously tested and independently validated by global gas authorities as vastly safer than acetylene, the most dangerous industrial gas in use today.

Lastly, we strive to deliver products that offer significant function superiority at a reduced cost to the end consumer. Through these efforts, we support 9 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. For more information, please visit our website at www.taronisfuels.com/

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements relate to future events, including our ability to raise capital, 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.

For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our public filings with the SEC are available from commercial document retrieval services and at the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov .
Well-known economists in the country urged Congress to pass the new stimulus bill before the month ends. Passing a new relief bill will help the economy to recover.

Well-known economists in the country are worried about Congress's failure to act on the new stimulus bill immediately. They firmly believed that the best way to help the country regain its economy back to normality is to provide relief aids like stimulus checks and PPP loans for businesses.

This also supports the previous statement of Pres. Trump, asking the Republican lawmakers to embrace the larger amount of stimulus that a Bipartisan group proposed in the Congress. Pres. Trump said that after all, the money goes back to the country.

What Pres. Trump was trying to convey that when you give relief aids to the people, they will use these aids to buy food, and PPP Loans will help businesses stay open. Through this, the economy will work, and this will boost both the local and national economy.

Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody's Analytics, said that Congress is taking a huge risk if they will not approve or take action on a new stimulus package. He asserted, "The odds are better than even the economy backslides." Zandi emphasized the importance of another round of stimulus package.

Meanwhile, an economist with the libertarian Cato Institute, Chris Edwards, has his opposing view on the new stimulus. He said, "The economy will strengthen and continue to get better. The further deficit-financed stimulus comes at the expense of higher debt and thus higher taxes and a lower standard of living down the road."

While Edwards's statement is not the same as Zandi, both of them supported the economic statements of Pres. Trump. In the past few weeks, the President said that the country's economy is slowly gaining back to normal amid the pandemic.

Moreover, Congress has few weeks left to act on new stimuli before leaving Washington and focusing on their campaign. However, House Representatives, specifically the Democrats, do not want to return home empty-handed or without a stimulus bill.

Subsequently, most economists believed that the country emerged from recession in May and has since regained about half of the 22 million lost jobs in the early spring. This is after some of the businesses reopened through PPP loans that allowed them to operate.

The Paycheck Protection Program has helped thousands of businesses across the country put their employees back to work and have them back also in the payroll. This also helped the employees to earn while the country continues to combat the pandemic.

Additionally, some economists predicted that there would be economic growth of 30 percent in the July-September period. However, they also warned that it would still leave the economy short if the new stimulus bill that will allow businesses to operate will fall short.

Many economists also said that Congress might reach the deal of roughly $2 trillion, which is proposed by a bipartisan group in Congress.

Check thesee out!
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 00:57:20|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses a high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations via video on Sept. 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday shared his thoughts on the role of the United Nations (UN) in the post-COVID era, opposing unilateralism, bullying or any country acting like "boss of the world."

Xi made the comments at a high-level meeting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the UN.

Stressing that the UN must stand firm for justice, Xi said no country has the right to dominate global affairs, control the destiny of others, or keep advantages in development all to itself.

"Even less should one be allowed to do whatever it likes and be the hegemon, bully or boss of the world," Xi said.

He said it is imperative that the representation and voice of developing countries be increased so that the UN could be more balanced in reflecting the interests and wishes of the majority of countries in the world.

Stressing that the UN must uphold the rule of law, Xi said relations among countries and coordination of their interests must only be based on rules and institutions.

"They must not be lorded over by those who wave a strong fist at others," Xi said.

Big countries should lead by example in advocating and upholding the international rule of law and in honoring their commitments, he added.

"There must be no practice of exceptionalism or double standards. Nor should international law be distorted and used as a pretext to undermine other countries' legitimate rights and interests or world peace and stability," Xi said.

The Chinese president said the UN must promote cooperation, noting that "Cold War mentality, ideological lines or zero-sum game are no solution to a country's own problems, still less an answer to mankind's common challenges."

"What we need to do is to replace conflict with dialogue, coercion with consultation and zero-sum with win-win," he added.

The Chinese president also said that the UN must focus on real action.

"To put into practice the principle of multilateralism, we must act, not just talk," Xi said. "There must be a cure, not just a therapy."

The UN should aim at problem solving and move toward tangible outcomes as it advances security, development and human rights in parallel, he added.

In particular, he said priority should be given to addressing non-traditional security challenges such as public health.

At the meeting, Xi lauded UN's role in 75 years, saying the organization has traveled an extraordinary journey.

He said the 75 years has seen dramatic progress in human society and profound changes in the international situation, and has been a period of rapid development of multilateralism.

Xi said China firmly defends the central role of the UN in international affairs.

China firmly upholds the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, he said.

"Let us renew our firm commitment to multilateralism, work to promote a community with a shared future for mankind," Xi said before concluding his remarks.
By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will face an exponentially growing death rate from COVID-19 within weeks unless urgent action is taken to halt a rapidly spreading second wave of the outbreak, the country's senior medics said on Monday.

The United Kingdom already has the biggest official COVID-19 death toll in Europe - and the fifth largest in the world - while it is borrowing record amounts in an attempt to pump emergency money through the damaged economy.

But new COVID-19 cases are rising by at least 6,000 per day in Britain, according to week-old data, hospital admissions are doubling every eight days, and the testing system is buckling.

Chris Whitty, the government's chief medical officer, and Patrick Vallance, its chief scientific adviser, cautioned that if left unrestricted the epidemic would reach 50,000 new cases per day by mid-October in the United Kingdom.

"If this continued along the path...the number of deaths directly from COVID ... will continue to rise, potentially on an exponential curve, that means doubling and doubling and doubling again and you can quickly move from really quite small numbers to really very large numbers," Whitty said.

"If we don't do enough the virus will take off and at the moment that is the path that we are clearly on and if we do not change course then we're going to find ourselves in a very difficult problem."

The virus is spreading across all areas of the country and less than 8% of the population have antibodies to the virus, though in London around 17% of the population may have antibodies, Vallance said.

Speed and action are urgently needed, Vallance and Whitty said, adding that as winter was approaching the COVID problem would haunt Britain for another six months at least.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said new restrictions would be different to last time. The government wants to crack down on socialising but schools and many workplaces will stay open.

Story continues

"GREAT CONCERN"

The chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland recommended all four nations move up to COVID-19 alert "Level 4" - an epidemic is in general circulation; transmission is high or rising exponentially.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the leaders of the three devolved nations that rising COVID-19 cases were a cause for "great concern" and he was committed to working with their administrations to tackle the virus.

The Sun newspaper reported that Johnson would announce a 10 pm closing time for pubs, bars and restaurants. He is due to address parliament on the coronavirus issue on Tuesday.

Northern Ireland said it would extend existing restrictions in some localities on households mixing indoors across the whole of the province from Tuesday, while Wales slapped curbs on four more areas, also from Tuesday, leaving just under a third of the Welsh population under restriction.

The Welsh measures prevent people entering the areas without a reasonable excuse such as education or work. People will also only be able to meet people they don't live with outdoors.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that additional restrictions were almost certain to be imposed.

The official UK death toll stands at 41,788 people.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Kate Holton, Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Toby Chopra and Gareth Jones)
The Block's Harry Pavlou was recently accused of sneaking into the building site when the contestants were supposed to be at home during the COVID-19 lockdown.

And the 57-year-old, who is competing on the show with his daughter Natasha, admitted on Monday to snooping around on set to 'take some measurements'.

While the interstate couples were back home, Harry was within walking distance of the construction site in Brighton - and his decision to discreetly work on his reno has sparked a cheating scandal.

'I got sprung!' The Block's Harry Pavlou (left, with his daughter Natasha) has admitted to sneaking on set during the Melbourne lockdown to 'take measurements' before being caught

'We live not too far from the site of The Block, and having that time to reflect, I decided to change what we were doing with the room upstairs, so I dropped by to take some measurements,' Harry explained to TV Week.

'I was only there for probably half an hour but I got sprung! The senior producer saw me. I tried to hide but it didn't work.'

Other contestants were 'disappointed' in Harry after they found out he'd visited the set, with SA couple Daniel and Jade Joyce taking it the hardest.

Local bloke: While interstate contestants were at home during the pandemic, Harry lived within walking distance of the The Block's building site and decided to 'drop by'

But Harry said he was not aware that people were 'cranky about what I did'.

'If anyone did have an issue they should have come and talked to me about it. But no one came and talked to me,' he said.

Following the scandal, he has been nicknamed 'Dirty Harry' - but he has 'owned it' rather than being offended by the moniker.

Production on The Block was suspended in March before resuming with COVID-19 safety precautions in May. It was during this lockdown period that Harry snuck on set.

Caught in the act: Harry went to the Brighton construction site to take some measurements and tried to hide from a senior producer before he was discovered

On Sunday's episode, Harry and Natasha revealed their master ensuite to the judges, who gave them a 28-and-a-half score.

The father-daughter duo tied with Sarah and George, while Luke and Jasmin tied in first place with Jimmy and Tam on 29 points.

Daniel and Jade finished third on 28 points.

The Block continues Monday at 7:30pm on Channel Nine
If the elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine took place in mid-September, five parties would overcome the 5% electoral threshold, according to a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) between September 12-16.

In particular, among those who have decided on which party to support, 21.5% would vote for the Servant of the People party, 17.8% for the Opposition Platform - For Life party, 16.3% for the European Solidarity party, 8.7% for the Batkivshchyna All-Ukrainian Association, and 6.3% for Oleh Liashko's Radical Party.

Some 4.1% of respondents would vote for the Party of Shariy, 4% for the Strength and Honor party, 3.3% for the Svoboda party, 3.1% for the Civil Position party, 2.8% for the Ukrainian Strategy of Groysman, 2.6% for the UDAR party, 1.9% for the For the Future party, 1.8% for Samopomich, 1.8% for the Opposition Bloc party, 1.3% for the Holos party, 1% for the ProPosition party, 0.8% for the National Corps party, and 0.9% for other parties.

The survey was conducted from September 12 to September 16 using the CATI method (computer-assisted telephone interviewing), based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers. A total of 2,000 respondents were interviewed. The poll's margin of error does not exceed 2.2% for figures close to 50%, 2.1% for figures close to 25%, and 1.4% for figures close to 10%.

op
SANILAC COUNTY, MI -- A 51-year-old Sandusky man was rescued after a tractor rolled on top of him in rural Sanilac County.

A 911 call was received by Sanilac County Central Dispatch around 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 for a tractor on top of a person in the 3000 block of Ubly Road in Argyle Township, northwest of Sandusky.

Sanilac County Sheriffs Sgt. Shelly Park said the man was found pinned underneath a Kubota L3830D tractor in a drainage ditch.

Park offered thanks to the quick action by first responders including sheriffs deputies, Sanilac County Central Dispatch, Thumb Towing, Argyle Township Fire Department, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and Sanilac County EMS for their help to extricate the man.

He was airlifted to Ascension St. Marys Hospital in Saginaw for additional treatment of his injuries.

Sanilac County Undersheriff Bradley Roff told MLive-The Flint Journal the man was listed in stable condition.

The incident remains under investigation.

Read more:

Man shot and killed in Flint over the weekend

Flint man drowns in lake at Shiawassee County campground

Man accused of killing girlfriends son, 2
Two weeks into the 2020-21 school year, the province has released more details about how $137.4 million in various government funding will be spent to keep teachers and students safe amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/9/2020 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two weeks into the 2020-21 school year, the province has released more details about how $137.4 million in various government funding will be spent to keep teachers and students safe amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The provinces $52-million safe schools fund will be distributed for personal protective equipment, cleaning and sanitation supplies, technology-related expenses, expanding bus transportation capacity, and hiring more custodians, substitute teachers and educational assistants.

An estimated $12 million will be spent on face masks and personal protective equipment, $32 million will be available  up to a per-pupil maximum  for school divisions and independent schools, and $8 million is being earmarked for "serious and urgent health and safety measures" that exceed the per capita funding.

The $85.4 million in federal funds for education will be used for similar expenses, in addition to remote learning costs.

Manitoba Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen told reporters divisions have been asked to spend savings accumulated in the spring, which amounted to $48 million province-wide, and put forward accounting for how they plan to spend additional monies.

"Rather than sort of flying a plane over and dropping hundreds of millions of dollars out over individual schools, we are having accountability processes to make sure that we know that the money is being spent on the things that parents would expect it to be spent on when it comes to keeping their students safe," Goertzen said during a call-in news conference Monday.

"Taxpayers would expect us to have that line of sight."

The money will flow as divisions submit their expenditures, he said, adding government officials are in contact with divisions on a daily basis about their needs  the most costly of which he suspects are increasing demands for staffing, school bus capacity and cleaning supplies.

In late August, both Manitoba and Ottawa announced funding to alleviate the COVID-19-related pressures on schools.

Before students in Ontario and B.C. returned to school, both provinces had already announced how they planned to spend the amount allocated for their respective provinces in the Safe Return to Class Fund, a total of $2 billion being dispersed to provinces and territories based on student population.

Goertzen defended Manitobas timeline Monday, saying schools have had an opportunity to get a better understanding of their expenses since classes began.

Smaller classes needed: MTS

James Bedford, president of the Manitoba Teachers Society, welcomed the details Monday, although he said he would have liked to see shrinking class sizes on the priority list.

"Right now, too many classrooms are running on the minimum one-metre of social distancing and, really, if we want schools to be as safe as they can be, its got to be two metres," Bedford said.

"Thats only going to be achieved by reducing class sizes, which means we need to be hiring some additional teaching staff and perhaps, school divisions have to look at more creative ways to use and find space for classes to be taught in."

Many classrooms are housing the same number of students as they have in previous years, Bedford said. The range is approximately between 15 and 30, depending on classroom and division.

As for students studying at home this year, Bedford said there is a need for consistency when it comes to remote learning.

Standardizing remote learning

Goertzen echoed those comments during the phone-in conference; the minister said the province plans to use the federal funding to ensure remote learning is standardized across Manitoba.

He acknowledged Monday its concerning some students in the province  albeit, he said, a small per cent  still do not have access to remote learning programs mid-way through September.

"We need to better support and ensure that there's a stronger and more consistent standard of what that at-home learning is," Goertzen said about both remote learning programs for students with medical notes and those required to stay home because of COVID-19 outbreaks.

The province does not currently have plans to make remote learning an option for all families, regardless of underlying health challenges.

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The Manitoba Liberals put out a release Monday criticizing the province's funding distribution plan for not taking equity into account.

"Some schools, students and families need much more support than others  rural schools, students and families who cant afford WiFi or devices," said party leader Dougald Lamont in a prepared release.

Lamont noted some of the $32 million in provincial funding is being distributed to private schools that charge upwards of $10,000 for tuition each year.

As of Monday, there have been potential COVID-19 exposures in nine different schools across the province.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
By Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday said his government would take the BJP and its allies, including the Akalis, to court over the new unconstitutional, undemocratic and anti-farmer laws of the central government.

He said he would fight till his last breath to protect the farmers interests in the state. We will move the court and fight the draconian legislations as soon as they get the presidential nod and become the law of the land, he said.

Singh expressed shock at the way the BJP-led Union government brute-forced the agriculture Bills through the Rajya Sabha.

The CM questioned the rationale behind putting the controversial and vicious Bills, which, he said, was a blatant encroachment of the states powers and control of the agriculture sector, to voice vote, despite strong reservations by the Opposition and inadequate numbers in the House.
Data Prove Climate Change Is Not Making Droughts, Heatwaves, or Wildfires Worse

Commentary

Over the past few weeks, thousands of news stories have claimed human-caused climate change is responsible for more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires in the western United States.

The problem is, and its a big problem for those making these claims, data dont support them. Sadly, the mainstream liberal media, in search of attention-grabbing headlines, routinely ignore this fact.

For instance, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, standing in a burnt-out area, hosted a news conference, duly reported across the United States, in which he went on an inane rant saying, I quite literally have no patience for climate change deniers. I say inane because I know of no one who denies that the climate changes over time.

Days after, President Donald Trump visited California and met with state officials to discuss what aid the federal government can give by way of wildfire relief and prevention going forward in the wake of this horrific, not historic, wildfire season.

The headline in The New York Times coverage of the event was titled Trump Again Rejects Science in California Wildfire Briefing, while CNNs story covering the event began, President Donald Trump on Monday baselessly asserted that climate change is not playing a role in the catastrophic wildfires overtaking forests across the west, rebutting an official briefing him who pleaded for the President to listen to the science. I dont think science knows, actually, Trump said at a Monday briefing.

The truth is it is the mainstream liberal media baselessly asserting science proves current wildfires are being caused by climate change. By contrast, Trump is following the science.

Data show the number and severity of heat waves, droughts (which are a critical factor in the severity of wildfires), and wildfires have all decreased over the past 150 years, even as the planet has modestly warmed.

Concerning heatwaves, the U.S. Annual Heat Wave Index tracks the occurrence of heat wave conditions across the United States. This index defines a heat wave as a period lasting at least four days with an average temperature that would only be expected to occur once every 10 years, based on the historical record. The index value for a given year depends on how often heat waves occur and how widespread they are.

Data from the U.S. Climate Reference Network and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show, in recent decades heatwaves have been far less frequent and severe, for example, than in the 1930s. Indeed, 40 states record-high temperatures were set before 1960, with 25 of the record highs being set or tied in the 1930s alone. The most accurate nationwide temperature station network, implemented in 2005, shows no increase in daily or sustained high temperatures in the United States since at least 2005.

And data from the National Integrated Drought Information System are similarly unalarming, showing, contra repeated assertions made by media pundits, that droughts have declined recently, with the United States undergoing its longest period in recorded history without at least 40 percent of the country experiencing very dry conditions. In 2017 and 2019, the United States registered its smallest percentage of land area experiencing drought in recorded history.

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also reports with high confidence that precipitation over mid-latitude land areas of the Northern Hemisphere (including the United States) has increased during the past 70 years, while IPCC has low confidence about any negative trends globally.

Drought is a key contributing factor to wildfires. Thus it should surprise no one to find that records from the U.S. National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) show that wildfires have declined in number and severity in recent decades. Data from the NIFC, tracking U.S. wildfires back as far as 1926, show the numbers of acres burned currently run about one-fourth to one-fifth of the record values that occurred in the 1930s.

Moreover, research shows massive wildfires regularly swept through California centuries ago. A 2007 paper in the journal Forest Ecology and Management notes prior to European colonization in the 1800s, more than 4.4 million acres of California forest and shrub-land burned annually, far more than the area of California that has burned since 2000, which ranges from 90,000 acres to 1,590,000 acres per year. Globally, wildfire data are just as clear. In his book, False Alarm, Bjorn Lomborg notes that research shows:

There is plenty of evidence for a reduction in the level of devastation caused by fire, with satellites showing a 25 percent reduction globally in burned area just over the past 18 years.

In total, the global amount of area burned has declined by more than 540,000 square miles, from 1.9 million square miles in the early part of last century to 1.4 million square miles today.

The heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires in the West are producing tragic results. They are destroying property and taking lives, as they do every year. However, there is no evidence that these events have become more severe or frequent in recent years, as our planet has modestly warmed.

Fact-checking the media, this means Trump is right. Scienceactual data, not model projections or expert opinionscannot link the current heatwave or this seasons wildfires to human-caused climate change. Anyone saying otherwise is a science denier.

H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., is a senior fellow on energy and the environment at The Heartland Institute, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research center headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Photo: Unsplash

The BC government has announced six new Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams throughout the province to help residents living with severe mental health challenges have increased access to community-based support.

"For many people, COVID-19 has made existing mental health struggles even worse. We've heard from vulnerable people and from communities that they need more specialized care for those living with really severe mental health challenges," said Judy Darcy, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

"These six new ACT teams will deliver the care people need to get better and rebuild their lives as well as help stabilize and resolve the challenging situations that some communities have seen in the past few months."

The new teams will be located in:

Kelowna

Vancouver

Victoria

Maple Ridge

Nanaimo

Cowichan Valley/Duncan

They will provide flexible, individualized support - including community living, psychosocial supports and recovery - for adults with serious, complex and often persistent mental health challenges that make it difficult to manage day-to-day activities.

The teams are mobile and deliver 24/7 services in the community, such as in client homes, work, parks and recreation locations, rather than in a traditional office setting.

"People are still struggling with housing, social supports and substance use, so we're bringing in a new team to help. Getting a new ACT team in our community means more people will get the right combination of mental health supports and services."

Up to 60 new staff will be hired to support six new teams and services will differ by community.
Regulatory News:

Shareholders' Meeting on Monday September 21, 2020

Total Gabon's (Paris:EC) Shareholders' Meeting was held today in Libreville, chaired by Mr. Nicolas TERRAZ.

Shareholders approved all resolutions recommended by the Board of Directors, including the approval of the payment of a net dividend of $44.44 per share which amounts to $199.98 million.

A detailed breakdown of the vote tallies will be posted on the Company's website www.total.ga in the coming days.

The Board of Directors in its meeting today approved the modalities of the dividend payment. The $44.44 per share dividend will be paid as from September 25, 2020 in an equivalent amount of 37.70 per share (or its equivalent in CFA Francs), based on the European Central Bank's rate of $1.1787 per on September 21, 2020. The coupon shall be clipped on September 23, 2020.

Payment will be made through the following entities:

In Gabon: Union Gabonaise de Banque (UGB)

In France: BNP Paribas Securities Services acting on behalf of other banks and any financial institution that manages an account.

Total Gabon is owned 58.28% by the Total group, 25% by the Gabonese Republic and 16.72% by private sector investors.

Societe anonyme incorporated in Gabon with a Board of Directors and share capital of $76,500,000

Headquarters: Boulevard Hourcq, Port-Gentil, BP 525, Gabonese Republic

www.total.ga

Registered in Port-Gentil: 2000 B 00011

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200923005756/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact: actionnariat-totalgabon@total.com
A New York City Police Department officer was arrested Wednesday on federal charges of acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, authorities said.

Baimadajie Angwang, 33, a Chinese man of Tibetan ethnicity who gained asylum in the United States, is accused of providing non-public information about internal operations of the NYPD to Chinese government officials stationed at the consulate and offering them access to senior NYPD officials through invitations to official events, according to federal prosecutors.

Since at least 2014, Angwang also reported on the activities of Chinese citizens in the New York area and fed information about potential intelligence sources within the Tibetan community, according to federal prosecutors.

Let them [superiors in Beijing] know you have recruited one in the police department, Angwang told one of the Chinese government officials, according to a government detention memo.

Authorities described the official as Angwangs handler.

In other words, Angwang received tasks from, and reported back to, PRC officials, prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York said in the memo, referring to the People's Republic of China.

New York Police Department officer Baimadijie Angwang, left, in 2018. (Assemblyman Edward Braunstein)

In a recorded call, Angwang offered the official access to NYPD events to raise our countrys soft power and offered to provide information whatever is worth money or not worth money to your side, according to court documents.

Angwang, who is a member of the NYPDs Community Affairs Unit, called or texted the official on at least 55 occasions between June 2018 and March, the detention memo says.

The official is believed to have been assigned to the China Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture, a division that focuses on, among other things, neutralizing sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of the PRC, the memo says.

The Chinese government recruited and directed a U.S. citizen and member of our nations largest law enforcement department to further its intelligence gathering and repression of Chinese abroad, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said.

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Angwangs lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called the accusations "pure fabrication."

"The indictment is full of hedging terms such as 'seems' and 'possibly,' indicating the falsehood of the accusations," Wenbin said. "The U.S. won't succeed in its smears against Chinese consulates and personnel in the US."

In addition to his work with the NYPD, Angwang is also a U.S. Army Reservist and holds the rank of staff sergeant at Fort Dix in New Jersey, according to federal prosecutors. As part of that position, the FBI says he holds a secret level security clearance.

Federal prosecutors said in the detention memo they want Angwang held awaiting trial due to his strong ties to the Chinese government and the financial means to flee.

His father and mother are retired members of the government and the Chinese Communist Party, and his brother serves as a reservist in the Chinese Army, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Angwang falsely obtained U.S. citizenship by claiming asylum, stating that he had been arrested and tortured in China due partly to his Tibetan ethnicity.

Yet, despite alleging torture and persecution at the hands of PRC security officials, the governments investigation has revealed that Angwang has traveled back to the PRC on numerous occasion since his asylum application was granted, the memo says.

These are not the actions of an individual who fears torture or persecution at the hands of the PRC, thus showing that his U.S. citizenship was secured through false pretenses.

At his initial court appearance, Angwang was ordered held without bail on charges of acting as an illegal agent of China, wire fraud, making false statements and obstructing an official hearing. His lawyer did not request a bail package but said he may do so at a later date.

Prosecutors say Angwang once sought guidance from his handler after the NYPD proposed that he sit for an interview with a New York City news outlet that supports the Falun Gong, a spiritual group outlawed in China. But the government official told Angwang that would be too much of a risk and he should decline, court documents say.
Back in March, when the pandemic forced schools across Hamilton to close, Wendy Young broke the bad news to her music students at Orchard Park Secondary School.

The concerts theyd prepared for would be cancelled, she told them. No more field trips, no more community performances. Students would take their instruments home and practice by themselves. Final exams would be conducted via video call.

It was an anti-climactic ending to the school year.

Especially for the senior students in Grade 12, Young told The Spectator. Theyd practised so much, only to have their final performances cancelled.

Working with students remotely gave the teacher an idea. In spite of the cancelled events, Youngs students would take up a project from the comfort of their homes: a performance of Bare Necessities, from Disneys animated classic The Jungle Book.

Each student would record their part of the song and Young would compile the recordings into one video. She asked one of her tech-savvy students to edit the clips and enlisted her husband, a retired music teacher, to help with the audio.

The project proved much harder than expected, but gave the students something to focus on.

This is our first remote now updated O.P. Band recording which we started as summer was approaching. It's truly amazing what we can achieve when we say "NO!!!!!" to anything that tries to stop us from showing who and what we are.

It was the best thing to come out of last school year. I dont think the students knew how much work they were in for, but they put in so much effort to make it happen.

Young, who now heads the music department at Orchard Park, has taught music in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) for the past 40 years. Her band classes have performed in concert halls across the city and, in 2018, won $5,000 from CBCs Canadian Music Class Challenge for their rendition of Leonard Cohens Hallelujah.

The problems facing music programs in Hamiltons schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic are unlike anything shes seen before, Young said.

Similar to other school boards in Ontario, woodwind and brass instruments have been banned from all in-person classes in the HWDSB as well as Hamiltons Catholic board. Students at Orchard Park practice rhythm and tempo on percussive instruments, or, when there arent enough drums to go around, they use their music stands instead. They use keyboards to practice pitch and notation.

The reduced programming has led to a drop in student enrolment, raising fears about the future of music in schools.

Last (school) year hurt the music programs, and, honestly, Im worried that music could disappear, Young said.

I was hoping, with a project like this, that students could see whats possible to accomplish even though things are different.

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In September, the former class gathered via video conference to watch the final rendition of their project.

The performance was a hit, Young said. The video has inspired her current students to work on similar projects this semester. For the holiday season, her senior class is starting work on a rendition of Jingle Bell Rock to include in Christmas cards.

The projects are a unique solution to a problem that plagues music programming in schools. But for Young, the problem presents an opportunity for something new.

Forty years later, Im still passionate about music, so Im going to give my students the best music experience possible.
A national memorial dedicated to Chinas first and only war against the United States 70 years ago reopened at the weekend amid fears that a new cold war between the two superpowers may actually turn hot.

The Memorial Hall of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in Dandong, a northeastern Chinese city on the border with North Korea, is open after an unusually long hiatus of six years.

The reopening of the countrys only museum focusing exclusively on the Korean war sends a clear warning to the US while rallying support for the Chinese Communist Party in the face of the ratcheted tensions, according to historians and experts.

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It also underlines how China tries to seize the historical narrative through war remembrance, which has closely mirrored the ups and downs of Beijings love-hate relationship with Washington and its changing perception of the world.

East China Normal University history professor Shen Zhihua said that despite all the changes in the past decades, the Korean war was still relevant, especially given that it had yet again become the prime target of Washingtons dangerous brinkmanship.

I dont believe anyone wants a war, but in the face of the mounting pressure from the US it serves as a timely reminder that the Chinese are not afraid of armed conflicts with a much stronger enemy, despite great disparity in strength, he said.

Shen is an acclaimed author on the subject of the Korean war and has tried to decode the notoriously secretive history behind Mao Zedongs decision to send nearly three million Chinese troops to cross the Yalu River by stealth and rush to Pyongyangs aid on October 19, 1950.

Despite the persistent debate over whether Maos China was aware of North Korean leader Kim Il-sungs plan to liberate the South, Shen said it made sense for Beijing to portray itself as a victim of the US aggression while declaring the war largely as an event of self-defence.

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After all, it was a war that had been forced upon the Chinese people according to the official narrative, when the US troops obviously ignored Chinas warnings and crossed the 38th parallel and advanced to the Chinese border, he said.

Tang Wenfang, head and chair professor of social science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said the US would have to think twice before getting involved in a possible armed confrontation with a very determined and much stronger China today.

This event is particularly relevant in the increasing interference of the US in Taiwan in recent years, which is likely to prompt China to use force to reunify with Taiwan and unavoidably face American military intervention, Tang said.

The opening ceremony is held for the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Photo: Xinhua

While the Korean war may be the forgotten war in the US and many other parts of the world, it has long been one of the most remembered wars in the official history of the Peoples Republic.

The reopening of the war memorial is one of a series of official events marking the 70th anniversary next month of Chinas participation in the war, according to state news agency Xinhua.

A large-scale exhibition is expected to open at the Military Museum of the Chinese Peoples Revolution in Beijing on October 19.

President Xi Jinping is expected to attend a gathering in Beijing at the culminating official commemoration on October 25, the date the Chinese army launched the first attack against the United Nations coalition forces led by the US. State media has reported that memorial medals will be awarded to war veterans known as the Chinese Peoples Volunteers (CPV) and if confirmed it would make Xi only the second top Chinese leader to attend a Korean war commemoration after Jiang Zemin did so 20 years ago.

Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers before the start of one of the last confrontations in the Korean war in July 1953. Photo: Xinhua

Chinas death toll in the war has long been a secret. Official figures have been challenged as significantly downplaying the actual number of fatalities. Beijing has said for years that 360,000 soldiers were either killed or wounded, without providing a breakdown of how many died. The museum in Dandong put the death toll at 183,108.

Despite suffering much heavier casualties than the US, China pushed the US and the coalition forces back to the 38th parallel and forced its much stronger enemy to sit down at the negotiation table.

The Korean war is no doubt a powerful memory in the Chinese mind of determination and courage of confronting the powerful and arrogant America. This is a psychological victory that China still enjoys today, Tang said. The reopening also reminds people in China and the US that the American imperialists are paper tigers, as Mao used to say.

But David Tsui, a Hong Kong-based North Korean affairs expert and son of a Peoples Liberation Army general, cautioned against attempts to overestimate Chinas chances of defeating the US in another war.

With the US ratcheting up tensions with China on almost every front and lining up an international coalition against Beijing, it is no longer an illusion that the two countries are on the brink of a real military conflict rather than a cold war, especially if American President Donald Trump gets re-elected, he said.

He noted Xis scathing attack on the US early this month, when the Chinese leader vowed to fight back against Washingtons attempts to encircle China and challenge the partys leadership.

Given the gaps between the two countries over their capabilities, I doubt anyone would seriously believe China can outmanoeuvre the US again, Tsui said.

Tsui said the Korean war was a watershed moment for China, emerging as a major power and putting an end to Chinas century of humiliation of being victimised by foreign invasions.

That partly explained why the party has insisted on naming it as the war to resist US aggression and aid Korea, instead of the universally accepted Korean war.

The Chinese renaming of the war, according to Zhao Ma, a Korean war expert in the US, smacks of Chinas historical revolutionary discourse of friends and foes under Mao during the Cold War.

[It] crystallised the image of Washington as revolutionary Chinas arch-enemy in the official narrative and recent memories of the war, said Ma, an associate professor of modern Chinese history and culture at Washington University in St Louis.

Beijing has since tried to tone down the original revolutionary narrative, especially after the China-US rapprochement beginning in the early 1970s.

The memorial, first built in 1958, has endured through a dramatically shifting geopolitical landscape in the US-China-North Korean triangle over the years.

When it moved to the present site in 1993  a year after China normalised official ties with South Korea to the ire of the communist North  authorities softened their anti-American posture. Old references to the US such as imperialist invaders, war-peddlers and war criminals were dropped, according to Ma.

Renovation was given as the reason for the memorial closing in December 2014, as relations between the communist neighbours suffered another blow following Xis historic debut visit to Seoul in July 2014. However, Beijings estranged ties with Pyongyang were a major boost for the US-China relations which had been fraught over trade and cybersecurity and Beijings territorial claims over the South and East China Sea.

The Korean war in Chinas national memory has shifted from a socialist crusade to a nationalist mission, Ma said, citing the rise of nationalism and even jingoism under Xi.

While the Korean war continues to serve a political purpose in China, things are quite different in America, according to Joe Renouard, resident professor of American studies at Hopkins-Nanjing Center of Johns Hopkins University.

For China, despite the wars appalling human toll and its ambiguous conclusion, it stands in popular memory as a victory against a technologically and materially superior enemy, and it is central to the national origins story of the Peoples Republic, Renouard said.

In times of China-US friction, Chinese officials and pundits may point to the Korean war as an example of how China can successfully fend off American aggression, he said, adding that the war served as both a point of national unity and a dig at America when convenient.

Drawing attention to the war seemed to be a convenient and effective way to highlight Chinas willingness to stand up to foreign adversaries, he said.

Yet this message might not be entirely clear in Washington and few Americans were aware of the dynamic of the forgotten war.

More from South China Morning Post:

This article The Korean war: Chinas reminder of strength against the US first appeared on South China Morning Post

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People who catch Covid-19 and flu at the same time are in 'serious trouble', Public Health England has warned amid fears Britain will be hit with a 'double whammy' this winter.

Findings from the government agency's research suggests that co-infection doubles the risk of death.

Analysis also showed the handful of hospitalised patients who had both infections simultaneously during the pandemic were around six times more likely to die than those who tested negative for both infections.

Officials have urged the public 'not to be complacent' over the flu by declining the offer of a free vaccination this autumn.

This year will see the biggest ever flu vaccination programme for the UK, with health chiefs hoping to reach 30million people against the 15million last year.

Usual groups will be targeted first, including over 65s and pregnant women. And if there is enough doses left over, those over the age of 50 will be next in line.

The great concern is that if people are not protected against the flu, hospitals will be overrun with sick people unsure if they have flu or Covid-19, or both.

But some experts have insisted Britain 'almost certainly' will not see two consecutive waves of flu and coronavirus.

Flu infections during the cold long months in the southern hemisphere are a canary in a coalmine for how hard the NHS will be hit by outbreaks, and are used to design the preventative flu vaccine.

But this year Australia and New Zealand have escaped a bad flu season, which top experts say is down to social distancing measures.

Overall 43 per cent of people with co-infection died compared to 27 per cent of those who tested positive for just Covid-19. For flu it was 4.8 per cent. The risk of death from just Covid-19 or just the flu is much lower than the study implies - around one per cent. But because the testing is skewed towards the sickest people, the death rates in the study were far higher

Professor Tim Spector, of King's College London , moved to reassure parents the symptom, alongside congestion and sneezing, is a 'sure sign' they have a cold and not Covid-19. Pictured are the common symptoms of Covid-19 compared with a cold or bout of flu

PHE researchers analysed data in almost 20,000 people who were tested for both Covid-19 and flu in the UK between January 20 and April 25.

The study cohort would have mostly been people very seriously ill with Covid-19, considering testing was limited to just hospitals at the start of the pandemic until about May.

'Most of the SARS-CoV-2 tests were collected when the government policy was to test individuals on admission to hospital with lower respiratory tract infections and healthcare workers. Therefore, the majority of SARS-CoV-2 cases were individuals with moderate to severe symptoms,' the report said.

Fifty eight people were identified as having 'co-infection' of the two viruses.

While the numbers of people with both illnesses were small, the risk of death was nearly six times (5.92) greater among those co-infected compared to the general population.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FLU AND COVID-19? Flu is a viral infection that is spread through coughs and sneezes. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, spreads in the same way. Most people recover from the flu with rest in a week. And most people who get Covid-19 also recover within two weeks or show no symptoms at all. But with both illnesses, people with chronic conditions or who are over 65 are at significant risk of severe illness, complications or death. The flu is more common during winter. But it is not clear yet if Covid-19 is also a seasonal illnesses. It is suspected that this is the case, considering it is in the coronavirus family, which also includes the common cold. SYMPTOMS OF FLU Symptoms can include fever and chills, a cough, sore throat and a runny or stuffy nose. Muscle aches, joint pains, headaches and fatigue are also common. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea are more common in children than adults. Some symptoms may last for more than a week. Medical help should be sought if there is a shortness of breath or rapid breathing, chest pain, sudden dizziness or persistent vomiting. SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19 The main symptoms of coronavirus listed by the NHS are: a high temperature  this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)

a new, continuous cough  this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)

a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste  this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal The World Health Organization says Covid-19 affects different people in different ways. Most infected people will develop mild to moderate illness and recover without hospitalization. Most common symptoms: fever

dry cough

tiredness Less common symptoms: aches and pains

sore throat

diarrhoea

conjunctivitis

headache

loss of taste or smell

a rash on skin, or discolouration of fingers or toes Serious symptoms: difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

chest pain or pressure

loss of speech or movement Advertisement

The risk of death was also 2.3 times higher for patients who had caught both viruses, compared to being infected with Covid-19 alone.

Overall, 43 per cent of people with co-infection died compared to 27 per cent of those who tested positive for just Covid-19. For flu it was 4.8 per cent.

The risk of death from just Covid-19 or just the flu is much lower than the study implies - and is estimated to be below one per cent. But because the testing is skewed towards the sickest people and not the entire population, the death rates in the study were far higher.

Those who died 'tended' to be older, PHE said.

Flu can be particularly serious in older adults, very young children and people with underlying health conditions, such as COPD, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease and multiple sclerosis.

The same is true for Covid-19 - other than for children, who often escape without showing any symptoms.

PHE's medical director Professor Yvonne Doyle, said: 'If you get both, you are in some serious trouble.

'And the people who are most likely to get both of these infections may be the very people who can least afford to in terms of their own immune system or their risk for serious outcomes.

'Please protect yourself against flu this year.'

Flu usually kills around 11,000 people each year in England and many more are hospitalised.

But it varies depending on the severity of the flu strain. There were almost 4,000 deaths in 2018/19 but over 22,000 deaths in 2017/18.

The flu jab is the best protection against influenza but statistics show the number of vulnerable people getting free flu jabs in England is at an eight-year low.

Last winter just 45 per cent of people under 65 with serious health conditions, who are offered the vaccine for free on the NHS, received the jab.

This has tumbled from a peak of 52.3 per cent in the winter of 2013 and is the worst uptake since Public Health England's records began in 2012.

The World Health Organization has previously said that countries should aim to vaccinate 75 per cent of their vulnerable population.

England's most senior health officials have implored eligible people to get vaccinated when they get their invitation.

Professor Doyle said: 'We're encouraging anybody who is eligible to accept their flu vaccination this year, particularly with the winter we're going to face.

'People still think that the flu is just like a cold. It's not. The flu is an extremely unpleasant condition.

'If you're in a risk group, it can be really dangerous, and it can kill you. The vaccine is good, it's safe, and it does protect people. So it's worth having it.'

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England, said: 'We want to deliver the most extensive flu programme possible. And we will have enough vaccine this year for 30million people in total.

'And this obviously is very important in a year where we face the possibility that flu and Covid-19 and may at some point this winter, circulate together and at the same time.'

There has been speculation that because the flu and the coronavirus will compete with each other, SARS-CoV-2 will be pushed out of circulation.

The PHE study showed the risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 was 68 per cent lower among those positive for the flu, 'suggesting possible pathogenic competition between the two viruses'.

However, Professor Doyle said that the first peak of the pandemic coincided with the end of the flu season last year so the full interaction between the two viruses is not yet fully known.



Professor Van-Tam said that alongside the PHE data, there have been studies in mice which found 'bad outcomes' among those infected with both flu and Covid-19.

'There are multiple, plausible reasons why it's a very bad idea to have Covid-19 and flu at the same time. And of course, that possibility is real for this winter,' he said.

Australia and New Zealand have given hope that Britain will not inevitably be hit by the flu and Covid-19 at the same time.

So far this year Australia has recorded only 21,000 influenza infections, fourteen times lower than last year's figure at 313,000.

After Sydney declared a lockdown on March 23, flu cases dropped from 5,895 for the entire month to 308 in April, and to a low of 121 in August.

Australia, which faces a similar flu outbreak to the UK, saw very few flu infections this winter. This suggests the UK may dodge a 'double-whammy' of coronavirus and the flu

WINTER WAVE OF COVID-19 'COULD OVERWHELM 87% OF NHS HOSPITALS' A report published earlier this month warned more than a hundred NHS Trusts may be overwhelmed this winter if the coronavirus hospitalisation rate surges to the level seen in April. A comparison of the average number of beds needed between December 2019 and February 2020, and the number of beds required for Covid-19 patients in April, at the peak of the pandemic, showed the startling figures. It revealed that out of the 132 surveyed using data published by the NHS, 115 would be over-capacity should demand rise It showed 115 of the 132 studied would be over-capacity should there be a surge in hospitalisations. Four of the five NHS trusts that could set to suffer the biggest shortage of beds are in the capital, with one, Walsall Healthcare, based near Birmingham. The analysis, carried out by Edge Health and The Guardian, did not include extra capacity provided by Nightingale hospitals or the private sector due to a lack of data. An NHS England spokesman said the health service is using a 3billion funding boost to ensure it has beds available in private hospitals, and maintain Nightingale hospitals until March 2021. Advertisement

New Zealand didnt see one influenza case since screening began in June. Last year about 57 per cent of samples collected by GPs were positive, The Guardian reported.

Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline Britain 'almost certainly' will not see two consecutive waves of flu and coronavirus.

'There's been virtually no influenza around in the southern hemisphere during their flu season this year and the reason for that is obvious,' he said. 'The things we're doing to control Covid are even more effective on influenza.'

Dr Ed Hill, a post-doctoral researcher working on modelling the spread of disease at the University of Warwick, told MailOnline measures to inhibit the spread of coronavirus will also 'disrupt' influenza transmission.

Dr Nikita Kanani, medical director for primary care for the NHS in England, said 'about 32million people' would be contacted and encouraged to take up their flu jab.

Officials have said they are widening the flu vaccination programme for the UK to reach at least 30million people.

In the last winter season (2019/20), only 15million of the 25million people eligible for a free vaccination took the offer (60 per cent).

It suggests if everyone in these groups took up their free jab this year, there would not be enough for additional people, or only some.

This year people eligible for the flu vaccine include primary school children and Year 7 pupils, who will be offered the flu nasal spray in schools. Two and three-year-olds will be offered the vaccine through their GP.

Those age 65 and over, people with long-term health conditions and pregnant women will be offered the vaccine through their GP or pharmacy.

Household contacts of people who were instructed to 'shield' during the first wave of the pandemic will be invited.

And health and social care workers who have direct contact with the people they care for will be offered the jab.

Once the first at risk groups have been contacted, the vaccine programme will also be rolled out to include people over the age of 50.

It is hoped that a new campaign across TV, radio and digital advertising will encourage those who are eligible to accept their invitation when it is sent out.
A 31-year-old man is being charged with murder in the shooting death of a 29-year-old Wednesday morning in Northeast Portland.

Donald Beckwith has been charged with one count of second-degree murder with a firearm and one count of unlawful use of a weapon with a firearm in the death of LaSalle Jamal Shakier, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced Monday.

Beckwith is accused of unlawfully and intentionally causing the death of Shakier with a firearm, the district attorneys office said in a news release.

Portland police officers responded about 7 a.m. Wednesday to reports of a shooting in the 6600 block of Northeast Columbia Boulevard. Late Thursday, the police bureau reported a homicide had occurred.

Lasalle Shakier, 29, was killed in a Wednesday shooting in Northeast Portland, police announced Thursday.

The Oregon State Medical Examiner said Shakiers death was caused by a gunshot wound and the manner of death was homicide, the district attorney said.

The U.S. Marshals Service located Beckwith in Fossil, the district attorneys office said, and Portland police on Friday booked him into the Multnomah County Detention Center.

The district attorneys office said it could release any further information.

Police last week would not say if Shakier was found dead at the scene, or if he was taken to a hospital before he died. The shooting took place in an industrial area that includes several businesses.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive
The American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA) joins the world community in observing and celebrating the International Day of Peace that falls on September 21 of every year.

The International Day of Peace was adopted by the United Nations resolution 36/37 on 1981. The nations of the world united to declare this day a day to advance the ideals of peace among all nations across the globe.

This year the International Day of Peace is observed amidst major challenges facing several countries. Anyone looking at the world will realize that we have a peace deficit. The dominant language is that of war, conflict and division resulting in millions of deaths and injured. We see massive destruction, displacement and refugees around the world.

The ongoing crises in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Libya Rohingya and Burma present evidence of elusive peace. So many people are deprived of the right to live in peace across the globe, especially in the Middle East region. That should not continue. War is not inevitable. Human beings have the agency to change their life and the lives of others for the better.

War is a man- made disaster and those who make war can also create peace. What is missing is political will and enough goodwill. We can all do better to create a global culture of peace.

AHRC calls upon all peace- loving people to work to make peace a reality for everyone. War is an unmitigated disaster and its primary victims have been women and children. Generations are lost or maimed. The world can do better. Every human life is precious.

"The right to life is the most important human right and war threatens that very basic right," said Imad Hamad, AHRC Executive Director. "Our globe has many challenges such as hunger, illiteracy and climate change- to name a few," added Hamad. "War is a costly distraction from mobilizing all resources to fight the serious problems facing all of us- war is the problem and not the solution," concluded Hamad.
The secretary general of a coalition of conservative civic groups seeking to hold anti-government rallies submits an application for Oct. 3 demonstrations at Jongno Police Station in central Seoul in this Sept. 16 photo. Yonhap



Daily new cases stay below 100 for 2 straight days



By Bahk Eun-ji



The National Police Agency warned Monday that it will take stern measures against illegal rallies to be held on National Foundation Day, Oct. 3, to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.



As of Monday, police said they had so far received 798 requests to hold rallies in central Seoul that day.



"Should they push ahead with the rallies despite the government's refusal to give permission, police will immediately take measures to disperse them. Officers will be deployed in advance and a steel fence will also be erected to block and deter demonstrations," Police Commissioner-General Kim Chang-ryong said during a press conference at the NPA building in Seoul.



The vow came after criticism that the police's failure to respond to the outdoor massive rallies by conservative activists, Aug.15, have so far resulted in 619 new COVID-19 infections nationwide.



Such mass demonstrations pose a high risk of virus transmission as a large number of people gather from across the country and they can be in close contact as well as producing aerosols when they chant. Under the current law on assembly and demonstration, illegal rally participants can be imprisoned up to six months or fined a maximum of 500,000 won, while the organizers can be imprisoned up to two years or fined up to 2 million won.



Meanwhile, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 70 new COVID-19 infections for Sunday, including 55 local ones, raising the total caseload to 23,045. Two more deaths were reported, raising the toll to 385 amid a fatality rate of 1.67 percent.



The daily new cases stayed below 100 for the second straight day in what could be a sign of a slowdown in new infections. However, sporadic infection clusters and untraceable cases continue to put the health authorities on alert, the KCDA said.



"Although the country has observed signs of the virus spread slowing down, there is a considerable risk of latent infections in the local community especially in the Seoul metropolitan area," KCDA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said during a regular press briefing at the Government Complex in Sejong. "The upcoming Chuseok holiday will pose the biggest challenge to the government's fight against the virus."



The government is scheduled to announce tightened social distancing rules for the holiday period, Friday.



Of the locally transmitted cases, 21 were reported in Seoul and 18 in Gyeonggi Province. Incheon, west of Seoul, added one more patient. The southern port city of Busan reported eight new cases, mostly linked to Dong-A University. Two cases were reported in the central city of Daejeon.



Patients with unknown infection routes have accounted for 27.4 percent of all cases reported in the past two weeks, according to the KCDA.


Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 13:45:24|Editor: huaxia

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SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export rose for the first 20 days of this month due mainly to more working days, customs office data showed Monday.

Outbound shipment reached 29.6 billion U.S. dollars in the Sept. 1-20 period, up 3.6 percent from the same period of last year, according to Korea Customs Service.

It was attributed to more business days. The number of working days was 15.5 in the cited period, up 2 days from a year earlier.

The daily average export reduced 9.8 percent amid the lingering economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.

Shipment of telecommunication devices such as smartphone declined 9.1 percent in the 20-day period, with export for oil products dropping 45.6 percent.

Export for semiconductors, cars and precision machinery jumped 25.3 percent, 38.8 percent and 14.7 percent each.

Shipment to China and the United States, South Korea's top two trading partners, grew 8.7 percent and 16.1 percent respectively, but export to Japan and the Middle East retreated 18.5 percent and 12.2 percent each.

Import reduced 6.8 percent over the year to 25.1 billion dollars in the 20-day period, sending the trade surplus to 4.5 billion dollars. Enditem
On judges, Trump  who has made more than 20,000 false or misleading statements during his presidency  has frequently overstated the number of judges he has named to the bench. In a March interview with Woodward, he claimed he had just signed his 220th judge and expected to be at 260, 270, maybe even 280, maybe even 300 by the end of his first term. As of this week, in fact, the Senate has confirmed 216 of Trumps judges.
(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of share dealings by London-listed company directors and managers announced on Monday and not separately reported by Alliance News:







IG Group Holdings PLC - London-based contracts-for-difference trading provider - Chief Risk Officer Joe McCaughran and associate Helen McCaughran sell a total of 18,356 shares, mostly at GBP8.44, worth GBP154,954 in total, on Friday last week. Chief Product Officer Matthew Brief sells a spread bet equivalent to 50,000 IG shares at GBP8.45, worth GBP422,300, also on Friday.







Caledonia Mining Corp PLC - southern Africa-focused exploration and development company - Director John Kelly sells 13,163 shares at average USD19.49, worth USD256,547, on Wednesday and Friday last week. Still has 16,220 shares.







DX Group PLC - Buckinghamshire-based parcel freight, courier and logistics services - Chief Financial Officer David Mulligan buys 116,000 shares at 17.25 pence, worth GBP20,010, on Friday last week. Now has 2.5 million shares, a 0.4% stake.







Safestyle UK PLC - Bradford-based retailer and manufacturer of PVCu replacement windows - CFO Rob Neale buys 50,000 shares at 34.58p, worth GBP17,288, on Monday. Now has 325,000 shares, a 0.2% stake.







Energean PLC - gas exploration and production in Mediterranean - Non-Executive Director Efstathios Topouzoglou buys 17,432 shares via OilCo Investments Ltd at GBP5.46, worth GBP95,179, on Wednesday last week.







Mobeus Income & Growth VCT PLC - venture capital trust - Non-Executive Director Catherine Wall sells 26,205 shares at 55.42 pence, worth GBP14,523, on Monday last week. Still has 58,947 shares.







Franchise Brands PLC - Macclesfield-based multi-brand franchise business, including consumer brands ChipsAway, Ovenclean and Barking Mad - Three directors buy a total of 58,536 shares at 102.5 pence, worth GBP59,999, on Friday. CFO Chris Dent buys 29,268 shares, while Managing Director of B2C Division Tim Harris and Chief Information Officer Colin Rees each buy 14,634.







Highland Gold Mining Ltd - miner in Russian regions of Khabarovsk, Zabaikalsk and Chukotka - Fortiana Holdings Ltd, a wholly owned Cyprus-incorporated vehicle of Russian citizen Vladislav Sviblov raises stake in Highland to 40% from 24% on Friday last week after completing the July 31 agreement to take a 40% stake in Highland in two stages. The acquisition, which valued Highland at GBP1.09 billion, was completed after Fortiana received approval for the deal on Thursday from the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service. As part of the agreement, Highland Chair Eugene Shvidler sells 18.0 million shares to Fortiana, a 4.9% stake, and Non-Executive Director Valery Oyf sells 6.6 million, at 1.8% holding. The two director sales are at the overall deal price of GBP3.00 per share and worth GBP73.8 million in total.







Uniphar PLC - Dublin-based healthcare services - Non-Executive Director Paul Hogan buys 32,998 shares at EUR2.48, worth EUR81,670, on Monday.







By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
European Union foreign ministers arrived in Brussels on Monday to weigh up whether to impose sanctions on dozens of Belarus officials including President Alexander Lukashenko.

The EU has drawn up a list of around 40 people it could hit with asset freezes and travel bans in response to irregularities in the Aug. 9 elections that gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office, and over the crackdown that followed.

The question is whether to include Lukashenko, who has repressed opposition and independent news media during 26 years in power and refuses to talk with the protesters.

Many members of the Coordination Council that was formed by the opposition to push for a transition of power have been arrested or have fled the country.

A number of ministers met Lukashenkos main opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, over breakfast.

Speaking after the meeting, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the violence that Lukashenko is exerting against peaceful demonstrators is completely unacceptable.

Maas, whose country currently holds the EUs rotating presidency, said the ministers must ask whether Lukashenko, "the one who bears the main responsibility, mustnt also be sanctioned by the European Union.
This years national James Dyson Award winner in the UAE is the Touch device  an invention that can help people with visual impairments identify colours through lights and speech feedback.

People with visual impairments may not be able to see colours, but they do have a conceptual idea of what different colours are.

With the invention of the Touch Device, they can now be in control of some of the basic daily functions of life including being able to choose the colour of clothes they pick from a wardrobe or identify supplies such as vegetables at the grocery store.

Invented by two university students in the UAE, Touch is an elegantly designed smart ring, white in colour and with a central channel that can flash different colours. The Touch smart ring is an easy to use device that enables people with visual impairments to see colours and small text.

It uses haptic, audio, and visual feedback to alert the user. This enables the ring to vibrate, light up or communicate with the user through audio speech via a Bluetooth earphone and identify the colour of clothing or read the small text on a label for a grocery item.

In colour mode the user holds the ring to the piece of clothing for two seconds to allow it to detect the colour and read it back to the user. If multiple colours are found the user can slowly move the ring across the clothing to allow it to scan the colours and read them back.

Double-tapping and holding the ring switches it to reading mode and they will then be slowly prompted to move the ring slowly across the text as the words are read back to them.

The wearable technology is designed to be discrete and comfortable for users to wear regularly, a process that required eight different prototypes and reiterations.

The winners were recognised for their accomplishment by Shamma Bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth, during the awarding ceremony hosted at Youth x Hub Dubai.

During her video, she mentioned: It is my pleasure to recognise our countrys young, talented inventors and engineers and I am thrilled to see such a strong line up of competitors today. The youth are the pride and joy of our nation. As the UAE positions itself as the hub of innovation and ideas, we must recognise that we would not be able to do so without the persistence and diligence of young people in engineering, science and technology.

Out of 27 countries worldwide, the UAE is the first Arab country selected for the James Dyson Award and that is not a coincidence.

It is a country of firsts, and we revel in supporting and equipping our people, especially our youth to strive for excellence and exploring unchartered territories. Celebrating the work that young people are doing is our way of saying thank you in choosing to go big, and building the world to be better than before, she said.

According to the World Health Organisation, more than 2.2 billion people around the world are estimated to suffer from vision impairment or blindness.

Of these, 1 billion have moderate or severe distance vision impairment or blindness as well as near vision impairment. Touch allows users to reconnect with the excitement of discovering colours at their own pace.

THE INVENTION

American University of Sharjah students - Maryam Moustafa and Nada Aldash, are the inventors behind the Touch smart ring and were encouraged to enter the James Dyson Award by their professors.

It can be hard to understand the challenges people with visual impairments have to face. Even for a simple task as picking out clothing or groceries, many have to rely on other people to choose for them. But with Touch they can reclaim their independence. We are so proud to have won the James Dyson Award and hope that Touch can become a mainstream and valuable tool for people with visual impairments, said Moustafa.

As part of the initial development phase, inventors met with members of the Emirates Association for the Visually Impaired where they learned how members have their own conceptual idea of what colours are.

The students realised that it was not their role to tell people with visual impairments what colours are but instead develop a tool that allows them to discover the physical world for themselves. Their initial idea was to create an add-on that could be attached to a users cane. This proved unpopular with users who preferred a more discrete and stylish device.

As a result, over a three-month period they developed and tried eight different prototypes of the wearable technology before settling on their final design. They were able to fine tune their concept with support from the university, which provided the equipment such as laser cutters to build their prototypes.

Winning the national leg of the James Dyson Award will inject AED9,500 ($2,586) into the Touch project, paving the way for the two inventors to create a working prototype of the device. Eventually they plan to expand with a range of complementary accessories for the smart ring to include necklaces, bracelets, cufflinks, and more.

Aldash said: Winning the James Dyson Award has given us the encouragement to fully develop the Touch smart ring. Its amazing to think that from our initial brainstorm and our discussions about how colour is perceived by people with visual impairments that we were able to create a needed solution. We are still in the early phases regarding the future direction of the device, but from our discussions with future users we now understand that there is huge potential for a simple smart ring that is comfortable to wear, and adds another dimension to their experience.

Touch, along with UAE runners up Grounded and Obilizer, will progress to the international stage of the James Dyson Award. The International prizes will be announced on November 19, 2020.

THE RUNNERS UP

GROUNDED

Problem: A growing number of people are suffering from health problems caused by the stress of working long hours with little respite to care for themselves.

Many would like to improve their health through activities such as yoga but are unable to attend classes or are too busy with work. As a result, a solution is required that allows them to take part in yoga at their own convenience.

Solution: Grounded is a smart solar-powered surface designed for people to stretch and practice yoga from the comfort of their own homes. Grounded is an interactive yoga mat that unobtrusively integrates wellness and helps develop sustainable habits that take care of your mental and physical wellbeing.

Inventor: Arpana Murugappan

University: American University of Sharjah

OBILIZER

Problem: After the Covid-19 pandemic started the inventor became concerned about the lack of effective sterilisation of public utilities like biometric access systems, elevator buttons, washbasins and door handles at his residential building. He discovered there was no easy way to use modular designed UV steriliser that can sterilise multiple types of objects and surfaces at the same time.

Solution: The Obilizer enables users to sterilise a wide range of objects of any size, rather than just a single type of object or surface. It is also very interactive and easy-to-use, compared to other sterilisers in the market which are bulky and complex. The device also connects to a smart mobile app allowing users to select objects they want to sterilise while automatically calculating the estimated sterilisation time.

Inventor: Sarthak Sethi

University: Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani

JAMES DYSON AWARD

The competition is open to student inventors with the ability and ambition to solve the problems of tomorrow. Winning solutions are selected by Sir James Dyson and show ingenuity, iterative development and commercial viability. With students from 27 markets and regions now competing, the award is set to welcome new approaches to a broader range of global issues than ever before. -- Tradearabia News Service
A new type of bandage has been developed that can rebuild broken bones by transplanting bone-forming proteins and stem cells directly onto fractures.

The biomaterial, which can be stuck to a fracture 'like a plaster' to accelerate healing, has been tested successfully on mice's skulls.

After rebuilding bits of broken bone, the biodegradable bandage  which is two to three times the thickness of human hair  is absorbed by the body without any adverse side effects.

It is hoped that, following clinical trials, the 'bone bandage' could change how broken bones are treated in hospitals and reduce infections from serious open fracture injuries.

Researchers have successfully tested the biomaterial on mice in the lab. Bone defects are on the calvaria, the top part of the skull.

'Our technology is the first to engineer a bone-like tissue from human bone stem cells in the lab within one week, and successfully transplant it in the bone defect to initiate and accelerate bone repair,' said Dr Shukry Habib, from King's College London.

'The bandages are thin, and flexible, so they can be positioned and attached in a very minimally invasive way.'

Clinical trials are planned for the bone bandages and scientists plan to develop the concept further to improve healing in other organs and tissues.

'The concept of the 3D-engineered tissue and the bandage has the potential to be developed to different injured tissues and organs,' said Dr Habib.

The bandage itself is made from a polymer called polycaprolactone, which is already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in medicine and dentistry.

The team have developed two types of bandage that both improve bone repair  both with and without stem cells.

The bandage itself is made from a polymer (Polycaprolactone) that is FDA-approved for uses in medicine and dentistry. This polymer was used to form bandages that are two to three times the thickness of a single hair, and coated in proteins, a 3D gel, and in some cases, human cells. Mice were tested for eight weeks and had reconstructed bone in the calvaria (in the skull)

The biomaterial is coated in a protein called 'Wnt3a' that is used throughout the body for growth and repair

'Wnt3a is part of a family of similar proteins that are found all over the body, and are involved in the growth and repair of many organs and tissues,' Dr Habib told MailOnline.

'In the biomaterial bandage alone, new bone is grown directly underneath when the bandage is attached over the top.'

In the second version, which is even more effective, human stem cells from bone marrow are grown in a 3D gel before transplantation, which form layers of cells similar to the cells found in bone.

'The Wnt-bandage alone doubles bone repair, and the addition of extra human stem and bone cells on the Wnt-bandage triples bone repair compared to without treatment over the same healing time,' Dr Habib said.

Images of skull bone defects in mice with no bandage (top left) and transplanted protein bandage (top middle) and protein bandage cultured with human skeletal stem cells and overlaid with gel (top right). Bottom, transplanted bandages at eight weeks post-procedure show reformation of bone

Stem cells have the unique ability to develop into specialised cell types in the body, including bone-like tissue.

The Wnt proteins pass signals into the stem cells through cell surface receptors to promote long-term self-renewal.

This bandage can be stuck to a bone fracture like a plaster and enhance the bone's natural ability to heal.

Experiments proved that the newly formed bone-like tissue  consisting of human and mice cells and created in one week  is structurally comparable to mature bone.

After eight weeks of being attached to the lab mice, X-ray micro-computed tomography images showed reconstructed bone in the calvaria, the top part of the skull.

Biomaterial bandages could make a difference in recovery times for patients with serious bone fractures, the team say.

Healing a serious fracture can be slow or can even fail in vulnerable patients such as the elderly or those with underlying health conditions.

Current methods to repair bone include using synthetic implants or donor tissue, where bone is taken from elsewhere in the body.

But these methods rely on the body's own capability to heal, which can be weakened after serious injury.

'Bone defects often require substantial donor bone tissue and represent a burden for patients and healthcare systems,' the experts say.

'Understanding the mechanisms that regulate human skeletal stem cell function is crucial for overcoming this issue.'

Some current cell-based therapies grow additional cells and introduce them to the fracture.

However, the implanted cells in existing technologies often die and lack long-term support of the healing bone.

As an alternative, this 'bone-like bandage' supports the survival and bone-forming ability of these extra stem and bone cells throughout the healing process.

It also specifically targets the fracture and does not leak to the healthy tissue.

The study has been published in Nature Materials.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio and Republican groups including the Trump campaign are fighting to uphold a GOP election chiefs directive limiting ballot drop boxes in the presidential battleground to one per county.

They told a state appellate court in filings Monday that a county judge overstepped his authority when he blocked it. The Ohio Republican Party said Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Richard Frye relied on anecdotal evidence and sound public policy, when the case presents a pure question of law.

In the crosshairs of the legal battle is Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRoses Aug. 12 directive restricting counties to one drop box each, located at the county board of elections.

Cuyahoga County, home to populous and Democratic-leaning Cleveland, said it would like to allow ballots to be collected at six public libraries last week, but that action has been halted because of the lawsuit.

LaRose argued that the number of drop boxes per county must be uniform to be fair, and that lawmakers had made clear in a law passed this spring that ballots had to be mailed or personally delivered to county board directors.

The cities of Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus have jumped into the lawsuit brought by the Ohio Democratic Party, as has the labour umbrella group AFL-CIO.

Siding with LaRose in the case are the state GOP, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Trump for America campaign.

They have asked the states 10th District Court of Appeals to toss Fryes Tuesday decision, declaring the directive arbitrary and unreasonable, particularly given the coronavirus pandemic. Frye blocked the directive Wednesday.

Interest in access to ballot drop boxes has increased nationally since spring primary voting was hampered by virus concerns, the U.S. Postal Service has faced cutbacks and Trump has urged against mail-in voting, alleging without evidence that the process is rigged. It is often the more urban, Democrat-heavy counties that lean toward drop boxes.

Oral arguments in the Ohio case are scheduled for Friday.
Ontario will begin offering COVID-19 tests at dozens of drug stores within days, Premier Doug Ford said, as the province hit another recent high of 425 new cases and a top health official warned more pandemic restrictions are looming.

This is active, this is moving and its moving at a rapid pace, Ford told a news conference Monday.

Hopefully well have up to 60 pharmacies by the end up the week, up and going, and then theyre just going to continue ramping up.

Fleshing out the plan he has mentioned previously to take pressure off long lines at hospital assessment centres, Ford said the testing by pharmacists is intended for people not showing symptoms of COVID-19.

Almost 1,200 Ontarians tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend and the rate of people confirmed to have the virus has increased to 1.5 per cent, a sign it is spreading more broadly, said Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontarios associate chief medical officer.

The per cent positive is slowly creeping up, she cautioned, noting more restrictions could be brought back in addition to gathering limits lowered to 10 indoors and 25 outdoors across the province over the weekend.

Were not going back to Stage 2 holus bolus, but we are actively considering other measures, Yaffe said.

Ford was mum on what those measures might be, and deflected criticisms that the government has not unveiled its fall preparedness plan for the pandemic. This is fluid, he said. Things are changing day by day. He blamed a sudden spike in cases in recent weeks for the heavy demand at testing centres.

This plan should have been in place and acted upon already, said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

At the news conference with Ford, Health Minister Christine Elliott said parts of the plan will be released for discussion on Tuesday. Its elements will include measures to ensure that thousands of surgeries and medical treatments do not get sidelined again, as they were amid fears hospitals could be overwhelmed during the first wave of COVID-19.

We want to make sure these procedures continue, she added, maintaining parts of the preparedness plan are already in progress, as seen by longer hours at assessment centres and the rise to more than 40,000 tests processed Saturday, a new peak on the way to a capacity of 50,000 daily in the next week or so.

The 425 new cases reported by the Ministry of Health on Monday were based on data uploaded by health units at 4 p.m. Sunday and included 175 in Toronto, 84 in Peel and 60 in Ottawa.

Elsewhere in Greater Toronto Hamilton Area, there were 20 new cases in York, 14 in Durham, 12 in Halton and eight in Hamilton. Overall, 73 per cent of the new infections were in the GTHA but many parts of the province remain clear of new cases, with 14 of the 34 public health units reporting no new infections.

However, Yaffe said that could change quickly.

We are seeing increases in other health units across the province, she added. People have been letting their guard down.

Sixty-seven per cent of the new infections were in people under 40. Health experts remain concerned that those people will spread it to parents and older colleagues and through other regions, eventually increasing the number of Ontarians requiring hospitalization.

It doesnt take a lot of time for this to spread into other age groups, said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at University Health Network. Were already starting to see early indications.

The Ministry of Health reported two more deaths and said there were 65 patients in hospital with COVID-19, including 22 in intensive care and 12 of them on ventilators, but noted 35 hospitals did not report their latest statistics and said the actual numbers are expected to be higher.

There were 18 new cases in the provinces 4,828 schools, with 75 schools now having reported students or staff with COVID-19, an increase from 60 schools on Friday.

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Bollywood actor Rhea Chakraborty, who was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on September 8, was remanded to 14-day judicial custody till September 22 for her alleged involvement in a drugs case linked to late actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death.

NCB has charged for procuring drugs for Rajput. She was arrested on the basis of statements from other arrested accused in the case.

As Chakrabortys judicial custody ends on Tuesday, heres everything we know so far.

* Sushants former talent manager Jaya Saha quizzed by NCB

The NCB questioned Rajputs former talent manager Jaya Saha for about four hours at the Bombay Port Trust (BPT) guest house in south Mumbai on Monday. She reached the guest house around 2 pm and left around at 6:15 pm in the evening, NCB deputy director KPS Malhotra said.

*NCB summons Jaya Saha, ex-manager Shruti Modi tomorrow

The agency has summoned Saha and Rajputs ex-manager Shruti Modi for joining the drug probe on Tuesday. They were earlier summoned on September 16 but were sent after a member of the investigation team tested Covid-19 positive.

*Sara Ali Khan, Rakul Preet Singh and designer Simone Khambatta to be questioned

After Chakraborty, who is currently lodged in the Byculla jail in Mumbai, named them in her statement, NCB is set to question actors Sara Ali Khan, Rakul Preet Singh and designer Simone Khambatta sometime this week about the alleged drug link in Rajputs death on June 14.

Their roles cant be given right now, NCB deputy director KPS Malhotra said. Chakraborty, however, had later retracted her statement.

*18 people arrested by NCB

The agency has so far arrested 18 people, including Chakraborty, her brother Showik, and drug peddlers from Mumbai and Goa.

*NCB probe leads to Pak; Bollywood A-listers under scanner

Investigations into the drug angle in film actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death has led the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to large drug organisations and entities in Amritsar and Pakistan supplying cocaine and other hard drugs to Mumbai, and to Bollywood.

The agencys probe has brought past and present Bollywood A-listers and others on its radar.

*Hearing on bail plea of Samuel Miranda, Dipesh Sawant and Bashit Parihar adjourned till Sept 29

Hearing on the bail plea of Samuel Miranda, Dipesh Sawant and Bashit Parihar  all arrested in the drug case related to Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death  was adjourned by the Bombay high court on Friday. The next hearing will be on September 29.

Their bail pleas were rejected by a special court in Mumbai along with Chakraborty and her brother Showik. However, Rhea and her brother have not moved a bail plea in the high court yet.

*Why court dismissed Rhea Chakrabortys bail plea on September 11

A special court that denied bail to Chakraborty in connection with the NCB probe into the drug-related angle in Sushant Singh Rajputs death case held that if she was released on bail she might alert others and they might destroy evidence.

Rhea, in her plea, had stated that she was innocent and falsely implicated. The siblings have been booked under section 27A of the NDPS Act, which provides for punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders.

*Rhea Chakraborty revealed names of 15 Bollywood celebs

Rhea Chakraborty has allegedly named 15 Bollywood celebrities including those producing and consuming drugs, news agency ANI reported quoting sources. The NCB investigation also revealed that there is some circle also which procures and supplies drugs to celebrities, it added.

*Rhea Chakraborty being kept in jail cell without bed, pillow or fan

Actor Rhea Chakraborty was put in a jail cell without a bed or a ceiling fan, according to reports. Her cell in Byculla jail is adjacent to the one occupied by Indrani Mukerjea, who was accused of murdering her daughter, Sheena Bora.

*Chakraborty arrested on September 8

NCB arrested the 28-year-old actor on September 8 after questioning her for three consecutive days beginning September 6. If found guilty, she faces up to ten years in jail.
Bahrain, on September 20, confirmed that it broke up a plot by militants that was backed by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps earlier this year. The statement by Bahrains interior ministry comes after a Saudi state television Al-Ekhbariya and Bahrains local media outlet Akhbar Al-Khaleej reported that ministrys investigation found that a new group called the Qassem Soleimani Brigade had planned to attack diplomats and foreigners in the island nation.

Bahrain ministry, in a statement, said that they want to make it clear that the case goes back to early 2020 and it is currently being looked into by the relevant court. The officials clarified and said that the cases dated to the start of the year and is not new.

READ: UN Chief: No UN Support For Reimposing Iran Sanctions Now

Militant attack plot

Bahrain government officials have routinely claimed to break up plots by militants backed by Iran. The details of the latest plot became public as the Saudi state TV aired footage of what happened to be police raiding a home with a hidden passage. According to AP, the clip showed assault rifles and explosives, which were apparently seized in the raid. The Saudi media outlet said that those planning the attacks wanted to carry them out in revenge for the US killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani this January in a drone strike in Baghdad.

As per reports, nine militants were arrested, while another nine are still believed to be in Iran. Bahrain officials had uncovered the plot after finding an explosive on the street which was believed to have been planted to target a foreign delegation. The Interior Ministry accused the Guard of supporting the militants, who also surveilled oil sites and military bases. The militants further also planned on assassinating bodyguards of Bahrain officials, the ministry said.

READ: Iran President Rouhani Vows 'crushing Response' To US After Sanction Declaration

The latest report comes just days after the island kingdom normalised relations with Israel. The country is home to the 5th fleet, which patrols the waterways of the Mideast. Bahrain officials have been worried in the past that the sailors and Marines attached to the base in Manama could be targeted, as well as others who make up tp 7,000 American troops there.

The island kingdoms have often accused the Shitte Muslim Iran of seeking to subvert the kingdom, which has a Shitte majority and is ruled by Sunnis. Bahrain was also the only Gulf Arab state to witness sizeable pro-democracy uprising in the 2011 Arab Spring, from a largely Shitte opposition movement, which it quashed with Saudi and Emirati help. However, it was reported that since 2016, militant groups have launched small, sporadic attacks repeatedly.

READ: Iran Says US Has 'no Respect For International Laws', Terms Sanctions 'illegal'

READ: Saudi State TV Says Bahrain Stops Militants Planning Attacks




Megan Gale has broken her silence on her brother Jason Gale's death in July.

With tough border restriction rules amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Melbourne-based model, 45, revealed in an Instagram video on Monday that she knew she 'would regret not going' to his funeral held in Perth.

Mr Gale, 49, was last seen at a petrol station on July 14 in Western Australia, and was found dead a week later in bushland next to his 1999 Honda CR-V SUV.

Megan Gale, 45, broke her silence on her brother Jason Gale's funeral in an Instagram video on Monday (pictured), amid the pandemic's tough border restriction rules

Ms Gale joined mourners on August 18 to farewell her brother at his funeral, four weeks after he was found dead in bushland.

She flew from Melbourne to Perth, where she completed two weeks of hotel quarantine, and travelled to Fremantle Cemetery for his cremation service.

In her Instagram video on Monday, Ms Gale said she 'weighed up' whether to stay in Melbourne and seek the comfort of her immediate family, or fly to Perth and play her part in sending her brother off.

Ms Gale and her AFL star fiance Shaun Hampson, 32, share six-year-old son River and two-year-old daughter Rosie.

The supermodel said she 'weighed up' whether to stay in Melbourne and seek the comfort of her immediate family, or fly to Perth and play her part in sending her brother off

'I had to weigh that up. Part of me wanted to stay in Melbourne and be with my kids and my man at that time when I needed comfort more than any other time in my life.

'But I also wanted to be in Perth to support my mum, my brother and the rest of my family, and play a part in sending my brother off and putting him to rest,' she said.

Ms Gale also revealed her concerns about drawing 'more media attention' to her brother's tragic death, by her attending.

Ms Gale and her AFL star fiance Shaun Hampson (pictured), 32, share six-year-old son River and two-year-old daughter Rosie

Ms Gale also revealed her concerns about drawing 'more media attention' to her brother's tragic death, by her attending. Despite her initial concerns, she knew she would regret not attending

'I also knew by going to Perth that I would be responsible for risking there being more media attention and more focus on it, which I didn't want to do.

'I felt bad enough as it was. I'd been the cause of that,' she continued.

Despite her initial concerns, she knew she would regret not attending the funeral.

'I couldn't bear the thought I knew I'd regret not going. I knew I'd regret not being there for my mum and my brother, so I went, "Okay, I'm just going to have to suck [it] up whatever that is for me, to be there".'

Ms Gale joined mourners on August 18 to farewell her brother at his funeral, four weeks after he was found dead in bushland. She is pictured at the Charlotte Dawson memorial in 2014

Mr Gale was last seen on July 14 buying petrol and water at the Popanyinning General Store, 160km south-east from his Perth home.

Following a desperate week-long search by family, friends and police, he was found dead next to his car.

The death was not considered suspicious.

Ms Gale flew from Melbourne to Perth and travelled to Fremantle Cemetery for Jason Gale's (pictured) cremation service

Mr Gale was last seen on July 14 buying petrol and water at the Popanyinning General Store, some 160km south-east from his Perth home before he was found dead a week later in bushland

Pictured is a still of Mr Gale's 1999 silver-coloured Honda CR-V station sedan when he was last seen on July 14

Mr Gale, an industrial mechanic, was known for 'going bush' but friend Belinda Murray said he had never disappeared before.

Ms Murray said Jason 'really struggled' after watching a man die in a tragic 2018 incident at a wastewater plant south of Perth.

Daily Mail Australia understands Mr Gale was one of a group of colleagues who were there with the victim when he was struck and killed by a pipe.

For confidential crisis support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Family, friends and police had been desperately searching for the 'very private' sibling of one of Australia's most famous women
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press prior to his departure from the White House in Washington, on Sept. 19, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Trump Calls Los Angeles County Deputies Injured in Ambush Shooting

President Donald Trump recently made a phone call to two Compton, California, deputies injured after an ambush shooting earlier this month, according to the Los Angeles Service Department Transit Services Bureau.

This week #potus45 @realdonaldtrump called both of our deputies to check on their spirits, wish them a speedy recovery and remind them that the #american people are behind them and that the coward that harmed them will be brought to #justice!! the Bureau wrote on Facebook over the weekend.

The department also shared several pictures of the 31-year-old mother and LA county police officer lying in a hospital bed, recovering from her wounds.

The unidentified officer is pictured with a writing pad in her lap to respond to Trump because she is not yet able to speak after the Sept. 12 shooting resulted in her being shot multiple times, including in the jaw.

The post added that the injured officers husband and LASD sergeant Fredericksonone of her colleagueswere at her bedside in an intensive care unit to relay her answers to the president during the call.

A second LA county deputy, who was only identified as a 24-year-old male, was released from the hospital late last week, both officers were shot multiple times, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.

Great news, one of those deputies was released from the hospital today, Villanueva wrote on Twitter last week. He has a long road ahead for recovery. But hes not alone. We, as a community, are in this together.

The department also said the national and international support the injured officers have received has been overwhelming, but also very much appreciated, adding that both of the deputies and their families were very appreciative about receiving a call from the president.

We at @LASDHQ appreciate the outpouring of prayers and support you have shown for our ambushed deputies. Great news, one of those deputies was released from the hospital today. He has a long road ahead for recovery. But hes not alone. We, as a community, are in this together.  Alex Villanueva (@LACoSheriff) September 17, 2020

Last week, Trump said during a rally in Las Vegas that after the alleged gunman that shot the officers is found, weve got to get much faster with our courts, and weve got to get much tougher with our sentencing.

The man who shot the two deputies is still at large, and the reward for information leading to his arrest has risen to $675,000, officials said, according to a Fox News report.

A GoFundMe fundraising page has raised more than $700,000 for the deputies. The funds will be sent to the deputies through the deputies union relief fund, the ALADS C.A.R.E.S. Foundation, the pages manager said. The foundation is also accepting donations.

Americans have truly shown how wonderful they are by sending letters and emails of support, flowers, cards, and donations every day since the shooting, the sheriffs department stated on social media.

Epoch Times reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.

From NTD News
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden made a direct appeal to Senate Republicans on Sunday, calling on them to recognize the historic nature of the moment and wait to confirm the replacement of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In a broad call for unity, Biden said it was up to Republicans to cool the flames that have been engulfing our country. Speaking in Philadelphia, Biden characterized it as a raw political move for the president and Republican leaders to try to get a new justice confirmed when the election is underway and voters have already begun casting their votes.

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Biden made clear he was addressing those few Republicans who are in a position to make a difference. Look, Im not being naive. Im not speaking to President Trump, who will do whatever he wants. Im not speaking to Mitch McConnell, who will do what he wants, and he does, Biden said. Rather, he added, he was addressing Senate Republicans, who know deep down what is right for the country and consistent with the Constitution, as I stand here in the Constitution Center, not just whats best for their party. The former vice president called on the handful of Senate Republicans who really will decide what happens to follow your conscience.

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Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

To jam this nomination through the Senate is just an exercise in raw political power, says Biden on filling Ginsburgs Supreme Court seat before the election. I don't believe the people of this nation will stand for it https://t.co/D3BKuQ03Qa pic.twitter.com/eLkEgSmHOD  CBS News (@CBSNews) September 20, 2020

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The election is only six weeks away, and as people have already started voting, choosing a justice now would represent an abuse of power, Biden said. The people of this nation are choosing their future right now, as they vote. To jam this nomination through the Senate is just an exercise in raw political power and I dont believe the people of this nation will stand for it, Biden said. Voters will not stand for this abuse of power, this constitutional abuse, he added. The former vice president also pointed out how Republicans refused to consider President Barack Obamas nomination of Merrick Garland because it was an election year. Having made this their standard when it served their interest, they cannot, just four years later, change course when it doesnt serve their ends, Biden said.

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The Democratic presidential candidate went on to warn about dire effects on the country if Republicans decide to confirm Trumps candidate. The last thing we need is to add a constitutional crisis that plunges us deeper into the abyss, deeper into the darkness, he said. If we go down this path, I predict it will cause irreversible damage. The infection this president has unleashed on our democracy can be fatal.

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Biden also made an emotional appeal, saying he spoke to Ginsburgs family on Saturday night and noted how the justice asked that she not be replaced until a new president is in office. As a nation, we should heed her final call, Biden said, not as a personal service to her, but as a service to the country, our country, at a crossroads.

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All members of the court are aware of the reputational fallout of Bush v. Gore, said attorney David Boies, who represented Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 case that has become symbolic of a more politicized court. A number of the Republicans on the court are, I think, very committed to the integrity and the legacy of the Supreme Court and do not want to see it damaged again by the perception that it is involving itself in partisan politics. The chances that the Supreme Court would involve itself are limited.
A Conservative MP said he "forgot" to wear a face covering after a member of the public photographed him travelling on a train without wearing one.

Danny Kruger, who was Boris Johnson's former political secretary before his election as Devizes MP at the general election, has apologised after being caught without a mask while on the hour-long train journey to London.

An eagle-eyed Twitter user posted a picture on Saturday of Mr Kruger sitting at a train table wearing earphones, with the caption: "Dont blame it on the young people Boris (Johnson) when your own party arent even following your rules."

Mr Kruger, David Camerons former speechwriter, said in a statement: "I boarded an almost empty carriage at Hungerford and quite simply forgot to put on my mask.

"When I got to Paddington I realised my mistake and covered up for the rest of my journey.

"If the person had reminded me rather than taking a photo and posting it on social media I would of course have put on my mask then and there.

"I do apologise for my mistake."

Less than a fortnight before his own memory slip, Mr Kruger  a self-confessed "old friend" of Dominic Cummings  told his constituents in a Facebook message that they "MUST wear a face covering" unless exempt.

Great Western Railway, the train operator that runs the route between Hungerford and Paddington, warns passengers on its website that they face a 100 fine for failing to wear a face covering on its services.

Coronavirus: Areas in England with most new cases per 100,000 people

Mr Krugers apology comes after the Prime Minister warned last week that the UK was now experiencing a second wave of coronavirus infections and announced fines of up to 10,000 for people who test positive for the virus and refuse to self-isolate.

Mr Johnson is preparing to address MPs on Tuesday amid rumours that national lockdown measures banning socialising between two households could be put in place in a bid to arrest the viruss spread.

It comes as the Government's chief scientific adviser warned Britain could be facing 50,000 new Covid-19 cases a day within weeks if the current rate of infection is not halted.

Sir Patrick Vallance told a televised briefing that the UK could see 200 deaths every day if fast action is not taken to curb the spread of the disease.

Speaking alongside Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, Sir Patrick said the vast majority of the population remain susceptible to catching coronavirus, and that "speed" and "action" were now needed to tackle the crisis.
Police have seized one hundred cannabis plants growing in two polytunnels on a Carmarthenshire farm.

Dyfed-Powys Police said they found a 'large cultivation' on the farm, located between Pontarddulais and Tycroes.

The force said they attended the farm on an unrelated matter on Tuesday 15 September.

While at the property, they came across the plants growing in two polytunnels.

Sergeant Gemma Davies said: Our officers were providing support to partner agencies at the property when they noticed two polytunnels on the land.

They looked inside and found 100 cannabis plants in various stages of growth.

While our officers were not at the farm in relation to concerns over cannabis, this discovery shows the vigilance shown in their surroundings, which resulted in the disruption of a large cultivation.

Officers remained at the farm to dismantle the cultivation and seize the plants for destruction.

A 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of producing a controlled drug of class B.

He has been released under investigation while further enquiries are carried out.
Bryn Atkinson - What The Hell Is A Chuckanut?

Steve Vanderhoek - Don't Look Down:

Steve Vanderhoek - November Moustache Ride:

Max McCulloch - 53 Seconds Of Raw Riding At Mt. Washington:

Cam Van den Dool:

Joel Kristensen - Local Shred:

Conor Sproull - Pidherny 2020:

Moblife II Teaser:

Enduro Photographer POV:

Unleashing The Forbidden Druid:

All Caps ft. Owen Marks:

Remy Metailler - Crazy Lines On The North Shore ft. Steve Vanderhoek:

Dan Paley - Nearly 4k Part:

Dan Paley - Before The Sun Sets:

Dan Paley - OSS x Dub:

Out There - Erik Ellington:

Pedro Delfino's "Spitfire" Part:

Our Planet - Forests:

Yeti Presents - Sandbagging Jimmy Chin:

''Public Trust'' Official Trailer - The Fight for Americas Public Lands:

Chuckanut Mountains, WA. Filmed, Edited & Music by Bryn Atkinson.A great feeling when a fresh line goes!Every November I grow a greasy little duster to promote awareness for men's health, specifically prostate and testicular cancer and mental health/suicide prevention. The longer I work in emergency services the more important this has become to me. This year I took the 'mo for a frosty lap down one of the Sea to Sky's spookiest lines.Max McCulloch and the sound of NOBL TR38s laced to Industry Nine Hydra hubs. Filmed by: Merin Pearce.Ripping on the gearbox.Joel Kristensen shredding a few freshly built local trails. Gnarly, steep, and loose, it's all you could ask for!Conor Sproull riding in Prince George at the Pidherny trail network in typical raw fashion. Enjoy!Dropping winter 2020.A new perspective of Texas enduro racing from a photographer's point of view. Thanks to @victoryracingevents for putting on such a rad event. Video & Photos: @mikecartier From the forested mountains of its native British Columbia to the steep wooded valleys of the Forest of Dean on the southern border between England and Wales. Local rider James Leech and the Druid XT gets its first taste of UK conditions. Video: Chapter Studios.With subtle stylized movements, and his gravy touch of execution."The Shore," as people call it, is super gnarly! Theses lines are absolutely insane, I thought I would not attempt one of them.BSD is proud to bring you Dan Paley's video part from the Nearly 4K DVD. Filmed on a one week trip to Amsterdam in summer 2015 with a few clips from Glasgow.Dan's been cooking this piece up for a while now. Watch him as he follows the sun to Spain, Scotland, New Mexico. and Arizona.Earlier this year Dan Paley spent a few months out here in La La Land. He split his time between the OSS apartment and the Trip house (also known as The Palace) and rode his ass off every day regardless of who was pointing the camera at him.His party days with the Piss Drunx were legendary but not without consequence. Through a few lucky calls and hard work, hes avoided prison, built up Baker Boys and reached the sober dad stage. Learn to see the bright side.Gnarly spots - even gnarlier human! Pedro attacks everything in sight and closes out this part with one of the craziest lipslides ever. Respect the wreckage.Experience our planet's natural beauty and examine how climate change impacts all living creatures in this ambitious documentary of spectacular scope. In this episode: Examine the fragile interdependence that exists between forests' wide variety of residents, including bald eagles, hunting dogs and Siberian tigers.By most anyones standards, Jimmy has done it all: climbed and skied Everest, crossed Chang Tang Plateau on foot, and won an Academy Award. But when hes asked if there is anything he still wants to do in his life, his response is get barrelled. With the help of renowned surfers Mark Healey, Jon Rose, Jeff Johnson, and Keith and Dan Malloy, Jimmy heads into the biggest waves of his life to find his barrel moment.A feature-length documentary about Americas system of public lands and the fight to protect them. Despite support from voters across the political spectrum, our public lands face unprecedented threats from extractive industries and the politicians in their pockets. Part love letter, part political expose, Public Trust investigates how we arrived at this precarious moment through three heated conflictsa national monument in the Utah desert, a mine in the Boundary Waters and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refugeand makes a case for their continued protection.Photo: Bruno Long
Earlier this year, Bed Bath and Beyond said it would close nearly 200 stores over the next two years.

And the company told USA Today that it plans to close 63 stores including one in Pennsylvania by the end of the year. The one store in the state that will close is at 2410 Chemical Road in Plymouth Meeting, Montgomery County, according to the paper.

This is an important step in our multi-year program to create a sustainable, durable business and invest where it matters most to our digital-first customers and our people, company spokeswoman Jessica Joyce said in a statement to the paper.

Last month, Bed Bath and Beyond said it was making some changes as part of its ongoing restructuring plan, which included the elimination of 2,800 jobs.

Bed Bath and Beyond has a store on Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Township and on the Carlisle Pike in Silver Spring Township.

--Sign up for PennLives newsletters

You can follow Daniel Urie on twitter @DanielUrie2018 and you can like PennLives business page on Facebook at @PennLiveBusiness
US SenateBy ALLISON PECORIN, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is opposed to moving forward with a vote to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the run-up to the election, the Alaska senator said in a statement Sunday.



She joins Sen. Susan Collins as the second Republican senator to voice her opposition to filling the vacancy before the November election.



"For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election," Murkowski said. "Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed."



Collins and Murkowski have each said that the Republican-controlled Senate's move to block the 2016 nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to serve on the Supreme Court guided their decision.



At the time, Senate Republicans argued that the Obama-nominee was being considered too close to Election Day, which was nearly nine months away at the time.



"We are now even closer to the 2020 election -- less than two months out -- and I believe the same standard must apply," Murkowski said in the statement.



Collins, who is currently in a fierce re-election battle in Maine, also said she believes it is too near Election Day to vote on a nominee.



"The decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd," Collins said in a statement.



In order to block a Trump nominee, two other Republican senators will need to join Murkowski, Collins and Senate Democrats.



Some Republicans have not yet stated their position, seemingly following the guidance of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who, in a letter obtained by the Washington Post and confirmed by ABC News, urged his colleagues to "keep your powder dry."



A close eye will be on the Republicans who could tip the balance of a vote, including, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, the lone Republican to vote in favor of Trump's impeachment at the beginning of the year, and those up for reelection who are especially vulnerable, like Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner.



But some Republicans who were once fiercely opposed to installing Garland on the Supreme Court have now said they will work to push a Trump nominee to the bench.



Republicans, like Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, argue that the situation is different now, with Republicans controlling both the Senate and the White House, compared to 2016 when control was split between the branches.



"I will support President @realDonaldTrump in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg," Graham tweeted Saturday.



In 2016, Graham argued that he believed the vacancy came too close to a presidential election at a time when the Senate and the White House were controlled by different parties.



"If there is a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say 'Lindsey Graham said let us let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination' and you could use my words against me, and you would be absolutely right," Graham said at the time.



McConnell said Friday that a nominee put forward by Trump will receive a vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate, though he's yet to specify a timeline. It's not clear if McConnell intends to lead the Senate in a vote before Election Day.



The timing of the vote could impact how Republicans like Murkowski ultimately side. Her statement Sunday leaves uncertain how the senator might vote during the lame-duck session, especially following an election which has the potential to alter control of both the White House and the Senate.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Planning to cruise in the future? Companies say they will mandate COVID tests for all passengers and crew prior to boarding once U.S. departures resume.

The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), a lobbying group that represents major cruise companies, said its members will adopt other health protocols such as mandatory mask wearing onboard and during certain excursions as well as increased social-distancing in terminals and aboard the ships.

CLIA said this is a critical step toward the resumption of operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

PHOTO: A Carnival Panorama cruise ship is docked in Long Beach, Calif., on March 7, 2020. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images, FILE)

These core elements will be continuously evaluated and adjusted against the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the availability of new prevention, therapeutics and mitigation measures, CLIA said in a statement.

Colleen McDaniel, editor-in-chief of Cruise Critic, called the testing mandate unprecedented, saying it could provide passengers with a sense of security.

We are seeing from our readers that they are really open to the concept of COVID testing ahead of cruising. I think one of the things that it represents is a bit of a comfort level, McDaniel said. We have seen a real shift in that for many people, its not a deal breaker.

MORE: Cruise lines to voluntarily suspend operations at US ports until mid-September

Currently, certain ships are prohibited from sailing in U.S. waters under the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) No Sail Order. The order is set to expire at the end of the month.

When asked if the order will be extended, the CDC said it currently does not have enough information to say when it will be safe for cruise ships to resume passenger operations.

CDC will continue to work with cruise lines to ensure that all necessary public health procedures are in place before cruise lines begin sailing with passengers, the agency said.

MORE: 300,000 seafarers still stuck on ships: 'We feel like hostages'

As companies look to resume passenger operations, thousands of crew members still remain on board ships.

Story continues

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) said that as of September 18 it is tracking 60 cruise ships in U.S. waters with approximately 9,440 crewmembers on board. This number includes an estimated 200 American citizen crewmembers dispersed among 33 vessels, USCG said.

"There's still thousands on these ships, in large part, I think, for two reasons: one being they don't want to pay for private flights, and there's still some challenges related to flying commercially," Michael Winkleman, a Miami-based maritime attorney, said in a recent interview with ABC News. "The other part of it is that they're hopeful that they're going to resume sailing, so they would rather keep crew members on board."

ABC News Mina Kaji contributed to this report.

Cruise companies to require COVID testing for all passengers and crew prior to U.S. departures originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
In the last three weeks, the Indian Army occupied new major hill features on the Line of Actual Control during the ongoing conflict with the Chinese Army in the Eastern Ladakh sector.

According to ANI, the army has occupied these six positions on Finger 4 ridgeline since August 29.

PTI

"The Indian Army has occupied six new heights between August 29 and the second week of September. The new hill features being occupied by our troops include the Magar hill, Gurung Hill, Recehen La, Rezang La, Mokhpari and the dominating height over Chinese positions near Finger 4," top government sources told ANI.

Also Read: Indian Army Chief Awards 5 Soldiers Who Fought Chinese Army In Pangong Tso & Galwan

With the current breakthrough, the Indian troops have an edge over the Chinese in the region.

PTI/Image For Representation

These hill features were lying dormant and the Indian Army occupied them before the Chinese Army which was planning to dominate the heights.

Sources further told ANI that the foiling of Chinese Army's attempts in occupying the heights led to the firing of bullets in the air on at least three occasions from the northern bank of Pangong to the southern bank of the lake.

Also Read: Indian Army Releases Names Of All 20 Soldiers Martyred At Galwan Border Clash With China

The sources clarified that the Black Top and the Helmet Top hill features are on the Chinese side of the LAC while the heights occupied by the Indian side are on the LAC in Indian territory.



Image For Representation/PTI

After the occupation of heights by the Indian Army, the Chinese Army has deployed around 3,000 additional troops of its combined arms brigade including its infantry and armoured troops near the Rezang la and Rechen La heights.

Apart from this, the Moldo garrison of the PLA has also has been fully activated with additional troops in the last few weeks by the People's Liberation Army.



Also Read:After Ladakh, Indian Army On War-Like Alert, Air Force Assets Reportedly Moved To Forward Positions



India also changed the rules of engagement of not using weapons during clashes with the Chinese after the PLA betrayed Indian soldiers in the Galwan valley and 20 Indian soldiers were killed there in June, this year.

Source: ANI
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OverOps , the leading continuous reliability solution, will be exhibiting and presenting at the annual DevOps World virtual event this week, September 22-24. VP of Solution Engineering Eric Mizell will lead two sessions, showcasing how to reduce escaped defects through the use of dynamic code analysis quality gates.

Bad Code Kills: Five Essential Quality Gates You Need in Your CloudBees Core Pipeline

Tuesday, September 22, 1:30pm - 2:00pm PT

Learn practical advice for stopping bad code from killing your mission-critical apps. This session will cover:

Common challenges and shortcomings of current QA and testing methods

5 quality gates you can use to help identify poor quality code earlier in the release cycle

How to configure your Jenkins pipeline to detect and block critical issues missed by test automation

A New Way to Reduce Escaped Defects in Your Jenkins Pipeline

Thursday, September 24, 12:45pm - 1:00pm PT

Learn how to avoid the developer blame game when it comes to error resolution. This session will walk you through how to incorporate developer accountability to reduce escaped defects in your Jenkins pipeline.

DevOps World, hosted by CloudBees, brings together thought leaders, practitioners and community contributors from around the world to share their DevOps learnings and experiences. Attendees can stop by OverOps' virtual booth to chat with Eric and the OverOps team, catch a live OverOps product demonstration, and enter to win our raffle for a $200 Amazon gift card. Register to attend here .

For those missing out on the action at DevOps World, check out the following resources to learn more about how OverOps helps teams identify, prevent and resolve critical application errors:

Learn about how OverOps integrates with Jenkins and CloudBees.

about how OverOps integrates with Jenkins and CloudBees. Register to attend our next webinar to see how Expedia reduced MTTI & MTTR by 90%.

to attend our next webinar to see how Expedia reduced MTTI & MTTR by 90%. Try out OverOps for yourself.

About OverOps

OverOps is a continuous reliability solution that enables companies to ensure rapid code changes do not negatively impact application reliability. Using OverOps, teams can quickly identify, prevent and resolve critical software issues. Unlike static code, log analyzers and APMs that rely on foresight, OverOps analyzes your code at runtime to deliver deep insights into when, where and why code breaks. With robust CI/CD integrations and open APIs, OverOps ensures software reliability from testing to production. The company is backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Menlo Ventures, and has offices in San Francisco, Orlando and Tel Aviv.

SOURCE OverOps

Related Links

overops.com


In mid-August, 2020, an unusual heat wave fixated over California, leading to a series of lightning storms across the state and numerous wildfires. Hundreds of thousands of acres were burned and tens of thousands of residents were forced to evacuate their homes. Below is an account of how the fires spread and officials responded to the emergency.

 Read the previous updates from Sept. 16-17

Live updates did not publish on Saturday, Sept. 19

Updates from Friday, Sept. 18

3:12 p.m. Bobcat Fire splits into 3 heads in Antelope Valley: The Bobcat Fire, which is burning in the Angeles National Forest, has split into three heads in the Antelope Valley foothills, the Los Angeles Times reports. One front is not far from the Devils Punchbowl nature areas parking lot. Another burned toward Tumbleweed Road from Cruthers Creek, and the third jumped Juniper Hills Road at Longview Road. The blaze has scorched more than 60,000 acres.

2:45 p.m. Twenty states have sent firefighting help to California: California has received help from 20 states to fight to the furious spate of wildfires, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services said. Thank you to all of the mutual aid for protecting our state, officials said Friday on Twitter. Assistance has come from: Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

2:30 p.m. Oregon faces new threat: Rain in the Cascades in northern Oregon brought some relief Friday to crews trying to corral large wildfires. But the rainfall carried a new, imminent threat: landslides in the steep, burned-out terrain. The National Weather Service warned heavy rains could send torrents of mud and dead tree limbs thundering thunder down the slopes and into communities.

2:12 p.m. North Complex blaze still spreading: The North Complex fires had spread to 287,181 acres in Butte, Yuba and Plumas counties with 41% containment Friday, Cal Fire reported. The blaze has destroyed 1,147 structures and 15 people have died.

1:11 p.m. Jerry Brown says Trump most deviant president ever: Former Gov. Jerry Brown, asked on CNN about President Trumps assertion at a California wildfire briefing that it will start getting cooler, called the president the most deviant human being in the history of the American presidency. He said he was referring to Trump deviating far, far from the norms of previous presidents.

12:42 p.m. Spare the Air alert returns for Bay Area: After only a couple of days of reprieve, authorities issued a Spare the Air alert for Saturday when the quality of breathing again will be affected by expected wildfire smoke blowing into the North Bay, eastern Contra Costa County and the Livermore valley. The Bay Area endured a record 30-day stretch of Spare the Air alerts before they were finally lifted at midnight Wednesday.

11:45 a.m. Residents ordered to evacuate near Bobcat Fire in San Gabriel Mountains: Residents in Juniper Hills, Devils Punchbowl and Paradise Springs were ordered to evacuate due to the Bobcat Fire burning in the Angeles National Forest. Los Angeles County Fire said Friday that crews were focusing on the north end of the fire which was 15% contained at 60,557 acres Friday morning. Air and ground crews were holding fire lines near Mount Wilson and patrolling the east side of the mountain to snuff spot fires and set control lines.

11:15 a.m. National Guard helping fight August Complex fires: National Guardsmen are assisting Cal Fire in battling the August Complex in the west zone, which was just 7% contained at 86,289 acres Friday. The west zone is part of the larger record-breaking complex that spread across 824,118 acres in and around the Mendocino National Forest and was 30% contained as of Friday. Numerous evacuation orders and warnings are in place in Mendocino and Lake counties, CAL Fire said.

9:40 a.m. Creek Fire grows: Firefighters battled the Creek Fire to 20% containment overnight as it spread to 248,256 acres across Fresno and Madera counties. Fire progression was anticipated eastward beyond Huntington Lake and China Peak where Cal Fire said it might connect to the fire near Mount Tom. Progression was expected also in the southeast area toward Florence Lake and the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness, Cal Fire said.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

9 a.m. Critical step achieved on Dolan Fire: Cloud cover helped firefighters complete a critical burnout operation along McKern Road to contain the southern portion of the Dolan Fire south of Big Sur, fire officials said Friday. Officials said the northwest part of the fire was fully contained, allowing more resources on the rugged sections along Highway 1, which was closed between mile post 25 and mile post 10. The blaze was 45% contained Friday, having scorched 127,724 acres and destroyed 19 structures.

8:46 a.m. Newsom walks fine line with Trump: Gov. Gavin Newsom has crafted a delicate approach with President Trump, whose help California needs during the rampaging wildfire scourge. Even as Newsom has amped up his rhetoric on climate change  and criticisms of the Trump administrations record  he avoids alienating Trump who has repeatedly threatened to withhold billions of dollars in fire relief. Read the story here.

8:34 a.m. Heroic story in battered Butte County: Firefighters found the man face down, burns covering most of his body. The only place to try to save him was a tiny firehouse, itself in the path of the latest flames to ravage Butte County, where communities have burned and flooded and endured for years. The Chronicles Lizzie Johnson and Matthias Gafni tell the story of one harrowing rescue amid the latest horrors sweeping over the region.

7:37 a.m. Tulare County blaze 12% contained: Crews struggled to contain the SQF Complex blaze which had covred 122,902 acres as of Friday morning with anticipated movement towards Ponderosa, Tule Indian Reservation, and north into the Sequoia Kings National Park.

7:30 a.m. Yosemite visitors need to be out: Visitors in Yosemite were to leave campsites and hotels by Friday morning as the park shuttered under heavy wildfire smoke that created unhealthy to hazardous air for vacationers and park staff. Several small fires burned in the park, as the skies were darkened by smoke blowing in from huge wildfires in Sierra regions miles away.

6:49 a.m. Firefighter dies battling blaze sparked after gender-reveal party: A firefighter died Thursday while battling the El Dorado Fire in the San Bernardino National Forest, the Associated Press reported. The fire was sparked this month by a smoke-creating pyrotechnic device used by a couple to reveal their babys gender, Cal Fire said. The firefighters name and what led to the fatality have not yet been released.
One person was injured after a three-storey under-construction building collapsed in a residential neighbourhood in central Delhis Sitaram Bazar near Chawri Bazar on Monday.

Two fire tenders and a rescue team from the Delhi Fire Services were rushed to the site for rescue operation. The injured person was rushed to a nearby hospital by the locals before the rescuers could reach the site, said fire services department chief Atul Garg.

The person has received minor injuries. We have stopped the rescue operation. The building contractor has given us in writing that nobody is trapped under the debris. Three labourers were working there and throwing building construction materials inside when the building collapsed, said assistant divisional officer (fire services) Rajesh Shukla, who supervised the rescue operation.

Shukla added local residents told them that there was an old building at a plot that was demolished some months ago and a new building was being constructed. The ground and first floors were constructed on the 45-square-yard plot. The process of constructing the roof the second floor was going on and construction materials for the same was being arranged when the entire building collapsed, said Shukla.

Municipal officials have been informed about the incident and they have been asked to find out if the building was being constructed illegally or the contractor had been flouting rules after obtaining permission for it.

Probe ordered

North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash Monday ordered an inquiry in the incident.

The buildings plan was approved by local authorities. However, we have ordered an inquiry to find out if there was any violation during the construction phase, Prakash said.
Realme is all set to debut its new Narzo 20 series of smartphones today. It is expected to include three smartphones - the Realme Narzo 20, Realme Narzo 20 Pro, and Realme Narzo 20A. As usual, the launch will take place via an online event, which will begin at 12:30PM IST, and you can catch all the updates by heading to Realmes social media pages including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The landing page for Narzo 20 launch on Realmes website shows a smartphone with a triple camera setup on the back, although we dont know which of the three phones from the lineup is shown.

Catch all the announcements from the launch event by tuning into the live stream below:

Realme has not revealed much about the Narzo 20 series of smartphones. The Narzo 20A is being marketed with the tagline Feel the rush of performance," hinting at the performance-focused trait of the Narzo 20A. The Narzo 20, similarly is marketed with the best-in-segment battery, while the Narzo 20 Pros super-fast charging capabilites are promoted on the Realme website. According to the launch invite sent out earlier this month, two of the Narzo phones will offer a vertical camera arrangement at the back and one will have a square camera module. Also, two of these come with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, which means that one of them is going to either have one underneath the display or mounted on the side.

Reports suggest that the Realme Narzo 20 would arrive with 4GB RAM + 64GB storage as well as 4GB RAM + 128GB storage options. The Narzo 20A is expected to come in 3GB RAM + 32GB storage and a 4GB RAM + 64GB storage option. The Narzo 20 Pro on the other hand is expected to arrive in 6GB RAM + 64GB storage option and an 8GB RAM + 128GB storage option. This one is rumoured to come in Black Ninja and White Knight colour options while the other two are expected to launch in Glory Silver and Victory Blue colours.
"Our senior leadership team will help guide the company's overall mission and strategy. The collective talent of this team enables us to drive long-term growth while continuing to build on the family values that have helped us succeed over the past 67 years. Our updated organizational structure is a natural progression of the company's long-term growth strategy that ensures future success for generations to come. We are fortunate to have some of our industry's most experienced veterans on our team, as well as the pipeline of rising leaders in our future. Together, we will continue to build upon our culture with a strong foundation of family values, teamwork and customer centricity," said Mike Hammond, president and CEO of Hammond Lumber Company.

Hammond Lumber Company is the largest lumber and building materials retailer in Maine and the 25th largest ProSales dealer in the country. The company has seen record-setting sales growth in 2020 from a surge in home improvement projects due to the coronavirus pandemic. Hammond recorded $251 million in sales revenue in 2019. Hammond has 800 employees and 21 locations across Maine.

Based in Belgrade, Hammond has been a family-owned company since 1953. The family legacy continues to grow. Members of the Hammond family who are active in the day-to-day operations include Executive Vice President, Don Hammond; his son, Mike Hammond, president and CEO; and most recently, Mike's daughter Sadie Hammond, fourth generation of the family business and director of organizational development.

To learn more about Hammond, visit www.hammondlumber.com.

About Hammond Lumber Company

Hammond Lumber Company was founded in 1953 by Skip and Verna Hammond with a single sawmill. Today, the fourth generation family business carries a full line of building materials, millwork, kitchen/bath/flooring, home planning design centers and a quality manufacturer of eastern white pine sawing more than 6,500,000 board feet annually, and is one of the largest independent building material retailers in the northeast. Committed to workplace safety, the lumber company has received numerous accolades, including 2020 ProSales Dealer of the Year and the National Safety Council's 2019 Occupational Excellence Achievement Award. Learn more at www.hammondlumber.com.

SOURCE Hammond Lumber Company

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JEFFERSON CITY  Fridays scheduled debate in the race for governor in Missouri may be the lone time the candidates share the stage between now and the Nov. 3 election.

Although Democratic Auditor Nicole Galloway said she will participate in a second forum in St. Louis in late October, a spokesman for Republican Gov. Mike Parson signaled that future debates are no sure thing.

We are processing a number of debate requests from across the state, Parson campaign manager Steele Shippy said Monday.

If no other debates are scheduled, the situation would mirror what happened in 2016, when Democrat Chris Koster and Republican Eric Greitens faced off just one time.

Fridays 2 p.m. debate in Columbia is sponsored by the Missouri Press Association and KOMU-TV. Along with Parson and Galloway, Libertarian Party nominee Rik Combs and Green Party nominee Jerome Bauer will share the stage.

Due to the pandemic, the forum is not open to the public. The event will be livestreamed on the Post-Dispatch website: stltoday.com.

The debate comes as polls show Parson continuing to hold an edge over Galloway in a state that elected President Donald Trump by a 19-point margin four years ago.

A survey commissioned by Missouri Scout and conducted Sept. 16-17 by Remington Research, a GOP-leaning polling firm, shows the governor getting 52% of the vote if the election were held that day. Galloway had 43% of the vote with 5% undecided out of the 1,046 people surveyed. The margin of error is 3%.

Despite the gap, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report revised its rating of the contest last week, moving it from likely Republican to lean Republican, meaning that Parson still holds an advantage, but the race is competitive.

Galloway last week received a $750,000 check and an endorsement from Emilys List, which backs Democratic candidates who support abortion access.

She also received an endorsement from former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee.

Parson, meanwhile, is crisscrossing the state this week discussing the recently completed special session on violent crime. Hes expected to be endorsed by unions representing police officers in the coming days.

Galloway says one debate is not enough.

Last week she said she will participate in a forum hosted by Nine Network, St. Louis Public Radio, the St. Louis American and KSDK (Channel 5) during the week of Oct. 26.

Auditor Galloway believes its critical for Missouri voters to hear from both candidates about how they will solve the key challenges facing Missouris working families. Governor Parson should stop dodging the voters and accept this invitation to defend his record and finally explain his plans to expand health care and tackle COVID-19, said Galloway campaign manager Chris Sloan.

Shippy said the governor does not want to get into a debate about debates.

The governor is going to focus on doing his job and the role of government, Shippy said.

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Blood Assurance is making an appeal for millennial and Gen Z donors due to low donor turnout and continuous blood drive cancellations throughout their schools and work places. Less than one days supply of O-negative, O-positive and B-negative remains on the shelf. A-positive, A-negative and B-positive red cells are also in need at this time, with only two days supply available.High school aged donors are down from 16 percent to only 4 percent of the blood donor population this year according to Blood Centers of America.We need our community of younger donors to come out in full force to ensure we have what we need for our local patients, said Dr. Elizabeth Culler, medical director at Blood Assurance. COVID-19 has limited our ability to collect at schools, manufacturing plants and offices. We need people with these blood types to give at a center or drive near them as soon as possible."Blood Assurance is asking everyone with these blood types who can donate blood to please do so during this time of critical need," officials said. "As the community starts to return to their normal activities such as work, school and vacation, hospital usage also increases because of things such as auto accidents, major surgeries, babies getting sick and cancer patients needing treatments. Donating blood with Blood Assurance is the only way patients in this area will be able to receive the blood products they need."All donors 18+ who give twice between June 1 and Sept. 30 can be entered to win a Big Green Egg grill. It is not too late to win. Donors can donate two units of red cells at one time if they are eligible and will be entered to win as well. Donors can also encourage a friend, co-worker or family member to make an appointment to donate and will receive an extra entry to win the Big Green Egg. Blood Assurance will be giving three Big Green Eggs away to three donors who give during June through September.High School students who donate twice now through Dec. 31 will be entered to win a brand new PS5. Blood Assurance is celebrating the class of heroes this fall with a special t-shirt gift as well. Lack of school drives during the pandemic have impacted the blood supply. Blood Assurance is making it as convenient as possible for students to donate at a center or neighborhood drive near them, officials said.Blood Assurance is continuing to take extra precautions at this time to ensure the safety of donors and staff. Staff and donors are required to wear masks and staff are frequently disinfecting all items and surfaces used by donors. They are also accepting donors by appointment only and these appointments are being spaced apart to ensure adequate distance. Blood donation is essential to the infrastructure of healthcare and the only way to ensure patients have the blood they need is for people to donate. Blood cannot be manufactured and all blood used in community hospitals is from volunteer donors.To be eligible to donate blood, you must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with parental consent), weigh 110 pounds or more and be in good health. Donors are asked to drink plenty of fluids  avoiding caffeine  and eat a meal that is rich in iron prior to donating. To schedule an appointment or find a donor center or mobile drive near you, visit www.bloodassurance.org/schedule, call 800-962-0628 or text BAGIVE to 999777.
Director Michael Lonsdale on the set of "Moonraker". (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

British-French actor Michael Lonsdale, best known for playing Hugo Drax in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker, has died in Paris aged 89, his agent has told AFP.

Lonsdale was also known in the English-speaking world as detective Claude Lebel 1973s spy thriller The Day of the Jackal and as. M. in 1993s The Remains of the Day. In 1986 he starred opposite Sean Connery in the medieval drama The Name of the Rose.

He also appeared in Steven Spielbergs 2005 historical drama Munich, alongside future James Bond star Daniel Craig, and in 1998s action thriller Ronin.

The bilingual actor had hundreds of acting credits to his name, most recently appearing in the Belgian-French drama The First, the Last (Les Premiers, les Derniers) released in 2016.

Actor Michael Lonsdale arrives at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Lonsdale reprised the role of Drax for the 2016 video game 007 Legends. When asked whether he was concerned that playing a Bond villain might affect his career, he told James Bond fan site Mi6-HQ: Not at all! On the contrary!

Because, I made so many films that were not really very popular or didn't make much money, and I only made poor films, so I thought I might like to be in a rich film.

Read more: Remembering the versatile Diana Rigg

Reflecting on his experience of making the film he said: It was a great experience to make a very popular film. Everybody was so kind. Roger Moore, Lois Chiles and Richard Kiel were all wonderful. There was a beautiful understanding between the actors, and so I was very happy to do that.

PARIS, FRANCE - DECEMBER 09: Actor Michael Lonsdale attends the tribute to "Jean Pierre Mocky 70 ans de Cinema" at Les Deux Magots on December 09, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Foc Kan/WireImage)

The official Twitter account for the estate of Sir Roger Moore, who played Bond opposite Lonsdale, expressed its condolences online.

Terribly saddened to learn Michael Lonsdale has also passed away today. As Hugo Drax he was a smooth-tongued and cultured adversary to 007 in Moonraker. pic.twitter.com/qoBbziZlZ9  Sir Roger Moore (Legacy) (@sirrogermoore) September 21, 2020

Moore had previously singled out Lonsdale for praise as a Bond villain, telling GQ in 2012: All the villains are great. Michael Lonsdale [Drax, in Moonraker] is a brilliant actor, sometimes you think that they're too good for the movie.

This photo taken on July 6, 2011 shows French actor Michael Lonsdale posing during the Paris Cinema Festival in Paris. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Lonsdale was born in Paris to English and Irish-French parents, and initially raised in Guernsey, then later in Casablanca, Morocco. He later returned to live in Paris, making his stage debut aged 24. He made his film debut in 1956.
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria yesterday hosted his Ghanaian counterpart, President Akufo-Addo.

The Sunday night, September 20,2020 meeting, this portal gathered from sources in Nigeria, took place in Mr Buhari's official residence at the State House, Aso Rock, Abuja.

This portal is informed that on the agenda for discussion for the two Presidents was on how to cement relations between the two nations especially following recent tensions between the two countries.

The alleged closure of shops of some Nigerian retail traders in Ghana by members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) and the demolition of a Nigerian High Commission property in Accra, spiked a diplomatic row between the two countries.

The closure of Nigerian borders leading to the stranded of Ghanaian traders at Seme border was also believed to have featured on the agenda.

The Speakers of Parliament of Nigeria and Ghana had earlier met to address the problem between both nations.

And last night's meeting was aimed at further resolving the crisis between Ghana and Nigeria which are considered 'sister nations' in the West Africa sub region.

---DGN Online
A leaked Congressional report allegedly found that China covered up the severity of the coronavirus outbreak there and, with the help of a 'complicit' World Health Organization (WHO), allowed COVID-19 to become a pandemic.

The report, leaked to the New York Post and set to be released later on Monday, says that the pandemic was 'likely preventable.'

Echoing its sentiments, President Trump slammed China's President Xi Jinping.

'I say it every time I speak. And Im angry at him [Xi] because they could have stopped this, they could have stopped it easily,' Trump said on Fox & Friends on Monday.

Lawmakers claim that China went so far as to destroy evidence in order to downplay coronavirus, while in February clamping down on exports to US companies for companies, including 3M, which manufactures masks and personal protective equipment.

WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus continued to praise China for its 'transparency,' even as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) suddenly added thousands of previously concealed cases to its total count in April, and suspicions arose around the globe.

'The WHO has been complicit in the spread and normalization of CCP propaganda and disinformation,' the House Foreign Affairs Committee auditors wrote.

'Director-General Tedros should accept responsibility for his detrimental impact on the COVID-19 response and resign.'

China first warned the WHO of a possible new, emerging viral disease on January 3. At the time, it was simply a 'viral pneumonia of unknown cause,' in Wuhan.

The first cases of the unknown illness occurred in late 2019, and the virus was sequenced for the first time by a Chinese lab that suspected it might be highly infectious on January 1. The WHO announced that China had determined the illnesses there were caused by a wholly new virus on January 9.

This timeline has been the subject of much scrutiny in the US, and is central to the report's claims that China's secretive practices left the world vulnerable to COVID-19.

The report blames cover-ups for opening the floodgates for coronavirus to become a pandemic and says that actual transparency might have saved hundreds of thousands of lives around the world.

But it stops short of advising the US withdraw from the WHO amid the pandemic - as President Trump intends to do by July of next year.

A newly leaked Foreign Affairs Committee report claims Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party covered up data on the coronavirus outbreak and allowed a 'likely preventable' pandemic to follow

The report calls for the resignation of WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, slamming him for spreading Chinese 'propaganda' in the pandemic's early days

When contacted for comment by DailyMail.com, the WHO said it had just received a copy of the report and 'will review it carefully.'

In the 96-page report, the lawmakers expressed certainty that China intentionally kept information hidden, at the expense of more than 960,000 deaths around the world as of Monday.

'It is beyond doubt that the CCP actively engaged in a cover-up designed to obfuscate data, hide relevant public health information, and suppress doctors and journalists who attempted to warn the world,' they committee members wrote.

'Research shows the CCP could have reduced the number of cases in China by up to 95 percent had it fulfilled its obligations under international law and responded to the outbreak in a manner consistent with best practices.

'It is highly likely the ongoing pandemic could have been prevented.'

President Trump slammed President Xi, saying he 'could have stopped' coronavirus from becoming a pandemic after the Foreign Affairs Committee report was leaked (file)

Although the Foreign Affairs Committee is Democrat-controlled, the report was authored by its Republican members, according to the Post, and the group's ranking member is Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas.

'It is crystal clear that had the CCP been transparent, and had the head of the WHO cared more about global health than appeasing the CCP, lives could have been spared and widespread economic devastation could have been mitigated,' McCaul told the Post.

The report is new, but its central claims certainly are not.

For months, President Trump has accused China of being responsible for the pandemic for months. He claimed in May that he had seen evidence that coronavirus originated in the lab (despite reports to the contrary from his intelligence staff) and infamously dubbed SARS-CoV-2, 'the China virus.'

After suffering more than 90,000 cases of COVID-19 and nearly 5,000 deaths, the coronavirus crisis has ebbed in China.

'They stopped it from going back further into their own country. But they didn't stop it from going out to the rest of the world, of which we're part,' Trump said during the Fox & Friends interview.

'They didn't stop it from coming here, in Europe, and all over the world - 188 countries to be exact. They didn't stop it. Countries are devastated.'

The report's claims rest on the timeline from the first illnesses in China, to its eventual choice to alert the WHO to the outbreak.

It also notes that the WHO ignored the attempts of Chinese whistleblowers to alert the agency to the virus before the CCP's official report.

The earliest warning signs of a mysterious illness appeared in China in late 2019, with strange cases of pneumonia cropping up in the Hubei Province.

Both the WHO and the Foreign Affairs, the WHO first became aware of the outbreak on December 31, when an online media report about the pneumonia cases triggered an alert on the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED), a US-based, open-source platform.

Although Chinese officials began taking steps to control the outbreak of the disease the next day, including the Wuhan wet market believed to be the site of the virus's jump from animals to people, the WHO did not publicly acknowledge it until January 4, when the agency tweeted twice about the goings-on in Wuhan.

By then, the genome of the virus was already sequenced, but it wasn't sent to the WHO until January 13.

The reasons for these and other subsequent delays in the information-sharing chain are unclear, but served as evidence that China and the WHO acted with, at best, neglect and, at-worse, an intent to minimize the deadliest pandemic in 100 years during the crucial early days when it might have been contained.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

In March 2020, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, and governments around the world imposed restrictions to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Some countries chose stricter measures than others. But what effect does social distancing and similar measures have on our mental health? How do we adapt?

Researchers at UiT have compared corona restrictions in six countries, and looked at psychological reactions among the population, their confidence in the restrictions and belief that the government is in control over COVID-19 in their countries.

They found that those who were satisfied with how the country fought the outbreak had better well-being and a lower perceived risk of getting coronavirus.

Dissatisfaction created fear

"We found that those who were dissatisfied with the country's COVID-19 response saw the risk of getting the virus as greater, were more concerned and expressed reduced faith in the possibility of controlling the outbreak," says professor at the Department of Psychology, Gerit Pfuhl. Together with colleague Martin Mkel, and international research colleagues, Dr. Phuhl now presents the results of the study in Royal Society Open Science.

"Dissatisfaction with the government's reactions to COVID-19 led to increased stress levels and psychological reactions," Pfuhl says about the results.

"Regardless of which country they lived in, those who were dissatisfied with the measures were more tense and perceived the risk of getting COVID-19 over the next two months as higher than those who were satisfied with how the country fought the outbreak," the researcher says.

Pfuhl explains that if people sense that their country is not doing enough, they have more fear; if they think the country is doing enough to fight the outbreak, they are more relaxed about it and have less fear.

These new research results provide important insights for decision-makers on how to take care of the well-being of their population during a global crisis.

Large survey

The researchers sent out questionnaires via social media in Norway, Germany, Israel, Colombia, Brazil and the U.S., countries that had varying degrees of strict and mild restrictions. The analysis included 2285 people. The survey was voluntary, and the participants were asked questions about restrictions and reactions, psychological factors, fear and knowledge, and general demographics.

Gerit Pfuhl emphasizes that this study has looked at the measures that were used early in the pandemic, namely 12-31 March.

"At that time Colombia and Israel, with a full lockdown, that had the strictest measures. The mildest, in comparison with the other five countries we examined, was the U.S.," says Dr. Pfuhl.

Most people coped well

So how did ordinary people cope with the situation that arose in March?

"Most people coped well. Older people better than younger people. And in Norway better than other countries," says Gerit Pfuhl.

"Among the countries we compared, Norway did very well in many areas. We had little problems with mental health, and we had confidence in that our own actions and the actions of the authorities were effective," says Martin Mkel who is a psychology student that has worked in the project.

He says that a large proportion of Norwegians expressed that they were satisfied with how the authorities handled the situation.

"There were very few in Norway who were very scared. But we should not ignore those few, says the Dr. Pfuhl. Some people wrote to us by email, or used an open response field in the survey to express their anxiety. Among other things, some were afraid that their partner would die of COVID-19 due to for instance heart disease," says Pfuhl.

She thinks it agrees well with what other researchers have found out, i.e. that a few are very scared but most coped quite well with the situation.

Trust in society is good for health

"The vast majority reported that they believed that infection control measures were effective," says Mkel.

"It's nice to see that we adapt. This means that despite the fact that the closure of society has changed the way of life, most people stayed calm and collected, and especially those who believe that their country will succeed in fighting the outbreak."

In other words, the more trust you have in society, the government, fellow citizens, and your own self-efficacy, the better it is for your own mental health.

"More than 90 percent of the population, perform infection-reducing actions, and most have self-efficacy," says Pfuhl.

When asked which restrictions are the most effective and which affect mental health the least, Pfuhl answers:

"Measures that prevent physical gatherings of people indoors are very effective. That is, fewer meetings or digital meetingsbecause this only creates physical distance but not social distance."

Important to communicate well

If we experienced the start of the pandemic again, and if you were part of the Norwegian government, would you do something different?

"It is hard to say. On the one hand, Norway reacted late, as did the whole of Europe," Pfuhl believes. "On the other hand, Norway was quite good at communicating about the pandemic. The authorities were honest about the uncertainty about how serious it was. The government communicated well, but it could always have been better, given that the number of deaths is in itself not very informative."

She believes one must look relatively at such figures.

"That is, how many of those who tested positive died, and whether they died with or because of coronavirus. This can reduce the fear that it is a very serious, deadly disease," the researcher concludes.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: Martin Jensen Mkel et al, Perceived efficacy of COVID-19 restrictions, reactions and their impact on mental health during the early phase of the outbreak in six countries, Royal Society Open Science (2020). Journal information: Royal Society Open Science Martin Jensen Mkel et al, Perceived efficacy of COVID-19 restrictions, reactions and their impact on mental health during the early phase of the outbreak in six countries,(2020). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.200644

Provided by UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Katherine Ryan marked one year since her civil partnership to her high school sweetheart Bobby Kootstra with a series of snaps on Instagram.

On Monday, the funnywoman, 37, gushed over her handsome partner while also poking fun at the 20 year gap in their romance, after first dating as teens.

Alongside a school throwback and a romantic shot from last year, she added a caption on the snap reading: 'I dont advocate getting married to anyone unless its @bobby_k__ Happy Anniversary to my one true love. #wewereonabreak'.

Sweet! Katherine Ryan marked her one year anniversary to her high school sweetheart Bobby Kootstra with a series of snaps on Instagram on Monday

Katherine proved herself to be ageless in the incredible throwback showing the duo at what appeared to be a school dance and then later at their civil ceremony.

She also added a sexy snap as she posed in swimwear with an eye-popping peek of sideboob on show as she gazed at the camera.

Earlier this year, loved-up Katherine discussed her low-key civil partnership ceremony to Bobby.

The star said: 'I decided to get married basically because I got together with my high school boyfriend. His name is Bobby and we were together when I was 15 or 16 and then we got back together 20 years later. Isn't that pathetic??'

Stunner: The funnywoman, 37, gushed over her handsome husband while also poking fun at the 20 year gap in their romance, after first dating as teens

The pair were struck once again by Cupid's arrow when they met by chance in Katherine's local pub.

The stunning blonde explained that 20 years on, they had both matured and quipped that her civil partner's previous divorce had acted as a mellowing effect.

Katherine said: 'Bobby had a life of 20 years while I wasn't with him, he's divorced. I love divorced men, it really humbles them.

My man: Earlier this year, loved-up Katherine discussed her low-key civil partnership ceremony to Bobby (pictured in September last year)

'He used to be c***y, he had some growing up to do and now I like him a lot more. He is very different from high school. He has this cool calm energy.'

In her trademark self-deprecating style, Katherine joked that she looks unrecognisable from her 15-year-old self and is unsure if Bobby has realised they used to date.

She said: 'It's very different. Literally speaking, a lot of my face is different. I don't even know if he knows I'm his high school girlfriend.'
But Alpha fits with the rest of this season in another way. About half of the storms this busy hurricane season have only lasted a few days and have been quite weak, McNoldy said. Vicky for example popped up quickly and soon dissipated without much notice. And with 22 storms only two of them  Laura and Teddy, which is still swirling  reached major hurricane status, which is also kind of unusual, McNoldy said.
A former research and development director has been arrested after allegedly making seven hoax 'swatting' calls to the police.

Vadim Pinskiy, 35, made up a number of domestic disturbances and violent incidents which never occurred, New Jersey Police say.

Swatting, a form of retaliation where people make false reports to get police, often SWAT teams, to descend on a particular address, has become a growing problem.

Vadim Pinskiy (pictured), 35, made up a number of domestic disturbances and violent incidents which never occurred, New Jersey Police say

Lawmakers say internet and gaming culture has increased the number of swatting calls in recent years.

Pinskiy, originally from Uzbekistan, started the hoax calls in June using an anonymous tip-off service, cops say.

Over the following months, officers said, six more calls were made about violent disturbances at the same address, none of which turned out to be true.

Police said they traced the IP address making the bogus claims and tracked down Pinskiy.

They found he knew the people at the home he was regularly reporting to police but did not say how.

They arrested Pinskiy at his Promenade Boulevard home last week during a court-warranted search.

Swatting has become a growing problem, with people deliberately sending officers to addresses where no crime has been committed (file image)

He was charged with seven counts of making false reports and harassment, as well as a count of stalking.

Ramsey police sent him to Bergen County Jail after his arrest on Wednesday but he was ordered to be released by a judge the following day.

Under new laws passed in 2015, making false reports can be punished with a prison sentenced of five to 10 years and a fine of up to $150,000.

Under a tougher law passed in 2015, swatting in New Jersey is punishable by five to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000.
Partial lockdowns which discourage eating out and a return by workers to the office could shrink the economy by up to 5 per cent, a think-tank warned yesterday.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research calculated the bill for major restrictions covering sectors such as hospitality at up to 250million a day.

This would mean that national output would shrink by between 3 per cent and 5 per cent over the last three months of 2020 compared to between July and September.

The 250million bill would be a tenth of the impact of full lockdown at its peak in April.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research warned partial lockdowns discouraging eating out (above, The Old Stables Restaurant in Liverpool) could shrink economy by up to 5%

The Centre for Economics and Business Research warned that the UK could suffer if partial lockdowns lead to the public losing faith in the Government's handling of the Covid crisis

But the CEBR has cautioned that the UK could suffer even more if partial lockdowns cause the public to lose faith in the Government's handling of the pandemic.

Douglas McWilliams, of the CEBR, said: 'The bigger cost is the unmeasurable cost  many people feel that progress [so far] going into reverse would knock the stuffing out of consumer and business confidence.

'Whereas the first lockdown was bearable on the assumption that it was temporary, a second lockdown will make many people lose confidence in a recovery in the foreseeable future.'

He added that the end of the furlough scheme  which sees the Government pay part of workers' salaries  on October 31 could also prompt swathes of job losses as 'tens of thousands of businesses are hanging on by a thread and likely to run out of cash'.

He insisted: 'Many people are being kept on not because of their current productivity but so that they will be available when business picks up.

'If people start to lose hope in the economy recovering in the foreseeable future, the knock-on effect could well be a multiple of anything that could emerge from an economics calculation.'

Yesterday, it was reported 1,000 of leisure group Butlin's (above, company safety video) 6,000 staff were at risk of losing their jobs, but bosses stressed a decision has not yet been made

It comes amid a growing backlash at suggestions the Government will impose a 10pm curfew on the hospitality sector to curb the rising Covid-19 infection rate.

... while UK 'takes 11bn hit' from slump in US air travel The lack of a quarantine-free travel corridor to the US will cost the UK economy 11billion this year, a report reveals today. Aviation bosses say the failure to reopen trans-Atlantic routes is having a devastating impact, with the hit to UK PLC at 32million a day. It is also set to cost 45.8billion in lost trade with the US, according to the research by Airlines UK, British Airways owner IAG and aviation services firm Collinson. Almost 20 per cent of British exports go to the US and in 2018 these were worth 121billion. There are normally four million US visitors every year. They spent a total of 3.8billion during 2019 but that is expected to fall by 3.1billion by the end of the year, the report said. London to New York is the world's most profitable air link and a vital route for BA and Virgin Atlantic. But the US is on the Government's 'red' list of countries from which arrivals must self-isolate for 14 days. Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye said: 'This is a stark warning that action is needed immediately to safely open up connections with our key trading partners in the US.' Advertisement

Stephen Sullivan, of Ziggy's bar in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, where a new local lockdown has been introduced, said imposing a 10pm curfew has already had a dramatic impact on his customers, who normally arrive between 10pm and 2am.

He told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend the current situation was 'incredibly difficult', adding: 'We are somewhere between 60 and 70 per cent down on previous weekends. One of my friends had 5 per cent of their normal custom and they've taken the decision already to close and remain closed until such time we are back to normal.'

Asked about what would happen if there was a national lockdown, he said: 'Without financial help, it would be impossible. It would be the end of the road for me.'

There are growing fears of a jobs bloodbath when the furlough scheme ends.

Yesterday, it was reported 1,000 of leisure group Butlin's 6,000 staff were at risk of losing their jobs, but bosses stressed a decision has not yet been made.

Meanwhile, figures collected by think-tank Centre for Cities showed that local lockdowns put the brake on recoveries.

Economists told The Sunday Telegraph that there was now a 'significant risk' of a W-shaped recovery  or double-dip recession.

It came after analysis indicated economic activity in certain cities was dampened by new restrictions to tackle outbreaks.

In some areas, the reimposing of restrictions has stalled or even reversed many recoveries as more companies roll back reopenings.

In Manchester, footfall of shoppers has stalled at half of pre-virus levels in the last month.

The coronavirus restrictions in Leicester caused spending to drop back down to a fifth of normal levels after a brief recovery in the weeks following the end of national lockdown.

In Aberdeen, the bounce-back in footfall faltered after new measures were introduced. The figures there fell from 75 per cent of normal levels to below 50 per cent.

By Eleanor Hayward Health Reporter for the Daily Mail

Experts say the current daily coronavirus death toll is not grounds for a new national lockdown.

The number of deaths from the virus each day remains very far below the peak in April  and also much lower than fatalities from other causes.

Over the last seven days, there have been an average of 21 coronavirus deaths per day.

The current daily coronavirus death toll is on a par with suicide  which claims an average of 18 lives a day, figures from Cancer Research UK and the Office for National Statistics show

This compares to figures above 1,000 on certain days in April when the infection was at its peak in Britain.

And official figures show that Covid-19 is responsible for a tiny fraction of the daily deaths in Britain.

Last year, there were approximately an average of 450 deaths a day from cancer, 214 from dementia and 174 from heart disease.

These figures, from Cancer Research UK and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), would be broadly similar at present.

The current daily coronavirus death toll is more on a par with suicide  which claims an average of 18 lives a day, ONS data shows.

And despite new restrictions being imposed by ministers in various parts of Britain, the country's official coronavirus 'alert level' has not changed since June.

On June 19, the level was downgraded from four to three  on a five-level scale  so restrictions could be 'gradually relaxed'.

Yesterday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the country was still at level 3 which means transmission of Covid-19 was not deemed 'high or rising exponentially'.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the country was still at level 3 but added new restrictions are being brought in because the 'number of cases is shooting up'

But he added: 'We're bringing in new restrictions because the number of cases is shooting up.'

And a leading health expert said it was 'too early' for a second lockdown.

Professor Carl Heneghan, director of Oxford University's centre for evidence-based medicine, said the country 'can't afford to go now with harsh measures'.

He told Sky News that Covid-19 was operating in a seasonal way similar to other respiratory infections, saying: 'If we go now it's too early. As it gets colder, as we're inside more, there will be more coughs and colds.

'If you're looking at a break and when we need it, we need it in the mid-winter when we might run into problems.

'There's no evidence right now of what's called a second wave.'
Moscow: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny demanded on Monday, local time, that Russia return the clothes he was wearing on the day he fell into a coma in Siberia, calling it a crucial piece of evidence in the nerve agent poisoning he is being treated for at a German hospital.

In a blog post Monday, Navalny said the Novichok nerve agent was found in and on his body, and said the clothes taken off him when he was hospitalised in Siberia a month ago after collapsing on a Russian flight are very important material evidence.

Alexei Navalny, pictured last year, has been brought out of a medically induced coma. Credit:AP

I demand that my clothes be carefully packed in a plastic bag and returned to me, the 44-year-old politician and corruption investigator wrote.

Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critic, fell ill on a domestic flight to Moscow on August 20, was brought to a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk and was transferred to Germany for treatment two days later. A German military lab later determined that the Russian politician was poisoned with Novichok, the same class of Soviet-era nerve agent that Britain said was used in 2018 on a former Russian spy and his daughter in England.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-21 22:49:18|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Russia plans to correct the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 7 to create "ballistic conditions" for the arrival of a manned spacecraft, Russian state space corporation Roscosmos said Monday.

The engines of Russia's Progress MS-14 cargo ship docked to the ISS will be switched on at 1:29 p.m. Moscow time (1029 GMT) that day and will operate for 103.5 seconds, Roscosmos said in a press release.

After the correction, the average altitude of the ISS's orbit will increase by 400 meters to about 419.8 km above the Earth, it said.

Russia plans to launch its Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft on Oct. 14 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, aiming to send one American and two Russian astronauts to the ISS. Enditem
A dad of five girls sliced open his pregnant wifes stomach hoping to confirm she was having a boy, it has been reported.

Identified only as Pannalal, the man was arrested following the alleged attack which left his victim with serious injuries, according to a senior police official.

An investigation into the incident on Saturday in Nekpur village, in the Indian northern state of Uttar Pradesh, is continuing, Superintendent Pravin Singh Chauhan told local media.

Police are said to be still determining the motivation behind the crime and it is currently unclear what was used to cut open the victim.

The expectant mums parents claimed the man carried out the bloody attack because he was desperate for a boy, having already fathered multiple girls.

The woman, aged 35, is understood to have been seven months pregnant and remains in a Bareilly Hospital in a critical condition.

Family and neighbours are understood to have taken the woman to a district hospital before she was transferred.

The condition of the baby is currently unclear.

The alleged incident reflects a continuing stigma towards baby girls in certain sections of India.

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With COVID-19 cases now appearing in local schools, the public health departments pandemic hotline is being overwhelmed with parents concerned about the safety of their children.

Wait times to reach someone from the health department are growing because people are overwhelming calling in first thing in the morning, says Niagaras acting medical officer of health.

Dr. Mustafa Hirji reminded parents Monday that the COVID-19 hotline is open from 9:15 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. during the week.

What is happening is that the phone lines are being jammed at (9:15) a.m., he said.

He also said the health department is receiving a crush of calls from parents from the two schools where COVID-19 cases have been confirmed  Mary Ward Catholic School in Niagara Falls and Eastdale Secondary School in Welland  wanting to know if their children are impacted.

Hirji said the public health department is directly reaching out to all parents of children who may have been exposed to the virus in a school.

We contact those parents right away, Hirji said. So if you havent heard from us, it means you dont have to worry.

NOTE TO READERS: This story has been updated to include the correct time the hotline is open Monday to Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor on Monday to explain why hell hold a vote on Donald Trumps pending nomination to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, even though he opposed voting on Barack Obamas nomination to the court in similar circumstances in 2016.

Mr McConnell differentiated Mr Obamas 2016 selection of DC Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland to replace Justice Antonin Scalia from Mr Trumps 2020 pick by saying there was divided government in 2016, whereas Republicans control both the Senate and the White House now.

Mr Obama was asking for "an unusual favor" for an opposite party-controlled Senate to confirm his Supreme Court pick in an election year, Mr McConnell said on Monday.

The Kentucky Republican, who is also up for re-election this November, vowed to hold a vote on Mr Trumps nomination before the end of the year.

President Trump's nominee for the vacancy will receive a vote on the floor of the Senate, he said.

"The Senate has more than sufficient time to process the nomination" before the 3 November elections, Mr McConnell said, although he did not commit to holding a vote before then.

The Senate could also vote on Mr Trumps nominee in the lame-duck session after the election.

Mr McConnell and other Senate Republicans frequently cited comments from 1992 from then-Democratic Senator Joe Biden of Delaware arguing that election years were no time for filling Supreme Court vacancies.

Once the political season is under way  action on a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over, Mr Biden said at the time, a remark that Republicans in 2016 came to call the Biden rule.

There was no vacancy at the time Mr Biden, who is now the Democratic presidential nominee for 2020, delivered those remarks.

After eulogising Justice Ginsburgs progressive legacy, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer harangued Mr McConnell for the Senate GOPs hypocrisy moving forward with a vote on Mr Trumps imminent Supreme Court nomination.

The New York Democrat highlighted news reports that it was Justice Ginsburgs dying wish, most fervent wish that president and Senate wait to fill her seat until after the new Congress  and potentially a new president  is seated next January.

The Senate Republican majority should have no problem adhering to Justice Ginsburg's dying wish. Leader McConnell held the seat Supreme Court vacancy open for nearly a year in order to, quote, give the people a voice in selecting a Supreme Court justice, Mr Schumer said, referencing Mr McConnells own words about waiting for a mandate on which party should fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Mr Scalia in 2016.

Justice Ginsburgs body will lie in repose at the US Supreme Court building on Wednesday and Thursday following her death on 18 September after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer. Justice Ginsburg's body will also lie in state in National Statuary Hall at the US Capitol on Friday.

A private interment at Arlington National Cemetery is scheduled for next week.

Black drapes are hanging above the court doors to mark the court's mourning, a tradition in place since 1873.

Justice Ginsburg took her judicial oath as an associate justice at the Supreme Court in 1993, following her nomination to the court by then-president Bill Clinton. She was the second woman, after Sandra Day O'Connor, and among only four women to serve as a justice on the high court.

She was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999 and survived several bouts with cancer over the decades that followed. She began receiving another round of cancer treatments in May 2020. She died on Friday at age 87.

Alex Woodward contributed to this report.
A pair of $22 Kmart trousers are flying out of stock after being worn by one of Australia's top stylists - and they look almost identical to a designer pair more than 63 times the price.

Canberra fashion blogger 'This is Genevieve' sparked the rush by sharing a series of outfit photos on Instagram featuring the discount store's beige coloured 'Tapered Leg Pants'.

The pants - which come in beige and black and are available in sizes six to 20 - sit high on the waist and hang loose in a flattering cut that can be cuffed at the ankles, creating the illusion of longer legs.

They are remarkably similar to $1,390 high-waisted trousers from Bottega Veneta, an Italian fashion house known for luxury leathers and tailoring.

Scroll down for video

Canberra fashion blogger This is Genevieve (pictured) wears the $22 'Tapered Leg Pants' from Kmart

Spot the difference: Kmart's $22 Tapered Leg Pants (left) bear striking similarity to a pair of $1,390 high-waisted tailored trousers from luxury fashion house, Bottega Veneta (right)

Both styles fasten at the waist with a hook and eye detail and have large belt loops, big enough to slide even the thickest accessories through.

Genevieve's followers couldn't believe the pants had come from the famously affordable retailer, with many noting the likeness to expensive pieces from designer labels.

Similar styles cost $109 from streetwear brand Stussy, $79 from Dickies and $99 from Australian e-commerce label Lioness.

'No WAY these are Kmart - I want!' one woman replied.

Another said the post had inspired her to buy beige trousers for the first time in years after almost a decade of shunning them for black.

Other gushing responses included 'wow, these are gorgeous', 'amazing!' and 'love'.

And it's not the first pair of low-priced Kmart trousers that have captured the imagination of Australian fashionistas this month.

The pants (pictured) sit high on the waist and hang loose in a flattering cut that can be cuffed at the ankles, creating the illusion of longer legs

Other similar styles include these $79 cargo pants from streetwear brand, Dickies

Sydney fashion blogger Angel Perez, who posts on Instagram as 'Styling Mum and Bub', caught followers' attention in early September when she shared a series of outfit photos in the retailer's cream 'Pleated Jeans'.

They are remarkably similar to $295 palazzo pants from Australian designer label Aje, which is headquartered in Sydney's Paddington.

Both trousers have deep double-front pockets, flared hems and thick waistbands that sit high above the hips in a flattering style that conceals the tricky-to-tone expanse of the lower stomach.

The biggest difference is that Aje's are almost 12 times the price.

Luxe for less: Sydney fashion blogger Angel Perez wears the $25 'Pleated Jeans' from Kmart, which look considerably more expensive than their bargain price tag

Aje's $295 palazzo pants (pictured) have the same front pockets, flared hems and thick waist band as Kmart's $25 pleated jeans

Women have been racing to Kmart to buy the 'perfectly elegant' discount dupe which looks considerably more expensive than its bargain tag.

Comments on stylist Angel Perez's Instagram reveal just how taken people are with the design, with responses including 'so elegant', 'love this look' and 'beautiful pants'.

'I love how high-waisted those trousers are!' one woman replied.

Another said she'd been inspired to buy them after seeing how flattering and well tailored they appeared on Ms Perez.
At least 57 members of the Afghan security forces and 80 Taliban fighters reportedly killed across Afghanistan.

At least 57 members of the Afghan security forces were killed and dozens injured in overnight clashes with Taliban fighters across Afghanistan in the bloodiest day of fighting since the government and the armed group began peace talks in Qatar more than a week ago.

Sunday nights clashes were in the central province of Uruzgan, where 24 members of the Afghan security forces were killed when Taliban fighters attacked security checkpoints, Deputy Governor of the province Sayed Mohammad Sadat said.

Clashes and casualties were also reported in the provinces of Baghlan, Takhar, Helmand, Kapisa, Balkh, Maidan Wardak and Kunduz, provincial officials told Reuters news agency.

200229142658305

In Balkh, the Taliban took hostage three members of Afghanistans spy organisation, according to Monir Ahmad Farhad, spokesman for Balkh provincial governor.

The Taliban did not confirm casualties on its side, but according to a spokesman for the Pamir military corps, 54 fighters were killed in clashes in Kunduz, Takhar and Baghlan provinces.

A spokesman for the provincial government of Maidan Wardak, Muhibullah Sharifzai, said 26 Taliban fighters were killed in clashes there.

Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said Taliban attacks had killed 98 civilians and injured 230 others in the last two weeks across 24 provinces.

At least 12 civilians were killed on Saturday in air raids on a Taliban base in the northeastern province of Kunduz.

Defence ministry officials said 40 Taliban fighters were killed, but they did not confirm the number of civilian casualties.

Negotiating teams representing the Taliban and the Afghan government have been meeting in the Qatari capital Doha since talks started on September 12, but little headway has been made, particularly on a ceasefire.

The almost daily meetings in Doha have been unable to make it past debating rules and regulations of the process, and the sides remain far apart on most matters.
Madam Enyonam Afi Amafuga, Volta Regional Director of Education, has stressed the need for adolescents to be provided with the rightful information to guide and empower them through life successfully.



Our adolescent children need accurate information in this fast-paced 21st Century to be able to navigate life successfully. We owe it a duty to provide them not only these information, but equip them with knowledge and skills that position them to make the most of the adolescent stage, she stated.



Madam Amafuga who was speaking at a four-day Mentorship and Empowerment Camp for 120 adolescent girls and boys in Ho, said the adolescent stage was a unique one that came with both opportunities and challenges.



The Director said it was therefore necessary for adolescents to use the period to explore the world around them to acquire requisite knowledge and skills and build their capacity to enhance their self-worth.



She urged them not to sit idle, but rather engage themselves in activities that would offer them the needed space within which they could discover and nurture their God- given talents they embodied to make a meaningful progress in life.



Ms Lena Alai, Volta Regional Director, Department of Gender, said adolescents engaging in early sex and marriage gave rise to gender based violence and abuse as most of them were not mentally developed to face marital challenges.



She said most of them lacked the knowledge and skills to negotiate for safe sex from their partners, thereby becoming victims of unsafe relationships, and therefore urged them to desist from early sex and marriages.



Ms Alai said previous Empowerment Camps were helpful to the beneficiaries as most of them became assertive and willing to take up leadership roles to support the development of their communities, and expressed hope that this year's one would provide the participants greater opportunities.



The participants were selected from Afadjato South, South Dayi, North Dayi and Central Tongu Districts of the Volta region.



The programme was organised by the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) and the Department of Gender with sponsorship from the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) and the Canadian government on the theme: Adolescent lives matter.

Source: GNA









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~ Begonia investigation to take another stage, Case postponed to October 6th.~

PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Christopher Emmanuel is due to appear in court on Tuesday as the Prosecutors Office seeks permission from the appeals court to prosecute the re-elected Member of Parliament.

Emmanuel is a suspect in the Begonia investigation. The former Minister of VROMI was arrested on October 22nd, 2019 when his name was submitted for screening since he was a candidate Minister for the Jacobs 1 interim government. Due to the arrest, Emmanuel could not be appointed Minister. On the same day, Emmanuels former chief of cabinet Marissa Richardson was also arrested, both Emmanuel and his former chief of the cabinet were released on October 25th, 2019.

Since then, Emmanuel ran on the National Alliance slate as their number 2 candidate who secured the second-highest amount of votes but fell out with his party during the National Alliance and United Peoples Party government formation.

Even though Emmanuel does not support the current coalition government he did not resign from the National Alliance.

Also slated to appear in court next week Tuesday is Member of Parliament Claudius Buncamper who is a suspect in the Landfill investigation that is undertaken by the TBO. MP Buncamper is accused of taking bribes as he was in charge of managing the Landfill while being the head of the Maintenance department in the Ministry of VROMI.

UPDATED: The case regarding MP Emmanuel was removed from the role for this morning. The spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office has confirmed that the case will be heard on October 6th 2020. No details as to why the case has been postponed for the 3rd time.
Jeremy Strong, who recently won an Emmy for his performance in HBOs Succession Season 2, plays the hero of his own ultimate rich-boy sob-story, Kendall Roy. While Strong is rumored to be rather method in his acting, the Succession cast member didnt grow up quite like his on-screen character.

Succession actor Jeremy Strong just won an Emmy for playing the character Kendall Roy in the HBO show

Jeremy Strong on Succession | Graeme Hunter/HBO

In a recent conversation with the publication The Wrap, Strong discussed his background  leading up to his 2020 Emmy nomination for Succession.

Seven other members of the Succession cast were nominated in supporting and guest categories, The Wrap reported.

However, the characters represented in the series are completely foreign to Strong. The Roy family who seem transparently like a riff on the Murdoch family, are strangers to him, the magazine continued. The Succession cast member grew up in Boston in a middle-class family.

 his father worked in juvenile justice, his mother was a hospice nurse, The Wrap confirmed. Going to public school gave him little context for the Roys lavish lifestyle.

How does Strong translate his middle-class upbringing into playing one of the most powerful and wealthy characters in TV history? According to the actor, he treated the gargantuan yacht from Succession Season 2 like the Toyota Cressida [he] had in high school.

However, Strong entered a slightly more elite crowd when he went to college.

He went to Yale, with its legendary theater program, though his degree is in English literature, The Wrap continued. From there, Strong debuted on Broadway in 2008, winning acclaim for his performances there and off Broadway, including in A Man for All Seasons.

How did Strong get cast on the HBO series?

While Strong is certainly not the heir to a media conglomerate, he has made his way in Hollywood, appearing in some of the most critically-respected films of the recent past.

Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong on Succession Season 2 | Zach Dilgard/HBO

RELATED: Succession: Brian Cox Reveals What Logan Roy Was Really Thinking in That Shocking Season Finale

Apparently, the actor first came to public attention in Kathryn Bigelows 2012 Oscar winner Zero Dark Thirty. He only kept moving on up from there, as the publication reported:

In three years, Strong appeared in four Best Picture nominees: Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty in 2012, Selma in 2014, and The Big Short in 2015. It was that last film, directed by Adam McKay, in which Short played real-life stock analyst Vinny Daniel, that led to him being cast in Succession, on which McKay is an executive producer.

He was McKays idea, the creator of HBOs Succession, Jesse Armstrong, told The Wrap. As soon as the creative team saw Strong, he was a shoo-in.

Hes pretty armor-plated, faultless, Armstrong explained. You have the feeling you can throw anything at him. Theres no gaps in his armor he is the character. Hes pretty extraordinary.

For his part, the Succession star chalks a lot of his acting up to the words hes performing.

Theres something about his writing that reaches into the base of my spine, Strong said of Armstrong. It kind of activates everything it needs to without my having to do very much.
Ottawa, ON, Sept. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An immediate and significant opportunity exists for the federal government to stimulate the economy, rapidly adopt technology solutions that are urgently needed, ensure the recovery of Canadas technology sector, and create a new normal of nimble, agile government procurement integrating cutting-edge innovations into public service delivery, while fueling economic growth.

As Governor General Julie Payette delivers the Governments intentions for this parliamentary session in Wednesdays Speech from the Throne, TECHNATION urges the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to adopt the following recommendations.

Investment in Canadas Tech sector is vital for our nations economic recovery

Canadas digital economy generates over 1 million jobs, contributes over $120 billion annually to GDP, invests $7.5 billion annually in R&D, and has taken over as the biggest sector driving Canadian economic growth. Its the leading creator of high-quality, well-paying middle-class jobs, driving year-over-year job gains and wage growth, outpacing other segments of the private sector.

Yet the tech industry, and in particular Canadians small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has suffered significant demand and cash flow challenges resulting from the COVID-19 economic slowdown. Many Canadian technology SMEs, along with their innovative goods and services, are at risk of at best, being swallowed up by multinationals, or at worst, closing their doors entirely. These companies represent quality, high paying jobs in a top growth sector that impacts not only world-leading tech hubs in the Greater Toronto Area, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, but cities in every corner across Canada.

TECHNATION urges the Government of Canada to include, in its Speech from the Throne, a clear indication that an investment in Canadas technology sector, and especially its SMEs will be made as it charts the road to recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

Government must leverage its purchasing power to drive Canadas economic recovery

Procurement is one of the biggest and most underrated economic levers of government  the largest purchaser of good and services in Canada. Federal purchasing was estimated at $23 billion in 2017  making the federal government a powerful buyer with the ability to shift markets, and launch, grow, or salvage businesses.

Yet, Canadas most promising technology scale-ups and growth companies do not bid for the more than $6.8 billion spent annually on technology projects, because processes are too long, costly, complex, and onerous for their business. This is a long-standing and widely acknowledged limitation for Canadas technology sector, with many opting instead to do business outside our border.

TECHNATION has presented its Innovation Adoption Program (IAP), which addresses this challenge, to Ministers of the Crown and opposition parties over the past few months.

Our industry strongly urges the Government to signal, in its Speech from the Throne, that it plans to adopt the Program and invest in technology procurement as an economic tool.

Canadas digital infrastructure must be a top priority

Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need for greater investment in our digital infrastructure and demonstrated that government can move quickly to provide solutions to citizens. The valiant work of public servants to implement and deliver on major social programs must be commended. Yet, Canadians expect government to harness the innovative technologies that are already available in the market to offer better services, reduce its environmental impact, allow the public sector to work remotely, and to drive better value for taxpayer dollars.

It is estimated that every one per cent increase in digital adoption, could have a direct $2.5 billion impact on the economy. Investing in digital adoption in government is sound fiscal and economic policy that will drive improved social programs in an environmentally sustainable fashion and support a remote workforce that must deliver these programs.

TECHNATION urges the Government of Canada to signal its intention to make Canadas digital infrastructure a top priority by investing in digital adoption in its Speech from the Throne.

Government intervention in tech policy must be done via a multilateral approach

To maintain citizens trust, government and industry must work together to draft updated technology policy that is fair and efficient in Canadas national interest. Our industry supports efforts to design multinational solutions to tech policy, which will result in far more constructive outcomes for the Canadian technology ecosystem and our digital economy. This includes collaboration between government and industry to deliver broadband and wireless to rural and remote Canadians. Also, the Government of Canada must deliver on an updated privacy policy to ensure Canadian citizens and industry remain confident of rules in place that are consistent nationally and adhere to international norms.

TECHNATION and its members  leaders in Canadas technology sector  welcome the opportunity to work directly with the Government of Canada to ensure Canadians can continue to trust in their ability to use technologies safely, securely, and consistently from one region of the country to another. This can be achieved by having the Government of Canada signal that it will take a multilateral approach to technology public policy through its Speech from the Throne.

QUOTES

This is a time for action. This is a time for bold public sector policy to stimulate the economy and a legacy of COVID-19 stimulus spending that will result in advancing Canadas digital economy, TECHNATION President and CEO, Angela Mondou.

There is an immediate and significant opportunity for the federal government to stimulate the economy and drive the recovery of Canadas high-growth high-employment technology sector, with the adoption of technology solutions that are urgently needed. Adopting agile and more accessible government procurement as the new normal, will result in cutting-edge innovation in public service delivery and improved service delivery to Canadians, while fueling economic growth. A win-win for Canada! TECHNATION President and CEO, Angela Mondou.

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ABOUT TECHNATION

TECHNATION is the industry-government nexus for technology prosperity in Canada. As a member-driven, not-for-profit, TECHNATION unites Canadas technology sector, governments, and communities to enable technology prosperity from coast to coast. TECHNATION champions technology prosperity by providing advocacy, professional development and networking opportunities across industry and governments at all levels; connecting Canadian scale-ups with global tech leaders; engaging the global supply chain; and filling the technology talent pipeline. TECHNATION has served as the authoritative national voice of the $210 billion ICT industry for over 60 years. More than 43,200 Canadian ICT firms create and supply goods and services that contribute to a more productive, competitive, and innovative society. The ICT sector generates more than 666,500 jobs and invests $7.5 billion annually in R&D, more than any other private sector performer, TECHNATION was formerly the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC). www.technationcanada.ca
By PTI

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Congress held protests across the state on Monday against Parliament's nod to the contentious farm bills, which the party described as "black laws".

State Congress chief Kumari Selja led the protest in Jind, while former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda addressed the protesters in Sonipat.

Senior leaders Ajay Singh Yadav and Kuldeep Bishnoi joined the protest in Rewari and Hisar districts, respectively.

Congress workers raised slogans against the BJP-led central government for bringing the 'anti-farmers" bills and claimed that the BJP-JJP government in Haryana was silent and not raising voice for farmers.

Congress workers, who staged a protest at the district headquarters here, submitted a memorandum addressed to the President through deputy commissioners.

Hooda said the Congress has sought a special session of the Haryana Assembly to discuss the "impact and ramifications; of the farm bills."

He said the party will also move a resolution against these bills.

Congress MLA Varun Chaudhary, who sat on a protest in Ambala City, termed the bills a move to ruin the lives of farmers, who are already facing hardships.

Through the memorandum, he said, the party sought the President's intervention in the matter and asked him not to sign the bills.

The Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were passed by the Rajya Sabha on Sunday with a voice vote, amid unprecedented unruly scenes by protesting opposition members demanding that the proposed legislations be referred to a House panel for greater scrutiny.

The two bills have already been passed by the Lok Sabha and will now go to the president for his assent before they are notified as laws.

Addressing the protesters in Jind, the party's state unit chief said the 'anti-farmer' move of the Union government will 'destroy the peasants'.

"BJP is pro-capitalists, it does not understand the pain of the poor and the farmers. They hurriedly pushed through these bills. They even did not care to listen to the suggestion of the opposition members that bills should be referred to the select committee, which could have then taken a view of farmers, farm-labourers, Arhitiyas (commission agents)," Selja said.

Hitting out at the BJP, Selja said "they accuse the Congress and opposition parties of misleading the farmers whereas the entire country can see the pain of farmers".

"When Congress-led UPA was in power, we used to listen to the voice of farmers, we understood their pain. For us, the rights of farmers, poor, weaker section were above all. But now, interests of only big corporates are being watched," she charged while addressing the gathering in Jind.

She alleged that under the present system, "big companies will exploit the farmers. Also, in case of any dispute, can ordinary farmers take on big corporates, how will a small farmer fight the legal battle?".

Selja said the Congress-led government in neighbouring Punjab raised its voice against these bills but the BJP-JJP coalition in Haryana is silent.

"The state government has adopted silence. They are not raising voice in favour of farmers," she said.

Referring to 'lathi-charge' on farmers during a protest against the farm ordinances in Kurukshetra's Pipli on September 10, Selja said, "The ruling dispensation can book the farmers for attempt to murder, lathicharge them but it cannot raise the peasants' voice before the prime minister."

"Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar should have raised the voice of farmers before the prime minister but he does not have the courage to do so. Deputy Chief Minister (Dushyant Chautala), who used to do politics in farmers' name, too is not raising voice because hanging on to power is more dear to him now," she alleged.

Selja also accused the BJP of neglecting Jind, which is considered as the political heartland of the state.

She said the Congress will raise voice in favour of farmers from streets to Parliament.

"These bills are completely against the farmers, labourers and Arhitiyas (Commission agents)," as per the party memorandum.
Where have all the killers gone? Short time ago, short time ago View(s):

A person who was sentenced to death by a Sri Lankan court was sworn in as a parliamentarian on Sept 8. A Member of Parliament is a legislator of the country. In such a circumstance it is ironical that a person who has been sentenced to death by the law of the land is represented in Parliament as a legislator of the country. This may be the first time in the history of the world that such a thing has happened. It is common knowledge that even the Attorney General expressed his contrary view in regard to this issue.

One would expect the people to ponder the adverse effects of this on law and order when such people have become lawmakers. This, though the worst of its kind, is not the first time the people have voted those tainted as killers, to govern the country.

Killing is not a disqualification for public office when it comes to legislators. Bribery and corruption are no less ineligible to hold such public office. Waste and defalcation all follow in its train. In fact many other forms of misdemeanour have been vindicated in the political life of many in Parliament.

It is idle to even think of persons with such disqualification holding public office in the Police, the Public Service, and the Judiciary. Even a questionable reputation of a remote distant relation of a candidate to public office was unacceptable to hold office. Promotions in public service depended much on the reputation of the aspirant, apart from efficiency. The reason is that their social background was important in law and in society. It is impossible to think of killers, bribe takers and wastrels in our public and police service, since they cannot discharge their functions with such a murky character background. Even the law and the courts and simple public opinion and social acceptance stand in the way of recruitment to public office.

But none of this is held against the public servant that the legislator is! In Parliament all is different. Questionable conduct is even a proud distinction; it is a qualification. This explains the reason why none of the Government MPs who would claim a clean sheet, stood up when dared to do so, and risk his/her conduct being exposed in Parliament. They just sat tight on their seats showing only a sheepish grin contemptuous of those who accused them.

Behind that silly grin was an explanation given in Parliament itself to clarify why the public HATE (the very word used in Parliament) the politicians. The reason given was that the public did not like politicians because politicians enjoy subsidised meals in Parliament, at a cost far less than the ordinary man spends in their canteens. Jealousy was the reason given. This reminds of the apple with which the snake tempted Eve, and Eve shared with Adam, with the same reasoning  jealousy. It is only in Parliament that such stupidity can be displayed.

The issue here is one of dignity. Dignity in public office is respected the world over, but blatantly not in our Parliament. The opinion of the Attorney General is simply the regard for dignity. But that regard is not held in all spheres.

In the run-up to the Presidential Election, many allegations were levelled against Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) about the white van-missing persons, about the killing of journalists Lasantha Wickrematunge, the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda, the attack on Poddala Jayantha and the Thajudeen murder. Constitutional lawyer and investigative journalist J.C. Weliamuna had a narrow shave when a bomb was hurled in to his house. He has found asylum in Australia. The vast majority, however, voted for GR.

In the parliamentary election that followed, the allegations were thrown against the Rajapaksas, and the people were warned of dire consequences. But the party led by them was voted in with a two-thirds majority, making them still more powerful.

The phenomenon that baffles the mind is not the fact that all kinds of questionable characters enter the legislature, but why people in such majorities vote for them over others who have unblemished records and are far more qualified to be legislators.

Yet, the answer is not far to find. The people know it is only such elements that have no respect for rules and regulations that would bulldoze their way to get things done.

The fault boils down to the system where money talks over everything else. It shows how deeply the influence of ill-gotten filthy lucre has eaten into our social fabric. Now the 20th Amendment to the Constitution is in the offing.

It is to give the President all the powers curtailed by the 19th Amendment, and his actions will not be justiciable! These powers include appointments to the judiciary. This has been described as a particularly virulent form of Presidential power.

(The writer is a Retired Senior Superintendent of Police. He can be contacted at seneviratnetz@gmail.com)
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. On the 29th anniversary of Armenias independence, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received congratulatory messages from heads of several foreign states and international organizations, the PMs Office told Armenpress.

***

On the occasion of the national holiday, Bulgarias Prime Minister Boyko Borisov sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which reads:

Excellency,

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and on my own behalf, I send you my most cordial congratulations and best wishes on the National Day of the Republic of Armenia - Independence Day.

Bulgaria appreciates the ongoing excellent dialogue and effective cooperation with Armenia in bilateral and multilateral formats which are underpinned by deep-rooted cultural affinities, centuries-old ties and common values.



We strongly support your country on its way to rapprochement with the European Union, as well as your governments reforms aimed at strengthening the principles of democracy and the rule of law.

Let me take this opportunity to express my satisfaction with our meeting at the Munich Security Conference in February this year. I hope that after the settlement of the global pandemic-related situation, you will have the opportunity to pay an official visit to Bulgaria, which will undoubtedly give an additional impetus to the development of multifaceted relations between our two countries.



Excellency, wishing you robust health and every success in your responsible activities, I ask you to accept the assurances of my highest consideration.

***

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the occasion of Independence Day. The message reads:

Dear Nikol Vovayevich,

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the national holiday of the Republic of Armenia - Independence Day.

The reforms carried out under your leadership provide a solid groundwork for Armenias further development and progress, as well as open up new opportunities for fruitful cooperation between our two countries.

I am convinced that our joint efforts will help strengthen the deep-rooted friendship and the ongoing mutually beneficial cooperation between Kazakhstan and Armenia in both bilateral format and in the frame of economic integration within the Eurasian space.

Dear Nikol Vovayevich, I wish you further success in your highly responsible state position, as well as progress and prosperity - to the friendly people of Armenia.

***

First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which reads:

Dear Nikol Vovayevich,

Please accept my sincere congratulations on the national holiday of the Republic of Armenia - Independence Day.

Your country strengthens its sovereignty, boasts sustained socio-economic development and builds up its international standing year by year. Taking the opportunity, I wish friendly Armenia dynamic development and prosperity in the future.

I am glad to see that the bilateral cooperation is developing on the basis of mutual understanding between Kazakhstan and Armenia. I am confident that it will go strengthening in the years to come.

Dear Nikol Vovayevich, I wish you good health and wellbeing, as well as peace and prosperity  to the people of Armenia.

***

Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli of the Arab Republic of Egypt said in his congratulatory message:

On behalf of the people and government of Egypt, and on my own behalf, I hereby offer my most sincere congratulations on the occasion of Armenias Independence Day.

I hope that the traditionally excellent relations between our countries will be developed and strengthened to the benefit of our two nations.

I avail myself of this opportunity to wish you further success in your activities, as well as progress and prosperity - to the people of Armenia.

Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

***

President Emomali Rahmon of the Republic of Tajikistan congratulated Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Armenias Independence Day. The congratulatory message reads:

Dear Nikol Vovayevich,

On the occasion of the national holiday of the Republic of Armenia - Independence Day - I convey my sincere congratulations and best wishes to you and to the friendly people of your country.

I hope that as underpinned by reciprocated trust and respect, the Tajik-Armenian interstate dialogue will continue to develop in all areas of mutual interest.

I wish you robust health, much happiness and every success, as well as peace, progress sand prosperity  to the friendly people of Armenia.

***

On the occasion of Armenias Independence Day, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received congratulations from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai. The message states:

I am honored to send your warmest congratulations and best wishes on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia.

I wish Your Excellency good health and happiness, as well as progress and prosperity  to the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the friendly Armenian people.

Please accept my sincere congratulations and the assurances of my highest consideration.

***

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Armenias Independence Day. The message says:

I am honored to send your warmest congratulations and best wishes on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia.

I wish Your Excellency robust health and much happiness, as well as progress and prosperity  to the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the friendly Armenian people.

Please accept my sincere congratulations and the assurances of my highest consideration.

***

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Iraq Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The message reads:

Dear Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia,

Dear Mr. Nikol Pashinyan,

On behalf of the people and the Government of the Republic of Iraq, we convey our warmest congratulations on the National Day of the Republic of Armenia. Taking this opportunity, I reaffirm our firm determination to develop multifaceted cooperation and friendly relations based on mutual benefit between our two friendly countries.

We wish you good health and happiness, as well as overall wellbeing and prosperity  to your country.

Please accept the assurances of our highest consideration.

***

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the occasion of Independence Day. The message says:

Dear Nikol Vovayevich,

On behalf of the people and the Government of Turkmenistan, and on my own behalf, I convey to you and to the friendly people of the Republic of Armenia my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes on your countrys Independence Day.

I am convinced that the high level of cooperation and mutual understanding between our friendly countries will serve as a solid basis for the furtherance and strengthening of Turkmenistan-Armenia bilateral relations to the benefit of our two nations.



Taking this opportunity, I sincerely wish you robust health and happiness, as well as peace, progress and prosperity  to the friendly people of Armenia.



***

Moldovan Prime Minister Ion Chicus Independence Day-dated congratulatory message reads:

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

Please accept warmest congratulations on Armenias Independence Day that I am extending on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Moldova and myself. On this significant day, I would like to wish the Armenian people peace, wellbeing and ever new achievements on the way to your countrys development and prosperity.

Pleased with the constructive dialogue established between Moldova and Armenia in the spheres of mutual interest, I reaffirm the readiness of the Government of the Republic of Moldova to carry on with the joint efforts and tap the full potential of the ongoing mutually beneficial cooperation to the best interest of our peoples and countries.

Taking this opportunity, I wish you robust health and every success in your responsible activities.

Please accept, Mr. Prime Minister, the assurances of my deepest respect.

***

President Joko Widodo of the Republic of Indonesia has sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the occasion of Armenias Independence Day. The message states, in part:

Your Excellency,

On the occasion of the 29th Anniversary of the Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia, on behalf of the Government and the People of the Republic of Indonesia, I wish to express to Your Excellency my sincere congratulations and best wishes to the Government and the People of the Republic of Armenia.

Nowadays, Indonesia and Armenia have maintained the bilateral relations in a very harmonious way based on mutual respect and trust. The two countries have promoted cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, social and cultural, science and technology, higher education, and people to people contact. The latest cooperation framework that we signed on June 2019 in Yerevan was on the science and technology park as well as technology business incubator.

In 2019, the Armenian Governments in cooperation with the Antara News Agency published a book Armenia, Land of Legends. I believe the publication will attract more attention from the Indonesian people to visit and to know more about Armenia. In this regard, let me emphasize the need to promote connectivity.

In the area of economic relations, our trade value is growing in a positive trend. For the past five years, the bilateral trade between our countries has recorded an increase by 1.37%. Nonetheless, there are still ample rooms for improvement during and post COVID-19 pandemic.

As we also commemorate our 28th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year, I am certain that the existing close ties of friendship and cooperation between two countries will continue to expand and enhance in the years ahead.

Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

***

CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas has sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the national holiday of the Republic of Armenia.

Dear Nikol Vovayevich,

Please accept the warmest and most sincere congratulations on Republic of Armenias Independence Day.

Under your leadership, the Government of the Republic of Armenia is making consistent efforts to further democratize political life in the country, consolidate the Armenian society, step up socio-economic development, as well as to enhance Armenias international standing. The broad popular backing of you efforts leaves no doubt that the aforementioned challenges will be successfully met.

Also, we highly appreciate the constructive contribution made by the Republic of Armenia to CSTO proceedings.



On this memorable day, I would like to wish you, dear Nikol Vovayevich, good health, prosperity, every success in your responsible activities for the benefit of the people of Armenia, the message reads.



***

EAEC Board Chairman Mikhail Myasnikovich has sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the occasion of Independence Day. The message says:

Dear Nikol Vovayevich,

Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia.

This landmark date is a good opportunity to not only state your important role in the establishment of a rule-of-law-based, truly free Armenian society, but also to highlight your personal contribution to the development of the Eurasian Economic Union.

It is by far owing to your efforts that relations between Armenia and other Eurasian nations continue to develop on the basis of friendship and mutual respect.

I am convinced that constructive economic cooperation is in our common interest as it promotes regional stability and strengthens security.

Dear Nikol Vovayevich, I sincerely wish you robust health and personal wellbeing, as well as peace and prosperity  to the Republic of Armenia.

***



Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan keeps receiving congratulations on the occasion of Republic of Armenia Independence Day.
The United Airlines, along with its industry unions, is urging the Congress to restart negotiations for another COVID-19 relief aid legislation.

Both groups have sent a letter asking the Congress leaders and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to restart negotiations; otherwise, the United Airlines will be forced to furlough more than 16,000 employees by October 1.

In the letter, United CEO Scott Kirby wrote that without additional funding for the Payroll Support Program Grant, there would be about 16,000 of their employees who will be at risk of involuntary furloughs by October 1.

Kirby added that the continuation of the PSP Grant would not only prevent the furlough, but it will also provide the industry additional time to reach recovery without losing any member of their family to involuntary furloughs.

United Airlines and industry unions are also asking a clean six-month extension of funding for the PSP Grant on the latest stimulus package, which requires airlines to keep their employees on the payroll through October 1.

United is not the only airline company forced to resort to furloughing employees as American Airlines, and the Delta Air Lines has also announced that they are also running out of funds and will be forced to cut their workforce.

The American Airlines said last week that unless it will be getting an additional federal aid, it will have to cut 19,000 jobs and will eventually end being 30 percent smaller than before COVID-19 hit.

The Delta Air Lines, for its part, had announced that it is planning to furlough 1,941 pilots by October unless an agreement is reached with the union to lower costs.

Airlines have been working with various unions to reach deals to avoid cutting jobs and leave. Still, according to United Airlines, it might be unavoidable without the federal funding, which is why negotiations for another COVID-19 relief aid is very critical.

Airline labor unions are asking Congress for another federal aid of $25 billion for jobs to be preserved until the end of March 2021.

Among the more than 16,000 employees that United is planning to cut are 6,920 flight attendants.

However, Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA International representing the United Airlines flight attendants, said that unless an additional $25 billion in federal aid is given, about 14,000 and not just 6,920 flight attendants will not receive their paychecks by October.

This is because many of them have chosen to be provided with healthcare but no money, one of the measures that airlines are offering to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kirby also wrote that they understand the severe impact that the pandemic has on the entire U.S. economy, and aside from them, everyone else also needs financial aid.

However, any help now will lessen the pandemic's long term impact on the economy and help in the speedy recovery.

If Congress and the Administration can reach an agreement soon, this will help not only the United Airlines but also other industries in keeping their employees.

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- Thousands of citizens in China have tested positive for a bacterial disease following a leak at a lab

- A government-owned plant manufacturing animal vaccines experienced the leak last year

- Now, officials in Lanzhou say that over 3 000 people have contracted the disease

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The effects of a leak at a government-owned biopharmaceutical plant specialising in animal vaccines are beginning to emerge.

An outbreak of a bacterial disease linked to the incident has seen thousands testing positive in northwest China.

Health officials in Lanzhou say that brucellosis, a disease caused by contact with infected animals, has been contracted by 3 245.

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A further 1 401 have also tested for early signs of the disease but authorities have denied transmission through people can be proven.

The outbreak has since thousands of confirmed cases. Image: Pexels

Source: UGC

eNCA reports that Chinese officials had found that an expired disinfectant had been used by the plant between July and August when producing the Brucella vaccines.

This means that the bacteria had not been eradicated by the factory before the vaccines had gone on to be used for animals.

It was further found that contaminated gas from the factory had formed aerosols containing the bacteria.

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The bacteria were then spread by wind to the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute. This leak had gone on to infect nearly 200 workers in December 2019.

Xinhua reported that over 20 Lanzhou University students and faculty staff members had tested positive for the disease.

A local health authority recently commented that domestic animals, including sheep, cattle and pigs, were the most common spreaders of this bacteria.

Commenting on the situation, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that person-to-person transmission of the bacteria is 'extremely rare'.

However, the entity warned that some symptoms may continue to reoccur and some may never go away.

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Earlier, it was reported that Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, has sung South Africa and President Cyril Ramaphosa's praises.

Ryan lauded the way in which the nation has responded to the global Covid-19 epidemic, highlighting how African countries have actually been leading the way when it comes to the response to the coronavirus.

Speaking during a virtual press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Ryan commented that:

Theres a tremendous amount of innovation going on in Africa in general. It is interesting in the way that South Africa is bringing the disease under control. And how African countries are actually, in many ways, showing the way."

Mobile lab units were launched with screening and testing being carried out across the nation. Ryan noted this initiative in his address, applauding South Africa's strategy against the virus:

The strategy in South Africa was based on preparations, primary prevention, lockdown and enhanced surveillance. Sixty-seven mobile lab units around the country, 28 000 community health workers trained in case detection."

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Source: YEN.com.gh
THE Department of Health (DOH) 7 has put its foot down on the Cebu City Governments proposal to establish a cemetery in the mountain barangay of Sapangdaku.

This was confirmed by Eddie Llamedo, chief of the Planning and Management Division of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7.

Mary Jean Loreche, DOH 7 spokesperson, said the agency will not issue a notice to proceed because the project site is located near a river and is prone to landslide.

The reason for the non-endorsement of the cemetery from the DOH standpoint is its non-suitability, Loreche said.

The project needs the DOH to issue an initial clearance for the construction to proceed since it involves a cemetery. This is pursuant to the Sanitation Code of the Philippines, or Presidential Decree (PD) 856.

Last July, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu approved the site for the cemetery in Sitios Yuta and Baksan after inspecting the area.

On Aug. 26, 2020, the DOH 7 submitted a site suitability report to the City Government.

The agency said the proposed site in Sapangdaku was not suitable for the establishment of burial grounds based on the standard sanitary survey pursuant to Chapter 21, or the Disposal of Dead Persons, of PD 856.

The DENR 7 wrote the City to submit requirements, but it has yet to receive a reply, Llamedo said in a text message to SunStar Cebu on Monday, Sept. 21, 2020.

Llamedo said the DENR 7 is willing to provide the necessary support for the project to push through. But unless the City submits all the requirements, the DENR 7 cannot issue a special land use permit, a tree cutting permit and an environment compliance certificate (ECC), he said

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, in a separate interview, said he will meet with officials of the DOH 7, the DENR 7 and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 to discuss the project.

Labella agreed that there is a need to transfer the site, saying there are other areas where the City can set up a cemetery, but most of these are located in mountain barangays.

Story continues

There are many alternative sites, he said.

The original site for the project was a five-hectare lot in Sitio Katives in Barangay Guba, which is part of the Cebu Protected Landscape Area.

The City received some flak when it proceeded to cut down 300 mahogany trees on the site to pave the way for the project without a cutting permit.

The City needed to address the congestion in cemeteries when the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) deaths rose exponentially in July and considered the establishment of a new public cemetery urgent.

Cebu City is home to 15 cemeteries that are either private or run by the Roman Catholic Church. The City Government has no cemetery of its own. (JJL)
Now in 12 States as Select Nano Gummies Become Available in California and Elite Live Cartridges Launch in Nevada

WAKEFIELD, Mass., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf" or the "Company"), a leading vertically integrated cannabis operator in the United States, today launched its Select Nano Gummies in California and its line of Select Elite Live cartridges in Nevada. Select, America's #1 Cannabis Oil Brand, is a West Coast lifestyle brand that was acquired by Curaleaf in February 2020.

Utilizing nano-emulsion technology, Select Nano Gummies are infused with small, water-soluble cannabinoids that allow for faster, more efficient cannabinoid consumption when compared to traditional edibles. Due to its precise and calibrated effects, Select Nano products are an optimal solution for those who are looking to try edibles for the first time, or for those seeking alternative forms of consumption. Select Nano Gummies are now available in five states including Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada. The Company looks forward to releasing Nano Gummies in additional states, including Colorado and Maryland, by the end of the year.

Select Elite Live cartridges, which launched in Nevada today, contain high-quality, broad-spectrum THC oil enhanced with live-resin extract. Created with a proprietary technology that refines fresh frozen flower, Select Elite Live is designed to capture more essence of the living plant and higher terpene content. Each cartridge is formulated to represent the plant's full profile as much as possible, allowing consumers and patients experience true-to-strain flavors and effects. Select Elite Live cartridges can now be found in eight states including Arizona and California and will be available by the end of the year in Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Utah.

"The latest product expansion of Select in California and Nevada speaks to Curaleaf's commitment to providing both medical patients and adult-use customers with accessibility to innovative, high-quality cannabis products," said Joe Bayern, President of Curaleaf. "We are thrilled to bring Select's scientifically formulated Nano Gummies and Elite Live to both states as we expand our portfolio and provide entry points for new consumers."

Select maintains peak industry-standard practices for quality control to ensure the overall efficacy and the best product experience possible. As a recognized industry leader, Select has gained popularity in both medical and adult-use markets, and will be available in 14 states by October of 2020, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oklahoma and Oregon. With launches scheduled for New York and Ohio next, Select is on track to become the first nationally recognized consumer cannabis brand.

About Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf") is the leading vertically integrated U.S. multi-state cannabis operator with a mission to improve lives by providing clarity around cannabis and confidence around consumption. As a high-growth cannabis company known for quality, expertise and reliability, the company and its brands, including Curaleaf and Select, provide industry-leading service, product selection and accessibility across the medical and adult-use markets. Curaleaf currently operates in 23 states with 93 dispensaries, 22 cultivation sites and over 30 processing sites, and employs over 3,000 team members across the United States. Curaleaf is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol CURA and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol CURLF. For more information please visit www.curaleaf.com .

INVESTOR CONTACT

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Dan Foley, VP, Finance and Investor Relations

[email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Tracy Brady, VP Corporate Communications

[email protected]

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This media advisory contains forwardlooking statements and forwardlooking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forwardlooking statements or information. Generally, forward-looking statements and information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", " expects" or, "proposed", "is expected", "intends", "anticipates", " or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forwardlooking statements and information concerning the expansion of the Select brand of products into California and Nevada. Such forward-looking statements and information reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the company with respect to the matter described in this new release. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which are based on current expectations as of the date of this release and subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Additional information about these assumptions and risks and uncertainties is contained under "Risk Factors and Uncertainties" in the Company's latest annual information form filed September 23, 2019, which is available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, and in other filings that the Company has made and may make with applicable securities authorities in the future. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made only as to the date of this press release and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. We caution investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

SOURCE Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.curaleaf.com


Tighter coronavirus restrictions announced in four South Wales areas in bid to control outbreaks

This article is old - Published: Monday, Sep 21st, 2020

Coronavirus laws are being tightened in four more South Wlaes authorities following a sharp rise in cases, Health Minister Vaughan Gething today announced.

Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Newport will all see the new measures come into force at 6pm on Tuesday 22 September 2020,.

Under the tighter restrictions:-

 People will not be allowed to enter or leave these areas without a reasonable excuse, such as travel for work or education;

 People will only be able to meet people they dont live with outdoors for the time being. They will not be able to form, or be in, extended households;

 All licensed premises will have to close at 11pm;

 Everyone over 11 will be required to wear face coverings in indoor public areas  as is the case across Wales.

 From 6pm on Tuesday 22 September, the requirement for all licensed premises to close at 11pm will also be extended to Caerphilly borough.

Health Minister, Vaughan Gething, said: Following the decision to place additional coronavirus restrictions in place in Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taf, we have seen a worrying and rapid rise in cases in four other south Wales council areas  Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Newport.

In many cases, this is linked to people socialising indoors without social distancing. We are seeing evidence of coronavirus spreading. We need to take action to control and, ultimately, reduce its spread and protect peoples health.

Its always a difficult decision to introduce restrictions but coronavirus has not gone away  it is still circulating in communities across Wales and, as we are seeing in parts of South Wales, small clusters can quickly cause real issues in local communities.

We need everyones help to bring coronavirus under control. We need everyone to pull together and to follow the measures which are there to protect you and your loved ones.

The restrictions are being introduced following a rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases in coronavirus, which have been linked to people meeting indoors, not following social distancing guidelines and returning from summer holidays overseas.

The Welsh Government will call an urgent meeting of all local authority, health board and police forces from Bridgend to the English border tomorrow to discuss the wider situation in South Wales and whether further measures are needed across the region to protect peoples health.

Andrew RT Davies MS, Shadow Health Minister, said: Ministers and governments must do everything possible to avoid another blanket national lockdown as the other public health and economic impacts would be disastrous.

We need to see smart, hyper-local lockdowns based on accurate and detailed data, and a resumption of shielding of the elderly and vulnerable.

We all need to play our part by adhering to social distancing, masks, and hand hygiene, and we need to see a strong public information campaign from the Welsh Labour-led Government to hammer this message home.

The new local restrictions measures will be kept under regular review. They will be enforced by local authorities and by the police.

Keep Wales safe by:

Always keeping your distance

Washing your hands regularly

Working from home wherever you can

Following any local restrictions

Following the rules about meeting people

Staying at home if you or anyone in your extended household has symptoms.
Delhi: Daily Covid-19 fatalities in range of 30-40 in last 5 days

AP

Indias tally of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) went past the 5.4 million mark and the country reported 4,303,043 recoveries so far, the Union health ministrys data showed on Sunday. The number of active cases stood at 1,010,824 and the countrys death toll rose to 86,752, according to the health ministrys coronavirus dashboard at 8am.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

India has overtaken the United States, the worst-hit country globally, and become the top nation in terms of Covid-19 recoveries. India now accounts for close to 19% of the total global recoveries, the government has said.

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Los Angeles County firefighters hold back the flames to save homes Saturday morning from the Bobcat Fire in Juniper Hills, California, U.S., September 19, 2020. REUTERS/Gene Blevins (Photo : Reuters Connect )

Due to the warming of the planet caused by the current climate crisis, many aspects of the climate system of the Earth have lost stability and are reaching their tipping points. These include the Amazon rainforest, the oceans, and the polar ice sheets and glaciers.

Scientists believe that when one tipping point is reached, others may follow.

Many warning signs have already been signaled. The wildfires in the US have been worsened by global warming. Last July, a study warned of the Arctic's abrupt change in temperatures, a possible precursor to other drastic changes.

Last September 14, a large Greenland ice shelf was torn by the effect of the warm water underneath it. On the same day, a different study found ice shelves that protect Antarctica's two most massive glaciers from being developing crevasses and cracks. If they break, the glaciers will become susceptible to melting, increasing the rise in sea level. The worst possible scenarios are already happening in terms of loss of ice.

READ: Melting Doomsday Glacier in Antarctica Could Cause 10-Ft Sea Level Rise



The Tipping Points

Scientists have long known that a lot of factors stabilize and maintain our climate. These stabilizing factors, however, have tipping points, which, when reached, can cause significant and cascading changes that are much larger than the initial trigger. The consequences of these tipping points may be impossible to stop once they have started.

The ice sheet in Greenland is a tipping point that, when reached, will cause uncontrollable melting, which can cause sea level to rise worldwide up to seven meters.

Scientists do not know the tipping point of Greenland. According to one study, a rise in temperature of only 1.6 C is enough to do it. So far, we have already warmed the planet by 1.1 C within only two centuries.

This point of no return could take many more centuries from now, but it will be hard to reverse when that time comes. According to Potsdam Institute Germany for Climate Impact Research professor Ricarda Winkelmann, once the tipping point is reached, switching it would need much more cooling of the climate than the original hypothetical 1.6 C increase triggered the tipping point.

This is why such tipping points are considered irreversible, although they are not. It just takes a lot more "push" to reverse things.

READ: Facebook Claims It's Stopping Climate Change Misinformation; Scientists and Environmentalists Unconvinced



The AMOC

Elements that cause tipping points have been called "tipping elements," which include the ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic, as well as the Amazon.

Another critical tipping element is the AMOC, or Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, a vast ocean current carrying warm water from the equator to the Arctic region and carrying cold water from the Arctic back to the equator. If it collapses today, it will shift worldwide climate patterns all over the globe.



Interconnected Tipping Elements

A 2009 study wondered if the tipping elements are connected so that when one is triggered, another is set off, followed by another and cascading reaction that will irreversibly reshape the very nature of our climate.

An example is the melting of the ice sheet of Greenland. It causes cold water to flow to the Atlantic, weakening the AMOC and triggering the tipping point of AMOC and causing more effects down the line. Although scientists know dozens of these tipping point links, this interconnectedness is very hard to predict and simulate.

When this climate crisis reaches the irreversible cascade of the tipping points, it can change the climate of the planet in a state it has not been in for ages.



CLIMATE CHANGE: Dire Effects and the Recommendations of Caribbean Experts

Check out for more news and information on Climate Change on Nature World News.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-09-22 00:54:17|Editor: huaxia

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OTTAWA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Canadian police have begun an investigation after a woman in Canada allegedly sent a letter containing the poison ricin to U.S. President Donald Trump.

"Our Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives team (CBRNE) is leading the operation. Police and Fire teams from Longueuil are also on site. All necessary measures have been taken to ensure public safety," said a tweet by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Monday morning.

The woman was reportedly arrested at the Canadian-U.S. border and was expected to appear in court later in the afternoon in Buffalo, the United States, facing federal charges in the United States.

The RCMP said a police operation is ongoing at a residential street located south of Montreal. Media reports said the letter was intercepted after being sent to Washington from Canada.

Both police and media reports have not yet indicated whether the suspect is Canadian. Enditem
Eight opposition MPs, including Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek OBrien and AAPs Sanjay Singh, were suspended from Rajya Sabha for a week under Rule 256(2) on Monday for their unruly behaviour during the fierce protests over the farm bills on Sunday.

The government moved a motion for their suspension for bringing disrepute to the House. The motion was approved by the House amid protests from Opposition leaders.

However, the no-confidence motion against deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh filed by the Opposition was not accepted by the chair.

Also Read: Stormy Sunday in House as 2 farm bills go through

Apart from OBrien and Singh, Congress leaders Rajeev Satav, Syed Nasir Hussain and Ripun Borah, CPIMs KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem and Trinamools Dola Sen were suspended.

The suspended MPs initially refused to leave and shouted slogans, prompting Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn the House till 10am. When the House resumed, the suspended MPs continued their protests and the House was adjourned for another half an hour.

Naidu, visibly upset over Sundays development, made an observation at 9.30am, at the end of the zero hour, listing all unruly offences committed by the Opposition MPs in the House. He said that apart from shouting slogans and dancing on the table, some MPs even tried to physically harm the deputy chairman. During his speech, OBrien and others started protesting.

Also Read: Parliament monsoon session: Naidu rejects no-confidence motion against Harivansh

Naidu named OBrien and asked him to leave the House.

Minutes later, the government moved a resolution seeking the suspension of eight MPs who led the protests on Sunday. The resolution was adopted through a voice vote.

The suspended MPs didnt leave the House and instead started a new round of protests. The chair has the option of calling the marshals to forcibly evict the MPs but so far, Naidu has not opted for that extreme step.

Rajya Sabha was then adjourned till Tuesday after Members who were suspended refused to leave the House. The chair insisted that business could be taken up only after the members leave the house.

Bhuwaneswar Kalita, who was in the chair, said a statement by Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad could only be allowed once the MPs leave the house.

This is not the first time a number of MPs have been suspended in the House. During the Telangana issue, a large number of MPs were suspended in Lok Sabha. During the debate on the womens reservation bill during the UPA 1 regime, MPs were suspended in the Rajya Sabah for unruly behaviour.

On Sunday, the Rajya Sabha turned into a battlefield. Senior leaders charged towards the deputy chairman, gheraoed him, uprooted microphones, jumped up on tables, flouted rules to shoot videos of the ruckus and shouted slogans. Authorities called marshals to form a double-layered barricade to protect the Chair, remove an MP from the table, muted live proceedings and refused to accept the Oppositions demand for a divisionvoting through paper ballotson the bills.

The high-pitched protests were also the most aggressive in recent years and continued even after the House was adjourned at 1pm. Opposition parties sat in Rajya Sabha for the next two hours and drafted a no-confidence motion against newly re-elected Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh before firing salvoes against the government on Twitter.

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WESTFIELD, Mass., Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- During a socially distanced press conference outside the hospital on September 23, the registered nurses of Baystate Noble Hospital will announce the results of a survey of more than 460 community members and an October 6 virtual community forum.

The community survey and forum focus on how nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, and the community are responding to staffing cuts and service eliminations at Baystate Noble Hospital, which have made it harder for patients to consistently receive the safe, high-quality and timely care they deserve.

RN Press Conference

When: 12 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23

Where: Nurses will gather outside the entrance to Noble Hospital at 115 W. Silver St., Westfield.

What: Nurses will release details of a survey completed by more than 460 community members and announce an October 6 virtual community forum about the future of Noble Hospital.

Why: Baystate Noble nurses are concerned about the future of their community hospital. Baystate closed the intensive care units at Noble and Baystate Wing Hospital in Palmer last August, and has announced a second for-profit partner to open a new mental health facility and close the Fowler Unit at Noble as well as all the mental health beds at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield and at Wing Hospital. Last fall, Baystate also merged Baystate Noble's 2N medical-surgical unit with telemetry and cut the majority of 2N staff.

"We are calling on Baystate Noble President Ron Bryant to participate in our October 6 community forum and address the growing concerns nurses and community members have about patient care conditions," said Paul Dubin, RN and Co-Chair of the MNA Baystate Noble Hospital Committee. "Many of us are extremely concerned about the future of Noble Hospital because of Baystate's cuts to staffing, its elimination of essential services, our longer ED wait times and excessive boarding, and Baystate's plan to close our mental health unit. We want President Bryant to be transparent about his vision for the hospital."

MassNurses.org  Facebook.com/MassNurses  Twitter.com/MassNurses  Instagram.com/MassNurses

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association

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Installing a constitutional monarch as the president View(s):

Constitutions of democratic Republics should not be tailor made for individuals. Yet, Sri Lankas constitutional practice has been stubbornly reflective of this pattern, inclusive of the 19th Amendment and the proposed 20th Amendment alike.

Hypocritical homage to constitutional ideals

Veneration of the 19th Amendment by its proponents must give way to an understanding that playing to power politics of the day in sanctimoniously hypocritical homage to constitutional ideals while discarding these precepts in practice during 2015-2019 set the stage for the greatest threat that Sri Lanka faces to constitutional governance today. That threat comes in the form of the draft 20th Amendment. What that teaches us is different to classical Aristotelian drama which turns on a fatal error of judgment of a single individual, bringing doom not only on that person but everyone else.

Here the error was not singular nor was it confined to the two comedic leading personalities forming the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe ill-fated coalition or their motley followers. Instead, the fault was collective. Supposedly impartial citizens groups did not speak out enough, did not criticise enough when democracy pledges of the good governance coalition began unraveling, very early on with the first Central Bank bond scam followed by the second and then resulting in multiple failures of governance culminating in the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. That failure to maintain a steadfast focus on institutionally cementing the Rule of Law and bring a critical focus to counterbalance Colombos elite power games has cost us dearly. That much must be clearly acknowledged.

Indeed, this failure should be instructive to advocates of the draft 20th Amendment who chorus that President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa needs a strong hand against the crooked collectivity of the Parliament. They must understand, just as those blindly uncritical of the 19th Amendment must concede now, that Constitutions to suit power agendas contain within themselves, the seeds of their own doom. And so this peculiar dance continues. First an amendment is drafted, by whom, no one knows. Ministers can only bleat about the collective responsibility of the Cabinet or the (obvious) responsibility of the President.

A drafting farce in three parts

In one patently ridiculous assertion, a Cabinet spokesman shifted the blame to the Department of the Legal Draftsman, no less, in trying to explain where this draft 20th Amendment originated. In the face of public consternation, much the same crowd which sat to draft the impugned amendment is then entrusted by the Prime Minister to examine this amendment for flaws and give him their recommendations. That committee reportedly found several significant problems with this draft amendment including the proposal to restore sweeping immunity for presidential acts.

And now, in another act of this constitutional farce, we are informed that the 20th Amendment Bill will be presented in all its astoundingly negative repercussions to Parliament, with amendments to be made thereafter at the whim and fancy of parliamentarians. In fact, one of the most dangerous proposals of the draft 20th Amendment is its return to presidential immunity from even intentional violation of the Constitution. Our history with that particular constitutional provision is grim. The implications of that immunity is all the more severe given the traditional reluctance of the judiciary to challenge this bar in significant terms.

Examples of this reluctance are many including when a public interest group called upon the judges of the Court of Appeal to compel former President Kumaranatunge to appoint members of the Election Commission. The petitioners argument was that the basic features contained in Article 41B of the Constitution did not permit the President to wield unfettered powers in respect of the appointment of the Elections Commission. Accordingly, she had no discretion but to make the appointments once the CC had forwarded the recommendations. This contention was rejected.

That blanket immunity and rare exceptions

Article 35(1) of the Constitution was held to confer a blanket immunity on the President from legal action in respect of anything done or omitted to be done in official or private capacity, except in limited circumstances constitutionally specified in relation to inter alia ministerial subjects or functions assigned to the President and election petitions. Thus, the applicability of Section 35(1), which the draft 20th Amendment seeks to restore, was held to make the petition not properly constituted in law, (Public Interest Law Foundation vs the Attorney General and Others, CA Application No 1396/2003, CA Minutes of 17.12.2003).

Sri Lankas courts have admitted only limited exceptions to this bar. In instances where subordinate officers have justified their actions relying on orders of the President, those attempts have been held as unconstitutional (Karunatilleke vs Dissanayake, [1999]; Senasinghe vs Karunatilleke SC 431/2001, SCM 17/3/2003 and Perera vs Balabatabendi and Others, \SC(FR) No 27/2002, SCM 19.10.2004). Public officers denied the protection of presidential directives have included the Commissioner of Elections and the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

Clearly therefore, a Presidential directive cannot be a defence to subordinate action if it is manifestly and obviously illegal. Further, the Court in one notable instance, ruled that a former President (Kumaratunga) had acted in excess of her power as Head of the Executive as well as Finance Minister in issuing a Cabinet Memorandum that led to a corrupt land transaction (Sugathapala Mendis v. Kumaratunga S.C. (F.R.) 352/2007, Supreme Court Minutes, 8 October 2008). But these are rare decisions that form narrow exceptions to the general trend of presidential immunity.

Constitution making for lunatics

This means in short that where acts or omissions of a sitting President are directly in issue, if the 20th Amendment Bill proceeds to return Article 35(1) to its original form, the courts will also return to its historic reluctance to intervene if such acts are challenged. This has been a long critiqued and highly subversive feature of the 1978 Constitution. There is no reason as to why it should be restored. One Ministers explanation, that this results in the President wasting time in court is nonsensical, as pointed out in these column spaces last week. It is the Attorney General who is cited in fundamental rights challenges to acts of the President. Further, it is not each and every court that is empowered to hear those challenges but the apex court of the land, the Supreme Court. The sheer absurdity of these purported explanations insults our intelligence. This is constitution-making fit for a lunatic asylum, let it be clearly said.

For the warning is clear. Once a constitutional monarch is enthroned, there is no guarantee that a lunatic may not sit on that throne at some point of time. To those repeatedly pinning faith on the ability of this President to deliver unhampered by corrupt parliamentarians or so we are told, that caution must be taken in all its ominous consequences. The Office of the President is always inhabited by a temporary occupant who must, in the course of time, yield to another. Vesting monarchical powers in that Office in naive trust that this power will not be misused goes counter to all our history to the converse.

And I repeat. Constitutions cannot be tailored for individuals. If we do not know this already, then we are indeed a nation of lunatics.
H. R. McMaster, national security adviser to the president, at a joint press conference with President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Stefan Lofven of Sweden in the East Room of the White House on March 6, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Groups in White House Push Own Agenda, Not Trumps: Former National Security Adviser

Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster, in a wide-ranging interview with CBS on Sept. 20, said the Trump administration consists of several types of groups, including one that seeks to push its own agenda rather than help implement the presidents policies.

McMaster, who was President Donald Trumps national security adviser for 13 months, characterized members of the Trump administration as consisting of three groupsone that is there to serve the elected president and to serve the country, another trying to push its own narrow agendas, while a third is there to block policies they deem harmful.

There is certainly one group of people there who are there to serve the elected president and to serve the country. I think there are other groups there though, as well, a second group that is there really, instead of providing options to the elected president, they really want to advance their narrow agendas, the three-star general said.

And then I think theres a third group, and I think this is true probably of any administration, who cast themselves in the role of saving the country and maybe the world from the president, said McMaster, who was then asked about how he approached his time in the White House.

It was my duty to help the president come to his own decisions, he replied, adding that he mostly advised Trump on issues relating to Russian disinformation and election meddlingand a repressive and aggressive China.

Asked to elaborate on the threat posed by China, McMaster said: For the Chinese Communist Party, theyre driven really by two fundamental things. First of all, its the fear of losing control. Thats why theyre obsessed with control. Thats why you see them extending and tightening their exclusive grip on power with this Orwellian, technologically-enabled surveillance police state. And theyre also determined to achieve national rejuvenation, to take center stage in the world.

The notion of people in the Trump administration who actively seek to block some of the presidents policies came to the fore when The New York Times ran an op-ed in 2018 titled I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration, whose anonymous author wrote, I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.

At the time, Trump called the anonymous writer gutless and the newspaper phony, while his press secretary called the alleged administration member a coward who should quit.

More recently, a top Trump administration health official alleged the existence of a resistance unit against the president inside of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Michael Caputo, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, made the comments during a Facebook Live video on Sept. 13.

Caputo said in video that within the CDC is a resistance unit of career scientists who havent gotten out of their sweatpants except for meetings at coffee shops during which they plan how theyre going to attack Donald Trump next.

There are scientists who work for this government who do not want America to get well, not until after Joe Biden is president, Caputo said.

Caputo has since taken a leave of absence for 60 days, citing concerns about his health. According to The Associated Press, Caputo apologized to his staff for the Facebook video.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
CHICOPEE  The city is continuing efforts to separate combined sewage and stormwater pipes with a new project in the Fairview section that is expected to end sewer backups into homes and reduce the amount of untreated effluent dumped into the Connecticut River.

The design of the South Fairview sewer separation project began in March 2019 and is expected to be finished in December 2021. It will cover six streets and separate about 10,000 feet of pipes, said Quinn Lonczak, project supervisor for the Water Pollution Control Department.

The design part of the project is estimated to cost $750,000 and at least $430,000 of it will be funded through grants, he said.

Last week the City Council unanimously accepted a $250,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection, administered through the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, that will fund one-third of the design of the project. The grant was part of an about $1.5 million award released by the state. Holyoke and Springfield received the rest of the money for similar projects.

The Connecticut River Cleanup Committee previously received a $180,000 grant that is also being used to fund the Fairview project design, Lonczak said.

The cost of construction will not be determined until the design is completed but very preliminary estimates based on other sewer separation projects put the cost at about $5.92 million, or $7.61 million once engineering services, police details and contingency fees are added. That cost could change by quite a bit once the design is completed and it goes out to bid, Lonczak said.

This is a nice grant to continue the work of sewer separation. There are at least (six) streets which have had continuous sewer backup problems, said City Councilor Stanley Walczak, who represents Ward 9 where the project is located.

The sewer backups, which have plagued different sections of the city for years, are a health hazard and Walczak said he is happy some homeowners will get some relief.

The city is under a federal Environmental Protection Agency mandate demanding an end to the practice of dumping raw sewage into the Chicopee and Connecticut rivers, which happens because many of the sewer and storm drain pipes are combined and are overwhelmed when it rains. The problem also causes backups into homes across the city.

The city has been working to separate the pipes for more than 15 years and has spent about $213 million on the projects. It is estimated that it will cost another $250 million to complete the work citywide, Lonczak said.

Most of the cost of the project has been funded by sewer fees residents pay and the city has received multiple low-interest loans to fund large projects. The city has received a few grants to help fund the massive project but there are few available, Lonczak said.

The new project will separate sewer and storm pipes under Hansen, Broad, Lukasik, Manning and portions of James and Montcalm streets.

The design of the project is expected to be complete in December 2021, construction I scheduled to begin in June 2022 and be completed in December 2024, documents said.

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This piece originally ran in 2018 on the occasion of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's 85th birthday. In light of her passing last weekend at the age of 87, we have decided to update and republish the article in recognition of her decades of groundbreaking accomplishments.

If you want tips about staying power, look no further than the life and career of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The second female justice to preside over the United States Supreme Court, she was nominated and confirmed for the job in 1993, 204 years into the judicial bodys existence. But long before Ginsburg joined the highest court in the land, she was a determined lawyer, fighting for womens rights.

Read on for five lessons from Justice Ginsburg.

Dont be afraid to get out in front of causes that are meaningful to you

Ginsburg was a dogged advocate for womens rights, especially after the uphill battle she experienced while getting her own education and starting her career. After graduating from the top of her class at Cornell, she was one of nine women in her class at Harvard Law School in 1956. While at Harvard, she simultaneously was raising her 14-month-old daughter while dealing with a sexist dean who actually asked her how she could justify taking a spot from a qualified man?

After she graduated from Columbia  where she had transferred from Harvard  she was rejected from the first 14 law firms she applied to because she was a woman. But she kept going. In 1970, Ginsburg founded Womens Rights Law Reporter, the first law review in the United States dedicated to legal issues around womens rights. Two years later, Ginsburg founded the ACLU Women's Rights Project.

Stretch yourself to achieve your goals

Ginsburg is nothing if not determined. Back in the '60s, she casually learned Swedish in order to co-author Civil Procedure in Sweden. The justices workout routine is famous for its consistency and rigor. Ginsburg hits the gym with her trainer every day and puts herself through the paces, with machine pulldowns, medicine ball push-ups and wall squats. Not even a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer could slow Ginsburg down. Nine years after beating the disease she has no plans to retire any time soon.

Find a partner that supports you, and vice versa

Ginsburg was married to her husband, Martin, for 56 years until his death from cancer in 2010. For many years, after the retirement of Sandra Day OConnor, Marty, as he was called, was often the only man in the group of Supreme Court spouses, but he was famously unfazed by it. Ginsburg called him her best friend, and when asked by Katie Couric why their marriage was so successful, she had this to say: "You can't have it all, all at once. Who  man or woman  has it all, all at once? Over my life span I think I have had it all. But in different periods of time things were rough. And if you have a caring life partner, you help the other person when that person needs it."

Pay it forward

From her position on the bench of the highest court in the land, Ginsburg continues to fight for womens rights  especially in her own workplace. Case in point, Ginsburg had this to say about the demographic breakdown of the court during a 2015 talk at Georgetown: "People ask me sometimes, 'When do you think it will be enough? When will there be enough women on the court?' And my answer is when there are nine."

Leave the world a better place than it was when you found it

When asked by Irin Carmon what Ginsburg would like to be remembered for, her answer was simple. Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has. To do something, as my colleague David Souter would say, outside myself. Cause Ive gotten much more satisfaction for the things that Ive done for which I was not paid.

Related:

The Top 5 Leadership Soft Skills You Need to Empower Your Team

7 Aspects of Remote Work Entrepreneurs Should Keep When Returning to the Office

Debunked: The Myth That 70 Percent of Change Initiatives Fail



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Ukraine, in turn, will hold the Joint Efforts 2020 command and staff exercises on September 22-25.

Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov says Ukraine is closely monitoring Russia's Caucasus 2020 military drills to timely identify signs of threats to its national security.

"Ukraine is closely monitoring Russia's Caucasus 2020 military drills to timely identify signs of threats to national security," the NSDC's press service wrote on Facebook, quoting Danilov as saying.

Read alsoZelensky's envoy explains why Russia mustering troops in CrimeaFor its part, Ukraine will hold the Joint Efforts 2020 command and staff exercises on September 22-25, Danilov said.

Russia's Caucasus 2020 military drills